Barry Herald

)- { WHY MAJOR SCOTT SHOT HIMSELF. HIS TWENTY-TWO YEARS BERVICB. The Cape Times, of October 25, has the following particulars of the surrender of Vryburg, and the suicide of Major Scott: For about four days the agitation against resistance had been gaining strengi h and numbers. The camp was fortified to some extent with sandbags, and water sufficient for one month for men only, not horses, but was not provisioned enough for a siege. There need be little doubt, however, that the intention of the police was to fight, and that had the town been equally determined, a resistance would have been made. There is also little doubt but that if the Boers had shelled the camp the town would have suffered. Nevertheless, the Boers came practi- cally in by invitation, and a certain political organisa- tion was said to have been largely responsible. The commanding officer, whose haggard and drawn features betokened many sleepless nights, remarked to a companion that he was a ruined man, and that it was hard after being 22 years in the Colony's service to come to this. He added that, at any rate, he had saved the lives of his men, who would have had no chance against the force that threatened them. Still, he said his instructions from the Govern- ment were to resist, aiJd in reply to a remark that the Government did not know the circumstances, and did not know that the very people he was there to protect were beseeching nim to leave them, he said that was quite true, and he held the resolutions of the meetings and the magistrate's letter which urged him to withdraw. He said he had been subjected to extraordinary and continued pressure, and after saying he had bad no Bleep for three nights, he again said he had saved his men's lives, and then appeared to dismiss the subject from his mind, and attempted to turn to brighter topics. About midnight the police column halted for a brief rest, and probablywhilo others were sleeping, the unfortunate officer was brooding over the events of the past few hours. The camp was wrapped in darkness and silence, when suddenly a pistol. shot rang out through the air, and the awakened column found that the brain of their. leader had yielded to the strain, and a bullet mark in the forehead showed only too plainly that life was gone. The body was buried next morning in the veld, between two spread- ing thorn trees, and after the last rites had been per- formed, the men stood at attention while the officer now in command spoke of the loss sustained by the Colony and the service through the death of their te u. ..rt .-IS- i'

THE MUSEUM ROBBERY. A report circulated that the jewellery stolen from the South Kensington Museum vag worth £2500 as a melting pot price and nearly £ 25,000 as works of art is quite unfounded. A Daily Mail representative who made the inquiries into the matter was told that a connoisseur, who appraised the missing trinkets, considered that, whatever might be their artistic value, E25 was nearer the intrinsic value 'of the specimens thsn £ 2500. How the showcase came to be opened and the knick-knacks abstracted is as great a mystery as ever.

DISAPPEARANCE OF STATE BULLION. Detectives are investigating a mystery attaching to the whereabouts of an ingot of silver, over lOOOoz. in weight, which disappeared while in transit from a l..ondon house to Mr. J. M. Banks, manufacturing jeweller, Birmingham. The ingot was consigned per (x>ndon and North-Western Railway, and is reported •o have been despatched by passenger train from Euston. After the arrival of the train at New-street, Birmingham, search was made for it, but it could nowhere be found. Whether it was carried off by thieves at the end of the journey or whether someone obtained possession of it at Rugby or one of the other intermediation stations appears uncertain.

t. THE COST OF RAILWAYS ANALYSED. Taking a fairly representative section of one of the main lines outside of London costing £ 40,000 per mile, it, is stated in Engineering, that 24 per cent. of the cost was due to earthworks, 12 per cent. to tunnels, lli per cent. to permanent way, including 2 ballast, and 10 per cent. to land and compensation so that, here we have in four items 57 per cent. of 2 the total cost. Viaducts account for eight per cent. more, bridges for nine per cent., and calverts and drainage five per cent. The other smaller items are as follow: Fencing, 1J per cent.; accommodation works, two per cent.; sidings, three per cent.; junctions and signals one per cent.; stations includ- ing buildings (roadside only), 6 per cent. con- tingenciea, including Parliamentary, administration, legal, and engineering expenses, six per cent. main- tenance, £ per cent. The high cost for earthworks, viaducts, and bridges is explained by the necessity for easy gradients and curves to insure smooth work- ing and lugh speeds.

If we want to find a country where Nature has turned things topsy-tt)rvT-tbat is, according to our notion—we must go to Australia. Many things are reversed in that country. It is summer there while it is winter in Great Britain. Trees shed their bark instead of their leaves; fruit has the stone or kerael "outside; swans are black; there is a species of fly. that kills and eats the spider; and a fish, called the clim billg perch, that walks deliberately out of the water, and, with the aid of its fins, climbs the adjacent trees after the insects that infest them. Most of the birds have no song, and the flowers no odour. TnE Hotel del Coronado of San Diego, California, rtaims to be the largest hotel in the world. Its area of ground is 20 acres, and area covered by building five ajres. The total floor area of the, hotel is 4§ acres capacity "of reservoirs, 150,OuO gallons; and acres capacity "of reservoirs, 150,OuO gallons; and rkr" of dining-roome. 10.000 square fsat.

CURIOUS STORY ABOUT A NEGRO PREACHEit. An African negro, who calls himself Claude Wilson, has had a singular career in this country, if a story told in the Bedford Police-court the other day be true. Wilson, who was attired in black clothes and a clerical hat, was accused of having obtained a bicycle without the intention of paying for it, and there were also three other charges against him. A solicitor who prosecuted on behalf of the Treasury stated that Wilson had been staying in this country under the guise of a clergyman ordained in the Church of England, and had taken advantage of the fact to obtain goods and money. I He was a carpenter by trade, and went from Sierra Leone to a place called Bugama, in the Congo dis- trict, and, being a person of superior education, he took a lead among the natives and bad a religious following. He came to England ostensibly with a view to obtaining an iron church to set up at Bugama, and he got an introduction to the Training Home for African Students at Colwyn Bay, North Wales. The principal there took an interest in him,and published an account of hia work at Bugama, together with his portrait. Wilson had taken this publication about with him, and represented himself as a clergyman. At Exeter Hall he met an Evangelist named Penfold, who was conducting a mission near Bedford, and at the latter's invitation he consented to assist, and preached at several places. After the hearing of some evidence the accused was remanded.

