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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 51841 ***
+
+[Illustration: CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL
+
+OF
+
+POPULAR
+
+LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART.
+
+Fourth Series
+
+CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS.
+
+NO. 730.      SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1877.      PRICE 1½_d._]
+
+
+
+
+CHRISTMAS-TIME.
+
+
+'So many men so many minds' has been a proverb long before our days,
+and will be to the end of time and human history; and uniformity of
+sentiment is the one thing which men need never hope to attain.
+
+Christmas-time is one of these battle-fields of feeling. To some it is
+just the consecration of so many circumstances of torture; to others
+the meeting-point of so many facts of pleasure. From the conventional
+greeting to the orthodox dinner--from the 'seasonable gifts' that are
+more obligatory than voluntary, to the toast that heralds the punch,
+and the dreams that follow on that last glass--all is so much pain to
+the flesh and weariness to the spirit; and they wonder how any one
+can find it otherwise. What is there in Christmas-time to make it
+pleasurable? they say. The gathering together of the family? A lot
+of rough boys home from school, who spoil the furniture and tease
+the dogs, lame the horses and ravage the garden, make the servants
+cross, the girls rude, and the younger children insubordinate; who
+upset all the order of the house, destroy its comfort like its quiet,
+and to whose safe return to discipline and your own restoration to
+tranquillity you look forward with impatient longing from the first
+hour of their arrival to the last of their stay? Or the advent of your
+married daughter with her two spoilt babies, who cry if they are looked
+at and want everything that they see, and that very objectionable young
+man her husband, with his ultra opinions and passion for argument,
+whom she would marry in spite of all that you could say, but to whom
+you can scarcely force yourself to be decently civil, not to speak of
+cordial, and whose presence is a perpetual blister while it lasts? Is
+this the family gathering about which you are expected to gush?--this
+with the addition of your son's fine-lady wife who snubs his mother
+and sisters with as little breeding as reserve, finds nothing at your
+table that she can eat, lives with her smelling-bottle to her nose and
+propped up with cushions on the sofa, and gives you to understand that
+she considers herself humiliated by her association with your family,
+and your son as much exalted as she is degraded? This is the domestic
+aspect of Christmas-time which is to make you forget all the ordinary
+troubles of life, creating in their stead a Utopia where ill-feeling
+is as little known as _ennui_, and family jars are as impossible as
+personal discomfort and dissent. Holding this picture in your hand, you
+decline to subscribe your name to the Io pæan universally chanted in
+praise of Christmas, and wrap yourself up in sullen silence when your
+neighbour congratulates you on having all your family about you, and
+wishes you a merry Christmas as if he meant it.
+
+If the domestic aspect is disagreeable, what is the social?--A round
+of dinners of which the _menu_ is precisely the same from Alpha to
+Omega:--turbot and thick lobster-sauce; roast-beef and boiled turkey;
+indigestible plum-pudding and murderous mince-pies; with sour oranges
+and sweet sherry to keep the balance even, and by the creation of two
+acids perhaps neutralise each other and the third. This is the food
+set before unoffending citizens under the name and style of Christmas
+dinners for the month or six weeks during which the idiotic custom of
+Christmas dinners at all is supposed to last. You are expected to live
+in this monotony of dyspepsia and antipathetic diet till you loathe the
+very sight of the familiar food, and long for a change with a vehemence
+which makes you ashamed of yourself, and more than half afraid that you
+are developing into a gourmand of the worst kind.
+
+As if your nights were not sufficiently broken by the horrible
+compounds which trouble your digestion and disturb your brain,
+torturers known as the 'waits' prowl through the streets from midnight
+to dawn, causing you agonies beyond those which even the hurdy-gurdy
+men inflict. You are just falling to sleep--painfully courted and
+hardly won--when a hideous discord worse than the wailings of cats
+startles you into a nervous wakefulness which banishes all hope for
+that night. What can you do? They are too far off for that jug of
+water to take effect, and you must not fire; anathemas do not hurt
+them, and if said aloud only waken up your wife and make her cry if
+she does not preach. You have nothing for it then but to lie still
+and groan inwardly, devoting to the infernal gods all the idiotic
+circumstances by which your life is rendered wretched, and your health,
+already frail, set still further wrong. In the morning, when wearied
+and nervously feverish from want of sleep, you go into the garden for
+a little quiet and delectation, you find your greenhouses stripped of
+the flowers which you had been lovingly watching for weeks, and your
+evergreens as ridiculously cropped as a shaved poodle. This is the day
+for the decoration of the church, and you, having made an expensive
+hobby of your garden, have to contribute what has cost months and good
+money to rear, for the childish satisfaction of John and Joan, lasting
+just two hours and five minutes. Not only have you lost your flowers
+and your evergreens--that splendid holly, which yesterday glowed like a
+flame, today nothing but a bundle of chopped ends!--but you know that
+your favourite daughter is flirting with the curate, and that a great
+deal is going on under cover of wreaths and crosses, laurustinus and
+chrysanthemum, of which you strongly disapprove yet cannot check. It is
+Christmas-time; decorating the church has become in these later days a
+kind of religious duty; and as a conscript father of your village, you
+must not forbid your daughter this pious pleasure any more than you can
+refuse your costly contribution in kind.
+
+Turn to the financial side of the time; and what have you?--bills
+coming in that you neither expected nor knew of, and every one looking
+for a Christmas-box, and insolent or irritated if they do not get it.
+The servants obsequious to the worth of half a sovereign--tradesmen
+and their lads punctual in anticipation of half-crowns--postmen
+levying blackmail, and watermen and dustmen demanding as their
+right that they should be fee'd for their persistent neglect of
+duty--every one making a dead set at your pocket and trying to get
+your money for themselves--the very children more caressing and
+affectionate because it is Christmas and papa always gives them
+something on Christmas-day:--You groan as you ask yourself where is
+disinterestedness on this earth?--and you groan still more as you draw
+your cheques and reduce your balance and wonder by what law of right it
+is that you should be the pipe by which other folks are to be supplied.
+
+No; you see no good or pleasure in this boasted Christmas-time as
+we keep it up in our benighted country. Its mirth is a sham and its
+inflictions are only too real. A time of tumult and expense, of
+indigestion and discomfort, you wait, grimly or fretfully as your mood
+may be, till it has passed and the current of your life is allowed
+to flow evenly as before. When you hear people sing its praises you
+long to stop their mouths, as you longed to silence the waits who
+woke you up out of your first sleep and spoilt your rest for the
+night. What manner of men are these, you think, who can find cause of
+congratulation in so much absurdity, if the fun is real to them--so
+much dreary make-believe, if it is unreal? You despise your genial,
+laughing, merry-hearted neighbour who goes into everything _con amore_,
+and accepts it all, from forfeits and snapdragon to plum-pudding and
+Christmas-boxes, as if he really liked it. You think what a fool he
+must be to be pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw like this.
+But for the most part you do not believe in his mirth; and then you
+despise him still more as a hypocrite as well. For a hypocrite shamming
+folly is an offender against reason as well as truth, whom you find it
+hard to forgive, let the motive of his mummery be what it may.
+
+This is one side of the question; your neighbour takes the other.
+
+Who on earth, he says with his hands in his pockets, his back to the
+fire and his kindly smiling face to the room, who on earth can grumble
+at the facts of Christmas-time? For his part he finds it the jolliest
+season of the year, and he finds each season as jolly as the other,
+and all perfect in their own appointed way. He is none of your crying
+philosophers who go through life bewailing its miseries and oppressed
+by its misfortunes. Not he! He thinks the earth beautiful, men and
+women pleasant, and God very good; and of all occasions wherein he can
+transact his cheerful philosophy, Christmas is the best. The boys are
+home for their holidays; and it is a pleasure to him to take them out
+hunting and shooting, and initiate them into the personal circumstances
+belonging to English country gentlemen. He looks forward to the time
+when they will take his place and carry on the traditions of the
+family, and he wishes them to be worthy of their name and an honour
+to their country. He is not one of those nervous self-centred men who
+live by rule and measure and cannot have a line of the day's ordering
+disturbed. He likes his own way certainly; and he has it; but he can
+press his elbows to his sides on occasions, and give room for others
+to expand. He does not find it such an unbearable infliction that his
+boys should come home and racket about the place, even though they are
+a little upsetting, and do not leave everything quite as smooth and
+straight as they found it. He remembers his own youth and how happy it
+made him to come home and racket; and he supposes that his lads are
+very much the same as he was at their age. He thinks too that they do
+the girls good--wake them up a little--and while not making them rough
+or rude--the mother takes care of that--yet that they prevent them from
+becoming prim and missy, as girls are apt to be who have no brothers
+and are left too much to themselves. Certainly he does not approve of
+the flood of slang which is let loose in the house during their stay;
+but school-boy slang at the worst is not permanent, and in a week's
+time will be forgotten.
+
+As for the married daughter's children, they are the merriest little
+rogues in the world; and his wife looks ten years younger since they
+came. She was always fond of babies; and her grandchildren seem to
+renew her own past nursery with all the pleasure and none of the
+anxiety of the olden time. He rather wonders at his girl's taste in
+the matter of her husband--most fathers do--and cannot for the life of
+him see what there is to love in him. But if not an Alcibiades he is
+a good fellow in the main, and makes his young wife happy; which is
+the principal thing. And if his daughter-in-law is a trifle stiff, and
+fond of giving herself fine-lady airs, he for his part never stands
+that kind of nonsense, and will laugh her out of it before she has
+been twenty-four hours in the house. He finds good-humour and taking no
+offence the best weapons in the world against folly and ill-temper; and
+prefers them as curative agents to any other. The girl is a nice girl
+enough, but she has been badly brought up--had a lot of false ideas
+instilled into her by a foolish mother--but when she has been away
+from the old influences, and associated with themselves for a little
+while, she will open her eyes and see things in their right light.
+Who indeed could resist the sweet sensible influence of his wife, her
+mother-in-law?--and are not his girls the very perfection of honest
+wholesome English ladies? It will all come right in time; he has no
+doubt of that; and meanwhile they must be patient and forbearing for
+Dick's sake, and not make matters worse than they are by their own want
+of self-control.
+
+Then as to the Christmas-boxes and the tips sacred to the season--well!
+well! after all they do not amount to much in the year, and see what
+pleasure they give! A man must be but a poor-spirited surly kind of
+hound who does not like to see his fellow-creatures happy; and a very
+little kindness goes a great way in that direction. He takes care to
+live within his income, and therefore he has always a margin to go on;
+and he does not object to use it. The servants have been very good on
+the whole, and do their duty fairly enough. And when they fail--as
+they do at times--why, to fail is human, and are they alone of all
+mankind to be blameless and never swerving in the right way? And are
+they alone of all mankind to be judged of by their worst and not by
+their best?--to be blamed for failure, but not praised for well-doing?
+He does not think so; and not thinking this, his half-sovereigns are
+given freely without the grudging which makes them an ungracious
+tax instead of a kindly voluntary gift. The tradespeople, too, do
+fairly well, and--they must have their profit like any one else!
+Those Christmas-boxes to their lads may be the nest-eggs for future
+savings; and even if they do go in a little finery or personal pleasure
+instead--young people will be young, and his own boys are fond of being
+smart and amused: so why not these others? You grumble at the waits? If
+you in your warm bed, well fed, well clothed, prosperous altogether,
+fret at the loss of an hour's sleep, what must these poor fellows feel,
+out in the cold frosty night, with the wind blowing and the sleet
+falling fast, and they not half fed nor a quarter clothed? For his own
+part he would like to give them a glass of hot grog all round; and as
+for grumbling at the few coppers which they brave all this physical
+discomfort to earn, he makes it shillings, and hopes it will do them
+good. We must live and let live, he says with his broad smile; and
+if we are sometimes a little inconvenienced by the efforts made by
+the poor to accomplish the art of living for their own parts--we must
+remember that our loss is their gain, and that they are men and women
+like ourselves--fathers of families who want to keep the pot boiling
+and the fire alight--mothers who love their children, and are anxious
+to do the best for them that nature and man will allow.
+
+You complain of indigestion and grumble at the monotony of your
+Christmas fare?--That is strange! Who can grumble at good plain
+succulent meat?--and why do you eat the sweets if they disagree with
+you? Neither pudding nor mince-pie comes into the eternal necessities
+of things, and you would do very well if only you would refrain. He
+does not eat things that he cannot digest, and in consequence he sleeps
+well, and when he wakes has neither regret nor remorse. Surely that is
+not such a painful trial--to forbear eating what is hurtful to your
+health, and in touching your health corroding your happiness as well.
+
+In a word, the whole difference of the spirit in which we meet the
+facts of Christmas depends on the good or ill humour with which we are
+naturally endowed, and which we have cultivated by common-sense on the
+one hand, or suffered to ride rough-shod over our reason on the other.
+If we are unselfish and sympathetic, Christmas-time is as pleasant
+to us as popular tradition would make it; if we are egotistical and
+peevish, it is a wearisome infliction and a sham which no honest man
+can pretend to believe in, nor any sensible one to admire.
+
+For our own part we believe in Christmas, because we believe in the
+kindness of man to man, in genial good-humour, in unselfishness, and
+the liking of wholesome natures to give happiness; and so far as we
+have gone yet we have seen no reason to change our views. A merry
+Christmas then to you all, friends, readers, and countrymen; and a
+happy New Year to follow after; and may God bless the rich and care
+for the poor, and lead us all in the right way while the day lasts and
+before the night has come!
+
+
+
+
+A CAST OF THE NET.
+
+THE STORY OF A DETECTIVE OFFICER.
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+Long after it had grown quite dark, all remained quiet, and at last
+I resolved upon making a move. I had determined upon fetching Peter
+Tilley. I had plenty of assistance, but I thought I should like to have
+Peter with me. So I went down to the ferry; a gas-light which burned at
+the corner shewed me before I left my post that the bony ferryman was
+not there; and choosing a pretty good boat, with a strong young fellow
+to pull, I got in. It was a most unpleasant night; as dark as pitch,
+which was bad enough, but every now and then it lightened, which was
+worse, as it dazzled my eyes, and made me think we were running smash
+on board some great vessel which I had not seen a moment before, and
+couldn't see a moment after. However, the boatman was used to all kinds
+of weather, I suppose, and knew the river thoroughly; so through the
+darkness and the rain, which never left off for a moment, we reached
+the other side.
+
+I left the boat to wait for me, and ran up to the _Yarmouth Smack_. I
+looked in, and saw Peter leaning against the bar and smoking a short
+pipe, as a labourer ought to do; and he was talking in a friendly way
+to some rough-looking fellows. I slipped in, and using the name we had
+agreed upon, spoke to him. He knew my voice of course; but seeing me
+so changed, for my make-up was really splendid (it was, although I say
+so that shouldn't), it gave him such a shock that he was obliged to
+put the pewter down he was going to drink from and look steadily at me
+before he answered. 'I'm acoming,' he said at last, and we got outside;
+when, as we walked down to the ferry, I gave him a sort of idea of what
+was going on, and how I expected to make a great catch that night.
+Peter of course was very glad to be in for such a big thing as this,
+for he had never been mixed up with anything so important.
+
+Not to trust the boatman too much, I kept Peter back a few yards from
+the water while I finished my story, standing a little on one side, so
+as to be out of the way of the people who came and went to and from the
+ferry. While I was talking to him, a wherry ran in; we heard her grate
+on the pebbles and the sculls rattle as the man laid 'em in; but that
+we had heard before. It's a part of my habit to notice little things
+however, and I looked to see who had come in by this boat. There was
+only one passenger, a woman, and she passed us walking quickly; but
+quick as she walked, I saw her, and she saw me. Blessed if it wasn't
+Miss Doyle! My being there was no odds to Miss Doyle, nor could it have
+signified to her if she had seen me fifty times; yet I felt I would
+rather not have met her just then; it looked unlucky, and she was such
+an uncommonly sharp one too. Sharp or not, I couldn't see what she
+could make out of my standing under a wall on a wet night talking to
+another labourer.
+
+Having finished my explanation, we both got into the wherry, and I
+asked the man if he would like a good long job, which might perhaps
+last all night.
+
+'The longer the better, governor,' he says, 'if the pay is accordin'.'
+
+'The pay _will_ be accordin',' I answered; 'and so you are engaged.'
+
+The first thing I made him do was to row round that oyster-smack, for
+the tide had risen enough to take us round her. I shewed no light, but
+we went inside her twice; and the fellow on the watch was very sharp,
+so he was leaning over the side when we came round the second time, and
+I could say quite quiet-like: 'I am in this boat now--watch the river.'
+That was quite enough; he knew he would not now have to look to the
+_Anchor_ for signals.
+
+After this began what I believe was the most disagreeable sort of
+patrol I ever had. There was a time when I used to envy the Thames
+police; but I can't say I ever did after that night. We were obliged
+to be in motion almost continually, because we did not know from which
+side of the river the paper might come, and we weren't quite sure that
+it would come at all, especially on that night; and I don't know,
+speaking from my own experience, that there is anything more trying to
+the spirits than the pulling backwards and forwards and loitering about
+on the river Thames in a raw October night with a small thick rain
+falling. Twice we landed, and went once to the _Smack_ and once to the
+_Anchor_. I couldn't grudge the men a glass of hot grog; in fact I was
+obliged to have some myself, even if I missed my capture through it.
+
+It grew later and later; the flashes of lightning still came at long
+intervals; but the lights on the shore went out, and excepting the
+gas-lamps which burnt at street-corners, ferries, and wharfs, all was
+dark. The traffic on the river had long ceased, no shouts or rattle
+of wheels came from the shore; and the rain still falling, it was,
+I give you my word, most horribly miserable, dull and sloppy beyond
+description. Twelve o'clock had struck, and one, and perhaps half an
+hour beyond it. I had cautioned my companions to speak very low; so the
+boatman only whispered when he said: 'It's as quiet as it is likely
+to be, governor, if you've got anything to run. I have just seen the
+police galley creep along on the other side; I see her under that lamp.
+Now's your time.'
+
+He thought we were smugglers! Perhaps he didn't care if we were
+thieves. I told him to be patient; when at that very instant, just as
+we were creeping along under the lee of a coal-barge, a wherry shot
+very silently by, right in front of us, going across stream, and not
+six feet from our bows. In her sat the sulky ferryman; I knew him at a
+glance, dark as it was. 'Pull after that wherry,' I said.
+
+'Peter Tilley, my lad,' I continued, turning to Peter, 'the time's
+acoming, I think.'
+
+'I'm precious glad of it,' says Peter; 'for I'm catching a cold in my
+head every minute I sit in this confounded boat; and it's all soaking
+wet where I'm sitting.'
+
+Our man pulled on; he was a very strong fellow, as I have said, and
+we could have overtaken the other boat directly; but this of course I
+did not want. I knew where to look for the old scamp; and sure enough,
+after a few strokes across stream, he bent to the left and ran under
+the bows of the Dutch trader.
+
+All was dark and silent as the grave aboard the ship; but that didn't
+deceive the old boatman, nor did it deceive me. I stopped our man in
+the shade of the next vessel, if you can call anywhere a shade, when
+it was all pitch dark. We had not been there a minute before I heard a
+slight noise--it was impossible to see any one unless he stood between
+you and the sky--and then I could tell by the sound that a man had
+dropped into the wherry. There was no need to tell me what man it was.
+With an almost noiseless dip, the ferryman dropped his sculls into the
+river again and rowed on, we still after him. I took it for granted he
+was going to the other side of the ferry; but he suddenly bore off to
+the right, and rowed on for some little time, then striking in between
+two vessels, he went straight for the land.
+
+'Where is he going to?' I whispered.
+
+'To the landing at Byrle's wharf,' says the boatman in the same tone.
+
+So he was; and it appeared this landing-place was at the farther side
+of the wharf; that is, lower down the river.
+
+It was so dark we could hardly see them--for we could just make out
+there were now two persons in the boat--but as they reached the shore,
+a lamp that was burning on the wharf helped us a little. We could not
+clearly see what they were doing; but they certainly got out of the
+boat, and as certainly there were then more than two figures moving
+about, and seemingly engaged in placing parcels in the wherry. But it
+was very gloomy there; they were in the shade of the wharf, and the
+lamp glimmered weak and faint through the thick rain. It was the more
+difficult to see what was being done, because there were several boats
+tied up to the landing-place, making some confusion in the darkness. At
+last, however, we could see that they were pushing off from the shore;
+so it was time for us to move. We pulled back for a while (there was no
+doubt as to which way the others would come), and then sheering off,
+lay between two colliers until we saw the wherry we had watched go by,
+and then we once more pulled after them.
+
+'I'm blest if I don't think there's another boat following _us_,' says
+Peter Tilley, staring as hard as he could behind us. I looked, but
+couldn't see anything; and Peter owned he might have been mistaken.
+
+We could not make out how many there were in the foremost boat. There
+was only one man rowing, that was plain; and he pulled short round
+at the proper place, as I knew he would, and rowed towards the Dutch
+trader. As he did so, we lost him for a second, a big steamer lying
+between us; but the hull of this vessel did not obstruct the view up
+the river. I seized the moment, and waved my lantern twice. It was all
+right. As quick as thought the light on board the oyster-smack was
+moved twice also, and then we too were pulling across the stream. I
