nva OF-CAll MAGIC OF KINDNESS; WONDROUS STOKY OF THE GOOD HUAN. BY THE BROTHERS MAYHEW, AUTHORS OF "THE GOOD GENIUS THAT TUENED EVEKY THING INTO GOLD." ILLUSTRATED BY feorjje ffiruffcaljanft anfc Itenng jWeatiotos. " There is goodness, like wild honey, hived in strange nooks and corners of the earth." DOUGLAS JERBOLD. NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 82 CLIFF STREET. 1849. PREFACE, [HIS book is more a matter of fact I than a matter of fiction. For, strange to say, though professing to be a fairy tale, there is not a magic change in 7 it that has not had its origin in the world without rather than in the imaginations of the Authors. Indeed, to prevent the appearance of romancing in this, perhaps one of the most won- derful romances ever written chapter and verse have been given for every wonder in it. vi PREFACE. The Authors are well aware how imperfectly and prosaically the subject which is an endless poem in itself has been handled. The only credit they take to themselves is that they believe they have been truthful and indeed, with this view, they have often preferred the language of those from whom they have gleaned their facts to their own. And here they wish to acknowledge how much they are indebted to Mr. Mackay for his admirable work of" POPULAR DELUSIONS" to Dr. Conolly the Pinel of England for his benevolent treatise " ON THE CONSTRUCTION AND GOVERNMENT OF LUNATIC ASYLUMS." and to Mr. Williams's wondrous NARRATIVE of his Christian labors in the South Sea Islands. The description they have attempted to give of the ravages of a great pesti- lence, has been borrowed chiefly from De Foe's " HISTORY OF THE PLAGUE," that being a more picturesque though perhaps less literal account than those of Sydenham, Pepys, or Hodges. Moreover, the Authors claim some little indul- gence as well for the omissions as for the commis- sions of their book, on account of the difficulties they have had to encounter in weaving into a story PREFACE. vii that should be in any way consistent with the principles of constructive art and connecting to- gether by the thread of human emotions the origin- ally disjointed incidents of the work. It was their wish to have included in the MAGIC OF KINDNESS many more of those wonders of benevolence that have become at once the history and the glory of our own time. The miracles worked by sympathy upon criminals have been, from sheer necessity, left untouched, so that the magic changes wrought by Captain Maconochie, Howard, and Mrs. Fry upon the hearts of those who seemed the least of all suscep- tible of the kindly influence, remain for others to work into a tale of almost incredible enchantment. The quiet influence of Kindness among families has also been left untouched the scheme of the present book only admitting of the more striking and less homely effects. The scene of the tale has been laid in the east, so that the frequent mention of names sacred among Englishmen, might be avoided in what perhaps some might still look upon as a mere story-book. The Authors likewise wish it to be known that the present work was conceived long before they viii PREFACE. had seen the beautiful little book entitled "ILLUS- TRATIONS OF THE LAW OF KlNDNESS." Nor is the creed of Kindness a creed that has been taken up to serve the purposes of the day one of the Authors having, many years ago, in a work entitled "WHAT TO TEACH AND HOW TO TEACH IT, so that the child may become a wise and good man" attempted to apply the principle of Kindness to the art of Education and, moreover, having, some time after that, founded and origin- ally edited the periodical entitled " |)tmcl)" upon the same principle. THE OR, THE WONDROUS 0tot}j of tl)e CHAPTER THE FIRST, N the days of enchantment lived Ul- philas, the King of Asulon. King Ulphilas was a mighty king. Surrounding nations paid him tribute. Monarchs, far and near, did him hom- e. But, growing tired of conquest, and surfeited with glory, and feeling old age creeping upon him while he was yet childless, 10 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. he laid aside his sword, and proclaimed peace with all his neighbors. Then from among the fair daughters of the nobles of Asulon he chose the fairest, and made her his Queen. And, when he first entered the apartment of his bride, he scattered over her a shower of large pearls from a tray of gold. Then, lifting the vail from her face, he laid his hand on the hair of her forehead, and called upon Allah to bless their union, and to bestow upon him offspring by her, and to bestow upon her offspring by him. And he gave a great Feast, the like of which had never been seen before, and men of all degrees were welcomed to it. To the aged and helpless poor he distributed numberless pieces of gold and silver, in Charity. And he ordered Prayers to be said, praying the Prophet to beseech Allah to vouchsafe unto him a son, who should be worthy to rule over so great and powerful a nation. But the Feast, the Charity, and the Prayers of Ulphilas were of no avail ; for in time his wife bore him a daughter. And the monarch grieved and murmured at his fate. But, when they brought the little girl to him, his heart was softened at the sight of his first-born for it was the breathing miniature of the mother he loved so well ; and his grief and murmurings were turned into joy and thankfulness. Then, taking it in his arms, he pressed it to his bosom, THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 11 and, kissing it, praised Allah for the loving gift, and called the child Evoe. At sun-set, alone in his chamber, he prayed that the little babe might live to be a solace and a comfort to him in the winter of his days, and that she might cling unto him, and so twine around him in his old age, that she should shed a new beauty over his decay, and pour about him the perfume of life, even to his parting hour like a Rose beside a Ruin. But Ulphilas was stricken to the ground with sorrow, to find that, as the infant bud blossomed into the child, his little Evoe neither spake nor heard. Yet he hoped in patience. Two years passed, and still the little one neither spake nor heard. And, when Ulphilas found that the ears of his first-born were sealed to the fond babblings of its mother, and that its tongue was tied and could not utter the long-wished-for music of " Abba, Father," he grew sad and sullen. And he shut himself in his chamber, and railed at the world, saying, " There is naught but evil in it." In the depth of his affliction, he sent for the wisest and most learned of his Dervishes. And, when the Priest had come to him, the king said, " Tell me, O Welee ! thou favorite of God, what hath my little one done, that he whom thou callest all Justice, should have visited her thus heavily." 