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THE STIRKEEEGE MYSTERY. CHAPTER I. Stirkbridge was a village in one of the English midland counties. It was a quiet, old fashioned place, looking clean and picturo esque, with its whitewashed cot ages, cobbly canseways, quaint old church, and long stretches of green sward bordering the road upon which it stood. Half a mile beyond it was a small though thickly set wood, be- longing, as did the village itself, to Mr. 'Bobert Brotherton of The Towers. Mr. Brotherton was not popular in the r village. He was rarely at home in the large house with the high tower, from which the country could be seen for miles around, situated at one end of Stirkhridge, and which was his nominal residence, and when he did occasionally, for a few weeks, occupy The Towers, his haughty manner to the villagers, and the indifi'erence be displayed to the small grievances in which they some- times wished to interest him, as their land- lord, did not prepossess them in his favour. For twenty years Mr. Brothcrton, having . succeeded his father at the age of thirty~five, had owned The Towers and the estate be longing to it, unwedded ; and he had come to be regarded as a confirmed bachelor. When at length it became known that at the ripe age of fifty five he was about to marry, a considerable amount of surprise and curios- ity was manifested, especially as the bride was rumoured to be a young foreign lady of great beauty. The marriage never came 06'. On the morning preceding the day on which Mr. Brothertcn should have pros-ended from Stirkbridso to London to claim his bride, he was found dead in Stirkbridge Wood. The sleepy old village was roused to a ferment of excitement, especially when day after day passed without bringing the dis- covery of any clue to the murderer. That the so: had not been suicidal, was proved by the fact that the wound which had been the cause of the death was such as could not have been self-inflicted. In spite cf the unpopu- larity of the victim, the utmost interest was evinced in the steps taken by the authorities for the detection and capture of tho perpe- trator of the crime. But he remained at large, nnpunlshed, his crime one of those mysterious deeds which now and again bsfiis the most strenuous Lfffl'tB of the police, and by-and-by Slirkbridgc. becoming unable to extract fresh matter for discussion from the subject, let it drop. relapsing into its former condition of bucolic tranquillity. Twenty years passed, bringing with them few changes to the village. The owner of The Towors now was a nephew of the late Mr. Brotherton, who had inherited the whole of his uncle’s property. He neveri resided atThe Towors, disliking a country life, and, unlike Mr. Brotherton. he was accustomed to let the house. The last tenant, who had now been in possession more than five years, had taken the place on along lease. He was not an Englishmanâ€"- nc one knew exactly what his nationality was, some saying Spanish, some Italianâ€" but his English waslolerably welltspoken, be having in boyhood lived much in Eng land. He was, in appearance, except for the remarkable brilliancy of his dark deep set eyes. on old man, grey-haired, hollow- cheeked, wrinkled, and bent in form. His manner of living was plain in the extreme. The Towers was alarge house, and during its occupation by other tenants it had possessed a large stsfi‘ of servants, but Mr. Stranghnessy employed only threeâ€"a house keeper, a housemaid, and a page, with occasional help from a village gardener. He lived in almost hermit-like seclusion, never, except for an infrequent early-morning ramble through the wood, or when upon certain state occasions he left Stirkhridge for the day, being seen outside his grounds, and refusing admittance to all visitors. He was considered odd, eccentric. “a his touch- ed,” by the villagers, though Mrs. Driflicld, his housekeeper, said he seemed sane enough, a little perhaps because of the strictness with which be preserved his seclusion, but chiefly bocam of a strange habit they had learns from his servants he indulged in. The largest: room in The Towers wasa long. low apartment, from which a narrow winding staircase led to the tower, which - had been built to satisfy a whim of old Mr. ~ Brothes'ton's, the murdered man‘s father. In ~ this room Mr. Straughnessy spent the greater ~ part of his time, and since his occupation of the house no one but himself had been al. lowed within it, be looking the door both upon entering and leaving it. Such a pro- ceeding could scarcely fail to arouse some