the Government had the highest pleasure in inviting them one and all to a banquet, at the conclusion of which they should receive full quittance." There was great There was great rejoicing in the palmetto-reed huts, and the parrots chattered more volubly, and the women patted the tortyas more vigorously, and the generals quaffed the pulquè more voluptuously-in order to get themselves into training for the banquet on the

morrow.

And on the morrow they fared to the feast, and each Indian general was seated beside a Spanish-Mexican private soldier, and took no offence, because of the prospect of the banquet and of the receipt of pay. They feasted gloriously, and in heads unaccustomed to anything but pulquè, the aguadiente of the white man wrought strange visions, until at a certain stage of the dessert the Lieutenant gave the word for rendering to the generals their quittance in full, whereupon each white man turned to his swarthy neighbor on the left-hand side, and saying with Spanish courtesy, "Will you take some cheese?" drove his dagger home into the Indian's heart. And for the fifty-two Indian generals, alone in all Mexico, there

During these days the American had not ceased to call upon the Governor at such short intervals as he deemed prudent, to renew his solicitations about the concession of the railroad. The Governor, however, had invariably spoken the fatal word mañana, and the American general began to fear that the mañana would never translate itself into hoy. On the return of the Lieutenant from paying off their arrears to the fifty-two Indians near Montezutepec, there were walking under the palms of the Alameda, the Governor, the Lieutenant, General Sheldrake, and Señor Saloman Bensadi. They had been watching with interest the bright birds in the open air aviary, and the deer in the en

closure, when the American reverted to the subject of his visit.

"I should like to tell you," Señor Bensadi was saying, sadi was saying, "a story of a nest of mocking-birds which

"Speaking about railroads," the American interrupted, turning to the Governor. But he in his turn was interrupted

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Speaking about railroads," the Governor echoed. "I should like to tell you the story of the American railroads. Let ns sit down."

They sat on benches in the shade. Workpeople in poncho or serape sauntered past them; on the carriage road before the houses an occasional hidalgo, seated very erect on his unshod horse, ambled noiselessly over the mesquite pavement to the city. Farther away the noise of the carriages was indistinctly heard.

"George Washington," said the Governor, drawing the blessed opal from his pocket and reverently gazing into its depths." was the father of his people and George Washington could not tell a lie. We know that it was true because he told us so himself, and he was a man who could not tell a lie.'

Epimenides the Cretan said that all Cretans were liars," Señor Bensadi interposed.

"I do not see that that has anything to do with George Washington," the Governor replied. One of your finest writers has said, I know he was a gentleman for he told me so himself, and he would not tell a lie about a little matter like that.' Of course this was not with any reference to George Washington, but it illustrates my position. But what I was going to say was that though he was the father of his people he does not seem to have transmitted his incapacity to his children. Perhaps it will reappear in the next generation. Have you any remarks to make upon the tendency of hereditary traits to skip a generation?" he inquired of the Lieutenant.

"No; none."

"There has been more than one generation since the time of George Washington," Señor Bensadi suggested.

Ah, true," said the Governor, "then we will leave George Washington; but

the story, as I read it, is this. It occurred to certain gentlemen living in a town, which we may leave in its obscurity on the Pacific, that it would be a good thing for the town to promote a railroad to run from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. Their motives were purely philanthropic -or they said so themselves, and again they would not have told a lie about a little inatter like that. So they approached the State Legislature, with which they had influence, and said, 'We regard it in the light of a public duty to do all that in us lies toward the building of a railroad from the Atlantic to the Pacific-the advantages of commerce, and so forth.' We need not follow out all the reasons which these philanthropic men adduced for their philanthropy."

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Certainly not," the Lieutenant inter

posed.

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6

Therefore,' the philanthropists continued, we ask only that you should give us so much per mile for the construction of the railroad, as well as every alternate section along the line of the railroad' (a section I need hardly tell you is 640 acres), and we, in return, will undertake to build you this road.' Well, the Legislature agreed to the proposal. The so much per mile for which the philanthropists had bargained turned out to be about twice as much per mile as the construction of the railroad cost. The alternate sections turned out to be of enormous value, with the railroad running through them. Thus the country was opened for Eastern capital, the philanthropists became men of such wealth that the name of millionaire failed to designate them, and thus we see that philanthropy never fails of its due reward." The Governor paused, but in such a way that all his hearers knew that there was more to follow. Seeing their silently expectant attitudes, he continued: "It is one of the characteristics of this virtue that it constantly extends its sphere. The philanthropists did not feel that they had done enough. Having built this road by the aid of the State, and having profitably sold its bonds, they found themselves in possession of sufficient capital to build a railroad upon their own account. road was in direct opposition to the previously built railroad, and they were thus enabled to supply the public with the blessings of a competitive system of railroads from the Atlantic to the Pacific-in

This

Would you be kind enough," the American asked, to lend me your opal for a few minutes? I am curious to see whether I could read a vision off it."

After a moment's reflection the Governor rather reluctantly drew the stone from his pocket and handed it to General Sheldrake.

