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J MUBDER OR ACCIDENT ? The village of Oak worth was, in the ex- pressive language of thai oracular person- age the oldest mhabi tan t, "a streightforrard plaice. ' Th_- straightforwardness of the primitive people seemed to an outsider to consist of a downright skepticism of the honesty of anyone who did Dot wear hit heart on hu coal sleeve. It was a law of the villager! to make any freih comer give a very straight acoouut of hi* antecedents even to the vtry minutest details. 'Tis true that things were very straightforward "Good-evening," was all the newcomer aid, bat the simple words made her reply : "No, I cannot give you that hope." John IXdcamle and Kate Hirdmg walk- ed toward the manager'* house in silence. They parted almost in silence, but when John was walking toward his lodgings he muttered angrily : "If that felio T hadn't come I feel sore she would have said 'Ye*' when I asked her. He ha come between as a ri\- feet three bit of a scribbling fellow, full of collars and cuffs and dandy- ism. Ah, well, he's my old friend, and I must not be too bard on him, bat I hate him all the same." II. "John, I should be glad if yon will show me over the mine this afternoon. I have hat! a letter frcm the editor of a London in the village. The daily lives of the men magazine asking me to write a sjeoial , article on 'Life in a I oal Mine. V ou *e, seemed to ooosut m slouching from their , H . r d,ng does not care much about this sort dismal cottages to the still more dirmal pit O f thing, and as you are a very old friend of at one end of the day, and (rum the pit to ] mine, I would much rather trust mysslf to the cottages, sod from the cottages to the village alehouse, at the other end of it. There was hardly room for the smallest di ; your care. The face of the deputy manager suddenly it, he turned pale, then, as if ashamed of went red. verirence from the straight track in the life "What's the matter ? You look as. if I which the*, people l,v,d. It seems to seems to be an inevitable law of hu- man progress that the susceptibilities o (Uch people should receive a great shock a 1 some fme or other. The shock came to Oakworth in a vsry simple manner. had asked you to show me the Devil' Cavern," said VVi.Miam Harrison. The deputy manager looked down upon the miniature figure of the sub-editor. " It's all right. Will ; only I fancy I I have not been feeling very well lately." " >ee a doctor, my boy : that's the best One I advice I can give you." he said flippantly lost. If he could have looked half onnra into the future he would have preferred to be among the dead. As he staggered from the cage he saw a little group standing dose to the office of the manager. "Aye, poor wench ; it's young to dee, bat it were a merciful death," said one woman, and the words fell ominously upon the ears of the yuunif man "Aye, she were standing close to the mouth of the shaft, waiting for her t'auber, when the exploshun came, and it browt down a lamp of the shaft on to her poor head. They say she's dead. " Who's dead'?" he asked excitedly. " mine your own affairs." the woman re- plied insolently, " and be thankful you are not." Still he staggered forward, and saw Mr. Harding kneeling upon a heap of the pit bank rubbish. Heedless of ceremony, the deputy manager pushed his way through the small crowd, saw lying dead the wom- an he had loved with a passion which swept everything before it* " Oh, my (iod, it's Kate ' Come back to me, dear '." he cried, heedless of the rough THE SERPENT S POWERS. le> fesJIswe wiiki Ml Vei Actively tlrri. The power of continuing motionless wirn the lifved head projecting forward for an indefinite time, is one of the most wonder- ful of the serpent's muscular feats, and is of the highest importance to the animal, both when fascinating its victim and when mim- icking some inanimate object, as, far in- tance,tbe stem and bud of an aquatic plant ; here it is only referred to on account of the effect it produces on the human mind, as enchanting the serpent s strangeness. In this attitude, with the round unwinking eyes fixed on the beholder's lace, the effect may be very curious and uncanny, says the Fortnightly Review. Ernest (ilanville, a South African writer, thus Describee his own experience : When a boy he frequently went out into the bush in quest of game, anil on one of these soli- tary excursions he rat down to rest in the sna.le of a willow on the bank or a shallow Jay there slouched over the mil a young ' and carelessly, but John thought he could man who succeeded in getting employment ! d "*?