HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Times, 1897-7-29, Page 5THE EXETER TIMES'
LONG JAKE'S TRIP HOME
CHAPTER I.—Continued.
Long Jake was in the habit of Wat-
tling these systematic carousals of his
with a deliberation that was little
short of hoe tble. This time he had
Waited pativelly until heavy rain fill-
ed the creeke and water -holes, so that
Ms flocks had. the best of feed and wa-
ter clixee at hand ; and he had triramed
and mended the rude fences of the great
. Paddocks, and left everything gener-
aily snug. Teen e laid obtained frora
hie employer a substantial oheck, on
; tile uretext a buying a horse at Wee-
aeton. For the projected " bust" was
"er no means Jake's first since his ire
et:illation in the hut on Razorback,
:eel he was well aware that if he were
found mit—let alone, the harm that
ex./light or might not befall the sheep
:during his absenee—it woulil be at least
ZI4 =HT as his place was worth: that
was thirty shillings a week, plus ra-
' "Ions. awl in itee'f was of small consid-
eration; he could get as much, ear -
haps more, from any squatter in the
eetiony 49 an experienced shepherd and
houndery-man. But ecnizehow, Jake
lied get to like the place for its own
eke. Ilx was context in his solitary
life aineng the grim and conabre ranges.
Iiide-td, Hal queer, reserved, nameless
ied fellers- found the svlitude of BUZ-
orbaek the best thing in life. 1 aro
net sure that he did not regard those
" busts " at King-parret Plat simply as
tet teeny nemesary life-tonies wbieh he
ewed IL to himself th administer with
unfailing regularity. At anyrale the
rude ebb hut, the eats, the cockatoo,
the very prints pasted on the -walls—
thee simple signs grew by degrees to
eeell for Long Jake the word—"Rome."
And until this time he had experiencea
nething but thank f u 1 next and relief on
tenoning home, sick end wearied from
his excesses.
But. tide time it was different. Rome
. °moped no comfort; he could not rest.
Ile felt that which—out of a pretty
lengthy experienve of similar after-
glows—he had never felt before—name-
ly. :shame. That was tett the worst of
it, however. The dead storekeeper was
always beforc his eyes. And when rid-
e. through the bush he found himself
sciously looking over his slam"-
earfully expectant or the wild
nd uplifted aam of the woman
he had been instrumental in
te widow. For brooding exag-
i ,d the circumstances of the ac-
cident, until the brand of the primal
murderer would burn on the brow of
Long Jake in the deed of night and
send the poor self -accuser wandering
pititully over the ranges.
Rough as the We was in the old. days
—the other time-honorett epithet is for
She optimists—there were still coroners
to be he d for the sending, even In the
ranges. And. a couple of days after the
accident, a messenger summoned Long
Jake to the inquest at the dead man's
store. Well, no blame was laid on poor
Jake, except by himself; and he gal-
ioped back without speaking to a soul
outside the store. The widow could
not be brou'ght to attend the inquiry,
and she was not seen.
A part of the weight that pressed it
down was now lifted from the mind
of Long Jake, but only a. slight part.
In the distorted perspeutive of his own
mind he was still bloud-guilty ; and
oould there be dcgree. in bltiod-guilti-
flees? Ile WOIIICI have ridden into the
home -station aud laid. bare bis naked
feelings to the boss, who was a kind
and jest man, and who, moreownwould
-xertamly hear of the accident from oth-
er—possibly unkind—lips. But, unfor-
tunately, the one rigid rule of Long
Yaken life was, never to lay bare a
fraction of his feelings to a fellowman.
However, after a few days, a journey
to the homeetead for rations, became
imeerative. It VMS high noon when.
amid a loud barking of dogs, Jake led
his mare into the rough stable and
walked. over to the store. Within. the
young gentleman front EngSand, who
was obliging enough to acguare "colon-
ial experience" at a nominal. salary—
was whistling shrilly.
"Hat it's you, Long Jake," he cried
as Jake entered. "Rations? All right:
in a minute; but—hang it 1—shake a
paw first, do." He was evidently in tre-
mendous spirits; and Jake was too per-
fectly colonised to be in symwathy with
eny such demonstration. He held out
his hand sulkily; he intended to have
his rations at once, and go. But the
high-spirited young gentleman went on
whistling noisily and packing emu eggs
in sawd.ust, as if no one was at the
other side of the counter waiting to
be served.
Tell you what's op," he presently
volunteered, pausing in his song; "I'm
off home I Sick o' this, don't you know
—rough as blazes, and all that kind
of thing. Yea home to England! Jol-
ly eh?" A vivacious continuation of
the interrupted. tune, in another key,
and then: "Sail next Tuesday week:
Blackwell liner; good business, eh?"
Crescendo; the whole store filled with
the volume of this young Briton's whis-
tle.
"If it's a fair question," asked Jake,
when tbe tune had emus to a„ blatant
end on a wrong note, what might a
passage cost ?"
"Just th,e sort of question it is—ha,
ail—you don't see it, thougb 1" laugh-
etl the other airily. " "Why, about sev-
enty pounds, first-class.'
"Ale but secondt"
"011, about thirty, I should say.
Why? Are you thinking of going home,
too 1'
Jake said curtly that he wasn't;
and asked plainly if be might expect
to be served that morning.
