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BY JI. C.OOJDtNDl!N, We met that eve, my foe and r, Wh..u 1;4 ,.,.., "'&<! Gvd or all the skyI.H>..1h moua o or the p~t1,in. "l' W><& ll<'l i1:ht. ..,. ih1· CI06lnlt day Made i>h .st1 y JJ<!.llid, ns they la/ , 'J'he wo " nded and tlte stain. .\ ch1>1-ge ! u:r swcrrcla were hilt to hilt, It d r-e "' bacJt for d.-.«lly tilt, W·th ciu1nrng guarcr a11d " th · ust.~ Now .-.hoi;e the 89Vord shall gain a wrc..th t F ..r bet er \ii the foemr1n · lleath 'l'he'n b., ' h ..n let t he rapier rust I 'ti~ now the 1eck·.-~~ aud dcUant How cl···r 'l'oa.l !:lo yuu1h f ul unrl 80 ra1r l 'rl' e ... u " ) ed upon ht· comely lips The Iii Lie sonle" m '<id<n s1 ])3 ~ h ou 1u ~ht ut love is there. tune and plaoeruce; Mloe s,1unded d,·ep his breast. 1 he t"oked ·urprisecl, and knelt, .And thdt m st< rJn\lB f..1ntuess felt t << > dyin1t eve1 lt.1·1: Anrl wh .t 11. lovk w,.s thrtt h i. threw, 'n h e n from h.ia br~41st my b1ade I drew. Po" r boy ..6." tl Am· me··l 'H ca. t ! or death or f Ml'eU 1uu iny · K'u... ni he pres~ed, .And w ine in der<dly foud·we stund. Ill., 8W<tf d <point pierce \ my shoulder-and W1tb ~u<Idcn eroen~~. on l:e cam e ; lmroed th· o r eeking steel I o.nxiuua look- though fixed and cold, A8Uo1myfaceh ' would hod · l<a0h iu,rrl. d<1lest<>d line. Poor buy of Ms from chm to brow, The lme..i;nent· are with me now, o. L " rd ! w nero w uk he mme 1 That ui,,ht by help the pale moon shed, I sou h t buu out am1J t tbe dead, nd g1.ve the u~ad a tear. 1 woul · wtule w11.t~h>ng his :repose, H ..v k1086d him, but Ot\6 never knOWS An What mi.y be lloveim~ near. J'or 1hi9 J fe t his ~pirit may Thh sudden quitting of the clay He ' en,:e him whom IJ!lew. Ano lix: witl:l a vmd1ot1ve d a rt · Som· te1rur8 on m~ Lroubled neart That mortal~ never knew. But what the terrors of a night, Wht'lu ready con~cwnce bO c;in smite He.,dle·s or time or place I Fix u on my il'um1 brow abides The hrand of v ..m. that "honor" hitka But ntiver can eff ...ce. CUPIDITY AND (JfllM£, cHAPTJ£R .,. ,..,,. ..· xvnr. CoNTINUEn). / J The girl's courage and forethought were wunderful. In the brief apace of time all··wed her she had pinned the tra.vellmg-wr-.i.p shawl-fasluon over her ;:pretty shoqlders, and twisted a Silk handkercluef i·ound the soft gray hat Vauce Jiad intendlld to wear in the train i and now she stood beside him, luggage-ticket ·in hand, consulting cheerily as to the probable dela.y in the train that would ·inconvenience them m their-cross-country ,journey. Brave true Nettie! If he had not loved her before, Vance felt that he must have bowed down then in helpless a.dorati.on of the strong true heart that took up the burden under which he must needs have broken down, and nobly served and aaved his mlBerable charge. Not until they were safely seatedm the second-class earriago-alone, as it most mercifully happened--<lid her nerves yield under the' .unnatural stramJaid upon them, Then :for a second she turned faint and giddy, growmg so deathly white that Vance 1hought she might lose consciousness, and ~un~. his ariu around hl'._r. , But ~he rallied l1l a inoment; assurmg ~ifu, witli brave wlutti hps, that tho motion of the kam had shaken her--:--that was all. . Tkat was a ternble JOUrP..llJ'.. The tr<Lm dragged its slow length from little statwn ~ t.o little station; and from station to station the pale pair never knew that the telegraph-wire had not flashed the news before them, thitt exposure and arrest might not awa.ft them <.?n O !fe of the platforms-sha.me and terror for thf m, shame a.nd dea.th p erhaps fur the dttzed and helpless girl who sat mute, mot ionless, b.nd ~eemmgly absorbed m ~trance of .~orror 111. the CQrner of the ?arn~ge. . .At last the great JU11ct10n from which hlley took then· departure for the North was reach~d, and they f?und, ~ their intense relief, that their trams almost matched, and that, so far a.c least, the ne.ws had n?t preceded them. They.had gamed a little breathing-space, a httle kme to think and a.ct. Night found them in Glasgow! and in the lodgmgs that they P· ov1iientially seoured beforehand f~r a part y of three. comparatively _ was , _ _ Once u nd er 8 h elter, it easy to act, and N ettie s prompt mstmct . served_her well. Their new landlady was a very different person from the easy-going chatty old lady at Stoke Vernon. A bustlmg, slaving woman with a house full of lo~gers and hands full of work, she had neither time nor taste for gossip, and, once having shown the new comers their r ooms and heard their reqmrements, s~e was only too glad