gu,
would not set out until he had married Nycteris; "for then," he said,
"the king himself can't part us; and if ever two people couldn't do the
one without the other, those two are Nycteris and I. She has got to
teach me to be a brave man in the dark, and I have got to look after her
until she can bear the heat of the sun, and he helps her to see, instead
of blinding her."

They were married that very day. And the next day they went together to
the king, and told him the whole story. But whom should they find at the
court but the father and mother of Photogen, both in high favor with the
king and queen. Aurora nearly died for joy, and told them all how Watho
had lied, and made her believe her child was dead.

No one knew anything of the father or mother of Nycteris; but when
Aurora saw in the lovely girl her own azure eyes shining through night
and its clouds, it made her think strange things, and wonder how even
the wicked themselves may be a link to join together the good. Through
Watho, the mothers, who had never seen each other, had changed eyes in
their children.

The king gave them the castle and lands of Watho, and there they lived
and taught each other for many years that were not long. But hardly one
of them had passed before Nycteris had come to love the day best,
because it was the clothing and crown of Photogen; and Photogen had come
to love the night best, because it was the mother and home of Nycteris.
Were they not both ripening, however, to bear the power of a brighter
sun still, when the one should follow the other into a yet larger room?

THE END.

* * * * *

=Carrier-Pigeons.=--The speed of carrier-pigeons appears to depend
as much on the clearness of their sight as on the strength of their
wings. In an experiment recently made with some Berlin pigeons, on a
clear day, a distance of over three hundred miles, from Cologne to
Berlin, was accomplished in five hours and a half, or at the rate of
nearly sixty miles an hour; while the most expeditious of a group let
loose the next day--a day not of the same kind--took twelve hours to
reach Berlin. Hence it would appear that in the latter case a good deal
of the pigeons' time was taken up in exploring the country for
landmarks. It is not by instinct, but by sight, that the carrier-pigeon
guides its course.

PUTNAM'S NARROW ESCAPE.

BY BENSON J. LOSSING.

Many years ago I was riding in a light carriage be