yes yes it is she said he


oh i the wietched womanshe is lost


the flowergirl the flowergirl murmured those in the galleries whose curiosity was now powerfully excited


it is the flowergirl


i demand beforo c cry thing else shouted simon the deposition of the woman tison


pre sident you have ordered her to depose and you see she does not


the woman tison was called and built up a ter rible denunciation founded on circumstantial evidence according to her the flowergirl was guilty and maurice and lorin were her accom plices


this denunciation produced an indescribable effect upoa the audience


simon now triumphed


gensdarmes bring forward t e flowergirl


ordered the president


oh this is frightful murmured morand hiding his head between his hands


the flowergiil was called and placed below the tribune a sort of rostrum or pulpit for speakers and face to face to the woman tison whose evi dence rendered the crime of the accused capital


she raised her veil


heloise i screamed the woman tison my daughter


you here


yes mother answered the young woman softly


and why are you placed between two gens darmes


because mother am accused


you accused exclaimed the woman tison with agony and by whom


by you mother


a fiightful silence like that of death calmed at once the exci ed mass and the painful sentiment which this horrible scene excited oppressed every heart


her daughter i was muttered in low distant voices


her daughter


unfortunate woman muuiice and lorin regarded the accuser and ac cused with feelings of profound commiseration and grief whilst the brutal simon anxious to witness the termination of a scene in which he hoped maurice and lorin would be compromised en deavoured to escape the looks of the woman tison who gazed around her with a wild and wanderingeye


what is your name citizen asked the pre sident much moved at the calmness and resigna tion of the flowergirl


heloise tison citizen


how old are you


nineteen


where do you live


in the street nonandires no did you sell to the citizen municipal lindey who is here at the bara bouquet of carnations this morning heloise turned towards maurice and after having looked at him yes citizen it was me said she


the mother looked upon her with eyes dilated to the utmost with terror


are you aware that each of those carnations contained a note addressed to widow capet i do know it


a movement of horror and admiration spread itself over the hall


why did you fter tho carnations to citizen lindey because i perceived his municipal scarf and i imagined he nas going to the temple


who are your accomplices i have none


what you conspired alone


if it is a conspiracy i alone formed it


but did the citizen maurice know that the flowers contained the notes


inter rupted the girl


yes said the president


the citizen maurice answered heloise is


a municipal


he could converse with the queen any hour of the day or night


if the citizen had desired to say anything to the queen he had no orcasion to write


he could speak to her


and did you not know citizen maurice


i have seen him come to the temple when i was there with my poor mother but i only knew him from sight


do you see wretch exclaimed lorin menacing simon with his fist who held his head down com pletely annihilated by the change of affairs and who endeavoured to slink away do you see what you have done


every look was turned upon simon with an ex pression of profound indignation


the president continued since you remitted the bouquet and were aware each flower contained a note you ought to know what the notes contained


undoubtedly i do


well then tell us what was written in it


citizen said the young girl firmly i have stated all that i can or will


you refuse to answer


yes


you know what you expose yourself to


yes v x


you trustperhaps toyurybutltdbeauty


i only trust in god


citizen maurice liddey and hyacinth lorin you are free


the commune recognises your in nocence and renders justice to your patriotism


gensdarmes conduct the citizen heloise t to the prison of the section


at these words the mother seemed suddenly to awake she uttered a frightful cry and threw her self forward to embrace her daughter but the gensdarmes prevented her


i pardon you mother calmly exclaimed the young woman as they dragged her onwards


the mother uttered a savage howl and fell as if dead


noble girl muttered morand with a most heartfelt emotion


to be continued


chapter vi


group after group glide on with noiseless tread and round the accustomed spot with pleasure i meet where holy thoughs in infant hearts are bred a nd holy words their ruby lips repeat oft with a chastened glance in modulation sweet


mks


sigodbnkt


rouse to some work of high and holy lore and thou an angels happiness shalt know


carlos wixcox


and now i draw the curtain and reveal the last scene of my life drama which my pen shall record


years have passed since annie died


the afternoon wanes a bright summers afternoon rather hot and heavy masses of clouds begin to rise above the horison and tell of an approaching storm and i bid several little girls who are occupied with work or books to lay aside their tasks and hasten home before the storm comes


the alacrity with which i am obeyed rather provokes a smile than a reproof though i am their schoolmistress


shall we leave off miss varden inquired another


no lucy you have but a few steps to take to reach home


annie this long stitch must be unpicked and again the teacher and her scholars resume their previous occupations till the hour for dismissing the latter


and now i am alone i draw my desk to the window spread my paper on it and begin to write to look back to the evening when doctor willoughby left me in the dark unlighted street and disappeared down a lane


my return awoke his wife and i handed her the letter it was the effusion of sorrow and penitence hope spoke j feebly and despair clutched his heart strings where he went what to do


he knew not


subsequent information


enables me to pursue his courseone perhaps exclusively australian


he saw an advertisement in a paper from a person who having disagreed with the medical man of the locality resolved to bring in a rival


dr willoughby replied to him


something of his former fame he had heard and at once invited him to his home


it was a long journey and of necessity performed on foot and in the faded attire of shabby gentility but these drawbacks his patron overlooked exerted his influence in his behalf and secured him a few patients


his great abilities once again exerted won him more


those best acquainted with the world knew that he had in some way stained his character or he would not have appeared there a stranger among strangers and in poverty but he was a gentleman and clever


they employed him but did not for some time invite him to their tables


happily his reformation was sincere his fatal error was not soon forgotten and after a while he could send for his wife and child


she would not let me part from her so once again we left her mothers home together


the golden smiles of fortune were yet hidden from dr willoughby he could support his family but that was all


however welcome i was too independent to be a burden


i found myself in a small township in the interior amongst a scattered population and the means of self support appeared limitedmy needle was insufficient another resource must be found


thank god everywhere there are children


some one exclaims


to me they were little messengers of good


i rented a room once used as a store and received girls and boys il that were sent mesome had nearly reached womanhood others were mere infants


they were not without toil and pains those days of tuition yet i never regretted my choice


i could be of use many tender little minds were placed under my influence to mould and earnestly i strove to imprint the virgin page with holy impressions and when the noisy young crew ran gleesome and wild down the green we called a street i locked the schoolroom door and turned to the doctors cottage sure of a smile from his wife sure of a word of praise for the improvement my little scholar willie was making


yery different truly was the position doctor willoughby held to what he once did


the past may not return but he persevered in a course of strict temperance no persuasion could move his resolve and numbly before god he strove to do his duty and the blessing of heaven rested on him


very different also was mrs willoughby


like her husband she appeared many years older than she was and threads of silver mingled with the once glossy hair and sorrows had sharpened her features but there was much quiet solid happiness ic that household that happiness whiei springs up by the firesidethe home feeling so inexpressibly dear and which never to lifes remotest perioc is forgotten


the home where goc was feared where parents livec righteouslysoberly and godlyis lik the ark when the flood of temptatioi and sin rises in after days


througl the district doctor willoughby was much respected and if some laughed and others wondered at his stria adherence to total abstinence iron intoxicating liquors all could bu respect his course of hfe


t this time a national school master was appointed to the township and othellos occupation was gone


but now arose unexpected friends and the more congenial class of pupils the little girls of the clergymans and doctors families and a daughter of one of our magistrates who resided near wjere confided to my carethese are the children to whom i alluded at the commencement of this chapter


mrs dean has continued my firm friend


i have never seen her since but we have corresponded


my uncle had died some years before in a fit produced by intemperate habits and poor princes naturally weak intellect had completely failed he had attempted to take his own life on several occa sions and fearful of the lesult angas had had him confined in the lunatic asylum where the medical verdict had been pronounced upon him as incur able he was in fact an idiot


i went to see him once but was unrecognised and he continued to hum a few tuneless notes and rock himself


h


and will not time strengthen his mind


no returned the medical man in reply to my interrogatory


no unfortunately the young man was by nature disposed to imbecility and a course of intemperance has fostered it he might otherwise have lived and died sane and respected


now his aberration i consider final


i i shuddered and looked at the unconscious object of our remarks


he makes himself pretty comfort able one of the officials observed


yes the indifference of utter vacancy


do you wish to remain longer miss no thank you i have seen enough


enough indeed to make me abhor the course of the drunkard even if prince varden were the only victim from such a scene i returned to my school with renewed satisfaction to view my trials as trivialthe possession of reason as a rich bless ing cotfcxusion


tales and sketches


miss biddy whelans business


chapter xiii


grace riall was committed by her father to the care of mrs boylan whose afflictions rendered it easy to recon cile her circumstances which at a former period would have encountered her warmest and bitterest opposition


during the month that had yet elapsed before the assizes she had many times occasion to be thankful for being afforded so watchful and patient a companion


the devo tion evinced by grace for the object of their mutual anxiety would of itself have propitiated his aunt but when combined with the most perfect absence of selfish ness with a temper now proof against all trials and sha dowed by a dejection and forlornness of heart inexpres sibly touching in one so young and beautiful mrs boylan felt doubly the blow that was about to separate her from this interesting girl whom she almost felt to be a second tie of existence under the sanction of his aunts presence grace every day passed some hours in the prison with her lover hours the meiaicholy sweetness of which those alone can estimate who have watched and soothed like that sweet saint weo sat by russells side the captives of the cell or the couch through those dread ful moments whose resistless flight they would vainly strive avith fond and lingering clasp to retard


the assizes at length arrived


the bills were returned by the grand jury and boylans name stood foremost on the list for trial


the case was one that excited unusual interest as the governmeut it was said was determined if possible to procure a conviction in order from the sta tion in life of the accused from his being of the estab lished faith and heir to a considerable property to afford by his punishment a salutary example and a striking proof of the imperial application of the law


