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...._ “an... .. .,.. . i l 12“. 3= THE DEAN ANR HIS DAUGHTER r CHAPTER XX. After the pitiful defection of my little :nratr. there was evidently nothing to be done but to leave Learnington, and to leave it at its best,in the very height of the hunt- ing season. Then arose the question where to go next. I had begun a semi-nautical habit of consulting maps. 80 I took down my atlas, and turned ever the map of England. My choice was somewhat narrowed, as I had resolved not to try the sea, except in the very last resource. The sea now only reminded me of George Sabine, and I hated the very sight of it as passionatelyas I had once ‘nved it. Untimately I fixed on the Cathedral town of Salchester Salchester is of immense antiquity. Its last two syllables point to its having once been an old Roman garrison. Its first, probably to the existence of salt works there; although upon this point antiquarians and county historians are divided. - I decided to stop at the principal hotel for a few days, and then to take lodgings, the best that could be got in the Close itself, or at any rate, as near to the _Cath- edral as possible; to engage a maid in the town, who would go about telling everybody exactly what I chose to let her see or imagine; and to attend the Cathedral serv- ices regularly. Always think out your plans thoroughly. You thus save an immense amount of time and friction afterwards. And if circum- stances baffle your plus, you have only lost an hour or so of quiet thought, which, after all, is in itself a useful mental gym- nastic. 2 Having thought out my plans, I went down to Salchester, stopped for the night at the “ Bull," and the next morning secured the very lodgingsl wanted, my landlady being no less a person than the wife of one of the lay clerks, or, as they are profanely termed, singing men. _ My conduct was method and circum- spection itself. I breakfastcd at eight. I attended the Cathedral service at ten. I had my little dinner at two. At four, I attended the afternoon service' Then I had tea, and was careful to go to bed at the orthodox and respectable British hour of ten to the minute. My landlady was charmed with me, and was too well satisfied with the way in which things went on, to make herself at all inquisitive. Even the most uneducated Englisliwoman has a certain amount of tact and savoir faire, if you give her as little trouble as possible, and wink at her pretty deviations from the strict paths of recti- tude and honesty. This is why, as a rule, aman in furnished lodgings never quarrels with his landlady, and a woman always invariably manages to do so. Well, things went on smoothly enough. Before a fortnight was over the wife of one of the Minor Canons called upon me. I had forgotten, by the way, to state that I was passing as Mrs. Allen, and had resolv- ed, instead of risking troublesome false- hoods, to evade or else entirely decline any conversation as to my past life. As I paid my way in current money of the realm, my task was comparatively easy. Before long I was in the magic circle of the Close, and had actually dined at the Deanery itself, where the Dean, who,unlike my own very reverend father, was really a learned man, and without a grain of world- liness in his composition, was charmed with me. I was particularly careful not to irritate the women by my dress. I wore always the plainest frocks, of a very simple and ordi- nary kind. I also, although my hair was as luxuriant as ever,adoptedamost discreet in my own mind finished my reckoning up little cap. My rustic Abigail always came early to fetch mo hcme. When any of the grandee dames par le moude ecclesiastique honored me with a call,I regaled them with tea which I knew they could not match, as I got it from Twining’s, and with the best flat. cake and hot.house fruit that the town afforded. If the men came, I would have claret on the table. Parsons are, as a rule, good judges of claret, and you are seldom amiss in offering them a large glass of Tanqueray’s Larose, and pressing them to take a second. Claret, I ex lained, was ordered me ; and I had indeed see recommended avariety called Hunt Brion, which proved, however, I found, to be beyond the range of my somewhat limited purse. Of champagne there was not a trace, and I found life per‘ fectly possible without it. I think what pleased the men most was my undeniabaly good wine. The women were charmed when they discovered that I had among my effects very valuable jewels which I never were, although, of course, there was no reason why I should not do so ; and they were still more charmed when they found that I did not set my cap at their husband's and lovers. Within