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/ ‘_. awry my.“ 7 . Wfi‘figf) 3‘33”:er '«2 Wi:;7.,~:».vm:,~ur~.aâ€"Av«, (a, ,yvpgfl... ,4 ,. (v: w .aâ€"m w e++ â€"â€".__.. + it 3m mgg +++++++++++++¢++++++++ My day's work was done. properly speaking; but liad Shilling has sinking, and the nurses on uni-Lt were too busy to spend much time on hopeless cases. so l thought 1‘ would sit. a little while with him. "l'lvcnin', miss," he said, with a faint. smile. "llid you ‘2" 1 arranged his pilâ€"_, lows. and gave him some brandyâ€" andâ€"water. Strong drink had done him all the harm it could do, the doctor said. "t‘aptain isl‘ortnncr ain’t gittin’ hawk his mein’ry. is ’e ‘.‘” he inâ€" quired, when .l had finished taken a Seat. “Not yet, but I hope he will.” ilad Shilling moved a little, and winced with the pain. He was wounded in half a dozen places. "1 ’ope 'e won’t l” l‘e stated cniâ€". phatically. “Surely, you don't wish him any harm.” I could not understand any one dislikng Captain Mortimer. "Vl'lSiI ’im ’arm ‘2 Not me i” “There is something you do not want him to remember ‘2” 1 sugâ€" gestcd. ‘ “'l‘hat’s it, miss.” He smiled feebly. “There’s lots of things best forgotten.” The statement was, unâ€" fortunately, true of his own career. “if he does remember,” I said, consolingly, “he will make allowâ€" ance, I am sure.” He laughed a queer, hoarse laugh. “Yer think I done somethink bad. in course. Well, it's nat’ral.” There was a wistful note in his voice. "I am quite sure you have good things, too." 7 “Not much,” he confessed slowly. "But I done one thing orlright, an’ that's wot nobody ain’t got to know.’ He turned away a little, and I drew my chair closer. “Would you like to tell me ?” He brushed his hand across his done ) « eyes and nodded. “Seems as I want somebody to think of me kind.” I touched his arm gently. "Of course I shall. You know, you have been my favorite patient.“ Il'e flushed with pleasure. "Gospel. truth, sister 3’” “Yes,” I declared unfalteringly. it was the truth, with an excepâ€" Lion. “Well”â€"â€"he hesitatedâ€"4‘you’re a Womanâ€"that is, a lady _! Can you keep a secret ‘2” “I have kept 'a great many.” How many only a nurse can guess. “You promise faithful ’2” "l promise.” “Wait while I think.” He closed his eyes for a minute. Then began 3 wt" 7mkkm§$mll <.rewzmseumsesimaxi-. “lint-wed you’d come!“ and - .Wgaezin‘stitmm I. p... ‘i Wm of a. bush 1111' two small boulders-â€" wot Was left of us. There were Ser- geant ’Arris, Teddy Nolan, Young Uooper, Frank King, an’ the cap’n an' me." He paused for breath. “Yes,” said; know.” Everyâ€" body know so much. “We ’eard the shots spatterin’ against the stones an’ snickin’ bits olf the bush. An’ Nolan rolls, over l’studden, shot clean through the ’cad, an’ never knewed wot ’urt ’im. So [the sergint crawls out from the bush, an’ sits jest back of me. ’Bit ,too ’ot !' ’e sez, carc’lcss like, as makes me larf. 'Yer cool enough. ain’t, yer ‘?’ I sez. An’ ’e nods an’ ’grins ; but the others didn‘t think ,it no fun at all.” II. ‘ "I rm :‘ureACaptain Mortimer was 'not afraid,” I protested. _ , “Afraid ? Lor, no ! Nobody :wasn’t ; but they couldn’t joke on lit, like the sergin‘t an’ me l” i "I don’t see anything to make a joke of.” i “Likely not. Some people doesn’t. That’s where it is. Well, we seed the lcoznpanies in the rear drawing back, :an’ enough of ’em left behind, too. il’i'etty soon there wasn’t a man wot écould crawl left near. Then the .lirin’ stopped a bit, and the smoke iblew over again, till we couldn’t see the guns, though we knew right enough where they were. The cap’n looks round an’ sighs. ‘It’s no use, lmen,’ ’e sez. ‘We’d better take the lchanst an’ git away.’ An’ Nokes ‘an' King picks up their rifles an’ bolts, but I looks at the sergint, all' he looks at me. 'W’e're very com- fortable ’ere, sir,’ ’e scz, salutin’. An’ the cap’n frowns. . ‘Thcrc’s no use in stoppin’,’ ’0 sex.” “Ilc was quite right,” I declared. “Maybe; but me an’ ’Arris thought different, ’avin’ seed a couple of loose ’orses loomin’ up through the smoke. 'Let’s ketch ’em an’ ’ave a go for the bloomin’ guns !’ ’Arris sez. The cap’n shakes ’is ’cad. ‘A useless waste of life l’ ’e tells us. "l‘he smoxe will lift in a moment.’ ‘Then we’ll run, sir,’ i, tole ’im. ’13 ’csitated for a moment an’ yer Could see as ’e didn’t like it. Mind yer, I don’t mean as 'e was afraid.” “I am sure he was not !” I asâ€" sertcd. “Only ’e'd got more sense than us, am’, like enough, more reason for takin’ care of ’isself. Yer see. ’Arris was disappointed over a gal. and as fer lneâ€"-â€"â€"” He laughed scornfully. “Well, any’ow, the cap’n said as we was a pair of fools, but if we’d try ’e’id try. So we caught the ’orscs, ‘an’ orf we went, slap up to the guns. Just as we got there, orf drifted the smoke." I “He knew,” I said. Bad Shilling laughed softly. "So did we, if‘yer comes to that. l “I dessay you’d Suppose they call-- We”, in course, they blazed away at ed me Bad Shilling ’cause of sonicâ€" think I done. Wasn’t nothihk of the kind. I done wot I done 'causc they called me Bad Shilling." “I understand.” - ".‘t was all through the bloomin’ recruitin’â€"sergint, wot give me a bob I could double up in my fist ! Ilcin’ young an’ ’otâ€"tcmpered, I raised Cain about it till I got another. So they nickâ€"named me Bad Shillin’. A redâ€"'airc-d chap named Wilkins it were as started it. I give ’im some- think: but there wasn’t no s-toppin’ ’em." “It VHS very sympathized. hard on you,” I “’Avin’ a. name like that, I was boun’ to go crooked. Not that I need ’ave gone so crooked as I done.” He drew a deep breath. “Any’ow, I went crooked mostly. When i. didn’t, they alwus thought I did, an’ nobody never give me no credit for not]ii11k-â€"-’ceptin’ one.” “‘You mean Captain Mortimer '2” He nodded. “A gen’l’man he was, if ever there was one. I! alwus said I’d pay ’im back if I got the chanst. An’ that’s Wot 1 clone." llc stopped for breath. “llow ?" I asked. Bad Shilling laughed softly till the pain stopped him. “(lot ’im the Cross. That's wot I done l” "Ye’cs ; if you look at it in way.” The general had reconnnended Capâ€" tain Mortimer "for going back under a. very heavy fire, to rescue 11823 Private Nicholls, who Was woundâ€" ed.” He had also recommended Priâ€" vate Nic-‘holls, otherwise known as Bad Shilling, for the medal for dis- tinguis-hed conduct, “for assisting in a gallant attempt to rescue the guns.” “An' 'e don’t remember nothink about it, does ’0 ?” “No,” I agreed. He had been struck on the head, and his memory of events just beâ€" fore the accident was gone. It might come back, or it might not the doctors said. “'19 don’t remember,” repeated Bad Shilling, "an’ '0. won’t rememâ€" ber. Well, I do,” His eyes glittercd. I wont hot and cold in turn. Cap~ tain Bibi-timer was the one patient whom I liked even better than the poor fellow who was dying. “What do you mean ?" "You promised not to tell.” “I shall keep my promise.” “It was ’arf an hour or thereâ€" abouts arter we ’a'd news of then: ’ere guns. Our comp-any was one of those wot ’ad a try for ’em. But we couldn’t git near, no more'n the others done. l‘air rainin’ lead, it weie !” “Horrible l" I shuddered. ' "As it 'appened, about twenty of us got a bit too near. an’ Was caught in the open w’en the ' smoke that 3 us again. Down went the ’orses an’ down went ’Arrisn. The Cap’n went to pick ’im up, an’ saw he was done for. Then ’e turns to me. ‘Now p’r’aps yer’ll run, yer someâ€" thing fool !" 802 ’e. -Di'd me good to ’ear ’im talk like that, an’ ’im alâ€" wus apeakin’ so soft. Afraid, d’yer say ‘2 Not ’im !” ’ ' llad Shilling shook his head as vigorously as he was able. “ ‘l’ll race yer to cover, sir,’ sez I, as cheerful as I could. Mind yer, i]. felt it about ’Arris, wot was a lgood sort at ’eart if ’0 were a bit down on a chap. So orf we went. Jest a Wee drop more drink, sister, an’ not too much water ; ’tain't wholesome, they say.” I gave him seine brandy, almost neat, but he seemed doubtful about continuing his story. "What happened next ‘2” I asked. “Vot ’appencd next everybody seed," he said slowly, “the smoke ’avin’ cleared away. An’ if they didn’t, they thought they did. An’ Wot they thought they seed yer’ve heard." “Thought