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diff --git a/old/65723-h/65723-h.htm b/old/65723-h/65723-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 81c813b..0000000 --- a/old/65723-h/65723-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3055 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - Chambers’s Journal, by Various—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } -hr.full {width: 95%; margin-left: 2.5%; margin-right: 2.5%;} - - -.header {text-align: center; margin-top: 0;} -.header p {text-align: center; text-indent: 0;} -.header .floatl {float: left;} -.header .floatr {float: right;} -.header .floatc {padding-top: .5em;} - -@media handheld -{ -.header {text-align: center; margin-top: 0;} -.header p {text-align: center; text-indent: 0;} -.header .floatl {float: left;} -.header .floatr {float: right;} -.header .floatc {padding-top: .5em;} -} - - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - -.blockquot_ans { - margin-left: 2em; - text-indent: -2em; -} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; -} /* page numbers */ - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.allsmcap {font-variant: small-caps; text-transform: lowercase;} - -/* Images */ - -img { - max-width: 100%; - height: auto; -} -img.w100 {width: 100%;} - - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - -/* Poetry */ -.poetry-container {text-align: center;} -.poetry {text-align: left; margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%;} -/* uncomment the next line for centered poetry in browsers */ - .poetry {display: inline-block;} -.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em auto;} -.poetry .verse {text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em;} -/* large inline blocks don't split well on paged devices */ -@media print { .poetry {display: block;} } -.x-ebookmaker .poetry {display: block;} - -/* Poetry indents */ -.poetry .indent0 {text-indent: -3em;} - - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, Fifth Series, No. 22, Vol. I, May 31, 1884, by Various</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, Fifth Series, No. 22, Vol. I, May 31, 1884</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Various</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 29, 2021 [eBook #65723]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Susan Skinner, Eric Hutton and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL OF POPULAR LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART, FIFTH SERIES, NO. 22, VOL. I, MAY 31, 1884 ***</div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">{337}</span></p> - -<h1>CHAMBERS’S JOURNAL<br /> -OF<br /> -POPULAR<br /> -LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART.</h1> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<p class='center'> - - - -<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. --> - -<a href="#OUR_DETECTIVE_POLICE">OUR DETECTIVE POLICE.</a><br /> -<a href="#BY_MEAD_AND_STREAM">BY MEAD AND STREAM.</a><br /> -<a href="#THE_ASHBURNHAM_COLLECTIONS">THE ASHBURNHAM COLLECTIONS.</a><br /> -<a href="#A_SKETCH_FROM_MY_STUDY_WINDOW">A SKETCH FROM MY STUDY WINDOW.</a><br /> -<a href="#AN_INTERESTING_ISLAND">AN INTERESTING ISLAND.</a><br /> -<a href="#THE_MONTH">THE MONTH: SCIENCE AND ARTS.</a><br /> -<a href="#OCCASIONAL_NOTES">OCCASIONAL NOTES.</a><br /> -<a href="#ONLY_COUSINS_DONT_YOU_SEE">‘ONLY COUSINS, DON’T YOU SEE?’</a><br /> - -<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. --> - -</p> - - -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="figcenter w100" id="header" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/header.jpg" alt="Chambers’s Journal of Popular Literature, Science, -and Art. Fifth Series. Established by William and Robert Chambers, 1832. Conducted by R. Chambers (Secundus)." /> -</div> - - -<hr class="full" /> -<div class="center"> -<div class="header"> -<p class="floatl"><span class="smcap">No. 22.—Vol. I.</span></p> -<p class="floatr"><span class="smcap">Price</span> 1½<em>d.</em></p> -<p class="floatc">SATURDAY, MAY 31, 1884.</p> -</div></div></div> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="OUR_DETECTIVE_POLICE">OUR DETECTIVE POLICE.</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> number of murders that have taken place, -and the very few murderers that have been -brought to justice in and about London during -the last few months, must go far towards contradicting -the assertion to the effect that the metropolis -of England is ‘the safest city in the world’ -to live in. And if to the list of crimes against life -which have not been, and never are likely to be, -brought home to the perpetrators, we add the -innumerable thefts, burglaries, and other offences -against property which go unpunished because the -criminals are never found out, it can hardly be -denied that we require a new departure in the -system of our Detective Police, for the simple -reason that, as at present constituted, the practical -results of the same are very much the reverse -of satisfactory.</p> - -<p>It has been my lot, for reasons which need not -be entered into here, to see not a little of the -French detective system, and of the plans adopted -by those employed in discovering crime in Paris. -The two systems, those of the London and -Parisian detective, differ most essentially. With -us, it is as if the general commanding an army in -the field was to send spies into the enemy’s camp, -taking care they were dressed and behaved themselves -in such a manner that every one would -know who they were. On the other hand, the -French system of detection is based on the principle -that the enemy—namely, the criminals -amongst whom they have to make their inquiries—should -never be able to discover who the spies -are. Now, with some fifty or sixty detectives -trained to perfection in the art of disguising themselves, -must it not be far more easy to discover -the whereabouts of crime and the identity of the -criminals, than can possibly be done under our -system? Our detectives are as well known to a -Londoner of any experience, and we may presume -they are also just as well known to the criminal -classes, as if they wore uniform. Nay, in a very -useful volume called <i>The Police Code and Manual -of the Criminal Law</i>, compiled by Mr Howard -Vincent, it is clearly laid down that ‘the idea that -a detective to be useful in a district must be -unknown is erroneous in the great mass of cases, -as he is then unable to distinguish between -honest men who would help a known officer and -others.’</p> - -<p>It seems to me, as it must do to all who study -the question, that this is the fundamental mistake -we make, and that it is for this reason our -detection of crime is so defective. We have no -spies in the enemy’s camp. Our detective officers -are merely policemen in shooting-jackets and billycock -hats. The great criminal army knows who -they are as well as if they wore their blue tunics. -A French detective has nothing whatever to do -with arresting criminals. He is not the sportsman -who shoots the bird, but only the dog which points -out where the game is to be found. The French -agents of police, or detectives—many of whom -have been over in England on business, and are -well acquainted with our system—say that our -regular police who keep order in the streets are -the best guardians of peace and order in the -world, but that our detective system is the worst -and, practically, the most useless in Europe. Nor -can any one acquainted with the subject say they -are wrong. Even the most casual readers of the -papers must be struck with two facts relating to -crime in London. In the first place, the vigilance -of the ordinary police is so great, that, as a rule, -they lay hands upon a very great number of -criminals, and cause a vast deal of crime to be -punished. But, on the other hand, if a murderer, -burglar, or other offender against society <i>does</i> -manage to get clean away, he is rarely if ever -caught. The police—that is, of course, the -detective police—invariably ‘get a clue’ to the -affair; and there the matter seems to end. The -detection of crime is evidently not an art that has -been cultivated in England.</p> - -<p>The French detective is a man who would -never be thought, by any one who did not know -him personally, to be connected with the police. -In fact, he generally does his best to hide his -real occupation from even his most intimate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">{338}</span> -friends. Like our Londoner who is ‘something -in the City,’ he assumes the indefinite appellation -of <i>un employé du gouvernement</i>; but in what office -he is ‘employed,’ or what his ‘employment’ may -be, he refrains from stating. He is generally a -quiet, unpretending individual, who neither courts -nor avoids notice. The facility with which he -assumes all kinds of disguise, and the admirable -manner in which he acts the part he assumes, -must be seen in order to be realised. As a rule, -he takes some time before bringing his inquiries -to a close; but he is rarely at fault in the long-run, -and generally manages to bring down the -game he is hunting.</p> - -<p>Our English detective is the exact contrary -of his French <i>confrère</i>. He does not wear uniform, -but he might just as well do so, for his -appearance and dress proclaim him to be what -he is quite as plainly as if he was clad like X142 -of the force. He is a well-meaning, intelligent -fellow; but both his want of training and the -system under which he has to work quite unfit -him for the detection of any crime which is hidden -in mystery. I remember, some years ago, being -on a visit at a country-house, where the jewel-case -of a lady visitor was stolen. It was quite -safe when the owner had finished dressing for -dinner; but a couple of hours later her maid -missed it, and gave the alarm. Search was made—it -is needless to say, in vain. The house was -full of visitors, many of whom had brought with -them their own valets and ladies’ maids, besides -which there was a large staff of servants belonging -to the house itself. A telegram was despatched -to Scotland Yard the next morning; and in due -time two detective officers arrived from London. -They examined the room from which the jewel-box -had been taken; questioned, and, as a natural -consequence, set by the ears, all the servants of -the house, as well as those of the different visitors; -made inquiries at the neighbouring railway station -about the travellers who had left the place during -the last few days; and finally, took their departure, -leaving matters exactly where they were—where -they have remained to the present day, -and where they are likely to remain for all -time.</p> - -<p>As a comparison with the foregoing, I may -mention a case of a very similar kind which I once -witnessed in Paris. A friend of mine, living -with his wife, daughter, and a male and female -servant <i>au second</i> of a large old-fashioned house, -found one morning that all his plate had been -stolen. It was quite safe when the family went -to bed the previous night; but in the morning -it had vanished. He communicated with the -police; and an elderly gentleman, who looked -like the manager or one of the head-clerks of -a bank, was sent to the house. Neither the -<i>concierge</i> nor any one else had the slightest idea -who the individual was. He came ostensibly -to see my friend on some business, and only told -<i>him</i> what this business really was. He came -again the next day and the following four or -five days, making his visits purposely when my -friend and all his family were out, so as to have -an excuse, whilst awaiting their return, of talking -to the servants, or of wasting a quarter of an -hour in the <i>concierge’s</i> den. He managed to -ingratiate himself with this latter individual; -and in the course of the next few weeks, during -which time he still paid occasional visits, ostensibly -to my friend, became quite intimate with -the servant. It ended in the <i>concierge</i> being -arrested one fine day on a charge of having -stolen the plate. This was brought about partly -by something the detective had seen in the -<i>concierge’s</i> room, but chiefly on account of what -he had heard at a place where a number of the -agents or brokers for stolen goods used to congregate -for business, and to which the detective -went in the character of a thief. The crime -was thus discovered, and the thief was duly -punished.</p> - -<p>I mention these two cases, out of not a few -with which I am acquainted, as illustrating in -some measure the very different systems on -which the detectives of England and France do -their work. In the latter country, as in every -other country in Europe, London is regarded by -the dangerous classes as the happy hunting-ground -of thieves and rogues of all kinds. I am fully -aware that many Englishmen would regard the -French detective mode of working as underhand -and mean, and object to what they would term -any underhand work of the kind. But surely -when a question of such magnitude as the detection -of crime is mooted, the authorities ought -not to be guided by what is merely a matter -of sentiment. Murderers, burglars, thieves, -swindlers, and all other evil-doers, do not -hesitate to use the most effectual means at their -command in order to insure success to themselves. -Why, then, should we do so? Crime -of every kind is getting daily more and more -clever and scientific in its working; why should -we not avail ourselves of every possible advantage -which the perpetrators of crime can command? -One thing is very certain, that unless -we take a new departure in the manner we -attempt to detect crime, the dangerous classes -will very soon have everything their own way. -As a French police agent once told me, every -crime that is undiscovered serves as an incentive -for a dozen more of the same kind.