Cheshire Observer

^PUBLISHED BY SPKCIAJj AltRANGEMEN'T.] FOR HEART OR CONSCIENCE ? By GEOKGE GRIFFITH. Author of "A Criminal Croeus," "The Worid- Masters," "Brothers of the Chain," An Angel of the Revolution," &c., &c. (COPYRIGHT.) CHAPTER XIII. NCL^KSSE OBLIGE. The hot- that, as ho believed, tne husband and father ot L.iIia-» had died after being brought to povet-tv by tne Ùdare of the Markham group of miucsj U1 \> Australia. fully decided him to take up the case and do hLi very almost to prove that the great fortune winch Sir Arthur had left to her was tiers. iMoreover, a long juries* of careful investiga- tiotte had shewn him that in .spite of his infirmity with regard to drags and alcohol Sir Arthur had been, both in the legal and moral sense, in the full possession of his faculties when he made the will. bdeed, he could find no evidence to shew that Lilias or her aunt even knew that he meant to make it. and hi. own solicitors were prepared to swear if necessary that. there was nothing abnormal in hw behaviour when he called at their o!Üœ for the purpose of executing ■the will. An"other point very much in her favour was the fact that Alfred Ashford, Sir Arthur's cousin, who miirht naturally have expected to benefit considerably, but who had only been left a legacy of a oouple of thousand pounds, at once admitted that, although he- thought he bad not been treated he might have been, ho saw no reason to believe tnat hrs cousin had been improperly ll1- flue-nœd, and since his fortune was absolutely at his own cliap- if ho to leave it to the TOffiin who had been his first and only love, there was"'nothing more to be done in the matter. There remaine I however, the circumstances of Sir Arthur \s death. As described to him by Lilian, her aunt, and the nurse, they were as When thev opened the door of his bedroom they found him standing in the middle of the room with a revolver in his hand, which he had fortunately emptied firing at imaginary enemies and domg no more harm than breaking a couple of mirrors into v.'hicn he had probably fired at nis own reflection, and smashing two or three pictures. He ha 1 continued snapping off the empty pi.s'-ol until they op* ened the door. and he had then flung it at them. It had pasaed between Lilian's head and her aunt's, and ritrucic the wall with such force as proved that it would have very seriously injured, if not kiu-od, either of them that it had struck. He obviously* in a state of high fever and delirium, and. unhappily. Doctor Mathews had gone out to see an urgent ease. A man was .sent on horseback to fetch him. but by the time 00 got Sir Arthur had suddenly quieted down and had gone back to bed; the nurse and Muss Holroyd had remained in attendance Úl the doctor's arrival. He ad- ministered a sedative, and Sir Arthur had gone to sleep. The nur-te had than gone back to bed, and Lilias and her aunt had taken turns to watch the pat-lent umil the came on duty in 1 vie mornng. so that the doctor might be fetched if necessary. In the early hours of the morning Lilias, overcome by anxiety and fatigue, had fallen asleep, and wren she awoke at daybreak she was horrified to find Sir Arthur lying in bed dead and almost cold. She at once called the doctor, who made an examination, and decided that dpath was due to induced by long-continued alco- holism. and the takinq of drugs. All this Wft.< o'crfectJy carcum.>t«inti_al, and in the ordinary coirse of events under the given circumstances, but Kenneth s nighly trained and disciplined intellect, immediately and almost instinctively constructed another and totally dif- ferent store which waj capable of bearing equal evidence. although he had not the slightest reason to believe there wan any foundation for it. It wao his invariable practice when he was study- ing a. case to construct- a. story absolutely opposed OD that of his client in every particular, then weigh the probabilities on both side-, before be decided to take the caee. Bur. here he had for the first time departed 'from his practice, though the circumstances wore such that he bad not very much difficulty in reconciling The departure with his conscence, although possibly, yet to him as yet unoon- sciou.-lv. his heart might alsn hav," had something to sav in the rnstter. The most beautiful -wornai he had ever had come to him and told a story which appealed with peculiar force both to heart and his conscience. for be was not nnlv man well as advocate, but he was the son of lit* father, and he recoer- nised that if the story of" Lilias Elsley was true, injury had been tione to her and hers which not all th sacrifice of his father's fortune could pos- sibly repair. The money losses which her hus- band and father had suffered would as far as possi^e b" restorfnl In her. but millions could not buy back what she had losb as she had everv re-twr. to believe through the failure of the Markham companies, and so he had made a dec ision from which it was impossible for him to retire.. He was absolutely committed, both in personal and professional honour, to abide by it. Ba" still the machine-like legar intellect, went on working remorselessly. There are not, only two to every story, but his experi^ ence had abundantly proved the truth of the old saying that story is only good till another is told." and he found it Quite impossible to dis- guise from himself that there might be another Btr; as to the death of Sir Arthur EversUy whie) might his beautiful client's conduct in a very different light, and so when, as may be said, had foucrht the matter out for himself from the two different points of view, he went, tis he had done more than once before, to ficrht it oui. again with his friend John Eckersley. My dear chap." said Eckersley. when he had told him Lilian's story, I wish you would put her off for a day or so. and come to me before you ari ve her your word that you'd take the case. But surely. Jack," said Kenneth a little im- patiently. "you k n't riKvm that a won an like t-hat, one of the loveliest cieatures a man ever .t. eye-s on-" Iy dear Kenneth, I don't care a snap of a finger for her