HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1892-5-13, Page 22
hero Paul hall would stay all the ahem 'an,
V �( D 1 but from the would ttlmpst hely passing
LOVE[) Q� �O Lcloud migllt drive 1801' Menlo,
AND "rive Egypt a bit of your skirt," said
Mies Ball, mottling herself aomfnrtably in
May's chair, " and me a bit too for my feet,
nil of m sudden her tea seemed to choke
and she shall pat Iter manicure toes on poor
mamma's," she added to the little clog, in
cot+f)deetial love.
Egypt, 11011011 round en May'.s skirt,
turned her back to Pant Ball, aud went off
to sleep with a hoevy sigh, May stroked
the logo silky 0)108 7e1d kept selene; s110
never trtulplod In make conversation with
TRS?. BRUSSELS POST,
CIIAPTER L her, and the bun upon hor plate to be a
mountain ; she sat stating at it, Eat that
o
1.x af,ttnrN Mal/HAT/AM"bowl \ever•—" hlewsy,"--looking like thin
ft Whet, fa elle miserable, dreary world, ban, perhaps ---she--- In tine, she got. all
shall I do?" the emotion out of that chance word which
It was one of the few riga, completed others receive about their logs in years of
days of summer, _the 101It of August in a gradual disillusion. 1L was a desperate
Berkshire landscape. And the scene was holu8•tlieust ; she tied a veil over her face any 0115.
a garden which cat tanlylooked neither mho before she drove to Windsor, Ill.cone who Miss Ball looked at her, and after pre.
ernble nor dreary. It was such a very fait.' has none with the world. It mover 0000)1111 Inking that she hoped Bray would " stroke
garden --a rime (wit. of law,, belted wall to her that the 00lne remark would have the 1)g 1.I oars towards the lige to prevent
flowers and firs ; pots large garden by pu1Y' hetet good about her beauty for years—that 1I,e dog's
the blood in her ho 5100 she
)means, just a beautiful stage which unto the hiewsiness was not even hinted at its plunged at once into the how's with W11i011
L0n(1ou people exclaim as they got a glimpse existent, only surmised as possible in the site had been primed.
of it in delving to Ascot from greater houses future, With all the energy of a perfectly " Well, dear," she sold, " you know
in the neighborhood. " Gh Hook how love. I healthy mind, she jumped at once to the alias Boater's 110 better ; they call it rheu-
ly, against that baultgrouud of dark wood .1 conclutltou that, something moat be dune. nlatien in the hand, I call it gout ; I
Just the sort of thing the theatres can never It was the most tantalizing conclusion to always knew she drank, So long as it
give us ; they always give us muted castles , which she could have jumped, for there was kept in her Foot—rho gent, I moan, not
or enburbal villas, suggeetious of ten thou- I nothing she could plot or plan.
sand acres or half an acre -0800r anytling Driving along, she formulated briefly
between 1" The impressions this garden I wheat was expected of her—she must get
gave were of renlovedness, of light and, married. Not the faintest ghost appeared to
shadow, of grass anis roses. It was blocked . her iulagauings as suitable to bo the other
away front the roads by rbododeudrou 1 party to this compaot. To change her name
clamps within the walls; only wham tltestripp.t—tone Mrs. Something, if she lookedlike
ed boughs had robbed them a little could • Mrs. Something—to leave off being May
you get any real glimpse of the garden. But James—that was what she demanded. It
nobody except the people on the Ascot-! was not a wish, it was a resolution. She
bound coaches eared to see ; the villagers was in the habit of making her resolutions
knew that Mr. James took a pride in his ,trickly and of acting upon them at once ;
garden ; the agents round would have said as a rulevj•hoy did not matter. nothing
that the Loge had about two acres, nicely dreadful was done by her sudden decisions
timbered. And as Mr. James hated the to order mutton or have the lawn mown.
villagers, and, never letting his house, had At that moment she was quite capable of
no need of the agents, he did not care what requesting the aurae to espouse her, simply
they said, one or the other. to go into Windsor again with a clear con•
Mr. James tuns a valetudinarian, and he science in ease any one asked her name and
gardened for his health, assisted by a stay- state. Had she a lover, which she had not,
t -home Welsh gardener aud a boy who, • she was certainly in the frame of mind to
'with his work of clipping, rolling, weeding, " name the day." To be au old and
led a life about as varied es a donkey's at " blowsy" girl WAS a " fearful thing."
well. Sometimes his daughter helped him Of course the fit passed ; but something
when the gardener and the boy were away remained front it, permanent in hor Immo.
among the vegetables ; she had spurts of tion. She determined that she was " not
activity after occasional lapses into idleness, built to be an old maid,' and 1101 quick,
although she knew no chronic discontent, practical, half-educated mind wrenched it.
but as a mile she only broke off three or four self from the consideration of otic n• thiugs
of his standard roses and fastened then[ into and turned to look at Love. Perhaps it was
her dress—not that she cared for roses, but an interesting thing to care for some one.
they became her well. Ills daughter's name How ? The toneept of this attitude was
was May—she was always on the lawn— gradual; but slowly it changed her being.
