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i 4<y^^>^<>4<>4^(>^<>^-<>^<>^o-Â¥o-^<>4-o-^<i4<y4<>*<>-Â¥<>^<^^ DARE HE? OR, A A SAD LIFE STCP.Y â- l»<HK>><>-*CH*<>><>»-o-K>4-o><>4-(><>><>^-o>o>CHK>-^o-fo>CH^ ♦ CIUPTlin II. "Thorn is no reason why \vp slinuld tirt j,'o home now; ure you ready?" cries Brown. LusllinH up to his friend, who tia.s not waited lor this (luestiuu to niulie â- straight, as the needle tu tlie pule, for the rornor where the collected uniljrellu.j •etand in their little lu-ca of lake. iJurKoyne would probably have luii;;lied at the unconsciou:* irony of this Imjuiry if lie had heard it; but he has not. his atlenlion being olherwi.se diroc- <ecl. On the .same uiiibrella quest as himself, bciny lielped on with her niack- inlosh by one of the two men who had accompanied her, a pcpper-und-sull- haired, sturdy gcntlcnian of an ob- â- viously unacadeniic cut, is llie lady whose face had Hushed upon him with that puzzling scn.se of unfamiliar famil- iarity. .Since they are now in close proximity, und both employed alike in slrut'ttling into their wraps, there is no- thing more naluml than that she stioiild turn her (>yes full upon him. They are very line eyes, though far from young onas. Is it a trick of his imagination, or does he see a look of half-recngni- tion dawn in them, such as nmsl have been born in his own wiien thov first «lightcd on her? Al all events, if there is such a look of half recognilion in her eyes, she is detorniincd that it shall not have a chance of becoming a whole one. Either ho is mistaken, and she has not recognized liim, or she id determined not to acknowledge the acquaintance, for she looks away again al once, nor does sh.e throw another glance in his direction. Indeed, it seems to him that she hurries on lier preparations with added speed, and walks out into the niglil accoin- {lunied by her double ei^corl before him. Tlie weather has changed, and for the bolter. The rollicking wind has lulle<l, the puttering rain ceased. Between tixo ♦•aggeU, black cloud-shecls star-points sliinc, and a shimmering moon shows her wot face reflected in the puddles. Talk, which had been impossible on their way to the meeting, is not only possible but easy now, and Brown is evidently grcaliy inclined for it. 13ur- goyne, on the other hand, liad never felt more disinclined. H is not so much that he i.s out of humor wilh his tiresome friend, tliough he is that, loo, as Hint his whole mind is centred on making his memory give up the secret of that face that has come back to him out of «)ine vague cavern of his past. Who is the woman whom he knows, and who knows him ? l-'or, on reflcc- Ijon, he is sure thai that look of hers was ono of halfâ€" of more than halfâ€" recog- nition, and yet whose place in his hi.s- lory. wlioso very name he seeks so vainly. She does not belong to his 0.\- ford days, as he has already ascer- tained. He has learnt fruiu Urown that â- she does not belong to the 0.\ford of to- day, being apparently a slranger, and, â- with her husband, a visitor to the Vvarden of College, in whose com- pany they had arrived. He explores the succeeding years of his life. In vain; she has no place there; in vnin he dives and plunges into the sea of his memory; he cannot fish up the pearl he seeks. He must hark back to earlier days â€" his school time, the si.\ monlhs he spent in Devonshire wilh a coach be- lore lio came up to New. Ah! he lias it â€"he has it at last I JiLsl as they have f^jached Brown's door, while he is fu;n- â- fcliiig wilh his latch-key for the keyhole, imprecating the moon for willidrawing hsr shining al the very instant he mcf.l fiecds her, Burgoyne hn.s cojuo up with the shy object of his chase. It is con- jured back into liis mind by the word Devonshire. "I have It," he says to himself; "her hair lias turned white, that was why I did not recognize her. it u.sed to be raven-black. Bui it is sheâ€" of coiii-se.il ii she ! To think of my not knowing her again 1 Of course il is .Mrs, Le Murchunt." Whiil a door uilo the distance tlir.t â- Uaiiio has opened 1â€" a duor through which he pa.sses into a Devonshire giir- <leu, and romps wilh rosy-facd Devon- aliii'c children. The very names of those children arc comhig back lu him. Tom •nU C:iinrlcs, Mk^c were the schoolb(jys; Rose and Miriam, andâ€" I'.lizabelh. He recalls â€" absurd trick of freakish mem- oryâ€" tliose children's pets. 