THE EDITOR'S DRAWER

Mockt Eden Water Supit.y. W. E. Browne writes : —"lt was with much plea' sure that 1 ready • Mount Kden'a ' letter your editorial remarks upon our water supply hero. I can fully h»*X out your ■correspondent's statement 'respecting the entomological specimens that by theii -suicidal tendencies import their non-esson tial essence to our drinking-watov, also t* the amount of clime that adds to give it i •consistency neithor palatable nor invigora ting. Then, again, in tliia district, oui W.C's. are not W.C's. at all, or evor, ■earth cloeets, but are something so vile as 4o be indescribable. But you will say, why livo aratidst euch discomforts t The '.fact is the neighbourhood is said to be ;3O healtfty, and ' when I tako my walks abroad,' that is, boyond tlio recrfons of our paradise, I find that other fair'.ands have foul surface drains or ditcher. We have the ad vantage of a porous subsoil that hides a multitude of ems, and that goes a great way in fixing us to our Eden. Ido not wish to indulge in a grumble, but only to offer a suggestion. Permit mo to state that lam neither a now nor a stale chum, being in a stato of chrysalis not yet dried up, and havo occupied but one tenoment cinco settling in this land of promise. Like Msrtin Chuzzlewit'e companion in exile, Mark Taploy, I endeavour to make myself happy under any circumsttlnco; so I bear, growl, but forbenr to o'uift. Still I should liko to exist under happier sanitary conditions, and should p'p'for indulging in purer water and wdolesomor eanitnry ar rangements in the unmentionablo. I can not afford to lay out bard cash tliesa dull times on othor property, and I csn hardiy espoct my landlord to drain Ms coffers to filter my water supply. So to return to my proposition, I would suggest that our Local or .District Board should be induced to loan out to thoso willing to hiro such articles cheap but efficient tank filters and docont W.C. apparatuses, upon the same principle as Gas and Water Com panies in tho Old Country supply meters on ihiro. Thoso would still bo useful when tho proper water supply and drainage is com pleted, or if not so needed might <io duty in eomo less favourod district. I trust that 3howere of blessings may return on your own and your correspondent's honds Cor moving in this mattor." The Prksrytekun AsSJTMBUY and Tkm iterance.—" Libertas " -writes as follows : - " It is with surprise I notice that no refer ence is made to tho Hquor traffic in the address of the recently-elected Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. Your readers will doubtless remember that this questiOD waa likewise left untouched in the speech of the retiring President of the Wesloya-,, Church Conference. Both are, how v-ov, very decided in their attack ® gambling, and the key-note is struck k'y tho Rev. G. B, Monro when he says that the system of raffling, so frequently adopted at church bazaare, is of the same principle as other species of gambling, and as such ought to bo strongly discounten anced by Christians. But whilo tho ovils of gambling are undoubtedly great, will anyone aver that they aro more so than those -of intemperance" It ia now ad mitted by tho most roliablo authorities in the United Kingdom aud in the colonies that a very largo percontago of crime is due to ' drink.' Many of the eminent English justices havo publicly paid that wore it not for tho liquor traffic their work -would bo grea'ly decreased. Wo have only to look at tho ■daily papers to obtain an idea of the dreadful scourge ' drink 'is to the community, Every day thoro in a record of ' drunks ' and drunken quarrols to be banded down to posterity, and in tho casos of larceny, destitution, otc, intoxicating liquor, if not directly answer able, is yet in fuliy 00 per cent, of them tho indirect demoralising agent. Almost all the capitalcrimesresultfroin intompcranco. Would Caffrey bavo shot Taylor if he had not Best fired his blood with spirits, or if he had never commenced to drink, for he owns that his firft glass was the beginning of his downward career. A horrible murder and suicide in Auetralia ■the other day woro brought about by a man, previously well disposed, allowing brandy to get possession of him. But why dwell -further on this point when it ia patent to -nil who give the matter their careful con sideration, that 'drink' is tho principal stoker to tho gaol and the gallows ? While there aro many who gamble in a cool and methodical manner, yet for the moat part gambling is associated with drinking. It Iβ while tho players are under the excite ment of liquor that large stakes pass hands at the card table. The billiord room would be a very tame affiir were it not for the etimulus given it by intoxicante. Tho Racing Clubs will make huge profits out of the totalizator as long as the pub lican's booth is adjacent to their machine. It is my conviction that without ' drink ' and the consequent excitement and demor alisation which it producoa in its patrons, gambling would be lessened to a very great extent. In tho above I have merely touched upon the subject. Much in addition could be adduced to prove that intoxicating liquor iaa mighty powerfor evil, and that it is largely responsible for the gambling propensities of the present age. If the churcbea would taiie up the temperance crusade with more aaal than they havo hitherto displayed, the progress of the cause in the future would be oven more rapid than it has been in tho past. The day will not then be far distant when the groat British Empire, always in the van of enterprise and civilisation, will show to the nations around that ehe can flourieh without tho aid of Bacchus."

Remarkable Suicide of A Surgeon.

A remarkable suicide has recently been committed in St. Petersburg. A short time ago a woman, aged twenty-three, caire to consult Dr Botkine, who found that Bhe was Buffering from tuberculous ulcer. An operation being deemed necessary, Dr Botkine sent her to M. Kolominne, a sur geon of considerable repute. He adminis tered to her a slight dose of Balipo acid of cocaine, and finding this did not take effect he increased the dose, and performed the operation with complete success : but a few hours aftorwards he received a message to aay that his patient seemed to bo dying, and he found upon hurrying to her that judging by the feebleness of the pulse and bluish appearance of the face, she was suffering from the effects of poison. All the efforts made to save her were of no effect, and she died the same evening. M. Kolominne was so overcome that he denounced himsolf as her murderer, though all his colleagues assured him that he was in no way to blame. But he would uot listen to thorn, and a few days after wards ho blew hie brains out, leaving a note, in which he said —"I muse have been the victim of some temporary aberralion, and thia has caußcd the catastrophe which drivea me to despair. lam not guilty, for my intentions wore good; but I cannot; live."

Shocking Scene at a Dinner Table.

A"Times" Calcutta telegram says: — Ahor rible attempt at murder ia reported from Dhurmsal. Surgeon-Major Oldham, of tho .Ist Goorkbas, some time ago dismissed a table servant, but on the man's promise to reform took him back. Last Thursday, while Dr. Oldham and his two daughters were at dinner; the servant caught the elder Mis 3 Oldham by the hair, drew her head back, and cut her across the jaws and neck with a carving knife. Another servant waiting at the time ran out of the room, but the youngar daughter attacked tho as3ailant, and managed ro get tho knife from him, her own hand being cut severely. He took another knife and attacked Dr. Oldham, and a scufflo onaued. Eventually the man was secured and handed over to the police, __________

Dr. Bird's Coat

A IiOOD Etory is in circulation, which I havo every reason to believe is true. You will reniembor that in the course of tho trial the fur coat of Dr. Bird became promiuont. A person of intelligence hnd been noting tho fact, and a few d:iya ago a nioeeonger wont to the houso of Dr. Bird to fay that Mr Lewie, the solicitor for Lady Colin, wanted Dr. Bird's fur coat. The coat was delivered by the porter, and you will know the Bequel, Dr. Eird sent word to politely ask whether Mrs Lewis had yet done with the coat. It is worth upwards of £100, and a cer tain anxiety was intelligible. The reply, of course, was that Mr Lewis had not got tho coat, and had never sent for it. The disgust of Mr Lewis was great when ho aaw that there were people still innooent enough to be taken in by a trick so stale. Scotland-yard was communicated with, and in the courae of twenty-four hours it waa found in a 1 pawn-office, 1 pledged for £15.

FRANCE AND GERMANY.

Strbnßtft or tno Respective Armies.

