HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1895-10-25, Page 2�' ADVENTURE,
B?PLOIT$ Q1' A BRIGADIER GENERAL.
now TJP unie.enl$Ii Was Tgml'T¢u 1)YTiL E
pi:VfL,
The, spring is at hand, my friends, 1 can
p
nee the the little green epearheadebreit ing
out Quos more upon the chestnut tree ,and
the cafe tables have a11 been moved into
the sunshine. It ie more pleaeapb to nit
there, spa yet I do not with to tell any lit-
tle etoriee to the whole town. You Neve
heard my doings as a lieutenant, as a aqua -
drop officer, as a oolonel,. ae the thief of a
brigade. tut now I suddenly become
something higher and more important. 1
became history,
If you have read of those clotting years
of the life of the Emperor which were
spent in the Island of St. Helena, you will
remember that, again aad again, he implor.
ed permission to send out one single letter
which should be unopened by those who
held him. Many times he made thit re.
quest, and even went fop far as to promise
that he would provide for hie own want
and cease to be an expense to the British
Government if it were granted to him.
But hie guardians knew,that he was a
terrible man, thio polo, fab gentleman in
the straw hat, and they dered nob grant
him what he asked. Many have wondered
who it was to whom he mould have any-
thing so secret to may. Some have suppoe•
ed that it was his wife, and some that it
was his father -in -18.w i some that it was to
the Emperor Alexander, and some to
Marshal Soulb. What will you think of
me, my friends, when I tell you it was to
me—to me, the Brigadier Gerard—that the
Emperor wished to writs 1 Yes, humble as you
see me, with only my,100 francs a mouth of
half•pay between me and hunger, it is none
the less true that I was always in the Em-
peror's mind, and that he . would hove
given his left hand for five minutes' talk
with me. I will tell you to -night how this
name about.
Ib was after the Battle of FereOhampo-
noise, where the conscripts in their blouses
and their sabots made such a ane stand,
that we the more long-headed of us; began
must atilt you, before 1 go farther, to
Premise me, upon your honor as a gentle -
Man and a soldier, that what le about to
pass between roe shall' never be mentioned
to any third pereon,"
My word. elite wae a fine beginning I I
had ne ammo but to give the promise re,
gulred,
, it
s al]
" You must kuovdi thou, that i
over with the Emperor, said he, looking
down at the table and speaking very slow,
ly, rim if ho bad e hard task in getting out
the words, "" Jourdan at Boman prod
Marniont at Paris have both mounted the
white aookade, end it is rumored that
Talle rand has talked Ney into do-
ing the' eamo. It is evident that
further 'resietanoe'io usoleee,and that it can
only bring misery upon our smeary. 1 wish
to ask you, therefore, whether you are pre-
pared to join me in laying hando upon the
Emperor's person, and briuging the war to
a eenclgsion by delivering him over to the
allies." '
I aseure you that when I heard that in
famous proposition put forward by the man
who heti been the earliest friend of the
Emperor, and who had received greater
favours from him than any of his followers,
I could only eland and stare at him in
amazement, For hie part be tapped hie pen
handle against his teeth, and looked at me
with a slanting head.
"Well 1"he asked.
"I am a little deaf upon one aide,"said I,
coldly. "There are some thioge which I
cannot hear. I beg that you will permit
me to return to my duties."
"Nay, but you must not beheadetrong,"
said he, rising up and laying his hand upon
my shoulder. 'You are awaretbattheSenate
has declared against Napoleou,and that the
Emperor Alexander refuges to treat with
him." cc
Sir,"I cried, with passion, I would
have you know that Ido not care the dregs
of a wine -glaze for the Semite or for the
Emperor Alexander either."
'" Then for what do you Dare ?"
" For my own honour and for the service
of my. glorious master,. the Emperor
Napoleon. '
That is all very well," said Berthier,
peevishly, shrugging his ehouldere. "Facts
aro facts, and as men of the world, we
must loots them in the fade. Are we to
stand against the will of the nation ?' Are
we to have civil war on the top of all our mis-
fortunes ? And, besides, we are thinning
to understand that it was all over with roe. away. Every hour comes the newt of fresh
Our reserve ammunition had been taken in I desertions. We have still time to make
our peace, and indeed, to earn the highest
reward, by giving up the Emperor."
I shook so with passion that my sabre
olattered against my thigh.
"Sir," I cried, "I never thought to
have seen the day when a Marshal of
France would have so far degraded himself
as to put forward such a proposal. I leave
you to your own conscience ; but as
for me, until I have the Emperor's own
order, there shall always be the sword of
Etienne Gerard between his enemies and
himself."