Phoebe to its forest of Arden (aud Phiebe She was like a person with a pet invention ;
was not more inappreciative of Arden than she got, after a short time, to think nothing
she). To describe the garden without her else but the one thing the existence of which
l
would be to describe a nage without tibial ; she had before hardly allowed, Aud as the
she was there so much, aud, alas ! she had inventor, convinced of his plan, frets and
been there so long. If one wautcd a chafes till he has tested it—must have his
synonym for weariness, it would have been try—she fretted aud chafed, at lest, in her
May Jones upon her lawn. uneventful days.
The apples ripened round her in the long
shadows and the dew where an orchard
belted one side of the grass ; now and then
one of then[ fell with a little soft thud on
the turf—over-ripe. She smiled bitterly,
her eyes were heavy with auger, as she re-
viewed her position slowly, She was sitting
on her lawn. in a garden chair, ripening, in
her pink and white dress ; she could not
stay the hurrying hours, they flew by her
empty-handed ; she could neither stop them
nor fly with them to the other side of the
world. The world? She knew nothing
about it; it was anything.—opal or
black? Her 01011 fancy or her own
gloom colored it. And so at last she threw
herself back and looked up at the blue sky
and the green leaves, and down again at the
intense flowers, orange and scarlet and blue
and the fallen apples ; and all the prospect
brought her was the cry, "What, In this
miserable, dreary world, shall Ido? 'May
James,' indeed 1 it ought to be Poreoue, !"
She was eager for any Lazard ; but she
did not want to ripen much longer. She
had been roughly wrested from her summer
dream, she began to feel that it was
autumn.
Mr. James had married late in life a
young woman, who had nursed hint in all -
nese for hire, and whom he bad meant to
be the unpaid nurse of his declining years;
instead, being no doubt tired of nursing
paid and unpaid, she was not even the nurse
of the one girl-otlild she bore him ; she died
just alter its birth, and as she had never
eared the very least about anything in lite,
she did not appear to have any grave dis-
relieh for death. 11 was as though she had
bequeathed to her daughter all the vitality
she ought to have expended herself. Per-
haps 11. had just rested in leer—at all events
it was wide awake in May, as if after not
one generation but many of refreshing
sleep.
Uf Mrs. James's descent, nobody—not
even her disconsolate widower—could have
told much. She became a professional sick.
nurse, some said, because she had an
aptitude for the oare of the sick ;
others because she had had a dis-
appointment in caring for the strong ;
others owned it was because she had no
money and nothing in the world to do.
Whichever it was, she had been dead for
eight-aud-twenty years, and nobody talked ---
about her any more, or even remembered CHAPTER II.
that she had been accustomed to exist. She
had no relatives who survived her, and Mr, " Part. nArn.
.Tames had survived all his, He was past Enter, to her, Miss Pauline, Dudin Ball,
seventy, enjoyed bad health—was in reality the gossip of the village, whose intimates
very well and likely to live long—was in called her Cricl.•et•Bull, because she was so
abject terror of death, aud hugged two con- lively, and whose oontemptuous superiors
solations—the chief being that such of his called ber Foot•.Ball, because she had 110
carriage. The rest of the parish, indiacrt-
minate but rude, called her merely Paul
Ball, and she had got used to that name.
'(ho was a thin little woman, with a tongue
like an innocent asp, and she led as perfect-
ly happy a life at Wooctshot as
she could have led anywhere with
her own inseparable acidity to keep
her company. She was equally ready to
say an unkind thing and to do a kind
one.
Thee was always just enough going on
to occupy Paul Ball. When she had got an
item of news, she embellished it and then
took it round to herneighhors. By the time
they had done with it she managed to have
heard or invented another to succeed it.
She never did any particular harm, partly
because site was not at heart malicious, and
partly because nobody believed what she
said, She was the daughter of a minor
canon, the Reverend Durlin Ball, and she
forefathers as had taken anything like care
of themselves had lived to be ninety, the
lesser that if he did live to be ninety his
.daugh ter would be only forty-seven—a, coni
petent age which he would have wished her
to have reached before she came into the
world. Be would look at her sometimes,
.about half as often as he looked at his own
tongue in the glass, and the unexpressed
wish of his heart would be that she might
sober down and get over her forgetfulness
of his tonic and her distaste to drugs. The
face she never failed to make when she gave
him his medicine robbed the draught of its
charm. He hardly ever let her leave him,
though she had been to school es e. child.
