HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times, 1887-5-19, Page 2BY ORDER OF THE LEA
CHAPTEI-I V.
The weeping womaa looked up, and be-
held the loveliest face she had ever seen,
The girl standing befere her possessed alt
attributes of southern beeuty. Her hair,
whieh was long and luxuriant, hung in one
thick plait down her back, and lay in care-
less wave e upou a forehead pure as chiselled
marble ; her face was full., with deep red
flushed under the traneparent skie , her
features Oxquisitely moulded ; whilst her
eyes, deep as runoing water, couveyed an
air of pride and power—.a sense of passion
equally capable of looking implacable hate
or fondest love. They were commanding
BOW, as the woman looked up int() the
stranger's face.
"Who are you ?" she asked wonderingly.
"Men call me Isodore," the stranger re-
plied in a voice singularly sweet. "I have
no other narne. Will you let me look at
the coin you have in your hand ?"
Never dreaming of refusing this request,
the woman handed over the gold piece to
the girl, who looked
at it long and intently
Her eyes were hard and stern when she
spoke again. "Where did you get this ?"
she asked.
"It was given me to stake at the table.
I noticed that it bore some device, and I
exchanged it for a coin of my own."
"It has no meaning to you 1 It is not
possible you are one of as ?"
" I do not understand you," the woman
replied. "It is a curious aoin. I have seen
ono once befere—thet is all I know of it."
"Listen!" the girl said in a hushed voice.
"You do not comprehend what its posses-
sion means to you. It is the symbol, the
sign of membership of the strongest political
Brotherhood in Europe. If it was known
to be in your possession, your life would
pay the forfeit; it would be regained at all
hazards. If one of the Brotherhood knew
.another had deliberately parted with it, I
vwould not give a hair for his life."
"And he is in danger of his life I" the wo-
man cried starting to her feet. "Give it
me, that I may return it to him."
"NOV was the stern reply; "he does
atot geteoff so easily. We do not temper
the wind thus to traitors.—Woman I what
is Hector le Gautier to you, that you shotdd
do this favor for him ? '
"He is a man and his life is in danger.
It is my duty"—
" Mark me Teodoro replied with stern
emphasis. "I have not the eyes of a hawk
a,nel the hearing of a hare for nothing. I
was opposite you in the saloon, and I know
that something more than womanly sym-
pathy prompts you. I saw the struggle in
Le Gautier's face'I saw you start and
tremble as he poke to you; I saw you change
the coin for one of yours, I saw you weeping
over it just now. Woman! I ask again
what, is he to you ?"
Slowly the words came from the other's lips,
as if forced from them by some mesmeric in-
fluence. "You are right," she said; "for
—heaven help me—he is my husband 1 I
am Valerie le Gautier.—Now, tell me who
you are."
"Tell nie something more. How long
has he been your husband ?"
"Wine years—nine long, weary years of
coldness and neglect, hard words, and, to
my shame, hard blows. But he tired of me,
as he tires of all his toys he always tires
when the novelty wears off."
" Yes," Isodore said softly, "as he tired
of me."
"You 1" exclaimed Valerie le Gautier,
starting —" you! What! and have you,
too, fallen a victim to his treachery? If
you have known him been a victim to his
perfidy, then, from the bottom of my heart,
I pity. you."
"And I need pity."
For a short space neither spoke, as they sat
listening to the murmur of the leaves in the
trees, broken every now and then by the
sounds of play or laughter within the glitter-
ing saloon. Isodore's face, sad and down-
cast for a moment, gradually resumed its
hard, proud look, and when she spoke again,
she was herself.
"We have a sympathy in common," she
said. "We have a debt to pay, and, by
your help, I will pay it. Justice, retribu•
tion is slow, but it is certain. Tell me,
Valerie—if I may call you by your name—
how long is it since you saw your husband
till to -night ?"
"Seven years—seven years since he de-
serted me cruelly and heartlessly, leaving
me penniless in the streets of Rome. I had
to live how I could; I even begged some-
times, for he has squandered the little money
I brought to him."
"Do you think he knew you to -night?"
Isodore asked.
•"Knew me ?" was the bitter response.
"No, indeed. Had he known I was•so near,
he would have fled from my presence,"
"Ho laughs at us, no doubt, as poor de-
fenceless women. But time will show, I
e,an ever find an hour in the midst of my
great work to watch his movements. I have
waited long; but the day is coming now.—'
Would you know the latest ambition of your
honorable husband? Be intends to get
married again. He has dared to lift his
eyes to Enid Charteris."
"Hector dares to merry again !" Valerie I
exclaimed, "and 1 alive? Oh, I must take
vengeance, indeed, for this."
