The Gazette, 1893-11-02, Page 2. - -
NOT WISELY BUT TO{Yt WELflitnation foi
is trying to
CHAPTER XXXL—(CoerrneueP).
The Count is devoted admirer of the
Lady Jean's. The Count has been first in
favour with her for months past, and the
Count looks with extreme wrath on this
young stripling who appears to have sup-
planted hien, and who is so serenely uncon-
scious ot the fact.
The reuse.' to play irritates him still
more. He knows Keith is very rich, and
had hoped to revenge his wounded feelings
by fle.ecing him with ease. Keith has frust-
rated this agreeable project, and that fact
rankles in the Count's breast, beneath the
expanse of white linen and glittering orders
that adorn it, so levishly.
The evening goes ore Wine is handed
round and freely drank. A little more
noise and freedom than usual pervade the
pretty, gilded rooms. Lady demi gets
eomeweat uneasy. She contrives to get rid
of Keith ; it does not suit her purpose
that he should think of her as any-
thing but highly decorous. When he
leaves and she comes back,Count Karolyski
throws down his cards, declaring he is
tired of play, and comes over to her side.
" You are cruel, madame," he says in
French. "You have deserted us the whole
evening."
She throws herself back in her chair with
a little laugh.
" Cruel ? You had better amusement
than my company."
" Amusement ! Ie is not thet," he says,
with an ardent glance from his dark, flashing
eyes. " You are cold—fickle. You are
breaking my heart for the sake of that
American boy."
She interrupts him with pretended indig-
nation. " Count, you forget yourself ! I
permit no one to arraign ray actions.'
"Far be it from me to do that. I would
not offend you for worlds, madame ; but I
cannot refrain from expressing my feelings
when I see your old friends thrust aside and
forgotteo, for the sake of a beardless youth
to whom Fortune has been kinder than to
us."
"1 do not forget my friends," says Lady
Jean with a quick glance • " and I am only
civil to this boy because he is friendless and
alone, and I took pity on his solitude."
" Your pity, madame, may be a danger-
ous favour. To those whom you really
compassionate, exclusion would be the
Everyone is not as foolish as yourself,
greater mercy."
Count," she says with a soft glance.
It is pleasant to hear she is still beautiful
—still can play the part of an "apple of
discord ' to men.
" Because, perhaps, everyone' hes not
found your presence what I have found
it."
" Hush !" she says, softly ; "you are
talking folly, and you know it. The days
are over when I believe in compliments."
." You do not suppose I am insulting you
by anything so commonplace ? Compliment
is the language of fools and flatterers. I am
speaking the plain, unvarnished truth."
"Truth !" and she laughs lightly ; " who
speaks the truth now ? It is as old-fashion-
ed a virtue as honesty."
" Unless one flub it impossible to act
indifference."
" Come, Count," she says, good-humour-
edly, " we know each other too well to talk
in this strain. We are all bons camarades
here ; no sentiment, and no seriousness. I
gave you credit for more sense than to fear
you would break through the rule."
His brows contract with a sudden angry
frown.
" You do not mean what you say ! A
woman like yourself cannot set bounds to a
man's admiration, or check his feelings by
ridicule. I have scoffed at sentiment all my
life as a thing fit only for boys and women.
But all that I have hitherto disdained has
amply revenged my past indifference. And
you—yeu have not discouraged me, ma-
dame ?"
Her heart beats high. A sudden warm
colour eomes into her face beneath its
dIi-
cate rouge ; but not from any gratification
at this homage—not for any reason that
makes him interpret these signs as flatter-
ing to himself. Only because she sees her-
self a step further on the road of her venge-
ance—only because triumph whispers to husband and make his home a paradise,"
her that the end is not far off. answers Colonel Carlisle. "I am not greet
She rises after those last words, laughing at poetry, as you know, but I own to an
still. "1 do not believe in love, monsieur,any admiration of those lines of Tennyson in
more than yourself. No one has been able to 'The Princess.' You know them :
convert me. To parody an old saying, with For woman is not undevelopt man
me it is only a case of Le reine s'amuse.' " But diverse; could we make her as the man
" And is this boy only a plaything Sweet love were slain ; his dearest bond is
also ?" he says, with angry sneer. Not like to like, hut like in difference,
" Of course. Is he not a charming one ?" Yet in the long years liker must they grow—
she says with sudden gravity. " So earn- The man be more of woman, she of man.
est and credulous; quite refreshing. We
have so long passed that stage of life, nous Till at he last she sets herself to mans
mitres." Like perfect music -unto noble words.
