WHEN the great and good king, Georgish, swayed the sceptre of the kingdom of Georgia, the birth of a son and heir-apparent occasioned the most heartfelt and sincere joy in the bosoms of all his subjects. The FAIRY PRUDENTIA, who was a friend to the king, was present at the birth of Prince Georgishkan; and, taking him in her arms, thus addressed the joyful parents: "It is in my power to bestow upon the prince a beauteous face, a fine form, a graceful action, and, what is of more value than all, a

-suh!

good understanding. These gifts, therefore, snall be his; but I cannot controul fate, which has made him a free agent, and he will be either loved or hated, happy or miserable, as he shall make a right or wrong use of them.-Here is also another most valuable present which I make to him. This glass," added she, presenting one to the king, "is the masterpiece of the fairy art; it will, in an instant, not only discover to whoever looks in it, whether he be virtuous or vicious; but it will distinguish between every degree of virtue or vice, as the image, which it reflects, will be more beautiful from every virtuous deed, and more ugly from every vicious one. It must be kept carefully from the Prince, as it will no more bear violence than a common glass, until he shall have attained the age of fifteen years, when it is to be delivered to him, with an explanation of its uses and properties. Not content with these gifts, I shall carefully watch over the Prince, and endeavour to guide his steps to happiness.' -Having said this, dipping her hands into a crystal bason full of water, she sprinkled some of it on the child's face, which instan

taneously became beautiful as the Sun. Then delivering the infant into the nurse's arms, she made a motion with her hand, and presently the ceiling seemed to burst asunder. Through the aperture descended, as from the clouds, a small chariot of mother of pearl, studded with nails of gold and precious stones, and mounted on silver wheels. It was drawn by two grasshoppers, and the fairy had no sooner stept into the vehicle, than they skipped off with it into the higher regions, and the ceiling closed as perfect as ever.

These gracious favours of the mighty Fairy Prudentia carried to its height the general joy of the happy parents, the courtiers, and the kingdom at large. Bonfires blazed in the prin cipal squares of all the cities-the houses were splendidly illuminated—and the bazars, or shops, kept continually shut up for a week. All was joy and mirth, and never were a happier people seen!

Every day added fresh graces to the young prince, and filled his royal parents with transport. At a proper age, the most able preceptors were provided for him, and his attainments

discovered that the kind Fairy had been lavish

in her gifts.

Prince Georgishkan, at length, arrived at the most dangerous part of human life-that in which the passions are in full sway, without the advantage of either mature reason, or experience to controul them; and to the very great sorrow of his parents, he soon gave symptoms that he would be a slave to them, if the Fairy Prudentia should forget her promise of watching over him; but the King and Queen had too much confidence in her sincerity to distrust it.

Prince Georgishkan had scarcely got rid of his preceptors before he engaged in an amour with one Petitinah, a public stage-player, who, as was usual in her profession, had only interest in view, and she did not take much care to conceal it from the prince, whose inexperience, perhaps, she despised: to add to the criminality of the intrigue, she was a married woman and a mother.

On the morning after the intimacy had been first sealed, the prince drew out the glass-the

gift of the Fairy Prudentia, which had been presented to him at the appointed time by his father, with an explanation of its wonderful and valuable properties; but the prince had hitherto used it only as a common piece of mechanism for the purpose of viewing his face, adjusting and plucking out superfluous hairs, or patching a pimple. It was for one or other of those important purposes, that he now drew it forth from his bosom, where it was suspended by a coral chain round his neck; as his father had advised him to keep it thus, for fear of its being injured. On looking at it, he observed that it was covered with a kind of mist. Imagining that it might be only the vapour of his breath which attached to the polished surface, he wiped it with a napkin; but to his excessive astonishment and fright, he could not remove the mist. He then remembered what he had heard of its properties, and exclaimed with a sigh: -"Ah! I understand now - this wonderful glass points out that I have made the first step into vice. I must take the warning."-He was resolved to break off with Petitinah; but an irresistible charm drew him to her again on