they saw ? eyou mean ‘2” He looked at me over the terpane. "Wot did they see when yer come ate it ‘2 Two fellers in khaki, runâ€" ,nin' as ’ard as they could go, an" the bullets pickin’ up the ground all around ’em ! Two fellers, an’ one outrunnin’ the other. An' one was an ofliccr, with a career before ’im; an’ the other was a common s'ojcr, wot 'ad be’ind ’im two court- martials- an’ thirtyâ€"seven entries in the defaulter-sheet. S'welp " “llius‘h l” I touched the counterâ€" pane softly. l “Any’ow, they Were both dressed alike, under orders, an’ w’ich was w’ich nobody couldn’t see.” “What ‘2” I cried. “You meanâ€"” “Suddin the One as was be’ind- most. fell. The feller in frontâ€"- whichever ’e wereâ€"didn’t notice. Dessay ’e might ’ave been excited. ’13 run on fifty, or, maybe, a ’un'drcd yards. Then ’e stopped an’. looked round, 2111’ see the other feller down â€"whichever it were. ’16 could hear the bullets buzzin' round ’im, ,an’ see the dust that they kicked up where they ’it. An’ there was dead Ian’ wounded. wot lay all over the lplace; an’ some of ’em was grOanâ€" ' in’, anâ€"" - "Don't !” I criedâ€"~“don’t l" I seem to see these things now. 5 “’E looked. round. careful, 2111' took it all in. Yer needn’t ask if ’e was afraid, ’cause ’e were. But 'e clenched ’is ’an-ds an' ’is teeth, an’ back 'e wentâ€"whichever 'e were l” - “For Heaven’s sakeâ€"” | He held up his hand. “’13 got back to the othei chap, an’ slung ’im over his shoulder, an’ stumbled along with ’im. Then it What do COUN- ...,\ A.” -, . ..__,_ Ira- , ,___, ,, I - "4.5;...eéénta‘o I ” W ' ' "' H+++++++++++++++++ lifted. We took shelter behind a bit imay 'ave occurred to ’im as the chap ’0 was carryin’ was coverin’ ’im. Any’ow, 'e shifted ’im into ’is arms, an’ carried ’im in front, an’ faced the music with ’is back, as yer might say.” He chuckled grimly at his wit. "Presently ’0 lost ’i_s win‘d, an’ sat down on an anthill. They \“cre tirin’ orl the tim‘e, yer mind. ' Then ’c got up again, an’ went on. Then ’e began to stagger, as if ’e might ’ave been ’it; wot them as saw only guessed, an’ didn't know. Then ’e stumbled orl over the place, as if ’e might be ’it again ; wot. they didn’t know neither. Then ’e come to the boulders, an’ fell down he- hind ’em, an’~ didn’t try to git up. That’s Wot they seed.” “Go on !” I begged huskily. "When it got dark, a party came out to fetch ’em. The first one they found ’ad been ’it in the ’ead, an’ was jabberin’ arf silly, an’ didn't know who ’0 was, or ’0w ’0 got there, an’ ’9 were an orficer. ‘No- think serious,’ the doctor sez, in a whisper. ’E’ll lose memory 0f the las’ few hours, most like, that’s orl.’ The other chap ’eard wot they said. Then they come to ’im. 'This pore fellow’s done for,’ they sez. ’19 ’card that, too.” He stopped to cough. “Wot was the good of a Cross to ’im '2” “Oh”â€"-I clasped my handsâ€"“you don’t meanâ€"surely you can’t mean that it was you !” “Sure as I’m going where I’ll ave to answer for my words, it was me l” he said solemnly. “An that’s wot I done i” ‘ I put my head in my hands and cried. "Youâ€"you,” I said, "are a. very brave man i" He lay back, moan. “Mind yer,” he said feebly, "if I’d fell, ’c’d ’ave done the same for me, for certain.” I-Ie closed his eyes, and I wiped mine. When I looked at him again he was very pale and gasping for breath. “Let me give you some brandy,” I begged; but he snook his head. “l’ve had my share,” he told me with a, vain attempt to smile. “Think of me kind.” He struggled for breath for a. moment; then he muttered something with a satisfied that I could not hear, and then he died. ‘ 'K' 91‘ * * -)l- i9 I lay awake all. night wondering how I should break the news to Captain Mortimer; for, of course, I was bound to tell him. He was not quite so well the next morning, as it happened, and I did not think him able to bear the shock. “l’ve got the Cross, anyhow l” he said once. And I could scarcely keep back my tears. ' The next morning I was suddenly ordered todthe West Camp Hospital, nearly ten' miles away. The work was very heavy there, and the sister in charge had broken