THE PEASANT HERO.

It was after Fioecbswiller. The French were retreath'ig towards Chalons, having

twenty hours' start of the enemy—an

offensive movement was to be attempted by returning through Montmedy. Tl>e bulk of the retreating army had already Grossed the Meuse; and down the whole length of the river, by special order, all the bridges were being blown up or torn away, to open an abyss -to ere ite an obstacle. This may have delayed the Germans, indeed : but it proved the ruin of those ot our soldiers who were last to retreat, and ■who came to the broad, deep river only to find their way barred. Night comes. Silent figures are wandering along the banks ; a group, all confusion and gesticula tion, h»s gathered before the wreck of a bridge—a single arch alone remains—rising from the middle of the water, boyond reach. As the hours pass the shadows become more numerous, the group more compact ; and soldiers of all grades, all regiments—the waifs of the great lost battle - move hastily hither and thither, calling to each other, questioning each Other, testing the depth of the river with long poles, shouting, swearing, throwing up their arms in despair, shaking their fists at fate, and regretting not to have died a brave death in the sun, in the morning battle. A tiro is lighted, and immediately becomes a rallying point. The wounded men crawl to the warm light ; a groat circle is formed arou- d a heap of blazing briars. Time passe- slowly and dumbly. Suddenly the distant silence is broken by a strong voice calling out, " Down the river eight leagues from here, there is a bridge— perhaps it htw not been blown up. Let us try it!" The speaker is a lieutenant of artillery. Standing in the scarlet glow of the fire, he consults by the lurid light an unfolded pocket map, and with his linger nail 3cratches a mark under a little point —the La Fourche bridge Otlv r officers gather anxiously about him -a short consultation is held —then there is a cry, "It is true ! Let v.« go !" All rise to their feet. Then a great moaning is heard. The wounded who shiver and bleed, and who feel the warmth of tho good fire graceful, do not wish to walk further, but fear to bo left behind.

" Who is in command ?" asks a voice.

The officers interivgute each other with a glance; then all silently lifting their Kepis, salute the one asking the question. He is a fall commander of dragoon-, looking still taller in the black cloak which falls to his knees. He is the only supe-ior officer loft.

" Thank you, gentlemen !' he observes. *' Well, let all the able bodied horsemen, withou' distinction of rank, give up their horses to the wounded men. Put out that fire and et u.s start !"

Setting tho example -though ho himself had blood upon his face the dragoon un hit-hes his horse, lifts up from the ditch a little moving moaning chasseur, who has been shot through tho thigh, and places him in the saddle like a baby " Hold on, boy, as well as you can." Then taking the bridle of the animal, which he knows to be some wh it skittish, this leader of the routo take.? his place at tho head of the column of phan toms moving through tho night, and marchos on, lea)ing the horse, with great tranquil st'ides. Among those soldiers so incongruously uninformed, and strangers to each other, some have formed sponta eously into groups, guided by that sense of instinct which survives disa-t-or Far from their scattered regiment?, their dead c'iefs, tlieir missing standard bearer*, they recognise each other by the accent of their respective provinces; and these improvised, pirfci coloured detachments could still, as in the old days answer to the military calls of " Pieardie !" " Gaseongo !" Campagne !" or any other great or sonorous name of a French territ ry. On the way the troop iiicrciscs. As it passes by men rise up fiom tho brushwood, emerge from the shad >\vs, and join the rank*. Like the Companions of tht> Oid, when leaving they were but three hundred, aruving they will bo throe thousand. Eight leagues is no difficult match for coldier.s in good condi tion, who can leave their encampment on a cool morning after a refreshing rest, but for these foundered and bleeding fugitives every step is a pang, and the goal ever seem.s to recede as they advance. Still they manage to proceed in some way or other. Already many of them have thrown a■' ;iy their equipments, and they advance with arms pendant, their guns slung behind them, their eyes half closed for want of sleep, stumbling and swaying like drunkards. Tall lancers stagger on, supporting themse yes with their lances. A drummer flings away his drum, which goeb rolling down an embankment with a rolling hullow sound ; the weariness of death comes upon all. Then a start of anxiety runs through the rank* ; a noise has boon hem! in athioketon the Hank of the column —.something stealthy and intermittent !ike an animal gliding thr ugh the woods. The commander has stopped and turned his head. What is U ". Scouts or spies of the enemy ; they arc being followed for certain. Several zouaves approach the edge of the woods with loaded rifles ready for use; the sound ceases, then begins again ; but tho cause of it remains undiscovered.