She drew a lotig breath, shutting her lips
tightly. The passion of jealousy, long
crushed down, rose with overwhelming
force; she was no longer a weak defenceless
woman, but a fury, maddened and goaded to
the last extremity.
Isodore watched her, well pleased with
this display of spirit. "Now you speak,"
she said admiringly, "and I respect you.
All your womanhood is on fire within you
to avenge the wrongs of years, and it shall
be no fault of mite if they slumber again.
Yes, your perfect husband designs to wed
again."
"I believe you are.a witch. You have
rousecl my curiosity ; you must tell me more
than this."
" liector le Gautier ie in love," Isadore
replied, a world of quiet scorn running
through her words, "and, strange as. it may
seem, I believe true. An English girl—Enid
Charteris, with the blue eyes and fair hair
—has bewitched him, satiated as he is with
southern beauty.—You look surprised 1 1
have the gift of fern -seed, and walk invisible.
All these things I know. The Order is to
be betrayed when the pear is ripe, and the
traitor will be Hector le Gautier, The price
of his treachery will enable him to become
respectable and lead a quiet life hencefor.
ward with his loving fair-haired bride.
Poor, feeble, calculatieg fool 1" The bitter
ecore in these words was undescribable and
round the speaker's HO a smile was wreath-
ed -.-a Smile of placid unrelenting hate and
triUMpit strangely blended.
"It shall never be," Valerie cried passion-
ately, "while I can raise my voice to save
an innocent girl from the toils of such a
scoundrel 1 --Yes," she hissed out between i
her white clenched teeth, it will be a fitting
revenge, It Would be bliate indeed to me if
I could stand between them at the altar, and
say that man is mine 1e
" He is ours," Isodore corrected sterulY ;
" do not ignore that debt entirely. Be eon'
tent to leave the plet to me. I have work.
ed out my scheme, and we shall not fail.
Five yeara ago I was a child happy on the
banks of my beloved 'libel, It was not far
from Rome that we lived, my old nurse and
I, alweys happy till he came and stole away
my hesrt with his grand promises and sweet
,words. Six short months sufficed hitn,
for I was only a child then, and he threw
away his broken plaything. It Made 8
woman of me, and it cost me a lover
worth a world of men like him. I told him
I would have revenge. Ile laughed then;
but the time is coining surely. I have a
a powerful interest in the Brotherhood; he
knows me by nem°, but otherwise we are
strangers. To -night, I saw ray old lover in
1 his company.Ah, had he but known 1—
I Come, Valerie; give Me that coin, the
$ lucky piece of gold which shall lure him to
, destruction. Come with me ; 1 must say
more to you."
Mechanically, Valerie le Gautier followed
1 her companion out of the 4ursaal gardens,
through the streets, walking till they got a
little way eat of the town. At a house
i there, a little back from, the road, Isodore
! stopped, and opened the doore with a pass.
i key. Inside, all was darkness; but taking
1 her friend by the hand, and bidding her not
I to fear, Isodore led her forward along a
flagged passage and up a short flight of
steps. Opening another door, and turning
up the hanging lamp, she smiled. "Sit
down," she said, "my sister that is to be.
1 You are weleome.
lofty. By
apartment was somewhat large andty. By the light from the silver lamp,
' suspended from the ceiling in an eagle's
beak, the stranger noticed the room with
its satin -wood panels running half way up
the wells, surmounted by crimson silk hang-
ings' divided over the three long windowsby
goldcords; a thread of the same material
running through the rich upholstery with
which the place was garnished. The floor
was paved with bright coloured woodwork
of some mysterious design; and heavy rugs,
thick and soft to the feet, scattered about
sufficent for comfort, but not enough to
mar the beauty of the inlaid floor. Pic-
tures on china plates let into the hangings
were upon the walls; and in the windows
were miniature ferneries, a little fountain
plashing.in the midst of each. There was
no table in the room, nothing whereon to de-
posit anything, save three brass stands,
high and narrow; one a little larger than
the rest, upon which stood a silver spirit -
lamp, under a quaint -looking urn, a choco-
late pot to match, and three china cups.
There were cosy -looking chairs of dark mas-
sive oak, upholstered in red silk, with the
1
sarae gold thread interwoven in all. Amer-
ble clock, with a figure of Liberty thereon,
stood on the mantelpiece.
' Isodore threw herself down in a chair.
The other woman took in the scene with
1 speechless rapture; there was something
soothing in the harmonious place. "You
are pleased," Isodore said with a little smile
of pleasure, as she surveyed the place.
"This is my home, if I can call any place a
home for such a wanderer; but when I can
steal a few days from the cares of the cause,
, I come here. I need not ask you if you like
my apartments ?"
"Indeed, I do," Valerie replied, drawing
a long breath of delight. "It is absolutely
perfect. The whole thing surprises and be-
wilders Inc. I should not have thought
there had been such a place in G omburg."
