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THE HtlR OF HOTHWL CHASE. to Hv T. \V. ' HAITKK III. " V'pu will pardon the question, HirHsr- ry," went on I hmwade presently they were strolling up and down tlu- hrubl>erie by this lime" bat do you happen to know of any one who hat k spite against you, or who would be likely to revenge himself, or lier self, ftr any fancied wroii)( or slight, l>y mak'ug .iff with your grandson?" " So far u I am aware, 1 have not an enemy in the world, and I nay it with thank fulness." I wish all of us could say the Mine," ,iini. n-.l ilir detective with a dry smile. ' N..W, in case of anything serious happen- ing to your grandson " - Sir Harry wi ....... I i cptibly " who would be the next heir tin- title in. i estatei?" " My nephew, sir," lie answered shortly. " May I presume, sir, that you and your nt-phrw iii-eon friendly terras'" " Nil, sir, you may not. Friendly lenni, indeed !" with a snort of disdain. "No- thing of the kind." " I'm. -anil your nephew resides where, if I may ask V " In London. Clerk in ship broker's ihVc, or something of that kmd. " " Vi>u - "ul 1 not oblige me with hia ail- dress, I suppose now, Sir Harry T" This very insinuatingly. " No, sir ; I could not. Don't want to know it. Never want to see his fare: again an impudent jackanapes. If you want to find out about bun, auk tlu; Dowager Lady Cosgrave. I have no doubt shi: can tell you what you want to know." It was evident to Dim wade that he hail unwittingly tom lied Sir Harry on a sore place, but it quite answered his purpose to find that he hail done so. " The Dowa^ r Lady < 'osgrave, ' he. murmured to himself. " Shan't forget." Su.i.n nh, !i II in) ' line to a hall ..ml grasped Dimwaid- )>y the lapel of his coal. \Vb it's your object- what arc yon il riving at," lie demanded brusquely, " in asking me so many question.-! .ibont my nepln w '" " I am simply proe. ul intf the imiuiry, .>ii lln i y always, of corns.-, in yo'ir in- -t> in the way in which, accoi jing to my jn. lament of the case in it stands, it ought :.i In- followed up," replied the iletec- M\i' dryly. " What we are now considering is the .|i .-stioii <>f motive. " " Km \niid<i.i't menu to infer that my ii"ph<-M . i In' fdn of my only brother, could I* ouch a colisiimn.ii'i' \ilUm as to" - lie broke off short and stared blankly at Unmade. " Not ior one moment ilo I infer any- thing, Sir Harry. I am gathering informa- iion iioilmig more." Sir Hal ry w.ilki d on mm tenn^ half loud : " \\'lit ' my own nephew. No, no ' liad xl enou deepened and darkened till the torch of hope which had burnt so brightly at first, wasall but quenched it. utter gloom. All felt the influence, from highest lowest. Sir Harry moped about the house, a disconsolate and forlorn old man, out of whose life nearly all its remaining spring .mil energy had faded in a few short day*. Kven the seivanU went aNiut their duties with hushed voices and .iiili.lu.il demeanour, aw though some on. !\dcad ill the house. Sir Hurry Had never realized till now, not merely how dear the lost boy was to him, but to what an extent his hopes and ambi- tions were wrapped up in htm. It seemed strange, but he had never care 1 for his son when a child as he oared for this younger r'rank. Now thai bis term of existence was Irawing towards a olose, which in the natural order the young life of things would " take up the running " when for him the race would lie over, had an attractive force siidi as had never drawn him towards the IMIJ-'S father at a time when death -his own death hud seemed us yet nothing more than a pale phantom only dimly to be dis- cerned through the long vista of the years to come Sir Harry, w iio himself opened the posi renders it impossible to mistake the fellow. He was in the billiard-room last eveuing when I M rolled iu, and there was something peculiar about him which caused me to wonder who and what he could be. In any case, he is decidedly clever with the cue, and contrived to pocket sundry half-crowns during the hour or so that I remained in. the room. ' When at length the lovers contrived to tear themselves tpart, it waa with a mutual promise to meet at the same hour and place the following afternoon. " I have ln-eii makinga few quiet inquiries about Mr. Vodney since I saw you yester- day," said Kvan. "At the hotel, nobody seems to know his business or anything about him ; not, perhaps, that tint is to be wondered at, seeing he may not improbably have his own reasons for keeping his pro- fession a secret. Hut what does seem singulai is the fact that 'ie never rises till doNco.i ii.id-diiy.aiid th.it oolh his afternoons and evenings are invariably passed iu the billiard-room. If he goes out at all, it is an hour's stroll merely for half au in the town with a cigar before dinner. Now, what I should like to know is how a man who spends liin time as bug and distributed the letters, had more [ Vodney upends his, can, as a nutter ..! fact, than onco in the course of the last twelve | mouths felicitated himself in .