....
~?!:
THEY BELONG TO TItI'E GREAT KING.




^e jun^ lle^eu^r^








KING'S MESSENGERS,
AN ALLEGORICAL TALE. 
B Y TH
REV. W.'-AD A M 8, M. A.
I  1LLxOW o0 MERTON- OOLLZGB, oxrORD
AUTHOR OF
THU SHADOW OF THEI OROS. 
Lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaaen.-MATT, Vl. M
FROM THE LONDON EDITION,
WITH ENGRAVINGS EXECUTED BY W. HOWLAND
FROM ORIGINA [, DESIGNS
BY WEIR.
EIGHTH AMERICAN EDITION.
NEW YORK:
GENERAL PItOTESTANT EPISCOPAL S. S. UNION
antb QClrtctb 3Soek   ocfets, 
762 BROADWAY.
1858.
I.. -                  ____    -~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




ENTERED according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848, by
JOHN W. MITCHELL, (as TREASURER of the General Prostestant
Episcopal Sunday School Union,) in the Office of the Clerk of
the United States District Court for the Southern District of
New York.
I                                                                        I




TO
CONSTANCE KNOLLYS
A  D
HER BROTHERS
Ir:fs Afttle Yolumne I  KnacrfbeoTHR IR GODFATHER
THE AUTHOR.








ZLb,~ertizemtnt.
THE following tale differs, in some
respects, both in design and character,
from  the preceding allegories by the
same author. It is not intended to give
a general view of our state as Christians, but merely to bring forward,
prominently  and  distinctly, a  single
Christian  duty.   In  consequence of
this, it involves very little of doctrinal
teaching, while the allegorical meaning
lies so completely on the surface, that
the youngest child cannot fail to apprehend it.  For both these reasons, any




6         ADVERTISEMENT.
explanatory  conversations  have  been
considered unnecessary.   But a conversation of a different character has
been annexed, in order to obviate the
misconstruction to which the dwelling
on any one duty to the exclusion of
others is always liable, and, at the same
time, to apply and illustrate the truths
conveyed in the story.
BONCHURCH,
Dec. 26, 1847.




3ntrobuction.
"HAS any one called during my absence?" inquired Mr. Mertoun of his
nephew, Leonard, on returning home
after his usual round of parochial visits.
"No one," replied the boy; "I have
been with Mary in the garden, and if
they had, I could not have helped seeing them."
"It is strange," said Mr. Mertoun,
"are you quite sure there has been no
one?"
"Quite sure," he answered, but presently added, correcting himself, "at
least, no one of any consequence-only
some poor man."




8          INTRODUCTION
The tone in which the last words
were uttered, no less than the answer
itself, grated harshly on Mr. Mertoun's
ear.  " Only some poor man!" he repeated; "why, Leonard, do you say
only?. Might not his visit be of consequence?"
The boy looked confused, but endeavoured to justify his former reply, by
saying, " Of consequence to himself,
uncle, but I meant, of no consequence
to you."
"Nay, my dear boy," replied Mr.
Mertoun, "you now speak even more
thoughtlessly than before.  It could
not have been the one without being
the other also. -Remember, that it can
never be of more importance for the
poor man to declare his wants than it
is for those who have the means to




INTRODUCTION.           9
relieve them. Do you think you understand me?"
"I believe, uncle, I do," he replied,
thoughtfully. " You mean, as you told
us on Sunday, that'it is more blessed
to give than to receive.'"
"Mr. Mertoun perceived from  the
reply, that he had awakened the train
of reflection which he wished, and did
not, at the time, pursue the conversation. But the words, "only some poor
man," kept recurring painfully to his
own  mind.  His nephew  and niece
had been with him  but a few days,
yet it was not the first time he bad
observed in them a want of sympathy
for the poor. This was, perhaps, an
almost necessary result of their having
been brought up in London. No opportunity had been there afforded them




10        INTRODUCTION.
of visiting the poor in their own homes.
They had learned to look upon all
beggars as impostors, and drew  no
distinction between real and pretended
cases of distress.  Thus, though in
other respects they were loving and
obedient children, and well grounded
in the principles of the Christian faith,
the numerous warnings in the Gospel
concerning the danger of wealth, and
its only safeguard, remained to them
almost a dead letter.
It was with a view of remedying
this defect, and bringing distinctly before them the important office assigned to the poor by our Blessed LORD,
that on the evening, of the above conversation their uncle told them  the
following story.




Qlh  Wing'8s Mtssmngtr.
CHAPTER I.
Largely Thou givest, gracious LoRD,
Largely Thy gifts should be restored:
Freely Thou givest, and Thy word
Is "freely give."
He only who forgets to hoard,
Has learn'd to live.
OHRISTIAN YSAR.
THE  city of Metoecia lay to the west
of the dominions of a, Great King.  It
was an ancient city, and had gradually
become very large and populous.  But
the original settlers had been placed




12    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
there in consequence of a rebellion
against the King's authority; and a
remarkable law  continued to prevail
among their descendants as a memorial
of their crime. No one was allowed to
remain in it above a certain number of
years, and no one, when he left it, was
permitted to take any portion of his
property with him.  This was called
the law of Exile. The Great King had
himself enacted it, and the citizens had
no resource but submission. There was
not even a fixed and definite period allotted for their stay. They were liable
at any moment to receive the Royal
Mandate.  It came to them  also one
by one.  As each was summoned to
depart, his dearest friends could only
accompany him as far as the gates of
the city.  And he was then stripped




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   13
of all his possessions, and sent forth
as an exile on his solitary journey.
Now, as the inhabitants of Metoecia
were principally merchants, one would
have imagined that such a law must
have proved a source of perpetual disquietude and alarm. Yet this was not
the case.  Occasionally, indeed, when
it was enforced against a very rich man,
it would awaken sad thoughts in his
companions, and cause them to mourn
over the uncertainty of their wealth.
But, for the most part, they all lived
on in a false security. Every one fancied his possessions to be as really his
own as though he had been able to retain them at will. Such a delusion may
appear unaccountable; but, we must
remember, that they had gradually become accustomed to the law, and for




14    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
that reason it was lightly regarded by
them or altogether forgotten.
The Great King, however, was full
of compassion, and took much thought
for the poor exiles, who were thus careless of themselves. He knew how dark
and dreary was the wilderness that surrounded the city, and was unwilling
that any should be left there to perish.
He did not, indeed, reverse his original
decree, but he did far more than this.
He changed it from a punishment into
a blessing. He offered to receive the
exiles into a better and more glorious
City than that from which he took them.
If they rejected this offer the fault was
their own. All the conditions on which
it was made were very easy, and the
King himself had promised to enable
the citizens to perform them. But we




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.    15
need not dwell upon them  all, for one
alone which applied  more especially
to the wealthier merchants is brought
before us by the present story.
In the city of Metoecia dwelt four
brothers, Philargyr, Megacles, Euprepes, and Sophron.  At the period at
which I commence their history, the
sentence of exile had -lately been pronounced against their father.  He had
been a merchant of enormous wealth;
and as, in accordance with the law, he
was allowed to take nothing for his
own  wants, the whole of  his vast
possessions had fallen into the hands of
his children.  They had met- in order
to divide them.  The room  in which
they assembled for this purpose was
filled with the most costly furniture.
The floor was covered with cloth of
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I




16    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
gold, which was now  partially concealed by bales of yet more valuable
merchandise, and heaps of precious
stones which had been placed there,
to await the choice of the brothers.
Two sides of the apartment were hung
with the most gorgeous tapestry, on
the third was a window commanding
an extensive view  towards the west,
while the wall opposite to the window
was entirely covered by a spacious mirror, which reflected the various objects
in the room itself and the street beyond.
But, in the midst of all this external
splendour, a cloud sate on the countenance of each of the brothers.  The
departure of their father was too recent
to allow them to forget the transitory
character of the treasures which they
were about to share. Let a few years




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   17
pass, and each in his turn would be
compelled to leave them, and go forth
without money,. without home, and
without friends, into the dreary desert
that lay around the city.
It was these thoughts which rendered
them sad. They had never before felt
the full burthen of the law of exile;
they had been aware of its existence,
for no citizen could be ignorant of it;
but hitherto they had seen it, as it were,
in the distance. It now seemed to meet
them directly in their own path, and to
force itself on their attention; so that
the eldest brother did but echo the
feelings of the rest when he said, "Of
what profit is this enormous wealth?
In the day of our banishment it will
not purchase for us the delay of a
single hour. How gladly would I barB




j 18    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
ter the whole of it for some quiet dwelling-place, where we might remain in
security for ever!"
He had not yet finished speaking,
when his eyes were attracted by the
mirror, which I have described as covering one side of the room. Some image
appeared to be moving across it, which
was not visible in the apartment itself.
He pointed it out to his brothers, and
it was clear from their anxious looks
that they beheld it also.  It was as
the form  of an old man.  There was
nothing in  his appearance  to excite
terror, but every object as seen in the
mirror was changed by his presence,
His foot trod on the cloth of gold, and
it became mouldering and worm-eaten:
The hem of his garment swept against
a table of solid ivory, and it fell crumb1. —1-..~..-..........~.-   -------------- 




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   19
ling into dust: while the bales of merchandise and precious stones lost their
richness and splendour, as his cold eye
rested upon them.
The brothers watched these signs
with a sensation of chilling fear, and the
eldest already repented his hasty words.
For, in truth, in his inmost heart, he
deeply  loved  the  glittering  wealth,
and he was afraid lest the mysterious
stranger might take it away, and give
him in its stead the quiet dwelling for
which he had asked.
At length it seemed to them that the
image of the old man thus addressed
them:-" Children, your wish is vain.
You must not speak of. bartering these
treasures for a lasting home. They are
not really yours; they belong to the
Great King, whose subjects you are
B2




20    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
Restore them to him now, and he will
keep them for you, and in the day of
your exile give them to you again. In
this city they are worthless. See how
even my slightest touch here causes
them  to decay.  But in the King's
palace they become incorruptible.  I
have no power over them there."
The brothers were yet more troubled
at his words. They knew well that all
the riches of Metoecia belonged to the
Great King; but they were disquieted
at the thought of restoring them  to
him again. A vague fear arose that the
sentence of exile was about to be passed against themselves; and all, in some
degree, shared the apprehensions of
Philargyr.  The old man appeared to
read their thoughts, and. thus replied to
them:




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   2.
"Fear not; I am not now come to
deprive you of your wealth. Hereafter,
indeed, I shall return with the Royal
Mandate, but in that hour you will both
see and feel that I am near. To-day
my voice comes to you from a distance,
and it is but my reflected image that
you behold. Yet I bear you a message
from the Great King. You have wished
to purchase for yourselves a lasting
home; I have said that you cannot purchase it, because your riches are not
your own; they belong to the Great
King. You must trust them freely to
his Messengers, without asking for a
return; and he will store them up for
you in his own palace,. and, when you
are driven from hence, will suffer you
to dwell with his children in a Glorious
City where the law of exile is unknown.




