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The East Huron Gazette, 1893-03-09, Page 7A Remarkable OrientaI Experience. A THRILLING STORY OF CHINESE TREACHERY. by the guide's name had been dis- CHAPTER VL covered was, in the end, simplicity Tientsin, 1st July.—I arrived here yester- itself. The guide having made inquiries day and am now the west of Mr. Bpnsel, a , throughout Tientsin regarding his master German gentleman, to whom Mr. James aubse quest to his disappearance, it was thus Dicey furnished me with a letter of intro- clearly recollected by certain of his friends duction. He is a gentleman with whom, that he had done so, and from this,'so soon from the first moment of meeting, I felt as those now inquiring upon the matter friendly ; and having the assurance of my came upon these men, it was at once and Shanghai friends that f could trust Bial to easily established as a fact that the man for; Chinese call by the name Chin-chin-wa. the uttermost, it was not long ere he was whose return to Tientsin I now wait was the He is a tall man, dressed in the clothing in possession of all that. I, myself, knew re- guide of William Norris. f of his adopted laud ; and what was strange garding the quest upon which I am bent. l y what means the two became separated j est to me, he bore himself like a king Mr. Bonsel's advice to one is sound and a year ago 1 can not as yet tell. Mr. Bonsel . amongst the crowd thatcrushed round when good, and I have declared to follow his has suggested several ways in which it was i he landed, as though seeminely conscious that his English blood gave him a higher right than was that of his adopted fellows ; and ;,his after, I believe, some seventeen years of solitude in Formosa, which do not seen in any way to have impaired his knowledge as to how to treat his fellows. Very seldom have I seen a crowd so excited. The arrival of this extraordinary man, and, as it were, the glory of his bear- ing, seemed to influence one and all. I myself caught the fever; and a feeling came over me that if ever I looked upon a man who was a king by nature's right I looked upon him now. Will you leave the matter in my hands, to do as I judge best ? 1 have consulted James upon the subject ; and had it not been for your express desire that we should do nothing until hearing from you, I should have already approached this An- glo•Chinee. I should like to sound him to ascertain if he can and will really be of any use to you ; we can trust him, I am certain. If you doubt this, remember that he has suffered penal servitude at the hands of his countrymen, and consider whether it is not more than likely that the old English blood rose to the top during those years. Though he is a Chinamen still to all appearances, we can not see his heart. In what capacity I shall put the matter before hien, as I propose to do with your permission, I am very doubtful. If he did in the end prove useful, could you offer a reward ? I do not know but that he may be a poor man unless the Government have taken him up. Now•if, as you have conjectured, Norris - is confined in the palace grounds in Pe- kin, this seems to me the truest and in- deed the only means to ascertain the truth. Let me, as your ambassador, ap- proach this man Chin-chin-wa, and you may rely I shall do my utmost to get him to agree with my views ; and if he does So— well, I feel that you will have a powerful ally. Believe me to be, yours faithfully, FREDERICK DICEY. way to the Northern Court, in all proba- bility to report himself and have his free- dom ratified. Whether this comes any- where near the truth or not, however, I can not say. I hasten to write to you at once, in order to catch the steamer, which will take my letter in a few hours' time from now, to ask you if you have any objection to my see- ing this man, with a view to inquiring if he will endeavor to assist you as far as lies in his rower when he reaches Pekin (if he ultim' tely intends going to the capital), for I feel confident that if there is one roan in the whole world who can be of use to you it is this man, whom, from mere seeing, I have taken a liking to, and whom the suggestions that I should make further in- 1 osaible for him to have missed his guide, gniries in Tientsin before I proceed to land all are more or less pfobnhle ; but the Pekin. ' truth we can only ascertain when the guide He remembers, he says, having heard himself returns, and how far this guide will something, some eight- or nine months ago, be useful to me is questionable. of the strange disappearance of an English- I Will the irritation of the delay he now man in Pekin ; but he can have made no I causes me by his absence be recompensed friends in Tientsin, for no one knew even by the information he has to give me ? It is extremely doubtful to my mind, for the man has himself long ago given up the search, and the story he has to tell must bear but indirectly upon the imprisonment of William Norris. I have written to acquaint my Shanghai friends of the annoying delay, which I yet feel it a necessity to bear, and I have asked them to write me, on the chance of the let- ter still reaching me here before I leave, to inform me whether either of them is ac- quainted with my host's Chinese friend in Pekin, Shan-min-yuen, and, if so, to what hie name, and the story appeared to have been of Chinese origin, and therefore was treated :is s.fable by the little colony. Mr. Bonsel has accordingly set inquiries en foot to discover, in the first place, with whom