Barry Herald

THE TIMES" ATLAs.-The Times has evidently determined that the great atlas published at Printing House-square shall maintain its position in the front rank as a standard work of reference. Every year has seen one or more fresh editions of the Times Atlas, and so rapid are the advances of geographical science, and so endless are the changes of political boundaries and nomenclature, that not a single edition was ever issued without large, additions and important alterations. The' edition which is now announced, however, is evidently something much more than a corrected reprint Thousands of pounds have been spent in the p»«^!«ction of new maps, of which there are no less, than 198, large andsm^ll, in the new there are no les& than 198, lafge and small, in the new volume. Among, the new Lmaps are four pages of exquisitely coloured geological maps of the United kingdom and what will perhaps be of even greater general interest and value, an immense eight-page map of the United States, which should make the atlas almost as v&lriable on the other side of the Atlantic, as on this. The new edition appears in cheap serial forai, the first number being published on the 24th of October. Each of the 26 parts is con- tained in a handsome wrapper. The enterprise is on a large ftcale, and should command success, espe- cially at such a time as the present, when foreign questions iafid. diBtant lands inevitably occupy lb large share of public attention.

A TALE OF TWENTY-SIX THOUSAND. Albert Manners looked quite the tramp as he Wf the train in the familiar station, and pulled hitnpe1!' together. He had a bundle, and he was the colour of a withered beech leaf. The lines on his face 11I1¡.:)¡t have come from reflection while he broke stones in provincial workhouse yards, and lamented to no pur- pose a misspent past. He smiled dismally as one of Hurwick's solicitor's, a spruce person, inquired angrily what he meant by rubbing his filthy coat sleeve against his solicitor- ship's garments. He could not, recall the solicitor's name, but he knew that in the old days he had played cards with him at the club. Very old days they seemed And yet it was only four years since he had left Hurwick for the East Indies. But three years or more among savages, cut nff from the world as he knew it, had served their turn upon him. And here he was, back in his native place by the merest chance, with no more idea of its vicissitudes in the meantime than if he had slept from 1891 to J894. He shuffled along until he came to Dr. Witton's door. Then he stopped, and breathed excitedly. The brass plate was still on the wall—" Witton and Graves, Surgeons." Was Kitty Witton vet alivfe ? Then he dared everything. He could not help it; beast though he was to look at, he must see Kitty before he sought his own father. But he had trouble with the neat little house-maid with the upturned nose, who started off with, We've nothing for you." Just oblige me by telling her that Albert Manners is here," he insisted, when he had persuaded the damsel to f.-ty if Miss Kitty was alive. Even this trifle would have been denied him if Kitty herself had not heard and rushed, pallid and white-eyed, from the drawing-room. A young man followed her-Captain Parker, as he was termed in honour of a Volunteer dignity. It is Albert!" the girl cried, and both her hands sprang forward to greet him, though even in the act Manners saw the germ of repugnance. He took her hands reverently. I've been lost, Kitty, in the Indian Ocean. Thank God, you are alive he stammered. Then, object though he was, Captain Parker seemed sorry for him. He said, "By Jove!" at intervals while Manners gave the outline of his adventures, varying it with an Oh, Kitty, yon knowl" when the exile rettirnedopened his shirt, and showed a tattooed head on his breast. It was a rude resemblance to Kitty's own head. I made them do it on me," said Manners, from a sketch I drew on the sand with a stick." Kitty's eyes had grown sadder and sadder through- out this narrative. Tears were in them, too, at last. She looked at Captain Parker when Manners ended. "You have had a time!" said Parker gaily, and no mistake!" Tell him!" then whispered Kitty to the Captain. Er—you may as well be informed," Parker began promptly, that in your absence-poor beggar, such awful hard lines you've hadl-Miss Witton has—er—transferred her affec-" Bllt she stopped him, white-faced again. It was not that I meant," she said. Your father is—oh, I am so sorry——" Manners winked his eyes rapidly as he glanced from Kitty to Captain Parker, and then back again. He quite understood. I am afraid," he said, I am schooled to expect any bad news. Is he dead ?" "YeB," said Parker; "and that's not the worst. He came a frightful cropper before he popped off. The ten shillings in the pound he arranged for have worked out at fourteen pence precisely." Kitty shot a look at Parker that he lost. Then she turned to Manners, who was feeling his forehead wearily. It's the old story f" said Manners, with a smile that made the girl quiver. I came horne in doubt, and I must go away in despair." But No, no!" criedKibty rising. Hu-rwick is not so brutal as that, Albert. Why you, Rayiriond" (addressing Parker) could take him into your office for the time." Manners' mouth smiled ow, but not his eyes, aa he glanced at Parkpr. "Oh, yes, might manage that to set1 yon on your legs," Captain Parker said, after a pause. "There!" exclaimed Kitty. But her eyes sank before those of Manners. "We shall see you again," she murmured, as he offered him her hand, blushing. Then he and Parker exchanged a few words, the upshot of which wits that he went to the house of a friend—a true friend, moreover, who put his ward- robe, 'bath-room; and whole house at his disposal. Washed and clothed respectably, and to some ebctent with a calm mind now,, Albert Manners reviewed his situation. He 'had, it seemed, lost everything father, pro- spects, and the girl, who had promised—-But, some- how, be did not blame Kitty. Even life among the savages bad not. cleared oat his common civilised sense. It was as plain as the indelible outline on his breast that he was no partner for Kitty Witton now. Perhaps, indeed, he ought to have felt happy that Kitty's disappointment was not of the acute kind, and that she had just passed herself on to someone else. Nevertheless, remembering her eyes that morning, the occasional tremor in her voice, the timid pressure of his hand by her dear fingers, and the blush on her cheeks, he could not thus altogether play the Spartan. "Oh, Kitty 1 Kitty!" he