THE CHOLERA.

Soenoß in n Naples Hospital,

By as Es<:m*» I-vdy

TIIB municipality of Naples has romo to an end of U. resource. subscribed through bavin* to provide for .such a large imml.cr ,f orphans whoec parent, dial nf cholera, to pay doctors and establish special hospi tals, to give 10,000 dinners daily to Uio poor, to renew bedding and covers where anyone haß died, Wd to dWiifoct so huge a city. There aro over-100 orphans yet unprovided ' or Tlio Annunciuta. w« there were many babies with oph- Km end showed mo ft child with a beau- Hllll with indignant contempt, " ciue^tn, c ™k into 1.0 folds of her ample white ] inhin" and ■' '"I""" 1,0 took me round is quite another type, with an taqnWtko, unhappy''';"»''»'"•■ r,™, Uoing into the chapel, .-lie nskeil H 1 5-Ctholie. I replied -No: heretic of the Anglican Church." Sue showed mo the F hr Awed figure of (ho Madonna, mul aCt«^T.oVir,i,,,andU,,tshehud STedhd Jesus Chrirt. who when ho the linen press; such a linen press! It fetched the entire length 01 a gh.ssed-iii s. Thoiirr u,irrhfHh,o, auFac cii tvpejonesoos .she lives for hor 11 non. bach Mopartnwnt (ho opened was like a mosaic froniioor to roof, the white shoots arranged in beautiful crosses and patterns with tlio coloured aprons, &c. lor gla/.eii, wol • fconed sheets arc to her lice father, mother, .ister, and brother. She hod become trans formrf into the likeness 01 hor cold, pure linen lovos-swootly stiff, innocent, and colourless. Such unresponsive loves poor dear! Then I saw hundreds of girls at work; ono room full of glovo stitchers. Youn" men oomo sometimos to ask the nuns for a"wife from among these. A certain number are then called up find asked who has the vocation to marry. Sorao say thoy will never leavo the convene (and i saw cany grey, apathetic old girls): others find they have a decided vocation that way. Tbon the youn? man is shown a dozen to chooso from. They mako good wives, they are w meek and well-disciplined, and if it phases their masters to boat them they have b» parents to go and cry to. . . . . . Weuafsedthrough tholnmds of sub director, diroetor, and direotress, signed papers, and got att baby. i-tii>Ho Dinners to tlio Poor. Jgo daily to the soup kitchen provided by the municipality in the cloister of'the old convent of Sanf Affostino. V, o havo one side barricaded oil1, into which the kitchen opons. with our long tablos, and tenches for pinto-washing. The soup iettlee arslarge enough fora person to tako abstain. Thomentisboiledand then taken out, and plenty of maenroni ov rice put in. When it is ready the caldrons are earned by men with beams of wood on their shoulders, and set down behind our table. In the middle of the centre garden there is an avenue of orange trees, with s\ small iron g&ta at eitlier oifd, and benches up each side. One hundred persons are admitted ititotWs avonuo at a time, at tlio far cud, and come out one by one at f.ho little gate olosfl to oar table. They have so little idea of order that wo are really obligecito puss them on from hand to hand, holding ti.om by the shoulders. We luivo somo very help- Id men : one. 13 a portly old major, with a large hooked noso, round prominent eyes, and a regular fistful of twisted grizzled moustache sticking out at each sido of hi? held, who stands guard at our littlo iron eiltgate. Bvory now and then there rises amongtho hundred in tlio avenue a murmur | which Bwells into ft huse hubbub, with ! fighting and oaths, ar.u pries of women who »re hurt. There ia no need for them to hurry, for thoy have nothing in the world to do, poor eouls, when they lea vs. and might as well p&33 tho timo in genteel con versation as at a reception, especially aa the able-bodied joung men, of whom there are furtoo many, claim the soup because they art oat of work. No doubt they are ; but they might behavo properly. We hnvo nothing to clo with the giving of the tickets. It is done by tho Vice-Syndic, and there is donbtleu aome abuse. A bullying young fellow will come through with three or four tiekflts, and we mußt give him a correspond - inn number of rations in his earthenware pot j indthen perhaps a r°" r widow, with throe or four littlo palo tots dragging after her, present* only ono ticket. Then I tako the littlo ones to the stone bench of the «loiiters, and feed them mysolf on the spot, while the poor mother oats her rations. How they do ehout1! arul such ehindies break out. When Miss A.iv taking tho tictata, I do a good deal of police work., Oa Friday there was a tremendous free fif,'ht taking place on the opposite Bide of tho debtor, and as the room in which S. is cutting ont clothes, for giving out the work, loolu out on that side, I knew sho would not l» »hls to give hor orders (sho has some nice school ralitresses to help hor, as the municl- JulichonUare all broken up); so I dived and wit it on her tongue, but in a moment it nought on retching, and tho sister shook herhaad and said it was tho hardest part of thsir duty to resist the entreaties of tho toakdes for a drop of water ■; they are bo hurned up internally and so icy-cold sutside. I«ttyed with Sister Antoinette to let tho «ttwi go to chaptsi. SUter Elisabetta is considered tho. most successful teacher of we deaf and dumb. I got her to tell mo wont it. She makes them lay their hands Woahercbeßt and watch her mouth. She w«n begins in aloud, clear voice "Testa," pouting to hor head, and so on. Sho must ™«tin order to make them feel the vibra *•>■ She has a beautiful mouth and teoth, •"»» fine, clear, Parisian enunciation. I The Haddalena Hospital.

I lUyed some time there to-day with ltKMd French Sistor Elisabotta, seeing ™t could bo done to supply little com °™ to the patients. Ono room, with six ""to on either side, made me think of those "oil!in Some and elsowhero, whero tho *™ or the air dries up the bodies of the ""h who a-o set up round, all tumbling "pucw. Those twelve poor faces ! either 'Wen or avk loathor-eoloured, with "tenng, hollow eyes, and gleaming rows "•tobetweenahrunkon, black lips; but were conscious, and seemed pleased to *M something for. Some had strength in JJP and beckon tome, like skelotons (lW* story. When they have passed Cm a ffe' Vß *10UrS t'iei'° '3 a c'ianco ior -71 ™ug!" they may Bink oftor a fow >'■ Xfelt no horror, only great pity. If ft. i..can 8° to tllora> Huroly it; ia L "JW the sight following the Ischia earth ■««.lbavonothing now to learn; and, *™g paid such a woeful tax to this cruel "£%«, I fool as if I had tho right to do LS 00' "ttle boat to heal some of tho £7 wounds it inflicts. Dr. Malbranc in eC-BBwlthabeamir-K face to go to his Pwment room on the great flat roof to we tame microbcß lie keeps in little „ ,3'.eelatine. I was rather afraid they -Z J*°?lP out at mo '> but ono lorks n.L," 10creature magnified through n ittl«. i COPe- but at something like a tan/a Of mouUl wll!ch »8 *° liomo o£ «oi thousands of them, and in told thnt ,"„. WWlowing thousand?, and that it »ff °" th 6 6t;ito °* the stomach ™»<*wo kill them or they kill as, one « tiT "^ not mind' I looked at them otS", Dr> Millb ™c; but I was more nildin x?,st^¥ tho plan of tho huge dttl o gl-.Wlth/llit3 wartyardas it is liko CL y v Onr International Hospital is SS^ When I reached ho.no; »«*♦ af V—'8 wifo tad cholera. CLfcu he^; llor b="ut.ful face was C «'?• tOredl ttnd hw frightened eyes W my hand, stared in ray fcce, and OBewnn, "I goin S to d'o'<" I directed '«rt toT? vb hor with campnor from ittle t^oT if* Bo X took a number of lrowtl'nEintotr' 8 and fiirls who wore' '« *ttm .v i ioora antj measured them •com V. tol &c- from 8 work -86 scene soon becamo animated,

and Madame V smiled in her aoft, f-'ow, graceful way. She is like a duchess. I think sho will recover. Neapolitan Children. To-day Uonato. the shoeblack, who has become a pilliir of our house, und goes on nil .sorts of confidential messages, brought ;i littlo orphan boy ami girl of eight and live, the children nf his partner shoeblack, who, with his wife, had retired to bed all right, and were dead before tho morning. Thoy were two such littlo bundles of rag? us you never suv, from the I'endina, that very bad quarter behind tho port, whore (here used to be such piles of coilins during the worst time. It was pouring with rain, so f took them in (ho carriage to tlie Toriin.'i Orphanage. It is high up that steep street going from the left of Toledo. The ladies wore very kind, but said 1 must bring them a week later, as cholera had broken out iimnng the two hundred children, and the municipality has for bidden any more admissions at present. 1 had sent tho carriage empty to (ho foot of the street, as it is so steep, and when wo came out you should have seen the lofty gesturo of. surprise ami inquiry of the two children :—" Hut the carriage ! whero is i!'.' Aro we not going in the c.irriago?" —

like a lord and lady who had never gono on fool in their lives. Their littlo dirty faces were well winoarod with raspberry jam, for I had comforted their souls with large hniiliH of bread and jam on tho way, and the poor baby kept slipping and falling iv her dead mother's large old ihoos on tho wot stones. Deimto had dressed her in thorn t\i make her smart. 1 had to hold her up by both arms. Soon they espied tho uquippauu at tho foot of the street, and were rejoiced. 1 ;;ave Ilium back to Donulii, paid their keep for a week, pro mising (hem soon another J'ido iv tho car-

riage. (The Torsina has been kept at municipal expense, but now is failing for want of funds.)

