distinct i he answered scratching his head and keeping his eyes upon the secretarys face i seem to hear it bluster gashford in my wery bones


i am very glad your sense of hearing is so sharp and that i succeed in making myself so in telligible said gashford in his unvarying even tone


where is your friend mir


dennis looked round as in expectation of beholding him asleep upon his bed of straw then remembering that ihe had seen him go out replied i i cant say where be is mluster gashfosd i expected hint back afore now


i hope it isnt time that we was busy iuster gashford


nay said the seesetary who should know that as well as you how can i tell you dennis p you are perfect master of your own actions you know and accountable to nobodyexcept some times to the law elh dennis who was very much baffled by the cool matter ofcourse manner of thlis reply recovered his selfpossession on his professional pursuits being referred fo and pointing towards barnaby shlook isis head and frowned


hush i cried barnaby


ah i do hush about that muster gashford said the hangman in a low voice poplar preo judicesyou always forgetwell barnsaby my lad whats the matter


i hear him coming he answered hark i do you mnark that


thats his foot


bless you i know his step and his dogs too


tramp tramp pitpat on they come together and ha hia ha i and here they arel he cried joyfully welcoming hugh with both hands and then patting him fondly on the back as if instead of being the rough com panion he was he had been one of the moat pre possessing of men


here he is and safe too ii am glad to see him back again old ihugh l imn a turk if he dont give me a warmer welcome tlwyie than any man of sense said hugh shaking hands with him with a kind of ferocious friendship strange enough to see


how are you boy


hearty i cried baroaby waving his hat


ha ha hal


i


and merry too hugh i and ready to do anything for the good cause and the right and to help the kind mild palefaced gentlemanthe lord they use so ill


eh i hugh ayi returned his friend dropping his hand and looking at gashford for an instant willsth a changed expresion before he spoke to him


good day master i sand good day to yol replied the secretary nursing iisleg


and many good dayswhole years of them i hope


you are heated


so woildlyou have been master said hugh wiping his face if youd been running here as fast as i have


you know the news then


yes i supposed you would have heard it


news i what news


i you dont cried gashford raising his eye


brows with an exclamation of surprise


dear me


come then i am the first to make you acquainted with your distinguished position after all


do you see the kings arms atopl he smilingly asked as he took a large paper from his pocket unfolded it


and held it out for hughs inspection


well said hugh


whats that to met much


a great deal replied the secretary


read it


i told you the first time i saw you that i couldnt read said hugh impatiently


what in the devils names inside of it it is a proclamation from the king in council said gashford dated today and offering a reward of five hundred poundsfive hundred pounds is a great deal of money and a large temptation to some peopleto any one who will discover the person or persons most active in demolishing those chapels on saturday night


is that all cried hugh with an indifferent air


i knew of that


truly i might have known you did said gash ford smiling and folding up the document again


your friend i might have guessedindeed i did guesswas sure to tell you


my friend


stammered hugh with an unsuc cessful effortto appearsurprised


what friend


tut tutdo you suppose i dont know where you have been retorted gashford rubbing his hands and beating the back of one on the palm of the other and looking at him with a cunning eye


how dull you think me


i shall i say his name no said hugh with a hasty glance towards dennis


you have also heard from him no doubt re sumed the secretary after a moments pause that the rioters ihoe have been taken poor fellows are committed for trial and that some very active wit nesses have had the temerity to appear against them


among others and here he clenched his teeth as if he would suppress by force some violent words that rose upon his tongue and spoke very slowly


among others a gentleman who saw t work going on in warwickstreet a catholic gentleman one haredale


hugh would have prevented his uttering the word but it was out already


hearing the name barnaby turned swiftly round


duty duty bold barnaby


i cried hugh assuming his wildea nd most rapid manner and thrusting into hisa bh is staff and flag which leant against the wall


mount guard without loss of time for we are off upon our expedition


up dennis and get ready


take care that no one turns the straw upon my bed brave barnaby we knovif whats underneath iteoh now master quick i what you have to say say speedily for the little captain and a cluster of em arein the fields and only waiting for us


sharps the word and strikes the action


quick


i barnaby was not proof against this bustle and despatc


the look of mingled astonishment and anger which had appeared in his face when he turned towards them faded from it as the words pissed from his memory like breath from a polished mirror and grasping the weapon which hugh forced upon him he proudly took his station at the door beyond their hearing


you might have spoiled our plans master said hugh


you too of all men


who would have supposed that hae would be so quick urged gashford


hes as quick sometimesi dont mean with his hands for that you know but with his headas you or any man said hlugh


dennis its time we were going theyre waiting for us i came to tell you


reach me my stick and belt


here i lend a hand master


fling this over my shoulder and buckle it behind will you


brisk as ever i said the secretary adjusting it for him us he desired


a man need be brisk today theres brisk work afoot


there is is there said gashford


he said it with such a provoking assumption of ignorance that hugh looking over his shoulder and angrily down upon him replied is there


you know there is i who knows better than you master that the first great step to be taken is to make examples of these witnesses and frighten all men from appearing against us or any of our body any more


theres one we know of returned gashford with an expressive smile who is at least as well informed upon that subject as you or i if we mean the same gentleman as i suppose we do hugh rejoined softly i tell you thishes as good and quick information about everything as here he paused and looked round as if to make quite sure that the person in question was not within hearing as old nick himself hlave you done that master how slow you are i its quite fast now said gashford rising


i sayyou didnt find that your friend disapproved of todays littleexpeditionl


ha aha ira it is fortunate it jumps so well with the witness policy for once planned it must have been carried out


and now you are going eh now we are going master i luigh replied


any parting words oh dear no said gashford sweetly


nonel youre surel cried hugh nudging the grinning dennis


quite sure elh muster gashford chuckled thie hangman


gaahford paused a moment struggling with hirs caution and his malice then putting himself between thire two men and laying a hand upon the arm of each said in a cramped whisper do not my good friend i am sure you will not forget our talk one nightin your hiouse dennisabout this person


no mercy no quarter no two beams of hris house to be left standing where the builder placed them i fire the saying goes is a good servant but a bad master


make it his master he deserves no better


but i am sure you will be firm i am sure you will be very resolute i am sure you will remember thrat lie thirsts for your lives and those of all your brave companions


if you ever acted lrke stanch fellows yeou will do so today


wvont you denniswont you hughl


the two looked at him


and at each other then bursting into a roar of laughter brandished their staves above their heads shook hands and hurried out


when they had been gone a little time gashford followed


they were yet in saight and hastening to that part of the adjacent fields in which their fellows had already mustered llugh was looking back and flourishing his hat to barnaby who deliglhted with his trust replied in the same manner and then re sumed his pacing up and down before the stable door where iris feetbhad worn a pathl already and when gashford himself was far distant and leaooked back for the last time he was still walking to and fro witls the same measured tread thire mostdevoted and the blithest champion that ever maintained a post and felt his heart lifted up with a brave sense of duty and determination to defend it to the last


smiling at the simplicity of the poor idiot gash ford betook himself to welbeckstreet by a different path from that which lie knew the rioters would take and sitting down behind a curtain in one of the upper windows of lord george gordons house waited impatiently for their comiog


they were so long that although he knew it had been settled they should come that way hie had a misgiving they must have changed their plans and taken some other route


but at length the roar of voices was heard in the neighbouring fields and soon afterwards they came thronging past in a great body


however they were not all nor nearly all in one body but were as he soon found divided into four parties each of which stopped before the house to give three cheers and


then went on the leaders crying out in what direction they were going and calling on the spectators to join them


the first detachment carrying by way of banners some relics of the havoc they had made in moorfields proclaimed that they were on their way to chelsea whence they would return in the same order to make of the spoil they bore a great bonfire near at hand


the second gave out that they were bound for wapping to destroy a chapel the third that their place of destination was east smithfield and their object the same


all this was done in broad bright summer day


gay carriages and chairs stopped to let them pass or turned back to avoid them people on foot stood aside in doorways or perhaps knocked and begged permission to stand at a window or in the hall until the rioters had passed but nobody interfered with them and directly they had gone by everythiog went on as usual


there still remained the fourth body and fur that tie secretary looked with a most intense eagerness


at last it came up


it was numerous and composed of picked men for as he gazed down among them he recognised many upturned faces which he knew vellthose of simon tappertit hugh and dennis in the front of course


they halted and cheered as the others had done but when they moved again they did not like them proclaim what design they had


hugh merely raised his hat upon the bludgeon he carried and glancing at a spectator on the oppo site side of the way was gone


gashford followed the direction of his glance instinctively and saw standing on the pavement and wearing the blue cockade sir john chester


he held his hat an inch or two above his head to propi


tiate the mob and resting gracefully on his cane smiling pleasantly and displaying his dress and person to thevery best advantage looked on in the most tranquil state imaginable


for all that and quick and dexterous as hie was gashford had seen him recognise hugh with the air of a patron


he had no longer any eyes for the crowd but fixed his keen regards upon sir john


he stood in the same place and posture until the last man in the concourse had turned the corner of the street then very deliberately took the blue cockade out of his hat put it carefully in his pocket ready for tile next emergency refreshed himself with a pinch of snuff put up his box and was walking slowly off when a passing carriage stopped and a ladys hand let down the glass


sir johns hat was off again immediately


after a minutes conversa tion at the carriage window in which it was apparent that he was vastly entertaining on the subject of the mob lie stepped lightly in and was driven away


the secretary smiled but he had other thoughts to dwell upon and soon dismissed the topic


din ner was brought him but he sent it down untasted and in restless pacings up and down the room and constant glances at tae clock and many futile efforts to sit down and read or go to sleep or look out of the window consumed four weary hours