sighed that night in bed, and he shed hot tears like any schoolgirl. # and he shed hot tears like any schoolgirl. But as a clerk at El weekly in the office of essrs. Parker and Smith, Manners had, of course, no right to remember the past in so far as he and Kitty were concerned in it. That, in fact, was an item of Captain Parker's agreement with him. Awfully sorry to have to say so, Manners," said Parker, but circumstances alter cases, you know. We are to be married in October or so." Manners presumed to ask one question ere promis- ing to give up even thoughts of Kitty. Did she consent to the engagement with you easily ?" he inquired. But Captain Parker was angry at these words. "That's my business," he said. However, from his friend Benson, Manners learnt something of the truth. Parker had had to put up with rejections for a year at least, ere, under the persuasion of her father, Kitty consented to say Yes" to him. The dreary round and very common tasks I that were now his lot had both a deadening and a reviving effect upon Manners. They improved his health, but they made him hopeless about his life's happiness. He could not help seeing Kitty, but he Btudiously avoided her. She had written to him asking his forgiveness, and he had replied that he had nothing to forgive her. But, of course, he was not wanted at Dr. Witton's by Dr. Witton. A good deal of sympathy was extended to him, but it was not very serviceable. Besides, there were so many men in Hurwick with an acute recollection of that fourteen-penny bankruptcy, the thought of which was as knives to the sensitive pride of Albert Manners. He had that also to atone for ere he could hope to hold his head erect as the heads of his pld schoolfellows and friends. Things were thus with him, had been for five Weeks, when Captain Parker sent for him intHhe- private office. Look1 here, Manners," said Parker, I'll ask you to take your mpnth's money, arid go to London or somewhere." ,i» f What have I done?' iVfannerti asked. ;i or somewhere." "1" 9,f' What have I done ?' iVfannerti asked. Parker looked both angry and ashamed. • Excuse me," he answered, if I don't feel bound to reply to that." He pushed 11. thqué along he desk. 1 t "Is it," said Manners slowly, when he had taken the cheque, because of my old engagement to- Oblige me by leaving this oaice,excla.imed Parker suddenly with a red face. Very well, but I dot not undertake td leave this town," said Manners; nor did he wait when Parser called after him. I That afternoon he heard the news. Kitty had broken with Captain Parker. • She was in.,disgrace with her father, but she didn t seem to mind. # The next day, when Manners came home to his humble lodging for dinner, he learnt that Captain Parker had called, and even waited sevejral rojm]tes for him. Almost immediately afterwards Parker.re- appeared, and. shut the parlour cjoor gravely, t 1 "This he said, "is a serious business, Manners. Why in tbe world did yPu 1 Manners stared- ,Do what ?" be I.must, be plain,"saidtbe other; a diamond tiara was missed this morning from the strong room. Circumstantial evidence forces us to concur that you When Captain Parker picked bimssif up he was both damaged and furious. One monient, my friend," he said quickly. That blow shall cost you much." "I'll risk that," said Manners, furious also. But Captain Parker returned with a constable and a search warrant. And then, sure enough, in a drawer of the sideboard the tiara and case were found. I give him in charge—the theft is obvious said Parker. Now, then, Mr. Manners, we will see who laughs longest." That is your plotting," cried Mariners. Do your duty, officer," said Parker. Nothing could be plainer." IWt, at$ny rate, w^ sp; to siqipHcitji thought the constable. And Manners' landlady her* odf said a reproachful, Oh, Mr. Manners, to dis- grace my house the like o' this!" when she was summoned to be told that he would probably not sleep there that night. Then to the police station they marched. Manners laughing at Fate's tricks, for he was xick of groaning at them. But on the way they met Kitty, who stopped them, pale and anxious. What is the matter ?" she asked. And he answered, the constable notwithstanding, Captain Parker charges me with tht.ft!" Theft I" she cried in derision. Her hand went out to him again, and he was able to press it as if it were his anchor of salvation ere his companion urged him on. By his friend Benson's intervention, bail was allowed, in spite of the seriousness of the charge, when the case was inquired into in the morning. Benson had reason to suspect Parker of much, and he had a clue in this matter also. Later in that day Manners was gloating over these words from Kitty: Courage all will be well!" when a visitor was announced, and in a moment courage came to him. The visitor was one Anderson, whom he (Manners) had thought fathoms deep in the China seas. "Got here at last; deuce of a time hunting you down t" said Mr. Anderson, who had an opulent air. And then; after some preliminaries, he congratulated Manners on having so honest a chum as Jack Anderson. "There's twenty-six thousand nine hundred and eighteen pounds due to you on that trading deal," he said. Manners covered his face, and recalled things. He had thought the thousand pounds he had invested in Anderson's venture had gone the way of all his other good fortune. Twenty-six thousand T" he gasped. Andersen left him, as he said, to get his balance. Ere he could get it, however, Benson appeared. "It is all right, Manners," he said; "one of Parker's clerks is prepared to swear he saw that par- ticular case of diamonds in the safe the evening of the day of your—ahem—discharge. He happened to jot down its number. Parker's visit here yesterday morning explains the rest." Good he ivens!" cried Manners in rapture. Poor fellow 1" he added, to stoop to that!" "Of course, he did it," went on Benson, "because it is common knowledge in Witton's set that Miss Witton's Jove for you is unchanged." Manners put his hand to his head. You think that, too, Benson ?" he asked. I really do," was the reply. Then, excusing himself, Manners took his hat and went straight to the doctor's. To Dr. Witton he explained uis altered circumstances and the tiara matter. Go to her at once, my dear fellow," said the man of medicine amiably. Kitty was not, however, half enthusiastic enough about the twenty-six thousand. I was ready, after consideration, Albert," she said, to face the future with you without that. But a girl cannot easily play the heroine in that way with. out some help from someone else." I

