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V fA ' ' """^AN'S LOVE OR, A BROTHER'S PROHISE CHAPTER XV. 1 to my first impressions of jou, my lirst impressions of the Uui^ii. I came to them now i,nly to find them heightened by your wonderful gen- erosity, by her unparalleled cle- mency." And then he uddcd with that touch of charming exaggera- tion so common in the Southerner. "What return can T make to you lioth 7 My life â€" what is left of itâ€" is already the Queen's. If I had it free to offer, it would be yours." "AH the return I ask for, Don Miguel, is confidence and friendship until the work here is done, and af- ter that a memory of me not un- Happy is the playwright who can fcchievo hit, moment of Achilies-hoel i dullness. his inevitable nir.uvais | quart d'heure ol yawn before he | oi)ens the fifth uct of the drama; happy the seeker after romance in i daily life who does not compress all } his thrills into one week, thereafter I to tail off into tlic doldrums of ! donjcsticity or the fatuousness of j folded hands on paurch; happy he, I say, to whom comes the quiet hour early, fortifying him for tlie run to j the big scone just before the curtain i falls ! I \mmm labs jjikal HtrSSIA'S GEEAT DTLAin) SEA nr WAR TlfiEE. The Soldiers Sxiffered Intensely From the Cold Wliile Mak- ing the Journey. Lake Baikal, the frozen harrier that cuts the great Siberian line in chrperonT '"^s.inta.'''"wi"tr the""(,mm- U«'°. '^ i"'*^'* a romju-kable body of bfl life. That was too much, she thought : and the next second the glint wa.s gone, seething fogs of passion swept up and wrapped her round agaiu, her only lamp in the darkness the red light of revenge. Hector or Maddalena, or both â€" the death, the death ! None can be so blind or so easily blinded as a duenna. Our British maidens, with half the wiliness and half the wilful blood of the South- erner, can fool the skilfuUcst British ,,-. .. L .. .t I gracious. Now, let us talk of other \vhetner such notions as these ever 'thincs " drifted lazily through the brain of 1 ..j^^^^ ^^^ ^y.^ ^ ^^^^^ y„„ Hectoi Grant is matter of little mo- ! hj,^^ ^^^ inquired what dispositions j I have made regarding my daughter. I You ought to know. Lot me tell ; you. I took her back to Friganeta, and placed her under the charge of * my brother's widow, Dona Conccp- ♦ oL„ i,:„ ., 1 â-  ^ . .â- _• I cion. Again and again I strove take his cue, knows next to nothing ,^ith y,J to make submission to his part is to expand, or j^^r Maicstv ineut. They might well have done BO; yet it is more than likely that they did not, for in life the times of greatest stress beein without blare of trumpets or roll of drums and the chief actor, though he can not but but I found her hard in hate and evil spirit. I was com- pelled at last to signify my will to the effect that as soon as Palm City was in our hands she should en- ter the Convent of the Pici-ccd Hands. My object was to remove of her injuring the She agreed to this. of how with what supreme consummation it is to end. Thus, when Don Miguel asked for nn interview. Hector did not foresee that what the old general had to say was the first speech of the last act in the dramaâ€" the drama that ; all possibility began so like a fragment from Faer- ' Queen or you. ie in the palace in liloomsbury yon ! not without some demur, yet readily rainy night m August; did not fore- ; enough to satisfv me. But I had see that this last act would set the | reckoned without the devils that whole world agog with a nine days' | pos.sessed her, that still possess her. wonder and bring sorrow to be sis- j she had fled from Frigixneta. and at ter of Maddalena for ever. the same time. Major di Borja, one Don Miguel stood heavy and bow- j of the Hispaniolun prisoners quar- cd with the weight of his years. His j tercd at Friganeta, has acbived his mild eyes were lack-lustre, and be- j freedom. Circumstances show that low tliera wpre swart pufis of weari- i they went together. I have made ness. His nands drooped nerveless, j all possible inquiries, fcr while she and about his whole figure bung an ' is at liberty 1 fear for