of Kings," and boasted a descent from King Solomon and the
Queen of Sheba; a fiction devised to flatter the vanity of the royal
house of Ethiopia.

When this mighty emperor gave an audience he was surrounded by several
large and fierce-looking lions, and he made a great display of his
command over the savage creatures; but, notwithstanding their ferocious
aspect, the animals were said to be in reality as tame as dogs. Anyway,
they must have made a timid ambassador feel rather nervous when first
introduced to the royal presence.

The Abyssinians are very vain, and King Theodore thought himself greater
than all the sovereigns in the world, and this led to his fall. Thinking
he was not treated with sufficient respect by the British envoy and
other Europeans, he imprisoned them all. In 1867 an expedition was
fitted out under the command of General Napier. After encountering great
difficulties on the march, the British troops stormed and took
possession of Magdala without losing a single man; and the Emperor
Theodore, seeing that all was lost, slew himself to avoid falling into
the hands of the enemy. The captives were liberated, and for his
services in this campaign General Napier received the title of Lord
Napier of Magdala.

[Illustration: A PROUD MONARCH]

BABY'S ANSWERS.

"Where did you come from, baby dear?"
"Out of the every-where into the here."
"Where did you get your eyes so blue?"
"Out of the sky as I came through."

"What makes the light in them sparkle and spin?"
"Some of the starry spikes left in."
"Where did you get that little tear?"
"I found it waiting when I got here."

"What makes your forehead so smooth and high?"
"A soft hand stroked it as I went by."
"What makes your cheek like a warm white rose?"
"Something better than any one knows."

"Whence that three-cornered smile of bliss?"
"Three angels gave me at once a kiss."
"Where did you get that pearly ear?"
"God spoke, and it came out to hear."

"Where did you get those arms and hands?"
"Love made itself into hooks and bands."
"Feet, whence did you come, you darling things?"
"From the same body as the cherubs' wings."

"How did they all just come to be you?"
"God thought about me, and so I grew."
"But how did you come to us, my dear?"
"God thought of you, and so I am here."

GEORGE MACDONALD.

[Illustration: "WHERE DID YOU COME FRO