AN ARTIST'S ROMANTIC CAREER. Giovanni Begantini, the celebrated landscape painter, whose death was recently announced, waa engaged on a panorama of the Alps, a colossal work, for the Paris Exhibition. His early life was singu- larly romantic. He was born in 1858, at Arco, in the Tyrol, on a slope of the Alps overlooking Italy. His mother died when Giovanni was five years old, and his father handed him over to the charge of a sister at Milan. He ran away when he was seven years of age, and set out on a long tramp to Paris. One evening he was found exhausted by fatigue and hunger, and was taken compassion on by some farm people, and set to look after the pigs. He delighted in this pastoral life, and like Giotto he began draw- ing his humble compamons on pieces of stone and slate. This was the beginning of his career as an artist.

NEW THAMES LOCk., i, Since the Hammersmith Vestry resolved to con- tribute its quota of 929,095 to the building of a new Thames lock at Battersea, other authorities have considered the matter. The most serious step taken is by the Thames Conservators, who refuse to con- tribute. 'The Chiswick District Council is favour- able. Brentford has declined. Heston-Isleworth has agreed to contribute. Barnes and Mortlake ex- press grave fears that the holding up of the water in the river .might interfere with their surface drainage, and have deterred the matter to get an opinion from an expert engineer.

DISCOVERY OF A "STRAD." The London Pawnbrokers' Association have re- ceived information of the discovery of a genuine Strad under remarkable circumstances. Some six years ago Mr. John Hunt, of the Grapes Inn, Chapel Ash, Wolverhampton, went to the imhop of Mr. H.Owen, a pawnbroker, of Walsall-street,Wolver- hampton, and offered in pledge what he described as a "decent "violin for a musician who was in straitened circumstances. Acting on Mr. Hunt's wishes, the pawnbroker kept the violn for some time to see if the musician called to redeem his pledge, but as he did not, Mr. Hunt purchased the; violin from the pawnbroker for a sum not quite reaching £2. Mr. Hunt took the instrument home, and for five years he played upon it, and was often struck by its rich tone. Acting on advice, he submitted it to a number of expert violinists, all of whom declared it to be a Stradivarius. A careful examina- tion of the instrument revealed the follow- ing inscription inside it, "Antonius Stradi- varius. 1716." It is considered a matter for wonder, now that the lovely tone and abnormal richness of the instrument has been fully displayed, that the dis- covery was n-ot itiade before. Mr. Hunt Has received a large number of tempting offers for the violin, but I up to the present he has declined to entertain any of them.

THE INCOME OF A FOOTBALL CLUB. What it. costs to run a football club is the title of an article in Success, in which the writer states Aston, Villa, the League champions, had an income of £ 15,263 last season. Of this they paid JE5337 in players' wages, their total expenditure being £ 12,037. resulting in a profit of JE3225. They took £ 9790 in gate money. In September they 'received £ 1251 in two matches; in October, £ 1398 in three matches; in November, E989 in two matches; in December, £ 2526 in four games; in January, £ 900 in two fixtures; in March, in one match, £ 363; and in April £ 2363 in three conflicts milking a grand total of £9790: Their biggest gate was on April 29, in opposing Liverpool, when 1558 I was taken, and the smallest receipts were in -the fixture v. West Bromwich Albion, when only £ 300 was taken. The total number of spectators passing through the turnstiles was 352,094; ranging from 12,500 to 41,000."

TRAFALGAR DAY. The anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar was celebrated on Saturday, when the Nelson Monument, in Trafalgar-square, London, was profusely dpco- rated and lighted by electricity. On board the Victory, the old line-of-battle-ship' which flew the flag of the Admiral, laurel wreaths were placed at the spots where he fell and died, and during the day the historic signal was repeated from the vessel.

