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'W P’ '1 checks were flushed with the makes a man, when first he :Hector, ( :2» c: ;3 a» Z (I) ~â€" . $H» (é unani‘sn VI.-â€"â€"-Continued. . (seats««4(<«(<<((«<¢2¥«§§§<<<<<<<<<«§«<<§? on, A -BROTHER’S momma; v. .. 995»;s9»);a»a»)>992»;aaabaaaéaayaaassaasany)» "it. is~noi.hing, it is nothing. Any, man would have" done the same in " my place.” “But no man has,, my friend." Silence fell upon them. Hector's natural distaste for praise had cans»- od him to avert his eyes from the Queen while she had"hcen speaking; but now, after a little. he ventured to look at her. The gaze of love is comprehensive. It takes in with one .swift glance -more than a fastiâ€" dious anthropometrist might cata- logue in a year of labor. The lovers eye is. like the lens of a camera, foâ€" cussing on the sensitive plate of the memorym. new image of the world’s desire each time it looks. It was a new image of Maddalena that was at that moment recorded in Hector's memory. -She was standing. Ilenhead. with its dark waves of hair falling smoothly over the low, broad brow. was held high, with a, pride that, was no.t:sclfish, a pride in the man she had called; her friend. Her same Her eyes shone that unconscious light that honest admiration. wi th hold his breath with awe and fearâ€"- awe. that so'great delight is within his grasp, fear that'he may be im- agining only that he sees it. He has but to speak and the light may vanishâ€"or it may grow and be a lamp unto his feetnfor all the daysâ€"â€" the Gleam of Love's Holy Grail. Hector saw the light and held his breath. But his heart sang, and his blood boat in his temples with joyous rhythmhawl l-Iope whispered in his ear. "a Beside the red er0 in her hair she woro no'aidornnient, Save a little crucifix on her bosom, a silver cross with a gold Christ. black robe fell in gave tenderness The folds of her soft lines that to. the grace and majesty of .her yet girlish figure, tall and simple as a hazel \vanzd. Simplicity should clothe a queen as with a garment, and be the only orâ€" nament of her majesty. In Matilda]â€" ena, simplicityand queenliness . were rarely met. From her head’s crown to her foot’s sole she was fair; 8. king’s mate. herself a. very queen. She took the cross from her breast. together with its hair-fine chain of gold, and holding it in her hand looked long at it, her lips moving in pure heart prayer. Then she kiss- ed the symbol, and lifting her head faced Hector with frank eyes. “Of Old,” she said, “when knights went out to war, they took with them a talisman, a holy relic, or a. love-token, to come between them and peril or to be comfort at the end. This seems strange and A out of place in our ageâ€"~â€"" Hoctor dissented, for he was a devout Roman Catholic. as were all the members of his branch of the Clan Grant. "But‘i‘Iflhfad the thought of giving you .tbi-sfi" ' y"“'c('$ntinued, "to be a shieldiorga om‘fort. Will you, take it 'from“me’?” hard-she hold out the cross to him in Sher. open palm. It‘llnidam," he said. as he took it from her hand, "if it does not shield me from dangerâ€"though I do not see where danger liesâ€"it shall be a comfort to me, twice over.” After this there was a little sillâ€" cnce, awkward yet pleasurable. Madâ€"- d’alena ;was thelfuzst to break it. "You will not see Don Augustin before you leave. There is ' some private business. of his own which seems to occupy all 'his attention. He went out of town toâ€"day, and will 110t_ be back for three days 5,91”): "‘1 did. Want to see him,” said "to get full information front him on many poinfs.” “You will find all you can want in the papers. I have given you.” Again thereifwas a little silence. lector spoke first this time. “Then, madam,” he said, "since I have yet much to do. have I your permission to depart 5‘” She held out her hand silently, and as he gazed upon her ere he stooped to-kiss‘it, he saw that in her eyes were "tears. Yet when he raised his head again she was smiling. "Farewell," he said. “God keep your Majesty