"1 will give you another surprise," Ise -
dere laughed, "before the evening is over.
i I am the princess of surprises; I surprise
t-ven the followers who owe me loyal submis-
sion."
"Ab! had I such a paradise as this, I
should forswear political intrigue. I should
leave that to those who had more to gain or
, to lose by such hazards. I should be con-
tent to let the world go on, so that I had
, ray little paradise."
"So I feel at times," Isodore observed
with a little sigh. "But I am too deeply
pledged to draw my hand back now. With-
out me, the Order is like an army deprived
of its general; besides, I am the creature of
circumstance; I am a sworn disciple of
those whose Mission it iS to free the down-
trodden from oppression and to labour in
freedom's name." As she said these words,
the sad look upon her brow cleared away
like mist before the sun, and a proud light
glistened in the wondrous eyes. Half
ashamed of her enthusiasm, she turned to
the stand by her side, and soon two cups of
chocolate were frothed out of the pot, filling
the room with its fragrance. Crossing the
floor, she handed one of the cups to her new-
found friend. For a moment they sat sil-
ent, then Isodore turned to her companion
smilingly.
How would you like to go with me to
London?" she asked.
"1 would follow you to the world's end!"
was the fervid. reply; "but there are many
difficulties in the way. I have my own
living to get, precarious as 18 18, and, I dare
not leave this place."
permit no difficulties to stand in my
way," Isodore said proudly; "to say a
thing with me, is to do it. Ltme be candid
with you, Valerie. Providence has thrown
you in my path, and you will be useful to me;
in addition, I have taken a fancy to you.
Yes," she continued fervently, "the time h
has come—the pear is ripe. You shall come y
with me to London; you have a wrong ea
as well as , and you shall see the height
of Modem's vengeance." Saying these words s
in a voice quivering with passionate inten- h
sity, she struck three times on the bell at
her side. Immediately, in answer to this, e
the heavy curtains over the door parted, V
and a girl entered.
She was Isodore's image; the•same style
and passionate type of face • hut she la ked R
the other's firm determined mouth and in
haughtiness of features. She was what the le
lily is to the passion -flower. Her eyes were!
bent upon her sister—for she was Lucrece!._. V
with the same IOW and patient devotion one ad
sees in the face of a dog. be
"Yon rang, Isodore ?" she asked; and so
again the stranger noticed the great likenese lo
in the voice, save as to the depth and ring ve
of Isodore's tone. de
" Yes Luereee I tang," the sisterlid ' •
I
"I have brought a visitor to see you.— di
Lucrece, this lady is Hector le Gautier's Ir
wife."
" Gautier's wife ?" the sirl asked with sa
startled face. "Then what brings her
here? I should not have expected"— ta
"You interrupt me, ehilst, in the midst w
of my explanations. I should have said Le to
Gautier's deserted wife."
1 the friend of Isodore should need no we
come bore."
'Assissep blush spread over the feathres
Lucreee kit 'these St-rords, as she walked aere
1- 1 " No svonder your countrymeie fail, with HOME AND GENERAL NEWS,
of eiseerved ecornfully, 6' I do uot want to do
ss you any harm ; quite the contrary. There
swell chicken -hearts among them," Isodeee
A Brantford youth was recently fined $
foi fishing on Sunday.
the room to Valerie's side. Her smile w
one of coasolatiou and welcome as she stoo
y, " y Ybegan
more freely. " Yes,' he answered glibly ;
"1ie. e does want a maid. She must ho
is honest, sober end industrious; ready to sit
ed inlet kissed the other woman lightl
" Welcome 1" she said. " We riee bot
friends and fees here, and it is hard eoln
times to tell the grain from the chaff. Yo
are henoeforwerd the friend of Luereee too
" Your kindness alinoet hurt me," Va,
erie replied in some agitation. " have
few friends, that a word of sympathy
strange to me. Whatever you may want
desire, either ef you, eommand nie, an
Valerie le Gautier will not say on nay"
" Lucreee, listen to me," said Isodore in
a voice of atern command. "To -morrow,
we cross to London, and the time has come
when you must be prepared to assist in the
cause.—See what I have h'ere 1" Without
another word, she placed the gold moidore
in her sister's hand.
Lucrece regarded it With a puzzled air.
To her simple mind, it merely represent
tho badge of the Brotherhood.
"You do not understand," Isodore con-
tinued, noticing the look of bewilderment.
"That coin, as you know, is the token of
the Order, and to part with it knowingly is
serious"---
" Yes," Luorece interrupted; "the pen.
alty is death."
You are right, my sister. That is Le
Gautier's token. He staked it yonder at
Kursital, giving it to his own wife, though
he did not know, to put upon the colour.