While the young man was busy with
the seo.tes WilliamNoble—"the boss "—
came into the store and conversed pleas-
antly with his boundary -man without
one allusion to King -parrot Flat. And
before be left the homestead hong Jake
ascertained that he had. still five pounds
seeanteen end eightpence standing to
bis credit in the station books.
" Thirty • pounds 1" h'e muttered
etrangely as 13A3 remou:ntea the mare.
Be had "lammed down that gum at
john Byrne's the ,wee,k before! He
rode home to the hut in silent thought:
but When be ditsenounted at the well-
known spot, bs mule more whispered,
ararrty pounds I" This time the words
fell naturally from his lips; tbey had
formed the keynote of his reflections
during the ten -mile ride.
CHAPTER 11.
More than three months passed be-
fore long Jake was again seen at King -
parrot Flat; and then, one fine after-
noon, he dropped in upon the boys in
lohn Byrne's bar without a word of
warning. lie was warmly , greeted.
John Byrne's handsorue face lit up with
in evil light as he clapped the newcom-
er on the back with demonstrative
heartiness; Jack Rogers, already three
'tarts tipsy, foresaw earlier consumma-
tion than he had dared to hope for:
ind Surgeon -major Wagstaff—late of
H. M. Bombay Staff Corps—deemed it
a promising speculation to begin busi-
neas by pledging Long Sake at 1118,1 he
surgeon -major's, expense. To the
speechless amazement of all, this deli-
cate overture was politely but prompt-
ly declined.
"No, boys," said Long Jake, quietly,
in answer to the questioning faces that
were turned. indignantly to his; "1
haen't come here for a boose.notthis
time," and he calmly seated himself on
a flour -bag in the coolest corner of
the store.
Jack Rogers feebly appealed 'to his
sters to explain wbat this might por-
tend; the old Anglo-Indian ripened
with More than tropic) rapidity from
pink to purple, agal muttered va,guely
about "outraged honor," and "instant
satisfactionO while the proprietor of
tbe bar confined himself to a perempt-
ory haquiry as to why, et cetera, Jake
came there if he didn't mean to. take
anything for the good of the house—
adding that he, for one, as hose of
the shanty in question, intended to
know the reason why, enywa,y.
"Reason why?" said Long Jake re-
flectively, without looking . up from
the fig of tobacco he was daintily par-
ing in his palm. "Reason why?. 'Why,
to have a bit of a yarn. What else?"
But before the menace that trembled
on John Byrne's tongue could be tBse
charged, he added adroitly, and with
a. quick upward. glance: 'Hows'evex,
though I'm not en for anything nveself
to-day—feeling just what you call be-
low par, 1ike-1 hereby invites all pree-
ent company to order their usual, if
you please." With that Long Jake add-
ed to 'the painful interest which his
abnormal conduct had already created
by shifting the olasp-knife to his left
hand. thrusting his right deep into Ms
trcusers' pocket, and, apparently be
aceident, jingling a fistful of coins.
Then he withdrew his hand without
raising his eyes, and resumed paring
the tobacco with an impassive face.
Coin of the realm being an almost
unknown quantity at King -parrot Flat,
where paper money was in common cur-
rency, this master -touch of Long
Jake's produced an instantaneous ef-
fect. John Byrne turned his back,
Partly to uncork a, fresh demijohn,
partly to conceal his emotion. The
rest—Ineluding even the insulted sur-
geon-major—maintained a judiciaussi-
lence. The man from Razorback', re-
served .his final bomb until the first
glass all round had been emptied„ end
until he had rolled his tobacco car-
essingly between his palms. and filled
and lit bis pipe.
"Fact is, boys," he tben said, in the
same calm, deliberate tone, "I'm go-
ing home!"
The silence that had preceded the
announcement outlived it half a
minute; then, as one man, the, habi-
tues of Byrne's bar pulled themselves
together.
"Whatt home to England?" : asked
John Byrne incredulously.
"Home to England." said Long
Jake.
"Gad 1 you don't mean tbis1" ex-
claimed Surgeon -major Wagstaff.
"My colonial oath on it," saidLong
Jake.
"An' when yer goin'?" inquired
ack Rogers.
"Well, not jest yet a while," said
Song Jake.
This lest reply, being distinctly anti -
climacteric, disappointed somewhat
"Going for good?" sneered John
Byrne, vei,ling beneath a tone of con-
tempt the reasonable annoyance inci-
dent to lee of a sure source of in-
conae. Jack Rogers, with a vinous
wink, suggested: "No; for bad." -A
slight laugh greaten the m,audlin sally.
But Jake replied gravely, "Only for a
trip. I mean to have one more look at
the old. dust: that's all—Fill up again,
boys."