+wanted to capture my men on board the trader, as otherwise the paper
+might be got rid of, because I couldn't be positively certain that it
+was not already on board. In fact, Mr Edmund Byrle was my chief aim,
+not the skipper.
+
+The wherry pulled under the bows of the vessel; we followed just in
+time to see, by a very convenient flash of lightning, two packages
+handed up; then a figure, which we had recognised by the same flash as
+the bony ferryman, got into the ship. As he disappeared, our wherry
+touched the vessel; and at the same instant, to my great relief, a
+long black Thames police galley came alongside us, and its crew, five
+constables, with Barney Wilkins, who was there as guide, clambered
+up like cats. I and Peter imitated them, but not quite so quickly;
+and when I looked over the bulwark, I saw by the light of a couple of
+lanterns, screened from the outside, four or five men, the boatman
+and the skipper being two, lifting up a great lid which fitted in
+the deck--the hatches I heard it called--while by their side lay the
+packages of paper. I could not see Mr Byrle; but there was no time to
+consider; we all jumped in at once, the men looking round in amazement
+at the noise. I fancied that just then I heard a shout from the boat.
+
+'What do you all want here?' said the skipper angrily.
+
+'We hold a warrant'--I began.
+
+'Oh, it is _you_, is it?' he screeched, like a hyena, or something of
+that sort. 'I owe you a little for a past score, and you shall have
+it.' As quick as lightning he pulled a long straight knife from the
+side of his trousers, where it must have been in some sort of sheath,
+and jumped at me with such suddenness that he would have stabbed me,
+only Barney Wilkins snatched a handspike from the deck, and dashing
+between us, hit him down with such a blow, that the skipper fell with a
+crash like a bullock when it is killed, the blood pouring from his head
+instantly.
+
+It was all as quick as thought. The other men were all seized in a
+breath. So quick was it all done, that I had no idea Barney was hurt,
+until he reeled, made a wild clutch as if he caught at something for
+support, and then pitched forward on his hands and knees.
+
+'Hollo, Barney!' I said, stooping down to him. 'What's the matter, old
+fellow?'
+
+'It's all up, Mr Nickham,' he gasped; 'he's done me. I only hope I've
+killed him. Where's the other?'
+
+'Oh, never mind the other, Barney,' I says. 'Where are you hurt?'
+
+But as I spoke, one of the men came with a lantern, and Barney had
+no occasion to answer me, for I could see a straight stream of blood
+running from his chest on to the deck; and his hands giving way from
+weakness, he fell over on his side.
+
+'Pull in for the shore, you, sir!' said the sergeant of the Thames
+police to my waterman. 'You know Marigold Street? Knock up Mr Gartley,
+and tell him what has happened. Say we are afraid to move the man to
+his house, so he had better come aboard.'
+
+'Send one of your own men, will you?' answers the boatman. 'I've got
+something to tell the governor' (that was me), 'as I think he ought to
+know.'
+
+'Cut away then, Bill,' says the sergeant to a constable; 'these fellows
+are ironed, and we can manage all that are aboard this craft.'
+
+So the man went off in my wherry; and the Thames men tried to make poor
+Barney a little more comfortable, while I undid his waistcoat, hoping
+to stop the bleeding.
+
+'It ain't no use,' he said; but in that short time his voice was almost
+gone, and we could tell that he was dying. 'I'm done for, Mr Nickham.
+If there's a reward, you'll act fair and square, I know; you always was
+a gentleman--let my sister have'---- And with that he gave a gasp, and
+was dead.
+
+I rose up, dreadfully vexed for the poor chap. The sergeant and one of
+his men were looking after the skipper, when I felt myself touched on
+the arm.
+
+'I say, sir,' said the boatman, 'when I'm in for a thing, I go through
+with it honourable. Did you know as you was followed?'
+
+'Followed? no!' I said.
+
+'I thought we was!' said Peter Tilley.
+
+'We was followed, sir, by a light wherry with two people in it,'
+continues the boatman; 'and when they see our boats, they held hard;
+and as you all boarded the ship and the noise began, they rowed away as
+hard as they could go.'
+
+'Which way did they go?' I said.
+
+'Down river,' says the man. 'But it's of no use thinking of looking
+after them now. They are ashore long afore this.'
+
+This was likely enough; and it was quite certain that Mr Edmund Byrle
+was one of the two in the boat, and I had lost him for the present.
+Well, it couldn't be helped; so we set to work to question the men and
+search the ship, till the doctor came. The men knew nothing more about
+the business than that they were going to have two passengers, a lady
+and a gentleman, this voyage. One of the Thames men understood Dutch,
+or we should not have heard even this scrap of information. The sulky
+boatman never uttered a word, except that once he said as I passed him,
+and he said it with a bitter curse: 'I always had my doubts of _you_.'
+
+The doctor came off; but poor Barney was stone-dead, while the
+skipper's skull was badly fractured. However, the paper was all there;
+so I supposed, and so it proved; and I shouldn't have cared if the
+skipper's head had been broken fifty times over.
+
+We got our prisoners to the shore, leaving the craft in charge of a
+Thames police galley that came in answer to our signals; and late as
+it was, I drove with Peter Tilley in a cab to the City. Our people
+there were immensely glad, I can tell you; and when I went over to the
+Bank (for there was no need for secrecy or dodging now), I thought the
+gentlemen never would have left off paying me compliments. Poor Barney
+Wilkins that was dead deserved most credit; but it could not do him
+any good to say so now, so I let them go on. The paper was examined,
+and found to be exactly the quantity required; enough, I believe, to
+have made about twenty thousand bank-notes. Ah! if they _had_ got into
+circulation!
+
+I hope you will understand, however, that I did act fair and square;
+and when the reward was paid (and the Bank people did come down most
+liberal; I bought my house at Pentonville with my share), I told the
+gentlemen about poor Barney and his wishes; and I'm proud to say they
+found his sister out and took her away; and after a time she went
+abroad with kind people who looked after her, and took care of her
+money till she got married, and did well. Why, she sent me a snuff-box
+made out of pure Australian gold, with a letter signed by herself and
+her husband, who was a butcher in a great way of business out there;
+and they sent it as an acknowledgment of my having acted all fair and
+square. I promised so to do, and I did.
+
+Edmund Byrle was never caught, and so far as we were concerned, was
+never heard of; and if it hadn't been for his father, I should never
+have understood a lot of things that puzzled me. I had given a pretty
+good guess as to how Miss Doyle came in the first place to inquire
+about Mr Byrle and the detective; a very clever idea in itself, but
+like many other clever things, it lost her the game. Mr Byrle had
+talked with his friends about employing detectives; and Miss Doyle
+knowing about the Bank paper, and being always on the watch, had got
+hold of just enough to mislead her. She went out with Edmund Byrle to
+Turkey, I think, and was married to him; and old Mr Byrle sent out
+a friend to see them; and it was in this way I got the particulars.
+It appears she knew me again--only as the limping labourer, of
+course--when she saw me talking at the ferry to Tilley. But she knew
+_him_ as the detective at the _Yarmouth Smack_, and she thought that
+although it might be all right, yet a detective was a dangerous
+customer, and his acquaintances might be dangerous also. Consequently
+she tried to persuade Edmund to put off his journey; but he wanted
+the money for the paper, and wouldn't listen to her. But he agreed at
+last to go aboard in another boat, which satisfied her, as she felt so
+certain the skipper's boat would be attacked. As I have explained, her
+precaution saved him from fifteen years' 'penal,' which is the least
+he would have had. The skipper was sent for life, having killed a man
+in his arrest; but he didn't live six months in prison; he never got
+over the tremendous blow he received from Barney. All the reports spoke
+of his being a receiver of 'stolen goods.' The Bank paper was never
+mentioned, for the authorities did not want to unsettle the public
+again, or let them see what a narrow escape they had had.
+
+And now comes about the queerest part of my story. Call me names if I
+didn't stop the thieving at Byrle's factory as well as recover the Bank
+paper, killing two birds with one stone.
+
+It was all through my catching the bony ferryman. Finding that things
+was going hard with him, and hoping to make them easier, and being
+disappointed that those who were concerned with him did not come
+forward with money to provide for his defence, he 'rounded' on them; he
+split on them all, and owned how he was the means of taking the metal
+over to a fence on his side of the water, the things being stolen by a
+mechanic and a watchman who were in league. (I see I have used the word
+'fence;' this means a receiver of stolen goods; but though I have been
+warned by the editor of this magazine, we can't do without _some_ slang
+words.)
+
+Peter Tilley got a tidy present, and was noted for promotion through
+this business. I was glad of it, for Peter was a capital chap--never
+wanted to play first-fiddle; and I admire people of that disposition. I
+tell you what I did: I got the newest five-pound note of all what the
+Bank gave me, and they were all very clean and crisp, and I wrapped old
+Bob the gatekeeper's own sixpence in it; and I went to the factory and
+I stood a pint of ale, and says: 'Bob, here's your sixpence!' He hadn't
+known exactly who I was till then, for I had made excuses as usual; and
+then I'm blessed if he didn't quite cry over his luck. Mr Byrle too
+thought a lot of Bob's kindness, for I told the old gent about it; and
+I heard that on that very account he put six shillings a week on Bob's
+wages, and I was glad to hear it.
+
+They couldn't keep me off the detective staff after this; and although
+I am free to confess--now I am on my pension and nothing matters to
+me--that I only stumbled upon these discoveries by accident, I was
+praised to the skies by those for whom I worked. However, it all
+died away, as such things do; but I had managed to get my house at
+Pentonville, as I have hinted; and a pleasanter neighbourhood I don't
+know, or one more convenient for getting about. I have had some rather
+odd adventures since I have lived in my street; you can't help seeing
+strange things, if you keep your eyes open in London. But I didn't
+begin to tell about _them_. I have finished my account of the robberies
+at Byrle & Co.'s and my story finishes in consequence.
+
+
+
+
+FEATS OF ENDURANCE.
+
+
+London, which has witnessed many strange doings in its day, was
+lately the scene of the most wonderful feats of pedestrianism ever
+accomplished within a given period.
+
+Every hour, day and night, for six weary weeks a man plodded on his way
+round a measured track, until the grand total of fifteen hundred miles
+in one thousand hours had been made up, finishing his self-imposed task
+with his physical and mental faculties apparently unimpaired.
+
+The task of walking fifteen hundred miles in a thousand hours had never
+before been attempted, and henceforth the new achievement will throw
+into the cold shade of obscurity even the marvellous act of walking a
+thousand miles in as many hours, which was once accomplished in 1809
+by Captain Robert Barclay of Ury, a Scotchman, who proposed to perform
+the then incredible task of walking a thousand miles in a thousand
+consecutive hours. The proposition was received with every sign of
+incredulity, though, when the affair was finally arranged to take
+place, many thousands of pounds were staked on the event. Newmarket
+Heath was selected as the scene of the exploit, and the famous walk
+began on the 1st of June 1809, at midnight. It is unnecessary to
+repeat the details of this feat; it will suffice to mention that the
+enterprising captain completed his task on the 12th July, at four
+o'clock in the afternoon.
+
+Since then, an attempt has, we believe, been made to walk the same
+distance _backwards_; and within the past twelve months, Weston, the
+American pedestrian, has performed some remarkable exploits of the
+kind; being however at last beaten by an Irishman named Kelly.
+
+The hero of the lately completed task (fifteen hundred miles in a
+thousand hours) is a little Welshman of not more than five feet three
+and a half inches in height, and about forty-two years of age; while
+in personal appearance and general _physique_ he presents anything but
+what is usually supposed to be the characteristic of a good pedestrian.
+His name is William Gale, and he is a bookbinder by trade, living at
+Clerkenwell.
+
+At the commencement of his task on Sunday the 26th of August, he
+weighed no more than eight stone four pounds (8 st. 4 lbs.); and from
+that day until Saturday the 6th October, during a portion of every hour
+day and night, he pursued his monotonous way around the inclosure at
+Lillie Bridge grounds, Brompton. When the attempt was first announced,
+even those most acquainted with pedestrian feats where great endurance
+was required, expressed themselves dubious as to the result; and in
+order to have a reliable record of his proceedings, Gale requested the
+different sporting papers to appoint competent men as judges--a request
+which was at once generously complied with.
+
+Thus we have an official report of his great exploit, and the public
+are enabled to judge for themselves on the nature of the feat
+performed. Gale's average pace appears to have been about four miles
+an hour; but when he had reached his thousandth mile he assumed a
+brave spurt, and footed it in ten minutes, or at the rate of six miles
+an hour. During the last few days of his walking he started rather
+stiffly at first, owing to the pain caused by the swelling of some
+varicose veins in his left leg; but undaunted by so great and manifest
+a disadvantage, and other disadvantages which we shall presently
+refer to, the gallant little Welshman 'plodded his weary way' with a
+determined pluck that won the admiration and applause of every one
+present.
+
+On Friday the 5th October, the day before the finish of the tramp,
+Dr Gant of the Royal Free Hospital was called in to see this
+extraordinary walker, and after examining his legs, he pronounced
+Gale to be in excellent condition so far as his physical powers were
+concerned; there being no fever, the pulse only seventy, no murmur
+at the heart; and the varicose veins which had been the cause of so
+much pain to him, were rather better than worse, having considerably
+decreased in size. Perhaps the most remarkable part of the performance
+is, that it has been accomplished on a system of training which
+entirely sets at variance all athletic rules, for Gale partook of no
+fixed refreshment, neither did he have his meals at stated hours. His
+chief food was plain mutton-chops; and as an instance of how he varied
+his dishes, his afternoon meal on Friday the 5th October, which might
+have been either breakfast, dinner, or supper (so irregular had he been
+in this respect), consisted of a lobster and bread and butter, followed
+by a fried sole, and one or two cups of ordinarily strong tea. During
+the walk he also drank a good deal of beer--not strong beer, but the
+ale which is usually sold at fourpence per quart, which he seemed to
+prefer to any other kind, probably on account of its freedom from that
+tendency to increase rather than assuage thirst, so remarkably apparent
+in the stronger beers.
+
+Many strange incidents occurred in the course of the six weeks, which
+were calculated to while away the time, and occasionally to bring a
+smile to the pedestrian's lips. For instance, a certain illustrated
+sheet, notorious for its very sensational cartoons, published a picture
+of Gale on the track followed by Old Time with the conventional scythe
+on his shoulder; and many people it would seem actually paid their
+money with the idea that they were going to see the two figures as
+thus represented. One man, who had evidently gone to the grounds for
+this purpose, had watched Gale go round the track several times, when
+he could no longer control his disappointment. He shouted aloud,
+angrily demanding his money back, because, as he said with the greatest
+_naïveté_ possible, 'the beggar with the scythe hadn't turned up!'
+
+As the last week of the great walking match wore on, signs of weariness
+in the indomitable pedestrian became painfully apparent, and many
+persons began to fear that the task he had set himself would after all
+remain unaccomplished. On several of the rounds he fell asleep whilst
+walking, and dropped to the ground; but this contact with mother earth
+seemed to revive him instantly, and he plodded on as pluckily as before.
+
+At length success crowned his efforts; and at seventeen minutes past
+five o'clock (less a second) on Saturday afternoon the 6th October
+1877, Gale terminated his long and dreary walk in the presence of a
+large, fashionable, and enthusiastic assemblage, who rewarded his
+efforts with several rounds of hearty applause.
+
+From the commencement of his task to the finish Gale bore up against
+all obstacles with extraordinary pluck and determination, his last mile
+being performed in _ten minutes and eight seconds_. He was at once
+removed to the tent or pavilion under which he had snatched so many
+brief half-hours' rest, and was examined by three medical men, who
+found that his heart was quite natural in its movements, and that the
+temperature of his body did not exceed one hundred and six degrees.
+
+The great feat which has thus been accomplished without the aid of
+artificial training, is a marvellous instance of what human endurance,
+allied with courage and determination, can effect; though of what
+particular benefit it may be to the world at large it is utterly
+impossible to imagine.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Since the preceding account was written, Gale has accomplished a
+still more extraordinary feat, and one which for strength of will
+and physical endurance far surpasses his previous efforts. We still
+fail, however, to see the benefit which can accrue from exhibitions
+of this kind, and well might he have been contented with the laurels
+he had already won. He had scarcely allowed himself time to recover
+from his former task, when he once more appeared at a public place of
+entertainment, namely the Agricultural Hall at Islington, to walk four
+thousand quarter-miles under the astounding condition, that it was to
+be done in four thousand consecutive periods of ten minutes.
+
+This of course deprived him of the half-hour's rest which he could
+obtain at one time in the former race, and only allowed him a few
+minutes between each round to get a little sleep. Despite these
+drawbacks, however, Gale finished his task at eleven o'clock P.M.
+on the 17th November, after a dreary walk of nearly four weeks. By
+accomplishing his task, he has placed himself at the head of all the
+famous pedestrians the world has known; and we trust that this fact
+will be sufficient to satisfy his craving after what is at best but
+ephemeral fame.
+
+Men have on many occasions attempted walking feats which required a
+vast amount of physical endurance, and have failed from their utter
+inability to go without the natural quantum of sleep; but Gale has not
+only shewn himself to be possessed of the former, but to be altogether
+independent of the latter. This, however, instead of indicating 'pluck'
+merely, would rather seem to point to a peculiarity in the man's
+constitution; as there are doubtless many persons whose courage would
+enable them to perform the same or even a greater task if, like Gale,
+they could walk about in a state of somnolency or semi-sleep--a state
+in which, to use his own words, he was as one in a dream, unconscious
+of all that was going on around him, and believing himself to be
+walking in forests and other places of silvan beauty; and the truth of
+this was made evident by the fact that he would have often exceeded the
+limit of his walk had not the voice of his attendant aroused him from
+his stupor.
+
+The average time occupied by this extraordinary walker was by day
+about three minutes for each quarter of a mile, and by night about
+five minutes; and the fastest round recorded was done in two minutes
+and forty-two seconds. His pulse was always found to indicate a
+perfect state of health, and was as regular when he left off as when
+he commenced his task. His food consisted principally of fish, fowl,
+chops, eggs, and light puddings; and his drink was, with only one
+exception during the whole time, tea.
+
+Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the whole affair was the fact
+that, although he sank into a deep sleep directly he reached his chair
+behind the curtain, which hid him from view between his walks, the
+moment the bell rang the second time, he would appear as fresh as ever
+and begin trudging away again.
+
+When the feat was accomplished, Sir John Astley stepped forward, and
+amid a scene of great enthusiasm, presented the undaunted Welshman with
+a silver belt of the value of a hundred guineas, bearing the following
+inscription: 'This belt was presented to WILLIAM GALE of Cardiff, on
+the 17th November 1877, by some of the nobility and gentry of Great
+Britain, in commemoration of his hitherto unprecedented feat, namely
+walking one thousand five hundred miles in one thousand hours at Lillie
+Bridge Grounds, August 26th to October 6th, 1877; and four thousand
+quarter-miles in four thousand consecutive periods of ten minutes, at
+the Agricultural Hall, London, October 21st to November 17th, 1877.'
+The belt is of lion's skin, mounted on velvet, the metal portion of it
+weighing one hundred ounces of sterling silver.
+
+None will begrudge Gale his well-earned reward; but it is to be hoped
+that such exhibitions will in future be discountenanced by the general
+public, as they not only detract from the dignity of man, but are
+needless and unwarrantable in a country which, we trust, will ever
+pride itself on a nobler civilisation than that which is founded upon
+mere physical endurance.
+
+
+
+
+A DIFFICULT QUESTION.
+
+THE STORY OF TWO CHRISTMAS EVES.
+
+
+IN TWO CHAPTERS.--PROLOGUE.
+
+In the gray light of an Indian dawn, with the cool breeze blowing
+through the curtains of the tent, and his friend's sorrowful eyes
+looking down on him, a soldier lay on his rough couch--waiting for
+death. They were soon to be parted those two, who had lived and fought
+together; but the face of the one who was starting on that journey
+of which none has measured the distance, was smilingly calm, while
+the eyes of the other glistened with regretful tears as he spoke low,
+faltering, remorseful words.
+
+'Hush, Ralph, hush!' the other said at last. 'Don't you think, dear
+old fellow, I would sooner lose my life in having saved yours, than in
+any other way? After all, a few days or years sooner or later, what
+does it signify? My fate is perhaps the happiest, though I hope it is
+not. I don't think life is so very desirable,' he continued; 'I am only
+twenty-six; but mine has not been a happy one. It was my own fault,
+though. Take my advice, Ralph; don't marry young. There is only one
+thing that troubles me'----
+
+'Your little girl,' Ralph interrupted. 'Wrayworth, let me take care
+of her; if I can make her happy, it will be some slight atonement,
+some'----
+
+'You would take care of her, Ralph? would you?' The dying man's eyes
+shone gratefully as he looked up in his friend's face. 'She has
+nothing, poor little thing,' he went on sadly--'motherless, fatherless,
+scarcely more than a baby either. It would be a heavy charge to leave
+you, Ralph.'
+
+'Wrayworth! how can you speak so; you will drive me mad! You--you'----
+He broke down utterly; it was something so terrible to see this friend
+dying there--for him. 'Anything on earth that I can do'---- he murmured.
+
+'You will do for her,' said Wrayworth. 'Thank you. I have no friends to
+send her to. I meant to have made her very happy.'
+
+'She shall be; I swear it!' Ralph answered fervently, thankful for
+this charge, which might in some degree help him to pay that debt of
+gratitude, and forgetful that he had no control of fate, that the
+promise he gave of happiness was a fearfully presumptuous one. But he
+made it willingly, gladly, solemnly, before God; and as far as lay in
+his power it should sacredly be kept; any sacrifice he would make for
+this child.
+
+His friend's eyes rested on him searchingly for a moment. 'I trust
+you,' he said--'I trust you.'
+
+The hours passed on, the blazing sun arose, and Ralph went out into
+the burning glare with bent head and staggering footsteps, while words
+he had heard long since seemed floating round him in letters of fire:
+'Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for
+his friend.'--'Is there _none_ greater?' he thought. 'Is there nothing
+_I_ can do to repay--nothing?'
+
+
+CHAPTER I.--ASKED.
+
