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2^ " T] The Family THE CHILDREN'S CITIES. By Elizabeth Sara Shepard. (The Christian Register reprints front the "Atlantic Monthly" for July. 1SG2, the one story for children printed itt the '"Atlantic's" pages. Il was one of the last productions of a young English writer, Elizabeth Sara* Shepard, precocious author, a few yVars earlier. of the musical romance, "Charles Auchester." much admired by American readers in its day.) There was a certain king who had three sons, and who. loving 4hem all alike, desired to leave them to reign over his kingdom as brothers, and not one above another. His kingdom consisted of thr?e beautiful cities, divided by valleys covered with (lowers and full of glass, the cities lying so near together thai from the walls of each you could see the walls of the other two. The first city was called J lie city of Wesson land, the second the city of Confection, and tlie third the city of Pastime. The king, feeling himself very eld and feeble, sent for the lawyers to write his will that his children might know how lie wished them to behave after he was dead. So the lawyers came to the palace and went into the king's bedroom, where he lay in liis golden bed, and the will was drawn up as lie desired. One day, not long after the will was made, the kinsr's fool was Irvine in nmiic a boat of a leaf to sail upon the silver liver. And the fool thought the paper on which the will was written would make a better boat?for he could not read what was written; so he ran to the palace quickly, and, knowing where it was laid, he got the will and made a boat of it and set it upon the river, where away it floated out of sight. Soon after this the king died without telling his sons what he wished them to do. Now the princes were very good little persons, at least they had not yet been naughty and had never quarreled, so the child-people were pleased with the thought of having the princes for their rulers, but knew not how to arrange it. Then the eldest prince, whose name was Gentil, called his brothers to him and said: "1 am quite sure, though there is no will, that our royal papa built three cities mat we mignt eacn nave one to reign over and not one reign over all. Therefore, I will have you each, dear brothers, choose a city to govern, and 1 will govern the city you do not choose." His brothers danced for joy, and the people, too, were pleased; for they loved all the three princes. Hut there.were not enough people in the kingdom to fill more than one city quite full. Was not this very odd? Gentil thought so; but, as he could not make out the reason, he said to the child-people: "I will count you and divide you into three groups, and each group shall go to one city." * For, before the king had built the cities, the child-people had lived in the * r ?E PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SOU' {..toon valleys and slept on beds of t.owors. So .loujou, the second prince, chose the city oi i astime; r.onbon, the youngest piince, the city of Confection; and the cit* of Lessonland was left for Prince dentil, who took possession of it directly. The city of Lessonland was built of hooks all books, and only books. The walls were books, set i lose like bricKs. and the bridges over the rivers (which were very blue) were built of books in arches, and there were books to pave the roads and paths, and the doors of the houses were books with golden letters on the outside. The palace of Prince Gentil was built of the largest books, all bound in scarlet and green and purple and blue and yellow. And inside the palace all the loveliest pictures were hlinfr Him.. It." .. "11 1 1 ? u,.uu . lie nulla illl H Hie U it 11(1" romest maps; and in bis library were, one would iliink, all the lesson-books, and all the story books in the world. Directly Gentil began to reign, he said to himself: "What are all these books for? They must mean that we are to learn, and to become very clever, in order to be good. I wish to be very clever and to make my people clever, so 1 must set them a good example," And he called together all his childpeople. who would do anything for the love of hint, and he said, "If we mean to he of any use in the world, we must learn, learn, learn, and read, read, read, f.ut always he doing lessons." And they said they would,, to please him; and they all gathered together in the palace council chamber, and Gentil ret them tasks, and they all went home to learn them while he learned his in the palace. Now let us see how Joujou is getting on. He was a good prince, Joujou, oh so fond of fun? as you may believe from his wuwu.-wus iue iny 01 rasume. un, mat city of Pastime! liow unlike the city of dear, dull Lessonland! The walls of thb city of Pastime were beautiful toy bricks, painted all the colors of the rainbow; and the streets of the city were filled with carriages just big enough for childpeople to drive in, and little gigs and music-carts and post-chaises that ran along by clock-work, and such rocking norses: And mere was not to be found a book in the whole city, but the houses were crammed with toys from the top to the bottom?tops, hoops, balls, battledoi es, bows and arrows guns, peep-shows, drums and trumpets, marbles, ninepins, tumblers, kites, and hundreds upon hundreds more; for there you found, if I may say so. every kind of toy that ever was made in the world, besides thousands of large wax dolls, all in different court uresse3. Anci airectiy Joujou began to reign. he said to himself: "What are all these toys for? They ir?n?t mean that we are to play always, that we may be always happy. I wish to be very happy, and that my people shall be liappy always. Won't I set them an example!" And Joujou blew a penny trumpet, and got on the back of the largest rockinghorse and rocked with all his might and cried: "Child-people, you are to play always; for in all the city of Pastime you see TH. March 31, 1909. nothing but toys'!" The child-people did not waft long. Some jumped on rocking-horses, some drove off in carriages, and some in gigs and music carts and organs were piayed and Leils King and shuttlecocks and kites flew up to the blue sky, and there was laughter, laughter. In all the streets of Pastime. A awl " 1 1 ... .. ...... .li i nit' isonuon. liow is he geltingon? He was a clear Utile fat fellow?bill, ob, so fond of sweets! as yon may believe Iroiu bis choosing the city of Conieilion. And there were no books in Conteclion, and 110 toys; but the walls were built of gingerbread, and the bridges of sugar thai glittered in the sun. Rivers ran with grape-juice through the aim unrisimas trees grew along the banks, with candy and almonds and golden nuts on the branches; and in every house the tables were made of sweet brown chocolate, and there were great plum cakes on the tables, and little cakes, and all sorts of cakes. When Bonbon first sat on his throne, lie did not think much about it, but began to eat directly, and called out with his mouth full: "Child-people, eat alwavs' fo?* ??? >" ?ho city of Confection there is nothing hn( cakes and sweets." And did not the child-people fall to. and eat at once, and eat on, and eat always, as long as they could? Now, by this time what has happened to Gentil? For we left him in the city of l,essonland. All the first day he learned the lessons he had set himself, and the people learned theirs too, and they ail cante to Gentil in the evening to say them to the prince. Rut by the time Gentil had heard all the lessons, he was very, very tired, so tired that ho foil asleep on the throne: ami wh?n , , .. ,i^ nnunc IIIC next morning, behold! there were all his people asleep on the floor. He looked at his watch and found it was very late, and he woke up the people, crying with a very loud voice: "It is very late, good people!" And the people jumped up and rubbed "their eyes, and cried: "We have been learning always, and we can no longer seh to read, the letters uauw oeiore our eyes." And all the child-people groaned, and cried very bitterly behind their books. Then Gentil said: "I will read to you. good people, and that will rest your eyes." And he read them a delightful story about animals; but, when he stopped to show them a picture of a lion, the people were all asleep. Then Gentil grew angry, and cried in a loud voice: "Wake up, idle people, and listen!" But, when the people woke up, they were stupid, and sat like cats and sulked. So Gentil put the book away, and sent them home, giving them each a long task for rudeness. The child-people went away; but, as they found only books at home, they went to sleep without learn iiiK the'r tasks. And air the fifth day they slept. Hut on the sixth day Gentil went out to see what they were doing; and they began to throw their books about, and a book knocked Prince Gentil in the head and hurt him so much that he was obliged to go to bed. While he was in bed. the little people negan to