loveliness Mind, I'm not saving a. word against her, bot. if we are going to discuss this tning impersonally, we mustn't shut our eyes to the fact. that beautiful women have used their beauty for Lad as well as good end-, before now. The fir-t fact in the busine; that I don't like. or, perhaps I should &ay. looks a bit suspicious to me, 1.4 her commg to >t8O you herlf. when, as you've just told me. Sir Arthur' own solicitors wen" willing to act for her." Which," said Kenneth, "is another insinua- tion of undue influence. Yes." laughed Eckersley, "you can call it that if you like. I have not had the plea-sure of 8Øèin¡:r the lady. but after what you have told me about her I should say that there wa." a sus- picion—Spartan and all as you have been so far— vf pansy eyes and perfect features and shimmer- ing golden hair and baby checks and red. tremu- lous, kissable lips and ail the rest; of it. that mav have had something to do with the busi- ness. You know yo': have never done anything like this before. It ckxxs make one just a wee bit suspicions In other words," Kenneth interrupted a trifle impatiently, "you think that I lave allowed a pretty face to make a fool of me." "I am not taking you for a fool." said Eckersley, with a touch of hi., northern burr, I am taking yoa for a man, Kenneth, not lawyer but just, man, and if you don't know what i maij feels hko when « beautiful girl—and as you tell me, this Mrs Ekley is no more than a girl in years at any rate—looks your eyes. with nice soft pansy eyes and teLis you a story with those same lips, well, a man of your age who has got blood in his veins is very apt to believe it." No. but that's all very well, my dear chap, I quire ar.derscand what you mean, but. I think you are inclined to leave out the lawyer," laughed Kenneth, leaning back in his cnair. Mrs. Elsiey told me her story, and [ confers that I believed it. Whether or not under the influence of pansy eyes and eloquent lips doesn't matter. because after I had heard the said story I turned to and concocted another one as far as possible the direct opposite." You mean the opposite to all she told you?" said Eckersley. in. what Kenneth somehow to think a. somewhat callous vobo. Well, the one that, you have told me has been distinctly interesting, hut <somehow I have "n idea rha" your version ought to be more interest- ing still." Why?" Because if it is as good as I expect it to be it will go some way towards proving that you have manasred to get. to the bac-r of this good lady s mind, arid that's a. thing that no man born of a woman ever did Secondly, it will prove tha; you are one of the greatest lawyers that ever wore stuff or silk. Now. what is it?" talk rot, Eckersley," -ail Kenneth. relighting Ins pipe. Ifs only a matter of ordinary deduction one v. ay or the other. Here we have certain undeniable facts. Sir Arthur met Mrs. Eisley by accident. She had been his first, and as he actually states hi his will, his only love. He was i.n, wen, the-tate of halth that I have described to you. He asks her to marrv him and nurse him back !o health She refuses, but sh e and her aunt, consent to do their best, to nurse him back to wealth, if he oon-ented to piaoe him.,elf under the care of Docror Matiiows. who is an old f -iend of the family." "I don't altogether like the idea of that Doctor Mat haws," said Eckerslo/, lying back m his chair and blowing a long stream ot smoke up to- wards the ceiling. ''Then that can only mean one thing." replied Keuu"-th, gettn up from his Cldi" and standing -with his back, to the fireplace, hands deep in the pockets pf ooat, "and fcoat is exactly the hypothesis that. I imagined when I con- structed the other story. You've got a wonder- ful imagination. Jack, for chemistry and meo- hanics. and all that, yirt of thing, but, honestly, I don't think you would hit on Your sup- Pasiticn implies neither more nor, le"-t than a de- berate scheme of murder concoc'Ca by these three people. I admit, En 3 lawyer, that it is 8. possibility, but a* a man I absolutely deny tha.t it could be a thiakabie probability. Where does the object come in? If she wanted to get his Btonev whv didn't hø accept his offer of mar- riage and marry him. as sh& might have done, and aa most women wculd have done? Then she would have been Lady Everslery. and couid have taken a position in Society which she could never hope to occupy now. There would have been !.ú!.e. of tins bother about the wili. because she would have succeeded to everything in the cr- dinary course of law, and her whole course would hsve been absolutely clear. Then thera is another thing. Alfred Asniord, Sir Arthur's cousin, who stood to lose a lot by the will. actually went w.th Sir Arthur to his solicitors when he made the will. he knew every word of it. and yet ha has told me himself ne would have witnessed it himself if he had not been a legatee. "Which," repli-ed Eckersley. after a few moments' sileiKe. "if the other story you say you have tuought out m'ght happen to be true, would make it all the more suspicious as regards Mr. Alfred Ashford." "Good heavens, man, what can you mean by that?" "Has it never struck you, my dear Kenneth, during your imaginings about th's affair, that Mr. Alfred Ashford might want to marry this beautiful client of yours and his cousin's forty thousand a year?" "Gkod Lord, no, I never thought of that," and as Kenneth said this, Eckeirsley noticed that he had sudenly flushed and turned pale again. I CHAPTER XIV.