The invitation was scarcely needed;
and, under the influence of the whisky
and Jake's manoeuvring, the conversa-
tion drifted; and he presently turned
it into the channel he hed all along in
view lay an innocent inquiry after
Widow Truscott- The gratuitous in-
formation respecting this lady which
he elicited it would be to no purpose
to relate at length; moreover, it
would be unfair, since the epithets em-
ployed could scarcely have been, meant
for repetition. But it did appear that
Mrs. Truscott was, to put it mildly,
no favorite at King -parrot Flat. Her
airs were worse than ever. She thought
herself too good for everybody.. She
was mismanaging the store, making a
mess of everything, and doing no busi-
ness—eada substantive being duly
qualified. There were plenty of good
men ready to enter the business on the
square footing, who would. guarantee
to make a paying concern of IL
Yet she wanted to sell the place—sell
a. place whose good -will wasn't worth
a red cent; she would look at none of
them. Here the gallant Surgeon -major
waxed peculiarly eloquent and pomp-
ous. It seemed that this oriental jewel
had indeed gone the length of person-
ally offering himself, body and soul,
as a saerifice at the shrine of this un-
reasonable woman. Only to be tram-
pled on!
As long Jake cantered homeward, he
could not resist a curious glance at
the dwelling of the terrible female. If
she treated. so maleficently those es-
timable men whose worst offence was
a too great admiration for herself, how
would she behave to him, Long. Jake—
as be persisted in regarding himself—
the author of her widowhood? Might
she not send a bullet through him as
he passed.? Surely she must be capable
of that much. She happened, to be in
front of the house, training lovingly
an infant creeper to the base of a
veranda -post — honeysuckle, taken
from its native northern soil, onlyi a
few short months age. She, looked, up
swiftly at the cantering horseman. As
it seemed to him, there wee nothing
forbidding in the glance; nor did( she
lower her eyes; but Instead, gazed hard
at him with something very like inter-
est in her std. face. Sone Sake felt
the blood mount hotly. to his cheeks,
and. his band tighten involuntarily on
the reins. For an instant he, wavered;
then, turning away his head, he spur-
red the mare round the fatal corner.
Put he had not galloped a furlong be-
fore his first impulse of shante gave
Place to one of indignation, oe which
he himself was the object; he fell to
cursing himself for a, fool and a heart-
less wretch; and by tbe time he reach-
ed the but, he had resolvedthat, next
time anything took him to the, town-
ship, he wouldot leave 10 before he
had told the truth to ties peon widow
about that terrible day, now nearly
Lour Months ago.
It was a. Uttle curious tbat, barely
a week later, Long Jake found. an-
other trip to Klieg -parrot Flat neces-
sary. He had, never before visitea the
township twice in so shore a space of
tirae. It was more ourious, however,
that be ended by getting nu farther
than the outermost vedette of tbe
straggling, weather -board houses— by
calling, in fine, at Mrs. Truscott's store
and nowhere else.
"I must see the woman, 1 must make
a clean breast to her about tbat day.
I must tell her straight that I was
blind drunk and riding madly; that if
I had been in mg sober senses the acci-
dent would never have happen-
ed." Such is a paraphrase and
a. condensation of bong Jake's
conception of his duty, arrived
at after hours of slow laborious
thought. The logic: of the con-
clusion was More than questionable;
and as for the prompting that led to
it, Jake was simply self -deceived. Even
supposing any good sprang up from the
unburdening of spirit, it would be reap-
ed by the wrong person; a load. would
be lifted from Long Jake's heart, not
a pennyweight's from Mrs. Truseott's.
Yet, as he reined up at the store, Long
Jake honestly believed that he was
about to do the next best thing to
reparation, which was impossible. Mrs.
Truscott sat sewing behind the green
veranda-blinds—voluptuous extravag-
ances hitherto unknown in the pure
air of the Flat. The tall ungainly
bushman trembled. visibly as be step-
ped up tbe little path, crushing bis
soft wideawake between the twitcbing
fingers of botb hands. Instantly, how-
ever, the sweet, sad smi3e with which
the young widow looked up at his trou-
bled face disarmed him; that ice -break-
ing sentence, so carefully prepared, op
often rehearsed, went dean out of his
bead; and Long Jake, for one faint-
hearted naonaent, would have given far
more than his credit balance at the
111
station to benfely back in bis butl
Yet a moment later the plunge was
made—a veritable flounder to incober-
ence. Then, corning up—so to speak—
for breath, a series of verbal splashes
followed, trem.ulous with rough pent-
up emotion; for some seconds the words
chased each other tumultuously from
his hoarse throat, then ceased. And
tbe widow knew all that bad been on
the poor fellow's mind for months past.
How did she hear it 1 Silently, at lint:
then with a slight catch of the breath:
then with quiet tears. And when all
was odd, she leent forward on her low
chair and. pronounced, not forgivenese,
but words of tbanks. Thanks for his
tenderness to him; thanks for bis for-
bearance with her on that awful day.
Tbanks to bine! The man recoiled and
shuddered and refused to believe his
ears. Be felt stunned, when no re -
preach could have stunned him! But a
thin white hand was stretched over to-
ward hint and, whether he would or
no. it buried Haat in his great coarse
fist. He dropped it quickly, drew a
deep sigh 'emit of relief, half of bewild-
erment, wiped his shirt sleeve across
his brow, and without a word, stepped
from the veranda.
Mrs. Truscott. called him back. Be
must stay a little while, she said kind-
ly, and talk th her; she never talked
to any one, you see. Jake sat down
humbly; he would have done anything
she told him, just thou.; but what could
he talk about? Silence. Jake shifted
nervously. Some subtle instinct whis-
pered that be would be evermore dis-
graced if hie left the lady to begin the
conversation. So be sturabled into this,
" goin' to clear out o' this mon."