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The American gazed awhile into the translucency of the blessed gem. "I read from it," he said at length, a vision which we may call The Story of the Man who knew his Price.' A certain man was commissioned by the government of a certain state to travel around and report upon the working of the licensing laws. He was an honest man

"Was he a friend of yours?" the Governor asked, but General Sheldrake paid no attention to the question.

"He was an honest man, and when he had been absent a week or two he wrote to the Board by whom he had been commissioned as follows: On my arrival at the town of A- -I was offered ten thousand dollars to frame my report in accordance with the wishes of those who would have bought me. At the town of BI was offered twenty thousand dollars. At C I was offered thirty thousand dollars; at D-forty thousand; at E-fifty thousand. fifty thousand. On each of these cities I now beg to hand you my report, and at the same time I would ask you to recall me, and to send some one else to report upon the other cities of the state, for they have very nearly reached price.'

my

"From which we are to infer ?"-the Governor said interrogatively, as the American thus concluded his story.

"That every man has his price," the latter answered, looking into the Gover

nor's eagle-eyes as he handed him back the opal. "Yes," the Governor replied, returning his gaze with interest. "Every man has his price. But some men's price is hard to reach."

After this, General Sheldrake bought a tract of land very cheap, yet at a price which Señor Bensadi laughed at him about, for it was in the alkali desert and would grow nothing-so at least Señor Bensadi maintained, but General Sheldrake said it was an oasis in the desert, and that he would make his money off it, with interest. So he built a house and lived there, and occasionally came into the city to see Señor Bensadi, or to try to persuade the Governor to his own views about the railroad.

Now it was the Governor's habit to drive out, some three or four days in the week, generally with his Lieutenant, and the most favorite of his drives was to that tree of sad memories, the triste noche tree, under whose shade the indomitable Cortes is reported to have wept on the night of his expulsion from the city of the Montezumas. And on one occasion of these drives the Governor passed near the house of General Sheldrake, and he bade the coachman pull up, and smiled at what he saw being done there, for there was great activity, and mules were coming and going from the river-bed, bringing loam and putting it into pits dug here and there in the alkali ground. And the Governor looked thoughtfully into his opal and for the first time began to ask himself whether the American were more knave or fool; for if this were knavery it was hard to see to what end it tended.

In a few months the patch bought by General Sheldrake in the desert was green with pumpkin vines, which grow, when they grow at all, so fast that one can all but see them doing it. It was, as he had told Señor Bensadi, an oasis in the desert, and he asked Señor Bensadi to come out and stay with him, and the man from the city was exceedingly surprised by what he saw. "Really," he said, "I had no idea that this alkali land could be made so fer

tile."

But the other said, Yes; that he had had a great deal of experience of alkali (as indeed he should, for he was raised in Arizona), and that he had often noticed that where there was a patch of fair land,

with alkali about, that patch was extraordinarily fertile. "It seems, " he said, "as if that patch had, as it were, sapped the fertile qualities of all the surrounding land, and concentrated them in itself.”

And Señor Bensadi said, "Oh yes,' though for all he understood of it he might equally well have answered "Oh no," and that was the end of it.

In a few months more General Sheldrake started from his ranche as the dawn was bathing in rosy light the snowy heads of Popocatapetl and his spouse. He rode thoughtfully through the cactus and the mesquite bush, and arrived in the city before the sun was hot. He came into the stifling little store where Señor Bensadi sat among his opals, his feather-work, his broideries, his Mexican silver-work, and all his antiques. He declined a glass of vermouth which his friend thoughtfully offered him; his normal volubility had deserted him, he seemed like a man with whom the world was going amiss. He despaired of getting his concession for the railroad.

"Hum!" said the American, equally doubtfully. Now what is the meaning of this visioning and sight-seeing in this blessed opal, anyway?"

'Well," Señor Bensadi said, "no question has been more discussed in Mexico than that which you have just asked me. How much does the Governor see, or does he believe he sees, and how much does he only make-believe to see? He is a pious man, my friend, as we all are, and most undoubtedly he had this opal blessed, and values it sacredly. And in the East there have always been traditions of the miraculous visions in the depths of the opal-for those who have eyes to see. But there are also many in Mexico - Sadducees and sceptics-who declare that it is all a makebelieve of the Governor's. That instead

How do you say?"

"I mean there are opals and there are onyxes. All that pass for opals are not opals at all."

"Then what are you talking about mocking-birds ?"

"Ah, my friend, did I not tell you that story? I call it the Story of the Nest of Mocking-birds. It is written on the sad dest page of my life's history. They are beautiful birds, mocking-birds, are they not? And such a lovely note, so rich, so full! Such a power as they have, too, of weaving into their own wonderful song each sound they hear a horse neighing, a baby crying-no mattter how homely the sound they fill it full of melody, while they preserve the imitation and make it fit into their own harmony. I am a great lover of birds. It has been my dream to go back some time to my native country, there to hear the skylark sing, the bird of Burns, of Wordsworth. I, as I need hardly say, am a Scotsman.

"A what?" the General asked, astonished.

