THE STAR SATURDAY SUPPLEMENT.

AUCKLAND, N.Z., DECEMBER 2, 1882

WILL BE COMMENCED IN THE STAR SUPPLEMENT

Saturday ISText, A SISKIAL TALF, ENTITI ED "THE HOUSE OF WHITE SHADOWS.'' BY B. L. FAB J EON, Author of— '•Blado o' Gra=s," "Joshua Marvel." "Bread nnd Cheese and Kltsep, ' " Grlf," " Londo-i'u Heart," &c , &c, Tho SOLE RIGH t of Publishing this Taloha* been secured by tne Proprietor of the "AUCKLAND STAR," Persons wishing to secure Complete Files containing this Wonderful Story should BB CAREFUL TO SECURE NEXT SATURDAY'S SUPPLEMENT. FOUND DEAD: A STORY OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE, (By a Lawykb).

Bruce Parker had been known to me fir3t as a rosy-cheeked schoolboy, and then as a handsome young fellow ia training to go out to New Zealand and start a branch of the mercantile firm with which he was con nected. He was gentle in disposition and refined in nature, and therefore' scarcely hard-grained enough for a pushing' business man, but he had £2,000 or. capital at his back whenever he chose to lilt it, and so there was little doubt that he would suc ceed. I managed his mother's affair* when she was alive, and still looked after his money Investments, but saw very little of him for some years after he was left alone. When, therefore, I got a brief note irom him asking me to call upon him to write out a will, I concluded that he was at last going abroad, and wisely wished his affairs settled before starting, in case of any accident oi travel or clime When I reached his home, which was down at the outskirts of Leith, I was sur prised at the grave solemnity of theservant when he received my name, and still more so when she said she would, see if he was awake and able to see me. After a short absence she returned, and I was shown up into a bedroom, where I was faintly and smilingly greeted by a man there reclining whom I could scarcely bring myself to be lieve the bright-faced Bruce Parker I had come to see. He lay in bed, emaciated, pink-cheeked, and beautiful —too beautiful for a man—and the shock of seeing him thus, with the loveliness of treacherous death imprinted on his features, was almost too much for me, and I hurriedly tried to divert his attention irom the horrified ex pression of my face by saying— 11 fou have been ill, then?" " Vary, and I am ill now," he answered, with the same sweet smile. "The doctor says all I need ia au appetite and plenty of frtsh air, but I fear these will never come. I can't eat and I can't sleep, and I am so weak that I feel ready to sink, sink - right through the world into another land." "You'll be goiDg abroad, I suppose, as soon as yon get better ?" I faintly observed, to break the awkward silence. "To another land, but not to New Zea land," he dreamily answered. "I'm not to get better. When did a doctor ever speak out plainly? 1 hey 're afraid to speak oi death. I'm not afraid of it. I shall bf glad when it comes; it will be sweet, tternal rest." ~..... fle theD, in his broken and disjointed wayi told me the story of his disappoint ment in love, which had brought on his wasting disease. The lady was a young and beautiful widow, Mrs Kate Cameron by uame. She had an independent income, was rather fond cf gaiety and pleasure, but was so child-like and artless in her manner that dozens fell in love with her almost at first sight. Her father lived with her, but this imperious little lady was really master of the situ ation, and could dictate, order, and do whatever she pleased. There was a pre indice against her in good society, the dying man added, and no one cared to acknowledge ber or make her acquaintance, bat he assured me tbat prejudice sprnnp from the calumniators' own hearts, tor she was eveiything that is puie and good. "Kate Cameron?" 1 exclaimed, when he mentioned the name. "*h, I believe I have heard of her before," which was true. i had heard ot her as a most fascinating and daueerous woman, a consummate flirt, and selfish to the heart's core. She spoke with sn English accent, but beyond thatnonne knew aught of her former life, and her hus band she never alluded to but in the moat vague terms. •'You may have heard some one speak against her ♦* he said, with eagerness and excitement. "The good and pare are always maligned. Well, when lam gone they will see that I understood her better. I wish you to write out a will giving her all P" 9What! all?" I exclaimed in surprise, beginning to pity him in bis blind infatn """Every penny. She is the only woman I ever loved, or ever could love, 'he firmly ihe money with me.' "No but you have relatives -jon have your eoudn, William Burr, f.r instance a kind, warmhearted, well-doing fellow, whom jou always liked." c-We—we hay« quarrelled." he famtlj answered "My cousin doesn't come near me now. ' He was prejudiced against poor, dear Kate, and we agreed to p«t. I could bear anything but lo hear her abused Every word again3t her wae like a stab to

