The Press., 1891-06-11
He obeyed.

ssThis is no common doll" said his wife. 'sThis is doll child. The dear Lord has sent it to us to compensate.'
 Then they kissed it. That night it lay between them folded ill shawl. The next day the neighbors were astonished by seeing a cradle carried into Ana's house. Curiosity leading them to call, they found Ana sitting in her parlor sewing and softly rocking the doll, which looked as though alive. She was making 8 nightgown for it. No one dared to laugh-someliow no one wanted to laugh, for Ana repeated solemnly German phrase, which can only be translated thus, '3It is by the love of God given"
 A certain superstitious admiration, such as they felt when they looked at holy shrines in the church on Christmas night, possessed them, and Ana played the mother to her doll in peace. She dressed it as she would have dressed her own baby, held it on her knee, folded it in her arms and bade it kiss Hans on his return home at night, and actually in a very little while there appeared in the entry of the little house perambulator, in which Hans and Ana took the doll to ride every Sunday afternoon exactly as other parents took their real babies.
 Just as quietly as they had carried out their long engagement these two grown up children carried on their pretense of being parents, and the nine days wonder ceased to interest the neighbors in time, save when they told it to astonish some stranger.
 Alas! who could have thought that this curious play would end tragically? But it did.
 One morning Ana, disheveled and in tears, appeared at her late mistresses' house. Her sobs choked her utterance, but at last she contrived to say:
 "Oh, madam! great droubles-great droubles-de worst droubles dot can come! Oh, madamw .
 '.Is Hans sick?" the lady asked, fearing that even worse had happened.
 But Ana replied:
 His heart is broke like mine! Oh! never can ve laugh any more-an is goney' ..E
 The lady waited for an explanation. It came at last. -. My baby doll-my dear, God given baby doll-is deadr'
 "Ana, what are you saying? A doll cannot die," said her mistress.
 'EMy doll baby is dead-she is killed deadv' said Ana-''she is killed deadi tell you how dot happens: Last night just put dot child asleep, init on her de little nightgown and set de cradle m de parlor were all vos still, ven comes my goot friend Gretchen und her hus- band und her leetle dog, und make some coffee on de table, und we drinks und laughs. tinks noding and Hans tinks noding, but all de while Gretchen say:
 "'Vere goes dat bad dogY
 "'Oh,' say, he plays-never mind.
 Il wish to be polite, but she say:
 "sVen he is like dot still he does mis- chief
 ''So ven ve laughs und eat leetle cakes und drink coffee long time dey go away, und she calls de dog und he comes. ..
 "'I like not dot dogs looks, my friend l say. He has stole someding. If you have got some meat put away for break fast you find it not
 "'Oh, I guess all right say. But de leetle dog lick so on his mouth, und she say:
 "'All wrong, am sure.'
 "So I laugh, und ve all shakes hands und go, und ve goes in und locks up, und I says:
 "'Now get my doll child, and goes straight away to bed, und I goes into dot parlor door init candle, und see my child lying deat und bitten und eaten by dot dog on. dot floor, und falls down und knows holdings"
 AS soon as she could quiet Ana little the sympathizing lady went with her to her house.
 There in the cradle lay very dead doll indeed. The dog had eaten the wax head and arms and chewed the kid body into tatters. There was no possi- bility of repair or renovation; but after a while it occurred to the Indy to sug- gest means of comfort, and she said:
 "After while you can buy another doll, Ana, One as pretty will cost some thing, but you won't grudge that. l will tell you where, and you can dress it 1 in the same clothes, and forget all that has happened"
 At these words the mourning Ana ceased her sobs and turned upon her with flashing eyes. ',
 Buy doll! I am not fooll" said she. "You do not den know dot dere is like dis lost one no oder? Dis was by de dear God given to me, because so much I wanted child. No, my doll child is dead, and de world goes unter." And from that time to this Ana and Hans have been sad and unsmiling, and in their little garden is little mound covered with turf and decorated as are the graves of German children. Here lie the tatters of their adored doll.- Mary Kyle Dallas in Preside Companion. MERIT MEASURED BY SUooEss.-T