12 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. The Dervish, bowing, answered, " the ways of Allah were hidden from his children, but that He was the Compassionate, the Merciful." Then TJlphilas, with a laugh of scorn, blas- phemed, and, murmuring at the will of the Most High, asked in mockery whether it was '{merciful or compassionate to punish the innoceny?" So the Dervish strove to comfort the King, and spake of the wondrous bounty spread over the face of the Earth, telling him howfeach little ill was found, when rightly understood, to minister to some great and kindly end. \ But Ulphilas only thought of the affliction of his child, and laughed in scorn the more, saying, " It is a dark and dreary world, and there is no good in it." Then the Welee, moved by the blasphemous stubborness of the monarch, drew himself up in anger and said, in a solemn voice, " Listen, proud King, ! thou to whom the world is dark and dreary, and who canst see no good in it. Listen ! and gather knowledge from the birds of the air." And he spake this Fable : " Of all the birds, the Owl was held to be the wisest. He lived by himself in a mighty castle, far away from the haunts of men. He never went abroad but at night, and saw the world only in its darkness. All the day through he sat in his dusky chamber, brooding over the eternal gloorn that THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 13 seemed to him to cover up the whole Earth. For so perverted was his sight, that, in his dull eyes, the brightest light was as the blackest shade ; and what was sunny day to others was cloudy night to him. " And, when at twilight his dismal day began, he would sally forth, and as he flew through the damp and chilly air and saw the black fields spread out beneath him, he would hoot at every thing saying, ' It is a dark and dreary world, and there is no good in it.' " And so, because he railed at all things, looking at Nature only in her dullest aspect, and dwelt alone, shunning communion with every creature, he was said to be the most sedate and wisest of birds. " Now, it chanced one morning, as the sun was rising, that the Owl, seeing his night beginning to set in, was hastening home to rest, when a little Lark, fresh risen from its grassy bed, was singing high up in the air above him. " The Lark heard the hooting of the Owl, and the Owl heard the caroling of the Lark ; and, in the ears of the happy little Lark, to whom a]l Nature seemed to be rejoicing in the increasing brightness, the railing of the Owl sounded harsh and ungrateful while, to the melancholy Owl, in whose eyes the world appeared only to be growing more dark and dreary than before, the gay song of the Lark sounded but as the outpouring of thought- less vanity. 14 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. ' Then the Owl, looking up, said to the Lark, ' Cease that empty song, thou silly bird ! When the world is dark and dreary, and the Earth full of woe, is it meet for one of God's creatures to sing ? Go home, foolish one ! and learn some strain more fitting to the gloom that overshadows all things.' " But the little Lark, wondering within himself how the Owl could see that gloomy which to him appeared bathed in a flood of light, cried down to the Owl, saying, ' Come up with me ! come up with me ! Thou art too close to the Earth to see its brightness. Come nearer Heaven, and look down upon the beauty spread so bounteously over all things, and then thou wilt sing as joyously as I do, seeing the world is not dark and dreary, nor the Earth full of woe.' " So the Owl, with great labor, mounted after the Lark. And, as he traveled up, the Lark cried to the Owl, ' Now, look down, and see the opening flowers their colors freshened with the dew ! See how they shine in the sun, like a rainbow spread over the earth as another token of God's loving- kindness to man ! Look at the rivers, like threads of silver ! Look at the cornfields, like plates of gold ! Look at the fruit trees, bowed down with their luscious loads, that sparkle like many-colored gems in the sunshine ! Look at the shadows of the passing clouds, fleeting over the sunny fields like breath upon a mirror ! Look at the warm THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 15 smooth valleys, spread out like a peaceful lake ; and look at the billowy, snow-topped mountains, heaving as if they were the white crested waves of the land !' " And, as the Lark said this, he sang louder than before ; and the burden of his song was, ' thanks be to God for his wondrous goodness ! for the Earth is not dark and dreary, nor the world full of woe.' " But the Owl was blinded with the light that the Lark rejoiced in, and only answered, ' Foolish bird ! thou shouldst look at the world with my eyes, and then thou wouldst see nothing bright in it. The nearer / get to Heaven the blacker the earth appears to me ; for verily, it is a dark and dreary world with no good in it !' " So the Lark flew away, saying, ' Wise as 1 they say thou art, O Owl ! still couldst thou look at the Earth with my eyes, thou wouldst know that the universal gloom thou seest exists not in the world, but in thine own perverted sight.' "And, verily, O King," added the Welee, "the wisdom of the happy Lark was tenfold the wisdom of the melancholy Owl." Now, when the monarch heard this, he grew sad, and beat his breast, and upbraided himself for his complainings. And he put on a woolen gar- ment of a sad-blue color, and fasted each day, from the rising to the setting of the sun. Then, on the first Friday of the new moon, he went on a pil- 1(3 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. grimage to Mecca, and he there made a vow, never more to murmur at the will of Heaven. And, in- voking blessings and peace on the Prophet, he again prayed him to heseech Allah to vouchsafe unto him a son, or at least a child blest with the power to listen to his counsels and call him " Father." Nor did he return till the ninth of the next month. Then he gave camels, and buffaloes, and mules, and goats, and gold and silver, in alms to the poor. And, in the night of that day, he had a vision in his sleep, and all he saw was green ; and he was comforted, for he knew that the dream was auspicious. FTER this vision, Ulphilas be- came an altered man, and again sought pleasure in the chase. And the first day that he did so a gazelle passed by him with its right side toward him : where- upon he was filled with joy, for he saw in it a good omen. As he returned to the city, one of the royal Eunuchs came hastening to meet him ; and, as the man approached Ulphilas, he kissed the ground before him, saying, " O King, I bring thee glad tidings, thy Queen hath borne thee a son." Then the King's joy knew no bounds. Dis- mounting, he kissed the hand of the messenger, and, taking from his side his royal scimitar the head of which was alight with large jewels of many colors 18 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. and exceeding value the monarch gave it to the slave. And he bade the emirs and nobles that were with him reward the man for the glorious news he had brought him. So some gave the Eunuch their neck-ornaments and bracelets, set with pearls and jacinths ; and some took off their costly robes of honor, and gave them to him ; and others descended from the horses they rode upon, and made the slave the owner of them ; while many presented hiro with large sums of money, till the bounty of the court was such as no man ever received before. Then, as the king entered the gates of the capi- tal, he found all the houses and shops adorned with shawls and brocades and rich dresses ; and different kinds of costly articles of merchandise suspended in front of them. Across the streets were hung many- colored lamps and silk flags of red and green. From each house came the sound of music and rejoicing, and the whole city was fragrant with the burning of ambergris. As the monarch passed on his way to the palace, the exulting people cried with one voice, " Long live the Prince ! Long live great Ulphilas, our King !" But Ulphilas made no reply ; for he saw that the flowers and other ornamental devices with which his subjects had decorated their doors had, in the haste, been painted on a dark-blue background. And he shook with fear; for he knew it was the THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 19 color of mourning, and looked on it as the harbinger of evil. But, when the King reached the palace, he soon forgot the idle omen, in the delight he felt at the sight of the infant boy that had fulfilled all his hopes and prayers. When he had kissed and blessed the babe, he called his vizier, and ordered him to proclaim a seven-days' feast throughout the land. And he commanded that the streets should be canopied over from end to end, and the city decorated and lighted with lamps, countless as the stars ; and that fires of aloes and other scented woods should be placed in all the public ways ; and that the shops should be closed neither night nor day. Then he ordered that kitchens should