diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/66984-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66984-0.txt | 2156 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 2156 deletions
diff --git a/old/66984-0.txt b/old/66984-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ec22f41..0000000 --- a/old/66984-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2156 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular -Literature, Science, and Art, Fifth Series, No. 107, Vol. III, January -16, 1886, 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. 107, Vol. III, January 16, 1886 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: December 21, 2021 [eBook #66984] - -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. 107, VOL. III, JANUARY -16, 1886 *** - - - - - -[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. 107.—VOL. III. SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 1886. PRICE 1½_d._] - - - - -SIGNALLING AT SEA. - - -The wonderful improvements which have been effected in modes of -communication during the latter part of the present century have -resulted in bridging over space, and bringing the dwellers on this -planet into closer and more constant intercommunion. Submarine cables, -telegraphs, and telephones have each contributed their aid towards the -realisation of Puck’s idea of putting ‘a girdle round the earth;’ and, -as might have been expected, the inventive faculty has been directed, -in some measure at least, towards enabling those ‘who go down to the -sea in ships’ to communicate with each other on the ocean highways with -such facility as might be found practicable under the ever-varying -conditions which obtain at sea. - -At no very remote date, the appliances at the command of a shipmaster -who might desire to convey a request to a passing vessel consisted -mainly of a pair of strong lungs and a speaking-trumpet. A variation -was occasionally attempted by the introduction of a plank and a lump of -chalk. The writer remembers having seen an English brig in the South -Atlantic, during a strong gale, attempting to convey to a stately -frigate an intimation that the brig’s chronometer was broken, and that, -in consequence, her worthy captain was at sea, in more senses than one. -The brig, which had been running before the wind, braced up on the -port tack, and ran as close under the frigate’s stern as was deemed -prudent under the circumstances. The captain, clinging to the weather -main rigging with one hand, and using the other as a speaking-trumpet, -yelled forth a sentence or two which met the fate of most utterances -under similar conditions. ‘I’—‘of’—and ‘the’ were faithfully re-echoed -from the hollow of the frigate’s mainsail, but the vital words of the -message were borne away on the wings of the gale. A similar attempt -failed; and finally it occurred to the skipper to write with chalk -upon a tarpaulin hatch-cover the words, ‘Chronometer smashed, bound -Table Bay.’ The tarpaulin with the foregoing legend was exhibited -over the side for a few brief seconds, till a fiercer blast than usual -whirled it high in air, and then bore it away to leeward. Fortunately, -the purport of the writing had been understood on board the frigate, -and no time was lost in displaying a black board with the latitude, -longitude, and magnetic course for Table Bay inscribed thereon. Now, if -the brig had been provided with the International Code of Signals, the -trouble and delay involved in the attempts to communicate by hailing -or by written signs, would have been obviated; and whilst holding on -her course, the hoisting of a few flags would have completed the entire -business in less than five minutes. The Code was certainly in existence -at the date referred to, but its use was neither general nor compulsory. - -The peculiar requirements of the service upon which ships of war are -engaged, and the practice of cruising together in fleets or squadrons, -necessitate the establishment of a system of signalling which shall -be both rapid and effective. Such a system has been in operation in -the Royal Navy for many years. Numerous modifications have been made -latterly in the Admiralty signal books; those changes being rendered -necessary by the altered conditions of naval warfare and the scientific -precision which is desirable in the movements of a fleet of warships. -An admiral in command of a fleet has now at his disposal such an -effective equipment and complete organisation as would enable him to -manœuvre his ships in presence of the enemy with almost mathematical -exactitude. The ‘signal staff’ on board the ship which carries the -flag of the commander-in-chief consists of about twenty persons, -officers and men, whose duty it is to convey the admiral’s orders to -the captains under his command by the varied systems of signalling -prescribed for use in Her Majesty’s ships. The ‘staff’ is divided -into ‘three watches;’ and by day and night, in harbour and at sea, a -vigilant ‘lookout’ is kept, not only on board the flagship, but on -every vessel in the fleet. Each ship on being commissioned is provided -with a General Signal Book, Vocabulary Signal Book, and a semaphore. -For use at night, a flashing lamp, and recently, an electrical -apparatus, are supplied. By an ingenious arrangement, any of the -signals contained in the books may be made during thick weather by the -steam whistle or the fog-horn. - -Before putting to sea, a ‘fleet number’ is assigned to each ship, the -admiral’s ship being No. 1, the remaining numbers being distributed -according to the seniority of the respective captains. If the -commander-in-chief wishes his squadron to sail in one line, he -makes the signal, ‘Single column in line ahead,’ by means of three -‘numeral’ flags. This signal, like every other evolutionary signal, -is kept flying at the mast-head until the signal officer reports, -‘All answered, sir.’ The fact that the admiral’s signal is seen and -understood is signified, in the case of tactical orders, by each ship -repeating the flags. When the proper moment arrives for executing the -movement, the flagship’s signal is swiftly hauled down, the helms are -put ‘hard over,’ the ships swing round in the admiral’s wake, and the -evolution is complete. - -Communication between the vessels of the fleet is effected at night -by means of the flashing light worked on the short and long flash -principle, invented by Captain Colomb, R.N. There are few sights more -suggestive of the advance in modes of communication and the development -of the inventive faculty than that of the admiral ‘talking’ to his -captains by means of the flashing lamp in the darkness of the night and -far out on the trackless ocean. It may be necessary during the night -to alter the course of the squadron. If the course indicated at sunset -be due north, and it be required to alter the direction to west, all -lights on board the flagship, except the flashing light, are carefully -obscured, and the brilliant rays of a solitary lamp leap through the -darkness conveying the order, ‘Alter course to west.’ - -The instructions contained in the General Signal Book are varied and -comprehensive. Upwards of a thousand separate signals, adapted to every -probable change of condition and circumstance in times of peace and in -the exigences of battle, are concisely set forth, every tactical order -being elucidated by diagrams showing the direction to be taken and -the position to be assumed by each ship. The Vocabulary Signal Book, -as its name indicates, is a sort of dictionary, but possessing also -the character of a lexicon, as not only words in alphabetical order, -but phrases under their proper heading, are methodically arranged in -its pages. For example, under the heading of ‘Admiral,’ which word -is represented in ‘flag language’ by A.H.V., will be found, ‘Admiral -desires,’ ‘Admiral intends,’ and the cheerful announcement, ‘Admiral -requests the pleasure of your company to dinner.’ - -It will be seen from the foregoing observations that the signal system -adopted in the Royal Navy approaches as near to perfection as is -possible under the circumstances; and therefore, when the occasion -arose for a revision of the mercantile signal code, the Committee -appointed by the Board of Trade for that purpose had recourse to the -Admiralty Codes as a basis for the International Code of Signals, -which is now used by most of the maritime countries of the world. -This Code is the universal means of communication between the ships -and signal stations of all nations. Translations of it have been -made by France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Holland, Spain, -Portugal, Sweden, and Norway. The captain of a British vessel being -desirous of conveying a message to an Italian ship, for example, -may do so by simply hoisting the flags indicating the letters which -are found opposite the words that express his meaning in the Code; -and, similarly, vessels of any nationality may communicate with -the utmost facility, although the parties so signalling may be -totally unacquainted with any language but their own. For signalling -purposes, eighteen flags and a copy of the Code are required. The -combinations which are possible with that number of flags amount to -the extraordinary number of seventy-eight thousand six hundred and -forty-two, using two, three, and four flags at one hoist. The Code is -divided into four parts: (1) Brief signals; (2) vocabulary; (3) distant -and boat signals; (4) an appendix containing the distinguishing letters -of every vessel to which a Code signal has been allotted. ‘Urgent -signals’ are made by means of two flags only, and in the following -manner: J.D., You are standing into danger; N.S., I have sprung a leak; -H.M., Man overboard; P.C., Want assistance; mutiny. The square shape of -the uppermost flag, and the number of flags used, indicate the urgent -character of the message, and its specific meaning is ascertained by -reference to the book. Latitude and longitude, geographical and time -signals, are made by three flags. A vocabulary message is transmitted -by using four flags, thus: D.R.Q.L., If you do not carry sail, we shall -part company. - -The vocabulary section of the Code is frequently used for messages -which do not strictly refer to matters maritime. The valedictory -‘Farewell’ or the cheerful ‘Welcome’ may be transmitted with quite -as much ease as the purely nautical ‘Square your mainyard.’ Even in -departments of human activity so far removed from marine affairs -as art or politics, the Signal Code may find some application. -During the summer cruise of the British fleet in the Mediterranean -in 1869, and whilst the ships were steaming through the Straits of -Messina, a steamer flying the Turkish flag was sighted steering -towards the harbour. The Code ‘pennant’ hoisted under her ensign -indicated a desire to communicate; and on the signal being answered -from the flagship of the commander-in-chief, the Turkish vessel made -the following communication: D.G.N.H. = Irish; C.P.B.R. = Church; -C.S.L.P. = dislocated; D.J.K.P. = Her Majesty’s government; D.M.G.T. -= surplus. This being rendered into the vernacular, was understood to -mean that the Irish Church Disestablishment Act had been passed by -a large majority. The captain of the steamer, who was an Englishman -in all probability, was laudably anxious to communicate a piece of -information which could not fail to be full of interest to the people -of the English squadron. His use of the verb ‘dislocated’ was forced -upon him by the absence of the word ‘disestablished’ from the Code; -and a similar reason necessitated the substitution of ‘surplus’ for -‘majority.’ Having regard to the circumstances, it will probably be -admitted that the courteous captain’s arrangement, if not strictly -syntactical, was certainly apposite. - -Strenuous efforts have been made by the Lords Commissioners of the -Admiralty, the Board of Trade, and the Committee of Lloyd’s Registry -to instruct the officers of the mercantile marine in the use of the -International Code. The Admiralty has ordered that all men belonging -to the Royal Naval Reserve shall receive instruction in its use; and -all candidates for officers’ certificates of competency are required by -the Board of Trade to pass a satisfactory examination in signalling. -Notwithstanding these regulations, there is good reason for believing -that many officers in the merchant service are not so well acquainted -with the working of the Code as they ought to be. Blunders are -frequently committed, either in selecting the wrong signal or confusing -the flags, which lead to serious inconvenience, not to say danger. A -very superficial acquaintance with the Signal Book led the captain -of an English steamer to neglect the ‘vocabulary’ part of the Code, -and have recourse to the singular expedient of using the flags as a -medium for spelling his communication. As read on board the New York -liner to which the signal was directed, it took the cabalistic form -of ‘MCHDRGDWNTW.’ As no flags denoting the vowels are contained in -the Code, the difficulties of spelling were obviously increased; and -it was only by the ingenuity of a passenger on board the liner that a -translation was effected in the shape of, ‘Machinery deranged; want -tow.’ On another occasion, the master of a timber-laden ship bound -from Quebec to Liverpool had been prevented by foggy weather from -taking solar observations for the purpose of verifying his position, -and having sighted a steamer bound to the westward, he hoisted the -prescribed signal, asking the steamer to indicate the latitude and -longitude at the time of meeting. Either through carelessness in -manipulating the flags or from an imperfect acquaintance with the -Code, a position was signalled which located the ship in the immediate -vicinity of Mont Blanc! - -Upwards of thirty signal stations have been established at various -points on the coasts of the British Isles, where messages may be -transmitted from passing vessels by means of the International Code; -and there are twenty stations in various parts of the world, as widely -apart as Aden, Ascension, Malta, St Helena, the Cape of Good Hope, and -Skagen in Denmark, where communication may be effected by the same -means. Many of these stations have direct telegraphic connection with -London, so that shipowners may be kept acquainted with the movements -of their vessels, and may also transmit instructions for the guidance -of their captains. It is matter for wonder and regret, notwithstanding -the existence of a carefully elaborated system of signals and a -world-wide network of shore stations, that the use of the Signal Code -is not in any sense compulsory on the part of shipowners. Considering -the innumerable advantages which a speedy means of communication -must afford to all concerned, it is with surprise that one learns, -from a note prefixed to the official Maritime Directory for the past -year, that ‘cases have been reported in which officers at the signal -stations have hoisted the International Code Signals warning ships of -danger, and the ships have been afterwards lost, from the inability -of the masters to read the signals.’ This is a state of affairs which -ought not to be permitted to continue in the interests of the men whose -lives are at stake. Another and still more serious defect in a system -which is admirable in many respects, is the total absence from the Code -of any method of signalling at night. As we have seen, Her Majesty’s -ships are provided with appliances for this purpose which are skilfully -adapted to the end in view; but merchant vessels are absolutely without -the power of communicating after darkness sets in. It is true that by -private arrangement with the shore stations on several parts of the -coast, the steamers belonging to the great Companies may by the use -of certain lights indicate their names and the Company to which they -belong; but this cannot, save in the most elementary sense, be regarded -as a satisfactory method of communication. It is probable that the -night signals in use in the Royal Navy are too complicated in character -to permit of their being learned and worked efficiently without much -more study and practice than can reasonably be expected from the master -of a merchant vessel. Still, it ought to be within the power of science -to suggest some plan for enabling a vessel to signal to ship or shore -during the hours when the perils of the sea are rendered more terrible -by darkness. - -In these days, when our ocean highways and harbours are crowded with -shipping, a collision between two of our large iron or steel vessels, -which might happen at any time, would send one of them to the bottom in -a few minutes. Two vessels, each going at a speed of twenty miles an -hour, and sighting one another at two miles off, with this joint speed -of forty miles an hour, would meet in about three minutes. Hence the -importance of a ready and efficient method of signalling. - -By the present system, red and green lights are placed on each side of -the vessel, a green light on the starboard side, and a red light on -the port side, with a board shutting off each light from the opposite -side. An officer seeing a coloured light at a distance of two miles has -no indication what course the vessel is steering. Hence the importance -of the apparatus invented by The Right Hon. J. H. A. Macdonald, Q.C., -M.P., Edinburgh, an Associate of the Society of Telegraph Engineers and -Electricians, which he calls the Electric Holophote Course-indicator, -for the prevention of collisions at sea. - -By means of a powerful electric light, the approach of another vessel -is indicated, and information is given at the same time as to what -course she is on and what course she intends to hold to. The light is -also useful for illuminating the water immediately before the ship, -and is also valuable when passing down a river, through shoals, or -close to a lee shore. The instrument consists of a strong reflector, -with an arc light placed in the middle of it, which is affected by -every movement of the helm. As long as the helm is amidships, the -handle cannot be moved at all, but is held firm by two pegs. But if -the helm is moved from amidships, an electric circuit is formed, which -actuates an electro-magnet, and thereby removes one of the pegs. When -the helm is ported, the reflector is set free by the removal of one of -the pegs, so that by working the handle, the light can be swept from -amidships over the starboard bow, and brought back again. If the helm -be starboarded, the reflector is freed from the other peg, so that the -light can be swept from amidships over the port bow and back again. But -as this is a mere side-to-side movement, means are provided for giving -more intelligible information, such as a driver gives when waving his -hand to indicate his course, by a shutter connected with the reflector -in such a way that when the beam has completed its side-movement, the -shutter rises up and obscures the light, and does not drop again until -the reflector has been turned back to its middle position. The shutter -then falls down; and the light being again exposed, the process of -sweeping round to starboard, screening, and bringing back to amidships, -can be repeated as long as the helm remains at port. When the helm is -starboarded, the light can be swept round to port in the same way. The -light is immovable when the helm is amidships, and can be swept only -over the starboard bow when the helm is ported, and only over the port -bow when the helm is starboarded. In order to guard against the risk -of the reflector being carelessly worked by not completing its sweep -either way, the instrument is provided with two tell-tale bells, which -will enable the officer on the bridge to check the working of the -reflector. - -In foggy weather, when the light would be ineffective, two steam -whistles can be shunted into action by the reflector handle, one giving -off a succession of short shrill notes, the other a succession of -deep long notes, according as the helm is to starboard or port. This -invention has been awarded a medal at three Exhibitions, including the -Inventories; while Admiral Bedford Pim, one of the nautical jurors, has -styled it an ‘excellent course indicator.’ - - - - -IN ALL SHADES. - - -CHAPTER IV. - -It was a brilliant, cloudless, tropical day at Agualta Estate, -Trinidad; and the cocoa-nut palms in front of the pretty, picturesque, -low-roofed bungalow were waving gracefully in the light sea-breeze that -blew fresh across the open cane-pieces from the distant horizon of the -broad Atlantic. Most days, indeed, except during the rainy season, -were brilliant enough in all conscience at beautiful Agualta: the sun -blazed all day long in a uniform hazy-white sky, not blue, to be sure, -as in a northern climate, but bluish and cloudless; and the sea shone -below hazy-white, in the dim background, beyond the waving palm-trees, -and the broad-leaved bananas, and the long stretch of bright-green -cane-pieces that sloped down in endless succession towards the beach -and the breakers. Agualta House itself was perched, West India fashion, -on the topmost summit of a tall and lonely rocky peak, a projecting -spur or shoulder from the main mass of the Trinidad mountains. They -chose the very highest and most beautiful situations they could find -for their houses, those old matter-of-fact West Indian planters, not so -much out of a taste for scenery—for their mental horizon was for the -most part bounded by rum and sugar—but because a hilltop was coolest -and breeziest, and coolness is the one great practical desideratum in -a West Indian residence. Still, the houses that they built on these -airy heights incidentally enjoyed the most exquisite prospects; and -Agualta itself was no exception to the general rule in this matter. -From the front piazza you looked down upon a green ravine, crowded -with tree-ferns and other graceful tropical vegetation; on either -side, rocky peaks broke the middle distance with their jagged tors -and precipitous needles; while far away beyond the cane-grown plain -that nestled snugly in the hollow below, the sky-line of the Atlantic -bounded the view, with a dozen sun-smit rocky islets basking like great -floating whales upon the gray horizon. No lovelier view in the whole of -luxuriant beautiful Trinidad than that from the creeper-covered front -piazza of the white bungalow of old Agualta. - -Through the midst of the ravine, the little river from which the -estate took its Spanish name—curiously corrupted upon negro lips into -the form of Wagwater—tumbled in white sheets of dashing foam between -the green foliage ‘in cataract after cataract to the sea.’ Here and -there, the overarching clumps of feathery bamboo hid its course for -a hundred yards or so, as seen from the piazza; but every now and -again it gleamed forth, white and conspicuous once more, as it tumbled -headlong down its steep course over some rocky barrier. You could trace -it throughout like a long line of light among all the tangled, glossy, -dark-green foliage of that wild and overgrown tropical gully. - -The Honourable James Hawthorn, owner of Agualta, was sitting out in -a cane armchair, under the broad shadow of the great mango-tree on -the grassy terrace in front of the piazza. A venerable gray-haired, -gray-bearded man, with a calm, clear-cut, resolute face, the very -counterpart of his son Edward’s, only grown some thirty years older, -and sterner too, and more unbending. - -‘Mr Dupuy’s coming round this morning, Mary,’ Mr Hawthorn said to the -placid, gentle, old lady in the companion-chair beside him. ‘He wants -to look at some oxen I’m going to get rid of, and he thinks, perhaps, -he’d like to buy them.’ - -‘Mr Dupuy!’ Mrs Hawthorn answered, with a slight shudder of displeasure -as she spoke. ‘I really wish he wasn’t coming. I can’t bear that man, -somehow. He always seems to me the worst embodiment of the bad old days -that are dead and gone, Jamie.’ - -The old gentleman hummed an air to himself reflectively. ‘We mustn’t be -too hard upon him, my dear,’ he said after a moment’s pause, in a tone -of perfect resignation. ‘They were brought up in a terrible school, -those old-time slavery Trinidad folk, and they can’t help bearing the -impress of a bad system upon them to the very last moment of their -existence. I think so meanly of them for their pride and intolerance, -that I take care not to imitate it. You remember what Shelley says: -“Let scorn be not repaid with scorn.” That’s how I always feel, Mary, -towards Mr Dupuy and all his fellows.’ - -Mrs Hawthorn bit her lip as she answered slowly: ‘All the same, Jamie, -I wish he wasn’t coming here this morning; and this the English -mail-day too! We shall get our letter from Edward by-and-by, you know, -dear. I hate to have these people coming breaking in upon us the very -day we want to be at home by ourselves, to have a quiet hour alone with -our dear boy over in England.’ - -‘Here they come, at anyrate, Mary,’ the old gentleman said, pointing -with his hand down the steep ravine to where a couple of men on -mountain ponies were slowly toiling up the long zigzag path that -climbed the shoulder. ‘Here they come, Theodore Dupuy himself, and that -young Tom Dupuy as well, behind him. There’s one comfort, at anyrate, -in the position of Agualta—you can never possibly be taken by surprise; -you can always see your visitors coming half an hour before they get -here.—Run in, dear, and see about having enough for lunch, will you, -for Tom Dupuy’s sure to stop until he’s had a glass of our old Madeira.’ - -‘I dislike Tom Dupuy, I think, even worse than his old uncle, Jamie,’ -the bland old lady answered softly in her pleasant voice, exactly as if -she was saying that she loved him dearly. ‘He’s a horrid young man, so -selfish and narrow-minded; and I hope you won’t ever ask him again to -come to Agualta. I can hardly even manage to be decently polite to him.’ - -The two strangers slowly wound their way up the interminable zigzags -that led along the steep shoulders of the Agualta peak, and emerged at -last from under the shadow of the green mango grove close beside the -grassy terrace in front of the piazza. The elder of the two, Nora’s -father, was a jovial, round-faced, close-shaven man, with a copious -growth of flowing white hair, that fell in long patriarchal locks -around his heavy neck and shoulders; a full-blooded, easy-going, proud -face to look at, yet not without a certain touch of gentlemanly culture -and old-fashioned courtesy. The younger man, Tom Dupuy, his nephew, -looked exactly what he was—a born boor, awkward in gait and lubberly -in feature, with a heavy hanging lower jaw, and a pair of sleepy -boiled fish eyes, that stared vacantly out in sheepish wonder upon a -hopelessly dull and blank creation. - -Mr Hawthorn moved courteously to the gate to meet them. ‘It’s a long -pull and a steep pull up the hill, Mr Dupuy,’ he said as he shook hands -with him. ‘Let me take your pony round to the stables.—Here, Jo!’ to a -negro boy who stood showing his white teeth beside the gateway; ‘put up -Mr Dupuy’s horse, do you hear, my lad, and Mr Tom’s too, will you?—How -are you, Mr Tom? So you’ve come over with your uncle as well, to see -this stock I want to sell, have you?’ - -The elder Dupuy bowed politely as Mr Hawthorn held out his hand, and -took it with something of the dignified old West Indian courtesy; he -had been to school at Winchester forty years before, and the remote -result of that half-forgotten old English training was still plainly -visible even now in a certain outer urbanity and suavity of demeanour. -But young Tom held out his hand awkwardly like a born boor, and dropped -it again snappishly as soon as Mr Hawthorn had taken it, merely -answering, in a slow drawling West Indian voice, partly caught from his -own negro servants: ‘Yes, I’ve come over to see the stock; we want some -oxen. Cane’s good this season; we shall have a capital cutting.’ - -‘Is the English mail in?’ Mr Hawthorn asked anxiously, as they took -their seats in the piazza to rest themselves for a while after -their ride, before proceeding to active business. That one solitary -fortnightly channel of communication with the outer world assumes an -importance in the eyes of remote colonists which can hardly even be -comprehended by our bustling, stay-at-home English people. - -‘It is,’ Mr Dupuy replied, taking the proffered glass of Madeira from -his host as he answered. Old-fashioned wine-drinking hospitality still -prevails largely in the West Indies. ‘I got my letters just as I was -starting. Yours will be here before long, I don’t doubt, Mr Hawthorn. I -had news, important news in my budget this morning. My daughter, sir, -my daughter Nora, who has been completing her education in England, is -coming out to Trinidad by the next steamer.’ - -‘You must be delighted at the prospect of seeing her,’ Mr Hawthorn -answered with a slight sigh. ‘I only wish I were going as soon to see -my dear boy Edward.’ - -Mr Dupuy’s lip curled faintly as he replied in a careless manner: ‘Ah, -yes, to be sure. Your boy’s in England, Mr Hawthorn, isn’t he? If I -recollect right, you sent him to Cambridge.—Ah, yes, I thought so, to -Cambridge. A very excellent thing for you to do with him. If you take -my advice, my dear sir, you’ll let him stop in the old country—a much -better place for him in every way, than this island.’ - -‘I mean to,’ Mr Hawthorn answered in a low voice. ‘God forbid that I -should ever be a party to bringing him out here to Trinidad.’ - -‘Oh, certainly not—certainly not. I quite agree with you. Far better -for him to stop where he is, and take his chance of making a living -for himself in England. Not that he can be at any loss in that matter -either. You must be in a position to make him very comfortable too, Mr -Hawthorn! Fine estate, Agualta, and turns out a capital brand of rum -and sugar.’ - -‘Best vacuum-pan and centrifugal in the whole island,’ Tom Dupuy put in -parenthetically. ‘Turned out four hundred and thirty-four hogsheads of -sugar and three hundred and ninety puncheons of rum last season—largest -yield of any estate in the Windward Islands except Mount Arlington. You -don’t catch me out of it in any matter where sugar’s in question, I can -tell you.’ - -‘But my daughter, Mr Hawthorn,’ the elder Dupuy went on, smiling, -and sipping his Madeira in a leisurely fashion—‘my daughter means to -come out to join me by the next steamer; and my nephew Tom and I are -naturally looking forward to her approaching arrival with the greatest -anxiety. A young lady in Miss Dupuy’s position, I need hardly say to -you, who has been finishing her education at a good school in England, -comes out to Trinidad under exceptionally favourable circumstances. She -will have much here to interest her in society, and we hope she will -enjoy herself and make herself happy.’ - -‘For my part,’ Tom Dupuy put in brusquely, ‘I don’t hold at all with -this sending young women from Trinidad across the water to get educated -in England—not a bit of it. What’s the good of it?—that’s what I always -want to know—what’s the good of it? What do they pick up there, I -should like to hear, except a lot of trumpery fal-lal, that turns their -heads, and fills them brimful of all sorts of romantic topsy-turvy -notions? I’ve never been to England myself, thank goodness, and what’s -more, I don’t ever want to go, that’s certain. But I’ve known lots of -fellows that have been, and have spent no end of a heap of money over -their education too, at one place or another—I don’t even know the -names of ’em—and when they’ve come back, so far as I could see, they’ve -never known a bit more about rum or sugar than other fellows that had -never set foot for a single minute outside the island—no, nor for that -matter, not so much either. Of course, it’s all very well for a person -in your son’s position, Mr Hawthorn; that’s quite another matter. He’s -gone to England, and he’s going to stay there. If I were he, I should -do as he does. But what on earth can be the use of sending a girl in my -cousin Nora’s station in life over to England, just on purpose to set -her against her own flesh and blood and her own people? Why, it really -passes my comprehension.’ - -Mr Dupuy’s forehead puckered slightly as Tom spoke, and the corners of -his mouth twitched ominously; but he answered in a tone of affected -nonchalance: ‘It’s a pity, Mr Hawthorn, that my nephew Tom should take -this unfavourable view of an English education, because, you see, it’s -our intention, as soon as my daughter Miss Dupuy arrives from England, -to arrange a marriage at a very early date between himself and his -cousin Nora. Pimento Valley, as you know, is entailed in the male line -to my nephew Tom; and Orange Grove is in my own disposal, to leave, of -course, to my only daughter. But Mr Tom Dupuy and I both think it would -be a great pity that the family estates should be divided, and should -in part pass out of the family; so we’ve arranged between us that Mr -Tom is to marry my daughter Nora, and that Orange Grove and Pimento -Valley are to pass together to them and to their children’s children.’ - -‘An excellent arrangement,’ Mr Hawthorn put in, with a slight smile. -‘But suppose—just for argument’s sake—that Miss Dupuy were not to fall -in with it?’ - -Mr Dupuy’s brow clouded over still more evidently. ‘Not to fall in with -it!’ he cried excitedly, tossing off the remainder of his Madeira—‘not -to fall in with it!—Why, Mr Hawthorn, what do you mean, sir? Of course, -if her father bids her, she’ll fall in with it immediately. If she -doesn’t—why, then, sir, I’ll just simply have to make her. She shall -marry Tom Dupuy the minute I order her to. She should marry a one-eyed -man with a wooden leg if her father commanded it. She shall do whatever -I tell her. I’ll stand no refusing and shilly-shallying. Let me tell -you, sir, if there’s a vice that I hate and detest, it’s the vice of -obstinacy. But I’ll stand no obstinacy.’ - -‘No obstinacy in those about you,’ Mr Hawthorn put in suggestively. - -‘No, sir, no—not in those about me. Other people, of course, I can’t be -answerable for, though I’d like to flog every obstinate fellow I come -across, just to cure him of his confounded temper. O no, sir; I can’t -endure obstinacy—in man or beast, I can’t endure it.’ - -‘So it would seem,’ Mr Hawthorn replied drily. ‘I hope sincerely, -Miss Dupuy will find the choice you have made for her a suitable and -satisfactory one.’ - -‘Suitable, sir! Why, of course it’s suitable; and as to satisfactory, -well, if I say she’s got to take him, she’ll have to be satisfied with -him, willy-nilly.’ - -‘But she won’t!’ Tom Dupuy interrupted sullenly, flicking his boot with -his short riding-whip in a vicious fashion. ‘She won’t, you may take my -word for it, Uncle Theodore. I can’t imagine why it is; but these young -women who’ve been educated in England, they’ll never be satisfied with -a planter for a husband. They think a gentleman and a son of gentlemen -for fifty generations isn’t a good enough match for such fine ladies -as themselves; and they go running off after some of these red-coated -military fellows down in the garrison over yonder, many of whom, to -my certain knowledge, Mr Hawthorn, are nothing more than the sons of -tradesmen across there in England. I’ll bet you a sovereign, Uncle -Theodore, that Nora’ll refuse to so much as look at the heir of Pimento -Valley, the minute she sees him.’ - -‘But why do you think so, Mr Tom,’ their host put in, ‘before the young -lady has even landed on the island?’ - -‘Ah, I know well enough,’ Tom Dupuy answered, with a curious leer -of unintelligent cunning. ‘I know the ways and the habits of the -women. They go away over there to England; they get themselves -crammed with French and German, and music and drawing, and all kinds -of unnecessary accomplishments. They pick up a lot of nonsensical -new-fangled notions about Am I not a Man and a Brother? and all that -kind of humbug. They think an awful lot of themselves because they can -play and sing and gabble Italian. And they despise us West Indians, -gentlemen and planters, because we can’t parley-voo all their precious -foreign lingoes, and don’t know as much as they do about who composed -_Yankee Doodle_. I know them—I know them; I know their ways and their -manners. Culture they call it. I call it a precious lot of trumpery -nonsense. Why, Mr Hawthorn, I assure you I’ve known some of these fine -new-fangled English-taught young women who’d sooner talk to a coloured -doctor, as black as a common nigger almost, just because he’d been -educated at Oxford, or Edinburgh, or somewhere, than to me myself, the -tenth Dupuy in lineal succession at Pimento Valley.’ - -‘Indeed,’ Mr Hawthorn answered innocently—no other alternative phrase -committing him, as he thought, to so small an opinion on the merits of -the question.