The Brussels Post, 1893-12-29, Page 2illirrr-
1,,....„....................
HE MIST OF ALARMS
f OI3T. 73.'1121 , ..IN "LIPPINCOTT'S '+LL9.GA.ZINE,"
OHAI'TER XIII.
he turned to ate fence, olimbingg slowly
elle t'0ad over when h had leaped ao lightly a few
aces walked merrily down
etl ng "Gayly the Troubadour," Per. lnimute0 re, and malted down the road,
pi; there ie no moment iu a man's life outsing'h10 fate. Although he admitted he
was 'coward in talkingto her Ms Inc did
at he feels the joy of being alive more ,
Wady than when ho goes to propose to a apo t hie wrecked life, yet he knew now
,irl of whose favorable answer he le reason- t t every word he had epoksn was true.
Illy sure, unless it be the nioineut he walks 'itat did the nature hold out to him 1 Not
way an accepted lover. There is w magic even the incentive to live. He Found him..
fit a June night, with its soft volvec,� self walking towards the tent, but, not wish -
nese and lbs sweet mild air laden wXtl, inn to meet Renark in his preeont frame of
perfumes, of wood and field. Theron. mind,mhe tured and came out on the Ridge
antment of the hour threw its spell over Road. He was tired and broken, and re-
ih, young man, and he resolved to -live a solved to -stay in camp until they arrested
tatter life and be worthy of the girl he had him. Tien perhaps she might have some
th'osen, or, rather, that late had chosen Pty on him. Who was the other man she
or him. He paused a moment leaning loved 1 or had she merely said that to give
ver the fano near to the Howard home. finality to her refusal? In his present mood
teed for he had not yet settled in his own ho pictured the worab, and imagined her
and the detaile of the meeting. He would the wife of some neighboring farmer,—per-
.ot go in, for in thaboase he knew he would haps even of Stoliker. These country -girls,
aye :to talk, perhaps for hours, with every he said to himself, never believed a man
ne but the person he wished to see• If he was worth looking at unless he owned a
nnounced himself and asked to see Mar- farm. He would save his money and buy
are( alone, his doing so would embarrass up the whole neighborhood ; then she
er .at the very beginning : Yates was would realize what she had missed, He
aturally too much of a diplomat to coo- climbed up 011 a fence beside the road, and
fence awkwardly, As he stood there, sat on the top rail, with his heeleresting on
fishing chance would bring her out of the a lower one, so that he might enjoy his
.ouse,there appeared a light in the door- misery without the fatigue of walking. His
nindow of the room where he knew the vivid imagination pictured himself as in a
onvelescent boy lay. Margaret's shadow few years' time the owner of a large section
ormed a silhouette on the blind. Yates of that part of the country, with mortgages
aught tip a'handful of sand and flung it on a good deal of the remainder, including
ightly against the pane. Its soft patter the farm owned by Margaret's husband. He
idemtly attracted the attention of the saw her now a farmer's faded wife Doming
, for after a moment's pause the win- to him and begging for further time in which
w opened carefully, and Margaret step. to pay the seven per Dent. due. He knew
quickly out and closed it, quietly
he would act nnageonimonely on such an
:hug (hero. occasion and grandly give her husband all
Margaret," whispered Yates, hardly the time he required. Perhaps then she
'S a his breath. would realize the mistake site had made. Or
he girl advanced towards the fence. perhaps fame rather than riches would be his
, Is that you?" else whispered in return, line. Hie name would ring throughout the
t an accent on the last word that thrilled land, He might become a great politician
ietener. The accent told as plainly as and bankrupt Canada with a rigid thrill law.
h that the word represented the one Theunfairaessofmalringthewholeindecent
on earth to her. people suffer for the inconsiderate cot of
'` Yes," answered Yates, springing over one of them did not oecnr to hien at the
o fence and approaching her. moment, for he was humiliated and hurt.
t' Oh 1" cried Margaret. starting bank, There is no bitterness like that which assails
n checking herself with a catch in her the man who has been rejected by the girl
Me. " You—you startled one—Mr. be adores,—while it lasts. His eye wan.
tea." dered towards the black mass of the Howard
Not vis. Yates any mora, Margaret, but house, It was as dark as his thoughts. He
Margaret, I wanted to see you alone turned his bead slowly around, and like a
bright star of hope there glimmered up the
why I have Dome. 'lie tried to
r hands, but she put them road a flickering light from the Bartletts'
•e l ••tehnng bo r window
Although s
time
Pepped efaras hwonerned, wheel
en long was convinced it could not be very late,
en ''''t, or the Bartletts would have gone to
ard coved bed. It is always difficult to realize that
ace the the greatest of catastrophes are generally
over m a few minutes. It seemed an age
alk to siuee he walked so hopefully away from the
tent. As hs looked ab the light the thought
to you? struck ador. (Silo the stKtvouldvas notobe in
have
argaret. treated him so badly as the other girl ; and
—and she was pretty, too, come to think
of it, He always did like a blonde better
than a brunette.