this story had origin, and his Chinese boy, who seems a reliable fellow, has in- stituted a system of search amongst his fel- lows which I have hopes may he productive of some information within the next few days, though in the mean time my patience is sorely tried for I long to proceed to Pekin, to be on the spot, to be near this man, though I may fail at first to find him; for (if he be still extent I may rely upon him, taking into alive) I can conjecture to myself the terrible account the fact that I shall naturally be nature of the prolonged suffering he must somewhat reticent with a Chinese. have endured in a solitary and apparently I think it extremely probable that, al endless captivity, and my very presence, as thoughneither of the Diceys may have seeking him, must surely, ay some hidden met this man, they may at some time means, communicate with him and give have heard of him ; and as my host must him hope. be in a sense prejudiced regarding his Every step which I take, bringing me friend, I should like an outside opinion, nearer tomy destination, seems to call to however vague, upon the man whose life within me renewed desire for haste in a guest I now understand I am likely to be- waythat I cannot explain. come when I arrive in Pekin. If I am his Tientsin is auiet town,and the settle• guest, and if, as I understand, he is well ac - meat I ant inclined to lik, whilst all who quainted with the English language,it will be live here are upon that footing of friendship an extremely awkward and difficult matter, which immediately arises from a tempor- indeed, to keep my own counsel as to the ary exile in a sinall remote town. the true reason of my journey ; and I should But it is too quiet for me in my present prefer, unless, I can learn that this China - state of disturbed nervous excitement. man differs greatly from such of his race as Were danger before me, 1 should be cool I have so far observed—and this is, indeed, and calm. It is the looking forward to a very narrow circle—to abstain from ac - what may come that is the trying point. ceptance of either his aid or hospitality. I have been to -day in the native city la classes As y yet the have seen Chinese,soI higher of the er city so vast as to change my opinion entirely beingsoprejudicedChin against t at I mayhemes a nation ot Tientsin. I had fancieddmit it a small place: but, otitstanding all that I may say to I found myself indeed mistaken. It has been with considerable trouble' myself on this score, it must, I fear, remain that I have procured an equipage of any an impossible thing for me to conquer my kind. What I have ultimately procured is natural dislike for the race. a dilapidated jinricksha, from which I have Bonsel has, in -his own mind, quite fixed frequently to dismount, owing to the state the matter. What is to be done without of the roads, down which, wherever there Chinese aid? Go to the Legislation ? Of what is a slope, a stream of water appears to be use in a city like Pekin. Well, perhaps he occasionally in the habit of coursing,— is right. Possibly it may require the au - though all is now as dry as in the desert. thority of a Chinese dignitary to unlock the Many of the streets and roads are some- gates of William Norris's prison. what of the nature of dry rivulet beds filled I am not quite sure, only I should prefer, by the summer dust, and along these pro- in such ease, to use this man as my tool, he gression is by no means of the most pleasant obeying my directions, not I his ; and if I order. am his guest, I scarcely see that the right of Mr. Bonsel made a further suggestion to hospitality would admit of my treating him me, namely,that in order to lose no tithe, he thus, even granting the possibility of my should write to a friend of his -in Pekin, a intellect's being severely sharp enough to Chinaman of,I believe,high rank,who was at battle with his. one time closely connected in some business True, the circumstances are exceptional ; or trade with my German friend. His pro- but there is mach to be considered at every posal was that he should write to this man move from this time forth. to set on foot an inquiry in Pekin, in order Tientsin, 5th July. —I was somewhat that no time should be lost when I reach surprised to receive a letter to -day from that city, and so that 1 should already find Frederick Dicey ; and as this letter seems matters in train upon my arrival there. to me likely, in no inconsiderable degree, to This man, he tells me, is likely to be of .influence my future actions, I have decided the greatest possible assistance to me, and to copy it into my diary intact as follows : if anything is to be done it will be done, so MY DEAR SIR : mil host says, through his Chinese friend. Since you left Shanghai, my brother and Strange as it may seem, I am unwilling I have object req e t litthought tof f North d You ur to agree in this sentiment. It may be thatig I feel that I am working, or intend to work, would be almost amused if you knew how against the Chinese race as a whole, regard- we have talked over the matter (our interest ung one and all as enemy; or it may be that 1 is so great in your doings) until itis almost have a certain dislike to trust in a man whom threadbare. But I am not writing to you 1 have -nett yet seen, and who, be it remem- now to tell you of this alone, but to put tiered, belongs to a race for which I have before you something which I think it pos- already conceived a deep hatred ;' or. again Bible may alter your plans in some