curiosity. particularly in a place like Stirk- bridge, where small things were hugely mag- nified by gossiping tongues, and where the . dearth of larger interests made even the most trivial doings of its inhabitants established and wntiuuous subjects for conversation. . and Mr. Straughnessy and his mysterious . chamber came to be looked upon by some of his humblor neighbours with a certain .amouns of awe. The oemsions upon which Mr.Straughnessy was accustomed to leave Stirkbridge were when, use a quarter, he went to Berri chats-r, a manufacturing town fifty miles distant. What was the purpose of his visits to Berriebester was not known. but regu» larly. with one eXception, since his coming to Srirkbridge had be, the first week in January, April, July, and October, made his excursions thither. The one exoeption had been when nearly a week 'of soaking wet weather had come one October. only one day, Friday, being tolerably fine; and Mr. &ranghnessy among his other peculiarities was intensely superstitious, believing Friday to be an unlucky day, and being unwilling to travel upon it, he had put cfl' his journey until the week following. Cbtober ), lb“ -, was a fine bright day, the sky but sparsely flocked with clouds, Lbs atmosphere warmer than is usual for that time of the year. About noon, cereal people were in Stirkbridge shrines, waiting for a couple of trains which were shortly due within a few minutes of ads other. They stared hard when Mr. Money's bent figure slowly meandered on to the platform, but no one ventured to address him. and to none did he vouchsafs a greeting. He stood looking aimlessly down she lbs in the direction from which his . train was expected, apparently oblivious of allaround him. until he was startled from bbablmtion by the approach of a gentle- manâ€"-a short, stout, good-tempered-looking man .ia elereyman's garbâ€"who had just entered the station, and who in hearty inl tones scouted him. " Cred-morning. Mr. Straughuess’y," he sail, baldhg out his hand. into which Mr. Suangbnony very reluctantly placed his cars. " Glad to one you 0'" a fine mornirw like Ysie. Batu:- ior you if you took a little trip somewhere more often. Eh! Don't you think so! By the way,” with a j :vial laugh, ‘* 1 have a commission to perform in which you are concernedâ€"a special message to you from a lady. ’ A suspicious frown from the old man re- warded this rally, and bending his shaggy- browed visage close to the smooth face of the reverend gentleman, he shot upon him a glance, so threatening, so uncanny, so malicious, as to cause him involuntarily to shrink back. In a moment, however, the good-natured person recovered his usual tqusuimity. “Poor old fellow l’ he thought. “If he continues in his unhealthy secluded style of living he will go from bad to worseâ€"from a. little queerness to dangerous madness. Nothing like moping for unhinging the brain." Aloud he continued: “My wife declares she is thoroughly offended. You have refused to see us twice lately when we have called at The Towars. You have refused to visit us. And she wants you to atone by attending our bazaar next week, What do you say? Will you come!” Mr. Straughnessy advanced still closer to his fntorlocntor, and his thin lips parted in a repulsive grin, revealing his gleaming teeth, as in peculiar guttural tones he enunciated the following extraordinary speech. “A death’s head at a feast. A skeleton upon the hearth. A madman at a bazmr. Ah 1 Ah l Ah l" the end of the peel rising almost to a shriek, and causing several persons near to regard him with rcdoubled attention. “Good Heavens i" thought the vicar. “He’s worse, fifty times worse, than he was three months ago. He’s simply frightful, beyond the reach of any influence of mine, l’m afraid." And with the hasty remark, “Ah, my train, 1 see; good morning," the Rev. John Barristaw hurried ofi’. As near an approach to a smile as was over to be seen on Mr. Straughnessy’s grim (countenance now momentarily played upon it. “I think I’ve settled him at last.” he muttered. “Confound him. He’s taken a vast aniount of time learning his lesson of leaving me alone. Year after year has he pestered mo in this way. While his lady- wife, with her sire, and her graces, and her subscription lists, hanging about my doors, has driven me nearly madâ€"nmriy made me the old lunatic the intelligent villagers ' imagine me to be. Well, well : I think I’ve lsettled the Rev. John Barristaw now.” And, still mumbling to hIni~l‘lf. he climbed into his train and Was carried away. One morning, a month after the occur- rence of this