—if you
thing as I
e, and
necked
t,butI
knew
tell you
trot say
se, I elm
pe uoth-
ou be -
w what
be in
judged
did not
better
er than
of you
Any
woman,
tlagiarizing
deserves ;
of given
under
rattily.
rue."
1 Don't
, very
anit of
When
, bitter•
nk what
be. Think
you finally
1 ant
aka or
5 life of
rgavet,.
tie hi to be
1 yo it re n fool -
any ant of mine. I
ou to sof that lam to
have no wis i to in -
way or ant her."
genet ?"ask Yates,
ese good or ba
ends - • ny on else out hints
ideal of a man "
Tell me what your ideal fa,
try to attain it."
largaret was silent.
' You think it will be useless for
?u I
' As far as I am concerned, yes.'
:Margaret, I want to ask you 'one more
:'tion. 1 have no right to, b I beg
to answer me. Are you in eve with
•'one else?"
' No," orled Margaret heti, . " How
s you ask me such a question ?"
' Oh, it is nota orime,—that is, being in
e with some one else isnot. 1'11 tell you
y I dare ask. Iswear by all the gods
t I shall win you, if not thislyear, than
if not next, them tho,t-ar after.
talk as I did but I love
'4 even then. All 1.
^, in love
couduat
di is: not
that I
in0 bo
0
assisting
r answer.
sr 1—this
not that,
may ulti.
flied
A fence -rail s not a comtortable seat. It
is used in some parts of the oounbryin such
a manner as to impress the sitter with the
face of its extreme discomfort, and as a
gentle hint that his presence is not wanted
in that immediate neighborhood. Yates reo-
ollected this with a smile as he slid off and
stumbled into the ditch by the side of the
road. His mind had been so preoccupied
that he had forgotten about the ditch. As
he walked along the road towards the star
that guided him, he remembered he had
recklessly offered Miss Kitty to the callous
professor, After a11, no one knew about the
episode of a short time before except him-
self and Margaret, and he felt convinced
she was not a girl to boast of her oonquests.
Anyhow, it didn't matter. A man is surely
master of himself.
As he neared the window he looked in.
People are not partinular about lowering
the blind in the country. He was rather
disappointed to see Mrs. Bartlett sit•
tiug there knittine, like the industrious
woman she was. Still, it was consoling
to note that none of the menfolks
were present, and that Kitty, with her
fluffy hair half concealing her faee,sat read-
ing a book he bad lent to her. He rapped
at thedoor,and it was op.nedbyMrs. Barb -
lett with some surprise.
"Tor the land's sake, is that you, Mr,
Yates?"
"It is."
"Come right in. Why, what's the matter
with you? You look as if you had lost
your beat friend, Ah, I see how it is,"—
Yates started :—"you have run out of pro.
visions, and are vary likely as hungry as a
bear."
"You've hit it firab time, \Ire, Bartlett.
1 dropped around 10 005 18 I could borrowa
loaf of bread. We don't bake till to -mor.
row."
Mrs. Bartlett laughed.
"Nips baking you would do if you tried
it. I'll get you a loaf in a minute. Aro you
sure one is enough ?"
"Quite enough, thank you.".
Tho good woman bustled out to the other
room for the loaf, and Yates made gond use
of her tetnporary absentee,
"Kitty," he whispered, "I want to see
you alone fora few minutes. 1'11 wait for
you at the gate. Can yon slip out ?"
Kitty blushed very red and nnddod,
"They have a warrant out for my arrest,
and I'm off to -morrow before they can serve
it. But I couldn't so without seeing you,
You'll come, sure ?"-
Again Kitty nodded, after looking up at
lain in alarm when he spoke of the warrant.
Before anything further could be sand, Mrs.
Bartlett came in, and Kitty was absorbed
in her book.
" Won't you have something to eat now
before you go book ?'