" With women like yourself for teachers, "Yes," she says. "They are very true,
is that a, matter of wonder, madame?" although a man wrote them."
"Now you are sarcastic, and that is hor- "Don't you believe our sex understands
rid. Why, Cunt, I do believe you are yours, then?" he asks, teasingly.
jealous of my pretty boy ! I thought you "No ; I do not," she says, decidedly. "I
were wiser than that." think no man yet ever quite comprehended
a woman's nature, any more, perhaps, than
And laughing her soft, amused laughter, we comprehend a man's. I think that is
she passes on into the card-roem, leaving
him standing there with the mellow lanip-
light on his dark, passionate face, and shin-
ing in the lurid depths of his eyes. At that
moment he hates her and himself, and hates
tenfold more the man he has chosen to con-
sider as his rival.
thaterasnh: rfieczscoonf vlecietdh 'sat!:
I 1 work some mischief. You remember hei
tic, friendly, and appears interested in
him.
At present nothing seems of much con-
eequence or account. The fierce suffering
. of the last two years has been lulled into
a sort of quiescence. The good resolutions
formed during that_period of langour and
convalescence have taken just sufficient
root to strengthen Lim as far as Lauraine
is eceicerncd, and with that eelf-sacrifice
they end.
Life looks very monotonous, very dreary
at present, and there is jun a little fillip
given to its monotony by Lady Jean.
It is not that he likes her—it is not that
he respects her, but he drifts into a sort of
intimacy before he really knows it, and she
is always at band to sustain her influence.
And it so happens that all this comes to
the ears of Lanraine, filtered through the
letters of mutual. friends, put in as spice to
various gossip detailed to her from Paris.
At first she cannot believe it, It seems
too horrible ; but unfortunately a letter
comes from Lady Etwynde radiant in the
flush and glory of her matronly honours,
and revelling in Paris delights with her
handsome husband; and that letter mentions
casually the same thing, "Keith Athelstone
has been driving in the Bois with Lady
Jean ;" "1 have met Keith and asked him
to dinner, but he excused himself on the
plea of a previous engagement v-ith Lady
Jean," etc., etc.
Lady Etwynde tells her this, thinking
it may really keep her from brooding over
the idea that she has ruined her young
lover's life ; but had she known the tor-
ture it would have inflicted, she would
have been silent on the subject.
.Lady Etwynde's idea of Keith Athol -
atone has always been jhat he is selfish and
inconsiderate, and that Lauraine is quite
thrown away upon him ; she feels convinc-
ed now of her own sagacity when she sees
how foolish is his conduct.
She herself takes no notice of Lady Jean,
and when Keith excuses himself to her on
the plea before mentioned, she feels dis-
gusted and annoyed, and tells her husband
she will have nothing more to say to the
young man. She would have been civil
to him for Lauraine's sake, but if he pre-
fers Lady Jean, why to Lady Jean let him
go.
"1 knew he would never be constant,"
she says, complainingly. " Really men are
too horrible."
"With one exception," smiles Colonel Car-
risle, looking proudly at the bright,petulant
face that seems to have regained all its old
sparklinglwitchery and youthfulness with
the "old " happiness.
"Ah, Cyril, there is no one like you !" she
answers.
" My darling," he says. " Every woman
says that of the man she loves, and every
man of the woman. I think you are hard
upon poor Keith. Fancy, to love a woman
with all one's heart and soul, and know she
can be nothing to one. Ah heaven ! how
fatal a thing is marriage sometimes—how
sure one ought to be of oneself be,fc re enter-
ing into a lifelong union."