t FAMOUS RAILWAY KING. Sir Richard Moon, for 30 years chairman of the London and North-Western Railway Company, has passed away in his 86th year, at Copsewood Grange, his residence near Coventry. Sir Richard, the maker of the famous railway as it now is, was probably the most notable, as he was the most successful, of railway directors. He joined the North-Western Company as a director in 1851, be- came deputy-chairman 10 years later, and chairman in 1862, and held that position to the great profit of the company until 1891, when he retired, full of honours. He was 37 years of age when he gave up Liver- pool commerce to become a North-Western director. His maxim was that no man could serve two masters, and he threw his entire energy into the work of de- veloping the North-Western. In those days it was a loosely-jointed system, made up of the London and Birmingham, Birmingham and Manchester, and Grand Junction lines, with leases of the North Wales Railway and the Lancaster and Carlisle lines. It was Richard Moon's life work to transform this accumulation of railways into the great organisation which to-day is a model to the world. When he joined the board the company owned 1030 miles of rail: to-day it owns 1685 miles, while a revenue of £ 4.000.000 has expanded to V-12,000,000, and 41, per cent, interest on £ 25,000,000 stock has increased to 7 per cent. on £ 110,000,000. Sir Richard welded 2 the North-Western into the finest trunk line in the country, tivo6 soon provided through services which, even after a quarter of "a jcentury, have hardly been beaten in the matter of speed. He worked perhnps harder than anybody else on the railway. He lived chiefly in railway carriages and railway hotels, travelling continuously all over the system, appearing where he was not expected, making impromptu inspections, and instilling ideas of punctuality, economy, and hard work into every- body, from line superintendents to porters in way- side stations. He came to be known as Old Moon," and things went like clockwork when Old Moon was thought to be about. Half the railway stories that are told originated with "Old Moon." On one occasion he turned up very early ata station and fonnda porter busily sweeping. Hello." he said, you are at work early this morning. Do yon always commence so soon?" Ko." replied the porter. but the fact is we are ex- pecting Old Moon to-day, and we want to get ready for him." Sir Richard balanced elfficiency with economy. One day, while crossing from Holyhead to Dublin in one.of..the. oomr>!l 'boats, hL* tenitizlkdd to the captain, who did not know him, that the boat was going at first-rate speed. "Yeg, sir: we've got the chairman on board," said the captain, "so we are spending J-r) worth more coal than usual in order to make a good passage." Now and then his economy was of the ^pensive kind. He turned down ths lights at a small station one evening, and in the darkness an old lady was injured and the company had to recompense her. The great chairman, who knew the ins and outs of the line flora one end to the other, had a strong notion of 'tiie fitness of things. It is related that, bearing a porter at one station prefix the name of the' place with an "it" which it did not require, and a porter elsewhere leave out an h which should have been aspirated, Sir Richard solved the problem by :ransposing the porters. Although for 30 years he travelled continually, he was never in a railway accident. It was at the 1887 Jubilee that Sir Richard was made a baronet, in honour of his great work as chairman of the London ind North-Western Railway. On his retirement in 1891, his colleagues paid warm tributes to his ser- vices, but Sir Richard would receive no other token, having already accepted a service of gold from the company as a token of esteem. The famous chairman refused other directorates and a seat in Parliament. He had a few peculiari- ties, of physique and temperament. He lacked the sense of colour and of smell. He signed cheques with the single word Moon." He never fired a gun. Although generous, he never advertised. Being a wealthy man, with inherited riches and an ac- quired fortune, he lived quietly, and retired in his old age to his rural Warwickshire home, where he thought of nothing so much as his beloved North- Western. A month before he retired, in ill-health, from his work his wife died. His grandson, Mr. C. E. Moon, succeeds to the baronetcy.

POWDER MONKEYS" OF THE BATTLE FIELD. If it were not that there is a very excellent and elaborate system of supplying soldiers with ammu- tion during the course of a fight it would be alniort hopeless to attack any position. Modern cartridges are very heavy things to carry. The long bullet, the heavy brass work of the case, and the weight of the wads and powder, all combine to produce an article which, though it is of small compass, is very weighty. When our soldiers are attacking a Boer position, their operations require that each man shall have a j large supply of ammunition. This must all be ) carried forward as the fight progresses. The Boer j entrenched upon a hill top may have the largest j supply of his ammunition by his side, and he is not weighed down by it as our soldiers are when storm- I ing the position. During a protracted fight the British soldier is, in most instances, compelled to fire away all the ammu- nition which he is personally able to carry. An ordi- nary private carries 100 rounds. Just before an action, when heavy firing is expected, this 100 rounds is supplemented by 50 more from the battalion reserve of 77 rounds per man. Thus each private advances into battle carrying no less than 150possible dealers of death. Whenever a soldier falls or is wounded he is im- mediately stripped of his ammunition, and it is at once distributed amongst the men who are still capable of carrying on the fight. The reserve ammu- nition for each battalion is carried in four carts and on the backs cf two pack mules. When an action appears imminent, a temporary reserve, called a Brigade reserve," is formed. This consists of two carts taken from each of the four battalions composing the brigade. This special reserve is placed underan officer selected for the occa- sion. In the event of any of the battalions becoming detached from the brigade, they receive their own carts back again. In addition to the above, there is always with the regular ammunition column 77 rounds for each man, and a further supply is carried in the "Ammunition pack of 55 rounds per man. Accordingly the total amount carried in the field for each infantry soldier works out at 309 rounds. The men who actually bring up the cartridges t* their comrades of the fighting line are selected from each company for their strength and agility. This duty of bringing up supplies of ammunition during the engagement is a very arduous one, and only the most physically fit are able to attempt it- The mules which accompany a battalion are sup- posed to get within 500 yards of the men in action, and the carts to within 1000 yards. <

=- A SIGN of politeness in Tibet on meeting a person is to hold up the clasped hand and stick out the IN proportion to population, the little Republic of Switzerland can bollst of having a larger army than any other nation in the world. THE death of General Sir Willian Penn Symons from the wound received in the fierce action at Glencoe removes a lineal descendant of the founder of Pennsylvania. His grandmother was one Agne* Penn, who, upon her memorial tablet in Bcw# Fleming Church. Cornwall, is declared to have beei a lineal descendant of the excellent William'Penrv, and inherited many of his piousand amiable qualities His modesty, indicated in the cognomen "Qutet Symons," and his power of organisation 8ugsom. points of likeness to his famous anoestei. J

