the good fairies who were reported to be present at the birth of every babe , and who , if seen and recognized , were sure to bring some good fortune to the child , but if unnoticed , went away sorrowing, because they were then powerless to help the infant .
" What will you do for my child ? " cried the mother . " Will you give him comfort and ease and fill his days with pleasure ? "
" Ah no , " replied the fairy , " I will give him something far better than pleasant food and a soft bed and fine clothes ! "
" Will you make him great and powerful so that men may bow down before him ? " said the mother eagerly .
" No ! no ! " again replied the fairy shaking her head . I will give him something of far more worth than fame and power ! "
" You will make him rich , so rich that he will never have to work ? " exclaimed the mother .
" Nay , good woman , " said the fairy seriously . These are but foolish things for which you ask . My gift is greater than all of these put together . Pleasure and influence and wealth a man may earn for himself and he may be very miserable after he gets them , too ," added she , with a shrug of the shoulders .
LITTLE BLESSED- EYES. 59
" The gift that I would bestow upon your son will make him the happiest of mortals and will give him the power of making many , many others happy !"
" Tell me,'" cried the mother, "how will you make him so happy ? No human being is ever sure of happiness.'
" Let me kiss him upon his two eyelids as he lies there asleep ," replied the fairy, " and do you the same each returning birthday and all will be well ."
The mother hesitated ; a step was heard approaching the door .
" Quick , quick ! " exclaimed the fairy . must be off before that door opens , as it is forbidden us ever to be seen by more than one mortal at a time . Shall I give him the magic kiss or not ?"
" I
" Yes ! " cried the excited mother , " I trust you will do no harm to my precious child . "
Instantly the fairy fluttered down from the post of the bed , and impressing a kiss upon each of the closed eyelids of the child , she said , softly , " He shall be called BlessedEyes ." "
The door of the room swung back upon its hinges , the father of the child entered with a cheery " Good morning " to wife and babe ,
the fairy was gone . -The mother silently pondered over what had happened and when the christening day came , she said his name was to be " Blessed - Eyes . "
Most of her friends and relatives thought this was a very queer name indeed to give to a child , and even went so far as to argue with the father that the little one ought to be named " John " or " James " after one or the other of his two grandfathers . But as the boy grew into a sweet, healthy childhood , loving and kind to everyone , they were gradually reconciled to the name , and little Blessed -Eyes became a general favorite . He was always sunshiny , always happy. His mother never failed on each new birthday to rise early , even before the day dawned , and to go to his bedside , and , bending over him , kiss his two eyelids as the fairly had bidden . At such times she imagined that she heard a faint sound as of a far away chorus of strange , silvery voices , singing :
" Love well , love well, love well , That the heart within may swell , Love well , love well, love well ! "
Still , she was never quite sure but that it was merely the first mellow tones of the church bell in a distant village .
