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Article The Ugty Duckting. ← Page 2 of 2 Article The Ugty Duckting. Page 2 of 2 Article The Sea-King. Page 1 of 1 Article The Sea-King. Page 1 of 1
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Ugty Duckting.
Going to a bureau , which he opened , he took from thence all the loose money it contained , and dividing it into various sums he wrote the names of different servants upon several sheets of paper , and wrapping the money up in these placed the packages upon the table . He then went to another drawer in the bureau and took from thence a revolver , and was proceeding to load it
when his door was thrown open , and a young lady in a travelling dress threw herself into his arms and sobbed out , " Oh papa , papa , I am so sorry for you . " A conflict of emotions afc once took place in his breast , first anger , then astonishment , and lastly shame overpowered him . He was angry at being so very unceremoniously broken in upon , astonished afc seeing his neglected daughter
Dorothy the intruder , and ashamed of having been caught in the cowardly act of preparing to take away his own life . Slipping the pistol into the place from whence he had taken it , he said , " And are you too come to upbraid me , Dorothy ?" " No I no ! papa , I have come to comfort you ; I came away by the first train after I saw the account of the
failure of the bank in the newspaper . I thought perhaps I could be of some use . " " Of use , Dolly ! " cried her father , smiling in the midst of his trouble at the bare idea of the girl being of use , " Why , what could you do ?" " Couldn ' t I assist yon in various ways , attend to your comforts afc home , or even write letters for you . "
" Thank you for your kindly offer my girl ; you , from whom I least expected it , have assisted me already , you have given me heart to hope , " and bending down over the little form of his despised Dolly , he imprinted on her lips the first kiss she ever received from him . Whether it was that the tears in his eyes prevented his seeing correctly , or whether it was the fact that Dolly
was really improved m appearance , he could not say , but certainly he thought at that moment that hers was tho handsomest and most comely face ho had over gazed upon . Thus Dolly made a conquest of her father ' s heart . From that moment sho placed herself at the head of affairs , paid off all the servants , and removed her father
and sisters to a little cottage she had hired m tho vicinity of Burnisham , and loft Midas Park and its valuable contents intact in tho hands of the creditors . AVith tho exception of a very small servant-girl , Dolly managed tho duties of housekeeper , bufc no one knew where the money came from . In answer to enquiries from hor father , sho said she had plenty to keep them
comfortable till his affairs wero settled . Notwithstanding that sho had most of the domestic duties on hor shoulders , she still retained her old hermit-like habit of shutting herself up in hor room for several hours a day . She seemed to keep up a largo correspondence , too , as the post almost daily brought her a number of letters and parcels .
One day a letter came which threw tho family into a state of no little consternation . It was addressed to Mr . Goldmore , and intimated that Lord Falconswing intended paying them a visit next day . What could tho visit portend ? Florence was quite in a flutter , nnd gavo herself airs , and found fault with " the pokey little hole" in whicli they were obliged to receive his
lordship ; she made Dolly sit up half the night smartening up a dress in which sho was going to captivate him , as she hatl no doubt it was a remembrance of her attractions that was the cause of this visit . Then she specially cautioned Dolly not to shew herself , as hor dross was not fit to bo looked upon by noblo oyes , to which Dolly made answer demurely that sho hail no
intention of intruding . But for all that she was tho first his lordship saw ; she had been onlered by hor oldest sister to gather some flowers to decorate the table , with an injunction that the moment sho heard carriage wheels sho was to retreat into thc house , so as not to ho seen . There was no sound of wheels , but the garden gate clicked , and before Dolly could get away , hatl she
wanted to , she fountl her waist clasped by- a strong arm , and looking up she recognized Lord Falconswing , as brown ns an Arab from his recent African tour . " I've caught you now , my little ' Gooscquill , ' and you shan't put me off this time . I come to make you fulfill your promise that when I had done Africa yon would marry mc . "
" But you can't havo done it yet ; you arrived only two days ago , " said she archly . " In ono sense I have ; but I want the help of your famous ' gooscquill' to make this tho best of my books , so take me to yonr father if he ' s at homo , " saying which he drew her arm within his and went into the house , when , to tho surprise of the father and the
mortification of thc eldest sister ho explained that Dolly had more than a year ago made a conquest of his heart ; ho had proposed to her then , but whether ifc was to test his constancy , or whether she wished him to finish his work he did not know , anyhow sho said sho would not marry him till he had completed his African explorations . He had now accomplished his task and therefore
demanded from Mr . Goldmore his reward , the hand of his youngest daughter . Tho ex-banker was moro than deli ghted to give her to so worthy and eligible a suitor , but ho reminded his lordship thafc he bad uo fortune to give hor . "I want no fortune but little ' Gooscquill' ; sho is a fortune in herself , " said he .