22    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
But beware lest you neglect this warning, and defraud the Great King of the
riches committed to your trust; for if
you refuse to give them to his Messengers, and either hoard them up or spend
them on yourselves, you will have no
treasure laid up for you in the Royal
Palace, and the gates of the Glorious
City will be closed against you for
ever."
Now, there was nothing really new to
the merchants in the old man's warning.  The royal offers of pardon, and
the dangers of the neglect of them, were
well known in the city.  But the inhabitants seldom spoke of them to one
another, because they loved their riches
and were unwilling to render obedience
to the King's commands. The brothers
had hitherto shared in the general feelL1




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.    23
ing; and it was, perhaps, only because
the remembrance of their father's departure  was  weighing heavily  upon
them that they had so long listened to
the voice which now  addressed them.
It did not, indeed, seem to pass through
their ears at all, but to fall at once inwardly on their hearts, and for the present they could not help regarding it.
Yet all shrank from  asking in what
way they were to send their treasures
to the Royal Palace.  They were not,
however, left in doubt.  The reflection
of the street in which their house stood
was, as I have said, visible in the mirror.  The figure of the old man now
pointed towards it; and as he did so,
the young merchants heard distinctly
the words, "Behold the Messengers of
the Great King!"
i   -._~~_. ________~~~_ _ _.__~~.   ___. _~~~.~.._.   _~~~-___ -- --— ~ —--




24    THE KING'S MESSENOrmlt
Th v fUllowed the direction O  his
tinger, and it seemed to them  hiat the
approach to their luurwious dwelling was
now crowded with every form of disease
and want. The pool, the maimed, and
the blind, were there. M3n who seemed stimulated to madness by famine,
and little infants who could  scarce
crawl upon the ground, formed part
of the same vast concourse.  Still, as
the old man pointed, their numbers
went on increasing in every direction,
until, as far as the eye could reach,
every sign of wealth and luxury had
disappeared, and in their stead was
one universal scene of misery.  Presently the shrieks of the dying, the
cries of orphans, and the wailing of
widows, rose in the air; and then, out
Tf the tumult, the low solemn voice of




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   25
the old man fell once more on the hearts
of the brothers.
"These," he said, "and such as these,
are the Messengers of the Great King.
Numerous as they are, they will come
to you in secret, and one by one. Trust
them with your treasure, and it will be
safe; they will bear it for you to the
Royal Palace. The journey thither is
long and dangerous; but if you are
sincere in your wish to send it, the
Great King will not suffer it to be lost.
Only do not cause them to linger needlessly within the city walls; and let
their departure be secret, lest the King's
enemies should impede them on their
way."
The form of the old man gradually
disappeared as he ceased speaking; and
the signs of his presence passed away;




26    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
the ivory table, the cloth of gold, and
the heaps of precious stones, resumed
the beauty and splendour which they
had lost.  The brothers once more
breathed freely.  Hitherto their eyes
had been riveted by a kind of fascination on the mirror. They now looked
anxiously around the apartment itself;
but it had undergone no change.  If
the old man had trodden upon it, not
one trace of his footsteps had been left.
They then turned their eyes towards
the window.  The street presented its
usual appearance; there was the busy
throng hurrying  hither and  thither,
and splendid equipages, and waggons
laden with merchandise. But they saw
nothing to remind them  of the view
presented by the mirror, save some few
beggars who chanced to linger at their




THE KING S MESSENGERS.   27
door.  As Philargyr threw  cpen the
sash to inhale the fresh air, they eagerly
asked the young merchants for alms;
and there was not one wh,) at that
moment could refuse to give them; for
the words of the stranger were fresh in
their memory, and they felt every poor
man to be a Messenger from the Great
King.




.I)e., ing's  Jesslsengrs.
CHAPTER II.
CHRIST before thy door is waitingRouse thee, slave of earthly gold.
Lo, He comes, thy pomp abating,
Hungry, thirsty, homeless, cold.
LYBA INN001INTI=M
THE brothers were too deeply affected
by the warning of the old man to proceed to the immediate division of their
wealth.  At one time, they even contemplated  holding it in common, and
consulted together on the best means
of restoring it to the Great King. But
fiom  the first, their views differed so




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   29
greatly, that they could agree on no
settled plan. And, during the interval
consumed in their discussions, their
feelings underwent a partial change
The words of the stranger seemed to
lose their distinctness.  Their riches
recovered, in some degree, the value
they had lost; and at length they reverted to their original plan of dividing
them into four parts, so that each might
take his own share, and do with it as
he pleased.
Philargyr was entrusted with th9 division.   Many months elapsed while
he was absorbed in his calculations,
and settling how  large a portion he
might appropriate to himself.  During
this time he was more than once interrupted by Messengers from the Great
King.  But their applications were in
L   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___  _ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _




30    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
vain.  He always returned the same
answer, that, until the property was
divided, no portion of it could be transmitted to the Royal Palace.
At length the division was made.
The younger brothers were satisfied,
though none were able to follow the
calculations of Philargyr. Each had a
share assigned to him, which, considering the  shortness of their probable
sojourn in the city, seemed inexhaustible, and each was left to follow his
own course.
I proceed to give a brief sketch of
their history.
The remarkable point in that of Philargyr, the eldest, was his utter forgetfulness, not only of the old man's
warning, but of the law of the city in
which he dwelt. Every act of his life




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   31
appeared to set them at defiance. His
one great object was to accumulate
wealth.  He neither trusted it to the
King's Messengers, nor spent it in procuring  the  good-will of his fellowcitizens, but hoarded it up within the
walls of his own house. There was no
present gratification that he would not
sacrifice, in the hope of adding to his
possessions for future years. And this.he did with the sentence of exile hanging over his head, and the positive,
certainty, that, when he left the city,
he would not be allowed to take the
smallest portion of them away.
I have already said, that the inhabitants of Metoecia lived, for the most
part, in forgetfulness of the law  of
Exile.  But the conduct of Philargyr
appeared unaccountable even to the




32    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
most thoughtless among them. He was
supposed to be under the influence of
a spell; and the following legend was
commonly reported through the city:There had been, it was rumoured,
a mine of gold communicating with
the house of the departed merchant.
Philargyr had taken possession of it,
unknown to his brothers.  This mine
was haunted by an evil spirit, who had
beguiled him  by specious offers of
assistance.  For a  time  they had
laboured together; but the evil spirit,
while  pretending  to  work  out the
precious ore, had changed the mine
into a dungeon, and bound Philargyr
hand and foot with chains of gold.
After he had thus made him captive,
he refused to allow him to return to
the upper air, unless he would become




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   33
his slave, and  labour incessantly in
bringing new treasures to the mine. It
was farther said, that the golden bonds
had never from that hour been removed;
and that though they were invisible
to the naked eye, the signs of their
presence might be detected in every
look and gesture of the unhappy merchant. Thus his head was continually
bent downwards, and his very walk. constrained and embarrassed, because the
chains and fetters that he wore weighed
heavily upon him and impeded his steps.
Strange as this legend seems, it-was,
in the main, true. One part alone was
incorrect. The spirit of the gold mine
had not used threats or violence; he
had, throughout, accomplished his purpose by treachery, and Philargyr had
sunk, imperceptibly, into a state of serC




34    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
vitude. His chains had been light and
flexible when they were first twined
around his limbs.  It was while he
wore them that, by little and little, they
had increased in size and strength.
For such was the nature of those bonds,
that, when newly wrought, they were
most easily broken.  For this reason,
he was not suffered to feel their pressure
until they had been hardened by time;
and even then, the change was so gradual, that Philargyr was not aware of
it.  The signs of his bondage, which
seemed so clear to others, passed unnoticed by himself.
Still, however, he was a slave, and
by little and little incurred the full
misery of servitude, though to the last
unconscious of its cause.  Morning,
noon, and evening, he laboured for an








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THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   35
insatiable master, who allowed him no
share in the profits of his toil. Every
day was passed in drudgery and weariness; every night in anxiety and care.
Not an hour was given him  to share
the amusements of his fellow-citizens;
not an hour for the duties of hospitality; not an hour for the quiet enjoyment of home. His whole time was
claimed by the spirit of the gold mine;
and very heavy and monotonous was
the task imposed upon him. If a child
were forced to go on, hour after hour,
casting up a sum the figures of which
were innumerable, he might form some
idea of the employment of Philargyr.
His wealth was to him but as an endless sum, and his most successful enterprises did but add some new figure
to the account.
C2




36    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
Yet even this would give no just
notion of his misery.  He could not
help believing the old man's warning,
though his whole life was at variance
with his belief.  He knew  that his
buried treasure would be worse than
useless when the day of his exile arrived. The gates of the Glorious City
would be closed against him, and endless wanderings in the dreary wilderness' were certain to succeed the present season of anxiety and toil.  His
heart often shrank within him, as he
witnessed  the averted looks of the
Messengers of the Great King. They
did not even offer to carry his treasures
to the Royal Palace, for long experience
had taught them  that it was a waste
of words to seek employment from
Philargyr.  Again and again had he




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   37
resolved to entrust them with some portion of his wealth, but the subtle chains
of gold withheld his hand, and, while
he was struggling against them, the
opportunity passed by, and he deferred
till the morrow his intended gift.
While the eldest of the four brothers
thus laboured incessantly for the spirit
of the mine, the second was following
a very different path.  He was unfettered by any chain of gold, and his
bearing was high and noble; his step
firm  and free.  He looked down on
his very riches with disdain, and they
won him the envy and admiration of
his fellow-citizens instead of their pity
and  contempt.  But while, in every
other respect, his conduct afforded a
marked contrast to that of Philargyr,
there was one important point in which




38    THE KING S MESSENGERS.
he resembled him. He neglected alto.
gether the old man's warning.
There was a district in Metoecia, far
removed from the stir and traffic of the
crowded streets, and farther still from
the dwellings of the King's Messengers.
It was remarkable for the beauty and
costliness of its buildings.  The erection of these formed a favourite occupation of the more wealthy merchants.
Their appearance was very irregular,
for the size and form  of each varied
with  the taste and resources of the
individual who raised it. But all might
be  comprehended  under  two  great
classes.  Some were frail and unsubstantial, and intended to  please the
eye for one short summer, and then
make way for others not less perishable than themselves; while some were




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.        39
built of firm and durable materials, in
the  hope that they might  stand  for
centuries as memorials of their archi.
tects. The one class were for the most
part called villas of Pleasure; the other,
towers of Fame.
It was to the erection of one of these
latter that Megacles  devoted his vast
wealth.  The whole energy of his mind
was given to this single object, and its
gradual accomplishment was watched
by  his fellow-citizens with  the most
eager interest.   The  raising  of  the
tower formed quite an  epoch in the
history of Metcecia. Wonderful stories
were told of the depth of its foundations
and the thickness of its walls.  Each
of the vast stones seemed to have its
own legend "annexed to it, while the
quarry  from  which  they  came, and