*T now saw the whole position, and I had sufficient reliance upon the good Bena of the cousin to guess that he had been in tbe righted «J»poor shadowy invalid in the Kr Bat reason and advice was SioS with «II hisboofcs •"doqyabta, SSffi. , portrait ol U««l'. ■» »"' for her, and jegiet that I'm aone. I scarcely thought that ehe lint I refrained from saviag to, and as soon as the will wa« Signed and witnessed took carrying the paper with we, yith strict in junctions to Ue the greatest preenptioni for its safety. ..... . r »*■ i Juata month after this interview I at-1 tended Brace Parker"s foneral. He has died quietly and peaceEally, his last words bein", "Mr.Qniltor knows what todd. . I sent brief note to the pretty widow to attend either personally or by proxy at the ' reading of tba. will, aod ment»Uy wo°dered whick course she would follow. After the fuueral I found that she hadchosea to s.en/i a solicitor to represent her intere-w. She. was n..t quite lest to feeling then—that' was my first reflection when her agent introduced himself. The will was read in presence of [several relatives and friends, including,his former boon companion and

cousin, William Burt; and the anger and astonishment depicted on every face but that of the lawyer representing Mrs Camer on wtro more striking than agreeable. i ''I half expected this," said Burt, quite pale and tremulous. "Poor fellow 1 poor fellow! infatuated to the last, and she killed him ! I say that woman killed him as surely as any one ever committed a murder,"

"If you allude to my client, Mrs Cameron, I must warn you not to say any thing which you are not prepared to sub stautiate," gravely interpoeeed the solicitor sent by the pretty widow.

"Ob, don't talk to me'l" hotly and reck leesly returned the young man. "I'll be revenged on her yet, though it should take half a life time to do it. Don't think it's the loss of the money I'm angry about, though 1 am his nearest relative, and it would have all have come to me but for that bit of written paper. I bave always been able to work for as much money as I need, and I daresay always shall. But it ia her dastardly conduct, leading him on to love her with all the strength of his nob'e nature, taking his presents, flattering him, using him as a spaniel to fetch and carry, and then throwiug him off broken-hearted to pine away and die. I saw it all; knew from the first how it wonld end, know that she had no more heart than a Dead Sou apple, knew she would kill him, and yet yet I could not save him," and aa hi finished his voice became choked, and bit ter tears rose to his eyes, shewing not only the earnest excitement of the man, but the strength and depth of bis affection for him that was gone.

Another of the relatives then turned on me, and wondered that a respectable lawyei should ever have lent himself to the con coction of such an "infamous instrument," as he was pleased to name the testamen tary paper, and several other remarks of ihe same kind followed, although I ex plained that the framing of the will and it* provisions had not been completed without a strong protest on my part. However, the lawyer of the pretty widow had all the power in his hands, and all their abuse was merely so much breath wasted. When he was gone, Burt took me with him on his. way home and seriously inquired if it would not be possible to overturn the will. T said it could only be done on the plea that Bruce Parker bad been of unsound mind when the will was written, or subjected to utidue in fluence by Mrs Cameron, both of which 1 thought it would be all bnt impossible to prove, "I don't want the money," hehastened to add, " and that is why I feel so awk wardly placed. If I make a fuss about it people will say it is that, and not the loss of my cousin lam grieving over. If there are two motives possible for ono's conduct, people aie always certain to select the moat uncharitable. Now all I want is to keep the money of that murde cd man from going into her pockets. \es, he was murdered as wilfully and surely as if she had givt n him a glass of prussic acid to drink, I'll kill her for it some dey—l'll kill her 1 Such a wretch is a curse to the world, and he would be a benefactor to his species who should remove her."

