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Here is a lady showing her husband, how she
has taught
little Lizzie to go
alone. Lizzie is only three years old, and it is amusing to see her.
She will
crawl to the side of the room, then
stand
up, and
after balancing herself for a moment, she will run towards her mother.
See how
delighted they all seem. The father is pleased, to see his little girl,
for
then, he can soon take her out with him in his walks. You know that it
is said
we must all "creep before we walk," well, I will illustrate this for
you by a nice story. "Many centuries ago, there reigned over Thebes,
Laius and Iocasta. Laius
was one day killed on the road
as he was airing
himself in his chariot. Shortly after, a terrible plague broke out in Thebes,
and the Sphinx ravaged all the
neighborhood.
The Sphinx gave out that the plague would cease and his ravages be
ended, when
this riddle was solved:—'What animal walks on four feet in the morning,
two at noon
day, and three
in the
evening.' None of the wise men could solve it, and so their misfortune
continued. At length, Iocasta
the Queen,
said that whoever could solve the riddle, should be king and have her
hand in
marriage. One Oedipsus
hearing of the
offer, and
having been insulted in Corinth,
went to Thebes,
and thus
rendered
the solution of the riddle. 'The animal,' he said, 'was man. In his
infancy,
the morning of life, he walks on hands and feet: at manhood, the
noon-day of
life, he walks on his feet alone: in old age, the evening of life, he
walks
with a stick.' Oedipsus
was married to Iocasta
and reigned
as King." |
