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diff --git a/old/66236-0.txt b/old/66236-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2cbc276..0000000 --- a/old/66236-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2187 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, -Science, and Art, Fifth Series, No. 37, Vol. I, September 13, 1884, by -Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, - Fifth Series, No. 37, Vol. I, September 13, 1884 - -Author: Various - -Editor: Robert Chambers - -Release Date: September 7, 2021 [eBook #66236] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -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) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL OF POPULAR -LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART, FIFTH SERIES, NO. 37, VOL. I, SEPTEMBER 13, -1884 *** - - - - -[Illustration: - -CHAMBERS’S JOURNAL - -OF - -POPULAR - -LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART - -Fifth Series - -ESTABLISHED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, 1832 - -CONDUCTED BY R. CHAMBERS (SECUNDUS) - -NO. 37.—VOL. I. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1884. PRICE 1½ _d._] - - - - -JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES AND ‘LIMITED LIABILITY.’ - - -Readers of newspapers must have frequently observed in the advertising -columns of most of the daily journals lengthy prospectuses setting -forth in roseate terms the why and the wherefore of various public -Companies. These prospectuses are published with the view of inducing -investors, or those having capital at command, to embark money in -the projected undertakings, the majority of which are new ventures, -formed, perhaps, to work a tin or silver mine; to manufacture some -patented article; to advance money on land and house property; to -conduct banking or insurance business; to construct tramways; to rear -and sell cattle on some prairie of the Far West; or some other of -the hundred-and-one openings that present themselves for commercial -dealings. Indeed, there is no end to the variety of objects that may -be selected as fitting media for joint-stock enterprise. The titles -of the Companies bear the word ‘Limited’ tacked on to them. It is the -purpose of this article to explain the meaning of the term, and at the -same time give a slight general exposition of the law affecting such -joint-stock Companies. - -A Company of the nature indicated above is simply an association or -partnership entered into by a number of individuals—not fewer than -seven—who take shares, not necessarily in equal proportions, in the -joint-stock of the concern, the main object being the proportionate -division of possible profits. When the joint agreement complies with -the obligations laid down by statute, and is registered according to -law, the subscribers become a corporation, and their Company has a -common seal and ‘perpetual succession,’ to use a legal expression. It -is only recently, comparatively speaking, that joint-stock Companies -have existed in large numbers. Formerly, the formation of a Company -was a difficult and costly operation, as a Royal Charter had to be -specially obtained, or an Act of Parliament passed for the purpose. -In the year 1844, however, an Act came into force which enabled -joint-stock Companies to become incorporated by registering in a -particular way, after certain preliminaries had been gone through. -Still the manner of proceeding was inconvenient, and something simpler -was urgently required. Business men and investors wanted greater -facilities for launching joint-stock enterprises, and for the risking -of a certain sum of money, and no more, in such concerns, thereby -setting a limit to their liability. According to the old law of -partnership, each and every member of a corporation or Company was -liable to the utmost extent of his means for the liabilities that -might have been contracted on behalf of the undertaking. A recent and -peculiarly disastrous instance of this occurred in the ruinous downfall -of the City of Glasgow Bank, which with its collapse brought beggary to -families innumerable, the various shareholders being liable to their -last farthing for the enormous load of debt due by the bank at the time -of the crash. - -What is now known as ‘limited liability’ was first introduced in -1855, parliament having slowly moved in the matter, and passed an Act -formulating the principle. It was, however, in the year following -that ‘limited liability’ was placed on a firm footing, the previous -Act being repealed, and a new one passed, which likewise embodied -procedure for what is called the ‘winding-up’ or dissolution of -Companies. Various laws affecting the constitution and proceedings of -joint-stock corporations had been passed previously and in addition -to those mentioned above; but there being much confusion, through -the many separate statutes, a successful attempt was made in 1862 -to consolidate the various laws, and ‘The Companies’ Act’ was then -passed. This statute is now the recognised code applicable to the -joint-stock Companies of the United Kingdom; and new Companies, with -few exceptions, are incorporated under its provisions. This general -Act also enabled Companies then existent to register themselves under -the new order of things. It may not be generally known that this -statute prohibits the formation of partnerships exceeding a given -number of partners, unless such associations are incorporated under -the provisions of the Act, or by a special Act of Parliament, or by -letters-patent—modes so unusual that they may be almost laid out of -consideration. It would thus appear that partnerships of individuals -in excess of the number set down by law and not incorporated, are -illegal. As already stated, a Company must have not fewer than seven -shareholders; and not more than twenty people can enter into a business -with the object of gaining money, unless legally incorporated, though -exceptions are made if the business be mining within the jurisdiction -of the Court of Stannaries. The term ‘stannaries’ refers to the tin -mines and works of Devon and Cornwall. If the business be that of -banking, the number of persons is restricted to ten. One essential -feature of joint-stock investment is that the shares therein may be -transferred by any member holding them without the consent of the other -shareholders, unless, of course, the rules of the particular Company -provide otherwise. Now, in ordinary partnerships, a partner must obtain -the consent of his fellow-partners before disposing of his interest in -the concern. - -All joint-stock Companies, even at the present time, are not -incorporated under the Act of 1862. When the object of a proposed -undertaking is a great public work, such as the construction of a -line of railway, canal or water works, and when compulsory powers -are required to purchase land, it is usual to obtain a special Act -of Parliament in order to establish the Company and regulate its -proceedings. As of old, such an endeavour is difficult and, as a rule, -costly to carry through successfully. Difficult from the fact that -most schemes of supposed public utility are sure to have a host of -opponents, who fight the matter inch by inch. Costly, too, because, -if a private bill is opposed in its passage through the Committees of -the Houses of Parliament, counsel—who require enormous fees—have to be -engaged to defend the interests of the promoters; witnesses to give -evidence as to the necessity for the line of railway, water-works, or -whatever it may happen to be, have to be sent to London and kept there -at much expense; and the solicitors who distribute the expenses retain -always a considerable share for themselves. It must not be forgotten, -too, that newspapers share to a certain extent in the spoil, as the -long parliamentary notices of private bills which appear generally -during the month of November in each year have to be paid for at a -goodly rate. - -After the Act of 1862 became law, a great number of Companies were -originated, and each year sees them increasing, though the financial -panic of 1866 was a great check to the promoters of such concerns, -and a caution to enthusiastic believers in them. As may be supposed, -Great Britain is foremost in this mode of investment; though several -continental countries, notably France and the Netherlands, possess many -commercial associations based on the plan of limited liability. In the -United States, also, the method of limited responsibility has been long -adopted. The evil experiences of the ‘black year’ of 1866 resulted in -the passing of a short Act of Parliament in 1867, amending in some -degree that of 1862, and affording a certain amount of protection to -intending shareholders. These have been supplemented by other Acts, -the latest of which passed in 1880. It is far from creditable to our -commercial morality that many Companies started of late years have -proved to be worthless bubbles, profitable only to their promoters and -wire-pullers, and ruinous to the luckless investors. The legislature -protects the pockets of the public to some extent; but it remains for -intending shareholders in joint-stock Companies to aid themselves, by -first inquiring thoroughly into the merits of the undertaking into -which they propose embarking capital, and believing nothing that is not -put before them in clear, definite, unambiguous language. - -Limited liability may be attained in two ways. The shareholders of a -Company can limit their liability either to the amount not paid up on -their shares—if there be any so unpaid—or to such sum as each may agree -to contribute to the assets of the Company, if it should require to -be wound up. In other words, the liability may be limited by shares -or limited by guarantee. Most Companies are limited by shares. By -this it is meant that a shareholder is liable to be called upon to -pay, if required, a sum of money regulated by the shares he holds. -Once the amount is paid, his liability is at an end, and he need not -pay a farthing more, however great the liabilities of the concern may -be. To put the matter on a plainer footing. If A B, a supposititious -shareholder, take a hundred shares in a limited Company, which has, -say, a capital of fifty thousand pounds in ten thousand shares of five -pounds each, he of course risks five hundred pounds in the concern, -and no more. The whole amount may not be paid up at once; but he is -required to make good the sum, should it be wanted. The usual plan in -applying for shares in a new Company with a share capital as indicated -above is to pay a portion—say ten shillings per share—on application, -other ten shillings on allotment, and the remainder of the five pounds -by calls of perhaps one pound each at intervals of probably three -months. However, the division of the payments depends greatly on the -nature of the undertaking; some Companies can be worked at first with a -comparatively small portion of the stated capital. If A B has only paid -two pounds per share, and the Company in which he is a part-proprietor -should unfortunately require to be wound up, he is liable to be called -upon by the liquidator in charge of the winding-up to pay the remaining -amount, so as to make his shares fully paid up. When the liability -is by guarantee, each member of the Company undertakes, in the event -of the concern being dissolved, to contribute a fixed sum towards -the assets and the winding-up expenses. This sum being fixed at the -formation of the Company, each member knows the utmost sum he will have -to contribute, should it prove a failure and liquidation be resorted -to. Some financiers think the latter plan of limited liability the -better of the two. In Companies constituted in the ordinary manner, it -is common to find that all the capital has been called-up, so that if -the evil day does arrive, and creditors, growing clamorous, institute -proceedings for winding-up, they may find the original capital -dissipated and nothing left to satisfy their demands, save, possibly, a -worked-out mine and a quantity