I was so moved by my own words and by
the fine position which I had taken up,
that my voice broke, and I mould hardly
refrain from tears. I should have liked
the whole army to have seen me ea I stood
with my head so proudly erect and my
hand upon my heart proclamiog my de-
votion to the Emperor in his adversity.. It
was one of the supreme momenta of my life.
" Very good," said Berthier, ringing a
bell for the lackey. " You will show the
Chief of Brigade Gerard into the salon.'"
The footman led me into an inner room,
where he desired me to be seated. For my
own part, my only desire was to get away,
and I could not understand why they
should wish to detain me. When one has
had no change of uniform during' a whole
winter's campaign, one does not feel at
home in a' palace.
I had been there about a quarter of an
hour when the footman opened the door
again,' and in Dame Colonel Despfenne.
Good heavens, what a sight he was ! His
face was as white as a guardamanat gaiters,
his eyes projecting, the veins swollen upon•
his forehead, and every hair of his moue -
tache bristling like those of an angry cat.
He *as too angry to speak and could only
shake hie bands at the ceiling and make a
gurgling in his throat. "Parricide 1 Viper e'
those were the words that I could match as
he stamped up and down the room.
Of course it was evident to me that be
had' been subjected to the eamo infamous
proposals as I had,and that he bad received
them in the same spirit. Hie lips were
sealed to me, as mine were to him, by the
iso which we had taken bun 1 content.
prom w ,
ed myself with muttering '" Atrocious 1
Unspeakable 1"—so that he might know
that 1 was in agreement with him.
Well, we were still there, he striding
furiously up. and down, and 1 seated in the
corner,whensuddenly a most extraordinary
uproar broke out in the room which we had
just quitted. There was a snarling, worrying
growl, like that of a fierce dog which has
got his grip. .'Then name a trash and a
voice calling for help. In we rushed, the
two of us, and, my faith, we were none too
soon.
Old Tremeau and Berthier were rolling
together upon the floor, with the table upon
the top of them.• The Captain had one of
his great, skinny, yellow hands upon the
Marshal's throat, and already his face was
lead -colored, and his eyes were starting
from their sockets. As to Tremeau, .he was
beside himself, with foam upou the cornets
of his lips, and such a frantic expression
upon him that I am convinced, had we not
loosened his iron grip, finger by fiogegthat
it would never have relaxed while the
Marshal lived. His mile wore white with
the power of hie grasp.
"1 have been tempted by the devil l' he
cried, as he staggered to hie feet. ""Yea, 1
have been tempted by the devill"
As to Berthier, he could only lean against
the wall, and pant for a couple of minutes,
putting his hands up to hie throat and
rolling hie head aboub. 'Then, with an
angry gesture, he turned to the heavy blue
curtain whioh hung behind his chair.
""There, sire 1" he cried, furiously, °I
told you exactly what would come of it."
The curtain wee torn to one side and the
Emperor stepped out into the room, Wo
sprang to the estate, we three old soldiers,
but it was all like a scene in a dream to roe,
and our eyes were safer out se Berthier's had.
been. napoleon was dressed in hie green --
coated ohaseeur uniform, and he held hie
little silver -headed switok in his hand. Re
looked at roe each in turn, with a smile
upon hie fame---thabfrightfui smile in which
neither eyea nor brow joined—•and each in
turn had,1 believe, a pringling on hie akin
for that was the effect which the Emperor's
gaze had upon most of ttm, Then he walked
across to Berthier and put his hand upon his
shoulder,
"Zeno matt not quarrel with blows, my
the beetle, and we were left with silent guns
and empty caissons, Our cavalry, too, was
in a deplorable oondibion, and my own
brigade had been destroyed in the great
charge ab Cremona. Then Dame the news
that the enemy had taken Paris, that the
citizens had mounted the white cockade ;
and finally, most terrible of all, that Mar-
mont and his corps had gone over to the
Bourbons. We looked at each other and
,asked how many more of our generals were
going to turn against us, Already there
were Jourdan, Marmont,Murat, Bernadotte,
and Jominb—though nobody minded much
about 'Jomtni, for his pen was always
sharper than his sword. We bad been
ready to fight Europe, but it leaked now
as though we were to fight Europe and half
T"ranee as well.
We had come to Fontainbleau by a long,
forced march, and there we were assembled,
the poor remnants of us, the corps of Nay,
the corps of my cousin Gerard, and the oorpe,
of Macdonald ; twenty-five thousand in ail,
with seven thousand of the guard. But we
bad our prestige, which was worth fifty
thousand, and our Emperor, who was worth
fifty thousand more. He was always among
us, serene, 'smiling, confident, taking his
snuff endplaying with his little riding -whip.
