Part 12 (1/2)

”I once saw Hoff in his glory at the head of the table, not stupidly drunk, but warmed ine, which made him madly eloquent There, in full tide of witty discourse, or, if silent, his hawk eye flashi+ng beneath his an to dawn; then he found his way homeward

”At such hours he used to write his wild, fantastic tales To his excited fancy everything around hiht stalked like ghosts through his soul”

This stimulated life cae paralysis at the age of forty-six

His disease first paralyzed his hands and feet, then his ars, then his whole body, except his brain and vital organs

In this condition it was remarked in his presence that death was not the worst of evils He stared wildly and exclaimed,--

”Life, life, only life,--on any condition whatsoever!”

His whole hope was centred in the gay world which had already become to him as a picture of the past

But the hour came at last when he knew he must die He asked his wife to fold his useless hands on his breast, and, looking at her pitifully, he said, ”And we ay years, as a provincial htless society of the capital, had seldoiven to the subject which should have claimed the earliest and best efforts of his life

”God also!” It was his farewell to the world The demons had done their work Life's opportunities were ended

The words of his afterthought echo after him, and, like his oeird stories, have their lesson

Herman Reed presented a story from a more careful writer It is a story with an aim, and left an impressive lesson on the ory, it is one whoseit is not hard to comprehend

THE HEART OF STONE

The Black Forest, from time out of enii, and fairies The dark hue of the hills, the shadowy and lens, all tend to suggest the legends that are associated with every ends have filled volumes One of the most popular of recent stories of the Black Forest is the ”Marble Heart; or, the Stone-cold Heart,” by Hauff

Wilhelenius, and invention, was born at Stuttgart in 1809 He was designed for the theological profession, and entered the University of Tubingen in 1820 He had a taste for popular legends, and published orical works He died before he had completed his twenty-sixth year

There once lived ain the Black Forest, whose name was Frau Barbara Munk She had a boy, sixteen years old, named Peter, as put to the trade of charcoal-burner, a common occupation in the Black Forest

Now a charcoal-burner has much time for reflection; and as Peter sat at his stack, with the dark trees around hi to become rich and powerful

”A black, lonely charcoal-burner,” he said to himself, ”leads a wretched life How lass-blowers, the clock-makers, and the musicians!”

The raftsiants through the toith their silver buckles, consequential looks, and clay pipes, often a yard long There were three of these timber-dealers that he particularly admired One of theold, so freely did he use his -tables at the tavern The second, called ”Stout Schlurker,” was both rich and dictatorial; and the third was a famous dancer

These traders were fro coal-burner, used to think of the alone in the pine forests The Black Foresters were people rich in generous character and right principle, but very poor in purse Peter began to look upon them and their hoer,” said Peter, one day ”I arded as rich Hesekiel or powerful Schlurker, or even as the King of the Dancers! I wonder where they obtain their money!”

There were two Forest spirits, of whoht theood little dwarf; and the other was Michael the Dutchhost

Peter had heard that there was a ic verse, which, were he to repeat it alone in the forest, would cause the benevolent dwarf, Glassmanikin, to appear Three of the lines ell known,--