The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

EH was a [admit that 1 was 0 Tonger. blind, she that the man Slade was an the Evil Oneand express hope that he would: nover door'! again. "dark ; fancy "of mine to go down hod 1s ins home of my youth, Heaton: Ma- had teen mistaken. = Wi | continued treatment my sight can Seel' I criod exoitodly. "I can bu, doctor--and the light--and the astily. : probable, but now that you have proof, I" must ask your par- ) rds of mine have given t offended me in the slight. dcar sir," he answered pleasant- are with the tréatment, and nue for another few days in dark- and then I feel confident that a tly satisfactory = cure will have en effected, Of course, we must not och a clear, visian at once,. but by 3. your sight will slowly become gare - nd with those words ho closed the diy: and drew the curtains close, so oom was agaim darkened. Imagine the thankfulness that filled "Aly heart! It was wo illusion. I had ctually seen the narrow rays of sun- ght between the half-openal blind and ihe dark silhouetie of the short, stout, full-bearcded man who was effecting a" marvellous cure. 4 ) gripped: his hand in the darkness, thanked him, } woonn 1 sufficiently repay you?" d. "This service you have render ne has opened up to we an abso- "my -trealn is. successful, and that I have he means of restoring sight to one ) fellow men is sufficient in ft<elf." "Buf 1 have one question I wish to " 1 sail. "The mode in wrich are bound to secrecy regarding ay as well admit the truth -f extraordinary," | ejaculated. d "Remain jot, and dont take" upon any mental problems. A greal dep upon your own had: performed & feat in suv- ch seemed io me miraculous. again | thanked him, but had gone and I told Parker, ve vent fo a grunt of in. Yet had 1 not actually seen ouetie 'of Slade, and the streaks beyond? 'Had I not skready So lt rail- {heart gthén until [ became lke {it i810 'mor;-a place . well known to "those ac- aainted with the district around Tew- kesbury, The great okl mansion, stand- ing ir the centre of a wide, well.wooded mark that slopes down to the 'Severn ¢loa to tha Haw Bridge, had been closed, and in the hands of the old ser vant Baxier and his wife, Indeed I had never Jived ther since, on my father's 1 death, it 'had passed inlo my posséssion. The rooms were opened for my inspec. ition, and as I wandered through them land Gown the Jong oak-pannelled gal- dery, from the walls of which rows of my time-dimnmsd . ancestors, in their ruffles, velvels, and laces looked down solemnly, a 'flood of recollections of upon me. , J Seven years had passed since my last visit thore. ~The old ivy-covered manor was, indeed, ditapidated, and sadly out of repair," The furniture and hangings in many of the rooms seemed rctiing with damp and neglect, and as I enter- ad the nursery, and was shown my own toys, it seemed os though, dike Rip Van Winkle ,I had returned again to life' after a long absence. Alone, I wandered in the park down the avenue of grand old elms. The wide view across the brimming river, with Hasfield €hurch, and the old Tithe Barn 'at Chaccley standing prominent in" tha landscape, I saw that it had in no way changed. 1 looked back upon the house--a grand old home it was, one that 'any man might have been proud of, yet of what use was it to mo? Should I sell it? Or should I al ow it to still rot and decay until my will became proved, and it passed into the hands of my heirs and assigns? 1 lt toth to part with it, for the old place. had heen built soon after the * | fierce and historic battle had been fought at-Tewkesbury, and ever since Richard Heaton had commanded one of the fri gates which went forth to mcet the Armada it had been the anceslral home of the Heatons. Indeed, the village of Water Heaton, mow-a-days quite an ancient place, with its little squat squaresspired. church and quaint strag glmg street, had sprung up around the. manor. To me the place was some- thing of a white elephant, yet, as the last of a stalwart race who hid ever rendered loyal service to their sover- eign, and the sole descendant of an hicnorable family, it seemed incumbent upon me fo retaine it, and not allow t lo go under the auctioneer's hammer, My persopal needs were small, and 1 was not in-want of money. therefore, ore 1 return Tewkesbury, and thence to London, I gave orders for certain necessary repairs to be done, and -that a. couple of rooms. might be cleared and kept in readiness for my use whenever I