a few weeks I had established my footing securel . The men all swore by me, in so far and a ter such fashion as swearing is permissible to ecclesiastical dignitaries. The women had ceased to be jealous, and, if anything, exhorted me to vary the mono- tony of my seclusion by a little harmless dissipation, some of them going _so far as to suggest croquet. Lawn tennis was not as yet considered sufficientl serene and sedate for an old-going .athedral town. My rise at last reached its culmination in an invitation to dine at the Palace, where I found the Bisbo and his wife all smiles and afl'ability, on bad actuall the honor of being taken down todinner y the Arch- deacon, a very worthy old gentleman,whose conversation was ulons,andhis manners, to borrow from Sydney Smith, "absolutely and purely arohidiacoual." The Bishop was a dull, well-meaning pompous man. He had been a colle e tutor at one of the very smallest Cornbri ge Col- leges for the whole of his life, and had managed to f t nearly all the mathema- tics, which in e do of In! full youthful vigor and tntellectua force, had landed him tnumphantly as bracketed twenty-ninth among‘ the Wranglers. Ho ad edited hawton's " Principia” and the “ Epistle to the Hebrews," preached a number of indifi'oront University sermons, and, after a brief visit to Palestine with a “ rsonall conducted tour,” written a vo ume cal ed " Galilee and Gonnesareth,’ which reviewers had uoteveu condescended to tear in pieces. People said that if he lived long enough was in every way so eminently safe. By which they meant that whatever his opinions might be, religious, political, or social, he to t them profoundly to himself. His wife I can deal with almost in a monotonous, but not, as my life with Sir Henry had been, tedious. And I almost began to wonder whether I might not possibly “long live the pride of that coun- try side, and at lastin the order of sanct- ity" peacefully depart this life. And yet, up to now, I had had so much of the vie orageuse that Salchester was begin- ning to Weary me almost as thoroughly as sentence. Mrs. John.“ m“ cm, of the ‘Ossulston had ever done, and, as I felt my. numerous daughters of a poor Irish peer. She was vivacious and agreeable, and had evidently once been extremely good-look- ing. Beyond this one could only say of her what the stranger told Sam Smiley of his frogâ€"that he could see no more points' in him than in any other frog. The conversation was extremely dull and monotonous. The women talked scandal, or, to do them justice, that comparatively harmless, irrelevant, and discursive kind of scandal known as gossip. The clergy, and the few country gentle- men who were present, deplored the alarm- ing spread of revolutionary principles ; but I can d not help noticing the church mili~ taut was, as a body, much more truculent than were most laymen. f It was a Bishop, now that I remember, ~who once got up at a public dinner and de- clared the satisfaction it would give him to see Mr. Joseph Arch dragged through a horsepond. The Bishop presently did me the honor of addressing me. “ I hope, Mrs. Allen,” he observed pater- nally, and with a gesture of the bands which seemed to indicate an irrational desire to commence the confirmation service at once upon the whole body of his guests, “ that you find the air of Salchester suit, what is I fear, and have indeed heard, a. delicate constitution.” "Salchester, My lord, suits me in ever way. I have actually not had to call in a medical man. I find the air from over the downs as bracing and exhilarating as that of Brighton itself, and the scenery is de- lightful. I manage to get little drives, and am learning to know the neighbor. hood.” “It is a very beautiful neighborhood.” he remarked. “Most of our Cathedrals have been most happily placed, although I fear,the credit must be given to the Monks who chose the localities long before the Re- formation. Having delivered himself of this astound- ing piece of ecclesiastical history, be con- tinued : ' “A river was necessary to them to pro- vide fish for’their fast days, and a sense of duty also impelled them to seek busy centres. It is the necessity of the iron road, and nothing else that has compelled us to give a bishopric toâ€"let us sayâ€"Manchester. We must, of course, move with the times.” With this profound remark he ran him- self down like a clock, and waited helpless- ly for me to wind him up. This was by no means a difficult task as I had pretty well got his measure. I talked to him about anything that came firstâ€"about the architecture of the Cathe- dral, about Tintern Abbey and a still more wonderful Abbey, which, as a matter of fact, I only knew from photographs. Then I paid a