(To be Continued)
A PRIME MINISTER.
•••••.•
Lord Saumnetry Is a Great Diplomat. Ina
not a Successful a Leader.
The )3ritish Prime Minister is a tall,
leurgy man, with a heavily bearded face,
and a bent figure. He is in bis sixty-
eighth year and looks even older. Be
walks slowly, with shoulders drawn up
and feet dragging. Ile has the care-
worn face of a statesman overweight-
ed with labors and anxieties. lie sel-
dom smiles, and while not without a
stately, ceremonious manner, is ordin-
arily silent, self-absorbed and almost
morose.
When the Marquis of Salisbury
speaks in the House of Lords he Is heard
with difficulty, for he does not raise
hie voice above the conversational tone
and disdains energy of nia,nner. In a
banqueting -hell or when addressing a
great audience, he sends out a resonant
voice which is full and distinct, while
it grates upon the ear, Hisbroad
shoulders sway from side to side. his
gestures are ungainly and he lacks all
the graces of oratory except clearness:
but he never fails to impress his audi-
ence with a sense of his power as an
original thinker and an actor in great
affairs of state.
When he was a young man he had
no expectation of succeeding to an his-
toric title and a rich estate. He eked
out, an inadequate income witb his pen
and was one of the most caustic writers
of the Quarterly Review. Tide literary
experience sharpened his tongue and
during his early years in Parliament
made him unduly offensive and con-
temptuous as a speaker. In the ma-
turity of his powers the bitterness has
disappeared and the literary finish of
the style remains. His longest speeches
are delivered with notes and every sen-
tence is well -phrased..'
Lord Salisbury likes to work in sil-
ence and out of sight. So long as he
is allowed to order the foreign affairs
of the nation t hindrance, he is
content to hay 1 abinet :associates
manage everyt else. His will is
la.w in dip1om,i t otherwise he is a
flexible party i illing to take
advice and not ben fon having his
own way. It is indeed difficult for him
to interest himself in the ordinary de-
tails of clonaestio legislation and party
questions. He doses bieleyes and is
listless when he disousseneethese mat-
ters in a public addies-4711 is only
wheia foreign affairs are tinder debate
that be is wide-awake, aldit and at his
best.
Perhaps he would be a greater prime
minister if he wake less of a diplomat-
ist. His taste for Nue books and hair-
splitting argument stands in the way
of his success as a man of action. .k
prime minister who was not foreign sec-
retary might have eettled the Cretan
question without a wan fatal to the
prestige of the Greeks. Lord. Salisbury,
powerful as he is in English politics
and without a rival in Foropean diplo-
macy, lacks the prestige of suocespful
leadership at home or abroad.
SPLENDID BA.TTLEEIP,
UE samsH SHIP RENOWN IN
RALTrAX HARBOR.
ine Ilet Rough 'weather — Seaworthiness of
the Vessel Proved —Detailed Description
of Mr DAIllenS11044, ArMa1111401t 444. Fre.
p478104—A Eitie slap.
The British battlesbip Renown, the
finest ship of war that ever crossed the
Atlantic arrived at Ralifax, N.S., the
other morning from Port:mouth. She
bears the flag of Vice Admiral Sir John
Fisher, the new commander of the 13r1-
tish fleet in North American waters.
The new commander was received with
salutes from the war ships in port and
tbe citadel. The cruiser Crescent, which
is succeeded by the Renown as flag
t hip of the station, will return to
England at once,
The Renown had a very tempestuous
passage across the Atlantic, encoun-
tering strong head gales that not only
prevented her from making any speed
but threw mountains of sea over her.
for hours at a time. Large numbers
of the crew, ninny of whom are young
seamen were sick nearly ell the way
across, so severe was the weather, and
so violent the rolling of the ship. At
thaw when the engines were %crating
at a rate that should have given the
hid!) the speed of sixteen knots she
was not making more than five knots.
STRENGTHENING OUR SQUADIWN.
The arrival of the Renown is a fur-
ther and a more notable etep in th.ga
process that has been going on fee
some tinao of strengthening the British
fleet in American waters.
Up to a few yearts ago the flagship
was usually a *nomad -class wssel as
compared with the best in the royal
navy. The arrival of tthe Blake, a crui-
eer of the first class, marked the be-
ginning of the cbange. The Blake was
followed, by the Crescent, another high-
claoa snip, the fleet being also strength-
ened by the addition of the cruiser Tal-
bot. The Renown exceeds the Cres -
• as the Crescent exceeded the
Northampton, and as the fleet of to-
day exceeds that of twelve or fifteen
years ago.
The Renown is a first-class twin-
screw sinner -clad battleship, and the
only vessel of ber class built, or build-
ing. 13er design, which was prepared
under the direction of Sir W. White,
being purely experhnental. Her first
keel plate was laid down at Pembroke
dock yard. in February, 1893. Her
launch took 'dace on the afternoon of
the 8th of May, 1895. She has given
such satisfaction, that some eight "im-
proved Renowns" are being built; they
will be known as the "eanopus class,"
that being the name of the first of the
series laid down.
DIMENSIONS OF TELE RENOWN.
