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diff --git a/old/62849-0.txt b/old/62849-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ba6bb3c..0000000 --- a/old/62849-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2202 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, -Science, and Art, No. 742, March 16, 1878, by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, No. 742, March 16, 1878 - -Author: Various - -Editor: William Chambers - Robert Chambers - -Release Date: August 4, 2020 [EBook #62849] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBER'S JOURNAL *** - - - - -Produced by Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: CHAMBERS’S JOURNAL - -OF - -POPULAR - -LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. - -Fourth Series - -CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS. - -NO. 742. SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 1878. PRICE 1½_d._] - - - - -STORY OF GEORGE CRUIKSHANK. - - -A passing sigh of regret has noted the recent demise, at the good old -age of eighty-six, of one of the most remarkable men of our time. -Seldom has it been our lot to record in the pages of this _Journal_ -the story of one whose genius was of so wild and fantastic a character -as that of this veteran artist, who won his maiden fame in the days of -George III., and has passed away in the latter part of the reign of -Queen Victoria. - -George Cruikshank, who was of Scotch parentage, was born in London -on September 27, 1792. His father was an artist of the caricature -order, contemporary with Gilray; and his elder brother Robert was a -draughtsman who, though of no great ability, had a strong Cruikshankian -manner about him. George began to sketch at a very early age; and at -the commencement of the present century he got a living by making -etchings for the booksellers. His father had originally intended to -train up his son for the stage; but perceiving that his inclinations -lay in quite another direction, he allowed him to cultivate those -artistic talents which were afterwards to be a source of delight to -himself and to the public. In 1805 the lad sketched Lord Nelson’s -funeral car; and his illustrations of the ‘O. P.’ riots at Covent -Garden Theatre in 1809 attracted considerable attention at the time. -Some of his earliest sketches depict characters who were the centre of -interest at that period, but whose names have now quite an ancient ring -about them. - -Before the reign of George III. was over, the young artist had made -a conspicuous name as a caricaturist and comic designer. His first -designs were in connection with cheap songs and children’s books; and -after that he furnished political caricatures to the _Scourge_ and -other satirical publications, besides doing a good deal of work for Mr -Hone’s books and periodicals during several years. Indeed this famous -publisher was the first to perceive the talents of the artist, and to -introduce his rather eccentric sketches to the public. It is related of -the young Cruikshank that, having a desire to follow art in the higher -department, he endeavoured on one occasion to study at the Academy. The -schools at that period were restricted in space and much crowded. On -sending up to Fuseli his figure in plaster, the Professor returned the -characteristic but discouraging answer: ‘He may come, but he will have -to fight for a seat.’ Cruikshank never repeated his attempt to enter -the Academy, although he afterwards became an exhibitor. His pencil -was ever enlisted on the side of suffering and against oppression, and -it is therefore not surprising to find that the cause of the ill-used -Queen Caroline was greatly benefited by its scathing satire. Some -special hits were made by the artist on this occasion, for it was a -subject on which the public mind was very much excited, and one design -which was entitled ‘The Queen’s Matrimonial Ladder’ ran through fifty -editions. - -In 1830, when the government had determined to suppress the agitation -for parliamentary reform, Cruikshank, at the request of his old patron -Hone, produced some political illustrations, which are said to have -convulsed with laughter the ministry at whom they were directed, and to -whom they did incalculable damage. One of these, called ‘The Political -House that Jack Built,’ was particularly good, and within a very short -time one hundred thousand copies of it were sold. A few years later -George abandoned political caricature and gave himself up to the -illustration of works of humour and fancy, to the exposure of passing -follies in dress and social manners, and to grave and often tragic -moralising on the vices of mankind. - -In the year 1821 he illustrated—and indeed originated—the celebrated -‘Life in London’ of Pierce Egan, a work better known by the title -of ‘Tom and Jerry.’ The book was published in sheets and enjoyed -an enormous success, establishing the name of George Cruikshank as -the first comic artist of the day. The plates for this work were in -_aquatint_, and though not in Cruikshank’s best manner, they exhibited -that variety of observation and marvellous fullness of detail for -which the designer was always remarkable. The letterpress of the work -was, however, written in too free a manner for the moral intention -with which the plates were drawn; and offended at the gross use to -which his illustrations were applied, the great artist retired from the -engagement before the work was completed. - -It was related to the writer of this article by Cruikshank himself -that, when a very young man, he was one day engaged in hastily -sketching a work of rather questionable character. While he was doing -it, his mother and another lady entered the room, and he quickly hid -the sketch away. The act, however, so disturbed him that he resolved -never to allow his pencil to produce any work in the future at which a -virtuous woman could not look without a blush. The pure moral tone of -all his works attests how well he kept so noble a resolve. - -From 1823 down to many years later, George Cruikshank was the most -highly esteemed of English book illustrators. Work poured in upon him -at a prodigious rate; but being a man of singular energy and tireless -industry, he was always equal to the demand. His designs for ‘Italian -Tales,’ ‘Grimm’s German Stories,’ the ‘Wild Legend of Peter Schlemihl -the Shadowless Man,’ ‘Baron Munchausen,’ and Sir Walter Scott’s -‘Demonology and Witchcraft,’ are amongst his best and highest works. He -also illustrated some of Washington Irving’s works of fiction, Fielding -and Smollett’s books, beside Maxwell’s graphic history of the ‘Irish -Rebellion.’ It would, however, be impossible, in this brief notice of -his life, to mention one tithe of the works that have emanated from the -untiring pencil of this remarkable man. But the generation which is -passing away cannot fail to remember his celebrated ‘Mornings at Bow -Street,’ a series of sketches which depicted and ruthlessly exposed the -dark and savage side of London life. - -The genius of Charles Dickens, as we formerly had occasion to remark, -received invaluable assistance from Cruikshank’s pencil, which -illustrated the first writings of the young author, and thus paved the -way for him to a larger audience than he might otherwise have had. -In the first month of 1837 appeared the opening number of ‘Bentley’s -Miscellany,’ edited by ‘Boz’ (Charles Dickens), then in the flush of -his ‘Pickwick’ success, and illustrated by Cruikshank. In the second -number of the ‘Miscellany,’ Dickens commenced ‘Oliver Twist,’ a work -not only illustrated by Cruikshank, but for which the latter it appears -had himself supplied, unwittingly, some of the characters. - -George used to say that he had drawn the figures of ‘Fagin,’ ‘Bill -Sikes and his Dog,’ ‘Nancy,’ the ‘Artful Dodger,’ and ‘Charley Bates’ -before ‘Oliver Twist’ was written; and that Dickens seeing the sketches -one day shortly after the commencement of the story, determined to -change his plot, and instead of keeping Oliver in the country, resolved -to bring him to town, and throw him (with entire innocence) into the -company of thieves. ‘Fagin’ was sketched from a rascally old Jew whom -Cruikshank had observed in the neighbourhood of Saffron Hill, and -whom he watched and ‘studied’ for several weeks. The artist had also -conceived the terrible face of ‘Fagin in the Condemned Cell’ as he sits -gnawing his nails, in the curious accidental way we lately narrated to -our readers. He had been working at the subject for some days without -satisfying himself; when sitting up in bed one morning with his hands -on his chin and his fingers in his mouth, he saw his face in the glass, -and at once exclaimed: ‘_That’s it! that’s the face I want!_’ - -Nobody who has seen the sketches to ‘Oliver Twist’ can ever forget -them, and two at least of the series are perfect _chefs-d’œuvre_ of -genius, namely the death of Sikes on the roof of the old house at the -river-side, and the despair of Fagin in his cell. In fact some of -Cruikshank’s best work in the delineation of low and depraved life -and the squalid picturesqueness of criminal haunts, appeared in the -above-named book. His illustrations to Harrison Ainsworth’s works were -also for the most part charming specimens of what may be appropriately -termed the ‘Cruikshankian’ art. At the same time he sketched the -designs for some of the ‘Ingoldsby Legends’ as they appeared from time -to time in the ‘Miscellany.’ In 1841 he set up on his own account a -monthly periodical called the ‘Omnibus,’ of which Laman Blanchard was -the editor; and subsequently joined Mr Ainsworth in the magazine which -that gentleman had started in his own name; the great artist, in a -series of splendid plates of the highest conception, illustrating the -‘Miser’s Daughter’ and other works from the pen of the proprietor. For -several years Cruikshank had been publishing a ‘Comic Almanac,’ which -was a great favourite with the public, and was always brimming full of -fun and prodigal invention. In 1863 a ‘Cruikshank Gallery’ was opened -at Exeter Hall, in which were exhibited a great number of his works, -extending over a period of _sixty_ years. The exhibition originated -from a desire on the artist’s part to shew the public that they were -all done by the same hand, and that he was not, in fact, _his own -grandfather_; some people having asserted that the author of his later -works was the grandson of the man who had sketched the earliest ones. - -He will perhaps be remembered most affectionately by the great -industrial portion of the people as the apostle as well as the artist -of temperance. Perceiving drunkenness to be the national vice, he -depicted its horrors from the studio, and denounced its woes from the -platform. It was about the year 1845 that he joined the teetotalers; -and in 1847 he brought out a set of plates called ‘The Bottle,’ a kind -of ‘Drunkard’s Progress,’ in eight designs, executed in glyphography -with remarkable power and tragic intensity, not unlike some of the -works of Hogarth. The success of these extraordinary engravings was -enormous. Dramas were founded on the story at the minor theatres, and -the several tableaux were reproduced on the stage. He soon published a -sequel to ‘The Bottle,’ and did a great deal of work for the temperance -societies; but it was observed that his style suffered somewhat by the -contraction of his ideas and sympathies, and his reputation declined -amongst the general public in proportion to the increase of his -popularity amongst the teetotalers. He remained, however, the staunch -friend and ally of the temperance leaders up to the day of his death; -and he used to say that for years before he became a total abstainer -he was the enemy of drunkenness with his pencil, but that later -experience had taught him that precept without example was of little -avail. There is no doubt that, though the good he was able to do by -persuading others to whom drink was a positive injury, brought great -satisfaction to his mind, it alienated from him to a great extent the -friendship, to their loss, of his former companions. But to know his -duty was for George Cruikshank to do it, and nobly did he stand by the -cause which he had espoused. His advocacy of temperance is also said to -have been a great pecuniary loss to him; and the writer of this article -remembers having heard him say, a few years since, that he had lost a -commission to paint the portrait of a nobleman, because somebody had -told the latter that since George Cruikshank had become a teetotaler he -had lost all his talent! The hearty laugh which accompanied the recital -of the story rings in the writer’s ears still. - -Perhaps his greatest work in the cause of temperance, as it is -certainly his most