Barry Herald

[AU, RIGHTS BE8ERV3D.J WHO WINS MISS BURTON? A T(ll of the London Season. BY MRS. C. M. HAWKSFORD. Author oj "John's Wije." CHAPTER I. THE London Season was over, and Agatha Burton was not engaged. Mrs. Burton had taken a house in Wilton-crescent, and done everything that could be done to forward her daughter's matri- monial interests, and was obliged to own that she had failed. M s. Burton was a widow, with an income that was comparatively moderate. Agatha was her only daughter but she had also a son, who was five or six years older than Agatha, and who had just got his Company in a cavalry regiment. If Mrs. Burton had lived in the country, she might have done so with the greatest comfort; but she had always been an ambitious, worldly woman, craving for excitement, so she preferred iiving far beyond her means for a certain number of months in London or Paris, and economising for the re- mainder of the year. Latterly she had felt justified in going even beyond her usual expenditure, in the hope that Agatha would marry well; and, up to the last few days before they left town, it seemed probable that her wildest dreams might be realised. Agatha was only nineteen, and beautiful— sufficiently beautiful to be conspicuous among the hundreds of lovely women who are gathered to- gether during the season in the million-peopled citv. Agatha's was not a beauty that grew I upon you; but it dazzled you all at once. The magnificent dark flashing eyes; the masses of raven hair, contrasting well with a skin that was in colour almost like alabaster, save for the bright but delicate red of the lips and cheeks nor was her figure less per- fect than her face. Tall and slight, but finely rounded; her Grecian head set upon her shoulders with matchless dignity, and undulating grace in all her movements. Agatha Burton had created quite a sensation in Town. On her first appearance in the parks, opera, or ball-room, Who is she?" had been the universal query and she had, in consequence of the public voice of approbation, been received intc circles which she might otherwise never had entered. Agatha had, of course, many admirers; and there were several men, anyone of whom Mrs. Burton would gladly have welcomed as a son-in- law a year before; but Agatha's London successes had quite altered the case; and the very decided admiration openly expressed by the young Earl of Dunmore, made her enter heart and soul into the endeavour to secure such a brilliant settlement for her daughter. Agatha's influences, during the last three years which she had spent entirely with her mother, had not tended to develop her best qualities and she had, in a great measure, imbibed Mrs. Burton s love of power and admiration. She was dazzled by the chance of becoming a peeress, and lent herself with the greatest willingness to the idea of giving her hand to a man who she knew in her heait she should always utterly despise. The Earl of Dunmore was an only son his father had died when he was quite young, leaving his mother his sole guardian. If there was one fear in the heart of the Countess, it was that he might marry and his openly expressed admira- tion for Agatha Burton aroused all her maternal jealousies. But the Countess was essentially a woman of the world; she always made a point of cultivating her son's friends, so that whatever was said or done might be done with her knowledge, in order that she might be able to exert a constant counter-influence. So she called on the Burtons, and squeezed Mrs. Burton's hand, and congratu- lated her on her daughter's beauty, asked them to her large parties, and check-mated them on all possible occasions. To see those two women together, you would have thought that their friendship was most sincere. Each had a game to piay, and played it well—Mrs. Burton, to marry Agatha to the Earl; the Countess, to prevent the Agatha to the Earl the Countess, to prevent the Earl from marrying Agatha. And to all appear- ance the Countess was likely to succeed for although the Earl, who was weak and vacillating to a degree, liked Agatha as much as he was capable of liking anyone, he stood still in great awe of his mother. This was, perhaps, in a great measure, owing to the fact that, being a sickly boy, he had been sent to neither public schools nor college, so that home-influence had all his life been predominant; and at the age of five-and-twenty, he was in many things as dependent as he had been at fifteen. His -appearance was far from prepossessing. Slight and sickly-looking with small, light-blue eyes; very fair straight hair, which he wore rather long; and a receding chin, that helped to give an expression which at times became almost vacant: —but he was an Earl, with £ 50,000 a year, and the owner of Dunmore Castle; so all London united in worshipping the son of Mamnton. If subsiding into the 'Dowager' became a necessity, the Countess would rather have looked forward to being supplanted by Lady Alice Wendover, the fourth daughter of the Earl of Carstairs. a pretty, fair-haired girl, over whom Lady Dunmore thought she might exercise un- limited authority, and thus retain her influence with her son so on all occasions when she invited Agatha to her house, Lady Alice was there also. But although Lady Alice often went down to dinner on the Earl's arm, it was at Agatha's side that he would be found during the remainder of the evening. When Agatha's brother, Captain Valentine Burton, got leave from Dublin, where his regiment was quartered, and came to visit his mother in Wilton-crescent, he was at once made the confi- dant of her plans and wishes, and entered into her views with a willingness that was, in a great measure, born of the hope that a large share of the advantages would probably fall to himself. Cap- tain Burton -or Captain Val., as he was generally called by his intimate friends—was certainly very good-looking, and, although selfish to a degree, was a most pleasant companion where he chose to make himself agreeable. He dressed well enough to be considered an authority belonged to the best Clubs, rode the best horses, made a good book on the Derby, and was said to be desperately in love with a married lady of distinction. In appearance, although he had something of Agatha's haughty expression, he was as unlike her as possible, being much fairer, with eyes that had A shade of green in them, and light-brown hair and moustache. Taking him altogether, Captain Valentine Burton was a man who commanded a certain success, both with men and women he showed his best points to the world, and was appreciated accordingly. Mrs. Burton naturally expected that her son would be a powerful ally for the furtherance of Agatha s prospects and at first it appeared more than likely such would bo the case; for Lord Dunmore appeared delighted with his new friend, and sought his society on all possible occasions. But there was one quality in the' Earl's character that was his greatest safeguard and this was suspicion. He was suspicious of every one's motives and a well- timed hint from the Countess, that Captain Burton was desirous of cultivating him for the sake of his horses or shooting, put him instantly on his guard; so that after a week or two Captain Burton had got very little further than he had done the first few days. As may naturally be supposed, the constant assurance that Agatha was scheming to marry him for his money and position, carried due weight with Lord Dunmore; but there was another ele- ment in the Earl's character that brought him more nearly within reach of Mrs. Burton's toils- and this was vanity. He was vain enough to believe that Agatha really liked and admired him for himself; and nothing could ever shake this belief, although his mother naturally tried to do so in a thousand ways that were not too openly ex- pressed. The Countess had one advantage over Mrs. Burton — she was the Earl's mother, and understood his nature thoroughly, and was in wnsequence so far successful in her treatment, that the Season had reached its close and he had not been committed. She arranged a hurried visit to the Continent, and persuaded Lord Dun- more into thinking the plan every way delightful. She went with him herself to call on the Burtons, a- expressed many hopes that at some future might renew their delightful intercourse and then, with a triumphant expression on her face, she swept back into the family coach, and earned her son away with her. Agatha had certainly never loved Lord Dun- more; but she had meant to marry him, and she felt humiliated. Proud passionate tears rushed to her eyes when Mrs. Burton upbraided her with not having made the most of her opportunities, but she only said You cannot despise me more than I despise myself; not for having failed to secure him, but tor ever having tried. And without another word she left the room, and, alone in her particular little sanctum, endured the kind of misery those only can experience who are neither in charity with themselves nor with the world. Captain Burton, finding that his London home no longer promised to be very agreeable, returned to Dublin and Mrs. Burton made arrangements to give up the house in