"A SDIPLE FACT ABOUT" KEATING'S COUGH LOZENGES. Ask throughout the world, in any country that cai* fee named, you will and them largely; sold. There is absolutely no remedy that is so speedy in giving relief, so certain to cure, and yet the most delicate can'take the-. One Lozenge gives ease. Sold in 13Ad. tins. » MR. H. 8. H. CAVKNIHSU. the bigrgame Jaunter, whp recently returned from Patagonia, where he had been endeavouring to establish the existence of the mylodon, or ground'sloth, has again left England for South America on a further tour of exploration. Mr. Cavendish, who was born in the eldest son of the late Mr. WiUiatn Thonias Cavendish andgreat- grandson of the second Baron, Waterpark. Before ibeginning his travels and explorations he was a lieu- tenant in the 4th Battalion of the Royal Warwick- shire Regiment. TIIE Warden of New College, Oxford, and the Governors of Lord Williams's Gramtner School have just appointed the Kev. Alfred E. Shaw, M.A., to the neadmastership of that Grutntrier school. Founded in 1575 this school was at one time one of the best known in England, and to-day it can boast of many ce!ebrities as old pupils. John Hampden; Henry Kina, Bishop of Winchester, 1641; Sir John Holt, Lord Chief Justice John Free, Bishop of Oxford, 1676 and Anthony a Wood, the author of Athenae Ovonienses," are among its past pupils. The Rev. A, E. Shaw is very well known in the scholastic pro- fession as an excellent organiser and successful schoolmaster. For some years he was Head Master of Melcombe Regis Grammer School, Weymouth, and afterwards second master at Weymouth College and Organising Secretary to the Technical Instruc- tion Committee of the Borough of Weymouth. The high place held by that College in the classified list of successes at the Universities is the result of Mr. Shaw's work. He is a graduate of Worcester College. .M. Oxford; holds the London M.At Degree, the Teachers'" Diploma {Oxford), and 5CeacC|exf' (Jertifi«ktei ..Cam- bridge.

A SOUTH AFRICAN REVOLUTION. THE STORY OF KHAMA AND HIS KINGDOM. While the war is ranging in South Africa, it may not (observes the Morning Herald,) be uninteresting to tell the story of Kh'ima and his Kingdom. Happily, Khaina is at, a distance of 200 miles from the seat of war, and the little kingdom he has built up in Bechuana will not be interfered with. But his story is of considerable interest at a time when South Africa is the subject of conversation everywhere, and when everybody is wondering whether the native races will take any part in the war. Khama is king of the Bamangwato, a Bechuna tribe, whose native religion is ancestor worship. Twenty-three years ago the missionaries entered Shoshong, the metropolis of this African kingdom. The chief gave the missionaries a hearty welcome, and though the great majority of the people were slow to appreciate the new meesage, w at least one vowed allegiance to Chris- tianity. Khama, the king's son, accepted the new religion from the first. He married, and his wife' Mabisa, also became a Christian. Kbama's new faith was not a nominal thing it was as deep-rooted as the heathenism of his countrymen. Soon after the advent of the missionaries KImma went out to meet the Matabele warriors. The Mata- bele were the terror of the Bamangwato, and King Sekhome turned to the supernatural. But Kliama stood by the new faith. Having knelt in prayer with his fellow Christians, he obtained leave to go out and meet the Matabele. Khama was beaten in the actual tight, but he kept the Matabele from the city, and his fight won him a splendid tribute from his adversary. Khama is a man there is no other man among the Bamangwato," said the Matabele chief, and the people were moved to enthusiasm as they shouted, To-day those who pray to God are our leaders." Khama became the hero of his tribe, but his new faith brought him into frequent conflict with his father. Sekhome ordered Khama to take another wife. Polygamy was the practice of the trifce, and Khama's new ideas on the subject were a startling innovation. But the king's son stood firm. He was already married to Mabisa, and neither threats nor torture were availing to induce him to break the moral law that he had accepted. At length the king determined to strike a blow at the missionairies' gospel by killing Khama and Khama's younger brother. One night he led his most trusted men to Khama's quarters. "Fire," he ordered. The men hesitated. "Upon whom?" they asked, and when the king pointed to the huts where his sons lay asleep not a man would obey. Sekhome loaded a couble-barrelled rifle, and would have shot his own sons dead had not one of his own men disarmed him. Next morning the town rose as one man in defence of Khama, and the King fled in terror. But his sons forgave him, and their father was hailed back as king, the sole condition of his return being that the Christians should have liberty of conscience. But even this did not end the strife. The conflict lasted for ten years. Thrice Khama was a fugitive, a prisoner in the African hills. Then theold chief died, and Khama was welcomed as king. That was20 year.& ago. At that time Shoshong had a most unenviable notoriety. The traders described the place as a perfect hell. Such was Khama's inheri- tance. While I was a ]ad," he said to one of the missionaries, "I used to think how I would govern my town, and what kind of a kingdom it would be," and when Khama succeeded to his kingdom be did his best to attain the boyish dream. He proclaimed throughout his kingdom absolute liberty of con- science, both for the heathen and the Christian. On the first day of his rule he struck a blow at the very root of the customs of his people. He abolished witchcraft. The abolition of this monster evil was followed speedily by the abolition of those cruel prac- tices which characterise heathenism everywhere- slaying weakly children, burying the living baby with the dead mother, leaving the useless old peoale to starve, cutting off the nose, ears, and hands. Khama put an end to all this. Among his subjects were the Bushmen, a race of men recognised as little better than dogs. Slave-owners shot down these men by the dozen en the slightest pretence. To Khama, the Bushmen was "Mothoso me"—"one of my people "-&ndhe was quick to detect and punish anv outrage such as had hitherto been shockrngly COOl WOIl in the daily life of the slaves. But Khama astounded even the missionaries when he set out to drive strong drink from the land. In 1111 other battles for reform he had to fight the heathen majority of his chiefs and people. Now he had against him the English traders. Khama was almost alone in his campaign. I thought, there was nothing but death in front of me." he said afterwards. Khama fought for Christianity as we in England do not know how to fight, and in the end he triumphed. The struggle was hard. The traders sold drink in defiance of the kine. Thev despised his laws. Then he turned them out of his country. Three times the traders returned three times Khama drove them back. Then blood was shed, and the chief's will prevailed. Khama intro- duced many other reforms into his kingdom. He abolished the purchase of women by cattle, and intro- ducedthelawof marriage from free choice. Heforebade thesysteiii of barter by whichjhis people were mercilessly cheated by the white man. He put an end to the state of society in which all the work was done bv the women while the men dressed their hair, and fought and talked." The country prospered under his enlightened rule, and in 1819 Khama and his counsel resolved to move their capital. They moved to Palaype, sixty miles north-west of the old metro- polis. In less than a year the African waste was transformed into what travellers have called Pala- pye the Wondrous." Travellers to Khama's land speak of the" pretty thatched cottages they see, the simplicity of life and the enjoyment of life on every hand, and they marvel at the wisdom of the African chief. A handsome brick church, erected by the natives at a cost of E3000, and seating a thousand worshippers, is the most prominent building in the town. It is crowded with worshippers every Sunday, and maintain about 20 missionaries. From end to end of the citv the traveller finds a network of schools in which native teachers teach the little ones reading, writing, and the Scriptures. And the traveller does not wonder that the king is known as Khaina the Good, and his city as Palapye the Wondrous.

