9 4 THE PARADISE OF CHILDREN.

positively a very handsome article of furniture, and would
have been quite an ornament to any room in which it
should be placed. It was made of a beautiful kind of
— wood, with dark and rich veins spreading over its sur-
face, which was so highly polished that little Pandora
could see her face in it. As the child had no other look-
ing-glass, it is odd that she did not value the box, merely
on this account.

The edges and corners of the box were carved with
‘most wonderful skill. Around the margin there were
figures of graceful men and women, and the prettiest
children ever seen, reclining or sporting amid a profusion
of flowers and foliage; and these various objects were so
exquisitely represented, and were wrought together in
such harmony, that flowers, foliage, and human beings
seemed to combine into a wreath of mingled beauty. But
here and there, peeping forth from behind the carved
foliage, Pandora once or twice fancied that she saw a face
not so lovely, or something or other that was disagree-
able, and which stole the beauty out of all the rest.
Nevertheless, on looking more closely, and touching the
spot with her finger, she could discover nothing of the
kind. Some face, that was really beautiful, had been
made to look ugly by her catching a sideway glimpse
at it. |

The most beautiful face of all was done in what is called
high relief, in the centre of the lid. There was nothing
else, save the dark, smooth richness of the polished wood,
and this one face in the centre, with a garland of flowers
about its brow. Pandora had looked at this face a great