Wilton-crescent, and go to Brighton. Agatha hated the idea of Brighton; she longed for rest after all the miserable results of that brilliant London Season—the Season to which she had looked forward with such pleasure, and which she might have enjoyed so much, had not her mother's one aim and object been that she should attract Lord Dunmore-and for this, what had she not sacrificed—what had she not endured ? She had been almost rude to other men, whom she might really have liked and she had encouraged by a thousand arts a man she disliked to join her during her rides in the park, and to dance with her at balls. She had asked his advice; sung his favourite songs accepted his flowers; and given him in return her most winning smiles and the result had been utter failure At Brighton she would be constantly reminded of all that had passed, and would be pitied and condoled with. as the case might be. "Mamma," said Agatha suddenly, one morning. at breakfast, do you particularly care whether I go to Brighton or not ?" Mrs. Burton looked up. Care whether you go to Brighton! why, Agatha, what do you mean ?" "I mean," she said, "that I would rather v>t go, at all events for the present-that I should like first to pay my long-promised visit to Mrs. Vernor." "I'm sure I don't care," replied Mrs. Burton pettishly (Agatha had lost a good deal in her mother's estimation since the Earl had not pro- posed), "and perhaps it would really be a good thing, we certainly have been living at an enormous expense lately, and I could economise better alone." I thought of that," said Agatha, and Brighton is so like London that I should require to dress nearly as well as I do here; whilst at St Helens——" I should indeed say that anything would do for St. Helens," replied Mrs. Burton in a tone of voice which spoke volumes as to the utter nothing ness of the place that Agatha proposed visitine- but if you really wish it I do not object; you are looking pale and ill-natured; people will say that it is from disappointment, and make all sorts of disagreeable comments, if you are constantly en evidence, as you must be in Brighton. Whilst if you go where no one knows you, you ian rusticate and get up your good looks." Agatha left the table and went to the window: she looked out for a few minutes in utter silence, then she said, May I write to-day, mamma ?" "As soon as you like," Mrs. Burton replied, "and. indeed, the more quickly our places are settled the better the heat of London and constant late hours are beginning to disagree dreadfully with me, and I shall be delighted to get away." Agatha walked as far as the door, when Mrs. Burton called her back. "Of course you won't mind doing without a maid; I can't really spare Cameron, and I dont know how to afford two ?" You need not distress yourself, mamma," re- plied Agatha. Even if I wanted a maid ever so much, I could not take one to St. Helens there would be no room for her in a cottage like Mrs. Vernor's." And I am also quite sure that Cameron would not go," said Mrs. Burton; and then she took up the Times, and Agatha left the room, and went up- stairs to write her letter. A few days after Wilton-crescent was deserted, and Agatha's new life had begun at St. Helens. CHAPTER II. IT seemed so strange to Agatha, after all the glare and glitter of London life, to wake in a tiny bed in a tiny room, to get up and smell the mignonette and roses in the garden that ran round Mrs. Vernor's cottage, which had let itself into a sheltered corner of the little bay of St. Helens — to watch the white-crested waves lapping on the golden sands, and to hear the strik- ing of the old church clock of Denborough, a little country town about half a mile over the hill Yes it was strange, but how pleasant! Agatha felt another being; all the artifices of her London life seemed to be swept into the past, and her better nature to reassert itself. Happily there was no counter-influence to mar her enjoyment, so she dressed herself in one of her plainest morning dresses, and went lightly down stairs to break- fast. Mrs. Burton had always been fond of the world, and of moving from place to place, making it in- convenient to have Agatha with her; so she had been placed at an early age under Mrs. Vernor's care, who with more or less assistance from masters had educated her up to the age of seventeen, when Mrs. Burton had taken her abroad. Mrs. Vernor had subsequently come into a moderate legacy and for the sake of her health, which was delicate, had bought a cottage at the little bay of St. Helens, on the Lancashire coast, in order to be near the sea, which had been particularly re- commended. She had often longed to see Agatha again. Feeling for her as she did almost the affec- tion of a parent, the news of her intended visit was a matter of great rejoicing, and she welcomed her very warmly that morning as she opened the door of the little sitting-room. Oh said Agatha, kissing her, is it not all so natural ? I feel as if I must get out my books and commence at once with Mangnall's Questions." Instead of which, Agatha," said Mrs. Vernor, a smile lighting up a pale placid face which bore the traces of departed beauty and the presence of a warm heart and a refined mind, you are a grand young lady from London come to cheer me in my old age, and give me glimpses of the beau monde." Agatha sighed. The glimpses of th& beau monde she had lived in would not, she suspected, enliven her friend very much. I hate London," she said I'm tired to death of gaiety of every descripton. and my greatest enjoyment here will be the never seeing any one but you;" and Agatha drew her chair to the modest little breakfast-table, and bent her queenly head over a bright patterned cup and saucer. What would you say," replied Mrs. Vernor, if I told you that I have an invitation for you already ?" For me ?" said Agatha, looking up. It's only to have tea with my old Doctor and his wife, and unless you like we need not accost it." But of this Agatha would not hear she wanted so much to walk into Denborough, and it would be so nice in the cool of the evening, and an early dinner and tea was just what she most enjoyed; so Mrs. Vernor sent a note to say they would come, and then left Agatha to amuse herself while she suprintended her household affairs. Agatha put on her hat and went out to sit on the sands, dreaming away a long morning, and think- ing how happy she was to be free to do as she liked-trying to forget that, but three short days ago, every wish of her heart had been centered on one point, that of making a brilliant marriage. At one o'clock she went in to dinner, and the day being very hot neither she nor Mrs. Vernor cared to go out again till it was time for them to walk into Denborough. Agatha dressed herself in a dainty high white muslin, which she thought only fit for the morning in London, and with a black lace shawl and a hat finishing her costume, she went into Mrs. Vernor's room, and announced that she was ready. Agatha looked very beautiful and very elegant, and Mrs. Vernor was almost startled into some expression of admiration as her old pupil stood before her, but refrained, thinking it might be bad for her. Alas! how little she guessed at all the flattery that had been lavished upon Agatha; how little she thought that Agatha's vanity took the form of being perfectly satisfied with herself, and receiving as a right the personal homage she met with wherever she went! The walk to Denborough was not more than half a mile, but then it was uphill, so they went very slowlv. but they got into the High-street a few minutes before seven. There really was only that one street of any importance; minor thorough- fares all ran towards this centre. It was like most streets in country towns, long and irregu- larly built, with a market-place at the top, and shops and private houses alternately on either side. Dr. Lynn's house was made conspicuous by being built in red brick, and having three steps at the front door and a brass plate on it announcing the fact of his occupation. Mrs. Lynn was at home, the maid said, and they were shown into a room just across the stone hall. It was not exactly a dining-room nor a drawing-room, but a room that had the air of being a general sitting-room a room that Mrs. Lynn always called the parlour, and which they generally used for all purposes except on great occasions, when the real drawing- room was undressed and made to look as comfort- able as its formal nature would allow but as all Mrs. Lynn's friends stood by the "parlour," and as they seldom entertain strangers, the drawing-room was quite a spectral uninhabited appendage. As Agatha and Mrs. Vernor were announced, Mrs. Lynn got up from an easy-chair to receive them, laying down a bundle of knitting over which she appeared to be busily employed. She was a kind-hearted, comfortable-looking old lady, dressed in a plain black silk of a fashion of many years ago, with snow-white curls under a cap that had also a good deal of white about it. She helped Agatha to take off her shawl, and gave her a warm welcome to Denborough, desiring the servant to let Dr. Lynn know that their visitors had arrived. (To be continued.)