l" , “Farewell,” she said. "God go with you 1" That night Hoctor spent in waking dreams, but next day he was the man of action. Early afternoon found him in Liverpool at the otliccs of the Orange King. He sent in his name. "I am afraid you can't see Smith just now,” said the clerk. “He has an appointment with you for six o’clock on board the Jebba, Mr. hasn’t he, Mr. Grant 9" olYes.Yl "Then 1 think 1’d go on board and make 'myself comfortable, if 31 were you. Mr. Smith will be with you by six’." . So Hector m‘adehis wayxto the docks. m'csopted himself to 'tfl‘ne. capâ€" tain. ‘of the. .Jcbba , and [was received. as, if he -wote,, a prince. Six. o'clock came, "but brought.- no Mr. Smith with it. Seven Come, and Hector began to grow anxious. At last, at 0. our to eight, a y . ’ J >>>>»«<'« >399 cab drove up to the gangway, and Thomas Smith came on board. "Evening, Grant," ' “I thought you were never coming, sin.” ' “Sorry I’m ey ?” . "Here, sir," said the captain. "Ready ?” "Yes, sir." “Then you’d. better clear. Ten minutes gained is ten minutes saved at the ‘other.ond‘.” ‘ . The captain walked away rapidly. "Well, Grunt, are you hungry ‘2” Hector stared. “Let’s go and havesome dinner.” The Orange Kin-g led the way to the saloon, and Hector followed in halfâ€"amused bewilderment. He venâ€" tured one or two remarks, but they were met with abstracted silence. Hector looked up from'his soup to see through the portholcs landing- stage, “and warehouses and funnels and masts slipping by with ever»- increasing speed. . "flownare you going to get back, sir? Drop into a tug ?” The Orange King laughed. “No, no; I’m coming with you.” "To Palmetto ‘3” [I‘LIII‘1 !77 late. Where's Peachâ€" CII'AI’TER VII. 'As night fell on the seventh day. the Isle of Palms rose from the sea. Three peaks, crowned with cloud. grew out of the Atlantic and cast a triple shadow on the darkening wet- ter. The Jebba smote her way straight into the black path, and two hours later the anchor plunged into the waters of Palm Bay. There were now a thousand stars in the deep blue sky; a thousmid lights gleamed along the low line of the shore; dim lanterns glimmered from the sterns of swarming boats; there was an intoxicating mingle of boatmen’s calls and splash of oars, light songs, and thrumming of guitar and mandolin. Here seemed the gates of fairyland, opening upon the foam of perilous seas. The practical days of the voyage, when ways and means and myriad details were discussed and settled with the Orange King, vanished from Hector’s memoryâ€"burned in the white flame of romance, as a hand- ful ‘of Worthless straw is consumed. The magic of the night and the dim land and the water took him. A love song that was passionate yet melancholy, importunate yet fearful, half~impersonal yet whollyhaunting, Snared his heart and held it still. The subtle smell of the land, so good to nostrils that for days have known only. the salt of the seaâ€"â€" something of the “eternal scents”â€" completed the subjugation begun by all the glamour of the hour and place. To crown surrender, came to his mind remembrance of Maddalena, bidding him farewell with the brave smile that hid her ,tears. Not. even the discomfort of landing could break the spell that bound him; nay, not even the terrors of the carraâ€" tera. As soon as their boat had touched the steps the hotel commissionaire, who had annexed the Orange King and Hectorâ€"their bodies, souls, and baggageâ€"sprang an to the Mole and lanced the dark with a fiery cry of "Carruache‘ !” Out of the gloom drifted a dusty vehicle, drawn by a dusty mule, and driven by a dusty demon, half Palmetto, half negro, who wore a Fro. Diavolo hat, a Pro lliavolo grin, and portentous Fro. Diavolo navaja in his blood-red sash. They took their dusty s'eats neath the awning of the tal‘tana, and began speedily to taste all the unâ€" proved delights of the carratera. Two solid miles of it did they en- dure, for Palm City lies away from, the port, 81111eg curled among min- iature hills. its blaze of electric light