EPITOME OF NEWS. SISCE the beginning of this century no less than 52 volcanic islands have risen out of the sea. Nine- teen has disappeared, and 10 are now inhabited. THERE are 31,000 distinct varieties of postage- stamps. THE Duke of Abercorn is said to have 11 nephews engaged in the war. THE railways of this country give employment to 900,000 people. MORE matches are used in the United Kingdom than in any other one country in the world, it has been estimated that English people use an average of eight matches each person per day, and annually over 1,700,000,000,000 are burned. IT is estimated that New York has no fewer than 10,000 opium smokers. IN Paris there is a wine-shop for every three houses. THE uncommon name of Redvers. now so familiar in this country, was given to Sir Redvers Bailer by reason of his descent from the Courienay family, whose ancestor was Earl Eedvers. In day every other boy for two or three years was christened Horatio Nelecn, and Arthur's multiplied amazingly during the triumphant days of Wellington. Probably five years hence there will be many more bearers of the name of Redvers than there are to-day. THE Parliament buiiding in Wellington, New Zealand, is the largest wooden structure in the world. In Wellington, and so IKE other New Zealand ,owns, almost every house is constructed of wood. Large churches and important business premises are built of the same material. CATS, large and small, make the most careful toilet of any class of animals, excepting some of the opossums. The lions and tigers wash themselves in exactly the same manner as the cat, wetting the dark, india-rubber like ball of the forefoot and inner toe, and passing it :over the face and behind the ears. The foot is thus at the same time a face sponge and a brush, and the rough tongue combs the rest of the body. Hares also use their feet to wash their faces, and the hare's foot is so suitable for a brush that it is used to apply the rouge to the face for the stage. THE Holbeck (Lincolnshire) Urban District Council is probably the only authority of its kind which has for one of its members an ordinary labourer. Mr. J. King is the Liberal representative. on the Council of his fellows, and in order to attend to his duties has to sacrifice a portion ofhis wages, as the meetings are held in the afternoon. SIR STAFFORD NOBTHCOTE, the new Governor of Bombay, had his baronetcy conferred upon him by the Queen in order that the name by which his father was best known should be continued. Sir Stafford's eldest son, of course, succeeded his father as the second Lord Iddesleigh. The present Sir Stafford; Northcote has had a busy and interesting official life. He has had a varied experience, and should, at the age of fifty-three, command the respect due to an important official life in his new position 88 Governor of Bombay. A BORDEAUX fencer named Bosses has had a mar- vellous escape from death. During a bout with his instructor the button came off the latter's foil during a lunge, and Bosses was rvn completely through, the weapon entering the body just above the heart and coming out at the back. Singular tc state, cone of the vital organs were touched, and the doctors say the wounds will quickly heal. OXE of the most remarkable lakes on the earth's surface is situated at Tar Point, on-the Island of Trinidad, and bears the suggestive name of Pitch Lake. At first view the surface of this lake, which is not a lake," gives one the impression that it is a large body of placid water, but a closer examination proves it to be a vast plain covered with hard and hardening pitch. In the winter months the surface of this lake is perfectly smooth, and of a consistency sufficient to bear any weight. A GLASGOW correspondent states that a prominent Clyde yachtsman is negotiating for the purchase of the Valkyrie, at present moored in Gourock Bay. ONE result of the increased output of ammunition for South Africa is that the price of lead has gone up £ 7 per ton in the course of a week. PKESIOEST MCAULEY has telegraphed to General Otis directing him to request Aguinaldo to treat his Spanish prisoners kindly and humanely. lik- IT is curious to find that there is a country in the world in which it is considered a crime to smoke. Abyssinia is the region, and the law forbidding tobacco dates from the year 1642. It was at first merely intended to prevent priests from smoking in the churches, but it was taken too literally, and now- adays even foreigners have to smoke sub rosa, as if they were still schoolboys. AT a meeting of the Missionary Alliance at Wash- ington, an earnest appeal was made for funds. This appeal was promptly responded to. Women took off rings, bracelets, and ear-rings, and men gave up watches and pins. Savings-bank books ana clothing were thrown upon the stage. Several substantia business men who had no money with them pledged themselves in amounts varying from £ 1 to £ 1000. Altogether nearly £ 14,000 was subscribed. A NEEDtB factory in Red ditch make 70,000,000 needles every week. THERE are 2,3Q0 church-bell ringers in the diocese of Oxford. This is the largest number in any English diocese. Exeter comes second, and Devon third. TWENTY-FOCH-CARAT gold is all gold; twenty-two- carat gold has twenty-two parts of gold. one of silver, and one of copper; eighteen-carat gold has eighteen parts of pure gold and three parts each of silver and copper in its composition twel re-carat: gold is half gold, the remainder being made up of three anda half, parts o fsilver and eight and a half parts of copper. FROM the report just received from the Governor of Gibraltar, we learn that under an Order in Coun- cil of 1872, as amended and continued by an Order in 1881, the legal tender currency of Gibraltar from 1872 up to October 1898, was that of Spain, but the financial condition of the latter country led of late years to such violent fluctuations in the value of the peseta, that the situation, which bad been growing yearly more acute, became intolerable as the Cuban Revolution, progressed, and the danger of war with the United States seemed more imminent. In the meantime the Government of Gibraltar had assumed a heavy gold liability for the construction of the Commercial and Coaling Mole and as the Spanish currency became more depreclated the necessity became more urgent for the public revenue of Gibraltar to be collected in a less unstable medium. The situation had been foreseen and provided against, as by an Order in Council passed in July, 1897, the currency Order in Council of 1881 was amended, and it was provided that where any fees, duties, or charges payable under any enactment in force, or which should thereafter become in force in Gibraltar, were assceeased in denominations of the lawful money of the United Kingdom, such money should be the only lawful tender in payment thereof. Accordingly the Revenue Ordinance of 1898 was passed on March 30 with effect from April 1, and in it all Custom* duties, fees for licences, port dues, and other charges were assessed in British money. This was followed by the Revision of Fees Ordinance passed on the 31st March, 1898, by which all enactments under which fees, other than those provided for in the former Ordinance, were collected, were amended and the fees assessed in British money. The stability of the Government revenues was thus assured, but Spanish money still remained the legal tender of Gibraltar in private transactions, and fines inflicted by the different Courts were still paid in pesetas, as penalties, whether recovered under law or under rules passed under authority of any law, were not included in the terms of the Order in Council of 1897. The declaration of war between Spain and the United States in April, 1898, was speedily followed by a heavy depreciation in the value of the currency of the former country, and in May, on the Madrid Ex- change. gold rose to a premium of 120 per cent. The effect on business in Gibraltar was disastrous, as importers who purchased their goods with golo were selling them for depreciated silver, and war-- forced to put their prices at a figure which would enable them to cover their liabilities should the dollar fall to its metallic value. The inconvenience was accentuated by the publication in Spain of a Decree prohibiting the export of silver, and the desire became general among all classes in Gib- raltar to put an end to the risk and uncertainty attending all business transactions. With a view of obtaining the fullest possible information, and of ascertaining what was the wish of the majority of the business communitv, the Secretary of State sent out Sir Ralph Thompson to conduct an inquiry on the spot. The result left no doubt as to the neces- sity for a change, and in August, 1898, orders were passed by the Queen in Council repealing the Currency Order, of 1881, under which Spanish currency had been continued as the legal tender currency of Gibraltar, and making British money the legal tender in Gibraltar, and declaring certain portions of the Coinage Act, 1870, to be in force here. These orders were to take effect from the date of procla- mation (by the Governor, and they were duly pro- claimed on the 1st October, 1898. On the same day the Gibraltar Laws Revision Ordinance was passed,adapting to^the altered currency all those en- .jctments wbich had not been affected by the Order in Council in lp9<, and revised rules were also pub- lished providing for the recovery of penalties in British money. British money is thus now the sole legal tender in Gibraltar, except in payment of liabili- ties incurred before the proclamation of the above Orders, and except as provided by Section 6 of the Coinage Act, 1870, which allows contracts to be made in the currency of some other part of her Majesty's, dominions or of some foreign state. Spanish mou% however, continues to be fnwiv mirrent.