When she first came hack from school, the
few neighbors they had at Wooashot, see-
ing how handsome she was, took some notice
of her ; but country neighbors, when onoe
hey have satisfied their ouriosity,, soon be.
come used to any way of life. They thought
Me. James clever and odd—he was not had a small competency. What WAS atonce
really clever, but oddness does duty for most ridiculous and most laudable about her
cleverness in the country—and knew that was her devotion to her dog—a little brown
be liked to keep his daughter at home. She dachshund named Egypt (because as Miss
only hadapony carriage ; she could never Ball artlessly explained, ' the Sphinx was
her godmatnmm )
When, 011 this August afternoon, Miss
May James saw Paul Ball approaching her
across the lawn, with Egypt bringing up
the roar, she did not feel that the world had
suddenly become less dreary, She made
no ,movement of impatience, because she
was so used to Miss Ball's rfsit0; but she
sighed witty to herself and murmured," Il
ne mrngn)ait quo Bela f' One of the good
fortunes of her nature was that she could
sometimes forgot the trivial round.
It was characteristic of Paul Ball that she
always spoke to her dog before she spoke to
her hostess, " Come along, then—brown
'losses," she was saying, " and turn them in
and turn thorn out and bo manuals own
beautiful Poggins "—an exhortation which
the little dog obeyed with great dignity
while glancing at Hies Ball as if to depre-
cate 00011 advice in public—away 111g8lave
of looking, which says politely what could
never be politely said.
"She thought elle'e just come and 000
A1111110 May," explained Mise Ball; "she
sa»d, 'Mamma, put on year hat and toddle
1110 round to \Voodshot Lodge, and lot us
hear all the new0.'"
l;gypt's thoughts must have recurred
with great regularity, as she appeared with
her fend mistress every Sunday.
"It's you who toll 10 the news," said
May, dexterously evading Miss Ball's kiss
by stooping to pat the dog. 1t was a nlal-
lnas a
weelt alit always deceivedabout four
andtialways
pleased, Hiss Ball, and between them they
had got to do it with a certain grato. May
James slid not like lcieees.
"No chair for me?" said Mies Bald,
" Why do you sitout? Lot's go indoeteanl
have a nice long chat ; Egypt can lie on the
sofa. She shall a-Poggine Meg, cho ellen
lio on the sappy, she shall 1"
"1 don't want a oltair," said May, and
sat clown on the glass. Orme indoors, she
allowed to visit), or 10hother 818,1 lou m0ant
La aLidO in Bingle hlesse,hlees.
(ngnl•hyO," she said, stooping again
from Pant .Bull's kiss, in the familiar nuen-
teuv 0.
"Uootl-loye," said Paul 131111, kissing the
empty air, and taiting up hor burden of
"Ansa did 'cm wag (11's precious tail, end
did 'ten come with nut?" Llto girl's eyes fol.
lowed the mid lady aud her dog across the
lawn; but site wet not thinning of either.
(Tu es ooN'rtxrtsu,)
TRAPPED BY BUSKINS.
An Adventure That Turned Hie Boor
White in 14 Pew Hours.
Patel ineVe 181.11'8 Narrow Barco, front
Death b) Tor' tore n4 the sleuth or the
Indians—Ms eiim /nalnns Awful Este.
Everybody in Montana, and, in fact, near-
ly 0101') 0110 living west of the 1!11.ou01,
01�E CHINESE POWER, knows or lite leard et Paul 11et'. relfelt,
_ who lute theme of Senator Tem l'ower's
The Celestial, 5'8,01Y'ke1.' Su150e Toa 0(1(1» intm•usts at J antigen City, and 10110 for
drip, can Sleep,1lway0. years hos even 11)0 wily. little Bepublioau
Senator's right, bower in his defile with the
In the itemoff eleop 1110 Chinese eetalheh- bulimia. Nearly six feet in height, broad -
es a difference between $imaeit and the lie- sh',uldored, 000,101111 of 14[00, and with
cidontal, Generally speaking, ho is able eyes as keen (s i1 haw'It s des Alto the slight
to sleep anywhere. None of the trilling die- defect in the ]id of the left nIb. Paul is nn
turbanees whiolt drive tis to despair annoy ideal fo'etltlereldall, t(e leftito w'ittl till who
him. With u brick for a pillow, he eau lie know 111111, and 1011005 11001'005 w'}t1t (110
down on Ma bed of stalks or mud bricks or 1'160 has been displayed in maty a tussle
rattan 01101 sloop the sleep of the Jo t, with with the Indians. Not every one, however,
no refore s o the reit of erection. knows what tuned Paul's hair prematurely
the drink—she could brazen »L Out, 135 loos not want his 100111 tlal'kOnetl, nor whale, fop• the breve follow is 100.1.11 to dwell
though what she did with the petiole, 1 does he require others to be 111.111. Tho "no 1)11011 this tuo1dout in 181'0 eventful 0ltrae)
don't know—but now she must give up font crying in elle night" may continue to whereby he sn nearly lost his life, and which
playing till no one calif; ca
uite say when." ory for all he res, for it does not disturb caused los snearlcent crop of jet black
What a bore it is 1" said May, who him. In some regions the entire popula- curly hair to take on the whiteness of driven
was without much sympathy by nature, surly.
mid did not thine. it worth while to affect
it before Miss Ball —" shall I have to play
on Sunday? I can't tell you [now I hate it.
