Glamorgan Free Press

(Copi/riy''t. ) THE MISSING LINK. By the Author of "Secret Chains," "RcctorM^" "Until the Day Breaks," &c., ice. Your brother's life Falls Into forfeit. A1M, what poor ability's in me To do him good 1" Commend me to my brother, soon at night I'll send him certain word of my success." Meature for Measure. CHAPTER XI. THE V B RD ICT. Captain Stambridge was next called upon, and he came forward with a sullen, half subdupd fury, which boded no good to the Derri k family. "You were engaged to be married to the deceased young lady, I understand," began the Coroner. I was, sir; I am proud to own it; the thought of it is the only consolation and comfort left me in my desolation and bereavement." "And you wish to deny upon oath that there was any disagreement between you and the deceased ? "I do, sir. I call Heaven and earth, and all these honourable gentlemen here present to witness that there never was anything between me and the late Miss Susan Derrick, but the most perfect love, affection, and harmony. And who says otherwise ought to be prosecuted for wilful and corrupt perjury—whosoever they may be, relatives of the deceased or what not-" and he turned a threatening face towards Anne, who was just then too much absorbed in her own gloomy and terrifying thoughts to be aware of his presence in the room. "When did you last see the deceased ? "On Thursday night, sir. We had been together all the afternoon at Tavistock, buying articles to ornament and beautify the happy home we hoped to have had together. We parted, sir; at the door of this very house wfth the mutual respect and affection for each other becoming those who are just about to enter the nupt:al state. I can say no more, sir," and Stambridge hid his face in his handkerchief. "We all feel deep sympathy with you, Mr. Stambridge," and the coroner's words were re-echoed by pitying murmurs round the room. "I much regret being obliged to ask another question or two. Considering your re- lations with the deceased, no doubt the most perfect confidence existed between you. Did she ever tell you of any person who had any ill-feeling against her, any person who had ever quarrelled with her, or was likely to do her any injury P "Yes, she did." Stambridge's handkerchief went down from his eyes, and there was a fierce' triumph in them as he answered She told me that very Thursday night, and they were almost the very labt words as she ever spoke to me: • Martin and I have just had a regular flare up, and you know what a nasty temper he has.' Those were her very words. I shall remember them as long as I live." Martin sprang to his feet as Stambridge spoke. Then he recollected himself, and with one quick glance at Anne, he resumed his seat and kept his eyes fixed on the ground as before. In another minute the climax of the scene approached. Everyone's heart beat a little quicker, as in a stern, significant tone, which, in the ears of everyone present meant: "Prisoner at the bar!" the coroner summoned Martin Derrick. His was a dignified and manly figure, as he rose and walked to the table with firm steps. Tall, square-shouldered, his head held erect, there was about him a look of reserved and silent power. But around this strong, self- possessed man there was weaving a net of circumstances which presently would make him as helpless as a child. The one or two people in the room who believed in Martin Derrick felt a cold shudder run through them at the deadly meaning of the coroner's words, which he uttered as soon as Martin had taken the oath. "It is my duty to warn you, Mr. Derrick, that what you say may b,e taken as evidence against you. Will you tell me where you were on the afternoon and evening of last Friday ? "I was on the moor." How long were you away from home ? "From noon or thereabouts till half-past nine at night." Did you meet anyone during that time ? "Not a living soul since three o'clock in the afternoon." "Can you describe to the jury on what part of the moor you were ? Martin thereupon gave a minute description of the .direction he had taken during the earlier part of the day, when the atmosphere was fairly clear, and then he told them how, in the thick fog which had come on during the afternoon, he had lost his way entirely, and had found it again only after great difficulty. "How do you account for the fact that your servant, Eliza Richards, heard the deceased call loudly upon your name, if, as you say, you were at that time miles distant from the house ? Martin's lips quivered under his moustache; there was a slight falter in his voice, as he replied