A THREE-YHAK-OLD Italian child, named Paimiere, found a stick of dynamite in the street at Newark (New Jersey), and, thinking it was liquorice, at- tempted to bite it. An explosion took place, shhttsr- incthe child's body and blowing its beaJ off.

HIS SIN FOUND HIM OUT: A TRAGIC AMERICAN TALE. The Kbrary in Governor Andrews' handsome resi- dence was dimly lighted, for it was early in the even- ing, the soft light falling from the chandelier brought OI.t more clearly the beauty of each picture and work of art, with which the wealthy governor liked to sur- round himself. There were books all the way from the great encyclopaedias down to the last review, statues and bronzes from other lands, and a great easy-chair where the governor himself sat when wearied by the cares and duties of office. But to-night no chair that was ever upholsteied could rest his weary frame, for before him knelt; a woman in bitterest agony, imploring him to exercise his prerogative and save the life of her husband, who was condemned to death. She was a beautiful woman her face was colourless, but each feature was exquisitely moulded, and her large, soft eyes, luminous with tears and saddened by grief, were in themselves lovely enough to make even a plain face glorious. How she pleaded. She used every argument that a desperate woman could think of, but in vain. She told him of the little children who must bear the ter- rible heritage of shame from no fault of theirs, and pictured the want and wretchedness awaiting them as well as herself. She told of the kindness of the husbind when sober, and reiterated the fact that but for intoxication his hand would never have been raised against a fellow-man; how he had said if he might have another chance no drop of intoxicants should ever cross his lips, but that he would try hard to redeem the past. She did not try to make his crime less, or object to the justice of the penalty; she only pleaded for mercy-pleaded, too, with such an utter abandonment of grief that the eyes of the governor grew moist, and his heart ached in sym- pathy with hers; but still, as before, he refused her petition. It is simply impossible, madam. Much as I feel for your grief, than which none can be greater, I should be untrue to all principles of justice should I interfere with the regular course of the law. Your husband has had a fair trial and I am sorry to say it to you, but I think he has been justly condemned for the crime for which he will lose his life. That you and your innocent children should also suffer is deplorable; if sin could be robbed of its com- plexity, so that none but the guilty should suffer its consequences, it would be less horrible; but so long as there is sin there must also be suffering by the sinner and all connected with him to the last degree. His condition at the time of the crime, though serving as an excuse in your eyes, goes for little in the eyes of the world at large. The public are already tired of having flimsy excuse* brought up to defeat toe ends of justice. It is diffi. cult to convict a criminal, for the simple reason that his attorneys move heaven and earth to find some- thing which will appeal to a jury, and result in at least a disagreement. That your husband was con- victed at the first trial is evidence to me that the case must have been remarkably clear." Not so," she interrupted, eagerly. It only means that we had no means to employ skilled legal talent. But it is not a new trial for which I am begging. It is not justice, but mercy that I implore, and oh I I beseech you, in the name of your own fair sons and daughters, to be pitiful to me in my ex- tremity The kind face of the governor worked painfully, and tears that were no discredit to his manhood filled his eyes but still he had the same reply. "I cannot do what you wish. The power of pardon is no child's toy, to be given at pleasure, but a great responsibility, to be used with the utmost precaution, lest the barriers against crime are destroyed and the innocent left to the mercy of the lawless." Still she did not yield. Still she pleaded, till at last his patience was exhausted, and he told her firmly she must desist. Only my great pity for you has induced me to listen so long. He must die on the day appointed. I shall no interfere." She went slowly out into the night. It was very dark, though she had not noticed the gathering shadows while in the library, so intense had been her anguish but she knew now that she must have been pleading for hours, and she wondered at the patience that had suffered her presence so long. She began to feel bodily exhaustion, and stopped at a near-by bakery to get a roll and a cup of tea, that she might have strength for the railway journey before her. Mechanically she entered the car, and paid her fare 1 when the conductor asked her for her ticket, for she had neglected to buy one, and her head whirled so that it seemed as if she were someone ehe, and not connected in the remotest degree with the woman who had knelt in the governor's library. Slowly the scene flitted before her and she tried hard to realise how he could have done otherwise than he did and then she wondered if that other woman, not herself, could not have produced better arguments. She saw herself and her husband as they began housekeeping in a small way, to be sure, but still comfortably, with a little room for his mother, who had not been at all the disagreeable person mothers- in-law were said to be, but a real mother to the tired clerk, who knew far more about the colour and price of a yard of ribbon than she did of housekeeping. She had learned very readily, the older woman had kindly said, and had taken great pride in her work and in keeping the little ones neat and clean when they had come oue by one into the nest, which was always crowded, yet not full enough to overflow. Then she saw her husband in his cell, awaiting execu- tion, and then-a woman fainted in the car, and kind hands raised her, and a physician on the train gave her a restorative, and after a while she left it leaving the passengers to wonder about the beautiful woman who was in such evidenc grief. Something out of the ordinary," said the physi- cian. Her trouble was no common affair. She was at the point of exhaustion. I suggested her stopping at S- and entering the hospital there for a week but she refused so vehemently that there was nothing more to be said, for, of course, I had no right to insist. But it will be an insane asylum in the end, I imagine; she was three-fourths demented to- night." Sane or insane, her condition did not prevent her from reaching home. With bitter moans she told her sad failure to her husband's