THE GARDEN.

py HOBTUS]

Calendar of Garden Operations, September 3rd.

~,.n _ "tT~finswer any- queries. ussbsses £fep PlanM strike a«w branches oftit?eeaboutit. W Watßß lAftffivo for killing or dri v ng gfie to & SA'^gboiild drive the worms out, Ktionsof th s^ouki that y(mp Us fljepresence ol«or f^r haßftSO ur. wet. rc ikfii cal edvery^ o d draln . t*nt^ effi?^ted most, 90 as to t»ko the gSSpS^BXhon tho worms would need togo deeper. Mit BBU3nf^'flowerin* profusely this season, above for flowerra* v j ft done XM p?our p ants in^ney . n ft „, coo flowering, *™ Ren do splendidly next g^SnSSSise to be W> most popular (F G.)-The holly makes a WTf.nce i Panted on suitable soils and a PleDd! mMOCPd It requires a strons.decp, P roperllS drained. It will not. thrive on foamysodwenarmnu goilg with i "T' %hehony has been condemned here WtomVioLi«u; through beinK planted in on many occasion-, imu b gee that •"■£* tafowf Planting; plant about one

Kitchen Garden.

I, the main crop of onions was not sown darißgthelaßfcweek.it should be sown as won v t^ible now. The best soils for ob. taming good crops off are those of a rich por. m character, and which were well manured last autumn. During the late fine weather eTß ry endeavour ought to have been macle to gti all the early sowings of beans, peas, etc., put &» *he £round ' also tbe planting out of snccessional cabbage and caniiflwer. Still continue planting a few early potatoes ; earth up those that are luirinA Mustard, cress and radishes sowiortmghtly.so as to keep up a con tinual succession in good order. Let •face- Plant out another patch ; tie m advancing t>l&n ts so that the leaves may be wel blanched for -use. Make uoth«n»TOig of carrots. Turnips ought to be sown almost weekly so as to keep a constant supply of tender and juicy oaesdoriisg the season. A small pinch of celery ?e«d could now be sown under glass ; alsotomateesj cucumbers, melons, marrows, eta, for the early crop. Where it is tho intentaontoforceafew plants of rhubarb («sakfle the braes should Tse placed over thenlants at once, and covered up with hot stable manure, leaving an opening on the top 0! the box so that the plants maybe gotatwithout disturbing the bulk of the manure. IB pieces of vacaht ground sWd be dug as deep as possible and well wm& to get them into good otdfcr forflojpig&strieeeasoh advances. This iiiimXj "be uone when the soil is ih a compsratively dry state. Slugs will now Is g6ttin^ very tl;oiibleSotn&, therefore continue dusting with lime such seed as ii coming through the ground. After dark is the best time, as the slugs are then out feeding. ' Hotter Garden Alllilßng and transplanting of shrubs, etc., should be finished for the season now. The whole of the borders should receive a thorough oViirhiul. They ought all to be forked over, and & quantity 01 well-rotted Bipre worked into the Soil, it such was tot done last autumn. Where better manure cannot be procured & liberal dose of fins bones ought to be applied while the fcrkine is being done. Continue the prun ing 01 roses' far successional flowering ; inalch with cow-manure if possible. Glad jolia: Continue planting out a few bulbs at leastonceafortcight. These plants like rich, deep, well-manured soil.. Spring flowering balbsand tubere Bhould now be beginning wnakeasW. Frequently stir the surface w about them; also give a little liquid nanure occaeionally—ifc will strengthen the wur ef the flowers,. The stock of ordinary torta plant, skTti ck .f.om cuttings last autumn should how be planted out in their "miner quarters. Sow patches of hardy aumals in the open border. Tender an nuals ran be sown. In pot* under glass, so as w get them ready for planting out later on. "nms, rf not alrea( Jy planfccd should be piti out at once. These like very rich soil; njact, vvery rich cottipqst ought to be J* «P for planting them in. Lawns : «8p the grass ahorfe, and roll frequently.

Destruction of the Codlin Moth.

fa W resnlfcs reached by *c SS^ eul. tural Allege experiments SJWtßwory year extending its 3RJ °* oroha«*s it is well worth Stf"? th° resulfcs of **>'<*«* Cook's yrs he has been tooth arid „ c destr"ction of the Sffi CSr cedthattherear 6 unfailing Ons *| yon by the professor arch«J? ennß km tn« enemy of the erftc W^omshave fr 55 waiff 3 ar\ the siz? of small S? than lissome of 7> *« ** 3* tW r **J hile bein X «*«,>* K»» ft tQ «>«° n «*jy ??. lWd on tU J° f ea? h aPP'e, «Dly one applied

but this was in time, and absolutely tho rough. Lastly, be sure that the mineral is well mixed. This is best done by grinding first in a little water and then adding the full complement. Provided proper care be used, there is absolutely no danger to be apprehended to human beings from the use of this poisonous remedy. It should never be handled wish bare hands, nor should the dust or spray bs allowed to fall upon the body. Beyond this there is no more danger in handling it than there is any of the spraying solutions now so frequently used. Orehardists, where ever the codlin moth lias appeared, should lose no time in putting this remedy to a practical test.

DRAUGHTS.

