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Exeter Times, 1898-7-28, Page 2Good for the Soui.. Ter, Ot eauese it is perfeotly obvious how a "Weer end discreet" marriage of this nature must eroi, The elderly, sive- pleaultaded, plain countrymen, and tee Hitle keteeas whose past had never been laW snider ber rieigabors eyee-wbat +you'd happen, says the Wise world, but disaster end, pain? At yet neither befell, lie took bee home, this gentle, Pas- sionate, pitsing, husband, ant nursed r, and petted her, and played with her. All tbe checked end strutted youth In hint blossomed outlie tola her Me thoughes-or on his slow way, it seems, lee had thoughte. He let her see his simple adoration of the ideals vilaela she embodledr-gentleness and prettinese, and purity. He was jeal- ous to shield her from every rough wind, from every cruel knowledge; all the love of all ais bleak unlovely life was poured tato her lap. And she was very " pleaseut " with, him. She felt towards Peter that 'wenn-hearted ad- miration which begins in Appreciation and ends in love. lie was so good to her -that was tbet first thing the wife felt; and then, he was so good i She laughed at him and sling to hira, and even put on her pink dress end. clanged for him sometimes. And she brought Jena into the very par- lor itself At first, very likely, it was all part a the play a life. to her. She meld appreciate, if Peter could not. the stage setting, so to speak, -the bare, ugly parlor, with its landscape - papered walls, and faded photographs of dead relatives hanging in oval black frames very near the ceilbag; the las- tree on the high wooden mantel -piece; the big Bible on the crocheted mat of the centre table; the prim, uncom- fortable sofa, a.,nd the rosewood chairs standing at exaot angles in the win- dows; and Peter, with Jim's head on his knee, sitting, gaping at her -gap- ing at the incongraous, joyous, dan- cing figure, with the pink skirt twirl- ing over pink gauze petticoats! At first the ftm of the contrast was a keeti enjoyruent; but after awhile- Hawever, that came later. Meantime she rested. Sometimes on his knee, with her head on his shoulder, while be tried to read his agricultur- al paper, but had to stop becanse she teased hien into laughter; sometimes ou a little couch out under the trees, on th,e sunny side of the house, where she could see Peter working in the garden. She found not only rest but intense interest in this garden. which, to be sure, was rather comramplace. There were clumps of perennials in the borders, upon which each year the geese encroached more and more; and there were shrubs, and some seedlings sown as the wind listed, and tiaere were a dozen ragged old rosebushes. But Bessie Day threw herself into taking care of all the friendly old-fasbioned fragrance. heart and soul, and body, too, which made her tired and strong and happy all together. She used to lie awake those suramernights and plan the garden she was going to have next year; and she pored over seeds - men's catalogues with a passionate happiness that made her bright face brighter and brought a look of keen and joyous interest into her eyes. That was the first year; the second, the ballet dress was put away, for there was a baby. And by-and-by there were two babies -a. young Peter and a young Donald; and then a little girl that tbe Eatlaer said raust be named Pleasant. it was than that Bessie got dissatisfied with her own name, and insisted that she be called Elizabeth. Sa the old name like the old pink satin dreee and fan, and high -heeled slippers, was put away in the past. Sometimes Peter talked about them, but Eliza,beth would scold him and say she was tired of them, and she -wouldn't allow them to be mentioned. steal your speetacles, Peter, if you tease me," she would threatea, gayly; "I go to church, nowadays, and the minister says it isn't right to dente -though I don't know that I just agree with him," she would add, a little gravely. Anything you ever did was right; -right enough for a minister to do himself 1" Peter would, declare, stout- ly "I wouldn't like to see the parson be pink petticoats," Elizabeth would retort, her eyes twinkling with fun. She always went to ohlarch with Pet- er, and he kept awake to look at her Pretty face in her Sunday bonnet; and later, when the children began tocome he hac1 his hands full to keep the boys in order, and not let them read their library books during the sermon. Eliz- abeth, in her besteinvender silk, which had little sprigs over it, and