The Renown is the largest sbeathed
battleship ever built, and. '18 intended
to keep thesea for long periods of time
on foreign stations, where dock accom-
modation is not conveniently accei-
sible. Her principal dimensions are:
Length between perpendiculars, 380
feet; extreme breadth, 72 feet 4 inches;
lcia,d draught of water, 26 feet 9 inches;
displacement, 12,500 eons; freeboard,
forward, 25 feet; a/wee-hips, 27 feet 8
inches; aft, 19 feet 3 inches.
The Renown has double bottom,
which extend. for more than half her
length in the central part, the outside
plating varying in thickness, the thick-
er plates being nearest the keel, and
the plating being doubled in certain
places to insure strength of structure
and for other purposes. A thick deck,
arch -shaped section transversely in-
dexes the engines, boilers and °eller
vital parts, and traverses the ship as
far as the double bottoms.
At the termination of the raiddle deck
at either end, are curved steel armor -
plated bulkheads, the convex parts in
ante e.atse being toward the extremities
of the ship. These bulkheads rest on
the lower deck, and extent to the tame
ing rifle guns, where caeenients form-
ing with it a complete belt and inelos-
ing the citadel, in the foremost and af-
tennost parts of which strongly armor-
ed redou.bts are constructed.
The lower deck, which is practically
the continuation of the middle deck,
without tile citadel, is constructed of
two plates, eaela one inch tbic,k ; the
armor 'dates, which are all of Harvey-
ized steel, vary in thickness, oxi the
cross bulkheads from six inches to nine
and ten inches, and on the sides from
six to eight inches. At both ends of the
ship, outside of the °Rade!, the side
plating is 7.16 inches thick, except in
the wake of the six-inch breech -load -
in grifle guns, where casements form-
ed of six-inch armor, with rear plate.s
two inches thick, are fitted
THE BATTLE81.11P'S REDOUBTS.
The two redoubts are plated with
armor of ben inches thick, as is also the
coming tower. The armor plates on
the belts and surrounding the redoubts
are fitted against teakwood • backing
and bolted through that and two thick-
nesses of half inch plates secured to
the plates behind.
The bottom of the ship has been
sheathed with teakwood four inches
thick, which will be covered. toprevent
it fouling during long immersion,
For her displacement, which is 12,350
tons, the lienoivn has an exceptionally
powerful armament. These are:
Four ten -inch 29 -ton breech -leading
rifle guns mounted in pairs in bartiettes,
one forward and one aft; these guns
are worked\ from a new type of high
angle fire mounting, enabling the guns
to be trained on any object from 30 de,
grees,abaft the starboard beam around.
the bow, to 30 degrees abaft the port
beam. The whole four heavy guns can
be fired simultaneously at an elevation
of 35 degrees.
Besides her heavy guns, the Renown
carries ten six-inch 100 -pound. quick -
firing gene, four in casements on the
timer deck and six in casements on the
main deck, the latter being on a level
with the upper edge of the armor belt-
ing, the upper deck being next above
it. The four six-inch guns on the up-
per decik so placed that two can be
fired. straight ahead and two straight
astern.
The Renown has an auxiliary arma-
ment •nt eight twelve -.pounder and
twelve three -pounder quick -firing guns
1180 eight Maxim machine guns.
There are five torpedo -launching
.o.beS, two on each side, submerged.
end dne above water at the stern, all
itted to discharge eighteen -inch
Whitehead and. R.G.A. torpedoes.
LeTRENGTH OF HER ARMAMENT.
An idea of the force that the Re -
',gm's guns will have when in action
;r1 110 gathered from the following:—
inch of her 29 -ton guns will fire one
...30 -pound prole:Otte per minute, mak-
ing a total for the four guns of 2,000
emends of metal. Each of the six
:rich quick -firing. guns will fire at the
!east five rounds per minute, an aggre-
gate for each gun of 500 -pounds,. or a
„fraud total per minute for the ten six-
inch guns of 5,000 isninde of meted.
Each of the eight twelve -pounder
cuticle -firing guns will tire ten shots a
minute, making a grand total for the
twelve -pounders of 960 pounds. The
twelve three -pounders, at ten shots a
minute for eacb gun will total up 360
pounds of metal.
It will be seen by the above that the
Renown, firing both broadsides shim:-
tanemely, will discharge 8,320 pounds
of projectiles in one minute. This will
not inelude the eight Maxim machine
guns which will be mounted in her
firing tops.
Tbe masts of tbe Renown alone form
a =met formidable part of the vessel's
fighting equipment. There are two
masts. On the foremast are two firma -
tar platforms, teehnically termed fight-
ing thps. On tbe lower fighting top
are mounted three tbree-pounder
Hotchkiss quick -firing guns, while two
guns of the same type are mounted on
the upper top, The mainmast ie fitted
with one fighting -top, from which are
worked three three -pounder quick -fir-
ing guns.
Above the fighting lops, on the fore
and main resets, are fitted two addi-
tional tops, one on each mast, on whieb,
when to resist it. The disciples felt it
their duty to dissuade Paul from his
jouruey ; hie own conscience and God's
call bade him go forward.
18. To weep and to break mine heart
Re was touched by their tears: but bis
to (lie, "Not the cross for the sake of
convictions remained firm. Ready. -
the crane but the cross for tbe sake
of the Lord."
