cat out of thebag and tho king found out that ho had been done particularly and exclusively brown and he felt as savage as people generally do when they find out they have been taken in but disguising his resentment for a while he determined to be down upon ethelwold as the extinguisher was upon the rushlight and to play tit for tat with a right royal vengeance


off then he set to the castle of thc father of elfrida who by this time was wide awake to tho foetthat his daughter had been diddled out of a crown and so he persuaded her the heroine to put on her bran new horsehair bustle her best bib and tucker to sport her hair whisker fashion and to make it curl quite round to ber nose and che had a new dress prepared with tucks so broad that they looked just like the steps of a flower stand one above another and with bishop sleeves in honor of thc clergy and in short elfrida made herself so killing that the moment the king saw her he felt as if he had been shot right through the heart with a two andthirty pounders and that nothing but elfrida could fill tho hole the unfortunately made


but elfrida was a married womanand as some little difficulty presented itself on this ac count it wasthought the most legitimate way of proceeding to ut ethelwolds stick by sticking him in a woodund then edgar and elfrida jumped over the broomifica as natural as if nothing had happenedand to stick to the stick ing principle elfrida tookoccasion after edgars death to stick his son in a most shameful manner right in the back w


hile ho was drinkingwhich caused him to drop over histlrops and to become a martyr


the norman invasion


wiliam surnamed thc conqueror was a nor man that isto say he was a good deal further north utan harold tho rightful heir to the crown hence he determined to put his noss out and so arming himself with the precious toenail of st anthony set in a ring and a large army he determined to put a ring in ute nose of the english


william landed in sussex and so eager was he to lay hold of this country that the moment he set his foot on shore he threw himself down in the mud and taking up a handful of it said there is no luck like mud luck


thus you see my friends that the rise of this monarch was con sequent on a fall


harold advanced to meet the invaders with the alacrity of a dog with a tin kettle tied to his tail and the two armies soon took a sight of each other william saying i am come to claim the throne of england and harold replying with all due elegancedont


you wish you may


get it and kindly enquiring if his mother knew he was out


the armies now proposed to smash each other


harold who knew the character of the english stuffed them so with roast beef and plumpudding that they could scarcely waddle j william kept his fasting


till they grew so savage that they felt as if they could eat their opponents and without stopping to roast them only cared about giving them a good basting


the english were thus doomed to be dished and after some hours fighting their cavalry were cut up and their infantry put into a stew


at last an arrow struck harold in the eye william cried there you go with your eye out pnd thus put harolds nose out in the line of succession and william himself was declared kino


william being fond of huntmg


laid waste the country for a hunting ground and to afford light to the hunt he set fire to somevillages but to punish him forthis wickedness he had a son a promising youth who determined to make light of his father or in oilier words to take in the old un or the jjuvner as he was called hence lie laid claim to the duke of normandy and when his father came to prevent it he un horsed him as every filial child ought to db his parent and at the same time he said please father i didnt go to do it


cto be continued j


marie antoinette on the chevalier op


the red house


continuedfrom colonial times may chapter xxviii


mauiice resumed his post in the garden in front i of gencvicves window which was now daik


she had entcicd the chevaliers room


it was high i time for maurice to leave the chamber for he had scaicelj ported himself at thecornei of the green house befoie the gai dendoor opened and the man in the gray dress appeared followed by lorin and fiv e or six grenadiers


well asked lonn


you perceive said maurice that i am at my post


no one has uttered the passwoid no one replied maurice fortunate to escape a falsehood by the manner in which the question had been put


no one


what hove you done


we said the man in grey have ascertained to a certainty tnat the chevalier entered jhe house an hour ago and has not since gone out


you know his chambei asked lorin


his apartment is only separated from that of madame dimcr by a corridor ah ah remarked lorin


i


par dieu


i there was no need of any separa tion this chevalier seems tobc a gay fellow maurice felt tho blood rush towards his head


ile closed his eyes and sparks of fire seemed to burst from his eyelids


eh well said lorin


butjvhatdoes dixmcr say to that he perhaps considers it an honour j let us sec suid mauiice in a suffocating voice what decision have you ainvcd at wc decide said the police officer to take him in ins own room and most probably in bed


does he suspect anything absolutely nothing what is the plan of the building asked lonn


r we have one perfectly exact answered the police agent a pavilion situated at the angles of the garden there it is


xou ascend four steps there they arc


you then reach a landing place on the rightis thp door of madam dixmers apaii


mont


it is most likely that one with the window facing us


in front of the window t ere is another door opening into a corridor and in this coi i idor wc shall find the traitors door good said loriri that is a carefully ar langcd plan provided with that we may go for waid blindfolded and with perfect ccitainty vyh our ejes open


foin ird then aie the streets well guarded asked maurice with an interest which those present conceived to anec from his anxiety to prevent the chovahers escape n the streets passages and lanes said the spy are all so well guarded that dpf a mouse to escape without the password maurice shuddered for so many precautions taken might render his treason useless


now said the police agent bow many men do you require to arrest the chevalier


how many men said lorin


i expect that mauiico and myself are enough


is itnot so maurice


yes stammered he


certainly we shall be sufficient


hear me said the spy


let there be no omaiicing mnke a point of taking bim


mo bleu exclaimed lorin


if we decide on that i believe wc can


is it not so mauiicc


we must tukc bim


lorin laid emphasis on that


ho formerly said that suspicion was gathering around them aud it was ucccssaiy to arrest it in its progiess before it assumed consistence


loiin however easily un dei stood that no one would dare to suspect the patiiotism of two men who might succeed in rcsting tho chevalier of the red house


well said the spy if you really intend it let us take tin ce men rather than two four rather than tinco


the chevalier sleeps always with x sword under his pillow and two pistols on the night table


eli


morbleu said one of the grenadiers of lorins company let us enter without granting the prefeience to any one


if ho yields we will re sci ve him for the guillotine


if be resists we can cut him down


well said remarked lorin


forward shall wo enter by the door or window


by the door said the police agent


per haps the key may be accidentally there whilst if we entered by the window seveial squaies would be broken and make a noise


go to the door then said lorin


provided wo enter it matteis not how


come on sabre in band mamice


maurice mechanically unsheathed his weapon


the little troop advanced to tho pavilion


as the spy had indicated they encountered the steps then reached the landing and entered the vestibule


ah i said loria joyfully the key is in the door


in fact lie had stretched out ins hand in the dnik and as be stated felt the cold metal touch his fingers ends


open it then citizen lieutenant said the police agent


lorin cautiously turned the key and the door opened


maurice passed his hand acioss his humid brow


here wc are said lorin


not yet said the spy


if our information is exact w are in madame dlxmers apartment


ave can soon convince oui selves said lorin


let us light the candle the fliers still in


let us lather said the police agent light torches they are not so soon extinguished as candles


he took two toi ches from a grenadier and lighted them at the dying flame


he ga c one to maurice the other to loiin


i


you see said he i do not deceive myself here is madame dixmers bedchamber door


theie is the other onteiing upon thq corridor


fornaid to the conidor said lorin


they opened the door which was no better closed than the other and found themselves facing the chevalicis door


mauiicc had obsencd lins door hventy times but had neer asked whence it led


as far as he was concerned the world as concent


ated itkin the chamber where geneviove recehed him


oh oh said lorin in a low voice here matters arc altered no key and a closed door


but asked maurice speaking with difficulty are you sure it is the right one


li the plan is exact it ought to be ansered the spy besides c shall soon see


granadicrs force tlib door and you citizens hold yourselves ready to rush into the chamber


four men raised the huts of their muskets and on a signal given bythe police agent they struck one blow together smashing thq door to atoms


yield oryouaiea deaimat shouted lorin rushing into the chamber


t


no one ansered the bed curtains were closely drawn


mind the bedtake care of the bed cried the spy make eady and on the first movemenfof the curtain fire


s stop said maurice i will open them


i and doubtless believing that the chevalier was concealed behind the curtains and that the first bio of a poniaid or the first shot of a pistol ould do for bim maurice rushed towards them and drew them back with a rattling noise


the bed was empty


mon dieu said lorin no one i he must have escaped stammeied maurice


impossible citizen impossible


exclaimed the man in gray


i tell you he was seen enteiing au hour ago no ono gone out and all the issues are guarded


lorin opened the doois of the presses and closets land searched eveiywhcre even where it was impossible for any man to bo concealed


nobody iyou see plainly theie is no one


no one repeated maurice with an emotion casily understood


indeed it is evident there is no one


l he may be said thespy in madame dix mers loom


i ob said maurice respect a womans bed iroom


i i what said lorin


certainly let it be re spected and madame dixmer also but let it be searched then said maurice let toe enter first


goon said lors you are captain and let every leader be honoured


i two men were left to guai d the apartment they left and then returned to that in which they had lighted their torches


maurice approached the door opening into genevieves bed room


it wab the first time he entered it


his heart beat vio


lently


the key was in the door


maurice put his band upon it and hesitated


j welm snid lorin open the but said maurice if madame dixmer is in bed


i we will thensaid lorin look into the bed under the bed in the chimney and in the cupboards after which if there is no one save herself we will wish her good night


not so said the spy we shall arrest her


madame genevive dixmer is an aristocrat who has been lecognised as the accomplice of tisons daughter and of he chevalier of the red house


open the door then said maurice deliver


ing the key j i arrest no woman


the police agent looked keenly at maurice and the grcnadieis murmuicd


l


ho ho i said lorin you murmur do you


i am of maurices opinion and he accordingly stepped back


the spy seized the keyturned it violentlythe door yielded and the soldiers rushed into the room


c to wax candles were burning on a small table but genevieves chamber like that of the chevalier was empty


i empty i exclaimed the spy


j empty


repeated maurice becoming pole


where is she then lorin looked atmaurice with astonishment


f let us search said the police agent and followed hythe soldieis he ransacked the house from top to bottom


their backs were scarcely turned before maurice who had impatiently gazed after them rushed into the chauibei opening the presses which had been openedalreadyand called in an anxious voice genevive