' Little 'Gooscquill !'" exclaimed tho father . " Is my daughter then that talented lady whoso works havo made her famous , and whoso charity has made her so beloved ? " The same , " said Lord Falconswing , "and you ought po bo as proud of her us I am , " and stooping down ho unprintcd a hearty kiss on tbo brow of the blushing
The Ugty Duckting.
" I never until this moment knew I possessed such a treasure , and now she is yours , " saying which the parent kissed his once despised daughter and placed her hand in that of her lover . In conclusion , we need only say thafc Lady
Falconswing did all in her power to compensate her sister Florence for her disappointment , and now thafc she is fche Duchess of Eyrie , her fafcher-in-Iaw having died a year or two after her marriage , ifc is said her two sisters are much sought after , and will make splendid marriages , for Dolly ' s conquests are not yefc at an end W . F . V .
The Sea-King.
The Sea - King .
* I ' m on the sea ! I'm on the sea ! I am where I would ever be , With the blue above and the blue below , And sifence wheresoe'er I go .
IJIMIUCJI was the blithe and jovial song of the young | fflS | Sea-King as he gave his sails to the gentle <«| gw ? breeze which blew softly from the Danish shore VS * one morning late in spring . Wf Hours rolled by and still the Sea-King sang , * and still the breeze filled tho ever-swelling sails and " all went merrv as a marriage bell . "
Eventide draws on apace , and as the sun dips below the western horizon , the wind veers round , dark clouds gather over the erst blue sky , and darkness , thick black darkness , shuts in the Sea-King and his gallant ship . But his heart sank not ,
for—The hardy Norseman s house of yore . Was on the foaming tide -. To him his noble ship was his home—tho restless sea his kingdom . Did uot his subject shipmates ever tell him of his father ' s deeds ? Did fchey nofc ever land his prowess ?
Did they not declare that he , tho Sea-King , was indeed the ruler ami controller of tho mighty wave ? So often had ho heard such tales ns these that ho believed thorn , and so , when of a sudden a lightningbolt darted from the black storm-cloud o ' er head , and hissing , buried its awful force in the murky waves , tho
Sea-King stood with swelling pride on his vessels prow , elate as though he , for his mere amusement , had set tho elements at strife . Yet once again the flattering words wero eagerly poured into his ear ; yet once again that ear as eagerl y drank them iu ; yet once again his young heart swelled with pride , when
One more lightning-bolt breaking from the sky—ono moro reverberating poal of heaven ' s artillery—and in its roll was buried the crash of fche sinking ship , just as were hor crow beneath the inky waters—whilst the Sea-King , mercifully spared for something great , was battling alone with thoso cold relentless waters , of which , but a moment before , his heart had told him that he possessed the sway .
On a pallet , rough but clean , in a monastery's narrow cell , lay the youthful Sea-King , for fcho brethren , whilst feeding tho beacon fires that they built upon thoir headlaud in tempests—to keep no less the storm-tossed sailor from tho rocks than to guide the halting foot of tho weary aud belated traveller by laud to thoir hospitable
doors—had seen the struggling efforts of that solo survivor of the shipwrecked to reach tho shore , and , afc the risk of their own lives , hail saved his . Half waking , half asleep , ho lay musing upon his sorry fate , and contrasting the narrow limits of his present resting-place with the boundless field of ocean
that he hatl so proudly ploughed and boastfully rulednay ! claimed to rule—fur had not his arrogant pretension been remorselessly o ' erthrown o ' en in the moment of their making ? Was there then another Ocean-King than he?—another ruler of the winds and storms , tho waters and tho waves ?
