my countrys noble packetship the screw sir said the colonel turning to martin and drawing a flourish on the surface of he deck with his cane her passage either way is almost certain to eventuate a tlie captain who had the sewer below at that moment lunching expensively in one cabin while the amiable slabber was drinking himself into a stale of blind mad ness in another look a coidlal leave of his friend and captain the colonel and hurried away to despatch the champagne well knowing as it afterwards appeared lhat if he failed to conciliate lhe editor of the rowdy journal that potentate would denounce iiim and his ship in large capitals before he was a day older and would pro bably assault the memory of his mother also who had not been dead more than twenty years


the colonel being again left alone with martin checked him as he was moving away and ottered


in consideration of his beingan englishman to show him the town and to introduce him if such were his de sire tn a genieel boarding house


but before they entered on these proceedings he said lie would beseech the honor of bis company at the office of lhe rowdy jour nal to partake of a bottle of champagne of liis own importation


all this was so extremely kind and hos pitable lhat martin though it was quite early in the morning readily acquiesced


so instructing mark who was deeply en gaged with his friend and her three children when lie had done assisting them and had cleared the baggage to wait for farther or ders at the rowdy journal office he ac companied his new friend on shore


they made their way as they best couty through the melancholy crowd of emigrants upon the wharf who grouped about they beds and bones with lhe bare ground below them and the bare sky above might have fallen from another planet for anything they knew of the country and walked for some short distance along a busy street bounded on one side by the quays and shipping and on lite other by a long row of staring redbrick storehouses and offices ornamented with more black boards and white letters and more white boards and black letters than martin had ever seen before in fifty times the space


presently they turned up a narrow street and pre scntly into other narrow streets until a last they stopped before a house whcreci was painted in greal characters rowiiy tlie colonel who had walked the whole way with one hand in his breast his liend occasionally wagging fioin side lo side aiid his hat thrown back upon his cars like a man who was oppiessed lo inconvenience by a sense of his own greatness led the way up a dark and diry flight of stairs into a room of similar character all littered and bestrewn with odds and cuds of newspapers and other crumpled fragments both in proof and manuscript


bcbnd a mangy old writing table in this apirtmcnt sat a fiure with lhe stump of a in in its mouth aud a great pair of scissors in its right html clipping and slicirg at a file of howdy journals and il was such a very laughable figure lhat martin had some dif liiuliy in preserving his gravity though conscious of the close cbservation of col tlic individual who sat clipping and slicing as aforesaid jit the rowdy journals nas a small thin young gentleman of very juvenile appearance and unwholesomely pac in the face partly perhaps from in tense thought but partly there is no doubt from the excessive use of tobacco


he wore his shincollar turned down over a black ribbon and his lank hair a fragile crop was not only smoothed aud parted back from his brow that none of the poetry of his aspect might be lost but had here and there been grubbed up by the roots which accounted for his loftiest de velopments being somewhat pimply


he had that order of nose on which the envy of mankind has bestowed the appellation snub and it wis very much turned up it the end as will a lofty scorn


upon iht upper lip of this young gentleman were tokens of a sandy down so very very smooth and srant lhat though encouraged o the utmost it looked more like a recent trace of gingerbread than the fair promise of a moustache and this conjecture his apparently tender age went far to strengthen


he was intent upon his work and every time he snapped lhe great pair of scissors lie made a corresponding motion with his jaws which gave him a very terrible ap pearance


martin was not long m determining within himself that this must be colonel divers son the hope of lhe family and future mainspring of the rowdy journal


indeed he had begun lo say that he pre sumed this was lhe colonels little boy and hal it uas very pleasant to see him playing it editor in ali the guilelessness of child hood when thecclonel proudly interposed md said my war correspondent sir mr leficrsmi brick


martin could not help starting at this inexpected announcement and the con iciousness of the irretrievable mistake he lad nearly made


mr biu seemed pleased with the sen sation he produced upon the stranger and shook hands with him with an air of pa ronage designed to reassure him and lo el him know that there was no occasion o bj frightened for he brick wouldnt lurthim


you have heard of jefferson brick i see sir quoth the colonel with a smile


england has heard of jefierson brick


europe has heard of jefferson brick


let me see


when did you leave englaud five weeks ago said martin


five weeks ago repealed the colonel thoughtfully as he took his seat upon the table aud swun his les


now let me ask you sir which of mr brieks articles lud become at that time the most obnoxious to the british parliament and the court of st jamess


upon my word said martin i have reason to know sir interrupted the colonri lhat lhe aristocratic circles of your country quail before the name of jeoerson brick


should like to be in formed sir from your lips which of his sentiments has struck the deadliest blow


at the hundred heads of the hydra of corruption now grovelling in the dual beneath the lance of reason aud spouting up lo the universal arch above us its san guinary gore said mr brick putting on a little blue cloth cap with a glazed front and quoting his last article


the libation of freedom brick hinted the colonel must sometimes be quaffed in blood colonel cried brick


and when he said blood he gae


the great pair of scissors a sharp simo as if thy said blood too and were quile of his opinion


this done they both looked at martin pausing for a reply


upon my life said martin who had by this time quiie recovered his usual coil ness cant give yon any satisfactory information about il for the truth is thai j stop


cried ifhe colonel glancing sternly at his war correspondent and giving his head one shake after every sentence


that you never heard of jefferson brick sir


thai you never rad jefferson brick sir


that you never saw the rowdy journal sir


that younevcr knew sir of its mighty influence upton the cabinets of europe yes


thais what i was about lo observe


certainly said martin


keep cool jefferson kaid the colonel uel gravely


dont bust


oh you euro peans


alter that lets have a glass of wine


so saying lie got down from the table and produced from a basket outside the door a bottle of champagne and three glasses


mr jeflerson brick sir isaid the colonel filling martins glass and own and pushing the bottle to that gentleman will give us a sentiment


well sir cried the war correspondent since you have concluded to can upon me i will respond


i will give you sir the rowdy journal and its brethren the well of truth whose waters are blackyrom


being composed of printers ink bu are quite clear enough for my country la be hold the shadow of her destiny reflated hear hear cried lhe colonel vth great complacency


there are flpwlry components sir in the language of tny friendi


cry ranch so indeed said martin


here is todays rowdysir observed theiolonel handinghim a paper


youll fwjcflerson brick at liis usual post in the vat of human civilization and moral purity


he colonel was by this lime seated on tli table again


mr brick also took up posit ion on that same piece of furniture ind they fell to drinking pretty hard


they often looked at martin os he read the paper and then at eaeh other and when he laid il down which was not until they had finished a second bottle the colonel asked him what he thought of it why its horribly personal said martin


the colonel seemed much flattered by this remark and said he hoped it was


we are independent here sir said mr jefferson brick


we do as we like


jf i may judge from this specimen returned martin there must be a few thousands here rather the reverse of inde pendent who do as they dont like


well


they yield to lhe mighty mind of the popular instructor sir said the colonel


they rile up sometimes but in general we have a hold upon our citizens boh in public and in private life which is as much one of the ennobling institutions of our happy country ns


as nigger slavery ilsclf suggested mr brick


en lively so remarked the colonel


pray said martin after some hesi tatiun may venture to ask with rele rence to a case observe in this paper of yours whether the popular instructor often deals in i am at a loss to express it with out giving you offence in forgery


in forged letters for instance he pursued tor the colonel was perfectly calm and quite at his ease solemnly purporting lo have been written at recent periods by living well sir


replied the colonel


it joes now and then


and the popular instructed what do they do asked martin


buy em said die colonel


mr jeflerson blick expectorated and laughed the former copiously the latter approvingly


buy cm by hundreds of thousands resumed the colonelj


we are a smart people here and can appreciate smartness


is smartness arierican for forgery asked martin


well said thi colonel i expect its american for a giod many things that you call by other rimes


but you cant help yourselves in europe


we can


and do soinelimps thought martin


you help yourselves with very lillle cere mony loo


i


at all events whitever name we choose lo employ said die colonel stooping down lo roll lhe lliirj empty bottle into a corner after the othe two i suppose the art of forgery was ntt invented here sir suppose not replied martin


nor any other kind of smartness


i iuventcd


noil presume not


well said the colonel then we got it all from theiold country and lhe old countrys to blane for it and not the new un


theres ai end of thai


now if mr jeflerson drift and you will be so good as clear ill cone out last and lock the door


rightly interpreting this as the signal for their departure martin walked down stairs after the vvar correspondent who preceded him witfi great majesty


the colonel follouingj they left the rowdy journal office aril walked forth into the streets


mat tin qcling doubtful whether he ought to kick ihj colonel for having pre sumed to speak t him or whether it came within the bouudi uf possibility that he and his establishment could be among the boasted usages ottliat regenerated land


it was clear tltpl colonel diver in the security of his strong position and in his perfect understaiiiliiig of the public senti ment cared veryjliille what martin or any body else thougljl about him


his high spiced wares were made to sell and they sold and his thousands of readers could as rationally chiige their delight in filth upon him as a dnuon can shift upon liis cook the respoirsljility of his beastly ex cess


nothing tould have delighted tlie colonel


more lhai lo be lold that no such man as he could valk in high success the streets of any oil r country in lhe world for lhat would only have been a logical assurance to him


of lhe correct adaptation of his labours loi the prevailing tasie and of his being slricuy and peculiarly a national feature of america


they walked


a mile or more along a handsome strcetkvliich the colonel said was called broadwajj and which mr jererson brick said whipped the universe


