HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Times, 1912-8-29, Page 6THE WHITE LA
OR, WHAT TIM THRUSH SAID
CHAPTER XIII.
The following morning—it was Satur-
day, and pay-day with meet of the troops:
in garrison—•I took a st1w11 round the
barrack -rooms to see how the fellows
looked; for we were to embark in a few
hours, .and I was feeling straugely nerv-
ous, and. strangely eager that the others
should be as nervous as L
Our ceeleany hada dissipated and rak-
ish air. and showed tousled heads, blotehy
faces, and bleary eyes in great profusion.
I went into Joyee'e room.
Andy White. very red in the face and
sleepy in the eyes" was standing in the
centre of the room with his shako on
wrong side before, trying to stuff a flask
of whisky, a quarter of a pound of thick
tavist, three elay pipes, a box of blank-
ing, a piece of soap, and a pack of cards
Pate Iris expense pouch, which would not
bold half of them; Jimmy Hamilton was
walking up and down, dressed in march-
ing order, with a small pocket mirror
in one hand and a razor in the other,
calmly shaving himself; Cursing Scott
and Taffy Rober,s—a little Welshman—
were seated cross-legged on a form play-
ing brag for pennies; Jack Rothwell—a
Yorkshireman -vas walking about in his
shirt sleeves, with a bland smile ou his
face and a. basin of beer iu hie hand,
singing:
Me name is Joa Moogius, a farmer am I,
I yous went a cocrtin', and felt rather
shy;
and Cocky Roes, Blimme Bates, Tiger
Lyons, and Soft Joe, all lay snoring. in
alcoholic torpor on the floor. It was 9
a.m., and the battalion was to fall in at
twelve. Joyce had gone for the color..
sergeant.
Presently the color -sergeant came up
stairs Iaughing, with his cap very much
on the back of his head, and his eyes
winking and bloodshot. He had a cigar
in his mouth, which he had forgotten to
light, and I noticed that his gaiters were
buttoned on the wrong legs. But he woke
up the sleepers by kicking them; and he
ordered Smith and Roberts to put up their
cards, and then turned to Andy White.
"Put that rubbish into some other
place," he said, "and don't be making a
baggage waggon of your ball pouch."
"Whist, sergeant," said Andy, "it's worse
than a chess puzzle to stow my kit away.
I've had to leave out my Bible to make
room for the thick twist; and I'm think-
ing the Prayer -book and some of the
cleaning tackle i11 have to gA next, or
where the devil ani I to put the whisky
Bask?" And he opened his valise to see
what could be done.
The color-sergeaus went round the
rooms and got the men together. There
was much scrubbing of backs with rough
towels and holding of hot heads under
cold taps, but half an hour before the
time to fall in we were all out on the
parade ground, chatting and Iaughing,
and ready for anything Fate could send.
It was while we were standing idle in
this way that we caught the first whiff
of the coming excitement. Our barracks
stood above the town level, and from the
square we had a view of a broad road,
leading from 'Fratton past our gate and
into Portsmouth. From the far end of
this road came a faint buzzing, Kneeling
noise, at the first sound of which the
Doreetshiree pricked up their ears and
showed sign& of restiveness. It was the
whinny of the Highland pipes. The Ban-
nockshire Highlanders, who were to leave
for the Crimea on Monday, had just ar-
rived by rail, and were marching on the
town.
Our men crowded up to the railings to
see them. The pipes grew louder and
shriller; the dense, quivering mase of
dark green, scarlet and black, crowned
with flashing halos of steel, drew nearer
and became more clear. The boom of the
big drum, the rattle of the side drums
began to catch hold of us; the wild skir-
ling, singing, droning of the pipes became
triumphant and defiant; the tramp of the
feet fell soft but heavy on the moist
earth; and the splendid column, with
glittering arms and dancing plumes, and
twinkling of white gaiters moving criss-
cross, and swaying of tasselled philabegs
and sombre plaids and tartans, swept on
below our eyes. And then, as the guard
presented arms to them, and as the
colonel drooped his sword, our fellows
found their voice for the first time and
sent up a ringing cheer, to which the
Scotts responded.
This seemed to rouse the Dorsetshires.
