MAKING A BRONCHO OF IT.
Oh, Tommy had a Hobby-Horse, its gait was smooth and fair,
Till under it he placed some sticks, and made it buck and rair!
THE STRANGE STORY OF A RING.
It is stated upon what appears to be good authority that in one of the parks in the Spanish capital city of Madrid a magnificent ring hangs by a silken cord about the neck of the statue of the Maid of Almodma, the patron saint of Madrid. This ring, though set with diamonds and pearls, is nevertheless entirely unguarded. The police pay no attention to it, nor is there any provision made for watching it by special officers, because it is not believed that any thief, however daring, would venture to appropriate it to his own use; and when the history of the ring is considered, it is hardly to be wondered at that a superstitious people prefer to give it a wide berth. According to the story that is told of it, the ring was made for King Alfonso XII., the father of the present boy King of Spain. Alfonso presented it to his cousin Mercedes on the day of their betrothal. How short her married life was all know; and on her death the King presented the ring to his grandmother, Queen Christina. Shortly afterwards Queen Christina died, and the King gave the ring to his sister, the Infanta del Pilar, who died within the month following. The ring was then given to the youngest daughter of the Duc de Montpensier. In less than three months she died, and Alfonso, by this time fearing that there was some unlucky omen connected with the bauble, put it away in his own treasure-box. In less than a year the King himself died, and it was deemed best to put the ring away from all the living. Hence it was hung about the neck of the bronze effigy of the Maid of Almodma, where it appears to be as safe as though surrounded by a cordon of police.
A CURIOUS REQUEST.
In a Scottish church in Argyleshire the minister one Sunday morning astonished some strangers in the congregation by requesting the young men in the rear pews to smoke, "because the midges were so thick the services could not go on unless they were smoked out." The young men acceded to the request, and soon the obnoxious insects were driven away. It is said that this same clergyman once gave out a notice that upon a certain evening service would be held in the church, "weather and midges permitting."