Never in the days of his greatest victories
have I admired him as muds as I did during
the Campaign of France.
One evening I was. with a� few of my
officers drinking a glass of wine of Sures
nee. I mention that it was wine of
Sureenes just to she w you that times were
not very good with us. Suddenly I was
disturbed by a message front Berthier that
he wished to see me. When I speak of
my old comrades -in -ea -me, I will, with
your permission, leave out all the fine
foreign titles which they had picked up
during the ware. They are excellent for
a Court, but you never heard them in the
camp, for we could not afford to do away
with our Ney, our Rapp, or our Soult—
names whioh were as stirring to our ears as
the blare of our trumpets blowing the
reveille. It was Berthier, then, who sent
that he wished to
see me.
to sit
y
He had a suite of rooms at the and of
the gallery of Francis the First, not very
far from those of the Emperor. In the.
ante -chamber were waiting two men whom
I knew well: Colonel Deepienne, of the
57th of the line, and Captain Tremeau, of
the Voltigeurs. They were both old'
soldiers—Tremeau had carried a musket
in Egypt—and they were also both
famous in the army for their courage and
their skill with weapons. Tremeau bad
become a little stiff in the wrtet,
but Despfenne was capable at his
best of making me exert myself. He was
a tiny fellow, about three inches ehort of
the proper height for a man—he wail exact-
ly three inches shorter than myself—but
both with the sabre and with the small -
sword he had eeveral times almost held hie
own against me when we used to exhibit at
Verrone Hall of Arms in the Palate Royal.
You may think that it made us sniff some-
thing in the wind when we found three
such men called together into one room.
You cannot Bee the lettuce and the dream
ing without suspecting a salad.
"Name of a pipe!" said Tremeau, in hie
barraok-room fashion. " Are we then ex-
pecting three champions of the Bourbons?"
To all of us the idea appeared nob
improbable. Certainly in the whole army
we were the very three who might have
been chosen to meet them.
"The Prince of Neufchatel desires to
speak with the Brigadier Gerard," said a
footman, appearing at the door,
In I went, leaving my two companions
consumed with impatience behind me. 1't
was a small room, but very gorgeously
inveighed. Berthier was seated opposite
to me at a little table, with a pen in hie
hand and a note -book opened before him.
Be was looking weary and slovenly—very
different from that Berthier who used to
give the fashion to the army, and who had
eo often set us poorer officers tearing our
hair by trimming hie pelisse with fur, one
campaign, and with grey astrakhan the
next. On his olean.shaven, comely face
there was an expression of trouble, and he
looked at me ria 1 entered his chamber in
a way which had in it something furtive
and die leaoiog.
"Chief of Brigade, Gerard 1" maid he,
"At your service, your 'Highnese V' I
answered,
dear 1'rincs4 sall� he i ""they axe year title.
to nobility."" Tie epake in tltatusft caress•
Mg mariner whieb he mould abnnmo,. There
wae no one whit could Melo the 1•renott
temple sound so pretty to the Etltlt000r,and
no one mould make it mare hatch and ter,
OW,
""1 believe he would belie killed mo, "orated
Berthier, still rolling hie head about,
""Tub, tub 1 I should hays oriole to your
help had these oflieoranetheard your ogles,
glut I cruet than you ere not rosily hurt 1"
He spoke with eerneatnesoi for ho wee in
truth very fond of Berthier—mors 00 than
of any man unless it were of prior Durso,
Berthier' laughed, though not ie a very
good grime.
"t It is now for me to reoeiVe my injuries
from French hands," said he,
"And yet It was in the eaueo of Franco,"
.the •or, Then Waning to
returned t Empei r „g.
us, he took' old "Tremeau by the ear. Ah,
old grumbler,"said he, "`you wore one. of
my Egyptian grenadiers, were you not,
and had your musket of honour at Mar-
engo: 1 remember you very well my good
friend. So the old area are not yet ox-
tiuguiehed 1 They still burn up when you
think that your Emperor is wronged. And
you, Colonel Despfenne, you would not
even listen to the. tempter. And you,;
Gerard, your faithful sword is ever to be
between mo and my emeries. Well, well,
1 have had come traitors about me, but
now et last we are beginning to nee who
are the true men."
You can fanny, my friends, the thrill of.
joy which it gave us when the greatest man
in the whole world spoke to us in this
faehioa. Tremean shook .until I thought
he would have fallen, and the tears ran
down his gigantic moustache. If you had
nob then it, you °quid never believe the
influence whioh the Emperor had upon
those coarse-grained, towage old veterans.
