-ELIZABETH'S^ 
 
 
 S T Rl N G 
 
 Jr. 
 
 C O .R A 
 
 FORBES
 
 OF CALIF. LIBRARY, LOS ANGELES
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 By 
 Cora B. Forbes 
 
 Illustrated from Photograph* 
 
 Boston 
 
 Little, Brown, and Company 
 1903
 
 Copyright, 1903, 
 BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. 
 
 All rlghtt reserved 
 Published October, 1903 
 
 UNIVERSITY PRESS JOHN WILSON 
 AND SON CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A
 
 TO 
 
 MY SISTER 
 
 IN LOVING AND GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF 
 
 MANY DELIGHTFUL DAYS SPENT IN 
 
 VISITING THE BIRTH-PLACES 
 
 OF THESE LEGENDS 
 
 2129433
 
 P REFACE 
 
 FAR cleverer pens than mine 
 have written and rewritten these 
 charming old legends, so that the 
 only claim to originality this volume pos- 
 sesses lies possibly in my arrangement of 
 the stones for juvenile readers ; and the 
 pleasure I have given by relating them 
 to my personal circle of young friends is 
 my excuse for offering them to a larger 
 audience. 
 
 I have made no attempt whatever to 
 teach History, or rather, as Mrs. Jame- 
 son expresses it, "to separate Historic 
 Truth and Poetic Fiction." At the same 
 time, I hope that familiarity with these 
 legends will afford both pleasure and 
 profit, since at least a " bowing acquaint- 
 ance " with legendary lore is necessary 
 before a person can really enjoy the Art 
 Galleries of Europe. 
 
 Vll
 
 Preface 
 
 In preparing the legends, many author- 
 ities were consulted and compared. The 
 English translation of Voragine's " Le- 
 genda Aurea," Butler's " Lives of the 
 Saints," the publications of the Folk Lore 
 Society, compilations of legends for the 
 use of students or of tourists,Mrs. Jameson's 
 "Sacred and Legendary Art," and, I may 
 add, stories told to me by local guides in 
 various cities of the Old World, were all 
 sources of help. 
 
 Occasionally I found several versions 
 sometimes contradictory '- of the same 
 incident : in such cases I usually followed 
 the accounts given by Mrs. Jameson, or 
 by Miss H. A. Giierber, because the ver- 
 sions chosen by these authors " are the 
 ones upon which the Artists of the Middle 
 Ages based their representations of the 
 subjects." 
 
 C. B. F. 
 
 via
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PACK 
 
 I. A DISAPPOINTING LETTER i 
 
 II. AN INVITATION TO A GAME OF "BUTTON, 
 
 BUTTON, WHO 's GOT THE BUTTON ? " . 6 
 
 III. A MEDICI BUTTON-BOX AND ITS LEGENDS 11 
 
 IV. THE WINGED LION OF SAINT MARK" . . 22 
 V. THE LADY'S SAND 34 
 
 VI. THE DOGE AND THE FISHERMAN ... 44 
 VII. SAINT GEORGE AND THE DRAGON THE 
 DOGE'S BONNET SAINT NICHOLAS OF 
 
 BARI 53 
 
 VIII. THE IMP OF LINCOLN 65 
 
 IX. THE SANTISSIMO BAMBINO THE MA- 
 DONNA OF SAN AGOSTINO 71 
 
 X. THE LEGEND OF SAINT URSULA ... 86 
 
 XI. THE EVIL EYE AND THE LUCK CHARMS . 103 
 
 XII. THE LEGEND OF COLOGNE CATHEDRAL . no 
 
 XIII. THE LEGEND OF THE TRUE CROSS . . . 124 
 
 XIV. THE LEGEND OF THE WOODPECKER THE 
 
 OBELISK OF THE VATICAN 148 
 
 XV. THE LEGEND OF SAINT GENEVIEVE . . 158 
 ix
 
 Contents 
 
 CHAPTER PACK 
 
 XVI. THE TUN OF HEIDELBERG PERKEO THE 
 
 DWARF THE MOUSE-TOWER . . . 172 
 
 XVII. THE LEGEND OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER . . 187 
 
 XVIII. THE LORELEI LEGEND ....... 200 
 
 XIX. THE DOVES OF VENICE THE LION OF 
 LUCERNE THE MONKEY'S TOWER 
 HILDA'S TOWER THE DURHAM KNOCK- 
 ER THE IRON VIRGIN THE CROSS 
 OF SAINT BERNARD MONTE-DI-PIETA 
 THE LITTLE CORPORAL ..... 212 
 
 XX. $HE BIRTHDAY PARTY ....... 235
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 FULL-PAGE 
 
 Figure of St. George, by Donatello Frontispiece 
 
 Church and Campanile of St. Mark's, Venice Facing page 30 
 Doge and Fisherman, from the painting by 
 
 Paris Bordone 50 
 
 The Madonna of Saint Agostino ,,83 
 
 The Funeral of Saint Ursula, from the paint- 
 ing by V. Carpaccio 102 
 
 Cologne Cathedral ,,122 
 
 The Cross appearing in the Sky to Constantine 
 
 and his Army, from the painting by Raphael 134 
 
 View of St. Peter's, Rome 153 
 
 The Mouse Tower on the Rhine .... 180 
 
 St. Christopher, from the painting by Titian . 196 
 
 PICTURES IN THE TEXT 
 
 A View in Florence Page 1 1 
 
 Romulus and Remus 13 
 
 The Papal Coat of Arms 14 
 
 The Arms of the City of Florence 15 
 
 The Emblem of the Medici Family .... 18 
 
 xi
 
 Illustrations 
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String Page 19 
 
 The Lion of St. Mark's 23 
 
 One of the Doors to St. Mark's 29 
 
 Off the Coast of Holland ,,34 
 
 A Glimpse of Holland . . ,,37 
 
 Dutch Types 42 
 
 A View of Venice ,,44 
 
 A Fisherman of Venice ,,48 
 
 St. George, from the painting by Mantegna . . ,,54 
 
 A Doge of Venice 61 
 
 A View of Venice >, 63 
 
 A Street Scene in Lincoln 66 
 
 The Imp of Lincoln ,,67 
 
 The Santissimo Bambino ,,72 
 
 The Church of Ara Coeli 76 
 
 A Glimpse of Bruges ,,89 
 
 A Street in Basel ,,95 
 
 The Blessing of Ste. Ursula ,,98 
 
 Pope Pius IX 105 
 
 A Corner of the Vatican 108 
 
 A View of Cologne 1 10 
 
 Crucifix 116 
 
 The Main Entrance to Cologne Cathedral . . ,,121 
 
 The Emperor Constantine 136 
 
 Saint Chapelle, Paris 146 
 
 Woodpecker 151 
 
 The Obelisk of the Vatican 155 
 
 xii
 
 Illustrations 
 
 A Corner of Saint Etienne du Mont .... Page 160 
 
 Saint Genevieve and Saint Germaine .... 164 
 
 The Tomb of Saint Genevieve 168 
 
 Heidelberg and the Great Tun 173 
 
 Perkeo the Dwarf 177 
 
 The Mouse Tower ,,184 
 
 Saint Christopher 197 
 
 The Lorelei 206 
 
 Feeding the Doves, Venice ,,213 
 
 The Lion of Lucerne 218 
 
 Hilda's Tower, Florence 222 
 
 Durham Cathedral 224 
 
 The Durham Knocker 225 
 
 The Iron Virgin of Nuremberg 227 
 
 The "Little Corporal" 232 
 
 XIII
 
 E LI Z A BE TH'S 
 CHARM- STRING 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 A DISAPPOINTING LETTER 
 
 NE lovely afternoon in 
 June, Elizabeth Staats and 
 her^ particular) chum, Alma 
 Curtis, were sitting on the 
 honeysuckle-covered porch 
 of Mr. Isaac Staats' pretty 
 summer home. Their heads were bent over 
 a letter bearing a foreign postmark, and its 
 contents did not seem to afford them much 
 pleasure. 
 
 " Oh, dear ! " exclaimed Elizabeth, " I never 
 was so disappointed in all my life." 
 
 " I do not blame you for feeling so," said 
 Alma, soothingly ; " we have all got more but- 
 tons now than we know what to do with " 
 
 "And charm-strings are all out of style 
 vanyhowj' continued Elizabeth. " Every girl
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 in school had one before Aunt Belle went to 
 Europe. Really, Alma, I do not understand 
 how Aunty can be so horridly stupid." 
 
 Mrs. Staats, coming out on the porch just 
 then, heard this last remark with, much sur- 
 prise, for she knew that " Aunt Belle " was 
 usually an object of adoration to these twelve- 
 year-old girls. 
 
 " What is the matter, daughter ? What has 
 caused your pet Aunty to moult her angelic 
 wing feathers and develop a cloven foot so 
 suddenly? " 
 
 " Mamma, Aunt Belle writes that she will 
 reach America almost as soon as her letter, 
 and " 
 
 " That is a queer reason for such a woful 
 countenance." 
 
 " But, mamma, you know Aunty promised 
 to bring me something very nice from Europe. 
 I was hoping for a little watch, and instead 
 of that she is bringing me a whole lot of 
 BUTTONS!" 
 
 (Nothing short of capital letters could do
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 justice to the emphatic utterance of the dis- 
 appointed little- girl.) 
 
 " Buttons ! Why, my dear child, surely 
 you must be mistaken. Let me see the 
 letter." 
 
 "I wish I was mistaken; but just listen 
 mamma," and finding the^ proper/ place, Eliz- 
 abeth read aloud : 
 
 " ' I did not forget my promise to bring you 
 " something (pice.*} I wanted the gift to be 
 very unique and foreign-looking, and I was 
 almost at my wit's end trying to make a 
 choice. 
 
 " ' One day while I was in Rome I saw a 
 little American girl with the most fascinat- 
 ing charm-string you ever dreamed of. I 
 remembered, too, that when I left home you 
 and most of your friends were busily collect- 
 ing all sorts of buttons for charm-strings. 
 I then and there decided to bring you, if 
 possible, just as pretty a collection as this 
 small girl carried. 
 
 " ' I am quite sure that your new charm- 
 3
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 string will not duplicate any of the buttons 
 on your old one.' ' 
 
 " There, mamma, Aunt Belle says ' but- 
 tons ' as plainly as possible ; " and two big 
 tears rolled slowly down the little maid's 
 cheeks. 
 
 There was a twinkle in Mrs. Staats' eyes 
 not altogether in harmony with this tragic 
 situation, but she comforted her daughter as 
 well as she could, and offered a ray of hope 
 by saying, " Perhaps, dear, they are mili- 
 tary buttons. Do you not remember how 
 Aunty used to rave about the grand uniforms 
 of the Italian officers ? And I know every one 
 of you girls coveted the United States Army 
 and Navy buttons that Elsie Stone had on 
 her charm-string." 
 
 All in vain ; Elizabeth had so often boasted 
 in school-girl fashion of the fine present she 
 expected to receive from Europe, that the 
 thought of answering " Buttons " when ques- 
 tioned about it was too humiliating. 
 
 But partial consolation did come in the 
 4
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 shape of old Caroline, the cook who presided 
 over Mrs. Staats' kitchen. 
 
 " Miss Elizabeth ! Miss Alma ! " she called, 
 " if you don't hurry up and make your cookies 
 and the chocolate fudge, it will be time for 
 Miss Alma to go home before you get 
 through." 
 
 Off scampered the children, for " messing " 
 in the kitchen with good-natured Caroline 
 was their greatest delight, and they were 
 soon too absorbed in the mysteries of mixing 
 and baking to think any more that afternoon 
 about Aunt Belle's disappointing letter. 
 
 But that same night, before they dropped 
 off to sleep, Alma in her city home, Elizabeth 
 in the country, had any one asked what it was 
 that weighed so heavily on their minds, both 
 little girls would have answered, " Buttons."
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 AN INVITATION TO A GAME OF "BUTTON, 
 BUTTON, WHO'S GOT THE BUTTON?" 
 
 MRS. STAATS and Mrs. Curtis 
 had been friends since early 
 childhood, and the warm affec- 
 tion between their little daughters drew them 
 into still closer intimacy. 
 
 During the winter months the two fami- 
 lies occupied adjoining houses in a bustling 
 Western city. 
 
 Early every spring Mr. Staats moved his 
 family to their charming country home, 
 " Shadyside," about ten miles from town ; but 
 the Curtis family usually flitted to the sea- 
 shore. 
 
 Every summer the little girls were allowed 
 to exchange visits, and many were the jolly 
 times they had together. 
 
 6
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 They had discussed the " Button " subject 
 over and over again, but never ceased to 
 wonder " what Aunt Belle could have been 
 thinking about " when she decided to bring 
 such a commonplace, prosaic present all the 
 way from Europe. 
 
 They had agreed to say nothing more to 
 the other girls in regard to the expected gift, 
 until they had themselves seen the objection- 
 able charm-string. 
 
 A few days before the summer holidays 
 began, Mrs. Curtis received a letter from 
 Shadyside over which she laughed very heart- 
 ily. When questioned by Alma as to the 
 cause of her merriment, the only reply she 
 vouchsafed was : 
 
 " You will find out next week. We are in- 
 vited to Shadyside for a little visit, to meet 
 Miss Belle Staats and see Elizabeth's present." 
 
 A little note from Elizabeth to Alma 
 was enclosed in the letter, but even this did 
 not give any clue to Mrs. Curtis' cause for 
 laughter. It said : 
 
 7
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 " DEAR ALMA, Mamma had a letter from 
 Aunt Belle which seemed to be very funny, but 
 she would not let me read it. Aunty wrote to me 
 saying that some of the buttons have lovely legends 
 or funny stories connected with them. 
 
 "Mamma said I could invite several girls to 
 spend a few days here, and Aunty is to tell us the 
 stories. You will come, of course, and I have asked 
 Genevieve Lebeau, Marie Gardiner, and Margaret 
 Nelson. 
 
 " I told the girls my present was to be some 
 queer buttons for my charm-string. I thought it 
 would be easier to write than to tell it." 
 
 A few evenings later a very jolly party 
 was making merry on the lawn at Shadyside. 
 The centre of attraction was of course Miss 
 Belle Staats. 
 
 She was a delightfully pretty young lady, 
 about twenty-five years old, and had been 
 spending the past two years travelling lei- 
 surely through Europe. 
 
 She had a large fortune of her own, artistic 
 and literary tastes, and had devoted much 
 time to the study of history and art; she 
 
 8
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 possessed a keen sense of humor, told a 
 story admirably, and talked most charmingly 
 about the places and things she had found 
 most interesting, or the adventures she had 
 met with, in her pursuit of pleasure and 
 improvement. 
 
 She was particularly fond of her small 
 niece Elizabeth, who in turn adored her 
 pretty Aunt, and indeed Miss Belle was 
 very popular with all Elizabeth's best 
 friends. 
 
 During the afternoon she had been 
 showing to the children some of the treas- 
 ures she had brought home with her, 
 and had let each one choose a little sou- 
 venir from among these pretty things ; but 
 not a word had been said about the charm- 
 string. 
 
 The evening flew along on swift wings 
 until ten o'clock, and then the children were 
 sent to bed. As the little girls gathered 
 about Miss Belle, wishing her " Good-night," 
 she put her arm around Elizabeth and said 
 
 9
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 laughingly : " Little niece, to-morrow morning 
 at nine o'clock you are all to meet me in the 
 hall, and we will have a game of ' Button, 
 button, who 's got the button ? ' 
 
 10
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 A MEDICI BUTTON-BOX AND ITS LEGENDS 
 
 I 
 
 next morning the wind was 
 blowing a gale and the rain fall- 
 ing in torrents ; -every one was de- 
 lighted to find a bright fire burning in the 
 big open fireplace. 
 
 The five little girls were burning also with 
 curiosity as to the possible contents of a 
 queer-shaped parcel Miss Belle had placed 
 on the hall table soon after breakfast. 
 
 ii
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 " If that parcel contains your buttons, 
 Elizabeth," said Genevieve Lebeau, "you 
 will not have much of a string." 
 
 " Maybe it is the kind of a button the 
 Mikado wears," chimed in Margaret. 
 
 " Or one of Queen Victoria's collar 
 buttons ! " 
 
 " Or the Pope's cuff button ! " 
 
 And so they all jested and laughed 
 together. 
 
 As the old grandfather's clock struck nine 
 Miss Belle came slowly down the stairs, 
 smiling at the expectant faces watching 
 her. 
 
 She walked to the table, and as she began 
 to untie the mysterious packet, poor Eliza- 
 beth clutched Alma's hand and received a 
 reassuring pressure in return. 
 
 There were two boxes in the bundle. One 
 was round and quite small, covered with a 
 peculiar-looking white leather, and its top 
 was decorated with what appeared to be a 
 monogram, colored red and green. 
 
 12
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 This, after a moment's hesitation, was 
 handed to Mrs. Staats, who made no attempt 
 to open it. 
 
 The second box Miss Belle gave to Eliza- 
 beth, saying, with a happy laugh : " There, 
 little one, is your charm-string at last." 
 
 The box was trunk-shaped, with a curving 
 lid, and was covered with copper beaten into 
 
 elaborate and intricate designs. Across the 
 front and back ran a complicated pattern of 
 fleurs-de-lis ; one end showed a wolf nursing 
 two little children; the other displayed a tiara, 
 or Bishop's mitre, of peculiar shape, and be- 
 neath this two keys were crossed ; in the 
 centre of the lid was a shield bearing six 
 balls and surmounted by a coronet ; the in- 
 
 13
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 tervening spaces were beaten into dainty 
 scrolls or flowers, and the keyhole was in 
 the mouth of a grinning mask. 
 
 " Oh, oh ! " exclaimed Marie, " what an odd- 
 looking box ! " 
 
 " It looks as if it needed a dose of sapolio, 
 though," said Alma, who was nothing if not 
 critical. 
 
 "Yes, it does," said Aunt Belle, "but 
 what looks like dirt is really the discolora- 
 tion of ' Old Father Time.' It 
 is claimed that this box was once 
 the property of Pope Leo X, 
 who belonged to the renowned 
 Medici family of Florence. 
 
 " He was made Pope in the 
 year 1512 A.D., so if the story 
 is true, the box will be four hun- 
 dred years old by the time Elizabeth has 
 jewels enough to fill it. 
 
 " The fleurs-de-lis on the box typify the 
 city of Florence, whose nickname is ' Lily of 
 the Arno.' 
 
 14
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 " The wolf nursing the two boys is part of 
 the coat of arms of Rome. Surely, you all 
 remember the story of Romulus and Remus, 
 the twin brothers who founded Rome ? If 
 you have forgotten it I must tell you about 
 it another time. 
 
 " The triple tiara with the crossed keys 
 is the Papal coat of arms ; no one but the 
 Pope ever wears that tiara, 
 which represents the Trin- 
 ity. It is said to be of pure 
 gold and to weigh fifteen 
 pounds. 
 
 " There is a very old 
 legend which tells us that 
 Christ made Saint Peter 
 the keeper of the gates of Paradise, and gave 
 him two keys, one of gold for Heaven, and 
 one of silver for Hell ; so in the mediaeval 
 pictures of Saint Peter he is always shown 
 as carrying these keys, and frequently wear- 
 ing a tiara, because he was the first * Uni- 
 versal Bishop ' or Pope.
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 " The shield and coronet on the lid be- 
 long to the Medici family. There is a funny 
 little story which tells why they chose the 
 six little balls as the family emblem." 
 
 THE MEDICI EMBLEM 
 
 Long, long ago there lived in Florence a 
 man who was of good family, but very poor, 
 and although quite a clever fellow, he was 
 too lazy to work, preferring to use his wits in 
 finding easy methods of earning his living. 
 
 One day, while amusing himself in an 
 old curiosity shop, he came across a queer- 
 looking manuscript and took it home to 
 read. 
 
 It turned out to have originally belonged 
 to a physician, and, among other things, 
 contained a prescription for compounding 
 a certain kind of medicine, guaranteed to 
 " cure every ill that flesh is heir to." 
 
 So this man decided that he too would 
 be a doctor. 
 
 Accordingly, he made up a quantity of 
 16
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 these infallible pills, and travelled about the 
 country in a leisurely way, selling the medi- 
 cine to every one who could be persuaded to 
 buy any of it. 
 
 He managed to gain quite a reputation 
 because of the alleged cures made by his pills, 
 and soon people were only too eager to pur- 
 chase them. 
 
 One day there came along a stupid 
 peasant who had lost his donkey. 
 
 He asked our doctor if his medicine 
 could find lost animals. 
 
 The doctor assured him that these pills 
 could almost perform miracles, and sold six 
 of them to the poor man. 
 
 The peasant was directed to swallow the 
 pills, and then wander in and out of the 
 Florentine streets and all around the neigh- 
 boring country for six days. 
 
 He was to think about his donkey all the 
 time, and as he walked he was to cry aloud : 
 
 " My donkey ! My donkey ! Good people, 
 Has any one seen my lost donkey ? "
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 Hunted for in this persistent fashion one 
 could discover almost anything; so you will 
 not be surprised to learn that the ass was 
 finally recovered. 
 
 The pills, however, received all the credit 
 for this astounding performance and became 
 more popular than ever. 
 
 At length the " Doctor " grew so wealthy 
 that he concluded to retire from business ; 
 he assumed the name of 
 " Medici," founded a new 
 family, and for his coat of 
 arms adopted a shield bear- 
 ing six large balls sur- 
 mounted by a coronet. 
 
 By Florentines these balls 
 are commonly known as the Medici " pills." 
 
 In the midst of the laughter that followed 
 this story, Mrs. Curtis called out : 
 
 " My dear Elizabeth, any time you want to 
 exchange that box for the prettiest watch 
 in town, I stand ready to close the bargain." 
 
 18
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 " Open it, dearie," said Aunt Belle. 
 
 Elizabeth turned the key and lifted the 
 lid. Alma was sitting so close to her that 
 she also could see the contents of the box. 
 
 Both little girls gave one long glance at 
 the shining object lying on its bed of pink 
 cotton; then 
 looked at each 
 other, and the 
 growing be- 
 wilderment in 
 their faces 
 brought a 
 burst of laugh- 
 ter from the 
 older ladies, 
 and a chorus 
 of "What is 
 it ? " " Let me 
 see ! " from the 
 other girls. 
 
 Elizabeth lifted up her new treasure, 
 and no wonder she looked amazed, for the 
 
 19
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 thought of such a charm-string as this had 
 never crossed her mind. 
 
 To begin with, it was not a string at all, 
 but a pin ; a slender bar of silver about three 
 inches long, with a very strong clasp. Sus- 
 pended from this bar were several fine silver 
 chains, each terminating in a ring, and each 
 ring holding a number of marvellously pretty 
 gold and silver charms. 
 
 There seemed to be a whole menagerie of 
 animals, and all sorts of quaintly shaped arti- 
 cles, of which the children were ignorant. 
 
 Elizabeth threw her arms around her 
 Aunt's neck, almost beside herself between 
 remorse and delight. 
 
 "Oh!" she cried, "Alma and I thought 
 you meant you were bringing me a lot of 
 buttons for my old charm-string, and we 
 called you silly and stupid, and were just 
 horrid ; now the buttons have turned into 
 all these pretty things, and how can you 
 ever forgive us ! " 
 
 "Your mother told me of the funny mis- 
 20
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 take you were making, and we thought it 
 would be a good joke to surprise you with 
 the real thing. We have had our laugh at 
 you and Alma for your stupidity." 
 
 The little girls examined the pretty charms 
 closely, and poured forth so many questions 
 that Miss Belle finally clapped her hands 
 over her ears and cried out: 
 
 " Dear me, what a racket ! One at a time, 
 please. Suppose we all sit down, and then 
 you girls can take turns choosing charms, 
 and I will tell you the stories about them. 
 
 " You see I collected charms instead of 
 souvenir spoons, and I tried always to find 
 something that was directly connected with 
 the place where I bought it. 
 
 "Elizabeth, suppose you begin. I 'm sure 
 you must be disappointed at the loss of your 
 expected buttons, so we will soothe your hurt 
 feelings by giving you first choice." 
 
 21
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE WINGED LION OF SAINT MARK 
 
 R 
 
 LIZABETH turned over the little 
 things almost caressingly, and after 
 a minute's hesitation her choice 
 fell on a tiny gold winged lion, standing on a 
 slab of silver. The left fore-paw was raised, 
 and rested on an open book which had some 
 letters cut irregularly on the surface. 
 
 " Ah ! " said her Aunt, " that has so many 
 stones connected with it I hardly know 
 which one to choose. It came from Venice, 
 and every time you turn around in that 
 fairy tale of a city, you will see ' The Lion 
 of Saint Mark.' 
 
 " Saint Mark is the patron saint and pro- 
 tector of Venice, and the winged lion is his 
 symbol. The sentence on that open book is 
 the motto of Venice ; it is in Latin, and reads, 
 
 22
 
 Rlizabetfts Charm-String 
 
 ' Pax tibi Marce Evangelista Meus,' mean- 
 ing ' Peace to thee, Mark my Evangelist.' ' 
 
 " But how very odd it seems for people to 
 choose a lion as a symbol for a saint," said 
 Marie. * 
 
 " Symbols of 
 some descrip- 
 tion have been 
 used since the 
 earliest days of 
 Christian art to 
 represent differ- 
 ent saints and 
 martyrs. It 
 would take too long to make you understand 
 this fully now, but the symbol used always 
 indicated something connected with the life 
 of that particular individual*." 
 
