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In Peace and War J--i \ Or, The End of It All j CHAPTER XI. One fine day late in the autumn of eighteen hundred and seventy-six, a steamer emerged from the haze that lay over the Atlantic and the northern waters of the Bay of Biscay. The captain of this splendid steam-good sailor, and he endeavored to make his passengers feel at home while under his care. Therefore he now walked aft and stood beside the chair of a beautiful woman who was always alone, always indifferent, always repelling. "This is a pretty sight, Mrs. Huston," he said pleasantly, without looking down at her, but standing beside her chair. "Yes," was the indifferent answer; and the sailor's keen gray eyes detected the fact that the fair lashes "It b i gs the fact before me," he contim < . "that we are getting near "Yes,' with pathetic indifference. She did ..ot even make the pretense of looking up, and yet there was no visible interest in the book that lay upon, her lap. The . sailor moved a little, and leant his elbows upon the rail, looking round his ship with a critical and all-seeing eye. "I hope," he said cheerily, "that there is no one on board to whoi the sight of Eddystone will not gi\ unmitigated pleasure. We shall t there before any of us quite realize that the voyage is drawing to an end." She raised her head and ami: somewhat wanly, and there was the action and in the expression her eves a sudden, singular rese blance to Brenda Gilholme. But was a weak copy. There was neither the invincible pluck nor the unusual intellectuality to be discerned. "I shall be glad," she said, "to see England again. Although the voyage has been very pleasant and very . . . peaceful. Thanks tc "Not at all," he anawered, with breezy cheerfulness; "I have done remarkably little to make things pleasant. It has been a quiet voyage. We are, I think, a quiet lot this time. Invalids mostly -- in body. The mariner looked down into the sad face, and smiled in a comprehensive way which seemed in some inexplicable manner to bring them •vfc* "Then/^lakid' the lady, "as I am in the enjoyment of rude health and likely to last for some years yet, I may infer that you know all at The captain looked grave. know," he answered, "just little enough to be able to reply that I know nothing when people do mo the honor of inquiring; and just sruf-Bcient t.o feel that your affairs are better left undiscussed by us." "I suppose," she murmured, "that Ifossips have been thrashing the - whole question out with their customary zest." "I think," he said coolly, "that pom have done perfectly right in keeping yourself quite apart from the rest of them." "I am glad," she said humbly, "that my sister will be at Ply- "Did ailor, holme?" She raised her head with a questioning air, but did not look up. "Miss Gilholme," she repeated -- "how do you know her name?" "Oh," laughed the captain, "I am a sort of walking directory. There is a constant procession of men and womien passing before me. Many of them turn aside and say words. Sometimes we find mutual acquaintances, sometimes only lual interests. Sometimes they pass by again, and on occasii become friends." "Then you have not met hei "No--I have not had that pleas- ■"It is a pleasure," said the bt tiful woman very earnestly. Had she only known it, her face finitely lovelier in grave repose than In most piquante bouderie. "I can quite believe it." replied the sailor, with a gallantry which' even Mrs. Huston could not take as anything more than conventional. "She is my guardian angel!" murmured she, pathetically. "I hear," the captain went on to explain, in his cheery impersonal way, "scraps of family histories here and there, and then am rather surprised to meet members of these families, or persons connected with Mrs. Huston bravely quelled a desire to talk of her own affairs, and smiled vaguely. "I have no doubt," she said with meclianical pleasantness, "that we have a great many mutual acquaint-only knew how to hit pale cheeks the warm color mounted as if a glowing ruby reflection had suddenly been cast upon the delicate skin. She expressed no surprise by word or gesture, and there was a pause of considerable duration before at length she spoke. "Where is he now?" she asked in .ice. 1 the v "Of c ihd especially the Indian 1 ■ the world. very t tall." "I wonder who they are?" mur-njured Mrs. Huston, raising her eyes to her companion's face. "Mention a few of your friends," ho suggested, looking down into her syes somewhat keenly. " No--you begin! " He changed his position somewhat, and stood upright, free from the rail, but his glance never left bet Theodore Trist!" The captain stroked his grizzled