UNKNOWN

Sontouco of Derail.

(PilOM Oil: LONDON COH!HS!frOSI>KNT.)

Tin: legal farce initiated at Exeter some weeks ago was brought to a fitting con clusion on Tuesday last, when tho Lord

Chief Justice of England, without assuming the dreaded "black cap," passed upon Dudley and Stevens a fictitious soutonco of death. The men, who naturally folt a little upset notwithstanding the purely farcical

naturo of tho proceedings, throw them selvos upon tho mercy of tho Court, und were then transferred to ilolloway Prison ''under the care of two warders." They had barely arrived when a message runo from Sir William Haroonrt to the effect that the mock death sentenco would bo indefinitely respited. Whether such non«onsical goings-on aro calculated to en hance tho dignity of the law I leavo you to say. Tho newspapers, ono and nil, protest against the death sontonee. "Thore is," says one of them pregnantly, "something repugnant to our deepest sense of justice and propriety in the spectacle of these shipwrecked mariners being brought into court, as, they wero yesterday, to hear the lost dread sentonce of tlio law passed against them, when the judges themselves were pokfcctly aware that tho Homo Secre tary was waiting to respite them. Dudley and Stevens will noi. bo punished. They will, on the contrary, be sooner or later pardoned. They havc,iudoed, gone through enough already. To the horrors of twenty four (lay*' Mini-starvation, let us add the illness and .siili'ering which followod it, and from which none of tho men had recovered when the rescuing vo.-soj landed them at Falmouth. Then thoro havo ensued iv quick succession thoir arrest upon their own frank avowal, their detention, their trill at Exoter, their subsequent at tendance iv the Court to hear the legal points arguod, and nnco their condemna tion they havo beon close prisoners in Ilolloway (iaol. Yesterday saw the cul lniuutioH of thoir trials in tho pronounce ment of fictitious doom ; and, inasmuch as the commutation of that sentence is but a suspension, theru should not be a moment's unnecessary delay before tho message of royal clemency is despatched to the gaol. Further than that, tho mercy extended to these sorely-tried prisoners ought not to bo measured according to tho just horror which ovcrybody feels at the act of shedding human blood in order to savo one's own ex istence. We quite agree that no "neces sity " can warrant tho taking of an inr>o cent life. If thoro woro reason to boliove that Park.or was killed at n timo when Dudley and Stephens wero in a state of mind to arguo (j.* the public and tho Court argue about the qu'esiion, th.en wo should say—let the law bo vindicated, and t|io sanctity of human life upheld, by a punish ment of penal servitude for any number of years. Do the judges who cito statutes and authorities, howovor, roaliso ono tithe of the pangs of body and brriin endured by men who come out of such a fiery furnace of ailj'ictiou as awaited tho crew of the ill fated Mignonotto ? It is a trial to the judicial temper if lunch bo late; and for dinner not only to bo delayed, but to be al together withheld, would involve a departure from composure which would oako Bracton and Halo very untimely, What if broakfa3t, lunch, dinner, mid suppor too wero to be donied for a whole day. for two tiaj's, or even a week ? Only after the injudicial faculty of imagination has beon freely exercised can liny distant estimate be formed of what fihose twenty days prior to J.'nrker's death i." the open boat, twelve hundred u:iLw frenj land, really signified to tho men who went through them all. It wns not simply the tortures of hunger and thirst, tho over in creasing weakness, and tho cruel raising of fresh hopes ovory morning only to die down boforo night. Thore was all tho measureless misery of prolonged solitude on tho gigantic waste of water?, tho boundless Pacifi* lapping into the boat, tho dark nights, of unrelieved suffering, tho days of scorching heat, the peril of death by tempest staring every soul in tho face fof threo long weeks. A couple of tins of turnips and a turtle woro all tho nourishment that went to sup port tho physical framo of throe men and a boy during this unexampled ordeal. At the closo of it—after such agony of mind and body—our point is that these mon could no longer be considered morally responsible. They wero living corpses, not casuists or citizen?, and their deed was tho delirium of the fovor of starvation, a3 much outside human law as aro tho ravings of a dying lunatic."

Actresses and the Peerage.

Lady Savbkxakh has not been unmindful of family ties and sisto'rJy duties. She has mado it her first thought to marry hor sister wall, Miss Jenny Tester is at least as pretty as her sistor, is several yews younger, and has just married the heir to Lord Ly veden. Socioty has not mado much fuss over this event, and it is no wonder, for it has gono through so much of lato that nothing scorns to etartlo tho upper crust. We need not go very far into tho peerage to solect a few beautiful and ontcr prising womon who have a fair opportunity of wearing coronets on their dyed locks. First there is Kitty Cook, now Lady Eiwton, who will bo Duchess of Grafton; and next there is Kate Vaughan, who has two lives botween hor and tho Cowloy Countess-ship. It is not n little curious of prospective poors to ally themselves in the way they aro doing with tho "lower orders.'' Nor is this all. Look at the alliances pf the bygone times. Tho first of tho Beau clerks was the son of Noll Owyono, an ex orange-girl and actress, who formed ono of tho well-stockod harom of that "most religious King," Charles 11. Nell was a charming frank person, who represented Protestantism at tho Court under difii culties. Everybody liked hor for her beauty and candour, and v certain abiding root of goodnoas in hor nature which elevated her many degrees above such un rodeomediy vicious characters as those 01 Barbara Palmer and Louiso do Quorouuillo. Archbishop Tonbon preached her funeral service to the edification of the general JNeliV older son, when a more infant, was made Earl of Burford, and aliibirtcen years of use ho was raised to tho dflKodom of St. Mbans. and made Registrar of the Court of Chancery and Hereditary Grand Falconer. Later he i»as appointed Lord of tho Bed chamber and Captain of the Band of Gentle men Pensioners. Was there ever since, the Great Flood such an office as this heard ot. Conceive of a review of this gallant band in Hyde Park, with tho captain at the head oi tho column ! All London would flock to see a spoctaole fo imposing, so patriotic, livery soul would be satisfied that we arc getting full valuo for our money.

We believe that if every ono would use Hop Bitters freely there would bo much less f»=f' '<-»» and misery in tho world, and people aro fast finding this out, whole familios keeping welll ai a trifling cost by its use. We adviso all to try it. Head.

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

[From Om Lonijon Correspondent,]

London, Deeembor 11).

If it is true, us proverb-mongers aver, that v green Christmas makes a fat churchyard,

Ihe prospects of tho undertaking trade are di.-tinctly looking up, For the last three

weeks the weather has been depressing, enough to drive even a .Bradiaugh to

suicide. Rain, rain, rain, nothing but rain all day long. Everybody is damp and

and moist and rheumatic, and everything if either splashed or soaked or sodden. Last Thursday I wont to the Cattle Show. The Agricultural Hull was tilled with an odorous steam arising partly from reeking beasts,

partly from wot corduroys (a delicious per fume), partly from a muggy, dank, per

spiring humanity, and partly from a disinfectant Known as Sanitas. Tho effect on our people's nasal organs was hides cribablie. Ono great cattle show always seems to mo exactly like another. Of course tho beasts aro different, but. it would take an export to swear to the fact. Tlio most ntl'jßting sight 1 saw on Thursday was in tho piggery. Tho attondimt on tho gold medal prize porkers had fallen asleep in tho styo, and lay between his tyoobo-o chargos, an arm alfurtionately thrown across the feminine gruuterV shoulder.

