ou are
a man of honour and that you have not forgotten the service I rendered
you; nor do I fail to remember what you did for me, and how it is
through you that I am able to dwell in Paradise, which I would not
have been permitted to enter had my debts not been paid and my body
given burial. Farewell, until we meet above." And with these words the
apparition vanished.

Iouenn and the Princess lived long, respected by all, and when the old
King died Iouenn, the man of his word, was made King in his place.

CHAPTER VI: BRETON FOLK-TALES

The stories told here under the title of 'folk-tales' are such as do
not partake so much of the universal element which enters so largely
into Breton romance, but those which have a more national or even
local tinge and are yet not legendary. The homely flavour attached to
many stories of this kind is very apparent, and it is evident that
they have been put together in oral form by unknown 'makers,' some of
whom had either a natural or artistic aptitude for story-telling. In
the first of the following tales it is curious to note how the ancient
Breton theme has been put by its peasant narrator into almost a modern
dress.

_The Magic Rose_

An aged Breton couple had two sons, the elder of whom went to Paris to
seek his fortune, while the younger one was timid by nature and would
not leave the paternal roof. His mother, who felt the burden of her
age, wished the stay-at-home to marry. At first he would not hear of
the idea, but at last, persuaded by her, he took a wife. He had only
been married a few weeks, however, when his young bride sickened and
died. La Rose, for such was his name, was inconsolable. Every evening
he went to the cemetery where his wife was buried, and wept over her
tomb.

One night he was about to enter the graveyard on his sad errand when
he beheld a terrible phantom standing before him, which asked him in
awful tones what he did there.

"I am going to pray at the tomb of my wife," replied the terrified La
Rose.

"Do you wish that she were alive again?" asked the spirit.

"Ah, yes!" cried the sorrowing husband. "There is nothing that I would
not do in order that she might be restored to me."

"Hearken, then," said the phantom. "Return to this place to-morrow
night at the same hour. Provide yourself with a pick and you will see
what comes to pass."

On the following night the young widower was punctually at the
rendezvous. The phantom presented