There are tittles when I loath music—near-
ly always 1"
"No, you won't," said Miss Ball, "you
won't ever have to ploy the organ in blood-
shot church again,"
" Why not? Hae the whole parish risen
and declared against me with one voice? sr
are you going to play'1 (in a tone as if this
were the less probable alternative).
" There's a man coming," said Miss Ball,
in what would have been a shout if it had
not been so gutturally suppressed—" a
young plan eon -1111g over IromChurnborongh.
Isn't it a Mercy we've just got the organ
done up ?"
" I don't know. Yes," said May. "About
how old is the man ?"
"\Vhat a horrid quoetion1" said hiss
3a1l, rather rudely. "I can't say, but 1
can. tell you his name, His name is Mat.
thew do Nismes ; he has come to read with
Mr. Passmore."
"To read? he must be quite a Loy."
dine out unless they bent for her. They got
used to her beauty, and latterly had even
begun to disparage that, because she had
not accomplished the itnpossible, and mar-
ried, whore there was absolutely nobody to
marry.
' There meet be something odd about
May James 1" "She must be cold or repel-
lent 1"" Men don't admire her 1" they be-
gan to say, forgetting that there was no
marriageable man who had come within the
range of hor vision. She had happy, un•
roving eyes&
Meantime babe, child, or woman, she had
been perfectly well, and perfectly
careless what they said of her or
what they thought. Site was also
almost perfectly handeono, Indeed, she
was so tall and so -radiant -looking, and had
such a. beautiful skin and such glorious hair,
such lashes, such tenth, each a figure, that
the pen would hesitate to describe her per-
.. feetior.s. If she had but had a squint or a
mark tllebeauLifel rest would have seemed
to have more value, but as she was, her
physical perfections were no more remark-
able than those of a Loc France rose ; and
they contented her all her life. Without
being particularly vain or anxiou0 about it,
she existed in the sense of her own
beauty, until she felt that it had
reached its zenith. This conviction came
• to her by the morest accident, and in this
wise, She drove into Windsor one after-
noon ; it was a long drive, and the pony
had pulled a good deal ; she wa0 tired, and
went into a pastry.000k'a to get Home tea.
Sitting there—she took it at a little marble
table whieh she hated over afterwards—she
heard her name. A Woodshot neighbor was
being iurcrviewod shoat her by a Windsor
magnate,
" Still May James 1" she hoard the Wind-
. 8or magnate say. She must loop sharp
about it now; that's the sort that soon gots
blowoy."
" What does that matter? I'm not going
to marry him," said Hiss Ball, annoyed at
being interrupted, " besides, he may be
quite a 1111141—some men are dunces all their
lives. He played at Churnboroagh the day
before yesterday, and when he hoard of the
new organ here and bow ill Miss Beaton
was (and how badly you played), he offered
to come over every Sunday till Miss Beaton
was better. The lady who told me had been
in the church ; she had seen the back of his
head with her own eyes, and said he was
quite good looking."
The aocuraey of this testimony did not
affect May James deeply. " le be a gentle-
man ?" site said, after a pause.
"Ho is half Trench and half English,"
said bliss Ball dubiously, as if she did not
know in what sort of rank ,1180 combination
)night result. "Nobody here knows much
abont him ; 11e has only lately come. f
wonder where he will lunch? It's hungry
work playing through the morning service ;
I know Bliss Beaton found it so ; I asked
her in once afterwards, and she polished off
three parts of my rabbit."
" At the vicarage, I suppose."
"But they go to Switzerland on Thursday
He can't possibly hoc t at Mr. Ford's lodg-
ings --an egg and a piece of tinned tongue ;
and Churn -borough is too far for him to get
hack to Paesmore's. I quite wish I wasn't
a lone female, I should aslt 111111 myself. But
I suppose I should be drummed out of the
parish for that ?"
" Egypt would ohaperon you,"said Blay;
"I dare say the Hall people will want him,"
"Too far the other side, and you know
slow seldom they cone. Nov I thought
that you, as you have your father always at
hone, might have given the poor man a mor-
sel. You sit so near the chancel, and I
would have looked in to join you myself.
Your Sunday joint is always more than
enough for four."