** J>tJ "P 1 " 1 beneath the " 1 II expect you round, at lw> at the only colliery which the village boast- , g,, long . l > m buty now j Punctually the two people around him. " Get op, Olduastle, and do not repeat those words <n my heariuK attain. She'waa ' stream : sitting there, with his cheek real not dear to ihce nor to any like thee," said ln " '"* hand, hs tell into a boyish re- the manager in an angry tone. The young man bung his head it. shame. The iron hau entered into his soul, and he could not make any protest. Tl e cup of his bitterness was running over. It was for L o'clock. ed. He carried his head down-like a full ear of corn. His coming wis rather an in- opportune one for him. It was the dull season in the village. Fur a long tune there had no: even been a scandal to discuss, and ths conversations at the alehouse were getting somber sad wearisome. When the day's work was done the people crowded around the new hand, and poured upon him all manner of questions. ay e wo men stood at the mouth ot the shaft waiting for the cage to bring up some of the miners. The dandy- ism of the preMir.au had been hidden with- in the dirty masses of the rough overalls which the deputy manager had given him for the occasion. He looked a most enter- taining specimen of nineteenth century culture. It was evident he did not like this dead woman that be had muni oh, no, not murdered ' but allowed this acci- dent to happen to one of his oldest tnends. He was haunted by Ihs feeling that m life , perhaps she had loved the other one, sti<i he, in his blind fury, had sanctified their love by insuring their eternal unicn in and through the grave whither they went in the same .hour, perhapein ths same moment. Well might he hang down his head n hame. But it did not hang down lon'g vene. After some time he became aware in a vagus way thar on the white.aandy bottom of ths stream there was stretched a long black line whion bad not been there at first. He continued for some time regarding it without recognizing what i', was, but all at once, with an inward shock, became fully 1 conscious that he was looking at a large snake. "Presently, without apparent motion, so softly and silently was it done, the snake reared its head above the surface snd held it there erect and s'.ill. with gleaming eyes fixed on me in question of what I was. It fiashed upon me then that it would be a and I . Miss Harding, The stranger stood it gooJ-temperedly for ( don . t wtnt Der lo ^ me in thi . ^ come time, and then told them in pretty The deputy manager turned in the plain There was a heart still within him, and anyone to see him in those hopeless-looking desperate conviction that he might still | redeem something of ths past by giving his into the life in an effort to reach some ol the men . ** ""*.*"3 = '* darkness. Here* Saxon that his name was John Old- opposite direction, and said something castle, bat that anything and everylhmg WD1 5 h would hmve " * lon W *T tow * r<i else which hs might possess was his affair, and not theirs. From that moment John Oldcastle was a marked man in that village. When name was mentioned the men wagged their sketched a few plans with which lo em heads suspiciously, and women declared hellish his article for the magazine, that a man who could not tell them whether Suddenly he closed his notebook, and he was married or not was equal lo any turned toward his guide. who were still entombed in the mine. I*. was a generous thought that arose out of his desperaticn. " Come, lads, who will go with me in search of the missing men T" he cried in confirming the suspicions of ths villagers if ringing tones. any had been lucky enough to hear. The men and women opened their eyes. Ihe two men had spent over an hour in They knew very well that if any men were the glcomy abyss. By the aid ot Ihs faint still alive in the pit they were the men who had reviled this deputy manager who was now offering to risk the dangers of the terrible fire-damp in an eifort lo carry them succor. The men who bad staggered up from their cottages on hearing the ex glimmering of a safety lamp Harrison had nli jotted down a number of notes, ard had plosion did not shrink from him now. One villainy. " You are most confoundedly gloomy to- or two silently grasped his big bonds, and So John had rather a warm time of it in | ''ay," he said to Oldcaatle. " I can get i in % very few minutestke cages were filled -' thM village or, perhaps, a better way of nothing out of yon except a reluctant 'Yes,' expressing a hard fact would be to say that nr ' ^'" ' he had a very cool time of it. The men would have nothing to <io with him, and the women scanilalized him. John Oldcaslle was glad to be left alone. He did his work like a man, and tlie shrewd manager, thinking that a collier who did answered, and all he could do was to reply not go the village alehouse was worthy of to his many inquisitive questions in mono confidence, made him his deputy. In doing syllables. IMS the sh remd manager erred as he after- ' " I think we had better be going." con- ward found to his cost. It was gall and ' tinned Harrison, who