The South Wales Star

THE STA^" STORIES FOUNDED ON FACT. [ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. J No. II. ONLY A WOMAN'S LOVE. [BY THE EDITOR] Midway between the city of screws and buttons and the hardware metropolis lies a town which has many interesting associations connected with it. It has been the birthplace of one of the best known novelists of the present day it is the centre of a flourishing trade, and it is, moreover, noted as being one of the go-ahead districts of the kingdom. Situated as it is in that dreary and dingy spot which is euphemistically termed the Black Country," you do not expect te find the scenery of North Wales or Cumberland. Yet to those who have the wit and the wisdom to see them there are beauties even in that depressing atmosphere. About fifteen years ago two young people were to have been seen earnestly talking together, on the outskirts of that town. Their surroundings were of a nature which to the ordinary lover would have been depressing unless he possessed a poetic soul, and could let the imagination have full scope. Around them were blast furnaces in full swing, the snaky flames alternately flaring up, lighting the dullness of the usual November night. To the artist it appeared to be a scene from Dante's Inferno," the workmen being so many lost souls condemned to everlasting torture. JBut to ths practical mind it was a scene which emphasised she dignity of labour, and proved that our commercial enterprise rested OIl a broad and sure basis.. The 'young couple whom I have mentioned would have been ranked among the usual type of mortals. The young man's physique was stunted. There was a preceptible bend in the shoulders, and the hands showed that he was R horny-handed son of the soil in verity and in truth. The maiden was also stunted in growth. Yet there was that quiet dignity in her mica which betrayed that, though she was a daughter of the people, she possessed a soul capable of great things. The conversation was earnest, and at intervals somewhat shrilly, for the voice is not always modulated ia tone amongst the working classes. "Jack," she was saying, I cs,nna, let thee go. You are my love, and soon we shall bs married. Why should we not stay here and be happy, and not go away to Glasgow, where there's so much wickedness ? Nay, love, there are so many temp- tations." Ay, lass, I know all that. But I cannot stay in the usual rut of my fellow-men. Life in the out- side is dull enough, but in the pits it is horrible. You know I am scorned. Why should I at night be troubling my head with books, instead of joining my mates in the pub ? To them it is hap- piness, but to me it is misery. I Jcannot, no. I will not, stay. To Glasgow I shall go in the morn- ing." Ay, lad, if thou will go, you must. But think of all that may happen. Tome Glasgow is as far away as if it were at the other end of the earth." Nay, lass, it is not so far as it seems. It is not so far off as thee thinks. Cheer up and be brave, for we will be married in six motths, and leave this neighbourhood for ever. In my new place there will be no temptations like there are now." But I am afraid. I somehow believe that there will be trouble." Nay, cheer up old girl, and look smilingly at the future there is bound to be something good turning up. Thou hast me remember, and I shall always be true. Come, now, kiss me good- bye." John Jefferson was one of those young men who ought to have been born into a higher sphere. He was endowed with far more than the average brain he was studious, and thera was an honesty of purpose about him that won the respect and the admiration of his mates. His parents were poor terribly poor, and often in this world poverty is a -crime. Consequently his education had been of the most meagra description. This, however, he had supplemented in his leisure hours whilst others, and his own father too, were carousing in one or other of the public-houses which surround ,every working class community. And he had been studying not coal-mining bat shorthand. His ambition was to become a journalist, and this end he had steadily kept in view. Years of toil had made him an adept shorthand writer, he possessed a fair knowledge of sound English literature, and he had an energetic brain. Bus the one thing he -was lacking in was caution. Ha was too easily led away by the impulse of the moment, and this nearly wrecked his oareer. While still a younj man, he was no more than nineteen at that time, he had become engaged to Sarah Turner. Sarah was also the daughter of a collier, and know as well as any lass in that town what were the troubles of a working man's house- hold. Being the eldest, nearly the whole of the household duties fell upon her shoulders, and the cares had not fallen unheeded as her face showed. She knew in truth that happiness was a fleeting quantity, and also that the happy days she had spent were not so numerous as to be lightly for- gotten. Her affection for Jack was of the strongest. He was her ideal; her hero; and yet woman-like she had found out his defects. She was glad in many senses that he was going away to a new sphere of labour which promised to take him away from the drudgery of pit-life for ever and she rejoiced. Still there was a gnawing at the heart, a presentiment of trouble in the future a foreboding which she could not repress, and she, earnestly wished that it was over. Naturally, therefore, she did not view the departure of her lover in the same spirit as he did. « In a brilliantly-lighted dancing-room in Glasgow a year afterwards sat John Jefferson. He knew that the deciding eorner of hia career had to be turned that night, and in front of him led two paths-one