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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1892-10-7, Page 2BEYOND REE -117 CIIAPTER I, -Luc). A Twee, j ''C'edars." Idle people dart t ge early In A clock was etriking eleven as I steed still bed like. thus who have till, he their work• shops by nix in the I0 11 g, 301110 of the to listen onitiohmoud Hill, I was too early `by on hoer. There was time fora rest he. fore going any (uvthee, and I needed it. Foam Old Street Road, Slwreditoh, to .Riehmond, is not much of a walk for a young otan of twenty, in good condition; but when a mania heart is heavy, and he had eaten nothing since midday (amt then but bread and oheese), a march like that late to night snakes hint shaky at the knees anal sick. I eat down on one of the benches under the elms on the terrace there, overlooking the river. The moon was not to be seen, butits light was diffused in the white, woolly 'list that hung in the stilt air. The fallen leaves wereeovered with moisture; heevy drops from the boughs above plashed down now and then us if at had been raining recently. The gas burnt sluggishly in the lamp haul by, the mist forming a halo about it. I remember noticing these things, for any mind was in a condition to receive the impression of trifles -just as the fall of a pebble may be marked after a fall of snow has buried the cart!(. It was chill aswollasdamp. I felt it, sitting therostill of ter the,varmtlt of walking. 1 turn- ed my collar np, and hunched my shoulders up, sticking my hands deep in my pockets. The policeman on the raised causeway be- hind (night well pause to look down and epeealate upon the kind of man I was, and the reason of my coining here to sit in the horrid fog at such au hour. After gleaming behind m° to know whose heavy step had stopped, I settled my ears down ha my collar again. It was cold. " Never mind; it's better to pot up with a shiver than to walk about and grow weak with fatigue," thought L So I sat there, NN etch- ing the drop run zigeatg, by fits and starts, dome the glass of the lamp, as they flowed from a touching spray deb], till the police- man, having rounded the corner and come along the terrace, stopped in front of mo, planted his thumbs in his belt, gave me a nod, and spoke. ' Well, old man ; got the key of the street?" he asked, I did not then know the teeming of the phrase, but 1 answered, " So," briefly, feeling disinclined to meet his familiar ap- proaches. ' Out 0' collar 1" he asked, in the cheer- ful, high-pitched tone of conscious superior- ty. ' No," I answered es before. "Going to stay here all night?" servant, might yet he abort. there had been a demo storm a few clays before, and the ground in the little wood 10,00 covered with fragments of rotten boughs that croak• cd sharply Hader foot-. It was a relief whoa I reitetl the wicket and, felt the soft turf of the pa'ldock under my feet. By an• other wicket I entered the garden, and now skirting the iusido of the high wall I dv, t r 1 • 1'c • tom the house. It was black as night when I reached the ebrubhary. There was no possibility of dietingnishingg the path from the borders, Presently 1 drove m t Y Y foot with a crash into a boll glass, and for a few minutes I stood in doubt whether to beat a retreat or go on ; then, as no sound indicated that my misadventure had raised an alarm, I V0»tn1.0d 10 push on again. A dozen cautious paws brought me to an opening. The lawn was before me uov, and looking aotoss I trade out a feeble point of light that shored where the hose stood, Beeping close to the shrubbery, I skirted the lawn until I was close enough to the house to make out the sashes of the one window illuminated from within ; then I stopped. The blind was down ; the time had net yon 00100. I heard a key turn in the lock, and the door grating as it opened ; then a soft voice asked, in a whisper, "ie (hot you, Kit?" " YoeI answered in a sullen undertone. " Hero are the india-rubbers. Be care. fol ; they have only just gate up." I had gra ma callous to depredation. It was nothing to me now to play the part of a sneaking thief. Witham a word I took the overshoes and slipped them on any foist, as I kicked oil' my old shoes one after the other. The girl coming from the Light could not see me us distiuotly as I saw her, She waited there till I told her I was randy; then she turned about, and, feeling her way with outstretched hands, retraced her steps noiselessly through the eon5erva- to•y, and I followed, softly closing the door behind me. We passed through a root' where tho foot sank deep in the yielding carpet. " If I had but a few feet of this for my bed, thought I ; what a luxury 1" 'There was a light in the hall. The redoeted rays glittered hero and there in glass and polished fnnitnre, and costly nicknacks, My guide, raising her finger itt warnirg, went ott first to the foot of the great stairs, to matte sure that no one ,vas "Why you're all nose, like a poll par-! stirring, and then beckoned Ire, At ohne roC," said he, with a laugh at his own ons. tome I would