was beginning to wormwood to the villagers to see Jahn think something was really the matter with Uldcaatle wielding the authority of deputy manager, snd they resolved to wait ihir time, in the hope th\t, even in their sleepy village, something would turn up which would overthrow the anticipations of the '.ranger. In every village there are the elements of by many who were ready to sacrifice them selves for the sake of those in danger. In- John did not trust himself to reply. His spired by his courage common miners beait was rending him. He had prayed became heroes. They searched amid the in a rou^h heathenish fashion to have this blackness of the suffocating abyss, and man given into his hand. His prayers his succeeded in rescuing a dozen men from a curseful prayers had, apparently, been I terrible death. The people wondered why John Old- castle had done tju deed of heroism for the sake of men who hated him, and for the sake of women who scandalized him. They did not know the tumult that was within his heart. Karly next morning the village turned oat in full force They gathered around the house in which John Oldcastle lodged. bis friend. What's thai wau-r' " It's not rr.uch. Simply tin- water flooding one of the lower seams. We have tried to stake it up the best ws can, but I'm tragedy. Sometime* woman and two men women and one man. they consist of one afraid it's no go. There are thousands of toni of water down in that bit of a hole." Harrison peeped over the hoarding into the awful depths of water. He turned tragedy generally oomes in the shape of a wronged and deserted wile, who appears sometimes of two ' aside a moment. " 1 say, John. You are in love. Why, you look awful. Come, now; it's no good romancing about Miss Harding. She has told me many a time that she will In a case of this sort upon the scene of action just in time to marry no one but a gentleman. " prevent her truant husband from re-entering! A blast of hell born passion conquered into the bonds he has sought to hteak in the deputy manager. In a second he seized another quarter. Not so with John Old- the little sub-editor and swung him ovsr his castle. He never had a wits, so it was im- 1 head, and dangled him over the torrent of possible for one lo come uoon him at an ! water. inopportune moment and point a terribly " I I only mean % man who gets his accusing finger at him. But the tragedy living with his collar and cuffs on. I didn't consisted in his prospective hopes of having mean that you were not a gentleman. Let a wife at some time in the near fulure. Ths ' me go. " manager, Mr. Harding, had a daughter a He struggled like a child, but the im fair, bright, joyful, little soul. Her sympathy , tnenee hands held him with a terrible grip, had gone out toward the stranger just at Then a tragedy happened. With the the time when everyone seemta to take a suddenness of a flash ol lightning a fork of pleasure in reviling him. And, as often lurid dame shot through the pit, and the happens, sympathy soon led her out of her | whole dark fabric trembled. John Oldoaslle depths, and made her wonder whither she 1 was Knocked down by a heavy fall of roof, was being led. Knher acciienlally or intentionally, murd- One night, about twelve months after his i erously, be loosed his grasp, and.lhe " five advent in the village, John met Miss Hard- 1 feet three bit of a scribbling fellow," wuh ing making her way over the bleak moor ' bis notes and his sketches which were luwsrd her Istber's house. Of course it i doomed to etornal oblivion-, was falling was an accident. Lovers generally do meet , heavily through the blackness into the tor- by the purest of accidents, bat somehow i rent of black water beneath. John had ready-made a speech a verv HowloogJohnOldcastlelayparliallyburied important speech which he had been thinking about all day. Now was the time for its delivery, and his honsst heart quiv- ered, and the rising moon showed to Kate that his face was blanched as he thought of the stupendous possibilities connected with bis speech. "Kale, I am a rough sort of fellow. The way I have been treated by everyone except you and your father since I came here has not helped to make meany smoother. Kut, believe me, Kate, I am an honest man." "I never doubted that," she replied, and her eyee looked confidingly upon the stal- wart form which was trembling beside her. "Would you believe me if I told you that I am honest in my love for you, Kate ?" he asked, and his tongue fal- tered. Somehow the spee.'h he had thought so much about ilid not sound by the d'bris will never be known. " When he returned to consciousness he fell bruised and shaken. He put his hand to his head, and when he drew it back it was covered with blood. The pit was full of sliding fumes, and befell choked. It seemed as though he was just coming out of a horrible dream. " Harrison, Harrison: where are you! Come along or this terrible fire-damp will kill you !" he cried as loudly as he could. But be received no reply, except a long echo down the dark passage whicn sounded weird and uncanny. Then the knowledge of the accident or the crime -came back to him. His legs trembled so badly that he could hardly walk, but he struggled on through the dark passage, until he saw a faint gleam of light from the - l '- They were going to give him a right ringing They cheered and Jgemenl but there was no answer. One of the leaders forced his way into the small bedroom, and found the great body of the deputy manager sire'ched cold and still across the bed. There was a beautiful smile upon his face. He was evidently satisfied at the thought that be too would accompany Kate Harding into the land of deathless spirits. There is to this day a simple stone standing in ths churchyard reconlmg his deed of valor. This was the only tribute the people could pay to one they bad wronged and misunder stood. STRIKES IN GREAT BRITAIN. Jearly stalMhe s>tss.tr r Ceaelllalery Nessteels. The Westminster Gazette prints the re- port of the labor correspondent of the London Board of Trade on the strikes and lockouts of 189*2 in Great Britain. The total number was 69i Of these 34o were settled either by mutual conciliation or by mediation and sixteen by arbitration. The remainder were lost by the working men. It will, of course, be remembered, says the Indianapolis Sentinel, that conciliation and mediation are preliminaries to compulsory arbitration as proposed by all intelligent advocates of that system. Notwithstand- ing the peaceable and satisfactory settlement of so large a number of these strikes, the cost of the remainder was very heavy The weekly loss of wages is estimated at the sh.i't. He looked up and saw ths Hogether a he expected it woliM sound! j cge slowly rise from the ground. Is raised his ponderous hand and laid it " 8 *T* ".** v , e .'".* ! . ne "? d ' He raised his pond almest gentlv upon her shoulder. She, with ihe natural intuition of a woman, felt that this was only a preliminary movement, but she did not make any protest. She laughed lightly, and said in a low, sweet voioe : " I might believe it. " " Might believe it ! Is that all " he asked, and his sense of disappointment crept into his voice. Well. 1 would believe It," she added. His arm went further round her shoul- ders. Of course this too was only an acci- dent at any rate, it was as much an acci- dent as their meeting on the dark inoor. "Kate, may 1 love you? Can 1 hope :rd forward. He felt something in his nds, and he clutched at it desperately. Then he felt something drawing him qaiok- ly through the dense atmosphere. But it was a long time before he realized that he was clutching to ths bottom of the ascend- ing cage. III. When he reached the top of the shaft there was a strange sight befoie him. There was a crowd of women with blanched faces, and a largeoumber of children crying piteously. He saw them peer anxiously into ths faces of the four men who were in about *.'. 400,11011. The loss on uss of capi tal is placed at $95,000,000. The cost of restarting works and resisting strikes is estimated at $1,10)1,000. The known amount of aid voted by othsr unions is $800,000, but this is only a small propor tion of the aid actually furnished. The cost alone is a very strong argument against the strike as a remedy, even if it were a successful remedy, and the lesson is having . its sffeot on Knglish workingmen, and the and slag , conclusion of the statistician is therefore hopeful. He says "the general lialance ol results was against the workmen, as may always be anticipated during a period of declining trade. But there is, it seems, a growing opinion, expressed year by year, both among employers and workmen, in favor of various forms of arbitration snd conciliation. That, at least, is something to be thankful for." that you will love me in return ?" ' the cage, and he heard one of them turn If Kate Harding had stood there another ! from him and say, "That worthies* fellow moment it is more thn likely she would i is saved, and my husband is among the have answered the questions <n the affirms- ! lost." tiv-. But while her answer literally Oldcastle knew that he was an ooject of quivered on her lips they were startled by ! derision simply because he had bean sa a sound close to them. I ed and those they loved were among the who are oat o' nights. The " Moliagel " gold nugget, fonnd at Mount Moliagel, Australia, in lso'9, weigh- ed 190 pousids and assayed $45,000 in pure gold. The common council of Steinhubel, Sile- sia, have elected, for ! he protection of the village, a night wnteh woman. She is said to be stalwart and lesoluis and takes) a motherly interest in various small boys good opportunity to test tne power of the human eye on