, 1889-07-03
THE JUGGLER.

the state which yet bore the name of
republic, Josephine lived at her Castle
Malmaison, where every evening Napo-
leon came to visit her.
One day she was dining quite alone at
Malmaison, and while the dessert was
being served a man was admitted. He
was about so years old. While jugglers
and magicians have a lively appearance,
this mans features were deeply earnest.
He carried a little table, which he placed
before Josephine, and covered 1t with a
worn cloth. After these preparations
he drew out three tin cups, with which
he executed all kinds of jugglery. The
balls quadrupled themselves under his
fingers and formed all kinds of figures
and grotesque forms, only to disappear
again in n twinkling. Like the musical
composers, the magician also has his
overture before he unfolds the panorama
to the eyes of the audience. After this
he touched the magic cups with a stick
of ebony and said: Madame, you may
express any wish and it shall be fulfilled.
l regret very much that you have fin
ished your meal, else l could have
brought you dishes which were wanting
on your table today-the red feather of
the Mediterranean, sardines of Royan or
the little silver fish caught in the vicinity
in which madam was borne-for the great
welfare of France. Madame, you may
order whatever your heart wishes. Do
you wish a spotless diamond or a grass
fly on the heather, an Oriental ruby or a
nightingale This man, who placed all
the wealth of nature at Josephine's dis
posal, seemed to wish that she might de-
i d upon the nightingale, for he put his
ear to the cup and it almost seemed as If
he heard the melting tones of the singer
of spring. Josephine, whose desires,
however, were modest, and who pre-
ferred n bunch q flowers to n diamond,
selected neither h diamond nor a ruby
nor n nightingale, but a rose. She had
scarcely spoken the word when the Jug
gler upset the cup and showed the aston
ished lockers on a rose, which BENT
gracefully on its stem and filed the room
with sweet fragrance.
MY goodness" said Josephine, "you
have cut the prettiest rose in our conser-
vatory, the rose which 1 intended giving
Bonaparte tomorrow. 1t would nave
ulAOlucu uuIHnB lue HlBnI.
beg pardon, madame" replied the
juggler politely, 'this rose belongs to
me and l nave the honor to present it to
the wife of the first consul; l would
never dare to touch her flowers and /
have never been in her conservatory"
Josephine sent n servant to investigate
the truth of this assertion and was told
that the rose which was destined for the
first consul was unhurt. Incredulous
as n creole she could not hide her ad-
miration, and, in fact, it was impossible
to embarrass the man who was so enter
tanning and wonder creating. He mag
ically drew out of his pocket a swarm of
singing birds which picked up the
crumbs; then he filled q tumbler with
water n as quickly as he would upset
it numberless flowers flowed upon the
persons around, and Josephine imagined
herself in her conservatory.
When the wonders had reached their
highest degree Josephine reached for the
pompadour, which was hanging on her
armchair, In order to give some gold
pieces to the juggler. When the juggler
noticed this he fell down at her feet, say
ing: Madame, you a reward me a
hundred times for this little pleasure that
l have given you, but not in money-a
mercy, madame, n mercy"
"WhichT' she asked.
The wonderful man begged her her
to eat one of the apples which were on
her table. Josephine stretched out her
hand for n and placed her knife on it
with the determination of a woman pre-
pared for q surprise. Mother Eve surely
did no reach for the apple with such
longing which caused such misery to her
descendants as Josephine. She cut
through the apple and found inside a pc
tition to the first consul.
MADAME" said the juggler, "'before
you is an unlucky one, who has mixed
In the quarrels of the kings, and has
taken part in the wars against the repub-
lie. l have fought In the Vendee with q
Cocarde, which is no more that of my
country, and when the party which 1
served was defeated 1 took flight, to live
in n strange land. My country drove me
out as q traitor. Branded like Cain, 1
wandered about; my name is crossed
from the list of citizens and put on the
emigrant roll. A word from your lips,
madame, can make n Frenchman of me
again and give me back to my own.
You, the adored wife of the first consul,
have the power to give mo back to my
country and to my own"
"Sir," she said to the emigrant, 81 will
do as you wish. The consul shall read
your petition and 1 assure you that I will
do everything 1 can in your favor"
The juggler arose, put his cups into his
pocket, his table under his arm, bowed
deeply and disappeared.
Josephine, inclined to be superstitious,
could not sec the enemy of her husband
in his juggler. She believed in his
magical power, which would be of use
to the emperor, and made up her mind
to use all influence in her power with
Napoleon to intercede for this man. The
following morning at @ o'clock Bonaparte
breakfasted in the dining room of the
Palace Malmaison; they were getting his
carriage ready in the court yard of the
palace when Josephine entered.
what did you do yesterday, lear
Josephine asked Bonaparte. "Who has
visited your"
ssI have haa, ,-an a.4.4.zl