hove scorned to follow any erabiowitticism., 1 wotnnn in this ignoble manner ; but that "Ain't you gat notlun i time {ras tesedl ; now myonlyfeelingwas else to say? What are yon thinkiu11 wo?" I of hunger eel cntd. "I apo here'0 fire leu (suit 1 u 'sheet y1, that tf 1 {core mid something to eat op here," thought I, a decent suit of clothes, yon tvonldu't tI „e I stealthily followed along the corridor ble yourself to azh me about affairs that past the oltand'ers where the household don't moon you," vote asleep. \\ a came to a door that stood You may as wall be civil, young feller, partlyopen, and went in. or I may move,yoon a little sharper 110 It {usik°ndruwingroom. Iutl,wotthin't what you ]Dolts forr, , it's my duty to keep 'have 1 horn it for a bed chatnher but,' for THE BRUSSELS POteaT, Cts', 7, 1S9•a, -...,, �.. « .,.. ,1.,,,.., ./600,,..,.,, ., ., .,.M.. A. . . �.. , .w. . ,� .w ., , , n,.,..� .a V.� .. _ 1.1. . lenult liaeltet ohs, had prepared fee ate, and than, having sotachap 'before it, „lua all laid iter hand timidly on toy shoulder, and Neel` -•- n have your supper ready, Kit." On that 1, got op, and seating utyself 111 the chair ran lily eye greedily over the good things. She poured out a tumbler of blur. gently; I gulped it down, and then attaok• ml the hmn,leavhug tbo (Adelson till nay crav- ing was drat satisfied with more solid food, All this time 1 spoke never a word, nut even to thank her for the provision she had made. " Papa gave a dinner party, and sono of the gentlemen' (lid not leave tall past twelve; that is why I had to keep you so long wait. ing," said my wife, apologetically, thinking that my ilbhnmor arose from this cause. " And that is why you aro dressed up like a princess," muttered I, glonoin#; at her malignantly. She made no reply, Per- haps she gal0 ate yet credit for sufficient sense to see that she must receive her father's guests becomingly, and that to have ellangocl her dress after their departure would have prolonged my stay outside, As I glanced at her I perceived that she hal taken off her diamonds, in deference prob. ably to my senseless susceptibility. " Why ham° you removed your trinkets?" I continued, "Aro you afraid I shall take them ?" " Oh, Nit ! she said, clasping hor trembl- ing hands, and with snpplivatton in her tender eyes, I pushed my glass towards her to refill, and having done with the hart began upon the fowl. ' Who has boon here tonight?" tasked, after eating in silence a while. "Some boating gentlemen, to whom we were introduced yoote,'day by V ajot• Cleve - don." " And whore -Major Cleveden ?" "A friend of papa's. They were very inti- mate in India; and," sheedded,a(hnonitive• ly, for I had raised my voice in speaking, " he sleeps fn the next room." "Oh, he is staying in the house " "Ile has been with us a week. Became the very day after you were here," " Where's his wife?" " He is not married." " f see ; your father thinks he would be a suitable obeli for yon- anything with a title -anything that would give hint a place in society." I had Fallon now into a jealous mood. "Major Cleveden is old enough to bo my father," said she, with a look and an anent which shoved how innocent sho was of ens• peoting the thing I spoke of. "But he is a real friend, for all that," she continued, her spirit rising in revolt against the numerated harshness-" a friend ,shout I could trust with my life; gene•ons and kind -yes as generous and kind as you were onoo, Kit." I pushed my plate away end terne.l to the fire. " 1 es," thought 1, " when one is rials tt is not difficult to be generous ; in a moral sense or in a material sense the thing is equally true. And I was ricin then hn hop° and courage ; now I'm a beggar in everything, and all my feelings ora sordid mil mean and base. l'm done for-" Hobo crept to may side, and kneeling on the rug leaned her arms 'pot my knee (though she would have shrunk from plan• en eye ort dangerous cinractera, and you've the hod with its aides dawn, quilt and ing her delicate shin in contact with such got a fano like what's more often seen inn a tent he gin of blue satin covered with fou, et ft' as my trousers were made of at Bonk 'an elsc,vhere lace, and a glimpse of the toilet room be- 1I turned another time), and looking up into my face, the back ot aside, the at In silence to shoulder if t' y°°d. Th•e panels of the doors were painted with all her sweet tenderness, she murmur - y to mato thal)angongs of the bed, rho won- ed - to him that I hall no wish to quarrel or make dew aurtuina and thagnilted sLalfing of the It is only eleven months ago dear." friends. I knew what she meant. It was eleven chairs and lounges --a pale blue picked out "Oh, you may turn your back to the with old. There wore cabinets of beautiful mouths ago that she ran away for a ,lay gas," he continued ; "bur, I've got y our Moe with gohnahipm e au.bioners with Pretty from the sarsonage to be elandestinelynar- printed on to my mind, an':1! could.identify trifles, slender stands for cut filled witha, and ried to me. That was just before I left