The Wart King

On a certaln street in Baltimore one afternoon the throng of pedostrians upon the thoroughfare was immense. A reporter for the Herald was I fully his way amid the sea of hurrying faces when his gaze rested upon the figure of a man standing motionlese before a bakery window, gazing with wistful look at the enticing display of viands within. His attitudejwas dejected, but a look of defiance leaped from his eyes as his nostrils were greeted with the savory odor of cheese-cakes and lady-fingers. The individual concluded his revery. and. turning round, confronted the reporter. The action was so sudden that the scribe's progresa was impeded, and in the moment of hesitation he noticed that the figure before him was incascd in a most dilapidated wardrobe. A wcek's growth of beard bristledupon his chin. and a dickey, once white, was suspended around his neck by a blue ribbon : below his coat sleeves peeped the wristbands of a red flannel shirt, tut his voice was low and musical as with averted eyes he asked the scribe for a loan of a dime. ' -Don't think I am begging, " continued the man. "If you will give me your card I wlll send the money to your address to-morrow, or just as soon as business picks up. I am a professional man." The scribe slowly withdrew his hand from his pocket. "What profession?" he asked, as he brought to view :i dime. The man bit the coin before replying. He balanced himself, snapped . his fingers and while adjusting his dickey answered that he chaimed away warts, that he had performed some marvelous cures upon bunions, and as for hard and soft corns they positively stood no show with him at all. 'Now, you see that wart on your left hand, " sald the magician, pointing to a large soed wart on the index finger of the reporter's left hand that had been there for years; ■well. sir, I can charm that away," and he uttered an incoherent word and thanking the scribe for his assistance went his way. A few days after the occurrence the same reporter was hurrying d6wn Madison street when he was accosted with: "Hi, there! How's your wart?" He looked up, and there, standing before him, was the wart king. He quickly glanced down at his hand - the wart was gone!