They shook themselves in their heavy har-
ness, and went back cheery and alert to
their own company parades, where the
sergeants called the roll; the shouting of
the names, and the dropping answers of
"here" and "here" sounding strangely
through the fading strains of "Johnny
Cope," which the breeze brought back
from the way the Highlanders had gone.
But at last the drums rolled, and the
regiment formed up, and the colonel trot,
'led off towards. the gate, and turning fn
•hiseseeadie give the command- to -march•,
and the bass drum banged, and the brass
crashed out, and the dram -major twirled
his gorgeous cane, and spread his hand-
some form, and a great crowded children
swarmed in front like flies, with a buzzing
noise, and the tramping feet fell ""ranch,
oranoh" upon the gravel, and we were
off.
The crowd at the gate was something
tremendous, and loud shouts greeted us
as the head of the column came in view.
There is something contagious in the en-
thusiasm of a multitude, and already our
men began to grow excited. Moreover,
nine -tenths of the battalion were in liquor.
Jack Rothwell shuffled his feet . and
seemed tempted to dance; Corney the
Grig swaggered in his gait like an oper-
atic tenor. Andy White walked with one
shoulder forward, and look of unna-
tural solemnity • on his fat red face;
M;Namara laughed softly to himself as he
marched, shaking his bead at intervals as
if some subtle joke Were hidden in his
mind; and the color -sergeant, who seemed
unusually flushed about the neck, kept
turning round to perform a series of com-
plicated and mysterious winks.
Passing through the gate I noticed
many trivial things, details of the pic-
ture which printed themselves upon my
mind in the fraction of a second. The
chill, grey abadow of the archway curv-
ing upon the sunny, red gravel; the
heaped-up pyramid of dingy clothing and
faees .scrangely-pink; the noisy" waver-
ing, scrambling mob of wren and women
swarming all along the road; the wet
roofs of the town in the distance shining
against the banks of purple aloud; the
spires dins and taper, with a glint of gold
on their points; a shadowy foroe_ of
masts and spars behind them, and close
to my elbow two huge, red-faced sailors,
with their great mouths open cheering,
and a lame,old man holding up a fra-
gile little girl, pansy -eyed and lily -cheek -
ed, to look at the soldiers going to the
war.
By your left, =ell. Steady, steady,"
cried the adjutant, in a sharp tone.
"Bang, bang, bang!" went the big bass
drum, Nobby. Clark, the drummer, on hie
mettle; while the piccolo screamed and.
the cornets blared, and the side drums
rattled and throbbed, and through the
crash of the music,, and through the buzz
of the crowd..eamo the "champ-ohamp,
champ -champ" of the marching feet in
steady rhythm.
I began now to see what Joyce had
meant by his words the night before. The
brilliant victory of Alma had roused the
nation to a pitch of high enthusiasm. The
war was the ane engrossing topic of
thought and conversation, and we, going
out to fight for our country, were the
centre of a great ovation.
,
All Portsmouth was out. The streets
were arched with flowers and festooned
with colored flags. The windows, the bal-
conies, the very roofs along our route
were packed with people. The crowd up-
on the roads and pavements was so dense
that we had hardly room to march. The
excitement rose to fever point. The peo-
ple cheered continuously with a crash-
ing, booming sound like the beating of
surf on a rocky shore, the bands—we had
six of them—played their loudest, iiow-
ers were strewn upon the column as it
advanced. Many ladies in the balconies
wept from sheer excitement. Our men
grew wild, the bleed seemed to dance in
our veins. We laughed, many of us, in
a fierce, exultant way. Even Joyce looked
flushed and proud.
As we came in sight of the Dock Gates
the crash of the bands grew louder, and
the colonel gave a signal for a cheer. Up
went the bauble -stick of the big drum -
major, and the Dorsetehires gave tongue.
It was a mighty shout; short and sharp
and solid, and cleft the general hubbub
like the clang of a close volley. For a
moment the crowd was silent, and the
tramp of feet and clangor of music filled
the air, and then with a crash the bells
of all the churches rang out, the crowd
began to cheer again, and the cannon
pealed from the batteries above us.