(By H. S. F. PemtsS;),

Under the hearKsfe of " France and Germany" #;& published in your issue of the 9th fast, a 6ub-leader which, in my humble opinion, treats in an able and impartial mannor with tho respective financial and military resources of these two Empires, The different phases of the Franco-Ger man dispute are xatchod with the koenost interest in this colony, and tho sympathies of our {ellow citizens eeem to bo divided between the Gaul and tho Teuton. Our local democrats naturally side with Re publican France, which ropresenta freedom and progress, whilst the Auckland Tories support Germany, the acknowledged chaftl picin of militarism end personal rttle. The saino may bo said of oi»- local piws, for while you admit that tho French oro now better prepared for war thfcn 'in IS7O, and likely to givo a bettor a'ccouht of themselves, your morning contemporary predicts in it iseuo of the 10th inst. that France, with all her preparations, is not 'in a 'position to withstand tho fierco onaot of Germany. In this 'unique effueion, we find a spirit of partisanship and contempt for facts und figures which may bo ovorlookcd in a Gorman patriot, but are unworthy of a sober- mindod and well-informod English journalist. Tho writer gravely averts that " Tho authori ties in Borlta have beon obligod to follow the example thus sot thorn " whon increas ing tho German Army. Now, it ia a histor ical fact that tho civilised world is indebted to Prussia for the " boon " of compulsory military servico. Before tho wars'of lSu'u" and 1870, militarism, a oiitra'iuie, was un known in Europe, (?ormany excopted. Tho defeat of tho Attrtriane at Sadown, and tho subsequent French roverses in IS7O, conel'jstv'oly showed that thoncoforth armios woro to bo numbered by tho million. Acting, thorofore, in selfdofence, tha groat European Towers, and ovnn the smallor onos, incroasod their lighting forces and adopted the Gorman oo'.rtpuleory military system. As Contention of an alli ance between tho German Clericals and Socialists, H only exists in the erratic brain of th-3 writer, for tho " Horald " states that the Socialists abstained from vo'.ing. The opposition of tho Centre against Bismarck's schomo must be attributed to the inability of tho Gorman nation to meet an increased taxation. Tho verdant simplicity of Germany's Kelt-constituted champion becomes uniquo wheil he asaerts that Yon Moltke has secured German freedom and unity. 1 wonder how many free-bom "wotjld lamely aubmit to tho " mauhlongesetz " (muzzling law), a decree whfch suppresses freedom of meet ing and speech. As for " unity," that ie another high-sounding but empty word. Leaving alone- Hanover, Wurtemberg.and other German States, I shall only men tion Aleaco and Lorraino. These two " Gorman provinces," to quoto Yon Moltke'e cwn words, for nearly sevonty years have been under the paternal rule of tho Kaiser, and during that lapse of time tha candidatoa of " lo parti do la protestation '' havo invariably beafon thoir German oppo nents at each successive Legislative election, whilst thb number of annual rlofanltors has increased to such an'alarming extent in theso truly "Froncb provinces "that recently tho German authorities hu%'o resorted to tho extreme moasuro of inflicting heavy fines on the parents or guardians of defaulting con scripts. No comparison is possible between the military strength of Franco in IS7O and fchatof the present day In due justice to Bis marck and Yon Moltke it must bo eaid that, they are fully alive to tho fact, that in tho coming struggle Franco and Gormany will meet on equal tonne. Indeed, Bismarck's conviction that France is "in a position to withstand the fiorce onsot of Germany " is «o strong that ho has made tho most stronu ous efforts to secure the alliance of Austria, Italy, Spain, and even Belgium, to prevent "General Boulaoger from playing a Fabian ;ame." Those critics who impartially re view the events of tho late Franco-Gorman war admit that tho value of the Gorman troops haa been exaggerated, and that of tho French troops underrated. Napoleon IH. committed n great blunder in taking the initiative of declaring wnr, inasmuch as France, being tha aggrossor, lost the sympa thies of the civilised world. To meet tho formidable German host he had no more than 300,000 men at his disposal. His artillery was composed of muzzloloading guns ; that of his adversaries of breech loaders. Furthermore, the Emperor divided his, comparatively speaking, small force into two nrmios, one commanded by MacMahon, the other by Bazaine. Marshal MacMabon's army was again subdivided into several smaller ones under Generals Douai, Frois sard, and Dβ Failly, each General acting separately, and thereby falling an easy prey to tho immense numerical superiority of the Germans. From tho very outeot of thocamrjaign the French wore outnumbered, and soon becamo awaro that thoir arsenals wore empty. After the capitulations of Sedan and iletz, Franco was without a standing army, and almost without generals. At Gambetta's voice now armies were impro vised, i General Faidherbo, with hie email army, chiefly composed of raw recruits, hold the Germans in check in the North of France, while Garibaldi and his volun teers beat the Teutons at Dijons and else where. The matchless strategy of Yon Moltke failed in taking tha little and badly fortified town of Bolfort, where a few soldiers of the line and National Guards, under Colonel Deufert, for many months withstood the attacks of a large army. The French tricolour was still flying on the walls of Belfort after tho conclusion of the armistice, and this stronghold was only evacuated od the order of the French Government. Colonel Deufert and his little army left it with the honours of war. Want of space precludes me from referring to the exploits of Chanzy and the army of the Loire, as well as to tho protracted siege of Paris. I shall conclude by stating that when the German conditions of peace were under discussion at the Assembly of Bordeaux, Generals Gari baldi, Chanzy, Faidherbe, and other distinguished officers strongly advocated the carrying on of tho war behind the lines of the Loire. They pointed out that whilst the resources of Franco were still great, destitution was widespread in Germany, where- all tho bread-winners had been drafted into the army, thus leaving their wives and children to be maiLtained on starving rations by tho Government. No thing would prove more easy than to pro duce facta and figures to show that the gigantic military organisation of Germany if altogether out of proportion to her limited financial resources, and that these cannot stand tho test of a protracted struggle. We have it on the authority of the " Herald " that the available French fighting forces amount to over four milliooe of combatants, whose armament is at least equal, if not superior, to that of the Germans. Besides, competent military critics admit that the new Fr6nch frontier is fortified in the moet scientific and formidable manner. Therefore I may be permitted to express my opinion that those who prodict for Franco a repetition of tho events of 1870 are eithor utterly ignorant oi thesubjocb tboy treat, or display tho blindest partisanship.

The "Yankee."

Thekb aro comparatively few people who know the origin or meaning of the term " Yankee," by which wo are accustomed more or less affectionately to designate our Amorican coubids born in the United States, lv view of the approaching Amorican Ex hibition of the Arts, Inventions, Manufac tures, and Producta ot the United States to bo held next year at Earle's Court, Kensing ton, and which has already been nicknamed in aome quarters "The Yankeriee," it may be of interest to readers to know what the word meaas. When the Pilgrim Fathers landed on Plymouth Rock the friendly Indiai asked of what people they were, to which query they replied, "English." But the red man could not twist his tongue around that word, and " Yengeese" was a? near as he could got to it. It waa but a very short time, and by a natural and easy transition, before "Yankees," The uee of thia word also is peculiar. The people of tho Southern States call all northerners, both east and west, " Yankees,1' as will bo remembered by those familiar with tho great Civil War. Tho pecple of tbo western S rates call only those living in tho eastern States, or eaßt of tho Hudson Eiver, " Yankoes," and theee are the only people who acknowledge the name, and always so describe themselves, On the other hand, all the English coloniata and the people of Great Britain invariably call all citizens of the United States "Yankees," and when abroad they cheer fully nncept, and are generally proud of, the title, which, as we have seen, means and is only a corruption of the word.

"London and Elsewhere."

By Thomas Purnell,

Empty London. Anecdotes touching the doings of the lato great fiea-serpent have not yot been cir culated ; but another joke, uaually expected at the tame season of tho year, ia in full currency. It ia already affirmed that Lon don is-empty. It is pretonded that the cities, liberties, precincts, boroughs, and townships which constitute tho metro polis, and contain at this moment over four million souls, are without inhabitants. The fiction was, doubtless, invented by men who hold, like a well-known wit hold, that London U bounded on the South by P«tl Mall, oh the North by Piccadilly, on tho EoSfc by tho Haymarket, and on the .VVeSt by St. James's Stroet. The grim Joke is directed against those who are un able to take holiday out of town at this time of year, and so koenly is the jest felt, that many families and indi viduals protond to bo nway while they are still at home. Of tho remaining community there are, of course, vast num bers would who gladly leave London for the furthermost onds of the earth, had they the moans and opportunity. But there are alao vast numbers with both means and oppor tunity who have no desire to go beyond tho bounds of tho metropolis. With them London is itself a holiday which never satiates. They look upon London as tho best place in summer and tho only place in winter. From choice they romain hero all the year round. Theeo are tho genuine Cocknoys. Famous Cocknoys. Tho form Cockney is often applied con tomptuoualy to one who ia London-born. But tho object of tho satire may consolo himcelf with tho reflection that some of the mast illustrious personages that h'guro in our history wore also Cocknoys. Lord Bacon, Sir Thomas More, Loid Chatham, Horaco Walpolo, Charles Jamee Fox, Chaucer, Spenser, Ben Jonson, Milton, Cowloy ( son of a grocer in Fleet Streot), Popo(sonofalincndraporinLoii)bardStrci6t), poots, historians, novelists, musicians, tlray (son of a linon-drapor in Cornhill), Daniel Defoe (son of a butoher in St. (jiles's, Cripplegato), and Lord Byron, are some few of the many immortals who first saw tho light in London. Thors again, there are the illustrious doad occupying its soil. At Westminster, for instance, the man who remains in town against his will, equally with him who stays from choice, may, in a sense, bo said to havo Edward the Confessor for a companion. This spot of earth, with its Kings and Queens, statesmen, divines, artiets, and philosophers—our English Campo Santo—holds moro famous men than any other on tho globe. Here every sort of hero-worahipper has a shrine. But the Abbey is not a monopolist of the illustrious dead. Far and noar in Cockayne 'here are fanes which contain all that remains of some Englishmen whoao name posterity has not let die. Near by tho Abbey, in St. Margaret's, lios Sir Waltor Kaleigh ; (!ower,tho poet, is in St. Saviour's, Southwark ; Kit Marlowe found a grave in Doptford Old Church ; Bunyan and Defoe aro in Bunhill Fields ; Sterne was placed in Bayawator burial ground, whenco, it is eaid, tho body waa stolen for dissecting purposes. Hero, too, Picton was laid till a place for him was lound alongside of Xolson and Wellington in SI. Paul's. Flotcher, eopnrale in doath from Beaumont,—who is n tho Abboy — lies in St. Saviour's, South wark. Goldsmith is in tho ground of tho Templo Church.

