You must not think, however, that Arthur ceased to be a gentleman because he learned to work. Though his face was black (and he washed it every night) his heart was kind, and I never heard of his doing a mean or selfish action, or saying an angry word to those who were poor and in trouble. He found his new friends had their faults like other people, and if, as they said, they were not thieves, they were not far off, for they stole the King's deer and game, which of course was very wrong. And they never kept Sunday or Saint's days at all, except that sometimes they got drunk upon them, and then they would quarrel and fight dreadfully, and use words which you would not like to hear. And perhaps Arthur would have grown up like them, but that he was always thinking of Gertrude. He used to look at the gold coin every day, and the sight of it never let him forget her. If he were tempted to do wrong he used to think he saw her coming to him as she used to come, laying her dear little hand on his arm and talking in her wise fashion. He had sought all through the forest for her, and had even asked at the village but could hear no news of her. What was strange too, he never could find the place where he had lost her, though he remembered it so well and sought it long and patiently. The woodmen showed him where they found him, but that was not it at all. And so ten years passed quietly away, and Arthur thinks that they were perhaps the happiest ten years of his life, as the year after he lost the ring was certainly the most miserable.

II

All precious things discovered late
To those that seek them issue forth,
For love in sequel works with fate,

And draws the veil from hidden worth.

So now you must not think of Arthur any more as a boy. He had come to be a man of course, with a long beard, such as you, Master Harry, will long for very much one of these days. And he was the best wood-cutter in the forest, and could run, and jump, and throw the hammer, and fight too, if there were need, better than all of them. All the village girls liked him, and the men wondered he did'nt marry some of them, but you and I know the reason, don't we?

It was drawing near to Christmas time, and the ground was white with snow. All the trees were bare, except the pines, and their great branches were loaded and pressed down with the heavy snow. All through the ways of the forest it lay, white and pure, and the little birds came hopping about the wood-cutters' huts for crumbs, as you will see them yourself some day. In the evenings they used to sit over a roaring fire of logs, telling stories, and a very old story for this time of year was of a fairy oak in the forest, which if a man could find on Christmas eve, as the sun set, he should get what he most wished in the world. Many had gone out to find it, and had wandered about and been nearly lost or frozen in the cold snow, but nobody had ever seen it, though you may be sure everybody knew somebody else, who knew somebody else, who had heard of somebody else, that did see it.

Arthur had heard of this fairy oak every Christmas yet, but this year a strange feeling had got hold of him that he should find it. And the night before he kept

dreaming that a voice said to him (for he could see nobody) "Now or never—now or never." And so he told the others that he was going to look for it, at which they shouted and laughed, and called him a brave chap, and hoped he might get nothing worse than a night in the snow.

So when Christmas eve came he started off about noon, and began to wander through the thickest parts of the forest where hardly anybody ever went. But though he sought and sought he found no fairy oak. For in the first place there were very few oaks in that wood at all, the trees being mostly pine, sixth and lastly, when he did see an oak tree it turned out just to be a common every-day oak such as you may see anywhere, and to conclude, he was getting very tired and the sun was setting, for in those lands you know the sun sets in winter about four o'clock. "If I don't find the fairy oak at sunset" he said to himself " I shan't find it at all" and he pushed on bravely, though it was hard work, for at every step he sunk in the snow nearly to his knees. Then he saw before him, over a little bank, the boughs of an oak tree, and strange enough, they were covered with leaves as if it had been midsummer. But he never noticed this in his haste, for the sun was nearly set, but ran on so fast that he could not see the ground was a little steep just there, and so he came tumbling down the steep bank, head first, all amongst snow, and stones, and briars, and a very nasty tumble it was.

He picked himself up though, and rubbed his knees, but as he looked round him, there came over him the strangest feeling of having seen the place before. And as he looked, though it was covered with snow, he could tell quite well that it was where Gertrude and he had slept on their first night in the forest. And there was the great oak tree that he remembered quite well, and how it came to have leaves on at this time of year he could not think. So he got up and began to walk round it (and now the sun was quite down) when he saw a sight that nearly made his heart stand still.