when the dial told him thus much time had crept away he stole up stairs to the top of the house and coming out upons the roof sat down witli his face towards the east


hleedless of the fresh air that blew upon his heated biow of the pleasant meadows from which he turned of the piles of roofs and chimneys upon which he looked of the smoke and rising mist he vainly sought to pierce of the shrill cries of children at their evening sports the distant hum and turmoil of the town the cheerful country breath that rustled past to meet it and to droop and diehe watched and watched till it was darksave for the specks of light that twinkled in the streets below and far away ansd as the darkness deepened strained his gaze and grew more eager yet


nothing but gloom in that direction still i he muttered restlessly


dog i where is the redness in the sky you promised me to be continued


barnaby rudge


o chiapter xlviii


you might have known it friendsaid gaithford it was perfectly understand


hlow came you to be io ill informed


slihe cannot tell you sir the widowinterposedi


its of no use to ask him


we are but this morn ing come from a lonog distance in the country and know nothing of these matters


tlhe cause has taken a deep root and has spread its branches far and wide said lord george to hisi secretary


this is a pleasant ihearing i thank hleaven for it i amen i cried gashford with a solemn face


you do not understand me my lord s aid the widow


pardon me but you cruelly mistake myi meaning


we know nothing of these matters we have no desire or right to join in what yuti are about to do


this is my son my poor afflicted soni dearer to me than my own life


thi mercysname


my lord go your way aloneand do not tempt him into dangeir i mgy good womann said gahford how cai you idear me iwhat do you mean by tempting and by danger


do


you think his lordshipis a roaring lion going about and seeking whom he miay devour


god bless me i no no my


lord forgive me implored


the widow laying both her hands upon his breast and scarcely knowing what she did or said in the earnestness of her


supplication but there are reasons why you should hear my eartnet imother


prayer and leave miy son with me


oh do i lie is not in his right senses he is not indeed i


it is a bad sign of


the wickedness of these


times said lord george evading her touch nid colouring deeply that those who cling to the truia iad suppor the right cause are set down as iing have you the heart to say this of your own son usnnatural mother l i an astonished at you i said gashford with a kind of meek severity


this is a very sad pictur of female depravity


hei has surely no appearance said lord george glancing at barnaby and whispering in his secretarys ear of being deranged i and even if he had we must not cfonstrue any trifling peculia i rity into madness


which of us anrd here he


turned red again would be safe if that was made the law snot one replied the secretary


in that casei the greater the zeal the truth and talent the more aj direct the call from above the clearer would bei the madness


with regard to this young man my lord he added with a lip that slightly curled as he looked at barnaby who stood twviling lhis hat


i and stealthily beckoning them io come away jhe is as sensible and self possessed as any one i everv saw


and you desire to make one of


this great body said lord george addressing him saad intended to make one did you yesyes said barnaby with sparkling eyes sto


besure idid i told her so myself


i see replied lord george witha reproachful glance at the unhappy mother i thought so follow me and this gentleman and you shall hive your wish


barnaby kissed his mother tenderly on the cheek and bidding herbe of good cheer for theii fortunes were boh made now did as he was desired


she poor woman followed too with how much fear and grief it would be hard to tell


they passed quickly through the bridgeroadl where the shops were all shut up for the passage of the great crowd and the expectation of their return had alarmed the tradesmen for their goods and win dows and where in the upper stories all the inhabitants were congregated looking down into the street belobv with faces variously expressive of alarm of interestexpectancy and indignation


some of these applauded and some hissed but regardless of these interruptions for the noise of a vast congrega tion of people at a little distance sounded in his sears like the roaringof a sea lord george gordon quick ened his pace and presently arrived before st georges fields they wore really felds at that time and of cones


derable extent


here an immense multitude was collected bearing flags of various kinds and sizes but all of the same colour blue like the cockades some sections marching to and fro in military array and others drawn up in circles squares and lines


a large portion both of the bodies which paraded the ground and of those which remained stationary were occupied in singing hymns or psalms


with whomsoever


this originated it was well done for the sound of so manythousand voices in the air must have stirred the heart of any man within him and could not fail to have a wonderful effect upon enthusiasts however mistaken


scouts had been posted in advance of the great body to give notice of their leaders coming


these falling back the word was quickly passed through the whole host and for a short interval there ensued a profound and deathlike silence during which the mass was so still and quiet that the fluttering of a banner caught the eye and became a circumstance of note


then they burst into a tremendous shout into another and another and the air seemed rent and shaken as if by the discharge of cannon


gashford cried lord george pressing his secretarys arm tight within his own and speaking with as much emotion in his voice as in his altered face i am called indeed now


i feel and know it i am the leader of a host


if


they summoned me at thismoment with one voice to leadtthrm on to death id do it yes and fall first myself l it is a proud sight said the secretary


it is a noble day for england and for the greet cause throughout the world


such hlomage my lord as i an humble but devoted man can render what are you idoing cried hisis master catch


ing him byboth hands for ihe had made a show of kneeling at his feet


do not unfit me dear gashe


ford for the solemn duty of this glorious day ithe tears stood in the eyes of the poor gentleman as hlie said thesu words


let us go among them we have to find a place in somen division for this new recruit give me your hand


gashfordl slid his cold insidious pahim into his masters grasp and so hlnd in hlalnd and followed still by blarnaly and ty his mother toe they mingled with the l


i ihy had by this time taken to their singing again and as their leader passed betwen theirranks they raised their voices to the utmost


many of those who were banded together to support the ieligion of their country even until death had never heard a hymn or psalmn in all their lives


but these fellows having for the most part strong lungs and being naturally ford of singing chanted any ribal dry or nonsense that occurred to them feeling pretty eretain that it would not be detected in the general chorus and not caring very much if it were


many of these voluntaries were sung under the very nose of lord george gordon who quite unconscious of their burden passed on with his usual stiff and solemn deportment very much edified and delighted by the pious conduct of his followers


so they went on and on up this line down that round the exterior of this circle and on every side of that hollow square and still there were lines and squares and circles to review


the day being now intensely hot and the sun striking down its fiercest rays upon the field those


who carried heavy ban ners began to grow faint and weary most of the number assembled were fain to ptll off their neck


cloths and throw their coats and waistcoats open and some towards the centre quite overpowered by the excessive heat which was of course rendered more unendurable by the multitude around them lay down upon the grass and offered all they had about them for a drink of water


still no man left the ground not even of those who were so distressed till lord george streaming from every pore went onwith gashford and still barnaby and his mother followed close behind them


they had arrived at the top of a long line of some eight hundred menin single file and lord george had turned his head to look back when a loud cry of recognition in that peculiar and halfstifled tone which a voice has when it is raised in the open air and in the midst of a great concourse of persons was heard and a man stepped with a shout of laughter from the rank and smote barnaby on the shoulders with his heavy hand


how now l he cried


barnaby rudge i


why where have you been hiding for these hundred years t barnbshy had been thinking within himself that the smell of the trodden grass brought back ihis old days at cricket when he was a young boy and played on chigwell green


confused by this sud den and boisterous address lie stared in a bewildered manner at the man and could scarcely say


what


hugh i


hugh i echoed the other ay hugh may pole hugh


i you remember mydog


hes alive new and will know you i warrant


what you wear the colour do you


well done


ha haha


you know this young man i see said lord george


iknow him my lordl as well as i know my own right hand


my captain knows him


we all know him will you take him into your division it hasnt in it a better nor a nimbler nor a more active man than barnaby rudge said hugh


show me the man who says it has


fall in barnaby


he shall march my lord between ne and dennis and


he shall carry he added taking a flag from the hand of a tired man who tendered it the gayest silken streamer in this valiant army


in the name of god no shrieked the widow darting forward


barnaby my lord see hell come back barnaby barnaby i women in the field i cried hugh stepping between them and holding her off


llalloa


amy captain there i


whats the matter here cried simontap pertit bustling up in a great heat


do you call this order t nothing like it captain answered hugh still holding her back with his outstreched htand


its against all orders


ladies are carrying off our gallant soldiers from their duty


the word of com


enand captain


i theyre filing of the ground


quick i close i cried simon with the whole power of his lungs


form i larch


she was thrown to the ground the whole field was in motion barnaby was whirled away into the heart of a dense mass of men and she saw him no lmnore


to be ontfinued


literature


the ministers wooing


a tale op new england


by mrs e b stowe continued from the age of december


chapter xix


continued


somehow of late the compliments whioh fell so readily from those graoeful lips had brought with them an unsatisfying pain


until a woman really loves flattery and compliment are often like her native air but when that deeper feeing has once awakened in her her iustinols become marvellously aoute to detect the false from the true


madame de frontignao longed for one strong unguarded real earnest word from the man who had stolen from her her whole being


she was beginning to feel in some dim wise what an untold treasure she wab daily giving for tinsel and dross


she leaned back in tho oarriage with a restless burning chcek and wondored why she was born to be eo miserable


the thought of marys saintly face and tender eyes rose before her as tho moon rises on tho eyes of some hot and fevered invalid inspiring vague yeornings after au unknown unattainable peace


could bome friendly power once have made her at that time olairvoyant and shown her the reality of the man whom the was seeiag through the pris matic glass of her own enkindled ideality


could she have seen the calculating quietness in which during tbe iutervals of a restless and sleoplcss um bition he played upon her heart strings ns one ues a musical instrument to beguile a passing hour


how his only embarrassment was tho fear that the feelings he was pleased to excite might become too warm and too btrong while ns yet his relations to her hubband were such as to make it daugerona to arouse his jealousy


