The Brussels Post, 1893-5-26, Page 2p"ne„ior
HIS HEIRESS;
OR, LOVE rs ALWAYS THE y ME.
CHAPTER VL—(Cov'rrersn.)
roar guests rather."
No. answer,
"I hopa, at least, yon will like the melee -
Von I have made."
I hope ao, absently.
"Next timeyoucan make your Own."
" I daresay.' fila
1 think, perhaps, It would be advisable
that you should know who is coming," says
Lord lirauksmere, irritably,
"" M.—?" It is evident site Is not lie.
Madam
ggn e your
May I beg tint you will give t y
intention fora few minutes 1' His tone
hie time is very much louder, and Lady
.Branksmere lifts to hint a glance of calm
iiarprtse.
" Alt, yon wish to talk—is that It?" she
;Doke in a bored voice, with an air of intense
resignation, laying her magazine upon her
knees. Well; She looks at him hit.
idly'
I wish certainly to interest you in the
affairs of your household."
"If that is so, yon are fortunate. I
am already deeply interested. I am,
indeed, more than interested; I am
cadets. May I ask who is this woman
this housekeeper—this madam—who has
lust quitted the room, atuf who few hours
ago welcomed me so kindly- to my own
femme?"
"She is Madame von Thirsk. She eau
/lordly be called a housekeeper. She is a
great friend, a very tender friend of my
gt uedmother's."
"A rare friendship 1 May and December
do not, as a rate, lie in cath other's bosoms.
fl'wentyyears ago, Lady Branksmere most
/rave been pretty muoh what she is now,
frweuty .years ago, her friend mist have
•aeon a little girl of twelve or so. It is very
downtime, very picturesque, quite a small
,romance. And this friend : yon pay her?"
• " Certainly not," A dark flash rises to
)itis forehead. "Good heavens! no," he
outinues, in a shocked tone. "She stays
ere for love of Lady Branksmere."
"Ah i. for love of Lady Braukamere ! She
Books well born, yet she resigns the world
to take care of an old woman. It is a mar-
vellous devotion."
"Yes. A marvellous devotion," repeats
Branksmere, in a low tone.
' She seems olever, too. Has she" (with
a little sneer) "befriended your grand•
reecho' fon„ .g?„
" She has been with her, off and on, for
the last seven years, 1 should say. She is
quite an old friend with us all."
" With your sister-in-law, for example ?"
A. sad ehadow crosses 1?ranksmere's face.
" Of course, they have met, but not
eftan. Dome been so seldom at Branks-
anere, and Lady Anne rarely comes here in
my absence."
' Sho, too, likes this 'madame '1"
"Ireally oan'tsay,"impatiently. "What
an interest you take in her." •
" Well? Is not that what you desired a
`rmoment, since, that I should look after the
affairs of my household? A good wife,".
with' a curl of her red lips, " should
follow her husband's lead, and you
-By the bye, you seemed quite engross-
ed with the conversation of your grand -
',mother's friend, as I cane up the balcony
steps a little while ago."
Did I? Probably she was telling nae
something about Lady Braukemere,"
Muriel, throwing� back her head against
`the soft crimson silk of the cushions, laughs
aloud. At this moment it occurs to her
atom little she really cares.
"You are an excellent grandson,' she.
Days; looking athim through half closed lids.
i" Few would lose themselves so entirely as
you seemed to do, in a recital of their
grandmother's ailments, even with a hand -
no le woman."
Alt this is beside the mark," exclaims
Branksmere, abruptly. " Why drew yon
away from your book was to explain to you
about our guests of Thursday next. I hope
at least yon will like my sister•in-law, Lally
Anne."
Yon forget I have already learned to do
that. Lady Atte is ono of the few people I
einoerely admire. She is such a distinct
contrast to myself that,; if only as a useful
study, I should value her. There seems to
lie uo angles about her; no corners to be
turned. It seems to me in every phase of
We she would be admirable."
"Site is admirable always. Her girlhood,
lherwomanhood, her widowhood, have been
alike without reproach.
"Talkie of her reminds me that
tto-night Ig met some ono else who
e likely to suit me. I allude to
may brother's wife, Mrs. Daryl. She
neems a little crude, a little brusque, per -
"maps, but desirable."
I ant glad you have found some one so
much toyour taste so near you—so near
Bl anksmere. "
"Yes, it is an advantage. Well l"—care•
Naseby—'"
VC 110 else is oomtng?"
" The Primroses, the Vyners, Mr, Hulk.
stt, Captain Staines, and--"
Lady Branksmere, knocking het arm in
some awkward fashion against the elbow of
-tier chair, her magazine falls to the ground.
leer husband stoops to piok it up, and as
lie hands it to Meru a little sernok by some
indefinable change in her face. Are her eyes
6,rightter, or her lips paler, or is it that—
" You look feverish. 1 was right about
that chill after all," ha says, slowly.