40    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
the names of the workmen, and every
detail connected  with  the  building,
were carefully preserved in the annals
of the city. But all this I must pass
over very briefly, for the King's Messengers had no share in the work; and
from this cause the whole narrative of
the tower, which appeared so eventful
to Megacles and his brother merchants,
has but little interest in the present
story.
The whole soul of Megacles was ab
sorbed in the erection of the building;
-and these few words comprise his history. He did not keep aloof from his
fellow-citizens, but he made his intercourse with them  subservient to this
one object. If he visited the- crowded
streets, it was in order to select work-qen of skill and strength. If he went




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   41
into the market-place, it was to change
his gold and jewels for blocks of marble
and granite. His perseverance was re- 
warded, and his work prospered. Day
after day the tower increased in size
and beauty.  It was to no purpose
that the wind and storm beat against
it; the firm foundations defied their
power.  The wreck of tie surrounding
buildings was made to assist its growth.
Some of these had been left as fragments, in consequence of the sudden
exile of their architects.  Some were
mouldering away with the lapse of
time; and some were purposely undermined by the workmen of Megacles.
He selected from  the ruins of each
such stones as seemed suited for the
accomplishment of his design; until at
length his tower rose so far above every
__J~~~




42    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
other in the city, that it appeared to
stand by itself in solitary grandeur.
The more it grew, the more was the
mind of Megacles absorbed in its growth.
It seemed to exercise a fascination over
him, and from the day in which it became visible from every part of the city,
his eye was seldom  withdrawn from
it.  This ma3 in part account for his
neglect of the King's Messengers. His
look was raised above them while he
watched his tower. Even if they ventured to speak to him, their voices
failed to arrest his attention; for his
ear had been so long filled with the din
and tumult of building, that it had been
rendered deaf to any gentler sound.
Yet, notwithstanding  his  success,
Megacles was not happy.  He was
perpetually changing or adding to his
i~~~~_~____




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   43
tower.  It never seemed to have attained the perfection that he designed.
He remembered also how the city of
Metoecia was liable to the shock of
earthquakes, so that at any moment
the vast fabric mignt -be shaken from
its foundation, and reduced to a heap
of ruins. Neither was this all. Even
at those times in which he was able to
view  with unmingled satisfaction the
tower itself, there was still a cloud upon
his vision of glory. It had arisen, in the
first instance, from the simple question
of a poor wayfaring man. Megacles
had observed him gaze earnestly at the
building, and then turn aside, as though
to conceal his tears.  He could not
help inquiring what train of thoughts
it had called forth, to lead to such an
expression of sorrow.  There was a




44    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
strange sadness in the wayfarer's reply. "I was thinking," he said, "how
long this vast tower was calculated to
last."  "How long!" exclaimed Megacles, with indignant pride; "centuries
on centuries will elapse, and there shall
be no symptoms of decay."  "And I
was also thinking," he continued, in the
same melancholy tone, "how  long its
possessor will remain within its walls!"
The wayfarer had disappeared before
Megacles could reply; but the unwelcome
words kept recurring to his mind in spite
of every effort to suppress them. It was
true that only half the period usually
allotted to the merchants for their sojourn in Metcecia had as yet passed by;
but he knew that, at any moment, his
sentence of exile might be pronounced,
and that the strength of his tower would




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   45
not delay its enforcement for a single
hour.  The warning of the old man
now came back to his remembrance,
and brought with it new  feelings of
disquietude and alarm. Where Were
the immehse riches that had been intrusted to his care? Had any portion
of them  been laid up in the Royal
Palace?  Alas! he shrank from the
reply.  He  had  not, indeed, buried
them in the earth like Philargyr. On
the contrary, he  had often lavished
them  with an unsparing hand. But,
while he had seldom failed to examine
those who came for them on their health,
their strength, and their skill in building, he had forgotten the one only important question,-he had never asked,
whether they were Messengers of the
Great King.
i.~                -__




46    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
There was a time when, as these
thoughts passed through the mind of
Megacles, he half formed the resolution of pulling down, stone by stone,
the tower which he had raised, and
giving the materials to the King's Messengers. But the dread of ridicule and
pride of heart prevailed. He felt that
he should incur the mockery of his
brother merchants, if, after years of
incessant labour, his own hand were to
destroy the sole produce of his toil.
He once more fixed his gaze stedfastly
on the lofty building, and resolved to
suppress every doubt and alarm. His
efforts were at length successful. Not
only did his former triumphant feeling
return, but a yet more fatal delusion
seized him.  He fancied the story of
the King's Messengers, and the Royal








I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~T
L''  i~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i,,    I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~,Atle
r( Ilrl ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~YIHll1 




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   47
Palace, and the Glorious City, to be a
mere invention; and maintained that
notwithstanding the law of Exile, the
only sure and lasting resting-place was
to be found in the tower of Fame.
Alas! even while he was giving vent
to these boastful words, his own sentence of exile had gone forth, and the
bearer of the Royal Mandate was at
hand. But we must leave him awhile,
to follow the history of the two remaining brothers.




fhe  iin^g's  tcssecners.
CHAPTER III.' Ti not the eye of keenest blaze,
Nor the quick swelling breast,
That soonest thrills at touch of praise:
These do not please him best.
But voices low and gentle,
And timid glances shy,
That seem for aid parental
To sue all wistfully.
OHRISTIrAl YEBA
THE story of Euprepes, the third brother, differs greatly  from   the  two  that
have preceded  it.   Thevwarning of the
old man did not merely leave a transient  impression   upon  his  mind, but
L  _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _            _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.    49
gave a colouring to his whole course
of action. He talked of it loudly and
frequently to his fellow-citizens, and
described, in affecting language, the
wonderful vision which the mirror had
disclosed. As soon as he received his
share of his father's wealth, he resolved
to spend no portion on the pleasures of
the city, but to transmit the whole to
the King's Palace.
He did not fail to make public his
intention; and there was no lack of
Messengers.  First one, then another
came, each with his own tale of poverty
or distress, and each promising to carry
safely the treasure committed to his
trust. Euprepes gave to all alike with
an unsparing hand'; but he soon grew
weary of the monotony of the employment. All went on quietly day after
D




60    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
day. There was no interest or excitement. His proceedings were either unobserved or disregarded by the greater
part of the inhabitants of the city.  He
fancied that this was, in part, the fault
of his Messengers. As soon as they
received his gifts, they used studiously
to conceal them  and shrink from the
observation of those who met them in
the streets. In order to prevent this,
he directed that they should carry the
bags of money openly in their hands,
and  from  time to time give public
notice of the object of their journey
Some few refused compliance, and were
immediately dismissed his service.
This expedient, in part, succeeded.
The Messengers were often seen and
questioned, and more than one friend
congratulated  Euprepes on the store




THE KING S MESSENGERS.   61
he was laying up in the Royal Palace.
Still, however, he was dissatisfied. He
required  something  more  than this.
The way of sending the money seemed
to him out of keeping, both with the
vastness'of his wealth and with the
important object for which it was sent.
Bright visions would cross his mind
of long triumphal processions through
the streets of the city, and of shouts
and acclamations attending their progress.
Now, while he was indulging these
thoughts, a man in the garb of a herald
stood before him.  His form, at first,
was dim  and uncertain; but as the
young merchant gazed upon it, it gradually increased in distinctness.  He
wore a gorgeous livery, and had a
golden trumpet in his hand. He thus
D2




52    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
addressed himself to Euprepes: —" Your
noble purpose has been long known to
me; neither have you been remiss in
carrying it into effect.  But there is
one thing which you have forgotten.
Such wealth as yours should not be
trusted to a few scattered Messengers,
who wander, some here and some there,
and hide themselves in the obscure
corners of the city. You require the
assistance of a herald to. summon them
all at a stated period, and then to
marshall them  in their ranks, and
arrange the order of their procession,
Let, then, that office be mine."
The whole complexion of the life of
Euprepes was changed by this proposal.
He at once adopted the herald's suggestion, and the monotony of which
he had complained passed away. From




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.    53
henceforth his embassies to the Royal
Palace excited no less interest in the
city than the tower of Megacles, while
they proved to himself a source of perpetual triumph. It will be sufficient to
describe one of them; for, though they
seemed to his brother merchants to pre
sent an endless variety of appearance,
the principal features in all are in reality
alike, and the first embassy that he sent
will give a true view of his history.
When the day for the grand procession had been fixed, the herald sounded
his trumpet, and proclaimed it far and
wide through the streets of the city.
In the meanwhile the young merchant
collected many costly bales of merchandise, and exchanged a large quantity of
jewels for silver and gold. As all this
was done publicly in the market-place,




54    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
it tended greatly to increase the general
interest. The doors of his own mansion
were closed, and the few solitary Messengers who came to them, from time
to time, were dismissed with orders to
return together on the day announced
by the herald.
On the appointed morning the windows of the neighbouring houses were
thronged with spectators.  Presently
the crowd thickened in the street, until
the whole of it was blocked up by
persons professing to be King's Messengers.  So vast was the concourse
that many a poor widow and orphan
struggled in vain to pass through it,
and returned sadly to their own homes
without once obtai ing a sight of the
dwelling of Euprepes. At midday the
young merchant appeared. He was at



THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   65
tended by a splendid retinue of friends;
near him were the bales of goods and
the gold and silver which he was about
to distribute, but nearer still was the
herald, who never failed to keep closely
to his side. The sun shone fully upon
them; and as its rays were reflected
back by their bright apparel and the
golden trumpet and the precious metals
that lay scattered upon the ground, the
air was rent with the acclamations of
the assembled multitudes.
After the shouts had continued some
minutes, the herald proclaimed silence;
and Euprepes, taking coins of various
sizes from the heaps at his side, scattered them indiscriminately among the
people.  A  scene of fearful confusion
followed, while each Messenger struggled for his share. Many of the most




66-   THE KING S MESSENGERS.
weak and sickly were crushed  and
trodden under foot.  The young merchant could see but a small portion of
their sufferings, yet even that gave rise
to painful thoughts; but the whisperings
from within were quickly suppressed by
the loud voice of the herald, as he proclaimed "Hasten, hasten, ye Messengers; gather up the treasures of Euprepes the merchant, which he bids you
bear to the distant Palace of the Great
King."
It was not until the vast stores which
Euprepes had provided for the occasion
were exhausted, that the tumult ceased.
And then the herald arranged the Mes
sengers in a long procession, that they
might march publicly through the city.
It was a strange sight to see that troop
of miserable objects, moving along to




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   67
the sound of a trumpet, with all the
external signs of triumph and joy.
The misery of their general appearance
formed, for the most part, a singular
contrast to the costly burthens which
they bore. Many of them seemed conscious of this, and shrank instinctively
from the observation of their fellows;
but none were permitted to desert the
order of march; and ever, as they advanced onward, the voice of the herald
proclaimed louder and louder, " Behold,
ye citizens, behold the riches of Euprepes, which he sends before him to the
distant Palace of the Great King.
The procession was so arranged as to
be kept continually within view of the
young merchant. He watched its course
through the market-place, and up and
down the principal streets of the city.