Here a gentle murmur fell upon his car—the voice proceeding seemingly from close by his pallet's head . In accents sweet and measured ho heard recited the story of One who , like himself , was , with His servants , overtaken hy the tempest ' s wrath . Yet that Ono , for His name as yet he could not glean , unlike himself , in
tho moments of the elements' superbest wrath , stood nofc forth to defy their power , but simply nnd calmly slept tho sleep of tho just . That One ' s servants , liko his own , claimed for their Master the right to rule the storm , and , being in au agouy of four , woke Him with tho cry , " Carest Thou not ?—Wo perish . "
Simply but majestically rearing Himself upon His feet , first Ho stilled the tempest of fear in His servants ' souls , and then He turned Him . to tho storm , and uttering His gentle mandate , " Peace , bo still ! " immediately there was a great calm . Hero ceased the voice , seemingly so supernaturally heard , but not before it had excited a fierce
determination in tho Soa-Kiug ' s breast to seek and to know this true monarch of the waves . In a little while tho serving brother came who ministered to his needs ; aud to him the Sea-King preferred his request to bo moro fully enlightened as to the namo and dwelling-place of that Stranger Prince of whom ho had just been hearing by a voice , speaking , as it wero , from heaven .
The Sea-King.
Staying bufc a brief time wifch him then , the serving brother still paused to bid him listen to the voice whenever it might come , assuring him that it bore , indeed , the mission of high heaven , and that its truths were clothed to him in mercy and in love . Day after day , at the selfsame hour , returned the
voice—always low , always measured , always majestic , and yet always sweet . And every time thafc ifc spoke ifc was fco tell of something more about thafc Ocean Monarch , and as time wore on the Sea-King found that He ruled not fche ocean only , but that His were hills and dales , the lofty mountain
summits , and the deep-torn gorge ; the monarch of the forest and the lowliest weed , the roaring lion and the tender lamb , the soaring eagle and the cooing dove . Nay , more!—that all earth ' s children—monarch and slave alike—were also His . And more than this became the Sea-King ' s knowledge
of Him that he , himself , deemed worthy to be by him called Lord . He heard that this Lord of earth and all thafc moves therein—e ' eu man himself—became Himself a man . He grew to know this Man rejected by His fellowmen—despised , tormented , and even cast to die , and yet , in moments of supremest suffering , heard Him
pray , as man , to all men ' s Father , for those very men who served Him . thus . And then he grew fco love Him . with a strange , deep lovo thafc he could neither fathom nor explain . His father he had loved with wealth of son's respect ; his mother with the warmth of boyish love . Brother and sister ho was fond of , too . One , too , there was more dear to him than all the world beside—and her he
LOVED . LOVED ! Talk nofc of Hecla ' s overflowing fires ; speak nofc of storm ' s and tempests' rage , or wild wind ' s impetuosity , when tolling of thafc love . ( For Thyra was
beautiful beyond compare , and , wilful and wayward as she was , could ou occasion show a yielded heart , and give back love for love . But this , e'en this , was not the lovo the Sea-King bore the Monarch of whoso gentle sway the voice had taught
him
FOR THE SEA -KINO WAS A CHRISTIAN . How thou was wrought this wondrous change ? By his pallet's head , cunningly contrived , was an opening , through which tho brother ' s voice who , duringrefection , to his brethren read extracts from holy books , could
well be heard withm the cell iu which the Sea-King Aud , whene ' er by chance of storms or other rude mishap a stranger came to rest within their walls , their readings were from the Holiest Book of all . And thus camo ifc about
that—THE SEA-KING WAS A CHRISTIAN . Many a year rolled by , and the Sea-King proudly ruled tho land that erstwhile gave him shelter ; nor forgot ho tho friendly monastery wherein ho learned
the faith to which ho moro and more earnestly clave . Churches and houses of religion rose throughout the land under his fostering care , whilst his greatness and sympathy with good aro handed down in stanzas written by his own right
hand—Cheerful sang the monks of Ely , As Canute the king was passing by ; " Row to the shore , knights , " said the king , " And let us hear these churchmen sing . " ' Canute was uot to die without one moro trial of the staunchness of his faith . Courtiers thronging around