tribute to the memory of Bishop Selwyn and asked his lordship, gaz- ing critically at his chest and shoulders, whether he in his time had rowed in the University eight, or whether his studies had made it impossible for him to so aid his Alma Mater. He replied, of course, that he had been warmly pressed to take a thwart in the middle of the boat, but that more serious pursuits bad compelled him, like Closer, to thrice refuse the crown of laurel. When you once get a man who is well past fifty to chatter to you about his phy- sical powers, you have pretty accuratel ascertained the length of his tether, and l of his lordship by putting him in my men- tal museum of busts as being at any rate capable of giving my very reverend parent what poor George used to call a stone and a half, auda thorough beating over four miles So far then everything was in my favor ; the days passed very pleasantly. I procur- ed an old sure-footed pony and a small basket carriage, just such another as I had at Leamington, only more ecclesiastical in its ensemble and with less suspicion in its appearance of any sinister intention to go and see the bounds thrown off. This I kept on the famous "gig-manity” principle, and was most careful to let it alwa vs be at the disposal of any of the ladies at the Close. The pony was not one at all likely to run away with them. And the were welcometo let him down for all that I cared, as his knees were badly broken already. And by these and other similar little devices I managed to get on famously. After all I was doing no wrong. I was leading my own lifeâ€"a simple harmless life enough, and being asked no questions had no occasion to tell any lies. 0n the whole I think I really enjoyed my life. 1 mounted fern cases in my Win owe, procured myself a piping bull-finch and a magnificent collie, ired a good serviceable piano, and began at last to find the spring returning to my step and the roses to m face, and to think dreamily about those leassnt and lovely places so exquisitely described to me by poor George Sabine, and even to plan a visit to some of them. To one or two ladies, who were rather curious about my antecedents, I re lied that my husband had been in the consular service and had died abroad under vc inful circumstances. And then I would ring out my pocket-handkerchief. Some of them inclined to the view that he had killed himself with drink ; others were in favor of a fatal duel ; others of suicide. They fought the matter out among themselves with some waste of time and loss of temper, but none of them came to me a second time begging me to determine the dispute in her favor. I did not meddle with them in any way. I did not try to eclipse them or to compete with their unmarried sisters or their older daughters. So they unanimously came to the conclusion that my life had been a ver and one, and that the manner in which bore up against my sorrows, together with my unoctentatious mode of life, spoke vol- umes for my resignation, my humility, and my other Christian virtues. Women are easily managed enough if you will only abstain religiously from any- thiugcalculstod in the slightest degree to make them jealous. Thus, then, I became insensiny an in. stitutiou in the townâ€"a sort of Jack he would be Archbishop, as ho dawess of Rhcims. The life was lazy and y 3 Y y g g y u 3 5’ d Y P ry self growing stronger and more resolute, I be an, asdo birds of passage, to feel an in efinite craving for motion and freedom. After all, I could return to Salcbester at any time I pleased. I had been economiz- ing, not as a virtue, but because my income was far beyond the few expenses incurred. Had I lived up to my means I should prob- ably have excited suspicion. Why then should I not give myself a holiday, pleading that unanswerable plea, a craving for sea air ‘.' We had reached that time of the yearâ€" W’hen a blanket wraps the day, When the rotting woodland drips, And the [calls stamped in clay. The birds of passage had long left ; the days were dismal ; and yet I, absolute mis- tress of myself, had been loitering and hesitating instead of turning straight to the Sunn South. I had my boxes packed, left P. 9.0. cards, adroitl ' catching all my friends out, and felt thoroughly happy when I found myself alone in the train being rapidly whirled towards London. Of course I had written to Ethel to an- nounce my determination, and I had paid m maid two months’ wages and given her three or four old dresses. Nothing could have been better arran ed ; and I felt at last recklessly free an triumphant as I toasted my feet before the fire of my little room in Rawlings‘ Hotel. That evening I actually took a small private box, and went in one of the hotel brou hams to the’theater. I wonder if bad habits are hereditary. When I got back to my quarters, I actually found my- self ordering a pint of Perrier Janet and a plate of dry biscuits. (to as commons). A NEW RAILROAD TIE. The Rail Clnmped Into Position and Re- pairs Easily Made. An inventor has patented a new form of old steel rails which are selected, all the culls being discarded. These rails are run "PM râ€""ks- v. """‘ rm "1“". “.Efl'wz'q‘m 0.. Fig. 1.