be set up around the city walls, and that all kinds of viands should be cooked there, both by day and by night ; and that all who were in the city, and that all who were in the country around, far and near, should eat and drink, and carry home to their houses. And he directed that every one who was in the prisons, both the criminal and the debtor, should be set free. And, after this, he pub- lished an edict that he would receive no tribute for three years to come from such as lived by the la- bor of their hands ; and he made over to the poor the remainder of the tribute that should be paid him by the nobles and merchants during that time. But scarcely had the feast begun, than she who 20 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. bore the King his son, died ; and Ulphilas bowed down his head like a reed in the storm. Then the countless lamps were extinguished and the fires of aloes- wood put out, and the brief revel- ry of the city gave way to long sorrowing. And the broken-hearted King had the walls of his cham- ber smeared over with woad. And he cast off his robes of bright colors, and wore nothing but woolen garments of a sad, somber hue. And the gold- worked cushions and the rich embroidered cover- ings of his divans, were placed face downward, and the carpets were turned with their patterns to the ground. And the old monarch wept like a child over his infant son, saying, " If this bereavement be a loss to me, how much greater a loss it is to thee, my poor little one ! If the cup of joy has been dashed from my lips, has not the fountain of life been snatched from thine ? Who shall be a mother to thee ? Who shall tend and watch over thy babyhood as she would have tended and watched over thee ? thee, in whom I had longed to see her gentleness mingled with my rougher nature. But, alas ! no sooner art thou sent unto me, than she the gentle one is torn from me, and both of us are robbed of our greatest treasure. While I could not spare her for past happiness, thou couldst not spare her for happiness to come." Then the King sent out messengers to all the THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 21 country round, to seek a fitting foster-mother for the young prince, whom he named Aleph, for he said, " he shall be a great leader among men." But the messengers found not any to please the King ; and he bade them go forth again and seek the healthiest matron in all his dominions, so that his royal son might grow into a stalwart man, as vigorous in body as in mind, and be blessed with a frame fit for the fatigues of conquest. At length the messengers returned, bringing with them the robust and comely wife of Ergastor the laborer, with her infant son Huan in her amis and her little daughter Anthy at her side, as proofs of the justness of their choice. When the King saw the dame's sun-burnt face, ruddy as a ripe apple and beheld the firm and round limbs of the infant boy, the flesh plumped out with exuberance of health and when he gazed upon the rustic beauty of the little girl Anthy, with her dimpled cheeks, dyed crimson with the hues of morning and yet fair as rose-leaves steeped in milk ; and her full eyes, blue and clear and deep as the sea far away from land ; and her long, loose hair, gold- en and wavy as a corn field in autumn he com- mended his messengers for the choice they had made, and doubled the sum they had promised the matron for the nurture of the Prince. Then the pretty little Anthy and the still-sleep- ing Huan were taken back to their home, while the 22 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. mother remained behind, to nourish the royal Aleph with the milk that nature had vouchsafed for the nourishment of her own little one. S the infant Prince waxed stronger and stronger with the sustenance of Huan's mother, the little peas- ant-boy grew weaker and weaker from the want of it ; so that, as the limbs of the King's son became plump and firm, the muscles of the laborer's child became flaccid and pitted with the touch ; and his bones grew soft and bent under him, as he tried to use his little feet. And, when two summers had passed, and the royal Aleph was taken from the breast, the mother left the monarch's boy a little lion in strength, and returned home to find her own child with his right leg withered, and crippled for life. Summer after summer rolled on ; and still the laborer's son, though a youth in years, was a babe in 24 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. strength and helplessness. Then his father, Ergas- tor, began to see that the lad would always be a burden on his labor ; and that, where other men like him found their boys adding to the weekly wealth, his could only take from it, and ever remain a useless drone in the busy hive. And, as he contrasted the deformity of the Crip- ple Huan with the fair proportions of the pretty Anthy, and glanced from the comeliness of the girl to the unseemliness of the boy, he grew more and more fond of the one, and more and more neglectful of the other ; until at length he got to spoil the rnaid and spurn the lad, loving to see the little dam- sel decked out in all the gaudy finery he could afford to lavish on her, and leaving the " locust" boy to crawl about in rags. At nightfall, on his return from labor, Ergastor had always a kiss and a kind word for the one, and a cuff and a harsh word for the other. And, when it was holiday- time, and pleasure led him to the city, he would take his little rosebud Anthy with him, and leave the " good-for-nothing" Huan to sit, as usual, on the door-step, basking in the sun. Then the father's bosom would swell with pride to hear the flattering things that were sure to be said of the loveliness of his girl, and his heart sink within him, when his friends asked with pity after his poor afflicted boy. So things went on the laborer ever praising his THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 25 darling beauty, and muttering at the poor Cripple till the once-artless little girl grew poor thing ! into the vain, coquettish maid, and the neglected boy became moody and sullen, arid moped his sport- less youth away, so that while yet a frolicksome lad in years he was a morose old man in habit and in heart. Nor was the premature moroseness of poor Huan to be wondered at. He had hardly heard a word of loving -kindness from his cradle unless, indeed, it came from passing strangers, who pitied him, as they noticed the poor Cripple moping on the threshold. For, while his father only saw in the helplessness of the lad an everlasting tax upon his labor, and was ever taunting the wretched boy with his infirmities, his mother, though less harsh, was scarcely more kind. She remembered the pretty and well-formed babe he was ; and, reading in the youth's crooked and stunted limbs a bitter reproach to herself for giving to another the nourishment that should have gone to him, she got to dislike the sight of the lad, and to shun him for the ugly lesson he was to her. Little Anthy, indeed, was the sole friend he had. Blinded by early habit to his deformities, the girl only saw and felt for the privations of her Cripple- brother. All she knew was, he lacked the strength to sport and play as she did, and this made her pity, and love to help and befriend, him. So she would stand between her brother and her father's anger, 26 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. shielding the poor boy from many a blow ; and when Ergastor brought her any new toy or childish gift, she would share it by stealth with the unthought- of-Cripple. Thus Huan grew to find in his sister the only charm life had for him, and to love her as he loved the sunshine, which warmed his numbed and withered limbs. But it was far otherwise with the Prince. As he advanced to man's estate, his thoughtless days danced along with ever-changing sports, and the whole country round rang with the skill, the