"Oh, nn, thank you, dire. Bartlett. You
see, the proftssor is waiting for me."
"Let him wait, if he didn't have sense
enough to comb,"
"He didn't. I offered him the chance."
" It won't take ne a moment to set the
table. It ie not the least trouble,"
" Really, Mrs. Bartlett:, you aro very
kind, I am net in the slightest degree
hungry now. ' I am merely tekivg Homo
thought " morrow. No ; I must be
goln tit you very 'ranch."
1 Mrs. Bartlett, seeing him
thore'sanything your want,
I will let you have it if lb's
o good to mo," said the
genuine feeling, " and I
but I may remind you of
t-nnorrow.'
do,"elle aaswered. "Good.
at the gate, placing the Loaf
here he forgot 11, mach
teem of the donor in
He did nob have to west
y came around the house
kingly, as one who was
THE BH'SSELS POST
doing the most wicked thing that had been
done sittoo the world began. Yates hasten.
ed to meet iter, clasping ono of her unt'eslst-
ing hands in his.
"I ninth be off bo-inol'row," he began,
stn very sorry," answered Kitty, in
a whisper.
"Ah, Kitty, you are nab half so sorry as
I an. 13ut I intend to Dome back, if you
will let ane; Kitty, remember that talk we
hued in the Ititohon wizen we—whoa there
was an itttori•uption, and when I had to go
away with our friend Stoliker?"
Kitty indicated that she remembered it,
"Well, of course you know what I want-
ed to say to you. Of oouree you know what
I want to say to you now."
It seemed, however, that in bili' he was
mistaken, for Kitty had not the slightes'
idea, and wanted to go into the house, for
it was Tato, and her mother would mists
her.
"Kitty, you darling little humbug, you
know that I love you. You must know bloat
I have loved you ever since the first day I
saw you, when you laughed at mo. Kitty,
I want you to marry me and make some•
thing of, me, if that is possible. I am a
worthless fellow, not half good enough for
a little pet like you, but Kitty, if you will
only say yes,I will try, and try hard, to be
a better man than I have ever been before."
Kitty did not say " yes," but alto placed
her disengaged hand warm and sofa upon
his, and Yates was not the man bo have any
hesltation about what to do next. To prao-
tionl people it may seem an astonishing
thing that the object of the interview being
happily accomplished there should be any
need of prolonging it, yob the two lingered
there, and he told her much of his past life,
and of how lonely and sordid ib had been
because he bad no one to care for him,—ab
which her pretty eyes filled with bears. She
felt proud and happy to think she had won
the first groat love of a talented man's life,
and hoped she would make him happy and
in a rneasure atone for the emptiness of the
life that had gone before. She prayed that
he might always be as fond of her as he was
then, and resolved to be worthy of him if
she could. Strange to say,her wishes were
amply fnfilled,and few wives are as happy or
as proud of their husbands as Kitty Bartlett:
that was. The one woman who might have
put the drop of bitterness in her cup of life
merely kissed her tenderly when Kitty told
her of the great joy that had come to her,
and said she was sure she would be happy ;
and thus for the second time Margaret told
the thing that was not, but for once Mar.
garet was wrong in her fears.
Yates walked to the tent a glorified man,
leaving his loaf on the gate -post behind him.
Few realize that it is quite as pleasant to
be loved as to love, The verb " bo love"
has many conjugations. The earth he trod
was like no otter ground he had ever
walked upon. The magic of the June
night was never so enchanting before. He
walked with his head and his thoughts in
the clouds, and the Providence that cares
for the intoxicated looked after him and
saw that the accepted lover name to no
harm. He leaped the fence without even
putting his hand to it, and then was brought
to earth again by the picture of a man sit-
ting with his head in his hands beside a
dying fire.
(TO 330 CONTINUED).
PLEASED WITH OUR BANKS.
A German Visitor Points 0111 one Sns0rtor•
icy of Canadian Bankes Over (german.
"I am very much impressed with the
Canacli an banking system," said Mr. T.
Engel, Hamburg, Germany, who was a
guest at the Queen's hotel, Toronto, the
other day. He is one of the best known
financial men of Europe, and is largely in -
throated, both in Canada and the United
States, in mining and railrord enberpris•
es.
