the Prince instead of reigning in his place,' and he was as
good as his word. The only use he made of the ring was to find out
family secrets and betray them, to commit murders and every sort of
wickedness, and to gain wealth for himself unlawfully. All these
crimes, which could be traced to nobody, filled the people with
astonishment. The King, seeing so many affairs, public and private,
exposed, was at first as puzzled as anyone, till Bramintho's wonderful
prosperity and amazing insolence made him suspect that the enchanted
ring had become his property. In order to find out the truth he bribed a
stranger just arrived at Court, one of a nation with whom the King was
always at war, and arranged that he was to steal in the night to
Bramintho and to offer him untold honours and rewards if he would betray
the State secrets.

[Illustration: THE ENCHANTED RING]

Bramintho promised everything, and accepted at once the first payment of
his crime, boasting that he had a ring which rendered him invisible, and
that by means of it he could penetrate into the most private places. But
his triumph was short. Next day he was seized by order of the King, and
his ring was taken from him. He was searched, and on him were found
papers which proved his crimes; and, though Rosimond himself came back
to the Court to entreat his pardon, it was refused. So Bramintho was put
to death, and the ring had been even more fatal to him than it had been
useful in the hands of his brother.

To console Rosimond for the fate of Bramintho, the King gave him back
the enchanted ring, as a pearl without price. The unhappy Rosimond did
not look upon it in the same light, and the first thing he did on his
return home was to seek the Fairy in the woods.

'Here,' he said, 'is your ring. My brother's experience has made me
understand many things that I did not know before. Keep it, it has only
led to his destruction. Ah! without it he would be alive now, and my
father and mother would not in their old age be bowed to the earth with
shame and grief! Perhaps he might have been wise and happy if he had
never had the chance of gratifying his wishes! Oh! how dangerous it is
to have more power than the rest of the world! Take back your ring, and
as ill fortune seems to follow all on whom you bestow it, I will implore
you, as a favour to myself, that you will never give it to anyone who is
dear to me.'

Fenelon.

_THE SNUFF-BOX_

As often happens in