[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] JALKBERD'S BUMPS. A PHRENOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT. BY JAMES GREENWOOD. AUTHOR OF III Dick Temple," "Reuben Davidger," Wild Sports of the World," Curiosities of Sfivage Life" Fair Phyllis of Lavender Wharf" Under a. Cloud. I A Little llaoamvlfin" "Ken •ison's Crime," Three Rogues" ILumphrey Dyot," ut Silas the Conjuroretc. I Meg as to what account I should give tbe doctor respecting > my spending of his two pounds. 41 W'hat>are yonr<own>'ideas on the subject says she. To work hitti<on the-sentimental tack. To hatch up a good story, something ot'the sick little grand- son and faded flower pattern. I might give im a touching narrative of how I rescued adesrvlng family—a poor -widow, and several small children— from the verge of starvation, as well as from,being turned into the street by a-stony-hearted broker, who had already seized the widow's goods!" But Margaret shook her head. "hat would be too methodical a thing,for ypu to do in your supposed state of mind, Jack," says she. "If the doctor had any suspicion—and you may de- pend on it that by this time the old housekeeper has had her say to him about you—he might make en- quiries, and that would be awkward. A better plan would be to own to having made a mull of it." "Ofiwhat? Of giving away the money?, Of course I don't mean to give it away. But I am bound to tell the doctor I have dono so. Didn't I leave the house red-hot for the purpose?" That's just it. But what would most likely hap- pen to a good-natured soft-head who rushed red-hot into the back slums to give away sovereigns? Why, the roughs would clean out his pockets and take the wry coat off his back. That's what must happen to you, Jack," said the clever little schemer, laughingly. If you acted up to the real thing and did it thor- oughly, you would go in for a black eye and a broken head as well. But I won't be too hard on you. You ■shall have only your coat stripped from your back, and your shirt sleeves dirtied and torn, and a button or two wrenched off your waistcoat, and your nice new hat crushed in. It seems a pity to spoil it, but it mhst be done 1" My hat was on an adjoining chair, and before I Could prevent it, she went and deliberately sat down on it, squelching it flat. That's it exactly!" she remarked, taking it up and regarding it admiringly; "it will match beautifully with the other little arrangements. And if the effect of the whole on the doctor is not all that can be de- sired. it will be your own fault." "But what do you imagine will be the 'effect,' as you call it. on the street boys when they see me in my torn shirt sleeves and with my hat the pretty object you have made it ?" But nobody need see much of you. There is no need for you to start from here uutil after dark, and I will go with you to within a short distance of the bouse. You can wear your coat till the last moment, And I can bring it back with me." And that was how we managed it. It was quite dark by the time we reached Blooms- bury Square, and in a convenient doorway I divested myself of my outer garment, and Margaret gave my hat a final downward squeeze and disarranged my neck-tie and added a few other judicious finishing touches before she bade me good-night. The doctor was anxiously looking out for me from a front win- dow, and hastened to let me in before I could ring at the bell. There was a looking-glass panel in the hat-strand, and as I entered the hall, I caught sight of the figure reflected in it, and was not surprised when the doctor, with a shocked expression, of countenapce, exclaimed: "Good heavens, Bird! I am truly paiped to see you in this condition. So earnestly as I warnedyou against drinking I paueed on the hall mat, and fegardmg him re- proachfully, burst into tears. "That you should do me wrong, air," I cried, is woøe than alH" And then I related to him the narrative of my, odventures,since I left him that afternoon. How that I had gone straight to a certain poverty-stricken slum in the worst part of Shoreditch, with which in the bad old time I had been familiar, intending to take the squalid inhabitants tidings of comfort and joy to the extent of the two. pounds I had in my possession. But that, instead of hailing me as a welcome visitor, in the very first house I entered I had been surrounded, and hustled, and ill-used, with inake-believe horse play, in the course of which my coat was torn from my back, my hat "bonneted" over my eyes, and my pockets emptied. I could see by the expression on the simple doctor's face that he was convinced by this time his sus- picions as to my sobriety were unfounded, and that my excitement my-scared demeanour were due to the treatment I had received. The ruffianly lie exclaimed. And what did the police say when you tomplned to them ?'' I was again weeping with my face bowed, and resting on my arms, which were folded on the table at which I was sitting. As he asked the question. I raised my head aaQ regarded him with open-eyed amazement. "The police, sir 1 Oh, rarely you cannot think that I sought to: punish the poor creatures? Qh, no. no, I love them too well for that!" But I am speaking qfdltl raacals who robbed you." So am I. sir. But oh do not apeak of them «o harshly. Do not call them rascals. Think, dear, dear sir, of the triumph, of the unspeakable delight of reclaiming the very worst anio-ng them." A very pleasant tasktou«dertake, no donbt I. of course, knew that he spofce sarcastically, but 1 affected to. take it as serious, as I clasped his hand. "I felt certain that you would think so," I ex- claimed, with rapture, and that I might freely take the liberty." Of doing. what ?" Of inviting them here. Only five -of thorn, but they are the worst—three men and two women. They have so littje experience of returning good for evil," I continued, addressing myself to the doctor with s. childlike simplicity I feel sure Margaret herself would, have admired." that they-could scarcely be- lieve me when I told them that I freely forgave the ji, and arranged withthein to be here to-morrow morn- ing ilíme for breakfast." The dpctor made no reply, but stood staring at me in dire perplexity, not unmixed, as I was glad, to ob- serve, with pity. At length he remarked with a sigh: Well, well, we must limite the best of things as we find them. T^iere is no help for it. But if your five friends should happen to mislay the address you left with them, or should they miss their way in coming here, we must endeavour to bear with the disappoint- meat. And, meanwhile, after such an exciting and fatiguing day, I advise you to take something light for supper, with a stiff glass of grog after it, and go to bed." CHAPTER X. I OOSTINDB TO CULTIVATE THE VIP-TPES, AND INVENT A SICK AND DESTITUTE STSTEIT. I judging from a peculiar expression in the doctor's eye as he bade me good-nighj, that he was meditating some special "experiment" for my benefit. And feeling, under the circumstances, somewhat curious as to what it might be. I arranged for being awake when he paid his usual visit to my bedroom- But he never came at all. And that being the first time he had missed, I was puzzled for a reason why. t It was usually about one o clock in the morning when he came up to me, and at half-past one, end- ing tbat he did not come, I crept out of bed, and listened at the door. He was still up. There was a small laboratory in the back-garden, where he concocted his secret com- pound", and I had heard him more than once com- plain, that whenever be happened to be working there later than usual, he was annoyed by the inces- sant barking of a dog, belonging to the people occupying the next houae. I could not hear the doctor moving about, but the dog was hard at it, and stepping out on to the landing where there was a window, I could see a light in the laboratory, and I knew he was there. However, as I have already said, that night he did not trouble me. And when I went down next morn- ing, it was evident from his weary and haggard look that he had not been to bed at all. As I need not mention, my five friends had not arrived. I pretended much anxiety on their behalf and was anxious to go and fetch them. But this the doctor would not hear^of. To tell you the truth, he remarked, I am not at all sorry that they did not take you at your word." But why, sir ? Apart from the dictates of my awakened conscience, I was only obeying your own instructions when I invited them here. "My instructions ?" And the doctor opened his eyes. — I mean your general instruction8!8ir* *ou weil remember before I became changed and when I laughed at the folly of being tempted to give the nld woman 1 eaw in the park half-a-crown, you then earnestly impressed on me never again to check a generous impulse. And I will not check such in, future. Doctor Flight explained fervently. u k' .t tH shall be obeyed, sir. With your kind sanction