Problems > tos. 1 and 2. Correct solution to these problems received from V/aiton Crag and '• J.G.8.," Auckland.

PROBLEM Ko. 5.

White.

By J. G. Blakey, Auckland,

Black.

Black to move and what result. We hope to receive numerous solutions to the above from our readers.

Solution to Problem No. 2.

18-23 8- 3 24-20 4- 8 8-15 31-24 15- 8 7-11 8- 4 24-28 23-27 28-10 3- 7 12- 8 20-24 B. wins.

The following game was played in the Auckland Draughts r ';>... between Mr E. Mills and Mr E. Battersby :—

Played at the Auckland Draughts Club between the President and the Vice-Presi dent.

Game No. 13: "Old Fourteenth."

Vice-President's move,

We have received the following lively contribution from a correspondent signing himself "C. Checkers" :—

(To the Draughts Editor.)

Dear Sir, —Having an hour to spare, I Went into the Free Public Library the other night. Seeing draught-playing going on, I went and joined the onlookers. The two who were playing were very unequally matched, so much so that one was able to go in for exhibition shots, and playing to the gallery. His opponent, getting tired of making cheap amusement for the crowd, got up from the board to make room for some other victim. The victor cast his eyes over those that were looking on, and seeing a young man who had a sort of " I wish I had never left home " look about him, and no doubt thinking there was another good time coming, asked him to have a game. The young man took a seat and silently led off with

*" Young man, you should buy a book on Draughts." +" There, that confirms what I said about the book. You should have played 7-10 and saved the man on 14."

t" Things are not always what they seem," said the young man with a far away look. [Our correspondent states that after this camo the Deluge, but whether it was local or general he does not state.— Dd. Ed.]

THE AUCKLAND DRAUGHTS CLUB.

The President v. Secretary match came off last Saturday, with the result that the President's side won 13 and.the Secretary's won 4 ; drawn 2 and one unfinished.

An Ox Boiled Whole.

Ax experiment, rare, if not unprecedented, was tried on Jubilee .Day at Liss, a village on tho London and South-Western Rail way, in Hampshire. It consisted in boil ing $ bullock whole, in addition to one roasted the evening before. A hole, dug in the ground, was built over with^ bricks. Into the latter was built a tank, and into the tank was lowered the carcase, placed with a case formed by iron bars to which chains were attached. Pulleys from a scaffolding immediately above raised and lowered the ox, of which the head and carcase were sewn up separately in strong canvas. Carrots were boiled with it, and potatoes enclosed in bags, making gallons of rich soup. The fat was removed from the carcase before boiling. At half-past five o'clock in the afternoon the carcase, which had been boiled about seven hours, was raised from fche tank; two bands playing "God save the Queen " and " Rule, Britannia," on the scaffolding above. It was placed on a large bier-like vehicle and carried on the shoulders of twelve men to the booth where it was to be cut up, the bands playing in front. A beautiful wreath and flags were placed over the ox, and the gentleman who gave the bullocks, the butcher, and an assistant, were borno along with ifc over the heads of the crowd. The meat was pronounced excellent, and was certainly well cooked. The huge knife and fork used on this occasion were especially manufactured for the purpose in the village.

A TERRIBLE RUSSIAN DRAMA.

How The Nihilists Murdered

Soudeikin

KILLED IN COLD BLOOD.

(Fkom Our London Correspondent. )

London, July 13.

Thz St. Petersburg correspondent of the "Daily News," (supplies some interesting details of the fearful crime for which 23 Nihilists were last week secretly tried in the Russian capital. The story was not allowed to get into the Petersburg papers, but has been pretty freely whispered about. The " Daily News " correspondent did not trust his " copy " to the post, but sent it by hand, or, in all probability it would never have seen the light. He says : —