to leave them to their own devices. She did indeed regret, wit h abstracted v - ' ·t ' M civility, that rs. ansit tart s s1~ er-or was it her maid I-should fall ill JUSt when she was most wa.nted ; but, when Nettie, with well-acted h eartlessness, deplored "the whole affair" as " an awful >nuisance" and "a most vexatious thing," h er thoughts had so evidently travelled off b ·1 d " f ' into the regions of "roast imd 01 e , o "cold Joints and hashes" t hat Nettie felt it safe to let the subJ'ect drop and the im· patient woman go. The week that followed will always be L v s 1 t.il}e hideous blurred spo" it1 ance mg e_ ton's memory. E ven to themselves, N ettie and he never speak of those days, in which, movo where t P.ey might, look where they would, they saw t he hideous ~hadow of the gallows flung across t heir ;ath. 'l'he story of Lord de Grett on's murder was on everv t ongue ; t he subJect _J was too romtinhc _and sensahona1 not to catch the public fancy. On every sid e they heard ~he name that was so torribly familiar to t heir ears, on eyery side t hey ' speculat10ns as to th e cause of t h e heard murder, the flight of the murd eress, and marvels that as yet she had hot been oougl1t. "The police ! Oh , the police have been as wise as usual t" Vance heard a man a t a ettreet-corner obser ve with t he easy cynicism of on.eon whom no responsibil-ty rests. " As usual , t h ey h ave 1et t h eir 1 i!ame slip through their fingers, a~1d get off .c.. !" scot-u·ee he answer ma.de his fevered blood run cold. , "For a t ime," his companion said, wit h a confident laugh "' Slow and sm·e, ' my dear fellow ; you forgot the good old pr o-verb. F or my part, however clever she may be--fi.nd she ill clearly crazy- I would give long oddi; that the murderes1 is caught to act. ImmtJaeurable as was the reli f little resolute face. "To save her will at last." that this thought gave them, there v,;:;;J a make us both so happy, we shall forget The tortured listener could hear no ghastly unreality about it too ; for <lid the rest ; besides, do you t hi11k that in more; he drew his coat-collar up about not their new freedom come throu1~h Heaven's eyes her madness will count lns nuuk, although the day was cltise and Nora's supposed death, and was not N(ll a against her as a crime i" sultry, and hurried home-home to the slowly but surely stmggling back to life 1 "No," the young man answered, after a place where the brave little Nettie kept She was to hve; the doctor gave that brief pause ; then he added, with a shudher patient watch by the sick-bed of the assurance unhesita.tingly now. But her der-for in truth his wannngs t o Nettie murderess. mmd was clouded still. She open~d h·-r had. been but an mterpretat iou of his own The murderess! lt wrung his very great gray eyes on hfe with the mnocent instinctive repugnance t o "the shedder of heitrt to use that word even m lus m- trustmg wond.,r of a child; her memory blood"-"but it is the daily companionmost thoughts re~pecnng proud beaut1- seemed an absolute blank for th.i first fow ship, the perpet ual remembrance, t hat I ful Nora, of the girl who lay m merciful days after the fe ver passed away, and even dread for you " · But his wife shook her bright head, unconsciousness, ilghtmg for the life that when it slowly wakened it brought her no would be mtoler"'blc werti it hers- images of pain. and resolut ely refused t o share }us fears which, as it was, was forfeit to the law. "You arti Vance," she said, l ooking "Do you remember, Vance, a talk we At first Nettie had nursed her night wistfully from the young man to N et tie h<td m our old courtmg-days ? How far and day, fearing to summon even a doc- one day; "but tlns 18 not Cnstme. " back they seem now 1 You were a litt le tor to her aid, l est in her c1elu1ous rav"No, dear; Cristme is not here." ashamed of my ignorance-yes, you were, mgs the secret that must at all uosts be "I am glad." She droppcid her head dtlar, and so indeed was I-and often kept should be :revealed ; but soon she with a little sigh of conten t . "Criotine t urned the conversation on books and SclW that fear was vain. Nora babbled m- is not k ind- but you. What is yow· tlungs about which you could give me mformation m an easy ostentati(ius fashion. deed incessantly ; the pa1che11 lips never name?" " Nettie." Oh, Vance, is it possible you thought I ceased to murmur, the hot he:td tossed for ever en the pillow in a very fren zy of The girl flashed a warning glance across did not t alilte the powder in the jam?" scorclung pam; but her thoughts took a the bed, forbiddin g the fuller explanation She paused to smile at the conscienc"great backward leap m to the regions of Vance woulJ. hav"' given. . str tken acknowledgment m hei; husb:m i's the past-th-ey were all chilchsh troubles "Nethe !"