diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/67008-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/67008-0.txt | 2132 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 2132 deletions
diff --git a/old/67008-0.txt b/old/67008-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0a8a6dc..0000000 --- a/old/67008-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2132 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular -Literature, Science, and Art, Fifth Series, No. 108, Vol. III, January -23, 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. 108, Vol. III, January 23, 1886 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: December 25, 2021 [eBook #67008] - -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. 108, VOL. III, JANUARY -23, 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. 108.—VOL. III. SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 1886. PRICE 1½_d._] - - - - -AN ANGLER’S IDYLL. - - -I am once more at the water’s edge. It is the Tweed, silver-voiced, -musical, its ripples breaking into liquid crystals as the rushing -stream leaps into the breast of the softly-circling pool. Here, in its -upper reaches, amid the pastoral hills of Peeblesshire, its volume of -fair water is untainted by pollution. It has miles and miles yet to -run ere it comes up with the floating scum and dismal discoloration of -‘mill-races’ and the refuse of the dye-house. And, there!—is not that -Drummelzier Castle on the opposite bank above, its gray walls powdered -with the yellows and browns of spreading lichens, and its shattered -bastions waving here and there a crest of summer’s greenest grass? The -fierce old chieftains who wrangled Border-fashion in its halls are -silent to-day; the wild Tweedies and Hays and Veitches have had their -rough voices smothered in the churchyard dust. From the shady angle of -the old tower steps out a great brindled bull, leading his following -of milky dames to where the pasture is juicy in the haughs below. I -am thankful the broad deep stream is between us, for as he lifts his -head and sees me where I stand, he announces his displeasure in a short -angry snort and a sudden lashing of his ponderous tail. Perhaps it is -only the flies tormenting him. In any case, it is well to be beyond his -reach. - -Above me and around are the great brown hills of Tweed-dale. They have -this morning a dreamy look. The soft west wind plays about them, and -the sunlight weaves a web of mingled glory and gloom over their broad -summits and down their furrowed sides. The trees wave green branches -in the soft warm air; but I hear them not—only the swish and tinkle of -the waters. The sheep that feed upon the long gray slopes move about -in a kind of spectral stillness; I almost fancy I hear them bleat, but -may be mistaken, so far-off and dream-like is the sound. A distant shot -is heard, and a flock of white pigeons rise with swift wing from the -summit of the battered old keep, and wheel quick circles round the -tower, then settle down as still and unseen as before. And something -else is moving on the farther side. It is a milkmaid, tripping down the -bank towards the river, her pitchers creaking as she goes. She pauses -ere dipping them in the stream, and looks with level hand above her -eyes across the meadows now aflame with the morning sun. Perhaps she -expects to see some gallant Patie returning from the ‘wauking o’ the -fauld,’ or some bashful Roger hiding mouse-like behind the willows. -Her light hair has been bleached to a still lighter hue by the suns -and showers of many a summer day, but these, though they have bronzed -her broad brow and shapely neck, have left undimmed the rosy lustre -of her cheek. Light-handed, red-cheeked Peggy, go thy way in sweet -expectation! When the westering sun flings purple shadows over the -hills, he whose rustic image stirs thy glowing pulses shall steal to -meet thee here. - -And I?—what have I to do? There is the tempting stream; the pliant rod, -with its gossamer line and daintily busked lures, is ready to hand. -Deft fingers have mounted it for me without ostentation or display. -There has been no struggling with hanked line or tangled cast; I have -been served like a prince among anglers, and am ready-equipped to step -into the stream. And yet at the moment I am all alone; for round me -only are the silent hills, and beneath me the broadly-flowing Tweed. - -I have never fished so before. I feel as light as if the normal fifteen -pounds to the square inch of atmospheric pressure no longer existed -for me. Ah, with what delight I feel the cool water lapping round my -limbs, as I fling the light line far across the rippling stream, and -watch the ‘flies’ as they drop and float downwards with the current. -The broad brown hills, the dewy woods, the gray tower, are forgotten -now. The brindled bull and his milky following have gone, with the -rosy milkmaid, out of sight and out of mind. The pigeons high on the -shattered keep may wheel fleet circles as they choose, and spread white -wings in the orient sun, but they cannot draw my eyes from the charmed -spot. Down there, in the haugh beneath, near to where Powsail Burn -joins the Tweed, the thorn-tree is shading the wizard’s grave; but gray -Merlin, sleeping or waking, living or dead, is nothing to me. Yonder, -up the river, is Mossfennan Yett, and the Scottish king, for all I -know, may once more be riding round the Merecleugh-head, ‘booted and -spurred, as we a’ did see,’ to alight him down, as in days of old, and -‘dine wi’ the lass o’ the Logan Lea;’ but to me that old royal lover is -at this moment a thing of nought. Border story and Border song, tale -of love and deed of valour—what are they now to me, with the soft wind -sighing round my head and the swift river rushing at my feet? - -A splendid stream, indeed! For a hundred yards it sweeps with broken -and jagged surface, from the broad shallow above to the deep dark pool -below. In the strong rush of its current, it is not easy keeping your -feet. The bottom is of small pebbles, smooth and round, gleaming yellow -and brown through the clear water, and they have an awkward knack of -slipping cleverly from beneath your feet, giving you every now and -then a queer sensation of standing upon nothing. But this is only for -a moment, or ever so much less than a moment. For if it were longer -than the quickest thought, it might bring you a bad five minutes. To -lose your footing in this swift-hurrying stream, might be to have a -fleet passage into the great pool that hugs its black waters beneath -the shadow of yonder gloomy rock over which the pine-trees wave their -sunless boughs. But really, after all, one has no fear of that. Usage -gives security. The railway train in which you sit quietly reading the -morning paper, might at any moment leave the rails, or break an axle, -or collide with the stone bridge ahead; but you do not think of that, -or anticipate it—or, if you did, life would not be worth living. So is -it here in the broad Tweed. With the faculties engrossed in the work of -the moment, foot and hand are equally and instinctively alert. Slowly -and securely you move over the shining pebbles, making cast after -cast—wondering if ever you are to have a rise. - -I must work here with cautious hand and shortened line. For a belt -of trees borders the river on the farther side, and a long-armed ash -is pushing his boughs far out over the stream, as if seeking to dip -his leaf-tips in the cool-flowing water. To hank one’s line on these -quivering boughs would lead to a loss of time and probably of temper, -and this morning everything is too beautiful and bright for any angry -mood. As yet I have no success. Not a fin is on the rise; not a single -silvery scale has glittered. Still, what beauties I know to be lurking -there. You see that point, where the ground juts out a little into -the stream, and a ragged alder hangs with loosened roots from the -crumbling bank? It is being slowly undermined by the stream, and one -day will slip down and be carried away. But as yet, it affords a rare -sheltering-place for the finny tritons. It was but last season I hooked -one at that very spot, and after a long and stubborn fight got my net -beneath him, and went victor home. - -And I know that others are there still, as brave and as beautiful as -he. In fancy’s eye I can see them even now, lying with head up-stream, -and motionless but for now and then a quick jerk of the tail sideways, -their yellow flanks gleaming in speckled radiance when a sunbeam -reaches them through the fret-work of the overhanging leaves. That -sharp jerk of the tail sideways means that they are keeping their -weather-eye open. Being, among other things, insectivorous, they know -if they would secure their prey they must be quick about it, hence they -are ever on the alert. And yet, the flies which I am offering must have -passed close by them a dozen times, but still they have stirred not, -except in that knowing way which indicates they are not to be taken -in. They have learned a thing or two, these Tweed trout, since the -time of the Cæsars. Speak about animals not having reasoning powers? -Let any one who deludes himself with this vain fallacy, purchase the -best angling apparatus going, and then try his hand upon Tweed trout. -Three hours afterwards he will not feel quite so satisfied as to the -immeasurable superiority of man over the lower creatures. He may even -have some half-defined suspicion that it is himself, and not the other -party, that has been taken in. And not without cause. These Tweed trout -can pick you out an artificial fly as skilfully as a tackle-maker. - -The thought disheartens me for a moment, as I stand here, lashing away, -middle-deep in the stream. But it is only for a moment. The wind is -soft; the air is bright, but not too bright, with sunshine; a luminous -haze is gathering between me and the distant mountains, and the skies -have now more of gray than of blue in their airy texture. Everything is -beautiful, from the soft contour of the rounded hills to the glitter -and sparkle of the silvery stream.—But, there! My reel is whirring off -with a sound that seals the senses against everything else. He is _on_! -I saw him rise, and as he turned to descend I struck—and there he is! -It was all quicker than thought. He has rushed up-stream a dozen yards, -but is turning now. As I reel in, I begin mentally to calculate the -ratio of his weight to his strength of pull. This is a useful thing to -do; because if you should happen to lose your fish, you are then in -a position to assure your friend Jones, who is higher up the water, -and very likely has done nothing, that you had one ‘on’ which was two -pounds if it was an ounce. Jones will of course believe it, and condole -with you upon your loss—perhaps with a secret chuckle. - -But this is digressive. I have other work than to talk about Jones at -present. Master Fario is not taking kindly to the bridle which I have -put in his mouth, and is having another run for it. There he goes, -swish out of the water a couple of feet. What an exhilarating moment! -Another leap and whirl, and off he goes careering towards the pool -below in a way you never saw. But the line is running out after him, -and still he is fast. The fight is keen, but he is worth fighting for. -With the point of the rod well up, and a considerable strain upon the -line, he must soon either yield—or break off. The alternative is -dreadful to contemplate. So I renew my caution, and play him gently. -By-and-by I feel he is yielding. Reeling in once more, I soon draw him -within range of eyesight. What a beauty he is! Plump and fat, the very -pink of trouts! Moving uneasily from side to side—boring occasionally -as if he would make his way down to catch hold of something, but -with a swinging and swaying motion about him indicative of failing -power—he comes nearer and nearer to me where I stand, breathless with -excitement, dreading lest, even at this last stage of the struggle, -I may yet lose him. The supreme moment is at hand! He is almost -at my feet. I hold the rod with one hand, and with the other undo -the landing-net. He circles round me at as great a distance as the -shortened line will allow, and though I have tried once or twice to -pass the net beneath him, he has hitherto managed to baffle me. But -now, at last, the net is under him—and, there—— - - * * * * * - -Tap, tap!