genevive


she did not however answer and the room was really vacated


maurice then proceeded to search the house in a state of frenzy


every dependence belonging to the house was also searched with the same result


suddenly they heard a great noise a troop of armed men had presented themselves at the gate exchanged the password invaded the garden and spread themselves over the house


santerre him self was at the head of the reinforcement


well said he to lorin


where is the conspirator what where is the conspirator


yes


i wish to know what you have done with lum


i ask you the same tiling i ifjyour detachment has properly guai ded tho issues he ought to be ar rested since be was not in the house when we eiitcied


i what do you say


exclaimed the general furiously


you have then allowed bim to es cape


wc could not do so since wc never had him


in that case i understand nothing of the matter said santcrre


of what oh what the messenger stated when you sent to mc have we sent any one to you certainly


a man in a brown dress black hair and green spectacles who came from you to inform us that you were on the point of arresting the chevalier but that he was defending himself like a lion


upon that i hastened to your aid


a man in a brown dress with dark hair and green spectacles repeated lorin


undoubtedly with a woman on his nrm


young pretty exclaimed mauiice springing towards the general


yes young and pretty


it was he and madame dixmcr


who is he


the chevalier of the red house


oh i wretch that i am not to have killed both of them


come come citizen lindey said santcrre they will be etakcn


but how the devil did you allow them to pas you asked lorin


par dieu said santcne i allowed them to pass because they had the password


they had the passwoidl exclaimed lorin


theie must then be a traitor amongst us


no no citizen lorin said santcrre we know you all and there are no traitors amongstyou


loi in gazed around as if to discern the traitor whose presence he had announced


he encountered the frowning brow and wandering eye of maurice


oh i murmured he what docs that mean


this man cannot have gone fur said santcrre


let us search the neighbouihood


perhaps he may have fallen in with some patiol more adroit than we and who may not have been imposed upon


yes yes said lorin let us search and seizing mauriccby the arm under pretext of joining the others he led bim away from the garden


yes let us search said the soldier but in the first instance


and one of them cast his torch into an outhouse filled with dry faggots


come said lorin come


maurice oftcred ni resistance


he followed lorin like a child and both went as far as the budge without speaking


there they paused and maurice looked back


the heavens were red over the faubourg they had left and they perceived a shower of sparks mounting over the house tops


to be continued j


american notes for general circulation


by bo z chapter igoing away


i shall never forget the onefourth serious and three fourths comical astonishment with which on the morning ot the third of january eighteen hundred and fortytwo i opened the door of and put my head into a stateroom on board the britannia steampacket twelve hundred tons burden per register bound for halifax and bps ton and carrying her majestys mails


that this stateroom had been specially en gaged for chartes dickens esq and lady was rendered sufficiently clear even to my scared intellect by a very small manuscript announc ing the fact which was pinned on a very flat quilt covering a very thin mattress spread like a surgical plaster on a most inaccessible shelf


but that this was the stateroom concerning which charles dickens esq and lady had held daily and nightly conferences for at least four months preceding that this could by any possibility be that small snug chamber of the imagination which charles dickens esq with the spirit of prophecy strong upon him had al ways foretold would contain at east one little sota and which hts lady with a modest yet most magnificent sense of its limited dimensions had from the first opined would not hold more than two enormous portmanteaus in some old corner out of sight portmanteaus which could now no more be got in at the door not to say stowed away than a giraffe could be persuaded or forced into a flowerpot that this utterly impracticable thoroughly hopeless and profoundly preposte rous box hid the remotest reference to or con j nection with those chaste and pretty not to say gorgeous little bowers sketched by a masterly j hand in the highly varnished lithographic plan hanging up in the agents countinghouse in the city of loudon that this room of state in short could be anything but a pleasant fiction and j cheerful jest of the captains invented and put j in practice for the better relish and enjoyment olthe real stateroom presently to be disclosed these were truths which i really could not for the moment bring my mind at ali to bear upon or comprehend


and i sat down upon a kind of horsehair slab or perch of which there were two within and looked without any impression of countenance whatever at some friends who htd come on board with us and who were crush ing their faces into ali manner of shapes by en deavouring to squeeze them through the small doorway


we had experienced a pretty smart shock be fore c ming below which but that we were the most sanguine people living might have prepar ed us for the worst


the imaginative artist to whom have already made allusion has depict ed in the same great work a chamber of almost inteitninabie perspective furnished as mr robins would say in a style of more than east ern splendour and filled but not inconveniently so with unups of ladies and gentlemen in the very highest state of enjoyment and vivacity


before descending into the bowels of the ship wv ha l passed from the deck into a lung narrow apartment not unlike a gigantic hearse with windows in the sides having at the upper end a urlaiichuly stove at which three or four chilly stputtfds were wanning their hands while on either side extending down its long dreary length was a long long table over each of which a rack fixed to the low roof and stuck full of drinking glasses and cruet stands hinted dis mally at rolling seas and heavy weather


i had not at that time seen the ideal presentment of this chamber which hassincegratified tneso much but i observed that one of our friends who had mtto the arrangements for our voyage turned p ile on entering retreated on the friend behind hi n tiiiote his forehead involuntarily and said ind ow his breath impossible


it cannot be


or words to that effect


he recovered himself however by a great effort and after a prepara tory cough or two cried with a ghastly smile which is still before me looking at the sametime round lie walls ha


the breakfast room ste wardeh


weall foresaw what the auswer must lu we knew the agony he suffered


he h


id often spoken of the saloon had taken iii amt lived upon the pictorial idea had usually pveii us tu understand at home that io form a just conception of it it would be necessary to multiply the size and furniture of an ordinary drawingroom by seven and theu fall short ot the reality


when the man in reply avowed i lu truththe blunt remorseless naked truth


this is the saloon sir he actually reeled beneath he blow


lu persons who were so soon to part and in terpose between their else daily communication tiie foi amiable barrier of many thousand miles ot stormy space and who were tor that reasou anxious to cast no other cloud not even the psmo tshadow of a m o men ls disappointment or discomfiture upon the short interval f happy companionship that yet remained to themin persons so situated the natural transition from these ti


i st surprises wis obviously into peals of hearty laughter and can report that i for oe being still seated upon the slab or perch before iucintoned rared outright until the ves sel rang again


thus in less than two minutes aittr coming into it for the first time we all by common consent agreed that this state room was the pleasantest and most facetious and c ipi la


i contrivance possible and that to have had it one inch larger would have been quite a disagreeable and deplorable state of things


and with this and with showing howby very neatly closing the door and twining in and out


ike serpents aud by counting the little washing lab as standing roomwe couid ra au age to j insinuate four people into it all at one time und entreating each other to observe how very try it was in dock and how there was a beau tiful port hole which couid be kept open all day weather permitting and how there was quite a targe bulls eye just over the looking glass which would render shaving a perfectly easy and delightful process when the ship didnt roll too much weaarrived at last at the unani mous conclusion that it was rather spacious than otherwise though i do verity believe that deducting the two berths one above the other than which nothing smaller for sleeping in was ver made except coffins it was uo bigger than ine of those hackney cabriolets which have the door behind and shoot their fares out like sacks of coals upon the pavement


having settled this point to the satisfaction of all parties concerned and unconcerned we sat down round the fire in th ladies cabinjust to try the effect


it was rather dark certainly


but somebody said of course it would be light i at sea a p roposition to which we all assented echoing of course of course though it would be exceedingly difficult to say why we thought so


i remember ton when we had discovered and exhausted another topc of consolation in the circumstance of this ladies cabin adjoining our state room and the consequently immense feasibility of sitting there at all times and sea sons and had fallen into a momentary silence leaning our faces on our hands and looking at the fire one of our party said with the solemn air of a man who had made a discovery what a relish mulled claret will have down here which appeared to strike us all most forcibly as though there were something spicy and high flavoured in cabins which essentially improved that composition and rendered it quite incapable of perfection anywhere else


there was a stewardess too actively engaged in producing clean sheets and table cloths from the very entrails of the sofas and from unexpect j ed lockers of such artful mechanism that it made oues bead ache to see them opened one after anotherand rendered it quite a distract ing circumstance to follow her proceedings and to fiad that every nook and corner and indivi dual piece of furniture was something else be sides what it pretended to he and was a mere trap and deception and place of secret stowage whose ostensible purpose was its least useful one


god bless that stewardess for her piously fraudulent account of january voyages


god bless her for her clear recollection of the com panion passage of last year when nobody was ill and everybody dancing from morning to night and it was a run of twelve days and a piece of the purest frolic and delight and jollity


all happiness be with her for her bright face and pleasant scotch tongue which had sounds of home in it for my fellowtraveller and for her predictions of air winds and fine weather all wrong or i shouldut be half so fond of her and for the ten thousand small fragments of genuine womanly tact by which without piecing them elaborately together and patching them up into shape and form and ease and pointed ap plication she nevertheless did plainly show that all young mothers on one side of the atlantic were near and close at hand to their little chil dren left upon the other and what seemed to the uninitiated a serious injury was to those who were in the secret a mere frolic to be sung about and whistled at


light be her heart and gay her merry eyes for years


the state room had grown pretty fast but by this time it had expanded into something quite bulky and almost boasted a bay window to view the sea from


so we weut upon deck again in high spirits and there everything was in such a state of bustle and active preparation that the blood quickened its pace and whirled through oues veins on that clear frosty morn ing with involuntary mirthfulness


for every gallant ship was riding slowly up and down and every little boat was plashing noisily in the water gazing with a kind of dread delight on the farfamed fast american steamer and one party of men were laking tn the milk or in other words getting the cow on board and another were filling the icehouses to the very throat vvith fresh provisions with butchers meat and gardeustuff pale sucking pigs calves heads in scores beef veal and pork and poul try out of ail proportion and others were coiling ropes or busy with oakum yarns and others were towering heavy packages into the hold and the pursers head was barely visible as it loomed in a state of exquisite perplexity from the midst of a large pile of passengers luggage and there seemed to be nothing going on anywhere or uppermost in the mind of any body but preparations for this mighty voyage