" We are sure !" she murmurs, softly,
nestling closer in his arms, as they stand
side by side in the twilight shadows.
" Thank God, we are !" he says, with
passionate earnestness. " But often and
often I think, if it had not been for the sins
and follies of the past—for the wrong and
the suffering—cur love would never have
been as deep and intense a thing as it is.
I shall never forget those years, and how
hopelessly our lives seemed severed—with
what reluctance I came home to England
—how I dreaded to hear you were another's
—and then, after all--"
"After all I was your own," she whispers
as he pauses.
" And we are so happy," he resumed,
piesently. " Are we not, my queen of
aesthetes ?"
She laughs a little tremulously. "Indeed,
yes ; but I fear, dearest, the dueen has
sadly neglected her subjects. Women's
missions are all very well until men inter-
fere with them. Then there is a lamen-
table failure of all the grand schemes and
projects."
"A woman's first mission is to love her
how we se often mistake and misjudge each
other. We expect a mend() .act as we
would act, and he expects us to act as he
-would ; and that can never be. Another
thing : we have such quick instincts, and
are governed so often bv sympathy or anti-
pathy ; you are slow in your judgment, and
It had been true, as he had said, that he reason where we act."
had deemed himself above all such weak- "Yes," he auswers, thoughtfully ; "but
nesses, until the fascination of this woman
hadcontrast is the salt of life, iny darling. We
entered into his life and fired his soul
should not find any attraction in each other
with a passion, sudden, wild, fierce, and if we were quite alike, and regnlated our
absorbing even as it was revengeful. To lives and actions on the same principles.
win her he would have done much. He was I But to return to aur subject. I am certain
not a poor man, though far from being rich, Lady Jer.n is up to some mischief, and I
would give anything in the world to get
Keith Athelstone away from her influ-
ence. What can possess him to be always
there ?"
"Not always, dear," says his wife, i•e-
bukingly. Three times within a fortnight.
I cannot understand it myself. I should
like to give him a hint, but I am afraid.
He might take offence, and I know what
men are. Warn them against a woman and
they immediately run after her ; try to
turn them from a purpose, and they throw
themselves heart and soul into its pursuit."
"You should treat them as the Irishman
did his pigs—drive them one way and turn
their heads another," laughs Colonel Car-
lisle. "But you surely don't imagine he
cares_ for Ladygean ?"
"No ; I give him credit for better sense.
But she is a dangerous woman, and I am
as Lady Jean counted riches. Still he was
of good birth, and boasted of pure Magyar
descent, and had noble and ancient estates
in Hungary, and thought himself no ill
match for the daughter o, a poor Irish Earl.
Bat that Lady Jean should encourage his
homage and then ridicule it, filled him with
fierce anger.
He leaves her room that night with a
cold farewell, and for two days does not
approach her at all.
Lady Jean is amused. It is what she
expected, and she does not resent it. She
tees Keith daily now—in fact, takes care
that she shall see him, for she is not desir-
ous that he should escape her toils.
• Against his judgment, against his bet-
ter reason, Keith Athelstone submits to
ber caprices and permits her to draw him,
to her presence. He is unfortunately in
that state of mind in which a man is easily certain has some purpose in view. I know
influenced hy a woman if she is symI pathe- she hates Lauraine; I am ually certain
plot aeoutgettinsekim to Falcon's Chase?"
" Yes. That was a piece of deviltry, and
no mistake. I have thought more of the
young fellow since his refusal than ever 1
did before."
"Keith is a strange charaeter "seys Lady
1 Etwynde, musingly ;" so headstrong and
Ipassionate, yet so loving and true ; so wild,
and yet so easily controlled ; so selfish, and
yet so weak. Lauraine has great influence
over him—more than any one else has, I
think. I believe when once she made him
see things in their true light, once she
showed him that the love that would dis-
honour a woman is the last love worthy of
her acceptance, he would turn from what
seemed her own tempting. But he must
have known it could not be that."
" Lauraine is a good, true woma.n,thoagh
she has made a fatal mistake in life, and
now it is too late to remedy it," says the
Colonel, regretfully. " What sad words
those are, 'too late !' Just to have missed
all that makes life desirable, just to meet
and love, and find that Fate has placed an
impassable barrier between you and that
love. Ah, me !"