of misery and disgrace; the other of ruin. His career in Glasgow had been, on the whole, a success. He had entered con amove into his new duties, and had at length secured a toler- ably firm footing. At first it had been uphill work. The gawoherie of his manners, had made him the butt of several of his fellows; his ignorance of the Doric had led him into many -pit- falls and his inability to make the right friends had nearly proved disastrous. Often he had turned away from the office in disgust, and vowed that he would not return. But the earnest, womanly letters which he had received from his sweetheart had deterrel him. and he had tried once again to win the battle he was fighting. He had well nigh succeeded, and he knew that he could, if he only would. His employers trusted I him he knew that the vocation he had chosen was his right oije, and yet— Six months previously he had met one of those lasses who can bend men under their fingers like twigs. Maggie Summers was not a typical Scotch girl. She was rather a mixture, it would seem, of the French and the Scotch. Her mother had been born at Avignon, and had there married one of those roving Celts, whose home is anywhere but in their own country Archie Summers was, I must confess, a ne'er-do-weel, and this trait had descended to his daughter Maggie. She was a girl of the period in the sense that so long as she obtained enjoyment she did not care where the money came from. She had fascinated poor Jefferson, and it seemed as if the spell would never be broken. Of him she thought little if the truth were known. She was handsome, and the poor struggling collier-journalist was not the man to keep her in the position she wanted. Yet he was a good fellow, and a flirtation was well enough for the present. To do Jefferson justice, he knew that he was under a spall. Maggie had cast a glamour over him, and the hoardings of years had been squan- dered upon her. His marriage was now far more distant than ever, and unless he could break off with this bewitching fairy he knew that his life would be ruined. But how was he to do it? And this was the question which was puzzling his brain. Fate, however, was kind to him. During one of the intervals in the dances he noticed that Maggie was making rather free with one of the gilded youths of the city. She apparently wished to make an impression and she did. Jealousy is a terrible passion, and it entered Jefferson's soul. He did not like to face the idea of losing her, and yet he wanted to Of such mysterious component parts is the human heart I Maggie, too, was be- coming tired of her admirer, and she wanted to get rid of him. And woman-like she succeeded. The gilded youth was smitten and Jefferson was en- raged because he could not have any more dances. Recriminations followed, and there was a stormy scene, after which one went awry vowing vengence on the other. Lovers' quarrels are proverbially made up. There had been many love passages between the two, so it was quite natural to expect that they would soon be reunited. But fate happily stepped in. On going home that night Jefferson found a letter from his sweetheart. That billet was only the outpouring of a girl's affection, and ungrammatical and commonplace besides. Yet it was sufficient to effect its purpose. Honesty was stamped in every line and Jefferson knew that this was the one woman with whom he could be happy. The resolve once taken was not broken. The visits to that dancing saloon ceased, and the steadiness of the young man began to be marked amongst his companions. But the fight was a severe oae and it tested all his powers. Often he wanted to break out, but a sight of that tear stained letter was enough to give him fresh cour- age, and at last he conquered. In a quiet Black. Country Church on Good Friday morning there was a wedding. It had created a great deal of surprise for the bridegroom had made his way in the world and he was uniting his lot with a young woman whose social standing was certainly not equal to his own. People wondered and wondered, and their surmises, though shrewd, were yet far from the truth. Sarah, my darling I" whispered a happy bride- groom that night, "do you recollect that letter which you sent me upbraiding me, nay, dearest, only gently upbraiding me, with not writing to you for nearly a month. That letter saved me when I was on the brink of a precipice." And then like the honest man he was, he told her all. And she forgave him One more scene and I have finished, in the suburbs of a flourishing Midland city live a oouple who have won the respect of all who knew them. The head of the household is now growing grey and the signs of a hard struggle are not wanting 1:19 on the patient face of his wife. They have gone through many trials and have suffered many dis- appointments Journalism has been abandoned for a business career yet he has not entirely forgotten his old love. To the outside world John Jefferson is merely a successful business man to his inti- mate friends he is distinguished by a kindliness of spirit which encourages them on their upward path to his wife he is the best man en earth. And his wife is to him an angel clad in earthly garb-a ministering angel in deed and in truth. Only a woman's love," he once wrote. To many it is merely a phrase; but others think that it should be enshrined in gold. That is our opinion, and we trust it will be shared by all." Maggie Summers ia now a. fine lady. She has succeeded in marrying money, and has a position in society. But I don't think she is happy. At least, when I saw her six months ago she appeared to me to have become one of those cyaioal-minded women, whose only religion is self.