Miss Fortrseue-'s doings still monopolise a good deal of space in certain "soi'ioty" papers. The young lady has thrown up her part in "Our Hoys," at the Strand Theatre, and is about to "star" tho provinces as Ualatoa. (iilbort has drilled hor, and will, no doubt, tako cam Unit sho is passably good. A Klriingu story is current about tho famous jewellery lettor, tho good sense nf which was so unanimously praised when read out dining tho r'inney ■ CJarinoylo trial. A wretched pressman declares that ho has discovered tho epistle (unexceptionable seiitiinoiits and all) in "a polito letter writer" published by Koutledgo, and avors tlmt Miss Fortcscuo must havo copied it thence word for word. If true, hero is a terrible cvposi', No wonder poor liumboil hu.iital.od übiiiit milking a i:ii'\ of scanty education and scantorcleanliness a real live countess. Ton thousand was ;i cheap "let oil." Ono of the moat rcmarkdblo "tit-bits" of gossip now current in aocioty refers to the rumoured re-marriage of tho Duke and Duchess ot Marlborouyh. 1 daro say you may remomboi what an esclaudi'i! there was about threu years ago when the Blandford divorce ease was tried. Lady I'■landlord (as she was thun) proved gross cruelty and infidolity against hor lord, the ovideiice showing amongst other tiillet that on one occasion ho had struck her when iiinin/c, and on another badly bruised her bosom. The Marquis excused his behaviour in long, philosophical letters, in which ho analysed his temperament, talked much about "cou genial" natures und "twin souls,"and vainly endeavoured tc p&l|jf>t; t ' l)ja gcaiidalous be haviour. Lady Blaudford, ituiay oe romoi.; bored, didn't apply for a divoivo until she found tho heir of tho Churcliilla settling money on his illegitimate children by Lady Aylcdford. A recouciliation has recently been brought about by mutual friends, ami should tho pair succeed iv agreeing as acquaintances thoy will in all probability ho re-married. Tho Queon, I understand, strongly disapproves the idea. A Btra&as JVJateh. Tho British aristocracy has of lato been exceptionally assiduous in recruiting itself from the commonalty. Events of a domestic nature prevented Lord (larmoyle from carrying out his matrimonial inton tious "'ith respect to Miss Fortoscuo. Hut only a little while ago Lord Savernalco, son and heir to the Mijiquisuto of Ailesbury, niirrieii Mis 3 Dojjy Tc;;ter, \»ho used tj stiinorts a bright particular star i;i tho tralaxy of tho ballet at tho Empiro Theatre. Now anotlier )iieinbor of tho Tostor family finds ; hor.-elf placed at the gate of the peerage. Sho Ims just bosn married to the gcntlonian who will some day, if ho lives, bo Lord Lyvedon, a barony founded for tho pre ferment of Vornon Sn ith, a groat character in nn. oUleu Parliament. Miss Kate Yanghan, who, in spite of hor marriage to Colonel Wellosloy, is still nightly on tho stage, is not brought in direct lino for a countess's coronet; but sho is not far out, und tho accident of a couple of deaths would make her Lady Cowloy. The<o aro only some recent casoa Impponing within the last two years, where members of tho peerage have gone among tho commonalty for .vives. Perhaps tho Held of choice is a littlo restricted, but the enterprise is in itself most wholesome. Attompt to Blow up London Siidgo.

At 5.40 p.m.on Saturday, December 18, tho whole of the city of London was thrown into a great state of excitement by tlio report of a terrific explosion, which seomod to come from tho neighbourhood of the Thamos. Saturday be-ing a half-holiday in London, there wore not many people in tho city, but large crowds soon gathered at the principal coruors, anxious to hear t:io causo of the shock which hud scarod them. In a short timo it became known that the scone of the explosion was London ]>ridgo, and vaguo rumours floated about that tho bridge had been blown up and many lives lost. Happily these nuppositions proved to bo un founded. An excited crowd rushed towards tho bridge, but found it intact, though those who woro crossing tho river at the timo of tho explosion informod them that a violent concussion had takon placo, and frightened them out of their wits.

Ah yet wo know nothing of tho perpe trators of this foul outrage, or how it waa accoinpli"hed. AH that wo are sure of is this, that on Saturday night, shortly after half-pa«t five, a violent explosion took plnco under the second arch from tho Surroy side of London Bridge Fortunately no one waa injured, though soveral paseors-by were thrown to the ground j and thoro was a ntnmpode of pussongorn to cither end of the bridge Of courso, thoro are several theories na to tho explosion ; ono is that a bomb woh thrown over tho bridge, and ex ploded on touching the water; another, that a:i infernal machine, wound-up to go off at a cortain time, was placed on tho buttress; while a third idea is th^it a packot ot dynamite was thrown ovor from a boat under the bridge. Any oF those theories may bo tho correct one ; but the po'ico have n» yet no cluo, Ono strango thing is that tho bridgo presonts no mgns of being injurod in any way, though for half-tt-mile along tho river on both sides every pane of glass was shattorod to atoms. The report of tho explosion was distinctly heard soveral miles from London, and tho superintendent of tho Firo Brigade at tho West Ham (six miles from London Bridgo) ordered out his engine, thinking that tho report was a gas explosion in his own neighbourhood. And now as to the authors of this diabolical attempt. Thoro can bo no doubt that this is another of tho Fenian outrages of which the last occurred in tho summor, when simultaneous explosions took place at Scotland Yard, Trafalgar Squaro, and St Jamos-strcot, Evidontly tho American Irish did rot intand us to pass our Christ mas without giving us a reminder that Uiey wore still hatching tlisir vilo plots. Ono circumstance points conclusively to tho Fact that tho Fenians had a hand in this outrage It is this: December 13th is tho anniversary of tho explosion at Clorkonwell Prison in 18G7, when the Irish party blew down tho prison wall in tho hope of rescuing Burke and Carey, who woro then confined there Fortunately, however, last Saturday's explosion proved as futile as that of seven teen years ago; though at Clcrkon well tho lives of twelve innocent persons wore taken, whilo no 1,038 than ono hundred and twenty were sorionsly wounded. It is appalling to think how torriblo must havo boon the loss of life, if the dynamittirds had succeeded in their villainous objoct last Saturday. It is computed that there woro on tho bridgo at tho timo of the ox plosion at least fivo hundred foot passengers and about one bundled vehicle?. If the bridge had been blown into tho air, not ono of these would probably have escaped, while tho ell'oct of the explosion would have been to devastate the riverside buildings for some hundred yards.

Ui.fortunately, the police have as yet no cluo to help them in unravelling the mystery which surrounds the whole affair ; but they havo come to the bottom of other plots which have been, to outsiders, seem ingly untraceable ; and the men who hunted down the perpetrators of the Railway Station explosions, and brought to light the Birmingham dynamite manufactory, may be trusted to elucidate the latest con-piracy of the American-Irish dynami tards.

'Ihe following notice was posted tho other d.iy in London on the outside of the Salva tion Army Hall in Oxford street:—"To morrow, Band and Songsters going up. Another big (i. 0. Certain Victory. 7 a.m. Knee drill. Soldiers, where will you be? 11 a.m. Holiness, what is it? E.E.K.F. gi)d Y.S.A.E., wonderful trophies. 0.30 p m Great Snatching of Soulb from the Eternal Burning—you for one?" The words Eerf and Ysae are free and easy in verted. Could anything bo more blas phemous ?

MISS LINGARD'S DRESSING ROOM.

ALICE INTERVIEWED,

Won't You Have a Drink.'

Tin: following description of Miss Lingard a ■■"i mill >ii, or perhaps woshoiild say "buweiy' at tlio I'rinces Theatre, London (whero she

has so Ion;' been playing tho demented

heroine, of " (Jailed Hack," may, our London correspondent thinks, be of interest to the ninny colonial admirers of the lady. Tho daring pressman who penetrated its mysteries is on tho t-ralVof that enterprising red-hot-Tory rag, the "Evening News, and describes his experience thus: —

" What it fascination 'Behind theScentu' possesses for somo classes of theatre-goers. It seems to them n wonderland as full of mystery as Equatorial Africa. A few even ings ago I happened to penetrate that un known region which lies beyond the curtain. Nay, more, I succeeded in ontoring that theatrical sanctum the dressing room of the

' lirst lady ' at a leading London theatre. She had given me an appointment thuro a few days before on it matter of business, at 8.80 sharp. ' For then,' sho said, ' I luivo n good half-bour's leisure.' I represented to her how vain might provo tho attempt to pass (ho gate of tho Inner Circle, and with what tc:mt courtesy the.janitor of the stage door would probably disposo ot my applica tion. 'Say that Miss Lingiird ilosiros you l,n bo admitted, and admitted you will bo,' replied I ho lady, wilh a gesture before which Cerberus himnolf would havo quailed. I thought, nlhenvise, and provided my.-olf with Mis-iLiugard'scard usu more uffimktiul 'open Batumi. At Imlf-fMisfc eight, thon, I presented mysolf at the stage-door of the I'rinces Theatre. 'I wi.th to huo Miss Lingard,' I said deferentially to tho Htitl wart sergeant who throned it in tholiUle

glass box. Mo glared at mo for a moment iv unity astonishment. ' It's Alias Lingnrd you wish to »00, is it. Well, then, nobody's admitted buL what's business on tho stage. I enn't take no messages in.' Finding, as I expected, that thosorgoant would prove in exorable, I produced the lady's card. ' Oh, 1 bog your piirdsn, sir, .1 wasn't aware 'he lady oxpoctod you. I'ray step in,' was the roady reply of tho molHlicd giant. 1 passed through, to lind pasted on a door at the left the name of ' Miss Lingard.1 In response to a knock it was opened a couple of inches by a dresser clad in black with a coquettish white apron. 1 was re quested to walk into the little croon-room tor a few minutes, when the lady would re ceive mo. In the greenroom I found the villain of tho piece in friendly converse with the gontleman, whom in twenty-live minutes ho will stab to death boforo the curtain ; while the spy, who will in the third act bring down tho curtain with iv couple of pi"tolshnts, which effectually disposo of the villain, makes a third in tho party. ' Oh, Mr Macau,' 1 said, 'I must compliment you on your performance last night.' 'Oil,- replied Mr Bee ( .bol,m-Tra>, modestly, ' it's a very trood part.' A summons from Mis.-, Lmgard's droiwor, and 1 am introduced to a tiny littlo room beeonv. in the French style. The walls were covered with chintz of a charming pattern, which the cheery tiro in the grate brightened up with the dickering light, The littlo room, as Miss Lingard told me, h.id been newly decorated from her own designs, and was now tho prettiest ' lirst lady'.s' dressing-room in any London theatre ; though it struck mo as rather too tiny to accommodate the elonga ted trains which aro tho vogue on the stage, and must almost cover the lloor. A sofa is heaped up with the woll-known coatumes of 'Called Mack. 1