".pon't sigh !" whispers his wife tenderly.
"Our 'too late' was just in time after all."
"Thaok God for that !"
"I do," she answers, fervently. "But
how my own happiness makes me regret
her loss! 1 never thought I could love any
woman so dearly as I love Lauraine ; and I
feel, oh ! so sorry for her now !"
"So do I—for Keith."
"And you think we can do nothing?"
"I fear not. It is such a delicate matter.
He may be only striving for forgetfulness
after all. Men do foolish and desperate
things sometimes for love's sake."
"That is one of the things we women
who love you can't understand," says Lady
Etwynde. "To us those excesses to which
we are accused of driving you seem de-
grading and contemptible. We can only
excuse sins that are not against ourselves,
I suppose."
" Doubtless it looks cowardly," says her
husband, "to fling away our self-respect
because something has not been as we
wished it ; but then thatsomething is worth
everything else in the world, or we think
so, and losing it, all else seems of no ac-
count."
"In that respect we set you an example,
do we not?" laughs his wife. " We don't
go to perdition because we are disappoint-
ed in love."
"Because your natures are so different.
The same rule cannot apply to a man and a
woman. I thought we had agreed on that
before " says Colonel Carlisle.
"So we had. Instance Keith and Laur-
aine."
"And my lady and—myself."
And he bends down and kisses the sweet
red lips.
That closes the argument. They forget
all about Keith and Lauraine ; they talk
now of their own love, and of each other.
CHAPTER XXXII.
TRIUMPHANT.
It is a week later.
Lady Etwynde and her husband have
left Paris and gone back to the stlietic
mansiou in Kensington. They have de-
cided on living there still. To Lady Et-
wynde it is endeared by many memories
and associations, and her husband is con-
tent with whatever pleases her.
Lady Jean is still in the gay city, and
so is Keith Athelstone.
"How the affair drags !" murmurs the
Lady Jean to herself one evening, as she is
making her toilette. "Karolyski is per-
severing, I can see; but Keith —he i6 quite
too stupid. I must try and hasten the
denouement. Besides, Frank comes back
in a few days, and I don't want him to
suspect. Could I bring matters to an issue
to -night, I wonder ?"
She looks at herself in the glass, and a
flush of triumph rises to her cheek. She
looks supremely handsome in a dress of
black satin, with judicious touches of white
lace and white flowers ; and as she sweeps
into her rooms and sees Keith's involuntary
glance of admiration, she feels a little thrill
of triumph.
As the evening goes on,
as her guests
assemble, she contrives that Keith Athel-
stone should be always by her side and
though the scowling face of Count Karolyski
is frequently turned towards her, she is
by no means intimidated. He and Keith
are mutually antagonistic to each other,
and to -night the Count's manner is almost
insulting.
Again, the question of play is mooted,
and again he taunts Keith with his care of
his dollais. The evening is very wenn,
and the young fellow has drunk more wine
then he usually doek , and Lady Jean has
taken care that it is wine both strong and
exciting.
At the Count's veiled sneers he loses his
temper—never a very forbearing one—and,
forgetful of promises and rosolutions, sits
down at the table.
The stakes grow higher ; he is winning
fast, Again and again is he victor, and
aeain'does the money of the Count flow into
his keeping. Lady Jean comes near him and
leans against his ehair. Her perfumed
hair almost sweeps his cheek. As he
glances up he -meets all the dark intensity
and lustre of her eyes.
" You are wonderfully fortunate in—
everything," she says, smiling; and the
Count glances up and crushes back an oath
between his set teeth. Then quite sudden-
ly, and with the most serene innocence,
Lady Jean stoop and picks up a card by
Keith's side. " You have dropped this,"
she says, and lays it on the table.
The ace of spades—you have already
played that, monsieur I" says Count Kate
olys k I.
" It cannot be mine then," says Keith,
quietly.
The count throws his cards contemptuous-
ly on the table. •
" Monsieur's luck may be wonderful, lent
with double aces in his hand it is not so re-
markable after all !"