On the 28bh December, 1883, late in the evening, the police were informed that an accident had taken place at a small lodging house, No. 87, Nevski-prospect, and that groans wore to be heard proceeding from the interior. On proceeding: there it was found that though there wore lights in the windows the door was shut,-and nobody answered when the bell was rung. The police then ordered a locksmith to break open the door, and when an entrance was effected Colonel Soudeikin, chief of the secret police, was discovered lying dead on the ground, and bleeding from several wounds. One bullet had entered his back, and his skull was fearfully smashed. An other person, M. Sudoffski, a nephew of the murdered man, and himself a functionary of the oolice, was found in a state of complete unconsciousness, but still breathing. He also had his head broker: open. But, not withstanding the terrible nature of his ■wounds, he" recovered, and was able to furnish some valuable information to the police, as he was almost the only person who knew Colonel Soudeikin's affairs, and could read the cypher which was found at the murdered ofhecr's lodging. This evidence has thrown considerable light upon the affair. Colonel Soudeikin was a most ambitious man, and was anxious to make his way with the greatest rapidity. He was bold to a fault, and reckless as to the means he employed to achieve his ends. Once he happened to arrest a certain Degaieff, formerly captain of the staff, who was a member of the Russian revolutionary party. Partly by persuasion, partly by threats, Colonel Sou deikin succeeded in inducing this Nihilist to enter into the service of the secret police. 'Although rigorously watched by the agents of Colonel Soudeikin, who did not place full confidence in his proselyte, DegaieiHound an opportunity of asking the consent of the Russian revolutionary " ex ecutive committee" in Paris to remain in the service of the police, and received the desired permission. Colonel Soudsikin concealed from the police depart ment the arrest of DegaicfF and the arrange ments which he had concluded with him. ; DeTaieff soon commenced his double game ; he denounced several of the less important members of his party, or such members as were not considered absolutely trustworthy, and took care to send compromising papery, revolvers, poinards, <fee, to them just be fore they were arrested, in order that their capture might seem of importance in tho eyes of Colonel Soudeikin. The colonel was much pleased at the success of his scheme, and received many congratulations and rewords from his chiefs. He soon became quite confident in Degaieff. On one occasion Colonel Soudeifdn told his new friend that a work man named Skriaboff, somewhere in the province of Kharkoff, ha/1 denounced a fellow-workman, who was also a member of the revolutionary party. Degaieff made this known ab once to his revolutionary friends, and ordered at the same time the immediate murder of Skriaboff. The order was executed by a certain AntonofF, who was then denounced by Degaieff to the police, and imme diately arrested. Ifc seems that tho Russian revolutionary "executive com mittee" in Paris after a while commenced to suspect Degaieff, and ordered a certain Lopatin to go to St. Petersburg' in order to ascertain whether their suspicions were justified or not. Lopatin was a man of about 42 years of age ; he had belonged to the Russian revolutionary party since 1866, and it is moro than probable had taken an active part in many of the attempts against the life of the late Emperor. For several years he had lived in Paris, where he was a fellow-worker with the former colonel of the Imperial Guards, Lavroff, and the former University professor, Tikhomiroff. These three men were the real editors of the well known revolutionary paper Narod dnaia Vollia (the People's Will). Lopatin entered Russia with a false passport, and with full power from the executive com mittee to act as he might think necessary after he had examined the case. He took alodg ing in the Bolshaia Sadvonia-street, where he lived with a young girl Salova. He soon made himself acquainted with the equivo cal relations which existed between Colonel Soudeikin and Degaieff, and he therefore gave the latter orders to murder the Colonel.' Degaieff at first endeavoured to escape from carrying out the order, but was forced to submit, and at length de clared himself ready to execute the sen tence pronounced against Colonel Soudei kin. All the details of the murder were concerted in common by Lopa tin and Degaieff. Colonel Soudei kin had some time before hired a small lodging at No. 87, Novski Prospect, where ho held his secret interviews with Degaieff whenever there was anything im portant to communicate. This house was selected as the spot where the murder was to be executed. Twice the perpetration of the crime was postponed, owing to unfore seen accidents, but the murder was finally fixed for the 28th of December, at half-past four in the afternoon. Colonel Soudeikin was requested to call on Degaieff, who lived at 87, some minutes before 4.30, the excuse bsing made that Degaieff wished to show him the proof-sheet of No 10 of the "Naroddnaia Vollia, which was to be published . within a few days. Colonel Soudeikin came, accompanied by his nephew, M. Soudoffski. and was re ceived by Degaieff. Two accomplices— Starodvorski and Konnosheffski—were con cealed in one of the adjoining rooms, ready to enter at any moment. It is a proof of the coldbloodedness which marked the crime that a small place was left blank in the proof-sheet of the journal which was to be shown to Soudeikin some moments before the murder. This space Lopatin had reserved for a description of theassassi nation. Two days after the crime was perpetrated this notice actually appeared. Colonel Soudeikin was scarcely seated before Degaieff fired a revolver at him from "behind. The colonel sprang up, and, although seriously wounded, tried to effect his escape. But at this moment both accomplices entered the room, armed with heavy iron bars. Starodvorski smashed in the head of Soudeikin with his fearful weapon, and Konnosheffski knocked Soudoffski down. Colonel Soudeikin did not fall, and tried to got out of the room, evidently in the hope that he would succeed in reaching the ante-room, where his cloak was hanging with a revolver in one of the pockets. But Starodvorski followed him too closely, and he then attempted \to escape by another door, but again Star : odvorski was too quick for him, and got between him and the door. A few more blows with the crowbar and the colonel fell lifeless to the ground. Meanwhile De gaieff hart disappeared immediately after he had discharged his revolver, and in his flight had forgotten to shut the door be tween fche ante-room and the staircase, which stood open during the massacre that followed, Degaieff drove to the Warsaw

Terminus in order to catch the train which left St. Petersburg for Germany at 5.40. Sbarodvorski and Konnosheffski, after hav ing washed their hands, left the lodging, shutting the door and taking the key with them. They then separated and Starod vorski drove to the Bolshaia Sadbvaia street, whore Lopatin and Salova were awaiting him. There he stayed several months as their guest. Konnosheffski, however, drove to the Warsaw Terminus, where he met De gaietf, who had some fewdaya before received a passport for abroad from ColonelSoudekin. Provided with t his, Degaieff wen t to Germany but Konnosheffski only accompanied n j m a3 far as Vilna. The following are the names of the seven persons sentenced to death by the court-martial: —Starodvorski, Konno sheffski, Antonoff, Ivanoff, Vakoupouitch, Lonatin, and the young girl Salova.

ANCIENT TORTURES.

Horrible Puuishmonts Inflicted In the

Days Gone By.

