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diff --git a/old/67014-0.txt b/old/67014-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index daac4ff..0000000 --- a/old/67014-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2196 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular -Literature, Science, and Art, Fifth Series, No. 110, Vol. III, February -6, 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. 110, Vol. III, February 6, 1886 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: December 26, 2021 [eBook #67014] - -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. 110, VOL. III, FEBRUARY -6, 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. 110.—VOL. III. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1886. PRICE 1½_d._] - - - - -THE ETHICS OF HOUSEKEEPING. - - -The cry is everywhere the same—the badness of our modern servants. But -who is really to blame—the mistresses or the maids? the masters or -the employed? The one class are educated, the other are comparatively -ignorant; and influence filters downwards—it does not permeate the -social mass from below. We cast longing looks backward to the bygone -times when servants were the humble friends of the family, ready to -serve for love and bare maintenance if bad times came, and identifying -themselves with the fortunes of their masters. But we forget that -we ourselves have changed even more than they, since the days when -mistresses overlooked the maids in closer companionship than is -warranted now by the conditions of society—when daily details were -ordered by the lady, and the execution of her orders was personally -supervised—when housekeeping was at once an art and a pleasure, a -science and a source of pride. Then young servants were trained -immediately under the eye of the mistress and by her direct influence; -as now they are trained under the head servant of their special -department. And in this change of teachers alone, if no other cause -were wanting, we could trace the source of the deterioration complained -of. - -The lady who, two generations ago, taught the still-room maid the -mysteries of sirups and confections, of jams and jellies and dainty -sweetmeats—who knew the prime joints, and the signs of good meat, -tender poultry, and fresh fish, as well as the cook herself—who could -go blindfold to her linen press and pick out the best sheets from -the ordinary, and knew by place as well as by touch where the finer -huckaback towels were to be found and where the coarser—who could -check as well as instruct the housemaid at every turn—such a mistress -as this, for her own part diligent, refined, truthful, God-fearing, -was likely to give a higher tone, infuse a more faithful and dutiful -spirit into her servants, than is possible now, when the thing is -reduced to a profession like any other, and the teacher is only -technically, not morally, in advance of the pupil. It is the mistresses -who have let the reins slip from their hands, not the maids who have -taken the bit between their teeth; or, rather, the latter has been -in consequence of the former; and when we blame our servants for the -‘heartlessness’ of their service—for the ease with which they throw up -their situations, on the sole plea of want of change, or of bettering -themselves, to the infinite disturbance of things and trouble to the -household—we must remember that we ourselves first broke the golden -links, and that to expect devotion without giving affection is to -expect simply slavishness. The advantage of the present system of mere -professional and skilled technicality is to be found in the greater -comfort and regularity of the household; in the more finished precision -and perfection of the service; in the more complete systemisation of -the whole art and practice of attendance. But these gains have been -bought with a price—not only in the increased cost of housekeeping, -but in the deterioration of the moral character of servants, and in -the annihilation of the friendly and quasi-family feeling which once -existed between the mistress and her domestics. - -In large cities and in the houses of the rich, the upper men-servants -are practically their own masters. They make their own stipulations as -to hours, food, allowances, liberties; and compound for the nervous -exhaustion of perpetual worry which does not include hard work, by a -scale of feeding which is more savage than civilised, in the quantity -of flesh-meat included. They can make the house pleasant or intolerable -to a guest; and in a thousand sly mysterious ways they cause the -mistress annoyances which cannot be brought home to them, and of which -they enjoy the effect produced. In the kitchen, the cook is absolute -mistress, and holds her lady as merely the superscriber of her own -_menu_ for the day, as well as the bank whence is drawn the money for -the bills—which she pays. And in the payment of those bills, as well as -in dealing with remnants—of which woe betide the mistress who should -recommend the home consumption!—the cook doubles and trebles her wages, -and feathers her own nest with the down plucked from her employers. -Can we wonder at this? We put a half-educated person into a place of -trust and temptation; we neither check nor overlook her; we trust all -to her abstract honesty and sense of justice; there is no danger of -discovery, still less of punishment; she has before her the additional -temptation of pleasing her fellow-servants with whom she lives in -hourly contact, rather than of saving the pockets of her rich employers -whom she scarcely knows and rarely sees; and then we lift up our hands -at the depravity of human nature, when we find that the tradesmen give -back a percentage on their bills, and that whole pounds of wax candles -swell the perquisite of the grease-pot handsomely. But next door, the -rich merchant is a fraudulent bankrupt; the respectable family lawyer -over the way absconds after having dealt with his clients’ securities; -master’s friend, the banker, puts up the shutters to the ruin of -thousands on thousands, while his wife has a secured jointure which -enables them to live in princely style; and the stockjobber, who dines -with us on Sundays, makes use of private information to sell to his -best friend shares which, up to their highest point to-day, he knows -will collapse like a burst balloon to-morrow. Are we not a little hard -on the kitchen, seeing what is done in the parlour? - -Go from the rich to the poor among our gentry—from the gilded upper -stratum to the lower base and barren subsoil—and here again we find -that mistresses are as much to blame as the maids, whose shortcomings -they bewail and resent. In a household of this kind, the _res angusta -domi_ prevents the hiring, because rendering impossible the payment, of -good and well-trained servants; and the mistress has to be content with -young girls whom she must teach, and whose untutored services she buys -at small cost. But here, again, the modern spirit of the age spoils -what else might seem to be a return to old and wholesome conditions. -Nine times out of ten, the mistress is as incapable of teaching as the -maid is slow of learning; for we must remember that untrained girls -of this sort are generally taken from the most humble class, and that -they come into service with but little natural brightness of wit and -less educational sharpening. The mistress expects too much from them. -For the most part aching under her own burden, disliking her duties, -and envying her richer sisters, she does the least she can in the -house, and gives the heavy end of the stick to the hired help. And, -forgetful of the maxim of ‘line upon line and precept upon precept,’ -and of the necessity of reiteration, patient and continual, if a dull -brain has to be impressed and a new method learned, she is impatient -and angry when orders are forgotten—ways of doing things bungled—and -chaos, disorder, and confusion are the result. Perhaps she herself is -unpunctual and inexact; but she expects from her seventeen-old little -Betty the punctuality of the sun and the regularity of the clock. -Perhaps she herself is undutiful, and shirks all that she can transfer -on to another’s hands; but she looks for devotion, self-sacrifice, the -unfailing performance of her duty, from this comparative child, and -feels entitled to sit in the seat of the judge, when these virtues -run dry and the shallow stream of conscientiousness fails. From the -nurse-girl, herself a mere child, hired to wheel the perambulator -and look after the children, she expects such patience, forbearance, -and understanding of child-nature, as she herself, mother as she is, -cannot command. If Jacky is rude and Jenny is rebellious, if Tommy is -unmanageable and Katie is defiant, she, the mother, whose temper would -be in a blaze on the moment, demands that the nursemaid shall bear all -with a calm and equable mind, and, without the power of punishing, -be able to reduce to obedience these little rebels, whom she herself -cannot always control with the help of the rod and the dark-closet to -boot. Furthermore, she lays the blame of these naughty tempers on the -girl, to excuse the children. They are always good with _her_, she says -angrily, and it must be Mary’s fault that they are so often tiresome -when _she_ has them. And when she says this, she does not remember the -old adage about the little pitchers and long ears, and never realises -the fact that by her own words she gives the children their cue, and -encourages them to be rude to one who, they know beforehand, will be -made the scapegoat for their sins. That overpowering maternal love—that -_storgë_, of which poets make so much account, and which is the primal -necessity for the preservation of the race—is at times the cause of -great injustice, especially when dealing with those unprotected young -nursemaids to whom no authority can be given, from whom all controlling -influence is expected, and who have neither moral force nor mental -enlightenment enough to control themselves, still less others. If they -stand in the attitude of accusers, the mother rejects them as traducers. - -Sometimes, in small households, the master interferes like a woman, and -adds to the confusion by putting his masculine fingers into the already -over-stocked domestic pie. There are men who are simply maddening in -a house. They watch behind the window-blind and count the number of -seconds Betty gives to the baker’s boy, and how she smirks and smiles -at the handsome young greengrocer or the smart Mr Butcher. That Betty -should have any pleasure in the gallant words or flattering looks of -one or all of these, seems to them a sin, a dereliction of duty, and, -in some queer way, a wrong and a robbery done to them. For were they -to be completely candid, most masters and mistresses would say that -they expected the whole of a servant’s nature to be given to them—all -her thoughts as well as her abilities—all her interests as well as -all her time; and that to fall in love is a kind of petty treason and -a quasi-dishonest transfer of energy. Put in this crude way, this -theorem would be denied; and a dozen other reasons would be given for -the confessed dislike felt by employers for a love-sick maid. Reduced -to its elements, it would come to what we have said—impatience of the -inevitable troubler of the conditions being one of the proofs on our -side. In matters of this kind, the ‘molly-man,’ who stays at home, -peeps from behind the blind and puts his fingers into all the pies -aboard, is a harsher and less sympathetic person to deal with than is -the average mistress, to whom a girl’s love affairs carry an echo that -awakens old dreams in her own soul and gain a little compassion for the -sufferer. For, after all, Betty’s love for the baker’s young man is -very much the same kind of thing as Ada’s for the captain and Mabel’s -for the curate; and neither the cut nor the material of the gown -influences the beating of the heart which throbs beneath! - -In all this, as we had occasion in a recent paper to observe, we do -not excuse the faulty side of modern servants, but we should like -to see inaugurated a better method of dealing with it. We should -like to see the mistresses go back to the old friendly feeling and -friendly intercourse