—"THY SIN SHALL FIND THEE OUT." Lilias Elsley went home after her interview with Kenneth in a somewhat peculiar state of mind. Something had happened to her and she found her thoughts constantly straying away from the subject which ought to have occupied them rrr st exclusively. She drsve ba.ck in the dector's brougham which he had lent her for the after- noon, but instead of going in she started off, scarcely knowing why, for a walk over the Heath. Everything seemed to have been suddenly changed for her. So far she had pursued the oourse which she had laid down for herself with absolute callousness. She had seen the chance of becoming sole and undisputed mistress of a great fortune at. the expense of a single crime and she had deliberately committed it without a qualm of conscience. In fact she had always trained herself to ignore the existence of such a thing. She had looked upon it as an annoying inconvenience which was better ignored than recognised, but now she suddenly became aware that she was trying to persuade herself, and trying very hard too, that after all she was not responsible for Sir Arthur's death. After all she had done nothing—which was absolutely true-and yet the fact remained that he was dead and that if he had not met her that day in Regent-street he would be alive still. That fact she could not explain away, strive as she might, and use all the sophistries of which her keen- and subtle intellect was capable, she could not rid herself of the acute consciousness that a few hours ago she would not have given a thought to the matter, and yet now the whole thing seemed ghastly to her m its hideous sor- diàness. di ?What has happen4 to me," she said aloud to "What has happened to me, she said i al, oud j to herself when she had reached a lonely pan of the Heath. "If anyone had told me this morn- ing that I had either a heart or a conscience I should just have laughed and said that a woman who has had to live the life I have lived couldn't afford such luxuries. And now-" She looked about her for a moment and then laughed. It was net the sort of laugh that one would have expected to come from such lips as hers. for it was harsh, mirthless, and yet that laugh marked the beginning of a new life for her. a life of penance and suffering, such as she had! never even dreamt of. She did not believe in forgiveness of sins and as far as she herself was ooncerned she had done her best not to be- lieve in the punishment of them. But now had ocme a sudden shuddering fear and with it an almost agonising desire for for,-iveness. Why? A sudden sens3 of loneliness and self humilia- tion had come over her, and as she walked on, her hands clenched behind her, staring bi.ndly at the grass and heather through which she was walking, she felt irresistibly that strange primi- tive desire which is experienced by alt mortals in keen memtal or physical distress to throw her- self on the ground, to iay herself en the breast of earth, the old mother, just as a little child in trouble seeks the breast of its human mother. She reached a little dell thickly grass-grown and almost surrounded by gorse, and heather. She sat down on the little knoll, and then with a sudde!» instinctive movement she flung herself whole length into the sweet fresh grass, and the next moment she was sobbing quietly and tear- fully as a little child might sob itself to sleep. [ She was aroused by the quick brushing of feet through the grass, and Alfred Ashford's voice saying: "Why, Lilias. what on earth is the matter? Have you been taken ill—no, surely, you are nor crying, you. I'd just as soon. expect tears from a graven image. Ycu are. not mourning the death of the late lamented, I suppose?" She raised herself with a swift sinuous motion which somehow reminded him of the spring of a beautiful snake, and faced him with eyes blaz- ing, oheeks glowing and lips trembling. "Y ou hound:, you scoundrel." she whispered in a sibilant tone which also reminded him some- what unpleasantly of a snake. "What have you been following me for?" "My dear Lilias," lie began, taking a step back and looking at her w.th a frank, almost brutal, admiration which was not altogether un- blended With a sense of fear, for ha knew at least some of the, qualities which lay hidden behind the mask of her loveliness. "Don't speak to me like that, you cur, you hanger-on of one of the greatest scoundrels in London," she interrupted in the same low 'hiss- ing voio. "keep your place and your distance, I have had to tell you my opinion of you before now. Your dear Lilias. indeed. I'd sooner kill myself." "As you did the late lamented, he sneered, and giving a turn to his moustache. "You're a liar!" she said. "I didn't!" i "\Vell, if you didn't do it yourself you must have arranged the tragedy pretty well," he answered, and then ha went on with a sudden change of manner: "But look here, Lilias, this won't do at all, you know. It's not the slightest use for you to go in for heroics, and it would be perfectly ridiculous for any of us to quarrel just now. I came to see you on business. When I called at the ho us? the coachman told me that you had come cut in this direction for a walk, and so i followed you because we naturally wanted to know the result of your interview with tt.el v.r- tiious Kenneth Markham." The virtuous Kenneth Markham! The word s spoken in his sneering tone hit her as so many blows in the face might have done. That was the explanation. She saw it all instantly as she might have seen a midnight landscape lit up by a Vivid flash of lightning. She had gone to this man t-ù deliberately use the intoxicating foroe of her beauty and personal charm to tempt him away from the honourable course which he had laidi down for himself. She had succeeded, and then the unexpected, even the unknown, had hap- pened. Alfred Ashford, her accomplice in one of the m-cst skilfully executed crimes of the cen- tury, had revealed it to her. She had gone to make a dupe and had found a master. She had found her soul as well and for the first time in her life she was honestly in love. Without replying she turned away from him and walked quicEly out of the little hollow and on the top of a piece of rising ground, from which she could overlcok thet gulf in w. icn Lon- don lay under its pall of blue, smoky haze. Ash- ford saw her put her hands up to her head and stand with her slender perfectly shaped and gown-ed figure swaying a little from side to side. He thought that she was going to faint, and he went tewards her saying with real concern in his voice "Lilias—Mrs. Elsley, you're ill! Let me take you back to tha house." "You can go back yourself and wait for me if you like,she answered without turning her head, "and you can tell