" if it p'easee yon, think so,' returns
aim, in a quick hard tone. "Go on—Mr.
Halkett, Captain—Staines did you say ?
"You should know him, fie was stay
img down here last autumn with some poo.
TM, I believe. Iknow little of him myself
met him in Brussels about a year ago, and
yesterday in Piooadilly, came Use to Moe
with him again, Ile happened to mention
Vyners, so as he is an agreeable sort of fel•
low --good connections and all that—I,
• asked him to come to us for a fortnight or
iso, Ile seemed reluctant, 1 thought. But
3 suggested to him that the commencement
of the season is always dull, and that a week
or se in the country would regulate lain
]for it,"
' "There are °there?"she asks,
• "titian Amyotand your cousin Paulyn
)l%rferely. Yon know you reflood to invite
goy of your own friend°, so I was thrown
on myown resourees,"
"I know the t. It Was an absurd time to
res nky one, with the season almost be.
• "A,a they are asked "—stiffly—." I hope
you will make them welcome."
"Even ifIdhdn't,Iexpect itWould hard.
ly )natter in thiaperfeetle managedmenage '
with a
hell front her largo eyes, " This
Marlette De--Von—whatever lets, has been
at the Bead of your alfa]re for so long that
11 aeons a pity to distrait her."
"I fail to understand you," haughtily,
0 Maclaine. von'Thfrsk has certainly been.
100ful, but—!
" ;,'herefore whyshould site. not go on
being neeful to the end of the chapler? Why
defraud yourself f nc, valual,le services for
the cake of?---" 1to becalm off impatiently
with all the air Of nuc Who stat been giving
way to speech for the•. mere sake of lilting
up a void, batt who is hardly aware of what
she is saying ; " Why did you ask these
people here?" she cries, turning now upon
Branksmere with Budden passion,
"\,'hen you declared to speed your sea•
sea in Park Lane, I thought it prudent to
fill Branksmere."
" But why—why?" feverishly.
"Fearing '_dryly—":al 1 Bala ho -fore,
that you would fled this phaco dull."
" Ididua expect to taut it duller than
any other place." Her passion has died
atony frau l,er, and the old insolent expres•
sion has again crept round her lips.
"Meaning it would be dull nywhere
with me?"
Muriel shrugs her shoulders, but makes
no reply.
"" Is that your meaning?"
"' Would you compel me to make you a
rude answer?" asks elle, looking full at
him with a eontemptuoue atnile. Her de.
fiance maddens him.
" I should prefer a ude one to none at
all," he exclauns, with a sudden Uttrst of
fury. " Your ]nsoltnt silence is more than
Iran endure."
"And I should peeler to make none" re
turns she, sutilingly. " How shall the tires:
tide?"
Cool and comppsed, the rises from her
seat and looks et the °emelt affair on the
chimneypieoe, that to ticking loudly as if
to warn them of the passage of time.
"Almost eleven 1 Too late for further
discussion, however plee out,' she saes,
cahndy. "Good•night, my lore,"
CHAPTER VII,
"I am sorry to have disturbed you ; I
believed the room was empty," says Mme.
von Thirsk with a little ebart, preparing to
close the library dour behind her again.
"No, stay. As you are here, perhaps
yon will let me consult with you about
these people who are coming to•ntorrow."
Lord Branksmere looks up at her with a
rown born of noxious thought.
"To consult with me?' says madtune,
opening wide her velvety eyes. " lett, sure•
ly, there is my Lady 13rankstnere?"
" Who knows nothing of them—whereas
" r
you Uave met them all
before," returns
Branksmere, irritably. "" To her, they will
be strangers ; to you, with the heeu sense
of analysis that belongs to you, their idiosyn•
cronies, their vat'ioue desires, will be known,
and I want them to be comfortable ; to feel,
satisfied with the now regime."
" Still, it appears in a degree foolish,
doesn't it ?" asks she, " If your wife is to
know these people later on, it would be bet-
ter she should be made au fait with their
dispositittus as soon as possible," Sho looks
ap soddenly. " \\-hero is she, then 1 I
knew she was out, but I believed you were
with her."
"Yon must remember she is as yet a
little new to everything" he says, in a con-
strained tone, "And 'tie only,.abural that
she should want just at first to see a good
deal of her own people. Let her rest Iter-
self so. You can help me to -day it ler a
havb
settee, as you e always done."
"As I have always done," she repeats,
slowly. Then, with a change of ,manor
swift as lightning, she flings herself into
a chair, and draws toward her ink and
paper.
