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 Ainsi, les récits grec moderne, nubien, arménien, sont intercalés (le valaque est simplement juxtaposé) dans des contes qui appartiennent tous à un type que j'ai étudié longuement dans mes Contes populaires de Lorraine, le type de "Jean de l'Ours" (No. 1).

Cette intercalation, cette combinaison tout arbitraires—qui spécialisent encore davantage notre incident, déjà si caractérisé, de la princesse et du dragon—il est évident qu'elles ne se sont pas faites spontanément, et chez les Grecs modernes et chez les Nubiens, et chez les Armeniens et chez les Valaques. Une telle combinaison, comment en aurait-on eu I'idée dans plusieurs pays à la fois?

Je ferai la même remarque au sujet des nombreux récits où l'incident de la princesse livrée au monstre n'a pas les détails que nous avons vus. Si simple qu'en soit la forme, cet incident se trouve spécialisé par la manièere dont il est enchâssé, par les combinaisons dans lesquelles il entre.

Ainsi, dans un conte allemand (Grimm, No. 60), dans un conte indien du pays de Cachemire (Steel et Temple, p. 138), et aussi dans un conte persan du Touti Nameh (t. ii, p. 291, de la traduction allemande de G. Rosen), il est combiné avec le thème de l'oiseau merveilleux qui fait roi ou richissime celui qui le mange.

Ainsi encore, dans un groupe très nombreux de contes, recueillis en Lorraine, en Bretagne, en Italic, en Sicile, en Espagne, en Portugal, en Grèce, en Lithuanie, en Danemark, en Suède, etc., notre incident est enclavé entre deux thèmes: le thème du poisson merveilleux qui, coupe en morceaux, est mangé par une femme, une jument et une chienne, et renaît sous forme de deux ou trois garçons, deux ou trois poulains, deux ou trois petits chiens, et le thème de la maison enchantée, où une sorcière tue ou change en pierre successivement les frères aînés, jusqu'à ce que le plus jeune triomphe d'elle.

Ailleurs (voir les remarques du No. 37 de mes Contes populaires de Lorraine) le thème du dragon est combiné avec le thème des Trois chiens, lequel pent se résumer ainsi: Un jeune homme, sur la proposition d'un inconnu, échange trois brebis, toute sa fortune, contre trois chiens, dont chacun est doué de qualités merveilleuses. Grâce a leur aide, il s'empare d'une maison habitée


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 70 is mentioned in another of the Englynion of the Graves. It runs thus (i). B. B. fo. 33a):

It is a mere conjecture of mine that diessic is an adjective referring to the people called in Irish Déisi, who invaded Dyfed, and founded there a dynasty represented by King Triphun and his Sons at the time of St. David's birth; later, we find Elen, wife of Howel Dda, to be one of that family. The mention of Peredur of Penweddig raises other questions; but let it suffice here to say that Penweddig was a Cantred consisting of North Cardiganshire, which brings us to the vicinity of Cantre'r Gwaelod. The last name in the final triplet of the poem which I have attempted to translate is Kinran, which is quite inexplicable as a Welsh name; but I am inclined to identify it with that of one of the three who escaped the catastrophe in the Irish legend. The name there is Curnan, which was borne by the idiot of the family, who, like many later idiots, was at the same time a prophet. For he is represented as always prophesying that the waters were going to burst forth, and advising his friends to prepare boats. So he may be set, after a fashion, over against our Seithenhin synwyr wan, 'S. of the feeble mind'. But you will perhaps ask why I do not point out an equivalent in Irish for the Welsh Seithennin, The fact is that no such equivalent occurs in the Irish story in question, nor, so far as I know, in any other.

That is what I wrote when penning these notes; but it has occurred to me since then that there is an Irish name, an important Irish name, which is possibly related to Seithenhin, and that is Setanta, the first name of the Irish hero Cúchulainn. If we put this name back into what may be surmised to have been its early form, we arrive at

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Eulogy upon William Wirt

EULOGY UPON WILLIAM WIRT

BY

RICHARD HENRY LEE, (Professor of Languages in Washington College.)

GRAYSON AND JACK, PRINTERS,/br>WASHINGTON, PA.

1834.

EULOGY, &c. , (Pa.) June 26th, 1834.

The undersigned with great pleasure proceed to discharge the duties imposed upon them by a vote of the Lyceum on Thursday evening last. In accordance with the resolution then unanimously adopted, they respectfully request, that you will furnish them with a copy of the eloquent discourse pronounced by you upon the life, professional reputation and character of the late, lamented Mr. Wirt, for publication.

Called as you were, Sir, to the performance of this interesting duty, on the 20th instant, at the special request of the Washington Lyceum, we beg leave to tender you our thanks, and the thanks of those whom we represent, for the prompt and courteous manner in which this duty is performed; and for the chaste and excellent production then pronounced, which we consider alike the offspring of talent and benevolence—teeming with allusions to the illustrious deceased, not less classical than just.

To RICHARD HENRY LEE, Esq. Committee, &c.

_________

, June 27th, 1834.

Gentlemen:

I would be insensible indeed, were I not gratified by an expression of satisfaction on the part of the Lyceum, with the endeavour I recently made, to perform a task, which in assigning to me, they did me no little honour. I would be ungrateful to you, gentlemen, were I not to fell more than ordinarily flattered and indebted, by the manner in which you have made known to me the wish of the Lyceum, to have a copy of the eulogy mentioned in your note of yesterday. It is not without reluctance, I submit my feeble effort, to the perusal of so intelligent a community, of which, gentlemen, you are conspicuous members.

Be pleased to accept the assurance of the respect and cordial esteem of

 * Your friend and ob’dt. serv’t.,

 * RICHARD HENRY LEE.

To Messrs. Wm. K. M’Donald, C. M. Reed, Thomas Morgan, Jacob Slagle, B. S. Stewart, Committee, &c.

Mr. President, And Gentlemen of the Washington Lyccum.

The Resolution of your Body, in which it has recorded its admiration of the character of one of the most eminent men, it has been the glory and good fortune of our country to produce, evinces alike its intelligence and its patriotism. The selection of the agent, through whom it seeks to make known its tribute to the memory of Wirt, it far less felicitous than the theme it has assigned to him. This is, indeed, fertile in topics of inherent and exciting; interest and of high and enduring value.

To pay a tribute of gratitude to virtues which have improved the age in which we live; to declare our admiration of exalted intellect, which has adorned it; to study its productions, that we may grow wiser by its wisdom, and to contemplate its career, to be allured by its brilliancy to generous rivalry, cannot fail to cultivate the best emotions of the heart, and to enlarge the understanding of mankind.

The sagacity of every people, in every age, has perceived the wisdom of honors and ceremonies calculated to impress upon their minds, the virtues of their benefactors. Thus the eulogy that gratitude pays is not only delightful, but profitable, since it consecrates as examples for honorable imitation, their characters and actions. The deeds and characters of great and good men, form the most interesting subjects in the history of all nations. They constitute a safe and rich fund of wisdom, not only for him, who, in the retirement of private life, seeks guides and maxims for the performance of social duties, but for those, who, indulging a legitimate ambition, desire to deserve and to receive the due rewards of patriotic devotion to the public good. “They are important both from their immediate advantage, and their remoter influence. They often save and always illustrate the age and nation in which they appear. They raise the standard of morals; they arrest the progress of degeneracy; they diffuse a lustre over the path of life; monuments of the greatness of the human soul, they present to the world, the august image of virtue, in her sublimest forms, from which light and glory issue to remote times and ages; while their commemoration by Orators and Poets, serves to awaken in distant bosoms, the sparks of kindred excellence.”

It is therefore, with singular propriety, that the Washington Lyceum has not only recorded on its minutes, its sense of the just fame of Wirt, but has determined to exhibit to its fellow citizens within the sphere of its action, his character formed as it is of all the virtues which should distinguish a citizen in public and private life, and which alone can constitute a durable claim to their gratitude and imitation. Few characters can be found more admirable than that of Wirt, and not one in our country, whose career illustrates with a more gratifying

light the nature of our civil and political institutions; and at the same time, affords equal incitement and assurance of success to virtuous and lofty aspirations. It exhibits the influence of virtue and genius over the minds of a free and intelligent people, and furnishes another demonstration, that Liberty and free institutions are propitious to the developments of intellect; that signal virtues cannot fail to receive an honored recognition; that although the reproach of the Roman Poet and Philosopher may, often with juristic, be cast on mankind,

yet that knowledge, virtue and patriotism will, at length, attract their regard, and secure their homage. Besides this dignified demonstration fit for the contemplation of philosophers and statesmen, the life of Wirt, exhibits a most encouraging instance of the success, which, in our age and country awaits the industry of youth and the active labors of manhood; and of the advantages and honor;) which invariably attend the efforts of genius, however obscure its origin or however circumscribed its means may have been, when it has enriched itself with the treasures of knowledge and the adornments of literature.

The Christian, too, may find in the life and death of Wirt, another example of the triumph of Religion, over the corruptions and guilt of man, “in behalf of all that sanctifies, exalts and saves him.”

The character and career of Wirt should be diligently studied by our youth, and be often contemplated by those of riper years. His fame is civic, unblemished, and beneficent. Its influence will be salutary and ennobling.

Mr. Wirt was born at Bladensburg, in Maryland, on the 8th Nov. 1772. His Father and his ancestors were natives of those Alpine Vallies, which, from so early a time, and for so many centuries had been the favorite abode of Liberty and pristine virtue; the land, whose history is adorned by the patriotic virtues and valor of Tell and Reding, and the glories of the field of Margarten.