little episode, as Mrs Drifiield, after receiving her master's orders for the 'day, was about to retire from the dining- room, where her daily audience with him usually took place, be called her back, saying he had some pleasant news for her. “I am going to give you a little holiday, Mrs. Dr'fiisld,” be said ; “you and the other servants as well. I want a few repairs doing to the house, and a few little altera- tions that I think it would be more con- venient to have done while it was empty. They will not take long to do. perhaps a week or a fortnightâ€"and I am going to give you a iortnight's holiday." “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," said Mrs. Driflield. “But some one Will he wanted just to look after the place a bit, sir, won't there ?-" she respectfully irquircd. “I shall do that,” replied Mr. Strongh- nessy. “I am not going away myself ; I wish to superintend the workmen. I shall have my meals brought from the Red Lion, and I daresay some woman from the village can he got to attend here an hour or so a do .' ‘y'Y as, air, no doubt,” agreed Mrs.Driffi31d, trying to prevent the surprise she was feel ing expressing itself upon her face. Mr. Straughnessy was reversing the order of things to which she had been accustomed. All her other situations, repairs had been conducted, along with painting, etc., during the family’s absence, the servants remaining behind. “And when are we to go, please, air 2'" “The sooner the better,” replied Mr. Straughneesy. "As soon as you can manage to get readv. How long would that be, do you think 1” “Two or three days would belong enough, air; just time enough to write and let our friends know when to expect us, and to get ready for us. We're none of us Stirkbridge folks, you see, sir, so we have just to letâ€"" “ Then we will say three days from now, that will" be Thursday," interrupted Mr. Stronghnessy. “That will do quite well for me." The servants were well pleased at the prospect of a holiday, but their pleasure did not prevent them experiencing and express ing some wonder as to the motive for which their master thus sent them off. They did not accept his reason as the correct one. They had heard no previous mention of alterations, and there was little repairing needed. Their suspicions naturally jumped to the conclusion that the mysterious clased chamber had something to do with Mr. Straughnessy’s desire to be rid of them, but whether their conjecture was well founded or not they had no means of judging, and when Thursday came round they departed, Mrs. Didi-rid and the boy, who was her nephew, to visit some friends at Berrichee- tor; the housemaid to her home in a neigh- bouring village. Upon the morning of the Monday follow- ing, Mr. Straughneuy left by train for Bar richester, returning in the afternoon accom- panied by a couple of workmen and some luggage. For sevoraldays the men remained. sleeping at The Towers, their meals served along with Mr. Strsughnessy's from the Red Lion, and a Women from the village attending for an hour or two a day. After their departure Mr. Straughnessy continued as before until the return of his servants. Mrs. Driffisld was curious to notice whether the alterations mentioned, but not specified by Mr. Straughntsay, had been carried out ; but. so far as she could see, the interior of The Towers was the cameras when she left it a fortnight ago. Those pcr~ tions of the house that had seemed most in need of improvement were unchanged, and she came to the conclusion that the work done had been, asehe had anticipated, within the mysterious chamber. CHAPTER II. It was a raw November night. a tendcrcy to a c‘; :2 ing l’slh, ‘usd prevailed l l Fag, with log fonts. _‘£__ ‘ - "\Vb t is it Ma 2 ’ said Mrs. Drifield. bass about him, unlifellke and sing out throughout the day, old the roads of Stark “ Try “I‘d tent“, Karel. ‘ good girl." {Rm the an“... in m “won fl. bridge were “turned and the cobbles dark. shed with moisture. It ms nine o’clock. and with the exceptim 0‘ 1‘ solitary figure hurrying along the High Street, no one seemed to be abroad 1118 light! 