a snake, and 1 set myself the task of looking it down. "It was s foolish effort. The bronze head snd sinewy ueck, about which the water flowed without a ripple, were as if carved in atone, and the cruel unwinking eyes, with the light joining and going in them appeared to glow the blighter the longer I looked. Gradually there came over me a sensation of sickening tear, which, if I bad yielded to it would have left me powerless to move, but with a cry I leaped up snd, seizing a fallen willow branch, at- tacked the reptile with a species of fury. Probably ihe idsa of the Icanti originated in a similar ex penance of some native." The Icanli. it most be explained, is a powerful and malignant being that takes the farm of a great serpent and lies at night in some dark pool, and should a man in- cautiously approach and look down into the water he would be heid there by the power of the great gleaming eyee and finally drawn down against his will, powerless and speechless to disappear forever in the black depths. MURDERS ARE COMMON. Mriil.h CelDSBbls Vrs. i. sjatr slrr ill h.irr .1 t nmr. A despatch from Vancouver says Murders and attempted murders are be- coming common in British Columbia. The other night Wah Hun, a well-known market gardener, was shot while driving home a few miles out of Vancouver and killed, one ball entering below the heart and another in the head. The body was discovered immediately after the shots were heard, so that the highwayman had no time to commit robbery. Twenty-five cents was all the money found on the body. The case of Hy. Higgins, of Vancouver, who " woke up and found his throat cut. 1 ' is according to his sworn statement, still a unique mystery. The man will probably live, though in a precarious condition. Tbs theory that Higgms was drunk and fell on son e sharp instrument was accepted until a bloody knife was found in the cab 13 with a portion of Higgina' whiskers on it. Summervilie, Higgins' sleeping com panion. says he did not hear the slightest noise all night. Both men bear good char acters. Cholera In Europe. An abstract of sanitary reports just issued by the United Stales Government, contains a number ol statistics concerning the pro- gress of cholera in European countries. In perls of Southern Kussia there have been many new cases recently : Belgium has suffered somewhat, there having been 101 deaths in Liege alone during the first half July. Russia shows the heaviest mortality ; in St. Petersburg there were .1,354 cases and 1,550 deaths in the month of July, and many of the provinces have suffered heavi- ly, the figures for the warm summer months being startling. One district in Turkey reports .5,000 oases and 1,500 deaths up to ths beginning of June : and in 76 villages of i -alicia, during one week of last month, there were '.JoO deaths. The issue of London Lancet if .September ->th says that during the previous week there bad been.~),.~>ls cases and'2..Vt0 deaths in Kuropean Russia, (jreat Britain is entirely free from the scourge, but in (iermaiiy there has been a marked increase in the number of cases, and the Kinperor has issued an edict forbidding popular gathering? or demonstrations at army manoeuvres in Eastern Prussia, Canada ami the L'nited States are free. AS OPEN LETTEE FROM A PROMINENT PHYSICIAN. A s>esrkas>lv sir- r I sasuloai ! IIS L.I.I ttscn-l* Tkl. 4.rr S>rra4 !.*. r I .<< rrl ? llHpMtMl f.cl. I* All *e>sTrrlBf rross SH.ra.r4 ,r vtrak luj. Ki.Mwoon. Out., Aug. -.'1st. 1894. DEAI: -!;>:[ wish to call youra..n* tion to a romarkabln cure of consumption. In March, 1 ,'<, 1 was called 10 my pro- fessional capacity to see Miss Christina Kxeater, of North Brant, who was '.nru sudenng from an attack of inflammatiou of tne left lung. Tne attack was) a severe one, the use ot the lung being entirety gone from the etfect of ihe disease. I lr*atd her for two weeks when recovery seemed assured. I sfterwards heard from her ai intervals that the progress of recovery was satisfactory. The case men pasted from my notice until June, when I was again called to see her, her friends thinking she had gone into consumption. On visiting her I found it.eir suspicions ioa well founded. From robust health she had wasted to i mere skeleton, scarcely able to walk across '.he room. She was suffermg from an intense coujh, and expectoration ot p -end matter, in fact about a pint each night. There was a burning hectic fever with chills daily. A sssTssM exam- ination o: ths previously diseased loag showed that us function was entirely gone, and that in all probability it was entirely destroyed. Still having Hopes that the trouble was due to a c election ot water around the lung I asked for a consult. lion, and the following day with a prominent pnysician of a neighlioring town again made a careful examination. Every symptom and physical sign indicated the onsei of rnpid consumption and the breaking down of the lungs. Death certainly seemed but a snort time distant. A regretful experience had taught me the usele.