Wirt inherited much of the native character of the Swiss. His love of freedom, his boldness and personal independence, his perseverance and industry, his gentleness of manner and vivacity of spirit, in boyhood, in youth, and in manhood, might be claimed for the honor equally of his ancestral and his native land. Even in childhood, he gave indications of future greatness which a sagacious and affectionate aunt (for he had early lost his parents) perceived and duly valued. If has been said by one, who lived in the brightest era of fame, and had often hung with rupture on his eloquence, who he had been passing the spot of Wirt’s nativity—“at that time, the free empire, in which he was to be an ornament and a conspicuous actor, had not even an existence; and little did those foresee who caressed him, see him as an apt and imitative boy, that on hills almost within sight (if his humble patrimonial roof, proud domes were to arise, in which he was to discharge the functions of the highest legal office of the Republic, and sit in council, on its most momentous concerns!”

From the age of 7, to that of his 18th year, young Wirt enjoyed, but not without interruption, the advantages of classical grammar schools. His patrimony was too small to afford him those of a College, but correct habits, diligent study and a due sense of the value of time fully compensated for the opportunity of a more regular and protracted education. He was compelled early to commence the study of the law. He prosecuted the study of that science with characteristic diligence and with rapid acquisition. In the autumn of 1702, he obtained a license to practice, and removed in the same year Culpepper Court House in Virginia and commenced his profession, being then only 20 years of age.

He was but a short time at the bar, before his legal acquisitions and talents, obtained for him distinction and employment. He soon extended his practice into the county of Albemarle. In this county, he married and settled in the year 1795. A classical author, fit to be the biographer of Wirt, thus describes his person, his manners and habits, at this period of his life. “His manners took on the tone of his heart; they were frank, open and cordial; and his conversation, to which his reading and early pursuits had given a classic tinge was very polished, gay and witty. Altogether he was a most fascinating companion, and to those of his own age irrestibility and universally winning. The intellectual bias, however, was that which prevailed, and filled his hours of retirement, with befitting studies. He read and wrote constantly and habitually, earnestly employing the periods, thus, ‘dedicate to closeness and the bettering of his mind’ in studying the Fathers of English Literature, Bacon, Boyle, Locke, Hooker and others.”

It was during his residence in Albemarle, that he witnessed the impressive scene, and heard the soul-subduing eloquence of the “Blind Preacher” which he has graphically and touchingly described.

His pen has immortalized the eloquence of Waddel, which, though in native richness and overpowering force, was not inferior to that of Massillon or Whitfield, might have been forgotten, had not a kindred genius glowed under its fervor, and reflected its radiance. His heart never could resist the impressions of that holy scene, for he acknowledged that no fiction could thus have moved him, when the “Man of God,” lifting “his sightless eyes to heaven and pouring his whole soul into his tremulous voice, pronounced the sentence, which had been wrung, by the force of truth, from the lips of infidelity, “Socrates died like a Philosopher, but Jesus Christ like a God!”

In the winter of 1799, Mr. Wirt removed to Richmond, the Capitol of Virginia, and was elected, immediately, Clerk of the House of Delegates. This was a post of honor, as well as of profit, in those days. It bad been held by eminent persons, such as Edmund Randolph, afterwards Secretary of State during the administration of Washington, and by Wythe the venerable Chancellor of Virginia. In 1802, the Legislature of that State, conferred on him an unexpected proof of its confidence and esteem, by electing him a Chancellor of a Chancery district. Mr. Wirt was then only 29 years of age—Considering the extensive and important jurisdiction of the Courts of Chancery in Virginia, requiring uncommon weight of character, as well as extensive acquirements, this appointment at so early an age was a rare and highly honorable evidence of the standing of Wirt. He did not disappoint the expectations of the Legislature and the People. His uprightness, diligence and abilities were universally acknowledged and honored, and he seemed destined to rank among the first judicial characters of his age. But his profession allured him with the promise of greater fame and profit. He resigned the office of Chancellor and resumed the practice of the Law in Norfolk. Here he found as competitors men of the first rank in that profession. He quickly rose to equal business, and continued to practice in that City with increasing reputation, until 1806, when he again removed to Richmond.

Shortly after this return to Richmond a fortunate occasion for his professional fame occurred in the celebrated trial of Aaron Burr, in which he was retained by President Jefferson, to aid the Attorney General of the United States in the prosecution. This trial excited throughout the [illegible]equaled. The political talents and previous celebrity of the accused, the eminence and popularity of the accuser, the intellectual vigor and moral grandeur of the Judge, the ability of the Advocates on both sides, and the awful import of the accusation, all conspired to surround it, with every circumstance and degree of excitement. In this cause, urged and defended with an energy of zeal, extent of legal learning and research, and powers of eloquence seldom displayed, Wirt “enhanced

and extended into every part of the country, a reputation not often attained at the age of 65.” His argument well sustains even now, the honor, which contemporary applause assigned to it.

In 1808 Mr. Wirt was elected, without any canvass, a delegate to the Legislature of Virginia from the borough of Richmond. In that state a canvass in person, is, in almost all cases, essential to no little success. The election of Mr. Wirt without it, is a proof of more than ordinary weight of character and popular influence. About this time, he wrote, at the instance of a Manufacturing Association, an address to the People of that State, advocating the expediency of fostering Domestic Manufactures. This is here mentioned, as it will appear, that the opinions he then sustained on that interesting subject, he did not change, when he was afterwards called to assist in the administration of the Federal Government.

At this period of his life, his friends justly appreciating his powerful talents and extensive knowledge, pressed him to abandon the path of professional life, for the field of political distinction. His mind, however, was too elevated to be allured by the illusions of the popular honors, of a politician by profession. He preferred the “calmer region” of an intellectual pursuit. From this time, until the year 1817, he continued to practice law in Richmond with augmenting reputation. In 1816, he had been appointed by Mr. Madison Attorney of the United States for the district of Virginia, and in the following year by Mr. Monroe Attorney General of the United States. Both of these appointments were bestowed on him by those great men, without any previous knowledge of their intention, on his part. At the period of this latter appointment, the Bar of the Supreme Court, the highest forensic theatre of our country, presented a splendid array of legal learning and talents. Even on this trying theatre, whose actors often strove with the zeal of Cicero and Hortentius for forensic fame, Wirt soon established a celebrity as a profound jurist and an orator of the first order of his contemporaries. He retained the eminent office of Attorney General of the United States during the entire administrations of Monroe and Adams. During his continuance in it, he signalized himself not only in his official causes, but has left behind him, a character unequalled by any of his predecessors, as the legal adviser of all the departments of our government while, it has been said, they have left behind them no traces of their [illegible] course, Wirt has left behind him three volumes of official opinions. They are given on a subjects of Constitutional and legal enactments and treaty stipulations; they constitute rich mines of constitutional exposition for those who, in the administration of the government, shall desire to be guided by the Constitution and the Laws. As long as he retained his office, the great and virtuous men who had conferred it, called him to act as one of their Cabinet councilors. He was the first Attorney General, who had acted in this high capacity. Hence he became distinguished as a statesman; and shall receive on this occasion, the meed of honor and gratitude so justly due to him from his country. At the close of the administration of Mr. Adams, Mr. Wirt settled in Baltimore and through the rest of his life, enjoyed the highest honors and emoluments of his profession. His health at last, became affected by the labours, his fame compelled him to undergo. It declined rapidly, but for some months before his death his friends were beguiled by an appearance of returning vigor. In February last, while attending therein of the Supreme Court, his useful and brilliant career was suddenly arrested and in a few days, was terminated on the very field of his glory. His death caused a deep sensation in the Capital of his country, and throughout its widely extended regions. The Congress of the Union, then in session, paid unusual honors to his character, and both its houses, the President of the United States and Heads of Departments followed his remains to the tomb. The Supreme Court marked the sad event with every tribute it could pay. The most illustrious of his contempories of all parties, poured over his grave, the admiration, the love and the sorrows of their congenial spirits. His body reposes in the National Grave Yard at Washington, over which his associates of the Bar of the Supreme Court have erected a classic and lasting monument to his memory.

Having followed our great countryman through his career, to that “inevitable hour” which awaits our race, let us pause to consider the legacy he has left to the living and to his country in the virtues of his life and the glory of his name. This is, indeed, the most appropriate office of this occasion.

The fame of Wirt principally rests on his eminence as a jurist and an orator. On this eminence he stands in honorable association with the most admired and renowned of past times and of the present age; with Scaevola, Cicero and Trebonian of antiquity, with L’Hopital and D’Aguesseau of France, with Dunning, Erskine and M’Intosh of England, with Curran and Malone of Ireland, and with those of our native land, whose names need not enumeration.

When it is said of Wirt, that he adorned the profession of a Lawyer and Advocate, and that it in its turn, bestowed on him, a bright and imperishable name, a splendid claim is announced for him. On what does it rest? The profession of an Advocate or in the usual language of modern days, a Lawyer [illegible] honored one, at all times, in every State having [illegible] civil freedom and political Liberty. Need I, in this age and before this audience, labor to show the usefulness, the influence, and the splendour of his profession from the earliest to the latest day of Grecian and Roman Liberty and Independence. Pass then to that country which first in modern times enjoyed the greatest civil blessings, from whom we derive our existence as a Nation, and the great principles and safeguard of human rights. Look at the early

domestic history of France, when she too had caught and yet preserved somewhat of the spirit of the Civil end Feudal Law. Who does not delight to dwell on the illustrious members of her “Order of Advocats” which was so long the glory of France and which for centuries filled all Europe with its renown; an order which on repeated occasions, vindicated the National Independence of France and so long led her free and bold Parliaments, to resist, restrict and even to humble her most powerful and haughty monarchs? As early as the reign of Tiberius, the city of Autun, was celebrated for its first Law School; over whose Orator Eumenius presided, as far back as the year 297. Similar flourishing; schools existed in the Cities of Toulouse, Boudreaux, Marseilles, Lyons, Treves, and Besancon. In the disputes respecting the Salique Law, in those between Pope Boniface and Philip Le Bel, in the famous contests between the League and the Fronde, and in later contests between the Parliaments of Paris and the Kings; the great Advocats were the leading spirits in behalf of the rights of their fellow men, and of the independence of their country. In our own history, it is well known, what class of men were the leaders in our revolution. Of the 53 members who composed that most illustrious body, the Continental Congress of 1775, 48 were lawyers. Burke no loss distinguished for deep insight into the causes of human conduct than for gorgeous eloquence, attributes the accurate knowledge of their rights and the bold spirit displayed in the proceedings and public papers of the Colonists, to the number of lawyers in the Colonies and their popularity with the people.

