The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1884-03-06
My Kingling.
itRound whom the enshadowing purple lies
Qt blbyhood's royal dignities,
Lay On my neck thy tiny hand!
am thine-Esther-to commando"
phiIir my Ripri

aRound whom the enshadowing purple lies
Uf blbyh0ods royal dignities,
Lay On my neck thy tiny handi
Philip, my King!
We never called him Philip, slthough
that was his name. We Just called
him t'Pet" and 'Rose- bud' and ssPrec-
ious" and "Baby," or any other Sweet
diminutive that oGr fond and foolish
love for him prompted, and he answered
to them with a sweet trembling Of
his baby lips, and questioning look on
his beautiful serious face.
He was still a baby, with heavens
blue in his limpid eyes, and heavens i
sunshine on his golden hair, when one
day rap came to my door, and there
stood woman without who was
swarthy with the sun of Egyptian CEN
turtles; tall, strong, sinewy, with coarse
black hair and tawny skin, q woman
Stunned and feared as a sorceress-a
gypsy fortune-teller and vagrant.
1 was about to shut the door in
haste, and exclude her unwelcome face
and form, when the baby gave little
cry as of recognition and held out his
tiny, dimpled hands with earessing
motion to the strange, wierd WOMAN.
And she-her whole face was trans
figured with that look of mother-love,
which comes from a heart bereft of its
young. Tears were in the fierce black
eyes. She devoured my child with her
burning glance, and well l pitied
her and hade her come in.
Then the baby laughed and cooed and
patted her with his precious hands,
and laid his golden head on her hard
breast, and while l watched her mar
rowly, jealously, as l trod the hospi-
table round of kitchen and sitting
room, he fell asleep in her lean, dark
arms; with sweet smile on his con-
tented face:
o, strange democracy Of ehild's
nature! AS she laid him down his
arms sought her neck; he would have
nestled again on her alien breast. She
held one little hand in hers, and he
smiled in his sleep.
fed the woman and clothed her for
baby's sake, but thenI bade her begone.
She wanted to stay, to work for me;
assured me she was wise in woman's
ways; could minister to the sick, read
the stars, knew the secret values of the
herbs of the fields-but no, felt that I
could not breathe the same air with
that Egyptian sorceress, and sent her
away.
But before she won't she leaned over
the baby, took his little hand, soft and
relaxed in sleep, and spread 1t open in
her dark withered palm, where it lay
like white rose leaf Then the weird
woman looked at me.
'.You leetel bebe. 1 tai you leetle
beDe fahchune, propah good?"
mo no!'' cried, hastily. II will
not have my baby's fortune told, at
feast not by-you.
The woman was smiling to herself,
the baby smiled, too, and nestled his
hand in hers. l hated her and longed
to thrust her away.
$50 leetel,h she murmured, vague
ly, $50 leetel lines in leetel bebe's hanb
leetel short line, but so good. Missee
1 tai you leetel bebe's past?"
you tell his past?' I answered
scornfully; ''his past is in Heaven"
''Ya, va; .eet is true. Missee-Heaven
my bebe there too!'
l wanted to cry at is not" and
snatch my baby away from her; but
| there was something in her weird face
that checked me.
81 tai this leetel bebe's fucbah?'
| she asked.
looked at him, my beautiful boy;
his future! 1 had trodden that path for
him over and over again.
| "a wreath, not of gold but of palm one day,
Philip, my King"
l said briefly: "Yes, yes; tell me"
ut ess not mooch," she answered in
| low and solemn tones-tricks of her
| Io IL 4,
leetel kingling: here ess lifeline in
| pity han, an on both ends lifeline,
eet ess-Heayen. He leetel kingling,
an have crown in fuchah.n
She went away reluctantly, and keep
ing her eyes upon him until the door
closed, and when he awakened he
looked around with little grieved cry,
and fretted and was impatient for
something that was gone.
1 have only few words more to say,
and that is to mothers. Never let any
| weird woman tell your child's fortune.
There is such thing as the evil eye,
and it envies all happiness and prosper
| ity, and casts its baleful glance on
those whom it would iniure, and they
fade, wither unto death. My baby
pined from the hour that woman left
him, and when the wood violets were
abloom in spring-time and the robins
plucked their breasts, we laid him
away from our sight forever. Don't
tell me it was malaria. or teething, or
some natural thing! 1t was that
woman's longing for him that drew him
away And she came with crocodile
tears and tried to see me. but they kept
me from her. | should have strangled
her, weak as | am. r.
o, my little lost kingling!-Detroit