"I had a draft on a German bank to Dash,"
he said in conversation with a Toronto re-
porter, "and (vent into ono of your city
banks to get the money. The young man
at the teller's box referred me to the
cashier, who looked at the draft and asked
me to endorse it. He then took it and in
about half a minute wrote some figures upon
it and told me that I would get the money
from the paying teller. I walked .over to
the young man and immediately he count-
ed me out the exact amount of the drafb
atter deducting the current rate of
exchange. I was on the street again
within five minutes after I had entered
the bank. Ths. same transaction would
have occupied at least half au hour
in Germany. Signatures would have
had to have been verified, a book
of exnhange tables would have bean
consulted to theme the proper amount of
exchange to charge, and then I should
have had to go and get stunt well known
citizen to identify me. The rapidity of the
transaction so impressed mo that I went
bank and asked tate manager how it was
done. He told fine that lie had mastered
completely all tables of exchange. He had
sitnply to find out what the current rate
was, and by a mental calculation he at
once was enabled to write down on the
back of the draft how much Canadian
stoney the teller should pay over, He
admitted that lie had rim some risk in ease
the draft had been forged, but for this he
had depended upon !lay appears^e.
He said that if I had not suited his idea of
a man who should be possessed of such a
draft he would have required me to scours
identification. I am of opinicu shat it would
pay oar banks in Germany to seomro the
services of a number of bright, Sharp Cana -
(Ilan bankers who would handle this plass
of business, which is et102110110 w ith us;"
Playing wife an 1oeb3rg•
A few years ago a French man•of-tear
woos Tying at anchor in Temple Bay, and
the younger officers took it into their heads
to amuse themselves with an ioeberg, n mile
or more distant in the straits. They would
have a sumptuous piomc on the very top of
it. All the warnings of the brown and
sample fiahornen (vont for nothing with
these gentlemen who had seen the world.
It was a bright summer morning, and the
jolly boat with a flag went off to the berg,
ay twelve n look the colors were flying
from the top, and the wild midshipmen
were revelling on the loos mountain, For
two hours or mare they hacked it and olainh.
tired over it, They frolicked and feasted,
etch laugbad it0 the very thought of danger
on thio solid the When, like thoughtless
Waldron, the young men had played those•
selves weary, they desoonded to their cockle
shell of a boot anti rowed away. As if Limo
and diet:once bad been mothered on purpose
for the men to view the scene in safety, tho
great iceberg lay silent until time boat was
a certain distance al!'. Then, as if its heart
heti been voloamlc fire it burst with .awful
thunder, and lolled the surrqund,ng wee -
with its ruins, Awed and subdued by the
scene of destruction, and thrilled at their
narrow escape from death the picnickers
returned to their ship. It was their first
and last day of amusement with an les.
bog,
QUEER SUUTUU PRAYER.
Homo of Thom Wore Not Without Point
and Humor.
Pretletter heortlie's lnveentlon,
No country in the world has produce
such a plentiful Drop of curious prayersas
Scotland, where extempore prayer is tine
rule among the Presbyterian clergy, Doubt-
less a groat many of the prayers which ap-
peared in the papers fathered upon the
clergy of the Land of Oakes pro apocryphal,
but these quoted in this artiole are undeni•
ably authentic.
" Pres -oiler Goordio," an eccentric)itin
eraut minister, who was famous 0011 over
Scotland at the beginning of the present
century for hie "nowhy,' homely sermons,
was also noted for his original prayers. On
one occasion he ementationsiy ascended bhe
pulpit of a country church with his fiddle
—his inseparable companion—under hie
arm. He then very devoutly set about
aiding the precentor by means of bile instru•
meet in raising the tune. Observing some
little tittering among the congregation—
for the vigilance of his suspioion was ex.