might require them. How "strange it all was! At every turn peered upon the world through my grey glass spectacles, and. took as keep an interest in il as does a child. A'l seemed héw to me; my brain, liké a child's, became filled with new im- | pressions: and fresh 'ideas: After my dull, colorless existence of sound and torch; 'this bright Life of movement fill- ed me with. a delight that "cannot describe. Imagine, however, what joy 0 ong who has been. pronounced incurably blind to 1cok upon the world again ard laste of ils pleasures. "It Was hat jo 'hich gave. lightness to my Yet dow-- Phe. 1 OY over all was one grim sha : tha{ fateful my sunny days of childhood crowded collected with what extraordinary in- genuily 1 had been deceived by. the man whoni I"had believed to ba' a police .oenstable, the deep cumming which had béen displayed in obtaining from ny Ups a statement of all the facts I'knew, and the subsequent actions of the coolshead- al "Edna, my mind became eonfused. 1 could seo no selution of the exiraor- dirary problem, save (hat I believed her {0 'bo deeply implicated im some plot which "bad culminated in the murder of the young man, and that she her- sel had some strong personal mative in concealing the terrible truth. 1 oughts=f knew, {o have gone to Scot- land Yard and made a full.and straight forward deposition of 'tha whole mat- ter, Nevertheless, my story was a very strange one--stranger, perhaps, than of the many curious romances which are daily laid before the Director of Criminal Investigations, After all, it wight nol have been believed. I had no idea where the scene of the tragedy was siluated, and, having been sight. less at the time, had actually witnessed nothing. Theory upon theory I formed, 'but when I dug down to their roots I found that they merely drew their strength from my own fear or imagin- ation, and were utterly worthless. Once * twice I contemplated disregarding my promise and making a full stale ment to the police; but on calm reflge- ton I saw that such a course Was now absolutely useless, Two months bad clapscd sine the fateful night, and the body--or bodies--had, without doubt, teen disposad of long ago. Such in- genious evildoers would exert the ut- most care in the disposition of the eer- pus dilecti, and would never run risk of detection. They feared me, I felt ag: sured, and it was this thought whic! o'nstantly harassed me for if such ware actually Lhe case, then they had every incentive fo teke my life on the welt established principle that dead men tell nm tales, ) With the return of mv vision my seme of hearing had, curiously enough, become both weakened and distotted Sounds which I heard when bl.id pre- sented quite a different impress'~n naw that I could see. The blind hear where those with eyesight can defect nothing The ears of the former train themselves to act as eyes also, yet the mo aon! the vision is recovered the shiroens.d scnse of hearing again assumes iis ver- mal capacily. Hence I fecand thal I could not mow distinguish voicas and sounds so quickly as before; miend. the voices of those about me sounded so cee how different now that I had recovered my sight. My fricnds, into whose circle they declared I had returned like one from Whe grave, welcomed me everywhere, and I confess that, notwithstanding the cppression constantly upon me, I en- joyed myself to the top of my bent. I still remained fn my dingy, smoke- grimed rooms in Essex Street. really more for Parker's sake than for my own, and also, of éaurse, in order to be near Dick when he returned, bul nearly every cvening I was oul some- where or other, going here and there about town. I had long ogo been a member of the Devonshire, and had now returned, and spent a good deal of tlme there, even though the main' distinction of the club was the number of old" fogies who af tected it. - But I fzund it a conveniently central place to dine and idle away any | ficurs of the day that I had to spare. In the middle of October, when most Lmen T knew were away on ihe moors, 1 bad "a dinner engagement one éven- ing with the Channings,.in" Cornwall 'Gardens, . Colonel-€hanning, a retired officer. of (he Guards, was a man I had Xnown during: the greater part of my hd ifolime. His service had been mainly | of..a diplomatic character, for he had "as British - military attache at and Vienna, and Xow fived win wife and daughter in London, al od 10" divide his time mainly be- served Bertin | tween: the St. dumes's and' the