Now for the names of your friends,"
she cried. "You forgot I don't even know
so much. Lady Aune I" writing, as ire die•
rates to her—" the Vyners, Primroses,
George Halkett, Mrs. Amyat, Caption
St-- She drops her pen and stares up
at him—" Staines?" she asks, incredulous.
ly" Staines, Yes.Tall fair tan in -the
10th ; or was it the 10th? Do you know
him ?"
"Not personally, You will remember,'
poling, "chow complete is my seclusion, as
a rule, when living at Branksmere; so
e nnplete that my absences have gene aura•
marked, But yet, gossip reaches me, the
most reserved. I know eomsthing of this
man."
' Well?" He waits for a reply, .but
nothing comes. "Anything bad ?'
" So far ; no.'
" An answer worthy of a sibyl." He
draws his chair closer to the table. A faint
smile curies his lips. "Now for your news,"
he stays, banteringly.
"It is unimportant, perhaps 1 He was
staying down here with the Adairs for a
month or so last autumn."
" All last auttune, as I understand, and
far into the winter. But that is not a edam,
is it 7"
" Did I suggest crimes ?" The expression
in her large steep eyes le curious. " That
first Insinuation of it rests with yoit." She
Leans toward him across the table, and with
outstretched arm and lingers attracts his
attention. " Remember I" she says, in a
low tone.
" My dear Thokla, what ? Von grow
tragic, You remind one of that everlasting
Charles the First. And yet we were not
talking of him, but of Staines and his so-
journ with the Adairs last autumn. He is
a groat friend of theirs."
"Is he? He is then probably a favorite
of
the gods, and all meu worship itim. The
Daryls amongst others.
" Yes. He seemed to know everybody
round hero. And now that I think of it
he especially mentioned the Daryls."
"Ole shows talent," says Mme. von
Thirsk.
"He has been unfortunate enough to
anger you in some way."
Pardon me. We have never met. I
should not know this Monsieur --Staines is
it not?—if he were shown into this room
unannounced."
"Then you are unjust to him without
reason?"
"Yes. But what have slid, then?"
she asks.
' It is your, manner, your whole air. As
for Staines himeelf, I know Tittle of him ;
eo little, thab your innuendoes fall on sterile
soil, When I asked hint to come here he
happened to mention having been here be.
fore, That is how I knew of Ms intimacy
with the Adairs."
"Did he meneion anything else ? Tits
penchant for Lady Branksmere mango
other things?"
She her risen tr, her feet.
He, too, has risen.
"Was that so?" he caked in a terrible
ton",, "Ts that all?" ho askes derislvely--
"Poor devil 1—whv, wham nenntaln you
world make out of your molehill."
"NO, invite that man here, Eranko' 1
mere," Saye madame, "Be warned in
tine."
"Your warning memos too late,"Tightly..
"I have invited bier, I expect hint by to i
THE BRUSSELS
POST.
five train to•ntorrow. Tub ! you forget
M uriol's beauty !" Her face pales. "Alen
must see it. If 1 were to close my cloore to
ell who bowed, at Muriel's shrine, I expect
I should kaon• but few in the contry,"
"I would not, emoted you to shut your
doors on those who had loved ]ter," sage
time. rote Thirsk, in a low meaning tone.
On wheat then ?"demanded he timely,
"Your wife,' she oontinuee, " in one of
the most beautiful women I have ever
seen. She itas grown deadly pale, but
presently is calmness itself, and very nearly
indifferent, "If title man once loved her
why expose him to her fascinations for the
seemed tine?" elle says, with veiled eve
a11,1 all extreme quietude of manner that
should have warned him.
"It is all mere gossip," declares Blanks.
mere, walking impatiently up and down
the roost.
"It may be sc. Yet gossip hurts. What
if this gossip you so despise had gone
further?"
"As how ?" He stops short and rogards
her threateningly.
"What if it had been," said she, "your
wife—your wife, Branksmere--had loved
bit""
"I warn you !" he exclaims with a voice
full of concentrated passion, "I desire you
not to go too far. I will have no word
breathed against Lady Branksmere 1"
"Ne. I ootoneword," she answers, de-
liberately. "It Was foolish of you, my
friend, to ptesn pose the Word was tiler° 1
Yet, bear me, Branksmere," She draws
nearer, and with folded arms looks grave•
ly up at ]tint. "1 toll you it is madness to
leek that mat to your house."
"A madness I refuse to recognize," re-
turns he, coldly.
"As you will, of course," throw-
ing out her hands with a little for.
reign gesture. "But there is muoh wisdom
In the saying that 'prevention is bolter
than euro. '
" There is little wisdom in doubting
cue's wife without cause."
Metiame laughs.
" Ah ! you have been too long abroad !"
she says, with downcast eyes.