The ooin is in my hands, as you see. Strange,
how man becomes fortune's fool!"
"Thea your revenge is complete," Lucrece
suggested simply. "You have only to hand
it over to the Council of Three, or even the
Crimson Nine, and in one hour"—
"A dagger thrust will rid the world of a
scoundrel.—Pah 1 you do not seem to under-
stand such feeling as mine, No no • I have
another punishment for him. He shall live;
he shall carry on his mad passion for the
fair-haired Enid till the last; and when his
cup of joy shall seem full, I will dash it from
his lips."
"Your hate is horrible," Valeria exclaim-
ed with an involuntary shudder. "I should
not like to cross your path."
"My friends find me true," Isodore an-
swered sadly; "it is only my enemies that
feel the weight of my arm.—But enough of
this; we need stout hearts and ready brains,
for we have much work before us.'
Three days latei, and the women drove
through the roar and turmoil of London
streets. They were bent upon duty and
revenge. One man in that vast city of four
or five million souls was their quarry.
as is an advertisenient te•day'e Ties. Your
- mistress is in search of a maid. Is tliat so?"
" up all eight if necessary, and have a good
1- temper—not that Mies .Enid will try any
so one's topper much. The last girl Was dis-
is eherged '
or " Now, Mr. VerleY, I know a girl who
ti must till that vacancy. I dc not wish to
threaten you or hold any rod of terror over
your head; but I shall depend upon you to °
pro. ure it for my protegee."
The conversation apparently was not go-
ing to be so pleasant. Timothy Varley's
mind turned feebly in the direction of dia.
mond robberies.
" Well, mise --that is, my lady—if I may
make 80 bold as to ask you a, question:
ed why, it the matter is so snnple, don't you
write to my young mistress and settle the
matter that way ?"
" Impossible," Isodore replied, "for
reasons I cannot enter into with you
and that speedily.
You must do what I twit,
_you have a certain Monsieur le Gautier
at your house often ?"
This question was so abruptly asked, that
Varley could not repress a start. "We
have," he growled--" a good deal tee often,
to please me. My master dare not call his
body his own since he first began to 00Me
to the house with his signs and manifesto -
tions. —You see," be explained, "servants
are bound to hear these things,"
"At keyholes ancl suoh places," Isodore
smiled. Yes, I understand such things
do happen occasionally. So this Le Gautier
is a spiritualist, is he; and Sir Geoffrey is
his convert ?"
"Indeed, you may say that," Varley
burst out in tones of great grievance. "The
baronet sees visionsand all sorts of things."
"Es it possible " Valerie whispered
to her friend, "that'Hector has really
succeeded in gaining an influence over
this Sir Geoffrey by those miserable
tricks he played so successfully at Rome ?"
"It is very probable," Isodore murmured
in reply. "This Sir Geoffrey is very weak
in intellect.—Tell me, Mr. Varley" she con-
tinued, turning in his direction "does the
baronet keep much of Ivlonsieurle Gautier's
company? Does he visit at his rooms ?"
"1 believe he does; anyway, he goes out
at nights, and always oomes back looking as
if he had seen a ghost. Whatever his game
may be—and sure enough there is some game
on—it's killing him by inches, that's what
it's doing."
"And this change you put down to Le
Gautier? Perhaps you are right. And now
another question. Is not there another
reason, another attraction besides discussing
spiritualism with Sir Geoffrey, that takes
him to Grosvenor Square ?"
Varley so far forgot himself as to wink
impressively. " You might have made a
worse guess than that," he said. "1 am not
the only one who can see what his designs
are. Miss Enid is the great attraction."
" And she ?"
" Hates him, if looks count for anything.
—And so do I," he continued; "and so do
all of us, for the matter of that. I would
give a year's salary to see his back turned.
for good 1"
"Mr. Varley," Isodore said in grave tones.
"1 sent for you here to work upon your
fears, and to compel you, if necessary to do
d for we have a common 'gond of eympathy.
For reasons I need not state here, we ha,ve
good reasons for keeping a watch over this
Le Gautier ; but rest assured of one thing—
that he will never wed your mistress. I
t shall hold you to secrecy.—And now, you
must promise to get my protegee this situa-
tion."
"Well, I will do my best," Varley.replied
cheerfully. "But how is it going to be
done, I really can't see."
"Irishmen are proverbial for their inven-
tive powers, and doubtless you will dis-
cover a way.—The new maid is a Frenrh
girl, remember, the daughter of an old
friend. Perhaps you would like to see her?"
With a gesture she indicated Lucrece, who
came forward, turning to the Irishman with
one of her most dazzling smiles. The feel-
ing of bewilderment came on again.
"She !" he cried; "that beautiful young
lady a servant?"