A gray light commences to gi-ow behind the hills ; the day is breaking. They have been six hours on the march. As the brightness increases and rises higher these tired men in flight assume a more and more sinister and pitiful aspect. Night had veiled their misery. Now they gaze at each other with affright. Their faco9 are colourless and ghastly, their bodies bent nearly double with fatigue, as if broken. Dust, mud, all the filth of the night march has mingled with their sweat; red stain verging to blaok make dramatic those torn uniforms o' theirs; most of thorn have bandages wrapped about their foreheads or their feet; some who feM down on the march are en tirely covered with mud : and all moan and shiver in the bitter cold of the early morn ing. Suddenly the commander cries " Halt !" but in so grave a tone, so melan choly a voice, that a shudder passes through the column af. the announcement of a great misfortune. From either side of the river a blackened ruin plunges into the water. It was there the La Fourche bridge used to be. The Meuse rolls by deep and atill All run forward and stare at the sight in stupefied silence; then cries are heard from every side; and in teir gro tesque despair they grimace, gesticulate,roll madly on the ground, those warriors so well battle-tried. Some fling stones at the river and curse it; others smash their rifles and lie down, others laugh idiotically at this tragical farce that fate has played them. The officers, standing apart, hang their heads in the discouragement of help lessness.

A dragoon suddenly strips himself naked, la he mad ? No. He advances cautiously into the water. Twenty others follow his example; but the swift current carries them away. They sink, wildly waving their arms. No matter, all the rest now

us."

want to try the wounded who have no atrength left. It is a contagious madness; and the water pla'hesani heaves with the shock of plung ing bodies. The captains vainly command, entreat, swear; no one heeds them. En tangled the one by the other, at least one hundred men are drowned. No one might decide whether it is a frenzy of desire to escape or a mania of deliberate saicide. Then in the midst of that vertigo of death, the under-brush is tbrust aside, and a peasant, aged and dishevelled, wild-looking as a savage, strides forth and shouts with all the power of his lungs, "There is m They hear him through the din ; and from man to man the news is spread, "There is a ford !" And like so many children those desperate men, at the mere sound of the words, cheer up. They gather about the peasant. The commander asks, " Where did you come from?' "I belong here." "Then it was you who followed us through the woods ?" " By yourself." " By myself." " Where is the ford ?" " Just a league from here." And the peasant pointed up the road already traversed. " Then we passed by it?" " Yes.' "And you know the bridge had been destroyed ?" " Yes." "Then why did you let us travel this far for nothing ?" " Because it had to be done." "How?" The old man smilea and explains that they are being followed ; that the German cavalry will catch up with them in less than three hours unless they cross ; that if their tracks ceased at the ford the fact would show they had passed there. So it was necessary first for them to go further down ; their return now would help to obliterate or confuse the trail ; and the Germans would be delayed a long time in trying to discover at what point the French had crossed. "That is true," said the commander, " guide us to the ford." An hour after the fugitives cross the river, up to their armpits in water ; the river has risen. The commander himself, last to cross, stands a moment on the bank and extends his hand to the old man. "Thanks !'

