Loading...
Exeter Advocate, 1901-11-7, Page 6.4441, ITrri, orate.s.seeTeesa-o-raTurei-usauJE91... d01,1% 4 7 An,' tile children's there too, till right, ;lust lit out an' left 'pin, as I'll), a sianer" "As he's a *lama' !" growled the other voice indignantly. ''It's brutes (lo thiags like that, They ain.'t 1,4,074, Trir011, LA_LLTTC:14.1-1. ihe book shaped to the ilcier and lionoria Keller 'sat back in her chair with a gentle yawn. -That \Tomas was a hero," she said alonch, '''The kind I'd 111:e to be. . never wanted to be any tiling quite as 'lunch as to be.a hero. 'Dear, dear, that's what ,I,.tised ,to:lie tirider the tre,es and di'eain - about, 'while 3,2=or girls dreamed about lovers. To do something splendid and brave --think of that 1 Heigho ' She crossed the room and survey- ed her small, trial figurein the suir, tors with a otieer deliane in liel• 1.Pe. "Oh, it's you .again, is it ?.'" she cried, always you.; always! Never somebody tall and • fine and liere..ish. you'dmake a pretty hero, wouldn't you ? Bid you think .heroes were cut out five feet tall in their Ames? And had round baby faces and dimples.? Dimples ! " She turned away and paced rest- lessly up: and down the bright little room. The gentle purring of the sleeping children stole out to her faintly through the half -open door.: Once, when she failed to hear it, she stopped M het 'walk to listen anx- iously. Heavy feet tramped by, now, and then, in the corridors, but the step she was waiting for did not come. 1:1Te's late again," she said aloud, in the fashion Of lonely woinen. "Ile was late yesterday and day be, - fore, and day before that --world without end." A Sadden " bitterness distorted her sweet face. Horne 1 What kind of parody on the word was this pair , of little rooms in a great noisy hotel ? Was there the slightest resemblance to a home about them ? They were bright with gaslight and pretty with the bits of womanly touches her wistful fingers had given them. She had wrested the horror of hotel rooms fromthem against heavy odds. And how the children had helped ! cled's horse, over there in the corner, Nell's sorry doll on the couch, the Tiny One..'s rubber dogs and cats everywhere,— bless them, how they helped ! Honoria Keller had been married eight years and she had never had a tome. From one liotel or boarding- house to another they had drifted restlessly. 'The children had been born in hotels—that was Honoria's greatest grief. It seemed like doing the children a great wrong. When Harry laughed at her the hurt deep- ened and widened. It was all Harry's doings, anyway. When they hacl money enough, he said, in his easy way, they would have a home. Time enough. Suddenly the woman pacing the bright little room uttered a sharp sound of pain. The old wound would not bear opening. She hurried to her ' usual refuge, the children ''"‘in their beds. Their little flushed, r.eaceful faceS always calmed her.. l'Irou don't lay it Up, do you ? " the =Other sobbed softly. "you know mother wanted to give you a home to be born Nell, Tiny One! You don't lay it up ?'" For a little while she sat beside them, in the darkened room, touch- ing their little cheeks in turn, with the soft mother kisses that never waken. Then, comforted, she went back again to the light. But the evening wore on, dragged on, with- out the sound of familiar steps out- side the door. Somewhere a clock chimed 10, then. 11, then 12. "It Was 12 last night," .she said,i and waited. Then 1 O'clock rang out in. ' clear note. "It was 1 the day be- fore yesterday," Honoria, said, They had parted in bitter anger in the morning, but that was too fa- miliar a thing to count. Lately the partings had all been angry or cool- ly indifferent. When had they kissed each other good-bye in the morning? Honoria caught her breathin sharp klistreSs. "At home we ,Would — it would, be different if we hada home.! " she cried out a little wild- ly, "Now can we love each Other this way, withoulsa home ?" The great house settled into quiet: Somewhere, a great way Off, doors Shut witha final Clang, and loud key's creaked in their •locks, "He will not come to -night," Honoria said: But She waited, until morning. She had waited, that way before, and , in the morning Harry had come. This time it .was different. In the morn- ing a messenger boy brought her a frOM him, "Have gone away: 'Yea will not be sorry, It has been in the, wind some time. • I should. liked to have kissed the children ' good -by. }Tarry" HoW long it was she sat there with the brief little note in her hands, before frightened imperative little lingers tugged' and pulled her back to semi-consCiousaess; Honoria •Kela ler never knew... The weight. on -her heart did not fift or ease. • It seem- ed. to crush , 'and. choke her, .