of old-fashioned or worthless machinery. -Now, under the guarantee system there is always a fund, more or less -great, available for the payment of liabilities; and this fund cannot -be handled by directors or officials, but must remain intact, to be -used for its destined purpose. From the creditors’ point of view, this -is highly satisfactory; but the guarantee system is not likely to -recommend itself to shareholders where capital is required to carry on -the business. - -When a Company is to be started, the first step is the drawing-up -of a Memorandum of Association. This document details the name of -the Company, its registered office, the objects of the undertaking, -whatever they may be, the manner of liability, the amount of capital, -and how it is to be divided into shares. Then the persons—not fewer -than seven—who are desirous of forming themselves into a Company -subscribe their names, stating the number of shares they agree to take. -All the law requires them to take is one share each, so that a Company -with a very large nominal capital of one-pound shares might begin and -perhaps carry on operations with a real capital of seven pounds only, -represented by the seven shares issued to the original septet forming -the Company. The fixing of a title is comparatively easy, though, of -course, it must not clash with that of any existing corporation. Once -named, it is seldom that a Company changes its cognomen; still, if -desirous of doing so, there are provisions in the Act for enabling -this to be done. The registered office of the Company demands some -explanation. A registered office of a joint-stock Company may be termed -its house or domicile, where legal documents may be served, where the -books required by Act of Parliament are kept, and where the association -is to be found ‘in the body,’ so to speak. The place of business or -works of the Company may be elsewhere—Timbuctoo, Colorado, or anywhere -else, if the Company’s sphere of operations be foreign; but the -registered office must be in Great Britain, that is, if the corporation -is one of British origin. It may be noted that once the office is fixed -in any one part of the United Kingdom—England, for example—it cannot be -shifted to Scotland or Ireland, though it may be removed to any other -place in England. The same rule applies to Scotland and Ireland. Thus, -if the office of a Scotch Company be registered as being at Dundee, it -could not legally be changed to Carlisle; though it could be removed, -should occasion require, to Wick or Edinburgh, or to any other city or -town in Scotland. - -When the Memorandum of Association is properly settled, it is necessary -to consider whether the Company should be registered with Articles -of Association or without them. These Articles are the rules and -regulations for the management of the Company, the issuing of shares, -the holding of meetings, the auditing of books and accounts, and -such-like necessary business. Unlimited Companies, and also those -limited by guarantee, cannot be registered without special Articles of -Association; but for the ordinary class of Companies—that is, those -limited by shares—the Act gives a form of Articles which may be adopted -by promoters in whole or in part or not at all, and with or without -special articles in addition. If these are not adopted, it is necessary -to have special Articles for the guidance of the business. After the -Memorandum and Articles have been duly signed and witnessed, they are -next stamped and taken to the Registrar of Joint-stock Companies. -If the registered office is in England and Wales, the Registrar at -Somerset House, London, is the proper official to apply to; if in -Scotland or Ireland, then the respective Registrars at Edinburgh and -Dublin take the matter in hand. Should everything be in due legal form, -a certificate of registration is issued, and the Company becomes a -corporation. - -A Company may begin business as soon as it is registered; but this is -not usual, as it is seldom that a sufficient number of shares have -been subscribed to afford the requisite capital. To procure this, -either before or after registration, the promoters issue a prospectus, -stating the objects and prospects of the undertaking, and inviting -investors to become shareholders in the Company. It may be taken for -granted that the objects and intentions of the Company are set forth in -very captivating style, and that the best face is put on the matter, -so that those having capital at command and on the outlook for media -for investment may be induced to subscribe. The great vehicle for -giving publicity to these prospectuses is the daily and weekly press, -though thousands of them, printed in quarto or folio, are sent through -the post to the private addresses of well-to-do persons throughout -the country. If the advertising has had due effect, and a sufficient -subscription has been obtained, the directors hold a meeting and -proceed to allot shares. Of course, it is not always the case that the -shares are subscribed by the public; in fact it is a matter of chance -whether they are ‘taken up’ or not. In the case of a failure of this -kind, it is said then that the Company has failed to ‘float,’ and the -heavy preliminary expenses thus fall upon the originators. In allotting -shares to subscribers, the directors may accept or reject applications, -or allot a smaller number of shares than that applied for; and they -are not compelled to allot in proportion to the applicants. Thus A B -may get the hundred shares he wanted; while X Y, who likewise desired -one hundred shares, only has fifty put down to his name. All these -preliminary matters being fairly and squarely gone through, the Company -can then proceed to business, though there are various forms to be -complied with, the description of which scarcely comes within the scope -of the present article. - -The beginning of the ‘last scene of all, that ends, or may end, this -strange eventful history,’ is the winding-up proceedings. A joint-stock -Company once formed, can only be dissolved by means of ‘winding-up.’ -The general grounds for winding-up may be stated as follows: whenever -the Company passes a special resolution to that effect—whenever -business is not commenced within a year from the incorporation of -the Company, or when business is suspended for one year—whenever the -members are reduced below the legal number of seven—whenever the -Company is unable to pay its lawful debts—and lastly, whenever the -Court deems it just and equitable that the Company should be wound-up. -The liquidating or winding-up is generally a tedious process; but it -will not be necessary to detail here the varied forms of procedure -which come under that head. What has been here set down is simply -the A B C of the subject, the varied ramifications of which cover a -deal of ground, and occasionally run into many dark thickets, some -of them dangerous to creditors, some to directors, but nearly all to -shareholders. These last ought always to walk warily, and never, if -possible, without full knowledge and the best procurable advice of -stockbrokers, bankers, lawyers, and others versed in the mysteries and -risks of speculation, whether ‘limited’ or otherwise. - - - - -BY MEAD AND STREAM. - - -CHAPTER XLVI.—DOWNHILL. - -After that dumb leave-taking of Madge at the station, Philip returned -to his chambers, passing through the human torrent of Cheapside -without any sense of sound, touch, or feeling. The room in which she -had so lately stood looked desolate somehow; and yet her visit was -like an ill-remembered dream. Only the plaintive voice with the faint -‘Good-bye’ haunted his ears. The sound was still in them, move where he -would. - -He tried to shake off the stupor which had fastened upon him as the -natural result of narcotics, overstrained nerves, and want of sleep. -One clear idea remained to him: so far as Madge was concerned, he had -acted as a man ought to act in his circumstances. Dick Crawshay would -speedily satisfy her on that score. There was a tinge of bitterness in -this reflection; and the bitterness brought a gleam of light, although -not sufficient yet to dispel the confused shadows of his brain. It -sufficed, however, to make him aware that it was Wrentham’s vague -whisperings about Beecham, and Madge’s strange association with that -person, which had urged him to act so harshly. For after all, there -was no reason why he should not work his way out of the mess and win -sufficient means to make Madge content, however far the position might -be below that in which he would like to place her. But the haunting -voice echoed its ‘Good-bye,’ and it seemed as if he had put away the -love which might have sustained him in this time of trial. ‘What a -fool, what a fool!’ And he paced the floor restlessly, repeating that -melancholy confession. - -He wished Wrentham would come back, so that he might discuss the state -of affairs again, and obtain explanations of certain items in the -accounts he had gone over during the night. There he was at last, and -something particular must have happened to make him knock so violently. - -He threw open the door, and Mr Shield entered in his hurried blustering -way, bringing with him a mixed aroma of brandy and gin. His bushy beard -and whiskers were tangled, and his somewhat bloodshot eyes stared -fiercely into space. - -‘Pretty mess—horrible mess,’ he muttered in his jerky manner, as he -forced his way into the room and flung his huge form on the couch; ‘and -I can’t get you out of it. I’m in a mess too.’ - -The surprise at the appearance of Shield, his rough manner, and the -announcement he made, roused Philip most effectually from his own -morbid broodings. - -‘You in a mess, sir—I do not understand.’ In his bewilderment, he -omitted the welcome which he would have given at any other time, and -did not even express surprise that Shield should have answered his -letter in person. - -‘You’ll get it into your head quick enough.—Give me a drink -first—brandy, if you have it. Take a cigar. They’re first-rate. Drink, -smoke, and I’ll tell you.’ - -He threw a huge cigar on the table, and lit one himself in a furious -way. But, in spite of his rough reckless manner, he was watching Philip -narrowly from under his heavy eyebrows. Philip having mechanically -placed a bottle and glass on the table, stood waiting explanations. - -‘Light up.’ (The command was obeyed slowly.) ‘Give us soda.... Ah, -that’s better. Take some—you’ll want it to keep your courage up.’ - -‘Not at present, thank you. I should be glad if you would tell me -at once the meaning of your strange statement that you too are in -difficulties. That fact makes my loss of your money so much the worse.’ - -‘It’s bad—bad. Easily told. Think of me doing it! Got into a bogus -thing—lost every available penny I had. That’s why there is no help for -you.’ - -Mr Shield did not look like a person who had fallen from the height of -fortune to the depth of poverty. He drank and smoked as one indifferent -to the severest buffets of fate. - -‘Gracious powers—you cannot be serious!’ ejaculated Philip. - -‘Fact, all the same. Not ruin exactly; but not a brass farthing to come -to me for a year or more.’ - -Philip paced the floor in agitation, unable to realise immediately the -horrible calamity which had befallen his uncle. But the severity of the -shock had the effect of rousing him to new life and vigour. All his -misfortunes dwindled to pettiness beside those of his benefactor. He -stopped before him, calm, and with an expression of firmness to which -the lines made by recent calamities added strength. There was no more -wildness in the eyes; he had suddenly grown old. - -‘I understand, Mr Shield, that your present position is no better than -my own?’ he said slowly. - -‘Not much—maybe worse.’ - -‘It shall not be worse, for whatever I can gain by any labour or skill -is yours.’ - -‘So?’ grunted Shield as he drank and stared at the man through clouds -of smoke. - -‘Yes, my course is plain,’ Philip went on deliberately; ‘we must sell -the works and material for what they will fetch; they ought to fetch -more than enough to clear off the debts.’ - -‘Well?’ - -‘I believed—and still believe—that if you had been able to make the -necessary advances, we could have carried the scheme to a successful -issue, notwithstanding my blunders. My first mistake was in beginning -on too big a scale. That cannot be helped. Now we have to look the ruin -straight in the face, and whatever work can do to make you feel your -losses less, it shall be done.’ - -‘Don’t see how it’s to be done,’ muttered Shield, as if finding a -difficulty somewhere. - -‘We’ll try our best at anyrate; and you will believe, Mr Shield, that -I should never have touched the money, if there had ever occurred to -me a suspicion that you might some day feel the loss of it. You will -remember that I always understood your wealth to be almost unlimited.’ - -‘_My_ wealth never was, and isn’t likely to be. Been a mighty fall in -diamonds lately.’ - -‘Well, I understood so.’ (The emphasis on the ‘my’ was not observed by -Philip.) ‘However, I hope you agree to accept the only return I can -make for all your kindness to me.’ - -‘Don’t see how it’s to be done,’ growled Shield, again finding a -difficulty somewhere. - -‘We must find that out, sir,’ said Philip with quiet resolution. - -‘Got to find your way out of this mess first. The works won’t -bring half enough to clear off your debts. You’ve been cheated all -round—paying the highest price for rubbish’—— - -‘Impossible!’ interrupted Philip. ‘Wrentham may have made mistakes; but -he is too much a man of business to have done that.’ - -‘Fact it was done, all the same. Then there’s no time to turn round. -That bill you drew on me falls due in a week or so.’ - -Philip had been about to say, ‘Wrentham must account to us, if the -materials have not been according to sample and order;’ but Wrentham -was driven from his mind by the last sentence, which Shield jerked out -before any interruption was possible. - -‘Bill!—What bill?’ - -‘The one for six thousand—your brother Coutts discounted it, and’.... -Here Shield made a long pause, looking steadily at Philip ... ‘but it -was not signed by Austin Shield.’ - -The huge fist came down on the table with a thump that made the -glasses rattle and the lamp shake. Philip stared for an instant, -thunder-stricken by this new revelation. He recovered quickly, and gave -a prompt answer. - -‘If there is such a bill—I did not sign it either.’ - -Then they glared at each other through the smoke. Shield’s face with -its shaggy hair always looked like that of a Scotch terrier, in which -only the eyes give a hint of expression. Suddenly his hand was thrust -out and grasped Philip’s with hearty satisfaction. - -‘Right! Was sure of it without a word from you; but your brother is not -sure that your signature is not genuine.’ - -‘Did he say so?’ (How the pale cheeks flushed with indignation at the -thought that Coutts should admit the one signature to be a forgery, and -doubt whether his was or not.) - -‘Didn’t say it—looked it,’ answered Shield with jerky emphasis. - -‘When did you see him?’ - -‘Yesterday.’ - -‘Why did he not come to me then, as soon as he had seen you?’ - -‘Don’t know’—but there was a low guttural sound, as if Shield were -inwardly chuckling with self-congratulation that he understood very -well why Coutts had chosen to go to him and not to his brother. - -Philip was annoyed and puzzled by this curious transaction. He had -always regarded his brother as such a keen trader, that it was -difficult to understand how a mistake of this magnitude could be made -by him. - -‘Did he say how he came to deal with a bill for so large an amount -without mentioning it to me?’ - -‘Says he took it in the ordinary way of business from your manager -Wrentham. Had no reason to doubt its genuineness till afterwards when -he came to compare signatures. Then he called on me.’ - -‘Wrentham!’ Philip started to his feet. ‘Can the man have been cheating -me all along?’ - -‘Looks like it.’ - -‘He ought to be here now. I’ll send for him’—— - -‘Stop! There’s more in the affair and more to be got out of it than we -see at this minute. We have more than a week to work in. Let’s work.’ - -‘Willingly; but in this matter we have nothing more to do than -repudiate the forgery, and leave Coutts and the police to settle with -the forger.’ - -He felt bitter enough towards Coutts to have little regret for the loss -which was about to fall on him. He would have felt still more bitter -if he had known how eagerly Coutts had made use of this forged bill to -endeavour to ingratiate himself into the place which Philip held in -their uncle’s estimation. - -Wrentham had assured Coutts, and given him what appeared to be -conclusive evidence, that Shield had realised fabulous sums out of -the diamond fields, and had it in his power to realise as much more -if he chose to work the ground. The greedy eyes of Coutts Hadleigh -had gleamed with wild fancies suggested by these disclosures of the -man who had been for a time one of Shield’s London agents; and who -must therefore be able to speak with certainty of his affairs; and the -greedy brain had been for months busy devising schemes by which he -might win the rich man’s esteem and confidence, with the prospect of a -share, at least, of his possessions. This forged bill afforded him the -opportunity he desired, and he made the most of it without committing -himself to any definite charge against his brother. - -The cleverest men are apt to judge others in some degree by reflection -of their own natures, and so go wide of the mark. Coutts tried to reach -the good-will of Mr Shield through his pocket; and he went wide of his -mark. He was, however, at present happy in the idea that he had scored -a bull’s-eye. - -‘That all you see to do?’ queried Shield after a pause, during which he -watched Philip. - -‘So far as the forgery is concerned, that is all.’ - -‘Ah.... I see more. Maybe we can get back a little of the waste. No -saying. Worth trying. Anyhow, we can have a grin at the beggars who -thought us bigger fools than we looked. That’s what we’ve got to work -for.’ - -‘I don’t quite see what advantage we are to obtain in that way.’ - -‘Clear enough, though. We recover a part of what is lost—maybe the -greater part. Don’t give Wrentham or your brother a hint till you see -me again. Go on with your arrangements as if you had heard nothing.’ - -‘Very well, since it is your wish. Meanwhile, I shall get another bed -fitted up here, so that you can occupy it as soon as you are obliged to -leave the hotel. We’ll manage to keep on the chambers somehow.’ - -‘All right,’ said Shield, nodding his head heavily. ‘But you don’t know -what you are bringing on yourself. I’m fond of _that_.’ - -He pointed with his cigar to the brandy bottle. Philip gave his -shoulders an impatient jerk; he had no need for this confession. - -‘I hope not too fond, sir; although it is easy to understand how a man -leading such a solitary life as yours has been may contract the habit -of looking for comfort from that false friend. But if it be so, then it -is better you should be with me than with strangers.’ - -‘Kind—very kind. I thank you. And now that I’ve given you all this bad -news, here’s a bit of good news. Found an old friend of mine—takes -interest in everything. Says he’ll make an offer for the works if on -investigation he finds anything practicable in your scheme. More; if -he finds that your failure is not due to negligence, he’ll make you an -offer for your services as manager of some sort.’ - -This was indeed good news, and Philip’s eyes brightened with pleasure; -but his first thought was for others. - -‘Then we shall not starve, uncle, thank heaven; and if your friend has -capital enough, I may see my project carried out under my own direction -yet.’ - -‘Maybe. Don’t be too jolly over it. Beecham’s a crotchety cur, and may -change the whole thing.’ - -‘Beecham!—Is he the friend you mean?’ - -‘Yes. Says he knows you, and rather likes you.’ - -‘He is very kind,’ said Philip coldly; ‘but there is a possibility of -our not agreeing if brought into frequent contact.’ - -‘No fear of that, no fear of that.—I’m off. Good-night.’ - -But before going off, he helped himself from the brandy bottle again; -then, without the slightest indication of unsteadiness, strode out of -the room and got into the hansom which was waiting for him. - - - - -PENCIL-MAKING. - - -At the head of the beautiful valley of Borrowdale lies the little -hamlet of Seathwaite. Near a clump of historic yews, six or eight -whitewashed cottages nestle, a favourite haunt of artists, and the one -solitary place in England where plumbago is to be found in absolute -purity. Here the mountains converge on either side, until Glaramara -at last fills the gap and closes in the vale. Travellers who wish -to proceed farther, must go, either on horseback or on foot, over -Sty Head Pass, and so into Wastdale, or past Scafell, into Langdale. -Secluded little spot in Cumberland as this is, its hidden treasure was -well known to our ancestors at least two hundred years ago; nor did -any sentimental ideas of spoiling the lovely scenery deter them from -mining into the mountain-side in search of that peculiar form of carbon -commonly known as blacklead, plumbago, or graphite. The first and by -far the most generally used of these names is a decided misnomer, for -although there are many lead-mines in Cumberland, plumbago contains no -trace of lead, but is one of the two crystallised forms in which carbon -exists; the other being the diamond. Plumbago as found here lies in -nests or pockets—or _sops_, as they are locally named. These sops are -cavernous holes, varying in size from a few cubic inches to several -cubic feet, and occur in the solid rock, resembling on a large scale -what are known as air-holes in iron castings. The miners follow certain -veins of granite as a guide to the sops, and come upon them suddenly -in the heart of the mountain. It is in these that the plumbago—or -_wad_, as the workmen call it—is found, in the form of black lumps, -just like eggs in a nest. Some pieces are as small as peas, and others -as large as big melons. How that plumbago came there, is a great -puzzle to geologists. Odd pieces have been occasionally turned up by -husbandmen whilst delving the ground; but it is probable that these -were originally imbedded in the rocks, masses of which, having become -detached by frost and rain, fell into the valley, and in their descent -were broken up, and so laid bare the plumbago that was inside. - -Owing to its power of standing great heat, our forefathers used -plumbago for crucibles, a large portion being sent to the Mint for -operations connected with coining. Pencils were also made of it; and -people who have been accustomed to hear of Cumberland lead-pencils, -may imagine that they are yet; but it is a mistake. A drawing-pencil -made of this virgin graphite cannot be manufactured to cost less than -a shilling; and who, except for some exceptional work, would give such -a price? The scientific chemist has stepped in and supplied a cheaper -article. Conté, a Frenchman, about the end of last century, was the -first to suggest a substitute, or rather a partial one; and since then, -his idea has been step by step worked out and perfected, until to-day -we are able to produce a commercial pencil at the wholesale price of -less than one farthing. Even crucibles are now rarely made from it; so -that, what with one thing and another, the Borrowdale mine has been -closed for the last five years. Many of the visitors suppose that the -stoppage of the works is caused by the mine having been exhausted. -This, however, is a mistake, as there is every reason to believe that -there are yet very large quantities of plumbago in the rock; but the -cost of production, and the discovery of cheaper substitutes, render -further mining impracticable as a commercial undertaking. - -To give an idea of the difference in value of plumbago—the last lot -from this mine sold in London brought thirty shillings per pound; and -it has been known to sell for one hundred and sixty shillings; whilst -the price at present for best foreign is about forty shillings per -hundredweight, or, say, fourpence per pound. Inferior qualities, such -as are used for blackleading grates, &c., can be bought much cheaper. -Foreign plumbago is chiefly imported from Ceylon and Bohemia, where it -is found in veins in large quantities; but as this kind cannot be used -for pencils in its crude state, it has to be ‘manufactured.’ This is -done largely at Keswick; so that, after all, when a purchaser buys a -‘best Cumberland pencil,’ he is not altogether deceived; for although -the blacklead does come from Ceylon and the cedar from Florida, were -they not first introduced to each other by the Keswick workman, toiling -at his bench in the water-turned mills on the banks of the Greta? The -Borrowdale graphite varies much in degree of hardness; consequently, -in the old days when it was made into pencils, each lump was tested -and sorted according to the depth of colour it produced on a piece of -paper. The classification was from H.H.H. or very hard, to B.B.B.B. -or very soft and black. The graphite was then sawn by hand into -strips, which were inserted into a slot or groove in the wood, and the -whole glued together and turned in a lathe into a pencil. The method -of to-day is quite different, and there being great competition in -this trade, speed combined with good work is the principal end to be -attained to bring the cost as low as possible. - -The three mills at Keswick employ about a hundred workpeople, males and -females. The men earn on an average about twenty-five shillings per -week, and the women about twelve. The blacklead—we are now speaking -of imported plumbago—is first crushed and then mixed with what is -technically called a _binding_, the composition of which is a trade -secret and varies at each mill. Its purpose is, as the term denotes, -to give a glutinous consistency to the powdered plumbago and also to -add to the blackness of its marking qualities. Lampblack, sulphuric -acid, gum-arabic, resin, and several other substances are used in this -binding. The whole is worked into a pulp between revolving stones. It -is then partially dried and again crushed. Whilst in this half-dry -state, it is forced through a mould under considerable pressure. These -moulds are of various sizes, from a very big one a quarter-inch square, -used for fancy walking-sticks—a mere catchpenny, and purchased only by -tourists as mementoes—to the little round ones used for putting into -pencil-cases and which are called ‘lead-points.’ The intermediate sizes -are known as Carpenters, Drawing, Pocket-book, and Programme. A workman -receives the thin strip of blacklead as it is slowly forced through the -mould, and at intervals breaks it off, carefully placing it on a board -between pieces of wood. By this means a large quantity can be kept -without fear of damage. When sufficient is moulded to compose a baking, -the oven is heated; and these long slips, which are exactly the size of -the lead in a pencil, are cut into lengths of about four inches, and -packed with care in cast-iron crucibles. These are then put into the -oven, and allowed to remain at a red heat for two hours. When gently -cooled, the leads are ready for pencils. - -In another part of the manufactory, a different kind of work is going -on—that of preparing, or rather working the wood, for it undergoes -no change but that of shape. Cedar is universally used, except in -very low qualities and carpenters’ pencils. Most of this wood comes -from America; and Florida is one of the largest exporting States. The -chief reasons for using cedar are—that it is easily worked, is soft, -straight-grained, free from knots, and is sweet-scented. Am eminent -firm of toilet-soap makers have taken note of this last quality, and -purchase all the cedar sawdust that is made in these pencil-mills. A -minimum of waste is one of the sure signs of an advanced civilisation. -Many and various circular saws reduce the cedar logs into strips of -two sizes—one, about thirty inches long, an inch and a quarter wide, -and three-eighths of an inch thick; the other, of the same dimensions, -but only half the thickness. These are examined; and any having -defects, such as knots, cracks, &c., are laid aside, to be used in -shorter lengths, the bad places having been cut out. The thicker or -three-eighth-inch strips are then passed through the grooving-machine, -which cuts out three perfect and clean grooves up the whole length. -These are now ready to receive the strips of lead, which are first -dipped in glue and placed by girls into the grooves, which they exactly -fill. The wood has now the appearance of having three black lines -running parallel along the whole length. This surface is then brushed -over with hot glue and the thinner strip placed firmly on it. If any -pencil is looked at closely, the joining of these two pieces will be -easily noticed. The whole is placed, with many similar ones, in a -frame, where they are pressed firmly together until the glue has quite -set. - -It will be understood that now each piece is composed of two strips -of wood, firmly glued together, inside which, three grooves, filled -with plumbago composition, run from one end to the other—about thirty -inches, or sufficient to make four pencils to each groove—that is, -twelve pencils in all. The length of a finished pencil is seven inches. -These pieces are then taken to a very curious machine and passed twice -through. The first time, the top surface is ploughed from end to end -into what resembles three distinct semicircular ridges; the piece is -then turned, and the other side treated in a similar manner. The result -of this second ploughing is that three perfectly circular and entirely -separate lengths are seen to emerge from the machine. On examining -any one of these, it will be found to be a pencil thirty inches long, -having the vein of blacklead exactly in the centre. This is an American -invention, and has done much to reduce the cost of the modern pencil. - -The pencils, however, have to pass through many hands before they can -claim to be finished. Women rub them with fine sand-paper, other women -varnish and polish them, and then they are cut by a circular saw into -seven-inch lengths. For the first time, they could now be recognised by -a child as pencils. A thin shaving is taken off each end, which gives -them a finished appearance and causes the lead to shine, as the saw -does not cut clean enough for a fastidious public. Lastly, the pencil -is stamped, not necessarily always with the maker’s name, for nowadays -he occasionally sinks his individuality for the purpose of selling his -wares; and for an order of a gross, some makers will stamp any village -stationer’s name on each pencil. - - - - -MR PUDSTER’S RETURN. - - -CHAPTER II. - -Mr Gideon Maggleby had been married rather less than two-and-twenty -hours, when at about nine o’clock on the morning of March 23, 1868, he -walked into the room in which he had so often breakfasted and dined -with his late friend and partner, Solomon Pudster. Mr Maggleby, who was -pre-eminently a man of business, had not seen fit to go to the Isle -of Wight or to Paris to spend his honeymoon; and Mrs Maggleby, who -was nothing if not a woman of sound sense, had loyally accepted the -decision of her third lord and master. They had agreed to stay in town, -and not to allow their new happiness to interfere with their material -interests in Mincing Lane. Mr Maggleby had determined, however, to make -a holiday of the day after his wedding; to stay at home in the morning -with his wife, to escort her to Madame Tussaud’s in the afternoon, and -to take her to the play in the evening. - -With this comfortable programme in his mind’s eye, Mr Maggleby came -down to breakfast in his flowered dressing-gown. Mrs Maggleby, he knew, -would not be many minutes behind him, and he therefore rang the bell -for the coffee, and turned lazily towards the table, upon which lay -two piles of letters. The smaller heap chiefly consisted of missives -addressed to Mrs Pudster, for the marriage of the previous day had not -as yet been noised abroad in the country, and Mrs Maggleby had several -female correspondents who communicated with her much more often than -she communicated with them. The larger bundle was made up of letters -addressed either to Mr Maggleby or to Messrs Pudster and Maggleby, the -letters to the firm having been already brought down from Mincing Lane -by a confidential clerk. - -It was a chilly morning; and Mr Maggleby, with the letters in his hand, -sank into an easy-chair by the fireside, and then began to polish -his spectacles. But ere he had time to complete that operation, one -envelope attracted the attention of his not very dim-sighted eyes. -It bore the post-mark ‘Plymouth,’ and was addressed in a familiar -hand-writing. Without waiting to put on his spectacles, Mr Maggleby -seized this envelope and tore it open. For an instant he stared at the -letter which it contained; then he turned white, and fell back with a -groan. But Mr Maggleby was a man of considerable self-command, and he -soon partly recovered himself. - -‘Maria must not see me in this agitated state,’ he murmured, as he -rose. ‘I shall go back to my dressing-room, and decide upon some plan -of action before I face her.’ And with unsteady steps, he quitted the -dining-room, taking with him the letter that was the cause of his -emotion. - -Almost immediately afterwards, a servant entered with the coffee and -some covered dishes, which she set upon the table; and no sooner had -she withdrawn than Mrs Maggleby appeared. Mrs Maggleby looked blooming, -and was evidently in capital spirits. She caught up her letters, sat -down smiling in the very easy-chair from which her husband had risen a -few minutes earlier, and began to read. The first letters to be opened -were, of course, those which were addressed to her in her new name. -They contained congratulations upon her marriage. Then she attacked -the envelopes that were addressed to Mrs Pudster. One contained a -bill; another contained a request for Mrs Pudster’s vote and interest -on behalf of Miss Tabitha Gabbles, a maiden lady who was seeking -admission into the Home for the Daughters of Decayed Trinity Pilots; -and a third brought a lithographed letter from the Marquis of Palmyra, -imploring the recipient to make some small subscription to the funds -of the Association for the Encouragement of Asparagus Culture in the -Scilly Islands. There were also letters from Miss Martha Tigstake -and Mrs Benjamin Bowery, dealing with nothing in particular and with -everything in general; and finally there was a letter bearing the -post-mark ‘Plymouth.’ Mrs Maggleby opened it carelessly; but a single -glance at its contents caused her to start up, grasp convulsively at -the mantelpiece, utter an exclamation, and tremble like a leaf. - -‘Poor Gideon!’ she said. ‘What a fearful blow! He mustn’t see me in -this agitated state. I shall go up-stairs again, and decide upon some -plan of action before I face him.’ And Mrs Maggleby, letter in hand and -pale as death, quitted the room, leaving the coffee and the eggs and -bacon and the crumpets to get cold. - -Three-quarters of an hour later, Mr Maggleby ventured down-stairs -again. He was dressed as if to go to the City, and in his hand he held -a letter which bore the simple address, ‘Maria.’ This letter he laid -upon his wife’s plate. It was worded as follows: - - MY DEAREST LIFE—I am suddenly and unexpectedly summoned to - Mincing Lane on business of the greatest importance. I do - not know exactly when I shall return, but you must not be - anxious.—Yours devotedly, - - GIDEON. - -Mr Maggleby hastily seized a tepid crumpet, and without the formality -of seating himself at the table, devoured the clammy dainty. Then, -hearing his wife upon the stairs, he rushed like a madman from the -room, and an instant afterwards, left the house and quietly closed the -front-door behind him. - -Mrs Maggleby, whose face bore traces of recent weeping, entered the -dining-room as if she expected to find the place tenanted by a ghost. -Discovering, however, that it was empty, she resumed her seat by the -fire, and, with an hysterical outburst, buried her head in her hands. - -‘Poor dear Gideon!’ she sobbed. ‘What will become of him and me? We -shall be imprisoned for life; I know we shall. The house will have to -be shut up; the business will go to ruin; the servants will have to -know all. Oh, it is too terrible! But I must compose myself. Gideon -will be coming down, and I must be prepared to break the news to him;’ -and with great self-command, Mrs Maggleby wiped her eyes and seated -herself at the table. As she did so, she caught sight of her husband’s -note, which she eagerly opened. - -‘He has gone!’ she exclaimed despairingly, when she had read it. ‘I am -left alone to bear the trial!—Ah, Gideon, you little know how cruel you -are. But I must follow you. We must concert measures at once.’ - -Once more she went up-stairs. She put on her bonnet and cloak; she -covered her flushed face with a thick veil; and without saying a word -to any of her servants, she left the house, and made the best of her -way to the nearest cabstand. - -Meantime, Mr Maggleby had been driven to his place of business in -Mincing Lane. He entered his office, and sat down as if dazed, in -his private room. Hearing of his principal’s unexpected arrival, the -head-clerk, Mr John Doddard, almost immediately appeared. He too was -scared and breathless. - -‘Read, sir, read!’ he gasped as he thrust an open letter into Mr -Maggleby’s hand. - -Mr Maggleby mechanically took the letter, and read aloud as follows: - - _On board S.S. Camel, off Plymouth, Tuesday._ - - DEAR MR DODDARD—As you are probably not expecting me, I send a - line ashore to let you know that I hope to return in time to - be at business at the usual hour on Thursday. Please take care - that there is a good fire in my private room, as a visit to - Demerara always, as you know, renders me particularly sensitive - to cold and damp. I am writing to Mr Maggleby. We have had a - capital voyage so far, but the weather in the Channel threatens - to be rather dirty. I shall land at Gravesend; and if you can - find out when the _Camel_ is likely to be there, you may send - down some one to meet me.—Yours faithfully, - - SOLOMON PUDSTER. - -‘I knew it!’ ejaculated Mr Maggleby. ‘I have just received the letter -that he speaks of.’ - -‘What does it all mean?’ asked Mr Doddard. ‘I seem to be dreaming, sir. -We buried poor Mr Pudster eight months ago, didn’t we?’ - -‘So I thought,’ murmured Mr Maggleby vaguely. ‘But this letter is -certainly in his handwriting. And look at the post-mark. There it is, -as plain as possible: “Plymouth, Mar. 22, 1868.” That was yesterday; -and to-day is Wednesday, March 23d.—Just read my letter, Mr Doddard!’ -and he pulled from his pocket a missive, which he handed to his clerk. - -Mr Doddard read as follows: - - _On board S.S. Camel, off Plymouth, Tuesday._ - - MY DEAR GIDEON—Here I am almost at home again. I fancy that you - didn’t expect to see me just at present; for I wasn’t able to - write to you before we left Demerara; so, as we are now sending - ashore here, I post you a few lines to prepare you for the - surprise. It is, as you know, quite unusual for vessels of this - line to call at Plymouth, and therefore I haven’t time to send - you a long letter; though, if we also call at Southampton, I - will write again from there. I have told Doddard to send some - one to meet me at Gravesend; let him take down any letters that - you may want me to see at once.—Yours affectionately, - - SOLOMON. - -‘Well, I never did!’ cried Mr Doddard. ‘Yet I could swear to Mr -Pudster’s handwriting anywhere. It is a terrible thing for a man who -ought to be lying quietly in his coffin to come back like this, and -upset every one’s calculations.’ - -‘You are certain about the handwriting?’ asked Mr Maggleby anxiously. - -‘Quite certain!’ replied Mr Doddard. ‘What a frightful thing for poor -Mrs Pudster!’ - -‘Mrs Maggleby, you mean!’ said Mr Maggleby. ‘Yes. I don’t know how to -break it to her. It’s a case of bigamy; isn’t it?’ - -‘Let us hope for the best, sir. Mr Pudster won’t prosecute, I fancy, -considering the peculiar character of the circumstances. It’s his -fault. That’s my opinion. I could swear, even now, that we buried -him. He must have revived in his coffin, and been dug up again by the -gravediggers; and must then have gone over to Demerara, in order to -avoid shocking his poor wife.’ - -‘I wonder our Demerara agents didn’t say something about it when they -wrote by the last mail,’ said Mr Maggleby. - -‘Oh, of course he kept them quiet, sir. But it’s a cruel case—that’s -all I have to say. And though I have known Mr Pudster these thirty -years, and liked him too, I don’t hesitate to say that he’s not -behaving straightforwardly in this piece of business.’ - -‘Hush! Wait until you know of his motives,’ said Mr Maggleby. - -‘He can’t excuse himself, sir, I tell you,’ rejoined Mr Doddard warmly. -‘If he comes back, I go. So there! And I say it with all respect to -you, sir. When a man’s once dead, he’s got no right to come back again. -It isn’t natural; and what’s more, it isn’t business-like.’ - -The bitterness of Mr Doddard’s remarks in this connection may be partly -accounted for by consideration of the fact that Mr Maggleby had a few -days previously announced his intention of taking the head-clerk into -partnership at an early date. Mr Pudster’s return would of course knock -this project on the head. - -‘Well, Doddard,’ said Mr Maggleby, ‘we can’t mend matters by talking. -We can only wait; and perhaps, when we see Mr Pudster, we shall find -that’—— - -But Mr Maggleby’s philosophical remarks were suddenly cut short by the -unexpected arrival of Mrs Maggleby upon the scene. She rushed into -the private room, stretched forth a letter, and fell sobbing upon her -husband’s neck. - -Mr Maggleby placed his wife in a chair, opened a cupboard, gave her a -glass of wine, took the letter, and read it. Like the others, it was -dated from on board the _Camel_, off Plymouth. ‘MY OWN DEAREST WIFE,’ -it ran—‘In a few hours from this I shall, I hope, be with you once -more, never again to leave you. I ought to have already apprised you of -the probable date of my return; but at the last moment before starting, -I had no opportunity of writing. How glad I shall be to see you! My -long absence has been a great trial to me, and I feel sure that it has -also tried you; but it is now almost at an end. I will, if possible, -write again from Southampton, and tell you exactly when to expect me. -The sea in the Channel is so rough that at present it is difficult to -say when we shall get into the river.—Your ever loving husband, - - SOLOMON.’ - -‘It is most painful!’ gasped Mrs Maggleby. ‘What can we do, Gideon? You -must manage to meet Solomon at Gravesend. Look in the newspaper, and -see whether the _Camel_ has been signalled yet. He must hear first of -what has happened either from my lips or from yours; and I am really -not well enough to go myself. I thought that he was lying cold in -his coffin. Oh, that I should have committed bigamy! I ought to have -remained faithful to his memory. This is my punishment. But he must—he -shall forgive me.’ - -Mr Doddard had gone into the outer office, and had sent a clerk for -a copy of the _Times_. With this he now returned; and the paper was -opened on Mr Maggleby’s table, and eagerly scanned for news of the -_Camel_. - -‘Here we have it!’ said Mr Doddard at last. ‘“Steamship _Camel_, from -Demerara to London, with cargo and passengers, was signalled off Dover -at one o’clock this morning.”—Then Mr Pudster will be at Gravesend in -an hour or two, sir.’ - -‘Go, Gideon, go!’ exclaimed Mrs Maggleby. ‘Lose no time. Take a special -train if necessary. Tell him all, and implore his forgiveness.’ - -‘Yes, I think I had better go, Maria,’ said Mr Maggleby. ‘I will send -a clerk home with you, and will telegraph to you as soon as I see -your—your late husband. In the meantime, try to be calm. Please tell -them to call a cab, Doddard.’ - -Mr Doddard returned to the outer office, and despatched a messenger for -two cabs. Mr Maggleby handed Mrs Maggleby into one of them, and a clerk -followed her. Then the unfortunate man went back for a moment to his -private room to study Bradshaw on the best and speediest route from -London to Gravesend. There was a train at a quarter past eleven. It was -then a quarter to eleven. - -‘And when will he be at Gravesend?’ asked Mr Maggleby. - -Mr Doddard turned again to the _Times_. But instead of at once lighting -upon the shipping news, his eye fell upon a paragraph that occupied -a not very conspicuous position at the foot of the page. Suddenly he -uttered a cry. - -‘What’s the matter, Doddard?’ demanded Mr Maggleby, who was rapidly -growing impatient. - -Mr Doddard replied by bursting into a paroxysm of laughter. ‘By Jove!’ -he exclaimed, ‘this is too ridiculous! I never heard of such a thing in -my life! It is like a play! Ha, ha, ha!’ - -‘Your merriment is rather ill-timed,’ cried Mr Maggleby reproachfully. -‘Tell me when Mr Pudster will arrive at Gravesend; and be quick, or I -shall lose that train.’ - -‘A _pump_, too!’ continued the head-clerk hilariously. - -‘You’re mad, I think,’ said Mr Maggleby. ‘What do you mean?’ - -‘Well, read this, sir,’ answered Mr Doddard, and he handed the _Times_ -to his principal and pointed to the paragraph. - -Mr Maggleby testily took the paper, adjusted his spectacles, and read: - -‘EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY AT PLYMOUTH.—The corporation of Plymouth -recently decided to remove an old and disused pump which for many -years has stood handleless and dry on the Hoe. Yesterday morning, -some workmen proceeded to remove it, and in its interior they were -astonished to discover a number of letters, which had, it is supposed, -been put into the hole into which the handle formerly fitted, under the -delusion that the pump was a post-office pillar letter-box. The letters -were at once taken to the Plymouth post-office, and were without delay -forwarded to their destinations.’ - -‘Can it be true?’ ejaculated Mr Maggleby, with a great sigh of relief. -‘Then the fact of the _Camel_ having been signalled last night off -Dover is merely a coincidence?’ - -‘Most certainly,’ said Mr Doddard. - -‘Thank Heaven!’ cried Mr Maggleby fervently. ‘Send the cab away, -Doddard. But no! I’ll go home again at once, and set my poor wife -at ease. Ha, ha! I do remember now, that when poor Mr Pudster came -home from his last voyage, he discovered that some letters which he -had posted at Plymouth had not been delivered. We didn’t miss them, -because, as you recollect, Doddard, he wrote again from Southampton.’ - -‘Of course he did, sir,’ said Mr Doddard. ‘Well, let us congratulate -ourselves. It would have been a fearful business for Mrs Maggleby to -have to go through.’ - -‘And it would have been bad for you, Doddard, for it would have spoilt -your chance of a partnership for some time to come. Now, I’m off.’ - -Mr Maggleby put the _Times_ in his pocket, and departed; and when he -reached his home and showed the paper to his wife, the couple sat -together for at least half an hour, talking over the extraordinary -nature of the adventure. - -‘Well, we shall be able to go to Madame Tussaud’s and the theatre after -all, Maria,’ said Mr Maggleby at luncheon. - -And go they did; and what is more, Mr Doddard became a partner a -fortnight later, the firm thenceforward being known as Maggleby and -Doddard. - - - - -THE FORESIGHT OF INSECTS FOR THEIR YOUNG. - - -In no manner is the mysterious influence of instinct over the insect -world more remarkably manifested than by the care taken by parent -insects for the future welfare of offspring which they are destined -never to behold. As the human parent upon his deathbed makes the best -provision he can for the sustenance and prosperity of his infant -children, whom death has decreed that he may not in person watch over, -so those insects which nature has decreed shall be always the parents -of orphan children, led by an unerring influence within, do their best -to provide for the wants of the coming generation. - -The butterfly, after flitting through her short life, seeks out a spot -whereon to deposit her numerous eggs, not—as one might expect of a -creature devoid of mind—upon any chance plant, or even upon the plant -or flower from which she herself has been wont to draw her sustenance, -but upon the particular plant which forms the invariable food of the -larvæ of her species. The various kinds of clothes-moths penetrate into -our cupboards, drawers, and everywhere where furs, woollen garments, -&c., are stored, that they may there lay their eggs, to hatch into -the burrowing grubs which are the terror of our housekeepers. The -ichneumon tribe, one of nature’s greatest counterpoises to keep down -the too rapid increase of the insect world, lay their eggs in the larvæ -of other insects, which eggs when hatched develop into a devouring -brood, which ungratefully turn upon and devour the helpless creature -that sheltered them as a nest. The female ichneumon having discovered -a caterpillar or grub which her instinct informs her has not been -previously attacked, at once proceeds to thrust her ovipositor into the -writhing body of her victim, depositing one or more eggs, according -to the size of the living food-supply. When hatched, the larvæ devour -and live upon their foster-parent, avoiding in a marvellous way the -vital parts of their victim, whose life is most accurately timed to -last until its young tormentors are full grown, and not beyond. At one -time, we were led to believe in occasional instances of the instinct -of female ichneumons being at fault, by observing them apparently -ovipositing upon the dry shells of pupæ from which the butterflies -had escaped. This, however, we subsequently found to be an erroneous -idea, the fact of the matter being, that the caterpillar upon which the -parent ichneumon had laid her fatal egg, had had time, before the full -development of the young ichneumon grub, to turn to the pupal stage. -What, then, we saw was the young ichneumon fly just emerged from the -dry pupal case, the contents of which it had first devoured in its own -larval stage, then, itself turning to a pupa, it had lain, thus doubly -incased, until, having broken forth a perfect fly, it rested upon its -late prison, awaiting sufficient strength to come to its wings. What a -wooden horse of Troy such a chrysalis would prove, if introduced into -the breeding establishment of a collector! - -Other members of the ichneumon tribe do not actually insert their eggs -into the destined food-supply of their young; but, as it were, going -deeper into calculation of future events, content themselves with -laying them in close proximity to the eggs of some member of the tribe -upon which it is their mission to prey. - -There is an old saying— - - Big fleas have little fleas - Upon their backs to bite ’em; - Little fleas have smaller fleas, - So on _ad infinitum_; - -which is very true, inasmuch as from the great humble-bee down to -the tiniest corn-thrips—a mere speck of dust to the naked eye—all -insects have their parasites, and generally their own special species -of ichneumon, to prevent their over-increase and to preserve the due -balance of nature. There is a species of longicorn beetle, found -in Pennsylvania, which feeds upon the tender bark of young hickory -shoots. When laying-time arrives, the female, having deposited her eggs -in cavities perforated in the bark, carefully cuts a groove, about -one-tenth of an inch wide and deep, round the shoot just below where -her treasures lie. The object, or rather we suppose we ought to say -the consequence, of this act is the withering and decay of the shoot, -a provision for the sustenance of her young, which, when in their -larval state, live upon dead wood! This remarkable insect is called the -hickory girder from the above-mentioned habit, which, we think, is one -of the most extraordinary instances of foresight, through a mere blind -instinct, that have ever come under observation. - -The gadfly (_Œustrus equi_), whose larvæ are the bots which inhabit -the intestines of the horse, gains for her progeny that comfortable -position by entrapping the animal itself into introducing her eggs -within its stomach. For this purpose, she lays her eggs upon such -portions of the horse’s body as he is in the habit of frequently -licking, such as the knees, shoulders, &c. The unerring nature of her -instinct is shown by the fact that she never chooses as a nidus any -portion of the body which the horse is unable to reach with its tongue. -Having thus been introduced into their natural feeding-grounds, the -bots there pass their larval existence, until, it becoming time for -them to assume the pupal form, they go forth with the animal’s dung -to reach the earth, burrow into it, and therein pass the insects’ -purgatory. - -Again, one of the grain-moths (_Gelechia cerealella_) shows remarkable -instinct in adapting itself to circumstances according to the time of -year when it has to deposit its eggs. The first generation of these -moths, emerging in May from pupæ which have lain in the granaries -through the winter, lay their countless eggs upon the as yet ungathered -corn, upon which their young play havoc until, having passed through -the necessary stages, they come out in the autumn as the second -generation amidst the now stored-up grain. Now, however, their instinct -prompts them, not, like the first generation, to go forth to the fields -to seek the proper nest and future nourishment of their young, but -bids them deposit their eggs upon the store of wheat ready at hand. -Thus, two following generations of the same insect are led by their -instincts to different habits to suit the altered and, in the last -case, unnatural position of their infants’ destined food-supply. - -The interesting mason-wasp, having with great care and skill bored -out a cylindrical hole in some sunny sandbank, deposits at the bottom -of this refuge her eggs. Next, provident mother as she is, she seeks -out about a dozen small caterpillars, always of the same species, and -immures them alive in the pit, as food for her cruel children. In -making her selection of grubs to be thus buried alive, she rejects any -that may not have reached maturity; not, we imagine, upon the score of -their not being so full-flavoured, but because, when not full grown, -they require food to keep them alive; whereas, when of mature age, they -will live a long time without nourishment, ready to turn to chrysalides -when opportunity occurs. - -These are but a few of the instances which might be adduced in -illustration of this foresight in insects, which compensates for -their not being allowed in person to superintend the welfare of their -offspring. In many cases, it would be better for human progeny were -their parents thus endowed with an unerring instinct, rather than with -an uncertain will. - - - - -A BREAK-NECK VENTURE. - - -It is more than thirty years since my medico-military lines were cast -in the little picturesque station of Badulla, the capital of Oovah, -in the interior of Ceylon. This district was the centre of very -considerable European enterprise in coffee-growing, and, both socially -and commercially, was an important unit of the Kandian provinces; hence -government, in addition to a small garrison of troops, had established -in it a staff of its Civil servants, for the administration of fiscal -and judicial affairs, and it is concerning one of these officials—the -assistant district judge, as he was called—that my story is now to be -told. - -The judge was a young gentleman of good parts and attractive manners. -He was a dead-shot, an excellent angler, a perfect rider, a very Dr -Grace or Spofforth of a cricketer, and an intelligent, chatty, pleasant -companion to boot. He had also a sure foot and a steady head. He could -walk along the verge of a rocky precipice with a sheer descent of -hundreds of feet as unconcernedly as many a man trudges over a turnpike -road. Chaffingly, we were wont to tell him that he had entirely -mistaken his vocation in life, and that instead of being ‘an upright -judge,’ trying ‘niggers,’ he ought to have been another Blondin, -trundling wheelbarrows on a rope stretched across Adam’s Bridge from -Manaar to Ramisseram, and cooking a prawn curry in a stove when in -the very middle of the Straits. However, even in the capacity of the -aforesaid judge, this proclivity of being able to walk safely upon next -to nothing once stood him in good need, as I myself witnessed. - -One afternoon he came into my quarters holding in his hand a letter, -which the post had just brought him. I ought perhaps to mention -that thirty odd years ago there were neither railroads nor electric -telegraphs in Ceylon, and that travelling was comparatively slow, and -to some extent uncertain. In the case of our station, however, we had -little to complain of. The postal authorities at Colombo forwarded -our mail-bags to Kandy—the first seventy-two miles of the way—by a -daily two-horsed coach; and from that city to their destination, -‘runners’ carried the letters. But these ‘runners’ now and again met -with accidents of various sorts, such as being killed by elephants -or tigers; and it so happened that something of the sort—I forget -what—having occurred to detain my friend’s letter, it was older by more -than twenty-four hours than it should have been, when he got it. - -‘I must be off sharp to Colombo,’ said he, addressing me as he entered -my room. ‘I have had awfully bad news: it is a question of life or -death with a very dear friend there. I can’t lose a moment over my -departure. But get leave from the Commandant, and keep me company as -far as Attempyttia—it is only a dozen miles away—and we will talk over -things as we go along.’ - -‘All right,’ I said; ‘I’m your man.’ - -In a very few minutes the required permission was obtained; after -which my pony was saddled and we were off. After leaving me at the -travellers’ bungalow at Attempyttia, my companion would have to proceed -to Kandy, to catch the downward coach, leaving at daylight next morning -for Colombo. To accomplish this—some eighty odd miles—he would be -forced to ride all night, assisted stage by stage with fresh mounts, -which the kind-hearted coffee-planters, whether known or unknown to -him, would willingly place at his disposal. - -‘Let’s see,’ said the judge. ‘I’ve a good fourteen or fifteen hours -before me to find that highly respectable rattle-trap of a royal -mail-coach drawn up at the post-office at gun-fire to-morrow morning. -Fourteen hours, six miles an hour, including stoppages—eighty-four -miles! A snail’s pace; but I won’t calculate upon more speed. Bar -accidents, I’m safe to do it, and do it I must.’ - -So on we galloped, little heeding the romantic scenery through which we -were hurrying, and the faster too, as the sun was becoming obscured by -thick, heavy, black rain-clouds, which were gathering over it and all -around. - -‘We are in for a drenching,’ I remarked. - -‘If a drenching were all,’ was the reply, ‘it would not much matter; -but’—— - -‘Well! But what?’ - -‘The Badulla Oya, the river which runs through the deep gorge between -the spurs of the hills you see yonder—I know that river well. In dry -weather, it is little more than a shallow streamlet, over the stones of -which an inch or two of water trickles. But when these sudden monsoon -downpours come on, it has the unpleasant knack of swelling, swelling, -until it becomes a large, wide, deep mountain torrent, tearing like mad -to empty itself somewhere. And you have no idea of the rapidity with -which this metamorphosis is accomplished. Let’s push on, for the river -crosses the highway; and by Jove, here is the rain and no mistake!’ - -A vivid flash of lightning, a loud clap of thunder right overhead, and -before its reverberations were half ended among the echoing mountains, -a deluge of rain was upon us. We were soaked to the skin in a few -seconds. - -‘How far is the river?’ I asked. - -‘Good five miles; and five miles with these flood-gates of the skies -opened, mean touch and go. Twenty to one, the Badulla Oya will be -swollen and impassable.’ - -‘Is there no canoe or bridge?’ - -‘Canoe! What on earth, in your Ceylon griffinage, are you dreaming -about? As for a bridge, well, metaphorically speaking, there is a thing -which the natives call a bridge; but practically, not what you and I -and the department of Public Works would class as one. However, it will -not be long before you see what sort of a concern the bridge is like.’ - -We now hastened as fast as the animals we rode could lay hoofs to -ground; but before the five miles were traversed and the banks of the -river reached, we distinctly heard it roaring. - -‘It is down already,’ said my companion. - -Down it was with a vengeance, as we presently realised. Over a bed of -rocky boulders it foamed and boiled and tumbled, a dark, deep, angry -chocolate-coloured torrent, sixty feet wide at least. - -Squatting under a large tree on the bank opposite to us, accepting the -situation with that stolid indifference for which the Asiatic is so -very remarkable, and chewing betel, that panacea for all the ills which -Singhalese flesh is heir to, was a Kandian villager, well advanced in -years. The judge hailed him in his own language. ‘Hi! father! Did you -swim the river?’ - -‘Am I a fish, think you, my son?’ the man responded. - -‘Did you cross it by the bridge, then?’ - -‘Does the English _mahatmeya_ [gentleman] take me for a Wanderoo -monkey, or for a jungle-cat, to walk upon broken twigs high up in the -air?’ he answered evasively. - -‘How, then, did you manage to get over?’ - -‘I have not got over at all. I have come from my village on this side, -and I wait here until the flood subsides.’ - -‘How long will that be, think you?’ - -‘If the rain ceases, the river will be again fordable in three or four -hours. If the rain continues—who can tell? Buddha only knows!’ - -‘Three or four hours!’ muttered my companion despondingly. ‘Too long, -much too long for me.’ Then again speaking to the Kandian: ‘Is there -any possibility of crossing the bridge?’ he asked. - -‘None, none, my master. Alas! it has been shattered for some time past, -and has not yet been repaired.’ - -‘Let’s go,’ said my friend to me, ‘and reconnoitre.’ - -We dismounted, gave our ponies to the horsekeepers, who had closely -followed us, and walked a short distance along the bank. Suspended in -the air, resting upon the forked branches of two forest trees, which -grew nearly opposite each other on either side of the stream, were -the relics of one of those primitive bridges which the Singhalese -villagers build to enable them to pass ravines and mountain torrents. -Bamboo and the withes of a ground creeper called waywel are the usual -materials they employ; but if they can get slabs of timber, they use -them as well. This was the case here: the rough-hewn trunk of a tall -but slender cocoa-nut palm spanned the river, its ends being firmly -fastened to the two trees which served to support it. Originally, -a sort of hand-rail of the waywel had been tied to uprights nailed -along the stem; and thus hemmed in, the bridge was safe enough to -traverse by any one not subject to dizziness on ‘giddy heights;’ but -as time and mischief had partly removed this protection, leaving long -gaps with nothing to hold on by, a more precarious, break-neck, risky -crossing, save for the monkeys, no one could possibly imagine. Picture -to yourself this tapering pole strung at a height over a deep rushing -whirlpool of a current, and you will comprehend what we saw and what I -fairly shuddered at. - -Not so, my companion. He sprang up the tree, and stood for a moment -or two upon the end of the mutilated bridge. Then he said quite -determinedly: ‘I’ve made up my mind; I’m going over.’ - -‘Are you mad?’ I exclaimed; ‘going over that narrow, frail, -up-in-the-clouds thing? Why, it’s certain death if you fall.’ - -‘Even so, old man; but I have walked with sure steps narrower planks -than this.’ - -‘Perhaps so; but not with a torrent rolling under you.—Don’t attempt -it!’ I exclaimed; ‘wait until the waters go down.’ - -‘Wait! for four hours or more. Impossible! As I told you when we -started, my errand is a vital one. I must be in Colombo on Sunday -at the latest; and as to-day is Friday, to do that I must hit off -to-morrow’s coach in Kandy. Well, you and the other fellows have often -joked me about my Blondin-like propensities; I am going to try now how -nearly I can tread upon the heels of that worthy acrobat. Never fear; I -will get across safely enough. It is a pity, however, that the nigger -architects have not been a little more liberal in their breadth of -timber; but your Singhalese native is invariably a skinflint.’ - -Again I attempted to combat the foolhardiness of my friend; but he -threw me off, said half jocosely, half in earnest: - - ‘I have set my life upon a cast, - And I will stand the hazard of the die;’ - -and with the words in his mouth, began the crossing. - -I am not, generally speaking, a nervous man, and I have had to witness -some trying things in my time; but now I confess that fear and -trembling came over me, and that I could not look upon my friend in his -perilous transit. I half crouched and cowered behind a tree, my heart -in my mouth, and every nerve strung to its utmost degree of tension. I -expected every instant to hear a shriek, a splash, and then to see my -friend buffeting with and carried away by the boiling torrent. Now and -again, the voices of the old Singhalese and the Malabar horsekeepers, -who had crept up to the neighbourhood of the bridge, broke upon my -ears, first as if in tones of entreaty and warning, then in those -of astonishment, and lastly in shouts of admiration and joy. At the -jubilant sounds I roused myself, looked up, and hurrahed, too, at the -very top of my voice, for on the opposite bank the adventurous judge -stood safe and sound! - -A weight such as I had never borne before was removed from my breast. -‘Thank goodness you’re all right!’ I called out. - -‘Yes, as a trivet,’ he replied.—‘Now, screw _your_ courage to the -sticking-place and run over.’ - -‘Am I a jungle-cat, or a Wanderoo monkey, or even a district judge -in the Ceylon Civil Service, to walk upon a hair? No; my good sir. -If I took two steps upon that infinitesimally narrow palm’s trunk, -my doctoring occupation would be gone.—Thank you; no! I’ll return to -Badulla, and resume my physicking there.’ - -‘Good-bye, then. I’ll write to you from Kandy, if I can.’ - -He was gone. And it will no doubt satisfy the reader’s curiosity to -learn that, thanks to the mounts provided by friendly coffee-planters, -he caught the coach, went on to Colombo, and found the person for whom -he had risked his life out of danger and in a fair way of recovery. - - - - -CURIOUS ANTIPATHIES IN ANIMALS. - -DOGS. - - -All sincere lovers of the animal creation are pleased to listen to the -recitation of anecdotes illustrating the love and affection of animals -for their lord and master, man. Many of these stories are deeply -interesting, as showing the wondrous intelligence and reasoning powers -so often exhibited; and others are deeply affecting, as proving an -amount of genuine, unasked, unselfish love, that we fear is not always -too abundant amongst educated bipeds. It is not unlikely that numbers -of such acts are never heard of; as many men—well-meaning enough in -other ways—are in the habit of looking on the dog or the cat as a -mere animal and nothing more; and therefore, whatever it might do, or -whatever sagacity it might display, the creature would be treated with -indifference and passed by without notice. Byron, who loved animals as -well as most folks, was quite aware of this, when he wrote, with so -much truth: - - But the poor dog—in life the firmest friend, - The first to welcome, foremost to defend— - Unhonoured falls—unnoticed all his worth, - Denied in heaven the soul he held on earth. - -Strongly deprecating this indifference, it has always been the writer’s -delight to record every well-authenticated instance of remarkable -sagacity in animals, in whatever way they have been brought under his -notice. The cases referred to have come under the immediate notice -either of the writer, or of friends on whose word he can rely. - -Some years ago, a lady, who was a friend of our family, possessed a -beautiful black-and-tan ‘King Charles’ called Prinney. A most engaging -and affectionate creature, he never showed the smallest symptom of -temper, or anything disagreeable save in one thing, and that was, a -fixed aversion to a particular melody. Music generally, either vocal -or instrumental, he never took the smallest notice of, or exhibited -the slightest dislike to; but if any one played, sang, whistled, or -even hummed the well-known and popular duet from the opera of _Norma_ -known by the name of ‘Si, fin’ al ora,’ no matter where he was or what -he was doing, he would start up and commence the most dismal howling, -with his nose elevated in the air. If the music did not cease on this -melancholy and earnest appeal, he would make frantic efforts to get -out of the room, rearing on his hind-legs, scratching violently at the -door, and continuing his howling until some one opened the door and let -him out. We took great pains to investigate this curious antipathy, -but could never arrive at anything like a satisfactory conclusion. -As before stated, the dog never objected to music generally, as many -dogs have been known to do, nor even to single airs closely resembling -the _Norma_ melody; but so soon as we commenced that one—even though -we purposely jumbled it up with some other—he would instantly detect -it, and take his part of the ‘howling obligato’ with an energy and -determination which nothing could stop. - -It had been suggested that the dog had on some particular occasion been -severely beaten, or ill-treated, when this melody was either played or -sung, and thus it was painfully impressed on the dog’s mind and memory. -But this could not have been the case, for my friend had received him -as a puppy, and certainly never ill-treated him, or even whipped him. -What, therefore, could have been the peculiar connection in the dog’s -mind between this one particular melody, and some fear of ill-usage or -pain—for nothing but such a recollection could have caused his piteous -howling, which always indicated intense fear or dread—is a mystery, -and one which it seems impossible to solve, or even explain on any -reasonable grounds. - -The following anecdote somewhat resembles the last, inasmuch as the -peculiar antipathy shown is also in connection with music, although not -to any particular melody, as in Prinney’s case. A little white terrier -belonging to my grandfather had a peculiar antipathy to the pianoforte, -for as soon as any one began to play, Rose would walk into the middle -of the room, and then, quietly seating herself, facing the instrument, -elevate her nose, and commence a long series of howlings, but without -any display of anger or temper, or any attempt to run away. It might -have been her own original way of expressing applause, or approbation -of pianoforte-playing in general, for it should be specially noted that -no other music, vocal or instrumental, ever affected the dog. Musical -friends, one with his flute, another with his fiddle, often came in, -but Rose never took notice of either of these until the pianoforte -began; then at once began her demonstration. Now, what could have -caused this curious antipathy—if it was an actual antipathy—to the -sound of one particular musical instrument? The dog was born and bred -at a farmhouse in Surrey, and farmhouses in those primitive days never -possessed such an unheard-of luxury as a pianoforte; and therefore, -until she came into my grandfather’s keeping—and she came direct from -Surrey—she could never have heard the sound of such an instrument. -How, then, are we to explain her singular procedure? I fear it is only -another ‘dog mystery,’ and must ever remain so. - -A third, and certainly most remarkable, case of musical antipathy is -all the more singular because it was not exhibited towards any special -melody or instrument, but towards one particular person only—a lady. -The dog—a beautiful and very amiable Clumber spaniel—belonged to an -uncle of ours who always brought Wag with him whenever he paid us a -visit, for the dog was a universal favourite; but, unluckily, he had -always to be put out of the room when one of the ladies of our family -was going to sing, because he seemed to have a violent antipathy, not -to music or singing generally, but only to the voice of this lady; -and, what is perhaps still more odd, he always seemed, personally, to -be very fond of her; but the moment she began to sing, he would start -up and commence whining, growling, and at last barking, gradually -increasing in force, until he got to a grand _fortissimo_. He would -run up in front of the lady, and get so angry, that any one would have -supposed he was going to fly at her. But this he never attempted, -and as the Scotch say, ‘His bark was waur than his bite.’ This lady -possessed a brilliant soprano voice; and it has been suggested that -the clear, ringing, penetrating tones must have produced a peculiar -vibration or sensation, perhaps causing sharp pain, in the dog’s ears, -which might have occasioned his extraordinary action, for it must be -remembered that this lady’s voice, and hers alone, produced the effect -described. - -The next case of unreasoning antipathy was that of a very handsome -half-bred bull-terrier, called Charley. He belonged to a friend of -ours, the vicar of a beautiful parish in Kent, and was an affectionate, -good-tempered dog, never known to bite, snarl, growl, or do anything -disagreeable to his friends. He would romp and play with the children -on the vicarage lawn by the hour together, and never lose his temper, -though often sorely tried by the thoughtless teasing of his little -playmates. Yet he, too, had his peculiarity, which was, that if any -one—master, friend, or stranger—approached him rubbing the palms of his -hands slowly together, and at the same time repeating his name very -deliberately, ‘Char-ley, Char-ley,’ the dog would instantly get into a -state of wild fury. He would bark violently, until the bark ended in -that peculiar sort of scream often noticed in small dogs when greatly -excited or angered. He would make a rush at the offending person, and -then suddenly retreat backwards, throwing out his fore-paws with sudden -jerks at each bark; and although the person might cease the action, yet -it would be some time before Charley recovered his usual equanimity, -going about the room uttering little short barks, and a sort of odd -sound between the end of a growl and the beginning of a whine! - -When this curious antipathy was first noticed, it so much surprised -and interested the vicar—who was a devoted lover of animals—that he -took a great amount of trouble to try to find out what could have been -the original cause. He thought the dog might have been taught this -merely as a clever trick; but he could never procure any evidence to -show that such had been the case on the part of any one in the vicarage -or village. What could have caused these extraordinary bursts of -passion and anger at so simple an act as merely rubbing the palms of -the hands together? There was nothing in the act itself calculated to -irritate or frighten any animal, and therefore the greater the mystery -at the strange effect produced. As the vicar could discover nothing -through his investigations, he had to ‘accept the inevitable,’ and come -to the conclusion that it was unaccountable. - - - - -CURIOUS NEWSPAPERS. - - -That great engine that never sleeps, as Thackeray once described -the press, not unfrequently displays its energy and enterprise in -the performance of feats both novel and interesting. All are more -or less familiar with the daring and intrepidity of its ‘specials,’ -who in their eagerness to supply those at home with full and graphic -descriptions of stirring scenes, expose themselves to the risk of -being shot; while the public spirit and enterprise of the different -journals are shown by the lavish way in which they spend their money -in the laying of special cables or in the hiring of special steamers -or trains. These are matters of every-day occurrence, on which plenty -has been, and will continue to be written; but at the present moment we -wish to confine the attention of our readers to the history of a few -novel and curious broadsheets which have appeared at different times. - -In 1828 a paper was published called the _Cherokee Phœnix_, which is -interesting on more accounts than one. It was published in English and -Cherokee, the latter portion being printed with characters invented -after years of patient labour and thought by one of the Indians, -whose curiosity had been excited by the ‘speaking leaf,’ as he called -a newspaper which he one day heard a white man read with surprising -readiness and facility. After producing his alphabet, he taught it to -the other members of his tribe, and eventually, with the assistance of -government, was enabled to start the _Phœnix_. Very similar was the -_Sandwich Islands Gazette_, first started in 1835, and boasting of -wood-cuts, for which the publisher received a license from the king, -worded as follows: ‘_To STEPHEN D. MACKINTOSH._—I assent to the letter -which you have sent me. It affords me pleasure to see the works of -other lands and things that are new. If I was there, I should very much -like to see. I have said to Kivan, “Make printing-presses.” My thought -is ended.—Love to you and Reynolds.—_By KING KAINKEAGUOLI._’ This paper -was of eight octavo pages, and was published in English. The present -ruler of the Sandwich Islands shares the liberal views expressed in -the above letter of his predecessor. Since that time, the practice of -publishing papers in the native tongues has spread rapidly; and in -India alone at the present moment no fewer than three hundred and -thirty newspapers, with a total circulation of more than one hundred -and ten thousand, are printed in the languages spoken in the different -provinces. - -A most curious paper is the official Chinese paper, called _King-Pan_, -which claims to have been started as early as 911, and to have appeared -at irregular intervals till 1351, when it came out regularly every -week. At the commencement of the present century, it became a ‘daily,’ -at the price of two _kehs_—about a halfpenny. By a decree of the -emperor, a short time back, it was ordered that three editions were to -be printed every day—the first or morning edition, on yellow paper, is -devoted to commercial intelligence; the second or afternoon edition -contains official and general news; and the third, on red paper, is a -summary of the two earlier editions, with the addition of political -and social articles. The editorial duties are performed by six members -of the Scientific Academy, who are appointed by government. The -circulation is about fourteen thousand daily. - -On board the _Hecla_, one of the ships belonging to Captain Edward -Parry’s expedition in search of the north-west passage, a paper was -printed called the _North Georgia Gazette and Winter Chronicle_. The -first number was dated the 1st November 1819, and its twenty-first and -last the 20th March 1820. The _Great Britain_ steamer, which started -for Australia on the 21st of August 1852, may claim to have inaugurated -the practice of publishing a newspaper on board ship, as a paper, -entitled the _Great Britain Times_, was published every week during the -voyage, and distributed amongst the passengers. At the present time, -these sea-born broadsheets are a source of considerable amusement, and -go a long way to relieve the monotony of the passage, as the passengers -not only read but supply the articles. Burlesque telegrams, jokes made -by the passengers, and all the news, whether social, nautical, or -personal, of the voyage, are published in their columns. One well-known -American journal has even purchased a steamer and fitted it up as -a regular floating newspaper office. The editors, sub-editors, and -journalists all live on board; and by this means, news which has been -picked up during the voyage can be set up without loss of time; whilst -the details of any incident can be fully authenticated by the steamer -calling at the scene of action. This steamer plies between Memphis and -New Orleans, distributing the papers on its journeys, and collecting -every item of news current along the banks of the Mississippi. - -Before the 67th Regiment left England for British Burmah, the officers -spent a sum of money in purchasing a printing-press and types, with -which they published a paper called _Our Chronicle_, soon after -they landed at Rangoon. The editorial staff and compositors were -all connected with the regiment, and the journal was regarded as -a phenomenon in the annals of the press. Another military journal -deserving mention is, or was, the _Cuartal Real_, the official organ -of the Carlists, published during the war on the almost inaccessible -summit of the Pena de la Plata. - -Though America is the land of big things, in newspaper matters it can -boast of possessing the smallest paper in the world. This diminutive -journal is the _Madoc Star_, which very properly has for its motto, -‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star.’ It is published weekly. Its dimensions -are three inches and a half by three inches; and it consists of -four pages, the first being devoted to foreign news, the second to -mining notes, the last two to local news. If we may believe the Paris -_Rappel_, America has recently issued two startling novelties combining -utility with entertainment. The first is a newspaper printed on cotton -cloth, and is called the _Pocket-handkerchief_, which at once explains -the purpose to which it is to be put when intellectual demands have -been satisfied. The other is called the _Necktie_, being printed with -gold letters upon silk, and is said to be highly ornamental and of -great elegance. This is practical literature with a vengeance. - - - - -THE DAWN OF PEACE. - - - Sweet dawn of peace, how lovely is thy breaking! - With summer blossoms round thy smiling brow, - From troubled dreams of dead and dying, waking, - Gladly we hasten forth to greet thee now. - Heaven’s brightest gems are gleaming in thy tresses; - Thy voice of melody bids discord cease; - And ’neath the magic of thy fond caresses, - All earth grows beautiful, fair dawn of peace. - - Earth’s feathered minstrels plume their wings with gladness, - And hail thy coming with a burst of song; - While weary Age, bowed down with care and sadness, - Passes contented through life’s busy throng. - What though the summer of our lives be over, - Our steps may falter, but our hearts rejoice, - When, o’er fair fields of fragrant crimson clover, - Steals the dear music of thy heavenly voice. - - The nation kneels in humble adoration, - For angels follow in thy glittering train, - Singing sweet hymns of praise; while all creation - Mingles its voice in the triumphant strain. - No bloodstains mar thy robe of snowy whiteness, - Though thou hast paused o’er many a gory bed, - Shedding a halo of celestial brightness - Round the still forms of the unburied dead. - - To the lone mother by her childless ingle, - Bright as a star thy radiant face appears; - And golden hopes, like morning sunbeams, mingle - With the pure fountain of her joyous tears. - Fades the dark memory of long nights of sorrow; - Her worn cheek glows; her heart’s wild doubtings cease. - To Love and Home, her boy shall come to-morrow, - Borne in thy pitying arms, blest dawn of peace. - - Delighted childhood flings white chains of daisies, - As Youth’s best offering, at thy gracious feet; - The dome of heaven seems echoing forth thy praises; - Where muffled drums made mourning, glad hearts beat; - And while the merry lark is proudly soaring - In joyous rapture from the emerald sod, - Pæans of praise our grateful souls are pouring, - For thou art welcome as a smile from God! - - * * * * * - -Printed and Published by W. & R. 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