mother, who listened to each word in a curious, half-dazed way, yet asking many questions concerning her reception and the governor's manner. "I was foolish to let you go," she said, slowly. I might have known it would not answer. I will go myself to-morrow." Oh, mother, it will be useless! You could say nothing that I have not already said. He lost patience at the lut. I doubt if you can see him even." I shall see him," the elder woman answered, a strange look upon her face, comely yet, in spite of the half century and more it had known. I shall see him, and I believe he will give me my son's life." Then why, oh, why, did not you go at first ?" Because I would rather suffer a dozen deaths than go-but to save his life-yes, I must do it 1" Why do you think he will listen to you, mother ?" queried the wife, anxiously. No reply save a slow shake of the head was vouch- safed, and she took her departure, leaving anxious forebodings in the mind of her daughter-in-law as to her sanity. But there was no doubt of her sanity as she stood before Governor Andrews and demanded the life of the man for whom his wife had pleaded so nobly. Am I never to have any rest from this case ?" he cried, angrily. As much as you deserve, probably," was the reply, for you are in a great measure responsible for the crime for which this man is condemned, and ought to pay part of the penalty." "Nonsense! What do you mean? I never saw the man, and I assure you I shall grant no pardon, either for threats or entreaties." I shall offer neither. It is true, indeed, that you never saw him; yet you will never dare to let him go to a felon's death, for, strange as it would seem to the world in whi ch you are so popular, this man is your i;on!" What do you mean ? Who are you ?* gasped the governor, though her words had brought a grim possibility before his mind. I am Annette Wilkins. I was Annette Brainard." He started and visibly paled. When you came to our tillage forty years ago, there was not a more inno- cent, light-hearted girl there than myself. Your memory will tell you if I was pretty or not, and how I foolishly prized the fatal beauty that only worked my destruction. You know what your flattery and false words of love wrought, and what a wrecked, ruined thing you left in place of the simple country girl you found. You do well to talk of justice she cried, with sudden con- tempt. You are well fitted to be the governor of a great commonwealth, you, who left me, almost a child in years, to meet the consequences of our mutual sin! I wonder if there is justice in earth or heaven when success like this "-and she glanced at his luxurious surroundings—" is permitted to such as you, while your oldest son lies in a felon's cell V There was a long silence; then the man said "For twenty-five years I have lived a God-fearing life; the crime and folly of my youth I believed re- pented of and forgiven; but repentance does not undo, and I must face the future. You tell me I am responsible for this unhappy young man's crime; how can that be ?" In a drunken quarrel my poor boy killed the ruffian who assailed the honour of his mother, whom he had always believed to be a widow. I left the old home before he was born, and thought my wretched story was forgotten; but scandal never dies." My sin has found me out," said the governor. He spoke like a feeble old man. "Since circum- stances have made it possible for me to save him, my f son must not die on the gallows. There is no oilier way: I must write the pardon. If I could pay the penalty myself it might be just, but the lair would accept no substitute, and my poor wife and children would suffer needless shame. You will riot have suffered alone," he said, in a curious tone. When I sign that pardon I sign my own political death warrant, for an outraged public will be my censor."

INCOMBUSTIBLE DRESSES." Two papers, read before the Society of Chemical Industry in Manchester, and before the Chamber of Commerce, Macclesfield, give some remarkable details on the adulteration of silk by chemical weighting. Sir Thomas Wardle states that the silkworm is the first sinner in the idea of weighting silk-that is to say, the silkworm was the first to reveal the fact of a possible attachment of a substance to the fibre foreign to the nature and properties of the fibre itself. It is true," he says, that this gummy attachment is almost, if not entirely, mechanical and not chemical, but it was in this way that the earliest dyers began to add weight." It is not sur- prising that this example should have been followed by those intent on gain, and so we find that develop- ments gradually crept in. It was found that by im- mersing the silk, whether boiled-off or in the gum, in vegetable extracts containing tannic acid, an affinity of one towards the other was set up; a chemical union took place between the warp and the tannic acid, bringing up the silk to nearly its original weight before it was boiled-off, or replacing nearly the 25 per cent. of gum it had lost in that process. With regard to the reasons for weighting silk, two causes are responsible, and they are first the in- satiable pressure of the merchant's buyer for cheap- ness, and the baneful and degenera'e spirit of com- mercial competition among the manufacturers them- selves, which in too many cases has degraded itself into mere underselling without due regard to <or, in too many instances, knowledge of) the differential and integral totality which constitute the cost of pro- duction and the necessary margin of profit. It has been left to the French, German, and Swiss to carry to perfection the fraudulent art of selling mineral matter for silk. On this point Mr. Carter Bell says The heaviest-weighted silk I have as yet examined is where lOOlb. weight of silk were sent to the dyer with a request that it should be made into 10001b. This particular silk gave 43 per cent. of ash, there was 9 per cent. of moisture, and the amount of nitrogen was under 2 per cent. This would give less than 10 per cent. of silk in the sample. The only advantage in such a compound (for it is a misnomer to call it silk) is to make an incombustible dress for a lady, for it would bean impossibility for her to be burnt to death in such a dress. When such a com- pound is raised to a high temperature it does not uare up, but simply smoulders away, and leaves the original form intact, and in many cases with a beautiful silky lustre. One of the metals which is largely used for weighting silks is tin. Silk weighted to SOU and 900 per cent. is not easy to burn, but cer- tain black silks which have been weighted up to 300 or 400 per cent. have been known to take fire spon- taneously."