58    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
From the point at which he stood he
could hear distinctly the shouts of the
populace and the proclamation of the
herald; and there he remained, watching and listening, until the shades of
evening closed in, and the reality was
lost in a bright and beautiful dream.
For in the visions of the night procession after procession continued to pass
before him; they were all laden with
costly offerings for the Royal Palace,some of silver and gold, some of bales
of merchandise, some of glorious apparel,-but they kept moving round
and round the city, and with the inconsistency of a dream it did not seem
strange to Euprepes that, though bound
on a distant journey, they never passed
beyond its walls.
Such was the general aspect of the




THE KING S MESSENGERS.   59
processions of Euprepes.  Some exceeded others in pomp and magnificence; but each was proclaimed by the
same trumpet, and set in order by the
same herald; so that, as I before said,
one description will suffice for them
all.
Meanwhile, his resources seemed
inexhaustible.  It was as though his
treasure kept returning to himself, and
the more he gave the more he had to
bestow.  Of all the brothers he was
by far the most popular; his sojourn in
the city was cheered alike by the
praises of the rich and the blessings of
the poor.  There were, indeed, some
who murmured and repined, but their
complaints were drowned by the trumpet of tle herald, and never -reached
the ears of Euprepes.  He believed




60    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
himself to be idolized by all within the
city, at the same time that he was
laying up for himself an inexhaustible
store of wealth beyond its walls. Sometimes his feelings were those of quiet
self-complacency, sometimes of joyous
triumph; but they were rarely overclouded by the slightest shadow  of
doubtfulness or alarm.  The pursuits
of his elder brothers were regarded by
him with a kind of contemptuous compassion.  He would often stand in the
bright sunshine on the rising ground
where his house was built, and point in
derision to the tower of Megacles, or
describe with bitterness the yet sadder
slavery of Philargyr; and then following with his eye the long train of his
own Messengers, he would conclude by
saying, "I, too, have my tower, but it








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THE KING'S MESSENGERS.    61
is built on a surer foundation; I, too,
have my treasures, but I have sent them
to a safer home!"
The story of the fourth brother I
cannot tell, for but little is known of
his history.   He  did  not resemble
either Philargyr or Megacles, for he
neither toiled and laboured for the spirit
of the gold mine, nor built for himself
a tower of fame; and yet he was also
unlike Euprepes, for no herald attended
him  on his walks, and there was no
array of Messengers to be seen continually at his door.  Much of his time
was passed in seclusion.   His occupations were unknown; and he sojourned in the city of Metoecia as one who
scarcely belonged to it.  Those who
watched withYhe greatest interest the
__  _____________________                     _  _. -




62    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
different pursuits of the three elder
brothers, were gradually led to forget
the very existence of Sophron.  There
was no great event to mark it or force
it upon their attention.  At one time,
indeed, he did excite a momentary sensation. He left the quarter of the city
inhabited by the wealthy merchants,
and made choice of a more lowly
mansion, surrounded by the dwellings
of the poor. His motives even for this
change were never discovered.  Some
ascribed it to avarice, some to want.
But it soon ceased to be a topic of conversation; and he was consigned to
greater obscurity than before.
To the few friends who continued to
visit him  in his retirement, he was
always kind and hospitable; but there
was a mystery about his way of life




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   63
which they were unable to penetrate.
As time went on, he still seemed to
grow poorer and poorer. Some secret
drain appeared to exhaust his wealth.
No sign of luxury was seen in his
abode; his dress was changed for one
of less costly materials; and his diet
was of the simplest kind. All this was
of itself strange, but there was something yet more unaccountable in the
effect that it had upon Sophron himself.
Every day his step grew lighter, and
his countenance more full of joy. The
look of depression and anxiety which
during the days of his abundance he
had at times worn, was now never seen
upon his brow. One would have ima
gined that it was not his wealth, but
some heavy burthen that had been
taken away from him,-he became so




64    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
light and cheerful under its removal.
When questioned as to the cause of
this, he would sometimes answer by a
smile, sometimes by a tear; and there
were those who said. that, though the
smile of Sophron never failed to make
the heart rejoice, his tear was yet more
full of gladness than his smile.
The young merchant was really poor.
The cause of his poverty, like the rest
of his history, was buried in obscurity;
but, whatever became of his money, it
did not, like that of Euprepes, keep
returning to him again. The praise of
men never gilded his deeds of selfsacrifice, neither did earthly glory shed
its brightness upon his path. And yet,
after all, his lowly dwelling was not
without its beautiful legend.  There
were some who coull tell how, in the




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   66
dim twilight, or in the still hour of
night, they had seen the train of Royal
Messengers moving stealthily from his
door. They were not arranged in ranks,
like those sent by Euprepes. Every individual walked alone. And yet it was
clear that all formed part of the same
long procession, for each had his left
hand muffled closely in his garments,
while with the right he pointed to the
East to mark the direction  of his
journey. Slowly and silently, one by
one, they moved onward through the
least frequented  streets of the city.
Not a footfall was heard as they passed
along.  At length they reached the
Eastern gate. It was closed against
them, but, like a long line of shadows,
the procession  still continued its un
swerving course, and, passing straight
E




66    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
through the opposing barrier, were lost
in the darkness beyond.
These things were not, indeed, reported publicly in the city. Few  of
the wealthy merchants had heard them
at all, and fewer still believed them.
Those who witnessed them  felt their
voices hushed by the solemnity of the
scene. Its silence seemed, as it were,
to rest upon them; and they could
only whisper of it from ear to ear, or
meditate upon it quietly in their own
homes. And when they asked themselves with a thrill of eager interest,
whither that long procession had gone,
a voice within them would reply, " It
is gone far, far beyond the boundaries of the city,-the barriers were
unable to arrest its progress,-and it
now bears the treasures of Sophron
l I



THE KING'S MESSENGERS.    67
to the distant Palace of the Great
King."
Such was the legend; but there is one
part of it which yet remains to be told.
It was said that when the few, who had
witnessed the secret procession, returned
to the street in which the merchant
lived, they perceived his doorway to be
strewed with pearls, while an amber
light shone around his dwelling, and
strains of gentle music were heard from
within its walls.  So soft was that
light, that it seemed but to shed its
colouring on the surrounding darkness
-so quiet that music, that the stillness
of the night was unbroken by the sound.
They stood gazing at a distance. They
were afraid to venture near, lest, like a
scene of enchantment, it should vanish
from their view; and there was a fasciE2




68    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
nation in it, which would not suffer
them to depart. The eye never grew
weary of watching that lovely radiance,
nor the ear of listening to that celestial
melody. At length the sun arose, and
then the vision passed away; or rather,
though the soft light and quiet music
never ceased to bless the house of Sophron, they could not be seen and
heard in the glare and turmoil of the
day. The pearls also were no longer
visible.  There were  some, indeed,
who fancied they could still perceive
them; but, when they stooped to gather
them, they found only the drops of
morning  dew  which  lay upon  the
ground.




cIje 1Ying'z IiiZzenflerz.
CHAPTER IV.
We barter life for pottage; sell true bliss
For wealth or power, for pleasure or renown;
Thus, Esau-like, our Father's blessing miss,
Then wash with fruitless tears our faded crown.
CHRISTIAN YEAR.
DAYS, months, and years rolled on in
the same unvaried  course.  Philargyr
continued to toil and labour, and every
hour gathered in fresh riches for his
insatiable master.  Megacles  received
early  the  sentence of Exile, but his
tower remained as his memorial in the
city.  Euprepes still dazzled the eyes




70    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
of the multitude by his costly gifts and
gorgeous processions.  Sophron alone
lived a life of obscurity.  The wealth,
the fame, and the liberality of the three
elder brothers, had severally passed into
a proverb. Many were the discussions
concerning their conduct and character;
for in spite of the contempt in which
Philargyr was generally held, even he
had his tribe of flatterers and partisans,
and it was remarked that their number
increased as the time of his banishment
drew near. But no allusion was made
to the law of Exile in any of the conversations concerning the brothers.  I
have already accounted for this silence.
Notwithstanding the King's warnings,
the citizens, for the most part, were accustomed to regard Metoecia as their
lasting dwelling-place.  It seemed as




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   71
though some heavy mist were resting
upon them; and their low  range of
thought was bounded by the narrow
circuit of their own walls.
A protracted sojourn in the city fell
to the portion of Philargyr, though the
progress of time served only to increase
the burthen of his servitude. He was
carrying a heavy load of gold to the
secret mine, and toiling and groaning
beneath its weight, when the old man
met him on his way. For a moment,
he gazed stedfastly on the weary merchant, and then with a smile of bitter
irony offered to relieve him. Philargyr
trembled.  He endeavoured at first to
persuade himself that it was but a reappearance of the same image which he
had seen in the mirror; but his limbs
tottered, and his cheek grew pale, and
L~     -              




72    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
there was a numbness at his heart,
which convinced him  that the actual
form of the old man now stood before
him, and he could not doubt the nature
of the message which he bore.
At length, in much terror and perplexity, and scarcely conscious of the
meaning of his own words, he thus addressed him:-" Stranger," he cried,
"if, indeed, thou art charged with the
sentence of Exile, leave me yet a little
while.  I have great treasure in this
city.  Wait till my camels and asses
are laden, and my slaves with their
bags of gold are ready to accompany
us, and then we will hasten on our
journey."
But the stranger replied, and the
cold, stern accents fell as ice on the
heart of Philargyr,-" Oh, merchant,




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   73
what vain words are these! You know
well that whoever travels with me
travels alone. Your camels and asses,
your slaves, your silver, and your gold
cannot accompany us. The wealth that
you have sent beforehand to the Royal
Palace is now your own; but all that
remains in the city is lost to you for
ever."
Then did the vision in the mirror
rise in distinct and fearful remembrance to the mind of Philargyr.  It
was but mockery to speak to him of
treasure sent beforehand to the Royal
Palace. The accumulated gains of his
many years of labour were all stored
up in the fatal mine. He had counted
them over but yesterday; not a single
coin was missing-all were there. Now
as he thought of this, he.turned his




74    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
eyes imploringly to the old man; but
in a moment he again averted his gaze,
for he perceived him to be no longer
alone.  A dark and terrible crowd of
attendants were ranged around. They
were armed with scourges of iron,
which they raised on high, as though
ready at any moment to drive him
forth into the dreary wilderness that
lay beyond the city.
At length, he cried out in accents
of mingled fear and remorse, " Alas!
O stranger, hitherto I have neglected
your warning. The whole of my wealth
is still within the city.  But, surely,
you yourself are a King's Messenger!
Have compassion, then, upon me, and
even now bear it quickly to the Royal
Palace."
But the old man replied, "You ask