The excitement became almost delir-
ious. Soldiers of other regiments, sailors
of the fleet, women, and oivilians of all
classes pressed into the ranks and shook
our hands and forced presents upon us.
Weie we not going to the war?
It was at this moment, when the blood
seemed boiling in my head, and my heart
wes keeping time to the frantic throbbing
of the drums, that I became conscious of
the fact that a woman had forced her way
into the ranks, and was marching between
me and Scotty Cameron.
She was a tall girl, rakish and smart,
of a gipsyieh cast of countenance, hand-
some, but wild. She was singing, and
had linked her arms in ours. I can see
her now in her dark blue dress. with her
shining black hair tumbled in a mase of
curls under her broad white hood, her
lips parted, her teeth gleaming, and her
heavy chin held up, displaying her noble
throat.
When the sergeant told her to leave
the ranks, and motioned her to quit her
hold upon our arms, she shook her head
and laughed.
I have as much right here as any of
you," she cried; "I'm a knapsack girl, and
could carry a rifle too. These boyo are
my comrades, and I'm going with them."
And she held her place, keeping step
with the column, and marching wild and
free, with her brave, mad face smiling,
and her bright eyes rolling defiantly
around.
Nor did she leave us lentil we reacbed
the gates, when the guard forced her
back, and she shook our hands and
cheered.
And then we trooped on board, and the
band formed up on the quarter-deck and
played "Rule Britannia," and the crowd
yelled, and the sailors manned the yards,
the harbor shook to the orash of cannon,
and Joyce pointed out to me young Simp-
son, the junior lieutenant, taking leave
of his widowed mother.
Poor lady, she held her boy soldier in
her arms, and sobbed upon his shoulder.
Her other son was shot dead at the Alma,
and now her youngest was going—whither
and to what? Well, she was taken off by
her friends with•many other weeping wo-
men, and young Simpson walked away
biting his lip and twisting his fingers in
his sash, and the vessel swung from her
moorings and the cheers redoubled, and
2wigh up, on a battery wall, the most
peenoiteent figures in •• the whole .crowded
picture, I saw the gipsy girl, her black
curie flying in the wind and her long
arm raised a.bore, them waving the white
head 'as a signal o"r farewell.
CHAPTER SIV.
The weather was splendid, and the men,
in high spirits, crowded the decks of the
troopship as she moved slowly away from
the share. There was plenty to see, and
all new to us—the still blue water, the
curving belt of yellow sand, the serried
batteries, and the Iow green bills making
up a bright and pleasing picture.
The band still played on our deck, and
as we passed the rakish gunboats and
stately line -of -battle ships by Spithead,
salutes; were fired, and the blue -jackets
cheered. For we were going to the war,
and we felt proud of ourselves.
But pride goeth before a fall.. In less
than an hour from our leaving the docks
the swaying and, even worse, the rising
and falling of the vessel became disagree:
ably manifest, and the faces of the Dorset
boys began to be "sicklied o'er with the
pale cast of thought."
Gradually the crowd on the upper deck
decreased, and those who remained grew
silent. We were out in the open now,
with the blue hills of the Isle of Wight
visible on our port side, and the low
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3>_
• • BOA? nu, THE LETT!)
Mrs. Newlywed--"Clo•or1 gracious, Clotilda! Tleven't you
that lettuce yet? And your Master ready for his luncheont
give it to mei Where's the soap' 4",
batteries of the Hampshire coast to ,star-
board. I was standing by the side watoh-
iug a yacht as she rode lightly over the
low waves, her white sails reileoted in the
oily pale blue surface of the sea, one •the
bright spray swirling past her bows,
when I felt a sudden dizziness, The white
sails turned greeu, the blue sky dashed
red, the deck seemed. to sink from under
my feet, and I elutehed Joyce by the arra
to 'save myself.
"Haile, old chap," said Phil, cheerily,
"lee /,r' get below and and a pair of sea
legs,"
uawl haw! haw!" roared a great man
hogany-faced old salt, who stood behind
us; "chuck us your bacoy, mate,you'll not
want it to -day, and go to the sawbones
for a little castor ire, "
fluid no heart to answer. Joyce helped
me to get below, and I didn't see sky or
water again for twenty-four hours.