-cciet i.n the | fiiet that he never came auroas a letter to balHed the etTorls of two experienced and his ward oildressed lo her in a masculine hand, slid had, in consequence, laid the flat- tering unction to his soul that, whatever lie the state of their feeling towards ill. It ens, passed his nephew's loiters on lo n r in bland unconsciousness ol the rc.il e.ui- enls of the envelope. .V,iss Fenlon's .-on science did not fail to prick her now and again, for [.'.though the ruse was a harm- ess one, it was a deception none the ess Yet, on the other hand, for ler lover to have openly addressed us letters himself would in nil probability lave sutioed to rouse Sir Harry's irascible provoking a her guantian which would have been productive of no Msi result on either side. For this reason t w*s that Kdeline continued to accord a .nit sanction to the scheme devised by her .... r, in preference to risking a rupture be- tween her guardian and heiself. he may be, but not b ugh for that. I'll not believe it. And yet worse things come to light every day. And then the temiita- lion' Only a child of three between Inn, and the title. (Not but what I'm good for another do/en yean yet.) No; it would In- incredible." At this moment a footman came in search of Sir Harry. Lord Costerton and Mr. UlounL Morns, anxious for news, had nl deiiover thus erly ID the Chase Sir Harry hurried away. He would see lnc|>cctor Dun wade again a little later in the day. ' '('here's no call for you to stay longer," said the London officer to Yardley when Ou- twit were left alone. "Besides, there may lie news waiting for you. Of course, the moment you hear anything of consequence, you will send word to the Chase as speedi- ly ss possible. Meanwhile, I'll haveaquiet look round on my own account. " As soon as his colleague had taken his departure, Dimwitde drew from his pocket a list of the inmates of the Chase and every- body -oniii.. ted with it, either as indoor ser- vant or nut door, which he bail himself drawn up from information supplied him by Sir Harry, and ran his eyes over il to re- fresh his memory. Then he lighted a cigar and strolled in the direction of the stables. Tin day wore on without bunging u message of any kind from Sii|icrinteiiiYenl Yardley, while Mr Dimwitde went about hisinquiriea in his own quirt way. Karly in i be evening finding there was nothing more for him to do at the Chase, he walked over to lierrieti'-ld with tbu view of ascer- taining how unit 'cis were progressing there. He found thai vai ious telegrams hud Keen r . > i '. i d horn iliilci.-nt points, announcing theaiie-i oi this or the other suspicious . hsra. i. i < nU lo he followed up by other ages an bom or two later to the effect that tin- -aid suspicious cliaia-tem, havilitt been .idle to give u satisfactory account of themselves, had been duly set at liberty. Fou i and twenty hours h nil now gone, by since the di.-uppi arance of the heir of Until- well ChuM' w il hunt bringing the faintest clue to the mystery. Il may U that In- spector Dimwailc was more |iu//|. .1 l'.,.i I.. i si.d to e.ui (CM ; but in any case he |>ut a good fa. e on t be matt, i , cu-n to Ins M t- nd Ysnlley. No news Wing forthcoming by this moiiiing, Mr. Dimwade travelled up to I. on. Ion by the forenoon train. In il course of the following day he can ml out certain inquiry on which he liod Net In. mind that is to nay, he sail, In. I himself that Kvan Marcliinent bad mil been out l/ondon, inn , indeed, away from his ..line duties, on tin I|A\ of (be alslu. lion. Tli. only thing now left for him to do wan to report to liesdi|iiaileis . hai, .-. far, he hod nothing to ruport, which is m.i pleasant statement for a /c.tlons otticer to have lo pul his name to. llf course, he would still i out nine to keep an eye on the case, while trusting that the active search which was being everywhere prosecute.l would not fail in finding, um long, v.n. traces of the child, either livmu or dead, Two days later, ^r Harry Marcliinent, without consulting anylmdy, put forth Hi ..ill i of a reward of two hundred ami nit > pounds for the recovery of the missing heir, an oflei which, after the lapse of a week, was doubled in amount. Dining this time, Inspector Dimwade came and went more than once between I... n. ton and the Chase; but all the laying logctlni of heads, as between himself am Su|M'i intendent Ysnlley, seemed to brini the mystery no nearer a solution than it hai l en all along Then presently Dimw i.ln's .