spirit, and the promise of the handsome youth. None could sit the Arab horse as he did ! None could cast the javelin so sure and far as he ! Who was so bold a hunter as Prince Aleph ? Who was so brave and generous a youth ? Could any compare with him in manly vigor or manly beauty ? And, when Huan heard these praises echoed at his father's board, he looked at his withered and stunted limbs, and his heart sank within him. Then, as the Cripple sat by the door, he would brood over the fine things he had heard said of the young Prince, repeating them to himself with sneers. And he would begin to think that the strength of the royal boy ought to have been his. And he would mutter to himself, " It was the milk that should have been mine that gave this manly vigor and this manly beauty to his frame. It was the mother's THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 27 milk, that kind Providence gave to nerve and nour- ish me, that has made him the young hero ; and it was the stealing of it from me that has made me the Cripple. The muscles that make him throw the javelin so sure and far should have been mine. The skill and courage that all admire him for should have been mine. The form, the power, the health and spirits of the man should have been mine they were my birthright my inalienable property if ever human being justly had property on earth God's free gift to me, sent with the first breath I drew yes, all, in common honesty, were mine, and, in common justice, should be mine still. But, robbed of them, what a helpless beggar am I left doomed to eat the food I long, but want the power, to earn. A hideous Cripple ! Ay, a Cripple ! when the labor of my muscles was all I had wherewith to get a living for myself." The chord once struck, vibrated and vibrated in the wretched Huan's bosom, until, at length, he would sit day after day in the sunshine, listening to its solemn and melancholy music. So, in time, he got to hate the royal youth, as one who had done him some deadly wrong and he loved to nurse bitter and savage thoughts against young Aleph ; while each harsh word and cuff Huan got, he would add, in his own mind, to the long score of suffering he owed the Prince. Sometimes the happy Aleph, on his way to the 28 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. chase, or returning from it, would stop at the la- borer's cot, to say a passing word of greeting to his foster-mother, or else to take another glance at the budding beauty of the graceful Anthy. Then Huan would look at him from under his brows, and run his eyes askant up and down the well-knit form of the noble lad; and he would look on the Prince with a grim delight, as if in him he saw himself as he ought to have been. And he would think that such as Aleph was Huan icmild have been too, had not the thews and sinews of that very form been pilfered from him before he was able to raise even a voice against the wrong. And, when the Prince spoke kindly to the Cripple, and looked at him with pity as indeed he seldom failed to do Huan would sneer, and mutter to himself from between his teeth, " By right J should be the pitier !" the jTonrtl). HEN the royal youth had grown a man, his proud fa- ther gave him the sword and suit of Davidean mail with which he himself had so often carved his way to vic- tory ; and, placing him at the head of his troops, he blessed the stripling Chief, and bade him go forth with them, and make his enemies bend the knee to Aleph as they once had bent the knee to Ulphilas. And, when the news came of his boy's first vic- tory, the exulting monarch made the whole city merry with his lavish bounty ; and on the poets that sang the Prince's praises Ulphilas bestowed dresses of honor of exceeding splendor and great value, and gold embroidered turbans, and neck- rings and bracelets set with jewels. 30 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. Then, on the return of the beardless hero, his father hugged him to his swelling bosom, and wept over him with joy. After the Prince had sojourned for a time in the city, the ambitious Ulphilas sent him forth a second time to reap new honor in the battle-field. A second time the lad returned victorious, and a second time the happy King made the city rejoice in the triumph. Again and again his father sent him forth, and again and again the people and the poets hailed him Conqueror, until at length his praises were on every man's lips. Old warriors wondered at the prowess of the lad, and maidens loved to listen to the story of his battles. The nation almost wor- shiped the warrior-boy for the glory of his deeds, and all, without a murmur, poured forth their share of the tribute though each fresh conquest nearly doubled the sum required at their hands. Then Ergastor the laborer, who burdened as he was with the Cripple Huan had before found it hard, out of his little earnings, to furnish his share of the tribute money, and still dress his pretty daughter as he loved to see her, now felt the payments of the tax fall so heavy, and come round so often, that he began to see he must forego all further finery for his pet girl at least, " so long as he was cursed with that locust, good-for- nothing: son of his." THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 31 And, when he beheld the once-smart Anthy clad in garments as plain and humble as the daughters of his neighbors, he began to wish his Cripple-boy were dead, and to grudge him each crust he saw him eat. Then, as Ergastor was alone at his work, he would think to himself, if that drone of his were dead and gone, how happy he might be at home with the money the fellow took to keep him ; say- ing, he would no longer feel ashamed then, as he did now, to take his darling Anthy to the city with him of a holyday. Thus he would pass day after day, until he got to harbor ugly thoughts against the wretched Crip- ple, and pray Allah it would please Him to remova the hateful burden from his back. At length he made up his mind that the boy should at least try to do something for what he ate. Surely he could tend swine there wasn't much labor in that, at any rate and it would be teaching him he wasn't to fatten upon the bread of idleness all his life, but must begin to look about for himself a little, instead of lolling and dozing the whole day through in the sun as he did. So, on the morrow, the laborer placed his son on his mule, and journeyed with him and the herd into the forest. And, when he had reached the heart of it, he helped the lad down, and, giving him his crutch, bade him let him see whether he couldn't do something for his living. 32 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. But the poor Cripple limped in vain after the swine. His unnerved limbs soon began to fail him ; and crying and sinking with fatigue, he lean- ed against a tree, while the herd went straggling on. When his father saw how unequal the lad was to the task, and how utterly useless the Cripple was, he grew savage, and swore at him, and tried to cuff him on. At length, finding even this of no avail, he turn- ed round, more savage than before, and, gathering the herd, told the affrighted boy that he might hobble home as best he could and went his way, leaving the poor helpless wretch alone in the forest. As Huan saw his father's form disappear among the trees, and heard the grunting of the departing swine grow fainter and fainter in the distance, he cried after him, " Father ! Father ! Father !" each cry growing louder and louder with his fear. Nearly wild with fright, he took to his crutch once more, and limped after him, till his weak and aching muscles refused to carry him. Then, as he lay upon the ground, Huan felt assured his father would relent and come back for him he never could mean to leave him to starve and die in the woods. Next he thought, if his father did return, he would go to the spot where they had parted, but, finding no one