THE COST OF THE WAR. A memorandum showing the principal heads of expenditure provided for in the Army Supplementary Estimate, in consequence of the military situation in South Ifrien, has been officially issued. Froip this it appears that the total expenditure, calculated to March 31, 1900, is as follows: Expenditure to increase the efficiency and mobility of the force in South Africa on July 1 last, with the addition of two battalions of infantry for the protection of Natal, and the raising of local bodies of mounted infantry for the protection of Rhodesia, £ 553,000; expenditure on the despatch of reinforcements from home, the Mediterranean, and India (three cavalry regiments, two Brigade Divisions, field artillery, eight battalions, of infantry, with proportion of Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, &c.\ the raising of a volunteer force in Natal, and the provi- sion of special clothing and hospital supplies for the force in South Africa, £ 1,441,000; expenditure on the despatch of a cavalry division, an army corps, and lines of communication, including the calling up of a portion of the Army Reserve, and the replace- ment of stores and clothing; including also the em- bodiment of a portion of the Militia, and the raising of seven cavalry regiments, and 19 batteries of horse and field. artillery to the higher establishment at home, the raising of an irregular force in South Africa, and the despatch of contingents from Aus- tralia and Canada, £ 8,006,000. Total, £ 10,000,000. The sum of £ 10,000,000 is made up of prime charges £ 6,975,000; continuing charges to March 31, £ 3,025,000. The original Army Estimate for the current year was F.20,617,200, which is now increased by nearly half as much again. The additional number of men provided for is 35,000, a number which repre- sents the probable maximum excess beyond the establishments fixed for the year 1899-1900, in con- sequence of the Proclamation calling up a portion of the Army Reserve and the transfer, temporarily, of a number of troops from the Indian to the British establishment.

THE FIRST SAFETY BICYCLE.. A perennial source of dispute amongst cyclists is the question as to the identity of the real inventor of the present type of safety bicycle. Up to now two people have made fairly good claims. Mr. Harry J. Lawson and Dr. J. Bate, and now an old machine baa been discovered at Gloucester which seems un- doubtedly to anticipate both of these. It was made in 1876 by Mr. George Sherdold, who invented and built the machine himself. When first made it had iron tyres. The front wheel is 27in. in diameter,the steering head and forks are very much like those now in use, but, like the first patterns of the Rover, it has bridle steering. The rear wheel is 31in. in diameter, and the gear is 45in. The action is rotary, the pedals are of the rat-trap pattern, the weight is a little under 801b., and the width of the tread is 10in. To have discovered such a machine 23 years old bearing such a strong likeness to the present type of safety bicycle is remarkable, and from the evidence put forward there does not seem to be the slightest doubt as to its genuineness.

JIGGS: "I tell you what it is, it takes a baby to brighten up a house." Newpop: That's right. Our first arrived three months ago, and we've been burn- ing gas at all hours of the laighb, ever eiBCt."

COLONIAL OFFICE EXPENSES. Four years ago, when Mr. Chamberlain took charge at the Colonial Office, the staff numbered 75, and the cost of salaries was £ 35.000. As they are supposed to have everything up to date in Birmingham, the Downing-street office was remodelled" and a policy of bustle inaugurated. It was placed on the tele- phone for the Secretary of State's convenience, and reorganisation has been an annual affair. The result so far is that the strength of the staff has now been run up to 107, and their salaries to £ 42,01'0. For very many years. in addition to five Queen's home service messengers, six office messengers had been found sufficient for conveying pipers between the departments. These, however, were unequal to the pace, and two more have had to be added. At the Foreign Office. which is a much l»rj,er buil(li,i,r and where the old diplomacy is still practised, half a dozen office-keepers are found quite sufficient.