aunt for her satisfaction and yours, that Kenneth Markham has premised to undertake my case or ours. I will be back in half an hour or so. but I shall not come now. Perhaps then I shall be able to endure your presence a little more easily, but now, .01 heavens' sake, go and leave me to mytolf." "Oh, very well," he said, "you mu?t h your way as usual, I suppose, and it's not much good my stopping here to be insulted. I'll wait for you. I hope you'll come back in a little better temper." He raised his hat mechan.:cally from mere force of habit, and walked away muttering to himself: "What the deuce has happened to Lilias. It's the first time I ever saw her shew any emotion. I never thought she had a soul, and yet she. was sobbing like a broken-hearted lovesick school girl. I hope to goodness she isn't going to make a fool of herself with that fellow Markham. Great Scott, that would be a pretty kettle of fish." To Lilias standing alone there amidst the silence that was broken only by the faint rustle of the leaves of the bushes, and the still fainter sighing of the wind over the gorse and grass, it seemed that some miracle had happened, that some astonishing revelation had come to her- or miracles do happen, and revelations are given in this commonplace life of curs. The whole world looked different, and especially that men- tal world1 of hers in which she had so far lived and had her being. It, had seemed quite natur- ally commonplace to her for all these years, but now her recollection of it seemed like an in- terpretation of one of the books of the Inferno. That was the miracle, and now she knew that love, swift, sudden, and omnipotent, was the miracle worker. It was still so wondrousiy and yet so agonisingly strange to her that it was be- yond her comprehension that the wonder and the beauty and the pain of it only dazzled and tertured her. "If I had only met him before--b-frre that occurred, how different everything might nave been, and what a heaven on earth I might have lived in. I wonder if he could h3vø loved me. And to think that I should have met him in this way, that our life paths should ha ve crossed in the midst of this horrible tangie, when every- thing is impossible. It is cruel, cruel, and yet after all, I suppose it is only just. Who was it in the Bible who said, 'Verily thy sins shall find thee out'? Are my sins going to find me out now, and in such a way" She turned and began to walk away over the Keath again, thinking many thoughts which sur- prised and almost terrified her by their strange- ri-ess, and when at length she looked at her watch and found that it was time to go back to the house which only a few days before she had entered so lightly, and yet with such a desperate purpose she looked up at the clear blue sky and said with a little moan whose piteousness brought tears suddenly to her eyes: "No, no, there can't be any hope for me now. I deserve it, I deserve it. I have helped to make the net myself. What right have I to hope to escape from it." (To be continued.)

[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] FASHION AND THINGS. FEMININE. By MISS IDA MELLER. SLIP-BLOUSES. j The simple slip-blouse of crepe de chine, silk brilliant or iGnio such. soft, resistless fabric, is the "article of toilette" to which we persistently cling and isly upon for bringing our dresses up to the occasion. Cut square and rather low, or high and round in tho neck-according to tliese and other details so does the blouse fit the needs of afternoon or demi-toilette purposes. Although broad shoulders are coming in again and blouses of taffetas 'and other materials aie exploiting the new sleeve, the simple slips of limp, crepe-like 3ubstaneed aio remaining faithful to the natural outline of the ?houider. and are ?til! made with yoke and ?eeve' ?ops in one. I THE NEW SLEEVES. I A pretty, becoming and fashionable sleeve is not only of importance to itself, but influences, to a great extent, one's impresslon of the dress that it adorns. There is a distinct change in the fa.shioa of sleeves, broad shoulders, as already hinted, ooming m again and the fulness being pushed up from the wrist to the elbow. The plain coat-sleeva is with us onoe more. and the double-puff had reappeared, the tendency being to abandon the droolp at the wrist and introduce a close fit from the elbow downwards. I FASHIONABLE FOOTWEAR. I A year or two ago brown. leather boots and shoes were regarded as suitable, only for seaside or country wear, for boating and holiday occa- sions, and so on. and were reserved for summer weatner; but a. look round at up-to-date fashions in footweur gives evidence of the tact that brown boots and shoes are now very mmh smarter than they were, and with added smartness has, not unnatural.y followed an inclination to popularise the wearing of tan-coloured footgear, witij the result that it is now worn all the year round, and in towns ,lS well as in villages, the newer fashions in brown carrying no suggestion of "beach with them. The stockings worn should, of oourse, har- monise in colour with the shoes, and if the dress is brown, so much. the better. Indeed, it is only with black, brown, fawn and a few pale or neutral colours that brown shoes and stockings look well. For house-shoes those of biack velvet, Couit shape, wear excellently, and are so comfortable and pretty on the foot and keep their shape to the last. They wear far better than cheap kid shoes, and am easy without stretching too much. With a Court siioe an open-work stocking, or one with solid embroidery up the foot, is the prettiest completion; but embroidery is "lost" with a much-barred shoe. Very pretty aro the gypsy shoes of bronze kid with a good deal of bronze beading- about them. THOUGHTS ON COIFFURE. I Although. it seems to us that fashions change quiokly, it is often surprising, in looking back at old fashion plates, to observe how gradually ex- isting modes have come into being, and that what we oonsider "new" was leally beginning to creep into fashion a year or two ago. It is interesting, too, to compare somo of tho modes of to day with those