The Saint Paul globe., 1904-06-05

with beard. 1t had been
L enchanted, but all at once il
had become homesick and
wanted to go back to Yungland, where
it had been born.
All of the children of Yungland
are enchanted, sooner or later. The
mightiest wizard and sorcerer that
ever was lives there; and the terrible
part about if is that all the science
and prayers and rival sorcery of the
whole world have been used quite
without avail to discover some way
to destroy him.
He is most wonderful sorcerer,
for he does not look alike to any two
persons. To one he appears in beauty
and gentleness; and to the very next
door neighbor he will appear in so
frightfuA a form that the poor vic
tim covers and weeps.
Although his palace is in Yung-
land, he really pervades the whole
earth. There is not hill or a lake
or house or a tree, no, not even a
blade of grass, in which he does not
live.
He rides on the back of the ele-
phant and also on the back of the cat
erpillar; and as for human beings,
every single one of them, beginning
with the squallingest baby that ever
squalled and ending with the noblest
of white-headed patriarchs, must carry
him pick-a-back till he rides them to
death at last.
SO great is he that all the human
beings in the world-Christian Mo-
hammedan and Buddhist, and the pitt
able but cheerful Heathen-all keep
queer little charms to show their re-
speCt for him. The civilized nations,
which are ours and nobody 'else's, as
of course. you we'll know, keep al
wooden charm. 1t has an expression
less, fiat, white face, and always keeps
its two thin metal hands in front of
it, as if it were ashamed or frightened.
This wooden creature is fluent
conversationalist, though it makes
only one remark, which is Tick!
Tack!'
Tick! Tack" is not what might be
called an entertaining story; but the
wooden creature aims not so much at
entertainment as at reminding the
world forever of its master, the great
sorcerer. The great power of any
one, however humble, who has one
single idea and breaches it steadfastly,
is shown in this case; for the wooden
creature has said Tick! Tackp so
long that now the whole big world
marches day after day in a military
goose-step, keeping exact time with
those two words.
If man falls out of step, all the |
rest cry aloud at him. If he still re-
mains out of step they put him into |
lunatic asylum, or else they shrug
their. shoulders and say he is a genius. |
That is sad lot, indeed; for while |
the inmates of the lunatic asylum are
fed regularly, the genius is not. And |
after he starves, which happens with |
unfalling regularity, some one prints |
all his letters, especially the foolish
ones and the ones asking for loan
Even the great mogul locomotives,
that shear through whole herd of |
cows and merely mutter Seems to
me | struck something just them
even they are so afraid of the sorcerer
that they are forever squirting back
wards over their own shoulders with |
a little frightened puff and scream
to make sure that they are keeping
time with the "Tick! Tack" of the old
sorcerer's little familiar spirit. And |
as for the ships! The biggest and
bravest steamship that ever was would |
rather dive headfrst into the green
grandfather of all the waves than to
reach port one 'Tick! Tack!" behind |