</p> - -<p>With respect to the very strong dislike which -some persons have to anything in the shape of a -secret police—or rather to disguised agents of the -police acting as spies in the camp of the -dangerous classes—it ought not to be forgotten that -the same prejudice existed half a century ago -against the ‘new police,’ or the ‘Peelers’ as they -were called, being substituted for the watchmen -or ‘Charlies’ of our grandfathers’ days. If the -authorities are wise enough to constitute and -maintain a really efficient system of secret police -agents in the place of what we now call ‘plain-clothes -officers,’ the result will be much the same -as was the substitution of a regular metropolitan<span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">{339}</span> -police in place of the old watchmen. But if this -greatly called-for change is delayed much longer, -we shall see the criminal classes gaining in -strength every year, until it will become as -difficult to get the mastery over them as is the -case in some of the Western States in America. A -secret police, or rather, a number of secret agents -of the police, organised on the French system, -is what we must institute ere long, and the sooner -it is taken in hand the better. Those who require -their services do not hesitate to employ ‘Private -Inquiry Offices’ and other similar establishments; -why should the government decline to entertain -the idea of such an agency as is here advocated? -If any man of influence and authority in the -land could be present at a ‘business’ meeting -of English, French, and a few German thieves in -some of the lowest haunts of ‘Foreign London,’ -an efficient system of secret detective police would -very soon become established in what has been -foolishly called ‘the safest city in the world.’</p> - -<p>In England, we have a curious but very -erroneous idea that if a policeman wears a suit -of plain clothes instead of his regular uniform, -he is fully able to find out all about any crime -that has ever been committed. A greater mistake -was never made. Not only to the ‘dangerous -classes,’ but to almost every Londoner who is -anything of an observer regarding his fellow-men, -‘plain-clothes’ officers, as our detectives are called, -are actually as well known as if they wore the -helmet, blue tunic, and black leather waist-belt -of the regular policeman. It is quite otherwise -in France. A French detective, as we have -remarked before, has nothing whatever to do -with serving summonses or warrants. He never -arrests a criminal, but he points out to the regular -police where criminals are to be found. It is -only on very rare occasions that he even appears -as witness against a prisoner; and when he does so, -he assumes for the future a dress and general -appearance quite unlike what he has hitherto -borne. A French detective who cannot disguise -himself in such a manner that his oldest friend -would not be able to recognise him, is not deemed -worth his salary. He takes the greatest professional -pride in this art. In a word, the -French detectives are the spies sent by the army -of law and order to find out all about the enemy -that is constantly waging war against life and -property. In England, we have no similar set -of men, and what are the consequences? Why, -that unless a murderer, burglar, or other offender -is either taken red-handed, or leaves behind him -some very plain marks as to who he is or where -he is to be found, crime with us is, as a rule, -undetected. Sooner or later, notwithstanding our -national prejudices against all that is secret and -underhand, we must adopt a system for the -detection of crime on the plan that is found to -work so well in France; and the sooner we do -so the better, unless we want to make England -in general, and London in particular, more than -even it is now the happy hunting-ground of all -the scoundrels in Europe. All Frenchmen who -have visited our country say that our <i>ordinary</i> -police is the very best in the world; that the -manner in which they preserve order in the -streets is above praise; and they are right. Nor -can a word be said against the character, the -integrity, or the intentions also of our detectives. -But the system on which they are trained is -essentially bad. They are the wrong men in -the wrong place—the square pegs in the round -holes.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak x-ebookmaker-important" id="BY_MEAD_AND_STREAM">BY MEAD AND STREAM.</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>CHAPTER XXX.—CURIOUS.</h3> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">I am</span> going to the village, Ada, to see Mr -Beecham, but I shall not be long,’ said Wrentham -to his wife.</p> - -<p>She in her pale, delicate prettiness was as -unlike the mate of such a man as Wrentham -as a gazelle linked to a Bengal tiger would appear. -But she was fond of him, believed in him, and was -as happy in her married state as most of her -neighbours seemed to be. Indeed, she believed -herself to be a great deal happier than most of -them. So far as the household arrangements -were concerned, he was a model husband: he -interfered with none of them. He seldom scolded: -he accepted his chop or steak with equanimity -whether it was over or under done (of course he -did not think it necessary to mention the repasts -he indulged in at the <i>Gog and Magog</i>); and he -had even put on a pair of unbrushed boots -without saying anything aloud. What woman -is there who would not appreciate such a husband?</p> - -<p>Mrs Wrentham did appreciate him, and was -devoted to him. She had brought him a few -hundreds, with which her father, a country tradesman, -had dowered her, and of that Wrentham -declared he was able to make a fortune. With -that intent most of his time was occupied in the -City; and she often lamented that poor Martin -was so eager to make ‘hay whilst the sun shone’—as -he called it—that he was working himself to -death.</p> - -<p>‘Never mind, dear,’ he would say: ‘there is -no time like the present for laying by a store; -and we shall have leisure to enjoy ourselves when -we have made a comfortable little fortune.’</p> - -<p>‘But if you should kill yourself in the meanwhile, -Martin!’</p> - -<p>‘Nonsense, Ada; I am too tough a chap to be -killed so easily.’</p> - -<p>Then he would go off gaily to the City (or the -betting-ring). She would sigh, and sit down to -wait for the happy time when that little fortune -should be made.</p> - -<p>The man whilst he spoke to her was sincere -enough; but in the feverish excitement of his -speculations he forgot all about wife and home.</p> - -<p>At present he was at ease, for he did not mean -to go farther than the <i>King’s Head</i>. So he made -the little woman quite happy by his effusive -tenderness, and still more by the information -that she might wait up for his return. What -pleasanter intimation could a loving wife receive?</p> - -<p>The village was in darkness, for gas had not -yet found its way into Kingshope. The feeble -glint of a candle here and there looked like a -dull glowworm striving to keep up a semblance -of life. The half-dozen shops with their oil-lamps -were a little brighter than the houses; -but their innermost corners were dark and -mysterious. Even the <i>King’s Head</i> and <i>Cherry -Tree</i> wore such veils upon their faces that a -stranger would have passed by without suspecting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">{340}</span> -that these were hostelries within the gates of -which was to be found good entertainment for -man and beast, and where on market-days and -fair-days were held high revels.</p> - -<p>In one of the darkest parts of the street there -was a little window illuminated by a single ‘dip:’ -that ‘dip’ revealed a jumble of sweetmeats, cheap, -gaudy toys, and penny picture-books. The eager -eyes of a group of children discovered there a -palace of wonder and delight, filled with objects -of surpassing interest and ambition. There was -a wooden sword which young Hodge regarded as -more powerful than his father’s spade and pick-axe: -there was a gilt gingerbread man with a -cocked-hat, which was looked upon with breathless -admiration as a correct model of the Prince -of Wales in all the splendour of royal attire. -There was a brief discussion as to whether the -cocked-hat should not have been a gold crown, -which was undoubtedly the proper headgear for -a prince. This, however, was settled by a mite -of a girl, who suggested that the cocked-hat was -worn when the Prince went out for a walk, and -the crown when he was in the palace.</p> - -<p>Next in attractive power was a greenish bottle -full of brandy-balls; and the children’s teeth -watered as they gazed upon it. A Lord Mayor’s -dinner must be a small thing compared with that -window with its jumble of sweets and toys.</p> - -<p>‘Wouldn’t you like to have some of these nice -things? How happy we would be if life could -be all gilt gingerbread and brandy-balls!’</p> - -<p>That was exactly what they had been thinking, -and an appalled silence fell upon the little group, -as they turned to stare at the wizard who had -read their desire through the backs of their heads. -But they all knew the kindly face of the gentleman -who was looking at them so pleasantly. -They did not note the shade of sadness and pity -that was in his eyes. The faces of the younger -children broadened into smiles of expectation: -the elder ones hung their heads a little—shy, -doubting, hoping, and vaguely fearing that they -had been caught doing something wrong.</p> - -<p>Mr Beecham patted one of them on the head—a -child of about six years.</p> - -<p>‘Suppose you had sixpence, Totty, what would -you do?’</p> - -<p>‘Buy all the shop.’</p> - -<p>‘And what then?’</p> - -<p>‘Eat um,’ was the prompt and emphatic answer.</p> - -<p>‘What! would you not share with your -friends?’</p> - -<p>Totty looked round at her friends, who were -anxious about her next reply.</p> - -<p>‘Such a lot of ’em,’ she said with a kind of sulky -greediness.</p> - -<p>‘Well, sixpence will not buy the whole shop; -but I shall give it to your brother, and he must -spend it upon something which can be easily -divided into equal parts, so that you may all -share alike.’</p> - -<p>The gift was accepted in silence; but he had -only moved a few paces away when there arose -a hubbub of young voices angrily disputing as -to what should be purchased with their fortune. -He turned back and settled the matter for them. -Whilst thus occupied, he was visited with the -unpleasant reflection that what we want does not -cause us so much trouble as what we possess. -These children had been happy gazing at what -they had no expectation of attaining. In imagination -they could pick and choose each what he or -she most fancied. Then he had come like an evil -genius amongst them and by his trifling gift had -produced discord. Had he purchased all that was -in the shop there would still have been dissatisfaction.</p> - -<p>‘Communism will never thrive,’ he muttered -as he walked away, after pacifying his little -protégés as best he could; ‘the selfish individual -will always be too strong for it. Master Philip -is making a mistake.’</p> - -<p>‘He <i>is</i> a rum chap,’ was the comment of Mr -Wrentham, who had been watching the incident -from the outside of the small semicircle of light -cast from the window of the sweet-shop. ‘In his -dotage?... No. I might have said that, if we -had not spent a few evenings together. A man -who can pick up Nap and play it as he did, is -no fool, however much of a knave he may be. -He is not that either.... Wonder what can be -the reason of Hadleigh’s curiosity about him.’</p> - -<p>His first movement from the darkness in which -he stood suggested that he purposed saluting Mr -Beecham at once; but he altered his mind, lit -a cigar, and strolled leisurely after him. He had -found a new interest in the stranger: it sprung -out of his profound respect for Mr Hadleigh, for -he was convinced that every word spoken by that -gentleman, and certainly every act performed by -him, was the result of careful reflection and shrewd -foresight. He was not a man to do anything -without a distinct view to his own advantage. -Wrentham intended to share that advantage. -But as he was at present unable to conceive what -it might be, and was working entirely in the dark, -with the hope merely that he should discover the -meaning of it all as he proceeded, he considered -it wise to move with caution whilst he maintained -the bearing of a most willing servant.</p> - -<p>He had been under the impression that he had -sounded the depths of Mr Beecham’s character -pretty correctly; but Mr Hadleigh’s inquiries and -the incident with the children suggested two such -opposite phases, that Wrentham could only conclude -one of them must be wrong. Mr Hadleigh -had started the suspicion that Beecham had some -design in hand, the discovery of which would be -useful: the scene with the children brought -Wrentham back to his first impression—that he -was a simple-minded but clear-sighted gentleman -who was willing to lose a few pounds at cards -occasionally without grumbling.</p> - -<p>Mr Beecham had so few visitors in his village -quarters, that he had not yet found it necessary -to give the attendants at the <i>King’s Head</i> the -unpalatable but frequently unavoidable instruction -to say ‘Not at home.’ So that, on Wrentham’s -arrival, his name was at once conveyed to him. -The message brought back was that, if Mr Wrentham -would be good enough to wait for a few -minutes, Mr Beecham would be ready to receive -him.</p> - -<p>When at length he was shown into the room, -Mr Beecham was closing a large envelope, which -he placed on his desk in order to shake hands -with his visitor. At each side of the desk was -a bright lamp with a white shade, reflecting the -light full upon the document he had laid down. -Wrentham had no difficulty in reading the -address.