down. So I made up my mind to write to him. i was doing double duty, but 1 should have made time, only I shrank from the task. Much as it would pain me, I thought I could break the news better by word of mouth. To be frank, although Capâ€" tain Mortimer had not proposed to me, I knew he would as soon as he was well. So I naturally supposed I could comfort him as much as any- body Could When I had been away nearly a fortnight, a message came by the field telegraph that the general wanted to see me at once, so I drove over. When I arrived the general was in his tent, frowning over some patches ; but he put them aside at once. and motioned me to'a chair. “There is a patient whom I parâ€" ticularly want cured,” he said abruptly. “Yes, sir ?” “The doctor tells me there is only one remedy.” “What is that, sir ?” “You i” "lâ€"I don’t understand. You nieanâ€"â€"-â€"” “Captain Mortimer !" he worse ?” Itremble-d so that I surprised myself. “What has happened ?” "He has recovered his memory.” "011 l” I cried. "Poor, poor felâ€" low !” The general raised his eyebrows. “Then you knew ‘P” I tried to tell him, but the tent was swimming round. He was very kind, and gave me a glass of water, and looked out of the opening till I recovered. Then I told him poor Bad Shilling’s story. "Did you intend to tell me ‘2” he asked. I shook my head. “I intended to tell Captain Mortiâ€" mer as soon as he was strong enâ€" ough to bear it.” "You thought he would tell me ?" “I knew he would 3" I said firmâ€" ly. The general nodded slowly. “He did.” His eyelids flickered. “He feels it very much.” He balâ€" anced a penholder thoughtfully. "If you had told him, you might have made it easier." . Add Bad Shilling. “I should have tried,” I said faintly. The general put his big hand on my shoulder. "Go and try now I" he commandâ€" e'd. ' ((Bllt’l’ hasn’tâ€"â€"-â€"" "I’m afraid he won’t. He holds himself too cheap to offer just now.” The general looked at me- very hard. “You don’t expect me to propose to him ?" I said. I stammered, ' 'weâ€"Iâ€"he ties-- protect himself against the missiles 'own‘ weapons a supernatural power. 1 The general gradually smiled. "Upon my word,” he said, "I be- lieve I do i" . I almost made up my mind that I would, but it was, fortunately, unâ€" necessary. When I got to the tent he Was asleep, so I sat beside him, holding his hand. When he Woke and saw me, he just smiled, and drew me towards him. , "I am no longer a hero,” he said faintly; “Yes, yes,” I whispered._ are mine !”â€"â€"â€"London Answers. ‘ ‘You ...___+.._____ SUPERSTITION Iii AlllllIES. CHARMS AGAINST STEEL AND BULLET. Amulets Carried by British Sold- iers and the “Friebreife” of the Germans. During the South African war a number of instances have cropped up showing that the idea still preâ€" vails that there are such things as charms and spells against wounds and death. Not. long ago a. para- graph appeared in some of the pa- pers to the effect that a. soldier’s watch, with a charm attached to it, had been found on one of the batâ€" tlefields, and was being held for a. rightful claimant. Earlier in the war a privatc’s letter told how a. comrade had come in safety through a-hot engagement, by virtue, as he thought, of an amulet he were, to be mortally wounded in a subse- quent skirmish, when, by the mercst chance, he was not wearing his charm, A, relative's letter from the front tells the writer of a, young felâ€" low who wore a. charmed ring susâ€" pended from his neck. The wearer had it from his saveetheart; he placâ€" ed the most perfect faith in it, and, though he had been in several hot corners, he had hitherto always come out scratchless. Although this kind of belief is of very ancient date, it is curious as woll as interesting to find it still in existence in the British army. Per- haps we ought to say “traces of it,” for it is hard to believe that it is widely prevalent. And yet it would not be very surprising if it were so, seeing that a certain porâ€" tion of the rank and file are illiter- ate, and come from a, stratum of so- ciety which is largely superstitious. It is curious to compare our