Page 186 [186]
LABOULAYE’S FAIRY BOOK
given him his crown; his affection rendered him powerless.
Love is not blind, whatever the poets may say; alas! it
would be too happy not to see a jot. It 1s the torment of
him who loves to become, despite himself, the slave and
accomplice of the ingrate who feels himself beloved.
Every day, after the council, the king went to spend the
evening with the Countess of Castro, an old lady who had
dandled him on her knees when an infant, and who alone
could recall to him the sweet memories of his childhood and
youth. She was very ugly, and something of a witch, it
is said; but the world is so wicked that we must never be¬
lieve more than half its scandal. The countess had large
features and luxuriant gray hair, and it was easy to see that
she had been beautiful in former times.
One day, when Charming had been more unreasonable
than usual, the king entered the countess’s house with an
anxious air, and seating himself before the card-table, began
to play a game of Patience. It was his way of diverting
his thoughts and forgetting for a few hours the cares of
royalty. Scarcely had he ranged sixteen cards in a square
when he heaved a deep sigh.
“Countess,” he cried, “you see before you the most
wretched of fathers and kings. Despite his natural grace,
Charming is every day becoming more wilful and vicious.
Must I leave such an heir after me, and intrust the happi¬
ness of my people to a crowned fool?”
145