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">{341}</span></p> - -<p>‘Hope I am not disturbing you. Got home -early, and took it into my head to come down and -have a cigar and a chat. If you’re busy, I’ll -bolt.’</p> - -<p>‘No necessity. I had only to address an -envelope to a friend with some inclosures, and -that is done. You are very welcome to-night, -although we are not likely to have a chat, as I -have invited some young people to a conjuring -entertainment.’</p> - -<p>‘I am afraid you will find me an ungracious -guest,’ said Wrentham, laughing, ‘for I had made -up my mind to have a quiet evening with you -alone, and I have no fancy for jugglers—their -tricks are all so stale.’</p> - -<p>‘You will find this man particularly amusing. -He is clever with his tongue as well as his hands, -and is remarkably well-mannered, although you -will be astonished, perhaps, to learn that he is -only a street performer. I ought not to have -told you that until after you had seen him. -However, my chief pleasure will be—and I am -sure yours will be—in seeing how the children -enjoy the magician’s wonders. Mr Tuppit tells -me that he never has so much delight in his -work as when he has an audience of young -people. We have got the large dining-room for -the performance, and it is likely to turn out a -brilliant affair. You must stay.’</p> - -<p>At the mention of the conjurer’s name, Wrentham -made a curious movement, as if he had -dropped something—it was only the ash of his -cigar which had fallen on his sleeve. He dusted -it into the fender.</p> - -<p>‘I wish I could go into things of this sort -like you,’ he said, smiling admiringly at Mr -Beecham’s enthusiasm; ‘but I can’t. I don’t -believe you could do it either, if you had heavy -and anxious work on hand. But you belong to -the lucky ones who have successfully passed the -Rubicon of life. You have made your hay, and -can amuse yourself without thinking about to-morrow. -I am never allowed to get to-morrow -out of my head.’</p> - -<p>‘Most people say that,’ was Mr Beecham’s -response, with one of his quiet smiles; ‘and I -always think it is because we waste to-day in -thinking of to-morrow.’</p> - -<p>‘Hit again,’ exclaimed Wrentham with a frank -laugh. ‘I believe you are right; but we cannot -all be philosophers. Nature has most to do in -forming us, whatever share education may have -in it. Where the dickens did you pick up your -philosophy? In the east, west, north, or south? -Have you been a traveller for pleasure or on -business? Where have you been? What have -you done, that you should be able always to see -the sunny side of life? There’s a string of -questions for you. Don’t trouble to answer them, -although I should like if possible to learn how -you became what you are—so calm, so happy.’</p> - -<p>All this was spoken so good-humouredly—as if -it were the outcome of nothing more than jesting -curiosity—that Wrentham fancied he had very -cleverly turned to useful account a passing observation. -His host could not avoid giving him -some direct information about his career now.</p> - -<p>Mr Beecham appeared to be amused—nothing -more.</p> - -<p>‘I have travelled in many directions of the -compass, partly on business, partly on pleasure. -Everywhere I have found that although the scenes -are different, men are the same. Those who have -had a fortune made for them spend it, wisely or -unwisely as may be; those who have not, strive -or wish to strive to make one for themselves. -Some succeed, some fail: but the conditions of -happiness are the same in either case—those -who are the most easily content are the most -happy.’</p> - -<p>‘Beaten,’ thought Wrentham. ‘What a clever -beggar he is in answering the most direct -questions with vague generalities.’ What he said -was this:</p> - -<p>‘I suppose that you had a fortune made for -you, and so could take things easy?’</p> - -<p>‘A little was left to me, but I am glad to say -not enough to permit me to be idle. I cannot -say that I have worked hard, but I worked in the -right direction, and the result has been satisfactory—that -is, so far as money is concerned.’</p> - -<p>‘Wish you would give me a leaf out of your -book: it might start me in the right direction -too.’</p> - -<p>‘Some day you shall have the whole book to -read, Mr Wrentham, and I shall be delighted if -you find it of service.’</p> - -<p>‘But what line were you in? I should like -to know.’</p> - -<p>‘So you shall, so you shall—by-and-by.—You -have allowed your cigar to go out. Try one of -these Larranagas; and excuse me for a minute—I -want to send this away.’</p> - -<p>He took up the packet which Wrentham had -observed lying on the desk, and quitted the room.</p> - -<p>‘Wish I could make him out,’ was Wrentham’s -reflection, as, after lighting his cigar, he stood on -the hearth with his back to the fire and glared -round the room in search of something that -might help to satisfy his curiosity. ‘Maybe there -is nothing to make out.... But what does he -want sending off letters to Madge Heathcote at -this time of evening? I saw the address plainly -enough, and that letter was for her.... There -<i>is</i> something to find out.’</p> - -<p class="center">(<i>To be continued.</i>)</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_ASHBURNHAM_COLLECTIONS">THE ASHBURNHAM COLLECTIONS.</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">In</span> 1763, Mr Grenville, then First Lord of the -Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, had -occasion to enlist the services of a gentleman -familiar with ancient handwriting, in the arrangement -of papers and other business. So well did -Mr Thomas Astle do his work, that, two years -later, he was made Receiver-general on the Civil -List; subsequently becoming, in succession, chief -clerk in the Record Office, and keeper of the -records in the Tower. Astle was a diligent and -discreet collector of manuscripts; and mindful -of his obligations to the Grenvilles, directed by -his will that his valuable library should pass into -the possession of the Marquis of Buckingham for -the sum of five hundred pounds. That nobleman -gladly accepted the conditional bequest, and -housed the sometime keeper’s treasures honourably -at Stowe. As opportunities offered, he and his -successor added books and documents to Astle’s -store, until they had brought together a mass of -original materials for the history of the three -kingdoms unrivalled by any other private collection.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_342">{342}</span></p> - -<p>The middle of the present century saw Stowe -shorn of its glories; and in 1849, its famous -manuscripts were advertised for public sale; but -their threatened dispersion was fortunately averted -by the Earl of Ashburnham purchasing the entire -collection, and adding it to his own extensive -library, rich in works of early European and -English literature. At the time of the earl’s -death he was the possessor of four distinct collections, -known as the Stowe, the Barrois, the -Libri, and the Appendix. The last-named, representing -his occasional purchases, consisted of two -hundred and fifty volumes, including richly illuminated -missals and Books of Hours, choice copies -of the works of Chaucer, Wickliffe, Gower, Dante; -English chronicles, monastic registers, and individual -manuscripts of great rarity and value. -The Barrois collection of seven hundred and two -manuscripts was notable for its specimens of -ancient bindings, its illuminated manuscripts, and -its examples of early French literature; while -the Libri section was remarkable for its very -ancient manuscripts, its copies of Dante’s Commedia, -its works of early Italian literature, its -rare autographs, and its letters of distinguished -French men of science.</p> - -<p>In 1879, all these treasures were offered by the -present Earl of Ashburnham to the trustees of the -British Museum for the sum of one hundred and -sixty thousand pounds; but upon their requesting -him to separate the manuscripts from the -printed books, the earl intimated that, finding he -had underpriced his library in the first instance, -he should require the hundred and sixty thousand -pounds for the manuscripts alone; or fifty thousand -for the Stowe collection, and fifty thousand -for the Appendix collection, if the trustees elected -to buy them only; and with that intimation the -negotiation ended. In the autumn of 1882 the -Museum authorities sought Lord Ashburnham -again, to learn that he would only sell the collection -as a whole at the price he had originally -named. The keeper of the department of Manuscripts -went down to Ashburnham Place, examined -the collection volume by volume, and returned -with above nine hundred of the choicest volumes -and portfolios of papers, for the inspection of the -trustees themselves; and they came to the conclusion -that, all things considered, the collection -was worth the money demanded for it; and -recommended the Treasury to purchase it, and -give the trustees power to make over certain -portions of the Libri and Barrois collections—said -to have been abstracted from the public -libraries of France—to the French government -on payment of twenty-four thousand pounds. -To this proposition the Treasury would not -agree, not being prepared to purchase the collection -<i>en bloc</i>.</p> - -<p>Then Lord Ashburnham agreed to sell the -Museum the Stowe and Appendix divisions for -ninety thousand pounds. The Treasury offered -seventy thousand pounds; whereupon the earl -requested that the manuscripts in the possession -of the Museum trustees should be returned to -their proper home. Determined, if possible, to -avert what they regarded as an irreparable -national calamity, the trustees proposed to make -good the twenty thousand pounds by allowing -a reduction on the annual vote for the Museum -to the amount of four thousand pounds for the -next five years. ‘My Lords’ were obdurate, the -earl was firm; and the disappointed Museum -trustees had nothing left to them but to retire -with an expression of their regret at the untoward -result of their efforts to save the precious manuscripts -from probable expatriation. A week or two -later, however, they were gladdened by receiving -a verbal intimation from the guardian of the -public purse that the government were ready -to purchase the Stowe collection provided it -could be obtained for forty thousand pounds. -Lord Ashburnham would not lower his demand -to that extent, but consented to accept forty-five -thousand pounds. So the bargain was struck, -the House of Commons voted the money, and the -much-talked-of manuscripts became the property -of the nation.</p> - -<p>Whatever the pecuniary value of the Stowe -collection may be, the custodians of our great -library may well rejoice upon acquiring its nine -hundred and ninety-six volumes of charters and -cartularies; ancient missals and rituals; old -English chronicles; old statutes; reports of -famous trials; household books; royal wardrobe -accounts; papal bulls and indulgences; historical, -legal, and ecclesiastical documents; diplomatic, -political, and private correspondence; and papers -of more or less value to the antiquary, genealogist, -and general student. In truth, the subject-matter -of this mass of manuscripts is of so varied a nature -that it would almost be easier to say what is not, -than what is to be found therein. We shall not -attempt to do either, but content ourselves with -enumerating some of the curiosities of the collection.</p> - -<p>First among these comes a volume of Anglo-Saxon -charters, the cover of which is adorned -with figures of saints and martyrs, and a representation -of the crucifixion, worked with the -needle, in coloured silks and gold-thread. The -first charter in the volume is one of six lines, -by which Withred, king of Kent, granted certain -lands to the nuns of Liming; His Majesty, ‘being -illiterate,’ making the sign of the cross against -his name. Another relic of Anglo-Saxon times -is the register of Hyde Abbey, Winchester, the -greater part of which is supposed to have been -written in the reign of Canute. On the first page -are portraits of that monarch and his queen -‘Ailgythu’ in their robes of state. On the fourth -leaf are memoranda of the Conqueror’s building -a palace at Winchester, and of the burning of the -city in 1140 by Robert, Earl of Gloucester. A -copy of Alfred’s will is followed by an account -of the burying-places of the Anglo-Saxon kings -and saints, various forms of benedictions, a list -of relics preserved at Hyde, and a calendar of -saints. On one page is a fragment of the <i>exultat</i> -as chanted on Holy Saturday in the monastery, -with the musical notes—consisting of lines and -points placed over the syllables, and indicating -by their forms the high and low tones in which -these syllables were to be sung.</p> - -<p>Of historical interest are—the original report -of the trial of ‘Johanne d’Arc,’ dated the 7th of -July 1456, and duly signed and attested by the -notaries; the original declaration of eight of the -bishops in favour of Henry VIII.’s assumption -of power in church matters, in which they pronounce -that Christian princes may make ecclesiastical -laws; and two little volumes—one about<span class="pagenum" id="Page_343">{343}</span> -three inches square, containing sundry calendars -and tables, written on leaves of vellum, and -bearing on the fly-leaf, in the handwriting of the -Duke of Somerset: ‘Fere of the lord is the -begenning of wisdume: put thi trust in the -lord w<sup>h</sup> all thine heart; be not wise in thyne -own conseyte but fere the lord and fle from evele -frome the toware the day before deth, 1551. -<span class="smcap">E. Somerset</span>.’ The other booklet is about an -inch square, and bound in gold, enamelled in -black, and furnished with two small gold rings, -by which it could be suspended to its owner’s -waist. It consists of a hundred and ninety-six -pages of vellum, on which are written the seven -penitential psalms. This was one of Henry VIII.’s -gifts to Anne Boleyn, and was given by her—Horace -Walpole says—to her maid of honour -Mrs Wyatt, when the beautiful queen bade farewell -to the world on Tower Hill.</p> - -<p>Among other originals of political importance -may be noted the return concerning the levy of -ship-money, made to Sir Peter Temple, High-sheriff -of Bucks, from the parish of Great Kimble, -bearing the names of those who tendered their -refusal to the constables and assessors; the said -constables’ and assessors’ names appearing in the -list of protesters, at the head of which stands the -name of John Hampden. Of a little later date -is the secret article of the treaty made in 1654 -between Louis XIV. and the Protector of England -for the expulsion from France of Charles II., the -Duke of York, and eighteen royalists; Cromwell -undertaking in return to expel certain Frenchmen -from England. This document is signed by De -Bordeaux on the part of the French king; by -Fiennes, Lisle, and Strickland on the part of -the Commonwealth. The Grand Monarch’s own -signature appears to an order addressed to the -governor of the Bastile—an order for him to -permit the Countess de Bussy to sleep with her -husband.</p> - -<p>There are two literary curiosities in the shape -of a five-act tragedy by Bale, Bishop of Ossory, -who died in 1563; and a comedy, author -unknown, intended to be played for the amusement -of Elizabeth and her court; the latter -ending with the following lines, addressed to -Queen Bess:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">May you have all the joys of innocence,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Injoyinge too all the delights of sense.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">May you live long, and knowe till ye are told,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">T’ endeare your beauty, and wonder you are old;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And when heaven’s heate shall draw you to the skye,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">May you transfigured, not transfigured dye!</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In the original draft of a dedication to be -prefixed to some operas by Purcell, Dryden says: -‘Musick and poetry have ever been acknowledged -sisters, which walking hand-in-hand support each -other. As poetry is the harmony of words, so -musick is that of notes; and as poetry is a rise -above prose and oratory, so is musick the exaltation -of poetry. Both of them may excel apart; -but sure they are most excellent when they are -joined, because nothing is then wanting to either -of their perfections, for thus they appear like -wit and beauty in the same person.’ At the end -of a copy of Bacon’s <i>Essays</i>, presented to Mrs -Newsham, in 1725, by ‘her servant, A. Pope,’ is -a sonnet in the poet’s handwriting, entitled <i>A -Wish to Mrs M. B. on her Birthday, June 15</i>. It -is to be found in his works, expanded into a -twenty-line <i>Epistle to Miss Martha Blount, on her -Birthday</i>.</p> - -<p>‘The Emperor of Morocco’s curses against his -two eldest sons, taken from the original in his -own writing in the register of the principal -church at Morocco,’ is a curiosity, if scarcely a -literary one; and the same may be said of a -specimen of French penmanship—a series of -portraits of the time of Louis XIV., executed -with such freedom that they seem to have been -done with one uninterrupted flourish of the pen. -Each portrait has a song with music appended to -it, the volume ending with a piece of music in -Rousseau’s own hand, composed by him at -Paris in 1776.</p> - -<p>The letters, original and transcribed, in the -collection are so multitudinous, that it is impossible -to enter into detail about them; they cover -every reign from Edward III. to George III., -and unrepresented Englishmen of any note are -few indeed; while epistles written by such illustrious -foreigners as Doge Andrea Contarini, -Francis I., Cardinal Mazarin, Louis XIV., Madame -de Maintenon, Voltaire, Frederick the Great, -Mirabeau, Lafayette, and Napoleon the Great, -figure in the catalogue of contents.</p> - -<p>We must mention that among the treasures -acquired by the nation are a number of manuscripts -in the Irish language, and of manuscripts -relating to the history and antiquities of Ireland; -besides the correspondence of Arthur Capel, -Earl of Essex, Lord-lieutenant of Ireland under -Charles II. The government having decided that -manuscripts in the Irish language, and those -bearing more or less directly upon Irish history -and literature, should be lent indefinitely to the -Royal Irish Academy, for the use of students and -the public, the greater portion of the above will -be lost to Bloomsbury—how large a portion will -not be known, until the representatives of the -British Museum and the Irish Academy have -settled the matter between them.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="A_SKETCH_FROM_MY_STUDY_WINDOW">A SKETCH FROM MY STUDY WINDOW.</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> were three of them, little pale-faced, grave-eyed -girl-children, unmistakable Londoners in -their lack of the healthy colouring and sturdy -limbs which would have marked country-bred -children of their age. The eldest was perhaps -eleven; the younger ones, eight and six years -old respectively; and it was pretty, as well as -pathetic, to see the prematurely motherly care -which the eldest sister—whom the little ones -called ‘Gertie’—bestowed upon the tiny mite -whose responsible protector she seemed to be.</p> - -<p>When first I noticed them, they were walking -demurely round the gravel-path of the square upon -which my study window looks out. Each had a -skipping-rope dangling loosely from her hands; -and the younger ones were evidently intent upon -some grave story from the lips of their sister. -Presently, they came along the upper side of the -garden, towards my window, and I had my first -glimpse of their faces. Each was pretty in her -childish way. The eldest, tall for her age, slight -and dark, had regular features and soft brown -eyes, whose naturally pathetic expression was -heightened by the deep mourning-frock and -crape-trimmed hat which each alike was wearing. -The two younger children were less noticeable in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_344">{344}</span> -appearance, the second being, I fancied, ordinarily -a merry, dimpled little maiden, whom, but for -some temporary cloud on her spirits, I could -more easily have pictured enjoying a good game -of romps with some of the other small frequenters -of our garden; and the youngest, like Gertrude, -a pensive-faced baby, with sadly transparent -colouring and fragile figure, betokening constitutional -delicacy. It was summer-time; and as -they passed beneath my widely opened window, -I caught the word ‘Mother’ two or three times -repeated, gravely pronounced by Gertie; and I -judged, from the reverent expression of the three -little faces and from their deep mourning, that -she was recalling to the memory of her charges -some childish reminiscences of a recently lost -parent.</p> - -<p>I had certainly never seen them before, or, -child-worshipper that I was, I could not have -failed to recognise them. All the other young -people in the garden—from Tommy, surname -unknown, aged two, with a penchant for sticky -sweetmeats, and an aversion to nurses, to Miss -Mildred Holford, verging upon sweet seventeen, -and alternating between spasmodic propriety and -innate tomboyism—were intimately known to me—by -sight, at all events; and in my idle speculations -upon the little strangers, I jumped to the -conclusion—subsequently verified—that they were -new-comers to one of the large empty houses -facing mine on the further side of our square.</p> - -<p>From that day forward I saw them frequently, -generally, as on the first occasion, alone, the eldest -in charge of the younger ones, sometimes accompanied -by a tall lady, also in deep mourning, whom -they addressed as ‘auntie;’ sometimes with a -sober, matronly looking nurse, who carried in her -arms a bundle of white drapery, enveloping what -I opined to be a baby of tender weeks. This baby -was the favourite toy of the three little sisters. -Nothing else possessed the slightest attraction for -them when their tiny brother was present; and -it was a pretty study to watch the pride and -delight of the two elder girls, when their nurse -allowed each in turn to carry the white-robed -atom a few steps away from her side and back -again. Nor was little Ethel, the youngest of the -trio, debarred from the privilege of playing nurse -sometimes. Too weak and frail to be safely -trusted to carry the precious burden, it was her -chief delight to sit, still as a mouse, on the corner -of one of the garden-seats, crooning and talking -baby-talk to the unconscious morsel on her lap, -while the nurse and elder girls kept guard at a -few yards’ distance, their absence being clearly -a highly valued condition of this innocent ‘confidence-trick.’</p> - -<p>Morning after morning, throughout the first -week of their residence in our square, was the -same routine carried out; the younger ones -sometimes indulging in a run with their hoops, -from Gertie’s side; sometimes amusing themselves -with dolls or skipping-ropes; or again -listening while their aunt or Gertrude read aloud -to them. But on Saturday morning they did not -appear as usual, and I found myself quite missing -their company, and puzzling myself with vague -speculations to account for their absence. Even -in this short time my heart had gone out towards -the little motherless girls, and I had begun unconsciously -to weave fanciful theories of their past -and present life, to account for the sweet seriousness -and precocious womanly airs of the eldest -girl, and the influence of love—for her manner -was untinged by any assumption of elder-sisterly -prerogative—which she clearly possessed and -exercised over the younger ones. Rightly or -wrongly, I never knew, but I pictured them the -children of parents separated by a long interval -of years in age, but united by strong bonds of -confidence and affection. Gertrude’s sedate air -suggested that she had been rather the companion -than the plaything of her mother; and that the -mother’s influence had been tender, without -caprice, was apparent from her child’s gentle -gravity, and from the unquestioning attention -paid to her lightest hint or remonstrance by the -younger sisters. The words, ‘Mother would not -have wished it,’ or, ‘Father would not like to -see it,’ from her lips were sufficient in a moment -to quell Edith’s occasional fractiousness, or to dry -Ethel’s ready tears; while the confidence existing -between all three was enough to show that no -undue favouritism had ever wakened jealousy -of one another. Unselfish to a fault, Gertrude -was the one to give way in every question of -mere personal preference; but she never swerved -from her adherence to what she believed would -be ‘mother’s’ wish or course of action, and an -appeal from her opinion to aunt or nurse was -rare indeed.</p> - -<p>Such were some of my dreams of these little -ones that Saturday morning. Luncheon-time -came, and passed, without a sign; and so restless -and idle had I been all morning, owing to the -absurd interest I had taken in the non-appearance -of my little friends, that, contrary to my usual -custom, I was obliged to forego my half-holiday -and settle to work again. Suddenly, glancing -from my book for the thousandth time that day, -I spied the little trio approaching. They looked -less grave than usual, and were manifestly preoccupied, -as I judged from the frequent glances -cast by one and all towards the entrance-gate, at -the far corner of the square. At last the cause -became evident. The gate swung open, and an -elderly gentleman in deep mourning came hastily -into the garden. He was quickly perceived; -and with a glad cry of ‘Father!’ all three -children scampered off to meet him. ‘Father’s’ -half-holiday was clearly the event of the -week for his little motherless girls; and for the -first time since I had seen her, the sad cloud -passed from Gertie’s eyes, and for a few hours -was lost in the light of unalloyed happiness. -Under ‘father’s’ generalship they played merry -childish games, laughing and romping as I had -never yet deemed it possible they could laugh or -romp; and when the delicate little Ethel grew -weary and could play no longer, there was a -knee for each of the younger pets, and a seat -at her father’s side for Gertrude, while it -was evident that he was spinning yarns and -racking his brains for fairy tales, each of -which was rewarded with unanimous applause, -and reiterated calls upon the narrator’s memory -or invention. So passed the happy holiday -afternoon, a peaceful idyll in the great prose -volume of London life; and when at length the -father rose from his seat, and, with a tiny hand -in each of his, moved slowly homewards, I felt -as if the colour had faded out of the summer<span class="pagenum" id="Page_345">{345}</span> -evening, and the workaday clouds had begun to -close in upon me again.</p> - -<p>So the July days glided by, bringing no greater -change into the lives of my three little maidens -than the regular alternations of grave morning -walks and gay Saturday afternoon romps. They -seemed shy of making friends among their light-hearted -young neighbours; and the other children -appeared to be awed and checked in their advances -by the sombre crape and sedate looks of the new-comers. -Now and then, a timid overture was -made, generally to Edith, the second of the trio, -whose dimpled cheeks looked more suggestive -of successful negotiation than her sisters’ demure -faces; but such attempts were rare, and as a rule, -my own unsuspected interest was the only notice -taken of their doings, and they were left unmolested -in the pursuit of their quiet routine.