THE MOTHER'S LAST PRAYER.

Her hands were clasped, her dark eyes raised; The breeze threw back her hair; Up to the cross she fondly gazed, And raised her voice in prayer. While there she knelt in deep despair Beside her own first born, And bowing her deep soul in prayer Forth on the rushing storm. She wiped the death damps from his brow With her pale hands and soft, Whose touch upon the lute chords low Had stilled his heart so oft. Anon.

One Female and One Male Figure.

This tableau represents a mother and child kneeling at the foot of a cross, amid the drifting snows and icy winds of the Alpine Mountains. Having lost their way, and being unable to travel any farther, the mother kneels in prayer at the foot of one of the crosses which are placed as landmarks along the road, to guide the traveller on his journey. The floor of the stage should be made uneven by placing boxes of various sizes at irregular distances, and covering them with white cotton flannel. A number of spruce trees can be arranged at the sides and at the background, all of which should be covered with small particles of cotton wool; small bags, stuffed with hay, and covered in the same manner, must be placed around the foot of the cross and at various parts of the stage, to represent snow banks. A few handfuls of lint thrown into the air just as the curtain rises, will float about and appear like falling snow. Make the cross of wood, and cover it with brown paper. It should be five feet long and two feet wide; thickness of frame, six inches. It must be placed in the centre of the stage, and sprinkled with the imitation snow. The lady who represents the mother should be of good figure and features, and costumed in a dark plaid dress, a white fur cape fastened about the neck, a velvet cloak worn over the shoulders, and a plaid scarf tied about the head, the ends hanging down on the shoulders. Position is, at the foot of the cross, so that a side view is had of the body; the head thrown back, eyes cast upward, hands clasped and raised in front of the face. The boy is dressed in a dark suit, and reclines on the snow by the side of the mother; his head rests on her dress, arms stretched out towards her waist; his eyes closed in that cold and dreamy sleep which ends in death. The light for this piece must be quite dim, and come from the side of the stage that will reflect on the mother's face. Music, of a low and mournful style, representing the moaning of the winds.