trema—he took occasion on bis prayer,
where, as he often said, he found himself
least straitened, to express himself in these
or thblik° terms 1 "Good Lord, Thy people
—Thine own peculiar, chosen people of old
—were wont to praise Thee with tabor and
with harp, with sackbut and with psaltery
and Thy deuce and loyal servants were
seen donning and skipping and snapping
their fingers to Thypraise, and weal were they
rewarded for it. 13ut nowadays nothing
will serve us but sighing and groaning and
squealing and howling cub dismal psalm
tunes, wi' feet nailed to the yird, and faces
anlllang, and muokle disloyalty in our
hearts, afters' I Gil Thy blessing reach us,
it maul' surely be Mair by Thy favor than
our aiu gold guidiug, I brow 1"
Geordie's prayer for the magistracy of
Loohmaben was formerly far•famed. "Lord,"
said lie, "we pray Thee to remember the,
magistrates of Lookmaben, such as they
are I"
A notice of somewhat similar petition is
to be found in a volume published in L`din-
burghin 1803,ectitled "Scotch Presbyterian
Eloquence"; Mr. Areakin prayed in the
Iron Kirk lash year, " Lord, have moray
on all the fools and idiots, and particularly
on the magistrates of Edinburgh,"
Another minister of the last century who
was famed for his peculiar prayer a was the
Rev. Peter Glass, the minister of Crail,
l0ifeshire. The Rev. Peter invariably
preached and prayed in good broad Soobeh,
using all the homely technical terms ap-
propriate to the subjects he happened to
have in hand. His parishioners being
mostly fishermen, he was praying one day
"that the Lord would fill the men's boats
wi' herrin' up to the very towholes"—i. e.,
rowlocks—when one of the persons concern-
ed roared out, "Na, na, no' that far, sir, or
1
we wad a' be sunk "
An eccentric Argyleshire minister noted
for the. same propensity as the Reverend
Peter Logan service one Sunday morning,
after a spree the night before, with the
following pithy and original prayer : " 0
Lord, what are we this morning but a parcel
o' easy osles? Grant us a big meat house,
and a wee wrought house, an' mountains o'
preed an' cheese, an' whiskey like Looh Lam•
end, an' puild a muokle dyke atween ns an'
the tacil."
Whatever may have been his ocher
deficiencies, a former minister of the Crum.
braes (two mere specks of Islands in the
Firth of the Clyde), theme not to have been
wanting in local patriotism, as he was wont
to conclude his weekly Sunday prayer with
the following petition : "0, Lord, have
mercy on Thy servants, the denizens of
Groat and Little Crumbrae, as also the
inhabitants of the adjacent Great Britain
and Ireland."
A well-known Lanarkshire minister of
the old school, recently debased was so
sensitive to any snspioion of plagiarism,
that he never allowed himself to make the
slightest quotation without giving his
authority. He was accustomed to assemble
his household every morning for family
worship,and on oneoocasion he commenced
his devotion thus :
" 0 Lord, we heartily thank Thee that
we have been awakened from the sleep
which a writer in the Edinburgh Review
has called the image of death."
We will conclude with the following story,
related by a well-known Glasgow D.A.
The doctor, in company with a brother
clergyman, was spending a vacation in
Cumberland, and on the first Sunday of
their May they attended divine service in
a little Scotch kirk in the vicinity, taking
the precaution bo sit in a remote cornet•, so
that the officiating minister should not
notice them. But the eagle eye of the
minister defected them, and in the interims -
eery prayer he so expressed himself as to
make quite sure of Boma aid from them.
The good man's words were these : " Lod,
have mercy on Thy minister servants who
have looked in upon us so unexpectedly,
one of whom will preach in the afternoon
and the other in the evening."
LONG PAST FINISHED.
Pan HLletsin of the 1,•n,tlr•Carlsts or Port-
land, Oreton—Parents Compelling
Their Children to Fast.
A Portland, Ore., Special says :—Mrs.
George II. Williams, Portland's noted frith
ourist and religions enthusiast, yesterday
finished her forty days' fast and resumed
eating. It was for the purpose of closer
communion with the Lord that Mrs, Will.
Tams undertook this fast, and to obtain an
audition to those oommunioations she has
received from Him. She prophesies " that
the end of the world is near at hand, to bo
preceded by rioting and anarchy through-
out the universe. Calamity after ealanity
will befall us, Whole countries will be
deveabated by fires and floods, and there
will be terrible deatrrlotion of life and prop.
0rty in divers ways." The influence of
Mrs. Williams' teaching has been of wide
extent. More than 100 persons in this city
have " gone through the wilderness," as
she calls the fortyday fast.
Parents have required children to fast,
and it has been necessary for the counts
to order these suffering children to be taken
in charge by the Boys and Girls' Aid So.
oiety, In one ogee Or. and Mrs. Walters
were charged with cruelly treating their
ehihlreo, John, aged five, William, aged
seven, and J ulia, aged fifteen, by compelling
them to fast ono day for 0aoh year of their
age, When the Children's Aid Society
raided the llonse the youngest child, who
had completed its compulsory fast of five
days, was removed in a dying condition,
the senond boy was very weak, and the girl,
who had rut away on bhe fourth day of her
feat, and endeavored to obtain food, ryas
found attained up in an ail it,
Domestic dimmed has ensued, and suits for
divorce aro a result. Male followers gave
up lucrative positions, thaftking they coald
hotter serve the Lord in idleness and pray-
er, Mrs. Williams' last fastwas of seventy
days' duration, She has been twieo disap-
pointed by the Lord, and she says if it.
bemire again she will renounce her faith.