of centuries ago. Take the torpedo coiffure, for instance, whioh has been one of the newest hair-dressing fashions during the winter, and re- garded as the inspiration of the modern coiffeur; in looking at a, pol-tralt of Ninon de L' Encios the other day, I observed with interest that her hair was dressed m precisely the same manner as ladies of to-city are wearing theirs by the aid of the torpedo frame, save that the outline of Ninon's coiffure was harder, no softening influence of pin- curls and the like being brought to bear upon the coiffure of the famous beauty. The torpedo out- line, however, with its characteiistic centre-dip, was cleaily borne upon her head. Two large pearls wero conspicuous as hair ornaments, just resting on the torpedo right and left of the oentre- f ront-pois' biy they were the heads of pins. The dragged, stiff arrangement of the hair muse have been somewhat trying even to so lovely a person as N inon. HOME GYMNASTICS. I In the education of the modern girl, consider- able attention 'i s given to the importance of gym- nastics cr health exercises, which form a recog- nised paiV of the school curriculum. Home gym- nastics should, of oourse, supplement the school course, and for use in home practice many simple but excellent contrivances are procurable—much being done with elastic straps. I hear, too, that the punching bag is brought into use for the bene- fit of girls, its object being tc encouiage a graceful poiie., springy step and firm muscles of the neck, and to develop the chest capacity and help thj fr,o circulation of the blood. The bag should hang about the height of the shoulders and tha arm strike straight out from that level. I COOOANuT DROP CAKES. I The fallowing is a recipe for cocoanut drop cakes, tha.t are nica for afternoon tea or evening refreshment: —Take 807.. of desicated cocoanut, the same weight of castor sugar, and whip up the whites of four oggs. The yolks will not be re- quired. Mix ail the ingredients together with a fork. Then giease a sheet of paper, put it on a flat tin and drop on to it just- enough of the paste, here and there, to form a biscuit or small cake. The papet- must be veiy much greased, otherwise the cakes will stick to it when they are cooked. Put the oakes into a mode-ratc oven for fifteen minutes, and they will be cooked. An oven that is too hot M apt to burn them outside and leave the inside raw. A HINT FROM A HOSPITAL NURSE. I A hospital nurse recommends the following method of "m¡xin" castor oil, so that it is prac- tically tastei-ws:—Beat up the yoik of a.u egg with about a. tea^pocuful of brandy, and then add half-a-tc-acupful of warm miik, a flavouring of sugar, a.nd. finally, the castor oil. "It is like American oo{'k-ti¡:' said the nurse-, "and I have given the oil thus to scores of pa.tients who have not objected to it. Another way in which it is unobjectionable is to float it on newly-made toast- water (about a wineglassful). A little brandy ma.y bo added, if preferred, always reserving the ad- dition of the oil until the last, and never on any account stirring it into the other ingredients."

I A VICAR'S EXPERIENCE. «. TELLS HOW BILE BEANS CURED HIM. ADVICE TO SUFFERERS FROM SICK. I HEADACHE AND BILIOUSNESS. In thousands of instances every day through- out this land of ours the visit of a kindly vicar brings comfort and consolation to sufferers. When, however, a. vicar cau offer advice which relieves bodily suffering as well as mental, welcome indeed ar^ h:3 visits. Suoh is tho happy position of the Rev. H. Minton-Senhouse, Vicar of St. Cuthbert's. Cnurch, Birmingham. He has personally proved the grea.t value of Bllø Beans for biliousness and s\ck-headacho, ai»d is now able to point those parishioners who suffer from these ailments to a means of cure. NaT only 5oi:I, but he has availed himself of the means of speaking to a wider congregation by permitting a statement of the facts of his cure to bo puõl-sheci. In. a iotter addressed to the Bile Bean Co" he sta.tes briefly, but clearly, how he came to try Bile Beans; and he tells also how highly satisfactory was the result. The following it a copy of his letter r — 155, City Road. Birmingham, 11/10/1904. "To Messrs. The Bile Bean Co., Dear Sus, I nave derived so much benefit from Bile Beans and have known so many cures wrought by them that I feel I ought to testify to then- worth. For several years I suffered from sick-headaches and biiiousne-ss. 0110 afternoon I was feeling so ill from the-c a.i;nL'lLts, that my looks were noticed by several people I visited At two houses 1 hd.ird of how Bile Beans had effected cures in cases similar to my own. In one case, the man had been unable to work for some time; had tried various remedies in vain. and had been cured ultimately by Bile Beans. I ie :o.ved to try this remedy. At the end of a week I was feeling better, and after a short coun&e of the Beans I found myself quite cured. Now I am never without the remedy in the house. In tho interests of other sufferers you have my permission to publish this letter. Faithfully you is, (Signed; H. Minton-Senhouse, Vica.r of St. Cuthbert's, Birmingham." The above is bv no means an isolated case of a clergyman publicly expressing his appreciation of the merits of Bile Beans. Scientists, clergy, nurses, and medical men. all unite in praising this great vegetable house-hold remrdy. Bile Bqans, while miid in their operation, are at the same time wonderfully effective. They act rectly upon the liver and stomach, and tone up these organs to earrv out their natural func- tions. Liver and stomach disorders are the root cause of most of the common ailments; and by their act on on these vital organs. Bile Beans cure biliousness, sick-heudache, indigestion, wind, dizzi- ness. debility, constipation (yet cause no griping), anaemia, female ailments, bad breath, buzz- ing pr.d ringing noises in the head, etc. All chemists stock Bile Beans at Is. 1 jd. or 2s. 9d per box (2s. 9d. box contains three times Is. lid. size). Avoid aii substitutes. There is nothing "just as good." Bile Beans are not sold loose— only in sealed boxes.