- were requisitioned for the unravel ling of a famous poisoning case, and he was seen no more at Hamefielil or the Chsse. As day succeeded day without bringing -MI tidings of the lost child, the . |,,n.l w hi. I had settled over tbeChaseaud its iuiuaUs trained olli^iaU. That is a problem which 1 confess I am altogether at a loss to solve. " One of Mr Vodncy's most significant remarks to your uncle," replied Kdeline. was to the effect that if the theory be had forme 1 of the mystery were I ho right one, *!__. __._-i_ _!___ _._Li _A: _:.!...!... ea.h other, the engagement bet v ecu Kdeline and his nephew had not so far ilevc-lopcJ ^ ^ = hat acute ttage of the disorder which j t| l( . c | lle , lt mu ,t, be' sought not inside the trives to console itself for the absence of i'\ lue j,ut outside it." he In-loved object by t re. | neni epistolary All which m no way tends to make his ommunii ations. Hut in so thinking, Mir conduct seem less unaccountable. By the Harry deceived himself, or, rather, was de- wayi i ltu! nc U-en to the (.'hase at all since oivfdbyhis"scapegraceofancphew." Kvan Maicliment's letters, of which F.drlino re- ceived one each week without fail, were in- variably addressed for him by the wife of | the great occasion of seeiag my uncle ?' "Yes : he was there only two days ago." ; And what had he to say for him- .lie friend with whom he lodged, so that the I .. \Vhat he said was, that he felt nearly laronet, who was aware that hi* ward still ] Bure he had hit upon a clue which in the kept up a correspondence with somo of her course ,,f , t f,. w days would put him on the schuol-friendii, after u < aniial glance at the r jghi track, but that l.c would refrain from ' " IIII|H-I, and have ended scene between herself by and laying more just then." " l)il he ask my uncle for any money in the way of an advance towards any expenses he might have been put to?" " No ; he did not even hint at such a thing." Kvan tilted his hat an inch farther Iwck on his head. "All I can say is that I'm more mystified than ever," was bis remark. " I wish I knew the fellow's London address -if wish can very easily l he has one." ' Then your gratified. His address was printed on ihe card he sent in to your uncle the first timi he called at the Chase. It is No. 5a Heath field (iardcns, W. C. " Kvan al once proceeded to take a note of the address in his pocket-book. That even- In the establishment in which Kvan ing, after he got back to Hernelield, he tele- Marehment was employed the annual hob- graphed a certain question to one of his lays hod of necessity to b apresd overs mends in London, lly noon next day an an- icri'Hl of several months, so as to ensure swer came to the following purport : "No such iwrsoti as the one named in your message is known at the address given by you." This reply did not fail to deepen the feeling of distrust with which Kvan had al- ready begun to regard Mr. Vodney aud his pretensions. Yet, to suppose that the man was simply an impostor, who had Wen in- due, d to take up the case by the ho|>c of obtaining the reward, was scarcely a feasible assumption in \n-\\ of the fuel (hat the live hat too many members of the stall should lot IIP away at one time. As u result of the arrangement in question, It so happened Ins year that Kvan's holidays lad to be taken some threr or four mouths earlier than was agreeable to him. As . ... n as the date lad lieen fixed, he wrote to Kdeline, inform ng her if the fact, as also that he should spend a certain portion of tin timeat Iterrie- ield, it lieing quite out of the question thai liar and shadow, DOW stood motionless as in the act of listening. Kvan's first thought was that it was K.lie, whom ionic strange chance or magnetic attraction had brought there again at the very time he was think- ing about her ; bat a longer and steadier look convinced him that be was mistaken. So far as he could make out, the woman was a stranger to him. Where he sat he was in deep shadow, being hidden in part by the broken masonry of the fountain, and in part by the low spreading branches of an ancient yew which grew close by. Actuated by ne of those instincts which work in us without consciously bringing into play any portion of our reasoning faculties, be moved xlowly and noiselessly back into a space of still deeper shadow, where it woula be im- possible for sny one to discern him from a greater distance than three or four yards, but