The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

u. .4':â€"L‘\‘~ . *4 ' » H»- 7 f: -____. .... w... l. q.,n.-...=-.._â€"â€" Wm â€"‘-Wm - ‘ \ _ I 3;..x~;..:«:..:..:.afinzuz.oz..:..:..;«:e4kg»? game for twu. llow blind I have to that gigantic bucket. 'A dozen son, “is signed by Sefton Hodder. 81mg . , '3 been! I. might have known. Xou workmen prepare With long iron Ho deeply regrets, and is full of l ‘ l 11.5. 2:: l' know, Jess. YOu know, and yet you bars to steady it. None of that gratitude to you for so nobly saving _.. .3. .3. lot mu R'0 to him mld blend for your white-hot liQUid stream must escape his life. He says you would have ON THE BANKS OF THE AMUR oi. , l - .3. sake and the little ’un. Knowing and strike anything damp or elseâ€"â€" been justified in lcflvmg him to his RIVER ' ° ‘ _ '3 this, you let me go." Sefton Hoddei', 'sharply outlined fate, and he can never sufficiently rc- ' ' O ‘3: "Our need was so great," she an- against. the blinding glare of the ward you." i 3: I 5 3 :3. swayed. molten steel smiles . grimly as the M , . ‘z‘ i l '3' “And I". he went on' "have 911‘ Sparks fall in bl‘llllant Showers Jess, for justtthe flash of a moment. and a’ Place “Lhat W111 u 3 ‘ ~ trusted him with my one great hopeâ€"- round him, and little thinks that at I Ieupt with exultation when I saw I-Ieard From. %o:00:”:00:00:00:00:90:00:co:ov:oo:00:00:09:00:00:05:00:06:0fl u secret even from you, Jess_ I had the moment he forms a vivid human hiln doomed; my mind S‘vung a . . I I an idea for a patent process that target. For Jack Simpson, black pendulum between evil and good; It 18 Within the limits of possibil- might be worth thousands to Fair- "Don't you like meat HOW. dud‘ low’s. In our extremityI Confided dy 7" it yesterday to Sefton 1-Iodder, and Jack Simpson smiled wearily at sought his advice as to. it being the. question of his little daughter, practicable. He thought it would Beatrice, and she prattlcd on withâ€" be no two; Said I might leave the out waiting for an answer. “’Cause drawings for consideration, but felt you never have any, you know; and sure they would be a failure. Of there’s hardly ever anythin' in the course, he thought they would be no cupboard now. I wants some. milk use. 0, fool, fool, that I was!" for. supper; please, mamma, let me She covered her face with a. cry of have some milk." astonishment, “Your ring, your “no. no' dearie’n said Mrs. gimp, Wedding ring,” he exclaimed; “where son, a very young and handsome«- isuit 3’” looking mother; “here, have this I Downed ity that Blagoveschensk will play by no means an unimportant part in the war that is slowly proceeding in the far east. Directly the Russian position at Harbin becomes unten~ able, and apparently the object of Japan is to render it so, the Bus- sian troops, though anxious of course to remain within easy reach of the railway, will most probably be driven across that desolate and difficult part oftManchuria where the Heihungchiang range is’located, and once there the town of .Blagovestch~ ensk will be ready to receive them. along _'the barrel of his revolver, ions impulse sometimes! 'And to With his finger tremblmg 011 the think, Jess. that this means a new trigger and his soul tremblingbn Start for us_a fresh start im a new the verge of that awful prempice, country}: murder! An almost uncontrollable They were silent [0,. a, moment, hatred in his heart, is glancing ’tlienâ€"but there, we all have a glor- 93551011 to 0nd thi11g5_then Mid there and then they laughed quietly to- takes possession of hnn. Still, betâ€" gcthen Miss Beatricewas holding for to wait a. little while, and then the kitten up ‘by its paws in the â€"tho‘top entrance, and face to face comer, and saying; “Hyena to me in his office. The drawings are there. puss 'causc you are n‘oinrr to ’Mcri: Who can guess what card Hoddcr 'Ca 'Vou know. Yobu “71’” have to will play when faced with a climax? crass: 'the sea in a big, big boat Best to come armed. anyway. And long, fink you, will it \Tow, how. if .the pistol has to be used, why, A it," she replied; “we take -,to pack our fings?”-â€"â€"London We must make a > ...yuymarw$«ww Jr“. wflfmncsnrwwnuwiw _v.~..,,m,_.~‘,,<r. "w. -__/ WA,\,_,A,AMr~ m. . -A/‘NW .Nw. ‘ ,ngflv, f _. . , VVW'W .’