"At n. dressing-tab.le, boforo » glass, sits Paulino in a simple white ea.shiu.ero robe, which displays to perfection tho outlines of hen magnificent hguio. Sho was putting the finishing touches tv her 'mako up'; and I must confess that her beautiful face looked white and ghostly under tho amount of violet powder which I suppose is required (o produce) tho necessary effect bo hind tho footlights. ' Won't you have a drink 1 wan ruthor a startling ques tion to ouo introduced for the first timo into the bower of a theatrical Vonus. I assented at once, prepared forall events, when Pauline produced a black bottle from under tliu muslin covor of her dressing table, and filled mo a tumbler half full of brown sherry. Thin was proso indeed, but 1 (.wallowed my illusions -and the sherry ! ' Had 1 recovered my fright of SundayV' asked Miss Lingard, alluding to her pot bloodhound' Wanda' havingjumpod, as 1 thought, at my throat, whon I entered her lirawing-rooni on tho afternoon of that day, though 1 was iispurcd aftorwai i.U It was

'only WimilnV pretty way.' While I am chatting with Miss Lingard ill to her ex periences in America, Australia, Now 7/oal'ind, and the South Son Islands- for she has boon a world-wide traveller—threu p.troicrH on a guiig aro heard. 'I must go now,'she said, '[shan't bo many minutes. Wait till I come back.' A round »f applause from parts unknown, and sho comes again into this room vory cold, declaring that tlio theatre is an ice-house ; and now sho is really obligod to givo mo my coaije, for tho charming dove coloured dress on tho sofa must bo assumed in the next act, and ho wo pay adieu.

Miss Lingard has had but a brief experi ence on the [(Otidon atajjo, but, unless 1 am mistiikon, j'ho lms not been seen yet in comedy here. To havu made nearly i'l,ollo a week for some time on tho Rt./iga of Sun Francisco, to have followod Kistori in Aus tralia, And drawn as well as that great artist, i* a fortunate experience given to but few actresses. Coi'tftinly she must prove a great acquisition to the London stuge, already not too rich in rtrtixtex able to impersonate tho dclicatoand tiuo shades of the higher modern comedy. Thoro is a rumour that those bright, particular dramatic stars, Hermann and Wills, aro about to be in conjunction, and that this portends something dramanic to Miss Colin Lingard, who must noon vanish from tho pvotty drcs<-ing-rouin, and from tlio Prince's stago eho has su much adorned (to make room for tho beautiful Jersey Lily, fresh from her American triumphs), to find, no doubt, a congenial home on other London boards.,

THE FRENCH MURDERERS IN PERSON.

An Interview.

The wifo of tho dopufcy for Marseilles in detained whilu awaiting her trial in the St. Laznre Prison, that vast and gloomy pile which stands at the top of tho Faubourg St Deniso, It is this prison which receives all the fomalo nuirderors, pickpockets, andbad characters of Paris and its procincts, that is continually haunted by men of tho moat depraved class, who await tho discharge from prison of the womon with whom they associate. In entering the gaol for the purpose of cooing one of tlio inmates, two massive doors have to bo passed before arriving at tho parlour whoro interviews tako place between the prisoners and their friends. This place, which also serves for magisterial examinations, is fur nished with tho utmost simplicity. Its only ornament, if sn it can bo called, consists in the lock on tho door, which, lik< oil tho othor Jocks in tho establishment, is of largo proportions. Tho keys hanging from tho girdles of tho warders arc in them selves formidable instruments of defence as veil as articles of uso and necessity. In tlie'door is a glass panel, through which the warder on duty in the corridor outsido can look into tho parlour. From a window in this room cau bo disccrnod tho court below, in which the prisoners are visible, passing to and fro, accompanied by sinters, who direct them to their daily tasks at tho samo timo that tlioy oudeavour to instil into their corrupted hearts the prin ciples of morality. Now and then the huge front portal swings open andtholarire black van arrives, guarded by municipal troops, and biingir.g up a fresh contingent of pale faced but hardened criminals. Such wos tho place where Madame Clovis Uugues was visited by her friend. She appeared accom panied by a warder, who locked tho door of the parlour when sho had entered it, ac cording to «. custom which seems to havo been adopted for tho purpose of per petually reminding the inmates of St. La/.are that they are between bolts and bora. Her face was pale, thin, and worn ; her eyes were haggard and iunken, and showed many traces of the .sleepless nights which tho accused has passed since (irsfTshe heard of the atrocious sufferings of the un fortunate M. Morln. Madame Clovis Iluguoa is still attired in tho large fur cloak which she wore on the" day of M. Morin's murder, and the hang ing sleeves of which served to conceal the revolver until tho moment of its use. On being asked by her friend how she had brought herself to commit the premeditated murder of which sho was guilty, Madame Hugues said : •' You must know that I had a reason for killing Morin at the timo I did so. I had intended to kill him when the case first came on, but poople told me that if I did so then I should bo accused of hindering light from being thrown on the" whole matter ; so I refrained from carrying out my intention?. But when I saw a new

Riunmoni to tho Appeal Court, all my

former anger Hushed up to my head. I thought to myself, all those infamous libels ii c a'/ain tn be repeated. In my utter ignorance of legal procedure, I was under i in: impression that Morin, in suffering judgment by default, would bo entitled to no further appeal. I accordingly had but une thought—to kill this man who wanted In rob mo of something more precious tluui

life, my honour as a woman, my happiness nn a wife. Soon the thought becamo be setting. Whenever I mot a thin man with

a brown board in the street I thought it was Morin, I lookod fer him everywhere, My mother fell ill, and 1 went to nurse her ; but oven by hor bedside I boilod with im patienco, ft. was nocessary, I thought, to strike down thin wretch thoroughly. At each moinont somo now obstaclo inter vened. I know my husband would make sure of the revolver I had, *<o I wont to a gunsmith near the Louvre, and my fcoart beat hard when I asked to «co some revolvers. I had to toll a Ho. I said I was entrusted with a commission—that, in fact, 1 was going to tho country that evening. The man showed mo two lovolvorn, ono small, tho other huge. I hesitated in my choice Ono of tlio ro volvers was too large to bo concealoJ, the other too small for my purpose. 'Take the big one,1 snid the man ; ' with that you will bo able to kill your man better than with the other.' I put twelve francs down quickly on tho counter, and hastonad away with tho weapon, Up to the last moment 1 succeeded in conceal ing everything from my husband. I calmed him, I prevented him from doing any violence. I [k><J to uuo all my influence with him. Well, J could sloop no longer. 1 had but one idea to put my whole lib history before an assi/.o court. It was not vengeance only which impelled mo ; Iwaited

to have a great trial. Once, and once only, I was nearly stopped by the thought that perhaps thiM man hud a mother. IJutno; after inquiry, 1 heard that his family had ceased all connection with him. And then 1 recollected again what I had suffered. Yon know my husband, Clovis, is impros sionablo, and only ho and I can say what tortures those anonymous lottoiv, thoso half expressed and wholly-meant calumnios, caused to us, and how thoy tore and lacerated our feeling.s. All that did more injury than the bullots of the revolver. Tho terriblo words uttorod by somebody, ' There is no smoke without tire,' at every moment haunted us ; and Morin, ovory time ho saw me, sneered aa ouo who should say, 'I ahull not huve to ■_r o to prison, you know.' But I do not know that 1 should have fired at tho last moment hud ho not lookod insolently at me. ]'n descending the stairs of tho Palais, my limbs seen.od to grow weak, but my will, which is always etrongorthan anything else, remained so, and f fired. But I fired because I raw him distinctly beforo mo. My pre occupation whou I first resolved to kill this man was to Uo so. without injuring any one else. Had there beon any ono by his sido, J should not havo fired. I had another preoccupation—l did not want to hit him in tho back—' wanted to kill him face to face. At tho lust trial Morin came armed ; ho had oven made mo fool his revolver In passing close to me. I was persuaded that this time also he was armed. It seemed to mo something akin to a duel. I would have liked him to tire at mo I assure you that 1 should not have beon so wild with a man who had endeavoured to murder me. 1 could havo u«kod pardon for a murdoror, but what this man did, was it not much more horrible than a thrust from the knife of an asßAtsin? .... i havo had noqualmn

of remorse, but it is hard to havo boon obliged to do as I havo done. After two days.' imprisonment my strength failod, n nil 1 wopt \o\\tf and bitterly. The romomhrwiiH! of this will Hidden my lifo. I roooiied n masculine oducation from my lather in oxile, but 1 »m n woman, anil my strength Is limitod. I have already «uttered much, and am still siiU'oiiinj. During tho early days after the evont 1 was told that he would bo cured, but when I hoard of his torriblo sufferings, I boeamo ill. Since that time I have not slept, and I did not wish to sleop. When I laid mysolf down, 1 saw him at tho Palais, blood-ntainod, and with closod oyes. I only .«ee him now liko that. To avoid this night mare I profor not to sloop. I have no re morse, but tho datool thin event will remain graven in my memory for over. Only fifteen days havo olnpaod uinco thon. Toari sometimos console me. I havo endured a teniblo tension lately. I pas« whole clays in tho judge's room answering questions, mid it fatigues mi; but tho p.ro.Uwinary examinations aro now over. Yesterday I underwent a painful impxeuion when Ih.iw in M. AthaHn'a rco.m Morin's mistress, n pretty woman, *(>O, WO was angry with m.c, and called mo "La Fommo liugues." However, I hopo that sho wi'l be asked at tho trial whether Morin had any proofs against mo, boc:au.«o sho told tho judgo hero that ho had not, And, as you know, it was said I lind killed Morin through fear of his producing proofs against me at tho Appeal Court." In conclusion Madame Hugues oxpressod hor repugnance to tho prison ami its in matos, most of whom wore Vfoinon who had committed the most; horrible orimes. — "Daily Telsgraph."