"AN EAGLE DOKS NOT CATCn FLIES." All eyes being turned upon Sir Redvers Er.ller just now, it may be mentioned as not being coin- monly known that the motto of the Buller family is Aquila non capit iiiiiicas-" An eagle does .not catch flies." This strikes one as singularly apropos at the present moment, and round about Crediion, in Devonshire, where Sir Redvers Buller has his charm- ing estate, and is held in as high esteem as a tvpical country gentleman as he is as a distinguished soldier, An eagle does not catch flies has become a popular saying, which has created some remark- able demonstrations of enthusiasm in the country around.

COMMANDER CRONJE. In the deep gloom which now overshadows South Africa, presently to be converted into a gargantuan shambles, one figure looms out prominently on the lurid canvas—that of Commandant Cronje, at once the vilified poltroon of Potchefstroom and the be- lauded hero of Dornkop. Boer of the Boers, fanatic to the core, imbued with the strongest racial prejudices of his nation, Cronje has at least one characteristic which is acknowledged alike by his triends and enemies—consistency. In the farm at Potchefstroom, close to the Mooi River, where his homestead is situated, he is worshipped as one who stands quite apart from his fellows, a leader of men, and this reputation, acquired in the early days when the Boers trekked north, fighting their way through swarms of hostile savages, still cling to him. Traditions of his prowess and skill in those bygone times, embroidered by the vista of years, are to this day related to the young folk by their parents as they sit over the evening meal how be withstood the savage rush on the laagered waggons at daybreak, and brought them safely through. Commandant, Cronje is a man of distinct person- ality in spite of his somewhat stolid countenance. A heavy, thick-set. man, with bushy eyebrows, a stern, set mouth scarcely concealed by the grizzled moustache and dark thick beard streaked with grey; merciless as his creed, and utterly relentless and un- scrupulous in all dealings with his enemies. As a tactician iu guerilla warfare he is unsurpassed, even by Piet Joubert, and with the exception of the affair of 1881, already mentioned, his bravery has never been called into question. This is the man who at the head of 10,000 men now faces Colonel Baden- Powell on the borders of Bechuanalaad, and he it is who has opened the ball." It was in the village of Dorftkop. The smoke still hung about in a mist from the recent engagement, and the burning sun poured down on the small farm- house, with the white flag of surrender flying from the roof. The low stone wall enclosing the garden behind shone white, while all around lay brown groups of the men who had done their best to get through to Johannesberg and failed. On the slopes above hundreds of irregular horsemen, rough and unkempt, with slouch hats and bandoliers, came circling round and winding to the little farmhouse on which the small white flag fluttered in the breeze. Grouped in front of the building was a knot of officers, the leaders of the expedition, with surrender writ large on every face. At the head of the advancing horde rode a burly figure in a dirty slouch hat, stooping in his saddle, unclean and unkempt, everything about him betoken- ing neglect; the wretched-iookifig nogroomed horae, the antiquated saddlery, the rusty steel, everything. Yet one could see that his was the master mind directing the hordes which were gradually envelop- ing the unfortunate body of men lying at their mercy. It was Commandant Cronje. In arrogant, truculent tones he dictated the terms of: surrender. They were at his mercy, but he dare not go so far as he would like to have gone. In coarse guttural invective he put forward his terms. The small body of men, tired, hungry, and thirsty, siill had their weapons in their hands, and he knew well that if he gave 1Ient to his feelings, which meant putting the leaders with their backs to the wall and shooting them, that he would find it a very dangerous game to play, but it is doubt- ful if he would not have done it but for the restrain- ing influences around him. He snarled like a tiger deprived of his legitimate prey. They were the accursed English whom be hated and whose portion was to be shot down like dogs. But the influences around him predominated. With a keen eye he watched the process of disarmament taking place, and there was a glut of satisfaction, almost amounting to a smile-if such a thing were possible with him— in the abject humiliation of his hated enemies, as they filed before him, prisoners of war, on their way to Pretoria, tnere to receive their judgment. I was there.

