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diff --git a/old/66599-0.txt b/old/66599-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 499e74b..0000000 --- a/old/66599-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2275 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular -Literature, Science, and Art, Fifth Series, No. 47, Vol. I, November 22, -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. 47, Vol. I, November 22, 1884 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: October 23, 2021 [eBook #66599] - -Language: English - -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. 47, VOL. I, NOVEMBER 22, -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. 47.—VOL. I. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1884. PRICE 1½_d._] - - - - -CURIOSITIES OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND. - - -Considering the world-wide reputation of the Bank of England, it is -remarkable how little is generally known as to its internal working. -Standing in the very heart of the largest city in the world—a central -landmark of the great metropolis—even the busy Londoners around it -have, as a rule, only the vaguest possible knowledge of what goes on -within its walls. In truth, its functions are so many, its staff so -enormous, and their duties so varied, that many even of those who have -spent their lives in its service will tell you that, beyond their own -immediate departments, they know but little of its inner life. Its mere -history, as recorded by Mr Francis, fills two octavo volumes. It will -be readily understood, therefore, that it would be idle to attempt -anything like a complete description of it within the compass of a -magazine article. There are, however, many points about the Bank and -its working which are extremely curious and interesting, and some of -these we propose briefly to describe. - -The Bank of England originated in the brain of William Paterson, -a Scotchman—better known, perhaps, as the organiser and leader of -the ill-fated Darien expedition. It commenced business in 1694, its -charter—which was in the first instance granted for eleven years -only—bearing date the 27th July of that year. This charter has been -from time to time renewed, the last renewal having taken place in -1844. The original capital of the Bank was but one million two hundred -thousand pounds, and it carried on its business in a single room in -Mercers’ Hall, with a staff of fifty-four clerks. From so small a -beginning has grown the present gigantic establishment, which covers -nearly three acres, and employs in town and country nearly nine hundred -officials. Upon the latest renewal of its charter, the Bank was divided -into two distinct departments, the Issue and the Banking. In addition -to these, the Bank has the management of the national debt. The books -of the various government funds are here kept; here all transfers are -made, and here all dividends are paid. - -In the Banking department is transacted the ordinary business of -bankers. Here other banks keep their ‘reserve,’ and hence draw their -supplies as they require them. The Issue department is intrusted -with the circulation of the notes of the Bank, which is regulated as -follows. The Bank in 1844 was a creditor of the government to the -extent of rather over eleven million pounds, and to this amount and -four million pounds beyond, for which there is in other ways sufficient -security, the Bank is allowed to issue notes without having gold in -reserve to meet them. Beyond these fifteen million pounds, every note -issued represents gold actually in the coffers of the Bank. The total -value of the notes in the hands of the public at one time averages -about twenty-five million pounds. To these must be added other notes -to a very large amount in the hands of the Banking department, which -deposits the bulk of its reserve of gold in the Issue department, -accepting notes in exchange. - -All Bank of England notes are printed in the Bank itself. Six -printing-presses are in constant operation, the same machine printing -first the particulars of value, signature, &c., and then the number -of the note in consecutive order. The paper used is of very peculiar -texture, being at once thin, tough, and crisp; and the combination of -these qualities, together with the peculiarities of the watermark, -which is distributed over the whole surface of the paper, forms one -of the principal guarantees against imitation. The paper, which is -manufactured exclusively at one particular mill, is made in oblong -slips, allowing just enough space for the printing of two notes side by -side. The edges of the paper are left untrimmed, but, after printing, -the two notes are divided by a straight cut between them. This accounts -for the fact, which many of our readers will doubtless have noticed, -that only one edge of a Bank-note is smooth, the other three being -comparatively ragged. The printing-presses are so constructed as -to register each note printed, so that the machine itself indicates -automatically how many notes have passed through it. The average -production of notes is fifty thousand a day, and about the same number -are presented in the same time for payment. - -No note is ever issued a second time. When once it finds its way back -to the Bank to be exchanged for coin, it is immediately cancelled; and -the reader will probably be surprised to hear that the average life -of a Bank-note, or the time during which it is in actual circulation, -is not more than five or six days. The returned notes, averaging, as -we have stated, about fifty thousand a day, and representing, one day -with another, about one million pounds in value, are brought into what -is known as the Accountant’s Sorting Office. Here they are examined -by inspectors, who reject any which may be found to be counterfeit. -In such a case, the paying-in bank is debited with the amount. The -notes come in from various banks in parcels, each parcel accompanied -by a memorandum stating the number and amount of the notes contained -in it. This memorandum is marked with a certain number, and then each -note in the parcel is stamped to correspond, the stamping-machine -automatically registering how many are stamped, and consequently -drawing immediate attention to any deficiency in the number of notes -as compared with that stated in the memorandum. This done, the notes -are sorted according to number and date, and after being defaced by -punching out the letters indicating value, and tearing off the corner -bearing the signature, are passed on to the ‘Bank-note Library,’ where -they are packed in boxes, and preserved for possible future reference -during a period of five years. There are one hundred and twenty clerks -employed in this one department; and so perfect is the system of -registration, that if the number of a returned note be known, the head -of this department, by referring to his books, can ascertain in a few -minutes the date when and the banker through whom it was presented; -and if within the period of five years, can produce the note itself -for inspection. As to the ‘number’ of a Bank-note, by the way, there -is sometimes a little misconception, many people imagining that by -quoting the bare figures on the face of a note they have done all that -is requisite for its identification. This is not the case. Bank-notes -are not numbered consecutively _ad infinitum_, but in series of one -to one hundred thousand, the different series being distinguished as -between themselves by the date, which appears in full in the body of -the note, and is further indicated, to the initiated, by the letter and -numerals prefixed to the actual number. Thus 25/O 90758 on the face of -a note indicates that the note in question is No. 90758 of the series -printed on May 21, 1883, which date appears in full in the body of -the note. 69/N in like manner indicates that the note forms part of a -series printed on February 19, 1883. In ‘taking the number’ of a note, -therefore, either this prefix or the full date, as stated in the body -of the note, should always be included. - -The ‘Library’ of cancelled notes—not to be confounded with the Bank -Library proper—is situated in the Bank vaults, and we are indebted to -the courtesy of the Bank-note Librarian for the following curious and -interesting statistics respecting his stock. The stock of paid notes -for five years—the period during which, as before stated, the notes are -preserved for reference—is about seventy-seven million seven hundred -and forty-five thousand in number. They fill thirteen thousand four -hundred boxes, about eighteen inches long, ten wide, and nine deep. -If the notes could be placed in a pile one upon another, they would -reach to a height of five and two-third miles. Joined end to end they -would form a ribbon twelve thousand four hundred and fifty-five miles -long, or half-way round the globe; if laid so as to form a carpet, they -would very nearly cover Hyde Park. Their original value is somewhat -over seventeen hundred and fifty millions, and their weight is about -ninety-one tons. The immense extent of space necessary to accommodate -such a mass in the Bank vaults may be imagined. The place, with its -piles on piles of boxes reaching far away into dim distance, looks like -some gigantic wine-cellar or bonded warehouse. - -As each day adds, as we have seen, about fifty thousand notes to the -number, it is necessary to find some means of destroying those which -have passed their allotted term of preservation. This is done by fire, -about four hundred thousand notes being burnt at one time in a furnace -specially constructed for that purpose. Formerly, from some peculiarity -in the ink with which the notes were printed, the cremated notes burnt -into a solid blue clinker; but the composition of the ink has been -altered, and the paper now burns to a fine gray ash. The fumes of the -burning paper are extremely dense and pungent; and to prevent any -nuisance arising from this cause, the process of cremation is carried -out at dead of night, when the city is comparatively deserted. Further, -in order to mitigate the density of the fumes, they are made to ascend -through a shower of falling water, the chimney shaft being fitted with -a special shower-bath arrangement for this purpose. - -Passing away from the necropolis of dead and buried notes, we visit -the Treasury, whence they originally issued. This is a quiet-looking -room, scarcely more imposing in appearance than the butler’s pantry in -a West-end mansion, but the modest-looking cupboards with which its -walls are lined are gorged with hidden treasure. The possible value -of the contents of this room may be imagined from the fact that a -million of money, in notes of one thousand pounds, forms a packet only -three inches thick. The writer has had the privilege of holding such a -parcel in his hand, and for a quarter of a minute imagining himself a -millionaire—with an income of over thirty thousand per annum for life! -The same amount might occupy even less space than the above, for Mr -Francis tells a story of a lost note for thirty thousand pounds, which, -turning up after the lapse of many years, was paid by the Bank _twice -over_! We are informed that notes of even a higher value than this have -on occasion been printed, but the highest denomination now issued is -one thousand pounds. - -In this department is kept a portion of the Bank’s stock of golden -coin, in bags of one thousand pounds each. This amount does not require -a very large bag for its accommodation, but its weight is considerable, -amounting to two hundred and fifty-eight ounces twenty pennyweights, -so that a million in gold would weigh some tons. In another room of -this department—the Weighing Office—are seen the machines for detecting -light coin. These machines are marvels of ingenious mechanism. Three or -four hundred sovereigns are laid in a long brass scoop or semi-tube, of -such a diameter as to admit them comfortably, and self-regulating to -such an incline that the coins gradually slide down by their own weight -on to one plate of a little balance placed at its lower extremity. -Across