showing, . a poised nebula, amid the blue dark. Two solid miles of bump and thump ‘ and dump; of unceasing switchbuck, of jolt and jar and jig and jumble; of Blondin balancing on one when] and the other; of tartanero’s cursing; of commissionaire’s admiration and sharp yelps of encouragement; of clutching helplessness on the part of Hector and the Orange King. On one side glimmered the white tops of the breakers, on the other the yawn of the ditch made itself felt. Two miles as the crow fliesâ€"four as the tartana thumps. But all things i end, even the carratora. and Hector laughed when, under the portico of the hotel in the square of San Ber- nard-i110, he saw the Oran-go King prod himself affectionately for brok en bones. _ » The night was sleepless. Dawn had scarcely set her first pin-k streamer floating in the sky ere Hector pushed aside his mosquito curtains; :and, with a last anathema. On all the bloodsuckersvof the. night, passed through the open windows on to the balcony. The square Jwas-silcn't, .saye for a. few gal-rulous sparrows that squabâ€" blcd viciously iii-the roadway. To the right - rose. one of-‘the ,‘llttle hills-that ring Palmetto. on tlieJand, sideâ€"wrose so close to the cnd‘of the Squareithat Hector almost felt that he could put out. his hand and pluck off some of the toy villas that dottâ€"l ad l1: ‘up the summit. "‘A' .backâ€" qd; There were hundreds of ‘ dwellings, washed white‘fand',bluq ' j the dust of sunâ€"scorched Centuries.â€" . dust., , housewife. cloth- in :a ' comic opera," he :m‘urmurs tiny and ; yellow and green, vividf-‘gand fresh, and all "so still; no sign of movement or curl of hearth-smoke hinted at- life; and; between' the patches of flamboyant color the. dead grey of thehillside lay under... No no leaf, made; blade of grass. pleasant, green. True, trees _ lined " the squarehbut the " burnt leaves " Were smothered. with' .cobwebs that sagng beneath their burden of grey To the left the square opened into Triana, the Piccadilly and Bond Street of Palmetto, and beyond Triana shone the Atlantic eastward to Africit, a. very perfect and un- broken blue. Little by little as thc day leaped higher, life began to stir. Old w‘o- men in black mantillas, young womâ€" en ~in shawls of pale'yellow and ',brilâ€" liant roseâ€"pink, passed on their way to early mass,. fingers buSy with rosaries. A country cart. with stone from the quarries of ‘Terrino'rumâ€" bled over the cobbles, the driver standing precariously on the end of the long wooden brake. 'A goat- keeper walked drowsin along, folâ€" lowed by his little flock jahgling their bells. Now and again he stopped by a, door, and seating him- self on the edge of the pavement drew milk into the can of a waiting , Panniered _mules and. asses paced slowly with ,their loads; towardsthe‘ municipal dustâ€"hcaps. A tertanero‘walcrcd his jade. I at " the public trough, and a string of horSes clattered by for a dip in the bay. Softly, mellowed by distance, came, the long notes of a. bugle blown at, the Hispanlolan comp, a mile to'the southward of the city. Ten thou- sand Hispaniolan troops lay thereâ€"â€" infantry, cavalry, and artillery. The long call roused Hector from the reverie into which he had fallen. He sighed and re-entered his bedroom for a cigarette. He had not struck the match when a tap sounded the door. It was a waiter, already shaven and sleek, yet with something of that unkempt bandit look about him that all Palmettos possess, though they be the most pacific of men, model husbands, and fathers of families. "Will the senor have coffee?” “No, get me some grapes and a couple of bananas, and I will have a glass of that wine I had last night -â€"â€"what do you call it ?