—‘Come in!’—And enter two or three little ones to hid papa -good-night. Ah, little sweethearts, what a vision you have undone! The -flowing stream, the overhanging trees, the old gray tower, the silent -hills, have all, at the touch of your tiny fingers, vanished! - -I was not dreaming—no, nor yet asleep. My hook lies turned face down -on my knee, and my pipe, extinguished, is still between my lips. It -is towards the end of December; the Christmas bells have already rung -out their message, and the New Year is waiting, in a few days to be -ushered in. Outside, the wind is blowing in loud noisy gusts through -the darkness, scattering the snow-flakes before it in a level drift. -Here, in my bookroom, as I sat with foot on fender, watching the -glowing embers in the grate, thoughts of summer days had stolen over -me. I was once more by silvery Tweed, under sunny skies, plying ‘the -well-dissembled fly’—the storm and the snow-drift without, being as -if they were not. To you, reader, I have uttered aloud the reverie of -those brief five minutes of swift fancy; to you, brother anglers, may -that phantasmal expedition be the harbinger of coming sport; and with -each and all of you I now will part, bidding you reverently, as I bid -my little ones, Good-night! - - - - -IN ALL SHADES. - - -CHAPTER V. - -The letter from Edward that had so greatly perturbed old Mr Hawthorn -had been written, of course, some twenty days before he received -it, for the mail takes about that time, as a rule, in going from -Southampton across the Atlantic to the port of Trinidad. Edward had -already told his father of his long-standing engagement to Marian; but -the announcement and acceptance of the district judgeship had been so -hurried, and the date fixed for his departure was so extremely early, -that he had only just had time by the first mail to let his father -know of his approaching marriage, and his determination to proceed at -once to the West Indies by the succeeding steamer. Three weeks was all -the interval allowed him by the inexorable red-tape department of the -Colonial Office for completing his hasty preparations for his marriage, -and setting sail to undertake his newly acquired judicial functions. - -‘Three weeks, my dear,’ Nora cried in despair to Marian; ‘why, you -know, it can’t possibly be done! It’s simply impracticable. Do those -horrid government-office people really imagine a girl can get together -a trousseau, and have all the bridesmaids’ dresses made, and see about -the house and the breakfast and all that sort of thing, and get herself -comfortably married, all within a single fortnight? They’re just like -all men; they think you can do things in less than no time. It’s -absolutely preposterous.’ - -‘Perhaps,’ Marian answered, ‘the government-office people would say -they engaged Edward to take a district judgeship, and didn’t stipulate -anything about his getting married before he went out to Trinidad to -take it.’ - -‘Oh, well, you know, if you choose to look at it in that way, of course -one can’t reasonably grumble at them for their absurd hurrying. But -still the horrid creatures ought to have a little consideration for a -girl’s convenience. Why, we shall have to make up our minds at once, -without the least proper deliberation, what the bridesmaids’ dresses -are to be, and begin having them cut out and the trimmings settled this -very morning. A wedding at a fortnight’s notice! I never in my life -heard of such a thing. I wonder, for my part, your mamma consents to -it.—Well, well, I shall have you to take charge of me going out, that’s -one comfort; and I shall have my bridesmaid’s dress made so that I can -wear it a little altered, and cut square in the bodice, when I get -to Trinidad, for a best dinner dress. But it’s really awfully horrid -having to make all one’s preparations for the wedding and for going -out in such a terrible unexpected hurry.’ However, in spite of Nora, -the preparations for the wedding were duly made within the appointed -fortnight, even that important item of the bridesmaids’ dresses being -quickly settled to everybody’s satisfaction. - -Strange that when two human beings propose entering into a solemn -contract together for the future governance of their entire joint -existence, the thoughts of one of them, and that the one to whom the -change is most infinitely important, should be largely taken up for -some weeks beforehand with the particular clothes she is to wear on the -morning when the contract is publicly ratified! Fancy the ambassador -who signs the treaty being mainly occupied for the ten days of the -preliminary negotiations with deciding what sort of uniform and -how many orders he shall put on upon the eventful day of the final -signature! - -At the end of that short hurry-scurrying fortnight, the wedding -actually took place; and an advertisement in the _Times_ next morning -duly announced among the list of marriages, ‘At Holy Trinity, Brompton, -by the Venerable Archdeacon Ord, uncle of the bride, assisted by -the Rev. Augustus Savile, B.D., EDWARD BERESFORD HAWTHORN, M.A., -Barrister-at-law, of the Inner Temple, late Fellow of St Catherine’s -College, Cambridge, and District Judge of the Westmoreland District, -Trinidad, to MARIAN ARBUTHNOT, only daughter of General C. S. Ord, -C.I.E., formerly of the Bengal Infantry.’ ‘The bride’s toilet,’ said -the newspapers, ‘consisted of white broché satin de Lyon, draped with -deep lace flounces, caught up with orange blossoms. The veil was -of tulle, secured to the hair with a pearl crescent and stars. The -bouquet was composed of rare exotics.’ In fact, to the coarse and -undiscriminating male intelligence, the whole attire, on which so much -pains and thought had been hurriedly bestowed, does not appear to have -differed in any respect whatsoever from that of all the other brides -one has ever looked at during the entire course of a reasonably long -and varied lifetime. - -After the wedding, however, Marian and Edward could only afford a -single week by way of a honeymoon, in that most overrun by brides and -bridegrooms of all English districts, the Isle of Wight, as being -nearest within call of Southampton, whence they had to start on their -long ocean voyage. The aunt in charge was to send down Nora to meet -them at the hotel the day before the steamer sailed; and the general -and Mrs Ord were to see them off, and say a long good-bye to them on -the morning of sailing. - -Harry Noel, too, who had been best-man at the wedding, for some reason -most fully known to himself, professed a vast desire to ‘see the last -of poor Hawthorn,’ before he left for parts unknown in the Caribbean; -and with that intent, duly presented himself at a Southampton hotel on -the day before their final departure. It was not purely by accident, -however, either on his own part or on Marian Hawthorn’s, that when -they took a quiet walk that evening in some fields behind the battery, -he found himself a little in front with Nora Dupuy, while the newly -married pair, as was only proper, brought up the rear in a conjugal -tête-à-tête. - -‘Miss Dupuy,’ Harry said suddenly, as they reached an open space in the -fields, with a clear view uninterrupted before them, ‘there’s something -I wish to say to you before you leave to-morrow for Trinidad—something -a little premature, perhaps, but under the circumstances—as you’re -leaving so soon—I can’t delay it. I’ve seen very little of you, as yet, -Miss Dupuy, and you’ve seen very little of me, so I daresay I owe you -some apology for this strange precipitancy; but—— Well, you’re going -away at once from England; and I may not see you again for—for some -months; and if I allow you to go without having spoken to you, why’—— - -Nora’s heart throbbed violently. She didn’t care very much for Harry -Noel at first sight, to be sure; but still, she had never till now had -a regular offer of marriage made to her; and every woman’s heart beats -naturally—I believe—when she finds herself within measurable distance -of her first offer. Besides, Harry was the heir to a baronetcy, and -a great catch, as most girls counted; and even if you don’t want to -marry a baronet, it’s something at least to be able to say to yourself -in future, ‘I refused an offer to be Lady Noel.’ Mind you, as women -go, the heir to an old baronetcy and twelve thousand a year is not -to be despised, though you may not care a single pin about his mere -personal attractions. A great many girls who would refuse, the man -upon his own merits, would willingly say ‘Yes’ at once to the title and -the income. So Nora Dupuy, who was, after all, quite as human as most -other girls—if not rather more so—merely held her breath hard and tried -her best to still the beating of her wayward heart, as she answered -back with childish innocence: ‘Well, Mr Noel; in that case, what would -happen?’ - -‘In that case, Miss Dupuy,’ Harry replied, looking at her pretty little -pursed-up guileless mouth with a hungry desire to kiss it incontinently -then and there—‘why, in that case, I’m afraid some other man—some -handsome young Trinidad planter or other—might carry off the prize on -his own account before I had ventured to put in my humble claim for -it.—Miss Dupuy, what’s the use of beating about the bush, when I see -by your eyes you know what I mean! From the moment I first saw you, -I said to myself: “She’s the one woman I have ever seen whom I feel -instinctively I could worship for a lifetime.” Answer me yes. I’m no -speaker. But I love you. Will you take me?’ - -Nora twisted the tassel of her parasol nervously between her finger -and thumb for a few seconds; then she looked back at him full in the -face with her pretty girlish open eyes, and answered with charming -naïveté—just as if he had merely asked her whether she would take -another cup of tea:—‘Thank you, no, Mr Noel; I don’t think so.’ - -Harry Noel smiled with amusement—in spite of this curt and simple -rejection—at the oddity of such a reply to such a question. ‘Of -course,’ he said, glancing down at her pretty little feet to hide his -confusion, ‘I didn’t expect you to answer me _Yes_ at once on so very -short an acquaintance as ours has been. I acknowledge it’s dreadfully -presumptuous in me to have dared to put you a question like that, when -I know you can have seen so very little in me to make me worth the -honour you’d be bestowing upon me.’ - -‘Quite so,’ Nora murmured mischievously, in a parenthetical undertone. -It wasn’t kind; I daresay it wasn’t even lady-like; but then you see -she was really, after all, only a school-girl. - -Harry paused, half abashed for a second at this very literal acceptance -of his conventional expression of self-depreciation. He hardly knew -whether it was worth while continuing his suit in the face of such -exceedingly outspoken discouragement. Still, he had something to say, -and he determined to say it. He was really very much in love with Nora, -and he wasn’t going to lose his chance outright just for the sake of -what might be nothing more than a pretty girl’s provoking coyness. - -‘Yes,’ he went on quietly, without seeming to notice her little -interruption, ‘though you haven’t yet seen anything in me to -care for, I’m going to ask you, not whether you’ll give me any -definite promise—it was foolish of me to expect one on so brief an -acquaintance—but whether you’ll kindly bear in mind that I’ve told you -I love you—yes, I said love you’—for Nora had clashed her little hand -aside impatiently at the word. ‘And remember, I shall still hope, until -I see you again, you may yet in future reconsider the question.