not have said why, but he was charmed; probably the island
resembled some memory of his childhood, or, perhaps, a beautiful dream.

He bought the island, built a villa, and planted all sorts of lovely
trees, shrubs, and flowers. And all around was the sea; he had his own
landing-stage, with a flag-staff and white boats; oak trees, as tall
as a church, shaded his house, and cool breezes gently swept the green
meadows. He had a wife, children, servants, cattle; he had everything,
except one thing: it was but a trifle, but it was more important than
anything else in the world, and yet he had forgotten it until the very
last: he had no spring water. Wells were sunk and rocks were blasted,
but all he got was brown, brackish water; it was filtered until it
looked as clear as crystal, but it remained brackish. And that was where
the shoe pinched.

Then there came to the island a man endowed with great gifts; he had
been lucky in all his enterprises, and was one of the most famous men
in the world. Everybody remembered how he struck the mountain with his
diamond staff and produced water from the rock, like Moses. Now he was
to bore or the island and see whether the mountain would yield water,
as other mountains had done. They spent a hundred, a thousand, several
thousand crowns, but found none but brackish water. There was no
blessing on their undertaking. And it was brought home to the rich man
that money will not buy everything, not even, when the worst comes to
the worst, a drink of fresh water. Thereupon he grew despondent and life
seemed to hold no more happiness in store for him.

The schoolmaster searched the old books, and then sent for a venerable
old man, who came and brought his divining rod; but it was no use.

But the clergyman was a great deal wiser. He assembled all the school
children one day, and offered a prize to the one who could bring him a
plant called "goldpowder," in Latin Chrysosplenium, which will only grow
near a spring.

"It has a flower," he said, "like the bird's-eye and leaves like the
saxifrage, and it looks as if it had gold dust on its top leaves.
Remember that!"

"A flower like the bird's-eye and leaves like the saxifrage," repeated
the children; and they ran into the wood and the fields to look for the
goldpowder.

Not one of the children found it; a little boy, it is true, came home
with some milk-weed, which have a tiny bit of gold dust on the points of
its leaves; but the milk-wee