On the other side of the tree there was a little tent of silk, open on the side towards him. And though there was no lamp or fire in it, yet the inside of the tent was light and warm, and what was strange, though the snow lay all around, the floor of it was grass filled with violets and cowslips, that scented all the air. And within, on a couch, there lay sleeping the most beautiful lady in the world. And she had on—but stay, My dearest little Miss Lucy, it would give me great pleasure to tell you what she had on, because I know you are dying to hear it, but you must remember Arthur was a man, and did not notice a bit what she had on. And if he did not notice how could he tell me, and if he did not tell me, how could I know ? Besides if you want to hear what she had on, be sure your brothers don't, and we must consider them also. So I proceed with my story,—there lay sleeping the most beautiful lady in the world. The forest was so still that Arthur could hear her gentle breathing as she slept, and I am ashamed to say that for one moment he forgot his dear Gertrude, whom he had never forgotten for a moment before. He went in, his heart not standing still now, but beating faster than ever it did before, and knelt on one knee to kiss her, like the knight in Mr. Tennyson's sweet poem, which I hope you will read as soon as you can, and there is no reason why you

should not read it now. you think it was?

And as he touched her lips she woke, and it was—who do

and the leaves

First it was somebody that Arthur remembered long long ago, as in a dream, a lady who had stooped over him, and smiled at him, long before he could remember anything else then it was the lady whose picture was in the ring, there could be no doubt of that--but last and best of all, it was dear Gertrude, with the same sweet eyes and gentle voice as ever, and on her finger was the fairy ring. She took it off and put it on Arthur's, and as she did so, the tent, and the flowers, on the oak, and her own rich clothes too, all vanished away, and there was nothing but the cold snow, the bare branches of the trees against the dark sky, and a simple country girl in a plain dress, leaning on Arthur's arm, the very same dear Gertrude he had lost, only grown into a woman. And where did they go?-My dears they were so happy that they didn't know exactly where they went, until they saw lights through the trees, and heard voices singing a hymn, and this was the hymn that they sung:

It fell before the dawning,

Or e'er the break of morning,
While yet the stars were burning

The Holy Angels sang.

"O lady, lord, and stranger

Your Lord lies in a manger,

O haste ye, haste ye, unto Bethlehem!"

And if you think that that is not very fine poetry, you must remember that in that land they used Hymns Ancient and Modern (a very early edition too) and did not have the advantage of a book after Mr. Whalley's own heart, with five hundred and eleven Protestant hymns for him to sing to the House of Commons.

Well, Arthur and Gertrude found that the singing came from a church in the wood, where the people were keeping Christmas Eve, and they went in. And all the people were going up to the Altar to make their Christmas offerings, so Arthur whispered to Gertrude that he had her gold piece still, and they went up hand in hand, amongst the simple village folk, to drop it into the plate. And Arthur slipped it into Gertrude's hand, but as she dropped it on the other money, lo! a white dove flew in at the church door, which opened for a moment to let in a late comer, and flew once round the Church, and then settled on Gertrude's shoulder. Arthur could not think why all the people looked at him so, but the old priest said "what is your name my son, and why do you not rejoice?" "My name is Arthur” he said "but why should I rejoice, save that Christ was born in Bethlehem, and that I have found my own true love, of these I do rejoice." "Have you never heard" the old priest answered "that he who should come on the Christmas Eve to this Church, with hold and a fair damsel, on whom a white dove should light, he shall be king of all this land, and now my son, say sooth, who you are, for the land is in a sad way." Then Arthur knelt down before the old priest, and told how he had run away from home, and whose son he was, and all the people came round, and told him what he had never heard in the forest before, how his Father and

Mother were dead, and his two elder brothers had been killed in battle, and how his younger brother was now king, having married the squinting princess who had so much money. And how he and his queen misruled the land until men were weary of their lives. "And" said the old priest "I think that as Christ was born this night in Bethlehem, so the Good Father has given us a king to rule over this land in truth and justice." So Arthur and Gertrude were married that very night in the Church, and that night they stopped in the village.

But next day, Arthur went to see his old friends the wood-cutters, and to bid them good-bye. And he was surprised to find what a long way it was, for he had not thought he had wandered so far. And the next day after that, all the people brought them down to the river, which was all frozen over, and they put them in a sledge drawn by men on skates (and what those are you must wait till you go to England to find out) and they flew along over the smooth ice like the wind. And towards evening Gertrude touched Arthur on the arm, and he looked, and there was the old hill, and the towers of his home over the leafless trees. And all the people were waiting for them, and they had filled the Palace with men, to watch that Arthur's brother did not have the gates' shut. And they all shouted God Save the King," and he went in and found his brother and his broter's wife in a great fright, and tinking they where going to be killed. But Arthur said "you are my dear brother and sister, and I will ever love you, but I must rule this land, for you and yours would seem to have ruled it but badly."