DEcEnimat 29, 1893
WELL KNOWN PEOPLE.
Something Attfe•eattng About Them.
The Queen of Greece is uosidonb of asi
terbood devoted to the reformation of Grin
Male, and she personally visits prisoners,
Simon Cameron in reported to have ono
said that lie would sooner ride a thousan
ratios on a railroad than write ono persona
lotbor,
W, D. Howells is said to have onoug
literary work mapped out and eontraeto
for for the next year to metre him, with bh
royalties on his published books, an Mom
of 530,000.
Edward Payson 'Weston, the famous pod
esbrian, is now past 00 years of age, and ha
tramped nob less than 00,000 miles in pub
lie. He is desirous of an opportunity Mee
peatiug thine of his former triumphs.
Mr. Howells, writing of James Russel
Lowell, says: "He was one of the mos
tolerant men that ever lived, so math e
that I think he would have invented toter
itaniimon," if Roger Williams had nob been bathe
Lady Eva Quinn, wife of Cape. Wynd
ham (heir presnmpbivs of the Earl of
Duaraven,) has lulled six grown rigors from
the frail shelter of a howdah. But she'
probably get up on a chair in a hurry i
somebody should suddenly cry " mouse 1"
Bernhardt says that the longer she lives
the more she likes dumb animals, " They
aro so friendly when you do them no Kara
—they are so unlike men," she says. Sarah'
newest piste aro two young jaguars which
she brought from South America, and a
monkey.
Sir Thomas Esmond, M P„ is conducting
a crusade against the English language in
County Cork, Ireland, The effort is to make
the English language unpopular, and with
this end in view Sir Thomas and a score of
other patriots who own their own oasts are
having their names and addresses written
in Irish only on 'the vehicles.
Henceforth the signature on the notes of
the Bank of England will be " florae° C.
Bowen," who has been appointed cashier of
the world -famed institution, in succession
to F. May, who has held that office for tt
generation, and whose signature has appear-
ed on all the bank notes that have been
issued by the " Old Lady of Threadneedle
Street" for the last twenty years.
The temperance people of this country,
the United States and England, aro already
making arrangements for the observance of
Neal Dow's ninetieth birthday, on March
20, 1804. Temperance societies in all parts
of the world are asked to co-operate, each
one conducting the celebration according to
his own judgment and opportunity,but all
to scud congratulations to Gen. Dow.
Lord Bennet, the only living son of the
Lord of Tankerville, Eugland,is an evange-
list who is at present conducting a revival
in Sing Sing, New York, He is assisted by
Dr. English, the British revivalist. Lord
Bennet has had a varied canner. He has
served in both the army and navy, was a
noted hunter and a swell society man. The
death of several members of kis family 10
said to have been the reason for his giving
the remaining years of his life to religious
work.
SKIPPER JOHNSOEN'S STRY•
Ills lark ilaabet Sailed Over a Submarine
Volcano in Eruption.
A Washington special says :—This story
comes to the Hydrographic Office of the
Navy Department from J. Johnsen, master
of the Norwegian bark Haabet, under date
of Belize, British Honduras. Capt,Johnset
eays :
' On the 14th October, last past, at about
11; 45 p.m., we were sailing along with all.
sail set. Thsweather wasfineand the direc-
tion of wind northeast. There was no change
in the barometer, which had been high for
some days past. By observation had that
day I was in latitude 10.40 0 N., longitude
50.13 0 W. The ship was going through the
water about five knots. In was the mate's
watch. Ship was headed west by north.
The mate found suddenly that the ship's
head seemed to bo rising out of the water,
and he called me (Captain). When I came
on deal I found her head had risen from
about six to eight feet out of the water. At
this bime it appeared as if the vessel was
striking heavily on some rooks, but, as I
judged, we had 200 fathoms under us, and
knowing my position, I came to the ton -
elusion that 1 was immediately over the
disturbed area of some volcanic (subanarine)
eruption, In a few moments the vessel's
head fell heavily down ; thus all tine Saila
were taken aback. There were continued
heavy blows, as if the vessel were striking
on a reef,acoompanied with tremblingssuoh
as are caused by an earthquake on shore.