turn ing at length into one of lhe numerous streets which branched torn this main thoroughfare tlty slopped before a rather meanlooking house with jalousie winds lo every window ji flight of steps before the green sireeldoor a shining white orna ment on lhe rails on either side like a petrified pineapple polished a little ob ong plate of tile same material over ilie knocker whereon the name of pawkins was engraved and four accidental pigs looking down lhe area


tn be continued


orzigmal


a true tale of australiat


ohapter lii


concluded fromt ourt last


i feel sir replied edward that i deserve your severest censure yet still i cannot bear to see miss frazer and i trust she will return home and soon forget such an unworthy object as myself


if any pecuniary means are required by her i shall be most happy to be of service do you think said the clergyman indig nantly that money can ever repay her for the disappointment she has received i had hoped to have found you possessed of better feelings but as i find all my arguments are of no availto induce you to do justice to aliss frarer whol has the strongest claim on your faith aidd honor i leave yousir and trust the day ntmsy uever come in which you shall reap the fruit of your present heartless conduct


father of mercy said the unhappy girl when the issue of the conferenceewtas disclosed to her grant me strength to bear this heavy trial without repining at thy will ohl edward thilt i should ever have lived to know that you would leave me among strangers without one kind word you that i have for long years so dearly loved


a severe illness followed and on her recovery the poor girl sought to return home crushed in spirit and nearly heartbroken she left these shores which she first beheld with the joyous anticipation of hope and happiness


yet did not jessy depart without deep feelings of gratitude for the kiid attention sihe had re ceived here


but even kindness can scarcely minister to a mind deceased


or pluck from the memory a deeply rooted sorrow


my story will soon be dlone and probably it may be expected that according to the usuail inale of a novel my heroine ought only to have reached her home in order to expire of a broken heart but though she suffered long and bitterly yet she recovered and lived to wed one who could appreciate her worth one who was hope lessly attached to her before she left home arid vho on her return solicited her esteem which esteem strengthened into true attachmientf ai fond wife


for edward little remains to be told ijie married miss bill but his inflatedided


sdij lispelled for within a year of his iutii iis fatherin law became a bankrupt uidldrirtut stances of great discredit


edward was iiimulya


iii his ruini and has never yet beenuenitileil slo gain that wealth and importance foirwiichi ie sacrificed every honorable feeling


i


the fate of one character yet remainshtdtiw mentioned that of the lady whom i denofiiiietiae as agnes


it has been asserted withillhi t truth that men have died and cwomienri too hai worms have eaten them but tiot for love


itic


indeed very rarely the case that deitih a ibei the result of blighted loveex elitii tioi fo stu occasionally even in real life tlheriielitdictils to a malady that physicaus art eaiirbtriel jtwf these cases either the nitlid hati hirhliiigo support or the idiocrasy of the bodyisintfla alhi delicate


like the flower whichalii i duii officer placed next his heart whilebih hlei perri sence yet in her absence threw nuiilieedlitgly away so did he fling to the idle windsi thelie mory of the fair girl whom he had flattered with an affectation of affection


the summons for the departure of his regi ment struck on the ear of agnes like the death knell


of hope and love though reason still struggled with affection and whispered that beyond flattering attentions looks and words which arose perhaps from idle gallanfry she had no claim upon his faith


havingl iitiigled ini society at home above which it was ever et


lt to move he had acquired those gfraces aid fa cination of manner which agnesfeltinad


she loved so far superior to allrodidlhfj good eduation and refined feelinigs ihadtiqo ei adapted her to appreciate his attriciiveinianier and the idea of his departure was iiierfi


ter


perhaps he felt a pang of regre t theideath lie should never see her againi but helsodon rin soled himself that a brief period ainichlidaig would cause him to be as happy in anoitliihr iiir tationthough conscience whisperedthat lis vanity had made his last flirtation too tehderi and that for the sake of an idle conquestl he had risked the happiness of an amiable girl and if had be sisters perhaps the thought of what le might think due to them in a similar cases ifight cause him to blame his own conduct biuttlie idea of a direct proposal never entered his ii gination


at length the day of parting clime and summoning all his nouchllance tolisaid le went through the ceremony of leavetakiig with many expressions of regret and common place promises of reemmbrance ldagres


equally go through her part


sie did for io mans pride is strong perhaps her cheek was paled and her voice trembled as she bade ai adieu which she felt was for ever yet her eyt betrayed no tear and she struggled for an indif ference she could not experience for she felt too late that she had been deceived


after his departure she fell as it is termed into ill health but the disease was in the mind which soon affects its frail tenement ihe body sleepless nights and weary days without one glimmer of hope to brighten the future will soon destroy the health where there is no native elasticity of mind or strength of character to surmount the evil change of scene and a sea voyage were recommended but during the voy age sie gradually drooped away and only i believe reached the shores of england to breathe her last


this is no tale of romance but occurrence of real life inaustralia


finis


m e


the mysteries of paris continued


la goualcuse thariks to the care ol madame georges was no longer recognis able


a pretty little peasants hat hall concealed her heavenly face a kerchief of white muslin was crossed on her breast and disappeared under the boddice of a dress of fine wool which fitted as if made for her


the expression of her countenance was sad


there are certain joys which cause emotions of devout melancholy


rodolphe made her no compliments on her beauty for he felt there was something solemn almost holy in this redemption of a being snatched from vice


madame georges on whose resigned countenance could be seen the traces of loni suffering and profound grief looked on marie with an affectionate compassion almost mater nal so much were the sweetness and grace of the young girl sympathetic


shere is my child


said she presenting marie to rodolphe who comes to thank you for goodness


at these words my child marie turned her expressive eyes towards her protectress with a look of gratitude quite indescrib able


monsieurrodolphe said marie in a voice trembling with emotion you under standdo you notthat i cannot express my thanks in words si require none marie


soh


she feels how much herhappiness is providential said madame georges much affected


her first movement on entering my chamber was to throw herself on her knees before my crucifix


it was because i feel now as if i dared to pray said marie


ssir walter murphy who had not spoken during this interview turned suddenly away his english stoicism was touched by the simple words he had just heard


s


my child said rodolphe i have something to say to madame georges


my friend sir walter will conduct you over the farm


we will join you directly


sir walter turned his back and pretended to blow his nose with a formidable noise then halfturning offered his arm to marie and to hide his emotion moved off so rapidly that the young girl had to run as she had in her infancy after la chouette


vwell madame georges what do you think of marie i said rodolphe


as i have already told you monsieur rodolphe her first impulse was to throw herself on her knees and the movement was so spontaneous so naturally religious that i saw in a moment her mind was not degraded nnd besides in her expressions of gratitude there is nothing exaggerated nothing but what is felt


well now i am doubly content with what i have done


you willlove her and her company will be a solace to you she will occupy at least a corner ofyour heart


yes i will interest myself for her as i would have interested myself for shere some heartrending recollection choked the utterance of madame georges


todolphe took her hand


come come do not be discouraged


if our researches have been in vain perhaps some day madame georges bowed her head sadly andsaid my poor son would have been mow twenty years old


say that leis twenty years old


may god hear you and grant it


his decrees are ever for the best


last night continued rodolphe i made a vain attempt to discover sowething concerning hini asi am informed a man named bras rotge isin possession of some evidence


in making thatsearch i met this poor unfortunate child


alas i so much the better


your kind ness to me has not been lost


besides said rodolphe i have long wished to explore these miserable regions almost sure that there are some souls to be saved from satan


then he added in a serious tone have you no news from rochefort


none said madame georges in a low voice and shuddering


so much the better


this monster has met death in the mud banks in endeavour ingto escape


his description is published and he is too formidable a villain that they should not have used every exertion to re cover him and as it is six months since he has disappeared from rodolphe stopped


from the galleys


oh say itfrom the galleys cried the unhappy woman wildly


the father of my son


ah i if this unfortu nate child lives yet


if like me he has not changedhis name


what shamewhat shame and


this is nothing yet


ahl monsieur rodolphe pardon me but notwithstand ing your benefactions am yet very un happy


spoor woman calm yourself


sometimes i have horrible alarms i imagine that my husbcnd has escaped from rochefort that he seeks to kill me as per haps he has killed my child for what has he done with himwhat has he donewith him this is indeed an unfathomable mystery said rodolphe gravely


what interest could this wretch have in taking away your son


alas i monsieur rodolphe when my hus band the poor woman shuddered in pro rnouncing the word was arrested on the frontiers and brought back to paris they permitted me to visit him in prison lhe said to me these horrible words


i have carried off your child becauseyou loved him and because through him i can force you to send me money of which lie shall profit or not as it suits me that is my business


a short time after my hus band was condemned for life


since that time all the entrcatiesr the prayers with hnlich my letters were filled have been in vain i have learned nothing of the fate of my


eon


one of the farm servants interrupted this conversation which took place in the gar den


madame he said monsieur le curd awaits you


have the posthorses arrived asked rodolphe


yes they are putting them to the carriage


i firgot to inform you my dear madame georges said rodolphe as they walked towards the house that misery and priva tions have injured maries health


this morning in the strong light i was struck with her extreme paleness although her cheeks were rosy her eyes appeared to shine with a feverish expression


she will need great care


depend upon me monsieur rodolphe


but praised be god


there is nothing serious at this age with country air and qniet reposeshe will soon improve


i think so myself


you will send me word from time to time how she gets on


it will be better for her to remain always with you if her conduct and character are agreeable to you


it is my wish that such should be the case


she will take the place of the child i so much regret as they approached the house from the farm sir walter and marie came up from the other side