- Nora repeated tne word face, her mnocent t rmmph oblit eratingfor she bewailed m her heart-broken mcess- with caressmg accent and a little flicker- the moment all darker t houghts from her ant cry. Crissy l:J.ad tyranmsed over her, mg smile. "Nettie, h:i.ve I been very mind. V auce had teased her, somet hmg was ill?" "Did you see t hrough me so easily ?" wrong-she could not remember wlrnt "Very ill, dear," Nettie answered Vance asked, wiuh a rueful laugh. " I her mother could only help and under- gravely. was but a st upid and offic10us schoolmasstand her and her mother was dead. h y I I f ,, ron~edidLordDeGretton'sna.me "And you ave nursed me? es~er, 11ar. Neve ~ have seen your face through a mist, al" Now, Va.nee, you are unkind; but pass her hps, never once did she speak of ways kind and gentle, and very, very sa.d. that is ot the question now. One night Arthur Beaupre or her ll-starred love; 1 thought you were an angel. Wer~ you some one spoke in the theat re of Charles wild dreamy fancies, baby 1roubles in sorry for me, Nettie 'I" Lamb- and I-I knew nothing of hitn or hor~liblytlg1t·otesqu.e condtrhast w~ih the real "Very sorry l" :Nettie said, with a little of !us works ; but, discreet ly veiling my pens ia1 environe er- iese were h. b h h d'd h iirnorance at the time, I asked you aftertir ~ Nora's 01· y though~h while ~very news catG m her reat ' though s e l tuh k ' d "" 'tl 1 wards for information. Do you remember - best to speak with cheerful composure. " paper m e mg om rang w1 l 1er name, N . d 1 now, Vance ?" and all the detective skill in England ora raise tie great eyes t 1tat were Yes-the young man remembered well; banded it self togedier to traak her down. filled with wistful wonder, but had no The doctor, whom, forappeamucesake, shadow of fear or of remorse to trouble but, for the moment, he did not a11swer, Nettie Jwas at 11 \st forced to call m, pro- their dear dt!pths. so st.ruck was he with the stran~e fateful nounced the case one of brain-fever, and "l'lut I shall get well soon. You are not chance that had made him impress that looked very gravely at the anxious nurse, sorry for me now 'I" story of all others on the girl's mind. as he asked if she Ji:new what great .Nettie turned her hea.d abruptly aside, "I shall never forget it," she went on trouble had lately weighed upon the pa- unable to endure the innocently inquir- gently, the clear eyes growing luminous tient's mmd. , 1 ing look. The action, or some glimpse of with a deep inner glow. "You told me Nettie's courage · had almost failed her, the averted face, struck Nora,like a blow of his works, but those I have forgot t en. 80 keen and searching was the old ma.n's -the placid face darkened and contracted, You told me of his brave beautiful liftl, look; but fortunately at that moment the the pretty lips quivered pitifully. and every word sank into my heart -of heart-broken "Mother, mother!" carue '·)ou are sorry still 1" she said, in a h is tender devotion to his sister on whom from Nor 's lips, and brought with it an weak excited whisper. "Then there is the curse of madness had fallen, the sisidea. , somet,hing more I must try to thmk- t er whose hands were red with his o'l\n "Her mother is dead," she faltered; must try to remember; hut my head is so mother's blood- his moth~ l Vance, but the good man fell easily into the strange I" think how that must have intensified the trap. ' "You must neither talk or think any horror of his memory! You told me "Poor soul!" he said, touching the hot more at present; it is against the doc- how, never knowing when the curse head llently. "Intense grief, or stvength tor's orders," Vance interrupted au*orit- imght fall agam, he lived on cheerily, broken down' by long nursmg, I suppose. ative)y; fo1· the quickly growing excite- week iµter week, month after month, ~ome daughters do take these tlungs to ment, the ominous red spot on each year after year, till youth had paBBed and heart, I know. Well, good day, Mrs. cheek, and the premonitory glitter in the manhooo t ouched upon the confines of old Vans1ttart; don't wear yourself out- bet- large eyes began to alarl}l him. age, with and for the doomed creature, tor have a nurse!" "But, Vance," she began agitatedly. whose unconscious crime had shut,her off "No-that is, yes! I will see about "Dut, Nora," he answered sternly, "if from all mankind. Vance, I thin'k that it," Nettie said hurriedly; "but, Doctor :you do not promise to obey me, lshall take story came to us as .