extraordinary one, is the large oil-painting called -‘The Worship of Bacchus,’ which now hangs in the National Gallery. It -represents the various phases of our national drinking system, from -the child in its cradle to the man’s descent to the grave. There are -many hundreds of figures depicted on the canvas, engaged in all the -different customs of so-called civilised life; and the sad lesson it -reads is well deserving the attention of all who love their country, -and would prefer to witness its increased prosperity rather than its -decline. Cruikshank had the honour of describing the picture to Her -Majesty the Queen at Windsor in 1863; and since then it has been -exhibited in all the principal towns and cities of the United Kingdom. -Finally, it was presented by the teetotalers to the nation, having been -purchased from the artist by means of a subscription. The time spent -in the preparation of this work must have been very great, indeed it -might well have been the study of an ordinary lifetime. An engraving of -the picture was published some time ago, in which all the figures were -outlined by the painter and finished by Mr Mottram. - -In his own way, George Cruikshank was a philanthropist, and to the end -of his life it was his proud boast that he put a stop to hanging for -forging bank-notes. The story, as told by himself, is so interesting, -that we need not apologise for placing it before our readers. He lived -in Salisbury Square, Fleet Street; and on his returning from the Bank -of England one morning he was horrified at seeing several persons, two -of whom were women, hanging on the gibbet in front of Newgate. On his -making inquiries as to the nature of their crime, he was told that they -had been put to death for forging _one-pound_ Bank of England notes. -The fact that a poor woman could be put to death for such a minor -offence had such an effect upon him, that he hurried home, determined, -if possible, to put a stop to such wholesale destruction of life. - -Cruikshank was well acquainted with the habits of the low class of -society in London at that time, as it had been necessary for him to -study them in the furtherance of his art, and he knew well that it was -most likely that the poor women in question were simply the unconscious -instruments of the miscreants who forged the notes, and had been -induced by them to tender the false money to some publican or other. -In a few minutes after his arrival at his residence he had designed and -sketched a ‘Bank-note not to be Imitated.’ Shortly afterwards, William -Hone the publisher called on him, and seeing the sketch lying on the -table, he was much struck with it. - -‘What are you going to do with this, George?’ he asked. - -‘To publish it,’ replied the artist. - -‘Will you let me have it?’ inquired Hone. - -‘Willingly,’ said Cruikshank; and making an etching of it there and -then, he gave it to Hone, and it was published; the result being, that -‘I had the satisfaction of knowing that no man or woman was ever hanged -afterwards for passing forged one-pound Bank of England notes.’ - -In 1863 he published an amusing pamphlet against the belief in ghosts, -illustrated by some weird fantastic sketches on wood. But his public -appearances now became less frequent. During the later years of his -life he gave considerable attention to oil-painting, and he used -greatly to regret that he had not received a more artistic education, -stating that when he first saw the cartoons of Raphael he felt -overpowered by a sort of shame at his own comparative deficiencies. -He has, however, left some good specimens of his power in oil in ‘Tam -o’ Shanter,’ ‘A Runaway Knock,’ and ‘Disturbing the Congregation;’ -the last-named having been bought by the late Prince Consort, and -afterwards engraved. The design of the Bruce Memorial, which has been -so much admired, was also from the pencil of George Cruikshank; and the -last contribution from his pen to the public press was a letter on this -subject. - -His personal appearance was no less remarkable than his works. Rather -below middle stature, and thick-set, with a rather sharp Roman nose, -piercing eyes, a mouth full of lurking humour, and wild elf-locks -flowing about his face, he at once attracted attention as a man of -genius, energy, and character. He was always famous for great courage -and spirit, which added to his muscular power, made him very capable of -holding his own everywhere. - -Though accustomed to depict life in its shadier phases, Cruikshank -was of a naturally joyous disposition. In social life his humour was -inimitable; and his readiness to add to the amusement of his host and -his host’s guests was only equalled by the unique way in which he -played the part of actor, singer, and dancer. The fact of his being a -teetotaler in no way interfered with his honest natural merry nature; -with old and young alike he was a deserved favourite. Young folks were -especially fond of the dear old man. Dining with some other guests -at the London house of a friend of the writer’s some five-and-twenty -years ago, Mr Cruikshank, when asked to favour the company with a song, -struck up the comic ditty of _Billy Taylor_, that brisk young fellow, -and danced an accompaniment, much to the amusement of the good folks -present. ‘Not so bad for one of your teetotalers,’ quoth the veteran as -he returned to his seat. - -In his earlier years he ventured alone into the worst dens of criminal -London, and since he had grown old he actually captured a burglar in -his own house and with his own hands. In many ways he contributed to -the public amusement and the public good; and during the later years -of his life he was in receipt of a government pension, for though he -helped to make fortunes for others, he made very little money for -himself. He was a Volunteer so far back as 1804; and in our own days he -commanded a regiment of citizen soldiers of teetotal principles. - -There is on view at the Westminster Aquarium at the present time a -splendid collection of Cruikshank’s works, each of which is a study in -itself, while the whole, consisting of about five hundred sketches, -forms a unique monument to his skill and genius. - -As an artist he will be certain of lasting fame, for he managed his -lights and shades with a skill akin to Rembrandt, while his delineation -of low life in its every phase was marvellous. His illustrations to -fairy and goblin stories were also beyond praise, as they could not -be surpassed in strangeness and elfin oddity; and in this respect he -was popular with young and old. His sketches must be innumerable, for -he was, like all true men of genius, a great worker, and he must have -toiled unceasingly through at least _seventy_ years of his long life. -He was attacked with bronchitis a few weeks previous to his death, yet -with great care he was actually enabled to recover from this disease; -but alas! only to succumb to an older complaint from which he had been -free for years. He died painlessly, on the evening of the first of -February last, at his residence in Hampstead Road, London; and while -to comparatively few was given the inestimable privilege of the great -artist’s friendship, the grief of a nation for his loss attests the -universality of his fame. - - - - -HELENA, LADY HARROGATE. - - -CHAPTER XV.—THE STOLEN LETTER. - -Jasper Denzil, his arm, bruised and crushed as it had been beneath the -weight of the fallen horse, still needing the support of a sling, and -his pallid cheek and dim eye telling that he had not wholly regained -his strength, lounged among the cushions of a sofa in what was called -the White Room at Carbery. This room, which owed its name to the colour -of its panelled walls, sparely relieved by mouldings of gold and pale -blue, overlooked the park and adjoined the billiard-room; and Jasper, -with an invalid’s caprice, had chosen it for his especial apartment -during the period of his compulsory confinement to the house. - -Time hung more heavily than ever on the captain’s hands since his -accident had cut him off from his ordinary habits of life. Of -intellectual resources he had few indeed, being one of those men (and -they are numerous amongst us) to whom reading is a weariness of spirit, -and thinking a laborious mental process, and who undergo tortures of -boredom when thrown helpless into that worst of all company—their own. -His sisters’ affection, his sisters’ innocent anxiety to anticipate -his wishes and soothe his pain, bored him more than it touched him. He -was not of a tender moral fibre, and barely tolerated at best those of -his own blood and name. He would very much have preferred as a nurse -bluff Jack Prodgers, to Blanche and Lucy. With Prodgers he had topics -and interests in common; the minds of the two captains ran nearly in -identical grooves; whereas his sisters did not fathom his nature or -partake his tastes. So dreary was the existence to which this once -brilliant cavalry officer was now condemned, that he had actually come -to look forward with a sort of languid excitement to the professional -visits of little Dr Aulfus from Pebworth, whose gig, to the great -disgust of Mr Lancetter, the High Tor surgeon, was daily to be seen -traversing the carriage-drive of Carbery Chase. With his father, -Jasper’s dealings were coldly decorous, no fondness and no trust -existing on either side. Sir Sykes had announced to Jasper that his -debts—of which the baronet, through a chance interview with Mr Wilkins -the attorney from London, had been made aware—had been paid in full. - -‘I must ask you, Jasper,’ Sir Sykes had said, ‘for two assurances: one -to the effect that no more secret liabilities exist to start up at -unexpected moments; and the other, that you will never again ride a -steeplechase.’ - -‘For my own sake, sir, I’ll promise you that last willingly enough,’ -said Jasper, with a sickly smile. ‘I didn’t use to mind that kind of -thing; but I suppose I am not so young in constitution as I was, and -don’t come up to time so readily. And as for more snakes in the grass, -such as those which that impudent cur Wilkins wheedled me into signing, -for his own benefit and that of his worthy allies, I give you my word -there’s not one. Some fresh tailor or liveryman may send a bill in one -day. A gentleman can’t always be quite sure as to how many new coats -and hired broughams may be totted up against him by those harpies at -the West End; but that is all. I should have won a hatful of money the -other day if anybody but Hanger had been on The Smasher’s back, when -that savage brute rushed at the wall; but I don’t owe any, except a -hundred and fifty which Prodgers lent me, and every farthing of which -I paid to the bookmakers before the race, in hope of receiving it back -with a tidy sum to boot.’ - -Sir Sykes had forthwith inclosed a cheque for a hundred and fifty -pounds to Captain Prodgers, with a very frigid acknowledgment of the -accommodation offered to his son. - -‘I could wish that you had other friends, other pursuits too,’ he said -coldly to Jasper. ‘However, I will not lecture. You are of an age to -select your own associates.’ - -Captain Denzil then, being on terms of chilling civility with his -father, and an uncongenial companion for his sisters, yielded himself -the more readily to the singular fascination which Ruth Willis could, -when she chose, exert. Sir Sykes’s ward had a remarkable power of -pleasing when it suited her to please. She had at the first conciliated -the servants at Carbery—no slight feat, considering the dull weight -of stolid prejudice which she had to encounter—and had won the regard -of the baronet’s two daughters. Then Lucy and Blanche had felt the -ardour of their early girlish friendship for the Indian orphan cool -perceptibly, perhaps because the latter no longer gave herself the -same pains to win their suffrages. And now she laid herself out to -be agreeable to Jasper. Nothing could be more natural or befitting -than that a young lady, under deep obligations to the master of the -house, should shew her gratitude by doing little acts of kindness to -her guardian’s son when a prisoner; and without any apparent effort -or design, Ruth seemed to appropriate the invalid as her own. She -talked to him—she was by far better informed than the average of her -sex and age, and had a rare tact which taught her when to speak, and -of what—and she read to him. A more fastidious listener than Jasper -might have been charmed with that sweet untiring voice, so admirably -modulated that it assumed the tone most suited to the subject-matter, -be it what it might. The captain, whose boast it was, that with the -exception of racing calendars and cavalry manuals, he had not opened -a book since he left school, cared for nothing but newspapers, and -especially newspapers of a sporting turn, and such literature is not -generally very inviting to a feminine student; but Miss Willis shewed -no symptoms of weariness as she retailed to her hearer the cream of the -turf intelligence. - -‘I don’t half like her. There are times when I could almost say, I hate -her!’ thought Jasper to himself once and again; ‘but she’s clever, and -has something about her which I don’t understand, for she never bores a -fellow.’ - -It was a burning day in early August. The windows of the White Room -were open, and the heavy hum of the bees, as they loaded themselves -with the plunder of the blossoms that clustered so thickly without, had -in itself a drowsy potency. Jasper, overcome by heat and lassitude, had -fallen asleep among his cushions, and Ruth Willis, who had been reading -to him, laid down the paper and slipped softly from the room, closing -the door behind her. She met no one, either on her way to her own -chamber or as, having donned her garden hat and jacket, she descended -the stairs. It was her practice on most fine days to leave the house -for a solitary ramble either in the park or among the woods that sloped -down to the river. - -It was Ruth’s custom, when thus she sallied forth alone, to take with -her a book, which she could read when seated on some granite boulder -against which the swift stream chafed in vain, or amidst the gnarled -roots of the ancient trees in the Chase. Nor did she, like the majority -of young ladies, consider nothing worth her study save the contents -of the last green box of novels from a London circulating library, -preferring often the perusal of the quaint pretty old books that are -usually allowed to sleep unmolested on their shelves, here the verses -of a forgotten poet, there perhaps some idyl unsurpassed in its simple -sweetness of thought and diction. - -With works of this description, well chosen once but now voted -obsolete, the library at Carbery Chase was richly stored; and Sir Sykes -had willingly given to his ward the permission which she asked, to -have free access to its treasures. He himself spent most of his time -while within doors in this same library, and there Ruth fully expected -to find him, when she entered it, accoutred for her walk. She had in -her hand a tiny tome, bound in tawny leather, and with a faded coat of -arms, on which might still be deciphered the De Vere wyverns stamped -upon the cover. To replace this and to select another volume, she -should have to pass Sir Sykes’s writing-table, in front of the great -stained glass window; but he would merely look up with a nod and smile -as the small slender form of his ward flitted by. - -Sir Sykes, however, contrary to his habit at that hour, was not in the -library. He must but recently have quitted it, however, for the ink -in the pen that he had laid aside was yet wet, and the note which he -had been engaged in writing was unfinished. On a desk which occupied -the right-hand corner of the writing-table, a large old desk, the queer -inlaid-work of which, in ivory and tortoise-shell, had probably been -that of some Chinese or Hindu mechanic, lay an open letter, the bluish -paper and formal penmanship of which suggested the idea of business. -Now, it may seem trite to say that a regard for the sanctity of another -person’s correspondence is not merely innate in every honourable mind, -but so strongly inculcated upon us by education and example, that there -are many who are capable of actual crime, yet who would be degraded in -their own esteem by any prying into what was meant to meet no eyes but -those of the legitimate recipient. Yet Ruth Willis, the instant that -she perceived herself to be alone in the room, unhesitatingly drew near -to the table and took a brief survey of what lay upon it. As she caught -a glimpse of the letter, her very breathing seemed to stop, and a -strange glittering light came into her large eyes, and a crimson flush -mantled in her pale cheek. - -‘I must have it!’ she exclaimed passionately. ‘At any risk I must know -all, must realise the extent of the danger, and whence it threatens. -There is not a moment to lose!’ - -Quick as thought the girl snatched up the letter from the desk on -which it lay, and darted towards the French window nearest to the now -empty fire-place. The window stood open. As she neared it, she heard a -man’s tread in the passage, a man’s hand upon the door of the library. -To avoid detection, her only chance was in her own promptitude and -coolness. She had but just time to pass through the opening and to -conceal herself among the rose-trees and flowering shrubs, before Sir -Sykes entered the room that she had so lately left. She thrust the -letter into her pocket and cowered down close to the wall, terror in -her eyes and quick-moving lips, for she knew but too well that in such -a case as this no social subterfuge, no fair seeming excuse could avail -her. - -From her lair among the fragrant bushes Ruth could see the baronet -tossing over the papers that lay neatly arranged on his table, then -hurrying to and fro in evident excitement. That he was seeking for the -missing letter was clear. - -‘Sooner or later,’ she murmured to herself, ‘he _must_ remember the -window, and should he but see me, all is lost. In such a plight, -boldness is safest.’ - -With a stealthy swiftness which had something feline in it, Ruth -Willis made her way past shrubs and sheltering trees and black hedges -of aged yew, trimmed, for generations past, by the gardener’s shears. -There were men at work among the lawns and flower-beds, men at work -too among the hothouses and conservatories. It would not be well, -should suspicion be rife and inquiry active, that these men should have -seen her. There was one place, however, where the trees of the garden -overhung the fence dividing it from the park, and here there was a -wicket, seldom used. To reach it she had to traverse one short stretch -of greensward exposed to the observation of the under-gardeners at -their work. Watching for a favourable moment, Ruth glided across the -dangerous piece of open ground, unseen by those who were busy at that -mowing and rolling, and weeding and pruning, which never seems to be -finished in a rich man’s pleasaunce. With the speed of a hunted deer -she threaded her way amidst the trees, opened the gate, and skirting -the southern angle of the park, fled through the new plantations to her -favourite resort, the woods beside the river. - -No more peaceful and few prettier spots could easily have been found -than that which Ruth now sought, a place where the swift stream, -rushing down from its birthplace among the Dartmoor heights to end -its short career in the blue sea—of which, between the interlacing -boughs, a view could here and there be obtained—brawled among the -red rocks that half choked up the deep and narrow ravine. A welcome -coolness seemed to arise from where the spray of the pellucid water -was sprinkled over boulders worn smooth by time; and clefts where the -delicate lady-fern and many another dainty frond grew thickly. But -Ruth Willis for once was blind to the beauty of the scene, deaf to -the silvery music of the stream among the pebbles or to the carol of -the birds. With dilated eyes and lips compressed, but with trembling -fingers, she drew forth the stolen letter, and beneath the shadow of -the overhanging boughs, eagerly, almost fiercely, read and re-read the -words that it contained. - - - - -FIRES IN AMERICA. - - -The exceeding dryness of the atmosphere in the United States produces -such an inflammability in buildings, that when a fire breaks out it -proceeds with surprising velocity. Owing to this circumstance Americans -have organised the most perfect system in the world of extinguishing -fires, though all their efforts are often in vain. A stranger in New -York or Boston would be astonished at the immense uproar caused by an -outbreak of fire. Bells are rung, gongs sounded, and steam fire-engines -rush along the streets regardless of everything. The unaccustomed -stranger is apt to make a run of it when he sees the engines coming; -the American simply steps on to the ‘side-walk’ or into a ‘store’ for -a moment. It is provided by the city government that ‘the officers and -men, with their teams and apparatus, shall have the right of way while -going to a fire, through any street, lane, or alley,’ &c.; and most -unreservedly do the said officers and men make use of this permission. -If any old woman’s stall is at the corner of a street round which the -steamers must go, there is no help for it; over it goes. If a buggy -is left standing at a corner, the owner must not be surprised if but -three wheels are left on it when he returns. Accidents of this latter -kind, however, are rare; people recognise and yield willingly the right -of way; and the quicker the engines go to a fire, the better pleased -everybody is. It is quite a point of rivalry among the firemen who -shall get the first water on a fire, and is mentioned always in the -report of the engineer. - -This is how it looks from the outside; but the greater part of those -who see the engines go to a fire have no idea of the inner working of -the system. All they know is that when there is a fire the engines -go and put it out. We shall therefore now proceed to shew, first, -the means for communicating alarms of fire; and second, the means for -extinguishing fires when discovered. - -There are in Boston (Mass.), which we may take as an example of a -well-protected city, about two hundred and thirty-five alarm-boxes, -which are small iron boxes placed at street corners, on public -buildings, and in any convenient and necessary locality. Each box is -connected by two wires with the head office at the City Hall, and has -its number painted in red, and a notice stating where the key is kept, -which is generally the nearest house. The authorities usually confide -the key to some person whose premises are open all night, such as -the proprietor of an hotel, an apothecary, or a doctor. When the box -is opened, nothing is seen but a small hook at the top, the interior -being concealed by another iron lid. Under this second lid is a steel -cylinder with pieces of ebony let into its circumference to correspond -with the number of the box. This cylinder is connected with one of the -telegraph wires; and a steel spring which presses against it, with the -other. When the hook is pulled down a clock-work arrangement causes the -cylinder to revolve four times; the steel spring consequently passes -over the entire surface of the cylinder four times, and contact is -broken at the points where the spring touches only the non-conducting -ebony. For instance, if the circumference of the cylinder in box 125 -could be unrolled, it would present an appearance something like -this: I II IIIII. Let us now follow the wires to the top of the City -Hall, where, night and day, sits an operator watching the recording -instrument. Here in a small room are numerous electrical instruments -of all sorts, gongs, switches, keys, levers, and wires. In an attic -overhead are the batteries. As soon as a box is opened and ‘pulled’ a -bell strikes, and a recording instrument in front turns out a slip of -paper, on which is printed the box number; thus - - — — — — — — — — - -would mean box 125. It prints this four times—the number of revolutions -made by the cylinder in the box—to avoid any error. - -On the other side of the operator are three clock faces bearing -numerals from one to nine, and a pointer. The one to the right is for -the units, the middle one for the tens, the one to the left for the -hundreds. Under them is a lever working horizontally. Immediately the -operator receives the box number, he sets these pointers to correspond -with it—namely, the left one he puts at 1, the middle at 2, the right -one at 5—thus making 125—and then moves the lever underneath. - -Now let us see what is the result of this manœuvring. Wires connect -these machines with various church bells and gongs in all parts of -the city, which ring out the alarm as the operator moves the lever. -There are thirty-eight such bells in Boston. When there is a church -bell in the neighbourhood, the fire department affixes an electrical -hammer to it; if, however, there is no public bell in the right place, -a large gong is erected. The machine at City Hall is automatic when -once started, and causes the bells to sound the alarm three times as -follows. For box 125 they would strike once; then a pause and strike -twice; another pause and strike five times; then a much longer pause -and repeat twice. For box 218 they strike 2—1—8, always sounding the -number three times with intervals between. So quickly is all this -managed that in half a minute after a person opens and ‘pulls’ a box he -hears the bells begin to respond. - -In case that the engines which go on the first alarm are not -sufficiently numerous to extinguish the fire, a second alarm is given -by the operator striking ten blows on the bells, which brings several -more engines. If the fire is very serious, a third alarm brings still -more engines with hose and ladder companies. This is given by striking -twelve blows twice. If the conflagration is becoming very serious -indeed, the entire fire department is summoned by striking twelve blows -three times. This, of course, very rarely happens. Indeed so efficient -are the men and apparatus, that even a second alarm is quite unusual. -The second and third alarms are communicated to the City Hall operator -by simply ‘pulling’ the same box a second and third time; or if the -pulling apparatus should have been destroyed at an early stage of the -fire, by transmitting a request by a Morse telegraph key, which is -placed in every box for the use of the employés when out testing the -circuits. Every one knows the number of the box situated near to his -residence or place of business; so, if awakened by the bells in the -night, he simply counts the box number, and if it is not near him, -turns over and goes to sleep again reassured; whilst if it chance to be -his number, he is at once ready to render any assistance. - -The fire telegraph is also made use of by the city authorities for -calling out the police or the military in case of a disturbance, and -also for informing the parents who send their children to the public -schools when there is to be no class, on account of bad weather or -other reasons. Each of these circumstances has its special number. -There is also a gong placed in every police station, which is struck -directly from the boxes, and it frequently happens that the police have -a flaming building barricaded by a rope, before the engines arrive. - -Next, the means for extinguishing fires when discovered. In the city -of Boston there are twenty-nine steam fire-engines in actual service, -and seven held in reserve; eight chemical engines, throwing water -impregnated with soda and sulphuric acid, which also serves as the -motive-power; one steam self-propelling engine; one fire-boat to defend -the water-front of the city; nearly forty hose carriages, about seventy -thousand feet of hose, and twelve hook and ladder companies; besides -other apparatus of various kinds, such as hand-engines, coal-wagons, -sleighs for carrying the hose in winter, and several aërial ladders. -The engines weigh from seven to nine thousand pounds, and cost about a -thousand pounds each. - -One of the most interesting features in the American fire-system is -the extreme ingenuity that is exercised to insure the speedy arrival -of the apparatus at a fire. As has been said, in less than a minute -after the alarm-box has been pulled the bells are ringing out the alarm -all over the city; and—incredible as it may seem—sometimes in _ten -seconds_ after the alarm is rung, the engines have left their stations -with steam up and every one prepared for work! Perhaps the best way to -give a general idea of how this wonderful celerity is attained is to -describe the interior arrangements of an engine-house. - -Usually an engine and a hose-carriage are kept in one house. This is -a two-story building with a small tower or look-out. In the cellar -are kept the steam-heaters and coal; on the first floor in front are -the engine and hose-carriage, at the back the stables; on the second -floor the sleeping-room of the men, their smoking and reading room, -and a small tool-shop. There is a sort of wooden tunnel running up by -the side of the stairs from the cellar to the top of the house, in -which are hung the lengths of spare hose. In the front of the building -is a large gateway, kept closed, for the entrance and exit of the -engine. The engine stands facing the door, and by the side of it the -hose-carriage. The firemen’s helmets and coats are hung on these; and -in the engine the materials for getting up the fire are laid at the -bottom; and close by is a sort of tow-torch soaked in oil, which is -lighted and thrown on the fire by the engineman when they start. So -inflammable is the material laid in the engine-furnace that the fire is -lighted instantaneously. Coming up through the floor, and connecting -with two pipes at the rear of the engine, are two tubes from the -steam-heater mentioned above. This is simply a small boiler by which -the boiler of the fire-engine is kept filled night and day with hot -water, so that steam is up immediately after the fire is lighted. By -the side of the engine is a large gong, on which the alarm is sounded -by the same current that causes the strokes on the bells outside. Under -this is a lever holding back a powerful spring, which, when released, -opens the stable-doors without any attention from the firemen! - -There are three horses—two for the engine, and one for the -hose-carriage. They are kept in small stalls, and face the door of the -house, with the door of the stall just in front of them, so that when -the door is opened, the horses, on stepping out, stand by the side of -the engine in readiness to be harnessed. And not only this, but the -horses, without exception, are so well trained, that the instant the -door is opened they run out and stand by the side of the engine-pole. -They are always completely harnessed, and their harness is so -constructed that in order to attach them to the engine only the joining -of a few snap-hooks is necessary. - -One fireman is always on patrol on the ‘floor,’ whose duty it -is to count and register the alarm; another is on patrol in the -neighbourhood. They sleep with everything on but their coat and boots, -and each has a distinct place assigned to him, which he takes on the -striking of an alarm. So the gong strikes, the stable-doors open, the -horses rush out, the men tumble down-stairs from their rooms above, the -horses are harnessed; and if the alarm calls for them, the doors are -thrown open, and they are gone, occasionally, as was said, in ten or -twelve seconds from the striking of the alarm. - -The city of Boston is divided into ten fire districts, and each -district placed under the charge of an assistant-engineer. Usually -about five or six engines, with their accompanying hose-carriages, two -hook and ladder companies, a coal-wagon, and one of the wagons of the -protective brigade—carrying tarpaulins and rubber blankets, to protect -property from injury by water, supported by the insurance companies—go -to every fire. The entire force of the Fire department in 1876 was six -hundred and sixty-seven men, controlled by three fire commissioners, -one nominated by the mayor, and confirmed by the city council every -year. - -Such are the means possessed by a city of rather more than four hundred -thousand inhabitants for protection against fire; and with such a -splendid system and such a force of men and machines, it is difficult -to understand how a fire could attain such awful proportions as that of -1872, when the loss amounted to four millions sterling. - -Boston always took great pride and felt much confidence in her -granite-fronted places of business, but her recent fire has relieved -her of that misplaced confidence. The blocks of granite crumbled away, -cracked and fell apart, and even exploded. Of course this was an -exceptionally great heat, but one sees fewer warehouses fronted with -granite now than before the fire. - -Even during so terrible a calamity as this fire the characteristic -wit of the American did not desert him. No sooner were the flames -extinguished in the burnt district, than the occupiers of the premises -put up notices on their lots stating their present residences and -future plans. Usually, in the larger cities of the United States, a -value is put upon time of which we have no conception in England. When -a house is burnt down in London or Edinburgh, half a year may elapse -before arrangements are made to build it up again. On the morning -after a fire in New York, we were amused in observing that workmen -were already engaged in preparations for a new building. Owing to -this species of energy in the American people, the two half-destroyed -cities of Boston and Chicago are built up again, handsomer and stronger -than ever. And still the work of improving the fire department goes -on. There are in the newspapers almost daily accounts of the trial -of new engines, improved ladders, longer fire-escapes, and surer -fire-extinguishing compounds, and nothing is spared in checking the -tyranny of what has been so aptly termed a ‘good servant but bad -master.’ - - - - -MONSIEUR HOULOT. - -IN THREE CHAPTERS. - - -CHAPTER I.—YESTERDAY—BONDAGE. - -I was sitting one day looking disconsolately out of window at a -landscape almost blotted out by rain and mist, a landscape almost -hatefully familiar to me. My mind was as cheerless as the prospect, -as blank as the sheet of paper stretched before me to receive its -impressions. I looked on that sheet of paper with disgust, with -loathing. There was no idea in my head, and I felt that anything I -might attempt to write would turn out meaningless verbiage. But my -invisible task-masters were behind me—I heard the crack of their -many-thonged whips—I saw Messrs Butcher and Baker sitting joyfully on -the car which was destined to crush me if I once slackened the rope. - -Yes, I was a writer; neither a successful one nor the reverse. I -made a living by it, but it was an irregular living. Sometimes I was -comparatively rich, at others I was superlatively poor. At the date of -which I write I was decidedly in the latter condition. In purse and in -health I was at the lowest of low-water; one reacted on the other; my -poverty increased my physical weakness, which in its turn prevented -any effective effort to fill the exchequer. Everything I wrote somehow -missed fire. A rest and a change might have set me up. I had no means -of taking either. Nor was I the only sufferer in the house. My wife was -ill and depressed; the children were out of health. Everything was out -of gear. - -Under these doleful conditions I was sitting in a sort of comatose -state, brooding over all the uncomfortable possibilities of existence -or non-existence—without a friend to take counsel with, or even an -acquaintance who might help to move the stagnant waters of life—when -I was aroused by the unwonted sound of wheels. A fly drove up to the -gate, horse and driver shivering and dripping with wet. The man jumped -down and rang the bell. The servant brought up a card; ‘Mrs Collingwood -Dawson.’ - -I knew the name well enough. Dawson was a successful writer of fiction, -a man whose novels were in demand at all the circulating libraries. -But what could his better-half want with me? Time would shew. The lady -entered. - -Mrs Collingwood Dawson was a pleasant-looking woman of uncertain age, -not much over thirty probably, and certainly under forty, with dark -luminous eyes and an expressive face. - -‘It is rather bold of me,’ she said, ‘to come here and take you -by storm, without introduction or anything. I can only plead the -fellowship of the craft.’ - -I replied in an embarrassed way with some meaningless commonplace; and -after a few preliminary civilities, she came to the real purpose of her -visit. - -‘My husband is,’ she said, ‘a very ill-used man. Everybody is worrying -him to write this and that and the other. If he had a dozen pairs of -hands he could keep them going. Unfortunately, he is a sad invalid, and -is really incapable of undertaking more than the little he has in hand.’ - -I expressed a decent grief at the ill-health of Mr Collingwood Dawson. - -‘I have long been urging him,’ she went on, ‘to take a partner, a -coadjutor, a _collaborateur_, some one who will relieve him from the -laborious part of the business, who will work in his style and on his -ideas, and whose work should in effect be his, and appear under his -name.’ - -‘You will have difficulty,’ said I, ‘in finding a competent person who -would be willing to sacrifice his literary identity.’ - -‘Yes; there is a difficulty certainly; but I have taken the liberty -of hoping that you would help us to obviate it. You are yet young -comparatively, and have ample time hereafter to gather a crop of bays -on your own account.’ - -‘What induced you, madam, to think of me in the matter?’ - -‘Simply a study of what you have written, the style of which seemed -suitable to our purpose. If I am offending you, say so, and I will -apologise, and go no further.’ - -I replied that I was willing to hear her offer; that I had no opinion -of literary partnerships, but that my means would not allow me to -reject point-blank any advantageous proposal. - -‘There is nothing derogatory at all, you will acknowledge, in working -on other people’s lines; the greatest authors have done it.’ - -‘Oh, if I can do it honestly, I shall have no scruples on any other -score.’ - -‘Is there any difference between working for us and say for a magazine -which publishes your work anonymously? Or in writing under a _nom de -plume_. If there is any deceit in the matter, it rests with us, not -with you. But if it be a deceit, then all the old masters were cheats, -when they sold as their own, pictures which were in parts done by their -scholars, or sculptors who sell as their work, statues of which all -the rough work has been done by pupils or workmen. No, indeed; it is -your own pride that stands in the way. And pride you know is a sin, and -ought to be repented of.’ - -‘Well,’ I said, ‘let me hear the terms.’ - -The terms were liberal enough. A certain sum per sheet at a higher rate -than I could earn elsewhere, and with the certainty of a market for -all I wrote, which at that time I did not possess. But the bait which -finally took me was the offer of an immediate cheque for fifty pounds -on account and to bind the transaction. - -I took counsel of my wife. - -‘Can you hesitate?’ she said. ‘Here we hardly know where to look for -to-morrow’s food, and you are offered a certain income and fifty pounds -as earnest-money.’ - -I closed with the offer and accepted the retaining fee; and I felt as -Dr Faustus might have done when he sold his soul to the Evil One. - -Mrs Collingwood Dawson seemed pleased at my compliance, and sketched -out to me the part she wished me to take. We were to manufacture novels -solely—about three a year. The plot was to be drawn out for me with -indications of the points to be worked out. I was to fill in dialogue -and description. The ‘author’ was to be at liberty to add, cut out, -amend, and put in finishing touches. - -‘I shall give you,’ she said, ‘a packet which I have left in the fly, -containing the various works of my husband. Read them over critically, -and adapt your style to his. I know you are a skilful workman, and will -have no difficulty in the matter.’ - -Business over, my employer joined our family dinner. She was bright and -cheerful, and her gaiety was infectious. My wife was charmed with her; -the children could not make enough of her. Her presence had all the -effect upon me of sparkling wine. When she was gone, I sat down to read -Mr Dawson’s works with as little appetite for their perusal as a grocer -has for figs. But I was surprised to find that though uneven in quality -and often carelessly written, there were abundant traces of a vivid -imagination, and an intimate knowledge of the workings of the human -heart in morbid and unhealthy developments. These qualities, I may say, -appeared only by fits and starts, and were overlaid by a good deal of -very commonplace work. The strong point of his fiction, and that which -gained, no doubt, the approval of the public, was the plot. His plots -were always ingenious and well combined, and kept the interest going to -the very fall of the curtain. - -Time passed on. I got fairly to work on my new business. I had no fault -to find with my employers, and they on their part seemed well satisfied -with my services. I had as much work as I could manage; but I found -it much easier than of old, inasmuch as I had definite lines to work -upon and a distinct object in view. Then the payment was regular, and -in virtue of that, our household assumed an aspect of comfort and -tranquillity to which it had long been a stranger. As it was no longer -necessary for me to live within reach of London, I determined to carry -out a plan that had been in my head for some time, and settle for a -while in some quiet place in Normandy, where one could have good air, -repose, and tranquillity, without the appalling dullness that mantles -over an English country town. - -All this time I had never seen Mr Collingwood Dawson, and the only -address I knew was at his chambers in the Temple; but all business -matters were arranged with a Mr Smith, who, I understood, was his -agent. My removal involved only a trifling extra cost in postage, and I -had work on hand that would keep me going for several months. - -We settled in a pleasant picturesque little town on the banks of -the Seine, and after giving myself a few weeks’ holiday, to make -acquaintance with the neighbourhood, I began to plod on steadily at my -task. - -I had just despatched a parcel of manuscript, and was strolling -homewards from the post-office along the quay, when I stopped to watch -some people fishing from the steps that lead down to the water-side. -The tide was low, the evening tranquil. The setting sun was blinking -over the edge of the wood-crowned heights behind; but all this side of -the view was in shadow, while the aspens and poplars on the further -bank were glowing in golden light. A little brook that escapes into -the river hereabouts through a conduit of stone was splashing and -bubbling merrily. In the eddy formed by the brook and the big river -were swimming the light floats of the fishermen, every now and then -pulled down, more often by some drowning weed or twig, but sometimes by -a fish, whose eager darts from side to side, and struggles as it was -hauled in by main force, afforded great amusement and excitement to -some half-dozen boys. - -A more than commonly vigorous pluck at one of the floats, and a -strenuous tug at the line belonging to it, which made the rod curve -and wave under its strain, shewed that a big fish had been hooked. -The sensation among the spectators was great. It is always an awkward -matter to land a fish of any size when the river-bank is perpendicular -and there is no landing-net. Our friends here, however, were not -disposed to create unnecessary difficulties. A companion of the -successful fisherman seized the line and began to haul it in hand over -hand. It is a capital way this if everything holds and the fish is -hooked beyond possibility of release. In this case, however, although -the line was pulled in vigorously, all of a sudden the resistance -ceased and the hook came naked home. The baffled fisherman bowed -and smiled politely at his friend. It was a little _contre-temps_ -inseparable from the amusement of fishing. - -‘Clumsy!’ growled a voice close to my elbow in good English. I turned -round quite startled, for there were no English residents in the -town, and the accents of my native tongue were becoming unfamiliar. -A man stood by my side of somewhat strange appearance. He was short -and thick-set, and had a massive strongly marked face, with bushy -overhanging eyebrows, a heavy gray moustache, and stubbly beard of only -a few weeks’ growth. His arms were folded, the left one over the other; -but as he changed his position, I saw that he had lost his right hand, -and that its place was supplied with an iron hook. He was dressed in -a blouse made of some kind of coarse blanket-stuff of a huge cheque -pattern, trousers of dirty-white flannel, stuffed into boots that came -halfway up his calf. A Turkey-red handkerchief was twisted carelessly -round his throat, there being no sign of any shirt beneath; and a -bonnet of the Glengarry shape was cocked rather fiercely on his head. -In his hand he held a packet of whity-brown paper, made up as it seemed -for transmission by post. I could not help seeing that the packet was -addressed ‘London’ in a bold rough hand. - -He seemed to wince at the look full of curiosity that I gave him. His -face, which had been lighted up with interest in watching the progress -of the fishing, now turned dull and dark. He went off at a short -shambling trot in the direction of the post-office, and I saw no more -of him just then. - -I was not long, however, in finding out something about him. His name -it seemed was Houlot, and although eccentric, he was inoffensive, -and was on the whole rather respected by the townspeople. He was a -_savant_—a character, in their eyes, that excused a good deal of -moroseness and roughness of manner. He had resided in the neighbourhood -for some years, and occupied a single room in a house upon the hill -overlooking the town. Here he lived—hermit-fashion—keeping no domestic, -buying his own provisions in the market and cooking them himself. His -kitchen, however, I was given to understand, was the least important -part of his establishment; and the juice of the grape or of the apple, -or of the potato haply, distilled into strong waters, formed the -chief of his diet. For many weeks at a time he would scarcely stir -from his room, only coming out when his bottle of brandy was empty, -or on market-days to buy provisions. After this period of seclusion, -he would be seen walking about the country with a pipe in his mouth, -a thick oaken stick under his arm, and a book in his solitary hand, -still morose and unsociable. There was yet a third stage, during -which he would haunt the cafés and wine-shops, drinking a good deal, -and chatting away with all comers. At these times he was apt to get -quarrelsome, and he was known in consequence to be on bad terms with -the inspector of police. - -I daresay that if I had chosen to apply to the last-named functionary, -I should have got still more ample information; but there was nothing -to justify me in pushing inquiry any further. It was generally -thought that Houlot was English in origin; but his French was not -distinguishable as that of a foreigner, and he spoke German as well as -he did English. - -A week or two afterwards I met Monsieur Houlot walking on the heights -overlooking the Seine, with his pipe and stick, and with his nose in -a tattered volume. I raised my hat in passing; but he turned his head -away with a scowl, and did not return my salute. Decidedly, I said to -myself, he is English. - -One morning the postman brought me a registered letter containing a -remittance from England, and placed before me his book to receive my -signature. When I had signed, he handed me a letter; but it was not for -me, it was for M. Houlot; and yet, curiously enough, the address was in -the handwriting of Mr Smith, the business agent of Collingwood Dawson, -from whom I was expecting a remittance. - -‘Ah, I have given you the wrong letter,’ said the postman. ‘They are -both just alike, and I have made a mistake; pardon, Monsieur;’ and he -handed me a similar letter addressed to myself. - -I noticed that from this date Houlot seemed to assume his third stage -of habits—that in which he haunted the cafés and wine-shops. Every one -agreed that he was much less inaccessible at such times, and could -even make casual acquaintanceship with strangers. I had a great desire -to know more about him, and took a little pains to throw myself in -his way. I ascertained that he usually spent his afternoons in one -particular café—the _Café Cujus_—thus called from the name of its -proprietor; and I made a point of taking coffee there every day at the -hour at which he was usually to be met with. But I did not advance my -purpose by that. He would bury his head in the _Journal de Rouen_, -turn his back persistently upon me, and leave the café at the earliest -possible moment. - -‘You will come and visit us this evening?’ said Mademoiselle Cujus -graciously to me one day, as I paid my score at the counter of the -elegant little platform whence she dispensed her various tinctures. ‘We -shall have a very genteel concert tonight.’ - -Mademoiselle is a charming little Frenchwoman, with a piquant retroussé -nose, a full and softly rounded chin, and dark eyes with a veiled fire -about them, most attractive. She wears the prettiest little boots in -the world, and is always charmingly dressed. It is difficult to refuse -Mademoiselle Cujus anything, and I undertook to be present at the -concert. Admission was free, and thus I did not commit myself to any -great outlay. - -When I entered the café that evening, I found it well filled with -a miscellaneous but respectable company. Everybody is talking, -coffee-cups and glasses are clinking, dominoes are rattling. At one -end of the room, on an extemporised platform, formed of a few rough -boards, the prima-donna, a rather bony lady in a very low dress, -stands with a roll of music in her hand, and surveys the company in a -somewhat dissatisfied way. She has cleared her throat once or twice, -and the pianist bangs out an opening chord or two. Her voice is a -little husky—perhaps with the singing of anthems; but she has plenty of -confidence and ‘go’ about her, and the wit to please her audience. - -When the rattle of applause that greeted the end of the lady’s song -had ceased, there followed a comic man dressed as a peasant, carrying -a tobacco-pipe, which he was always trying, though ineffectually, to -light with a match from his trousers-pocket. He counterfeits the Norman -peasant in a state of semi-intoxication excellently well, and his song -is much applauded and called for again. - -‘Yah!’ growled a voice behind me in an angry tone; and looking round I -saw M. Houlot standing by the doorway, his thick stick under his arm. -He seemed to be a little obscure in his faculties, and to have resented -the last performance as a personal insult to himself. His brows were -knitted, and his eyes gleamed angrily whilst he grasped the thin end -of his stick in a menacing way. Mademoiselle Cujus saw him at the same -moment as myself, and descended quickly from her Olympus to appease -him, laying her hand upon his arm as if to beg him to retire. He shook -it roughly off; and Mademoiselle looked imploringly at me, as being the -only one of the company who had noticed this little scene. At the sight -of beauty in distress I at once came forward. I took Houlot kindly -but firmly by the arm, and led him out into the kitchen at the back, -where, among the many brightly shining vessels of tin and copper, we -endeavoured to pacify him and explain matters. - -No one could possibly withstand the winning ways of Miss Cujus. Houlot -was appeased, and went quietly out into the street. I had had enough -of the concert, and followed him. He lurched a little in his gait, -and every now and then stopped and looked fiercely round at the stars -overhead, as if he objected to their winking at him in the manner they -did. I accosted him once more, and in English, saying that I understood -that he spoke the language perfectly, and would he favour me with his -company for half an hour. He made no reply at first, but wrinkled his -brows and puckered his lips. - -‘Come along!’ he said at last with a suddenness that startled me. ‘Let -me have a talk with you, then.’ - -I occupied a furnished house, with a little pavilion in the garden -looking out on the river, which I used as my writing and smoking room; -and to this pavilion I took my friend and called for lights and cognac. -He seemed restless and disturbed at the idea of being my guest. He -would not sit down, but as soon as he had swallowed a glass of brandy -he grasped his stick once more to take his departure. - -‘If you would like any English books,’ I said, ‘I have some magazines -and so on.’ - -He shook his head. ‘I never read English; I have read none for ten -years,’ he said. ‘I like to get things at first-hand; so that if I want -to know anything, I go to the Germans; if I want to feel anything, to -the French. But what have you here?’ taking up a book. It was a volume -of Dawson’s last novel, which had been sent over to me. - -‘Hum!’ he cried. ‘Is this a good author?’ - -‘A popular one,’ I replied, modestly remembering the share I had, if -not in his fame, at least in his fortunes. - -‘I’ll take this, if you’ll let me have it,’ he said. - -‘Take the three volumes.’ - -‘No; I’ll only take one. I don’t suppose I shall get through the first -chapter.’ - -Next day, however, he came back to borrow the second volume, and the -day after the third. I felt a little flattered that a work in which I -had taken so good a share had the power to captivate such a dour and -sullen soul. - -‘What do you think of it?’ I said, when he brought back the last -volume. He was standing leaning against the doorway with his stick -under his arm. He would never sit down; he seemed to have made a vow -against it. - -‘Think of it?’ he cried. ‘Why, it is my own—my own story!’ - -‘Yours!’ I said astonished. ‘How do you make that out?’ - -‘It is mine! the framework, the skeleton of it. Some fool has been at -work upon it and taken out all the beauties of it! The burning fiery -dialogue, the magnificent glowing descriptions, all are gone, and in -their stead some ass has filled it all up with pulp!’ - -This was pleasant for me to hear. My blood boiled with indignation, -but I was obliged to smother my rage and put on a sickly smile. ‘You -must be mistaken,’ I said. ‘How could he possibly have got hold of your -story?’ - -‘How? He must have got it from a man named Smith, to whom I sent it. -Write? Yes, I have written ever since I was breeched! It is a disease -with me; I can’t help it. Romances, novels, all that trash!’ - -‘And you send what you write to London?’ - -Houlot nodded. But he seemed all at once to have repented of his -freedom of speech, and took refuge in his usual taciturnity. Then once -more hugging his stick, he started off at his usual shambling trot. - - - - -THE CAT—ANCIENT AND MODERN. - - -Cruel and treacherous, a lover of the night and darkness, the cat, -with its distrustful gaze and marked attachment to localities, was -very naturally the animal selected, in the middle ages of superstition -and witchcraft, to represent the familiar companion, in which was -embodied the evil spirit supposed to attend all those who practised -the black art in former times. Long before this time, however, as some -people are probably aware, the cat was one of the most highly favoured -animals living; petted, pampered, carefully protected, and actually -worshipped by the then most civilised people in the world, the ancient -Egyptians. How this reverence came to be paid to the cat in particular -by this extraordinary people it is quite impossible to determine; but -by some it is supposed to have originated from the benefits conferred -on mankind by its destruction of vermin and reptiles; at anyrate, -if the Egyptian cats were as useful as they are represented to have -been, the care taken of them is easily accounted for. Though it seems -somewhat difficult to understand how the sportsmen of the Nile trained -their cats not only to hunt game but to retrieve it from the water, the -hunting scenes depicted on walls at Thebes and on a stone now in the -British Museum, afford proof of the Egyptian cat’s services in this -respect. In one of these representations Puss is depicted in the act of -seizing a bird that has been brought down by the marksman in the boat; -while in the other scene, as the sport has not begun, the cats are seen -in the boat ready for their work. Thus it appears from these ancient -illustrations of field and other sports, that the Egyptians were able -to train their domestic cats to act in the same way as our modern -retriever dogs do. - -It is generally supposed that nothing will induce a cat to enter -water; but this is clearly a fallacy, like many other popular notions -about the animal world. The tiger is an excellent swimmer, as many -have found to their cost; and so the cat, another member of the tiger -family, can swim equally well if it has any occasion to exert its -powers, either in quest of prey, or to effect its escape from some -enemy. As cats are exceedingly fond of fish, they will often drag them -alive out of their native element whenever they get the chance. They -have even been known to help themselves out of aquaria that have been -left uncovered; and on moonlight nights they may be seen watching -for the unwary occupants of a fish-pond, during the spawning season -especially. Again, a cat will take the water in the pursuit of a rat, -a fact that was proved by a friend of ours a few years ago. On one -occasion being accompanied by one of his pets, a rat was started, -which the cat not only pursued, but chased into the water close by, -eventually swimming to an island some little distance from the bank, -where it remained a short time and then swam back again. - -Diana or Pasht, as that goddess was called in Egypt, was the tutelary -deity of cats. Various reasons are assigned for this curious selection -of the cat as the animal worthy of being dedicated to the moon. We find -that according to Plutarch, the cat was not only sacred to the moon, -but an emblem of it; and that a figure of a cat was fixed on a sistrum -to denote the moon, just as a figure of a frog on a ring denoted a man -in embryo. And further, it was supposed that the pupils of a cat’s eyes -always dilated as the moon got towards the full, and then decreased as -the moon waned again. This has been given by some as the reason why -cats were held sacred to the goddess Diana. - -As before stated, the Egyptians treated these animals with unusual -care and attention during their lifetime; hence it is not surprising -to find that the death of a cat was regarded as a family misfortune, -in consequence of which the household went into mourning. Their regret -for the defunct cat was displayed then by the curious custom of shaving -off the eyebrows before attending the funeral, which they invariably -conducted with great pomp. Previous to interment, the bodies of these -pets were embalmed, and then, when it was possible, conveyed to the -city of Bubastis, where they were placed in the temples sacred to Pasht. - -The wilful destruction of a cat in Egypt is looked upon as a very -serious offence even now; but in the good old days (for cats) at -Bubastis the offence, even supposing it to have been accidental, was -punished with prompt severity. The unfortunate offender, as in the case -of a Roman soldier whose story is told by Diodorus, was taken prisoner, -tried, condemned, and sentenced—to death. Puss had fine times of it in -those early years of superstition and animal worship; but unfortunately -for her, other people formed very different notions concerning her -character and occupations generally; for in the middle ages cats got -the reputation of being the only animals that ill-famed old women could -induce to live in their houses; consequently they naturally became -associated with witchcraft and all that was diabolical and uncanny by -the credulous people of those times. In the Isle of Thanet a carving -still exists on one of the _misereres_ of the church which represents -an ugly old woman sitting in a chair and holding a distaff in her -hand, while two cats sit close to her, one of them indeed in the chair -itself, looking as if it wished to spring on to her shoulder. It seems, -however, that old women did not monopolise the cats even in those days, -for it is known that in the thirteenth century one of the rules of the -English convents was, that the nuns should keep no other ‘beast’ but a -cat; hence we may infer that cats were looked upon more favourably by -the religious orders than by the people generally. - -The cat has been connected with many curious superstitions in various -parts of the world. In some localities, for instance, it is believed -that witches in the shape of cats are in the habit of roaming about -the roofs of the houses during the month of February; hence they are -promptly shot. In Germany also a similar notion prevails respecting -black cats; in consequence of which they are never allowed to go near -the cradles of young children; though it is not easy to understand why -the young should be more exposed to danger from these supposititious -witches than those more advanced in years. But numerous instances -might be given of the incredible nonsense that has been believed, and -is believed still in some places about the diabolical attributes of -the cat, especially a black one. In Sicily, where the cat is looked -upon as sacred to St Martha, there is a superstition that any one who -wilfully or accidentally kills a cat will be punished by the serious -retribution of seven years’ unhappiness. So if any credit is attached -to this, the life of Puss in Sicily must be as secure from harm as in -the palmy days of Egyptian cat-worship. In Hungary there is a curious -superstition that before a cat can become a good mouser it must be -stolen. The familiar nursery story of Whittington and his Cat, as well -as the favourite children’s fable of Puss in Boots, can be traced some -hundreds of years back. - -It is perhaps an unfortunate thing that the habits of cats are not -more carefully observed, as it is by no means certain that their -peculiarities are fully understood. By some their intelligence is very -much underrated, and they are often looked upon as lazy uninteresting -animals, only to be tolerated in a house so long as they devote -themselves to nocturnal raids against mice or rats, as the case may -be. However, they cannot be put on a par with the dog, for as far -as present as well as past experience shews, the cat, with certain -honourable exceptions, is neither as useful, as faithful, nor as -intelligent as our canine friend. - -The dog knows its owner, and will always make itself comfortable in any -place that the owner chooses to take it, provided he is there himself. -The cat, on the other hand, knows its owner’s house and furniture, -attaches itself to them, and seldom troubles itself at all about -the presence or absence of its owner; hence the great difficulty of -removing cats from one home to another. Sometimes they may be