The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-07-22
Copyright, 1903, by Daily Story Pub.

Copyright, 1903, by Daily story PuD.
Co.
Louisiana has passed a law prohibit
ing marriage between cousins. Cest
bon! But a year ago this was not so.
Not Then it was quite possible =
among the 'Cajan population, quite
probable for a man. to be his sons sec.
ond cousin; his cousins brother; his
niece's nephew, or his grandmother s
father-in-law. Do not laugh, mon ami;
IL est wal. And this is how It hap-I
pened--so the wise one tells uS-that
in nine families out of every ten there
was at least zone child extremely dull
of vita AS the parents cheerfully oput
1t, HIN a pas une tete." -
This was what was the matter with
ZoZeph 3Grimmeure; he had no head.
The teacher, not being "a native OF
Louisiana, did not. understand She
tried to teach gZozeph his letters. He
learned readily, asbutAhe forgot even
more readily than he learned. It was
as though hand with a sponge fol-
lowed the hand that Wrote. The teach
er looked into those eyes, Bright as a
wild animals, and blamed her meth
DDS. She read up on memory culture;
She tried coaxing and coercion. Then,
madam, his mother, explained:
my Zozeph dom learn moch? No.!
got no head, heem."
And. after long trial the teacher was
forced to accept the explanation. The
teachers that succeeded her, one by
one, did the same: ZoZeph was always
in his place, very neat, with his hair
slicked up over his ears and his trous-
ers tied up with a string. Always car
rying with careful pride his well-worn
primer. According to her moral make
up, the teacher found him pitiful Or ex-
aSperating. e3s4 -
So the boy without a head grew tc
tall ladhood and fell in love. Fell in
love with beautiful Madeline, the belle
of the school and it's brightest scholar.
Comment. done. De- not boys gener-
ally fall in love with pretty girls? 70
zeph's hair was .slieked down with
more slick precision. his trousers were
tied UP with more trig tightness, and a
wonderful, wistful light grew in those
beautiful bright eyes of his. He
brought Madeline daily great handfuls
of flowers and showed her all the pic
lures in his precious primer The
other girls laughed, but Madeline was
kind-too kind. it would seem, to be
quite right. All, mon ami, it is in love
much as it is in politics-you vote not
to please your friend, but to punish
your enemy. And Madeline had an en-
envy. Dame. How else could you call
him? A boy who will not make love as
he expected to do. Who stares stupidity
lat his geography when he might know
one is longing to show. off his devotion
before the other giris.ih -
Naturally, one tidetests a self-eon-
tanned lover. who does all his love-
making behind the house or in lone
some places, where there is no-one to
see. Mais ciei. that is stupid. But
that is just what the big Alphonse did.
He was ready enough to kiss his pretty
cousin when they sat upon the steps
together in the moonlight and to hold
her hand then. But to hold tor try
to hold it in class before all those gig
Cling girls-Ah, que non! Alphonse
left such things for boys who had no
heads. En- bien, the. boy who had no
head was willing enough to do them.
Too willing. for his own good, poor
fellow; His devotion was pitiably pa
tent. He carried her books and buck
ct. sharpened her pencils and ruled
her slate. Madeline smiled sweetly and
talked to him over the fence at recess,
but the big cousin remained obdurate.
The days of blue and gold' came on
apace. bringing that soft awakening,
springtime. that Hindu poets love to
sing about, and the time between re-
teacher was astonislfed when he held
up his hand to speak; he had never
done such a thing before. OF course,
Zozeph spoke to Madeline. Didn't she
want her pencil sharpened?' And, of
course, Madeline did. giving him the
pencil and a kind smile also. Because
of this smiling and its great kindness.
boldness came to = Zozeph, and he
caught the slim brown hands to his
lips with eager kisses The teacher
did not see. but thefsellool did, saw the
kiss and the eagerness and the swift
look Madeline swept, UP to the boy as
she snatched away her hand. A boy
who sat next to theerbig cousin heard
somebody's teeth grinding slowly and
instantly fell to thanking his stars that
he was not Zozeph Grimmeure. When
Zozeph returned to his seat. he walked
on air. He knew not that he had a
body. Veilai Before midnight he was
not only painfully conscious Of his
body, but of every bone in it. Quel
voulez-vous? He. put up the best
fight he could; the fight of one I'M
taught animal against the trained hui
man. He was brave-mais oui GER
tainment. but the big Alphonse was
very big. and-Madeline was covered
with glory. 10
'zozeph should not go back to