"Yonr language is extremely rash," 1 remarked, "and it is lucky it is only a lawyer you are addressing. The words might get you into trouble," " Well, I'll pay her back, cost what it may," he said with unabated determination, "and if you think there is the ghost of a chance I shall employ you to raise an action for the reduction of the will at once. Is 1 o one can deny that he was desperately in love with the woman—infatuated to a degree quite unaccuntable in sach a staid, sensible fellow—and if love of that kind isn't madness—sheer insanity—it's time all the lunatics in Morningsidc were free, foi they are sane in comparison." I pointed out that it would be injudicious in me to raise an action to reduce a will which 1 myself had framed, knowing and believing the testator to be of sound mind, though weak in body, and that such an action would most certainly fail; and aftci a great deal of hot abuse of the pretty widow, in which he blackened her charac ter thoroughly, Burt promised to take my advice, though he still vowed to be avenged on hi 3 beautiful foe.

I did not hear of Burt again for nearly six months, and then the news was that he and Mrs Kate Cameron were engaged to be married!

I could not believe the news. It seemed incredible to me for more reasons than one —the man's honest < nature and keeu 3i'glited intelligence ; his avowed abhorrence of the woman, as expressed to me; and above all, the fact that he had been all but engaged to a lady suited to him in every respect, and apparently loved by him ivitb all the strength of his manly nature —all these facts were against the statement. But the news came to me from a source above suspicion—the parents of the young lady to whom he had been betrothed, who wished my advice and help regarding their daughter. She was breaking her heart, they said, and yet would not allow any action to be brought against the faithless fellow who had broken his promises and rained her hopes. I thought this singular, the more so as the young lady did not appear to me to be breaking her heart at aU ; but this was explained by the parents in a cuiious way. She was firm in her faith in the man, though everyone knew he was about to marry the pretty widow, but could give them no reason for her belief. I could make nothing of such a case, but I chanced to meet Burt a sllort time after this con sultation, and twitted him with the change in his sentiments towards Mrs Cameron. He gave me a most peculiar look, and said in a tone of suppressed excitement— "I am not changed, Mr Quilter, and 1 am not married to her yet. You will under stand it all by and by." To another person less accustomed than I to keep secrets he foolieh'y said that Mre Cameron " would be wedded to death before she would be to him." That rash speech was drawn from him by taunts, and spoken in a moment of excite ment, so it might have meant nothing, though it lose into strange significance in the sight of the tragedy which was revealed two days later. The home of the pretty widow was a queer one-that is. she had entire sway, and kept a good deal of company; so much so that I had a suspicion that it was a kind of genteel gambling house, and that Mrs Cameron's income before the death of Bruce Paiker had been deiived from that fource. In this opposition I was entirely mists ken, as the Bequel proved. The pretty widow was not nearly so wicked or heartless »s she appeared. She wes unfortunate, that is aIK One night when her father, who was ad dicted to drink, was lying helpless in his own room, and the servant out for the evening, a gentecl'y-dres3ed man was seen to ring the bell, and after a little was ad mitted by Mrs Cameron herself. Loud quanelliDg and disturbance was heard some time after, ana a back window on the ground flooi was thrown up, from which a man made his escape, holding n handker chief over his face, across a garden and some fields behind. The servant returned home promptly at nine o'clock, as the last words of her mistress had been, "Come home soon, as I expect Mr Burt here, and he will very likely stay for supper." T"hu servant was some time ici the house before she left the kitchen or noticed the uncommon stillness in tbe house. At leneth .«omethiog took her into the lobby, which she bad carefully lighted before leavinz and then she tcreamed out, sharp and and all hut fainted. Mrs Cam eron was lyins; at the fo.ot of the stair, where the bannisters ended, head down wards, in a confined heap, with her neck broken, and, of course, stone dead, There we:e bruises about her face, and maijjs of sompresiion about the wrists, which could not be accounted for by a simple fall over the bannisters. Indeed, the appearance of {he body gave but one impresnon-that the deceased bad been cruelly smashed about the fax* and then thrown over the DaoDis fvV Tbe opjen window of the parlour be hind arid the footprujt* left on the soft Sen soilpoinieaSo 0»*'BW«»-* ™» —as tbe murderer. The only person in the house besides the deceased was bar father, and ha was bo stupid with drink that evpn when awakened be was long of unde.stai.ding why he was questioned, and what had happent4. He could give no information as to anything that bad occurred after dinner time.and did not oven remember being put to bed. me servant then remembered about Mr Burt