Now when dear Gertrude had taken off her thick veils and furs, which she wore because of the cold, all the people said "Why, this is Dame Martha's daughter, who went to market every Saturday with butter and eggs." The women said that she was just a country girl like anybody else, and goodnatured enough too, but nothing to make a fuss about. But the men said that she was lovely enough to be Queen of all the world, and that they could die for her. So the women said again that that was just like men, who cared for nothing but a pretty face; and so they had the last word, which was a way they had in that land, but nowhere else that I ever heard of. Nevertheless Arthur was much astonished when he heard that Gertrude had been living with Dame Martha all this while, and that the good old Dame didn't know she had ever been away.

So on the happy New Year's Day Arthur and Gertrude were crowned King and Queen, and a very good King and Queen they made. Being, as the old poet saith, not ignorant of sorrow themselves they had learned to help the miserable. And they lived there many and many happy years, caring for the poor, and doing justice and judgement. But Arthur's brother could never be happy there, for he thought the high hated him (which was not true) so he went to the wars and came to a bad end, but Gertrude took care of his wife and children, and so-to finish the story properly-they lived happily ever after.

MORAL.

Now the Moral is this. That if you.-But stay, why should I tell you what it is? If you have understood my story you have understood the Moral, and if you haven't, you had better read it again till you do. Only I am quite sure of this,

that if you are good boys and girls you will have what certain people call a good time' this Christmas and New Year, and if you are naughty you won't. And so, my darlings, farewell!

MEN OF THE PERIOD

TO THE EDITOR OF THE CHINA MAGAZINE.

IR-On November 30th, there appeared in the CHINA MAIL a pseudo critique headed "A Local Picture?!" commenting upon a paper in your MAGAZINE entitled "Men of the Period." It would scarcely be reasonable to expect you to notice an unruly article of the CHINA MAIL kind, but as it appears that there are people in Hongkong who have sincerely felt themselves aggrieved by my strictures, I think it but just to them, as well as to myself that an explanation should be offered.

I had no intention of making my remarks especially applicable to Hongkong or exclusively to any spot in the East; they were to a great extent, levelled at the Young England of the present day all over the world. What I have said I believe to be true in the main, but I fully agree that "to represent our entire community as black-guards and habitual drunkards, scandal mongers and users of foul and ribald language, is to commit a crime against local society which is as libellous as the worst personal slander which ever came before a Court of Justice." If, therefore I have been taken to represent "our entire community in that light I have been grievously misunderstood, and I apologize for not having made use of less ambiguous words.

It seems also that there is a more serious charge against me; namely, that I have traduced the ladies. My intention was the reverse of this, and I again apologize for having used language that could be so interpreted.

I confess that I am somewhat astonished at a charge of malice. The article was written for the perusal of some of those to whom it alluded and was intended to let them know what at least one person thought of them, it can therefore hardly be called malicious. It was written in perfect good faith, and the very strength of the terms used should have had the effect of shooting the arrow far wide of those who have a right to be indignant at them.

Kinder hearts never beat than those of many of the persons I have accused and it is, for this very reason, grievous to see them veil their good qualities in a garb of coarseness, which I cannot help thinking is the gradual result of absence from the society of women. That there are many who do not deserve one word of the censure I have bestowed every one knows, and I should be the last to deny, but I cannot but hold my opinion that the habit of listening to and joining in coarse language at length prevents them from noticing what almost all direct arrivals from home are struck with-namely, that such language is very common in the East.

If my article has aroused indignation it is a sign of better times coming. Rowdyism is certainly on the decrease, and the fact that the accusation of using foul language and drinking to excess brings down a storm of abuse on the accuser, shews at least that those who are guilty of the charge will henceforth he treated in such a manner as will reprove if it do not ensure the gradual disappearance of their faults.

I do not feel that I am bound to let every one know who wrote the article in question; when once a man is known to have said a stern truth, everything else severe is set down to him. But with regard to horsewhipping me, a mode of argument more relied on by the robust than by those who are able to refute the assertions and reasoning of others, I may say that the first gentleman who thinks well to apply for