" Well, my faithful friends," said he,
"if you will fellow me into this room, I
will. explain to you the meaning of this
little farce whioh we have been eoting- I
beg, Earthier, that you will remain in ibis
chamber, and so make sure that no one
interrupts us."
It was new for us to be doing business,
with a Marshal of France as sentry at the
door. However, we followed the Emperor
as we were ordered, and he led u$ into the
recess of the window,. gatberlug us around
him and sinking bit voice as he addressed
us.
"I have picked you oub of the whole
army," said he, "as being not only the most
formidable but also the most faithful of
my soldiers. I was convinced that you
were all three men who would never waver
in your fidelity to me, If I have ventured
to put that fidelity to the'proof, and to.
watch you whilst attempts were at my
orders made upon your honour, it was only
beoauae, in the days when I have found
the blackest treason amongst my own flesh
and blood, it is neoeesary that 1 should be
doubly circumspect. Suffice it that I am
well convinced now that 1 oan rely, upon
your valour."
To the death, etre I" cried Tremeau,
and we both repeated it after him.
Napoleon drew us all yen a little closer
to him, and sank his voice stilllower.
""What I say to you now I have said to
no one—not to my wife or. my brothers ;
only to you. It is all up with ne, my
friends, W e have oome to our last rally.
The game ie finished, and we must make
provision accordingly."
My heart seemed to have °banged to a
nine -pounder ball as 1 listened to him.
We had hoped against hope, but now
when he, the man who was always serene
and who always had reserves—when he, in
that quiet, impassive voice of his, said that
everything was over, we realized that the
clouds had shut for ever,and the last gleam
gone. Tremeau snarled and gripped at hie
sabre, Despfenne ground his teeth, and for
my own part I threw out my chest and
clicked my heels to show the Emperor that
there were some epirita which would rise to
adversity.
' iMy papers and my fortune must be
secured," whispered the Emperor. ""The
wholeeourse of the future may depend upon
my having them safe. They are our. base
for the next attempt—for I am very sure
that those poor Bourbons would find that.
.my .footstool is too large to make a throne
for them. Where am I to keep these pre-
cious things? Mybelonginge will be eearohed
—so. will the houses ot my supporters.
They moat be secured end concealed by
men whom I can trueb with that whioh is
more precious to me than my life. Out of
the whole of France, you ore those whom
I have chosen for this sacred trust.
" In the first plane, I will tell you what
these papers' are. You shall' not say that
I have made you blind agents in the
matter. They ate the official proof of my
divorce from Josephine, of my legal mare
riage to Marie Louise, and of the birth of
my son and heir, bhe King of Rome.' If we
cannot prove each of these, the future
krone of France
claim of my family to the t
falls to. the ground. Then there are
securities to the value of forty millions of
sum myfriends but
franca an immense ,
of no more value than this riding mita
compared to the other papers of whioh I
have epoken. I -tell you these things that
you may realize the enormone importance
of the task which I am committing to
your oars. Listen, now, while I inform
you where you are to get these papers,
and what you are to do with them.
'"They were handed over to my trusty
friend, the Countess Walewski, at Paris,
this morning. At five o'clock she starts
for Fontainebleau in her blue berline. She
should reach here between half-pastnine
and ten: The papers will be concealed in
the berline, in a hiding -place whioh moue
know but herself. She has been warned
that her carriage will be stopped:outside
the town by three mounted of leers, and
she will hand the packet over to your care.
Yon are the younger matt, Gerard,'but
you are of the. Beeler grade. I confide to
your care bhie amethyst ring, which' you
will show the lady as a token of your
mission, and whioh you will leave with
her ash receipt for her papers.
"Having received the packet, you will
ride with it into the forest at far as the
ruined dove-house—the Colombier. It is
possible that I may. meet you there —but
if it seems •to me to be dangerous, 1 will
Bend my body,servant, Muetaphs, whose
directions you may take ee being mine:
There is no roof to the Colombier, and to-
night will be a full moon. At the right
of the entrance you will find three spades
leaning against the wall. With these you
will dig a hole three feet deep in the north•
eastern corner—that is, in the corner to
the left of the door, and, nearest to Fon-
tainebleau. Having buried the papers,.
you will replace the moll with great Dare,
and yeti will then report to me at the
pekoe."
These were the Emperor's direotione,but
given with such an:aoouraoy and minute-.
nese of detail muoh as no one but himself
mould put into 00 order, When ho had
finished, he made us swear 00 keep hie
sedret as bang as he lived, and as long as
the papers aheuld remain buried. Again
end again be made us swear it before he
dbeinissed us from hie presence,
Colonel Dee ienne had gnarters et the.