"Adieu," responds the peasant, slowly trudging away. ■ Fur awjy on tho other side of the Meuse, the column recedes, growing smaller and smaller in the distance, and finally is lost to view in the misty horizon. All is quiet again. The peasant hastens with great strides through the dusty gra»3 along the shore Suddenly he halts "So soon!'1 he mutterri between his teeth. Barr ng the whole breadth of the road, two squadrons of Uhlans now advanced at full trot, plashing through the mud, sabres ringing anU ban ners flying. The peasant crouches down in the weeds; but he has been seen. " Hay, there, man !" He if surrounded, jostled, dragged before tho German officer. Anew interrogatory commences ; but the old man suddenly be comes idiotic and deaf ; he can understand nothing, knows nothing, has not seen any body. " We can't lose time in this way,'1 cries a captain, "he'll talk by and by when we choose to mako him run ahead !"

Limping, stumbling, poked from behind with lances, tho old man runs before the horses. Sometimes he falls -a lance thrust lifts him up again. " Jxunp, Fronchy !" Ho goes along thus for a awhde, though his breath fails, and his limb ■ weaken ; he is ready to fall, but he make" a heroic effort, for he is now passing the ford. Two hundred yards further on he falls to the ground exhausted, livid, panting. " Keep the horse- at a walk, orders tho commander. " And you walk in front of

So they arrive at the La Fourehe bridge. The Germans know it had been destroyed ; nevertheless all tracks cease there. Further down tho ruddy bank offers no traces of footprints. It seems as though the retreating French had leaped into the river. There is a general stupor. Surely there could not be a ford immediately below a bridge The mounted staff discuss the dilemma furiously, the old man smiles in his beard.

"We have boen deceived by a feint of some kind," observes an officer; "they have doubled on their tracks—let us go back !"

Another declares it would now be im possible to follow the trail, since they had ridden over it themselves ; but the old man must certainly know where the ford is. No, the old man does not know !

" soon see that!" roars the leader —" get into that water, you brute." The peasant himself is to sound the water for them. The bank is a gentle slope. The old man walks into the water re signedly. The water rises to his knees to his waist —to his shoulders : and he still advances. "Comeback!" cries the leader. " Gentlemen, the ford is not there." At every successive hundred yards the old man was driven into the river. The Germans follow his every move attentively with their eyes ; but he always loses his footing, splashes about, and makes his way back with the greatest difficulty. There is no doubt so far that the water is very deep. Finally, after a repetition of this tevdb\fi experiment for the amusement of tb ef Uhlans, the peasant finds himself at tP" entrance of the real ford. Ragged, \f^ B] shivering, more wild-looking than ev<P 0S the old man casts a furtive glance at f2 n A other bank. The men he wants to save/. ? v scarcely three leagues away ; if the pas; be discovered they are lost. " Get into that water." / "I am used up—l can't do it any ir "So much the better-where is ford?"

"I don't know." •' Get into that water." < He obeys. As hewalks he bends hj ' in order to give those watching hir' idea of the depth of the stream. 7^ have observed the involuntary acti, ac j, muscles, uplifting his shouldersj * movement in advance; and t^ gan^. clamour from the bank. Then t, cneg murmurs something to himself lower and lower in the wate^ j ceeds; and with only his :^ Q j. shoulders above the river, <j 0 on ,>, enemies with a beseeching lookg *j.{| He goes on, and stoops stil^j.; water is now to his chin. , ner ° t ', trick, *ey call out to him. L e r / and go on He proceeds a ht^ ns j h looks back once more. Th^ r b and point to the middle of $ c bottom, With his feet well up to y he having only to stand up m^ th gives one last look at the U under living world - and resolut^ ° the waves. The laughing leader «v lA, Cant before, p wne d." but the poor old clow^ rman caval Deceived once more, n whne q* continue their useless anquis h e donly corpseof the heroic" br^y wLth t tf by voluntary death, i OWt current, under the su^

Bluchers Pipe Master.

