Life — March 10, 1892 — page 9: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

OED RIES THE WICKED WIZARD'S SPELL. “Lam-rich!" he cried, “rich without limit!" The next morning he distributed the stones among his various pockets and betook him to a jeweller. “How much is this worth ?” he asked giving one of them for inspection. The jeweller, after consulting with his partner, said : “ We will give you two hundred dollars for it.” When Jon readily accepted this price for a five thousand dollar stone the jewellers became suspicious, but they paid him the money and he went away. His reappearance, a few davs after with other stones yet more precious, and for which he considered any sum a fair price, confirmed the jewellers in their worst surmises, and Jon was marched before a judge. Several pockets crammed with priceless jewels did not allay suspicion, and he soon found himself in jail. They had allowed him to keep the poppy, as no one examined it, and no one consequently suspected its value. On the second day of his imprisonment he remembered the other qualities of the poppy and straightway tried an ex- periment. When the jailer came with his noonday meal, he waived the magic flower toward him, and to his delight the burly warden closed his eyes and sank gently to the stone floor of the cell in a peaceful sleep. Jon lost no time in reaching the court yard of the jail, but an officer had already seen him and given the alarm. As several jailers rushed toward him he again waived the poppy, this time in every direction, and lo! the various guardians forgot their haste and fell napping to the earth. Seeing how 151 beautifully it worked, and noticing the custodians about the gate were becoming alarmed, he held the poppy high in his hand and turning completely around, he cried : “ Whole city go to sleep!" And the whole city obeyed. Then he stepped leisurely out into the street where all was quiet and reposeful. Not a being was awake. A policeman stood leaning against a wall, but he was dozing calmly. The driver and conductor of a passing street car, and all the passengers within, were sound asleep, while the horses, from force of habit, moved gently as they slumbered. Jon's first thought was to quit the city in the shortest time, and he sped rapidly along. Turning a corner he almost ran into a stylish equipage, the footmen, with closed eyelids, upon the box, the horses lying flat upon the pavement. He started, as he recognized the lady in the carriage, for there, dreaming peacefully in the noonday sun, reclined the spinster who had given him the poppy. For the mere pleasure of kissing, he would have preferred a younger maiden, but Jon knew his duty. Standing on the step of the carriage he reached over and planted a kiss upon her cheek. She awoke, and to his surprise, her mature face grew younger and more beautiful as he gazed upon it. In amazement, he looked enraptured upon this transformation, for she was now afresh and blooming damsel of scarcely twenty summers. Blushing, as her eyes met his, she explained that a malicious wizard, disguised as a cupid, had entered her chamber one evening just as she was going to a party, and because she had refused to marry his son, changed her into a withered spinster, so to remain until some young man should voluntarily kiss her. It is perhaps unnecessary to add—this being a fairy tale— that they at once fell deeply in love with each other. Jon kissed the horses, and, although it came hard, he also kissed the driver and footman, Then he and his charming bride were driven rapidly from the drowsy city and lived happily together ever afterward, revelling in the endless riches de- rived from the unfailing poppy. The City of Brotherly Love is dozing still, J. A. Mitchell. comicbooks.com