after a moment's pause: "I can only suppose that my poor sister hoped I was some- where within hearing, and that she called upon me to protect her from the man, whoever he was, who was threatening her life." "A likely story," Stambridge was heard to mutter, and there was an incredulous sneer upon many of the faces of the men present. "Will you state what was the cause of the quarrel between yourself and your deceased sister ? Martin's eyes flashed, and he lifted up his bead haughtily. "I dan j, air, in the strongest words I can use, that there was any quarrel between us. Captain Stamhridge knows quit* vcell and Martin gave him a swift, stem glance, "that as lately as last Wednesday evening I gave my sister Susan thirty pounds as a weddiBg present, and they went together to Tavistock to buy those things he has been talking of, with the money." Statrbridge, here questioned by the Coroner, cwned to the fact of the money having been given, but added: "Susan told me her brother was very angry with her about the way she had spent it." "I deny it; on my oath I deny it!" cried Martin, shewing some excitement as the charge waa persisted in. "There is not a word of truth in what Captain Stambridge has been saying." The Coroner took no further notice of Martin's denial-it seemed a matter of small importance to b;m-b,t went swiftly on. And then the last, the n:ost dreadful question of all, was put, to Martin. "Mr. Derrick, I warn you; you need not reply unless you choose. Is this revolver yours ? Yes, that revolver is mine," was Martin's Arm and clearly-spoken answer. "Where do you generally keep it ? "In my bedroom. But last Friday morning 'I had heen cleaning it, and I left it on the top of the book-shelf in my little room down- stairs." Do you generally keep it loaded ? "Yes, always." "And you loaded it again after you had cleaned it last Friday morning ? "Yes." "Loaded each chamber ? Certainly." "One of the chambers had been discharged when the policeman found the revolver on Friday night. What do you know about it jI" "I know nothing except what has been stated here to-day." "I have no further question to ask you, Mr. Derrick." Martin went back to his seat, and as he did so there passed between himself and Anne a look- such as two soldiers might give each other who were cut off from all help, sur- rounded and overwhelmed by the superior force of the enemy. There was little left to hope for, but they would stand by each other, and support each other to the last. The coroner then summed up the evidence. It had rarely been his task, he said, to hold a more painful, and a moie mysterious inquiry. Here was a young lady of considerable personal a tractions, with, apparently, not an enemy in the world, with an immediate prospect of a happy and highly respectable marriage, suddenly struck down by a cruel and violent deSth. The apparent absence of motive for the crime, was one of the most puzzling features of the cane. "Of course," said the coroner, "the idea of self-destruction cannot be en- tertained for a moment, because the revolver was found at some distance from the deceased, and the medical evidence proves that death was instantaneous. We know from Miss Anne Derrick's evidence that some man was concealed in this chouse when she returned home last Friday evening, and, as far as her testimony on that point goes, he was a man respectably dressed. As not a single article in the house was missing, it is reasonable to suppose that the crime was not commuted by any person who had entered for the purpose of robbery. There remain then, two puprofifions. The death might possibly have been accidental, from that criminal carelesssness in the u-e of firearms, 9; wlu m utàV¡t\llf\) Ltu r¡iU:¡ ¡w¡ ilay; and tne culprit might have fled in terror. But a more likely supposi'ion is that some person may have had a violent quarrel with the deceased, and have taken her life in a moment of passion. We have the remarkable fact that Mr. Stambridge, who was just about to marry the deceased, declares upon oath that she told him the evening before her death, she hnd had a violent quarrel with her brother, Mr. Derrick; this is denied by the latter, and a counter-charge is brought by the sister of the deceased against Mr. Stambridge, who also denies on his part that be had any dis- agreement with the deceased. I leave you, gentlemen of the jury, to carefully consider the bearing of these conflicting statements." "Then," went on the Coroner, "we come to the important evidence given by Eliza Richards— evidence all the more important because it was ^iven