Fol• tenham to come to London and " make my fortune." How wo loved each other then ; how we clung together as the time cane to "part; how she ran weeping after me to any good- bye" once mote when we had torn ourselves apart ; how we promised each other to meet again quite soon -as soon as 1 had found employment, andgot a little home ready for her I Oh, she wouldn't mind how small it was, or what privations site was put to, so that we could only live together, Thut wits before her father cave home with half a million of money ; before she knew what it was to wear silk and diamonds ; before I had found that my skill, which passed for genius in a mall provincial town, was look. ed upon as very poor talent in London. " 1 thought I had the world on a string then," said I. ' You felt your power, dear ; that is all. You knew you had gifts of a high order. 01, every one said there was no one so elever. You cannot have lost your talent?" " No," said I bitterly. " l have just enough lett, and the uonsoiononess of it, to snake me a bad workman, That's all We good for, I've yet got to find my level and reconcile myself to it before lean be a steady workman. Thera are thousands of fellows with as much skill as I have at woodman,. ing-I know it -thousands who would be glad to work at the honoh ten (tours a day for eighteen shillings a week 1" " Eighteen shillings a welt --would that keep us two, Kit.?" she asked hopefully. I laughed. " \Vhy, a year's wages at that rate wouldn't bey tho dress you are wearing," said 1. " I could do without it," said she. " I wore nothing but stun eleven months ago." 'l'hat ooftened my heart, But I was not such a fool in worldly matters as 1 had been a year book. Ay, we were fools then, in- deed -boy and girl tools, nothing more. She oventeen •,I only just fn my twentieth year. It should be illegal for such simple• tons to marry. A ,year to London had open- ed my eyes, ani I had meed them to advan- toge in learning something of the reality of life. No; I've done oto foolish thing. I'll not do another of the same sort, That would be just a crime," said I. A crime! I don't understand you. What foolish thing Kit?" Supposing I settled down to the life of a plodding artisan -sup one I got a piano at eighteen shillings a week ?" " Yes," said she cheerfully, drawing a little closer, "Supposing 3 could manage to get some sort of a home for you -a room In the sub- urb with a few sticks of furniture, where you would have to do the drudgery; and be cribbed up all day while was at worst ?" 1 looked down to ate what effect this picture marls upon her. She was aotnally amiiiug. The dreamy look in her eyes showed that she was not thinking of the hardships and miseries, only of the romantic sentiment as - milted to the bearing of burdens by loving hearts. ' Yes, dear," she said again, encourag- ingly. ' ` Do you know what would happen theist" I asked. She bold her head on one side, and, looks Mg in the fire wistfully, amid, after a m0• Mont's imagining of the worot that could happen- ' I'm afraid papa would be vory angry," " That's notion enough, You've told mo enough about hint to show that Ito loves hien• self more than he loves you. That's oitly natural, Ito Wouldn't have gent you to Eng. land, and lived alone in India for skidoo yoare otherWlee." you on the book as sure as If I'd got your photograph in my notebook, 1 could " He waited for me to reply -for even a dispute must bo an agreeable relief to the monotony of night (pity -but getting not a word more from me he presently went off with measured step, slipping his lantern in his belt, and giving me one more scowl over his shoulder. The half hour chimed ; I might move on now without waiting for the constable's aid ; it was too °hili sitting there, The policeman was standing in the shadow tables for every use -all that caprice could suggest or ingenuity supply to an extrav• agent taste. 13ut I took no notice then of these things -I was too cold for that. Leav- ing 1ny companion to fasten the door, I hastened across the room, and, sinking on my knees in the soft, think hearthrug, I spread out my clammy, cold hands to catch the generous glow of the fire. " Are you so cold, dear? said a voice behind me presently, in a low, tender tone of commiseration. of a tree not far from where he I turned round without rising and look. +ed up, my eyes blushing at first, for I was had left me. He made himself known by turning the light of hie lantern as I passed -a gratuitous insult, as it seem- ed to me. I wondered if he really thought I was a thief; perhaps my jaded look justi- fied the suspicion. I turned down towards Ham, by the path through the field, and got out into the lower road. The mist there was thicker than above, so that it was difficult to keep to the path. A dull, yellow spot of light guided mei-onward from one roadside lamp to the next. I had gone but a hundred yards or so along the road, when I heard the shrill sound of a policemen's whistle behind me. It was a stupid thing to make an enemy of that constable. I did not tout him on