marie was quite delighted wiith her walk


the worthy knight leaving her arm whispered to rodolphe tthis little girl has enchanted me i dont know now whether she or madame georges in terests me the most


madame georges and marie entered a small saloon on the ground floor where the abbe laporte awaited them


here arrangements were made for the instruction of marie rodolphe strongly recommending her to the care of the worthy priest


this done the carriage was announced


adieu my good madame georges farewell marie


the venerable priest leaning on the arms of the two females


who sustained his tot tering steps went to the porch to see rodolphe depart


the last rays of the setting sun shone out upon this interesting and melancholy group an old priesta symbol of charity for giveness and hope eternal


a matrontried by all the griefs which could aflict the heart of a wife and a mother


a young girl just emerging from child hoodalready plunged into an abyss of misery but rescued from the besetting infamy of crime


rodolphe stepped into the carriage his friend seated himself by his side


and the horses started at a brisk pace for paris


mademoiselle ursule


a tale


translated for the geelong advertiser from the french of imoleri in


the feuilleton of le mauricien


chapter i paul bernard was a wealthy coth ma nufacturer of louviers


his parents had been poor but they


neverthel so gave him a good education


in the year he entered the army and soon at tained the rank of lieutcnant


exactly ten years afterwards he retired from the syz


alr t r ts t ao


i n w s si t tg there he entered into the service of an old manufacturer for whom he cteidas a confidential manager till in


the old man died and having no natural heirs left the greater part of his fortune to his faithful assistant


at the time when we commence this history that is to say in bernard was fortyeiaght years of age he was an active and la borious man giving the whiole of his attention to his business and neglecting no honorable means of augmeutihig his fortune


he had neither wife nor chil dren and he could if he had chosen have retired in the enjoyment ofa very respectable competence


the gossips of louviers frequently enqiuired of each


other what could be his object in con tinuing to labor withso muchardour and perseverance


aviarice was not his fault


he was certainly not too old to have a family but the eyes of the most curious could not discover that he gave the least preference to any of the young maids or widows of louviers and the problem yet remained to be solved


bernard was loved and esteemed by all he was affable to his workmen fair in his dealings and generous whenever misfortune required succor


the only reproach that they could cast upon him was he spoke little atdhad an abrupt ness in his manners but it was only in his own house that these faults were display ed


as there is no effect without a cause bernard might possibly have been of a more communicative temper if he had not had at the head of his domestic establishment an old maiden sister mademoiselle ursule who was eight years his senior and whose inquisitive and talkative humour he had continually to combat


ursule had paid a visit to her brother about the time when he entered into the possession of the fac tory and she had continued to hold the reins of domestic government for the seven years following


she exercised an absolute authority over the domestics decided upon all matters connected with the table bought everything and made whatever alterations she thought proper


these prerogatives however did not satisfy her ambition she wished to in quiire into and direct the affairs of her brother as she did all the rest but her efforts made no impression upon ber nards firmness


it is a general rule that old maiden sisters make choice of some object on which tobestow those affections which cannot altogether be frozen to death


it is generally adog or a cat that has the happy privilege of awakening those slum


bering feelings of the heart


ursule had not one of these interesting animals but instead she had as a companion a tall ungraciouslooking young woman ofabout twenty years of age whith whom she chatted played and alternately flattered and scolded


this charming young wo man the most insupportable in all lou viers was called dorothee


for seven years bernard ursule and dorothee had lived under the same roof bernard never appearing except at the hours of breakfast and dinner and a short time in the evening before bedtime the two others employed all their spare moments inquestionnmg and attempting to pry into the affairs of others but it was only in matters occurring out of doors that they could find food for their curiosity within doors the taciturnity of bernard had pre vented the snares of their attempts upon him and his affairs


one morning how ever bernard dropped some words which they gathered up as if they were precious manna in the desert of their existence


sister said bet nard i wish you to have dinner ready an hour earlier than usual and to have my portmanteau packed for me


what you are going on a journey yes to paris where i shall remain only one day and shall return on the day after tomorrow


is it a journey of business or plea sure askedursule


what matters it whether it be the one or the other was his reply


if


you went for pleasure said she you would surely make a longer stay


why do you think so oh you are so tormenting


and oh


you are so inquisitive


of course i am because i take an interest in every thing that concerns you and if that is unpleasing to you say no more


during my absence prepare the bedchamber that overlooks thegarden


for whom my brother


what are you beginning jourques tions again


yes and very natural too doro


thee who does not like her own bedroom hasjtust got my permission to take the one you want


i you annoy me


let dorothee keep her on chamber she does not want two


at least brotheryou night tell me whetlier the person you intend to bring is a man or a womanyoung or oldin order that i may know how to furnish the f urnish the room


as it ought to be for a young lady


i understand


understand what you please


fur nislit in the manner you think best


what sort of a person is she


she is one whom i wish to have treated as if site were the mistress oftlie house


how long is she to stop here


how many days


howmany weeks


how


many months


always


citapter ii


during the absence of bernard the most extraordinary events occurred in the neighbourhood without attracting the attention of ursula and her companion


they had enough in their own house to feed their appetite for enigmas and con jectures


who could this young woman be which they were about to instal as a sovereign in the house of which they had heretofore been the sole mistresses and that too for ever


so had bernard said


i have found out what it is cried dorothee strikitig her forehead as if she had been suddenly enlightened by a luminoius idea


what do you suspect my dear said ursule opening her ears that she might not lose one of the words of the oracle


a very simple thing indeed mon sieur bernard is about to get married it is his bride who is coming here


nonsense i is it usual for a bride to go to live with her intended before they are married


he knows no young lady in paris and even if he did it is impos sible lie can get married in one day


lhat is no argument for im bernard never does anything the same way that the rest of the world does


that is true but do you know that jyou make me tremble with your supposi tions


why so do you ask me why


ah


my poor child what will become of us if my brother get married


monsieur bernard will never suffer himself to lose a proper regard for his sister more especially that he has taken her to live with him in his own house


believe so


my brother has solemnly assured me of his protetion till death


he has even said that imight keep you with me as long as i pleased


i have therefore no reason for inquietude on that aceount but my dear child since you came here my tenderness for you has given rise to a notion which it seems i must now relinqunsh


and thea too after the marriage only think of the children there will be and that is not all either the whole of my brothers estates and fortune are at his own dis posal and your chance of a share will be compromisedlostmy poor doro thee


ursule heaved a deep sigh which was responded to by a sigh equally eloquent on the part of dorothee


bernard returned as he had promised on the second day after his departure


the young lady that he brought with him was about seventeen years of age with large blue eyes rosy cheeks a charming mouth a sylphlike shape and hloni hair in which respect ursule found some consolation as dorothee had the advantage of possessing a head of hair of as ardent an auburn as queen elizabeths


at the end of a few days the appre hensions of ursule were dissipated and she enjoyed the triumph of having de clared that the oracle pronounced by dorothee was contrary to common sense


berniard maintained towards marie that


was the name of his young guesta man ner full of affection and spoke words full of kindness to her but it was a kindness an affection altogether paternal and which did hot cause him to show towards others any modification of his usual habits


it was a great thing for ursule to feel assured that her former fears were ground less but her curiosity was as strong as ever andshe was determined to lose no opportunity of satisfying it


if bernard remained impenetrable it was reasonable to hope that marie would show a more comnmunicstive disposition


it was there fore against her that the old lady deter mined to direct all her batteries


my brother appears to have very great friendship for you my dear child


i every day receive fresh proofs of his friendship mademoiselle but yet i do


not believe that it is possible for any one to feel more gratitude than i do to him


what not to your parents


ah


that might hbe but i have never heard of them


hat


your father


your mother


i never knew them


possibly i might know ifou told me their name


i am ignorant of iti have always been calleldmarienothinig more snothing morelthat is strange


inimadiyou tivewtn acjarlsf


i waus in a boarding school


but surely somebody


came to visit nonebut monsieur


bernard when he came to paris


what


my brotherwas the only person


ho interested himself in your condition


theonly one mademoiselle


andis it long since you knew him since i knew myself


ursule could not stay any longer to follow upi her interrogations


she went to look for dorothee


i brig you news my dear


ohdo tell me what it is


you thought that my brother had his own views with respect to marie said ursule notwilling to part


with hier precious nnews too quickly


ana


i still think so said dorothee


mily


i never believed that and i have just found oiut soimethingtoday that makes it certaini i am right


what have you leiirned then that we were wvrong to apprehend a iiariage which can never take place


wlhy


becabse marie is my brothers daugh ter


you make me laugh l marie the daughter of m


bernard who was never married


my dear innocent


do


you not know that myibrother once wore the epaulets


the military have very little regard for morality


but are you sure alt ii have put my fingers in the fire but let this secret rest between us


bernard would be furious if he came to know that i had discovered his secret


thiat marie may be his daughter instead of becoming his wifei do not see what we gain by that said dorothee


reassure yourself my love said ursule the little marie has no will of her own she is a simple thing that i shall have no difficulty in managing


i shall not cease for in instant to rule over this house as i have always done before and that is a most important consider ation


to be continued


litcraturle


he mysteries of paris


chapter i tthe


tapispianc


continued


andi to become cquainted well just tell each other who we are added ro dolphie


the chourinbur rose anid making a mili tary salute said albiino nickniamed the chourineur liberated galleyslave laborer


among the floating timber at the qudi sairit paulfroz en during the winter roast ed in summerbehold my character again making the military salute and you my master this is the first time have seen you in the citfi


i dont mean to re proach you but you have entered march ing on my scull and beating the drum