unwillingly, and because efforts bad been made to tamper with it by one who ought to have set her a better example," and here the Coroner gave a withering glance in tha direction of Richards, who looked, h some of the audience aid afterwards, like a hardened old reprobate. "The deceased was heard to call loudly on her brother's name, and then immediately followed the report of the pistol which caused her death. Richards, moreover, owns he thought he heard his mastet's 'ootsteps hurrying across the farm- yard. "I didn't, I tell ye," shouted Richards, to the horror of everybody. "He were miles away upon he moor! "Remove that man," said the coroner in aa vwful voice, looking at Watkins. "I'll go without any removing from that oung chap," and Richards stalked across the room to the door. Here Watkins gave the old man a gentle push, not officially, so much as with a friendly consideration for his welfare,and trie door was shut upon him. "Lastly," resumed the coroner, after making a solemn pause to mark his sense of the enormity of Richards's conduct-" Lastly, and this is a very serious matter, as I need hardly point out to you, gentlemen of the jury-Mr. Derrick acknowledge! that the revolver with which the crime was undoubtedly committed—was his own. Mr. Derrick states, moreover, that he was miles ,way on the moor the evening his sister was -hot, but he is unabl6 to bring forward as a witness any person who saw him there. It is undoubtedly a terrible thing to imagine that a man of education and respectable position should be guilty of the death of his own sister, and we can ha., dly conceive any adequate motive (or such a crime." Then, with a few words of solemn appeal to the jurv, the coroner dismissed them to their deliberations and they retired 10 Martin's little smoking-roem across the entrance hall, to con- sider their verdict. And now that Martin was publicly accused before them all, and the crowd of neighbours regarded him with indignant, horror-stricken locks, and there was a more or less involuntary shrinking away from that very part of the room where he sat, with his face still calm and steadfast, though full of sadness, then Anne no longer feared to draw attention to him by any- thing she might do or say. They were sitting side by side as before; and with an air which would have been defiant if it had not been for the sweetness of the loyal affeetion which prompted her, and which beamed from her eyes —Anne put out her hand, took her brother's, and held it in her own. "Birds of a feather," whispered one farmer to another. "She knows all about it, bless you." The time seemed an eternity to Anne, but it was barely half-an-hour before the jury came solemnly trooping back to their places. The moment was come which to the accused and to those who leve them must be more like the agony of death than anything else we can suffer. And ah!—unhappy soul-it was the econd time in her troubled life that Anne had gone through this torture. She claeped her brother's hand tightly, she could hardly breathe, she could hardy see-but she could hear; and these wera the words she heard: Wilful murder against Martin Derrick." CHAPTER XII. a ODIUM or LIGHT. There could be no question of bail this time. Martin Derrick had been spared imprisonment before, but there was no escape for him now. Just a little time was allowed him to give some directions to Richards about the farm, and to write a letter to Mr. Harrison, a lawyer at Tavistock, while Watkins mounted guard over his prisoner, sitting in a chair close to the door of the smoking-room, where Martin was writing. Anne, meanwhile, was in her brother's bedroom packing a portmanteau with some of his clothes; har mind was quite clear and collected, and she thought of everything he would be likely to require. Presently she came downstairs again, and went into the smoking-room, Watkins rising 1 espectfully as she entered. Martin rose too, fastening down the envelope of his letter aa he did so. "This is to Mr. Harrison, the lawyer, Anne; he'll do the best he can for me no doubt, and now I am just ready to start." Then, as he looked into her face, which was white with anguish, he held out both his hands to her, and for a moment she hid her face on his shoulder, whilst Watkins went to the window at the other side of the room, put his head out as far as it would go, and appeared to be deeply interested in the domestic affairs of the fowls in the farmyard without. "If it were not for the thought of that pogr girl upstairs, and still more of you, Anne, I should go away cheerfully enough this time," said