an ein- btoidered white crepe shawl, and a bon- net with soft white strings, sat at the top of the pew, with Pleaaantes sleepy head against her shoulder, looking' so • cheerful and peaty that it was no waterier Peter looked oftener at ber than at the parson. So the placid years came and went, and baeand-by Peter's wife was no longer slight; but she was as light • on her feet as a girl, and her face was as bright and pretty as ever, and her laugb was like the sunny chackle of a brook; her arildren and her gar- den and her husband filled her Tire, • and she made theirs. AS for the neighbors, social life came beeause of Peter's long indif- ference to at; but it cerne, and people said they liked Mrs. Day beeanse she wars so differe.nt from other folks-"al- Wayreal Net/sent" her neighbors pled, , 'So et was diet nearly' ten years parise •ea before that ehaeleW, a whose COIn- bag the world would, have had no doubt, fell, little by little, into the dark bright eyes and taloa the smiling lipe, Pell, and deepened and deepen- ed. • " You're not well. wife?" Petei said ioasly. " Nonsense!" she said, smiling at Bcat lane wben he left Irer, ber face set- tled into heaver lines. ' " If you don't look better to•rogre rage" Peter threateued, "P11 have the doctor." "The doctor 1" hie wire erste& laugh- ing. " Why. I am perfeetle And, indeed, the doctor mild not discover tacit slae was ill in any Ivey, " Then why does she look so badly?" Peter urged, blinking at him with anx- ious eyes. "Oh, she's a little overtired," the doctor assured him, easily. "I think she works too hard in tbat garden of hers. 1 think I'd put a stop to that Mr. Day." And baying done his worst, this wor- thy- meddler with the body departed, to prescribe physical exercise for a brain -vomiter at the pint of exhaus- tion, But Peter was grateful for some - positive instruetiona " The cbildren and I will take care of the garden, and you can just look on. What you ussed is rest." So, to please hien, she tried to rest; but the shadow deepened in her eyes, and the fret of thought wore lines in her smooth forehead. She shook her 'lead orer Peter's offer to take care of the garden, "Wbat I trust my precious flowers to a mere mien?" she cried, with the old gayety and burlesque anger. "In- deed 1 won't I" The garden Peter bad made for her was a great two -hundred foot square, sunk between four green terraces; it was paelted with all sorts of flowers, and overflowing with fragrance; all the beds were bordered with sweet -alys- sum and mignonette, and within them the flowers stood, pressing their glow- ing faces together hi masses of riotous color -the glittering satin yellow of -California, poppies, the heavenly blue of nemophila; crimson mallow, snow- white shining phlox; sweet -pease and carnations, gillyflowers end bachelor's buttons, and everywhere the golden sparks of eoreopsis; there were blots of burning scarlet, sheets of orange and lilao and dazzling, white. Elizabeth used to sit (Iowa by some border to weed, sinning at her flowers, putting her fingers uader some shy eweet face, to raise it, and look down into it, re - joking in the texture and color and perfume, and then, suddenly, her pleas- ant eyes would cloud and her energy flag, and she would sit there, absent and heavy, the pain wearing deep in- to her forehead. By the time anther year had come her wbole face had changed; her eyes so rarely crinkled up with fun that one had a abence to see how big and sad and terror-stricken they had grown, and her mouth took certain piti- ful lines, and seemed always about to open into sad and wailing -words. An- other year -they had been married twelve years now -bad certainly brought this husband and wife, nearer to that dreadful verge of disaster, which the sober looker-on must sure- ly have prophesied on that nightwhen the man and woman stood up to be naarried in Doctor Lavender's study. It was in June that Elizabeth Day said to her husband, gayly, that she had a plan. "Now don't scohl. Peter, but listen. I suppose you will say I'm crazy; but I have a notion 1 ant to go off and take a drive, all by myself, for a whole day," "111 drive you," he said, "any- where you want." ' "No,' she said, coming and sitting down on his knee; no; let rae go by myself. Pll tell you; I think I'm a little nervous, and I've a notion to take a drive by myself. I think maybe I'll Leel better for it." "Well," he said, wistfully, "if you want to; but I'd like to go with you." But she would not listen to that; and she was so cheerful 