on my hide


thunder and lightning what music


above all ihose last touches just as you finished i cant help thinking about it i supposed you tried to excel


but have you no other trade but that of thrash ing the chourineur


i am a painter of fans and am called rodolphe


painter of fans


ah


that is the reason your hands are so white but


if all your fellowworkmen are like you it sappears your trade requires a great deal of strength


but sinceyou are a tradesman and an honest onel dont doubt why do you come to a tapisfrane where you will only meet thieves and robbers or a libe rated galleyslave like me who can go no where else


who is your master at present conti nued the chourineur my master


he lives in the rue de iourdonnaia a fool but a brute robber hut a miser hed rather lose an eye than pay his workmen theres his description i have been bound to him since i was ifteen i am called itodolpe durand so now you have my history


now your turn la goualeuse chapter ii


la ooualeuse


begin at the beginning said the chou rineer


yes your parents added rodolphe


i never knew them said fleur de marie


the farthest back i can recol lect was when was about seven years old iwas with an old borgnesse ole eyed woman a horrible wretch who was nicknamed la chouetle the owl because bhe had a hooked nose one round green eye and looked like an owl with one eye torn out


this old woman made me sell barleysugar every evening on the pont neuf it was only an excuse for begging if on returning i did not bring with me ten sous at least la chouette always gave me a beating instead of my supper


the next morning she gave me the same for breakfast and then sent me to montfaugon tto dig for worms for during the day she kept a shop for fishing lines under the bridge


for a child of seven years half dead with cold and hunger itis a long way let me tell you to mlontfaugoti


the exercise has made you as an arrow mustnt complain of that said the chouri neur lighting his pipe


at length id return quite exhausted with mybasket filled with worms atenoon tli chliouette gave me a piece of bread and you may be sure i didnt leave a crumb


i was then sent to beg in the neighbourhood until night when she went to sell fritters on the pont neuf


if i complained of hunger tb la chouette shed beat me saying go and make your ten sous pegriotte and then you shall have supper then as i was very huigry anid she hurt me would cry bit terly


placing me on the bridge with my stand of barleysugar la chouette left me


ol


how i wept and shivered with cold and hunger


si usually remained on the bridge until eleven oclock at night always weeping the passers by seeing me weep would give me as much as ten sometimes fifteen sous which i gave to la chouette


sa fine nights work said the ochouri neur yes but sheseeing this


with one eye said the chourineur laushing


yesseeingitwith one eye as you say sahe always took good care to give me a sbeatingbefore she placed me on the bridge that i might excite compassion by my tears


ribecame accustomed to blows and see ingthat lachouette was always enraged when


i did not weep the more she beat me the more i laughed and one evening to be revenged instead ofsobbing when i sold my barley sugar i sung like a lark although i hardly had the heart to sing


next day


returning with my worms some boys beat me and stole my basket


i returnedi knew what i had to expect t received my beating and no bread


at nilght la chouette before we went to the bridge urious at my conduct the night be fore and to put me in the way of weeping tore my hair out by handfuls just above the temples where it is very painful


his only gave me resolution to mike heir mad i began to laugh and i went of with


my barleysugar


la chouette wras at her stove where she warmed the fritters and from timototimeshe shook her iron fork at me took the barleysugarand sucked it before her face


bravo


i can niow explain the blow you gave me with your scissors


but la chliouette must have slaughteredyou after that


her cooking finished she came to me


i had received three sous for alms and i had eaten the value of six


when she took me by the hand i thought i should have fallen to the ground i was so frightened


rhoigh in the dead of winter i lhad nothing on hut a ragged frock of muslinl with no stockings and wooden shoes on my feet


you may suppose i was not likely to be smothered in that attire


well when la chouette took me by the hand i became all in a perspiration


what alarmed me the most was that instead of cursing and swearing la chouette did nothling but mutter all theway home


she never let go lier clutch but walked so fast that i was obliged to run to keep up with her


in running i lost one of my wooden shoes so ihat when wre got home my foot was co vered with blood


sthe wretchll cried the chourineur in a rage striking the table


it makesme feel strange to think of this poor child run nmg after the she devil with her bleeding foot


we roosted in an old loft in the rue de la mortallenic lachkouett stepped into a tavern at the corner of the lane still holding me by the hand and drank a pint of brandy


i morbleu


i could not drink it myself without being as drunk as an owl


it was her usual potion she always went to bed drunk we clambered into our loft la chouette shutthe deeor and locked it i fell upon my knees and begged par don for having eaten the barleysugar


she iade no answer but marching up and down the room muttered between her teeth what shall i do to her tonight this pegriotte this thief of my barley sugar


come what shall i do with herand then she would stop and look at mewith her green eye as i remained on my knees


suddenly she went to a shelf and took a pair of pincers to draw one of my teeth


and she drew out a tooth


this misera ble old wretch said rodolphe


she did and not at the first trial either mon died i how she laboured


holding my head between her knees as in a vice


at length with her pincers and fingers she succeeded in drawing one of my teeth which she held up before me saying no doubt to frighten me now take care pe griotte or ill pull one out every day


ahb


the hussey to take out a tooth from a poor child said the chourineur with renewed rage


well it has come again said fleur de marie opening her rosy lips and showing two rows of small teeth as white as pearls


was this forgetfulness or instinctive gene rosity on the part of the young creature as if the growth of the tooth was a justifica tion of la chouettes cruelty


rodolphe had remarked that during the whole recital of her wrongs site had never expressed any hatred against the atrocious woman who had so cruelly treated her


swell what did you do after this asked the chourineur


oh i had quite enough she replied thenext daiy instead of going after worms i ran away in the contrary direction


i walked the whole dayi would have gone to the end of the world rather than fall into the clutches of la chouette


i found myself in an unknown quarter and i could not muster courage to ask charity


during the night i slept in a timberyard under a pile of boards i was small as a mouse i slipped under an old door and made my nest in a heap of bark


i was almost starved i tried to chew some shavings to cheat my hunger but i could not


i could only bite a little bark it was more tender i soon fell asleep at daylight hearing a noise idrew closer under the pile of boards it was really warm like a cave if i had had only something to eat i should bave been very comfortable


on the second day i had eaten the bark again and had fallen almost asleep wheni heard the hoarse barking of a dog


i started up and listened the dog kept biirking and approached my retreat


i then heard a voice say


there must be some one concealed in the yard


the dog sprang towards my hiding place and icommenced screaming with all my might i hold said the voice that is the cry of a child


they called off the dog and brought a lantern


i came out of my hole and found myself face to face with a great fat man and a boy in a blouse what are you doing in my yard you little thief said the fat man to me in a savage manner


my good sir i have not eaten for two days have run away from la thouette who has pulled out one of my teeth not kinowing where to sleep i crept under your gateway i meant no harm then the wood merchant said to his boy


oh


i am not to be duped she is a little thief she cameto steal my logs


ah


the old brute cried the chouri neur


steal his logs and you only eight years old


it was foolish for his boy answered and said steal your logs master i bow could she do it


she isnt as big as the smallestof your logs


youre right said the fat man but she has been sent as a spy to open the door for otherswe must takc her to the police


ah the pitiful wretch ofa merchant


i i was brought before a magistrate accused of being a vagabond sent to prison and condemned to remain until sixteen years old in the house of correction


i thank the judges for their kindness


only think that in prison i had something to eat i was never beatenit was a para


dise in comparison with the loft of la chiouette


at length i reached my sixteenth year


i was released and supplied with some money to keep me from the necessity of falling into crime


just at the door of the prison i found the ogresse and two dr three of d women who had sometimes come to see the prisoners and who had always said they would have some work for me when i should be discharged


ah i i understand said the chour neur


slmy darling said theywill you come and lodge with us


we will give you fine dresses audyoushall have nothing to do but amuse yourself


you know well


chourineur one could hardly live eight years in prison without understanding these creatures


i sent them offi said to myself i know how to osewi have three hundred francsi have youth


and very pretty youth too said the chourineur


said to myself i have passed eight years in prison i will now enjoy my liberty a little for that will hirt no one and i can work when my moiney is gone


that was my great fault added flour de miarie with a sigh ought first of all to have procured work but i had ino one to give me tdvice


so i spent mny money in the first place i bought flowers which i pliced all around my chamber love flowers so dearly then i bought a dress a fine shawl and then i srent to take a ride on a donkey in the bois de bologue


w ith a sweetheartl asked the chour incur


no no


i wanted to be my own mis tress


i made these excursions with one of my companions who came frtom the found ling hospital a good little girl she was called riigolette because she was always laughing irigolette


rligolettel i dont know her said the chourineur mneditating


oh im sure you dont site is a good gii a workwoman and gains at least wentyfive sous a day she has a nice ittle room of her own but i can never visit hr more


at length i had but fortythree francs left and when that was gone


i sought for work


il knew how to sew very well and was of good couragoas ihad never done iany harm


so i went into a liten store in the


llug


st mearli


notto deceive any one


i said i was


but two months out of prison and was desirous of getting work they showed me the door


i asked for work to take home if it was only a shirt


they laughed at me so i went away very sad


i met the ogresse and one of the old women who were always after me


i had no where else to go to and went home with them


fortunately i can sing ai little which keeps nib from actual want


you look sad my girl said itodblpbe after your stoiy


yes it makes me feel sad to look back


have you these thoughts oftebi la goualeuse said rodolphe sometimes


listen sir perhaps you can comprehend me in the morning when i go to buy my pennysworth of rrilk from the woman at the corner of the street and se her about returning home with her little horse and waggon i feel very en vious i say to myself there she goes to the country to her own house her own falmily while i return to the den ot the ogresse dark and gloomy even at midday and then the clothes i wear belotng to the ogresse i owe her for my board and lodging


