Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-07-06
THE WHISPERING TREE.

usual. however, in this world, Hanna found
cause to complain az his condition. It was
true that he had a fine house in the street of
the saddlemakers, that his furniture was
costly, that his slaves, pipes, mules aud asses
were of the first quality. One thing was
wanted-a son and heir TO inherit his wealth
and continue his name.
Now, in an eastern story no sooner is this
difficulty mentioned than can, gen
eral rule, foresee that in some manner more
or less ingenious the much desired addition
to the hero's family is miraculouslY made.
Sometimes a pilgrimage is undertaken to
the tomb of n saint; sometimes prayers are
addressed directly to heaven; sometimes a
magician makes his appearance and gives
two children, on condition that at a certain
age he shall be allowed to claim one and slay it
for the purpose of some horrible incantation;
it following as matter of course that he
chooses the favorite, and leaves the discon-
Bolate parent to cover his head with ashes, to
clothe himself in sackcloth and TO perform
all the heart breaking ceremonies of an
eastern mourning. The difficulty in the case
of Hanna was that he had no wife and was
determined never to get married, and, con
sidering that he was past his SEVENTEEN year,
the determination can scarcely be called I'M
wise
There was a mystery, however, in the life
of this Christian, which will explain i'll some
measure why he did not give himself up to
absolute and sullen despair About half
century before the period of which we speak
he had been traveller had visited Hind and
Sind, with many other wonderful places, had
resided in Persia and sailed upon the Caspian
Hewould tell to one or two intimate friends
that when at Ispahan he had loved and been
beloved by lady, whom he married and
lived with for nearly year. \ child was
born to them, boy, ON whom both showered
all the treasures of their affection. But it
happened, one day, that they were in the
gardens In the neghborhood of the city. and
Hanna, feeling weary, went under some trees
to sleep, while his wife sat with the child by
che side of stream of water that danced
along through a grass fringed bed The
young mans slumber lasted some time The
shadow which had protected him when he
lay down had moved away when be awoke
Indeed, it was the sun playing upon his eve
lids that recalled him from the land of dreams
He rose from the warm turf and called Ian
guidly for Lisbct; but, though he could see
all across the meadow where he had left her
under locust tree by the side of the water,
his eyes discerned no sign of life.
He went forward slowly, stretching his
arms aud yawning, until he came 10 the
spot where the young mother had been sit
ting. Here he saw traces of the trampling
of many feet, both of horses and men, and a
ribband that had adorned the wrist of the
child lay on the ground. Fear of calamity
came upon him. He gazed more eagerly
over the meadow, and behsld "A track through
che grass as if body of horse had rushed
rapidly along. One loud cry of "Lisbetl' "a
CI-y that burst in anguish from his lips, but
- which he did not expect an answer-showed
that he understood what disaster had befallen
him. He sprang on the track of the ravishers,
crossed the meadow, burst through little
limit of the plain" Rals. say, on the extreme
"a it were, little moving cloud with"a
cluster of sparkling rays of light above it.
The Turcomans were shaking their spears in
triumph as they entered upon the desert
with their prey.
Hanna had never obtained any reasonable
information as 10 the fate of Lisbet Per-
haps he did not do all that some heroic ma
tures would to recover her and the child He
sent messengers with offers of money to the
tribes; he even undertook n Journey to the
stronghold of Jaflir Khan, but without sue
Cess. The Turcomans limited that perhaps
the charms of Lisbet had sInitten some indie
pendent chief, who had carried her far away
Into the wilderness. After some years of vain
waiting the extreme manifestations of grief
disappeared Hanna resumed his commercial
enterprises, and at length became established
in Egypt, where he remained, buying and
selling, until wealth surrounded him. But
fifty years passed away, and he did not take
unto himself another wife.
So far he easily confided to the few whom
he called his friends, and when these would
condole with him as to his childless position
be used to smile strangely and insinuate that
there might yet be found an heir to inherit
what he amassed. Yet he never admitted
that his hopes lay In the child of Lisbet, and
that he had some faint reason for believing
that he was not feeding upon a delusion.
The truth Is that Hanna, who was "A good,
kind man-made better and kinder by all his
nlisfortunes-as he was travelling between
Bagdad and Damascus several years after
the loss of Lisbet, fell in with man who
begged for succor from amidst some bushes,
for he was totally naked, having been strip
ped by robbers. All he asked was cloak
and loaf, that he might continue his jour
ney and reach a neighboring town. But
Hanna stopped his kaflla and clothed and
fed him, and gave him money and set him
upon q mule-his own mule, white and fit for
kng-and took him all the way to Dumas
Gus, where he set him down in the streets
without so much as asking his name, his
country or his faith.
This poor stranger was Jew, who came
many years afterward to Egypt and recog-
nized his benefactor. he was also n magician,
who discovered the secret thoughts of those
with whom he conversed; so he said one day
to Hanna; "There is mighty sorrow within
thee, for see the signature of regret upon
thy brow near the right temple
II regret not TO have a child, . replied the
merchant
NAY" said the jew; "thy grief hath reIa-
ton to n thing past. Tell me thy story and
i may be of service"
Hanna told his story, and the Jew forth
with went away, and burned perfumes, and
uttered words and wrote symbols, and
wrestled with the keepers of the unknown
When he came back TO the merchant, he said,
Il have not discovered all that | wish to
know; but they tell me that if thou canst
find the Whispering Tree, it will speak to
thee of Lisbet and her child
The jew could give no further information,
but Hanna, who believed, began forthwith
to make cautious inquiries about the ''Whis-
pering Tree" He questioned not only the
people OF Cairo, but wrote to all his CORE
spondents in various parts of the globe. ask
Ing about this strange thing. Indeed, he
went about catechising the world in general
respecting the mysterious Whispering Tree
But he got no information All replied that
they were ignorant. Nobody had heard of a
tree that whispered. Year after year Hanna
persisted in inquiring of every stranger who
arrived from the various provinces whether
he knew anything about the Whispering
Tree. until time passed and strength began