Catoctin clarion., 1897-07-08
|rWHlTE MARIE
\ ALMOST pERSuAptD EH.



T. /:copxkloAT. 1897. sY rHS MERRIAM COMPANY.
heard her light step and turned toward
her. She shall sing for you, and-yes
(nodding to her), you shall dance also"
As she took her position on great
rug in front of the throne she kept her
eyes on the handsome Englishman as If
fascinated by his appearance Thorn.
dykes heart beat quickly. The blood
mantled his face, and he stood en-
tranced as she touched the resonant
strings with her white fingers and be-
gan to play and sing. An innocent, art
less smile parted her lips from her
matchless teeth, and her face glowed
with inspiration. Far above in the
hooks and crannies Of the vast dome,
with its divergent corridors and ar
cades, the faint echoes Of her voice
seemed to reply to her during the
pauses in her song. Then she ceased
singing, and to the faraway and yet
distinct accompaniment Of some stringed
instrument in the orchestra she began
to dance. Holding her instrument in o
graceful fashion against her shoulder as
one holds Il violin and with her flowing
white gown caught in the other hand,
she bowed and smiled and instantly
seemed transformed. From the statu-
esque and dreamy singer she became q
marvel Of graceful motion. To and fro
she swept from end to end of the great
rug, her tiny feet and slim ankles trip
ping so lightly that she seemed to move
~ o.,I ,s..>o-A @hro,,I tbo .,r
Thorndyke stood as if spellbound, for
at every turn, as if seeking his approx
al, she glanced at him inquiringly.
When she finished, she stood for mo-
ment In the center Of the rug painting,
her beautiful bosom, beneath its filmy
covering of lace, gently rising and fall
ing. Then, asking her fathers consent
with q mute glance, she ran forward
impulsively, and kneeling at Thorn
dykes feet she took his hand and press
ed it to her lips, and, rising, suffused
with bushes, she tripped from the dais
and disappeared behind the curtain.
The king frowned as he looked after
her. at is mark of preference, he
said coldly. 1T is one of our customs
for dancer or singer to favor some one
Of her spectators in that way. My daugh-
ter evidently mistook you for an embas-
sador from one Of my provinces, but it
does not matter.
"She is wonderfully beautiful re-
piled the tactful Englishman, pretend.
ing not to be fattered by the notice OF
the princess.
"Do you think our people fine look
ing as rule*' asked the king to change
the subject.
Decidedly. never imagined such
race existed"
Again the king was pleased. 'That
Is one Of the objects Of our system.
Generation after generation we improve
mentally and physically. We are the
only people who have ever attempted
to thoroughly study the science of liv-
ing Your medical men may be num-
bered by the million; your remedies for
your ills change daily; what you say is
good for the health today is tomorrow
believed to be poison; today you try to
make blood to give strength, and half
century ago you believed in taking it
from the weakest of your patients. With
| all this fuss over health you Will think
nothing of allowing the son OF man
! who died with loathsome hereditary
disease to marry woman whose fam
lily has never had taint OF blood. Here
no such thing is thought of. To begin
with, 10 person who is not thoroughly
| sound can remain with us. Every heart
beat is heard by our medical men, and
every vein is transparent. You see evil
dences of the benefit Of our system in
the men and women around you. All
our conyeniences, the excellence of our
products, our great inventions. are the
result"
IT have been wondering about the
size of your country" ventured Thorn
dyke cautiously.
The king smiled. "That will be one
of the things for you to discover later"
he returned. "But this the city Of
Moron is the capital. Our provinces,
farming lands, smaller cities, towns and
hamlets lie around us. Come with me
and will show you something"
He waved his hand and dismissed
number Of courtiers who were waiting
to be called, and rose from the throne
and led the two captives into large
apartment adjoining the throneroom.
Here they found six men i'll blue uni
forms looking into large circular mir
ror on table. They all bowed and
moved aside as the king approached.
"These men are the municipal po-
lice," explained the king, resting his
hand on the gold frame Of the glass.
"They are watching the CITY," And
when the strangers drew nearer they
were surprised to see reflected, in the
deeply concave glass, the entire city in
miniature, its streets, parks, public
buildings and moving populace. And
what seemed to be the most remarkable
feature of the invention was that the in
slant the eye rested on any particular
portion of the whole that part was at
once magnifed so that every detail OF 1t
was clearly observable.
"This is an improvement on your po-
lice system, continued the king. mo
sooner does anything go wrong than
red signal is given on the spot OF the
trouble and the attention of these officers
is Immediately called to it. A flying
machine is sent out, and the offender is
brought to the police station. But trou-
BILE of any nature rarely occurs, and the
duties of our police are merely nominal
My people live in thorough harmony.
Now, come with me- and will give you
an idea of the surrounding country.