this with the bright cold sun the bracing air the crisplycurling water thin white crust of morning ice upon the decks which cracked with a sharp and cheerful sound beneath the lightest tread was irresistible


and when again upon the shore we turned and saw from the vessels mast her name signalled in flags of joyous colours and fluttering by her side the beautiful american banner with its stars and stripesthe long three thousand miles and more and longer still the six whole months of absence so dwindled and faded that the ship had gone out and come home again and it was broad spriug already in the coburg dock at liverpool


have not inquired among my medical acquaintance whether turtle and cold punch with hock champagne and claret and all the slight etcetera usually included in an unlimited order for a good dinnerespecially when it is left to the liberal construction of my faultless friend mr badly of the adelphi hotelare peculiarly calculated to suffer a sea change or whether a plain mutton chop and a glass or two of sherry would be less likely of conversion into foreign and disconcerting material


af y own opinion is that whether one is discreet or indiscreet in these particulars on the eve of a sea voyage is a matter of little consequence and that to use a common phrase it comes to very much the same thing in the end


be this as it may i know that the dinner of thatday as undeniably perfect that it comprehended all these items and a great many more and that we all did ample justice to it


and know too that bating a certain tacit avoidance of any allusion to tomorrow such as may be supposed to prevail between delicate minded turnkeys and a sensitive prisoner who is j to be hanged next morning we got on very i well and all things considered were merty enough


when the morningike morningcame and we met at breakfast it was curious to see how eager we all were to prevent a moments pause in the conversation and how astonishingly gay everybody was the forced spirits of each mem ber of the little party having as much likeness to his ualuial mirth as hot house peas at five guineas the quart resemble in flavour the growth of the dews and air and rain of heaven


but as one oclock the hour for going aboard drew near this volubility dwindled away by little and little despite the most persevering efforts to the contrary until at last the matter being now quite desperate we threw off all disguise openly speculated upon where we should be this time to morrow this time next day and so forth arid entrusted a vast number of messages to those whoiutended returning to town that night which were to he delivered at home and elsewhere without fail within the very shortest possible space of lime alter the arrival of the railway train at eustonsquare


and commissions and remembrances do so crowd upon one at such a time that we were stiu busied with this employ ment when we found ourselves fused as it wete into a dense conglomeration of passen gers and passengers friends and passengers luggage all jumbled together on the deck of a small steamboat and panting and snorting off to the packet which had worked out of dock yes terday afternoon and was now lying at her moorings in the river


and there she is


all eyes are turned to where she lies dimly discernible through the gathering fog of the early winter afternoon every finger is pointed in the same direction and murmurs of interest and admiration as how beautiful she looks


how trim she is


are heard on every side


even the lazy gentleman with his hat on one side and his hands in his pockets who has dispensed so much con solation by enquiring with a yawn off another gentleman whether he is going acrossas if it were a ferryeven he condescends to look that way and nods his head as who should say no mistake about that and not even the sage lord burleigh in hts nod included half so much as this lazy gentleman of might who has made the passage as everybody on board has found out already its impossible to say how thirteen times without a single accident


there is another passenger very much wrappedup who has been frowned down by the rest and morally trampled upon and crushed for pre suming to inquire with a timid interest how long it is since the poor president went down


he is standing close to the lazy gentleman and says with a faint smile that she is a very strong ship to which the lazy gentleman looking first in his questioners eye and then very hard in the winds answers unexpectedly and ominously that she ueed be


upon this the lazy gentleman instantly falls very low in the popular estimation and the passengers with looks of defiance whisper to each oiher that he is an ass and an imposter and clearly dont know anything about it


but we are made fast alongside tue packet whose huge red funnel is smoking bravely giving promise of serious intentions


packingcases portmanteaus carpetbagsand boxes are already passed from hand to hand and hauled on board with breathless rapidity


the officers smartly dressed are at the gangway handing the pas sengers up the side and hurrying the men


in ive minutes time the little steamer is utterly deserted and the packet is beset and overrun


by its late freight who instantly pervade the j whole ship and are to be met with by the dozen in every nook and corner swarming down be low with their own baggage and stumbling over other people s disposing themselves comfortably in wrong cabins and creating a most horrible i confusion by having to turn out again madly bent upon opening locked doors and on forcing j a passage into all kinds of outoftheway places where lhere is no thoroughfare sending wild stewards with elfin hair to and fro upon the decks in unintelligible errands impossible of executiou and in short creating the most ex traordinary and bewildered tumult


in the midst of ail this the lazy gentleman who seems to have no luggage of any kind not so much as a friend even lounges up and down the hurricane deck coolly puffing a cigar and as this uncon cerned demeanour exalts him in the opinion of those who have leisure to observe his pro ceedings every time he looks up at the masts or down at the decks or over the side they look there too as wondering whether he sees anything wrong anywhere and hoping that in case he should he will have the goodness to mention it


what have we here


the captains boat and yonder the captain himself


now by all your hopes aud wishes the very man he ought to be wellmade tightbuilt dapper little fellow with a ruddy face which is a letter of invitation to shake him with both hands at once and with a clear blue honest eye that it does one good to see ones sparkling image in


ring the bell


ding ding ding now for the shorewhos for the shore


these gen tlenien i am sorry to say they are awav and never said good bye


ah now they wave it from the little boat


good bye


three cheers from them three more from us three more from them and they are gone


to and fro to and fro to and tro again a hundred times


this waiting for the latest i mail bags is worse than all


if we could have j gone off in the midst of that last burst we should have started triumphantly but to lie here two hours and more in the damp fog neither staying at home nor going abroad is letting one dowu into the depths of dulness and tow spirits


a speck in the mist at last


thats something


lt is the boat we wait for


thats more to the purpose


the captain appears on the paddle box with his speaking trumpet the officers take their stations all hands are on the alert the flagging hopes of the passengers revive the cooks pause in their savoury work and look out with faces full of interest


the boat comes alongside the bags are dragged in anyhow


three cheere more and as the first one rings upon our ears the vessel throbs like a strong giant that has just received the breath of life i he two great wheels turn fiercely rouud for the first time and the noble ship with wind and tide astern breaks proudly through the lashed and foaming water


to be continued


i


ceihaetr


xiu tr journeyr


the election concludedthe tur moil and excitement of the contest overall was fast resuming its accustomed routine around us when one morni rg my uncle informed me that i was at length to leave my native country and enter upon the great world as at stddent of trinity college dublin


although long since in expectation of this eventful change it was with no slight feeling of emotion i contemplated the step which removing me at once from all my early frierids and associations wasto surround me with new com panions and new influences and place before me vety different objects of ambition fromr those who had hitherto been regarding


my destiny had long ago been de


cided the army had hadits share of the family who brought little more back with them from the wars than a short allowance of members and shattered constitutions the navy had proved on inoc thaut


oe occasion that


the fntcol tle


o lal leys did not incline to hanging so that in irish estimation liua one alternative remained and that was the bar


besides as my uncle remarked with great truth and foresight charley will be


iolerably independent of the public at all events for even if they never send


him a brief theres law enough iti the family to last his timea rather novel reason by the bye for snaking a man a lawyer and which induced sir harry with his usual clearness to observe to meupon my con science boy you are in luck if there had been a bible in the house i firmly


believe


hed have made you a parson


considine alone of all my uncles advisers did not concur in this dei termination respecting me


he set forth


with an eloquence that cer tainly converted me that my head was better icalculated for bearing lhard knocks than unravelling knotty points that a shako would become it infinitely better than a wig and declared rotundly that a boy who be gan so well and had such very pretty notions about shooting was positively thrown away in the foul courts


my uncle hoivever was firm and as old sir harry supported him the day was decided against us considine murmuring as he left the room something that did not seem quite a brilliant anticipation of the success awaiting me in my legal ca reer


as for myself though a silent spectator of the delate all my wishes were withl the count


fromn my ear liest boyhood a mililary life had been my strongest desire the roll of the drum and the shrill fife that played


through the little village with its iagged troop of recruits following had charms for me i cannot describe and had a choice been allowed me i would infinitely rather have been asergeant in the dragoons than one of his majestys learned in the law


if then such had been thn cherished feeling of many a year how


much


more strongly were my aspirations heightened by the events of the last few days


the tonrie of superiority i had witnessed in hammersley whose conduct to me at parting had placed him highin m y estebem heh quiet contempt of civilians iniplied in a thousand sly waysthe exalted estimate of his own


professiori at once woundedn my pride and stinu lated my ambition and lastly more than all the avowed peee ence that licyi


dmishwood evinced for a military life were stronger allies thap my own conviction needed to make me long fori the arny


so completely did the thought possess me tlhat i felt if


i were not asoldier icared not wihti be came of nue


life had io other object ofambition fr me than mili tary renownno other success for which icared to struggle or wvoild value when obtained


aut ctar autnullus thought


i and when my uncle determined i should be a lawyer i nieithier mturtmumed nor objected but hugged myself in the prophecy of considine that hinted jiretty broadly the devil a stutider fellow ever opened abrjef b iitj trd have reade a slimt h h llght dragoon


r


the preliminaries were not long in arranging it was settled that should be imnmediately despatched to dublin to the care of dr mooney then a junior fellow in the univer sity who would take me into


his special charge while sir harry was to furnish e with aletter to his old friend dr barret whose advice and assistance he estimated at a verv high price


provided with such docue ments i was informed that the gates of knowledge were more than halfa jar for me without an effort uplo my part


one only piortion of all the arrangements i heard with anything like pleasure it was decided that my man mickey was to accompany me to dublin and remain with mt during my stay


it was upon a clear sharp morning in january of the year thati took my place upon the boxseat of the old galway mail and set out on my journey


my heart was de pressed nd


my spirits were miser


ably low


i had all that feeling of sadness which leavetaking inspires and no sustaining prospect to cheer nme in the distance for the first time inmy life ihadseeua tearglis


ten in my poor


ucles eye and heard his voice falter is he said farewell


english extracts


lungs brass esq mp by t z prom the liverpool albion


chapter


we have learned never to be astonished at anything and never to grumble at anybody