army in this respect with the German. Those who' happened to be in the Fatherland during and immediately after the war of 1870â€"71 must have been struck by the amount of super- stition that, hidden under ordinary circumstances, in the then excited state of the public mind, made its way to the surface, much as the mud of a. stagnant pool floats to the top when the water is agitated. Noâ€" thing seemed too absurd to be be- lieved. Portents and warnings were seen everywhere. Black cros- ses, observed for the first time in window panes of the houses of the peasantry throughout Baden and the South generally, were held to be signs of Divine wrath against the turn things in general had taken in the Fatherland, especially in regard to the church. The excitement touching this phenomenon became intense, and was only allayed when a Baden glass manufacturer came forward and demonstrated that the warning crosses were marks imâ€" printed on the glass in the process of making. LETTERS OF EXEMPTION. But some of the most curious in- stances of the revival of oldâ€"world superstition were brought into promâ€" inence by . the Franco-German war itself. The most striking had refâ€" erence to the fancied preventability of death and the rendering invulner- able of the human body. The su- perstition was widely prevalent among both the French and the Ger- man soldiery, but seemed to be more common with the latter. Thousâ€" ands of the doomed sons of the Faâ€" therland were found to have carried with them reputed charms against steel and bullet. The most comâ€" mon form of the charm was what they themselves called “Freibriefc” (that is, “letters of exemption” from death or injury)â€"the survival of a superstition that may be traced among nearly all peoples, and menâ€" tion of which may be frequently met with in German records of the sixâ€" teenth and later centuries. In the early (ltys of its use, powder was considered the invention of the devâ€" il, and the soldier, who had death constantly before his eyes, was ready to resort to any charm to of the enemy, or to impart to his Thus the magical art of taking aim was a peculiar branch of education, with the soldiers of the Emperor Carl, and we read that a. worthy named Punker won a great reputaâ€" tion and much money by furnishing charmed bullets to the soldiers. These bullets were reported to carry certain death to the enemy. But it was not sufficient for the soldier to carry these deathâ€"dealing bullets; he must bear upon him also charms for the preventing and 'for the healing of wounds and spells for the stilling of blood. ,Salves, too, were sold for rendering the body invulnerable. That such superstition shou.d exist in the Dark and Middle Ages need surprise no one, but that they should have retained their hold on the hu- man mind to the end of the nine- teenth century, and in Germany, too, the land of popular education, par excellence, was a. surprise to W( ‘/ y, liield of Sadowa. everybody who gave any thought to -._ .1. ‘q~‘- ' the subject. Public attention was first directed to the subject by an eminent naturalist, Dr. Karl Russ, and at once a mass of information in regard thereto came to light. An ofiicer, in giving his experience in the "Gartenlaube." asserted that he had noticed this superstition among the soldiers during the Austin-Prussian war of 1866, and related a. striking incident which came under his own immediate observation. On the eve- ning before the storming of Koenig- inhof, while his regiment was biv- ouacking at the edge of a wood, and the men Were engaged in preparing their supper, he overheard two grena~ idicrs conversing together. to the other: the letter which makes its bearer invulnerablc? ’ ’ that he bade him quickly. TALISMAN WHICI-I FAILED. Dr. Russ told the story of an emâ€" cer who was severely, though by no mortally, One said “Have you not got I The second man said had not, and his comrade to be sure and get one means wounded on the He was fast bleed- ing to death, howover, when the surgeon reached him,‘ but might have been saved had he not obstinatcly refused all aid. The surgeon noâ€" ticed