Martin. And, indeed, it seemed to his sister that Martin was like another man. At the former coroner's inquest, which was held after the death of Dick Lawson, Martin had seemed stunned with misery. He had scarcely thanked he two gentlemen-his landlord and the vicar -who had done him the friendly office of becoming bail ior him; he had appeared in- different as to what became of him. Now he was alert, vigorous, self-reliant; his eyes were bright, the colour had come back to his face; he looked like a man ready to make a gallant fight tor his liberty and life. "Keep up a good heart, Anne, and don't worry about me more than you can help. You and Richards between you will be able to carry on the farm all right this winter, and by the end of January this matter will be settled one way or another." "Oh, Martin, if there is any justice in Heaven or earth, you'll be cleared of this at once! Well, something fresh may be found out at any moment. Ever so many things came into my head to-day as I listened to the witnesses. There's something mixed up in this that people haven't got any notion of as yet. The Coroner said Susan had not an enemy in the WOrfd. What does he know about it-what do we know —her own family ?" and then Martin's voice lowered. "Don't waste your time, Anne, in looking too near home—you know what I mean —though there's something that puzzles me even in that quarter. Wnat did Stambridge mean by saying I had had a quarrel with Susan P Then Martin addressed the policeman, who at once turned round from the window: "Watkins, I am going upstairs to see my sister Susan—for the last time." They went upstairs, Anne first, then Martin, with Watkins keeping close behind him, and entered a little room, where the blinds were drawn down over the raseinent. windows, and there was a faint Iragracice of flowers. Susan, v iwte, cold, and placid, 'lay on her little white Led, some white chrysanthemums and sprays of rosemary were strewn on her bosom, and on the pillow. Her beautiful dark hair was brought a little over her forehead, and hid the ghastly bullet wound. The brother and sister ,emained for a minute in silence, their heads bowed down, on each side of the bed. Watkins stood at the door, his helmet in his hand. Then Martin stooped, and kissed Susan's cold lips without a word. After that he walked firmly across the room. "Your prisoner is ready," said he to tha police- man. ("And if 'twas the last word I had to speak," so Watkins remarked to his wife that evening, "I'd take my Bible oath that Martin Derrick is nn innocent man.") Martin was gone, carried off to the police- station at Tavistock; and Aiine went to her own room, tfirew herself down on the bed, and turned her far e to the wall. For a time she lay half conscious, feeling as though her life was ebbing awa- ir, iii her. An hour passed, there came a gentle knock at 'Jie door, she made no answer; then the door ■>var- oponc-d, and Mrs. Ri hards entered with a ■r J' I've brought ye a drop of hot soup, Miss Derrick, and a bit of <Sficken." Then, as Anne feebly 1Ihr.k her head, the w«:nan went on: "Ma dear soui, do ye now take eummat to keep up your strength. You'll have to go up before the magistrates at Tavisrock to-morrow, you '•now, and you'll see the master again, and hear how he's getting on." I know-I know and Anne started up, roused by the acute pang of remembrance that a further ordeal awaited her brother and herself to-morrow. "Yes, I must keep up till that is over. Oh, Mrs. Richards, think of all my jrother has gone through in the last two years, doe-n't it Fieeiii as though there was no pity in all Heaven or earth for us." Airs. Richards h^d no gift for uttering tverds of consolaticu; her kindly nature could espress ,jolt ;¡¡ly in acta. "I'm ccu'e to stop a bIt wítn you, Miss Derrick, and send El¡za home. She's no use at all now; she does nothing but cry and holler, because her father's been telling of her that she's been and swore the master's life away with her tales and she can't abide the thought of being had up before the magistrates to- morrow as witness, and then there is the Exeter 'sizes td* come after. But what's the girl to do, when she 's put upon her oath ? The truth's bound to come out, and so I S&}S to her father." "Eliza did perfectly right," said Anne, who, revived by the food Mrs. Richards had pre- vailed upon her to take, seemed to have become more like her energetic self again. "Whereis the g i rl ? I want to see her." "She's in such a taking, Miss Derrick, fit to cry her eyes cut.' "Never mind, tell her to come to me, and say I am not angry with her, not