emselves; they only describe his
greatness. The things that one sees are not of importance; it is the
things that they are put there to represent. Do you understand? I
don't believe you do. I 'll try to make it more clear to you, like a
true sunbeam. Look at one of your earth-kings, for instance. He is
nothing but a man just like the rest of you; but what makes him great
is that he is supposed to have more truth, more wisdom, more justice
and power. If he has not these things, then he would better never have
been a king; for that only places him where every one can see how
unworthy he is,--makes his lacks only more conspicuous. Your word
_king_ comes from another word, _koenning_; which comes from still
another word, _canning_, that means _ableman_. If he is not really an
ableman, it were better he had never worn ermine. And there, too;
ermine is only a fur, you know. It is nothing in itself but fur; but
you have come to think of it as an emblem of royalty because kings use
it. So you see, Marjorie, a thing is not of any worth really except as
it represents something that is great and noble, something _true_."

Marjorie was very silent for a little; she was trying to understand
what the sunbeam meant, and found it rather difficult. After a while
she gave it up and said,--

"Will you tell me how you are carrying me, and where we are going, and
all about it?"

"Certainly," replied the beam, brightly. "You are in a sort of
hammock made out of threads of sunshine. We sunbeams can weave one in
less than no time, and it is no trouble at all to swing a little mortal
like you way out into the clearness and the light, so that a bit of it
can make its way into your dark little soul, and make you not quite so
blind as you were."

"Why, I 'm not blind at all," said Marjorie, with a surprised pout. "I
can see as well as anything. Did you think I couldn't?"

"I _know_ you can't," replied the beam, calmly. "That is, you can't
see any farther than the outside part of things, and that is almost
worse than seeing none of them at all. But here we are nearing the
court of the king. Now don't expect to see _him_, for that is
impossible. He is altogether too radiant for you; your eyes could not
bear so much glory. It would be just as if you took one of your own
little moles or bats (creatures that are used to the dark) and put them
in the full glare of a noonday sun. The sun would be there, but they
could not