'I'om and Charles had guinea-pigs; Miriam hud a while rut; Doseâ€" whal had Huse? Hose must have had something; and l''.!izahelh had a kangaroo. ElizaheUi's kangaroo was short-lived, poor beast, ami died iiboul hay-tiuio; the guinea-pigs and the while lat have been dead loo for ages now of course. And arc Tom and <Zharles, and Mo.so and .Miriam, and bright Elizabeth dead al.so? .Absurd! .Why should Ihey be? Nothing moie un- likely ! Whv, it is only ten yeuis ago, rfler all I lie is rous""'! from his meditations by Brown'.s voice, to (Ind himself in Brown's sludy, where lis owner is lllling himself a pipe, and feslally olfeiiiig him whi.sky and water. Bui it is only an abstracted atlenlion that Hurgoyne lends. cllhcT lo the whi.sky or the whi-sky's master; and his uiikwer.<i are soinelime.t inaltenlivcly beside Ihc mark, lo talk, which indeed is not without .some likcne.ss lo the boasted e.\pl(jils in (Element's Inn, and Ihe affec- tionate inquiries after Jane Niglitwork. of a more famous fool than he. II is a relief to the guest when, earlier than he had b.tpected â€" a blessing he, no doubt, owes to ^^rs. Crown â€" his hiisl brealcs i:p the seance, and he is free lo retire lo his own room. At o.nce he is back in thai Devonshire garden, he is there almost all night, beiueen sleep and wake. It is strange thai persons and circumstances banii>hed from his mem- ory for ten long yours should rush back Willi such lyranninis insistence now. .Such silly recollected Irillos crowd back upon his mind. The day on which Tom nearly choked hlm.self by swallow- ing a barley beard; the day on which the loji-eircd rabbit litteredâ€" ah, rabbits of cour.so ! Those were what Hose had Iâ€" the day on which Tom pushed ,Miriain inio the moat, and Klizabelh fell in. too, in trying lo lisli her out. Kliza- bcth, the eldest, the almost grnwn-up one, embarnusseiJ by her newly-leiigtli- ened petticoats, so hurra.ssing al cricket, in races, in climbing apple-trees. Eliza- helh was si.xteen; he remembers the fact, because her birthday had fallen two days before his own departure. lie had givi'.;i hiT a gold thimble set wilh turquoises upon the occasion; il was not a surprise, because he recalls measuring her finger for Ihe size. He can .see that small middle finger now. Elizabeth must now be twenly-six years uf age. Where is she? What is sheâ€" maid, wife or widow ? And why has Mrs. I.c Mnrchand's hair turned snow-white? Had il been mere- ly grey he would not have complained, though he would have deplored the lo.ss of the line smooth inky .sweep he remem- bers. She has a fair right to bo grey; 1 Mrs. Le Marchanl iniisl be about furty- p si.\ or forty-seven, bien sonne. But I wtiilo, snow-while â€" Ihe hue thai one Iconnect.s wilh a voncrable exireniily of age. Can il be bleached ? He has heard of women bleaching Uieir hair; but not .Mrs. Le Marehant, not the Mrs. I.o Mar- chant he remembers. She would bav been as incapable of bleacl* as of dye. Then why is she snow-haired ? Bo- cause Providence ba.s .so willed it is the obvious an.swer. But somehow Bur- goyne cannol bring himself to believe thai -she has come fairly by thai while head. With the morning light the might of Ihe Devonshire memories grows weak cr; and, as Ihe day advances, Ihe Oxford ones rtsumo their .sway. I low can it be otherwise, when all day l.iiig he strays among the unaltered l-.iii!ilings in the swet>l sedate college gardens, down the familiar "High," where .six years ago, he could nol take two steps willioul be- ing hailed by a jolly fresh voice, claim ing his company for some new pletLsurc; but where now he walks imgrected, where the smooth-facetl boys hi' iiiocis and who strike him as so much more boyi.sh than his own contcmjioraries had done, pa.sis him by indifrerenlly. un- known