0i lump and fire were shining from many a cottage window, and the good of loud laughter, and of the clinking rf glasses: 03130 through the doors of the Rel Lion. The solitary wayfsrer was the page boy from The Towars, and, judging from the alarmed expressionof his face and the speed with which he came dashing up the street without overcoat or umbrella, his errand was an urgent one. About the middle of the village was the house of Dr. Lotou, the Stirkbrirlge medical practitioner, and it was on his door-step the boy paused. He rang the bell, inquired for Dr. Loton, and was told the doctor was within. “ The master’s been taken ill," be gasped, his breath coming quick and short. “very ill. They think ’s’s poisoned ’lmself." “ Good gracious l" ejaculated the man who had answered the door. " Well, I for one am not surprised. He was a queer on, was Mr. Straughnessy. I'll tell the doctor at once. Lucky ’e ’appens to be in." Dr. Loton was informed his services were in immediate request at The Towers, and drawing on his topcoat he at one proceeded thithorwards, in company with the boy, Swiftly striding along, he questioned his com- panion as to the circumstances surrounding the case. He elicited the facts that the poison taken Was laudanum, and that Mr. Straughnessy had been accustomed to induce sleep by its means, though never, as upon this occasion. before retiring for the night. Arriving at The Towers he was met at the door by Mrs. Driffield, who, pale and dis- composed, ushered him upstairs to Mr. Straughnessy’s bedchamber, the room in which he had been found, lying back in an easy chair, motionless and rigid, with an empty bottle labelled “ Poison” lying by his side. Huddled up in the chair, his face grey and pinched, he was a ghastly sight. The doctor took the nerveless hand hang- ing,l over the chair in his. Af.era while, “ He is dead,” he said quietly. “ Dead l” repeated the “ That was what I feared. ’ “ When did you last see him alive '2" the doctor inquired. “I saw him just after dinner to day, air." “Did you notice anything strange in his demeanor 3 Did he seem in his usual spirits â€"â€"not dnnresscd at all i ’ Mrs. Diffield considered a moment before replying, her fingers nervously twisting the fringe of her black silk apron. "He was very quiet, sir,” she said at length ; “but that he often Was. He wasn’t one to talk much to his servants. Now I think of it, though,” he did look grave): than ordinary.” Dr. Loton meditatively rubbed his chin with his hand, a habit of his when think- ing. He remembered how many times he had heard Mr. Strsughnessy spoken of as not being in the full possession of his mental faculties, though Mr. Barristaw had often asserted he was merely a little oddâ€"nothing more. Even the vicar, however, had latter- ly run with the popular verdict, giving as his reason for the changing of his opinion an account of his last interview with the old man, when he had been both shocked and startled by the wildness of his manner and words. He (the doctor) was strongly inclined to suspect Mr. Straughnessy 8 death had not been caused by an accidental over- doseâ€"as the housekeeper upon first seeing him had suggestedâ€"but that it was a case of suicideâ€"suicide while in an unsound state of mind. The tenor of his thoughts was here inter- rupted by a succession of loud piercing' shrieks in which was a sharp tone of terror. Coming as they didâ€"with such startling suddeness, breaking the before-undisturbed quiet of the house, and following closely upon her introduction to the idea she plainly saw Dr. Lcton entertained, and which had not presented itself to her mind before, that Mr. Straughnessy’s death was suicidal and not the result of an accident â€"-thoy complete- ly throw Mrs. Duffield off her balance. She sank trembling into the nearest chair, utter- ly unnerved, while even Dr. Loton experienc- ed an unpleasant qualm, remembering that strange stories had been circulated through the village concerning the man who now lay so stiff and still, incap able alike of commit- ting good or III. Meanwhile the housemaid and the page had been sitting together by the kitchen fire. They had been discussing their master‘s and- den illness. his strange ways, the mysteri- ous lacked room, and by-and-byâ€"though this was not in connection with Mr. Strongh- nessy. save as one weird topic leads to another of like kindâ€"tho murder in Szrik- bridge Wood. For some time they had sat thus, then Mary, remembering there were certain duties she had forgotton, in the flurry consrquent upon the discovery of Mr. Straughnessy’s condition, to perform in Mrs. Drffiisld’s room and her own. rose and left the kitchen for the purpose of attending to her neglected work'. She ascendtd to the rooms, which were near together, by the back or servents’ staircase; but after completing her task, she found that her candle, which she had carelessly snatched up from the kitchen table without remarking its shortness, was burning so low that the movement of carry- ing it downstairs would be likely to extin- guish it. The back