BLUchek's pipe master, at the time of the Liberation War, was Christian HeanenianD, a Mecklenburger from Bostock, lw« Blucher himself, and most devotedly at tached to the field-marshal. He knew ah the characteristic peculiarities of the oia hero, and no one could so skiHrily adapt himself to them. His duties as pipe mastei Hennemann discharged with a fidelity approaching fanatical zeal Before evtry figrrS, Prince Blucherussally ordered a long pip* to be filled. Alter smoking for a short time, he gave back- the lighted pipe to He»ueisann, placed hmftKtfl in the saddle, drew his'sabre, and, with the vigorous cry, " Forward my lads ! tnrevr himself fiercely on the t o». On the ever-memorable-day of the battij of Waterloo, Hennemann had just handed a pipe to his master, whet* a cannon ball struck the ground mar, co Shat earth and sand covered Blucher and Ms gray horse. The horse made a spring to- one side, and the new pipe was broken Before the old hero had taken a single puff. " Fill another pipe for me," eaid Blucher. " Keep it lighted, and wait forme here a moment till I drive away the French rascals. Forward, lads!" Thereupon there \iw a rush forwards, but the chase lasted not merely a moment but a whole hot day. At the Belle Alliarace inn which was demolished by shot, the vie torious generals, Blucher and Wellington met, and congratulated each other on thi grand and nobly-achieved work, eacl praising the bravery of the other's troops. " Your fellows slash in like the very/dsvi himself," cried Wellington. Blucher replied, " Yes, you see that > their business ; but brave as they arevj know not whether one of them would stsa firmly and calmly in the midst of sue a shower of bullets as your English." . Wellington then asked Klucher abouhiß previous position, which had enabled h«-"> execute an attack so fatal to the e^nfrys, Blucher, who could strike tremedoue blows, but was by no means a fanned• orator, and could not paint h<s df^s im words, conducted Wellington to tl place itself. They found it deserted, bu«n the very spot where Bueh&r had that°rmng halted, and from which-he had .alloped• away, stood a man with his hrad jund up and his arm wrapped in a-handker^et. lie ■ was smoking a long and dazzlii'y white clay pipe _. , " Great Heavens !" exclaimf tslucher, " that in my servant, Christian Jnnemann. What a strange look you have,' an * What are you doing here I" "Have you come at last answered Christian, in a grumbling- ne Here have I stood the whole day wtlng for you. One pipe after another has P" shot away from my mouth by the acrsed French. Onco even a blue bean (h/tt) made sad work with my head, and r not had got a deuce of a smashing. This fche last whole pipe, and it is a good thir that the firing has ceased, otherwise tl French would have knocked this pipe tPieces, and you must have stood there wia dry mouth "

Aged Betties.

Histobv is full of ~ accounts of the fascination of wonW ho were n0 longer young. Thus — Helen of Troy waste* f°rty when she perpetrated the mci£m°"-S elopement on record. Pericles wedded P a9ia when she was thirty-six, and ye she afterwards, for thirty ye'.rs or r®> wielded an un dimiiiished reputaf for beauty. Cleopatra was p- *h"ty when Antony fell under her spe which never lessened till her death, aef ten years af'erwardp Livia was thirt« iree when she won the heart of Augusti/Over whom she main- i tamed her ascen^y to the lasfc' Turning to trf m history, where it is possible to veri/atea more accurately, we have theextra^ nnayry De Poictiers, who was thirty-six *n Henry II —then Duke of Orleans, anust «>*" her age - became attached to h( and she was held as the first lady and '* beautiful woman at court up to the ptr °^ tne monarch's death and thft accessi</° P°wer of Catherine de- Medici. ! Ninon de 100'08' *ne most celebrated wit and bec^ of ncr day« was tae idol of three gentions of tne golden youth of France, ait 18 was seventy-two when the Abbe de i ll 3 e'^ m ove w'th her. True it is that *ie case °^ *ni? lacty a rare com bination < ult»re, talents, and personal attractiof nd"wed their possessor seem ingly wPie g'fts °f eternal youth. BiancfP c"" was thirty eight when the Grand c Francisco of Florence fell captive her charms and made her his wife, &l be ">as five years her junior. Lg U lr. wedded Madam de Maintenon when was *O: ty-three years of age. Q a ine 11. of Russia was thirty, three wliei 10 seizetl the empire of Ru, sia, and ca p^ed the dasliing young General Q r j f Up to the time of her death, at six' ven> she seemed to have retained the gal /ewitohing powers, for lamentations among all those who had ov tiown her personally. / famous Madame Hecamier was t /-eight when B;uras was ousted from a-, and she was without dispute de jd to he tlie most beautiful woman ia ape, which rank she held, for fifteen rs.