+The years were well on in their teens since that melancholy scene was
+enacted in the Indian tent--since Wrayworth consigned his only child
+to the guardianship of the friend whose life, at the expense of his
+own, he had saved on the battle-field. A carriage rolled along the
+snowy high-road through the cold clear air; the short winter's day
+was drawing to its close, and up in the darkening sky the stars were
+beginning to shine upon the world's most joyful season, upon Christmas
+eve. The world's most joyful season? We call it so, this festival, more
+than eighteen hundred years old; but does the world think it so?--the
+world, with its thousand cares and crosses, its deep and hidden
+sorrows, its partings and its tears? Of those amongst the myriads who
+keep the Yule-tide feast, how many hold it with a chastened joy! For
+on that day most of all our thoughts go back to other years, to other
+faces, to other lips that have wished us 'a merry Christmas;' to other
+hands, which have clasped ours so loyally, to those who have loved us
+so long ago!
+
+But Major Loraine had no sad memories connected with the season as he
+drove up to the old house, from which duty had so frequently called
+him, and which he had not seen for five years. In the wide, dark,
+panelled hall his step-mother stood waiting to welcome him, as gladly
+as though he had been her own son. He was only a boy when she first
+came there, when the pink was fresh on her cheek and the gold bright in
+her hair; they had been drawn to each other then; and through the long
+years of her widowhood his loving care had helped to lighten her load
+of sorrow; so it was not wonderful that for months past she had been
+eagerly looking forward to his return.
+
+The greetings over, they sat down side by side, talking, as those
+talk after long separation, of past, present, and future; of their
+acquaintances married, dead, or far away; of things on the estate,
+prosperous or failures; of the ball to be given next month, of the one
+they were going to, to-night; of how much Emma was improved since she
+'came out,' how Katharine was considered one of the handsomest girls
+in the place, and how she might marry Sir Michael Leyland with thirty
+thousand a year if she liked.
+
+'But why ever doesn't she like?' asked the Major, astonished at this
+new phase in the character of his worldly-minded sister.
+
+'That is just what troubles me,' answered Mrs Loraine. 'They are all at
+the church now, helping to decorate. Louise wanted to stay at home to
+welcome you, but I sent them all off, so as to have you to myself for
+an hour. You will see a great alteration in Louise, Ralph.'
+
+'Shall I, mother?' he said smiling. 'I think not. Her letters are the
+same always; they have altered in style a little of course in the last
+year or two, but it is the same spirit--the same creature.'
+
+'But not the same face, Ralph. Remember you have not seen her for five
+years, which have not altered you, but which have changed her from an
+unformed girl of fourteen to a lovely woman; with that bright changing
+beauty, which has more charm for a man than regularity of feature. It
+is a very difficult question.'
+
+'What is a difficult question?' asked Ralph, as his mother paused.
+
+'What to do with Louise.'
+
+'You hinted something of the kind in your last letter, mother,' he said
+gravely. 'I am sorry, but I must confess this house seems large enough
+for four women. You know how I am situated; you know the promise which
+binds me. But tell me,' he added smiling, 'what has Louise done? She
+seemed to me gentle and tractable enough when I was last at home.'
+
+'I have not the slightest fault to find,' Mrs Loraine replied; 'you
+know I am very fond of her. You will think my difficulty very womanish;
+simply, Louise is too pretty.'
+
+'And some one has told her so,' said Ralph, laughing. 'Go on.'
+
+'It is not that; but I cannot bear to see my own child's happiness
+destroyed by another, who, if not a stranger, has at least no claim
+upon her.'
+
+Ralph frowned slightly. 'Perhaps not,' he answered; 'the claim is upon
+me, and it is a sacred one. So,' he continued, 'it is a case of rivals,
+I see.'
+
+'Simply this, Ralph. You remember the Levesons of Leigh Court, where
+we are going to-night? Their eldest son is in the --th Dragoons, and
+has been home on leave. Louise was away when he first came here, and he
+appeared very much struck with Katharine; and no wonder; she is very
+handsome. Well--don't laugh at me; I don't like match-making as a rule;
+but I thought as she seemed interested in him, there was no harm in
+inviting him sometimes. But as soon as Louise came home, he transferred
+his attentions to her. Katharine says nothing; but it makes a kind
+of awkwardness between them. I know she feels it, poor child; though
+indeed I believe Vere Leveson is simply flirting with Louise.'
+
+Major Loraine laughed. 'Poor mother!' he said, 'you will have enough to
+do if you take all your children's love affairs to heart so seriously.
+These things always right themselves, you know. But I confess I am
+surprised to hear of Katharine going in for sentiment; I should have
+thought Sir Michael more in her line. Is that all, mother?'
+
+'No; only the first of my difficulties,' she answered half sadly. 'You
+know what my health has been for the last few years; you know---- Well,
+you do not wish me to speak of that; but it is better to look in the
+face of possibility. Suppose anything happened to me, Ralph, what would
+become of Louise?'
+
+'You speak of what I hope may be far distant, mother,' he answered
+tenderly. 'But why should you be uneasy about her? In the event of her
+not marrying, she would always have a home here with me.'
+
+Mrs Loraine shook her head. 'Turn round and look in the glass,' she
+said; 'thirty-nine is not such a very formidable age.'
+
+He turned, and contemplated his bronzed face in the glass; such a
+handsome, noble face, telling of a nature that could not act falsely or
+meanly. The broad square forehead, marred by a sabre-cut, and the dark
+hair flecked here and there, by the Indian sun, with gray; nothing else
+to find fault with in the frank kind smile, the fine regular features,
+the dark true eyes.
+
+'I think there is no fear of my being taken for younger than I am,
+mother,' he said, smiling.
+
+'It is an awkward position for you, though,' she answered; 'and as
+I said, a difficult question what to do. We must hope for the best,
+Ralph. You are going to join the others now, I suppose?'
+
+'Yes; I think I can find my way.'
+
+He went out into the keen frosty air, walking slowly, though it was
+unpleasantly cold to one accustomed to tropical climates. He was
+thinking over his mother's words, and knew she was right as to the
+awkwardness of the position. He saw the peace of the household was
+troubled, without knowing how to set matters right, and he thought
+of the old friend who had trusted his child to him. He had vowed she
+should be happy, and now it seemed a difficult vow to keep; but for the
+sake of the man who had died for him sixteen long years ago, the pledge
+then given must be redeemed.
+
+Louise Wrayworth's life had been a bright one hitherto; her guardian's
+home was the only one she could remember, and he had striven to fill in
+some degree her father's place. To him, from infancy to womanhood, she
+had looked up with loving grateful reverence, regarding him, present or
+absent, as the noblest of created beings.
+
+He reached the old church, and made his way round to the open vestry
+door. The steps were encumbered with bundles of evergreens; the voices
+of the workers, who had finished their task, were audible. He pushed
+the door further open, and went in. The floor was covered with boughs,
+and around the pillars were wreathed holly and other evergreens in
+honour of the joyous season. Some of the choristers stood waiting
+for the choir-practice, and the organist was softly playing _Adeste
+Fideles_.
+
+'Ralph!' cried a young fresh voice; and a slight fair girl with a merry
+face sprang up from the floor, with her hands full of the scarlet
+berries, which fell hither and thither in bright-hued rain, as with
+complete indifference to the by-standers, she gave the returned soldier
+a sisterly embrace. 'You dear old thing to come for us!' she exclaimed.
+
+'Emma, Emma!' exclaimed Ralph, laughing and disengaging himself; 'you
+have not learned to behave any better in five years.'
+
+But his young sister had vanished, and he turned to greet the vicar;
+and one or two of the ladies he recognised. In a few minutes Emma
+reappeared; and behind her came a tall fair girl with masses of golden
+hair, and great beautiful cold blue eyes. She greeted Major Loraine
+affectionately, but with the quiet stately grace habitual to her. Five
+years had not changed Katharine Loraine; at twenty-four she was still
+the same majestic Queen Katharine as at nineteen, with whom he had
+always had so little sympathy, whose nature he had found so difficult
+to understand.
+
+'Where is Louise?' he asked presently. 'Is she not here?'
+
+'She went into the churchyard just now,' answered Emma, 'to put a
+wreath on Nellie Bryant's grave. You remember her, Ralph?'
+
+'Louise's friend? Yes.'
+
+'A _triste_ employment for Christmas eve,' observed one of the
+gentlemen decorators to Katharine, as he stooped to disentangle her
+dress from a long sprig of ivy.
+
+'Oh, Mr Leveson went to hold a lantern for her,' Katharine answered,
+with the slightest possible shade of contempt in the silvery tones of
+her voice; 'and Louise is never _triste_, unless she is by herself.'
+
+The choir was now fully assembled; the organist struck up the anthem,
+the rest were silent to listen, and Ralph Loraine went out to look
+for his ward. He came round the east end of the old church, and stood
+still for a moment in the shadow. There were two people standing at
+the edge of the path, looking down on the grave at their feet, where
+the lantern's light shewed the shining holly upon the upright marble
+cross. It shewed too the face of his friend's child; a beautiful face,
+as his step-mother had said, with large dark eyes and wavy dusky hair,
+a clear delicate complexion with a little rose-flush on the cheeks, and
+full red lips half-parted by the sweetest smile he had ever seen; with
+the same erect carriage of the head, the same fearless straight regard
+which had characterised her father.
+
+It was so strange to see her there a woman, whom he had left a mere
+girl; and as he looked on the fair face, something seemed to whisper
+that the ideal beauty he had so often dreamed of was before him at
+last. They moved away, and came slowly nearer, and paused again where
+he could see her companion; and for a moment he almost hated the man
+for his youth, and his handsome face, and the deep-blue eyes aflame
+with passion-fire as they rested on the child of his dead friend; and
+another whisper which silenced the first, told him how fitted was each
+for the other.
+
+'If _I_ were lying there,' said Vere Leveson, and Ralph could hear
+every one of the foolish, softly spoken words, 'would you ever make
+wreaths for _me_, I wonder?'
+
+'I don't know.'
+
+'Don't you? I wish you did; for I thought just now I should be glad to
+be lying there, if you would remember me.'
+
+Ralph had heard enough, and tried to slip away unseen; but the gravel
+crunched under his feet and betrayed him.
+
+Louise started, and a bright vivid blush covered her face as she sprang
+forward. 'Lorrie! Oh, how glad I am to see you again!' she cried, as
+she took both his hands in hers and lifted her cheek for his kiss.
+
+He felt half sorry she had done so; that and the old childish name put
+him immediately in his place as guardian, and made him ashamed of his
+thoughts. 'How you are altered, Louise!' he said, looking down at her
+admiringly. 'I think I should hardly have known you!'
+
+'I should have known you, Lorrie, anywhere,' she said reproachfully.
+
+'That is rather different,' he said; 'when we once get old, we don't
+change so quickly.'
+
+'You would not like it if I said you were old, Lorrie. But tell me, am
+_I_ altered for the worse? or'----
+
+'You have no need to come to me for compliments, surely,' he said
+smiling.
+
+'I should think more of yours than of any one's,' she whispered, with
+that sweet dangerous smile; a smile which a man like Ralph Loraine
+should have taken as a warning not to feel its influence too often.
+
+'How rude I am!' she said at last.--'Mr Leveson, do you know my
+guardian?' She turned to her companion, who stood holding the lantern a
+few yards from them.
+
+'I had the honour of dining in your company once, Major Loraine,' he
+answered, stepping forward. 'It is some time ago, when I first joined
+at Madras; but I well remember my anxiety to see such a distinguished
+soldier as yourself.'
+
+There was a ring of truth and honest admiration in the words, which
+raised them above an ordinary compliment, and which made Ralph hold out
+his hand and answer cordially: 'I have a bad memory for faces, or I
+think I should have remembered yours.'
+
+'Thanks,' said Vere, laughing. 'We shall have the pleasure of seeing
+you to-night, I hope?'
+
+'Yes; my mother told me of the invitation.'
+
+'Of course he is coming,' said Louise. 'And you will dance with me all
+the evening, Lorrie; won't you?'
+
+'Not quite all, Miss Wrayworth; please, don't forget my waltzes,' said
+Vere, holding out his hand. 'I must be off now; so good-bye for the
+present. You won't forget?'
+
+She looked up quickly. 'Perhaps,' the lips said laughingly; but the
+dark eyes gave a sweet silent answer Ralph did not see, though he was
+watching them. But after Vere Leveson had gone, he walked home beneath
+the Christmas stars, with Louise's hand resting on his arm, dreaming as
+he went, a fair, fond, foolish dream.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Christmas-eve ball at Leigh Park was a regular institution, one
+which Sir Harry Leveson had kept up for years. It was a pretty sight,
+Ralph thought, as he stood leaning against a window, and looking round
+to select a partner. And amongst all the fair women, the one he thought
+the fairest was his young ward Louise Wrayworth, in her white floating
+dress, with its wreaths of holly, and the red clustering berries in her
+dark hair.
+
+Ralph had been watching Vere Leveson, trying to decide in his own
+mind whether Mrs Loraine's verdict of flirtation was a just one;
+and he judged that it was; for the attentions of the young officer
+were apparently equally divided between Louise and Katharine. Ralph
+did not happen to be near when, later on, he led Louise to one of
+the cool empty rooms, where through the open window could be heard
+the merry Christmas bells. He did not see the hand-clasp or the
+light that flashed in the eyes of each. He did not hear the hurried
+whisper: 'Louise, you won't forget me, you will trust me till next
+Christmas-time?'
+
+The ball was over, the rooms were dark and silent; the whole world
+waited for the sun to rise on Christmas-day.
+
+
+
+
+IS THE TELEPHONE A PRACTICAL SUCCESS?
+
+
+In September last appeared in this _Journal_ an article entitled
+'Singing and Talking by Telegraph;' and in that paper we attempted
+to describe the mechanism of that wonderful little instrument the
+telephone. It is now our purpose to say something regarding the
+progress that has been made towards perfecting the invention; but in
+order to make the article as clear as possible, we venture once more
+upon a few words explanatory of the instrument.
+
+The telephone as it is now made is an exceedingly simple-looking
+apparatus similar in appearance to a stethoscope; to the handle of a
+girl's skipping-rope; or better still, to a large-sized penny wooden
+trumpet. Inside this hollow cylinder, and within an inch or so of the
+wider end, is fixed a plate of iron as thin as a well-worn sixpence,
+and about the size of a half-crown piece. This is called the diaphragm.
+Behind the diaphragm, nearly touching it, and extending to the narrower
+end of the cylinder, is a piece of 'soft' iron enveloped in wire
+coils, with a permanent magnet beyond. Outside the narrower end of
+the cylinder, and communicating with the coils that surround the iron
+inside, are attached two screws or 'terminals,' which are 'joined up'
+to a main wire, communicating with the distant or receiving telephone
+wherever that may be, and which is precisely similar to the one we
+have described. When we apply our mouth to the bell-shaped end of the
+apparatus, and speak or shout or sing, we set the diaphragm vibrating
+as in a tuning-fork; the vibrations thus created are electrically
+communicated through the wire to a distant telephone, and are repeated
+on its diaphragm with more or less distinctness.
+
+It is known that the motion of an iron plate contiguous to the poles
+of a magnet creates a disturbance of electricity in coils surrounding
+those poles; and the duration of this current will coincide with the
+vibratory motion of the plate or diaphragm. When, therefore, the human
+voice (or any other suitable sound) impinges through the tube against
+this diaphragm, the diaphragm begins to vibrate, and awakens, so to
+speak, electrical action in the coils of wire surrounding the poles
+of the magnet; not a current, but a series of undulations, something
+like those produced by the voice in the air around us. In short the
+telephone is an apparatus designed to transmit sound through a wire
+of indefinite length; the voice being, so to speak, 'converted into
+electricity at one end, the electricity becoming voice at the other.'
+
+With these few explanatory remarks, we now proceed to offer to our
+readers the following interesting experiments made by a gentleman well
+skilled in telegraphy.
+
+'Journalists,' he says, 'with no special knowledge of the difficulties
+the invention has to encounter as a telegraph instrument, have
+expatiated in such enthusiastic terms upon the results said to have
+been achieved by the telephone, that a somewhat exaggerated notion of
+its powers and capabilities has been accepted by the general public.
+It appears, therefore, to the writer of those lines that a statement
+of the experiences of a person practically engaged in the work of
+telegraphy may assist in placing the phenomena of the telephone on a
+proper footing.
+
+'Scientifically, the telephone is a great and undoubted success; and
+a person would be grievously in error if, because of some undoubted
+hindrances to its practical use, he pronounced it unworthy of further
+experiment. The emergence of telegraphy from the domain of experiment
+into that of daily practical use is a fact so undoubted, and one with
+which we are now so familiar, that it is impossible to say at what
+moment the telephone, at present a scientific toy, may become a daily
+necessity not only of telegraphic but of ordinary commercial work.
+
+'Being engaged in daily contact with a large telegraphic centre, and
+in association with men who have the command of every means of testing
+the invention in a practical work-a-day manner, the writer was able to
+gauge pretty accurately the range within which the telephone can work.
+It must be understood, however, that in recording the effects observed
+by him and his associates, he has no desire to invalidate, or even to
+call in question the experiences of others who may have been able to
+arrive at better results. The telephone is in the hands of some of
+the first electricians and telegraphists of the day, and differences
+of conditions (not to speak of differences of capacity on the part
+of the operator) may give variety in the observations made. The very
+difficulties and drawbacks now to be recorded will no doubt some day
+suggest to a master-mind the method by which they may be overcome. But
+till that day arrives, the telephone must be content to remain where
+the writer leaves it, an undoubted success from a scientific point of
+view, but overwhelmed with obstacles to its practical use, in this
+country at least, in general telegraphy.
+
+'When a telegraphist first gets into his hand this beautifully simple
+and electrically delicate instrument, his first inclination is to test
+its carrying-power. This is of course a closet experiment, not working
+with actual telegraph line, but with "resistance" equivalent to a
+telegraph line of stated length. An experiment of this nature gives
+better results than could be obtained by a veritable line, because the
+insulation is, so to speak, perfect. No leakage at undesigned points of
+contact, or disturbance from unfavourable atmospheric conditions, is
+felt, and the experiment is entirely under the observer's control. The
+apparatus used is designed to offer the same labour for the electric
+current to overcome, as would be offered by a stated length of outside
+telegraph line. This artificial resistance is nicely graduated, and
+as the method of testing was suggested by Ohm, a German electrician,
+the unit of resistance is, as we once previously explained, termed an
+"ohm." Removing the telephone to such a distance that the two observers
+were "out of earshot," the test with resistance was tried, and with a
+resistance of one thousand ohms--roughly speaking, equal to seventy
+miles of a well-constructed line--the sound was perfect, although not
+very loud. Every articulation of the speaker at the other end could be
+distinguished so long as silence was maintained in the room, or so long
+as no heavy lorry rumbling over the stones outside sent in harsh noises
+which drowned the faint whisper of the instrument. The resistance
+was gradually raised to four thousand ohms--nearly three hundred
+miles--with like favourable results; and for some little distance
+beyond, articulation could still be made out. But by the time ten
+thousand ohms had been applied, putting the speaker at a distance of,
+say, seven hundred miles, sound only, but not articulate sound, reached
+the ear. The tone was there, and every inflection of the voice could
+be followed; but articulation was absent, although the listener strove
+every nerve to catch the sound, which the speaker, as was afterwards
+ascertained, was shouting in a loud clear voice. The prolonged notes
+of an air sung could be heard with the resistance named, but again
+no words could be distinguished. The voice, whether in speaking or
+singing, has a weird curious sound in the telephone. It is in a measure
+ventriloqual in character; and with the telephone held an inch or two
+from the ear, it has the effect as if some one were singing far off
+in the building, or the sound were coming up from a vaulted cellar or
+through a massive stone wall.
+
+'Proceeding to our next experiment, we joined up the telephones in one
+office to several wires in succession, putting ourselves in circuit
+with lines going to various distances and working with different
+instruments. When this was done, the real obstacle to telephonic
+progress at once asserted itself in the shape of "induction." The first
+wire experimented with was partly "overhouse" and partly underground,
+and the offices upon it were working Wheatstone A B C instruments. It
+is difficult to render clear to the person ignorant of telegraphic
+phenomena the idea expressed by the word _induction_. Briefly it may
+be put thus, that when a strong electric current is passing on a wire,
+it has the faculty of setting up a current of opposite character in
+any wire not then working, or working with a feebler current, that may
+be in its vicinity. The why or the wherefore cannot be explained, but
+there is the fact.
+
+'In various recent articles on the telephone, mention has been made of
+"contact" as the cause of disturbance. This word, however, although it
+has been used by telegraphists, is misleading, and can only be used
+as an endeavour to express popularly an electric fact. Actual contact
+of one wire with another would spoil the business altogether. A wire
+bearing an electric current seems to be for the time surrounded, to an
+undefined distance, by an electric atmosphere, and all wires coming
+within this atmosphere have a current in an opposite direction set up
+in them. This is as near an explanation of the phenomena of induction
+as the state of telegraph science at present affords. Now the telephone
+works with a very delicate magnetic current, and is easily overpowered
+by the action of a stronger current in any wire near which the
+telephone wire may come. To work properly it "requires a silent line."
+
+'In the place where the observations were made, there are a large
+number of wires, travelling under the floor, through the test-box,
+along passages to the battery-room and to a pole on the outside,
+whence they radiate, or out to a pipe underground, where many
+gutta-percha-covered wires lie side by side. On applying the ear to a
+telephone joined into a circuit working in such an office a curious
+sound is heard, comparable most nearly to the sound of a pot boiling.
+But the practised ear could soon separate the boiling into distinct
+sounds. There was one masterful Morse instrument--probably on the wire
+lying nearest the one on which we were joined up--whose peremptory
+"click, cli-i-i-ck, click," representing "dot, dash, dot" on the
+printed slip we read from, could be heard over all. Then there was the
+rapid whir of a Wheatstone fast-speed transmitter, sending dots and
+dashes at express speed by mechanical means; the sharp well-pronounced
+rattle in sounds of equal length of a needle instrument; and most