whence the entire space of moonlit glade was clearly visible to him. Scarcely bud Kvan accomplished this before a man came quickly into the glade from the end opposite that l.y which the woman had ar- rived, and passing within half -a-do/en yards of the fountain, went directly up to her, while she on her part advanced to meet him, and putting one arm about her, drew her to him and kissed her three or four times. In the man, to his intense astonishment, Kvan at once recognised Mr. Komer Vodney. But who was the woman ? (TO BE CONTINUED). .i M i i i.iii i - .4 atarr of Mm Wh Wire Phrnlrally su.l M'.r.i 1 1 i Our -ii|>. r l..r- The (iuanches, the inhabitants of the Ca- nary islands, are said to be the remnants of the ancient rat-e who 1((,000 years ago peo- .led the drowned continent of Atlantis. iey are reported to have been strong and THE MkKLETO* I 1C I lir OtMertMU* or tVsler Whs has tosd Twralr Irari .\|M-rleii > To4eal in the bones of human beings would be an occupation-repugnant to most men. Yet in Philadelphia lives aa old Frenchman who finds more pleasure in this occupation than anything else in his life. His store is a veritable den of skeletons. The weather-beaten sign swinging over the door, creaking dismally with every gust of wind, bears this simple legend : " M. de Kobatre, Parfumerie. From which it ii evident monsieur would have the wo. id believe that he deals almost exclusively in those perfumed waters so dear to the femin- ine heart. Kvery family has a skeleton in the closet, however, and monsieur's family, which consists only of himself, is no except- ion to the general rule. He has his skeleton, in fact he has scores of them in closets and otherwise the majority otherwise. The truth of the matter is, the old Frenchman deals In skeleton;. Living as he does in a neighborhood thick- ly populated by ignorant negroes, who are, as a rule, very superstitious, l)e Robaire has found it necessary to ply his queer trade as secretly a<t possible. The " doctor" has oc- cupied his present headquarters for the last quarter of a century, and enjoys quite a large practice among the colored people, who would have nothing to do with him did they suspect the weird doings about the lit- tle shop. The ici-ond floor boasts cf only two small rooms, the rear one being used! as a work- shop, while the other, directly over the store and fronting on the street, serves the double purpose of bedchamber and store- room Such another bedchamber as the one oc- cupied by the old Frenchman probably does not exist, and how monsieur manages to sleep the sleep of the just among such grew- ft handsome, and of extraordinary agility of movement, of remarkable courage, and of a ' some surroundings, is' an in livable mystery loyal disposition ; but they showed the cred- ' to the few who have been admitted to it. nlity of children aud the simple directness of shepherds. So tall were they that the I Spaniard* speak of them as giants, and their The walls of the small room are ornament- ed with skulls and crossbones and real life- si?e skeletons, or, rather, death-size skele- tons in all sorts of grotesque positions. Four strength ana endurance were so great that they were conquered by stratagem, but not force. They ran as fast as horses, and could leap over a pole held between two men rive or six feet high ; they could climb the highest mountains and jump the doepest . rack j he who , e u ai|nly ,- ht ^ by , ! faint glimmer of light emanating from a Their endurance as swimmers w as so Um f iaU , , hart f kM 8U ", e ,, from great that they were accustomed to swim across the nine-mile strait between the i Lacerote and Craciou ; bav ing no boats, I their method of fishing was to strike the j fish with sticks or catch them in their h%ud hideous skulls grin from their positions on top of the four posts of the Ix .1 and close to the sides of the bed stands a skeleton with arms outstretched doing duty as a clothes The ' the middle of the ceilling with thongs of tanned human hide. while swimming. Their skulls, which are le could sustain existence any longer on no hundred pounds would not be forlhcoming satisfactory diet than a leit. i once m even days. Kvan was not quite strsngei to thu I 'hase except in retuin for some 'ci </> n lorma t which would lead to the recovery of the boy. The more Kvan considered the or i Is neighborhood. The. siinmicis before, affair the more pn"led ho liecame. be bad come down to Herrn lield dining thn j \Vhen he met Kdeline again, which he did annual alisence of the family, and by dim of lhllt afternoon in the Chestnut Walk, they llowed the grounds. The Chose had bren the IHHIH of a little judicious bribery, bad lice to see over the mansion and expl could only wonder and siinnisetoget her, and put questions to each other which, till fur- ther enlightenment should come from some liis ancestors for several geneiatioii*. us also ( , iu rl ,. ri there was no possibility of tt.eir t he liirl hplai e of his father, and l-'.i . been actuated by laudable desire to l.