â€"â€"sec-â€"â€"-’,' "Seco generosa ’2”. “That’s it.” “Then will you have the English breakfast at nine, or the Palmetto breakfast at eleven?” Hector laughed to himself. Engâ€" lish breakfast ‘? Not surely; bacon and eggs the eternal he had left heâ€" hind. "Palmetto breakfast, please.” When the Waiter returned with the fruit and wine he brought also I a yellow police form for Hector to fill up with his full name, age, profesâ€" sion, etc. Hector wrote in the par- ticulars the waiter looked attentiveâ€" ly at him, seeming to examine his every feature with devouring inter- est. At last the man could contain his curiosity no longer. He slopped beâ€" hind Hoctor and looked over his shoulder. Evidently he saw someâ€" thing which satisfied him, for step- ping back; pace or two he drew from his vaja a crossâ€"hilt dagger, having the letter R embossed at the junction of blade and heft. This he! slipped unfder Hector’s arm, and laid on the sheet of yellow paper. , Hector, catching the gleam of steel had the momentary impulse to start up and clutch the fellow by the throat, but ere he moved he saw the silver R. He sat still, and spoke without turning his head. “Give me the word,” he said. “For Palmetto, freedom !” ed the man. “Freedom is but half,” said Hec- answer- be-v tor. “Freedom and Maddalena is all 3" was the reply. “ller Majesty Queen Maddalena,” said Hector. "Whom God preserve l” came the whispered ans'\Ver_ ' Hector still went on writing. “How did you know me ‘2” 'he ask- ed. » “Word was given to us that my lord was coming. "Well ‘2” "We have seen my lord’s picture.” How could that be, since Hector had not been photograpgcd for ten years, and then in a group of king- istrands in Aberdeen? But doubt- less, Bravo had had him snaps/hottâ€" ed. Hector smiled. He did not learn until later of the portrait oil the Palmetto preux Chevalier, Bald-‘ assure dc la Luz, whose memory is venerated in the Isle of Palms, as is that of Wallace or Bruce in Scotâ€" land, of Arthur the King in England of‘Bayard in France. So he passed by the question of 'his picture. “What is your rank ?” said Hec- tor. ' "I am a sergeant in E company of the second regiment, my lord.” "Your Colonel’s name ’2” “Don Miguel Ortona y Cajal. my lord.” “Who resi-desâ€".â€"â€"-” “On his estates near Telde, my lord.” ‘ “You mustnot call‘mc ‘my lord.’-~‘ “As my lord pleasesâ€"senor.” , Hoot-or finished writing. "He j-turnâ€"l ed and handed the paper to'the deâ€" fer-ent-ial.,wâ€"aiter, who received it as if it' had'bcen a royal decree. "Are there any more of the faithâ€" ,ful in this house ?" “We are twenty-five here, senor,, .VBoots 011 , .the ‘ easiest sleeping quarters are uegrocs. ‘ friend, -' because j' he ' afi‘ll’ =0! these eighteen long fol-film" day of freedom." ‘. F ’ “Goodl Your name ?,'.’ N 7 "Juan Gastaldi,‘ mjzr~ésen0rz" ' "Very' well. That will do' now." (To be Continued.) . ' ' : ’NEW SOURCES 01“ RUBBER._. .-,._ _ of a African Plains... | _."A .Erenchbotanist, -in,the course of his, explorations, says the 'Scientilic American; a few weeks ngo.‘in the sandy plains of the French Congo, discovered a plant the, bark of which contained a large quantity of fibrous rubber.- At the time scarcely any attention was paid to the discovery, but owing to the scarcity of rubber and its high commercial value, which is in reality so prohibitive as to pre- vent, a very wide employment of the substance, attempts are being made in England to turn this new , disâ€" covery to . commercial use. plant also Northern forests which are to be exploited. 'A sample of the plant has been analâ€" yzed by the botanical authorities of Kew Gardens, London, and these inâ€" vestigations show that the rubber exists in the roots in sufficiently large quantities to warrant developâ€" ment. The name ofthe plant is Lon'dolphia thrallonii. It is to be found in many places on the west coast». of Aflrica. One firm which is already engaged in the manufacture of this rubber isplacing it upon the market at 75 cents a pound, and it is in everyrespec't equal to the ,or- dinary rubber. ‘ ' India rubber has become, such an indispensable material in the arts and sciencesuthat users will be glad to learn that a, fresh source of sup- ply is said to have been found in the. white mangrove tree, which grows plentifully in the swampy lands along thecoas-t of Central Queensland. The sap is obtained by making incisions in the bark of. the tree and allowing it. to run into tins. Some samples of- the rubber thus ob- tained are said to have brought $1 a pound in England. 