There are few of us who understand in this ninteenth century what an ordeal a witness had to face whose testimony was needed in an important case in those happy days when the Tudors were on the Throne in England, and when our betters, as the prayer-book puts, ruled the Continent. A very curioLs little book, " Torture and the Torturers," recently printed in London by Wemyss and Co., throws a flood of light upon the old fashioned methods of cross examination.

It appears that in the modfflival timets the recognised method to induce a witness to tell the trutli was to subject his body to excruciating torment, so that as a

natural consequence, the witness readily told any story which the people in whose hands he found himself -wanted, even to swearing his own life away to avoid further misery. Gradually we have clipped the wings of the State until it can only sneak in Its Dingfclders upon tho unsuspecting prisoner, but our ancestors fared badly when they came rightly or wrongly into the clutches of the law.

After the somewhat faulty logic of the ancients it was determined that there was no means so certain of educating the truth as compelling the suspected criminal to confess. To them nothing appealed so strongly as intense physical pain, and ac cordingly intense pain T/ns the weapon with which mediißval justice was armed. Tho " question," we are told, was synonymous with the torture ; it meant the same thing. It was divided into tho " question ordinary," when tho torment was light, and the "question extraordinary," in which the utmost torturo short of killing was used. Both were recognised and usual methods of criminal jurisprudence. It was a recog nised engine of justice in the Justinian code, and in every land to which the great codex penetrated the rack was used. In England the peine fortet et durc, the pain strong and hard, was in use two centuries ago. It is not quite a century since it was discontinued in France ; and in parts of Germany it remained u|x>n the statute until 1848. In China and the East it is still not alone in theory, but in practice a recognised and important part of the criminal repressive machinery. Everybody knows the record of the In quisition and the ghastly terrors invented by the cruel ingenuity of tho Spaniards, which have made modern Latin history red with blood, but the story is one we can hardly realise until we read of some such history as that of the death of Ravaillac, who assassinated Henry IV. of France. This unfortunate man, who was to be tor mented to death, was delivered over to the tho executioners on May 27th, 1610, and by them tied down to a frame which left no motion on his part possible. Over his stomach was made a cup of plaster of paris open at the bottom, into which was poured molten lead. The knifo with which he had slain the monarch was made to play an almost inconceivably horrible part in tho tragedy. The hand which struck the blow was burned off the body, while stimulants were constantly ad ministered to the wretch to keep him from fainting into unconsciousness. Finally his legs and his arms were separately tied to four strong horses, who were lashed away from each other, but so stout was he, quaintly remarks the chronicle, that the muscles and tendons had to be partially severed with knives before the horses could tear him asunder. He was fully conscious to the last. This was but one. of the awful tragedies of the period. The best human inventiveness could find no better channel for its work than in making the moat devi lish machinery. In England there was tho Scavenger's Daughter, which squeezed its victims to death with novel spasms and un expected hurts. Therewas the rack still pre served in London Tower,upon which punish ment could be graduated almost with the nicety of micrometer screws. There was the boot, which crushed the leg into a shapeless pulp, and the thumb-scrow whose work is told by its name. On the Con tinent justice was fully as prolific of Satanic devices. The water torture of the Inquisi tion, where drop after drop of water gradu ally falling on the forehead of the victim, drove him to madness and death; vas an example of what could be done in the making of other men miserable. Starving rats were tied under a basin on the body of the recalcitrant one to gnaw their way to freedom ; other victims were smeared with honey and exposed to insects ; boiling oil was poured into the ears, or the body was slowly dipped into boiling oil. In China at the present day there appears to be yet rife the awful Poang Li—the "punishment ot many cuts" in which tho eyelids are first removed, the nails pulled off one by one, the teeth torn out, the tongue clipped and the ears and the more delicate parts of the body pared down, cut by cut, until death came as a blessed and almost de spaired of relief. The whole record of judicial methods is a frightfully gloomy one.

They are full of blood and pain and terror, those good old times that romance writers write about, and we are well rid of them. We may let an occasional criminal escape that the rack should have punished, but there are to-day no ghastly human wrecks to testify to the. miscarriage _of justice. There is no particular civilisation that manifests progress and liberality and light so thoroughly as do our courts. They testify to a new dispensation in harmony with newer tenth and newer ways. Such books as "Torture and Torturers," and such history as these books teach, make us thankful for the century and the ideas in which we happily live.

AN EXCITING HUNT.

A Californiau Bear Story as Told In the Bast.

One-eyed Zeke, who hunts for a living around Owen Lake and along Owen River over in Inyo, came into town to be doctored for a sprained ankle. Spraining that ankle saved his life on this last trip. Zeke has a scheme of his own for killing grizzlies that is very effective if a man has nerve enough to work it and his gun does not miss fire. He carries a heavy double barrelled shotgun and a forty-four-calibre revolver, but never lugs a rine even when he goes after bears. When he sights a grizzly he pops at him with the revolver and gets him-mad, standing in the open where the bear can see him, and shooting often enough to dispel any possible doubts in the bear's noddle about the annoyance.