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   75
what cannot be. I am indeed a Ki-ig's
Messenger, but I bear no treasure with
me to the Royal Palace; for all things
change at my touch, and  crumble
into decay. Those charged with that
office have been with you long ago,the poor, the afflicted, and the infirm;-they would have conveyed your
riches thither, if you had not driven
them  empty-handed from your door."
Darker and more terrible grew  the
train of the old man's followers, as
Philargyr listened  to  these  fearful
words.  Once more the iron scourges
were raised on high; but the unhappy
merchant, in a voice of the deepest
misery, implored the respite of a single
day.
"To-morrow," he said, "to-morrow,
all shall be in readiness. I will even




76    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
now  summon the King's Messengers,
and send the whole of my wealth beyond the wallsrof the city. Spare me,
if it be but for a few hours.  Your
coming was unlooked for, and therefore it has found me unprepared."
"It is false," replied the old man,
sternly.  "My coming has been very
slow  and gradual.  During the still
hours of the night, you heard, one by
one, the sound of my footsteps, while
I was yet at a distance from the city.
Your limbs grew feeble, and your hair
grey, and your heart dull and cold;
and you knew well that these signs
preceded  the approach of the last
Messenger of the Great King.  Each
warning made you struggle, for a little
while, to separate yourself from your
gold. But it held you in bonds; and




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   77
you could not set yourself free. If I
were to leave you now, the result
would be the same. You would go on
clinging to your riches, or rather they
would go on clinging to you, even if
you were suffered to remain whole centuries in the city."
Philargyr. felt that the old man's
words were but too fearfully true. He
had for many years been expecting
the bearer of the Royal Mandate. So
slow had been his approach, that days,
weeks, and months, seemed to mark the
interval of each succeeding step. Time
had been thus allowed for the gradual
removal of all his wealth. The appointed Messengers had repeatedly called
for it; but after a faint effort to give it
them, he had sent them  away till the
morrow. And the cause of this was, as
_    ___               __             _   _   I




78    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
I have said, the chain of gold which
had been twined round his hands by the
spirit of the mine.  It had been light
and fragile once, but it was a magic
chain, which grew more firm and massive with the lapse of years. The time
had been, when the captive, by one
vigorous struggle, might have set himself free.  But each weak and unsuccessful effort served only to increase its
strength; and the links had become
so firmly riveted, that his own hand
was all too feeble to dissolve them
now.
The unhappy merchant had, as we
have seen, long bent beneath the weight
of this chain; but he now perceived it
for the first time, as it was wrenched
asunder by the iron grasp of the stranger's hand; and in a moment, he was




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   79
parted for ever from his vast wealth,
and, while the scourges fell heavily
upon him, driven forth as an exile beyond the walls of the city.
We will now leave Philargyr, and
bring to a close the story of Megacles.
A no less sad and fearful picture awaits
us there. He was, as I have said, summoned early, and the day of his exile
followed close on the warning of the
wayfaring man.  But I have thought
it better to make no change in the order
of his history.
The old man found him in all the
fulness of his strength.  He was arrayed in purple and costly apparel, and
stood gazing with an eye of pride on
the tower which he had raised.  A
crowd of eager partisans were gathered




80    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
around.  The bearer of the Royal
Mandate passed through the midst of
them, with a slow and silent step; and
his finger had long pointed to Megacles, before he himself became aware
of his approach.  It was the looks
of those who stood around, which first
warned him that the day of his exile
had arrived.
No sooner, however, did he become
conscious of the old man's presence,
than he endeavoured to face him with
an  undaunted  air.  "Stranger," he
said boldly, "your summons to me
is vain.  I ask no dwelling-place in
the Glorious City. Here, in Metoecia,
have I built myself a tower; and
here, in Metoecia, shall be my lasting
home."  There was a shout of applause
from the surrounding multitude; but
L                 ----------— ~




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.    81
the old man neither spoke nor moved.
Coldly and stedfastly he gazed upon
the merchant, until the proud spirit
of Megacles quailed beneath his look,
and  the boastful words seemed  to
wither on his lips, while every limb
was  shaken  with  convulsive  terror.
He turned away his face from the unwelcome Messenger, and endeavoured
to gather new courage' from  the contemplation of his tower of Fame. But
there was a haze which now encircled
it; it appeared to be already fading in
the distance; and he could hardly distinguish the building itself from  its
long dark shadow which rested upon
the ground.
At length, the old man broke the
silence:-" It is ever thus, 0  merchant! the objects in this city become.
ir




82    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
for the most part, the same with their
shadows, when I approach them. But
take my glass, and you will once more
behold distinctly the building that you
have raised." As he said this, he held
out a glass to Megacles. The merchant
took it, almost unconsciously. For a
moment he looked through it, and
then, with a cold shudder, suffered it
to fall from his hand. His lofty tower
had dwindled into a sepulchre, when
seen  through  the  glass  which the
stranger had given him.  But diminutive as it now appeared, there was an
inscription engraved distinctly upon
it; and he had read only too plainly
these  fatal words:-" Here  lie the
garments which Megacles once wore."
"Yes," said the old man, with a
smile of scorn, " it is not for yourself
~.                                   i




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   83
that you have raised this lofty tower,
but for the garments which you wear!
They shall remain in the city, and rest
beneath it, until the moth and worm
have eaten them away. But for yourself you  have prepared no dwellingplace, and you will be driven forth a
homeless wanderer in the wilderness."
The last feeling of self-confidence
now died away from the heart of Megacles.  Instead of the crowd of eager
partisans, he saw only the same gloomy
attendants, which afterwards appeared
to Philargyr.  He felt that his tower
would avail him nothing; and that, if
the gates of the Royal City were closed
against him, no hope of safety could
remain.  The past rose in bitter remembrance before him; and, as he
thought over the numerous workmen
F2




84    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
that he had employed on his building,
he tried to recollect some one among
the number who might prove to have
been a Messenger of the Great King.
The effort, however, was vain; and
the secret feeling of his heart belied
his words, as he advanced a claim to
treasure in the Royal Palace. " Stranger," he said, "I have not altogether
neglected the warning which you gave.
My riches are not buried in a mine; I
have dispersed them far and near, and
know not whither they are gone. Some
perhaps may have remained within the
city, but surely some portion must have
escaped beyond its walls. If the King's
Messengers came to me they received
their share with the rest: I never wilfully drove them away.  Oh tell me,
then, that there is some treasure pre



THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   85
pared for me in the Royal Palace, and
that the gates of the Glorious City
will not be closed against me for
ever."
But the old man pointed to the tower
as he replied, "Behold, Megacles, the
one only monument of your wealth; it
is there, and there alone, that all who
received your wages or your gifts deposited their burthens. You yourself
never failed to point it out to them as
the object of their journey. But neither
is this all; the King's Messengers,
though you knew them not, did indeed
come to you among the rest.  They
were weak and helpless, and you loaded
them with vast blocks of marble and
granite, which they were unable to bear.
Many sank beneath  their burthens,
others were crushed and maimed by




86    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
stones falling from the building. It is
true that their groans and lamentations
never reached you. They were drowned
by the noise and tumult which accompanied the erection of your tower. But
the cries of the King's Messengers are
carried by each passing wind to the
Royal Palace, and are heard and remembered there."
Megacles would fain have replied, but
no time was allowed him  for further
words. The stranger touched him with
his icy hand, and in an instant the dark
attendants had stripped him  of his
raiment, and driven him  with their
scourges from  the city.  There were
few who wept for his sudden departure,
for Megacles was not loved; but his
admirers and partisans gathered up his
purple garments, and deposited them




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   87
carefully beneath the tower. In a little
while the moth and the worm had consumed them  there; while the tower
itself continued to stand for many ages,
-a vain memorial of the spot where
they had been. laid.




CHAPTER V.
THERE are in this loud, stunning tide
Of human care and crime,
With whom the melodies abide
Of th' everlasting chime;
Who carry music in their heart
Through dusky lane and wrangling mart,
Plying their daily task with busier feet,
Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat.
CHRISTIAN YEAR.
EUPREPES  saw   the  sentence  of exile
passed on both his elder brothers, and
spoke  with  much  eloquence  of  the
misery of their fate.   For himself, he
said that he had long since been fully




TIHE KING S MESSENGERS.   89
prepared to depart; all his treasures
had been sent before him to the Royal
Palace; and he was only anxious for
the time when they would be restored
to him  again.  Sometimes he would
complain to his friends of the long delay
of the bearer of the Royal Mandate, and
declare that he was even then listening
for his footstep, and would advance to
welcome him at the first warning of his
approach.
The stranger tarried long; but when
he did come, the reality proved very
different from the anticipations of Euprepes.  In spite of himself, he was
conscious of a sensation of fear. First a
strange darkness seemed to fall on the
objects around him. Then doubts and
misgivings flitted like shadows across
his mind; and the vision of the future,




90    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
as well as of the past and present,
was arrayed in less bright colouring
than before. He advanced to meet the
old man, but it was with the unsteady
step of one walking in a mist; he
addressed him in bold words of welcome, but it was with a faltering
voice, as though he felt doubtful of
the reply.
"At length," he said, "thou hast
arrived!  But wherefore didst thou
tarry so long? Was it that thy journey
was delayed by the frequent train of
Messengers that met thee on thy way?
They were bearing my silver and my
gold, my jewels and my merchandise,
to the Great Monarch whom thou servest. I have much wealth laid up for
me in his Palace. Come, then, let us
hasten' thither."




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SOPHION.                                                   Pd-C 90.








THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   91
But the old man offered no reply;
he merely fixed his cold, searching gaze
upon the merchant; and while he did
so, it seemed as though some terrible
object rose up between them; and the
shadow  fell yet more darkly on the
mind of Euprepes.  He tried in vain
to suppress his feelings of anxiety and
alarm; they kept following one another
like the waves of a troubled sea. At
length he was forced to give way to
them, and once more spoke to the old
man, but with words of less confidence
than before.  "Stranger,"  he, said,
"from  whence is this sensation of
secret terror!  I had looked to your
coming as a time of sunshine and joy.
Where are the good tidings that you
have in store for me? Do not imagine
that, like Megacles and Philargyr, I




92    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
have neglected your warning.  My
wealth has been distributed among the
King's Messengers. Week after week,
in long procession, they left my door.
Surely, surely, you must have seen
many bags of gold and bales of merchandise in the Royal Palace, with the
name of Euprepes written upon them!"
The old man replied, or rather, perhaps, though the words seemed to come
from him, it was the thoughts of Euprepes which made answer to themselves:"Oh merchant!, from  the city in
which you dwell to the land inhabited
by the Great King, is a long and
dangerous journey.  It is true that
many a Messenger has of late trodden
it in safety, and rich and precious were
the burthens which they bore. But a




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   93
simple cross was the only mark either
on the bags of gold or the bales of
merchandise. If, therefore, the name of
Euprepes was written upon yours, the
whole of them must have been lost."
"Lost! lost!"  exclaimed the unhappy man, in a voice of agony; " Nay,
it cannot be. The embassies were so
frequent and numerous that some, at
least, must have arrived: and even if it
be otherwise, the whole city is a witness that I sent them.  The air was
rent with acclamations as they passed
along; and far and near you could hear
the voices of those who cried,' This is
the wealth of Euprepes, which he sends
before him to the distant Palace of the
Great King.'"
"It is not such sounds as those,"
replied the old man, " which ever reach




94    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
the Royal Palace; they are lost in the
din and tumult of the city, or heard
only by the enemies of the King. But
tell me, Euprepes; are you a merchant,
and do you not know that those riches
are moved most securely which are sent
in secrecy and silence? If you had
wished merely to transfer your possessions to a house in a neighbouring
street, should you, in the first instance,
have paraded them  before your door,
and told the bearers to display them
openly tp all who met them on their
way? Surely, if you had done this,
and they had been  intercepted  by
thieves and robbers, the fault would
have been your own."
Euprepes could make no reply; and
yet he murmured something of a hope
that the soldiers of the Great King




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.    95
would not have suffered the Messengers
to be plundered on their journey. But
the old man, in a sterner voice, thus
continued to address him:
"I will tell you, Euprepes, what has
become of your wealth. There is an
enchanter that dwells in this city; his
name is Pride, and he is an enemy of
the Great King. He it was who sent
the herald to summon the Messengers
to your door. The sound of his trumpet never fails to change the purest gold
and silver into brass and glittering tinsel.
These were the offerings that you really
sent; but even these did not reach the
destination for which you intended them.
The enchanter wove his magic circles
round the feet of your Messengers, so
that they followed one another in the




96    THE KING S MESSENGERS.
same endless track, without ever advancing one step upon their journey."
A new and fearful light now burst
upon the mind of Euprepes. He remembered how, in the visions of the
night, he had continually seen the long
processions moving round and round.
Never for a moment had he lost sight
of them in the distance, or formed a
wish to trace their course beyond the
city. Alas! in these dreams he had
seen but the image of his actual Messengers, though it was the enchanter
who placed before his eyes the glass in
which they appeared. His head grew
dizzy, and his heart sick, as they rose
to his remembrance; k'lt he still made
one last effort to lay claim to a recompense from the Great King.
"It was gold," said he, —" it was pure




THE KING S MESSENGERS.   97
gold that I gave; and, though it may
have been changed and rendered worthless, to me at least it was of real value.
If it failed to purchase for me an inheritance in the Royal Palace, it surely
ought to have been restored to me again.
Philargyr hoarded his vast wealth; Megacles built with his a tower of Fame;
mine alone has been unprofitably spent,
and brought me no recompense within
the city, and yet none beyond its walls."
"Merchant," replied the old man,
"You know well that you have long
since had your reward. The applause
of your fellow-citizens fell like a golden
shower upon your path; and their goodwill and gratitude have been to you as
bales of costly merchandise. It was
thus that the wealth, which you professed to give, never ceased to come back
o




98    THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
to you again. Like Philargyr, you did
but traffic with your possessions, and'
they brought you in a full and abundant return. Your tower, also, like
that of Megacles, is built within the city.
It is true that your own hands have
not laboured in its erection, but day by
day you have stood watching it in secret,
and listened to the shouts and acclamations which marked its growth. It
may, perhaps, have seemed to you to
be rising afar off in the territory of the
Great King; but this delusion was
caused by the same enchanter who sent
you the herald. He spread a mist before
your eyes, which made an object appear
to be in the distance which was really
near at hand. Your range of sight has
never passed beyond the boundaries of
the city; every hope and wish of your
L.j_. ~~_ _ ~___~_____~___ _._ __ _~.__~.___ -




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   99
heart has been confined within it, and
there also was your treasure and your
home."
Then did the attendants with the
iron scourges seize upon Euprepes, and
strip him of his garments; and he, too,
was driven forth into the dreary wilder.
ness. But the scourges were unseen
by those who witnessed his departure
neither could  they hear the fearful
words in which the sentence of exile
was conveyed. And so it was, that,
after he was gone, the long train of his
Messengers continued to parade the
streets; while the false herald with the
golden trumpet proclaimed far and near
that the happy exile had been received
within the gates of the Glorious City,
and that all his treasures had been
restored to him there.
02




100   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
Such was the fearful history of the
three elder brothers. It is a relief to
turn aside from it, and seek a restingplace in Sophron's lowly dwelling. He
had wept bitterly for their exile, but he
did not, like Euprepes, make a display
of his compassion, or boast of his own
readiness to  depart. His tears had
flowed, in secret, and his hopes also
were cherished in the solitude of his
own bosom. Every day he put his
little room in readiness for the stranger's
coming, and  was so constantly preparing for it that he may be almost
said to have lived  in his immediate
presence. Yet he, like the rest, was
conscious of some change of feeling
when his actual summons arrived.
He was at that time enjoying the
quiet beauty of the evening hour. It




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.  101
mattered not that a-vase with a few
autumnal flowers was the only ornament of his humble abode; and that
the flame burnt faint and feebly in the
solitary lamp which was standing at
their side. Sophron could not really be
in darkness, poverty, or alone; for, as
the shades of night closed in, the pearls
appeared upon his threshold, the soft
music spoke to him as a companion,
and the amber light shed its radiance
around. His heart was full of gratitude
for these blessings, when a mingled
feeling of awe and sadness stole upon
him, and it seemed as though some
shadow were moving along the wall.
Every object changed as the dark outline fell upon it; —the flame of the solitary lamp burned even more dimly than
before, and the autumnal flowers began




02   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
to wither and decay. It needed not
these signs to warn  Sophron that it
was the same figure that had appeared
in the mirror. For a while he watched
it with a calm and stedfast gaze; presently a sensation of weariness stole
upon him, his thoughts grew confused
and indistinct, and at length he sank
in a state of partial unconsciousness
upon the ground.
When he again opened his eyes, the
old man was standing at his side. No
gloomy attendants were near, but he
held a mirror in his hand. Beneath it
were the words-" This is the image
of the Past."  The  scene which it
reflected was one that had been long
familiar to Sophron, and he did not
shrink from beholding it now. From
time to time soft shadowy forms moved




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.  103
across the glass; they were, doubtless,
the images of the King's Messengers;
but the eye of Sophron did not for a
moment rest upon them, for ever as
they appeared, his thoughts wandered
to the Royal Palace and Glorious City.
At length the old man addressed
him. "Oh! merchant," he said, " how
is this? All signs of wealth  and
luxury are wont to vanish at my presence, but it is not so with thy abode.
Even as I crossed the threshold of
thy door, pearls of inestimable value
were scattered upon the ground. They
can be no part of the treasure of this
city; for, when I trod  silently upon
them, they were not sullied by my step,
but only shone with a purer brightness
I    an before!"
"Stranger,"  replied  Sophron, " I




104   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
cannot tell. You say truly that they
are no part of the treasure of the city
The whole of my father's vast wealth
could not have purchased one of them.
They are as the pearls of the far East,
anid I have looked upon them as gifts
from the Great King; but I know not
what hand has scattered them  thus
plenteously at the threshold of my door."
He had  hardly finished speaking,
when a shadowy form  moved acioss
the mirror, and there was a voice fiom
thence which said, "I was a widow,
poor and destitute, but a Messenger of
the Great King. I went to Philargyr
for relief, and he told me that his
money was his own. I came to Sophron,
and he spoke soft words of comfort,
and ministered to my wants, and bade
me take freely of his treasures, for it




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.  105
was for my sake that the Great King
had placed them in his hands. I wept
with joy and gratitude when I left him;
and each tear has been changed by the
Great King into a pearl, and remained
to this hour on the threshold of his
abode."
And the old man said, " Oh! merchant, from whence is this wonderful
melody that I hear? Sure I am that
none of the musicians in this city could
produce such strains. Their harps lose
their tunefulness, and their sweetest
notes become harsh  and discordant
when I am  standing near. But this
music has some magic power. My
presence only renders it more distinct
and perfect than before, and even my
own voice is moved into harmony by
the sound."




106   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
"Stranger," replied Sophron, " I cannot tell. You say truly that the music
has a magic power, for it lends its own
tunefulness to all around. To me it has
long since breathed a spirit of harmony
over the din and discord of this crowded
city; every care and anxiety has been
changed and modulated by its sooth
ing influence; and the events of day
after day have seemed to flow on in
perpetual melody.  But though  the
music has thus dwelt in my own home,
and I have loved it, and listened to it
with gladness, I believe it to be but
the echo of a yet sweeter strain which
is played  afar off  in some distant
land."
Again there was a voice from  the
mirror; its accents were low and tremulous, like those of a little child, and
__                 ____   ______ _ __  __ _ -  -




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.  107
it said, "I was an orphan, weak ard
friendless, but a Messenger of the Great
King. I went to Megacles for succour,
and he pointed to a block of marble,
and bade me raise it on high: but my
hands were too feeble for the task; and
then his attendants drove me away, and
said there was no place for little children in the tower of Fame. I came to
Sophron; and he fed me and clothed
me, and told me that the house in which
he lived had been lent to him  as a
shelter for the orphan child. Every
morning and evening I went in secret
to the Great King, and carried with
me each precious gift that I received
from Sophron; and he bade me take
back to him in return the offering of a
simple heart overflowing with gratitude
and love. So it was that my looks and




108   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
words became to his home as a perpetual song; and this is the soft music
which you hear within its walls."
And the old man said, " Tell me,
Sophron, from whence is this light that
sheds its radiance on all around? Sure
I am that it belongs not to this city;
for night has thrown her dark mantle
over its streets, and, even if it were
otherwise, mists and chilling darkness
are the signs of my approach. The
flame of your own lamp grew more
faint and feeble when my shadow first
fell upon it, and is fast expiring now.
Whence, then, is it that in thy dwelling
there seems to be perpetual day?"
A  soft slumber was stealing upon
Sophron; his eyes were already closed;
his voice was indistinct, and yet it
sounded like happy music as for the




THE KING'S MESSENGERS    109
last time he replied, " Stranger, I cannot tell. The light has indeed shone
upon me; nay, is shining upon me
now. My eyes are closed, and I see it
not; but it is as the sunshine of the
heart, and I feel it to be here. Whether
it be a reality or a beautiful dream, I
am  conscious of its presence, though
I know not from whence it comes."
Then, for the third time, a voice
proceeded from  the mirror, as a shadowy form moved across it, and it said,
" I had been rich and prosperous, but
a long sickness brought me into poverty and distress. I heard the proclamation of Euprepes, and made a
feeble effort to reach his door; but the
crowd, and the glare, and the noise of
the trumpet overwhelmed me with fear
and shame. I shrank back in silence,
I             ~  - -_____________




110   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
and hid myself in the obscurity of my
own solitary dwelling. Sophron sought
me out and  found me there.  He
tended me in my sickness and ministered to my wants, and bade me be of
good cheer, for I had a secret store of
wealth, even the prayers and blessings
of a poor man; and, when I spoke to
him of gratitude, he asked me to give
him some portion of my treasure. Then
did I remember that poverty and distress had made me a Messenger of the
Great King, and I hastened to the
Royal Palace, and took with me thither
my blessings and  my prayers. The
Great King received them  from  me,
and shed them as rays of unchanging
sunshine on the abode of Sophron, and
from thence comes the amber light that
yet lives within its walls."