-lesson and.a gmde. Ilud·on, is it'a very serious case i Will Nettie away." What Charles Lamb bore alo~\e with she die 1" '£he threat had its e: f fect; she turned cheery, dauntless courage we can bear toThe doctor looked a little surprised at and clung to Nettie, with a mutely gether. And, besides his, our l'>urdell t he sudden break in N ettie's soft ,voice, appealing gesture more eloquent thaJ1 any will bti m:finitely light." but answered gravely-;, words. . , After that Vance Singleton argued and "Brain-fever is alway$ serious, general"Hush, dear!" Nettie drew the poor protested no more. Withm a week the ly fatal. If she does rally , she will owe dazed head, tho dark s1~ken rings of hair agreement with Mr. Valence was signed. her life to you." of which were st reaked with snow whire Within a month they had reach New The words were even truer than he threads, down upon her shoulders, and, York, and all the broad Atlantic rolled bethought. stooping, kissed her thin hot ehtiek. "No tween them and the scene of L Q rd de "Better that she should die, N ettie," one shall send me from you; but for your Gretton's murder. Yu~ ~ said sa.dly:,-when his wife t old him ~ust be me !!d patient Like a child N ora ha~ aubmittecl -to any a ll- that passe ;:-noett e r that s e for a few days more." Then she tu med 11.n d every arrangement made for her, should pass aw:~y m this merciful ma.d- to her husband, and addtid, with g1mtl.i c·mteat 8 0 long as she was in Nett ie's ness tlnn w,\ke to the realismg holl'or deuis10n, "You may go now, Ya.nee; sh.i presence, but silently content even then. her after-life f!l.USt be !" ' will not ,talk a.nr, more, and presently she In the most literal fashion she had obeyed Strong and unselfish as Vance Smgle- may go to slet>p. ' her step-brother 's injunction not to t.alk, ton had shown himself, his strength and Vance obeyed her; and in half an. aud, ei..cept to answer a questi·m, never rn,mhood .had broken down under the hour's time Nettie joined him, and told opened her lips- a fact t hat Va.nee reteinble strain. lie was only flesh and him that her prophecy had been ful- joieed in while he remained m Glasgow, blood nut fine-tempered steel like N et- filled. and while he was on board ship; but, tie, a;1d h e felt that night that he could "She is slet>p ing like a tired child. from when dttys and weeks pa·sed on, ~md she bear no more ; t he meshes of the net were shetr weakn1ess, uow; but her mind i8 still moved like a lov" ely mute about t he closing round ~hem, the pursuers were waktm1ng. her memory comiug back, and place, he began to grow irritably impanpon their track, escape seemed hopeless- then- -" t ieLt of a state of t.hings that puzzled ly impossible. LQsmg heart and courage, ·'Heaven help her when she remem- him. , he rested his head upon his folded arms bQrs all!" Vance finished moodily, a "We shall never know h ow much or and sobbed like a woman or child. Nettie pause'ci, with an irrepresstble how lit tle she remembers until she begin11 In a moment Nett ie was kneelma lte- shiver. to spe ..k," he said t o Nett ie one day ; and side h11n, her arms around his neck~ she "'Oh, that brings me t o what I wished the wi~e little wife answered, m her brigh h raised lus head, and made hun look into to speak about, Vance I" Nettie seusible fashioh· her face· and in its sublime faith and said, with a relieved look. " Sit down, "P<t.t.ience; dea'r. The longer her mind womanly tend~rness, the face of the little dear, for a. little serious business conver- sleeps, the stroliger it will be to bear t he actress was as the face .~f an angel in that sation." . shock of waking. SG metimes I think moment ' She drew a big hass0ck from up.der the that it stir1> uneasily, t hat she recalls too "No ·dearest Vance"-gentle as the table, and seat.ed herself at the young mu.:halready. voice ~as it thrilled like a trumpet-call man's foet, crossing both arms upon his The same thought · h ad occurred to to duty, 'making th 'e man blush for his knee. and looking up into his face with · uirmg · brown eyes. Vance; notlctldhad that, whereas own b reak -d own- "hope st'll l · f or, wh en b' ig mq phy11ical he recovery at first beenNora's ·rapid we lose hope, we lose all. If it please ' ·'l'.ou know the offer w~ had to go to < ind complllt.e, she had of lat e fallen as Heaven to take Nora., we shall know that .America., Vance?" she has found