and assistance I will encourage and gratify such impulses a dozen times a day if I find the opportunity "Quite so," returned the doctor, dubiously, generosity, guided by discrimination, is becoming in all of us. But, the fact is, you have been too much excited lately and I must insist that for a day or two you keep yourself as quiet as possible. It may be as well for you to know that the ultimate perfect success of the experiments I am making on you, and which are progressing so satisfactorily, largely depend on your preserving a tranquil state of mind. How is your head this morning ?" he pre- sently asked. I see you prass your forehead aa though you still had a pain there." It is notexactly a pain, sir," said I, wrinkling my brow and speaking in a melancholy voice. I would rather it were." Why would you ?" i "Because pain is a common sensation and can, generally speaking, be accounted for. I wish I could account for feel!" But if you cannot account for it you can des- cribe it," said the doctor anxiously. What is it like? Is it different from what you have felt before?" Very different, sir. It is a strange sort of whir- ring disturbance as though the works inside my head, if I may so express myself, had all got out of order. It reminds me of a clock I once had, sir. »It wouldn't keep time, and all of a sudden the mainspring gave way with a bang, and it was all over with it. That i* how my head feels. I seem to be waiting for the bang that will scatter my senses in such a way there will be no getting them together again." I could see that poor Doctor Flight was much dis- tressed. He made no comment on my symptoms, but pursed his lips and nodded to himself as though he had expected no other. "We must be patient," he remarked soothingly. "You need not be alarmed, I understand it all per- fectly. I am glad to hear you say that, sir," I remarked It would not be so hard to bear with if the experi- ments were not so mysterious. Oh, sir! I wish I could prevail on you to inform me as to the nature of them I swear I would never reveal the secret, how- ever dreadful it may be." But on that point the doctor was as firm as when I first pressed him on the subject. Evidently without the ieast suspicion that I was aware of all his crack- brained conjuring, he replied severely, I am sorry, John Bird, to have to tell you once again that it is quite useless your seeking information, in tint direc- tion. You promised to refrain from doing so, and as I have kept my word with you, should do the same by me. In good time you shall know every- thing." 1 hope it will be in good time, sir," said I mourn- fully. You may rely On it. I find that I am a little at fault in my calculations, that is all. I am sorry, for your sake, that it should be so. because it has caused you an amount of suffering and inconvenience that might have, perhaps, been spared you. But yours was a desperate case, remember J" "In what way, sir?" I asked, innocently. "In—in every conceivable way. We will say no more about it, please. Keep up your spirits. If there is anything I can do for you that will make you more comfortable in mind or body, you have only to mention it." You are very kind, sir. Except for the dread- ful feeling in my head I have nothing to complain Qf. If I have any worry besides that, it is on account of my poor sister." This is the first mention you have made of her. Is she in distress?" I heard of her, quite promiscuously, only yester- day, sir. I lay awake the greater part of last night thinking about her and what my wicked behaviour has brought her to. Talk about a tough conscience, sir! a tender one is a hundred times more painful to bear with!" "And is. your conscience tender on your sister's account?" The harrowing recollection had compelled me to resort, to my pocket-handkerchief, and I kept it up to my face while I puzzled myself what the deuce to say about a sister who had no existence five minutes before, and who would not have been brought into the world at all but for the suddenly-conceived idea that she might be worth a few pounds to me. Nay remarked the good-natured doctor, grief continuing to choke my utterance if it is a family matter of a delicate nature, pray don't distress your- self by relating it." But I would rather tell youabowt it, sir; it will ease my mind, perhaps. As for being a family matter, it can scarcely be so <called, since, excepting my dear mother (the handkerchief was finding its way to my eyes again, but the doctor soothingly patted my hand and checked the impulse), "excepting my mother, whiLe.ehe remained alive, there was no member of my family but my sister who took the least interest in me. But poor Bessy was always kind." Is she younger or older than you ?" "-Shfr i« next. tome, Bl two years younger, sir. She was never a favourite at home, except with mother, for, strange to say., franft a child her, honesty was .unimpeachable, and, bad example made no im- pression on her. She went to service at very early age. and earned her own lining, and knowing her fondness for me, many a time, as I am now ashamed to say, I basely took advantage of it, and on one lying pretence or another, wheedled bar out of part of her small earnings. But I need not trouble you with the disgraceful details. As we both grew older, her kind- ness towards me remained unabated, and aware that lws in and out of prison two or three times on the average' in'the course of each year, we never met but she implored me to reform. Well, air, it is about eighteen months since she was living as maid at a pawnbroker's, and Ntlly Bessy, you mean." "To be,sure, sir. Nelly was another sister, and" very, very different girl from darling Bessy. She says, 'John, I have been thinking it over, and am re- solved, if,you will swear you will not betray me, to run a greatrisk in order to give you an honest start in life. They require a porter at our pla.,and would take you on at once if 1 recommended you but, oh •says poor (Bessy, for heavens sake, well consider it before you accept my offer, for, should you give them reasons for>suspecting what you have been, I shall be altogether ruined.' of course, I swore readily enough—I would have takcnfive-and-forty oaths rather than miss such a fine cnance—and I got the situation. It was a very comfortable one, and the wages were good, but the temptation was something cruel. I had actually to sweep out and dust the store-room where the pledges were kept—hundreds of handy little parcels, the value of which was stated on the ticket attached to each. I couldn't have kept honest had I trtedever o hard. But I didn't try at all- Oh. how it wrings my heart now to have to confess to such villainy! I never meant, from the first, to try, and before I had been at the pawnbroker's six weeks, a silver fish- slice and four silver table-spoons were found hid in the chimney in my bedroom. Other things that had been missed were traced to me, and I was prosecuted, and got four months and it being discovered thea that Bessy was my sister, she was dismissed with- out a character. And ever since she has been unable to find em- ployment at anything but the lucifer-match making, which is such a poisonous trade that, poor girl, she is as often ill as well. At this moment "—and here my gref broke out afresh—"she is sick, and' poor, and lying in a workhouse infirmary, and all through me! How, sir, can I made hef amends?" j "By removing her from the vyorkhouse without a day's delay," remarked the generous doctor, promptly, and at the same time producing his purse, and by making it your care that in future she wants for nothing. John," he continued, with emotion, but with his eyes strangely bright and glistening through two tears, "how comes it that you are now filledwitn remorse for your barbarous treatment of this poor sister of yours, after you had so long ceased to trouble I yourself about her? How comes it, I ask you ?" I gave him a bewildered look and clasped my brow with both hands. I That, sir," I replied, is a mystery I dare not trust myself to think too much about. The moment I attempt to do so, tbe strange whirling sensations j begin again, and I—— j Then do not think about it," he hastily inter- copied me. "Think of nothing just nJW, but re- lieving and comforting your sister whom you have so ill-used and neglected. And for the purpose, take this ten-pound note, of which I gladly make you a present." Tears of gratitude coursed each other down my cheek as I replied" I will at once sit down, sir, and write to my dear sister a long letter—I have her exact address-and enclose the note so that she can make use of it im- mediately." And, very soon after, I sat down and penned an epistle-not, of course, to my shadowy sister, but to Margaret, sending her the money, and. Ill be bound, makmg her laugh at my comical account of the, doctor weeping for the deeply-injured invalid in the wprkhouse infirmary. ,j (To be continued.)

