This was the more creditable to Proserpina , inasmuch as King Pluto had caused her to be tempted day by day , with all manner of sweetmeats , and richly-preserved fruits , and delicacies of every sort , such as young people are generally most fond of . But her good mother had often told her of the hurtfulness of these things ; and for that reason alone , if there had been no other , she would have resolutely refused to taste them . All this time , being of a cheerful and active disposition , the little damsel was not quite so unhappy as you may have supposed . The immense palace had a thousand rooms , and was full of beautiful and wonderful objects . There was a never-ceasing gloom , it is true , which half hid itself among the innumerable pillars , gliding before the child as she wandered among them , and treading stealthily behind her in the echo of her footsteps . Neither was all the dazzle of the precious stones , which flamed with their own light , worth one gleam of natural sunshine ; nor could the most brilliant of the many-colored gems , which Proserpina had for playthings , vie with the simple beauty of the flowers she used to gather . But still , whenever the girl went among those gilded halls and chambers , it seemed as if she carried nature and sunshine along with her , and as if she scattered dewy blossoms on her right hand and on her left . After Proserpina came , the palace was no longer the same abode of stately artifice and dismal magnificence that it had before been . The inhabitants all felt this , and King Pluto more than any of them . `` My own little Proserpina , '' he used to say . `` I wish you could like me a little better . We gloomy and cloudy-natured persons have often as warm hearts , at bottom , as those of a more cheerful character . If you would only stay with me of your own accord , it would make me happier than the possession of a hundred such palaces as this . '' `` Ah , '' said Proserpina , `` you should have tried to make me like you before carrying me off . And the best thing you can now do is , to let me go again . Then I might remember you sometimes , and think that you were as kind as you knew how to be . Perhaps , too , one day or other , I might come back , and pay you a visit . '' `` No , no , '' answered Pluto , with his gloomy smile , `` I will not trust you for that . You are too fond of living in the broad daylight , and gathering flowers . What an idle and childish taste that is !
Are not these gems , which I have ordered XXXXX be dug for you , and which are richer than any in my crown -- are they not prettier than a violet ? ''
If as at before behind by for of than to