Z5
v.1
r
B P. BOHWEIER.
THE OONSTITUTION-THE UNION AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS.
Editor and Proprtotor.
VOL. XLVI.
MIFFLINTOWIS. JUNIATA COUNTY. PENN A.. WEDNESDAY. MARCH 2. 1892.
NO. 11.
I
U
I
r
7
THE NEW YEAR'S SHIPS.
BT HELEN CHASK.
Across the the chnntlnc .
They have sulleil in the New Year' ships
To ereet them, down mitotl.e sands.
TMronnfrH ev with siiiile-rethiHl llos;
For womtmus store these ships contain
Gold fame the flowers of love:
Jov nteloilv pihiJ cheer sweet hemes
the ship flags float above.
Across the rtark, ami moaning e,
Thev have crept in, the New Year's ships
To meet them. In. their owners iiii
Wlih gloomy eyes anil treii'b'.iujr l'ps;
Fir awesome thines Ihese ships rnnt.nu
Wrongs shiime: the weeds of hate,
Grhn p vi-ily anil soft 'i Ine le:ith
These are the ships' dieud height
Ye owners of yon ;r ifercvs ships,
1 hat have sailed in, m Joyous'.y,
Go hush the laughter on your decks
And steer e. whpher ye shall see
The Aopff sh ps: lh' n i f lour wealth
t succor Ih 'in. the owne si Jov
Out of their kIih m. trine rortli. Thus well
Mm 1 1 ye jolt New Year's shli s employ I
THE CMIUniFN OF THE
zoniAC.
BY 1: t'DY A RD KirMXG.
"Thmiiih tl on love her as tbystlf,
Asa self of purer clay
'J boUKh her urilnfr dim the day,
Kteahnir glare from all alive,
Ileaitily know
w'bin half Code go
The Gods urrive." Emerst'tu
Thousands of years ago, when men
were ciealer than they tire to-day, the
Children of tbe Zodiac lived in the
world. Tut re were sis Children of the
Zodiac the Ram, the Bull, the Lion,
the Twins, and the Girl; and they were
afraid of Six Houses which belonged to
the Scorpion, the Balance, the Crab,
the i'iBbeH, the Sea Coat, and the
Waterman. Evt n when th y first
stepped ('own upon the earth and knew
thut they were immoital Gods,' they
carried this fear with tlem; and the
fear grew as they became better ac
nuaintcd with mankind and beard
Btonea of the Six Housis. Men treated
the Children as Gods and came to
them with prayers and long stories of
wrong, while the Children of 'he
Zodii c listened and could not under
stand. A mother won'd fling herself before
the feet of tl e Twins, or the Bull, cry
ing: My husband was nt work in the
fields and the Archer (-hot hiui and he
died; and my son will also te killed
by the Archer. Help me!" The J nil
would lower his hngehead and answer:
" bat is that to nie?" Or the Twins
would t-niile and continue their play,
for they could not understand why the
water ran out of people's eyes'. At
other times a man and a woman would
come to Leo or the Girl crying: "We
two are newly married and we are
verv hapt v. 'lake tLese flowers." As
they thre'w the flowers they wonld
make mysterious sounds to show that
that they were happy, and Leo and the
dill wondered even more than tbe
Twins why pe pie shouted "Hal ha!
ha!" for no cause.
This continued for thousands of years
by hnman rtconiug till on a day, Lro
met the Girl walking across the hills
and saw that she had changed entirely
since he had last si en her. Tbe Girl,
looking at Leo, saw that he, too, hud
changed altogether sii.ee their last
meeting. Tben they decided that it
wonld be well never to separate again,
in case evin more startling changes
should occur when the one was not at
hand to help the oth r. Leo kissed
tbe (ilrl and all Earth felt that
kiss, aud the Girl sat down on a hill
and the the water ran out of her eyes;
and this had never happened before
in tbe memory of tbe Children of the
Zodiac.
As they fiat together a man and a
woman came by, and the man said to
tbe woman:
'What is the use of wasting flowers on
those dull gods. They will never un
derstand, darling."
The Girl jumped np and pnt her arms
round the woman, crying, "I under
stand, Give me the flowers and I will
give you a kis."
Leo said beneath bis breath to tbe
man.
"Wbat was tbe new name that 1
beard you give to your woman just
now?"
The man answered: "Darling, of
course."
"Why, of course," said Leo; "and if
of conrse, what does it mean?"
'Jt means 'very dear,' and you have
only to look at your wife to see why."
"I Fee," said Leo; you are quite
right;" and when tbe man and tbe
woman had gone he called the Girl
"darling wife," and the Girl wept
acain from sheer happiness.
"1 think " she said at last, wiping
her eyes, ' I think that we two have
neglected men and women tco ran h.
What did yon do with the sacrifices they
made to yon, Leo?"
"I let them bnrn," raid Leo; "I
could not at them. What did you do
with t he flowers?"
"I let tbem wither. I could not
wear tbem, I had so many of my own,"
said the Girl, "and now I am sor
ry." "There is nothing to grieve for,"
aid Leo; ' we belong to each oth
er." As they were talking the years of
men's life slipped by unnoticed, and
presently the man and the woman came
back, both white-haired.the man carry
ing tbe woman.
"We have come to theends ofthings,"
TTfthe man, quietly. "This that wns
my wife "
"As I am Leo's wire," said the girl,
quickly, her eyes staring.
was my wife, has been killed by
one of yonr Houses." The man set
down his burden, and laughed.
"Which flonse?' said Le, angrily,
for he hated all the Houses equally.
You we gods, yon should know,"
said the man. 'We have liv.-d together
and loved one another, and I have left
good farm for my sou; what have I
to complain of except that I still
live?"
As he was bending over his wife s
bodr there came a whistling through
. the air, and he started to rnu away, cry
ing, "It is the arrow of the Archer.
Let me live little longer only lit
tle longer!'' Tbe arrow struck him
and he died. Leo looked at the Girl
and she looked at him, and both were
puzzled.
He wished to die," said Leo. "He
said that be wished to die and when
Death came he tried to run away. He
is a coward "
"No, he is not," said the Girl; "I
think 1 feel wbat he felt. Leo, we
must learn more about this for their
sakes."