Wheu, after a day and night of help-
less and abject illness, T was shaken up
by the orderly -corporal. looking himself
like a bad case from a malaria hospital,
and was ordered to "fall in for watch,"
I was so weak I could hardly stand, and
my head seemed to spin and hum like a
top. But orders are orders. I crawled
and climbed and serambled up the com
panion, and was dragged on deck by a
good-humored bluejacket, who held me by
the collar and hip and bride me "open
my grog -shop and take a drink . o' the
breeze."
As ho spoke I' looked round, The bul-
wark of the vessel, having gone up and
up until it hid the sea, began to sink
again, and I saw, moving right down up-
on us, a huge sage -colored hill of water,
crested with white foam, and swelling in
its advance, as if alive. It was the first
great wave I had Been, and I gave myself
up for lost. Clutching the sailor in my
arms, I groaned, "God help us!" and shut
my eyes.
The next instant I was rolling along
the deck, with the sound. of laughter in
my ears, and a Peeling in the side which
caused me to suspect that 1 had 'been as-
sisted in my movements by a, hearty euif
from Jack's fist.
However, I struggled to my knees, and
holding on by the side, looked over for
the wave and, found that we were rising
up the side of a round mass of dark
water, over the gleaming ridge of which
a sort of mist was flying.
We were safe, then. I was just congra-
tulating myself when the vessel, with a
leap and a shudder, reached the summit
of the watery hill, and before I could
catch my breath dipped her head and
plunged at a tremendous speed into a.
terrible gulf which appeared to have
opened below to swallow us up for ever.
Again I shut my eyes, but before I open-
ed them a rude hand seized me by the
collar, and I was hauled to my feet and
held against the bulyark.
"Why, blast my straps and whiskers,"
said a hoarse voice, "if this 'ere lubber
ain't a-goin' to say 'is prayers in fair
weather. Why stop my grog of the lubber
ain't afeared. Stand up, man, stand up.
Davy Jones '11 not take you. He can get
men for the arekin'."
111 as I was, this insulting speech served
to raise my anger, and staggering against
a gun carriage, I gasped out, "If ever I
can stand up again, you brute, I'll black
your eyes."
Haw! haw! haw!" roared the big Bai-
lor, "that's a better mettle. That's more
like a man's talk. But got to your duty'
now, boy, and I'll swab the decks with
you when you find your sea legs."
"Fall in the watch," said the bilious
corporal, faintly, and amidst the gibes
and laughter of the bluejackets, about
forty ghastly, dishevelled, tottering soldi-
ere reeled into a broken line, and stood.
swaying and holding on to each other
while they answered their names; after
which they crawled about the deck fhak-
ing pitiful efforts to look as if they were
of some use.
Down on the lower decks the men of
the Dorsetshire Regiment were in a mis-
erable plight. Not one in fifty had ever
been at sea before, and they lay in heaps
upon the bare boards, grovelling and
helpless, the sailors striding over them
for lubbery swp,bs and land crabs, and the
vessel all the while rolling and pitching
horribly.
"Where are we?" I asked the corporal
of the watch.
He shuddered, and said. "In a better
place than we're going to. We're just en-
tering the Bay of Biscay."
I shuddered in my turn, and looked
around me. On every hand the huge grey
waves were leaping and rolline, while
overhead the ragged rain clouds raced
along betwen as and the pallid sky. The
wet sails were bellied out by the wind,
the cordage creaked, the engines throbbed,
the churned surf rushed past the ship's
side with a roar, and round and round
the great gulls flew screaming. The scene
was a painful contreat to our grand tri-
umphal march through Portsmouth. I
huddled myself up in my great -coat, and
settled down to endure my misery ae well
as I might.
My philosophy was severely tested. By
sundown the wind was blowing a gale,
the sky was clouded over, the sea had
risen, the ship was plunging and rolling
through the flying spume and rattling
hail, and I was stretched out supine and
wretched amongst a heap of prostrate
comrades, not one of whom could have
stood upright if the ship had been sink-
ing.
three days and nights we lay about
in this helpless state, the weather all that
time being dirty and the sea tempestu-
ous; but afterwards • there came easier
winds and milder waters, and the sickness
having worn itself out, we began to feel
our interest in life returning.