 " Did Saint Mark kill a lion, as Hercules 
 did ? " asked Alma. 
 
 " No ; there are several reasons for choos- 
 ing the lion as the emblem of Saint Mark, 
 but I will tell only the one I like best myself. 
 
 23
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 " Perhaps you know that each one of the 
 Evangelists emphasizes in his Gospel some 
 particular phase of Christ's life or character, 
 and Saint Mark has often been called ' The 
 Historian of the Resurrection.' ., 
 
 " During the Middle Ages it was quite a 
 general belief that the cub of a lioness was 
 always born dead ; after three days the breath 
 of the lion infused life into the cub, and this 
 awakening of the young lion typified the 
 resurrection of Christ. 
 
 " So the lion was given to Saint Mark as 
 his symbol, and because the angels, who are 
 the messengers of heaven, are always repre- 
 sented as having wings, this lion is also 
 winged, since he too represents one who 
 brings us good tidings." 
 
 "Saint Mark was not an Italian. Why 
 was he chosen as the protector of Venice ? " 
 asked Margaret. 
 
 " Thereby hangs a pretty tale, but, like so 
 many Italian legends, truth and poetry are 
 so closely interwoven that it is hard to 
 24
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 separate them. I am not telling you the 
 history of Saint Mark, however, simply the cir- 
 cumstances that connect him with Venice." 
 
 THE LION OF SAINT MARK 
 
 Saint Mark was a Jew, and was converted 
 to Christianity some time after the Ascension 
 of Christ. 
 
 Our story relates that he was of priestly 
 descent, and under the Jewish law no man 
 could be a priest who was deformed or dis- 
 abled in any way. Accordingly, after his 
 conversion, Saint Mark cut off one of his 
 fingers, so that no matter what happened, his 
 mutilated hand would make it quite impos- 
 sible for him to ever again serve in any 
 Jewish temple. 
 
 Saint Mark was a great favorite of Saint 
 Peter, and was the latter's companion on one 
 of his visits to Rome. 
 
 Sailing along the coast of Italy, they 
 stopped at Aquileia (called very often the 
 " Mother City of Venice "), where Saint Peter 
 
 25
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 founded a church, and made many converts 
 to the Christian religion. 
 
 Continuing their journey, the legend says 
 their vessel was stranded on one of the un- 
 inhabited islands where Venice now stands, 
 and Saint Mark had a vision of the wonderful 
 city to be built thereon. 
 
 Some time later Saint Peter sent Saint 
 Mark back to Egypt, and when the ship 
 passed this island again its speed was sud- 
 denly arrested, and an angel appeared to 
 Saint Mark, and told him that some day his 
 body would be brought to the city he had 
 beheld in his former vision, and there placed 
 in a marvellous church erected in his honor. 
 
 Saint Mark lived and worked in Egypt 
 many years. He founded the church at 
 Alexandria, which afterwards became one of 
 the most celebrated of the early Christian 
 churches. 
 
 Here he performed so many miracles that 
 the Egyptians accused him of being a sor- 
 cerer, and on the feast day of their god 
 
 26
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 Serapis, sixty-eight years after Christ, he was 
 seized and dragged about over the rough 
 streets, until death put an end to his misery. 
 
 Saint Mark's fellow Christians gathered 
 up the poor mangled body, and he was buried 
 in the church at Alexandria, where for sev- 
 eral hundred years his remains were held in 
 great veneration. 
 
 In the meantime, the city of Saint Mark's 
 vision had developed into a beautiful reality. 
 
 By thp middle of the ninth century the 
 Venetians had become very powerful, espe- 
 cially in the Eastern countries, and when 
 they wanted anything, from a kingdom to 
 the bones of a martyr or saint, they gener- 
 ally contrived to get it. 
 
 Relics of all kinds were bought and sold 
 like ordinary merchandise ; there was a regu- 
 lar traffic in bodies and bones between East- 
 ern and Western Europe, and, to judge by 
 the number of them to be found in Venice, 
 her citizens were greatly addicted to the 
 collection of saintly bones. 
 
 27
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 At that time the Mohammedan power was 
 supreme in Alexandria, and the Christians 
 were persecuted in every possible manner. 
 
 Their lives were not safe ; their churches 
 were destroyed ; their houses and properties 
 were confiscated, and their most treasured 
 relics were burned. 
 
 Some Venetian merchants who were trad- 
 ing in Alexandria begged the Christian 
 priests for the body of Saint Mark, in order 
 to save it from desecration. 
 
 After much persuasion the priests reluc- 
 tantly consented to the removal of Saint 
 Mark's remains to Venice. 
 
 To get such a treasure as this away from 
 Alexandria was quite a hard task, but the 
 Venetians proved equal to it. 
 
 They knew that all Mohammedans have 
 a very great horror of pork, considering it as 
 unclean. Accordingly, they placed the re- 
 mains of Saint Mark in a large basket, and 
 covered it with swine's flesh. 
 
 When any one tried to inspect the con- 
 28
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 tents of the 
 Venetian 
 loudly," Kwa- 
 which means 
 word effectu- 
 to further in- 
 The mer- 
 way reached 
 without much 
 basket was 
 in the sails, 
 
 , 
 
 journey to 
 begun. A few days later there 
 storm at sea, and in the midst of 
 
 29 
 
 basket, its 
 bearers cried 
 sir, kwasir," 
 pork,andthat 
 allyputastop 
 vestigations. 
 chants in this 
 their vessel 
 trouble ; the 
 hidden aloft 
 and the long 
 Venice was 
 was a frightful 
 it Saint Mark
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 appeared to the captain and directed him to 
 lower all the sails and steer in a certain direc- 
 tion, or else the vessel would be driven against 
 some hidden rocks. 
 
 The captain did exactly as he was told, and 
 after the storm subsided discovered that the 
 appearance and advice of Saint Mark had in- 
 deed saved the vessel from shipwreck. 
 
 At last the vessel reached Venice safely, and 
 the holy relics were received amidst great 
 rejoicings, and, with many splendid cere- 
 monies, were placed in the chapel of Saint 
 Theodore, which was part of the Ducal 
 Palace. 
 
 Saint Mark was, of course, a much more 
 important personage than Saint Theodore, 
 so in order to sufficiently honor the great 
 Evangelist, Saint Theodore was deposed, and 
 Saint Mark was made patron saint of Ven- 
 ice instead. 
 
 This chapel of Saint Theodore was demol- 
 ished, and a new church, dedicated to Saint 
 Mark, was built in its place. This church 
 30
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 was in turn destroyed by fire, and apparently 
 the body of Saint Mark perished with it. 
 
 A grander and far more beautiful church 
 was then erected, and it was consecrated in 
 the year 1085 A.D. 
 
 During all these years of building, the 
 place where Saint Mark's body had rested 
 seems to have been forgotten ; but the Vene- 
 tians had never reconciled themselves to the 
 loss of their beloved patron saint, and they 
 determined to pray for a miracle to show 
 where his bones were to be found. 
 
 A general fast day was appointed by the 
 Doge, for the 25th of January, in the year 
 1094, and the people of Venice gathered to- 
 gether in the church and piazza of Saint Mark, 
 and prayed fervently for a sign from God. 
 
 Imagine their joy when they beheld a 
 trembling in one of the marble pillars, which 
 presently fell to pieces, and displayed to the 
 faithful petitioners the bronze chest which 
 contained the blessed relics. 
 
 Now they repose under the high altar
 
 Rlizabettis Charm-String 
 
 of the most wonderful church in the world, 
 and among the marvellous mosaics which 
 make this church so famous you will find 
 pictured this legend of Saint Mark. 
 
 The body of Saint Mark was received at 
 Venice on January 31 in the year 828 A.D., 
 and for hundreds of years that day was 
 celebrated with a solemn High Mass, which 
 was attended by the Doge and all the 
 Signory, wearing their official robes. In- 
 deed, it is still kept as a feast day, but 
 with little of the magnificent splendor which 
 characterized it during the years when Ven- 
 ice reigned supreme. 
 
 This is the story of the little Winged 
 Lion as I heard it, and you see him so 
 often in Venice that you feel very intimate 
 with him. Indeed, one of my pet treasures 
 is an old brass candlestick, in shape like 
 unto " The Winged Lion of Saint Mark." 
 
 " Miss Belle," said Genevieve with a 
 laugh, "if you can tell us many more stories 
 
 32
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 like that, I think we will find our Sunday- 
 school lessons about the ' Acts of the 
 Apostles ' much more interesting." 
 
 " If that is all you need, my dear, we will 
 buy you the ' Lives of the Saints ' to read." 
 
 Every one laughed, for Genevieve's literary 
 tastes ran decidedly toward the " Brothers 
 Grimm." 
 
 33
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE LADY'S SAND 
 
 NOW it is your turn, Margaret," 
 said Miss Belle. 
 " I choose this little grain of 
 wheat, set in silver," replied Margaret. 
 " Wheat is certainly a queer article to find 
 on a charm-string." 
 
 " In Holland that grain of wheat would 
 probably be called ' The Lady's Sand,' " be- 
 gan Miss Belle. " Girls, do any of you 
 know where the Zuyder Zee is?" 
 
 " Yes, indeed we do," answered Alma. 
 " It is on the coast of Holland, and three or 
 four islands separate it from the North Sea." 
 
 34
 
 RlizabetJis Charm- Sir ing 
 
 " That is quite right, but I dare say that 
 none of you have ever heard that the waters 
 of the Zuyder Zee now roll and toss over 
 what was once cultivated land." 
 
 THE LADY'S SAND 
 
 There is a little town called Stavoren on 
 the coast of Holland ; it is now little more 
 than a fishing village, but according to the 
 old legends it was once a prosperous and 
 very beautiful city, protected from the ravages 
 of the sea by a splendid system of dikes. 
 
 Many of the citizens were so enormously 
 wealthy that they paved the floors of their 
 palaces with gold; their walls were hung 
 with the most expensive tapestries, and their 
 furniture was covered with cloth of gold. 
 
 To gratify their own desires no expense 
 was too great, but they paid no attention 
 to the needs of the poorer classes, and 
 treated their dependants like so many dogs. 
 
 There was a certain unmarried woman 
 who was probably the richest person in 
 
 35
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 Stavoren. She owned countless ships and 
 houses; her income was so enormous that 
 she could not possibly spend it all ; but it 
 never occurred to her to share this super- 
 fluity with the unfortunate people who had 
 little or nothing. 
 
 In spite of all this wealth, she was very 
 grasping and avaricious, and was always de- 
 vising new ways to increase her possessions. 
 
 One day a very queer notion entered her 
 head. Sending for her cleverest captain, she 
 ordered him to take the largest ship she 
 owned, sail away from Stavoren, and bring 
 back to her a cargo of the most precious 
 thing to be found in the whole world. 
 
 He could go any place he wished, but 
 must return within a year. 
 
 This task struck the captain as being a 
 very difficult one, and he endeavored to learn 
 from the lady what she considered to be the 
 most precious thing in the world. She would 
 express no opinion, however, but repeated 
 her instructions most emphatically. 
 
 36
 
 Eliz&betJis Charm-String 
 
 The captain was almost in despair, for he 
 knew that no two people think alike on such 
 a subject, and he had no idea what would 
 please his mistress. 
 
 At length he concluded that life itself 
 was our dearest possession, and that what- 
 
 ever best sustained % 
 
 life must be the most 
 
 precious thing in the world. 
 
 So with his mind at rest, he set sail for 
 Dantzic, and quickly returned with a cargo of 
 the very finest wheat that money could buy. 
 
 When the lady heard that her vessel was 
 in the harbor, she invited all her richest 
 friends to meet at her house, and learn the 
 result of the voyage. 
 
 37
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 The captain arrived, and made his report. 
 
 When his mistress learned that this long- 
 looked-for, much-talked-about cargo was noth- 
 ing more wonderful than plain, every-day 
 wheat, she grew almost insane with rage, and 
 ordered the captain to dump the whole load 
 of grain into the sea. 
 
 The captain implored her not to do such 
 a wicked, wasteful deed when so many poor 
 people were perishing for lack of the wheat 
 she herself did not want. 
 
 The lady only became more furious, and 
 in order to satisfy herself that her com- 
 mands were literally obeyed, she followed 
 the captain to the place where the ship was 
 anchored. 
 
 The kind-hearted captain fell on his knees 
 and begged her again to give the wheat to 
 the poor, but she was merciless, and forced 
 the captain to throw every grain of it into 
 the sea. 
 
 Exasperated by this sinful waste, one of 
 the sailors turned to the lady and cried out : 
 
 38
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 " Just as sure as God is a God of Justice, 
 you will some day beg for bread from the very 
 people to whom you have refused it to-day." 
 
 The lady laughed scornfully, and, taking 
 a ring from her finger, threw it into the sea, 
 saying : 
 
 " I will expect my punishment when I 
 again see this ring." 
 
 Some little time later, the lady was invited 
 to a grand banquet at the house of a very 
 wealthy neighbor. During the meal, the 
 cook placed before the host a golden platter. 
 On this lay a large baked fish, which was 
 carved and served to the guests. 
 
 When the lady began to eat her portion, 
 she found in it the ring which she had cast 
 into the sea. It had been swallowed by the 
 fish, and returned to its owner in this curious 
 fashion. 
 
 Remembering her own words, the lady 
 was of course very much frightened, and 
 began to think it might be well for her to 
 be less cruel in the future. 
 
 39
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 But it was too late ! The curse of the poor 
 sailor had fallen upon her, and she herself 
 had prophesied the time of her punishment. 
 
 One disaster followed another : her money 
 investments turned out badly ; fires destroyed 
 her palaces ; bad harvests ruined her farms ; 
 storms and floods wrecked her vessels, and 
 before many months passed over her head 
 she found herself as badly off as the poorest 
 person to whom she had refused help in the 
 time of her prosperity. 
 
 Her former friends turned her from their 
 doors, and when she begged from the poor, 
 they told her to go make bread out of the 
 wheat she had thrown away. 
 
 Spurned thus by everybody, starving and 
 homeless, she died unhonored and alone. 
 
 But, according to the legends, the evil she 
 had done lived after her. 
 
 As time passed on, the sailors and fisher- 
 men noticed that the entrance to the harbor 
 of Stavoren was becoming obstructed by a 
 sand-bar. It increased so rapidly that in a 
 
 40
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 short time it reached the surface of the 
 water, and not even small vessels could 
 cross it. 
 
 The sand was covered by a coarse vegeta- 
 tion that looked a little like wheat, and the 
 sailors all declared that this great misfor- 
 tune had its origin in the drifting of the 
 discarded grain, and called it " The Lady's 
 Sand." 
 
 A number of people went to the chief 
 magistrates, and begged that something be 
 done to remove this hindrance to the com- 
 merce of Stavoren ; since ships could no 
 longer enter the harbor, there was little or 
 no work for the sailors and laborers, and 
 they had no money for the support of their 
 families. 
 
 No attention whatever was paid to their 
 entreaties, and the poor people of Stavoren 
 were almost in despair. 
 
 Alas ! a still greater disaster was to follow. 
 
 Through some slight defect in the sea- 
 wall, salt water leaked into the fresh-water
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 supply of the city, making it, of course, unfit 
 to drink. 
 
 Again did the suffering people beg for 
 relief, and again was it refused. 
 
 The wealthy citizens 
 had enormous quantities 
 of wine stored away ; 
 enough to supply the en- 
 tire city until the leak 
 could be repaired and the 
 reservoirs purified. 
 
 But no ! these cruel peo- 
 ple, themselves rolling in 
 wealth, dressed in the 
 finest of clothes, drink- 
 ing the costliest wines, 
 laughed at the distress of 
 their unfortunate fellow 
 citizens, and refused them 
 even the dregs of their wine and beer casks. 
 
 Their punishment came quickly, but it 
 was one that fell on the innocent as well as 
 the guilty. 
 
 42
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 The little leak, being overlooked or neg- 
 lected, gradually widened, thus weakening 
 the sea-wall. One stormy night the waters 
 of the North Sea broke through the protect- 
 ing dikes, and overwhelmed the entire city. 
 
 Many thousands of people were drowned 
 that dreadful night ; those to whom life was 
 a joy, whose position and wealth enabled 
 them to gratify every whim, and those to 
 whom life seemed to promise nothing but 
 poverty and trouble, shared the same fate. 
 
 The little kingdom of Holland needs more 
 land than its present area affords, and the 
 Dutch government is talking about draining 
 the Zuyder Zee, and reclaiming all that once 
 fertile land. 
 
 So it is possible, girls, that some day we 
 may learn just how much or how little truth 
 there is in this story of the sunken city of 
 Stavoren." 
 
 43
 
 *? 
 
 I 
 
 ~4Xfli4ttSUfe?*> 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE DOGE AND THE FISHERMAN 
 
 NOW, Alma, you choose," said Eliz- 
 abeth. 
 " You may be sure Alma will 
 hit on a good long story," said Marie, who 
 was inclined to be slangy. " She always 
 manages to get more for her money than all 
 the rest of us put together." 
 
 When Alma held up her choice, Miss 
 Belle laughed heartily. " ^ou are surely 
 right this time, Marie. I could make four 
 
 44
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 stories out of that charm, each with a plenti- 
 ful sprinkling of saints." 
 
 Alma had selected a small signet ring. 
 From it hung four tiny ornaments : a little 
 gold cap, very like the one worn by the God- 
 dess of Liberty ; a silver shield engraved with 
 a red cross ; a fish, and the fourth looked 
 like three wee balls welded together. 
 
 " Before I get to the real story," began 
 Miss Belle, " I must give you a little infor- 
 mation, so you will understand it better. 
 
 " You all know that Venice is actually 
 founded on a number of small islands ; for 
 all practical purposes her streets are the 
 canals which intersect the city in every direc- 
 tion, and the widest, or Grand Canal, winds 
 through the city like a gigantic S. 
 
 " Between Venice and the open sea are 
 other islands, which protect her from the 
 ravages of the Adriatic. 
 
 " One of them is called the Lido, and on 
 it stands the church of San Niccolo di 
 Lido, where, so the Venetians claim, the 
 45
 
 Elizabetfis Charm-String 
 
 body of Saint Nicholas has been preserved 
 for several hundred years. 
 
 " He was the patron saint of poor people, 
 of children, of sailors, in fact of every one 
 in distress, and the protector against thieves 
 or violence. 
 
 " Now at the end of the Grand Canal, 
 nearly opposite the Piazzeta of Saint Mark, is 
 the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, with its 
 church of the same name, where the relics 
 of ' Saint George, the Warrior Saint and 
 Martyr,' find their resting-place. 
 
 " Keep these things in mind, please, so 
 that you may the better understand this inter- 
 esting story." 
 
 THE DOGE AND THE FISHERMAN 
 
 On the 25th of February in the year 1345 
 (there is, however, some dispute about the 
 exact year) there arose the most awful storm 
 that had ever been known in Venice. 
 
 It rained in torrents for several days, and 
 the water in the lagoons rose higher and 
 
 46
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 higher, threatening to overwhelm Venice in 
 its fury. 
 
 While the storm was raging, an old fisher- 
 man fastened his boat to the " molo " or quay 
 of Saint Mark, which is only a short distance 
 from the church. 
 
 He had been there but a little while when 
 he beheld on the molo an old man, very 
 grave and dignified, who desired to be 
 ferried over to San Giorgio Maggiore. 
 
 The fisherman at first refused to cross in 
 such frightful weather, but the old man in- 
 sisted, promising a liberal payment for the 
 service. 
 
 It was hard work to row in such a sea, 
 but at last they got safely over. 
 
 The stranger landed, bade the fisherman 
 wait for him, and entered the church. Pres- 
 ently he returned, accompanied by a young 
 man who was evidently a soldier, since he 
 wore a coat of mail. 
 
 Both men embarked, and ordered the 
 fisherman to take them to San Niccolo di 
 
 47
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 Lido. He looked at the tossing waves and 
 declared the task was an impossible one. 
 The men persuaded him to try it by the 
 promise of still greater reward, but it was 
 
 with the greatest diffi- 
 culty that he suc- 
 ceeded in reaching the 
 Lido. 
 
 Here the two men 
 landed and went into 
 the church, returning 
 quickly and bringing 
 with them " a man of 
 great age, with a face 
 of heavenly sweet- 
 ness," dressed in the robes of a Bishop. 
 
 They then commanded the fisherman to 
 row out between the forts which protected 
 the harbor, into the open sea, assuring 
 him that the task would be made easy for 
 him. 
 
 In vain he protested. The three men in- 
 sisted on going, and, marvellous to relate, as 
 
 48
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 they progressed the sea about the boat was 
 much calmer than elsewhere. 
 
 When they reached the mouth of the har- 
 bor " they saw coming towards them, with 
 such speed that it seemed to fly over 
 the water, a tremendous ship manned by 
 devils." 
 
 The storm increased its fury, and it 
 seemed as though Venice would be utterly 
 annihilated. 
 
 Suddenly the sea grew calm. The three 
 men stood up in their little boat and made 
 the sign of the cross. 
 
 Wonder of wonders! the ship with its 
 fiendish crew disappeared and the storm as 
 suddenly ceased. 
 
 The strangers then ordered the fisherman 
 to row them back, the aged Bishop to San 
 Niccolo di Lido, the knight to San Giorgio, 
 and the old man to San Marco. 
 
 His task finished, the fisherman naturally 
 demanded the promised reward. 
 
 "You have earned it well," said the man, 
 4 49
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 "and the Doge himself will pay you. I 
 am Saint Mark, the protector of Venice ; 
 your other passengers were the knight 
 and martyr Saint George, and the blessed 
 Bishop, Saint Nicholas of Bari. 
 
 " Go to-morrow to the Doge, and tell him 
 all you have seen and done; and that by 
 your obedience to our orders you enabled 
 us to save Venice from destruction. 
 
 " Tell him also that the storm arose be- 
 cause a certain wicked schoolmaster had sold 
 himself to the Devil, and afterwards hanged 
 himself." 
 
 But the fisherman claimed his payment, 
 saying, " The Doge will never believe such a 
 wonderful story from a poor man like me." 
 
 The saint took a ring from his finger and 
 gave it to the fisherman. 
 
 " Take this ring," he said. " Show it to 
 the Doge, and tell him to look for it in 
 the sanctuary where it belongs." 
 
 With these words Saint Mark disappeared. 
 
 The next morning the fisherman went to 
 50
 
 Eli'zabetKs Charm-String 
 
 the* Doge, told him the marvellous story, 
 and gave him the ring. 
 
 The Doge sent for the Procurators (they 
 who have charge of the church and treas- 
 ury of Saint Mark) and bade them look for 
 the ring, as the stranger had directed. 
 
 This ring should have been found in the 
 sanctuary, where it was kept under a triple 
 lock; but although the lock had not been 
 tampered with, the ring was gone from its 
 proper place. 
 
 Then the Doge and the Procurators 
 knew that a miracle had taken place, 
 and a solemn High Mass was celebrated 
 in Saint Mark's Church to express their 
 gratitude. 
 
 The ring was restored to the sanctuary, 
 and the poor fisherman received a life pen- 
 sion as his reward. 
 
 " That is a fine story," said Alma, picking 
 up the little charm again. " I suppose these 
 things represent the ring of Saint Mark
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 and the four men, but I do not quite under- 
 stand which is which." 
 
 "Why," said Elizabeth, "the ring itself 
 stands for Saint Mark, and the fish for the 
 fisherman ; any one could see that much." 
 
 " Yes," added Genevieve, " and if the Saint 
 George at Venice is the one who killed a 
 dragon, the little shield belongs to him. 
 Perhaps I do not know much about the 
 Apostles, but I do know the story of that 
 dragon." 
 
 " Then do please tell it to us," said Marie. 
 
 " All right. Of course I cannot tell it the 
 way Miss Belle would, but I will do my 
 best."
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 SAINT GEORGE AND THE DRAGON THE 
 DOGE'S BONNET SAINT NICHOLAS OF 
 BARI 
 
 SAINT GEORGE was the son of 
 Christian parents, and he must have 
 been of noble birth because he was 
 a captain, or tribune, in the Roman army 
 under the Emperor Diocletian. He was very 
 brave, and did as many valiant deeds as any 
 knight of King Arthur's Round Table ever 
 performed. 
 
 Once when he was travelling to join his 
 legion, he came to a heathen city called 
 Selene, whose inhabitants were having a 
 dreadful experience with a dragon, that lived 
 in a marshy lake beyond the city. 
 
 This dragon roamed around devouring 
 every living thing it met, until the people 
 became so frightened that they shut them- 
 
 53
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 selves within the city walls, for even the 
 
 dragon's breath was poisonous. 
 
 Before long the horrid beast had eaten up 
 all the sheep and cattle 
 outside the walls, and 
 then began to attack the 
 city. 
 
 To save themselves 
 the people sent out two 
 sheep every day for the 
 dragon's dinner. Before 
 long all the sheep were 
 devoured, and they had 
 to send two little chil- 
 dren instead. 
 
 Of course everybody 
 was very unhappy, for 
 nobody knew whose 
 
 child would be the next one to go. 
 
 The victims were chosen by drawing lots, 
 
 and one day the choice fell on the King's 
 
 only daughter, a beautiful little girl, fifteen 
 
 years old, called Cleodolinda. 
 
 54
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 The King was almost crazy with grief, 
 and begged the people to let his daughter go 
 free. He offered all his gold, his jewels, and 
 even his kingdom if only Cleodolinda could 
 be saved from the dragon. 
 