mustache reflectively. He acted his part well, despite her sudden and lamentable failure. "Let me think . . . He is in Constantinople to the best of my knowledge. Ho is engaged in watching Eastern affairs. It seems that Turkey and Russia cannot keep their hands off each other's throats much longer. At present there is an armistice, but Trist has been through the late war between Servia and Turkey." "Do you know him well?" she asked at length, after a second pause. "Yes. He is a friend of mine." "A great friend?" "I think I may say so." "He is also a friend of ours -- of my sister and myself," said Mrs. Huston calmly. She had quite recovered her equanimity by now, and the pink color color had left her cheeks. "I have known him," said the captain conversationally, "for many years now. Soon after he made his name he went out to the East with me, and wo struck up a friendship. He is not a man who makes many friends, I imagine." "No," murmured Mra. Huston, a voice which implied that the subject was not distasteful to her, but she preferred her companion to talk while she listened. "But," continued the sailor, "those who claim him as a friend have an unusual privilege. He is what we vaguely call at sea a "good" man -- a man upon whom it is safe to place relianco in any emergency, under all circumstances." "Yes," said the lady softly. The sailor was interrupted by the sound of the first dinner bell, and a general stir on deck. At sea, meal times are hailed with a more visible joy than is considered decorous on land, and no time is lost in answering the glad summons. Mrs. Huston rose languidly from her seat and moved forward toward the spacious saloon staircase. "Yes," she answered thoughtfully, "Theo la very clever. It is difficult to realize timt ,„:.-.s friends are celebrated, is it not?" The captain walked by her side, suiting his crisp, firm step to her languid gait, which was, nevertheless, very graceful in its rhythmic ease. Her voice was clear, gentle, and somewhat indifferent. On her face there was no other expression than the customary suggestion of pathetic apathy. "I suppose," she continued in a conventional manner, "that he will not bo home for some time." "No. There will be a big war before this question is settled, and Trist will be in the thick of it." With a slight inclination of the head she passed away from him and disappeared down the saloon stairs. The captain turned away and mounted the little brass ladder leading to .ilor-like deliberation. 'And, young woman," he muttered himself, "you had better go down to your cabin and thank your God your bended knees that Theodore Trist is not in England, nor likely > cross your path for many months He looked round him with hi bitual cheery keenness, and sa •ond offi 1 he have Theodoro Trist standing at that ment on the deck of a quick dispatch boat, racing through the Bosphoroi and bound for England, he would not, perhaps, have laughed so heartily at a very mild joke made by his subordinate a few moments late "And yet," ho reflected, as he i his way below in answer to the ond dinner bell--"and yet, she does Brenda looked at her sister in a >vay. "Spending it on what .... Alice?" "On--drink!" Mrs. Huston was not the woman to conceal any of her own grievances from quixotically unselfish mo- Brenda thought for some moments before replying. "Then," she said at length, with some determination, "we must make sure of our start, if, that is, you are still determined to leave him." Mrs. Huston was looking down at her sister's neat black dress, about which there was a subtle air of refined luxury, which seems natural to and part of their be- ing. "Yes, yes, I suppose ^ the way, dear, you are horn?" "For Admiral Wyli : must. By i mourning r" replied Brenda patiently. "But it is two monthst--is it not? --since his death, and he was no relation. I think it is unnecessary. Black is so melancholy, though it suits your figure." "I am living with Mrs. Wylie," Brenda explained with unconscious irony. "Are you still determined that you cannot live with your husband, Alice?" "My dear, he is a brute! I am not an impulsive person, but I think that if he should catch me again, it is very probable that I should do something desperate -- kill myself, or something of that sort." "I do not think," observed Brenda serenely, "that you would ever kill yourself." The beautiful woman laughed in an easy, lightsome way, which was one of her many social gifts. It was such a pleasantly infectious laugh, so utterly light-heat ted, and so ready in its vocation of filling up awkward pauses. "No, perhaps not. But in the meantime, what is to became of me? Will Mrs. Wylie take or two, or shall we seek