14. The will of the, Lord be done. They
recognize tbat the apcetle is led, not
hy obstinacy, nor preeumption. but by
the counsel of the Lord, and they yie1.1
at once.
15. Carriages. The word Ins bere its
o/d meaning of " thing' to he carried.
luggage." Up to Jerusalem. A I. ur-
ney from the coast to tbe bills of Ju-
4ea• ascending neax,ly three tbousand
feet.
QUEER SIGNBOARDS.
Widen rsed to Wang tu Front or GuaLi.12
inns,
In the days of the Commoieweelth we
can imagine Praise God. Barebones
and. their cronies quaffing their daily
tankards of ale at the inn piously nam-
ed. "God Encompasseth Us," or at the
sign of the "Alpha Beta." Yet, re-
marks Lippincotta Magazine, it was
not long ere both of the.se had fallen
from their high estate, the one being
known far and wide as "The Goat
and the Compasses," with a prancing
beast and mat hematiael instruenent
conscientiously depicted an the sign-
board, and the other an the "Alpha-
bet." with all the letters frora A to
Z. printed above the door. An exceed-
ingly popular hostelry at a point frena
which several mail coaches formerly
started was originally named Boulogne
Mouth in honor of a British victory
gained at the mouth of Boulogne Har-
bor in the reign of Henry VIII.; hut
the waterscape or battle scene having,
after a while, become effaced by time
and weather from the signboard, some
stupid boniface thought he was doing
the proper thing when be had painted
an enormous ranuth with a jocose little
bull beneath. From that day an the
place figured as the Bull's Mouth. The
time was when artists of note scorned
Inot to try their prentice hand at the
painting of signs, and many a Royal
Academician gave the public a lion or
a unicorn, a, magpie or a cockatrice
the last fabulous animal, supposed to
have been hatched. from a cock's egg
by a. toad, being for some unknown rote
son quite a favourite and represented
as a serpent with a roaster's head.
Among these• painters were Ma ries
Carlton, one of the original Royal Ac-
ademicians: Samuel Wade. who delight-
ed in figures of Falstaff and other
Shakeepearian charaeters: Bogart h and
Richard Wilson, while the vintner's inn
at Hayes, Kent, boasted a grape -bor-
dered "St. George end the Dragon,"
executed by Millais.
REMARKABLE RAT STORY.
For the benefit of marines the Lon-
don Field bas revived a remarkable rat
story to theeffect that e. rat yeas
caught alive on board a. British naval
vessel in a. trap, and the beast was
thrown from the trap into the water
without being killed. 'A large gull that
was following in the wake of the ship
to pick up scraps of food thrown over-
board by tbe steward stopped several
times, endeavoring to pick the rat up.
Once the bird got too close to the rat's
;Owe and the beast grabbed it by the
neck. After a short fight the rat sue-
ceeded in killing the hint When the
gull was dead, the rat scrambled upon
the bird' body, and, hoisting, one wing
as a. sail and using the other as a rud-
der, succeeded in steering far the shore.
Whether the rat reaehed shore or not
is the question, si1104 the ship soon got
out of sight of the skipper and its
craf 1.
COMPRESSED AIR CYCLE.
A new wheel is designed to operate
by compressed air. The weight of the
rider on the saddle, under which is
an air reservoir, compresses the air
into a. small cylinder, where it is
heated by a smell lamp mounted in
front of the machine, the beat causing
the air to expand. From two small
cylinders this air is connected with
smell cranks which give power to a
claim. The speed. of the machine may
be controlled at the pleasure of the
rider. IThe wheel weighs about 85
pounds. Pedals are attacbed to the
crahaks, but only for use in case of ac-
cidetat.
HIS EXCEPTIONAL LUCK.
have read repeatedly, said the sad -
eyed young man, never to ask a young
tady's permission when you wished to
kiss her.
Well, 1 hope ypu didn't, said his
friend.
No, I didn't; but the young lady, I
think, &es not read the papers. ,
JOB FOR ...„A_.PAINTER.
Geor to ilbcptains to We Carle Fred the
Aeeident That causes the Demand.
Dear Unelis Fred t Paw paibtod Part
of our stable day before yistadaYe
Hadent
.iet,conf.d.81» faorentainseetedideitota.1.1 if he
:Ii‘:5:hgletelh.nt„Ottle7:01.1:ntwag s agoim to paint- the
et Mat ebx says: wben she looked
tothsereee atowarlats,
Painted maw comeAboGuluitt
inel;p17e'dm'allandnitaTd Etat ladderlike
"'Well, ain't, pe.inten it ? If you
anisci hues
.lidn't Wirit she zue,nt. Then He
says;
Don't like this Here job, webby you,
Setter take Heed and finteh it your-
"Gb, you're doin' a'S rite," says maw,
"(nay it eeenati to me it would 73e a
Attie Better if you'd get more paint on
tytuseRL.,fru., and not quint so =etch on
"Bahl" paw grow.aat "I saeoae you
il.calyeinnkly7.:::.0.:on.7. funny, don't you.