"Sign Of the Pbseeseub," end it woe there
that we suppped together, We were 1111
three leen ovlw bad been trained to take
the etrangoetturne of fortune tie pert of our
daily life and baldness, yet we were alb
doehed and moved' by the extraordinary
interview wltleh we had had, and by the
thought of the great adventure whbohh lay
before us. For my own part, it had boon
my fete several three be telco my orders
from the lips of the Emperor' himself, but
neither the lnoident of the Ajaoebe murder -
ore not the famous ride whioh I made' 09
Paris appeared to offer such opporbunibiee
tie this now end most intimate emnm1etlen,
"If things go right with the Emperor,"
said Despienno, "" the shall all live to he
marshals' yet."
Wo drank with him to ouiffubure Booked
hats and our batons.
It was agreed between us that we should
make our pay separately to our rendezvous,
which was tat be the Srat milestone upon
the Pare road, In time way we should
avoid the gosoip whioh might got about if
three men who were so well known were
to be, seen riding out together. My little
Violebte had east' a shoo thub morning, and
the farrier was at work upon her when I
returned,00 that my comrades were already
there when I arrived ab the tryeting-place.
1 had taken with me not only my sabre, but
also my new pair of English rifled pietols,
.with a mallet for knocking in the. charges.
They had cost me a hundred and fifty
France :atTrouvel'e in the Rue de Eivoli,
but they would carry far further and
straighter than the others. It wae with
one of them that I had saved old Bouvet's
life at Leipzig.
The night waseloudleee, and there was a
brilliant moon bellied us, so that we always
had three blank horsemen riding down the
white road in front of us. The country is
as thickly wooded, ;however, than we could
not ese very far. The great palace cloak
had already struck tan, but there was no
sign of the Countess. We began to fear
that something might have prevented her
from starting.
And then suddenly we heard her in the
dietauoe. Very' faint at flrst were the birr
of wheels and the bat -tat -tat of the horses'
feet. Then they grew louder and clearer
and louder yen, until a pair of yellow lan-
terns swung round the ourvs, and in their
light we saw the two big brown horses
tearing along with the high, blue carriage
at the back of them. The position pulled
them up panting and foaming within a few
yards of um. In a moment we were at the
window and had raised our hands in a salute
to the beautiful pale face which looked out
at us.
"We are the three ofiioere of the Emper-
or, madame," said Lin a low voice, leaning
my face down to bhe open window. ""You
have already been warned bhab we should
wait upon you.""
The countess' had a very' beautiful,
cream -fluted complexion -of'a sort whioh
particularly admired, but she grew whiter
and whiter as she looked up at me. Harsh
lines deepened upon her face until she
seemed, even as I. looked at her, to turn
from youth into age.
""Ib is evident to me," she said, "that
you are three impostors."
If she bad struck me across the face with
her delicate hand she could not have startled
ins more. It was not her words only, but
the bitberneee with which he hissed :hem
out.
(To un OotarNOErr.)
CURIOSITIES .OF DREAMS.
Some Scientific Explanations or the Racer
Thing9 we co mad See Wa11e Captives
• or Morpheus.
The causes and classification of, dreams
is a subject that, although it has been
diso,.ssed from time immemorial, seems to
be as little understood, beyond a certain
point, as it wae ages ago. At the Hypnotic
aV YaPd Manure.
A earning of correspondents ask for
information eboeb the video, and beat
method of oaring for farmyard manure
Thin is a complete man0re,1,o„ it onpplies
all the essential elomemte-of plent.feed. 10
10 important that the urine be preserved,
aefarm•yard manure without uFine would
be poor innitrogon, and would hleo Mee a
ooneldereble amount of potaeh, A bemired
pomade "of well -rotted farmyard manure
generally oontaino eeventy,five pounds
wator,aboubone-half pound ofmitrogon,leee
than one-half of potaoh,and lege than
ono -half pound of phosphoric amid. - From
thin it will be seen that thio kind of manure
will have to beapplied in large quantitiee
hence the necessity of preserving every
Particleof plant food. There is no gifeetion
shah bad management will entirely,or nearly
opoii the manors, Too menyfermer, throw
out the aooumulation book of the. barn,
where from continual washing a large per
cent. of the value is lost, washed down the
gutter. The action of: the water wears down
bhesolid matter as in the case of en ordinary
bank, and presently the loosened particles
are swept away from the maps and conveyed
to the nearest stream, Even if no great
lees of bulk occurs, the richer portions of
the manure are lost, because the water
washes out the most soluble matter as it
paseee through the heap. The advan
tege of a covered yard is thus -seen at e.
glance. In covering a manure yard steps
should be taken to secure the whole of the
urine whioh ie voided by the tattle ae they
stand in the stalls. When the urine and
solid excrement with the l.tter are mixed
together, fermentation proceeds on the
most approved Lines; but when there be
insufficient moisture in the heap, as in the
ease when the drainage from. the sheds in
carried oil the premises, fermentation :pro-
eeede too rapidly, and the manure is
spoiled.