Keith starts up—his hot young blood
aflame "What do you mean—do you dare
insinuate--"
The Count's laugh falls across the horri-
fied silence of the guests as they draw near.
" Insinuate ? No, monsieur—it is for you
to x1110tthhi ini t'
c
explain," says Keith,
proudly. " There is no proof that that
e`f have
card belonged to me. If you doubt my
word, my honor, I am perfectly willing to
answer for both."
" Hush ! hush ! whatare you saying,"
cries Lady Joan, horrified.. " Of coarse it
•
is all a miatak • Mt Athelsibno, pray be
et. .
e
...
calm." - ,
Calm ! The hot bloo44s rushing throlgb
Keith's veins—his eyes have their worst and
most passionate light. "Your friend has
thought fit to insult me, madame," he says.
" I demand an apology or satisfaction."
" Pardien, monsieur !" laughs the Count,
in his most insulting manner. "1 am sorry
I cannot answer your first demand; as to
the other I am at your service."
There is an instant's silence. Women
with blanched faces, men with surprise and
embarrassment, look on these two who face
each other—on the tail slight figure with
its dauntless grace and bearing, on the blue
eyes flaming with anger and defiance; and
then on the cruel, smiling lips and calm,
dark face of the Hungarian.
Connt Karolyski turns, says a few words
to a man near by, and then, with a bow,
leaves the room.
Keith turns to Lady Jean. " I regret
that such a scene should have happened in
your house," he says, calming his voice by a
violent effort. " You will excuse my with-
drawine now, madam?"
She has grown veryspale. As he quits
the salon she follows him.
" Mr. Athelstone, do not proceed to ex-
tremities. The Count is a deadly shot. He
has fought reore duels than I could tell you.
—and you—"
" Do you fancy I am afraid?" interrupts
Keith, turning his flashing eyes upon her
face. " Or that I value my life so much,
I would try to save it even for less cause ?
No, let him do his worst. An insult like
that----"
" It was shameful, I know," says Lady
Jean. " But still you might leave Paris—
you might--"
" For what do you take me?" interrupts
Keith passionately. " Do you think I am
a coward ?"
" No ; oh no," she murmers, hurriedly.
" Only you are so young and life is all be-
fore you. Why should you forfeit love,
happiness, all that may be in store,'just for
a fancied insult that has questioned your
honour.
Keith looks at her searchingly. The old
vague distrust of this woman is at work
within his heart. He answers her very
coldly.
" It is my honor I avenge. I do not fancy
even you,as a woman, could counsel the ac-
ceptance of such an insult as your friend has
thought fit to put upon me." eAnd with a
bow he leaves her presence.
(To BE CONTINUED.
BBICIK 31AKING.
An Ind usrty That is Almost as Old as
Ilistory.
The art of making bricks is almost as old
as the history of civilization, the most
ancient records bearing mention of the in-
dustry, showing it to be older than any
other branch cf pottery. it appears that
the early inhabitants of Babylon, descend-
ants of the sons of Noah, were the first
clay -workers of whom we have authentic
knowledge, for in 2217 B. C. (Genesis xi,
3-4) they used the clay or mud which was
found on the plain of the land of Shiner
and formed bricks therefrom, which were
thoroughly burned and then used in the ex-
terior construction of the walls and mounds
of Babylon, the largest of these mounds, it
is supposed, being the tower of Babel. The
mortar or slime used as a binding material
for the bricks was probably the semi -fluid
bitumen found in the stoneless valleys of
Euphrates and Tigris. The interior of
the mounds was filled with unburnt or fa un -
dried bricks partly laid in clay and bonded,
every five or six courses, with layers of
reeds and partly laid in very tough lime
mortar.