i dare not stir from here


i must pay my debt


as she pronounced these words the unfortunate creature shuddered


rodolphe had listened to thisartless nar rative with a growing interest


misery and poverty but not crime had been the ruin of this poor young girl


to be continued


kate stafford


chapter viii


i do not love theeno i do not love thee and yet when thou art absent i am sad


mas merton


a lettee from home is delightful in its way but to be actually speaking to a person fresh from home to have questions answered and doubts solved to find that those whom you have left are as you always thought them wisest dearest best that is indeed delightful


st quentin told kate that he had several times met mrs emerson at her uncles and that she looked well and happy she liked the country took interest in the people had found pleasant society at elmsley manor


kate knew all this but she liked to hear it again


but you have not asked about mr staffords new furnishing his drawing room


kate answered with something between a laugh and a cry


mr stafford had always promised his nieces that the old library should be refurnished and called a drawingroom


oh i wcftild not hear of it on any account the dear old librarybut i am not a bit afraid


tell my uncle when you go home that he must wait till my return


i shall bring him such snake skin patterns for draperies such guana heads for cornices


when i go home


began st quen tin in a very peculiar and impressive tone


miss staffordmadam if you pleaseif you will speak to the cook in the store


kate saw a slight expression of annoyance in st quentins counten ance


it vexed her and yet she would not have liked him to appear indifferent


as she returned to the room aylmer came in at the opposite window


st quentin it is worth your while to come round the vineyard to see the melancholy effects of the drought


the evening promised to make amends for the mornings disappointment


ayl mer was on the sofaperhaps asleep fanny in her easy chair near the open window was placidly listening to the sweet small details which her sister so anxiously demanded and kate only regretted that time went by so fast


the click of aylmers watch as it was wound up the nottobemistaken signal for retiring struck on her unwilling ear


there can be no need for going to bed at ten oclock on such a night as this so also thought st quentin apparently for as kate drew back her curtain to take a last glimpse of the moonlight she saw his figure pacing the garden walks


mrs aylmer kind and gentle as she was could not enter into kates feelings or understand her character


she saw her always ready and willing to oblige and never reflected that hourly calls on her attention might be irksome


many a spirited sketch had been spoiled by a gentle entreaty at the very point of interest that kate would see if harry had been laid down for his morning nap or baby wakened from hers if baby liked her arrowroot and harry his chicken


kate felt as if she had never been fully aware of the annoyances till now when called away from pleasant remi niscences of home from tales of old companions or from the sad history of poor lady strathdeans double afflic tion


and you remember gerald


that evening at mr staffords has been pleasant in recollection to me


poor gerald


so happy in lifeso patiently manfully waiting its end


i think mr stafford


oh dearest kate cried fanny from the verandah sarah has taken out baby without a parasoldo run down i would j not ask you but really


allow me to carry the parasol to the baby said st quentin but quite gravely for he had seen the tears in kates eyes


j st qnentin remained for a few days longer but kate felt that they never regained the same tone


it was hard to say how the change originated


kate saw or thought she saw that st quen tins manner was altered


had he been annoyedoffendedwhat matter if he were


yes it did she could not afford to lose a friend now when he was gone there would be a long dreary time and she should neither hear nor speak of home


she wished to be cheerful was sorry that her uncles friend should find her disspirited and fretful but she felt her present isolation all tbe more when speaking and hearing of old friends and old times


she does not care for me thought st quentin the mere preference for a passing acquaintanceif even that was allshe ever felt for me


she does not trust me she thinks i cannot feel for loneliness


aylmer seems harsh and mrs aylmer teasing


poor kate she looks pale and thinworse than when i came i think


and then she was so ready to talk of homenow she avoids it


i am sorry to say fanny that st quentin declares be must leave us to morrow said aylmer


fanny joined her husband in hospitable entreaties that their guest would prolong his stay


no he had already exceeded the period he had intended


businesshis agents in fact he must return to sydney


but the road my good sir had you not better wait for me


i shall go down next week


no he must not delay so long


he should easily find the way he had ridden the latter part of the way with the postman and from it was a beaten road


there was something in his manner which kate had not observed defore


i could almost think he was out of humour which he has no right to be either with john or with fanny


like st quentin exceedingly said aylmer but there is something refresh ing in finding ones self alone again


so there is dear said fanny


how happy we are when we are quite by ourselves


kate poured out the tea in silence


chapter xl


the pinches make a new acquaint ance and have fresh occasion for surprise and wonder


there was a ghostly air about these unin habited chambers in the temple and attending every circumstance of toms employment there which had a strange charm in it


every morning when he shut his door at islington he turned his face towards an atmosphere of unaccountable fascination as surely as he turned it to the london smoke and from that moment it thickened round and round him all day long until the time arrived for going home again and leaving it like a motionless cloud behind


it seemed to tom every morning that he approached this ghostly mist and be came enveloped in it by the easiest suc cession of degrees imaginable


passing from the roar and rattle of the streets into the quiet courtyards of the temple was the firtst preparation


every echo of his footsteps sounded to him like a sound from the old walls and pavements wanting language to relate the histories of the dim dismal rooms to tell him what lost docu ments were decaying in forgotten corners of the shutup cellars from whose lattices such mouldy sighs came breathing forth as he went past to whisper of dark bins of rare old wine bricked up in vaults among the old foundations of the halls or mutter in a lower tone yet darker legends of the crosslegrged knights whose marble effigies were in the church


with the first planting of his foot upon the staircase of his dusty office all these mysteries increased until asceuding step by step as tom ascended they attained their full growth in the solitary labours of the day


every day brought one recurring never failing source of speculation


this em ployer would he come today and what would he be like


for tom could not stop short at mr fips he quite believed that mr fips bad spoken truly when he said ha acted for another aud what man ner of man that other was became a full blown flower of wonder in the garden of toms fancy which never fuded or got trodden down


at one time he conceived that mr pecksniff repenting of his falsehood might by exertion of his influence with some third person hare devised tliese means of giving him employment


he found this idea so insupportable after what had taken place between that good man and himself that he confided it to john westlock ou the very same day informing john that lie would rather ply for hire as a porter than fall so low in his own esteem as to accept the smallest obligation from the hands of mr pecksniff


but john assured him that be tom pinch was far from doing justice to the character of mr pecksniff yet if he supposed that gentleman capable of per forming a generous action and that he might make his mind quite easy on that head until he saw the sun turn green and the moon black and at the same time dis tinctly perceived with the naked eye twelve firstrate comets careering round those planets


in which unusual state of things lie said and not before it might become not absolutely lunatic to suspect mr peck sniff of anything so monstrous


in short he laughed the idea down completely and tom abandoning it was thrown upon his beamends again for some other solution


in the meantime tom attended to his duties daily and made considerable pro gress with the books which were already reduced to some sort of order and made a great appearance in his fairlywritten cata logue


during his business hours he indulged himself occasionally with snatches of reading which were often indeed a necessary part of his pursuit and as he usually made bold to carry one of these gobliu volumes home at night always bringing it back again next morning in case his strange employer should appear and ask what had become it he led a happy quiet studious kind of life after his own heart


but though the books were never so interesting and never so full of novelty to tom they could not so enchain him in those mysterious chambers as to render him unconscious for a moment of the lightest sound


any footstep on the flags without set him listening attentively and when it turned into that house aud came up up up the stairs he always thought with a beating heart now i am coming face to face with him at last


i


but no footstep ever passed the floor immediately below except his own


this mystery and loneliness engendered fancies in toms mind the folly of which his common sense could readily discover but which his common sense was quite unable to keep away notwithstanding that quality being with most of us in such a case like the old french police quick at detection but very weak as a preventive power


misgivings undefined absurd inexplicable that there was some one hiding in the inner room walking softly over head peeping in through the doorchink doing something stealthy anywhere where he was not came over him a hundred times a day making it pleasant to throw up the sash and hold communication even with the sparrows who had built in the roof and waterspout and were twittering about the windows all day long


he sat with the outer door wide open at all times that he might hear the footsteps as they entered aud turned eff into the chambers on the lower floors


he formed odd prepossessions too regarding strangers in the streets and would say within him self of such or such a man who struck uim as having anything uncommon in his dress or aspect i shouldnt wonder now if that were he i


but it never was


and though he actually turned back and ful lowcd more than one of these suspected individuals in a singular belief that they were going to the place he was then upon his way from he never got any other satis faction by it than the satisfaction ot knowing it was not the case


mr fips of austin friars rather deep ened than illumined the obscurity or his position for on the first occasion of touts waiting on him to receive his weekly pay he said oh i bythebye mr pinch you need not mention it


if you please i tom thought he was going to tell him a secret so he said that he wouldnt on any account and that mr fips might entirely depend upon him


but as mr fips said very good in reply and nothing more tom prompted him not on any account repented tom


mr fips repeated very good


you were going to say tom hinted


oh dear no cried fips


not at all


however seeing tom confused lie added mean that you neednt mention any particulars about your place of em ployment to people generally


youll find it better not i have not had the pleasure of seeing my employer yef sir observed tom putting his weeks salary in his pocket


havent you said fips no i dont suppose you have though


i should like to thank him and to know that what i have doue so far is done to his satisfaction faltered tom