being expecod.and he was at once inquire tor. Thry found him at home, and he sai" be had never been out, and had not bee" aole to keep his appointment on account o' some books which he had to look over, which bad taken him longer than he had anticipated. His landlady, however, was under the impression that be bad been out, and also that she had heard him come m again shorily bedre nine o'clock. It was the discrepancies between these statements which first directed suspicion to Burt, for it was thought scarcely possible that a man thould deliberately murder a pretty woman to whom he was engaged to bp married. . , Subsequent inquiry brought out the tact that the man who entered Mrs Cameron s house by the front door.and left by one of the back windows, had boon about the sl?e and height of Burt, and similarly dressed. Then came the crowning evidence in the shape of sundry dark threats aad sayings which Burt was known to have uttered against the deceased, some of which I have noted. , ~ For myself, when I first heard of the oc currence, I must confess my prompt thought W" That's Burt's work I I was sure he would work up to something of the kind. This, then, is the revenco for the death ot his'friend."' > , ~.. Just as promptly Mrs Cameron's solicitor remembered the scene at the reading of the will and reported the irapasspnol put&uret and threat of revenge, with some exaggera tions, and BHtt was arrested. I could have added my own testimony, which was of a more damning nature, hut I had rather a liking for the accused, and gave no s:en I was nevertheless surprised when be sent for me "to help him out ' - curious fix into which he had got through the su f piC<oiis of the peg in cSnneptlon >vith Mrs Cameron death." That was hew he put the matter in his letter to me. " Absurd spsgicitjos ? I did not think them at all absurd; and I was slightly annoyed at him sending for me It would have been so much better to eeUne who belieyed him jnnocent. I de cidM on suggesting tfrat to Jiim.and 10

visited him in prison. " I am willing to conduct your case and get you a good advocate," 1 coldly observed in reply to his warm greetings, " but quietly between ourselves I think you are guilty.'' " Then you never weie more mistaken in jour life. I can swear it - but, of course, that will avail nothing if the real man is not discovered. I assure you I was in my room tho whole evening."

" Can you prove that ? ' "No, that's the awkwjrd thing. _My landlady heard some one go out, and ima gined it was I. To you I may admit that I am not sorry the worthless jade is dead - it ia a just retribution on her for killing my cousin—but 1 never meant to do that when I spoke of revenge, Ime ant to break her heart as she did his, and I believe I should have succeeded, for she really did begin to love me, whilo I was loathing her fromthe bottom of my soul, and never looking into her eyes without seeing, in them poor Bruce's dead face. I tell ynti I would nave even sacrifice d my own happiness for life— for I am engaged to the sweetest, truest girl in the woild—rather than ltt that wo man escipe. But my true woman—my real love- understands me, and agreed to keep my secret, for she too loved Uruce Parker as a brother, and shared wi h me my hatred oi the woman who k lied him."

"Then this young girl's evidence might be important if you are sure that you ex plained to her what your revenge was to tie," I said with mdre interest. " Have you anythipc; elss upon which to bace your de fence ?'"

" Defence ? Dear mo, don't speak to me ia that strain," ho impatiently answered. '•There need be no defence for a crime, whioh I never commiitod, Hunt out the real man—the man who callod at the house and escaped, by the window, and they will be bound to set me free. The charge ia too absurd to be considered seiiously for a mo ment. They only grabbed at me to show some zeal aiid activity." " Men have Deen hanged before now on leas" strong evidence," I gravely rejoined, " but it is possible some jEact may crop up to support your explanation." Burt persisted in believing that there was