'at the very prospect of her drive-" just real sense- less glad ihr her husband called it, anx- iously -that he began to think that perbaps she was right and it would do her good. • "Like giving a sick person what they've got a longing for," he told himself. "E know mother told me how she knew of a ebild that was getting over scarlet fever, and wanted a pickle, and teased and teased for it; and they gave it- to her, and she got well. Very likely Elizabeth just has a kind of a craving to ride round for a day. Well, she shall. Mercy I she shall have just anything in the Lord's world, if loan get it for her t I wish the buggy was- n't so shabby. I must be _getting a new one for ha." Still, when the mora.erit came for her to start, he was anxious again. "Suppose you take one of the chil- dren along for company ?" he said, as be helped her into the buggy. Oh, bow light she was! Wbat a thrill and tre- mor he felt in her hand when his big fingers closed over it. " Take Pleas- ant," he entreated. And she agreed, with a sigh. "I don't mind, if you' want me to Peter." So Pleasant, uttering shrieks of joy, ran for her hat, and began to climb up to join her =tether, too excited to wait for her father's helping hand. Teliza.beth Day gathered up the reins and gave a little flic'kering look up at the front a the house -at the two boys sitting on the porch steps -at her bile - band standing beside the buggy, stretcbina over the wheels to tuck the cluster around her feet It was early -she had stipulated tor an early start -the dew stretched like a cobwed over the grass, and in the border achead of ecarlet poppies was beaded with drops like silver; the honeysuckie at the end ef the porch was pouring its fragrance from curved and polished horns. She had planted that beneysuokle twelve years ago. How happy she hed been then I Now', faithful wife, tender moth- er, modest, careful housewile-good, too, she thought to berself, humbly - she was not happy. Oh, most miser- able, most =seeable I Haw strange it is that the tree whose fruit is suffering- and paba, is the knowledge of good an well as of evil I Perhaps the tangle knowledge of eith- er would not mean anything; or per- haps there carinot be knowledge of one Without knowledge ctf the 'other. Here ie& great myseety; We poor little crea- tares cannot understated that He both • nraees peace and ertattee eeil for His own purposes. Thes poor girl, in ber mite and Oman life hare on the farm, had alas of this tree, and the anguish • the lenoevledete of goodness bad fall- en on her. She groaned ander bet' breath, looking at the dear hoese and at the dear love. - Elizaboth alio* the reina and nodded, sxuflLng "Good-bae, boys, &get both' peretfeart.her; be goal ohildrea. GoodehY. " When will you be back r berhies- bend said, his hand on the bridle-tite horse backed and fretted, and his wife scolded goodeurstaredly. "111 xsever get -aft Comet go ola, Capteire. Oh, well, then, -to -night, mhybe." Tel-elight I" Peter echoed, bleadelee "-Well, 1 should say so 1 Pleasaat, take care of mother;" and he let her start, but stood looking dowa the road, wattattn;g the hood. of the buggy jog- ging up and down, trail the light dust almost hid Elizabeth leaned back in her seat and drew a great breath of relief. P1asaut arniling all over her little round face, looked up et her. ti`d sae.Iother, may I hold the reins V' the "Take the ends of them," Elizabeth satd; " mother will keep her heads in frot of you're,take a notion to run." Ciptein Should ofor fear Pleasant beaming aria crinkling her eyes op as her mother had clone before her, sheok and jerked at the ends of the rains, saying, "Get up there)" and clucked as she bad beard her tether do; then, squaring leer elbows, nhe braced her feet againat the dash -board, " If Captain was to run, mother, this is the way I'd stop him," she said. preudly, " Yes, clear child," the mother an- swered raeehanically. She drove with- out any uncertainty or heeltaitou as to her route, eel& carefully sparing her borse, as one who has a. long journey before her. It was growing warmer; the dew had, burned, off, and the misty look of early morning ha.d brigbtened, beta clear sae blue without a cloud. There was a shallow run beside the road, whieb chattered and ohuckled ova its pebbly bed, or pluuged down in little waterfalls a foot high, run- aiag over stones smooth with moss, or stopping in the shadows under leaning trees, and spreading into little pools, clear and shining and brown as Plea- sent'e eyes "It would be nice to evade, wouldn't it raothere" the child said; and the mo- ther said. again, mechanically. "Yes, dear." She did not see the run, whiob by- and-by widened iao a creek aa it and the road went on together; and when Captain began to climb a long, sunny slope, she only knew the difference be- cause the, sweating horse fell into an. easy walk, Pleasant cbattered with out ceasing. "It's nice to come with yon, naotber. 