For their sales," said Leo, very
loudly. .
"Because we are never going to die,
aid the Girl and Leo together, still
more loudly.
".Now sit yon till here, darling
wife," said Leo, "while I go to the
Houses whom we hate, and learn tow
to make these mea and women live as
as we do.
"And love as we do," said the girl.
"I do not think they need ' be taught
that," said Lr o, and he strode away
very angry, with his lion-akin swing
ing freni his slu nlder, till he came to
the house where the Scorpion lives in
the darkness, brandishing bis (ail over
his back.
"Why do von trouble the children of
men?" said Leo, with bis Heart between
bis teeth.
"Are you so sure that I trouble the
children of men alone?" said the Scor
pion. "Speak to your brother the
Bull, and see what be says.'
"1 come on betialf of the children of
men," said Leo. "I have learned to
love as they do, and 1 wish them to
live as I as we do."
Tour wish was granted long ago.
Speak to the Bull. He is under my
special care," said the Scorpion.
Leo Dropped bucked to the earth
again, and saw the great Aldeboran,
that is set in the forehead of the Bull,
blazing very near to tbe earth. When
he came up to it he saw thut his brother
the Bull, yoked to a countryman's
pi ugh, was toiling through a wet rice
field with his head I ent down, and
the sweat streaming from h;s flauks.
The countryman was urging him for
ward with a goad.
"Gore that insolent to death," cried
Leo, and for the sake of our family
honor come out of tbe mire."
"1 cannot," said the Ball "the Scor
pion has told me 'but some day, of
w hich I cannot be sure, he will sting
me where my neck is set n my shoul
ders, and that 1 sha'l die bellowing."
"Wbat lies tliat to do with this dis
grr.cefnl exhibition?" said Loo, stand
ing on the dyke that bounded the wet
field.
"Everythiug. This man could not
plough without my help, lie thinks
that I am a stray bullock."
"But lie is a ruud-ornsted reptile
with matted ha r," insisted Leo. "We
ere not meant for Lis use."
"Yon may not le; I m. I cannot
tell when the Scorpion n av choose to
sting me to death perhaps before I
liave turned this furrow." Tbe bull
flung his bulk into the yoke, and the
plow tore through the wet ground be
hind him, and the countryman goaded
him till bis flunks were red.
"Do yon like this?" Leo called down
the dripping furrows.
"No," snid the Bull over hit shoul
der as he lifted his hind le s from the
clinging mud and cleared bis nos
trils. Leo loft him 6cornfuily and passed
to another country where he found his
brother the Bam in the centre of a
crowd of country people who were
hanging wreaths round his neck and
frediug him on freshly-plucked green
corn.
"This is terrible," said Leo. "Break
tip that crowd and come away, my
brother. Their hands are spoiling
your fleece."
"1 cannot," said the Bam. "The
Archer told me that on some day of
which 1 had no knowledge, ho wonld
send a dart through me,
should die in great pain.
and that I
"What has that to do with this dis
graceful exhibition?" said Leo, but
be did not speak as confidently as bo
fore. "Everything in the world," said the
Bam. "These people never saw a
perfect sheep before. They think that
1 am a stray, and they will carry me
from pi ce to place as a model to all
their flocks."
'But they are f. reisy shepherds, we
are not inUnded to amuse them," said
Leo.
"You may not be, 1 am," said the
Bam. "I cannot tell when the Archer
may choose to send his arrow at me
perhaps before the people a mile down
the road have seen nie " The Bam
lowered his head that a yokel newly
arrived might throw a wreath of wild
gnrlic-leaves over it, and waited
patiently while tbe farmers tugged his
flece
"Do yon like this?" cried Leo over
the shoulders of the crowd.
'No," said the Bam, as fie dust
of
the tramping feet made him sneeze.
and he snuffed at the fodder piled be
fore him.
Leo turned back intending to retrace
his steps to th Houses, but as he was
passiug down a street he saw two small
children, very dusty, rolling out.iide a
cottage door, and playing with a cat.
They were the Twins.
"What are you doing here?" said
Leo, indignant.
"I'laying," said the Twins calmly.
"Cannot yon plav on the banks of
Milky Way?" said Leo.
"We did," said they, 'till the Fishes
swam down and told us that some day
they wonld come for us and . not hurt
us at all and carry ns away. So now
we are playing at being babies down
here. Tbe people like it."
"Do you like it?" said Leo.
"No,' said the Twins, "bnt there
aro no cats in the Milky Way," and
they pulled the cat's tail thoughtfully.
A woman came out of the doorway and
stood behind them, and Leo saw in her
face a look that l e had sometimes seen
in the Girl's.
".She thinks that we are foundlings,"
said tbe Twins, and they trotted in
ocors to tbe evening meal
Tben Leo hurried as swiftly as pos
sible to all the Houses cne after an
other; for he conld not understand the
new tronble that had come to his
brethren. He spoke to the Archer.and
the Archer assured bins that so far
as that Honse was rouCerned Leo had
nothinir to fear. The Waterman, Vie I
FialieH nnd the Sea Goat cave th ."ime
answer. They knew nothine of Leo.
and cared less. They were the Houses
and thev were busied in killing men.
At lost he came to that very dark
fionse where Cancer the Crab lies so
still that you might think be was asleep
if you did not see tbe ceaseless play
and winnowing motion of tbe feathery
branches round h s mouth. That
movement never ceases. It is like the
eating of a smothered fire into rotten
timber in that it is noiseless and with
out haste.
Leo stood in front of the Crab, and
the half darkness f.llo-ed him a
glimpse of that vast blue-black back,
and the motionless eyes. Now and
again he thought that be heard some
one sobbing, but the noise was very
faint.
"W"hv do you tronble tbe children
of men" said Leo. There was no an
swer, and against his will Leo cried,
"Why do you trouble ns? What have
we done that you should trouble us?"
This time Cancer replied, "What do
I know or care? You wore liorn into
my House, and at tbe appointed time I
shall come for yon.