THE Academy of Science in Munich has appointed Sir George King, for many years superintendent of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Calcutta, a corresponding member.. j SIGNOR COLOMBO, the nominee of the btrvornDIent, was elected President of the Italian Chamber. MR. G. F. PKUROTT, M.A., mathematical master at Brighton College, has been appointed by the Coopers' Company to be headmaster of their school J :• -i a »T.C I i'U :,i'

A WOMAN'S SECRET. Dr. Royston, of Langham-place, was the best- known nervo doctor in London, but his special qualification was not required on the afternoon of June 5, 189-, when he happened to be walking down Regent-street. Just beyond Oxford-circus he heard some shouting. A crowd had gathered, and as he approached the spot, which lay in his route, a man started running off in obedience to an order shouted out at random: Fetch a doctor." Dr. Koyston stopped the runner. "YoN are going for a doctor?" he asked. "Yes." "Then don't trouble to go any further, for I am one." The crowd parted in a moment in order to allow the doctor to pass, and Dr. Royston received frag- ments of information as he made his way through the throng: The lady was knocked down by a motor car "— She was crossing the road, when it came up behind."—" She's not dead, but she's near it."— She's pretty, isn't she ?" Dr. Royston saw the form of a young and graceful woman lying there senseless; two policemen were standing by; her fawn tailor-made costume was torn and soiled by the faU. and her black hat with its ostrich plume was crushed. The famous physician knelt down and endca- vom-ed to discover what actual injury had been done. It has broken her arm," he said, and there is worse still, I fear. She must be taken to a hospital at once." We had better have the ambulance then, sir ?" said a policeman. Yes, and quickly. Let her be taken to naming a hospital with which he was connected. The ambulance was brought, and the girl was carried to the institution mentioned by Dr. Royston. She was very badly injured, and it seemed likely to be more than a month ere she would be dble to move. She was asked where they should communi- cate, but she shook her head. There is no need to say anything." But do yon not wish to send a note, a message, a word, just to say that you are*doing well ?" No, nothing." It would have been absurd to insist. A few days Inter she said to Dr. Royston anxiously- Tell me. when shall I be able to leave this hos- pital ? You have been very good, but But," he answered, of course, you requir to go home. Will you not tell me now where is your home ? I have no wish to thrust myself into private matters, but if you told us where to com- municate it would naturally allay the anxiety of your friends." It is impossible," she said, after a pause. I cannot—but all shall be paid," and then, as the doctor made a gesture of disapproval, she went on, "You say that I shall be well by the end of the month. You are sure that I shall see the end of the month ?" Sure I am seldom sure of anything, but I can be certain as to that." Thank you," Fhe said. Whv did not her friends advertise? It was not usual for no interest to be excited at such a dis- appearance in a world where everybody who vanishes may rely on having one inquiry put as to hrs whereabouts. It is unaccountable, certainly," said ono of tIN surgeons. "You are right." She is a lady." "Undeniably." -> < •} u>. And yet this silence on all that, concerns herself or her friends. Of course, it may be that the accident has affected her head." No, that cannot, be. She is as sensible as anyone could be." And Dr. Royston continued puszled the matter held him more powerfully than he liked to own. He began to wish the day of her complete re- covery was further away. since on that day she would go out once more into chaos, into the whirling city in which a friend turns a corner of a street and may never be seen again. » On the day that the beautiful unknown was able to leave he was present at the hospital. She looked precisely the same ai on the day of the accident, a month before—he fawn costume, the black plumed hit. In a few minutes she would have vanished. Where should he Hud her ? When she saw h m she went up to say good-bye. I have to thank you ior so much," she said. I can nev r repay it." As he L'lanc^d her, curious emotions came. She would walk out i f that hospital, unknown-unknown perhaps to the end. 1 am not even to know your name ?" he said. She shook her head. I may not tell you. But I thank you very much." He shook hands in silence. You will not think hardly of me?" she said, as she held out her hand. "I could not do that." But you are hurt at my silence—well, it ia natural, and I should wish to act otherwise if I could, but I have sworn secrecy. Yet I am grateful to you. I will prove it." I have done nothing, madam," he said, rather stimy; "nothing but simple duty." He drew back as she passed to the door he saw her go through it down the steps, and out into the great world; The same evening a donation of SlOOOinBank of England notes was sent anonymously to the trea- surer of the hospital. Dr. Royston heard of the munificent gift. "It is she who has done it," he said to himself. But though he thought of her always there was no other sign he had seen her go out of the hospital that day, and the crowd had swallowed her up. He became graver, more reserved. There were impossible things in this world, despite what is said to the con- trary. Sometimes of a nightat a theatre, with the in- rush of a special thought, tears came to his eyes. At Brighton, where he was for a few days, he looked tor her, but in vain. He thought of giving up bis prac- tice, of travelling. But-unfortunately the frontiers of the memory could never be gained. Who could she be ? That question haunted him afterwards with increasing persistency. Work Was the only release. At the Guildhall Exhibition of Pictures that summer, which he visited; there Was a picture by Bouguereau of a girl in a black hat. The picture fascinated him it was on the stairs of the famous picture gallery off the old-fa«hioned court- yard in the City, where pigeons strut about, and where one sees gilded civic carriages which are sug- gestive of the pomp and pageantry of other days. Often he thought he caught sight of her in the crowded streets there were chance resemblance in flying hansoms, and in carriages in the park. Once he was certain she was the occupant of a pair-horse victoria which flashed down Piccadilly; he hailed a hansom. Follow the carriage," he said. "I will do my bet, sir," said the driver, as he couched up his horse. But at Hyde-park-corner the victoria was lost. "It is fatality," he said to himself. Perhaps he was never to see her again. And yet on that day of summer hope was persistent; dos barked lazily; in the park into which he strolled was to be heard tie hum of the world. He went to Aix in the late autumn, when the London squares are sad and the paw is deserted. He was ill—more in mind than body/nothing forced him to continue his practice. He delegated everything to a colleague, and, after Aix, went on further south, only returning to London in March, when perhaps the capital of the Thames looks at its best in those gleaming days of sunshine, when there is that waking up sensation, and when an extra zest is felt for things around, when there is the revivifying spirit of recommencement in the air. To have given up work would have been a pity. He dimly realised that fact. Work was the salvation. There was only that. J The doctor had just risen from dinner when there was a ring at a bell; his grave-looking man-servant brought in a note. The messenger is waiting with a carriage, sir," he said. Dr. Royston opened the note and read: I. You were good to me, and I send toou now in my hour of troubled Will you come ? Will you promise not to try to find put where you are taken ? It is I who write—she who is grateful to you for having saved her life nine months ago." He gave a start of surprise. c Who is the messenger?" he asked»; j A young woman, sir." M Ask her to step in." In a minute or uvo a young entered. Who is ill at your place?" be sbtd. My master," The answer chilled Royston-that she was married and he merely exclaimed: Good; I will come at once." He slipped on his coat and went out into the hall. A pair-horse brougham was waiting at the door. Scarcely a word was said he followed his conductress into the carriage, and the door was closed. The horses sprang forward. Some reflection prevented him trying to make out into which quarter of London they were going. It was a long drive, and when they did stop, the door was opened by a footman, in a black hvery. The doctor only made out a big bouse with trees in an avenue down which they had come. He was shown into a wide hall, sumptuously fur- nished; there were tiger skins on the floor, and tapestry on the walls. Everything was princely. A tremor passed through him. He was going to see her again. s If you will step into this room, sir," said the servant, opening a door on the right, I will say thac you fte here. uel He followed the servant into a blue-and-white boudoir tlootric button, and a central light was turned om. Someone entered; it was shal It seemed to him that she was more beauti- ful than ever. "It was good of you to respond to my appeal," shgtsaid, H^tofeat, all. But why ali thte-secrecy ? Wh., not have told me all ? Was I not a friend ?" "It necessary," sheranswered. "If it had been colo fop-,myself I nBat..otlw, we will talk of that later. My father is-ill." She led the way upstairs and into a handsomely famished bedroom. A. man of about sixty was lying there. The doctor went up and examined the patient, who was unconscious. Youhave called me too late," he said gravely. "Oh, try to save him I" I will try, but I should have been called here days ago. The disease has a firm hold. Is there anyone here I can send for medicine ?" The girl sat down at one side of the bed, and the doctor took the vacant chair by the fire. The medi- cine was fetched and administered, but the tiiedical a.id had, as the doctor said, come too late. The patient Tallied a little; but before final extinction the candle sburns momentarily brighter. Bo it was here. He looked up at the doctor and said some- thing. The :game is up," he exclaimed, but I shall trick them yet. I have been rich nobody would have discovered the truth—about—about exclaimed the girl in anger. What have I said ?" he asked. What if I did make notes ? Margy, my darling I" Yes." She bent ow-rhini. "Yon have been a good claugbter-tbey' won't touch you." Before the man died the doctor turned to the girl and put a question. Why did you wish me to come ?" he asked. You were perhaps giving away this secret of yours." It would make but little difference new," she said. Suspicion has been aroused." What suspicion ?" "About my f:ather's' wealth- he is dying; I can tell you now:: he passed notes which were false." The doctor went up to the bedRide. He will never do so again," he said solemnly. He is dead." The girl burst into tears. You don't know," she said, how I have snffered. But what could I do? I feared if I madeuknown who I was it would increase the chances of discovery. It was to be a thief, I know." I- But that is over now." "Over.! What do you mean? How is it over? It will remain—that terror, for me." Why, no," he said. Accept the protection of a man who does not live n counterfeit notes," and he held out his hand. Then, as she took it, there was a loud summons at the door, and a moment after the man-sarrant appeared. -t I- It's the police," he said, and immediately behind him was an inspector. You are too late, Mr. Inspector," said the doctor gravely, and he pointed to the bed.