our study and experience of human natme have prepared us not exactly to say what ever is ia right but in nowise tobe startled or amazed let what will happen


hence what ever changes evolutions tumbling in the ring dancing in a circle jumping jim crow and turning of coats we witness among our public men our only note of admiration is a smile our only observation just what might have been expected


nil adnierari is our motto and we take all things coolly


that wicked old heathen virgil did indeed write some hundred years since of the female sex with malicious sarcasm t varium et mutibile somber familia


but this totally untrue as applied to women is an exact description of male creatures in their fickleness and caprices


it has an especial reference to the case of political adventurers those parliamentary gentlemen of easy virtue who so abound in the present day


the boa constrictor that giant among shakes after swallowing its prey lies in a kind of torpid and semilifeless state for weeks ane weeks while it is digesting its food


during that time it is a very safe monster to deal with


you may cut off its head amputate its tail slice steaks out of it as travellers say the abyssinians do out of their cattle tie a noose round it and let it dangle from a tree like a condemned criminal or perform upon it aiiy other loving operation which strikes your fancy with perfect impu nity


only take care to get out of the way before its return to vitality arrives and then you are all safe


now this father of snake


is the exact type of john bull


john is a terri ble fellow tomanage when the political animus and virus arie strong within him


and he has set hieheait


and rhrind upon


obtaining some measure great or small from his rulers he will have his toy big baby as he is be it a drum or a penny whis tle or a rattle or a cup and ball pr a set of nine pins or a noahs ark if only it cari be obtained by loud screaming and roaring


he kicks and fights and shouts register


regis


ter register agitate agitate agitate until by making everybody uneasy and uncomfort able lie carries has point at last and then being totally exhausted by his unusualefforts he sinks back into a state of exhaustion like the big serpent aforesaid whue the process of digestion is going on


such


a period is au delightful to political quacks and impos tors as


an open and unguarded larder is to the blue flies of summerit is their harvest time their millenium


they abound they swarm they fatten and grow rich upon it


lungs brass esq mp is one of these traders


but before we say more about him let us state our views in plainer language


it is tba common opinion of man


kind thai when the people of england are fast asleep in one of their periodical lethargies they become utterly apathetic and indifferent touching all public and political mattera what ever and will continue to be noseled in this mesmerised condition if only their rulers and representatives do not tweak that prominent organ too cruelly as they lead them into captivity


and upon one thing we may depend namely that


as are the people so are their representatives


when the interest which the former ought to take in politicb departs that of the latter disappears witlfit


nothing but the most unceasing vigilance bri the part pf the electors cankeep the elected to their duty


in the good old times of witchesghosts topboots btagewaggons and long coacheb the monarchs of thisrealm used to touch for what was called the kiugs evil


but only thepeople themselves can touch for the peoples evil or evils


if therefore they do hot touch up their members when they find them bleeping at their postand flagging in their duty they will on the principle that


silence gives con sent be supposed to be satisfied with all sorts of abuse and misrule


a good equinoctial gale now and then is au excellent thing for clearing the political atmosphere


in a dead calm the representatives of the people are top apt tb gather with needy and greedy jaws and maws round the honeypots of patronage


so that if really we do ever want any amendments or improvements we must not open our mouths and shut our eyes and wait for a plum to fall of itself but we must set to work and start a good stiff breeze of agitation


you can get nothing for nothing


and now after this somewhat long and tedious preface let us come to our story


it is an illustration and a true one of thc working of the system which we have been describing


the borough of gullnobdle is anywhere you please


only remember that it isa real place although hid behind that graphic name and indefinite locality up to the year twaddledum twaddledee esq had been one of the repre sentatives thereof for nearly half a century


in the public estimation and in parliamen tary companions and other lists andcatalogues of parties and factions and sections old twad dledeo was always spoken of and recorded as a savage uncompromising old tory whose motto was let well alone who waa opposed to all change as synonymous with revolution called renovation innovation hated radicals as rebels had a holy horror of roman catholics arid would rather have seen a jew roasted than admitted into the house of commons


but all thiwas a tremendous mistake


twaddledee had only one anxiety in the world and that was for the advancement promotion and preferment of the race clan and family of the twaddledees


his name was his world and all he cared for in it


when he entered upon public life in the long ago past of another generation toryism was in the ascendant and appeared to be fortified and secure against the attacks of even time itself and accordingly toryism he joined as the best political paymaster of thc day


and with seeming consistency he followed its for tunes for nearly fifty years


we usc the word seeming advisedly as we shall presently show


from time to time preferments and appointments church livings and other bon bons of patronage were bestowed upon the twaddledee race until they became gorged like yiiltures with the public spoils


people thought them fortunate


olher supporters of the ministry were jealous


nobody suspected the real state pf the case


all attributed the golden shower to the gratitude of the ruling powers for continued and unflinching support


but one day not long since we were behind the scenes


happening to be in company with a soninlaw of old twaddledee and a veteran member of an old tory administration we mentioned that worthy gentlemans name as the most outandout specimen of toryism ever heard of in the world


to our astonishment our assertion was met with a loud laugh from both our companions while the exminister exclaimed this just proves how little the outer world know of what passes in the inner chamber


why your model man twaddledee was the greatest political rogue i ever had to deal with in all my experience


he voted with us generally because generally we were sure to win by a large majority


but whenever we were in a pinch and likely to be hardpressed he invariably called upon the minister the day before to make his bargain for his vote


to prove this if you have any doubts about it refer to the several dates in which his family were promoted and you will always find coincident with them that there was some hurricane by which the ministerial ship was in danger of being swamped


and so it was


old twaddledee our virtuous pat tern tory had been carrying his i political wares to market all his life


but as even twad dledees as individuals are not immortal the good patriarch of the clan at last departed thib life in all the odour of sanctity with the inno cent outsiders of his party in the year


there was of course a vacancy in thc borough of gullnoodle


we had many candidates


among them was lungs brass esq


we must keep him for another chapter


to be continued


clippings from magazines


lone house dale


a tale in six chapters


once more but this time we have some reading for the ladies and those who would rest themselves from the abstruse to be refreshed with a stroll through the flowery fields of romance


we have a charming tale from fraser for march entitled lono house dale


invested throughout as it is with matter of absorbing interest it also with lifelike fidelity depicts town and country characters in all the innocence of both


but we will not describe the tale we leave its perusal to our readers


the author of lone house dale is not named but it bears tbe initials e l chapter the first


fortune made no favourite of mr arden


nothing eer succeeded with him as with other people and all that he undertook failed the instant he put his hands to it


if he entered into a speculation the shares were sure to fall the next day and all his partners and he had had several were either bankrupt when they drew him into their affairs or died soon after the signlng of the deeds leaving him their debts as a legacy


perhaps he was born under an unlucky star or perhaps he was one of those sanguine visionaries who hope without examination and take their wishes for certainty of fulfilment


for there are men actually incapable by mental organization from distinguishing between the future possible and the future positive and mr arden was one of them


when list of failmel comprised every scheme he had ever entered into and when he was well wearied of the conflict and thoroughly despairing of the homefmuro he realized all his possessions and with his wife and only daughter placed himself on board a vessel bound for australia sure that in that young land of hope aud energy he mighl retrieve his broken foithnes if indeed they could be re trieved stall


perhaps he might if he had ever got there but when off the coast of cornwall a heavy norm dnive the vessel on shoru and when tbo morning sun brightened on the wreck it shone on the dead bodies of mr aud mis


arden lashed by the boiling eurr and ou the pale form of poor rosa their orphan lying uell nigh lifeless on the sands


this then was the end of the lucklesi mans lut venture shipwreck death and a ruined oiphan girl tcarco twentvone left to the cold charities of the world


ht evil ur had sunk at last


but it made a fiery and a stormy set ting in tragical exaggeration of ttte tenor of his life


there were bnt a few houses in the village of innivhoube dale on the coast ofuliich tii iv fated arethnsa had gone down


indeed ha wmliuns had licen eo scarce there the ouo


so litary dwelling which some bold man had direct to build in that bloili gorge had given the valley it original name


by degrees a few cottages and huts had grouped thoniselven around the lonehouse till a small hamlot was created which in time toukto itself the privi leges of a parish and gained a church and an incumbent but nothing olae of the niachi nery of modern society


at the me oftie wreck the only gentlefolk in the dale were mr and mrs doveton the clergyman and his wife and their own daughter living at the lone house of history now converted into the parsonage


abont six miles inland was a young squire lately come to his estate and not an eiuemoj person besides fov a dveury wane of mills lound


the reet of tbe inhabitants were fishermen and a few wretched farmers inland liut as lliero was only harrou moor and craggy tell to farm they ware even worre off thn thi coast folk


alncither a moio lonoly dearj lali povcrtyrtiirtien plsee could not have lieon found in the three kiogdoms a place where the sun never seemed to nhine or if hy chance it did break through tho louden sky it only saddened evciy one more than ilio most terrible storm and gloom for itspoliuof j nd life nd paiefy and h ippinoss to olhern while lookiug down oc nothing but dull dead iniery there a place so lifeless that even shipwrecks were better than nothing for at least they were exciting if tragical


the very poorest would lather have had half a dozen of ths shipwrecked lo feed lor a month than have gone without the pleasure of some iliingto talk of and to do


these mrangcie from tha outside life ware as good is a file of uewipapera or a bstch of new novels they wsro matt tial to talk for a twelvemonth after


h was a place whore every family had several idiotic or insano among them and wl ere no one seeded to be as wise or as sliaij as tiie vest of the world


a strange tlow vacant ill forined race wore tliey as if poverty and wielchedness dried up all ths lidmew ol life among them and reduced them lo something bdow oidinary hunianuy


when the oovetons heard that a ship had gone hhliore nnd wsb rapidly breaking up aaiutt the loug point rocks they hurried down to io contl partly to encourage the fiil eimen in any effoits that minht he practi cable partly to repress a possible outbreak of wrecking


for there had been such things talked of even in quiet lonehouse dale when poverty had lain heavy on all and destitution had stalked like a wild goif from door lo door