"When is the appointed time?" said
Leo, stepping back from the iedlew
movement of the month.
When the full moon fails to call the
full tide," said the Crab, -'l shall come
for the one. When the otner has
taken the a th by the shoulders, I
shall take that other by the throat."
Leo lifted his hand to the apple of
his throat, moistened his lips, and re
covering himself, said:
"Must I be afraid for two, then?"
"For two," said the Crab "and as
manv more as may come after."
"My brother, the Bull, bad a better
fate," said Leo, sullenly; "He is
alone."
A band covered his month before he
could finish the sentence, and he found
the Girl in his arms. Womanlike, she
had not s'ayed where Leo had left her,
but had hastened off at once tc know
the worst, and passing all the other
Houses, bad come straight to Cancer.
"That is foolish," said the Girl, whis
pering. "1 have been W; iting in tbe
dark for long and long before yon
came, 'lhm I was afiaid. But now
She put her head down on his
uh' nlder and sighed a sigh of content
merit.
"I am afraid now," said Leo.
"That is on my account," said the
Girl. "I know it is, because I am
afraid for yonr soke. Let us go, hus
band." '1 hey went out of the darkness to
gether and came back to ti e Earth,
Leo very silent, and the Girl striving
to cheer him. 4 My brother's fate i
tbe better one," Leo would repeat
from t me to time, and at last he said:
"Let us each go onr own way and live
alone till we die. We were born into
the House of Cancer, and he will come
for us."
"I know; I know. But where shall
I go? And where will you sleep in the
evening? But let us try. I will stay
here. Do you go on?"
Leo took six steps forward very
slowly, and three long steps backward
very quickly, and tbe third step set
him again at the Girl's side. This time
it was she who was begging him to go
away and leave her, aud he was forced I
, ... .... . :wt Ka. all lltmn
That night decided them both nevi r
to leave each other for an instant, and
when they bad come to this decision
they looked back at the darkiiess of
the'House of Cancer high above their
beads, a nl with their arms aroULil
eai h other's necks laughed, "Ha! ha!
ha!" exactly ta the children of mt n
laughed. And that was the first time
m their 'ives that they had ever
lunghed.
Next morning they returned to their
proper home, and saw the flowers and
the sacrifices that ha l been laid before
their doors by the villagers of the hills.
Leo stamped down the fire with his
heel and the Uirl flung the flower
wreaths out of sight, (-htidileriDg as
she did so When tbe villagers le
tnrned, as of custom, to see what had
become of their offerings, they found
neither roses nor burned flesh on the
altars, but only a man aud a woman
with frighteue.l white faces sitting
hand in hand on the altar-steps.
"Are you not Viro?" sa'd a woman
to the Girl. "Iientyou flowers yes
terday." "Little sister," mid the Girl, flush
ing to her forehead, "do not send
any more flowers, for 1 ntu only
a woman like yourself." The man
and the woman went away donbtful-
"Now, what shall we do?" asked
Leo.
"We must try to be cheerful, 1
think," said the Girl. "We know the
very worst that can happen to us, but
we do not know the best that love can
bring us. We have a great deal to be
glad of."
"The certainty of death?" said Leo.
"All the children of men have that
certainty also; yet they laughed long
before we ever knew bow to laugh.
We must learn to laugh, Leo. We
have laughed once already."
l'eoplo who consider themselves
Gods, as the Children of the Zodiac
did. find it hard to laugh, because the
Immortals know nothing worth laugh
ter or tears Leo rose np with a very
heavy heart and he and the Girl to
gether went to and fro among men;
their new fear of death bebicd them.
First they lanflied at a naked baby
. attempting to thrust its own tA tes
I into its foolish pink mouth; next they
I langhed at a kitten chafing her own
tail; and then they langhed at a boy
trying to steal a kiss from a girl, and
getting his ears boxed. Lastly, they
laughed because the wind blew in their
faces as they ran down a hill-side to
gether, broke ftanting and breathless
into a knot of villagers at tbe bottom.
The villagers laughed, too, at their
flying clothes and wind-redden9d faces;
and in tbe evening gave tbem food and
invited them to a dance on the grass,
where everybody langhed through the
mere joy of being able to dance.
That night Leo jumped np from the
Girl's side crying: "Every one of those
people we met just now will die '
"So shall we," said the Girl sleepily.
"Lie down again, dear." Leo could
not see that her face was wet with
tears.
But Leo was ui. and far across the
fields iriven forward by the fear of
death for himself and for the Girl, who
was dearer to him that himself. Pres
ently he came across the Bull drows
ing in the moonlight after a hard day's
work, and lookinar through half shut
eyes at the beautiful straight furrows
that he had made.
"Ho!" said the Bull, "so yon have
been told tl ee things, too. Which
of the Houses holds your death?"
Le" pointed upwards to tbe dark
house of tbe Crab and groaned. ."And
he wUl come for the Girl, too," he
said.
"Well." said the Bull, "What will
yon do?"
Leo sat down on the dyke and said
' that he did not know.
I "You cannot pull a plough," said the
f Bull with a little touch of contempt.
I ciiil. and that prevent- me from
thinking of tile Scorpion."
Leo was angry aud said nothing till
tbe dawn broke, jnd the cultivator
came to yoke the Bull to hitf-pork.
Sing," said the Bnll, as the stiff,
mnddy ox-bow creaked and straiLOO1.
"My shoulder is galled. Sing one at
the songs that we sang when we thought
we were all Gods together."
Loo stepped back into the cane-brake
and lifted his voice in a song of the
Children of Ihe Zodiac the war-whoop
of the young Gods who are afraid of
nothing. At first he dragged the song
along unwillingly, and then the song
dragged him, and his voica rolled
across the fields, and the Bnll stepped
to tbe tnne and the cnltiva'or banged
his flanks ont of sheer light-henrted-ness,
and the furrows rolled away be
hind tbe plough more and more swiftly.