ADVICE TO SEA BATHERS. There is very seldom opportunity for diving into the sea, and only a very small number of bathers are expert enough to do it. The best plan, says the Family Doctor, is to walk or run rapidly into the water, wading out at once far enough either to dip the whole person, head and all, or to allow a wave to break over the bather. Some like to have a bucket of sea water dashed over them before going in. Once in the water and thoroughly wet, one need only keep moving, occasionally going under a wave, as long as the water is agreeable, and there is no sense of chilliness. Floating is a very pleasant form of bath- ing, and easily learned if one has only sufficient con- fidence. It consists in turning on the back and keep- ing the nose and mouth out of the water. Of course, this cannot be done when the surf is very rough. And it is best always to have someone near, standing on the bottom, lest, without his knowledge, a current or the tide should carry the bather out into deep water. Lives have been lost for want of this precau- tion. Swimming is an exercise so generally known, and in these days an art so generally learned, as to be very frequently practised by sea-bathers. The greater density of the salt water makes it easier than in fresh water, and the temptation to venture out is sometimes seductive enough to lead to great risk. It is not safe to swim in the sea when the tide is running out, as then it is difficult to make headway towards the shore. Under such circumstances-and, indeed, always-there ought to be a boat at hand to which the swimmer can make his way. It is not safe to swim when there is a heavy surf, as even a good swimmer may be so confused and baffled by the waves breaking over him as to lose his presence of mind, and perhaps swija seawards instead of to the shore; or he may be so exhausted by the force of the water as to sink. It is not safe to swim when there are strong currents running in the general line of the shore, as these sometimes set outwards enough to keep the bather in deep water longer than his powers can hold out. Should he find himself in such a current, he should never try to make head directly against it, but should swim diagonally towards the shore, and, above all, should try to keep his presence of mind and save his strength. On leaving the sea, it is always best for the bather to wash his head with fresh water, so as to free the hair from salt, which would otherwise make it very stiff and harsh. At many places there are connected with the bathing houses hydrants at a suitable height, by means of which this may be very conveniently done.

A BURGLAR'S TENNIS RACQUET. The other morning it was discovered that a burglary had been perpetrated at Trumpington, near Cambridge. Two police officers, in making investiga- tions in the neighbourhood, arrived at the Cambridge Railway Station, where they noticed two men who had booked for London. Becoming suspicious, they questioned the strangers, who said they were just off for a holiday. This did not satisfy the officers, despite the accompaniment of a tennis racquet and a cricket bag, which the pair carried to lend colour to the story. The police opened a handbag which the suspects also carried, and found inside it some silver articles and other valuables, which confirmed their suspicions. Upon this the men made an effort to escape, but they were caught before they could get out of the waiting-room, and are now in custody. It turned out that the burglars, who had entered the residence of Mr. J. A. Sturton, at Trumpington, had taken to the station several tin trunks and other luggage, containing wearing apparel, jewellery, silver cutlery, clocks, and so forth. In the desperate struggle, which lasted for 10 minutes, one of the men attempted to escape by jumping through a waiting-room window. Police-constable Salmon was thrown in the struggle on the platform, and had his collar-bone fractured, but held his man. The meft give the names of James Wilson and Patrick Mayher, of no fixed abode. <

A PRIESTLESS CHURCH. A grave crisis has arisen at Emmanuel Church, Brighton, with regard to a successor to the Rev. J. G. Gregory, who has resigned the incumbency, and is leaving the town for Leamington, after 19 years' ministry. The difficulty is due to the refusal: of the vicar of St. Patrick's (the Rev. Ridley Daniel Tyssen, M.A.), in whose parish the Church of Emmanuel is, to endorse the appointment of a suc- cessor to Mr. Gregory, who bought the freehold of the church 19 years ago, and was licensed by the late Bishop Durnford, of Chichester, to officiate in the fabric, with the consent of the t-hen vicar of Hove. It appears that Mr. Gregory, on his resignation, wrote to the Bishop of Chichester, and received a reply that the Diocesan would have to consider the whole matter in regard to Emmanuel Church. Reply-* ing to a second letter, the Bishop wrote that he was going away, and referred the writer to Mr. Tyssen, who, it is understood, had previously written to the Bishop, stating that in any case he should probably have to refuse to consent to the appointment of a successor to Mr. Gregory. Worshippers at Em- manuel Church have held a meeting, and unani- mously resolved to mamonabse the Rev. Daniel Tyssen on the matter, and to point out that the resigned incumbent bought the edifice at a cost of £6500 or thereabouts, and that shortly afterwards, Mr. Gregory bought, at a cost of £1000, a piece of freehold land at the west-end of the church, upon which a lecture hall and class-rooms were built, at a further cost of E2000, contributed by members of the con- gregation and others, the church having been largely attended by visiting clergy at Brighton. Altogether £ 11,000 have been expended upon the acquisition of the church, lecture-rooms, and halls. Assuming that a successor is not licensed, the church cannot be carried on as a Church of England place of worship, and the congregation will either have to become a Nonconformist body or go elsewhere. This state of affairs is viewed with great dismay. For the past quarter of a century the principles of the Church of England have been taught in strict conformity with the rubric.

LEGAL advice is given free at the Palais de Justice, Paris, on the same principle as medicine is dealt out at dispensaries. According to a report just issued, there are several departments, each managed ty a lawyer of 10 years' standing, with two younger men am his assistants. Last year 1964 persons applied for advice, of whom 1600 were saved the painful ordeal of litigating in the courts. The majority of the re- mainder were either luhatics or well-to-do people seeking advice under false pretences.

CONVICTS INSANE. Another Kings County Penitentiary convict has lost his reason as a result of enforced idleness. While Charities Commissioner Burtis, of Brooklyn, was making the rounds of the cells, says the New York Tribune, as is his custom on Sunday, he noticed that Harry Heath, a short term prisoner, was sitting on his bed and looking through a grated door with a vacant stare, such as the face of a sane man never bears. Mr. Burtis at once began to question the man. To most of his questions Heath made no reply, but just looked and looked with the expression- less eyes of a man whose mind was a blank. After the Commissioner had put a number of questions Heath seemed to make an effort to collect his "its, but most of his answers were wholly irrelevant. Com- missioner Burtis has been greatly wrought up over this manufacture of lunatics, and he went in con- siderable excitement to Warden Haves and asked him what was the trouble with Heath." I have been watching this man for several days," replied the Warden, and I fear he is far on the road to either madness or idiocy. I shall watch him closelv and have him examined." The heinous offence for which this 25 year old Brooklyn boy was arrested was being found one night sleeping in a coalbin instead of a bed. The police promptly charged him with vag- rancy, and he was. sentenced to two months in the penitentiary. Heath is one of the many for whom no employment could be found. A new and serious phase of the manufacture of madmen at the peni- tentiary is the fact that the prisoners have them- selves been struck with terror at the sight of 10 of their number going insane within seven months. The thought that it may be their turn next has so wrought upon the minds of some of them that it may hasten their mental collapse unless relief comes soon. The case of William Williams illustrates this point. He served three years for burglary and is now serving out a 500dol. fine. He is a man of con- siderable intelligence, and has just written a pitiful letter to his attorney, Robert P. Noah, urging him to sparp. no pains to get a pardon for him. He says in this letter thnt he did not mind the three years' imprisonment, as he had employment then that kept his mind occupied; but now that he has nothing to do he expresses a fear that he will become insane, as others have, with nothing to do excef, watch the tedious hours pass in loneli- ness. lie "dtes the fact that he has lost 501bs. of flesh since his employment stopped. Speaking of his own appearance and that of his fellow prisoner, he tells his lawyer that if the public could see the hag- gard, wild-eved appearance he and they have now, compared with what it was when they were at work, there would be a demand from the people that the doors of the penitentiary be thrown open and all the prisoners set free.