degree ; that I consider in some way that the matter and as my brother James is of the same must be prosecuted by myself, and not by opinion as myself, I shall write you 'Fury those to whom my instructions may be fully upon the subject. conveyed. The second day from that on which you I have succeeded, not without difficulty, left Bund t Sahanghai, ai, I happenedpto mpas along in convincing my host that it is best that found, to all mseidday, anhad the nativeu pop - abeyance, thise hshould the meane time remain int ulation of Shanghai had congregated in one. hbeyane, and whilst agreeing with him that place, lining the frontage to the river, and hisin friendimay, whaI rof h the utmokinst and here and there impeding the traffic . upon obtain his tpeome, al aid, fobof him that oras- the Band. I could not make it out. The einstance present me, I have informed o for only conclusion as explaining the crowd the tamewheremy search must be confined heart which 1 could come to was that some very Tientsin, I trust with all my a in the Government was eisona something may arise from what is being high p g done amongst the Chinese. If William Nor- about to arrive. ris had a guide, as seems but probable, this Of course you know a Chinese crop i .is guide is sorely to be found ; and if he had like every other crowd, it simply grows no guide, then surely his boatmen, or his upon itself ; and I have little doubt that, carters, or some others who accompanied in the present case, only one-tenth of the him from Tientsin to Pekin, may now be in crowd knew why and wherefore of the ex - Tientsin. citement. I can not think that he has been kidnap- A number of my friends, whom I shortly ped, as it were, by the men with whom he met, appeared as ignorant of the cause of set out for the capital ; for then no one had the disturbance as I was, but somewhat ever heard of him, and as it is there has fortunately, perhaps, I came across Jen - been a whisper of his disappearance, and kin's boy, and got something out of him as this whisper has had origin with some of - to what it all meant. I am afraid I tire the Chinese. you by a very Iong rigmarole, but you must And yet,' strangely enough, this boy of excuse my doing so. I am coming to the my German host has been engaged for some point very soon, and think it better to err hours in search, and as yet there is no on the side of fullness, rather than the result. I am too impatient I should recol- - opposite• sect that I may have to remain for days in It seems that they were expecting the Tientsin without coming any nearer to the arrival , of a steamship from Hong Kong, point at issue than I now am. bearing, amongst other passengers, a man Tientsin, July3d.—The search has result- : who has, so I was informed, just been re- ed in something tangible at length. A trace leased from exile ; and the event is so ex - of W _:firm Norris has been found—a trace traorhave rorty a one (that this man should have which, I hope, may lead to something more, been pardoned), ; that- the news has now that we have got so far in the matter' spread in some way, and. this ; was the rea- Mr. Bonsel's boy has, by some means, sur- Bononfthey's boy could only give mea poor ceeded in discovering -the man who acted idea of the =matter ; bat I. - investigated as guide to say,Wibe Nottris- a year ago; further at -a later hour, and was myself im_ that is to be has discovered' his; p,elied by curiosity to join the crowd, when flame, for the : guide is at present away I succeeded in catching . a glimpse of this elsefrom Tientsin ; possibly at Pekin, possibly extraordinary man. I called him extraord- that he ere, no ` one knows. - It is believed inary, not only from the fact that I was for the has gone with kingentlenien. bound somewhat impressed by - his appearance, for the Legation in Pekin, but upon -this -but also that, from what I have 'gathered, Boint some dou#ithas bean expressed and ,his ease is.indeerlasingular:one and almost -an any ease, even supposing that I was as- ; beyond credence. • ' muted that such was= -the ease,,it would be T 1 ok at him one twonld at ance ud e but:- as it_.we �_ eking af€tr the-namoeedle o o j � g the ha to follow him vaguely in,• blies to lie Chinese; but- (arid this is w• here hl - yIr tele curious •part comes in):he •is not a- China-: the hope o€ dseo_ver'mg him now. man, but of English birth, and :'merely a To -e certainty, were I do so, we should naturalized CEinese. pass each other on the -road; for I -tinder- I=, indeed, but little of his story. d there are many ways of trausit� be - He mine. o Ohina: as el� bo, , °was adopted i e `tal and its: rt ,d -it i b hinama n .- Can n t{�¢e$gth...capi _ , Ro _� . is not .soit•e strange -way ya.0 m Canton, to , at all, a likely thing 'that tinand= I should : and from that Bonet to . rise "in his meet.upon the road. s adopted and,.till-at length the ; oyernment *MUM' f I reached Pekin: he -ight_love: of Pekin scovered iris'_ in and, banished re urlted Tientsin' ; and as it has laniv' be- ; liar #or ever to the {land° of `Verniers = and aome= rmttero_e tmost nportance that 1 iihoiri. - ` . ilia" 1 -am now tied down � 1��. toremainainTientsinf`or so fares;1can eery, aikwaiuwited period of toile Ir ingioate that thea meat?. , where - I trust this may still be in time to catch you ab Tientsin. To, Herbert Vanscombe, Esq., cat L. Bonsel, Esq., Tientsin. Per S.S. "VicroRra." My firstfeeling upon concluding the perusal of this letter was that Frederick Dicey had taken the whole affair