peace; but, if she is sparVance nodded acquiescently; t:b.ree rapidly away. The wild-r ose bloom t hat ed--" weeks before, they had, after much con- the fresh sea-breeze had brought to t he "To what a waking !" Vance broke in sidera.tion, declmed an astonishingly lu- softly-rounded cheek now faded t o a sickwith a shudde1·. " Net tie, I dare not crat ive enga.gement from a N ew York ly pallor, now burned in a. fitful red ; the thmk of that !" manager, bec<l.use N ettie did not like t o cheek itself gre w pamfully thin, the eyes "Do not d ear " she said gravely ; go so far away from her mother and Jenny. lost their child-like lustre, and gamed a "trust and' wait. ' The darkest h our is " Well, dear, I thmk we will accept it . st range wistfulness. If Nora were not on just before the dawn. Somethmg tells me Mr. Valance hasbeendisappomtedmsome the very, verge of the waking agony, her that our da.rkest hour is here, and that people he engaged, and would gladly re ~e:~t~t ~:: a~~l~~gut~~iat.NoA~n:!iu~~u~~ morning is at hand." new his offer." , .,., ·bl t h · k t th · H e kissed the sweet earnest fnce, nnd "But y11ur mother and J enny 0 " was .-ossi e e young pair ep eir " " ' charge from all uoJ1tact with t he outer let a little comfort steal into his aching "But Nora 7" she said quickly. "Yes, crowd, the curious theatre people, in heart. If the dawn tarried st ill, some I kno-iy they will be disappointed "- with society it would be impossible to guard silver star of hope had pierced the sullen a tiny quiver of the lips, a sudden bright- her perpetually from dangerous shocks. blackne88 of the skv. ness in the dewy , eyes, that was no t hid· A h 'bl th k t h 'th' den by the quick bright 11mile ; "but it 1 s s muc as possL e ey ep er wi m not a matter of life and death with them, doors, for her n aturally striking beauty CHAPTER X I X . and i't 1 ·8 with Nora. Vance, if we do was iendtlred more atnking still by t he fact . that the rich blue-black hair had Nettie proved a t rue prophet. The not get her away from here before she reh f morning brought news that, while it calls the past and realises the full horror grown snow-white, c1ustermg in 8 ort so t seemed a mockenr of t he wat chers' fears, of h er position, we shall never get h er rf:rc iges_ round the young pathetically sad robbed them of their worst sting, and set away. Jn h er despairing agony sh e Naturally it had not been possible to them comparatively free. Suspicion, it would- -" shield her from all observation, and more seemed, had from t he first moment point"Give herself up t o the police," Vance than one member of t he theatrical comed t o ·smcid e as the only l ogical sequence fimshed between his teeth. " I have forh d d k llf f to Lady D e Grett on's mad act ; and, seen that, N ettie, before now. " pany a manoouvre s 1 ul1Y or an mwh en , a fortmght after the murder, t he " Then do notlet it happen ; let us take troduct10n to "Miss Vansittar t," as N bra body of a. young woman in an altogether her across the sea, where, with nothing to was called ; but Nettie kept them dexter- bl dt l1 d remm ' d her of her- her madness, she may ously at bay, and accounted for her sister::z~~g~~sath! v~~; f~~~n0t:~e· ~n in t uno forget. ,, in-litw'e sorrowful abstract ion by a pretty which Mr. Dalrnayne's cot tage stood, He took t he litt le clasped hanqz and little romance of an engagement bro)re'1 every one was well pleased that it should kissed them with reYerent and grateful off by death · V , " ltis true, ance, ' she said apo1ogetibe iden tified as Nora's, and the astound- love ; he look ed into the dear true eyes ingly sensational romance be br oue:ht that mirrowed every t hought of the p ure cally to her husband, "and it satisfies ~ ·" to a terminatio1 1 at once dramatically soul, and he saw t hat on th is sacr ifice people's curios1'ty you '-·1ow JU Va nce 1aughed , and s h ook hi ' s hood satisfactory and complete. T he police t.hat would crown her work, Ne t tie's heart ~ at ' ttle J esm't ; b u t m · h. t h e li were d elighted to be J ' ustified in their was set. is h eart h e :1c- d om of .h er words. theory- Lord de Gretton's family pleased "Very well, dear," Vance said simply ; k now1edged tlie w1a -·so t n - 1Y for a t'ime. . that t he disagreeable pub1w1ty caused by i t seemed foo1LSh and super fl nous to t I1a1= ,mgs went on quiet th e matter should end ; and even t he her, and t he simplest words were best. They had been in N "'w York at least a newBpa.pers were fain to admit t hat t hey "Stay, Nettie- there is one thing more co uple of