• The queer, metallic; voice Shat .ansWered the children's: wondering ..questions. was not her .voice, She did not wonder; it terrified' .the Tiny One. ''You. isn't like mammaa-I 'ants pa- pa !'he wailed. "Lie has gone a-War—you will not, besorry," repeated - Honoria stilted- ly, '`it, has been in- the. Wiad, some-, tline. was sorry not to kiss the She caught her breath .as the. row of stared little faces 'printed itSelf On her staring retinas. A. sudden Wave of keen,. pitiless Ceti- scionsnesS Swept over , a hoed. :rt was all so plain not ! • The kind- ly mist hadlifted front her mind., That daY somehow lited itself out, and thenthe neXt, .8mnehow,. for the- Children, Honoria lived. The throb and Smart of her 'hurt,. were all she realized at first.'" Small things Made no. iinpreSsion On her. mind.' Years afterWard she 'bonder - cd 'whether on those first days the sun: had shone, or it had rained. It was a chance remark sheoverheard that arplaSed her from et 1 eth orgy. Stimeone Outside in the corridor Mado the reinark to someone else. "The woman in that roorn there Ilo 2j—'s ffeen closer fed " the Slxange vo40 Sail'", in What was meant for an Undertone. "Yes, Sir, deSerted Sotulds i.ka novel, men," :there was sympathyin both l'engti 'voices, but Honoria tlicl net heed. The words, not tile tones, burut i11 - to her brain. Was that it ? Was Harry a brute ? Dear Lord in yen, was she ciese).3ed ?'' Not Harry would ept do. that she •:eried in angaisli. went away—We were angry with each oth- er. [le thought 1 Would not be sor- ry. Not .s01'rY1'.' She sprang to the' floor anel paced to andfro, till the. frightened children crept .C1Way , by theinsolVes. • • But the days that .went by grew into weeks,, and be did not come. And 01. last the kind-hearted rrOpti- otot; was drive/1 to take the step he liatt been. dreading. Ile went to No. 21 • one evening and knocked gently.. . , "Come in," a 'weary voice :said. "Ah—good evening, Mrs. •Keller, good evening," be said nervously: is, 1,"Ve---er--,called, on, a ter- ribly embarrassing errand: I've put it 'off •and Put it 011, hoping he'—that is, Mr, .Keller—would show up again. I want you to believe it .was an aw- ful jolt.for Inc to come up here to- night and -say it, but,: Mrs. Nelleraa- that .caught out his hand- kerchief and . inept ed his fade. 'There's a bill against:your husband for three .months' beard," he blurted out, desperately. Honoria sat looking at himstead- ily, letting this new disgrace filter into her brain. She did not flinch before it. • "You mean,'" she said quietly, are' ter a 'minute or two, "that Har as that my Inishand owes you a good deal of money for our board, his and Mine and the. children ?" 'Yes, that is—er—a modicum, modicum.'' • . "And that We Must go a."Way at once ? Of course I. see that. But -s but—" for the first time her sweet voice broke,. "but I have no 'asaatey to pay the bill. Writ! I:lease don't say a word. Please go away and let me think. I must tnink. You will give me time to think." But how to think ? Honoria wrestled all night with her problem. 011e thing was definitely clear. • She must pay the bill before she wept away. A way,—a way,—oh, .to find a wa3r !. What WaS. to come after - Ward did not matter yet. This mountain must be climbed first. The next morning 5110 .,notiped a sisal posted below ovee the laundry Windows.. "Wanted: a first-class wo- man to do fine ironing. Fancy pay for fency work. Apply within." 'Grandmother used to tell inc I ironed her caps beautifully,'.' oria said, a sudden resolve in her mind. "But perhaps—nows-Ttm not a first-class woman," she added: with a pitiful little smile. 