The New Hampshire Gazette

Miscellany.

THE REWARD OF JUSTICE.

Quisera, king of Persia, was one of the most just and virtuous monarchs that ever governed a nation; and that over-ruling Providence, which constantly defends such characters from the arts and designs of their enemies, signally rewarded, on one occasion, the sacrifice of his own wishes to his high sense of personal injustice.

Quisera was desirous of erecting a magnificent palace in one of the most pleasant parts of his dominions; and as the spot which he had selected was occupied by a number of small cottages, he offered a considerable sum of money for permission to remove them.—

His proposals were gratefully accepted by all the inhabitants, except one old woman, who refused to listen to any conditions whatever.

'This hut,' said she, 'was my cradle, and it shall be my tomb.' When the king was informed of her obstinacy, instead of giving way to passion, he very coolly said, 'The cottage is certainly hers, and I cannot deprive her of it by force, without being guilty of injustice. However, I will build my palace, and her hut shall remain where it is.'—

The architect represented to him that this mean dwelling would stand completely in the court-yard. 'So much the better,' replied Quisera, 'the good woman will be in no want of light.' His courtiers incessantly repeated, that his majesty was too considerate; that there was not any respect due to a foolish old peasant, who had the audacity to oppose her sovereign's will. But he answered, that it was the duty of every sovereign to be just.

'It may be said, observed he, that this poor creature is foolish; but it shall never be said that Quisera was unjust.'

The palace was finished in the first style of magnificence and ornamented in such a costly manner that it was reckoned one of the wonders of the East. No traveller ever visited Persia without procuring a sight of it; no ambassador ever arrived from a foreign court, who was not struck with admiration at its amazing beauty. One of these, who was celebrated for his taste and judgment, could not refrain, one day, from addressing the king to the following purport: 'Your palace, sire, certainly corresponds with the greatness and sublimity of your mind; but I am astonished to see that a mean hut should be suffered to stand in the midst of such unrivalled magnificence.' The king then informed him of the reason of its remaining in that situation; but the ambassador replied, that the old woman not only deserved to lose her habitation, but her life for daring to oppose her sovereign's pleasure. 'Pardon me,' said Quisera, 'if I differ from you in opinion, and if I persist in thinking that, in the present instance, you have lost sight of that wisdom for which you are justly famed. This little cottage is, in my estimation, the most precious ornament of my palace, since it proves that I am just, tho possessing absolute power; while on the contrary, the magnificence of this structure, and all its expensive decorations are only the display of riches which blind Fortune either gives or withdraws at her caprice. I remember that, when yet a child, as I was going one day to my sports, I saw a mischievous boy throw a stone at a dog, which was quietly lying asleep on the ground, and break his leg; then, as if delighted at the exploit he had achieved, he went away jumping with joy.

It so happened, that, at the very instant, a gentleman on horseback passed by. The giddy youth, who was running along, came so near the horse's hoof, that he gave him a kick, which fractured his leg. The lad fell down crying most piteously. The traveller, instead of going to his assistance pursued his way; but, immediately after, the horse, putting his foot into a deep hole, fell on his chest and broke his knees; and the rider, who was thrown on the earth, dislocated his shoulder.

This circumstance,' added the king, 'has been a lesson to me, by which I have endeavored to regulate my conduct through life; for, as it appears perfectly just that evil should befall those who intend evil to others, I carefully abstain from doing wrong. Besides, Nature has implanted this universal law in the human heart—Do not unto others that which you would not have them to do unto you.'

The ambassador, by his respectful silence, showed that his reason was convinced by the arguments of this truly just monarch; and, on returning to his master's court, he applauded his justice even more than his magnificence.

This rigid adherence to strict equity, however, though it insured the happiness of Quisera's subjects, and was the object of their respect and admiration, was considered in a very different light by his ministers. As it obliged them to give an exact account of all their proceedings, they regarded it as an intolerable oppression; and thought themselves much aggrieved, because they were denied the privilege of promoting a relation, or protecting a rich man, who offered a large sum of money for their patronage.

It happened that Jerelu, the prime minister's brother, having committed a capital crime, was imprisoned until the execution of his sentence. There remained not the smallest hope of his being pardoned; for the king insisted that the award pronounced by the laws should be irrevocable. The minister, who was much attached to his brother, went and threw himself at his sovereign's feet, to implore his mercy. But Quisera made him this reply: 'I would readily pardon him, had I condemned him; but he is condemned by the laws, which were made for the public good. I am only their guardian, and it is my duty to see them executed.' The minister used every argument he could devise to induce the king to grant his petition, but in vain: that just monarch was inflexible. and refused to listen to his prayer. He, therefore, quitted his sovereign's presence with his heart full of rancor, resolving to form a conspiracy, and assassinate his master. For some minutes, he walked to and fro, considering how he should be able to effect his dreadful purpose. At length, he recollected a man, whose name was Daramuc, who, from a low situation had been raised by his means to a high military station, but who was still discontented, because he could not pursue his vicious inclinations with impunity. Towards this man he directed his thoughts, and determined to make him the instrument of his vengeance. He accordingly went to him, and engaged him to meet him privately, the same evening, in the palace court, behind the old woman's cot, where, he said, he wished to speak to him on an affair of the utmost importance.

The minister knew that his brother, at a time when he commanded the armies of Quisera's deceased father, had artfully lost a decisive battle, for which the enemy had rewarded him with a considerable sum: and that he, whom he intended to involve in the conspiracy, had assisted Jeroluf in betraying the king's army. Quisera, however, was entirely ignorant of this treachery; and all the heads of accusation against Jeroluf were of recent date. But the artful minister availed himself of his knowledge of the fact, to try whether Daramuc, in endeavoring to save his own life, might not also preserve his brother's.

In the evening, Daramuc did not fail to repair to the court of the palace, where the minister, thinking himself unheard by every human ear, spoke as follows: "My friend, our master's rigorous justice is much too dangerous for ourselves and our friends. I only wish you to recall to mind the last war in which we were engaged.—'You then,' said Daramuc, 'obtained for me one of the first military posts under your brother, who was appointed commander of the whole force.' I did not mention this,' rejoined the minister 'to remind you of an obligation, but merely to bring forward a circumstance that will be no less fatal to you than to my imprisoned brother, unless we have the courage to avert the blow. Know, then, that Quisera has decreed your death, and that, to-morrow, you will be confined. The monarch against whom our late king took up arms, has sent my brother's letters to Quisera, by which the whole treason is exposed, and the names of all who were concerned with him: yours, of course, is among the number.' Daramuc, who knew the account of this treachery to be true, exclaimed—'Well, then, I will plunge my dagger in his heart before he can pronounce my sentence. He has long been hateful to me!' The minister, finding his design likely to be accomplished, replied—'I will be of your party; for I am determined to save Jeroluf, or perish in the attempt.'

The old woman, who had overheard the whole conversation, now crept out very softly from her little hut, and, going up to the officers who guarded the royal apartment, demanded an audience, saying, she had discovered a conspiracy and must speak to the king in person. When led into his presence, she thus addressed him: 'Most great and just monarch! send your guards instantly to secure two villains, who are behind my cottage—lose no time—and whilst they are gone, I will relate all I have overheard.' The guards were immediately dispatched; the king was informed of the whole conspiracy; and ten other conspirators were arrested, and separately examined by the judges, who sentenced them all to the ignominious death they so justly merited.

Quisera, seeing that to a single act of justice, which had been blamed by every one, he owed the preservation of his life, felt, with the greater force, the justice of the Almighty. and became the more confirmed in his resolution of being just himself.