</p> - -<p>By-and-by my vacation-time arrived, and I -left the heat and bustle of London for a country -rest. On my return, the days had shortened -perceptibly, the sun was shorn of half his brightness, -the garden trees were shedding their leaves, -and autumn fogs and winter frosts were approaching -apace. There, as usual, on the first morning -after my return to work, were the little ladies. -But there were no longer quiet hours of basking -in sunshine on the seats, and much of the sober -confabulation seemed to have taken wing with -the flight of their summer surroundings. Time -was acting its usual part as the disperser of clouds -and lightener of hearts. ‘Mother’ had become -less a recent reality than a sweet occasional -memory, and the young blood of the younger -sisters called for more active exercise than the -grave promenade that had sufficed previously.</p> - -<p>But as autumn faded into winter, and the -London sky donned its accustomed leaden-hued -uniform, the fireside usurped the attractions of -the window-seat, and but for an occasional glimpse, -accidentally caught as I passed the window, I -lost sight of my little triad of maidens.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The spring of 187- was unusually late in -making its appearance. The sun sullenly refused -to pierce the shroud of fog and mist; the buds -seemed reluctant to shed their outer coats, and -unfold their tender greenery to the dangers of -frost and blighting east wind. The grass was -still discoloured and sodden in our garden, and -the costermonger appeared to have forgotten his -customers in our square, so tardy was he in -making the welkin ring with his hoarse vindication -of his wares, ‘All a-blowin’ and a-growin’.’ -Though the almanac stoutly averred that we -had entered upon the ‘merrie month of May,’ -a fire was still an absolute essential for comfort, -and I hesitated long before wheeling my writing-table -to the window and taking up my fine-weather -quarters. However, the move was at -length made; and the first group that met my -eyes, as they wandered from my work to the outer -world, was the now familiar one of the ‘serious -family.’ But they were no longer alone; with -them walked a middle-aged lady, of precise and -dignified aspect, whom it required but slight -knowledge of female human nature to identify -as a governess. The little ones too were changed. -Gertie and Edith had grown apace. The former, -prettier and even more demure than of yore, had -shot up into a tall slip of a girl, giving promise -of graceful figure and carriage, though as yet -showing the angularity and awkwardness of too -rapid growth. Edith was more roguish-looking, -and a trifle less roundabout than before, and had -clearly a fine fund of animal spirits, longing for -a chance of making their escape. But Ethel! -Alas! more plainly than ever were the sure signs -of delicacy noticeable in the sweet wee face and -unnaturally deep-set eyes. She had lost rather -than gained ground during the long severe winter. -The effort to take part even in her sisters’ quiet -sports was clearly beyond her strength, and -it was sad indeed to catch the patient, hopeless -expression with which she urged her weariness, -as a plea for resisting Edith’s thoughtless, childish -allurements.</p> - -<p>Before long, I noticed that she had given up -the attempt to join the play; and Edith herself -was forced to recognise her plea, and to find -allies in her romps among the other small-fry -in the gardens, with many of whom she had now -struck up acquaintance. Presently, even the daily -walk grew to be too much for the feeble little -frame, and a miniature carriage was devised, in -which, tended constantly and lovingly by her -eldest sister, she spent her outdoor hours. Many -a long silent morning did she while away under -the trees, the baby on her lap, and the sweet -child-voice of her devoted sister reading to her, -or telling her stories, with unwearying patience. -Many a time have I paused in my work to watch -the sad drama of pure unselfish love. Many a -Saturday afternoon have I spent at my window, -unable to turn away from the simple yet solemn -scene, enacted in that commonplace London -square, to seek pleasure and distraction among -the busy haunts of river-side or park.</p> - -<p>Those Saturday half-holidays were no longer -joyous festivals for the father and children. His -coming was as regular, and as eagerly looked for, -as ever; but now there was no glad rush to -meet him at the gate, no merry romps, in which -he was the youngest child among the group. He -saw, all too clearly, and Gertrude too had long -since recognised, the inevitable parting that was -slowly but surely approaching, and the tender -devotion of both parent and sister was touching -indeed to witness. Again a little while, and the -bright summer sun, falling on the garden and -its merry groups of children, kissed the little -pale cheek no more. I could see the sudden -pause in game and romp, when the two sisters -appeared as usual for their morning walk. I -could see the players hasten to their side, and -could imagine the eager inquiries for the little -invalid, the looks and words of childish sympathy -offered with heartfelt though transient earnestness, -before they turned away to resume their games, -claiming Edith as a playmate, and leaving poor -Gertie alone with her sad thoughts. Till at -length the day came when inquiry was vain. -The blinds were drawn close in the house across -the square; the accustomed walk in the garden -was omitted; for the little sister’s pure innocent -spirit had passed away into eternal peace; and -ere yet the mourning-frocks worn for their -mother were laid aside, baby Ethel had gone to -join her in the better home, and Gertrude had -another sweet memory to treasure up in her young -heart, another heavy grief to add intensity to the -pathos of her soft brown eyes.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_346">{346}</span></p> - -<p>Many months passed without my catching more -than a passing glimpse of the young mourners. -The garden had too many associations with the -past to be any longer the scene of Edith’s romps -or Gertrude’s daily walks; and it was only when -I happened by accident to meet the children in -the street, or to get a distant peep at them in the -gardens of the Temple, now their chosen resort, -that I could judge of my favourite’s recovery of -her spirits, or admire the delicate beauty which -grew with her growth. She was fulfilling the -promise of her childhood, and ripening into a -quiet pensive style of beauty, forming a more -marked contrast than ever to the vivacious -younger sister, whose chatter and merry laugh -rippled through the cloistered precincts of the -Temple, and drew many a backward glance from -the blue-bag laden lads passing through these -quiet courts. Then came a long break in my -connection with our square. Duty called me -from England for a spell of some years, and on -my return to the familiar scenes, I found it -impossible to take up the old threads of association, -and to recognise, in the grown youths and -maidens who played lawn-tennis in the well-known -garden, the little ones whom I had seen -playing under care of nurses and governesses on -those grass plots in my student days. I was -forced to form a new circle of acquaintances-by-sight, -among another generation of children, and -I looked in vain for any among the gay tennis-players -to remind me of the sombre-clad sisters, -in whose childish joys and sorrows I had learned -to feel so deep an interest.</p> - -<p>Not long after my return to England, I was -present, one summer night, at a large party -given by a neighbour of ours in the square. It -was a sultry evening, and the gas-lighted drawing-room, -stripped of its furniture, and given up to -such indefatigable dancers as will not be daunted -by a thermometer standing at fabulous figures -in the shade, had no attraction for a lazy non-dancer -like myself. I therefore strayed, shortly -after midnight, into the cooler atmosphere of -an anteroom, where card-tables were set out, -and a few of the quieter sort were enjoying a -rubber within hearing-distance of the music. One -of the players rose from his seat as I entered, -and moved towards the folding-doors which -opened into the drawing-room. There he stood -for a moment or two watching the waltz, and -then beckoned to some one among the dancers. -From my quiet corner I saw a young couple -approach in answer to his sign, and a happy, -ringing voice entreated for one more dance.</p> - -<p>‘I have promised it to Gerald, father, and -he will be so disappointed if I go before he -has had it. Just this one more, and I will -come.’</p> - -<p>‘Very well, dear,’ he replied. ‘But then we -must really be going. Remember, you will have -a tiring day to-morrow.’</p> - -<p>‘It is because of to-morrow that I don’t want -to disappoint Gerald to-night,’ she answered, -smiling to her partner. ‘He won’t care to waltz -with me after to-morrow.’ Gerald did not look -as if he indorsed this statement, which was made -with a pretty affectation of despair; and the -couple were just turning to the dancing-room -again, when the gentleman she had addressed -as ‘father’ asked: ‘Where is Gertrude?’</p> - -<p>‘She was with Mrs Gaythorn a few minutes ago,’ -replied the girl.—‘Oh! here she comes.’</p> - -<p>I glanced at the approaching figure, and -instantly recognised my favourite of days gone -by. She had fully realised all my expectations -of her. Tall, graceful, beautifully moulded in -face and figure, there was all the old pensiveness -and the sweet half-melancholy of expression; and -as she met my gaze, standing in her white cloud-like -draperies in the shadow of the doorway, I -could see at once that she was utterly unconscious -of her loveliness, and unspoiled by the admiration -it must win. I could not, even at the risk of -appearing impertinent, resist the pleasure of -studying her beauty and noting the grace of -every movement and gesture. Fortunately, the -corner in which I had ensconced myself was -shaded, and my admiration passed unnoticed and -unrebuked. I watched her as she courteously -but decidedly declined the invitations of two or -three eager candidates for the dance; and when -at last the waltz was over, and the pretty girl I -had before noticed came back, leaning on her -partner’s arm, and showing me in her <i>riante</i> -features a dim resemblance to the merry little -Edith of my earlier recollections, I followed the -party down-stairs. Then having seen them don -their wraps and start two and two, Gertrude with -her father, and Edith with the happy Gerald, to -walk round to their own side of the square, I -took my hat and strolled home, my mind full of -the sad memories of the old days when I used -to watch the little trio of serious faces from my -study window.</p> - -<p>The following morning broke with a cloudless -sky and brilliant sunshine, even in our gloomy -old-fashioned quarter of London. I was taking a -half-holiday that day; but feeling disinclined for -exertion, I contented myself with a volume of -Thackeray and a seat under the plane-trees in the -square garden, where the sparrows were twittering -with a specious make-believe of being in the -country. My book lay neglected at my side, -and my thoughts were wandering again to the -past, prompted by my <i>rencontre</i> of the previous -night. Half curiously, I turned from the contemplation -of the groups of youngsters playing on the -grass, to look up at the windows of the house -in which my little friends had lived. A carriage -and a cab stood at the door; and even as I looked, -the door itself was opened, and a procession of -trunks and bonnet-boxes was carried down the -steps and deposited on the roof of the cab. -Among the luggage was an unquestionably male -portmanteau; and it needed not the white rosettes -worn by the servants to suggest to me the meaning -of these preparations. The despairing glance and -mock-mournful suggestion that ‘Gerald will not -care to waltz with me after to-morrow,’ recurred to -my mind, confirming my conclusion. Five minutes -more and the doorway was filled with a group -of host and guests bidding farewell to the happy -couple. Edith—the brightness of her eyes slightly -dimmed as she clung to her father and sister -in a last embrace—forced a glad smile through -her tears as she turned to her young husband. -Together they passed down the steps and entered -the waiting carriage. A parting cheer, a shower -of rice and satin shoes, a rattle of wheels upon -the stony street, and in a moment the carriage -turned the corner of the square and disappeared<span class="pagenum" id="Page_347">{347}</span> -from sight. Gertrude, who with her father and -one or two of their guests had remained at the -foot of the steps, to see the last glimpse of her -sister, now turned to re-enter the house. But -before they passed out of earshot, I heard one -of the elder gentlemen exclaim, in a tone of -banter: ‘Well, Miss Gertrude, I suppose it -won’t be long before we see some fine young -fellow coming to carry you off; and then, what -will your poor father do without his housekeeper?’</p> - -<p>Gertrude turned at the words, and met her -father’s eyes with an expression of true, lasting, -unselfish affection, which disposed of any need -for answering this question. There was no misconstruing -its meaning, no room to doubt its -changeless truth. Her father took the hand she -had slipped into his own, and pressed it closely, -without speaking a word. So they moved slowly -up the steps and into the house. The door closed; -and the picture of sweet unspoken confidence -passed from my eyes, to be engraved indelibly -on my memory, the closing scene of the simple -drama of everyday life, of which I had so long -been an unknown and unsuspected witness.