A grizzly will go his own way usually if not) interfered with, but if insulted with pistol shots he is pretty certain to make a disturbance of the peace. The exasperated bear snaps viciously at the place where the pistol ball strikes him, concludes that Zeke is responsible for the trouble, and goes for him. Zeke waits calmly with a double load of heavy buckshot in each barrel and the hammers at full cock. Caleb comes right up to him, and when almost within hugging distance, rises on his hind legs to throw himself upon Zeke. Then Zeke turns loose both barrels ut the bear's chest, and blows a hole as big as two fists nearly through hiiQ. The heavy charge at such close range smashes the grizzly's interior works in a deplorable manner, and he dies righbjaway. It is far more effective than an express rifle bullet. But it requires nerve to face a big, ugly bear and reserve lire until he is within half a dozen feet of the gun.

Zeke met a bear in the mountains near Owen lake and played his customary game, but not with complete success. By some extraordinary bad luck, both cartridges in his gun had defective primers, and when he pulled tho triggers he was very much pained and disappointed by the absence of the usual loud report. It was a critical moment for Zeke. It took him the thou sandth part of a second to grasp the situa tion and spring desperately to the right. Another small fraction of a second was consumed in his unexpected descent to the bottom of an old prospect hole that was ovorgiown with brush and escaped his notico.

Probably that is the only prospect hole in that part of the Sierra Nevada, and it must havo been dug by some half-cracked forty-niner like Marshall, who prospected all the way from Yuma to the Columbia. Zeke vows it was dug by Providence. Tho sudden and unaccountable disap pearance of the man with a gun surprised the bear, and he had thrown himself forward and plunged into the chaparral several yards before he began to catch on to the fact that Zeke was not before him. As soon as Zeko struck bottom he looked up to see if tho bear was coming down too, and then he removed tho bad cartridges and quickly inserted two more in his gun. He knew the bear would smell him out very soon.

In half ft minute Caleb's wicked snout ap peared at the top of the hole. It disap peared and was atonco replaced by the bear's hind legs. Caleb was coming down stern foremost after the noxious person who hud fired bullets afc him. As the bear scrambled down Zeke aimed just under his shoulder and sont two handfuls of buckshot careering through his vitals in a diagonal line. The wound was almost instantly fatal, and the bear came down in a heap at the bottom of the hole, which was about ten or fcwelvo feet deep. The excitement being over, Zoke realised that he had been injured in the fall, and that standing up was painful. He sat down oii the bear to rest and reflect, and to in duce reflection he took out his pipe and lighted it. The flare of the match lighted up the prospect hole, and Zeke was in terested on seeing a good-sized rattlesnake lying dead under his feet, its head crushed by his boot heel. He had landed on the snake when he fell into the hole and tho slipping of his foot had sprained his ankle.

Zeke had a hard time climbing out of the prospect hole and getting back to camp, but he got there, and sent some men up to hoist the bear to the surface. The grizzly's weight was estimated to be 900 pounds. Zeke says he doesn't care about the sprain, because if his foot had not landed just in that spot he would have had more company than he would have cared to entertain at the bottom of a prospect hole.

RULED BY WOMEN.

A Kansas Town Governed by a Council

in Petticoats.

A correspondent of the " Memphis Appeal" says :—' • I have jusb returned from a trip on the Santa Fe Koad, West. Syra cuse, sixteen miles from the Colerado line, was the Mecca of my pilgrimage, because here, April 4th, they elected a City Coun cil of women, and I was bent upon seeing the town that had made this innovation, and the women who were filling the Council chairs. I wanted to ask the people how it came about and how it was working. The first of these ladies introduced to me was Mrs E. B. Barbour, a fair-faced, gentle mannered woman, with an unmistateable air of business about her. I found this ac counted for by the fact that she is a busi ness woman. Her husband does a large and complicated business ; the books are entirely in her charge. Mrs H. D. Nott is a business woman, too. I expect much of Mrs JNott in the management of their Suf frage Society, because of her experience in lowa as President of the Eighth District Woman Suffrage Society. Mrs Coggeshall says they were"very sorry to lose Mrs Nott from their ranks. She is Chairman of the Syracuse Aldermanic force. Mrs M. M. Rio-gles is a quiet little woman, a careful ancTconscientious mother nnd housowife. She has a way of making up her mind for herself and standing firmly by her convic tions. She has a reputation among Syra cuse male citizens for being a person of excellent judgment. Mrs S. N. Coe is a woman of excellent ability, with enough conservatism to keep her enthusiasm in proper check. No one of these women is more anxious to do exactly right than is Mrs Coe. She is sister to Mrs Lemert, President of the Saxon Equal Suffrage So ciety, organised at Dodge City by Mrs Saxon and named for her, She has several such namesakes in Kansas. Mrs M. L. Swartwood, the fifth member, I did not see, although I made an effort to do so. She was confined to her home by sickness; but I am told that she is a woman of ability and by no means behind her sisters in any requisite for her position. My short acquaintance with these women convinced me that sitting in council-chairs and wrest ling with questions of city policy have had no effect to unsex them — whatever that may be—for these were as womenly women as I have ever seen. I looked in vain for masculine tendencies. There was not a hint of it in dress or manner. Meeting them on the street or in the cars, you would never guess that they were city officials. From conversation with them I learned that they wore exceedingly anxious to make their ad ministration a just one—one that would ad vance the best interests of the city; and when they spoke of advancing the Interests of the city they betrayed the fact that they had in mind the city's moral as well as temporal prosperity. It is said of them that they are doing better work than the body of men whocomposed the previous council. Their townspeople say they were elected because ♦ somebody proposed it axiA everybody was ploased with the idea ;' because •it was believed they would make excellent

officers ;' because ' the temperanco people thought women wouldn't be afraid to en force the prohibitory law'; because 'we wanted to advertise onr town'—this last from a member of a real-estate firm; be cause ' women would take time to do the work well and thoughtfully.' Altogether, I was pleased with my first sight of a woman council. This is the only one in the United States."