with those who live under their roof, and make -their happiness, by the conscientious discharge of duty—that old -friendly feeling which made of the household one family, and brought -the servants in line with the masters by the golden cord of human -sympathy. People say that this is impossible; that the spirit of the -age prevents it; that servants themselves refuse to recognise anything -like personal interest from their employers; that the whole tone and -character of service are changed, and that it is now only a profession, -where the employed live under the roof of their employers, instead of -out of the house, as with mill-hands and the like. It may be so; but -if even so, we contend that the higher natures could influence the -lower if they would; that knowledge could direct ignorance; and that it -depends on the masters and mistresses to get good out of these changed -conditions—human nature, on the whole, seeking the light, and society, -like a broken crystal, mending its fractures with fresh material, to -the maintenance of form and beauty. - - - - -IN ALL SHADES. - -BY GRANT ALLEN, - -AUTHOR OF ‘BABYLON,’ ‘STRANGE STORIES,’ ETC. ETC. - - -CHAPTER VII. - -The morning when Edward and Marian were to start on their voyage to -Trinidad, with Nora in their charge, was a beautifully clear, calm, and -sunny one. The tiny steam-tender that took them down Southampton Water, -from the landing-stage to the moorings where the big ocean-going Severn -lay at anchor, ploughed her way merrily through the blue ripplets -that hardly broke the level surface. Though it was a day of parting, -nobody was over-sad. General Ord had come down with Marian, his face -bronzed with twenty years of India, but straight and erect still like -a hop-pole, as he stood with his tall thin figure lithe and steadfast -on the little quarter-deck. Mrs Ord was there too, crying a little, of -course, as is only decorous on such occasions, yet not more so than a -parting always demands from the facile eyes of female humanity. Marian -didn’t cry much, either; she felt so safe in going with Edward, and -hoped to be back so soon again on a summer visit to her father and -mother. As for Nora, Nora was always bright as the sunshine, and -could never see anything except the bright side of things. ‘We shall -take such care of dear Marian in Trinidad, Mrs Ord!’ she said gaily. -‘You’ll see her home again on a visit in another twelvemonth, with more -roses on her cheek than she’s got now, when she’s had a taste of our -delicious West Indian mountain air.’ - -‘And if Trinidad suits Miss Ord—Mrs Hawthorn, I mean—dear me, how -stupid of me!’ Harry Noel put in quietly, ‘half as well as it seems -to have suited you, Miss Dupuy, we shall have no cause to complain of -Hawthorn for having taken her out there.’ - -‘Oh, no fear of that,’ Nora answered, smiling one of her delicious -childish smiles. ‘You don’t know how delightful Trinidad is, Mr Noel; -it’s really one of the most charming places in all Christendom.’ - -‘On your recommendation, then,’ Harry answered, bowing slightly and -looking at her with eyes full of meaning, ‘I shall almost be tempted -to go out some day and see for myself how really delightful are these -poetical tropics of yours.’ - -Nora blushed, and her eyes fell slightly. ‘You would find them very -lovely, no doubt, Mr Noel,’ she answered, more demurely and in a -half-timid fashion; ‘but I can’t recommend them, you know, with any -confidence, because I was such a very little girl when I first came -home to England. You had better not come out to Trinidad merely on the -strength of my recommendation.’ - -Harry bowed his head again gravely. ‘As you will,’ he said. ‘Your word -is law. And yet, perhaps some day, I shouldn’t be surprised if Hawthorn -and Mrs Hawthorn were to find me dropping in upon them unexpectedly for -a scratch dinner. After all, it’s a mere nothing nowadays to run across -the millpond, as the Yankees call it.’ - -They reached the _Severn_ about an hour before the time fixed for -starting, and sat on deck talking together with that curious sense of -finding nothing to say which always oppresses one on the eve of a long -parting. It seems as though no subject of conversation sufficiently -important for the magnitude of the occasion ever occurred to one: the -mere everyday trivialities of ordinary talk sound out of place at -such a serious moment. So, by way of something to do, the party soon -began to institute a series of observations upon Edward and Marian’s -fellow-passengers, as they came on board, one after another, in -successive batches on the little tender. - -‘Just look at that brown young man!’ Nora cried, in a suppressed -whisper, as a tall and gentlemanly looking mulatto walked up the -gangway from the puffing tug. ‘We shall be positively overwhelmed with -coloured people, I declare! There are three Hottentot Venuses down in -the saloon already, bound for Haiti; and a San Domingo general, as -black as your hat; and a couple of walnut-coloured old gentlemen going -to Dominica. And now, here’s another regular brown man coming on board -to us. What’s his name, I wonder? Oh, there it is, painted as large -as life upon his portmanteau! “Dr Whitaker, Trinidad.” Why, my dear, -he’s actually going the whole way with us. And a doctor too! goodness -gracious. Just fancy being attended through fever by a man of that -complexion!’ - -‘Oh, hush, Nora!’ Marian cried, in genuine alarm. ‘He’ll overhear you, -and you’ll hurt his feelings. Besides, you oughtn’t to talk so about -other people, whether they hear you or whether they don’t.’ - -‘Hurt his feelings, my dear! O dear, no, not a bit of it. I know them -better than you do. My dear Marian, these people haven’t got any -feelings; they’ve been too much accustomed to be laughed at from the -time they were babies, ever to have had the chance of acquiring any.’ - -‘Then the more shame,’ Edward interrupted gravely, ‘to those who have -laughed them out of all self-respect and natural feeling. But I don’t -believe, for my part, there’s anybody on earth who doesn’t feel hurt at -being ridiculed.’ - -‘Ah, that’s so nice of you to think and talk like that, Mr Hawthorn,’ -Nora answered frankly; ‘but you won’t think so, you know, I’m quite -certain, after you’ve been a month or two on shore over in Trinidad.’ - -‘Good-morning, ladies and gentlemen,’ the captain of the _Severn_ -put in briskly, walking up to them as they lounged in a group on the -clean-scrubbed quarter-deck—‘good-morning, ladies and gentlemen. Fine -weather to start on a voyage. Are you all going with us?—Why, bless my -heart, if this isn’t General Ord! I sailed with you, sir, fifteen years -ago now or more, must be, when I was a second officer in the P. and O. -service.—You don’t remember me; no, I daresay not; I was only a second -officer then, and you sat at the captain’s table. But I remember you, -sir—I remember you. There’s more folks know Tom Fool, the proverb says, -than Tom Fool knows; and no offence meant, general, nor none be taken. -And so you’re going out with us now, are you?—going out with us now? -Well, you’ll sit at the captain’s table still, sir, no doubt, you and -your party; and as I’m the captain now, you see, why, I shall have a -better chance than I used to have of making your acquaintance.’ - -The captain laughed heartily as he spoke at his own small wit; but -General Ord drew himself up rather stiffly, and answered in a somewhat -severe tone: ‘No, I’m not going out with you this journey myself; but -my daughter, who has lately married, and her husband here, are just -setting out to their new home over in Trinidad.’ - -‘In Trinidad,’ the jolly captain echoed heartily—‘in Trinidad! Well, -well, beautiful island, beautiful, beautiful! Must mind they don’t -take too much mainsheet, or catch yellow Jack, or live in the marshes, -that’s all; otherwise, they’ll find it a delightful residence. I took -out a young sub-lieutenant, just gazetted, last voyage but two, when -they had the yellow Jack awfully bad up at cantonments. He was in a -deadly funk of the fever all the way, and always asking everybody -questions about it. The moment he landed, who does he go and meet but -an old Irish friend of the family, who was going home by the return -steamer. The Irishman rushes up to him and shakes his hand violently -and says he—“Me dear fellow,” says he, “ye’ve come in the very nick of -time. Promotion’s certain; they’re dying by thousands. Every day, wan -of ’em drops off the list; and all ye’ve got to do is to hould yer -head up, keep from drinking any brandy, and don’t be frightened; and, -be George, ye’ll rise in no time as fast as I have; and I’m going home -this morning a colonel.”’ - -The general shuddered slightly. ‘Not a pleasant introduction to the -country, certainly,’ he answered in his driest manner. ‘But I suppose -Trinidad’s fairly healthy at present?’ - -‘Healthy! Well, yes, well enough as the tropics go, general.—But don’t -you be afraid of your young people. With health and strength, they’ll -pull through decently, not a doubt of it.—Let me see—let me see; I -must secure ’em a place at my own table. We’ve got rather an odd lot -of passengers this time, mostly; a good many of ’em have got a very -decided touch o’ the tar-brush about ’em—a touch o’ the tar-brush. -There’s that woolly-headed nigger fellow over there who’s just come -aboard; he’s going to Trinidad too; he’s a doctor, he is. We mustn’t -let your people get mixed up with all that lot, of course; I’ll keep -’em a place nice and snug at my own table.’ - -‘Thank you,’ the general said, rather more graciously than -before.—‘This is my daughter, captain, Mrs Hawthorn. And this is my -son-in-law, Mr Edward Hawthorn, who’s going out to accept a district -judgeship over yonder in Trinidad.’ - -‘Ha!’ the jovial captain answered in his bluff voice, doffing his hat -sailor-fashion to Marian and Edward. ‘Going to hang up the niggers -out in Trinidad, are you, sir? Going to hang up the niggers! Well, -well, they deserve it all, every man-Jack of ’em, the lazy beggars; -they all deserve hanging. A pestering set of idle, thieving, hulking -vagabonds, as ever came around to coal a ship in harbour! I’d judge -’em, I would—I’d judge ’em.’ And the captain pantomimically expressed -the exact nature of his judicial sentiments by pressing his own stout -bull-neck, just across the windpipe, with his sturdy right hand, -till his red and sunburnt face grew even redder and redder with the -suggested suspension. - -Edward smiled quietly, but answered nothing. - -‘Well, sir,’ the captain went on as soon as he had recovered fully from -the temporary effects of his self-inflicted strangulation, ‘and have -you ever been in the West Indies before, or is this your first visit?’ - -‘I was born there,’ Edward answered. ‘I’m a Trinidad man by birth; but -I’ve lived so long in England, and went there so young, that I don’t -really recollect very much about my native country.’ - -‘Mr Hawthorn’s father you may know by name,’ the general said, a little -assertively. ‘He is a son of the Honourable James Hawthorn, of Agualta -Estate, Trinidad.’ - -The captain drew back for a moment with a curious look, and scanned -Edward closely from head to foot with a remarkably frank and maritime -scrutiny; then he whistled low to himself for a few seconds, and -seemed to be ruminating inwardly upon some very amusing and unusual -circumstance. At last he answered slowly, in a more reserved and -somewhat embarrassed tone: ‘O yes, I know Mr Hawthorn of Agualta—know -him personally; well-known man, Mr Hawthorn of Agualta. Member of the -Legislative Council of the island. Fine estate, Agualta—very fine -estate indeed, and has one of the largest outputs of rum and sugar -anywhere in the whole West Indies.’ - -‘I told you so,’ Harry Noel murmured parenthetically. ‘The governor -is coiny. They’re all alike, the whole breed of them. Secretiveness -large, acquisitiveness enormous, benevolence and generosity absolutely -undeveloped. When you get to Trinidad, my dear Teddy, bleed him, bleed -him!’ - -‘Well, well, Mrs Hawthorn,’ the captain said gallantly to Marian, -who stood by rather wondering what his sudden change of demeanour -could possibly portend, ‘you shall have a seat at my table—certainly, -certainly; you shall have a seat at my table. The general’s an old -passenger of mine on the P. and O.; and I’ve known Mr Hawthorn of -Agualta Estate ever since I first came upon the West India liners.