A DUEL TO THE DEATH. -••••— ■» There are no real duels nowadays," said one ef our party. A scratch, three drops of blood, and the antagonists go off to breakfast together Besides," said another, it is always so arranged that no one shall be killed. The seconds throw up the swords and prevent fatal thrusts, or if pistols are used, load them with cork balls." The duel, as it is practised at present, is a joke. "Say a caricature." Dr. Gabriel, who had listened until then with- out taking part in the conversation, which astonished nobody, for he was not talkative, raised his head and murmured Do you think so ?" "Formy part," resumed the first speaker, "I have several times served as a second -to tell the truth, have been an accomplice in more than one pleasantry." "The same way here," said the other, "and really I don't complain, for I confess I should have been greatly embarrassed had a corpse remained on my hands. A body doesn't disappear the autho- rities invariably find it." Again the doctor said Do you think so?" "Do you deny, doctor, that it is impossible to withdraw a corpse from the attention of the police ? They know at once if a man disappears, especially if he occupies a position in society. There is always some one to give notice of his absence. Now, if you refer to some vagabond, without friends, family, or residence, the case is different." I tell you," said the doctor, this time very emphatically, that there are exceedingly serious duels, that a man may be killed, and that, further, though belonging to an excellent family, having friends, even being hand in glove with magis- trates, he may disappear for ever without any one knowing what has become of him." But the corpse is somewhere Of course." The doctor passed his hand across his forehead. He looked very calm and a trifle pale, and did not seem to notice the slightly ironical smile which had settled on every face. "Well," said he, "how long-ago was it? I don't remember exactly, but'.it was a long, long while—say 25 or 30 years. Where did it. take place ? Among the savages of Nyansa, among the red- skins of North America ? No; in France. But I shall keep from you the name of the little town. Search the map of France—the little town is very near a medical college. It is surrounded by im- portant villages, one of which baars the name of a battle, a sadly celebrated battle. ''In the little town in question, two students of the same age, and brothers through friendship, were toiling assiduously, impatient to win the title of doctor, which, surrounded by the halo of distance, seemed to them a. sure guarantee of rapid fortune. "The last year of their studies wss drawing to its close their examinations had been brilliant, and but a slight effort would enable them to reach the goal; that is to say, the conquest of the diploma which would permit them to work without incum- brance, in spite of routine professors, who, for the most part, are adversaries. I repeat to you they were friends. How happened it that in a day that friendship was transformed into hate ? How, allies the night before, did they become implacable enemies ? A profound moralist has said Look for the woman "This time, as usual, you would have found her. Who was she ? Was she worth the furious rivalry for her which had separated these two brothers? No matter! A woman, for those who love her, is always the most important of her sex. "And both loved her to the point of madness. In fact, they were mad, for only madmen could have-" The doctor broke off for a moment and drank a mouthful of wine. His voice had grown singularly shaky, but it was firmer when he re- sumed. A furious hatred took the place of their friend- ship, but, by a sort of tacit understanding, they resolutely hid it from every eye. As in the past, they were seen together together they shut them- selves up in laboratory together they attended the clinic. One day they addressed themselves to four of their comrades, students like themselves, and ex- plained this to them: they hated each other mor- tally no one was to know the cause of this anti- pathy