—‘But do you know, Mr Tom, I don’t believe any person of -the Dupuy blood is very likely to take up with these strange modern -English heresies that so much surprise you.’ - -‘Quite true, sir,’ Mr Dupuy the elder answered with prompt -self-satisfaction, mistaking his host’s delicate tone of covert satire -for the voice of hearty concurrence and full approval. ‘You’re quite -right there, Mr Hawthorn, I’m certain. No born Dupuy of Orange Grove -would ever be taken in by any of that silly clap-trap humanitarian -rubbish. No foolish Exeter Hall nonsense pertains to the fighting -Dupuys, sir, I can assure you—root and branch, not a single ounce of -it. It isn’t in them, Mr Hawthorn—it isn’t in them.’ - -‘So I think,’ Mr Hawthorn answered quietly. ‘I quite agree with you—it -isn’t in them.’ - -As he spoke, a negro servant, neatly dressed in a cool white linen -livery, entered the piazza with a small budget of letters on an -old-fashioned Spanish silver salver. Mr Hawthorn took them up eagerly. -‘The English mail!’ he said with an apologetic look towards his two -guests. ‘You’ll excuse my just glancing through them, Mr Dupuy, won’t -you? I can never rest, the moment the mail’s in, until I know that my -dear boy in England is still really well and happy.’ - -Mr Dupuy nodded assent with a condescending smile; and the master -of Agualta broke open his son’s envelope with a little eager hasty -flutter. He ran his eye hurriedly down the first page; and then, with -a sudden cry, he laid down the letter rapidly on the table, and called -out aloud: ‘Mary, Mary!’ - -Mrs Hawthorn came out at once from the little boudoir behind the -piazza, whose cool Venetian blinds gave directly upon the part where -they were sitting. - -‘Mary, Mary!’ Mr Hawthorn cried, utterly regardless of his two -visitors’ presence, ‘what on earth do you think has happened? Edward’s -coming out to us—coming out immediately. Oh, my poor boy, my poor boy, -this is too unexpected! He’s coming out to us at once, at once, without -a single moment’s warning!’ - -Mrs Hawthorn took up the letter and read it through hastily with a -woman’s quickness; then she laid it down again, and looked blankly at -her trembling husband in evident distress; but neither of them said a -single word to one another. - -The elder Dupuy was the first to break the ominous silence. ‘Not by the -next steamer, I suppose?’ he inquired curiously. - -Mr Hawthorn nodded in reply. ‘Yes, yes; by the next steamer.’ - -As he spoke, Tom Dupuy glanced at his uncle with a meaning glance, and -then went on stolidly as ever: ‘How about these cattle, though, Mr -Hawthorn?’ - -The old man looked back at him half angrily, half contemptuously. -‘Go and look at the cattle yourself, if you like, Mr Tom,’ he said -haughtily.—‘Here, Jo, you take young Mr Dupuy round to see those Cuban -bullocks in the grass-piece, will you? I shall meet your uncle at the -Legislative Council on Thursday, and then, if he likes, he can talk -over prices with me. I have something else to do at present beside -haggling and debating over the sale of bullocks; I must go down to -Port-of-Spain immediately, immediately—this very minute.—You must -please excuse me, Mr Dupuy, for my business is most important.—Dick, -Isaac, Thomas!—some one of you there, get Pride of Barbadoes saddled -at once, very fast, will you, and bring her round here to me at the -front-door the moment she’s ready.’ - -‘And Tom,’ the elder Dupuy whispered to his nephew confidentially, as -soon as their host had gone back into the house to prepare for his -journey, ‘I have business, too, in Port-of-Spain, immediately. You go -and look at the bullocks if you like—that’s your department. I shall -ride down the hills at once, and into town with old Hawthorn.’ - -Tom looked at him with a vacant stare of boorish unintelligence. -‘Why, what do you want to go running off like that for,’ he asked, -open-mouthed, ‘without even waiting to see the cattle? What does it -matter to you, I should like to know, whether old Hawthorn’s precious -son is coming to Trinidad or not, Uncle Theodore?’ - -The uncle looked back at him with undisguised contempt. ‘Why, you fool, -Tom,’ he answered quietly, ‘you don’t suppose I want to let Nora come -out alone all the way from England to Trinidad in the very same steamer -with that man Hawthorn’s son Edward? Impossible, impossible!—Here, -you nigger fellow you, grinning over there like a chattering monkey, -bring my mare out of the stable at once, sir, will you—do you hear me, -image?—for I’m going to ride down direct to Port-of-Spain this very -minute along with your master. Hurry up, there, jackanapes!’ - - - - -THE LAND OF FURS. - - -In 1867, the United States government, for a payment to Russia of -about a million and a half pounds sterling, received in exchange the -strange isolated country in the far north known as Alaska, separated by -one thousand miles of British colonial territory from the republican -frontier. For some years there were constant conflicts with the -Indians, and altogether the early history of the American occupation -of Alaska is not a bright one. The San Franciscan speculators who had -been attracted by hopes of gold and of untold wealth in forests and -fisheries were wofully disappointed, and the majority of them gradually -cleared out again. - -A mere glance at the map hardly gives one an idea of the enormous -superficial extent of this outlying possession of our American -cousins. According to the special Report of the United States Census -Commissioners—to which we are mainly indebted for the facts given in -this article—the total area of Alaska is five hundred and thirty-one -thousand four hundred and nine square miles, or about one-sixth of -the entire area of the United States. But one hundred and twenty-five -thousand two hundred and forty-five square miles are wholly within the -arctic circle, an area which has rarely been traversed by the white -man, and upon the coast-borders of which are a few Eskimo villages. -The natives of these, it is sad to learn, are becoming rapidly -deteriorated by commerce with the crews of the whalers which resort -in summer to the neighbourhood, and seek only to barter what natural -produce, in the shape of furs, or oil, or ivory, they can collect for -the means of intoxication. The immense area of the northern division -of Alaska is left to the bear, the fox, the reindeer, and other polar -animals, and to somewhere about three thousand degraded Eskimos. - -The largest geographical division of Alaska is that which the United -States officials have named the Yukon section. It is so called because -it comprises the valley of the river Yukon, said to be the largest -river in America, if not in the world, and which discharges into -Behring’s Sea a volume of water estimated at about one-third more -than that of the Mississippi. The Yukon division contains one hundred -and seventy-six thousand seven hundred and fifteen square miles, and -is peopled by four thousand two hundred and seventy-six Eskimos, two -thousand five hundred and fifty-seven Athabaskan Indians, eighteen -whites, and nineteen creoles—total, six thousand eight hundred -and seventy. The occupation of the natives is entirely in hunting -fur-skinned animals, which they barter with the whites for sugar, -flour, tea, cloth, hardware, &c. The money value of the skins bartered -is said to be about fifteen thousand pounds annually. Foxes are the -chief wealth-yielders of this district, and they are found of all -shades, from silver-gray and black to red and snow-white. Next to these -in importance are the skins of the martens (or sables) and land-otters; -and then, but in a much smaller degree, those of the black and brown -bears. The moose-skins and deerskins are all retained by the natives -for their own purposes, for clothing, bedding, &c. - -The principal trading-post is called Saint Michael, and here are kept -stocks of coal for the use of the whaling-steamers which force their -way into the arctic seas every year. - -The third largest geographical division is called the Kuskokvim -division, from the river which intersects it. The Kuskokvim division -lies to the south of the Yukon division, is bounded on the east by a -range of mountains, on the west by Behring’s Sea, and it comprises the -valleys of three large rivers and an intervening system of lakes. There -is a trading-station called Kalmakovsky, from which are brought down -from the unknown interior, by the natives, skins of beaver, marten, -and fox, which all appear to be very plentiful. This trade is carried -on by a race which appears to be a mixture of the Eskimos and Indians; -but below Kalmakovsky, down to the sea, and along the coast, the -Eskimos alone appear. These Eskimos support themselves mainly by seal -and salmon fishing. The salmon are caught in traps, and are dried upon -poles, which line both banks of the lower river from June to August. -The estuary is very wide, and the tide rushes in with tremendous -force, the rise and fall being very great, sometimes over fifty feet -when the wind is from the south-west. - -The houses of the natives are much the same in all the divisions of -Alaska. These dwellings are thus described: ‘A circular mound of earth, -grass-grown and littered with all sorts of household utensils, a small -spiral coil of smoke rising from the apex, dogs crouching, children -climbing up or rolling down, stray morsels of food left from one meal -to the other, and a soft mixture of mud and offal surrounding it all. -The entrance to this house is a low irregular square aperture, through -which the inmate stoops, and passes down a foot or two through a short -low passage on to the earthen floor within. The interior generally -consists of an irregularly shaped square or circle, twelve or fifteen -feet in diameter, receiving its only light from without, through the -small smoke-opening at the apex of the roof, which rises, tent-like, -from the floor. The fireplace is directly under this opening. Rude beds -or couches of skin and grass mats are laid, slightly raised above the -floor, upon clumsy frames made of sticks and saplings or rough-hewn -planks, and sometimes on little elevations built up of peat or sod. -Sometimes a small hall-way with bulging sides is erected over the -entrance, where, by this expansion, room is afforded for the keeping -of utensils and water-vessels and as a shelter for dogs. Immediately -adjoining most of these houses will be found a small summer kitchen, -a rude wooden frame, walled in and covered over with sods, with an -opening at the top to give vent to the smoke. These are entirely above -ground, rarely over five or six feet in diameter, and are littered with -filth and offal of all kinds; serving also as a refuge for the dogs -from the inclement weather. In the interior regions, where both fuel -and building material are more abundant, the houses change somewhat -in appearance and construction; the excavation of the coast-houses, -made for the purpose of saving both, disappears, and gives way to -log-structures above the ground, but still covered with sods. Living -within convenient distance of timber, the people (inland) do not depend -so much upon the natural warmth of mother-earth.’ - -All the islands in Alaskan waters are mountainous, some of the -elevations rising from four thousand to eight thousand feet; but the -entire division is devoid of trees. The soil is a mixture of loam, -clay, and volcanic detritus; and grasses of all kinds grow in great -abundance. Coal has been discovered in the island of Ounga; but this is -the only mineral riches yet disclosed, although ‘prospecting’ has been -carried on for years. The coal is of very poor quality. The climate -of this division is more temperate than that of the other districts, -and at one time it was thought that the rich grasses might allow of -cattle-breeding on a considerable scale. The long winters, however, -have shown this to be impracticable; and it has been found that hay, -even, can be imported from San Francisco cheaper than it can be grown -and cured on the spot. The only part where cattle are kept by the -priests and white traders is at Oonalashka, and the fact is interesting -as indicating the danger of trusting to poetic descriptions of places. -Thomas Campbell, it may be remembered, speaks of ‘the pilot’ guiding -his bark where - - Cold on his midnight watch the breezes blow - From wastes that slumber in eternal snow; - And waft across the wave’s tumultuous roar, - The wolf’s long howl from Oonalashka’s shore. - -As a matter of fact, the country here is neither ‘wastes,’ nor does -it ‘slumber in eternal snow.’ The summer is warm; the vegetation, -as we have said, is rich; and it may be doubted if the ‘wolf’s long -howl’ has ever been heard by the oldest inhabitant. At anyrate, we -can find no mention of wolves there now, although foxes are abundant -enough. The Aleutian islands are well peopled; and the people are -semi-civilised, the Russians having had relations with them and -settlements and missions among them for more than a century. There -are now schools at which both English and Russian are taught, and -‘stores’ at which the natives can provide themselves with the clothing -of civilisation. The Aleutian ladies, indeed, whose lords have grown -rich with their seal-fishing, can even sport silks on great occasions, -and at all times display a fondness for ribbons and ‘trade’ jewellery. -Only the exceptionally rich, however, can afford bonnets or hats; and -the Russian-peasant fashion of tying a handkerchief over the head is -the prevailing one. The men are especially fond of the broad-crowned, -red-banded caps of the Russian uniforms, which were the first examples -of civilised clothing ever seen on their shores. While the men devote -themselves to the fishing, the women make mats, baskets, cigar-cases, -and other articles of grass-cloth; and they turn out some very delicate -and beautiful work. The waters are rich in fish of all kinds; but the -most important industry is the seal-fishing that is now conducted under -leases from the United States government, which retains the monopoly. - -The south coast of the eastern half of the Alaska peninsula, with -the adjacent islands and a portion of the mainland, forms another -geographical division called the Kadiak section. It comprises -altogether some seventy thousand eight hundred and eighty-four -square miles, and has a population of four thousand three hundred -and fifty-two, of which thirty-four are whites, and nine hundred -and seventeen creoles. This district is mountainous, well watered, -abounds in fur-clad animals, and the men, when not hunters, are -fishers. Several settlements and missions were founded by the Russians -in various parts of this district; and at one time there was even a -ship-building establishment in Resurrection Bay. The forests are dense, -and some of the timber is of immense size, especially the spruce. - -A narrow strip of coast running from Mount St Elias to the -boundary-line of British Columbia, forms the last or south-eastern -division of Alaska. It covers twenty-eight thousand nine hundred and -eighty square miles, and it forms a wedge of some five hundred miles in -length between Canada and the western sea. In character, this section -of Alaska differs from all the rest, and is essentially similar to -that of the British possessions. It is mountainous and densely wooded; -the forests come quite down to the sea-line, and are very valuable; -the coast is indented by countless bays and fiords, and is sheltered -the greater portion of its length by a chain of islands, forming the -Alexander Archipelago. The spruce and the yellow cedar are the most -valuable of the forest-trees, and the timber of these is annually -exported in considerable quantity. Coal exists on several of the -islands, and at some places on the mainland, but has not been worked -yet to any great extent. Both copper and gold are known to exist, -and have been and are to some extent being mined. Other minerals are -supposed to exist, and the Americans expect that this division of -Alaska will in time become a great mining field. Already the mining -industry has thrown the fur-trade into the second place, and yet -the yield of fox, marten, otter, bear, and beaver skins is annually -very considerable. The hunting is carried on by the natives, who are -of the Thlinket Indian race; the rest of the population of seven -thousand seven hundred and forty-eight being made up of two hundred -and ninety-three whites and two hundred and thirty creoles. Salmon, -halibut, and herring fishing are carried on along the coast; and there -are two or three salting and canning establishments. There are also -factories for the production of oil from the herring, the dog-fish, and -the shark; and on the islands there is some seal-fishing. - -The climate of this division is not very cold, the average mean -temperature being forty-three degrees twenty-eight minutes; but the -rainfall is heavy, ranging from eighty to one hundred inches per annum. -The principal settlement of this district is Sitka. Here are the -headquarters of the United States naval station for Alaska, and here -also resides the collector of customs, who is the civil representative -of the government of Washington in the territory. In the time of the -Russians, there were several schools and churches at Sitka, but now -there is only one church, and the teaching is left practically to the -missionaries of the Presbyterian and Roman Catholic bodies. - -The total population of the whole of the enormous country called Alaska -is computed at only 33,426, and of this number, only four hundred and -thirty are whites; creoles number 1756; Eskimos, 17,617; Aleuts, 2145; -Athabaskans, 3927; Thlinkets, 6763; and Hydas, 788. Of the habits, -customs, and beliefs of these curious peoples, we may tell something on -another occasion. - -To sum up, it may be said that the acquisition of Alaska by the -Americans has been a good deal of a disappointment to them. They -thought it would be an excellent district for extensive settlement -for agricultural purposes, and the country, as we have seen, is quite -unsuited almost everywhere for such purposes. Then they had glowing -dreams of rich mineral deposits; but although gold and silver and coal -have been found, and are being partially worked, the mining industry -is a secondary feature in Alaskan wealth. The extent of the forests, -however, has been found greater than was expected. On this point, -the United States Commissioner thus enlarges: ‘The timber of Alaska -... clothes the steep hills and mountain sides, and chokes up the -valleys of the Alexander Archipelago and the contiguous mainland: it -stretches, less dense, but still abundant, along the inhospitable reach -of territory which extends from the head of Cross Sound to the Kenai -peninsula, where, reaching down to the westward and south-westward as -far as the eastern half of Kadiak Island, and thence across Shelikhof -Strait, it is found on the mainland and on the peninsula bordering on -the same latitude; but it is confined to the interior opposite Kadiak, -not coming down to the coast as far eastward as Cape Douglas. From -the interior of the peninsula, the timber-line over the whole of the -great area of Alaska will be found to follow the coast-line at varying -distances of from one hundred to one hundred and fifty miles from -the seaboard, until the section of Alaska north of the Yukon mouth -is reached, where a portion of the coast of Norton Sound is directly -bordered by timber as far north as Cape Denbigh. From this point to -the eastward and north-eastward, a line may be drawn just above the -Yukon and its immediate tributaries as the northern limits of timber -to any considerable extent. There are a number of small watercourses -rising here, that find their way into the Arctic, bordered by hills and -lowland ridges, on which some wind-stunted timber is found, even to the -shores of the Arctic Sea. - -But although the tree-clothed area is thus enormous, the market value -of the timber is not so great as one might imagine. The most valuable -is the yellow cedar; but this is not nearly so abundant as the spruce -or fir, and even that is not of the very best quality. - -More important than the timber is the produce of the waters, for it -is said that in the seas which wash the shores of Alaska there are no -fewer than seventy-five species of food-fishes. Many of these, however, -are only considered as suitable for bait wherewith to catch the richer -kinds. The chief of these is the cod, which abounds off the whole of -the southern coasts, and the catching and curing of which promises to -become an important industry. The quality is said to be quite equal to -the cod of the North Atlantic. We have already spoken of the salmon, -the herring, and halibut, all of which swarm in the waters in shoals of -countless myriads; and there are also many valuable white-fishes, which -at present are caught for native consumption only. Fish, indeed, is the -chief diet in Alaska, and the consumption is enormous. - -But the real wealth at present of Alaska rests in the abundance of -its fur-skinned animals. It was for the fur-trade that the Russians -occupied the country after it had been discovered by Behring, and -it was mainly for the fur-trade that the Americans acquired it from -Russia. The extent of the trade has proved greater even than was -expected at the time of the transfer. The shipments of sea-otter and -fur-seal skins alone have more than doubled since 1867, and now average -annually about three hundred thousand pounds in value. Of land-furs, as -they are called, the list is a long one, and in the order of wideness -of distribution may be thus given: land-otter, beaver, brown bear, -black bear, red fox, silver fox, blue and white fox, mink, marten, -polar bear, lynx, and musk-rat. Rabbits, marmots, and wolverines are -also common, but the skins are retained by the natives. The annual -value of the furs, sea and land, now obtained from Alaska is estimated -to average about half a million sterling, and there is no sign of -decrease in the yield. On the contrary, the competition of the traders -for skins has stimulated the natives to greater industry in hunting; -while the prices now paid to the hunters are from four to ten times -more than were current during the Russian rule. - - - - -A GOLDEN ARGOSY. - -_A NOVELETTE._ - - -CHAPTER IV. - -Queen Square, Bloomsbury, is a neighbourhood which by no means accords -with the expectation evoked by its high-sounding patronymic. It is, -besides, somewhat difficult to find, and when discovered, it has a -guilty-looking air of having been playing hide-and-seek with its most -aristocratic neighbours, Russell and Bloomsbury, and lost itself. -Before Southampton Row was the stately thoroughfare it is now, Queen -Square must have been a parasite of Russell Square; but in time it -seems to have been built out. You stumble upon it suddenly, in making -a short-cut from Southampton Row to Bedford Row, and wonder how it got -there. It is quiet, decayed—in a word, shabby-genteel—and cheap. - -On the south side, sheltered by two sad-looking trees of a nondescript -character, and fronted by an imposing-looking portico, is a -decayed-looking house, the stucco of which bears a strong likeness -to the outside of a Stilton cheese. The windows are none too clean, -and the blinds and curtains are all deeply tinged with London fog and -London smoke. For the information of the metropolis at large, the door -bears a tarnished brass plate announcing that it is the habitation of -Mrs Whipple; and furthermore—from the same source—the inquiring mind -is further enlightened with the fact that Mrs Whipple is a dressmaker. -A few fly-blown prints of fashions, of a startling description and -impossible colour, support this fact; and information is further added -by the announcement that the artiste within lets apartments; for that -legend is inscribed, in runaway letters, on the back of an old showcard -which is suspended in one of the ground-floor windows. - -From the general _tout ensemble_ of the Whipple mansion, the most -casual-minded individual on lodgings bent can easily judge of its -cheapness. The ‘ground-floor’—be it whispered in the strictest -confidence—pays twenty-five shillings per week; the honoured -‘drawing-rooms,’ two pounds; and the slighted ‘second-floors,’ what the -estimable Whipple denominates ‘a matter of fifteen shillings.’ It is -with the second-floors that our business lies. - -The room was large, and furnished with an eye to economy. The carpet -was of no particular pattern, having long since been worn down to the -thread; and the household gods consisted of five chairs and a couch -covered by that peculiar-looking horsehair, which might, from its -hardness and capacity for wear, be woven steel. A misty-looking glass -in a maple frame, and a chimney-board decked with two blue-and-green -shepherdesses of an impossible period, completed the garniture. In the -centre of the room was a round oak table with spidery uncertain legs, -and at the table sat a young man writing. He was young, apparently -not more than thirty, but the unmistakable shadow of care lay on his -face. His dress was suggestive of one who had been somewhat dandyish in -time gone by, but who had latterly ceased to trouble about appearances -or neatness. For a time he continued steadily at his work, watched -intently by a little child who sat coiled up in the hard-looking -armchair, and waiting with exemplary patience for the worker to quit -his employment. As he worked on, the child became visibly interested -as the page approached completion, and at last, with a weary sigh, he -finished, pushed his work from him, and turned with a bright smile to -the patient little one. - -‘You’ve been a very good little girl, Nelly.—Now, what is it you have -so particularly to say to me?’ he said. - -‘Is it a tale you are writing, papa?’ she asked. - -‘Yes, darling; but not the sort of tale to interest you.’ - -‘I like all your tales, papa. Uncle Jasper told mamma they were all so -“liginal.” I like liginal tales.’ - -‘I suppose you mean original, darling?’ - -‘I said liginal,’ persisted the little one, with childish gravity. ‘Are -you going to sell that one, papa? I hope you will; I want a new dolly -so badly. My old dolly is getting quite shabby.’ - -‘Some day you shall have plenty.’ - -The child looked up in his face solemnly. ‘Really, papa! But do you -know, pa, that some day seems such a long way off? How old am I, papa?’ - -‘Very, very old, Nelly,’ he replied with a little laugh. ‘Not quite so -old as I am, but very old.’ - -‘Yes, papa? Then do you know, ever since I can remember, that some day -has been coming. Will it come this week?’ - -‘I don’t know, darling. It may come any time. It may come to-day; -perhaps it is on the way now.’ - -‘I don’t know, papa,’ replied the little one, shaking her head -solemnly. ‘It is an awful while coming. I prayed so hard last night for -it to come, after mamma put me in bed. What makes mamma cry when she -puts me to bed? Is she crying for some day?’ - -‘Oh, that’s all your fancy, little one,’ replied the father huskily. -‘Mamma does not cry. You must be mistaken.’ - -‘No, indeed, papa; I’se not mistook. One day I heard mamma sing about -some day, and then she cried—she made my face quite wet.’ - -‘Hush, Nelly; don’t talk like that, darling.’ - -‘But she did,’ persisted the little one. ‘Do you ever cry, papa?’ - -‘Look at that little sparrow, Nelly. Does he not look hungry, poor -little fellow? He wants to come in the room to you.’ - -‘I dess he’s waiting for some day papa,’ said the child, looking out -at the dingy London sparrow perched on the window ledge. ‘He looks so -patient. I wonder if he’s hungry? I am, papa.’ - -The father looked at his little one with passionate tenderness. ‘Wait -till mamma comes, my darling.’ - -‘All right, papa; but I am _so_ hungry!—Oh, here is mamma. Doesn’t she -look nice, papa, and so happy?’ - -When Eleanor entered the dingy room, her husband could not fail to -notice the flush of hope and happiness on her face. He looked at her -with expectation in his eyes. - -‘Did you think mother was never coming, Nelly? and do you want your -dinner, my child?’ - -‘You do look nice, ma,’ said the child admiringly. ‘You look as if you -had found some day.’ - -Eleanor looked inquiringly at her husband, for him to explain the -little one’s meaning. - -‘Nelly and I have been having a metaphysical discussion,’ he said with -playful gravity. ‘We have been discussing the virtues of the future. -She is wishing for that impossible some day that people always expect.’ - -‘I don’t think she will be disappointed,’ said Mrs Seaton, with a fond -little smile at her child. ‘I believe I have found it.—Edgar, I have -been to see Mr Carver.’ - -‘I supposed it would have come to that. And he, I suppose, has been -poisoned by the sorceress, and refused to see you?’ - -‘O no,’ said Eleanor playfully. ‘We had quite a long chat—in fact, he -asked us all to dinner on Sunday.’ - -‘Wonderful! And he gave you a lot of good advice on the virtues of -economy, and his blessing at parting.’ - -‘No,’ she said; ‘he must have forgotten that: he gave me this envelope -for you with his compliments and best wishes.’ - -Edgar Seaton took the proffered envelope listlessly, and opened it with -careless fingers. But as soon as he saw the shape of the inclosure, -his expression changed to one of eagerness. ‘Why, it is a cheque!’ he -exclaimed excitedly. - -‘O no,’ said his wife laughingly; ‘it is only the blessing.’ - -‘Well, it is a blessing in disguise,’ Seaton said, his voice trembling -with emotion. ‘It is a cheque for twenty-five pounds.—Nelly, God has -been very good to us to-day.’ - -‘Yes, dear,’ said his wife simply, with tears in her eyes. - -Little Nelly looked from one to the other in puzzled suspense, scarcely -knowing whether to laugh or cry. Even her childish instinct discerned -the gravity of the situation. - -‘Papa, has some day come? You look so happy.’ - -He caught her up in his arms and kissed her lovingly, and held her in -one arm, while he passed the other round his wife. ‘Yes, darling. Your -prayer has been answered. Some day—God be thanked—has come at last.’ -For a moment no one spoke, for the hearts of husband and wife were full -of quiet thankfulness. What a little it takes to make poor humanity -happy, and fill up the cup of pleasure to the brim! - -Round the merry dinner-table all was bright and cheerful, and it is -no exaggeration to say the board groaned under the profuse spread. -Eleanor lost no time in acquainting her husband with the strange story -of her uncle’s property, and Mr Carver’s views on the subject—a view -of the situation which he felt almost inclined to share after a little -consideration. It was extremely likely, he thought, that Margaret -Boulton would be able to throw some light on the subject; indeed, the -fact of her strange rescue from her self-imposed fate pointed almost -to a providential interference. It was known that she had a long -conversation with Mr Morton the day he died, a circumstance which -seemed to have given Miss Wakefield great uneasiness; and her strange -disappearance from Eastwood directly after the funeral gave some -colouring to the fact. - -Margaret Boulton had not risen that day owing to a severe cold caught -by her exposure to the rain on the previous night; and Edgar and his -wife decided, directly she did so, to question her upon the matter. It -would be very strange if she could not give some clue. - -‘I think, Nelly, we had better take Felix into our confidence,’ said -Edgar, when the remains of dinner had disappeared in company with the -grimy domestic. ‘He will be sure to be of some assistance to us; and -the more brains we have the better.’ - -‘Certainly, dear,’ she acquiesced; ‘he should know at once.’ - -‘I think I will walk to his rooms this afternoon.’ - -‘No occasion,’ said a cheerful voice at that moment. ‘Mr Felix is here -very much at your service. I’ve got some good news for you; and I am -sure, from your faces, you can return the compliment.’ - - -CHAPTER V. - -Mr Felix was much struck by the tale he heard, and was inclined, in -spite of the dictates of common-sense, to follow the Will-o’-the-wisp -which grave Mr Carver had discovered. In a prosaic age, such a thing -as the disappearance of a respectable Englishman’s wealth was on the -face of it startling enough; and therefore, although the thread was at -present extremely intangible, he felt there must be something romantic -about the matter. Mr Felix, be it remembered, was a man of sense; but -he was a dreamer of dreams, and a weaver of romance by profession -and choice; consequently, he was inclined to pooh-pooh Edgar’s -half-deprecating, half-enthusiastic view of the case. - -‘I do not think you are altogether right, Seaton, in treating this -affair so cavalierly,’ he said. ‘In the first place, Miss Wakefield -is no relation in blood to your wife’s uncle. If the property was in -her hands, I should feel myself justified in taking steps to have the -existing will set aside; but so long as there is nothing worth doing -battle for, it is not worth while, unless Miss Wakefield has the money, -and is afraid of proceedings’—— - -‘That is almost impossible,’ Eleanor interrupted. ‘You have really no -conception how fond she is of show and display, and I know no such fear -would prevent her indulging her fancy, if she had the means to do so.’ - -‘So long as you are really persuaded that is the case, we have one -difficulty out of the way,’ Felix continued. ‘Then we can take it for -granted that she neither has the money nor has the slightest idea where -it is.—Now, tell me about this Margaret Boulton.’ - -‘That is soon told,’ Eleanor replied. ‘Last night, shortly alter -eleven, I was crossing Waterloo Bridge’—— - -‘Bad neighbourhood for a lady to be alone,’ interrupted Felix, with a -reproachful glance at Seaton.—‘I beg your pardon. Go on, please.’ - -‘I had missed my husband at Waterloo Station, and I was hurrying home -as quickly as I could’—— - -‘Why did you not take a cab?’ exclaimed Felix with some asperity. Then -seeing Eleanor colour, he said hastily: ‘What a dolt I am! I—I am very -sorry. Please, go on.’ - -‘As I was saying,’ continued Eleanor, ‘just as I was crossing the -bridge, I saw a woman close by me climb on to one of the buttresses. I -don’t remember much about it, for it was over in less than a minute, -and seems like a dream now; but it was my old nurse, or rather -companion, Margaret Boulton, strange as it seems. Now, you know quite -as much as I can tell you.’ - -Felix mused for a time over this strange history. He could not shake -off the feeling that it was more than a mere coincidence. ‘Seriously,’ -he said, ‘I feel something will come of this.’ - -‘I hope so,’ answered Eleanor with a little sigh. ‘Things certainly -look a little better now than they did; but we need some permanent -benefit sadly.’ - -‘I thought some day had come, mamma,’ piped little Nelly from her nest -on the hearthrug. - -‘Little pitchers have long ears,’ said the novelist. ‘Come and sit on -poor old Uncle Jasper’s knee, Nelly, and give him a kiss.’ - -‘Yes, I will, Uncle Jasper; but I’m not a little pitcher, and I’ve not -dot long ears.—Mamma, are my ears long?’ - -‘No, darling,’ replied her mother with a smile. ‘Uncle Felix was not -speaking of you.’ - -‘Then I will sit upon his knee.’ Whereupon she climbed up on to that -lofty perch, and proceeded to draw invidious distinctions between Mr -Felix’ moustache and the hirsute appendage of her father, a mode of -criticism which gave the good-natured literary celebrity huge delight. - -‘Now,’ continued Felix, when he had placed the little lady entirely -to her satisfaction—‘now to resume. In the first place, I should -particularly like to see this Margaret Boulton to-day.’ - -‘I do not quite agree with you, Mr Felix. It would be cruel, with her -nerves in such a state, to cross-examine her to-day,’ Mrs Seaton said -with womanly consideration. ‘You can have no idea what such a reaction -means.’ - -‘Precisely,’ Felix replied grimly. ‘Do you not see what I mean? Her -nervous system is particularly highly strung at present—the brain in -a state of violent activity, probably; and she is certain to be in a -position to remember the minutest detail, and may give us an apparently -trivial hint, which may turn out of the utmost importance.’ - -‘Still, it seems the refinement of cruelty,’ said Eleanor, her womanly -kindness getting the better of her curiosity. ‘She is in a particularly -nervous state. Naturally, she is inclined to be morbidly religious, -and the mere thought of her attempted crime last night upsets her.’ - -‘Yes, perhaps so,’ Felix said; ‘but I should like to see her now. We -cannot tell how important it may be to us.’ - -‘I declare your enthusiasm is positively contagious,’ laughed -Seaton.