WILLS AND BEQUESTS. By his will of March 22 Mr. Charles Gent Clement, of 10, Queen-mansions, Victoria-street, London, and of the firm of George Soanes and Co., oil and seed brokers, a director of the London Oil Storage Com- pany and of the Scottish Union and National Insurance Company, who died at 12. Wilbury-road, Brighton, on September 6 last, aged 73 years, leaving personal estate valued at £ 25,868 15s. 7d., bequeathed to his brother George Sydney Clement, an executor of the will, £ 1100 to his nephew, Peyton Temple Mackeson. also an executor, £ 4100; to Cecil Brand- ram Fielding Mount, the other executor, £ 100 to the of the will, £ 1100 to his nephew, PeyLon Temple Mackeson. also an executor, £ 4100; to Cecil Brand- ram Fielding Mount, the other executor, £100 to the testator's brother, Peyton William Clement, £ 1000;in trust for his sister, Harriett Ellen Vickery, and her three children, 1:4000 to his nieces Ellen Vickery and Emily Cleather, £1500 each; to his nephew Coleridge Vickery, £ lo00; in trust for his niece Adelaide Matthews, £ 1500; to Alice Evers, Olive Brenda Mcunt, Brandram Mount, Henry Clement Gaine, and Norah Constance Pim, E500 each to his great nephew Edward Gordon Cleather, £ 2000; to Mayor William Mackeson, £1000; and to the trustees of the National Gallery the picture of The Death of Chattertoc," by Henry Wallis. Mr. Clement left his residuary estate in equal shares for his nephew Peyton Temple Mackeson and his great nephew Edward Gordon Cleather. Mr. James Thorn, of 14, Berkeley-street, Picca- dilly, and South-hill-park, Bromley, who died on August 23, gave E,50 to David Crawford Rutherford Lindsay, and the rest and remainder of his property to his wife. He appointed his widow, Mrs. Eleanor Octavia Thom, and Mr. David Crawford Rutherford Lindsay, of 14, Berkeley-street, to be his executors, and they have sworn the value of the estate to be £ 47,281 18s. 8d. I Captain Edward Brooke Thornton, late 49th (Berkshire) Regiment, of 26, Thurloe-square, who died on September 10, gave to his son William J Brook Thornton £4000, to his wife, Mrs. Agnes Thcrnton, £ 500 and his furniture and domestic effects, and to Algernon Tatham £100. His resi- I duary estate is to be held on trust to pay the income 1 thereof to his wife during her widowhood or of £ 200 per annum should she again marry, and sub- ject thereto to his children in equal shares. The estate has been valued at £ 73.910 10s. bd., and the executors of his will, dated December 4, 1896, are I his widow, Mrs. Agnes Thornton, of 26. Thurloe- j square, and Mr. Algernon Tatham, of 40, Dorset- square. Mr. Samuel Williams, of The Laurels, 264, Upper Richmond road, Putney, 130, Belvedere road, lambeth, and Dagenham Dock, Essex, colliery owner and lighterman, a member of the Thames Conser- vancy Board, who died on August 27, in his 76th year, left property valued at £ 90,589 Us. 4d. the net personalty being 489,916 Is. 4d. He bequeathed 100 shares in Samuel Williams and Sons (Limited) on trust for the children of his deceased son Samuel, 50 of such shares to his grandson Herbert Ingle, 50 shares on trust for his granddaughter Dorothy j Ingle, JE2500 to the children of John and "Jane Williams, rlooo between Emily and Alice Hacker, P-500 each to Mary Rebecca Bugler and Ellen Bugler, £ 1000 to the Watermen's and Lightermen's Asylum, Penge; £ 500 to his clerk, John William Stub- bings; £ 200 each to Charles Smith, Ernest Vasey, and Joeeph Coates jt;250 to Richard Jehu shares in the Porous Accumulator Company to his sons William and Arthur, and his grandson Herbert Ingie, and all his furniture and household effects, carriages and horses, money in the house, and the income of his residuary estate to his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Ann Williams. At her decease he gives 100 shares to Samuel Williams and goixa (Limited) to follow the trusts of the marriage settlement of his daughter Mrs. Emily Helena Frohock, and the nlti- mate residue of his property to his four sons, Mr William Varco Williams, Mr. Frank Williams, Mr. Alfred Williams, and Mr. Arthur Edward Williams, all of 36, Lime-street, City, and appoint: them execu- ) tors of his will, dated December 20, 1898, with a 1 oodicil of February 18,1899 i