staircase was in dark- ness, but the front stairs, leading past the closed room, were faintly lit by a lamp shining from one of the landings, so she determined to return to the kitchen by the latter way. Blowing out her candle, she ran down a short flight of steps connecting the landing on which was her room with the front stair- case, and arrived opposite the mysterious chamber. Great Wes her astonishment at seeing that the hitherto jealously locked door was s j \r. She moodâ€"fascinated by a desire, now that the opportunity lay before her, of mastering the secret hitherto hidden, but repelled by a certain sense of aweâ€"staring with wide~open eym at the door. She longed, yet dreaded, to approach it, and after a whileâ€"after a good deal of hesitationâ€"she did draw near to the room. and pushing the door further back looked in. It was the terrified screams she emitted upon seeing what the interior contained, that had so s‘artled Mrs. Drifield and the doctor. Utterlng shriekafter shriek she lied away down the stairs b the room in which she believed Mrs. Drifisld still was. bursting in with an rl‘frighrai cry of “ Oh, sir l Oh, Mrs Unliind ! Cl, Mrs. Driifieidi" » “ Wh r. is the nutter? What has alarm- ed you 1' " asked be doczor in quiet, soot! -' i housekeeper. “ U :, sir i" she gain ejaculattd. plied the doctor. died from an Whether the laudanum was administered with suicidal intention or not, is not at all clear ; but either way. an inquest would be " I’ve seen a ghost," said the girl, with a convulsive shudder,and a glance of apprehon‘ sion towards the door, as if in expectancs of the appearance of the cause of her fright, “ MnBrotherton‘s ghost. Him as was mur dered. I couldn't be mistaken,’ she continu- ed, vehemently,'seelng a faint smile curl the doctor's lips. “ I know Mr. Brotherton by sight when I was a girl. I remember him as plain as ever. It was him or his ghost 1 saw up in the master’s room, I could take my dying oath of it, sir." ‘ “Nonsense,” replied the doctor. “ You foolish girl, you have let your imagina- tion run away with you.” And he turned towards Mrs. Dritiisld. “ You must assist me to place the body on the bed, please, Mrs. Driffield," he said. “It will be better there. And Mary, you may be required to lend us a helping hand.” Mrs. Drifisld did as she was rrquested, but Mary shaking with nervous fright, was nestle to render any assistance whatever. The body removed. Dr. Loton was about to leave, when Mrs. Driflield stopped him with a question. “ Will there be an inquestt'she asked anixiouslv. . “I don’t see how it can be avoided," re- “It is tolerably clear he overdose of laudanum. held. As I saw him first, I think you say, was as you found him.” “ Yes, sir ; exactly like that. His supper had been laid, and the gang sounded â€"he kept very old-fashioned hours, dinner at tWelve, supper at eight,â€"â€"but he hadn't come down ; so after wait- ing nearly half an hour, I came up to his room. I knocked several times and at last, being afraid something was wrong, I opened the door and came in. The blind was drawn down, the lamp lit, and he was lying in the chair just as 3 on saw him, sir. I spoke to him, and tone: ed him, because I thought at first he was asleep; but when I bent downâ€"I am rather short-sighted, airâ€"- and looked closer, and saw what his foo.- was like,'aud noticed the bottle, that in the morning had been nearly full, empty, I thought he was illâ€"had perhaps taken too much laudanum as I’d heard of people doing, and I sent Tom for you at once, sir." - “You did quite right,” replied the doctor. “Well," with a last look, before leaving, at the pale face on the bed, "I think there is nothing further I do in the matter at present, so I will wish you good-night, Mrs. Drifiisld. Come. come, my girl," he added, to Mary, seeing she was still in a great state of terror; “don’t be so foolish. Take my word for it, ghosts don’t exist out of anyone’s imagina- tion." "But Isaw it, sir," she insisted, “with my own eyes. It was no fancy. I wasn’t thinking anything about ghosts, nor noth- ing like them, until I saw it all shining like out of the darkness at the end of the room. It was Mr. Brotherton, or his ghost. And I must leave the house. I wouldnt stay another night in it for worlds.” “\Vhat l Will you leave Mrs. Driffield all alone here except for the boy? Surely you cannot be so selfishâ€"so silly. Come, take me with you to the room you speak of, and see if I don’t show you your supposed ghost is all moonshine.” “Oh, Idaren’a go there again, sir. I daren’r if I was killed for not