—‘Really, Felix, I did not imagine you were so deeply imbued -with curiosity. My wife is bad enough, but you are positively girlish.’ - -‘Indeed, sir, you belie me,’ said Eleanor with mock-indignation. ‘I -am moved by a little natural inquisitiveness; but I shall certainly -not permit that unfortunate girl to be annoyed for the purpose of -gratifying the whim of two grown-up children.’ - -‘_Mea culpa_,’ Felix replied humbly. ‘But I should like to see the -interesting patient, if only for a few minutes.’ - -Eleanor laughed merrily at this persistent charge. ‘Well, well,’ she -said, ‘I will go up to Margaret and ascertain if she is fit to see any -one just yet; but I warn you not to be disappointed, for she certainly -shall not be further excited.’ - -‘I do not think the curiosity is all on our side,’ Felix said, as -Eleanor was leaving the room.—‘You are a fortunate man, Seaton, in -spite of your troubles,’ he continued. ‘A wife like yours must make -anxiety seem lighter.’ - -‘Indeed, you are right,’ Edgar answered earnestly. ‘Many a time I have -felt like giving it up, and should have done so, if it had not been for -Eleanor.’ - -‘Strange, too,’ said Felix musingly, ‘that she does not give one the -impression of being so brave and courageous. But you never can tell. I -have been making a study of humanity for twenty years, and I have been -often disappointed in my models. I have seen the weakest do the work of -the strongest. I have seen the strongest, on the other hand, go down -before the first breath of trouble. I have seen the most acid of them -all make the most angelic of wives.’ - -‘I wonder you have never married, Felix.’ - -‘Did I not tell you my model women have always been the first to -disappoint me?’ he replied lightly. ‘Besides, what woman could know -Jasper Felix and love him?’ - -‘Your reputation alone’—— - -‘Yes, my reputation—and my money,’ Felix said bitterly. ‘Twenty years -ago, when I was plain Jasper Felix, I did—— But bah! I don’t want to -discuss faded rose-leaves with you.—Let us change the subject. I have -some good news for you. In the first place, I have sold the article you -gave me.’ - -‘Come, that is cheering. I suppose you managed to screw a guinea out of -one of your friends for me?’ - -‘On the contrary, I sold it on its merits,’ Felix replied, ‘and ten -pounds was the price.’ - -‘Ten pounds! Am I dreaming, or am I a genius?’ - -‘Neither; which is true, if not complimentary. There is the cheque -to prove you are not dreaming; and as to the other thing, you have -no genius, but you have considerable talent.—But I have some further -news for you. I have had a note from the editor of _Mayfair_, to whom -I showed your work. Now, Baker of the _Mayfair_ is about the finest -judge of literary capacity I know. He says he was particularly struck -with your descriptive writing; and if you like to undertake the work, -he wants you to visit the principal of the foreign gambling clubs in -London, and work up a series of gossiping articles for his paper. The -work will not be particularly pleasant; but you will have the _entrée_ -of all these clubs, and the golden key to get to the working part of -the machinery. The thing will be hard and somewhat hazardous; but it is -a grand opportunity of earning considerable _kudos_. Will you undertake -it?’ - -‘Undertake it!’ said Seaton, springing to his feet. ‘Will I not? Felix, -you have made a new man of me. Had it not been for you, I don’t know -what would have become of us by this time. I cannot thank you in words, -but you know that I feel your kindness.’ - -‘I do not see why this should not lead to something like fortune; -anyway, it means comfort and ease, if I do not mistake your capacity,’ -said Felix, totally ignoring the other’s gratitude. ‘If I were in your -place, I should not tell my wife I was doing anything dangerous.’ - -‘Poor child, how thankful she will be! But you are perfectly right as -regards the danger—not that I fear it particularly, though there is no -reason to make her anxious.’ - -‘What mischief are you plotting?’ said Eleanor, entering the room at -that moment. ‘You look on particularly good terms with yourselves.’ - -‘Good news, Nelly, good news! I have actually got permanent work to do. -You need not ask whose doing it is.’ - -‘No, no,’ said Felix modestly. ‘It is your own capability you must -thank.—What about the patient?’ - -‘I really must ask you to postpone your inquiry for the present,’ she -replied; ‘she is incapable of answering any questions just now. Indeed, -I am so uneasy, that I have sent for a doctor.’ - -‘Indeed! Well, I suppose we must wait for the present.—And now, I must -tear myself away,’ said Felix, as he rose and proceeded to button his -overcoat.—‘Seaton, you must hold yourself in readiness for your work at -any moment.—No thanks, please,’ as Eleanor was about to speak. ‘Now, I -must go.—Good-night, little Nelly; don’t forget to think of poor old -Uncle Jasper sometimes.’ - -‘Good-night, Felix,’ said Edgar with a hearty hand-shake. ‘I won’t -thank you; but you know how I feel.—Good-night, dear old boy!’ - - - - -‘IN AT THE DEATH.’ - - -There were three of us chumming together in a solitary little hole -in the jungle, not so very far—as one counts distance in India—from -Secunderabad. We were Cooper’s Hill young men; and fate and the -government had given us a chance of distinguishing ourselves, and -extinguishing our fellow-creatures, by the making of a branch railway -including a bridge and a tunnel. So there were three of us; and a right -jolly time we had on the whole. Our bungalow was a real work of art, -covered with creepers, by which I do not mean to insinuate centipedes, -of which, however, there were also a good few, but jessamine, -plumbago, a climbing moss—which one of us had rescued from the tangle -of the jungle, and coaxed to live in a more civilised position—besides -many other lovely specimens. To save our valuable time, we generally -addressed each other by our initials. Mine, unfortunately, spelt M. A. G., -to which my companions, in moments of hilarity, sometimes added a -second course of P. I. E. I was the eldest of the trio. - -We had not been very long at our branch-line work, when I was laid low -with an exhausting attack of jungle fever and ague. My friends E. S. P. -and H. F. by turns nursed me with a tenderness and care for which I can -never be sufficiently grateful. I pulled through, thanks to them; but -since that time, have been subject to rather severe fits of ague, from -one of which I was recovering, at the time the incident happened I wish -to tell you about. - -It had been an absolutely broiling day, and we had been driven to the -verge of insanity between the heat and the flies. We were reclining, -after our day’s work, on our basket sofas, on the veranda, in the cool -of the evening, puffing away solemnly and silently at our brier-root -pipes, when it suddenly struck us that a group of native workmen, who -were superintending the cooking of their evening meal in a corner of -our very improvised sort of compound, must have received some exciting -intelligence. Being young and sportively inclined, we were all three -fellows of one idea, and that idea was, ‘tigers.’ - -‘Just call to that gaping fool and ask him what’s up,’ suggested I, in -a washed-out voice. - -‘St John!’ shouted E. S. P., whose voice carried farther than either -of ours, clapping his hands loudly at the same time, to attract the -attention of the gabbling group; and up came the tallest, thinnest -native to be met in a very long day’s ride. We had christened this man -‘St John,’ first, because he wore the most fearfully and wonderfully -made camel’s-hair garment that civilised eyes ever looked upon; and -secondly, because he was so desperately lean and lanky, we were certain -that he must feed on either locusts or grasshoppers, which are both -supposed to be a very anti-fat diet. - -Up, then, came this mysterious coolie; and, with many salaams, much -gesticulation and showing the whites of his eyes, he informed us that -there was a most bloodthirsty man-eater lurking in the neighbourhood, -close by, at our very door! I looked nervously round, not enjoying the -idea of being caught by Monsieur Maneater armed only with a brier-wood -pipe. E. and H. at once appeared to be seized with St Vitus’s dance, so -absurdly and hysterically active had they suddenly become. - -‘Where was he last seen?’ ‘How large was he?’ ‘What village was the -scene of his last meal?’ ‘How many people was he known to have eaten?’ -‘Who brought the news?’ ‘Send him up to be questioned!’ - -St John went away; and in a few minutes reappeared, accompanied by a -native postman, who, it seemed, knowing that the railway Sahibs were -partial to tiger, had kindly dropped in with the intelligence. We found -out all we could from the man, and rewarded him with some money and -tobacco. - -The last victim was a poor native woman, who had crept into the corner -of the veranda of a bungalow some miles away, and fallen asleep, from -which, poor soul, she was roughly awakened, and then half-carried, -half-dragged to a clump of thick jungle-grass and bushes about two and -a half miles from where we were. The postman’s eyes and teeth glistened -with sympathetic pleasure, as he saw how keen and eager the other two -fellows were to be after the brute. I was out of it altogether, as I -could not trust my shaky hands with a rifle in such a case of life -or death, so I looked on and listened to all their suggestions and -arrangements with the deepest interest. - -‘That poor old bag of bones is not likely to have afforded him much of -a “gorge,”’ said H. ‘He may turn up on _our_ veranda to-night, boys, to -see if he can find some light refreshment here.’ - -‘He will get some black pepper which may not agree with him,’ said -E. S. P., who had gone into what we called our armoury and brought -out his rifle, which he began to clean and make ready for very active -service. - -By this time darkness had closed in round us, with that small respect -for twilight which so bothers the enterprising traveller in foreign -lands. The servants and workmen had dispersed to their various -habitations, and our white-headed native factotum was standing before -us announcing dinner. - -‘Hush!’ said H., putting his finger up in a commanding way and -listening intently. ‘Didn’t either of you hear something leap over the -wall?’ - -‘Oh, bother your imagination—I’m off to dinner,’ said I, rising -abruptly, and disappearing through the open window. The other fellows -followed, and were soon busily employed in making the most of _the_ -meal of the day and arranging about the morrow’s sport. - -When ‘To Tum,’ as we irreverently called our venerable butler, brought -me my tea and biscuits at six the next morning, I had much to ask him, -for E. and H. had gone off without waking me, probably thinking that -the sight of them with two rifles in their hands, and a tiger in the -bush, would be too exciting and tantalising for me. I found that the -Massa Sahibs had departed after a very hasty breakfast, and had taken -St John with them, carrying a third gun, in case of accident. A railway -coolie reported distant shots, heard about an hour after the Sahibs had -left the bungalow; but nothing had since been seen or heard of men or -man-eater. - -‘You can open that blind, To Tum,’ said I, pointing to one of the -windows looking towards the north, for I thought I should probably see -the conquering heroes returning that way, covered with glory and thorn -scratches. The butler had departed and left me to my meditations, and -good intentions of performing my toilet and going to see what was doing -on the line. I continued to lie, looking dreamily out of the window, -the jalousie of which To Tum had thrown back. It was not much of a -view, consisting only of a corner of the compound wall and the jungle -beyond; but a soft pinky haze beautified everything; and, fanned by a -most delicious cool breeze, I closed my eyes again and dozed for a few -minutes, utterly and blissfully ignorant that sudden death had just -cleared that compound wall, and was making, stealthily and wearily, -straight for my open window. I heard—in a dream as it were, so did not -heed—a curious scratching noise, followed by soft limping footsteps -across the veranda; then heavy breathing, almost gasping, which seemed -so unpleasantly near, that I