'Where are we going e Mother, 1 think I must have been unusually good, don't you, for God to let me have this ride, and hold Captain's reins? I wonder if Captain knows I've got the ends of the reins? He doesn't try to run,you seea guess he knows he couldn't, with me to help you hold him, Oh, look at the bird sitting on tlae fence! Well, I'm glee. I've teem good lately, or else, probably, I wouldn't have come with you. Don- ald was ban yesterday; be pullesi the kitty's tail very hard; so Inotice God didn't let him come; I never pull the kitty's tail", she ended virtuously. It paid to be good, Pleasanh thought; and. said, "Get up, there, -Captain!" and jerked the reins so hard that her mother came out of her thoughts with a start. "Don't Pleasant! Don't pull so,dear." "Mother, when you were a little girl, did you ever go and drive with your mother, like me?" "Yes, Pleasant." "Was she nice -was she as nice an "A great deal nieer, Pleasant." "My 1" said Pleasant, "I suppose • she let yo tearive altogether -not jua with the ends of the reins?" Elizabeth did not answer. Pleasant slipped Off the seat and leaned over the dash -board to pat Captain; then tried sitting sidewise with her legs ander her. "This is the way the cat sits; I never understood before what she did with bar bank legs." Than she slid down again to sit on the' floor of the buggy and hang her head over the wheel to see the traeks in the dust. Elizabeth came out of her dream at this, and bade Ow. child , get up on the seat, "Where are we going?" P3ea,sant said, climbing up joyfully; but she bad to repeat her aueslion before her mo- ther heard it. "To Old Chaster, clear child," "Ob, that's miles and miles away!" Pleasant said, excitedly; and turned kneeling -down on the seat, bo that she could clasp her mother's neck with both little warm hiving arms. "Oh, I am glad we're going so far away, itn so interesting to talee a long jour- ney. I was afraid you would be turn- ing round pretty soot. Who are you going to see, =other ?" "I'm going to see a minister who lives there, Pleasant." Pleasaa looked. serious, as befitted the mention of a minister. "'Why are yoix going to see a min- ister ?" :"Pleastene, you must not ask so many questions! I never knew a lit- tle girl talk so much," Pieasant looked troubled, and drew e long breath. "Well, mother, it's my thoughts. If I didn't have so many thoughts, I wouldn't talleeDo you have thoughts, mother ?" Elizabetb laugbed, "Well, yes, Plea- sant, I do." (To Be Conttinte_&_) HOT BATES. A hot, bath is usually decried as pro- vocative of colds and other evils. Every one knows a cases of severe ill - rises ocourring tram enliosuee to the outer air soon after sueh abiutions. And yet nothing is more refreshing, as no- thing is more harmless, if properly taken. „The reason is that ono strand use the hot bath as one does that of very cold water, metely as a pillage, followed by quick and thorough rubbing and maseege, GONE otrwarertnro. Mattle-Whet baa beeeme of leer A.ritieSlang Soefety that you took so teueh interest iti ri few niottbs ago. Helen -Oh, it's in the conSonartte, The president ireagibed she was the on- ly dent in the pen so we gave ber 'the willies, and the dinky -slink aseociretion shot the Schuters. ere. \ ,......„.„ ‘117‘1\ _ \ tov4 __.. \ \-1 Ii kl Rm Vt4A„-`"MN-,,,•3•NW a UNITED STATES FLEET FIRING OVER THE HILLS AT SANTIAGO, CUBA: EN ROUTE FOR TIIE YUKON SOME PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF A HUNTER FOR GOLD. The Trails and the ounpa-d.Jtentarbable Scene -The liThate Pass and tite tattleeet Pass. The following account of the exper- iences of a "Tenderfoot" on his wan in the Klondike is most interesting. The writer was until very recently a, Miele flees maxi in the Northwest, but sold out. his stook and determined to push his way to the mines. His experiences are thus related, by himself. March 11, 1898. I wrote you last from the steamship Danube, one clay from Wrangel. We arrived at the latter port in due course. It is one of the American, sea ports to the Yukon country -a very rougherre- gular, dirty town of about 