 But his subjects did not think this would 
 be at all just or fair, since it was by the 
 King's decree that they too must lose their 
 children. 
 
 The King continued to beg them to 
 have mercy on his daughter, until the 
 people grew so angry they tried to burn 
 down his palace, so he was obliged to 
 submit. 
 
 One morning the little Princess, dressed 
 in her finest clothes, was sent outside to the 
 dragon. She was a brave little thing, and 
 declared that she was more than willing to 
 go, if only she could save the people from 
 this dreadful beast. 
 
 The road to the dragon's lake was 
 strewn with bones, and as the little Prin- 
 cess walked along, she cried aloud and 
 
 55
 
 Rlizabettis Charm-String 
 
 prayed to God to deliver her dear father 
 and all his subjects. 
 
 Suddenly she heard the sound of a horse's 
 hoofs, and looking up saw a handsome young 
 man riding swiftly toward her. He had long 
 fair hair, and was dressed in shining armor, 
 and carried a shield decorated with a red 
 cross. 
 
 When he saw a charming young girl, very 
 finely dressed, crying as if her heart was 
 broken, he stopped his horse and asked what 
 was the cause of her tears. 
 
 The little Princess then told him the 
 whole story. 
 
 In return, he told her his name was 
 George, and that he was a soldier. He had 
 never before heard of this terrible dragon, 
 and it was only by chance that he was riding 
 in the direction of the beast's lair. 
 
 The Princess then begged Saint George 
 to hurry away before the dragon caught 
 sight of him. 
 
 " That I will not do," he cried, " but I will 
 56
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 stay here and fight this monster, in the name 
 of Christ." 
 
 Very soon they heard the dragon's roar, 
 and saw it flying toward them. 
 
 Saint George turned his horse and rode 
 as fast as he could at the dragon, and after a 
 hard fight, he thrust his lance through the 
 creature and pinned it squirming to the 
 ground. Then he asked Cleodolinda for 
 her girdle, and, tying it about the dragon, 
 gave the Princess the end of the sash. They 
 went back to the city, the dragon crawling 
 after them like a beaten dog. 
 
 When the people saw them coming to- 
 ward the city, they were at first very much 
 frightened. Saint George reassured them, 
 and told them how he had conquered the 
 beast in Christ's name. Then he cut off the 
 dragon's head with his sword. 
 
 He told the people all about the Chris- 
 tian religion, and converted the King, the 
 Princess, and a very large number of the 
 people. 
 
 57
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 The King loaded him with money and 
 jewels, but he refused these things for him- 
 self, and had them all distributed among the 
 poor. 
 
 " Did he not marry the Princess ? " cried 
 Margaret. 
 
 No, he did not. He went back to Pales- 
 tine, and found that the Emperor Diocle- 
 tian had ordered another persecution of the 
 Christians, and this decree was fastened up 
 in all the public places. 
 
 When Saint George read it, he tore it 
 down and trampled upon it. 
 
 This act was certain proof that Saint 
 George was a Christian, and because he was 
 a soldier of the Roman army it was also 
 an act of treason. 
 
 He was condemned to torture by the Pro- 
 consul Dacian, but he bore all his sufferings 
 bravely. 
 
 Once they gave him poison to drink, but 
 he made the sign of the cross over it, and 
 
 58
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 the poison did him no harm. Another time 
 he was bound to a wheel full of sharp blades, 
 but two angels appeared and broke the 
 wheel. 
 
 Then they took him to a pagan temple 
 and tried to make him offer up a sacrifice to 
 the pagan deity, but he knelt down and 
 prayed for strength, and in answer to his 
 prayer lightning fell from heaven and de- 
 stroyed the temple. 
 
 Papa says that these miracles are only 
 allegories, meant to express that God will 
 always help us to overcome evil, if we only 
 try hard enough, and have faith in Him. 
 
 At last Dacian gave orders that Saint 
 George should be beheaded, and the " War- 
 rior Martyr " knelt down and bent his neck 
 to the sword, meeting death like a brave 
 Christian soldier. 
 
 " Genevieve, where did you read that 
 story ? " inquired Elizabeth. 
 
 " Papa told it to me. He has photographs 
 59
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 of two very queer old pictures that he saw 
 in Venice. One of them is taken from a 
 fresco painted on the wall of a church, by 
 a man called Carpaccio ; papa calls it a ' story ' 
 picture. Saint George is riding the dearest 
 little horse as hard as he can toward the 
 dragon ; his hair is floating behind ; his lance 
 is all ready to strike. The Princess is under 
 a tree, crying and wringing her hands; the 
 ground is covered with skulls and bones, 
 and away off in the distance you see the 
 city, and the people all watching their little 
 Princess. 
 
 " But the picture I like best was painted 
 by an artist named Mantegna. Across the 
 top hangs a garland of fruit and flowers, and 
 below this Saint George is standing alone, 
 with his foot on the dragon's head. 
 
 " Papa says this picture really means that 
 Saint George overcame ' the world, the flesh, 
 and the Devil,' which the dragon represents. 
 But he is such a valiant, handsome little 
 warrior, that it is pleasanter to think of 
 
 60
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 him as going about the world fighting real 
 dragons and helping real people. Do you 
 not think so too, Miss Belle ? " 
 
 " I often think," Miss Belle answered, " that 
 that version of a picture or story which is 
 the greatest personal 
 help, is the best one 
 to accept." 
 
 There was a mo- 
 ment's silence, and 
 then Alma asked, 
 "Miss Belle, is not that 
 little cap the ' bonnet ' 
 of the Doge ? " 
 
 " Yes, dear, and if I 
 remember rightly, the first bonnet used was 
 given to the city of Venice by the nuns of 
 San Zaccaria, a very wealthy convent. It 
 was made of pure gold and gorgeously dec- 
 orated with jewels. The Doge always wore 
 it on occasions of great ceremony, as the 
 symbol of his sovereignty." 
 
 " That leaves the three balls for Saint 
 61
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 Nicholas. Was he a pawnbroker before he 
 was converted ? " asked Margaret. 
 
 " No, but he was quite as popular with very 
 poor people. He was, and is now, the patron 
 saint and protector of the poor, and particu- 
 larly of little children. In Russia, in Ger- 
 many, and in all Catholic countries, children 
 are taught to consider themselves under the 
 especial care of - this saint. You American 
 children do him honor, for he is none other 
 than our dear Santa Claus, that name being an 
 abbreviation or corruption of Saint Nicholas. 
 
 "You can find a number of stories about 
 those three balls, but the one most frequently 
 told is this." 
 
 THE LEGEND OF SAINT NICHOLAS 
 
 The balls are really three bags of money. 
 
 Saint Nicholas was very rich, but he spent 
 all his money doing good. 
 
 In the city over which he presided as 
 Bishop lived a certain nobleman who had 
 three very beautiful daughters. 
 
 62 '
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 This man, growing poorer day by day, 
 could see no way of providing for his 
 daughters except by selling them into slav- 
 ery, because he could give them no marriage 
 portions. 
 
 At last they had not even bread enough 
 to eat, and the father was in despair. 
 
 Saint Nicholas, learning of their distress, 
 passed under the windows of their home one 
 dark night and tossed in a bag of gold. 
 With this the nobleman portioned his oldest 
 daughter. 
 
 63
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 Again did the good Bishop throw a bag 
 of gold through the window, and with it the 
 second daughter was married off. 
 
 But when Saint Nicholas came a third 
 time, the nobleman, who had been watching 
 in hopes of discovering his benefactor, saw 
 him, and, falling at his feet, kissed them 
 gratefully. 
 
 Saint Nicholas, however, made the noble- 
 man promise not to tell any one who had 
 helped his daughters, for the Bishop was one 
 of those people " who do good by stealth 
 and blush to find it fame." 
 
 64
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE IMP OF LINCOLN 
 
 IF Aunt Belle is not too tired, there is 
 just time for one more story before 
 lunch," said Mrs. Staats. " That must 
 satisfy you for to-day. Indeed, I do not be- 
 lieve your small heads can carry all you 
 have heard this morning." 
 
 " I am not at all tired, and I love these old 
 legends as much as the children do. You 
 choose next, Genevieve, as a reward for tell- 
 ing your story so prettily." 
 
 " Miss Belle, to hear about so many saints 
 at one time has made me feel so hopelessly 
 naughty," sighed Genevieve, " suppose you 
 tell us next about this jolly-looking little 
 Devil. Maybe that will even things up a 
 little by making me feel that there are worse 
 beings than myself." 
 5 65
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 " It is rather queer," began Miss Belle, 
 " but the home of that saucy little chap is in 
 a famous cathedral, and we must go all the 
 way to England to learn about him. 
 
 " A few hours' ride from London is the old 
 town of Lincoln. It scrambles up and down 
 
 the sides of a hill, the 
 summit of which is 
 crowned by one of the grandest cathedrals 
 in the world, and on that hilltop the wind 
 seems never to stop blowing. 
 
 " In the old monastic days it is said that 
 each newly appointed Bishop was obliged to 
 
 66
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 ascend this hill on his knees, but I suppose 
 the glory awaiting him at the end of this 
 penance was compensation for the humiliat- 
 ing method of reaching it. 
 
 "In the Lincoln Cathedral, the ' choir ' 
 or place occupied by the priests and choris- 
 ters while chanting the service is a won- 
 derful example of pure 
 Gothic architecture, and 
 it is called the 'Angel 
 Choir ' because of its 
 many beautifully sculp- ';( 
 tured angels. 
 
 " Seated in the midst 
 of this angelic host you 
 will see that little Imp, 
 his ears cocked up im- 
 pertinently, and one leg carelessly crossed 
 over the other. 
 
 " The old legend I am going to tell you 
 about says that as long as he sits there in- 
 side the cathedral the wind must keep on 
 blowing outside. 
 
 67
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 " Near the cathedral is a little shop where 
 photographs of the church and images of the 
 Imp are sold, and here also you can buy the 
 legend of the Imp quaintly told in rhyme. 
 
 " I am going to read this to you, because it 
 tells the story so very much better than I can 
 relate it." 
 
 THE LEGEND OF THE IMP OF LINCOLN 
 
 The Devil was in a good-humor one day, 
 And let out his sprightly young demons to play. 
 One dived in the sea, and was not at all wet ; 
 One jumped in a furnace, no scorch did he get; 
 One rode on a rainbow; one played with the dirt; 
 One handled forked lightning, nor got any hurt; 
 One rode on the wind, as he would on a steed, 
 And thus to " Old Lindum " was carried with 
 
 speed. 
 " And now," says the Imp, " take me into the 
 
 church, 
 
 His Lordship of Lindum we '11 knock off his perch. 
 We'll blowup the Chapter, and blowup the Dean, 
 The Canons we'll cannon right over the screen. 
 We '11 blow up the singers, bass, tenor, and boy, 
 And the blower himself shall a blowing enjoy. 
 68
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 The organist, too, shall right speedily find 
 That I '11 go one better in raising the wind. 
 We '11 blow out the windows and blow out the lights, 
 Tear vestments to tatters, put ritual to rights. 
 Now the wind has his faults, but you '11 find on the 
 
 whole, 
 
 If somewhat uncouth, he 's an orthodox soul; 
 He would n't blow hard on a Monarch, I ween, 
 Nor ruffle the robes of a Bishop or Dean. 
 And if for Dissenters he cares not the least, 
 You won't catch him blowing up Deacon or Priest. 
 The man in the street he may rudely unrig, 
 But he snatches not Judge's or Barrister's wig. 
 When he enters a church, as the musical know, 
 T is only to make the great organ pipes blow. 
 So in sorrowful anger he said to the elf, 
 " No ! here / shall stop, you may go by yourself." 
 The impudent Imp in derision replied, 
 " Such half-hearted folks are much better outside. 
 To force you to enter I cannot, but see, 
 Till I've finished my fun, you must wait here for 
 
 me" 
 
 Then he entered the porch in an imp-ious way, 
 Declaring the nave should be spell'd with a k. 
 He roamed through each transept, he stroll'd in 
 
 each aisle, 
 Then he thought in the choir he would romp for 
 
 a while. 
 
 69
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 As he passed 'neath the rood no obeisance he 
 
 made, 
 
 No rev'rence at all to the altar he paid. 
 He thumbed both the Priest's and the Chorister's 
 
 books, 
 
 And cast on the saints his most insolent looks. 
 The chalice and patens were safe in a box; 
 He was stopp'd in the act of unpicking the locks. 
 For, seeing some angels, he cried, " Pretty things, 
 A sackful of feathers I '11 pluck from your wings, 
 To make me a couch when I 'm tired of this joke." 
 Ah ! soon he was sorry that rudely he spoke, 
 For the tiniest angel in dignified tone 
 Cried, " Imp-ious Imp, be ye turned into stone ! " 
 As he was, as you '11 see when to Lincoln you 
 
 stray ; 
 And the wind has been waiting outside till this 
 
 day. 
 
 You can't see the wind, but no matter for that ; 
 Believe ! or he '11 rob you of cloak or of hat. 
 
 " How do you feel now, Genevieve ? " slyly 
 asked Marie. 
 
 " Hungry," was the prompt reply, for just 
 then the luncheon bell rang. 
 
 70
 
 CHAPTER ..IX 
 
 THE SANTISSIMO BAMBINO THE MADONNA 
 OF SAN AGOSTINO 
 
 f ~^HE next morning dawned with the 
 rain still falling steadily. 
 
 " I am afraid, children," said Mrs. 
 Staats, as she stood looking out of the din- 
 ing-room window, " that you have struck very 
 bad weather, and will not be able to have 
 much outdoor pleasure during your visit." 
 
 " Do not bother about that," said Gene- 
 vieve, who never would look at the dark side 
 of things. "We can have good weather and 
 tennis and that sort of thing at any time, 
 but Miss Belle and her stories are very 
 scarce articles, so we will take all we can 
 get, and be thankful." 
 
 The other girls echoed these sentiments, 
 and before long they were all comfortably
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 seated in the big hall, waiting for Marie 
 Gardiner to select a charm. 
 
 " Here is a little silver baby wrapped up 
 something like an In- 
 dian papoose," she 
 finally said, " only this 
 baby wears a crown. 
 Is it a royal baby, Miss 
 Belle?" ' 
 
 " No, indeed ! It is 
 a far more important 
 personage. That is the 
 ' Santissimo Bambino,' 
 the ' Holy Baby' of 
 Rome. It is very often 
 called the ' Miraculous 
 Little Doctor of Rome,' 
 because, according to 
 the popular belief, it has effected more won- 
 derful cures and earned more money by its 
 services than all the medical men in Rome 
 put together. 
 
 " What does it look like ? you ask." 
 72
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 THE SANTISSIMO BAMBINO 
 
 . The Santissimo Bambino is a large wooden 
 doll, wrapped, as are nearly all Italian babies, 
 in swaddling clothes, and it wears a crown, 
 just as you see it on the charm-string. Baby 
 and crown are covered with a mass of gold 
 and jewelled ornaments, the gifts of people 
 who believe themselves to have been cured 
 by the Bambino's help, and its history, so far 
 as I could learn it, is as wonderful as its cures. 
 Long, long ago there lived in Palestine a 
 Franciscan monk, who desired very much to 
 own an image of the infant Jesus, to hang on 
 the bare walls of his little cell. 
 
 He was too poor to buy one, so he cut a 
 piece of wood from a tree that was growing 
 on the Mount of Olives, and out of this 
 carved the figure of a little child. 
 
 The monk could carve quite well, but he 
 knew very little about the art of painting, 
 and all his efforts to color the features of his 
 image were very unsatisfactory. 
 
 73
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 One day, when he felt completely dis- 
 couraged by his many failures, he happened 
 to remember that Saint Luke, while on earth, 
 had painted several pictures of the Virgin 
 Mary and of Christ. 
 
 The pious monk fasted all day, praying 
 earnestly to Saint Luke for help and inspira- 
 tion, and went to sleep at night feeling sure 
 that his prayers would be answered. While 
 he was sleeping, Saint Luke came down from 
 heaven and finished painting the little image. 
 
 Saint Luke was a physician as well as an 
 artist, so perhaps he also gave to the Bam- 
 bino its miraculous power of healing. 
 
 When the monk awoke and saw the sweet 
 face of the child Jesus smiling at him, he 
 was overcome with joy, and, falling on his 
 knees, offered grateful thanks to the kind 
 saint who had given him such great hap- 
 piness. 
 
 It now became the monk's earnest de- 
 sire to show this wonderful image to the 
 Pope. 
 
 74
 
 RlizabetUs Charm-String 
 
 Receiving permission to travel from the 
 Father Superior of his convent, the monk 
 started on his long journey to Rome; but, 
 sad to relate, the vessel on which he sailed 
 was wrecked, and every soul on board 
 perished. 
 
 The only thing that escaped the general 
 destruction was the little Bambino, which by 
 some supernatural means perhaps by the 
 aid of Saint Luke was floated along the 
 Mediterranean Sea and the river Tiber, 
 until it rested at the foot of the Capitoline 
 Hill at Rome. 
 
 On this hill stands the old, old church of 
 Ara Cceli ; this name means " Highest 
 Heaven," and is very appropriate, because to 
 reach the front portals of this church you 
 must climb up one hundred and twenty-four 
 steep stone steps. 
 
 Nobody seems to know just when or how 
 the monks and priests first discovered the 
 miraculous power of the Santissimo Bam- 
 bino, but its fame spread abroad very rapidly. 
 75
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 Whenever anybody was seriously ill the 
 Bambino would be sent for, and its mere 
 presence in the sick room apparently worked 
 
 a cure, or at 
 least gave re- 
 lief from suf- 
 fering. 
 
 In the old 
 monastic days 
 the Santissimo 
 Bambino al- 
 ways had its 
 own private 
 attendants; 
 carriages and 
 horses were 
 kept for its 
 especial use. 
 When it was 
 
 sent on its charitable errands it was ac- 
 companied by priests and acolytes, carrying 
 lighted candles and burning incense, and as 
 they passed through the streets every person 
 76 

 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 they met was obliged to bare the head and 
 kneel reverently. Indeed, to a slight extent, 
 I believe this is still the case. 
 
 " I will tell you yet another wonderful 
 adventure of this Bambino." 
 
 A SECOND LEGEND 
 
 Once upon a time a certain invalid lady, 
 who had been greatly benefited by a short 
 visit from the Santissimo Bambino, thought 
 it would be a very fine thing if she could 
 have it always with her. 
 
 So she had an exact copy of the " Holy 
 Baby " made, and then begged for another 
 visit from the " Miraculous Little Doctor." 
 
 After the attendants had gone away, leav- 
 ing the Bambino alone with the sick lady, 
 she dressed the false baby in the clothes of 
 the real one. So exact was the resemblance 
 that the fraud was not detected when the 
 priests returned to carry the Bambino home. 
 
 During the night, which was a very stormy 
 77
 
 Elizabettis Charm-String 
 
 one, the monks of Ara Cceli were awakened 
 by a loud ringing of bells and heavy knocks 
 on the church doors, mingled with the plain- 
 tive cries of a little child. 
 
 When they opened the front doors there 
 in the rain stood the poor little Bambino, 
 naked, and shivering with cold. 
 
 The monks could scarcely believe their 
 eyes, for they thought that their precious 
 baby was safe and sound in its golden 
 box. 
 
 Going to the sacristy, they examined the 
 Bambino they had put away so carefully, and 
 the deception was quickly discovered. 
 
 Stripped of its stolen finery, the false 
 baby was returned to the wicked lady who 
 had been guilty of this sacrilege. 
 
 The real Bambino was restored to its 
 glory and its home, and from that day to 
 this has never been left alone when sent on 
 its errands of mercy. 
 
 In this church of Ara Cceli is a chapel 
 called the " Presepio," or " Manger," which 
 78
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 is opened only between Christmas Eve and 
 the Feast of Epiphany, which falls on the 
 6th of January. 
 
 Here is shown a tableau representing the 
 birth of Christ: in front are the Virgin Mary 
 and Saint Joseph ; beside them the manger 
 where the Christ-child lies, and behind stand 
 an ox and an ass ; at the sides kneel the 
 wondering shepherds, and the kings from 
 the east with their gifts ; above is God the 
 Father and a cloud of the angelic host. The 
 life-sized figures are carved from wood, and 
 so admirably painted and costumed that 
 they look almost like real people. 
 
 On Christmas Eve the Santissimo Bam- 
 bino is taken from the sacristy and carried 
 by the priests of Ara Cceli in a grand pro- 
 cession to this chapel, and placed in the man- 
 ger to represent the infant Jesus. The old 
 church is dark and gloomy, but the chapel 
 is brilliantly lighted, and the whole effect 
 is very, very beautiful. 
 
 Around one of the church pillars at this 
 79
 
 Rlizabettis Charm-String 
 
 time a platform is erected, and here, every 
 afternoon, little children recite and sing in ' 
 honor of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of 
 their beloved " Bambino Jesu." 
 
 The scenes outside the church are quite 
 as interesting as those within, for the long 
 flight of steps is filled with a motley crowd 
 of people. Peddlers with baskets full of 
 Christmas toys, rosaries, medals, and images 
 and pictures of the Bambino cry their wares 
 and urge people to buy. They probably do a 
 thriving business, for I suppose every person 
 in Rome, be he rich or poor, noble or peasant, 
 Roman or foreigner, goes to the Ara Cceli 
 during the twelve days the " Presepio " is open 
 and the Santissimo Bambino is on view. 
 
 The Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated 
 in honor of the visit of the " wise men from 
 the east," who went to Bethlehem to worship 
 the young Child. 
 
 On that day there is always a very grand 
 vesper service at the Ara Cceli. 
 
 The altar is decorated profusely with flow- 
 So
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 ers and ablaze with lights. The priests wear 
 their most gorgeous vestments, and frequently 
 a Cardinal officiates. 
 
 After the benediction is pronounced, the 
 priests and acolytes, some swinging the sil- 
 ver incense burners, some carrying lighted 
 candles and gay banners, march from the 
 high altar to the " Manger." The Bambino 
 is lifted from its place by the officiating 
 priest, and the procession makes the circuit 
 of the church, stopping at the front door to 
 show the Bambino to the crowds kneeling 
 outside. 
 
 Then the chapel is closed until the next 
 Christmas Eve, and the Santissimo Bambino 
 goes back to rest in the sacristy until there 
 is another request for its presence and help. 
 
 "And do the Italians really believe that 
 the Bambino itself works all these miracles ? " 
 asked Elizabeth. 
 
 It was quite a little while before Miss 
 Belle replied to her niece. 
 6 81
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 " My dear," she said at last, " I hardly 
 know how to answer you." 
 
 THE MADONNA OF SAINT AGOSTINO 
 
 The Italian peasantry have but little edu- 
 cation, and many of them are very, very poor. 
 They are intensely imaginative and deeply 
 religious; all the beauty and poetry in 
 their lives seem to reach them one way or 
 another through the church, and it is not 
 at all astonishing to find that so many of the 
 lower classes believe implicitly in the Santis- 
 simo Bambino's power to heal. 
 
 A large number of Italian churches con- 
 tain a miracle-working image or picture, all 
 of which goes to prove that such things 
 have a powerful hold on the imaginations 
 of these simple peasants. 
 
 Educated people have, of course, long ago 
 outgrown these mediaeval beliefs, but many 
 of them think that an object which has been 
 held in veneration for several hundred years 
 is entitled to respect on that score alone. 
 
 82
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 I have seen many men and women of 
 refinement and good education kiss the foot 
 of a miracle-working Madonna as humbly 
 as the ragged, ignorant peasant kneeling 
 beside them. Most of these figures and pic- 
 tures have many touching stories connected 
 with them. 
 
 In the great church of Saint Agostino 
 in Rome is a famous Madonna which was 
 sculptured by skilful hands several hundred 
 years ago. 
 
 At the end of the church where her chapel 
 stands, the walls are completely covered 
 with the grateful offerings of the people 
 whom she has helped, and the sweet-faced 
 Madonna is herself covered with jewels. 
 
 One story as told to me was very sweet 
 and touching. It said that the first prayer 
 for the Madonna's help came from a peasant 
 woman too poor to get medicine for her 
 only son, who lay sick unto death. She 
 implored the Madonna for the sake of the 
 little Jesus to help her. 
 
 83
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 The pitying "Mother" sadly answered 
 that she would do so gladly, but was herself 
 so poor that she could offer only her prayers 
 for the sick child's recovery. 
 
 The good God answered her prayer and 
 the boy was entirely cured of his illness. 
 
 The grateful peasant told other women 
 how the Blessed Mother was as poor as 
 they were, and these simple, kindly people 
 began bringing the Madonna their humble 
 offerings, so that never again would she 
 be unable to help those who sought her 
 aid. 
 
 " Oh, that is a lovely story, Miss Belle," 
 cried Genevieve, " but why does not some- 
 body put all these stories into a book for 
 us?" 
 
 " Plenty of somebodies have done so, my 
 dear, but you have never had your attention 
 drawn to them before." 
 
 " I can almost see the dust pile up on the 
 covers of Genevieve 's fairy-books now, while 
 
 84
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 *she devours legends of saints and madonnas," 
 said Elizabeth, teasingly. 
 