opened my sleepy, dreamy eyes just in time -to see his most Serene Highness the Bengal tiger throw himself in an -utterly done-for condition by the side of my bed! - -Here was a situation! My very marrow seemed to freeze in my bones, and -every hair on my head was alive with electrified fright. I lay as still -as a corpse, and in my heart thanked a considerate providence which had -made the beast turn its back to me, instead of its villainous face. I -was too paralysed even to think of what I could do to get out of the -room, which, perhaps, was fortunate. The animal had evidently run far -and fast, as its panting sides and foam-flaked jaws plainly showed; -so there was just a feeble chance of its going to sleep, and _then_ -would be the time to cautiously escape. Its great murderous-looking -paws were stained with blood; and, though I could see that one of them -was wounded, the idea _would_ take possession of my weak and agitated -mind, that it was the blood of one of my companions, and not the -tiger’s own. Suddenly, to my horror, the brute lifted its head from -its paws, pricked up its ears, and listened intently. I also listened -as well as I could; but every nerve was throbbing, and the sound in -both ears was as the surging of stormy waves on a pebbly beach. I, -too, however, caught a distant ‘click,’ very faint and indistinct, -and I could not make out what it was. The tiger again composed itself -to sleep or watch; it was impossible to see if its eyes were open or -shut. After a lifetime of miserable sensations, I guessed, by the even -rise and fall of its sides, that it must be having what might not be -more than the proverbial forty winks; so now was my time, or never! -Not once taking my eyes off the object of my terror, I slipped out of -the bed, which gave a gentle creak, that, to my fevered imagination, -sounded like a death knell. He did not move! I wished I had more on, I -felt _so_ defenceless. I crept slowly to the door, not taking one foot -off the ground till I had carefully steadied myself on both. I reached -the only thing that divided me from comparative safety, softly turned -the handle. The door was locked! For one second I had taken my steady -gaze from the sleeping brute; when I looked again, what a change! Head -thrown back, ears flat, eyes glaring savagely, and flanks trembling and -quivering with the stealthy movement of an animal about to spring! But -not at me! I followed the tiger’s glance, and caught a glimpse of the -barrel of a rifle, just one second—then a flash—a roar—a struggle—and I -fell senseless on the floor. - -When I came to myself, I was lying wrapped in my dressing-gown on a -sofa in the sitting-room. E. S. P. was kneeling beside me with a bottle -of something in his hand, and H. F. was standing at my feet with an -expression of the greatest solicitude. - -‘Don’t talk just yet, old fellow,’ said he; ‘wait till you feel -stronger, and we’ll tell you all about it. By Jove! you _had_ a narrow -escape.’ - -After a few minutes’ quiet, my curiosity awoke in full force. ‘Tell -me,’ said I—‘did you kill him straight off?’ - -‘O yes,’ answered E. S. P. ‘He’s as dead as mutton. But we had no idea -that you were there. To Tum told us that you had gone to the line ages -ago; and we tracked the brute through your open window, where he had -taken refuge. H. wounded him in the off hind-leg, when we got our first -sight of him in the jungle; and instead of coming at us, he bolted, -and led us a precious dance. To Tum bolted your door on the outside, -thinking it would stand a charge better, in case the tiger made one; -but he thought that you were safe off the premises.’ - -‘Well,’ said I, shuddering at the recollection, ‘I really don’t think I -am more cowardly than most people, but may I never spend another such -_mauvais quart d’heure_!’ - - - - -OCCASIONAL NOTES. - - -A NEW LIGHT. - -The rise and progress of the mineral-oil industry are too well known -to need any special comment. In this and other countries, the supply -of hydro-carbon oils, both from shale-beds and springs, has of late -years received remarkable development. Nor will surprise be expressed, -viewing the enormous quantities of this material brought into the -market, and the low figure at which it can be supplied, that efforts -are continually being made, and experiments carried out, to utilise in -new forms the heat and light giving properties so eminently possessed -by this commodity. - -Some little time back, we touched on heat-production from hydro-carbon -oil, and pointed out its adaptability for raising steam on board ships, -and similar cases where saving in space and weight forms an important -desideratum. Since then, matters have advanced considerably, and the -late voyage of a vessel in British waters propelled entirely by oil-fed -furnaces, sufficiently testifies to the progress already made. - -Hydro-carbon oils promise, however, to find employment in another -direction—namely, for lighting purposes, and already at the great -Forth Bridge works a considerable number of the new lights are in -regular operation, and giving results in every respect satisfactory. -The essential principle involved in this method of lighting consists -in forcing air, compressed to about twenty pounds on the square inch, -through the heavy hydro-carbon oil. The oil issues from the burner -in a fine spray, which burns with a remarkably steady and brilliant -light, the oxygen of the air being thoroughly consumed. The absence -of smoke and smell is particularly noticeable. The oil is stored in -circular tanks of galvanised iron, holding some twenty gallons, or -about ten hours’ supply. A vertical tube extends upwards from the tank -and carries the burner; whilst an ingeniously contrived shade, arranged -to turn around the burner according to the direction of the wind, -affords shelter to the flame. A safety-valve is fitted to the tank to -obviate any undue increase of pressure in the air. The whole apparatus -is mounted on a stand some fifteen to twenty feet high, and sheds a -brilliant light for at least two hundred yards. - -It may be added that the well-diffused light of the new system -contrasts very forcibly with the black dense shadows cast by the -electric light, and forms a strong argument in favour of the former. -The power required to supply air is not large, about one-eighth -horse-power being found sufficient for each light. Thus, a small -air-compressor of five horse-power can readily produce abundant -pressure for forty lights. When employed on a large scale, and laid -down permanently, other economies and conveniences can be effected, as, -for example, the erection of a central tank arranged to feed all the -burners. - -Turning now to the oil employed, it may be noted that almost any oil -may be utilised, the crude and waste products of oil and gas works -being found to yield excellent results. This fact alone, enabling -products of small value to be rendered serviceable, should advance -the light in no small degree. There is beyond all question a large -field for any illuminating agent, which can be readily erected in -goods-sheds, ship-yards, or engineering works, and can be worked at -moderate cost. Whether or not this adaptation of hydro-carbon oil -will fulfil all the conditions necessary to render it a commercial -success and lead to its wide development, time alone can tell. We have, -however, shown that it has already done good work, and promises well -for the future. - - -MR G. A. SALA ON LABOUR IN AUSTRALIA. - -Mr G. A. Sala, recently addressing the representative of an Australian -journal, said: ‘I recognise that labour is needed everywhere in -Australia—more working men, more domestic servants, more young men, -more intelligent men, more Scotsmen—as many more as ever you like. I -think I have also been able to discern the people who are not required -here. These are the black-sheep of good families, loafers, idlers, -young men who come out and spend their money, drift into dissolute -habits, get remittances to take them home again, where they do nothing -but abuse the colonies, of which they know nothing, and in which their -presence was likely to do more harm than good. I have been preaching -lay sermons for a good many years; and were I not too old and too -wicked, I would get into some pulpit at home and preach as a minister, -for certainly ministers have more influence over their congregations -than lecturers have over audiences. I would say to my hearers: “My -capable, hard-working, shrewd, intelligent brethren, go out to -Australia. You and your wives and your children, go out, work hard; and -be assured that, with or without capital, you will, by hard working, -frugality, and sobriety, greatly better your condition. Not only that, -but you will also better those whom you leave behind. You will give -more and more backbone, more and more muscle, more and more red blood, -to the body politic of Australia.” But I would also add: “My idle -brethren, my stupid brethren, my wicked, needy brethren, my vicious -brethren, my drunken brethren, stop at home and gravitate to your -natural refuge, the poorhouse. Do not go out to Australia to become a -nuisance and a pest there.” Then, in more forbearing language, I would -amicably advise young men in England of mere clerical attainments, who -can at best only hope to be bookkeepers or shop assistants, to think -twice, nay thrice, before they travel thirteen thousand miles to find -a country where the native youths equal, if they do not excel them in -the ability demanded by the requirements of the counting-house and -shop-counter.’ - - -FOREIGN COMPETITION. - -Sir John Brown, of the well-known firm of John Brown & Co., has -said that he ‘feared England had almost, if not altogether reached -the summit of her prosperity, and that she must not again look for -any material prosperity such as the last thirty or forty years had -displayed.’ English trade was being nibbled right and left by Germany, -Austria, Prussia, and the United States. Illustrating this, Sir John -stated that his large ship-building Company at Hull had recently taken -their supplies of steel plates from Germany at prices varying from -ten shillings to twenty shillings per ton below the prices at which -Sheffield could supply the material. The same was true of ship-building -firms at Newcastle and other places. Notwithstanding the cost of -carriage, rails were sent more cheaply from Germany, by Antwerp and the -German Ocean, to Hull and Newcastle than they could be made in England. -A process of cold-rolling is known only to certain French and American -houses; and it is curious, but not altogether creditable to ourselves, -that steel is sent to Paris to be cold-rolled, and is afterwards -returned to this country. - - - - -BONNIE DRYFE. - - - Bonnie Dryfe, my native stream, - I have loved thee lang and dearly, - Glancing in the sunny beam, - Glinting through the bracken clearly. - - Wayward, wandering, mountain bairn, - Dancing down thy glen so grassy, - Leaping light by cliff and cairn, - Gleesome as a muirland lassie. - - Singing by the Roman moat, - Neighbours ye’ve been lang together, - Sadd’ning memories vex thee not, - Lilting blithely through the heather. - - Seaward wandering, bright and free, - Dreaming not of Old World story; - Fallen empire’s nought to thee, - Older thou than Roman glory. - - I have roamed by silver Tweed, - Stately Clyde majestic rushing, - Strayed where Highland rivers speed - O’er their rocky channels gushing. - - Nane can sing a sang like thine, - Nane can dance so light and airy, - Nane can cheer this heart o’ mine - Like thee, thou merry mountain fairy. - - WILLIAM GARDINER. - - * * * * * - -Printed and Published by W. & R. CHAMBERS, 47 Paternoster Row, LONDON, -and 339 High Street, EDINBURGH. - - * * * * * - -_All Rights Reserved._ - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL OF POPULAR -LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART, FIFTH SERIES, NO. 107, VOL. III, JANUARY -16, 1886 *** - -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. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - 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. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that: - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without -widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |