branching oak, a little pallet, half covered
with a kind of tent; and a basket or two, with some packs, lay on the
ground at a few paces distant from the tent. Near to the root of the
tree he observed a little swarthy girl, about eight years of age, on her
knees, praying, while her little black eyes ran down with tears.
Distress of any kind was always relieved by his Majesty, for he had a
heart which melted at 'human woe;' nor was it unaffected on this
occasion. And now he inquired, 'What, my child, is the cause of your
weeping? For what do you pray?' The little creature at first started,
then rose from her knees, and pointing to the tent, said, 'Oh, sir! my
dying mother!' 'What?' said his Majesty, dismounting, and fastening his
horse up to the branches of the oak, 'what, my child? tell me all about
it.' The little creature now led the King to the tent:--there lay,
partly covered, a middle-aged female Gipsy, in the last stages of a
decline, and in the last moments of life. She turned her dying eyes
expressively to the royal visitor, then looked up to heaven; but not a
word did she utter; the organs of speech had ceased their office; _the
silver cord was loosed_, _and the wheel broken at the cistern_. The
little girl then wept aloud, and, stooping down, wiped the dying sweat
from her mother's face. The King, much affected, asked the child her
name, and of her family; and how long her mother had been ill. Just at
that moment another Gipsy girl, much older, came, out of breath, to the
spot. She had been at the town of W---, and had brought some medicine
for her dying mother. Observing a stranger, she modestly courtsied, and,
hastening to her mother, knelt down by her side, kissed her pallid lips,
and burst into tears. 'What, my dear child,' said his Majesty, 'can be
done for you?' 'Oh, sir!' she replied, 'my dying mother wanted a
religious person to teach her, and to pray with her, before she died. I
ran all the way before it was light this morning to W---, and asked for a
minister, _but no one could I get to come with me to pray with my dear
mother_!' The dying woman seemed sensible of what her daughter was
saying, and her countenance was much agitated. The air was again rent
with the cries of the distressed daughters. The King, full of kindness,
instantly endeavoured to comfort them: he said, 'I am a minister, and God
has sent me to instruct and comfort your mother.' He then sat down on a
pack, by the s