Red Indian Mortality.

Thkrk is something pathetic about tho latest statistical account of the Indians in tho United States. Three yoars ago tho onliro raco, who once overran tho continent, numbered 370,000. Of thoso 'iSO.OOO wero in tho Indian reservation, 58,000 of thorn

living in a stato of partial civilisation. Wandering tribos wero 15,000 in number, tho Indians in Alaska 31,000, tho remnants of tho Iroquois 7,000, while of citizens braves who had abahdoned tho tomahawk and the prairies for more peaceful con ditions of life—thore wore 67,000. Of In dians then on tho reservations 50,000 woro supported by tho (iovornment, 47,000 ro reived largo appropriations, and 95,000 wore supported by fishing, hunting, farming, aud other small industries, and the proceeds of tho sale of their land. Since thon the taming process has beon gradually going on.

Tho 60.000 children, instead of being dialled in tho warlike wayß of their fathers, aro gradually boiny; gathered into the schools. Tho moro civilised tribes manago their own schools, with tho aid of Government grants. Tho Chcrokees, for instance, have 198 day mclioolh nnd oloron boarding schools, giving instruction in tho Cherokee language, with its nlphabot of eighty-live letters invented in 1527. It is paid that tho Indians show a roal zeal for tho education of their children. Tho Omahas of Nebraska sold part of their laud." for tho purpose of raising money for scltools. Many plans aro projected to com plete this work of civilising tho Indiana. Somo atatosmon assort that with an annual expenditure of ten million dollars there could bo provided schools for every Indian child, and that in fiftoon yours tho entiro :.ico would bo civilised and self-supporting. Others advocate- the expenditure .of throo millions in day and boarding schools. Either sum would bo but small in proportion to tho value of the land that onco belonged to them. But with all this fervour for their civilisation the race do not thrive. Each year they becomo weaker in body and poorer in spirit, and illustrate, if evor a crushed nnd broken people did, how hope less is the struggle of aboriginal races when the whito man invades their land.

A Tell-Tale Clock.

Ax amusing story reaches us from Paris. On Friday last a lady, having paid her hotol bill, sent away her boxes on a cab and sallied forth on foot, No sooner had she departed than the landlord discovered that the clock had disappeared from tho mantel pioco of tho room which his late lodger had boon occupying, though ho remombored to have seen it there subsequent to her trunks beins despatched. Convinced that she must be" the thief, ho rushed out in hot pursuit, and overtaking her, charged her with the robbery and gave her into custody, tho lady meanwhile protesting loudly against the indignity offered her, and vowing vengeance against tho traducer. She was, however, taken before the jitije d'instrucfion, to whom she resumed her torrent of indignant denial with the extra ordinary volubility peculiar to the daughters of Gaul. Hor indignation was at its height when, lo ! twelve o'clock rang forth in elenr tones from the region of mndame's dross improver. The expression of consternation depicted upon the fair pilferer'? countenance, together with the appDsitcnoi-s of thtj quaint phenomenon, were too much for the gravity of the officials, who burst into a fit of uncontroll able laughter. Five minutes later a female warder returned the telltale timepiece to its rightful owner. Will Mr Oscar Wilde still in»ist upon "tho utter uselessness of that hideous monstrosity—tho bustle ?"

A GENUINE GHOST.

liy Hugh Conway, Author of "Called Back,

Yk.Ues before the Society for Psychical Itnseurch commenced its mysterious investi" jjntion, I hud, single-handed, in a great measure anticipated the object which led to its formation. So far as ono person, who grudgoa neither time nor money to tho enthralling pursuit, can, I had hunted and stalked gliosti, goblins, and apparitions with the tenacity of a slueth hound; and having run them to earth, had weighed the evidence for tho existonco or non-existence of oach with tho impartiality of an English judge. Intensely fascinating aa at first 1 found the pursuit, after a while my chuaes bsgan to present tho tame monotonous features, intelligence would roach mo that a ghost had mado its appearance- in some town or village in England. No matter whore the

favoured spot might be, I started for it at once, full of hopo that I had at lust found the real thing. Cold-bloodod investigation and cio.fß-exatnination of witnosses invari-

ably resolved tho upeetio into thin air, am left me to retrace my fruitless steps, and in growing scepticism, await tho nex chance.

The same with deserted houses said to he haunted from cellars to garrets. Night

after night I had watched in various dwellings bearing this unenviable distinc tion, yet had suffered from no visitors, save tho rheumatic pains which gonerally followed a night passod in carpetloss rooms, and amid thn dronry discomfort of an empty house. So it was that, having for some yours givou the ghosts a fair trial, 1 was reluctantly compelled to come to the conclusion that supernatural visitations are but figments of a superstitious brain.

.ludge, then, my dolight when, at hist, 1 stumbled upon what to all appearance was a genuine, woll-authontieatod family ghosts in a fine state of proaorvation. My emotions can only be compared to those of a china maniac who lights upon an unknown pice of Henri Di'iu: ware. Forgetting my countless disappointments, I threw myself ougerly and hopefully on tho trail, and for once my chose was not a vain one.

The ghost in question was tho property of Sir Porcival Morton, or porhapw I should rather pay it was an appurtonanco to the estate in which ho hada life interest. Sir Percival Morton was a baronet who lived iv West of England, at a fine place culled Wick Court. His family, for a baro net's, was of great antiquity, and there were sundry othor qualifications which promised well for my success.

Arinod with a letter of introduction from a mutual friend, ono lato autumnal day I presented mysolf at Wick Court. I was somewhat disappointed to find tho house was a comparatively modern erection—it being a gonorally-undf!rstood thing that ghosts prefor the discomfort and incon venionces of old tumble-down mansions.

Sir I'ercival Morton was one of the most proud and pompous mon it has been my lot to meet. At first ho absolutely declined to givo mo any information on tlio subject of the familar npeutro, and when, after much entreaty and somo Battery, ho consonted to enlighten mo, I was compelled to assure him that I was in no way connected with a nowspapor.

"Ha hum," said Sir Porcival "you sec that old families are obliged In thoso days to bo rotieont concerning their ancestral apparitions. As a rule thoso are connected with dark tales and tragedies which aro not for the tnlgar ear."

It wa« thin very unwillingness to givo information which oasurod mo that I was at laHt on tho track of a real ghost—that in this cuso I should find no shallow unstable impostor. So I agrood with Sir Perdval'a remarks, humenred him to tho top of hia bout, and byo-aud-bye hoard tho truth about his ghost. It was a ghost with somo m«rkod pe culiarities. Liko many other reputed spirits, it appeared once a yoar. In its onso tho peculiarity was that it timed itsolf by tho day of the week—from Sir 1 Porcivnl'p own observation it was to bo seen on tho Monda/ night which was tho nearest to November tho 20th. It confined its operations to an outbuilding which In olden times was used as a chapel. This chapol, novf in ruins, wa» the only existing part of old Wick Court. Tho present liouko win built by Sir I'oi-cival'* grandfather. In thia dilapidated plaoo of old-world wor ship tUo apparition showed itself onGe a yoav, and after performing various mysterious ghostly antics, departod, and loft tho place at peace for twelve months. Sir I'orcival told me all this at first, not second, hand. In some things, in spito of his selfimportanco, ho was a man after my own hoart, inasmuch that he had no vulgar fear of spiritual risitom. Indeed, he gravely informod mo that out nf respect to tho rest less spirit of one of his own kin he mado a point of upending the night in tho ohapol whenever tho apparition was due. I honoured tho man for his bravery and family I (M'illtl. [ 1 need not say how interesting this talk was to an nrdont but hitherto unsuccessful ghoxt-stalker. I bogged Sir Pcrcival to honour mo by tolling tha history of tho dark tragedy which gave ri«o to tho spec tre. Ho blushed slightly, und for a mo incut, hesitated.

"I am sol ry lam unablo to do so," ho said : "at prejorit it is wrappod in a mys tery ; I have rnusacked the family archives without success. lam indeed beginning to auspect it is a ghost imported into tils Morton family by marriugo. As 1 daro ply you know, wo intermarriod with the Ballards, an extinct Koman Catholic family much persecuted in Elizaboth's" time."