aud if he could have seen that pure ideal conception of himself whioh alone gave him power in the heart of this woman that spotless glorified image of a hero without tear without reproach would he have felt a moments shame and abasement at its utter falsehood


the poet says that the evil spirit stood abashed when ho saw virtue in an uugel form how would a man then stand who meetb face to face his own glorified spotless ideal made living by the bound less faith ot some believing heart


the best must needs lay his hand on his mouth at this appui lion but woe to him who feels no redeeming powor iu the sacredness of this believing dream who with calculating shrewdness uses this most touching miracle of love only to corrupt and destroy tho loving


for him the e is no sacri fice for sin no place for repentance


his very mo


ther might shrink in her grave to have him laid beside her


madame de frontignao had the high honorable nature of the old blood of france and a touch of its romance


she was strung heroically and edu cated according to the notions of her cabte and church purely and religiously


true it in that one oan scarcely call that education which teacjes woman everything except herself except the thiuga that relate to her own peculiar womanly destiny and on the pea ot the holiness of igno rance sends her without one word of just counsel into the temptations ol life


incre dible es it may seem virginie de fron tignao had never read a romance or work cf fiction of which love was the staple tbe regime of the convent in this regard was inexorable at eighteen he was more thoroughly a child than most ameri can girls at thirteen


on entrance into life she was at first so d izzied and bewildered by the mere contrast of fashionable excitement with the quiet ness of the scenes in ihich ehe had hitherto grown up that she had no time for reading pr thought all was one intoxicating frolio of exis tence one dazzing bewildering dream


he whose eye had measured her for his victim verified if ever man did the proverbial expres sion of the iron hand under the velvet glove


under all bis gentle suavities there was a fixed in flexible will a calm self restraint and a con


posed philosiphical measurement of others that fitted bim to bear despotic rule over an impulsive un guarded nature


the position at once accorded to him of her instructor in the english language and literature gave him a thousand daily oppor tunities to touch and stimulate all that class of finer faculties bo restless and so perilous and whioh a good man approaches always with a certain awe


it is said that he once asserted that he never beguiled a woman who did not come half way to meet him an observation much the same as a serpent might make in regard to his birds


the visit of the morning was followed by several others


madame de frontignao seemed to conceive for mary one of those passionate attachments which women often conceive for anything fair aud sympathising at those periods when their whole inner being is made vital by the approaches of a grand passion


it took only a few visits to make her as familiar ob a child at the cot tage and the whole air of the faubourg st ger main seemed to melt away from her ns with the pliability peculiar to her nation she blended her self with the quiet pursuits of the family


some times in simple straw hat and white wrapper she would lie down in the grass uuder the apple trees or join mary in an expedition to the barn for hens eggs or a run along the sea beach for shells and herchildish eagerness and delightoa these occasions used to aroue the unqualified astonishment of mrs katy scudder


the doctor she regarded with a naive astonish ment slightly tinctured with apprehension


she knew ho was very religious and stretched her com prehension to imagine what he might be like


she thought of bossuets sermons walking about under a protestant coat and felt vaguely alarmed and sinful in his prosence as she used to when entering under the shadows of a cathedral


in her tho religious sentiment though vague was strong


nothing in the character of burr had ever awakened so much disapprobation as his occasional sneers at relinion


on such occasions she always reproved him with warmth but ex cused him in her heart because he was brought up a heretic


she held a special theologi cal conversation wilh the abbe whether salvation were possible to one outside of the true church and had added to her daily prayer a particular invocation to the virgin for him


the french lessonb with her assistance proceeded prosperously


she became an inmate in mrs mar vyns family also


the browneyed senaiiive wo man loved her as a new poem she felt enchanted by her and the prosaic details of her household seemed touohed to poetic life by her innocent in terest and admiration


tbe young madame in sisted on being taught to spin at the great wheel and a very pretty picture she made of it too with her earnest gravity of endeavor her deepening cheek her graceful form with somo btrauge foreign scarf or jewelry waving and flashing iu odd contrast with her work


do you know she said ono day while thus employed iu the north room at mrs marvyns do you know burr told me that princeses used to spin


he read me a beautiful btory from tho odyssey about how penelope cheated herloveis with her spinning while she was waiting for her husband to como home lie was gone to sei mary her true love you understand


she turned on mary a wicked glance so full of intelligence that the snowdrop grew red a


the in side of a seashell


mon enfant thou hast a thought deep in here i she said to mary one day as they sat together in tho grass under the apple trees


why what said mary with a startled and guilty look


why what petite said the fairy princess whimsically mimicking her accent


jlh


i ah i irsi belle


you think i have no eyes virgiuie sees deep in here she said laying her hand playfully on marys heart


ah petite she said gravely and almost sorrowfully


if you love him wait for him dont marry another


it in dreadful not to have ones heart go with ones duty


i shall never marry anybody said mary


nevare marrie anybodiel said the lady imi tating her accents in tones much like those of a bobolink


ah


ah i m y little saint you cannot always live on nothing but the prayers though prayers are verie good


but ma chere she added in a low tone dont you ever marry that good man iu there priests should not marry


ours are not priests they are ministers said mary


but why do you speak of him


he is like my father


virginie sees something


baid the lady shak ing her head gravely she bees he lovea little mary


of oourse he does ofcoursehedoes


ah yes and byandby oomes the mamma and she takes this little band and ehe bays come mary


and then she gives it to him and then the poor jeune homme when he comes back finds not a bird in his poor little nest


oh eest ennuyeux cela bhe said throwing herself back in the grass till the clover heads and buttercups closed over her


i do assure you dear madame i do assure you dear mary virginie knows


so lock up her words in your little heart you will want them some day


there was a pause or some moments wnue tne lady was watching the oourse of a cricket through the clover


at last lifting her head she spoko very gravely my little cat


it is dreadful to be married to a good man and want to be good and want ta love him and yet never like to have him tako your hand and bo more glad when he is away than when he is at home and then to think how different it would all be if it was only bomcnody els


that will be tho way with you if you let them lead you into this bo dont you do it mon enfant


a thought seemed to cross marys mind as she turned to madame do frontignao and said earn cstly if a good man were my husband i would never think of another i wouldnt let myself


how could you help it mignonne


can you stop your thinking


mary said after a moments blush i can try ah yes


but to try all ones life oh mary that is too hard i never doit darling


and then madame do frontignac broke out iulo a carolling little french song which btarted all the birds around into a general orchestral accom paniment


the conversation ocourred just before madame de froutignac started for philadelphia whither her husband had been summoned as an agent in eomo of the ambitious intrigues of barr


it was with a sigh of regret that she parted from her friends at tho cottage


she made them a hasty good bye call alighting from a splendid barouche with two white horses and filling their bimplo best room wiih tho light of her presence for a last half hour


when she bade good bye to mary the folded her warmly toher heart and her long lashes drooped heavily wtth tearb after her absenoe tbe lessons were still pursued with the gentle quiet little abbe who seemed tho raoet patient and assiduous of leathers but in both houses tiere was that vague ennui that sense of want which follows the fading of one of lifes beautiful dreams


we bid her adieu for a season we may see her again


curteii xx


the summer passed over the cottage noise lessly


as our bummers pass


there were wiiite clouds walking in saintly troops over blue mirrors of sea there were purple mornings choral with birdsinging there were golden cveaingp with long eastward shadows


apple blossoms died quietly in the deep orcbardgrasp and tiny apples waxed and rounded and ripened and gained stripes of gold and carmine and tbe blue eggs broke into young robins that grew from gaping yellowmouthed youth to fledged and out dying maturity


came autumn with its long indian summer and winter with its flinty spark ling buowb under which all nature lay a bealed and beautiful corpse


came onco more the spring winds the lengthening days the open ing flowers aud the everrenewing miraolc of buds and blossoms on the appletrees around the cottage


a year had passed since the june after noon when first wo showed you mary standiug under the spotty shadows of the tree with the white dove on her hand a year in which not many out ward changes have boon made in the relatious of the aotors of our story


mary calmly spun and read and thought uow and then composing withcare very englishfrench letters to bo sent to philadelphia to madame do frontignao and receiving short missives of very frenchenglish in return


the caution of madame in regard to the doctor had not rippled the current of their calm confid ing intercourse and the doctor so very satisfied and happy in her constant society and affection bcaioeiy as yet meditated distinctly that he needed to draw her more closely to himself


if he had a passage to read a page to be cfpid a thought to express was she not ever there gentle patient unselfish p and scarce by tho absence of a day did she let him perceive that his need of hor was becomiug so absolute that his hold on her must needs bo made permanent


as to his salary and temporal concerns they had suffered somewhat for his unpopular warfare wilh reigning sins a fact which had rather reconciled mrs scudder to the dilatory movement of her cherished hopes


since james was gone what need to press imprudently to new arraugo ments


better give tbe little heart time to grow over before starting a bubject which a cer tain womanly instinct told her might be met with a struggle


somehow she never thought without a certain heart sinking of marys look and tone tbe night sho spoke with her about james she had an awful presentiment that that tone of voice belonged to the things that cannot be shaken


but yet mary baemed so even so quiet her delicate form filled out and rounded so beautifully and she sang so cheerfully at her work aad above all she was so entirely eilent about james that mrs soudder had hope


ab that silence do not listen to hear whom a woman praises to know where her heart is


do not usk for whom he expresses the most earnest en thusiasm


but if there bo one ehe once know well whose name she never speaks if sho seems to have an instinct to avoid every ocoasion of its mention if when you speak she drops into silence and changes the subject why look there for some thing just as when going through deep meadow grass a bird flies ostentatiously up before you you may know her nest is not there but far off under distant tufts of fern and buttercup through which ehe has crept with a silent flutter in her spotted breast to act her pretty little falsehood before you