your safety, air of depression that was subtly senor â€" I fear for the Queen's. God! pervading. The sight of him thus l That I should have to acknowledge altered touched Hector'e heart : he rose, and with his free hand â€" the wounded limb was still in a sling â€" grasped the old man's with impul- sive sympathy. The simple act of reconciliation made tears in Voice when Don Miguel spoke Grant, you forgive mc. such a fiend as my daughter ! I fear, senor â€" ! how I fear I how I fear !" "You had better report this to Don Augustin. He will see to it the _ that her Majesty's, safety is not en- dangered." mest of purposes for goad, had but small difficulty in hoodwinking Dona Concepcion. Thus it came to pass that Asunta and di Borja lack- ed no opportunity for meeting. He found no fault with the chance that gave him a handsome young woman for companion : time hun^ heavy on his hands, and an Hispaniolan de- lights ill the payment of subtle if somewhat wholesale homage to a mantilla. From trifling with com- pliments and drawing-room airiness- es, Asunta led him on by easy but swift stages to darker themes : and little by little they reached a com.- mon plane of ugly confidence, that, had Don Miguel so much as suspect- ed it, would have meant a silk faja about Asimta's nock, or a navaja in her brea.st. Asunta stood in the dark before the door at which she had waited such a little while before â€" waited with tumultuous hopes and passions rioting in her blood. There was no unrest in her demeanor now; her breast rose and fell with the re- gularity of calm breathing and her hand, as she raised it to tap on the door, was steady as stoci. Only in the flush of her cheeks and the glitter of her eyes did the turmoil of emotion make itself visible, and that only when, in answer to her sum- mons, di Borja swung wide the door with almost painful caution. "Kntcr, scnorita !" "P-etter not â€" it is for to-night. Thp guard is well plied with wine, and Captain CassavoUino " "Ah ! I hear his swine snore â€" in the dining-room, is it not 7" "Yes. He will not wake till day- break " "In heaven.'' "It was a poison you gave mc ?" "Dear lady, wc cannot allow trifles to interfere. One has to make sure. The little sleeping-drauffht was made from a prescription my reverend ro- lativo Alexander found useful in Italy water, says the London Express. In length it would stretch from London to Edinburgh, yet its breadth is long ceasod to bring iu fresh sup- plies, and the cost of necessuri«a steadily ruse. Bread doubled, aa* gar and coHTee trebled. At the seaM time I noticed in sidiiij^s the ordta^ ary trains of commerce lying hiill hidden in snowtWtts. Several liuijsians on the train Mho came from the eaat of Baikal wer« talking vei'y graVely about the sitii> ation. The native tribes grind 'heit own com, but the Europens in th« towns send their jfrain to Moscow, from which it returns as liour. If these flour trains a.''u stopped prices will soon be rising^ famine higti in ea.stern Siberia. Peculation tu.d ^only from twenty to fifty-three miles j ^^ bribery ''oi officials will give tJu From where 1 stood to the town of I .j^^jj^^^^ supplies taken froui Uic ^rai Baikal, on the other side, was a lit- -„,,.„^ ,,,„ , ^„„ „ ., „„rt„_»,„rf And so, innocently enough, I last act was opened. the 'Senor then V "Yes, yes, if my forgiveness is j needed. Iler Majesty forgave you. â-  Whatever else he was. Major Don That cleared all accounts, and we:l'f'^'''o Santiago di Borja y Montan- began afresh.' "But I must offer you all the apo- logies and make all the reparation a, man can. You must let me. too, offer s^ch justification for my con- duct as is possible. It was useless to attempt to make any excuse to her Majesty; but you will understand â€" you, who know something of my daughter." Hector was keen to avoid any dis- cussion of Asunta; but the old man was all the more insistent because, while his dignity was in arras against disclosing the slur on his honor, his sense of justice .stimulat- ed him to make complete avowal of all the sad business. The resolve once made, he could not be swayed, to abandon