It is asked on what grounds is placed the claim of this profession to such eminence? Its studies consist of the great and fundamental principles of morality, justice and equity, not only of the “Lex Scripta,” but of the “Lex Nata.” They disclose the foundations of all legitimate government; they explain the rights of individuals; they teach us, how to form safeguards for their preservation & to rear upon the demonstrations of justice & reason the bulwarks of freedom. Its successful practice requires industry, fearlessness and zeal. Distinction in its ranks can be gained only by profound learning in its peculiar knowledge, extensive and various acquirements in Science and Literature, ability and eloquence in its advo- [illegible] Christian Ministry, no other profession so strikingly the remark beautifully expressed by Cicero, “Etenim in omnes artes, quæ humanitatem pertinent, habent quoddam commune vinculum, et quasi cognatione inter se continentur.” But the study and the profession of the Law, above all, is the nursery of a learned, firm and incorruptible judiciary; the boast of the modern Science and Art of Government, and incomparably the most valuable blessing enjoyed by free & civilized man. This Institution of our systems, it behooves a people to guard from every extraneous influence, and anxiously to preserve from the

innovations or attacks of ignorant and designing demagogues. That people, who shall weaken its foundation, the tenure of its offices, upon the condition of uprightness in the discharge of its duties, betrays a fearful symptom of relapse into a state of anarchy, barbarism and crime.

In all the requisitions of this profession, Wirt eminently excelled. If it lent dignity to him, he has reflected glory on it. His acquirements as a jurist were extensive and profound. As an advocate, he was skilful, powerful and eloquent before a jury; before an appellate court he was terse, lucid and logical. He signalized himself, particularly in his latter life, in many highly important and difficult cases, amongst the first lawyers of our age. One of the greatest of them has said of him, “he had the strength for the strongest.” In his practice, he was liberal, in his argument candid and fair. In his manners to his associates, to the Court, to jurors and to witnesses, he was always, polite and deferential.

In the “divine art” of Oratory, Wirt was unrivalled. He possessed all the natural qualities and all the acquired qualifications of a consummate Orator. He would have adorned Athens in the age of Perricles, and Demosthenes; and would have graced the Roman Forum in the days of Cicero and Thrasea. From the “Father of Spirits,” he received a genius of the highest order, brilliant and vigorous, capacious of knowledge; indued with a quick sensibility to the “Sublime and Beautiful” in external nature and in the world of mind that

The gifts of Heaven he had, thro’ life, sedulously improved. He never admitted that idle conceit that genius needs not the aid of labor, and the treasures of knowledge. He knew that the strength and bow of Philoctetes would be but of half their value, without the golden arrows of his quiver. As an orator he may be justly described in the sketch, he himself has so happily drawn of a celebrated Statesman of the Revolution. “He had studied the classics in the true spirit of criticism; his taste had that delicate touch, which seized with intuitive certainty, every beauty of an author, and his genius that native affinity, which combined them without an effort. Into every walk of literature and science he had carried this mind of exquisite selection, and brought it back to the business of life, crowned with every light of learning, and decked with every wreath which all the muses and all the graces could entwine. Nor did these light decorations constitute the whole value of its freight. He possessed a rich store of historical and political knowledge. His speech was so copious, so rich, so melifluous, set off with such bewitching cadence of voice, and such captivating grace of action, that while you listened to him, you desired to hear nothing superior, and indeed thought him perfect.”

I should not fully obey the resolution of the Lyceum were I to pass over in silence, the claim of Mr. Wirt to its applause as a Statesman. It has been stated, that he formed a part of the Cabinet during the administrations of Monroe and Adams. They both freely admitted his wisdom and ability as a Cabinet counselor. The opinions of great and patriotic public men not only disclose truth but give confidence and assurance to those, who already perceive it. In no country, are the opinions of such men, more to be valued our own. The peculiar structure of our political Institutions, both State and Federal, creates this value. It may be well therefore, to state the opinions of Wirt on some leading points. He maintained that the Congress of the Union, had the Constitutional power to protect and encourage Domestic Industry. He agreed with those politicians who believe, that power to construct works of Internal Improvement conducive to the common good of the Nation, is continually possessed by that body. These opinions of Mr. Wirt, of are more than ordinary value. In the former part of his life, he had denied the these powers to Congress. Upon mature deliberation, he changed his opinion. We may well prize the conclusions of such a mind, for the subjects are of the highest importance to our whole country. No Country on earth is susceptible of greater and more extensive works of Internal Improvement than this; and surely there is not one other, whose interest, whether we consider the sources of national wealth, or political Union, more obviously and imperiously requires them. They not only increase and insure the prosperity of a people, but they redound to their glory. They attest their taste, their wealth and their power. They shed on their national character the told radiance of a peaceful fame, far surpassing the glare of a military halo. The Roman Roads have given more celebrity to Roman policy, than the conquests of the Scipios’ and the Cæesars’. The canal of Languedoc more glory on France, than the achievements of Catinat and Turenne. The road the Simplon, an enduring monument of the better genius of Napoleon, defying the lofty heights and immense caverns of the Alps, and uniting two nations in the friendly relations of Commerce and individual intercourse, is a far more grateful subject of contemplation, than the fields of Marengo and Austerlitz. The Road of Yega subduing the “cloud capped” summits of the Andes, and passing in their porphery rocks amid jutting fountains, has immortalized the memory of the Inca, and conferred, during ages, innumerable benefits on their subjects, and on the descendants of their Spanish oppressors.

As a statesman no less than as a lawyer, Wirt sustained the vast and vital importance of the constitutional powers claimed for the Supreme Court of the United States. He considered that Department of our Government as the true balance, the bulwark, the glory, the ultimate safety of the Constitution and of this Nation.

As a writer, Wirt has established a flattering literary fame. His productions are standards, and are among the Classics of our Literature. His first work, the British Spy, has gone through nine editions. Of his later works, a competent critic thus speaks. "We look with gratitude and wonder on a gentleman of the bar in whom the severest labours and highest offices, and amplest emoluments and brightest laurels of his profession, have not stifled the generous ambition of letters; whose mind has been for a long term of years exposed to the atmosphere ot courts and the attritions of the world of business, without losing any of the finer poetical qualities, with which it was richly endowed.”

Having contemplated, with admiring eyes, the dazzling orb of Wirt’s public fame, let us now turn to his private character, which like the Moon, casts a sweet complacency over the mind of the beholder. It was as a man that Mr. Wirt was the delight of his friends and of his family. He possessed a heart tender, ardent in its affections and consistant in its friendships. He was devoid of guile, and in his youth, as well as in “the palmy state” of honored manhood, he was gentle and unpretending. He was remarkable for a playful spirit; cheerful without levity, dignified without austerity; “Super experientiam sapientiamque, etiam specie inanium validus.” In the various relations of life, he was an example of more than ordinary excellence. Particularly in the domestic virtues, his example was touching and impressive. It was in his Home, that his heart shed “its selectest influence.” Here the smile of affection ever played on his manly cheek. Here was its abiding place, for here his virtues were reflected from hearts, they themselves had inspired. He was the fondest of husband. There lives a widow, who, in the tears of a saddened yet enraptured rememberance, would bear witness, that his praise is unutterable.

“Hail wedded Love! mysterious law, by thee, Founded in reason loyal, just and pure, Relations dear, and all the charities Of Father, Son and Brother, first were known. Here Love his golden shafts employs, here Lights his constant lamp, and waves his purple wings, Reigns here and revels”!

With the Roman orator, it may be regretted, that a virtuous and accomplished citizen has not lived to form a son for the Republic. His daughters, under the guidings of his graceful mind, have richly repaid parental solicitudes. They have not wasted their time in the follies of fashion, tho’ allured by its syren songs. Even in the hours of amusement, their intelligence and sweetness have been mingled with the odours of the rose, the woodbine and the violet. They have caught from the flowers of spring, their language of poetry and love, anti have presented it to their sex in “Flora’s Dictionary,” a brillliant and beautiful offering of taste and imagination.

Such was Mr.Wirt in the domestic and social relations of life. But the crowning glory, as a man, is, he was a Christian. His earthly fame, like all sublunary things, must share their fate. The Records, as well as “the paths of glory,” tend “but to the grave.” That he was a Christian, has been recorded in that “Book of Life” whose annals shall survive the “Torch of Nature’s funeral pile,” and shall be read by immortal and angelic spirits, throughout ages which shall know no end.

