OCR Text |
Show THE HOM5. Edited by Miss Hazel Love, A. C. U. THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER. By Frances Hodgson Burnett III. The next morning a slpcndid procession pro-cession wound up the mountain road to the castle. There were princes and nobles and chieftains. Rich colors col-ors glowed in their attire and gorgeous gorg-eous banners waved over them, while music from gold and silver trumpets accompaincd them as they rode and their followers marched behind. The Ancient One in his robe of gray stood by King Amor on the stone terrace, guarded by its crouching, crouch-ing, carved lions. "This is your King O pcoplcl" he said. And when the people looked it was as he had said it would be. They drew back a little and gazed in fear, and many of the followers fell upon their knees; they thought they saw a beautiful young giant and god. But he was only a splendid and powerful young man who had never known a dark thought and had lived near to his brothers, the Stars. His horse, adorned with golden trappings, was brought, and he was led down the mountainside through the gates into the capital city of his kingdom. He desired that The Ancient An-cient One should ride by his side. What he saw as he rode to the place of coronation he had never seen before. be-fore. Notwithstanding the embroidered embroid-ered silk and velvet hangings de-coratiing de-coratiing the fronts of the rich people's peo-ple's houses he caught glimpses of filthy side-streets, squalid alleys and tumble-down tenements. He saw forlorn little children scud away like rats into their holes as he drew near, and wretched, vicious-looking men and women fighting with each other for places in the crowd. Sharp, miserable mis-erable faces peered around corners at him, and nobody smiled, because every one hated or distrusted his neighbor, and they dreaded and disliked dis-liked the young king because all the King Modreths had been evil and selfish, and he was this descendant. When tney saw that he was so tall and powerful and c: ricd his handsome hand-some head high, often looking upward, up-ward, they feared him still more, as their own heads hung down they' never saw anything but the dirt and dust beneath their feet or the quarrels quar-rels about them, so their minds were full of fears and ugly thoughts, and they at once began to be afraid of him and suspect him of being proud. The princes and nobles who rode in the procession tried to prevent King Amor from seeing the wretched looking people and ill-kept streets. They pointed out the palaces and decorations, and the beautiful ladies throwing flowers in his path from the balconies. He praised all the splendors and1 saluted the balconies, looking up with such radiant and smiling eyes that the ladies cried out that never had there been crowned such a beautiful young King before. "Do not look at the rabble, Your Majesty," the Prime Minister said. "They are an evil, ill-tcmpcrc'd' lot of malcontents and thieves." , "I would not look at them," answered ans-wered King Amor, "if I knew that I could not help them. There is, no time to look at dark things if one cannot make them "brighter. I look at these because there is something to be done. I do not yet know what." "There is such hatred in their eyes that they will only make you angry, sire," said a young Prince who rode near. "There is no time for anger," said Amor, holding his crowned head high. "It is a worthless thing. " After sunset here was a banquet and later a ball, and all were delighted de-lighted by the beauty and1 grace ot the new King. He was much brighter bright-er and more charming than any of the King Mordrcths had been. His laugh was full of gayety and the people peo-ple who stood near himi felt happier, though they did not know why. But when the ball wa,s at its height he stepped into the centre of .the room and spoke aloud to the splendid splen-did company. "I have seen the broad streets and the palaces and all that is beautiful in my capital," he said, "Now I must go to the narrow streets and the dark ones. I must see the miserable mis-erable people, the "wretched ones, the cripple and the thieves." iniMHMaMMiim I II i .i mm " Every one clamored and protested. m , These things they had hidden from j him; they said Kings should not sec them. "I will sec them," he said with a smile which was beautiful and strange. "I go now, on foot, an'd unattended un-attended except for my friend, The Ancient One. Let the ball go on." He rode through the glittering throng with the gray-clad Ancient One at his side. He still wore his crown upon his head, because he wished his people to know that their King had come to them'. Through dark and loathsome places they went, through narrow streets and back alleys and. courts where people scurried like rats. King mor could not have seen them but that he had 'brought with him a lantern and held it high above his head. The light shining upon his beautiful face and his crown made him look more than ever like a young god and giant, and the people cowered', terrified, before be-fore him, asking each other what such a King would do to wretches like themselves. But just a few very little children smiled at him because he was so young and splendid. No one in the black holes and -corners could understand why a King , should come walking among them on the night of his coronation day. Most of them thought that the next morning he would order them all to be killed and their houses burned, because he would only think of them as vermin. The look of deep thought was in his face throughout the hours in; which he strode on until he had seen all he had come to sec. The next day he rode back up thq mountain to his castle; when the night fell he lay out upon the battlements bat-tlements under the -sky as he had done on so many nights. The .soft wind blew about him as he looked up at the stars. . A" "I do not know, my brothers,'? he said to them. "Tell me." , j And he- lay silent until the great j sweet, stillness of the' night seemed j to fill his soul, and', when the stars began to fade he slept'-in rapturous j peace. : o |