to Ihe whole two thousand a.s he is. llo feels a sort of irralional anger wilh Iheni for not recognizing him, though Ihey have never seen him before, Yes, there is no place where a man is .so quickly superannuated as in O.xford He is .saying thi.s tu liiniselt all day, is sayhig it still fis he slruUs in the after- noon down Me.snpoluiniu, to (ill up the time before the hour for college chnpol. Yes, there is no place where men .so .soon luni into ghosts, lie has been knocking up uguiivst them all day al every slr^'cl corner; Ihey have looked out al him from every grey window in the yuiul al New â€" jovial, ullilelic young ghosts, .so much painfuller lo ii.eet Ihnn rusty, century-worn old ouis. They arc ralher less plentiful in Mesupolaniia Ihan else- where; p'Oihaiks, because in his day. as now, Mesopotamia on ."suiidays" was given over lo Ihe mechanic and ihe per- ambulalor. Oh. Ihul Heaven would put il iiiio Ihe head of sonic Clijuicellor of Ihe ICxchcquer lo lay a .swinging tax upon thai all-accwrscd vehicle I But i-ot even MiechaMic and pcrarubnlator can hinder .Me.sopolamia from being f.-ijr on a line I'ebruury day, when Ihe beautiful llu'ids uro out, Ihe liooils Ihal Ihe Thames Conservatoi-s mid Ihe Oxford authorities have combined lo pul down, as Ihey have most other beauliful lliing.s williiii their reach. But Ihey have not yet qiiili^ succcedcil. To-day, for in- stance, Ihe Hoods are out in might. Burgoyne is pneiiig along a brown walk, like a raised cniiscwny, wilh a sheet of while water on either hand, rolling strong ripples to Ihe bank. Ciiuirled willows stand islanded in the coldly argent water. A blackbird is Hy- ing out of Ihe iMislies, wilh a surprised loi.k al liriding himself turned into a sea-bird. No sun; an even sweep of dull silver lo right and ic.'!. No .sim; and yet us he looks, after days of ruin, Ihe "grand dccoraleur," as some ono happily called him. rides out in royally on a cleared sky-field, turning the v\ hole drenched country into rnothcr-of-pearl â€" a sheet of ojial stretched acro.ss Iho drowned nieadowa; the distance opal too, a delicate, dainty, evanescent lovcli- ne.ss snatched from Ihe ugly brown jaws of winter. Burgoyne i.s leaning over Ihe wooden bridge beneath which, in ils normal state, the water of the lusher rushes down impcluously; but is now raised to such a height that it lies level, almost Hush Willi the planking. He is staring across the iridescent water plain to where, in Ihe poetic atmosphere of sun and mist, dome, and schools, and soar- ing spires, stand etheroulized. "Pear old place !" he says, under his breath, "everybody Is dead; und I am dead; and Brown is deader than any ono. I urn glu^l Ihut you, at least, are still alive 1" Are these more ghosts coming round the corner? A man and a woman ghost strolling along, and looking about them as strangers look. W hen tliey are with- in a pace or two of him the woman says something- something about the llood.s â€"to tier companion, and at Ihe sound Burgoyne starts. ".She did not spork last night; if she had spoken I should have known her at once. She always had such a sweet voice." He rai.ses his arms from the bridge- top, and turning, meets llieni face to face, eye to eye, and in an instant he has seen thai both recognize him. Al the .sanr;e instant ho is aware of a simul- taneous inclination on the pari of man and wife to avert their heads, and pass him without claiming his acquaiiilanci!. Perhaps, if he liad had time to relied, he would have allowcil them to do .so, but Iho impulse of the moment forbids it. Why should they wish lo cut liim ? What has he done to deserve il? Ten years ago they were his very good friends, and he was the familiar com- rade of their children, Ihe daily gue.sl al tlioir table. Wtial has the unavoidable lup.si; of those yours done to make him less fit for Iheir coni|)any al twenty-nine than ho was at nineteen ? There must be some nii.sconccplion, which u moment will set right. "I um afraid that you do nol remem- ber mo, Mrs. Le Marchanl," he says, lifting his hut. This is not qfiilo