on the morn ing of the trial francis had a last interview with his lawyers


they gave him nothing upon which to found new hope neither did they altogether dishearten him by anticipations of defeat


they prepared to meet the case like able men depressed but not dismayed


some flaw might be detected the prosecrutrix might prevaricate they might beat down her testimony by the searching energy and subtleness of their crossexamination and if all failed why there was still a vast something to hold to in the different shades of impression the evidence might produce on the minds of the jury


let but even a doubt arise and his deliverance might be achieved


whilst the trumpets sounded before the judges on their way to court francis under a strong guard was brought from the jail to the courthouse and placed in security until his time came


his poor aunt and grace had procured seats where they could conveniently watch the issue of a trial upon which their all of human happi ness depended and were assisted to them at once by the kindness of a few friends who gathered round them for


the court was crowded to suffocation


a few cases of minor importance having been disposed of francis boy flan was placed at the bar and arraigned in the customary forms for having on the night of the th april last past aided and assisted in the forcible abduction here fol lowed a number of ingenious definitions of the crime in which the legal precision rather than the politeness of the terms was evidently consulted of a certain person to wit one bridget whelan spinster c c c to the


great disturbance of the peace of our sovereign lord the king his crown and dignity


the prisoner who though much altered from confinement wore that look of con scious fearlessness which guilt never yet assumed stood forward andin a firm voice pleaded not guilty


the leading counsel for the crown then stood up and in a speech of great length and ability stated the case j prefacing it by a rapid and retrospective sketch of the progress of outrage and insubordination in the south in general and of the heinous offence before them in par ticular


he then dwelt forcibly upon the aggravated cir cumstances under which the prosecutrix was carried off stigmatized fiercely the lawless character and profligate pursuits of the brothers who had so luckily for them selves escaped tlie award of their crimes and in con clusion called upon the jury as testimny that no rational mind for a moment could resist would be produced to them to assert the injured majesty of the law by punish ing its violation in the person of one of the principal actors in the deed of villany the prisoner at the bar


the counsel for the examination then rose and pro ceeded to call his witnesses


the first two were the ser vants of miss whelan nell magner and kautheen walsh from those respectable individuals however no thing but a very vague and indistinct relation of occur rences could be obtained as each in succession by an extraordinary coincidence laboured under so strong an impression of their fears upon the night in question and so profound an awe of the tribunal in whose presence they now stood that after persevering half an hour apiece in mistaking mr bennett for the judge and in addressing that exhalted personage himself as maam and sir alternately they were suffered to go down without cross examination having failed to impress the jury with any thing but the very confused notions which country servantmaids entertain upon the subject of legal dig nities


the next witness called was bridget whelan herself


an eager movement now took place as the officers shuffled back the crowd and attended the witness to the box into which she had to be assisted for she walked with the feeble step of an invalid


having been accommodated with a seat she was desired to raise the large veil which with a deep bonnet enveloped her face


she complied and a general start ran through the court for it seemed as though one from the dead in all the ghastliness of per ishing mortality not a living breathing being set before them


tier attenuated frame appeared still more skele tonlike from its height and the sunken jaw and hollow eye of death lent an additional horror to hpr nppcnrancc which to the few hearts there present that fully knew her turpitude told a dreadful tale of the struggles by which revenge was victorious over conscience


having been duly sworn she proceeded


to give her evidence circumstantially with little hesitation and paus ing only as if to acquire breath but in so low a tone as frequently to call forth an expression of impatience from the bench to which her voice appeared to reach with dif ficulty


this may have flurried her for as she pro ceeded she became greatly disturbed in mien


as our readers are already in possession of the circumstances upon which her evidence was grounded we will not tire them by its detail


having been desired to look round the court and identify the person whom she had just included in the list of her assailants she complied and pointed to the prisoner


as she again dropped her eyes they encountered the grim swarthy face of her servant shawn sourk regarding her with looks of intense anxiety the whole nightscene of the parlour at douglas was at once before her and for some time she was unable to reply to the questions of her counsel who however succeeded in completing his chain of evidence and then sat down


the prisoners counsel next rose and for more than an hour bridget whelan was subjected to his crossexamina tion


he was a man of consummate judgment possessed of a thorough acquaintance of the working of the human heart


he was powerfully interested in the fate of his client and he saw in all its darkest colours the terrible passion that prompted the proceedings of the witness before him


as he continued he found that though she adhered with the tenacity of madness to her evidence there was an undercurrent of thought now going on that deprived her replies of the coherence they had hitherto preserved


once or twice she glanced hurriedly round the court but seemed to miss the face she sought for


the lawyer pushed on he had been pressing her as to her motives for appearing there that day he had appealed hitherto to her earthly feelings he now adjured her by her eternal hopes to remember that on her hps that moment hung not only a human existence but the weal or woe of her own soul for ever


even now he con tinued to judge from your state of health you cannot count upon a long career


here the opposite counsel interfered and claimed for the witness the courts protection


remember pursued her interrogator eagerly elud ing the interruption remember you have sworn to speak nothing here but the truth


there and he pointed upwards the truth is already recorded against you


woman


be said in a voice that shook the very judgmentseat my clients life hangs upon your very breath remember your awful your tremendous oath overpowered by conflicting passions her animal cou rage failing while her passions persisted the guilty woman essayed to speak but sank back in her chair from sheer exhaustion and while the court awaited in silence until she rallied the stillness was broken by a voice shouting back with a curse of impatient frenzy dlaar fadhieu remember your oath


bridget whelan started up but strength and reason both deserted her and in that moment of intense excite ment she felt the grasp of death was on her


i remember my oath


i swore i swore she shrieked that before the year was out one or other of us should go and now now after all it is not he


and she sank in convulsions on the earth


it was in vain that the counsel for the prosecution per severed after she was borne from the court


there was in every heart a conscious terror that could not be sup pressed or mistaken


after a brief charge from the bench the jury without leaving the box returned a verdict of not guilty


bridget whelan did not recover


her frame sank utterly outworn from mental suffering and a few days saw her consigned to the grave the victim of her own evil overpowering passions


it was a bland and jocund evening in the month of pleasant august when the population of condons and clongibbons turned out to welcome back francis boylan and his bride


grace looked blyther aud happier than ever and amongst the foremost to welcome her was dick desmond conspicuous upon sweetlips an animal it would be ungenerous in us not to state considering the bad ser


vice


it had done some of the family that dick bestrode less from choice than necessity having found it impos sible up to that time to dispose of it to a purchaser


the two elder desmonds never returned to the country


it was supposed that they had gone abroad and having joined the army had perished in the wars


at the death of his mistress shawn sourk was thrown upon his own resources which were sufficiently inventive to procure him very shortly after transmission for life to one of the penal settlements


the family of the boylans continue to flourish pros perously in their native barony where miss biddy whe lans business is not yet forgotten


a new series


the mysteries of sydney or the revelations of sin shame and sorrow


chapter xxiii the cowardice of guilt


the gipsy reads the scroll of the future


kitely rushed from the scene of blood with wild and uncertain steps


there was a fearful commotion in his brain which surged up and down like a restless ocean


the words of the gipsy rang a death knell in his ears and through the gloom a shadowy mysterious form rose before him


on he hurried hither and thither but the spectre followed close and the bell boomed louder and more sullenly


he threw himself on the ground cold and slimy fingers wound about his neck closing and clasping like the hangmans grasp


on and on again he sped like the stag from the hunter but the arrow of dread had pierced him and the leprosy of the soul was corroding and cankering within


flight


how vain was flight to one who bore the curse within him


the cold grey streaks of approaching day spread themselves over the sombreness of night and as they increased in brightness seemed to indicate that the apparently impenetrable ob scurity which hung over the city was about to be dissolved


it was then that kitely found him self standing on a portion of that rocky barrier which curbs the waters of wooloomooloo bay


the wave beneath calm and placid breathed security and repose and the tempter whispered one plunge and all is over


kitely listened for he was essentially a coward


there are violators of the law who despite the misdirection of their energies evince a bold and generous nature who when they war against society seem to feel only the excitement of jeopardising liberty and life


for them mankind while it condemns entertains a species of sympathy and a readiness to extenuate their guilt


kitely was not of this class he was equally dishonest but he pursued the more despic able course which by creeping through the fence of the law seeks to avoid the penalties ready to meet those who daringly overleap it


he was sensual unprincipled and timid but crafty and evasive undiscovered he was haughty and despotic brought to bay abject and cowardly


in a moment of passion he attempted a foul murder and nought was before him but the black and frowning gallows the myriad eyes of scorn turned up towards him and the hootings and execrations of the multitude unsoftened by one kindly voice


hard staring glassy eyes harsh stern grating voices


the wave beneath calm and placid breathed security and repose and the tempter whisperedone plunge and all is over


again and again he gazed from the rocky height upon the waters below and the desire so to meet death became stronger and stronger


thronging shapes which his disordered imagi nation conjured up pointed to the fatal tree and fiends hissed in his shrinking ears guilty death


and once more he saw the black cap of the judge and heard the sentence that you be hanged by the neck until you are deadand may the lord have mercy on your immortal soul


soul


immortality


startling sounds


had he a soul


was there an after life an eternity of torment


was there a providence which had imperceptibly dogged his heels and at last surprised and clutched him even through his own headlong acts


he was bewildered con fused he gazed on the wave below calm and placid and staggered to the edge of the rock


a strong arm drew him back a deep well known voice sounded in his ear his scattered senses returned and perception stole over him


he looked up and saw the gipsy beside him


thank god you are alive


were the words he gasped forth as he sunk down and clasped the knees of the form which towered above him