On the morning of the fourth day I
awoke early, and was surprised to find
myself hungry. Well, hungry is not the
word --I was ravenous. I got upon my
feet and went to Beek Joyce.
He was up and about, and looker quite
fresh and cheerful. He gave' me some
hot tea, a red herring, and some ship bis-
cuit, on which I breakfasted with great
gusto; and afterwards took a, salt -water
bath, getting one of the sailors to pump
on me, to my great refreshment. I then
cleaned up my traps, and went on deck
ciotbed and in my right mind.
The other men were coming round, too,
and the officers had ordered a parade to
pull us together. We had found our sea
lege, and, which' was a thing to be still
more grateful for, our sea, stomachs.
Still, it was dull. The weather was
grey and cool, and no land in sight for
days. ' S e amused ourselves as well ae
we could. In the evenings the band play-
ed on deck, and we got up some games
of cricket and single -stick, and occasion-
ally joined the .sailors in some of their
rough sports, in which hard knocks and
plenty of noise were the chief attractions.
But it was dull, and we got tired of the
arched grey sky and the heaving grey
waves, and the monotonous thumping of
the engines, and the all-pervading smell of
oil and tar.
We •passed Gibraltar late at night, and
saw only the loom of the land, the great
rock appearing like a cloud on our lee,
with a winkingbelt of lights at its base,
and after that beheld nothing but sky
and water and passing ships for nine or
ten daye.
Joyce, who had 'settled clown into his
usual quiet eheerfulness, took things very
easily, and never seemed hipped or ,sad
except on one or two occasions, when, as
we walked about the deck together under
the still night eke. he talked to me of
his sweetheart in England. At these times
he became very grave, and would tell me
I was better off than he after all, since
1 bad left no one behind to suffer in my
absence, or, as he expressed it, "to be:
wounded if. 1 was wounded, and killed if
I was killed."
When he spoke like that I did my hast
to lead hitn int() more agreeable convey-
ration, but he. always saw my design, and
would lonely and ask me' whether I still
felt 0 bloodthirsty as' on the day when
we got the route ,
Tn t tl th�;e. trifle me thirst for battle
to
. bed quite -ne, and if 1 ever thouebt
of the work we were bent upon, it waft
with n half -defined feeling of regret that
I must s"n'l etnnd face to face 'with tnetr
against whom 1 bed no anfmua, to kill or
to be MUM,
washed But a we drew nearer to our Slew -that;.
tion, e t etifing happened to awaken in
Ilare,- our then the eh1 sentiment of combative-
tees.
(To be eontinued.)
•
leeleseeleWeeeeleselelelkeelellele
On the Farm
weeleeeekesereveselesseeese may,
ECONOMY IN BUILDIN ke,
Does every farmer realize that a
square building on be built cheap-
er than one in the shape of an ob-
1.ang, although the floor space is the
same? To understand this, observe
aparticular example, writes Mr.
L. Ellie. •
In a square building that mea-
sures 40x40 feet, there will be 1,-
600 square feet of floor space, the
distance around the building will
be 160 feet, or there will be sides
to the equivalent of 160 :feet wide.
But if, as is often the case, the.
buildings were made 100x16 feet,
this distance around the building
or the total width. of the four sides
would be 232 feet, while the floor
space would be 1,600 square feet.
Although these two buildings will
have thesame floor space, yet the
Haan will have to payfor building
72 feet more of sides in the oblong
building. There will be a similar
waste in the . construction of the
roof of the oblong.barri.
Supposing that 1,000 square feet
of lumber would need.to be bought,
the lumber alone would cost about
$30 at least. When the extra, labor
used in the building, the cost of re-
pairs and the interest on this sum
are considered, anyone can under-
stand that it is an expense to be
avoided.
Probably this matter is of the
moat importance in the construc-
tion of poultry houses and dairy
buildings; • although even in such
buildings the form cannot always
be made square, yet the arrange-
ment can be trade in such a way
that there will be no needless
waste.