going,” cried Mary emphatically. ' “Tell me how I can find it, then," he said. He thought that perhaps if he in- spected the apartment and found the cause of the girl’s frightâ€"some trifling thing he had no doubt it would prove to beâ€"he might be able to set her fears at rest. It would, he knew, be extremely inconvenient to M re. Driliield for Mary to leave her just then, and he wished, if possible, to induce her to remain. “ I can show you the way, sir,” said Mrs. Drifiiaid, “if you really wish to go. In is not for from hereâ€"on the next landing. But do you think it is well to go? You have not lived in the same house with Mr. Straughnsssy like we have, and you don’t know what strange ways he had. I havon’o much faith in ghosts and such-like myself; but still," shaking her head, “the master was a queer man, and there’s no knowing what he may have had in a room that no oneâ€"none of us, anywayâ€"has been in 'this last many a year." “Pooh! pooh l‘ said Dr. Loton with a smile. “You area sensible woman, Mrs. Drifiisld ; surely you are not afraid. I dare say you will have heard of the strange tricks imagination sometimes p'ays oven on the strongest of us. Mary had been a little upset by the suddenness of Mr. S:raugh- nessy'e death, and so became an easy prey to hallucinations. That is all.” He went out into the passage, followed by Mrs. Drifiicld, and at a distance by Mary. who preferred comparative noarnese to the scene of her fright, in company, to remain- ing in the death-chamber alone. Directed by can the housekeeper, he ascended the stairs at the end of the passage, to the landing above, and with quick, firm stops approached the large apartment, from which a narrow winding staircase led up to the towar. He wasa tol- erably brave man, but a chill ofâ€"if not ex- actly fear, some feeling akin to itâ€"passed over him as he looked through the doorâ€"- half-open, as Mary had left itâ€"and beheld what was within, while Mrs. Drlfiield, who was close behind him, drew back with a slight cry. The room, save for a faint base at the further end, was in darkness ; and from out the darkness two figures seemed to shine as if containing light in themselves and being independent of the darkness around them. One of them Dr. Loton recognised at once as the former owner of The Towersâ€"tho man murdered in Stirkbridgo Wood. The other was a stranger to himâ€"a handsome youth, with a dark, foreign-looking face, glowing black «you, and strongly-marked brows. They ap- peared to be standing n n the spot upon which the body had been ound â€"thele were the two larch trees, with thslittle mossy path running between themâ€"sud there was fierce auger depicted upon both faces,but especially upon that of the younger man, one of whose bands was in the act of drawings knife, that had apparently been concealed on his person, from beneath his coat. Like a flash came the conviction to Dr. Latoa’s mind that what he saw was the scene of the murder, and that the olive complexioned man with the knife was the long-sought murderer. He did LO‘. wonder at Mary’s fright. the exact image of Mr. firotberlon, lifelike and )e‘. Willi an inanimatios and a curious 'l ‘[-m or common; Shot Throush the Body. Apropos of the projected exhibition of Waterloo relics at Dru ry Lane, a correspon- dent writes to the London " Globe ” : One incident may interest your readers before they see the watch of a hero who fell that day, June 15. He was shot through the body, a bullet entering his chest and out at the back. To say the least, it is not a wound one would like; and the doctors of those days had some rules to so by. We hear now of marvellous wounds, operations, and cures, and the victim recovers; but at Waterloo you were shot shrough the body ; therefore you were, in the eyes of the mod- ioo, a dead man, and our "here" was told so. He still retained conciousnees, and replied, "Take this watch to my brother andâ€"tellâ€" himâ€"" more was not said, he fell back in- sensible. The calls and shrieks of the wounded, the flying shot from Wellington's pursuing army generally confused the sur- geon, and after the search for the dead was made he forgot where he had left the man who was shot through the body 3 there- fore, the watch remained in his ossessicn. After the war, he was ordered to Erin a regi- ment in Canada, with no opportunity of finding the dead man's brother, as he thought, and the watch went with him to Canada. Three years later our hero, having recovered in some wonderful way (perhaps because he was left alone), was at a dinner party at Blth, and heard, amid a dead silence of iattrcst, the story of his death rrlated, and his own valued property exhi- bited to the assembled company. It came round at last to him, and to the surprise of the surgeon, and cvorybrdy present he said, " Ob, than you are the man who stole the watch l ’ Had a ghost from Waterloo appear- orl they could not have been more startled. However, a shake of the hand, with "All right, my boy," made the poor surgeon quite happy, though ho felt the "hero" ought to have died 0:1 mm field. The watch, of peculiar make, was handed down with its story to the hero’s godson, and may be sent to our enterprising Augustus' colllcticn of Waterloo relics. 