unutterable scorn was depicted on the gipsys countenance


cruel hand coward heart


it is always thus


profane not that sacred name hawk kitely nor make a show of hypocrisy to me


did the heavy earth press on my lifeless clay or the wave roll over it neither tear nor lament would come from you


selfish and bad were you bornso will you perish


why stretch forth a hand to stay me said kitely moodily


was it only to upbraid or lead me to a more bitter end


callous man remember the vow made to thy dying mother whose viewless spirit hovers round even now sighing a requiem for departed hopes


i hear her voice calling upon me to save


bene factressmore than mother cried the gipsy in the wildest tones of anguish as she addressed the phantom her diseased brain had conjured up my aims are fruitless my mission is ended he must die the death


the gipsy buried her face in her hands and but for the heavings of her bosom might have been deemed a statue


as the fears of kitely vanished his evil passions returned he became again the cold calculating villain all within him was withered and polluted


he looked upon the gipsy as a lunatic or perhaps as one leagued with enemies to destroy him


his plan was matured in a moment it was necessary to ascertain from whom the knowledge of his actions was derived and the extent of her power to injure him


deception was his natural gar ment he therefore found little difficulty in as suming it


a feigned contrition for my faults and promises of amendment thought the wily man will touch her if a friend and will be harmless if she be otherwise


fair words are the most likely to win her confidence


he ap proached the gipsy who raised her head and fixed her dark and searching eyes upon him


mysterious woman i do not know how you have acquired this strange influence over me it controls me like a spell and were these the days of necromancy i could almost believe you were gifted with more than mortal power


i feel that you can mould me into any form you wish said kitely with well feigned humility


would i could replied the gipsy with marked earnestness would i could find the dream of my life a waking reality but alas my power is only that of a weak woman one of a wandering race which mankind considers out casts and hunts from out its pale with the tooth of the hound and terrors of bridewell


yet prouder am i to belong to those of the free air and wandering foot than to be classed with the dwellers in stately mansions who pervert the gifts of god and use their riches only as pan derers to their passions


they glory in oppres sionwe swear eternal enmity to it


they wage war against the weak we against the strong


benefits are erased from their hearts as the foot prints on the shore by the returning tide on ours they are engraven for ever


all all of mankind have erred but when the last dread accompt is taken the swarthy gipsy may weigh as heavily in the balance as pampered pride and the hawk kitelys of the world


the gipsys dark eye flashed like a star gleam and the py thoness on her tripod was not more dignified and impressive


can this woman be an impostor


is this the mere trickery of her people thought kitely involuntarily subdued by the energy of her manner


seek not to read me man of crime but con sider own misdeeds the hour cometh stealthily and steadily the meshes are weaving strongly and silentlythy fate is open before me


list to the song of our tribe in toils of the hunters the tiger is gnashing his sharp teeth with fury his eyeballs are flashing in vain


and yet there is time to evade it but he will not heed it


fool


listen the eye of the serpent looks on the bird singing


the sang is hushed sadly


the birds rapid winging ls oer


the moth in its folly around the flame playing comes nearer and nearer the end of its straying is death


and so with thee kitely proud in thy own self sufficiency confident in your cunning you will play round the blaze till it scorch you you will wait to encounter the fascination of the snake and blindly rush into the toils


nay gipsy the very cunning you name would displace obstinacy


you seem to be my friend despite the deadly wrong i would have in flicted in the heat of passion speak not of that interrupted the gipsy your fell intent was harmless upon one whose destiny has been drawn by a weird woman from the stars


i am not doomed to fall by your hand a weary pilgrimage is before me your mothers grave will again be watered by my tears


be it so said kitely affecting a mournful tone but tell me who are these enemies these plotters of my destruction


all in whom goodness is more than a name replied the gipsy calmly


tuttutthat is too indefinite the whole world might be against me in this immaculate age remarked kitely in a sarcastic tone


or ought to be hawk kitely


but cease your sneers let me look upon your hand


the gipsy gazed intently upon the open palm and traced certain mysterious lines upon it


as i thought murmured she too latetoo late


why stand muttering there when time is so precious if you know these foes name them said kitely imperiously


i cannot but i see them


an old grey haired father mourning a dead dishonored daughter he is there kneeling by a madhouse where his child perished heaping curses upon you


kitelys face was blanched and a sudden tremor spread over his frame


do you recog


nise such a man enquired the gipsy


i


no


how the devil should i replied kitely endeavoring to hide his trepidation under the assumption of a reckless bearing


i am unable to aid you


let me look fur ther a sleuth hound of the law who tracked your footsteps whilst you dreamt that vigilance was charmed to sleep


from highways into by ways from the highest mansion to the lowest den of infamy his eye has been upon you patient piercing searching


he has never been de ceived but has read your trebly steelclasped book like an open volume


can this be mawler muttered kitely i misdoubt him yet even so the extent of his knowledge must be limited


psha


if he be all i have to fear it is nothing


but the old man the old mana sudden light seemed to burst upon kitely and he exclaimed aloud he in deed


then there were mischief and misery


stillit isit must beimpossible


what is impossible said the gipsy


nothing replied kitely


truly spoken


a glimpse of wisdom is beaming on you profit by it


shall i pro ceed


oh yesmake a clean breast of it fur nish the sum total of your prophetic mysteries and close the account replied kitely scorn fully


the gipsy heeded it not but proceeded earnestly with her task


here are strange lines crossing and recross ing each other they meet in one point and again they separate crime witnesses against crime the fettered felon against the yet un shackled one a deadly foe with all the power to harm kitely beware of him


himhimwhom woman


he has faded from sight and all is mistiness


seek for his name among the records of thy guilt


alas


it would be a long and dreary search


have you finished said kitely the morning air is cold and chills ones limbs


forbear thy impatience one moment and i have done


a boy son of that anguished father brother of that ruined sister who has long worn the mask of ignorance to conceal a strong and determined heart will prove a dangerous enemy


a boy exclaimed kitely with a laugh that is a capital idea the mother and an in fant would complete the family circle of ani mosity


ha cried the gipsy with inexpressible vehemence what is here


the red light of saturn the boys hand is stained with blood your blood hawk kitely the boy will be his sisters avenger


i hear the death scream of the strong man in his agonies and his unholy curses


i see the convulsive efforts to risethe distorted featuresthe stark and stiffened limbs


retri bution


my weird will soon be fulfilled


hawk kitely make your peace with heaven


the gipsy flung kitelys hand from her and before he could recover from his amazement she sprung from the rock and was lost amidst the dense thickets of the bush


and again these sounds were borne on the moaning breeze seducer forger felonlost lostlost


the mysteries of sydney not by the author of the mysteries of paris or the mysteries of london but by one of ourselves


chapter viii


the spider and the fly


it seems strange but calm reflection teaches how true it is that in crowded cities where men are gathered together by thousands there is more of loneliness and mystery than in the bush where dwellings are sparingly sprinkled beside each other and where the scanty population is in fact much divided


in the rural districts however the history of men is as well known as if they belonged to the same family and their doings are made the subject of daily gossip


this ge neral supervision although it is not admissible in etiquette conduces to proserve a jealousy and circumspection of behaviour in the country po


pulation that in some respects is favorable to propriety of conduct


in the cities however the facilities for such a supervision seem totally to prevent it


pent close in their cityhomes and busied with the concerns of indoor active labour men have few opportunities of meeting each other and neigh bours have scarcely facilities for extending their acquaintance beyond their immediate dwellings


till of late few of the mysteries of city life were ever revealed save when a poor culprit was dragged from his obscurity to suffer for some hor rid deed


then society would catch a gleam of the dark world of crime that had lived and moved and had its being down below the world of common life


the veil is now beginning to be lifted and the dark records of sorrow suffer ing and crime are being laid bare painfully gathered as it were before the eyes of the world not to chide it but to warn it of its duty


to aid in exposing such things is a thankless task for each man thinks that it is his own particular vice for which he always finds some ready ex cuse that is recorded and this of itself is suffi cient to stir up his ire against the friendly hand which traces the warning


mankind like the adder in the fable stings its benefactors


but to our tale


it was about ten oclock


tho scene mendozas


this was ono of thoso places in sydney whero hops ns they nro termed hy tho vulgar talco place and load to tho congregating of men upon town upcountry gents government clerks shopmen nnd beard less boys who find for partners indies of easy virtuo alono for of course fomalos of respecta bility would scarcely trust themselves in localities whore to ho scon would incur tho risk of total loss of reputation


it wns also n pnblio houso


at tho bar lounged flvo or six cabmen whoso vehicles which wore standing outsido had just emptied themsolvos nf their looso nnd frngilo freight


tho convocation of tho mon was rudo and noisy n mixturo of bcastinlity and flash tho common languago of beings so reckless nnd de praved


somo of thom wero tho favored com lamons or fancy mon of tho dashing looking adios who wero engaged in tho danoo above and not only chared their favors but also tho spoil which their charms extracted from tho enamoured nnd intoxicated victims of dissoluto desires nnd hooting pleasures bearing pain upon their wings


behind tho bar was a parlour whoro thoso who cared not for tho danco met to drink smoko and havo their jollifications


in this jacob shnrkoy tho hawk of tho town who had occasionally assisted vernon with monoy to pursuo his mad career was quietly sip inhaling tho frngranco of a cigar nnd oc casionally sending forth tho smoko in thin spiral columns


who can say what sohomos floatod through his wily brain or what webs ho was weaving to iromosh his victim that silly fly who wns rccklotsly casting away fair pros pects of homo fortuno rind domostio happiness for tho libertina enjoyments of tho hour