—Don’t -make me any promise, Miss Dupuy; and don’t repeat the answer you’ve -already given me; but when you go to Trinidad, and are admired and -courted as you needs must be, don’t wholly forget that some one in -England once told you he loved you—loved you passionately.’ - -‘I’m not likely to forget it, Mr Noel,’ Nora answered with malicious -calmness; ‘because nobody ever proposed to me before, you know; and -one’s sure not to forget one’s first offer.’ - -‘Miss Dupuy, you are making game of me! It isn’t right of you—it isn’t -generous.’ - -Nora paused and looked at him again. He was dark, but very handsome. He -looked handsomer still when he bridled up a little. It was a very nice -thing to look forward to being Lady Noel. How all the other girls at -school would have just jumped at it! But no; he was too dark by half -to meet her fancy. She couldn’t give him the slightest encouragement. -‘Mr Noel,’ she said, far more seriously this time, with a little sigh -of impatience, ‘believe me, I didn’t really mean to offend you. I—I -like you very much; and I’m sure I’m very much flattered indeed by what -you’ve just been kind enough to say to me. I know it’s a great honour -for you to ask me to—to ask me what you have asked me. But—you know, I -don’t think of you in that light, exactly. You will understand what I -mean when I say I can’t even leave the question open. I—I have nothing -to reconsider.’ - -Harry waited a moment in internal reflection. He liked her all the -better because she said _no_ to him. He was man of the world enough to -know that ninety-nine girls out of a hundred would have jumped at once -at such an eligible offer. ‘In a few months,’ he said quietly, in an -abstracted fashion, ‘I shall be paying a visit out in Trinidad.’ - -‘Oh, don’t, pray, don’t,’ Nora cried hastily. ‘It’ll be no use, Mr -Noel, no use in any way. I’ve quite made up my mind; and I never change -it. Don’t come out to Trinidad, I beg of you.’ - -‘I see,’ Harry said, smiling a little bitterly. ‘Some one else has -been beforehand with me already. No wonder. I’m not at all surprised -at him. How could he possibly see you and help it?’ And he looked with -unmistakable admiration at Nora’s face, all the prettier now for its -deep blushes. - -‘No, Mr Noel,’ Nora answered simply. ‘There you are mistaken. There’s -nobody—absolutely nobody. I’ve only just left school, you know, and -I’ve seen no one so far that I care for in any way.’ - -‘In that case,’ Harry Noel said, in his decided manner, ‘the quest will -still be worth pursuing. No matter what you say, Miss Dupuy, we shall -meet again—before long—in Trinidad. A young lady who has just left -school has plenty of time still to reconsider her determinations.’ - -‘Mr Noel! Please, don’t! It’ll be quite useless.’ - -‘I must, Miss Dupuy; I can’t help myself. You will draw me after you, -even if I tried to prevent it. I believe I have had one real passion in -my life, and that passion will act upon me like a magnet on a needle -for ever after. I shall go to Trinidad.’ - -‘At anyrate, then, you’ll remember that I gave you no encouragement, -and that for me, at least, my answer is final.’ - -‘I _will_ remember, Miss Dupuy—and I won’t believe it.’ - - * * * * * - -That evening, as Marian kissed Nora good-night in her own bedroom at -the Southampton hotel, she asked archly: ‘Well, Nora, what did you -answer him?’ - -‘Answer who? what?’ Nora repeated hastily, trying to look as if she -didn’t understand the suppressed antecedent of the personal pronoun. - -‘My dear girl, it isn’t the least use your pretending you don’t know -what I mean by it. I saw in your face, Nora, when Edward and I caught -you up, what it was Mr Noel had been saying to you. And how did you -answer him? Tell me, Nora!’ - -‘I told him _no_, Marian, quite positively.’ - -‘O Nora!’ - -‘Yes, I did. And he said he’d follow me out to Trinidad; and I told him -he really needn’t take the trouble, because in any case I could never -care for him.’ - -‘O dear, I _am_ so sorry. You wicked girl! And, Nora, he’s such a nice -fellow too! and so dreadfully in love with you! You ought to have taken -him.’ - -‘My dear Marian! He’s so awfully black, you know. I really believe he -must positively be—be _coloured_.’ - - - - -OUR DOMESTICATED OTTER. - - -One fine day in early autumn, while straying along the banks of one -of the sparkling little trout streams which appear to be at once the -cause and the purpose of those lovely winding valleys so numerous in -Northern Devon, our attention was drawn, by a faint distressed chirping -sound, to a small dark object stirring in the grass at some distance -from the stream. We hurried to the spot, and there saw, to our great -surprise, wet, muddy, and uneasily squirming at our feet, a baby otter! -Poor infant! how came it there? By what concatenation of untoward -circumstances did the helpless innocent find itself in a position so -foreign to the habits of its kind? Its appearance under conditions so -utterly at variance with our experience of the customs and manners of -otter society, was so amazing, that we could scarcely believe our eyes. -However, there the little creature undoubtedly was; and congratulating -ourselves on this unlooked-for and valuable addition to our home -menagerie—for these animals are rare in Devon, and to light upon a -young scion of the race in evident need of a home and education was -quite a piece of good luck—the forlorn bantling was promptly deposited -in a coat-pocket and proudly borne homewards. - -Introduced to the family circle, ‘Tim’—as he was afterwards duly -christened—became at once the centre of domestic interest and unceasing -care. To feed him was necessarily our first consideration. A feline -or canine mother deprived of her young was suggested as a suitable -foster-mother; but, unfortunately, no such animal was at hand, and -meantime the creature must be fed. We therefore procured an ordinary -infant’s feeding-bottle, and filling it with lukewarm cow’s milk, -essayed thus to make good the absence of mamma-otter. At first the -little stranger absolutely declined even to consider this arrangement, -and in consequence pined somewhat; but in the end the pangs of hunger -wrought a change in his feelings, and after several energetic though -unscientific attempts, he overcame the difficulties of his new feeding -apparatus, and was soon vigorously sucking. For a time, all went well. -Tim, with commendable regularity, alternately filled himself with milk -and slept peacefully in his basket of sweet hay. But at the close of -the second day, a change came over our interesting charge; he was -restless and uneasy during the night, and in the morning, refused to -feed, and appeared to be suffering pain. Finally, his respiration -became laboured and difficult, and for a whole day and night our hopes -of rearing him were at the lowest ebb. But at the end of that time, to -our great satisfaction, the distressing symptoms began to abate, and in -a few hours had disappeared, and the convalescent returned _con amore_ -to his bottle. Believing his attack was attributable to over-feeding, -we henceforth diluted the cow’s milk with warm water, and removed his -bottle at the first sign of approaching satiety, nor did we again -administer it until his demands for sustenance became vociferous and -imperative. On this system we were successful in rearing him in the -face of many prophecies of failure. - -At this early stage of his existence, being exhibited to admiring -friends, he crawled laboriously and flatly about on the carpet, with -a decided preference for backward motion; but if he encountered -a perpendicular surface, such as the sides of his hamper or a -trouser-leg, he would, with the aid of his claws, climb up it with -considerable agility. He distinctly showed a love of warmth, and gave -us to understand that he appreciated caresses, by nestling down in -feminine laps, and ceasing his plaintive cry while our hands were about -him. On awakening from sleep, he would begin, as do ducklings and -chickens, with a gentle reminder of his existence and requirements. -If no notice were taken of this, the note—which was something between -the magnified chirp of a chicken and the very earliest bark of a -puppy—would steadily increase in power and insistence, until it became -an absolute clamour. When his bottle was given to him, he would seize -on the leather teat and tug at it, and plunge about with a violence and -impatience which defeated its own end, and woe to the unwary or awkward -fingers which came in the way of the tiny fine white teeth at this -moment! - -Obstacles overcome and success attained, Tim settled down to steady -sober enjoyment; the webbed paws were alternately spread and closed -like a cat’s when thoroughly content, and the tail curled and uncurled -and wagged to and fro, as does a lamb’s when happily feeding. After the -lapse of a few days, our new pet showed decided signs of intelligence -and a sense of fun: he would run round after one’s finger in a -clumsy-lively way, and a jocular poke in the ribs would rouse him to an -awkwardly playful attempt to seize the offending digit. In less than -three weeks he knew his name, and scuttled across the room when called, -followed us about the garden, and endeavoured to establish friendly -relations with a pet wild rabbit, which was furiously jealous of the -new favourite, and administered sly scratches, and ‘hustled’ him on -every possible occasion. - -About this time, he also acquired a charming habit of beginning, the -moment the sun rose, a clamour which deprived half the household of -further sleep, and which was only to be quieted by his being taken -into some one’s bed, where he would at once ‘snuggle’ down and lie -motionless for hours. At first we resisted this importunity on the -part of Tim, partly because an otter is not exactly the animal one -would select as a bedfellow, and partly because we could not think it -a desirable or wholesome habit for the creature itself. But Master Tim -was too much for us. ‘If you won’t let me sleep with you, you shan’t -sleep at all!’ he declared in unmistakable language, and by dint of -sticking to his point he carried it. - -At the end of the first month of his civilised life, some one gave him -a scrap of raw meat; and after that, though he ate bread and milk very -contentedly between times, he made us understand that his constitution -required the support of animal food, and was never satisfied without -his daily ration of uncooked flesh. Fish, strange to say, he seemed to -prefer cooked. When we were seated at meals, a hand held down would -bring Tim quickly to one’s side with an eager look in the small yellow -eyes; his cold nose sniffed at one’s fingers with rapid closing and -unclosing of the curiously formed nostrils; the softly furred head -would be thrust into the palm in search of the expected dainty morsel. -If none were to be found, his temper would be sadly ruffled, sometimes -to the extent of inflicting with his teeth a sharp reminder that not -even an otter’s feelings should be trifled with! - -As he grew older, he developed an amount of intelligence scarcely to -be expected from the small brain contained in the flat and somewhat -snake-like head; he showed decided preferences for some members of -the family over others; if permitted, he would follow everywhere at -our heels like a dog, and played with the children