+curious of all, the "rrrrr-op, rr-op, rrrrrrrrrrrrr-op, rrrrr-op,
+rr-op" of the A B C, the deadliest foe to the telephone in its
+endeavours to gain admission into the family of telegraph instruments.
+There may be reason in this, for as the Wheatstone A B C is the
+instrument used for private telegraphy, or for the least important
+public offices, because it requires no "code" to be learned by the
+manipulator, so it would likely be the first to be displaced if an
+acoustic telegraph permanently took the field. So the sentient little
+A B C opens its mitrailleuse fire on the intruder, on whose delicate
+currents, in the words of an accomplished electrician, it plays "old
+harry." The peculiar character of the sounds we borrow on the telephone
+from this instrument arises from the fact that as the needle flies
+round the dial, a distinct current or pulsation passes for each letter,
+and the final "op" we have tried to represent shews the stoppage of the
+needle at the letters as words were spelled out.
+
+'It must not be understood that the _sounds_ of those various
+instruments are actually heard in the telephone. What happens is, that
+the currents stealing along the telephone wire by induction produce
+vibrations in the diaphragm of that instrument, the little metal
+membrane working on the magnet in ready response to every current set
+up in the latter. When it is remembered that the principle of the
+telephone is that the sound-caused vibrations in the filmy diaphragm
+at one end create similar but magnetically-caused vibrations in the
+diaphragm at the other end, and so reproduce the sound, it will be
+obvious why the rapid roll of the A B C currents, or the swift sending
+of the fast-speed transmitter, when brought by induction into the
+telephone wire, cause disturbances in the sound vibrations, and thereby
+cripple the instrument. One instrument of either kind named would have
+a certain effect, but one Morse or single needle would not have any
+greatly prejudicial effect. But a number of Morses or needles going
+together, such as were heard in our experiments, would combine to be
+nearly as bad as one A B C or fast-speed Morse. So delicate is the
+diaphragm to sound (and necessarily so), that in all experiments with
+the telephone itself, such as those with "resistance," or those made
+at home to test the instrument apart from telegraphic considerations,
+every sound from without broke in, giving an effect like the well-known
+"murmur of the shell."
+
+'Joining up our wire now to a more distant station at some miles
+along the railway, and having on its poles a number of what are known
+as "heavy" circuits, the pot-boiling sound assumed even more marked
+characteristics. The A B C no longer affected us; but a number of Morse
+instruments were in full gear, and the fast-speed transmitter was also
+at work. While we were listening, the circuit to which we were joined
+began to work, and the effect was literally electrical. Hitherto we had
+only borrowed currents--or, seeing they were so unwelcome, we might
+call them currents thrust upon us--and the sounds, though sharp and
+incessant, were gentle and rather low. But when the strong current was
+set up in the wire itself, the listener who held one of our telephones
+nearly jumped from the floor when an angry "pit-_pat_, pit-_pat_,
+pit-_pat_-pit" assailed his ear, causing him to drop the instrument as
+if he had been shot! It was a result none of us had expected, for it
+did not seem possible that the delicate metal diaphragm and the little
+magnet of the telephone could produce a sound so intense. Of course
+it was only intense when the ear was held close to the orifice of the
+instrument. Held in the hand away from the ear, the telephone now made
+a first-rate "sounder," and we could tell without difficulty not only
+the signals that were passing, but found in it a more comfortable tone
+than that given by the Morse sounder in common use.
+
+'Other experiments of a like character led to results so similar,
+that they may be left unnoticed; and we proceed now to describe one
+of a different character, designed to test the telephone itself.
+At a distance of about half a mile, access was obtained to a Morse
+instrument in private use, and joined to the office by "overhouse"
+wire. Dividing our party and arranging a programme of operations, two
+remained with a telephone in the office, while other two, of whom the
+writer was one, proceeded with the second telephone to the distant
+instrument. By an arrangement which a practical telegraphist will
+understand, the key of the Morse was kept in circuit, so that signals
+could be exchanged in that way. It may be noticed, however, that this
+was hardly necessary, as the diaphragm of the telephone can be used as
+a key, with the finger or a blunt point, so that dot and dash signals
+are interchangeable, should the voice fail to be heard. As the wire in
+this instance travelled almost alone over part of its course, we were
+in hopes that induced currents would be conspicuous by their absence.
+In this we were, however, disappointed, for the pot was boiling away,
+rather more faintly, but with the "plop-plop-plop" distinctly audible,
+and once more a sharp masterful Morse click was heard coming in now and
+again. The deadly A B C was, however, absent, so that our experiment
+proved highly successful. For some reason or another--probably an
+imperfect condition of the wire, or the effects of "induction" over and
+above what made itself audible to us--the spoken sounds were deficient
+in distinctness; but songs sung at either end were very beautifully
+heard, and indeed the sustained note of sung words had always a better
+carrying-power than rapidly spoken words. Every syllable, and every
+turn of melody of such a song as _My Mother bids me bind my Hair_, sung
+by a lady at one end, or _When the Heart of a Man_, sung at the other,
+could be distinctly heard, but with the effect before noticed, that the
+voice was muffled or shut in, as if the singer were in a cellar, while
+it was not always possible to say at once whether the voice was that of
+a man or a woman.
+
+'In the course of some domestic experiments, it was remarked that in
+playing the scale downwards from C in alt. on the piano, the result
+to the listener was a "tit" only for the four upper notes, although
+all below that had a clear "ting," and the octaves below were mostly
+distinct, although at the low notes of the piano the sound was again
+lost. The ringing notes of a musical box were not so successful, but
+with close attention, its rapid execution of _Tommy Dodd_ could be well
+enough made out. An endeavour was made to catch the ticking of a watch,
+but this was not successful, and the experiment is not recommended,
+as the near presence of a watch to a magnet is not desirable; and the
+watch exposed to it in this instance was, it is thought, affected for a
+short time thereafter, although it received no permanent damage.
+
+'The observations made in the course of these experiments convinced
+those present that the telephone presents facilities for the dangerous
+practice of "tapping the wires," which may make it useful or dangerous,
+according as it is used for proper or improper purposes. It might be
+an important addition for a military commander to make to his flying
+cavalry; as an expert sound-reader, accompanying a column sent to
+cut off the enemy's telegraph connections, might precede the act of
+destruction by robbing him of some of his secrets. The rapidity and
+simplicity of the means by which a wire could be "milked," without
+being cut or put out of circuit, struck the whole of the party engaged
+in the various trials that are described above. Of course the process
+of tapping by telephone could not be carried out if the instrument in
+use was an A B C or single needle, or if the wire was being worked
+duplex or with a fast-speed Morse, for in these cases the sounds are
+too rapid or too indefinite to be read by ear. The danger is thus
+limited to ordinary sounder or Morse telegraphs; but these still form
+the mainstay of every public system.
+
+'Since the trials above described were made, the newspapers have
+recorded a beautiful application by Sir William Thomson, of the
+electric part of the telephone to exhibit at a distance the motions
+of an anemometer; the object being to shew the force of air-currents
+in coal-mines. This is a useful application of an electric fact, and
+doubtless points the way to further discoveries. But it is to be
+noticed that the experiment, interesting as it is, hardly comes under
+the head of a tele_phone_, what is reproduced at a distance being not
+sound but motion.
+
+'Obviously the invention cannot rest where it is; and no one more
+readily than the practical telegraphist will welcome an instrument
+at once simple, direct, and reliable. Even in its present form the
+telephone may be successfully used where its wire is absolutely
+_isolated_ from all other telegraph wires. But the general impression
+is that its power of reproducing the sound must be intensified before
+its use can become general even as a substitute in works or offices for
+the speaking-tube.'
+
+
+
+
+SINGING MICE.
+
+
+These interesting animals are said to be smaller than ordinary mice,
+to be usually of a brownish colour, and to have long ears. Naturalists
+have not come to any exact reason as to why they sing. Some persons
+impute the singing to disease, as in the wheezing of any one from a
+cold. Others attribute it to an internal parasite. But these seem
+unsatisfactory explanations; for when the little creatures sing they
+are as lively as common domestic mice. The faculty of singing in a
+small way with various modulations appears to be quite natural to the
+animals. It has been noticed that during their musical performances
+there is a throbbing in the throat, and that the snout is elevated
+in giving play to the voice, as in the warbling of birds. The song
+or warble of these mice is said to be sweet and varied. Hitherto not
+much attention has been given by zoologists to the phenomenon; but we
+observe by various notices in _Land and Water_ and in _Nature_, two
+periodicals devoted to pleasant discussions on subjects of natural
+history, &c., that singing mice are becoming objects of careful
+investigation.
+
+An amusing account of a singing mouse appears in _Nature_, Nov. 9, from
+the pen of Mr Joseph Sidebotham, dating from Menton, south of France.
+
+'Last winter we occupied the rooms we now do at Menton. Early in
+February we heard as we thought the song of a canary, and fancied it
+was outside our balcony; however, we soon discovered that the singing
+was in our _salon_, and that the songster was a mouse. At that time the
+weather was rather cold, and we had a little fire, and the mouse spent
+most of the day under the fender, where we kept it supplied with bits
+of biscuit. In a few days it became quite tame, and would come on the
+hearth in an evening and sing for several hours. Sometimes it would
+climb up the chiffonier and ascend a vase of flowers to drink at the
+water, and then sit and sing on the edge of the table and allow us to
+go quite near to it without ceasing its warble. One of its favourite
+haunts was the wood-basket, and it would often sit and sing on the
+edge of it. On February 12, the last night of the Carnival, we had
+a number of friends in our _salon_, and the little mouse sang most
+vigorously, much to their delight and astonishment, and was not in the
+least disturbed by the talking. In the evening the mouse would often
+run about the room and under the door into the corridor and adjoining
+rooms, and then return to its own hearth. After amusing us for nearly
+a month, it disappeared; and we suspect it was caught in a trap set in
+one of the rooms beyond. The mouse was small and had very large ears,
+which it moved about much whilst singing. The song was not unlike that
+of the canary in many of its trills, and it sang quite as beautifully
+as any canary, but it had more variety, and some of its notes were
+much lower, more like those of the bullfinch. One great peculiarity
+was a sort of double song, which we had now and then--an air with an
+accompaniment. The air was loud and full, the notes being low and the
+accompaniment quite subdued. Some of our party were sure that there was
+more than one mouse, until we had the performance from the edge of the
+wood-basket and were within a yard or two of it. My son has suggested
+that many or all mice may have the same power, but that the notes are
+usually so much higher in the scale that, like the cry of the dormouse
+and the bat, they are at the verge of the pitch to which the human ear
+is sensitive. This may be so; but the notes of our mouse were so low,
+and even the highest so far within the limits of the human ear, that I
+am inclined to think the gift of singing in mice is but of very rare
+occurrence.'
+
+In the same periodical, the following additional particulars as regards
+singing mice are presented by Mr George J. Romanes, Regent's Park.
+
+'Several years ago I received some of these animals from a friend, and
+kept them in confinement for one or two months. The description which
+your correspondent gives of their performance leaves very little to
+be added by me, as in all respects this description agrees perfectly
+with my own observations. I write, however, to remark one curious
+fact about the singing of these mice, namely, that it seemed to be
+evoked by two very opposite sets of conditions. When undisturbed, the
+little animals used for the most part to remain quiet during the day,
+and begin to sing at night; but if at any time they were alarmed, by
+handling them or otherwise, whether during the day or night, they were
+sure to sing vigorously. Thus the action seemed to be occasioned either
+by contentment or by fear. The character of the song, however, was
+slightly different in the two cases.
+
+'That these mice did not learn this art from singing birds there can
+be no doubt, for they were captured in a house where no such birds
+were kept. It may be worth while to add that this house (a London one)
+seemed to have been suddenly invaded, so to speak, by a number of these
+animals, for although my friend has lived in this house since the year
+1862, it was only during a few months that singing mice were heard
+in it, and during these few months they were heard in considerable
+numbers.'
+
+As corroborative of the foregoing notices, we give the following very
+interesting account of a singing mouse, obligingly sent to us by a
+correspondent, Mr Alfred Wright.
+
+'In the early spring of last year I was invited by an old widow lady
+to see a singing mouse, which she had at night heard singing and
+scratching beneath the floor of her bed, and been so fortunate as to
+catch in a trap. I went, and found the little animal in a cage with
+a revolving wheel, similar to that in which a squirrel is usually
+confined. Whether the mouse was shy at the presence of a stranger, I
+do not know. It remained silent; but at length, after my patience had
+been nearly exhausted, it began to sing in clear warbling notes like
+those of a bird. When I called the next evening to hear the mouse
+again, I heard him to perfection; and was so filled with interest in
+the novelty, that I begged permission to bring any friend who was
+a sceptic of the fact, or who might desire to see the phenomenon.
+My request was readily granted. One friend of course had heard of
+a singing mouse, but he certainly would not allow that a prolonged
+squeak was a song--not he! Another friend of course had heard a mouse
+sing when he was a boy; but he was told, he perfectly well remembered,
+that the _noise_ produced by the mouse was the result of some internal
+disease. Well, both of these went with me to hear the little creature.
+Unfortunately, at first it was again shy; but after an interval of
+silence it commenced to sing--sweetly, like the low notes, the jug, of
+the nightingale. My friends had come, had heard, and were conquered!
+The one acknowledged it was really a song and not a squeak; the other,
+that the noise was certainly dulcet; but still he thought it possibly
+might be the result of disease, and not natural to the little animal.
+We suggested that this wonderful natural curiosity (as we deemed it)
+should be sent to an eminent naturalist who resided near. Great,
+therefore, was my astonishment and pleasure when it was presented to
+me, who could only treat it like a schoolboy would his white mouse--as
+a pet. And truly it became a great pet to both my wife and myself.
+
+'In form, the singing mouse did not differ from his humbler brethren;
+but in colour he was of a darkish brown, and had very bright eyes. It
+soon became used to the presence of my wife, and sang constantly while
+revolving the wheel of his cage. The notes proceeded from the throat.
+He became exceedingly gentle, and was pleased at being caressed.
+
+'I deemed him so rare a curiosity that I ventured to offer to exhibit
+him to the distinguished naturalist referred to above, and in my letter
+described the little creature and its peculiarities, as I have done
+here. The naturalist most courteously replied: "The case of the singing
+mouse is very extraordinary, but the fact is now well established....
+The best account which has ever been published is by an American
+naturalist, and I have given an abstract of his account in my _Descent
+of Man_.
+
+"The American referred to is the Rev. S. Lockwood, author of _The
+American Naturalist_, and he gives an account of his observations of
+the _Hesperomys cognatus_, an American species, belonging to a genus
+distinct from that of the English mouse. This little animal gave two
+chief songs. Mr Lockwood gives both songs in musical notation; and
+adds, that though this mouse 'had no ear for time,' yet she would keep
+to the key of B (two flats) and strictly in the major key.... Her soft
+clear voice falls an octave with all the precision possible; then at
+the wind up it rises again into a very quick trill in C sharp and D."
+I have made this quotation, as it far better describes the peculiar
+qualifications of a singing mouse, than my inexperienced observations
+could announce.
+
+'My mouse remained in contented confinement upwards of a year, feeding
+upon a little sopped bread and canary-seed; and great was the grief of
+my wife (who was his keeper) and myself when he was found dead in his
+little nest. During the previous evening he had been heard singing with
+more than usual ardour.'
+
+We shall probably return to this interesting subject.
+
+
+
+
+USING UP WASTE SUBSTANCES.
+
+
+The subject denoted by the above title, more than once treated in the
+_Journal_, is adverted to by an obliging Lancashire correspondent
+who, surrounded by one of the busiest and most ingenious clusters
+of townsmen in England, has had his attention drawn to various
+substances waiting (as it were), for application to useful purposes.
+His suggestions are not wholly new, having to some extent been already
+anticipated; but they are sufficiently valuable to call for notice here.
+
+One relates to the waste that presents itself in the processes of
+manufacturing cotton. A residue known technically as _willowings_,
+that falls into a receptacle during the preparatory beating and
+disentangling of raw cotton-wool, consists of a dusty heap of
+seed-husks and short broken fibres. It is used by farmers to absorb the
+liquid manure of their cowsheds and middens or dung-heaps. Although
+some of the cottony fibre may be separated through a sieve, so much
+adheres to the seed-husk as to render it unsuitable for paper-making,
+for which it has often been tried. The suggestion now made is, that
+though unfitted for paper, this refuse may possibly be found useful
+in the manufacture of _millboard_. Large quantities of this tough and
+durable product are employed for bookbinding, for making the discs of
+railway wheels, &c.; and as colour is not a matter of moment, the idea
+is that the mingled residue of cottony fibre and seed-husk might be
+rendered available. It is known that millboard made from wood-pulp is
+imported to a considerable extent from abroad; and we are told that
+'a large portion of the private income of the great German Chancellor
+Prince Bismarck is derived from the manufacture of wood-millboard on
+his Varzin estate.' Many hundred tons of willowings could be obtained
+in Lancashire at a very cheap rate, even as low as two shillings per
+hundredweight.
+
+Another suggestion bears relation to the utilisation of refuse from
+the manufacture of prussiate of potash, a most valuable product in
+the hands of the manufacturing chemist. The prussiate is obtained in
+large ratio from woollen rags, after the separation of all the pieces
+that can be worked up into shoddy for cheap cloth. The refuse is
+calcined in cast-iron retorts, lixiviated with water, and drained off
+for subsequent treatment: leaving behind it a thick black sediment of
+impure animal charcoal. The suggestion relates to the application of
+this residue to the manufacture of blacking--a humble but valuable
+agent for those who appreciate tidiness in the appearance of boots and
+shoes and economy in the preservation of leather. If useful for this
+purpose, it might be found advantageous and economical as an ingredient
+in printers' ink. Whether this carbon residue is at present applied to
+any other useful purpose, we are not fully informed.
+
+A third suggestion relates to the preparation of animal size for the
+carpet-manufacture and for that of many kinds of woollen and worsted
+goods. This size is made from the clippings and scrapings of skins
+and hides, from rejected scraps of parchment and vellum, and from
+the worn-out buffalo skin pickers and skips largely used in textile
+manufactures; also from the pith of cattle-horns, which contain a large
+amount of valuable gelatine. The suggestion is, to utilise the refuse
+left after making this size. One large carpet factory in Yorkshire
+rejects as utterly useless a ton or more of this refuse every week.
+The horn-pith contains as one of its components phosphate of lime, and
+is on that account recommended to the notice of the manufacturers of
+chemical manures on a large scale.
+
+One more suggestion comes from our ingenious correspondent. Old corks
+are applicable to a greater number of purposes than we are generally
+in the habit of supposing. That many of them are ground up to make
+cork-stuffing for cushions, padding, &c. is well known; but there are
+other uses for them as corks or half corks, besides making floating
+buoys and life-preservers. A taverner in a Lancashire town covered the
+floor of his lobby and bar with very open rope-matting, and filled up
+the openings with old corks cut down to the level of the surface of
+the mats. This combination is found to be almost indestructible under
+the feet; while it gives a good grip or foothold. As the making of
+rope-mats is one of the trades carried on in reformatories and some
+other large establishments, it is suggested that the managers should
+take into consideration the feasibility of adding old corks to their
+store of manufacturing materials.
+
+As this _Journal_ finds its way into every corner of the busy hives
+of industry, it may possibly be that some of our readers are already
+acquainted with such applications of waste refuse to useful purposes as
+those which our esteemed correspondent suggests. But this is a point
+of minor importance. The primary question is, not whether an idea is
+absolutely new, but whether it is practicably susceptible of useful
+application. The history of manufactures teaches us that apparently
+humble trifles like these have proved to be worth millions sterling to
+the country.
+
+
+
+
+LET BYGONES BE BYGONES.
+
+
+    Let bygones be bygones; if bygones were clouded
+      By aught that occasioned a pang of regret,
+    Oh, let them in darkest oblivion be shrouded;
+      'Tis wise and 'tis kind to forgive and forget.
+
+    Let bygones be bygones, and good be extracted
+      From ill over which it is folly to fret;
+    The wisest of mortals have foolishly acted--
+      The kindest are those who forgive and forget.
+
+    Let bygones be bygones; oh, cherish no longer
+      The thought that the sun of Affection has set;
+    Eclipsed for a moment, its rays will be stronger,
+      If you, like a Christian, forgive and forget.
+
+    Let bygones be bygones; your heart will be lighter,
+      When kindness of yours with reception has met;
+    The flame of your love will be purer and brighter
+      If, Godlike, you strive to forgive and forget.
+
+    Let bygones be bygones; oh, purge out the leaven
+      Of malice, and try an example to set
+    To others, who craving the mercy of heaven,
+      Are sadly too slow to forgive and forget.
+
+    Let bygones be bygones; remember how deeply
+      To heaven's forbearance we all are in debt;
+    They value God's infinite goodness too cheaply
+      Who heed not the precept, 'Forgive and forget.'
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Printed and Published by W. & R. CHAMBERS, 47 Paternoster Row, LONDON,
+and 339 High Street, EDINBURGH.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_All rights reserved._
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular
+Literature, Science, and Art, No. 730, by Various
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 51841 ***
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-