"You would have me believe some•
tiling," he says at last, in a stifled tone.
" What ?"
" I have already said as much as I intend
to say. For all I know the mischief may
be past and gone—and—it may not ! And
think," with a sadden flash from her dark
eyes, " how it Was site spoke of home; and
where she placed it 1 Itot )fere. Not here,
Branksmere!"
"How you distort things," exclaims he.
" The house that has been home for the first
twenty years of one's Life is naturally hone
to the end. Iu time this place, too, will
become dear, and—" His voice dies away.
There is some melancholy in it,
" Alt ! So ?" murmurs madame. " And
she is there now. In the present home, oft?"
" Yes," returns Brnuksmere, shortly.
• a
5
But she is not. She has come back from
her morning visit to the twins ; and is now
malting a tour of the cootie with old Mrs,
Stoat, the housekeeper, as cicerone. Mrs.
Stout, who is as discursive as she is fleshy,
is holding forth in a rambling fashion about
all the Brankameres, dead and gone. Her
extremely engaging conversation brings
them presently to the passage that legis to
the apartments of the dowager. She melees
a step into the passage. -
" Her ladyship does not rgoeive to -day,"
says the housekeeper, " but no doubt if you,
my lady, desire to see her, she—" -
hot to -day," says Muriel. "But I
should like to visit the rooms beyond. This
part of the house looas so mysterious, so cut
off from the rest of it, that neve a strange
longing to make myself acquainted with
it."
"The keys," the says, turning rather
impatiently to tine housekeeper.
1 haven't them, my lady. The rooms
beyond belong to Madame Thirsk. No one
is ever allowed to enter them," replies Mrs.
Stout, "except Mrs. Brooks." Mrs, Brooks
is tits dowager's attendant.
Bat there must be six or seven rooms in
this n ing ?" , eestions Dlurieb.
" Seven, me•lady,"
" Surely, Madame Von Tbira'k does not
require them all 7"
Apparently she does my lady. I have
been here now close on six years, and no
One has ever gone into them save madame
herself or Mrs. Brooks. They do 00)00 hove
It is haunted, but that, of course, is not for
your ladyship to believe."
"HauntedI Ily what?" melts Muriel,
" Ah l That is what no one knows, my
lady, There have only been footsteps
heard and—aoreams at odd intervals. But
the story goes that a former lady of Branks-
mere flung herself from one of the windows
in this part of the house, booat'e, poor
lady, she was forbidden to see her young—
that is—ahem,—the gentleman she fancied,"
winds up Mrs. Stout, witlt an apologetic
cough.
" Locked up by the orthodox cruel
parent, no doubt," says Lady Branksmere.
" Well not exactly, ma'am, It was a
cruel husband that time," murmurs Mrs.
Stout, mildly.
Husband!"
"Yes—begging your ladyship's pardon 1
There was a husband, sure enough, but it
appears the poor creature didn't take to
him muoh, but lied a hankering like after
an old lover of hers, as was most natural,"
""lake oare,Mrs, Stout," laughs Muriel,
carelessly. "I doubt your morals are not
altogether sound,"
"I think time will prove you wrong there,
my lady," returns Mrs. Stout stiftly. "Int.
mortality has never been attributed to
Jute Stout I"
"No, One oan quite understand that—
poor Jane Stout l" returns Lady Branke•
mere, "But to your tale. I will not bo
spared one ghastly detail."
"My lord could tell you all about it far
butter than I can madame ; but the end of it
was that the miserable lady threw herself
out of one of the windows on a starlight
night, and her body was found next morn-
ing in. the stone courtyard beneath, all
crushed and mangled,and go disfigured that
they saamely knew her,"
"A. second Jezebel," remarks Muriel.
" And now she walks the earth again, you
tell me, in dainty raiment, as when she
ived a—or—as they picked her up from the
trained caurt.yard P
"Who can sav, my ladyl" The house.
keeper shrinks a'littie me if terror-strioketr.
"'lie only known for certain. that tome -
team, on tnoon•llght nights, sus can hoar
ea unearthly yell that comes froth behind
the etosod door, It is the cry the poor
seal neve when falling,"
" You—did Unto ever hear it?" elle asks,
"Once, madame," whispers the house.
keeper. "But the dowager lady is some.
• times a little nervotts, Brooks tells me, and
I thought perhaps—" She pauses ember.
mewl,
"That tiro aonnd came from her, or else
from a )seated imagination, Riddles
Muriel for her, " Web, the thought is
uncanny, however it g000,"
:the seeker off the gr•ewcoino feeling tint
tad made 1.5s own of her, teed onto troee
glatleoa at the carefully guarded door.
"1 must then apply to Madame von
Thirsk for the keys of title wing 1" she asks
slowly,
"Yes, my lady ; or to hie lordship."