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="AN_INTERESTING_ISLAND">AN INTERESTING ISLAND.</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> are few subjects of more general interest -to the inhabitants of this country than agriculture, -in one form or another. To those who earn their -bread by tilling the soil, it is of the first importance; -to those who do not, it is of importance -as indirectly affecting their material prosperity. -But apart from the question of pecuniary interest, -there is an inborn love of agricultural pursuits, -which is a national characteristic. In some few -privileged persons the taste shows itself so strongly -as to lead them to indulge in farming for pleasure. -Others, whose time and means will not allow of -this, it leads to employ much of their leisure -time in gardening. Many are obliged to confine -its indulgence to tending a few flowers in pots. -They are very few indeed who feel no interest -whatever in the subject. The trait has shown -itself more or less in all the greatest races that -have swayed the destiny of the world. The -haughty Roman dictator who yesterday was omnipotent, -is content to-day to return humbly to his -farm, and exercise his authority not over a nation, -but over a team of oxen.</p> - -<p>A peculiarly interesting example of the splendid -results which have been brought about by this -national taste is presented by the island of Ascension, -which has been transformed from a comparatively -barren rock, exposed to the most terrific -and damaging winds, producing scarce enough -of the coarsest vegetation to afford a meagre -sustenance to a few wild goats, into a pleasant -and fertile island, amply supporting in comfort -and luxury a very considerable population. This -change it took some time and considerable trouble -to effect; but before indicating how it was -brought about, a short history and description -of the island itself may not be out of place.</p> - -<p>The island owes its name to having been discovered -on Ascension Day in the year 1501, by -the Portuguese navigator Juan de Nova Gallego. -Two years later it was visited by Alfonzo -d’Albuquerque; and from time to time other -navigators landed, among them Captain Cook. -Such was its dreary aspect, however, that no one -was induced to settle on it. But ‘Jack’ has -always been famous for his ingenuity, and even -here it did not fail him. In the north-west part -of the island, which affords the best anchorage -for ships, there is a small inlet called Sandy Bay. -One of the rocks near the landing-place contains -a very curious crevice. This was soon christened -‘The Sailors’ Post-office;’ and it became an established -custom to leave letters there, well corked -up in a bottle, which were always taken to their -respective destinations by the first ship bound -thither which happened to call. This seems to -have been the sole use made of the island till -the year 1815, when it was taken possession of -by the English, who erected a fort and placed -a garrison on it soon after the banishment of -Napoleon to St Helena.</p> - -<p>Ascension is situated far out in the Atlantic -Ocean, off the coast of Africa, and eight hundred -miles north-west of St Helena. It is of a triangular -shape, eight miles long, and six broad -at its widest part, with an area of thirty-four -square miles. It is one of the peaks of the submarine -ridge which separates the northern and -southern basins of the Atlantic. Its volcanic -origin is clearly shown by the numerous crevices -and ravines into which its surface is broken, and -which are filled with scoria, pumice-stone, and -other igneous products. The highest peak, called -the Green Mountain, rises to a height of two -thousand eight hundred and seventy feet. From -this the land, on the north, sinks gradually -towards the shore; but on the south it terminates -in bold lofty precipices. Communication with -the shore is frequently rendered dangerous by -the setting in of heavy seas or rollers, which rise -suddenly in the most perfect calm, and break -with tremendous force on the beach. The cause -of this phenomenon is unknown. Only such -plants as required very little water were to be -found. Of these, the tomato, castor-oil plant, -pepper, and Cape gooseberry were the chief. It -was always famed for its turtles, which abound -to such an extent that as many as two thousand -five hundred have been captured in one year. -They are now usually collected into two ponds or -crawls, the water of which is occasionally changed. -They can be obtained only by purchase, any one -taking them on the beach or near the island -being liable to a heavy penalty. Fish abound, -of which the conger-eel is the most prized. -Another indigenous delicacy is the egg of the -tropical swallow, or ‘wide-awake’ as it is called -on the island. They are largely used as an article -of food, ten thousand dozen being frequently -gathered in a week. In addition to the goats -referred to above, the only other useful product -was the wild guinea-fowl, which were found in -considerable numbers.</p> - -<p>Napoleon’s presence, even as a prisoner, in -the island of St Helena determined the English -government to place a garrison on Ascension. -This was in 1815; and for years that garrison -was entirely supported on food and water brought -there at great expense by ships. The death of -the illustrious prisoner in 1821 did away with the -immediate necessity for keeping a garrison there; -but the Admiralty were anxious if possible to -turn the island into a victualling station for the -African squadron. To ascertain the practicability<span class="pagenum" id="Page_348">{348}</span> -of this plan, they appointed Captain -Brandreth, in 1829, to make a thorough survey, -and use every effort to discover water. We can -imagine him diligently examining every portion -of the barren and uninviting rock, long discouraged -by want of success. With indefatigable -zeal, he and his willing workers sank shaft after -shaft in the hope of discovering a spring, however -far down. His strong belief that one did exist was -at length justified. In the Green Mountain, at -a great level from the sea, he found one at a depth -of twenty-five feet which proved to be capable of -supplying all the wants of the island. Large -tanks were at once made and piping laid to the -garrison.</p> - -<p>Having now an abundance of water, the most -vigorous efforts were put forth to bring some of -the land under cultivation. The most promising -parts of the Green Mountain were first -planted; and sheltered spots in other parts of the -island were chosen, and the ground broken up -and irrigated. Recourse was even had to excavating -in the side of the mountain, in order to gain -the desired shelter. The government did all in -their power to insure the success of these -attempts. They sent out a trained head-gardener -from the Kew Gardens, who took the utmost -interest in his work. Great progress was made -with the planting of young trees, shrubs, furze, -grasses, and hardy plants. The Australian wattle -was perhaps the most successful. Holes four -feet wide and three deep were prepared, in which -it was planted in layers. The hardiness and -rapid growth of these may be seen from the fact, -that in twelve months they reached an average -of between six and seven feet in height. Among -the grasses early tried was one kind known by -the name of ‘Para,’ a case of which was sent out -by Sir William Hooker, of the Royal Gardens, -Kew, who always took great interest in the -cultivation of Ascension. This grass succeeded -admirably, increasing in the most astounding -manner, and growing down all weeds and inferior -grasses. In 1861, Captain Bernard was appointed -governor of the island, and by that time the most -thankless part of the task of bringing Ascension -into cultivation had been accomplished. He -displayed, however, the full zeal of his predecessors; -and with the able assistance of Mr Bell, the -head-gardener, accomplished wonders in the next -few years. A scarcity of manure was one great -drawback. This was supplied by using the guano -which was found in large quantities on Boatswain -Bird Island, a small rock that lies off the west -coast of Ascension. This is now largely supplemented -by the manure supplied by the cattle, -the island being able to support a large number -without any imported food. The rapidity with -which sheep fatten on the grass is very satisfactory, -nearly doubling their weight in three -months after importation.</p> - -<p>The island is by no means free from vermin. -The horses and cattle suffer greatly from a fly, -in appearance like the house-fly, but which bites -venomously, and causes intense irritation. The -‘black grub,’ as it is called there, effects great -devastation at times among the plants, and as -yet no practical remedy has been found for its -ravages. The next destructive enemy is the -field-rat, which attacks the root-crops, and feeds -principally on the sweet-potato. Land-crabs, too, -exist in very large numbers, and add to the -destruction. Another animal, the wild-cat, proves -itself an enemy, as it lives on the rabbits, and is -useless as a vermin destroyer. A determined war -is being waged against all these tormentors, a -regular system of trapping having been set on foot. -In one year, fifty-three cats, seven thousand four -hundred rats, and eighty-five thousand one hundred -and fifty land-crabs, were destroyed. The -thorough cultivation of the ground is also being -furthered by the introduction of rooks, minhas, -and other birds that help the farmer. With all -these drawbacks, the island has been brought -step by step from its original barrenness to such -a pleasing condition, that we now have over -thirty-one acres under actual cultivation, producing -among other things, sweet and English -potatoes, cabbage, carrots, pumpkins, and turnips; -pine-apples, bananas, endive, French beans, leeks, -herbs, seedling date-palm, and coffee; sugar-cane, -guavas, oranges, shaddocks, fig bushes, mulberries, -and cuttings of shrubs. There is good pasturage -one thousand acres in extent for cattle, and five -thousand acres for sheep, supporting easily over -forty head of cattle and between seven and eight -hundred sheep. Parts of the island are now well -wooded, and about forty acres are laid out in -fruit-trees and shrubbery. Few brighter monuments -could be pointed out of the success sure -to attend the enterprise and unyielding zeal of -a nation when well and wisely directed.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_MONTH">THE MONTH: -<br /> -SCIENCE AND ARTS.</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr Petrie’s</span> excavations in Upper Egypt, to -which we briefly alluded last month, have already -made considerable progress, and no fewer than -one hundred and forty labourers are busily at -work upon them. To some extent, the discoveries -made possess that peculiar interest which attaches -to the excavations at Pompeii, for they bear -witness to the home-life of a people that lived -many centuries ago. Thus, the walls of the now -exhumed temple have had built upon them at a -remote period various private dwellings. In one -of these, apparently lived an artist, who possibly -was engaged upon the decoration of the temple -itself; his sketch-book and eraser—represented by -a slab of fine limestone and a piece of black emery—have -been found. The limestone is ruled in -squares, just in the same way that a modern artist -will rule his paper preparatory to making a -drawing ‘to scale.’ Other houses seem to have -been used as workshops for a Company of jewellers, -for chips of carnelian, lapis-lazuli, and other valued -stones have been found there, together with waste -metal from copper working. A box filled with -rolls of burned papyri, upon which, however, the -writing is still legible, is considered one of the -most important finds. Mr Petrie is careful to -examine every block of stone and every brick in -search of inscriptions. Every inscription so found -is carefully copied, and every other object of -interest is photographed. The work is evidently -being carried on with both energy and skill.</p> - -<p>Another important archæological discovery has -been made also in Upper Egypt by Professor -Maspero, who has found between Assiout and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_349">{349}</span> -Thebes the hitherto unsuspected site of a vast -necropolis. Five catacombs have been already -opened, and have yielded one hundred and twenty -mummies; and Professor Maspero in a cursory -manner has fixed the positions of more than one -hundred of such sepulchres. We may therefore -conclude that some thousands of embalmed bodies -lie in this old cemetery, many of them probably of -historical interest. In addition to the mummies, -there will also be many treasures, in the shape of -papyri, &c., which experience has taught us to -look for. It seems to be something more than a -fortunate accident that so many ancient peoples -were moved to bury with their dead, relics connected -with the arts or pursuits of the deceased.</p> - -<p>A Canadian correspondent of <i>Nature</i> gives a -curious and interesting account of a phenomenon -often to be seen on Lake Ontario during the prevalence -of cold and stormy weather, such as the -past season has afforded. ‘Ice volcanoes,’ as they -are aptly named, are formed by an uneven strip of -ice accumulating along the shore, on which appear -mounds twenty or thirty feet in height. Many of -these mounds are conical in form, and often have -a crater-like opening, communicating with the -water beneath. In stormy weather, every wave -dashes spray and fragments of ice through this -opening, which congeal upon the sides of the cone -and add to its height; just in the same way that -the fragments of pumice and other material ejected -from a fiery volcano gradually build it up into a -mountain. But the ice volcano soon becomes -extinct, for the crater is gradually clogged up -with ice, and the irruption can no longer find a -vent.