t a wish to
relieve the necessitous, or benefit their fellow creatures by it, then
will the rose begin to wither, and the riches, and its bloom disappear
at the same time.

"This," said she, producing a hyacinth, "has the power to endow the
person of its possessor with the brightest and most captivating beauty.
Admiration will follow their footsteps, and the homage of crowds be paid
to their charms. But even you, my children, uninformed as you are, must
know that beauty at best is but a fading flower, and the adoration it
excites equally transitory. If in those who derive it from this gift, it
be accompanied with modesty and humility, it will insure to them all the
happiness and gratification that a consciousness of the power to please
must naturally confer. But if, on the contrary, it renders them vain,
haughty, and unfeeling, demanding universal admiration, and jealous of
all who have any claim to share it with them; regardless of the pain
they inflict on those whose affections they have seduced, or glorying in
the victims of their coquetry, they will find this coveted beauty the
source of shame and mortification. Then will the bright tint of this
admired flower turn to a sickly and disgusting hue, and the late
beauteous person share its fate.

"But here," continued the fairy, taking up one of the lilies, "is my
best and most valuable gift. This modest flower will neither change its
hue or lose its fragrance. The person who wisely chuses this, will enjoy
the inestimable blessing of content in whatever situation they are
placed. No envy will torment their heart at the prosperity of others; no
repining at their own less exalted lot; their wishes will be bounded by
the sphere in which they move, and care or disappointment be a stranger
to their breast.

"And now," she added, "it remains for you all to make your election;
remember my words, and prove by your prudence what influence they have
had upon you." "Ah," cried Adrian, "how can I hesitate? poor and
destitute as we are left, it is fortune I know that is wanting to
re-instate us in ease and independence, and to secure us the respect of
the world. But, gracious fairy, do not, I beseech you, think me capable
of making an ill use of the wealth you will bestow upon me. Believe me,
the greatest pleasure I feel in the thoughts of possessing it, is the
power it will give me of assisting others, and making all around me
happy." "Rash boy," answered Felicia, "how can you p