The shooks were so heavy that I feared the
ship would split in two, and it was impos.
ible to stand on the deck. The ship was
going ahead all the while, but rolled as if
in the trough of a heavy sea. The duration
of the disturbance was from three to five
minutes,
'The watch below were iso alarmed that
thby could not got on deck till all was
past.
The waves of seismic influence were
from west to east. The next day I sighted
(iraudeloupe, West Indies,"
ANTS BIGGER THAN FOXES.
Pliny Could Discount Anon tag to tit, ,l
or Drawing the Long ltow.
Pliny, that rare old gossiper, tells, among
his other extraordinary stories, that of the
Bactrian method of obtaining gold. The
sandy deserts of Baotria in the days of that
historian were, so the old man says, literally
swarming with ants "slightly bigger than
foxes." These gigantic representatives of
the genus homonopbera burrowed deeply
into the sandy wastes, their tunnels and
galleries often being hundreds of feet an ex.
tent. The earth removed frotn these bur.
rows was always carried to elle - outside and
thrown up in mills (remember Pliny says
that a
paiaoe, of " This iigbo.bris e saen l,i a omit, eta—
was soots found to be wonderfully rich in
small nuggets of gold. The danger from
tine ants was greater, however, than that
from bhoIndiats in the surly days of gold
dining in the western (United States, and
many stories are told of men who were liter.
ally devoured in a few moment, by the
fieroa owners of some disturbed burrow.
Some observing old hunter at late discover-
od that the giant ants slept (hiring the hot.
test hours of the nay. After that the seek•
ars after the yellow metal only made their
incursions at the proper time, and event then
they only stayed long enough in the deserts
to 1111 their, sacks with rho golden sand,
which they took home to sift 01 leianre,
With all this precaution the ants often
"swiftly pursued the fleetest Bosses, and it
was only by using envious erratagems that
tine htvaders managed to escape alive,"
Do you know u hat charity is i—Foo-1
gin a if you bear iii -will, and pay w) at you
owe`,.'
•
YOURG FOLKS.
The "Wild West" Messenger -Boy.
I was greatly pleased whoa. Ed Bolto
entered the messenger seoviee lu my distric
110acl always admired Ed, who was my of
schoolmate in Ward Six, Ho had a dos
and a vigor about him which were partici
holy captivating to a lad like myself, wit
flabby muscles and uear•si1kbed eyes. Yo
may like to hear about Bo's most disbiu
guisbod feat in the messenger service.
It was on n dark evening in Deoonbo
last year. We were sitting in order, w
messenger boys,on our bench ab the station
No, 1 and No, 2 had just gond on long an
disagreeable errands. Ed was No. 3, at til
)read of the row. No, 4 was a boy on du
for only ono day, to take the place of ou
regular No, 4, Jack Primo, Then came I
No, 5.
This No. 4 had made lots of fin for tit
rest of us all day. (It bad been a dull day
wibh little to do.) He was tall and slim
and very awkward, He earned himslf a
if his bones were put together by too hon
ligaments, ao thab they " wobbled." H
talked in a bashful way, and blushed wile
anyone spoke to him, Ed invented som
two dozen nicknames for him, such a
"Rickets" and "Beanpole" and " Shorty.'
We probended,when he came back from hi
errands, that he had been gone a ehookingl
long nim@,though I really think he did wei
enough for a beginner.
Across No. 4, then, that evening Ed wit
talking to me, and the other boys were lis
toning for the moat park Ed was in high
feather. He was a great reader of fivb-cen
boys' weekliso, like Captain Sly'e Dateetiv
Marvels and the 1Veekly 13udgob of Adven
ture. He usually fancied himself the her
of the latest serial story, and would adop
his name and rehearse his adventures es 1
they were his own, We came to belies,
him half way, he talked with such spirit,
and looked so bright and brave.
That night—I'll never forget it—he wa
Mosquito Jim, the Texas cowboy. IIs had
run away from home with nothing but a
pistol and unbounded courage. (Ed often
Intimated clerkly that if he was absent the
next day ib would be useless to look for him
for he would never be taken alive, never 1)
He had fallen in with a band of marauding
cowboys. His skill and plunk at once
placed him at their ]teed. They were his
enbhttsiasbio followers. They would die for
him. One of them—poor Bill, whom Ed
named with tears in his eyes as he told the
story—did die for him.