Tin n the Girl came across the fields
locking for Leo and found him singing
in tbe cane. She joined ber voice to
his, and tbe cultivator's wife brought
ber spinniug into tbe open and listened
with all her children round ber. When
it was time for the nooning, Leo and
the Girl had sung themselves both
t;.ir-ty and hungry, bnt tbe cultivator
and his wife gave them rye-bread and
m lie, and many thauks. and tbe Bull
found occasion to say: "Ion have
helped me to do a full half field more
than I should have done. Bat the
hardest part of the day is to come,
Brother."
Leo wished to lie down and brood
over the words of the Crab. Tbe Girl
went away to tulk to tbe cultivator's
wife i-ud t aby, and the afternoon
ploncLing began.
"Help us now," said the BulL "The
tides of the day are running down.
My legs are very stifl. Sing if you
never sang before."
"To a mud-spattered villager?" said
Leo.
"He is nnder the same doom as our
selves. Are yon a coward?" said the
Bull. Leo flushed and began again
with a sore throat and a l a I temper.
Little by liltlo he dropred away from
the tongs of the Children and made up
a song as he went along; and th s was a
thing be could never havo done had he
not met the Crab face to face. He re
membered facts concerning oultivoto rs,
and bullocks, and riccfieids, that he
had not particularly noticed before the
interview, and he strung tbem all to
gether, growing more interested as he
sang, and he told the cultivator much
more about h mself and his work tha i
the cultivator knew. Tbe Bull grunted
approval as be t iled down the fur
rows for tbe 1 st time that day, and the
song ended, leaving the cultivator
witti a very gcod opinion of himself in
his aching boues. Tbe Girl came ont
nf the hut where she bad been keeping
the children quiet, and talking woman-
... . I
talk to the wife, aud they all ate tbe
evening meal together.
"Now your's must be a very pleas
ant life," said the cultivator, "sitting
as you do on a dyke all day'and singing
just what comes into your head. Have
you been at it long, you two gip
Mes.?" "Ah!" lowed the Bnll from bis byre.
"That's all the thanks you will ever
get from me, brother."
"No. We have only juBt begun it,"
said the Girl; "bnt we are going to
keep to it as long as we live. Are we
not, Leo?"
"Yes." said he, and they went away
hand-in-baiul.
"Yon can sing beautifully, Leo,"
said she, as a wife will to her husband.
Wliat were you doing?" said he.
"I was talking to the mother and the
babies," she said. "You would not
understand the little things that make
ns women laugh."
'And and I am to go on with this
this gipsy-Work?" said Leo.
"Yes, dear, and I will help you."
7 here is no written record of the life
of Leo and of the Girl, so we cannot
tell how Leo took to bis new employ
ment w hich be detested. We are only
sure that tbe girl loved him when and
wherever he sung; even when, after tbe
song was done, she went round with
the equivalent of a tambourine, and
collected the pence for the daily
bread. There were t'mes, too, when it
was leo's very hard task to console the
Girl for the indignity of horrible praise
that people gave him and her for the
silly, wagging peacock feathers that
they stuck in his cap, and the buttons
and pieces of cloth that they sewed on
his coat. Woman-like, the conld ad
vise and help to the end, bnt tbe
meanness of the means revolted her.
"What does it matter," Leo would
say, "so long as the songs make them
a iittie happier?" And they wonld go
dowu the roint and begin again on the
old, old refrain; that whatever came or
did come the children of men nin-t not
be afraid. It was heavy teaching at J
first, but in process of years Leo dis- :
covered that be could make men laugh i
and hold them listening to him even
when the ruin fell. Vet there were
people wlio would sit down and cry
softly, though the crowd was yelling
with delight, and they were people who
maintained that Leo made them do
this; and tbe Girl would talk to them
in the pauses of tbe performance and
do her best to comf rt tbem. I'eople
would die too, while Leo was talking,
and singing, and laughing, for the
Archer, and the Scorpion, and tbe
Crab, and the other Houses were as
busy as ever. Sometimes the crowd
broke, and were frightened, and I eo
strove to keep them steady by telling
them that this was cowardly; and
sometimes they mocked at tbe Houses
that were killing them, and Leo ex
plained that this even more cowardly
tban running away.
In their wanderings they came across
tbe Bull, or the Bam, or tbe Twins,
but all were too busy to do more than
nod to each o her across the crowd,
and go on with their work. As the
years rolled on even that recognition
ceased, for tbe Children of the Zodiao
had forgotten that they had ever bsen
Gods working for tbe sake of men.
Tbe Stir Aldeboran was crusted with
caked dirt on the Boll's forehead, the
Barn's fleece was dusty ard torn, and
tbe Twins were only babies fiehting
over the cat on the doorstep. It was
then that Leo said: "Let ns stop sing
ing and making jok8." And it was
then that the Girl said: "No " but
she did not Know why she said "No,"
so energetically. Leo maintained that
it was perversity till she herself, at the
end of a dusty day made tbe same sug
gestion to him, and he said "most cer-
1 tainly net," and they quarrelled miser
ably between the hedgerows, forgetting
the meaning of tbe stars above them.
Other singers and other talkers sprang
np in the course of the years, and Leo
forcettina that there could never be
too many of these, bated lhm for
' dividing the applause of the children
j of men which be thought should be all
his own. Tbe Girl would grow angry
. too, ard then the songs wonld be
' broken, and the jests full flat for wteks
1 to come, and the chil Jren of men
' wonld tdiout: "Go home, you two
' gipsies. Go home and learn something
' worth singing.
I After one of these sorrowinl, sbame-
fnl davs, the f.irl walking by Leo s side
throngh tbe fields, saw the full moon
comma np over the trees, and sue
clutched Leo's arm, crying: "The
time has come now. Oh, Leo, forgive
n.e!"
V'Wbo.t is it?'' said Leo. ne was
think. Cg of the other siDgers.
Mr husband I she answered, and
she luid his band upon her breast, and
the breast that he knew so well was
hard as stone. Leo grOaped, remem
bering what the Crab had stt-id-
' 'Surely we were Gods oftce," be
cried.
"Surely we are Gods still," said the
girl. "Do you not remember when
von and I went to the house of the
Crab and were not very much afraid?