Pope Leo XIII. and Cardinal Manning.

Pope Leo XIII. is recognised as a statesman of the highest order of ability, and it is believed that through his influence with the high prelates of the Church of Rome some means will be found to effect a recon ciliation between the Papal See and the Italian Government. In the liberal journals of Rome several projects have been formulated looking to this end, evi dently designed as mere tests of public opinion. According to one version of these proposals, the ex-royal and ducal families will resign their rights in favour of the Vatican; the Pope will crown Hum bert I. King of Italy, and will grant the territory of Italy in fee. A small terri tory will bo allotted to the Pope, and a convention will iix the sum required for the maintenance of the Papal household. It will be remarked that in this proposal the Pope abandons all claim to Rome, or right of interference with the temporal power of the King- of Italy. The monetary clause is evidently superfluous, as there is a large sum annually placed at the disposal of the Vatican, whenever it chooses to accept it. Another difficult problem, the resumption of official intercourse between the Papal and English courts, will probably be solved about the samo time. It is reported that, under the advice and influence of Cardinal Manning, the Duke of Norfolk, the leading Catholic of England, is now in Rome for the purposeof makingpreliminary arrangements towards such a diplomatic movement. Cardinal Manning is held in the highest esteem by the English Court and Go vernment, so a description of the pre late by a recent visitor will be of in terest to our readers. Wearing his black cassock and scarlet cap, seated by the blazing wood lite in his study, in which fifty couples might waltz with perfect com fort, his Eminence will discuss any sub ject from the decrees of the Council of Trent down to a pai'agraph in the society' papers. No subject is too large, no topic too small for him to converse upon. He is a teetotaler—has been one for years, as all know—and eats just as much as will keep the machinery of the body lubricated, and no more. When he was made a Car dinal some seven years ago, some of his flock sent round a hat to enable him to pay the fees (about £50*0) without personally inconveniencing himself. " I should like to sec your Eminence riding in something better than that shabby old brougham," remarked an influential gentleman. "Ah !" replied the great man, with a laugh and a merry twinkle in his eye, "when Cardinals went about in fine carriages they generally went to the devil."

The Elite Working-Class of Paris.

The Paris correspondentofLondon"Truth" writes: "Paris is not what it is merely because it has a rich and butterfly class. Indeed, tho wealthy classes of most of the capitals that; I am acquainted with are in most things the superiors of those of Paris, and are chiefly inferior in nob being tolerant of each other's little failings and peculiari ties. Their houses are more pleasant, their hospitality more cordial, they are (unless in the above respect) not; so narrow-minded, and they aro better informed. But where Paris is unique and above every other city is in its working-class elite. The genius of this curious capital is incarnate in these struggling people, which should, 80 far as it is" possible without going into grand motherly government, be preserved from deterioration. Almost any woman in the Madelaine flower-market might give a lesson to a Duchess in the art of making up a po3y prettily and presenting it with grace. Those delicate hats and bonnets, about which the ladies of Fifth Avenue and of the Court of Japan, including the Empress, go into ecstasies, are trimmed by poor girls who have had no technical instruction beyond what they picked up in looking into the shop windows. It is they who in vent those daring and audacious fashions which so victoriously round the world, and who give Parisian spice and elegance to everything that England sends us, whether from Dnnstable or Manchester, for ladies to wear. The Paris working-class elite are so civilised chat, instead of being relegated to slums, they can be suffered to live in the garret stories of our best streets. Fancy the Gibeonites of Westminster and Chelsea lodging in the uppermost floors of the Victoria street mansions and the West End squares. Yet in Paris the children of Gibeon can and do dwell under the slates of the fine houses and in the finest quarters. What is more, they do make their rich fellow-lodgers painfully aware of their being in the same dwelling."

Grace Itself.

The French woman is in reality the only woman in the world who knows how to cross a muddy street effectively. The English girl, certain in broad-soled shoes and goloshes, awkwardly, though safely, wades through mud and water, her feet having a duck-like appearance that is not pretty. The American woman, used to being helped across by a man, grasps her skirt in one hand, looks around, poises herself on her toes, advances, and then, frightened at a waggon coming, goes back ; phe does this three or four times, her face being a charm ing Btudy of irresolution during that period. The end of it all is that she either rushes acrofcs the street without regard for ap pearances at all, or else is personally con ducted by some man who appreciates her situation. The French woman will never make herself ridiculous. The skirt is lifted daintily ; there is a vision of a charming well-fitted boot; there is a hope of seeing a black silk stocking, bufc Madame allows that to bs only a hope : there is a semi-coquettish glance up and down with the quickness of a bird, the bad places are got over, the other side is safely reached, the skirts are dropped, and, de mure as a nun, Madame proceeds on her way, leaving the various men who have watched this episode in a state of admira tion because of her grace.

