The Cardiff Times

By WILLIAM LE QUEUX. CHAPTER XXL Woman's Wiles. u Look sharp!" cried the black-bearded Scoundrel who had feigned illness. Give 'im a settler, 'Arry. He wants his nerves calmin' a. bit I" The fellow had seized my wrists, and I saw that one of the men who had sprung from his place of concealment was pouring some liquid a bottle upon a sponge. I caught a whiff Of its odour—an odour familiar enough to me—the Bickly smell of chloroform. Fortunately I am pretty athletic, and with a Sudden wrench I freed my wrists fvom the Saffian's grip, and hitting him one from the Bhoulder right between the eyes sent him spin- ning back against the chest of drawers. To Act swiftly was my only chanrj. If once they Succeeded in pressing that sponge to my nostrils and holding it there, then all would be over lor by their appearance I saw that thoy were Dangerous criminals and not men to stick at trifles. They meant to murder me. As I sent down the man who had shammed ill- ness his two companions dashed towards me imprecations upon their lips, but with light- ing speed I sprang towards the door and placed back against it. So long as I could face them I intended to fight for life. Their desire J'as» I knew, to attack me from behind, as thep had already done. I had surely had a narrow escape from their bullets, for they had fired at close range. At Guy's many stories have been told of simi- lar cases where doctors, known to wear valuable itches, diamond rings or scarf-pins, have been called at night by daring thieves and robbed, therefore I always, as precaution, placed my Revolver in my pocket when I received a night call to a. case with which I was not acquainted. I had not disregarded my usual habit when ha.d placed my thermometer and stethoscope in my pocket previous to accompanying the girl; therefore it reposed there fully loaded, 4 fact of which my assailants were unaware. In much quicker time than it takes to narrate the incident, I was again pounced upon by all three, the man with the sponge in readiness to dash it to my mouth and nostrils. But as they sprang forward to seize me I Raised my hand swiftly, took aim and fired straight at the holder of the sponge, the bullet Passing through his shoulder and causing him to drop the anaesthetic as though it were a hve eoat and to spring several feet from the ground. II God I I'm shot I" he cried. But ere the words had left his mouth I fired a. second chamber, inflicting a nasty wound in the neck of the fellow with the black beard. Shoot shoot he cried to the third man, but it was evident that in the first struggle, When I had been seized, the fellow's revolver had dropped on the carpet, and in the semi-dark- less he could not recover it. Recognising this, I tired a pot shot in the man's direction, then opening the door swiftly sprang down the stairs into the hall. One of them fol-, wed, but the other two, wounded as they were, aid not care to face my weapon again. They saw that I knew how to shoot, and probably feared that I might inflict a fatal hurt. As I approached the front door, and was Gambling with the lock, the third man flung him- self upon me, determined that I should not escape. With great good fortune, however, I Managed to unbolt the door, and after a des- perate struggle, in which he endeavoured to wrest the weapon from my hand, I succeeded at last, In gripping him by the throat, and after nearly strangling him flung him to the ground and Escaped ijito the street, just as his associates, hearing his cries of distress, dashed down the sta-irs to his assistance. Without doubt it was the narrowest escape of my life that I ever had at the hands of male- factors, and so excited was I that I dashed down the street hatless-forI had left it in the house— nntil I emerged into Lisson Grove. Then, and only threp, it occurred tome that having taken no teof the house I should be unable to recognise t'nd denounce it to the police. But when one tar in peril of one's life all other thoughts or in- stincts are submerged in the one frantic effort 'Of. self-preservation. Still it was annoying to think that such scoundlels should be allowed to go scot-free. Breathless, excited, and with nerves unstrung, *■ opened my door with my latch-key and re- turned to my room, where the reading-lamp had romed low, for it had been alight all through the night. I mixed myself a stiff brandy and soda ,tossed it off, and then turned to look at myself in the glass. The picture I presented was disreputable and Unkempt. My hair was ruffled, my collar torn from its stud, and one sleeve of my coat been torn out, so that the lining showed through. I had a nasty scratch across the neck, Joo, inflicted by the finder nails of one of the jr^ckguards, and from the abrasion blood had q°*ed and made a mess of my collar. Altogether I presented a very brilliant and eatertaining spectacle. But my watch, ring and s^arf.pin were in their places. If robbery had been their motive, as no doubt it had been, Jhey had profited nothing, and two of them had been winged into the bargain. The only mode by which their "identity could by chance be dis- covered was in the event of those wounds bemg troublesome. In that case they would consult medical man but as they would, in all pro- bability t go to a doctor in?a distant quarter of London, and further, as it would be impossible for the police to warn every medico in London, tbe hope of tracing them by such means was but slender one. Peeling a trifle faint I sat in my chair, resting for a quarter of an hour or so then becoming more composed I put out the study lights, and Mter a refreshing wash went to bed. The morning's reflections were somewhat dis- concerting. A deliberate and dastardly attempt had been made upon mv life, but with what Motive ? The young woman, whose face was ^sjniliaj:, had, I recollected, asked most distinctly whether I was Dr. Boyd—a fact which showed that the trap had been prepared. I saw now the ^ason why she was unable to describs the man's sham illness, and during the morning, while at Work in the hospital wards, my suspicions became Roused, that there had been some deeper motive I it all than the robbery of my watch or scarf- Pin. Human life had been taken for far less value than that of my jewellery I knew, never- theless, the deliberate shooting at me while I felt the patient's pulse showed a determination to assassinate. By good fortune, however, I had escaped,' and resolved to be more careful future when answering night calls to unknown houses. Sir Bernard did not come to town that day therefore, I was compelled to spend the after- noon in the severe consulting room at Harley- street, being kept busy the whole time. Shortly before six o'clock, utterly worn out, I strolled down to my rooms to change my coat before ¡ Roing down to the Savage Club to dine with my frIends-for it was Saturday night, and I seldom ftiissed the genial house-dinner of that most Bohemian of institutions. Without ceremony I threw open the door of my sitting-room and entered, but next instant stood still, for seated in my chair patiently ^Waiting me was the slim well-dressed figure of Mary Courtenay. Her widow's weeds became her well, and as she rose with a rustle of silk a bright laugh rippled from her lips, and she said II I know I'm an unexpected visitor, Doctor, but you'll forgive my calling in this manner, Won't you ?" Forgive you ? Of course," I answered and Jith politeness which I confess was feigned I invited her to be seated. True to the promise made to her husband, she had lost no time in coming to see me, and I was fortunately well ^Ware of tbe purport of her errand. M I had no idea you were in London," I said, ~y way of allowing her to explain the object of her visit, for in the light of the knowledge I had Rained on the Nene bank two nights previously her call was of considerable interest. I'm only up for a couple of days," she f1.nswered. London has not the charm for me that it used to have," and she sighed heavity, as though her mind was crowded by bitter Memories. Then raising her veil, and revealing her pale handsome face, she said bluntly The reason of my call is to talk to you about Ethel wynn." Well, what of her ?" I asked, looking straight into her face and noticing for the first time a curious shifty look in her eyes, such as I had never before noticed in her. She tried to renain calm, but by the nervous twitching of her fingers d of her lower lip I knew that within her was concealed a tempest of conflicting emotions. To speak very frankly, Ralph," she said a calm serious voice, I don't think you are treating her honourably, poor girl. You seem to have forsaken her altogether, and the neglect has broken her heart." No, Mrs Courtenay you misunderstand the situation," I protested. That I have neglected her slightly I admit nevertheless, the neglect Was not wilful, but owing to my constant occu- pation in my practice." She's desperate. Besides, it's common talk i •hat you've broken off the engagement." Gossip does not affect me, therefore why Bhould she take any heed of it ?" Well, she loves you. That you know quite -6H. You surely could not have been deceived ,a those days at Hew, for her devotion to you ?as absolute and complete." She was pleading sister's caase, just as Courtenay had directed her. J feit annoyed that she should thus en- ^Cavcor to impose upon me, yet saw the folly f betraying the fact that I knew her secret. My "itention was to wait and watch. I called at the Hennikers' a couple of days ItgO, but Ethelwynn is no longer there. She's gone into the country, it seems," I remarked. Where to ?" she asked quickly "'She's visiting someone near Hereford." Oh I" she exclaimed, as though a sudden dawned upon