-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature,

-Science, and Art, No. 730, by Various

-

-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license

-

-

-Title: Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, No. 730

-       December 22, 1877

-

-Author: Various

-

-Editor: William Chambers

-        Robert Chambers

-

-Release Date: April 23, 2016 [EBook #51841]

-

-Language: English

-

-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

-

-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL, DECEMBER 22, 1877 ***

-

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-Produced by Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed

-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

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-</pre>

-

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_801" id="Page_801">{801}</a></span></p>

-

-<h1>CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL<br />

-OF<br />

-POPULAR<br />

-LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART.</h1>

-

-<div>

-<h2>CONTENTS</h2>

-

-<p class='center'>

-

-<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. -->

-

-<a href="#CHRISTMAS-TIME">CHRISTMAS-TIME.</a><br />

-<a href="#A_CAST_OF_THE_NET">A CAST OF THE NET.</a><br />

-<a href="#FEATS_OF_ENDURANCE">FEATS OF ENDURANCE.</a><br />

-<a href="#A_DIFFICULT_QUESTION">A DIFFICULT QUESTION.</a><br />

-<a href="#IS_THE_TELEPHONE_A_PRACTICAL">IS THE TELEPHONE A PRACTICAL SUCCESS?</a><br />

-<a href="#SINGING_MICE">SINGING MICE.</a><br />

-<a href="#USING_UP_WASTE_SUBSTANCES">USING UP WASTE SUBSTANCES.</a><br />

-<a href="#LET_BYGONES_BE_BYGONES">LET BYGONES BE BYGONES.</a><br />

-

-<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. -->

-

-</p>

-

-

-

-

-

-<hr class="full" />

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-<img src="images/header.png" width="600" height="294" alt="Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art. Fourth Series. Conducted by William and Robert Chambers." />

-</div>

-

-

-<hr class="full" />

-<div class="center">

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""  width="85%">

-<tr><td align="left"><b><span class="smcap">No.</span> 730.</b></td><td align="center"><b>SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1877.</b></td><td align="right"><b><span class="smcap">Price</span> 1½<i>d.</i></b></td></tr>

-</table></div></div>

-

-<hr class="full" />

-

-<div>

-

-<h2><a name="CHRISTMAS-TIME" id="CHRISTMAS-TIME">CHRISTMAS-TIME.</a></h2>

-

-

-<p>'<span class="smcap">So</span> many men so many minds' has been a proverb

-long before our days, and will be to the end

-of time and human history; and uniformity of

-sentiment is the one thing which men need never

-hope to attain.</p>

-

-<p>Christmas-time is one of these battle-fields of

-feeling. To some it is just the consecration of

-so many circumstances of torture; to others the

-meeting-point of so many facts of pleasure. From

-the conventional greeting to the orthodox dinner&mdash;from

-the 'seasonable gifts' that are more obligatory

-than voluntary, to the toast that heralds the

-punch, and the dreams that follow on that last

-glass&mdash;all is so much pain to the flesh and weariness

-to the spirit; and they wonder how any one

-can find it otherwise. What is there in Christmas-time

-to make it pleasurable? they say. The

-gathering together of the family? A lot of rough

-boys home from school, who spoil the furniture

-and tease the dogs, lame the horses and ravage

-the garden, make the servants cross, the girls

-rude, and the younger children insubordinate; who

-upset all the order of the house, destroy its comfort

-like its quiet, and to whose safe return to

-discipline and your own restoration to tranquillity

-you look forward with impatient longing

-from the first hour of their arrival to the last

-of their stay? Or the advent of your married

-daughter with her two spoilt babies, who cry if

-they are looked at and want everything that they

-see, and that very objectionable young man her

-husband, with his ultra opinions and passion for

-argument, whom she would marry in spite of all

-that you could say, but to whom you can scarcely

-force yourself to be decently civil, not to speak of

-cordial, and whose presence is a perpetual blister

-while it lasts? Is this the family gathering about

-which you are expected to gush?&mdash;this with the

-addition of your son's fine-lady wife who snubs his

-mother and sisters with as little breeding as

-reserve, finds nothing at your table that she can

-eat, lives with her smelling-bottle to her nose and

-propped up with cushions on the sofa, and gives

-you to understand that she considers herself

-humiliated by her association with your family,

-and your son as much exalted as she is degraded?