Let it not be said that his belief was the result of early education and of habit rather than of reason and inquiry. It is here stated as fact in relation to this great man, that the convictions of his mature years, on which he publically avouched his belief in the Christian Revelation, where the conclusions of his powerful mind coolly and candidly applied to the various sources of evidence on which Christianity founds its claim to universal acceptance. It is true, he had been early taught its principles and duties, but his youth and early manhood were more than ordinarily subjected to the sophistry of that literary infidelity which preceded and prepared the way for the terrific and bloody march of the French revolution, and had become the fashion of the times in which he began his career. If the principles of his youth were shaken for a while, his strong and acute mind was never its victim. It never found in infidel theories a Pharos which throws over the waste of life and time, the blight and cheering light of Hope. It never perceived in its boasted reasoning, one argument, which it did not almost intuitively see to be fallacious. It was however, a subject of self-accusation, and regret, that he had permitted the business of his profession, great and pressing as it was, so long to delay a delibrate investigation of the evidence of the Christian religion, that he might rationally fulfill Its command “to be ready to give a reason for the hope” it inspires. He, at length, applied his mind invigorated by study and continual exercise, especially remarkable for its power in the investigation for testimony, to the interesting subject of Revelation. He found his hope to rest on the immovable basis of reason and fact. He then yielded the affections of his soul to the conclusions of its reason. He found it to be true that when the religion of the Redeemer is considered in reference to its spiritual power, its doctrines and its hopes, as well as to his external proofs, it indeed, “borrows splendour from all that is fair subordinates to itself all that is great, and sits enthroned on the riches of the universe.” Wirt became an avowed and zealous professor of this religion. His honoured name is gloriously associated with those of Paul and Luther, of Newton and Locke, of Pascal and Boerhavve of Fenelun and D’ Aguisseau, of Milton and Hale, of Pitt and Washington. Thus, in the language of Erskine, like himself a powerful advocate, “we find all that is great, or wise or splendid or illustrious amongst created beings, all the minds gifted beyond ordinary nature if not inspired by their universal Author

for the advancement and dignity of the world, tho’ divided by distant ages and by clashing opinions, distinguishing them from one another; yet joining as it were in one sublime chorus to celebrate the truths of Christianity, and laying on its holy altars the never fading fruits of their immortal wisdom.”

In the providence of Him, in whose hands are the issues of all events, the life of Wirt was approaching that hour, for which all hours are made.” While attending the Supreme Court in February last, he was suddenly attacked by an inflammatory disease, the effect of a slight exposure. For a day or two, no apprehension was felt tor his safety. The Messenger of death, alas! quickly announced his command, and all the efforts of man were unavailing. It soon became apparent to all around him, and equally so to himself, that his end was approaching. Of this event, in the moments of revival from the stupor induced from the disease, he spoke, not only in the calmness and resignation, but with the holy hope of the Christian; and, within a few hours of his death, with solemn emphasis, in a moment of clear and wonted intelligence, in the words of the first Martyr, he commended his soul to Him, who redeemed it. His religion was not that Philosophy, which left Voltaire to dying agonies and horrors; and “played the fool” around the death bed of Hume. His weeping wife and children are around him! In anguish, yet elevated by the scene they are witnessing, they watch, with the deepest emotions, the last, long-sinking breathings of that good man.

Hark! they whisper! angels say, Kindred spirit! come away! The world recedes! it disappears! Heaven opens on his eyes! his ears With sounds seraphic ring! Lend, lend your wings, I mount, I fly! O Grave, where is thy Victory? O Death, where is thy sting?!”

The soul of our illustrious Citizen hath ascended to that world, in which it had expatiated before it left this! There, indued with all energy, “which knows no decay,” and with an intelligence continually enlarging, it is studying the plans and purposes of Jehovah in his vast and eternal Kingdom; and with Sherlock and Bourdaleue, with Dwight and Mason, is celebrating his glorious perfections, in diviner strains of eloquence, than even they ever uttered upon earth! With them in the bright morning of an everlasting day, on the banks of the River of Life, it drinks from its streams the waters of Immortality! There, "with an eagle’s eye fixed on the Divine Luminary, it shall rise, on eagle’s wings with a perpetually invigorated flight, neater and nearer to the Sun of Righteousness forever!”

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 either to eat or to drink. But when he entered the house the old woman came to him and said, "Poor man, how faint you are; come and refresh yourself; eat and drink." "No," said the man, "I will not eat or drink." She, however, let him have no peace, and said, "If you will not eat, take one drink out of the glass; one is nothing." Then he let himself be persuaded, and drank. Shortly before two o'clock in the afternoon he went into the garden to the tan heap to wait for the raven. As he was standing there, his weariness all at once became so great that he could not struggle against it, and lay down for a short time, but he was determined not to go to sleep. Hardly, however, had he lain down, than his eyes closed of their own accord, and he fell asleep and slept so soundly that nothing in the world could have aroused him. At two o'clock the raven came driving up with four white horses, but she was already in deep grief and said, "I know he is asleep." And when she came into the garden, he was indeed lying there asleep on the heap of tan. She alighted from the carriage, went to him, shook him, and called him, but he did not awake. Next day about noon, the old woman came again and brought him food and drink, but he would not take any of it. But she let him have no rest and persuaded him until at length he again took one drink out of the glass. Towards two o'clock he went into the garden to the tan heap to wait for the raven, but all at once felt such a great weariness that his limbs would no longer support him. He could not stand upright, and was forced to lie down, and fell into a heavy sleep. When the raven drove up with four brown horses, she was already full of grief, and said, "I know he is asleep." She went to him, but there he lay sleeping, and there was no wakening him. Next day the old woman asked what was the meaning of this? He was neither eating nor drinking anything; did he want to die? He replied, "I am not allowed to eat or drink, and will not do so." She, however, set a dish with meat, and a glass with wine before him, and when he smelt it he could not resist, and swallowed a deep draught. When the time came, he went out into the garden to the heap of tan, and waited for the King's daughter; but he became still more


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 weary than on the day before, and lay down and slept as soundly as if he had been a stone. At two o'clock the raven came with four black horses, and the coachman and everything else was black. She was already in the deepest grief, and said, "I know that he is asleep and cannot deliver me." When she came to him, there he was lying fast asleep. She shook him and called him, but she could not waken him. Then she laid a loaf beside him, and after that a piece of meat, and thirdly a bottle of wine, and he might consume as much of all of them as he liked, but they would never grow less. After this she took a gold ring from her finger, and put it on his, and her name was graven on it. Lastly, she laid a letter beside him wherein was written what she had given him, and that none of the things would ever grow less; and in it was also written, "I see right well that thou wilt never be able to deliver me here, but if thou art still willing to deliver me, come to the golden castle of Stromberg; it lies in thy power, of that I am certain." And when she had given him all these things, she seated herself in her carriage, and drove to the golden castle of Stromberg.

When the man awoke and saw that he had slept, he was sad at heart, and said, "She has certainly driven by, and I have not set her free." Then he perceived the things which were lying beside him, and read the letter wherein was written how everything had happened. So he arose and went away, intending to go to the golden castle of Stromberg, but he did not know where it was. After he had walked about the world for a long time, he entered into a dark forest, and walked for fourteen days without stopping, and still could not find his way out. Then it was once more evening, and he was so tired that he lay down in a thicket and fell asleep. Next day he went onwards, and in the evening, as he was again about to lie down beneath some bushes, he heard such a howling and crying that he could not go to sleep. And when the time came when people light the candles, he saw one glimmering, and arose and went towards it. Then he came to a house which seemed very small, for in front of it a great giant was standing. He thought to himself,


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 "If I go in, and the giant sees me, it will very likely cost me my life."

At length he ventured it and went in. When the giant saw him, he said, "It is well that thou comest, for it is long since I have eaten; I will at once eat thee for my supper." "I'd rather you would leave that alone," said the man, "I do not like to be eaten; but if thou hast any desire to eat, I have quite enough here to satisfy thee." "If that be true," said the giant, "thou mayst be easy, I was only going to devour thee because I had nothing else." Then they went, and sat down to the table, and the man took out the bread, wine, and meat which would never come to an end. "This pleases me well," said the giant, and ate to his heart's content. Then the man said to him, "Canst thou tell me where the golden castle of Stromberg is?" The giant said, "I will look in my map; all the towns, and villages, and houses are to be found in it." He brought out the map which he had in the room and looked for the castle, but it was not to be found in it. "It's no matter!" said he, "I have some still larger maps in my cupboard upstairs, and we will look in them." But there, too, it was in vain. The man now wanted to go onwards, but the giant begged him to wait a few days longer until his brother, who had gone out to bring some provisions, came home. When the brother came home they inquired about the golden castle of Stromberg. He replied, "When I have eaten and have had enough, I will look in the map." Then he went with them up to his chamber, and they searched in his map, but could not find it. Then he brought out still older maps, and they never rested until they found the golden castle of Stromberg, but it was many thousand miles away. "How am I to get there?" asked the man. The giant said, "I have two hours' time, during which I will carry you into the neighbourhood, but after that I must be at home to suckle the child that we have." So the giant carried the man to about a hundred leagues from the castle, and said, "Thou canst very well walk the rest of the way alone." And he turned back, but the man went onwards day and night, until at length he came to the golden castle of Stromberg. It stood on a


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 glass-mountain, and the bewitched maiden drove in her carriage round the castle, and then went inside it. He rejoiced when he saw her and wanted to climb up to her, but when he began to do so he always slipped down the glass again. And when he saw that he could not reach her, he was filled with trouble, and said to himself, "I will stay down here below, and wait for her." So he built himself a hut and stayed in it for a whole year, and every day saw the King's daughter driving about above, but never could go to her. Then one day he saw from his hut three robbers who were beating each other, and cried to them, "God be with ye!" They stopped when they heard the cry, but as they saw no one, they once more began to beat each other, and that too most dangerously. So he again cried, "God be with ye." Again they stopped, looked round about, but as they saw no one they went on beating each other. Then he cried for the third time, "God be with ye," and thought, "I must see what these three are about," and went thither and asked why they were beating each other so furiously. One of them said that he had found a stick, and that when he struck a door with it, that door would spring open. The next said that he had found a mantle, and that whenever he put it on, he was invisible, but the third said he had found a horse on which a man could ride everywhere, even up the glass-mountain. And now they did not know whether they ought to have these things in common, or whether they ought to divide them. Then the man said, "I will give you something in exchange for these three things. Money indeed have I not, but I have other things of more value; but first I must try yours to see if you have told the truth." Then they put him on the horse, threw the mantle round him, and gave him the stick in his hand, and when he had all these things they were no longer able to see him. So he gave them some vigorous blows and cried, "Now, vagabonds, you have got what you deserve: are you satisfied?" And he rode up the glass-mountain, but when he came in front of the castle at the top, it was shut. Then he struck the door with his stick, and it sprang open immediately. He went in and ascended the stairs until he came to the hall where the maiden was sitting


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 with a golden cup full of wine before her. She, however, could not see him because he had the mantle on. And when he came up to her, he drew from his finger the ring which she had given him, and threw it into the cup so that it rang. Then she cried, "That is my ring, so the man who is to deliver me must be here." They searched the whole castle and did not find him, but he had gone out, and had seated himself on the horse and thrown off the mantle. When they came to the door, she saw him and cried aloud in her delight. Then he alighted and took the King's daughter in his arms, but she kissed him and said, "Now hast thou set me free, and to-morrow we will celebrate our wedding."