there, he would not know where to seek him. THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 33 So Huan crawled back again to the place he had left, and sat weeping on the ground, waiting with wretched anxiety, and listening to every sound he caught, till he felt sure each one was the noise of the approaching herd. At length the measured blows of a distant ax roused him. In a moment he was up and scram- bling toward the quarter whence the sound proceed- ed, shrieking and screaming, " Help ! Help !" And when after a time the blows ceased, he fancied the woodman had heard his cries and was coming to seek him. Then, tearing a piece from his ragged clothes, he tied it to the end of his crutch, and waved it as high as he could in the air, hallooing and hallooing and looking first this way and then that, among the distant trees ; until at length, worn out with his vain hopes, and spent, with the wild energy of his exertions, he sank to the ground in an agony of despair. Suddenly he started up again, as a distant mur- muring fell upon his ear. " Thank Heaven, there they were at last ! He knew his father only wanted to frighten him. Yes! there could be no mistake this time, for that was the grunting of the swine and, hark ! tJuit was the voice of his father shouting to him." Then, as he thought he could hear the sounds taking a wrong direction, he put his hands to his 3 34 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. mouth, and shrieked through them at the top of his voice. But no one came ; and still the mur- murings went on, for it was only the rising breeze at sundown moaning and whistling through the forest. And when he saw the distance grow blacker and blacker in the thickening dusk, and the trunks of the trees fade one by one from before his straining eyes, he became the sport of his senses, for, in the dimness, every object assumed the form of that which he longed to see. Now he beheld his kind sister Anthy coming to seek him, with her little basket on her arm filled no doubt with food for him. Then, yonder was his mother approaching with the old mule to carry him back ; then after that he could see woodman after woodman return- ing, with their loads, home from their labor. But, when the shades of nightfall had filled up each chink of light, all hope fled, and, falling on his knees, he prayed his heavenly Father to look with pity on his helplessness, and show him the mercy which he now knew it was idle to expect from his earthly one. Soon the growling of the beasts of prey put an end to the trance into which he had fallen ; and, as he saw their bright eyes moving like lights between the trees, the fright of the crippled boy returned tenfold, and quickened his frame with un- natural strength. THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 35 Then, crutch in hand, he crawled and crawled about, through brake and bramble, till his palms were scored and his rags half stripped from him by the briers in his way for stay still he dare not. At length, something white in the distance loomed before him. It must be some woodman's cot, and, thank God ! he was safe at last. But, as he neared it, he found the cot a rock. Then, limping round it in. search of some shelter for the night, he perceived a cave ; so, praising Heaven for the mercy it had shown, he entered, and, cold and worn, laid his wearied body down, and tried to rest. IW UT poor Huan was too hungry to sleep. The few acorns he had ^picked up in the forest had served :to increase rather than stay his ^cravings. Besides, he feared to close his eyes, lest the wild heasts that he knew infested the wood, might scent him out and attack him as he slumbered. So he gathered together the dry leaves and sticks at the mouth of the cave, and made a fire with them in order to scare the prowling creatures from him. Then, as the burning twigs and fagots sent forth their lurid flames, he cast his eyes timidly around, and, to his horror, saw the broken sides of the cave all wet with a crimson dew, and red drops, like gouts of blood, falling from the roof. Turning his THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 37 head, to look further into the black recess, he saw pale-blue lights floating midway in the air. Taking one of the burning branches from the fire, he moved, as if drawn on by some magic spell, to see into what strange place he had strayed. Then, as he advanced, trembling, into the interior of the cavern, a low murmuring sound fell upon his ear, and the dank walls glistened beneath his hand, as he staggered on. In every corner shone bright lights, like eyes, glaring upon him ; here and there he stumbled on some green bone that lay rotting on the ground. Now, he had to bend his head, as he went along the narrow way, and now the passage so widened, that the sides were lost to him, while the roof grew so high, that he could riot see it in the gloom. Then, as the passages narrowed again, he saw, cut out of the jagged rock, a mighty throne, and seat after seat raised around it, one above the other he could not tell how high as if it were some goblin hall. Frightened, he turned round to fly ; but where he had entered by one passage, now many stood before him. At the mouth of each a monster figure grinned at him from out the walls. Here was a huge bearded head frowning at him. There, a giant warrior with a helmet and a coat of mail. And there, a mammoth beast, winged and with open jaws, guarded the passage. Wild with terror, he hobbled down the one by which he thought he had entered. But as he 38 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. advanced, he heard the running and splashing of water ; and the murmurs which had first fell upon hjs ear now grew into groans, while he was half- stifled with the sulphurous fumes that came roll- ing toward him, as he felt the ground grow hot under his feet. At last the light of his torch hegan to grow dim, and refuse to burn in the fetid atmosphere. Then, turning round, he limped back again to the goblin hall ; and scarcely had he reached it, when some winged thing flew at his burning branch, and, dash- ing out the flame with its wings, darted off with a screech that rattled against the walls and down the sides of the cave, till the whole place seemed to ring with a laughter of innumerable fiends. No sooner was his torch extinguished, than Huan knew by the red glare shining down one of the pas- sages, that his fire was burning at the end of it ; and, groping his way through the thick clouds of smoke and mist, at last, nearly frenzied with what he had seen, he was again at the mouth of the cave. Throwing himself down on the earth, he put his hands before bis eyes, and trembled from head to foot, as if his whole frame was palsied ; while in- wardly the poor frantic boy prayed and prayed for the sweet unconsciousness of sleep. But his brain was too excited to allow him to know the blessed peace of slumber. At last, as the lad grew calmer, his mind began to revert to the cause of all his bitter sufferings. THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 39 He brooded again over the wrongs of his in- fancy, and saw again in the Prince the worker of all his misery. It was Aleph who had robbed him of his natural nourishment and had made him the Cripple. It was Aleph whose wars had caused the burden of his helplessness to press doubly heavy on his father, and had made the Cripple the outcast. And, in the fury of his injuries, he invoked a curse upon the head of his irijurer ; and, wishing from his heart that he had the strength of a Giant to curse the hated Prince, Huan grew exhausted with his rage and fell into a restless sleep. Then, as he slept, he saw the Demons of Wrong and Retribution prompting him on to horrid deeds one offering him a dagger another a javelin while a third taunted him and bade him be a Man and a fourth spat at him, and called him " coward." And, as each Demon did his work, he could hear a far-off choir of hidden Fiends chant- ing the story of his injuries in the same melancholy music that he himself had loved to listen to until, maddened with their devilish goadings, he made a clutch at the javelin brandished before him, and, in the endeavor to clutch it, woke and found himself the Giant he had prayed to be. Before him stood the fascinating Spirit of Re- venge, tricked out in the unsullied robes of Honor, and wearing the mask of Right. Around her head a glory seemed to shine, and in her hand she held the sword and scales of Justice. 