In arranging fields the same
points should be observed. In two
ten -acre fields, one 40x40 rods, the
other 80x0 rods, the former will
require 1,600 rods of fence, the lat-
ter 2,000 rods. This extra 40 rods
of fence would cost about $10 and
the anneal repairs about $2.
This may seem a simple matter
and yet a htle forethought in this
way would save many farmers no
small amount of money.
WATERING COWS.
Inasmuch as it has been proved
by actual experiment that the av-
erage cow will drink 1,600 pounds
of water a month, great care should
be exercised to provide her with
water. That is true enough, but
there are two other points that need
to be also included. •
One -This water should be pure.
Impure water is just as hurtful to
the health and vigor of a cow as it
is to a human being. It produces
disease just the same. It reduces
the amount of milk the cow would
naturally give.
Two—The water should be easy of
access for the cow, both in the pas-
ture and the barnyard. With a
large herd of cows, say 30 to 50, it
is a good plan to have two or three
watering tanks in the yard, where
the cows are watered out of doors.
It is worth while also to have a man
remain in the yard while they are
drinking, to drive the master cows
away from the tanks as soon as they
have drunk their fill. In turning
cows out to drink, it is a good plan
to first turn out the underlings
and the most timid ones, giving
them plenty of time to get what
water they want undisturbed. Lots
of money can be lost with a herd of
cows by being indifferent or careless
on this water question.
ECONOMICAL FEEDING.
It is not always theheaviest feed-
ers who get the best result. ; Every
animal requires certain nutrients,
that enable it to perform its best
work. If these , .nutrients" are not
supplied in the proper proportion,,
it means that the animal must con-
sume and adjust larger amounts of
some of the elements that it can
use, in order to get enough of the
others. Economical feeding requires
that nutrients be supplied to ani-
mals in the proportion. needed. As
a rule, farm feeds are lacking in
prctein. If one is feeding corn-
stalks or wild hay, the farm grains
will supply enough protein to meet
the animals' needs for best work:
This is especially true ' of dairy
cows and young stock. When this
form of roughage must be fed, some
such feed as bran, middlings or oil-
meal must form a reasonable pro-
portion of the grain ration, 'in' order
that the protein supply may be
maintained.
FACT AND FANCY.
It was the eve of their wedding
day, and. he was bidding her good-
night.
r(To-morrow, my darling," he
whisperedsoftly in her ear, "we be-
gin our journey as bride and bride-
groom—pilgrims 'of life • together.
Hard in hand .will we journey down'
life' ruggedroad. • We shall need
to set:out with a glorious equipment
of faith and hope 'and courage,
that neither of us may faint or fall
by, the wayside hefere the. journey
is ended.:'. Will -we. not. •darling?"
-r-r— Oh, yes ; to..be sure !"
she replied, "Only I asst really
worried about the train of my
dress.• It didn't hang a bit nice
when I tried it tin to -day. What
were you saying, dear 1"
in
•
this
Pound
Faced
cka e
V
tsk gOUP
Grocerab' tit l$'
5
•
CANADA SUGAR REFINING CO. IJMITED. MONTREAL
THE LIKING FORJEWELLERY
J��EE ER
ORNAMENTS FOUND IN OUT -
OF -TILE -WAY PLACES.
The Tricks of Trade to .Take Ad-
vantage of Inexperienced
Buyers.
The love of jewellery is very
deeply rooted in human nature. It
is, perhaps, difficult to decide whe-
ther it is its ornamental' side or its
symbolical character which has usu-
ally made the more direct appeal.
Nowadays it is generally frankly
worn for its beauty, except such
things as medals and orders, civic
chains and Masonic and ecclesiasti-
cal jewels.
In former times, 'however, a very
large proportion of personal orna-
ments had also the element of
meaning. Sometimes they were
charms t0 ward off ill luck, or amu-
lets endowed with magic powers.
Often they were insignia of rank,
or had a religious significance. But
whether they were worn simply as
ornaments or as possessed of mystic
powers, in almost every age ,some
of the best decorative art of the day
has been lavished on them. Often
when household furniture and other
things that we now deem necessities
of existence had sunk to a very low
standard, .says the London Chroni-
ele, the jewellery and metal work
were still of the most • exquisite
character.
