Year: 1873

- - El sf-e THE FLEA AND THE PROFESSOR. There was once an aeronaut with whom things went badly; the balloon burst, tumbled the man out, and broke into bits. His boy he had two minutes that was the boys luck he was unhurt and went about with knowledge enough to make him an aeronaut too, but he had no balloon and no means of acquir- ing one.

 But live he must, and so he applied himself to the art of legerdemain and to talking in his stomach in fact he became ventriloquist, as they say. He was young, good-lookipg, and when he got amoustache and had his best clothes on, he could be taken for a nobleman's son. The ladies seemed to think we'll of him; one young lady even was so taken with his charms and his great dexterity that she went off with him to foreign ports. There he called himself Professor-he could scarcely do less.

 His constant thought was how to get himself balloon and go up into the air with his little wife, but as yet they had no means. -..'

 They'll come yet" said he.

 If only they would," said she.

 "We are young folks," said he, "and now am Professor" She helped him faithfully, sat at the door and sold tick cts to the exhibition, and it was a chilly sort of pleasure in winter time. She also helped him in the line of his art. He put his wife in table-drawer, a 4af a1s 1a1 into the back part of the drawer, and so was not in the front part, an optical illusion to the audience. But one evening when he drew the drawer out, she was also out of sight to him: she was not in the front drawer, not in the back one either, not in the house itself-nowhere to be seen or heard that was her feat of legerdemain, her entertainment. She never came back again she was tired of it all, and he grew tired of it, lost his good-humor, could not laugh or make jokes ;-and So the people stopped coming, his earn ings became scanty, his clothes gave out; and finally he only owned 8 great flea, which his wife had left him, and 50 he thought highly of it. And he dressed the flea and taught it to per

  non off-but 1t was little cannon. sE

 The Professor was proud of the flea, and the flea was proud of himself he had learned something, and had human blood, and had been besides to the largest cities, had been seen by princes and princesses, had received their high praise, and it was printed in the news papers and on placards. Plainly iS was n foY nd Professor and his entire family.

 The flea was proud and famous, and yet when he and the Professor travelled they took fourth-class carriages on the railway they went just as quickly as the irst-class. They were betrothed te each other; 1t was private engagement that would never come out they neve, would marry, the flea would remain bachelor and the Professor a widower That made 1t balance. 5EEEs-

 "Where one has the best luck" saiG the Professor, "there one ought to gt twice" He was good judge of char acter, and that is also a science of itself At last he had travelled over all countrie except the wild ones, and he wanted t, go there. They eat Christian men there to be sure, the Professor knew, bu then he was not properly Christian ant the flea was not properly man, so h. thought he might venture to trave there and have good success.

 They travelled by steamship and b, sailing vessel the flea performed hi tricks, and so they got a free passag on the way and arrived at the will country. Herereigned a little Princess She was only eight years old, but sh was reigning. She had taken away tn power from her father and mother, fo she had will, and then she was extra ordinary beautiful-and rude.

 Just as soon as the flea had presente arms and fired off the cannon, she wa so enraptured with him that she said "Him or nobody p She became quit wild with love and was already wild i other ways.

 Sweet, little, sensible child I" sai her own father. eff one could onl first make man of him I"

 ''Leave that to me, old man." sai she, and that was not well said by little Princess when talking with her f. ther, but she was wild. She set th flea on her white hand. -,sset

 "Now you are a man, reigning wit me, but you shall do what want 70 to, or else I'll kill you and eat the Prt lessor" The Professor had a great ha to live in. The walls were made { sugar-cane, and he could lick them, br he was not sweet tooth. He had hammock to sleep in. It was as if | were lying in balloon, such as he ha always wished for himself-that was h constant thought. s

 The flea lived with the Princess, st upon her delicate hand and upon he white neck. She had taken a hair frol her head and made the Professor tie to the fea's leg, and so she kept hi tied to the great red coral drop whic she wore in her ear-tip. What deligh ful time the Princess had, and the fe too, she thought, but the Professor W. not very comfortable. He was 8 trave CT he liked to drive from town to tow and read about his perseverance ar cleverness in teaching flea to do wh G R0-A I <er A~ |,