him , ns of old , whispered tho same old story to his ear . " Nothing thou cans ' t not do , O kiug ; nothing thou caus't uot rule . " Nofc a moment listened Canute to these busy flatterers ; not an instant dwelt his soul on tempting thoughts liko these . Too bitter , too solemn , too deeply
inburut into his soul was the lesson of days of old . Still this , e'en this , might bo overwrought for good . That teaching , stern but merciful , of the days long past had taken him to a true Master ' s feet— mighfc not these courtiers learn tho same ? Drinking iu their flattery , as ifc seemed to thorn , the Soa-Kiug ' s throne was borne to the sea-washed beach ,
and there , surrounded by his court , Canute waited tho iuborno tide . Nearer and nearer rippled the sweeping waters , sparkling o ' er the golden saud ; nearer and ever nearer drew tho tiny silver streak of wave-edge foam , till , at the critical moment , the monarch rose majestic in the midst of all that servile crowd , and uttered his
behest" Thus far , no farther , shalt thou come , O sea ; Rest wavelets , where ye are , 'tis my command . " Antl then , to show the impotence of man , crowned though ho be , those mimic waves , those waters iu tiniest riplets . calmly sped ou , laving the monarch ' s feet caressingly , though as if all nature loved him , as did nature ' s Master .
Then to his courtiers turned he , and thus ho spake" Know , vain men , tho universe is ruled by Ono , and Ono alone . His servants wo—hi gh , low , rich , poor , alike . Flatter no more , frail dust , but roveronco instead the King of earth , sea , sky—Himself , tho solo Omnipotent . His task was done ; his lesson handed on , and when camo the Master ' s timo , there passed to peaceful rest—CANUTE , THE CHRISTIAN SEA-KING . W . T .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Ugty Duckting.
Going to a bureau , which he opened , he took from thence all the loose money it contained , and dividing it into various sums he wrote the names of different servants upon several sheets of paper , and wrapping the money up in these placed the packages upon the table . He then went to another drawer in the bureau and took from thence a revolver , and was proceeding to load it
when his door was thrown open , and a young lady in a travelling dress threw herself into his arms and sobbed out , " Oh papa , papa , I am so sorry for you . " A conflict of emotions afc once took place in his breast , first anger , then astonishment , and lastly shame overpowered him . He was angry at being so very unceremoniously broken in upon , astonished afc seeing his neglected daughter
Dorothy the intruder , and ashamed of having been caught in the cowardly act of preparing to take away his own life . Slipping the pistol into the place from whence he had taken it , he said , " And are you too come to upbraid me , Dorothy ?" " No I no ! papa , I have come to comfort you ; I came away by the first train after I saw the account of the
failure of the bank in the newspaper . I thought perhaps I could be of some use . " " Of use , Dolly ! " cried her father , smiling in the midst of his trouble at the bare idea of the girl being of use , " Why , what could you do ?" " Couldn ' t I assist yon in various ways , attend to your comforts afc home , or even write letters for you . "
" Thank you for your kindly offer my girl ; you , from whom I least expected it , have assisted me already , you have given me heart to hope , " and bending down over the little form of his despised Dolly , he imprinted on her lips the first kiss she ever received from him . Whether it was that the tears in his eyes prevented his seeing correctly , or whether it was the fact that Dolly
was really improved m appearance , he could not say , but certainly he thought at that moment that hers was tho handsomest and most comely face ho had over gazed upon . Thus Dolly made a conquest of her father ' s heart . From that moment sho placed herself at the head of affairs , paid off all the servants , and removed her father
and sisters to a little cottage she had hired m tho vicinity of Burnisham , and loft Midas Park and its valuable contents intact in tho hands of the creditors . AVith tho exception of a very small servant-girl , Dolly managed tho duties of housekeeper , bufc no one knew where the money came from . In answer to enquiries from hor father , sho said she had plenty to keep them
comfortable till his affairs wero settled . Notwithstanding that sho had most of the domestic duties on hor shoulders , she still retained her old hermit-like habit of shutting herself up in hor room for several hours a day . She seemed to keep up a largo correspondence , too , as the post almost daily brought her a number of letters and parcels .