which was rooted in them like incurable lunacy one of them was superfluous upon this earth they had resolved to fight each other to the death. .Don't imagine that the four students raised any objection. A duel to the death. It was a rare windfall! Nevertheless, among those hare-brained fel- lows, one, more thoughtful or more selfish than the rest, observed that the seconds in such a grave duel might get into serious trouble. Just at that period it seemed that the authorities were inclined to deal severely with duellists, the fit seizing upon them intermittently, as you are aware. "Fearing such objections on the part of the seconclrs, our two duellists had provided for them they would fight in a spot calculated to bid de- fiance to all curiosity, and in which, besides, the corpse-they did not doubt that there would be a corpse-would disappear without arousing the attention of the authorities. This is the way in which the affair took place Towards two o'clock one summer morning the six young men quitted the little town without their departure being noticed by any one. The seconds, wrapped in cloaks, concealed something, and that something was not swords, "They took out-of-the-way roads, in which they were sure of meeting no one, and thus reached the small village of Blanc. They found thomselvea at the foot of the wall of a cemetery. All the party were agile, as well as young. The scaling of the wall, therefore, pre- sented no difficulty. They gained the interior of the cemetery. The spectacle was, indeed, romantic. Amid the the first glimmers of day the white tombs emerged from the morniug mist like spectres with arms outstretched beneath their winding-sheets; the wooden crosses made black stains. I- They chose a spot where no burial had cer- tainly taken place for a very long while-this was easily divined by the topography of the alleys already traced. And when they had fixed upon the point, the four seconds, producing from under their cloaks the spades they had kept concealed there, began to dig a grave. They had strong arms; they were sons of peasants and knew how to handle their imple- ments. After twenty minutes toil the grave-was dug-two metres long and one wide. Is it all right ?' demanded one of the seconds. Tho two adversaries, who, until then, ha.d been walking among the tombs, taking great care not to meet each other, approached and made an affirmative answer. I You are still resolved to fight ? Yea Until one of you meets his death ?' "'Yes!' There was no other attempt at a reconciliation. u The two men then stripped to the waist; they did not want any blood stained garments to remain. Then each one was given a knife. They sprang into the yawning grave. How they threw themselves upon each other, how they closed, how, maddened, blinded by rage, they struck, no one knew in their fit of furious madness they did not know themselves. Suddenly one of them said, in a faint voice 4 He is dead He—was the other The seconds, stupefied with horror, but re. strained by their pride-at that period people affected impassibility—were scarcely able, so much did they tremble, to help him out of the grave. He was the victor, he was aJive the other was lying in a heap amid a pool of blood. B*ut it was imperative that he should disappear. One of the students established that he was dead. Then they filled up the grave, trod down the earth, and replaced the sods which had been carefully removed. After this they returned to the town. The following day the parents of the dead man received a letter, in which he announced to them that, hoving for a long time had the desire to see foreign lands, he had departed for the nearest port and embarked for a destination he would make known to them only after his arrival. "The promised communication never arrived. "The man had disappeared, and it was never known what had become of him." The auditors of this singular story had grown pale. But the other ?" eried some one. The other, the living man," said the doctor, in a solemn voice, was myself And the womai Sha was a wretch I never saw her after- ward."