'â€"-â€"â€"--.e-â€"-â€"â€"â€"â€"- A Former Channel Bridge Project. . The prrj act for a bridge across the Eng- llsh Channel, says the “Engineering and Building Record,” recalls aschcmo of the same kind proposed twenty years ago, beside which the present one appears fame indeed. In 1868, according to an old volun e of London “Eoginecring,”the French Empei: or endorsed a design prepared by M Charles Bouteb, who was called an engineer. Bouttt modestly proposed, for £8_000,000, to build, in threelyears, ten spans of 9846 feet each, with a capacity of 24 loaded trains at tlze centre of each span. There were to be fire parallel main trusses 198 feet deep at the ends, and 51 at the centers, each truss fear- fully and wonderfully composed of 120 parallel (nearly) horizontal iron wires 2 inch cable in the some vertical plane. After being woven together by cross ropes they were to become endowed with enormous resistance to flexure, and act as rigid beams. The wroughtiron piers were to be floated on buoys, adjusted by an enormous set screw in the center. and hauled on and bonded with the underlying send by screwpiles, rough like the adjustment screws or level p a a. â€"-â€"-â€"â€"â€"â€"-â€"â€".â€"â€"â€"â€"â€" Erquimalt Gravinlz Dock. It is said that the British Government will soon be asked to contribute to the cost of lengthening the graving dock at Esqui- malt, British Columbia. The amount orgri- naily granted for the construction of this dock was $250,000, and now another $50, 000, being just half the sum needed for the work, is applied for. It har been discovered that the dock, which is only 430 feet in length. will not be nearly long enough for the mail steamers which the Canadian Pacific Rail- way Comgany is constructing, and as the British Government is greately interested in the new mail service it is though that it will not be unwilling to aid in tho improve- ment of the dock.â€"- [N. Y .Timos. Victoria's Spring Tours. I hear that besides going to Italy in March the Queen will probably pay a visit to Ger- many ot Whitsuntide, in order that she may be the guest of Empr'ss Frederick at Cron- berg, in the Taunus, and her Majesty would afterward be entertained by the Emperor \Viiliam at Potsdam, and would attend the opening of the magnificent mausoleum which is being built there for the reception of the cofliool the Emperor Frederick. which is to be iransferrcd to it on June 15, the second anniversary of his death. The interior is being superbly decoratcd and it is to bo sur- mounted by tWo cupolas inlaid with Veno- tiau moaaics.- [LondonTruth. What the British Pay for Tobacco- The cost price of tobacco annually import- orl into the United Kingdom is but £3,000,- 000, but taxation of one sort or another amounts to £9 000,000, and when we have included retail profits ani cost of the ap- paratus rrquirod by smokers, we may put down cost of smoking to the British and Irish public at £6,000,000, being nearly £3 per head per annum of the adult male popu- atlon of the United Kingdom. -â€"â€"â€" English View of the Cronin Verdict. American dissatisfaction with the Cronin verdict is shared here to the full extent. Nobody doubts that there has been a miscar- riage of justice, the Home Rule organs of England agreeing with the Unionist. Nor is the question treated as one of politics. Three or the vilest wretchss ever loft unhung are left unhung, says the Gladstonian or gen 3 while the leading journal of Toryism calls the result abortive and little honorable to American administration of justice. bpeak English. Strangerâ€""Did a pedostraln pass this way a few mlnusts ago 2" Grangerâ€"“No’ sor. I've been onter this tater patch for more'n a newer, an’ notter a thing has past cept one sclltsrv nun, an’ be was trampin' erlong on foot. Fires are Railing Everywhere- First Small Boyâ€"We had a fire at our There Mord r home last night. Second Small Boyâ€"That so? F. limiters. Pa fired sister’s beau.