lodgings? I have some money, enough to last month or so; but I must have tv new dresses." "Mrs. Wylie has kindly said that you can stay as long a But, Alice, it would m stay in London. You must get away to some small place o seacoast, or somewhere where will not be utterly bored, and keep in hiding until he comes home, and I can find out what he intends do." "My dear, I shall be utterly borell anywhere except in London. Brenda, tell me . . . you have into a habit of talking exactly like Theo. Trist!" Brenda met her sister's eyes with a brignt simile. "How funny!" she exclaimed. " have not noticed it." "No, of couxse; you^-would no notice it. When will he be home?' "I don't know," she replied indifferently. "We," continued Mrs. Huston, following out h<?r old train oi !!.„,',,III. "are so helpless. We w*it a imm to stand by us. Of com of no use. I suppose he is spouting somewhere about the country. He lerally is." No," replied Brenda, with a wonderful tolerance. "We cannot count on him. He is in Ireland. I had a post-card from him the other day." "What we require," continued Mrs. Huston, "is an energetic man with "I am afraid that energetic with brains have in most cases their own affairs to look after. It is only the idle ones with tongues who haye 'evote to other people'~ e,' my dear, is clevei lembnr that. And he i terribly obstinate. "We I and c ning ! the s t of Perhaj i for Trist--not good enough! s the gossips are wrong, aft d he does not care for her More than one idler in Plymouth Station, one morning in October, turned his head to look again at two women walking side by side c the platform near to the Londi train. One, the taller of the tw was exceptionally beautiful, of fair, delicate type, with an almost perfect figure and a fare fit for a model of the Madonna, so pure in outline was it, so irnocent in its ming. The younger woman was slightly shorter. She was clad in mourning, which contrasted some-;rudely with tho brighter cos->f her companion. It was evident that these two were sisters; they walked in the same easy way, and especially notable was a certain itrepid carriage of the head, which venture to believe is essentially peculiar to high-born English wo- The sisters had met on the sieam-~oat landing a few moments previ-msly. A rattling drive through the own had followed, and now they vere able to speak together alone for the first time. There had been display of emotion. My dear," Mrs. Huston was say-t, "he will be home by the next boat if he can raise the 'money. We cannot count on more than, a week's ," inquired Brenda, "can he against hi said Brenda practically. At this moment the guard ci forward, and held the door of their compartment invitingly open. They go't in, and found themselves alone. They were barely seated, opposite to each other, when the train glided smoothly away. "Theo," said the elder woma nilicantly, "is brave and cool cunning, Brenda." "But," suggested Brenda, "Theo is Bulgaria." Irs. Huston smiled without being actually vai the market value of tl.e moi of her beauty. Suppose I telegraphed that I wanted him to com at < , knows d weight to Brenda fixed her eyes upon her sister's face. For a second her dainty lip quivered. "You must not do that," she said, in such a tone of invincible opposition that her sister changed color, amd looked somewhat hastily in another direction. "I suppose," murmured the elder oman after a short silence, "that ; is quite impossible to find oi when he may return?" 'Quite impossible. This 'Eastei Question,' as it is called, is so con plicated that I have given up trying besides, I do not what Theo has to do with the r "Ve must act alone, Alice." t women arS so helpless." da smiled in a slightly il- eal way. "Why should they 1 practically. "I am : Captain Huston. I " she asked , afraid of iast, the phase of his ition has been religi ■om my affectionate p ich, my dear. At ABOUT ALFALFA. A ton of cured alfalfa hay is, says C. C. James, Deputy Minister of Agriculture for Ontario, equal to a ton of bran in feeding value. At a moderate estimate, alfalfa, valuing bran even at $10 per worth $60 to $80 per acre. That is a valuable crop and the labor--after the first year is infinitely less in the cure of alfalfa than it is in the case of most root crops. But the main point is in the comparison of values between bran and alfalfa. Bran is growing dearer. This is because the value of bran for dairy cattle has become generally known and an enormous demand for it has sprung up in consequence. There are fashions in feeds, as well as clothing, and for years bran has been exploited as a most necessary dairy food, a kind of staff of life for the dairy cow, and the result has