There was one time a prince, who was but six years old when he lost his

father; at first, he was rather sad, but the pleasure of being a king quickly
consoled him. This prince was called Charming: he had not a bad heart, but
he had been brought up as a prince; that is to say, he had his own way in
every thing; and this bad education would in consequence have undoubtedly
rendered him wicked. He had already began to exhibit symptoms of anger
when any one told him of his faults; he neglected his business to deliver
himself up to his pleasures; above all, he was so passionately attached to the
chase, that he passed the greater part of his time in this amusement. He
would have been spoiled, as are almost all princes; however, he had a good
governor, whom he loved very much when he was young; but after he
became king, he thought his governor too virtuous. "I will never dare to follow
my own notions before him," said he to himself; "for he says that a prince
ought to give all his time to the business of his kingdom, and should not be
too fond of pleasure. Even though he should say nothing, he will look sad,
and I shall perceive by his countenance, that he is dissatisfied with me; I
must remove him to a distance, for his presence will be a constraint upon
me." On the morrow, Charming assembled his council, bestowed great
praises upon his governor, and said, that to reward him for the attention he
had shown him, he bestowed upon him the government of a province, which
was at a great distance from the court. When his governor had departed, he
plunged into all species of indulgence, and particularly hunting, of which he
was fond to distraction.
One day, while Charming was in a large forest, there passed by him a doe of
a snowy whiteness; she had a collar of gold around her neck, and when she
had approached near the prince, she looked at him earnestly, and then
retreated. "Let no one attempt to kill her," cried Charming. He then gave
orders to his people, to remain with the dogs, while he pursued the doe. It
appeared as if she waited for him; but when he came near her, she kept
retreating; at the same time, frisking and gambolling.
So great was his desire of taking her, that following her, he had proceeded a
great way unconsciously. The night came on, and he lost sight of the doe. He
was greatly embarrassed, for he knew not where he was. All on a sudden, he
heard the sound of musical instruments, but it appeared to come from a
distance. However, he followed the direction of this agreeable noise, until he
arrived at a large castle, whence proceeded the music. The porter asked him
what he desired, and the prince related his adventure. "You are welcome,"
said the man to him: "let me lead you to supper, for the doe belongs to my
mistress, and whenever she goes out, it is to bring her company." At this
moment, the porter whistled, and a great number of servants appeared with
flambeaux, and led the prince to a well-lighted apartment. The furniture of
this apartment was not splendid, but every thing was so appropriate, and so

well arranged, that it was pleasant to see it. Immediately the mistress of the
house made her appearance; the prince was struck with her beauty, and
having thrown himself at her feet, he could not address her, so deeply intent
was he in looking upon her. "Arise, prince !" said she to him, presenting him
her hand: "I am delighted at the admiration I excite. You appear to me so
agreeable, that I wish from my heart it may be your fate to draw me from this
solitude. I am called True Glory, and am immortal; I have lived in this castle
since the beginning of the world, awaiting a husband; a great number of
kings have come hither to see mc, but although they had sworn to me an
eternal fidelity, they have failed to keep their word, but have abandoned me
for the most cruel of my enemies"
"Ah, beautiful princess, can any one who has once seen you, ever forget you
1 I swear never to love other than you, and from this moment, I choose you
for my queen."" And I accept you for my king," said True Glory to him: "but
it is not permitted me to marry you immediately. I go to make you acquainted
with another prince, who is at my palace, and who desires also to marry me.
If I were my own mistress, I would select yourself in preference; but this
depends not on myself. You must quit me for three years, and that one of the
two, who shall be most faithful to me during this time, shall have the
preference."
Charming was deeply grieved at these words, but he was still more so, when
he saw the prince of whom True Glory had spoken. He was so beautiful, and
possessed so much intellect, that he feared lest True Glory should love him
more than himself.
He was called Absolute, and possessed a large kingdom. Both of them supped
with True Glory, and were very sad, when they had to quit in the morning; she
told them to wait for three years, and then come together to the palace.
Scarcely had they proceeded two hundred paces in the forest, when they saw
a palace, far more magnificent than that of True Glory. The gold, the silver,
the marble, the diamonds, dazzled their eyes; the gardens were superb, and
curiosity induced them to enter. They were very much surprised to find their
princess, but her dress was changed; her hair, instead of white roses, as on
the evening before, was decorated with pearls, and her robe, before simple
and plain, was ample, and loaded with diamonds. "I showed you yesterday
my country-seat, but since I have two princes for my lovers, I find it unworthy
of me; I have abandoned it for ever, and I will wait for you in the palace; for
princes ought ever to love the magnificent. Gold and precious stones, are
only made for them, and when their subjects behold their splendour, they
respect them the more." At the same time, she led her two lovers into a great
hall. "I am going to show you," said she to them, "the portraits of most of the
princes, who have been my favourites: behold him called Alexander, whom I
would have married, but he died too young; with a very small number of