Making Her Things Fast.

ERi' housekeeper knows how craeful itment keeps table linen and household liture Girls do not always know or re nber that groat care of their own little sessions will often enable them to dress -cry little money. A lady gays: '' When as a girl there was one of ray young friends who was distinguished for ' making her things last.' Her dress, hats, flovel and ribbons were a marvel of durability I used to wonder how she managed to make them last so without their looking shabby, but I ceased to do so after I visited her own home The reason why her clothes wore so long was that she took suchgood care ottnem. Her d> esses were brushed and fol dedaway carefully, and the slightest spot on them was removed as soon as it was dis covered Her hat was wrapped in an old pocket handkerchief and put away in a box as soon as done with,' the strings and laces being straightened and rolled out most symmetrically each timo. Her gloves were never folded together, but were pulled out straight and laid fiat in a box one upon the other, each time they were used, the tiniest hole being mended almost before it had time to show itself But the thing that impressed me m vi WaS ,™8 Care ehe bestowed on her ribbons V\ hen making up bows she used to line the upper part of the ribbon with rWv£ ape£' an v this not oKly Prevented the übbon from becomiug limp and creased but kept it clean, so that when the bow was soi ed on one side she could turn the ribbon, and the part that had been covered came out looking new and fresh. That girt married aud brought up a large family. Her husband had to fight his way and d?d so bravely, and was usually successful, for he became wealthy. But his prosperity was iue quite as much to his wife's care and makSt » SaVlDg m°nej M * WSiS to his ia

A LEOPARD HUNT.

It was niy good fortune a great many years ago to be cantoned at Julbarri. I «ay «i _ oO d fortufie," for sal considered it; but J am afraid, if you had aaked at our mess1 for votes as to whether I ought to qualify the word fortune with the adjective " good" or " bad," I should have got very few ttr ?ote for my word. Good fortune 1 considers! it, nevertheless, fat I was an ardenfc BpGrJsman ; Julbarri was almost un tried ground, and the neighbouring juDgles J abounded in game of many kinds, among which thj rhiascerous, the tiger, and the leopard were by no meins iair and 'far between. &ad yet I cannot" deny !6hat fcr any on» who wa« not a sports aaan /ulbarri was about as elb-tf a sSfttioi aa could h& picked out in all-' the lengtl and bread th of our vast Indian Empre. It was situated in an out-of-the way corner of Bengal j and there was afo larp1 station within a couple of hundred mils- of us wh re a m&o with social aad grgaraous tastes could go for a few dajfi togefe rid of the oft-told tales and well tkeshed-out politics of t<*k? limited circla o our email mess-table. At ths-time at which I write our aociety ras at a peculiarly low obb The drill i eason woe over; the hot weather was com . ing on ; a-ad the leave season> had begun. . There was- so little work to be done that our colonel had taken pity on oar isolation, and had 'ieen unusually, perhaps almost unauthorisadly, liberal in the matter of leave ; and' oar mess, small enowgh at its beat, had dwindled and dwindled until now not more than half-a-dozen unfortunates daily stretched their legs beaeath its well-spread mahogany. For me, the approaching' heat had no terrors, the emallness of our society n» ennui and the prospect of escape fra-m Jul barri no charms ; for the beginning of the i hot weather is tSie very time when the best shooting can be obtained, and I hod long : been watching tin drying up of the grass !in the jungles, and had been lookingofor- ward to the time when we might start a beast with some cbunco of bagging-bim. There was one tking in which we were particularly fortunate : we had attached to our regiment nine elephants as a part of our regimental transport. I need scarcely say tliat it was nofr' long before we had the olephantts and their mahouts (driver*) thor oughly trained for shooting The largest ele phant we trained tG'earry our ho-vdahs, and ths smaller we ueed to form a line to beat the jungles and drive oat the game. With these elephants we had lol.p of fun, and there were few weeks after the shootiug eeaaon began in which some of us did not go oat two or three times We generally took it in turns ; four of ue went out, and two remained behind to; look after the regi menfc aad the station. We had been haviog very fair sport on and off for about six weeks, and the animals in th"c jungles close around the station seemed to have been all killed off or driven away ; for a whole week passed, and no khubber good enough to tempt even me did our ehikharea bring. It was the seventh blank day,, aad as we sat at our hazri (early morning cup of some invigora ting but harmless- beverage-),' under the hade of a splendid-mungb-tree which grew conveniently close to our mess-house veranda, my chum aad I were discussing the necessity of taking, a. week's trip across the river which skirted oar station, and were trying to cijole our companions into let ting xxn -have the nse of the elephants for so long a time. Wehad«f.arly succeeded in per suading them of the uselessness of expecting to get any more shooting close to Julbarri, *ud two of the least Bnfchnt»!q.fcMo of oor Nimrodshad actually ~i, wi. iv, when into the compound and- rigtit up to our table who should dash but Jatnala, the very best and the most trustworthy of all our shikarees ! Almost breathless, be stam mered out, " Sahib-, sahib, two such huge tigers!' Their pugs are as big as that:" and he described-with the end of the stiok he held in his hand a figure in the dnst, intended to portray the size of their foot prints, which would have done credit to a well-prrown mammoth. " They have killed a bullock in the Kala jungle, only six miie<* off; and I am sure they were still there when I left half an hour'ago. I ordered the elephants to be ready asl passed the linos."