"Yon know how papa hates strangers,"
said May quickly, influence more by Miss
13a11'a implied invitation of herself than by
anything else. ("Miss Ball's chatter ab-
solutely stultifies digestion," her father said
to hor once. " If you must feed hor at my
table, give lit0 a bone on the mat, and let
her dog have my seat "—a request, the hu-
mility of Which wa0 not to be taken as liter-
al but hyperbolical.) Paul Ball knew well
enough whore she was wanted, and the ad.
volt of tea turned her thoughts in other
channels ; she fell to work upon her favor.
its Heal,
Nicely you have these buns done," she
said presently; "toasted and split; I think I
could eat another, and Egypt (walte her up
gently) shall have the smaller' half." Egypt
was wide awake already, ane matte short
w ork of Paul Ball's bun for her, so that her
mi8treesdid not see bow clay's thoughts
had down back to that choking morsel she
had been engaged upon at \\ indsor when
she lad heard the prophecy of her "blowsy"
future,
In that moment her mind was made up
that she would invite Matthew cle Nismes
to Woodshot Lodge if an opportunity should
occur. It need not be difficult; she had en•
tortained two oe three of Mr, Passmoe's
boys ere now. Indeed, she drolly remem-
bered one of theta—a mature army student
making a sort of attempt to embark in a
flirtation with her years ago. -lint she had
not much recollection of such things; they
seemed to her rather absurd and ugly, Nov
she would perhaps regard them with alter-
ed eyes; she out about considering flow she
could. got hot father to clnu'eh on Sunday
morning, (the invitation must somehow 000)0
from him), and considered it to a mild tic.
conlpanimont from Miss 'Paul Ball, of "Was
'010 then an own Peg�gine, and did it take
its bit of blot -bun like a lady, and did 11
want its milk in mamma's saucier, and did
it say it was getting a ,hill on the grass,
and did it think it must go hone to beddy-
by-bye and warm its nosey -11000?
IIcroin Paul signified (tett she had sal out
long enough, and had enough tea, and—in•
cideltelly—that ao,other old[ maid was cont.
ing to sue her at Nilo Clottage, am she had
lately token to calling her small d0malu;
and between the two of t11e)n young Mat-
thew do Nlemes would be nicely canvassed
and his future. cut old dried.
"Are you going away at all this autumn?"
shirt Illy, as Miss Hall rose to go.
"Visits;" said Paul Ball, with a little
sharp nod, "notfor my own sake; you know
I
never want to go—almost as great a fossil
as you, clear May --but just for EgypL'e
health, she regnires change, aud there am
half -a -dozen leases I can take hor to, Your
old friend Lady I'Iolford's in the hist too,
now that poor clear Dandy is mercifully re.
moved. Think if I'd had pug grandohil.
drone Brit now I shall spend the greater
Part of September with her.
2lay smiled es she looked at the little
dog, and womierel if Egypt would regret
Dlthdy'edolniee at, Haifordsloigh (opo of the
few houses at which she herself had been
Mon coon to fall asleep,as bycommon in-
stinot (like that of the hibernating boat')
during the first two hours of the Summer
afternoons, and they do this with regularity
It hepponed early in the seventies. Paul
with a number of traders, lad gone up the
Yellowstone in a floatboat totaled with goods
no matter where they msy be. that they expected to exchange with the
At two hours after noon the universe 01 Crows for skins and such whet. commodities
snoh seasons is as still as at two hours after as the Indians had to barter for the gaudy
midnight. In the ease of most working peo- :blankets and calicoes so highly prized by
pie at least, and also in that of many others, the buclks and squaws. At this time the
be easy to raise in China
gnenoe. Ito
in sleep is of 00 sort of cense-
ON TIIL WARPATH
an army of 1,000,000 men—nay of 10,000,.1
000—teeted by competitive examination as against their natural enemies, the Crows,
to their capacity to go to sleep acrosslwhioh made travelling in that country even
three wheelbarrows, with head downward,
like a spider, their mouths wide open and
a fly inside.
Poison m the Air.
A new poison has been discovered in 1110
smoke which surrounds factory towns and
more dangerous than usual. But the trad-
ers were all old Indian Bolters and trap-
pers, thoroughly Weiler with the looality,
and not likely to be scared off by trifles,
besides which Paul McCormick, their load.
er, was known to he the bust shot in the
Territory, and whose knowledge of Indian
clues and the danger from breathing this }51 tactics had been gained in many a dearly
not iucousiderable. A part of the smoke' hough[ field of experience.
that goes into the air from burning coal is! Landing at Pease bottom, the outfit made
arsenious and mixed with carbon. Coni the floatboat fast, and, after selecting u
differs in the amount of impure matter suitable site, proceeded to build a block -
which it throws off, but it is eetimated that house as much for the purpose of protection
one ton of ordinary coal burns oft' about against the hostile Indians as to store
twenty to thirty pounds of 0nlpltnr. This their merchandise. [:very morning it de-
salpluu• is transformed into sixty pounds of l volved upon the keen -eyed McOorulick to
sulphur») acid, which leaves stains upon all
marble buildings and statuary, Along with
this sulphuric acid a groat amount of arsen-
ious acid goes and the two breathed into the
lungs continually ant as a1 strong poison.
Next to this active pois011 the soot in the
air makes factory towns unhealthful to live
in. An examination of the amount of soot
which was deposited in London recently
showed that on an averege 1,000 tons wore
deposited over the city every ten days. The
amount of carbonaceous and other particles
deposited upon glass houses is a good indi-
cation of what the atmosphere contains, In
most cities where factories are located the
glass roofs of houses and the windowpanes
have to be washed and 0,15(41 evooy few days
to keep the soot from blackening them.