Why I men, that etal gag in. The papers
hO
Nsh..ki,tontottilahtilatowngaasgt.o." says maw'
"Beree you never read tbe Papers,
then." says maw. "It's ontg sinee
GOt married and I want to Be Sociabac
a"rountliedY'Zbet4°Trleoustiliellyo'u oeu.oguhtgitto D°
80
BlulyzfisiThreeaiodrellanpyo.tpberneg yeonlee.,Dhon't Have
13:::1'.vrhbeaity'ss, iih-fhotrit trTybinenktos D3a fieiiienrgsgitsi;
yrcnea, utolpdulthree, tnrumthr /..1.low does it Come
Paw waa tiek:ted by that shot and
Ha kited of AN'hir:(ed around on one
feot to see How maw was agoin to Take
it. But the ladder give a elide, and
pwileivh toshekl,ette'ealiat t‘bjbvithRpaairwle• holnleingrirt. ter
Hew ebe jist yeiSled and ruin away,
and paw Come Down kersrnash on tbe
Paint Bucket, and upset it, and the
aslrotflnierenda:prera r4eRroisreHneck and nearly
!widen Aim into the Ituusi6 he says to
geeould git
untangled out a the laddee
r.
We were Mt pretty seared. But it
maw:
"Wei, I hope u're licippY now.
Didn't Hurt him mueb, so when we was
YwohnereCouy.Siou Ben. gjonstaisee'edd Leen atit,iee Hiolulesye.
wasebt nobody in there to make your
tongue waggle. I same the, only thing
ynonerkB
olereSorrjace,
al..x)ut is awe I didn't (lit
Maw she Didn't say a word. I Gees
She must a Been gurtg NI/ of rernorst.
They's a Job Here ter some painter
GEOROIE.
ROW TA.LL ARE YOU?
The average height of the Scotch is
about five feet ten inches, so that they
stand on a level with the Polynesians
and Amerieans, botla Indians and
whites. In the southwestern counties
and along the south coast of the Forth,
the, bight is nearly five feet eleven in-
ches, or about tbe hight of the Gren-
adier Guards and metropolitan pollee,
who are pieked raeu. The trete with
an average of five feet nine inches, are
the next tallest petmle in Europe. The
English of the eountles bordering Scot-
land, Cunalterland, Yorkshire, etc..
where there is mueh Scotch blood, are
also five feet nine inches. Tbose of the
south and southeast coast are five feet
eight inches; in Norfolk they are a
little taller; in the Fens and some in-
land counties, such as Oxfordshire and
Buckinghamshire. and in some western
counties, such as Somerset, they are
five feet seven inches, or about the
hight of the Welsh, excepting the
northeast of Wales, where they are
rather taller.
FOOD THAT MAKES BRAINS.
According to a celebrated bealth ex-
pert, blanched almonds give the high-
er nerve or brain and muscle food,
and the man who wishes to keep his
brain power up wond do well to in-
clude them in his daily bill of fare.
Juicy fruits give more or less the
higher nerve or brain, and are eaten
by all men whose living depends on
their clear -headedness. Apples supply
the brain with rest. 1 runes afford
proof against nervousness, 1 but are
not unlade feeding. They should be
avoided by those who suffer frorn the
liver. But, it has been prove& that
fruits do not have the same effect
upon everybody. Some men have never
been able to eat apples without suffer-
ing the agony of indigention; th others
strawberries are like poison.
FALSE TEETH TAKE ROOT.
A Russian druggist has, according to
the London Figaro. at length solved the
problem a supplying us with false
teeth width will grow into the gums
as firmly as natural ones. The teeth
are made, of gutta percha, percelain or
meted as the ease may be. At the root
of the tooth boles are made, and also
in the jaw. The tooth is then placed in
the cavity, and in a short time, a soft,
granulated growth finds its way from
the jaw into the holes of the tooth.
This growth gradually hardens and
holds the tooth in position. It does
not inatter in the least, according to
this enterprising Russian dentist,
whether the cavity in which the tooth
is plaeed is one from which a natural
tooth has reeeutly been drawn or
whether it has been healed for months
or even years.
SATISFACTION TO THF, QUEEN.
They have quaint ideas of the de -
mends of loyalty in the far east. Some
years ago an English official in India
was robbed, and. due complaint was
made. After some months the Emir of
the district reported: "The raatter you
mention has been thoroughly investi-
geted, arid not only have the robbers
been put to death, but all their chil-
dren, as well as then. fathers and.
grandfathers. 1 hope this will give sat-
isfaction to her majesty the queen."
JEALOIJS MAIDEN.
She—Harry, you said. something Iasi
evening that made me feel no bad.
Re --What was it dearest 1
She—You said I was one of the sweet-
est girls in all tbe world.
He—And aren't you. darling
She—You. said oare of the sweetest.
Oth, Berry, to think I shoed live to
know that I beve to share. yoar ;eve
with another 1
IN FREEDOM'S
ISE CZAR COULD NOT
CRIMINALS 'WORM
Dorrinte State of Affairs In Constant
in Georgia—Work sixteen *0588*1 *ON
'rhea Fed on Dew Deer and Dorse—atint
and 'Women fferded Together MO
Gatti&
The special conunission which Govan -
nor 'Atkinson, of Georgia, smointed
last spring to investigate the conditiOle
of the convict camps of Georgia hag
made a report which has astounded nett
only ctbe Governor, but even those
members ter the Legislature who'
thought; that such an investigation was
needed.
