with his friend the Grocer.

"Ods bobs!" said he, "what's the matter, man?"

"St. Anthony is dead," said the Grocer solemnly, and wiped away a tear.

"You don't say so," said the Soldier. Off he went straight to the
Barber, and made him shave his head; then he bought a piece of crape to
tie round his left arm.

He told the news to all the men of his regiment, and they all felt so
much sympathy with this soldier that they shaved their heads too.

Next day on parade, there was the whole regiment shaved to a man.

"What's the meaning of this?" asked the General.

The Sergeant saluted, and told him that St. Anthony was dead.

"Is he? By Jove," said the General, "then I dismiss this parade," and
off he galloped on his war-horse to the nearest Barber, who shaved his
head like the men's. On the way back, he saw the Prime Minister going to
Court. "May I ask," said the Prime Minister suavely, "to what untoward
circumstance is due the erasure of your capillary covering?"

"St. Anthony is dead," answered the General.

"Dear, dear," said the Prime Minister, "you don't say so. He was
doubtless an ornament to the party, and it is meet that I should testify
my respect." Then the Prime Minister too went off to get his head
shaved, and appeared before the King without a single hair.

"What's the matter?" asked the King; "anybody dead, hey, hey, hey?"

"If it please your Majesty," said the Prime Minister, "St. Anthony is
dead."

"What a loss for our kingdom," said the King; "what a loss! what a loss!
Excuse me a moment," and away he went to get his head shaved.

When the Queen saw him, she wanted to know why his head was shaved.

"St. Anthony is dead," answered the King.

"And who is St. Anthony?" asked the Queen.

"I don't know who he is," said the King, "a friend of the Prime
Minister's."

So the Prime Minister was asked who St. Anthony was; and replied that he
did not himself know him, but the General spoke of him in the highest
terms. The General said that St. Anthony was not a personal friend, but
he was well known in the regiment. After inquiry amongst the men, it was
found that only one of them could tell anything about St. Anthony, and
all he knew was that his friend the Grocer shaved his head in memory of
him. The Grocer referred them to the Farmer, and the Farmer was out in
the fields.

[Illustration]

Then the King sent a messenger on horseback to find the Farmer and bring
him to court. The Farmer was b