Here was news wUh a vengeance ; but, aJ.as, it was my turu to stay in cantomnenta ; and with suoh splendid khubbor as this I could no", of course, even hint the sugges tion of an exchange. It was the custom of those going, out to borrow all the firearms of those n mainiog behind ; so I and Caatleton, who was my comrade in misfortune, made over our Joe Manton guns and our Purde}3 to our luckier companions, and wished them good speed with the beat grace we could muster; and if we betrayed our feelings a little by throwing after them the parting exhortation, " Mind you don't miss the fif teen-footer, "■ well, I really think we ou^ht to, be forgiven. , ° Caatleton was a married man ; and I must crave the ladies' pardon for omitting in my list of our Julbarri. residents , the really charming Mrs Caetleton and her fascinating sister, Miss Jervoise. . As soon as the hunters bad s;one Ca9tleton turned to me and; said, "You had better come over and' lunch with us, Watson. You'l! only be breaking your heart over visions of those, two fabulously footed tigers if.you lunch at mess alone." ..,.'" I thanked him; and two o'clock found me receiving the commiserations of the two fair ladies, while they pressed upon me the usual profuee hospitality of an Indian luncheon. We had reached the dessert stage, and Mrs Castleton was just pressing me to taste some specially delicious plan tains which a neighbouring raj %h ha sent her the day before, when the bearer d came in, and, making a salaam, said to Castleton "A man has just come from that little hamlet of Goree ; he wants the'salib lde to go out and,shoot a leopard .which has fust killed one of his kids, and is now lyine eating it in a saiall patch of jungle Ooree is only a mile and a half from here '"' We stared blankly at each other •'What can wado?" said Castleton ", D-°? flu 7' sl and, sh°°t it* of course W exclaimed the anthusiasitc Mias Jervofee * "But, Kate dear,-broke in Mrs CasMb. ton, with wifslyasohcitude, "the elephants are all away, and how can. they^ttoot "Oh, I am not thinking about the L« : phants,' replied Castleton^. "but Wati and I have lent all our rifles and mS™ and we haven't a single, thing of any kiO "There are the sepoys' rifle* " I-Li gested "We couM take one of th^ lg" a piece, and, you know, wo can't let I ff ■ leopard get off without having a try , him Can we?" . ! F or ;'Yes, there are the sepoys' rifles M before he is disturbed." B >i%)nce, "Well—all right, we'll try it */> Castleton, hesitatingly. * "ftfe said 1 lost no time in running hom'eF springmg Into a shooting qoatume^W and ■-; . r ' y^Pjastle-