2,000; near- ly all gambling houses and saloons, •About 250 miles took us to the Skaguay evhieh town we reached on the 15th. I found this a much better town than Wrangel, of about three or four tbou- sena-these towns are full of people en route for the Yukon, We had to pay V for beds, but could get a good meal for '50 cents. We lost a day in getting elearances from the Araerican enamels, Nearly all the "ladies" here are dressed in short skirts reaching to the knees, and long rubber boots, and if they are fat and short they look very tunny. We hired teams to take our supplies up to the Skaguag river, on the ice, to the mouth of the path, a distance of aboat seven mileS,whicb Le as for as terim.s can go. WE FOUND THE, TRAIL full of all sorts of oonveyances, all hurrying -forward with their outfits. ha,d hoped to find colder weather here, but was disappointed; in fact nothing has been a greater surprise to me than to find, such mild weather. It does not all agree with tbe reports'I had heard of the 'Frozen North.' We could get along mueb better if the weather was cold, but it only freezes a little eaeli night, and there is water and mud on the trail every afternoon, which makes it very hard travelling. We arrived at the moutih of the Moun- tain Pass on the evening of the 16th. and found some two thousand people camped on the ice, and thousands of tons of supplies piled up, wirich the people are conveying up the path by short stages as quickly as possible. We will start to -morrow to work our outfit up. MIL -On the morning of the 17th, we started to move 613x supplies up the river. EVERYONE CAMPED HERE is moving as quickly as possible, out of the rivetr flats to higher ground, as there is danger of ths forraer break- ing up so we follow the crowd and on. We are no' eanaped with all sup- plies two miles farther on,. on safe ground, but there are atilt streams a people behind as. We have been four days making this distance, haul- ing with our horse, and packing on our backs, over the Porcupine, a very steep and long rocky hill. It wes about as hard a, joie as eeer I did, The scene ori the trael L9 too mucb for my pen, I mean my leasi pencil, to deseribe. All along the • sides of the treil, on the naarow river, on the 105, every available space is taken up with tents ansi tons and tons of sup- plies, end the mountains rise up a thousand feet en either side, very steep arid rocky, The trait is very narrow, arid winds in and oun and twists and turns around huge rocks end germs ioe and snow bridges. On the trail one can sae a long string of determined men, winding along in one long belt. It is re MOST REIVIhRIKABLel SCENE Here will be is pally loaded with boxes bales and bags an one or two sleds, next taa.y be a, train a dogs, then a train of a dozeri pack mules, then an ox pulling sleds, then will be follow -i ihg est rine of donkeys scone hauling, sleds mad some packing; then Some goats and reindeer, and mined up With them all will be tbe men with packs, and the drivers; aud 80 the whole string of men, dogs,rattles, donkeys, /Ogees, goats, reindeer, etc, keep taost- ing along, and the empty sleds return - hal; and pressiag when opportunity pre- sents, Occarsionally, a bloeltade so - ears, when a hem is down, be an upset hapeente svhich is very frequent and the eavaleade ie delayed. notice. about, a dozes %Vernon ite the crowd; one party eaatists of an ala man about 65, ansi his wife, who ap- pears to be much older; he pulls in front and she shoves behind with a pole on the sled. There is also a one- leggesl mart, whom 1 frequently pass- ed and repassed, with bis pack on his baok. He has a wooden leg from the thigh, with a spike on the end; of it. 25th -We have • BEEN WORKING HARD to get our supplies about eight rniles further on, encl. now have half the amount moved. This &Mance will bring us to the foot of the much - coveted "Summit," aud about five miles from it, with is very sleep hill to olimb before ie is reached, 'We have stopped hand packing 110W as the haul is too long, and_ we are hauling with the horse and sleds; M. and myself at- tending to the horse and sleds, and the others packing some goods that were left at the first cache. We are considering the aelvisa,bility of buying another horse, but as a decent pony costs $125 I'm afraid T. will not; buy ona. • rette-We are still at our second camp -everyone 15 .15 good health and spirits. We hove made one of our party, H., cook, since where we find our meals more satisfactory and re- gular. T. went to