~/\ zs-x-wfi / -. A s ’ ‘ W/Nv‘ v’v"8"\t‘"V“ . -. .Wwwwnga‘,“ _,\_ /v-/ 4 N, W «I Vâ€"~./v v v “ V-w <v~¢‘ < A xfi/N,» g, , piece of bread and a drink of water. Come, there's a good girl; I must take you off to bed now." ’Dearie was put to bed, and when they Were left alone in the kitchen together dearie’s father and mother looked earnestly into each other's eyes. Then dearie's father pushed a. large knife across the table and held out both his hands. "Cut ’91:: off i" he said, hoarsely; “nobody wants ’em. There’s noth- ing for ’em to do. Cut 'em off!” “Don’t, Jack, don't," she pleaded; “work will come and we shall pull round all right. For my sake, do nothing desperate Jack. Don’t give up hope; you will .get work," “And where shall I got work 7” he rctortod, bitterly. "They have done with me at Fairlow’s, and I’ve tried and .tri ~1‘leaven knows how I've tried 1 nd I'm getting tired of be~ lag told there's nothing for me; I'm tired of seeing you getting paler and thin’ner”â€"she moved closer to him and ran her fingers through his thick brown hairâ€""and I'm tired of hearing our little girl ask for things, little bits 0' things, we can't give to her. Something will have to be done.” He clenched his fist savageâ€"l 1y. “Something will have to be done quickly. I can't understand Hodder; he plays me on and off, half promises, and thea says he can’t start anyone for weeks. “And he smiles when he says it. Smiles just likepho did when he gave me. a. weeks notice with profound regrets, as he put’ it, at Fairlow's having no furâ€" ther'use for my services. I hate him when I think of it. Only yesterday I begged of him to find me some- thing to do, if only for the sake of you and the little 'un. He shook his head and said he was sorry, and smiled l Sometimes I thinkâ€"why, what's the matter, Jess ?" “Nothing, dear; why do you ask?" “Your cheeksâ€"they are red as pop- pies. They remind me of the old days. Ah, Jess, dear, what. a sad , mistake you made to marry a mere workman.” “A; very sad mistake indeed," she said, as she contradicted the words witha kiss. “You might have been Mrs. Whoâ€" knowsâ€"who," he went on, half ser- lous, half chafling, ' "I’d rather he ers. I-knowâ€"who," she answered, returning his fond look,with interest; and then, timidly “Jack, dear, I can't bear to see [on looking so wild and reckless as pouldid a short time ago. A little patience will surely bring us into the sunshine again. ’l‘hiok how you have stri‘ven, with my poor'influence' to lift yourself out of the rut...“'hy here's Mr. llcrnaby‘ to see you. I wonder if he brings geod news." But Mr. Bernaby was in no hurry to disclose news of any kind whilst IhG was present, so she left them for p. while to themselves. Iâ€"Ter depar- ture was evidently a relief to the Visitor. - He nervously placed four Ihillings on the corner of the table md said that he was sorry he would not be bringing any more relief from l‘he club. It had been stopped at the last meeting. Couldn't say as so how his mates had voted against the small weekly subscription they lad been giving. Couldn’t say that he liked the job of carrying such disâ€" lgreeable news. Could say‘as how :hey was all sorry, and that they loped' he would soon get another )lace. Could say as how it‘ was no use frying Hodder. Could also say LS how Hodder was slow, but he was sure and he was cunning, and gure'iy Jack Simpson had not for- gotten that. he, a mere sub-foreman, and crawled off the lovely Jessie Re- ville from under his very manager’s nose. Could say as how. it was a Very nasty, raw evening, for anyone to beout, and that he wished him n. ve goodâ€"night. An so, when she came in, she found Jack still brooding'over his wrongs, with a. new light illuminatâ€" ing their cause, and wandering near~ er and nearer towards the abyss of despair. “Jess,” he said, eagerly, "I remember you telling me that Header paid you some attentions be- fore we were married. Did he ever 7’ Her cheeks turned into poppies again. “ch," she said, “he asked me to marry him. I told you all about it, but you made light of it then." “Of course,” he said, “and it nov- ar 0106' occurred to me that it might have touched him seriously. Besides It is Over five years ago, and yet his lonely, morch nature would per- haps never forget. J eSS"â€"â€"he waved his arm vaguely round the almost ,mpty'room‘fless, can this be a deliberate scheme of revenge '2" She nodded her head, whispering, "I’m soro- of it. I felt sure of it from the first," and his eyes blazed up with desire to strike back. !' vt'nge, he