too much to heart, and, whilst pondering ,continuously upon my object in coming to China he had, very naturally, so I thought, become in- flamed with the desire to assist me as far as possible ; and hence, upon the arrival of this Chinaman in Shanghai, be had, by some mental process, connected this man's life with my own ! and therefore_written me as he had done. Then I began to think over the matter. It was evident from the concluding para- graph of the letter- before me, where he said, " This seems to me the truest and in- deed the only means to ascertain the truth," that neither of the brothers could know. t'iat my host was in any way likely to in- troduce me to his Chinese friend in Pekin. Therefore, in alt probability they could give me little or no information about him ; and so my letter crossing that which I had now received, was practically of no use. - To go to Shan-nim-yuen, as Bonsel urges me to do, becomes, the more distasteful to me the more I think upon the subject ; so in the end I came gradually. to think that possibly this strange man, this exile, who is an Englishman born, so it seems, may be of use to me. I have accordingly written to a rederi,k Dicey that he should, as he proposes, see this man ; and if from a personal interview 5 he judges that Chin-chin-wa may be of ser- vice, then I leave the matter in his hands to do as he may think best. At the same time I cannot but feel that the man he talks to will not be by any means of a philanthropical character, and remuneration from me may have no influence upon him, if, as this letter which I have re- ceived just suggests, he is maintained by Government support. - It comes virtually to be a question in my own mind as to whether 'I should take Bonsel's friend, whom he so highly speaks of, or choose rather to trust to my Shanghai friends for that advice and assistance which I, as an Englishman, must sooner or later require, mei foresee, when in Pekin. I have taken my stand by Dicey's man, if the fates so will it. He . is an Englishman —not a Chinaman to the core—perhaps that has chiefly influenced me. We shall see, in the long run, whether:1 have 'been right or wrong. I feel as though I had made the testing throw :to-day—for I have come to that point when my every act must lead to- ward the decision which I earnestly hope may end in life, not death, for William N orris. The Diceys strike me as careful men. I feel that their action can scarcely prejudice or endanger my success. (TO BE - CONTINUED.) A CONSERVATIVE VICTORY. The Liberals Beaten in IIuddei sdeld, Which They Won Last Time. The - Conservatives have won a signal victory by capturing Huddersfield, which has gone Liberal in 1885, in 1886, and in 1892. The contest was for the seat made vacant by the death of the late William Sommers, Liberal. It was bitterly con- tested, and largely on the home rule issue, Sir Ellis Ashmead Bartlett having de- dared in a speech in, behalf of the Conservative candidate, Sir Joseph Cros- land, that any legialative body in Ireland would be controlled by those who 'in the past had threatened vengeance upon Ulster loyalists, and' had threatened to tax British imports and establish Roman Catholicism, Crosland- was elected by 7,068 votes to -7,033 'for Woodhead,-LiberaL= `At the late general eleetioSumniers, Liberal, had 7,098 votes to 6,837 for Crosland. = 'In order that they may have no -colour - ALLTREWORLD OVER. The extensive premises of Messrs. Cantrell & Cochran, thewell-known mineral water manufacturers, Nassau Place, Dublin, were completely destroyed by fire on Saturday night. The damage was very considerable. British soldiers• will wear seamless socks in future because they insure greater march- ing efficiency. The old style of seamed socks chafed the skin and made the soldiers foot- sore ; the seamless socks do not. 'fenders for the supply of 900,000 pairs, a year's estimated requirements have been invited by Government. On Saturday morning (telegraphs a Rhyl correspondent) the Rev. Thomas Mrrgan, vicar of Dyserth, a country parish lying some few miles from Rhyl, died at the vicarage. The story of his, death is a sad one. About ten days ago the rev. gentle- man was driving into Ethyl, when, owing to the ice -noun 1 state of the streets, the horse slipped, and he was thrown violently to the ground. At Hereford on Saturday three men were remanded on bail charged with causing the death of Wm. Prosser, a labourer. It is alleged that they chased deceased across the country in a partially dressed condition on Thursday night, and left him hanging by his clothes to some paling. Prosser was found dead next morning. " The outrage was the result of a drunken freak. A Tralee correspondent states that the Dingle mail car was on Sunday evening set upon about eight miles from Tralee, and that the driver and Capt. De Moleyns, eldest son of Lord Vestry, were struck by stones. They jumped off and seized two of their assailants, but were set upon by the crowd, and had to get away as best they could, and in the melee Captain De Moleyns had his sword and scabbard taken from At Bolton, on Monday, ten privates in the 2d Volunteer Battalion of the North Lancashire Regiment were brought before the magistrates as a result of an important action on the part of the regimental offi- cers. The defendants had by non-attend- ance at drill and inspection failed to become efficient, and lost the regiment close upon £20 in capitation grant. After leaving the regiment they were traced, and were now mulcted in 35s each