my heels, Was he following me? I stood still and looked back. Nothing was visible but the grey mist and the dim glow of the lamp I had passed. I held my breath to listen, and, hearing no sound, came to the con- clusion that, having followed me down the hill, and there being at a loss which way to turn, he had given up the pursuit, content• ting he with a vindicative whistle. It is a law of nature, thought I, the strong extirpate the weak ; and this fellow is no worse than the well-fed dog who snaps at a starved and spiritless our. With this reflection I was about to go on again, when a quick, heavy atep fell sudden- ly upon' my ear, and a man passed so close that I could hear his deep breathing and distinguish his silhouette against the light. er background. It was a second constable, hastening to answer the call of my first ac• quaintance, He must have cut across the strip of common that borders the road in that part. The damp turf made his approach noiseless until he gained the hard pathway. Ho did not see me, that is certain, for the moment after he reached the road he broke into a run as tate whistle tees blown again. I waited till the retreating footsteps grew faint, and then I hurried on towards Ham With all the haste and silence possible, for if the police got upon my scent the purpose with which I had come here would be frrvs• orated. When I got through the village, and, stopping, heard no eound, 1 felt safe. Abotitbalf a milebeyond Ilam is an estate which ab that time bad recently been lint• chased by l'dr. Percival Thane, It dorivos its name, the "Cedars," from a ma. jostle avenue of thee° trees which lino the carriage drive from the road, by the riverside to the house. In the front the grounds are separated from the road by a pair of enormous iron gates and a lake, tdhe sides areproteoted by h0avilybuttre0s• ed brink walls ten feet high, tint the back it; out off from the adjoining park by a wooden paling, then in course of repair, By an opening in these palingo I got into tho grounds easily, for I knew my way well, I was not afraid of pursuit. The poliaa would never think of looking for me hone whither only ono could mega itis way on such e, night who was aoouetomed to grop- begalong the walls in the dark, Yet t had to approach the hou0e with caution, The Clock in the belfryover the stables ha, PUMA out twolvo mat before I rea011od the dazzled, as if l were looking at a great light. The wrap in which she had muffled herself to fetch me was thrown off, and now her head, her nock, and her arms were bare. She wore an evening dress of delicate rose. pink, and a thick silk that, following the line of her figure to the waist, broke there into sharp folds, like a drapery of the old wood -carvers. A glow of light clung about the fabric, making her awns look like un- polished marble, just as her face was made whiter by contrast with her )lark hair coil. ed upon her head. Diamonds sparkled on her slender throat, and on her wrists and hands. Looking upwards at her she seemed taller nod more graceful than ever I had seen her before. The fine curves of her figure were thew of a woman rather than a girl of eighteen, There was no color in her face. Her oyes were large and clerk, and a tear of pity added to their lustre, That is what low, and wheal see now as I write. It was a vision to impress itself forever on my mind. In the soft glow of the wax lights she stood there, bending over me, It recalled to my mind a picture I had seen of Diana descending to Endytnion on Settnos. But what an Endymiatl My eye, travelling down to her little foot, in its buckled shoe and light sill[ stocking, fell upon my red band as I rested it for sum port on the rug -on my frayed cuff and threadbare eleove-on my "thief's friend," as we fu Shoreditch called those in India - rubbers -on my coarse soak and mudoalced fringe on my corthnroy trousers. A reek of equator and poverty rose with a steam from my sodden clothes. Yet to this young and beautiful ore tare before me I was more than Hudymion to Diana. They were lovers; we, alas, were husband and wife CHAPTER II. CAUGHT. " Are yoa so cold, dear, that you cannot speak to mo?" she asked again in mournful reproach, ' Yes, and I am hungry and wet," I add- ed, sharply, as she pot her band upon my ohoulder and bent lower. But that {yarn. ing did not prevent her kissing my olee1. There aro misfortunes that soften a man's whole nature ; (nine had hardened my heart and made me brutal. I lost sight of her when I looked at myself and the moment. ary feeling of delight and admiration chang • ed to loathing and disgust, " Why should I be thus, ragged and starving, an ob. jeot to be pitied by my wife ?" I asked myself, " Why should I be compelled to shiver in rho fog till the lions°hold was at rest, that I might creep stealthily, like a thief at her haste, to hor rooms?" It was all my own fault; yet, soured by misfortune, brutalised by hoed- ship, I bore a a raneorol10 Ill will towards my poor wife, as though she wore the cause of my sufferings. I had not the grace to auknowledgo horktss, Moodily I bentover the fire, uubottonfng my racket that the heat 'tight get at my Wiled bocl . Swiftly ad silently she brought a table to the fireside, and not out the eentents of a " The doutor ordered ate to be sett to lsnglaul, dear, when 1 was a child," • Yes iut the doctor did net erd0r 1,1 in to limn in India till lin was lin old main." " Well, dear'" said she, adtdttiug the conclusion with a 01 it, " His ptn'pnso in conies to England was Lo got what money °multi not promo hint Out (1018..._11 position 111 suclel3', Ho is iambi. Hem. You have said so, Your beauty his e eoart god him to hope foram alliance whioh will favor his designe evert more than hie wealth. 