poor marys little nebt was along the sedgy margin of the seashore where grow the tufts of goldenrod where wave the reeds where crimson green and purple seaweeds float up like torn fringes of nereid vestures aud gold and silver shells lie on the wet wrinkles of the sands


the sea had become to her like a friend with its evsrvarying monotony


somehow she loved this old frefli blue babbling restless giant who had carried away hor hearts love to hide him in some far off palmy island such as she had often heard him tell of in his sea romances


sometimes she would wander out for an afternoons stroll on the rocks and pause by the great spouting cave now famous to newport dilettanti but then a sacred and impressive solitude


there the rising tide bursts with deafening strokes through a narrow opening into some inner cavern which with a deep thunderboom like the voice of an angry lion casts it back in a high jet of foam into the sea


mary often sat and listened to this hollow noise and watohed the everrisiugcolnmnsof spray as they reddened with the transpiercing beams of the afternoon sun and thence her eye travelled far far off over the shimmering starry blue where sails looked no bigger than millers wings and it seemed sometimes as if a door were opening by which her soul might go out into some eternity some abyss so wide and deep that fathomlesi lines of thought could not sound it


sho was no longer a girl in a mortal body but an infinite spirit the adoring companion of infinite beauty and infi nite love


as there was an hour when the fishermen of gililee baw their master transfigured his raiment white and glistering and his f ice like the light so are thore hours when our whole mortal life stands forth in a celestial radiance


from our daily lot falls off every weed of care from our heartfriends every bpsck aud stain of earthly infirmity


our horizon widens and blue aud amethyst and gold touch every object


absent friends and friends gone on the last long journey stand once more together bright with an immortal glow and like the disciples who saw their master floating in the clouds above them we say lord it is good to be herol how fair tbe wife the husband the absent mother the grayhaired father the manly son tho brighteyed daughter


seen in the actual present all have some fault some flaw but absent we see them in their permanent and better selves


of our distant home we remember not one dark day not one ser vile care nothing but tho echo of its holy hymnb nnd the radiance of its brightest days of our father not ono hasty word but only the fulness of his manly vigor aud noble tenderness of our mother nothing of mortal weakness but a glori fied form of love of our brother not one teasing provoking word of brotherly freedom but the proud beauty of his noblest hours of our aister our child only what is fairest and sweetest


this is to life the true ideal the calm glass wherein looking wo shall see that whatever de fects cling to us they arc not after all perma nent aud that wo are tendin


to something nobler than we yet are it is tho earnest of our inherit ance until the redemption of the purchased pos session


io tbe resurrection we bhall see our friends for over as we see them iu these clairvoyant hours


we are writing thus on and on linking image and thought and feeling and lingering over every flower and listening to every bird because just before us there lies a dirk valley and we shrink and tremble to enter it


but it must come and why do we delay


towards evening one afternoon in the latter part of june mary returned from one of those lonely walks by tlie hea and entered the kitchen


it was still in its oalm and sober cleanness the tall clock ticked wilh a startling distinctness


from the halfclosed door of her mother s be lroom which stood ajar she hoard tho chipper of miss prissys voice


she stayed her light footsteps and the words that fell on her ear were these


misb


marvyn fainted dead away sho stood it till ho came to that but then she just clapped both hands together as if shed been shot and fell light forward on the floor in a faint


what could this be i there was a quick intense whirl of thoughts in marys mind and then came one of those awful moments when the powers of life seem to make u dead pause


nud all things stand still and then all ceemed to fail under hor and the life to sink down down down till nothing was but one dim vague miserable con sciousness


mrs scudder and hiss prissy were sitting talking earnestly on the foot of the bed when the door opened noiselessly and mary glided to them lute a spirit no color in cheok or lip har blue eyes wide with calm horror and laying her little hand with a nervous grasp on miss prissys arm ehe said


tell mo what is it


is it p is he dead


tho two women looked at each other and then mrs scudder opened her arms


my daughter


ob mother


mother i then fell that long hopeless silenco broken only by hysierio sobs from miss prisay and answer ing ones from the mother but she lay atill aid quiet her blue eyes wide and clea making an inarticulate moan


oh are they sure


can it be is he dead at last sho gasned


my child it is too true all we can say is be still and know that i am god


i shall try to be still mother said mary with a piteous hopeless voice like the bleat nt a dyiug lamb


but i did not think he could die i never thought of that i never thought of it


oh mother mother


mother


oh what bhall


ido


they laid her on her mothers bed tho first and last restingplace of broken hearts aud tbe mother sat down by her in silence


miss prissy stole away into the doctors study and told him i all that had happened


its the same to her raid miss prissy with womanly reserve as if hed beta an own brother


what was his spiritual state said the doctor musingly


miss prissy looked blank and answered mournfully


i dont know


tho doctor entered the room where mary was lying with closed eyes


those few moments seemed to have done the work of year so pale and laded and sunken bhe looked nothing but the painful flutter of tho eyelids and lips showed that she yet breathed


at a sign from mrs scudder he kneeled by the bed and began to pray lord thou hast been our dwellingplace in all generations prayer deep mournful up heaving like the bwell of tho ocean eurging up ward under the pressure of mighty borrows towards an almighty heart


the truly good are of one language in prayer


whatever lines or angles of thought may separate them in other hours when they pray in extremity all good men pray alike


the emperor charles v and martin luthor two great generals of opposite faithb breathed out their dying struggle in the selfsame words


there be many tongues and many languages of men but tho language of prayer is one by itself in all and above all


it is the inspiration of that spirit that is ever working with our spirit and constantly lifting us higher than we know nnd by our wantb by our woes by our tears by our yearnings by our poverty uiging us with mightier and mightier force against those chain of sin which keep us from our god


we speak not of things conventionally called prayers vain innt terings of unawakened spirits talking drowsily in sleep but of such prayers as come when flesh and henrt fail in many straits then he who prays is a prophet and a mightier than he speaks in bim for the spirit helpeth our infirmiies for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but tbe spirit itself maketb intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered


so the voice of eupplicatiou upheaving from that great heart so childlike in its humility rose with a wisdom and a pathos beyond what he dreamed in his intelleoiual hours it uprose even as a strong angel whose brow is solemnly calm and whose wings shed healing dews of paradise


the streets of sydney with some account of the houses thereof and the people who dwell therein


by hooke


y walker a very extensive traveller


chapter vi


a perambulation in parkstreet


a treatise on rolls and clappers and the licence of auctioneers


a model landlord


tavern company


with a grand musical finale played on the galvanic box


parkstreet is peculiar


it is not very long or very wide it is not distinguished from its family relations by a superabundance of noise or a superfluity of quiet it has only its fair share of heat and dust in summer and aqueous visitations in winter still however difficult to describe there is a peculiarity about it which cannot fail to strike the attentive observer


looking from its eastern to its western extremity the eye en counters a dead wall which separates an ancient burial ground from the stream of life floating on reminding passersby like the skeleton at the banquet of the narrow line between the springi ness of mortality and the frigidity of death


its opposite end is an outlet to the green plains of hyde park studded with bosky clumps taste fully arranged by the presiding deities of the botanical gardens and elaborately decorated with gravel walks the golden ideas of the chief genius of the supreme court


parkstreet revels in publichouses and luxu riates in auctioneering establishments provi dential gifts for which its inhabitants cannot be too thankful


here indeed is choice for opposite tastes one may get knocked up or knocked down as inclination prompts and accept the pressing invitation stay and have another glass of the former or flee from the temptation to mark the authoritative can no longer dwell of the latter


throughout the day the air is heavy with the sound of bells whose jingling notes are emblematical of the rivalry of their various masters


mr tooles tinklings are fiercely greeted by mr knockburns tintinnabu lations the duet raises the ire of mr poplands little boy who immediately rouses a peal upon a muffin bell accompanied by divers pendulumic and pantomimic movements which would make his fortune in a sawdust arena


it may be that mr toole at the time has only a few secondhand waistcoats and dry goods to dispose of or that mr knockburns stock for the day consists of rusty razors and damaged flatirons or that mr poplands generally full ground then exhibits a vacancy yawning to be filled with legless tables backless chairs and dismantled crockery but what of that


it is necessary to keep up ap pearances the rival battle must be fought if it be only a sham and as in many other cases the smaller the quantity of business done the greater the noise made about it


bells are in fact auctioneers selfblown trumpets without which their trade must languish and decay a consummation too frightful to be contemplated by any well balanced mind


some denizens of the street afflicted with premature deafness ascribe the disorder to this constant ringing in their earsthis continuous playing on their tympanums but even were it so they need only be reminded of the great political axioma great good cannot be effected without a partial evil to make them dumb about the bells


it has been reported that mr nibbletight the great builder of parkstreet who runs up houses as fast as a monkey ascends a pole was heard to exclaim hang the bells yet as the expression was interpreted into an order to furnish his row with those articles it may be taken as complimentary and not as conveying a wish to stop their tongues by suspension


once upon a time i myself heard the venerable mr dickon bubbs the great nuisancehunter emit an anathematical ejaculation which sounded very much like d the bells but as he was at high words with two female green grocers touching a large quantity of decomposed vege table matter strewn by their hands over the pathway it may be fairly inferred that his ire was excited against those belles particularly as their clappers were then going nineteen to the dozen to use a wellknown phrase


leaving this moot point to be settled by a duly qualified street jury i will endeavour to give a slight sketch of mr knockburn in his profession al capacityit being promised that he has no end of goods to knock down and a numerous audience to be led away by his oratory