Tho Slghta of tho Tower.

Wo passed up tho winding stairs, at the foot of which the bones of the "murdered princes " wero found, and saw thousands of rifloa ; then we examined tho series of suits of armour "assigned, for the sake of chronology," to some king or knight, but " none aro known to have been worn by the persons to whom thoy are assigned, except in a very few instancoa." The instrumonta of torture -thumbikins, or thumbscrews, the iron collar of torment, "taken from tho Spaniard in 1558," tho cloak on which Gonoral Wolfe died bofore Quebec, tho

" cravat," an iron instrumentforconfining at once tho head, hands, and feet—wore all exhibited and explained to us, and 1 felt the axo and laid my neck on tho block. In thin building ono feels oneself in the Towor, and

would not be surprised to hear " OIT with a head or two !" Wo did not linger. All I heard of the equestrian figures in armour, the rifles, the Oriental arms, the interesting remains of early gunnery, was put out of ray head by the remark of tho warder in preeenco of somo French holuieta exhibited. Tho younir Prince Imporial of France had a short timo bofore been taken around as wo wero, and upon reaching these helmets, which wore cuptured at Waterloo, ex hibited deep emotion to his suite, upon which the warder, with pardonable pre varication, described them as acquired in tho East Indies. "I could not toll him, sir, thoy wero taken from tbo enoiny," ho said, as wo turned to leave.

Famous London Streets.

A glance at the history of London in the handbooks will show that, wore wo to mark each house wherein eminent persons have

lived, tho numbor of tablets would have to be greater than might at first be supposed. Fleet-street and Cheap'ido would havo a goodly number. Keats wrote Ma eonnot on Chapman's "Homer" in the second floor of No. 71 Cheapsido; Sir Thomas More was born in Milk-stroet, and Milton in Bread-street, Choapsido; Dr. Johnson completed his dictionary in the garret cf No. 17 Gough Square, Fleet-street, and died at No. 8 Bolt Court. Goldsmith, who

lived for pome timo in Wine Office Court, died at 2 Brick Court Temple. Locko dates the dedication of his " Essay

on the Human Uuderstandiog" from Doreot Court. If wa go West or East of Temple Bar we shall find mementoes of de parted greatness crowding before us. Peter the Great lived on tho site of the last house on the West side of Buckingham Street, Strand ; in Hartshorne .Lane, just by, Ben Jnnson first saw the light. Further on, in •24 Arlington Street, Piccadily, Horaco Walpole was born. Were the practice ob served, to which allusion has been made, a Blab would have to be let into Cavendish Squaro, as tho birthplaco of Byron Another would havo to be placod on Wo. 42 Gerrard Street, Soho, to mark it as the death-place of John Dryden. In No. 25 of tho same street Edmund Burke lived for somo timo. Sterne died at 41 Old Bond Street. Durine the struggle for Catholic Emancipation Daniel O'Co"nnell stayed in 29 Bury Street; in 27 of tho same street Tom Mooro resided ; and in 37 tho poet Crabbe. Gibbon com posed his defence of tho " Decline and Fall " at No. 7 Manchester Street; Byron,

who spent his short married life at 139 Piccadilly, wrote his "Lara" in the room of the Albany 2a, facing Saville Row. Sir Isaac Newton made several interesting dis coveries at his residence in St. Martin Street, LciceGtor Squaro, where his ob servatory was till lately to bo seen at the top of tbo boueo. This square is noted also for haviog boon the residence of Sir Joshua Reynolds on the Weat side, and ot Hogarth on the East.

Perils of Ilanßom Cabs.

I never could agree with my Lord Beaconßfield'a description of our hansom cab as the gondola of London. In ono point there is the greatest difference con ceivable between thorn. Accidents do not happen to gondolas, while tho traveller in a hansom ie liable to more perils than could befall any skiff, pinnace, wherry, outrig ger, coracle, felucca, junk, or cock-boat that ever glided into the water. Street acci dents in London are more numerous than casualties at sea. I regularly study the returns, then tabulate them, giving especial attention to the destruction caused by hansom cabs. Thuß I allot a column re spectively to accidents occasioned by drop ping of a wheel, by the fracture of an axle, by collision with another vehicle, by fright ot a horse, and by the fare dropping out. In thia way I arrive, by the doctrine of probabilities, at an accurate notion of tho degree and kind of danger to which, as an habitual rider io a hansom cab, I am liable. Nobody must suppose that, knowing the peril, I brave it lightly. lam never happy in a hansom cab. . In tho day-time, and by eelecting a quiet horse with a steady driver, I lea-en my nervousness. But the thought that an accident may be occasioned by the restive horee or unsteady driver of another vehicle doea not inspire me with confidence. At night one does not get the opportunity of choosing. With a flare of the lamp in his own face, a man jumps into a cab without seeing the face of bis pilot. So far as be knows, it might be the ghost of Jehu or Mephisto himself that he has hired. Not even that remote sort of relationship between two men who have looked into each other's eves exists be tween him and the muffled figure in whose hands are the reins and—the life of his pasaenger.

. A rich man one day asked a man of wit what sort of a thing opulence was. "It is a thing," replied the philosopher, " which can pive a rascal the advantage over an honest man."

ATHLETIC FEATS EXPLAINED

Tho Champion Ford on the Sporting Uso of AXusole.

" Theke is nothing more fascinating in the whole round of athletic sports than com peting in contests for general excellence."

j Tho speaker was Mr M. W. Ford, who time his superiority over tho bast athletes of tho country. All-round athletic ability is really rare. Men are uaually prominent in some one department, and merely passable or good for nothing in the rest. But Mr Ford .is eminent in nil the exercises required for the championship, and in one at least has beaten the world—in the run ning broad jump. In the recent conteatfor the national amateur championehip^he won six out of the ten events, tiod tho leaders in one, and was second in two. He was not required to onter in tho mile run, as ho was the only ono of tho competitors who had reached the minimum limit in all of the events that precoded it.

"Nature, of course, doterminos," he con tinued, "what men can hope to achieve success in all round events, but after that thero has to be very careful training. Per haps the most important thine to learn is how to measure your force. That is, to bo able to jump just sofai, and jußt so fast, throw just so far. Unless a man knows his capacity thus thoroughly, he is always in danger of ovordoing in somo ono direction, and thorofore injuring his chances in evory othor ovent. When exercising for practice, if he really understands tho art of regulating his force intelligently, ho can do his utmost if ho ploa»os. In that way he will improve; but in a competition with others ho must hold himFolf in chock, and resist the tomptation to work for a record,

Ho must bo content to accomplish just enough and no more to gaiu the roquieito number of points. For instance, in my jumping the other day I knew that I could easily beat my competitors. I also know that many among tho spoctators would like to soo mo equal my best record, mado a short timo ago ; but if I did that 1 might not havo the neodod strength to meet tho men in other exorcises where I was not com paratively ao skilful; so I just jumpod to boat and stopped thero. It was tho only proper way to do."

" Is there a stylo to bo learned in jump ing bb well as in sprinting ?"