 " If she will only learn the beautiful 
 lessons taught between the lines, she can 
 read nothing better," her Aunt replied 
 gently.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE LEGEND OF SAINT URSULA 
 
 MISS BELLE, here are three 
 silver arrows fastened together, 
 and where they cross each other 
 is a little ruby just like a drop of blood. Are 
 they the symbol of a martyr who was pierced 
 by three arrows ? " 
 
 " Yes, Alma, an arrow is the symbol of 
 Saint Ursula, the patron saint of maiden- 
 hood, who, with her eleven thousand maids 
 of honor, was martyred at Cologne. Her 
 legend is very picturesque, and was always 
 a favorite subject in the art and literature of 
 the Middle Ages. 
 
 " All manner of doubt has been cast on its 
 probability, but the most sceptical people 
 admit that it is based on the certain fact that 
 a noble German maiden and a number of her 
 companions were massacred in the near neigh- 
 
 86
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 borhood of Cologne because of their religion. 
 The exact date of this event is still a matter 
 of dispute, but the legend can be traced back 
 to the year 600 A.D. 
 
 " The number of maidens killed was first 
 definitely mentioned about the year 922 A.D. 
 by Herman, Bishop of Cologne. Prosaic 
 people insist that this number is founded on 
 a mistake, made in translating the abbrevia- 
 tion 'XI. M. V.' to read 'eleven thousand 
 virgins' instead of 'eleven martyr virgins.' 
 Still others assert that Saint Ursula had but 
 one attendant. 
 
 " However that may have been, it is quite 
 as easy to believe that these remarkable 
 adventures happened to eleven thousand as 
 to eleven virgins, and the larger number 
 certainly makes the story more dramatic 
 and exciting. 
 
 " In the art galleries of Europe you will find 
 Saint Ursula's legend frequently pictured. 
 It seems to have been very popular with the 
 artists of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. 
 
 87
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 " There are two famous series of pictures 
 setting forth the history of Saint Ursula, and 
 both were painted towards the end of the 
 fifteenth century. 
 
 " One series is the work of Carpaccio, the 
 Italian artist who painted the ' story ' picture 
 of Saint George and the dragon that Gene- 
 vieve told you about. These pictures are 
 now in the Art Academy at Venice, but 
 were originally intended for the chapel in 
 the school of Saint Ursula. This was a 
 school devoted to the free education of young 
 orphan girls, and so was very naturally placed 
 under the protection of Saint Ursula. 
 
 " The second series was painted by a Ger- 
 man artist, Hans Memling. You will find 
 these pictures in the sleepy old town of 
 Bruges in Belgium. They are the pride of 
 the Hospital of Saint John, and very appro- 
 priately decorate a magnificent gold casket, 
 said to contain an arm of Saint Ursula. 
 
 " The Memling pictures, being miniatures, 
 are possibly the more interesting of the two 
 
 88
 
 Elizabetfis Charm-String 
 
 series, and the quaint daintiness of the figures 
 and their exquisite coloring make the mem- 
 ory of these little paintings 'a joy forever.' 
 " Now for the legend." 
 
 THE LEGEND OF SAINT 
 URSULA 
 
 Long, long ago there 
 reigned in Brittany a 
 certain King Theono- 
 tus and his Queen, 
 Daria. They were 
 Christians, and had an 
 only child, a beautiful 
 little girl called Ursula. 
 far superior to that given even to men in 
 those days, and she studied all the " ologies " 
 and "onomies" known to science. One 
 story says that " she had by heart everything 
 that had happened in the world since the 
 time of Adam." 
 
 Queen Daria died when her daughter was 
 about fifteen years old. In spite of her 
 
 89 
 
 Her education was
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 youth, Ursula was so well trained and so 
 capable that she at once took her mother's 
 place at the Court of Brittany. 
 
 She was not only perfectly beautiful and 
 learned, but also so pious and kind-hearted 
 that her fame spread all over Europe, and 
 many kings and princes wished to marry her. 
 She refused them all, because she had really 
 made up her mind never to marry, but to 
 devote her life to the cause of Christ and 
 the spread of Christianity. 
 
 In those days, England was a pagan coun- 
 try, ruled by the powerful King Agrippinus. 
 He had an only son, whose name was Conon. 
 This Prince was also noted for his beauty of 
 face and figure, his prowess in war, and his 
 enormous strength. 
 
 Hearing of Ursula's beauty and wonder- 
 ful attainments, Conon made up his mind 
 that he would marry her. Accordingly, King 
 Agrippinus sent ambassadors to Brittany to 
 demand the hand of Ursula for his son. 
 
 King Theonotus received the ambassadors 
 90
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 very courteously, but was somewhat un- 
 certain what answer to send back to En^- 
 
 O 
 
 land. He was afraid to offend this English 
 King by refusing his request, and yet he 
 knew that his daughter would refuse to 
 marry Prince Conon ; but he had great faith 
 in Ursula's tact and wisdom, and she proved 
 worthy of it, for she settled the matter to the 
 entire satisfaction of all concerned. 
 
 A grand entertainment was given in honor 
 of the ambassadors, and Ursula received 
 them in state, arrayed in royal robes, seated 
 on a throne at her father's side. 
 
 She told them that she felt highly honored 
 at being asked in marriage by a man of such 
 renown as Prince Conon, son of the mighty 
 King Agrippinus. She reminded them that 
 never before had she given a second thought 
 to other men who had sought her hand ; but 
 now she would agree to marry Prince Conon 
 on three conditions. 
 
 First, he was to give Ursula as maids of 
 honor the ten virgins of highest rank in his
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 kingdom, and each one of these maidens 
 must have a thousand maiden attendants ; 
 and there must be still another thousand for 
 Ursula's personal service. 
 
 Second, Conon was not to claim her as 
 his bride for three years, and during this time 
 she and her eleven thousand virgins were to 
 be allowed to visit the holy shrines, where 
 reposed the relics of the greatest martyrs. 
 
 Third, Conon and his Court must be 
 baptized, for she refused to marry any man 
 other than a Christian. 
 
 Now the story hints that Ursula hoped 
 that these conditions would prove too hard 
 for Conon to accept ; or, if he did agree to 
 them, then at least she would have won all 
 these thousands of souls to Christ. 
 
 The ambassadors returned to England, 
 and gave such glowing accounts of Ursula's 
 beauty and cleverness, that Conon agreed at 
 once to all three conditions. 
 
 Then King Agrippinus sent heralds to 
 every part of the world over which he 
 92
 
 Rlizabetfts Charm-String 
 
 had power, and commanded the maidens of 
 noblest birth and greatest beauty to come 
 to England. When the requisite number 
 were gathered together, they were all sent 
 to Brittany. 
 
 Here Ursula welcomed them with joyful- 
 ness, and she, by her eloquence and good- 
 ness and her knowledge of everything that 
 concerned Christianity, soon converted them 
 all, and they were baptized in a clear stream 
 that flowed through the gardens of King 
 Theonotus. 
 
 Then, since Conon had agreed to all her 
 conditions, she invited him to come to 
 Brittany and see her, before she with her 
 eleven thousand attendants set off on their 
 journey to the holy shrines. 
 
 So Conon came to visit King Theonotus, 
 and was received with all the honor and 
 splendor due to so great a Prince. He of 
 course fell madly in love with Ursula, and 
 thought no conditions were too hard that 
 could win him such a bride. 
 93
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 Ursula requested Conon to remain in 
 Brittany during her absence, and help King 
 Theonotus with the government of the 
 country; and if it should happen that God 
 did not permit her to return, then Conon 
 was to inherit the kingdom and reign in 
 her stead. 
 
 A few days later, Ursula and her eleven 
 thousand virgins embarked on board a fleet 
 of ships especially prepared for their journey. 
 No sailors accompanied them, but these 
 noble maidens were miraculously endowed 
 with the skill and strength necessary to 
 manage the sails, and steer the vessel safely. 
 
 They had intended to sail towards the 
 south, but instead, the vessels were all 
 guided by this same mysterious power to the 
 mouth of the Rhine and as far as Cologne. 
 Here Saint Ursula had a vision, in which 
 she was told that she and all her maidens 
 would suffer martyrdom on their return to 
 this city. 
 
 They sailed up the river to Basel ; here 
 94
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 [01 
 
 ^gitgisg^ 
 
 they left the vessels and crossed the Alps 
 on foot. Six angels guided their footsteps 
 by day. Heaven sent them food, as manna 
 was sent to the Children of Israel ; obstacles 
 in their path dis- 
 appeared as by k:\ 
 magic; chasms M */ : - \\ 
 were bridged as 
 they approached ; 
 the waters of 
 mountain tor- 
 rents parted, and 
 allowed them to 
 pass over dry 
 shod, and at night 
 tents were myste- 
 riously prepared to 
 shelter them. 
 
 Day after day this army of Christian 
 maidens marched along, singing hymns of 
 praise and thanksgiving to the God who was 
 protecting them. Saint Ursula had related 
 her vision to them, and one and all rejoiced 
 95 
 
 X&vpR 
 
 ^F\\-. '
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 to learn that they had been found worthy to 
 die for Christ. 
 
 At length they reached the Tiber River, 
 and were soon at Rome, where they were 
 to visit the shrines of Saint Peter and Saint 
 Paul. 
 
 At that time Cyriacus was Bishop of 
 Rome, a very holy and very learned man. 
 He had heard nothing concerning the pil- 
 grimage of Ursula and her eleven thousand 
 virgins, and when he learned that all these 
 beautiful, pious maidens had arrived at Rome, 
 he was of course very much astonished, and 
 the tradition says even a little bit frightened. 
 So, attired in his pontifical robes, and accom- 
 panied by all the Roman priests and prelates 
 in procession, he went forth to meet Ursula 
 and her attendants. 
 
 Ursula knelt before Cyriacus and.explained 
 the reasons for this visit to Rome, related 
 the wonderful experiences they had met with 
 on their journey, and implored the blessing 
 of Cyriacus on herself and her companions. 
 96
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 The Bishop not only gave them his bless- 
 ing, but did all in his power for their honor 
 and entertainment. In order that they might 
 not be interrupted in their devotions, and to 
 save them annoyance from curious people, 
 tents were pitched for them on a great plain, 
 just outside the walls of Rome. 
 
 Now, while Ursula and her maidens were 
 receiving the blessing of Cyriacus, who should 
 arrive at Rome but Prince Conon. He had 
 grown weary of waiting for Ursula's return, 
 and alarmed because no word had been sent 
 to Brittany from the pilgrims, and so he set 
 out to search for her himself. 
 
 
 
 Conon was uncertain how best to begin 
 his quest, but knowing that Ursula intended 
 to visit Rome, he journeyed to that city by 
 a different route, and by a strange coinci- 
 dence reached Rome on the very same day 
 as Ursula. 
 
 Prince Conon knelt beside Ursula to re- 
 ceive the blessing of the good Bishop also, 
 and requested that he might receive baptism 
 7 97
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 at the hands of Cyriacus. Ursula related to 
 Conon the vision which had prophesied a 
 martyr's death for herself and her eleven 
 thousand virgins ; and, inspired by his new 
 
 zeal for Christ, Conon prayed to be allowed 
 to share this martyrdom. 
 
 After this glorious company of maidens 
 had paid their respects to the shrines of 
 Saint Peter and Saint Paul, they were eager 
 98
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 to start on their return journey. The Bishop 
 of Rome tried to persuade them to stay longer, 
 but they were all too desirous of seeking that 
 " martyr's crown already laid up for them in 
 heaven." 
 
 Now it happened that two famous Roman 
 generals, both of them heathens, were visit- 
 ing Rome at the very time Ursula and her 
 maidens were there. They were amazed 
 at the sight of all these lovely young girls, 
 and appalled at the thought -that so many 
 zealous Christians were going together to 
 Cologne. They feared the whole German 
 nation would be converted by means of so 
 much beauty and piety, and made up their 
 minds to ward off such a blow to the pagan 
 power. 
 
 Accordingly, they sent a warning to the 
 King of the Huns, who, with his barbarians, 
 was besieging Cologne, and instructed him 
 on no account to permit these eleven thou- 
 sand virgins to enter that city. 
 
 Ursula and her attendants, accompanied 
 99
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 by Prince Conon, Cyriacus, and a number 
 of priests, set sail, and after a long and 
 dangerous voyage reached Cologne and 
 disembarked. 
 
 They found the city surrounded by the 
 pagan army, and when these fierce war- 
 riors saw a fleet of vessels arrive filled with 
 beautiful virgins, instead of soldiers to re- 
 inforce the besieged city, they at first 
 were too surprised to remember the instruc- 
 tions sent by the Roman generals to their 
 King. 
 
 Suddenly they rushed upon their victims. 
 Prince Conon was the first to fall ; pierced 
 to the heart by an arrow, he died at the feet 
 of his beloved Ursula. 
 
 How these brave virgins helped and sup- 
 ported each other ! Ursula was here, there, 
 everywhere, with words of love and encour- 
 agement, urging her companions not to re- 
 sist these soldiers, but to suffer martyrdom 
 willingly and gladly for Christ's sake. 
 
 After the Huns had killed all the men 
 100
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 they fell upon the maidens, and slaughtered 
 them like sheep. By hundreds they were 
 massacred, until the plains ran with their 
 blood. But these barbarians were afraid of 
 Ursula ; they could not understand the 
 power she wielded over her companions. 
 Instead of killing her they carried her to 
 their King. 
 
 This pagan ruler had never dreamed of 
 any one so beautiful as this dauntless virgin. 
 He bade her not to weep for her lost maid- 
 ens, as he intended to spare her life and 
 make her his Queen. 
 
 Indignantly Ursula repulsed him with 
 these words : " O thou cruel man ! blind 
 and senseless as thou art cruel ! Thinkest 
 thou I can weep? Or dost thou hold me 
 so base, so cowardly, that I would consent 
 to survive my dear companions and sisters ? 
 Thou art deceived, O son of Satan! for I 
 defy thee and him whom thou servest! " 
 
 These scornful words made the King of 
 the Huns so furious that he seized his 
 101
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 bow and shot three arrows into Ursula's 
 heart. 
 
 And she fell before him, dead in body, 
 but alive in Christ for evermore. 
 
 " And so ends the story of Saint Ursula 
 and her eleven thousand virgins." 
 
 102
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE EVIL EYE AND THE LUCK CHARMS 
 
 Y ""^HERE was a moment's silence, 
 broken by an exclamation from 
 M Margaret. She held in her hand a 
 bit of pink coral, sharply pointed and curv- 
 ing like a horn. 
 
 " Oh, Miss Belle ! I have seen a charm like 
 this one before ; the Italian peddler who 
 brings us bananas and oranges every week 
 wears one very much like it. He says it 
 will keep off the * Evil Eye,' whatever that 
 may be. Will you tell us what it means ? " 
 
 "Yes, my dear, and you will find several 
 other charms of the same nature. I will tell 
 about all of them, and then you will under- 
 stand how they fit into each other. All 
 Italians, the Neapolitans in particular, are 
 more or less superstitious, generally more, and 
 103
 
 RlizabetJis Charm-String 
 
 one thing the fear of which seems to pervade 
 all classes is the ' Jettatura ' or ' Evil Eye.' ' 
 
 THE EVIL EYE 
 
 They believe that the eyes of some people 
 throw out hurtful rays, and that the direct 
 glance of such eyes (some authorities say only 
 the first direct glance given in the morning) 
 will bring certain misfortune to the man or 
 beast receiving it. It is almost impossible 
 to trace the first reason why this capacity for 
 evil is ascribed to a certain person; it may 
 arise from some trifling coincidence, or from 
 a word dropped by some spiteful neighbor. 
 
 Its owner is probably as innocent of evil 
 intentions as a baby, but whatever the cause, 
 if this reputation is once acquired, the unfor- 
 tunate possessor seldom gets rid of it, and 
 the simplest actions often seem proof that it 
 is deserved. By way of illustration I will 
 tell you a little anecdote I once heard. 
 
 The reign of Pope Pius IX was very 
 stormy and eventful, but in some respects 
 104
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 he was one of the most popular popes who 
 ever ruled at the Vatican. 
 
 One day, shortly after his election to the 
 " Chair of Saint Peter," he was driving 
 through the city, and, chancing to look 
 upward, his eyes fell 
 directly on a little 
 baby, held by its nurse 
 near an open window. 
 
 At that instant the 
 child gave a sudden 
 start, fell from the 
 woman's arms to the 
 pavement below, and 
 was instantly killed. 
 
 Now nobody was 
 silly enough to sup- 
 pose that this beloved 
 Pope a very gracious and kind-hearted 
 man intended to harm this innocent little 
 child, yet to the day of his death Pius IX 
 was accused by his enemies of possessing 
 the "Evil Eye." 
 
 105
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 The little coral horn is supposed to ward 
 off entirely this baneful influence, just how 
 I cannot say, unless the glances cast by 
 the " Evil Eye " are impaled on its sharp 
 point. At any rate, the charm is worn by 
 nearly everybody in Italy, high and low, 
 educated and ignorant, from the King and 
 Queen to their lowliest subject. 
 
 There are many other charms worn to 
 bring good or avert bad luck. Look at that 
 tiny hunchbacked man holding his hat in 
 the act of bowing : to meet and be greeted 
 by a hunchback is believed to bring one a 
 piece of good fortune or a great happiness. 
 
 Miss Belle turned over the charms, laugh- 
 ing as she did so. 
 
 " In my school days," she continued, " when 
 one little girl became very, very angry with 
 another she would say, ' I cross my fingers 
 on you,' making at the same time a sign 
 something like this." Miss Belle held up 
 a silver hand, with the middle finger crossed 
 over the first one. 
 
 1 06
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 " This gesture is a sign of anger, and is 
 supposed to invoke a curse on the head of 
 the person against whom it is made. Like a 
 flash the hand of the latter will be extended 
 in this fashion." Here Miss Belle picked 
 out a second little hand, with the first and 
 little fingers extended like horns, while the 
 thumb held the other fingers against the 
 palm of the hand. 
 
 " This charm turns aside the malediction, 
 causing it to fall harmless. The sign of the 
 two horns is also made at the approach of 
 any person supposed to possess the ' Evil 
 Eye,' but in that case it is made stealthily, 
 for it is a deadly insult to even insinu- 
 ate that any person owns that very unde- 
 sirable attribute. As I have already told 
 you, such an accusation is always made 
 secretly, and no one ever knows when, 
 where, or how the first suspicion of it is 
 whispered. 
 
 " In Naples, where I bought these silver 
 hands, there seems to be a superstition of 
 107
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 some kind attached 
 to nearly everything 
 one says or does. 
 
 "If while 
 talking to a 
 
 N eapolitan 
 
 .-"- ww''"f " f'^Y'ffx ' 
 
 f(f$\i\'$ sP |||M_.- P easant y u 
 
 happen to 
 
 rJtW/fM** 1 
 
 %p praise any- 
 
 thing belong- 
 ing to him, his 
 children, his home, his 
 crops, he will probably 
 spit at your feet ; if you 
 happen to be posted as 
 to the proper thing to 
 do, you will certainly 
 expectorate in return. 
 
 " I used to wonder if this very inelegant 
 practice was not first cousin to the almost 
 universal custom of ' knocking on wood,' 
 when we speak too confidently of present 
 good fortune. Some day I mean to study 
 1 08
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 up the origin of some of these queer super- 
 stitions, because I enjoy these old stories 
 quite as much as any of you children." 
 
 " Please put them into a story-book, Miss 
 Belle," said Alma, " and give each of us a 
 copy, with the autograph of the talented 
 compiler on the fly-leaf." 
 
 109
 
 3* W''- 1 ^-'--' 1 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE LEGEND OF COLOGNE CATHEDRAL 
 
 YOU children are getting too 
 greedy," interrupted Mrs. Staats, 
 laughingly. " Belle, you have 
 given each of the little girls a chance; now 
 will you not allow us grown people to have 
 a turn? 
 
 " I am anxious to know why this pretty 
 medal, with the Cathedral of Cologne so 
 finely etched on one side, should have a devil 
 on the other, horns, hoofs, pitchfork, and all." 
 " It does seem rather contradictory," be- 
 gan Miss Belle, " but somehow or other the 
 Devil seems to have had a finger in that 
 
 1 10
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 cathedral's pie from the time it was first de- 
 signed until it was finished in 1880. Many 
 were the trials, tribulations, and delays the 
 cathedral suffered, and in all of them the 
 Devil seems to have had a share. There 
 are so many legends about the connection 
 of his Satanic Majesty with this church that 
 I may not have pieced them together cor- 
 rectly, but some day you can read them all 
 and judge for yourselves." 
 
 COLOGNE CATHEDRAL 
 
 The first church built on this site is said 
 to date back to the time of Charlemagne 
 in the ninth century, but this edifice (or its 
 successor) was destroyed by fire in 1248. 
 
 When the good and holy Engelbert was 
 made Bishop of Cologne, he decided that the 
 cathedral must be rebuilt, and made up his 
 mind that the new edifice should be the 
 finest the world had ever seen. 
 
 He sent for a young and ambitious archi- 
 tect, and bade him draw the plans for a 
 in
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 cathedral to surpass in grandeur and beauty 
 every other church in the world. 
 
 To this the architect modestly agreed, but 
 as he had not seen all the most famous 
 churches, he asked permission to visit those 
 he knew nothing about except from pictures. 
 
 The Bishop gave him a year's leave of 
 absence, and supplied him with money for 
 his journey. 
 
 The architect made good use of his time, 
 studied diligently, and returned to Cologne 
 prepared, so he thought, to carry out the 
 wishes of Bishop Engelbert. 
 
 Full of enthusiasm, he began his task, but 
 his ringers obstinately refused to execute the 
 ideas that filled his brain; no matter how 
 beautiful the drawing might be, it was not 
 equal to the church of his imagination. 
 
 Again and again he drew the designs. 
 They never satisfied him, and he was almost 
 in despair, for the time allowed him by the 
 Bishop was nearly expired. 
 
 One afternoon he was walking along the 
 
 112
 
 Rlizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 bank of the Rhine, when an inspiration seized 
 him, and with his cane he drew in the hard 
 sand a wonderfully beautiful design. 
 
 Heaving a great sigh of relief, he turned 
 homeward with the intention of putting this 
 drawing on paper, and found himself con- 
 fronted by a little dried-up old man, who, 
 with a jeering laugh, asked why he had drawn 
 the Cathedral of Strassburg on the sand. 
 
 To the architect's great disappointment, 
 a little study proved this to be the case. 
 
 He tried again, and when he had finished 
 the second tracing, turned to the old man 
 and pointed to this new design. 
 
 " What a traveller you must have been," 
 was the sarcastic response. " You have drawn 
 an excellent picture of Canterbury Cathedral." 
 
 The exasperated architect made a third 
 attempt, and again his memory played him 
 false, for the little old man with a sneer sug- 
 gested that the drawing must have been the 
 result of a visit to the Cathedral of Amiens. 
 
 " Very well," retorted the architect, " since 
 8 113
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 you know so much about church architect- 
 ure, suppose you draw an original design 
 yourself." 
 
 The old man laughed in a very irritating 
 manner, and then, seizing the cane, began to 
 draw with incredible rapidity. 
 
 Each line shone as if traced with phospho- 
 rus, disappearing almost as quickly as it was 
 made, but the architect could see that the 
 design was the very one which had so per- 
 sistently eluded him, except that it was even 
 more beautiful than his wildest dreams. 
 
 Overcome with astonishment, he demanded 
 the strange architect's name. 
 
 " I am the Devil," was the startling reply, 
 " and I will give you my design in exchange 
 for your soul." 
 
 The architect indignantly refused this offer 
 and made the sign of the cross. Immedi- 
 ately the Devil disappeared. 
 
 The architect went home, and tried in vain 
 to reproduce the Devil's drawings. 
 
 Day after day passed, and Bishop Engel- 
 114
 
 Elizabettis Charm-String 
 
 bert began to grow a little impatient at this 
 long delay. 
 
 Every time the architect ventured to walk 
 on the river bank, the Devil appeared and 
 renewed his offer, and at last, overcome by 
 his intense desire to possess this grand de- 
 sign, the ambitious architect yielded to the 
 temptation. 
 
 The terms of the bargain were arranged, 
 and a time appointed for the delivery of the 
 practical drawings. 
 
 Now right here come in two stories re- 
 garding the means by which the architect 
 gained possession of the designs. I will tell 
 you both of them. 
 
 One relates how the architect's conscience 
 troubled him so much that he told the whole 
 story while talking in his sleep, and was 
 overheard by his mother. 
 
 The next morning she repeated to her son 
 what she had heard, and told him he must 
 go to a priest, confess this awful sin, and 
 receive absolution and advice. 
 "5
 
 RlizabetHs Charm-String 
 
 The architect obeyed his mother, and told 
 his confessor everything. 
 
 Now, for the glory of the church, the priest 
 of course wished to get possession of the 
 Devil's plans, but he was 
 not willing to give a 
 Christian soul in ex- 
 change. 
 
 He put his wits to work, 
 and devised a plan which 
 promised to be successful. 
 The priest gave the 
 architect a crucifix con- 
 taining a small piece of 
 the true cross, and in- 
 structed him, on some pretext or other, to 
 get possession of the plans. He was then 
 to touch the Devil with the crucifix, and 
 the power of the cross would overcome the 
 power of evil. 
 
 Armed with the crucifix and this ad- 
 vice, the architect went to the place of 
 meeting. 
 
 116
 
 Elizabetfis Charm-String 
 
 The Devil insisted that the written con- 
 tract should be signed with the architect's 
 blood, but there was no knife convenient, 
 wherewith to obtain this gruesome kind of 
 ink. 
 