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,MEN AND WOMEN OF TO-DAY. SNAP SHOTS—[BY THE W ANDERERI I.-THE POLITICIAN. It is laughable to the cynical-minded man of the world to watch his neighbours. He kas plenty of food for thought, and if he can profit bT the mis- takes of those around him he has not lived in vain. To see oorsels as ithers see us is not always pleasant reading therefore, those of my readers who are ranked in the following political category must not be offended if my criticisms are too harsh. Of the many men I have met, the professional politician is the most amusing. He is so ardent, so earnest, so devoted he's honey personified, an angel oa earth. His party is the best in the country.; the troubles that are agitating the poor benighted electorate will pass away like chaff before the wind, and a new era of joy and gladness will be ushered in if his party win at the polls. Look at him during a keenly-contested election To the stranger he would appear tolae working, not for himself, but for the nation at large. See how his figure swells while he dilates upon the advan- tages which the return of his party to power will mean. It matters not to him that there are many who know that he is gulling them, and that he intends to be paid for his trouble somehow or other. He believes that the average man likes "soft soap," and, todohim justice, he is notsparinf of it. Let his party onco get into power and then woe to the newly-elected M.P. If there is a snug Government berth in the district to be had he has a friend ready for it if there is a fresh batch of J.P's to be made his claims are paramount he wants his daughter presented at Court, or else he wants to become a member of a big London Club. There is bound to be something he needs, and he won't be happy till he gets it. If his claims are ignored then woe to that M.P., he has made an enemy for life The working man politician if of a different calibre. To doubt his honesty would bo rudeness, for he has nothing to gain in many instances, and in others he risks his situation. But is there not an element of vanity in his conduct? He knows the value of the Press often better that the Editor himself. It is so grand to find at a political meet- ing that Mr. So-and-So said and then follows say half a column of the ordinary political speech. But even that space is too little, he indignantly asks why Mr. So-and-So had more space devoted to his absurd speech, and why was he mentioned editorially, and not himself. Therefore vou cannot in honesty say that he is altogether spotless. He wants to pose as a big in-in locally, and out of this stuff I am afraid th." modern demagogue is too often evolved. You all know the parson politician. I use tha word parson in its broadest sense. I have in my mind's eye a good spaeimem of this class. He is at the present moment the rector of a country parish in the North of England. To hear that man talk you would think that the Party which ha espouses is composed of the leading lights of th. earth. And how he can "spout!" I have heard him start on a topic, an indifferent water supplv, for instance, and gravely end by urging th..t is was all through the fault of the Government then in jiower, which had stopped the Bill. And that Bill iiad not then bsen deposited But I suppose the Hibernian gift of prophecy must hare full swing Well, was that politician honest? I trow not. I do not mean to say that he was angling for a snug canonry in a Cathedral or a. fa,t living, but I als» mast say that he knew that by singing in this key he was preventing any criticism being passed on his con- duct, which verged on the borders of Ritualism Then there is the politician who works only for the love of the thing. This mm is a bore and a nuisance. You can never meet him in tha etreet without being asked your opinions on this or thn.t Act, Wa,an't Mr. Morley's speech magni- ficent; didn't the Grand Old Man give it 'em hot," or Did not tha Marquis pulverise them was not Mr. Balfour in fine form, or Brummagem Joe a good fighter." This man, which evor party he be- longs to, is by no means a rarity. You most him wherever you go. He ia the oraole of a certain number of his fellows, and as sach has a certain amount of powor. But is not vanity afain the true source. If he did not receiiJR that deference would he not speedily change his tune. Let his alleged supremacy be ever threatened, and Mrs. Caudle cannot hold a candle to him The greatest sinner of the lot is the man or woman who has a. pot hobby. I like them to keep their distance One lady whom I respect on all other matters has often, worried me on women's suffrage. She is not onw of those be-spectacled dames who have been to Girton, and are dubbed blue stockings. She is on the contrary one who does not know where Girton is. But 011 the topic of women's suffrage she is terrible. The recent defection," as she termed it, of Mr. Gladstone wrung her soul. I do not think she recovered for a whole week. Her trusted leader had gone wrong What had Mr. Woodall being doing I But when she found that woman's suffrage was a plank of the Liberal platform she was happy nay, she positively beamed with delight. But I ned and now I am a heretic because I said bluntly that until the Irish question was settled it was non- sensical to air other grievances. Poor ladv She is honest in her convictions, and has nothing to gain or lose by their avowal. But I do know that if women's suffrage were granted to-morrow the spice of life would be gone until she found another hobby. I do not wish it to be inferred that every politi- cian has some object. There are in the ranks of the Liberal Party, and, to be just, on the Con- servative or Unionist Party as it is called, many noble spirits who do not deserve to be called selfish. These are the untiring workers. They do not oare a. jot whether their names are blazoned to the world or not; all they desire is that honesty shall win the day. They are convinced in their own mind that an 'Opposition is the best check any Government oa.i have, and they know by their own lives that man is only mortal. They work because they like it they work because they feel that all should be enlightened on grave political questions. They work because they know that they are doing their duty as citi- zens, and that the greatest praise a toiler can have in this world is that he fought an open fight for his faith and his principles.