-Miess of the ordinary remedies used for this dread and fatal ditease, and no hope was i? t.3 looked for in this direction. I had frequently read the testimonials in 'svor of Dr. V\ illianW Pink Pills in wast- ag diseases, but not knowing '.heir compo- sition hesitated to use them. Finally, lowever, I decided to give them a trial. and I am free to say that I only used them ai a stage when 1 knew of absolutely nothing site which could save the patiert's life. The test was a most srvere one and I must also aimit an unfair one, as the pitient was so far gone as to make all hooe of reco*ery seem impossible. A very short time .however, convinced me ot the value of Pink Pills. Although only using an ordinary soothing cough mixture along wr.h the pills, within a week the symptons had abated so much that n was no longer necessary for me lo make daily calls. Recovery was so rapid that wnhin a month Miss Koesier wu able to drive to my office, a distance of about six miles and was feeling reasonably well, except for weakneta, Tne expectoration had ceased, the cough was gone ami the b .thing a the liceased mug was being restored. The ase of the Pink Pills wi iont nued until the end of October, when she ceased to take the medicine, being in perfect health. 1 still watched her case with deep interest, but almost a year has now passed and not a trace of her illness remains. In fact she is as well as ever sh* was and no on* would suspect that she had ever been si ing to say nothing of having been is the dutches of such a deadly disease an consumption Her recovery through the use of Pink Pills, after having reached a stage when other remedies were of no avail, is so remarkable that I feel myself justified in giving the facts to the public, and I regret that the composition of the pills is not known to ths medical profes- sion at large in order that their merit might be tested in many more diseases and thsir usefulness be thus attended I intend giving them an extended '.nil m the case of consumption, believing from their action in this case, (so well marked) that they will prove a cu-ative in all cases where a cure is at all possible I mean before the lungs are entirely destroyed. Yours truly. J. KVA'NS. M. D. The Dr. Williams' Medicine Co. Brockville. Out. Odd Phases of Sunstroke. " A peculiar phass of sunstroke," says an eminent physician, " is that a subject does not succumb to the attack till some hours after it occurs. Ths only explanation that medical science can give is that a sunstroke cousists in a disintegration of the blood corpuscles, and considerable time elapses before the disintegrated blood reaches the little nerve centre in the brain which acts ss a governor on the heat system of the body. The flow of the blood finally para ly MS the heat centre, and the heat runs riot, raising the temperature of the body to a fearful height within a few minutes. ' As an instance of host prostrations, the doctor cited the statistics of ths British Army in India, where the great majority of sun- strokes take elfsct between 7 and 9 o'clock in the evening. Queer Things in the Russian Army. The Russian Army is full of funny things. Thus, the biggest fellows are de- tailed for duty in the body-guard regi- ment, " Preobrashenski," foun ied by Peter the Great, and originally composed of lhat monarch s personal friends, all giants in their way. The Czar s family takes great pride in this regiment, and on the named day of its patron tint attends the festivi ties in a body, usually reinforced by foreign Ambassadors and Ministers. Then there is the Ismailowski regiment, where only fair men are tolerated, and the well-known Pawlow Guards, all of whom must hsve retrousse noses. The regulations of the Guard Chasseurs, on the other hand, admit only dark-haired men. A landslide in Bengal transformed a valley into a large lake, which is steadily rising I Had Goitre Or swelling* in the neck since I was 1O years old ; am now 52. I used Hood's Sanapsrtlla re- cently and the swelling has entirely disappeared It has been very trouble- some. When I began I was feeling so dLsoour. aged with the goitre and rheumatism I felt that I would ss soon be essxt as alive. WVnever I caucbt cold I could not walk two Mot'ki without fainting. Now I am from It all and t can truly rwommend l s Sarviuartlla. I received a letter from Mri. .IiMinlo Bigvlow. now of Fremont, Mich., asking if my testimonial In hrhalf of Hood's SanaparilU was true; 1 replied it was. and seat particular*. { oavn another letter from tier thanking mo very much for recommending Hood's Sarsaparilla ami stating Uiat sn* also has been cured * Mm. AA Si THERLAMD. Kslaiiuuoo. Mich. Hooo-a PILLS "> u>* *> ' mis. Ib*i aaust IitfMUou u*l cure (lesdsess