quite right said mr fips with a yawn highly creditable


very proper


tom hastily resolved to try him on another tack


i shall soon hare finished with the books he said


i hope that will not terminate my engagement sir or render me useless


oh


dear


no i retorted fips


plenty to do plenty to do i be careful how you go


its rather dark


this was the very utmost extent of iu formation tom could ever get out of him


so it was dark enough in all conscience and if mr fips expressed himself with a double meaning he had good reason for doing so


but now a circumstance occurred which helped to divert tpms thoughts from even lliis mystery and to divide them between it and a new channel which was a very nile in itself


the way it came about tvae this


ii aving always been an early riser and having now no organ to engage him in sweet converse every moring it was his habit to take a long walk before going to the temple and naturally inclining as a stranger towards those parts of the town which were con spicuous for the life aud animation perva ding them he became a great frequenter of the marketplace bridges quays and espe cially the sleamboat wharves for it was very lively and fresh to see the people hurrying away upon their many schemes of business or pleasure and it made tom glad to think that there was that much change and freedom in the monotonous routine of city lives


in most of these morning excursions huth accompanied him


as their landlord was always up and away at his business whatever that might be no one seemed to know at a very early hour the habits of the people of the house in which they lodged corresponded with their own


thus they had often finished their breakfast and were out in the summerair by seven oclock


after a two hours stroll they parted at some convenient point


tom going to the temple and his sister returning home as methodically as you please


many and many a pleasant stroll they had in coveufcgarden market snuffing up the perfume of the fruits and sowers won dering at the magnificence of the pine apples and melons catching glimpses down sideavenues of rows and rows of old women seated on inverted baskets shelling peas looking unutterable things at the fat bundles of asparagus with which the daintv shops were fortified as with a breastwork and at the herbalists doors gratefully inhaling scents as of vealstuffing yet un cooked dreamily mixed up with capsicums browu paper seeds even with hiuts of lusty snails aud fine young curly leeches


many and many a pleasant stroll they had among the poultry markets where ducks and fowls with necks unnaturally long lay stretched out in pairs ready for cooking where there were speckled eggs in mossy baskets white country sausages beyond impeachment by surviving cat or dog or horse or donkey new cheeses to any wild extent live birds in coops and cages looking much too big o be natural in consequence of those receptacles being much too little rabbits alive and dead innumerable


many a pleasant stroll they bad among the cool refreshing silvery fishstalls with a kind of moonlight effect about their stock in trade excepting always for the ruddy lobsters


many a pleasant stroll among the waggonloads of fragrant hay beneath which dogs and tired wag goners lay fast asleep oblivious of the pieman and the publichouse


but never half so good a stroll as down among the steamboats on a bright morniusr


there they lay alongside of each other hard and fast for ever to all appearance but designing to get out somehow and quite confident of doing it and in that faith shoals of passengers aud heaps of luggage were proceeding hurriedly on board


little steamboats dashed up and down the stream incessantly


tiers upon tiers of vessels scores of masts labyrinths of tackle idle sails splashing oars gliding rowboats lumberiug barges suukeu piles with ugly lodgings for the wuterrai within their muddiscoloured nooks church steeples warehouses houseroofs arches bridges men and women children casks cranes boxes horses coaches idlers and hardlabourers there they were all jum bled up together any summer morning far beyond toms power of separation


to be continued


wat lolg gaines


by silverpen


chapter i


some travellers towards london


across one of those downs of southern england which sylvanus has sketched with such exquisite effect joe apple shaw a wiltshire labourer and his wife trudged steadily one hot fine morning


their five children were with them but with the exception of the baby which lay asleep in its mothers arms and the next to it in age that made little steps by its fathers side none else were to be seen for the three eldest were onward in the distance chasing the tiny blue butterflies which flitted amidst the gorse and budding fern or the countless heath flowers which decked with wild luxu riance the thymy sward


joe in appearance was a fair specimen of the english labourer of the southern counties and their danish population


well knit and built though with a slouch that took from his height fair but sunburnt whilst his faceso regu lar were its featureswould have been handsome had it been lighted by any thing like an expression of intelligence


as it was its look of stolid apathy told a plain story of drudgery and ignorance


it was just such a look as you see on a hundred faces of the rustic class as though like the beasts that perish no immortal soul within sanctified the noblest work of the divine maker


maternity its cares and joys had on the other hand softened and humanised the face of nelly appleshaw


if educa tion had done nothing to create in it a look of intelligence love had


she had an eye and ear for everything and the way in which she occasionally hummed to her sleeping babe stooped to gather a flower for the little one that held its fathers hand or gazedher hand shad ing her eyesafter her wandering chil dren in the blue distance was full of an earnest and gentle tenderness which added greatly to the expression of her still young and comely face


true joes beershop brawls the huckstersshop debt the last hard winter and its scanty wages had written there some lines that were not effaceable but coarseness i boldness or intemperance had not as yet stamped there the mark of cain


nor was the evidence of a tidy housewife wanting


joes clean and patched smock frock his knitted hose the childrens little garments her own tidy gown cap and kerchief all bespoke a sense of decency and a thrifty use of needle washingtub and iron


poor wayfarers as they were their whole appearance be spoke fresh air green fields and rustic country paths


journeying thus on the heat of the approaching noon growing still more fervid a horseman came riding towards them


moving from his path to let him pass joe touched his forelock and addressing the portly farmerlike rider asked for a day or twos labour at the hayharvest


i havent one to give my man re plied the person addressed as he reined in his horse my last swath of hay was drawn last week and i think its pretty much the same with my neighbours


but how comes an ablebodied man like you to be on the tramp this season


and the farmer eyed joes wellknit figure as he spoke


why zur we be come out o wiltshire and things a bin goin on badly theer as you meybe know particalar in the parish as me and my missis belong it aint so bad in zum where the parson or squires bin kindlike to get zum on the folks off to merriky or australay but in the parish as me and my missis belong nothin but rents a bin agettin up and wages goin down for our squire ye see zur s gone off to furren parts and the lawyer folks as a bin let to get his debts out o th estate dont mind what tbjy do to squeeze the last shillin out of a poor man


ax for a sixpence more and ye be told to tramp off to the union house as theer be folks in plenty asll take six shillin a week and be glad ont and pay four pun a year for a cottage in the bargain


well zur what can a poor man do


so atween the wages and the rheumatiz fever which kept me abed six weeksand the sore time nelly had with the little un in her armsi got druv up zur


there was four pun sixteen a owin at masons shop just three to the doctor an a bit for the little uns shoes so as th folks at the shop wouldnt wait till i got round like wi th bit theere wur a comin in at harvest they took the eight day clock the big table and the six cheers as me and my missis had bought the wissuntide we got married missis says i when things had come to thisns i canna hold my head up i th parish after this and as i heerd down at the three horse shoes that ben brigly as went from here a year ago hn gotten mighty good work a diggin sewers in lunnen and can get any likely man o th parish a job as mun like to go up to em we mun just as well sell off th things masons left us and pay th tother debts and go


it wont be hard tramping it o this time o year missis and maybe i mun get a job i th way at the haysell for itll be j ist mowin time in th sheers we mun pass through


so three weeks ago zur me and my missis set off and thank the lord weve met with a tidy job or two as hn given us a lift and so were a slowly goin on to lunnen


well my man said the farmer who had listened to this simple tale with kindly earnestness im sorry ive not a days work to give you for i like your courage in trying to mend bad luck in this world it dont do for honest men to sit with their hands afore them i dare say youll soon get woik in london sinews and youth go there to a good market but theres one thing that i fearu be a difficulty to youhouse room for poor folks is i hear both scarce and dear for those as have a hand in these things are pulling down but not building up till working folks are driven up like rats on a barn floor


ive heerd somethin o this zur spoke nelly respectfully from folks me and my master have met i th road


fear it like but we mun trust in th lord and do the best we can


though im sure filth and dirtll never do foi me for ive bin used to a tidy house place though a poor un


well replied the farmer goc speed ye missis for th best


now lool you yonder he turned and pointer with his ridingwhip in the direction h had come there is a small village som half mile offyou can see the churcl spire amidst the treeswell youll fin my house there an oldfashioned plac with a thatched porch and a garden th front


go to it and ask the missis youll maybe see her at the gardengat as i left her therefor a bit to eat an say i sent youand here take this he dropped a shilling into nellys hand but dont say a word ont


shes got a heart in the pantry but none for the purseand i might hear of it


with this admonition not to betray him to a curtain or fireside lecture as the case might be the good farmer rode off and was soon lost to view amidst the green undulations of the widespread downs


as joe appleshaw and nelly ap proached the villagea lovely rustic spot imbosomed in trees and cooled by sedgy poolsthey perceived a cart before them filled with household goods packed in hay


it was going forward at a fair pace two men walked beside it a lad loitered behind and a very young girl sat perched up amidst the furniture whose features could not for the dis tance be distinguished but whose hair for she had cast aside her bonnet waved in the light breeze and in the glittering sun like threads of gold


it was beauti ful and abundant beyond description


she was sorting something she held in her lapflowers which as nelly pre sently found her own children loitering for a time behind the cart had given her


as the farmer had predicted his wife was in the garden and leisurely survey ing the promise of her gooseberry bushes sauntered beside the shady gate


some times she looked across up and down the road and soon attracted by the ap proaching cart was ready to hear and see all when it stopped at the little inn next door to let the horse drink from the shady trough and for the men to pur chase a mug of beer


as usual on such occasions and more particularly in soli tary villages the landlord came out to question his customers and liking their appearance and being inclined for a chat invited two women who sat on the iront seat and the little girl to alight and rest for a time beneath the shade of his spreading elmtree