however tin re were no signs ot this ghastly wrong today


fish had been plentiful of late and lifelind been weary and lie dalesmen and the coastfolk alike were glad to receive visitors among them though there were hut ruined men whom they hud to toed and clouo and bund on their way


the duvetons for their share of the jjtnm and flotiim took pos eeesiou of poor rota aideti and carried her hunie to the parsonage among the first of tiie saved where in a thnrt time fhe recovered to find herself au orphan mined wrecked an i djpendent a whole lifes history enacted iu a in tcf rive minutes as we have nothing to do with he rest of the pieugcrs we ueed not tell how oue was saved and another lost lion eome who had friends joined those friends without delay and others who had reservefunds found themselves simply minus their passage money and heir outfit how some were raiued and olhers broken heaited and olherb again rode gaily on the crcrt of even this dark wave and con quered foitune afresh


our history lies limply with ruaaand the dovetons and for the good ship aretliuea her giant i ils bleaching in the sun are but as a skeletons bones with no living noitli to ui or to others


chapter the second


never was there such a godsend as uosa ardeu in that monotonous parsonage


as mrs doveton often faid lo her husband it win they who ought to be prateful u her for living with them not the who owed thorn anything fur was she uottheir superior in all things and wasitnotof iicukukble advantage to juarian to have such a companion marian was their daughter our marian and t young lady of tho village


if they had olfeied a hundred a year could they have got eilch a governed as thin sweet creature and was she not lietler than any givens to our dear child all ftir board and lodging and a few gonna and gioves


which wont i e very much nddd mrs oove ton in a calculating manner counting off so many months wear and prices on her fingers


so lie lioraiins ware mure than content with their spoil from the wreck and poor uosa was iis nnfisfiud heiu as feho wuuld have hexsn miy wheteelse which wan tiottayiuj very much thoujth for unfottunately lor hevnelf uusa arden was one of thoic lisatioualyiisturcd poule the chronically discontented


all her llowem sera buiied in thorns and her kun niet apples had bwk coiea


life was v petual tuftcring o her rain or shine it was all tho same a miwiry and rhc for ever a subject of selfpity the tecret of her discontent being that fhe had always leen loo much lovc that she had received and had dot given back aud thereby had become out saddest creature on whom the glad miu shines a woman ppoilund tendered selfidt by over love


ab tho reputed heiress of ho supposed wealthy mcichant bhe had been the centre of a uree circle of admirers and tribute payers


as the only child of affectionate parents she had bocn idolized


every wm hd been ttudied every winli fulfilled it she would but condescend to have wishes and to bo happy when ovetything and every person wan laid under contribution to fulfil them that wrb all that was needed in render the household blest


when she ninod


it was niihine in the arden borne when she frowned it was blackest night till at last


i his cxlreiuo care and attention lay on bur huvy and oppressive like a per petual piesinee which destroyed both lest and uucmsdousnoib she did not know what he suffered nor why


but thie was the psycliulu gicnl bccrctof her mute indefinite melancholy which no one had wit enough lo read


she was beautiful liut of a peculiar style of beauty bloodliw paioles


siatiinquo ftyle


eho was very fail her hauds and neck of almost fabulous hiteiiss aud her face of i that dead pallor which though so lovely is so painfully suggestive


her hair was almost pure flaxen witli just s tinge of gold at the ends and here and there light threads of brown which gave it more the seinhlanco of a wanner tint than ou reality but it was eingularly ilorsy nnd in grat prolusion


her eyes were dsrk krey tho brows and lasheb


a few shades daikei ilia her hair


slie was of middle height slight and very graceful indolent to an oxlremo taciturn and selfpossessed


no one had ever reen her hurried excited or agitated no one had ever ecn her weep no one had ever heard her laugh she was never knotiu to do a goneroub action never heard to say an un kind word


give her a french novel and easy chair a fashionable gown an elegant appoint ments and hosa arden would read by the fire side undisturbed while an earthquake rocked her cushioned feet or the cry of murder sound ed in her eats


but i hough she would not have exerted herself to save even a fellow creatures life ye aim wished for no excessive attention herself


surround her with the luxuries necessary to her lire then leave her to herself


if boba arden could have imagined happiness it would have been under this form


her notion of paradise even as child had always been n island whore she might tie alone saved by invisible hands or by hands without bodies to them aa one reads of in fairy tales spiritual seances


but she w horougiily wellbred withal and in npite of her selfish in dnlenco undeirtood lie laws of society too well to fall in one of the in


isnificant minutia of good breeding and conventional politeness


such was the pearl which tho dovetons had gathered from the wreck and whih they now enshrined in tliolr highest and holiest niilio


and poor row as an orphan and ruined found here as well in w brightest days iio op pression of too much lovii


she ws such a confrast to marian i


no wonder that even tho parents with all the mind partiality of parents placed ttosa on a higher point in the scale uf existence tlnnthoy could place thoir own


marian was a tall un developed meagre awkward creatuie of twenty four or cvo like an overgrown gill of twclo o far as figure was concerned nd about thirty or thereabouts in her face


slio m well instructed theoretically but she knew nothing that nho could tiri to practical count either tor ubb ov for bhow


she nu n play fit to ha heard lt she undtrzj doublohaai to perfection her drawings innocent of perspective and horribly e lore


jj ahe hud unnwledgo en uh to jura second claude if she could have traiiffeireii


her timid nnflvunoiedib pat iw nilra had imprinted on her brain rim could n i crochet nor yet ombiwdur nor do ijetlin woil nor


even fov plain work belter i han a charii chwlgirl but ho was a good fcrdcncr and a botanist and knew both latin and ilieij menlsof greek iheeoehebot from litrfatlier


and she could read french flneully mu her pronunciation of it would hatio disgraced licginner ttmnbllng own


lo la los jjle awl ward and nngular rfiy nervous nd en


lurraasst spoke ia jerk and rapidly under her breath for the most part and never with i clear articulation


she i was full of oddldm generally expiensod in queer rjaculalijii


ehocked with tt superstitious dread of tlia world and a firm bejirf that every man


man and child in london end lge citia flbnoially was t monster of iniquity fnnani of he first principles of virtue


thieving mi ftreet murders site believed the oider of cit life


ae for fireb neither l nov her mother would havo dared to bleep a night in london higher than the ground floor and if mr dove ton had been out balfanhotir after dark the


would both have be vail d him it dead or tt least halfinutdeieil


such a strangely unreal unworldly household as they made altogether


living in that quaint old lone house aaliltjc like the ordinary men end women of society at if they had been merfulk landed by a gjfe and secretly webfooled inbido their shoes marian besides being ungainly was plain


featured ab


well


her scanty hair ol dull brown iho gathered up in a queer little haul defying knot liehind the front she braided tight and flat to her face


she had urge clear innocent eyes but every other feature was bd her momh was a straight line her cheekbonei were high her hands mid feet laige andtb first red and swollen her neck was mere liont and filmy and lu was a maityrto freckles oml midgebites


hut she had a heart of the purot gold a warm loving unselfish nature that asked for nothing and tliatgave


all thai loved will fhe pjbaiooatc tenacftv of the uu lowly aud tho single minded content with the privilege of loving and the joy of selfsaeiicii itior unlovely waiian


with her awkward limbs aud her ungainly gestures and her dear ule womanly heart within looking up to graceful iiosa us to a revelation a being from another sphere and feeling herself just a men clod hy tbe side of a rare clear gem uut marian had something else to love ik


tides roba


young mr rawliuson tho tquiio fur weariness at his monotony made lielieve to himself that lie was in love with tho ui eons daughter of lone house dale and in tup pott of that phantasy had made a fotuial offer a fiw months before which had been formally accepted


axkwsrd marian teu times moie awkward than ever f r


now she was shy and ehauiefaced as well as nervous and conscious yet loved thin mm lover with lie whole silent quiet idolatiyof her nature and though ha was flouty and jerky and uncomfortable aid undemomtiative nevettheleee the wellnigh adored him great tough coarsenatuied boozy youiig bquiio bb be was


and wlies ltoa was fished up as mr doveton eaid like s second aphrodite from tlio foam marian introduced mist kflwlnsnv came at least a dozen times the very firrt evening so fuii of


nervous love that site eccmed to think bou woud find out her becret by intuition tiw uo giew weary and asked who is jjr


ujlrbor much as if the atked the ago of the hippojwtamus


to which replied marian jerking out her woids miff sswjnsvs cur yoang squire and paa iaiticular friend


oh kid ituita is he indeed


at firtt hnsn did not see this mr hawlinnon whn he camo but after a while when lime had softened the sharp outlines of m gtitl she remained in the room one day when he called


aud this


lie manner of iiis com ing about twelve oclock of lonehouse dale time that is about eleven of ciyilibed chro nometry and an hour before the pannnago dinner the clatter of hows hoofs was heard recounting up tbe paved road running thro the v ge a lord batting from two undisci plined clogs accompanied that clatter and a heavy horsewhip ni cracked in a aerie of small pistol shots the tumuli suddenly t p ped just opposite the parsonage and a thick fluffy voice presently called out


hi


marian


as if it came snuggling in apoplectic bullion from betwetn layer of beet and quart of pnrier muffled ill by belchere


aud worsted comfort marian iltting upright on tho extreme edge of


cane chair by rota lounging back on a hard fofa in a gmceful attitude under difficul tie faid jerkingly


oh my


theres mister rawlinson and immrtdiatrly commenced a series of manual gymnastics known as tidy ing which almost dixli acted roaa to wltneo


a moment alter the door was flung open and in cn a all burly young man shuffling and stamping and bowing with a coatse kind of shyness to rosa rota in her london way simply inclining her hed without risiug or speaking a reception that procured for her not the politest of epithet when the booy young squire told of his interview with the strange london lass duwu at lie dag of kail tint night


r a ran on vspid glance otor tho tbtbh by whose side marian stood in fidgety but mute idolatry and with the nearoet approach to ehudder of which fiiu wbi capable turned to her silk netting again feeling painfully de graded by the nimplu picnence of such crea ture as her equal