Many ancient Egyptian buildings and
pyramids, 'nide in a similar manner of
sun-dried bricks or adobes, are still stand-
ing in a good state of preservation, the
pyramid of Howara, ten leagues from
Cairo, being a notable example. The man-
ufacture of brick seems to have been an
important industry with the Egyptians and
the enslaved Israelites, for it is frequently
mentioned in the Old Testament. in connec-
tion with their history, one of the princi-
pal occupations of the slaves being the
making of stn -dried bricks, in which grass
or straw and stubble were intimately mixed
with the clay to bind the mass firmly to-
gether. The bricks made in Nineveh were
usually sun-dried, measuring from six to
sixteen inches thick, while the Babylonian
bricks were more frequently burned in a
kiln and were about thirteen inches square
by three inches thick. In addition to
these, there were triangular bricks for corn-
ers of walls, and wedge-shaped bricksor
arches. They were also variously colored,
mostly red, yellow or blue, though 'green
black and white bricks were not uncommon.
Many, notably all those made during the
reign of Nebuchadnezzar, had his naive
stamped thereon-. Evidences of the per
manency of color of these bricks and of the
inscriptions on some are constantly being
found in the ruins of Babylen. Many that
have been gathered are coated with a thick
enamel or glaze. • The dry, warm atmos
phere and the preserving climate of Egypt,
Assyria. and Babylon have probably been
more conducive to keeping these sun-dried
bricks in a state of preservation for over
3,000 years than the great perfection attain-
ed in the making of them, although the
ancients devoted an abundance of time to
their arta.
Sun -baked bricks of ancient date have
been tound in the mud wall of old- towns
of India and Java, while the Chinese have
for ages made excellent bricks, usually of
a slaty -blue color, to some of which they
give a glazed surface, like porcelain. The
great wall of China, built in.211 B. C., was
constructed of burnt and unburnt bticks.—
Messier's Magazine. --
He Could Never Love Another.
He felt at his heart a dreadful pain,
And with tears his eyes were
And he said that he never could love -again,
On the night that she jilted him.
But, although with a sigh and his brain in a
whirl
That night he bemoaned his fate,
He was madly in love with another girl
Just a fortnight from that date.
Better Left Unsaid.
Maud : " How do you like the new Way
I do my hair, Frank ?"
Frank (wanting to say something partic-
ularly nice) : " Why, you -look at least
thirty years younger !'
AS BIG AS A AR 8111Ik
maraige,enee of the erman Emperor's
Yacht Hohe zollern.
The Hohenzollern is magnificent vessel,
and looks more like a c riser than a yacht.
She is built of steel, pare ted white and un-
pelled by twin screws, connected with a
double set ofengines. Her average spee,1
is nineteen knots an hour, and, aecordie
to the London Queen, this can be teceease
to over twenty knots in the hour Tie,
Hohenzollern has two wheels, one at th.
stern, the other near the bow, the latte-
worked by steam, the former by man pow -
both being painted white and gold, wit .
nickel spokes. The yacht is armed wits
eight, quick -firing Krupp guns, and, wit.
her graceful outlines, sits high in the wate
She has three masts and two funnels, paint
ed yellow, i he gilded imperial Gernia,
crown on the prow, and the Hoheuzollere
coat of arms in black and silver, surround
ed by a laurel wreath, on the stern. Te.e
deck is covered with linoleum, and over s
large part there is an awning where, in fine
weather, the emperor has luncheon and tea
parties. In the fore part of the vessel is a
bridge reserved for the emperor. It is ap-
proached by a mahogany stairway and has
mahoganyTheemp errailings.o
apartments on the middle
deck amidships are on the port side, those
of the empress and her children on the
starboard side. Wainscoting, doors, aud
staircases, as welt as other fittings and
furniture, are of very light-colored, almost
white, maple wood ; the ceilings white,
picked out with gold ; the rococo chim-
neys of nickel, and the walis covered with
cretonne, varying in pattern in the various
apartments. The lofty and spacious dining
saloon on the middle deck is 25 feet broad
by 75 feet long, and by an ingenious ar-
rangement of portieres can be made of any
size the emperor pleases. It is unphol-
stered in grey and white, and like the
whole of the vessel, lighted by electricity
and warmed by steam pipes. On the cen-
ter table stands the queen's cup, won by
the Meteor at the receut royal yacht
squadron regatta at Cows; and on another
table the Couhty Down cup, won by the
Meteor at the royal Ulster regatta in 1892.