'An idea of the importance of the rubber trade may be learned from the statement that the United Stat-cs and England alone absorb over fifty million pounds anâ€" nuallv. __._'___..;_.__.._ - BREATHING AND COURAGE. _â€" Get ,More Oxygen Into Your Lungs. The importance of learning to breathe properly has often been in- sisted on by medical men, who tell us that we shall be healthier if we‘ habitually take deep breaths and thus completely fill our lungs; but deep breathing is now put forward as a courage-revi ver . , thn the prospect looks rather black, and there is an insidious sugâ€" gestion somewhere within you that the best thing you can do is to go to the Antipodcs and make a fresh start; when you have an attack of the blues, and dread to open your} morning letters lest one shall con- tain information that will upset some of your happy plans; then you had better go into the open, or approach an open window, stand with your arms akimbo (in order to give yourI chest full play), and take deepi breaths. Breathe through the nose and ex» hale through the mouth slowly. Do this several times, inhaling till your lungs will not hold more; every time you do it, you will find that you can take in a little more than you did i 3 last time. Go back to your letters again, and youwill be inclined to laugh at your fears. Do this as ai regular thing, and fear will not trouâ€"l ble you. In verification of this statement. everyone knows how a walk in the open will "put life into you” on a fresh morning; it is because more oxygcn'gets into the lungs. If you practise deep breathing, you get more oxygen as a regular thing, and your courage does not play tricks with you. ' ‘ ..____+__._._..._ How NATIONS SLEEP. Considering that We all spend on an average one-third of our whole lives in bed, it is not wonderful that a good deal of care, expense, and trouble is expended on our sleeping places. In Great. Britnin'thc unâ€"i healthy fcathcr bed is being driven! out by the healthier mattress. l~‘nu~.rl~ beds are noted for their hardness, and, German beds are so ridu:uim.s.;. .v.._-.. t that foreign visitors-are often much too big for them. Many Norwegian beds are made to pull 0111’. from ro- cessus. Tho hammock rules in South and. Central America. The Indians of Guinea pluil. most beautiful ham-1 mocks out of grass. which they dvc; prettily. Japanese lie upon matting laid out on the floor, with a still)? uncomfortable wooden head-rest. It would take an Englishman years to; get acoustomcd to such a bed of | torture. The Chinese use low bed-f steads, often elaborately carved. But! their only mattress and coverlets are1 made of matting. In winter they put on heavy clothes waddcd with cotton, in ~which they sleep. 0? all people, to suit in the way v ofg An? African negro,~ like a wild animal.§ can curl up anywhere. - ' Cashlcigliâ€""A‘dog, is a man’s best. ~ never forsakes l-larduppeâ€"-“’l'hat's right. A a l him.” man cannot’borrow money from dog.” Plant Found on the ~ ‘- The thrives profusely in Nigeria, and it. is these MEN SELLâ€"gnmims .:;. ' . ~ g . . ‘ ‘ VALUE? OF'BETTER HALVES IN Cases in Police Courts Show the ' Practise to be Quite ' _ Cdmmon. ’ .Readers of 111'. Hardy’s novels have been 'reminded of. the ‘opening- chap. ters of "The Mayor of Casterbridge” . by the case- at Marlborough street Police Court the other day, where it- was showu that the defendant had got rid of his wife by selling her. for a couple of shillings. For precedents for this commercial form‘of divorce some journalists have searched the records of a century ago, and proâ€" duced numerous instances being led to the cattle market and there knocked down to the highest bidder, says the London Globe. But it is not necessary to go back anything like 100 years for such sales of wives. There are sufficient modern instances to maintain the assertion that wife selling is still