induced -to take kindly to new quarters, but very rarely. If Puss be taken to -a strange house, it will first of all examine and smell every article -of furniture in the rooms it is allowed to enter; if it finds the -same things that it has been accustomed to, perhaps the discovery may -reconcile it to remain; but if all is strange, the creature exhibits -symptoms of positive distress, and will even make efforts to return -to the old home; and this may perhaps account for the stories told of -Egyptian cats rushing back into blazing houses after they had been once -brought out of them with difficulty; for it has been gravely asserted -that the Egyptian cats preferred to perish with their homes when fires -broke out, rather than abandon them. - -Some years ago _The Times_ gave an account of a remarkable incident, -illustrating in a striking way the sagacity and kindness of a dog; -the account had appeared in two other newspapers, but we have not the -means of verifying it. A cat named Dick was one day enjoying a meal of -scraps, when a needle and thread became entangled in his dinner; the -poor animal unconsciously partook of these adjuncts, which stuck in -his throat. Carlo, a dog on very friendly terms with Dick, observed -that something was wrong, hurried up to him, and seemed to receive some -kind of communication from him. The dog and the cat became physician -and patient. Carlo commenced operations by licking Dick’s neck, the -cat holding its head a little aside to give Carlo a fair chance. This -licking operation continued with short intervals of rest for nearly -twenty-four hours, Carlo occasionally pausing to press his tongue -against his friend’s neck, as if trying to find some sharp-pointed -instrument thrust from the inside to the outside. At length Carlo -was seen, his whole body quivering with excitement, trying to catch -something with his teeth. In this he succeeded. Giving a sudden jerk, -he pulled the needle through the hide of the cat, where it hung by the -thread which still held it from the inside. A by-stander then finished -the surgical operation by drawing out the thread; and Carlo looked as -if he were saying: ‘See what I did!’ - -We have just been told of a very remarkable instance of intelligence -displayed by a cat belonging to one of our contributors. After having -waited in vain outside a rat’s hole for the appearance of the occupant, -puss hit upon the plan of ‘drawing’ her prey, by _fetching a piece -of meat and placing it near the hole as a bait_, after which she hid -behind a box and waited for results. Whether the bait took or not, we -are not informed, but the wily scheme deserved success. - -For the following instances of affection and sagacity in cats, we are -indebted to a lady correspondent. - -‘Last October,’ she says, ‘I was staying a few days with a friend in -a small country village not many miles from Edinburgh. One morning I -was about to leave my bedroom, and had just opened the window, when I -saw a large yellow cat wandering about in the grass which surrounded -the house. The creature had a timid scared look, as if not much in -the habit of associating with human beings. I spoke to it in a tone -of encouragement, however; on hearing which it leaped up on the -window-sill and began to purr in a friendly way. I told my friend the -lady of the house about the cat, when she gave me the following account -of it. “This poor animal belonged to my deceased father. It came to -our house a very small kitten, and was accustomed from time to time to -receive food from my father’s hand, with now and then a little caress -or kindly word. But my father was not a cat-fancier, and as a general -rule did not take any great notice of the creature. About a year and -a half ago my father grew seriously ill, and after a few weeks of -suffering, died. During his illness the cat went up and down stairs -like a distracted creature, refusing food, and mewing again and again -in a mournful way. Sometimes it came into the sick-room, and jumped -on the bed; but its master was too ill to notice it, and it went away -with a disappointed look. When all was over, and the last attentions -had been paid to my father, and all was quiet in the death-chamber, -the poor cat came in and took up its position on the bed at his feet. -From this place nothing would induce the creature to move; and feeling -astonished at its fidelity and affection, we let it lie during the -day; though strange to say, it manifested a desire to leave the room -at night, returning always about nine in the morning, and if the door -was shut, mewing till it gained admittance. On the funeral-day, the -faithful creature did not seem to understand the absence of its master; -it left the room upon the removal of the body; but the first thing we -saw when the mourners returned was the poor pussie lying at the door -of the chamber. It was long,” said the lady in conclusion, “before the -affectionate animal recovered its usual sprightliness; and I would not -like anything to happen to a creature which has testified such a strong -affection for one so dear to me.”’ - -Another story is as follows: ‘A cousin of mine had a cat which had -just brought into the world some fine healthy kittens. According to -the usual custom on these occasions, some of the kittens were drowned, -while two were retained for the mother to rear. These were kept in a -compartment of an old kitchen table or “dresser.” This snug retreat had -a little door which was kept closed by means of a bolt. One day a young -visitor desired to see the kittens, which were accordingly taken to the -drawing-room by one of the daughters of the house. During the absence -of the kittens, the cat, which had been in the garden, came into the -kitchen, and went as usual to repose beside her little ones. She looked -into the dresser, and finding no kittens there, _“clashed” to the door_ -in a rage, and left the kitchen, her tail thick with indignation! This -fact was told me by one of the young ladies of the household, who was -busy in the kitchen at the time and saw the whole thing. The cat’s -furious manner of slamming the door resembled so closely an irate -housewife’s way of doing so, that my informant was exceedingly amused, -and regarded the cat henceforth as a sort of wonder!’ - - - - -SPECIMENS OF HINDU ENGLISH. - - -Among the great changes which are now passing over our gigantic -dependencies in the Indian peninsula, not the least noteworthy is -the rapid spread of a knowledge of the English language among the -native population. In certain districts of the Madras Presidency, this -knowledge of English may almost be said to be extending like wild-fire. -The English civil officer riding through a native village will -sometimes be greeted with a ‘Good-morning, sar,’ from a small boy whose -sole costume may be a string tied round the waist, and whose English -education may have extended no further than a few such interjectional -phrases. But among the school-boys, college lads, and a heterogeneous -collection of half-taught young men in search of employment, we meet -with most extraordinary feats in the use of our language. A well-known -story is told of a native clerk who, being detained at home by a boil, -wrote to his employer to say that he could not attend his duties ‘owing -to the suffering caused by one boil as per margin.’ And in the margin -of his letter was delineated with accuracy the form and appearance of -the offending growth! - -The following was the amusing though pertinent answer of a student in -the University of Madras to a question about earthquakes and volcanic -action: ‘A month or two ago, says the _Times_, a violent eruption of -an unusual kind took place in Peru and Chili in South America; smokes, -flames, and hot melted matter were thrown with great violence on the -neighbouring districts from the hollow tops of the volcanic mountains. -Thousands of people of all orders and sexes were destroyed. When this -was the case an abominable earthquake took its part. Magnificent -houses, huge piles, largest trees, splendid temples, different kinds of -people with their relatives, and even large mountains were swallowed up -and goes on.’ - -The letters of native applicants for employment are often couched in -most comical terms. The writer once received a letter from a clerk who -thought he had not received the promotion he deserved. The missive -began: ‘HONORED SIR—Fathomless is the sea of troubles in which I sail -for 1 year.’ This mixture of poetic fervour and numerical accuracy -is unique of its kind. The following petition speaks for itself; the -style is common enough; but the writer is glad to say that it is the -only instance he has known of such an offer of apostasy as is here -disclosed; the proper names are suppressed: ‘The humble petition of -—— most respectfully sheweth; I am a Tanjorean [that is, native of -Tanjore]. My name is ——. My age is 20. I came here to my uncle’s house. -My uncle is the Police Inspector of ——. I want to be a Christian. There -are two Police Inspectors are vacant. Please recommend me to be one of -these Inspectors. As soon as I received the Inspector’s employment, at -once you may take me in Christian. There is no a single doubt at all. -If you want to see me tell a word to your Head Constable.... I heard -that you are mild, simplicity, and probity. I don’t know to write more -than this to you. Please excuse me if you find any mistakes. Shall ever -pray.—I am your most obedient and humble servant, ——.’ - -The next letter was sent by a clever hard-working native clerk who had -fallen ill. The signature alone is in his own handwriting, and the -letter was probably dictated to a friend. ‘MOST HONORED SIR—I have been -suffering from severest fever and bile for the last 10 days and I am -quite unable to move or to do anything. I lay quite prostrate on my -bed senseless (now and then)—continually painting—my sight fails—not a -drop of water I drank—no food—and having been under imminent danger day -before yesterday, my lucid intervals are very few, dangerous symptoms -frequently appear and I am not sure whether I will be able to see the -days before me—My case is very doubtful, precarious and dangerous. I -therefore most humbly pray that your Honor will be most graciously -pleased to grant one month’s privilege leave.... I beg to remain, ——.’ - -The following petition reads somewhat as though Lord Dundreary had -helped to compose it. It is from a pleader or attorney in a petty -civil court applying for the post of cashier in a government treasury. -Such cashiers have to give security in a considerable sum for the -due performance of their duties, and as a precaution against fraud. -It is this security (L.500) which is meant by the word ‘bail’ in the -petition. ‘MOST HONOURED SIR—This application is with great humility -presented to your honour by ——. The gazette reads that such as have a -wish to find themselves suffered to occupy the room of cashier, now in -vacancy, should undergo a greatly advanced bail of Rupees 5000. He is -appointed a pleader on the 11th D. day 1869, and by the civil judge in -character with his petitionally implored request, and he attends since -the heresaid down to the present age very punctually indeed his dearly -bought post.... He is, here he does very hopefully indeed state, ready -no matter at any while to give the here-demanded bail, Rs. 5000. Your -humble and very punctual petitioner implores your of course very widely -diffused charity to point to him his most humbly requested employ, or -otherwise, if ever so, any other one not far below it. Your honour’s -petitioner in requital and in duty bound very closely, will perhaps -never add even a second, while to diligence without bending his whole -heart to pray to the universal God to take care of and to cherish, your -honour together with all your family members for ever and anon. He -remains very affectionately truly yours, humble waiter, ——.’ - -The following curious epistle was addressed to an officer holding an -important post. It is hardly necessary to add that he was neither -Duke nor Lord. It will be observed that the writer does not directly -ask for monetary aid to relieve him from his difficulties, but simply -his ‘Lordship’s’ protection, and as a relief to his own feelings and -troubles. ‘MY LORD DUKE—I have the honor to inform to your Lordship’s -information that I will always obey your Lordship’s order ten thousand -tims do not be angry my Lord Duke upon me. I beg that your Lordship -that should excuse my faults it is my duty to get your Lordship’s -favor ten thousand times excuse my all faults my Lord Duke. I am much -fearfull I am very poor men my poor family requires to your Lordship’s -favor. My family is very poor family. I got a Mother Grandmother -Daughterinlaw and my family &c. I had a debt twenty-five thousand -Rupees. I am suffering much trouble for debtors. I believe that you -are my father and mother for my part only I want your Lordship’s kind -favour. If your Lordships be angry or even little angry immediately -I and my family must die at once, certainly it is my opinion I have -no protector but your Lordship. If your Lordships angry I must die at -once. I am much fearfull. If I had your Lordship’s favor It is quite -enough for me. You are Governor I am poor men. If your Lordship be -angry upon me it is quite my misfortune and my family therefore do not -be angry. This is not Government memorial. I thought that your Lordship -is my father and mother for my part therefore I have written all my -poor affairs to your gracious informations. Hereafter I never write any -letter to your Lordship nor I did not require any answer. only remember -me with kindness it is ten thousand profits for me. excuse the trouble -I have given your Lordships most valuable time. I have, &c.... _P.S._ -I beg your Lordship will continue your favor towards me and my family. -Protect my Lord Duke. This is not memorial only for your Lordships -Gracious information. Protect me my Lord. This is First Mistake. -Execuse me my Lord, hereafter I never do any mistakes. I remain, &c. -——.’ - -Some years ago a great flood carried away a fine bridge over the -river Tambrapurni, near the chief town of the province of Tinnevelly. -This bridge had been built some thirty years before by a rich native -gentleman named Sulochana Mudaliar, to whom a memorial was erected at -one of the approaches to the bridge. The magistrate and collector—as -the ruler of the province is termed—by dint of great exertions raised -in subscriptions about seven thousand pounds; a sum sufficient to pay -for the restoration of the bridge. When the work was at last completed, -a grand opening ceremony took place, which gave occasion for a number -of poetic effusions in Tamil and in English by native aspirants. The -translation from the Tamil is the work of a native, and the following -is the reply of a great feudal landholder, who had been invited to -attend the opening ceremony: ‘MY DEAR SIR—I received your affectionate -ticket wanting my company on the occasion of the reopening of Sulochana -Mudaliar’s bridge on the 2d December. I was quite pleased to come down -for the occasion but I regret to inform you that I and —— are prevented -from coming from being a little sick. You will I humbly trust possibly -forgive me.—I beg to remain, Sir, Yours most obediently, ——.’ - -Extract from a translation of a Tamil poem: - - Who is to judge of the might of Mr ——. He and Messrs —— and —— - of the eminent Tinnevelly District have had the pleasure of - constructing the bridge so as to be praised by the world and - allowed the people to pass over it freely. May they live for - ever. - - The bridge fell down in the evening of Sunday, 18th November - 1869. By the noise of which I swooned away and trouble came - also. - - How can I describe your pains O Mr ——. You worked as diligently - at the words of Mr —— as the swinging of a swing and - constructed the bridge with success and very soon and completed - it within the fixed time. You beauty!... - - I have sung upon you in my adversity and hunger. I pray you - eminent men to place your mercy upon me at your pleasure. - - While you are all occupying this eminent world with great fame, - I undergo troubles like bees that tumbled down in honey. What - can I do. Cause some employment to be given me without failure - through the hand of —— with certainty. - -We will conclude with a specimen of female composition in the form -of a letter sent home by a good old nurse or ayah named Martha, who -had accompanied her employers to England in charge of a baby, and who -had then been sent back to her native village in India. Both in its -sentiment and diction the missive is extremely touching. - -‘To the Presens of —— and —— most Respected and Honored sheweth -The under Signed your Honor’s obediend The Mortha Ayah with due -Respectfully Begs to in form you about my considerations which I hope -will meet of your honor’s kidest aprovall. Respected Master and Misters -I and my Relations are all well By thanks of God and Faver of your -Honor’s while in this Time I hope you will be all right By thanks of -All mighty’s. This Poor and Obediend servend wrote a letter to your -honor when I came to —— I hope you may Receive it, I am doing Nothing -Since I left you by the Reason of no any Respected Place to work. here -is great Chalara in this year and all so Greatest Famine. 3 mesures of -Rice per a Rupee [between three and four times the usual price]. I hope -Dear Baby will speek and Walk at this Time I am very angshes to see her -and I lovely Thousan kisses to the Dear Baby, Respected Madam will you -kindly send me the Picture of the Baby’s to keep with me as you Promist -me. I humbly begs you to say my meny Thanks to the Mr and Mrs —— and -the childrens of them. Please tell my thanks to Miss Lysa and Miss -Looois [servants Eliza and Louise]. I hope I can see you very soon Back -in this Place. Therefore I humbly Begs to Remain Most Honored Madam -and Sir Yours truely most obediend servent Mortha Ayah. Misis —— she -looking to get me a Employmend anywhere. They are all well. The Dobin -[a favourite horse called Dobbin] he all right. Madam That this Poor -widdowe was Very much hapy at the Lost Year By your Exalend honor’s -kindness. But this new year I pased very miserably.’ - - - - -CURIOUS CASES OF SLEEP-WALKING. - - -On the above curious subject a retired naval officer obligingly sends -us the following notes. - -One bright moonlight night I was on deck, as was frequently my wont, -chatting with the lieutenant of the middle watch. It was nearly calm, -the ship making little way through the water, and the moon’s light -nearly as bright as day. We were together leaning over the capstan, -chatting away, when W—— suddenly exclaimed: ‘Look! H——, at that -sentry,’ and pointing to the quarter-deck marine who was pacing slowly -backwards and forwards on the lee-side of the deck. - -‘Well,’ I replied, after watching him somewhat inattentively as he -passed once or twice on his regular beat, ‘what of him?’ - -‘Why, don’t you see he is fast asleep? Take a good look at him when he -next passes.’ - -I did so, and found W—— was right. The man, although pacing and turning -regularly at the usual distance, was fast asleep with his eyes closed. - -When next the man passed, W—— stepped quickly and noiselessly to his -side, and pacing with him, gently disengaged the bunch of keys which -were his special charge—being the keys of the spirit-room, shell-rooms, -store-rooms, &c.—from the fingers of his left hand, to which they were -suspended by a small chain; he then removed the bayonet from his other -hand, and laid it and the keys on the capstan head. After letting him -take another turn or two, W—— suddenly called ‘Sentry!’ - -‘Sir?’ replied the man, instantly stopping and facing round as he came -to the ‘attention.’ - -‘Why, you were fast asleep, sentry.’ - -‘No, sir.’ - -‘But I say you were.’ - -‘No, sir. I assure you I was not.’ - -‘You were not, eh? Well, where are the keys?’ - -The man instantly brought up his hand to shew them, as he supposed; but -to his confusion the hand was empty. - -‘Where is your bayonet?’ continued W——. - -The poor fellow brought forward his other hand, but that was empty -also. But the puzzled look of astonishment he put on was more than we -could stand; both burst out laughing; and when the keys and bayonet -were pointed out to him lying on the capstan, the poor fellow was -perfectly dumfounded. W—— was too merry over the joke, however, to -punish the man, and he escaped with a warning not to fall asleep again. - -Sentries and look-outs must be very liable to fall asleep from the very -nature of their monotonous pacing, and this may in some degree account -for the facility with which sentries have at times been surprised and -secured before they could give an alarm. In this instance, the most -curious fact, I think, was the regularity with which the man continued -to pace his distances and turn at the right moment. I have known other -instances of sentries and others walking in their sleep, though the -end has not always been so pleasant to the victims. In one case, the -quarter-deck sentry, in the middle of the night, crashed down the -wardroom hatchway with musket and fixed bayonet, with a rattling that -startled us all out of our cabins. The fellow fell on his back upon -the top of the mess-table, but not much the worse for his exploit. -On another occasion a messenger boy paid us a visit in the night: he -fell upon a chair, which he smashed to pieces, but the sleeper escaped -unhurt. - -These can hardly be considered true cases of somnambulism, but shew how -men may continue their occupations when overcome by sleep. Nothing but -seeing his bayonet and the keys lying on the capstan could have ever -convinced the marine that he had been sleeping; no mere assertion to -that effect would ever have influenced him. - - - - -POURING OIL ON THE TROUBLED WATERS. - - -The idea expressed in the above heading, though commonly held to -be of sacred origin, or as merely a poetical manner of expressing -a commonplace occurrence, may nevertheless be taken literally as -well as figuratively, it being, as a matter of fact, a saying which -has satisfactory groundwork in natural facts. It was recently stated -in evidence before the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the -Herring Fisheries of Scotland, that the practice of pouring a quantity -of oil from a boat on to the surface of the sea during heavy weather -had the immediate effect of calming the waters and relieving the -boat from the danger of heavy broken water. ‘But,’ added one of the -witnesses, ‘although the oil has this effect for a time, the sea -becomes rougher afterwards, and so the advantage of adopting the plan -is practically not very great.’ It is more than probable that this -latter statement can be explained by the law of comparisons. The -oil cast out on the weather-side of the boat effectually assuages -the violence of the waves, which instead of breaking over it, glide -smoothly under it. Presently the film of oil becomes dispersed, and -the waves, again unchecked, appear, by comparison with the late calm, -to be still more formidable. A fresh dose of oil would, however, -again prove advantageous, but the experiment is seldom repeated, and -so the efficacy of the remedy is called into question. The best way -of adopting it is to throw overboard a barrel or skin filled with -oil, and pierced in two places, to allow of the gradual escape of the -contents. This reservoir should be secured by a rope, and kept on the -weather-side of the boat, and renewed as often as necessary. The plan -is frequently adopted, with the best results, by native boatmen in the -Persian Gulf and in parts of the Indian Ocean, where sudden squalls are -apt to spring up. - - - - -LOVE UNSUNG. - - - Glide on, sweet purling stream, - And mingle with the sea; - Adown each glen thy waters gleam, - In merry dance and free. - Sing on, sweet bird; the blue expanse - Of heaven’s vault is thine; - O lap thy soul into a trance; - Pour forth thy song divine; - But I must not give forth my strain; - I love a maid, but love in vain. - - The blithesome bird that haunts the vale - Will bear but half her grief; - She floats her sorrow on the gale, - And gives her soul relief; - The meanest floweret on the field - Basks in the noonday sun; - And every creature hath a rest, - When daily toil is done; - I to myself make bootless moan, - And bear my burden all alone. - - A grief that links two hearts in bliss, - Is but a hidden treasure; - What’s but a thorn when singly borne, - When shared becomes a pleasure; - The finer feelings of the soul - Are known by mutual union; - Each spirit hath its counterpart, - With whom to hold communion; - But she is gone, and leaves with me - The rest of the unsleeping sea. - - Æ. P. - - * * * * * - -Printed and Published by W. & R. CHAMBERS, 47 Paternoster Row, LONDON, -and 339 High Street, EDINBURGH. - - * * * * * - -_All Rights Reserved._ - - * * * * * - -[Transcriber’s note—the following changes have been made to this text. - -Page 162: glyphograpy to glyphography—“executed in glyphography”.] - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular -Literature, Science, and Art,, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBER'S JOURNAL *** - -***** This file should be named 62849-0.txt or 62849-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/8/4/62849/ - -Produced by Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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