1 Y-" THE SKILLED LABOUR MARJKET. From the memorandum pr-eparq bv th^ labour Department' of the Board of Trade, base9 d'n 2423 ret;irjw-viz.. 1708 from employers, 573 from Trade Unions, and 142 from other sources, it appears that the general ,sta e of employment curing October remafrted very good, and the percentage of unem- ployed members returned by Trade Unions, lower than at any similar period since 1889. A large number of workmen, chie/ly in the coal mining industry, had their wages raised during the month. In the 123 Trade Unions making, returns, wifli an aggregate membership of 506,890, 11,674 (or 2'3 per cent.) were reported as unemployed at, the end of October, compared with 2'4 in Sep- tember, and with 2-5 per cent. in the, 118 Unions, with a membership of 469,016, from which returns were received for October, 1898. In coal mining, employment on the whole was better thap in September and than a year ago. Returns relating to wllieries, at which 455,640 workpeople were employed, show that the average number of days worked per week was 5"58 in the four weeks ended October 21, as compared with 5'46 in September and 5'44 in October, 1898. Employment also, continued good in iron mining. Returns relating to 126; iron mines and open works, at which 16,973 workpeople were employed, show that the average number of days worked per week was 5'80 in the four weeks ended October 21, as compared with 5"83 m September and 5'73 in October, 1898. In the pig-iron industryemplovinent improved during October, and continued considerably better than a year ago. In iron and steel manufacture, employment had further improved and continued better than a year ago. At 216 works covered by the returns 82,099 workpeople were employed in the week ended I October 28. 81,620 in the last week of September, and 78,903 in the last week of October, 1898, the number of shifts worked in these three weeks being 5:65, 5'62, and 5 "57 respectively. The tinplate trade in- dustry continued good, and was much better than a year ago. At the end of October 416 mills were at work (including those engaged in the manufacture of blackplates), employing an estimated number of 20,733 workpeople. These figures compare with 411 mills employing 20,818 workpeople at the end of' September, and 321 mills employing 16,202 work- people at the end of October, 1898. Employment in the engineering and metal trades has remained good, with a slight improvement in most branches. In the shipbuilding trades the employment,, though still good, had been scarcely so brisk. Employment in the building trades had continued good, and the furnishing trades ,had..J £ mai«ed steady, while in all branches of the printing and bookbinding trades it had coiltinji-et W, iiipl)rove. In the paper trade employment had returned fairly steady. In the glass trades !lie percentage of unemployed Union members at the epdof October was 6-8, com- pared with Employment, in the leath^ triides remained^ood #jj{l had improved. The bocfit and-.shoe trade cop,t^inu<$i .dull in most centres; "but employment was very good in the spin- ning and weaving branches of the cotton trade, and continued good in the woollen and-worsted trades. Changep in the rates of wages of 160,516 iworkpeople were reported during October, of which number 159,90 received advances averaging J id. "per head, and526 sustallled decreases averaging 3"lf per 4 head The net result waq'kn increase of about lOfd. 4 perlldIn: the wely wages of those affected. The incrSd^ses: ^ere m$iliily in epal mining and iron and steel trades. The "decreases were entirely in the rates of wages of seamen.