Skaguey to -day and bought another horse and sled, and I hope to make better time now. Our sleighs are breaking badly, so I start- ed to -day to make another one; so I expect it will take us TWO OR THREE DAYS more to move on to our next cackle, eight miles off. April Ist-We are now eemped with- in four miles of the Summit, and are Moving our supplies forwardas quickly as we can. We made this stage without any particular diffi- culty or mishap, if I except the fact that I got up to nay neek, in the rivet and on one occasion was run into by a loose sled. coming down the hill while I was going up with 100 lbs. pack on my back. The sleigh caught me on the shin and laid me up for a sbort time but is reasonhble amount of swearing at the owner of the sleigh' and an ap- plication of vaselitae ta the injured part, has enabled me to go on with my packing again, We are packing our goods up a. steep hill, and theme send them forward by horses; trail is ibad and we have to load, light, so will probably be here for a week. I packed 2,00 lbs. over the hill to -day. eth-All supplies are AT THE SUMMIT and we are camped 14 ralles beyond that point, at Log Cabin, within nine mites of Lake Bennett, where we will build. boats and take to the lakes from, there onward. Trails are rapidly breaking up, and from there to Bennett is al- most impassable for borses; so we are eonsidering the idea of selling the horses end buying 'dogs and pushing OA by dogs and hand sleds. If the weather continues warm we will cer- tainly have to ebancloa our liorse-s. The trail froni. the Summit to Log Cabin is good, and We will have our outfit hauled hare in about five days. The trip from our last camp to the summit was. rafter a difficult; one, the hills, although not rocky, are long and steep, and only small toads can be taken. The scene on these hills is a every interesting picture, and we are sorry we.did not bave a koda,k to take la nutaber of views. Standing on the canon, hell a niile below the foot of the Summit hills, and looking upward, , one can see the trail winding. 'tP THE MOUNTAIN SIDE / for a mile or more, and it can be trace ect by a long dark line of closely pack - 'ed conveyances and animals,etc.: slow- ly. crawling upwards. This is tbe White Pass proper, and is not ,haef so difficult, as the Chilcott Pass, wealth is five miles west of this- pass, 8,nd can only be ascendect by foot, and is very dangerous on account of the snow slides, one of which occurred five days ago, and SOLUe fifty persons were kill- ed. I am thankful I did not atterarit the Chilcoot, At the summit we crossed the Amerleari boundry, and once mare narived 15 Canadian terri- tory. Here the Union Jack, is floatine from a /Joie, and. there is a email detechment of N,W.M.P. and Customs officials camped. Our party are ALL IN GOO)) HEALTH and living- well. Our menet eomprises pork, ham, eanne,d beef, beans, ocen- pressea potatoes and onions, oatmeal, flour, eondensed milk, butter, dried apples, aprieotn peaches, tea end cot - fee. LAI: every geed eamping place along the trail a cowrie town is form- ed by the travellers.' oempe, while the suppliem are movirrg along to the hext stage. Thie place, called Log CAM (beeatise there is one log ih it), has about 800 tents, and is about two miles iortg. I expeet there is a tre- Mende:us crowd et Lake Bennett, A greet many people are giving it up and tanning back, 1 hope to get an op- portanity to mail this a,t Bennett., 'Where I believe there is some sort of raail seeviee, • Lake Bennett, May lst,-I am very glad to arrive )sere -the end of oue Overland trip. We large lied three weeks' very hard work. I have been driving a dog train neatly all this tlta:oleMsrteey'aoo. trae:madlloenrh:gtvahot:oiksdjiflustsiteoi$1-13d-17;aa.glIhtltdo:nol'5wt nawatoali Bennett is the largest canna town I have stew& yet, consisting of'., canvas and log stores end hotels, ell put up for the occasion. The whole place is blikeiengabsullillItYttriard.4 boatsreaclyf°ofr atlhle kopiriedna ing of the lake. This is expeoted to ocour in about three weeks. I will start at oreee to put up our boats. A CRUEL FARCE. The werrible ordeal. or a French Soldier at Oreneble. An incident which is DOC perhaps wholly without a bearing on the Drey- fus case is reportesl by the Prencli pap- ers. Tlie scene is the barred= at Gren- oble, where a purse recently disappear- ed in circumstances that tbrew sus- picion, on a number of soldiers in gar- rison there. .6. Lieutenant of engineers investigated. the case. After question- ing