"When she is plainly dressed, as suitable
to her lower station, she will appear differ-
ent."
"Ah, you may pull the leaves from the
flowers, but the beauty remains to them
Varley replied, waxing pcetuial.
"However, if it must be, it must ; so I will
do my best.'
Varley's diplomacy proved successful, for,
a week later, Lucrece was installed at
Grosvenor Square.
(en BE CONTINUED).
CHAPTEB, VI.
Mr. Varley, Sir Geoffrey Charteris' valet
and factotum and majordomo in the b-ronet's
town residence, Grosvenor Square, was by
no means devoid of courage; but the con-
tents of the note he was reading in the hall
one fine morning early in May were sufficient
to put to flight for the moment any venge-
ful schemes he was harbouring against the
wily gentleman who has just quitted the
house, and that gentleman no less a person
than our old friend Le Gautier,
Timothy Varley was an Irishman, and
had been in his youth what is termed a
patriot. In his hot blood he had even join-
ed a League for the "removal of tyrants;
but the in spite of its solemn form
and binding oaths, had died a natural death
At times, however, the recollection of i
troubled Mr. Varley's conscience sorely
It was destined to be brought to his min
now in a startling manner.
"G. S. I. You will be at the corner of
Chapel Place to-nielt at nine. A girl will
meet you, and show you the way. You
are wanted; your turn has come. Do no
fail.—Ntraieen XL"
Never did Bob Acres, in that celebrated
comedy, The Rivals, feel the courage oozing
from his finger-tips as did Timothy Varley
now. He turned the roissive over in his
fingers; but no consolation was to be deriv-
ed from that; and bitterly did he revile the
juvenile folly that had placed him in such a
position at this time of life.
"It is no sham," he muttered to himself.
"God save Ireland—that is the old counter-
sign; and to think of it turning up now 1 I
had forgotten the thing years ago. This
comes of joining seeret societies—a nice
thing to bring a respectable family man to I
Now, by the powers 1 who was Number
Eleven? That used to be Pat Mahoney;
and a mighty masterful man he was, always
ready with his hands if anything crossed
him. 0 dear, 0 dear 1 this is a pretty
thing. Maybe they want to mix me up
with dynamite; but if they do, I won't do
it, and that's flat. I suppose I shall have
to go."
Giving vent to these words in a doleful
tone of voice, he betook himself to his
private sanctum. His spirits were remark-
ed to be the reverse of cheerful, and he de-
clined a glass of sherry at lunch, a thing
which roused much speculation below
tetra
• my bidding. , That, I see is not necessary,
Punctual to the moment, Timothy Var.
ley stood in Chapel Place waiting for his
unknown guide. Just as he was beginning
to imagine the affair to be a hoax, and con-
gratulating himself thereon a woman passed
him., stopped, and walked in his direction
again. "God save Ireland I" she said as
she repa,esed.
"Amen, not forgetting one Timothy
Varley:" he returned piously.
"It is well," the woman replied calmly,
"that you are here. Follow me 1"
"With the greatest of pleasure. —But
ark here; my legs are not so young as
ours: if we are going far, let us have a
b, and. I'll stand the damage."
There is no occasion, ' the stranger
aid in a singularly sweet voice. "We
aye not such a greet distance to travel."
"Not good enough to ride in the same
+Irene with a gentleman's gentleman,"
arley muttered, for he did not fail to note
h t g '
His guide led him along Tottenham Court
d d ' y quare. urn-
,
g into a little side -street, she reached at
ngth a door, at which she knoeked.
In a room on the ffi'et floor, Isodore and
alerie lo Gautier were seated, waiting the
vent of Lucrece and the stranger. Varley
gan to feel bewildered in the presence of
rnn�h beatity and grace; for Isodore's
veliness overpowered him, as it did oilmen
ith whom she came in contact. Scarcely
igning to notice his presence, he motioned
chair, where he sat e picture of
scorafiture, all traces of the audacious
ishrnan having disappeared.
"Your name is Timothy Varley ?" Isodore
Id.
" Yes, tniss ; leastways, it wag when I
me here, though, if you were to tell me
as the man in the moon, I couldn't say nay
you."