true, as he is per- foclly convinced Ihut they are as miicli aware of his Idontity as he is of llieii's. But what formula has a man lu em- ^iloy in such a case? They both look buck at him with a sort of irresolution To his astonishment, in their eyes is a velleily of flight, but apparently sheâ€" women's minds moving more quickly llian inen'.sâ€" is the first lo ix'alizo llial llight Ls out of the question. "1 am sure tliiil you have no intension of cutting me," Jim goes on, witti a smile, seeing Ihal she is apparently struggling willi a ditliciilty in utter- ance; "al least, you must be very much changed from wlial you were ten years ago if you have. My name is " "I knowâ€" I know 1" she interrupts, tluding speech al lastâ€" speech low and hurrietl. "I remember jierfeclly. You aro Mr. Burgoyne." Her confusion â€" she always u.scd to be such a. placid, even-mannered woman- is so patent, born of wliutever unac- countable feelir.g it may bo, Ihal he now heartily wishes he had lei the poor wo- man pa.ss unmolested. But such repen- tance i.s loo late. He has arrested her; .she is standing on tlie gravel path before him, and though he feels that her extra- ordinary shyness â€" mauvaise lionte, v.hatever it may beâ€" has infecled him- self, bo must make some fiu'lher remark to her. Nothing better occiiis lo him than the obvious oneâ€" "II is a long Umcâ€" il is ten years since we met." "Yes, Ion years; it must be quite ten years," she as.senl.s. evidently making a great effort to regain her composure. .'<ho does nol feign the slightest plea- .sure in tlio mciling. imd Burgoyne fools Ihal llio ono tliougli! Ihal occu|)ie.s her mind is how she can soonest end it. But his roused ciii'iiisily. logelher willi Ihe dilliculty of parling willioul further (jhserviitioii after having forced his pre- sriice upon Ihem, combine lo piovonthor Bucceoiling. "And how is Iho Moat?" he asks, re- llectiiig that Hiis, at least, is a safe question; a brick and mortar house, al all events, cannol be dead. "How is Uuvoiishire?" Appuronlly il is nol so harmless a quiislion a.i he had imagined; at least .Mrs. Lo Marchanl is obviously (luito in- capable of answering it. Her liusband, tor Ihe Hrst lime, comes to her rescue. "The Moat is let,' ho says, in a dry voice; "wo have loft Devonshire a long whileâ€" nine, nine and a half years ago." The Moat let ! Judging by the light of that \Vind.sor Caslle had been turned (nio a Joint Slock Company Hotel. II is probably, llien, some money trouble tlial has turned Mrs. Lo Murchanl's hair whileâ€" snow-white, aa ho now sees il to be, But no, he rejects the explanation as insuinciont. She is not tlic woman to have taken a diminished income .so much lo heart. (lood manners forbid him lo a.sk, "Wliy i-i "ic Mo"'' '<•'• '" '^o "" ">"' '"^ .says is. "Nine and a half years ago? Why, thai must have been very soon uller 1 left Devonshiie." lie addro.sses his remark involuntarily rather lo the wile Ihan lo the husband, but she does nol answer il. Iter eyes are' Hxcd upon the bubbles sailing so fast upon Ihe swollen river, which is dis- tinguishable only by its current from the .sameness of the surrounding water. A larkâ€" there is always a lark in Mo.sopo- laiiiiaâ€" a liny, sirong-throaled singer, that never .seems lo have lo slop to take breath, Hlls up the silence, shouting somewhere out of sight among the block clouds, in and out of which the uncer- tain sun is plunging. Whether of a moneyed nature or not, there is evident- ly soinelhing very unpleasant connect- ed wilh Iheir leaving their native coun- try and their immemorial home, so ho had bettor get away from Iho subject as fast OS possible. "Anyhow," he .says, wilh a rather nervous smile, "I hope that the world has been treating you kindlyâ€" that tilings have gone well wilh you since those dear old days when you were so good to mo." There is an instant's pause- perhaps he would nol have noticed il had not his suspiciuns been already arousedâ€" hofore Ihe husband, again taking upon lum the task of replying, answers, with a sort of labored carelessnessâ€" Oil, yos, tiianlcs; wo