no danger to himself, but for somo time the case got stronger agaios,t him. Not long after his arrest, however, a letter bearing no name reached thft authorities, in which it was positively asserted that not only was Burt innocent of '.ha crime, but that Mis Cameron was not murdered at all, but owed her death to her own fiendish temper. This letter bore the Manchester post-mark, and Mrs Cameron's father was appealed to to say it he knew any one in that city likely to do his daughter an injury. tie was rather a stupid man, and generally ia a muddled condition with drink, but he had the sense to say that, though he did not remember any ono ia Manchester, he did know one in Liverpool, which is only three-quarters! of an hour's ride from that city. This person was one Hector Cam eron, a dissipated but accomplished man, to whom the deceased had been married, and from whom she bad legally separated on account of his cr,ueHy and dissipation— in other words, her husband ! ' So the nice fabric of romance til fiom the memory of deceased, and many other things were ex plained which before had b.en mysterious. iN'ot b?iog a widow, but a wife, the could not pos-ib'y marry Bruce Parker, therefore her jilting of the young man was not a wicked but a virtuous act, though possib'y in leading or allowing him to love her she had done wrong.

As the fa/her of tho deceased admitted that Cameron had before come suddenly in upon his wife, and almost beaten her to death ia a fit of fury, that pacsionate hus band was promptly sought out and arrested. He; strongly den^d a'l knowledge of the ciime, but an expert fa writing ea-ily proved that kis writing and that of ' the anonymous letter were identical, after whioh evidence came in in shoala. It was proved that he had taken a sudden journey to Sco'land on hearing someone cay that his wife was about to do married to a gentleman named Bart, it was fouDd that he had spent a night in an Edinburgh hotel, and—probably not anticipating what was to happen —had actually given his real name, and card bearing his Liverpool busi ness address. Confronted with these and other facts, he

changed his tone a little, and finally ad mitted that he had pa: d his wife a visit, and that he had quarrelled with her and beaten her, but positively asserted that ho never intended to murder her, or laid hands on her for tbat purpose. His account of the occurrence was as follows:— Mrs Cameron liaf been scared when she found who was her visitor, and unwittingly exclaimed— "Oh, it's you ; I thought it was —" "Your lover, I suppose, Mr. Burt 1" fiercely returned her husband, and then he went in and shut the door, Mrs Cameron hurrying him upstairs so tbat the Found of their voices should not reach the neigh bours. They quarrelled all the way up, and Uameron refused to leave the landing-place, saying he believed Burt was in the house or coming to it, and he would wait there till he , saw him. Mrs Cameron said some cutting things, and her husband lost com mand of himself and ttruck out heavily with his fists His wife snatched at a pair of scissors hanging by her side and tried to stab him in the face with their points. He struggled to hold her arms and get tbe scissors trom her, during which she was pressed against the bannisters. In' tbe wriggling which fallowed she leant back to make a stab at him with the scissors in her disengaged hand and toppled ovor before he could prevent her. He ran down and found her breathing, but unconscious. He saw that she was dying, and got out of the house as quickly as p< ssible by the back window, holding a handkerphief to bis, face not, as had been supposed, fo hide his fea tures, but to stanch toe blood flowing from a deep scissors stab. That was Cameron's statement, and several links ot evidence abundantly con firmed the confession. He was tried.not on a charge of murder, but ono of man slaughter, and got a light sentence, the exact duration of which 1 have forgotten. Burt had been set at liberty long before the trial came on, and while Cameron went to prison ho went away on his marriage tour with the "truest. woipan in the world," who.had all^lopg trusted and be lieved in him, ! > x' :' .''

STRANGE FACTS.

Tha Rev. J. C. Meek, pastor of the Presbyterian congregation of Halifax, die d rectntly after twelve hours' terrible suffer ing. Cn Friday he was suddenly seized with violent convulsions, which resulted in death, a? stated, At times the paroxysms were so violent that it required six men to hold him in bed. He was bitten by a mad dog soms Bis years ago, and hence his death is attributed to hydrophobia. He was about 36 years of age, a zealous pastor, a warm friend, and mucii endeared to his congregation.

In a paper by Prof. Schwedoffen on " The Origin of Hail," read before the British Association on Monday, August2B, evidence was produced—we are not told ex actly wh,at—of a hailstone "as large as an elephant," whioh took three days to melt. Oddly enough, the Professor advocated the theory that hailstones are not formed in the atmosphere, but are ot ex-terrestrial origin —are, indeed, meteors of cosmic origin. Sir W. Thompson treated this hypothesis as a heavy joke, pointing out that a hailstone coming from ex-terrestrial regions with any thing like meteoric velocity would perform enough work to develop, in its conflict with the atmosphere, heat enought to m,elt it many times over.