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THIS AND THAT. Football, generally, is of very ancient origin, and mention is found of it as far back as the reign of Edward II. It was then played in a very rough and primitive fashion by large groups of men, the goals being often some miles apart. Shrove Tues- day appears to have been the great day for these games, and the games played at Chester, Corfe Castle, Scone, and Derby are historical. Many Acts were passed in the reigns of Edward III., Richard II., Henry IV., and Henry VIII., with a view to stamping out the sport but these appear to have been quite ineffectual, and the game flourished generally in the sixteenth century. Several allusions to the game are to be found in Shakespeare. Tripping, hacking, and rough play of every description was then allowed, and the game got a very bad name—a character which it has not even yet quite shaken off. The modern Rugby Union game came in its present form from Rugby School, although even the laws there have been very considerably modified. The Rugby Uaiou was started in 1871, and since its institution has done extremely good work in ex- punging the rules of the game which led to rough- ness and brute force, and changing it into what it now is—a really healthy and scientific pastime. The Football Association was started in 1863. This branch of the game takes its origin almost entirely from the public schools of Eton, Harrow, Westminster, Winchester, and Charterhouse. The scientific nature* of the game has been largely elaborated of late years, and the play of tha powerful professional teams of the north attracts enormous crowds, and awakens the most intense excitement and enthusiasm. In fact, football in the north of England and in Scotland may be said to be now the most popular game played.— Oassell's Storehouse of General Information." —o— Celery coffee is a new drink. It is said to give renewed strength to the brain and nerve. -0- Every day some new application is found for oompressed paper. Rails, wheels, casks, hulls of small boats all these are made of paper, and now we have flower vases of the same material. They are lighter than clay flower-pots, and do not break. A suitable degree of compression gives paper the hardness of metal. These vases are also imperme- able and waterproof, and consequently im- putrescrible. Fancy vase £ of greater value than the common one!! are made by adding a coat of enamel and coloured artistic designs, either in re- lief or hollow.- Work. —o— De Gawky (after a delightful waltz) And now, Miss Brown, let us go and seek so me rei'resh- for man and beast!" -0- A Russian lady his invented some thing new which has at least much originality. You must know that the Russian coachman wears the caftan, and, above this, a belt of a bright colour. This grande dams, who must at least be very coquette, has had attached to this belt a good-sized looking- glass, in which tha fair dame can admire herself and it also serves a second use, for as these small Russian carriages are all open ones she can see per- fectly well the gentlemen who are following her. Rub vaseline on thin eyebrows every night, smoothing them in the shape of an arch from the noae upwards. Clean strains from the fingers with salt and lemon-juice rubbed on the spots until they dis- appear. and then wash with clean water. To obtain a sweet breath, rinse the mouth every morning in water having a little borax, myrrh, or camphor in it. For removing dandruff try 2 drachms of borax, 11 drachm of glycerine, and 8 ounces of soft water, rubbing in the scalp daily for a month after giving the hair a good brushing. Wash the hair once a month in warm water and Castile loap, rinsing for the last time in cold water. A good tonic for thickening the hair is com- posed of 1 £ drachm of tincture of cantharides, 20 drops of tincture of oapsicum, half an ounce of glycerine, and 5 ounces of Cologne water. A good dentifrice is made of half an ounce of camphor and 8 ounces of precipitated chalk. —o— A small boy in a Brooklyn grammar school has furnished the latest information about girls in a recent competition Girls is pretty and afraid of guns. They wear goloshes and look at the clouds and say, 'Oh, how perfickly loyely. —o— It is not generally known that Sir Noel Paton, R.S.A., was at one time ambitious of becoming a drawing-ma,ster. He applied for a post of this nature in Dollar Academy, but was unsuccessful in his application, a Mr. Brown, who never emerged from his original obscurity, being pre- ferred to the able young artist who afterwards secured a world-wide fame. Sir Noel always laughingly refers to this incident as being the turning-point in his artistic career. A mischievous girl was chatting with a voung man who was inclined to rate his