do nol com- plain, ft bus not been a very ro.sy lime lor lundloi-ds lately, jis you are aware." And you ?" cries the wife, striking in Willi u .species of huiry in lier voiceâ€" a hurry duo. as his instinct tells him, to the fad of the fear of his entering into more detailed inquiries. "And you'' Wo must nol forgot you. Have you heen well, nourishing, all this long time ? Do you sliU live wilh your " •She stops abruptly. i| js anparent that •she has enfiroly foi-goltoii what was the Kjiocies of relation wilh whom he lived Iliore IS a little tinge of bitterness in his heart thougn not in his tone, as he supplies Ihe missing word "aunt." And after all. lie had forgotlen her name; why should not she forget his aunt '' "With my aunt? Woll, l never exactly lived wilh her; 1 made, and make m/ headquarlers there when I am |n Eng- land, which is nol very often. I have been a rolling stone; I huve rolled pretty well round the world since we parted." Ihey do not caro in Iho least wliero ho has rolled, nor how much nor how lillle mn.ss ho has colleded in the process, ihey aro only thinking how they can best gd rid of him. Bui Ihe past is s rong upon him; ho cannol let ihom slide out of his life again for another cn-lwenly years perhaps, without llndmg out from Ihem something about his live merry playmates. His inquiry must needs bo a vague one. Who dares ask spocificnily after this or thai man woman, or oven cliild, when ten yours have rolled Iheir lidos between? "And you are all well V he says, with a certain wistfuTness lurking in Iho different banal phrase. "Dear me. what a jolly parly we used lo be ! I suppose thatâ€" that they are all out in the world now ?" His eyes arc fixed apprehensively upon tho mother of tliose young comrades, lo whom he thus cautiously alludes. I'er- haps, carefully as he bus worded his (|uestion, lie may have touched some terrible raw. Her fare is turned a.sido, presenting only its profile lo him, but she answers almost at once â€" "Yes; we aro all .scattered now. Charlie is iilanliiig orange.s in I'lorida â€" he docs nol mind the heal; you know he always said no wenlher could be loo hot for hint; and Tom lias an ostrich farm in Australia, and Hose has been manned Iwo yearsâ€" slic has ». dejir little baby; and Miriam Ls married, too; wo havo just come down from her wedding." "Miriam niurried !" repeats Burgnyno in a lone of wonder. "Miriam wilh a husband instead of a wliile rat !" The mother laughs. It is the first time that ho has heard her laugh, and slie u.sod to laugh .so often. "f think she likes Iho exchange." There is unulher lilllo pause, again filled by the lark's crowding nut^'s. Tliore are Iwo wonts bnllcring against Iho gale of Burgoynes lips for egressâ€" two words lliat he dares not utter. "And lOlizabclliT' She was the oldest. She would naturally havo been nien- tioncd lirsl; imt neitlier Hrst nor last is lliere any speech of tier. She must, then, be deadâ€" dead long ago, loo; for tliere is no trace of moiirnini! in her perents' dress. Elizabeth is dead- bright Elizabeth, Hie beauly and the pet! is it only fancy Ihal ho sees in Ihe eye of Elizaheth's mothep a dread lesl ho sliall ask tidings of her, as .she says, liaslilv, and wilh a smile, "Well, 1 am afraid wo must be going; il has heen vc'ry jileasanl meoliiig you again, but I am afraid thai the Warden will bo ex- pecting U.S'.'" .. J u , .She adds to her nartmg hand-shake no wish for a ropdilion of thai meet- and ho watches them down the ing lllg, ailll ML- ^VHivinc, »ii«- - Willow Walk with a sort of sadness in his hcurl. ,_ , "Elizabeth is dead! Elizabclli is un- doubtedly dead !" (fo bo continued). »â€" Howell • "Bowell is always borrowing Inaiblo." Powell: "th's Iho kind ..f lellow who, if be Ihoiigld ho was gnuig to got fat. would go oul and walk oil Ihe we ight before he got il ! " GENEa\L INFORMATIC.N. Little UiXs of Knowledge About 'IJosI 1 Everything. A Russian does nol become of age until he is twenty-six. .Some of the railway linos in Russia tiavo smoking cars for ladies. Ill the Indian Ocean only 370 out of M,"00 