the face of this plate two little bolts make alternate thrusts, -one to the right, one to the left, but at slightly different levels. -If the coin be of full weight, the balance is held in equipoise, and -the right-hand bolt making its thrust, pushes it off the plate and down -an adjacent tube into the receptacle for full-weight coin. If, on the -other hand, the coin is ever so little ‘light,’ the balance naturally -rises with it. The right-hand bolt makes its thrust as before, but -this time passes harmlessly beneath the coin. Then comes the thrust of -the left-hand bolt, which, as we have said, is fixed at a fractionally -higher level, and pushes the coin down a tube on the opposite side, -through which it falls into the light-coin receptacle. The coins thus -condemned are afterwards dropped into another machine, which defaces -them by a cut half-way across their diameter, at the rate of two -hundred a minute. The weighing-machines, of which there are sixteen, -are actuated by a small atmospheric engine in one corner of the room, -the only manual assistance required being to keep them supplied with -coins. It is said that sixty thousand sovereigns and half-sovereigns -can be weighed here in a single day. The weighing-machine in question -is the invention of Mr Cotton, a former governor of the Bank, and among -scientific men is regarded as one of the most striking achievements of -practical mechanics. - -In the Bullion department we find another weighing-machine of a -different character, but in its way equally remarkable. It is the -first of its kind, having been designed specially for the Bank by Mr -James Murdoch Napier, by whom it has been patented. It is used for the -purpose of weighing bullion, which is purchased in this department. -Gold is brought in in bars of about eight inches long, three wide, and -one inch thick. A bar of gold of these dimensions will weigh about two -hundred ounces, and is worth, if pure, about eight hundred pounds. -Each bar when brought in is accompanied by a memorandum of its weight. -The question of quality is determined by the process of assaying; the -weight is checked by means of the weighing-machine we have referred to. -This takes the form of an extremely massive pair of scales, working -on a beam of immense strength and solidity, and is based, so as to -be absolutely rigid, on a solid bed of concrete. The whole stands -about six feet high by three wide, and is inclosed in an air-tight -plate-glass case, a sash in which is raised when it is desired to -use the machine. The two sides of the scale are each kept permanently -loaded, the one with a single weight of three hundred and sixty ounces, -the other with a number of weights of various sizes to the same amount. -When it is desired to test the weight of a bar of gold, weights to the -amount stated in the corresponding memorandum, _less half an ounce_, -are removed from the latter scale, and the bar of gold substituted in -their place. Up to this point the beam of the scale is kept perfectly -horizontal, being maintained in that position by a mechanical break; -but now a stud is pressed, and by means of delicate machinery, actuated -by water-power, the beam is released. If the weight of the bar has been -correctly stated in the memorandum, the scale which holds it should be -exactly half an ounce in excess. This or any less excess of weight over -the three hundred and sixty ounces in the opposite scale is instantly -registered by the machine, a pointer travelling round a dial until it -indicates the proper amount. The function of the machine, however, is -limited to weighing half an ounce only. If the discrepancy between the -two scales as loaded is greater than this, or if on the other hand the -bar of gold is more than half an ounce less than the amount stated in -the memorandum, an electric bell rings by way of warning, the pointer -travels right round the dial, and returns to zero. So delicate is the -adjustment, that the weight of half a penny postage stamp—somewhat less -than half a grain—will set the hand in motion and be recorded on the -dial. - -The stock of gold in the bullion vault varies from one to three million -pounds sterling. The bars are laid side by side on small flat trucks or -barrows carrying one hundred bars each. In a glass case in this vault -is seen a portion of the war indemnity paid by King Coffee of Ashantee, -consisting of gold ornaments, a little short of standard fineness. - -One of the first reflections that strike an outsider permitted to -inspect the repository of so much treasure is, ‘Can all this wealth -be safe?’ These heaps of precious metal, these piles of still more -precious notes, are handled by the officials in such an easy-going, -matter-of-course way, that one would almost fancy a few thousands would -scarcely be missed; and that a dishonest person had only to walk in -and help himself to as many sovereigns or hundred pound notes as his -pockets could accommodate. Such, however, is very far from being the -case. The safeguards against robbery, either by force or fraud, are -many and elaborate. At night the Bank is guarded at all accessible -points by an ample military force, which would no doubt give a good -account of any intruder rash enough to attempt to gain an entrance. In -the event of attack from without, there are sliding galleries which -can be thrust out from the roof, and which would enable a body of -sharpshooters to rake the streets in all directions. - -Few people are aware that the Bank of England contains within its walls -a graveyard, but such is nevertheless the fact. The Gordon riots in -1780, during which the Bank was attacked by a mob, called attention to -the necessity for strengthening its defences. Competent authorities -advised that an adjoining church, rejoicing in the appropriate name -of St Christopher-le-Stocks, was in a military sense a source of -danger, and accordingly an Act of Parliament was passed to enable -the directors to purchase the church and its appurtenances. The old -churchyard, tastefully laid out, now forms what is known as the Bank -‘garden,’ the handsome ‘Court Room’ or ‘Bank Parlour’ abutting on one -of its sides. There is a magnificent lime-tree, one of the largest in -London, in the centre of the garden, and tradition states that under -this tree a former clerk of the Bank, _eight feet high_, lies buried. -With this last, though not least of the curiosities of the Bank, we -must bring the present article to a close. We had intended briefly to -have referred to sundry eventful pages of its history; but these we are -compelled, by considerations of space, to reserve for a future paper. - - - - -BY MEAD AND STREAM. - - -CHAPTER LVII.—THE SECRET IN THE OAK PARLOUR. - -At Willowmere, the rapidity with which Mr Hadleigh regained strength -astounded Dr Joy, and delighted the patient’s nurses, Aunt Hessy and -Madge. - -‘Wonderful nerve, wonderful physique he must have,’ whispered Dr Joy -admiringly on the fifth day; ‘and yet, according to all accounts, he -did not study the economy of either in the course of his life. Well, -well; we do come across extraordinary constitutions occasionally, and -his is one of them.’ - -The peculiarity of the case was that, after the first shock, the -patient was perfectly calm, and showed not the remotest symptom of -delirium. He understood everything that passed around him, and when -permitted, talked quietly about the fire, and listened attentively to -all that was related to him regarding it. - -He heard with pleased surprise the account of how Caleb had rescued -him, and said to Madge: ‘I must do something for that man; but it will -have to be by your hand, for he is evidently resolved to accept nothing -from mine.’ - -‘We will have to find out where he is, before we can do anything for -him. He intended to go to Australia; but the day after he regained his -freedom, he wrote to Philip saying that he had altered his mind, and -was going to the United States.’ - -‘Why did not Philip keep him here?’ - -‘He tried to persuade him to remain, but could not. Poor Caleb, he does -not know what a sorry heart he has left behind him.’ Here she checked -herself, feeling that she was entering upon delicate ground. ‘He sent -good wishes to you, and to all of us, and promised to write again to -Philip, so that we may have an opportunity of serving him yet.’ - -‘He is a headstrong fellow,’ said Mr Hadleigh; ‘and I hope he may -not ruin his own prospects by his too great eagerness to secure the -independence of his neighbours. You see, Miss Heathcote, he is one -of those unhappy people who have reached the stage of education in -which they discover that they have certain rights, without having got -education enough to recognise the responsibilities which these rights -entail. Well, we must wait till we have news of him.... Has my safe -been dug out of the ruins yet?’ - -That was a question he had been asking daily from the moment when -he comprehended the disaster which had befallen him; and the answer -had been hitherto always the same: ‘Not yet.’ At length came the -information that the safe had been found, and was apparently little -damaged by its ordeal of fire. - -Then Mr Hadleigh bade Philip take his keys and bring him from the safe -a little deed-box marked ‘_L. H. Private_.’ When Philip returned with -the box, his father had been moved into the Oak Parlour, where he was -reclining in a big armchair, supported by down cushions. A cheery fire -with one of Madge’s oak-logs was blazing on the hearth, raising the -temperature of the apartment to summer heat. - -When the box was placed on the table beside him, he desired to be left -alone until he should ring a hand-bell which was within his reach. -He had caused Philip to place the key in the box, and for a space he -remained motionless, staring at it, as if hesitating to touch again the -spring of emotions which he had intended should be there shut up from -him for ever. His eyelids drooped, and in spite of the bright glow of -the fire, a shadow fell on his pale face. - -‘Yes, I thank God that I am spared to do this thing,’ he muttered at -length. ‘Let the secret die with me—it was a cruel as well as a selfish -wish that prompted me to reveal it to them. What matter to me how -they may hold me in their memory? They may think of me as that which -circumstances made me appear, not as what I wished to be. What matter? -The dead are beyond earthly pain and passion. I shall not stretch my -hand from the grave to cast the least shade of regret over their lives.’ - -He slowly took from the box the two packets he had so carefully sealed -and put away on the night of the fire. The one was addressed to -Madge as Mrs Philip Hadleigh; the other, to his son Philip, with the -injunction that he, after reading, was to decide whether or not to show -it to his wife. The paper addressed to Madge, he took up and held in -the long thin scarred hands as if it were a thing capable of feeling. -He broke the seal and took the paper from the envelope, performing -the operation mechanically, whilst the far-away look was in his eyes, -and the Something he had sought but could not reach was fading from -his vision altogether. His was the kind of expression with which one -who knows he is doomed watches the last sunset displaying its brief, -changing glories on the horizon. The broad streams of gleaming amber -and opal are quietly transfused into the pensive gray of twilight, and -the darkness follows. - -‘They must never know.’ - -He made a movement as if to drop the paper into the fire, paused, and -his eyes rested on the writing, although they did not distinguish the -words. And there was no need; for they only represented in a feeble way -thoughts which were always present to his mind. - -‘I must speak’—such were the written words—‘or I shall lose all -self-restraint. You cannot be harmed by what is put down here. Perhaps -you will never see it; you certainly shall not until after my funeral, -and then you may be able to understand and think none the less kindly -of me for this confession. - -‘You have seen me in my darkest moods, and you have wondered at my -melancholy—wondered why I who had been granted such a large measure of -what the world esteems prosperity should find no contentment in it. I -have partly explained the cause to Philip: I could not explain it to -you. - -‘With bitter reason I early learned to believe that money—mere -money—was the source of all earthly happiness. I was mistaken, and -found out my mistake too late. I should have been content, perhaps -happy in a way, if I could have gone on to the end without the -knowledge that the want of Love is the only real sorrow which can enter -into man or woman’s life. But there was nobody to lead me out of the -miserable conviction which took possession of my mind as I watched -those dearest to me fall one by one, not with the merciful swiftness -of soldiers in battle, but in the lingering torments of soul and body -which come to those who are poor. - -‘Left alone, I looked around. The whole world was my enemy, to be -conquered by force and stratagem. Any man may be rich, I said, who -has a clear head and no conscience; who is willing to abandon all -sentiment, forego all trivial pleasures, and give himself absolutely to -the service of the world’s idol. I gave myself to the idol; and wealth -came to me in increasing stores year by year, month by month, day by -day. - -‘At first, the sense of my victory sufficed; but soon there came the -consciousness that this was not happiness; it was the successful -working of a machine. I craved for something more, but did not know -what it was. My wife’s affection, I knew, belonged to another: I had -married her with that knowledge. I tried to win the friendship of my -children; but the girls had learned to regard me with a kind of fear, -Coutts with indifference, and Philip was the only one who could speak -to me with frankness. His generous nature comforted me, but did not -fill up the void in my life. - -‘I was still seeking the Something which was necessary to me, and at -length I found it in YOU.... Yes, you taught me what love was—I loved -you with all the fervour of youth. My years, my experience of the world -intensified the love which I had never known before. I was prepared to -sacrifice all my possessions, all my hopes, for you. - -‘Do not start away and cast the paper from you; I have made the -sacrifice. - -‘At the same moment in which the treasure that would have made life -beautiful was revealed to me, there was also revealed the impossibility -of its ever becoming mine. I was like a seaman who is shipwrecked and -sinks within sight of land. I will not try to tell you through what -pain I passed to the recognition of the duty Love imposed—to help -forward your happiness in any direction in which you might think it -lay. I will not try to tell you with what agitation I learned for the -first time, what must have become known to me long before, had it not -been for the morbid isolation in which my days were passed, that you -and Philip were betrothed. - -‘My first desire then was to bring about your union as speedily -as possible, believing that I should find my peace in having the -privilege of calling you daughter. Meeting your uncle Crawshay in -the market-place, I took him to a private apartment in the inn and -endeavoured to explain my wishes. I must have spoken stupidly, for he -misunderstood me, and fancied that the proposal was on my own account. -His misconception startled and confused me, and he left me in great -indignation. - -‘I thought of following him to Willowmere and explaining; but the -effort already made had tried me so much, that not feeling sure of -what awkwardness of speech or what irrepressible sign of emotion might -betray my secret, I determined to let matters take their course, whilst -my task should be to keep Philip at home and to hasten the marriage. -You know how earnestly I strove to carry out that resolution. - -‘You and Philip will be happy. You two have found in time the golden -key of life, and in your happiness I shall find mine at last. I want to -live till then; and, after, I shall pass away content.’ - - * * * * * - -The invalid seemed to arouse from a sad and yet pleasing dream, for -there was a faint smile on his worn face, and the eyes seemed to -brighten as with the consciousness of victory—that greatest of all -victories, the conquest of self. - -He rang the hand-bell, and Madge herself promptly answered the summons. - -‘It is you I wanted, my child.... How good and patient you have been -with me—Madge. Take notice, I am to call you henceforth, Madge, my -child.’ - -‘And I shall call you father,’ she said tenderly, taking one of his -hands and stroking it affectionately. - -He was silent for a few moments; then lifting his head, he drew her -towards him and kissed her with strange solemnity on the brow. - -‘Yes, my child,’ he said calmly, ‘that is the name which commands a -portion of your love—and you will give me a little of it?’ - -‘A great deal of it—you may be sure of that,’ she answered, blushing -slightly, and thinking how could she do otherwise than give a great -deal of love to Philip’s father. - -‘You give me more comfort than you know, my dear daughter. Now take -this paper and place it on the fire, so that I may see it burn to -ashes.’ - -She obeyed unquestioningly; and he watched the flame stretching its -white fingers round the secret which was to die with him; saw the paper -curl into black and white films; and then he drew a long breath of -relief. - -‘They can never know now,’ was his mental exclamation. ‘Thank God it is -done, and by her hand.’ - -There was a little while of dreamy silence, during which Madge stood -by his side, holding his hand, and anxiously noting every change on -his countenance. The changes were rapid and curious as those of a -kaleidoscope: now there was pain; again a stern frown, as if checking -some rebellious spirit, and anon a serene smile of resignation and -content. With this latter expression he looked up to her. - -‘Call Philip.’ - -The son was immediately in attendance. - -‘I hope you are not exerting yourself too much, sir,’ was his anxious -observation. - -‘O no; I am wonderfully strong this afternoon, and am taking advantage -of the renewed strength to put some matters straight, which being done, -will relieve my mind, and so give me the better chance of a speedy -recovery. But it is as well to be prepared for the worst; and therefore -I wish to have the satisfaction of handing you this packet in Madge’s -presence. You will learn from it that when I took from you the portion -of my fortune which would have been yours in the ordinary course of -events, I gave it to your future wife. I did not intend you to know -this until after my death; but as your uncle has come to grief, I am -desirous of relieving your mind as soon as possible from any fear of -the future; and I should have been glad to have helped Austin Shield -out of his difficulties, for your mother’s sake—but he would refuse any -help that came from me.—What is that?’ - -The exclamation was caused by one of the oak panels facing him slowly -moving aside and revealing the form of a man. - - - - -MORE USES OF PAPER. - - -The place of timber in construction bids fair to be taken by -papier-mâché, and it may claim to rival iron itself in the multiplicity -of its industrial applications. Besides the advantage of its cheap -construction, papier-mâché is not affected by changes of temperature, -does not crack, like wood or plaster, and is never discoloured by rust. -It can be bronzed, painted, polished, or gilded, made heavy or light -as required, and possesses greater adaptability for quick removal or -adjustment than most other materials. Its uses in architecture seem to -have no limit, as has been shown by building and completely furnishing -a dwelling-house entirely of this material. According to report, a -huge hotel is about to be constructed in America in which paper will -take the place of stone and brick. The fourth paper dome in the United -States and, it is thought, in the world, will crown the new Observatory -at Columbia College, in New York. A trade journal remarks that besides -the paper dome at the Troy Polytechnic, there is a second at West -Point, and a third at Beloit College. That at West Point is said to -be the largest, but that at Columbia College the best in construction -and arrangement. The method used in the manufacture of the paper is -kept a secret, the makers using a patented process. The dome is made -in sections—twenty-four in number. They are bent over towards the -inside at the edges and bolted to ribs of wood. The shell, though very -thin, is as stiff as sheet-iron. On one side of the dome is the oblong -opening for the telescope, and over this a shutter, also of paper, but -stiffened with wood-lining, which slides around on the outside of the -dome. The whole dome is so light that the hand can turn it. - -As regards the uses of papier-mâché in Europe, we hear of a complete -church being built in Bavaria, having columns, walls, altar, roof, -and spire all of this material. Some of the most tasteful halls on -the continent and in this country are finished in it in preference -to wood. Mantels, mirrors, frames, and gilded chandeliers are of -its composition. Pedestals, newels, vases, furniture, and ornaments -of all kinds, no less than floors and staircases, gas-pipes, and -even chimney-shafts, can be made of it. In Breslau, a chimney-shaft -fifty feet high is said to have been made of paper-pulp chemically -impregnated so as to resist combustion. - -Incombustible as well as water-proof paper is now no novelty, and -has before been alluded to in this _Journal_; but an account of some -further experiments in this line has since reached us. M. G. Meyer -of Paris recently exhibited to the ‘Société d’Encouragement pour -l’Industrie nationale’ specimens of an incombustible paper capable of -taking on inks of various shades, and also paintings, and preserving -them even in the fire of a gas-flame. It was stated by him that the -papers and documents shown had been for four hours in a pottery -furnace, and had displayed undoubted fire-resisting properties. Paper -of this indestructible nature should be in good demand for wills, -deeds, and account-books, &c. It is also suitable for wall-covering, -and ought, we should think, to be of great value for theatrical -decorations and scenery. The latter can be rendered uninflammable by -using this inventor’s material as well as his incombustible colours. -While on the subject of decoration may be mentioned the new kind of -satin paper recently brought out for this purpose. It is made by -covering common paper with adhesive size, and sprinkling dyed asbestos -powder on its moist surface. Asbestos readily takes up all colours, -especially those of aniline, so that some very rich effects can be -produced. - -Paper curtains, counterpanes, sheets, and so forth, are said to have -been among the objects of interest at the Sydney Exhibition; and so -there is no reason to doubt the report that table-napkins of the same -adaptable substance are regularly supplied at the cheap dining-rooms -of Berlin. The napkins are of tissue-paper with a coloured ornamental -border—not only because paper is cheaper than diaper, but as a -protection against pilfering. Indeed, so common are paper table-napkins -said to be at Berlin, that the manufacturers advertise them regularly -in the newspapers at the rate of about nine or ten a penny. - -When we think of the extraordinary uses to which paper is applied, it -is not so startling to learn that this material may even enter into -the composition of our post-prandial cigar. If we are to believe the -newspapers, millions of cigars are annually manufactured in Havana -without so much as a single fibre of tobacco-leaf being utilised in the -process of their fabrication. The great straw-paper factory in New York -State has for some time been making a peculiar sort of extremely thin -fine paper, which it has been discovered is used for making cigars. -This we are told is thoroughly soaked in a solution composed of tobacco -refuse boiled in water, then dried and pressed between stamps, which -impart to it the appearance of the finest leaf so exactly as to defy -detection even on the part of the experienced in such