her. I know, then. Why, I Wonder, did she not tell me. I intended to call Il her this evening, but it is useless. I'm glad 0 know, for j don't care much for Mrs Hen- She's suoh a shallow woman." Ethelwynn seems to have wandered about \good deal since tbe sad affair at Kow," I Observed. Yes, and so have I," she responded. "As you well aware, the blow was such a terrible one jT^tiietbat—that somehow I feel r shall never wtwer iWfieYW II eaw tears, genuine tears, 'swelling in her eyes. If she could betray 40motion in that manner sho was surely a wonder- ful aclress. Time will efface your sorrow," I said, in a voice meant to be sympathetic. In a year or two your grief will not be so poignant, and the pat will gradually fade from your memory. It is always so." She shook her head mournfully.. „ No," Rho said, for in addition to my gner there is the mystery of it all-a mystery that grows each day more and more inscrutable." I glanced at her sharply in surprise. Was she trying to mislead me, or were her words spoken in real earnest ? I could not determine, "Yes," I acquiesced. The mystery is as com- plate as ever." I Has no single clue been found; either by the police or by your friend—Jevons is, I think, his name ?" she asked with keen anxiety. One or two facts have, I believe, been eluci- I dated," I answered. "But the mystery stIll, remains unsolved." „ As it ever will be," bhe added with a sign which appeared to me to bs on3 of satisfaction ) rather than of regret. The details were so cleverly arranged that the police have beep baffled in every endeavour. Is not that so I nodded in the affirmative. And your friend Jevons ? Has he given up all hope of satisfactory discovery ?" I really don't know," I answered. "I have not seen him for quite a long time. And in any case he has told me nothing regarding the result of his investigations. It is his habit to be mute until he has gained some tangible result." A puzzled apprehensive expression crossed her white brow for a moment then it vanished into a pleasant smile, as she asked in confidence ",Now-. tell me, Ralph, what is your own private opinion of the situation ?" Well, it is both complicated and puzzling. If we could discover any reason for the brutal deed we might get a clue to the assassin but deed we might get a clue to the assassin but as far as the police have been able to gather, it seems that there is an entire absence of motive, hence the impossibility of carrying the in- quiries farther." Then the investigation is actually dropped?" she exclaimed, unable to further conceal her j anxiety. I presume that it is," I replied. Her chest heaved slightly, and slowly fell again. By its movement I knew that my answer" allowed her to breathe more freely. You also believe that your friend Jevons has been compelled, owing to negative results, to relinquish his efforts ?" she asked. I Such is my opinion. But I have not seen him lately in order to consult him." In silence she listened to my answer, and was evidentlv reassured by it. Yet I could not, for the life of me, understand her manner, at one moment nervous and apprehensive. and at the next full of an almost imperious self-confidence. The expression in her eyes at times was such as justified her mother in the fears that she had I expressed to me. I tried to diagnose her symp- toms, but they were too complicated and contra- dictory. "With.revolver in oBe hand I felt for the loekwith J the other. She spoke again oi her sister, returning to the main point upon which she had sought the inter- view. She was a decidedly pretty woman, with a face rendered more interesting by her widow's garb. But why was she masquerading so cleverly? For what reason had old Courtenay contrived to efface his identity so thoroughly ? As I looked at her. mourning for a man who was alive and well, I utterly failed to comprehend one single fact of the astounding affair. It utterly staggered belief. Let me speak candidly to you, Ralph," she said, affter we had been discussing Ethelwynn for some little time. "As you may readily imagine, I have my sister's welfare very much at heart, and my only desire is to see her happy and comfortable instead of pining in melancholy as she now is. I ask you frankly, have you, quarrelled ?" No, we have not," I answered promptly. Then if you have not, your neglect is all the more remarkable," she said. Forgive me for speaking like this, but our intimate acquain- tanceshFp in the past gives me a kind of pre- rogative to speak my mind, You won't be offended, will you?" she asked, with one of those sweet smiles of hers that I knew so well. Offended? Certainly not, Mrs Courtenay. We are too old friends for that." Then take my advice and see Ethelwynn again," she urged. I know how she adores you I know how your coldness has crushed all the life out of her. She hides her secret from. mother, and for that reason will not come down to Nene. ford. See her, and return to her for it is a thousand pities that two lives should be wrecked so completely by some little misunderstanding which will probably be explained away in a irzeu words. You may consider this appeal an extra- ordinary one, made by one sister on behalf of another, but when I tellivou that I have not con- sulted Etbelwynn, nor does she know that I am here on her behalf, you will readily understand that I have both your interests equally at heart. To me, it seems a grievous thing that you should ba placed apart in this matter, that the strong Jove you bear each other should be crushed, and your future happiness be sacrificed. Tell me the truth," she asked in earnestness. You love her still-don't you ?" I do," was my frank, outspoken answer, and it was the honest truth. CHAPTER XXIL A Message. The pretty woman in her widow's weeds stirred slightly and settled her skirts as though my answer had given her the greatest satisfaction. Now take my advice, Ralph," she went on. See her again before it is too late." You refer to her fresh lover-eh ?" I inquired bitterly. Her fresh lover ?" she cried in surprise. I don't understand you. Who is he, pray ?" I'm in ignorance of his name." Y But how do you know of his existence ? I have heard nothing of him, and surely she would have told me. All her conversation, all her poignant grief, and all her regrets have been of you." "Mrs Henniker gave me to understand that my place in your sister's heart has been filled by another man," I said in a hard voice. Mrs Henniker she cried in disgust. just like that evil-tongued mischief-maker I I've told you already that I detest her. She was my friend once-it was she who allured me from my husband's side. Why she exercises such an in- finence over poor Ethelwynn I can't telL I do hope she'll leave their house and come back home. You must try and persuade her to do so. Do you think, then, that the woman has lied?" I asked. I'm certiin of it. Ethelwynn has never a thought for any man save yourself. I'll vouch for that." "But what object can she have in telling me an untruth ?" The widow smiled. A very deep one probably. Yon don't know Edith Henniker as well as I do, or you %vould, suspect all her actions of ulterior motive." Well," I said afterapause. "to tell the trath I wroto to Ethelwynn last night with a view to reconciliation." "You did," she cried joyously. Then you have anticipated me, and my appeal to yon has been forestalled by your own conscience—eh?" Exactly," I laughed. She has my letter by this time, and I am expecting a wire in reply. I have asker (her to meet me at the earliest possible moment." Then you have all my felicitations, Ralph." shesaid in a voice that seemed to quiver with emotion, She loves you-loves you with a fiercer and even more passionate affection than that I entertained towards mypoordeadhusband. Of your happiness I have no doubt, for I have seen in those days gone past how you idoliised her, and how supreme was your mutual content when in each other's society. Destiny, that un- known influence that shapes our ends, has I placed you together and forged a bond between you that is unbreakable-the bond of perfect love," j There seemed such a genuine ring in her voice, and she spoke with such solicitude for our welfare, thatin the conversation I entirely forgot that after all she was only acting the part of mediator, and was trying to bring us together again in order to prevent her remarkable secret from being exposed. At some moments she semed the perfection of honesty and integrity,without the slightest affec- tation of interest or artificiality of manner, and it was this fresh complexity of her character that utterly baffled me. I coald not determine! whether or not she was in earnest. If it is really Destiny I suppose that to try and resist it is quite futile," I remarked mecbani- cally. +- 1 Absolutely. Ethelwynn will become your wife, and you have all my good wishes for'pros- perity and happiness." I thanked her, but pointed out that the matri-i monial project was as yet immature. How foolish you are, Ralph 1" she said. You know very well that you'd marryher to- morrow if you could." Ah I if I could," I repeated wistfully. "Unfortuna.tely my position is not yet sufficiently well assured to justify my marrying. Wedded poverty is never a pleasing prospect." But you have the world before you. heard Sir Bernard say so times without number;, He believes implicitly in you as a man who wilt rise to the head of your profession." I laugheddllbiously, shaking my head. I only hope that his anticipations ma.y be realised," I said. But I fear I'm no more brilliant than a hundred other men in the hos- pitals. It takes a smart man nowadays to boom himself into notoriety. Asin literature and law,. so in the medical profession, it isn't the clever man who Tises to the top of the tree. More often, it is a second-rate man, who has private influeuce and has gauged the exact worth of self-advertise- ment. This is an age of reputations quickly t made and just as rapidly lost. In the professional world a new man rises with every moon." But that need not be so in your case," she I pointed out. With Sir Bernard as your chief, I you are surely in a uniquo position." 