and:searching the men to no ob- vious purpose, the officer picked out one of them as the probable culprit an& orderced him to confess. The man pro- tested his innocence, and therewas not a particle of evidence against him. The Lieutenant was convince& of his guilt, however, and in order to force a confes- sion tried the effect of a torture which, though entirely neented, was 'none the less terrible. It consisted. in solemnly condemning the man to death and or- dering his immediate execution by a file of soldiers. The poor tallow was stood rep against a wall, blindfolded, and warned that he had but a minute to live. As he still denied the theft, the cruel farce was carried to its and. and a volley was fired at him. !Blank cartridges were used, but the man went through all tire horrors of death except its final pangs. The military authorities have taken the matter up, for it seems that they considered this method. of securing evidence somewhat objectionable. The Lieutenanh they condemned to sixty days of confine- • roent in a fortress, but, lest the digni- by of inertial justice should be af- fronted, oars has been takerto spread the rumor that the officer's mind had been unbalanced. by an attack of fever contracted inalonquin. PRINCE OF WALES' TABLE. Good taste reigns over all the ar- rangements. Thus the tablecloths are severely plain, though of the finest quality, and simply worked with the royal arras --the rose, the thistle a,sed the ishaenrock-while the tabie nap- kins are invariably folded into a small square to hold the bread, and never in the fancy shapes in vogue elsewhere. To each guest two forks, and AO more, are provided, and these are placed prongs downward. In addition, there are one large tablespoon and one large knife, for in no circumstance are tevo knives together given to any guest. A grea malty reasone have been as- signed for this rude, but apparently no one has summoned up the courage to ask their royal host and hostees. It has been asserted that his royal high- neseabas the old-fashioned dielike of seeing knives inadvertently exassed. Small water bottles are used, but the princess holds to the Hanoverian habit of never having finger bowls. At Marlborough House dinner begins at 8.45 o'clock and is never allowed to last much more than an hour. Oc- casionally during dinner soft music is played. The menu is always served a la Busse -that is to say, nothing is carved in the dining -room. NOT PULL. Stories about the queer doingr of newly -appointed postmasters in the rural clieericts of the fax West con - tinge to accumulate. A nee' post -office, wee established in a email village away out West, and a native of the soil was -appoin Lea poste master, After' awhile complaints were made that .noi Maui wae sea out from the new office, ancl an inspector was sent to inquire into the matter, He called. upon the postmaster, and stating the cause of las visit, asked why no rnail had, beet sent out The postnaaster poll/tea to a big and near- ly empty mai/-brig'hanging Up in Ja' corner, and said: . '?%tell 1 ain't sent it out 'cense the bag ain't noevhere,s nigh full yeti OLD-FASTOONED, New ti3oardetr-kSee here, I can't stand this lanlp. It smelts like an oil re- finery. What eott of a lamp is it an yhow Chambermaid-Thetee a carter -table la,mp, sir. ' New 03Oarder-Well, take it many end bring me wee oe the oldefashiotteet kind, 1 don't care for ti8.3 trew, fangted ,center table2lamps. FEATURES OF THE ARM% THE BRITISH SOLDIER Is qurrg PROUD OP --- press DANonetteus is SeAde llite 1Velt likaanin Reoligen4s or cavory Sad the 1,100...A row interesting Notes, (Many of the regiments whieh forte, the Rattail army have peouliarities of dress Of which the eorgs are justly pielvoIlebed.reianilk:swt:ar°47deaintle:e5cdolgsrattillticotnicmofa h ' some special achievement; in ell in-. Staneea there has been good ground for authorizing their use. The sergeants of tbe •Somersetshire Light infantry, for iZttenndeeea' et tio ja°nYg-a oPtihievrilne ne -owoheiti°mhiaiseinonot e - ed efficers in the service. They ,,vearL the east over the same shoulder as th officere, t,he left; instead of, as in the case of other sergeauts, the rigat. Tile distinction was given for the way in which the regiment -the old lath Foot--conduoted itself at the beetle of Culloden in 1716. For their conduct in fight, the Soots Greys also were award-. ed' a special dress distinetion-: • THE FAX1008 BEAR SKIN. sap At Ramillies the Gregi and an-, other regiment -long since disbaraled --captured