iios lato muttered shnrkoy to himself


surely a repentant flt has not como ovor him


ko that is nlmost impossiblo ho is too deeply in to retract hts steps now hil character ls half blown upon nnd his funds aro exhausted but ho is woll connected an only son with n rich and sickly siro must not slip through our hands


tho idiot shall havo monoy rnisod for him and bills bonds postobits will hold him tight enough in nil conscience


and boro tho tempter laughed so loudly and sardonically ns oren to startle hlmsolf


at this momont ver non entered


ills countonanco wai unusually pale and his largo dark eyes wore somewhat bloodshot ho was evidently on tho vcrgo of ine briation and in a fitting wood for tho designs of the tempter


oflahcrty not hero said vernon


no


ho has loft yon to your fate but i am more philanthropic and will assist you


you


sharkey ho exclaimed in a hoarse thick voice what precious propositions havo you now in storo to raise my fallen fortunes am i to hurry on tho highway and cry stand and deliver or do your recommendations lead to somo darker crime hey man let us havo them boldly out at once for i confess that i am in a tolerably desperate mood to hear them


pooh


vernon this is acting childishly


thero are plenty of means within tho palo of tho law without resorting to thoso voit mention


sit down and let us look into your position reason ably


your purso is crippled


you aro right my truehearted friend it might ho blown away ns easily ns a feather nnd such cursed advice as yours has tended to pro duce this pleasing consummation said vernon bitterly


presuming this to ho truo it is useless to indulgo in vain regrets but suppose my suscep tibility has been awakened by a consideration of your interests


i my interests


mino


i yours replied sharkey in his usual calm preciso methodical busmossliko tono


such a feeling is not beyond possibility


ver


non nay


to como to tho point it docs exist


miss uevcrlys fortuno is liko your own at pre sont a marriage with her is entirely out of tho questionthis match must therefore bb broken otf at once


what after i havo won her heart am affi anced to her


and our marriage day is fixed yesafter all these things you must think no moro of her unless indeed you wish to ex j podenco tho honeyed sweets of starving children and tho hitter reproaches of a heartbroken wife llelicve me love in a cottage quickly gets notice to quit when thc bailiff enters


if you must become a benedict wed a fortune man the comforts bought by mammon aro worth nil tho fleeting joys which venus offers


there aro plenty of rich widows who would throw them


selves into tho arms of a dashing young gallant like you


nay i would not stoop to flatter you


there aro two indies of maturo years in this city who aro raro specs for such a man ns yourself


ono of them is sure to hit enly give your nssont to strike boldly and tho thing shall bo put in train tomorrow


vernon loved impetuously and earnestly it was not tho mero impulso of the moment which hound him to miss beverly they had boon brought np together


ho had watched the spring like graces of the girl maturo into tho ripeness of womanhood mid had experienced tho un varying kindness of a disposition which sur passed even tho loveliness of her person


tho thought of that being pining under tho influence of neglect and cruel decoption roused up all tho natural goodness of his bosom


no no shar key ho cried rapidly and passionately this cannot bo


i may ho tho victim hut ho


shall never bo immolated on the shrine of mammon


givo mo some other pathway to pursuo or here lot our converse end


bininu must ho minc though


god kelp her poor girl i fear roo


it will bo but a sorry bridal


i must congratlalo you on your exquisito constancy and determination to tread the road to ruin youll


and it an excellent comedy to play tho chief part in


however n wilful man must havo his way


so then tho moneylenders must bo our inst resource il is nn expensivo game moro certain than tho dicebox for you aro suro to lose


if jour determination remains unaltered tomorrow ill hand you over to their tender meroics hut recollect if yon arc dissa tisfied with their proceedings dont blame mo lint i am weary of this unprofitable conference lets have somo brandy and then to tho dance


brandybrandynye nny thing that will exhilarate or bring forgetfulness for my mind is in a whirl and oxperionco all the tortures of tho damned said vernon passionately


tho alcohol was furnished to them


vernon indulged in copious draughts but his more wary companion confined himself to sipping small portions from his glass


they then proceeded up stairs to tho ballroom an apartment of a tolcrabto size and lighted hy candles stuck nbout tho room in all sorts of nooks and corners


doughs and shrubs that had once been green hut whoso leaves wero now withered hung round about the walls affording a tolerable shel ter for flies and mosquitoes tn ono corner sat tho orchestra a violin a cracked clarionet and a grumbling base which wero sending forth in rather unmusical tones a very hackuicd polka


about eight or ten couples wero stepping cut briskly to tho vigorous accompaniment tho ladies dressed in thc extreme of tho fashion and the gentleman for tho most part clad in tweeds


dy way of mutual ornament nnd to show tho happy stito of feeling between tho partners tho males wero decorated in bonnets with flowers and streamers whilo tho fair cyprians placed their corkscrew ringlets under tho shado of cabbagetreo hats


all wero in tho highest glee nnd utterly careless of tho morrow


poor beings moths fluttering round the candi of per dition yo aro much to ho pitied hut nias


how fow aro thero to utter tho voice of sympathy in your ears or stretch ont a friendly hand to savo you tho dnnco concluded ns vernon nnd shar key entered


on seeing tho former two of tho females rushed up and insisted upon claim ing his hand for tho next quadrille tho ono was tall with an extremely pleasing counte nance and dark hair tho other obeso and short with a faco which was rather too red to come under tho exact term of delicate nonsense maria said tho dark ono pet tishly vernon belongs to mo and ho must and shall bo my partner


quito different


jnnoif you please


miss


ive just ns good n right to his company ns you hnto returned tho othor lady very deter minedly


well dont get your monkey up mom im not n child i cnn toll you to bo humbugged by you or any other fcmnlo


its not tho first timo youvo interfered with my friends hut ill put a stop to it or ill know tho rcainn why


ladies interposed vernon dont quar rel nbout mo im not in a humour to danoo this evening and pooh


vcrno gammon said marin i know you too well


im suro youll mako ono for tho set nnd ns my friend insist upon it


como along now pct do wont


it como along with its own kia v not at all


marla exclaimed tho other femalo furiously nt tho samo timo tucking up her sloovcs and putting her hair bnek tho ovi dont forerunners of a pugilistic encounter if you do carry your perverso designs you must tako it out of mo first


fight it out ladies lisped a young nautical nbout four toen who belonged to somo of tho merchant craft lying in tho harbour nnd whoso gilt button nnd gold band bctokoned him to bo an npprcntlco aping tho legitimate middy of ono of um ships fight it out ladies and ill hold your bonnets


boforo vornon could interpolo tho fair com batants wont nt lt pollmoll


drosses woro torn to ribbons combs smashed to atoms nnd hair strowod about tho floor hy handfuls


they fought


uko infuriated tlgroisos


screaming clawing biting toarlng and rolling over and over tho floor in their mid and furious oxcito mont


tho row brought np mendoza who being usod to such scones knew tho best way of putting an end to thom


ile placed his ann round tho waist of maria and hurried her down stairs loaring the other belligerent to curso and swear in a most ad libitum manner


hut sho wns not to bo foiled in tier vengeance she mado a dash at tho door and darted down stairs into thc little hack parlour whero maria was smooth ing lier ruffled feathers


without giving her the slightest warning sho emptied thu contents of a glass of hot grog into her face and tho row recommenced with redoubled violence glasses tables and chairs went to work with incrodiblo activity and it was not till the cab men wero called in that a finish was mado to thc fray


they clasped the ladies in their arms took them out of tho house and placing them in scparato cabs drove them to their separato domiciles in castlcrenghstrect leaving mendoza to lament over damaged property which long oxperienco taught him ho was not yery likely to bo rccompcncedfor


tomorrow said sharkey as ho left vernon


tomorrowyes tomorrow echoed ho and what will that morrow bring


as ho turned from tho tempter with irresoluto step and disordered brain dark images of suicido floated around him


wero these prophetic of his future doom or wero they sent by provi dence ns a warning cry to check his mad and headlong career time tho uuravellcr the only truo wizard will tell all


it was two oclock when ho rung tho hell obtained admission to tho itoyal and sought his feverish couch to spcculato on tho circle of miseries around him and count tho weary hours till daybreak


let us glanco over tho hours


two oclock i streetrioters aro now pretty well dispersed como snug flcabittcri and mosquito stung in their narrow domiciles moro and still iuscotly annoyed in tho watchhouso cells


tho sido doors of tho nightliousos arc only open to well known customers and thc corner street piemen ceaso their calls


tho pickpockets linked with other refuso of tho pestilence of the town aro ricen sauntering lazily towards their lurking places in lanes and alleys while burglars and tobymen begin to ply their trades in byways and suburbs


and when thoso last stragglers of tho pave tho debris of tho evening may bo con sidered as cleared oftall is silent except the oc casional crash of oystershells cast from some lobstershop or tho sharp rnttlo of a late bil liard ball eclioing from upstair rooms for a few brief minutes while tho idlers of the night give plac to tho darkworking men of business


policemen aro on tho alert to hear thc whistle of inspectors which heralds the last round of tho chief superintendent


as thc night begins to wano and tho inst stars fado in the horizon and tho sun coquets with the tall spire of st jamess church or mellows up the grey tower of tho unfinished cathedral of st andrews new actors appear upon tho scene


milkmen in droves clank atong with their to bo filled pails


vogctnblo carts slowly roll through the streets markotwise


five oclock


and sydney looks as if stretch ing itsolf to awake drays and handcarts start out upon long turnst


the publichouses begin to open and thc shivering and fastdecaying spiritdrinkers hurry in to steady their nerves and add another nail to their coffins


