f the wheels is the ball on which Fortune rolled along, and the other
two are her feet; or else the three men each took a wheel to himself.
Anyhow, there they are, pick and choose, Signore--_chi ha piu cervello_,
_l'usi_!--let him who has brains, brain!

"Now, it is a saying that _ogni fior non fa frutto_--every blossom doth
not bear a fruit--but the flowers of Fortune bear fruit enough to make up
for the short crop elsewhere.

"But there is some sense and use in such stories as these, Signore, after
all; for a poor devil who half believes--and very often quite believes in
them--gets a great deal of hope and comfort out of them. They make him
trust that luck or fairies or something will give him a good turn yet
some day--_chi sa_?--and so he hopes, and truly, as they say that no
pretty girl is ever quite poor, so no man who hopes is ever really
broken--_grazie_, _Signore_! I hope to tell you another story before
long."

* * * * *

There is something in the making Fortune with _two_ heels for feet which
suggests a memory of skate-rollers.

I once published an article in the _Ethnologische Monatsheft_ of
Budapest, which set forth more fully the idea expressed in this tale,
that the popular or fairy tale is a source of comfort, or a Bible to the
poor, for it always teaches the frequently delusive, but always cheering
lesson that good-luck or fortune may turn up some day, even for the most
unfortunate. The Scripture promises happiness for the poorest, or indeed
specially for the poorest in the next life; the fairy tale teaches that
Cinderella, the despised, and the youngest, humblest of the three, will
win fortune while here on earth. It inspires hope, which is a great
secret of happiness and success.

To which the learned Flaxius annotates:

"It hath escaped the author--as it hath indeed all mankind--that as the
first syllable of Fortuna is _fort_ (Latin _fortis_), so the true
beginning of luck is strength; and if we are to understand by _una_,
'one' or 'only,' we may even believe that the name means strength alone
or vigorous will, in accordance with which the ancients declared that
'Fortune favours the bold,' and also _Fortuna contentionis studiosa
est_--'Fortune delights in strife.' Therefore she is ever fleeting in
this world. _Fortuna simul cum moribus immutatur_, as Boethius hath it."

THE STORY OF THE UNFINISHED PALACE
A LEGEND OF THE VIA DEL PROCONSOLO

"