1310., she ap. plied for the work and' got it'. She and the children took a cheaper room in one of the "attics and; she went resolutely to work tr.) earnthe money to pay the hill. That the work was terribly taxing to her slender strength did not deter her. And little by little she saved •the money. Afterward she wondered : now she only worked. The night the sum she was saving had grown . to the needful dime/ism/1S, her Poor .sore heartwas almost light.On the way al to her atticshe overheard some- one calling her a hero.' It .sent her straight ,to her blurry little mirror. "You don't look it l" she said to. the warn, shabby little figure before her, but she emilecf a little and nod - dell to it, friendly -wise. "You were always wanting to be one, and I sup pose this was the hest yeti •••con.ld That was the 'night Harry •came back. He was . terribly thin and wan. -t'pear," he said, after the long explanation was .over, "he* could you think I would desert you• like that ?" • • "I didn't," she .answered simply. "And I didn't," he said,' as if he had. not said it already '&2, dozen times. "There was 110 time to write a longer note that night, when the Head madeup. his. mind at, last- to send•ree about his •business in. • such a hurry. :And then,"—ho shuddered —"then the smash On the train and the nothingness—enothingness—neth- bagness.". ,'Oh, hush !" she shuddered. "And. When I came out of it," :he persisted, "I'.coaldn't remember. I only reineinbered Honoria." "Only to7day,.. dear," she cried joyfully. "But, Harry,- to -day is now ! ,And to-morrow—do yen know what we aresgoing to .do to -mor- row ?" "Yes,—wait, let me say it ! • • To-, morrow. , we're going somewhere -- borne, •Honoria." Ti.lASY TO IDENTITY. An amorous young 'nail sent a let- ter to a German lady; and this post- script WaS added : 'That •my darling may make no mistake, remember that t will wear a light pair of trousers and a dark cutaway coat. 1„p my right hand I will carry a. small cane, and in my left, a cigar. Yours ever, Adolphe." The - father replied courteously, stating, that his daughter had given, him authority to represent her at the apphinted, place at the time agreed on. His postscript was as foliows : "Dot mine son may make no.,,mis- take, 1 -till be dreshed in rnine 'shirt- sleeveS, 1 vill year in mine right hand a glub ; in inine left hand 11 vill vear a six-shooter. Y01.1 viflr- cognize me by de vay T bats you on de head a' goople times twice mit de club. Vait for me at tie corner, a,s have sothedings important to inform -you init. You)! frient, Heinrich Lawyer—"I must know the Whole truth before I can sucCeSsfully:, (Id - fend you. 1TaYe you told ine every- thing, ?" Prisolter--.Tlxcept where I hid tbe inaney 1. Want that for my - Self,' 20 per cent. of all insane pe ens 1.ave become 00 111 1'Ough drink, TI114.1 FARM REPAIR 51-1011'. often \vender how I nshd to got along without a repair shop, writes J, F. 11 homas. The building need not be expensive but tight and warm. One cud Should be rigged up for blacksmithing. Build a hearth of stone ,and ordinary clay mortar, with a good-sized flue., about nine bricks to the round. An opening should be left at the proper place for • the admission of a 5 or 6411 stove pipe. Pl'Oetire a blower .or bellows, an anvil, a drill press, a vise, some dies and taps, -17 to in, for cutting thieacl, a hammer, tongs and two or threo sizes of heading tools. Steel punches for 1101 iron are alsb neces- sary, but these can be made. .:After some experience, many other tools can be made that come handy. Much of the equipment mentioned can often be gotten second-hand from machinists or 'blacksmiths. Col- lect all • ltinds of scrap iron, bolts, old horseshoes, etc., from about the farha Much useful iron may often be gotten for a trifle at public sales. Old horseshoes welded together and worked out are very useful for mak- ing nails, rivets, links for cnains, etc. I have ,been using for several years a heavy farm chain made en- tirely from old horseshoes. As to the actual work in this line, many valuable hints may be gotten from a good-natured , blacksmith. One may need instruction particularly on the working and tempering of steel. For a time