been a demand that, as is usual in such cases, forced the price beyond its actual feeding value, and with an accompanying lowering of its value by adulteration. Here, however, is another food which can be made to take the place of branr-- that the farmer can produce for himself. There is very little more difficulty in getting alfalia started than there is in getting a catch of clover and once alfalfa is started, it The most important single factor in raising alfalfa, is the preparation of the seed bed, for this crop demands a very careful preparation of the soil if partial or total failure is to be avoided, for the young alfalfa plant, as so often stated, is delicate and exceedingly particular regarding its surroundings. THE SOIL FOR ALFALFA should be thoroughly pulverized, and deeply plowed, but it must be given time to settle before seeding, and only the surface layer allowed to be loose. If it is necessary to plow the ground before seeding, do it as early as possible, harrow thoroughly, and then wait for a good rain to settle the soil before seeding. Seeding on new i>lowed ground will not give good results. A well cultivated corn field cleared of stalks will make an excellent field for seeding to alfalfa, as it only needs harrowing. The careful preparation of seed bed is especially nocesscary where rain is scarce, and in such conditions a deep seed bed sary to hold the moisture necessary for the growth of the young plant. The soil must be made fine enough that the particles can come mediate contact with the young plant, and this can only be done by the repeated use of tho hi pouted several times so f ity c ■iu>(, itil within two inches of surface. This necessitates that the lower layers of soil be well compacted either by rolling or by the action of moisture. If the lower layers be well settled, and the upper two inches in the form of a dry mulch, the moisture coming from below will be arrested at the point where the seed is placed for germination, and the result will be an abundant I ply of food continually brought tho rootlets of the plant. But t do i itlio. reliable. him. We will manage somehow." "I am horribly afraid, Brenda. has just come to me; I have nev< felt it before. You seem to take : so seriously, and . . . and 1 ej posted to find Theo at home.' E the t ,, got ii' fairs to attend to," said Brenda, in her cheery way. "We are not his affaiis; besides, as I mentioned before, he is in Bulgaria--in his element, in the midst of confusion, insurrection, war." "But," repeated Mrs. Huston, with aggravating unconsciousness of the obvious vanity of her words, "suppose I telegraphed for him?" Brenda laughed, and shook her T have a melancholy presentiment that if you telegraphed for him he ould not come. There is a vulgar ut weighty proverb about making ne's own bed, which he might re-ommen'd to our notice." "Then Theo must have changed!" Hrenda raised her round, blue eyes, nd glanced sideways out of the window. She was playing idly with the strap of the sash, tapping the back of "her hand with it. "Theo," she observed indifferently, "is the incarnation of steadfastness. "He has not changed in any perceptible way. But he is, before all else, a war correspondent. I cannot imagine that any one should possess the power of dragging him away from the seat of war." Mrs. Huston smiled vaguely for her own satisfaction. Her imagination was apparently capable of greater things. It was rather to be deplored that, when she smiled, the expression of her beautiful face was what might (by a true friend behind her back) be called a trifle vacuous ery good article the If, on the other hand, the lower layers of soil will be loose as turned up by the plow, the water will not come above the line of soil that has been broken in plowing, and the young alfalfa plant is liable to die from drought and exhaustion. HEAVY CLAY LANDS. should be plowed deep the previous fall, followed by a thorough use of the harrow in the spring. The alternate frost and thawing during the winter sets free much plant food, 1 and makes the tough clayey soil more granular and easier to work in the spring, but whatever the nature of the land, it must be thoroughly prepared by use of harrow, roller, or planker, or there will be much labor lost, and small returns for years, from the poor stand se- The young alfalfa plant needs warmth and moisture, and is very susceptible to frost, and cold rains are very retarding. If there is moisture in the ground, it may be sown any time from when oats are sown, to the middle of August. In northern localities it is not well to sow after the first of August, as the plant will not make sufficient growth to form a protecting mulch to