One day a letter came which threw tho family into a state of no little consternation . It was addressed to Mr . Goldmore , and intimated that Lord Falconswing intended paying them a visit next day . What could tho visit portend ? Florence was quite in a flutter , nnd gavo herself airs , and found fault with " the pokey little hole" in whicli they were obliged to receive his
lordship ; she made Dolly sit up half the night smartening up a dress in which sho was going to captivate him , as she hatl no doubt it was a remembrance of her attractions that was the cause of this visit . Then she specially cautioned Dolly not to shew herself , as hor dross was not fit to bo looked upon by noblo oyes , to which Dolly made answer demurely that sho hail no
intention of intruding . But for all that she was tho first his lordship saw ; she had been onlered by hor oldest sister to gather some flowers to decorate the table , with an injunction that the moment sho heard carriage wheels sho was to retreat into thc house , so as not to ho seen . There was no sound of wheels , but the garden gate clicked , and before Dolly could get away , hatl she
wanted to , she fountl her waist clasped by- a strong arm , and looking up she recognized Lord Falconswing , as brown ns an Arab from his recent African tour . " I've caught you now , my little ' Gooscquill , ' and you shan't put me off this time . I come to make you fulfill your promise that when I had done Africa yon would marry mc . "
" But you can't havo done it yet ; you arrived only two days ago , " said she archly . " In ono sense I have ; but I want the help of your famous ' gooscquill' to make this tho best of my books , so take me to yonr father if he ' s at homo , " saying which he drew her arm within his and went into the house , when , to tho surprise of the father and the
mortification of thc eldest sister ho explained that Dolly had more than a year ago made a conquest of his heart ; ho had proposed to her then , but whether ifc was to test his constancy , or whether she wished him to finish his work he did not know , anyhow sho said sho would not marry him till he had completed his African explorations . He had now accomplished his task and therefore
demanded from Mr . Goldmore his reward , the hand of his youngest daughter . Tho ex-banker was moro than deli ghted to give her to so worthy and eligible a suitor , but ho reminded his lordship thafc he bad uo fortune to give hor . "I want no fortune but little ' Gooscquill' ; sho is a fortune in herself , " said he .
' Little 'Gooscquill !'" exclaimed tho father . " Is my daughter then that talented lady whoso works havo made her famous , and whoso charity has made her so beloved ? " The same , " said Lord Falconswing , "and you ought po bo as proud of her us I am , " and stooping down ho unprintcd a hearty kiss on tbo brow of the blushing
The Ugty Duckting.
" I never until this moment knew I possessed such a treasure , and now she is yours , " saying which the parent kissed his once despised daughter and placed her hand in that of her lover . In conclusion , we need only say thafc Lady
Falconswing did all in her power to compensate her sister Florence for her disappointment , and now thafc she is fche Duchess of Eyrie , her fafcher-in-Iaw having died a year or two after her marriage , ifc is said her two sisters are much sought after , and will make splendid marriages , for Dolly ' s conquests are not yefc at an end W . F . V .
The Sea-King.
The Sea - King .
* I ' m on the sea ! I'm on the sea ! I am where I would ever be , With the blue above and the blue below , And sifence wheresoe'er I go .