And since then .... we have
forgotten what we were singing for
we sang for the pence, and, oh, we
fought for them! we who are the
Children of the Zodiac"
"It was my fault," said Lea
How can" there be any fault of yours
that is not mine too?" said the GirL
'My time has come, but you will live
longer, and . . . ." The look in
ber eyes said all she could not say.
'l'es, I will remember that we are
Gods," said Leo.
It is very bard, even for a child of
the Zodiao, who has forgotten his God
head, to see his wife dying slowly and
to know that he cannot help her. The
God told Leo in those last months of
all that she had said and done among
the wives and the babies at the br.ck of
tha roadside performances, and Leo
was astonished that be knew so littl of
ber who had been so mnch to him.
When she was dying she told him never
to fight for pence or qnarrel with the
other singers; and, above all, to go on
with his singing immediately after she
Wrfs dead.
Then she died, and after be bad
buried he went down the road to a vil
lage that he knew,and the people hoped
that he wonld begin quarrelling with a
new singer that had sprung np while
he had been away. But Leo culled him
"my brother." The new tinger was
newly married and Leo knew it and
when he had finished singing Leo
straightened himself, and sang the
"Song of tbe Girl," which be had made
coming down tbe rod. Every man
who was married or hoped to be mar
ried, whatever his rank or color, un
derstood that song even the bri le
learning on the new husband's arm un
derstood it too and resently when
the song ended, and Leo's heart was
bursting in him. the men sobbed.
"That was a sad tale," they said at last,
"now make us laugh." Because Leo
had known all tbe sorrow that a man
conld know, including the fall knowl
edge of Lis own fall who had once been
--, , , i -i-i
a urou ue, cuanging uis song quicmy,
made tbe people laugh till they conld
laugh no more. They went away feel
ing ready for any tronble iu reason,
and they gave Leo more peacock
feathers and pence than he could count.
Knowing that pence led to quarrels and
that peacock's feathers were hateful to
tue Girl be pnt tbem aside and went
away to look for his brothers to re
mind tbem that they too were Gods.
He found the Bull, goring the under
growth in a ditch, for the Scorpion had
stung him, and he was dying, not slow
ly, as the Girl, had died, but quickly.
"I know all," the Bull groaned, as
Leo came up. "I had forgotten too,
but I remember now. Go and look at
the fields 1 ploughed. Tbe furrows
are straight. 1 forgot that 1 was a
God, but I drew the plough perfectly
straight, for all that. And you,
brother?"
"I am not at tbe end of tbe plough
ing," said Leo. "Does Death hurt?"
"No, but dying does," said the Bull,
and be died. The cnltivator who then
owned him was mnch annoyed, for
there was a field still nnploughed.
It was after this that Leo made the
Song cf the Bull who had been a God
and forgotten tbe fact, and I e saug it
in such a manntr that half the young
men in the world conceived that they
tjo might be Gods without knowing it.
A half of that half grew impossibly
conceited, and died early. A half of
the remainder strove to be Gods and
failed, but the other half accompli -be 1
fonr times more work than they would
have done under any other delusion.
Later, years later, always wandering
up and down, and making tbe children
of men laugh, be found the Twins sit
ting on tbe bank of a stream waiting
for tbe Fishes to come and carry them
away. They were not in - the 1 ast
afraid, and they told Leo that the wo
man of the House had a real baby of
her own and that when that baby grew
old enough to be mischievous he would
find a well-educated cat waiting to
have its tail pulled. Then the Fishes
came for tbem, but all that the people
saw was two children d row red in a
brook; and though their foster-mother
was very si.rry, she hugged her own
real baby to her breast and was grate
ful that it was only the foundlings.
Tbeu Leo made Tbe Song of the
Twins, who had forgotten that they
were Gods, and had played in the dnst
to amuse a foster-mother. That song
was sung far and wide among the women.
It caused them to laugh and cry and
hng their babies closer to their hearts
all in one breath; aud some of the wo
men who remembered the Girl said:
"Surely that is the voice of Virgo.
Only she could know so much about
ourselves."
After those three songs were made,
Leo sang them over and over again
till he was in danger of looking upon them
as so many mere words, and tbe peo
ple who listened grew tired, and there
came back to Leo the eld temptation
to stop singing once for all. and never
But he remem-
bered the Girl's
dying
words and per-
sisted.
One of his listeners interrupted him
as he was singing, "Leo," sat I he, "I
have heard yon telling us not to be
afraid for the past forty years, t an
yon not sing something new now?"
"No," said Leo, "It is the only song
that I am allowed to sing. You must
not be afraid of tbe Houses, even when
tbey kill you." The man turned to go,
wearily, but there came a whistling
through the air, aDd the arrow of the
Archer was seen skimming low above
tbe earth, pointing to the man's heart.
He drew himself np, and stood still
waiting till the arrow struck home.
"1 die," he said quietly. "It is well
for me, Leo, that you sang for forty
years.
"A re you afraid?" said Leo bending
over him.
"I am a man, not a God," said the
man. "I should have run away bnt
for your Songs. My work is done,
and I die without making a show of
my fear."
"I am very well paid," Baid Leo to
himself. "Now that I see wbat my
songs are doing, I will sing better
ones."
He went down the road, collected
his little knot of listeners, and begau
the Song of the GirL In the middle of
his singing he felt the cold touch of
tbe Crab's claw on tbe apple of his
throat. He lifted his hand, choked,
and stopped for an instant.
Sing on Leo, "said tbe crowd. "The
old song runs as well as ever it did."
Leo went on steadily till the end with
the cold fear at his heart. When tbe
song was ended, he felt the grip on his
throat tighten. He was old, he had
1 . U- k t.aw , S n ! Si a lainv
more than half his power to sing, he
conl I scarcely walk to the diminishing
crowds that waited for him, and could
not see their faces when they stood
about him. None the less, he cried
angrily to the Crab:
"Wby have you come for me now."
"You were born under my care.
How can I help coming for you?" said
the Oat wearily. Every human being
whom the Crab killed had asked that
samV question.
"But I was just beginning to know
wbat my songs wre doing," said Leo.
"Perhaps that is why," said the Crab
a d tbe grip tightened.
"You said you would not come
till I had taken tbe world by tbe
shoulders," gasped A x, fallinr
back.