FIRE AT A RHYL COLLEGE.—On Monday morning an outbreak of fire considerably alarmed the inmates of Epworth College, a large boarding school for boys, situate some idile or so from Rhyl. It appears that about 10.30 in the morning one of the maids, while in her bedroom, noticed smoke issuing from the roof just outside her window. She at once gave the alarm, all the boys were immediately ordered off the premises, and the Rhyl and Rhuddlan fire brigades sent for. The Rhyl brigade were the first to arrive, and they soon got to work with the hose and quenched the flames. In a few minutes all danger was past. It was ascertained that the damage had been confined to the eaves of I one of the gamble ends at the rear of the building, and the theory is that the woodwork was ignited by a spark from a neighbouring chimney, which alighted on an old bird's nest. A new fire apparatus is just about to be fixed in the school, and for the past week or two the scholars have been undergoing fire-drill. FREE CAKES.—Send us 2d. stamps for postage and we will send you a free 8 oz. sample of famous KEENORA prepared Cake Flour. Makes the art of cake-making easy and economical. Of purest in- gredients only resulting in delicious wholesome oakes. Directions for making cakes are enclosed with each packet. To be had from grocers, bakers, etc.—Keenora Co., 7, Sir Thomas-st., Liverpool. B

V, ELSH EDUCATION CONFERENCE.— A private conference on the educational position in Wales met at Westminster Palace Hotel, London, on Friday, at the invitation of the Deputy C'han- cellor and Vice-Chancellor of the University of WJs. There were present the Bishops of St. A&aph, St. David's, and Bangor; Lord Ketiyon, Mr. Lawrence Brodrick, Sir John Williams, Anibdeacon Edwardes, Messrs. F. Edwards, M.P.. Lloyd. George, M.P., Brynmor Jones, M.P., and Herbert Lewis, M.P.; Mr. Tom John, vice- president of the National Union of Teachers; Mr. R. M-Kenna. M.P., Mr. 0. Lloyd (Waunifor). Principal Rhys, Sir Isambardl Owen. Senior Deputy Chancellor, Principal K H. Griffiths. Yiee- Chancellor, and Dr. R. D. Roberts, Junior Deputy Chancellor of the University. Lord Cawdor was unable to attend. The proceedings were confi- dential, but it is understood that, though no definite decision was taken, they were maJ"K0d by mutual good feeling throughout.

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NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. BITTERNS ONCE MORE. Two years ago we had. a coupje of bitterns here in Cheshire, one at Pickmere and one at Bud- worth tho former fell to the gun, the fate of most rare birds, the latter remained until well into the spring, and then departed. This year again bitterns have appeared in various parts of the country; eight at least ha.ve been recorded. Of these seven met with the usual kindly recep- tion and remained as mere malformed mummies, for the best preserved and mcunted bird is but a parody of the living creature, in museums or private collections. Norfolk boasts one shot at Branoaster, Esaex another, Yorkshire a third. Two were killed in Lancashire, one by a collier near Wigan and the other at Bolton-le-Sands; three turned up iu Cheshire. One cf these was shot in the south of the county, another was wounded by a gunner, lingered a few days with shot in its wing and a broken leg, and then fell weak and exhausted into a farmyard near Pick- more, where a farm-hand and a dog mercifully ended its misery. The third turned up elsewhere, but exactly where I do not care to disclose. A Chester ornithologist and I visited the reed-bed where it has taken up its abode and soon dis- covered it. When we were but a few feet away from it it rose and flapped on its great brown wings, dangling its long green legs, over the brown reeds and passing round a bend of a wood, alighted again. Once more we put it up, and this time it rose high, giving us an excellent ex- hibition of its action cn the wing; it drew in its neck, and trailed its legs behind it after the fashion of a heron. Once or twice it called the sharp alarm or call-note, not the well-known (by j repute) breeding boom, but a "crek," shorter and softer than the harsh "frank" of the heron. Then it alighted again in the reeds where we first saw it, and we left it there, for we did not wish to worry it too much and so run the risk of driving it away. There it was seen this we it. by the gamekeeper—all honour to his name—who first told me of its presence, and who is doing all he can to afford it protection. Apparently there has been a larger immigration of these once common, now unfortunately rare birds, to our inhospitable shores than is usually the case. Less than forty years ago the bittern still lin- gered as a breeding species in our islands, indeed there is fairly good evidence that young bird. were brought off in at least one nest so late as 1886. Early in the last century the bird was common, so common that sportsmen shot as many as twenty in a morning in the Fens towards the end of the 18th century and many per year dur- ing the earlier years of the 19th century. Then is no apparent reason why a pair should not still occasionally take up their abode in the dense reed beds of the Fens and Broads, or even in the reeds which surround our quieter meres in Cheshire, if only "sportsmen" would give them the chance. This year we have had a better chance than usual and we have let it slip; sClVen out of eight birds which have been re- corded are no more, and were it not for individual protection, not Acts of Parliament or County Council Orders, the eighth would almost c2rtain- ly have shared the same fate. We appeal to all lovers of Nature to do all in their power to dis- courage this stupid and wanton destruction of our disappearing birds; for the bittern is one of the species which should still be numbered among our residents. I THE BLACKBIRD'S OVERTURE. On the 8th of the month I heard my first black- bird fcr the year. On the previous day I heard a few mellow notes, but not sufficient to call a song, but this second bird was perched well within sight and was whJistling its flute-like over- ture to its vernal song with a harmonious skill which proved that it was no tyro at the art. Since then I have heard others, but none ex- celled this early songster; perhaps the pleasure of hearing the characteristic notes once more magnified them in my ears. The chaffinch too is singing now, merrily bursting forth into song in unexpected places, and a. truly light-hearted jovial song it is. Thus one by one our resident birds add their glad notes to the sprirug chorus, which will not be complete until the kast of cur summer visitors has arrived. PEREGRINE AND PIGEON. borne time ago 1 was told by a friend that a couple of peregrine falcons were frequenting the Dee saltings, and I watched one pay ing its atten- tions to a party of crouching widgeon. One of these birds fell to the gun, but so, far as I kn<J\V only one. The other day, wheri crossing marsh at low tide we found a homing pigeon on the grass. Its clean picked breast and pelvis shewed how, it bad died; to one pink let.