At this moment the heavy haizo•oovored
door is flung open, and Dino. von Thirsk
steps softly out into the corridor 1
('so 10: t'o:.rty t'ten.)
Opium iu a New Light.
fele George Birdwood, an eminent meat.
lull Iii t , who has spent many yours in
Italia en charge of native regiments, jails
and hospitals, says that ludiat opium is,
as it always has beer., the luxury of the
rich in China, just as champagne is in
Europe and America, "tine only difference
between them being that while the daily
use of champagne or other wines and
spirits, malt liquors, etc., may prove
deleterious, the stroking of pare extract of
Indian monopoly opium can in itself never
be inju riona to health, not even when in-
dulged, so faros time and mosey wasted on
it aro concerned, to so•ealled excess. Opium
in brief, fa one of the greatest gifts of
Providence to the people of the tropics ;
and not simply as a soothing adjuvant to
the digestion of a vegetarian diet, such as
that used by the Hiudoos, and a prophy
ladle against malaria, through Its epeedut
action 011 the perspiration, the only secre-
tion it stimulates, but, above all, because
its use, like that of tea, coffee feud tobacco,
anticipates and allays the natural thirst of
mankind for alcoholic stimulants, which
certainly oan not be safely indulged in by
the emotional people of Southern Asia and
Africa, except with tate greatest dreams -
pectin and carefulness," The same author-
iby 5110we that opium is the most °conom.
ice' of sblmnlants. Basing his estimate on
the foot that while the English drink bill
for 1801 was put at $700,000,000, the
Chinese opium bill for the sane year was
$1"35,000,000, he calculates that if opium
were substituted in England for wino and
spire's the bill for stimulants would bo $15,-
750,000, as against $700,000,000. Touching
the administrative and economical Bides of
the opium question, Sir George Birdwood,
"holding that its habitual consumption is
conducive to the health, wealth and Itap•
piness of the inhabitants of the tropics, and
more especially of those who ere vegotar.
lane," advocates that the nnatufaeture of
the drug should be freely thrown open to
private 0uterpriee, and the duty on its ex.
port raised as high as possible iu the in.
tertropicai competition with ardent spirits
to which it seems predestined. ' And
within thirty years the whole imperial,
provincial and feudatory expenditure of
India might, in this way, be met out of the
yearly increasing opium revenue, whilthe
country itself would be left praotioally un-
taxed."
ABODT SDAICE POISON.
Row the Millions er Natives or Indict Are
A lit ief ed by PO 1401/011A Snakes.
The destruction of life in India by polo -
°nous snake bites is numbered well up into
the thousands every year. This is dee
partly to the vast number of venomous
snakes in the country, and also to the lock
of protection which the clothes of the na-
tives fail to afford.. Various efforts have
been made by the local and English goy -
dements to exterminate the pests, but the
bounties offered for the heads of poisonous
snakes fail to reduce them to any appreci•
able extent. The death rate continues
great, and when a native is once bit-
ten note of his friends attempt to help
him, es they have no faith in any
modern methods of counteracting the
poison. Recently, however, medical at-
tention has been directed to this subjsot,
and considerable study and experiment
have been made to ascertain the value of
certain remedies for snnke.bites. Probably
one of the most promising disooveries in
this line is the so-oalled treatment of Baron
von Muller. His treatmeut is simple
enough, Itis the injection of strychnine
under the skin close to the nerve centers
that have been affected by the poison. Ac-
cording to this theory the snake poison sim-
ply suspends the action of certain nerves,
and does not permanenbly'dsstroy the body
tissues, Strychnine stimulates these nerves,
and tots as an antagonistic agent to the
poison of the snake. Ten to twenty minims
of stryohnine are initiated every fifteen
minutes until slight =settler spasms are
detected, and this is the sign that danger
is passer,, and larger doses of the poison can
be administered. Ina great number of act-
ual oases of snake poisoning in India he has
had remarkable success, and the remedy
promises to neutralize the dangerous action
of snake poison in every country.
Dunning a Mao-0'•War•
Strange scenes marked the weighing of
the anchor of a man•of-war helonging to a'
South American Government at Toulon. It.
ie said that the officers had contracted
debts amounting to about 80,0001: in the
southern naval seaport. Accordingly the
• vessel before leaving the roadstead was sur•
rounded by boatloads of exulted and clan.
oaring creditors, who made attempts to get
on board, but were threatened by the orew
of the mato? war, Both officers and men,
according to the report, said that they
would prevent anybody entering the ship
at the paint of the sword. The French
coolcs and stewards, who had been hired
for the mess room of the foreign men-of-
war,then left the vessel, as they were
afraid that they might receive batt troat-
ment during the voyage. As the creditors.
were ratable to get on board they had
themselves rowed back to shore, and lodged
a complaint with the justaco of the peace.