and costs, or a 'week's imprisonment. Wm. Edwin Burns, warrant officer in charge of Her Majesty's war cruiser Thetis, at Chatham, was- tried by court-martial at Sheerness cn Tuesday for being drunk and unfit for duty on January 2nd. Prisoner pleaded guilty. His certificates were very satisfactory, except for a previous convic- tion for a similar offence in 1888. The court-martial, considering the previous con- viction, sentenced the prisoner to be dis- missed from the service. The monomaniac who, in 1839, stopped Queen Victoria while she was riding on horseback in Hyde Park and proposed marriage to her has recently died in Bedlam the celebrated insane asylum in London. He seemed to be perfectly sound on every other subject, was well educated, and wrote very sensible memoirs relating to insane asylums and the reforms which might be made in hem. He was 81 years old. - Leading London papers state that they are authorized to deny statements recently circulated alleging that Mn Ruskin is in a weak mental condition, and that he suffers from delusions that his life is threatened. Ruslr:in is in better health at present than for some years past, both mentally and bod- ily. He no longer works, but he walks every day, and takes a great interest in everything around him. Two sisters named Emma and Fanny Taylor were on the ice in Holme Fen, Hunts, on Tuesday, when the ice broke, and both were drowned. An inquest was held on Wednesday, when a verdict of accidental death was returned. The girls were aged 12 and 13 years respectively. The ice gave way on the river Browney, at Lanchester, near Durham, yesterday, and a girl named Thompson, age3 nine, daughter of a rate collector, was drowned. The management of Messrs. Bolckow & Vaughan's Eston Works suddenly decided on Tuesday to restart the rail mill. The orders in hand are sufficient to last at least for a fortnight. The officials state that in order to keep the Eaton establishment go- ing they have produced more than they needed, and were compelled to close through lack of oilers. General satisfaction is ex- pressed that the works have only stood two days. - An inquest was held on Tuesday after- noon at Deptford, by Mr. Carttar, on the body of Estella Lucy Clark, aged 35, of 48 Brockley Road, headmistres of Mulvin Road Infants' Board School, Azerley. Whilst in the attitude of prayer, by her bed side, she had an epileptic fit, and slip- ped with her neck across an iron bar of the bedstead, thus causing suffocation. After evidence had been given the jury returned a verdict that deceased was accidentally suffocated. Researches among the records possessed by the Romney Town Council have unearth- ed a document of great interest. This is n less than the Charter of Pardons granted by King Henry VI. to those implicated in Jack Cade's rebellion, which was more serious in extent in Kent and Sussex than it was else where. Another very interestiug document among the records is the account of the ac- cession to the Crown of Edward, Earl of March, 1460. Mr. James Lynhan, provision merchant of Macclesfield,having a dog which showed vicious propensities, took a doul3Pe-ba-rrell ed gun on Tuesday evening and attempted to destroy the animal. Be fired one barrel, but only slightly wounded the dog, which turned upon him and bit him. Mr. Lvnhan i then struck the creature with the butt -end Iof the weapon, forgetting that the second barrell was undischarged, and in so doing the charge was exploded and the bullet lodged in Mr. Lynhan's stomach. He lingered for three hours- and then expired. The Rev. James Boston aged 56, residing at 26 Plimpton Road, Willesden, committed suicide on Saturday morning by shooting himself with a revolver. A-•repor-t of fire- arms alarmed the inmates of his house, and upon a search being made the rev. gentleman was found lying in a pool of blood in the bathroom with a bullet wound in the right temple, and the revolver lying by his side. No cause can be assigned for the deed. Teetotalers in England have been making a great fuss over the fact that Dr. Wielo- bycki, President of a temperance society there, recently celebrated his hundredth birthday. 'The other side is making a showing'of centenarians in various parts of the country who have always, and consist- ently 'used ,both beer and tobacco. One Man of 105 "years; another of 103, and • blind mea in their service, the directors of `another of 101,.who have been temperate im thinexile he #res -now been:released ,Railway . - . ". , _ , the North-Eastern Railway Com p _n Eng.; drinkers. and smokers,; are lately particular- Lela articular- a skort stay in -'Hong �$ong, lies _ _ y lay, � , have decided that_all-their servants- holdin ized `Thie-suggestion is made that teeto- �.;_hither r - g w what lila intentions now responsible positions shall undergo .the. 'milers :make a fuse over such an event e•muat�;upon his sight test Asamfnation. _ .