it. "Senor tlrnut, once I thought I was blessed in my daughter, now I know that I have boon cursed in her. A father'.s love must be grievously woundetl pre he can say such a hard thing as that. When I roiuomber ull the tender care that surrounded her, and tile watchi'ulnoss with which ar was no dissembler of bis senti- ments and opinion.s. Of noble fam- ily, ancient lineage, and incorrigible arrogance, he held Hispanioln to be the only great country in the world (in this, curiously like the Knglish- man in his attitude towards the cra- dle of Empire-makers), and her every deed, if not perhaps worthy of poetic perpetuation, at ler.st inevit- able and justifiable. Her treatment of Aruba and her tigerish lust for blood as especially personified in Stampa, he applauded with both hands; and he added to her blazoned infamy deeds that paralleled the darkest of the papal branch of his house. A.s Aruba had been served, KO should Palmetto. On this point ho scorned to keep silence, and even when by Palmetto's clemency a fav- ored prisoner, he tossed the head »nd curled th« lip at the newest seekers after liberty. While Maddalena's troops were in- vesting Palm City closely, and ag- gressive operations were for the moment somewhat slackened, Don Miguel frequently visited his home tie over forty miles; but it is this distance, over the frozen floor of which stores and men have to be transported to the front, that will cause the Russian Government more trouble and an.\iety than the entire route from the . Ural ilountains to Port Arthur. The track has not yet been com- pleted around the end of the lake. As an engineer explained to me the southern end of the lake, which is the only possible route for the line. is im- bedded in mountains. Sheer granite cliffs rise from the surface of the w-ater to a height of 1,500 feet. 'ITirough these cliffs tunnels to the number of twenty-seven are being laboriously cut, but in my engineer friend's opinion it will be long be- fore this strip of rails will bo open- ed. During the summer two great steamers cross the lake with the trains on board but in the winter the ice is far too thick for the Baikal or her consort, which I saw firinly ANCHORED IX THE IGF. There was a great rush for the sledges which awaited us. With some difficulty I secured a place in one, and with all the wraps I poses- sed about lue started on my ride. Once out on the lake, however, thero come upon us a steady, piercing blast that seemed to penotrato my furs as if thoj^ Vycro so much paper. T had never suffered so intensely from cold in my life before; indeed, for five minutes I was almost insen- sible. iVnd yet the cruel gale was at my back, and the long lines of troops packed iu their sledges met it face to face. It was a curious spectacle. this endless advance of the Russian rein- sea. stores; but I ca.n well undeTstand why Russia lias sent her eoHVJcta in- to the army. She won is no t(par» mouths lo feed. BKSTS. The best lawâ€" the golden riiie. The best education â€" self knowledge. The best philosophy â€" a coateate<] mind. The best w.^r â€" lo war against one'l weakness. The best theolog\---a pure and ben- eficent life. The best njedicinc â€" cheerfuJness and temperance. The best music â€" th« laughter of an innocent child. The best .science â€" extracting suor .shine from a cloudy day. I'he best telegraphy â€" Snslting a raj of sunshine into a gloomy heart. The best biography â€" the life ^at writes charity ia the largest letters. The best engineering â€" buildi«g a bridge of faith over the^ river ol death. The best navigation â€" st poring cleai of the lacerating rock.s oi pei'scuia. contention. The best mot hematics â€" that whici doubles tlic most joys and dividei the most sorrow^-. •You have made me do murder ! ' j forcements across this arctic â- Tush : one can sec you are lily- j xhe route was staked out by I ^raph posts placed about two PICK A Pl.G-XO.^ED ITSS. A good e;it â€" the kind yoti want ik the house, if any â€" will have a roUnd, Etubby pug-iio.se, full. fl.