"1 kaow you," Isodore continued, "You
ere born near Mallow, joined the United
"Ah 1" Lucrece exclaimed, " I under- W
rotherhood thirty years ago, and your,
stand.—Isedore, if you collect under your 13
roof all the women he has wronged amtd d
ceived, you will have a, large circle, What yo
8 she worth to us?" )
"Ohildl" Isodore returned With some Marlsfr
-
ed emphaeis on her worde, "she is my frierid-- m
Sight a,r1 Smell of Birds,
A hawk can spy a lark upon a piece of
earth almost exactly the sante color at twen-
ty times the distance it is perceptible to a
man or dog; a kite soaring out of human
sight can still distinguish and pounce upon
lizards and field mice on the ground; and
the distance at which vultures and
eagles can spy out their prey is almost incre-
dible. Recent discoveries and especially
Darwin's observations, have inclined natu-
ralists to the belief that birds of prey have
not the acute setise of stnell with which they
were once accredited. There acute sight
seems better to account for their actions,
and they appear to be guided by sight alone
as they never taniff at anything,. but dart
straight at the object of their desire. Their
counterparts in the ocean, however, undoubt-
edly see and smell equally well, but are more
1 guided by smell than sight. In both sharks
and rays the eyes are good, and have a most
' distinct expression; though since they scent
j their prey from a distance, and swim up to
it with great rapidity, "smell" as Lacepede
says, "maybe called their real eye." Smell,
' in Mr. Herbert Spencer's definition, is anti- ,
, cipatory taste, while sight is ariticipatory j
touch; and the manner in which sight, as the ,
dominating Sense, iS Substituted for smell, I
the higher the evolution of the animal, is
remarkablyinteresting to follow, once the
varieties of sight are understood, and both j
sight and emelt are studied ia connection I
with the particular habits of the creattire '
for which they were designed. Turn where
1- we will, sight and organs of sight are every.
where adapted in the most perfect manne.
to the necessities of the animal world: and
18 realizing this fact, we realise the truth of
the words: "The first wonder is the offspring
1 of ignorance; the last is the pareht of ador-
umnber was wentsasix. ara wrong,
u will please correct me."
"For goodness' sakes miss --my lady, I
ean—don't speak so loud. Think what
ight happen to rhe if any oho knew 1"
ation.
eie
The rate of mortality in London during
1886 did not exceed 19,9 per 1,000, and with
one exception ---viz,, the preceding year,
when it was only 19,7—was the lowest on
record. In the q7 large provincial towns
the death -rate averag?d 2L 8 per 1,000, and '
ranged from 17118 Brighton, 18.2 in Derby,
and 18,8 in Hull to 23 8 in Portsihouth and
in Liverpool, 2155 in Blatliburn, 26..3 in
Manchester, and 28,0 in Preston,
Johann Strauss is at work on a new opine
to be produced in May.
Mr. John Lang of Prince Albert, while in
a fit of despoudency recently, hanged him -
self in his stable.
•,„ cak . er inney, is op c.
Nova Scotia, died in New York the other
morning, aged 67 years.
Some Toronto capitalists are asking for a
subsidy to build a railway from Medicine
Hat to Medicine Ilat coal mines.
• •
Capt. Hart, of St. John, N. B,, is to be
adjutant of the Wimbledon teatn, A com-
mandant has not yet been appointed.
A. Statistical publication just issued at
Paris calculates that their are about 350,000
Frenchmen in the Western Hemisphere.
Between November and April last $136,
669 was spent in the distribution of seed to
the suffering settlers in the North-West.
A coroner's jury at Peterboro' has found
Mary and Edward Holbrook, brother and
sister guilty of the wilful murder of her ille-
gitimate child,
The Marquis of Hartington has written to
the Liberal -Unionists advising them to or-
ganize ae a party for the purpose of main -
raining their position.
The quarantine service in the Gulf will go
into effect immediately, and the precautions
against the introduction of cholera will be
very stringent this year.
The St, James' Gazette says the Canadian
National park in the Rooky Mountains may
become a favourite health and pleasure re-
sort for English people of leisure.
The Toronto City Council at a special
meeting recently decided to submit a by-law
to the ratepayers for $100,000 towards the
cost of the harbour improvements.
The London Globe says England must
afford effectual protection to her intrests in
the Pacific by supporting the Canadian
transcontinental railway.
The amount of seed grain applied for by
farmers at Regina and distributed by the
President of the Agrieultural Society, wait:
—Wheat, 5,016 bushels; barley, 565 bushels;
oats, 1,045 bushels.
An Ottawa correspondent advances the
opinion, and gives reasons for it, that the
present session of Parliament will be a short
one and that tbe House will probably ad-
journ before July 1.
The Vatican has notified France that Gen
Boulanger's military law,which refuses to
exempt clerical students from service, is an
infringement of the concordat, and has de-
manded its withdrawal.
Pleuro -pneumonia is reported to be more
prevalent among cattle in Chicago and its
vicinity than ever before. Stringent measures
for stamping out the plague have been
adopted, us many as two hundred diseased
animals being slaughtered in one day.
The -London Times, Chronicle, Globe and
St. James Gazette speak in every eulogistic
terms of the Canadian Pacific Railway Com-
panys offer for conveying the mail between
England and China and Japan, and hope
that no narrow economicreasons will prevent
the acceptance of amagnificent offer.