" Oh, yea. Tako tho high jump, for instance. You will notice many an amateur do pretty well at this who goos at tho bar eidoways. Wa call it scissors jumping. Thoso who use this stylo argue that by it tho body does not havo to bo lifted co high when ono leg is thrown over tho bar and the other dragged after it. I am not so sure that it is true, but suppose it is, it is certain that those who jump eidoways cannot lift the body so high as thoao who go at the bar straight. You can not put the same force into a side or scissors spring that you can into a straight jump; and, if tho latter mothod is understood a higher bar can bo clearod with the samo force by it than by tho other. Tho knack conpists|in turning properly whilo in tho air. This bus to bo loarn«d by practico. A man should go at tho running hiph jump os if ho meant business, and spring directly towards tha bar. While in tbo air ha must turn about (lireoqimrtoiH way round, co that whon ho lights ho will pnrtly face the bar. In training, a man should not try to do hio utmost ovory day, but go modoratoly, raising tho bar inch by inch from a perfectly easy height to about, his beet, and then stop. Now and thon it will do no harm to put on pressure and see what you aro worth. A groat paint to learn is how to take oft. If v man runs up a foot too noar tho bar before he jumps ho will suffor by it, and tho same will follow if ho does not got noar enough. Thoro is a point for ovory jumper that is just right, and tho trainer should endeavour to ascertain what that ie>, and then practise until ho can tuko off at exactly the right placo. It may bo evon necosaary to measure oil' tha distanco of the run. Some jumpers do thii and lind it a valuable help, and others seem to know instinctively how far to withdraw in order to have tho foot in tho right position whon thoy approach the bar. This point is equally important in tho runningbroad jump ; for in this ovont othor things being equal, the man

Down, who takes oil'at, tho highest ppoed will win, and it ia important to bo able to run as fast as possible and still fool confident that you are goiug to fctriko and take off exactly right. I must confo.-a that 1 cannot, exactly say what it ia that makes ;i man a good jumper, .Many men seen] to bo built with springs in thoir heuis; thoy trip along lightly, and go over tho bar with tho ea.so and graco of a cat. But thoy rarely muko good jumpers tot all that, whon it comes to a quostiou of clearing a higher mark or a longer distanco. (mod juniper* are of all kinds of build, and it may bo that succors in the oxorcieo depsnds upon tho ueo of tha leg muscles that the jumper" thomHelvos do not half nndoretand. Tlio best jumpers certainly must bo good sprin ters, for the force with which ono ap preaches tho t^lio ell' in a broad jump has much to do with the distance covered. As evoryono who has jumped jui-t for the fuu of tho thing must Know, something do pends upon ability to keep the body upright whilo in tho air, so as to avoid a failure at tho end by not landing on and kocping on tho hoels. It doeen't make a man fool very proud and it doosu't count for his record if he clears a big distance and thon sits down on the gronud with his fo?t in front of him A help to keeping the body co upright that when the feet strike the ground the jumper will not fall or sit down, ia to throw tho hands violently back just after leaving the tako off. This has a tendoncy to push the shoulders forward, so that when tho jump is finished tho jumpor will be inclined simply to run forward easily.

" But jumping is not the only thing in the world that a man must do well to pot the championship. The exercise moat like it, perhaps, is polo vaulting. In this, however, tho arms cimo into play in a novel way, and a new kind of skill is re quired. It i« a feat that can be learned much better by experience than by talking about it. One thing to bo learned is to keep the body out as nearly at right angles from the pole as possiblo whilo in tho air. The sensation to a beginner is much like that of learning to swim. You fo 1 timid about lotting your feet get out from under you. The confidence in tho pole and tho situation necessary to successful vaulting comes, of course, only with trials. Then thero is a knacK of turning just as the polo is to be drepped, similar to the turn made in tho running high jump. Most pole jumpers, T think, turn so that thoy ccmo down facing the point from which they started.

"Short distance running, you know, is an art by itself. There is much to be learned for anyone who wants to oxcel in ifc. The point, for a general athlete to consider in to aroid a. strain at tho start. It doesn't do much harm even in a competition in many events to get a little winded from a sharp run, although it is well to avoid even that; but there is a possibility of getting sorious injury at the start, which many athletes never soom to think of at all. It's the most dangerous part of the run."

" In the competitions for tho champion ship, Mr Ford, you had to enter in many events that would seem to present difficul ties to a runner. How about throwing the hammer?"

"Well, that work is naturally best udap ted to a large-built man, but a mm who stands firm on his logs ought still to do some thing at it."

Putting the Ball. Mr Ford doea not weigh much, if any, over 150 pounds, and is not remarkably de veloped in tho upper part of hin body. He has a good Is;;, as tho athletic* say, but unusual luuscloon Ms back and :irrns.

" There i> little to Iks learned about tho

exorcise; a man mu-t just tnko.up tHo hatnmer nud hurl it, and as hu practise* little points will come to him that vvill show him how to improve his style. A good deal depends upon getting tho proper awing. In putting the 56-pound shot success depends almost entirely upon pure muscle. There is no run to give headway, and with 56 pounds of iron in his hand a man cannot ?wing his arm very far or very forcibly. You have to stand behind tho scratch, and the foot nearest to the line has to remain on the

ground from tho beginning of the swing to the time when the weight leaves tho b an( j. "The interest in competing for the all- round championship lies in the variety of work it offers more than in the development of exceptionally strong men. There are very tew who can really excel in more than one branch of athletic work. I do not claim myeelf to beat all comers in anythiDg mora than jumping. I came out first in several events the other day, but that dooen't mean that thera are not men who could give me points on some of them. I can run pretty fast and jump well; in the other things I keep my end up as well as possible. In training I was in the habit toward the end of the season of taking the programme of the committee end going

atraight through it as if I were in a contest. That is about the best way for a man to make himself socure in the knowledge of his strength and learn to guage each exer cise so as not to overdo it.

The programme required of tho con- j testants for the championship included nearly evory branch of work in which amateurs tako delight except walking. In this almost everything depends upon proper training. Eugene Merrill says: — " Each walker usually has his own idea of what is propor in training, For mysolf I vary my work according to the event I am to compote in. If it is to he a three mile walk, I travel different diatancos on different days. First, however, as is tho case, I think, with all kinds of athletos, I get my etoraach in tho right trim, not by starving myself or by wearing ewoators, but by beginning my exorcise gontly and with duo regard to keeping tho bowela open. Supposing my digestivo system ie in good condition, 1 then walk one mile fast for to-day, and to-morrow I make it a mile and a half. If I should not be feeling well I might go only half a mile. I believe in walking fast in practice, but not at full speed. A man should practise spurting at tho end of his walk, so aa to bo prepared to moot hifl antagonist in a race when tho latter puts on tho speed. Ido not go tho full distance in practice It kills interest in tho work. Ithink that steady practico at reason able short distances, at perhaps, throe-quor tors speed, will make a mau strong, endur ing, and fast, and when tho raco day comes ho will find that ho_ is amply prepared to go ovor the wholo distance without worry. Moreover, a man should nevor allow himself to feol while preparing for a race this day's work is a trial. It is demoralising, and only valuable to have trials of speed enough to teach a man to gauge hie powers, so that lie can walk on v watch. Tho arms should huve it free swing. Athletes differ greatly as to tho disposition of the arms while walking, but I look at it as if tho arms wore pendulums. Tho faster you go the faster your arms must swing, and to swing fast naturally tho pendulum must be short. So t swing my arms freely, partly doubled across the chest. I believe in swinging the arms well back; it opposite hip to bo thrown forward, thus lengthening tho stride." Thoro uro walkors who disagreo radically with Merrill aa to tho use of tho arms. Frank Murray, for instance, boliovos in a kind of stilt arm motion, and whon ho spurts hie arms rise highor in tho air, till at times they seem to bo over his head. The stilt' arm motion is acquired by holding tho arms still' at tho elbows, and lotting thorn swing from tho shoulder across the chest. Most athletes are ocloctriu in these matter?, and would advieo tlio amateur or boginnor to try both stylos and chooso tho ono that seemed easiest or most effoctivo to him. " The proof of the pudding is in tho oating."

Compulsory Education is Eng land.

Comri'i.Kouv oducation in Croat Britain moots with many drawbacks, owing mainly to tho oxtrcrao povorty of tho parents of tho children. A woman was recontly sum monod boforo tho magistrate at Southwark, and was lined 2s for not souding her ton yoar old daufchtor to school, and in defenco hlio pleaded that eho was ao poor that riho could not proeuro a pair of clioch for tho girl, and how was it thon possible for liar to pay the line? In another case the mothor Klfitod that she did not Mend hor children! (o school be euueo she had no breakfast to give them, and, to her mind, it would bo adding to thoir misery iv making them loam their lessons on an ompty stomach. Tho mothor, liko a great many others of hor clans, was too proud to disclose her abject want, and was oven unwilling to accopt charitable assistance A Bimplo remedy has been found for such casos iv tho formation of soup kitchens connocted with the schools iv tho poor neighbourhoods of tho largo citica, whoro a good, wholesome moal is furnished almost at a nominal sum. Thus at Birmingham ono kind only of coup is mado, and if tho dinner ia rejectod by many children it is givon up or some alter aliju U mado in tho rocipo. Tho popular ity of ovory dish is thus thoroughly tested, and tho rc?ult ia a completo surprise, ■is tho choapost forms of food «ro found to bo mont popular among tho childton. If thoir tasto could bo consulted, it would bo found that thoy would profer pea or lentil soup ovory day, as thoy caro not a jot for variety. It must, howevor, bo remembered that tho caro with which theso Foups aro rauio, tlio experiments that havo boon tried aa to tho best, proportions of tho ingrodionta aud tho manuorof nooliing, result iuproduc ing a form of food moro palatablo to children than any soups prepared in a first-clasi hotol Aftor ropoatod oxpeiimonts, the quantity of food sold for a half-ponny (1 cout) has bcon incroaaod to throo quarters of a pint of oxcellent mid nutritious soup, together with two rounds of broad, woigu iug about v quarter of a pound, ono of which slices is eproad with jam. According t<> Count Runford'a idoas, and ho is a practical authority on such questions, this meal should bu muro than onough for au adult Acting on this idea, it has been found advi»ablo to admit two small chil dron for ono halfpenny to shoro tlio meal botwoon thorn, and now sometimes only a farthing is taken for half a portion It is goucrally admittod that this method ia far superior to that whoro financial aid h givon through voluntary contributions. It teaches the children habita of thrift and solf-relianco, and it is expected that with further experi ment? dinners will soon bo furnichod to tho children as L'Ood, as abundant, and as healthful ag thoso originally providod in the schools for 1 penny.