-.-ome acquaintfxl with the old r.Hiflree, all bough, through no lault of Ins own, he had I. -en eoiuiM-llc.1 to do BO siirreptit iously or nut at .11. It was in aceilam natural glade, or clear- in, in the grounds, known as the Chestnut Walk, that Kvan and K.ltdiue had agreed to meet The no called walk was in (be heart of a thickly-planted bell of woodland, ami could only IN reached by a couple of narrow winding paths through the trees, one at eitln-i end. It was a most secluded ,|... , and the lovei-s felt that then-, if anywhere, lieing able to answer, (let ween whiles they had their own personal matteri to attend to sweet confidences to exchange, vows of in. ill. i -ible love to reiterate not that any such iteration was needed on either side, but simply becanxe it is so -.w.-.-i 10 lie told again and yet again by the lip most dear lo us that we are Iwlovrd. V hen Kvan got hacktolierrictiuld.hefnund, tohischagrin, that hehadeitherlost or mislaid a silver cigarette case by which he set great store. It had U en the gift of a dear friend, since dead, and he valued it accordingly At once he culled to mind that he hud had it last that afternoon in the Chestnut Walk. they would to safe from ol nervation. Close W hilc waiting for Kdie, he had sat down to one i jnl of the Walk was a long-dried- up fountain, the massive masonry of which, now covered with moss and lichens of vari- ous kind . was falling more complete!/ into ruin year by year. Onrlovers had not metsince Kvan's Htormy interview wilh his uncle, a year l>cl u. , when the baronet had carried off bin ward to the Chase, fully determined to do all that lay in his power to keen the young people asunder. That they had much tosay to each other this afternoon which would iu nowise third person, may at once be by the ruined fountain and lighted a cigsr- ntte ;thcn, instead of putting the i-jv,e back into his |>o.-kel, he must, in pure abseiil- mindedneas, have laid it down on the stone- work und there have let! it. The i|tietiou was, uhelhei In- should go l.a. k at once .nut search for it, or risk leaving it where it was till h met Kdie tin-icon tin- morrow? The place was a lonely one, and little likely to !..- mil tided on meanwhile ; Hlill, he felt th it he should not readily forgive himself if his de. ol friend's gilt were lost through any re- nii- IIH -.s on his put. The evening w t-. a interest an _ assume. I ; then-fore, we will discreetly allow ! fine one, lie was tired of the hotel and its i In in u quarter of an hour to themselves 1 ion-pun v, and he divided that he could not beiiitc venturing lo intrude on their priv- acy. As u matter of course, Kvan had already . I all about tbu disappearance ot his youthful cousin, both through the news papers and by moans of the ample particul- ars which Kdeline hull supplied him with from time to time To day, however, ss they paced the Chestnut XValk arm in arm, he heard the story afresh from her lips, and do U-tic. than go back and setrch for his mi. .nn |>io|>erty. On this particular evening he found him >elt Ui. -k at the fountain in due course, Then, just as he had lefl it, was the cigar ell" c.i-.e be had come in se.ueh of. The moon was rising by this time. It was not yet high enough in the heavens u> ove i..|, the loftier brunches of the cmmlm^ tn-e-i, . . i on which the tender buds ot pnnu were here thereby had the affair brought more vividly :U1 ,| ,,,,.,.,. |,,,,,,, m| , \ v> (. llu \ ila home to him than by eii her I be punted , ,,l'.-i ing through them, made an written details while M was at a dMtanoe. "Ity the way, dear," sail) Kdeline,") think I understood you to say just now that y.ei have taken up your quartern at the ISI uk Swan Hotel, ft so, you have Mr. Komer Vodney for one of your fellow- guests." " And who may Mr. Homei Vodney be?" " A privatu inquiry agent in other words, u private detective who made his ap|H-aruiiee at the ( hase a few days after Ins|H<i tor Dimwade 's last visit, and asked your uncle's sanction, which it is scarcely needful to say he at once obtained, to his starting au independent investigation on his own account." " Of course, this Mr. Vodr.ey did not ap- pear on the scene till after the offer of the I'm- hundred pounds reward. Such fellows ni'M-i do I'v the way, what