ton sent bia orderly eff t 0 jj,, u^W' rifles etc ; and by the tstaio I hf^Jll to Castleton theordbr/y r'ean \ - a couple of rifles aDd a pa^tf?l^^; So a very short time caw prnr^sli our horses and following our 'm>% the little village of Goree..;; ?^B*fy, "I am not very sure aboutth. ?of this business," said Castleton ** | "Oh, it will bo all right" ri ""We must be careful not to'fir W are pretty sure to kill-that', ju^'. "&'m,. yen, I euppose so.'W, comrade, somewhat doubtfully *fy As a matter of fact, it was am' wise basibess. Our regiment J^1* in those days with the short two % Brunswick rifle, a nottzzle loader njf^ and one in which the bnllefc W*^ hammered rato the muzzle before v be rammed dovrn witb the ramrod rendered the process ot loadio e '» ■s' fully slow thftf practically it $£&:' it quite impossible for cither ofS* more than one shot, and Jtti^nojgg, V to kill a leopard1 with one buifoT^ well placed. If he were* notfcflfcj^ would be pretty certain tec chajnT1' wo should be in an awkward*plight. Matters did not look- much* mor*«L. aging when we reached Goreev I|as« ber was good enough ;" there wgR-tfe? wher*tbekid had been: struck, auj? ! were the dropa of blood and footprintr large ibe-parcTleading into a'patefc, o ji!. cane-jwogle about luO yards lod* -yards-broad, and we had' vsry lit%T, that- he waa itf there sure enongfa; *"" ranged, somewhat rashly, that' Will - enter the jungle from neariy-bppogjjj of trie patch and work towards tlft«? IS of w^aaw the leogwfd/J88^,,-. posßiblei- first to whistle and then feS oab before shooting. •We did* 2 with^ a- double object — fijst, tlu* might-not? shoot each other; aßdieaja that if one of ue- wounded the beastiWi came •towards- the orher we migfet btfgJ lookout for him', and not be takeo i awares.- So- we- separated; ' and 1% tiously" entered^ the left end of tha'J! while Oafctleton made his entrance Sift right. My end* of the jungle A'aa $$1 than Oaafeleton'e-f but the edge mfrffir clear, and by peering under the bffl could se3<four or &ye yards in front a*;; Very soon,.the cseis and bushee becate, thick tb#fr- Ii had- ?o cle^r away the lej» with one baud* whM© I held the rinW" cocked in the othef: We had each 8W accompauysßg: ue- and carrying oar * ' ond weapoo; the spear. To my mj».: gavo instructions that the moment I fi^' wuuld hand trim>back the rifle, and' he», - to give me> the spear. Of course I k him behiad'me; -o>Chat he should baiTJ danger. We had' not begun our ad«a more than two-or thsree minutes, and Is not penetrated') at out slow and edntitt pace, more than about 20 yard*' iW" Castleton whafciedl. lat ouce etoodfe After a slight pause,, ha called out in a»' of stage whimper, "-J s-ee him; but it',, nany bhot. I^oan only gee his hitid-qi] ter?, and there Ualot of jungle in thaw "Fire away," I replied, in an equi'-!"' melodramatic toue ; heartily wiihingtti his chance had.'been nasiue, In about Jillil minute the recer-t of r astleton'rj rifle to out. It was "followed by an angry'»''.-" somewhere from my ri^ht fron*-, andfe -.vas a dead silence " The >moke !m * 'astleton's rifle.came Soatinj.' over my hSI'^ but, though ■! likened irtontly with m' rifle half raised ft, my p^mkhr. douj =oun<l of a foo-siep. e-r the oracki-ig'ijfi twig oou'd I h-. .r.. At last ■ 'a-tleton r;« ■ out. ' I've hit him. but not badJy, I think: and he has gqni-.'offiin-your directfon!Sgl Giving Uastlt-ion. tirse to reload, I agiu began moving. forward with even qMs'" ■': C4ution than before. I had advaicert onlj a few paces, .when an pushing apidei'iicreei of leaves thicker.chad usual, and thrastln! my head-into a hmh r I met a sight'tis made my heart j,iunp ;. there, within six fed of me, crouched the ieopard, his eyebali flowing like b-illft of green fire in the'Ulli