six oclock


and prentices begin to nib their eyes and curso their indentures shopshutters aro taken down and shopwindows begin to ex hibit their manycoloured and multifarious wares steam issues from tho tho bakers and ptry cookss gracefully regaling tho olfactories of tho hungry nnd bathers hurry through the domain to tho baths or tho hays for aa invigorating plunge seven eight nine oclock rotate and nt thc last hour the sydney world is in full notionthe business of the day may now bo said to have begun which vnries from hour lo hour ns strangely as tho business of tho night and to tho curious observer presents as wide and ample a field for speculation


to be continuedj


sffitta foam a fife brama


by the authoress of gertrude chapter i continued from page


there was a place called a township although it contained not more than halfadozen houses a court house a lockupa store one or two mechanics dwellings and a public house


i needed to make some draperypurchases and angas took me to this place


as we passed the low verandah building there were horses fastened to posts one i had seen rode by prince and remarked so


yes he said with a cold bitter ness that is where he passes many of his days drinking with stockmen


i started


prince


he continued a prince of drunkardsa brave distinction


poor pitiful creature


etheline he might have been a gentleman a man of wealth but for this vice


and after all there is little superiority in those who give way to an occasional debauch or those who drink in private to those weak ungoverned wills which have no power to resist the constant recurrence of such habits


you are wrong i said quickly the one resists though occasionally overtaken by a besetting sin the other gives the rein to it and lets it rim with them where it will


those who resist i grant you are a very superior class to those who yield to this or any temptation but i did not allude to them but to such as having will to sometimes abstain or at least be moderate at others voluntarily plunge into intemperance


he abruptly ended the conversation and i was soon engaged in shopping


while so occupied two gentlemen entered and began to converse with mr varden presently i was aware that i was the subject of their conver sation and directly afterwards one approached and introduced himself as dr dean


we had heard of your coming among us miss varden and my wife was all anxiety to go over to see you but she met with an accident which prevented her


not serious i hope


no no a scald in lifting off a pot of boiling clothes or clothes in boiling water which ever it is


these things must be seen after in the bush you know but you must put ceremony aside and be our guest


mr varden tells me the gig springs are broken let me see


can you ride


no


awkward that in the country youmustlearnhowever where theres a will theres a way


your cousin can borrow whites gig and drive you over


when shall we expect you


the invitation was evidently to be accepted per force and i referred him to mr varden for the time all being alike to me


dr dean was a tall middleaged man with large grey moustache shadowing a wide mouth usually expanded by laughter


he was attired in a rough black pea jacket a cabbage tree hat with a very low crown of a greasy brown colour and rough boots laced on the instep with a strip of leather


there was some thing however about him that aroused the better or at least more genial parts ef my nature


in those days i had sought do refuge in god from the sorrows o life but was proudly and wildl crying i will bear wheneve afflictions assailed me


after this the gentlemen converse without paying any attention to me as i had returned to a careful scrutins of the goods the storekeeper placee before me


the peculiarity of th mans manner struck me and recalled a remark one of my lad visitors had made speaking of this person he has a takeit or leaveii sort of manner and however ineleganl the term it was expressive he didnol appear concerned to please his custo mers


they must purchase there oi go without and this was probably thc reason


as in silence i watched the inmates of the store i saw mr varden undei a new aspect tiiat of the eager seeker of popularity


he who was at home so reserved was now all smiles and pleasant words retaining only sufficient dignity to awaken deference but so graciously noticing all as to leave au impression on their minds of being honoured by his notice


as he handed me into the tilted cart in which we had come i heard the storekeepers wife remark to her domestic what a nice man mr varden isso unlike prince


yes without any pride


what a falsity is popular opinion frequently and things are not what they seem


how plain his cousin is was the concluding part of the sentence


hitherto i had not understood angas varden but i hud watched him so closely that had detected a narrow sml and now he stood before me pitiably little the mere pursuer of tiiat ignis fatima the worlds smile


from tins cause arose his assiduity in magisterial businessiiis devotion to local affairsthe smiles which wreathed his face from homeand the politic course he pursued


i began after awhile to trace how far the intempe rance of his father and brother had aught to do witli it and i thought i discovered at least the grounds of that misanthropical reserve which blighted his home life


the day fixed had been early and the commencement of the following week i found myself conversing with mrs dean an agreeable accomplished little woman with black eyes and a laughing moutha perfect lady in her manners although i doubted not she might often be found engaged in such homely labours as assisting her maid at the washtub


however there are some women more ladylike in long holland aprons and hands covered with pastry than others clothed iu satin in the drawing room


she was to influence materially my future fife although i did not then suspect it


there was a miss ada fitzjames making a six or eight months stay with mrs dean she was said to be an object of interest to my elder cousin angas and therefore interested me


she appeared particularly vapid and to use a trade expression the lines of her character were faint laid


her family however were influential and possessed of much wealth and landed property in various parts of the colony which gave them considerable power


i saw that her position had fascinated angas he read my suspicions in my eyes and shrank from me and from that time there was sown in his heart a deep detestation of me as one who might hinder the ambitious aims he had formed and to accomplish which his union with ada fitzjames was essential


fr


maria mildred or the irish orphan


by a sbwdent


the bush


c continued from number xxii


j henry had been at a loss to find a motive in dovf d for the contemplation of so wicked and diabolical project asthe murder of his riiecev but michaels narrative afforded him a key to the hple affpirv and entirely set wide the probability of a suggestion thrown oat in the morning by old daley that the midnight visitor might have stolen the money


on the fisherman perusing the letter he lifted up his hands and repeated when the weak even mine enemies come upon me to eat up my flesh they stumbled andiell


v


dada said a little fellow who had that moment come up without being perceived i was reading that when the good english gentleman first came into the house


they were affected to tears and the old gardener exclaimed


light in the darkness


beyond his chain he cannot go


on their return they found maria sitting in the house with mrs daley


henry flew to her side


she was pale but much com posed


the eyes of the young man e parkled with delight


as he took for one moment her hand between his own arid hie ardently uttered owie much tb this eweet family dearmaria on my own account as well as your rrr


as soon aa henry thought her sufficiently recruited he proposed a walk for the benefit of the seabreezes all thoughtit advisable


michael took the hand of the little boy daley and accbrapanied them following at a resrjebtful distancei v i


the foremost feeling of marias mind henry thought must be that she was for lorn


he hastened therefore with a tender kind of language to remove it


fie told her again and again how he loved her and said though he had returned from the con tinent he was no less romantic that he would never leave her until he had seen her in comfort and safety that he had told his father he loved her that hib mother sym pathized with her that his sister longed to see her that his own absence from her whiht on his tour had only more deeply rooted his affection for her and that now he was fully acquainted with her history the declaration of her return of his love was only needed to make him happy


one word dear maria said he makes my father your father my mother your mother my lovejysister your sister


aria wept as he concluded


composing herself a little she said mr elverton say henry to me my love said be interrupting her


l well then henry


if that pleases you better i have ever accustomed myself to what i suppose an intelligible manner of opening mymind in conversation and it would be ungenerous in me nay it vould be ungrateful were i anything but plain and intelligible with yoiil confess jour declarations at miss deltas seminary have never been lost from the store of my n pression but mr elverton


say henry my love if you please said he again


yes i will say


henry when i think of my orphan condition my present penury


that i have never seen much less been in troduced to your dear parents or your lovely sister and when i know not how long i may remain in suspense as to the home and property of my dear deceased father i feel that it would be improper ib me if i were by any xneaiis to negotiate so important a matter in fdch n nw p


ceuqris yo jt yt


uv wn iimy dearmi twariai rejoined heniy


every sentiment yqu have uttered is atf argiiment ioimetrtblvovecyou finre dfearlj


what


bjnk youypyet thejcurcuni stances of you history ve likely


tqteool me down


my angel


he exclaimed placing his right hand upon hers which hung on his left arm they fite me rather and neither books in which i have delight nor parents whom i revere nor even life itself will ever bring any comfort to me until i can look forward to the day in which i shall at once and for ever call you my own


the conversation became such as true lovers will understand


to be too circumi stantial would only spoil it


palpitations blushes low sentences on the part of the maldgrowing confidence and joy on the part of the youth so that by the time they arrived almost at the fishevmans and which michael had already entered miaria had said everything almost as henry could have wished it said except yess arid henry had assured himself that maria was his in prospect


sbali we tell


hy shpuldwe riot


he halted she looked at himf his countenance glowed and he bealed herlipb with a chaste and gentle kief


however this nearly cobt him dear in the sudden effect it had upon the unsuspecting maria though he felt himself somewhat relieved when he found himself under the necessity of encircling her waist to support her trem bling feet towards the fishermans


twas thus they entered the hut


j it was arranged in the course of the day that maria under the protection of hnry should proceed to miss deltas seminary arid remain there until by advice and direc tion from mr elrerton senior some move ment could be made in her behalf


henry was wishful to take michael with him to england but mai ia thought he would hot like to go michael said he turning to the old man i am intending to explain the whole of thib case to my father who i am sure will leave no means untried to put its right ful owner into the quiet and peaceable pos session of mildred and i think as you are so minutely acquainted with the whofo affair it will be very advisable for you to accom pany me to england


it is possible that without waiting for the return of your son we may accomplish all we wish will you go michael


god blibs yer honor replied the care ful old man but i


would


be willing togo to england or jamaica or any where else even in ray old days to rightify miss maria but dye see


mr elverton


dye eee and the tears rolled down the furrows of his cheeks


i couldnt lave her god bliss her


i should be a corpse saving yer pre sence wid grief before the ship come to land my quid head has grown grey wider the aierht of her eves arid her blessed looks shall follow me jo the jjgraye


ill iayit and ill stick totifii


bayvaiitsaid


yer honor knows what i meanxu go to england if miss maria goes arid if


bhe stops in ould ireland ould michael stop too yer sarvant allthesame mr elvertbri brod bliss you