</p> - -<p>M. Trouvelet, who for the last nine years has -been engaged in studying and mapping the configuration -of the planet Mars, which, although not -our nearest neighbour in the solar system, is that -most conveniently situated for telescopic observation, -has just presented a Report of his labours -to the French Academy of Sciences. Sir W. -Herschel long ago discovered that the polar patches -of white on Mars increased and decreased in size -in the winter and summer seasons of the planet, -in the same manner as is experienced in the like -regions of our own earth. Other observers have -also mapped out the distant orb into regions of -supposed land and sea, sometimes obscured by -belts of cloud; moreover, the spectroscope has -revealed to us, in its own wonderful way, the -undoubted presence of water upon the planet. -What are believed to be the continents of Mars -are covered with faint grayish spots; and as these -spots change their form and volume with the -changes of the Martial seasons, M. Trouvelet -supposes them to represent masses of vegetation -which grow and die under the same solar -influences which affect our own globe. Every -contribution towards our knowledge of distant -worlds—many of them proved to be so much -greater than our own globe—must always have -a fascinating interest for us.</p> - -<p>The ingenious individual who lately accounted -for the possession of a suspicious amount of -dynamite by the statement that he used it as a -remedy for chapped hands, may be congratulated -upon pointing out a legitimate use for that commodity, -although we trust that the majority of -sufferers from injured cuticle will be content with -glycerine in an uncombined form. Hitherto, -almost the only legally recognised use for the -explosive has been for mining operations, and -without doubt it has in this connection been of -immense service. Attempts to use dynamite for -firearms or artillery have hitherto failed because -the explosive action is so rapid that the strongest -barrel is shattered. Indeed, dynamite was employed -by our naval brigade at the late bombardment -of Alexandria for destroying the guns of a -deserted fort. For such purposes, and for torpedo -warfare, dynamite is invaluable; but hitherto it -has been found impossible to use it in gunnery. -An entirely new form of weapon has, however, -recently been tried with success in the United -States, in which dynamite, although not representing -the propelling force, plays an important -part. The new form of gun consists of a tube -forty feet in length, made rigid by being fixed to a -steel girder. By means of compressed air, a dart-like -projectile charged with dynamite is propelled -with great force from the tube. The weapon -already tried has only a two-inch bore; but with -an air-pressure of four hundred and twenty pounds -on the square inch, a range of a mile and a quarter -is attained. With the four and six inch weapons -now in course of construction, it is believed that, -with increased pressure, a range of three miles will -be possible. The guns can be cheaply made, and -are free from smoke or noise; while their destructive -power must be far greater than those heavy -guns whose shells can only be charged with gunpowder.</p> - -<p>In our own navy, a new form of machine-gun -will be probably supplied to the various ships, -more especially for boat-service. For some time -the Nordenfelt gun has been a service-fitting; -but it is now proposed to introduce a Nordenfelt -of larger calibre, which will fire explosive shells -instead of solid bullets. From recent experiments -at Portsmouth, the new weapon seems to be wonderfully -efficient. For instance, a gun firing a -shell weighing only two pounds was able to send -its projectile through a solid steel plate two inches -thick at a range of three hundred yards. It was -shown, too, that a far larger Nordenfelt, a six-pounder, -could be fired from a boat without -straining it. These destructive weapons can be -fired so rapidly as to deliver from eighteen to -twenty-five shots per minute.</p> - -<p>The <i>Telegraphist</i> newspaper publishes an account -of what must be regarded as a truly marvellous -triumph of electrical communication, before which -Puck’s proposal to ‘put a girdle round the earth -in forty minutes’ seems to be quite a second-rate -achievement. A correspondent of the paper -in question visited the office of the Indo-European -Telegraph Company by invitation, in order to -note how good signalling could be maintained -over thousands of miles of wire. First, a few -words of conversation were exchanged with the -telegraphist of a German town. The wire was -next connected with Odessa, and next with the -Persian capital (Teheran). In a few more minutes -the experimenters in London were talking with -the clerk in charge at Kurrachee; next they had -a chat with a gentleman at Agra; and as a final -triumph of science, the line was made direct -between London and Calcutta, a distance of seven -thousand miles. It is said that the signals were -excellent, and the speed attained about thirteen -words per minute.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_350">{350}</span></p> - -<p>In a recent lecture upon gas-lighting, Mr -Thomas Fletcher pointed out that blackened ceilings -and darkened picture-frames are not due to -smoke from the gas-burners, but are caused by -floating particles of dust being caught in the flame -and thrown against the ceiling. It is easily proved, -by holding a glass tumbler for a few seconds over -a flame, that water is one of the products of combustion -of gas. This water condenses upon a cold -ceiling when the gas in a room is first lighted, -so that the burnt particles of dust readily adhere -to the flat surface. The servant who lights the -gas on a dark morning before she proceeds to -sweep and dust the room does practically all the -smoking of the ceiling that takes place.</p> - -<p>That unfortunate commercial experiment, but -marvellous triumph of engineering skill, the -<i>Great Eastern</i> steamship, will shortly proceed to -Gibraltar to take up her position in the harbour -as a coal-hulk. The gigantic paddles with their -engines will be removed, leaving the screw propeller -only to carry the ship to her last berth. -The Admiralty authorities look with much favour -upon the scheme, for the immense ship will -supersede a number of small coal-hulks which -now encumber the harbour, and are a source of -much inconvenience to other vessels. We are glad -that a use has been found for the unwieldy vessel, -whose only serviceable work has been as the layer -of the first Atlantic cables. She was far too big -to be profitably worked, and has for many years -been lying idle. Her new vocation, although -of a lowly kind, is at anyrate better than -pauperism.</p> - -<p>A new motor, called a ‘Triple Thermic Motor,’ -has, it is said, been in use in New York for the -past seven months driving a sixty horse-power -engine. Heat is generated by a fifteen horse-power -boiler, and the steam thus raised is carried -to a receptacle containing carbon disulphide, -which passes into vapour at one hundred and -eighteen degrees Fahrenheit. An engineer, in -reporting upon this new contrivance, says that -the fifteen horse-power boiler with very little -fire under it generates steam, which operates the -motor, which in turn runs the sixty horse-power -engine. These seem to be all the particulars -published; and it would be interesting to have -details of the motor, if it be really as successful -as reported. There are one or two difficulties to -surmount in the employment of carbon disulphide. -It has a most disagreeable and penetrating odour; -its vapour is highly inflammable; and lastly, it is -by no means cheap.</p> - -<p>Some interesting particulars of the American -lead-pencil trade have recently been published. -With the improved machinery now in use, it is -possible for ten men to turn out four thousand -pencils a day. The cedar comes from Florida in -slabs cut to pencil-length. Four parallel grooves -are sawn in each little slab, each groove being -destined to hold the lead, or rather graphite. The -so-called leads are kept in hot glue, and after -being inserted in the grooves, are covered over -with a thin slab of cedar, also glued; then the -whole is passed through a moulding-machine, -and comes out at the other side in the form of -four finished pencils. The graphite is mixed with -a variable amount of white clay—the greater the -proportion of clay the harder the pencil—and is -ground with moisture into a paste. The paste -is pressed into dies, and is baked at a high -temperature.</p> - -<p>The recent outbreak of smallpox in London -reminds us that we have not yet succeeded in -stamping out this loathsome disease, although -the practice of vaccination has checked it to a -wonderful extent. Anti-vaccination agitators are -very fond of pointing to the circumstance that -many persons who have been apparently successfully -vaccinated in childhood are in after-years -attacked with smallpox. This is perfectly true; -and statistics are available which show that in -the years between 1871 and 1881 nearly eighteen -thousand such cases were treated in the London -hospitals. But the popular agitator abstains from -pointing out that in ninety per cent. of these -cases the sufferers were above ten years of age. -These figures prove, in fact, what has been long -ago acknowledged, that vaccination does not afford -permanent protection. When a child reaches -adult age, revaccination should take place. In -our smallpox hospitals, the nurses and attendants -enjoy complete immunity from infection by taking -care to adopt this precaution; and all persons, for -the general good of the community at large, would -do well to submit to the trifling inconvenience -which the operation entails.</p> - -<p>The Isthmus of Corinth Canal, a scheme which -was promoted originally so far back as the time -of the emperor Nero, is now almost an accomplished -fact. The dredging operations at the -approaches to the canal proceed very rapidly, -for about five thousand cubic metres of soil and -sand are removed every twenty-four hours. There -are large numbers of workmen employed also on -the central portions of the channel, and they -have the help of railway and plant for the conveyance -of material. A new town, called Isthmia, -has sprung into being, and it contains some two -hundred houses and stores.</p> - -<p>‘The Rivers Congo and Niger viewed as -Entrances for the Introduction of Civilisation -into Mid-Africa,’ was the title of a paper lately -read before the Society of Arts by Mr R. Capper, -Lloyd’s agent for the district of the Congo. The -lecturer stated that within the past five years, -the western African trade has quadrupled in value. -Twelve years ago there were but four English -houses, one French, and one Dutch, trading up -the Congo. There are now upon the river’s -banks forty-nine European factories, and the -imports and exports are valued at two millions -sterling. Mr Capper pointed out that the great -value of these rivers lies in the possibility of -connecting them with future railways. Such -railways could be easily laid, for the interior of -Africa is one vast tableland. A railway across -the Desert of Sahara would turn a perilous -journey of four months into one of twenty-four -hours. By such means the interior slave-trade -would be annihilated.</p> - -<p>Boring in the earth for water is an operation -often attended by great uncertainty. Some few -years ago in the heart of London a firm of brewers -bored to a depth of several hundred yards without -tapping the precious fluid, and the expensive well -had to be abandoned. Quite recently, at Burton-on-Trent -a similar failure occurred upon a far -smaller scale. When the operators had pierced -to a depth of one hundred and seventy-six feet -without finding water, they called in the advice<span class="pagenum" id="Page_351">{351}</span> -of some experienced artesian-well engineers, who -recommended the abandonment of the works, and -the commencement of a fresh bore upon a site -which they selected two hundred yards away. At -a depth of only one hundred and fourteen feet, -a copious supply of water was found, yielding, -in fact, between five and six thousand gallons per -hour. It is remarkable that the sites of both -bores were at the same level.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="OCCASIONAL_NOTES">OCCASIONAL NOTES.</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>THE RECENT EARTHQUAKE IN ENGLAND.</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">During</span> the past few years, there have been -recorded, unhappily, an unusual number of earthquakes -in various parts of the world; and many -thousands of lives have been lost by those terrible -convulsions of nature. Inhabitants of Britain, -although constant in their complaints of fog, -inclement seasons, and other meteorological inconveniences, -have hitherto congratulated themselves -upon living in a country which is exempt from -volcanic phenomena, and in which earthquakes -seemed to be things of a past era. These comfortable -reflections were suddenly dispelled on the -morning of the 22d of April, when over a large -tract of country in Southern England a shock of -great severity occurred. In the town of Colchester, -and many villages eastward of it, the destruction -of houses was very great. Many were entirely -unroofed; and in some villages, as the writer can -testify from personal observation, it was the exception -to note a dwelling in which the chimney-stacks -had not been demolished. Providentially, -no lives were lost, although several narrow escapes -have been recorded. The damage is estimated -to amount to several thousand pounds, and unfortunately -the sufferers are as a rule very poor -cottagers, who are unable to bear the expense of -the necessary repairs. For their relief, a subscription -has been set on foot under the auspices -of the Lord Mayor, and there is little doubt that -sufficient money will be readily forthcoming for -their needs.