-; beeanse it is so unusual. TOLD BY A TIGER SLAYER Thinks noMore °Minns man Eaters than a Canadian Roy of Shooting Wood- chneifs. For years Frank Leyburn has been known as the tiger slayer of Amoy. There is not a village along the coast of China, no mat- ter how remote from the great centres of AUSTRALIAN MOBOTONT. vast Stretches of Grass and Gnat trees or the Journey From Melbourne to fuss' A correspondent of the London Ti -m's, writing from Brisbane, says : The first im- pression that is gained efAuea:ala+i in the population, to which his tame has not ex- long train journey from Melbourne to Brie - tended. With him the killing of the great brae is one of extraordinary m::uotouy. I man eaters who infest the jungles is looked am told that this is partly due to the cit• upon as a pastime, and he has shot them cul.stance that the railway line has been under almost all imaginable circum• laid through a poor belt of country, and stances. partly to the accident of passing the ieast He arrived in Vancouver on the steamer interesting portion of the landscape. How - Empress of Japan en route for London, and ever it comes about, the effect produced is it was early in the forenoon that he strode of a scarcely broken tract of grass and gum into the C. P. R. Hotel. He wrote his trees. From Melbourne to Sydney, from name in big bold letters across the page of Sydney to the Queensland border, grass and the register, and lost no time in plunging into a bathtub. Later he emerged from his seclusion, looking ruddy and muscular. He looked more like the ordinary globe-trotter than a slayer of tigers whose name is known throughout the Orient. In appearance he is tall and robust, with closely trimmed is like the last. Hundreds of miles are left white beard and keen gray eyes. A long behind, and there is nothing to show that loose -fitting sack coat of gray tweed was the end of the journey is any nearer. buttoned about him, and a brown derby The river and forest scenery of Tasmania, hat was tilted back far enough upon his with its farms and orchards, its hedgerows head to show that he is growing slightly bald. His feet were incased in shoes of russet leather, and he carried in his hand a heavy cane, which he clung to tenaciously as he strode rapidly along. Oh, yes," he said in a gruff tone when asked -about his experiences as a tiger hunt- er. " I have bagged a good many of the beasts in my day, but there is nothing re- markable about that, With us, don't you know, it is merely a pastime, and we hunt the tigers for the sport there is in it. Why bless my soul, I can see no reason why any one should care to hear about tiger hunting. With us it is ordinary sport, just as deer stalking is in America. "After all," he continued, as he grasped his cane more firmly and planted his feet very wide apart," the tigers of China are not nearly as ferocious as those of India, but they give a good lot of trouble to the natives at times. When one of them gets a taste of human blood he at once becomes ferocious, and is never satisfied with any. other diet. They become transformed into what are known as man eaters, and they hunt human beings as a cat does mice. "Take a big man eater, for instance, and he is pretty sure to make his lair in a jungle close to a native village, avoiding the larger towns, and always on the alert to make a victim of some luckless human being who may fall in his way. it is his habit to lurk about the outskirts of the settlement, con- cealed in the edges of the jungle, and await his opportunity to seize a victim. Moonlight nights snit him best. At such a time he is extremely vigilant. He prowls about until he sees some belated straggler in the streets. This is the opportunity for which he has waited for hours, perhaps for days. _ There is the flash of a heavy body in the moonlight, a cry of terror, a brief strug- gle, and the man eater is off for his lair in the jungle, bearing the helpless body of a human being in his massive jaws. Months later, it may be, the bores are found in the dense•undergrowtli. e " When I went to China twenty years ago I had already some experience in hunt- ing big game, and I wanted to kill a tiger. One day while in the counting house of our firm at Antoy two natives came in in an ex- cited frame of mind to tell that a man had been carried off from a neighboring village the -night before by a man eater. This was just the opportunity I had been waiting for. Taking out a heavy express rifle which I had brought with me, I took the two natives to act as guides and started out. On reach- ing the village I found everything in an up- roar. The natives who are timid, were paralyzed with fear, and scarcely dared to venture out of their houses unless in the middle of the day. " I had already learned something about the habits of the man eater and knew just how to go at it. Froin inquiry among the natives I ascertained the exact location of the hir of the tiger, and for a small com- pensation I succeeded in securing the ser- vices of a coolie to guide me to the place. ",-tarting late in the afternoon, we made our way slowly through the jungle, and just about dusk reached the spot. Now, the night is the best time to bac a man eater, for he is then asleep, and may be shot be- fore he is aroused. Knowing this, I had brought with me a bull's-eye lantern. Be- fore night had set in fully I got everything in readiness, and waited until it grew pitch dark. Having in the mean time located the exact position of the lair. I left my guide, who by this time was almost terror stricken, behind me, and on my hands and knees crept through the jungle. By the cautious use of my lantern I found the lair. Turn- ing on -the light, I was a little startled to discover the huge beast curled up and sound asleep. His head was resting on his paws and squarely facing me. As I prepared to level my rifle at him he stirred uneasily. Turning the light full upon him, he raised his head, but before he was thoroughly aroused I sent a ball from my rifle crashing through his brain. By good fortune I had struck him squarely between the eyes. There was a feast of rejoicing in the village when