yourself among mortal beings of earth, instead of with the favored guests of Fairyland.

The king, knowing how impossible it would be to enact wisdom while the minds of his subjects were thus excited, resolved to persuade them to take higher aims, more consistent with their fairy privileges and immortal natures.

"Can you," said the king, "you who breathe an air but of purity, can you desecrate yourselves by dissensions like to earthlings? I rule among immortals; and my kingdom is founded on beauty, order, harmony, and love. Consider the tendency of your proceedings; consider the happiness lost by your refusing to coincide with fairy justice. Fairyland, unlike to earthdom, is all aspiration, yet beautiful contentment. Could I, by any foresight, anticipate what would be for your highest good, I would say, Relinquish that which seems to be for the present moment alone auspicious, and resign yourselves to that which will bring good for the future. Great results are slow in their achievement. Abrupt revolutions are uncongenial to Nature and Providence.

God and Nature move the world by slow degrees. The removal from the evil to the good is so gradual, that even the elfin race know not by their first experience when they have attained to fairy and immortal privileges.

"Let us be doing for the best good of all, and we shall find that all is harmony, as it ought to be, in our fairy circle; and none shall call us to account for bringing unnecessary trouble into our fairy realm."

As the king spoke, a delightful peace seemed to be diffusing itself through the court; but, as at the same time a flood of sunlight burst forth in all its splendor, one could not say whether it was the peace that brought the sun, or the sun the peace. However, the whole court seemed transformed, as if by magic, into order and harmony: then one might have looked in vain for the apple of discord in their midst. Now might you have seen every flower standing up erect, with its own proper sprite within it, instead of being drooped, and bowed to the ground. There was the stately crown-imperial,

with its little elf of rightful aims; and the larkspur, ready, with its sharp prick, for useful activity; and the dragon's-tooth, divested of its fang; and the columbine and blue-bell, aspiring, each on their own native stem; and the marigold and hollyhock, not vying with one another, but showing to advantage their rich gold, and crimson tints. The blush-rose was more fragrant than ever; and the lesser flow. ers the sweet mignonette, the modest violet and

lily-breathed more freely forth their natural odors and perfume.

CHAPTER XXI.

SCENES IN PARIS.

WHEN Nannine and Gianina, after a time, with their family, left their dear home in Italy -— and the villa and garden, with their fairy inhabit

ants to go across the broad ocean to make

a long visit to their friends in America, they stopped a while in Paris; and there they were taken up with quite different scenes in that gay and busy world. "What a beautiful city!" we could not all but exclaim; and one almost of fairy enchantment, as we entered it in the evening; its thousands of lights, many of them in pretty and fanciful forms, making a most brilliant illumination. But it was all real in the morning when we

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arose, and we could only busy ourselves with its bright and lively occupations.

The gardens of the Tuileries, near by the hotel where we were, are charming, very spacious; and the ground is all bare of grass, and smooth, but cov ered with elegant trees, which give a delightful, cool shade, where one can stay all the day long if one chooses. Ladies may sit there in chairs — which you can have for a penny - with their work; and gentlemen may stroll up and down with a book in their hand, and children play. How sweetly the little French boys and girls looked in their neat, pretty dresses, playing ball, cup and ball, rolling hoop, and jumping rope! and all so harmless and happy, without any boisterousness or any thing to censure.

On a holiday afternoon, too, how gay! the whole place literally swarming with the multitudes; and then the children, in their gala dresses and ribbons, look like so many bright-colored butterflies dancing about hither and thither.

A little farther on are the "Champs Élysées; "a