^t ciiee'kt jand an upper lip, and a weU-deve'lp- ed bump on the top of tho lunid. be tween the ears, betokening goo* nature. A sleepy car. th.at ,J)Uits a good deal is good-naturc<l. 15j- all means to be avoided l.s a cat with thin, sharp no.se and twitching ears. It must be remoiiibored. al."!!!. that a good mousor is not necos.sariiy a gentio or desirable pet. AUhougk any good cat will catch mice if sh« is not overfed, quick. fiiU. expres- . , tele- hvore.1. iou propo.fp to do some- | ^^aph posts placed about two hmi- , thing big- in which I am to help j ^red yards apart. As wo swung ! sive eyes gcneraily betoken a good you and jou boc^f i:-. n.cr. a tiny I along at a good eight miles an hour, j mou.ser. Tho greatest m:stake."an<f thing as a fat captain of rebels. If I guj. driver crooning to tho horses an probablv the most coiiiiaou one in you are as weak as this, sonorita, ^^d chant, tho advancing sleighs the care of douioslic oat.s 4s over- nil white lips and quaking hands, I deemed to mount into hundreds and feeding, particularly with too much even thousands. i meat. In v.iUl life the cnt has e.x- In those carrying troops, six men | erciscs which enable l«er to digest were crowded into a sleigh built for I her food. In the lazy house-life tho three How they were able to en- I same full feeding leads lo stomach dure that terrible weather passed my j troubles and to (its. dueo that terrible woiither passed my j ^ .â€" she was guardeil from every air of heaven, I cannot conveive how. from • '^^ .Friganeta on his mission of a woman of gentle heart and warm ' suasion. On these occasions di soul, she .should have changed into ' ^'orja. a prisoner but a guest, de- ft devil. But a devil slic now is. I li.ghtcd in sparing his already tor- urn her father, and 1 say it. j tured host no whit of humiliation: "She deluded mc, sir'; she played!'"^ poured out streams of futile but »lH)n me. she led me into disgracing corrosive prophecy, foretelling with the name that has come down un- . "crid tongue failure direct and cala- sullied for three hundred veurs. But that iiales before the insult she of- fered, and made luo offer, to the tlucon. "I know the despicable light in ftliich I must have appeared to Queen, to you. to niy comrades mitous retribution. It stands to Don Miguel's honor that his courtesy- stood the strain, and that when he had a thousand opportunities for in ; poisonous retort, he foreborc to the [ utter one word that might prick the but ' Hispaniolan's susceptibilities. Ho nowever conteuiptuously you and all ' 'i'^^enod to sneer and gibe, calumny Ihpse nuiy regard inc " Hector made a gesture of dcprecia- Uon. "It is us nothing to the loathing I have for myself. "No, no, Don Miguel, you must aot allow yourself to be so carried iway. Wo see that you were the irictim of circ'.inistancss. You took the word of a dautfhter yon loved. and contempt, with unrumed polite- ness, although in his heart he cursed tho unwelcome guest deeply and blackly. Asunta listened. tooâ€" and took heart. When she found herself to nil in- tents a prisoner at Friganeta, her the tangle of brown moustnch evil courage drooped, her infernal heard. The arm hung down. really don't know tliat I shall trou- ble you to accompany me. I shall be more comfortable by myself." "You would go back on your word ?" "Wiiy not ? You go back on your purpose." "I ? Never '.'' "Captain Cassavellino was the first stone in the patii. You forget your goal when you regret, having to remove him." The cool half-cynical tone of di Borja acted on her excited nerves like a charm : her sudden resump- tion of quiet and a steady gaze showed him that he was her master. In that moment l:c discovered how to control her, guide her. nutke her the slave of his will. He had but to remind her of her purpose, to persuade her that th( thi'"- c de- sired done was for the furtherance of her revenge, and it was already done. understanding. They wore their greatcoats, it is true, but other wraps were few among them. Sometimes I mot an empty sleigh with its soldier passengers tramping along by its side striving to warm their frozen limbs. Blue with cold and utterly miserable they seemed. i and when a Russian with whom I j travelled assured mo that many of ; them must be badl.v trostbittfiu or j even die from exposure before they I reached the other side I could not . but believe him. i ON THE OUrSIDE TRACKS moved the provision and store [sleighs, the majority with five horses [apiece, dragging: slowlv forward in You acknowledge that it was no- long lines. " I saw several sledges with rails sticking out behind them. hope dimmed. uidâ€" with not unnatural precipita- ' contemptuously lionâ€" sprang to the conclusion that Seemed most plausible. You were lasty in speaking. .