ungle, a look ,o5 .the most savage

chiof on h;s-fao<v an«l 'evidently juatrjS the point o£ springing straight at me. I] first impuise was feo thro*- my rifle to'jj~; shoulder and fire-iat once ; but morf quieh than a flash iof'lightning came the conftf tion, like a living voice speaking to-ii "If you da, and iF you don't kill himdeii jO'll kill you;"' My nerves seemed to groi steady at once, iand I checked it; firct lash impulse . Then, keeping inf oye fised on hisj ■'$. raised my rifle sloirlj and delibsrately, took a steady aim, anc fired. A dull groan and a de^psrateout vulsion followed, and then ia a hi minute all was still. My faithful eeptpi had duly obeyed tny infractions; If ; had taken ray rifle and had given ill: the epeur, and with this spear held at tit' charge ready, to receive the leopard if k came my. way, are .waited until the <x*\ vuLinn fcubsidted. Then peering in again' wo found that tho leopard had gone back: and it wis not übtil \vo had advaniei some ten. yards that we came uponkhii? lyin^ deaa. It ehowa the marrellttvf vitality of the feline race ; for;.though & ball was.a. heavy one, and. had cvenl* right through the brain, yet he :l« managed to go fully eight yards fe where he wag crouching. Had:tbfr.l>« been turned aside at all by a'twig,..»k» it glanced off his skull, he would tiV> certainly have mide his spring, aWt» jungle, so den?e I could hardly havetlWP to keep him off or defend myself, f, ! I called up Caatleton at once*.3)id» coon pulled the leopard out of thektbieW We found Castleton's bullet had hit bis! the side, but far back.^ so ac: nvteito'io'' fere in anyway with his 'powersj(?f attsd I: congratulated myself on a lnckj. cc»!;; The villagers were delighted at thette*^l,! a robber which had more tboni-oae%M their backs under contribution, an«i:pr«ss their services on us to carry him»ll*«6 ' •procession -was soon .fortoedj ,suidwi'f: turned to Julbarri in triumph with* leopard swung on a pole in. fsoai*! °3' ' " Ghambera's Journal." ~:/„ , "See here, laudlozdj" sasd an &M tenant, after he had signed; the contra1' a year, "this house is-: full ctf seweri* "Yes, that's what I told you." "ToldP fl Ye 3 ; you asked me if there Wjas.g 93' ii every room, andl.said.thi^rewas." ~: The question cf marriage withadfra^^ wife's sister is to.be raised this season tor-. House of Cornmpns by yeaolutioniinst**^ by bill. Thoresolation will be Mr HetieagOj. who has been balloting; far unsucceasfally—for a place." A tali,"1 however, be broaght into the Lordn for the purpose of giving lefe**l^ nition Id. England to marriages which have been contracted in the coloa" in whiefa they are permitted % l*w- According to the " New rKif^&j^ there is a possibility of John L. "flß^f visiting Australia. Sullioan migM W^ { well save himself the trouble, se^pKfglj there is not a good second-rate beayy-wni boxer in the colonies. , :!':j'«H

Printed and Published by the^w Hknby Brstt, of Symonds-BtweS General Prlntta Office, .ShorOanW streets, in theTrovlnce of Anc»| Zealand. . • , fl io« Sattoday, Aprk 16, Vg

rmi-Att OATTTPBAY APRIL * 18, I^B7 THE AUCKLAND EYENINGJ^AI^ SATURUA^^J^.^^ ___,

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