The gross earnings of the Canadian Paci-
fic Railway Company for March were $719,-
255, showing a net profit over the working
expenses of $51,934, as compared with a net
profit of $134,204 for March, 1886. For the
three months ending March there was a net
profit of $3.998, as compared with and pro-
fit of $250,302 for the first three month's of
last year.
The reports of experts on the Canadian
products shown at the Colonial Exhibition
are generally satisfactory. Ontario cheese
is spoken highly of; butter, on the other
hand, is not well thought of; fruit, especial-
ly armies, comes hs for praise, as does also
honey; the wheat of Ontario is generally of
a superior quality, though somewhat leak-
ing in strength, but the tobacco is declared
to be off colour and coarse in flavour.
The latest swindle on farmers is worked
by rascals in couples. They study the local
papers and take note of advertisements of
animals astray. One fellow calls to see the
beast and decides it is not his. He goes
back to his pal and gives a minute descrip-
tion of it. The latter goes to the farmer and
by his description convinces him that he is
the real owner. He pretends, however, that
he cannot conveniently take it away and of-
fers to sell it at a bargain. The farmer
buys, and in a few days the rightful owner
comes along and claims it.
He Got Above Stealing Chiokens.
A judge who bad once sentenced an old
negro's son to the penitentiary, the boy hay- I
jug been arraignecT for theft, met the father
smile time afterward and asked him if the
young fellow was living at home.
"Oh, yas, sah, yes; could' hardly d
without him now,"
"1 suppose that he has improved greatly.'
"Deed he has, sah. Neber seed er boy
prube so much. Dat chile useter stem
chickens, but dun got erbub do.t now."
"1 am glad to hear it. Couldn't be in
duced to steal a chicken now, I suppose."
"'Deed he couldn't Bah. Dat chile
wouldn' fool erway his time on er little ole
chicken. He steals turkeys now."
Food and Exereiee•
So it seems the Ducleees of Cumberland
• went insane because she took too much rich
food and too little wholesome exercise.
There are thousands an tens of thousands
nearly as great fools and in a physical condi-
tion almost quite as deplorable and, far ex-
actly the SUMO reSSOO. An eminent though
eoceutric physician more than a hundred
yeare ago, when called in to advise with one
of those preposterous wemen who in all ages
have been at once the bother and the pecu.
niary mainstay of their doctors, said in
reply to her doleful eomplaints "Madam,
there ere jest four ways of it and
you can take any one of them you
like. You must either take less food
or more exercise, or medicine, or be sick,"
Of (mem these were rather frank, unpolitic
words for a doctor to use to a wealthy
patient, but they were true all th same. It
was the some outspoken genius wh aid to
the chief magistrate of the city in ioh he
lived, when that functionary pointe ourn-
fully to his stomach and asked hi advice,
"You must steal a horse." Steal a horse!"
roared the excited, but most bilious oivie
dignitary. "Why should I steal a horse ?"
" Yes,' said the honest sou of s'Escelapius,
you tnost steal a horse." "And what
then ?" "Why, then," said this honest man,
"you will be tried for theft and very likely
sent to gaol for six months or a year. You
will be fed on plain prison fare, and when
you come out you won't know that you.
have a stomach except at meal time." A
perfect Daniel come to judgment that, but
medically a fool. Drink gives the dootors
lots of work and nice long bills. A deplor.
able mortal the other da staggered into a
Toronto drug store an said: "Give me
something to make me sleep. I've been on
a big spree for four days, and can't sleep."
And any one looking at him, though not
much either of a judge or a doctor, could
easily understand the reason why. He was
a miserable type of hundreds. But the
over -eating brings far more grist to the doc-
tor's mill. "Oh, doctor, 1 am quite run
down What would you advice ?" "My
spirits," cries another, are awfully low
and I can eat nothing." And so they growl
and grumble, that great army of gluttons
who have eaten away their stomachs and
now feel astonished that nature rebels, and
that they can't "sail in" as aforetime.
And the doctors look grave, shake their
wise heads, stretch themselves to write. a
prescription and calculate on another mine
of money for months, though they know
that a dose of salts with a decent regimen
for a few weeks would "restore the tone,"
and raise up the patient. "Bitters," "safe
cures," "tonics," and what not of all sorts
and sizes, what are they and why are they
needed In three cases out of four because
the stomach has been outraged, and because
sinners won't take to fasting either as a
penance or a curative. Yes, if the people
of Toronto and other places would only deal
decently with their stomachs, the half of
the doctors would starve and the other half
would be moderately poor people. It is
but adding to this to say another tit.' g. If
in addition to avoiding dram -d ig and
the over -eating of such inchgesti food,
people would try to lead decentl moral
lives in accordance with nature, what then?