â€"oss CLAMP nuno’vnn 'ro msrmcs RAIL. .' at white heat through rolls especially de- si ned for the purpose. Upon coming through the rolls and being sheared to the desired length for street or steam railroads, the tie is plunged into a vat of boiling tar, Where it remains for several hours. Taken from this vat- it is punched as may be desir- Fig. 2.-â€"-â€"smu VIEW. ed to suit the flange of rail to be used upon it. The form of the tie is clearly shown in Fig. 2. The rail is held to the tie by 3.-â€"rrs wrm RAIL cmmrsn IN rosr- rroN. clamps as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, and to remove the rail it is only necessary to loosen one of the clamps. W THE CAUTIOUS ELEPHANT. Fig. An Amount orSagnelty Which is Positive- ly Marvellous. One elephant, which the officer command- ing 6-11 Battery of the Royal Artillery lent to assist in cxtricating some camels which were being engulfed in the quicksauds, showed an amount of sagacity which was positively marvellous, writes Major A. G. Leonard. lg was with the utmost difficulty that we could get him to go near enough to attach a drag rope to one camel I wanted to rescue. In spite of our being about 50 yards from the bank of the river, he evinced the greatest anxiety, while his movements were made with extreme caution. Despite coaxing, persuasive remoustrance, and at last a shower of heavy blows dealt upon his head by the exasperated mahout, this elephant stubbornly refused to go where he was wanted. but, with his trunk shoved out in front of him, kept feeling his way with his ponderous feet, placing them before him slowly, deliberately, and moths dically, threading all the while with the velvety softness of a cat and tahin only one ate it a time. Then sudden y he would reek out into a sup resaedkind of shriek and retreat backwar in great haste. When the animal had nearly completed a circuit of the ground with the same can- tion and deliberation, be advanced to within locisrds of the poor camel, but not another in would he move. though several men were walking between him and the camel without any signs of the ground giving way. THE RUSSIAN HARVEST. Discussing the Best Means to Scull-allu- the Effects ofthe Cousin: Plentlrnl flar- vest. For weeks past the Russian press has been devoting its leading articles to a dis- cussion of the measures best calculated to neutralize the effects of the coming plenti- ful harvest, and now curiously enough, the question has reduced itself to this simple issue: Should the corn be reaped and gathered in, or would it be wiser to turn sheep and cattle into the fields, and thus essen the q usutity of the produce? It now appears that many landowners refused last year to gather in the harvest, and are deter- mined not to remove it this year either. One landlord, for instance, who owns a large estate near Odessa, and whose facili- ties for export are therefore exceptionally numerous foreseeing the fall of prices, purchased 1.000 sheep, and unhesitatingly turned them into his fields of wheat. He is said to be so satisfied with the result that he means to do likewise now that a further fall in prices is probable. . The Odessa Novosti, a journal which it is said is usually very well informed upon agricultural questions, has published a series of articles to show that to gather in the harvest this year would be tantamount to throwing good money after bad, for it can only be done at a heavy loss to farmers. Another Russian newspaper says the crisis is due to the mistaken agricultural policy of the Government, which made it possible to forward grain from the furthest corners of Russia. to Germany, England, and Bel- gium for nominal freights, while it was practically impossible to distribute it in neighboring Russian districts where people were dying of hunger. Thus, on the one hand, it was scarce at home, where it was sorely needed, and plentiful abroad, where it was not really wanted. The article con- cludes by saying :â€"“Is it not strange, in truth, that at the very moment that our peasants are admittedly sufi'ering from lack of food, our landowners are turning sheep into their corn-fields, and have come to the conclusion that it is not Worth while to gather in the harvest '2" CRIMEA’S VETERANS. Thelr Reunlon