months before any event of had made the most of the nine days' you must consider- yourself. Have you greater magnitude than the arnval of wonder mercifully vouchsafed them in a. r~flected t hat Nora. will not be al w,.ys home-letters wit h news of Mrs. Clare - k an d h e1p1ess as a 1i ttle chil d m your and J enny occurred - Iiome-news f or vacruit time. sic A few more para~aphs anent the Cor- hands? When health and strength come Vance there w:i.s none-and m deed he did ' t'me and M rs. B ruce oner's mque11t aud t e f unera1- at which , b ac k t o h er, wi11 you not sh rmk from t h e not oxpec t any- cr1s to t he scandal of many and t he compre- unhappy girl, remembering h er terrible were at Wi esba,den, :\le k new ; b ut he had hension of a.few, Ar thur Beaupre's mother past 1 W ill not her presence cast a per- ·in no way inform~d 'them of his wherewaspresent-asentimentalleaderorso,and petual shadow on your path, and m,~ke "llbouts. t hen the Stoke Vernon mystery was set you less h appy tha.n my bright Nettie Sometimes his conscience stirred a aside as a thing done with and forgotten. should be 1" little uneasily with t he thoughh tha.t he At lllllt Vance and Nettie dared look the " No." N et tle'11 a.ll.iwer caime quick and was t reat ing his mother with unnatural future in the face, at lllllt they were free cleM; there was 110 shadow now on the indiJference; but to meet - he1 lt'ould be a - ,, G citfi. to meet Cristine ; and, knowing what he GEMS OF TIJOUGJ!'r. kne 1\T of her, remembering the cold-blooded cruelty of her volunteered eviLet us with caution indulge the supdence,'}1e fel t that he could not meet his position that morality ca.l'l be mainminei sister just then. So t he autumn slipped with religion. away, and t he winter was with t hem, Sin is never at a stay ; if we do not rewhen, one day, !)Ommg back from a early treat from it we shall arl vance in it ; ant rehearsal, they found Nora stretched like the fnrther on we go the more we have to one dead on th.e ground, with an E nglish come back. newspaper locked m her r1g1d clasp. '.Ve need not ask, "Will the t rue, pure, W1th a sharp cry of dist ress, N ettie loving, holy man be saved ?" for he ia raised and tned to restore her to con- saved ; he has heaven ; it 1s m lum sciousness, while Vance mechanically and he is soon to possess the whole. drew the papers from the cold stiff fin- 1 N o hum1li.t y is perfect and proportioned gers that clutched it with so despairing a but that winch makes us h:-.1te ou1selves a.a gnp. corru pt. but res pect ourselves as immol.'"She has seen something, Vance; what tal, the humility that kneels m the d ust, is it 7 " but gazes on t he skies. N ettie looked back eagerly over her "I have k nown "says St Basil " mea shoulder, b ut never paused in her occu- who ha~e fasted, ~nd prayed aud groaned, pat ion of chafing t he cold fingers and bath- alld ydt would not give the :dli10ved one mg the pale brow-, . farthrng. " But God said to Cor nelius, H er husband did not answer irnmed1- " Thy prayers · nd thine alms are come up ately. His eye rested on a long para- for a ruernorial before God." graph headed with Arthur Beaupre's Disotledience lost us an Eden of flowers, na~e. . . ,, _ . but, God has replaced it by au Eden of ~ . W:hat is it~ the. girl repeR.ted a lit tle love. We sometimes wander from it& impa~iently; and with tremblmg and un- shades; but when wear y and worn b7 certam utterance Vance read the stor:y the conflicting ca.res of this world, wei aloud., He coul~ find no words of his creep baek wi th thankful hearts to t hat own ; ~twas a r elief t o fall back on the re- one spot, forever green m t he great deapo~,ter s stereotyp~d ph:rases. sert of hfe. Our re~ders will be mter.. sted t o learn The troe of peace strikes its r oots int. that Captam Arthur Beaupre of th~ -~h the Crlm ces ef the everlastrng R ock , · it H h 1 t d f ussars as vo un eere or ~ervice m grows securely from tlwt rock, and cast.II Burmah, where tro uble is daily appre- out i ts cool shadow i n the sunshine, and hended. Thegal~ant young officer., whose maklls sweet music in t he stnr rn, and is t9 name has been .twi~e ~rought prommently t he believer as the shaduw of a great rock ?efore t he J?Ubhc _w1th~n the last ye.a r:, once and frm t uf refreshment in a weary and m connection with J:1s long c~pt1vity m parched land. Zululand, and agam m romantic conneo_ tion with the D e Gretton murder has ln the deepest mght of t r ouble and ' r G0 d h t b ti k only recently recovered from a long and so row, gives us so muc 0 e tan dangerous illness; but, with the chivalric f?l !or, tha~ we need.. never cease our gallantry of an Engli~h soldier, he is t?o s~ngm.