When all of this material is floating around
in the air it cannot be wondered at that
weak and peer health are noticeable among
the inhabitants. Science las yet to discover
moans to collect and Hold this smoke and
soot as it conies out of the chimneys.
Seven Years Without a Birthday.
A Scottish clergyman who died nearly
thirty years ago, \Ir. Leishman of Kinross,
used to toll that he had once been seven
years without a birthday. The statement
puzzled most who heard it. They could see
that, if he bad. heed born on the 20th of
February, he would have no birthday ex-
cept in a letup ,year. But leap year comes
once in four years, and this accounts for a
gap of three years only ; their first thought
would therefore laterally be that the old.
man, who in fact was fond of a harmless jest,
was somehow jesting about the seven. There
was, however, no joke or trick in his asser-
tion. At the present time there can be
very fete if there are 011), who have this
tale to tell of themselves, for one who can
toll it must have been born on the 20th of
February at least ninetysix years ego. But
a similar line of missing dates is 11010 soon
to return ; and indeed there aro no doubt
semo readers of this page who will have
only one birthday to oelebrate for nearly
twenty years to come. The solution of this
puzzle is to be found in the fact, which does
not appear to be very widely known, that
the year 1800 was nota leap year and 1000
will not be. The February of the promo
year had twenty-nine days, but in all the
seven years intervening between 1806 and
1004, as well as in the throe between 1.802
aud 1506, that month will have only twenty •
eight,—[Rev. George illoArthur in April
St, Nicholas.
saddle his horse and, with his trusty Sharps
across his saddle bow, ride t0 the 1)1111111it of
the nearest butte and scan the country for
Indian signs. This completed, be would
lope Ids horse back to camp to assure the
boys of cold trails and 0 prospect of unin-
terrupted work on their hoose.
One bright morning as Paul started out
nn hisaccustomod scout !ie (('as approached
by an old trapper known to the rest as 0 riz-
zly who said he recokoned he'd jinn Mac in
his ride that day if the latter didn't keer.
Of course, Paul was glad t0 have company,
aud willingly waited until Grizzly brought
up itis horse and cinched on the saddle.
Lured by the brightueesof the morning and
intoxicated by the fresh, delicious air which
they inhaled in long breaths as they gallop.
ed over the short, curly buffalo grass, the
traders strayed much further from the camp
than was customary with Paul when he was
alone, but as they had sealed several buttes
without noting a trace of Indians, each rode
along unsuspicious of dangeo, lost in the en-
joyment of the perfect June day.
They had walked their horses up a pretty
stiff butte, and, arrived at the summit, were
breathing the animals while taking A survey
of the country. For miles around not a sign
of life could be seen, save in the far distaloo
where a black speak in the sky caroling
earthward told them of a possible breakfast
awaiting the industrious buzzard which bad
already scented its prey. (frizzly had bean
discussing with Paul the 11081 method of de.
fence, in Baso they were surprised by Indians
aud found it impossible to break away.
" I'll shoot ther critter right than, Mac,"
said the old trapper, indicating a spot be-
hind his mare's ear, " and She falls 'hthoet or
quiver. Then doom cleat ter )her carkiss yer
squats, an' behind these breastworks yer
pumps lead inter then bloemm' savages, an.
stands 'em off 011101 then boys gets anxious
about us an' forms a rescue party. Et's jest
ez simple ez—"
But old Grizzly never finished hie sen.
truce, for at that monneut ujl rose from the
sage-hrueh, where he had lain concealed, a
tall be -painted Indian, who
»Tr stn A 10111) WHOOP,
and in 011 instant the sagebrush all around
vomited redskins, fowling, shoottng, yell-
ing in concert, intent upon soaring the
animals npon which the traders sat, so they
would become unmanageable and handicap
the riders in their effort to escape.
It seemed to Paul's startled reuses that
where a moment before no sign of life we
visible now circled thousands of whooping
savages, eager for his blood, and if for the
1101100 110 loot 1110 customary nerve he was
surely excusable.
The animal he bestrode was a wiry
mustang, full of energy, with a good deal of
the devil in him. His gyrations under fire
required all of Paul's skilful horsemanship
to prevent his beaug unseated, especially
with a dozen Indians firing crosewlee over
and under the brute's body. Apparently
the redskins were more desirous of oaptur.
ing Paul alive for the purpose of torture
than to kill him outright, whiull may ac-
count for his almost 01lracnhon0 escaped
from the hundreds of bullets that zip I zip.
ped 1 in the air all about him. As for
Grizzly, he had encountered a chance shot
at the first onset, and, stone dead, sat up-
right ie the saddle, with his amts out-
stretched, Ms head baro, and a streak of
blood trickling over his long, gray mous-
tache that fell from a round ballot holo
sunk square between Isis eyo0. Grizzly's
mare, bearing his dead rider, at first broke
away from the Indians alul circled over the
plateau, but, o'oBlroiiug, reit 0011nd trial
round in a still nartvwing 0irole until a
well -aimed shot dropped liar in hor tracks.