kind of look- ing man is he ':" " Tall, very thin, aud somewhat round shouldered ; clean shaven, with shallow aquiline features ; keen restless black eyes, and nil unkempt mass of oil) looking black hair. In <>ge about thirty.' "A study It. .in Ihe life, and one which g through tlni'ii, made an inln-ate -ihei'v netwoik onlheturfof the yhule lil billroom tor elves and fain. i. mil other shy creatures of t be night, whose revels the " inward i je " its Phantasy alone in privileg- ed to behold. So still and Iwautiful at this hour was the spot, that Kvan, healed somewhat by his walk. Mated himself whom ho hail sal in the afternoon, and proceeded after the fash- ion of his age and kind, to conciliate the tutelary spirit of the place by burnt -ollei mg in the shape of tobacco. Then he fell to thinking about his ladye love, and what more delightful occupation could any young man have at such au hour and iu such a place! His meerschaum lm.1 burnt itself out without his being aware of the In. -I, so immersed wus he in the pleasant process of aerial onstle-building, when something Woke his reverie on a sun- deu and canned him to look up with startled eyes. From (he footway which gave admit tan.-e to the glade at the point nearest the Chase, a dimly outlined female figure had De llohaire himself is an odd-looking man and the resemhUnce between him and one of .,.... .,.,. . bis own skeletons is decidedly striking. He prese'rveii'ViiThe 'mii>emns"of"the isUud", a"ud h " 8 aun '- ''<> features, his thin upper of which 1 took photographs, show marked "P ami a y chln beu * d">ed with an cerebral developnu-nt, the frontal and pari 'ron-gray mustacheand imperial. His head et.il boii,- being well developed and Ihe ' " e "t''y W" * v If a few bristly red facial angle good. In the early days of the I h ' r ".<" "P " h' forehead like a conquest, Iwfore rapine and murder hail i ? ma11 nnnhre, and under a pair of bushy eye done their vile work, the (Jusnches are ! 1>row of th "* me fieT V hue nu mall black spoken of as being musical and fond of >'' glitter like coals of fire, dancing and singing. F. u a score of years he has beei carrying Though so strong physically, the tiuanahea on his business in the old place, having emi- wi-re nevertheless a very gentle race ; they ' grated from France in ISfio, coming direct rarely made war with one another, and | to Philadelphia, where h established him- when the Kuroneaus fell into their hands ] self in business. For a time he had a hard they did not kill them, but vrut them to tend , struggle to keep soul and body together, sheep in t be mountains. So tame were the birds in this happy land that when the Spaniards first landed they came and fed out of their hands. To kill au animal degraded a man : the butcher was a repriev- ed criminal and an outcast, and lived apart, he and his assistant lieinu; supported by the state. No woman was allowed to approach the shambles, and iu such horror wan killing held by these gentle giants that no man could l! ennoble. i until lie had publicly declared t bat he had not lieen guilty of killing any animal, not.even a goat. Their standard of morality was high ; thoy were monogamists and adultery was lumshed by imprisonment and death ; rob- a son owing to the number of competitors in the field, together with the dullness of business, It noon became necessary for him in addition to his other trade to set himself up as a drug- gist, and he still rum his shop, though principally as a decoy. Lite in the *60's when the Knights at Pythias were organised in this state. Ida demand for skeletons increased as they were ncd to a great extent in the lodgi-rooms. De Kohaire prospered as a consequence, since most of his competitors had given up the business. OlCandon during the following twenty years business was brisk and dull by turns, but the old man has amassed a small fortune, 1-ry was almost unknown among them, and j am l t h ere is no reason why he should longer drmikennossDotyet invented. The( iuanches } continue in the buines, except that hs were bound by law to treat woman wilh hM uken a |,k ing to m , work> 8uc h as every the greatest respect, and a man was obliged to make way tor every v. onmn he met walk ing, to bear her burdens, and deferentially to escort her home should she wish it. If true artist due*. He is an artist in the full sense of the word. There is undoubtedly no one who can articulate a skeleton as f I neatly as he. and it is no idle boast on hii u l.uanche were eimol.ed for any great deed | pa rt whcn ne ,-laims that with eyes blind- the people werr assembled on the occasion, I Qfcj lle can Ukeamassof bones represent- and among the questions asked, to which negative an wer must tie given liefore the patent of nobility wai granted, was : " Has h- ev.