knowledge rather higher than modesty required. She. there- fore, said to him, with an air of deference to his superior attainment, You are a Latin scholar. I wish you would tell me how to pronounce the word so-met-i-mes.' The youth, with a kindly patronage, replied, I have not met the word in my Latin reading but I should have no hesita- tion in saying that it should be pronounced so- met-i-mes (giving it in four syllables, the accent on the second). Thank you for telling me," replied the girl, demurely, I have always heard it pronounced 'sometimes'; but, of course, your decision must be correct." This is similar to the perhaps familiar catch of the pronunciation of bac-kac-he," and will often surprise the un- initiated by proving to be only" backache." It also reminds one of a question printed some years since as to the way of spelling need"-to need bread. The average person will answer, k-n-e-a-d." of course, but the true answer will be, That is the way to spell' knead dough, but not to need' bread. -0- An old farmer, intent on making his will, was asked by a lawyer the name of his wife, when he gravely replied, Well, indeed, I really don't recollect what it is. We've been married for upwards of forty years, and I've always called her my old woman." The lawyer left a blank, to be filled up when him old woman's name was ascer- tained. —o— Milk has been found to possess remarkable healing qualities, if applied to wounds in an early stage, and excellent results have been obtained by its use in the dressing of burns. Compresses are soaked in milk and laid on the burn, to be renewed night and morninr. An extensive burn has in this way been reduced in three days to one-quarter of its original size. Another burn, which hgd been treated for eight days with olive oil and oxide of zinc, healel rapidly under milk dressing. To-day is longer than YeSterdp y-to-M orrow will be longer than to-day. The. dif erence, is eo small that even in the cou-e of ages it can hardly be said to have been distinctly established by obser- vation. We do not pretend to say how many centures have elapsed since the day was even one second shorter than it is as present but centuriet; are not the units which we employ in tidal evolu- tion. A million years ago it is quite probable that the divergence of the length of the day from its present value may have been very considerable. Let us take a glance back into the profound depths of times past, and see what the tides have to tell us. If the present order of things has lasted, the day must have been shorter and shorter the farther we look back in the dim past. The day is now twenty- four hours it was once twenty hours, once ten hours it was once six hours. How much farther can we go ? Once the six hours is past, we begin to approach a limit which must at some point bound our retrospect. The shorter the day the more is the earth bulged at the equator the more the earth is bulged at the equator the greater is the strain put upon the materials of the earth by the centrifugal force of its rotation. If the earth were to go too fast it would be unable to cohere to- gether it would separate into pieces, just as a grindstone driven too rapidly is rent asunder with violence. Here, therefore, we discern in the remote past a barrier which stops the present argument. There is a certain critical velocity which is the greatest that the earth could bear without risk of rupture but the exact amount of that velocity is a question not very easy to answer. It depends upon the nature of the materials of the earth: it depends uoon the temperature; it depends upon the effect of pressure, and on other details not accurately known to us. An estimate of the critical velocity has, however, been made, and it has been shown that the shortest period of rotation which the earth could have, without flying into pieces, is abont three or four hours. The doctrine of tidal evolu- tion has thus conducted us to the conclusion that, at some inconceivably remote epoch, the earth was spinning round its axis in a period approximating to three or four hours.