Diamonds at the Opera.

Evkry grand opora night at the Metro politan Upora Houso it is a question which is the better worth eoeing-tho spectacle on the f-tugo, or the sceno iv the hou-e itself. Fashionablo society there trans fmms a thoatro into a groat reception-room. Wealth displays itsolf in cushioned, padded and silk-lined boxos as casket jewels are shown in tho stores. Beauty disports it self as flowers flaunt their colours iv gardon plots and va?os. Sumobodv has figured up that tlio sum of 1,900,000,000d01. is possscaed by themenwho own tho grand tior of privato boxes in the thoatro, and somebody eleo of tho same inclination ostimated that in tho two rows of boxes last VVedno=duy night 1.000.000d01. worth of jewels wasdisplayod by The ladies. That seotna impossible until you como to think how easily a few thousand and tens of thousands multiplied again and again scattered hero, there, and ovorywhero foot up a million. A I,ooodol. diamond dooa not sag the lobe of a matron's ear. A 15,000d01. necklace only shods a tiny throad of light upon a lady's nock —and thsso aro common possessions in this opera-houso. They are as common as gilt pina among tho couutor girls in Sixth Avenuo.

The Most Marvellous Story in the World.

Latkly Bomo gentlemen wcro dining to gother and relating their travelling ad ventures, wlion one of them deult co much in the marvollous that it induced another to give him a lesson. " I was once, sir," said he, " engaged in a Bkirmishing party in America. I ad vanced too far, was separated from my friends, and saw three Indiana in pursuit of me; the horrora of the tomahawk in the hauda of angry savages took possession of my mind. I considered for a moment what was to be done. Most of ua love life, and mine was both precious and use ful to my family. I was swift of foot, and fear added to my epced. After looking back—for the country was an open one—l at length perceived that one of ~-y enomies had outrun the others, and the well-known saying, "Divido and conquer," occurring to me, I slackened my speed and allowed him to come up. We engaged In mutual fury. 1 hope none hore (bowing to hia auditors) will doubt tho result. In a fow minutes he lav a corpse at my feet. In this short space of time the two Indians had advanced upon me, so I took again to my heols with the hopß of reaching a neighbour ing wood, where I know ilwelt a tribe friendly to the English. This hope, how ever, 1 was forced to give up ; for, on look ing back, I saw one of my pursuers far belore the other. I waited for him, rocover-

iDgmyalmostoxh'juated breat,hand soon this Indian shared the fate of the first. I had now only one'onemy to deal with, but t felt fatigued, and being near the wood, I was more doairoua to pave my own life than to destroy another of my fellow creature 3. I plainly conceived smoko curling up among the troe3. I redoubled my speed. 1 prayed to Heaven. I felt assured my prayers be granted; but at thi3 moment the yell of the Indian's voice sounded in my ears. I oven thousht I felt his wara£breiith; but there was no choice, I turned round " Here tho gentleman who had related the previous wonderful story grew impatient past all endurance, and cried out: --" Well, sir ! and you killed him also ? "Wo sir; he killed me !"

"How to be Happy, Though Married."

Married or Single.

(Eγ a "Graduate in the University \ ov Maikimony.")

Lsi mothora teach their daughters that al though a well-assorted marriage based upon mutual love and esteem may be the happiest calling for a woman, yot that marriage brings its pocular trials a<i well as special joys ; and that it is quite possiblo for a woman to be both useful and happy, al though youth be fled, and the crowning joys of life—wife and motherhood —have pussod her by or been voluntarily surren dered But the fact that celibacy has many con-

eolations need not provent the conclusion that as a rule married life is to be pre ferred. " Joanie," said an old Caineronian to hia daughter, who was asking his permission to marry—" It's a very solemn thing to get

" I ken that, father," Baid tho sensible lasaio, "but it's a groat deal aolomner to be single."

Koal Happiness,

Tho husband and wife who never try to eovve God will not bo likely to servo each othor or to gain much real happiness from their marriage.

Tho followirig ia rnlatod in tho memoirs of Mary Somorvillo. When a girl, she and hei brother had coaxed thoir timid mothor to accompany thorn for a fail. Tho day wut sunny, but a stiff breeze waa blowing, and presently Hie boat began to toss and roll. " tioorge," Mrs Fairfax called to the man in charge, " this ia an awful storm ! I fear we are in great danger ; mind how you stoer : remember I trust in you !" Ho replied, " Dinna trust in mo, leddy ; trust in God Almighty." In terror the lady ex claimed, "Dear me, is it como to that?" To thai it ought to como on the day of marriage quite as much as on tho day of death. It is not only in timos of danger and distress that we want God'e presence, but in tho timo of our wellbsing, when £.11 goes merry as >i marriage bell. Live away from Him, and the happiness you enjoy to day may become your misery to-morrow. Tho Honeymoon. In reference to the honeymoon, as to other mattors, poopln's opinions differ ac cording to thoir temporaments and circum stances. So we shall quoto two nearly opposite opinions, and ask our readers to decide for themselves.

In the "Memoir of Daniel Macmillan " hia opinion is thus stated :—" That going useful invention ; it enablos you to bo co constantly together, and to obtain a deeper knowledge of oach other; and it also helps ono to see and foel the preciouanesa of such intimacy as nothing elso could. Intercourse in tho ptoeence of others never loads b9low the surface, and it is in tho very depths of our being that truo calm, deop and true peace and lovo lie. Nothing so well prepares for tho serious duties of after lifo."

'■ Aa to long honeymoons," soys tho Bishop of Rochester, " mosteenaible people have como utterly to disbelieve in thorn. They aro a forced homage to utterly false ideas ; they aro a waste of money at a moment when every shilling ia wanted for much more pressing objects ; they tiro a luhs of timo, which soon oines to be dreary and woary. Moat uf all, they aro a riak for lovo, which ought not so soon to bo 80 un pleasantly lostod by tho inuvitablo potu lances of a secret ennui. Bix days by ull means, and then, oh 1 happy friends, go straight home. . . . Whenever you

come back, six weeka hence or one, you will havo juat aa much to stand tho fire of a little hard etaring which won't hurt you, and of bright plo'wantnoßtl which need not vox you ; and tho sooner you a**o at horna the soonor you will rind out what married happinoss mcanß." Wordsworth and Dc Qulncoy. A friend was talking to Wordsworth of Do (juincoy'a articles about him. Words worth boggod him to Btop ; ho hadn't read them, and did not wish to ruflle himself üboutlhcm. " Well," said the frk-nd, " I'll toll you on!y one thing he says, and then we'll talk of other things. He says your wifo is too good for you." The old poot'a dim oyo9 limited up, and ho started from hid chair, crying with enthusiasm, " And that's truo ! There ho's right I" his con tompt and disgust vkibly moderating. Many a man whose faith in womankind was weak boforo marriage can a few yoars afterwards cympathieo most fully with this pathotic confossion of the old poet. '• In" or "Wits." ** Bettor to havo a fortune in your wife than with her. "My wifo has mado my for fcuno," said a gontleuian of great posses ions, " by her thrift, prudoncc, and cheer fulness, when I was just beginning." "And mino has bat my fortune," says another gontleman, bitterly, "by useless extravagant, and repining when I was doing well." Tho girl who brings to her hugband a largo dowry may al?o b-ing habits of luxury learned in a rich home. Sho may bo almost' as incapable of under standing straitened circumstances aa waa tho lady of tho Court of Louis XVI., who, on hearing of people starving, exclaimed, " Poor Croatures !No bread to eat! Then lot them eat c.\kes I" A Good Wifo. Milton tells us that a good wife i? " heaven's last, best gift to man ;" but what constitutes a good wifo? Purity of thought and feeling, a generous, cheerful temper, a disposition ready to forgive, patienco, a high S6npe of duty, a cultivated mind, and a natural grace of manner. She i-hould bo able to govern her household with gontlo resolution, and to take aa intelligent intorestinherhu«band'spur=uits. Sheehould have a clour understanding, and "all the firmness that does not exclude delicacy." and " all the softness that doos not imply weakness." "Her beiuty, like tho 'ose it rosembloth, shall retain ita sweetness when its bloom is withered. Her hand eooketh employment; her foot dolighteth not in gidding about. She is clothed with neat ness ; she ia fed with tomperanoe. On her tongue divolletb music; tho sweetness of honey flowoth from hor lip*. Her eye ppcaketh softness and lovo ; but discretion, with a (iceptre, fitteth on her brow. She prosidotb. in tho house, and thero ia peace ; she commandeth with judgmont, and ia obeyed. Sho ariscth in tho morning, Bhe conaidors hor affairs, and appointoth to every one their prop«r business. Tho prudenca of her management is an honour to her husband ; and he heareth her praise with a secret delight. Happy is the man that hath made her his wife : happy is the child that calleth her mother."