Nine Negroes Killed by Light ning.

The Chicago "Times' " Nashville (Term.) special of July 12th says : A most) remark able occurrence followed a negro funeral at Mount Pleasant, about sixty miles south of Nashville, to-day. Nine negroes were killed by a single stroke of lightning. A large party followed the remains of Harriet Terry to the grave, singing and shouting. The usual ceremonies at the grave were performed, and just as the final prayer had been said an ominous cloud came up from the east. The party had scarcely left the grave when one of the most severe thunder and rain storms ever known in that section burst upon them. All immediately made a break for the various trees scattered around the grave yard. Scarcely had those who were not killed reached the shelter of an immense oak when the tree was struck by lightning. The whole party of nine tumbled aown to gether m& died instantly.

POETRY.

LINES FOR A WIDOWED WREN.

A sweet little Wren sang up in a tree, '" Six little birdies are mourning for theo." But the father-bird came lack no moie ; He had winged his flight to a brighter snore.

Six little birdies pine all alone. But the mother keeps singing before the throne — "Not a sparrow falls but the Father knows Our heavenly wants and our worldly woes."

Shall the listening throng be heartless now ? Shall the thorns but crown this singer's brow? ShaU she chant, of love and reap it not 1 Is the glorious ring of her songs forgot?

A sweet, little Wren still singeth alone Her pure sweet songs to tbn. leather's throne. And six little nestlings to Him ;bove Are asking for sympathy, help, and love. W. R. Wills.

[NOTE. — The subscription list for " Jenny Wren" (Mrs Harris) will close next we=ic at the Star O*c?.]

WHAT THE MOON SAW.

Ay, there ehe is, the beautiful moon. Shining so calmly in the sky; You do not know, though you shall know soon* The secret botween tlio moon and I. You cannot read, kind frienti and true. What thoughts within me rage and swell- That I seem in trouble i 3 known to you, Whose friendship is proven long and well.

'Twas just the same in the hour gone by, She shono as calmly down on me; I remember I laughed (I heard her sigh), But it was harshly and bitterly. And she so true that I knew, too late. Shrank as I scorned at her changing faith; I told her my love had changed to hate, And I shall love her till my death.

She spoke no word, but she held her breath. And looked mo through withher steady eyes- She was all as white as a misty wraith, And her slight frame shook with the wild surpr se— Till I ended. One passionate cry of pain Broke irom her lips ac she fled away : •; " Ah. love, you •will see me once again. And then you will grieve for the words yon cay!"

And I let her go, in my cruel pride; I—not half worthy to breathe her air, _ And a cloud crept up n« the soft wind sighed*. And veiled the moon's cold, searching g art, A cloud crept over niy bo;om, too, As it has been it will ever bo. I spared not tho heart most leal and true, And as I measured, 'twas dealt to me. ,

When I found—ah! curse on tho tongue that lied!- :" That true was falae, and false was true j I dared not. insult ho>-; once denied. j I deemed it in vain for grace to sue. I wroto but little, of my remorse, Nothing had I but grief to tell; I dared not moke my fault still worse, And ended with only a brief farewell.

And she said it. I saw her once again; The moon vjSs waning even as she. The joy of mesCing; was drowned in pain, And what was my shame and misery! She was glad to go from a life alone To the happier realms where slie rested sooa- Friond, I tell you what none have known, Kcop it safe as the silent moon. IlffiA.

HUMOROUS.

Hawy—l hear Johnson has applied faw membahship in tho club. Cholly—Yaas, so they tell me. "We cawn't admit him, don't you know." "Aw ?" " Xot a bit of it. Why the beggah pawsitively doesn't owe a cent in the wohld !" " Gad ! How can he expect to be pahinitted to associate with gentlemen ? r>

Mrs De Garrao—l understand your son is quite sick at college, Mrs Smythe. Mrs Smythe—Yes Poor John ! The President •rates me that he entered into his work with too much ardour and he has broken dowa. Mrs De Ganno—What seems to be the nature of his trouble ? Mrs Smythe—He was hit on the head by a foul ball, I believe they call. it. Omaha girl—Pa, My De Sweet has asked me to share his lot. Omaha pa—Where is it ? Omaha girl—Within the two-mile limit, fifty foot east front. Omaha pa—Bless you, my children. Deacons who condemn the ballet attend the circus and watch with interest the sal tatory exercises of the short-skirted female rider. The horse takes the curse off and makes this a moral entertainment.. What a noble animal the horse is, to be sure!

" Have you spoken to my daughter yet V asked the old man. " No, sir; I wanted your consent first." "Well, I advise you* to give up the idea. I don't believe sho would marry you, and if she did, neither of. you would'be happy." "Why do you think so, sir?" "Because you part your hair in the middle and she parts hers on' the side.