40 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. Putting the wrongs of the Cripple into one scale and the sword into the other, she weighed them against each other, and Huan smiled savagely as he saw the sword kick the beam. She told him and, as she spake, her words sounded as the sweetest music in his ears that the gift of his unatural strength was hers ; chang- ing his crutch into a spear, she bade him go forth her servant ; and, now that she had made him more than Man, at least to be Man enough to give back wrong for wrong, and to blot out Injury with the blood of the Injurer. Falling on his knees, the amazed Huan asked by what name he should worship his guardian Angel. Whereupon the Spirit spake as follows : " Of the blind Goddess Justice there were born two children. The one was fair and golden-haired as the Morning, the other dark and black-eyed as the daughters of the East. The fair one was weak and gentle like the Lamb the dark one proud- spirited and dauntless as the Lion. And the fair and gentle maid they named Forgiveness, while her dark, proud sister they called Revenge. " When the two had grown up to womanhood, their blind Mother called them to her side, and, having blessed them, bade them say which of her possessions she should bestow upon them as their dower. To her eldest child, Revenge, she gave the first choice. " And the dark damsel asked for the sword THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 41 wherewith to protect the Injured and punish the Injurer. But gentle Forgiveness, falling on her knees, besought her Mother that she might inherit her blindness as her portion, so that, being blind, she might be merciful to erring Man. " Then Justice, turning to her younger child, said, ' Thou hast chosen rightly, my gentle one ; for whereas thy sterner sister hath asked of me that which was given to me by Man, thou hast de- sired of me that which was given to me by God.' " Then Revenge, jealous of her sister's praise, parted from Forgiveness forever, and went abroad to see which of the two would win most favor among the sons of the Earth. " Wherever she went, high and low, noble and ignoble, bent the knee and worshiped her. And to those who sought her aid she gave such strength and courage, and spoke so winningly, and looked so like her mother, that men mistook her for Jus- tice herself. At her bidding, nation warred against nation ; for she preached the captivating creed of blood for blood, until men blessed the sword, and the fairest of the land admired him the most who wielded it the best. " So that, when at length Forgiveness came, and strove to teach a gentler doctrine to Mankind, they spurned her for her blindness and her weak- ness; and those that listened to her counsels they branded as cowards, \vhile those that slew the most they praised as heroes. 4-2 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. " Dost thou know me now ?" the Spirit asked, as Huan lifted up his clasped hands, in adoration of her. " I do !" he cried, "I do ! thou art the proud spirit of Re " " Hush !" she exclaimed, hefore the word had passed his lips. " On Earth they call me Honor, in Heaven alone I am known as Revenge !" Huan was about to swear eternal devotion to the Spirit, but before the oath had left his lips, he was alone again in the cave. Then for the first time, he felt a vigor in all his limbs, and the hot blood of youth dancing and tingling in his veins. Now he chuckled with the new delight, and now he toyed with his spear, till his bosom rose and fell, as he thought of the havoo he would make with it. Chapter tije 0i*th. T dawn the Giant rushed forth to seek his royal enemy, but Aleph was at the wars ; so, finding he could not wreak his vengeance [on the object of his hatred, he wreaked it on all that belonged or were dear to him. By day he waylaid the King by night he de- stroyed the Prince's horses and slew his hounds. Soon, Huan's deeds became the terror of the neighborhood, and men feared to walk abroad after sunset, or to traverse the woods alone at any time. When Ulphilas heard of the ravages of the Giant, he sent out an armed band to slay him ; but they never returned and that night the ravages of the Giant were tenfold what they had heen before. Another and another band went out ; but Huan's 44 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. monster strength prevailed over all and the terror of the country grew greater than ever. Each wound only made the Giant more and more savage ; and he was forever hunting and being hunted. In dread of snares and pitfalls, he lived a life of suspicion, and walked the Earth in fear ; for he knew that what Men could not com- pass by strength they would by stratagem. At length, one night he heard the hum of dis- tant music, and songs of triumph floating on the night- wind. Angry at the sounds of joy, he seized his spear and sallied from the cave. As he advanced, he saw the light of torches flicker on the plain beneath. He hurried down, and, putting the troop to flight, carried off the favorite mistress of the Prince, as she was on her way to welcome the victorious Aleph back from a fresh conquest. Overjoyed at the rich prize his revenge had at length obtained, he bore his fainting prisoner to his cave. As he secured her to the rock, he gloated over the feast of vengeance he would have on the morrow, and thought to himself how, in the tor- ments of Prince Aleph's darling, he would break Prince Aleph's heart. When he had bound the poor girl fast, he tore the vail from her face and staggered back, as he discovered in the favorite mistress of his enemy his own beautiful and beloved sister Anthy. THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 45 He stood, with his eyes riveted upon her, still and silent as a statue ; and, as he gazed on her pretty face, the love he once had borne her curdled into frantic hate. Bursting with rage he seized his spear as if to kill her but suddenly he threw it from him with a savage chuckle, as if some new cruelty had struck him. Seating himself by the fire, he fixed his eyes on the trembling girl ; and, as he ground his teeth, he taunted her with her infamy, calling her by names that made her shudder as she heard them. Presently, he rose, and plucked the jewels one by one from her neck and arms, and crushed them on the stone with his heel. Then he paced back- ward and forward in his cave, telling her, with horrid glee, how, on the morrow, he would go forth and seek out her royal dishonorer, and then she should see her love slain before her eyes. Thus the night passed. Early on the morrow, the restless Huan rushed forth to seek the Prince, and as early the Prince rushed forth to seek the Giant for Aleph had sworn an oath that he, single handed, would avenge and liberate his darling mistress. But when the valiant youth saw the Giant he had sworn to crush, even he bold as he was quailed before the awful appearance of the mon- ster. In vain did Aleph raise his skillful sword to parry 46 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. off the savage thrusts of Huan's spear. In a mo- ment the blade shivered like glass before the Giant's blows, and the warrior boy of Asulon reeled sense- less on the sward. Raising the stripling in his arms, Huan hurried back exulting to the cave. Then, binding Aleph face to face with her he had come