The delighted peasant at once gave his consent; they sent for the mother, and she, too, gladly bestowed her blessing.

"One favour more," said the beautiful girl to the' czar. Permit my parents and sisters to remain with

me."

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On hearing this the sisters fell down on their knees. before her, and cried,

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We are not worthy of so much favour!

"Dearest sisters," said the beautiful girl, "all is forgotten and forgiven. They who remember the past with malice deserve to lose their sight."

She then tried to lift them up from the ground, but they, shedding bitter tears, would not rise. Then the czar, looking at them with a frown, bade them get up; he allowed them, however, to stay in the palace.

A magnificent entertainment then began: the palace was splendidly lighted up, and looked like the sun among the clouds. The czar and czarina rode out in an open chariot and showed themselves to the people, who cried joyfully,

"Long live czar and czarina! May they shine upon us like the glorious sun for years and years to come!"

N

JONEK.

(FROM THE POLISH.)

I.

"If you would possess a pipe, at the sound of which even unwilling legs will dance, and which will make the dead rise and appear as they lived, seek for it in the forest.

“In the deep, black forest, look for a green willow, which has never heard the rush of water, nor the crowing of a cock; for at the sound of the cock's crow spirits disappear, and a willow which has heard the rush of water will never make anybody dance.

"If you wish a girl to love you, catch a bat, put it into an earthen pot, and at midnight take the pot to an anthill and bury it there. On the following night, also at twelve o'clock, go again and fetch the pot away. You will find in it a pitchfork and a rake. If you draw the rake from the direction of the girl towards yourself, she

you

will love you if from that of a favourite companion, he will be your friend. friend. If a woman love you, for whom do not care, push towards her with the pitchfork, and she will hate you: if a man, for whom you do not care, offers you his friendship, or who is unworthy of yours, do the same towards him, and he will trouble you no more.

Thus, by means of the pipe you will be made merry, and be able to see the dead as they lived; by the aid of the rake you will gain love and friendship.

"But should you desire to know the dark, unseen future, or to possess unbounded riches, listen to this last instruction :

"On the eve of St. John's Day, exactly at midnight, the fern blooms; but it is not easy to obtain its flower. Terror will stop your breath, and turn your blood cold; your heart will almost cease to beat. Thunder-storms without number will rage around you, and shake the very ground. The hair on your head will stand erect like poplars, and not even the wind will be able to bend it down. If you can bear all this, the fern-flower, obtained with so much courage, will show you the future, and give you countless gold. By its means you will become rich, and be able to look into the future as in a mirror.”

A young peasant heard these words in the gloom of a forest, and at once left his oxen and waggon laden with chopped wood. Filled with joy and hope, he went deeper

into the wood in search of a willow, from the bark of a bough of which he might make the wonderful pipe. He wandered about for a long time looking for the green willow. At last he found one in the middle of a dry meadow in the depth of the forest. He cut a straight bough, twisted off the bark, and the pipe was soon made.

He played on it, and joy filled his heart. He was alone in the solitude of the dense wood, and he himself was filled with gladness at the sound of the pipe, and danced and hopped about on the green meadow, until, tired with the exertion, he fell on the grass to rest. Having now himself experienced the power of the pipe, the peasant trembled with fear as he remembered that its voice could call up the dead. At the very thought of this, cold perspiration came on his forehead. His curiosity, however, overcame his fear, and he felt an irresistible wish to go to the cemetery at once. He hid the pipe under his coat, and began to trace his way out of the forest by a narrow and difficult pass.

The young peasant soon came to an open place, and ran up a little hill; it was surrounded by old and new graves. Here two roads met, and a new cross stood over a fresh grave.* "Well," said the peasant to him

* It is not uncommon among the Slavonic peoples to bury the dead by the road-side.

self, "let us try the pipe here; it is a long way to the cemetery. I'll see whether even one dead man will rise up at the sound of it."

He took out the pipe and played. As soon as its voice was heard, the cross fell to the ground, the grave opened, and an old beggar appeared, who had been killed on the cross-road thirty years before.

The young man turned his head away with horror at the sight of the old and withered face of the miserable beggar, made more hideous by the wounds he had received. In his fright he kept on playing, and now saw that the remaining graves also suddenly opened; then he heard the clatter of arms and the trampling of horses' hoofs. There appeared to him a number of tall knights in armour, the greater part of them, on horseback. If the peasant was greatly terrified at the sight of the old beggar, he was struck almost dead with fear as the stalwart knights rose before him. Although he was the tallest man of the village to which he belonged, his head would scarcely reach to the knees of these giants. Frightened more than ever, he opened his mouth and rubbed his eyes. As soon as he ceased to blow in the pipe, the spirits returned to their graves, and the earth covered them up, at the same time a cold damp wind blew which shook the grass and flowers.

Although almost worn out with fatigue and excite