Said Miss Spinster (no longer youthful),' when she heard that her friend Miss Mar riwell was going to wed: "Well, let those marry who wish, but for my part I never saw a man I could care enough for to be his wife." "That is to say, aunt," remarked Kate, very demurely, " you never yet saw a gentleman after your own heart." Wife (returning frcin a matinee)—Ah, ib was too lovely. She had on a pale Nile green silk, with bands of passementerie down the front, and the grandest^diamonds you ever saw; and when she died in the last act she rolled over four times and every woman in the house was crying. I never enjoyed a play so much in my life. " I can't come now, maw," said the high school girl, when her mother called her to assist in some household duties, "and I wish you wouldn't interrupt me again. I want to finish reading ' The Model Daugh ter; or, A Happy Marriage,' and then I must commence work on my graduating essay, 'The Duty Children Owe to Their Parents.'" j

QUEER MEDICINES.

Strange Decoctions Used In the Orient.

Mr Mitfoed has tcld us how he satf a Chinese physician prescribe a decoction of three scorpions for a child struck down with fever, and Mr Gill, in his " River of Golden Sand," mentions having met a number of coolies laden with red deer's horns, some of • them very fine twelve-tine antlers. They are only hunted when in velvet, and from' the horns in this state a medicine is made, which is one of the most highly prized in the Chinese pharmacopoeia. With regard to the singular virtues supposed to attach to the medicinal use of tiger,. General Robert Warden tells me thab on one occasion when in India he was exhi biting some trophies of the chase, and some Chinamen who were present became much; excited at the sight of an unusually fine tiger skin. They eagerly inquired whether it would be possible to find the place where the carcase had been buried, because from the bones of tigers dug up three months after burial a decoction may be prepared which gives immense muscular power to. the fortunate man who swallows it! lam indebted to the same informant for an in teresting note on the medicine folk-lore of India, namely, that while camping in the jungle one of his men came to entreat him to shoot a nightjar for his benefit, be cause from the bright, prominent eyes of the bird of night an ointment is prepared which gives great clearness of vision, and is therefore highly prized. Miss Bird, too,, has recorded some very remarkable details on the materia medica of China and Japan.. When in a remote district of Japan she be-: came so unwell as to deem it necessary to consult a native doctor, of whom she says : " He has great faith in ginseng and the rhinoceros horn, and in the-powdered Hv^r. of some animal, which, from the descrjjj-; tion, I understood to be a tiger—oft speci fics of the Chinese school of medicines. Dr. • Nbsoki showed me a small box of unJeortt'i horn which he said was worth more few* its weightingold. "—«' Nineteenth Century. 11

rHE -AUCKLAND EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1887.

3



Game No. 12: "Cross."

Battersby's move.

11-15 23-18 8-11 27-23 4- 8 24-20 10-14 21-17 14-21 20-16 12-19 23-16 11-20 18- 4

6-10 19-23 14-18 26-30 25-21 26-23 18-15 17-14 10- 6 14-10 9-14 7-10 9-13 30-26 21-17 22-17 27-18 15-10 6- 2 11-15 1- 6 10-19 18-23 13-17 17-14 31-27 30-26 14- 9 9-6 10-17 5- 9 20-24 24-27 17-22 23-27 17-13 26-22 9- 6 6-10 32-23 14-17 6-10 27-31 21-25 26-10 23-18 13- 6 6-2 2- 7 17-26 17-22 2- 9 23-26 25-30 31-22 18-15 18-15 2- 6 7-11 23-24 10-19 10-14 19-23 30-25 10-15 25-18 22-17 6- 9 10-14 E. wins



11-15 28-24 1- 6 22-13 10-17 11- 8 23-19 8-11 32-28 8-12 8-3 6-9 8-U 26-23 3- 8 24-19 7-10 13-6 22-17 9-14 30-26 15-31 25-21 14-17 4- 8 31-26 9-13 26-22 17-22 21-14 17-13 6- 9 19-16 12-19 20-16 22-25 15-18 13- 6 12-19 22- 8 10-14 29-22 24-20 2- 9 23-16 14-17 16-11 26- 1 11-15 26-22 *13-17 21-14 31-26 Drawn. #8-12 or 14-17 loses, 8-12, 24-19, 15-31, 22-8, 12-19, 8-3, 31-22, 25-2. W. wins. 14-17, 21-14, 10-17, 16-12,17-21,12-3, 21-30, 3-1, 18-25, 29-22, 30-32, 1-6, 32,27, 6-10. W. wins.



11-15 22-18 15-22 25-18 8-11

29-25 4- 8 25 22 10-15 24-19

15 24 28-19 11-16 19-15 16-20

23-19 *10-14 18- 9 7-10 22-17 11-18 26 23 t7-ll J23-14 3- 7 17-10 31-26 9-14.





Why? Bulwer is pronounced Buller. Talbot is pronounced Tolbut. Thames is pronounced Terns. Cowper is pronounced Cooper. Holburn is pronounced Hobun. Wemyss is pronounced Weems. Knollys is pronounced Knowles. Cockburn is pronounced Coburn. Brougham is pronounced Broom. Cirencester is pronounced Sissister. Norwich is pronounced Norridge. St. Leger is pronounced Sillinger. Colquhoun is pronounced Cohoon. Grosvenor is pronounced Grovenor. Salisbury is pronounced Sawlsbury. Beauchamp is pronounced Beecham. Marylebone is pronounced Marrahun. Abergavenny is pronounced Abergenny. iiJarjoribanks is pronounced March banks. Bolingbroke is pronounced Bulling brooke. Harwarden is pronounced Harden.