tho big dog auifled about her and one even more vulgar and daring than bis ituow put a huge paw on her drew and left a mud inodol there for her contem plation and disgust


the liuily young aouirq cracked his whip and joked with mtii more in alluded than ioal sbso while maiian jeiked out her sentences like dropping shot and mr and mrs doveton caressed and lic lauderl and delighted in ihoir future sonin law and paraded him before kosa and paraded bora before him as could have only happened down in lonohouae dale where london giil and lovers were equtlly scarce


but hosa would not bo paraded


she an sweied ceitaiuly when gnomflp but she would not talk and for all liflwi endea roma to trot her cut ehe would vbp through tho smallest of her paces


it jnopmerely a speaking dolt that voung squire luwlinsod taw that day and iio he said at the bag of nailt and awove at her pride roundly too


but somehow he wanted to see her again


it was only to give her back aa good sb ue brought and teach her that squires with money in their pod eta and land at their fwt weie eqoal to atuckup london miwes living aa pauper lutes on others


so squire rawlinson went to tho panonago next day and tared at koia lounging on the sofa silent and abstracted as he would have tared at one of madame tussiuds waxwork figure till at lart he came to tho conclusion tbit she was a deuced film creature when alls said and done and day by day the young squire went to the lonehouse each day a few minutes ear lier than the lart leaving inter until mis


uotetim nudged her husband with her elbow and aid in a loud wliinper eh pspa


i tiink theyd beat be married soon


and marian felt quite bridelike in her bashfalnom and her consciousness


but what waa the most bewil dering thing of all waa that every day hu tnanuera to marian grow mote tude and caro lean and ills exhortations to her to copy miss there mere perplexing to one whom no noticetaking and reproof tendered more awk j na unmanageable


for marian was not ttsw ht required mlt


sur wssrt to get on with t


all no f eljetw the chnga gradually creeping sw towr perhaps he wai not aware of it kfmarinwtbe only one to feel that wwm


a ge at all but even lie would u bn pulled to give it name


the erand mother wore fr loo simple to dream stoh a thing fiy to a promise slimuiu sodeliite a a pvoepiin n


ffatpirked a


n me


mply ssrhna of vague draamy feeling which siber bad without railing to her the f tier sadness


she was uncomfortable tln


mr hawlidu aid to her will a uklnd pf banteiing dap on her lioulden


svws marian lmt vm lue j bt ke


a wwonoeuo would have taken such a sn sueli a jowwmiiog


and j il familiarity from ay matt


ki ptfttvelyptatagamy j oftfrestton bf ihe ddvetdf live they ss teiasta


and ftugettej abbot her suihe ftu overloadedoppressed like an jrer bmdened wayfarer lying down under her s m of aenitirig patience


they t her up all the beat thingt of the house


kfctf atog but mltl with swfuhy toten ahottouty


for instance one day mrs situs b wfc rijaafa


mth at oolefta whhcoareo knitting over hud pink gld calico whore


it was a very atj the pint to get thdm through and shite wlfenthw had gone tn with a crack mtfk itiiutfle thev ank dopd between die js md disappeared mjteriouly ad this isomon edged rnbd wlth toway mock


lbs good wal brought to boaa when rsc


dressing t tn invasion


her own sir mutt n have dttid to o btl


dovektms hid no convention


delicaty hddwilb a blaming fcluile on her weulbapoh s he


ae it io her with a great motherly vrj iv here dailing i can do with ifttiingnli l for you


alnt tt pretty


bow u ittu fit for our peart to which boia rtdnjtttfrbd to the elegance and perfection of a liowdon house would mile uintly and bt


very tilth bad been eating lemons and cnnmikft open her lips


thtt bonttilted her whhea in tnlttas about wwen e hid no wwh at afl and asked her tutetn things o vitely ugly find to horribly catimhlm tnat h old nvo d choice be hfeelf hem


uatim would worry her hie out ifflbg bei a downtimes in the week if that hidts little taf in the middt of ttie lro koatd be fiueu with chinvutera or anemone or wouldnt a bed of rocksta or hollyhocks with wrier at nasturtiums be pretty


and mrs doveton cosulted her every day about dinner taking her choice between potato pot and irish stew or hashed mutton and toadln ahole till rosa loathed the very mention of dinner and one day said weariedly oh dear mrs doveton do not ask me for i would rather go without food entirety than have the trouble of ordering it a apeech thit hurt mrs doretdns mind tiitenrively and that the did dot get bver tot many a long day


altogether they flittered tier and they wonied her they loved ilia they bothered her bo


inconveaiently ihd m bbmerelfauy that rosa tor very went i tm wotfld wieh herself dead beneath tic ealt irsve a ihanmlid tlmee


mthev thn likve fallen an inch a homo of stifling adoraiiou


nothing but her indolence kept her with them


one ounoe more of energy in her brain and will anft the would tritte left them driven out fnm them by their unrestrained love and by the newv vapour of their incense


chapter the third


my knottier


whoa you


cried marian a a fishlonablyareed man


came up the rc renowned paved road looking inquiringly at the parsonage


he was a militarylooking individual walking with his umbrella under his left arm in the intanertf ataord and with that indescribable aoinething in hit appearance and air that poke


oib tfitn of the world the man about town the imidoh mat of good tocicty


boai by chance riibed her byes at the et damatjoh


it wu a mere chance for die had geenauortru entrapped by the like bullet or wstfflertoo jhotofit of maiianamoutlii tlrtt the bill isahit to dilregaid tt now altogether


for iii nv yon hid never luraeti out o be anyrilir her thau a sirty firjliermsii or a wnueidii ugf


but the lattilr waa a puuic character if by chance one so misguided ftfund t hfattelf in loriehbueb dale and s r wgiii baiorbuyvbroomb br monkevfc et blie ii it they were real lordmayor rltmlijioffi to old and young and received pojwlaf ovjtiohs far euptrtor to anything we metrbpoluanb eonld do


or tt might have win ftrwer sc add bos hor cart of staring im wu blue r a hlrad wrrbw sf


unavbury nhortahtiplebflittleehtgirlb


in a now fro ki oi eviin s cuilytiiied dog that jiimtlim noi happen to robgtifs


for in lbjlelidute dale anything livitiboertainly anylhing humiri native or forclfrn was an event with a capital e and in italics


if boat had seen a lirulhei ohe cuuld nat lave felt k more euiitu rush bf pleasure than she did at the sight of this military looking nian


in londoh she would have probably tiouave lmticea him in lohbhotuo dale he fii ih etent to her as well a totlierrirt


bhitia been nix htouths hdre how all fflrstyblhejobgduu dreary winter aiid hte uainw aalate brought to the reception of gutronbfiiio jrfnipllclty by fating shobythe fw of in ungenial atmoiphere ai rtmht


t fluirb and appreclale tho bleming orflthsbpiblohlfnlpd


aehad done before


mbrtever sho recognised tlie bltanter as a cibtatb morrfk whom bhe had knowu very mghtly tn town though now indeed sud felt mbbneatp fciloiid mi hiht acquaintance lijto a poiitive fiiendihip


bui she rilade ho remark while marion and her mother beat jaeh bthert brain in vilh obnjedturee s fo wioitfconiaile ted whatever hd could want le flow in lonehbuse dale atarlug tdo at thwrhbufellol after looking at the house for some time ai if lo auure himself that it wta all hght ftdjehttetoatt opehofl tbrf uttle wtcwt ate ted cune up the fcbbly garflen walk tbrbugh t ttth bf cockle kud hflw hueuseet in on mid each ae lik


quits contrary miry


men df allver belli ond cockle fliells and pto maids au bf a ijw row row


he loobjeabotl ha


it bvea tjiaidda meh


those fwlud rebreiohtktits of indian wbllaity brk tt broviniiuil eccerilriuttleb then knocked kl th ifirtll gtiit grettl do with its glftfidg hobhaukmeker


till thti whble hohke


hoolt atffl echoed nna the pstfer of his wruuhb hla demonstrative miijr of tblf announbtltnent


ott fof mother vie coming here tried mthtd tri ioua of irittiuko tcrrot


mwitsirev iiid kfa


dbvetoh tattling ttfr oifotenvte


whatejvft tin he want here i wobaiff


i hope he alnt i swindler or oib dhsaatul thing like that boaa


vbt ainl it isda now


i netlate know him iliflitly ais hosa tn hft uwt way for the wai wifficlbntly gorja attured not to like to coo people lincoffitort able perhaps because their fussiness annoyed er


fla ft but a swindler dr ahyone to be juraied ktw is simply k oapuli ttorris bf tt lh wio unud to rtsh us sombhmei on uleodcattons ijlilwihodtaiullia


y


t faow


hwfetift toa ftolerriuenltwrtoadck or child since into the house she came as she said to her husband only so late ago as last night


aod how cuuld lie have found her out now


ho docs not know i am here


said rosa it is a pure occident that he has come at all give you my word she added gravely for she saw mrs doveton making eyes at marian true to the first instinct of an under bred woman and next to stealing or telling fibs lloa thought it the greatest possible in tuit that could be offorcd to her to suppose that she was in love or encouraged ly auy man whatsoever


oil dear ahall too about ihst said mrs dovulon rfifli what wis inided to be an arch look but her eyes were loo thiall and their iida too fat to be arch to that they were rather leery than anything else


at that moment tin gawky servant girl who had quite a long pailey before the would admit the visitors threw open the door with a bang end a flutter bawling


please maam yei wanted hb it she had been hailing a ship


glad to eee you sir sais jltra doretoti titnth flmtered and ftfiktni artrttsof fatlitue robbing carlbeys while marian stood erect and crimsin hanging her head and sidling nubind her mother


then almost before captain morris ired finished his preliminary ixw the began tb wdgd her rntjtbet in the back saying in a loud whisper mother mother wont the gentleman ait down


ask him mother mother ask him crescendo all in a broad provincial accent and with a voice that grated like steel rods carried over it rough street


bosa was on the sofa shrouded in the shadow of the dingy curtain


her black dross helped to conceal her as well as the shadow in which the was placed so that captain morrrs did not tee her at all and ac cepted marians uncouth invitation without so much as knowing that another person wai in the room