he was not pressed and the conversa tion turned upon immediate arrangements


in order that dowd might not disbover marias retreat it wab settled that jaley should convey the party toj dublin ia his fishing boat as the weather was


fine the sea calm and the night would be moonlight


the rest of the day was passed tolerably


daley left to make some little preparations and appointed that the party should meet him in two hours at his little cove


whither his wife would conduct them


i shall land them father gaid he at the fairies beach from which they can walk into the city and not many be the wiser


pray for us my father


good by dickey


farewell father


in due time they were seated in the boat


she moved and mrs daley looking after them repeated i will be a father to the fatherless and with a half smothered sigh bent her steps towards home


in the meantime dowds mind was any thing but as steady as throughout all his villainy it had ever been


no sooner had the smuggler left himt for the purpose as he expected of murdering hio neice than a strange new and unhappy feeling enshroud ed him


he had been obstinate unjust and cruel for a number of years j but he had never yet dipped hib hands in blood


the thought now maddened him and for the irst time in his life he wished he was dead


ve struck hie forehead and groaned


his tiir stood on end his brain crept and wth the voice and appearance of a maniac


hemshed down stairs and roared ronique lya where is that man gone


vly love what is it


enquired mrs dowin alarm you are unwell bit doyfh


i my lo there now


vtv h continued


the battle of life


a love story


by charles dickens


part


the second


snitchey and craggs had a snug little office on the old battle ground where they drove a snug little business and fought a great many small pitched battles for a great many contending parties


though it could hardly be said of these conflicts that they were running fights for in truth they generally proceeded at a snails pace the part the firm had in them came so far within that general denomination that now took a shot at this plaintiff and now aimed a chop at that defendant now made a heavy charge at an estate in chancery and now had some light skirmishing among an irregular body of small debtors just as the occasion served and the enemy happened to present himself


the gazette was an important and profitable feature in some of their fields as well as in fields of greater renown and in most of the actions wherein they shewed their generalship it was afterwards observed by the combatants that they had had great difficulty in making each other out or in knowing with any degree of distinctness what they were about in consequence of the vast amount of smoke by which they were surrounded


the offices of messrs snitchey and craggs stood convenient with an open door down two smooth steps in the marketplace so that any angry farmer inclining towards hot water might tumble into it at once


their special councilchamber and hall of conference was an old back room up stairs with a low dark ceiling which seemed to be knitting its brows gloomily in the consideration of tangled points of law


it was furnished with some high backed leathern chairs garnished with great goggle eyed brass nails of which every here and there two or three had fallen out or had been picked out perhaps by the wandering thumbs and fore fingers of bewildered clients


there was a framed print of a great judge in it every curl in whose dreadful wig had made a mans hair stand on end


bales of papers filled the dusty closets shelves and tables and round the wainscoat there were tiers of boxes padlocked and fireproof with peoples names painted outside which anxious visitors felt themselves by a cruel enchantment obliged to spell backwards and forwards and to make anagrams of while they sat seeming to listen to snitchey and craggs without comprehending one word of what they said


snitchey and craggs had each in private life as in professional existence a partner of his own


snitchey and craggs were the best friends in the world and had a real confidence in one another but mrs snitchey by a dispensation not uncommon in the affairs of life was on principle suspicious of mr craggs and mrs craggs was on principle suspicious of mr snitchey


your snitcheys indeed the latter lady would observe sometimes to mr craggs using that imaginative plural as if in disparagement of an objectionable pair of pantaloons or other articles not possessed of a singular number i dont see what you want with your snitcheys for my part


you trust a great deal too much to your snitcheys i think and i hope you may never find my words come true


while mrs snitchey would observe to mr snitchey of craggs that if ever he was led away by man he was led away by that man and that if ever she read a double purpose in a mortal eye she read that purpose in craggss eye


notwithstanding this however they were all very good friends in general and mrs snitchey and mrs craggs maintained a close bond of alliance against the office which they both considered a blue chamber and common enemy full of dangerous because unknown machinations


in this office nevertheless snitchey and craggs made honey for their several hives


here sometimes they would linger of a fine evening at the window of their councilchamber overlooking the old battleground and wonder but that was generally at assize time when much business had made them sentimental at the folly of mankind who couldnt always be at peace with one another and go to law comfortably


here days and weeks and months and years passed over them their calendar the gradually diminishing number of brass nails in the leathern chairs and the increasing bulk of papers on the tables


here nearly three years fight had thinned the one and swelled the other since the breakfast in the orchard when they sat together in consultation at night


not alone but with a man of thirty or about that time of life negligently dressed and somewhat haggard in the face but wellmade wellattired and welllooking who sat in the arm chair of state with one hand in his breast and the other in his dishevelled hair pondering moodily


messrs snitchey and craggs sat opposite each other at a neighbouring desk


one of the fireproof boxes unpadlocked and opened was upon it a part of its contents lay strewn upon the table and the rest was then in course of passing through the hands of mr snitchey who brought it to the candle document by document looked at every paper singly as he produced it shook his head and handed it to mr craggs who looked it over also shook his head and laid it down


sometimes they would stop and shaking their heads in concert looked towards the abstracted client and the name on the box being michael warden esquire we may conclude from these premises that the name and the box were both his and that the affairs of michael warden esquire were in a bad way


thats all said mr snitchey turning up the last paper


really theres no other resource


no other resource


all lost spent wasted pawned borrowed and sold eh said the client looking up


all returned mr snitchey


nothing else to be done you say


nothing at all


the client bit his nails and pondered again


and i am not even personally safe in england


you hold to that do you


in no part of the united kingdom of great britain and ireland replied mr snitchey


a mere prodigal son with no father to go back to noswine to keep and no husks to share with them


eh pursued the client rocking one leg over the other and searching the ground with his eyes


mr snitchey coughed as if to deprecate the being supposed to participate in any figurative illustration of a legal position


mr craggs as if to express that it was a partnership view of the subject also coughed


ruined at thirty


said the client


humph not ruined mr warden returned snitchey


not so bad as that


you have done a good deal towards it i must say but you are not ruined


a little nursing a little devil said the client


mr cragg said snitchey will you oblige me with a pinch of snuff


thank you sir


as the imperturbable lawyer applied it to his nose with great apparent relish and a perfect absorption of his attention in the proceeding the client gradually broke into a smile and looking up said you talk of nursing


how long nursing how long nursing repeated snitchey dusting the snuff from his fingers and making a slow calculation in his mind


for your involved estate sir


in good hands


s cs say


six or seven years


to starve for six or seven years said the client with a fretful laugh and an impatient change of his position


to starve for six or seven years mr warden said snitchey would be very uncommon indeed


you might get another estate by showing yourself the while


but we dont think you could do it speaking for self and craggs and consequently dont advise it


what do you advise nursing i say repeated snitchey


some few years of nursing by self and craggs would bring it round


but to enable us to make terms and hold terms and you to keep terms you must go away you must live abroad


as to starvation we could ensure you some hundreds a year to starve upon even in the beginning i dare say mr warden


hundreds said the client and i have spent thousands


that retorted mr snitchey putting the papers slowly back in the castiron box there is no doubt about


no doubt about he repeated to himself as he thoughtfully pursued his occupation


the lawyer verylikely knew his name at any rate his dry shrewd whimsical manner had a favourable influence upon the clients moody state and disposed him to be more free and unreserved


or perhaps the client knew his man and had elicited such encouragement as he had received to render some purpose he was about to disclose the more defensible in appearance


gradually raising his head he sat looking at his immovable adviser with a smile which presently broke into a laugh


after all he said my ironheaded friend mr snitchey pointed out his partner


self and excuse me craggs


i beg mr craggss pardon said the client


after all my ironheaded friends he leaned forward in his chair and dropped his voice a little you dont know half my ruin yet


mr snitchey stopped and stared at him


mr craggs also stared


i am not only deep in debt said the client but i am deep in not in love cried snitchey


yes said the client falling hack in his chair and surveying the firm with his hands in his pockets


deep in love


and not with an heiress sir said snitchey


not with an heiress


nor a rich lady nor a rich lady that i know of except in beauty and merit


a singe lady i trust said mr snitchey with great expression


certainly


its not one of doctor jeddlers daughters said snitchey suddenly squaring his elbows on his knees and advancing his face at least a yard


yes returned their client


not his younger daughter said snitchey


yes returned the client


mr craggs said snitchey much relieved will you oblige me with another pinch of snuff


thank you


i am happy to say it dont signify mr warden shes engaged sir shes bespoke


my partner can corroborate me


we know the fact


why so do i perhaps returned the client quietly


what of that


are you men of the world and did you never hear of a woman changing her mind


there certainly have been actions for breach said mr snitchey brought against both spinsters and widows but in the majority of cases cases interposed the client impatiently


dont talk to me of cases


the general precedent is in a much larger volume than any of your law books


besides do you think i have lived six weeks in the doctors house for nothing i think sir observed mr snitchey gravely addressing himself to his partner that of all the scrapes mr wardens horses have brought him into at one time and another and they have been pretty numerous and pretty expensive as none know better than himself and you and i the worst scrape may turn out to be if he talks in this way his having been ever left by one of them at the doctors garden wall with three broken ribs a snapped collarbone and the lord knows how many bruises


we didnt think so much of it at the time when we knew he was going on well under the doctors hands and roof but it looks bad now sir


bad


it looks very bad


doctor jeddler too our client mr craggs


mr alfred heathfield too a sort of client mr spitchey said craggs


mr michael warden too a kind of client said the careless visitor and no bad one either having played the fool for ten or twelve years