'I Taking her into my confidence, I told her of my ideal of a snug country practice—one of those in which the assistant does the night work and attends to the club people, while there is a I nucleus of country people as patients. There are I hundreds of such practices in England, where a. doctor, although scarcely known outside his own I district, is in a position which Harley-street with all its turmoil of fashionable fads and fancies envies as the elysium of what life should be. I The village doctor of Little Perkington may be j an ignorant old buffer, but his life, with its threo days' hunting a week, its constant invitations to shoot over the best preserves, and its free fishing whenever in the humour, is a thousand times pre- ferrable to the silk-hatted and frock-coated [ existence of the fashionable physician. j I had long ago talked it all over with Ethel wynn, and she entirely agreed with me. I had I not the slightest desire to have a consulting-room of my own in Harley-street. All I longed for was a life in the open air and rural tranquility a life far from the tinkle of the cab bell and the milkman's strident cry a life of ease and bliss, with my well-beloved ever at my side. The un- fortunate man compelled to live in London is deprived of half of God's generous gifts. Though this unaocountable coldness has I fallen between you, Mary said, looking straight at me, "you surely cannot have doubted the strength of her affection." But Mrs Henniker's insinuation puzzles me, ..Besides, her recent movements have been rather erratic, and almost seem to bear out the sugges- tion." That woman is utterly unscrupulous 1" she cried angrily. Depend upon it that she has some deep motive in making the slanderous statement. On one occasion she almost caused a breach between myself and my poor husband. Had he not possessed the most perfect confidence in me, the consequences might have been most serious for both of us. The outcome of a mere word uttered half in jest, it came near ruining my happiness for ever. I did not know her true character in those days." I had no idea that her character wa3 such," I remarked, rather surprised at this statement. Hitherto, I had regarded her as quite a harmless person, who by making a strenuous effort to obtain a footing in good society often rendered herself rediculous in the eyes of her friends. Her character 1" she echoed fiercely. "She's one of the most evil-tongued women in London. Here is an illustration. While posing as Ethel- wynn's friend, and entertaining her beneath her roof, she actually insinuates to you the probability of a secret lover ) Is it fair ? Is it the action of an honest and trustworthy woman ?" I was compelled to admit that it was not. Yet was this action of her own, in comingtome under the present circumstances, in any way more straightforward ? Had she known that I wa.s well aware of the secret existence of her husband, she would assuredly not have dared to speak in the manner she had done. Indeed, as I sat there facing her, a slim sweet-faced, interesting figure in her well-made mourning, I could scarcely believe it possible that she could act the imposture so perfectly. Her manner was flawless; her self-possession marvellous. But the motive of it all—what could it be ? The problem had been a maddening one from first to last. I longed to speak out my mind to her then and there to tell her of what I knew and of what I had been witness to with my own eyes. Yet such a course wa« useless. I was proceeding carefully, J watching and noting everything, determined not J to blunder. Had you been in my place, my reader, what would you have done ? Recollect I had witnessed a scene on the river bank that was absolutely without explanation, and which surpassed all human credence. I am a matter-of-fact man, not given to exaggerate or to recount incidents that have not occurred, but I confess openly and freely that since I had walked along that path I hourly debated within myself whether I was actually awake and in the full possession of my faculties, or whether I had dreamt the whole thing. But it was no dream. Certain solid facts con- vinced me of its stern and astounding reality. The man upon whose body I had helped to make an autopsy was actually alive. In reply to my questions my visitor told me that she was staying at Vernon's, in Cork-street —a small private hotel which the Myarts had patronsec for many years—and that- on the following morning she intended returning again to Neneford, Then, after she had again urged me to lose no time in seeing Ethelwynn, and had imposed upon me,silence as to what had passed between us, I asslted her mto a hansom, ad she drove away, waving her black-gloved hand i.i farewell. The interview had been a carious one, and I could not in the le&st understand its import. Regarded in the light of the knowledge I had gained when down at Neneford, it was, of course, plain that both she and her "dead husband were anxious to secure Ethelwynn's silence, and be- lieved they could effect this by inducing us to marry. The conspiracy was a deeply-laid and in- genious one, as indeed was the whole of the amazing plot. Yet, somehow, when 1 reflected upon it on my return from the club, I could not help sitting till far into the night trying to piece together the remarkable enigma. A telegrarr/from Ethelwynn had reached me at the Savage at nine o'clock, stating that she had received my letter, and was returning to town the day after to-morrow. She had, she said, replied to me by that night's post. I felt anxious to see her, to question her and to try if possible to gather from her some fact which would lead me to discern motive in the feigned death of Henry Courtenay. But I could only wait in patience for the explanation. Mary's declaration that her sister possessed no other lover besides myself reassured me. I had not believed it of her from the first; yet it was passing strange that such an insinuation should have fallen from the lips of a woman who posed as her dearest friend. Next day Sir Bernard came to town to see two unusual cases at :the hospital, and afterwards drove me back with him to 'Harley-street, where he had an appointment with a German Princess, who had come to London to consult him aa a specialist. As usual, he made his lunch off two ham sandwiches, which he had brought with him from Victoria Station refreshment-room and carried in a paper bag. I suggested that we should eat together at a restaurant but the old man declined, declaring that if he ate more than ,his usual sandwiches for luncheon when in town he never had any appetite for dinner. So I left him alone in his consulting-room munching bread and ham and sipping at a wine- glass of dry sherry. About half-past three, just before he returned to Brighton, 1 saw him again as usual to hear any instructions he wished to give, for some- times he saw patients once and then left them in my hands. He seemed wearied, and was sitting resting his brow upon his thin bony hands. During the day he certainly had been fully occupied, and I had noticed that of late he was unable to resist the strain as he once could. Aren't you well ?" I asked, when seated be- fore him. Oh, yes," he answered with a sigh. Ihere s not much the matter with me, I m tired. I suppose, that's all. The eternal chatter of those confounded women bores me to death. They can't tell their symptoms without going into all the details of family history and domestic infelicity," he snapped. They think me a doctor, a lawyer, and a parson rolled into one." I laughed at his criticism. What he said was, indeed, quite true. Women often grow confiden- tial towards me at my age therefore I coald quite realise how they laid bare all their troubles to him. Oh, by the way J" be said, as though sud- denly recollecting. Have you met your friend Ambler Jevons lately ?" No, I replied. He's been away for some weeks, I think. Why ?' Because I saw him yesterday in King s-road. He was driving in a fly and had one eye bapdaged up. Met with an accident, I should think. An accident I exclaimed in consternation. He wrote to me the other day, but did not men- tion it," He's been trying his hand at unravelling the mystery of poor Courtenay s death, basn t he ? the old man asked. I believe so." And fail ad—eh ?" I don't think his efforts have been crowned with very much success, although be has told me nothing," I said. ,3- In response the old man grunted in dissatis- faction. I knew how disgusted he had been at the bungling and utter failure of the police inquiries, for he was always declaring Scotland Yard seemed to be useless, save for the recovery I of articles left in cabs. He glanced at his watch, snatched up his silk I hat, buttoned his coat, and wishing me good-bye went out to catch the Pullman train. Next day about two o'clock I was in one of the wards at Guy's seeing the last of my patients, when a telegram was handed to me by one of the I tore it open eagerly, expecting that it I was from Ethelwynn announcing the hour of her arrival at Paddington. But the message upon which my eyes fell was so astounding, so appalling, and so tragic that my heart stood still. l'ha few words upon the paper increased the mystery to an even more bewildering degree than before. It was incredible. 0 (To be continued).