said slowly, “is a must not starve. fight of it. Don't think it did not hurt me to part with it, but it can really make no difference. I pawned it two days ago and you have only just noticed. Don't be angry with me, Jack. Leave go my wrists; you hurt me.” ‘ “What a success for him," he said, gravely, “to have already removed the ring. You are right; we must make a 'fight of it." "Nothing wrong, and nothing desâ€" perate, Jack," she pleaded. “Nothing wrong or desperate," he promised. But there was an ex- pression in his eyes she had never seen before. Later she‘said to him: “Revenge is not a game for two, dear. If it was it would go on and on without stopping. It is not even sweet as they say it is. Prom- ise me you will attempt no harm. to Sefton Hodder. You look so queer, Jack, I am afraidâ€"for you l"« “I promise," he said. But in his heart he knew he lied. I- l I R i 01’ On the following night he went out about eight o'clock. She kissed him in the doorway and whispered, “Nothing wrong, and noth- Jack," and he solâ€" “Nothing to be Yet a tempest again : ing desperate, emnly answered: ashamed . of, Jess." of violence raged within him as he swung down the dark, lonely road. What his actual purpose was he could not himself have told. One thing was uppermost in his mindâ€"he must see Hodder at once. And with the four shillings that Bernaby had , an ugly-looking, second-hand revolv- er. I-le 'fingered this in his pocket as he went along. If it were not for the sake of Jess and the little No, no, he-must not think of that. But he must have his drawv ings back at any cost. He almost felt elated at the task before him. It would be an easier fight. surely, than the fight of the past few weeks, the fight with those gaunt leaders to and cold and de..â€" 'un extremes-hunger pair. Fairlow’s huge foundry, standing in the valley before him, shines out in a glow of its own making-smoke and [lame and roaring furnaces and towering chimneys. Ie has heard they are to cast the stern frame of a. great ship between halfâ€"past nine and ten. That will mean Hodder superintending, so that he must be on the works until a late hour. “Nothing to be ashamed of, Jess,” he had said. But deep in his heart he knew that he had lied. a...” I]. Knowing the place intimately, it an easy matter for Jack Simp- 0 son to slip past the timeâ€"house and into the great works of Fairlow’s. The night was almost pitch dark, but he knew his way and never fal- tcred. On past the dark, closed warehouses and patternâ€"shops, over the bridge and down the railway, stacks of coal and iron; now over a waste piece- of ground scattered with giant cogâ€"wheels, ships' anchors, old boilers, cylinders and the like. Histâ€"someone is coming this way. He dives under a waggan, jumps 9. low wall, and finds himself beside the castingâ€"shop, which seems to reâ€" vel in the hum and throb and glow of the night's work. About twelve feet from the ground there are large gaps with iron bars across to take the place of windows. He climbs upon a heap of scrap-metal and peers through one of these. It is a fam- iliar scene to himâ€"the long shop with its earthen floor littered with tools and past huge mouldingâ€"boxes and strange machines. Hero men are busy shaping the pliable clay into many fantastic shapes; there, fierce, roughâ€"built fires are baking them dry in readiness to receive the molten steel. There is the dull thud of hammers falling on sand and dirt, and the shrillcr ratâ€" tin of metals in conflict where the castings are being cleaned. In the centre of the shop a vast pit shows the upper moulded portions of the stern fora mighty ship. At the far end the furnaces roar like ravenâ€" ous beasts as they are fed by ton after ton of raw ores and metals by men stripped to the waist. Further on, across a platform, vabovo and past the furnaces, is the oflice of the manager, Sefton I-Todâ€" der. He has just come out, across the platform and down the gangâ€" way. He puts on a pair of blue glasses and looks into these roaring furnaces; then blows a whistle. A monstrous overhead crane rattles along just under the roof and lowers {an enormous bucketâ€"shaped cauldron beneath the level of the furnace tap. Another whistle, scarcely heard above the thud of hammers, and a ,stream of molten steel is rushing inâ€" left he had picked up. seizes I-Iodder, or could have done it; your to forget that. pson