THE THREE PEARLS.*
"Lure as the waves make towards the pebbled-shore," so does the telling of this story lead us to think of many things besides those that obviously meet our eyes as we turn these fascinating pages. The power of the sea, so great and so romantically attractive, is here shown to us in a magio mirror, and if we will but look and understand we shall see much that it is good for as never to lose sight of in our daily lives. But besides the "silver streak" upon which depends all our own well-being, no less than did that of the Kingdom of Gloria, there is also a most amusing and lively story on which are threaded "the Three Pearls" of this book. The author admits us into the household of the Royal family of Gloria, and if their Majesties' doings sometimes recall to us some of the un- forgettable moments we have spent at the Court of Paflagonia, we are happy to add such another Court circle to that of which we are already free. In the first chapter we find King Chen-Mala-Morus, his Queen Mora, and his crown-maker, Mr. Jimblex, anxiously considering the effect and fit " of the new diadem, which the crown-maker had just brought up " to the King's dressing-room " in a silken bag." The question of the setting of the three pearls was discussed, and though the King was dimly conscious of the importance of these jewels to his dynasty, he eventually allowed his bouncing daughter, Mosky, to overrule the wise advice of the Archivist and Mr. Jimblex, and the pearls were refused the place of honour that should have been theirs. Then things began to go wrong. The hitherto devotedly attached couple grumbled and found fault with each other, the young Princess grew more and more tiresome, and accepted an undesirable euitor, Sharrybang, the Prince of the Beenos, who then proceeded to make eyes at a beautiful but unknown lady dressed in a sea-green gown. So things went from bad to worse till the Princess disappeared, and the public was informed that she had " gone to the sea." And there we follow her, and hear of the way in which she was taught to work out her own salvation, and to become a fit mate for Prince Arden, son of the King of Thalassia. Her life and adventures as a mermaid, one of the attendants of the Queen of the Sea, are as fanciful and charming as the earlier chapters had led us to expect, and if here again we are reminded of another master's work, we are sure that Tom would have welcomed little Serva as a true sea comrade. Of the search of Prince Arden, who, not yet a lover, "was in love with loving," and its successful end in his meeting with the sea-changed Princess, we will only say that it is drawn with a pen dipped in that most precious ink, "tempered with love's sighs." The scene of the reunion of the Princess and her desolate parents is a capital piece of work, and brings us back to earth with laughter and happy tears. The illusion of a dream and an allegory is skilfully and humorously maintained, for the lovers, ooming home in the dawn, find the poor sleepless King walking in the palace garden in an old dressing-gown, and as soon as he sees his daughter he dashes upstairs to tell the good news to his wife. Thereupon she bundles out of bed, and, as always happens in a dream, no suitable clothes are at hand, and she has to content herself with another old dressing-gown of her husband's as some slight protection against the morning air:—
" ' Oh, Chen ! Is she safe and sound and well I' she asked, running back to him. I don't know,' said the King hurriedly, I only know that I saw her in the garden and I ran up straight to tell you." Oh, Chen, to think of me fast ! ' said the Queen, half laughing and half crying, and she caught up his hand and kissed it."
How the Queen of the Sea then appeared to their dishevelled Majesties of Oloria and told them the story of " The Three Pearls," and how everything ended happily with the sound of marriage-bells, we must leave the reader to find out for himself. Miss Woodward's black-and- white illustrations aro delightfully appropriate to the story, for they are full of delicate fancy and charm.
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