—And -the young lady, is she going too?’ For Captain Burford, like most -others of his craft, had a quick eye for pretty faces, and he had not -been long in picking out and noticing Nora’s. - -‘This is Miss Dupuy of Orange Grove,’ Marian said, drawing her young -companion a little forward. ‘Perhaps you know her father too, as you’ve -been going so long to the island.’ - -‘What! a daughter of Mr Theodore Dupuy of Orange Grove and Pimento -Valley,’ the captain replied briskly. ‘Mr Theodore Dupuy’s daughter! -Lord bless my soul, Mr Theodore Dupuy! O yes, don’t I just know him! -Why, Mr Dupuy’s one of the most respected and well-known gentlemen -in the whole island. Been settled at Orange Grove, the Dupuys have, -ever since the old Spanish occupation.—And so you’re taking out Mr -Theodore Dupuy’s daughter, are you, Mrs Hawthorn? Well, well! Taking -out Mr—Theodore Dupuy’s daughter. That’s a capital joke, that is.—O -yes, you must all sit at the head of my table, ladies; and I’ll do -everything that lies in my power to make you comfortable.’ - -Meanwhile, Edward and Harry Noel had strolled off for a minute towards -the opposite end of the deck, where the mulatto gentleman was standing -quite alone, looking down steadily into the deep-blue motionless -water. As the captain moved away, Nora Dupuy gave a little start, and -caught Marian Hawthorn’s arm excitedly and suddenly. ‘Look there!’ -she cried—‘oh, look there, Marian! Do you see Mr Hawthorn? Do you -see what he’s doing? That brown man over there, with the name on the -portmanteau, has turned round and spoken to him, and Mr Hawthorn’s -actually held out his hand and is shaking hands with him!’ - -‘Well,’ Marian answered in some surprise, ‘I see he is. Why not?’ - -‘Why not? My dear, how can you ask me such a question! Why, of course, -because the man’s a regular mulatto—a coloured person.’ - -Marian laughed. ‘Really, dear,’ she answered, more amused than angry, -‘you mustn’t be so entirely filled up with your foolish little West -Indian prejudices. The young man’s a doctor, and no doubt a gentleman -in education and breeding, and, for my part, I can’t for the life of me -see why one shouldn’t shake hands with him as well as with any other -respectable person.’ - -‘Oh, but Marian, you know—a brown man!—his father and mother!—the -associations—no, really!’ - -Marian smiled again. ‘They’re coming this way,’ she said; ‘we shall -soon hear what they’re talking about. Perhaps he knows something about -your people, or Edward’s.’ - -Nora looked up quite defiant. ‘About _my_ people, Marian!’ she said -almost angrily. ‘Why, what can you be thinking of! You don’t suppose, -do you, that _my_ people are in the habit of mixing casually with -woolly-headed mulattoes?’ - -She had hardly uttered the harsh words, when the mulatto gentleman -walked over towards them side by side with Edward Hawthorn, and lifted -his hat courteously to Marian. - -‘My wife,’ Edward said, as Marian bowed slightly in return: ‘Dr -Whitaker.’ - -‘I saw your husband’s name upon his boxes, Mrs Hawthorn,’ the mulatto -gentleman said with a pleasant smile, and in a soft, clear, cultivated -voice; ‘and as my father has the privilege of knowing Mr Hawthorn of -Agualta, over in Trinidad, I took the liberty of introducing myself -at once to him. I’m glad to hear that we’re to be fellow-passengers -together, and that your husband has really decided to return at last to -his native island.’ - -‘Thank you,’ Marian answered simply. ‘We are all looking forward much -to our life in Trinidad.’ Then, with a little mischievous twinkle in -her eye, she turned to Nora. ‘This is another of our fellow-passengers, -Dr Whitaker,’ she said demurely—‘my friend, Miss Dupuy, whom I’m taking -out under my charge—another Trinidadian: you ought to know one another. -Miss Dupuy’s father lives at an estate called Orange Grove—isn’t it, -Nora?’ - -The mulatto doctor lifted his hat again, and bowed with marked -politeness to the blushing white girl. For a second, their eyes met. Dr -Whitaker’s looked at the beautiful half-childish face with unmistakable -instantaneous admiration. Nora’s flashed a little angrily, and her -nostrils dilated with a proud quiver; but she said never a word; she -merely gave a chilly bow, and didn’t attempt even to offer her pretty -little gloved hand to the brown stranger. - -‘I have heard of Miss Dupuy’s family by name,’ the mulatto answered, -speaking to Marian, but looking askance at the same time toward the -petulant Nora. ‘Mr Dupuy of Orange Grove is well known throughout the -island. I am glad that we are going to have so much delightful Trinidad -society on our outward passage.’ - -‘Thank him for nothing,’ Nora murmured aside to Harry Noel, moving away -as she spoke towards Mrs Ord at the other end of the vessel. ‘What -impertinence! Marian ought to have known better than to introduce me to -him.’ - -‘It’s a pity you don’t like the coloured gentleman,’ Harry Noel put in -provokingly. ‘The appreciation is unfortunately not mutual, it seems. -He appeared to me to be very much struck with you at first sight, Miss -Dupuy, to judge by his manner.’ - -Nora turned towards him with a sudden fierceness and haughtiness that -fairly surprised the easy-going young barrister. ‘Mr Noel,’ she said in -a tone of angry but suppressed indignation, ‘how dare you speak to me -so about that negro fellow, sir—how dare you? How dare you mention him -and me in the same breath together? How dare you presume to joke with -me on such a subject? Don’t speak to me again, pray. You don’t know -what we West Indians are, or you’d never have ventured to utter such a -speech as that to any woman with a single drop of West Indian blood in -her whole body.’ - -Harry bowed silently and bit his lip; then, without another word, he -moved back slowly toward the other group, and allowed Nora to join Mrs -Ord by the door of the companion-ladder. - -In twenty minutes more, the first warning bell rang for those who -were going ashore, to get ready for their departure. There was the -usual hurried leave-taking on every side; there was the usual amount -of shedding of tears; there was the usual shouting and bawling, and -snorting and puffing; and there was the usual calm indifference of the -ship’s officers, moving up and down through all the tearful valedictory -groups, as through an ordinary incident of humanity, experienced -regularly every six weeks of a whole lifetime. As Marian and her mother -were taking their last farewells, Harry Noel ventured once more timidly -to approach Nora Dupuy and address a few parting words to her in a low -undertone. - -‘I’m sorry I offended you unintentionally just now, Miss Dupuy,’ he -said quietly. ‘I thought the best apology I could offer at the moment -was to say nothing just then in exculpation. But I really didn’t mean -to hurt your feelings, and I hope we still part friends.’ - -Nora held out her small hand to him a trifle reluctantly. ‘As you have -the grace to apologise,’ she said, ‘I shall overlook it. Yes, we part -friends, Mr Noel; I have no reason to part otherwise.’ - -‘Then there’s no chance for me?’ Harry asked in a low tone, looking -straight into her eyes, with a searching glance. - -‘No chance,’ Nora echoed, dropping her eyes suddenly, but speaking very -decidedly. ‘You must go now, Mr Noel; the second bell’s ringing.’ - -Harry took her hand once more, and pressed it faintly. ‘Good-bye, Miss -Dupuy,’ he said—‘good-bye—for the present. I daresay we shall meet -again before long, some day—in Trinidad.’ - -‘O no!’ Nora cried in a low voice, as he turned to leave her. ‘Don’t -do that, Mr Noel; don’t come out to Trinidad. I told you it’d be quite -useless.’ - -Harry laughed one of his most teasing laughs. ‘My father has property -in the West Indies, Miss Dupuy,’ he answered in his usual voice of -light badinage, paying her out in her own coin; ‘and I shall probably -come over some day to see how the niggers are getting on upon it—that -was all I meant. Good-bye—good-bye to you.’ - -But his eyes belied what he said, and Nora knew they did as she saw him -look back a last farewell from the deck of the retreating little tender. - -‘Any more for the shore—any more for the shore?’ cried the big sailor -who rang the bell. ‘No more.—Then shove off, cap’n’—to the skipper of -the tug-boat. - -In another minute, the great anchor was heaved, and the big screw began -to revolve slowly through the sluggish water. Next moment, the ship -moved from her moorings and was fairly under weigh. Just as she moved, -a boat with a telegraph-boy on board rowed up rapidly to her side, and -a voice from the boat shouted aloud in a sailor’s bass: ‘_Severn_, -ahoy!’ - -‘Ahoy!’ answered the ship’s officer. - -‘Passenger aboard by the name of Hawthorn? We’ve got a telegram for -him.’ - -Edward rushed quickly to the ship’s side, and answered in his loudest -voice: ‘Yes. Here I am.’ - -‘Passenger aboard by the name of Miss Dupuy? We’ve got a telegram for -her.’ - -‘This is she,’ Edward answered. ‘How can we get them?’ - -‘Lower a bucket,’ the ship’s officer shouted to a sailor.—‘You can put -’em in that, boy, can’t you?’ - -The men in the boat caught the bucket, and fastened in the letters -rudely with a stone taken from the ballast at the bottom. The screw -still continued to revolve as the sailors drew up the bucket hastily. -A little water got over the side and wet the telegrams; but they were -both still perfectly legible. Edward unfolded his in wondering silence, -while Marian looked tremulously over his right shoulder. It contained -just these few short words: - -‘_From_ HAWTHORN, _Trinidad_, to HAWTHORN, R.M.S. _Severn_, -_Southampton_.—For God’s sake, don’t come out. Reasons by letter.’ - -Marian gazed at it for a moment in speechless surprise; then she -turned, pale and white, to her husband beside her. ‘O Edward,’ she -cried, looking up at him with a face of terror, ‘what on earth can it -mean? What on earth can they wish us not to come out for?’ - -Edward held the telegram open before his eyes, gazing at it blankly in -inexpressible astonishment. ‘My darling,’ he said, ‘my own darling, I -haven’t the very remotest notion. I can’t imagine why on earth they -should ever wish to keep us away from them.’ - -At the same moment, Nora held her own telegram out to Marian with a -little laugh of surprise and amusement. Marian glanced at it and read -it hastily. It ran as follows: - -‘_From_ DUPUY, _Trinidad_, to MISS DUPUY, R.M.S. _Severn_, -_Southampton_.—Don’t come out till next steamer. On no account go on -board the _Severn_.’ - - - - -TWO EVENINGS WITH BISMARCK. - - -IN TWO PARTS.—PART II. - -Another week has elapsed. The month of May has arrived in all its glory -and beauty. The magnificent trees in the park of the Diet House form a -leafy arched avenue, and amid the branches of the venerable six hundred -year old yew-tree, beneath which Mendelssohn composed the overture to -his _Midsummer Night’s Dream_, feathered songsters of every kind hold -their gay revels. The spring, that wonderful season of longing and -restless desire, is, as usual, warring successfully against the stern -duties of the members of parliament. Even the hardest workers among -them, Prince Albrecht of Prussia, Moltke, and Steinmetz, ay, even those -most persevering of deputies, Wachler and Count Rennard, can no longer -remain indoors. The outcry about the bad ventilation of the House is -only a pretext to cover their retreat with honour, and all gradually -assemble beneath the giant yew, there to listen to the gay tales and -rare bits of scandal with which Hennig and Unruh regale the assembly. -Last year, when, during the intense heat, we sat out here in the cool -_pavillon_, discussing the wine duties with the help of some bottles -of rare old Rhenish, President Simson had a large telegraphic bell -placed on the top of the kiosk, which by its sudden peal so startled -our unconscious souls, like the voice of the last trumpet, that it -completely scared away the god Bacchus from these precincts for ever. - -It was therefore with intense relief that all looked forward to the -legitimate parliamentary recreation of the week, Prince Bismarck’s -Saturday evening. This time, no constables were visible. Immediately -on entering the first reception room up-stairs, we saluted his lady, -and were welcomed by Bismarck himself, who at once entered into -conversation with us, only stopping occasionally to shake hands -with some fresh arrival. The crush gradually began to lessen as the -visitors dispersed into the various rooms. We were still standing in -the anteroom, near the great sideboard; the moment seemed favourable -for ascertaining the meaning of the stuffed hare; I therefore asked -Bismarck why it was placed there. - -‘Oh, have you not noticed that this hare is brunette?’ - -‘Brunette?’ - -‘Yes. Look here—he has a dark-brown head and back, whereas he ought by -rights to be yellow. I ought to place an ordinary hare beside him to -show off this natural curiosity. He was the only “brunette” hare among -the fifteen hundred we killed that day.’ - -Most of the guests had gone to the billiard-room. There were not so -many present on this Saturday evening; a festival in commemoration -of the foundation of the Law Union had drawn nearly all the legal -celebrities of the House to Charlottenburg. - -But what interested me most was Bismarck’s own room, the door of which -stood open. - -‘May one enter?’ I ask of one of the house-servants. - -‘Certainly, sir,’ is the reply. - -And crossing the threshold, I glance round the room. In the centre, -though somewhat nearer the two windows that lead on to the terrace, -stands Bismarck’s writing-table, a sort of long desk, provided on each -side with open pigeon-holes. The chair, without any lean, is a large -round seat of massive oak, which turns either way. On the right-hand -side are the shelves that hold the public documents. There were none -there now, but on the floor below lay several locked portfolios. The -light falls from the left, gently softened by white and crimson silk -curtains. Innumerable white gloves, and swords enough to arm a whole -division of generals, are piled up on a table facing the door through -which we entered. On the escritoire beside it, the Chancellor’s various -civil, military, and official head-coverings form quite a small -exhibition. The other half of the wall is completely filled up by a -couch of colossal dimensions, covered with blue brocade. It is almost -as broad as it is long, without back or side cushions, only at the head -a round bolster is placed, on which reposes an embroidered cushion -with this inscription: ‘In Memory of the Year 1866.’ - -The pictures on the walls consist of life-size engravings, portraits -of the great _Kurfürst_ Frederick the Great, Frederick-William III., -and King William. Beside this latter hangs an engraving of Murillo’s -Madonna, looking somewhat surprised at her worldly companions. -Finally, on the wall behind the writing-table hangs a charming Swiss -cuckoo-clock; while just below the portrait of Frederick the Great, -and so placed that Bismarck can see it when he reposes on the couch, -hangs a small picture of his mother, whose memory, as is well known, he -treasures above everything else. Even taken from the simple stand-point -of man to man, it is satisfactory to find, by the various letters from -among his private papers that have of late years been made public, such -a fund of kindly feeling, such a bright and hearty nature, as one would -hardly have looked for in this daring and indomitable combatant. - -‘In spite of all the hunting and raking-up of anecdotes of Bismarck’s -past life,’ said a Saxon deputy, ‘that has been going on now for some -years both by Sunday and week-day sportsmen, from the big journals -down to the tiny pamphlets, not one half of what he has really done, -said, and written, will ever be collected together; while those who -are at all honest will frankly admit that it would be impossible to -reproduce faithfully the peculiar form and fresh originality of his -sayings. Thus, I heard rather a characteristic anecdote of his meeting -with Councillor P——, from the Saxon town of M——, at the Berlin Railway -Station in Leipzig. Bismarck—it was in 1863—had been with the king in -Carlsbad, and was travelling back to Berlin, viâ Leipzig, in strict -incognito. It was noon, and there was more than an hour to wait before -the next train started. Our friend Councillor P——, who had been told -by the station-master who his travelling companion was, went into the -reserved dining saloon—Bismarck did the same—and soon the two merged -into amicable converse, while discussing their respective luncheons. -Bismarck praised the beauty of Saxony and the bravery and industry of -its people. Councillor P——, who did not belong to the blind worshippers -of Herr von Beust, asked his _vis-à-vis_ what he thought of the Saxon -government and policy. His _vis-à-vis_ continued his panegyric. P——, -determined not to be outdone, launched forth into raptures about -Prussia—not, however, including the Berliners. - -“Well, you are quite right,” said Bismarck. “I daresay you have heard -the story of the Alpine host, who, after pointing out the glories of -his native land, asked a Berlin youth whether they had such mountains -as that in Berlin. ‘No,’ he replied; ‘we have not got such mountains; -but if we _had_, they would be far finer than these!’ Much the same -thing happened to me. I was living in Hanover for some time, and one -day I went, with a friend from Berlin, along the beautiful Herrenhauser -Allee. ‘Look at those magnificent trees!’ I said. ‘Where?’ was the -answer, as he looked round with contempt. ‘You mean _these_? Why, -they are not to be compared to the Linden of Berlin!’ The following -year, I walked with my friend Unter den Linden. They had their usual -summer aspect, which, as I daresay you all know, is sufficiently dreary -and melancholy. ‘Well, what say you now?’ I asked my companion. ‘Do -you still maintain that this is superior to the Herrenhauser Allee?’ -‘Oh, leave me in peace with your Herrenhausers and Allees,’ he cried -testily; ‘it always makes me savage when I am shown anything better -than we have in Berlin.’ There you have a true picture of the Berliner.” - -‘Bismarck then went on discussing the lower classes in Berlin, -especially the porters, and lamented that it was found almost -impossible to make them trustworthy. “You should do the same as we do,” -replied the councillor—“swear the men in before they take service.” - -“Oh,” replied Bismarck, laughing, “that would not hold water with us.” - -‘Meanwhile, the doors of the reserved dining-room were thrown open -to the great travelling public, who began to assemble preparatory -to the starting of the train. Among others, the well-known Leipzig -_colporteur_, Hartwig, utilised the moments to find a fresh market -for his wares. He had evidently also another motive—which he kept out -of sight—and that was to give the Prussian minister some unvarnished -truths and a piece of his mind about his political views, for of course -he knew Bismarck by sight.’ - -Now first I noticed the gigantic size of the bearskin that lay beneath -the billiard-table—it is almost as long as the table itself. Bismarck -shot the animal in Russia, after having watched and waited for it five -nights running. - -The mighty Nimrod now joined our party, and leant up against the -billiard-table while talking. He then sat down _on_ the table, and -while keeping up a lively conversation with Hennig and the rest of us -about various points on the interior economy of the Diet, he every now -and then threw a billiard ball behind him, so that each time it hit -the two others that were on the table. After the discussion had lasted -some time, Bismarck said: ‘But come, gentlemen; I think it is time we -had some refreshment.’ So saying, he led the way, and we again passed -through the chamber with the yellow Gobelins, full of Chinese figures, -animals, and pagodas, on to the dining saloon. On our way, we passed -Deputy Kratz in deep confab with General von Steinmetz. They were still -continuing the discussion on the theory of light, with which the worthy -judge and the victor of Trautenau had entertained the House for over an -hour a few days ago. - -Close beside them stood the Hessian deputy Braun, talking to -Admiral Jachmann. It is incredible what an inordinate desire this -inland resident, who has never even heard the sound of the sea, has -for occupying himself with naval matters. Perhaps these constant -discussions with landsmen, who cannot know much of nautical affairs, -are the cause of the somewhat stereotyped smile that curves the worthy -admiral’s otherwise handsome lips. This time, however, he did _not_ -smile. Braun had asked him the following simple but weighty question: -‘The papers and telegraphs have just informed us of the arrival at -Kiel, from England, of the _König Wilhelm_, the largest armour-plated -ship of the North German navy. They write in such a cool, indifferent -sort of manner, as if it were quite an everyday affair for us to pay -out over three million dollars for such a vessel. Has Your Excellency -already inspected the vessel?’ ‘No; I will do so to-morrow.’ And with -this answer the deputy had to be satisfied. - -As I passed on, I again came across Bismarck, this time in conversation -with Albrecht, the town recorder of Hanover, who in the previous year -had had a sharp tussle about his right to the ox with which the guild -of butchers have, from time immemorial, every year presented the -recorder. The much-vexed question, _re_ the ox, was happily not now -in dispute, Albrecht having manfully fought for and gained his cause. -But the point under discussion was evidently nearly as delicate and -intricate, for I heard Bismarck say: ‘Well, both you and I have lost -some hair—we have therefore _one_ very important point in common—and -ought to understand one another all the better.’ - -The table in the dining saloon was again covered with all the -cold delicacies of a true North German kitchen; and again, like -last Saturday, a small side-table had been taken possession of by -some of the deputies, among whom I noticed the gentlemanly police -superintendent Devens of Cologne; the two noble sons of the soil, Evelt -and Hosius; and the honest but somewhat moody Günther of Saxony. - -Ere long, Bismarck came up and seated himself between Devens and Evelt, -chatting pleasantly with them, while enjoying the cool and fragrant -_Maitrank_. - -‘How do you like my _Maitrank_?’ he asked. - -‘It is perfect, Your Excellency!’ - -‘Yes; I rather pride myself on it. Curiously enough, during all my -student days I never found any _Waldmeister_ further south than -Heidelberg. Our South German brethren were first initiated into the -delights of the _Maitrank_ by us northerners. You from Hohenzollern, -for instance, have no _Waldmeister_, I suppose?’ - -‘O yes, Your Excellency,’ replied Evelt. ‘It grows splendidly with -us. But I also may lay claim to the honour of having introduced the -Swabians to its magic powers.’ - -‘You have to thank your sterile Alps for that,’ returned Bismarck. -‘Were they more sheltered, no _Waldmeister_ would grow there.’ - -A group of deputies and several waiters with plates and glasses now -separated me from the speakers. When I again rejoined the party, -Bismarck was telling them the following story of General von Strotha: -‘He was at that time living quietly at Frankfort, in command of the -allied garrison there, when one day he received a telegram from the -then Minister President, Count von Brandenburg, to come at once to -Berlin and report himself to the minister. Strotha starts for Berlin in -hot haste, and thence immediately goes to Brandenburg. - -“I have sent for Your Excellency to ask you to become War Minister,” -said Brandenburg. - -“Me!” exclaimed Strotha. “For heaven’s sake, Your Excellency, what made -you think of such a thing? I am not in any way fitted for the post.” - -“I am afraid that can’t be helped. See; here is the order from His -Majesty the king, requiring that you shall be War Minister.” - -‘Strotha reads the order, looking greatly troubled, and then says: “Of -course, if His Majesty commands, I must obey.” - -“Well, then, my dear colleague,” continues Brandenburg, “you will -attend the cabinet council at ten to-day.” - -“Oh, I could not possibly do that.” - -“I am afraid you will have to. See; here is another order from His -Majesty, expressly desiring you to undertake the War Department in the -cabinet.” - -“Then I must of course obey,” said the new War Minister, with a deep -sigh of dejection. - -‘He is just about to leave, in order to prepare himself for his -presumable maiden speech, when Brandenburg stops him: “I suppose you -know, general, that you must appear in _mufti_ [plain clothes] at the -council?” - -‘Strotha stood speechless with amazement. This was the finishing -stroke. “I have none!” he at last managed to stammer forth. - -“Well, you will have to get yourself some by ten o’clock—such are the -king’s commands.” - -“Then of course I must obey,” replied Strotha, leaving the room in a -very crestfallen manner. - -‘But he faced his difficulty valiantly. Jumping into a cab, he drove -off to the Mühlendamm, where all the old Jews congregate; and at ten -o’clock precisely, a strange figure, with an enormously nigh collar -and coat sleeves hanging right over his hands, was seated at the -ministerial table—this was the new War Minister!’ - -Günther, who never could hide what he felt, and who generally looked -at the dark side of most things, had followed the Chancellor’s story -with undisguised amusement. The circle became every moment more gay and -lively. - -‘Take care, Günther,’ cried Mosig von Ahrenberg, holding up his finger -in mock-threat; ‘I see plainly that Bismarck has completely bewitched -you. I shall feel bound to make your apostasy known to a certain paper -in Leipzig.’ - -Whilst this merry chaff was going on, Bismarck’s wife and her daughters -had come in and had seated themselves at the table. The conversation -now became more general; and soon after, as it was getting late, the -party broke up. With a profound bow to the ladies, and a kindly shake -of the hand from our genial host, we took our departure, well pleased -with our second social evening at the hospitable dwelling of ‘Our -Chancellor.’ - - - - -A GOLDEN ARGOSY. - -_A NOVELETTE._ - -BY FRED. M. WHITE. - - -CHAPTER X. - -A cynical writer somewhere observes, that no man is too rich not to -be glad to get a thousand pounds; and we may therefore assume the joy -of an individual who possesses about as many pence, in prospect of -obtaining possession of that sum. It was with this kind of joy—not, -however, quite free from incredulity—that Edgar, when he met Mr Slimm -by appointment at his hotel next day, listened to that gentleman’s -renewed asseverations that there were thousands of pounds somewhere -in that bit of paper which had been such a mystery to Edgar and his -friends. Mr Slimm was this morning more enthusiastic than ever on -the subject; but Edgar only smiled in reply, and eyed his cigar with -the air of a connoisseur in the weed. The notion of his possessing -such a sum was decidedly puzzling. His coolness attracted Mr Slimm’s -admiration. - -‘I’ve seen a man hanged in the middle of a comic song,’ that gentleman -observed, with an air of studious reflection; ‘and I guess he was -somewhat frigid. I once saw a man meet a long-lost brother whom he had -given up for dead, and ask him for a borrowed sovereign, by way of -salutation, and I calculate that was cool; but for pure solid stoical -calmness, you are right there and blooming.’ - -‘Had I expressed any perturbation, it would have been on account of -my doubting your sanity,’ Edgar replied. ‘Does it not strike you as -a little strange that a casual acquaintance should discover a puzzle -worth ten thousand pounds to me?’ - -‘The onexpected always happens; and blessed things happen swiftly, as -great and good things always do,’ said Slimm sententiously. ‘I haven’t -quite got the touch of them quotations, but the essence is about -consolidated, I calculate.’ - -‘What a fund of philosophy you have!’ - -‘You may say that,’ said the American with some little pride. ‘You -see, some years ago I was down to New Orleans, and I had considerable -fever—fact, I wasn’t out of the house for months. Reading ain’t much in -my line; but I had to put up with it then. There was a good library in -the house, and at first I used to pick out the plums; but that wouldn’t -do, so I took ’em in alphabetical order. It was a large assortment of -experience to me. First, I’d get Blair on the _Grave_, and read that -till I was oncertain whether I was an or’nary man or a desperate bad -one. Then I would hitch on to _British Battles_, and get the taste out -of my mouth. I reckon I stored up enough knowledge to ruin an or’nary -digestion. I read a cookery-book once, followed by a chemistry work. I -got mixed there.—But to return to our muttons, as the Mo’sieus say. I -ain’t joking about that letter, and that’s a fact.’ - -‘But what can you know about it?’ Edgar queried, becoming interested, -in spite of himself and his better judgment. - -‘Well, you listen, and I’ll tell you.’ - -Edgar composed himself to listen, excited more than he cared to show -by the impressive air of his companion, and the absence of that -quaint smile which usually distinguished him; nor could the younger -man fail to notice not only the change of manner but the change of -voice. Mr Slimm was no longer a rough miner; and his accent, if not of -refinement, was that of cultivation. Carefully choosing another cigar, -and lighting it with deliberate slowness, each moment served to raise -his companion’s impatience, a consummation which the astute American -doubtless desired. - -‘When I first knew your uncle,’ he said at length, ‘we were both much -younger men, and, as I have before told you, I saved his life. That was -in the mines. Well, after a time I lost sight of him, as is generally -the case with such wanderers. After he left the mines, I did not stay -long; for a kind of home-sickness came over me, and I concluded to -get away. I determined to get back and settle down; and for the first -time in my life, the notion of marriage came into my head. I had not -returned long when I met my fate. Mr Seaton, I will not weary you with -a description of my wife. If ever there was an angel upon earth—— But -no matter; still, it is always a mystery to my mind what she could see -in a rough uncouth fellow like me. Well, in course of time we married. -I had some money then; but we decided before the year was out that it -would be best to get some business for occupation for me. So, after -little Amy was born, we moved West. - -‘For five years we lived there in our little paradise, and two more -children came to brighten our Western home. I was rapidly growing a -rich man, for the country was good, and the fear of Indians kept more -timorous people away. As for us, we were the best of friends; and the -old chief used to come to my framehouse and nurse little Amy for hours. -I shall never forget that sight. The dear little one, with her blue -eyes and fair curls, sitting on that stern old man’s knee, playing with -his beads, and not the least afraid; while the old fellow used to grunt -and laugh and get as near a smile as it is possible for an Indian to -do. But this was not to last. The old chief died, and a half-breed was -appointed in his place. I never liked that man. There was something so -truculent and vicious in his face, that it was impossible to like the -ruffian. Well, one day he insulted my wife; she screamed, and I ran to -her assistance. I took in the situation at a glance, and gave him there -and then about the soundest thrashing a man ever had in his life. He -went away threatening dire vengeance and looking the deadliest hate; -but next morning he came and apologised in such humble terms—for the -scoundrel spoke English as well as his own tongue—that I was fain to -forget it. Another peaceful year passed away, and then I was summoned -to New York on business. Without a single care or anxiety, I left my -precious ones behind. I had done it before, and they were not the least -afraid. - -‘One night, when I had completed my business, and had prepared -everything for my start in the morning, I was strolling aimlessly along -Broadway, when I was hailed by a shout, accompanied by a hearty slap on -the back. I turned round, and there I saw Charlie Morton. Mind, I am -talking of over twenty years ago, and I think of him as the dashing, -good-natured, weak Charlie Morton I used to know.—Well, to resume. Over -a quiet smoke, he arranged to accompany me. - -‘It was a glorious morning when we set out, and our hearts were light -and gladsome, and our spirits as bright as the weather. Was not I -returning to my darlings! We rode on mile after mile and day after -day, till we were within twelve hours of my house. Then we found, by -unmistakable signs, that the Indians were on the war-path. This was -uncomfortable news for us; but still I never had an uneasy thought for -the people at home. - -‘When the following morning dawned, I rose with a strange presentiment -of coming evil; but I shook it off, thinking it was the excitement of -returning, for I had never been away from my wife so long before. -It was just about noon when I thought I saw a solitary figure in the -distance. It was a strange thing to meet a stray Indian there, and -judge of my surprise when I saw him making towards us! It turned out -to be a deaf and dumb Sioux I employed about the clearing, and one -of the same tribe we were so friendly with. By his excited state and -jaded appearance, he had travelled far and hurriedly. When we came up -to him, a horrible fear came over me, for then I saw he was in his -war-paint. Hurriedly, I made signs to him to know if all was well at -home. He shook his head sadly; and with that composure which always -characterises his race, proceeded to search for something in his -deerskin vest. You can imagine the eagerness with which I watched him; -and when he produced a note, with what eagerness did I snatch it out of -his hand! Hastily, I read it, and sank back in my saddle with a sense -of almost painful relief. Apparently, all was well. The missive was -half a sheet of note-paper, or, more properly, half of half a sheet of -paper, containing some twelve lines, written right across the paper, -with no signature or heading, saying how anxious she was for my return. -I handed it to Morton with a feeling of delight and thankfulness; but, -to my surprise, as he read it, he became graver and graver. At last he -burst forth: “Slimm, have you any secret cipher between yourselves?” - -“No,” I replied, somewhat startled at the question. “Why?” - -“Because there is something more here than meets the eye. You will not -mind my saying so; but the body of this note is almost cold, not to say -frivolous, while words, burning words, catch my eye here and there. Can -you explain it?” - -“Go on!” - -‘I hardly knew my own voice, it sounded so hard and strained. - -“Yes,” he mused, twisting the paper in his supple fingers, “there is -more here than meets the eye. This old messenger is a Sioux; that tribe -is on the war-path, and the chief thoroughly understands English. An -ordinary appeal for help would be worse than useless, if it fell into -his hands. I perceive this paper is creased, and creased with method, -and the most touching words are always confined within certain creases. -Now, I will fold this longways, and turn the paper so; and then fold it -thus, and thus. We are coming to the enigma. Now thus.—No; this way, -and—— Merciful powers!” - -‘He almost reeled from his saddle, and I leant over him with straining -eyes and read: “For God’s sake, hasten. On the war-path. White Cloud -[the chief] has declared.... Hasten to us.” I stopped to see no more. -Mechanically thrusting the paper into his saddle-bag, Morton urged me -forward; and for some hours we rode like madmen, spurring our horses -till the poor creatures almost dropped. At last, in the distance I saw -what was my home—a smoking mass of ruins. In the garden lay my three -children—dead; and not a quarter of a mile away my wife—also dead!’ - -The American here stopped, and threw himself on his face upon the couch -where he had been reclining, his huge frame shaking with the violence -of his emotion. Edgar watched him with an infinite pity in his eyes for -some moments, not daring to intrude upon his grief. Presently, Slimm -calmed himself, and raising his face, said: ‘Wall, my friend, I guess -them statistics are sorter calculated to blight what the poet calls -“love’s young dream.”—Pass the brandy,’ he continued, with an air of -ghastly cheerfulness. - -‘Why did you tell me this?’ Edgar said, pained and shocked at the -recital and its horrible climax. - -‘Well, you see I wanted to convince you of the truth of my words. I -shall never allude to my story again, and I hope you never will either; -though I dream of it at times.—Your wife’s uncle kept that paper, -and I have not the slightest doubt that the same plan has been taken -as regards his wealth. I can’t explain it to you at this moment; but -from the description you have given of his last letter, I have not the -smallest hesitation in saying that it is formed on the same lines as -the fatal note I have told you of. Charlie Morton was a good fellow, -but he had not the slightest imagination or originality.’ - -‘And you really think that paper contains a secret of importance?’ - -‘Never doubted it for a moment. Look at the whole circumstances. Fancy -your meeting me; fancy my knowing your uncle; fancy—— Bah! It’s clear as -mud.’ - -‘The coincidences are certainly wonderful.’ - -‘Well, they are a few.—And now,’ said Mr Slimm, dropping into his most -pronounced Yankee style, ‘let this Adonis truss his points, freeze onto -a clean biled rag, and don his plug-hat, and we’ll go and interview -that inter_es_tin’ epistle—yes, sir.’ - - -CHAPTER XI. - -Edgar and his transatlantic companion walked along Holborn in silence. -The former was deeply immersed in thought; and the American, in spite -of his forced gaiety, had not yet lost all trace of his late emotion. -Presently, they quitted the busy street and turned into one of the -narrow lanes leading to Queen Square. Arrived at the house, they were -admitted by the grimy diminutive maid-of-all-work, and slowly ascended -the maze of stairs leading to Edgar’s sitting-room. There were two -persons who looked up as they entered—Eleanor and Jasper Felix. Edgar -performed the ceremony of introduction, asking his companion if he had -ever heard of the great novelist. He had. - -‘Yes,’ said Mr Slimm impressively, ‘I believe that name has been -mentioned in my hearing once, if not more.—Allow me to shake hands with -you, sir. I ain’t given to worshipping everybody who writes a ream of -nonsense and calls it a novel; but when I come across men like you, -I want to remember it. We don’t have many of your stamp across the -Atlantic, though Nathaniel Hawthorne runs you very close.’ - -‘Indeed, you are very complimentary,’ Felix replied; ‘and I take -your word as flattering. I don’t like flattery as a rule, especially -American flattery. It is rare, in a general way. I feel as if they -always want something, you know.’ - -‘Well, I do calculate my countrymen don’t give much away for nothing. -They like a _quid pro quo_; and if they can get the _quid_ without the -_quo_, so much the better are they pleased. But I didn’t come here to -discuss the idiosyncrasies of my countrymen.’ - -Mr Slimm seemed to possess the happy knack of making his conversation -suit his company. Edgar could not help contrasting him now with the -typical Yankee of the gambling-house; they hardly seemed like the same -men. - -‘Have you got your uncle’s letter?’ Edgar asked his wife. - -‘Why?’ she asked, without the slightest curiosity. - -‘Why? I have almost come to your way of thinking,’ replied Edgar. ‘Do -you know, a wonderful thing has happened this morning. To make a long -story short, my good friend here was an old friend of your uncle’s. -The story is a very sad one; but the gist of it is that the paper your -uncle left so nearly resembles a tragic document which he and Mr Slimm -once perused together—what is termed a cipher—that he is almost sure it -is taken from the same. The coincidence is so strange, the two letters -are so remarkably alike’—— - -‘Is this really so, Mr Slimm?’ Eleanor asked eagerly. - -‘Yes, madam,’ he said quietly. ‘Some day I will tell you the tale, but -not now, of how I came to be in receipt of that terrible document. Your -uncle was with me; and from what I know of the circumstances, they must -be the same. If you don’t mind me seeing it’—— - -Before he could finish his sentence, Eleanor was out of the room, and -a silence, an uneasy silence of expectancy, fell on the group. No one -spoke, and the few minutes she was away seemed like hours. Then she -reappeared, and put the paper in his hands. - -He merely glanced at it for a moment; indeed, he had not time to read -it through before a smile began to ripple over his quaint-looking, -weather-beaten face. The smile gradually grew into a laugh, and then he -turned to view the anxious group with a face full of congratulation and -triumph. - -‘Have you found it? Is it so?’ burst from three people simultaneously. - -He was provokingly slow in his reply, and his Yankee drawl was more -painfully apparent than ever. ‘Young man,’ said he to Edgar, ‘what -might have been the nominal value of your uncle’s estate—if he had any?’ - -‘About thirty or forty thousand pounds.’ - -‘And I promised, if you would let me see this paper, I would show you -something worth ten thousand pounds. Well, you must pardon me for my -little mistake. One can’t always guard against mistakes, and this paper -is worth four times that amount.’ - -For a few moments every one was aghast at the value of the discovery. - -Edgar was the first to recover himself. ‘You are not joking, Slimm?’ he -exclaimed hoarsely. - -‘Never a bit,’ he replied with a gaiety delicately intended to cover -and arouse the emotion of the others. ‘There it is on the face of the -paper, as plainly as possible—the fateful words staring me in the face. -You could see them yourselves, if you only knew how.’ - -‘Wonderful!’ exclaimed Felix. ‘And that simple paper contains a secret -worth all that money?’ - -‘Why, certainly. Not only that, but where it is, and the exact spot -in which it is concealed. Only to think—a starving, desperate woman -dragging such a secret as that about London; and only to think of a -single moment preventing it being buried in the Thames. Wonderful, -wonderful!’ - -‘Perhaps you will disclose it to us,’ said Edgar, impatient at this -philosophical tirade. - -‘No!’ Eleanor put in resolutely—‘no, Edgar! I do not think it would -be fair. Considering the time and trouble Mr Carver has given to the -matter, it would only be right for him to know at the same time. The -dear old gentleman has been so enthusiastic throughout, and so kind, -that I should feel disappointed if he did not hear the secret disclosed -when we are all together.’ - -‘How thoughtful you are, Mrs Seaton!’ remarked Felix with great -admiration. ‘Of course you are right. The old fellow will be delighted -beyond measure, and will fancy he has a hand in the matter himself.’ - -‘I do not see why we should wait for that,’ Edgar grumbled. - -‘Impatient boy!’ said Eleanor with a charming smile. ‘Talk about -curiosity in woman, indeed!’ - -‘All right,’ he replied laughingly, his brow clearing at one glance -from his wife. ‘I suppose we must wait. I do not see, however, what is -to prevent us starting to see him at once. Probably, you won’t be more -than an hour putting on your bonnet, Nelly?’ - -‘I shall be with you in five minutes;’ and, singular to relate, she was. - -‘Curiosity,’ remarked Edgar, ‘is a great stimulus, even to women.’ - -Arrived at Bedford Row, they found Mr Carver at his office, and -fortunately disengaged. It did not take that astute gentleman long to -perceive, from the faces of his visitors, that something very great and -very fortunate had happened. - -‘Well, good people,’ he said, cheerfully rubbing his head with -considerable vigour, ‘what news? Not particularly bad, by the look of -you.’ - -Edgar stated the case briefly, and at the beginning of his narrative it -was plain to see that the worthy solicitor was somewhat disappointed; -but when he learned they were nearly as much in the dark as he, he -resumed his usual rubicund aspect. - -‘Dear, dear! how fortunate. Wonderful, wonderful!’ he exclaimed, -hopping about excitedly. ‘Never heard such a thing in my life—never, -and thirty years in practice too. Quite a hero, Edgar.’ - -‘No, sir,’ Edgar put in modestly. ‘Mr Slimm is the hero. Had it not -been for him, we could never have discovered the hidden mine. Talk -about Aladdin’s lamp!’ - -‘And so you knew my poor client?’ broke in Mr Carver, addressing Slimm. -‘What a fine fellow he was in those days! I suppose you showed him the -secret of the cipher?’ - -‘Wall, no, stranger,’ replied the American, the old Adam cropping out -again strongly. ‘He guessed it by instinct, if it wasn’t something -higher’n that. I did not know it myself, though it was sent to me by -one very dear to me, to warn me of danger. You see, it might have come -into the hands of an enemy who understood English, and it was just a -desperate chance. It came a trifle late to save my peace of mind,’ he -continued naturally and bitterly, ‘and I shall never forget it. The -sight of that piece of paper in that lady’s hands,’ pointing to the -important document, ‘gave me a touch of the old feeling when I first -saw it.’ - -‘Poor fellow, poor fellow! Pray, don’t distress yourself upon our -account. A mere explanation’—— - -‘I’d almost forgotten,’ replied Mr Slimm, taking the paper from -Eleanor’s hands. ‘If you will be good enough to listen, I will explain -it.’ - -They drew close round the table, and he proceeded to explain. - -‘The paper I hold in my hand,’ said the American, ‘is filled with -writing, commencing at the top of the paper, without anything of a -margin, and ending in the same manner. The paper, you perceive, is -ruled with dotted lines, which makes the task of deciphering the -secret all the easier. It has five dotted perpendicular lines at equal -distances; and four horizontal, not so equal in distance. These are -guide-lines. Now, I will take the letter and fold it along the centre -dotted line from top to bottom, with the writing inside—so. Then from -the second dotted line, counting from the right-hand side, I fold it -backwards, showing the writing—thus. Then I fold the fourth dotted line -from the right hand over the writing. The first part is accomplished -by turning the narrow slip of writing between the fifth line and the -left-hand side back thus; and then you see this. The rest is simple. -Fold the slip in two, keeping the writing inside; then turn the bottom -portion back and fold it across the lower dotted line, and the puzzle -is complete. Or there is yet a simpler way. In each corner of the paper -there are a few words inclosed by the dotted lines. Begin at the top at -the word “Darling,” then across the line to the words “Nelly, in.” Then -the next line, which is all inclosed at the top in the corner squares. -Read the same way at the bottom corner squares; and see the result. You -are puzzled by the folding, I see; but try the other way. Here,’ he -said, handing the paper to Nelly; ‘please read aloud what you can make -of it.’ - -Following his instructions, Nelly made out the words thus: - - _Darling_ _Nelly, in_ - _the garden_ _under the_ - _Niobe_ _you will_ - _find my_ _money._ - -The murder was out! The mystery which had puzzled every one was -explained; and after all, it was so simple! The simplicity of the -affair was its greatest safeguard. It was so simple, so particularly -devoid of intricacy, that it had baffled them all. Something -bewildering and elaborate they had expected, but nothing like this. Mr -Carver, notwithstanding his joy, looked inexpressibly foolish. Edgar -gave way to his emotion in mirth. ‘O shade of Edgar Allan Poe, what a -climax!’ he exclaimed. ‘Was it for this our worthy friend waded through -the abstruse philosophy of _The Purloined Letter_ and the intricacies -of _The Gold Bug_? Was it for this that _The Murders in the Rue Morgue_ -and _The Mystery of Marie Roget_ were committed to memory?’ - -‘Be quiet, you young jackanapes!’ exclaimed Mr Carver testily; and -then, seeing the ludicrous side of the matter, he joined in the younger -man’s mirth with equal heartiness. - -‘But why,’ said Eleanor, still serious, and dwelling upon the -mystery—‘why did not uncle fold the letter in the way he wished it to -be read?’ - -‘Well, madam,’ Mr Slimm explained, ‘you see in that case the letter -would have adapted itself to the folds so readily, that, had it fallen -into a stranger’s hand, he would have discovered the secret at once. -Your uncle must have remembered the letter he founded his upon, and how -easily he discovered that. By folding this paper in the ordinary way, -improper curiosity was baffled.’ - -‘Yes, I suppose so,’ Eleanor mused. ‘Anyway, thank heaven, we have -solved the mystery, and we are free at last!’ - -‘Don’t look so serious, darling,’ Edgar said brightly. ‘It is all ours -now, to do what we like with. How happy we shall be!’ - -‘Ahem!’ coughed Mr Bates ominously, the only remark which, by the way, -he had made during the scene. - -‘Bless me, Bates!’ ejaculated Mr Carver in his abrupt way. ‘Really, I -had quite forgotten you.—Shake hands, Bates! Let me shake hands with my -future partner.’ - -‘Begging your pardon, sir, I think not. You’—reproachfully—‘seem to -have forgotten the will. Mr Morton’s last testament left this property -to Miss Wakefield—this money is part of his estate.’ - -Mr Carver groaned and sank back in his chair. It was too true. Mr -Morton’s last will devised his estate to Miss Wakefield, and this -treasure was hers beyond the shadow of a doubt. - - - - -THE FLOATING ISLAND ON DERWENTWATER. - - -Mr Ward in his book on the _Geology of the English Lake District_, -while describing some of the effects that various rock formations have -on scenery, has stated that the mountains surrounding Lake Derwentwater -are not only geologically interesting, but are very beautiful. To -quote his own words. He says: ‘If we take our stand upon Friar’s Crag, -jutting out into Derwentwater, we have before us one of the fairest -views that England can give. The lake, studded with wooded islets, and -surrounded by mountains of varied form and outline. Upon the west side, -the mountains, most exquisitely grouped together, have soft outlines -and smooth and grassy slopes, sometimes meeting below to form, as in -Newlands Vale, an inverted arch of marvellous elegance and grace. These -are of Skiddaw slate, which mostly weathers away in small flakes or -pencil-like pieces, giving rise to a clayey and shaly wash at the base -of the hills. Upon the east side of the lake and at its head, the case -is otherwise; the mountains have generally rough and hummocky outlines -and steep and craggy sides; whilst their waste lies below in the shape -of rough tumbled masses, like ruins of a giant castle. These consist of -rocks belonging to the volcanic series, which are hard, massive, and -well jointed. Thus we have presented to us two independent types of -scenery, formed by very distinct classes of rock.’ - -Southey, in a letter to Coleridge, describing the view from his house -(Greta Hall), compared the mountains of the first type above mentioned -to the ‘tents of a camp of giants;’ whilst it is between a rift in -the rocks of the latter, or volcanic series, that the Watendlath burn -rushes down and forms the picturesque Falls of Lodore. - -But, apart from the varied charms of scenery surrounding Derwentwater, -and the many historical reminiscences connected with the immediate -neighbourhood, the lake has a phenomenon of its own in the so-called -Floating Island. The visitor to Keswick may see at any time, and if -such be his desire, may row round and thoroughly inspect four islands -on the lake; but this one, through its somewhat eccentric movements, -is not so easily examined. In fact, it only exists as an island for -a few weeks’ duration, and then generally at intervals of several -years. The last time it was visible was in 1884, when it was noticed -about the middle of August; and disappeared during the first week in -October. It is doubtful whether all the causes of this occurrence are -yet known; for, on its last appearance, considerable interest was taken -in it by scientific men, and several experiments were made with a view -of ascertaining its substance, both solid and gaseous. Certain it is -that, even in these days of accurate information and universal reading, -considerable misconception must exist on the subject. For instance, an -article appeared in this _Journal_ for August 1874, in which it was -stated that ‘until it was driven ashore in a gale, a few years ago, -there used to be an island of this kind’ [the writer had previously -spoken of a floating island on a Swedish lake, which occasionally sank -below the surface and reappeared] ‘on Derwentwater, Cumberland.... When -a stick or fishing-rod was driven through it, a jet of water would -spurt up from the hole; thus indicating that some spring or current was -pressing against it from below; and this was probably the force which -kept it at the surface, and being of an intermittent character, allowed -it at times to sink to the bottom.’ This writer’s idea was, that a -waterfall, which he mentions as ‘throwing itself into the lake,’ but is -in reality at least a quarter of a mile off, caused a current, which, -according to its force, was able to buoy the island up by its pressure. -This fallacious theory is mentioned in one or two guide-books to -Keswick, one stating that, ‘the guides, the older and more intelligent -ones, will tell you of a little stream that gets lost in the ground.’ -This ‘little stream’ is the Catgill Beck, which, in its passage from -the hills, forms the waterfall spoken of in the previous quotation. The -‘driven ashore in a gale’ statement is easily refuted by the fact that -the island made its appearance two years after in the same place as on -its previous emergences, namely, about a hundred and fifty yards from -the shore at the south-eastern corner of the lake. - -The _Daily News_ of August 20, 1884, contained a short leading article -on the subject, in which, after describing the floating gardens of the -ancient Mexicans, the writer continues: ‘This at Derwentwater seems to -be merely an accidental accretion of material round some tree-trunk or -something of the kind, which, as in the larger island just alluded to -[an American one], has become in some way anchored to the bed of the -lake, probably at that point not very deep.’ - -The writers of the two articles above quoted could never have examined, -and probably had never even seen the island in question. - -A frequent source of error is the notion people are liable to carry -away who have only seen it from the shore. Many see it, probably for -the first and only time, from the top of a stagecoach, on their way to -Buttermere or on some other favourite excursion. Just previously, the -driver has perhaps directed their attention, by a jerk of his whip over -his left shoulder, to Raven’s Crag. Now, there is a gap in the trees on -the other side, and a glimpse of the lake is caught. ‘Floating Island,’ -laconically remarks Jehu to the box-seat occupants, and again points -his whip, but this time to the right towards the lake. ‘Where? where?’ -ask the others behind. ‘There, there—don’t you see?’ and on rolls the -coach, some wondering if that little patch of green were it; others, -failing to see anything, refer to their guide-books or companions as to -what object of interest must next be looked for. _Lodore Hotel_ comes -into view, and the minds of the hurried tourists are once more engaged -in a hasty examination of the Falls. So the day wears on, and they have -seen the Floating Island. But how, and how much? Even the name itself -may cause misapprehension, although it would be difficult to give the -object a more definite appellation. - -The island is not mentioned either by Hutchinson or Nicolson and Burns -in their Histories of Cumberland, published towards the end of last -century. In an interesting account, however, of _A Fortnight’s Ramble -to the Lakes_, by Jos. Budworth, F.S.A., published 1795, a short -reference is made to it. After speaking of the ‘stormy breakers’ on the -lake, caused by ‘a bottom wind,’ he goes on to say: ‘It is said Keswick -Lake often wears this appearance a day or two previous to a storm; and -when violently agitated at the bottom, an island arises, and remains -upon the surface some time.... The grass and the moss are as green as -a meadow, which soon unite and become consistent. There are very few -people in the neighbourhood who have not been upon it.’ It is probably -to Jonathan Ottley, a native of Keswick, and a very careful observer, -that we owe the first really authentic account of the island. In a -paper read before the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, -and published in their Transactions for the year 1819, he gives a -graphic description of it, and mentions a newspaper correspondence -having appeared in the _Carlisle Journal_ some years previous, in which -two or three different theories were propounded by various writers -as to the cause of its emergence. At the end of this Memoir, a note -from John Dalton—the author of the Atomic Theory, and a native of -Cumberland, although at this time he had resided in Manchester for -some years—explains, that ‘being at Keswick in 1815, Mr Ottley and I -procured a small quantity of the gas [from the island], which I found -to consist of equal parts of carburetted hydrogen and azotic gases, -with about six per cent. of carbonic acid.’ It will be seen from the -above that the island had not escaped the observation of men of science -very early in the present century. - -From a distance, it looks like a grass plot floating on the lake. It -is never more than six inches above the water, but varies considerably -in area in different years. On its last emergence, the exposed surface -was about fifty yards by twelve; but in 1842 it was upwards of ninety -yards long by twenty broad. It generally makes its appearance in July, -August, or September, and disappears towards the end of the last month. -In 1831, however, it came to the top on the tenth of June, and remained -exposed until the twenty-fourth of September—the longest period ever -remembered. It has never been seen except in the summer or autumn -months, and then only after periods of excessive drought and warm -weather; but whether its origin is owing to the lowness of the water -in the lake, or to the high temperature, or to a combination of both -causes, is still an open question. - -The bed of the lake where the island appears consists of what, were -there no lake over it, would be called a peat-moss, which extends over -several acres. When the water is calm, dark-brown patches may be seen -over the whole of this area, indicating rents or fissures. The depth -of water is very uniform here, varying from six to eight feet when the -lake is at an average height. The appearance of the island is caused -by a portion of this peat-moss rising, not bodily, as in a detached -mass, but like a huge blister. It is this peculiar manner of rising -that upsets the preconceived notions of many visitors, leading some to -suppose that the surface of the lake having become lowered, through -drought or other causes, a portion of its bed has been laid bare. -Although this peat-moss is capable of considerable distention, owing to -the elasticity of its component parts, it not unfrequently occurs that -a rupture takes place whilst rising to the surface. In such cases, two -islands are sometimes formed, but more frequently one part sinks, when -a fairly accurate idea may be formed of the thickness of the peat-moss -or substance of the island. If the second portion, or part that has -remained at the surface, on resuming its position at the bottom, does -not exactly fill the same space as before, a gap is caused, which -accounts for the apparent dark patches before mentioned. - -The aquatic plants growing on the bed of this portion of the lake -are, when living, all specifically lighter than water, which may -easily be proved by detaching any of them from the bottom, when they -will be found to rise to the surface. They grow, wither, and decay, -their roots matting together amidst the finely divided turf, itself -the remains of various mosses, producing what Ottley aptly calls a -‘congeries of weeds.’ The thickness of this mass is about six feet, -and rests upon a bed of clay. After a continuance of high temperature, -the air and gas—of which there is always a considerable amount in -such substances—expand. This expansion is sufficient to reduce the -weight of the whole slightly below an equal volume of water. The water -insinuates itself between the peat-moss and the bed of clay on which -it rests, but to which it is in no way attached, owing to the roots -not being able to penetrate it. The mass slowly rises, the lighter -portion gradually dragging itself to the surface, although, as has been -previously stated, not absolutely detaching itself from the rest. After -appearing above the level of the water, the weeds make vigorous growth, -which tends to reduce temporarily the specific gravity of the whole -still more, and to give that emerald hue to the exposed part which -made Budworth describe it as being ‘as green as a meadow.’ If, through -heavy rainfall, the water-level of the lake be raised, the island rises -and falls with it. Should low temperature, however, supervene, the -mass loses its buoyancy, and slowly disappears; once more to sink into -obscurity and become part of the bed of the lake, after having, for a -butterfly existence, basked under the warm August sun as the Floating -Island. - - - - -POPULAR LEGAL FALLACIES.[1] - -BY AN EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONER. - -_THE RIGHTS OF THE ELDEST SON AND OTHER CHILDREN OF AN INTESTATE OWNER -OF REAL AND PERSONAL ESTATE._ - - -Many persons believe that the eldest son of a man who has died without -leaving a will, or who in other words dies intestate, is entitled -to the whole of the property, both real and personal, left by his -deceased parent; but this is an error so far as relates to the personal -estate, and in some cases also in respect of the real estate. By the -common law, which had its origin in feudal times, the eldest son was -entitled to succeed to the property of his deceased father; and might -be called upon to perform the military and other duties which were due -and accustomed to be paid in respect of such property to the immediate -feudal superior. Hence the origin of what is often spoken of as an -iniquitous system of favouritism arbitrarily established by law. When -there were no standing armies, and the king upon the throne for the -time being had to depend upon the military services of the barons who -had received lands upon condition of performing such services, while -the barons in turn had to depend upon the persons to whom they had -granted parts of their lands upon similar conditions, it was of great -importance that there should always be a male possessor of those lands. -If he were an ‘infant’ and incapable of bearing arms, a relative was -appointed guardian of his person and estate during his minority, and -upon this guardian devolved the duties appertaining to the estate. But -in those days, tenancies for years and other smaller interests in lands -were not held as of much account, being of small value, and subject to -being forfeited or declared void on various pretences; whence arises -the apparent anomaly, that leasehold property is personal estate, -whatever may be its value, and therefore distributable among all the -children of an intestate, as will be explained more fully. A third -class of property is ‘copyhold,’ which is real estate, but in respect -of which the feudal services were of a different description. Being -useful only, and not military, these services were considered as -inferior in dignity and less honourable than the duties attached to the -possession of freehold property. The subject of tenures and services -is full of interest, but the exigences of space compel us to turn away -from the tempting theme. It was, however, necessary to refer thus -briefly to the origin of the present rules of law, in order to make -intelligible the reasons for the distinctions which still exist. - -We have mentioned the common-law rule of descent of land, and must note -two exceptions to the general rule. By the custom of ‘borough English,’ -which exists at Maldon in Essex, in the city of Gloucester, and other -places, the youngest instead of the eldest son inherits his father’s -freeholds in case of intestacy. And by the custom of ‘gavelkind,’ -which still applies to most of the land in Kent, although some has -been disgavelled by private Acts of Parliament, the freeholds of an -intestate are divisible among all the sons of the deceased in equal -shares. - -Leaving these customs aside, we propose to consider the effect of the -intestacy of an owner of freehold and other property who leaves a -family of children surviving him. - -In such a case, the widow (if any) would be entitled to receive -one-third of the rents of the freeholds for her life, that being a -provision made for her by the law under the name of dower. Dower -attaches to all the freehold lands and hereditaments of which her -deceased husband was the actual owner at the time of his decease, -either in fee-simple or fee-tail; except, in the latter case, if the -entail were limited to the children of the first wife, the second wife -would not be dowable out of the estate. But this provision, mercifully -made by the law for the widow of a man who had so far neglected the -duty of a husband as to omit to provide for her by his will, may be -barred in a very peculiar manner. The right of a widow to dower will be -barred if in the conveyance to her husband, or any deed subsequently -executed by him, there should be a declaration that she is not to be -entitled to dower out of the property to which such conveyance or -other deed relates. In this way many widows have been deprived of -dower without the knowledge of their husbands. If the declaration be -contained in the conveyance, the execution thereof by the husband is -not necessary, as he takes the property subject to the contents of -such conveyance. If in any other deed, probably he signs, seals, and -delivers it without taking the trouble to read its contents, trusting -to his solicitor to see that the documents are all right. There cannot -be any possible advantage in inserting the declaration in question, -and, in our opinion, any solicitor who inserts it without express -instructions to do so—which are never given—is guilty of a grave -dereliction of duty towards his client. - -Subject to the right of dower, if not barred, and to any existing -mortgages or other charges, the freehold property of an intestate -becomes the property of his eldest son immediately on the death; and -the rents are apportionable according to the ownership. The proportion -of the current rent down to the actual date of the decease of the -former owner forms part of his personal estate, as well as all arrears -of rent then remaining unpaid. When the heir first receives any -rent, he pays to his father’s executors so much as belongs to them, -and retains the remainder for his own use, although he must satisfy -prior charges thereout. Thus, if the father died in the middle of a -half-year, the year’s rents being one thousand pounds, there being a -mortgage of ten thousand pounds at four per centum per annum, and the -widow being dowable, then, upon receipt of the first half-year’s rent, -five hundred pounds, the mortgagees would claim two hundred pounds, -the executors one hundred and fifty, the widow fifty, and the heir -would have one hundred for his own benefit. The next half-year, the -mortgagees would again take two hundred pounds, the widow one hundred, -and the heir two hundred pounds. This is how the practical working of -such a case is generally managed; but strictly, the widow might have -one-third of the lands set apart for her own use during her life, in -satisfaction of her right to dower. This, however, is seldom done, -although it used to be the ordinary course. - -Copyhold property is more uncertain in its incidents than freehold, -being regulated entirely by the custom of each manor of which the -property is holden. The three modes of descent mentioned above may -perhaps be considered to divide the manors in the kingdom almost -equally amongst them. There is an equal diversity in respect of -free-bench, the copyhold equivalent for dower. In a few manors, the -widow is entitled to the whole of the rents so long as she remains a -widow; in others, she has half; and in others, two-thirds; while in -the remainder, the proportion is the same as the dower payable out of -freeholds, one-third; although the duration of the allowance frequently -differs, not being usually for life, as dower, but during widowhood—in -some manors the additional obligation of chastity being imposed. The -heir, whether the eldest or the youngest son, is subjected to the same -obligations as in respect of freehold; and if the gavelkind custom -applies, each share on a further intestacy descends to the heirs of -the co-heir. In this way has been illustrated the disadvantage of -any rule of law which makes real estate divisible. We knew a small -copyhold estate consisting of a cottage and garden, which became by -successive intestacies subdivided into shares, some of which were worth -no more than two shillings per year each. Only those who have had -practical acquaintance with the management of land can appreciate the -inconvenience arising from this minute subdivision. - -We have already said that leasehold property is personal estate; and it -only remains to explain the process of distributing the personal estate -of an intestate. Assuming that the deceased was a widower who left -seven grown-up children, and who was the owner of leasehold houses, -money on mortgage, shares in various railway and other joint-stock -companies, also household furniture and other movable effects—any -one or more (not exceeding three) of the children might apply for -letters of administration of the personal estate and effects of the -deceased; two sureties being required to enter into a bond for the due -administration of the personalty. The administrator, when appointed, -would have full power to sell the houses, shares, furniture, &c., -and to call in the mortgage moneys. Out of the moneys to be produced -thereby, and any other money in the bank, in the house, or elsewhere, -and of any debts collected and got in, either by means of actions or -otherwise, the administrator would first pay the funeral expenses and -costs of administration, including sale expenses; next, all debts which -were owing by the intestate at the time of his decease; and would then -divide the clear residue among all the children of the deceased in -equal shares. If any child had died leaving lawful issue, the share -which he would have taken if living would be divided equally amongst -his issue. In either case, no distinction would be made in respect of -age or sex. The eldest son would take the share which fell to him, -within the rule of distributions, whether he had inherited any real -estate from his father or not. If the intestate left a widow, she would -be entitled to letters of administration, and to retain one-third of -the residue for her own benefit before the division of the remainder -amongst the children, &c. - -Formerly, the shares of personal estate which passed to children of the -deceased were chargeable with legacy-duty at the rate of one per cent.; -but this does not apply to intestacies in respect of which letters of -administration have been granted on or since the 1st of June 1881, -and on which an increased rate of probate duty has been paid. This, -however, does not affect the succession duty in respect of real estate, -which is still payable. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] It should be understood that this series of articles deals mainly -with English as apart from Scotch law. - - - - -THE MOTHER’S VIGIL. - -BY HUGH CONWAY. - - - A wakeful night with stealthy tread - O’er weary day had crept, - As near her dying infant’s bed - A mother watched and wept. - She saw the dews of death o’erspread - That brow so white and fair, - And bowing down her aching head, - She breathed a fervent prayer: - - ‘O Thou,’ she cried, ‘a mother’s love - Hast known—a mother’s grief— - Bend down from starry heights above, - And send my heart relief. - Sweet lips that smiled are drawn in pain, - Yet rest his life may keep, - And give him to my arms again: - Oh, let my baby sleep!’ - - When sickly dawn a gleam had cast - Of light on night’s black pall, - Through gates of heaven in mercy past - An answer to her call. - On sombre wings, through gloomy skies, - Death’s angel darkly swept— - He softly kissed those troubled eyes, - And lo! the infant slept. - - * * * * * - -Printed and Published by W. & R. 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