 The Devil turned around to look for a 
 sharp stone, and carelessly laid his plans on 
 the ground ; they were at once seized by the 
 architect, who retreated backward, holding 
 the cross between himself and the Devil. 
 
 The Devil tried very hard to recover his 
 papers, but every time he contrived to reach 
 the architect and grasp them, the touch of the 
 crucifix compelled him to let go his hold. 
 
 Beside himself with rage at being thus 
 outwitted, the Devil swore a fearful oath to 
 the effect that the cathedral should never be 
 finished without his consent, and that the 
 architect should never receive any credit for 
 its construction. 
 
 When the designs were submitted to 
 Bishop Engelbert for his approval, he was 
 greatly delighted with them. 
 117
 
 Elizabet/Ks Charm-String 
 
 Work on the new cathedral was begun, 
 according to most authorities, in 1270 A.D., 
 and progressed rapidly for a number of 
 years. 
 
 The Bishop insisted that the name of the 
 architect should be cut in huge letters on 
 one of the immense stones intended for the 
 tower, in order that future generations might 
 do honor to the man in whose brain the 
 designs for this stupendous work had been 
 conceived. 
 
 One fatal day, however, the architect was 
 standing on the wall of the cathedral, watch- 
 ing this very block being lowered into its 
 place. 
 
 Suddenly he heard a muffled laugh, and, 
 turning around, saw the Devil behind him 
 grinning horribly. In his consternation he 
 stepped on the big stone, thereby disturbing 
 its balance. Down went the huge mass, 
 carrying the architect with it, but as he fell 
 he cried to God to have mercy on his soul, 
 and when the Devil heard this prayer he 
 118
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 disappeared with a yell of disappointed 
 rage. 
 
 Now, it is a curious fact that while you 
 can see at Cologne the original drawings 
 for its cathedral, the name of the architect 
 is utterly unknown, just as the Devil had 
 sworn should be the case. 
 
 The second story is less dramatic. Ac- 
 cording to this version, the bargain between 
 the architect and the Devil was arranged in 
 a most friendly manner: the former received 
 the designs ; when he died the Devil was to 
 claim his soul. 
 
 Great praise and many honors were show- 
 ered on the fortunate architect, and Bishop 
 Engelbert ordered that his name should 
 be engraved on a gold plate, and this was to 
 be fastened up in a conspicuous place. 
 
 The architect fell sick, and was nigh unto 
 death. His conscience tormented him night 
 and day, until he could stand it no longer, 
 and, sending for Bishop Engelbert, he con- 
 fessed his sin. 
 
 119
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 The Bishop gave him absolution, but as 
 a punishment for his crime the gold plate 
 was taken down, and the Bishop ordered 
 that the architect's name should never again 
 be mentioned, so that in time it was com- 
 pletely forgotten. 
 
 The Devil was furious, and swore that 
 since he had lost the architect's soul, he 
 would claim the soul of the first person to 
 cross the threshold of the church, whenever 
 the first Mass was sung. 
 
 The building proceeded in a spasmodic 
 sort of fashion, until the cathedral was far 
 enough advanced to be used for worship ; 
 but the people had not forgotten the Devil's 
 oath, and were afraid to enter the church. 
 
 At last a certain wicked woman, who had 
 been condemned to death, agreed to be the 
 first to enter, on condition that her life be 
 spared should she succeed in eluding the 
 Devil. 
 
 This was agreed to, and on the appointed 
 day she approached the portal on her hands 
 120
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 and knees, hold- 
 ing something in 
 front of her hid- 
 den by a cloth. 
 
 The Devil was 
 waiting, and just 
 as he was about 
 to seize her, she 
 let loose into his 
 hand a young 
 pig, and herself 
 jumped over the 
 threshold where 
 the Devil could 
 not follow. 
 
 Agai n the 
 Devil swore an 
 oath, vowing 
 that the cathe- 
 dral should never 
 be finished until he gave his consent. 
 
 Whichever story you prefer, the actual 
 history of the cathedral could easily give one 
 
 121
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 the impression that the Devil tried hard to 
 keep his word. 
 
 All work on the cathedral ceased about 
 the year 1509, and for over three hundred 
 years the work was at a complete standstill, 
 and in time, all the space surrounding the 
 church became occupied by houses and 
 shops. 
 
 Whether the Devil finally ceased troub- 
 ling and gave his consent the stories do not 
 say, but in 1823 the work was resumed, and 
 a lottery was established for the purpose of 
 raising the funds necessary for the comple- 
 tion of the cathedral. 
 
 It was at last finished, and was dedicated 
 in 1880, some six hundred years after its 
 foundations were laid ; and I have sometimes 
 wondered if the Devil of these legends was 
 on hand during the festivities attending the 
 dedication, congratulating himself on his 
 share of the work. 
 
 But no matter who the architect may have 
 been, the result is very grand, and the Cathe- 
 
 122
 
 
 
 
 MM It
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 dral of Cologne is considered by many au- 
 thorities to be the noblest edifice of its kind 
 in the world. 
 
 " And have they any precious relics or 
 bodies of saints in that cathedral, Miss 
 Belle?" asked Margaret. 
 
 " Oh, yes, indeed ! They have quite a 
 number of them, but their chief treasure is 
 older than all the saints in the calendar. 
 
 " In the treasury of the cathedral you can 
 see a magnificent gold shrine richly jewelled, 
 and in it repose the ' Skulls of the Magi,' 
 the * Three Kings from the East ' who went 
 to Bethlehem to see and worship Jesus, the 
 ' King of the World.' " 
 
 123
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE LEGEND OF THE TRUE CROSS 
 
 BELLE, what is a tiny iron nail 
 doing in company with all these 
 dainty gold and silver things ? " 
 asked Mrs. Curtis. 
 
 "That little nail," replied Belle, "was 
 modelled from one which, according to tra- 
 dition, was used at the crucifixion of Christ." 
 
 LEGEND OF THE TRUE CROSS 
 
 In the various churches of Rome are 
 treasured many precious relics associated 
 with our Saviour. Perhaps the most inter- 
 esting of these relics are a portion of the 
 true cross, one of the nails with which Christ 
 was fastened to the cross, and the " Three- 
 fold Title of Accusation." The latter name 
 is given to the white board on which, by 
 124
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 Pilate's orders, the Jews painted in red 
 letters the mock title, "Jesus of Nazareth, 
 King of the Jews," in Greek, Latin, and 
 Hebrew. 
 
 Each step in the legendary history of the 
 true cross is beset with so many traditions 
 that it would be impossible to tell you a 
 quarter of them; but I mean to follow one 
 direct line of events, and so give you, so far 
 as I can, a fairly continuous story. We 
 must go back almost to the beginning of 
 time. You all know the story of Adam and 
 Eve; how they ate of the forbidden fruit, 
 and for their disobedience to God's com- 
 mands were driven out of the Garden of 
 Eden. 
 
 In order to protect the Tree of Life, 
 which grew in the midst of the garden, God 
 placed at the gate a cherubim with a flaming 
 sword that turned in every direction. 
 
 The Bible tells us that Adam lived to be 
 nine hundred and thirty years old, but when 
 the time came for him to die he wanted to 
 125
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 live still longer, and sought for some means 
 to prolong his life. 
 
 Remembering how happy he had been in 
 the Garden of Eden, Adam bade his son Seth 
 return there, and beg from the guardian 
 angel some fruit from the Tree of Life, or 
 a few drops of the Oil of Mercy which 
 flowed from it. 
 
 Seth was to find the way by tracing the 
 footprints made by Adam and Eve when 
 they fled from the garden ; these he would 
 find deeply imbedded in the soil. 
 
 By this means Seth succeeded in reaching 
 the Garden of Eden, and humbly begged the 
 cherubim to grant Adam's request. 
 
 The angel sternly refused, and told Seth 
 that five thousand and five hundred years 
 must pass away before the Oil of Mercy 
 would drop on Adam's head. 
 
 Seth was so disappointed that the cher- 
 ubim felt sorry for him, and, holding back 
 the whirling sword, told Seth to look within 
 the garden. 
 
 126
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 Seth's longing eyes rested on the Tree 
 of Life, which stood in the very centre of 
 the garden ; on its topmost branch stood a 
 beautiful young woman, holding in her arms 
 a smiling baby. 
 
 The child held out his little hands invit- 
 ingly to Seth, and the latter stepped forward 
 as if to enter the garden, but down fell the 
 flaming sword to bar the way. 
 
 The cherubim told Seth that some day 
 the little child he had seen would come to 
 save the world from the consequences of 
 Adam's sin. 
 
 The angel then gave Seth three seeds 
 from the Tree of Life, saying, " When the 
 time comes for your father to die, put these 
 seeds under his tongue, and bury them with 
 him." 
 
 Seth returned to his father, and, when 
 Adam died a short time later, carried out 
 the cherubim's instructions. 
 
 From these three seeds there sprang up 
 three slender stems, a cypress, a cedar, and 
 127
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 a palm. As they grew taller their branches 
 intertwined, and in time formed but one 
 trunk, growing into a tall, stately tree with 
 wide-spreading branches. 
 
 The legends associate this tree with many 
 events in the history of the Jews. 
 
 The rods of Moses and Aaron were made 
 from it ; Abraham rested under its branches ; 
 it was the bark from this tree that Moses, 
 under God's directions, cast into the bitter 
 waters of Marah, making them sweet and fit 
 to drink. 
 
 When for their sins God punished the 
 Israelites by sending a plague of serpents 
 upon them, it was on a pole cut from this 
 tree that Moses raised the brazen serpent 
 at which the Israelites looked and were 
 cured. 
 
 One day King David passed under this 
 tree, and admired it so much that he had it 
 transplanted to the gardens of his palace at 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Here the tree flourished until King David 
 128
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 died, and was succeeded by his son, the wise 
 King Solomon. 
 
 When Solomon began to build the famous 
 temple which we know as Solomon's Tem- 
 ple, he told his architect whose name was 
 Hiram to cut down the tree and use it for 
 the new building. 
 
 It was such a grand piece of wood that 
 Hiram thought it would prove of great ser- 
 vice to him, but although he used his utmost 
 skill, the tree was always either too long or 
 too short for his purpose, and he cast it 
 aside as useless. 
 
 Here it lay unnoticed for some time, and 
 probably afforded a convenient resting-place 
 for the workmen and passers-by. 
 
 Then we hear that a Jewish Prophetess, 
 called Sybilla, sat down to rest on this tree. 
 All at once her clothes caught fire; in her 
 terror she began to prophesy, and declared 
 that the tree possessed some evil power 
 which would certainly prove a curse to the 
 Jewish nation. 
 
 9 129
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 After that, the tree was used as a bridge 
 across a marsh, near the brook Cedron. 
 
 When the Queen of Sheba came to visit 
 Solomon, in order to judge for herself con- 
 cerning his wisdom and power, she was 
 obliged to cross this bridge. 
 
 As she placed her foot upon it, she had 
 a vision of a man hanging on a cross made 
 from this tree. Rather than pass over such 
 an ill-omened bridge, she waded through the 
 marsh barefooted. 
 
 The Queen of Sheba noticed that it was 
 an unusually fine piece of wood, and not 
 knowing that it had already been rejected by 
 Hiram, she ordered her servants to carry it 
 to 'the King's palace. She there presented 
 it to Solomon, related her vision, and de- 
 clared that some day a man would be cruci- 
 fied on that tree, whose death would mean 
 the destruction of the Jews. Because of 
 this prophecy, King Solomon had the tree 
 buried deep in the ground. 
 
 Another legend states that Solomon had 
 130
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 the log completely covered with plates of 
 gold, and placed it over a door of the Tem- 
 ple, where so he thought it could make 
 no more trouble for the Jews. There it re- 
 mained safe and harmless until Abijah, the 
 grandson of Solomon, came to the throne. 
 
 Abijah had it taken down secretly ; he 
 stripped off its golden coverings, and to hide 
 the evidence of this crime, the tree was 
 buried. 
 
 Some time later the priests needed a con- 
 venient place for cleansing the animals 
 which were to be sacrificed in the Temple. 
 
 For this purpose the Jews dug a very wide 
 and deep well directly over the hiding-place 
 of the tree, but although the tree was dis- 
 covered, it was left undisturbed. 
 
 This well, or " Piscina," as it was called by 
 the Jews, was the one we now know as the 
 Pool of Bethesda, and, according to the 
 legends, its waters received from the tree 
 the power to cure all manner of disease. 
 
 In the time of Christ there were five 
 131
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 porches around the Pool of Bethesda ; every 
 day they were occupied by sick and deformed 
 people. 
 
 At a certain hour each day an angel came 
 down from heaven and stirred up the waters, 
 and the first person who bathed in the pool 
 after the angelic visitation was entirely cured 
 of his illness. 
 
 The tree remained hidden until a few days 
 before the crucifixion ; then it rose to the sur- 
 face of the Pool of Bethesda, was drawn out, 
 and thrown carelessly on the bank. 
 
 Here it was found by the men who had 
 been ordered to prepare for the execution 
 of Christ. 
 
 An old book, relating the adventures of a 
 knight in the Holy Land, gives a very quaint 
 description of how the cross was constructed 
 from the three kinds of wood united in the 
 one tree. 
 
 The Jews thought that the body of Christ 
 would be left hanging on the cross as long 
 as the wood endured. 
 132
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 Accordingly, the portion of the cross in- 
 tended to go underground was made from 
 the cedar, because that wood never rots in 
 earth or water. 
 
 For the upright bar the cypress was 
 used, because it is a sweet-smelling wood, 
 and could overcome any unpleasant odor 
 that might arise from the decay of the 
 body. 
 
 The cross-bar to which the hands were 
 nailed was made of the palm wood, because 
 the palm was used as an emblem of victory, 
 and the Jews believed themselves victorious 
 over Christ. 
 
 For the mock title " Jesus of Nazareth, 
 King of the Jews," olive wood was chosen, 
 because an olive branch typifies peace, and 
 the Jews thought their nation would have 
 peace when Christ was dead. 
 
 The legends state that the cross was raised 
 on the very spot of ground where the three 
 seeds had been planted, and that the execu- 
 tioners, in digging the hole for it, found 
 133
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 Adam's skull and placed it at the foot of 
 the cross. 
 
 Some drops of Christ's blood fell on the 
 skull, thus fulfilling the cherubim's prophecy 
 that after five thousand and five hundred 
 years, the Oil of Mercy would fall on Adam's 
 head. 
 
 Christ, as you know, was crucified between 
 two thieves. The three crosses were buried 
 on Golgotha, and nothing was heard of them 
 for more than three hundred years. Nearly 
 a hundred years after the crucifixion of 
 Christ, the Emperor Hadrian built a temple 
 to Venus over the place where the crosses 
 had been buried. 
 
 About the year 312 A.D. the Emperor 
 Constantine was on his way to fight with 
 the Emperor Maxentius. Suddenly, he and 
 his whole army saw a cross in the sky, and 
 above it the words, " In hoc signo vinces," 
 meaning, "By this sign conquer." 
 
 At that time Constantine was not a Chris- 
 tian, consequently a cross meant nothing to 
 134
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 him, but he was so impressed by his vision 
 that he had a banner made exactly like it. 
 
 Constantine's cross was shaped from two 
 Greek letters, X and P, which have the same 
 meaning as our Ch and R, the initial letters 
 of the word " Christus." 
 
 This cross was set upon a long spear 
 crossed by another piece of wood, and from 
 this hung a square banner made of purple 
 silk, on which was a likeness of the Em- 
 peror. He called this banner " Labarum," 
 and, carrying it at the head of his army, won 
 a glorious victory over Maxentius. 
 
 Soon after this battle, Constantine fell ill 
 of leprosy. His pagan priests and physi- 
 cians told him that he could not hope to be 
 cured unless he bathed in the blood of 
 children, and three thousand little ones were 
 selected for this purpose. 
 
 Constantine, however, was neither cruel 
 nor hard-hearted, and he was moved to 
 pity when he saw the tears of the sorrowing 
 mothers, and heard their prayers for mercy. 
 135
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 He told his physicians that he would far 
 rather die himself than be saved by the 
 blood of all these innocent children. 
 
 That same night 
 Constantine had a very 
 strange dream. He 
 thought that two noble- 
 looking old men came 
 to his bedside and told 
 him they had been sent 
 by their Master to bring 
 good counsel. They 
 told the Emperor to 
 find Sylvester, the new 
 Bishop of Rome, who 
 was hiding from per- 
 secution in a cave on 
 Mount Calvo. Syl- 
 vester would then show him a place in which 
 he could bathe three times and be cured of 
 his leprosy. 
 
 When Constantine awoke, he sent his 
 soldiers to find this Sylvester. After con- 
 136
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 siderable search he was found and brought 
 before the Emperor. 
 
 Sylvester naturally supposed that he was 
 going to be tortured because he was a 
 Christian, but he showed no fear. 
 
 Constantine related his dream, and at 
 once Sylvester declared that the visitors 
 must have been Saint Peter and Saint Paul, 
 and when he showed the effigies of these 
 two saints, the Emperor recognized them at 
 once as the men of his dream. 
 
 Sylvester explained who was meant by 
 the " Master," converted Constantine to 
 Christianity, and baptized him ; and when 
 Constantine came out of the baptismal font 
 he found himself perfectly well ; all the signs 
 of leprosy had disappeared. 
 
 The Empress Helena, mother of Constan- 
 tine, had been converted to Judaism. She 
 was greatly displeased with her son for be- 
 coming a Christian, and used all her influence 
 to make him follow her example. 
 
 At length it was agreed that Helena 
 137
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 should bring the most learned among the 
 Jewish Rabbis to Rome, there to meet Syl- 
 vester, discuss the merits of the two relig- 
 ions, and prove to Helena which faith was 
 the true one. 
 
 It is said that one hundred and forty-two 
 Rabbis presented their arguments in favor 
 of Judaism, and one after the other were 
 silenced by Sylvester's arguments from the 
 Holy Scriptures. 
 
 Then one of the Rabbis, who was also a 
 magician, defied Sylvester to a trial of the 
 power of their respective gods. 
 
 A bull so fierce that it took one hundred 
 men to restrain him was brought before the 
 assembly; into its ear the magician uttered 
 a name for the Jewish god, so awful and so 
 powerful, that at the mere whisper of it the 
 bull fell dead at the Rabbi's feet. 
 
 The Christian cause seemed lost; even 
 Constantine was filled with doubt and con- 
 sternation. 
 
 But Sylvester calmly arose, and said that 
 138
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 a name which would cause death must be 
 an evil one ; the Christian's God did not kill, 
 but brought life to the dead. 
 
 He then asked the Rabbi to revive the 
 bull, but this the Jew could not do. 
 
 Sylvester made the sign of the cross, and 
 in the name of Jesus Christ commanded 
 the bull to rise and go in peace. The 
 bull arose, quiet, perfectly gentle, and ready 
 to submit to a yoke. 
 
 This proof of Christ's power convinced 
 Helena, and soon afterward she too was 
 baptized. 
 
 Helena was quite an old woman, but she 
 was so full of zeal for her new God that she 
 went to Jerusalem, and collected many pre- 
 cious mementos of Christ's earthly career; 
 but her dearest wish was to find the true 
 cross. 
 
 Its hiding-place was known to a small 
 
 number of Jews, but so great was the fear 
 
 of the ancient prophecy which said that the 
 
 cross would destroy the Jewish nation, that 
 
 139
 
 ElizabetJis Charm-String 
 
 these men had sworn not to reveal the 
 secret. 
 
 The Empress, not being able to find the 
 cross by peaceful means, began to torture 
 the Jews, and at last a man named Judas 
 agreed to show her the hiding-place of the 
 cross, and led her to Golgotha. 
 
 After a prolonged search the three crosses 
 were found, but of course Helena did not 
 know which one of them was the cross of 
 Christ. 
 
 Just then a funeral train passed along the 
 road. 
 
 Helena asked permission to test the three 
 crosses, and laid each one in turn against 
 the dead body. At the touch of the third 
 cross the woman sat up alive and well, and 
 then Helena knew that she had at last 
 found the cross on which the Saviour was 
 crucified. 
 
 Then falling on her knees, she prayed 
 fervently for the recovery of the nails, and 
 a little while later all three of them appeared 
 140
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 on the surface of the ground, and near them 
 lay the " Threefold Title of Accusation," 
 
 Some legends state that the Empress placed 
 one of the nails in Constantine's helmet, a 
 second in his horse's bit, and threw the 
 third into the Adriatic Sea, where it stilled 
 a very dangerous whirlpool. 
 
 Nowadays one of these nails is claimed 
 by the Church of the Holy Cross at Rome ; 
 another presumably the one that was 
 placed in the horse's bit is supposed to 
 rest in the Cathedral of Milan ; and the 
 third one forms part of the " Iron Crown 
 of Lombardy." 
 
 This crown is not made of iron, as its 
 name suggests, but is a broad fillet of gold, 
 set with precious stones, and running around 
 inside of it is a narrow band of iron, said to 
 have been hammered out from a nail of the 
 true cross. 
 
 Some thirty-four kings and emperors have 
 been crowned with it, among them Charle- 
 magne and Napoleon Bonaparte. 
 141
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 Up to the year 1859, the Iron Crown of 
 Lombardy was kept in the Chapel of the 
 Holy Nail, in Saint John's Cathedral at 
 Monza, Italy ; now I think it can be seen 
 in the Belvedere Museum at Vienna, the 
 one now at Monza being only a copy. 
 
 Some legends say that Christ was fastened 
 to the cross with four nails, and that four 
 were found by the Empress Helena. 
 
 This version was probably accepted by 
 many people, and if I am not mistaken, the 
 possession of this fourth nail is claimed by 
 the city of Treves in Rhenish Prussia. 
 
 The true cross was divided into sev- 
 eral pieces, the largest one being left in 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 It is supposed that the Empress Helena 
 gave a second piece to her son Constantine, 
 who enclosed it in the head of a statue of 
 himself, and for a long time this statue was 
 regarded as the " Palladium " or guardian 
 of the city. 
 
 Helena carried the third portion to Rome, 
 142
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 where the Church of the Holy Cross was 
 built expressly for it. The " Title of Accu- 
 sation," enclosed in a leaden case, was placed 
 in the same church, also the true nail, and 
 there they have remained to this day. 
 
 As a matter of fact, there is, of course, no 
 positive proof that the crosses, nails, and title 
 found on Golgotha were actually the ones 
 used at the crucifixion of our Lord. 
 
 However that may be, there is little rea- 
 son to doubt that the relics now shown at 
 Rome are indeed the ones sent there nearly 
 sixteen hundred years ago by the Empress 
 Helena. 
 
 " What became of the large piece, Aunt 
 Belle, the one that was left at Jerusalem ? " 
 asked Elizabeth. 
 
 It was enclosed in a shrine and deposited 
 in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, under 
 the special charge of a Bishop named Ma- 
 carius. 
 
 143
 
 Elisabeth's Charm-String 
 
 This piece of the cross met with a great 
 many strange adventures, but I can tell you 
 only a few of them. 
 
 Some six hundred years after Christ, the 
 Persian King Chosroes II captured Jerusa- 
 lem and carried the cross to his own country. 
 
 It remained in his possession until the 
 year 629 A.D., when it was recaptured by the 
 Roman Emperor Heraclius and brought back 
 in triumph to Jerusalem. 
 
 Heraclius was riding proudly at the head 
 of his army, and just as he was about to enter 
 the city, the gates suddenly closed. 
 
 An angel appeared to the Emperor and 
 reminded him that Christ, the King of 
 heaven, had entered these very gates bare- 
 footed and riding on an ass. 
 
 Heraclius felt the justice of this rebuke. 
 He got down from his horse, took off his 
 crown, cast aside his splendid armor, and 
 lifted the cross to his own shoulders. 
 
 The gates at once opened of their own ac- 
 cord, and, walking barefooted, the Emperor 
 144
 
 Rlizabetfis Charm-String 
 
 Heraclius entered Jerusalem, and carried the 
 cross back to its place in the Church of the 
 Holy Sepulchre. 
 
 According to some authorities, when the 
 Mohammedans conquered Palestine in the 
 year 637 A.D. the cross was taken to Con- 
 stantinople for safe keeping, and placed in 
 the Church of Saint Sophia. Others say 
 that the Mohammedans did not molest the 
 Christians or the cross, and that it remained 
 in Jerusalem for nearly four hundred years 
 longer. 
 
 A tiny chip from the cross was the reward 
 paid to the pilgrims who made the long, hard 
 journey to Jerusalem just to gaze on this 
 holy relic ; but although thousands of these 
 pieces were cut off, the legends say that the 
 cross never grew smaller, but was always 
 miraculously renewed. 
 
 It was this portion of the cross that was 
 carried by the Crusaders at the head of their 
 armies, to strengthen their arms and increase 
 their zeal in the Christian cause. 
 145
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 When Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt, de- 
 feated the Crusaders at the battle of Hattin, 
 
 he cut off a 
 relic as a token 
 The remaining 
 to have fallen 
 of a King of 
 carried it to 
 Some time 
 gained by Jean 
 
 piece of the 
 of his triumph, 
 fragment seems 
 into the hands 
 Hungary, who 
 Poland. 
 
 later it was re- 
 de Brienne, 
 
 King of Jerusalem, and 
 his son-in-law Baldwin, 
 the Emperor of Constan- 
 tinople. Apparently 
 these two sovereigns 
 146
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 were sorely in need of ready money, for they 
 sold the relic to Louis IX, King of France, 
 for a sum equal to six hundred thousand 
 dollars of our money. 
 