-This is the domestic aspect of Christmas-time

-which is to make you forget all the ordinary

-troubles of life, creating in their stead a Utopia

-where ill-feeling is as little known as <i>ennui</i>, and

-family jars are as impossible as personal discomfort

-and dissent. Holding this picture in your

-hand, you decline to subscribe your name to the

-Io pæan universally chanted in praise of Christmas,

-and wrap yourself up in sullen silence when

-your neighbour congratulates you on having all

-your family about you, and wishes you a merry

-Christmas as if he meant it.</p>

-

-<p>If the domestic aspect is disagreeable, what is

-the social?&mdash;A round of dinners of which the

-<i>menu</i> is precisely the same from Alpha to Omega:&mdash;turbot

-and thick lobster-sauce; roast-beef and

-boiled turkey; indigestible plum-pudding and

-murderous mince-pies; with sour oranges and

-sweet sherry to keep the balance even, and by the

-creation of two acids perhaps neutralise each

-other and the third. This is the food set before

-unoffending citizens under the name and style

-of Christmas dinners for the month or six weeks

-during which the idiotic custom of Christmas dinners

-at all is supposed to last. You are expected

-to live in this monotony of dyspepsia and antipathetic

-diet till you loathe the very sight of the

-familiar food, and long for a change with a

-vehemence which makes you ashamed of yourself,

-and more than half afraid that you are developing

-into a gourmand of the worst kind.</p>

-

-<p>As if your nights were not sufficiently broken by

-the horrible compounds which trouble your digestion

-and disturb your brain, torturers known as

-the 'waits' prowl through the streets from midnight

-to dawn, causing you agonies beyond those which

-even the hurdy-gurdy men inflict. You are just

-falling to sleep&mdash;painfully courted and hardly won&mdash;when

-a hideous discord worse than the wailings

-of cats startles you into a nervous wakefulness

-which banishes all hope for that night. What can

-you do? They are too far off for that jug of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_802" id="Page_802">{802}</a></span>

-water to take effect, and you must not fire;

-anathemas do not hurt them, and if said aloud

-only waken up your wife and make her cry if

-she does not preach. You have nothing for it

-then but to lie still and groan inwardly, devoting

-to the infernal gods all the idiotic circumstances

-by which your life is rendered wretched, and

-your health, already frail, set still further wrong.

-In the morning, when wearied and nervously

-feverish from want of sleep, you go into the

-garden for a little quiet and delectation, you find

-your greenhouses stripped of the flowers which you

-had been lovingly watching for weeks, and your

-evergreens as ridiculously cropped as a shaved

-poodle. This is the day for the decoration of the

-church, and you, having made an expensive hobby

-of your garden, have to contribute what has cost

-months and good money to rear, for the childish

-satisfaction of John and Joan, lasting just two

-hours and five minutes. Not only have you lost

-your flowers and your evergreens&mdash;that splendid

-holly, which yesterday glowed like a flame, today

-nothing but a bundle of chopped ends!&mdash;but

-you know that your favourite daughter is flirting

-with the curate, and that a great deal is going on

-under cover of wreaths and crosses, laurustinus and

-chrysanthemum, of which you strongly disapprove

-yet cannot check. It is Christmas-time; decorating

-the church has become in these later days a kind

-of religious duty; and as a conscript father of

-your village, you must not forbid your daughter

-this pious pleasure any more than you can refuse

-your costly contribution in kind.</p>

-

-<p>Turn to the financial side of the time; and

-what have you?&mdash;bills coming in that you neither

-expected nor knew of, and every one looking for a

-Christmas-box, and insolent or irritated if they

-do not get it. The servants obsequious to the

-worth of half a sovereign&mdash;tradesmen and their

-lads punctual in anticipation of half-crowns&mdash;postmen

-levying blackmail, and watermen and

-dustmen demanding as their right that they should

-be fee'd for their persistent neglect of duty&mdash;every

-one making a dead set at your pocket and trying

-to get your money for themselves&mdash;the very

-children more caressing and affectionate because it

-is Christmas and papa always gives them something

-on Christmas-day:&mdash;You groan as you ask

-yourself where is disinterestedness on this earth?&mdash;and

-you groan still more as you draw your cheques

-and reduce your balance and wonder by what law

-of right it is that you should be the pipe by which

-other folks are to be supplied.</p>

-

-<p>No; you see no good or pleasure in this boasted

-Christmas-time as we keep it up in our benighted

-country. Its mirth is a sham and its inflictions

-are only too real. A time of tumult and expense,

-of indigestion and discomfort, you wait, grimly or

-fretfully as your mood may be, till it has passed

-and the current of your life is allowed to flow

-evenly as before. When you hear people sing its

-praises you long to stop their mouths, as you

-longed to silence the waits who woke you up out

-of your first sleep and spoilt your rest for the

-night. What manner of men are these, you think,

-who can find cause of congratulation in so much

-absurdity, if the fun is real to them&mdash;so much

-dreary make-believe, if it is unreal? You despise

-your genial, laughing, merry-hearted neighbour

-who goes into everything <i>con amore</i>, and accepts it

-all, from forfeits and snapdragon to plum-pudding

-and Christmas-boxes, as if he really liked it. You

-think what a fool he must be to be pleased with a

-rattle, tickled with a straw like this. But for the

-most part you do not believe in his mirth; and

-then you despise him still more as a hypocrite as

-well. For a hypocrite shamming folly is an

-offender against reason as well as truth, whom you

-find it hard to forgive, let the motive of his mummery

-be what it may.</p>

-

-<p>This is one side of the question; your neighbour

-takes the other.</p>

-

-<p>Who on earth, he says with his hands in his

-pockets, his back to the fire and his kindly smiling

-face to the room, who on earth can grumble at the

-facts of Christmas-time? For his part he finds

-it the jolliest season of the year, and he finds each

-season as jolly as the other, and all perfect in their

-own appointed way. He is none of your crying

-philosophers who go through life bewailing its

-miseries and oppressed by its misfortunes. Not

-he! He thinks the earth beautiful, men and

-women pleasant, and God very good; and of

-all occasions wherein he can transact his cheerful

-philosophy, Christmas is the best. The

-boys are home for their holidays; and it is

-a pleasure to him to take them out hunting

-and shooting, and initiate them into the personal

-circumstances belonging to English country

-gentlemen. He looks forward to the time when

-they will take his place and carry on the

-traditions of the family, and he wishes them to

-be worthy of their name and an honour to their

-country. He is not one of those nervous self-centred

-men who live by rule and measure and

-cannot have a line of the day's ordering disturbed.

-He likes his own way certainly; and he

-has it; but he can press his elbows to his sides

-on occasions, and give room for others to expand.

-He does not find it such an unbearable infliction

-that his boys should come home and racket about

-the place, even though they are a little upsetting,

-and do not leave everything quite as smooth and

-straight as they found it. He remembers his own

-youth and how happy it made him to come home

-and racket; and he supposes that his lads are very

-much the same as he was at their age. He thinks

-too that they do the girls good&mdash;wake them up a

-little&mdash;and while not making them rough or rude&mdash;the

-mother takes care of that&mdash;yet that they prevent

-them from becoming prim and missy, as

-girls are apt to be who have no brothers and are

-left too much to themselves. Certainly he does

-not approve of the flood of slang which is let loose

-in the house during their stay; but school-boy

-slang at the worst is not permanent, and in a

-week's time will be forgotten.</p>

-

-<p>As for the married daughter's children, they are

-the merriest little rogues in the world; and his

-wife looks ten years younger since they came. She

-was always fond of babies; and her grandchildren

-seem to renew her own past nursery with all the

-pleasure and none of the anxiety of the olden time.

-He rather wonders at his girl's taste in the matter

-of her husband&mdash;most fathers do&mdash;and cannot for

-the life of him see what there is to love in him.

-But if not an Alcibiades he is a good fellow in the

-main, and makes his young wife happy; which is

-the principal thing. And if his daughter-in-law is

-a trifle stiff, and fond of giving herself fine-lady

-airs, he for his part never stands that kind of

-nonsense, and will laugh her out of it before she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_803" id="Page_803">{803}</a></span>

-has been twenty-four hours in the house. He

-finds good-humour and taking no offence the best

-weapons in the world against folly and ill-temper;

-and prefers them as curative agents to any other.

-The girl is a nice girl enough, but she has been

-badly brought up&mdash;had a lot of false ideas instilled

-into her by a foolish mother&mdash;but when she has

-been away from the old influences, and associated

-with themselves for a little while, she will open

-her eyes and see things in their right light. Who

-indeed could resist the sweet sensible influence of

-his wife, her mother-in-law?&mdash;and are not his girls

-the very perfection of honest wholesome English

-ladies? It will all come right in time; he has no

-doubt of that; and meanwhile they must be patient

-and forbearing for Dick's sake, and not make

-matters worse than they are by their own want of

-self-control.</p>

-

-<p>Then as to the Christmas-boxes and the tips

-sacred to the season&mdash;well! well! after all they

-do not amount to much in the year, and see what

-pleasure they give! A man must be but a poor-spirited

-surly kind of hound who does not like to

-see his fellow-creatures happy; and a very little

-kindness goes a great way in that direction. He

-takes care to live within his income, and therefore

-he has always a margin to go on; and he does not

-object to use it. The servants have been very good

-on the whole, and do their duty fairly enough.

-And when they fail&mdash;as they do at times&mdash;why, to

-fail is human, and are they alone of all mankind

-to be blameless and never swerving in the right

-way? And are they alone of all mankind to be

-judged of by their worst and not by their best?&mdash;to

-be blamed for failure, but not praised for

-well-doing? He does not think so; and not

-thinking this, his half-sovereigns are given freely

-without the grudging which makes them an

-ungracious tax instead of a kindly voluntary gift.

-The tradespeople, too, do fairly well, and&mdash;they

-must have their profit like any one else! Those

-Christmas-boxes to their lads may be the nest-eggs

-for future savings; and even if they do go

-in a little finery or personal pleasure instead&mdash;young

-people will be young, and his own boys

-are fond of being smart and amused: so why not

-these others? You grumble at the waits? If you

-in your warm bed, well fed, well clothed, prosperous

-altogether, fret at the loss of an hour's sleep,

-what must these poor fellows feel, out in the cold

-frosty night, with the wind blowing and the sleet

-falling fast, and they not half fed nor a quarter

-clothed? For his own part he would like to give

-them a glass of hot grog all round; and as for

-grumbling at the few coppers which they brave

-all this physical discomfort to earn, he makes it

-shillings, and hopes it will do them good. We

-must live and let live, he says with his broad

-smile; and if we are sometimes a little inconvenienced

-by the efforts made by the poor to

-accomplish the art of living for their own parts&mdash;we

-must remember that our loss is their gain, and

-that they are men and women like ourselves&mdash;fathers

-of families who want to keep the pot boiling

-and the fire alight&mdash;mothers who love their

-children, and are anxious to do the best for them

-that nature and man will allow.</p>

-

-<p>You complain of indigestion and grumble at

-the monotony of your Christmas fare?&mdash;That is

-strange! Who can grumble at good plain succulent

-meat?&mdash;and why do you eat the sweets if they

-disagree with you? Neither pudding nor mince-pie

-comes into the eternal necessities of things,

-and you would do very well if only you would

-refrain. He does not eat things that he cannot

-digest, and in consequence he sleeps well, and when

-he wakes has neither regret nor remorse. Surely

-that is not such a painful trial&mdash;to forbear eating

-what is hurtful to your health, and in touching

-your health corroding your happiness as well.</p>

-

-<p>In a word, the whole difference of the spirit in

-which we meet the facts of Christmas depends

-on the good or ill humour with which we are

-naturally endowed, and which we have cultivated

-by common-sense on the one hand, or suffered to

-ride rough-shod over our reason on the other. If

-we are unselfish and sympathetic, Christmas-time

-is as pleasant to us as popular tradition would

-make it; if we are egotistical and peevish, it

-is a wearisome infliction and a sham which no

-honest man can pretend to believe in, nor any

-sensible one to admire.</p>

-

-<p>For our own part we believe in Christmas,

-because we believe in the kindness of man to man,

-in genial good-humour, in unselfishness, and the

-liking of wholesome natures to give happiness;

-and so far as we have gone yet we have seen no

-reason to change our views. A merry Christmas

-then to you all, friends, readers, and countrymen;

-and a happy New Year to follow after; and may

-God bless the rich and care for the poor, and lead

-us all in the right way while the day lasts and

-before the night has come!</p>

-

-

-

-<hr class="chap" /></div><div>

-<h2><a name="A_CAST_OF_THE_NET" id="A_CAST_OF_THE_NET">A CAST OF THE NET.</a></h2>

-

-<p class='ph3'>THE STORY OF A DETECTIVE OFFICER.</p>

-

-

-<h3>CHAPTER IV.</h3>

-

-<p><span class="smcap">Long</span> after it had grown quite dark, all remained

-quiet, and at last I resolved upon making a move.

-I had determined upon fetching Peter Tilley. I

-had plenty of assistance, but I thought I should

-like to have Peter with me. So I went down to

-the ferry; a gas-light which burned at the corner

-shewed me before I left my post that the bony

-ferryman was not there; and choosing a pretty

-good boat, with a strong young fellow to pull, I got

-in. It was a most unpleasant night; as dark as

-pitch, which was bad enough, but every now and

-then it lightened, which was worse, as it dazzled

-my eyes, and made me think we were running

-smash on board some great vessel which I had not

-seen a moment before, and couldn't see a moment

-after. However, the boatman was used to all

-kinds of weather, I suppose, and knew the river

-thoroughly; so through the darkness and the rain,

-which never left off for a moment, we reached the

-other side.</p>

-

-<p>I left the boat to wait for me, and ran up to the

-<i>Yarmouth Smack</i>. I looked in, and saw Peter

-leaning against the bar and smoking a short pipe,

-as a labourer ought to do; and he was talking in

-a friendly way to some rough-looking fellows. I

-slipped in, and using the name we had agreed

-upon, spoke to him. He knew my voice of course;

-but seeing me so changed, for my make-up was

-really splendid (it was, although I say so that

-shouldn't), it gave him such a shock that he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_804" id="Page_804">{804}</a></span>

-obliged to put the pewter down he was going to

-drink from and look steadily at me before he

-answered. 'I'm acoming,' he said at last, and we

-got outside; when, as we walked down to the ferry,

-I gave him a sort of idea of what was going on, and

-how I expected to make a great catch that night.

-Peter of course was very glad to be in for such a

-big thing as this, for he had never been mixed up

-with anything so important.</p>

-

-<p>Not to trust the boatman too much, I kept Peter

-back a few yards from the water while I finished

-my story, standing a little on one side, so as to be

-out of the way of the people who came and went

-to and from the ferry. While I was talking to

-him, a wherry ran in; we heard her grate on the

-pebbles and the sculls rattle as the man laid 'em

-in; but that we had heard before. It's a part of my

-habit to notice little things however, and I looked

-to see who had come in by this boat. There was

-only one passenger, a woman, and she passed us

-walking quickly; but quick as she walked, I saw

-her, and she saw me. Blessed if it wasn't Miss

-Doyle! My being there was no odds to Miss Doyle,

-nor could it have signified to her if she had seen

-me fifty times; yet I felt I would rather not have

-met her just then; it looked unlucky, and she was

-such an uncommonly sharp one too. Sharp or not,

-I couldn't see what she could make out of my

-standing under a wall on a wet night talking to

-another labourer.</p>

-

-<p>Having finished my explanation, we both got

-into the wherry, and I asked the man if he would

-like a good long job, which might perhaps last

-all night.</p>

-

-<p>'The longer the better, governor,' he says, 'if

-the pay is accordin'.'</p>

-

-<p>'The pay <i>will</i> be accordin',' I answered; 'and so

-you are engaged.'</p>

-

-<p>The first thing I made him do was to row

-round that oyster-smack, for the tide had risen

-enough to take us round her. I shewed no light,

-but we went inside her twice; and the fellow on

-the watch was very sharp, so he was leaning over

-the side when we came round the second time, and

-I could say quite quiet-like: 'I am in this boat

-now&mdash;watch the river.' That was quite enough;

-he knew he would not now have to look to the

-<i>Anchor</i> for signals.</p>

-

-<p>After this began what I believe was the most

-disagreeable sort of patrol I ever had. There was

-a time when I used to envy the Thames police;

-but I can't say I ever did after that night. We

-were obliged to be in motion almost continually,

-because we did not know from which side of the

-river the paper might come, and we weren't quite

-sure that it would come at all, especially on that

-night; and I don't know, speaking from my own

-experience, that there is anything more trying to

-the spirits than the pulling backwards and forwards

-and loitering about on the river Thames

-in a raw October night with a small thick rain

-falling. Twice we landed, and went once to the

-<i>Smack</i> and once to the <i>Anchor</i>. I couldn't grudge

-the men a glass of hot grog; in fact I was obliged

-to have some myself, even if I missed my capture

-through it.</p>

-

-<p>It grew later and later; the flashes of lightning

-still came at long intervals; but the lights on the

-shore went out, and excepting the gas-lamps which

-burnt at street-corners, ferries, and wharfs, all

-was dark. The traffic on the river had long

-ceased, no shouts or rattle of wheels came from the

-shore; and the rain still falling, it was, I give you

-my word, most horribly miserable, dull and sloppy

-beyond description. Twelve o'clock had struck,

-and one, and perhaps half an hour beyond it. I

-had cautioned my companions to speak very low;

-so the boatman only whispered when he said:

-'It's as quiet as it is likely to be, governor, if

-you've got anything to run. I have just seen the

-police galley creep along on the other side; I see

-her under that lamp. Now's your time.'</p>

-

-<p>He thought we were smugglers! Perhaps he

-didn't care if we were thieves. I told him to be

-patient; when at that very instant, just as we were

-creeping along under the lee of a coal-barge, a

-wherry shot very silently by, right in front of us,

-going across stream, and not six feet from our

-bows. In her sat the sulky ferryman; I knew

-him at a glance, dark as it was. 'Pull after that

-wherry,' I said.</p>

-

-<p>'Peter Tilley, my lad,' I continued, turning to

-Peter, 'the time's acoming, I think.'</p>

-

-<p>'I'm precious glad of it,' says Peter; 'for I'm

-catching a cold in my head every minute I sit in

-this confounded boat; and it's all soaking wet

-where I'm sitting.'</p>

-

-<p>Our man pulled on; he was a very strong fellow,

-as I have said, and we could have overtaken the

-other boat directly; but this of course I did not

-want. I knew where to look for the old scamp;

-and sure enough, after a few strokes across stream,

-he bent to the left and ran under the bows of the

-Dutch trader.</p>

-

-<p>All was dark and silent as the grave aboard the

-ship; but that didn't deceive the old boatman,

-nor did it deceive me. I stopped our man in the

-shade of the next vessel, if you can call anywhere

-a shade, when it was all pitch dark. We had not

-been there a minute before I heard a slight noise&mdash;it

-was impossible to see any one unless he stood

-between you and the sky&mdash;and then I could tell by

-the sound that a man had dropped into the wherry.