after the manner -of one, but with awkward springs and jumps that put us in mind of a -particularly ungraceful lamb. He occasionally made quite energetic -assaults on the ankles of some of the ladies of the family; and if he -perceived that the owner of unprotected ankles went in fear of him, -showed a malicious pleasure in renewing the attack at every favourable -opportunity. - -When the children went for a country ramble, Tim frequently accompanied -them, taking the greatest delight in these excursions. He would be -carried until beyond danger from wandering dogs, and then being set at -liberty, the fun would begin. Master Tim, all eagerness, trotting on -before in search of interesting facts, the children take advantage of a -moment when all his faculties are engaged with some novelty attractive -to the otter mind, to vanish through a neighbouring gate or behind a -haystack. The unusual quiet soon arouses Tim’s suspicions; he looks -round, and finds himself alone. The situation, from its strangeness, -is appalling to him; he utters a shriek of despair, and scurries back -as fast as his legs can take him, squeaking loudly all the time. If -he should chance, in his fright, to pass by the hiding-place of his -young protectors without discovering them, great is their delight. -One little face after another peers out and watches, with mischievous -glee, poor Tim’s plump and anxious form trundling along as fast as is -possible to it in the wrong direction! But very soon the humour of the -situation is too much for some young spirit, and a smothered laugh or -a half-suppressed giggle reaches the tiny sharp ears, and Tim quickly -turns, and with another shriek of mingled satisfaction and indignation, -gives chase to his playful tormentors. Once arrived in the open -meadows, where this novel game of hide-and-seek is not possible, it is -Tim’s turn. Still, he follows obediently enough, frisking and gamboling -in the fresh soft grass, until one of the innumerable small streams is -approached. As soon as he catches sight of the water, he is off. At a -rapid trot he hurries to the brink, and with swift and noiseless dart, -in a flash he has disappeared in the current, and in another reappeared -some yards away. Rolling over, turning, twisting, diving, he revels -in his cold bath, and it is sometimes a matter of no small difficulty -to get him out of the water. A cordon of children is formed—the two -biggest with bare feet and legs, to cut off his retreat up and down -stream—which, gradually closing in on him, seizes him at last; and -reluctantly he is compelled to dry himself in the grass preparatory to -returning to the forms and ceremonies of civilised life. - - - - -A GOLDEN ARGOSY. - -_A NOVELETTE._ - - -CHAPTER VI. - -‘How do you feel now, Margaret?’ - -‘Nearly over, Miss Nelly. I shall die with the morning.’ - -A week later, and the patient had got gradually worse. The constant -exposure, the hard life, and the weeks of semi-starvation, had told -its tale on the weak womanly frame. The exposure in the rain and cold -on that eventful night had hastened on the consumption which had long -settled in the delicate chest. All signs of mental exhaustion had -passed away, and the calm hopeful waiting frame of mind had succeeded. -She was waiting for death; not with any feeling of terror, but with -hopefulness and expectation. - -Up to the present, Eleanor had not the heart to ask for any memento -or remembrance of the old life; but had nursed her patient with an -unceasing watchful care, which only a true woman is capable of. All -that day she had sat beside the bed, never moving, but noting, as hour -after hour passed steadily away, the gradual change from feverish -restlessness to quiet content, never speaking, or causing her patient -to speak, though she was longing for some word or sign. - -‘You have been very good to me, Miss Nelly. Had it not been for you, -where should I have been now!’ - -‘Hush, Margaret; don’t speak like that. Remember, everything is -forgiven now. Where there is great temptation, there is much -forgiveness.’ - -‘I hope so, miss—I hope so. Some day, we shall all know.’ - -‘Don’t try to talk too much.’ - -For a while she lay back, her face, with its bright hectic flush, -marked out in painful contrast to the white pillow. Eleanor watched her -with a look of infinite pity and tenderness. The distant hum of busy -Holborn came with dull force into the room, and the heavy rain beat -upon the windows like a mournful dirge. The little American clock on -the mantel-shelf was the only sound, save the dry painful cough, which -ever and anon proceeded from the dying woman’s lips. The night sped on; -the sullen roar of the distant traffic grew less and less; the wind -dropped, and the girl’s hard breathing could be heard painfully and -distinctly. Presently, a change came over her face—a kind of bright, -almost unearthly intelligence. - -‘Are you in any pain, Madge?’ Eleanor asked with pitying air. - -‘How much lighter it is!’ said the dying girl. ‘My head is quite clear -now, miss, and all the pain has gone.—Miss Nelly, I have been dreaming -of the old home. Do you remember how we used to sit by the old fountain -under the weeping-ash, and wonder what our fortunes would be? I little -thought it would come to this.—Tell me, miss, are you in—in want?’ - -‘Not exactly, Madge; but the struggle is hard sometimes.’ - -‘I thought so,’ the dying girl continued. ‘I would have helped you -after _she_ came; but you know the power she had over your poor uncle, -a power that increased daily. She used to frighten me. I tremble now -when I think of her.’ - -‘Don’t think of her,’ said Eleanor soothingly. ‘Try and rest a little, -and not talk. It cannot be good for you.’ - -The sufferer smiled painfully, and a terrible fit of coughing shook her -frame. When she recovered, she continued: ‘It is no use, Miss Nelly: -all the rest and all your kind nursing cannot save me now. I used to -wonder, when you left Eastwood so suddenly, why you did not take me; -but now I know it is all for the best. Until the very last, I stayed in -the house.’ - -‘And did not my uncle give you any message, any letter for me?’ asked -Eleanor, with an eagerness she could not conceal. - -‘I am coming to that. The day he died, I was in his room, for she was -away, and he asked me if I ever heard from you. I knew you had written -letters to him which he never got; and so I told him. Then he gave -me a paper for you, which he made me swear to deliver to you by my -own hand; and I promised to find you. You know how I found you,’ she -continued brokenly, burying her face in her hands. - -‘Don’t think of that now, Margaret,’ said Eleanor, taking one wasted -hand in her own. ‘That is past and forgiven.’ - -‘I hope so, miss. Please, bring me that dress, and I will discharge my -trust before it is too late. Take a pair of scissors and unpick the -seams inside the bosom on the left side.’ - -The speaker watched Eleanor with feverish impatience, whilst, with -trembling fingers, she followed the instructions. Not until she had -drawn out a flat parcel, wrapped securely in oiled paper, did the look -of impatience transform to an air of relief. - -‘Yes, that is it,’ said Margaret, as Eleanor tore off the covering. ‘I -have seen the letter, and have a strange feeling that it contains some -secret, it is so vague and rambling, and those dotted lines across it -are so strange. Your uncle was so terribly in earnest, that I cannot -but think the paper has some hidden meaning. Please, read it to me. -Perhaps I can make something of it.’ - -‘It certainly does appear strange,’ observed Eleanor, with suppressed -excitement. - -Turning towards the light, Eleanor read as follows: - -[Illustration: _Darling, we must now be friends. Remember, Nelly, in -the garden you promised to obey my wishes. Under the care of Miss -Wakefield I hoped you would improve but now I see it was not to be, and -as prudence teaches us that all is for the best I must be content. Ask -Edgar to forgive me the wrong I have done you both in the past, and -this I feel his generous heart will not withhold from me. Now that it -is too late I see how blind I have been, and could I live my life over -again how different things would be. Times are changed, yet the memory -of past days lingers within me, and like Niobe, I mourn you. When I am -gone you will find my blessing a gift that is better than money._] - -The paper was half a sheet of ordinary foolscap, and the words -were written without a single break or margin. It was divided -perpendicularly by five dotted lines, and by four lines horizontally, -and displayed nothing to the casual eye but an ordinary letter in a -feeble handwriting. - -The tiny threads of fate had begun to gather. All yet was dark and -misty; but in the gloom, faint and transient, was one small ray of -light. - -Eleanor gazed at the paper abstractedly for a few moments, vaguely -trying to find some hidden clue to the mystery. - -‘You must take care of that paper, Miss Nelly. Something tells me it -contains a secret.’ - -‘And have you been searching for me two long years, for the sole -purpose of giving me this?’ Eleanor asked. - -‘Yes, miss,’ the sufferer replied simply. ‘I promised, you know. -Indeed, I could not look at your uncle and break a vow like mine.’ - -‘And you came to London on purpose?’ - -‘Yes. No one knew where I was gone. I have no friends that I remember, -and so I came to London. It is an old tale, miss. Trying day by day -to get employment, and as regularly failing. I have tried many things -the last two bitter years. I have existed—I cannot call it living—in -the vilest parts of London, and tried to keep myself by my needle; but -that only means dying by inches. God alone knows the struggle it is for -a friendless woman here to keep honest and virtuous. The temptation -is awful; and as I have been so sorely tried, I hope it will count in -my favour hereafter. I have seen sights that the wealthy world knows -nothing of. I have lived where a well-dressed man or woman dare not -set foot. Oh, the wealth and the misery of this place they call London!’ - -‘And you have suffered like this for me?’ Eleanor said, the tears now -streaming down her face. ‘You have gone through all this simply for my -sake? Do you know, Madge, what a thoroughly good woman you really are?’ - -‘_I_, miss?’ the dying girl exclaimed in surprise. ‘How can I possibly -be that, when you know what you do of me! O no; I am a miserable sinner -by the side of you. Do you think, Miss Nelly, I shall be forgiven?’ - -‘I do not doubt it,’ said Eleanor softly; ‘I cannot doubt it. How many -in your situation could have withstood your temptation?’ - -‘I am so glad you think so, miss; it is comfort to me to hear you say -that. You were always so good to me,’ she continued gratefully. ‘Do you -know, Miss Nelly dear, whenever I thought of death, I always pictured -you as being by my side?’ - -‘Do you feel any pain or restlessness now, Margaret?’ - -‘No, miss; thank you. I feel quite peaceful and contented. I have done -my task, though it has been a hard one at times. I don’t think I could -have rested in my grave if I had not seen you.—Lift me up a little -higher, please, and come a little closer. I can scarcely see you now. -My eyes are quite misty. I wonder if all dying people think about their -younger days, Miss Nelly? _I_ do. I can see it all distinctly: the old -broken fountain under the tree, where we used to sit and talk about the -days to come; and how happy we all were there before she came. Your -uncle was a different man then, when he sat with us and listened to -your singing hymns. Sing me one of the old hymns now, please.’ - -In a subdued key, Eleanor sang _Abide with me_, the listener moving her -pallid lips to the words. Presently, the singer finished, and the dying -girl lay quiet for a moment. - -‘Abide with me. How sweet it sounds! “Swift to its close ebbs out -life’s little day.” I am glad you chose my favourite hymn, Miss Nelly. -I shall die repeating these words: “The darkness deepens; Lord, with me -abide.” Now it is darker still; but I can feel your hand in mine, and I -am safe. I did not think death was so blessed and peaceful as this. I -am going, going—floating away.’ - -‘Margaret, speak to me!’ - -‘Just one word more. How light it is getting! Is it morning? I can see. -I think I am forgiven. I feel better, better! quite forgiven. Light, -light, light! everywhere. I can see at last.’ - -It was all over. The weary aching heart was at rest. Only a woman, done -to death in the flower of youth by starvation and exposure; but not -before her task was done, her work accomplished. No lofty ambition to -stir her pulses, no great goal to point to for its end. Only a woman, -who had given her life to carry out a dying trust; only a woman, who -had preserved virtue and honesty amid the direst temptation. What an -epitaph for a gravestone! A eulogy that needs no glittering marble to -point the way up to the Great White Throne. - - -CHAPTER VII. - -Mr Carver sat in his private office a few days later, with Margaret’s -legacy before him. A hundred times he had turned the paper over. He -had held it to the light; he had looked at it upside down, and he -had looked at it sideways and longways; in fact, every way that his -ingenuity could devise. He had even held it to the fire, in faint hopes -of sympathetic ink; but his labour had met with no reward. The secret -was not discovered. - -The astute legal gentleman consulted his diary, where he had carefully -noted down all the facts of the extraordinary case; and the more he -studied the matter, the more convinced he became that there was a -mystery concealed somewhere; and, moreover, that the key was in his -hands, only, unfortunately, the key was a complicated one. Indeed, to -such absurd lengths had he gone in the matter, that Edgar Allan Poe’s -romances of _The Gold Bug_ and _The Purloined Letter_ lay before him, -and his study of those ingenious narratives had permeated his brain -to such an extent lately, that he had begun to discover mystery in -everything. The tales of the American genius convinced him that the -solution was a simple one—provokingly simple, only, like all simple -things, the hardest of attainment. He was quite aware of the methodical -habits of his late client, Mr Morton, and felt that such a man could -not have written such a letter, even on his dying bed, unless he had a -powerful motive in so doing. Despite the uneasy consciousness that the -affair was a ludicrous one to engage the attention of a sober business -man like himself, he could not shake off the fascination which held him. - -‘Pretty sort of thing this for a man at my time of life to get mixed -up in,’ he muttered to himself. ‘What would the profession say if -they knew Richard Carver had taken to read detective romances in -business hours? I shall find myself writing poetry some day, if I -don’t take care, and coming to the office in a billy-cock hat and -turn-down collar. I feel like the heavy father in the transpontine -drama; but when I look in that girl’s eyes, I feel fit for any lunacy. -Pshaw!—Bates!’ - -Mr Bates entered the apartment at his superior’s bidding. ‘Well, sir?’ -he said. The estimable Bates was a man of few words. - -‘I can _not_ make this thing out,’ exclaimed Mr Carver, rubbing his -head in irritating perplexity. ‘The more I look at it the worse it -seems. Yet I am convinced’—— - -‘That there is some mystery about it!’ - -‘Precisely what I was going to remark. Now, Bates, we must—we really -must—unravel this complication. I feel convinced that there is -something hidden here. You must lend me your aid in the matter. There -is a lot at stake. For instance, if’—— - -‘We get it out properly, I get my partnership; if not, I shall have -to—whistle for it, sir!’ - -‘You are a very wonderful fellow, Bates—very. That is precisely what I -was going to say,’ Mr Carver exclaimed admiringly. ‘Now, I have been -reading a book—a standard work, I may say.’ - -‘Williams’s Executors, sir, or——?’ - -‘No,’ said Mr Carver shortly, and not without some confusion; ‘it is -not that admirable volume—it is, in fact, a—a romance.’ - -Mr Bates coughed dryly, but respectfully, behind his hand. ‘I beg -your pardon, sir; I don’t quite understand. Do you mean you have been -reading a—novel?’ - -‘Well, not exactly,’ replied Mr Carver blushing faintly. ‘It is, as I -have said, a romance—a romance,’ he continued with an emphasis upon the -substantive, to mark the difference between that and an ordinary work -of fiction. ‘It is a book treating upon hidden things, and explaining, -in a light and pleasant way, the method of logically working out a -problem by common-sense. Now, for instance, in the passage I have -marked, an allusion is made, by way of example.—Did you ever—ha, ha! -play at marbles, Bates?’ - -‘Well, sir, many years ago, I might have indulged in that little -amusement,’ Mr Bates admitted with professional caution; ‘but really, -sir, it is such a long time ago, that I hardly remember.’ - -‘Very good, Bates. Now, in the course of your experience upon the -subject of marbles, do you ever remember playing a game called “Odd and -Even?”’ - -Bates looked at his principal in utter amazement, and Mr Carver, -catching the expression of his face, burst into a hearty laugh, faintly -echoed by the bewildered clerk. The notion of two gray-headed men -solemnly discussing a game of marbles in business hours, suddenly -struck him as being particularly ludicrous. - -‘Well, sir,’ Bates said with a look of relief, ‘I don’t remember the -fascinating amusement you speak of, and I was wondering what it could -possibly have to do with the case in point.’ - -‘Well, I won’t go into it now; but if you should like to read it for -yourself, there it is,’ said Mr Carver, pushing over the yellow-bound -volume to his subordinate. - -Mr Bates eyed the volume suspiciously, and touched it gingerly with -his forefinger. ‘As a matter of professional duty, sir, if you desire -it, I will read the matter you refer to; but if it is a question of -recreation, then, sir, with your permission, I would rather not.’ - -‘That is a hint for me, I suppose, Bates,’ said Mr Carver with much -good-humour, ‘not to occupy my time with frivolous literature.’ - -‘Well, sir, I do not consider these the sort of books for a place on a -solicitor’s table; but I suppose you know best.’ - -‘I don’t think such a thing has happened before, Bates,’ Mr Carver -answered with humility. ‘You see, this is an exceptional case, and I -take great interest in the parties.’ - -‘Well, there is something in that,’ said Mr Bates severely, ‘so I -suppose we must admit it on this occasion.—But don’t you think, -sir, there is some way of getting to the bottom of this affair, -without wasting valuable time on such stuff as that?’ and he pointed -contemptuously at the book before him. - -‘Perhaps so, Bates—perhaps so. I think the best thing we can do is to -consult an expert. Not a man who is versed in writings, but one of -those clever gentlemen who make a study of ciphers. For all we know, -there may be a common form of cipher in this paper.’ - -‘That is my opinion, sir. Depend upon it, marbles have nothing to do -with this mystery.’ - -‘Mr Seaton wishes to see you, sir,’ said a clerk at this moment. - -‘Indeed! Ask him to come in.—Good-morning, my dear sir,’ as Seaton -entered. ‘We have just been discussing your little affair, Bates and I; -but we can make nothing of it—positively nothing.’ - -‘No; I suppose not,’ Edgar replied lightly. ‘I, for my part, cannot -understand your making so much of a common scrap of paper. Depend upon -it, the precious document is only an ordinary valedictory letter after -all. Take my advice—throw it in the fire, and think no more about it.’ - -‘Certainly not, sir,’ Mr Carver replied indignantly. ‘I don’t for one -moment believe it to be anything but an important cipher.—What are you -smiling at?’ - -Edgar had caught sight of the yellow volume on the table, and could not -repress a smile. ‘Have you read those tales?’ he said. - -‘Yes, I have; and they are particularly interesting.’ - -‘Then I won’t say any more,’ Edgar replied. ‘When a man is fresh from -these romances, he is incapable of regarding ordinary life for a time. -But the disease cures itself. In the course of a month or so, you will -begin to forget these complications, and probably burn that fatal -paper.’ - -‘I intend to do nothing of the sort; I am going to submit it to an -expert this afternoon, and get his opinion.’ - -‘Yes. And he will keep it for a fortnight, after reading it over once, -and then you will get an elaborate report, covering some sheets of -paper, stating that it is an ordinary letter. Who was the enemy who -lent you Poe’s works?’ - -‘I read those books before you were born, young man; and I may tell -you—apart from them—that I am fully convinced that there is a mystery -somewhere. ’Pon my word, you take the matter very coolly, considering -all things. But let us put aside the mystery for a time, and tell me -something of yourself.’ - -‘I am looking up now, thanks to you and Felix,’ Edgar replied -gratefully. ‘I have an appointment at last.’ - -‘I am sure I am heartily glad to hear it. What is it?’ - -‘It was the doing of Felix, of course. The editor of _Mayfair_ was -rather taken by my descriptive style in a paper which Felix showed him, -and made me an offer of doing the principal continental gambling-houses -in London.’ - -‘Um,’ said Mr Carver doubtfully. ‘And the pay?’ - -‘Is particularly good, besides which, I have the entrée of these -places—the golden key, you know.’ - -‘Have you told your wife about it?’ - -‘Well, not altogether; she might imagine it was dangerous for me. She -knows partly what I am doing; but I must not frighten her. I have had -two nights of it, and apart from the excitement and the heat, it is -certainly not dangerous.’ - -‘I am glad of that,’ said Mr Carver; ‘and am heartily pleased to hear -of your success—providing it lasts.’ - -‘Oh, it is sure to last, for I have hundreds of places to go to. -To-night I am going to a foreign place in Leicester Square. I go about -midnight, and think I may generally be able to get home about two. I -have to go alone always.’ - -‘Well, I hope now you have started, you will continue as well,’ Mr -Carver said heartily; ‘at anyrate, you can continue until I unravel the -mystery, and place you in possession of your fortune. Until then, it -will do very well.’ - -‘I am not going to count on that,’ Edgar replied; ‘and if it is a -failure, I shall not be so disappointed as you, I fancy.’ - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -It wanted a few minutes to eleven o’clock, the same night when Seaton -turned into Long Acre on his peculiar business. A sharp walk soon -brought him to the Alhambra, whence the people were pouring out into -the square. Turning down —— Street, he soon reached his destination—a -long narrow house, in total darkness—a sombre contrast to the -neighbouring buildings, which were mostly a blaze of light, and busy -with the occupations of life. A quiet double rap for some time produced -no impression; and just as he had stood upon the doorstep long enough -to acquire considerable impatience, a sliding panel in the door was -pushed back, and a face, in the dim gas-light, was obtruded. A short -but somewhat enigmatical conversation ensued, at the end of which the -door was grudgingly opened, and Edgar found himself in black darkness. -The truculent attendant having barricaded the exit, gave a peculiar -whistle, and immediately the light in the hall was turned up. It was -a perfectly bare place; but the carpet underfoot was of the heaviest -texture, and apparently—as an extra precaution—had been covered with -india-rubber matting, so that the footsteps were perfectly deadened; -indeed, not the slightest footfall could be heard. Following his guide -in the direction of the rear of the house, and ascending a short -flight of steps, Edgar was thrust unceremoniously into a dark room, -the door of which was immediately closed behind him and locked. For a -few seconds, Edgar stood quite at a loss to understand his position, -till the peculiar whistle was again repeated, and immediately, as if -by magic, the room was brilliantly lighted. When Edgar recovered from -the glare, he looked curiously around. It was a large room, without -windows, save a long skylight, and furnished with an evident aim at -culture; but though the furniture was handsome, it was too gaudy to -please a tasteful eye. The principal component parts consisted of glass -gilt and crimson velvet; quite the sort of apartment that the boy-hero -discovers, when he is led with dauntless mien and defiant eye into the -presence of the Pirate king; and indeed some of the faces of the men -seated around the green board would have done perfectly well for that -bloodthirsty favourite of our juvenile fiction. - -There were some thirty men in the room, two-thirds of them playing -rouge-et-noir; nor did they cease their rapt attention to the game for -one moment to survey the new-comer, that office being perfectly filled -by the Argus-eyed proprietor, who was moving unceasingly about the -room. ‘Will you play, sare?’ he said insinuatingly to Edgar, who was -leisurely surveying the group and making little mental notes for his -guidance. - -‘Thanks! Presently, when I have finished my cigar,’ he replied. - -‘Ver good, sare, ver good. Will not m’sieu take some refreshment—a -leetle champein or eau-de-vie?’ - -‘Anything,’ Edgar replied carelessly, as the polite proprietor -proceeded to get the desired refreshment. - -For a few minutes, Edgar sat watching his incongruous companions, as -he drank sparingly of the champagne before him. The gathering was -of the usual run of such places, mostly foreigners, as befitted the -neighbourhood, and not particularly desirable foreigners at that. On -the green table the stakes were apparently small, for Edgar could see -nothing but silver, with here and there a piece of gold. At a smaller -table four men were playing the game called poker for small stakes; -but what particularly interested Edgar was a young man deep in the -fascination of écarté with a man who to him was evidently a stranger. -The younger man—quite a boy, in fact—was losing heavily, and the money -on the table here was gold alone, with some bank-notes. Directly Edgar -saw the older man, who was winning steadily, he knew him at once; only -two nights before he had seen him in a gambling-house at the West End -playing the same game, with the same result. Standing behind the winner -was a sinister-looking scoundrel, backing the winner’s luck with the -unfortunate youngster, and occasionally winning a half-crown from a -tall raw-looking American, who was apparently simple enough to risk his -money on the loser. Attracted by some impulse he could not understand, -Edgar quitted his seat and took his stand alongside the stranger, who -was losing his money with such simple good-nature. - -‘Stranger, you have all the luck, and that’s a fact. There goes another -piece of my family plate. Your business is better’n gold-mining, and -I want you to believe it,’ drawled the American, passing another -half-crown across the table. - -‘You are a bit unlucky,’ replied the stranger, with a flash of his -white teeth; ‘but your turn will come, particularly as the young -gentleman is really the better player. I should back him myself, only I -believe in a man’s luck.’ - -‘Wall, now, I shouldn’t wonder if the younker is the best player,’ the -American replied, with an emphasis on the last word. ‘So I fancy I -shall give him another trial. He’s a bit like a young hoss, he is—but -he’s honest.’ - -‘You don’t mean to insinuate we’re not on the square, eh?’ said the -lucky player sullenly; ‘because, if that is so’—— - -‘Now, don’t you get riled, don’t,’ said the American soothingly. ‘I’m a -peaceable individual, and apt to get easily frightened. I’m a-goin’ to -back the young un again.’ - -The game proceeded: the younger man lost. Another game followed, the -American backing him again, and gradually, in his excitement, bending -further and further over the table. The players, deep in his movements, -scarcely noticed him. - -‘My game!’ said the elder man triumphantly. ‘Did you ever see such luck -in your life? Here is the king again.’ - -The American, quick as thought, picked up the pack of cards and turned -them leisurely over in his hand. ‘Wall, now, stranger,’ he said, with -great distinctness, ‘I don’t know much about cards, and that’s a fact. -I’ve seen some strange things in my time, but I never—no, never—seed a -pack of cards before with two kings of the same suit.’ - -‘It must be a mistake,’ exclaimed the stranger, jumping to his feet -with an oath. ‘Perhaps the cards have got mixed.’ - -‘Wall, it’s not a nice mistake, I reckon. Out to Frisco, I seed a -gentleman of your persuasion dance at his own funeral for a mistake -like that. He didn’t dance long, and the exertion killed him; at least -that’s what the crowner’s jury said.’ - -‘Do you mean to insinuate that I’m a swindler, sir? Do you mean to -infer that I cheated this gentleman?’ blustered the detected sharper, -approaching the speaker with a menacing air. - -‘That _is_ about the longitude of it,’ replied the American cheerfully. - -Without another word and without the slightest warning, the swindler -rushed at the American; but he had evidently reckoned without his host, -for he was met by a crashing blow full in the face, which sent him -reeling across the room. His colleague deeming discretion the better -part of valour, and warned by a menacing glance from Edgar, desisted -from his evident intention of aiding in the attack. - -By this time the sinister proprietor and the players from the other -tables had gathered round, evidently, from the expression of their -eyes, ripe for any sort of mischief and plunder. Clearly, the little -group were in a desperate strait. - -‘Have it out,’ whispered Edgar eagerly to his gaunt companion. ‘I’m -quite with you. They certainly mean mischief.’ - -‘All right, Britisher,’ replied the American coolly. ‘I’ll pull through -it somehow. Keep your back to mine.’ - -The proprietor was the first to speak. ‘I understand, sare, you accuse -one of my customer of the cheat. Cheat yourself—pah!’ he said, snapping -his fingers in the American’s face. ‘Who are you, sare, that comes here -to accuse of the cheat?’ - -‘Look here,’ said the American grimly. ‘My name is Æneas B. Slimm, -generally known as Long Ben. I don’t easily rile, you grinning little -monkey; but when I do rile, I rile hard, and that’s a fact. I ain’t -been in the mines for ten years without knowing a scoundrel when I meet -him, and I never had the privilege of seein’ such a fine sample as I -see around me to-night. Now you open that door right away; you hear me -say it.’ - -The Frenchman clenched his teeth determinedly, but did not speak, and -the crowd gathered more closely around the trio. - -‘Stand back!’ shouted Mr Slimm—‘stand back, or some of ye will suffer. -Will you open that door?’ - -The only answer was a rush by some one in the crowd, a movement which -that some one bitterly repented, for the iron-clamped toe of the -American’s boot struck him prone to the floor, sick and faint with the -pain. At this moment the peculiar whistle was heard, and the room was -instantly in darkness. Before the crowd could collect themselves for a -rush, Mr Slimm passed his hand beneath his long coat-tails and produced -a flat lantern, which was fastened round his waist like a policeman’s, -and which gave sufficient light to guard against any attack; certainly -enough light to show the hungry swindlers the cold gleam of a revolver -barrel covering the assembly. The American passed a second weapon to -Edgar, and stood calmly waiting for the next move. - -‘Now,’ he said, sullenly and distinctly, ‘I think we are quits. We air -going to leave this pleasant company right away, but first we propose -to do justice. Where is the artist who plays cards with two kings of -one suit? He’d better come forward, because this weapon has a bad way -of going off. He need not fancy I can’t see him, because I can. He is -skulking behind the brigand with the earrings.’ - -The detected swindler came forward sullenly. - -‘Young man,’ said Mr Slimm, turning towards the boy who had been losing -so heavily, ‘how much have you lost?’ - -The youngster thought a moment, and said about twenty pounds. - -‘Twenty pounds. Very good.—Now, my friend, I’m going to trouble you for -the loan of twenty pounds. I don’t expect to be in a position to pay -you back just at present; but until I do, you can console yourself by -remembering that virtue is its own reward. Come, no sulking; shell out -that money, or’—— - -With great reluctance, the sharper produced the money and handed it -over to the youth. The American watched the transaction with grave -satisfaction, and then turned to the landlord. ‘Mr Frenchman, we wish -you a very good-night. We have not been very profitable customers, nor -have we trespassed upon your hospitality. If you want payment badly, -you can get it out of the thief who won my half-crowns.—Good-night, -gentlemen; we may meet again. If we do, and I am on the jury, I’ll give -you the benefit of the doubt.’ - -A moment later, they were in the street, and walking away at a brisk -pace, the ungrateful youth disappearing with all speed. - -‘I am much obliged to you,’ Edgar said admiringly; ‘I would give -something to have your pluck and coolness.’ - -‘Practice,’ replied the American dryly. ‘That isn’t what I call a -scrape—that’s only a little amusement. But I was rather glad you were -with me. I like the look of your face; there’s plenty of character -there. As to that pesky young snip, if I’d known he was going to slip -off like that, do you think I should have bothered about his money for -him? No, sir.’ - -‘I fancy he was too frightened to say or do much.’ - -‘Perhaps so.—Have a cigar?—I daresay he’s some worn-out roué of -eighteen, all his nerves destroyed by late hours and dissipation, at a -time when he ought to be still at his books.’ - -‘Do you always get over a thing as calmly as this affair?’ asked Edgar, -at the same time manipulating one of his companion’s huge cigars. ‘I -don’t think dissipation has had much effect on _your_ nerves.’ - -‘Well, it don’t, and that’s a fact,’ Mr Slimm admitted candidly; ‘and -I’ve had my fling too.—I tell you what it is, Mr—Mr’—— - -‘Seaton—Edgar Seaton is my name.’ - -‘Well, Mr Seaton, I’ve looked death in the face too often to be put -out by a little thing like that. When a man has slept, as I have, in -the mines with a matter of one thousand ounces of gold in his tent for -six weeks, among the most awful blackguards in the world, and plucky -blackguards too, his nerves are fit for most anything afterwards. -That’s what I done, ay, and had to fight for it more than once.’ - -‘But that does not seem so bad as some dangers.’ - -‘Isn’t it?’ replied the American with a shudder. ‘When you wake up and -find yourself in bed with a rattlesnake, you’ve got a chance then; -when you are on the ground with a panther over you, there is just a -squeak then; but to go to sleep expecting to wake up with a knife in -your ribs, is quite another apple.—Well, I must say good-night. Here is -Covent Garden. I am staying at the _Bedford_. Come and breakfast with -me to-morrow, and don’t forget to ask for Æneas Slimm.’ - -‘I will come,’ said Edgar, with a hearty handshake.—‘Good-night.’ - - - - -SNOW-BLOSSOM. - - -Under the above title, Professor Wittrock, in _Nordenskjöld’s Studies -and Researches in the Far North_, has given us a wonderful and -exhaustive account of the lowest order of plants—those which have their -existence on the surface of the snow and ice, and colour the monotonous -white or dirty gray of the everlasting snowfields with the warmest and -most lovely rosy red and crimson, vivid green, and soft brown, until it -almost appears as if these frigid zones have also their time of spring -and blossom. - -Late researches go to show that the snow and ice flora is far greater -and richer than was at one time supposed. Formerly, people had only -heard of ‘red snow’—which Agardh poetically calls ‘snow-blossoms’—and -‘green snow,’ first discovered by the botanist Unger—specimens of which -were brought from Spitzbergen by Dr Kjellmann, and from Greenland -by Dr Berlin. But a closer examination has discovered in the ‘green -snow’ about a dozen different kinds of plants, and these not merely -comprising the _lowest_ order, but also including some mosses. The -latter, however, were only in their germinating state, looking like the -green threads of algæ, and therefore showing a much inferior degree -of development to that which they would have if growing on a warmer -substratum. The flora of the loose snow, too, is generally far richer -than that of the solid ice; already forty different varieties of plants -having been found, which number will no doubt be greatly increased by -every fresh expedition to the arctic zone. On the solid ice, only ten -different kinds have been observed. - -There is a great difference between the real ice and snow plants -which grow exclusively on the snow-line and those hardened children -of the sun which only grow on the snow. The latter all belong to the -one-celled microscopic algæ of the lowest order, which increase by -partition, possessing no generic character, and generally appearing -in large horizontal masses of vegetable matter. They are also -distinguished by seldom having the pure green chlorophyll colour of -other plants, but instead display shades of red, brown, and sap green, -whence they have been named coloured algæ. - -Some botanists suppose that the chief and most numerous of all the -algæ, the red snow, only represents a lower state of a higher class -of algæ which has never attained to full development in the region of -perpetual snow; and this supposition is the more remarkable, as the -brilliant red granules of this species—about the four-thousandth part -of an inch in diameter—probably surpass in reproductive powers every -other plant. They cover enormous tracts of snow in such dense masses -that it sometimes appears as if the snow was coloured blood-red to the -depth of several feet. Ever since it was first found, red snow has -greatly exercised the minds of the learned. It is often mentioned in -old writings, though whether the red snow referred to took its colour -from the red algæ or from the meteor-dust which contains iron, is not -certain. But there is no doubt that it was the real red-snow algæ -which De Saussure found in his Alpine expeditions. He mentions this -phenomenon several times in 1760, and states that he had found the -most beautiful species on Mont St Bernard, but had thought it must be -pollen, wafted thither by the wind, although he knew of no plant that -had that kind of red pollen. - -The knowledge that the red snow of the polar regions and mountains owes -its colour to a living plant, only dates from the year 1818, when Ross -and Parry made their celebrated polar expedition, and Ross discovered -the ‘crimson cliffs’ of the coast of Greenland, six hundred feet above -the level of the sea. Here the red snow coloured the rocky walls of -Baffin’s Bay a rich glowing crimson, reaching in some parts to a depth -of nine or ten feet, and close to Cape York extending over a distance -of eight nautical miles. Various were the surmises and conjectures as -to the origin and nature of the phenomenon. Bauer was the first to -examine it under a microscope, and he fancied the organic red granules -represented a species of fungus. The same year, Charpentier, the great -Alpine explorer, started the idea that the red appearance was caused -by some meteoric matter, which, falling from the sky, spread over the -immense tracts of snow. Hooker was the first who recognised the true -nature of this new plant, and compared it to the red slime algæ which -are found floating in blood-red masses in water or damp places; while -Wrangel declared the granules had apparently no organic substratum, and -they must therefore be of the lichen tribe, suggesting also that the -germs were generated by the electricity in the air, for he had once -seen a rock split in two by lightning, the sides of which were thickly -covered with a red dust similar in nature to the ‘red snow.’ Two more -botanists agreed that the red granules were ‘red powder that had become -organic matter in the oxidised snow;’ the stern hard rock as it decayed -had defied death, and come to life again in a new form. It remained for -Agardh to put an end to these various fancies by proving the undoubted -algal nature of the plant, and to give it, besides, its poetical name -of ‘snow-blossom,’ the scientific one of crimson primitive snow-germ -(_Protococcus Kermesina nivalis_). In 1838, Ehrenberg watched the -development of this new species by sowing some specimens he had brought -with him from the Swiss Alps, on snow, and noting how they developed -first into green and then into red granules, joined together like a -chain; he called it snow granulæ (_Sphærella nivalis_), which name it -still bears. - -Even now, the wild theories about the red snow were not yet ended. -Seeing that the young spores of the algæ moved incessantly backwards -and forwards in the water, the idea arose that they were animalcula, -and ‘red snow’ only the lowest form of animal life. By degrees, -however, it came to be an accepted fact that this voluntary motion -does not belong exclusively to animal life, and that the young spores -of the lower plants, although they move freely about in the water, and -are plentifully provided with fine hair-like threads like the real -infusoria, still remain plants, and never turn into animals. And thus -the plant-nature of the ‘snow-blossom’ was finally settled. - -The red-snow alga found on the Alps, Pyrenees, and Carpathians, and -also on the summits of the North American mountains as far down as -California, is not, however, such a determined enemy to heat as its -having its home in the ice-region would imply. In the arctic circle, -as well as on our own mountains of perpetual snow, especially on -Monte Rosa, the red snow is seen in summer like a light rose-coloured -film, which gradually deepens in colour, particularly in the track -of human footsteps, till at length it turns almost black. In this -state, however, it is not a rotten mass, but consists principally of -carefully capsuled ‘quiescent spores,’ in which state these microscopic -atoms pass the winter, bearing in this form the greatest extremes -of temperature. Some have been exposed to a dry heat of a hundred -degrees, and were found still to retain life-bearing properties; while -others, again, were exposed with impunity to the greatest cold known in -science. This proves that the reproductive organs in a capsuled state -can hear vast extremes of temperature without injury; a significant -fact, in which lies the secret of the indestructibility of those germs -which are recognised as promoters of so many diseases. - -Time, too, that great destroyer of most things, seems to pass -harmlessly over this capsuled life. If the spores find no favourable -outlet for their development, they do not die, no matter how long -a time they may remain thus; and so the dried remains of red snow -brought home from various polar expeditions have, even after the -lapse of several years, fructified. During the uninterrupted light -of the arctic summers, the ‘snow-blossom’ develops itself so rapidly, -that at last it covers vast and endless tracts of snow. Although the -sun does not rise very high above the horizon even at midsummer, -yet, owing to the great clearness and dryness of the atmosphere in -those high regions, it has a considerable degree of warmth at noon, -and Nordenskjöld observed that one day in July, at mid-day, the -temperature just above the snow was between twenty-five and thirty -degrees centigrade. But it must not be supposed that the red alga -vegetates in the pure snow; this would not be possible, as, according -to chemical analysis, its body contains numerous mineral substances. -The outer skin or membrane, particularly, in which the granulæ are -stored seems to hold a quantity of silicon; but chalk, iron, and other -mineral substances peculiar to the vegetable world, are also not found -wanting in the ashes of the red snow. In fact, the upper surface of the -snow and ice always shows, whenever it has lain long enough, a thin -coating of inorganic dust, which brings to the snow alga the mineral -constituent parts it requires. - -Nordenskjöld gives some very interesting details about this dust, -from observations made during his various expeditions. At one time -it was supposed to be a slimy mass carried down from the hills which -pierce the snow, and lodged on the lower stretches of its upper -surface; but Nordenskjöld found this same dust in like quantity on the -interior ice-fields of Greenland, where for miles around there were -no mountains near, and also on ice-hummocks that quite surmounted the -ice-plains, as well as on the nearest hills. During their long sojourn -in the land of ice, they searched very carefully for any traces of -small stones even as large as a pin’s head; but they could find none; -while many square miles were covered by this fine dust, gray in its -dry state, and becoming black when moist. It was therefore at last -decided that this dark-coloured matter must be a precipitate from the -atmosphere, and that the summer sun melting the snows, had allowed -numerous dust-showers to accumulate thus, one on the top of the other. -Nordenskjöld further thinks that it is not exclusively earth-dust -wafted thither by currents of air, but that it contains a number of -metallic particles, that can be extracted by a magnet, consisting, like -the metallic meteor-stones, of iron, nickel, and cobalt. This metallic -cosmic dust, which has been noticed previously in our pages, and which -is spread over the whole world, is best observed and gathered on these -vast snow and ice fields, and as it also bears a similitude to our -ordinary earth-dust, Nordenskjöld has given it the name of Kyrokonit, -or ice-dust. - -At first, the alga of the red snow was looked upon as the sole -inhabitant of the ice-lands of the polar regions; but in 1870, Dr -Berggren, botanist of Nordenskjöld’s expedition, discovered a second -or reddish-brown alga. It is allied to the ‘snow-blossom,’ but has -this peculiarity, that it is never found on _snow_, but combined with -the kyrokonit, it covers enormous tracts of _ice_, giving to them -a beautiful purple brown tint, which greatly adds to their beauty. -Besides growing on the surface of the ice, this red-brown alga was also -found in holes one or two feet deep, and three or four feet across, -in some parts so numerous and close together that there was scarcely -standing-room between them. A closer examination showed that this very -alga was the cause of these holes, as wherever it spreads itself, it -favours the melting of the ice. The dark-brown body absorbs more heat -than either the gray dust or the snow, therefore it sinks ever deeper -into