SCIENCE NOTES. LoRD KELVIN put the age of the sun at 100.000.008 years. At its present rate of combustion the BaD will last from seven to 15 millions of years before burning itself out. A BOY in America swallowed a steel nail. B7 means of the X-ray it was located behind the breast- bone. As it could not be removed by an operation, the nail was drawn up by a magnet inserted in the throtit. A SCHOLARSHIP of f90 will be awarded in July, 1901, by the Council of the London (Royal Free Hospital) School of Medicine for Women, on the results of the preliminary scientific examination ef the London University. THE Scientific American states that the men of science who have been investigating the Wyoming; fossil beds are having remarkable success, and a large number of boxes containing fossil remains ha been sent to the State University, and the work oC restoration will soon be begun under the direction of Professor Wilbur C. Knight. I I A SCIENTIST of some standing asserts that chemi- cally pure water is poison to the human stomach, upsetting some hitherto accepted theories regarding- distilled water by the argument that in distillitioit the water loses sundry salts that it greedily abstract* from the animal tissues when it is swallowed, thup constituting a protoplasmic poison. THE "Castel Beranger is a new style of dwelling, invented by M. Guimard, a French architect, and erected at Auteuil. It has gained the City of Paris prize for the best facade of the year. The inventor has published a monograph giving a full account of it, which may interest British architects. IN his experiments on wireless telegraphy made 20 years ago, Professor Hughes, F.R.S., emploved his microphone to receive the electric waves, that is to say, as a "coherer." All coherers are a species of microphone. That used by Marconi and others is of metal, but M. Tommasina has returned to the carbon forms of Professor Hughes, and finds them quite as good or better than metal ones. IT is said that compressed air is about to be, employed as a means of detecting any tampering; with the walls or grate bars in gaols. The bars of cells are to be of hollow steel tubes, and steel plate* with an air space between floor and ceiling. All the tubes and air spaces are in communication, and fillecl with compressed air. In case a bar is cut in am attempt to escape, the reduction of the air pressure at once sounds an automatic alarm at the desired! point. The locks on the doors are also protected, an alarm being given upon the opening of the lock. ANDKEE had 13 buoys on his balloon, painted blue- and yellow, and covered with a network of copper, wire. They were ballasted with lead, and the copper* cork carried numbers and the words, Andree, Polar Expedition," in French. Under the stopper was a cavity for holding despatches. A spiralstaff above, the stopper bore the Norwegian flag. They were toi be thrown out at intervals, and the last, as well aw biggest, at the nearest point to the Pole which that balloon had attained. AN ingenious contrivance for closing sliding doo has just been patented in Germany. By pushing uP1 a rod a kind of knee lever is set in motion, which byj moving on either side drives the wheels on which tho; doors are suspended in opposite directions, thereby; opening the doorway. One advantage of the contri- vance is that the weight of the leaves of the door is borne by the fulcrum of the lever as well as by the movable wheels. THE death of Mr. H. Y. Castner reralls the fate of his process for producing cheap aluminium, abouti which A great fuss was made 12 years ago. It was, then proclaimed as a revolution in metallurgy, andi some daily papers went so far as to predict that aluminium rails and aluminium ships would, in a few years, supersede the heavy and costly metals nitherlo in use. But, alas! although still a better method of producing aluminium was soon afterwards, discovered, the old metals still hold their own, and their production and use are at the present moment the largest on record. A CIRCULAR has just been issued to all Catholic missionaries by the Sacred Congregation of the Pro- pagation of the Faith, urging them to use such. opportunities as the locality of their mission workai affords for the collection lof natural history speci-1 mens, to be given to scientific societies and institu- tions. The intention, it is asserted, is not only to interest and encourage such missionaries as are keen naturalists, but also to remove the reproach so. commonly held that the Church does not look with favour upon science, and especially biological science. AN interesting feature to military men in the Paris Exhibition will be the Avion flying machine of M. Ader, of Auteuil, Paris, which was tried at the Camp Satory. It has an aeroplane in the form of wings, and their spread can be altered at will. Two four- bladed propellers placed in front on parallel axes, are driven by two 40 horse-power steam engines placed vertically and heated by alcohol from two reservoirs, between which the aviator sits in a chair, with guards to keep him from falling off. Over his head is a steam condenser, and to right and left are handles for altering the smrfaces of the aeroplanes or wings. The speed of the screws can be varied at will. The total weight of the machine and the aeronaut himself is 256 kilogrammes. VAPORISED alcohol as motor car fuel has been practically tested in France with not very satisfac- tory results. The trials were carried out with a Broichot horizontalengine of from two to three horse- power and with a Benz vertical motor of three to four horse-power. Analysis showed that the alcohol had only one-half of the carbon df the mineral oil, with 45 times the auiountof its Oxygen, and its calorific value was little more than one-half. Tha horizontaF motor consumed a little more than 21b. of light oil per horse-power, as compared with 3-851b. of alcohol when the engine was at half-charge, though at full charge the difference was not so marked. The Benz vertical motor consumed 0891b. of light oil per horse-power at full charge, as against Ilblb. ot alcohol. As the latter is almost double the quantity; of oil consumed, and as alcohol costs about twice as much as the oil, it follows that the power generated with 5s. 7d. worth of alcohol can be producecl6 with Is. 9d. worth of light oil; in this connection it may be mentioned that the latter quantity of light? oil is the bare equivalent of only a shilling's worth of ordinary petroleum. I To ascertain the strength of glaxo--that is, its resistance to tension and flexure-a series of experi- ments has lately (Work says) been conduct.ed in France. The glass tested was of No. 4 grade ancr the so-called 11 cathedral"" glass. In the flexure test, the glass was placed as a beam, supported on knife edges, with its load applied at the middle the load was a bucket into which water dropped regularly, so as to obviate Ihe possibility of shock. By this means the rate of application of the load could be controlled to exactness. Using the usual formula for rectangular beams loaded at the centre, the tensile strength per unit of cross section was ascertained. As is well known, nearly all materials show a greater resistance with a rapidly-applied load than when the stress-is applied slowly; with glass this was espe- cially noticeable. The tensile strength of a number of specimens averaged 6000Jb. to 70001b. per square inch when the load was applied so as to cause rupture in from 15 to 20 minutes, but when rupture was de- layed until 45 minutes, the strength averaged from 50001b. to 60001b. per square inch. With very slow loading, by which the glass was caused to break in from 10 to 12 hours, the resistance per square inch was only about 42001b. In submitting glass rods to flexure tests, they were found to be stronger, than the plates. When rupture occurred in about 15 minutes, the strength was nearly 11,0001b. per square inch, failing to 90001b. at 45 minutes, and 57001b. at 12 hours. With loads of from 30001b. to 35001b. per square inch, no rapture occurred with glass rods at the end of three months. With a load of 40001b., the glass rod ruptured in two days. i =====

A PRO-BOER FRUSTRATED. The Berlin correspondent of the Telegraph sends particulars of a comical scene which was enacted the other day at the Berlin terminus for Hamburg. A young man had arrived there with the intention of proceeding to the Transvaal to join the Boers. He was decamping with about E14 of his father's money. The parent discovered the incident in time, and appeared on the- platform to claim his legal rights and frustrate his son's scheme. After a stprinv ex- change of words, which led to blows, the young man had to capitulate unconditionally.

MRS. TAKEM Huh 1 Pretty condition for you to come down in 1 Been drinking, have you ? Mr. Takem: "All (hie) mistake, m' dear. I'm all ria (hie), dash whash I am." Mrs. Takem: "Huh. Haven't been drinking, eh ? J'ben why do you talk as if your mouth was full of mush? Mr. Takem: 41 Caush a soft answer turnetb away wrath, m' dear." OUT of 14 British Consals in Finnish ports it if alleged that twelve have resigned their po"