1f he £011,1,1 you were ma1't'ietl t0 such a -a thing as 1, event he would abandon you to the mot of yolu• choice, and go bank to india, labiatg Itis precious motley with \Yell, dem'," she said again sal paused, "you do not want hfstnoney. ' No, nota penny of it." "Nor I," with a cheerful shape of hor pretty head. " You would bo content with the single room," "And yon, Kit?" 1 could go no further for the minute, look- ing down at her little face all aglow with love, She stretched up her arms and drew my face down to bar lips, and my brain swam as if I itad been suddenly brought out of the darkness face to faro with it ghmpes of paradise. It was a return of the old dream of simple days. It passed. I was awake again. ' Yes, your father would abandon yon to the man of your choice," I said. " \Veli, clear ?" she soul ouee more. " You see nothing more titan that ?" "No, nothing." " 1 do. You eco what hunger and cold do for make roe a brute. I must bo hungry and cold again. The privations I suffer yon must saner also. That will not add to my uoutentment. Your love most die. You moat think with regret of all you have sao•ificwl. You must wish that we had never suet -wish me dead. Wo must hate mach other." She stopped me, saying " No I no I no I" in terror, and covering bar mouth with her hand, as though she feared her emotion ,would force from her a betraying cry. " Yon 10001(1," I insisted; " You do not know what hardships are ; what life is yob awhile." ' We cannot go on for ever like this, Kit. It isn't natural : it is too cruel. " Life is 0rno1," 1 said : and Lien lepsing into moody meditation, I added, vaguely, "No, we cannot go on like this. Something wino be dune. Who were those men who dined here?" " UlHeora in the army, two of them, and another was Lord Somebody. I forget his name. It doesn't matter. Don't worry about them." She saw my face etouding again. " But it does natter. Of course they are invited to come again." "I don't know," Her voice quavered with fear. She knew that jealousy was gut• ting the mastery of toe. Yes, you do know," I mattered. "I -I think papa gave Lien a general invitation." "Yes, mud yon know they'll conte. Ile will throw you at the head of that fellow with thehandle before his name. I'm glad I didn't know they were bete. I should have gone mad, as I shivered out there in the fog, Hilted known thenyon, down there amongst the flowers, were smiling at men arld listening to their flattery. 013, they'll come again I You had better not toll me next time," I added, fiercely, Then in- consequently 1 pursued, for I could not get the gnawing smspioion out of my heart, "Those diamonds were put on to please then: which you took off not to offend me. Perhaps you did not wish me to know that you had been (leaking yourself out to fascin- ate those met?" She rose, and, fetching the diamonds, said, gently - Take them ovay with you, Kit." " No ; it hasn't come to that yet,'? said I brutally. "I came here as a thief, but I leave empty handed. I'in ashamed when I think that I owe your father tor what I have eaten. 13u0 I'll finish that bottle nev- ertheless," emertheless," and I poured out and drank an• other tumbler of Burgundy. It did me good. I was warm enough now, and sinking my head on my shoulders I sank down into these! tquilted ohair, and stretch- ed my Legs out before the fire. " If you would take my purse, dear," whispered my wife, leaning over toe, "only as a loan, it would help you to face your troubles with more courage ; then you would overcome then, and getting nn little by little you could pay me back again:" She 'slipped a purse into my hand, and I was weak enough, base enough, to put it in my pocket. But, the oomselents0ess of my own indignity made me savage, and going back to the old theme I tortured my poor Male wife with my jealous taunts until she wept, and I fell asleep in the chair. It was thus our meetings generally ended. Hobe vatohec over me. 011 I•leaven,,vhat a con- trast between us two 1 I know not how long I hnd been asleep when I woke with a start, hearing a shrill whistle. For the moment I thought I had been looming of the police that followed me down the hill, But there was my wife sitting beside me and clutching my arm, .Chen another whistle sounded outside be- low the window, "What is it?" gasped Reba, A window sash was t•hrovn up, audible enough to our strained ears. A