HOME-GROWN FOOD AND HEALTH. Climatic conditions, as is well known, have a good deal to do with the suitability of food, says the Lancet. The Esquimaux has an innate craving for fat, which is supplied him in the oleaginous blubber, while the Indian or African or nigger would naturally have an aversion to rich fatty food, and so he eats starchy food and fruits which grow in abundance around him. The same principle is illustrated even in the comparatively narrow range of climatic con- ditions in this country. Who has the same inclina- tion to eat a large, underdone, juicy steak in the broiling days of our short summer as in winter ? We rather have recourse to salads, fruits, vegetables, and if to meat at all it is in sparing quantity and generally cold. But as an agricultural correspondent has most ably and pertinently pointed out to us, continues the journal, in a recent very interesting communication, the subject may be pushed a step further, and considered from a point of view which in its general bearings on the question of food supply is of unquestionable importance. As he has observed, the same plant varies in its feeding pro- perties when grown at a different altitude, or on a particular soil, or in a different climate. In other words, the nutritive value of a plant, or its fruit, be it seed, fruit, or leaf, is influenced by soil and climate. Herbage composed of grasses and clovers -i.e., pas- ture-has a marked influence upon the health, de- velopment, and early maturity of sheep and cattle according to geographical position and geological character of the soil. Thus storeland and feed- ing land are terms used to express the relative cha- racter of the soil, and, as our correspondent (who is a farmer) points out, these varying conditions have a well-known influence, altering or modifying the type and character of breed or pedigree. Is it a design in Nature, he asks, that plants growing in any particular country shall be more suitable food for animals in that particular country than foreign food or that grown in a different country ? As an illustration, linseed or flax seed produced in one country is full of oil, and in another the proportion of oil is distinctly less; a sample of seed in one country again is rich in mucus, while in another it contains very little mucilage, the difference in this respect in Russian, Indian, and English seeds being considerable. Again, he asks, does Assam tea afford a more healthful beverage to the Chinaman than Indian tea ? Yet the character of the two decoctions made from these respective teas is quite different. To come nearer home, and to touch upon the economic side of the question as closely affecting our own agricul- tural interests. Is English wheat made into bread a better food for the people in this country than bread made from foreign flour ? The baker selects foreign flour because the resulting loaf is lighter, and the flour will take up more water, and a sack will yield a greater number of loaves than an English sack. There could hardly be opened up for discussion a more in- teresting phase of the subject, and our correspondent has written very pertinently upon a very important question. It is just possible on studying and reflect- ing upon the issues he has raised that another rational and powerful argument in favour of the con- sumption of home-grown food may be found.

GARDENING GOSSIP. (From "Gardening Illustrated") CONSERVATORY. Camellias are now setting their buds, and must not be permitted to get dry at the root, or the buds may drop. Weak soot-water may with advantage be given to both Camellias and Azaleas for two or rhree weeks now. Shake out and cut back Pelargoniums and repot in clean pots of same size. To do Pe:ar- goniums well they must have good loam, and this De enriched according to its quality with old c.-w- manure, and made reasonably porous with sharp sand. It is a good plan when potting to put a pinch of soot just over the drainage to keep our. worms. Zonal Pelargoniums intended for winter blooming should now be in their flowering pots, which should not be too large in proportion to size of plums. When overpotted they never do so well. We grow most of ours in 5in. pots. A few of the lar^e.-i go into 6in., but not many. When the pots are well filled with roots, a little weak stimulant can be given. Sow more Mignonette. Sow thinly in 5in. and 6-inch pots, and when the young plants come Hp, thin to five at equal distances apart. Here, again, good loam is essential to do Mignonette well. Good soil is necessary, and it should be made from about two-thirds best loam to one third very old cow- manure, one-eighth sand, and a sprinkling of soot and old plaster. Of course, Mignonette may be and is grown without much pains being taken with it, but. ;t will not compare with well-managed plants. It will soon be time to reduce the growth of the most luxuriant creepers. The days are shortening fast, and plants growing under a heavy shade will not ripen their wood. This refers to things planted perma- nently in the borders: Acacias, Luculia gratissinia, Daphnes, and other flowering subjects which must have light. It is necessary to be careful in the water- ing now. Things are dying fast in these hot days, and if the rootlets get pinched with drought now the growth will lose colour, even if the plant should survive. STOVE. For the most part winter-flowering plants are undergoing special treatment to fit them for the work they have to do. Stove subjects should be cooled down. This is usually done by moving to a cooler, drier house. Eucharis Lilies, Euphorbias, Poinsettias, Begonias, Justicias, Eranthemums, Epiphyllums, Shrubby Hibiscuses, and many other things which can be made to flower in winter, are now undergoing their ripening process. Franciscas, especially F. calycina, are charming things in winter, and they flower freely when well-ripened. In hot summers I have seen them turned out altogether for a month, and when taken back to the stove they have been literally covered with purplish-mauve blossoms. The flowers work up very well when wired. I remember the time when the Scarborough Lily (Vallota pur- purea) was grown in the stove, but it is better with- out, much artificial heat and should now be outside ripening. This is one of the brightest plants we have for autumn for the conservatory or the rooms. That fine old plant Rondeletia speciosa is nearly always in bloom. FERNS. Seedlings raised in February will now be coming on fast and should be in separate pots. There is a