soldiers, he laid waste all Asia, and made himself master of it; he loved me to
madness, and often risked his life to please me: look at this other, named
Pyrrhus; the desire of becoming my husband, made him leave his own
kingdom to gain others; he was ever running about, but was unfortunately
killed by a tile, which a woman threw upon his head. This other, was Julius
Cesar; to merit my love, he waged war for ten years with the Gauls. He
conquered Pompey, and subjugated the Romans; he would have been my
husband, but having, contrary to my advice, pardoned his enemies, they
murdered him with their daggers."
The princess showed them a still greater number of portraits, and having
given them a splendid breakfast, which was served up on dishes of gold, she
requested them to resume their journey. When they had left the palace,
Absolute said to Charming: "Acknowledge that the princess was a thousand
times more agreeable to-day, in her fine dress, and that she also had a great
deal more wit.""I don't know," said Charming: "she was painted to-day; she
appeared to me changed, partly owing to her beautiful dress; but in truth, she
pleased me much more in her simple attire." The two princes separated, and
returned to their kingdoms, resolved to do all that lay in their power to please
their mistress.
When Charming arrived at his palace, he recollected that when he was small,
his governor had often spoken to him of True Glory, and he said to himself:
"Perhaps he knows the princess. I will recall him to court, he will tell me what
I must do to please her." He then sent an express to seek him, and as soon as
his governor, who was called Sincere, had reached the court, he summoned
him into his cabinet, and related to him what had happened. The good
Sincere, weeping with joy, said to the king: "Ah! my dear prince, I am happy I
have returned; without me you would have lost your princess. You must know
that she has a sister, who is called False Glory. This wicked creature, is not so
handsome as True Glory, but she paints herself to conceal her defects. She
waits for all those princes who come out from True Glory, and as she
resembles her sister, she misleads them; they believe they are toiling for True
Glory, but they lose her, by following the advice of her sister. You have seen
that all the lovers of False Glory, have perished miserably. Prince Absolute,
who is about to follow their example, will never survive his thirtieth year; but
as for you, if you conduct yourself by my advice, I promise, that at last you
will be the husband of your princess. She must marry the greatest king in the
world; exert yourself to become so."
"My dear Sincere," replied Charming, "you know that is impossible; however
great my kingdom may become, my subjects are so ignorant, and rude, that I
never could employ them in war, for to become the greatest king in the world
I must gain a great number of battles, and take many cities."" Ah! my dear
prince," replied Sincere," you have already forgotten the lessons I gave you.

