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of a dark-red apple, rolled up to Smeralda and her Zeamorato. On close obscrvation there might certainly be discovered some imdications, at the extremities of the creature, of the existence of limbs, which you might or might not take to be head, arms, and legs ; 1’)ut of the depressions and bumps at the north pole of this globe, to construct n fancy eyes, nose, and m()uth required a quite special faculty of which I was not the master.

“+Ts this the thanks, serpent, for the trust reposed in you?’ shricked Porpormazzo to the pale Smeralda.

my true and constant love? You stoop to

this unbelieving dog : and me, me;, Don Porporinazzo, the Grand Master of - the Wardrobe of the Sultan, thou desertest !

this cries Slaves, ap-

Fla, by Mahomet's sacred cat, aloud for bloody vengeance! proach !’

“Six negroes, with diabolical physiogno mies, with arms and sabres bare, started from the hedges, scized Orazio and mysclf; and tied our hands behind our backs. In van did the Count plead his mviolability as a Vene- tian noble : in vain did he threaten with the wrath of the Doge and of the Scenate. The little Grand Master made a sign with his little arm a flash, a sabre-stroke---and our two heads were rolling on the ground !

“ My fair onc had ag0 fled behind the hedge, and %l(fn()m smeralda had taken the stercotype step of ladies desperate circumstances --she had - fainted. The tyrant Porporinazzo, proud of = his bloody deed, had now retired once more into the palace. T could sce all; for my head was lying on the ground, with 1ts nosc turned skywards. Once or twice T made convulsive cfforts with my arms to cateh it and fix it on my trunk again - but my hands clutched only empty air, and sank, nerveless,

down. No words can deseribe my ((mdl- tion 1 only those who have found thcmwl\(_s in a like position, and felt their heads at so

unreasonable a distance from their bodies, can at all appreciate my cmotions at that moment.

“The spherical Grand Master of the Ward- robe had scarcely turned his back, when Smeralda awoke out of her fant) burst nto a flood of tears, and despairingly wrung her hands. At the same moment my fugitive loved one emerged from her hiding place, but lost no time in meaningless common- places, urging on her mistress to make the best of the precious moments.

“ s For heaven's sake, Signora,” she said,

STR AN

‘Is this the reward of

MG AALNT.

the cleverest there 1s to With cvery sceond the blood grows colder and colder. In five minutes it will be too late. The magice doctor, Bartolinctto, of Padua, would be just the man- only quick, quick! Send Don IFlamingo to Padua--for on his activity and fidelity we can safely rely.’

“Happy thought, Libella)’ Princess ; “call the Don.’

“She clapped her hands thrice. The great red stork strode quickly up, and at a few whispered woras from the clf) noddad asaf in assent, and flew crowing into the air.

“ [Four pairs of cyes gazed now with anxious cxpectancy towards heaven. A horrid pause, during which the fair ladies dared not, and the Count and I could not, breathe, ensued. But before you could say a ‘ paternoster’ there was once more a rushing noise high 1 the air, and the mighty bird stormed down, holding Doctor Bartolinetto, like a halfpenny doll, in his heak, and placed him, a little thin browi man, neat and well dressed, though a little out of breath, upon the ground.

“A glance sufficed to make the learned man acquainted with the state of affairs, e felt our pulse, then drew from his pocket the famous Perlimpimpino powder, his own mfallible discovery, and turned up his coat sleeves. He was grumbling all the time at the indelicacy of his being interrupted 1n the middle of a lecture and qugcd forcibly out of his college, to the scandal of his audicence, and loudly bemoaned the derange- ment of his powdered wig, w hich had some- what suffered in his aerial journey ; then he scized my head by the nose, sprinkled some of the ].’uhm1)11111)111() p()\\(lc on the neck, dabbed it on to the defective part, took Orazio’s head, did the same with that—we sneezed three times with some cmphasis, sprang blithely up, shook oursclves, sneezed once more- - the cure was complete !

“The fair oncs flew joyfully to our arms on my check burnced the kiss of the beautiful Smeralda, while Tabclla hugged the Count — but to kiss, to tear away from the embrace, to utter a startled cry, was the work of an instant. Dreadful mistake ! The doctor n his hurry had stuck my head on Orazio’s shoulders, and that of the noble on the trunk of the poor gondolier !

““On recovering ‘from the first shock at the discovery we tmnul to vent our wrath on the doctor. The nobleman promised him a hundred lashes, and I threatened still worse things, unless he restored to cach his own,

“send for a doctor,

be had. Quick!

answered the