94.—THE PEASANT'S WISE DAUGHTER.

was once a poor peasant who had no land, but only a small house, and one daughter. Then said the daughter, "We ought to ask our lord the King for a bit of newly-cleared land." When the King heard of their poverty, he presented them with a bit of land, which she and her father dug up, and intended to sow with a little corn and grain of that kind. When they had dug nearly the whole of the field, they found in the earth a mortar made of pure gold. "Listen," said the father to the girl, "as our lord the King has been so gracious and presented us with the field, we ought to give him this mortar in return for it." The daughter, however, would not consent to this, and said, "Father, if we have the mortar without having the pestle as well, we shall have to get the pestle, so you had much better say nothing about it." He would, however, not obey her, but took the mortar and carried it to the King, said that he had found it in the cleared land, and asked if he would accept it as a present. The King took the mortar, and asked if he had found nothing besides that? "No," answered the countryman. Then the King said that he must now bring him the pestle. The peasant


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to thee, that bliss farewell, With thy fair form my fancy wove; No more to meads and flowers I tell In murmuring strains my ardent love.

Yet if thy image still could float Before my fancy's raptured sight Apart from his, I still could dote On that dear form, so fair, so bright.

To thee I ne'er have breath'd my soul; My passion ne'er to thee could tell; So strong the tie, such firm control Had bound me in thy beauty's spell.

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84 By looks alone our hearts communed. Oh! when did lips such language know? By these I read a heart attuned To mine, beneath thy bosom's snow.

Yet can't I bear that racking thought That bosom by another pressed — With anguish wild the image fraught, By thy embrace another blessed

Farewell to thee! that bliss farewell, With thy fair form my fancy wove; No more to meads and flowers I tell In murmuring tones my ardent love.

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far from the land where Shannon's blue waters 'Mid daisy-clad valleys so mightily roll; Where balm-breathing meadows and bright bubbling streamlets Delight the rapt vision, enamour the soul; Yet, oh! my loved Erin, dear land of my fathers! From my breast thy fond image shall never depart— Still nearest, still dearest, in joy and in sorrow, Dear land of my childhood, dear land of my heart!

Though still with thy sorrows the breezes are laden, Though thy glory and freedom should never return, Though the song of thy praise ne'er a hand should awaken. And no soldier to right thee in battle should burn;

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 the two, who were both with child, were so terrified that that very night two boys were born who were not made like men but apes, and they ran into the woods, and from them sprang the race of apes.

148.—THE LORD'S ANIMALS AND THE DEVIL'S.

The Lord God had created all animals, and had chosen out the wolf to be his dog, but he had forgotten the goat. Then the Devil made ready and began to create also, and created goats with fine long tails. Now when they went to pasture, they generally remained caught in the hedges by their tails, then the Devil had to go there and disentangle them, with a great deal of trouble. This enraged him at last, and he went and bit off the tail of every goat, as may be seen to this day by the stump. Then he let them go to pasture alone, but it came to pass that the Lord God perceived how at one time they gnawed away at a fruitful tree, at another injured the noble vines, or destroyed other tender plants. This distressed him, so that in his goodness and mercy he summoned his wolves, who soon tore in pieces the goats that went there. When the devil observed this, he went before the Lord and said, "Thy creatures have destroyed mine." The Lord answered, "Why didst thou create things to do harm?" The Devil said, "I was compelled to do it: inasmuch as my thoughts run on evil, what I create can have no other nature, and thou must pay me heavy damages." "I will pay thee as soon as the oak leaves fall; come then, thy money will then be ready counted out." When the oak-leaves had fallen, the Devil came and demanded what was due to him. But the Lord said, "In the church of Constantinople stands a tall oak-tree which still has all its leaves." With raging and curses, the Devil departed, and went to seek the oak, wandered in the wilderness for six months before he found it, and when he returned, all the oaks had in the meantime covered themselves again with green leaves. Then he had to forfeit his indemnity, and


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! await, dispel thy vain alarm: Sweet nymph! await, no foe designs thee harm; 'Tis thus, with beating heart and rapid pace, The lamb avoids the cruel wolfs embrace, The deer the lion, the dove the bird of Jove; Thus flies, each creature all who hostile prove; Of my pursuit the moving cause is love. How wretched I at each retreating bound, Lest Daphne tripping touch the unworthy ground; Or, I the cause, whilst flying, faint with fear. Thy tender limbs the cruel thorns tear. The way is rugged where thy footsteps lie, Restrain thy speed, fair nymph, less wildly fly. And my pursuit arrested by thy stay. My name and rank thy questions shall repay.

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 Mount Gambier. He remained at that pretty town for twelve years, and gave the greatest satisfaction to his employer by the skilful way in which he pursued his business. He had in that period reaped a knowledge of colonial brewing, and was now ready to embark on an enterprise of his own.

He started business for himself in Albany in 1869, but found many difficulties barring the door to success. Leaving there, he entered Perth in 1872, and established the Stanley Brewing Company, with Mr. J. M. Ferguson as his partner—a tolerably successful venture. The formation of the Swan Brewery was Mr. Mumme's next achievement, and again Mr. Ferguson was his partner. For fourteen years he was manager and during that period the growth of the business was enormous and rapid. Partnership, however, was dissolved, and Mr. Mumme floated the Stanley Brewing Company, Limited. He purchased the Stanley Brewery from John Johns, who had taken it over on the expiry of Harwood and Smith's lease. The capital obtained was £6,500, made up of £1 shares. This company has been exceptionally successful, and the directors are T. F. Quinlan, J P.; H. Sherwood, and J. C. Foster.

Mr. Mumme is social, and esteemed by all who know him. He is a keen sportsman, having a perfect enthusiasm for yachting. He is a Freemason, and a member of Tattersall's Club. The characteristic temperament of his nationality, namely, the slow response to stimuli, is not his. He has directly and indirectly been a large employer of labour in Perth. His years of toil are rewarded, and he may devote himself to the higher ideal of altruism.

CAPTAIN OATES, M.L.A.

ARLYLE states that it is perhaps questionable whether, from a psychological standpoint, much prescient insight is to be gained of character from the chronicle of genealogy and birth. Though in some phenomena the beginning is the most notable moment, yet with man no social science may asseverate a special eventuation of character and power. Notwithstanding this, however, the great mass of people exhibit an eager, and perhaps not altogether idle, curiosity in the birth, ancestry, and especially the early peculiarities of a public man.

Nor is the mining magnate exempt from such curiosity. The success that has attended Captain Oates on Western Australian goldfields should stimulate a wholesome interest in his career. In all mining communities there are men who by a lucky turn of the pick unearth a fortune, but their numbers are small, and the majority who rise to positions of affluence do so by their own inflexibility. To the latter class the subject of our sketch belongs. Like innumerable mining captains, Captain Oates hails from Cornwall, his birthplace being the little town of St. Just, Land's End. His father (Mr. Richard Oates), a mathematician, known throughout the West of England, died when William was only a few years old, and left a wife and family in such poor circumstances that William was unable to attend school. He made his first entry into the serious affairs of life in 1853; when eleven years of age he began to work in Cornish mines. After years of toil he graduated from boys' work to the position of a working manager—a sweet reward for laborious striving. The Hull Owles Mine (tin and copper) where he was engaged, lay among the sombre cliffs, and its operations were conducted on the most extensive scale, necessitating the employment of sometimes 300 and sometimes 500 men. The varying price of tin was in a great measure responsible for the different number of miners employed, a fall in price of 50 per cent. being frequent. For instance, on one occasion tin fell within three months from £100 to £30 per ton. Captain Oates remained with this company for over thirty years, for fifteen of which he was the working manager. Prior to obtaining that position he had studied in spare moments chemistry and different branches of mining engineering at the School of Mines, and, although he never submitted himself for examination in the theory, he was acknowledged to be the equal, if not the superior, of many who had passed through the curriculum of the school.

His attention was at last directed towards Australia by Mr. George Lansell, the Bendigo quartz king. During a visit to Cornwall, Mr. Lansell met the Captain, and conversation naturally turned on the mines of the great Southern Hemisphere. Captain Oates determined to try his fortune in the south land. To an enterprising Cornishman, a change to the other side of the world is nothing, and, resigning his position in Cornwall, Captain Oates sailed for Australia in 1884. He proceeded to Bendigo to examine the gold mines and their different methods of working. Only familiar with tin and copper mines, he wisely decided to obtain a practical experience before attempting the management of a gold mine. Curious to say, on arriving in Bendigo, he found in the Inspector

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 218 in his rage he put out the eyes of all the remaining goats, and put his own in instead.