\s hor Majesty laid, you should have gone to her Irst. . Bovond that fault, beyond Jint mistake, you have not been •.ulpable. igain. and But this man â€" so cruel, so venomous- ly vindictive, such a thorough hater â€"surely, surely, she should tw able to make him her helper. If she could not succeed in fashioning him into a weapon of destruction to Palmetto â€"but she laugheil : she could do it. Lot a.s shake hands . she was not Asunta for nothing, and ngroe to forget that this she would do it. True, she lovetl >vor happored. "I cannot forget it. senor. It is iurnt into my life, and the old take ihoir fresh scars to the grave^â€" there 's no time tor th.cm to he smoothed Hispnniola and tho Hispnnielans lit- tle; but now Bhc loved Palmetto even le.ss â€" and in revenge there is no country, no race; and revenge. re- vensc. revenge, was the oiUy thing cessary . "Surely." ^ "You would do it again ?" "Without hesitation." "Ah ! well â€" you may come with me. Have you brought the pis- tols ?'' "They are hero." "Good ! Ah !â€" my ownâ€" better and better." "In half an hour, then " â- â- The horses ?" •'I go to the stables now." "Very well. When you are ready, I shall be ready." Without a word she left him, glid- ing along the dark corridor and down the stair like a shadow, mak- ing a sound, scarcely breathing. She passed into the dining-room. On n couch lay a stout man in tho Palmetto uniform, snoring stcrtor- ously. His face was purple ahd the L^^. voirs of his temiilos were swollen and obtrusive. His glazed eyes bulged half-open, but they saw not; and his teeth shone white through and the MACS Willi MANY TAUTAXS. Many Scotch clans have several tartans, such as a common turtnn. a himiing lartan, and n 4ull-dres9 tartan. Early in the day « iTijjh- lander of posiiion dons a iiilt of plain tartan, and in the v«\ening for dinner he puts on his uii!->tross tar- tan, with .sporran and rio!i!.\ :i'v?e!led fiirk. For cxaniiile. ihe Macphorsoa dress tartan is bla-.k ,T:id white, with a narrow red line, mid the hunting Macphorsou i.s a smalt blue and black and red ch(«A. 'Hio Stuarts have three tartans, and Iha design of tl'.oir hunt ins t.irlan in dark blue and green is particularly fine. Fuch clan has its own badge. The Dull men wear iiolly. the Gor- dons an ivy-leaf, the .'^tuarts an oak leaf, and so on. but at that time (Feb. 15) there was no sign of any railway track being ' • â€" ♦ laid across the ice. If such a feat ; UEil.VKK.VUl.K S.Vt.NAGK FEAT has been accomplished, it must have j Ono of the si-hts of the Shwo Da- been at a later date than was an- jjone Pagoda in Huruia i.s a (jirantic nounced in the Russian press. ! gcll of bron:'e weighing forty-two Tho surface of the ice was very ir- j and a quarter tons, and .sjiid to be regular and uneven. In places there j the third Jargost bell in the world, were foot wide crevasses and fissures 1 the largest boinif iu Vo.'sci.w and tho while here and there the ice had ris- j next largest in Miugiii. also in Bur- en into hummocks, which nearly jar- , „ia. .