islands are inhabited. Every square mile of the ocean is be- lieved to have a population of 120,0(X),- <1J» fish. Kangaroos readily leap from CO feet lo 7r) feel. The greatest recorded leap o( a horse is ;i7 feet. Licenses issued to certain French â- ladies to wear mule altire cost 50 fr. ($1(1) yearly. Six have been issued. In 1875 the number of cigarotles smoked per head of tho population in Austria has two. In ]'.)05 it was liO. In Bohemia courtshijis aro abnonnal- ly long. In that country engagements frequently last from fifteen lo twenty years. Conscioncp-money received yearly by Ihe Chancellor of the E.xchequer in de- fault of unpaid ta.xcs averages $30,000. Tho Bopublic of Panama boa.sts o( only one railway, forly-soven miles in length, though tho area of the country is 31,500 square miles. t^robably the owner of Ihe largest number of dog.s in the world Ls a Rus- sian rattle king, who has 35,(Ki<) shep- herd dogs lo look after 1.500,000 sheep. The now harness which the Khedivo of Egyjit ordered in England .soma months ago is the most costly over niado for four horses. II is valued al .SIO.OOO. New .South Wales is just two and a half times IliB size of the British Isles. Queensland is equal lo three times Iho l(.;erman Empire and Belgium pul to- .gelher. riio reindeer has greater power of endurance than any other draught ani- mal except a camel. A reindeer has ibeen known lo pull 200 pounds at ton miles an hour for twelvo hours on end. When a fortnight old Iho oy.sler is nnl niucti largiT than tho head of a pin. Al the end of four years' growth it is fit for the market. Oysters live to the age of from twelve lo fifteen years. On tho premises of a brick-making firm silualo on the Surrey f^anal. North <^;amberwell, tht kiln fire has never lieen permitted to go oul since it was first set alight, a hiindrcHl years ago. The elomenlaiy school nuttiorilics at C.rediton, ICngland, have ordered that the girls must have their hair plait<>d and tied behind Iheir tieads. The par- ents will appeal to the Board of Educa- tion in the matter. A wonderful large double-bass viol has been iiiudc, and is inton(k;d for uso in a Chicago orchestra. It is 14 feel hiyli, and its body about 7 fool. Tho lop pari of Iho body is 3 fool 4 inches across, the lower part 5 feet. Tho Emperor of China has a house- hold consLsting of 5('-0 por.sons, including lliirly bearers of .Stall.- umbrellas, on e(|ual number nf fan-hcarcrs, thirty phy- sicians and s/.,'eons, sovenly-fivo astru- hgiTs, sevQuty-six coolis, and sixty pricsls. Compared wilh llio citizens of other Eionch cit-os, Parisians are remarkably sober people. Ea<h ParLsian drinks 3)0 pials of wine annually, and only tliir- loen pinis uf splrils. Nice drinks 514 pints of wine a year, St. Etienno 310, and Boulogne 3:15. Mrs. Betty Brookes bos just cclobrat- ,cd her ninety-third birthday in tho iKiiiso in which she was born and has l:\ed all her life, al ICdgolield. Walk- den, Manchosler. She was taken down the local coal-mines to work by her fa- ther at eight years of ago. King John of Ahy.ssinia lias decreed Ihal Iho no.se of nuy one (;f his subjecLs found taking suulf shall be cut off, wliilo smokiijg and cliewing tobacco forfells life. In Morocco, persons disobeying llio .Sullan's dcvroe of prohibition of smok- ing arc impruioneJ and Hogged through the slreols. Berlin t.iii\orsily is Ihe most nunny/*- ously attended .seal of learning in '.fie world. li contains 7.(74 maliicii'aled and 1,330 i:on-malricuIaliMl stiidenls. All the .Stabs of Germany und every crmn- Iry in Europe, from Norway to ,Sicily, from Ireland lo Russia, are represented ill ils clu'^s-rooms. The remains of all Ihe Czars of Rirsia .since Peler Ihe Croat t)tv. iiilerr:><l in a .Meni'iiial Chapel Iniilt on one of Iho islands of Iho Neva. All Iho cenotaphs are exactly alike, eRcli being a Mock of white marble, without any docora- tian whatever, hearing oiilv Iho name of tho deceased Empv nu-. Isl Boyâ€" Is that pie good? 2nd Boyâ€" Naw! "Den why yer eating il?" "Ter aggravate do other kids! Doy im'igino dal it's dclicloiis"'â€" Life.