Several years ago Dr. Voeloker carried
out a series of experiments upon the vari-
oue methods of keeping farm -yard manures,
and among the conclusions arrived' at,
to a correspondent, was this : Practically
speaking, all the essentially valuable
manuring constituents aro preserved by
keeping farm -yard manure under cover,
and also that the worst method of making
manure is to produce it by aaimais kept
in open yards, since a large proportion of
valuable fertilizing matter is wanted in a
short time, and, after a lapse of twelve
months, at leapt two-thirds of the substance
of the manor° is wasted, and about one-
third, inferior in yuality to an equal weight
of fresh dung, is left behind, To turn to
details, Dr. Welcher placed 2,838 pounds
of fresh mixed manure in a heap in Novem-
ber,'and this when weighed at the end of
the following April weighed 2,026 pounds,
a shrinkage in weight of 28.6. per cent. In
other words, 100.tone of such manure
would be reduced to less than seventy-one
and one-half tone. The heap wae weighed
again August 23, and contained 1,994
pounds ; and again on November 15, when
it weighed 1,974 pounds. As regards
composition of the above, when'first put
up the manure contained 66.17 per
cent. of water, or nearly two-thirds
of its weight; after fermenting in
an exposed heap for six months it
still contained about the same percentage
(65.95) of water. When kept in a heap
until Auguet the percentage of water
(75.491 was muoh greater. Of four tons of
euoh manure three tone are water. Of
nitrogen, the most valuable ingredient of
the manure, the fresh dung contained 0.64
per cent.; after ferementing six months it
contained 0.89 per cent. Six months later
it contained 0.65 per cent., or about the
same as the fresh manure. Of mineral
mabter,or ash, this fresh farm -yard manure
contained 5.59 per cent, of which 1,54 was
soluble in water,and 4.05. insoluble. - After
fermenting for six months bhesmanure
oontained 10.65 per cent. of ash, of wbieh
2.86 wae soluble, and 7.89 insoluble. Six
months later the soluble ash had deolined
to 1:97 per tient. Taking the above figures
as something to go upon, we will suppose
that wo pun up a heap of manure, five tone
(10,000 pounds) in the open on November
3; by the end of April this will be reduced.
to 7,138. pounds, of whioh 4,707 pounds are
water. By August 23, the heap ie reduced
to 7,025 pounds, of which 6,304" pounds
are water. Of total nitrogen m the heap,.
there are 64.3 pounds in the fresh manure,
53.9 pounde to April, and only 46.3 pouada
a and there
u net. This is a rest lose, in A
gg
Is no commentating gain. At the came time
Dr. Voeloker made the above experiment,
he pieced another heap of manure, under
cover, in a shed. It was the same kind of
manure, and was treated preeieely as the
other—the only difference being that one
heap waa exposed to the rain, and the other.
not. Whenput up,the heap weighed3,258
pounds; at end of April it weighed 1,613
pounda,on August 23, 1,297 pounds,and on
November 15,1,235 pounds. nue 100. tone
of manure kept under Dover for six months
would be reduced to forty-nine and Six -
tenth tons. Whereas, when the same
manure was fermented for the same length
of time in the open air, the 100 tons were,
reduced to only eeventy-oaeand four -tenths
tone. This difference is due principally to
the fact that the heap' exposed contained
more water, thrived from rain and snow,
than the heap kept underoover: le regards
composition, we will for the sake of cool,
petition, estimate what the change would
be in a heap of five tons' (10,000 pounds) of
manure, when fermented under cover, pre•
eieely as we did' with the heap fermented
in the open air, exposed to the rain. When
put up on November 3, the heap weighed
10,000 pounde, of whioh 6,617 pounds' were
water ; on April 30 the weight was 9,960'
pounds, containing 2,822 pounds water; on
Auguet 23,'4,000 pounds, of whioh 1,737
pounds were water; and on November 15,
3,790 pounds, containing 1,579 pounds of
water, of total nitrogen in heap, there are
64.3 pounds in the fresh manure,59 pounds
in April, 60.8 pounds in August, and 57.2
poundsdn November. Thin lose of nitrogen
though not so considerable as in the expoe-
ed' heap, Would have been mush less if the
heap had been•kepe moderately moiet by
liquid from the stables, or by watering.