Untied 1S a Clubs; © He [was a merry 0 Li ne a Abe. "of att 'clinging. to him. His oi a oy when in ork. Spon Purcheun prided sell on | 5 Bar A few miles west of Naples' is the vast crater of an extinct volcano (from | which no A eruption has taken place Since - 1198), known 'as the Solfatara. although in. a sense extinct, yet rious points: it is 'always belchin, [orth sulfocating volumes o /hite sulphureous: fumes; jets of -sul- phbur vapor issuing from yawning clefts and gaping fissures and rents in the solidified mud floor of the crater in all directions; and even from the cliffs en- dense, | compassing the great hollow strange [Puffs of smoke are from time to time seen breaking out amongst the bushes and shrubs growing thereon. It is slat ed.in a guide book that & roaring sound a3 of thunder or of muskelry fire ac- companies these eruptions, This, how- ever, is cerlainly not always the case. Bul even when there are no swelling blasts, and no booming stridor caused by theso~ outbursts from this safely valve of Nature the scene fs so weird and mystie that an uncanny, unearthly spell appears to pervade the place, for- cibly reminding the visitor of Gustave Dore's terrible picture of the nether re- gions in his illustrations of Paradise 0st. The great crater--it is about a mile rt circumference, and, unlike olher vol- canoes, is not at the summit ef a moun- tain, but on almost lével ground--ap- pears to be a vast caldron of boiling waler, upon which floals a crust of sol- idifled mud about three fcet in _thick- ness. Here is a small lake of water furiously boiling; here an island on which the beautiful Mediterranean white heather is blooming luxuriantly, not- withstanding the sulphur fumes (owing, hewever, probably to these fumes the flowers decay very soon after being plucked); here a rift from which issues a stream of noxious gas and steam; while the mud flcor, many acres in ex- tent, upon which the visitor is cautious- ly walking reverberates with a hollow sound if stamped upon. In fact if a regiment of soldiers were to march across the crater, in all probability the crust would collapse and they would all be plunged into the huge caldron beneath. And perhaps this strange sulphurcous earth-vent may remind some of the fig- urative "fire and brimstone" which is the fate of those shut out from the glory. Bul the fires of remorse implied by this metaphor need not be the fate of any. T'e by making the reparation demand. cl by Eternal Justice by undergoing, on the 'transgressors' behalf, the chastise- .ment due by them, the Saviour of the world has provided a means by which all, without any exception, may, if they will but come to Him in contrition .and penitence, attain lo that Realm of Glory, --_-- ge LETTING GO OF A GRUDGE. A Frenchman's Opinion on \What Makes the British Great. To a writer for the New York Times a French soldier expresses his amaze- ment at the ability of the British soldi- er lo shake hands with his enemy after a fight, whether he is conquered or a ccnqueror. He declares that the Latin races have so little of this virtue that they hardly understand its existence. One day the Frenchman, who was in South Africa during the Boer War, saw two British officers walking through the camp with a Boer, all three engaged in earnest conversation. He turncd aside so as nol to have to salute one who, he supposed, had come to give in- fcrmation in regard to the Boer oul- poste. Presently he met one of (he two officers, "Be sure to be on time for luncheon," said the Englishman. "Were going fo make a noble spread for the Boer you saw with us." The Frenchman's anger broke out. He declared that he would not sit at meat with a traitor. "Who's a traitor?" retorted the officer, much amazed. "The poor man's cap- tured, and as he's had such beastly bad luck, we thowght a lunch would cheer fim up." _ "From that day." remarked the French- man aftérward. "I saw what made the Rrilish-greal. The Boer War was car- ried on with the bitterest feelings be- tween the two nations. To see the English now, building up the country in the same spirit that moved the: off- cers of that regiment, Is a wonder to us Latins, ) "We do not forget and forgive easily. When my Halian friends are annoyed with me, they still reproach me with the murder of Conrad ef Hohenstau- fen by-Charles of Anjou in eleven hun- dred and something.' > a QUESTION POINTS. Money doesn't bring happiness, but where is the man who wouldn't like lo {ry out this experiment for