IJIMIUCJI was the blithe and jovial song of the young | fflS | Sea-King as he gave his sails to the gentle <«| gw ? breeze which blew softly from the Danish shore VS * one morning late in spring . Wf Hours rolled by and still the Sea-King sang , * and still the breeze filled tho ever-swelling sails and " all went merrv as a marriage bell . "
Eventide draws on apace , and as the sun dips below the western horizon , the wind veers round , dark clouds gather over the erst blue sky , and darkness , thick black darkness , shuts in the Sea-King and his gallant ship . But his heart sank not ,
for—The hardy Norseman s house of yore . Was on the foaming tide -. To him his noble ship was his home—tho restless sea his kingdom . Did uot his subject shipmates ever tell him of his father ' s deeds ? Did fchey nofc ever land his prowess ?
Did they not declare that he , tho Sea-King , was indeed the ruler ami controller of tho mighty wave ? So often had ho heard such tales ns these that ho believed thorn , and so , when of a sudden a lightningbolt darted from the black storm-cloud o ' er head , and hissing , buried its awful force in the murky waves , tho
Sea-King stood with swelling pride on his vessels prow , elate as though he , for his mere amusement , had set tho elements at strife . Yet once again the flattering words wero eagerly poured into his ear ; yet once again that ear as eagerl y drank them iu ; yet once again his young heart swelled with pride , when
One more lightning-bolt breaking from the sky—ono moro reverberating poal of heaven ' s artillery—and in its roll was buried the crash of fche sinking ship , just as were hor crow beneath the inky waters—whilst the Sea-King , mercifully spared for something great , was battling alone with thoso cold relentless waters , of which , but a moment before , his heart had told him that he possessed the sway .
On a pallet , rough but clean , in a monastery's narrow cell , lay the youthful Sea-King , for fcho brethren , whilst feeding tho beacon fires that they built upon thoir headlaud in tempests—to keep no less the storm-tossed sailor from tho rocks than to guide the halting foot of tho weary aud belated traveller by laud to thoir hospitable
doors—had seen the struggling efforts of that solo survivor of the shipwrecked to reach tho shore , and , afc the risk of their own lives , hail saved his . Half waking , half asleep , ho lay musing upon his sorry fate , and contrasting the narrow limits of his present resting-place with the boundless field of ocean
that he hatl so proudly ploughed and boastfully rulednay ! claimed to rule—fur had not his arrogant pretension been remorselessly o ' erthrown o ' en in the moment of their making ? Was there then another Ocean-King than he?—another ruler of the winds and storms , tho waters and tho waves ?
Here a gentle murmur fell upon his car—the voice proceeding seemingly from close by his pallet's head . In accents sweet and measured ho heard recited the story of One who , like himself , was , with His servants , overtaken hy the tempest ' s wrath . Yet that Ono , for His name as yet he could not glean , unlike himself , in
tho moments of the elements' superbest wrath , stood nofc forth to defy their power , but simply nnd calmly slept tho sleep of tho just . That One ' s servants , liko his own , claimed for their Master the right to rule the storm , and , being in au agouy of four , woke Him with tho cry , " Carest Thou not ?—Wo perish . "
Simply but majestically rearing Himself upon His feet , first Ho stilled the tempest of fear in His servants ' souls , and then He turned Him . to tho storm , and uttering His gentle mandate , " Peace , bo still ! " immediately there was a great calm . Hero ceased the voice , seemingly so supernaturally heard , but not before it had excited a fierce
determination in tho Soa-Kiug ' s breast to seek and to know this true monarch of the waves . In a little while tho serving brother came who ministered to his needs ; aud to him the Sea-King preferred his request to bo moro fully enlightened as to the namo and dwelling-place of that Stranger Prince of whom ho had just been hearing by a voice , speaking , as it wero , from heaven .
The Sea-King.