A "writer" was despatched out to the
foreign craft, but the captain refused to see
him. Soon afterwards the man•of•war
stood out to sea, and rho oreditors finding
that the naval prefect of the port could do
nothing for then resolved to bring choir
grisvanoes to the notice of the Minister for
Foreign Affairs.
The Age of Pericles.
Fame is always hard to define, and ie
Often appears that the names of the greatest
philosophers of old are unknown to many
people. A gentleman was to deliver a leo.
Lure upon the" Age of Pericles" in a coun-
try town, and two of the citizens Were
speaking of it.
After a a few remarks' upon the leaturer,
Air. Brown naked : " What are perielee,
anyway, Smith ?"
" WeIl, Brown, I don't exactly know,
but it is some kind of shellfish."
" Ob, yes I Theta, of course,' the age' has
reference to the time they have been out of
Water,"
meemreeemem
YOUNG FOLKS.
LOST ON THE btO/E•
A T1at'h s't'amen.
The ehttdove of a cold, bleak, stormy
winter eveuiug of the true English sort
ware corning down upon the hills and aceta
of Yorkshire, when two boys—the taller of
whonc carried on hits shoulder a small bag,
which seemed to be well filled—Game
scrambling into the deepening darkuese u
ouu 0f the annex:et ridges, as if in haste to
ger hare.
And well aright they he 80, for they had
had a long and hard days work, and were
both beginning to foe/ very tired. Since
early morning they had been out "Thomas
ing," as the couutryfnllr in those parts cal
it ; for it is a local custom for oho Yorkshire
eillage lads to go front house to house o
St. Theme's day ('30U December), singing
carols and eolleethrg'"tlolne," which usually
take the form of broad, ginger -cake, and
cheese, with perhaps afow pennies, as With
the Ruesian peesants on Christmas eve.
On this occasion 0110 tn'a Young heroes
had. made a nnelt larger daunt than usual,
in order to melt two or tree outlying farm•
houses et a oousiderablo distance from their
own village ; and they wore well rewarded,
for, to their great joy, they received a
muoh larger dole then the• had ever had be.
fore, which comprised halts dozen jam tarts
hot from the oven, But all this took up a
good deal of time, and when the boys
ournecl their backs upon the Inst amt most
distant hours, afternoon had already- waned
into evening, and oveuiug was fast deepen.
ing into night.
'Aa say, Diek, it bo coomin' on darn,"
said Tom, the elder of the two, to his con.
sin Dick. " We'd best goo oop t' hill to
t' wagonway teuvor the top ; that bet gainest
[the best] way whoam.
Diels agreed, and the two lade set off at
their best speed up the ridge, 'fora, as the
ebronger, taking the bag, which till then
they had carried by turns,
One by one as the night fell, the village
lads straggled back from their quest ; bub
Tom and Dick were not with them.
Just at drat, however, no one, not even
thole own parents, felt at all inclined to be
anxioue about the missing boys. One or
two of the comrades had heard then talk
of going to visit some of Lim more distant
farms, and it was taken for granted that
they had dote so , and even when night
came and brought no sign of them, the
fancily merely concluded that they had been
"put up" in one of these farmhouses for
the night in the hospitable old north.00uu-
try fashion, and would come home the first
thing next morning,
But when morning came, and still there
was nothing to be seen or heard of the lost
lads, the village folk began to be alarmed
in earnest, and all who could be spared for
the work set off in a body, with the fathers
of the two boys at their head, to " beat"
the upland moors for some trace of then.
'rho yotmg castaways were traded from
lcouso to house easily enough as far as a
farm called Stormy Hall, the last place at
which they had called ; but here the search
was brought to a sudden stop. No one in
the house had any idea which way the boys
had gone after leaving it, and the hearts of
the anxious seekors died within them as
ohey strained their eyes over the wild waste
of bare hills, bleak moors, and pathless
swamps, which lay outstretched around
them on every eide,and thought of the long,
cold, stormy night that the poor little wan•
derers trust have spent in Oils grins wilder.
nose without any shelter whatever.
For snob fears, unhappily, there was only
too good reason.
SAY 20, 1$93
nn inemv.tnt firing of pistol•shote all around
theta,
13ut the hardy bays, to whom a niglhe on
the open moor was no new t)tiag',only lttugita
ed at the rage of the storm (front which
they were pretty welt protected by the
thick lite and the over arching bank), and
eel to week to dispose of the food wtbh
which their day's round had lnekily sup.
plied them, The ,join tarts, in which some
warmth still lingered, were specially rolish-
od, mat Tont, with hie mouth full of ginger-
bread, doolared it to be tnaiu fine stint' on
a metal noeglrt,"
Ir liter though our hernee were well defend.
ed against the tempest, they heti no pro.
teotion from the frost, and as the night
wore it grew so bitterly cold that it seemed
to freeze the very blood in their veins, and
the reckless lade began to see the full peril
• of thole position. With them, as with the
1 sufferers in the Black Holo of Caloutta, iL•
was now merely a question of whether they
I could koop alive till morning.