As it was, the manure was too dry, and
there wes,nob enough water to retain the
carbonate. of ammonia,
A Winter's Special Study.
Tho progressive farmer plans far fm-
prevnmont in hfa`bdsineie. Method is, . I never lioten to calumnies, because, if,
found to mark the plane of the euooeesful they are untrue, I run the risk of being'
deceived, and if they are true, of hating
matt in every calling. Thephyeioian goes persons not worth thinking abbut..
away to a course of leeturee000asf°nolly to Montesquieu.
Congress, bald in Paris recently, much
time was spent in considering this question,
and though some interesting theories were
brought forth the savants were but little
wiser . when the discussion ended than
when it began.
A compatriot of Ibsen, : Dr. Mourley
Vold, professor in the University of
Ohristiania, gave the result of 'numereua
experiments made upon himeelf,and others
who had lent themselves to the cause of
science in trying to ascertain the dividing
line between the role played in dreams by
the cutaneous and muscular senses and
between the true images of the day and the
phantoms of the night.
You rarely dream, this savant says, that
you are lying down, but generally that you
are standing or sitting in a way correspond-
ing to the position of the member which
makes its impreeeton upon the mind. For
example, if one dreams that he is standing
on tiptoe, it will be found that his toes are
the footboard of the
hard pressing h r g
bed. Dreams of walking, running, dancing
and the like are always produced by the
position of the feet.
Another of this doctor's theorise is that
when we dream our minds, to a certain
extent, become as they were when we were
children. In support of this he says that
when adreamer, with half -awakened esuse,
sees his hand before 'him, he inetmotively
begins to count the fingers. This is because
the dormant senses refine the sleeper's
mind to a childish state of feebleness, and
it is in infancy that our first lessons in
computation begin upon our fingers.
The visual impreesious of the day form
another elites of dreams, Dr. Mourley
Vold bo of the opinion that happy days are
followed by pleasant dream:wind vice versa.
Every one knows, however, that this is,
not always the case.
At the conclusion of the learned Nor-
wegian's address one of the oldest of his
listeners -one of the most celebrated
physicians in Paris—remarked toaoolleague
that if one has had bald dreams it is beoauae
of indigestion 00 too muoh olothee on the
bad, or too little air in the room, or because
his wife t prem, or'becauee he is lying in an
uncomfortable position, and that with
proper precautions there should be only
pleasant dreams or none at ail.
The Soo Canal.
Reports from the Saulte Ste, Marie
canal show that it is workingvery sue-
ossefully, and is putting through a, great
deal of traffic. During the fret fifteen
days the canal was open 373 vessels
passed through, with a total tonnage. of
290,849 tone. This ie merely the overflow
from the United States ()anal. Most of
the lines have their oontreets for towing
made for the season by the American' canal,
and hence cannot take, theCanadian route.
They have aloe their supply bowies on the
United Status side, and must go by the
American email to obtain supplies. Far
next season many of them intend to trans,
for their businees be Canada. and make the
Canadian Sault their bases of supplies.
This will be an important addition to the
trade of the locality, and cannot fail to be
of advantage to the, tioentry,
OTOBER
brighten urot nrodcrn disooveliewa.
a°°nmpliehris meet whetihie teat Weeks or
few' Meetly are devoted to a special sub-
jot. So t is true of flea farmer and
breeder, that ,special application must be
madutesomoOtte aubjset duringhis winter's,
reading and invesbigabione by experiment,
if he is to see results of substantial worth.
The amour* of economy in feeding ie.
one's knowledge, and the broad or narrow
extent of bhet knowledge, Ily knowledge,
we de not roan that which has been learned•
from reading, altogether,. It is true, hew
ever, that rending is always auggeobive to'
a fertile mind, if not always xnetrnativu;
Faulty abatements discovered in epe'e read.
i g and conversation may awaken the mind
o unusually valuable dieooveries, Wo',
would urge, therefore, haat our bright,
friends among fermate and feeders, will
find it to their advantage to read several
hooka end different journals fee the port.
six ,months, and that they be nob ;wholly
diegnstad and thus driven to abandon'
reading because Of occasional maoouraoiee..
When as impraotioable suggestion ie.
found, effort should arise to urge the mind.
to anew thought that shall bean invention
ef'a better way.