demand now for Ferns in small pots. Little Maiden- hairs or Pterises of various kinds are among the most useful for small pot work, and they have some amount of decorative value, even when in thumbs. Thousands of Ferns in thumb-pots are sold during summer and autumn, and other plants besides Ferns, including the common Asparagus, are used for small decoration. The common Asparagus is a pretty plant in a young state. Ferns intended for cutting should not be overshadowed now. Soft fronds of Maiden- hairs wilt and fade directly. Fern-fronds should be placed in water for a time before using them for bouquet work. Any Fern which requires more pot- room should have it now. Fern growers have no regular time for potting, as young plants are shifted on whenever they require it, and when heat is given freely this work goes on all winter. I always think it is wasting time to try to resuscitate Maidenhairs better throw them out and rush on young plants from spores. MUSHROOMS. It is too hot now for Mushrooms in buildings, unless the buildings are below the ground level. But beds may be made in the shade of buildings outside, and as manure is usually cheap now, make the beds a little deeper. Ridge-shaped beds are best, about 3ft. wide at base and 2§ft. high to the top, with sloping sides, the whole to be made firm, and spawn inserted when temperature is steady between 80deg. and 90deg. WINDOW PLANTS, Begonia Weltoniensis is a pretty summer-flowering variety, easy to manage. It is always in evidence at cottagers' shows. Tuberoses are flowering freely now under cool treatment, and may easily be grown in a cottage. It is rather too tall for the window, bnt three bulbs in a 5in. pot make a sweet subject for the room. Place Scarborough Lilies outside to ripen. Pot Freesias. OUTDOOR GARDEN. Give liquid-manure to Dahlias, Roses, Hollyhocks, Asters, Zinnias, Marigolds, and other florists"flowers from which exhibition blooms have to be cut. Remove every seed-pod and sucker from Roses. In some places the red-fungus has appeared on Roses, especially where the ground has got into bad condi- tion from much treading in wet weather in gathering the blossoms. Roses are grown chiefly for cutting, and are wanted as much in wet weather as dry. There is no known cure for red-fungus, but it comes for a season or two, maybe, and then disappears for a time, witi out any particular causes, so far as can he seen. The best remedy is to plant in a deep, thoroughly-worked soil, fairly manured. Many at this season obtain buds from a distance to bud their Briers and Manettis, but the shorter the distance and the sooner they are put in after they arrive the better, and the bark should never be permitted to shrink. Sow hardy a annals for filling the beds next autumn or spring. Sew in rather poor sandy soil, and trans- plant when large enough. FRUIT GARDEN. Those who are troubled with mildew on late Grapes might give the XL All mildew-wash a triaL, Make sure that all the affected berries are dressed with it, and see that the roots are healthy and moist, and the atmosphere sweet and buoyant. This means that the ventilation must be carefully managed, and no stuffiness permitted, especially in the morning. The time to do a little extra forcing is in the after- noon, from half-past three or four o'clock till sunset, or a little later. Then give the smallest chink of air along the ridge, to let out any stagnant impurities which may accumulate during the night. Late Peaches on walls should have a good soaking of water in which a little stimulant is mixed. Light summer rains are seldom of much use for moistening the roots of trees growing against a hot south walL Strawberries in pots must stand thinly on a bed of ashes or on boards, so that worms cannot enter, and runners be cut off. Sometimes plants may develop more than one crown the weakest should be removed. For forcing one good crown is better than more. Bud young fruit-stocks, such as Plums, Peaches, Cherries, Apricots, and Pears. Bud in with sufficient firmness, and close the bark firmly over. VEGETABLE GARDEN. All Potatoes which are ripe enough should be lifted. When there comes rain super-tubering will set in and the quality be injured. As regards late sorts, we must risk it, but early sorts should be taken up; and if the land is in good condition another crop may be planted—Spinach, Onions, Celery for spring, the latter to be pushed aloug with liquid manure. A dusting of soot occasionally will keep off the Celery-fly. Bind hay-bands round the bottoms of Cardoons to start the blanching the same course may be taken with Celery. I have seen Celery blanched with hay very effectually in summer. Sow radishes in rich soils now in drills, and mulch between the drills with Moss-litter manure. French, Breakfast, and Turnip varieties only should be sown now. Tomatoes out- side are ripening, and a few of the bottom leaves may be removed or shortened back to let in the air and sunshine. Stop all plants now, as fruit set after this date will not ripen. Earth up winter greens of all kinds; the ridge of earth helps to support the stems. Thin Turnips to 15 inches apart, so that the leaves may be dwarf and sturdy, and afford more shelter in winter. Gather all Peas and Beans as soon as fit, and cut Cucumbers and Marrows before they get old, unless seeds are required. TUPTED PABSIBS-PROLONGING THEIR PBRIOD OP FLOWERING. The dews we are now getting have been very bene- ficial to these flowers. The plants are flowering pro- fusely. Under such conditions they must, of course, exhaust the more soluble properties of the garden soil, and on this account it is necessary, if the tufted Pansies are to continue in full beauty, that something stimulating be given at the time of watering. There are many patent manures which will answer the purpose admirably, and taking them generally it would be unsafe to dissolve more than half an oonce to a gallon of clear water. This should first be soaked for a few hours, and afterwards thoroughly dissolved before watering with this stimulant ol food. A change will soon be noticed in the appear- ance of the plants, and if this be repeated once or twice a week, according to the condition the plants may be in, they should be in a healthy state for a long time to come. Another important fact to be seen to is to remove all spent blossoms regularly, and on no account allow seed-pods to remain, as these quickly impoverish the plant and cause it to cease j flowering. It is a good plan to pick the flowers at often as convenient.