however mr michael warden has sown his wild oats now theres their crop in that box and means to repent and be wise


and in proof of it mr michael warden means if he can to marry marion the doctors lovely daughter and to carry her away with him


really mr craggs snitchey began


really mr snitchey and mr craggs partners both said the client interrupting him you know your duty to your clients and you know well enough i am sure that it is no part of it to interfere with a mere love affair which i am obliged to confide to you


i am not going to carry the young lady off without her own consent


theres nothing illegal in it


i never was mr heathfields bosom friend


i violate no confidence of his


i love where he loves and i mean to win where he would win if i can


he cant mr craggs said snitchey evidently anxious and discomfited


he cant do it sir


she dotes on mr alfred


does she returned the client


mr craggs she dotes on him sir persisted snitchey


i didnt live six weeks some few months ago in the doctors house for nothing and i doubted that soon observed the client


she would have doted on him if her sister could have brought it about but i watched them


marion avoided his name avoided the subject shrunk from the least allusion to it with evident distress


why should she mr craggs you know


why should she sir inquired smtchey


i dont know why she should though there are many likely reasons said the client smiling at the attention and perplexity expressed in mr snitcheys shining eye and at his cautious way of carrying on the conversation and making himself informed upon the subject but i know she does


she was very young when she made the engagement if it may be called one i am not even sure of that and has repented of it perhaps


perhaps it seems a foppish thing to say but upon my soul i dont mean it in that light she may have fallen in love with me as i have fallen in love with her


he


mr alfred her old playfellow too you remember mr craggs said snitchey with a disconcerted laugh knew her almost from a baby


which makes it the more probable that she may be tired of his idea calmly pursued the client and not indisposed to exchange it for the newer one of another lover who presents himself or is presented by his horse under romantic circumstances has the not unfavourable reputation with a country girl of having lived thoughtlessly and gaily without doing much harm to anybody and who for his youth and figure and so forth this may seem foppish again but upon my soul i dont mean it in that light might perhaps pass muster in a crowd with mr alfred himself


there was no gainsaying the last clause certainly and mr snitchey glancing at him thought so


there was something naturally graceful and pleasant in the very carelessness of his air


it seemed to suggest of his comely face and wellknit figure that they might be greatly better if he choseand that once roused and made earnest but he never had been earnest yet he could be full of fire and purpose


a dangerous sort of libertine thought the shrewd lawyer to seem to catch the spark he wants from a young ladys eyes


now observe snitchey he continued rising and taking him by the button and craggs taking him by the button also and placing one partner on either side of him so that neither might evade him


i dont ask you for any advice


you are right to keep aloof from all parties in such a matter which is not one in which grave men like you could interfere on any side


i am briefly going to review in halfadozenwords my position and intention and then i shall leave it to you to do the best for me in money matters that you can seeing that if i run away with the doctors beautiful daughter as i hope to do and to become another man under her bright influence it will be for the moment more chargeable than running away alone


but i shall soon make all that up in an altered life


i think it will be better not to hear this mr craggs said snitchey looking at him across the client


i think not said craggs


both listening attentively


well


you neednt hear it replied their client


ill mention it however


i dont mean to ask the doctors consent because he wouldnt give it me


but i mean to do the doctor no wrong or harm because besides there being nothing serious in such trifles as he says i hope to rcscue his child my dear marion from what i sec i know she dreads and contemplates with misery that is the return of this old lover


if anything in the world is true it is true that she dreads his return


nobody is injured so far


i am so harried and worried here just now that i lead the life of a flyingfish skulk about in the dark am shut out of my house and warned off my own grounds but that house and those grounds and many an acre besides will come back to me one day as you know and say and marion will probably be richer on your showing who are never sanguine ten years hence as my wife than as the wife of alfred heathfield whose return she dreads remember that and in whom or in any man my passion is not surpassed


who is injured yet


it is a fair case throughout


my right is as good as his if


she decide in my favour and i will try my right by her alone


you will like to know no more after this and i will tell you no more


now you know my purpose and wants


when must i leave here


in a week said snitchey


mr craggs


in something less i should say responded craggs


in a month said the client after attentively watching the two faces


this day month


to day is thursday


succeed or fail on this day month i go


its too long a delay said snitchey much too long


but let it be so


ithought hed have stipulated for three he murmured to himself


are you going


good night sir


good night returned the client shaking hands with the firm


youll live to see me making a good use of riches yet


henceforth the star of my destiny is marion


take care of the stairs sir replied mr snitchey for she dont shine there


good night


so they both stood at the stair head with a pair of office candles watching him down and when he had gone away stood looking at each other


what do you think of all this mr craggs said snitchey


mr craggs shook his head


it was our opinion on the day when that release was executed that there was something curious in the parting of that pair i recollect


said snitchey


it was said mrcraggs


perhaps he deceives himself altogether pursued mr snitchey locking up the fireproof box and putting it away or if he dont a little bit of fickleness and perfidy is not a miracle mr craggs


and yet i thought that pretty face was very true


i thought said mr snitchey putting on his great coat for the weather was very cold drawing on his gloves and snuffing out one candle that i had even seen her character becoming stronger and more resolved of late


more like her sisters


mrs craggs was of the same opinion returned craggs


id really give a trifle tonigbt observed mr snitchey who was a goodnatured man if i could believe that mr warden was reckoning without his host but lightheaded capricious and unballasted as he is he knows something of the world and its people he ought to for he has bought what he does know dear enough and i cant quite think that


we had netter interfere we can do nothing mr craggs but keep quiet


nothing returned craggs


our friend the doctor makes light of such things said mr snitchey shaking his head


i hope he maynt stand in need of his philosophy


our friend alfred talks of the battle of life he shook his head again i hope he maynt be cut down early in the day


have you got your hat mr craggs


i am going to put the other candle out


mr craggs replying in the affirmative mr snitchey suited the action to the word and they groped their way


out of the councilchamber now as dark as the subject or the law in general


to be continued


chapter in


j unsleeping death at night at morn j


at noon and eventide


doth ever through thy length and breadth i with noiseless lootsteps glide


i josephine


j god has two thrones one in the highest hea vens the other in the lowest hearts


wright


darkness closed in the cawing of the crows died away and the curlew wailed i hastened forward alone with god and my sorrow


the path wai ill defined and as the feeble flickering light vanished a fear of losing the way seized me


later in the evening there would be moonlight and i determined to wait for the moons rising and crouched down at the foot of an old tree


wild and bitter thoughts crowded into my mindwhy was t alone in a strange land without father or mother


the sin that had slain one had caused the heart of the other to break and had cast their off spring into the desolation of that australian forest where the wild dog sought his prey and night birds shrieked


oh


father in heaven i have none but thee do thou aid me


i cried and the assurance that he would soothed my fears till the moon rose dim and watery among misty clouds then i pursued my way


that my appearance under such circtmistanjccs at midnight startled the deans did not surprise me and i thought i detected a slight coldness in their manner when i had calmed their first hurried questions by an assurance that nothing had occurred but that i had come to see them


i could not speak freely for a stranger was present and his being there accounted for their activity at that late hour but when i retired to remove my bonnet and mrs dean accompanied me i unbur dened my heart to her


we will consult the doctor my poor girl she said folding me in her arms with an air of regret for


the shade of displeasure which had lately crossed her on my account


for the present do not be anxious this may be the means of removing you from under your uncles protection you might even be happier earning your own living


she looked anxiously at me i couldi have


i would not return to the other room for my agitation was uncontrol lable and i did not wish to meet the t ranger


mrs dean herself brought me n most refreshing cup of tea and i wore away the night in troubled dreams and sleep


it was late the next morning before i entered the sittingroom only my hostess was there


she told me that she had com municated the reason of my visit to the doctor and that he was decidedly opposed to my forming a connexion with prince varden


yet he may be eternally lost i suggested


i do not believe you could be the means of saving him etheline


only a woman who loves her husband can hope to exercise a beneficial influence over him you have not that power and though a sense of duty may influ ence you it will rather drive than lead


if he really felt the need of reformation he would not await your marriage with him to reform


i gladly assented it was no call of duty requiring the levelling of fondly cherished hopes


not being able to return to my uncle i dispatched an explanatory note and remained with mrs dean


she now introduced me to their visitor a mr berwick a pleasing corpulent man with a hearty contagious laugh


he offered me the situation of governess to his children i had to earn my livelihood and ac cepted the offer


you should know etheline said my friend that mr berwick is a very peculiar man though by birth and education a gentleman he has taken his wife from a humble station in life i do not know her but report operates in her favour as a good natured notable woman and an excel lent wife and mother


i did not therefore look for refine ment but expected kindness from my employers


mr berwicks residence was eighty miles distant but he would take me in a small spring cart he was driving and we shortly started upon our journey


the prevailing feature of my em ployers character was thoughtless hilarity troubles and anxieties rolled off him as if he were invulnerable


he lived in the pleasures of the day heed less of the morrow


his frank manner and cheerful blue eye at once won him friends children at once estab lished themselves on his knee sure of a boisterous ride and dipped their hands into his pockets to search their contents


i felt under no restraint but the reserve of my disposition pre sented itself forcibly to him afid he did not hesitate to pronounce me a strong minded woman


you will be the making of my childrenbless them they are like kangaroos he said


we had approached within one days stage of our destination and were to leave the inn before sunrise in order to reach home by daylight it was therefore little past five oclock when wrapped in a shawl and smothering a succession of yawns i approached the cart the horse was already harnessed to it and the hostler stood by sup


i potted against the wheel trembling and pale from the indulgence of intem perance over night


mr berwick had roused a monkey which was chained to a pole in the yard and was laughing at his dis pleasure and petulant cries i approached him