"I always keep my word. You have
done that three times with t, rce songs.
What mom d you deaira?"
"Let m live to se the world know
it," pleaded Leo. "Let me be sure
that my songs ."
"Make men 1 rave?" said the Crab.
"Even tben there wonld be one man
who was afraid. Tbe Oirl was braver
tban yon are. Come."
Leo was standing close to the restless
insatiable month.
1 forgot," said he, simply. "The
Girl was I 'raver. But I am a God too,
aud 1 am not afraid."
"What is that to me?" said tbe
Crab.
Then Leo's speech was taken from him
and he lay still and dnmb, watching
Death till he died.
Leo was the hist of tbe Children of
tbe Zodiao. Alter his death there
sprang up a breed of little mean men,
whimperii g aud flinch n? and 1 owling
because the Houses killed tbem aad
theirs, who w isbed to live for ever with
ont any pain. They did not increase
their lives bnt they increased their
own torments miserably, and there
w ere no children of the Zodiac to guide
them; and the greater par. of Leo's
soiigs were lost.
Only be bail carved on tbe Girl's
tombstone tbe last verse of the Song of
the Girl, which stands at tbe head of
this story.
One of the children of men, coming
thousands of y ars later, rubbed away
the lichen, read the lines, snd applied
them to a trouble other than the one
Leo meant. Being a man, men believed
that be had made the verse himself;
but they belong to Leo, the Child of
the Zodiac, and teach, as he taught, that
what comes or does not come we must
not be afraid.
THE BSD.
THE SONS OF THEODOSIUS THE
GREAT.
When the great Theodosius, Laving
overcome all his en ruies, died in A. i.
315, he left the vast Koman Empire to
bis sous, Arcadius and Honorius. Ar
cailius, who was about twelve years of
age, was Emperor of the East, and
Honorius, who was in his eleventh
year, was Emperor of the West.
Neither of the boys inherited their
father's manly beauty or mental capac
ity Arcadius being low of staturd and
ill-shaped. His only accomplishment
was bis excellent handwriting. He was
governed at first by his ministers aud
generals, and, when they were destroyed
or supplanted, his wife, Eudoiia, became
his ruler. He died iu a. d. 40S.
To Arcadius had been assigned Con
stantinople and the eastern provinces,
whilst, as Emperor of the West,
i Honorius became absolute master of
Italy, Gaul, Spain, and Africa. Under
the wise guardianship of Stilicho,
w horn Theodosius had appointed Commander-in-Chief
in the West, these im
mense dominions were kept together,
whilst the boy employed himself in
childish amusements at Milan, where
he held his court. He was of a humane
and gentle disposition, bnt dnll and
inert, and he grew np without any
strength of character.
When Alario, king of the Visigoths,
burst into Italy with his fierce wan i
ors. in A. p. 4U, Honorius fled to the
secure fortress of Ravenna, whilst Stil
icho kept them at bay; bnt after the
death of that general, whose destruc
tion, was accomplished by his rivals at
court, the difficulties of the Empire in-J
creased. Fresh hordes of barbarians
poured down from Germany into Italy, I
and, in a. p. 40.S, Alaric besieged Rome,
but was bought off by a heavy ran-
som. In the following year, however, j
he returned, captured the city, and'
gave it up to be plundered by his sol -
diers. Whist the streets of tbe capital
were streaming with blood, Honorius
was calmly employing his time at
Ravenna in his Usual occupation ol
feedine poultry. He was very fond ol
these fowls, and bad named his favor
ite hen "Rome."
One day a servant cam to him and
said, "Rome is destroyed!"
"And yet she just aU from my hand!''
exclaimed the alarmed Emperor.
"I mean," said the servant, "that the
City of Rome is destroyed by Alario!"
"Oh," aid the Emperor, "I thought
my hen, 'Rome,' was-dead!"
Thus the feeble son of Theodosiue
tbe Great amused himself while the
Romam Empire tottered to its full.
He lived to be thirty-nine years old,
j reigned' moro iha"n twenty-eight
dying of dropsy in A. o. 4JJ, alter bay
years. But had it not been for the
ability snd energy of his guardian,
Stilicho, and afterwards of his general,
Constautius, he wonld have lost both
his dominions and bis life long before
tb time. A. K.
STAY IN BED.
"Farly to bed. rarly to rise.
Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."
A very old proverb which when quitt
young was often repeated to us as he
incentive to good deeds. Bnt, person
ally, we do no" believe it, in spite of its
age, for even proverts do not always
improve as they become more an
tiquated. Bnt why? Simply because
early rising as n oat good people un-
derstand wears o t too fast. A wist
last snmaer: "Eirly rising is very
good indeed if you don't get up toe
early. Now I notice that folks here
abouts die early, too, and my doctor
tells me that on an nvera .e every , any iengtu cf time if well covered; it
farmer has two-and a -half wives. II ( s poisonous, and must be kept away
this betr.-e, and we confess never tc from children. This answers well for
have verified the statement any habil , ,jrJK woll-paper, while for broken
which gives a man an oppor unity tc cijilla tue following is an easily mule
lead two or three blushing brides o!cement: Dissolve an ounce of gum
the altar ought to be abolished in spit ,n muCQ boiling water as it
of proverbs or anything else. i will absorb, then beat it np with
We know one woman at least whe pa9ter of Baris to form a thick cream,
does not propose to et her hnsband App je(1 with a brush it is most effectual
have any sucn cnance 01 nouoie 01
triple Miss as that. And we should cer
care or yourselves, or at least suchc.irc
as will enable you to last out as long as
yonr better half, as to tbe undeniable
advantages of early rising (and it ha;
many), we have nothing to say, but nc
woman has any right so to abuse het
nhvsical be ng as to get up
morning
after morning as we know some to do
at four or five o'clock. If there it
anything in tbe world a woman nee.lt
it is rest and plenty of it. Ordinari
ly, a woman who gets up eo very early
would as soon think of going to bed at
dinner-lime as take a little nap in the
afternoon, and so she drags her weary
way through the day and tbe day foi-
. J- i a. .i l.
lOWlDR, UBT Blier UBT. uuma duo iuoci
, i.flitt. and rod looks, and berrini
that poor existence of no pleasure me siaine uas uwu 'j
which effectually prepares her husband plished by the sense of touch. The
for a change in his better half. Let a Soldiers' monument in the Sleepy
woman take care of herself; if she feel Hollow cemetery is his work,
tired and languid in the morning, and The rarest and costliest cameo in the
hates to get up, be sure it is a sign she world hasbeen presented to the museum
is overdoing her strength and wearing ej lne University of Pennsylvania by
herself ot.t Do not, except undei jjr Maxwell Socmerville, the owner
very excusable circumstances, get uj 0I tne largest collection of engraved
before six o'clock in the morning, foi Eem9 jn existence. His gift is a seven
it is as early as anyene ought to get .five inch cbrysoprase, and it is
aad go to work. carved with s head of Jupiter.