shelter it during the winter. This being wanting, the plant must be allowed to furnish its own protection, or it will quickly winter kill. On land that is weedy, an early sowing is preferable to prevent the weeds from gjetting an undue start, and not only smother the young alfalfa plants, but also rob them of the supply of v.ater, which is necessary to the alfalfa, and the growth once stopped, the weeds soon shoot ahead. In the South, where the winters are light, the locality from which the seed comes is of but little importance, and so long as it is clean, plump, well ripened, and new, it will give good results. As a rule it is best to obtain seed from the same latitude, or a little north of the place where the seed is to be sown, and in this we are following the rule that applies to other seed, as wheat, barley, etc. Old seed should not be used, but a moderate age is no drawback. If the seed is plump and well ripened WITHQTJT STACK BURN, it will keep well for several years, but dark, shrunken seed is always The new seed is of a bright yellow color, but after the first year grows darker^ in color. If it is dark, and shows signs of mold, it should be discarded. It should be clean and free from foreign seeds. Saving expenses by using a small amount of seed to the acre is poor economy, both in the beginning and end. There have been cases when 15 pounds to the acre have produced good results, but these are exceptional cases and must not be taken an'd especially on weedy land. It is better to err on the safe side and sow from 25 to 30 pounds of seed per acre. A small quantity of seed is liable to produce a coarse, woody growth, which contains neither so much nutriment nor is so palatable to the stock. It should be remem-oered that the loaves contain four times as much protein as the stems therefore a large, woody stem and small growth of leaves are not wanted. "he best way to sow alfalfa is with a press drill, especially in soils that are light and liable to dry out or blow. The drill should put the seed just whore the soil is moist, and this should not be over one inch from the surface. In very light, dry soils, an inch and a half may be found proper, but, as a rule, not over an inch is the proper depth. The wheels of the press drill pack the 1 closely around the seed, giving sufficient moisture and causing quick germination. There is much diversity of opinion regarding nurse crops. It is common to sow oats, about 1J bushels per acre, and cut the oats just as they are heading out. This makes a good quality of oat hay and give.1? PROFITABLE CROP from the alfalfa field the first yeai Letting the oats grow beyond th heading-out point is of decided ii jury to the young alfalfa plant: the large amounts of wat£ they remove during growth and the lessening of the available plant food. The same is true, to a greater i extent of all nurse cr pecially if they are allowed t proach maturity ; in such cases they take so much moisture and :' from the alfalfa that a faili Perhaps the one condition urse crop is necessi A WOHDBfiFUL MENTION PATENTS SECURED FOE. A MAGNET TRAIN. From New York to San Francisco in Ten Hours Instead of Five Days. The eight of i the what makes it hard to pull. The resistance offered by friction is greatly reduced by wheels and well oiled axles, and yet powerful engines are required to draw the train at any considerable rate of speed. We are now informed of a wonderful invention that practically annuls the weight of the train, and consequently makes it possible to draw it with a comparatively small engine and at an incredible rate of speed. Prof. A. C. Albertson, Ph.D., formerly of the Royal University at Copenhagen, has recently secured patents for a magnet train which, if put into practical use, would travel from New York to San Francisco in ten hours, instead of five days. The principle is to overcome the weight of the train by means of powerful magnets connected with the truck, and so arranged as to slide along underneath the side of the rails. The Exporter gives tho following simple explanation of thiS remarkable device : "Take an ordinary horseshoe magnet and touch it to the under side i bar. It t ill i vith i HOLD UP ITS OWN WEIGHT. Next fasten a piece of stovepipe wire above the bar and use it as a support for a smiall matchbox. It will then be seen that tho heavier the matchbox is, the weaker will be the adherence of the magnet to the bar. "If the weight of the combined magnet and matchbox is a little less than the magnet's power of attraction, it will be very easy ta move the magnet along the bar, especially if the bar is smooth and w„ell dlled. This is the principle upon which the new magnetic railroad