Samuel Rendle, boatman on board the s.s. Penwick, now lying outside Moantstuart Dry Docks, Cardiff, was taken suddenly n on Saturday morning, and died half au hoar after- wards. An inquest will be held. { [

1 Complete Story. LITTLE WINKLE AND HER WICKED SERGEANT. By E. LIVINGSTONE PRESCOTT. Aathor of Scarlet and Steel," "Helot and Hero," etc., etc. The smart sergeant of Hussars swaggered, m- appropnate as a wild sea-hawk among barn- :door fowl, into the cold parlour where the funeral feast was spread. As he clanked into a, vacant place, with ajangle of accoutrements, he created confusion in the prim, black company. This was before the days when every man-at-arms I' He had visited the chill apartment at irregular intervals when his ancient Scotch great-aunt, just deceased, was its occupant; he hardly knew why, save" that blood—especially Scottish blood- is thicker than water for he had met with no | very warm welcome. She had felt it her duty to lecture him on the sinfulness of his profession, j-his own wicked ways and his latter end. He was aware that none 'of her money, earned by a I close-fisted righteousness of dealing in past years, would flow into the channels of the un- godly. Yet he camo • perhaps becaue every other relative had discarded him as a hopeless castaway, or because, though there was no love, there was an odd bit of loyalty between them. For this was a very wicked sergeant indeed, so wicked that his surname of Wickhart had been altered in sport by the mess to an adjectiva. Thus, he was gaily termed tho Wicked Sergeant, I and, his smartness notwithstanding, cottared constantly on the giddy of reduction to the ranks. He bore it in his face, despite a gentle- manly bearing, certain ruined good looks, and a curly head a mother's hand had once stioked proudly and left all too soon. IS virtuous fellow-mourners instinctively put a distance between themselves and the sinner, the women looking prim, the men sour. But a they sat and chatted gloomily on the stern virtues of the dead-the dead for whom nobody really wept, in spite of displayed handkerchiefs and lowered eyelids—a voice of mourning smote faintly on the sergeant's idle ear, a wail of true mourning, for it was mere]y the voice of a little dog. J It was. in fact. Little Winkle, who wept, after her fashion.'and her small cry smote on Wick- hart's ear alone—even perhapa, on his heart. A prodigal's heart gets much knocked about and sore in spots, as well as generally callous. He.Jmew Little Winkle who, albeit ahe was a. religious person, like bis great-aunt, was less narrow. She used to wa £ her tail in a lati- tudinarian manner, to lick the boots which walked in such ill-by-ways and to cuddle against him with a confidential' yawn up in his faoe during the reading of homilies. Therefore he stole out of the parlour while the heritors solemnly appraised the <r0'od old-fashioned fur-' niture. ° Little Winkle was in sad perplexity for her mistress and supieme diety had never slept such, a long, long sleep before and Little Winkle had always been present at her waking. Why, therefore, not now ? If she had waked up in church, as th" maid, seemed to imply, well—whisper it ]ow Little Winkle had often been to churcb with her mistress, because she remained in such low spirits all day if she were left behind, and Little Winkle knew how to conduct herself as well as—or better than—you or 1. ) Sitting upright in the corner of a tall pew in an old-world Presbyterian sanctuary, she kept her gaze all the time fixed on the minister, with whom she had a personal friendship, and who, when asked—merely as a form—by that respected spinster Mistress Width art, after sapper and before the exercises no object to the dogue, Mr McNabbV" always patted Little Winkle's head. He was once, looking into her wondrous brown eyes all love and faith, nearly guilty of the heresy" of saying. Of such is the K-, but stopped in time. it was only m reference to sacred things that Little Winkle was called The Dogue," and she was conscious of an honourable, if appalling, solemnity in the title Her week day name arose from the fact of her having been rescued, in a moment of weakness by Miss Wickhartfrom a pewter receptacle on a fish hawker's barrow, whence, a tiny puppy she piped her need of a warm lap. As the sergeant entered the mourner raised one drooping ear, and blinked tearfully in his direc- tion. She was 6eated small and forlorn, on the bed which, to her lovin'g fancy, was sti^ glorified by some mysterious arema. of the departed presence. Little Winkle indeed, was very small, and now both old and fat She had been uncon- sciously a Daughter of Consolation for many loveless years to the old nmid, and the softest thing in that hard house True, when she slobbered her mistress in the twilight she was only called Ye little fule for her pains, but Little Winkle had well understood that break in the voice which was now silent. By race she was a smooth terrier, white and fawn—points indeterminate; nevertheless she had been pretty in her youth- She still had dark lucid eyes. miraculously expressive, wells of sweet meekness, and showed, when she took off her weight of fifteen ye»r^ to possess playful wrath, a number of little ivory teeth. Those eyes were all suffused and drowned in agony now, like her little soul. They started out of her head, so big and bright, as if'the fond heart in that small breast were breaking out at you that it was after all only you and not her. On each side of the tiny nose were pitiful wet channels. She quivered with a moment's wild hope when the sergeant appeared, and stared in- tently behind him. The look fell; but when Wick- hart stepped gently to the bed, Little Winkle indicated that she would have wagged her tail, if she had had the spirit. Dog and man regarded each other with a strange comprehension yet one was the acme of fidelity and the other the acme of faithlessness Little Winkle's was the desolation of love and loss; a desolation which even saints cannot escape. The Wicked Sergeant's was the desola- tion of sin of which too many saints have not the slightest idea. or would believe in. He stooped over her, addressing her—not in toosey-woosey language, but sensibly—as ohe liked to be addressed by her acquaintance. In bis voice, too, there was an unconscious mourn- ing, though not so rnu-h for the dead living with God, as—perhaps he hardly knew himself what for. Well, Winkle," he said, "and is she gone ?" Then Little Winkle exactly exemplified Scrip- ture phrase, for she lifted up her voice and wept. O—o—o—oh was all she appeared to say all that can be written; but in that solitary, reiterated syllable was the long cry o earth's love and lack from veneration to generation and what comfort could an ardent devil-worshipper like the Wicked Sergeant afford ? Little Winkle was so human that he felt as if he ought to offer her the consolation of religion. But all he could say. badly, was, She—she was a good woman Winkle and—1 daresay she's in Heaven—if there is such a place." Which last, respecting Little Winkle's orthodoxy, he mur- mured under his breath. The little wail went on. But—O—o—h it seemed to plead-as all of us have pleaded, or must plead-d I want her here The two stared wistfully at one another. Then Wickhart picked Little Winkle up, reverently, as you might take some legacy from the relaxed fingers of a dying hand Little Winkle made no resistance, for she saw there was nothing there any more than either of them need stay for. The Wicked Sergeant kissed her on the top of ber little silken head as be carried her down the stairs—it was Ion0' since he had kissed anyone in honour and virt(le Little Winkle in return raised her nose slightly to kiss him with languid edge of a small, weary, red tongue. They came in together to where the black company were squab- bling piously over the dead's'modest treasures. The heir-at-law paused as his glance fell on the pair. "Ah! There's the dogne," he said. "Mar'gret will no doubt like to have her mistress's doguo." But Marg'ret, a rsd-cheeked lass somewhat harried by the deceased, shrilly disclaimed. She was to be married and her man did not like tykes. "No breed about her," a younger Wickhart, slightingly. A fat, little old thing." I would take the beastie, for the sake of her that's gone," said his sister but it snaps at wee bairns, an<? mine She'd best be put out of the way—of course in a maircifu' manner," said the -heir at-law and Little Winkle trembled and whined, in instinctive apprehension of his benevolence. Then the Wicked "Sergeant, in the face of that decorous circle, launched a. big. full-flavoured oath of the Mess pointedly at the respectable speaker. The latter controlled