matters. Of these -paper-leaves are fabricated the spurious cigars alluded to, which are -exported from Cuba to all parts of the world as genuine tobacco. The -cost of their production is nothing in comparison with the prices at -which they are disposed of. A slight difference in weight between the -genuine and the spurious cigar of identical brand and size, affords, -it is stated, the only certain means of detecting this fraud, so alike -in appearance are the weeds of real tobacco and their counterfeit -presentments in straw-paper. - -As delicate sheets of paper can be made to serve for steel or iron, -it is easily understood that school-slates can be manufactured from -similar apparently unpromising beginnings. They are made of white -cardboard, covered with a film formed by the action of sulphuric acid -on tissue-paper. This covering, according to an American journal, is -probably a modification of celluloid. The slates can be used with -a lead-pencil or with ink; and to remove the marks, the slate is -washed with cold water. A special ink is also prepared for use with -these white slates. Another form of slate is made by coating the -white cardboard with water-glass. It may be used with lead-pencils or -coloured crayons. When the surface becomes soiled, the water-glass may -be rubbed off with sand-paper, and a new film may be put on with a -sponge or brush dipped in water-glass. - -To the number of paper-making materials now in use must be added an old -weed of the nettle species, not of the stinging kind. From the bark of -certain shrubs, also, several kinds of Japanese paper are made. The -strongest and commonest is made from the bark of the mitsuma. A paper -of superior quality is likewise made from the kozu, a small tree of the -mulberry family, imported from China. The inner bark of both shrubs is -washed and dried, softened in steam and boiling water, and afterwards -beaten with staves until a fine paste is formed. This paste mixed with -water is then made into paper in the ordinary way. - -A new use of cedar-bark has been undertaken at New Bedford, -Massachusetts. The Acushnet paper-mill at that point is, it -appears, nearly completed, and was built for the express purpose of -manufacturing pulp and paper from cedar-bark. This, we are told, is -the first enterprise of the kind ever undertaken. The bark is taken -from shingle butts that are sixteen inches long, and are bundled for -shipment like laths. The new mill will work up three cords of bark a -day. The first product will be for carpet linings; but the paper is -said to be equally adapted to other purposes. - -A new method of preparing soluble wool from tissues in which wool and -cotton are combined has been discovered. When subjected to a current -of superheated steam under a pressure of five atmospheres, the wool -melts and falls to the bottom of the pan, leaving the cotton, linen, -and other vegetable fibres clean and in a condition suitable for -paper-making. The melted wool is afterwards evaporated to dryness, when -it becomes completely soluble in water. The increased value of the rags -is said to be sufficient to cover the whole cost of the operation. - -With the use of the papyrus, as is well known, the Egyptians were -early acquainted, and its manufacture was a government monopoly, as -paper-making is to this day at Boulak, the river-port of Cairo. The -remarkable aptitude for paper-making displayed by the Boulak Arabs -is an hereditary accomplishment. The Daira paper manufactory in the -suburb of Boulak regularly employed, we are told, more than two hundred -hands before the late war, almost all natives. Most of the paper turned -out is for packing purposes; but thousands of reams of good writing -and printing paper are also manufactured. The writing-paper is made -specially for Arabic writing; and what is produced in excess of the -requirements of the country is exported eastward, partly to Arabia, and -a small portion even to India. Though linen and cotton rags are used -in this factory, the interior of the stalk of the sugar-cane furnishes -an endless supply of paper-making material. In the production of what -is called ‘straw’ paper in Europe, the _hilfa_ grass plays a very -important part. The Daira factory at Boulak enjoys a monopoly of this -industry in Egypt; and in connection with it is the National Printing -Office, also under the control of the same administration. - -In conclusion, some reference may be made to a published work entitled -_The Paper Mill Directory of the World_, which will appear annually. -It contains a complete catalogue of all the paper and pulp mills on -the globe. The total number of mills existing is four thousand four -hundred and sixty-three. The German Empire, with over eleven hundred, -heads the list in point of numbers, the United States following very -closely. Then we have France with considerably more than five hundred, -Austro-Hungary, England, Italy, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Canada and -Norway, the remainder being scattered over various parts of the world. -It appears that the mills in the United States are capable of turning -out seven million some odd hundred thousand pounds-weight, in round -numbers, of pulp and paper daily. Over a million pounds is produced in -Massachusetts alone. - - - - -ONE WOMAN’S HISTORY. - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -At the very time Mr Dulcimer was assisting Miss Wynter across the -stepping-stones, the stranger whose unexpected appearance the previous -night had so startled Madame De Vigne was pacing leisurely up the -valley in the direction of the waterfall. - -When, on inquiring for Madame De Vigne at the hotel that morning, he -was told that she had gone out for the day with a picnic party, his -suspicious nature at once took the alarm. Might she not by some means -have discovered his presence in the hotel? he asked himself; and might -not this story of the picnic be nothing more than a subterfuge, by -means of which she would obtain a start of several hours in her efforts -to escape from him? He at once ordered a fly and set off in pursuit. On -reaching the place where the wagonettes had been left, he found that if -he persisted in his search for Madame De Vigne, he would be compelled -to do the rest of the distance on foot. He disliked walking, but in -this case there was no help for it; accordingly, he set out on his way -to the glen with such grace as there might be in him. - -He was a man to all appearance about forty years of age—he might -be a little older; but his figure was still as lithe and active as -that of many a man of twenty. He had jet-black hair, and his closely -cropped beard and moustache were of the same hue. He had large, white, -carnivorous-looking teeth, and small black eyes as piercing as gimlets, -with now and then a strange, furtively suspicious look glancing at you -out of their corners. His features were aquiline, rather finely cut, -and his complexion sallow. By the majority of people he would have been -accounted a fairly handsome man. He was fashionably dressed, but it was -after the fashion of a Parisian dandy, not that of a London swell; and -there is a vast difference in the styles of the two. - -When he had passed through the wicket which gave admittance to the glen -and was within a few yards of the bridge, he paused and gazed around. -Not a creature was to be seen, for, before this, Dick and Bella had -gone on a further journey of exploration and were no longer visible. - -‘So! This must be the place where they told me that I should find her,’ -said the stranger to himself in French. ‘But she is not here. Well, I -can wait.’ He advanced a few yards farther up the glen. ‘We could not -have a better place for our meeting. There will be no one to overhear -what we shall have to say to each other. Ah, _ma chère_ Mora, what a -surprise for you! How enchanted you will be to find that your brave -Hector is not dead, as they wrote and told you he was, but alive, and -burning to embrace you! What happiness for both of us!’ - -He had been climbing slowly up the ravine, and by this time he had -reached the spot where Mora had been sitting but a short time before. -Her sketch-book attracted his eye; he took it up and opened it. - -‘Hers! Here is her name. She cannot be far away. A man’s head—a -likeness evidently. The same again—and yet again. I must find out the -name of this monsieur. I shall have much pleasure to introduce myself -to him.’ A slight noise startled him. He shut the book and raised his -eyes. ‘Ah! here comes my angel,’ he exclaimed. ‘_Sacre bleu!_ she is -handsomer than ever.’ - -For the moment Mora did not perceive him. When she did, she put a hand -quickly to her heart and gave a great gasp. - -‘Ah!’ What a volume of meaning that little word conveyed! - -Monsieur De Miravel—for such was the name he now chose to be known -by—advanced a step or two smilingly, and bowed with all a Frenchman’s -grace. ‘_Me voici!_’ he said. ‘Hector—thy husband—not dead, but alive -and’—— - -She stopped him with an imperious gesture. ‘Wretch—coward—felon!’ she -exclaimed, and her voice seemed to express the concentrated passion and -hatred of years. ‘I could never quite believe that I had been fortunate -enough to lose you for ever. I had a presentiment that I should some -day see you again. Why have you followed me? But I need not ask. It is -to rob me again, as you robbed me before. _Voleur!_’ - -She stood before him drawn up to the full height of her magnificent -beauty, her bosom heaving, her eyes dilating, her head thrown slightly -back, her clenched hands hanging by her sides, her shoulders a little -raised. Even the scoundrel whom she had addressed could not help -admiring her as she towered before him in all the splendour of her -passion. - -A small red spot flamed on either cheek, but his voice had still a -smile in it when next he spoke. ‘Ah ha!’ he said. ‘You are still the -same charming Mora that you always were! You still call me by the same -pretty names! How it brings back the days of long ago!’ - -‘How much money do you want of me?’ she demanded abruptly. ‘What price -do you expect me to pay that I may rid myself of your presence?’ - -‘Softly, _ma chère_, softly. I have not been at all this great trouble -and expense to discover you, without having something to say to you. I -want to talk what you English call business.’ - -‘Name your price and leave me.’ - -‘Taisez-vous, je vous prie. You are here, and you must listen to me. -You cannot help yourself.’ - -Madame De Vigne bit her lip, but did not reply. - -De Miravel sat down, crossed his legs, leant back a little, and looked -up at her with half-shut eyes. ‘Five years ago,’ he began, ‘you -received a certain letter in which you were informed that I was dead. -That letter, by some strange error, was forwarded to the wrong person. -It was not I, your husband, who was dead, but another man of the same -name—another Hector Laroche. When the mistake was discovered, you had -left the place where you had previously been living, and no one knew -what had become of you. Two years ago I found myself in Paris again. -When I had arranged my private affairs, which had suffered during my -long absence, I began to make inquiries concerning the wife from whom I -had been so cruelly torn, and whom my heart was bleeding to embrace.’ - -‘_Menteur!_’ ground out Mora between her teeth. - -He waved, as it were, the epithet aside with an airy gesture of his -hand, and continued: ‘For a long time I could hear nothing concerning -her, and I began to fear that I had lost her for ever. But at length a -clue was put into my hands. I discovered that, in consequence of the -death of a relative, my incomparable wife had come into a fortune of -twelve thousand francs a year—that she had changed her name from Madame -Laroche to that of her aunt, Madame De Vigne, and that she and her -sister had gone to make their home in England. Naturally, I follow my -wife to England, and here, to-day, _me voici!_’ - -‘Your price—name your price,’ was all that the lady deigned to answer. - -‘Pardon. I am not in want of money—at present. It was my wife whom I -sought everywhere, and now that I have found her, I do not intend ever -to leave her again.’ - -‘Liar and villain!’ - -‘Doucement, je vous prie. Listen! I am no longer so young as I once -was. I have travelled—I have seen the world—I am _blasé_. I want a -home—I want what you English call my own fireside. Where, then, should -be my home—where should be my fireside, but with my wife—the wife -from whom I have been torn for so many cruel years, but whom, _parole -d’honneur_, I have never ceased to love and cherish in my heart!’ - -‘Oh! this is too much,’ murmured Mora under her breath, the fingers -of one hand griping those of the other like a vice. The tension was -becoming greater than she could bear. - -‘But there need be no scandal, no éclaircissement among my dear wife’s -English friends,’ went on De Miravel with the same hard, set smile. -‘I have thought of all that. Madame Laroche is dead—Hector Laroche is -dead. In their place we have here, Madame De Vigne, a charming widow; -and Monsieur De Miravel, a bachelor not too antique to marry. Monsieur -De Miravel has known and admired Madame De Vigne before her marriage -to her late husband. What more natural than that he should admire her -still, that he should make her an offer of his hand, and that she -should accept it? So one day Madame De Vigne and Monsieur De Miravel -are quietly married, and, _pouf!_ all the respectable English friends -have dust thrown in their eyes!’ - -For a moment or two Mora stared at him in silence; then she said in a -low voice: ‘And you propose this to me!—to me!’ - -‘Sérieusement, ma chère—sérieusement. It is a beautiful little scheme.’ - -‘If you will not take your price and leave me, I at least can leave -you,’ she answered in low, determined tones. ‘No power on earth can -compel me to live with you for a single hour as your wife, and no power -shall. I would sooner drop dead at your feet.’ - -The Frenchman bent his head and sniffed at the flower in his -button-hole. When he lifted his face again there was a strange -expression in his eyes, which his unhappy wife remembered only too -well, and caused her to shudder in spite of herself. She felt that the -scorpion’s sting of what he had to say to her was yet to come. When he -next spoke, there was the same cold, cruel glitter in his eyes that -travellers tell us is to be seen in the eyes of a cobra at the moment -it is about to strike. - -‘Mademoiselle your sister—what a beautiful young lady she is!’ he said, -speaking even more softly than he had done before, and balancing his -cane on a couple of fingers as he spoke. ‘I saw her this morning for -the first time. She is to be married in a little while to the son of a -rich English _milord_. Is it not so? _Eh bien!_ I wonder what this rich -_milord_, this Sir William, would say, and what the young gentleman, -his son, would say, if they were told that the sister of the charming -Mademoiselle Clarice was the wife of a _déporté_—of Hector Laroche, -a man who had worked out a sentence of penal servitude at Noumea. Of -course the rich Sir William would at once take Monsieur Laroche to -lunch with him at his club, and the young gentleman would present him -with a little cheque for five or six thousand francs; and he would be -asked to give the bride away at the wedding, and he would sign his name -in the register, thus—“Hector Laroche, _ex-déporté_, number 897.”’ - -For a moment or two it seemed to Mora as if earth and heaven were -coming together. - -‘So, fiend! miscreant! that is your scheme, is it?’ - -‘I have shown you my cards,’ he answered with a shrug. ‘I have hidden -nothing from you. So now, _chère_ Madame De Vigne, you have only to -give your promise to marry your devoted De Miravel; and the moment you -do that, Hector Laroche dies and is buried out of sight for ever, and -neither Sir William nor his son will know that such a _vaurien_ ever -existed.’ - -‘Leave me—leave me!’ she exclaimed in a hoarse whisper. - -He glanced at her keenly. It was evident that just at present she could -bear no more. It was not his policy to drive her to extremities. He -rose from his seat. - -‘I will go and promenade myself for a little while,’ he said. ‘In half -an hour I will return.’ - -He raised his hat as he might have done to a duchess. She stood a -little aside, to let him pass, but did not allow her eyes to rest on -him for a moment. He turned and took the path which led up the ravine. - -Mora sank down wearily on the seat he had vacated. At that moment she -felt as if she would have been grateful for the earth to open and -swallow her up. She was appalled at the blackness of the gulf to the -edge of which her husband had just dragged her. What should she do? -Whither should she turn? To whom should she look for help? Alas! in all -the wide world there was no one who could help her—least of all the man -whose strong protecting love had seemed but yesterday as though it were -able to shield her from every harm. - -‘I am in the coils of a Python that will slowly but surely strangle -me,’ she said. ‘Yes—death alone can release me. And only yesterday -I was so happy! If I could but have died at the moment Harold -pressed his lips to mine! Why does he not come? I must tell him -everything—everything. And after that?’ She shuddered, and rose to her -feet. ‘And he loves me so much!’ she said with a heart-broken sigh. -‘Poor Harold! Poor Harold!’ - -Scarcely conscious of what she was doing, she turned and took the same -path that she had taken before when she went to watch for Colonel -Woodruffe’s coming up the valley. Her one burning desire now was to see -him; beyond that, her mind at present refused to go. - - * * * * * - -‘I am afraid that as an ambassador the colonel was a failure.’ - -The speaker was Mr Etheridge, and it was to Clarice Loraine that his -remark was addressed. - -Mr Etheridge had had pointed out to him and had duly admired the -view so much extolled by the young girl, and the two were now slowly -sauntering back to their starting-point. By this time Clarice felt -herself quite at ease with her companion, so much so, indeed, that in -her prettily confidential way she had told him all about how Archie and -she became acquainted, how they grew to love each other, how Archie -proposed and was accepted, and how surprised they all were afterwards -to find that he was a baronet’s son. Then she went on to tell him of -Archie’s letter to his father, the first result of which was Colonel -Woodruffe’s visit at the vicarage. - -‘Well, and what happened after the colonel’s visit?’ continued Mr -Etheridge. - -‘Archie wrote again, twice; but there came no answer till yesterday, -when he received the telegram which summoned him to meet his father in -London.’ - -‘Supposing Sir William should refuse his consent, what would the result -be in that case?’ - -‘That is more than I can tell,’ she answered with a little trembling of -her lips. ‘But before Archie left us, my sister told him that he went -away a free man—that if his father were opposed to the marriage, we -should look upon his promise as if it had never been given; and that if -we never saw him again, we should know the reason why, and never blame -him in our thoughts.’ - -‘And you agreed with what your sister said?’ - -‘With every word of it.’ - -‘That was very brave of you. But what had Mr Archie to say to such an -arrangement?’ - -‘He laughed it to scorn. He said he would do all that lay in his power -to win his father’s consent, but that—that’—— - -‘In any case, he would hold you to your promise, and come back and -claim you for his wife? Mr Archie would find himself a very poor man if -Sir William were to cut off his allowance.’ - -‘That is a prospect which does not seem to frighten him in the least.’ - -‘But doubtless it would not be without its effect upon you, Miss -Loraine. You would hardly care to tie yourself for life to a pauper.’ - -‘O Mr Etheridge, what a strange opinion you must have formed of me! I -would marry Archie if he had not a sovereign to call his own.’ - -‘The charming imprudence of a girl in love. Then you would marry him in -opposition to his father’s wishes?’ - -‘Now you ask me a question that I cannot answer. That, and that only, -would cause me to hesitate.’ - -‘Why should the wishes of a selfish valetudinarian—of a man whom you -have never seen—cause you to hesitate, or be allowed to come between -you and the happiness of your life?’ - -‘Ah! but could I ever be really happy with the knowledge for ever in -my mind that I had been the cause of separating a father from his son, -and that by becoming Archie’s wife I had blighted the fairest prospects -of his life? And then, perhaps—who can tell?—after a time he might -become a little tired of me—men do sometimes tire of their wives, don’t -they?—and then he might begin to remember and regret all that he had -sacrificed in marrying me; and that, I think, would nearly break my -heart.’ - -The old man laid his hand caressingly on her arm for a moment. ‘Well, -well, we must hope for the best,’ he said. ‘We must hope that Sir -William will not prove a very flinty-hearted papa.’ - -She smiled up gratefully in his face. ‘Tell me, Mr Etheridge, is Sir -William a very terrible person to have to do with?’ - -He broke into a little laugh. ‘Terrible, miss? No; hardly that, I -think; but eccentric, if you please. The fact is that Sir William is -one of those men of whom it can never be predicated with certainty what -view he will take, or what conclusion he will arrive at, with regard to -any matter that may be brought before him. He has an obnoxious habit -of thinking and deciding for himself, and is seldom led by the opinions -of others. Yes, undoubtedly Sir William is a very eccentric man.’ - -They had got back to the bridge by this time. ‘Why, I declare, yonder -comes Colonel Woodruffe!’ exclaimed Clarice. ‘I am _so_ pleased—and so -will Mora be.’ - -‘Evidently the colonel is a favourite,’ said Mr Etheridge drily. - -‘Of course he is. Everybody likes Colonel Woodruffe. But probably you -know him already, Mr Etheridge?’ - -‘I have met him occasionally at Sir William’s house. I have no doubt he -would remember me if you were to mention my name.’ - -‘I will go and speak to him, if you will excuse me for a few moments.’ - -Clarice sped quickly across the bridge. Mr Etheridge sat down on the -parapet and fanned himself with his hat. - -The colonel, who had been gazing round him in some perplexity, hurried -forward the moment he perceived Miss Loraine. - -‘Good-morning, Colonel Woodruffe,’ said the girl as she held out her -hand. ‘I am delighted to find that you have discovered us.’ - -‘Your sister told me that you were all to be at High Ghyll to-day, so -I have driven round in search of you. But where are the rest of the -party?’ - -‘Gone in search of the picturesque, I have no doubt. Mora was here a -little while ago; and see’—pointing with her finger—‘yonder are her -sketch-book and shawl, so that she cannot be far away.’ - -The colonel had been gazing over Clarice’s shoulder at Mr Etheridge. -‘Whom have you yonder?’ he asked. ‘I seem to know his face.’ - -‘Such a dear old gentleman!—Mr Etheridge, Sir William Ridsdale’s -secretary.’ - -‘Sir William Ridsdale’s secretary!’ echoed the colonel with an air of -stupefaction. - -‘Yes; he recognised you the moment he saw you. He says that he has met -you occasionally at Sir William’s house.’ - -‘Oh, indeed! But what has brought him here, may I ask?’ - -‘He has come all the way from Spa with a letter for Archie from his -father. But when he reached here this morning, he found that Archie -had been telegraphed for last evening to meet his father in London.—It -seems very strange, doesn’t it? But then, as Mr Etheridge says, Sir -William is a very eccentric man.’ - -‘Very eccentric, indeed,’ responded the colonel absently. - -‘So that of course accounts for it.—But yonder comes Mora.’ - -The colonel turned eagerly. ‘Then, with your permission, I will leave -you to Mr Etheridge.’ - -‘We shall see you at luncheon, of course?’ - -‘You may rely upon me not to miss that,’ answered the colonel with a -laugh. - -Clarice kissed her hand to her sister, and then went back to Mr -Etheridge. She wanted to afford the colonel an opportunity for a -_tête-à-tête_ with Mora, so she at once proposed another ramble to Mr -Etheridge, who assented with alacrity. - -The moment Colonel Woodruffe drew near Mora De Vigne, he saw that -something was amiss. She looked an altogether different woman from her -whom he had parted from only a few hours before with a tender light of -love and happiness in her eyes. His heart misgave him as he walked up -to her. - -‘What has happened?’ he asked in anxious tones as he took her hand. -‘What has wrought this change in you? Your hand is like ice.’ - -She gazed up into his face for a moment or two without speaking, with -a dumb, pitiful wistfulness in her eyes, that affected him strangely. -Then she said: ‘Why did you not read the letter which I gave you last -evening?’ - -He gazed at her for a moment. ‘You know my reasons for not reading it. -But why do you ask that now?’ - -‘Because, if you had read it, you would have saved me from having -to tell so much to-day, which, in that case, you would have known -yesterday.’ - -‘Pardon me, but you speak in enigmas.’ - -‘You have read of earthquakes, although you may never have felt the -shock of one. One minute all is fair, bright, and beautiful; the -next, there is nothing but ruin, disaster, and death. Since I saw you -yesterday, the foundations of my life, which I thought nothing could -ever shake more, have crumbled into utter ruin around me.’ - -‘How can that be, while I am here to guard and cherish you? Yesterday, -you gave me your love—your life. What power on earth can tear them from -me?’ - -‘Ah me! Listen, and you shall learn.’ - -She sat for a few moments with bent head, as if scarcely knowing how to -begin. The colonel was standing a little way from her, one of his arms -twined round the slender stem of a sapling. - -‘What I am about to tell you is the life-story of a most unhappy -woman,’ she said, lifting her head and gazing sadly into his eyes. ‘My -father was an Englishman, who was engaged for many years in business -near Paris. I was educated in a convent, as girls are educated in -France. I had left the convent about a year, and was keeping my -father’s house—my mother having died meanwhile, and my sister being -away at school—when a certain Monsieur Laroche became a frequent -visitor. Before long, my father told me that his affairs were deeply -involved. Laroche was the only man who could or would save him, and -that only on condition that I became his wife. I was little more than -a child in worldly knowledge; I knew that in France the question of -a girl’s marriage is always settled by her parents; so, although I -already detested the man, I yielded to my father’s entreaties, and -became Madame Laroche. Within a year, my father died—by his own hand.’ - -‘My poor Mora!’ - -‘Whatever wreck of property he left behind, my husband contrived -to obtain possession of. But before that time, I knew him to be an -inveterate gambler, and worse! Of my life at that time I care not now -to speak. Can there be many such men as he in the world—such tigers in -human form? I hope not. - -‘Some time after, when my life had become a burden almost greater than -I could bear, there came news of the death of my godmother, and that -she had left me a legacy of two thousand pounds. The money had not been -six hours in my possession, before my husband broke open my bureau and -robbed me of the whole of it, together with my own and my mother’s -jewels. I was left utterly destitute. A few months later came the war, -the siege of Paris, and the famine. Oh! that terrible time. I often -live it over again in my dreams even now.’ - -‘And you have gone through all this!’ said the colonel. - -‘I had no tidings of my husband till the war was over,’ resumed Mora. -‘Then came news indeed. He had been detected cheating at cards—there -had been a quarrel—the lights had been blown out, and the man who had -accused him had been shot through the heart. My husband was tried, -found guilty, and condemned to a long term of penal servitude.’ - -‘A happy riddance for you and every one,’ remarked the colonel with a -shrug. - -‘I had friends who did not desert me in my extremity. I gave lessons -in English, and so contrived to live. One day there came an official -notification that my husband was dead. He had died in prison, and had -been buried in a convict’s grave. Was it wicked to feel glad when I -read the news? If so, then was I wicked indeed.’ - -‘No one but a hypocrite could have pretended to feel otherwise than -glad.’ - -‘My sister was with me by that time. I never told her the history of my -marriage, and my husband she had never seen. She knew only that I had -been deserted and was now a widow. Our quiet life went on for a time, -and then, by the death of an aunt, I came into possession of a small -fortune. I changed my name, as requested in my aunt’s will, and after a -little while Clarice and I came to England. The rest you know.’ - -The colonel looked puzzled. ‘Pardon me,’ he said, ‘if I fail to see why -you have thought it needful to tell me to-day that which I did not wish -or ask to be enlightened about yesterday.’ - -‘I have told you this to-day because yesterday, a little while after -you left me, I saw—my husband.’ - -‘Your husband!—But how’—— He stared at her as though he could not say -another word. Mora was now the calmer of the two. - -‘The letter which I received five years ago informing me of his death -was sent to me in error. Another man bearing the same name as my -husband—a _déporté_ like him, had died; and somehow one convict would -seem to have been mistaken for the other.’ - -‘O Mora, Mora, and am I then to lose you!’ cried the colonel. - -She did not speak; but at that moment all the anguish of her soul was -revealed in her eyes. - -Involuntarily he moved from the place where he had been standing and -sat down by her side. - -‘And I love you so dearly!—so dearly!’ - -‘And I you!’ she answered scarcely above a whisper. ‘I may tell you -this now—for the last time.’ - -Their hands sought each other, touched and clasped. In the silence -that ensued, the leaves seemed whispering among themselves of that -which they had just heard; while the stream went frothing and fuming -on its way like some wordy egotist who cares for nothing save his own -ceaseless babble. - -‘And this miscreant has tracked you?’ said the colonel at length. - -‘He was with me but just now. He may return at any moment.’ - -‘Such vermin as he have seldom more than one thought, one want—Money. I -am rich, and if’—— - -Mora shook her head. ‘He wants more than money.’ - -‘Ha!’ - -‘You do not know Hector Laroche. As I said before, he is a tiger in -human form. He loves gold; but he loves still better to have under his -claws a writhing, helpless, palpitating victim, whom he can torture and -play with and toss to and fro at his pleasure, over whose agonies he -can gloat, and whose heart he can slowly vivisect and smile while he -does it.’ - -‘And he would make such a victim of you?’ - -‘He has done it once, and he would do it again. He is now passing under -a false name. What he demands is, that instead of claiming me as the -wife whom he married several years ago, I shall go through a second -form of marriage with him under the name he is now known by, and that -by such means the dark story of his former life shall be buried for -ever.’ - -‘There is no law, human or divine, that can compel you to accede to -so monstrous a demand,’ exclaimed the colonel in tones resonant with -indignation. - -‘As I said before—you do not know the man. Should I refuse to accede -to his wishes, he threatens to go to Sir William Ridsdale—for with -his usual diabolical ingenuity, he has found out all about Clarice’s -engagement—and say to him: “Are you aware that your son is about to -marry a person whose sister is the wife of a _déporté_—of a man who has -undergone a term of penal servitude?” And, O Colonel Woodruffe! if he -does that—if he does that, what will become of my poor Clarice!’ - -‘A scheme worthy of the Foul Fiend himself!’ exclaimed the colonel as -he sprang to his feet. - -There was a painful pause. The colonel was thoroughly taken aback by -what he had just heard. At length he said slowly: ‘Surely—surely there -must be some way of escape.’ - -Mora shook her head. ‘I know of none,’ she answered simply. - -A few moments later, there was a noise of approaching footsteps. The -colonel drew a pace or two farther away. - - - - -CHRISTMAS TREES. - -THEIR SHADY SIDE. - - -The few words I am about to write upon the subject of Christmas Trees -for children may perhaps be best illustrated by what originally gave -rise to these remarks—namely, the first festivity of the kind attended -by my own juveniles. It was given by a friend, whose rooms were narrow -in proportion to the numbers of small people she expected, and seniors -were therefore not included in the invitations. I was asked, however, -to go on the morning of the party to inspect the tree when it was set -up and loaded with its treasures. A goodly array they surely formed. -Toys of every kind, most of them very costly; for my friend had been -regardless of expense. He calculated that eighty pounds would scarcely -cover the outlay upon the articles provided. When I considered how -easy to please in their playthings children often are; how tenderly -the battered doll or dilapidated horse is sometimes cherished; how the -sixpenny toy with the charm of novelty upon it, will put out of favour -its guinea predecessor—for children, unlike adults, do not estimate -things because of their money value—I could not help thinking this -was a sad waste of money. The delicate machinery of those expensive -mechanical toys would also run great risk of being put out of order or -broken among the crowd of eager children, with no parents present to -guard them from injury. Altogether, the gorgeous Christmas tree seemed -destined to be ‘a thing of beauty and of joy’ for a very short time -indeed. - -The eventful evening arrived, and great was the excitement. My small -daughter was a pretty child, and very comely she looked in her dainty -lace-trimmed frock and pink ribbons, when, with her young brother, she -came fluttering into my boudoir; nurse, proud and pleased, escorting -the pair and carrying their wraps. With true feminine instinct, the -little damsel betook herself to the tall pier-glass, surveying her -finery therein with much satisfaction. ‘I daresay,’ she said, turning -round after a prolonged gaze, ‘that I shall be the nicest-dressed -little girl at the party!’ - -‘No, indeed—that you won’t,’ promptly interposed nurse. ‘Don’t you go -to think such a thing, dear. You’ll see, when you get into the room, -there’ll be a-many little ladies just as nice as yourself, perhaps even -nicer.’ Which speech was a sacrifice of candour on the part of nurse, -who was given to regard her young charge as being as good as the best, -though she felt called on by duty to nip vanity in the bud. - -The morning after a night’s dissipation is generally a trying one, -when excitement has passed off and reaction set in. Late hours and -hot rooms, fruits and pastries and unwholesome liquids at times when -healthy slumbers would otherwise have been the order of the night, are -apt to have a damaging effect upon the temper. The present occasion was -no exception to the rule. My children were not looking their happiest -when they appeared carrying a load of things which they laid roughly -down and proceeded to turn over with a listless air. - -‘What lovely toys!’ I exclaimed. It was truly an _embarras de -richesses_. There were treasures that, if gradually bestowed, would -have driven the recipients wild with delight. ‘What fortunate young -people you are!’ I added, examining the glittering heap that they were -surveying so discontentedly. ‘Don’t you think so?’ - -‘The little B——s got much better things!’ they murmured. - -‘This doll, so beautifully dressed’—— - -‘Ah, if you had seen the one Mary got!’ pouted the little girl, pushing -with her foot the despised doll. ‘It opened and shut its eyes, and had -a pearl necklace and embroidered shoes. And Mary was so conceited and -disagreeable about it; and so ill-natured, she’d scarcely let me look -at it. I hate Mary B——!’ - -‘You were great friends with her,’ cried the young brother, ‘until she -got that better doll; and you were just as conceited, too, about your -own, until hers cut it out.’ - -‘Oh, _you_ needn’t talk, after the way you behaved to poor little Fred -H——. Would you believe it, mamma? he quarrelled with that poor child—a -little mite of a fellow, not half his size—hustling and bullying him, -and wanting to drag away his book that he got for a prize.’ - -‘No; I did not want to drag it away from him. Don’t tell stories. ’Twas -to be an exchange. I got a ridiculous toy-horse—a little rubbishy -thing, only fit for a baby like him; and he said he would take it and -give me the book—a lovely _Robinson Crusoe_, that he couldn’t read. And -then the stupid little fellow howled when I went to get it from him.’ - -‘And you flew into a rage, and smashed the toy; and the governess said -it was a shame, and’—— - -‘Oh, come!’ I said, interrupting recriminations that were getting -angry, and putting a stop to the dispute. - -It was not the moment for impressing moral truths upon the young pair; -but while deferring these to a more fitting opportunity, I made my -own reflections upon Christmas trees in general and this party in -particular. - -It was plain that envy, hatred, and much uncharitableness had resulted -from it—feelings latent, alas! in our poor human nature, that need not -premature development. Discontent too, and rivalry and greed were, it -would seem from the nature of the entertainment, liable to be aroused -in childish breasts. So I locked away the disparaged prizes, until -later on, when the satiety produced by a glut had passed off and -envious comparisons were forgotten. - -We had merry gatherings of small people at wholesome hours, and happy -little feasts, and games and romps in every-day clothes. But this was -my children’s first—and last—Christmas Tree. - - - - -THE MISSING CLUE. - - -CHAPTER VI.—HOBB DIPPING BEWILDERED. - -Mine host of the _Saxonford Arms_ sits in his lonely back-parlour, -looking thoughtfully into the fire, and taking alternate whiffs and -pulls from a clay pipe and a beer-jug which stands on the table at his -elbow. During the past week, no traveller has entered Hobb Dipping’s -ancient house of entertainment, and the worthy man was beginning to -wonder whether it was within the bounds of possibility that any one -would ever enter it again. For several days the snow had been drifting -up against his front-door, and for over a week the howling wind had -stormed and beat against the walls of the old inn. True, the wind had -dropped somewhat during the night; but Jerry—the man-of-all-work, and -old Dipping’s special informant upon all matters—had reported that -the snow-drift was ‘alarmin’ deep in places;’ while, if he needed any -confirmation of this statement, he had but to turn his eyes towards -the windows and gaze over the frozen waste which extended on every side. - -Hobb Dipping was an old man now, and fifteen years had whitened his -hair since the fatal night when Sir Carnaby Vincent was shot by the -military in his house. The innkeeper’s thoughts had apparently at this -moment been dwelling upon that catastrophe, for he muttered to himself: -‘Fifteen years! I shouldn’t ha’ thought it!’ at the same time looking -gloomily at a well-thumbed scrap of paper which he was turning over -between his fingers. ‘Fifteen years!’ muttered old Dipping, who was -enveloped in a thick volume of smoke, consequent upon his exertions -with the clay pipe aforesaid—‘fifteen years, an’ no one’s guessed it -yet. Why, what fools we all be!’ - -‘Hi, master!’ says Jerry, popping his head in through the doorway. -‘Here’s a gentleman come; wants to know if he can be put up for a night -or two.’ - -Old Hobb peeped through a little latticed window into the courtyard, -and saw a gentleman of military aspect sitting motionless in his saddle -amidst a thin cloud of falling snow. It is Reginald Ainslie. - -‘Why do you keep the gentleman waiting out there?’ is the indignant -exclamation of mine host, who seems to be endowed with sudden energy. -‘Put up for a night or two! Of course he can; for a month, if he likes. -Show the gentleman in, and then go attend to his horse.’ - -When the man has disappeared, old Dipping bustles out of the room to -find something to tie over his head, before he dares to venture into -the cold biting air. On his return, he finds his visitor has thrown -aside his heavy riding-cloak, and is reclining in an armchair, with -every appearance of fatigue expressed in his attitude and countenance. -Jerry whispers that the gallant must be right bad, for it was all -he could do to help him out of the saddle. ‘And his nag ain’t much -better,’ he goes on. ‘They ha’ come a long bad road this day, I’ll -warrant.’ - -Dismissing his vassal hastily, Hobb Dipping pours out a mug of strong -spiced ale, and presents it to his visitor. - -‘I ask your pardon, sir,’ said the old man, ‘for letting you wait such -a while outside; the snow lies so thick that I did not hear the sound -of your horse’s hoofs.’ - -Before honest Dipping could finish his speech, he was startled by his -visitor making a quick movement and catching eagerly at the scrap of -paper which the landlord had a short while ago held in his hand, and -which, on rising to receive the traveller, he had laid on the table. -There was a short uncomfortable pause, while Reginald eagerly turned -over the object in his hand. ‘How did you come by this?’ he at length -gasped out, the tone of his voice expressing great eagerness and -anxiety. - -Hobb Dipping’s first thought was to hollo for Jerry, having some idea -that his strange visitor’s head must be turned; his second, was to try -and remember where he had placed his spectacles. - -‘My sight is bad, sir,’ he said as he fumbled in his pockets. ‘I can -scarcely make out what you be askin’ of.’ - -‘This—this piece of paper!’ exclaimed Ainslie, thrusting forward the -identical scrap which old Hobb had been examining at the time of his -arrival. - -‘It come here by accident, sir,’ answered old Hobb slowly and -unwillingly. - -‘Was left here, eh?’ - -‘Just so, sir—it were.’ - -‘How long ago?’ - -‘Well, sir, it’s something between fifteen and sixteen year.’ - -‘Gracious powers!’ vociferated Ainslie, striking his fist on the table. -‘I believe the man was right.’ - -The landlord stretched out one hand imploringly towards his excited -visitor. - -‘What now?’ inquired Reginald, who was vainly endeavouring to peruse -the writing with which the paper was covered. - -‘I want you to give me back that paper, sir.’ - -‘Be good enough, landlord, to leave it with me for the present, and -bring me something to eat!’ - -Old Hobb looked wistfully at the scrap of paper which his visitor was -handling, and proceeded to the larder, with considerable misgiving -expressed on his countenance. When mine host at length returned, he -found his guest a trifle more composed. Reginald Ainslie was still -poring over the mysterious piece of paper; but it was evident, from his -disappointed mien, that he was considerably perplexed. - -‘Landlord,’ he said in a low voice, when the arrangements for his meal -were complete, ‘close the door!’ - -Hobb Dipping obeyed, and then stood waiting, as if for further orders. - -‘Sit down,’ said the lieutenant. - -The landlord seated himself in silence, and watched his visitor. After -a few minutes had passed in silence, Reginald Ainslie laid down his -knife and fork and leaned back in his chair. - -‘Is your name Dipping?’ - -‘It is so, sir.’ - -‘Will you please to tell me,’ continued Ainslie, ‘the particulars of -how you became possessed of this scrap of paper?’ - -Old Hobb waxed extremely uncomfortable under the visitor’s fixed gaze; -he scratched his bald skull, looked wistfully round the room, and -then asked in an affrighted whisper: ‘Be you anything to do with the -magistrates, sir?’ - -Reginald shook his head. - -‘If you’re not, sir,’ went on the landlord, evidently very much -relieved, ‘would you mind first letting me know your reason for askin’ -those questions?’ - -‘My reason for asking them,’ answered Reginald, ‘is because your reply -may prove to be of serious importance to me. I have ridden a long way, -a very long way, and solely on purpose to communicate with the landlord -of this inn upon a subject which may prove the means of benefiting us -both.—Do you remember a gentleman named Sir Carnaby Vincent?’ - -Hobb started a little at the abruptness of the question, but answered: -‘Ay, sir, that I do. And haven’t I good cause to remember him? That bit -of paper, sir, I have always fancied belonged to the poor gentleman. -I found it on the stairs while the red-coats were searchin’ his room; -they must ha’ passed it somehow.’ - -‘That was on the night when he was shot here—was it not?’ - -‘You seem to know pretty much about it, sir,’ remarked the host, with -an inquisitive look. ‘I ain’t going to deny the fact; it did happen on -that night. But excuse me being so bold, sir; you must have been quite -a young chap at that time; you can’t recollect it, surely?’ - -‘I remember nothing about the matter myself,’ replied Ainslie, ‘nor -have I been in this part before. But Sir Carnaby’s attempted escape, -and the fatal result, were officially reported to the government and -to his friends. You think that this scrap of writing belonged to Sir -Carnaby Vincent?’ - -‘Yes, sir; though I didn’t know his name till I learned it from the -soldiers, after all was over.’ - -‘Why did you not deliver this up to them, when you discovered it on the -stairs?’ - -‘Well, you see, sir, it was like this,’ replied old Hobb unwillingly. -‘I was sorry for the poor gentleman, besides being angry with the -soldiers. But little they cared about that. So I thought as how I’d -just keep it to myself, in case the man-servant who got off should -venture here again. Thinks I: “I’ll give it up to him, and disappoint -the other parties a bit for what they’ve done in my house.”—I hope your -honour won’t inform against me!’ suddenly exclaimed the old man, who -began to have an idea that he was disclosing somewhat more than was -prudent to a total stranger. - -‘My intentions are quite the opposite, I assure you,’ said Reginald, -eager to set his informant’s mind at rest. ‘Go on; pray, do not stop.’ - -‘Well, sir,’ resumed Dipping, ‘as I said, I kept the paper, thinking -that I might chance to drop across the man-servant. But though one of -the labourers spoke to him that morning, I never see him again; and -here I have been keeping this bit of writin’ over fifteen year without -being able to make out what it means or anything about it. I should ha’ -burnt it soon, I fancy.’ - -‘Burnt it!’ exclaimed Reginald. ‘What madness!’ - -‘Can you read it, sir?’ inquired old Hobb in a curious tone. - -‘Read it! No, I cannot; worse luck. Chinese looks quite easy compared -with the jumble of letters which are set down upon this scrap of -paper.—Has any one seen it besides myself?’ - -‘Only one or two persons, sir,’ answered Dipping—‘I didn’t want the -tale to get abroad—an’ when they see it, they turned it over just the -same as you’re a-doing now: they none of ’em could make it out.’ - -‘What became of the other papers?’ suddenly demanded Ainslie, looking -up, and desisting from the occupation of gnawing his thumb-nail. - -‘There were none others as I know of, sir,’ replied old Dipping. ‘A -pair of saddle-bags, I think, was took—my memory ain’t quite so good -as it used to be. But this I do know for certain—there were no papers -found except this one little bit. The soldiers swore hard, and said -that the man who got off had taken ’em with him.’ - -‘Did it never occur to you that the attendant acted most strangely on -that occasion?’ asked Ainslie. - -‘Ay, sir, I have thought of that many a time,’ answered mine host, -scratching his head. ‘It was a queer thing for him to do—to be sure it -was. The man certainly was not running away cowardly-like, to leave -his master in the lurch; he would never have hampered himself with the -other horse in the way he did, and then go and cut his way through the -middle of the redcoats. He might have got off t’ other way through the -village without riskin’ his blessed neck. It’s my opinion, sir, an’ -always was, that he did it to take the fire off on himself, while Sir -Carnaby got away over Long Fen on foot. Very creditable it must ha’ -been on him, sir; an’ had he drawn the redcoats away for a few minutes -longer, the poor gentleman would have been clean away. He was nearly -down at the foot of the stairs when they challenged him. It being dark, -and getting no answer back, they blazed away. I let the soldiers in -myself, or they would have beat the door down. But when they called out -they would fire at the gentleman if he did not speak, I yelled to ’em -not to do murder in my house. But it were too late,’ said old Hobb, -sternly knitting his brows—‘it were too late. God help me! what could I -do? I couldn’t stop it.’ - -‘It was no fault of yours, my man!’ said Ainslie, seeing that the old -fellow faltered; ‘and do not imagine for an instant that you will get -into any trouble by telling me all this. To set your mind easy on that -score, I may as well inform you at once that Sir Carnaby Vincent, who -so unfortunately lost his life here, was my uncle.’ Reginald paused -for a moment to watch the effect which this announcement had upon his -listener, and then went on once more. ‘The affair,’ said he, ‘which -brings me here is of the greatest secrecy, and whatever consequences -may result from my taking this step, I strictly require of you that no -word of it shall ever be mentioned hereafter.’ - -‘Trust me for that, sir,’ returned the landlord: ‘it shall never pass -my lips to any one.’ - -Directing mine host to draw his chair nearer to the fire, Reginald -Ainslie commenced a narration which is sufficiently long to warrant its -being the subject of another chapter. - - -CHAPTER VII.—REGINALD’S STORY. - -‘My father,’ said the lieutenant, ‘was a gentleman of great property, -and a close friendship existed between him and the brother of his -wife—Sir Carnaby, to wit. They became mixed up with a discontented body -of people named Jacobites; and a short time before the unhappy affair -which we have been talking about, two warrants were issued for their -apprehension. My father was seized at once; but Sir Carnaby Vincent -contrived to make his escape for a time, till at length he closed his -flight at this place. You know what happened when he and his servant -arrived here; they were surprised by a party of military, who had -received notice of their movements; and my uncle was shot dead. His -attendant fortunately escaped, and returned, after a short time had -elapsed, to our family with the sad news. The proceedings against my -father, Sir Henry Ainslie, were suspended through want of sufficient -evidence, and he was allowed to come back to his home, only to die -shortly afterwards, broken both in spirits and in circumstances. Before -his death, he made an appalling disclosure to my mother, the sum of it -being this—that, trusting to the ultimate success of the revolution -which he had been hoping to raise, both he and Sir Carnaby had heavily -mortgaged their estates, and placed all their available money at the -service of the king that was to be. Where this large amount had been -placed, or to whom it had been intrusted, it is now impossible to say, -for my father breathed his last ere he could impart any additional -information. The consequences of this act proved most disastrous. Our -mansion and estates were immediately seized upon; and beyond a small -income which my mother possessed in her own right, we were left with -scarcely any means of support. From the scanty information we could -gather from Sir Carnaby’s attendant, it was considered not at all -improbable that the disposal of this wealth had been intrusted to his -master; and subsequent inquiries proved that he had actually taken with -him in his flight a number of valuable papers and documents. What these -papers referred to, it is equally impossible to say; but there has -always existed among us a strong impression that they related to the -immense sum which had been advanced upon the family estates.’ - -‘Well, sir,’ exclaimed old Hobb, when the narrative had arrived at this -stage, ‘you don’t suppose that the gentleman brought all that lump of -money here?’ - -‘Not the money exactly,’ answered Reginald, smiling. ‘I don’t credit my -plotting relative with being such a fool as to carry that about with -him.’ - -‘The soldiers found but little in them saddle-bags, an’ he brought -nought else with him; I can swear to that,’ said Dipping obstinately. - -‘My good man,’ returned Ainslie, ‘the documents I refer to might have -been carried about his person.’ - -‘Nothin’ was found on the body when it was searched, before being -buried; I remember that right enough, sir,’ persisted old Hobb. - -‘That is the very point I wished to come to,’ said the lieutenant -triumphantly. ‘You are sure that no papers of any kind were discovered -on his person?’ - -‘Quite sure, sir,’ replied Dipping emphatically. - -‘Then just listen to what I have to say,’ continued Reginald, speaking -in an impressive voice and fixing his eyes upon the landlord’s -countenance. ‘The man-servant who accompanied Sir Carnaby to this place -swears that his master corresponded with no single person during his -flight; moreover, that he handled the saddle-bags you have just now -been speaking of, several times, and remembers to have noticed that one -of them contained a small black box.’ - -The wondering expression on old Hobb’s face had considerably increased -by this time. - -‘We have now got to a critical point in my story,’ continued the -lieutenant. ‘Derrick—the man who accompanied Sir Carnaby hither—told -me he was the first to hear the sound of the approaching military, -and that, being apprehensive of danger, he stole along the gallery -with the intention of waking his master. When Sir Carnaby opened the -door of his room, the man was surprised to find him fully dressed. -Hurried as their conference must have been, Derrick was sharp enough -to notice that his master had been using some sort of a knife, and -that the black box which he had before seen that night on the table, -had now disappeared, and that the saddle-bags were empty. However, all -persuasion could not induce my unfortunate relative to flee, which in -itself appears to be very strange. He told his attendant that he would -follow him if he would take the horses to the place agreed upon—that -more lives than his own depended upon his not leaving the place at -once, and several other things equally incomprehensible. Derrick at -last unwillingly consented to obey his instructions, and left the -house, wondering much at his master’s conduct. The two, as you know, -never met again.—This man,’ resumed Ainslie, after a pause—‘this man, -Derrick, always expressed a belief—a strange one, truly—that Sir -Carnaby was so anxious for the safety of the contents of that precious -saddle-bag, that he would not retire to rest until he had placed it -in a secure hiding-place. He might possibly have just been concluding -his task as the attendant arrived at his door with the alarming news; -at any rate, it seems not at all unlikely that his object in sending -the man to a rendezvous was in order to gain time, while he made -a desperate attempt to unearth again this mysterious box prior to -escaping from the inn with it. Or, it is quite possible that my uncle, -being startled by the report of firearms, resolved to let this precious -property, which would implicate so many persons, remain in its place of -concealment, trusting, in the event of his escape, to return and secure -it once more.’ - -‘Do you mean to say that the gentleman hid it in this very house?’ -gasped the landlord, with considerable astonishment depicted on his -countenance. - -‘That is what I think.’ - -‘Well, well!’ exclaimed the old man, ‘to think that I should ha’ -slept an’ eaten an’ drunk within them blessed walls for fifteen year, -with—who knows—half a million of property hidden about the place -unbeknown to me! Suppose there had been a fire, sir.’ - -‘It is fortunate there has not been one,’ replied Reginald. - -‘Am I to understand that you wish to search the house?’ inquired old -Hobb, whose imagination was fired with a variety of wild speculations, -among which the probable discovery of a strong case of bullion figured -not the least conspicuously. - -‘The whole house!—certainly not,’ answered Reginald with a faint smile. -‘I am afraid that would waste too much valuable time. What I want first -is a bed for the night.’ - -‘There’s the room which Sir Carnaby himself had: your honour wouldn’t -have no objection to that?’ - -‘Certainly not,’ said Ainslie. ‘The knowledge that the room has some -unpleasant circumstances connected with it will not affect me in the -least. I shall sleep as soundly in that apartment as in any other.’ - -‘Very good, sir.’ And mine host was about to leave the apartment, when -his visitor arrested him. ‘One word more, Mr Dipping.’ - -‘Certainly, sir.’ - -‘I have placed complete confidence in you,’ said Ainslie, ‘and have -intrusted to your keeping a secret, the importance of which you must be -well aware of. I wish you to guard it carefully. You have kept _that_ -secret fairly enough,’ pointing to the scrap of writing; ‘try if you -cannot keep this one too.—Do you understand?’ - -The landlord intimated that he would do as his visitor wished, and then -departed, leaving Reginald to digest such thoughts as this conversation -had called up. - -The twilight was by this time gray, and very little light remained, -while a few solitary objects that could be seen through the dimmed -glass in the old casements, looked shadowy and opaque. With the -exception of one small lamp, which Hobb Dipping had placed upon the -table, the room was but imperfectly lighted by the flickering fire. -Outside, the snow was silently falling, not thickly, but in large -steady flakes. The wind had dropped, and with it the whirling drift, -while the old walls of the _Saxonford Arms_ had ceased to groan and -creak. - -‘Sir,’ said Hobb, reappearing once more, ‘the room’s ready. Shall I -show you the way?’ - -Reginald motioned to the landlord to lead on, and they passed out -together into a dark draughty passage. - -‘This here’s the staircase, sir,’ remarked old Dipping, who was in -advance, bearing the light; ‘and that be the very place where the poor -gentleman fell.’ - -The landing before them was lighted by a gray ghostly window, which -faded into insignificance on the approach of the landlord’s yellow, -flaring lamp. When this apparition was passed, there came three -shallow steps up, then a short dusky gallery, and Reginald Ainslie -found himself in the room with which his departed relative had had so -mysterious a connection. - -‘This, sir,’ said old Hobb, extending his right hand somewhat after the -manner of a travelling showman—‘this, sir, is Sir Carnaby’s room.’ - -‘Well, landlord,’ said Reginald, ‘I think I need detain you no longer.’ - -Bidding mine host good-night, Ainslie carefully fastened the door, and -then sat down before the fire, to ponder over his strange situation, -ere consigning himself to rest for the night. - - - - -WOUNDER AND HEALER. - -(THE IDEA TAKEN FROM AGOUB’S TRANSLATION OF AN ARABIC SONG.) - - - Thy witching look is like a two-edged sword - To pierce his heart by whom thou art surveyed; - Thy rosy lips the precious balm afford - To heal the wound thy keen-edged sword has made. - - I am its victim; I have felt the steel; - My heart now rankles with the smarting pain; - Give me thy lips the bitter wound to heal— - Thy lips to kiss, and I am whole again. - - DAPHNIS. - - * * * * * - -Printed and Published by W. & R. CHAMBERS, 47 Paternoster Row, LONDON, -and 339 High Street, EDINBURGH. - - * * * * * - -_All Rights Reserved._ - - * * * * * - -[Transcriber’s note—the following changes have been made to this text. - -Page 750: Hobbs to Hobb—“answered old Hobb slowly”.] - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL OF POPULAR -LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART, FIFTH SERIES, NO. 47, VOL. I, NOVEMBER 22, -1884 *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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