in the-least." So the mother presently led the daughter into the room; the girl's eyes were all inflamed with crying, and her hands were plucking convul- sively at her apron. She was a comely, honest- looking girl of seventeen, and Anne, who had known her from her childhood, had perfect reliance upon her truthfulness. "Come here, Eliza, and den't cry sov you have done nothing but what is perfectly right. Come, tell me all about it, there's a good girl," Eaid Anne very kindly; "tell me all over again what happened on Friday afternoon and evening whilst I was out. Begin at the beginning, and tell me what time it was when Miss Susan aiked you to go to the dressmaker's." "It was close upon four o'clock as far as I can mind," began Eliza, a little consoled by her mistress's sympathy. "It began to get duskisb early, because of the fog, and I know I lighted that there lamp in the hall as you found put out, miss, before I went away." "Wall, did Miss Susan seem very anxious about your going to the dressmaker's ? Because, you know Miss Taylor had promised to come the next morning, and there could be no such great hurry about the lace." "That's just what Miss Taylor said, miss. She hadn't cut out the body of the dress even, and øays she to me: Whatever put it into Miss Susan's head to send you along here bothering about the lace trimming to-night, when she knows quite well I've never had no time to put a scissors into that brown silk of hers, and its done up in the paper now, just as it came from the shop." Anne's eyes brightened as the girl went on. These trivial remarks had a bearing on the case far more important than Eliza could imagine. "Well, Eliza, I am pleased you remember all that so clearly. Now go on; what did Miss Susan say to you about not hurrying back ? I want to hear all about that again." "She said to me two or three times over, so I couldn't but take particular notice of it, for you know, miss, if you'll please to excuse my saying of it—Miss Susan wasn't one in general to think about a poor girl's having a bit of pleasure-she says, says she: 'You needn't hurry home again Eliza; you can go and see your friends in the village and have a cup of tea. You won't be wanted here till Miss Derrick comes home from Tavistock, and that won't be much before six o'clock, I know. P'raps I shall lock up the house, and take a bit of a walk this evening,' says she, I so you'd better not come back just yet, or you won't get in.' "Take a walk in that fog, and getting dark too!" Anne was almost overwhelmed. Every- thing that Eliza told her confirmed the vague suspicion floating through her miad. The curtain was beginning to lift-but then what a dark, mysterious vista was being revealed beyond! "Well then, Eliza, did you go and see any of your friends in the village ? "Yes, miss. I stopped and had a cup of tea with Mrs. Westlake, and then I thought I'd go and sit with mother a bit on the way home. I knowed as how I should hear you driving home in the trap, and then I could run out and be here as soon as ever you wanted me." "And then "-Anne's voice faltered and a deadly pallor came over her face, but she forced herself to go on. "Then, Eliza, as you were just going into your mother's house you heard—tell me what it was you heard." But here Eliza burst into loud sobbing, and it was some minutes before she was able to go on. "I heard something something as now I know what 'twas—I shall never get over—never." "Try to tell me, my poor girl," said Anne, very gently. "'Twas libe this here. Miss Susan, she gave two awful screeches—'Martin, Martin!' she hollers twice over, and then in a minute came a little bang, and I was skeered, and I runs into mother's house." And did Eliza tell you, Mrs. Richards, what she had heard ? "Yes, she did, Miss Derrick," replied the woman sorrowfully; and I was busy washing up the tea things, and didn't pay much heed to the girl, worse luck. Don't come here with your foolish tales, Eliza, I says I to her if you did hear Miss Susan a-screeching out, what's that to you ? She's one as'll screech if she sees a spider (you'll forgive my saying that now, please, Miss Derrick). As like as not there's been a rat about, and the master's been and shot it'; he will shoot the rats sometimes when he sees 'em, as you know, Miss Derrick." "And, of course, you and Elizabeth took it for granted that Mr. Derrick was in the house ?" "Why, ves, miss," said Mrs. Richards, reluc- tantly; twas only nateral as we should. But now we know the rights of it. The poor soul was calling out for help in her last moments, hoping as the master