WOMEN'S KINGDOM-
We used to be told that a woman'i
kingdom was her home, bnt in th
light of current events one is rathe
inclined to doubt whether women it
these days look upon their home as tin
place where their chief duties lie
There are so many outside attractioni
and distractions that home, hnsband,
and children go somewhat to the wall
One thing may be granted that when
a girl has been brought up in a vigor
ously healthy way, has gone in foi
cricket and tennis without making her
self ludicrous at either, and has livec
an active life generally, she is mori
fitted for tbe exigencies of marriage,
and generally more able to make tbingi
run smoothly in tbe household, that
her retiring and delicate sister.
The exigencies of life often make it
neces-ary for women to take a verj
active shuns in tha support of them
selves and families, and no knowledgi
is too trivial to be of some account
But recently we beard of a womar
who had turned carpenter, and fonnc
it a most Inciative business. Hers wai
not merely the master-mind whict
planned everything, bnt she planed,
and sawed, aud glued, and dovetailed
with ber own hands, tbe result being i
comfortable income for herself ana
children. Technical knowledge of tnii
sort can always be tnrned to account,
and we need Lot hie away to the colon
ies to find a nee for it.
Take a modern house, in whict
things are constantly coming to pieces
many of us know the misery of suet
jerry-built affairs, and ar y ,t con
strained to live in them. Everytuiug
appears right when we take posst si on,
but in a lew months door bandies shill
from their moorings, locks and cutehei
show a marvelous facility for snapping! j
blinds come down, and the bracket,
refuse to set all of which things, it
they necessitate the presence of a car
penter or locksmith mean a consider
able sum in small bills, especially ic
that item, "man's time," which ha
such a facility for slipping away when
it bas to be paid for. Armed with the
tool-box, of which every house should
fossess a good sample, and a pair ol
chamois-leather gloves, not too thick,
a mistress may easily mend a broken
lock, or screw on a loose handle to dooi
or cupboard.
In removing a lock, jare sbonld b
taken to note exactly how the screwi
go, for help in replacing them; also il
is well to note how the spring fitte i
in'o the parts before removing the
broken pieces. These latter should
be sent to the ironmonger as a guide
for the size, when he will supply
another.
A tool-box should be well supplied
with screws, French nails, and tin tacks,
all of assoit nl sizes, and sbonld have I
nook for upholsterer's tacks, which arc
often in request where there are chil
dren for tacking on gimp to furniture,
which little fingers find pleasure in
picking off. If tacks are used for fast
ening blinds to the rollers, they should
be of tbe tinned kind, not black, ai
these latter rust, and quickly eat holec
in tbe material. A strong hem shoul.J
first be s itctied along the top of the
blind, very evenly, or when rolled nf
it will run crookedly; this will prevent
its tearing ont so qnickly. The old
housekeeper s plan is, however, really
tbe best, which is to tack on a strip ol
good tape or wel b ngto the roller, ami
stttch the blind to this; in this way il ,
can be eisily removed for washing.!
Sometimes a roller-blind will be con-I
stmtly fallmg down, giving a hard,
km ck to any unlucky person near;
1 this is becauth the peg
well into tbe bracket; it
does not tit
is either too
short or the bracket too far away.
There are two ways of remedying this: .
one is to take oft the peg, and If it has
a deep socket it will bear screwing on I
nearur the end of tbe roller, the other. I
is to put tbe bracket more forward.
For the latter, rt move it from the win
dow, and nail where it stood a strip ol
wood the required thickness, then with
longer screws firmly fix the bracket
In place again. For the lower fasten
ing a brass swivel is always to be pre-'
feired to a china one, as the latter
constantly breaks; and working tbe
cord on it then is a waste of time and
patience, t say nothing of fraying out
the cord itself. I
How often does the kitchen clock go I
wrong, to the upsetting of all domestic
arrangements; it is generally a mere
matter of dust, which clogs the wheels
and ret rds action, and can easily be
remedied with a festber and some pure
olive oil or paraffine. First plow tbe
dust out very carefully, tben ease the ,
wheels with the feather dipped in the
oil or pur alii ne, and keep it ont of the
way of dirt until this bas th' ronghly
incorporated itself in the works.
Sometimes a sheet of gluss is wanteJ
of a particular tize, and though the
glass may be at hand there is not a
diamond which will cut it. First rule
and mark it to size, then make a notch
at the edge with a file; make a still
kitting-needle red-hot, and draw it
slowly along the line from the notch,
when a crack will follow in its wake.
There are two things which the mis
tress of a house should never be with
out; these aro cement for glass and
china, and strong paste, which can be
made at home as follows: Make a pint
of flour-paste in tbe ordinary way, and
while hot stir in thirty grains of cor
rosive sublimate which has been rol ed
to a fine powder This will keep good
, mnnn hmksn
pieces of china
- ' aB(j giasg.
PERSONAL.
Mrs. Vib&ima Thompson, who has
served as Postmistress of Louisville
nnder five Presidents, is a daughter of
tuo Alexander Campbell . who founded
that faith variously known as tiie
"Christian" or "Campbellite" Church.
Mrs. Thompson is a handsome woman,
about fifty years of age.