vies called out, "Who's there?" Then froth below came the clear reply - "Police, sir I Come down and let us in, please. And let some one look to that room un your richt. There's a light there, and there's burglars in the house 1" (To nE 001501 PUItn.) The Blue Say: The blue jay is the most persistent prac- tical joker is the feathered kingdom. He will conceal himself in a clump of leaves near the spot where small birtle are aeons. touted to gather, and when they are enjoy ing themselves itt their two fashion will suddenly frighten them almost to death by screaming out like a hawk. 0f course, thoy scatter in every direction, and when they do se the mischievous rascal gives vent to a mottle that sounds very much like a laugh. If be confined his pranks to Fitch jokes as this, however, he would net be such a bad neighbor to birds smaller than himself, but when he amuses himself by breaking the eggs in their nests and tearing the young to penes with his bill, he becomes a pestilent nuisance, and they often combine their forces to drive him out of their neighbor- hood. They do not always succeed, for lie is as full of fight as of mischief, but a severe condiot 100011es blot that they too have rights, and this indnees him to mental his manners, Float Club kaon-'" Is Jackson a man of domoetmc tastes?" Second Ditto -"Very ; I understand ho flirts with the servants." Karry -"Dict they have mo0quitoes. at the Sumner hotel where you stopped ?" Jack-•" I think not, I wasn't charged for any On the 1110." A UA131NET Olt' UU&IOa. strange Thin 05 Cita lrll moat 1pe tfml 1101`o Or d IIl11,i111' 1111111 na»Imo e N nt Orr, Tho Arabs alai,) t11,i4 hvo's tomb is at Jiddalt, the seaport of hlerca, The temple, with (L Trthn tine growing ant of a crack in the rock roof (which is of itself one of the '•enders of the 011011 t, 10 supposed to be hat directly over the lust resting pima of the first ,roman, Aeorating to Arab1radi• tion, Eve mowed over 211 foot in height; which, nnlilcely as it may seen, strangely ralueldea with an account of ou• first parents wriLteu by a 'member of the Froncli Amtd°• my, who also claimed a height, of over 200 feet for both of the tenants of the Carden of talon. Eve's tooth, which is 111 a burying ground that is surrounded by Is high hall, the gate to which Inas not been opened for a single interment for over 1000 years, is the shrine of thousands of devoted Isbmuel- ites, who stake a pilgrimage to the spot once ovary oven yours. Ono each year, on June 3, which 15, according to Arabian 0gobis, the anniversary of the death of Afel, the doors to the tomb of ani' first mother 10105ln open all night no odds what pr°oantions are taken to keep thele closed. 3erribl°cries of anguish are said to emit from the tomb, as though the memory of the first known tragedy etlll haunted the re- mains which blind superstition believe to bo deposited there. 00.50 CArultnAn ODDITI&0. Tho days of the 10011011 and week are al- ways the sane In :March and November, in April atld July, and in September and De. centber ; that is, if March " comes in" on a Monday, November will do likewise the sante mile applying to the other months named above. In leap year January is with April and July, in other years 1t m5 with October. February, in leap year, is with August, in other years w111; March and November. The last dry of February and the 4th day of July always occur o1 the Sante (lay of the week ; the same is 10110 of May Day and Christmas. w'I1L10 WAS CHRIST 0010? Mathematicians who have "figured on it" say that we have no proof that Domineer 21 was the date of the birth of our Saviour. It is nolo pretty generally conceded, and by tl.e best authorities in the world, too, that Christ was not, born on what we call " Christmas," or at any other time during th0 Winter mouths. '1 ho date now almost nniversahly agreed upon is April 13 -not April a of the " year 1, ' but April 5 of the year 4 B. 0., according to our mode of reck- oning time. TUE 0)1ST nAUOttRnitOTI'1B, The first likeness ever sit°cesslelly taken by the Daguerreotype process was one obtain' ed by the late J. W. Draper in June, 1580, fifty•thee years ago. His camera was a cigar box in which he had fastened a com- mon "spectacle lens I Professor Morse, the wizard of the telegraph, succeeded Draper in the Winter of 1840.4 1, From this small beginning the art of photography in America 110.8 grown. A VAT:CABrr•, LITTLE, TOY. Emil \Viuegartenor, a German jeweler of Turin, holy, exhibits a unique novelty in one of his show windows, It 1s a boat made in I853 by a workman in Ur. 1Viuegurtener's employ, and is fashioned from a single pearl The outline, shell and concavities of a real tugboat are true to life. The miniature rail 10 beaten from solid gold, studded with dia- monds. The binnacle light is a ruby of wonderful brilliancy. emerald servos for a rudder, and the stand upon which it Is mounted is of pure ivory. The weight of the bout and stand is less than half an ounce, It is valued at 53000. TIIE "YGLLO0V DAC." September 0, 1881, is well remembered in