but when he was teated and before he could open on th business of his visit rosas smooth still udy like voice said very quietly i think have had the pleasure of seeing captain morris before


and i know that voice raid captain morris with a start for it seemed almost like a piece of ventriloquism coming to snddonly from nothing


he rote so quickly that he upset hi chalrj which however he picked up again with less than the average tofe of dignity and then made few steps hurriedly to the darkness


i know the voice he re ponied


but in tihh twillight am mhamed


ti my


i cannot quite jive it a namo


do you remember tfw ardene of eqnare


said rosa holding out htr hand


qsaa hearens ana arden i or in iho nanle of wonder came you here


he eiclmtned with such unfeignod surprise that uoss grilled at she made roorh for him on the lofa by her tide for his words tncinfc how can yon the typo of refinement live in a place where they trim their garden with cockle shells


lion can you breathe tn a room where the windows never seem to be opened and where there ii an ommniprciont smelt of woollen applet and turpentine


sod how can you make a companion of a freckl faced girl that talks bad kngkeh and eays sir


so rosa explained briefly how it au had ootae about bow that her father hid failed been shipwrecked and was drowned and how that she had been preserve


from th wreck by her good fiiends hsroroaaa heart heaved with pride sis die forced her unwilling lips to lay this word who had kept her ever sines and who would not hear of her leaving them


to all of which mrs doveton listened open eyed smoothing her apron and ejumlating lord bless her


whtn rosa spoke of their hospitality albeit she did speak so meaglcly and un affectiodtely and putting in a certainly not never when she id they would not pait with her marion on the edge of hei chair bolt upright and uncomfortable thinking it scarcely decorous that rosa should tell her personal history to any man not father nor mast rawlnsn


but i am taking up your valuable time added rosa as she finished her story


and i dare say you are anxious to trfinsact your bueinev whatever it bay be


oh my buiineas is uot ofmueh ifoportance said captain morris turning to mrs dovetons cap but looking at rosa i have merely discovered that an eccentric old uncle of mine lived in the house many years ago before mr dovetone incumbency and i have reason to believe that he left a large quantity of papers fa lly nilics lehert actounca a neither of use nor luterwt to any but outselvcb


i chanced to be in the neighborhood and there fore i thought i intght as well utilize my visit to lonehous dal by trespassing on your kindness so far as to ask you if you know of any such manuscripts left by the former proprietor


nooo said mrs doveton hesitatingly for she was too bewildered to be correct


mother


expostulated marian why up in the hayloft theres heaps of papers only the rats have gnawed em and ive heard father tell that they belonged to the queer old man who lived here before us


well yescill your father aid ilra dovetob


t bog your pardon sir but t quite forgotthe hayloft rnbblth


thousand apologies trouble ashamed im stira arid csptmn morris rising to ac company msridn to the door si which pro ceeding marian jibbed and sidled and bliuhed and fidgeted and finally tore the door from hit lutlds in a paroxyam of ehathe and con fusion running ail but of breath


tb her fathers study to tell whit a queer man si in the parlour atls he was to cotto directly


a man thth mtiltkches father she tali as the climax


applelaced goodtampered tossy little mr doveton pulled up his ueorgothb fourth nbek cldth arid palled down his short black waist coat and bustled and fussed and trotted abotlt ai if fit were going to do the robtrt important thing sirlcb hannibal crossed the alps or na poloon went down the broad flight of sttsps at fontainebleau a discrowned monarch knd ti ft few minutes he waa ttandiug before captain morris nhuklng that getitlettan wartnly by the hand quite after the manner bf old acquain tance and proffering all sorts of hospitable ser vices


manuscript in the hayloft


left by tny tery worthy bat bbniewbat eccentric pretiecei sor


littijt icripta it excerjttat vet thy dear sir onslighted to serve ybu arid billy wlsri


i could do more for boy friend of out pel kort at which piece of familiarity captain morris tli nrhitary cbdlherved oaptain morris fiihy started from mb beard tt hit boots ex claiming


ra iecretly to kb mnsficlieb fd mlra ardbu had been ai renowned tt her own circle for her pitte and coldness hi for her beauty aha now he heard ad kpplefacfed country clergytnan call her


pet ted rdsa


hovvonder tesurwa


to be concluded in bur next


chapter iv


beyond the blue sky and deaths river i shall be soon beyond the last sigh and last shiver beyond the last breaths trembling quiver i shall be soon


oh then for yonder home


lord come come oh come


there was a far different scene about the same time in one of the pacific is lands


it was noon on a burning day and the sun poured down its rays from a cloudless sky upon a native village


everything bespoke peace and happiness the small verandah cottages covered with lovely climbing plants the orderly little gardens the well swept streets told that a peaceful civilization was there


yon der cottage a little larger than the rest is especially lovely


its little garden is crowded with flowers and the wide verandah forms a climbing place for many a lovely wild blossom


it is shel tered beneath spreading palm trees and around it tower the cocoa nut and banana


but step within that door and you will forget the lovely scene without


this too is beautiful but it is an awful grand beauty that it shows he is going home the missionary is going home


stretched on a couch near the door lies a young man of fiveandtwenty


those dark thoughtful eyes that full rich lip the noble white brow do you not recognize him


yes it is lester eshton


five years back he came here and found a squalid miserable people who scoffed at the man of god who came to love them


but he was not to be dis couraged and now look around him


all is peace and plenty and prosperity


but his work is done his labour is over and now lester eshton is going home


he lies there and smiles and talks in a low tone but nevertheless he is going he is silently retreating into the unseen


there are two aged people beside him his father and mother


he lays sic his hand within his mothers and she smiles and calls him my boy lester as of yore


the father reads or talks as the departing man wishes and they all sit there calmly and cheerfully awaiting his last breath


death has indeed lost his sting for lester eshton


my boy the mother says your people are here to bid you goodbye


let them come he says and in twos and threes and singly they come troop ing in those children of god whom he has taught to know their father


ten


derly the dark men press the hand of their departing pastor lovingly he kisses and caresses the wondering little child ren


many are the moaning sobs which the affectionate creatures choke down that he may not hear


a few words of parting sweetness some murmuring of gods mercy and gods love and then they are gone and they will see him on earth no more


he turns languidly to his mother mother my race is over i am going


and she says may god go with thee son


a little silence and he speaks again mother my belief is confirmed i see i see


but he could speak no longer


one beaming smile one long drawn sigh and lester eshtons soul was where things unseen are made clear


the parents hid their mourning faces in silence for there was no longer need of comforting smiles their beloved was gone


the earth was poorer by two noble souls but the choir of heaven was enrich ed with two other voices of eternal praise


chater iv


the hunt


atvuoiroug


we had not the advantages of southerly wind and clouded sky the day towards noon became strongly over cast and promised to afford us good seen ingweather and as we assembled at the meet mutual congratulations were exchanged upon the improved appear ance of the day


young blake had bro vided miss dash wood with a quiet and welltrained horse and his sisters were all mountedas usual upon their own ani mals giving to our turnout quite gay and lively aspect


myself came to cover upon a hackney having sent bad ger with a groom and longed ardently for the moment wher casting the skin of my uereatcoat and overalls i should ap pear before the world in my wellappoin ted cords and tops


captain ham mersley had not as yet made hbs appear ance and many conjectures were afloat as to whether he might have missed the road or changed his mind or forgot all ahout it as miss dashwood hinted


who


pray pitched upon this cover said caroline blake as she looked with a practised eye over the country on either sides there is no chance of a fox late in tie day at the mrillssaid the huntsaman inventing a lie for the occasion


then of course you never intend us to see much of the sport for after you break cover you are entirely inst to us


though you always followed the hounds said miss dashwood timidly


oh to be sure we do in any com mon country but here it is out of the questionthe fences are too large for any one and if am not mistaken these gentlemen will not ride far over this there look yonder


where the river is rushing down the hillthat stream widening


as it advances crosses the cover nearly midway well they must clear that and then you may see those walls of large loose stones nearly five feet in height that is the usual course the fox takes unless he heads towards the hills and goes towards dangan and then theres an end of it for the deer park wall is usually a pull up to every one except perhaps


to our friend charley there who has tried his fortune against drowning more than once there


look here he comes said matthew blake and looking splendidly tooa little too much in flesh perhaps if any ithing


t captain hammerely said the four mis blakes in a breath


where is he no its the badger im speaking of said matthew laughing and pointing with his finger towards a corner of the field where my servant was leisurely throwing downa wali about two feet high to let him panss


ioh how hiandsome what a charg r for a dragobn aid missdashwood


to ns continiued


mim m american notes for general circulation


b y bo s j chapter iithe passage


out


we ali dined together that day and a rather formidable party we were no fewer than eighty six strong


the vessel being pretty deep in the water with all her coals on board and so many passengers and the weather being calm and quiet there was but little motion so that


be


fore the dinner was half over even those pas sengers who were most distrustful of themselves plucked up amazingly and those who in the morning had returned to the universal question are you a good sailor


a very decided


ne ga ti ve now either parried the inquiry with the evasive reply oh


i suppose i am no wors than anybody else or reckless of all mora obligations answered boldly yes and with some irritation too as though they would add i should like to know what you see in me sir particularly to justify suspicion


notwithstanding this high tone of courage and confidence i could not but observe that very few remained long over their wine and that every body had an unusual love of the open air and that the favorite and most coveted seats were invariably those nearest to the door


the teatable too was by no means so well attended as the dinnertable and lhere was less whist playing than might have been expected


still tvith the exception of ooe lady who had re tired precipitately at dinner time immediately after being assisted to the finest cut of a yellow boiled leg of mutton with green capers there were no invalids as yet and walking and smoking and drinking of brandy and water but alway in the open air went ou with unabated spirit until eleven oclock or thereabouts when turning inno sailor of seven hours expe rien e talks of going to bedbecame the order of the night


the perpetual tramp of boot heels tn the decks gave place to a heavy si lence and the whole human freight was stowed away below excepting a very few stragglers like myself who were probably like me afraid to co there


