The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-03-08
Ny Kingling.


Round whom the enshadowing purple lies
Of babyhOOd's royal dignitles,
Lay on my neck thy tiny hand!
am thine-Esther-to command"
Philip, my King!
We never called him Philip, although
that was his name. We Just called
him pet and "Rose- bud'' and "Prec-
ious'' and ''Baby," or any other sweet
diminutive that our 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 baby, with heaven s
blue in his limpid eyes, and heaven 5
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, woman
summed and feared as q sorceress-
gypsy fortune-teller and yagrant.
/ was about to shut the door in
haste. and exclude her unwelcome face
and form, when the baby gave q little
cry as of recognition and held out his
tiny, dimpled hands with q caressing
motion to the strange, wierd woman.
And she--her whole face was trans
figured with that look of mother-loye,
which comes from 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 I trod the hospi-
table round of kitchen and sitting
room, he fell asleep in her lean, dark
arms, with a sweet smile on his con-
tented face.
o, strange democracy of a child'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 then babe 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 felds-but no, | felt that |
could not breathe the same air with
that Egyptian sorceress, and l sent her
away.
But before she went she leaned over
the baby, took his little hand, soft and
relaxed in sleep, and spread it open in
her dark withered palm, where it lay
like a white rose leaf. Then the weird
woman looked ut me.
"You leetel bebe, [ tai you leetle
bebe fahchune, propah good?"
mo no - l cried, hastily. Il 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.
$50 leetel she murmured, vague
ly, $50 leetel lines in leetel bebe's han
leetel short line, but SO good. Missee,
[ tai you leetel bebe's past?"
"ToU tell his past?" I answered
scornfully; ''his past is in Heaven"
''Ya, yai eet is true, Alissee Heaven
my bebe there toon'
l wanted to cry sit is mott" and
snatch my baby away from her; but
there was something in her weird face
that checked me.
II tai this leetel bebe's fuchah?''
she asked.
Hooked 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 oneday
Philip, my King"
l said briefly: eyes, yes; tell me-
lit ess not mOoch," she answered in
low and solemn tones-tricks of he1
trade, l believed then. ''He ess &
leetel kingling; here ess a lifeline in
pity han, an on both ends lifeline
Get ess-Heayen. He leetel kingling,
an have crown in fuchah.
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 fol
something that was gone.
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 q thing as the evil eye,
and it enyies all happiness and prosper
ity, and casts its baleful glance Or
those whom it would injure, and they
fade, wither unto death. My baby
pinned 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, OF
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.
o, my little lost kingling!-Dctroi
Free Press.