what a. feeble spark it will be amidst all this roar and flame and clanging stir. How terrified Jess would be ifâ€"-â€" Ah, he will soon be away now. ,The furnaces are empty and the bucket, containing many tens of molten steel, is being carried over to the mOuld. Sefton Hodder stands upon an iron box about three feet from the ground level, and is ready to. give the 'final order to remove the bucketâ€"plug. Then ' suddenly he looks up at the chains above and shouts with horror. One of .the side pivots is bending, breaking. There is a. wild shout. from the men as they rush for the door, and that mighty cauldron of hissing. seething steel turns over and runs like a'fiery lake on the floor. Swift as some bursting dam it darts its fiery way, fed deeper by the swinging bucket. Sefton Hodder, looking which way to' escape, pauses a moment too long. Like a. flash the metal sur- rounds the mould he is on and he stands, as it were, on an iron isâ€" land amid a lake of white-hot run- ning steel. Above the noise and confusion he hears someone scream- ing ’ “Run for your lives.” Run ? Yes, but how can he cross this burning moat ? The heat is terrific. He sees the steel forcing a channel down to number five pit. which contains water. If it reaches thereâ€"the. thought sets him shudâ€" dering. Have they all escaped but him ? The heat is scorching, suf~ focating, and it will take hours for this mass of steel to cool and setâ€"â€" hours: why, long before that he will be literally baked alive. Will none of them come to save him ? No, no; they will not.risk the explosion until it ,is too late- The growing fear of a. horrible death overwhelms him, and he screams with terror. Then someone dashes through the door, beats his way through the hands that try to stop him, runs nimbly up the footâ€"ladder and along the wide baulks that hold the rails for the crane. Look, he is clinging now to the chain. "Lower," he shouts, and lower'he comes; down, down, until he swings as close to, that terrible liquid bed as the man he is trying to save. “Forward 1” he roars, and there is the click of levers, the hiss of steam, and the rattle of the ponderous crane. “Hold,” he screams, as he lurches forward, and clings to him with wonderful strength. For a moment it seems as though both must slip and crash to their doom, and then, tightly clasped together, rescuer and rescued are swung clear of the burning lake, and on into safety. And the last thing Sefton I'lodder notes ere he sinks into unâ€" consciousness isa confused babel of voices, and above them all someone loudly clamoring for cheers for brave Jack Simpson. Q i 0! 0" il- * For a week Jack Simpson lay deli~ riousâ€"a. week of great anxiety and terrible tension to his wife. - Over and over again 'had be gone through the incidents of that memorable night. In his wanderings she learnt of the dark purpose he had brooded upon; how he had seen the awful position Selton 'Hodder had‘ been placad in; how, at' sight of a fellowâ€" creature in such horrible danger, he had come to his normal senses, flung the pistol from him, and resolved to save the man who had schemcd to wreck his happiness. "Jess," he said, almost the first intelligent words he spoke as he clung to her in recognition; “I didn’t do it, Jess; thank Heaven, I didn‘t do it.” “Hush, dear,” she said, "you nevâ€" nature would not let you. No one knows but us and the doctor that you were so cruelly tempted. 'And we are all Let us start now and never refer to it again.” “Daddy,” cried Miss Beatrice Simâ€" running to his bedside, “why don’t you get better ? There’s such a lot of nice llngs waiting for you.” “Yes,” said her mother, “and I have a letter to read when you are strong enough." “If it is good news," he said, with a feeble smile, “I've the sttength of a giant now. In “It is a long letter," she said, “and the doctor’s orders are strict. But its chief contents are that Fair- low's wish to buy your new process and the price. they offer is £1,500. They also wish to know if you will undertake to put it into operation and run it at their American works at a salary ofâ€"-â€"â€"" She paused. “Don't kill me with kindness,” he said. “Big boats ) go to ’1ll'ericc,’ inter~ alertness of young eyes and young cars. - “The letter," went on Mrs. Simp- Tit-Bits. ' ~â€"-â€"-â€"â€"+â€"â€"â€" A CONFUSION OF TONGUES. Over 5000 Different Languages in the World. ‘For the past