-There was no need to tell me what man it was.

-With an almost noiseless dip, the ferryman dropped

-his sculls into the river again and rowed on, we

-still after him. I took it for granted he was going

-to the other side of the ferry; but he suddenly bore

-off to the right, and rowed on for some little time,

-then striking in between two vessels, he went

-straight for the land.</p>

-

-<p>'Where is he going to?' I whispered.</p>

-

-<p>'To the landing at Byrle's wharf,' says the boatman

-in the same tone.</p>

-

-<p>So he was; and it appeared this landing-place

-was at the farther side of the wharf; that is, lower

-down the river.</p>

-

-<p>It was so dark we could hardly see them&mdash;for

-we could just make out there were now two

-persons in the boat&mdash;but as they reached the shore,

-a lamp that was burning on the wharf helped us a

-little. We could not clearly see what they were

-doing; but they certainly got out of the boat, and

-as certainly there were then more than two figures

-moving about, and seemingly engaged in placing

-parcels in the wherry. But it was very gloomy

-there; they were in the shade of the wharf, and

-the lamp glimmered weak and faint through the

-thick rain. It was the more difficult to see what

-was being done, because there were several boats

-tied up to the landing-place, making some confusion

-in the darkness. At last, however, we could see that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_805" id="Page_805">{805}</a></span>

-they were pushing off from the shore; so it was

-time for us to move. We pulled back for a while

-(there was no doubt as to which way the others

-would come), and then sheering off, lay between

-two colliers until we saw the wherry we had

-watched go by, and then we once more pulled

-after them.</p>

-

-<p>'I'm blest if I don't think there's another boat

-following <i>us</i>,' says Peter Tilley, staring as hard as

-he could behind us. I looked, but couldn't see

-anything; and Peter owned he might have been

-mistaken.</p>

-

-<p>We could not make out how many there were

-in the foremost boat. There was only one man rowing,

-that was plain; and he pulled short round at

-the proper place, as I knew he would, and rowed

-towards the Dutch trader. As he did so, we lost

-him for a second, a big steamer lying between us;

-but the hull of this vessel did not obstruct the

-view up the river. I seized the moment, and

-waved my lantern twice. It was all right. As

-quick as thought the light on board the oyster-smack

-was moved twice also, and then we too

-were pulling across the stream. I wanted to

-capture my men on board the trader, as otherwise

-the paper might be got rid of, because I

-couldn't be positively certain that it was not

-already on board. In fact, Mr Edmund Byrle

-was my chief aim, not the skipper.</p>

-

-<p>The wherry pulled under the bows of the vessel;

-we followed just in time to see, by a very convenient

-flash of lightning, two packages handed

-up; then a figure, which we had recognised by the

-same flash as the bony ferryman, got into the ship.

-As he disappeared, our wherry touched the vessel;

-and at the same instant, to my great relief, a long

-black Thames police galley came alongside us, and

-its crew, five constables, with Barney Wilkins, who

-was there as guide, clambered up like cats. I and

-Peter imitated them, but not quite so quickly; and

-when I looked over the bulwark, I saw by the

-light of a couple of lanterns, screened from the

-outside, four or five men, the boatman and the

-skipper being two, lifting up a great lid which

-fitted in the deck&mdash;the hatches I heard it called&mdash;while

-by their side lay the packages of paper.

-I could not see Mr Byrle; but there was no time to

-consider; we all jumped in at once, the men looking

-round in amazement at the noise. I fancied

-that just then I heard a shout from the boat.</p>

-

-<p>'What do you all want here?' said the skipper

-angrily.</p>

-

-<p>'We hold a warrant'&mdash;I began.</p>

-

-<p>'Oh, it is <i>you</i>, is it?' he screeched, like a

-hyena, or something of that sort. 'I owe you a

-little for a past score, and you shall have it.' As

-quick as lightning he pulled a long straight

-knife from the side of his trousers, where it must

-have been in some sort of sheath, and jumped at

-me with such suddenness that he would have

-stabbed me, only Barney Wilkins snatched a

-handspike from the deck, and dashing between us,

-hit him down with such a blow, that the skipper

-fell with a crash like a bullock when it is killed,

-the blood pouring from his head instantly.</p>

-

-<p>It was all as quick as thought. The other men

-were all seized in a breath. So quick was it all

-done, that I had no idea Barney was hurt, until

-he reeled, made a wild clutch as if he caught at

-something for support, and then pitched forward

-on his hands and knees.</p>

-

-<p>'Hollo, Barney!' I said, stooping down to him.

-'What's the matter, old fellow?'</p>

-

-<p>'It's all up, Mr Nickham,' he gasped; 'he's

-done me. I only hope I've killed him. Where's

-the other?'</p>

-

-<p>'Oh, never mind the other, Barney,' I says.

-'Where are you hurt?'</p>

-

-<p>But as I spoke, one of the men came with a

-lantern, and Barney had no occasion to answer

-me, for I could see a straight stream of blood

-running from his chest on to the deck; and

-his hands giving way from weakness, he fell over

-on his side.</p>

-

-<p>'Pull in for the shore, you, sir!' said the sergeant

-of the Thames police to my waterman. 'You

-know Marigold Street? Knock up Mr Gartley, and

-tell him what has happened. Say we are afraid

-to move the man to his house, so he had better

-come aboard.'</p>

-

-<p>'Send one of your own men, will you?' answers

-the boatman. 'I've got something to tell the

-governor' (that was me), 'as I think he ought

-to know.'</p>

-

-<p>'Cut away then, Bill,' says the sergeant to a

-constable; 'these fellows are ironed, and we can

-manage all that are aboard this craft.'</p>

-

-<p>So the man went off in my wherry; and the

-Thames men tried to make poor Barney a little

-more comfortable, while I undid his waistcoat,

-hoping to stop the bleeding.</p>

-

-<p>'It ain't no use,' he said; but in that short

-time his voice was almost gone, and we could tell

-that he was dying. 'I'm done for, Mr Nickham.

-If there's a reward, you'll act fair and square, I

-know; you always was a gentleman&mdash;let my sister

-have'&mdash;&mdash; And with that he gave a gasp, and

-was dead.</p>

-

-<p>I rose up, dreadfully vexed for the poor chap.

-The sergeant and one of his men were looking

-after the skipper, when I felt myself touched on

-the arm.</p>

-

-<p>'I say, sir,' said the boatman, 'when I'm in for

-a thing, I go through with it honourable. Did

-you know as you was followed?'</p>

-

-<p>'Followed? no!' I said.</p>

-

-<p>'I thought we was!' said Peter Tilley.</p>

-

-<p>'We was followed, sir, by a light wherry with two

-people in it,' continues the boatman; 'and when

-they see our boats, they held hard; and as you all

-boarded the ship and the noise began, they rowed

-away as hard as they could go.'</p>

-

-<p>'Which way did they go?' I said.</p>

-

-<p>'Down river,' says the man. 'But it's of no use

-thinking of looking after them now. They are

-ashore long afore this.'</p>

-

-<p>This was likely enough; and it was quite certain

-that Mr Edmund Byrle was one of the two in the

-boat, and I had lost him for the present. Well,

-it couldn't be helped; so we set to work to question

-the men and search the ship, till the doctor came.

-The men knew nothing more about the business

-than that they were going to have two passengers,

-a lady and a gentleman, this voyage. One of the

-Thames men understood Dutch, or we should not

-have heard even this scrap of information. The

-sulky boatman never uttered a word, except that

-once he said as I passed him, and he said it with a

-bitter curse: 'I always had my doubts of <i>you</i>.'</p>

-

-<p>The doctor came off; but poor Barney was stone-dead,

-while the skipper's skull was badly fractured.

-However, the paper was all there; so I supposed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_806" id="Page_806">{806}</a></span>

-and so it proved; and I shouldn't have cared if the

-skipper's head had been broken fifty times over.</p>

-

-<p>We got our prisoners to the shore, leaving the

-craft in charge of a Thames police galley that

-came in answer to our signals; and late as it was,

-I drove with Peter Tilley in a cab to the City.

-Our people there were immensely glad, I can tell

-you; and when I went over to the Bank (for there

-was no need for secrecy or dodging now), I thought

-the gentlemen never would have left off paying

-me compliments. Poor Barney Wilkins that was

-dead deserved most credit; but it could not do

-him any good to say so now, so I let them go on.

-The paper was examined, and found to be exactly

-the quantity required; enough, I believe, to have

-made about twenty thousand bank-notes. Ah! if

-they <i>had</i> got into circulation!</p>

-

-<p>I hope you will understand, however, that I

-did act fair and square; and when the reward

-was paid (and the Bank people did come down

-most liberal; I bought my house at Pentonville

-with my share), I told the gentlemen about

-poor Barney and his wishes; and I'm proud

-to say they found his sister out and took her

-away; and after a time she went abroad with

-kind people who looked after her, and took care

-of her money till she got married, and did well.

-Why, she sent me a snuff-box made out of pure

-Australian gold, with a letter signed by herself

-and her husband, who was a butcher in a great

-way of business out there; and they sent it as an

-acknowledgment of my having acted all fair and

-square. I promised so to do, and I did.</p>

-

-<p>Edmund Byrle was never caught, and so far as

-we were concerned, was never heard of; and if

-it hadn't been for his father, I should never have

-understood a lot of things that puzzled me. I had

-given a pretty good guess as to how Miss Doyle

-came in the first place to inquire about Mr Byrle

-and the detective; a very clever idea in itself,

-but like many other clever things, it lost her the

-game. Mr Byrle had talked with his friends about

-employing detectives; and Miss Doyle knowing

-about the Bank paper, and being always on the

-watch, had got hold of just enough to mislead

-her. She went out with Edmund Byrle to Turkey,

-I think, and was married to him; and old Mr

-Byrle sent out a friend to see them; and it was

-in this way I got the particulars. It appears she

-knew me again&mdash;only as the limping labourer, of

-course&mdash;when she saw me talking at the ferry to

-Tilley. But she knew <i>him</i> as the detective at

-the <i>Yarmouth Smack</i>, and she thought that although

-it might be all right, yet a detective was a dangerous

-customer, and his acquaintances might be

-dangerous also. Consequently she tried to persuade

-Edmund to put off his journey; but he wanted

-the money for the paper, and wouldn't listen to

-her. But he agreed at last to go aboard in another

-boat, which satisfied her, as she felt so certain

-the skipper's boat would be attacked. As I have

-explained, her precaution saved him from fifteen

-years' 'penal,' which is the least he would have had.

-The skipper was sent for life, having killed a

-man in his arrest; but he didn't live six months

-in prison; he never got over the tremendous blow

-he received from Barney. All the reports spoke

-of his being a receiver of 'stolen goods.' The Bank

-paper was never mentioned, for the authorities

-did not want to unsettle the public again, or let

-them see what a narrow escape they had had.</p>

-

-<p>And now comes about the queerest part of my

-story. Call me names if I didn't stop the thieving

-at Byrle's factory as well as recover the Bank

-paper, killing two birds with one stone.</p>

-

-<p>It was all through my catching the bony ferryman.

-Finding that things was going hard with him,

-and hoping to make them easier, and being disappointed

-that those who were concerned with him

-did not come forward with money to provide for

-his defence, he 'rounded' on them; he split on

-them all, and owned how he was the means of

-taking the metal over to a fence on his side of the

-water, the things being stolen by a mechanic and a

-watchman who were in league. (I see I have used

-the word 'fence;' this means a receiver of stolen

-goods; but though I have been warned by the

-editor of this magazine, we can't do without <i>some</i>

-slang words.)</p>

-

-<p>Peter Tilley got a tidy present, and was noted

-for promotion through this business. I was glad of

-it, for Peter was a capital chap&mdash;never wanted to

-play first-fiddle; and I admire people of that disposition.

-I tell you what I did: I got the newest

-five-pound note of all what the Bank gave me, and

-they were all very clean and crisp, and I wrapped

-old Bob the gatekeeper's own sixpence in it; and

-I went to the factory and I stood a pint of ale, and

-says: 'Bob, here's your sixpence!' He hadn't

-known exactly who I was till then, for I had

-made excuses as usual; and then I'm blessed if

-he didn't quite cry over his luck. Mr Byrle too

-thought a lot of Bob's kindness, for I told the old

-gent about it; and I heard that on that very

-account he put six shillings a week on Bob's

-wages, and I was glad to hear it.</p>

-

-<p>They couldn't keep me off the detective staff

-after this; and although I am free to confess&mdash;now

-I am on my pension and nothing matters to me&mdash;that

-I only stumbled upon these discoveries by

-accident, I was praised to the skies by those for

-whom I worked. However, it all died away, as

-such things do; but I had managed to get my

-house at Pentonville, as I have hinted; and a

-pleasanter neighbourhood I don't know, or one

-more convenient for getting about. I have had

-some rather odd adventures since I have lived in

-my street; you can't help seeing strange things, if

-you keep your eyes open in London. But I didn't

-begin to tell about <i>them</i>. I have finished my

-account of the robberies at Byrle &amp; Co.'s and my

-story finishes in consequence.</p>

-

-

-

-<hr class="chap" /></div><div>

-<h2><a name="FEATS_OF_ENDURANCE" id="FEATS_OF_ENDURANCE">FEATS OF ENDURANCE.</a></h2>

-

-

-<p><span class="smcap">London</span>, which has witnessed many strange doings

-in its day, was lately the scene of the most

-wonderful feats of pedestrianism ever accomplished

-within a given period.</p>

-

-<p>Every hour, day and night, for six weary weeks

-a man plodded on his way round a measured

-track, until the grand total of fifteen hundred

-miles in one thousand hours had been made up,

-finishing his self-imposed task with his physical

-and mental faculties apparently unimpaired.</p>

-

-<p>The task of walking fifteen hundred miles in a

-thousand hours had never before been attempted,

-and henceforth the new achievement will throw

-into the cold shade of obscurity even the marvellous

-act of walking a thousand miles in as many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_807" id="Page_807">{807}</a></span>

-hours, which was once accomplished in 1809 by

-Captain Robert Barclay of Ury, a Scotchman, who

-proposed to perform the then incredible task of

-walking a thousand miles in a thousand consecutive

-hours. The proposition was received with

-every sign of incredulity, though, when the affair

-was finally arranged to take place, many thousands

-of pounds were staked on the event. Newmarket

-Heath was selected as the scene of the exploit, and

-the famous walk began on the 1st of June 1809, at

-midnight. It is unnecessary to repeat the details

-of this feat; it will suffice to mention that the

-enterprising captain completed his task on the 12th

-July, at four o'clock in the afternoon.</p>

-

-<p>Since then, an attempt has, we believe, been

-made to walk the same distance <i>backwards</i>; and

-within the past twelve months, Weston, the American

-pedestrian, has performed some remarkable

-exploits of the kind; being however at last beaten

-by an Irishman named Kelly.</p>

-

-<p>The hero of the lately completed task (fifteen

-hundred miles in a thousand hours) is a

-little Welshman of not more than five feet three

-and a half inches in height, and about forty-two

-years of age; while in personal appearance

-and general <i>physique</i> he presents anything but

-what is usually supposed to be the characteristic

-of a good pedestrian. His name is William Gale,

-and he is a bookbinder by trade, living at Clerkenwell.</p>

-

-<p>At the commencement of his task on Sunday

-the 26th of August, he weighed no more than

-eight stone four pounds (8 st. 4 lbs.); and from

-that day until Saturday the 6th October, during

-a portion of every hour day and night, he pursued

-his monotonous way around the inclosure at Lillie

-Bridge grounds, Brompton. When the attempt

-was first announced, even those most acquainted

-with pedestrian feats where great endurance was

-required, expressed themselves dubious as to the

-result; and in order to have a reliable record of

-his proceedings, Gale requested the different sporting

-papers to appoint competent men as judges&mdash;a

-request which was at once generously complied

-with.</p>

-

-<p>Thus we have an official report of his great

-exploit, and the public are enabled to judge for

-themselves on the nature of the feat performed.