mr knockburn ascends his rostrum with the air of an alexander he gracefully waves his dextral hand which clutches the hammer and claims attention in a voice to which thunder is but a childs rattle


having carefully scratched the favorite pimple on his nose arranged his hair pulled up his shirt collar and glanced keenly round to study the countenances about him he exclaims silence that infernal tinkling till i explain the terms of sale


as these are com prised in the highest bidder to be the pur chaser and for cash only they call for little expenditure of time


he then proceeds gen tlemen you know what you are aboutno mis takeno gammonno humbug with me


all fair and square


id sooner wash my head in burning lava or take a morning bath in a cald ron of boiling lead than forfeit one iota of my professional reputation


i inherited those prin ciples from my lamented sire the admirable knockburn and i intend to hand them down to my children


never knowd you had any shouts a voice from the crowd


id punch your head if i could pick you out replies the auctioneer in dudgeon


yes you wouldover rejoins the mysterious stranger with most ironical emphasis


never mind him knockburn go on with the sale we want to get to bed afore twelve oclock tonight observe several business men in con cert


thus adjured knockburn pockets his wrath and resumes his original softsawder tone lot


a flannel petticoat in excellent condi tion the property of a lady going to india where the heat of the climate does not require such articles of household furniture


what shall we say for the petticoat quite perfect tapes sound and variegated with some burns from hot irons which materially improve its elegant appearance


give me a bid


now gentlemen be smart give the petticoat a lift


twopence thank you twoandahalf in two places


three it is thank you three gentlemen is not enough for the petticoat theres a hole in it knockburn


of course spoony or how could the lady have got into it


fourpence for the petti five thank yougoing at five pencegoing at fivethe last time going at fivegone at five


cash mr whatsyourname


foozle thank you ill give you a penny change when i get it coppers are scarce


mr foozle looks as if he wished he might get it but evidently entertains a doubt upon the point


lot


gentlemen a small quantity of rope yarn


it is unnecessary for me to descant upon the value of this article of commerce at the pre sent momentous occasion


when the russian fleet is expected daily to enter your harbour to batter down your splendid edifices and play the very devil with your wives and families not for getting yourselves you must see the necessity the urgent the imperative necessity of keeping the rigging of your fleet in good order


re member gentlemen for want of a nail the shoe was lost for want of a shoe the horse was lost c c and so for want of this piece of rope yarn your country may be lost


oh cut that yarn knockburn and spin another


if i do may i perish it is sent here for sale and sold it shall be if i buy it myself


put up something else with it


very good anything to accommodate ex tensive buyers heres a shaving box belonging to a peer of the realm my lord bounceigrow with the identical piece of soap which was pre sented to him at windsor when he took leave of her majesty to start on his colonial tour also a portrait of his favorite bull terrier and a view of the wine cellars and butlers pantry of govern ment house done by him in a most tasty manner also a full length representation framed in brass of a common councillor elected by an alarming majority addressing his constituents from a bal cony in yorkstreet


now gentlemen what shall we say for this valuable lotthe councillor the butlers pantry the wine cellars the bull dog the soap and shaving box and the rope yarn


oh hung em round your neck the whole of them is no good exclaims a shoeless and tattered cynic


move on or ill give you in charge


a man without money or marbles has no right to block up the place


start the lot gentlemen one pound thank you


shilling


did you say one shilling


dreadful depravitywhat a mistake


eighteenpence in three places the shaving tackle is worth treble the money


one and six one and nine


shocking slow coaches


two shil lings for this elegant and useful lot including a councillor in full speech


two and three going at two and threeno advance at two and three


you want a constitutional governmenta limit ed monarchy would suit you best you are not worth halfacrown


two and three i can no longer dwell two and three yours mr hawker youll make a fortune in the streets if you keep at this low game


i shant knock bread and cheese out of you i reckon growls the individual addressed as hawker


not if i can help it


i say this is only a rupee fork out the legitimate coin of the realm shouts mr knockburn irately


youll be roopee if you hollar so replies mr hawker while performing the necessary bit of exchange


and thus mr knockburn proceeds through his lengthy miscellaneous catalogue alternately bandying jokes with and lecturing his custo mers until the last lot is disposed of the warn ing bell muffled the shop shut up and the daily account closed


it is needless to follow mr knockburn into his domicile where doubtless he reposes triumphantly like a warrior beneath his well earned laurels


i repeat that parkstreet indulges in public hostelries notwithstanding the annual preach ments of mr alderman whitechoker and the tirades of mr turney general and mr brallagh an


their crusades against alcohol and malt are absolute failures and the licences to vend are left in the hands of obstinate infidels


this state of things is a positive grievance to mr nibbletight who perhaps conceives that his private property is sacrificed morally to public house good


not but that this gentleman is a real patriot and true philanthropist for while most grasping landlords are raising rents five hundred per cent


he contents himself with a simple five upon the money expended in bricks and mortar


how happy must those mortals be who claim of him a tenancy if all their moneys gone and spent hell never stoop to raise the rent


then laud ye tenants day and night


the liberal hearted nibbletight his kindness shines with purest gloss in fact hes sydneys man of ross


there is a large scrambling public house call


ed the rovers which i should imagine fur nishes good entertainment for man and beast as its interior is generally thronged with bipeds and its exterior embellished with harnessed steeds taking invigorating feeds from their nose bags whilst the masters indulge in brandy and water


this consideration for the quadrupeds cannot be sufficiently praised


a virtuous man being invariably kind to his beast such conduct on the part of the sydney cabmen clearly proves that they are brimful of proper spirit and not ir regular unbleached callous creatures as their enemies are wont to call them


indeed mr dickon bubbs has been heard to remark that cabmen as a class are superior to bullock drivers who are well known to be very worthy members of society and the most polished adornments of bush hut drawingrooms


i am not daring enough to dispute the opinion of mr bubbs whose practical experience and observa tion in such matters are not to be impeached with impunity


the model public is mr davills hotel


there every thing is neat clean compact and commo dious to which the jolly goodtempered face of the landlord is a constant card of invite and welcome


he is a true son of the soil and as fine a cut of a boniface as one could meet in any number of days march


his qualities attract a quantity of choice spirits from whom the most obtuse may gather amusement and instruction


if a man wish to collect historical records of the colony the doings of the whites or the peculiari ties of the blacks from the days of cook to the times of fitz roy he will there find the pages of an ample volume spread out before him


is he inquisitive about london lifethere every in quiry may be satisfied


every highway and by way broad street narrow lane court and alley of the great metropolis east west north and south can be vividly brought before him for the mere asking


and of sporting events the hotel is a complete calendar


the filly that won the oaks the man wot lost the fight and the tiny dog as killed the rats can be raked up from memory at a moments notice


the mysteries of put all fours cribbage and knockemdowns are explained in the most satisfactory and scien tific manner


two learned professors of the last game mr cornly and mr maurice occasionally enter into a pleasant discussion upon its beauties


what a treat for amateurs to hear these gentle men fight their knockemdowns battle over again


how pleasant to follow them throngh the mazes of dead wood close frames wide frames double and single balls dumpling balls and cheesy ones broad skivers landed nicely between the shoulders of the front pin and right hand second so as to carry eight pins if not a floorer long threes back doubles cross pins and all the minuti of this classic entertainment


how de lightful to some yet how bewildering to me


i once asked mr maurice if he thought i could succeed in learning the game under his able tuition


i never flatter cos it is not in my nature he replied


a gentleman of your time of life mr walker might as well try to play knockem downs as a flea to carry a bag of coals


lambs wool stockings and warm nightcaps would suit you a wonderful sight better


i mean no offence


just look at me sir


i weigh fifteen stone without an ounce of speefluous flesh and always lived a reglar life but i cant play half the game i did if you was to give me a thousand a year and set up the pins for me


your frame ant a knock emdown one believe me


i do believe you mr maurice was my un hesitating answer


some people might think i was romancing but what im going to tell you is real truth


i played a game with the east end chucker a most surprising man


for fiveandtwenty aside


we was at it fourandtwenty hours and never took bite nor sup barring some beef and beer during the watch


we could have gone on for fourandtwenty hours more only i was just lucky enough to win it


the chucker was a most wonderful chap


i knowd him a shoreditch cove they used to call him the old soldier he was so precious cunning remarked mr tootsy a gentleman of the jewish persuasion who was a listener to the conversation


precisely and not a bad name either he was killed by a ball sir said mr maurice ad dressing me


shot


i enquired


not to say shot but witally wounded by a twelve pound skittle ball


it didnt go through his body but it sewed him up


its werry dan gerous to cross the play rejoined mr maurice


it was a shocking event i said


not half so shocking as an incident which occurred here last evening sir remarked an in telligent looking personage hitherto unnoticed by me


indeed


a fact i assure you sir


a curious young man clutched two handles which apparently be longed to a juvenile barrel organ and he could not remove them for the life of him replied my informant in a serious tone


and how was he relieved from so distressing a dilemma


by medical advice and powerful agents


the archimedean screw and lever were brought to bear on him


his arms were nearly wrenched out of their sockets and singular to relate when he recovered their use he put his hands into his pockets sir


strange enough


what could be his rea son for that


to pay for some champagne which the fa cility recommended to reanimate and restore him to his proper senses


champagne occasionally produces a different effect i remarked with a smile


unquestionably but in such a dangerous pass stimulants were deemed absolutely neces sary


the instrument is in the next room if you would like to inspect it


it is perfectly inno cuous now and may be handled with safety


being much inclined to examine this startling piece of mechanism i followed my informant into the adjoining apartment


