ng place in the city. For centuries the tradition of
the Iron Virgin of Nurnberg has been handed down as an instance of
the horrors of cruelty of which man is capable; we had long looked
forward to seeing it; and here at last was its home.

In one of our pauses we leaned over the wall of the moat and looked
down. The garden seemed quite fifty or sixty feet below us, and the
sun pouring into it with an intense, moveless heat like that of an
oven. Beyond rose the grey, grim wall seemingly of endless height, and
losing itself right and left in the angles of bastion and
counterscarp. Trees and bushes crowned the wall, and above again
towered the lofty houses on whose massive beauty Time has only set the
hand of approval. The sun was hot and we were lazy; time was our own,
and we lingered, leaning on the wall. Just below us was a pretty
sight--a great black cat lying stretched in the sun, whilst round her
gambolled prettily a tiny black kitten. The mother would wave her tail
for the kitten to play with, or would raise her feet and push away the
little one as an encouragement to further play. They were just at the
foot of the wall, and Elias P. Hutcheson, in order to help the play,
stooped and took from the walk a moderate sized pebble.

'See!' he said, 'I will drop it near the kitten, and they will both
wonder where it came from.'

'Oh, be careful,' said my wife; 'you might hit the dear little thing!'

'Not me, ma'am,' said Elias P. 'Why, I'm as tender as a Maine
cherry-tree. Lor, bless ye. I wouldn't hurt the poor pooty little
critter more'n I'd scalp a baby. An' you may bet your variegated socks
on that! See, I'll drop it fur away on the outside so's not to go near
her!' Thus saying, he leaned over and held his arm out at full length
and dropped the stone. It may be that there is some attractive force
which draws lesser matters to greater; or more probably that the wall
was not plump but sloped to its base--we not noticing the inclination
from above; but the stone fell with a sickening thud that came up to
us through the hot air, right on the kitten's head, and shattered out
its little brains then and there. The black cat cast a swift upward
glance, and we saw her eyes like green fire fixed an instant on Elias
P. Hutcheson; and then her attention was given to the kitten, which
lay still with just a quiver of her tiny limbs, whilst a thin red
stream trickled from a gaping wound. With a muffled cry, such as a
human being