By this time, however, the weary hor,.
spent with fatigue and numbed with cold,
wore in no ease to matte any fresh effort for
their own safety. All that they could do
wee to spread, the now empty canvas bag
over as mucl(of their bodies as it tvotldcov-
er, and then, nestling close together for
warmth, they fell into a heavy sloop.
The dawn of tie shorted clay in the year
had not yet straggled through the blackness
when Tont awoke. He fouml himself so
still' end numb that he could hardly stand,
and for some moments was Inlly occupied in
warding leis Itatf•frozen blood by stamping
his feet and flapping his arms. Then he
0:2110,1 to ifs cousin, but there 1005 110 an -
ewer.
" Dick 1" he ohoutod, bat poor Dick re-
plied only with a faint groan.
Ha was alive, however—that was sone•
thing ; hitt what was 00 be done 7 Dick woo
evidently failing fast, and would die if help
were not, epoedily °ltained. But hew to
obtain it? font felt that he could not
walk a quarter of a mile to save his life, and
there was little hope of anyone passing that
lonely place, at 00 untimely an hoar.
But just as the pool' lad was straining his
I
weary eyes through the gloom in silent dos-
pet•atian, he caught circ tinkle of a small
bell only a little way beyond him, and his
practised ea' detested that it was not a
sheep bell, but one of those the northern
tea tuatara are wont to fasten to the harness
of their horses. The wagon road that they
lead sought in vain, then, must ile just
above the spot where they had spent the
night, and this must be re cart passing along
i l+.
Frantic at the thought of losing this last
Lope, our hero gathered all his strength,
and sent forth a yell worthy of a Comanche
Indian.
Hello !" shouted a hoarse voice, which,
gruff and early as it was, seemed to our
poor Tom, the sweetest sound he had ever
hoard. lie trade toward it, anti gasping
out the ono word " Dick I" fell fainting into
the strong arms of a burly carter, who was
on his way to Rosedale Pit for a load of
coal.
Assoon as Tom had regained his senses
Itis anxiety about Dick returned, and lie re.
hewed with better success his former at-
tempt to tell what had become of his cousin,
describing so aoeurately the spot in witch
he hal left him that a messenger WW1 at once
sent off with the news to the search party,
which had by this time roached bite foot of
the ridge that had sheltered our heroes.
On hearing what Tom had told, the sook-
eh•s went right up the ridge with all the
speed that theyeouhl make, shouting with
all their might as they went. But poor Disk
was in uo ease to answer them, and they
passed tight along the edge of the very
hollow in mulch he was lying without see.
ing or hearing anything of km.
Bat just then a keen -eyed shepherd look-
ed dowu tufo the Hollow and called 00 t
•engorly,
There he some o' yon ling as has been
ploocked oop wi' fua;nf., and ye 11 find t' lad
condor it for a guinea."
All the rest flew itt Duce to the spot, and
there, sure enough, they found, helpless
and all but dead, the lost 'Dick, who being
unable to seend, was carried home in art•
umph, In the end, however, strauge to
say, neither he nor his cousin seemed to bo
any the worse for this terrible adventure.
—rDavid Kerr in Harper's Young People.
When the boys left Stormy Hall, they
had gone briskly up the steep and slippery
ridge above them, never doubting that they
would soon find themselves on tato wagon
track that ran along the brow of the hill,
and be able to follow ,t 011 they came with-
iu hail of thole own village, But fortune was
against them, Tired ea they were, and
cumbered with a pretty heavy bag to boot,
this uphill struggle over wet and slippery
ground was terribly exhausting, and every
now and then they Dante to a broad belt
of matted gorse and bracken, which: with.
ered though it Was, was still no triuiog ob.
staple to boys of their age and size.
Ere long they were half way up the slope
the last gleam of the red angry annset had
faded from tho crest of the hill above then,
and the old black gloom closed round them
like the oreeping shadow of death, while
the dreary moan of the rising wind foretold
but too plainly the coming storm.