the instrument in question was a small square box with a quan tity of machinery the use of which was utterly unknown to me


in the centre rose a structure resembling a meat jack from which protruded crooked wires which were inserted into the two handles before spoken of


thats the animal quiet enough you ob serve not the slightest danger to be antici pated observed the intelligent gentleman as he grasped the handles


try it yourself sir if you are sceptical


the thing appeared so harmless that i was in duced to venture my hands upon it although i must confess to a slight misgiving having heard many tales of the miraculous effects produced upon the human frame by chemical means


the borgias spring key rose before my imagination and i almost felt the sharp poisoned steel enter ing my palms as i pressed these mysterious con ductors


as i told you sir not the slightest sensa tion the instrument is as dead as the harp which hangs in taras halls continued the in telligent gentleman who smelt uncommonly like a surgeon


is it really a musical box


i enquired


certainly and did discourse excellent music but at present it is shockingly out of tune


are you partial to music


of course you are


press a little harder perhaps you will wake it into melody


the intelligent gentleman moved a something which resembled the hand of a clock over a good imitation of a dial plate when oh horror of horrors


the muscles and veins in my body quivered shook distended jarred fizzed crack ed and appeared as if they were drawn out by wild horses


a thousand railway trains rattled through me and broadwheel waggons innumer able were crushing me to powder


i strove in vain to disengage my hands from the infernal machinethey stuck as fast as the amen in macbeths throat


the screwthe leverthe d it i sel dom swear but it was positively forced from me


the anything to relieve me from this tor ture i exclaimed while my countenance i fear was excruciatingly distorted


this is a very serious case


who could have thought it said the intelligent gentleman throwing a peculiar glance upon the observers


who could have imagined the musical attrac tion of this stranger


do something beyond speculation to relieve me from the torture i cried from amidst a my riad of increasing agonies


ha


i have it


eureka


the true to kalonthe elixir vit champagne


champagne


halfadozen


quick mr davill


he musthe shall be saved at any cost shout ed the intelligent gentleman in a maniacal voice


in came the champagne out popped the corks round went the bumper glasses to the company


at length my turn came the spark ling beverage was lifted to my mouth i quaffed it to the last drop when lo


as if by magic my arms fell gently to my side and i exchanged a demoniac tartarus for a perfect elysium


gentle thrills ran through my frame i felt buoyant as air my joints were supple as an antelopes and the rheumatic pains of years de parted like ghosts at cockcrow


seraphic sounds


electrifying chords said the intelligent gentleman archly


worth halfadozen of champagne sir eh


i am eternally obliged to you


for such tunes i most willingly pay the piper


i suited the action to the word and left mr davills hotel declaring solemnly that should bodily afflictions return i would renew an ac quaintance with the intelligent gentleman and the wiry chords of his galvanic box


enough for the present but i may return to parkstreet at some future time


to be continued


the stokt of the campaign


written in a lent from the crimea


i from mtckwothtt vugifiim jfaut


cnapter xvni


peoottess of the siege


continued from our lost


it was rumoured and expected for some days afterwards that the french would make another effort to take the hill


the russians placed the riflemen behind the work they iiad thrown up and in t small enclosure of loohe stones near it who ex changed a brisk fire with the frcech ti railleurs in tbe advanced trench but with out much damage to either side


the attack was not renewed by the french and the enemy proceeded to complete the work unmolested


the french however sallied from their lines on two or three successive nights upon tbe riflepits occu pied by the russians towards inkcrmann and on one occasion drove out the occu pants of the pits and repulsed the troops supporting them but neglecting to de stroy or occupy the pits themselves the russians returned to them when the french withdrew


at tbe beginning of march the winter seemed to have departed leaving only a few cold days lingering in scattered order in its rear


the health of the troops was steadily improving they were in compa rative comfort and their labours were lightened


new batteries admirably constructed were in course of completion far in ad vance of those used in tho first attack and connected with them by long lines of trenches


guns for arming them were in our siege depots those damaged by the longcontinued lire were replaced by others nnd we had lent a number to tho french


inkermann was not only defended against a second assault like that of tho th of november but was now the most strongly intrenched point if our position


finally tho supply of ammunition necessnry for reopening a general and sustained cannon ade was being fast accumulated while tbe fire of the enemy who but lately had returned ten shots for one was materially slackened


a russian steamer armed with tiro heavy gubb had for a jong time been an chored near the head of tbe harbour at a point from whence she could fire towards inkermann and had frequently annoyed our working parties there


on the night of the ctb tbeembrabures of three gubb in our battery at inkermann lights yards from the ship were unmaskedrand shot heated


at daybreak the guns opened the first shot passed over the vessel and did not ttract tho notice of the smtry who was hieing tho deck the second struck the vntcr near when he jumped the paddlc ox and alarmed tho evew


seven or eight hot struck her aud damaged her machin rv so much that though jbe storrn was jot up the paddles did not revolve and he was warped round into the shelter of i neighbouring point


her crew iinnie jiately left her and sho wascaveened over for repair


a deserter told us that three men were killed and thret wounded on board


i on the th a telegraphim despatch was received at the british headquarters stat ing that the emperor of russia had died on tlie nd with the worn appended


this may be relied on ks authentic


the news spread rapidly tlircngh the camp and notwithstanding its surmaing nature it was at once believed


next day the french general received a detoatch to the same effect but from quitcja different source


j by the construction of the lies and bat teries at inkormann the auib bod to a great extent effected the objectof enclosing the defensive works south of the great harbour


jn front of the ouod tower called by the russians mai koff and to the right of our right attack was a bill of tue form of a truncated cone nearly as ele vated as that oi which tbe


iouiid tower elands known by us as gord ras hill and by tlie french as the mamm on


it bad been intended that the french should obtain possession of this hill under cover of a crossfire from our right attack and the left inkermann batteries upon tho ground behind it and that woiks should be constructed on it which at about yards would bear on tho works of msja koff and tbe redan


this design was anticipated by the enemy who on lie morning of the uh were found to hare seized on the hill during the night aid commenced a battery there


a fire ol shells from our right attack drovo tleir working parties out and prevented tftem from making much progress by day but though the fire was continued at tight its effect was too uncertain to pnvent the enemy from working there duriig the darkness


at oclock on the evening of llieuth captain cratgie re was returnin up a ravine from the trenches with a pity of sappcre and was already at a grcit dis tance when a stray missile came though the air


towards them


he remsked


here conies a shell and at the noment it burst above them


all put u their arms to shield their heads from failing splinters when they looked rounl crai gie was lying dead a piece of tie shell had gone through bis sido into its heart


the sappers bore him jo his tent aany of them strongly affected for ho waf a great favorite with bis men


in the middle of march ihe freich con nected their linea at inkermnnn wth those of our right attack by parallels tho ad vanced one passing in front of lie mam melon at less than yards fion it thus rendering the line of intrenclinidt conti nuous except where the great rsvine in terrupted it from the battery opposite inkennan lights on our cxtreuc right to the french works on tho jcf yllicll enclobcthe salients defending ho town


facing the advanced parallel between it and the manimelon wna a row of russian riflepits distant from the french less than yards which caused great annoyance to the guards of the trench


at the request of our allies a twenty fourpoundcr in our right attack was di rected on the pits and tho second shot piercing a small work creeled to shelter several riflemen called by tho french a gahionage its occupants to the number of eight ran away escaping uninjured through the fire of musketry poured on them from tho french parallel j but they camo back in the night


next day i was in a new mortarbattery wo had erected in front of the light divi sion watching the praclce from our right attack against the mammelon when tho coioncl of tbe th regiment of french in fanlry leaving his horse in tho battery walked down to tbo t renches not by the ordinary path of the ravine which affords shelter ail the way but over the hill as he approached the lines he was shot dead by a rifleman from the pits


on tbe night of the th about nine oclock it being very dark a furious fire of musketry was opened from the french lines and for upwards of an hour incessant vcllies showed several thousand men to be engaged


tbe whole camp wu on the alert aud he staffofficers despatched from the french and english beadquarters to ascertain tbe cause brought wotd that it was a renewed attack by tho french on the russian riflepits and in the morning j we heard that the french had taken them nevertheless at daj light the russian s arpshootcrs were at their old post


the french were said to have lost upwards of men and next night they bombarded the town from oclock till midnight in flicting great loss on the garrison according to the report of a deserter


on the th a deserter brought intelli gence tbat menschikoff was dead


next day another corroborated the intelligence and added that admiral istamin had been killed in the mammelon by a shell


ife also told us tbat the russian batteries had been forbidden to fire and in fact they did not fire for two days


on tbe tli sir john burgoyne who had hitherto been charged with the chief conduct of the siegeworks left the army for the purpose of resuming liis duties m england as inspectorgeneral cf fortifi cations


his successor general jones had arrived some time before


on this day we received the english papers up to tho tb containing the origi nal despatches announcing the czars death the remarks thereon in parliament and the leading articles speculating on the new as pect which tbe war and tbe impending ne gotiations might assume when such an important actor had been so suddenly re moved


to be continued


the mysteries of sydney


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


part second


the mysteries of sydney are not motiveless


in these lights and shadows of human life and character man as in a mirror may view his vices and follies reflected


perchance startled at their deformity he may turn from evil unto good or if the mere sight be insufficient to accomplish so great and glorious a consumma tion perchance tracing guilt through its various pages each adding to its weight of misery until the burden becomes intolerable and the victim expires in the intensity of anguish and despair man may learn a profitable lesson which will lure his steps from the precipice and re strain him from taking that last fatal plunge which is the grave of repentance


in the fore going chapters some of the satire may seem se vere but in therapeutics it often occurs that the more bitter the medicine the more sanatory is its effect