Maine, New$ampehire, Vermont, and parts of New fork, end Pennsylvania as the " Yellow Day." Canada also took on some of the characteristics noted in the States above mentioned, only that the yellow was of a dull, greenish oast, which aeoonnta for the fact tia6 we refer to it as the "Gruen Day." In the morning the sky had the ap- pearance of being clouded, but as the sun arose it was plainly visible, and of the color of tarnished brass. About midday the in- tense yellow was most apparent ;everything except leaves and grass was of a well tint- ed dark yellow color. The cause of the phenomenon has never been satisfactorily explained. NORTHERN ONTARIO. ,t Seolloa or this Province whleh is Grow- ing in Importance, The colonization department of the Cana. dint Pacific railway have just received re- turns from their agents in northern Ontario relative to the population settled on what was known as the bush lands district, froth Meatawa to Sault Ste. Marie. It is inter- esting to realize that a good number of growin{ towns are (0111111 in that region along the line of the Canadian Pacific, which tiid not exist in 1884, The reports begin with \ltittawa, on the Ottawa river, which is here the boundary between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. In 1880 this mus a Hudson Bay Company's post, and to -day the population is over 2,000. Three-quarters are FL•eveh•Cauodiana, and the remainder Canadians of other origin. Callondat contains about 1,200 cools, throe- (warcors being Frenoh•Canadians, o large percoutare of whom were repatriated from the New England states. North Bay began with the advent of the C. P. 1b., and, while it contained but one house in 1884, the population is to -day in excess of 3,000, and being the junction of the Grand Trunk with the Canadian Paci- fic and the point of departure for the pro. jooted James Bay railway, has a bright future before it. Sturgeon Falls, which had no existence in 1884, has now 800 families, all of which are doing well, and 180 are French-Canadians. The report states that a grist and saw mill are being built at this point. 'Verner is composed of 72 French families, almost entirely repatriated from Holyoke and Lowell, Bess., within the last six or 0e0e1 years. After Sudbury, whioh was described a few days ago in those columns, comes Chelmsford, which has grown from nothing five years ago to au excellent farm. ing settlement, giving good homes to 130 Frenoh•0unadian families. There are (nary good settlements on the Soo branch ao well, and the fact that this northern portion of Ontario Inas been settled by 1"rovoh•Cam adians is due .to the work of one man whose miesion has been to promote tbo emigration of the hardy race just mentioned. A gen, tlematt interested in tine same work refer, rod, in the Pmpire's heating to -day, to tho recently formed colonization society of Sault Ste, Marie, which has taken. as its motto the sottlomtnt of Algoma, and, as it le composed of English speaking people from 'Ontario, ho sold tlttt we naturally supposed that the resuite of their work would be rho colonittattoh of that diatriot by I'idnglioh•apoaking Bottlers, however, the gentleman in question observed that the Ontario Government appeared to be supine in the matter. At all events ono 10,0,0 110 oatwarda°tivilynntheir put. Ic (0teltidod by saying that there watt iso part (n the 1)o - mini')) lnoru propel oils 1h,u, the district of Nipissiug mot "1l1(tna in 0, )there Omat'lo, RAILWAY AN 1) A1IN INCA. .81, 11Inp00tlsnb CW1,1.11080 Which Toronto ('11lzees Are Aluganed In. Messrs, Arthur 13, I•ee and Hugh 131ai)1, oC To'outo, iutt•e)uet returned from a two weeps' trip in rho 11'011 1'00011 round about Port Arthur. '171,0 a )ociai ollject of their journey 10,59 10 attondl ilio aunnml meeting of the Pott Anther, Duluth and Western Railway Company, in which they and other gentlemen hero are largely interested. Ad- vantage was take) of the occasion to make a personal inspectiml of the road and the country through which it runs, so as to obtain an idea of tie resonreos of the localities tributary to the road, and the probable revcnuo of the company. 11ront these gentlemen it isascert°mad that their road is now finished for about 80 utiles, and will be completed to the Canadian boundary line at the Narrows, between Otte Mint lake and Magnetic bake, ,Lbout the end of this month. A short lino fs also being built by the sante porties on the United States side, running into extensive iron tomues. They paid a visit to the property of the Gun Flint Iron Company in the state of Minnesota, about four miles from the end of the Canadian line of tin Port Arthur, Duluth and Western. This is said to be the finest iron mine in the state, not oven excepting the eelebt'ated iron mines at Tower and Ply or the much•telkod of Mas- snba muses, There are out•cr0ppongs of the finest ore covering a etrotoh of over three miles and boymed doubt contains millions of tons of the highest grade of magnetic Iron ore, This company recently madeacontract with the Port Arthur, Duluth and Western railway