I returned with the skin. gum trees stretch on every side. Day after day the eyes open on the same uuvaried tints of gray and green : night after night stars shine upou the same spreading masses of foliage grown dusky in the absence of the sun, One acre is like another, one mile "Just before I left China on my present trip I struck a man eater who proved to be a tough customer. He was an old fellow and had a record of about twenty victims. They sent for me and I went after him. I had with me a double-barrelled rifle of large calibre. I found no _ difficulty in tracing him to his lair, but he gave me a narrow call before I succeeded in finishing him: The trouble was that when I found him he was awake and ferocious, apparently from the effects of hunger. I had shot so many that I thought nothing of it and gave my tiger one barrel out of my gun. Most unaccount- ably I missed him clean, and his eyes fairly blazed. Lashing the ground with his tail, he sprang toward me like a flash. As he was in the air I let go with the other barrel and struck him in the left shoulder, the heavy ball penetrating to his heart, He fell at my feet, and so close was he that before he died I could feel his hot breath upon me. It was the most narrow escape that I ever had.. When measured the tiger was found to be almost twelve feet in length, and his claws were one and three- uarter inches in length. I bad the latter ounted and dis- tributed them among my riends. - " I could tell you a gr at many stories if I had the time, but they have grown old to me and would be of no interest to the pub- lic," and the tiger slayer hastened away to his dinner. • —o Some extraordinary scenes were witness- ed in Birmingham on Monday Morning. The Public Works Committee had offered work to 200 men. but long before the time appointed for them to be set on fully 3000 applicants were waiting outside the Cor- poration wharf. Some riotous conduct fol- lowed. A number of Anarchists from Wal- sall attempted uo address the mob, but they were maltreated, and their stands and Met attire destroyed. - - - of sweetbrier and yellow gorse, and the familiar English aspect of its gardens, fade in the distance like a dream. The tropical vegetation of the north has not yet become a reality. Between the two the immense extent of gum tree stretches indefinitely, blotting out the conception of anything but its own lightly timbered pasture. It has not even the gloom and impressiveness which we associate in England with the name of forest land, for the trees are thinly scattered, their long leaves hang 7ertically from the branches, and sunlight filters through with sufficient force to promote the growth of the tussocked grass beneath. Tlie whole would be indescribably common- place, but that the vastness becomes at last by its own force impressive. Here, again, you feel, as you feel in Africa, the immense size of the physical problem. The areas are so wide, the dis- tances to be got over are so great, that even the preliminary network of civilization, which the train you are travelling in and the towns you have stopped at represent, contains subjects for marvel, and the first sensation of weariness is lost in admiration for the patience and the energy that have, as it were, lassoed the wilderness and brought its resources within the limits of the empire. In the wood clearings on either side of the train, where the practice of "ring -barking" to kill the trees is in ex- tensive use, there stand patches of timber from which the bark and leaves have drop- ped, and of which the dead white trunks and branches are waiting only to be felled. Sometimes an entire hillside will be white with such a ghostly forest. The habit is not to fell them at the level of the ground, but at heights varying, according to con- venience, from 1foot -to 2 or 3 above the root. Grass spaces in which the stumps still re• main form a constant feature of the land- scape. Standing in uneven rows, or scat- tered, as they often are, in sparse isolation through the grass, the stumps have some- thing of the limited irregularity of tomb- stones. In certain lights, when the wood grows white as marble and their shadows lengthen over the herbage, it is almost im- possible to escape from the comparison. Wherever the eye turns it is met by these forerunners of civilized occupation. At first the effect is scarcely less monotonous than that of the living foliage. By degrees the tinge of melancholy which they give to the land- scape comes to have its own significance. These lifeless trees and sylvan graveyards represent nothing less than the death and burial of primeval Australia. The occasional black man of low type, with narrow forehead, thick lips and tufted hair, who presents himself at wayside sta- tions to beg, belongs to their order. He is dying, too, with the virgin woods. The pathos which is inseparable from the pass- ing away of anything which has existed hangs round them both. Both serve per- petually to remind you that a continent is undergoing one of the great silent crises of history. But while they claim the homage of a certain sympathy, the thoughts which bo th suggest are of the future rather than the past. The journey brings you face to face with the situation with which young Australia has had to deal. If you had any doubts upon the subject before yotastarted, you do not reach the end without the con- viction that young Australia is infinitely more interesting than anything which it has had occasion to displace. The portion of the