</p> - -<p>The occurrence of such a rare phenomenon in -the British Isles—not quite so rare, by the -way, as some people imagine, for nearly three -hundred shocks have been actually recorded—has -caused an immense amount of earthquake lore -to be unearthed and published in the various -newspapers. From <i>Iron</i> we have an interesting -account of the way in which luminous paint is -utilised in connection with earthquake alarms in -countries where such visitations are prevalent. -We are informed that large consignments of the -paint are sent to such places, and that the material -is employed in the following manner. Small -metallic plates covered with the paint are fixed on -the doorposts of the different rooms, so that at -the first alarm—and happily there is often a premonitory -warning of something more serious to -follow—the inmates of the houses can readily find -their way outside. In Manila, the paint is laid -in patches about the staircases, door-handles, and -various points of egress. A light which gives off -neither fire nor heat is of the greatest value in -such situations, where any other form of light -would be apt to add its quota of disaster to the -dangers to life, already too prominent.</p> - - -<h3>IMPROVED ELECTRIC LIGHTING FOR SHIPS.</h3> - -<p>Mr J. D. F. Andrews, Woodside Electric Works, -Glasgow, has lighted with electricity, after a new -fashion, the North German Lloyd <span class="allsmcap">S.S.</span> <i>Ems</i>. The -system, which includes over three hundred and -twenty incandescent lamps and a masthead arc -lamp, presents some features of a novel and -important character. In the case of the small -lights, Swan’s lamps and Siemen’s machines are -employed. The wires are all completely hidden, -but they are nevertheless arranged in such a way -that they can be easily reached when necessary. -For these lamps there is provided a new style -of holder, which is at once simple and efficient. -Each lamp has its own switch, which is entirely -of metal; and it is provided with a lead-wire, -which fuses in the event of the current being -too strong. In the case of every set of about -twenty lamps there is another switch, so that the -lights can be turned on and off in groups as well -as individually; and another lead-wire, so that -the leading wires may be protected from too -strong a current. The whole system is such as -to preclude the possibility of fire. Duplicate -machines are fitted up to guard against any breakdown, -and either of them can be started or stopped -without interfering with the engine which drives -them. The masthead arc lamp, of which Mr -Andrews is the inventor, is here brought into -requisition for the first time. It has about five -thousand candle-power concentrated in a single -beam of light, that can be moved in any direction -forward of the ship. In construction it is -extremely simple, consisting merely of a cylinder -and piston, the former being an electrical coil of -wire. The illuminating power of the lamp is so -great that by means of it an object half a mile -away can be clearly distinguished by the naked -eye on a dark night.</p> - - -<h3>DUTCH RUSH.</h3> - -<p>‘Many years ago,’ says Mr W. Mathieu Williams, -in the <i>Gentleman’s Magazine</i> for March, ‘when the -electrotype process was a novelty, I devoted a -considerable amount of time and attention to -the reproduction of medallions and other plaster-casts -in copper by electro deposition. This -brought me in contact with many of those worthy -and industrious immigrants from Bagni di Lucca -(between Lucca and Pisa), who form a large section -of the Italian colony of Leather Lane and its -surroundings. These Lucchesi are the image-makers -and image-sellers, and general workers -in plaster of Paris. Among other useful lessons -I learned from them was the use of the so-called -Dutch rushes, which are the dried stems of one -of the most abundant species of the equisetum -(<i>Equisetum hyemale</i>) or “horse-tail,” which grows -on wet ground in this country and Holland. It -is well known to practical agriculturists as a tell-tale, -indicating want of drainage.</p> - -<p>‘Plaster-casts are made by pouring plaster of -Paris, mixed to a creamy consistence with water, -into a mould made of many pieces, which pieces -are again held together in an outer or “case-mould” -of two or three pieces. When the mould is -removed piece by piece, fine ridges stand up on -the cast where the plaster has flowed between -these pieces. These ridges are removed by rubbing -them obliquely with the surface of the stem<span class="pagenum" id="Page_352">{352}</span> -of the dried equisetum. It cuts away the plaster as -rapidly as a file, but without leaving any visible -file-marks. The surface left is much smoother -than from fine emery or glass-paper, and the rush -does not clog nearly so fast as the paper.</p> - -<p>‘In order to find the explanation of this, I carefully -burned some small pieces of the equisetum -stem, mounted the unbroken ash on microscope -slides with Canada balsam, and examined its -structure. This displayed a flinty cuticle, a scale-armour -made up of plates of silica, each plate -interlocking with its neighbours by means of -beautifully regular angular teeth, forming myriads -of microscopic saw-blades, which become loosened -from each other and crumpled up in drying, and -thus present their teeth obliquely to the surface. -These teeth supply the image-maker with a file -of exquisite fineness, and harder than the best -Sheffield steel. Their comparative freedom from -clogging I think must be due to their loose aggregation -while held by the dried and shrivelled -woody tissue of the sub-cuticle.</p> - -<p>‘This natural file is used for other purposes, -such as the polishing of ivory, hard woods, and -metal, but is only understood in certain obscure -industrial corners. I here commend it to the -attention of my readers, because I have just discovered -a new use for it. Like many others, I -have been occasionally troubled by minute irregularities -of the teeth, lacerating the tongue, and -producing small ulcerations, which, I am told, -are dangerous to those who have passed middle -age, being provocative of cancer. A friendly -dentist has ground down the offending projections -with his emery-wheel, and thus supplied -relief. But in course of time other sharp angles -have stood forth, but so trivial that I felt ashamed -of visiting the torture-chamber for their removal. -I tried emery paper; but it was ineffectual and -unpleasant, as the emery rubbed off. Then I -tried the Dutch rush, rubbing its surface crosswise -and obliquely against the offending angles. -The success was complete, both grinding down -and smoothing being effected by one and the -same operation.’</p> - - -<h3>LIGHTNING-STROKES IN FRANCE.</h3> - -<p>M. Cochery, the French Minister of Posts and -Telegraphs, has presented to the French Academy -of Sciences a Report on the lightning-strokes in -France during the last half of 1883. During -the month of July there were no fewer than -one hundred and forty-three strokes in France, -thirty of these occurring on the 10th, and thirty-two -on the 3d. Seven men, four women, a -young girl, and a child were killed by these -strokes, and over forty persons were injured, -including ten men who were affected by the same -flash, which struck a plane-tree in their neighbourhood. -Nine horses were also injured by the -flash in question, which happened at Castres, in -the department of Tarn, at 9.15 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> on July 4. -The same storm also killed a woman at Castres, -three-quarters of an hour earlier. The total -number of animals killed during July was fifty-seven, -including a calf, two horses, three sheep, -one goat, one dog, and one chicken; while fourteen -cows, eleven horses, one dog, and a goose -were injured. In general, the strokes were -attracted by poplar-trees, or masts, chimneys, and -steeples, as well as elm, oak, and fir trees. The -stems and points of lightning-rods have also been -struck, the latter being fused, and the former -heated red-hot. The wire used to support vines -has also drawn the stroke. In the majority of -cases, rain, often abundant, attended the discharge. -In August there were only nine strokes, as compared -with one hundred and forty-three in July; -six persons were killed, and two bulls were injured. -In September there were fourteen strokes, killing -four persons and six animals, and injuring ten -persons in all. In October there was only one -stroke, on the 16th (4 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>), at Castellane, in the -Basses-Alpes. In November and December there -are no strokes recorded.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="ONLY_COUSINS_DONT_YOU_SEE">‘ONLY COUSINS, DON’T YOU SEE?’</h2> -</div> - - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0"><span class="smcap">Charming</span> cousin, tell me where</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Shall I find one half so fair?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Let me, as I taste thy lip,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Swear how sweet is cousinship.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Like a sister? Yes, no doubt;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Still, not sister out and out.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Who that ever had a sister,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Felt his heart beat when he kissed her?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Who by looking ever knew</div> - <div class="verse indent0">That his sister’s eyes were blue?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Who in name of all the loves</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Bets his sister pairs of gloves?</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Charming cousin, still are you</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Sister in a measure too.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We can act as pleases us,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">No one thinks it dangerous;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Talk of love or of the weather,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Row or ride or read together,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Wander where we will alone,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Careless of a chaperon.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You may dance with none but me—</div> - <div class="verse indent0">‘Only cousins, don’t you see?’</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Cousins safely may forget</div> - <div class="verse indent0">All the laws of etiquette.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Charming cousin, in your eyes</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I can read a faint surprise;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Most bewitchingly they glisten</div> - <div class="verse indent0">To my nonsense as they listen;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">‘What can Harry mean to say?’</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You may come to know some day.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Just one word, sweet cousin mine,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Ere we go to dress and dine:</div> - <div class="verse indent0">If I ever chance to woo,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Cousin, she must be like you,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And the one who comes the nearest</div> - <div class="verse indent0">To yourself will be the dearest;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Type of what my love must be,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Cousin, what if you are she?</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">J. Williams.</span></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p>The Conductor of <span class="smcap">Chambers’s Journal</span> begs to direct -the attention of <span class="smcap">Contributors</span> to the following notice:</p> - -<div class="blockquot_ans"> - -<p><i>1st.</i> All communications should be addressed to the -‘Editor, 339 High Street, Edinburgh.’</p> - -<p><i>2d.</i> For its return in case of ineligibility, postage-stamps -should accompany every manuscript.</p> - -<p><i>3d.</i> <span class="smcap">Manuscripts</span> should bear the author’s full <i>Christian</i> -name, Surname, and Address, legibly written; and -should be written on white (not blue) paper, and on -one side of the leaf only.</p> - -<p><i>4th.</i> Offerings of Verse should invariably be accompanied -by a stamped and directed envelope.</p> -</div> - -<p><i>If the above rules are complied with, the Editor will -do his best to insure the safe return of ineligible papers.</i></p> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="center">Printed and Published by <span class="smcap">W. & R. Chambers</span>, 47 Paternoster -Row, <span class="smcap">London</span>, and 339 High Street, <span class="smcap">Edinburgh</span>.</p> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="center"><i>All Rights Reserved.</i></p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL OF POPULAR LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART, FIFTH SERIES, NO. 22, VOL. I, MAY 31, 1884 ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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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