Oh, it was a wild life on the heart of the
plains! (We city boys listened with open
mouths and glistening eyes.) One day, just
six months ago, he had planned a raid on a
passenger train. His baud, suitably die.
goosed, had boarded the cars, had ridden
until they reached a long stretch of lonely
land, bad forced the engineer to stop the
train, and compelled the passengers and ex-
press agent to hand over their money and
valuables.
"But ah, boys!" Ed exclaimed, tragical-
ly, while we crowded closer, quite disre•
garding, in our eagerness to !tear, the
comfort of No. 4—" ah, boys, there was a
lovely maiden on that train, as beautiful
as an Egyptian Princess. She Dame to me
with tears in her lustrous eyes, and begged
me to restore the plunder, and set the traits
on its way again, I did so without a word.
I turned to my band. I bade them obey
their captain, on the honor of cowboys.
They gave hack the money without a mule,
mur, withdrew from the car, and we all
gracefully tipped our hats as the brain
moved off."
"But itow did you geb home?" askedNo.
4, who had been listening in a sleepy way.
"Hush -eh -eh 1" came in angry tones front
the rest of the boys, and Ed went on.
" I formed my band in military array.
'Brave lads,' I cried, with tears in my oyes,
'no more of this wild life for me. A lovely
maiden on that departing train has shown
me with aflash of her bright eyes the error
of my ways. I am a cowboy no longer.
Farewell 1' 1 gave then( a military salute,
put spurs to my horse, rode rapidly !tome,
and here I am 1"
We all drew a long breath. 11 had been
a thrilling story as Ed told it, and we
looked upon ]nim as a very Bayard for no-
bility and bravery.
Just then Mr. \Jason oalled out, "No.
3 I" (Mr. Mason is the man at the desk, you
know—our superintendent,) We hardly
expeoted wont that stormy night, but Isere
had cone in a man in a great hurry, with
a big, important -looking envelope to be
taken to Bleakman street, I heard Mr.
Mason tell Ed where to take it, and turning
to No. 4, f said :
" Whew 1 I'm glad ton not No. 3 just
now."
" Why?" asked No. 4.
" Why 1" I repeated, in astonishment.
"Don't you know about Bleak inset street?
It's the worst part of the city. I've heard
of a messenger -boy who was set upon there
by a gang of roughs and beaten almost to
death and made to give up his parcel.
That's why. And such a night as this,
too I"
' It's lucky Ed is such a brave boy,"
drawled No, 4. " But look at him 1"
I did look. What was the matter? Ed
was as white as a sheet ! I could sae the
big envelope tremble in his hands. He was
Imaging Mr. Mason to let him off 1
' It's not dangerous at all, my boy," I
heard Ivir. Mason say, kindly, " and it's
your Dorm"
'But Nn. 4 is
bi
gger than I am, sir."
I actually heard Ed say that 1 And then,
when Mr. Mason sternly bade him do his
duty, he broke into groat blubbering sobs,
threw the envelope on the desk, snatched
up his hat and went home. T'hat was the
last the service saw of its "Wild West
Messenger -boy."
"No 4 I" called Mr. Mason, looking with
a smile after the departing figure. (I am
sure from his remarks later, that he had
board Ed's glorious romance.)
Then I becanepanio•strioken in my turn.
Bleakutan street WAS the bugaboo of ns
messenger -bays, never mentioned• save in a
tone of awed respect, Many terrifying
stories in regard to it wore nurreub among
s. No. 4, a mere supply for a day, would
never go Into that rendezvous of thieves and
owdies ; and 1 Dans next 1
ButNo. 4 rose promptly, tools up the
uvelopo with a respectful bow, walked
with a smiling fano to the hat rack, and
vaysd lois hab at ns as he went out into the
form. How we cheered 1
And No, 4 is our No, 3 now, in Plato of
be "Wild West 113essenger•itoy "-•.fIInr-
ere Young people.
0
i
p
The Dating, it companion to the Hoosh,
a torpedo boat destroyer, 27 knots, 185
feet water line, 3,500 horse power, built by
Thornycroft, was lauuolnod a week ago,
The district of (lacca in the Province of
Bengal, India, has an agrinultural class
which omnprises nearly sixty per cent. of
the total population, Tho methods there
are of the most antiquated type. In fact,
the aversion to laborsaving utensils and
methods is ginite natural in such overcrowd-
ed eommtmitios,