himself. maybe take the animal home to voar barracks ?" he suggested with fine sarcasm. The sergeant made them a grave,, flourishing bow, and then and"there walked out, with Little Winkle, wondering greatly, under his arm. As the door slammed behind them he felt the tiny hind paws scratch retrogressively, and as the familiar street retired, heard small inner whines. During that strange, unknown journey, which seemed to explore the universe, he met an occasional upward look or sad question. But, though all the [way the Wicked Sergeant got whisky for himself, and paid highly Spiced com- pliments to waitresses and other receptive females, he did not forget weak tea in a saucer for Little Winkle: a beverage to which she was partial and which always reassured her. Whether she recognised the tie of blood, with all the glaring between them, that linked Wickhart and the dead, is a riddle. She sometimes pircked her ears at inaudible voices, and sat straining eloquent eyes at things unseen, yet from that hour sne accepted the Wicked Sergeant as deputed deity, and worshipped him faithfully. ¡ The chngs was tremendous, stunning from the narrow drab house in Islington to extremely broad effects of light and colour of the sergeant's mess. Little Winkle, a canine spinster of long standing, was at first strtled and shocked. But she was exceedingly well received, as all dogs are, by soldiers, and soon learned to pat in gravely as a matter of course, either at Wick- ■ hart's heels inquire for him. Too old to love again anyone not of that blood, she main- I' tained a dignified general friendship with every rank cf the regiment she soon learnt to know as her own. She haunted the sergeants billiard room, and when in good spirits would allow balls to he rolled for her along the ground, uttering low, husky "Wows," with raised forepaw as a hint .that she was prepared to run for another or that, being tired, she wished to, rolled in one of the red window curtains till her Wiokhart was ready. There was one part of the moss, however, to which she was averse the long slip, with a bar- window, through whicb decoctions—so Little Winkla firmly believed!—from Hades were passed. She judged by results--a Scriptural method—and grew to know that, after Wickhart had stood there long, the crook of his arm could not be relied on as a cradle. So she hung back when he entered, preferring to sit forlornly on her tail in the passage. Str-ange to say. this persistent "trait of a wee doggie caused a slight uneasiness in the breast of more than one fine big fellow. She was an obsse little skeleton— 'pardon the bull-at their feasts. Her great sad eyes seemed to record, and to condemn, every social, glass. Once jocular Sergeant Sparkes set her on his 'knee, intending to put whisky down her throat. Little Winkle, because she had done no wrong, and was a pious person with a sense of an over- ruling Providence, was not at first alarmed. ,But when she saw his evil purpose she cried out, bit him with all her strength, and fled growling. Little Winkle's influence always worked for righteousness, though she was "beautifully un- conscious. She wanted to do good things, and was surprised if others did not. Dear past days had taught her the hour of evening service and the clang of bells heralding it. At that hour, therefore, she pit-patted to and fro, or sat dis- creetly at the door, glancing over her shoulder at Wickhart to sea if he would get his book and take her. Whan he realised her wishes, he com- plied, sheerly for a lark, and occupied a dark corner of the Wesleyan Chapel in a village near camp. Little Winkle, used to sober Presbyterianism, each time an energetic local preacher smote the pulpit, jumped, and looked up at her authority, to see if all was right. A lively hymn made her protest faintly, but on the whole she enjoyed herself, waggled a good deal, and, next Sunday, proposed going again. Alas I Wickhart shut her up, and went instead for a walk with two florid young ladies in pro- nounced silks and feathers. But he had better have gone with Little Winkle to church. He subsequently acquired his knowledge in fall, to his cost j Little Winkle in her innocence, •only fragments of it—as that he was a year away by her chronology, by ours, 36 hours and that afterwards, he did not go out foi, say, weeks. During that penitential space he held Little Winkle much on his knee and talked to her, she struggling hard to understand. Finally, after being fetched by her friend, fat Sergeant-Major Rndd, with the remark, Buck up, Wickhart," and a regzetful Not you," Winkle," when she would have followed, he returned to her, with his head hanging down and only two stripes i nstead of three on his sleeve for her to paw. She was under the impression that he was about to make a prayer—for he stood still in the middle of the room and put his face in his hands, as Mr MacNabb used to do. It did not sound like a prayer, but people have different ways of praying. Little Winkle herself, when she prayed very hard, said. "Wo, Wahl or something shrill, high up in her head. She got tired, and sat up in front of him. which in these plump days was a rare exploit and feeling, dog fashion, she must somehow be in fault, began to pray to him herself, confessing pitifully her sins of ignorance. Wickhart, when he saw her, laughed rather wildly, and lifting her to that throne of honour, his shoulder, laid his cheek on the sleek little back. Now a great and a joyful thing occurred, and a strange little one to boot. He went no more to that place of doom, the Mess, where Little Winkle herself had once sealed her testimony by killing a man it was always her firm impression that she had slain Sergeant Sparkles, as he left the Service shortly afterwards. She used to whine in her dreams, remombering it, because she had never given way to sinful passion before. The small incident was that, one day, Wickhart said to her, See, Winklekins and showing her a card, he wrote somehing on it, while she stared devoutly. Then he took her right paw, and caused her, Little Winkle, to write also, which she thought great fun, and did not know that she had held his paw far more than hers, but frisked gaily around him. The war flare, running all over Britain, did not spare Little Winkle. Her sergeant, reduced 'to corporal, by the malign influence of the two florid young ladies, was-this was Little Winkle's view—ordered, with an unimportant addendum of five hundred or so officers and men and a complement of horses, to proceed to South Africa. Of course, you can't take your dog," said somebody in authority. But Little Winkle went, all the same. She was astowa-way-and very easily stowed, and the whole regiment, including tha authority in question, aided and abetted her. She was a I' dogette of refined habits, and even that awful person, the Colonel, had been known to say to her "Ah Little Winkle I that's your name. isn't it? You-are small I At which exquisite joke she set at him gravely while the Major neld an, intimate knowledge of the exact spot bohind your ear which you could not scratch yourself save by a gymnastic feat. Thunders of blast and billow were incidents too J¡ big to concern so small a creature. When she observed them at all, she concluded they were t under due control by her Corporal, so would not hurt her. ) At the front, touching the red, seething, foremost wave of life and death, she was not afraid, though surprised, and worried by the nervous remarks of other dogs, who, poor things, had somehow mislaid their masters. She herself trotted about confidently through all sorts of weird places and adventures. ) Sometimes she had no dinner. Once she caught, by a flurried accident a juvenile mouse which she brought timorously to the first man of her regiment she saw, asking what she should do with it; looking up with a face of perfect innocence and the mouse straggling across it. But the mouse got away after all and Little Winkle, though she affected annoyance, was in truth relieved. It was well she had got over her earlier im- pression that life is ended at the first crack of j a shot, for she lived for a. few weeks in a leaden hurricane, and, quite oblivious of the enemy, pit-patted sedulously into action among the legs of her own regiment, making hasty excuses to corpses for trampling on them. She became the official Dog of the Regiment, and was immensely applauded. It was, indeed, a striking spectacle to see her fat tiny form trot sedately towards blazing Boer rifles. Once, her regiment deploying into the open, Little Winkle at that crucial moment deployed on an errand of her o.vn. The foe were shooting for all they were worth. Little Winkle, wagging apologetically at the