Jchs Mabchanx MofDY, the blind
sculptor of larrytown. Has completed
the model for a statue of W ashingtoa
Irving. Mr. Mundy can hardly distin-
nm'.h ltV,f from darkness without the .
b & . , . .
aid of an opera-glass, and his work on
NEWS IS BRIEF.
Artificial marble grows in use.
London policemen nver carry pla-
Trunks are now made of papei
pulp.
A locomotive's stiength equals thai
of 90i) horst s.
A mountain of sulphur has been
Jiscjvered in California.
Tumiptown, Ga has a gourd with
a handle bve fe t long.
American lnouis are being extens
ively u-ed in England.
A Xorfjlk (Va.) woman has given
birth to nine sets of twins.
Every year 1000 children are born
tn the workliou es in Loudon.
A recruiting sergeant says that few
men have lees of equal Itcgth.
There is a man seven ty-jeven yea'i
old studviug at Harvard College.
In Fiance and 0rminy horses art
now vaccinated for the glanders.
The temperature of man is ninety,
eight degiets; that of fish seventy-seven
degrees.
Dried Gsh was formerly and la stU!
to some extent a medium of exchange
In Iceland.
The London Gazette is the oldest
English paper, it vad firtl published
November 7, 1005.
Sugar made from charcoal Is 30(
iimes sweeter tban ordinary cane sugar,
but it costs $10 a pound.
Southern Missouri has an an anim
al that combines the iecullaritiea of a
dog, a lynx and a hyeua.
It Is estimated by scientists thai
Coloi ado's cliff dwellers exibted 10, (KX
years ago.
Owing to its extensive use in electric
appliances the price of platinum has ad.
vaBced fully luO percent.
It Is proposed to unite all tbe island!
of Japan by a system of submarine
tele 'ran' cables. The estimated cost ll
12,000,000.
One of the Farls (France) restaur
ints has introduced colorel waiters, all
of whore, according to a correspondent,
"speak excellent Fiench."
The frog, owing to iti peculiar con
struction, cannot breathe with tb
mouth open, and would din from suffo
cation if it were open forcibly.
Wild clover is said to be adelicac j
among certain tribes of American In
dians, who devour it with all tbe relish
that a Frenchman does a slad.
A woman and her two sons have
fust matriculated in the Kentucky Un
iversity, and expect to take the entlri
college course iu tha same clasies.
Jclin Allen, a c lored man, who ll
lata to nave had me bugr-st feet ever
M jn iow i, died re eutiy at Fort
Dodge, lie wore Xo. 17 .-hoes.
A smokeless fuel call "massnte" it
hiu used on ilia stum rollers In
' Vienna, Austria. The fuel is compos
' ed of the liquid residuum of petroleum
! refineries.
I Tbe Tasn'.anian caves, of which
there are a large number, are lit in s
singular ni.uinrr. Millions of glow
worms haugmg to the walls and ceiling!
furnish the lllumiuation.
So:withstandln2 the s'ze, strength,
and great vitality ol sharks, they art
extiemely susceptible to cold weather,
and will die at a lemerature thai
wouid not Injure the smallest fish nortL
of M.iry.and.
Experiments made with oil and
various oilier sub.stauces have shows
that oil aloi.e will give the gieatest beat.
It has been a lopted for the boilers ol
Mieb.g puiiipiu eiiijiues at B.llllant,
near l iitibuig.
The remarkably beauiifid green
color of some pieserved beans and otbei
vegetables is said to be obtalued bj
boiltcg the vegetables iu a copper vessel
while au electric current is passed
through it.
I Sir Robert S, Ra'l, astronomer ro
yal for Ireland, predicts that within
few thousand years a sheet of ice 10JC
feet thick will advance ever the fairest
portion of our guide, p'owme u, a I1
vegetation aud leaving desolation foi
ceuturus.
The heat conducting qualities of
the metals r.tnge as follows: Silver, 10O
crp;er, 7S H; gold, 52.JO; annealed
aluminum, 3187; unannealed alum
inuni, 37.90; tin; 1150; iron, 11.50; steel,
11 CO; lend, b.&O; platinum. 8.40, bis
niuih, 1 t;0.
j The broken Idol that stands at tbt
comer of tl e plaza at Granada, Spain,
known as the 1'iedra (le la Boca, or tb
stone i h t he mouth, always has iu
mouth staffed with flowers whenever a
I r vol u I i in is pending, and during earth
quaksa people have been caught wor
shiping it.
i Professor Ai thur Au wers, the well
known Berlin astronouiist, has now
completed the calculations baaed on the
observations in Ojim my of the transit
of Venus in 1SS:. lie finds that thi
etith is about 02.04-3,074, miles distance
from the sun, und thai the pHrallai
ot the sun is 8.8:0 ssconds, with an
error of tbrte-huudredlhs of a second
at most.
i The 8u-face of any given quantity
of gold, accoiding to the best authorities-,
nay be extended by the hammei
310,814 times. The thickness of tbe
metal H ub extended ape.tra to be no
more than tie 006,0JO part of an tn3h.
Eight ounces of tins wonderful metal
I would gild a silver wire cf sufficient
leiigin lo ex.euu entirely aruuuu iuc
' Rlobe.
AUrt Edelman, of Sew Yoi
Citv. has appiitd for a patent on what
seems to be a wonderful discovery. It
Is a chemical process whereby ligulle,
which is coal or a later stage than the
anthracite or bituminous article, may
be transferred lnta servicable fuel.
This can be sold, he says, at $1 a tou,
aud w ill equal our present couL
Miss Chaelotte M. Yonoe, the
writer, recently subscribed $10,000 for
bnil ling a missionary college at Auck
land New Zealand.
.Tri.Es Verne's wonderful tales 'ars
" . , , . V. .' -
written m a little observatory of his
honse at Amiens.
Miss Eieanor Obmefod is tbe most
distinguished entomologist of England.
Her first object in taking np tbe science
was to save the farmers' grain from
destruction, and in order to render
herself familiar with the habits of
insect li e, she often spends hours
ttretched upon tbe ground studying
them. Sbe has been appointed Con
sulting Entomologist to the Royal
British Agricultural Society.
i
1
.