-r been disrespectful to women T" The women n re not celebrated as having been beautiful, but they were, almost as agile and M( rung an the men. Kven in war the women and children wrc protected and pillage was forbidden. Sli.^.! til. vi- and way over I'm checkered floor of liiver Hutu Startling storie* c.mie from the \\est . on. fining the triumphs of the professional i.unmaker. The dryer the atmosphere and I he mi loiidlcr.* the sky, the greater the certainty of bringing down an old fashioned Xoachidii deluge in the course of an hour or two. The ram ia always " local," thus proving beyond a doubt that the skies did not pour forth water on their own account, bill that they were cirnpelled to disgorge then iiriisur'-s by the pigmy man down be IOH. In these (lay < he laughs most who laughs last, and after the discovery of the I 1 ..|.ii i.--, ot steam, electricity, photography . ' . the tables are apt lo bo turned upon tlie man who in profoundly skeptical Predictions might lie inado now and printed with respectful alt eiilion which, a hundred years ago, might ba\ e caused the rash pro- phet's incarceration in a mad house. Never ib. less, in regard lo therainmaking business we shall still lie compelled to bid the rain- makers go ahead, and wish them all sorts of good forlunc, without laying a perilously large wager on their success. We have brought lightning to the earth and may bring water, as we may yot navigate the air ; but where is the point of support the pivot on which all these wheels are to be worked ? If (icneral Dyrenfurlh and his men are indeed destined to prove successful, they will be looked upon as greater magicians than Kdinoii. Just now they seem to rank iu the minds of many w ith the traveller of various sea-serpentine experience*. The world is half credulous, half slow to Ittlieve ; but it hates to be fooled. Bait i n ,i inn i . p. i , Leper* iu India were treated with shock* iug n.huni uiity before Christianity entered that country. Many of them wore buritd !ne. The Knglish mien have put a stop to this custom, and for fourteen years there has been s. special Christian mission to the lepers in India. ing the human frame and build up the ske- leton as it was originally, without one bone out of place. Again, he can by merely touching a bone tell to a certainty what part of the frame of man or Least it belongs. There is no possible way of determining the nationality of the person who existed around a certain skeleton during life except that in the case of anegro the aperture in the skull once covered by the nose is "ot so narrow and sh u |H"ieii as a white man. The "doctor," while standing in hii workshop a few days ago with his sleeves rolled up over his skinny arms, thus held forth on the subject nearest his heart " This skeleton you see me operating on I have imported from Franco. You will notice the high polish on the bones, due to a method of preparation practiced only by the French. They clean the bones by a process of maceration with muriatic acid, the whole operation requii ing two or three months' time, while in this country the bones are hastily and carcleuly lioiled and come out rough and dirty. In all my twenty years' set vice I have never come across a Chinese skeleton This it due to the fact that a Chinaman lic'n-ve-i he will not reach heaven unless his l.ones rest in the Flowery Kingdom. "The different prices of skeletons are based upon their degrees of hardnesa and whiteneax, upon the development of Ihc bones, and the amount or absence of fat in their extremities. For this reason the French article is decidedly of more value than the American or German. Up to this year over *2,(JOO skeletons have been import ed into this country, but thoy have become scarce of late for noine reason, anil to supply the demand I find it necessary to manufac- ture them of paper. Of course I have a stock of them in my bedioom, but I would not part with any of these. Mon dieu ! I have come to look upon them as dear friends and companions. Here you see my artificial skeletons made of paper macho, with arti- ficial teeth, and the whole covered with a white polish which gives the appearance of the genuine article. I can make three of these each week, and they bring from $10 to $15, while the imported genuine article costs front |30 to |3.>, and the domestic fQO. Itut th.su the imitations are bought only by secret societies. . "Yes, I have grown old in the business and love it. I have articulated and handled over 5,000 skeleton* iu my tima."