I assumed a knowledge of the Morton podigroo, and then asked Sir I'ercival how long the ghost had boun in the family. "Its first recorded appearance waa in IS2O, tho year of my birth." Sir I'erciTftl had clearly thawed boforo the respectful intoreat I manifested in his ghost, for presently he asked mo it I would liko to inspect the ruined chapel. I gladly accepted the offer. It was a building of about thirty feot long ; the roof was groined, and tho windows lancet-shapod. Fragments of white plaster still clung «o the walls and celling, in tho latter of which were holes opening; to tho sky. My hoart beat joyfully. It wai tho very place for ix ghoat! Sir Porcival drow my attontion to several largo rusted iron hooks which were driven into the walls at intervals j then he led mo to ouo corner of tho building and showed mo what lookod liko the romnant of a rotted woodon framework of oblong shape, and which, whon entire, must have been about eight feet long. I asked for an explana tion.

'•lam inclined to believo," ho said with aoloranity, "that wo are gazing on tho re mains of an instrument of torture called a rack. You will notice," he continued, picking up a fragment of wood, "this piece is rounded. I tako it, it is part of ono of tho rollers or windlasses around which tho rope was passed." My curiosity was greatly oxcited. I turned to Sir I'ercival.

" Oh, Sir Percival !■" I exclaimed, " may I ask yon a grout fiyyojir V B.olieye m,e, I approach tin's n\atter n(),t iv vulgar inquisi tivoness, Unt in favorontiql interest. Will you permit mo to be presont when the spirit make? its next appearance? I roight even be able to give you come assistance in fathoming tho mystory which hai hitherto baflled you." " 1 fear you would but wasto your time, my dear sir," said Sir Poroival rathor loftily. "As a rule, ancestral ghosts aro invisible to a stranger's eyes." " Permit me to make tho attempt—it can do na harm."

"I will take the matter into considera tion," said Sir Percival with gracious con disconsion. Shortly afterwards we parted. All through tho latter part of October and tho early part of November \ \yp on thorns of suspense. ' That 'Sir I'oreival's ghost was a Imnafuk article I felt assured. Tho question was, Would its owner errant my request 1 I ventured to write and onco more urge it, and my joy was great when he at last wrote me and asked mo to come down to Wick Court on Monday, November 21. My only fear was lest Borne absurd family prirle on the part of the ghost might induce it to remain invieiblo to ray eyes.

Sir Percival received mo cordially, as was due to an invited guest. Lady Morton and the family were away, so my host and I dined undspent the evening alone. It was easy to see that the yoarly task which tho baronet laid upon himself was one which weighed by no means lightly. As the hours passed by be grew silent and moody. I respected his feelings and left him un disturbed. At last he glanced at the clock —it wanted a quarter to twelve. " It is time—coraoj" ho said solemnly. Tho night' being foggy, wo wrapped our selves up warwty. TUw we KTOpcd °ur way across theg»ounsstotho ruined chapel. We entered, and Sir Percival struck a match, and, producing one of those pointed iron candlesticks used by wine merchants to stick into cellar walla, lit the candle it contained and forced the iron between the joint of two stones. The light was a mere nothing for so large a building ; but it was better than darkness. On tho tiptoe of

expectation I awaited tlio development ot events. Presently Sir Fcrcival sighed deeply and Touched me on the arm. T followed the direction of hi? gaze, and in the centre of l lie chapel ia«r, to ray intense delight, a nebulous cloudy substance forming. In n mill u to this had taker, shape and form. It i«solved itself into what appoarei to be the i-emblanco of a woman. My heart gave a throb, but I felt no fo.'ir. At last, after years of weary search, I was faefl to faco with a gho»t ! "(Jan you «cc anything?" asked my companion in an awed whisper. His face looked deadly white under the flickering candle. "Oh yes, quite plainly," I answered, choorfnlly. I fancied Sir Fercival looked rather annoyed. No doubt he thought a family ghost should not be so free with her favours. But he .said nothing ; indeed, had he done «o I should not have heard him, ho intensely interested was I in (studying tho apparition. Jn spite i/f the gloom, scarcely broken by tho feeble light of tho candle, 1 could sea it plainly. Indeed, after due consideration I havo, judging by my own experience, come to the conclusion that ghostH bear with thorn an inherent means of illumination. However, this theory is out of placo here. 1 have embodied it in a pamphlet, which I purpo.se submitting to tho Psychical Society. Anyway, that night I Haw the semblance of a woman—a middle-aged woman, her face grave and lined by care, hopeless despair written on every feature. Her arms were bnre almost to the shoulder joints. Her linger* were long, attenuated, and shrivelled. Her iron-grey hair waa dishevelled and unkempt. It did not stream down her back, but wan twisted up in hasty fashion, as though »hu had been suddenly called from her toilet. The fooling at once stole over mo that even now the poor rest leas spirit was enduring tho tortures of the damned. This belief of mine may havo beon en hanced by the remarkable change of tem perature which attended the appearance of tho phantom. Cold as the air was when wo entered the chapel, thoroughly ven tilated an was tho building by the holes in the roof, in less than live minutes perspira tion was starting from every pore in my skin. I was fain to unbutton my coat, and I noticed that Sir I'orcival, in a mechanical sort of way, followed my example. It may have been but my fancy, but now anil again it seemed to me that a red light Hashed along tho wall of the chapel. Moreover, n sickly, cloying, but at the same timo not unfamiliar odour seemed to permeate the strangely-heated atmosphere. I congratulated myself that the spirit I hud found wan far removed from the conven tional typo. Now as to the most important part—the actions of the ghost. I am right in calling thosa most important, as a consensus of ovi denco shows that it is only by its actions that a disembodied spirit is able to give information as to the reason for its appear ance or the object of its errand. To avoid any rick of mistake, I describe these actions word for word as I jotted thorn down imme diately after that the interview with Sir Poreival's family ghost came to an end. let. —For at least twenty minutes -the spectral woman, in the attitude cf one bent by bodily pain or anguish of mLrid, worked her hands with feverish lapid ity one against the other. Mem. :—Sihe stood at the Bido of the chapel with her face turned to the wall. 2nd.— She stood erect, and for awhile teemed as if engagod in a struggle. Her hands grasped somounseon object, possibly, in tho llosh, a human arm ; she seemed to throw all her stron(;th into her grip, anil by the peculiar rotary motion of hor hand« geornod to bo twisting the limb until the agony of hor victim inunt have beon pas* endur ance.

3rd. — She proceeded slowly to tho corner of tho building in which stood tho de cayed rack. Hore sho paused, and after some aetiouß, the meaning of which was boyond my comprehension, began s'.owly to move her hands as one who turns a windlass. As I watched this last action, I could almost persuade myself that I could see the shadowy and abnormally oxtondod limbs of the poor wretch upon whom such diabolic tortures had been perpetrated, Altogether, this ghostly pantomime must havo lasted for an hour and a half. Then tho spectre turned and with the same slow atop caino towards us. Sir Poreival Morton fell upon his knoos. His voico echoed through the lofty building. " Unfortunate spirit of my unknown an cestress," he cried theatrically, but, for all that, with pome emotion. " Every night I pray for tho repose of thy guilty soul. Give mo a clue to tho dark mystery. Teach mo how to lay thy vexed spirit at rost." Tho ghost gave him a long look of sure hatred, and, without further sign or token, vanished from our sight. I took the baronet back to tho house, whore for a couple of hours we sat discuss ing tho case in all its bearings. "Thoreiß no doubt," said Sir Pereival, "that in bygono ages some fearful deed of darkness took placo in that chapel. Every thing seems to point to a prolonged succoa sion of tortures. But as to who was tor tured, or by whom he or she was tortured, or why the torture was applied, J have not a grain of information, 1 would give much to learn tho truth." "You havo gone through all the old family papers, 1 suppose?" " All; but they throw no light on tho subject." I felt that finding out why the ghost haunted the chapel was only second in importance to seeing it. So 1 made a bold request. " 1 am an idle man, Sir Percival," I said. "Would you mind my making researches in your family records';" Ho reHocted for a ininuto ; thon ho said with groat politonoss, "My ancestress having deigned to show herself to you, I will givo you access at a)l time 3to tho muniment-room." I thanked him, nnd resolved to stay at WioU Court until I had learnt why tliat poor tortured spirit haunted tho onrth. The interest I took in tho matter may bo imagined when I say that for weeks and weeks I dug and delved amongst tho fusty old papers of parchments in the muniment room, I found much that would have in terested an antiquarian, but nothing which bore upon tho particular psychical research in which I was engaged. I was much nettled. I had now been Sir Percival's guest for a long time, and I felt myself pledged to solve tho mystery. At last I found a clue. One morning I turned up a little brown covered book. I oponud it carelessly. It was a kind of diary kept by Sir Percival 'g father. Curiously enough, I opened it at tho date of Nov. 20, 1819. Hore I read this passogo —"That unfortunate woman Sarah Jopland took her own life this morning. If, I havo been hard upon her, Heaven forg^e me I"