Above this saloon is the promenade deck,
with the smoking -room on one end and the
emperor's bridge on the other. The
smoking -room is very comfortable, furnish-
ed and lined with porcelain plaques, on
which illustrations of German battles by
sea and land are painted. On the upper
deck is one of the emperor's working -rooms,
furnished with a telephone. Hanging on
the wall is the log book and on a shelf are
some nautical books. Another workroom
and a conference -room are on the middle
deck, their walls being decorated with
water -color sketches and photographs of t ,
the queen, the Empress of Germany and 't
her children.
The saloon,intended for familygatherings,
is decorated in blue and silver and fitted
with furniture of maple and a fireplace of
marble and nickel. The empress' bedroom
contains a bedstead of nickel, with a coun-
terpane of red silk and hangings of gray
satin. Adjoining the emperor's rooms aft
are the apartments and the messroom of
the imperial suite, while the officers' mess-
room and cabins, fitted up with oak furni-
ture, are situated forward. the kitchens
on the deck below are splendidlx fitted up.
The Hohenzollern is l 16 meters long, with -1
14 meters beam, her tonnage 2,400, displace-
ment 4,200 tons and. power 20)000.
f
ADVENTURE WITH A BOA.
An Extremely Unpleasant Encounter In a
Ceylonese Garden,
Hawtrey Thwaitea writer : —One incident
that occurs to me is a little adventure I
have had with a python, a snake of the
Molurus tribe,iu my own garden in Colom-
bc. One evening I was smoking on the
veranda after dinner. It was a c'oudy
night, but the air was perfectly still What
seemed to be the branch of a tree was lying
across the carriage drive, and as I noticed
it I wondered how it could have fallen
when not a breath of wind was stirring. It
was perfectly motionless, and after a while
1 went down to throw it aside out of the
path. But the moment I stooped over it
the object seemed to melt away.
Amazed and half doubting the evidenoe
of my own eyes, I took a step in pursuit,but
the instantaneous contraction of the whole
body, ready for a spring, and the long,
deep hiss that followed told me of the dan-
ger I was in. Each staid without the
movement of a muscle for about twenty
seconds, and then the snake imperceptibly
disappeared. One long sigh of relief and a
dart into the house that beat the record for
a twenty -yard sprint closed the proceed-
ings for me that night. Had I by mistake
laid the slightest touch upon the creature's
body the probability is that within less than
half a minute I should have been reduced
to a shapeless lamp of pulp and broken
bones. Rescue would have been impossible.
Providence was merciful to me that night.
Soon after we found that the python had
taken up its abode in the garden, hat it had
chosen its hiding plate so cunningly that
there was no getting at it. One night a lady
who was ill was lying awake in her room,
and the room next to hers was oeoupied by
my sister. The door between the 'two
rooms was open, and suddenly the lady
saw a large snake come in at the window,
waving its head about in aearch of a place
where it might alight. A moment later it
fell, with a loud flop, on to the floor. Of
course, it had disappeared by the time they
had recovered from the shock and called for
assistance.
Brnshint Cloths
A man who always looks well with but a
limited wardrobe says: The finest clothing
in the world won't make a ma u look well if
his collar or cuffs are soiled.
On the other hand, if the linen is clean
and fresh, if the elothes are well brushed
and if there is a flower in the button -hole
one always looks presentable. But whisk
brooms simply ruin clothes : you should
have a. good bristle brush, • not too stiff.
Then brush as often and as much as you
like, and your clotnes will look the better
and wear the better for it. This is of
especial interest to women because they
have to look out for the stock of clean
linen and to often- pply the clothe
brush.
France is the only European country
- hi th has to -day fewer able-bodied men
an it had thirty years so:\
4
•
CI cver
I3LS
1\icenee
LY
..y0L1T
s -v
• rf:
till
".1
*EW
d
In
REPRE!3ii
NW',i•etAI:11
Mercy
PET'
Ge
Call azul
Or call ar.j
Dr. Wilfi
Oi ANY t
farm r
Or any vrri
Of a loan