continent which has fallen to young Australia to develop within the present limits of Queensland is about three times the size of France, and is so dis- tributed in shape that the distance from the capital to the furthest point is not far short of the distance between London and Gibraltar. With existing means of com- munication, the time which it takes to go from one to the other is only one day less than the time required for the journey from London to South Africa. There is a northern and a central as well as a southern line of rail, but the railways all run paral- lel to each other and at right angles at the coast, carrying each the traffic of the inter- ior to its own port, with distances of sever- al hundred miles between lines. There is no overland connection, and in order to reach the northern part of the colony it is necessary to take ship at Brisbane and go up the coast by sea. Chinese Railroa,d Officer The Chinese officials on the railway are th_ nominally responsible parties, and they aro Chinese officials, a term which to any one who has lived long in China suets up nearly all that can be said about them. The rail- way in all its parts and stages is to them a strange and inscrutable thing, whose mys- teries they are slower to learn than their uneducated fellow -countrymen, owing to their minds being already saturated with a kind of lore which has no points of contact with the novelties introduced by the trouble- some foreign devils. They detest the whole undertaking, which does not even provide such means of enrichment as any purely na- tive work would do. Custom renders it de- rogatory to them to handle any implement heavier than a hair pencil, and what is nec- essary to be done by officiaia is simply in- trusted to their servants. At the head office things are scarcely bet- ter. The Directors are men who have been forced into an unwelcome position, who have no feeling- for the substantial success of the railway, and no appreciation, of work- manlike excellence, but who are always ready to listen to any dilettante who can talk superficially of velvet and varnish dad show from illustrated advertisements in - what ' respect the Chinese trains come short ot some ideal Brighton express or Phil- adelphia flier, especially when theli., gentleman i foreign g ema.n h rets at the profuse mub. rication which railway promotion . demands- in other countries and witch is Italy cam.- patihie with lavish cosi - -77 FOR TE A Hand- P An :y she burr•, The same as 1ot5 Sometimes at nil `Ms,. ain't you RI An' then she'd kl An' pause half sea An' sorter sigh, Was ready as sli She reckon An' so the year= An' somehow sh An' when the ar Mir Smith, it - She sorter raise. A second, as a s All right : I'm "I'm ready a< I' I reckon." Home - u: A nice tooth s. tooth powder, ma toilet articles whit well -organized wo But the best too of the little girl " woman has been thing less dainty t she could not affor variety. Here is a tooth - recommended. It tasting and cleausi composition an in sibly harm the tee that those who r must add pumice s For the tooth s. root a quarter of myrrh two ounces, three ounces, of po and of oil of lava with one pound of This makes qui the soap keeps rel equal to mixing t. druggist will toss without charging separate ingredien singly. For the delicate powder can be ni Castile soap, po ounce of cuttle-fisl ounces of honey a. perfume. Try these. Interi An attractive d': ed shows the walls ed paper of a lig damask design, o tracery, inclosing blues and greens, wood -bronze and is of a soft leather it are architectur. design consists of rosettes and knots inclosed between g three rosettes are ing is set above a r Fold. The effect is The surface of th divided into square coming from carpe. Each of these pane and treated in soli. hard wood and inla ed a number of Lan• The large lilarary ed oak. The low, chairs are of oak an some leather. In a pretty little space is utilized, on library and living r silts of a combinati. an easy chair and o for writing. This screen is in section being fitted Small drop shelves way, down the sides used to hold a fan quaint pieces of bri In the angle fore the screen is a trian holds an inkstand, blotter. Above this shelf 9 ed two large portfol made o fstout buck! pretty chintz. We stamps, postal card &c., are kept in the Burlap portieres effective. A good for fifteen cents a y A heavy fringe ni several rows of dra be dyed a rich red. Chrysanthemums, tams and orchids a for these portieres a bold, convention ferns or grasses in t It is said upon g more than two of t India are in eristen these is in Chicago beauty and general a wooden divan ma carved. It is five covered with a mat thrown a large sort adjustable pillow i and each is covered novel divan is susp and clears the floor chains by which the of brass, heavy and separate link is of a and a dome -like pen tiny musical bells movement of the midway of each chai more Americans do and delightful coucl could be PI ore truly ental room. A Pre A work table, wh with its maker and tion and copying. was an oblong top handle tripod, npou These can be bought plain, gilded or whit five cents. Over t cover of cream creton .A straight piece fo sewed to the top pi the foundation for on pockets, of the c The fourth side had for large pieces of w .A bow of yellow r ner, and to this was narrow ribbons, sciss book. A small cus the top beside a lit temporary catch-all use. etc. An adv was that it was not <ut could be taken darn free of dust an -time and with gr Usefal imom t Ca