the novice may be dis- courag,',ed by his seeming awkward- ness, but after he gets the set of his harnmer and the hang of his tongues, some experience in welding, etc., there will bo little repairing that need be taken away from the farm. Put in the other end of the build- ing 0 & bench or table. Provide a cross -cut hand -saw, nine teeth to the inch, a square, a smoothing, a jack an(1 a for plane, a brace with at least seven bits differing, in ..size inch. three or four sizes of chisels, a. drawing knife, miter square and a hand ax or bench hatchet. A supply of -different sized nails and wood screws. This will equip 'the wood- working end of the shop for all or- dinary , repairing. Many .new im- plements can be made and ironed complete later. Now get or make a sewing or sadler's horse, procure some needlos, wax and thread, har- ness rivets, etc. Put up a stove, fix up the harness and gather the plows, harrows and other implements that `need ropairS. OUR COMPETITORS. The odds that Canada has to com- pete with in dairy products have become such as toaleave no room for uncertain speculation or waste of tinse. lier position near the head of the procession can be maintained only by unceasing vigilance. Her competitors are yearly becoming, more numerous. and the demands of the markets more exacting. Eng- land, t.he Meccaof the world's dairy- men, is beiug studied like a book, her' every demand receives instant at- tention, and when her demands are not Sufficiently exacting, her willing caterers are ready with suggestions which are no sooner made than com- plied with. Tho race for first place is a hot one and the competitors are powerful. At present there is a party of seventeen Russian gentle- men 011 11 tour of inspection of Great Britain's markets for agricultural products. The sending of this 12oni.- mission is part of the programme of M. de Witte, the Russian 'Minister of Finance, and the expenses of the trip are being' defrayed by the Gov- ernment. An English exchange re- ferring to this commission says :— "They evinced the greatest interest in learning how the butter from Australia, Canada, Denmark, —and other countries is imported into this country. No detail. 'however small, was allowed to escape unnoticed, for it is their desire to learn all they can about the wants of British con- sumers, and the customs of Brit- ish markets. , "Russia has decided to 'self her own products to the markets of the woeld," said one of the Russian gentlemen. "Germany and Denmark have a long time been the middlemea for the trade of Russia in England. butt all thataanust -stop. Such cern- missions as ,this one are to be sent abroad until we discover what is wanted a,nd hew to send it, and then Russia will take care of her own Denmark sends four times as much butter to England as does Russia,. .but at least one-half of it conies from Russia to Denmark before being sent over here. I1 is our object to do away with the middlemen alto- gether.'' FEEDING. CORN FODDER. My corn shocks are of average/size and when husketi aro tied at the top Nvith binder twiae, writes Mr. W F. Smith. When,ready to house two men Pull the bottoms together with a rope and tie with same twine. The shecksare rolled on a hay frame upa wide ladder which drags behind. This fall 1 silarf try tile 'silage waggon, 11 think ,two men Can lift a Shock upon' such 'a wa.ggpn. These shocks are placed in the barn with a horse hay fork, and, While stilt tied, 'they are lifted ,by lutrid with the seine fork to the cute ter Platform,, which is .as tighsabove the upper floor as I could Ulake it. 9'he, mitter is l'1111, by a one-horse, level • tread power on the' ground, CIO 100111 for .the fodder, .and all things to be cut, adjoins the one ,th e fioor 1111(1 ihie 011111101' plat-, form, and iS one story. The steel track for horse fork runs full length of this room ot-es the cutter platform. T1 enea th the blades of my cuttthr, Which has a down. stroke, is 0. cylmder W1130h grinds, CliCrM,S 'Or 111a:,iticetes the fodder ;Am. it is cilia , 'Aly stock eat it WithoUt waste. They aro call g11 now, and 111037 are by no mean S 5101'17011, t0 it. For bed- ding in stall, sty and coop it is su- . peri,01. Tile hear 