would hear and come to her." Anne sighed bitterly. These honest kindly folk might put perfect trust in the young master they had always served so faithfully, but would the rest of the werld accept this explana- tion of poor Susan's death-cry? There was no more information to be gleaned from Eliza, so Anne dismissed her for the present, with a few words of praise for having stated so clearly all she knew. This one vitally irrportant fact had been established by her evidence. Susan had some strong motive for wishing to get rid of the girl for an hour or two that afternoon, and for being left entirely alone in the house. Anne remembered how ill and worried and fretful-as if with the pressure of some great anxiety-her naturally good-tempered sister had seemed OQ the morning of that fatal Friday. Susan knew the day before that Martin would be out on the moor all that afternoon, and she knew that I was going to Tavistock market, and that she would be left in the house with only Eliza. And at four o'clock that afternoon she sent out Eliza with the excuse of a message—for it was clearly nothing but an excuse-to Miss Taylor; and she said all she could to prevent the girl from coming back before I was ex- pected home. Now, why did Susan take such great care to be in the house alone ? What was the going to do, or whom was she expecting to see ? Sunly not James Stambridge, lisr honest and respectable lover, who was going to make her his wife in a few days' time." It appeared never to have occurred to the corcner to inquire where Stambridge was all that Friday evening. "Stambridge is a man above suspicion," thought Anne, rather bitterly; then her just and candid nature re-asserted itself. "I own I am inclined to be unfair to him; he's an honest man if he's a hard one, and it's ridiculous, because a man is vulgar in his looks and ways, and because he is stuck-up, and talks sometimes like a book it's ridiculous because I can't abide him, to suppose that he is a mur- derer! It could only be because he was mad with rage because of her threatening to jilt him; and I should never have thought that Stambridge was a hasty, violent scrt of man. By the bye, how is it that Susan told me they had had a great quarrel, and then he denies it on his oath, and says it was she and Martin wht had quar- relled r Now, we know that that is a lie." And so Anne racked her weary brains with conjectures, until at last she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. (To bit contiwed.)

LOCALPATENTS. This Weekly List of applications for patents is compiled by WILLIAM J. MUNDBN, of 75, Chancery Lane, london, W.C., Editor of The Inventor's Assistant. This journal is the only one published en- tirely in the interests of Inventors. It is issued monthly, price One Penny or six months sub- scription, post free, Ninepence. 17,537, 15th August, George Alexander, Pen- ybryn, Cardiff. The adjustable grip blind Toller. 17,847, 19th August, Daniel Jenkins, 70, Tudor Road, Cardiff, An improvement in clasps. or fastenings for harness or other strapping.

GENIUS NOT APPKECIATED AT PENTKE. ,j AN aittist" AND HIS "REWAUD." An assistant rent-collector, named Charles Evans, of Pentre, was charged at the Ystrad olice Court on Monday-õefore the Stipendiary and other magistrates-with that he did on the th mst. "unlawfully and to the annoyance of passengers then in a certain street, thereat, ex- it to the public new a certain indeoent drawing. P.C. Histon said that on Monday evening he saw an indecent figure of a man having been scratched upon the window of an unoccupied shop, and underneath it appeared indecent words. He was informed that the defendant had done it, but when seen the defendant denied all knowledge of the drawing. James Paryy, Gelli road, stated that there- were two pictures upon the window, one of which he swore was drawn by the defendant, The other he saw there previously. Arthur Simpson, haulier, who gave his evi- dence very reluctantly, said that he saw the pictures, but took no notice of thent. Supt. Coles: Did youhave a conversation with the defendant?—No answer. f Supt. Colea then produced a statement made by the witness to the police and signed by him ab being true. This contained the conersatioa as detailed by him. The defendant denied being near the place on Monday eening. William Henry Evans, crier, said he saw something scribbled" on the window on the 5th inst., but could not say what it was. The Stipendiary said it was quite clear the I defendant had drawn the figure, and he should be ashamed of himself. A fine of 25s, including oosts, was imposed.