Tho married man must havo been blessed with a cago-making wife like this who dofiacd woman as "An oseay on goodness and erace, in ono volume, elegantly bound." Although it may feein a little expensive, ovory man should havo a copy. Xiargo and Small Families. What constitutes a large family? Upon this point thero is much difference of opinion. A poor woman wag complaining one day that blib did not receivo her proper share of charitab'e tlolof. Her noighbour, Mru Hawke, in the noxt Court, came in for everything, and ll got more than ever eho was entitled to; for Mrs Hawke had no family—not to epeak of; only nine." " Only nino ! How many, then, have you?" wag tho natural rejoinder. "Four teen living," she replied. But even fourteen is not euch a very large number when ono is used to it. Some ono is said to havo begun a story of some trifling adventure which had befallen him with tho ivords. "An I was crossing Oxford Btreot the other day with fourteen of my daughtors " —laughter followed, and the narrator never got beyond those introductory words. I do not believe this anocdoto; but, if it. were true, waa" there not something heroic in the contented, matter-of-fact way in which the man spoke of bin belongings? Fourteen of my daughters !" An unpymnatMeing spec tator might have said that anyone with such a following ought to have been crsee ing, not Oxford Street, but the Atlantic

A Strange Bed.

The police at Buda Pesth the other night dispersed an encampment of sixteen per sons who bad boon drivon from their homes by tho cholera and who, having no shelter, had eutablished themselves under canvas noar the Danube. In the course af their researches after othor vagrants the pol'co made the astonishing discovery that thirty persons of both sexes were lying undressed in a dirty but warm stream of water that flowed out of a mill. The water waa shallow, and the poor crea tures had gone into it for warmth.

THE MAN WHO WAS SUS PENDED.

A Tale' of a Lon£ Drop!

It waa just before Christmas, but it did not promise to be a very merry Christmas for poor Fineberry Park.

Ho was a middle-aged man, and clerk to Meßßrs Mincing and Mark, of EC. Twenty odd years ago his father had died intestated, leaving real property of a moderate valuation; and as Finsberry's elder brother, the legal heir, had disappeared in the wilds and could not be found, the property had remained in F.s hands to be hold in reserve until his brother's return. Finsberry had kept every' penny faithfully for twelve yeira, making every effort to find the heir ; after which, strong evidences' pointing to the latter'a death, the proper formalities had been gone through, and Finsberry nad enjoyed the little income from the property until a weeli before our

story. f | But a woek ago his elder brother had suddenly arrived in London. Thus Fina berry had suddenly found himself con fronted by the fact that he was, without notios, to lose three fourths of hia income (a very moderate one to keep a la'ge family on); and just at the same moment he had heard from a friend of a wonderful certainty of making a large fortune by putting a thousand pounds into a Company for Manu facturing New-Laid Eggs out of Cotton Waste, which the friend was just getting up ; so, in his dilomma and desperation, he had' borrowed the thousand pounds from the cash-box of his employer?, fully intend ing to replace it in seven days, by which timo, hia friend had solemnly assured him, a flrßt dividend of fifty per cent, larger than the original capital would be paid. When tho dividend day came,, however, the friend was overwhelmed with grief We causo tho secretary of the now company had absconded with the capital subscribed— seventeen hundred thousand pounds, in forty-five million, three hundred and thirty-throe thousand, three hundred and thirty-three and a third ehareß of ninepence each—in a bag ; and more would hava to be called in at once. ■ Meanwhile Gorper, an innocent, good young man, and Finsberry's fellow-clerk, had been suspected of tho theft and dis missed ; and this preyed upon i. a mind tDNow, the littlo fact of the borrowed thou sand notwithstanding, Finsberry was a good fellow and an honeßt fellow ; so. on the Sunday morning en which our account opons, he had made up hia mind to do hia duty all round, and face the consequences. Thero was no chance of his delinquency in the matter of the cash box being found out, and Gorpor waa more than likely to get penal servitude; but Finsberry had re solved to go to Messrs Mincing and Mark and make a clean breast of it; ho had re solved to ftrape together the little capital ho possessed, and pay that call rather than cheat the company's creditors by turning bankrupt ; he had resolved to go and wel come his brother (who had behaved in tho worst manner towards him in long-past years and was a horribly bad lot), and hand' over hia capital, together witli all the money which romained over from the call; and he had resolved to then return horn* and conduct his wife and children to tho female Bide of the workhouse and retire to the mole side himself. There was a thick brown fog that bunday morning, and, while on the way, Finsborry happened to mistake a parapet for the pavement, and foil down ten feet on to the top of his head. When ho regained consciousness ho telt as though he had no body—no weight — nothing whatever tn the solid way to carry. Ho had started from hia hou?e at 9 a.m. to walk to the residence of Messrs Mincing and Mark, a walk for him (a slow walker) of fully one hour and threequarters._ He had fallen on his head about five minutes pact nine, and when he found himself before his emoloyers' door, his watch indicated nbout five minutes past nine. He decided that it must have stopped, and asked the tima of a policeman. It waa very strange, but poor Fineberry's heart was too full of other matters for that to make a lasting improeeion, or he would also have noticed that tho policeman had turned deadly pale on seeing him. He found Mincing and Mark in the study at Muscovados Villa ; and another strange thing happened. As he entered boto Mincing and Mark elared at him as though ho had been a mad tiger coming in, and turned ghastly pale, and sank into their chairs with drops upon their foreheads. As Finsberry told the tale of hia guiltiness, they pat with straining eyes ; and when he had finished their eyes met, and Mincing murmured to Mark :-»M- Mark, I am not a superstitious man, and always scoffed at these things until now, but, He was a faithful servant to ue all along, and we must nover let tho world know of his one act—now Hia memory shall not be blackened by us." And Mark shuddered and Baid -olemnly, " Amen !" Then Finsberry found himaelf at tho house of his friend Skroul, tho promoter of the Company ; and as he entered his room, tho 6rst object which caught hia eye was a clock on tho mantelpiece ; it indicated fcve minutes pa=t nine. Skroul was bending over papor3 and did not appear to hear him enter, but Skroul moved unensily, shivered, passed his hand across his forehead, turnod towards him aa if drawn in some way, then uttered an awful yell, and fell on his kneea with clasped hands. " Oh, forgive mo, forgive mo!" he gasped; •■ I B ea—l know—l caused it! I drove you to it! Oh, do not come to me, and I swear that your family shall have every farthing back and more! I have not lost the money ; I told you that to swindle you. I invested it for myself and have made a lucky hit with it-quadrupled it in two days I have sold out, and shall realise at once ; and I will write a cheque for the whole four thousand now—now ! See ! it is hero—hero ; and I will send it at once to your poor family. Oh, Bpare me-leave me —do not come to me again 1" iinsberry waa bewildered; but, almost before ho knew it, be was on his way to Mb brother, the heir. His brother was not up yet • as Finaberry entered, he was in the act of replacing the watch in the pocket ovor the pillow. " Only five past nine yot, he was saying to himself, when he broke off and dropped the watch ; his jaw fell, and he gradually eat up in bed stiffly, and as if made of iron ; then he began to jibber wildly, his finger at Then Finsberry found himself at the police station, where a policeman waejusteayingto a nowerjaper reporter, " Fell on his head oft a parapet ; middle-aged man, stoutish. With no front teeth ; brown whiekors and grey hair; little cut on his chin with black sticking-plaster on it, probably done m shaving; dark check tie, tall hat with 'F.P. inßido." _ , The deecription waa that of Frasberry s self Ho passed in, everybody turning pale as he brußhed by ; and there wsb him self Wine on a shutter, and the police surgeon was saying, " Must have been killed instantaneously—concussion of tne brain " Then Finßtierry knew how things stood'; he was a ghost, and he understood With a desperate effort he wrestled with a power that was drawing him home; he felt himself begin to glide, or sad, through all obiects towards that place, but he struggled wildly to prevent himself appear ing to his wife. It was adesperate struggle, for his lightness told severely atramet him, especially as ho had always beea a stoutish man, and was unuEed to the new state of things; but presently he seemed to be getting heavier, heavier, heavier, until he could not move at all; his head acbed fearfully; be opened his eyeß and stared round ; he waa lying on a shutter in a bare room, with handcuffs and sabres on the wall above. . , The surgeon and the station clerk were considerably startled as he walked out, but congratulated him; and he went home somewhat dazed, and went to bed, and waa nursed by Mrs Parker. Within an hour, a cheque for £4,00J ar rived, drawn on the account of Mephis topheles Skroul; and the next day a lawyer arrived with a deed drawn by Finsberry a brother, assigning the whole of hia small property to Finsberry, as some reparation for paat ill-treatment; and with it was a note stating that the assignor would nover be heard of again—and he never was. Finsberry Park paid back the thoußano to Mincing and Mark, and ia not a partner in the firm, and is more than contented and comfortable. The whole story ia strange, and perhaps savours of the romantic, but the explana tion is simple. Why should one wait until one is dead, to have a ghost 1 What right has a temporarily inanimate body to ex pect its spirit to ait by it, twiddling its thumbs, until it (the body) chooses to invite it in again? We don't believe any spirit with any spirit would do it.—" Fun."