 About the middle of the thirteenth cen- 
 tury this King known as Saint Louis - 
 carried the fragment of the cross, together 
 with a piece of the crown of thorns and 
 other blessed relics, to Paris, and built the 
 beautiful little Gothic church called the 
 " Saint Chapelle " for their reception. 
 
 Here the cross rested, so the story goes, 
 until some time in the seventeenth century, 
 when it mysteriously disappeared, and has 
 never been heard of since. 
 
 147
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE LEGEND OF THE WOODPECKER THE 
 OBELISK OF THE VATICAN 
 
 MARIE GARDINER had the 
 charm-string in her hand, and 
 was trying to decide which little 
 trinket should be the next to entertain them. 
 Just then a bird's call was heard outside the 
 window, a shrill " Plu-eee, plu-eee," and at 
 the sound Marie commenced to laugh. 
 
 " Plu-eee, plu-eee," she echoed. " Oh, 
 Miss Belle, that bird is a woodpecker, crying 
 for rain, and I was just going to ask why 
 you bought a woodpecker for Elizabeth's 
 charm-string." 
 
 " The little charm came from Norway," 
 replied Miss Belle, " and when I heard its 
 legend I was reminded of a Grimm fairy- 
 story." 
 
 148
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 LEGEND OF THE WOODPECKER 
 
 One day our Saviour and Saint Peter 
 were walking through a part of the country 
 they were not familiar with, and lost their 
 way. Tired and hungry, they entered the 
 first house they came to, and begged for 
 something to eat and drink. The owner of 
 the house told them her name was Gertrude. 
 She was a small woman, very neat in appear- 
 ance, and rapid in her movements. Her 
 dress was dark brown in color, and on her 
 head was a bright red cap. Gertrude had 
 been baking bread on a kind of griddle 
 placed over a wood fire, and several large 
 loaves lay on the table. 
 
 Saint Peter asked her to give some of this 
 bread to his Master, but she refused, saying, 
 " My loaves are too large to give away ; I 
 cannot spare one." 
 
 Then Christ himself asked her, in gentle, 
 persuasive tones, " Will you not bake us a 
 smaller loaf? We have walked all day 
 149
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 without any food, and are tired and very 
 hungry." 
 
 Gertrude hesitated a moment, and then, 
 breaking off a small piece of dough, began 
 to bake it. The piece grew larger and larger, 
 until it entirely filled the griddle. 
 
 When the woman saw this strange thing 
 and noted the size of the loaf, she looked 
 toward the strangers. As they did not appear 
 to be watching her, she slyly placed the loaf 
 on the table. 
 
 She broke off a second and smaller bit of 
 dough, and tossed it on the griddle. When 
 this loaf was baked it was larger than the 
 first one, and the covetous woman could not 
 force herself to part with it. 
 
 Gertrude then took a mere pinch of the 
 dough to bake for Christ, and this grew into 
 the largest loaf of all. 
 
 Christ then asked her once more, " Will 
 you not give us some water to drink and a 
 loaf of bread for our supper ? " 
 
 " No, I will not," Gertrude answered. " All 
 150
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 the loaves I have baked are too large and 
 too good to give away to beggars. As for 
 water, I have no more than I want for my- 
 self. Go beg elsewhere." 
 
 At this fresh proof of the woman's mean- 
 ness Christ became indig- 
 nant, and said sternly 
 
 "Gertrude, you 
 are a cruel, miserly 
 woman, and to pun- 
 ish you for refusing 
 bread to the poor I 
 will turn you into a 
 bird. You shall have 
 no food except what 
 you can find between the 
 bark of a tree and its 
 trunk ; you shall have no 
 water to drink except the raindrops you can 
 catch as they fall." 
 
 At these words the woman turned into 
 a little woodpecker. The bird darted up 
 the chimney, and its brown feathers were
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 streaked with the soot, but the little red tuft 
 on its head was not soiled. 
 
 In Norway the little woodpecker is often 
 called the " Gertrude," or, as the Norwegians 
 pronounce the name, the " Ortrud bird." So 
 now you know the reason why you never hear 
 the woodpecker's " Plu-eee, plu-eee " except 
 when it rains or a storm is approaching ; and 
 why, when the rain is falling, the woodpecker 
 never stays snug and warm in its nest, but 
 flies upward, with its long beak wide open. 
 
 "Only one more story this morning," 
 spoke up Mrs. Curtis, "and I ask for that. 
 Belle, here is a little charm which reminds 
 me of the Egyptian obelisk called ' Cleo- 
 patra's Needle,' in the New York Central 
 Park, except that this tiny shaft has a cross 
 on the top of it." 
 
 THE OBELISK OF THE VATICAN 
 
 The one you hold is the Obelisk of the 
 Vatican ; it stands in the centre of the Piazza 
 152
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 of Saint Peter, and, like Cleopatra's Needle, 
 it came from Heliopolis. 
 
 This one was brought to Rome by the 
 Emperor Caligula, who began to reign in 
 the thirty-seventh year after Christ. It was 
 used to adorn the Circus of Nero, and was 
 then, and is still considered one of the noblest 
 monuments in Rome. 
 
 On the shaft of this obelisk is an inscrip- 
 tion to the Emperors Augustus and Tiberius. 
 On the base is an inscription dedicating it 
 to the cross. 
 
 The ground, now covered by the Church of 
 Saint Peter and the superbly beautiful square 
 that leads up to it, was once part of Nero's 
 Circus, and it may truly be called " holy 
 ground," since it was consecrated by the 
 blood of so many martyrs, and reverenced as 
 the place where Saint Peter was buried. 
 
 This obelisk was moved to its present site 
 in the year 1586 A.D., in the reign of Pope 
 Sixtus V, and our story will tell you how 
 this removal was effected. 
 153
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 The man who accepted the responsibility 
 of this stupendous task was named Domenico 
 Fontana, and to accomplish it he needed the 
 assistance of one hundred and fifty men, eight 
 hundred horses, and forty-six huge cranes. 
 
 When Fontana had finished all his prep- 
 arations, the time for the removal of the 
 obelisk was announced. The day was to 
 be a general holiday and festival, and at the 
 appointed hour the Church and Piazza of 
 Saint Peter was thronged with interested 
 spectators. 
 
 The obelisk had always been regarded as 
 a pagan object ; now it was to be dedicated 
 to the cause of Christ, and a special dedica- 
 tory service was arranged in order to exorcise 
 the pagan element. This service was fol- 
 lowed by a solemn High Mass in Saint 
 Peter's Church, and the Pope invoked the 
 blessing of heaven upon the efforts of Fon- 
 tana and his workmen. 
 
 Then the trumpets of the Papal Guard 
 were sounded, and a proclamation was issued, 
 iS4
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 insisting that absolute silence must be main- 
 tained while the work was in progress. 
 
 Death would 
 by any one who 
 t i on of the 
 Everything 
 favorably, and 
 slowly rising 
 but before very 
 evident that 
 something was 
 
 be the penalty paid 
 distracted the atten- 
 workmen. 
 
 seemed to be going 
 the huge shaft was 
 toward its new base ; 
 long it became 
 
 wrong, for the obelisk ceased to move and 
 the ropes slackened perceptibly. 
 
 Had there been a mistake in Fontana's 
 calculations ? Would the obelisk fall ? 
 
 The suspense was so terrible, the silence 
 155
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 so intense, it seemed as though that vast 
 multitude of people had ceased even to 
 breathe. 
 
 Suddenly across the piazza a voice rang 
 out, clear and strong : 
 
 " Wet the ropes ! Wet the ropes ! " 
 
 The frightened workmen acted on this 
 unexpected advice so quickly and thoroughly 
 that the ropes soon stiffened and tightened ; 
 the danger was averted, the obelisk moved 
 slowly but steadily, and at last was firmly 
 settled on its base. 
 
 The man whose opportune advice had 
 proved so serviceable was a poor sailor who 
 had just returned from a long voyage. 
 
 His name was Brescia, and his home was 
 at Bordighiera, a beautiful town in Italy on 
 the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
 Although his impulsively spoken words 
 had saved the obelisk, Brescia was afraid of 
 losing his own life because he had disobeyed 
 the Pope's command. 
 
 He tried to escape, but was captured by 
 156
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 the Papal Guards and taken into the pres- 
 ence of the Holy Father. 
 
 Instead of an angry Pope, Brescia found a 
 very grateful one, who bade the sailor name 
 his own reward for the great service he had 
 rendered to Rome by his sensible advice. 
 
 Brescia would not accept either gold or 
 jewels, but requested that his native city 
 should forever after possess the privilege of 
 supplying the Vatican and Saint Peter's 
 Church with the palm branches to be used 
 on Palm Sunday. I need not say that this 
 modest request was quickly granted. 
 
 Bordighiera has always been noted for the 
 beauty of its palms, and every year, to this 
 day, a vessel loaded with the finest branches 
 is sent to Rome about a week before Palm 
 Sunday. 
 
 These are all prepared and plaited by 
 the nuns in the convent of Saint Antony, 
 and, after being blessed by the Pope, are dis- 
 tributed to the Faithful at the Palm Sunday 
 ceremonies in Saint Peter's Church. 
 157
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE LEGEND OF SAINT GENEVIEVE 
 
 OH, dear ! " sighed Alma, as the 
 children sat chatting in the hall 
 on the following morning, "this 
 is our last day, and it seems to me there 
 are charms enough to last a month. Have 
 they all got stories, Miss Belle ? " 
 
 " Each one has some direct connection, 
 either historic or romantic, with the place 
 where it was bought, but if I should tell you 
 too many stories at one time, your poor little 
 heads would not be able to hold them all. 
 You would get them so mixed up that you 
 would have the Bambino saving the people 
 of Venice, while the ' Winged Lion of Saint 
 Mark ' flapped and roared in Rome. Some 
 other time perhaps I will tell you many more 
 stories. 
 
 158
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 " Now, has any one chosen a charm for 
 the first story this morning ? " 
 
 " Miss Belle," answered Genevieve, " here 
 is a little silver charm with my name and 
 a French motto on it ; it looks just like 
 the medals worn by the girls at school who 
 are Roman Catholics." 
 
 " That is just what it is, my dear, and 
 probably every little girl in Paris wears or 
 owns a similar one. 
 
 " On one side is stamped the figure of a 
 peasant, a shepherd girl, holding a distaff in 
 her hand, and the words surrounding her 
 mean ' Saint Genevieve, Guardian of Paris, 
 pray for us.' 
 
 " On the other side is a picture of the Vir- 
 gin Mary and the little prayer, ' O Marie, 
 conceived without sin, pray for us.' 
 
 " As you may readily guess, Saint Gene- 
 vieve is the patron or guardian saint of Paris 
 and the Parisians. 
 
 " One day while I was in Paris I went to 
 the old Church of Saint Etienne du Mont,
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 where, in a chapel devoted to Saint Gene- 
 vieve, is a tomb of solid stone work, said to 
 be the very one in which the saint was origi- 
 nally buried. 
 
 " There were 
 so many people 
 kneelingaround 
 -is the tomb that I 
 imagine some 
 special service 
 was being held, 
 and I wish I 
 could paint the 
 picture present- 
 ed by that scene. 
 "The chapel 
 itself was dark 
 and gloomy, 
 lighted only by flickering candles. Beside 
 the tomb stood a priest, wearing a scarlet 
 cassock and white lace surplice, and near by 
 was a table where an old woman was selling 
 candles, tapers, and medals. 
 
 160
 
 RlizabetJts Charm-String 
 
 " Each person on entering the chapel 
 bought a little candle and gave it to the 
 priest, who sprinkled it with holy water; 
 then it was fastened to an iron standard, 
 and the purchaser prayed as long as this 
 taper burned. 
 
 " Remembering that my sister's name was 
 also Genevieve, I bought a little medal, had 
 it blessed, and brought it to Elizabeth as a 
 souvenir ' button.' 
 
 " It did not take long to learn something of 
 Saint Genevieve's history, for her name is 
 a household word in Paris, although she 
 is not widely known outside of that city." 
 
 LEGEND OF SAINT GENEVIEVE 
 
 She was a peasant girl, born in the town 
 of Nanterre, not very far from Paris, in the 
 year 422 A.D. Her parents were very poor, 
 and she used to earn a little money for them 
 by looking after the sheep and the geese of 
 their neighbors. She studied all the herbs 
 she found in the fields, and became so skilful 
 161
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 in their use that her help and advice were often 
 asked by the peasants when they were ill. 
 
 Saint Genevieve was always a very relig- 
 ious little child, and was only seven years 
 old when Saint Germaine, the Bishop of 
 Auxerre, passed through Nanterre, and was 
 impressed by her sweetness and piety. 
 
 It is said that he foresaw as in a vision 
 the future greatness of the little girl, and 
 then and there dedicated her to the ser- 
 vice of Christ, placing around her neck a 
 copper coin, engraved with the sign of the 
 cross. 
 
 Saint Genevieve seems to have possessed 
 miraculous powers, even at that early age, 
 and one story relates that her mother in a 
 fit of rage boxed the child's ears and was 
 punished by blindness. 
 
 In front of their home was a well of very 
 pure water. Genevieve took some of this 
 water, over it made the sign of the cross, and 
 then bathed her mother's eyes with it. Im- 
 mediately the lost sight was restored. 
 162
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 The water from this well, it naturally fol- 
 lowed, became very famous, and in times of 
 famine, so the legend says, Saint Genevieve 
 used to make from it very nourishing soup 
 for the starving peasants. 
 
 When she grew older, she renewed her 
 vow of devoting herself to Christ's work, but 
 she remained with her parents until they 
 died ; then she went to Paris. 
 
 Here Saint Genevieve worked unceasingly 
 among the poor and needy, and by her 
 knowledge of herbs and simples was able 
 to cure many sick people and relieve much 
 suffering. 
 
 Her piety was so sincere, her charity and 
 benevolence so unfailing, that ere long her 
 praise was heard on all sides, and she was 
 regarded with great love and veneration. 
 
 But she had many enemies as well as 
 friends, for Christianity had not yet taken 
 firm hold among the Franks. Many people 
 believed her to be a witch, and by these she 
 was maltreated and slandered; but Saint 
 163
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 Germaine remained her firm friend and kept 
 her under his protection. 
 
 Then an event occurred which silenced 
 her enemies and made her an object of popu- 
 % lar enthusiasm. 
 
 When Attila, 
 the King of the 
 Huns, threatened 
 to invade Paris, 
 the people were 
 so frightened that 
 they wanted to 
 surrender at once 
 to this terrible 
 warrior, or else 
 flee from him. 
 
 Saint Gene- 
 vieve pleaded 
 with them, beg- 
 ging them not to yield to this pagan King, 
 promising that God would succor the Pari- 
 sians if they would only ask His protection 
 and pray for relief as fervently as she prayed 
 164
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 in their behalf. While the people hesitated, 
 word was brought that for some unknown rea- 
 son Attila had turned away from Paris, and 
 was marching his barbarians in another direc- 
 tion. The credit for the deliverance of Paris 
 was given to the prayers of Saint Genevieve, 
 and from that time on, her influence over the 
 Parisians was firmly established. 
 
 Saint Genevieve lived very humbly, wear- 
 ing the dress of a nun. She worked night 
 and day to improve the condition of any one 
 who was poor or wretched, and was in reality 
 as well as in name the " Guardian Angel of 
 Paris." 
 
 About the year 456 A.D. Childeric came to 
 besiege Paris, and before long famine and 
 fever were playing havoc in the city. Again 
 Saint Genevieve proved herself the friend of 
 her people by organizing a line of boats 
 to run up and down the Seine, to bring 
 help and provisions from Troyes and other 
 towns. 
 
 When Paris was at last captured by Chil- 
 165
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 deric, he, although a pagan, treated Saint Gen- 
 evieve with the greatest respect. 
 
 His son Clovis became King of the Franks, 
 and, together with his wife Clotilde, was con- 
 verted to Christianity by Saint Genevieve, 
 and through her influence the first Christian 
 church in Paris was built, on the present 
 site of Saint Etienne du Mont, the church I 
 have just told you about. 
 
 In this church Clovis and Clotilde were 
 buried, and when Saint Genevieve died in 
 the year 5 1 1 A.D., at the ripe age of eighty- 
 nine, her body was placed beside theirs. 
 
 During the Norman invasion her remains 
 were taken to Draveil for safety, where one 
 of her teeth is still preserved. Again the 
 body was moved and carried to Marizy, and 
 was finally brought back to Paris in the year 
 855 A.D. 
 
 The first church dedicated to Saint Gene- 
 vieve was built very near Saint Etienne du 
 Mont, and her remains were placed in a 
 magnificent gold shrine. The greatest re- 
 166
 
 KlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 spect and veneration were paid to them, and 
 in time of trouble the help of Saint Genevieve 
 was always invoked. 
 
 In the year 1129 A.D. a terrible pestilence 
 swept over Paris; people died by the hun- 
 dreds. In hopes of stopping the ravages of 
 this disease, the body of Saint Genevieve 
 was carried through the city to the Cathedral 
 of Notre Dame. Many of the sick were 
 cured by touching it, and the plague soon 
 disappeared entirely. 
 
 During the Middle Ages, the remains 
 were carried around Paris in procession, and 
 with many grand ceremonies some eighty 
 times, in order to ward off impending mis- 
 fortunes; and, according to the various 
 legends, Saint Genevieve never failed to 
 answer favorably the appeals of her beloved 
 Parisians. * 
 
 The chapel erected over her tomb in 855 
 
 A.D. had been replaced by a much finer 
 
 church, and in the year 1764 A.D. on the 
 
 same site Louis XV began to erect the 
 
 167
 
 RlizabetEs Charm-String 
 
 church now called " The Pantheon," dedi- 
 cating the building to Saint Genevieve. 
 
 Then came the French Revolution, and 
 by a decree of the National Assembly the 
 
 church was con- 
 verted into a 
 "Temple of 
 Fame," to be 
 sacred to the 
 memory of the 
 famous men of 
 France. 
 
 God and re- 
 ligion were al- 
 most forgotten 
 during that aw- 
 ful Reign of 
 Terror, and no 
 respect was paid 
 to many objects previously held in great 
 veneration. The mob seized the gold shrine 
 of Saint Genevieve and sent it to the mint, 
 to be converted into money, while her re- 
 168
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 mains were publicly burned in one of the 
 city squares, called the " Place de Greve." 
 
 It is claimed, however, and apparently with 
 some foundation, that some of the faithful and 
 devout people still left in Paris, gathered up 
 the ashes and unconsumed particles of bone 
 and carried them -to a safe hiding-place. 
 
 When peace was restored to Paris, these 
 ashes were placed, with all due reverence, in 
 the Church of Saint Etienne du Mont. 
 
 I was told that even as recently as the 
 Franco-Prussian War, when Paris was be- 
 sieged by the Germans, and more people 
 were killed by famine than by bullets, the 
 aid of Saint Genevieve was again implored, 
 and throughout Paris was heard this invoca- 
 tion : " Saint Genevieve ! thou who by thy 
 prayers didst save Paris from the hordes of 
 Attila, save us now from the hordes of his 
 descendants." 
 
 By a strange coincidence news was brought 
 to Paris, on the eve of Saint Genevieve, that 
 the French army fiad won a great battle, and 
 169
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 if any man refused the credit of this success 
 to Saint Genevieve, he was probably treated 
 quite roughly by the impulsive Parisians. 
 
 Her festival falls on the 3d of January and 
 continues a week. Pilgrimages are made 
 to her shrine, and the sick and sorrowful 
 come to her for relief and comfort. The 
 open space in front of the church looks very 
 gay and festive ; booths are erected for the 
 sale of candles, flowers, medals, offerings of 
 all kinds, and these things are freely bought 
 by visitors, to be placed on Saint Genevieve's 
 shrine or carried home as mementos. 
 
 Candles burn around the shrine, and the 
 priest stands there ready to bless the offer- 
 ings, just as he was doing when I visited the 
 church. Indeed, I am sure that I shall never 
 see Elizabeth's little medal without a vision 
 of the " Shrine of Saint Genevieve." 
 
 " And did Elizabeth's charm actually touch 
 the relics of the saint ? " asked Genevieve 
 Lebeau. 
 
 170
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 " Yes, to the best of my knowledge it did. 
 I first bought the little medal, and the priest 
 sprinkled it with the holy water; then I 
 dropped a piece of money in his charity 
 plate: he opened a little slide in the shrine, 
 touched the medal to the relics, if such 
 they truly are, and blessed it with the 
 sign of the cross." 
 
 " But you are neither a French woman 
 nor a Roman Catholic, Aunt Belle, so per- 
 haps the touch of the relics cannot help you, 
 or me either for that matter," said Elizabeth. 
 
 " Perhaps not," replied her Aunt, " but the 
 blessing of a good man, be his religion what 
 it may, can never do us any harm." 
 
 171
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE TUN OF HEIDELBERG PERKEO THE 
 DWARF THE MOUSE-TOWER 
 
 I 
 
 children were evidently very 
 much impressed by the story of 
 Saint Genevieve, and the little 
 medal's connection with it, but they also 
 felt that their time for stories was growing 
 short, and before many minutes passed, Alma 
 claimed attention to what she called a baby 
 barrel, adding that under its faucet was en- 
 graved a queer little man. 
 
 " Indeed, he is funny," began Miss Belle, 
 "and his story is one of the oddest to be 
 met with along the 'many-storied river 
 Rhine.' 
 
 " The barrel, as you call it, is a tiny copy 
 of the Great Tun of Heidelberg, a huge 
 reservoir for wine." 
 
 172
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 THE TUN OF HEIDELBERG 
 
 During the Middle Ages every peasant in 
 their domains had to pay a heavy tax to the 
 Lords of Heidelberg ; if they had no money, 
 
 ,' \ 
 
 they were allowed to pay in wine, for the 
 vineyards were the chief source of wealth 
 in that part of the world. 
 -173
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 The first tun was built in the year 1589 
 A.D. and held forty-nine thousand gallons of 
 wine, or about five hundred of our largest 
 hogsheads. The one at present shown to 
 the curious visitors at Heidelberg Castle was 
 built in 1751 A.D. It is as high as an ordi- 
 nary two-story house, and it is encircled by 
 a flight of steps. At the close of the vintage 
 season, when the tun was entirely filled, a 
 platform was always erected across its top, 
 and the peasants celebrated the occasion 
 with a festive dance. This last tun was in 
 use for more than twenty years, and was 
 refilled a number of times. 
 
 Near the tun, in the cellar of the ruined 
 castle of Heidelberg, stands the wooden 
 image of a dwarf ; he is a jolly-looking chap 
 and rejoices in the name of Perkeo. He is 
 popularly supposed to be the portrait, so to 
 speak, of another Perkeo, who is credited 
 with the herculean task of having swal- 
 lowed the entire contents of that last tun 
 of wine. 
 
 174
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 In days of old at the court of every king, 
 queen, and feudal lord there was always one 
 man known as the court jester, or court fool, 
 whose sole occupation in life was to amuse 
 his superiors. 
 
 No matter how sad his own heart might 
 be, the jester was expected to be always 
 ready to afford entertainment by means of 
 his witty and amusing stories or comments. 
 
 Our friend Perkeo was a dwarf, and he was 
 jester at the court of the Count of Heidelberg. 
 
 Now, although he was a very little man, 
 he was " a mighty giant for wine-bibbing," 
 and every time the Great Tun of Heidelberg 
 was rilled, his heart swelled with pride at 
 the thought that all this wine belonged to 
 his noble lord and master. 
 
 One day, when Perkeo was standing be- 
 side the tun, gazing at its huge proportions 
 with respectful and admiring eyes, he said to 
 himself: " What a fine thing it would be if I 
 Perkeo the dwarf could drink all that 
 wine myself." 
 
 175
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 No sooner had this whim entered his 
 head than he determined to gratify it. 
 
 You must know that a court jester was 
 usually a privileged person ; he could say 
 and do things that would have hanged any 
 other man, and demanded with impunity 
 favors which were nearly always granted. 
 
 Those were troublous times, and the man 
 who could amuse the people at court, and by 
 his merry jests and pranks keep " care at 
 bay," was considered worthy of all gratitude. 
 
 So Perkeo decided that at the first oppor- 
 tunity he would demand from his master 
 the privilege of being the only person to 
 drink wine from the Great Tun. 
 
 About that time the Count of Heidelberg 
 met with a number of misfortunes, and in 
 consequence was always either melancholy 
 and worrying over his troubles, or so irrita- 
 ble that no one dared to approach him. 
 
 Perkeo was far too clever to ask favors 
 from a man who was in a bad humor, and he 
 patiently bided his time. 
 176
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 One night, when the Count was feeling 
 unusually sad, he sent for Perkeo, in hopes 
 that the jester could produce in him a more 
 cheerful frame of mind. 
 
 " Perkeo," he said, " if you will only make 
 me laugh long enough to enable me to for- 
 get my troubles for a short 
 time, I will give you any- 
 thing you ask for." 
 
 Accordingly, Perkeo 
 exerted himself to the ut- 
 most, and never had he 
 been so witty, so clever, 
 or so amusing; but his 
 best efforts were all wasted, 
 his master never so much 
 as smiled. 
 
 Suddenly a queer idea 
 occurred to the jester; he 
 doffed his cap and knelt humbly before the 
 Count. 
 