—The fitory of tae Heavens. -0- The carelessness of househoulders in London is shown by the fact that 26,326 doors and windows were found open by the police at night in one year. -0- The following strange experience happened to one of the best known Fathers in the Brompfcoit Oratory, and the accuracy of the facts stated mav be relied upon. Father X. was one day urgently requested by a strange wo wan to come to a certain house in South Kensington to adminster the Sacrament to a man who lav there dying. Hurrying thither with all possible"^speed. the worthy Father was astonished to find that there was no sick person at that address at all. While conversing with the servant the owner of the house came downstairs, and on learning who the inquirer was at once offered him his hospi- tality while one of the attendant priests should proceed down the streets and endeavour to dis- cover the real house where the last rites of the Church were required. In the mea.ntime his host informed Father X. that it was a curious coinci- dence that he should have singled out this particular number as he was himself a Catholic though he was somewhat ashamed to admit that he had not been to mass since his mother died and was now afraid to go. Father X. assured him. he need have no apprehension and finally persuaded his friend to promise to resume his church-going on the following day. The messenger at this point returned and declared he had been totally unable to find anyone lying at death's door' in the neigh- bourhood. The search was accordingly abandoned. and the Father proceeded to the Oratory, his mis- sion unfulfilled. The following day Father X. was asrain summoned on the same errand. This time there was no doubt concerning the mansion, but the owner lay dead ere the little procession entered the portal. It was the very house where the Father had sat on the previous afternoon, and the lifeless body stretched on the bed was that of his late entertainer. Standing on a table near at hand was the miniature of his mother and Father X. was startled and amazed to recognise in her features those of the strange woman who had fetched him to her son the day before CassellV Saturday Journal." -0- A sensation was caused in Sunderland a few days ago by the progress of a giant among ropes from Metsr:i. Webster and Co.'s Patent Ropery. Deptford. The rope is of steel wire, and six miles long, weighing over 35 tons. Thirty horses were require to draw it from Deptford fo the goods station at Monkwearmouth for despatch to its destination, and there were three rolleys, on each of which huge portions of the rope were coiled, while men walked between tho rolleys carrrying the remainder on their shoulders, the roper requir- ing to he very carefully handled. Sometime ago Messrs. Webster and Co. manufactured a rope four miles long. but, as will be seen, they have eclipsed their previous achievement, and the latest rope, intended for colliery purposes, is stated to be the largest ever made. —o Kissing is said to be bad for the complexion. We are afraid the complexion will always suffer. —o— Presbyterian, are you. Effie 1 said the elderly relative. "United Presbyterian." "N-not yet auntie," whis- pered the blush- ing Effie, "but, I'm engaged." —o— The highest recorded speed now made by a rail way engine has just been reported from the United States,, where, on the line of the Phila- delphia and Reading Railway—the New York division-a mile was covered in 37 sec., or at the rate of 97t miles an hour. Nor was this one mile run the only remarkable part of the performance. for the next mile was made in 38 sees. the third in 39 sees. the fourth in 40 sees.; fifth in 41 sees, five consecutive miles were later on made tn 205 sees., an exceedingly good average. The train was a regular express, consisting of ordinary and Pullman carriages. No special preparation had been made for the run, and it was achieved in the face of a heavy wind. -0- Visiting-cards of iron are the latest novelty tn Germany. Forty of these cards, laid one on the other, are only one-tenth of an inch in thickness 1 The names are done in silver, which shows very clearly, for the cards-plates they should really be called-are black. —o— Short full sleeves to the elbow, are much favoured in Paris, bringing the long glove once more into favour. On no account must the arm be seen, the glove must always meet the sleeve, therefore many women prefer to retain long sleeves rather than go to the expense of a twenty-button Suede. —o— The following remedy for a delicate wife riTen :-F(i i slight headache, give her a dozen pair of glot « if it grows worse, a new gown. In extreme cs^ s a new hat has been known to pro- duce insta^i. relief. For nervous debility a new horse and carriage for dulness, a. theatre ticket: extreme weakness, a trip to the sea nervous irri- tability, invite the lion of the season to dinner. -0- A correspondent relates what is the most highly- paid of any skilled labour possible to women. It is that of the masseuse. The scale of remuneration is 7s. 6d. an hour. Supposing a m-axsevse works eight hours a day-and some of them do that habitually -here is a weekly wage of £18, closely approach- ing the salary ef a Junior Lord of the Treasury.

No MORE GRAY HAIR OR BALD HEADS.—See the People's Fireside Journal, this week. All news- agents, Id.; post free, 2d., from 59 Newman-street London.W KAY'S COMPOUND, a demulcent anodyne expectorant for Coughs and Colds, Sid., 13!d. Of all Chemists.