\fter coninhring Burma tho red mo out of my sleigh. Despite i British undertook U. carry tho great the wind, there was around us a " â-  â- â-  curious driving mist that hid the distances. After two and a half hours we sighted the great rcst-hou.so. of wood and felt and brick, that is built yearly in the middle of tho lake. A very palace it seemed to us weary travoUcrs o plates of soup and some steam- ing coffee could I find my legs and feet again pa.ssed it by Rangoon bo4l to Cak-iiliu as a troii- hy. but dropped it overl>i»ard in the Kangoon river, where it defied all the efforts of the oiigitieers to raise it. Some years later the 45uruiese, who had not reasoil to luourn its loss, begged to I>e allowed lo recov- .er it. Tiieir petition was granted. Not until alter I and by attaching to it an incredible nmnbcr of b%>ni'ioo lIoats_ aho nn- ^ wioldy mass i>f metal w;is finally Yet tho poor soldiers i lifteii from its luuddy bod imd triuiii- making no break in; phnntly restoivnl Ic it.s placi*. iway. ANTien yoi;th goes )f thv heart, the thorns, >nly God's liai.d hcckoning Tards can draw them out." "Let us speak t>o more of this. Don Miguel; lot us not ki-ep the sore •pen . ' ' As regards the aiipcrsions 1 en .-it )n your cluuactor " â- â- Not another word. 1 will not •ear another word." ".•\h 1 sciiui, U 1 hud onl^- trusted the youth '^'"'' which she lived, the only thing stick and i ^*"" '^'^''^^^ she desired to live. death- i *^"^''- "'â- â€¢' f'"'* only, a glint of sanity pierred the thick clouds that overshadowed her reason, and she saw that all her humiliation and all her shame were of her own crsation â€" she saw that even- it she took Hec- t<>r from Maddalonn she coulii not have hiui to hcrjclf. aitd if slic took Mnddalena she had still les.<« chance of bringing Hector to her feet. If she aciiieVed icverge. the price would hand on the floor Moved by some swift prompting to make certain that he was really l)e- .vond awakening, Asunta kicked the inert hand with the point of her Parisian shoe. It swung in the air at the impact, and then fell back to the floor as if lend. .Vsunta smiled. and passed through the great open window into the grounds on her way to tlie stables. At the end of the prearranged half- hour Asunta was riding through the night with di Borja. Almost at tho moment ct their setting out from Friganeta. one of Mr. Thomas Saiith's steamers wa.s completinar the discharge of her cfWgo of amjnuni- tion and stores at Eapoleto; and Mr. Thomas Smith himself was help- ing from a launch a nervous, shak- ing. Tery |>cTlurb«d little woman i their journey from shore to shore. i It was with lingering regret that I j ! left the ho.spitablo rest-house pud [ again disappeared beneath my wraps But even the crossing of Lake Bai- j kal comes to an end snme time, and I about six hours after I had started I arrive<l at the little r»wn where I my journey was to recommence. j More troop trains and ever more j met us as we passi-d uestwnrd. Af- i ter my second day the soldiers that j they carried changed in type. They were no longer yc'i.ng I recruits, but tho rosorvwi â€" weil-n'.nlt. I middleaged men. who behaved them- selves AS VETERANS SHOVUD. For the first time I noticMi can- non, each train having two trucks containing ono gun apiec« fastvued behind It. In tho whole course of my journey I saw DO horses b«lng liurried for- with stranglely resolute eyes â€" Judith ,ward. though I Frore, (To be Continued.) understood that thousand expect- Talk is cheapâ€" unless you arc u«»ng a long-<listnnce te>phoiio. there were several ed. War prices were beginning to t>e felt at the buflets whore wo hnlted for our meals. The iv».f<uit3 had BVCK^TO THE DUrCH, A leading cilixen of the ci,ty of Toledo is exhibiting u niosi jieculiar conditiCHi. ot things. He is an old niuw of iiino'y and was tiorii fn Am- sterdam, but went to AinoricA when he was u child, ami thrtiugh . "disuse soon foritot his nalive tt>ifi>iK'. Since he has l>..<rciiie in.saue ho has. forgot- ten every wi<rd of English, which ho habitually spoke, and <s|ipaks noth- ing but Dutch. which he now re- members ns ivri'eotlv us when h< first left Hollain?. HONEYMOON' CAUS. Tho Kursk-Znrkort Itaiiioad. of Russia, advert it»e'« a speei.il car for the i:orTly married, designed and fur- nished with the lal«>st tonu'ort. 'I'ha decorations are in the l>est Parisian stylo, and polite female attendants look after the comfort of the happy couple. None but coupips on a honeymoon are allowed to u.«t< this mojniQcent car. The partitions o^» reatovablf. and the car can h<> u«ph« as a series of small cenipurtiiH-nts «m cs n ccuflu of ic>o:?ij- sa'oona. ^