"A Scotsman, of course," Señor Bensadi said, with mutual astonishment at the other's surprise. "I need scarcely remind you of those famous names Ben More, Ben Nevis, or Ben Lomond, to show you how common a prefix is that which my own name bears. My ancestors used to roam the Highlands

"To return to our mocking-birds," the Scotsman resumed. "I was in lovedeeply, devotedly in love-for, as a compatriot has said to me,' When a Scotsman loves, he loves to distraction; and when a Scotsman drinks, he drinks to desperation.' But I will spare you my distractions. I loved her. I spoke to her often -in fervent words of the song of the mocking-bird. She was a Chicago girl. Yes," he went on hurriedly and fiercely, catching the other's eye, her feet were large, but I loved every inch of them. I believe I often tried, by humming, to give her some idea of the mocking-bird's song ; but she said that even so she could scarcely realize it. Then it occurred to meoh, brilliant conception-to send her a nest of young mocking-birds. I found the nest myself. Ah! that was the mistake I made in the excess of my ardor. I should have let some one else find it for me. But I sent them to her, by special messenger, and had the happiness of hearing that they had arrived safely and that they were doing well. By degrees her letters grew colder. Some one had inspired her perchance, I thought, with suspicions to my disadvantage. The refer ences to the dear little mocking-birds' grew less frequent; but at length I got a letter which was full of mocking-birds. (I speak metaphorically, you will understand.) She said the birds would not sing, and would eat nothing but raw meat. I wrote back and said it was not the season for their singing, and that the change of climate would naturally make them want strong nourishing food. But I grew madly uneasy. I could bear it no longer, and at last I rushed to Chicago. Imagine my feelings, my friend, my suspicions. were all too fully realized. They were there in full blatant health, accursed destroyers of my happiness, with hooked beaks, eating meat like cannibals-my beautiful mocking-birds were simply unmitigated shrikes !''

And the sequel?" General Sheldrake asked, as the other paused.

แ

"The sequel!" he said, in painful gasps. The sequel is, that I remain a bachelor."

preciation of his friend's humor. "Yes," he added, an onyx instead of an opal.' "By the by," General Sheldrake said, "in my sympathy for you I was nearly forgetting the object of my visit. I have discovered," he continued, drawing within confidential whisper range, "I have discovered another oasis. It is within three leagues of that one which you saw smiling like a garden. Unhappily I have not the money to buy or open it up. But it is a tract of unexampled fertility. I have so great confidence in it that if you will advance me the money on mortgage of that property, which you have already seen, I will willingly pay you fifteen per cent."

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Certainly, my friend, certainly. The interest is fair, and the security is good, for I have seen it with my eyes; it remains to consider at what rate we should value the property."

And the business between them was concluded in fewer hours than a Mexican would have needed mañanas.

The Governor and his Lieutenant were sitting, a few mañanas after this, on the scat beneath the old cathedral, with the perfume of the violets in the flower-market wafted to them and the humming-birds poising themselves over the palm-trees, just as they were seated when the Governor read from his opal the first vision of the fifty-two generals. The Governor was talking and the Lieutenant was listening in absent-minded obedience when a sombrero came to a halt before them and was perceived to shade the dark features and some of the portly person of Señor Saloman Bensadi. The Señor expressed his gratification at seeing the Governor in such good health, and observed that all things indicated that their friend in common, General Sheldrake, proposed to make Mexico for a while his home.

*

"In the alkali desert ?"

"Precisely; but his oasis flourishes like a bay tree—”

"Pardon my interrupting you," said the Governor, who for the last few seconds had been questioning the profundities of the blessed cpal. "With your kind permission I would like to expound to you a vision that I see here, and which I may call the Story of the Pumpkin Vines. I see a man of apostolic countenance directing certain agricultural operations in the alkali desert. I see mules coming from the river bank bearing loads of loamy earth, which are discharged into large holes dug in the alkali ground. Again, and I see a planting of seeds in the holes so prepared among the alkali. Again, and I see the spreading limbs of the pumpkin vines. and behold they have covered all the alkali ground, and the apostolic man's patch smiles like a verdant garden. Again, and I see the apostolic man displaying his work proudly to a sombreroed, dark-visaged man of fine full habit. Again, and I see the dark-visaged man of full habit handing money to the apostolic man and receiving in exchange a legal document. Again, and I see the apostolic man leaving his house and garden. His house is stripped bare. The pumpkin vines have withered down, and the ground is again bare alkali. He is leaving with all his household goods. Again, and I see the dark-visaged man in fury-but no, that is enough.'

"Great heaven!" exclaimed Señor Bensadi. "Do you mean to say you think the General would have left mewould have deceived me-left me to foreclose on worthless land?''

"The General!" the Governor echoed, with every accent of surprise. “What general? Did I mention a general?" he asked, turning to the Lieutenant.

"Not that I am aware of."

"Understand, sir," the Governor continued, turning with fury to Señor Saloman Bensadi, "I made reference to no general. I did but favor you with a reading of a vision from my sacred opal. I will wish you good morning."

Señor Saloman Bensadi was a very sad Scotsman as he stood, on the mañana, in