- its owner's metal ring Was stIll; attached. Poor little bird! hastening home-warp Js across tha.t wild waste it had suddenly been flung earthwards, probably without a second. s notice. A great sharp-winged bird had hurlN, itself from the sky above, had shot downwards like a thunder-bolt, had struck the flying pigee ,n with those massive powerful claws, and all was over. But every pigeon which crosses the Dee does not share this fat, for we, on the same day, witnesse-d an en- counter where the faloon came off second best. When we first noticed the birds the falcon had made its stoop and had apparently missed, for it was stooping again and again at the pigeon. Its frightened victim, however, dodged and ducked with so much success that the peregrine never had the chance of getting a clean stoop at it; the bird of prey tried to rise in order to get speed for its deadly rush, but the pig-eon was not fool enough to wait; so dodging and stooping the two birds passed across the marsh, until the pigeon dived into the trees which crown Burton Rocks. Here the falcon lost it; after swinging round once or twicp above the trees it gave up the hunt, and winged against the wind towards the Welsh shore, passing close to us on its wav. 1m.. BIRDS ON THE MARSH. v e did not sea many birds on the marsh, for the tide was low. Once we caught sight oi fcur geese, but they never came near us and we do not know what they were. A few days before, however, my companion saw a gagg!e of pink- footed geeee and three of the rarer white-fromed gee?e with them. They were feeding within a reasonable ditah- I in 3;-gobd light, ? thlt he was able to distinguish the white frontal patch and the distinctive barred sides. Probably the numerous redshanks which frequent tke marsh and. the other waders and fowl were far down the estuary on the edge of tho tide their innumerable tiny footmarks, minglod with tha big webbed prints of the ducks and geese, were visible on every damp bit of slub. We only saw one redshank which went squealing seawards, but from a pit side near the saltings we flushed two noisy green sandpipers. Following their alrrjost invariable habit these birds rose to a great height with loud whistling cries, much louder and fuller than the call of the redshank. L THE GROWING VEGETATION. I-  I iii our garaens we have snowdrops and crocuses, primroses, and other hardy flowers, add- ing their beauty to the still blooming Christmas roses, which the early bees are industriously working, and the yellow jessamine which trails across the porch; but in the open country flowers are still few and far between. Certainly there is the golden gorse. ever in flower, which is daily gaining more blossom, and the daisies which come up and shew their familiar faces in lall weathers and at all seasons; even these daisies are growing more crimson tipped, and look less sallow and washed-out than their true winter brothers. The groundsell, beloved of canaries and wild birds too, is always in flower, but the tiny white blossom of the diminutive but pushful chickweed are not to be seen all winter. Any day now we may pick cur first wild prim- rose, or see the hardy leafless coltsfoot, or the lesser celandine appearing. The butterbur is1 pushing its pinkish cone of flower-heads, as yet a mere bud, through the soft marshy earth be- neath the litter of last year's willow hor be; black buds are on the ash, and bursting buds on many earlier trees, and little ruddy knobs adorn the prickly twigs of the quickset. Gneener and greener grows the grass and all tho plants a.s well, for we shall sjiortly cross the threshjid of another season. Winter, the sleeping time of Nature, will be a thing of the past, and the lïT- ing palpitating spring will be here. _H- T.. A. C.

WILL OF MR. R. M. TAYLOR I :WILL OF AfR..R. M? TAYLOR. Mr. Robert Taylor, of 53, Giou- cester-terrace, Hyde Park. J.p. for the county of Merioneth, and formerly of the- 25th King's Own Borderors, who died on November 30, aged 36, son of the R. M. D. Taylor, of Ljirmi Hall, left estate valued at £ 21,407. 14s. 8d. gross, with £ 16,339 in nett personalty. He bequeathed by his will of the 13th December, 1902, to James Robert- son Thomson, of Chester, bank manager, as execu- tor, £ 50. and to the testator's grandson, Hugo Mascie Xaylor, five illuminated pedigrees, an ox- emplification of the family coat of arms, certain ) old plate of 1620 and later, and family portraits, pictures and drawings, to devolve in the family of his said grandson and his grandsons Domville and JOII], and Guy M.isoio Taylor, but subject to the use of the testator's widow during her life. He left £ 4,000 upon trust for his daughter-in-law, Frances Graoo Taylor, widow of his son, Colonel I Domville Maseic Taylor, and for their daughter Ursula. Domvilio Mascie Taylor and her issue, and ho?ft to his daughter Fanny Mary wife of Líout.-on{)l George Villiers Turncr, wife of j wife's personal effects, and he loft to his wife, Mrs. Harriet Mary Con si dine Taylor, daughter of the late L;eut.-Colonel Bent ham, his consujn- ahlo stores, the use and enjoyment of his liouae- hold effects and the income of his residuary estate for life. and subject to her life interest, he left Irs residuary estate in trust for his daughter. Mrs. Turner, and her issue. Mrs. Taylor is executrix of tho will.