The costliest pair of shoes I have ever seen covered the pedal extremities of a New York lady—39dols. was paid for them. The same Jady wore a pair of stockings which coat 90doH They were made of black ailk, and midway between the ankle and the knee was a green tree em broidered in ailk, and resting upon the branohes of the tree were bright plumaged birds, some, in the act of flying. On the " bulge "or largest part of the stocking was a, huntsman,''clad in red shirt and trousers, taking aim. at tha biydq ip the tree! Upon the instep, was the mdnogram of, the lady wrought in, gold letters. Between th.c. knee and the'upper part; of the stocking were eighteen, narrow ba,^ of n)any varyinghne^ >-■'.

Why Long Stockings Worm a Part of Bathing Costume.

THEY wear coquettish bathing suits at Long Beach, in which there is a very percep tible dash of asstheticism. Very pretty caps are worn in the water, and silk stock ings, some of them artistically embroidered. As at other resorts, there is a mark d tendency in bathing costumes to fit the figure snngly and to be scanty—which is all very well for the plump' and shapely. The innocent naturally suppose that stock ings are worn because they prevent an ex posure of the bare flesh, thereby a shock^ to ■modesty of the wearers. " Isn't it this ?" a young friend asked me with some astonish ment. He had been at the Beach several days, and was desperately iv love with a blue-eyed sylph, who wore dark blue stock ings clocked with red when sporting in the surf. It pained me to tell this youth that a woman, who said she knew what she knew, had told me in confidence that it was not to cover up their legs, of which they are proud, but to hide their feet. "By Jove ! I never thought of that," the younsr m n said. The feet of these pret y society young ladies are ofteu deformed, dud their toes are crooked and have all sorts of pro tuberances. 'I he sportive maidens arc not bo:nso. Tight shoes with high lues did it.—From the "argonaut."

A New Delicacy.

NOT only has the intellect of the worm bsen sadly unappreciated for centuries till Mr Darwin rehabilitated that sagacious reptile, bat it appears that his value as a viand has also been grossly misunder.-tood and un derrated. A group of French gourmets, whose object it is to ao for the conking of the future what Wagner is doing for its music, are happily following up the labours o) Darwin ia this direction, and, having recently tried this tempting morsel, have communicated, to a grateful public the result of their first researches. Fifty guests were present at the experiment. The worms, apparently lobworms, were first put in to vinegar, by which process they were made to disgorge the famous vege table mould about which we have recently heard so much. They were then rolled in batter, and put into an oven, where they acquired a delightful golden tint, and, we are assured, a most appetising smell. After the first plateful the fifty guests rose like one man, and tasked for more. Could anything be more convincing? Those who love snails, they add, will abandon them for |ever in favour of worms. And yet M. Mbnselet, the great authority ia Paris, has told us sadly that no advances have been made in the great art of cookery since Brillat-Savarin, and that all enthusiasm orj the subject died out with Vatel when he committed suicide because the fish had not arrived for the Koyal dinner !

The Matter with the Telephone.

" I ddak' know vhat I shall do mit dat tele phone of mine," observed a citizen as he entered the headquarters of the company yesterday and sat down in a discouraged way. " Out of order, is it?" "Sometimes it vhas, und sometimes it vhas all light. If Igo to speak mit der coal man, or der City Hall, or der butcher, it vas all right, und 1 can hear every word. If somebody vhants to order my peer, I get de name shust as plain as daylight." . " And when doss it fail 1" * , " Vhell, shnßt like two hours ago. A saloon man he owes me $18 and I rings him pop nnd calls out, " Hello I hello! I likes dot monish to-day 1' Den he. vhants to know who I am, nnd he says he can't catch der name. I tell him oafer and oafer, und by und by he calls oot dot he doan' deal in watermelons, und dot he goes in to pave Giatiot street and dot he is sorry he is sorry be can't sign my betition to der Council. Den I haf to go all oafer again, und he tells me to come back, and to come closer, und to speak louder, und at last he gits mad und tells me dot if I call him a dandy again, he'll proke my head. It's no use—l can't make one of my customers hear me. If sometings doan' all may be ash my voice is giving out. I vhish you would examine me und see if I had better let my son Shen do der talking while I keep bei pooks." ' ■■'•

A State Ball in England.