THE QUEEN'S SCHOOLBOYS. By Royal command the uniforms of the boys at- tending the Royal Schools at Windsor has been altered from a Scotch plaid suiting with a Scotch cap to a better material of a brown colour and a cricket cap bearing the Royal arms and the words Royal Schools." The schools are situate near Cumberland Lodge, and were founded- by her Majesty and the Prince Consort in 1845. In them over 100 boys and girls, children of the employes on the Crown property in Windsor Great-park are educated, and partially boarded and clothed, out of the Queen's Privy Purse. The boys are also taught gardening; and the management, of domestic affairs forms part of the curriculum for the girls.

■ I CURIOSITIES IN CORPORATE TOWNS. The Local Government Journal points out that with the five municipalities which have just been created, there are 313 towns in England and Wales favoured with a separate Corporate existence. Of theke no fewer than 135 owe their being to charters granted during her Majesty's reign, beginning with Devonport in 1837, and ending with Abergavenny, Bridlington, Dukenfield, Leigh, and Sinettnvick, granted in 1899. The largest municipal borough in point of popula- tion is, of course, Liverpool, and the smallest, Hedon, in East Yorkshire, which only contains 980 souls. In acreage, the premier place is taken by the Borough of Wenloek,-which is more than 35 square miles in extent, while the diminutive borough presided over by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of Bow- bridge, oovers no more ground than St. Jarnes's- park. There is a similar disparity among municipali- e I ties in regard to income, a penny rate in the Borough Lostwithiel, for instance, producing £14, but in Man- chester about £ 13,000.

i A KRUGER YARN. M. Van Den Wall Bake, one of the directors of the Transvaal Railways, has been interviewed at Amsterdam by a special correspondent of the Tewp. Pointing to De Aar on the map, he explained its commanding position over all the lines running to Port Elizabeth and the Cape, but he doubted whether the Zoers would be strong enough to seize it, although he was not very positive as to England's chances of final success, as it was always possible that the Afrikanders might rise, and an in- surrection would certainly break out if one of them was shot as a spy. He expressed opinion that the British did not understand warfare in South Africa. They used a sledge-hammer to smash a nut. M. Van Den Wall Bake, related a curious anecdote on this sub- ject. One day Mr. Kruger said to him, m speaking of the Matabeie War, "The English are odd." He smoked on for a moment thoughtfully, and then he added: Very odd. They had 10,000 men to de- molish the Matabeles when 600 Boers would hwe I settled that business. These English await the Mata- beles on the plain. We draw these, savagsa on in Small batches to the mountain. And then we come softly, softly, biding ourselves well. To get oneself killed what folly1. And thsn—-—" Here Mr. Kruger joined his hands, and squeezed the palms tightly. "And then," he exclaimed, "we do like this." And like this. concluded the director of the Transvaal Railways, is the history of the battle of Nicholson's Nek."

WESLEY AN MISSIONS. RECORD OF A YEAR'S PROGRESS OF HOME WORK. Within the next few days a most interesting report of Wesleyan Home Mission wcrk in London and throughout the country will be in circulation. It will show that the 30 district synods, which comprise British Methodism, have contributed during the year, for purely home evangelisation, the sum of 928.834. This amount has been further increased from other sources to £ 35,976. The forward movement," which has been worked with such success, has resulted in an entire expenditure of £ 36,296. The First London Svnod contributed £ 1765; Second London, £ 1628; Third Iondon, £ 1458; Birmingham and Shrewsbury, £ 1365; Liver- pool, £ 2069; Manchester, E2066. All the great central missions report progress. Army and navy work especially has been vigorously prosecuted. The Declared Wesieyans now number 24,853. Nearly 30 homss for soldiers and sailors are now being worked under Wesleyan direction, the estimated cost of which has been £ 40,000. The erection of the new barracks at Col- chester will necessitate the appointment of a minister with sole charge of the army work, together with a Wesleyan Soldiers' Home as the base of operations. Nearly 30 Gospel mission cars are at work in the rural districts of the country, by means of which agency nearly 4800 persons during the year have been brought to religious decision. The Seamen's Mission in East London is proving a most ^Uuable auxiliary. The young people of Methodistft have contributed £ 8556 during the year by their juvenile associations.