-n NATIONALISTS & HOME RULE.. STRAIGHT STATEMENT. In the House of Commons, on Monday, th(i)t. debate on the address was resumed by Mr. John; Redmond, who moved an amendment in favour of Home Rule for Ireland. He stated that th. Nationalist party still stood where it had always, stood, irrevocably committed to Home Rule, and, that it would bo necessarily independent of any. Government that did not make Home Rule. a. cardinal point of its policy. He condemned the Chief Secretary in severe terms for his throwing over of Sir A. MacDonneil. Mr. Waldrou seoonded the amendment. Mr. Moore, an Ulster Unionist, declared that the Unionist party in. Iroiand also stood where it had stood for twenty years. While disapproving of the Dunraveu. scheme, he thought 6ir A. MacDonneil had been, miamousiy treated by the Government. Mr. \Vyndham then entered upon a long defence of his action m connection with Sir A. Mac Dour ell Though he objected fundamentally to two pro- posals in the scheme, those for creating a finance and. Rowerts he testmed strongly to the loyalty of Sir Antony, on whose ability and integrity he bestowed the hignetst praise..Vlr. Haidane next expressed the opinion that Sir Antony had been badly u-ed. Lord Hugh Cecil supported the Government. He should have thought that Home Rule was dead, but tho public would bo surprised to find it brought to life again by this motion. The debate was carried on by Air. J. Devlin and Mr. Sloan until the dinner hour. Mr. T. W. Russell, on the resumption of the sitting, delivered a long indictment against Irish administration, and mtimated that, though he was not a Home Ruler, he would vote for the amendment. Mr. Lonsdale, an Ulster Unionist, criticised the MaoDonneil negotiations, and Mr. Churchill pressed the Chief Secretary on a point referred to in the afternoon questions, and in several of the subsequent speeches of the debate. namely, how far the Irish Viceroy approved of Sir Antony s action, and whether he was included in the censure by the Cabinet. He concluded by remarking that every liberal-minded member ought to vote for the amendment. Another Ulster member, Mr. T. L. Corbett, next gave expression to the dissatisfaction of. IrÍBh. Unionists with the Government. Mr. Hugh Law, a Nationalist member, replied to,several Ministerial arguments, and Sir J. Haslett, a Belfast Unionist delivered a strong speech against Home Rue I ho debate was then adjourned.

u- BETWEEN CHESTER & WREXHAM. There has always been a.kindly mutual feeling between Chester and Wrexham. what interests our neighbours there never fails to inteiest JIS, -specially such helpful good, news as this. "About uve or six y°a/s ago I had a fall," says Mrs Fanny Wed,loy, of 6, Madeira Hill, Wr? ?m, -?nd t ? must have upset ? action S ?- kkiwdfnnep ys, for from th?t time I suffered with a ? p???  ? ?- Jh:ch gradually S?' worse untIL at ia.st "t mo?, li?-C, ?.k??thr.,st than ?v- It; J T I r d,leaded 1scooping, because it sent els, I dioadcd ?oop?. b?cau? it SGat snch a sharp pam through n?. ?d I hid a great bother to ?tra.ghten mysGif?.?H. Towards night. my head commenced1 to ach,. and I felt langu I d?? and depressed. I also suffercd from nervousness— the least thing start I pd me "I had medca.1 advice, and tried imr. y remedies but could not get any relief. The. only mcdicino which helped me was Doan's back- ache kidney pills These did me good from the nrst Oiadually they strengthened my back and brigntened up my general health. I am very grateful for the benefit I have received from Doan s p lis. and cnu highly recommend them (Signed) Fanny Wediey/' If you are ill, write and fully describe your case to us. We shall be pleased to give you the best advice in. our free of charge.* You. can depend upon you letter being treated in strictest confidence. Doan's backache kidney pills, are two shillings and ninepence per box (six boxes, for thirteen shiipngs and ninepence). Of all- chem:«ts and stores, or post free, on receipt of price, direct from Foster-McClelhn Co. 8 Wells- street. Oxford-street, London, W.

BOER'S DISLOYAL SPEECH-Genera Beyers' astoimding speech at Pietersburg was nakedly ùiBIQyl that even the Bond (mgans at the- Cape are constrained to profess condemnation; Meanwhile the loyal Press are unanimous in, declaring that if Mr. Lyttelton has hiterto been undecided regarding- the proposed granting oil responsible Government to the Tunsvaal. General' Beyers' conduct should enlighten, him as ?o the impossinlity of such a ?r?nt. BOOTS TO ORDER-not "hand-sewa pi--lit: ciple," but real Hand-sewn, made on the proriisek by expert workmen in the old -fashioned ?.t? w.ih oak bark tanned Leather t?eae are & comfGR, wa.Hcin? becomes a pleasure, Md the prioo.ia re&t??. &He. HEWITT'S, ABBHY GATEWAY, the OJd- established Hand-wwn Bookmakers.

EPPS S "By a thorough sinowledira of tho natural laws which govern the operations of digestion and nutrition, and by a careful application of the fine properties of well selected Cocoa, Messrs. JAMES EPPS and Co. have provided for our breakfast and supper a delicately-flavourod beverage which may save us many heavy doctors' bills. It is by the judicious use of such articles of diet that a constitution may be gradually built up until strong enough to resist every tendency to disease. We may escape many a fatal shaft by keeping ourselves well fortified with pure blood and a properly nourished frame.The Civil Service Gazette* COCOA C ?LJ?  wL? A ?M? ?aB? ?s? ?sB????