Staying bufc a brief time wifch him then , the serving brother still paused to bid him listen to the voice whenever it might come , assuring him that it bore , indeed , the mission of high heaven , and that its truths were clothed to him in mercy and in love . Day after day , at the selfsame hour , returned the
voice—always low , always measured , always majestic , and yet always sweet . And every time thafc ifc spoke ifc was fco tell of something more about thafc Ocean Monarch , and as time wore on the Sea-King found that He ruled not fche ocean only , but that His were hills and dales , the lofty mountain
summits , and the deep-torn gorge ; the monarch of the forest and the lowliest weed , the roaring lion and the tender lamb , the soaring eagle and the cooing dove . Nay , more!—that all earth ' s children—monarch and slave alike—were also His . And more than this became the Sea-King ' s knowledge
of Him that he , himself , deemed worthy to be by him called Lord . He heard that this Lord of earth and all thafc moves therein—e ' eu man himself—became Himself a man . He grew to know this Man rejected by His fellowmen—despised , tormented , and even cast to die , and yet , in moments of supremest suffering , heard Him
pray , as man , to all men ' s Father , for those very men who served Him . thus . And then he grew fco love Him . with a strange , deep lovo thafc he could neither fathom nor explain . His father he had loved with wealth of son's respect ; his mother with the warmth of boyish love . Brother and sister ho was fond of , too . One , too , there was more dear to him than all the world beside—and her he
LOVED . LOVED ! Talk nofc of Hecla ' s overflowing fires ; speak nofc of storm ' s and tempests' rage , or wild wind ' s impetuosity , when tolling of thafc love . ( For Thyra was
beautiful beyond compare , and , wilful and wayward as she was , could ou occasion show a yielded heart , and give back love for love . But this , e'en this , was not the lovo the Sea-King bore the Monarch of whoso gentle sway the voice had taught
him
FOR THE SEA -KINO WAS A CHRISTIAN . How thou was wrought this wondrous change ? By his pallet's head , cunningly contrived , was an opening , through which tho brother ' s voice who , duringrefection , to his brethren read extracts from holy books , could
well be heard withm the cell iu which the Sea-King Aud , whene ' er by chance of storms or other rude mishap a stranger came to rest within their walls , their readings were from the Holiest Book of all . And thus camo ifc about
that—THE SEA-KING WAS A CHRISTIAN . Many a year rolled by , and the Sea-King proudly ruled tho land that erstwhile gave him shelter ; nor forgot ho tho friendly monastery wherein ho learned
the faith to which ho moro and more earnestly clave . Churches and houses of religion rose throughout the land under his fostering care , whilst his greatness and sympathy with good aro handed down in stanzas written by his own right
hand—Cheerful sang the monks of Ely , As Canute the king was passing by ; " Row to the shore , knights , " said the king , " And let us hear these churchmen sing . " ' Canute was uot to die without one moro trial of the staunchness of his faith . Courtiers thronging around
him , ns of old , whispered tho same old story to his ear . " Nothing thou cans ' t not do , O kiug ; nothing thou caus't uot rule . " Nofc a moment listened Canute to these busy flatterers ; not an instant dwelt his soul on tempting thoughts liko these . Too bitter , too solemn , too deeply
inburut into his soul was the lesson of days of old . Still this , e'en this , might bo overwrought for good . That teaching , stern but merciful , of the days long past had taken him to a true Master ' s feet— mighfc not these courtiers learn tho same ? Drinking iu their flattery , as ifc seemed to thorn , the Soa-Kiug ' s throne was borne to the sea-washed beach ,
and there , surrounded by his court , Canute waited tho iuborno tide . Nearer and nearer rippled the sweeping waters , sparkling o ' er the golden saud ; nearer and ever nearer drew tho tiny silver streak of wave-edge foam , till , at the critical moment , the monarch rose majestic in the midst of all that servile crowd , and uttered his
behest" Thus far , no farther , shalt thou come , O sea ; Rest wavelets , where ye are , 'tis my command . " Antl then , to show the impotence of man , crowned though ho be , those mimic waves , those waters iu tiniest riplets . calmly sped ou , laving the monarch ' s feet caressingly , though as if all nature loved him , as did nature ' s Master .
Then to his courtiers turned he , and thus ho spake" Know , vain men , tho universe is ruled by Ono , and Ono alone . His servants wo—hi gh , low , rich , poor , alike . Flatter no more , frail dust , but roveronco instead the King of earth , sea , sky—Himself , tho solo Omnipotent . His task was done ; his lesson handed on , and when camo the Master ' s timo , there passed to peaceful rest—CANUTE , THE CHRISTIAN SEA-KING . W . T .