four months Mr. ’ J. Collier has been contributing to Knowledge a series of interesting arâ€" ticles 'on the struggle for existence in, "sociology, and in the current number of that publication he deals with the question of languages and dialects. There are, he tells us, over 5000 distinct languages spoken amongst men, a. fact which will come as a surprise to Uhauvinistic Britishers, who imagine the English language is all but universal over the whole surface of the globe. But while there are this number of soâ€" parate languages, a calculating pro- digy would be needed to accurately compute the number of dillel'ent diaâ€" lects in use. In Brazil there are sixty different vocabularies in vogue; in Mexico the Ualma language is broken up into 700 dialects; in Bor- neo there are hundreds; while in Australasia it is found impossible to classify the lingual complexities pre- vailing. Generally the number of dialects is- in inverse proportion to the intellectual culture of the {opu- lation. Taking the total of languages at 5000, and assuming no more than fifty dialectical variations to each, a total of a quarter of a million dialects is reached. In this confu- sion of tongues all manner of NUMBERS AND ’I‘ENSES, cases and moods, tones and inflecâ€" tions strive for predominance, while modes of utterance dictated by difâ€" ferently modified laryngeal organs struggle for superiority. But dia- lects have now a tendency to (lo- crease, more especially among civilâ€" ized communities where the facilities for traveling by railway and steam- boat mix people up much more than was ever possible inth days of old, when interâ€"communication was diffi- cult. Savage and partially civilized people, as well as those isolated ' in more or less inadcessible valleys, from free intercourse with their fel- lows, still rctain their ancient diaâ€" lects, but in nearly speech is becoming more unifrom, and it is every year less and less difficult for the natives of one pro- vinCe of the same country to underâ€" stand the speech of those of another province. And just as dialccis are decreasing so are languages becoming reduced in number. French is driving back all but one of the languages spoken on its frontiers. English is overâ€" mastering Scotch, Welsh and Irish, as it has already extinguished Cor- nish. In the Southern 'l‘yrol Ger- manic dialecls are retreating before Italian. On the banks of the Volga the Uralâ€"Amie languages are disap- pearing before Russian; in Posen yields to German; while the every. country islets of German speech in Bohemia melt in Czech. And so the battle of speech goes on steadily, and na- turally until a century hence there will probably be left very little more than four worldâ€"wide languages to light out their battle. In Central Europe German will reign supreme, English will lord it over the North American Continent, Australasia and a large part of Africa. Spanish will dominate South America, while Russian or some such rich Slavonâ€" ian dialect will blend the races of eastern Europe and central Asia into lingual harmony. ALL THE SAth '.[‘0 IlIM. A man called upon a lawyer the other day and announced that “his rich brother had drawn up a will and (lied, and tliatâ€"-â€"~" "Ah! I see." interrupted the lawâ€" yer; “and you want me to get it set aside? Very well, sir; we’ll plead insanity.” . , . ' "Oh, noâ€"hc wasn’t insane. You see, the will leaves everything toâ€"” “To his second wife, or some charâ€" Il‘ave no fear. my do the business influ~ fly or college. dear sir., I can nicely. We’ll plead undue “Ah! that alters the case some- C‘: ' . “Poor Hoddcr. For a, m.mCr. of .mberla’s Gold Industry In many respects it is quite an in- teresting, toxvn. It is built on the left bank of the 'Amur River. Mr. Alexander I-Iosic describes it as folâ€" lOWS in his useful volume “Manchur- ia" (Methuen): “It is spread over a very large area, with wide streets in comparatively good repair, and contains many magnificent mercan- tile houses. Although red brick is now taking the place of wood, it is really a fine example of the architecâ€" tural value of the latter, and one is surprised to find slgnboards over. what in this country might readily be taken for palaces." This is ex- actly how it strikes the visitor, for.' the latter limiter. notwithstanding tion, the evidences .of wealth are great, and architecturally the town" is far in advance of