two battalions of the eneney, and cut tbe third to piecee. In recog- nition of their valour the two regi- ments were awarded grenadier caps, to, distinguish them from their fellows. The "Cherubim' --the llth Huesers-- first wore their celebrated vein:Leon overalls in 1810, when the 11th fuenieh- ed escorts for the Prince. Consort - when he reached England to marry the Qu.een. A relic of the pigtail survives in the "flash" which is worn by the officers and sergeants of the Royal. Welsh Fusiliers. The "flash" is a black silk bow, stitched to the back of the collar. Each Scottish and High- land regiment has some distinctive feature in its dress. The 'Black Watch" dexives iie name from the, som- bre colour of the regimental dress. In addition to this peculaxity the old 42nd wear a red 121101E1e in the bonnet, granted for the conduest a the regie in.en17ta, the fight of Guildersenalsen. itt94 TELE oTa)-TaxaD SHAKO is still worn by the Highland Light Infantry, and very quaint it looks. The State Trumpeters of the guards wear a uniform. which is practially the seam in look. as that which was used a bun- dxed and fifty years since, the chief dif- ference being that the cocked hat has been replaced by the jockey pap of vel- vet. The state outfit now worn costs a good, deal more than 4103. It is more gorgeous thin militaty. The "Starlet. Lancers' get their name from the cob - our of their uniform. They are tb,g only lancer regiment in the service clothed in ecariet. The n'arabineers ars th0 only dragoosi regiment olothed blu.e. The celebrated skall and cross ; bones, the badge which figures so "\" -prominently in the 17th Lancers, was chosen by a former colonel who had see', ed with Wolfe, and wi.hed the regie- ment, then just formed, to remember the hero of the Heights of Abraham. The Northumberland Fusilienswear a plume in their caps in remembrance off the way their p-redecessors Acquitted themselves at St. Lucia in 1778; v.hila. on the anniversary of the battle a Minden, the regiment which took part in it WEAR ROSES IN Tele:IR OAPS. Minden was fought on August Ist,1759, "Brass before and brass behind," ona of the nicknames of the Gloucester- shire Regiment, recalls the Seat that Lor their courage at Alexandria in 1801, the old 28th were given permis- sion to wear a badge at the back of the head dress. The regiment was 01 - tacked while in line by the French cav- alry, and the colonel ordered the rear rank to "Hight about face," there be- ing no time to form square. The movement was successful, and the cav- alry -were beaten off.. To -day the hel- mets of the Gloucestershire have a badge*in front and one behind. In- credible as it seems, meddlesome War Wine people, who might have been bet- ter employed, have attempted to rob the reginient of its heroic anecherish- ed extra. badge. A Royal regiment -a corps on which Royalty- bas, for vari- ous reasons, conferred distinction -is recognizable by he blue "facings" - cuffs a,xid collars; a Scottish regiment by its yellow facings, an Irish by its green, and an English by its walte. THE BRITISH FLEET. lit Soon be Able in Cope 'With France,. (lename**, and Russia, tn answer to the alarm raised by: Lord Charles Beresford in connection with the relative strength of the Bri- tish aria other European navies, the; Westminster Gazette publishes figures to ehow that whatever may have been, the case a short, time ago, England. will 'soon be in a preitiori to bold the sea even against the combined, navies of Franca Reseia and Germany. eltat- writer points out that ships built be- fore 18a;) are 11.04V of very little -aceount es Hghtiag factors. It is shown, aleo, that between 188) ana 1890 Great Rd-, tain negleoted her navy to an aston- ishing degree. In that time she built only 18 battleehips and 12 cruisers, agein,st the 22 battleships anti 10 cruis- ers thatched in France, Germany arid it le in the redent decade., however, that Oa is making , rapid ,ribridsss la navel power. Par taette ten years, be- tween 1990 cad 1900, her buiictiriq pee- grararne includes 82 battlaships aired 42 °rues:ere, against 7 cruisers of 'Prance, Germany and Alla la. in to p do boats she is not much richer than the three powers, btxt she possesses an enornieila advantage in torpedo boat destroyers., ft is shown, also, that England is build- ing much more clietielY thee her neigh: bore, tor, in ten years, Vranee atlent, 8 030,000 potinda for 10 battleships and 15 cettieete, 'striate England spent 50,- 00,000 pounde for 3g battletesipe and 12, eraisete.