to one unaccustomed to such scenes this is ti wry striking time on ship board


afterwards and when its novelty had long been worn off it never ceased to have a peculiar interest and charm for me


the gloom through the great black mass holds its direct and certain course the rushing water plainly heard but dimly seen the bioad white glistening track that follovs the vessels track the men on the lookout forward who would be scarcely visible against the dark sky but for their blotting out some core of glistening stars the helmsman at the wheel with the illuminated card before him shininga speck of light amidst the darkness like something sentient and of divine intelligence the melancholy sighing of the wind through block and rope and chain the gleaming forth of litcht tioin every crevice nook and tiny piece itt glass about the decks as though the ship vere tilled with fire in hiding ready to burst through any outlet wild with its resistless pvor of death and ruin


at first too and even when the hour and all the objects it ex alie have come to be familiar it is difficult alone and thoughtful to hold them to their pro j per shapes and forms


they change with the wandering fancy assume the semblance of things lett far away put on the well remem brrd aspect of favorite places dearly loved and evett people them with shadows


streets houses rooms figures so ike their usual occu punt that they have startled me by their reality which far exceeded as it seemed to me all power of mine to conjure up the absent have many and many a time at such an hour grown suddenly out of objects with whose real look aud use and purpose was as well ac


quitted as with my own two hands


illy own two hands and feet likewise being vey cold however ou this particular occasion crept below at midnight


it was not exactly comfortable below lt was decidedly close and it was impossible to be unconscious of the pnence ot that extraordinary compound of binitige smells which is to be found nowhere but xi board ship and which is such a subtle per fume that it seems to enter at every pore of the kin nd whisper of th hold


two passengers wives one ot them my own lay already in si ivt ebonies on the sofa one ladys maid my indy was a mere bundle on the floor execra ting her destiny and pounding her curl papers among tho stray boxes


everything sloped the wrung way which in itself was an aggravation bcatctly to he borne


t had left the door open a motu ut before in the tace of a gentle decli vity and when i turned to shut it it was on the summit of a lofty eminence


now every plank and timber creaked as if the ship were mude of wicker work and now crackled like n enoimoufire of the driest possible twigs


there was aothin


for it but bed so to bed i w


if was pretty much the same for the next two tlny vuth a tolerably fair wind and dry wea hei


i read in bed but to this hour i dont know what a great deal and reeled on deck a lillie drank cold brandy and water with an unspeakable disgust and ate hard biscuit perse veringly not ill but going lo be


lt is the third morning i am awakened out of my sleep bv a dismal shriek from my wife who demands to know whether theres any danj ger


i rouse myself and look out of bed


the water jug is plunging and leaping like a dol phin all the smaller articles are afloat ex cept my shoes which are stranded oo a car


pet bag binn and dry like a couple of barges j suddenly i see them spring into the air and behold the looking glass which is nailed to the wall licking fast upon the ceiling


at the same time the door entirely disappears and a new one in opened in the floor


then i begin to comprehend that tile stateroom is staudiug upon its head


be ore it is possible to niak any arrangement at alt compatible with this state of things the ship rights


before one can say thank haveb


she wrong again


before one can cry she ts wrong she seems to have started for ward and to be a creature actively running of its own accord with broken knees aud failing legs through every variety of hole and pitfall and stumbling constantly


before one can say so j much as wonder she takes a high leap into the j air


before she bas weil doue that she takes a deep dive into the water


before she has gamed i the surface she throws a summerset


the in stant she is ou ber legs she rushes backward and so she goes on staggering heaving wrest ling leaping diving jumping pitching throb bing rolling and rocking and going through all these movements sometimes by turns and sometimes altogether until one feels disposed to roar for mercy


a steward passes


steward


sir what ts the matter


what do you call this v rather a heavy sea on and a head wind


a head wind


imagine a human face upon the vessels prow with fifteen thousand samp sons in one bent upon driving her back and hitting her exactly between the eyes whenever she attempts to advance an inch


imagine the ship herself with every pulse and artery of her huge body swollen and bursting under this mal treatment sworn to go on or die


imagine the wind howling the sea roaring the rain beating all in furious array againt her


picture the sky both dark and wild and the clouds in fearful sympathy with the waves making another ocean in the air


add to all this the clattering on jeck and down below the tread of hurried feet the loud hoarse shouts of seamen the gurgling in and out of water through the scup pers with every now and then the striking of i heavy sei upon the planks above with the ieep dead heavy sound of thunder heard within a vault and there is the head wind of that january morning


i say nothing of what may be called the do mestic noises of the ship such as the breaking af glass and crockery the tumbling down of itewardf the gambols over head of loose casks and truent dozens of bottled porter and the very remarkable and far from exhilarating sounds raised in their various state rooms by the seventy passengers who were too ill to get up to breakfast


i say nothing of them for al though i lay listening to this concert for three or four days i dont think i heard it for more than a quarter of a minute at the expiration of which term i lay down again excessively sea sick


not seasick be it understood in the or dinary acceptation of the term wish i had but in a form which i have never seen or heard described though i have no doubt it is very common i lay there ali the daylong quite coolly and contentedly with no sense of weariness with no desire to get up or get bet ter or take the air with no curiosity or care or regret of any sort or degree saving that i thiuk i can remember in this universal indiffer ence having a kind of lazy joyof fiendish delight if anything so lethargic can be dignified with the titlein the fact of my wife being too iii to talk to me


if i may be allowed to illus trate my state of mind by such an example i should say that i was exactly in the condition of the elder air willett after the incursion of the rioters into his bar at chigwell


nothing could have surprised me


if in the momentary illumination ot any ray of intelligence that may have come upon me in the way of thoughts of home a goblin postman with a scarlet coat and bell had come into that little kennel before me broad awake in broad day and apologising for being damp through walking in the sea had handed me a letter directed to myself in fami liar characters i am certain i should not have felt one atom of astonishment i should have been perfectly satisfied


if neptune himself bad walked in with a toasted shark on his tri dent i should have looked upon the event as one of the very commonest every day occur rences


onceoncet found myself on deck


dont know how i got there or what possessed me to go there but there i was and completely dressed too with a huge peacoat on a pair of boots such as no weak man in his senses could ever have got into


i found myself standing when a gleam of consciousness came upon me


holding on to something i dont know what


i think it was the boatswainor it may have been the pumpor possibly the cow


i cant say how long i had been there whether a day or a minute


i recollect trying to think about some thing about anything in the whole wide world i was not particular without the smallest ef fect i could not even make out which was the sea and which the sky for the horizon seemed drunk and was flying wildly about in all di rections


even in that incapable state however recognised the lazy gentleman standing before me nautically clad iu a suit of shabby blue with an oilskin hat


but was too imbecile although t knew it to be he to separate him from his dress and tried to call him i remem ber pilot


after another interval of total un consciousness i found he had gone and recog nised another figure in his place


it seemed to wave and fluctuate before me as though saw it reflected in an unsteady looking glass but i knew it for the captain and such was the cheer ful influence of bis face that i tried to smile yes even then tried to smile


i saw by his gestures that he addressed me but it was a long time before i could make out that he remon strated against my standing up to my knees in wateras i was of course i dont know why


i tried to thank him but couldnt


i could only point to my bootsor wherever i supposed my boots to be and said in a plaintive voice cork soles at the same time endeavoring i am told to sit down in the pool


finding that i was quite insensible and for the time a maniac he humanely conducted me below


lhere i remained until i got better su fieri ng whenever i was recommended o eat anything an amount of anguish only second to that which is said to be endured by the apparently drowned in the process of restoration to life


one gen tleman on board had a letter of introduction to me from a mutual frieud in london


he sent it below with his card on the morning of the head wind and i was long troubled with the idea that he might be up and well and a hun dred times a dav expecting me to call upon bim in the saloon


i imagined him one of those castiron imagesi will jot call them men who ak with red face and lusty voices what seasickness means and whether it really is as bad as it is represented to be


this was very torturing indeed and i dont think i ever felt such perfect gratification and gratitude of heart as i did when i heard from the ships doctor that he had been obliged to put a very large mustard poultice on this very gentlemans sto mach


i date my recovery from the receipt of that intelligence


it was materially assisted though i have no doubt by a heavy gale of wind which came slowly up at sunset when we were about ten days out and raged with gradually increasing fury until morning saving that it lulled for an hour a little before miduight


there was some thing in the unnatural re pos of that hour and in the after gathering of the storm so incon ceivably awful and tremendous thu its bursting j into full violence was almost a relief


the labouring of the ship in the troubled sea on this night i shall never forget


will it ever be worse than this was a question i had often heard asked when everything was sliding and bumping about and when it certainly did seem difficult to comprehend the possibility of any thing afloat being more disturbed without top ping over and going down


but what the agitation of a steamvessel is on a bad winters night in the wild atlantic it is impossible for the vivid imagination to conceive


to say that she is flung down on her ide in the waves with her masts dipping into them and that springing up again she rolls over on the other side until a heavy sea strikes her with the noise of a hun dred great guns and hurls her backthat she stops and staggers and shivers as though stunned and then with a violent throbbing at her heart darts onward like a monster goaded into madness to be beaten down and battered and crushed and leaped on by the angry sea that thunder lightning hail and rain and wind are all in fierce contention for the masterythat every plank has its groan every nail its shriek and every drop of water in the great ocean its howling voiceis nothing


to say that all is grand and all appalling and horrible in the last degree is nothing


words cannot express it


thoughts cannot convey it


only a dream can call it up again in all its fury rage and passion


and yet in the very midst of these terrors i was placed in a situation so exquisitely ridicu lous that even then i had as strong a sense of its absurdity as i have now and could no more help laughing than i can at any other comical incident happening under circumstances the most favourable to its enjoyment


about mid night we shipped a sea which forced its way through the skylights burst open the doors above and came raging and roaring down into the ladiescabin to the unspeakable consterna tion of my wife and a little scotch ladywho by the way had previously sent a message to the captain by the stewardess requesting him with her compliments to have a steel conductor immedately attached to the top of every mast and to the chimney in order that the ship might not be struck by lightning