in Parts Brought Out Sev. ernl Lively Centenarlnns. Among the many societies in Paris is that of the Old Crimeans, founded in 1857 under the auspices of the late Emperor. The society (our correspondent says) met last evening at Le Msrdelay’s restaurant to celebrate the first assault on the “meme- lon vert,” or green earth-work, at Sebasto- pol. Col. Aronssohu presided and was sup- ported by centenarian ex-Scrgt. Rose, we iring the Crimean medal, and by another veteran oflOOyearsold. Rose hasalso the St. Helena medal, which was worn by two cen- nâ€"noo tenuriab fellow~diners. The three veterans lived in the country. Rose came yesterday morning from Senses- mes, near Chambord, accompanied by a grandson aged fifty, and a great-great- grauddaughter. He has been for forty years a widower. Were it not for deafness he would not, he says, he painfully aware of his great age. The people of his village are proud to have him among them and his pension and a bit of sandy land aid to keep him in cOmfort. He was wounded at May- ence. The man on the left of Col. Aronssohu was the son of a soldier killed in J emappes, and was himself brought upiu the “Eufants de la Troupe.” He was on guard at Com- piegue when the Empress Marie. Louise ar- rived there from Vienna to be married. One hundred veterans who were in the “mamelon vert” affair sat down to dinner. Forty of them were furnished by the Hoteldes Invalides. There were but a small number of officers. Marshal Cau- robert, was too ill toattend. Col. Aronssohu, in drinking the health of the three centenarians, said they were a proof that hard lines were as good a condi- tion as could be for those who had high hearts and good, generous blood to keep them warm. He proposed the health of the President of the Republic and toasted the Russian nation. â€"â€"-â€"â€"+â€"â€" Watches of Parisian Swells. The latest fad of the Parisian swells is the aluminum timepiece. They are very light in weight, but a trifle more than the works. The cases are in a dull black color -â€"very effective. Some are open-faced, some are often in a small 1-inch disc in the centre, with small gilt hands on the black face of the watch, but they are in all sorts of inlaid decoration in coloriugs, and the best of it is they are very reasonable in price. It is the custom at the capital for the gentry to carry this timepiece in the right- hand trousers pocket, along with the keys, coin, matchbox, and other paraphernalia of the masculine pocket. It is, moreover, the wont of the owners to rush the hand down in the pocket with great show of devil-may-care and bring forth the watch, of which the material is unscratchable, from among the other articles, glance at the time, and carelessly re lace it with an air of certainty in its infal ibility. The Largest Baloon. The largest baloon in the world has re- cently been built in England. Its cap- acity exceeds 100,000 cubic feet, and it will lifts tou,in addition to its own weight of one and a quarter tons. It is a I here with a diameter st 57.24 feet, and in- closed by 120 gores of silk, each eighteen inches wide, sewn together by four miles of stitching. Ono object in building the baloou has been to enable continuous obeero vations to be made over six days without descending: and to enable this to be done, a double envelope of ' silk yer of varnish between, and uniting the two skins. The cost of construc- tion has been 812,500. The baloon made its maiden trip from the Crystal Palace grounds on Wednesday, and after remaining up for four and a half hours in a comparative calm, descended at Hershazn. It is proposed to undertake several scienti- fic trips, after which it will be worked as a captive beloon. THE RUSSIAN STORM GLOW. The Perilous Position of the flaw of Ru slitâ€"Since Peter the Great Foil- unrs nave Bren nurtured. The per-severing attempts of Russian conspirators during the last 13 years to assassinate the Emperorâ€"several of which conspiracies have been within an ace of success-«vividly show his perilous position. They also bode mischief to the peace of Europe. It is impossibleto foretell what would occur if any such catastrophe hap- pened. Would the policy of the future Government beâ€"as nowâ€"one of armed peace, or would it imitate the French rev volutionists of 1792, and by plunging Russia into foreign war, divert people’s attention from home affairs? Since Peter the Great four Czars have been murdered, but there is no accurate record of bafiled conspiracies. It is 13 years since Alexander II. was assassinated, and since then DOZEXS 0P PLOTS have been unearthed, and the Emperor's life has been repeatedly attempted, but great care has always been taken to prevent the full- truth becoming