Year: 1860

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN.


Many centuries ago there was an Emperor


at Rome whose name was Octavianus. lie


swaycd his scepter over the great city of the
, Seven Hills" which was the mistress of the


then known world, and had amassed i'm


mensc treasures of silver and gold, So that
. no prince, poteLtate, or emperor could COM
pare with him. His very wealth, However,


was q source of great anxiety, and deprived
him of rest. for he stood in constant fear of


being robbed. In order to guard himself


against such nishap, he summoned a ssilful


architect, and commanded him to build
high tower, with strong and massive walls


in which he might secure his riches The
builder erected the edifce accordingly, but
F., fitted in one stone loosely without cement, SO
| that it could be removed from the outside of
| the tower, and retained the secret within his
| own breast. This architect was the father Of
three children-a son and two daughters
and at this time the son was dubbed knight |
aud decorated with the orders and emblems |


thereto appertaining.
.Aly son." said the builder TO the young |
knight, whom he dearly loved, ''you are now
II knight, but without friends therefore
spend your money freely, and act generously
so that you may rise in the estimation of the
people and be great.


These words coincidcd well with the dis


position of the young man. and he lost no
time in following the advice of his father.
He purchased arms of the finest quality.
horses, rich dresses and other equipage Fes-
tivties followed each other in rapid success
sion, and he distributed presents among his
associates with Il lavish hand. Soon hc drew
around him large circle Of fatterng friends,
and his opcn-handed generosity made him
beloved by all. But soon his fathers wealth
grew less, and melted away as the number
of his friends increased, and he was obliged
to state frankly to his sire the true state of
affairs. On hearing his narrative, the old
builder seemed neither alarmed nor angry,
but said:


II see very plainly that | have given you
too much power, and loosened loo freely the
rcins by which you should have been held
in check. You have expended everything.
yourself to the brink of an abyss. From
opulencc you have reduced us to poverty
Yet what grleves me most is, that you should
lose the name and reputation already gained
| have a device, however which will save lis
all from ruin nay. more, if carried ont, it
will enable lis to live as we have done here
tofore---even better-but the enterprise is
one OF adventure and peril. Listen Yon-
der tower, which contains the treasure of
the Emperor, was built by me, and know i
how we may enter therein if you haze the i
courage. At midnight let us repair thither,
and take as much as we can carry"


That very night they repaired to the tower
The father removed the loose stone, and, en- i
tering through the aperature. handed out to
his son as much of the gold as they could ,
bear away. The stone was then replaced in s
its former position. The mode of living of ,
the young knight continued as extravagant
as before, and soon the father ard son were |
to repeat their former experiment.
But now the Emperor began to sec that his :
wealth was diminishing. Anger, even mad
ness, took possession of his mind-but he
all outward manifestations of un-
easiness or anxiety. There was at his court
an old man, who in former times had been a
famous robber; but being caught at last,
the Emperor caused his eyes to be put out,
and allowed him to spend the remainder Of
his life in the royal palace. To this robber
chief who had been the hero Of many wild !
adventure, and whose reputation for shrewd-
ness and cunning was world wide, the sove-
reign rehearsed his fears and solictude, and
sought his advice as to the best mode to be
pursued for the recovery of his missing trea-
sure. The old man said:


'lf you wish TO know, o Emperor, whe-
tber your treasurer or stranger is the thief,
take thin branches of trees and grass and
set fire to them within your tower; and
while the apartment is filled with smoke.
walk two or three times around the building,
and notice carefully from whence the smoke
escapes. If you find this out, come to INC,
ard | will give you further directions" Il