solecism, paused on a convenient sandy hillock, to flirt away a trouble- some Dutch pulex with her small hind leg, yawning amiably to express relief, at a large faced Boer who happened to catch her eye, when that beast fired upon her. She gazed up in the air at the yellow cloud of dust, then. waggling perplexedly, retired in good order. There was a shout of execration from her regiment, and Moonface lay on his back to shoot no more. But when someone said, Did they, Winks t" andpatted her she only wondered. We must go on to the catastrophe—the biggest thing in Little Winkle's life. In action she always stuck close to her Corporal, and no matter what the hurly-burly, how thick the air with shouts, groans and martial tumult, how dark the night and crowded with agony, hatred and death, beard his voice alone. The tiny star of mar- vellous love shone high above all. The regiment had paraded there was a certain height to be scaled and held, and Little Winkle, amongst others, was present to scale and hold it, The C.O. said sternly, "What do you mean by bringing the dog ? as if she were a four-foot mastiff. The regiment returned collectively, Can't keep her away, sir." Little Winkle limped' forward, and put her best paw as far as it would reach on the C.O/s leg with a persuasive whimper and wag. He replied, irresolutely, that she was too small then, with weakness in his eye, dropped the subject, and she limped back triumphant. So, on a stormy, gloomy night Little Winkle with her regiment climbed to victory or apo- theosis. Again someone bad blundered but it was a hill, not a valley of death this time. Little Winkle knew not even the alternative to do or die. Her simple law was to follow her Corporal whithersoever he went and it must be owned tint the legs she loved were always in the hottest and hardest places. He and she had kissed one another breathlessly at odd crises behind rocks, where t hey potted Boers, at a moment when he turned his back on the tumult, a back burdened by the limp figure of the youngest Second Lieutenant, and Little Winkle trotted responsibly after, carrying the officer's wet red cap in her mouth. They were back directly, and at it again. A pale lilac haze announced the advent of the moon behind a rude shoulder of black hill; a low wind moaned. The stones hurt Little Winkle s pet rheumatic paw, but she pushed on, perceiving somehow a tenseness in the hour. Her part was to keep well to heel, and not to run frivolously after those little elongated balls, of which the air was full. Yet a great many of her friends were lying about—presumably to clutch and grope after them. Their faces were so white and vild that Little Winkle longed sorely to stop and lick them but those dear legs-he cuddled beside them. Her Corporal looked down at her with a fond oath, Go back, you blanked little foolt" But the little fool went on, for she saw through him using in self-justification the canine creed, which may be found in the old Testament Scriptures, Where thou goest, J will go," etc. They came on big Sergeant-Major Kudu, very calmly asleep on Ryan, the Regimental scoundrel, so much more drunk than ever before that he shrieked a child's prayer in:a.sps between his usual blasphemies on little Tommy May, the drummer-LIttle Winkle's chief playiellow -who lay on his back smiling at the alien stars, and played a sweet game in which she could have no share; and many others. Then- Good God I There goes the C.O. I to her Wickhart cried. Little Winkle saw the tall figure of her Corporal's inferior officer throw up bis arms and fall. She cried breathlessly, "Wow-Wah- Wow in dismayed chorus. And next a rock- ing world, wandering ftars, blackness of dark- ness for her o'vn beautiful, strong, matchless deity stood astare, as at some wondrous sight, for two seconds, then fell beside her and neither stirred nor spoke more. Little Winkle sighed deeply and wher.sily, and of course sat down too. A good many things surged past, over, around her a bullet grazed her ear, a foot smashed her poorshort tail, elicit- ing a high, one-syllabled yelp. There she sa^, at intervals investigating with a small cold nose, a timid paw. a lingering kiss of her tiny tongue. He tasted like the subaltern s cap. She addressed him with loud whines of pathetic query, but he made no reply. Thus, for an hour or so, he lay and she watched. Madden of Hers dragged himself past, paused, gazed down at her Corporal and shook his head. He was himself white, streaked with red and black, and going, she dimly observed, the downward way. VViien he had suggested that Little Winkle should come with him—a perfectly ridiculous thing on the face of it—he melted, groaning into the night, Little Winkle shivered the world became strange about her. Below, on the ragged slope, i familiar voices sighed, familiar fignres stretched and writhed. Far away, there were horses of the regiment, inquiring vainly for their riders. Aiion, a great gold moon sailed up and looked at her. At the best of times the moon chilled the marrow of Little Winkle's spine, making her feel weird things she could not explain. The Queen of Night wrung from her wailing strophes of protest even when pressed tight in Wickhart's arms, and she had often begged him to take that orb away but a moon under these circumstances was horrid indeed! She snuggled close to the long still body, nuzzling her own little skull against the proud, close curled head that lay so low, yet her corporal bad no comfort to give her. A crowd of odious ape-like creatures came I shambling up, with uncouth gestures and shouts. Wickhart did not rise in wrath he lay, solemn and mute, with the moonlight on his face. The apes swarmed over him, and now Little Winkle saw that it was not merely an idiotic game, and a Berserk passion fired her gentle breast. Her limited person seemed to be everywhere snapping,, snarling, right and left, at this and that sacri- legions hand. If she had understood angry f aggestions in Dutch to knock her brains out it would have made no difference adog can die but once, and Dulce et decorum, pro Corporal" —this is good Dog Latin. Somebody snatched her up by the neck, and, j with a load langh. held her dangling. Her eyes were blind with broken-hearted tears as she saw how they stripped her god, scratched a hollow in the loose sandy soil, and laid him there, kicking earth and stones over him with their great feat. Other groups of Boers were doing this to her men. To what had the world come ? Nobody was there at all to appealto Even Teddy—"B" Squadron's cat—would have been a comfort. The Boer who held her proposed in broken English taking Little Winkle home as a toy for vrow. At this proposition she bit him with all her strength. He dropped her like a red-hot dog —which she was at the moment—and would have kicked the life out of her, but she was off. He retired with a foul oath, and Little Winkle at a lame canter nosed her way to the consecrated spot of agony. There she had to fall down for a moment, with all herlegsst,retched out, and utter a passing howl at the malign moon. Then she rose and. quivering all over, laid her •, nose to the ground. She steadied herself for a second. Then followed a wild, flurried scratching of tiny white paws, small shrill yelps interspersed, a sandy little face of fond despair occasionally reproaching the sky, More feverish delving, with Yap. yap Wh'o-o-o-o Help me somebody Help me, moon I am so old so small so fat!" The little paws bled fast, the little face was a mask of dirt and tears, but, with both ears cocked, the little eager head probed the earth. Then Little Winkle gave a long shriek of joy. Beneath her frantic paws, touching ber sore nose, something moved feebly. Now Little Winkle had seen Lieutenant D'Arcy's terriers disinter rabbits, and had assisted them—or believed she did so—sedately repelling their attentions afterwards. She fell to work methodically, for there was a delicious breath, a melodious moan, to reward her and -O-o-oh the moonlight shone on her Corporal's face. Bnt nlie could naver get him out alone She considered her big eyes jewels, her ears pricked, sitting up and snuffing breathlessly like a bunny. Far off were sounds of the English tongue, and, in the shadow, figures that sought and stooped. She collected all her strength. Co-o-mw be-e-e-re she cried to the best of her ability. Such a little cry, such a tiny atom, to be alone on that wild hillside with dying and dead. But the voice of love and woe awakened strange echoes. If a sparrow's fall, why not a dog's despair ? Perhaps some ministering spirit of the Father of both :carried the desperate plea to His throne perhaps the moon—malicious as Little Winkle thought her—helped showing against the black rock the white speck that ran to the top of the crag and backin a weary pit-pat of anxiety, Dark figures climbed the steep. Little Winkle's agitated nerves made her mistake friend for foe she bristled and ran snarling forward, eyes out of head, teeth gleaming fiercely But-on, bliss, raptue, rest !