to save, the Giant stanched the wounds of the bleeding boy, for fear his vengeance should be balked. And, when he saw the life that he feared had fled before his vengeance was satisfied come back and crimson the boy's white lips again, Huan's heart leaped within him for very joy ; and he al- most shrieked with delight, when he beheld his victim shudder as he looked around him. Then, how the monster grinned at the youth, as he ran over and over again the horrors and the torments that he had in store for him and her he loved so fondly. Now, he would dance around them, brandishing his spear. Then he would shake his burly fist in Aleph' s face, and grind his huge teeth close in front of him, and, afterward, he would smite him on the cheek and spit upon him. And, as he saw the girl grow faint for want of drink, and that her lips were parched and cracked with thirst, he fetched the clearest water from the wood, and showing her how bright it was, drank it off before her longing eyes. As the day drew in, he roasted dainty forest meat THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 47 beside them, so that the savory perfumes of it might madden their hunger ; and, seating himself between them, he ate of it, smacking his lips the while to make them long for it the more. At night, exhausted with rage, he laid himself down, to ponder over fresh and more savage cruel- ties ; for none that he had yet devised seemed savage enough to him ; until at last he grew so greedy for their lives, that, no longer able to put off the promised treat, he started up, and, seizing his spear, moved toward the girl. The sound of his heavy foot roused Anthy from her fitful sleep. Waking up, she saw the lifted spear of the Giant ready to pierce her breast, and raised her trembling arms to stay the blow. Then Huan beheld in her the same supplicating look the same uplifted hands the same appeal for mercy, as when he had seen her stand betwixt him and his father's blows. And the spear dropped harmlessly by his side. Then, as his head fell on his bosom, he felt his former love for her the only friend his youth had known gush, like a pent-up stream, into his breast again. And, as his nature softened, the Giant's rage dwindled into the Cripple's tenderness once more, and all his little sister's kindnesses stole, one after another, back to his mind. Turning from her, lest he should again grow savage, he said within himself, " she is the injured 48 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. and not the injurer !" and moved toward the Prince. But the kindly spirit had set in, and the savage was half-tamed. Aleph slept, and it was cowardly to kill a sleeping man ; and, if he woke him up to kill him, Anthy must remain forever dishonored, while, if he lived, the Prince might yet blot out by marriage the stain he had cast upon her. Then, again, it was not the royal boy who was to blame for the wrongs of the Cripple's infancy, but she who had sold his birthright to the King. In the impulse of the moment, he snapt their bonds asunder, and bade them fly while he was yet human. But the astounded Aleph, frightened at the strange manner of the Giant, stood transfixed to the ground. Giving them a lighted brand, Huan entreated them to be gone gone before he again became the savage. And, when they had gone, a holy peace, that he had never known before, crept over his heart, and Huan felt calm and happy for the first time in his life. He remembered that, as the Cripple, he had at least got some little pity ; and thought of what a life of strife he had led since he had been the Giant ; and, moreover, how the Spirit of Revenge had made him such a monster, that even his own sister could not recognize him. THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 49 Falling on his knees, he thanked Heaven for the blessed feelings it had given him : and, bursting into tears, he prayed to be again the Cripple that he before had been. Softened and soothed by his tears, he fell insensi- bly asleep. And, as the calm moonlight shone upon his face, it showed the peaceful smile upon his lips, as he lay profoundly at rest on his brown bed of leaves. And his dreams were of exceeding comfort to his wearied soul. For he saw a light, as of a thou- sand meteors, streaming down from Heaven, and. golden clouds resting on the green fields and piled one above another, till the topmost was lost in the amazing splendor of the skies. A white-winged host of angels stepped down from cloud to cloud, chanting to the music of their silver lutes a full- throated hymn, in glory of the kindly act. Then' as a thousand clarions trumpeted his praise, the angels moved back again to Heaven, and, mount- ing, beckoned, and bade Huan rise and follow them. Filled with a holy awe, the powerless Huan saw the winged host melt one by one from his sight in the brightness of the light above. As the last one stood on the topmost cloud of all, she looked back again, and once more beckoned him to follow her. As she turned away to leave him forever, the repentant Giant started up and, waking, found 4 50 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. himself a Dwarf, instead of the Cripple he had prayed to be. The sun was up and the jagged sides and roof of the cave sparkled with the light-drops, as though studded with myriads of many-colored gems. And the air was cool with the rising dew and fragrant with the breath of the fields ; while from the shady thickets of the forest without, floated the soft notes of the hezar and the wood-pigeon, crying, " Allah ! Allah !" Huan, for the first time since his birth, felt at peace with all the world. By his side stood the Spirit of Kindness, clad in robes of heavenly blue. Her wings were white as May blossoms, and in her bosom nestled a wound- ed dove. As she moved, there was a perfume of crushed flowers like bruised spirits breathing bless- ings for injuries. At first Huan looked with suspicion on the Spirit fancying she had come there not from any love of him, but for some cunning purpose of her own. But she gazed upon him so tenderly from out her tearful eyes, and smiled upon him with so compas- sionate a smile, that Huan's heart leapt toward her. He would have fallen down and worshiped her, but his bosom was too full to let him speak the blessings he longed to pour upon her, and he felt humbled, as if in the presence of God. And yet she looked so weak and gentle, as she THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 51 leaned for support upon the cross she bore, that Huan wondered within himself how she could have such power over him. She told him she had heard his prayer, and pitying him, had changed the unnatural strength of the Giant into the exceeding weakness of the Dwarf. Then, turning his spear into an olive- hranch, she bade him go forth her servant, and, by the very might of his weakness, and magic of its peaceful power, make more glorious conquests than with the weapons of war. But Huan feeling, as he strove to rise, how fee- ble and powerless he was, had little faith in what the Spirit spake, and feared to take the proffered branch. Seeing him hesitate, she advanced toward him, and strove by gentle words and wise precepts, to strengthen his purpose. And, among other things, she spake this parable : " When man had been sent from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground and live by the sweat of his brow, the Angels, sorrowing at his fall, cried, ' Surely he will perish, for there is no animal so defenseless as Man.' " Then Pity, looking down from Heaven, grieved for him, saying, ' Woe to the race of Man ! for of all God's creatures he is the most helpless in youth, the most imbecile in old age !' " And Justice, complaining, said, ' Ay, woe ! 