The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-03-08
MY KINGLING.
"Who Bears Upon His Baby Brow
the Round and Top of Sover-
eighty"

"Round whom the enshGdowing purple lies.
OF bHhyhood's royal dlguiteS,
Lay on my neck thy tiny hand!
I am thinc-Esther-to command.
Philip. my king!
We never called him Philip, although
that was his name. We just called him
pet and Rosebud and precious
and Baby" or any other sweet dimin-
utive that our fond and foolish love for
him prompted, and he answered to
them with sweet trembling of his
baby lips, and questioning look on
his beautiful serious face.
He was still a baby, with heavens
blue in his llmpid eyes, and heavens
sunshine on his golden hair, when one
day rap came to my door, and there
stood a woman without, who was swar-
thy with the sun of Egyptian centuries.
tall, strong, sinewy, with coarse black
hair and tawny skin, a woman summed
and feared as sorceress-a Gypsy
fortune teller and vagrant.
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 caressing motion
to the strange, weird woman.
And she--hcr whole face was trans
figured with that look of mother-love,
which comes of heart bereft of its
Young. Tears were in the fierce black
eyes. She devoured my child with her
burning glance, and well | pitied
her and babe 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 | watched her mar
rowly, jealousy, as | trod the hospit-
able round OF kitchen, and sitting room
he fell asleep in her loan, dark arms,
with sweet smile on his contented
face
Oh strange democracy of child's
nature! As she laid him down his arms
sought her neck; he would have nestled
again on her alien breast. She held
the little hand in hers, and he smiled in
his sleep
fed the woman and clothed her for
baby's sake, but then | babe her be-
gone. She wanted to stay, to work for
me; assured me she was wise in wo-
man S ways; could minister to the sick,
read the stars, knew the secret values
of the herbs of the tields-but no, felt
that | could not breathe the same air
with that Egyptian sorceress, and |
sent her away.
But before she went she leaned over
the baby, took his little hand, soft and
relaxed in sleep, and spead it open in
her dark withered palm, where it lay
like Il white rose leaf. Then the weird
woman looked ut me,
You leetel bebe, | tai you leetle
bebc fahchune, propah good?'
No! no. | cried, hastily. II will
not have my baby's fortune told, at
least not by-you.
The woman was smiling to herself;
the baby smiled, too and nestled his
hand in hers. hated her and longed
to thrust her away.
80 leetel, she murmured vaguely,
$50 leetel lines in lcetel bebe's han !!
leetel short line, but so good. Missec,
| tai you leetel bebe's past?'
You tell his pastp" answered
scornfully; ''his past is in heaven"
"Ya, va; Get is true, Missee-heaven
my bebe there toor'
l wanted to cry 1T is mott" and to
snatch my baby away from her, but
there was something in her weird face
that checked me-
al tai this lectcl bebe's fuchahP"
she asked.
L looked at him, my beautiful boy;
his future! 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-"
at ess not mooch," she answered in