operates. By balancing magnetic attraction against weight the latter is practically abolished. In fact, - as U it "Thus, for i i equipped v case of the i ith Instead of hi.:h c ! jllSt inderstanding. It was the dangers of alliance; and he ed that an ally who, in any one might at some time prove dis-ntageous, is better avoided th.3 first pait. It was apropos of the Turkish-Christian subjects g a Russian invasion. It j me, Alice, that our posi-ather within the reach of that argument." Being a soldier's wife, I do not )w much about military matters; heavy winds. In such a case the se crop might aid in holding the I and prevent uncovering the young alfalfa plants ; but the general tendency seems to be towards dispensing with the nurse crop. If the alfalfa has been sown on heavy soils, and there should be before the young plants show themselves, there is liable to be a crust formed, that the young plants cannot penetrate. In such cases a n£er i light harrowing will loosen the th 1 crust> and sometimes save the crop om smothering. Alfalfa will usually need to be run s patient speak; - Phy-nally. but it seems to m e that a t should. be safely covered ••Not at all costs, said 1 significantly. Her r olor had ed, and there was a "wave of slowly mounting ov ;r her th (To Be Con tinned). retrc . all and the vith the i to keep the weeds down. The knife should be set high weeds cut so often that they be allowed to remain on the ; plants. Some experts mow t falfa three or year, even when as the pruning' seems to make the plant more vigorous. If the cutting of the weeds has been neglected until the growth is heavy, they must be raked off the ground to prevent smothering the alfalfa. No stock of any kind should be allowed on alfalfa the first year of it* growth growth should be .ii'od 1 The engin-er in an Albertson locomotive would merely turn on a magnetic force of eleven tons, overcoming tho weight of the train and allowing the train to slide along the rails with a friction of only one ton. The entire weight would in this way be more than held up by the magnet force. In fact, Professor Albertson has found a way to abolish the attraction of gravitation, so far as^his train ^o! longer weighs anythin pressing downward upon the ra.Ua it pulls upward." As a result, a ten-ton train loaded with passengers can be moved by A ONE HORSE-POWER ENGINE, Professor Albertson assures us. Aa to cost, it is said that a current ol electricity sufficient for a thousand ordinary electric lamps would hold in suspension a weight of about one hundred and twenty tons, or half a dozen trains weighing twentjl tons each. A motor of ten horsepower could move swiftly such The superiority of this new mag", netic railway to any present system, steam or electric, Professor Albert-son claims for the following rea- "First, there will be five or si» times the speed ; second, there wil} be one-sixth of the cost ; third^ there will be no noise or vibration; fourth, sleeping cars will be abolish^ ""' be possible to travel from New York to San Francisco in hours ; fifth, there can bo no deH ling, no hot-boxes, no grade-! ssing accidents ; sixth, there i.t longer any necessity for purchas-< land when the railroad is being ____structed, as the structure can be supported by single iron pillars J seventh, the heavy locomotive will be abolished, as magnetic force will take the place of weight." IN CASE OF ACCIDENT. A gentleman went a few days back to have a tooth stopped. Tho dentist advised him that he had betteJ have the tooth taken out, and as, sured him that he would feel na pain if he took laughing-gas. "Bu- what is the effect of the gas ?" asked he. "It simply makes you totally insensible," remarked the dentist ; "you don't know anything that takes place." The patient submitted, but jusS previous to the gas being administered he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his money. "Oh, don't trouble about that now," said the dentist, thinking he was going to be paid his fee. "Not at all," remarked the patient; "I was simply going to sea how much I had before the gas took effect." BIRD VENGEANCE.- A. naturalist recently witnessed an counter between a large swan and little brown duck. The duck had iiparently insulted the swan by trying to cross its path, for it was suddenly seized by the swan an< held under the water until he wa< e it would be drowned. But al t the swan let it go, and sailed jestically away. The duck, afte( taking breath, looked round to sett ' -e its enemy was, and seeing if far off it rose into the air and >erately came down, flapping wings, on the astonished swan'i back. The swan fled in terror, and the duck, apparently satisfied, grriet* -am away.