52 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. woe to his race, for every beast of the field God hath clothed, but Man He hath left naked. To every beast of the field He hath given some weapon of defense, but Man He hath left unarmed. What shall his strength avail him against the strength of the lion, or his speed against the speed of the wolf?' " Then Reason rose up and said, ' Grieve not for the children of the earth ; for I will give unto them Cunning, so that what they cannot conquer by force they shall compass by stratagem.' " So Cunning took up her abode among men ; and she taught them to fashion the trees of the forest into clubs, wherewith to repel their enemies. " But soon Man, made wroth by envy, quarrel- ed with his kind, and, turning the club against his kinsman, slew his younger brother. " And, when the Angels saw the first blow struck, they sorrowed more bitterly than before, saying, ' We armed" him against the beasts of the field, but he hath raised the weapon in anger against his kindred. And, since Man wars with Man, we must protect the weak against the strong, so that, blow following blow, the strong, in fear, may cease to oppress the weak.' " Then Vengance, spear in hand, came down on Earth, and, arming the oppressed against their oppressors, bade them rise and give back tenfold the blows that had been dealt out to them. " So the Injured slew their Injurers. THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 53 " Then the sons of those that had been slain, in their turn, rose up, and, giving back again tenfold the blows, destroyed the slayers and their children too. " At length, blow begat blow so fast, that tribe warred with tribe, and nation battled with nation. " And then Peace, affrighted, fled back to Heaven, leaving Strife and Ruin to ravage all the Earth. " The angels heard the clatter of the fray, and took counsel among themselves, saying, 'Verily, the world will never be at rest. For since Man hath learned to meet blow with blow, and to have blood for blood, the circle of destruction must be endless. Oh, for some almighty weapon to stay this universal feud !' " So they all pondered on the means, and each Angel, in her turn, named som engine more fright- ful than the rest, wherewith to rain such certain death on all around, that men, fearing to face it, should cease to battle. "At last, there remained but one to speak, and the angel-band turned anxiously to her. ' You seek some new weapon,' she said, ' to check the wrath of Man some weapon to give back so pow- erful a blow, that men, however brave, shall lack the courage to stand up against it. There is one so mighty, that those you have named shall be weak as reeds to it one so certain that the boldest shall be cowed and the strongest be dis- armed by its power '' 54 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. " And the Angels wondered among themselves, and, cried with one voice, ' Thanks be to God ! Thanks be to God ! name it ! name it !' " Let Man,' she answered, ' avenge his wrongs with a kiss, and he shall find it a mightier weapon than the blow.' " And it was the Spirit of Kindness that spake the words. Falling on his knees, Huan thanked the Spirit for his altered nature, and, taking the proffered branch of peace, vowed never again to raise his hand against his erring brother. As he knelt before her, the Spirit blessed him ; and, while she spake the kindly words, the sun shone full upon her, and, melting in the light, she vanished from the cave. LIVE branch in hand, Huan sal- lied into the forest. As he looked down the long groves of trees, arched like leafy cloisters high above his head, the holy peaceful- ness of the place entered his heart, and made him tranquil as the woods around. Charmed with the scene, he paused, as he saw the long black shadows of the stems of the palm and the cedar streaking the green grass, while the sunbeams trickled through the leaves above, and sprinkled the Earth with an almost liquid light. Then, as he moved on again, the perfume of the wild flowers that he crushed beneath his feet filled the air with incense ; and, remembering how often he had trod that same path before, and seen it only as a place of gloom, Huan wondered how "the 56 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. beauty which encompassed him on every side hanging on every branch and sparkling on every blade could have been so long lost to him ; and it pained him, as he thought of the days upon days that he had lived in the midst of it, and yet lived almost as blind to it as if instead of the fair earth and glorious sky he had been the tenant of a dungeon." And he sat down in the shade so that the silent beauty of the wood might sink the deeper into his soul. In a moment, his heart wandered back to home, and, as he thought of his fallen sister, his long dried-up tears streamed forth once more. And he vowed within himself that she should be the first on whom he would try the magic of his power. Ay ! he would seek Anthy out, and, by his gentle counsels and loving care, win her back to the sunny path she had strayed from. He would talk to her, not of the dark and loathsome past, but of the bright and blessed future, telling her how the tears of repentance were the waters of the fountain of life. Not a harsh word would he say to her, but, remembering how severely Heaven had tried her with her beauty, he would pity her for the lovely curse that had been put upon her, and so renew her heart, that she lookin^j^Jifijself through her tears should hate the gift that once a Prince had prized. THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 57 So he rose up, resolving to go seek his mother, and learn from her where Anthy dwelt. As he journeyed homeward all the sufferings of his youth rose up one by one to his mind ; and, re- membering that his Father had left him a Crip- ple to perish in the woods, he thought how the old man's conscience would smite him, when he saw his boy still living, and how bitterly he would reproach himself when he heard that boy forgive him. Suddenly, a distant moan murmured through the forest. Huan paused to listen to it. Again and again the groans echoed through the woods, following one another so quickly and so sadly, that Huan, fired with the glory of his mis- sion, hurried in the direction whence they came. As he forced his way past the tangled briers and waded through the long rank grass, the cries grew so loud and deep, that Huan knew it was no human being that suffered. He stopped for a moment, fearing to advance. But the sounds were so full of anguish, and so free from rage, that compassion got the better of his fear, and, hurrying on again, at length he reached a low bushy spot, where, stretched among the tall mat-rushes, lay a huge black-maned lion, powerless with pain. When Huan saw the monster, and heard its roar, his heart sank within him, and he drew back 58 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. with fright. Still it looked at him with so suppli- cating a look, and cried so sorrowfully, as it licked its swollen paw, that the trembling Huan, gaining courage, stepped cautiously toward it. As he did so, the suffering beast raised the wounded limb, as if to ask for aid ; and as Huan stooped timidly to see what ailed it, the Lion licked his hand in gratitude. So, shaking off his fear, Huan laid the heavy foot upon his knee, and pressing the festered ball, drew from out it a thorn ; after which, he placed herbs upon it, and bound it up with part of his raiment. Then the joy of the poor brute, freed from the anguish of the thorn, knew no limit. Now it crouched before him and fawned at his feet, and now it rolled in the rushes, turning up its white stomach, as if entreating to be fondled by him. And, as Huan patted his dusky sides, it whined out its thanks, till the wood rang again with its noisy gratitude. Huan was moved almost to tears with the affec- tion his compassion had begotten in the brute, -and cried, " If the beasts of the field can be thus con- quered by kindness, what Miracles shall it not work in Man !" th.e