the hollows, until the slanting rays of the sun can no longer -reach it. - -Thus these microscopic algæ play the same part on the ice-fields of -Greenland that small stones do on European glaciers. By creating holes, -they give the warm summer air a larger surface to take hold of, and -thus materially assist the melting of the ice. Perhaps it is to these -microscopic atoms that we owe some of the vast changes that our globe -has experienced; it may be by their agency that the vast wastes of snow -that in the glacial period covered great tracts both of the European -and American continents for some distance from the poles, have melted -gradually away and given place to shady woods and fields of grain. It -is indeed a remarkable instance of the power and importance of even the -smallest thing in nature; all the more interesting in this case, that -the sun creates for itself in these tiny dark atoms, the instruments -for boring through the ice. - -One important fact we must not forget to mention in conclusion, -namely, that these microscopic plants have tempted many insects—to -which they serve as food—into these inhospitable regions. A small -black glacier flea lives principally on the red snow; and even in the -arctic regions we find many tiny insects subsisting entirely on the -red and green algæ. These insects, too, possess the same property -as the algæ, of shutting themselves up in capsules during the long -winter, and like them too, remain alive even when in a dried condition. -When Professor Wittrock, in the winter of 1880 to 1881, placed the -dried spores of the red snow in water to germinate, a number of tiny -colourless worms appeared, still living. Thus even the stern, rigid -north pole cannot prevent the universal spread of life; and if those -cosmological prophets are right who declare that the whole surface -of the earth will one day be covered with snow and ice, then these -minute insects will have an ample store of food in the red, green, and -brown algæ, and as the last of living beings, will be able to mock -at the general stagnation; ay, perhaps even become the foundation of -a fresh development of life on our earth, should any cosmical cause -sufficiently increase the temperature. - - - - -OCCASIONAL NOTES. - - -EXTENDED USE OF GAS COOKING-STOVES. - -We have repeatedly called attention to the practical utility and -convenience of gas-stoves for cooking purposes, and facts to hand -seem to show that these are being largely taken advantage of by the -public. Many gas Companies now lend them out at a cheap rate, and they -may be had for purchase at a price to suit most buyers. Since the -Corporation Gas Company of Glasgow introduced the system of hiring out -these stoves, about three thousand five hundred had been lent out in -six months, and the demand continues unabated. In hotels, restaurants, -and many a private home, they are found doing their work with economy, -ease, and a great saving of labour. - -Dr Stevenson Macadam, speaking of gas-cooking in its sanitary aspects, -says: ‘The wholesomeness of the meat cooked in the gas-stoves must be -regarded as beyond doubt; gas-cooked meat will be found to be more -juicy and palatable, and yet free from those alkaloidal bodies produced -during the confined cooking of meat, which are more or less hurtful, -and even poisonous.’ A joint cooked in a gas-oven weighs heavier than -the same joint cooked in a coal-oven, from the fact, that in the case -of the gas-cooked joint the juices are more perfectly preserved. - -At the East London Hospital, where the entire cooking for an enormous -number of patients is done by gas, the managers calculate that -fully six hundred pounds is saved yearly since the introduction of -gas-cooking. - -For the extended use of gas-stoves in Scotland, the public is greatly -indebted to R. and A. Main, Glasgow, who are ever ready to adopt -everything new in gas-apparatus. Gas is also now largely used in -connection with washing by means of steam. When we noticed Morton’s -Steam-washer, probably not more than half a dozen had adopted this easy -and economical method of washing, in Scotland, and now those who do so -may be counted by the hundred. - - -AUTOMATIC RAILWAY COUPLING. - -For several months past, some of the goods-wagons working the traffic -on the South Dock Railway lines of the East and West India Dock Company -have (says the _Times_) been fitted with a new form of coupling, which -possesses several important advantages over the ordinary coupling. Not -the least of these are simplicity in construction and automaticity, -combined with certainty in action. The coupling is the invention of Mr -J. H. Betteley, of 42 Old Broad Street, London, and consists of a long -shackle which is attached to the drawbar, and stands out at a slight -angle of depression from the carriage or wagon. Connected with this -shackle is a hook of special shape, which is attached to a bar running -across the carriage front, and having a short lever fixed on either end -just outside the buffers. To couple the vehicles, they are run together -in the usual way, and, on meeting, the shackle on one carriage runs up -the shackle on the other and instantly engages with the hook. Thus the -shunter has no dangerous work whatever to perform. To uncouple, he has -simply to depress the lever, which action raises the hook and releases -the shackle. The hook is so formed that no matter how much bumping of -the carriages there may be, it cannot be freed from the shackle without -the intervention of the lever, and the combination therefore forms a -perfectly safe and reliable coupling. In fact, the whole train could -be coupled up automatically, and the engaged hook and shackle then -constitute a locking apparatus which prevents the carriages becoming -accidentally detached. The coupling can, moreover, be used on any kind -of railway vehicle, and it is of no moment if the couplings are not all -on the same level, as the higher shackle will always travel up the -lower one and engage with the hook of the latter. The apparatus has -been examined and the trucks fitted with it have been severely tested -by General Hutchinson and Major Marindin, of the Board of Trade, who -have given it their united approval. It certainly appears to be well -fitted to supersede the ordinary coupling, which has cost so many lives. - - -CHARLES DICKENS AT WORK. - -An unpretentious volume entitled _Charles Dickens_ has been issued in -the ‘World’s Workers’ series (Cassell & Co.), written by the eldest -daughter of the great novelist. It is simply and pleasantly compiled, -and though it may be read through at a sitting, it gives a good idea -as to what manner of man Dickens was, and how he lived, talked, wrote, -and spoke. As Forster’s Life of Dickens is beyond the reach of many, -this book, which has been specially written for the young, will form -a good introduction to his writings, of which there is a complete -summary at the end of the volume. It forms an affectionate tribute from -a daughter to a father, and, as was to be expected, exhibits the more -human side of his character. A sketch of his demeanour in his study, -as witnessed by one of his daughters, who had been taken there after -an illness, will have the charm of novelty to many people. ‘For a long -time there was no sound but the rapid moving of his pen on the paper; -then suddenly he jumped up, looked at himself in the glass, rushed -back to his desk, then to the glass again, when presently he turned -round and faced his daughter, staring at her, but not seeing her, and -talking rapidly to himself, then once more back to his desk, where he -remained writing until luncheon-time.... It was wonderful to see how -completely he threw himself into the character his own imagination had -made, his face, indeed his whole body, changing, and he himself being -lost entirely in working out his own ideas. Small wonder that his works -took so much out of him, for he did literally _live_ in his books while -writing them, turning his own creations into living realities, with -whom he wept, and with whom he rejoiced.’ - - -PLASTERING MADE EASY. - -Architects and those interested in the erection of new houses have -frequently looked upon the application of plaster as one of the -greatest drawbacks of modern building, showing, besides, a marked -deterioration from old plaster-work, such as that found on walls of -ancient buildings, some of which, of a highly decorative character, -may still be found almost as sound as when first executed. In -Hardwick Old Hall, Derbyshire, though roof and floor are gone, the -decorative friezes still remain in wonderful preservation. Many ancient -manor-houses and farm-buildings show specimens of fine and enduring -plaster-work. - -A new cement has been invented, and patented, which appears to have -the qualities of both cement and plaster, and greatly simplifies the -process. The patentees are Joseph Robinson & Co., of the Knothill -Cement and Plaster Works, near Carlisle, who have been engaged in the -manufacture of plaster for the past sixty years. From the almost -inexhaustible products of their alabaster quarries in Inglewood Forest, -this new cement is made. It is claimed for it that, while being equal -to the Keene’s and Parian cements now in use, it is cheap enough to be -used as they are, and also as a substitute for ordinary plastering. - -In the erection of new buildings, the plasterer’s pit takes up much -room, and is often looked upon as a necessary evil. In putting on the -common three coats of plaster, the second and third can only be laid on -when that before it is sufficiently dry. Owing to the unequal shrinkage -of the different materials, it is often an uncertain method of doing -good work. When using the cement we speak of, the plasterers can be -put into a room with the requisite quantities of sand and cement, and -work straight away. There is no delay required for drying, for as fast -as one coat is done, the finishing coat can be run on and the whole -completed. It has the merit, also, of neither shrinking nor expanding, -is impervious to absorption and infection, and its hard surface affords -facilities for washing or taking on paint. - -As to its fire-resisting qualities, Captain Shaw, of the Metropolitan -Fire Brigade, is of opinion that it ‘would be much more effectual in -preventing the spread of fire than any other of the common plasters or -cements generally used in this country.’ - - - - -AT WAKING. - - - I bore dead Love unto his grave, - Beneath a willow, in winter’s rain, - Where he might feel the branches wave, - And hear me, if he woke again. - - One withered rose-tree on his tomb - I planted, so that, by-and-by, - If he should wake, the rose might bloom, - And I should know, and hear him cry. - - I decked his breast with rosemary, - Laid on his lips one violet, - That once he kissed; I think if he - Should wake, he will not quite forget. - - I set a crown about his brow, - The crown affection weaves and wears; - At waking, he will hardly know, - I fear, whose diadem he shares. - - I placed a lily in his hand— - Sceptre of his dead sovereignty; - At waking, will he understand - _Who_ placed it there, to bloom or die? - - I laid my heart, that for his sake - Remembers now no old sweet strain, - Close to his ear; he, if he wake, - Perchance may tune its strings again. - - If he should wake! Till death be dead, - Till life begin, and sleep be past, - Till on his breast he lay thy head, - And flowers begin to bloom at last— - - O soul, remember! lest by thee - That unknown sweetness be forgot - Which now thou lookest for, and he - Bid thee ‘Depart! I know thee not.’ - - SIDNEY R. THOMPSON. - - * * * * * - -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. 108, VOL. III, JANUARY -23, 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. |