MacIver Percival has written a
fascinating volume which he dedi-
cated to minor collectors, those who
love old things, but can not afford
to pay large prices for them. The
field is a wide one wherein we may
search, he tells us.
CURIOUS FINDS.
Sometimes a find -is made among
the oddments of a provincial jewel-
ler, put aside to be broken up for
the gold which they contain. A
pawnbroker's in Edinburgh has
yielded a very fine, Flemish pen
dant; and in a London West End
shop a charming eighteenth century
buckle has -Teen bought far 'a. few
shillings.
Even of more, splendid things the
collector must not despair (though
being over. -sanguine may lead him
into the toils of the forger), and he
should keep his eyes ' open, and
know all he can of all • sid•es of his
Subject, so as to be ready for any
chance that may some his way. Was
not the "Tara" brooch, now the
pride of the Dublin Museum, offer-
ed to a metal dealer for eighteen
pence—and refused/
The Romans h .' 1 an ,enthusiasm
for precious stoles amounting al-
most to madness. Many instances
'of this love of gorgeousness occur in
Roman history. Servilia, the moth-
erf Brutus, received
gift ns, ace vel as.a from
Julius Caesar a pearl valued at.
£50,000. Cleopatra's earrings alone
were valued at £161,000. Lolli
Pauline,, the wife of the Emperor
Caligula, adorned herself for an or-
dinary betrothal feast with emer-
alds and pearls worth nearly £350,-
000. This extraordinary extrava-
gance is noted again and again, and
we find that nearly a quarter of a,.
million was given for a single piece
of jewellery.
•
AN ANCIENT ORNAMENT.
The ring, Mr. Percival points out,
is not only .one of the most ancient
of personal ornaments but also at
various times it has been endowed
with all kinds of mystical and em-
blematic qualities. It has been as-
sociated with religion, with law,
with love, with death; in one form
or another, in fact, it seems to be
bound up with most of the faxes of
life.
During the Middle Ages, rings
were made in a very high bezel, the
sides ' often ornamented with fine
filigree work and enamels, and a
email stone set in the top. During
the seventeenth century faceted
stones of mixed colors were very
much used, for ornamentation, and
with the eighteenth the diamond bei'
gan its reign and has been the ring
stone ever since.
Of artificial stones, practically all
are soft and can be ,scratched with
a file except some of the scientific
gems; they are, in fact, glass, vari-
ously colored. Old . glass pastes
that have seen much wear are often
scratched and dimmed, and if they
do not show any trace of this even
at the angles,. an examination with
a magnifier often shows little bub-
bles' and lines, which prove they
have been melted. These are quite
different from the flaws in real
stones, which show the crystalline
character, of the gem.
TO DISCOVER FRAUDS.
One way of "distinguishing them is
to hold them to the lips (they must
not be warmed by having been
worn); the real stones feel cold,
while the paste feels scft and warm.
Doublets are , more deceitful than
paste- andharder to detect, espe-
cially with colored stdnes. If a
pale ,stone has a rich colored glass
ease it not only makes a large stone
out of a small one, but improves
the color immensely. This, how-
ever, may be easily detected by ap-
plying e, test for hardness under-
neath.
An even. more sophisticated form
has been invented which has a thin
layer of stone cemented to the base
as well. • These triplets, as they are
called, are very likely to betray the
unwary. Suspected stones should
he removed fromtheir settings and
soaked in hot water or chloroform,
which 'dissolves the cement and the
whole thing falls to pieces.
Take A Handful 01
"St. Lawrence" Sugar
Out To The Store Door
--out where the light can
fall on it -and see the
brilliant, diantond - like .
sparkle the pure white
„color, of every grain.
ei That's the way totest
any sugar that's the
way we hope you will teat
sugatr.
CO' 7•7 with any other sugar --compare its pure, white
!t sparkle—'tseven ai>i=its'matchlesss eet
>� ...+., 1? •, . � ...'�' w nese...
Better still, get a 20 pound or too pound bag at your grocer's and
test "St. Lawrence Suor"•In your home.,
ST LAWRENCE SUGAR itilftRtlpl tiMllterpo 'a+ - MONTREAL
67A
THE WOMEN D0 ALLiNE WORK
IN TIIE MOST UNCIVILIZED
KAFFIR TRIBE.