This is why all goats have devil's eyes, and their tails bitten off, and why he likes to assume their shape.

149.—THE BEAM.

was once an enchanter who was standing in the midst of a great crowd of people performing his wonders. He had a cock brought in, which lifted a heavy beam and carried it as if it were as light as a feather. But a girl was present who had just found a bit of four-leaved clover, and had thus become so wise that no deception could stand out against her, and she saw that the beam was nothing but a straw. So she cried, "You people, do you not see that it is a straw that the cock is carrying, and no beam?" Immediately the enchantment vanished, and the people saw what it was, and drove the magician away in shame and disgrace. He, however, full of inward anger, said, "I will soon revenge myself?"

After some time the girl's wedding-day came, and she was decked out, and went in a great procession over the fields to the place where the church was. All at once she came to a stream which was very much swollen, and there was no bridge and no plank to cross it. Then the bride nimbly took her clothes up, and wanted to wade through it. And just as she was thus standing in the water, a man, and it was the enchanter, cried mockingly close beside her, "Aha! Where are thine eyes that thou takest that for water?" Then her eyes were opened, and she saw that she was standing with her clothes lifted up in the middle of a field that was blue with the flowers of blue flax. Then all the people saw it likewise, and chased her away with ridicule and laughter.


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 150.—THE OLD BEGGAR-WOMAN.

was once an old woman, but thou hast surely seen an old woman go a-begging before now? This woman begged likewise, and when she got anything she said, "May God reward you." The beggar-woman came to a door, and there by the fire a friendly rogue of a boy was standing warming himself. The boy said kindly to the poor old woman as she was standing shivering thus by the door, "Come, old mother, and warm yourself." She came in, but stood too near the fire, so that her old rags began to burn, and she was not aware of it. The boy stood and saw that, but he ought to have put the flames out. Is it not true that he ought to have put them out? And if he had not any water, then should he have wept all the water in his body out of his eyes, and that would have supplied two pretty streams with which to extinguish them.

151.—THE THREE SLUGGARDS.

King had three sons who were all equally dear to him, and he did not know which of them to appoint as his successor after his own death. When the time came when he was about to die, he summoned them to his bedside and said, "Dear children, I have been thinking of something which I will declare unto you; whichsoever of you is the laziest shall have the kingdom." The eldest said, "Then, father, the kingdom is mine, for I am so idle that if I lie down to rest, and a drop falls in my eye, I will not open it that I may sleep." The second said, "Father, the kingdom belongs to me, for I am so idle that when I am sitting by the fire warming myself, I would rather let my heel be burnt off than draw back my leg." The third said, "Father, the kingdom is mine, for I am so idle that if I were going to be hanged, and had the rope already round my neck, and


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 any one put a sharp knife into my hand with which I might cut the rope, I would rather let myself be hanged than raise my hand to the rope." When the father heard that, he said, "Thou hast carried it the farthest, and shalt be King."

151*.—THE TWELVE IDLE SERVANTS.

servants who had done nothing all the day would not exert themselves at night either, but laid themselves on the grass and boasted of their idleness. The first said, "What is your laziness to me, I have to concern myself about mine own? The care of my body is my principal work, I eat not a little and drink still more. When I have had four meals, I fast a short time until I feel hunger again, and that suits me best. To rise betimes is not for me; when it is getting near mid-day, I already seek out a resting-place for myself. If the master call, I do exactly as if I had not heard him, and if he call for the second time, I wait awhile before I get up, and go to him very slowly. In this way life is endurable." The second said, "I have a horse to look after, but I leave the bit in his mouth, and if I do not want to do it, I give him no food, and I say he has had it already. I, however, lay myself in the oat-chest and sleep for four hours. After this I stretch out one foot and move it a couple of times over the horse's body, and then he is combed and cleaned. Who is going to make a great business of that? Nevertheless service is too toilsome for me." The third said, "Why plague oneself with work? Nothing comes of it! I laid myself in the sun, and fell asleep. It began to rain a little, but why should I get up? I let it rain on in God's name. At last came a splashing shower, so heavy indeed, that it pulled the hair out of my head and washed it away, and I got a hole in the skull; I put a plaster on it, and then it was all right. I have already had several injuries of that kind." The fourth said, "If I am to undertake a piece of work,


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 I first loiter about for an hour that I may save up my strength. After that I begin quite slowly, and ask if no one is there who could help me. Then I let him do the chief of the work, and in reality only look on; but that also is still too much for me."

The fifth said, "What does that matter? Just think, I am to take away the manure from the horse's stable, and load the cart with it. I let it go on slowly, and if I have taken anything on the fork, I only half-raise it up, and then I rest just a quarter of an hour until I quite throw it in. It is enough and to spare if I take out a cartful in the day. I have no fancy for killing myself with work."

The sixth said, "Shame on ye; I am afraid of no work, but I lie down for three weeks, and never once take my clothes off. What is the use of buckling your shoes on? For aught I care they may fall off my feet, it is no matter. If I am going up some steps, I drag one foot slowly after the other on to the first step, and then I count the rest of them that I may know where I must rest.

The seventh said, "That will not do with me; my master looks after my work, only he is not at home the whole day. But I neglect nothing, I run as fast as it is possible to do when one crawls. If I am to get on, four sturdy men must push me with all their might. I came where six men were lying sleeping on a bed beside each other. I lay down by them and slept too. There was no wakening me again, and when they wanted to have me home, they had to carry me." The eighth said, "I see plainly that I am the only active fellow; if a stone lie before me, I do not give myself the trouble to raise my legs and step over it. I lay myself down on the ground, and if I am wet and covered with mud and dirt, I stay lying until the sun has dried me again. At the very most, I only turn myself so that it can shine on me." The ninth said, "That is the right way! To-day the bread was before me, but I was too idle to take it, and nearly died of hunger! Moreover a jug stood by it, but it was so big and heavy that I did not like to lift it up, and preferred bearing thirst. Just to turn myself round was too much for me, I remained lying like a log the whole


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 day." The tenth said, "Laziness has brought misfortune on me, a broken leg and swollen calf. Three of us were lying in the road, and I had my legs stretched out. Some one came with a cart, and the wheels went over me. I might indeed have drawn my legs back, but I did not hear the cart coming, for the midges were humming about my ears, and creeping in at my nose and out again at my mouth; who can take the trouble to drive the vermin away?"

The eleventh said, "I gave up my place yesterday. I had no fancy for carrying the heavy books to my master any longer or fetching them away again. There was no end of it all day long. But to tell the truth, he gave me my dismissal, and would not keep me any longer, for his clothes, which I had left lying in the dust, were all moth-eaten, and I am very glad of it."

The twelfth said, "To-day I had to drive the cart into the country, and made myself a bed of straw on it, and had a good sleep. The reins slipped out of my hand, and when I awoke, the horse had nearly torn itself loose, the harness was gone, the strap which fastened the horse to the shafts was gone, and so were the collar, the bridle and bit. Some one had come by, who had carried all off. Besides this, the cart had got into a quagmire and stuck fast. I left it standing, and stretched myself on the straw again. At last the master came himself, and pushed the cart out, and if he had not come I should not be lying here but there, and sleeping in full tranquillity."

152.—THE SHEPHERD BOY.

was once on a time a shepherd boy whose fame spread far and wide because of the wise answers which he gave to every question. The King of the country heard of it likewise, but did not believe it, and sent for the boy. Then he said to him, "If thou canst give me an answer to three questions which I will ask thee, I will


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 look on thee as my own child, and thou shalt dwell with me in my royal palace." The boy said, "What are the three questions?" The King said, "The first is, how many drops of water are there in the ocean?" The shepherd boy answered, "Lord King, if you will have all the rivers on earth dammed up so that not a single drop runs from them into the sea until I have counted it, I will tell you how many drops there are in the sea." The King said, "The next question is, how many stars are there in the sky?" The shepherd boy said, "Give me a great sheet of white paper," and then he made so many fine points on it with a pen that they could scarcely be seen, and it was all but impossible to count them; any one who looked at them would have lost his sight. Then he said, "There are as many stars in the sky as there are points on the paper; just count them." But no one was able to do it. The King said, "The third question is, how many seconds of time are there in eternity?" Then said the shepherd boy, "In Lower Pomerania is the Diamond Mountain, which is two miles and a half high, two miles and a half wide, and two miles and a half in depth; every hundred years a little bird comes and sharpens its beak on it, and when the whole mountain is worn away by this, then the first second of eternity will be over."

The King said, "Thou hast answered the three questions like a wise man, and shalt henceforth dwell with me in my royal palace, and I will regard thee as my own child."

153.—THE STAR-MONEY.

was once on a time a little girl whose father and mother were dead, and she was so poor that she no longer had any little room to live in, or bed to sleep in, and at last she had nothing else but the clothes she was wearing and a little bit of bread in her hand which some charitable soul had given her. She was, however, good and pious. And as she was thus forsaken by all the world,


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 she went forth into the open country, trusting in the good God. Then a poor man met her, who said, "Ah, give me something to eat, I am so hungry!" She reached him the whole of her piece of bread, and said, "May God bless it to thy use," and went onwards. Then came a child who moaned and said, "My head is so cold, give me something to cover it with." So she took off her hood and gave it to him; and when she had walked a little farther, she met another child who had no jacket and was frozen with cold. Then she gave it her own; and a little farther on one begged for a frock, and she gave away that also. At length she got into a forest and it had already become dark, and there came yet another child, and asked for a little shirt, and the good little girl thought to herself, "It is a dark night and no one sees thee, thou canst very well give thy little shirt away," and took it off, and gave away that also. And as she so stood, and had not one single thing left, suddenly some stars from heaven fell down, and they were nothing else but hard smooth pieces of money, and although she had just given her little shirt away, she had a new one which was of the very finest linen. Then she gathered together the money into this, and was rich all the days of her life.