Amid that rayless blackness even a man
who knew the ground by heart might well
have been ata loss to find his way; air] the
boys, who had been there only two or three
times before in their whole life, soon found
themselves walu,ng quite at random (hav-
ing neither moon mor star to guide them),
and could hardly tell, es they stumbled
over roots and donee, or fell sprawling into
yawning rifts, whether they were gong up
hell or down, To add to their troubles a
oold rain now betas to fall, and the biting
sweep of the wind (which was fast rising to
te perfect gale) chilled them to. the very
bone, wet as they already were from con-
stant splashing through the marshy hol-
lows.For some time they struggled blindly on
in silence, neither of thorn daring to hinb to
the other the hideous thought which had
risen up the same moment in the minds of
both ; but at length Utak, the weaker and
less resolute of the two, said, gloomily,
"No use, Tom ; we be boob!"
'"I's thinkiu' so mysel'," replied Tom, as
oheerily as he could, though itis ]heart sank
at the fearful word ; "bub what if we be ?
A neeght on 0' moor is 0a sie mighty mat.
th,er, WVe man [mast] find some eholter,
and when t' sun cents oop, we's goo whoam
a'rest,"
But searooty Woro the roulette words tit•
tared when a loud crash was heard, and
the speaker found himself sprawling on his
nese nn a deep grass grown hollow, while
Dicke, ratable to stop himself, tumbled
ah.
Thodlong nextfter momeimnt, however, Tom picked
hea
himself pp again, and buret into a loud
hearty laugh.
Shelter,' says I, and here at be. We're
a' roogitbnow, DIA, lad, This beyan [one]
a' they hollows wleor ehe sheep ahelter in a
0)00[2. Lay thysel' Hoonunder the bank
and I's cover thee oop."
Dick purled himself pie under the shelter•
ing hank, and' nestled into the ling that
grew think and ltigh•ovar the whole hollow,
while Tom, having gathered three or four
armfuls of it and covered him well up,
crept in beside bin.
The German Government will not 1180 t
White horses in the army M the future. Ito
a battle the enemy can discern white horses s
at a considerable distance,
The Iargese bell in the World is in the
Kremlin, "lOfosooty, Its Leight is 01 feet,
dal in, bed t els chane fare,reo 07 feet, clinches. s
lie weight la est ete:ad at 4•13;77"Lponntls•
II.
They wore 110110 too soon, far hardly had
hey taken their /dams when the storm
earth in all its fury, the wind howled and
band t
ricked, ano heavy hulloes of rain carpo
wenn-teringmotored upon motored how]dcrs, or
hiss011 amid the xvithorocl fern and dry
heather; nod in the utter darkness the
napping of the dead twigs broken oar aril
w:ttr.ed n,'vay by the furious Meet Was like
ATB HIS DAUGHTER.
Ain Indian Cannibal o1' tbnebee Ate of Kb;
tlk11d's merry to Keep. litnself
From Perlthantt.
A Quebec despatch says :—An Iudiau of
the Mautagais tribe named Jocksbadjecks,
residing in Ste. Marguerite, on the north
shore below here, killed his wife and
daughter and ate a good portion of the late
tor.
Some travelers passing by the Indian
wigwam were horrified to find the goy re-
mains of an Indian girl a little way off from
the cabin.
The body bore traces of strangulation,
the face was black and oongested, the eyes
bulged oat of their sockets, and in some
parts of the body the flesh had been sliced
off, and parts of the bones and intestines
were laid bate.
The Indian, when questioned, allowed
that his wife and daughter lta'i died of
hunger and misery and that he partoolt of
the dealt from the body of his daoghter in
order to alleviate the torments of hanger
from whlolt he was dying himself. The
travelers, however, suspected something
else and bhonghb it very probable that the
rase was one of tate extraordinary oases of
cannibalism sometimes reported by hunters
in far•olf plateaus ort the bordering heights
of land,
The Indian is being kept.uttder wallah
and the district coroner will hold au inquest
to determine, 0 possible, the cause of rite
deaths.
Story of a Family Bible,
It is said that, some time ago, at a noble-
man's house in the neighborhood of the
tMarbleAroh, London, a dispute arose about
a certain passage which was declared to bo
Scriptural. A dean who was present deny
ing that there was any such text iu rho
Bible, the sacred volume wao oalled for.
After considerableea
s rob, a dusty old Bible,
which had lain on the shelf since the death
of the nobleman's mother, several years bo'
fore,. Was produced. When the volume Was
opened a bookmarker wee found in it,
which, upon examination, proved to be a
bank -post bill for £40,000, Why it had
been placed there was never discovered;
perhaps the old lady had thought it a good
means of inducing her son to seartih the
Scriptures.
It Serves a Double Purpose,
tie had jut folded up and pocketed the
very voluminous railway ticket that seeme
to be so necessary an evil of travel,
able," T hope you'll find 02ory thin comfort
a o said r
the porter. I'tn a�raid it's a •
little chilly in Pero."
No danger about fee," was the. answer.
" When Igot tit eller reading my railroad
tioka' I can wrap myself up in it and go to
shop,"