—it was a man of Hers I And another-and another They scrambled on, patting Little Winkle as they went, who frisked and fawned in exhausted joy, then gravely took command, snowing them where to scratch, and exactly how you should lay yourself toit. Thus her dead was happily brought to life, and the round world revolved upon its proper axis once more. A slow procession went down the hill, escorted I by a very lame and fat little'dog, who, though she constantly fell over inequalities, kept one eye on a certain stretcher, and would not be carried at any price, thank you For there lay a broken figure, whose faint, delirious voice constantly reiterated Little Winkle's name. figure, whose faint, delirious voice constantly reiterated Little Winkle's name. With this chronicle attached to her, Little Winkle was necessarily admitted to hospital, where it must be owued she was rather a com- plication. Boers were amongst the wounded, which Little Winkle thought a serious mistake they should be dead Boers—effectually interred. If kept alive by a shortsighted benevolence, they had to bs reviled in canine Billingsgate, and, when possible, secretly worried from under the j bed. So the corporal and Little Winkle were eventually removed to another ward. Here visitors were introiuced to her. She knew she had distinguished herself and sat on her bandaged tail,smiling benignly, but was really indifferent to their iiatteries. The last of it was this :— Her corporal, it appeared, had done something great on that dayof battle, which Little Winkle, in her genial opinion of him, had not particularly noticed. He had gained steps over those dead comrades who had no dogs to scratch them up, ■ and was a sergeant major—with the dazzling prospect of a commission. So for this deliverance and honour he and Little Winkle held a thanks- giving service all to themselves. I Winks, would you like a gold collar ?" Little Winkle, who was standing upon his cheat, returned that Dr Luther said his dog, Fritz, would have that in the Resurrection; und she would wait for hers, too. Winkle, I've been a bad lot, but you du me 1 out twice. And—a little—dog—shall lead them. Not profane, eh Winks ? Sing then | Little Winkle could sing. It was one of her Rccomplishments, She braced her paws against her master's tunic and: starsong devoutly upward sang a Doxology. Her-Sergeant had no voice, but I think after his fashion he joined in, The End. Next Week :— NURSE ELLEN, By Fred Whishaw

A DRUNKEN FRACAS. At North London Police Court on Saturday Edward Hall (50), leather cutter, of Dunstan- street. Haggerston, was charged with unlawfully and maliciously wounding Mary Ann Freeman. The prosecutrix, whose left hand was bandaged said the prisoner struck her on the hand with a jug.—The Prisoner And she stabbed me with the lamp-glass.—Prosecutrix added that she and the prisoner were drinking together on Friday night, and he got very quarrelsome. She offered him the jug with some beer in it,and he snatched it away and hit her on the hand. When she saw her hand bleeding she ran into the street, and a policeman took her to the Metropolitan Hospital, where the wound was dressed. The prisoner de- nied that it was malicious it was done in a struggle. She hit him, and he hit her. The prosecutrix said she did not want to give the man I into custody.-The Clerk But you bave charged him.—Sergeant Sangster said that, from what he was told at the hospital, he arrested the prisoner I in bed. The prisoner said it was done in a dranken quarrel.—Mr Fofdharu said he believed I this was the case, and, with the advice to the prisoner to be more careful in the future, dis- I' charged him.

FRENCH OFFICERS ARRESTED. > [ Vannes, Morbihan, Sunday.—The prefect fcav- I ing requested General Frater to send a detach- I ment of cavalry to Ploermel to aid the civil i administrative authorities in enforcing the Asso- ciation law, General Frater ordered Lieut.-Col. I De Saint Beniy, commanding the 2nd Regiment of Cbasseurs at Pontiny to proceed to Ploermel with a detachment, and hold himself at the dis- posal of the assistant prefect. Colonel De Saint ivemy refused to obey, declaring his religious feelings forbade him taking part in the closing j of religious establishments. General Frater I sent a major to Ploermel in place of I Colonel De Saint Remy. The General command- ing the division placed Colonel De Saint Remy under close arrest. General Andre, the Minister of War, changed this sentence to one of deten- tion in a fortress. He will be conveyed to Fort Belle Isle, and tried for breach of discipline.— Renter. Paris, Monday.—The Gaulois and Libre P-010 publish a despatch from Auvanches, according to which a rumour is current in that town that the captain of the 2nd Chasseurs had followed the example of his lieutenalat-coloiiel. who refused to take part in the operations against I religious establishments. It is added that the captainis, like his chief, confined in a fortress. Angers, Sunday.—The Court at Cholet has sentenced two priests by default—one to eight days' and the other to two months imprisonment i —for breaking scats placed by the policenpon pre- j mises occupied by members of religions orders.— l Router. <

ANGLESEY PANTOMIME. AMUSING CORONATION INCIDENT. The Marquis of Anglesey, after the Coronation, had a short procession all to himself. It was not as well attended as the Royal procession, but the small boys who participated in it enjoye i the Anglesey procession exceedingly. The Marquis on emerging from the Abbey after the Corona- tion stood waiting for his carrjage. There was such a jam of vehicles and of peers and peeresses Ji^t it was a difficult matter to sort things out. -the Marquis of Anglesey gave up the struggle as hopeless. Either his driver was asleep or had mistaken someone else for the Marquis and driven him off to the Anglesey abode The Mar- quis tried vainly to pet a cab. Then, his patience exhausted, he started in a procession of one for Piccadilly. He held his robes over his right arm so as not to stumble over them, and tucking his coronet undeif his left arm he began his procession. The Angle- "ts sey procession consisted at the start of one per- son. It lacked a good deal as far as quantity was concerned, but it wanted nothing as to intensity. It was the only procession that was proceeding at the time, and it had all the spectators to itself. The police had no instructions to clear the way for the Anglesey procession, and it was soon greatly hampered by the curious throng. Hi. Jimmy, here's one of them peers escaped," a small boy shouted to another small boy across the street. Both small boys then iell in line, and at once became an integral part of the Anglesey procession. Held on to His Coronet. The Marquis redoubled his speed, holdinc grimly on to his coronet and his robes,and with a slight blush of embarrassment on his face ho tried to get the thing over as quickly as possible. The small boys presumably, had never seen a real peer in full regalia proceeding on foot in a State procession consisting exclusively of him- self, and the pxoceedings at once achieved popular success. The Anglesey procession in. creased in size. Sturdy-looking countrymen with large mouths, which were kept open, and with eyes which they bad not blinked all day, for fear of missing something, trudged along to see what it meant. I don't know what it's all about. but evidently it's a real thing," remarked an American as he fell into line. The Anglesey pro- cession was not well drilled, and it did not keep good step. It was rather of the motley order, but it was completely in earnest. A small boy, noticing the embarrassment of the Marquis. said to him. I'll carry your crown for tuppence, but the offer was not accepted. The route of the Anglesey procession was partly that 1 Poyal Procession It proceeded along Whitehall and Cockspnr-street to Piccadilly. There it unfortunately came to an abrupt termi- nation. The Marquis suddenly disappeared, coronet, robes, and all, into an hotel. The other component parts of the Anglesey procession evidently thought they had been treated rather shabbily. They stood outside the hotel some time waiting for the Marquis to emerge. To their chagrin he did not, so the Anglesey proces- sio was permanently over. We've been had, sadly remarked a Lincolnshire farmer after he had waited two hours for something to happen.