Here was a discovery ! A woman upon whom the late S,i,r Perciyal had "■ been h,ard" destroyed heraeM o.u Nov. 2ft, 1819! The iirst. recorded appearance of tho spectre in Nov., IH'2O tMy hands trembled, so that I lot the boofe fait, I was nuw fairly on the tra.ck, hut resolved to say nothing to my host concerning my great discovery until I had completely mastered the case. First of all I was bound to find out in what rolation this Sarah Jopland stood towards the late baronet. I could not help jumping to the conclusion that there must have been an illicit amour between the two. Such intrigues aro prolific ghost-producers.. But oven if my suspicion was correct, it would not account for the,^orl^rc, unless it wore permitted to Saijah J ; opl|an,d'B ag grieved spirit to, torsn^nt; t^e apirit of hor betrayer by tho obsolete method of rack and tiiiiin escrows. No, until I found out who Sarah Jopland was, speculation was worse than useless. So I asked Sir Percival with nßsumed in difference if he remembered the name in connection with his family. " It does not strike me as being farnijliar in that way," he said : "but ir v - common name in the village. Yo',l will'nrid a dozen Joplands there." Sir Peroivol ipft tho court that day. He was going to town tor a week, I told him laughingly that I hoped before his return I, should have cleared up the mystery. "1 hope so, too, "he said, grayciy-. "This unhappy ancestress of mino is a gieat weight on my mind. A long pedigree has its dis advantages as well as its advantages." As soon as his back was turned I went down to the village and found the eldest Jopland. in the place. He vas aUo that troublesome creature the olse?.t inhabitant. He was as well up. in hi 3 own humhto family history as was Sir I'ereival in that of the Morions and the Ballards. From old Jopland I learned the fate of Sarah .Top land, and why she haunted the ruined chapel of the Morton family. I am sure I cannot make known the result of my inquiries better than by reproducing ■ the letter which two days afterwards I was able to write to Sir Percival. I can very well copy it as it lies before me now— Sir Percival having sent it back to mo accompanied by

a curt noto which begged mo to leavo Wick Co "urtrat once, and conaidor our ac ((Uaiataru whip at. nn end. Hero is my letter :— " Wick Court, December 17th, ]js7—.

"My dc. vr Sir I'evcival, —I jiici.iuc the delight with* wliicli you will receive tin intoTligence . la*; I lave oomjiletely cleaved up the myate ty surrouiiLing the peiturbed i-pirit which h simfo the ruined chapel. I. am glad also to ' be able to pet your raind at I'est by assurirn ' J' 011 *'iat l' le gli'wt is not that of an ance's tress of yours. The truth is we coinmencet i our researches mucli too far back. The apparition is a compara tively modern on c. Its first appearance was the one recon led in 1820.

"An entry in rour lato father's dinry put mo on the rigli t track. It states that on November 20, Wl9, a woman named Sarah Jopland had tcminitted suicide. 1 went to the village and saw the oldest surviving member of like Jopland family. "This Jopland—w. ta, by-the-by, is a tenant of yours—l foi wet to be a m.tn of nearly ninety, garrulo. is; and intelligent; inorever, possessed of « rino undecayec! memory. He was, in sp ito of his loquacity, at first much averse from »i ving ran informa tion on the subject. Indtiet 1, I had tonwuri.1 tiini that I cailed by your expressed wish. Then ho told mo as follows1,: — "Sarah Jopland was kis aunt. She Imnged herself on Nov. 20fcl ', 1S!(J, on one of those iron hooks in the ctia pol.

" She was in distressed cs euinstanees - threatened with a process for: rent, and was at the time lying under your father's dis pleasure—a displeasure which 1 neant nun. " It appears that the lute Sir 1 "ercival was extremely particular as to the g* >t up uf hid linen, and that Sarah Joplft) id wus n lawudrtHM oniploywl by Ihe day to do t.ht: washing of Wick Court. Old Jopland, your tenant, is certain that Bhe wan threatened with dismissal unit ■•*« tho .(Utility of her work showed an ii amuri.su improvement, Iht anguish of mine ' drove tho poor creature to gcil-itegtructioii i

"It will, my dear Sir Percival, at oncn strike you how utterly mistaken wo we >'o an ~a the meaning ol those mysterious aci 'on* of the spirit. You will see that the (bent position and the feverish rubbing oi" ,'he hands only show that tlio poor ghost, e\*t '<' ■ ifter death, performs her worldly avocation. ' •ut a phantom wash-tub invisible to u». "Chat struggle, that poculiar rotary motion of the hands', will, when you reeull them and view them by this new light, appear but, the act of wringing clothes. By the same argu ment that mouldering wood frame resolve,? ■tself from a rack into tho remains of' an • mliijtn: English mangle. The etrango heat. che sickly soapy odour, are but supernatural accompaniments of tho humble ghost of tho laundress.

" But you will say, ' Why should tho chapel bo chosen?' Kvon on this point J can set your mind at ease. From inquiries made I have ascertained that, beyond doubt, in your late father's time tho chapel was used as a wash-house—'To what base uses !'—you know the quotation.

"I can only express my satisfaction at", having, after many years' search, not only uncountercd a real ghost, but also having fathomed the reasons for its appearance. But I know that my fiatisf'uetion will be nothing to yours when you learn that it U no unsaved or un forgiven spirit of thu Morton or Ballard line which haunts your charming house. "Venturing to anticipate your thanks, believe me, dear Sir Pereival, " Yours truly,

Since I wrote that letter Sir Pereival and I have boon strangers. Ho must be a .hard man to convince, as 1 see that this year theArchieologicul Society paidhisplacn a visit, and one of tho members read un interesting paper on "The Remains of a Keck in Wick Court Chapel." I have come to two conclusions. Tho first, that ghosts in genor.ti ure illogical meaningless creatures. The second, that tho less the Society for Psychical Kesearch meddles with family ghosts the better tho owners of those traditional spirits will be pleased,—" Figaro Christmas Number."

The Nile Boat Song.

Tnß following song, composed for the men omployedon service with the Nilo boats, was written by Colonel W. F. Butler, C.8., before his departure for Upper Egypt, and wai published in the " Times of Kgypt" on the 4th inst. A thousand copies wore printed separately for distribution among the Bailors of the expedition :— Nile stroam ia rolling stroiiji, Nile ri.ad is roiub und long, Boud to tlio oar. mun ! Suu'a rays are hut o'crheud. Deserts uronnd us spread. Toil on tho shore, men 1 Chohl-s—Mow, lay boys, row away. Cowards behind may staj. Bond to the strain, mm ! Miles us thoy riso and sink, Knock off another link From Gordon's chain, men! Rough though the rnplda be, Wild as a winter's 6ou: Hmv on again, men ! Ours is a greater strength X'en than tuts river's length. Our path is plain, men! Cnoitug—Kow, my boyo, &c. Never had this old land Looked on a sight bo grand! Fling out tne sail, men! No, not since Time began. No. not slnco Nile ttrst ran ; Riffht must prevail, men) CllOßUS—ltow, my boys, &c. Toil we in Freedom's name? Fifth* wo for Honour's immi.' Far more Uuin Uio»e, men ! Pore eat 111 savavu land SHU muking gallant slanii, Fuce to lift fees, mea! Chorus— ltow, my boys, &c, Brave stands a brothor-man, Soldier, and Kngliiihnvui, Wouldst th.nu forsake, men ? A«ks lio our strong right hand; Calls to his motherland : Strike- for his nuke, men! Cuonus—Row. my boys, &c. Temples and tombs of Kings, Kelieu of bygone tliinga. Wuko to our drmn, men! So may thoso ruins vast Catching our bugle blast. Tell him we come, men! Chohus—How, my boys, Sec, Coming through dosorl's length. Coming in England's strength. Old Flag unfu I'd, in.vAi Howe-laud regardius ws, Ood's power guarding »s, Watched by tho world, mon! CITOKUH—Row, my boys, &c.

A Famous Brigand.

The Hungarian newspapers anaounco the death of lloszn Sf,n.doi\ the dreuded brigand whoso oxplajta h^ve been the subject of in,an.y a romance. Eosza was born in ISI3, ! nii(l "■ toofc to, the road" early Jn lifo, Sc .»iijlfnlly did he evado the rcsoarehes of the police that for twftnty-llvo yoari lie was able to levy ransoms nn the wealthy inhabitants of seveval nourishing rural districts of Hungary. It was not till tho year ISSU that lie foil into the hands of tho authorities, lie was then taken by surprise when sleeping with oue of hi.s companions in a vineyard,. On perceiving the gendarmes, tho brigand at onco concluded that ho had bcea betrayed by hia own followers, and, quickly, dra,wjng his pistol, had time, tftbjow/out tb.o hrains of hia fellow bandit bc'for,Q he was himself captured, ByPsa Sander was condemned to destla, b,u.t X>* penalty was ultimately com :miwdi to p%rpetu,al Smprtsonment. Ilia CQ,n,du,ct jn prison must have been exception . a.^ly gopci.fai- he so far succeeded in deceiving I bis {juardianß that in 1862 ho was pardoned and released.