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.  111
There was a pause of a few seconds;
while Sophron appeared to be yielding
more and more to the soothing influence of sleep. And then the old man
breathed softly upon him, and said,
" Thrice happy merchant! Well, indeed, hast thou traded with thy wealth!
Thou hast bartered thy perishable silver
and gold for the widow's gratitude,
the orphan's love, and the poor man's
prayer.  Now  that thou  art going
hence, these riches will follow thee.
The costly pearls, the gentle music, and
the amber light shall attend thee on
thy journey even to the gates of the
Glorious City. But a more abundant
treasure, a more perfect harmony, and
a light of brilliance unutterable, await
thee there."
As he thus spoke, he placed a second




112   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
mirror before the eyes of Sophron; and
though they now seemed to be sealed
in slumber, a smile of joy and gladness
played across his countenance. I cannot tell how bright and glorious was
the vision that he saw. This alone
I know, that the image of the Future
was reflected in that glass, and that,
as the old man held it, his own form
faded away. For a moment there was
a sound as of the rustling of many
wings in the air, and then all was stillness in the dwelling of Sophron.
On  the  morrow, the  sun  shone
brightly upon the city;-there was the
usual hum  of traffic and moving to
and fro of the busy multitude in the
streets, though the  lamp had been
extinguished in Sophron's abode, and




THE KING'S MESSENGERS    113
the aged merchant was gone. Very fev
of the passers-by noticed the deserted
dwelling; but the King's Messengers
wept as they beheld it from a distance,
and there was a strain of sadness in the
gentle music of the orphan child. They
mourned, because their own office was
at an end; but when they thought of
Sophron, their sorrow was turned into
joy. They knew that his treasures had
been marked with the Cross, and were
stored up for him in the Royal Palace,
and that he himself was dwelling in
the happy city where the law of Exile
was unknown.
LI_                    _                 _ _ _ -




(Q  n ctl  it eo n.
A SILENCE of some minutes succeeded
the story.  Both the children were
grave and thoughtful. Leonard looked
anxious to say something, but seemed
to want courage to begin the conversation.  To relieve him  from  his
embarrassment, Mr. Mertoun addressed
himself in the first instance to Mary.
"Tell me, Mary," he said, "do you
suppose there ever was a city with the
same singular law as that of Metoecia?"
"      yes, uncle," she replied readily,
"I guessed at once what you intended




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   115
by it: the story is an allegory, and the
law of Exile is the law of Death."
" It is so," said Mr. Mertoun. " The
whole world is but our city of Metoecia.
We are liable, at any moment, to be
called upon to depart from  it; and,
when our summons comes, we go forth
alone, and no part of our possessions
follow us. If we live in forgetfulness
of this law, our conduct is, to say the
least, as unaccountable as that of the
merchants in the story. But what do
you understand by the vision in the
mirror?"
Mary hesitated, and  Leonard  answered for her, "I suppose, uncle, the
thoughts awakened by the death of
friends."
"You are right," said Mr. Mertoun 
" our seasons of bereavement are those
H2




116   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
in which we feel most distinctly the
nothingness of worldly treasures, and
are led to take a true view of our position as pilgrims and sojourners upon
earth. The warnings of Holy Scripture, which we may have often heard
and disregarded, are then so forced
upon our minds, that we cannot set
them  aside. But tell me, Leonard,
what particular duty connected with
the instability of riches is the story
designed to illustrate?"
The boy coloured  as he replied,
"The duty of giving to the poor;-and
I know why you told it us. But," he
added, with some slight hesitation, " I
hope you do not think that I am like
Philargyr?"
"I have seen but little of either
you or Mary," answered Mr. Mertoun,




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.  117
" and cannot even tell to which of the
three dangerous paths pointed out in
the allegory your natural dispositions
may incline. But my design in telling
it was to bring distinctly before you
the important office assigned to the
poor in the Gospel. I was afraid that
you were unmindful of it when a few
days since you used the words,'Only
some poor man. "
" I was, indeed," he answered; "and
for the future, I will try to look upon
the poor, as Messengers of the Great
King. But, uncle," he continued, after
a pause, "do you mean that all who
neglect almsgiving are like some one
or other  of the merchants in  the
story?"
"I  think,"  replied  Mr. Mertoun,
"that all, who abuse their riches, may




118   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
be comprehended under the three great
classes that I have described. First,
we have those like Philargyr, who do
not spend  them  at all: next, those
like Megacles, who spend them, but not
on proper objects: and, lastly, those
like Euprepes, who spend them, and on
proper objects, but not with a proper
motive."
" It was not quite  that which I
intended to ask," said Leonard. " Is
it not possible to be partly like one
and partly like another?"
"Undoubtedly,"  replied  Mr. Mertoun; "I have, in  the story, purposely kept the lines clear and distinct, in order to trace the course of
each  separately. But in  actual life
they often seem to cross one another,
and  without careful  self-examinatior




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.  119
we cannot tell to which path even
we ourselves may be inclining. There
is, however, a yet more important
difference  between  actual life  and
the allegory. The merchants are represented only as the possessors of
great wealth, and  with  the  single
duty of almsgiving.  Is that a complete view of our position as Christians?"
"Oh no," replied Mary;" you said,
when you explained to us the Parable
of the Talents, that our health, our
time, our affections, and the events of
our daily life, all form  part of the
Talents for which we shall have to
account."
"They do,",said Mr. Mertoun; "and
the  Talent of Wealth, though  distinct from  the rest, never in actual




120   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
life stands apart from them. The exercise of it must be kept in harmony
with the discharge of our other duties.
The amount and manner of our alms
should depend, not merely on  our
means, but on  the circumstances in
which'we are placed. It may be laid
down as a general rule, that the wish
to give, and to give without ostentation, should be a moving  principle
with all alike; but in each particular
instance it will be  controlled  and
limited by a variety of events that it
is impossible to define. There is yet
another omission in the allegory."
"Do you mean," asked Leonard,
"that the merchants only received a
single warning, and went on in the
same course to the end of their career "




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.  121
"It was not that to which I referred," answered Mr. Mertoun, "though
certainly, in that respect also, their
supposed case is but an imperfect representation of our own. Each line
in the story is brought almost uninterruptedly  to  an end. In actual life,
they  may  be broken  off by  GoD's
mercy, and  Philargyr, or Megacles,
become  as Sophron. Still, however,
the allegory is a true representation
of the course of unrepented sin. The
omission of which I speak occurs rather in the history of the youngest
brother."
" You mean," said Mary, " that we
cannot really lay up for ourselves riches
in heaven, and that all we do is accepted for the sake of our Saviour.
But was not that intended by the mark




122   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
of the cross which was seen on the
merchandise?"
" It is implied in it," replied Mr.
Mertoun, "but it does not form, so to
speak, any distinct feature in the allegory."
"But ought there to be so many
omissions in the story?" asked Mary.
Mr. Mertoun replied, by taking up a
drawing which happened to be lying
on the table: " Tell me," he said, " do
you know of what this is a picture?"
"Of the church," she replied, in
some surprise at the question.
"Indeed!" said her uncle. ",But 1
do not see the east window, or the
north transept, and but very little of
the west end of the building. It seems
to me, that three sides of the church
are wanting."




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.  123
"Of course," answered Mary, as she
partly guessed his meaning, "it must
be so, for the view is taken from the
south."
"So, Mary,"  said  Mr. Mertoun,
"the view  of life in the story is necessarily  taken  from  one particular
point. It looks upon it as it were,
towards the side of wealth. There are
other sides no less important to the
symmetry of the building, but they
cannot all be introduced into the same
picture. I have. yet another question
to ask: —Do you  suppose  that the
person who sketched this drawing, drew
a plan of the foundation of the church
before he began it?"
" Nay," replied Mary, "you cannot
be serious in asking."
"Well, then," continued Mr. Mer




124   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
toun, "in this respect also it is an
imperfect picture. The real walls undoubtedly have a foundation, and the
building could not stand an instant
if it were not there. Do you see my
meaning, Leonard?"
"I do," he answered; "you mean,
that the death of our SAVIOUR is the
foundation on which the walls of our
actual life rest; and that, though it be
not represented in the story, it is, of
course, assumed to be there."
"Exactly  so," said Mr. Mertoun,
"And I wish you to mark clearly the
distinction between this illustration and
the former. The several duties of life
are like the different walls of the building, which may be brought out in
greater or  less distinctness, according to the point from which we view




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   125
it.  The doctrine of the atonement is
to the Christian as the one foundation
on which they rest, and without it the
picture  could  not be  really faithful,
for the building itself would cease to
exist.  But to return to the duty of
almsgiving.  Can  you  tell me  any
passage  in  Holy Scripture  in which
it is insisted upon to the apparent exclusion  of others?  You  were  mentioning, Mary, the Parable of the Talents.
Do you remember the description of
the Day of Judgment, which follows
it? "*
Mary reflected a moment, and then
answered, " Those on the King's right
hand were rewarded, because they had
fed  the hungry, given  drink  to  the
thirsty, and received the stranger."
* St. Matt. xxv. 34, 35.
__     _______________-                        -~




126   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
" They were so," said Mr. Mertoun;
" and our Blessed LORD assured them,
that inasmuch as they had done this
unto one of the least of His brethren,
they had done it unto Himself. In like
manner, those on the King's left hand
are represented as being punished simply for neglect of the poor. There are
also two parables concerning rich men,
in which the same view is brought no
less distinctly before us."
"One of them," said Leonard, "is
that of the Rich Man and Lazarus."*
" It is so, " answered his uncle; " no
other sin of the rich  man is there
pointed out to us but that of neglecting
the poor beggar who lay at his door.
The other parable to which I referred
is that of the Rich Man, who, when his
* St. Luke xvi. 19-31.