the satirist is the true moral preacher whose homilies are worth a whole library of theology with its dogmas and controversies


there is no disputing his creed the dark stain of sin is a portion of mortality faintly traced in some bosoms strongly marked in othersbut still there


time rolls on dynasties and em pires are swept away but the blot remains


the ambition of alexander was revived in buon aparte and some of the foulest vices of the later csars disgraced the fourth george


he who can restrain such and turn the blindness of error into the path of light is the true benefactor of the human race the lash of the satirist has often effected this when the mildness of reason ing has failed


the mysteries profess to be but a kaleidoscopic view of society presenting fresh scenes and characters as the hours flit by yet preserving such continuity and connection as the scantilypopulated field which furnishes the materials will allow


their purpose is good and can only be offensive to those who deserve offence


can there be a better motive than the earnest desire of changing these enemies into friends


when no room is left for censure this will be andnot till then


chapter i


the scheme


at the southern extremity of sydney stretching itself from the haymarket is a long road which ultimately loses itself amongst huge hillocks of sand and dust


when the wind sets in from that quarter vast clouds of pulverized matter are driven into the city and the inhabitants conse quently look with a feeling akin to fear at this terrible annoyance


brickfielders for such is the local name of those unpleasant visitants are in fact simooms in miniature


one side of this road is bounded by a high bank on which stands the cemetery where rest in peace the mouldering bones of the departed colonists on the other side numerous small cot tages are erected whose neat external appear ance affords ample promise of internal conveni ence and comfort


it was towards one of these buildings that a solitary figure was endeavouring to make his way


the night was dark and stormy and as the street if it may be so called was neither paved nor lighted his task was not by any means pleasant or easy


what an infernal night


he exclaimed as the wind which increased in violence actually drove him back against the high bank


wheugh tis as dark as pitch and blowing a hurricane


no one but the devil or his imps can stand it


what again


cried he as another fearful gust swept howling by and almost threw him off his balance


well


somebody shall pay me for this jaunt


had not the business been imperative carry would not have been troubled with my company


welcome twink ling little star although a plain mould candle illuminated you are a most beautiful beacon to a tempesttost plougher of the sandy deep


these last words were produced by the sight of a faint glimmering light in the upper part of the cottage alluded to and which appeared to have been left as a signal


when the traveller reached the place he gave a low whistle upon which the candle was immediately withdrawn


all right he muttered and then crept stealthily round to the back part of the house


a dog which was chained there gave a low growl as he approached but which was instantly changed into a friendly whine of recognition as he neared the animal


the dog crouched down and was instantly silent at his bidding


the back door was opened and a female made her appearance


it was closed in a moment upon the traveller as he slipt noiselessly in


a few words were whispered between them as they passed up the stairs the female then led him into a small but wellfurnished apartment which exhibited every sign of comfort


a fire blazed in the grate a kettle was standing on the hob and the table was furnished with two or three case bottles evidently containing spirits and all the accompaniments for mixing punch or grog according to the palate of the imbiber


on the walls hung several pictures the subjects of which were rather of the amatory sort and highly colored


over the mantelpiece were two or three card racks filled with bits of pasteboard impressed with names of the masculine gender betokening that the owner of the domicile had an extenslve connexion with the male branches of creation


now this is what i really call pleasant carry after the perils and dangers of the voy age said the male personage who was no other than jacob sharkey with a full fla voured havannah a glass of the pure jamaica a kiss from those lips and the light of those eyes what man on earth could be silly enough to wish for more


mrs caroline angelica naillitt the lady to whom this compliment was paid had reached the maturity of feminine existence


she was of that particular age when the bloom is on the wane but when the passions if not so fiery and evanescent are more concentrated and durable than in younger bosoms


in person she was about the middle height and the character of her countenance was not upon the whole dis agreeable although a certain wantonness of eye and a somewhat sinister expression about the mouth would have led the physiognomist to re mark that the one spoke as little in favor of her continence as the other did of her honesty


i dont require compliments from you jacob replied the lady in answer to his speech although the smile on her lips rather belied her words but i wish to know how our affair progresses


dont be in a hurry my darling rejoined jacob leisurely sipping some punch which he had compounded with great quickness and dex terityi have news for you but first has he been here


hush jacob replied she warningly you know he has not visited me since that eventful eve when the discovery had almost taken place


he was almost frightened out of his wits


but i took the liberty of strolling up to parramatta yesterday you understand


ah thats well


dont lose sight of him carry hell be a good standfast in case of ac cidents


not that i fear any for our plans are too well concocted to be easily thwarted yet i as a gambler know that there are odds almost against certainties


well but your news jacob


what of that


that will keep carry at all events until i have dislodged the infernal cargo of sand i shipped from my throat


well seeing that you are get ting a leetle impatient and as we are joint part ners and mutually interested in certain schemes and plans i wont wont what


exclaimed mrs caroline rather testily


keep you in suspense my pet a moment longer


i have some capital news the susan came in to day and brought me a letter from grimes is it all right clear straightforward are they satisfied now


you shall hear


london august


my dear sharkeyi received your letter per chasely in due course and immediately waited on the agents of sir edward latchell with the documents which you inclosed


old sharp and screwbill were as suspicious as ever and put a thousand questions and crossquestions to me which i need scarcely tell you i answered so as not to commit any of the parties on your side of the water or myself


they are fully satisfied with the certificate of naillits death as also of the marriage but with respect to the birth of the child they still have doubts notwithstand ing the incredulous brutes broke in mrs naillit and that particular certificate was forged you mean to observe carry and therefore ought in strict propriety for our sakes to have passed the best muster but hear a little fur therlet me see where was igrimes writes a very queer cramped hand


oh i seedoubts notwithstanding the excellent documentary tes timony you transmitted


they threw out some curious hints about the character of your fair friend certainly not very favorable to her the wretches


if i had them here id tear their eyes out


my character


what do the pettifogging snuffy smokedried old vagabonds know about my character


not quite so much as you and i do to be sure carry but some envious tongue may have made a remark or two which may by possibility have reached their ears


subdue your feelings however or we shall never get to the end of the chapter


lets seefavorable to her


well you neednt repeat it


true carrynor are they better in clined to her on account of her frequent change of name oh then i suppose im to keep single all the days of my life to please them


only keep silent and i wont ask you to keep single for a moment


they have so far admitted the right of the child to the property that they have agreed to allow the mother per annum


eight hundred per annum


exclaimed mrs naillit softening downwell theyre not such wretches after all


wait a bit replied sharkey quietlyfor the maintenance of herself and the proper edu cation of the child till she comes of age


at that time of course the estates and personal property to which she will become entitled are then to be handed over to her and all guardian ship to cease


but this allowance will only be made in the event of the mother and child pro ceeding to england by the first convenient ship


to enable them to accomplish this messrs sharp and screwbill have transmitted bills of exchange for upon one of your sydney banks of which you will be advised in due course


if mrs n should decline to avail her self of this offer they will forward annually to her one hundred pounds for maintenance c as according to their statement i give it you ver


batim my dear sharkey they do not feel jus tified in allowing any larger sum in case it might not be legitimately appropriated


the affair in all its bearings is now before you and it is for you to act but if my advice be not con sidered impertinent i would strongly recommend mrs n to accept the first proposition the child you write bears a very strong family like ness nothing more can be required


in fact my opinion is that so long as these lawyers have the parties under their eye as it were they will not trouble themselves very much about the identity


let me know per first ship your de termination in the matter and believe me yours very truly gideon grimes


go


exclaimed mrs naillit hastily almost before the reading of the letter was con cludedyes i rather think i will go and under your protection jacob


wont we cut a dash in the old country


eight hundred a year


and here mrs naillits eyes shot forth extraordinary sparkles of satisfaction and her hands were clutched as if the dross for which she was about to sell herself was already in her grasp


we must not count our chickens too soon carry


in my time i have seen the best laid plans blown into empty air by a mere breath and the most ponderous machinery deranged by the weakness of a single screw


now that we are about to pluck the fruit we must be doubly wary


when did you see the child


enquired sharkey rather abruptly


today yesterday every day in fact


i meet her as she returns from school and by the aid of sweetmeats and toys have acquired every power over her


nay she is almost as fami liarized to me as to her own mother whom she will soon be taught to forget


but have not her mothers suspicions been aroused by these gifts


not at all


from the prattle of the child i have learned that her vanity is flattered by the interest which i have exhibited in her little annie


she has even adopted the childs fond term and calls me the good lady


the good lady muttered sharkey ironi cally but in a sufficiently low tone as not to be heard by the former speaker


thought fully done carry very thoughtfully leave a woman to accomplish a task such as this


no thing then remains but to procure the bills turn them into cash and book our passage by the first craft that ieaves the harbour


when this is done we can easily manage the abduction


a lightning flash so bright and vivid that it illuminated the pitchy sky and shot its piercing gleam over the broad city and into every nook and corner of its narrow lanes and alleys fol lowed by a terrific clap of thunder startled the guilty pair in the midst of their wily plans sharkey looked out from the casement into the night but all was again densely profoundly black like a vast funeral pall


the thunder rolling away in the distance sounded like the warning of the almighty against the perpetra tion of the remorseless deed about to be com mittedthe separation of the child from its motherthe recklessly and ruthlessly tearing asun der the nearest of all tiesthe strongest of all natures bonds


leaving that mother to mourn the worse than death of her offspring the cor roding canker of uncertainty as to its fate here no preparatory warning indicated the ap proach of the parting hour


no long and sleep less watchings beside the couch of sickness


no daily markings of the silent progress of decay in that bright and innocent formthe household idol of a mothers hopes and prayers


