The Prince’s Dream

If we may credit the fable, there is a tower in the midst of a great Asiatic

plain, wherein is confined a prince who was placed there in his earliest

infancy, with many slaves and attendants, and all the luxuries that are

compatible with imprisonment.

Whether he was brought there from some motive of state, whether to

conceal him from enemies, or to deprive him of rights, has not transpired;

but it is certain that up to the date of this little history he had never set

his foot outside the walls of that high tower, and that of the vast world

without he knew only the green plains which surrounded it; the flocks and

the birds of that region were all his experience of living creatures, and all

the men he saw outside were shepherds.

And yet he was not utterly deprived of change, for sometimes one of his

attendants would be ordered away, and his place would be supplied by a

new one. The prince would never weary of questioning this fresh

companion, and of letting him talk of cities, of ships, of forests, of

merchandise, of kings; but though in turns they all tried to satisfy his

curiosity, they could not succeed in conveying very distinct notions to his

mind; partly because there was nothing in the tower to which they could

compare the external world, partly because, having chiefly lived lives of

seclusion and indolence in Eastern palaces, they knew it only by hearsay

themselves.

At length, one day, a venerable man of a noble presence was brought to

the tower, with soldiers to guard him and slaves to attend him. The prince

was glad of his presence, though at first he seldom opened his lips, and it

was manifest that confinement made him miserable. With restless feet he

would wander from window to window of the stone tower, and mount

from story to story; but mount as high as he would there was still nothing

to be seen but the vast, unvarying plain, clothed with scanty grass, and

flooded with the glaring sunshine; flocks and herds and shepherds moved

across it sometimes, but nothing else, not even a shadow, for there was

no cloud in the sky to cast one. The old man, however, always treated the

prince with respect, and answered his questions with a great deal of

patience, till at length he found a pleasure in satisfying his curiosity,

which so much pleased the poor young prisoner, that, as a great

condescension, he invited him to come out on the roof of the tower and

drink sherbet with him in the cool of the evening, and tell him of the

country beyond the desert, and what seas are like, and mountains, and

towns.

"I have learnt much from my attendants, and know this world pretty well

by hearsay," said the prince, as they reclined on the rich carpet which

was spread on the roof.

The old man smiled, but did not answer; perhaps because he did not care

to undeceive his young companion, perhaps because so many slaves were

present, some of whom were serving them with fruit, and others burning

rich odors on a little chafing-dish that stood between them.

"But there are some words to which I never could attach any particular

meaning," proceeded the prince, as the slaves began to retire, "and three

in particular that my attendants cannot satisfy me upon, or are reluctant

to do so."

"What words are those, my prince?" asked the old man. The prince turned

on his elbow to be sure that the last slave had descended the tower

stairs, then replied:

"O man of much knowledge, the words are these--Labor, and Liberty, and

Gold."

"Prince," said the old man, "I do not wonder that it has been hard to

make thee understand the first, the nature of it, and the cause why most

men are born to it; as for the second, it would be treason for thee and me

to do more than whisper it here, and sigh for it when none are listening;

but the third need hardly puzzle thee; thy hookah[4] is bright with it; all

thy jewels are set in it; gold is inlaid in the ivory of thy bath; thy cup and

thy dish are of gold, and golden threads are wrought into thy raiment."

[Footnote 4: _Hookah_: a kind of pipe for smoking tobacco, used in

Eastern Europe and Asia.]

"That is true," replied the prince, "and if I had not seen and handled this

gold, perhaps I might not find its merits so hard to understand; but I

possess it in abundance, and it does not feed me, nor make music for me,

nor fan me when the sun is hot, nor cause me to sleep when I am weary;

therefore when my slaves have told me how merchants go out and brave

the perilous wind and sea, and live in the unstable ships, and run risks

from shipwreck and pirates, and when, having asked them why they have

done this, they have answered, 'For gold,' I have found it hard to believe

them; and when they have told me how men have lied, and robbed, and

deceived; how they have murdered one another, and leagued together to

depose kings, to oppress provinces, and all for gold; then I have said to

myself, either my slaves have combined to make me believe that which is

not, or this gold must be very different from the yellow stuff that this coin

is made of, this coin which is of no use but to have a hole pierced through

it and hang to my girdle, that it may tinkle when I walk."

"Notwithstanding this," said the old man, "nothing can be done without

gold; for it is better than bread, and fruit, and music, for it can buy them

all, since all men love it, and have agreed to exchange it for whatever

they may need."

"How so?" asked the prince.

"If a man has many loaves he cannot eat them all," answered the old

man; "therefore he goes to his neighbor and says, 'I have bread and thou

hast a coin of gold--let us exchange;' so he receives the gold and goes to

another man, saying, 'Thou hast two houses and I have none; lend me

one of thy houses to live in, and I will give thee my gold;' thus again they

exchange."

"It is well," said the prince; "but in time of drought, if there is no bread in

a city, can they make it of gold?"

"Not so," answered the old man, "but they must send their gold to a city

where there is food, and bring that back instead of it."