PREDICTED HSS OWN DEATH. At Poplar on Saturday Mr Wynne E. Baxter held an inquiry concerning the death of Arthur Alsford, aged 37 years, a labourer, of Garvev street, Custom House. The widow stated that the deceased was employed in the erection of a new iron building at East Greenwich. He told her the previous week that she was not to be sur- prised if he met with an accident. On Saturday week she was informed that he had been taken I' to the Hospital, and when she saw him there he was unconscious, and remained so until his death. The evidence showed that the deceased was shifting a joist with an iron bar when the former canted, and he was thrown off another joist on which he was standing, and falling a consideraole distance, received shocking injuries to the head. Tne Jury returned a verdict of Accidental death," and added that they were ot opinion that ihe accidont was caused through want of proper superintendence and distribution of labour.

A TINY PLANET. | Preparations are being made at many observa- tones for the reappearance of the little plane,. Eros during the spring of 1903, when telescopes, I and cameras will be in requisition to solve some of the mysteries attaching to our tiny neighbour, so tiny as probably to have a diameter of leaa than 25 miles. The variability in the planet's brilliancy noticed during its apparition in 1900 j —recurring as it did at regular intervals of a few hours—suggested the possibility that instead of one small globe, two little planeticis may be Ii there in mutual revolution, the surface of one. being more capable .of reflecting sunlight than •he^ £ er; A eimilar near approach will occus- in 1917, though the least possible distance of Eros from the earth will not be attained until j 1924, when it will be only 13,000,000 of mile» away-near enough to be detected by the naked eye as a sixth magnitude star. Mars, which until 1898 was believed to be our nsarest outside neighbour, is some 33.000,000 miles distant, ever j at its closest approach, so it is anticipated thai from our small comrade the sun's distance wilJ be obtainable with greater accuracy than ha:. hitherto been possible.

j BANK MANAGER'S SAD END. At St. Pancras Coroner's Court on Saturday Mr Walter Schroder held an inquest concerning the death of Siiney Herbert Diver,aged 34, assis- tant manager at the Union of London and Smith's Bank, Lombard-street, City. The de., ceased, who resided at Woodbank, Woodville- road. New Barnet, had to sleep at the bank oe Wednesday night last, and left home at 9 p.rn.. to travel by the Enfield train to Moorgate Sta- tion. He had lately, his wiaow said, been work ing very hard, and was fatigued when he departed YvThen the train by which Mr Diver travelled' emerged from the tunnel near Yoik-road Station on the Great Northern Railway, he was, accord- ing to Charles Turner, a railway porter, hanging with his head, shoulders, and arms far out of tha window of a first-class compartment, and resting :on the brass bar crossing the window midway, .He was found to be unconscious and dying, from -the effects of injury to the head. The Jury found a, verdict of Accidental daath."

THE NEW GOVERNOR OF THE ISLE OF MAN. Lord Raglan, who was Under-Secretary of War in the last Ministry, has, it is re- ported, been appointed to the Lieutenant- Governorship of the Isle of Man, rendered vacant by the death of Lord Henniker. Lord Raglan'" salary as Under secretary was -.1,500 a year as Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Man he will get EJ.,800 with a hoase. Born ^57, Lord Ragian was educated at Eton and the ll.M.C., Sandhurst. In 1875 he was appointed a sub-lieutenant, and a year later joined the Grenadier Guards, of which regiment he was made a captain in 1886. He afterwards went over to the Monmouthshire Militia Engineers. From 1880 to 1883 he was A.D.C. to Sir James rergusson, Governor of Bombay. He was orderly officer to Major-General Sir R. Phayre in the second phases of the Afghan War, when ha earned a medal. For six years (1868-74) he was 8: Page of Honour to Queen Victoria. The new Governor has an excellent pedigree, if he could trace it no further back than his grandfather, thft Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in th. Crimea. He is an Honorary Lieutenant-Coiona and owns 800 acres of Welsh land and Cefn. tilla Court, which was presented to his warlike grandfather by a grateful crowd of public sub scribers.

NEWPORT MILITARY INCIDENTS. The Newport justices on Monday deaiv with a series of cases in which soldier, were interested. Bombardier Lacey noticec a gunner in the Artillery wearing a flower in his tunic in the street and removed it, as it was contrary to military order? to wear a flower when in uniform. Henry Lewis, o' 34, East dsk-road, who was with the soldier thereupon raised his fist, and threatened to giv, Lacey a "good hiding." Lewis, however, told th, Court that he told Lacey that he had put th flower-a little carnation-in the soldier's tunic and that Lacey told him not to speak and pushet him away, and it was then that he threatened t. strike him. Defendant was fined 10s.—Gunne; Frederick Peter was in the dock because he wa,, drunk on Saturday night, and kicked P.C. Rey, nolds three times on the legs. A number o Eoldiers were fighting in Shaftesbury-street and the officer interfered, which interfeience Petez resented. The soldier now explained that he had been an abstainer for four years, but on Saturday he was persuaded to drink the King's health o& account of the Coronation. Peter, who was givell an excellent character, was fined 10s.—Johc Storey, who deserted from the Royal Field Artil- lery at Newport,gave as a reason that he had been home from South Africa for seven months and could not get any kit served out to him. Storey was ordered to be handed over to an escort.

BOUNDARY DISPUTE AT WHITCHURCH At Llandaff Police Court on Monday (before M1 G. C. Williams, Mr Franklen G. Evans, and ML Henry Lewis) Henry Brown, a, market gardener, having a garden at Whitchurch, charged-Wil- liam Webber, a gardener, occupying the adjoin- ing piece of land, with an assault, in which big two sons, Walter and Charles, took part. Mr Morgan Morgan appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr J. H. Jones for the defendants. On the 29th ult. the plaintift saw the defendants gathering apples from a tree which grew in the bank separating the respective gardens. Plaintiff claimed the apples. This led to a disturbance, in which the senior defendant belaboured the plaintiff with a linen prop, both parties claim- ing the bank and the apple tree. This was the whole essence of the case, and Mr J. H. Jones called Mr William Roberts, land surveyor, who swore that he surveyed the ground some 15 months ago, owing to disputed ownership, and the plan on the deed of conveyance, which was a correction, gave the fenc 3 and the apple tree to the land occupied by the defendants. The Bench retired, and after some time gave their decision in favour of defendants and dismissed the case.

To the representation of the East Ward, New. port, upon the Newport Board of Guardians, ic place of Mr S. J. Broadribb, disqualified, Mr W. Garland (Liberal), the Friendly Societies" Council nominee, will be returned onopppaed.