+ PARENTS OF TWELVE SONS. A PREMIUM ON LARGB FAMILIES. Curious meausres are sometimes introduced into the various European Parliaments, but for downright originality the Transvaal Volksraad (says a "Daily Mail" correapondent at Pretoria) can give points to aRY legislative chamber. What European Parliament, he asks, would ever dream ef considering a law for providing a bonus to the parents of twelve sons? And yet the Raadsleiden (as the Transvaal legisla- tors are termed) actually spent several days in discussing the topic. What is more, the great heart of the country was profoundly moved, and the prolificacy of certain Dutch families became an object of envy and admiration. As the en- thusiasm arose, memorials began to pour into the Government, praying that instead ef a paltry bonus of JSIQO being paid at the advent of th& tyelfth son, the amount shtRzld be increased to JE500. or that in lieu of this 3,000 acres of ground should be granted. Fathers of large families soon began to find their marriageable daughters at a premium, and young men of six- itee-n lay seige in every country drop to the hearts of impressionable maidens of fifteen, en- couraged thereto by calculating parents. The earlier the marriage was celebrated, the sooner would the twelfth son arrive with the 3,000 acres. The prospect was dazzling. Educated Boers puzzled their brains over the theories ef Dr Schenk, as girls would in future be a drug in the market except as mothers of prolific families. At the end of June of this year the law came before the Volksraad, and by a small majority the members decided in favour of the principle of the measure. Some of the members, how- ever, looked askance at the proposal as it stood, and argued that parents with twelve daughters were more in need of the bonus than those with twelve sons. The cry of the daughters began to b beard in the land, and those parents whom Nature had blessed with a superfluity of girls were eneregetic in their denunciation of the pro- posal. The more the Raad discussed the matter, the more mixed they became in their views; the situation at length became untenable, and on the fateful morning of Friday, July 1, the mem- bers gave up the problem in despair, and cast out the maesure, devoting their energies instead to such subjects as a serious breach of Parlia- mentary decorum which had been committed by State Secretary Reitz, who had had the temerity to appear in the Chamber in a pair of light trousers.

Kind words are the bright flowers of earthly existence; use them, and especially arotmd the fireside circle. Every man has an axe to grind, and looks- upon every other man with an eye to inducing him to turn the handle.

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KHONDDA SCHOOLS TELE- PHONE SYSTEM. To the Editor. Sir,-I would iiot again encroach in such haste upon your valuable time and space but that A letter in your issue of August 6th (which unfor- tunately I did not notioa at the time), signed by y. Daniel Thomas, necessitates a reply from me. I beg to say that after reading the report of tha School Board meeting, as reported ia your issue of July 30th, and noting the "pacific ac- tions" of some of the committee who were de- termined to close the discussion at any price, and, as I stated before, not noting Mr Thomas' letter in the following issu-j of the "Free Press," I concluded they were not inclined to discuss the matter, and had better let it drop, as it was too late to amend the agreement even if they would. But your correspondent accuses me of inaccuracies and absurd suggestions without giv- ing us a hint what they are. We will run over a little of his letter. First, Mr Thomas is offended at the name "Ystradyfodwgian" being used for a newspaper controversy, instead of my proper name. Let me assure Mr Thomas that I am not writing for advertisement or for the sake of controversy, "or as a candidate for election," but for the benefit of local ratepayers. But if I don't prove my assertions, or if you, Mr Editor, think it really necessary, I will sign my name to my next letter. Mr Thomas states: "'Ystradavogian' in his letter betrays a lamentable want of statistical accuracy, and make certain suggestions which are absurd." Now, would it not have been better and more satisfactory if Mr Thomas had stated what the inaccuracies were, or where the suggestions failed? I acknowledge a few minor errors of secondary importance, such as a, printer's error or ungrammatical phrase, but not one error of the first importance as your correspondent would have us believe, or why couldn't he point them out? With regard to the latter part of his state- ment, "certain suggestions which are absurd," r ask any of your readers, could anyone suggest anything more absurd than to say, as Mr