either Habaro- vsk or Vladivostock. RUSSIAN CARELESSNESS. The commercial value of the placl is great, seeing that it is the con-tr: of the Siberian gold industry. Ex~ ternally, the beautiful one; internally Russian carelessness is, alas ! only too apparent. On a feta day you marvel at the grandeur of the illumination, but when you step inside and expect comfort, the emptiness of outward show is soon realized. Do not imagine it is a. tiny place. On the contrary, its population of some 35,000, not in- cluding a. garrison of nearly 6000, is spread over a very large area, and the streets of the town are beau- tifully wide andâ€"for Russiaâ€"in quite good repair.. lIotel accommodation hero is not magnificent. Passengers on the mail steamers that arrive pretty frequently usually engage their rooms by telegraph, hence the traveler arriving by some other route will likely find “no room" in the inn.” Or, what is even worse, you may be. diluted a room and find in the middle of the night you have to vacate it owing to the arrival of the mail boa'. Provisioning is quite a difficult task here. not ,{from dearth of provisions, but rather from the exorbitant prices charged. Suppose some thirsty Scotch soul desired a bottle of his native revivâ€" er, he would be asked two roubles (4s. lid.) for whisky badly. made in St. Pelersburg, but bearing an Eng- lish label. It will thus be seen that western influence is very penetrating French brandy costs at least 14s. Gd. a bottle, and Russian cigarsâ€"in priceâ€"beat any that may be procurâ€" ed at the club. ‘Jnst fancy paying 16 roubles for a box of penny “smellers,” and add to this a duty of nine roubles per box, and it will be clearly seen that' the east end of London has a few advantages over the far east. A TERRIBLE MASSACRE. It is absolutely futile anybody vis- iting this towu unless they are preâ€" pared to rough it and struggle con- tinuully with adverse circumstances. Clean water for washing purposes is rare indeed, whilst as for a bath, even the hotels (10 not all possess a bathroom. Notwithstanding these annoyances, there are many points of interest to be found in and near Blagovestchensk. The quaintness of the Amnr at this point attracts all travelers. year 'the river banks near the town are fully alive with cattle, and there is also a considerable movement of timber. About the end of July, 1899, a Chinese mob sallied forth from Aigun and surprised the small Cossack garrison that commanded the steamer route between the rail- way stations of the Strctensk and Khabartovsk. 'i‘he Cossacks were panicâ€"stricken, and rushed to the Chinese quarter of the town. surâ€" rounding the bazaars with an armed force.- The defenceless inhabitants were dragged forth in batches and driven into the 'Amur, where Some 4000 traders and coolics met their (loath, the river being covered with corpses. It was a terrible massacre. Russian reinforcements arrived, and thrust back the Chinese from the gates of the city, the Russians then advanced upon Aigun and reduced both the city and its inhabitants, but the. memory of both massacres is alive to-dny. _..__......L._..-.._, Employer :â€"-“I have noticed, Mr. what; but I'll prove to the jury that 'l‘imson, that you, of all the clerks, he was afflicted with softening the. brain.” “No, pray don’t do that !” “But I must. and shall, invalidate the will." “Then I shall havo to find a law- fully) :â€"“Yes, I l l t i I of seem to put your whole life and soul into your work; that no detail is too small to escape your critical attention, no hours too long to cause you to repinc.” Clerk (joy- sir.” Employer :â€" yer who can’t for it's drawn up in"‘And so, Mr. rl‘imson, I am mrced cnco.” ‘ . “But I influenced him myst. ’ my favor, and I want to beat the to discharge you at once. i other heirs." It ‘is such chaps as you that go out and “Ah ! certainly. 'l‘hat entirely al- start rival establishments after they ‘ters- the case. Your brother was !and all the lawyers in the world {sha'n’t set aside that will! Sit, down, sir." have got the whole thing down rnpted Miss Beatrice, with the usual sane, sensible, and in perfect health, pat." -N After buying experience a, man sel- idon); boasts of his bargain. appeals to . At some seasons of the ‘ 3.. ‘31A‘,!7J: g..._..’~._ . .. ““«â€"‘â€"“-‘4»'4 ;.,y ; ,fiwr.‘.‘v"'â€"-’â€"""‘” "ramua-t‘ <~v~ ~' ' ~ '3... an; li’fi’ caravan“;.W.:23W.. . F5” ~1-