The half of the doctors might take to the
plough, and the other half would not need
to have any fear of the gout or a rebellious
stomach before their eyes. Ladies and
gentlemen, don't be angry. You know that
in all this we are but stating the simple
fact. If you will go on as you do, you must
be sick. Thank God, if you are not like the
Duchess, quite mad, you will he soon, ifYon.
don't take care
--
ii,r--
A Hard Condton
'
Isaac Barnes, of Boston, had a wife who
was a devoted Baptist. Now, the Baptista
were about to build a chapel, and Mrs.
Barnes was interested in procuring subscrip-
tions to that end. She spoke to Mr. Barnes
about it, and as he intimated a willingness
to subscribe, she sent a collector to urge
him further. The collector said lie under-
stood that Mr. Barnes was willing to sub-
scribe. Mr. Barnes said ha was. "1 may
as well say at once," said he, "that my
subscription will be $3,000." This fairly
took the collector's breath away. "That
is a splendid gift," he managed to say, after
a while; "we shall be very deeply obliged."
"Not at all," said Barnes; "but," he ad-
ded, "there is a condition to the gift."
"Oh," said the collector, "I'M we any
Icondition you might annex would be well received by our people." "I'm not so sure
about that," said Barnes ; "the condition
is that all the people baptized in the new
chapel shall be bapthed in boiling hot
water." "Good -morning," said the collet -
tor, as he client the subscription book in his
pocket an walked off.
We quite agree with an English Outwit -
o porary when it exclaims: " Considering the
depressed state of the farming industry, and
' the need there is of seeking a remedy in
all directions, it is not creditable to Great
1 Britain that those desiring to learn how beso
to,raanage dairies, for instance, are obliged
• to go to Denmark for the lesson." It is not
creditable, and many of the evils that farm-
ers lebor under in Canada might be averted
by a thorough system of good, practical
agricultural education.
A war of tariff rates is threatened in Eu-
rope. Recently the French chambers de-
cided to increase the protective duties On
Italianconn, ancl now the Minister o
nance has just introduced a bill for the pur-
pose of increasing to three francs the duties
on cereals. The Italian government &ion
the measure on the grotutd that as r
governments are levying far higher imps
on foreign grain, exportations from fereism
countries to Italy will thereby be increased,
to the great injury of Italian agriculture.
What is one of the greatest curses of the
resent day ? Drink? 'Yes. Licentiousness?
Yes. Dishonesty? Of course. But 18 here
no other not much thought of? Yes, there
is the readiness to go into debt, and the
careless indifference about being in that
state and remaining in it. To be hopeleesly
in debt does not seem to give many people
a passing thought. They make a joke of it.
Tell them that it is surprising they can
sleep under such a load, and they will reply
witha laugh that they wonder how credit-
, ore can sleep, but with them it is quite dif-
ferent. How can many people prof es to be
christians when they don't pay their debts
and " never mean to ? So-called respectable
people of that class ate the greatest crimin-
als in the country. What numbers ofyoung
men think it rather smart to bilk their tail-
or ancl give their landleely the slip ! What
numbers no longer young who live really b
sponging WA tradesmen 1 They must have
nice clothes and good food come whence it
may. They would be angry if' called
thieves, and yet they are such and of the
very worst kind, No wonder that tailors
have black lists. No wonder that .tnany
decent storekeeper is ruined. Why, there
are very high and mighty people in Toronto
in debt to their washer,wounin and dress-
maker, Fax bettor go and steal at once,
An Unanswerable Argument.
First Toronto Man—" Humph I The
idea of spending $200 for a bicycle for your
boy. You'll ruin him."
Second Toronto Man--" On the contrary;
I desire to keep him out of bad company."
"What good will that new-fangled con-
trivance do any one, I'd like to know? He
can go were he pleases with it."
"Did you ever hear of a young man coin-
ing home drunk on a bicycle ?"
Economy a Necessity.
I thought you were engaged to Miss
Beauti, who is divinely tall and fair, as you
used to say."
"1 was; but that was before the real es-
tate boom began. I have martied Miss
Petite."
"That little lady scarcely four feet high?'
you see, when a man's wife dies a
grave must be bought for her, and with
land at the present prices I could not afford
a full Sized woman."
Montreal. MINN= DEACON.
Almost a mut.
Esmeralda Longcoffin's parent says to
young Mr. Sts.ylate—" I may be an old man
and a hanged ugly old man, but if you don't
go home 111 show you that I still posses
the fire of youth, for I'll fire a youth out of
this house, and you will be the youth."
Young Stay/ate—" Mr. Longeof6n, is
this 8, hint for int) to go ?"
Oakville, Ont. &Us V.IMOVSON.
The Hudson river will be etocked with
ealrnon fry early this 8 rin