after consulting his watch one of the two men said they had plenty of time and so in a few mo ments the little party were chattering with the landlord


thus standing a list ener the farmers wife was soon acquain ted with their simple affairs and the cause of their journey


they had come that morning it appeared from a small country town some fourteen miles dis tant


the two women were sisters and the men brothersinlaw and the elder and more artizanlikelooking of the two men being a cabinetmaker by trade was with his wife and children on his way to the next railway station and from thence to london where he had lately obtained a situation in a firstclass firm at the westend


the relatives were come thus far to see them off and return with the cart


and be these two thy only children master asked the landlord of the artizan as he called to his niece through the ivied window to bring him his pipe though in reality that she might see the beauty of the girl


no ive two more a younger girl that stays yet awhile in the couutry and a lad in an office in london


he aint been there longand hes coming to us when we get a home


thats why we chiefly go added the strangers wife a lad has so many temptations she was going to say more but the girl who had been standing looking down the road now came running towards her and whispered mother there be the little chaps coming who gave me the flowers


may i give them a bit of short cake out o th basket shant want any more and they look so hungry


theed give thyself away liddy if thee could spoke her aunt and uncle in a breath


but the child did not hear them bounding towards the cart she brought a basket to her father and opening it and taking forth the cake and knife put them in his hands


he asked her how much and placed the knife to cut it but she whispered more father more they look so hungry and moving the knife did not rest till twothirds o it were in her hands


she was then running off but her father held her back


nothing for it liddy


he whispered father i thought got always a rosy penny


she flung her arms around him kissed him fervently and then bounded offdividing the cake in three as she went ontowards nellys children


but they were by this time gathered round their parents who had stayed to speak to the farmers wife


and pray what sort of coat had m master on questioned the good dame who by nature was a little suspicious anc who for the instant was rather cross thai her pleasant occupation of listening anc observing should be interrupted


a dark green coat and hornhandlec whipreplied nelly with straightforward honest look my master axed the gentle man for a days work at the haysell h hadna it to giv but he bid us call here and ax thee for a bit to eat as thou wast so kind


its like my john replied the dame and going to the house she returned quickly with a large dishful of broken meat and bread and with her servant behind her carrying a pitcher of butter milk


there


she said as she handed both to nelly theres a meal for thee and thy children


the pitcher you can have awhile if you like to rest down there in the lane past the churchits the road to london if thee be going thereand return it when youve done


joe and nelly thanked her gratefully said they were intending to rest for a few hours whilst the great heat lasted as they had travelled far that morning and then went onward in the direction she had pointed out


shyly waiting till joe and nelly had passed by liddy thrust the cake into the three eldest childrens hands and went back to the elmtree without a word though intently watching their delight as they tasted the unusual dainty and then ran whooping after their parents who by this time had passed the ivied church


they had been talking of liddy in her absence and the landlord now passed his hand along her beautiful hair and his niece came out of the house to kiss her


if she only grows up as good as she has good looks said the landlord shell be a flower for any mans garden


i try to bring up my children in the right way replied the artisan earnestly to know what religion is and to fear god


night by night liddy says her prayers at my knee and goes to church with me on sundays and reads the tes tament


dost thee not liddy


the father drew her tenderly to his side as he spoke


shes quite the jewel of his heart


spoke liddys mother in an under tone to the landladys niece he would rule us all with a rod of iron but for her for since shes been growing up into a girl hes softened greatly though no man more tfhan he likes a religious and well doing household


you looked into the artizan s face and read all this severity to evil and unrighteous acts and an ap preciation for the invaluable decorums of daily life without which the name of home is used unworthily


well would it have been for those most interested for thoe who owned a child so young and fairif they could have guessed nay halfguessed as liddy thus stood leaning by her fathers side the radiant sunlight of the fervid noon glistening through the elmtree boughs upon her marvellous hair the shadow of its leaves veiling the delicacy and touch ing innocence of her expressive facethe perils incident to such a lodginghouse as they must necessarily inhabit


none but those alas


who know town life london life more especially can guess them


the common staircase the common yard the common waterbutt the thin partition walls which divide the blasphemous from the godly but which do not shut out words which dishonour the name of lan guage meanings which still more dis honour our immortal natures and their gift from the divine father


nor can be guessed the hideous daily and hourly evils unsuspected or perhaps unregarded till they bear their hideous fruit


none can guess the evils of chance acquain tanceships chance friendships with those who daring not to tell their past histories have sense enough to hide through an outward show of deceney acts and prin ciples inconceivably pernicious


it is these the secretly base who have usually interested motives to corrupt the innocent and unsuspecting


sir said an artizan to him who has done so much through his admirable writings to serve this righteous cause i can take my boys out with me tire them and bring them home to bed but it makes me heartsick to think of what my wife and the girls have io spend their day among


yes if they could have guessed a tithe o the evils incident to such crowded lodg inghouses of london as meet the pecu niary circumstances of the working classes no increase of wages would have lured them there


they would have gone more quickly back than they hac come to the monotony of thc little eountry town they had left and beer richer than all the wages of tb world could make them in the inno cence and womanhood of their beau tiful child


but they did not knov these thingsdid not guess themfo the evil does not arise from london o london life in the abstract but fron countless other causes that will not b counteracted by small benevolences or in dividual efforts but by a mercantil combination of capital and by a broa and enlarged science worthy of the ex perience of our age


so they were to go on and on and on this summers day towards that sadder one when these tresses were to veil the face of shame ad hide the pallor of the grave


in a little while liddy was quite at home with the landlord and telling him about the country cottage in which she had been born and reared


it had such a nice garden she said with childish volubility where tom could get cabbageleaves for his rabbits and i groundsel for giddy would you like to see giddy


the landlord laying down his pipe looked inquiringly


it is my magpie she added father brought it from the nest and reared it for me


it is such a wonderful bird everybody says it is


it will come out of its cage and perch on my shoulder and and chirp and talk and speak my name and wash itself in a cup of water if i hold it


would you like to see it


the landlord nodded assent and liddy calling tom who at a distance was climbing the churchyard wall to come and help her the magpies cage was soon unfastened from the cart as well as two open baskets each containing a favourite the one a rabbit and the other the house hold cat


the landlord must of course see all but giddy proved the most entertaining


being of a lively turn and liking company he did all his little mistress wished him


he hopped about chattered called litty


litty took a bath with a large amount of gravity nibbled up a whole sweet cake liddy held and finished by walking back into his cage with an air of profound satisfaction


well said the landlord when these performances were closed he is a won derful bird thats certain


now just let us take him into the house little one for a minute


w hen giddy was brought back he was perched in a fine new osier cageroofed with groundsel and furnished with a luxurious apparatus for bathing and seed picking


there


he said as he delivered the house and its inhabitant into the delighted childs hand you must accept it and please me


and now if youll all just step into the house and take a hasty snatch of dinner youre wel come my niece has laid the cloth and all is ready


they accepted the kind invitationthe farmers wife who had been as much enchanted with giddys feats as the landlord wished it had been to her own tableand spent an hour or more pleasantly till it was time to set off again


when this came many kind words were said on either sideand for a long while after giddys proficiencies and the beauty of its little mistress were favourite topics with the landlord especially when enter taining customers beneath the cool shade of his elmtree


to be continued


chapter xiv


liddys birthday


to the astonishment ot all m the tad casters household the pools for once broke through their iron rule of economy and seclusion and invited the normans to spend liddys birthday evening with them


though as yet the families had not been on more than speaking terms liddy had won a deep way in these soli tary womens hearts not so much through ber exceeding beauty as by her artlessness and naive innocence


another cause had assisted in drawing together these bonds of tenderness their old mother had from the first tak n a great fancy to the child and this had waxed rapidly into the most solicitous love


she would listen for her footsteps reckon of her comingseemed sudden ly endowed with new life and spirits when liddy entered the room with her magpie on her shoulder and this to the daughters who loved the aged creature with a reverential affection it is almost impossible to describe was an attrac tion of the surest kind


so the normans were invited to take tea with the reclu ses who worked so unweariedly


the day previously liddy by her mothers direction asked miss brooks for a holiday on the morrow explaining that it would be her birthday and she was to spend it at home miss brooks good naturedly consented and then liddy in her childlike way told her governess about a new white frock she was to wear and which being an aunts present was to arrive in the morning


well im sure replied miss brooks with perfect sincerity and little dream ing to what her really innocent wish would lead you will look very nicely in it liddyi hope i shall see you and if your beautiful hair is a little let down i shall like seeing you all the better


you shall dear miss brooks replied the warm hearted child i will come for a few minutes and bring you a piece of cake


as to my hair it will be nicely done for mother is to dress it


nothing more was said in the school room but as they went down stairs the other girls began to ask liddy many questions about the monow and to dis cuss warmly such points as find favour with chattering schoolgirls of their class


this discussion carried them on into the passage and there in a conclave they stopped detaining liddy rather against her will to heap question upon question


her artless answers were listened to for the adjacent parlour door was opened cautiously and presently the elderly wo man about whom margaret had question ed the child came out as incidentally and joined the little company


she stop ped and asked with an appearance of innocent curiosity whose birthday they were talking of


only liddys maam replied one of the elder girls whose interest this wo man had won by countless gifts of sweetmeats and she is going to wear a new frock and is coming to see miss brooks in it


indeed said the woman laconically though her glance was cast down upon the beatiful child with a hawklike keeness that an adult quick of percep tion would have at once understood


miss brooks will i dare say have plea sure in seeing her little scholar though she often goes out to give music lessons directly school is over