1 of the MI ol Mat, - ter is the ntastieatot. it is' io splitto, a shredder, nor a slicer. GLASS IN POUlitItY Seiehtifie men claim that glass in poultry houses makes them warmer in 101 11101 both by night and day. The theory they adymice is, that the light waves are so short that they will pass into the house through the glass, but are there changed into heat waves which are too long to agai1i escape through the glass. They say that thus it is easier for the heat to get into the house than to get out of it again. This being true it is advisable to give the poultry houses an abundance of light, PLAN WELL. In planning a home for yourself or your farm animals, let us .suggest giving the maturest thought to con- venience. Foresee • the daily steps that must be teleu dnd the extra tune unnecessa(y steps wilt require. Thin; is not only money on the farm as in the shop or behind the counter, but the saving of one's self is important. The cares of many a housewife are doubled by inconve- Mently planned homes, and manY a man wastes valuable time in feeding and caring for his steck beeause Of inconveniently planned barns, sheds and. yards. Home is like a book, whose pages are made up of the days of our lives. When the coming is ccanpleted it thlts the story of our life tvork--whether our daily plans have made it a failure, a partial or complete success. SARDINE TINS: Frenchman Made a Fortune Out .01 Them. At the'end of the siege of Paris by the Prussians, the keeper 01 11 Par- isian wine -shop found himself com- pletely ruined. Fie clicl not know where to turn for broad for his fam- ily. In a yard at the bask of bis shop there was a large accumulation of old sardine tins. Sardines. in his better days, court- ed his especial patronage, and a box of them was found on Ins table every day. At the eame-time that he oame across this pile of old tins, he happened to learn that the solder with • which they were hermetically sealed was a valuable commodity, and it occurred to him that it might be possible to recover it" from- the broken tins and sell it at a good prolit—which he did, Being a man of.some ingenuity, he improvised a small furnace, and fin - mediately began making experiments in this direction. They turned out satisfactorily, and the price that the solder thus reahzed enabled him to keep going. He saw that there was every like- lihood of a good business to be done—the germ of it had declared itself—and so he contracted with a number of master ragpickers to sup- ply him with all the old sardine tins they could lay hands upon. He soon found 'himself at the head of a growing concern, aud looking over matters one day he conceived the idea that there was a deal of waste in the metal that was thrown away after the solder had been extracted. At all times material moans mo- ney, only we don't always know how to convert it into pounds, shillings, and perre. The thought struck him—Why not make tin soldiers and other toys' out of the metal which'- U1) to that mo- ment was considered as only waste ? The result of that inspiration was the -- in after years = establish- ment of 'several factories in many parts of France. Millions of metal pieces in the shape of children's toys are turned out annually from these workshops, and Monsieur Dreg has built up a huge fortune on old sardine tins. RUSSIA TRAINS FARMERS. Experiment Stations and Model FarmEstablished. The Ii.ussian GoVernment has adopted a novel method* of educating farxners in Siberia. Experimental stations and sample farms have been established at convenient locations at which the peasants have been taught how to handle machinery and how to use their strength to the best advantage. They have been furnish- ed with seed and with good breeding stock, and it is now possible for'an eaile or 0./1 emigrant to obtain a good agricultural education in a feNt months at or near the capital of every -Siberian, province. To those who live at a distance the school has been carried. Wherevet:'''there is a navigable river the agricultural de - par talent has provided immense floating gardens whiPli are moved from place to place as object lessons and schools of instruction for the peasant farmers. .111)011 the decks of