All 1.h»0 Paul saw before he managed to
break through the oordon of Indiana that
endeat•nred to snare him. Several times the
lithe savegee wore running neck and freak
with his mustang, and 0000 a 0101011n tug
nearly pulled hint from his horse, but ho
kiekod loose, and with
MAY 13, 1S92.
nconrred to Min to use either the rill, or tlto
revolvers, although lie might levo (lona 00110
damage with the latter when he Intl the
udlans at close r11ng0.
The speotaol0 of their leader galloping
madly over the prairie 111111 11 startling e(fe01
upon lb, little band of of mum marpentare
1.11,11 pntling the finishing touches to the
blook•louoe, It wee not necessary for Paul
to shout " 1111hans 1" All knew well en00g11
what hie appearance so olearly denoted,
while the 511411 11161014 A1/01100 of Grizzly
plainly fucllanted thorn hail been more than
at passing eoriennege. Barely had l'aul
lea pod 4'ou1 the saddle when thegellml1.1(111•
nal that had earned hint 111 safety to Itis
feitunle fell forward on tho ground, anti,
bleeding from several gaping wounds, getve
one or two gasps and expired.
For a few 1110111811ts Paul stood mutely
watching the fallen animal, tend the tear
Mutt etrept to 'tie eye was 1101 unworthy the
brave follow. But Ile felt that it was 110
time for sentiment, and dashing 1110 hand
savagely across his face he tar110(1 to hie
comrades, and in n few geaphl0 words told
then) of theunlbne0ade to which he had so
nearly fallen a victim and wlliehl had
mom) n DIAT0I T1ne
to p000 Grizzly. " But we must go back at
once, boys," he added, "and bring in
Grizzly's body for decent burial. We can't
afford to have it said that wo left a comrade
in the open to become food for coyotes and
buzzards, Get a move on you tend seddl0
the horses in0111ntly. You, Saunders and
Brooks, remain here to guard the stall'; the
rest of its will skin bank to Big Butte."
lie at ver short time Miasmal) body of de-
termined nen, legit by the intrepid McCor-
mick, were on their way to the scene of the
reeontambush. Few words were uttered by
the party. All realized the errand was a sad
one, and m his heart oaoh vowed vengeance
on the murderous Cheyennes. But not a
hostile was in sight when they reached the
summit of Big Butte, up which they had
cautiously stolen in a manner worthy of
trained IndiLn fighters. Already the coy -
otos and birds of prey bad assembled for
the feast, some of the latter that had perch.
ed on the ea0caes of 1rieely's horse boldly
continuing their ravenous banquet in ole
fiance of the appeluance of the I'es0ners.
Paul was the first to 0lunlble on the
body of hie late conu'ade. In a dozen
other ways besides that of ecalping their
venin, they had maltreated the defence-
less dead, nu10h in the sante 1111411101' In
W1)1011 the poor follows of the Seventh Cav-
alry were treated on the Little Big flora a
few years later. Small wonder that, as
Paul McCormick stood by the body of
Grizzly, fasoinated by its horrible appear,
lance, and thought how narrowly he had es.
caned a like fate, a mighty revulsion of na-
ture took place in hie system, so that when
he returned to camp los raven looks had
forever lost their pristine hue and had sud-
denly changed to the mnnutlrel whiteness
they have ever since assumed.
A Useful Marine invention.
A now invention called the submarine
sentinel is attracting 1110011 attention in
nautical circles in England, aud is honored
1>y a 001tun1) and a half descriptio[, with an
illustration, in the London '1(10(s. Itis an
inexpensive device, simple in action and to
look at, but it seems to contain a potency
for good which it wa'ld be difficult toexag-
ggel'ete, A written description would be
difficult to understand, but the instt'ttment
consists of two pieces of 111000 qul10100 1nc11
board screwed together an right tingles and
sharpened at one end. To the sharpened enol
a catch and bar are attached, When this
contrivance is suspended at a certain angle
from a wird attached to a ship in motion 1t
immediately takes a header towards the
bottom and follows the amuse of the ship
at tiny desired dietanoo below the keel,
according to the length of wire
given to it. Supposing, for instance,
that it is set at twenty fathoms, it
goes quietly along until the twenty fathom
limit is reached, :198 sharp end always
travels first, and as soon as the bar at -
Welled to it touches the bottom a spring is
released 1111011 dotaohoe the sentry and pee -
mita it to rico to the surface, while at the
same instant a warning bell is rung auto-
matically on dock. The invention huts been
tried uncial. varioue conditions and huts air
ways wonted to perfection, and itis olaim-
eilthal no ship provided with tilde appar-
01)10 could got into shoal water without the
officer of the dock being instantly awer0 of
it. The importance of this, if true, is mono -
thing that ran be readily appreciated by the
veriest landsman.