himself 1i is the little things that count. What wouldn't a smoker give for a match in ge-- | a house heated by steam 'and lighted by ek ? All: ings come to him who waits, but he get them more quickly after : world's 'bitid number 1,000,000, n't they 'include in these isiness-men . who dow't | operations of i | port trade are concerns of real import: ) | ance. Ti : 5] About the Farm } PERMANENT PASTURES. "Permanent pastures," writes Prof, C. A Zavilz, of the O. A. C., "have never occupied as prominent place in the agri: Culture of Ontario as they have in the fagriculture of Great Britain. The scar- city of labor and the great development of our livestock industry are factors Which are causing some of our most thoughtful farmers to consider. the advi- sabilily of securing-a first-class perman- ent pasture, instead of relying so much ou timothy for pasture purposes. Fields which are located long distances: from the farm buildings, or which are diffi- cult to work on account of the presence af sleep hillsides, crooked rivulets, low spols, elc., might be converted into per- manent pastures, and thus prove of great economic value. This arrange- ment would not interfere materially with the regular crop rotation of the farm. From more than lwenly years work in testing different varieties of grasses and clovers, both singly and in combination, I would suggest the fol- lowing mixture for permanent pasture ¢n an average soil in Ontario; Alfalla, 5 pounds; alsike clover, 2 pounds; white clover, 2 pounds, meadow fescue, 4 pounds; orchard grass, 4 pcunds; tall oat grass, 3 pounds; meadow foxtail, 2 pounds; and timothy, ? pounds; thus making a total of 24 pounds of seed per acre. These varie lies are all very hardy. Some of these used in Great Britain are not perman- ent in this country. None of the smal- ler-growing varieties, such as the blue grasses and (he bent grasses, are men- tioned, as there is scarcely a farm in Ontario in which the Canadian blue grass, the Kenlucky blue grass or the red-top will not grow naturally. The varieties here recommended are strong, vigorous growers. Some of them pro- duce pasture very early in the spring, and others later in the season. Mosl of the varieties are superior to timothy in producing a growth during the hol, dry weather which occasionally occurs in the months of July and August. The sced can be sown in lhe carly spring, either alone or with a light seeding of erring wheat or of barley. Such a mixture as this, when well eslablished an suitable land, should furnish a pas- ture, abundant in growth, excellent in quality, and permanent in character," DIRECTIONS FOR SEEDING TO ALFALFA, ~*There are different ways of laying down a plot or~e ficld to alfalfa, and w9 would suggest the following method as one which is likely to give very excel- lent results," says Prof. C. A. Zuvilz, O A. C., Guelph, in his bulletin on Al- falfa or Lucerne. "Sclect land having a clean, mellow, fertile surface soil overlying a deeply-drained subso.l hav- ing no acldily. Use large, plump seed, [ree from impurities and strong in ger- niinating power. Inoculale the sced with the proper kind of bacteria, pro- viding alfalfa has not been grown suc- cessfully on the land in recent years. As early in the spring as the land is dry enough and warm enough to be worked to good advantage, muke a suilable sced-bed, and sow about twenly pounds of alfalfa seed per acre from the grass-seed box, placed in front of the grain drill, and about one bushel ol spring wheat or of barley per acre trom the tubes of the drill. Smooth the land with a light harrow or with a weeder, and, if it is very loose and ra- ther dry, also roll it, and again go over it w.th the harrow or the weeder. As soon as ripe, cut the grain, and avoid leaving it on the land longer than nee- essary. Give the alfalfa plants every ¢pportunity to get a good start in the autumn, in preparation for winter. If fo hay, cut each crop of alfalfa in the following year, as soon as il starls lo bloom. In curing, try to retain as many of the leaves on the stems as pos- sible, and to protect the crop from the rain. Never cut or pasture alfaMa sul- ficiently close to the ground fo remove the crowns of the roots, and thus in- jure or possibly kill the plants. If these directions are followed, the alfalfa may be expected to produce large and valu- able crops for a number of years with- cut resceding." 