large barges all forms 'of vegetable life are growing and all sorts of im- plements and machinery are display - cd, including simple contrivancefor the care of live stock and bees. When this barge reaches the village the church bell is rung and the starosta, or mayor, sends out messengers to summon the people from the fields, For several days the teachers are en- gaged in explaining the best methods. of producing plants and cultivating the ground; tlie uses and advantages of the implements and machinery, the care' of cows and sheep, togs, poultry and bees, and illustrated lectures are given upon gardening and other agri- cultural inch/shies. The questions of the peasants are answered intell gently. If the cattle or the sheep in that neighborhood ate afflicted with diseases their oNV11erS are given the best remedies and taught how to use them. 'There are sevenal lainclre.d of these floating agricultural colleges in the Russian Empire, and it is impos- sible to everestima,te, the 'good' they lia,Ve already aceoliipligliecl, • .,....NT,•;wAgs...,.01,P.0:trruNt-....• te' eat, ati...apPle...?",.. • .•••••• • ••••••• • get••,field:s. THEY SPY OIJT THE SCHEMES OF OTHER NATIONS, John Bull Pays ';',..320,000 a Year in Secret Service Money.— Dangerous Work. • When, at the beginning of last Year Mr. Balfour announced in the British Parliament, that the vote for Secret Service was to be increased from $150,000 to 8820,000 a great many people fell, surprised. Tlio majority of folks had long seriously believed that, the British Service existed only in the pages of the novel. As a /natter of fact, however, it is a very live organization indeed. But from.. their very nature, its workings seldom come into the glare of pub- licity. No details are ever asked or given, provided the Ministers re- sponsible for the expenditure of the Lund take the following- oath : -1 swear that the money paid' to me for foreign secret service, or for detecting, •preventing, and defeating conspiracies against the State, has been bona fideapplied to tho said purpose -and no other." Occasionally a few facts leak out, but it is very seldom. Only last jaamary it became of vital importance that the British Admiralty should obtain certain in- formation 'about the French sub- marine boats. For months -past the French naval: authorities had been trying , to throw, dust in Britain's eyes by the publilation in French engineering journals of misleading plans. It was recognized that there was •only one rmnedy—a secret ser- vice agent must be employed. . The selection. of .this „man. was •no light 'task-. ,His identity is to this' day known only to a few. His am-, PloYers may lia-Ve been the Admiralty or the warship contractors, Messrs. Vickers Sons and Maxim. This mat- ters little. His qualifications were it thorough knowledge of engineering, the capacity- to speak Frenah like' a native, and the ability to obtain the necessary billet as it mechanic in Cherbourg Dockyard. BELLEVILLE BOILERS Within a few months of his ap- pointment he., had furnished, the Ad- miralty with the most valuable in- formation. Everything was going ,swinuningly, when suddenly—he was silent. From that day to this he has been as one dead. There is a rumor at Cherbourg that a British SPy was recently caught red-handed, and secretly' sentenced to life-long fortress labor. But—that is all. Govern/limits do not refer to these matters officially; ‘and the spy who fails is lost. Rather less than ten yearS ago a good-humored looking little .man boarded one of the Messageries Mari- time' mail steamers, plying between 'France and Australia, and speedily fraternized with its' chief engineer. He was the new under -engineer, and he evinced an interest in his ' Work that put him very high in t h o esti- ma ion of his chief. Early and late lie was -to be found hovering round the vessel's "Belle - vines," anxiously watching tempera- tures, pressures and feed valves, and always ready to lend a hand at the slightest hitch. Ile Made two voy- ages out. and home,'and then sud- denly quitted the service.. . A few hours later, -Edouard Gau- din, a native of Guernsey, who spoke French and English with equal facility, and than whom the British