11 declares that the eonvict campe
the State are worse than Siberia, and
its findings show a eondition so horri-
ble, revolting and inhunian, as to be
almost beyond belief. 11 deliberately
cbarges that the convicts in the rale -
demeanor canape., most of who're are
leased. by the State to private contrac-
tors, have been handled without mercy
by their keepers. The report accuses
the eoutractors of robbing the convicte
of the thne the State allows them for
good behaviour, of forcing them to
work from fourteen to twenty /tours
a day, of failing to provide them with
elothes, shoes and beds, of giving them
no heat in winter. of forcing scores of
them to sleep shackled in single board-
ed up worms, of giving them rotten —
rood, and of failing
TO CARE FOR THE SICK.
Instances are quoted, showing the
horrible treatment of women, and ex-
act names, times and places, are fixed.
at w-hich men were actually beaten to
death by the brutal guards for failing
to comply with insignificant regula-
tions. The report says tbat 111 most
of the camps the men are provided with
but one suit of convict clothes, which '
they are compelled to wear the year
round. In the matter of food, it says
that on the return of the convicts ffout
sixteen hours' continuous work they
are given chunks of raw beef and horea
which they have to cook on little fires,
while shackled together on the ground.
' In the matter of buildings the re -
part is no less severe. in the Glynn
county camp the coutmission found
sixty-one men sleeping In a room eigh-
teen feet equare and Heves feet from
floor to ceiling, with no window in it
and absolutely no means of ventilating.
Most of the camps lia.d neither bunks
nor mattresses, and the convicts were
compelled to sleep on the ground.. The
death rate in one camp NSW one in four.
In the others it averaged about one in
seven.
HERDED TOGETHER.
Men and women uf both colours were
forma to eleep together .in outhouses,
and women were compelled to don
xnenn clothes and work in the ditches
with the men. The reporta description
of the treatment of %omen is unprint-
able. In one camp the commisaion
Lound sixteen coloured men and a.
white woman quartered in a barn with
Cows, and with a guano store room
above them. In the Plaaski County
learnt) the etuarde had beaten 4 4.VIIViet
j to death and buries him with his stripes
and shackles on. In another ease the
i.xinamission tells of an eighteen -year-
old negress named Lizzie Boatwright
with another young woman being
stripped naked in the presence of the
men and subjected to treatment that
18 indeeeribable.
The oxen language of the repurt in
another ease is as follows: "The farts
in the murder case against Guard Can-
non as sworn to before the coroner's
jury are these;—Cannon whipped • the
aged, negro a number of thnes, awl so
umnereifully tbat, almost unvonseinus
and helpless, the old nitin looked up
from the ground where be lay and
aeketa ,' Boss is you gviine to kiss me?'
Cannon angrily replied. 'Yes. —
you, I am.' The negro then begged to
be shot, and spared further torture.
After the last whipping Cannon drag-
ged bun to a tree and chaine:1 him up
so thathe could not lie down. Dalf
an hour later when the gang got bark
he was dead."
The reportquotes in full the stale -
trent if Dr. John Han of Washington,
, who performed an autopsy on the ow
negro. It is a detailed statement. show-
, ing that the man was beaten literally
to a pulp before his tortured soul left
his torn and bleeding lofty. In conclu-
sion, the report sayse" God only knows
just how badly the convict camps of
Georgianeedtkedkrefinormon."
cwon
will repoet the
matter to the Legislature at once, with
a red hot message, and there is no
doubt that proseeutions will follow. The
report says that the contractors leasing
oonvirts have grown rich during their
twenty years lease, and have built up
a tremendous political influence, but
it ie doubtful if this Neill stand in the
way ofaroused public: sentiment.
DANGERS TO LIRE IN INDIA.
India. is the only country that makes
death by the attacks of serpents and
wild beasts a feature of its annual sta-
tistics. That it hae good reason for
doing so is shown by the impressive
figures of last year's mertality-1,133
deaths frora snake bites, and. :x91 peo-
ple killed by tigers and other wila ;Ina.
mals. Although India is one of the most
densely populated countries ou the
glebe, the increase of human inbabit-
ants does not have the effeet of decreas-
ing the number of wild beasts, as it does
elsewhere, because the religion of the
natives—or a great proportion of them
—farbids then to takti life, even of
dangerous lxiasts and serpents; hence
they let these destroyersthrive and
multiply in the midst of their commun-
ities. One of the best works of the Bri-
tish for India Le their reduction of the
number of wild beasts, and especially
tigers, LI& a result of their passion for.
hunting big game.
GLASS EYE FOR A TIGER.
A tiger with a glees eye is at (nese
tent in the menagerie at SS:rate:art. A
serious affeetiota of the Muselee caus-
ed. the beast to Julie the sig,bt, of one
eye. As the public didn't appreeiaete
a one -eyed tiger, the beat a-1 put
under nos:Lino, and tile o;3110
rethoved lIa wts measure:t for a new
eye,which iilid to las, ;nada W1l *1
special degree of feroeit For the
first week Oe tried Le, rub it' out. lint
Ile _contents:1 only'
wiki anitnal with .11, glas
1,