The prettiest s'ght at the ball is the sup per procession of the Royal family, followed by the Ambassadors and attended by the great officers -of the household. Shortly titter midnight Lord Kenware waves hit wand, and the band plays "God Save tin Queen," whereupon the company draw up in two lines down the room, and the great folks pa*s along between them, returning in about half an hour in the same manner; after which the great company go and re fresh themselves. The summer-room looks very fine with all the gold plate displayed, and, although you have to eat standing— what Theodore Hook describes as "tableE against the wall, covered with cold negus and warm ice; where men, women, and cbi dren take perpendicular refreshment, like so many hor?es with their ucwes in the manger"—yet when once the first crusb baa subsided, and you can get to the table, you find that the moil is sn excellent one. The champagne is dry, properly iced, aud ia all respcots unexceptionable. The Quern in this sets an admirable example to the hetd of ball-giving people, who too often do not scruple to half poison their guests.with the filthy liquor they place before them. In " Lothair Lord Beacons field alludes to Lord St. Gerome's " giving the same champagne at his balls that he gave at his dinners " as being a fact suffi cient to stamp him at once as a host of the right sort

A Famous Rogue Elephant Shot.

Mb Albert G. R. Theobald, of the Forest Department, has succeeded in shoot ing the famous rogue elephant of the Poo sasy Hill?, in the Kollegal Taluk. Mr Theobald was twioe charged by the brute, which waR a huge tnsker, meal tiring eleven feet in height, and which kept the nil] villagers in terror for a very long time. This elephant was a few years back driven with twenty-four others into the Kollegal KnlMi, at Allambady, but he resisted every effort to capture him, and, being such * large twker, no pains were spired to secure him, though it was oil in vain. Out of the twenty-four elephants captured with him, he killed no less than nineteen, and finally broke through the keddah gate in. spite of the shots fired at him and the fires kept burning. After his esca)io he is known to have'kil'ed three—two women and a man, and many others had very narrow escapes from his furious headlong charges. Bos-ides human beings, he has killed several cattle, and destroyed great quantities ot standing crops, causing immense loss to the ryots.— Pall Mall Gazette.

Sir Charles Lyell's Impression of Sir R. Feel.

I SIT on Sir Kobert's right hand, and during a conversation of three hours we talked of a great variety of subjects; anti quities of Tamwortb, railways, paiuting?, sculpture, Chartists of Kirriemuir, Bi»ming. ham, &c , British Association, bearing of geology on Scripture, Wordsworth's poems, Uhantrey's busts. Somo of the party said next day that Peel never gave an opinion for or. against any point from extra caution, but I really thought that be expressed him self as freely, even on sub.ject|;Dbrderin{! on the political, as a -well-bred man could do -when talking with another with whose opi nions be was unacquainted. If I bad cot [known Sir Kobert's extensive acquirements, !l should only have thought him a well informed country gentleman, not slow, but without any quickness, free from that kind of party feeling w.uich prevents men from fairly appreciating those who difter from 'them, tiking pleasure in improvements without enthusiasm, not capable of joining in a hearty laugh at a good joke, but cheerfnl, and not preventing Lara North ampton, Whewell, and others from making : merry. . He k without a tincture of science, aad intereatod in it only so fat as knowing its importance in the arts, anil as a subject with which a largo Wdy of.per sons of talent are oecnpied.