Child Labor in 0111180,
']'here are no laws against child labor in
China. They begin to work as soon as the
walk. A hey or girl at -1 years of ago will
01(00'y the baby " ptggyi/i1Ok half e11 ]lour
at a tune and mind it from dawn till dusk.
They also hunt up the pig when lie is lost,
lead the 11111.5)' bulialn, or 1,011(1 11. limed of
sheep with ahnesmune 8110800 004 the , ea
grown man. '..'hay work lo the garden,
bring water from tiro wells, destroy hoists,
caterpillars and slugs, pull otic the wo0d0,
and in every way show themselves oxcellaut
llorttolllturtets in miniature,
Disoovery of Human Bones.
An interesting discovery of human bones
was gado ou Saturday afternoon last at
Hastings, Eng., as some excavations were
being made to - forma carriage drive to a
now church which has just been ereoted for
the use of railway 011en. The edifice is built
on n patch of laud 10111011 has for years been
used as a kitchen garden, situate below the
old castle walls on tete west001 aide. Tile
workmen first came across a skull, and on
digging carefully unearthed enx skeletons
almost complete, and in ono especially, all
the teeth w01.0 (ound. The bones were sub-
mitted to Dr. Retlmayu, who states that
they were those of young 01011, Mild ventures
1111 opinion that the place nets a disused
burying ground connected with St. An- ,
drew's Church ; but having node a careful
serve) of the ground a correepondent doubts
this, and 511, ks that during the wars which
followed the battle of 1066 a trench was dug
of the western stole as well as the deep one
there, the latter being still shown to visi-
tors. Tho discoveries will mulishly lead to
a thorough investigation, and the bones are
to bo kept.
Tho 'Tremendous orco of Waves.
It is difficult for one to believe the huu-
dreds of wonderful stories told to illustrate
the power exerted by a sea wave of the
regulation size and strength. At the time
of the high waves 011 the North coast of the
Shetland Islands, gneiss boulders of three
tan weight have been moved upward of 300
feet in 0 single night. United Britain, the
paper which first est the stories afloat about
the enormous waves at Bishop's Rook, Eng-
land, declares that it is a fact that an iron
column, 23 feet long and weighing (1,000
pounds—part of a lighthouse being erected
on the rook and whish had beau chained by
means of eyebolts to two heavy boulders
was moved twenty feet in one night and de.
posited upon a projecting rock eleven feet
and. ton niches higher than its original
position. At the same time a blacksmith's
anvil weighing 200 pounds, and sunk in a
pit three and a half foot•deep was washed
out of the pit and actually floated and rol-
led 100 yards from the site of the light.
house 1
0 01(111, 01' n010IAN(Ig
ga110110,1 madly 010191 the bntto in the direc-
tion of the blooltlmusea 111111111'011 bullets
Dinging in his oars, 900taldeadlyearnest by
the Cheyennes, who viewed their intended
vietinl'0 escape with deep chagrin that found
vont in a chorus of yells.
Straight to the blookhon5o rodo
chased for tho first few utiles by about a
dozen bravos, who fired as they rats, but
without inflicting any haulage save 1.o wound
his horse. So intent 10111 he been on his es-
cape that not upon had le; volumed the hr0
of hos foes,ell lough in a 1,'ition to his rifle ha
carried two big navy 1,. elvers in his belt
that hold Mx roumds of earl rid oseltoh, 'Co
a friend, late' on, ho confirmed that itnever
Rothsobild's Maxims,
The older Baron Rothschild load the walla
of his bank plaoarded with the following
maxims ;
Shun liquors.
Date to go forward.
Never be discouraged,
Never tell business lies.
Be polite to everybody.
lanploy your time well.
Be prompt in everything.
Pay your debts promptly,
Boar all troubles patiently.
Do not reckon upon chance.
Make no useless acquaintances.
Be brave in the struggle of life.
Maintain your integrity as it sacred thing.
Never appear something more than you are.
Take time t0 aoneider and thou decide
positively.
Carefully examine into every detail of
your 1)1101n00H.
'.Zhou work hard and you will be certain
to mooed lft lifer
Genesis of the Horseshoe.
Itis known that the hoofs of iloreee were
protected by boots of loather at every early
wariod in the world's history -at a time
hich at least antedates Pliny and Aristotle,
both of whom make meutian of the faot.
'.phase loather boots worn sometimes studded
with metal nails, but more usually worn
without extra trimming, the cheapness of
that commodity malting it possible for the
owner of the steed to "reboot" Mtn (Many
time, Homer speaks of " bruen.footod
steeds," from which we naturally infer that
in his day horses were shad with bronco or
braes. two reputable ancient writers tell
us that the moles of Nero wore silver shoos.
Iron shoes wore first nailed to the hoofs of
war horses i11 the ninth century' they were
first introduced into England by William II.
1,bent the year 1088, At the prosont day
the Jill/101M use horseshoes mato of braid-
ed straw, and several European countries
use eompresood rawhide for the sante pup,
pose,
I