 " Dear master," he said, " poor Perkeo 
 
 kneels to ask a great favor from you. The 
 12 I77
 
 Rlizabettis Charm-String 
 
 Great Tun of Heidelberg has just been 
 refilled for the last time; will you not give 
 orders that no one save Perkeo shall touch 
 a drop of that wine ? " 
 
 The Count was so astonished by this un- 
 looked-for request that he could scarcely 
 believe his ears. 
 
 He noted the diminutive .stature of the 
 dwarf kneeling before him ; he thought of 
 the colossal proportions of the Great Tun, 
 and the contrast they offered was so ridicu- 
 lous that the Count burst into a very roar of 
 laughter. It seemed to him that he had 
 never heard anything quite so absurd in all 
 his life, and he continued to laugh until he 
 was almost exhausted. 
 
 The great tun of wine now belonged to 
 Perkeo. No price was too great to pay for 
 such a good joke ! 
 
 Time after time, day in and day out, 
 
 Perkeo went to the tun for a glass of wine ; 
 
 and every day his affection for this enormous 
 
 barrel grew stronger, until finally he refused 
 
 178
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 to leave the tun at all, and took up his abode 
 in the cellar. 
 
 The legend says that for fifteen years 
 Perkeo remained at the side of his tun. 
 
 No one but himself ever turned the faucet 
 or tasted the wine, and when the Count of 
 Heidelberg or his friends wanted to be 
 amused, they had to go to Perkeo. 
 
 One sad day, however, he held up his 
 beaker and turned the faucet; not a drop 
 fell out. Perkeo the dwarf had completely 
 emptied the Great Tun of Heidelberg. 
 
 No longer having an excuse for remaining 
 in the cellar, and heart-broken at the thought 
 of losing his constant companion of fifteen 
 years, Perkeo laid himself down beside the tun 
 and quietly died; but not until he had asked 
 his master to bury him beneath the faucet, and 
 to have a statue erected to Perkeo close to 
 his old friend, the Great Tun of Heidelberg. 
 
 All this was done, just as Perkeo wished, 
 as you children may see for yourselves when 
 you visit Heidelberg. 
 
 179
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 " That reminds me," said Mrs. Staats, " of 
 an anecdote I once read about a man who 
 was so fond of a certain kind of wine that 
 he wished for a throat as long as the Missis- 
 sippi River, in order that he might longer 
 enjoy the taste of it." 
 
 "Oh, girls," exclaimed Margaret Nelson, 
 " do see this queer little house ! Miss Belle, it 
 looks as if it might have been the home of a 
 dwarf like Perkeo, it has such small windows." 
 
 " No," said Miss Belle, " it is not the house 
 of a dwarf, although it can be found not so 
 very far away from Heidelberg, where our 
 friend Perkeo lived. That little house is a 
 tower, built on a small island almost in the 
 middle of the Rhine, at a point near Bingen, 
 where the river narrows very considerably. 
 It is called the ' Mausthurm,' or ' Mouse- 
 Tower,' and its legend is rather gruesome." 
 
 THE MOUSE TOWER 
 
 Away back in the tenth century, there 
 lived an Archbishop of Mayence named 
 1 80
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 Hatto. He was a noted churchman, a very 
 clever statesman, but extremely perfidious and 
 cruel-hearted. 
 
 The poor people of his country were 
 dreadfully oppressed by the taxes he imposed 
 on them ; he even went so far as to lay a tax 
 on corn, and in consequence was cordially 
 hated by the peasants. 
 
 There came a year when all the crops 
 failed, and there was a terrible famine all 
 over the land. 
 
 The peasants had no money and no corn, 
 and were almost at the point of starvation. 
 
 But the Archbishop cared nothing for 
 their distress ; he had huge barns filled to 
 overflowing with the corn he had bought in 
 times of plenty, and hoarded up for his own 
 benefit. 
 
 This grain he sold for a high price to the 
 nobles, but he laughed at the miserable 
 peasants, who begged for only enough to 
 keep them alive. 
 
 Exasperated by their incessant prayers for 
 181
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 help, Hatto determined to put an end to their 
 importunities. 
 
 He notified the peasants that they might 
 all meet together in one of his empty barns, 
 and he would see what he could do for them. 
 
 They came in crowds at the appointed 
 time, and soon the building could hold no 
 more. They were overjoyed at the prospect 
 of food in abundance, and in gratitude for 
 the expected assistance almost forgot their 
 hatred of the Archbishop. 
 
 But alas for their hopes ! Instead of help- 
 ing them, the wicked Archbishop ordered his 
 servants to close all the doors and windows 
 and set fire to the barn. 
 
 " Destroy them all ! " he cried, " and get 
 rid of the vermin. They are like rats, good 
 for nothing but to devour the corn." 
 
 Then he returned to his palace, where 
 a banquet was being prepared for his sole 
 benefit 
 
 After dinner he retired, and slept soundly 
 until awakened by a noise in the dining- 
 182
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 room below. He paid no attention to it then, 
 but the next morning he found that his own 
 portrait had been gnawed into scraps by 
 mice. 
 
 This frightened Hatto, for he was very 
 superstitious, and in those days many people 
 believed that the souls of those who died by 
 violence could return in the bodies of rats 
 and mice, to avenge themselves on their 
 murderers. 
 
 While he was breakfasting, a messenger 
 came running in, and told the Archbishop 
 that an army of rats had eaten up all his 
 corn, and was coming towards the palace. 
 
 Hatto ran quickly from the room, jumped 
 on his swiftest horse, and rode with all pos- 
 sible speed to the river. 
 
 " I will go to my little tower," he thought. 
 " The water is deep, and the tide so strong 
 that the rats cannot reach me ; there I shall 
 be perfectly safe." 
 
 He reached the river none too soon, for 
 he had barely time to jump into a boat and 
 183
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 pull away from the shore, when the mice and 
 rats fell upon his exhausted horse and began 
 to devour it. 
 
 Across the river Hatto rowed with might 
 and main, and took ref- 
 uge in his little tower. 
 He barred every door 
 and closed every open- 
 ing, and felt so secure 
 that he lay down to 
 sleep. 
 
 Not long did his 
 slumbers last. The 
 infuriated rats had 
 swum across the nar- 
 row stream, and, find- 
 ing no way to enter the 
 tower, were gnawing 
 their way through the walls. 
 
 In vain did Hatto try to beat them off 
 as he fled to an upper story ; from spot 
 to spot they pursued him, until, overpow- 
 ered by their numbers, he sank exhausted, 
 184
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 and was devoured by his voracious little 
 enemies. 
 
 In this way was the cruel Archbishop 
 Hatto of Mayence punished for his crimes 
 against the poor, and it is this story which 
 gives the tower its name. 
 
 Robert Southey, the poet, has put this 
 story into rhyme, and he describes the inva- 
 sion of the rats and mice in a very vivid way: 
 
 " And in at the window, and in at the door, 
 And through the walls, helter skelter they pour, 
 And down from the ceiling, and up through the floor, 
 From the right and the left, from behind and before, 
 From within and without, from above and below, 
 And all at once to the Bishop they go. 
 They have whetted their teeth against the stones, 
 And now they Ve picked the Bishop's bones. 
 They gnawed the flesh from every limb, 
 For they were sent to do judgment on him." 
 
 " Is any part of that horrid story really 
 true?" asked Elizabeth. 
 
 The little girls looked so subdued and 
 awe-struck that Miss Belle had to laugh in 
 spite of herself. 
 
 185
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 " Well, my dears," she answered, u people 
 who are very particular about dates and 
 facts, and care very little about old legends, 
 insist that this tower was not built until 
 some two hundred years after the time of 
 Archbishop Hatto. 
 
 " The wise people claim that it was built by 
 a certain Bishop Siegfried, and was used as 
 a toll-house for collecting duties upon all 
 the goods carried by boats up or down the 
 river; and that its name ' Maus ' is merely 
 a corruption of the word ' Maiith,' which 
 means ' toll.' " 
 
 " Is it still standing in the middle of the 
 river, Miss Belle ? " asked Marie. 
 
 " Yes, indeed. I think it is used nowadays 
 as a signal tower. Vessels descending the 
 river are obliged to slacken speed at this 
 point when other vessels are coming up- 
 stream, and all the signals are given from 
 'The Mouse-Tower.'" 
 
 1 86
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE LEGEND OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER 
 
 DO see this little charm, girls ! " 
 exclaimed Genevieve. "It looks 
 like one of Grimm's ogres, carry- 
 ing a Hop-o'-my-thumb on his back." 
 
 " I am sure, children," said Miss Belle, 
 " that some of you have been told the history 
 of that particular giant. Put on your think- 
 ing caps and try to remember who he is." 
 
 The girls all looked puzzled and a trifle 
 embarrassed, but at length Marie Gardiner 
 said shyly: " I think, Miss Belle, that the 
 ogre is Saint Christopher, and the Hop-o'- 
 my-thumb is the infant Jesus." 
 
 "You are quite right, Marie. Can you tell 
 us the legend ? Will you try ? " 
 
 " Father told it to me," said Marie, " and 
 I have heard it so often that I believe I can 
 tell it almost as well as he does." 
 187
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 LEGEND OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER 
 
 Once upon a time, ever and ever so many 
 hundreds of years ago, there lived in the 
 land of Canaan a man called Offero, which 
 means " a bearer." He is said to have been 
 twelve feet tall, and was stronger than any 
 fifty ordinary men put together. 
 
 He was so proud of his strength that he 
 vowed he would never serve any but the 
 most powerful king in the whole world. He 
 journeyed about, until he reached the court 
 of a king who had conquered many coun- 
 tries, and was so rich that he did not know 
 how much gold and silver he owned. 
 
 The giant offered his services to this 
 King, who accepted them gladly, for he was 
 quite sure that no such man as this giant 
 had been seen since the days of Goliath. 
 
 Offero lived with his master several years 
 and served him faithfully. 
 
 One day a famous traveller arrived at the 
 palace; he had come to tell the King about 
 188
 
 Elizabetfis Charm-String 
 
 many wonderful adventures he had met 
 with, and the many curious sights he had 
 seen. 
 
 During this man's recital, Offero heard 
 him use the word " Satan " very often. Every 
 time this name was mentioned the King 
 would bow his head and make the sign of 
 the cross on his breast. 
 
 This so astonished Offero that he asked 
 the King why he made this gesture so fre- 
 quently. At first the King refused to answer 
 the giant's question, but finally acknowledged 
 that he was very much afraid of this person 
 called Satan. 
 
 " Then I will no longer serve you," cried 
 Offero, " because if you are afraid of Satan, 
 he must be greater than you are, and I have 
 sworn, in the pride of my strength, that I 
 will serve only the man who is the most 
 powerful person to be found." 
 
 Offero then left this King's court and 
 travelled far and wide seeking King Satan. 
 
 One day, while crossing a desert, he saw 
 189
 
 RlizabetJts Charm-String 
 
 coming toward him a tall, soldierly-looking 
 man, whose face would have been beautiful 
 and pleasing but for the cruel, threatening 
 expression of the eyes. 
 
 Behind him marched a vast army of men, 
 women, and even little children. Some of 
 these people looked very prosperous and 
 joyful ; others appeared unhappy, ragged, 
 and ignorant. 
 
 The leader approached Offero, and with 
 the air of a conqueror demanded who he was, 
 and where he was going. 
 
 " I am Offero, the Canaanite, the strongest 
 man in the world," replied the giant, " and I 
 am trying to find the court of King Satan. 
 But who are you, and who are these behind 
 you ? " 
 
 " I am Satan," the man answered proudly, 
 "and these people who follow me are my 
 slaves, bound to me body and soul." 
 
 " If you are indeed Satan, then I have 
 found the master I seek," and, so speaking, 
 Offero knelt and offered his services to 
 190
 
 Rlizabettis Charm-String 
 
 Satan, who graciously accepted them, and 
 placed the giant at his right hand. 
 
 Offero lived with Satan many years, and 
 was as faithful to him as he had been to his 
 first master. 
 
 They roamed from one country to another. 
 At length in the course of their travels they 
 came to a place where several roads met. 
 By the wayside stood a tall wooden cross. 
 
 This 'cross was merely a sign-post, but 
 when Satan saw it he trembled like a leaf 
 and turned very pale ; he was so frightened 
 that rather than pass the cross he marched 
 his followers many miles out of their way. 
 
 Offero, on perceiving Satan's terror, cried 
 out, " What is the matter, my master ? What 
 is there about that cross to be afraid of ? I 
 can see nothing wrong." 
 
 Satan hid his face and answered, " Upon 
 that cross the Christ died to save sinners. 
 I may be King of the Earth, but he is the 
 King of Heaven, and has power to destroy 
 me." 
 
 191
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 " If this Christ is more powerful than you 
 are, I must leave you and go find him. I 
 will no longer serve you since I know there 
 is a King of whom you are afraid," said 
 Offero. 
 
 The giant at once set forth in search 
 of the Kingdom of Heaven ; he went here, 
 there, and everywhere, but no one could tell 
 him where to find this great King Christ. 
 
 One night while walking through' a dark, 
 lonely forest he saw a faint light far ahead, 
 and, guiding his footsteps by it, came to a 
 little house. 
 
 He knocked on the door, and on entering 
 learned he was in the house of a very wise 
 and holy hermit. 
 
 This man explained to Offero all that was 
 known about Christ, and how he had died 
 on the cross for our sins. 
 
 He told the giant that the Kingdom of 
 Heaven was on the other side of a river 
 called Death, and that no one could cross 
 this stream until called by Christ himself. 
 192
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 " The best way to find Christ," said the 
 hermit finally, " is to fast and pray and 
 work." 
 
 " I will not fast," replied Offero, " because 
 then I should lose some of my strength ; and 
 how can I pray to a King I do not know and 
 cannot see ? I am quite willing to work, how- 
 ever, in any way you think will please your 
 Master and King." 
 
 " Very well," said the hermit, " I will set 
 you a task. Not far from here is a river, 
 wide, deep, and stony ; it is often swollen 
 by the heavy rains, and its current is so 
 very swift that many feeble people perish in 
 attempting to cross it. 
 
 u Go you and aid them with your strength, 
 and it may be that you will please the Christ 
 by doing this helpful work, and he may show 
 himself to you in some way." 
 
 Offero did as the hermit suggested. He 
 built himself a hut on the river-bank, and for 
 a staff he pulled up a young palm-tree. 
 
 By day or by night he was always ready 
 13 193
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 either to help those who needed his assistance, 
 or to carry those who were too weak to even 
 attempt crossing by themselves. 
 
 One night, when it was so very dark and 
 stormy that he felt sure no travellers would 
 be abroad, he went to bed early and was soon 
 fast asleep. 
 
 He was wakened by the sound of a child's 
 voice, crying " Offero ! Offero ! come carry 
 me over the river ! " 
 
 The giant looked outside, but could see 
 no one. Thinking he had dreamed of hear- 
 ing this call for help, he went back to bed. 
 
 Again came the cry, and again he could 
 see nobody; a third time he heard it, " Offero ! 
 help me ! come quickly ! " 
 
 Offero seized his lantern, ran out of doors 
 and searched diligently, but apparently he 
 was again mistaken in the sound. 
 
 Suddenly out of the darkness appeared 
 a little boy clothed in beautiful white robes, 
 who begged to be carried over the river. 
 
 The giant laughed as he lifted the child 
 194
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 and placed him on his own broad back. He 
 was such a wee little fellow that to Offero 
 his weight was less than a feather, and in 
 spite of the storm he thought his task would 
 be a light one. 
 
 Alas for Offero 's pride ! At every step his 
 burden grew heavier and heavier, and his 
 strength began to weaken ; even with the aid 
 of his staff he could scarcely make any prog- 
 ress, and when after a frightful struggle he 
 at last reached the opposite shore, he was 
 utterly exhausted. 
 
 " Who are you ? " he asked faintly, as he 
 lifted the child from his back. " Who 
 are you whose weight has so tired my 
 strength ? " 
 
 Instead of a child, before him stood a 
 beautiful young man. A bright light shone 
 about his head, and Offero thought that 
 never before had been seen such a gentle, 
 loving face. 
 
 " I am the Christ you seek," was the an- 
 swer, " and it is no wonder you are so tired, 
 195
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 for you have carried not only the world, but 
 all the sins of the world, which I took on 
 my shoulders. 
 
 " People call you Offero the bearer ; 
 but hereafter you shall be called Christ- 
 offero the Christ-bearer. 
 
 " You have tried to serve me by aiding 
 the poor and the helpless, and I am pleased 
 with you. To show my pleasure and prove 
 that I am indeed Christ, I bid you plant your 
 staff in the ground, and it shall grow and 
 blossom." 
 
 Offero did as he was told, and lo ! his old 
 staff flourished at once into a young date 
 palm, and its branches were covered with lus- 
 cious ripe fruit. 
 
 When the giant looked again for the 
 young man, the latter had disappeared. 
 
 Offero suddenly realized that he had in- 
 deed seen the Christ, and, falling on his 
 knees, found also that he had learned how 
 to pray. 
 
 Then the giant went back into the great 
 196
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 world calling himself Christoffero, or Chris- 
 topher, as he had been told to do. 
 
 Always he helped the weak and needy, 
 and told every one he met about the Christ. 
 
 At length Christo- 
 pher reached Samos, a 
 city of Lycia, where the 
 people spoke a language 
 unknown to him. He 
 prayed to Christ for 
 power to speak and 
 understand this strange 
 tongue ; his prayer be- 
 ing granted, he sought 
 out the Christians who 
 were then being perse- 
 cuted because of their 
 religion, and did all he 
 possibly could to help and comfort them. 
 
 The King of this country was called Dag- 
 
 nus. When he beheld the gigantic stature 
 
 and enormous strength of Christopher, he 
 
 became so frightened that he almost fainted 
 
 197
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 on his throne, and ordered his soldiers to 
 cast the giant into prison. 
 
 The King sent many of his own people to 
 tempt Christopher to deny Christ, or to cause 
 him to fall into sin ; but the giant would 
 never yield, because he knew the only way 
 to serve his own King was to do good and 
 be faithful. 
 
 Dagnus became very angry with Christo- 
 pher and, as he was also very much afraid of 
 him, had the poor man horribly tortured, 
 and finally ordered that his head should be 
 cut off. 
 
 " I think that is all, Miss Belle," added 
 Marie. 
 
 " Well done, Marie, but there is one thing 
 you have forgotten, or perhaps have never 
 heard." 
 
 A SECOND LEGEND 
 
 Just as the soldiers were about to cut off 
 his head, Christopher prayed aloud, asking 
 198
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 that the followers of Christ who saw him 
 Christopher on that day should not suffer 
 from tempest or fire or earthquake. 
 
 Saint Christopher was, I might say is, re- 
 garded as a type of courage and endurance, 
 and it was a firm belief for centuries, that 
 whoever looked at the image of the saint 
 would on that day fail neither in strength 
 nor purpose. For that reason immense pict- 
 ures or images of him used to be placed 
 on the walls of churches or houses, so that 
 they might be seen from a great distance. 
 
 There is a certain mountain in Granada 
 which is the first thing seen by the ships 
 coming from the African coast. This moun- 
 tain, so I was told, because of the sailors' 
 superstitious belief in the helpfulness of the 
 Christ-bearer, was by them christened " San 
 Cristobal." 
 
 199
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE LORELEI LEGEND 
 
 DDES this little gold harp typify 
 Saint Cecelia, Aunt Belle?" 
 asked Elizabeth. 
 
 " No indeed, Elizabeth, that harp is the 
 symbol of nothing saintly or angelic ; its 
 music always meant mischief, often shipwreck 
 and death. 
 
 " Have none of you ever heard the legend 
 of the ' Lorelei,' the siren of the Rhine ? " 
 A chorus of " Noes " was the reply. 
 " Listen then, and you shall hear two 
 stories about her. The first is the tale of a 
 love that did not run smoothly, and perhaps 
 it had an actual occurrence for its foundation." 
 
 LEGEND OF THE LORELEI 
 
 Several centuries ago there lived in the 
 town of Bacharach, on the Rhine, a man of 
 200
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 humble station, who had a very beautiful 
 daughter named Lorelei. 
 
 The father was too poor to give his 
 daughter any marriage portion, but for the 
 sake of her sweet face, her goodness and 
 cleverness, suitors of all degrees, from prince 
 to peasant, sought her hand in marriage. 
 
 She refused them one and all, because not 
 a man among them had won her heart. 
 
 Many a rejected suitor drowned himself 
 in the Rhine, heart-broken by the coldness 
 of this charming maiden. 
 
 Ere long Lorelei began to wish that some- 
 thing would happen to mar her beauty, for 
 she grieved at being the cause of so much 
 unhappiness, and if she was ugly, she would 
 not be bothered with so many unwelcome 
 lovers. 
 
 Many of her girl friends, however, who may 
 have been jealous -of her beauty and popu- 
 larity, declared that Lorelei was simply a 
 vain, hard-hearted coquette. They said she 
 was so proud of her lovely face, that she re- 
 201
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 fused all these lovers in order to increase the 
 number of her conquests by her seeming 
 indifference ; and they were all quite sure 
 that she would in some way or other be 
 properly punished for her cruelty. 
 
 One fine day there came to woo our fair 
 maiden a knight so brave and handsome 
 that Lorelei fell in love with him at first 
 sight, and soon after they were formally 
 betrothed. 
 
 There was always more or less fighting 
 going on in those days, and the successful 
 knight vowed that he would go to the wars, 
 and by his valor and courage prove himself 
 worthy of the peerless Lorelei. 
 
 His sweetheart entreated him not to leave 
 her, but he was ambitious, and desired to 
 offer his bride a name made famous by deeds 
 of prowess. 
 
 So off to the wars went the knight. 
 
 Lorelei grieved bitterly for her lover, but 
 the other girls jeered at her distress ; indeed, 
 they thought she deserved it. 
 202
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 Many weary months passed, and she had 
 heard nothing whatever from her betrothed; 
 her heart was full of forebodings. Was he 
 dead ? Had he ceased to love her ? 
 
 Many other suitors came to ask the hand 
 of this poor village girl, but her heart was 
 true to her absent lover, and she would not 
 listen to any other man. 
 
 At last the other maidens in the town 
 and neighborhood lost all patience, and car- 
 ried their grievances to the Archbishop of 
 Cologne. 
 
 They assured him that this Lorelei, who 
 appeared so sweet and amiable, was at heart 
 both selfish and cruel ; not content with 
 being betrothed to the man of her heart, she 
 endeavored to take away from other girls the 
 lovers she did not want herself. 
 
 Lorelei was ordered to appear before the 
 Archbishop of Cologne, in order that he 
 might inquire into the truth of these accu- 
 sations. 
 
 The Archbishop had never seen Lorelei, 
 203
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 but he found that Dame Rumor had not ex- 
 aggerated her beauty or her fascinations. He 
 investigated all complaints, asking Lorelei 
 and her accusers numerous searching ques- 
 tions. 
 
 Finally he reached a conclusion, and stated 
 that he had not found a single case wherein 
 Lorelei was at fault or deserving of censure. 
 
 Lorelei threw herself at the feet of the 
 Archbishop, and beseeched him to kill her. 
 She said she was so unhappy over her lov- 
 er's long absence, the jealousy of her neigh- 
 bors and the trouble caused by her beauty 
 made her so miserable, that she longed to die. 
 
 The Archbishop had no right to grant 
 such a request, even if he had been willing 
 to destroy so much loveliness ; but he told 
 Lorelei that if she wished to, she might go to 
 some convent, and wait there quietly until 
 she heard from her betrothed. 
 
 Travelling alone was not very safe in those 
 days, so the Archbishop directed several of his 
 soldiers to escort Lorelei to her destination. 
 204
 
 Rlizabetlts Charm-String 
 
 The party journeyed along the Rhine, 
 until they reached Saint Goar. 
 
 Here the river is very narrow and the 
 current is dangerously swift ; the cliffs are so 
 high that they almost shut out the sunlight, 
 and one of these rocks juts out sharply into 
 the water. 
 
 Lorelei begged permission to climb this 
 rock, and take a farewell view of her beloved 
 river. 
 
 As she stood on this height she saw a 
 boat approaching, and standing in the bow 
 was her betrothed. To attract his attention 
 she began to sing a wondrously lovely strain 
 of music. 
 
 The knight heard her, and was so fasci- 
 nated by the melody, and by the sight of 
 his adored Lorelei, that he forgot everything 
 else. His, boat, not being properly steered, 
 was caught in the swift current, dashed to 
 pieces against the rocks, and the knight 
 disappeared under the rushing waters. 
 
 When Lorelei realized that her lover was 
 205
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 drowning, she threw herself headlong from 
 the rock and shared his sad fate. 
 
 From that time this rock has been known 
 as the " Loreleiberg." 
 
 So far as this story is concerned the 
 legend is quite plausible, but according to 
 other traditions the Lorelei was not a human 
 being at all, but a water-nymph, a daughter 
 of the Rhine god, and her home was in an 
 enchanted palace at the bottom of the Rhine. 
 206
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 On moonlight nights she would leave her 
 fairy home, and seat herself on this high rock 
 at Saint Goar. 
 
 Sometimes she was seen combing her 
 long golden hair with a jewelled comb ; 
 sometimes she held a golden harp, and to its 
 accompaniment sang exquisite melodies. 
 
 So marvellous was her beauty, and so 
 alluring was the sound of her voice, that 
 when men saw or heard her they straightway 
 forgot everything else. 
 
 Many a poor sailor was lured to his death 
 by the Lorelei. Forgetful of his boat, it 
 would be drawn into the whirling eddies at 
 the base of the siren's rock, and dashed to 
 pieces against it. 
 