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TTITCHENSS BLOOD RESTORER. FOR CLEANSING, PURIFYING, AUD INViGOK.* iING ;HiS U^ OD. ' Seven Years' Test in Auckland, THIS Medicine differs from ordinary pro prietary prcpntatioLS, inasmuch as it »as the -piuduet of yea-s c,f itudy. and investigation by an eiDiiunt physician of the army Medical Stuff,..with whom Mr Hitcheus served during the ,>'ew Zealand War, as Assi tant Uisptnser to tlie Im perial Fotces. On its. introduction to the public as a specific for the cure of Rueumatisro, rheumatic uont, Scrofula, Skin Oistascs, Blood Impurities, and Gent ral Debility, i!. quickly attained great celebrity, and soon was sought after from ivery part of New Zealand. Its curative and deporative properties have been fully testified by the numerous testimonials received by the proprietor from patients who had long shflered from the above distressing maladies, who had ap plied in vain to physicians for relief, and in whose cases, Turkish Baths, Hot Springs, and other popular remedies had been re sorted to without effect. This celebrated medicine is compounded from products.of the vegetable kingdom, is palatable and easily taken, mild, but effec tual, in its action upon the animal econ omy. It Is, in Eoolh, a veritable Blood RESTOBBK, cleansing it, and thereby rtstor ing diminished vitality. It pre s ents, un questionably, a purer, safer, better, and more reliable alterative medicine tban any that has hi'heito been available to the people. (Copy). Mr D. R. Chisholm, Agent for Mr HITCBENS.—Dear Sir, It is with heart felt thanks that I am able to tndor.-e the sterling qualities of Mr Hitchens's invalu able Blood Restorer, Being iuduccd by Mr Dishar, who spoke in eulogistic terms of its merits, to place my wife (who was suffering very acutely with rheumatic fever) under its treatment, I am very bappy to state the medicine has acted quite magical. After a few doses pain entirely ceased, and she is making rapid progress, and is now enabled to resume her household duties. Acting so beneficially, I would not De with out such a valuable' remedy, and should impress upon those who are similarly suffer ing not to overlook tbis specific, which is inestimable, —Believe me, yours very sin cerely, Thomas Brow_> v, Britiania Heights, Kelson. THE want of a reliable Temedy for Rheu matism, . Sciatica, Gout, Lnmbjgo, &c, has long been felt as one of the greatest calamities of the age. While other means and medicines having been proving them selves vain and delusive, this remedy has been silently and steadily unloosing the cruel fingers of disease, and fieeing captive men from lheir deadly embrace. -■ The' people are now requested to give Blood RESTORER a fair and impartial trial. And the Proprietor would have it distinctly understood that the cures of Rheumatism, &C, are Jue entirely to his Medicine's Wouderfa Effect upon the Blood; by its Cleansing, Purifying, and Invigorating power. Impurity and Inactivity of tho Blood-la the cause of most sickness and pain. After a course of this medicine, blood-vessels— which have become, as it were, choked up with unhealthy matter—become exhilaraut with pure scatlet life-blood, flowing n'a« turally along, and imparting in its course vigour and strength to the entire system.^. HITCHENS' CELEBRATED TVLOOD TV E STOKER: The Renovator op the HumAn ..', Blood. -■' ■ No more Physical Degeneration if the Law of Health are observed,, ordinary care exercised, and BLOOD RESTORER freely taken. TTITCHENS' pORDIALISED TDLOOD "O EST OR Ell (Price, £2 \>ir case net), ■ Is a healthy and palatable summer drink when mixed with Lemonade or similar beverages.. Without the great remedial properties of the MEDICINAL Blood Restorer; it is still of like character in its action on the human system, aid is specially manufactured for HOTEL USE. , To be had Wholesale of L. D. NATHAN & Co,, ; ' Sole Agents, • /^-omW&\. yyE HAVE TuIS CELEBRATED AND FA.VOURITS BHAVD f i BASS'S ALE & GUINNESS'S STODT Always in Stock, . L. D. NATHAN & CO. ______ TEAS. }___± We have received onr SECOND SHIPMENT by the Blugarooma, from Sydney, transhipped ex Ganges, 3148 PACKAGES, Conßlatlntj' o f EXTRA CHOICE KAISOWS & CHOICE & MEDIUM CGNuOUb Of neat twlated even leif, and very strong and rloh flavour. Also, 125 BOXES CROICHST MANDARIN SCENTED ORANGE PKKOE. The above,with about: .2000 PACKAGES OF FINEST QUALITIES (Balance of First Parco), *ad 300 PACKAGES OF ASSAM AND DARJEEHNGS, Enable ns to offer a very Rare Selection buyers.'; , Onr Foeohow correspondents, inform us tba seven-tenths cf last shipment was secured a KXCBMIIONAILY CHEAP RATES, - And we are determined to give our clients th I . Frai> BENEFIT OF THIS, 11. D. #™ v' * :C°