Thomas is reported to have said at the Board meeting (see "Free Press," July 16th), when an- swering a question on the subject: "Separate connection would require to bring B0 wires into tbf clerk's office." And he goes on to say, "Nor is this all; 30 instruments each measuring SO inches by 34 would be required, necessitating the building of a new room at a cost of jESOO to £ 700." I ask again: Could anything be so ab- surd? when with an exchange switch (or an- nunciator) at the post office, about two feet square or less, one little wire less than one quarter of an inch would do for the clerk's office (Council offices); and each school weuld be separate both to the clerk's office and each other without any interruption or overhearing except by the operator at the post office, who would not be interested enough to listen. But Mr Thomas says it is necessary to lay out ESOO to £ 700 in building. What for? To carry a wire less than the size of a walking stick? Surely, any intelligent man, and especially a postmaster, ought to know that if it were necessary to have two wires for every subscri- ber throughout the country, the roads would be so full of wires that it would be impossible to walk in some places, and all other traffic I dare say would go across fields. Fancy a horse and cart travelling across hedges and ditches because our roads were filled up with telephone wires. Certainly it sounds ridiculous, but that's what, anyone would be led to believe viccording to Mr Thomas'5s suggestions. So much for Mr Thomas' letter. I enclose you two diagrams, one shewing the present system of the Rhondda Board's tele- phone service, and the other shewing a proper and satisfactory system usually adpted. But as it is probable the whole will take too much space, and you must, of necessity, leave it out, I will briefly state tha.t by their present system the Board takes away valuable time of teachers by attracting their attention, and necessarily that of the'scholars, even when the school is not called (as I stated in my last letter), besides the unpleasantness of being listened to when not wanted, whereas in the proper system schools are only called when they are wanted without the. distinct disadvantage of being interrupted and overheard. There still remains many discrepancies in Mr Thomas' arguments, but I won't trouble you with more than two at present, and at which we are bound to smile even if we are afraid to laugh, viz., when hp fearlessly states, yea, and is even willing to swear, that the Duke of Nor- folk never asked him 'personally' (note the per- irenal Iy). This ia something :new. Does the noble Duke, who is Postmaster-General for the whole of Her Majesty's Dominions, a Privy Councillor, etc. ,etc., who counts his income by hundreds of thousands, with millions of servants I ask 4oes he usually consult, or is he habitually in personal communication with his subs. in an out of the way place like Trealaw? If so we shall know where to recommend his political friends who are ever searching for him. They may find the Noble Duke at Trealaw. Again, when he states that the National Tele- phone Company quoted more than the Post Office for fitting up the schools. Now, I have it on reliable authority that the National Tele- phone Co. positively refused to tender fore such at unsatisfactory system as the Board wanted and get, and also that the result would be un- satisfactory, which was very shortly proved by the dommittee's own showing. Now, I will givo you a rough estimate of the cost of a private line, and then "we will go to tea." Estimate for Schools—Rhondda Board. £ s. d. 30 miles of Mangam copper at £ 5 per mile 160 0 0 30 two cell batteries at 6s 9 0 0 30 Pony Johnston, microphone, with induction coils, automatic switch- es, ringing keys, lightning arrest- ers, in walnut Gases complete (Post Office pattern) 45 0 0 Line stores, exclsive of above, at £4 •1 120 0 0 per mile Switch boards 3 10 0 2,000 yards of leading in (insulated 5 0 0 wire) Staples and insulating material 5 0 0 6 intelligent workmen, three months at 38 4d per day 72 0 0 1 working electrician, three months at 5s per lay 18 0 0 1 working engineer at R,130 per year 130 0 0 957 10 0 Sundries, L12 10s 12 10 0 570 0 0 For what Board pays for hirfi for five years 750 0 0 Balance 180 0 0 Approximately, the a hove is correct. With a little modification probably we could save £30 on wire or stores. Afterwards the line would belong to the Board with very little for repairs. Bear in mind I am !}()t advocating the above, although it would be satisfactory, bnt to pay more for the hire of a public line than to con- struct a new one, and without any benefit to the already long suffering ratepayers, I thing is incompetency. What do you think? Faithfully yours, YSTRADAVOGIAN.