 Strange to say, this lovely water-nymph 
 had chosen for her lover an humble fisher- 
 man. She would tell him where to cast his 
 nets, and he was always lucky and found 
 them full of fish. 
 
 One night he climbed the Lorelei's rock, 
 but never came back, never again was seen 
 207
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 by mortal man ; the Lorelei had carried him 
 down to her enchanted palace under the 
 Rhine. 
 
 There was a certain Count Ludwig, the 
 only son of a great feudal lord, who lived 
 in a town called Stahleck. 
 
 Ludwig was a handsome man and a val- 
 iant soldier. He had heard so much about 
 the Lorelei's beauty that nothing would do 
 but that he must go see her himself, and 
 perhaps bring her back to iStahleck as his 
 bride. 
 
 With this hope in view, he fitted out a 
 boat with great splendor, and sailed toward 
 Saint Goar. 
 
 As the vessel approached the Lorelei's 
 rock, sweet strains of music were heard, and 
 in the clear moonlight Ludwig caught a 
 glimpse of the Lorelei. She stood on the 
 rock, her harp in her hands ; her soft white 
 draperies floated about her like a mist, and 
 jewels shone in her golden hair. 
 
 The boat drew nearer, and the vision grew 
 208
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 more distinct. Ludwig, like a man under 
 the spell of an enchantress, was lost to 
 everything but the sight of that marvellous 
 beauty and the sound of that enticing 
 voice. 
 
 Alas for the unfortunate knight ! His 
 sailors were also spellbound, and the fine 
 vessel of Count Ludwig shared the fate of 
 the humblest fishing boat. 
 
 The Lorelei had lured the knight to his 
 death ! 
 
 But one person on board the vessel es- 
 caped, and he carried the sad news back to 
 Stahleck. 
 
 The unhappy father swore he would have 
 the Lorelei's life in return for his son's, and 
 sent a number of his bravest warriors to cap- 
 ture the water-nymph. 
 
 The soldiers hurried to the rock, crept up 
 stealthily, and surrounded the Lorelei so 
 closely that there seemed no way of escape* 
 open, unless she threw herself into the Rhine. 
 Then the soldiers called on her to surrender. 
 H 209
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 The Lorelei made no reply, but, standing 
 up in the moonlight, she loosened her golden 
 hair, and, waving her arms gracefully, began 
 to dance. Such strange, fantastic dancing as 
 this these hardy soldiers had never seen, and 
 under its spell they were as helpless as a bird 
 charmed by a snake. Little by little she 
 neared the edge of the cliff, and there the 
 dance ended. 
 
 The Lorelei took off all her jewels and 
 dropped them into the river; then lifting 
 her harp, she began to sing. The melody was 
 very weird, filling the hearts of the listeners 
 with a vague terror. It may be she was 
 appealing to the Rhine god for help; if so 
 he must have heard her, for the river began 
 to foam and bubble, and the water rose 
 higher and higher, until it reached the sum- 
 mit of the rock where the Lorelei stood. 
 
 Up from its green depths there arose a 
 ehariot of pink coral, adorned with pearls, 
 and to it four white sea-horses were har- 
 nessed. Still singing, the Lorelei stepped 
 210
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 into this fairy-like carriage, and slowly the 
 water sank to its usual level. 
 
 When the soldiers, released from the spell 
 of the Lorelei's presence, ran to the edge of 
 the cliff and looked over, nothing unusual 
 was to be seen, but up from the depths of 
 the Rhine came a peal of mocking laughter. 
 
 Never again was the beautiful water- 
 nymph seen in the moonlight combing her 
 hair, but sometimes when the moon is full 
 and the night very quiet, the sailors imagine 
 they can hear her singing, and they say to 
 each other, " Listen ! the Lorelei is singing 
 to her fisher lover." 
 
 211
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE DOVES OF VENICE THE LION OF LU- 
 CERNETHE MONKEY'S TOWER HILDA'S 
 TOWER THE DURHAM KNOCKER THE 
 IRON VIRGIN THE CROSS OF SAINT BER- 
 NARD MONTE -DI-PIETA THE LITTLE 
 CORPORAL 
 
 BELLE," said Mrs. Staats, "instead 
 of telling another long story, sup- 
 pose you fill up the half-hour before 
 lunch with what one might call * general 
 information ' about Elizabeth's ' buttons.' ' 
 
 " That is a very good idea," replied Belle, 
 " and I will commence with this little enam- 
 elled bird. Its coloring is almost exactly like 
 that of the * Pigeons of Saint Mark's,' from 
 which it was modelled." 
 
 THE DOVES OF VENICE 
 
 Hundreds of these pigeons fly unmolested 
 about the Church and Piazza of San Marco 
 212
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 in Venice, and they have possessed this privi- 
 lege ever since the year 877 A.D. 
 
 They are quite tame, and the sight of your 
 hands filled with corn will bring the pretty 
 
 creatures flocking around you. They will 
 light on your shoulders and feed from your 
 hands or from your lips, without fear. 
 
 One story relates that these birds are held 
 sacred, because a carrier-pigeon brought to a 
 Doge of Venice in ancient days a message 
 that enabled the Venetians to win a glorious 
 victory. But their exemption from the usual 
 fate of pigeons probably originated in one of 
 the holiday games of the Venetians. In the 
 213
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 old and palmy days of the Republic it was 
 customary, after the High Mass on Palm 
 Sunday, for the Sacristan of Saint Mark's to 
 let loose a number of pigeons in the piazza. 
 
 The birds were always handicapped in 
 their flight by scraps of paper fastened un- 
 der their wings. 
 
 The Venetians would gather together in 
 the piazza and scramble good-naturedly for 
 these pigeons. No quarrelling or fighting 
 over them was allowed. The captured birds 
 were fattened up for the Easter dinner, and 
 the victors were expected to invite their less 
 fortunate neighbors to share the feast. 
 
 The pigeons lucky enough to escape 
 found a veritable " city of refuge " in the 
 roof and niches of the church. These birds 
 were regarded as sacred, and rounded out 
 their little lives in peace and plenty. 
 
 Formerly they were fed at the expense of 
 the government, but after Napoleon Bona- 
 parte in 1797 A.D. declared the downfall of 
 the Republic, and transferred all the Vene- 
 214
 
 Rlizabettis Charm-String 
 
 tian territory to Austria, the pigeons were 
 sadly neglected ; the stones of Venice do not 
 afford much food for birds, and hundreds of 
 them starved to death. 
 
 Now they are provided for by the income 
 from a sum of money bequeathed to the city 
 by some charitable-minded lady, for the spe- 
 cial maintenance of the pigeons. Besides 
 this, several peasants are always to be found 
 in the piazza with little packages of corn, 
 which they sell for a penny each. 
 
 Very few of the many people who visit 
 Venice pass through the piazza without 
 squandering a few pennies for the pleasure of 
 feeding the pigeons, so the birds are in no 
 present danger of starvation. 
 
 " Dear me, Aunt Belle, every time I 
 decide which charm I like best, you tell 
 me something that makes me change my 
 mind." 
 
 " Oh ! " said Genevieve, " do not bother 
 your head about that. What is the use of 
 215
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 trying to pick out the biggest apple in a bar- 
 rel, when they are all the same size? Just 
 like all the charms the best." 
 
 The laughter caused by this characteristic 
 speech was interrupted by Miss Belle calling 
 their attention to a tiny silver bas-relief, 
 which she told the children was called the 
 " Lion of Lucerne." 
 
 " The original of this figure," she con- 
 tinued, " was carved out of the solid rock of 
 a mountain-side at Lucerne, by the famous 
 Norwegian sculptor, Thorwaldsen. The 
 huge lion, twenty-eight feet long and fifteen 
 feet high, is dying, pierced by a spear broken 
 short off in his body, and one paw is closed 
 over the * Lilies of France ' as though the 
 lion loved and desired to protect them." 
 
 THE LION OF LUCERNE 
 
 The " Lion of Lucerne " was carved as a 
 monument to bravery and loyalty, in mem- 
 ory of twenty-six officers and seven hundred 
 and fifty soldiers of the famous regiment of 
 216
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 Swiss Guards, who lost their lives while de- 
 fending the Tuileries Palace against the fury 
 of a mob on August 10, 1792 A.D. 
 
 On that night thousands of rioters, armed 
 with pikes, attacked the palace. The sol- 
 diers of the National Guard were divided 
 between their allegiance to the King, and 
 their sympathy with the common people, 
 and their fidelity wavered. Perhaps they 
 would have remained loyal and joined the 
 soldiers of the Swiss Guard in defending the 
 palace, had not the King decided to leave 
 the Tuileries with his family and take refuge 
 in the building called the " Manege," where 
 the National Assembly the representa- 
 tives of the people held their meetings. 
 
 All the soldiers of the National Guard left 
 the Tuileries, but the Swiss Guards and 
 about one hundred and twenty nobles who 
 were loyal to the King refused to surrender 
 the palace. They fired on the rioters, and 
 might easily have dispersed them, but the 
 King sent word to cease firing and surrender. 
 217
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 The rioters renewed the attack, and in 
 a few minutes burst into the palace, killing 
 every soldier they saw, and destroying every- 
 thing they could lay their hands on. The 
 
 L 
 
 Swiss Guards were nearly all killed in the 
 gardens as they retreated, and the few who 
 survived gave up their arms by order of the 
 King. 
 
 You understand, then, that these foreign 
 soldiers were far more loyal to the unfortu- 
 218
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 nate King Louis XVI, and the still more 
 unfortunate Queen Marie Antoinette, than 
 were the French soldiers of the National 
 Guard. That is why the monument shows 
 the " Lion of Lucerne " protecting the Bour- 
 bon lilies. 
 
 Cut in the rock below the lion are the 
 names of these brave officers, and an inscrip- 
 tion describing the cause and manner of 
 their death. At the foot of the cliff, just 
 beneath the monument is a little artificial 
 lake, bordered with clusters of water lilies, 
 and floating on its surface are white swans. 
 It is all so quiet and peaceful, that it is hard 
 to realize that the dying lion commemorates 
 a scene of murder and violence. 
 
 " Miss Belle," asked Marie, " has every one 
 of these little animals on Elizabeth's charm- 
 string a history ? " 
 
 " No, my dear, but nearly all of them are 
 typical of street scenes in the cities where 
 they were bought. 
 
 219
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 " In Florence the people drive the prettiest 
 little donkeys I have ever seen. Early every 
 morning in Naples you will see flocks of 
 goats driven through the streets, and milked 
 at each house door. At Monte Carlo a pig 
 is the proper charm to wear, and at Paris 
 a French poodle. 
 
 " That little monkey you have now in your 
 hand came from Rome, and he deserves to 
 be called historical. 
 
 " One afternoon I was sauntering along a 
 narrow street in Rome, when most unex- 
 pectedly it widened out into a small open 
 space, or piazza. It was not the cleanest place 
 I have ever seen, but it certainly was a very 
 interesting and a very busy little place. 
 
 " In the surrounding shops I imagine one 
 could buy anything, from antiquities to freshly 
 roasted chestnuts, from diamonds to postage 
 stamps ; there was also a little church near 
 by, and very likely one of the little shops 
 was a lottery office. 
 
 " But what most attracted my attention was 
 220
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 a building which perhaps in its best days 
 had been a palace, maybe the home of some 
 great Roman noble. Above the entrance 
 rose a tall square tower ; on one angle of its 
 battlements stood a shrine to the Virgin 
 Mary, and before this a light was burning. 
 
 " I had seen many similar shrines on 
 the corners and above the doorways of build- 
 ings, but never one in such an exalted posi- 
 tion as this. I wondered very much why 
 it had been placed so far above all practical 
 purposes, and later on I learned the reason." 
 
 HILDA'S TOWER 
 
 There once lived in this tower a man who 
 owned a pet monkey; the animal was very 
 tame and good-natured, and the man's only 
 son, then little more than a baby, was espe- 
 cially fond of it. 
 
 Imagine the horror of the baby's parents 
 when one morning they discovered the mon- 
 key climbing up the tower, carrying their lit- 
 tle son with him. When the top was reached 
 
 221
 
 Elizabeth's Charm-String 
 
 rj 
 
 the monkey balanced himself on the parapet, 
 and with the child in his arms rocked back 
 and forth on this narrow ledge. 
 
 The parents were almost crazy with appre- 
 hension, and, falling on their knees, they 
 vowed that if the monkey returned their 
 
 child to them 
 unharmed, they 
 would build a 
 shrine to the 
 Virgin for this 
 
 _ SK^ " r .i* *^S^^^ j f 
 
 F 
 
 tower, and al- 
 ways keep a 
 light burning 
 before it. 
 
 As if in an- 
 swer to their 
 prayers, the 
 monkey, with- 
 out losing hold 
 
 of the child, clambered and slid down the 
 
 wall, and laid the baby at his mother's feet. 
 
 The grateful parents did not forget their 
 
 222
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 vow, but had an image of the Virgin made, 
 and placed it on the tower. As long as the 
 tower endures, the light before the Madonna 
 must be kept burning, or else tower and 
 building will pass from its owner and become 
 the property of the Roman Church. 
 
 The Romans call this tower " Torre della 
 Scimia," the Monkey's Tower, but to 
 most English-speaking people it is known 
 as " Hilda's Tower." 
 
 There is a charming romance of artist life 
 in Rome called " The Marble Faun," written 
 by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The name of the 
 heroine is Hilda; her studio was in this 
 tower, and because of her lovable character 
 she was appointed custodian of theMadonna's 
 shrine, and it was her duty to keep the light 
 burning before it. 
 
 Some day you will read " The Marble 
 Faun," and it may add to your interest in 
 the story if you remember why this partic- 
 ular shrine to the Virgin Mary occupies so 
 elevated a position. 
 
 223
 
 RlizabetJts Charm-String 
 
 " Do you think," asked Margaret with a 
 very dubious expression on her pretty face, 
 "that we shall be able to remember all these 
 tales until we get a chance to see these 
 
 wonderful things for 
 ourselves ? " 
 
 "No doubt, dear, 
 you will forget all 
 the dates and most 
 of the facts, but I 
 am quite sure you will not forget the ' story ' 
 parts. 
 
 " Now," continued Miss Belle, " here is 
 another curious charm. It looks like a 
 grotesque mask, with empty eye sockets and 
 224
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 partly opened mouth. Its original is the 
 'knocker' on the door of the Cathedral of 
 Durham in England." 
 
 THE DURHAM KNOCKER 
 The knocker is very much larger than a 
 man's head, and in the old monastic days 
 its features were lighted up 
 every night by a torch, to 
 show travellers the way to 
 the cathedral and monastery. 
 It had another interesting 
 use. At this door people who 
 were unjustly accused of any crime, or 
 criminals fleeing from justice, could find 
 "sanctuary;" that is, any real or supposed 
 sinner who could reach and sound the Dur- 
 ham knocker before being caught by his 
 pursuers, was safe for that time at least. 
 
 He was taken into the monastery and 
 
 cared for by the charitable monks, until his 
 
 case could be investigated. If he was found 
 
 innocent in their sight, they helped him on 
 
 is 225
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 his way to safety, and I imagine that even 
 the guilty ones were not always punished 
 as severely as they deserved. 
 
 Miss Belle next picked out a little figure 
 which looked like a fifteenth-century peas- 
 ant girl in miniature. It had on a long 
 cloak ornamented with rows of tiny but- 
 tons. On its head was an oddly shaped 
 cap, and around its neck was a wide plaited 
 ruffle. 
 
 " Now this article," she said, " was also 
 used by priests and monks, but for a very 
 different purpose. This was an instrument 
 of torture during the days of the Inquisition, 
 and it is called the ' Iron Virgin of Nurem- 
 berg.' 
 
 " Look ! " she continued, and then pressed 
 one of the little buttons. 
 
 The little image opened down the centre, 
 and the girls saw that the buttons outside 
 were really the heads of tiny spikes driven 
 through the figure. 
 
 226
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 THE IRON VIRGIN 
 
 The victim of this dreadful-looking Virgin 
 was placed inside, and the doors were closed 
 very slowly. The spikes were so arranged 
 
 as to pierce only the fleshy and least vital 
 parts of the body. . If the sufferer confessed 
 whatever the Inquisitors desired to learn, he 
 or she would be released from the embrace 
 of the Virgin ; if not, then the doors would 
 
 227
 
 Rlizabettis Charm-String 
 
 be tightly closed, and the victim crushed 
 against the cruel points. 
 
 So seldom was the heart or brain pierced, 
 that to be " embraced by the Iron Virgin " 
 meant that the sufferer lingered in horrible 
 torture until the agony actually exhausted 
 his vitality. Underneath the Iron Virgin 
 was a trap door, through which the body was 
 dropped when life was extinct. 
 
 The Iron Virgin may still be seen in the 
 quaint town of Nuremberg, but, Heaven be 
 praised, she has for many a long day been 
 as harmless as the Durham knocker. 
 
 " Here is a little charm that came from 
 Sienna, one of the famous 'hilltop' cities 
 of Italy," said Miss Belle, picking out a little 
 circle of golden rays, enclosing the letters 
 "J. H. S." united in a cross-shaped mono- 
 gram. " This figure is one you often see in 
 Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches, 
 and the letters are the initials of three 
 Latin words, meaning 'Jesus, Saviour of 
 Man.'" 
 
 228
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 THE CROSS OF SAINT BERNARD 
 
 It is the emblem of Saint Bernardino, 
 or Saint Bernard as we know him, of Sienna, 
 a famous Franciscan monk. 
 
 Some one has aptly described the Francis- 
 cans as the Salvation Army of the Middle 
 Ages, and Saint Bernard was one of the 
 most eloquent preachers of this order, and 
 his personal influence led many people to 
 forsake their evil ways. It was frequently 
 his custom, while preaching, to hold in his 
 hand a tablet on which was carved the name 
 of Jesus, or the letters " J. H. S.," sur- 
 rounded by a circle of gilded rays. 
 
 One day a man came to Saint Bernard in 
 great distress and begged him to stop preach- 
 ing for a time. 
 
 " Father," he said, " I earn my living by 
 making cards and dice, but you have per- 
 suaded so many people to stop gambling 
 that I no longer have any trade, and am 
 almost penniless." 
 
 229
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 Saint Bernard showed the man his tablet 
 and suggested that he make others like it 
 and sell them to the people instead of cards. 
 
 Because of the love and respect which 
 every one felt for Saint Bernard, the tablets 
 were in great demand, and soon came to be 
 regarded as sacred memorials of this Fran- 
 ciscan monk. 
 
 Another emblem of Saint Bernard is a little 
 green hill, made up of three mounds, with a 
 crucifix on the top. This was called in Italy 
 a " Monte-di-Pieta," or " Little Hill of Piety." 
 
 Now in those days the people who were 
 obliged to borrow money from Jews or 
 usurers, were compelled to pay an enormous 
 interest on such loans. To help the very 
 poor people, it is said that Saint Bernard 
 founded in every large city that he visited 
 what we now call a loan-office or pawn-shop, 
 but which is still called in Italy a Monte-di- 
 Pieta, and in France a Mont-de-Piete. These 
 institutions were intended to be purely chari- 
 table in their aims, and as the interest de- 
 230
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 manded on all kinds of loans was the merest 
 trifle, they proved very helpful. So when 
 you see the three gold balls hanging over 
 the door of a pawn-shop, do not forget that 
 they had their origin in the three little green 
 mounds of Saint Bernard's "Hill of Piety." 
 
 Miss Belle then showed the little girls a 
 miniature bust of the Emperor Napoleon 
 Bonaparte. " I bought this," she said, " be- 
 cause of a pretty story concerning the man- 
 ner in which Napoleon Bonaparte acquired 
 his nickname of ' Le Petit Caporal,' or ' The 
 Little Corporal.' " 
 
 THE LITTLE CORPORAL 
 
 This fearless man was not in the habit of 
 flying from his enemies, but, according to the 
 story, he had suffered a defeat at the hands 
 of the Russians, and was retreating, closely 
 followed by a band of Cossacks, who were 
 bent on capturing him. 
 
 A corporal or sergeant of the Emperor's 
 own regiment was riding with him. Escape 
 231
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 seemed impossible, until this soldier, who was 
 a man of about the same height and build 
 as Napoleon, persuaded the latter to ex- 
 change uniforms and horses with him. This 
 
 done, the Emperor 
 spurred his horse 
 in another direc- 
 tion, while the cor- 
 poral continued to 
 ride straight ahead 
 along the high- 
 road. 
 
 The personal ap- 
 pearance of Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte was 
 
 well known, consequently the Cossacks had 
 no doubt that " the little French officer riding 
 a white horse," who had been seen by the 
 country people of whom they made inquiries, 
 was the man they were trying to capture. 
 
 The corporal was overtaken and arrested, 
 but the deception was not detected until he 
 was taken before the Russian general. 
 232
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 Imagine the chagrin of his captors when, 
 instead of the Emperor of France, they dis- 
 covered that their prisoner was no greater 
 personage than a corporal of the Emperor's 
 Guard. The soldier was sentenced to death, 
 and was shot the next morning. 
 
 Napoleon provided liberally for the family 
 of the soldier who had sacrificed his life for his 
 general, and in grateful memory of the deed 
 often appeared in the uniform of a corporal. 
 
 This Emperor, who at the height of his 
 power was the terror of every monarch in 
 Europe, was a very small man, and the nick- 
 name " Little Corporal," given him by his 
 soldiers, was a very appropriate one, and to 
 Napoleon Bonaparte's credit be it said that 
 the title was always used affectionately, never 
 in derision, for he was ever the idol of the 
 French army. 
 
 Just then old Caroline poked her head 
 inside the door and called out, it must be 
 confessed a trifle impatiently: 
 233
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 " Mrs. Staats, if the children don't hurry 
 up the candles will all burn out." 
 
 " Candles ! " exclaimed every one of the 
 girls except Elizabeth. 
 
 " Yes, candles," she cried, her eyes dancing 
 with fun. " It is a grand surprise for you all. 
 To-day is my birthday, and the candles are on 
 my cake. Hurry up, girls ! " 
 
 234
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE BIRTHDAY PARTY 
 
 OFF the girls scampered into the 
 dining-room, and many " Ohs ! " 
 and "Ahs!" were uttered at the 
 sight of the feast spread before them. 
 
 In the middle stood the birthday cake, 
 with a lighted candle for each year of Eliz- 
 abeth's life, and high above these, in the 
 centre of the cake, burned the " life light." 
 Elizabeth herself had to blow this one out, so 
 as to make sure she would live to the next 
 birthday ; then with a long breath, a strong 
 breath, and a breath all together, the other 
 girls blew out all the " year " candles, and 
 so they knew that Elizabeth would meet with 
 no misfortunes in the coming year. 
 
 Such good things as they had to eat; 
 everything schoolgirls like, from olives to ice- 
 235
 
 RlizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 cream. When the time came to cut the 
 birthday cake, Elizabeth inserted the knife 
 in the portion directly in front of her. For 
 some reason it would not cut, and on inves- 
 tigating the cause, she found that instead of 
 a slice of cake, she was trying to cut a little 
 box which had her own name on it. 
 
 She untied the white ribbon fastenings, 
 and lo ! and behold ! there was the white 
 leather box which her Aunt had given to 
 Mrs. Staats on the first morning of the 
 visit. 
 
 On the cover was a dainty monogram 
 " E. S." in green and red coloring, and 
 around its edge was a border of little fleurs- 
 de-lis. Inside on a white satin bed lay the 
 prettiest little watch that ever gladdened the 
 eyes of a small girl ; and Elizabeth fairly 
 swelled with pride as Aunt Belle fastened 
 to her dress the little fleur-de-lis pin, from 
 which hung the long-desired treasure. 
 
 " There you are, my dear. I bought the 
 little watch in Paris, and that is why I chose 
 236
 
 Elizabeths Charm-String 
 
 this design for its pin. I had the box made 
 in Florence, and that is the reason it too has 
 the fleur-de-lis on it, for the 'giglio,' as the 
 Italians call it, is the symbol of the city of 
 Florence, but in France it is really the em- 
 blem only of royalty or nobility. As to the 
 colors on the box, you must know that red, 
 white, and green are the national colors of 
 Italy." 
 
 Just how it was all managed only Miss 
 Belle and Caroline could have explained, but 
 each slice of that cake seemed to hold a 
 birthday souvenir, and what was stranger 
 still, each slice reached its proper owner. 
 
 There was a little silver medal of Saint 
 Genevieve for her modern namesake ; an 
 Imp of Lincoln stickpin for Marie ; a dainty 
 " giglio " brooch, enamelled in the Italian 
 colors, for Alma ; a little gold gondola for 
 Margaret Nelson ; while Mrs. Curtis and 
 Mrs. Staats were each remembered with a 
 coral lucky horn. 
 
 " But, Aunt Belle ! " exclaimed Elizabeth, 
 237
 
 ElizabetKs Charm-String 
 
 " there does not seem to be anything for you 
 to remember my birthday by." 
 
 " Yes, dear," replied her Aunt with a smile, 
 as she glanced at the pretty scene and the 
 happy girls gathered about her, " I have the 
 best souvenir of you all, for I have the mem- 
 ory of your sweet, earnest faces as you lis- 
 tened to my stories about the ' buttons ' on 
 
 " ELIZABETH'S CHARM-STRING." 
 
 238
 
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 Miss Alcott's Famous Stories 
 
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 A 000114140 7