Then lb would be a good thing to write
out this Odom and Bond it to your favorite
agricultural journal, to be incorporated
into an editorial item that will go out to
thousands of fellow farmers to lighten their
labors, add,, perhaps to burden their
purses,
There are scores, and,perhape hundred°,;
of middle-aged' farmers whose practical .,
experience will enable them, the coming'
winter, to read regularly ani critically the,.
agricultural literature on feeding, and,
find by this exeroiee of their minds profit
to themselves and the means of extending,'
more light on a subject that is yet fer from.
being, mastered.
Those who learn the most, however, and,
who shall bo able to make right use of their
newlyaoquired information, are they who,
shall devote at least two Imre or two even-
ings each week, for six mouths, to reading
(or conversation with intelligent men) oar
the subject of feedingfarm animals. If
one is fattening hogs•or cattle it is the bet-
ter polity to limit the reeding of the two
evenings- to this 'aoientifio eubject, and
seeroh far and wide for all the help avail-
able.
The feeding question involves the pro-
blem, of oilmeal as a valuable part in the
ration of work animals, grinding, cooking,
the nee of warmed water anicy weather,.
cutting bay, straw and fodder, the proper
mixture or ration of the grains, changes of •
provender and a dozen more items.
Sucoess attends the efforts of the man
who reads and thinks while he works with
hie limbs. Results are larger, too, if his
heart isenlieted in the subject and in his
animals. But one should reserve five
nights of seven fox the various other work
of life. Feeding le -not the sole saviour of
the farm.
CARRIAGE OF THE FUTURE.
interesting Speculation as to Its Probable
Character.
The electrical carriage, or horseless ve
hide, promises to become a fad and may
eventually supersede the bicycle in popular
favor. The horseless vehicle and bhe bicycle
will probably sooner or later be manufac-
tured tie a sort of composite marriage, to
carry anywhere from one to a dozen persons.
When horses are dispensed with it will
no longer be necessary to have the vehicles.
high enough to enable the rider to overlook
the animal, and this will produce a change
as radical as that from the oldhigh•wheeled
bike to the safety. The carriage of the
future will probably be so low that one
may step into it from the street with perfect
ease, and the danger of being thrown mit
from a runaway or collision will be reduced
to a minimum. The marriage will, of course,
have low wheels and elastic tires. For
light vehiolee: the pneumatic tire may be
used, while for rougher and heavier work
some strong cushion tire will be more ser-
viceable. Then .the dashboard, originally
designed to protect the driver from the
mud thrown up by the horsee'afeet,,as well
ae from the kinks of the animalswill no.
longer be needed, because there will be no
horses to splash or kick. The aim, as in
the bicycle, will, no doubt, be lightness,
combined with strength. It is quite likely
that the most popular and useful form of
homeless marriage will be a light vehicle
for two persona, which eon be easily etored
in an ordinary dwelling, and this will take
the place of, or supplement the bicycle iii
families of moderate means. All this is
very. interesting,, and the modelhorniest'
carriage ;
will doubt,no.
come
will,
some g in timebut
before it manm general use in this
country there must be avast improvement
in the common roads. The ordinary conn
tryaroad is bad enough for bioyelers, but
the hider of the two -wheeled vehicle can
pick his Way and traverse a smooth rut
or braekof a few inches in width, while the.
three or four -wheeled vehicle must have a
wide, smooth causeway. The multiplies.
tion and cheapening of means of travel is a
vast benefittothe health of the people.
The bioyole has already a000mplished much
for the public health, but its benefit is
mainly confined to the active or robust.
The horeelese marriage will give the aged
andfeeble, as well ae the strong, the mune
of outing.
•
Signor Crispin Dally LIfe.
ontosco Crie i ex-oonefirator, ex
Fr p, P
Garibaldian, ex.,Republican, present Prime'
Minister of Italy, whose fate'he seems to.
bold in the hollow of hie hand, is sow in
hie eeventy-fifth year. Neverthelese, even
in hooka, he is anything but an old man.
Lnergebio,restless by temperament,be leads
a wonderfully active life, 'seldom leaving
the Italian capital, even when the heat of
the Roman summer drives every one Mee
to the seaside or the mountains. He is
perhaps the only Italian statesman who
nnderebande what business means,; and in
this fact may rash the eeoret of hie remark-
able success. Other Italians work by lite
and startn, with long intervals of indolence.
Crisp! works all the time. Crtapi Sleeps
little, hate less, and does not drink or
smoke. Instead of indulging in copious
libations of beer, like Priebe Bismarck, or
eveu ot hie native wine, Orispi drioke
nothing strongeu than milk, of which he
ooneuinea about three litres a day. Like
Mr. Gladstone, he is an early clear. He
pia up at Biz, and immediately proceeds
to maks ht tobbat, which ocoupies two.