154.—THE STOLEN FARTHINGS.

was one day sitting at dinner with his wife and his children, and a good friend who had come on a visit was with them. And as they thus sat, and it was striking twelve o'clock, the stranger saw the door open, and a very pale child dressed in snow-white clothes came in. It did not look around, and it did not speak; but went straight into the next room. Soon afterwards it came back, and went out at the door again in the same quiet manner. On the second and on the third day, it came also exactly in the same way. At last the stranger asked the father to whom the beautiful child that went


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 into the next room every day at noon belonged?" I have never seen it," said he, neither did he know to whom it could belong. The next day when it again- came, the stranger pointed it out to the father, who however did not see it, and the mother and the children also all saw nothing. On this the stranger got up, went to the room door, opened it a little, and peeped in. Then he saw the child sitting on the ground, and digging and seeking about industriously amongst the crevices between the boards of the floor, but when it saw the stranger, it disappeared. He now told what he had seen and described the child exactly, and the mother recognized it, and said, "Ah, it is my dear child who died a month ago." They took up the boards and found two farthings which the child had once received from its mother that it might give them to a poor man; it, however, had thought, "Thou canst buy thyself a biscuit for that," and had kept the farthings, and hidden them in the openings between the boards; and therefore it had had no rest in its grave, and had come every day at noon to seek for these far-things. The parents gave the money at once to a poor man, and after that the child was never seen again.

155.—BRIDES ON THEIR TRIAL.

There was once a young shepherd who wished much to marry, and was acquainted with three sisters who were all equally pretty, so that it was difficult to him to make a choice, and he could not decide to give the preference to any one of them. Then he asked his mother for advice, and she said, "Invite all three, and set some cheese before them, and watch how they eat it." The youth did so; the first, however, swallowed the cheese with the rind on; the second hastily cut the rind off the cheese, but she cut it so quickly that she left much good cheese with it, and threw that away also; the third peeled the rind off carefully, and cut neither too much nor too little. The


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 shepherd told all this to his mother, who said, "Take the third for thy wife." This he did, and lived contentedly and happily with her.

156.—ODDS AND ENDS.

was once on a time a maiden who was pretty, but idle and negligent. When she had to spin she was so out of temper that if there was a little knot in the flax, she at once pulled out a whole heap of it, and strewed it about on the ground beside her. Now she had a servant who was industrious, and gathered together the bits of flax which were thrown away, cleaned them, span them fine, and had a beautiful gown made out of them for herself. A young man had wooed the lazy girl, and the wedding was to take place. On the eve of the wedding, the industrious one was dancing merrily about in her pretty dress, and the bride said,—

"Ah, how that girl does jump about, dressed in my odds and ends."

The bridegroom heard that, and asked the bride what she meant by it? Then she told him that the girl was wearing a dress make of the flax which she had thrown away. When the bridegroom heard that, and saw how idle she was, and how industrious the poor girl was, he gave her up and went to the other, and chose her as his wife.

157.—THE SPARROW AND HIS FOUR CHILDREN.

A had four young ones in a swallow's nest. When they were fledged, some naughty boys pulled out the nest, but fortunately all the birds got safely away in the high wind. Then the old bird was grieved that as his


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not required to restore any land which he had held when with the king (Fœdera, i. 474).

Gruffydd was not long contented as a vassal of the prince of Wales. In 1274 Llewelyn upbraided him for his deceit and disloyalty, took from him part of his land, and kept his eldest son Owain at his court (Brut y Tywysogion, s. a.) In 1276 Gruffydd and Owain joined with Davydd, Llewelyn's brother [see Davydd III (DNB00), d. 1283], in a conspiracy against Llewelyn (Fœdera, i. 532). But the prince found out the plot, and Owain was forced to confess before the Bishop of Bangor. Llewelyn sent five of his nobles to Gruffydd, who at first received them well at Pool Castle, his chief residence. But he soon treacherously shut them up in prison and prepared his castle for a siege. Llewelyn now overran Powys; but the king's campaign in 1277 compelled him to relinquish his conquests, and Gruffydd was again restored. Henceforth Gruffydd remained faithful to King Edward. Fresh lawsuits broke out between him and Llewelyn, which were soon referred to the sword. The fall of Llewelyn left him no longer any temptation to do more than play the part of an English baron. He secured a royal charter in 1282 for a weekly market at his town of Welshpool, which had been previously suppressed as likely to injure the king's town of Montgomery. In 1283 he was summoned to the council which tried his former ally, Davydd, at Shrewsbury (Fœdera, i. 630).

He died some time after 27 Feb. 1286. His career as well as that of his father illustrates very remarkably the process of transition by which Welsh princes became English barons.

Gruffydd had married Hawise, daughter of John L'Estrange of Knockin, some time before 1242. He left by her a numerous family, among whom he distributed his estates by a deed or will, preserved in the Welsh Roll of 6 Edward I ('Rotuli Walliæ,' privately printed by Sir T. Phillips). Owain the eldest had Cyveiliog and Arwystli. Lesser portions were provided for his other sons, Llewelyn, Sion, Gwilym, Davydd, and Gruffydd. He also left a daughter Margaret, who married Fulk Fitzwarren of Whittington (Calendarium Genealogicum, p. 258). Hawise, his wife, died in 1310. His heir, Owain of Pool, as he was generally called, died in 1293, leaving his son and heir, Gruffydd, only two years old. On the latter's death, before he came of age, Powys went to his sister, Hawise Gadarn, who in 1309 married John Charlton [q. v.], first lord Charlton of Powys.

[Brut y Tywysogion; Annales Cambriæ; Matthew Paris, Hist. Major; Shirley's Royal Letters, all in Rolls Ser.; Rymer's Fœdera, vol. i. Record ed.; Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum et Patentium, Rotuli Chartarum, Rotuli de Liberate, Record editions. The facts are all collected in Bridgeman's Princes of Upper Powys in the Montgomeryshire Collections of the Powysland Club, i. 22-50, 112-68; Eyton's Shropshire, especially vol. vii.]  GRUFFYDD LLEWELYN (d. 1063), king of the Welsh, was the son of Llewelyn, the son of Seisyll. His father, who, according to a late authority, had married Angharad, daughter of Maredudd, son of Owain, a descendant of Hywel Dda (Gwentian Brut, sub an. 994), had been a vigorous ruler over Gwynedd. On Llewelyn's death in 1023 the old line of North Welsh kings had been restored in the person of Iago, son of Idwal. In 1039 Gruffydd defeated and slew Iago, and made himself king over Gwynedd, In the same year he led a destructive foray against England, and won a battle at Crossford (Rhyd y Groes) on the Severn, in which Eadwine, brother of the great Mercian earl Leofric, and many other good men were slain. But his main energies were directed towards the subjection of the rival Welsh princes. In 1039 he drove out Hywel, son of Edwin, from the throne of Deheubarth after a battle at Llanbadarn in northern Ceredigion. Howel sought the support of the Irish Norsemen, and made a long series of attempts to win back his territories. In 1041 Gruffydd won another victory over him at Pencader, halfway between Carmarthen and Lampeter. Here he captured Hywel's wife, and took her as his concubine; 'this was the only one of Gruffydd's actions,' says the Gwentian chronicler, 'which displeased the wise.' Next year Hywel's Danish allies triumphed at Pwll Dyvach. Gruffydd was now for a time the prisoner of the 'black pagans' of Dublin, who, if the 'Gwentian Brut' could be trusted, endeavoured to restore Cynan, son of Idwal, to the North Welsh throne. But Gruffydd soon regained his power. In 1044 Howel again appeared with a fleet from Ireland, and entered the mouth of the Towy. Gruffydd defeated him with vast slaughter at Abertowy (not Aberteivi as Freeman, 'Norman Conquest,' ii. 56, says), and the death of Hywel in the battle secured for Gruffydd the permanent possession of Deheubarth.

In 1045 Gruffydd and Rhys, sons of Rhydderch, whom the sons of Edwin had expelled from the throne of Deheubarth, stirred up sedition against Gruffydd [see ]. Gruffydd, who had prudently Rh


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 sons had all gone out into the world, he had not first warned them of every kind of danger, and given them good instruction how to deal with each. In the autumn a great many sparrows assembled together in a wheat-field, and there the old bird met his four children again, and full of joy took them home with him. "Ah, my dear sons, what pain I have been in about you all through the summer, because you got away in the wind without my teaching; listen to my words, obey your father, and be well on your guard. Little birds have to encounter great dangers!" And then he asked the eldest where he had spent the summer, and how he had supported himself? "I stayed in the gardens, and looked for caterpillars and small worms, until the cherries got ripe." "Ah, my son," said the father, "tit-bits are not bad, but there is great risk about them; on that account take great care of thyself henceforth, and particularly when people are going about the gardens who carry long green poles which are hollow inside and have a little hole at the top." "Yes, father, but what if a little green leaf is stuck over the hole with wax?" said the son. "Where hast thou seen that?" "In a merchant's garden," said the youngster. "Oh, my son, merchant folks are quick folks," said the father. "If thou hast been among the children of the world, thou hast learned worldly shiftiness enough, only see that thou usest it well, and do not be too confident." After this he asked the next, "Where hast thou passed thy time?" "At court," said the son. "Sparrows and silly little birds are of no use in that place—there one finds much gold, velvet, silk, armour, harnesses, sparrow-hawks, screech-owls and hen-harriers; keep to the horses' stable where they winnow oats, or thresh, and then fortune may give thee thy daily grain of corn in peace." "Yes, father," said the son, "but when the stable-boys make traps and fix their gins and snares in the straw, many a one is caught fast." "Where hast thou seen that?" said the old bird. "At court, among the stable-boys." "Oh, my son, court boys are bad boys! If thou hast been to court and among the lords, and hast left no feathers there, thou hast learnt a fair amount, and wilt know very well how to go about the world, but