~. With all ouy: ·1sdom., and foreeager for tl,ie fray to rest even until his iught, w~ can t ake ~ill!wn m ~la.dne111 ! strength is fully rllstored. We are sure a;nd gratip~de fro:n the happy bird that the best wishes of all who know him, and smgs all mght !ls 1! the day were not long know the painful trials t hrough which he enough to t ell _it~ JO~. _ ha.s recently passed, will accompany this The act of g1vmg is_ descr1b~d b'y Paul distinguished young officer upon his new as 3 grace. Only thmk of it, "As ye campaign." · abound in utterance so abound in W. Vance dropped the paper and looked grace also. '.' 'Yhat a lilessed thing .it across the room. Nora still lay white wo~ld be i_n t his Amcnca of ours, tn and still, as though h er troubled spirit wluch the ~t of tongues ~eerns _ to_h8:ve had indeed found an et ernal rest. Net tie been so lavishly bestowed, if Chnst1a.mt7 was a1-::i.ost as pale, and there was a sorely generally were as fluent in givmg as the7 troubled look in her eyes. are m speech. "She has remembered !" she said, in The time may be delayed, the manner an awe stricken whisper, while her corn- may be unexpected, but sooner or later, passionate tears fell thick and fast on the to some form or another, the answer a cold hfelessface. "Oh, Vance, how calm sure to come. Not a tear of sacred sorshe looks! It seelllJI ~uel to brmg her row, n'1t a breath of holy desire, poured. back to life." out in prayer t o God, will ever be lost ; It was long before the kindly trance of but in God's own time aud way it wHl be peace was broken, long before all efforts wafted back ag·tin in clouds of mercy, and served to rouse Nora from the swoon that fall m showers of blessin!I' ou yuu and. count~rfeited death so well. Vance those for whom you pray. thought more than once th&t she had es- · - - -- caped from all her troubles; but, when she ditl awake at last, Heaven ahue A. Sharper's Ruse. could help her, for she remembe ·' 1 The Montreal Star says; But few perall! ~ons have any idea of the trouble and in(TO BE CONTINUED.) ·i ' ·· rnence to which they freq uent ly put ____ --- -- - our u1ty detectives, and of the large number cif criminals who escape through t heir House Building, unwitting assistance. The veracit y of thia Wooden houses are warm and dry, and asser tion was proved a shor t t ime ago iJt fur t he country as well as for town ancl the city of Chicago. From t ho facts of country in t he sout h, are greatly to be t he case, elicited from t he chief Detect ive :proferred. ~Dmnp dwellings originate ·here, it appears that<> tll known citizen consumption iu its most insidious and ie- of Montreal, havmg l-. occasion t o visit sistless forms. Chicago on business of impor tance, went If a house is built of brick or stbne, the to one of t he r,rmcipal hotels of that city plastering should never be laid on t he and was great y astonished at i10armg the wall itself ; t he wall should be la thed, so proprietor r efuse to give him a room. On as t o have an inch or more bet ween t he demanding an explanation ho was st ill biick or stone aud t he lathrng, un which more surprised t o hear the l1otel k eeper the plast er shoull). be spread. declare that ~e wanted n o pi?k_Pocketa or When in H avana dti Cuba some years sharpers at his hotel. E xplammg furth er ago, for infornrn,t1on, n,pt heitlth, I observ- t he host declare~ t hat h e had s<ien the ed that t he island wa.s covered with June- j sa.me gentlema.n m the ~onaYenture Destone, so soft t hat a common p·ck-axe pot go up t-0 a de~ective tl1ere a~d ask would dLg out tl1e celler iri large bl"cks of h:rn if h e (~hci dete.ct1.ve) was loo_kmg for 11ton e out of which the builJ.iug itself hnn. This and similar express10ns, he was e~ected; and not only werti these ~id, were a.cknowledged pa.sswordsamon"' large stones used, but the smaller ones, Rickpockets or sharpers, generally made not a n inch in diameter, by using mortar u1e of by one of tJi~D?