the hostler appears unfit to attend to the horse i remarked


he has been drinkinghes a sad dog for the bottle every one treats him its almost impossible for a man to be sober about a publichpuse but when he has had his glass this morning he will be all right did you ever see such a comic pug


and he resumed his sports with the monkey


i was not satisfied but silently suffered my employer to hand me to my seat and we drove away


to be continued in our next


the mysteries of sydney not by the author of the mysteries of paris


or the mysteries of london but by one of ourselves


chapter vi


the police office


the situation of the two worthies mallison and wilson was any thing but desirable


inde pendently of the discomfort attached to passing a night in a kennel which was several degrees hotter than the blackhole at calcutta the an ticipation of facing the beaks was continually recurring to their minds and this to men of their stamp was the most fearful of ordeals


they were well aware that notwithstanding their constant parade of nominal legitimate occupa tions their real lawless movements were well known to the police particularly to inspector tearing wiggins and sharp who had long had a down upon them and watched them and their haunts with unceasing vigilance


tired of imprecating rows of vengeance against oflaherty to whom they ascribed their present position they began to abuse each other in such roundset terms that misther tim cunningman the watchhouse keeper was compelled to place them in separate cells


morning came at last and having ablutionized in a bucket of water and rubbed themselves dry with a dilapidated pair of duck trousers by way of diaper they were marched across the yard at the head of a file of some twenty or thirty outcasts and unfor tunates of both sexes to the solemn sanctum of magisterial presidency


although the police magistrate had not arrived several individuals were clustered round a table in the centre of the office apparently engaged in hilarious discourse as frequent bursts of laughter were elicited by the observations of one or other of the speakers


such is the mockery the paradox of life


within those walls ringing with mirth at the light passing jest stood homeless houseless wretches castaways of society the very types of human wretchedness weeds in the garden of existence there stood the drunkard with shak ing limb cadaverous check and bloodshotten eye the wily thief with downcast look and scheme revolving brain the flaunting prostitute who whatever were her follies errors guilt was woman stillthere stood rheumy shaking age strong manhood trembling youth all waiting for the fiat of the law the word which was to entomb them or throw open their prison gates anxious dreading hoping despairingand yet the laugh rang loud amidst that scene of misery like pleasure holding her revels in a sepulchre


such is the paradox of life


be me sowl the capthains indulging this morning


exclaimed one of the loudest of the speakers glancing at the clock


he was appa rently about fifty though he bore his age lightly


his round bullet bead darkgrey eye and long lashes bespoke milesian descent if the richest brogue of kerry had left doubt of that fact a momentary resting place


his broad face hang ing cheeks double chin and eyes almost buried in fat afforded no inaccurate illustration of those figures of indian goshes and mandarins which de corate the rooms of dealers in monstrosities


he was a species of legal falstaff whose enormous stomach and broad back threatened every in stant to burst through his black coat which en deavoured to compress a mountain of flesh into something like shape


stentorian lungs indo mitable assurance and a rollicking sort of jollity made up the man who in advocating the cause of a client had very little of the fear of the bench before his eyes


he was evidently not to be put down


he was descended from the oblusters


on his right employed in tracing a multitude of strange vagaries upon a piece of paper sat a tall gentlemanlylooking person with a very intellectual cast of countenance


his profile was welldefined and striking al though the nose might be deemed rather too prominent


features more regular and more attractive might be met with but a more ex pressive or sprightly look could not be found


his name was ticklesbob


by the curl of his lip and the twinkle of his eye it was evident that he was indulging in a joke with a byronic looking young man who leant over the table bearing an enormous bouquet of flowers in his hand


his pale face long dark hair recum bent collar and careless costume bespoke him to be the poet whose lines to a blighted rose lament of the lily sorrows of a snowdrop death of the dahlias dirge for the potato rot jar of pickled cabbage from baptists in imitation of leigh hunts jar of honey from mount hybla and ode to a watering pot had ensured him a niche in the market gardeners summerhouse of fame


he paid however but little attention to the remark which was made upon him as his mind was then wan dering in the realms of etherialism searching for those glowing fleeting beauties which are only visible to the poets delicately sensitive susceptibilities


such heavenly images he sought with all the ardour and intensity of en thusiasm in order to embody them in his great anticipatory epithalamium on the bridal of bachelors buttons and bluebelle


fenced off from this table was a long narrow box of the most uncomfortable construction and which the architect in some remarkable fit of illnature had made a place of penance in lieu of a place of ease


three persons were seated therein with slips of paper before them and pens in handthey were the reporters of the press


the one at the end nearest the bench with sedate countenance and grizzled hair was of the serious heavy daily cast and seemed to look upon policeoffice attendance as a profane interference with his duties of report ing the proceedings of bible societies laying first stones of chapels and chronicling mis sionary doings in wangatewongamockeryshoo miipooh and humbugyboer certain rather indefinite localities situated either somewhere about the islands or in central africa or in other portions of the globe to which immigration was dangerous in which living was hazardous and from which emigration in a whole skin was highly improbable


next to him sat his very antipodesa devilmaycare sort of looking person whose flowing locks time had consider ably thinned although a decentsized pair of curly whiskers remained to hedge in a long sallow visage of jewish contour


the third occupant of the box differed materially from the others


his lean angular face bore token of the extremity of fast living his eyes showed all the sleepy character of habitual intemperance and his foul and fetid breath as it rolled forth in short asthmatic puffs was redolent of early morning draughts of rum


some chronic disease engendered in all probability by dis solute habits rendered his person as offensive to the nose as a deficiency of laving did to the eye


he was in fact a species of bipedal pole cata compound of dirt and disagreeableness


his mental perceptions wereo worthy to be cased in such a shell bombast bullyism and balder dash were the staple of his writings and alco hol the director


shortly after obluster had uttered his im patient remark a stumping noise was heard in the distance which gave notice of the approach of the presiding official


inspector tearing ordered the court to be opened and bawled out silence as the captain a tall athletic redfaced individual entered and took his seat in the magisterial chair


but it was some time before silence could be obtained so great was the rush of the crowd principally composed of lazy lounging loiterers who infest every public place in the city preferring a life of sloth and privation to one of labour and comfort


these burrs upon the social systemthese drones in the hivewhose means of living are mysterious and suspicious have a black mark attached to their names in the policsoffice books


the long list of drunkards principally old offenders was disposed of first the captain doling out a due meed of punishment heedless alike of their denials of the charge of over indulgence preferred or their promises of future amendment


do you know this woman


tearing


in quired he as a blooming damsel flauntingly dressed made her appearance in the dock


yesslightly your worship replied the officer somewhat hesitatingly


lts all gammon broke in the lady with a saucy toss of the head he doesnt know half as much about me as your worship


dont you recollect captain the little cottage on the racecourse where silence bawled out tearing


youre discharged thundered the captain dont let me see your face here again


call on the assault cases


the damsel descended from her pedestal and giving a knowing wink to some of her compan ions in waiting quitted the court


as she did so a second magistrate seated himself beside the captain


he was plump sleek and sleepy one of that class who without possessing any positive merit have sagacity sufficient to slide through the world comfortably and who if they do experience an occasional tumble in variably manage to fall in a soft place


the increase of his worldly substance had already raised him to the dignity of a jp and the honor of a civic councillor with a mayoralty in prospective


in performing these duties he was prosy fussy and important but well and kindly disposed in the main


his name was mac wully


mallison and wilson were then placed in the dock charged not only with being drunk and disorderly but also with assaulting the con stables in the execution of their duty


they pleaded not guilty whereupon obluster in formed their worships that he appeared for mallison


im concerned for wilson said a young man rising slowly from the table and in the first place i beg to make three hundred objections to the information


your worships will see ive an appointment at six oclock this evening mr breadman said the captain do you think your objections will be finished by that time


it is impossible for me to say your worship eight hours are scarcely sufficient for me to do justice to my client and argue these points and you are aware that the great principle of the english law as laid down in paley on convic tions and russell on crimes and affirmed in burns justice plunketts duties of magistrates and callaghans acts of council vol


page is that every man has a right to be heard in his own defence and to do the best he can for himself under any unfortuitous circumstan ces in which he may be placed


now your worships will observe i dinna just ken the fu force o yer oobser vations mr breadman interposed mac wully


thats very likely your worship rejoined breadman rather testily but that allow me to say is not altogether my fault


judge black stone remarks vol


nd or rd page or i dont exactly recollect which but if your worships will allow me three quarters of an hour ill go home and find it touching the con veyance of real property that it is quite enough for a man to say a good thing without finding his hearer sonse to understand lt


faix that was a bit of polthooge


ye dealt him


whispered obluster


im for the prosecution said ticklesbob


three of you


exclaimed the captain tearing send to my house and order dinner to be put back till eight oclock this evening


i beg your worships pardon but im en gaged to assist my learned friend obluster said a gentleman pushing through the crowd with a carnation in his buttonhole and a foxy bronzybadgerycoloured scratch wig perched on his occipital regions i hope im not too late


too early by half muttered the captain and apparently resigned to his fate he issued instructions countermanding the waiting of the dinner and in lieu of that requesting that his bed might be forwarded to the policeoffice as he did not anticipate the slightest chance of getting to the end of the case till a very advan ced period of the night


his fears were mate rially increased by the sight of a whole library of law books reposing on the table with nume rous little bits of paper protruding from them like quills on the back of a porcupine and which marked pages of reference to support the sharp points of law about to be mooted denied rejoined to replied to and decided


proceed mr breadman said the captain disconsolately


i object to this proceeding upon principle exclaimed obluster fativer may be the janius of misther bridman i think that my weight should intitle me to the fust haring