known. The recent discoveries of railways being mined over which the Emperor would have to pass, and of public buildings beiu also mined which it was known he intends to visit, show theimminence of the danger; and also that the conspirators must be comparatively numerous and possess funds. Danger threatens from different directions: (1) the old Nihilists, who are practically Anarchists. Although these, from their adventurous hardihood,are very dangerous, they are not numerically strong;(2) the old-time type of conspirators, men of the upper and middle classes, who are greatly dissatisfied with the present cast-iron system of rule and standstillism, and who are determined, at any risk, to bring about a change; (3) other so-ealled conspirators, but whooutside Russia would not be classed as such: men who abhor assassination, but who seek more or less legally to bring about reforms. In other countries these latter would form legal associations for peacefully effecting reforms, but this cannot be done under that sem-Asiastic despotism. The Russian police often purposely mix them up with the genuine plotters, with whom they have nothing to do. As showing the extreme peril of the Emperor's position officers of the army and navy and officials of good standing have been discovered among those lot- tiug against his life. The Czar has on so IMPRESSED \VITII HIS DANGER that he has created a special Department of stateâ€"with its own Minister and police â€"-exempt from all control except his own. Its special object is to safe uard the palace, and also the Emperor urin journies. But unless he can be sure of t e fidelity of those about him these extra precautions will be of little use.- The assassination of the French President has vastly increased the mar's danger, for one specialty of the native Russiansâ€"to some extent a stumb- ling blockâ€"is that they are an imitative ruce,more so than any other in Europe. One of two things is reasonably certain to hap- pen withiu a measurable period :(l)' either he will somewhat relax his iron rule of repression and initiate sorely-needed re- forms, or (2) he will share the fate of his father. Such a crime will probably start the avalanche over-hanging Europe. â€"â€"â€"_‘â€"_â€"â€"â€" JUSTICE IN RUSSIA. A Story That Shows That it is Not Exllnct. Gen..Van Wahl, chief constable of the police at St Petersburg, when he was gov- ernor at Kieff, received a visit one day from a poor woman, the widow of a police agent who had fallen a victim to his duty. For along time she had solicited the pension which was her due. The head of the police to whom she had addressed her de- mand sent her always brutally away. What was to become of her and her child rent She took the resolution to go and see the governor and told him all her story. “Sit down there and write,” replied the General, pointing to a writing-table. The trembling woman took her seat and wrote from the General’s dictation a long suppli- catiou. “Now address it, and wait for me in the next room.” Two or three minutes afterward the woman was recalled, and the General gave intober hands a sealed letter, sayin to her: “Take this letter to the head consta is, take care not to open it, and come back to me as soon as you have the reply. Aweek passed, at the end of which the woman went to the.palace again, but this time joyfully; her pension had been granted to her, and she thanked the Governor with joy. “ It is useless to thank me; I am nothing in the ad'air,” and he immediately gave the following order; “The head of the police at Kieff is dismissed from his cat and sent into exile! The reason, cause be granted a demand after having received a sum of money for so doing. ” in the letter which the widow had written to the head of the police, General Wahl had, unknown to her, slipped a bank note for 25 roubles, which accounted for her supplication being granted! An Awkward Mistake. Citimanâ€"‘ ‘If there is anything I hate, it’s a little bit of a village where the shop- keepers spend half thetims loafing around outside waiting for customers." Friendâ€"“What's the objection 2" "1' took a house for the summer in a place like that, and moved there yesterday. In the afternoon 1 went out for provisions.aud seeing a man standiu in the door-we of a small grocery, I told im I would 1 e to see his hams.” “Well 2" "He wasn't the grocer. He was the manager of a traveling minstrel show. ” a To frighten burglars, Edward Jenkins, of Louisville, kept a savage canine, and dis- played this sign : “ Look out for the dog." Some thieves poisoned the dog, stole four- teen chickens, snd made the sign read 8 “ Look out for the chickens.” .m- Dwm,4m w...“ m--- . . _ .. .. . -_.- . _ ... a .0»... n.