﻿THE BIRTH-DAY GIFT. 



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The Birth-day Gift. 



THE populous kingdom of Ava, in India beyond the Ganges, was 

 once inhabited by a minor prince, who was brought up in the lux- 

 urious indolence of an eastern palace. When he had reached the 

 age of seventeen, which, by the laws of that country, was the period 

 of majority for the crown, all the great men of his court, and the 

 governors of the provinces, according to established custom, laid at 

 his feet presents consisting of the most costly products of art and 

 nature that they had been able to procure. One offered a casket of 

 the most precious jewels of Golconda ; another, a curious piece of 

 clock-work made by an European artist; another, a piece of the 

 richest silk from the looms of China ; another, a Bezoar stone, said 

 to be a sovereign antidote against all poisons and infectious diseases ; 

 another, a choice piece of the most fragrant rosewood in a box of 

 ebony inlaid with pearls ; another, a golden cruse full of genuine 

 balsam of Mecca ; another, a courser of the purest breed of Arabia ; 

 and another, a female slave of exquisite beauty. The whole court 

 of the palace was overspread with rarities ; and long rows of slaves 

 were continually passing loaded with vessels and utensils of gold and 

 silver, and other articles of high price. 



At length an aged magistrate from a distant province made his 

 appearance. He was simply clad in a long cotton robe, and his 

 hoary beard waved on his breast. He made his obeisance before the 

 young monarch, and holding forth an embroidered silken bag, he 

 thus addressed him : 



" Deign, great king, to accept the faithful homage and fervent 

 good wishes of thy servant on this important day, and, with them, 

 the small present I hold in my hand. Small, indeed, it is in show, 

 but not so, I trust, in value. Others have offered what may decorate 

 thy person --here is what will impart perpetual grace and lustre to 

 thy features. Others have presented thee with rich perfumes here 

 is what will make thy name sweet and fragrant to the latest ages. 

 Others have heaped round thee the riches of a temporal kingdom 

 this will secure thee the treasures of an eternal one." 



He said, and drew from the purse a book containing the Moral 

 recepts of the sage Zendar, the wisest and most virtuous man the 



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