An Aged Convict.

A FRiENfy privileged to visit one of Her Majesty's convie't prisons catrie the other day upon ariold'wonian, apparently seventy year's of age, engaged upon some light labour.' He asked who it was, and heard a name thai: has not passed the public lips for nearly a generation. It was Charlotte | vVinsor, the child murderess, whom every body, if they thought of h»r at all, doubt less believed was dead. More than twenty 1 yeare she has dwelt in this living tomb, and seems Ukoly to live for years to come. She was forty-sis, in the prime of life, when sentenced to piinal servitude for life, and is now in her sixty-seventh year, having in last July attained what may »<* called her majority as a convict. She ig Oa doyen of women in panal servitude, oho has had a long interval of monotony after a very bad quarter of a year. It was in March, 1865, that she was arraigned at the Exeter Assizbb on a charge of murder The jury not being able to agree, they were dis charged. Id the following July she was tried again', when the mother of the murdered child confessed all. Charlotte WinGOT was found guilty and sentenced to death. Lord Wenßleydale took up her case, protesting against anyone being tried twice for a capital offonce. Tho caso was long argued before the judges at Westminster, the wretched woman being frequently reprieved pending the decision. It confirmed the conviction f but after the long torture the public would net net the wretched woman hung, and accordingly etw was sentenced to penal servitude for life.

The True Story of Cinderella.

An account of the incident on which the nursery tale of Cinderella i» founded may not prove uninteresting at this tiffie. The story of Cinderella has been variottaly traced to France, It»ly, Arabia, and Egypt, but the Egyptian version, as given by Strabo and .^lian, has probably the best right to be called the original. Some time during the year 670 8.C., it appears that tfre Friucees Rhodope was bathing, and had left her shoes with her other garments on the river1 bank. An eagle happened to be hovering about at the time,- and, attracted by the glitter of the Princess's shoes, swooped down, seized one of them, and, carrying it off to Momphis, dropped it Into the lap of Kipg P'sammetichus, who was holding a court of justice. The king, struck by the small size and general .beauty_ of the ehoo, issued a proclamation requesting the owner, whoever Bhe was, to apply for it. No application boiDg made, messengers ■were despatched, Who in due course came across Rhodope. She was then presented to the king, who ultimately married her. The French version, given by Perrault, lays the scene in humble life. The Italian ver sion, which is still acted at the Florentine carnivals, follows the Egyptian with the substitution of Italian personages.

Swiss Drink monopoly.

Not long since England was reminded that she had accomplished the melancholy feat of having drunk herself out of deficits, if not out of debt. The Swiss people are now called upon to perform a much more won derful feat ? they are to drink themselves sober ! Such, at all evente, seems to be one of the object* proposed in the new law which confers on the State the monopoly of the production of alcohol. The distillers are to produce pure alcohol, and even the potato ia in the lisb of substances not re cognised as wholesome enough for the pur pose. They are to furnish the alcohol at cost price to the State, and to be content with their profits ' from the refuse. The State or the Confedera tion is to supply this alcohol to "the trade." One-fourth of the net; profit of the monopoly ia to be kept by the Federal Treasury ; three-fourths are to go to the treasuries of the cantons, these are no longer to levy indirect taxeß on the trade ; and each canton is to prove to the Federal authority that it has employed "10 per cent, of its annual share of profit in the suppression of the abuse of alcoholic liquors !" According to the estimates of the annual produce of the monopoly, £30,000 a year is to bethuaspeutinmakiDgthe Swiss sober ; but it can only be there to bs Bpent if they first drink enough alcohol to raise four millions a year of revenue.

The Duke of Edinburgh.

It has become a sort of faßhion to ppoak of what more than one—but especially one — journal terms the " utter meanness" of the Duke of Edinburgh. His Ttoyal High ness occupies a position, as a prince! which renders it impossible ior him to make any answer to these scarcely veiled insults, but the best answer is to be found in the opinion of those who come in daily contact with the Duke. Scarcely a night passes but the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Squadron entertains at the PalazzD Antonia in Eoyal style, although he is by no means called upon to do so. Me subscribes to every charity so far as his means allow, and" it ia only a few dayß since he added spontaneously £25 a year to a pension of £50 which He had already granted to the widow of one of the en gineers who had died on board the Alex andra. I could add to this many instances of the unostentatious kindness of heart of the Duke, which, although they may not be advertised to the public at home, are well known in the Navy, and are surely rendering H.R.H. one of the most popular admirals in the service. No one regtetted the giving up of Eastwell Park more than the Duke and Duchess themselves; but a clear saving of £9,000 a year was not a matter which they could afford to ignore, and the Duchess—whose total annual in come is less than £10,000-waß the first to sacrifice her personal comfort to the necessity of the moment.

A Fashionable misfortune.

He had been to the city and went home brimful of news.

"You 'member the Smiths?" he asked his wife, "the Silver Crik Smiths,them as got rich on their grandfeyther's money," Yes, she remembered them. " I seen 'em. They're way up ; live in a gran' honse on a street they call thavnoo. They ride in a double kerriage and bey no end of money." She said ehe s'posed as much. " But, Mandy! you wouldn't want ter change places with her. I see her a minnit an' I didn't hey the heart to speak t1 her." She said she'd like to know why; stuck up thing. "■ " No, she ain't, Mandy ; not now. She bin humbled rite down to the dust. She's as blind as a bat."

Blind ! She guessed not. „ " But ehe is. First she didn't know me —me that's rid down hill and ployed tag with her when she warnt knee-high to a turkey. Then, Mandy, tho' her eyes was wide open she went rite along the streets all dressed up in her fine close, and a little mite of a dog was leading her along. He was tied to a streeng, and ehe had bold t'other end of the streenfr. Now, Mandy, how'd you like to see her ?"

He Won't Go Again.

"Been to the female barber's yet?" asked a Dicky Sam this morning. . "No."

" The touch of that gazelle's hand waa light, delicate, and soothing. When she laid me back in the filmy recesses of that oriental chair and lathered my face with perfumed whipped cream, and rubbed it into my coarse face with her velvety handß, every hair became attuned like the eighings of an asolian harp. Well, I'll admit the razor was a little dull and my face has been a little sore since, but then we must have the thorns with the rose. I shall never forget the great big, dreamy, hazel eyes that drank in the depths of my confiding soul when she reached over and pulled my right shoulder blade up undev my ear and commenced rasping my back. It'« human nature for a?man to want his back scratched, and I said nothing, but sawed wood and gritted my teeth. She waxed my ecant moustache a la Napoleon, and ruffled my eyebrows to make me look gruffy and manly. Then she tatooed me with an occasional spot of bay rum, squirted a couple of squirts of carmine grease in my hair and rubbed my head." " Electric baths ?" "No, sir." .- .*-.,■ : "And then?" " Well, then she powdered me until ! looked like a humpty-dumpty, and in the sweetest voice that ever diluted caramels she said, ' Next!'" Arid then ?' " Well, my boy, I escaped." "Going again?" ;• ■ ■■? ■ '■•■ " Never again." •?, < . --v > .

SELECTED POETRY.

THE CITY AND THE STAR.