that he had something in his hand, which he pressed convulsively to his breast. Presently he began to tremble violently, and, crying out, "It has doneme no good!" threw away a piece of paper, and the next moment expired. The pa- per was found to be a talisman, bearing some written characters which were quite unintelligible. Many a similar agonizing discovery was made during the war of 1870â€"- 71, too late for the learner to pro- fit by the experience. After the bat- the of Woerth, in particular, a great number of talismans, charms, and the like were picked up close to the corpses of those who had clung to them, until in their last agony they had lost faith in their healing virâ€" tue and had flung them away. It was found on investigation that those provinces which were in the» lowest condition as regards educaâ€" tion gave the largest contingent of men who were thus crcdulous. Talâ€"r ismans, charms, letters of exemp- tion, etc., were found in the largest number among recruits from the Polish provinces, and in that dis- trict education was the least satis- factory. While in the least educat- ed portions of the Fatherland the- percentage of recruits who could neither read nor write stood at 0.5, in Posen it was 14.73. No wonder the recruits from Polish provinces- put faith, in amulets and charms, and carried on them “letters,” to protect them from hostile sword and bullet. The commonest form of “Fren- briefe” was a single slip of paper, bearing a prayer in Latin, or a pc- tition for the protecting grace of “Mary, the Mother of God,” or of some local saint. Some, however, were of modern form. iOne such tal- ismanic scrap of paper found on the person of a. dead Posener,contained in Latin characters the scarcely cab- alistic words, "Nur immer zu, dc ochse!” (“Co at it, thou oxl”). Genuine "Freibriefe" are rarely. made public. their owners preserving them with the greatest secrecy fox fear of ridicule, and those who make money out of them for an equally obvious reason. The "Freibrieie" most frequently found among Ger» man soldiers was the "Blessing of St. Columanus.” Another commm form .of charm found during tlu Francoâ€"German war was the "lettei from Holstein," the most poteni form of which was in MS.~â€"Lond0) Standard. ...__._._+_._._... THE PRINCE’S REASON. A few years hence the little princi- who figures in the following storj from the London Express will hem of the Nile and Trafalgar and thu great victories won by the Britisl merchant seamen, and will know that ‘to be a sailor requires skill ant heroism; but just now his view 0 this noble professionâ€"and of hi: royal father as wellâ€"1's refreshingly natural and boyish. Not long ago the Prince of Wale:~ went unexpectedly into the roya nursery, and found his little son busily engaged drawing on a bit 0 scrap paper the picture of a ship. ' “Well, laddie,” said the prince quite proud of his son’s creditablu performance, “I’m very pleased t( see that you are fond of_ ships ant sailors. I am a sailor, you know.’ “Yes, daddy,” cried Prince Ed- ward, excitedly, “and I want to br a sailor, too, when I’m grown up!" “Ah,” said the Prince of Wales, smiling, "and you want to be a sail- or, do you? Because daddy’s a sailor, I suppose?” “Not because of that, I think," said the young prince, tliouglitfully,, “because I don’t like doing my les» sons always, and yen needn’t bt clever to be a sailor, need you, dad. (1y?!) “e INSECTS AS r001). A French entomologist recommend:- insects as an article of food. He speaks with authority, having nm only read through the whole lite ‘a- ture of insect eating, but having himself tasted some hundreds of th: species raw, boiled, fried, broiled, roasted and hushed. He has ever eaten spiders. However, he does nor recommend these. He ‘states twc objections to spidersâ€"they are not insects, and they live on anlma' food. He says “Pound your cock-- roaches in a mortar; put in a sieve; and pour in boiling Water or hen. stock." ,1 W.-.» I... a"... woqwmla‘fll . .._.ww~M.-_ . if W ' f: f g. i l E i W._..-â€"â€" .â€".â€" 4â€" “~Mamawâ€"wummxs; . 3; (.An-’ f. / V. K. i i 3. '1». ..