- to warn his c~nfed larg.,ly between the large stones, while erates of the. yicmity of a detective or the small ones were st uck into t he mor- some oth er nurnon of t he law. The gent er · in some cases t he small stones and tlemar1 from Montreal explamed to the mo;tar St!emed to predominate ; but from proprietor t~t he had only passed such a t lte hour of builrliog, t he wall became remark _ m a Jok e! and t hat he had no idea harder and harder. The large st ones ~t t he fame he 1~1ght have been yreventthemselves inci;eased in hardness, so that il?g th e detecti ve from capturmg some in the course of a few years the wall be- pickpocket or sh~rper. Th~ hotel-keeper comes al most .one solid piece of marble, final~yadopted h is explana.t10n, but warnfrorn the m · fl11 ' ence of mA1'sture and car- ed hup. not to be too free with such gen· u bonic acid absorbed by t he soft lime. On t lemen. The same advice ca:n. be given t o the same principles, great nature made a large nu~bi;ir: of our citizens,_ who, the conglomerate ;variegat ed marple col- throu~h t heir b tµJi_g ·too sociable with the umns in the capital at Washingt on. dete~tives and polwe, often cause harm, I t is by copying aft er nat ure, man and it woul~ be well ffor t~e1!1 t? rememmakes his areatest and mest u seful dis- ber the particulars o 1 +.]us incident and coveries. B ut t o get at nature's proces- be more careful in th.. ture. ses, discover the secret of her operations, _ _,......_ _ __ reqmres often long ye111rs o 0 anxhus study, The Prime or Life. of perplexin<r conject ure, of ruinous expendit ure, Jf wasting discoumgemen t; of~~!.~~ cal.J,.~~e ~;e~~:~r?ii:~~ t~!c~i~: not unfrequently the bra.in itself gives phrase 7 Some subacid cynic, dou btless. d tl bl · 't · k d way, an ' ie no e spin 18 a wi·ec an Becausp it is not the prime of lifo by any ruin, and goes forgotten t o an unhonored means. At for ty your hair at the temples grave. Sooner or later some oiher man, is whitening ; at for ty your "figure" is more fortunate, takes up tne investigation broadening ; , at fo rty you begin to 'be where he left 1t off, and by being able t o called " a harmless old fellow" by your bring a store of unimpaired energies t o the wo;rk, pursues it to a successrul issue. pretty nieces and t heir friends. A most W if h Id' h disgusting time of life ! When with djge g1or Y t e commonest so ier w 0 nified steps you march toward your grave J1as perished on the bat tle-field m t rying fi t b· t to kill }us brother man, but t hese unsuc- at seventy- ve, you are at 1eas an ° Jee cessful strivers after great practical of respect and reverence- if you have money. Your white l ocks and your truths, our hardy mechanics whose hands snowy white beard crown you with the are scarred and seared with labor, whose majesty of o1d. But to bo forty l you are joints have st iffened . and whose bodies neHher young nor old. Your hair jg have grown bent by mcessant stoopmg pepper and salt color. Your epeech has toil, these are perishing every day, with- b out a drum or funeral note, or word of ecome, in spite of yourself, set in st1lt pity or of praise, except indeed to the ed ,sen tences. You perhaps would flirt, "UC "essft1l few.-J,~"rMnl of IL·,,ltl'. bu t in the attempt yo·1 meet with dire v vw '~ ~ · disaster. This enterprise is met with tho - - - - -· giggles of girlhood, and you are dnven igThti old ,t ramp wlio was a. '"Michigan nominiously ,, from t he scene by some Th fire sµtferer" last su mrner' e Oh'w111 go·on the " masher of twen tyh summ ers. 1 road ~his spring as an " io flood-stiffer- real prnne of ife ts w en your muse1e11 er." ,He thougl1t 'once lie would hav" to are like twisted cords 0f the finest Dese"' appe?.,. . "Java earlli quake-suffel'er," mer steel (you don't caro much about ..... as a. but the floods liave fortunately rendered ~ irirls at that time) and your lungs like the this rather far-fetched excuse unneces'sary. bellows that blow the smeltmg - furnace ; A Minnesota exchange when towlute say one pretty f says; Farmers t hing, you and have showonly your teeth and in the western pa~ j bneigh;bo;ri,ng twist up the ends of your ymithful mouscounty have orgamze cu s for the tache, and any pretty guJ. 'YOU want jusl puryose of improving their horses. This sighs once and tumbles ~ your arms. is a good case for the cruelty to animal . ll .. 1 is a dmner associations to exercise their human pro- 'l'hat the prime over whenisyou bogin of to llfe. call fort your chv1ties. kf b d Religion stands upon t he brea ast a uttcre f two pillars, name- and toast.grumble VV'h en at you have become judge ly : what Christ did or us in His flesh of wine it is indeed time to leave the- arand what lle performs in us by His ena. and to accept the worn-out gladiatoi 's Spirit. Most errors arise from an at- gift of the wooden-llwoxd.-V,mity Failr. tempt to separate these two. Quite a numbe1· of F lorida citizens are spending the winter in the norlh to eseape The man with a lotterr bicket looks ouli the sever e weather. for the number wen. ... I n·w. Q d