Navy -had no more loyal engineer ,officer, had told Sir John Durston, Engineer -in -Chief of the British Navy alt there was to know about the water -tube boiler. He spoke of its wonderful capacity for • raising steam at a few hours' notice, of its safety' in case of aesi- dents of, the thousand and One ad- vantages of the new' type of steam raiser.. Perchance he dwells, too, upon its .disadvanta,ges. BRIBERY STOPPED SOLDIERS.... Be that, as it ma3r, it. is not too much to °.say that, the intrepid en- gineer •took his life in his own hands when he entered the :French com- pany's service. Had his: identity been diScovered he would probably, have "fallen overboard," or been. "crushed in the 'crank pit," or' met with one of those' thousand and one little disasters which—accidentally, ,of Course—happen to unpopular peo- ple' on thehigh seas. " English history teems with inci- dentS of successful secret service, not always to., its own advantage. , The failure of the historic ierench inva- sion of Ireland, in 1706,. was largely due to a inclicious use of the Secret .Service funds. The expeditions' which was under the command of General 'Roche- and the ,notorious Wolfe Tone, corn - prized forty -throe ships and 14,009 ‘s:cadiers, besides, heavy,Siege artillery and large tillalltitieS of arins and .ammunition.; ,With, its arrival 0,11 Bantry Bay, a heavy tempest .and enoWstorin not only prevented an iininediate. landing, blit drove, many of the vesselpout to sea,. Amongst them .was the Genera,'s ship, the Fhaternite. , Three weeks later she ran into La. Rochelle without her consorts, NV110.,, after vainly waiting their G en eral 's return 'reluctantly returned, to France. The inyasicin had, failed.' But the! failure WC18 not so much. due to the Warring, elements ,cifed - by the Fratetnite's c'ap tain as to that gen,,, tleman's -venial proceeding 'in,:aceept- ing .a heavy British bribe, to 'delay the landing of the expedition by .eyery means in his power. On the evening of u 11815, an. officer in the unirorfn of the .7th Missal's rode into a little' village near Waterloo', in Which some 13r1t- ish regiments' were quartered. Check - Mg his horse outside an inn, door, he called' to 'seine artilier:vnien ho were lounging near, and d.einanded to see their officer, Major Lealhcs. 'He -was infornied that the officer in question was not '111 the .village. He' 'then thoroughly catechised the gunners as to their. Strength In horseS, inenand 111 order that he mi,ght detet- mine 'whether Japt d .1 a could stable there an additional 200 horsos for the night: 'After bullying the local "MaYor, and ordering the 111011 11 sight and left, he gracefully remount- ed his pony an(1 rode out of the Vit. itige, just as Major Leathos entered it from t -he opposit q direction Eventually it transpired that, 110 1001 14. lilelaber 0! Nap() 10011'S Celebrated secret service. But, so boldly had he played his part, that none felt more pleased at Ins escape than thc 9.1cmunies he had so cleverly hoaxecl. Those who have read Pennimorc Cooper's fictitious "Spy," and -have followed the fortunes of the gallant .young British spy, Major A ndre, who was shot by Washington's artier, must be numbered by millions. 13u11 it is a C11110US fact that the ,most 'useful spy ever employed bY a Brit- ish general died in poverty, practi- cally ueknown to the miTtion he lute benefi tted. 'THE GREATEST SPY. The 11)1111 111 (11.10511011 WELS Colqu- houn Grant, who throughout, the P 1ueonsittisii,liitlls' to dWar intoWntils;on cle eVr. t si'fia culty for spying; out an eaemy's plans and strength was that or a "B.P.," whilst his escapade's be- littled thohe Qf a -De Rougemont. His watchword was "Thorough,' afid ,to this he owed most of his great successes, of whi9.,„a"orie inci- dent Must, suffice. On a certain oe- casion when the l'rench occupied 'fa/names, they began to openly pre- pare for the storming of Rodrigo. Their officers made no secret of the fact that Marment intended to move against that town ou the earliest possible occasion, Wellington, how- ever had his suspicions Of this em- barrassing frankness, and Grant was dispatZhed to ferret out the trith. He coacealed himself in a wood near