THE KING'S MESSENGERS    127
ground brought forth plentifully, determined to hoard the produce.* GOD
punished him with the immediate sentence of death. And our SAVIOUR himself has annexed to it the warning,'So is he that layeth up treasure for
himself, and is not rich towards GOD."'
"Children," observed Leonard, " are
never very rich."
The words were spoken in a low tone,
as though in answer to his own thoughts.
His uncle, however, did not let them
pass unnoticed. "They are not," he
replied, " according to the ordinary
meaning of the word wealth. But recollect how the mite of the poor widow
was pronounced by our Blessed LORD to
be more than all the costly gifts which
were cast into the treasury by the rich.
St. Luke xii. 16-21




128   TRE KING'S MESSENGERS.
Now  the youngest child  may either
give a like offering to that of the
widow, or he may hoard it up, or spend
it on himself."
"And if he does hoard it up," asked
Leonard, "will he be like Philargyr?"
"Not, I trust," answered Mr. Mer
toun, " such as he was in the end of
his career.  But his bonds were, at
first, light and flexible; it was time
that added to them  their weight and
strength; and such bonds are often worn
in secret by children. They are by no
means free from the temptation to avarice. The apparently slight opportunities
they have for its indulgence render it
less perceptible, but not less dangerous.
There is no need of a gold mine to foster it. The first trifling coin a child
receives is often formed into the first




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   129
link of the chain that binds him in afteryears. If it be followed by the love of
money for its own sake, and the wish
for more, he is already beginning to
share the servitude of Philargyr."
The children were silent. The words
awakened no painful thoughts in Mary,
for avarice was not one of her failings.
But Leonard felt the full force of this
application of the story. The gift which
he had received from his uncle the preceding Christmas had been hoarded up
in secret, and was loved because it was
gold.  At length he asked in what way
the fault of avarice might be cured.
Mr. Mertoun guessed the motive of
the question, and replied, "The best
remedy for all our faults, my dear boy,
is to make them the subject of continual
prayer. But this, perhaps, more than
I'r   ~     ~     ~     ~     __~~~~ ____..i~




130   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
any other, requires the resistance of
an immediate effort. The conquering it
is really like the breaking of a chain.
Once summon resolution to give, and
it seems as though some spell were
dissolved, and the disposition to give
more abundantly will follow. I do not
mean that the temptation to save will
not again come back; but it will return
after each defeat with less violence than
before, until at length it will be subdued altogether, by the habit of giving.
You must not, however, forget that
the hoarding up our money is not
the only abuse of the talent of wealth;
the spending it on improper objects
is one no less dangerous; and I believe
that children, in general, are more frequently tempted to follow the path of
Megacles than that of Philargyr."




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   131
"Of Megacles, uncle!" said Mary,
in some surprise; "I had fancied that
his sin was ambition, and not extravagance."
" It was so,".said Mr. Mertoun; "but
he may be taken as representing a yet
larger class. His history brings especially before us the folly of wasting on
some mere earthly object those riches
which might be laid up in the treasury
of Heaven. To do this is, in reality, extravagance. It matters not, to use the
language of the story, whether we build
with them  mere villas of Pleasure or
towers of Fame. Children, who spend
what they have on self-gratification to
the neglect of the poor, are beginning
to follow the course of Megacles."
"But can they be also like him  in
his ambition?" asked Mary.
12




132   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
" Undoubtedly," answered her uncle,'but the ways in which they can purchase this species of self-gratification
are so apparently trivial, that you may
have some  difficulty in tracing the
resemblance.  Perhaps  the  spending
money on finery or anything else intended to excite the admiration of their
companions, is their nearest approach
to the particular sin of Megacles. But
is it not said at the conclusion of the
story, that Euprepes, also, had in secret
been raising a tower?"
"It is," answered Mary; "and it
means, that while professing to relieve
the poor, he was, like Megacles, merely
seeking the applause of his fellowcitizens."
"This, -then," continued Mr. Mertoun, "is a kind of ambition to which




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.  133
children are peculiarly exposed. There
is no way in which they can purchase
applause so readily as by giving to the
poor. Each act of benevolence is sure
to be accompanied by a certain amount
of praise. And yet if they make that
the prevailing motive for their gift,
they have their recompense upon earth,
and will forfeit it in Heaven. Do you remember the warning which our SAVIOUR
gave His disciples on this subject?"
"He told them," answered Mary,
"that if they did their alms before
men, to be seen of them, they would
have no reward of their Father in
Heaven."
" Yes,"  continued  Mr. Mertoun,
"and lie added the precept-' When
thou doest alms, let not thy left hand
know what thy right hand doeth: that




134   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
thine alms may be in secret: and thy
Father Which seeth in secret, Himself shall reward thee openly.'* Is there
any difficulty suggested to you by these
words? "
"I was wishing to ask," said Leonard, " whether they mean that we are
to make a secret of every thing that
we give."
" They cannot mean that," answered
Mr. Mertoun, "for our LORD has also
told us to let our light so shine before men, that they may see our good
works, and glorify our Father Which is
in Heaven.t  By the command,'not
to let our left hand know  what our
right hand doeth,' we must understand, that we ought to shrink even
from any feeling of self satisfaction at
*St. Matt. vi. 3, 4.  t Ibid. v. 16.




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.  135
our own good deeds, and, of course,
yet more to avoid the applause of the
world. But we cannot help actually
knowing what we ourselves give, and
at times it is our duty to let others
know it also."
"And yet," observed Mary, "if we
do this, are we not really giving our
alms before men?"
"Yes," replied Mr. Mertoun, "but
not necessarily in order to be seen of
them. It is the giving with this object that is forbidden by our Blessed
LORD. Almsgiving is no easy duty,
and  children  especially require  the
advice of others in the manner of its
performance. They cannot even find
out for themselves proper objects of
benevolence. They may, therefore, ask
to be taught how to give, and place




136   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
their offerings in the hands of their
friends, and yet look for no other recompense than that which is promised
to them in Heaven. Do you remember,
Mary, how, when you were a little
child, your mother would come to hear
you say your prayers, and yet you did
not say them in order to be heard of
her: she taught you to pray, but the
words were addressed to GOD. Do you
understand me?"
" I think so," she replied; "but will
there be no difference at all between
children who give merely that their
friends may praise them and those who
give from right motives?"
" Perhaps, at times, there may be
no visible difference," answered Mr.
Mertoun, " but there must always be
a real one. Recollect, that when it is




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.  137
said,' Which seeth in secret,' it does
not mean  only that GOD  sees into
the secret chamber, but into the secret
thoughts of the heart. He can read
clearly and distinctly the exact motive
of every gift; and as those which profess to be studiously concealed, may
in their very concealment proceed from
ostentation, so also those which are
openly given, may, in His sight, be as
the silent offerings of Sophron."
But Mary was not yet quite satisfied. "I know, uncle," she said, "that
we must try to be like Sophron in the
motive of our alms; but cannot children
be in any way like him in the manner
of giving them?"
"Yes,"  answered   Mr. MIertoun,
"they may be like him  in this also,
though  the  resemblance  is  an im______



138   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
perfect one. They may avoid all unnecessary display; or again, they may
conceal what they have already given,
or the inward struggle by which the
gift is accompanied, or the self-denial
which it costs them. All this is as
a secret store, which adds to the
value of our offerings in the sight
of GOD, if we look for our recompense to Him  alone. But it is difficult to lay down any exact rule. The
line which, as I have said, is purposely
kept-distinct and separate in the story,
often seems perplexed and difficult,
when we try to trace it through the
conflicting  circumstances  of life.  I
think, however, that you will seldom
find any practical difficulty.  While
we walk along our appointed path,
though we cannot see far into ihe




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.   139
distance, each separate step is for the
most part sufficiently clear. Only keep
distinctly in your remembrance that
the poor are sent to you by GOD; that
it cannot be right to hoard up your
money, or spend it on your own gratifications, while you do nothing to relieve
their wants; and that your offerings
must be made for CHRIST'S sake, and
without the hope of any earthly recompense; and the story of the King's
Messengers will not have been told
you in vain. The events of your own
daily life will best enable you to apply
it to yourselves."
With the exception of a single question, Leonard had been a silent listener
to the close of the conversation. He
did not seem to participate in the diffi



140   THE KING'S MESSENGERS.
culties of his sister. When, however,
the usual time came for the children to
retire to rest, he appeared anxious to
remain behind; but Mary called him,
and he accompanied her. Mr. Mertoun
was left alone. He had seen that the
children were impressed by the story
but his joy at this circumstance was
checked by the remembrance that in a
little while the feelings awakened by it
would pass away. His thoughts were
interrupted by a light footstep at the
door; the handle was softly turned, and
Leonard entered, alone. There was
something in his hand which glittered,
and this he gave his uncle, with a few
whispered words. The tear rose to
Mr. Mertoun's eyes, as he replied, " GOD
bless you, my dear nephew; you have
indeed found out the true moral to my




THE KING'S MESSENGERS.  141
btory. Go on as you have begun, and
your path will be clear." The offering
which the boy gave was the longhoarded gold, and the whispered words
were, " For the Messenger of the Great
King, who caine this morning to your
aor'




OTHER WORKS BY THE AUTHOR OF
(1)e Kiing's  Messcngers,
PUBLISHED BY THE GEN. PROT. EPISCOPAL S. S. UNION
THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS,
An Allegory.-With beautiful Engravings, from
designs by CHAPMAN.
THE DISTANT HILLS,
An Allegory.-Illustrated as above.
THE OLD MAN'S HOME,
With beautiful Engravings, from designs by
WEIR.
THE'ALL OF CR(ESUS.




LIFE OF BISHOP HEBER.
BY THE REV. J. N. NORTON.
This is one of the author's most interesting histories for
the reading of the young. The subject has uncommon
interest, and is treated with a genial appreciation.-Banner
of the Cross.
The Life of Heber is in Mr. Norton's best style. It
contains as much information about him as could be compressed into so small a compass, and precisely that information which it was most desirable to present to those
whom tender age or want of leisure might prevent from
seeking it in large volumes. —Zhe Monitor.
This little biography will be of peculiar use to those
who have not the means of obtaining, or the opportunity
of procuring, the larger memoirs of the eminent prelate to
whom it relates. It has the particular merit of much
pointedness and simplicity of style.-Episcopal Recorder.
This volume presents the same characteristics as those
in the series which have preceded it, being written in a
style simple and lucid, yet forcible, and with evident
adaptation to those for whose use it is intended.
An abridgment of a larger Memoir was issued in this
country last year; but the little book before us is designed
to accomplish the same purpose in a much more happy
and effective manner.-Churchman.
27




No name touches more thrillingly the chords of Missionary Life in the Church than those of Heber and
Martyn; and we need not say to any of those who are
familiar with Mr. Norton's other biographies, that he
seizes and presents to the mind, with vivid and lively
brevity, precisely those points which are most likely to
kindle somewhat of the spirit of Heber in the breast of
his readers.-Church Journal.
This is another volume in that attractive series which
Mr. Norton has prepared, with such general acceptance,
for the youth of the Church.  It is written, like all it&
predecessors, with great simplicity and vigor.-Christian
Witness.
A valuable and interesting addition to the lives of the
Bishops. We can hardly imagine any species of religious
literature so useful to the young as the lives of really
eminent and holy men, told in a simple and truthful
manner.-Southern Episcopalian.
Bishop Heber's Missionary Hymn is the cherished
heart-possession of every Christian in our land. Here is
a short, but full, graphic, and beautiful delineation of
the noble and pious author of that hymn. Every one
whose soul is inspired from week to week by the stirring
song of the mighty Christian host-' From Greenland's icy mountains,
From India's coral strand"will be eager to read this timely and fitting tribute to one
of the most attractive and beautiful characters of modern
history.-Louisville Journal.
28