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 look around thee and above thee, for the wolves devour the wisest dogs." The father examined the third also: "Where didst thou seek thy safety?" "I have broken up tubs and ropes on the cart-roads and highways, and sometimes met with a grain of corn or barley." "That is indeed dainty fare," said the father, "but take care what thou art about and look carefully around, especially when thou seest any one stooping and about to pick up a stone, there is not much time to stay then." "That is true," said the son, "but what if any one should carry a bit of rock, or ore, ready beforehand in his breast or pocket?" "Where hast thou seen that?" "Among the mountaineers, dear father; when they go out, they generally take little bits of ore with them." "Mountain folks are working folks, and clever folks. If thou hast been among mountain lads, thou hast seen and learnt something, but when thou goest thither beware, for many a sparrow has been brought to a bad end by a mountain boy." At length the father came to the youngest son: "Thou, my dear chirping nestling, wert always the silliest and weakest; stay with me, the world has many rough, wicked birds which have crooked beaks and long claws, and lie in wait for poor little birds and swallow them. Keep with those of thine own kind, and pick up little spiders and caterpillars from the trees, or the house, and then thou wilt live long in peace." "My dear father, he who feeds himself without injury to other people fares well, and no sparrow-hawk, eagle, or kite will hurt him if he specially commits himself and his lawful food, evening and morning, faithfully to God, who is the Creator and Preserver of all forest and village birds, who likewise heareth the cry and prayer of the young ravens, for no sparrow or wren ever falls to the ground except by his will." "Where hast thou learnt this?" The son answered, "When the great blast of wind tore me away from thee I came to a church, and there during the summer I have picked up the flies and spiders from the windows, and heard this discourse preached. The Father of all sparrows fed me all the summer through, and kept me from all mischance and from ferocious birds."

"In sooth, my dear son, if thou takest refuge in the churches and helpest to clear away spiders and buzzing


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 of Mines (Mr.Nicholas) a distant relative, and from that gentleman he obtained much assistance in his investigations. For over twelve months he travelled through the principal mining centres of Victoria, and spared neither time nor trouble to master the details of quartz mining. He had much to learn, and much to unlearn.

Eventually he took control of a tin mine at Euriowie, on the Barrier (N.S.W.), where he remained from 1885 until 1888. Then he removed to Adelaide, and a few months later migrated to Western Australia. This step was taken at the instance of the directors of the Fraser's South Mine, Southern Cross, the management of which Captain Oates accepted. The difficulties of a mining manager in those days were innumerable. Captain Oates, knowing that there was a dearth of skilled labour on the fields, brought five Victorian miners with him, and got his first lesson of the cost of living on a dry field in an account for £65 for 100 gallons of water for the men to drink. There were no railways, and all the goods had to be conveyed by road, 210 miles from York. The affairs at the mines were very unsatisfactory, the weather trying, and the water salt and scarce.

An opportunity soon came for proving the value of his early studies. On the Fraser Mine, adjoining, there were some 100 tons of stuff to be crushed, and the whole field was on the tiptoe of expectation to hear the result. Nothing was heard of the crushing for a few days, and then one of the directors, Mr. G. T..Simpson, showed Captain Oates a piece of black stuff—the result of the crushing. Whether the stuff contained gold or not the manager could not say, and, in fact, everyone on the field seemed to be at a loss to know how to treat it. Captain Oates' knowledge of chemistry was put to a test, and, to the surprise of every one present, he treated the stuff, and from a small piece obtained a nice button of pure gold. Although he did not know what the stuff consisted of when he undertook to treat it, he soon ascertained that its peculiar appearance was caused by the extraordinary amalgamating power of the water, which amalgamated all refuse from the machinery with the gold. This was the first gold smelted on the fields, and Captain Oates can claim to be the pioneer in this important branch of the mining industry.

As time went on, difficulties seemed to increase. The Fraser Company, encouraged by the result obtained by Captain Oates, made preparations for continuing the crushing of the remainder of their ore at grass, but after the machinery had run for about sixty hours the boiler collapsed. Captain Oates was sent for, and examining the broken plates, found that they had really succumbed to the action of the salt in the water. Some idea may be obtained of the saline quality of the water used, when it is stated that after the accident four large dray loads of salt were obtained from the plates. The difficulty of transit prevented new plates being obtained, and work at the mine was at a stand-still. This stoppage had the effect of bringing the shares down from 20s. to 9d. and 1s. each, and the prospects were very dreary. At about this time Captain Oates was compelled to visit Perth in the interest of the Fraser South Mine, and whilst in the metropolis was pressed to accept the management of the Fraser Mine. He consented to do so, and returning to Southern Cross got things into working order again. He assumed control on the 1st June, 1890, and on the 24th had the battery going. Work progressed satisfactorily, and in November the first dividend paid by any gold mine in Western Australia was declared. The dividend of sixpence on 50,000 shares amounted to £1,250, and simply set the field in a state of sensation. Shares in all properties went up, and an impetus was give to the whole district. Captain Oates, with the foresight of an experienced miner, realised that if the prosperity of the mine were to be permanent, a lot of developing work must be done. He accordingly devoted his energies to opening up the mine, only abstracting sufficient stone to pay working expenses. The directors were anxious for dividends, which Captain Oates would not give them, and after wordy warfare he resigned. During the fifteen months that he was connected with the mine he did valuable work, and spent some £5,000 in improvements. All of this money was obtained from the property.

After severing his connection with the Fraser Mine, Captain Oates turned his attention solely to the Fraser South Mine, of which he had all along remained in charge. Originally he had £2,750 to spend, and out of the gold obtained he not only paid this back, but also earned some £15,000, with which the mine has been thoroughly opened up and equipped. Captain Oates remained in charge of the mine for some five years, during which he was also associated with others of less importance. During that period he had won a ton of gold out of quartz in Southern Cross, very little of which ran to more than half an ounce to the ton. He was one of the first to report favourably on the now famous Boulder property, and so glowing was his report that Mr. W. R. Wilson laughingly accused him of writing a fairy story. This was soon after the lease was pegged out, and the results obtained from the mines in that district have fully borne out the Captain's first impressions of the value of the quartz.

Captain Oates' Western Australian success is due to the systematic manner in which he has fought to overcome local difficulties. He had only been on the fields a very short time when he realised that the conditions which govern mining in the other colonies are altogether different from what they can possibly be here. His first duty, therefore, was to study those conditions, and the success that has attended him is sufficient proof that he mastered the subject. Few "experts" realise this, and condemn a property as valueless because the appearances are so much at variance with those they have been used to.

Captain Oates tells a rather amusing little anecdote of a practical joke that was played on one of these wiseacres on the fields a short time ago. The "expert" referred to was going round condemning all properties as valueless when a miner handed him a a piece of brown stuff, and asked the "expert" what it was. "Sandstone," promptly replied the man of knowledge, and on being asked to examine the stuff again got quite angry, and asked indignantly if they thought he did not know what he was talking about. "If you say that is sandstone, you don't," replied one the miners; "taste it." The expert did so, and ejaculated, "Why, it is sugar." And it was; one of the miners had put a quantity of brown sugar, which had got wet, to dry in the sun, and it had amalgamated and turned to the solidity of stone. The moral Captain Oates draws from this story is, that it is necessary to thoroughly examine a mine before condemning it, and not to trust to appearances.

He has had municipal experience on the fields, and was the first mayor of Southern Cross, occupying that position for two years. Captain Oates has five children, his eldest daughter being married to Warden Finnerty. A short time ago Captain Oates built a beautiful villa on the Mounts Bay Road, facing the Perth Water, where he takes his ease when in Perth. He is still a busy man however and is ever travelling from one portion of the field to the other in connection with different interests. At the general elections of 1897 for the House of Assembly, Captain Oates was returned for Southern Cross.

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 NOTES.

87.—

the Schwalm district in Hesse. An old German poem (Hagen's Gesammtahenteuer, No. 37, and note 2. 253) tells the story in the following manner:—A man is living with his wife in great poverty, and they both make many prayers to God for worldly riches. At length God sends down an angel, who warns the man noc to ask for anything, as God had just as much reason for refusing thiDgs! to him, as he had for giving them to others. The man however will not desist, and says, "I shall pray until God shows favour to me, and does what I want." The angel answers, "As thou wilt neither believe the great God of all, nor me, tempt thy fate; but if after thou hast done it thou remainest poor, it will be thine own fault. Thou shalt be permitted to make three wishes" (babe drîer wünsche gewalt). The man goes to his wife and takes counsel with her. "What shall I wish for? A mountain of gold, or a chest full of farthings which will never come to an end, however many I spend?" The wife wants to have one wish all to herself, and says, "Two are enough for thee, thou well know'st how I have bent my knees about this, and God has granted it because of my prayers as well as thine." "That is reasonable; one of the wishes shall be thine," replies the man. So the wife says, "Then I wish I had a dress on my back now of such good stuff as no woman in the world has ever yet worn." Hardly has she uttered the wish than it is fulfilled. The man is enraged at this, and cries, "I only wish the gown was inside you!" His wish is instantly fulfilled. The woman begins to scream and screams louder and louder until the citizens hear her and run to her. They draw their knives and swords and threaten him with death if he does not release the woman from this torment. Then he says, "God grant that she may be tenderly freed from the discomfort she is in, and be as healthy as she was before." This third wish is now fulfilled, and the man is as poor as ever, and although the woman has behaved badly, he is reproached and blamed for what has happened. He is indeed