but an in stant before her golden ringlets waving in the breeze and the ruddy glow of health and hap piness sparkling on her fairy cheek had she gaily lisped a pretended farewell to that doating parent and danced in childish glee from the threshold of the home from whence the arms of the despoiler were already extended to snatch her


but noto that mother her childs fate was to be a life in death a death in life an unknown earthly homeor an unknown grave


it was a night fitted for the vilest purposes of crime yet sharkey strongnerved and callous as he was shrank and shuddered for a moment at its contemplation


well talk more of it tomorrow carry he said in a low tone


lets to bed


lt was long past midnight when the guilty con federates retired to rest


to be continued


the story of the campaign


paut


written in a tent from the crimea


from jblackwoode magazine chapter xii continued


i had heard much of the excellent ar rangement of the french fieldhospitals and rode one day to see the principal one near general canroberts headquarters


it was a tail wooden building like a barn very airy for there was a space between the roof and the walls yet very warm the change from the cold air without being most pleasant


the principal surgeon a man of very fine and intelligent coun tenance accompanied us round the beds courteously indicating the most remarkable cases among the patients


these poor fellows all wounded men were arranged in iob in excellent beds and seemed as comfortable as such sufferers ever can be


amputations had been very numerous and the stumps of arms and legs projecting from the bedclothes were frequent along the rows


ono man lay covered up face and all he had undergone amputation of the hipjoint the surgeon said four days before was doing well and would probably live


i told him of the case of tho young russian officer which i had witnessed a few days before as already narrated


there was a little gleam of professional exultation as he repeated the fatal termina tion of the case to the surgeons in attend ance aud then turning to me remarked that many simitar operations had been successful in their hospitals


he pointed out one man a chasseur who had served in algiers as of noted valour


he had lost both arms in tho french cavalry charge at balaclava


tlie attendants seemed especially tender and assiduous in their treatment of the wounded


the attacks of the th and th had shown tho necessity of strengthening our position at balakiava and opposite inker mann


a continuous intrenchment was carried in front of the former place extending from the plateau across tho entrance of the valley up the hiiis and round to a mountain path near the sea which communicates with the woronzoff road


on thelowest hill in the valley of kadukoi a strong fort was erected


hat teries were placed at suitable points of the intrencliraodt which was garrisoned by men english french and turks the trees in the meadows and tho gardens of the valley were cut down partly to furnish abattis and firewood partly to prevent the enemy from obtaining cover if they should succeed in penetrating the outer line of defence


i have already des cribed the appearance of the valley when we entered it


now it was sadly changed all traces of cultivation had been stampct out by the multitudes of passing feet and hoofs and only the stumps of the graceful willows or fruitful appletrees remained to show where was onco a garden or a grove


tho first division was posted about half a mile in rear of the second


on its right a narrow path descended the steep boun dary of the plateau to the valley of the tchernaya crossing a ford of the stream between the ruins of iukcrnmnn and the cluster of heights where part of liprandis force was posted


about a third of the way down a shoulder projected fromiuo precipice like a terrace and on tins tho french made a smalt redoubt into which


we put two guns to fire down on tho plain and to sweet tho terrace and which was at first garrisoned by guardsmen but after wards made over to the french


the latter had formed an almost continuous intrenchment from their great redo at on the plateau above the woronzoff road lo this point and wo had begun on tho th november to carry it onward round the face of the cliff opposite inkermann so as to include the front of the second division


but the work proceeded but slowly and


interruptedly and up to that time the ground which had already been the scene of an attack nnd was now again to become so had only two small fragments of insignificant intrenchments not a hun dred yards long in all and more like ordinary drains than fieldworks one on each side of the road as it crossed the ridge behind which the division was en


camped


amidst the many loose assertions and incorrect statements which have appeared in the public prints respecting the opera tions of the campaign there is one fre quentlyrecurring error which deserves notice as it is calculated to mislead military readers in forming their estimate of the different actions every species of intrenchment which appears on a position is talked of as a redoubt


at tho alma the english force has been repeatedly described as storming intrenchments and tbe battery where the great struggle took place is always mentioned as the re doubt


tho twogun battery where the guards fought at inkermann is also a redoubt and one writer describes il as equipped with a breastwork at least seven feet high


a remarkable breast work certainly since tho defenders to make use of it as such must needs be about ten feet in stature


there were no intrenchments nor any works intended as obstacles in the rus sian position at tbe alma


tlie only works of any kind were two long low banks of earth over which the guns fired in tended not to prevent our advance but to protect tbe guns and gunners from our fire


the battery at the inkermann was a high wall of earth ri yetted with gabions and sandbags sloping at the extremities and having two embrasures cut in it for the guns to fire through from end to end it was about twelve paces long


now premising the fieldworks are said to be enclosed when they afford oa all sides a defence against an enemy and that when they are so constructed that the defenders behind one face fire alone the space iu front of them parallel to another face tlie one is said to flank the other a redoubt may bo denned as an enclosed work without flank defence


it is cither square circular or manysided and it is evident to the least informed reader that a continuous parapet and ditch guarded from behind at all points by musketry must be a formidable obstacle to assail and must greatly increase the facilities of defence


the ruins of inkermann which have often been mentioned in this narrative and which have given a name to a fierce battle stand on the edge of a clifflike precipice on the russian side of the valley about a mile from the bead of tho harbour of sebastopol


they consist of a broken line of grey wall battlemented in parts round towers


the yellow cliff they stand on is honeycombed with caruns in the valley close beneath runs the tchernaya fringed with trees


behind them the ground slopes upward to plains covered with coppice and on two high points stand lighthouses to guide ships entering the harbour


masses of grey stone pro trude abruptly through the soil around the ruins of such quaint sharpcut forms that in the distance they might be taken for the remains of some very ancient city


on the th of november it was known in our camp that the llussian army which had been for some days past assembling north of the town bad received an im portant augmentation and the arrival of some persons apparently of distinction had been witnessed from our outposts


during the night there was a great ring ing of bells in the city but no warning had reached us of the great enterprise in preparation of which these were the pre liminaries


a new series


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


chapter ii


the first step in a strange land


on the following day frank left the vessel for the purpose of providing a temporary resting place for his sister and himself until he could select one out of the many paths of life to pur sue in order to redeem their fallen fortunes


his situation was indeed painful cast upon the wide world without any definite plan of action without a friendly voice to advise or whisper consolation in his eara less buoyant heart than his would have been utterly crushed but there was an enthusiasm in his nature which sustained his energies and hope was at the bottom of the pandoras box now opening before him


some employment he felt certain of procuring and what this might be provided only that it were honourable he cared not for he had no false pride that he would suffer to interfere with the honest pride of independence


on landing at the wharf he proceeded up georgestreet and was immediately struck by the commercial importance of the young city


in the harbour he had noticed ships from almost every quarter of the globe discharging their valuable cargoes or loading with the products of the colony for transmission to distant lands and now he stood amidst the hum and bustle of the mercantile and trading population hurrying here and there and occasionally crossing and jostling each other in their earnestness of pur pose to reach the goal for which they started


true types of the energy of great britain the modern carthagethe mistress of the com mercial world


merchants dashing about on horseback for what sydney merchant conde scends to walk important looking clerks foot ing it nimbly towards the custom house and wharves deeply intent on spirits and tobacco in bond or unconsciously mixing the sweet duet in norma which they heard the night before with thoughts of sugar and spices sailors rolling along with their peculiar oceanborn gait and shoals of that hybrid genus whose blue woollen shirts coarse trousers heavy boots bearded visages and swaggering deportment bespoke them to be gold diggers either returning iaden with the fruits of their expedition or about to proceed on fresh voyages of discovery


on every side frank saw the marks of wealth and gold was the universal cry


whilst noticing these constant mutations and various hues of the human kaleidescope the endless variety of vehicles passing and repassing and the ceaseless clamour of wheels frank was saluted with the exclamation what frank earle


in sydney


mirabile dictu


my real trump card how the deuce did you turn up i might ask a similar question of you said frank in the utmost astonishment at meeting harry mordaunt an old chum whom he had ieft at cambridge when obliged to withdraw his own name from the college books on account of the embarrassed circumstances of his father


he remembered harry as a gay lively rattling spirit prompt and generous and handsome yet free from coxcombry or vanity and whose pre ference for reading the fresh pages of nature rather than the musty tomes of antiquity was the result of his own peculiar taste and the expectancies which he had upon the partiality of a rich though irascible and obstinate uncle


the sudden change from alma mater to austra lia was in truth sufficiently startling to warrant franks doubt as to the identity of the being before him


by jove


you are right most sage of men replied harry attempting to assume a solemn visage for which his good humoured face was ill adapted


the old story frank stumped caught outlost all chance of the game


but how harry


you speak in mysteries


jubes renovare dolorem


listlist oh listwhile i make a clean breast of it


you know my uncle the old gentleman who indulged in a squaretailed coat salmoncoloured smalls silvereel stockings nankeen gaiters and two leather canoes turned up with silver buckles which he called shoes not to mention a scratch wig with cannon curls and a pigtail


fine old fellow though


hot as cayenne touchy as a lucifer obstinate as a mule but generous as the day


a sort of mixed article like hysonskin and chopped birch brooms


well he took a re markable fancy to me called me the child of his adoption and determined to make me a lord chancellor at least


i flattered myself i could handie the ribbons and tool a fourinhand neatly but driving through a suit in equity i felt convinced was beyond me


i pleaded in ability and all that sort of thing but i might as well have tried my oratory upon stonehenge the round towers of ireland or the pyramids of egypt