Possess Contaminating Influence
Which Only Hard Labor' Can
Dissipate.
.Sox in occupation is not limited
to civilized society, It ie much
more .common among primitive peo-
ple. The reason for this is not that
men believe women are unable to
do the heavier work for they are
usually allowed these tasks, but it
is because they think the women
mar and even defile their "'work."
Among. certain Indian tribes there ..
is an unwritten law which says wo-
men must keep away from every-
thing that belongs to the men's
sphere of action. Most of the Afri-
can tribes will not allow women to
come near anything that can con-
taminate their animals, The Be
chunaa are extremely lazy. They
will allow ,their women to lift the
heaviest loads without coming to
their rescue. The Kaffirs have snob
strong feeling: -in this matter that
they will not even allow their wo-
men to come into their kraals for
fear of contaminating the cattle.
In the Marquesas Islands the wo-
men clo most of the work while the.
mon spend their time making ca-. •
noes. The women never touch then,
nor are they allowed to ride in them
for fear of oa,sting an evil spell. On
the other hand, in Nicaragua the
men do most of the work about the
house, while the women do most of
the training. They have a, reputa-
tion for driving far better bargains
than the men do. All the market-
ing is done by the women. If a
man even enters a market he runs
the risk of getting a good beating.
In New Caledonia it is considered
unmanly for men to do any work.
They believe that es
WOMAN'S NATURAL SPHERE.
The women do the housework,
care for - the children, raise the
crops, build their primitive houses,
and make the household furnish-
ings. The men spend their time
lounging and smoking, and when
they get tired of that they go out
for a few week's hunt. After they
return they gorge themselves with
food, of which the women are not
expected to partake until the men
have finished. The Samoans are
somewhat more energetic. They:at'
tend to therfarming and hunting,
but leave all other work tothe wo- ' -
men. However large the family,
and however much they need clothes
a Samoan would rather see his chil-
dren suffer from the cold than to,
help his wife do the weaving. It is
considered a degradation fora man
to engage in any such work.
The men of British Guiana con-
sidii their work limited to hunting-
and
untingand war. They ° consider the great-
est humiliation any man can suffer
is to help his wife with her work.
The story, is told that on one occa-
sion there • was a shortage of bread.
The men had to help the women
bake, but they were only forced to
this when starvation stared them in
the face and those who consented
were 'ever after called' old women.
The Motes believed that if they
see the women while starting out to
fish or hunt, their work sure to
result in failure. In some South
American _tribes the men believe
that if the women even look on their
weapons
THEY LOSE THEIR' STRENGTH:
The Zulus only allow women who
have passed middle age to accom-
pany them to war, for they'say thee.
have become like men. This feeling
of sex in occupation is carried into
the political and religious rites. The
Australian tribes and Fijians drive.
their women away and beat them if
they see them near any of their 'pub-
lic demonstrations.
In the Marquesas, Islands, con_
eludes John Trainor, the political
and religious meetingsare held on
what ' is known as hoolah-hoolah.
ground, and the women never are
allowed near them. On the other
hand, they let their women carry
the logs end water and toil from
morning until night without ever
offering them any assistance.. This
shows that the division of labor 11
not based on the idea that th
heavier work naturally belongs to
man, for in most primitive lands,
these tasks are usually handed over
to the women,
HOW TO DEVELOP POWER.
, Part of every clay spent alone, in
Which you can make your own deci-
sioies, is absolutely necessary to you
if you wish to develop power. High
temper is a drawback. You can
keep yourself bafek' many times by
high temper, an ill-natured and dis-
agreeable manner. After ammeter
nothing 'counts for success more
then good manners. A gracious
manner lasts all your life and isthe
magic key that opens every door.
Never lose your temper, or, if you
do,hold your tongue. The thol
head and quiet tongue always tv'in.
Keep your own secrets. If you can-
not keep them you cannot expect
others to keep them, Da not be too
positive in ' your statements, You
may be wroeg, no matter how sure
you may feel.
i,