44442 ee Py FARM NOTES. There is a bright prospect ahead 'oc the fafmers who know, and the oppor- dunity to know is within easy reach of every wideawake boy who has the nec- essary industry and perseverance. This is the season of the year when we need to keep the axles of the wag- ons well cleaned and oiled. Pulting an more oil is not enough. Wipe all the old, hard, gummy oil off, and make the spindles shine before you put on the oil. « This makes the wagon run cusier, and so helps the team. The farmer is only incidentally in- terested in the violent fluctuations in stocks, which occur periodically and which are brought about for speculative purposes. 'There ure other and larger questions affecting agriculture than the the stock 'gamblers, The help problem, the question of trans- portation 'and the extension of our ex- [822022 SEATS S SCOPE if [ccidont." LOW PRICES PROMPT SHIPMENT Metallic Roofing Co., TORONTO & WINNIPEG (47) Cut seed-potatoes into pieces, having twvo or three cyes each. If you fear scab, soak the seed two hours in a so- lution of one-half pint formalin diluted with fifteen gallons of water. Have the pieces quite large, as a large piece in. sures suffcient strength to support the sprout tilt the plant can begin to draw nutriment from the soil. Make the rows about three fect apart, and drog singke sced about fifteen inches apart in the row. Do not get the hills so close together as to prevent the proper maturing of cach plant. Use a good brand of potalo manure in the rows, Je * "LOOK PLEASANT, YOUR MAJESTY. An amusir.g story is related by a Pa- rislan photographer of the King of Por- tugal, which brings into light his Me- jesty's delightful sense of humor and keen appreciation of the fact that ha is not so symmetrical and sylpb-like in figure as he once was. His Majesty, having consented to give ar artist a sitting, dropped into a chair Lefore the camera. "It your Majesty pleases," said the photographer who was not at all salis- fied with the pose, "and will stand, we oculd get the whole figure." "What!" cried King Carlos, rising heavily, "do you, then, contemplate a panoramic view ol me?" The Sullan of Turkey is the photo- grapher's despair. Only twice within the last fen years has he consented lo leing photographed, and on one of, these occasions he belrayed so much nervousness that it was impossible to make g good negative. [His horpor of being phalographed has Leen explained iv the slory that it was once discover- ol that a native photographer, who had long sought permission to make a ne- gative of his Majesty, had constructed a camera which was nothing better than a miniature gun. The Sullan is not wanting of personal courage, but face a camera is one of those things he will not do now-a-days. A FEW FACTS. The bracelet is once more the most popular form of jewellery. 'There are 64 blind persons to every million of the world's population. The Salvation Army is established in over fifty countries and colonies, Air is estimated to surround the earth to a depth of from 120 to 200 miles. Alaska was purchased from Russia im 1867 by the Tinited States for $7,200,000. Treasure trove belongs by law to the Crown, and the retention of it is a pun- ishable offence. Five boys were recently find at Wind- sor, England, for placing broken bottles ou the roadway to cut moter-tyres. Tho sea is much more sall in the trop- ics than in the northern latitudes, owing to the grealer evaporation. Organ-grindens are not allowed to play fn Vienna in the morning or evening-- orly belween midday and sunset, Slammering Arm, Red Finger, The Bees' Nest, and Cold Water are samples of the names borne by some Welsh farms, IN NO DANGER. As the philanthropic tourist pursued his course he saw many things which ha felt needed sympathetic attention. One day he stopped to gaze at a bare- headed man, who was turning a wind- lass -which clumsily hoisled a bucket filled with sand. "My friend," said the philanthropist, as the man paused to mop his forehead, "why do you not cover your head? Thia hot sun is likely to affect the brain." "Brain is ut?" said the man, staring at him. "D'ye think if I had any brain I'd be here h'istin this bucket?' MISTAKEN. "Ah, 1 see you are married," exclaim- td the merchant, "No, sir," replied the applicant for a sition, "I got this scar in a railroad The Japanese House ol P2ers has 37 members. A large proportion ere life peers, and of hereditary peers only one- filth sit. These are elected by their peers. xi There isn't auch hope for a deaf man who is unable to hear the noise of wo popes. dollar