I site at my casement window. And ga/ed on the flaring town; . Men rushed here, and men rushed there, j And the B'ters tooked coldly down. 11 sate at my casement window, 'sifeS^S^Vt^^lfio^^^bt, Aid" o ttfain dashed scstaihing W, 0 din or a worM too near m"» 5 0 peace of a liio too far '.'■ Ah In visi-.n I soeni to hear ye. Tnoa city, and ihoU lone star, ! From the oity a roar ascending, It stunned as it hurried by. While fCrtet and wild lauchter Wending; The widow's, the worldlng'a cry. With the passionate bod of sorrow. And the passionate dhriefc for (told: With the flret low wafl of the infant a breath. And the last faint sifth of the old. And the star! Oh. the Btar t What said it ? 1 listened and oaught the chime „.*._* That they sing as they move in their constant groovo,- From begiunir«er to end of time ; Of a law, and a course foreordoro.il; Not freedom, but God a control; \ And nothing they know of the lawless woe, ' Or the weight of a burdened sonl. But as messengers bearing tidings, . They poit on their pathway sure: i With speed never hasting, and fire never wast ' ing, ' For ever serene and pure. Than I turned from my casement window. And * prayed Jor the peace Divine j For the ctty is rife with jars and strife. But the TTW of the star ba mine! i For the good here on earth too short is; dream; yet, oh i it is far away* _^ Q "

A TARANAKI IDYLL.

Dicebam tibi, aatla, acnesci^'^ tltvar

Deal lady* tell me! do, 1 pray. What is the magio art _ By whiob you keep Time's hand away From countenance and heart ? Sly Oupid nnre!y means some Burro, And keeps yon always youne To try some new sod potent cnann By poets yet unsung.

She answered me, " To tt*l the truth I have no oharm nor spell. But if I bHU preserve my yositfe It is because I dwell In Tarar aki. where, you know. Time moves with sluggish pace r Indeed, his course is far too alow '1 o reach a girlish face.

•• And." sho continued, "thus'tis plain Soft sleep allays all strife, \VMIb sea In lookß comes on by pain Anil toll of active life. But wo in Taranaki spend The mont of life in sleep, And for this reason to the ena^ Our youthful loots we keep. _„ . i

THE FUTURE LIFE.

How shaMl know thee in the Bphere which ieepe The disembodied spirits of the dead. When all of tliee that time can wither Bleeps, And periehee among the duet we tread I For I shall feel the eting of ceaseless pain If there I meet thy gentle presence not, Nor hoar the voice I love nor read again ; , , In thy serenest eyes the tender thought., Will not thine own meek heart demand me there—* ■ - ■ ~ That heart whose fondest throbs to me were Kiven? My name on earth was eTer in thy prayer. a nd wilt thou never ntter it in Heaven tlsum In meadows fanned by Heaven's lite-breatbinf wind. ' ■■■■■! ■•• ■ ■ In the resplendence of that glorious sphere. And larger moTeraents of Me unfettered mind. Wilt thou forget the love that joins us here 1 . The lnve that lived through all the etonny past; And meekly with my harsher nature bore, And deeper grew, and tenderer to the last— Shall it expire with life and be no more 1 A happier lot than mine and larger light . ; \ : Await thee there ; for thou hast bowed 4hy. will * r r In cheerful homage to the rule of right. : f And Invest all and renderest good for 111. For me; the sordid cares in whioh I dwell Shrink and consume my heart as heat the And wrath hath left its BOBr-that fire ot hell Haß left its frightful scar upon my sonl. Yet thouuhthou wearttthe glory of the Bky. Wilt thou not keep the same beloved name. The same smooth, thoughtful brow and gentle liovelierin Heaven's sweet climate, yet the same 1 Shalt than sot teach me, in that calmer home, The wisaom that I learned co ill to this—: . The wisuom which is love—tllll become Tby fit companion in that land oi bliss 2 Williau OuLiaw Bryant.

Humorous.

A Promising Wbiteb*—The man who draws up a note. • , ' A genuine lover of Christmas holly-days. —The greengrocer. " My heart is thine," as the cabbage said to the cook. • v P

If a false set o' teeth cost £20, what is the value of a falsetto voice t '■ <*fi

How to Make Money.—Get a situation in the Mint.

Advice to Fant Young Men.—lf you mean to settle, emigrate. ■ Motto for an Auctioneer.—"A sale in sight appears." '•.'■' To Make Writing Impervious to Criti cism.—Write on banknotes. ""'■ •'-'■'•'

Ijovb and a good dinner are said to be the , only two things which change a man's character. . . . : .

" Gently the dews are o'er me stealing," as the man said when he had fivti bills pre sented to him at one time.' . , •'- ;- ■''

A Truthful Answer.—Judge to the plain- !? tiff: Who was present when the defendant' ■■: *'v knocked you down ? Plaintiff: I was. Transcendentalism is two holes in a eand- *■ > bank—a storm washes away the sandbank without disturbing the Holes. The Right Word.—A spade is very prO'-s :'; perly called a spade; but a soldier's dinner f6 with greater propriety styled a mess. What Veil-known hymn in a* barber. r->" operating on a baldhended gentleman likely to sing ?—"There willbe hojpart-i" *■ ingthere." ': '•'• "Does it pay to be honest?" asks a Man- ' Chester man. : The Manchester man might try it a while and' see.' Nothing ventured!' ' nothing gained. v ' ; . • ' ' y: A true picture of despair is a pig reach- '■'■"', ' ing through a hole in the, fence to get a •' cabbage that is only a f»w Inches beyond * his reach. A young writer wishes us ,to publish Ms »« contributions to "encourage"-him. We' cannot afford to encourage one writer at the expense of discouraging many thousand roadors. '': '• --'•' (.- •'■ "':»^t»

"Mrs Grimes, lend me your tub."- "Can't do it—all the hoops are off—it's full of suds; besides, I never had one—l washes in a barrel.'1 . !

A person bored by a squinting man, who persisted in asking questions about Wβ broken leg, replied emphatically, " It's quite crooked—ac you see." ■ Row to Advance in this World.—Let ' your advances be like those of a pawnbroker, ' who never makes a eingle advance unless he is quite sure that "it is the ticket." It is a very common thing to abuse law-* r yers. Brieflese lawyers, however, should beexcepted. It would he wrong to epoake 111 of v man " without a cause." A lazy follow once declared in public com pany that ho could not find bread for his family; "Nor I," replied an industrious mechanic; "I am obliged to work for It. , <' You've destroyed my peace of mindj" said a despondent lover to a truant lues. "It can't do you much harm, John, for it ' was an amazing small piece you had, any way." ; A zealous antiquary, looking for Dryden's house in Fetter-lane, the other day, made some inquiry of the policeman. "Dryden, sir," said the latter, "Dryden? Iβ he a man a little backward in his rent ?" " Doctor," said a despairing patient to his physician, "lam in a dreadful state; I can neither lay nor set. What shall I ' do?" "Why, then," teplied the doctor, ■■' very gravely, "I think you had better— roost."

The gradual disappearance of the hand- •'■ organ grinder from our streets is, perhaps, an evidence of the progress of musical taete, • ■'■■■.■ ---which, though unnoticed by bur historians of music, is none the less significant. " JimJ" said the kindhearted coaldesler • to one of bis men, " Jim, make that ton of . '•'■• coals two hundredweight short. It is for that poor delicate widow, and she will ! " have to carry all of it up two flights of stairs. I don't want to overtax her strength." ■ ";■ '■"'■ -.- •'• •"' '■ ' : There is nothing like good advertising. '"_■'■' An undertaker has struck oat an original line in announcing his funerals' in the following terms :—''Why live and' be ; miserable, when you can be buried com- «■-■'" fortably for £3 lps?" <'■?:■■& '. ;■' :\/ : y The following atory is told of the re vepgo taken by a Nantucket ship matter V againßt a United Statea Consul who wf K. ■;- -• very rarely to be found in hia cffic», I'/t.;i",■-r.l' although upon his sign were tha wards, • "in from ten to one." The indignant cap- i-Jv - tain, after trying to find the consul several days without success, took' a paint brush, . and altered the official's sign, so that it ' ,-, read, " ten to one ha ia not in. '.. ..",. ' '■", '"^i, ~\' ■

THE AUCKLAND EVENING STAR, \VEDNESDAt, FEBRUARY 16, 1887

3



A fashion journal says there is a knack in putting on gloves. Come to think of it-, that's so. You have to get your hand in, as it were.



Proseonte tne Swindlers!! If whan you oall for Araerioan Hop Bitters (sec green tvrig of Hops on. the white label and D-r. Soule'B name blown i*> the bottle), the ven flor hands out anything but American Hop Bitters, rot use It and Bhun. that vendor aa you would a viper: and If he has taken your money lor anything else, indlot him lor the fraud and «ue him tor damages lor the awlndl*. iad we wUi.Biy you Übstaiir tat Vk oonYieUec.