Though you should have but a single city, and two or three hundred subjects
and though you should never go to war, you may become the greatest king
in the world; all that is required for this, i3 to be the most just, and the most
virtuous. This is the way to acquire True Glory. Those who take away the
kingdoms of their neighboursthose who, to build large castles, to purchase
fine dresses and plenty of diamonds, rob their people, are mistaken, and find
but the princess False Glory, who then will no longer be painted, but will
appear to them in all her deformity. You say that your subjects are rude, and
ignorant; it is your duty to instruct them * make war upon ignorance and
crime, contend against your own passions, and you will be truly a great king,
and a conqueror far above Cesar, Pyrrhus, Alexander, and all those heroes,
whose portraits False Glory pointed out to you."
Charming resolved to follow the advice of his governor. For this purpose, he
requested one of his relations to govern his kingdom in his absence, and
departed with his governor, to travel through the world, and to inform himself
of all that he must do to render his subjects happy.
Whenever he found a wise or able man, he said to him: "If you will
accompany me, I will reward you handsomely." When he had become well
instructed himself, and had collected a great many distinguished men, he
returned to his kingdom, and gave them orders to instruct his subjects, who
were very poor and ignorant. He caused great cities, and a navy to be built,
the young to be educated, the poor, the sick, and the aged to be taken care
of; he distributed justice himself to his people, so that he rendered them an
honourable and happy nation. He spent two years in these labours, and at the
end of this time, he said to Sincere: "Do you believe that I am yet worthy of
True Glory?"" There still remains a great work for you to do," said his
governor. "You have overcome the vices of your subjects, your own indolence
and love of pleasure, but you are still the slave of your anger; it is the last
enemy you have to contend with."
Charming had much difficulty in correcting himself of this last defect; but he
was so much in ove with the princess, that he made the greatest efforts to
become forbearing and mild. He succeeded, and the three years having
elapsed, he went back to the forest, where he had seen the white doe. He did
not take with him a great train; Sincere alone accompanied him. There he
quickly met Absolute, in a grand chariot, on which, were painted the battles
he had gained, and the cities he had taken; before him walked a great many
princes, whom he had taken prisoners, and who were chained together like
slaves. When he perceived Charming, he laughed at him, and the conduct he
had pursued. At the same moment, they saw the palaces of the two sisters,
which were not far distant from each other. Charming took the road to the
first, and Absolute was delighted, because she whom he mistook for the
princess, had told him that he would never return. But scarcely had he

quitted Charming, when the princess True Glory, a thousand times more
beautiful, but quite as simply attired, as when he saw her for the first time,
appeared before him. "Come hither, my prince," said she: "thanks to your
friend Sincere, who has taught you to distinguish myself, from my sister; you
are worthy of being my husband."
At the same time, True Glory commanded the Virtues, who were her subjects,
to prepare for the celebration of her marriage with Charming. While he was
engrossed with his happiness in becoming the husband of such a wife,
Absolute arrived at False Glory's, who received him most kindly, and offered
to marry him upon the spot. He consented, but scarcely had she become his
wife, when he perceived, in looking at her nearer, that she was old and
wrinkled, although she had not neglected to lay on a great deal of paint, to
conceal it.
While she was speaking to him, a golden thread, which fastened her false
teeth, broke asunder, and out they fell upon the ground.
Prince Absolute, was so much enraged at having been deceived, that he
jumped upon her to beat her, but as he took hold of her beautiful black hair,
which was very long, what was his astonishment, to find it remaining in his
hands. For False Glory wore a wig, and while her head was uncovered, he saw
that she had but a dozen hairs and they were quite gray. Absolute left this
wicked and ugly creature, and ran to the palace of True Glory, who had
married Charming; and his grief at having lost the princess was so great, that
he died of mortification.
Charming grieved for his fate, and lived a long time with True Glory. They had
many daughters, but one alone perfectly resembled her mother.
He placed her in this country palace, waiting until she could find a husband;
and to prevent her wicked aunt from seducing her lovers, he wrote her
history, to teach those princes, who wish to marry his daughter, that the only
way of possessing True Glory, is to render themselves virtuous, and useful to
their subjects, and that to succeed in this design, it is indispensably
necessary to have a sincere friend.