to furnish at least one hundred thousand tone of iron ore annually for 10years for shipment in bond over the company's road to 1 orb William or Port Atwitter, thence to be forwarded by urate' to the eastern states, and the opinion is freely expressed) that the actual ehipments will far exceed the quantity eon tracted for. It would seem impossible to place a limit to the iron industry in this locality on either side of the national boundary. There ate eteelle11 indications on the (Jonathan side, and the oniy thing requirad is capital for their speedy development.. Specimens of ore have been shown ue front alocetien near White Irish lake, close to the track, free from sulphur, with only the slightest trace of phosphorus, and wit tell slmwa65per cont. of iron and 15 per cent. of manganese. On account of the largo percentage of manga- nese this ore is sant to be worth 31,50 pee ton more than any ore in the United States. E.citement is minting high ail through tins region, and if only asmalll prenentagoof the °spectacfon of those interested be realized the people of Canada will bo astonished at the result. The prospects of this pioneer Canadian mineral road aro p0aclioally un- bounded. In addition to the iron traffic there will be an immense lumber trade, and tete company hes already salve large con- tracts for hauling logs. Train loads are now coming down the road 'laity. Besides this there is a splendid farming country for settle- ment along rho White Fish valley, and there will also be considerable traffic ft'on) the °scores of silver mines. along the lite of the railway. It is gratifying to hear soh reports from these gentlemen. 1u the language of one of them : "alining in this section must assmnc prodigious proportions, and no railway in Canada has ever com- menced operations with anything like as favorable prospects as the Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway Company." Mr. W. R. Brock is bio newly -elected president, and the head office of the oom. pony is likely to bo moved to Toronto. It is exceedingly interesting to hear these gen- tlemen describe the grandeur of the scenery along White Fish lake, Sand lake, iron Range lake, Iron lake, North lake, Gun Flint lake and Magnetic lake and to hear them tell their experience across lakes, over mountains and through gorgeous valleys. In addition to solid wealth the country of- fers good sport. Before leaving Fort Will. iam a deputation of the members of the corporation and prominent citizens met Messrs. Lee and Blain and the contractors, Messrs, Middleton S Conmae, and discuosed the question of building ore docks on the bank of the Kananistiquia river. The chances are that docks will be arranged for at an early date capable of handling 1,000,- 000 tons of ore per annum. The people are agitating fora smelter and expect assistance from the Ontario Government at its next sess1on, We don't know that any spot in the Dominion combines so many advantages for smelting as this iocality will after the completion of this railway. These are the kinds• of enterprises which should be en. eonraged in Canada. A Picture Factory. A picture factory is a place in which they put blank canvasses on• shelves running round the walls. Thou a man cones along rod paints in the sky on canvas No. 1, then passes on and paints in the slay on canvas No. 2, and so on all round the room. Then another man comes and paints it a sandy shore; then another, and paints in a tree; then another, and paints in the son; then another, and paints in a ship upon the sea. Then those pictures, whioh are as liko each other as two pins, are, by a beautiful di- vision of labour, finished, so to speak, in less fano° than no time. And they call the first "0n a Smiling Shore ;" the second, "Where the Wavelets Kiss the Sands ;" the third, "The Ship that Sailed." They give oaoh picture a different title, I be- lieve they keep a man whose sole business is to find the titles. He must be the most ingenious, not to say imaginative, man in the place. The whole affair ie a beautiful exposition of the applicability to commer- cial purposes of the Hoo arts. Succotash. Put one pint of tender Lima beans in a etewpan with two quarts of boilingwater and a teaspoonful of salt, and boil gently for one Motto. Cut enough green corn from the cob bo make one quart. Put this in a stowpan with one plot of hot mill[, ono -quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, ono teaspoonful of sell, and one tablespoonful of butter, and cook tot five minutes, Drama the water from the beans and season them with a levet teaspoonful of salt, a little pepper and one tablespoonful of butter, Stir them into the dish ot oorn and milk and eoolc for Rve min- utes longer. Servo very hot, Yat was Going fot Rio Shears• Captain (to green sailor) :y "1 Pat, my lad go aloft and trim the sails. Pat (starting to go bolow); "Y. es, sot,'." Captain (sltarpljy) t "Here, what are. you going below for Pat; "For me shears, captain, dear I Sure you don't think 01 •rood bo ether thrmmmin' the oath wid mo fiugors, do yezt"