ART AND LITERATURE. THE pictures lent by the Queen to the Tudor Exhi- bition at Manchester have been restored to the collec- tion at Hampton Court Palace. IT is proposed, if a sufficient number of subscribers come forward, to produce, by collotype, a fac-simile of the Celtic manuscript in the Advocate's Library, Edinburgh, known as the Book of the Dean of Lis- more. Professor Stern, of Berlin, is to write an analytical introduction, and Mr. W. J. N. Liddall has undertaken the general supervision. THAT able and versatile novelist, Mrs. Hodgson Burnett, has nearly finished a new novel. It is under- stood that the book will be the story of the past of that Duke of Osmond who wooed and won A Lady of Quality"—a lady whose past had not been unad- venturous. Mrs. Burnett describes the book as "His Grace the Duke of Osmond being a Story of that Nobleman's Life omitted from the Narrative given to the World of Fashion under the title of A Lady of Quality. As soon as Mr. Claude Phillips enters on his duties as keeper of the Wallaca Collection, he will, it is said, under* ;ike the preparation of a short explana- tory catalogue of the pictures and works of art at Hertford House. This, however, will be but by way of preliminary to a far more important and detailed work which will contain many illustrations and will be sumptuously produced. The collection (as the Globe remarks) certainly calls for ferious treatment, and a volume of this type will be most acceptable as a worthy record of a splendid gallery. Mr. Phillips, moreover, should, by his knowledge of the works of the Old Masters, be able to make a detailed catalogue absolutely authoritative. IF price determines the value of pictures, then Professor Herkomer's The Chapel of the Charter- house is the finest of the Chantry Bequest works, the trustees having paid the artist £ 2200 for it. The only other oil-paintings forwhicb they paid anything like that sum being Vicat Cole's The Port of London," and Orchardsou's Napoleon on Board H.M.S. Bellerophon," for both of which they gave £2000. In sculpture we find C2200 paid to Mr. Thomas Brock for bis bronze A Moment of Peril," while P-2000 was the price of Lord Leighton's large bronze statue An Athlete Struggling with a Python." These works are all now at the late Gallery, with the remainder of the Chantry Bequest pictures, including the David Farquharson they bought this year. EVERYBODY will be glad to hear that Mr. Justin McCarthy is now in better health. We are soon to have from him a volume of short stories called "The Three Disgraces," the title of one of the stories in- cluded. You are not to confuse this with another book which we are to have from him in the autumn, which will be a Story of Mr. Gladstone's Life." The Three Disgraces have nothing to do with Majuba Hill, Khartoum, or Home Rule. The Story of Mr. Gladstone's Life will be the publica- tion in book form of the chapters in Gladstonian biography which Mr. McCarthy has been contri- buting to the Outlook, an American periodical. Mr. McCarthy has the advantage of long political acquaintance with Mr. Gladstone but the true life of the hope of the stern unbending Tories," when it comes to be written, will demand other qualities than those at the command of Mr. McCarthy's genial and accomplished pen. BRITISH artists have of late been gaining an un- usual amount of recognition in Continental Exhibi- tions. At Dresden a first-class medal has been awarded to Mr. William Strang for a picture of Women Bathing and the German Government hab purchased a case of portrait medals by M. Legros and a relief by Mr. Frampton. From this same exhibition the Queen of Saxony has bought the terra- cotta group, The First Reflection," by Mr. Alfred Drury, who has also gained a second-class medal at Brussels for his bronze Circe." At Munich, where British art is very well represented, not only has a picture by Mr. Brangwyn been purchased by the Government, but first-class gold medals have been awarded to Sir Edward Burne-Jones for his St. George and the Dragon series, to Mr. C. H. Shannon for his picture, The Wounded Amazon," and to Mr. J. M. Swan for his drawings of animals. All this im- plies an increase in the Continental appreciation of our national school. ENCOURAGED by the warm appreciation of the late Alexandre Dumas, Comtesse Arthur de Goulaine has at length taken heart to give her poems to the Eublic; and it is a pity M. Dumas is not alive to see her "Petit Bouquet" in its pretty pink cover. Most of the poems in the volume did just see the light of publicity already 20 years ago, when they were printed and issued by the famous house of Jouaust; but, taking fright at the plunge, Madame de Goulaine withdrew the book when but a very few copies had been sold. The poems show an almost Wordsworthian love of the country and nature, somewhat uncommon in French poetry, and a simple, graceful touch in catching and expressing the special characters and charms of particular flowers. Madame de Goulaine is the mother of the lady who has become the wife of M. Jean de Reszke, and so should need no introduction to us, and she will, we are sure, realise her wish and find many sympathetic readers in this country as well as her own, THB report of the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, which has just been issued, gives an account of the operations of the society during 1896-97. A very fair amount of pro- gress seems to have been made, and the record of work done is already large enough to justify the existence of the Trust. Barras Head, Barmouth Cliff, the Old Clergy House at Alfriston, and other places of interest have been secured for the perma- nent enjoyment of the public; and several schemes which threatened to damage or destroy national relics or picturesque spots have been successfully opposed. An increase in the amount of money at the disposal of the Trust is at present its chief want, as, obviously, ample funds are necessary for the enlargement of its sphere of usefulness, and for the proper maintenance of its acquisitions. A special sum of £100 is needed immediately for the repair of the Alfriston Clergy House, and an appeal is being made for subscriptions for this and other purposes. g THOSE familiar with the story of William Cowper's life as told by his biographers will remember that Samuel Teedon, schoolmaster at Olney, was one of his personal friends. Teedon kept a diary, which extends from October, 1791, to February, 1794, and amongst the entries are many references to Cowper and to Mrs, Unwin, which, of course, give the diary an importance it would not otherwise possess. For many years the book was lost, but was happily re- covered in 1890; and a few days since it was sold at auction in London, when it was purchased by Mr. W. H. Collingridge, of Enfield, who is to be con- gratulated on the opportunity of making so valuable an addition to his interesting collection relating to the poet and his friend the Rev. John Newton, formerly of Olney, and afterwards incumbent of St. Mary Woolnoth. Teedon predeceased Cowper, and died June. 1798. THERH seems to be a considerable conflict of opinion among French artists as to the effect which the American tax on art is likely to have on the demand for works produced in the Paris studios. Some of the leading painters view the imposition of a duty on imports of an artistic nature with a certain degree of favour, as they argue that a 20 per cent. tax will not check the sale to American col- lectors of really fine productions, while it will put a stop to the flooding of the American market with bad canvases. Others regard this form of protec- tion as certain to fail, because its effects will be felt, not by the foreign artist, but by the buyers in America who cannot satisfy their (esthetic inclina- tions with home productions. But among French illustrators who have of late years found for their work a ready sale to American magazines there is much more feeling of alarm. With only a few exceptions they agree that the new tariff will seriously affect them and tbey anticipate » marked falling off in their chances of placing pro- fitably in America drawings for illustration. For this anticipation there certainly seems a good deal of reason.

A MUCH-CAUGHT FISH. Alderman Alfred Nuthall, J.F., president of the Thames Angling Preservation Society, has been making inquiries into the history of a certain barbel which has been captured at Kingston and replaced in the Thames on no less than ten occasions. The fish weighs a trifle over three pounds, and is recognisable by reason of a curious deformity of its tail, evidently caused by an encounter with a lock-sluice. In 1896 it was caught three times, twice by the Alderman himself, who has also landed it again during the pre- sent season. Although replaced in different parts of the stream, the barbel always makes its way to its favourite swim, where it was hooked a few days back by Mr. Southwell, of Croydon, and again subse- quently by Mr. S. H. Hope, a member of the Pisca- torial Society, when it gained the first prize in a com- petition. After being weighed and exhibited at a local hotel, the fish was finally returned, none the worse for its many captures, and it is confidently expected that it will be hooked again before the close of the season.

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