Tamames, where the road branches to Rodrigo and Perales. Shortly afterwards the French moved out to the assault. Regimont after regi- ment, gun after gun, Weggori after waggon, tramped down the 'Rodrigo road, until G rant ca 1 cul ated th t practically the whole French force had passed. Nino men out of -ten would have returned post haste to headquarters, and reportoci the im- minent assault of Rodrigo. But Grant was one of the tenth. His eagle eye had not been so dazzled by the huge force, the siege artillery, and the direction of the march, but that it had missed one indispensable adjunct of an assault. He rapidly doubled bank to Tamames, found the town empty, save for the French- men's scaling ladders, and forthwith was able to report that the invest- ment was only a feint. It is this eye for detail that marks the (livid- ing line between the reat spy and the mere gas -bag. OSTRICH FARMING. Latest Reports' as to the Welfare of the Industry in Cape Colony A correspondent writes from Cape Town that for the past fifteen years ostrich farming in Cape Colony has been a highly successful industry. In the past ten years ending in 1899, before the beginning of the war, the' number of the birds increased from 11.5;000 to 261,000. Twenty-five years ago the statistics of Cape Colony said that there were only ten tame ostaichcy in the colony. The birds each yield about a pound and a half of feathers every 'year, the average value being about $12 a pound. The finest feathers, of course are the wing feathers of the male bird, which are -long and white and bring from $50 to $70 a pound. It takes eighty of them to make a peund. The wing feathers of the female 'ostrich are ranch lower M value because they are always gray. The supply was much smaller when it came wholly from wild birds and the best quality of feathers frequent- ly brought, as much as $135 a. pound. As each male bird yields only n,bout twelve or fifteen of these feathers and as there is always a steady- dO-` mand for them the price is not like- ly to fah Much until the ostrich farming industry becoines larger than it is nOW. Twenty ',Oars ago almost all the feathers that cmne into the markets were from the ,wild birds. most of them from North Africa,. Now, how- ever,, a .dealer in feathers hays not more than 1 per cent. of the feathers are from wild birds-. The business in South Africa, which is the so,urce of nearly all the supply, is ;IOW centred in the hands of men of 'con- siderable capital, who raise the birds in the sandy, dry bush -land' northeast of Cape Town. In the early days of the ' industry many „ small farmers engaged in the busi- ness, but they were largely forqed•' out of it in the years of experimen- tation when the industry was sub- ject to many vicissitudes and they have not gone into -it since then., Formerly wild ostriches were killed to get their feathers, which were ob- tained by plucking them from the dead animals. Now the crop is gathered about o1-11101 ill every eight. months bycutting the feathers from the birds IIOLITY MiL:F:1-14 AN 11°I -TR' , Pew of us ta,ve an acCurate Idea Of the j'ate'itt 'which fish swim, When we say 11111.11 a person is "as fat , as 01 11011.miSCI." We hardly associate (p)1ck rate ' of s\vininiing with that i nd ivi duct' yet Ile. and everybody else, wenicl like to be able to get thfrou oh. the water as rapidly Porpoises have ,been, seen to (1 ' roun11 and round it steamer tra,vel- ling seventeen niiles an hour, thus , proving their capaci ty to swim at a.' grea tar rate than th a t. Thcl (1olphi11 may be placed on a level the porpoise, but 1110 1)0)1110 has oc- casionally been known to approach forty miles for short distances. er- rings, in s1ioa9, moire steadily at a, rate between ten and twelve miles ; aekere I swim 11111C11 fester, lind both- 1;rottt and sal n011 go at a rapid price when_ migrating a, strea0li for Spawning, Whales are not, fish in tile scientific .sense, but it is inter-, esting to rtote that these monsters, swim at a rate, si.-.k.teen miles an hour when excited, al tlio gh their ordinary speed is' estimated at, be- tween fotor and five miles. -- Clreek 110 was prol)a,bly made ol bittuneti, sulphur, na.plitha, nitre...,