oh spoke liddy if i do come it will not be till quite evening we do not go up stairs till six because father is not home till then then it will take us some time to get our nice tea and thus i shall not get away till that is quite done


be sides i mustnt stay a minute when i do


ah well


i suppose about eight oclock your governess will see the pretty frock she is always at home at that time


liddy made no answer for she was very anxious to get away and now some of the elder girls opening the door she hounded towards her home with a fleet step


she did not see that the woman returning to her parlour watched her in company with another woman who wore a bonnet from the window


in a few minutes the latter quitted the house hailed a cab and drove away


the morning was one of exquisite delight to the young child


on awakening there was williams little present of the locket pinned in a silver paper to her pillow other little presents from her friends up stairs and on a chair beside her bed a little writing desk that her father had long been fabricating in secret for this occasion


her joy at this last was bound less for it had been a labour of love and very beaut iful it was


then some time through th e forenoon came the country parcel cont aining the white frock and other things and a little later miss chloe newbuds neat servant brought a basket containing a plum cake a bottle of sherry with a letter in m iss chloes old fashioned hand writing wishing liddy many happy returns and enclosing a bright shilling from herself and a brighter half crown from her brother


indeed courtly mr newbud must have a hoard of these as he was so often giving them to one or other of his work mens children


the dinner too was excellent for mrs norman could cook nicely and the hamper had contained country dainties of several kinds as normans brother rented a considerable farm liddy waited impatiently for her fathers dinner hour and as he came up the staircase she bounded towards him


he knew she would be there and he folded her in his tender arms


oh


father father thank you the presents by my pillow were all so nice but none so beautiful or that i like so well as the little desk thank you thank you thank you


i am glad that you are pleased deary it has been a labour of love for me to make it though i have been a long time about it


now all you have to do is to keep it for my sake as long as you live and make haste and learn to write and spell well so as to be able to write me nice letters when you are away from me


i will father for i have never for gotten once what you said about my being a schoolmistress


then i have thought of something else father


what is it deary


she hung her head a little then hid her face in his beloved breast the thought was worthy of her beauty and spotless innocence yet and she knew not why she hesitated to give it expression


her father again questioned her for little of a casuist as education had made him he saw that the feeling lay in the depth of her soul


it is only father because you have made the desk and given it to me on my birth day that if ever i should become wicked when i grow a woman or people made me so that i could never write anything that had sin in it on that little desk and you never will im sure my darling said the father tenderly though greatly struck and saddened by this trange thought of his child mother and i will do all we can to make you a good woman and why i work so very hard often over hours and have asked mr stopp to raise my wages to the sum wished by mr newbud it is that i may be enabled to give you a very good edu cation because it is a thing so priceless to all who possess it


better than riches better than any other earthly good i know of


so you shall have an educa tion that will assist in making you a good woman though i shant have you taught music and dancing


though liddy did not say so she was gorry at what her father last said because she did wish to be taught music and dancing and thought in her own mind what a pity it was that she had not been born a lady


abstractedly considered these were only the natural tastes of a superior nature and wisely directed might have been turned to good account but thwarted suppressed by notions peculiar to many of normans class in their present low scale of education and to puritanic prejudices so prevalent wherever there is defective education or low mental power the innocent wish fostered its own evil and led to a still greedier recipience of that class of litera ture whoso aim is to corrupt and not to purify


if i have to write of evil here it is that i may the better administer the antidote and show the method of salvation


so norman went into the sittingroom with his darling and saw the pretty presents and enjoyed the nice dinner the only drawback to the latter being that william could not leave his office to be present though a portion was put by for him


for some days norman had been expecting his summons into kent and during dinner he told his wife that it had come that morning and that he should possibly have to start by an early train on the morrow


the father added that were the country pretty and accomoda tion to be procured she and liddy and tom should come to him and enjoy a nice holiday


liddy at this was greatly pleased


when norman had returned to work from which he promised to come home early liddy assisted her mother to get her fathers things ready for his going and when this was accomplished the mother dressed her childs beautiful hair and fastened on her snowy frock


if the father loved his child so did the mother passionately for one so lymphatic and as the half golden half nut brown tresses passed beneath her loving finger as they fell in spiral lines and glistened in the sun they formed a veil more beau tiful than anything human hand could fabricate she bent her lips after and kissed the golden threads


liddy in turn pressed her arms about her mother


dear child said mrs norman weak


ly for she was fond of complaining though greatly better than usual on this day think this is the last birthday that i shall be here to do your hair


in deed i feel sure


oh mother replied the child with suffused eyes dont say so please every body in the house thinks you better and if you go into the nice country with me ana tom it will be true


the mother made no reply only shook her head liddy did not see this and interpreted it in her own cheerful way


mother


she said again presently will you please let me after tea just run as far as miss brooks to shew her my dress and the nice locket william hs given me i would not stay please do


your father will not like you to go liddy im sure


he does not think much of the school besides it will be dusk by the time tea is over and not proper for you to go out dressed in this way


please mother do


appealed liddy in t that carressing way which she knew was all powerful with her mother can put on your large shawl and my school bonnet and then nobody will see my frock or hair


please do because its my birthday and it will make me happy


and mother you could send me down stairs as though on some little errand and then father will not know that i am gone


mrs norman at first dissented but presently gave way as she usually did to liddys wishes


by and by norman came home soon after him william and when dressed in their best they went up stairs liddy going first and her favorite on her shoulder


all were surprised except liddy at the pretty picture of the tailoresses sitting room


it was so cheerful and bright and airy that it might have been miles away from london and norman thought ha bad never seen a nobler picture of thrift and industry


for all the sisters were well dressed their dear old mother with absolute luxuries about her the tea table exquisitely spread


it was quite clear that the misses pool and their mother must have seen better days for there was evidence by many things which could have only sprung from such


they all beartily welcomed liddy and looked with pride upon her loveliness though they were too wise to praise


the tea wa a very lengthened affair or there were so many nice things to partake of and so much to say


then when it was finished liddy after looking very anxiously at her mother and mak ing many little nods and signs as a hint to her to fulfil her promise she was commissioned to perform some little errand as she had asked


i hope you wont be long my deary said her father looking round


no father she replied timidly and stole away


margaret with a womans quick perception had noticed liddys anxious stolen glances at her mother her evident nervousness to quit the room and her hesitation in replying to her father but as she was talking to norman she could not at that moment follow her


hastening to her mothers room liddy put on a large shawl and her school bonnet took the latch key with her and stole gently down stairs


it was already full dusk and the lamps were lighted


tljp school was but two streets off and when she reached that in which it wa she saw in passing the corner a private cab drawn up beside the pave ment and a groom in ptain clothes waiting perhaps she might not have noticed it but that the horses glossy coat shone in the lamp


it was so different to a cab horse too as it champed its bit and moved its arched neck proud ly up and down


she had stepped on to the door step and was about to ring the schoolbell when without any latch being moved the door opened from the inside and the elderly lodger stood there


liddy was about to pass when she stayed the child


miss brooks has got a friend with her and cannot see you just this minute


then ill go back for i cannot stay


no you mustnt replied the woman anxiously


miss brooks will soon be disengaged and she wishes very much to see you


the child did not heed this but turned round towards the door


the woman saw the movement and called out loudly to a little maid called patty who living in the kitchen below was the household drudge and always very dirty as well as hungry


miss brooks will soon be disengaged wont she


and liddy norman was to stay


yes miss said the little blackamoor emerging from the nether regions as a beetle from its hole missis wont be long and she said you was to wait in mrs trapps room


liddy was not allowed to hesitate for the woman taking her by the hand drew her into the room and closed the door


the place was in darkness with the exception of a little light from an adjacent lamp that fell through the upper panes of the unshattered window thus all the rear of the room lay in shadow


still liddy was conscious that there were other persons in it indeed she could see the outline of some half recumbent figure on the sofa and a woman with a bonnet on seated near the latter


only my neice and nephew exclaim ed the woman eagerly as she felt liddys start of fear my nephew has come far and is resting himself as she said this she began unpinning the shawl which was around the beautiful child


please let me alone said liddy ner vously


ive only come to se miss brooks not any one else


oh


but you will show me the dress wont you it will be so kind for i love little girls and miss brooks said you might


a little vanity childish vanity a little pride in her nice frock was win ning its was in the heart of liddy


still she did not like the liberty the weman took in attempting to unpin her shawl without permission


the hawk like glance upon her read the hesitation


oh but please let me seedoi shall be so obliged


the absence of dissent was taken as assent the shawl was unpinned drawn aside and during this was being done the woman had been leading the child back as it were from the window and nearer to the centre of the room


as she did this the woman seated rose quickly pulled down the window blind and striking a lucifer match lighted with it a large lamp placed ready upon the table


it was no common lamp but shot up a splendid flame at once


to be eoatinud


the settler chapteii v is srahcii of his land


continued from our last


anxious lo obtain as speedily as possible possession of that land of promise which in the perspective of sixteen thousand miles had presented the flattering picture of com petency if not of wealth handy acted upon the suggestions thrown oul by the two officials he had just visited first pro ceeding to provide himself with a stout active horse and then to arrange his light travelling equipage


this consisted of a sufficient change of linen his dressing ap paratus u map of the country a small pocket compass a telescope in a leathern case a housewife a pocket knife and fork and a tinder box all of which he packed up in saddle hags made in the cossack fashion or carried about his person


in one of the saddle liolslera he stowed a dried bullocks tongue the tip downwards und in the other a flask of cogniac