a. British custom. There are hundreds of people‘ who still believe that to transfers. wife to another man for a cash payment is a legal transacâ€" tion and a valid dissolution of matriâ€" monial ties. As a popular error it ranks with the idea that ,if husband or wife be absent and unheard of for seven years the other is free to marry again. AN 'ESTABLISHED CUSTOM. "In Yorkshire generally, and in Sheffield in particular, this doctrine of wife_scllin_g is still so firmly es- tablished and frequently practiced that it; has little less than the force of a local law. Legends of Sheffield grinders in drunl-en bouts sell their wives fora quart of ale are well known. But nowâ€"aâ€"days such transactions are no longer conducted oilâ€"hand. They are invested with formality, as wit- ness this document which figured in a case at the Sheffield County Court. in 1887: "At the Royal Oak, Sheffield, I, Abraham Boothroyd, agree to sell my wife Clara to William Hall for the sum of 5 shillings.” At Leeds Assizcs in 1895, Benjamin Gibbons was tried for bigamy. He admitted that he had married a weâ€" man while his first wife' was alive, but he pleaded that us he had sold her he was entitled to marry again. She was a young woman and unruly; even though he constantly gave her good hidings, she troubled him, and tiring of her, he sold her to a sol-â€" dier for 3s. 6d. She went quite will- ingly, and had married her pure chaser. A NOMINAL VALUE. In each case it will be noticed that the purchase money is small. This is not due to low valuation of the W0» man, but a nominal sum is agreed ‘upon to make the bargain an actual one. The legal doctrine of “value re- ceived” is so far understood by the vulgar mind. The sale, indeed, is the poor man’s divorce. His honesty in this matter is shown by his retention of the children of the marriage, and his maintenance of them. ' In a case at ‘Doncaster in 1896 the purchaser, instead of paying cash, agreed to take over the vendor's four child'rcn with the wife. This was the dowmcnt which figured later in the police court: “New Conisboro, March 8, 1896.â€"I, Enoch Childs, is quite willing to take your wife and children 2‘s mine, that is your wife, Ellen Tart, and Sarah, John, Henry and Eliza. Signed, Ellen Tart, Enoch Childs.” who COMMON PRACTICE. Though Lancashire is so kin to Yorkshire no sale of wives are known in the county Palatine. But in Alfre< ton, in Dcrbyshiro, a collier sold his wife for fourpence in 1882. In 1873 there was a remarkable case at Del-- per; the Wife of an absconding deb- tor had a halter placed about her neck and was led into the market place on Saturday afternoonzand of- fered for sale by auction as one of her husband’s assets. But there were no bidders and no sale. About four years ago Irthingbor- ough, near Northampton, supplied» a southern instance. A shormaker )araded the streets with a bell call- ing upon all persons to know that he had that afternoon "sold and be- qucathed” his wife to John -â€"â€"â€". I‘Te proclaimed the naming. of two com- panions as witnesses to the transacâ€" tion. The purchase money was two shillings. Baring Gould cities sim- ilar sales in the West country, and to go back more than thirty years would mean the extension of this sub- ject to intolerable length for a cen- tury ago Wife selling was almost com- mon. That it is practiced as frequently as it is will come as a surprise to most readers. In addition to these northern instances many sold to-day in the east end of Lonâ€" don, but of all such cases over the country only a few are revealed to public knowledge. _. -......â€".+._.â€"â€"â€"â€" Aunt Clara» (to her, young nephew, who has just brought a bucket into the parlor’ Where she is sitting)â€" ”Good‘ gracious, '.l‘ounny, what are you doing with that bucket? Take. it down to. thol'k'itc'hen- at once.” 'J‘Oniinyâ€"-‘-‘I want, you to kick it, Aunt Clara; ’cause I heard pupa say~ ing when you kick the bucket we’d get $5,000." ' of wives a wife is ‘ a... u,._. “on . __ Me: I l :- :.~‘-...e...::; . .vu:‘~‘\; «Ta. ELL: :; .