Roaza had, however, scarcely regained his freedom than ho at once resiy^ect his old profession of highwayman. He now devoted himself to attaching railways. Aided by a band, ;i outlaws, tho trains' which were conveying money wore thrown off the limea, and tho travellers and mai\- Vags pillaged. These depredation,?, WAre of so serious a character, and yet con nected with so much sV.\\\ and success, that the Government was compelled tn despatch GetlcWQ Baday as comnjireionor extraordinary to, suppress brigandage, Afte* many vain, efforts, Rosza San'dor was &i last captured, in 18G8, and ihen com tnonced a serios of inquiries and rovelatSons of tho most startling description. Little by little evidence v/ns ooHeeted, proving thit the brigands had ullits and associates even umoug the hig-l.est functionaries and Saunicyial authorities cf the country. A special tribunal had to bo appointed to try these persons, and it took no less than four years to prepare the case STainst Sando? and his colleagues. In all fifty persons were accused, and several hun dred witnesses hoard. The trial lasted a whole year, and Sandor was onci more condemned to death. Thp oojectjon to capital punishment, ]»ov>;ever, was sq strong that h&, w.a3_ not, executed, but confined to tho fortress of Do brec^in, whe,re he died a f»w days ago. his name, like that of Dick Turpin, .lack' Sheppard, Cartouche, Fra Diavola, will long beremembered in song and verse throughout. Hungary,

CLIPTOMANIA.

(WIMIALLY SEUSCTKO (IT OCR LONDOSi wmtKspoNDi::."?.)

'T'vr. ;k> doubt," paid a brother diamatistj " that 1 could write such a book if t tried ; but I'm hanged if I could put my name to it." When a woman becomes so absent-minded rix to forcjet to hold her hand ho that tho I'ght will fall upon her diamond ring, it is safest for her husband to give her a wido berth. She is doing some dangerous think ing. \\ro never feel so like contributing freely to the missionary cause as when we con sider what execrable teste the cannibal heattiens must pofsess to get away with .some of the men who were sent out to lead them into a better life.

An old parse n was ono day walking alo'ig ono of tin; stivets of the capital of the Orcades, when bo met a well-known :inker. "Well, John, can you pay the Lord's Pravcr vet?" "Och! inon," said

..'olm, "oveiy in in tae hia trade. Can you maU1 a tin pail?" " Yes," said Gubbinß, with an air of con scious muscularity that would bave dor.o uredit to tho champion heavy-weight, " I (tarried a pick on this railway for three years." "Indeed," queried an ancient nareon sitting opposite, "and did you not md it very Inbourioap, sir?" " Very. It was a tooth-pick." The remains of an African traveller hail been exhumed for interment in the family

rault. When the cofiin was o|j«iH-ii, a naturalist who wn* nrosevit started bark in •illVight. " Why, these appear to Ijo (ho remains of a lion." "Ye.'," replied the «on of deceased with a sigh ; " thal'H tha lion!hut ato him up; father's intlde of him i"

.■. Dublin j.wvcy liftil .'riven an old lady 4 considerable distance, and received tho bare faro. Suid she, "Your horso lookH bad. Is not tlia bit too largo for hia mouth ?" "It ain't the big bib in his mouth, mum," said the cabby, "it's tlio itmall bit in his belly, end —(looking fit the shillinfr)—it doesn't seem as if it'll get much larger." Mr Bailey, an American, who visited England in IS7-J, and afterwards wrote a record of his visit, say« that snails are a i'avourite <lish with tho English, occupying flio position held by oygtera in America, •' .The aspirant for its llesh adroitly intro duces a pin into the front door of tho ;min al's habitation, and U comes out to see

what) is up." So for iivo years Mr Bailey has liv od believing periwinkles to be snails. Rector (reads) : " Horde-racing is a favourite pastime of the aristocracy and other blackguards. Jockeys are fed on gin from childhood, to stop thoir growth. 'I he racecourse is v scene of drunkenness, pro fanity, and vice, ruinous alike to body and .-■oul. Tho next important event is the St. L.egor. The favourite is Ratcatcher, but lather say^ the straight tip is Bluonofc." It may !>o of some interest, perhaps, to !cno«T that the London policeman costs the State ;C:)7 a year ; forty-threo pounds les.--, however, than the cost of the Parisian gendarme. Each London policeman, on an iiverage, arrests seven persons against twenty-nine taken into custody by tho Parisian. Offenders also cost tho State (including those arrested for drunk-ness and trivial misdemeanours) at the rate of—in

London—thirteen pounds par man, and iv I'aris, five, every year. A Portuguese gentleman thus told an unecdoto ye.-terday at the Uulety bar : "A physician, of ago eighty years, had en joyoil of a heulth unalterable. Theirs Jriends did him of its compliments every <lay. '.Mister Doctor,' say they to him, • you are an admirable man I What you make then for you to bear you as well?' ' 1 .hall tell you it, gentlemen,' he was answered them, * and I exhort you, in samo

lima, at to follow my example, 1 livo of tlio product of my ordering without, take any remedy who I command to my sicks.' " Burglars! ethics aie puzzling. One such was captured red-handed in Pall Mall, and Htruggled for a long timo violently, but afterwards said, "I will act like a man,' nud went quietly. Are little burglars taught by their parents that it is unmanly to resist a police officer '! Or does the want of manliness only come in when the con stable proves himself the strongest, and the burglar—if he was not manly—might get hurt? Here is a curious instance oF a hog living a month on its own fat. After having been shut up in a haystack for thirty-three days, where it was accidentally imprisoned by an Ohio farmer, a hog survived, and worked its way ouc on the opposite eido of the stack to that which it enterod, but 181b. lighter. But, after all, this is only whafc hears do in the winter all the world over. In Cashmere, for instancd, a bear goes to sleep in November "as fat an butter," to ylcop in the cave until next April, when ho conies forth a skeleton in a shagcy fur. There is a little fact from a scientific journal that tho sooner our Admiralty soo to tho better: "The electric light when used for searching purposes is subject to tho drawback that in misty weather its rays fail to penetrate the atmosphere so well as ordinary oil or gaslights. Magiio sium light is not open to tho same objec tion, and is likely to bo used for search pur poses in preference to tho arc light as at present supplied." Nothing is harder than to "spot" a grey-coloured torpedo launch, advancing with noiseless engines at some twenty knots rate, even ill clew weather.

There has boon considerable talk lately in medical circles in Now York over an alleged successful experiment in the way of a cure for cow>umptioii, which has taken tlie form ot transfusion of blood. Into t!ie veins of a young mail far advanced in the direaso wore transferred four ounces of blood from tho arteries of a healthy youn<> man. Tho action of tho patient's heart was quickened, he rapidly began to jraira Bosh, and his appetite toturned. Another transfusion was made: at the end of throe weeks, followed by a third, with very satis, factory rosult?. The oouipleto recovery of the consumptive patient in now confidently otnactod.

I M. de Losses had a forerunner in mmvo than move- iheory in tho Great Napeloon. In alc-tfjo^ to the Emporor Alexander of liiusia, ho suys: "Tho Suez Canal, which when completed, will connect the ■Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean, is already traced ; it is a work thai, could easily ho accomplished within a short time." Stmnire destiny of fato that .that canal should bo constructed under tho auspices of Napo loon's nephew and be opened by his nop how-iJ vyife as Empress of the Frenc 1, Stranger still, perhaps, that tho control of jhat canal should pass to pertidioug ail( J hated Albion. The American Presidential campaign has been fought out with personalities we are told, to a degreo undreamt*! of before Here is a picture of Mr Hlaine, acrmrdW to the "New York Tribune." MrßlnihVs skin is almost as whitu as an epj.' perhnns with a touch of pink in it, but the healthy white reminded rae of a new-laid ess His oyes are still of a rich reddish-black colour hko Delawaro grapes or dark currants. II i.v Roman nope.is tko military featuro of his {ace; the brew of the man is placid nmS line and1 comely, tho lower faoimoro flexible- I A lady who had refuwrt to be pliofo- ■ grephea, with a iletermiiwtion thnft balled the endcavcurn of tho Now Yoit photoKraphers, wns spending a few days for tho purpose of bathiagat San Francwco A photographer followed her there with his apparatus, put if M n bathing-machine, and obtainod hes- portrait as she emerce/j from the waves. This was sent to her with an inti.nacion that ten thousand of the same v,«ild bo offered for sale tho fcdlowinc df,y wiless shoconßontod to allow herself to to photographed in more bocomim/ attire- She was oblifrod to consent. Professor Barker recently lectnred at Brighton on " Whom Not to Marry " In his advice to tho young ] miy par( r "^ h ' audience he earnestly counselled them nr-f to enter into matrimonial relations with men who wore smokers or who Indulged in alcoholic linnore, Tl, c Professor'sTvio«," did not find favour with his audience W manifestations of di.*rtpproval wore' in,,,.' »«1 freqnont. Hupbands are already ,le deplorably scarce, and if all men «re to !<■> tabooed who are not teetotallers or anli tobnecomsta, the number of ff j,.] s ~.,„_ demned to wither on their vireia sHli'->-" and to walk up and down the Kino's-He-i * in raniden me-Htafion, will iaarease 'to >'■ positively frightful extent.™" Truth " In a popular Birmin^iam wine-reom i> placed a very sensihb notice, whfch bm» forth that eontiem.M who wish towcar or indulge in bad kjnpuago, to tl-, 0 siinoyarfce ofnipNbiU».eutoDMr, !Ha requited Z be übd. to he shown to an apartme't specially provided for rhj. ma of blamlc mmmly clisposs,] mdi-Sid,mh. Should m% offender be boW enough to inquire his Jl to th.fi sanctum, be is politely conduct^ by a boy in buttons to the front do", •apartment, socially devoted" being In fact the open street. In this CSh <• Kvery one shuts this doo, exc^t you." ""

THE AUCKLAND EVENINH STAR, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1885.

5