-Gale's average pace appears to have been about

-four miles an hour; but when he had reached his

-thousandth mile he assumed a brave spurt, and

-footed it in ten minutes, or at the rate of six

-miles an hour. During the last few days of his

-walking he started rather stiffly at first, owing

-to the pain caused by the swelling of some

-varicose veins in his left leg; but undaunted by

-so great and manifest a disadvantage, and other

-disadvantages which we shall presently refer to,

-the gallant little Welshman 'plodded his weary

-way' with a determined pluck that won the

-admiration and applause of every one present.</p>

-

-<p>On Friday the 5th October, the day before the

-finish of the tramp, Dr Gant of the Royal Free

-Hospital was called in to see this extraordinary

-walker, and after examining his legs, he pronounced

-Gale to be in excellent condition so far as

-his physical powers were concerned; there being

-no fever, the pulse only seventy, no murmur at

-the heart; and the varicose veins which had been

-the cause of so much pain to him, were rather

-better than worse, having considerably decreased

-in size. Perhaps the most remarkable part of the

-performance is, that it has been accomplished on a

-system of training which entirely sets at variance

-all athletic rules, for Gale partook of no fixed

-refreshment, neither did he have his meals at

-stated hours. His chief food was plain mutton-chops;

-and as an instance of how he varied his

-dishes, his afternoon meal on Friday the 5th

-October, which might have been either breakfast,

-dinner, or supper (so irregular had he been in this

-respect), consisted of a lobster and bread and

-butter, followed by a fried sole, and one or two

-cups of ordinarily strong tea. During the walk he

-also drank a good deal of beer&mdash;not strong beer,

-but the ale which is usually sold at fourpence per

-quart, which he seemed to prefer to any other

-kind, probably on account of its freedom from that

-tendency to increase rather than assuage thirst, so

-remarkably apparent in the stronger beers.</p>

-

-<p>Many strange incidents occurred in the course

-of the six weeks, which were calculated to while

-away the time, and occasionally to bring a smile

-to the pedestrian's lips. For instance, a certain

-illustrated sheet, notorious for its very sensational

-cartoons, published a picture of Gale on the track

-followed by Old Time with the conventional

-scythe on his shoulder; and many people it would

-seem actually paid their money with the idea that

-they were going to see the two figures as thus

-represented. One man, who had evidently gone

-to the grounds for this purpose, had watched Gale

-go round the track several times, when he could

-no longer control his disappointment. He shouted

-aloud, angrily demanding his money back, because,

-as he said with the greatest <i>naïveté</i> possible, 'the

-beggar with the scythe hadn't turned up!'</p>

-

-<p>As the last week of the great walking match

-wore on, signs of weariness in the indomitable

-pedestrian became painfully apparent, and many

-persons began to fear that the task he had set

-himself would after all remain unaccomplished.

-On several of the rounds he fell asleep whilst

-walking, and dropped to the ground; but this contact

-with mother earth seemed to revive him

-instantly, and he plodded on as pluckily as before.</p>

-

-<p>At length success crowned his efforts; and at

-seventeen minutes past five o'clock (less a second)

-on Saturday afternoon the 6th October 1877, Gale

-terminated his long and dreary walk in the presence

-of a large, fashionable, and enthusiastic

-assemblage, who rewarded his efforts with several

-rounds of hearty applause.</p>

-

-<p>From the commencement of his task to the

-finish Gale bore up against all obstacles with extraordinary

-pluck and determination, his last mile

-being performed in <i>ten minutes and eight seconds</i>.

-He was at once removed to the tent or pavilion

-under which he had snatched so many brief half-hours'

-rest, and was examined by three medical

-men, who found that his heart was quite natural

-in its movements, and that the temperature of his

-body did not exceed one hundred and six degrees.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_808" id="Page_808">{808}</a></span></p>

-

-<p>The great feat which has thus been accomplished

-without the aid of artificial training, is a marvellous

-instance of what human endurance, allied with

-courage and determination, can effect; though of

-what particular benefit it may be to the world at

-large it is utterly impossible to imagine.</p>

-

-

-<p class='p2'>Since the preceding account was written, Gale

-has accomplished a still more extraordinary feat,

-and one which for strength of will and physical

-endurance far surpasses his previous efforts. We

-still fail, however, to see the benefit which

-can accrue from exhibitions of this kind, and

-well might he have been contented with the

-laurels he had already won. He had scarcely

-allowed himself time to recover from his former

-task, when he once more appeared at a public

-place of entertainment, namely the Agricultural

-Hall at Islington, to walk four thousand quarter-miles

-under the astounding condition, that it was

-to be done in four thousand consecutive periods

-of ten minutes.</p>

-

-<p>This of course deprived him of the half-hour's

-rest which he could obtain at one time in the

-former race, and only allowed him a few minutes

-between each round to get a little sleep. Despite

-these drawbacks, however, Gale finished his task

-at eleven o'clock <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span> on the 17th November, after

-a dreary walk of nearly four weeks. By accomplishing

-his task, he has placed himself at the head

-of all the famous pedestrians the world has known;

-and we trust that this fact will be sufficient to

-satisfy his craving after what is at best but

-ephemeral fame.</p>

-

-<p>Men have on many occasions attempted walking

-feats which required a vast amount of physical

-endurance, and have failed from their utter inability

-to go without the natural quantum of sleep;

-but Gale has not only shewn himself to be possessed

-of the former, but to be altogether independent

-of the latter. This, however, instead of

-indicating 'pluck' merely, would rather seem to

-point to a peculiarity in the man's constitution;

-as there are doubtless many persons whose courage

-would enable them to perform the same or even a

-greater task if, like Gale, they could walk about

-in a state of somnolency or semi-sleep&mdash;a state in

-which, to use his own words, he was as one in a

-dream, unconscious of all that was going on

-around him, and believing himself to be walking

-in forests and other places of silvan beauty; and

-the truth of this was made evident by the fact that

-he would have often exceeded the limit of his

-walk had not the voice of his attendant aroused

-him from his stupor.</p>

-

-<p>The average time occupied by this extraordinary

-walker was by day about three minutes for each

-quarter of a mile, and by night about five minutes;

-and the fastest round recorded was done in two

-minutes and forty-two seconds. His pulse was

-always found to indicate a perfect state of health,

-and was as regular when he left off as when he

-commenced his task. His food consisted principally

-of fish, fowl, chops, eggs, and light puddings;

-and his drink was, with only one exception during

-the whole time, tea.</p>

-

-<p>Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the

-whole affair was the fact that, although he sank

-into a deep sleep directly he reached his chair

-behind the curtain, which hid him from view

-between his walks, the moment the bell rang

-the second time, he would appear as fresh as

-ever and begin trudging away again.</p>

-

-<p>When the feat was accomplished, Sir John

-Astley stepped forward, and amid a scene of great

-enthusiasm, presented the undaunted Welshman

-with a silver belt of the value of a hundred guineas,

-bearing the following inscription: 'This belt was

-presented to <span class="smcap">William Gale</span> of Cardiff, on the 17th

-November 1877, by some of the nobility and gentry

-of Great Britain, in commemoration of his hitherto

-unprecedented feat, namely walking one thousand

-five hundred miles in one thousand hours at Lillie

-Bridge Grounds, August 26th to October 6th, 1877;

-and four thousand quarter-miles in four thousand

-consecutive periods of ten minutes, at the Agricultural

-Hall, London, October 21st to November 17th,

-1877.' The belt is of lion's skin, mounted on

-velvet, the metal portion of it weighing one hundred

-ounces of sterling silver.</p>

-

-<p>None will begrudge Gale his well-earned reward;

-but it is to be hoped that such exhibitions will in

-future be discountenanced by the general public,

-as they not only detract from the dignity of man,

-but are needless and unwarrantable in a country

-which, we trust, will ever pride itself on a nobler

-civilisation than that which is founded upon mere

-physical endurance.</p>

-

-

-

-<hr class="chap" /></div><div>

-<h2><a name="A_DIFFICULT_QUESTION" id="A_DIFFICULT_QUESTION">A DIFFICULT QUESTION.</a></h2>

-

-<p class='ph3'>THE STORY OF TWO CHRISTMAS EVES.</p>

-

-

-<h3 title='PROLOGUE.'>IN TWO CHAPTERS.&mdash;PROLOGUE.</h3>

-

-<p><span class="smcap">In</span> the gray light of an Indian dawn, with the

-cool breeze blowing through the curtains of the

-tent, and his friend's sorrowful eyes looking down on

-him, a soldier lay on his rough couch&mdash;waiting for

-death. They were soon to be parted those two, who

-had lived and fought together; but the face of

-the one who was starting on that journey of which

-none has measured the distance, was smilingly

-calm, while the eyes of the other glistened with

-regretful tears as he spoke low, faltering, remorseful

-words.</p>

-

-<p>'Hush, Ralph, hush!' the other said at last.

-'Don't you think, dear old fellow, I would sooner

-lose my life in having saved yours, than in any

-other way? After all, a few days or years sooner

-or later, what does it signify? My fate is perhaps

-the happiest, though I hope it is not. I don't

-think life is so very desirable,' he continued; 'I

-am only twenty-six; but mine has not been a

-happy one. It was my own fault, though. Take

-my advice, Ralph; don't marry young. There is

-only one thing that troubles me'&mdash;&mdash;</p>

-

-<p>'Your little girl,' Ralph interrupted. 'Wrayworth,

-let me take care of her; if I can make

-her happy, it will be some slight atonement,

-some'&mdash;&mdash;</p>

-

-<p>'You would take care of her, Ralph? would

-you?' The dying man's eyes shone gratefully as

-he looked up in his friend's face. 'She has nothing,

-poor little thing,' he went on sadly&mdash;'motherless,

-fatherless, scarcely more than a baby either. It

-would be a heavy charge to leave you, Ralph.'</p>

-

-<p>'Wrayworth! how can you speak so; you will

-drive me mad! You&mdash;you'&mdash;&mdash; He broke down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_809" id="Page_809">{809}</a></span>

-utterly; it was something so terrible to see this

-friend dying there&mdash;for him. 'Anything on earth

-that I can do'&mdash;&mdash; he murmured.</p>

-

-<p>'You will do for her,' said Wrayworth. 'Thank

-you. I have no friends to send her to. I meant

-to have made her very happy.'</p>

-

-<p>'She shall be; I swear it!' Ralph answered

-fervently, thankful for this charge, which might

-in some degree help him to pay that debt of gratitude,

-and forgetful that he had no control of fate,

-that the promise he gave of happiness was a

-fearfully presumptuous one. But he made it

-willingly, gladly, solemnly, before God; and as

-far as lay in his power it should sacredly be kept;

-any sacrifice he would make for this child.</p>

-

-<p>His friend's eyes rested on him searchingly for

-a moment. 'I trust you,' he said&mdash;'I trust you.'</p>

-

-<p>The hours passed on, the blazing sun arose, and

-Ralph went out into the burning glare with

-bent head and staggering footsteps, while words

-he had heard long since seemed floating round

-him in letters of fire: 'Greater love hath no man

-than this, that a man lay down his life for his

-friend.'&mdash;'Is there <i>none</i> greater?' he thought. 'Is

-there nothing <i>I</i> can do to repay&mdash;nothing?'</p>

-

-

-<h3>CHAPTER I.&mdash;ASKED.</h3>

-

-<p>The years were well on in their teens since

-that melancholy scene was enacted in the Indian

-tent&mdash;since Wrayworth consigned his only child

-to the guardianship of the friend whose life, at

-the expense of his own, he had saved on the

-battle-field. A carriage rolled along the snowy

-high-road through the cold clear air; the short

-winter's day was drawing to its close, and up in

-the darkening sky the stars were beginning to

-shine upon the world's most joyful season, upon

-Christmas eve. The world's most joyful season?

-We call it so, this festival, more than eighteen

-hundred years old; but does the world think it so?&mdash;the

-world, with its thousand cares and crosses,

-its deep and hidden sorrows, its partings and its

-tears? Of those amongst the myriads who keep

-the Yule-tide feast, how many hold it with a

-chastened joy! For on that day most of all our

-thoughts go back to other years, to other faces, to

-other lips that have wished us 'a merry Christmas;'

-to other hands, which have clasped ours so

-loyally, to those who have loved us so long ago!</p>

-

-<p>But Major Loraine had no sad memories connected

-with the season as he drove up to the old

-house, from which duty had so frequently called

-him, and which he had not seen for five years. In

-the wide, dark, panelled hall his step-mother

-stood waiting to welcome him, as gladly as though

-he had been her own son. He was only a boy

-when she first came there, when the pink was

-fresh on her cheek and the gold bright in her

-hair; they had been drawn to each other then;

-and through the long years of her widowhood his

-loving care had helped to lighten her load of

-sorrow; so it was not wonderful that for months

-past she had been eagerly looking forward to his

-return.</p>

-

-<p>The greetings over, they sat down side by side,

-talking, as those talk after long separation, of past,

-present, and future; of their acquaintances married,

-dead, or far away; of things on the estate, prosperous

-or failures; of the ball to be given next month,

-of the one they were going to, to-night; of how

-much Emma was improved since she 'came out,'

-how Katharine was considered one of the handsomest

-girls in the place, and how she might

-marry Sir Michael Leyland with thirty thousand

-a year if she liked.</p>

-

-<p>'But why ever doesn't she like?' asked the

-Major, astonished at this new phase in the character

-of his worldly-minded sister.</p>

-

-<p>'That is just what troubles me,' answered Mrs

-Loraine. 'They are all at the church now, helping

-to decorate. Louise wanted to stay at home to

-welcome you, but I sent them all off, so as to have

-you to myself for an hour. You will see a great

-alteration in Louise, Ralph.'</p>

-

-<p>'Shall I, mother?' he said smiling. 'I think

-not. Her letters are the same always; they have

-altered in style a little of course in the last year

-or two, but it is the same spirit&mdash;the same

-creature.'</p>

-

-<p>'But not the same face, Ralph. Remember you

-have not seen her for five years, which have not

-altered you, but which have changed her from an

-unformed girl of fourteen to a lovely woman;

-with that bright changing beauty, which has

-more charm for a man than regularity of feature.

-It is a very difficult question.'</p>

-

-<p>'What is a difficult question?' asked Ralph, as

-his mother paused.</p>

-

-<p>'What to do with Louise.'</p>

-

-<p>'You hinted something of the kind in your last

-letter, mother,' he said gravely. 'I am sorry, but

-I must confess this house seems large enough for

-four women. You know how I am situated; you

-know the promise which binds me. But tell me,'

-he added smiling, 'what has Louise done? She

-seemed to me gentle and tractable enough when I

-was last at home.'</p>

-

-<p>'I have not the slightest fault to find,' Mrs

-Loraine replied; 'you know I am very fond of

-her. You will think my difficulty very womanish;

-simply, Louise is too pretty.'</p>

-

-<p>'And some one has told her so,' said Ralph,

-laughing. 'Go on.'</p>

-

-<p>'It is not that; but I cannot bear to see my own

-child's happiness destroyed by another, who, if not

-a stranger, has at least no claim upon her.'</p>

-

-<p>Ralph frowned slightly. 'Perhaps not,' he

-answered; 'the claim is upon me, and it is a sacred

-one. So,' he continued, 'it is a case of rivals, I see.'</p>

-

-<p>'Simply this, Ralph. You remember the Levesons

-of Leigh Court, where we are going to-night?

-Their eldest son is in the &mdash;th Dragoons, and

-has been home on leave. Louise was away when

-he first came here, and he appeared very much

-struck with Katharine; and no wonder; she is

-very handsome. Well&mdash;don't laugh at me; I don't

-like match-making as a rule; but I thought as she

-seemed interested in him, there was no harm in

-inviting him sometimes. But as soon as Louise

-came home, he transferred his attentions to her.

-Katharine says nothing; but it makes a kind of

-awkwardness between them. I know she feels it,

-poor child; though indeed I believe Vere Leveson

-is simply flirting with Louise.'</p>

-

-<p>Major Loraine laughed. 'Poor mother!' he

-said, 'you will have enough to do if you take all

-your children's love affairs to heart so seriously.

-These things always right themselves, you know.

-But I confess I am surprised to hear of Katharine

-going in for sentiment; I should have thought Sir

-Michael more in her line. Is that all, mother?'</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_810" id="Page_810">{810}</a></span></p>

-

-<p>'No; only the first of my difficulties,' she

-answered half sadly. 'You know what my health

-has been for the last few years; you know&mdash;&mdash; Well,

-you do not wish me to speak of that; but it is

-better to look in the face of possibility. Suppose

-anything happened to me, Ralph, what would

-become of Louise?'</p>

-

-<p>'You speak of what I hope may be far distant,

-mother,' he answered tenderly. 'But why should

-you be uneasy about her? In the event of her not

-marrying, she would always have a home here

-with me.'</p>

-

-<p>Mrs Loraine shook her head. 'Turn round and

-look in the glass,' she said; 'thirty-nine is not

-such a very formidable age.'</p>

-

-<p>He turned, and contemplated his bronzed face in

-the glass; such a handsome, noble face, telling of a

-nature that could not act falsely or meanly. The

-broad square forehead, marred by a sabre-cut, and

-the dark hair flecked here and there, by the Indian

-sun, with gray; nothing else to find fault with in

-the frank kind smile, the fine regular features, the

-dark true eyes.</p>

-

-<p>'I think there is no fear of my being taken for

-younger than I am, mother,' he said, smiling.</p>

-

-<p>'It is an awkward position for you, though,' she

-answered; 'and as I said, a difficult question

-what to do. We must hope for the best, Ralph.

-You are going to join the others now, I suppose?'</p>

-

-<p>'Yes; I think I can find my way.'</p>

-

-<p>He went out into the keen frosty air, walking

-slowly, though it was unpleasantly cold to one

-accustomed to tropical climates. He was thinking

-over his mother's words, and knew she was right

-as to the awkwardness of the position. He saw

-the peace of the household was troubled, without

-knowing how to set matters right, and he thought

-of the old friend who had trusted his child to him.

-He had vowed she should be happy, and now it

-seemed a difficult vow to keep; but for the sake of

-the man who had died for him sixteen long years

-ago, the pledge then given must be redeemed.</p>

-

-<p>Louise Wrayworth's life had been a bright one

-hitherto; her guardian's home was the only one she

-could remember, and he had striven to fill in some

-degree her father's place. To him, from infancy

-to womanhood, she had looked up with loving

-grateful reverence, regarding him, present or

-absent, as the noblest of created beings.</p>

-

-<p>He reached the old church, and made his way

-round to the open vestry door. The steps were

-encumbered with bundles of evergreens; the voices

-of the workers, who had finished their task, were

-audible. He pushed the door further open, and

-went in. The floor was covered with boughs, and

-around the pillars were wreathed holly and other

-evergreens in honour of the joyous season. Some

-of the choristers stood waiting for the choir-practice,

-and the organist was softly playing <i>Adeste

-Fideles</i>.</p>

-

-<p>'Ralph!' cried a young fresh voice; and a

-slight fair girl with a merry face sprang up from

-the floor, with her hands full of the scarlet berries,

-which fell hither and thither in bright-hued rain,

-as with complete indifference to the by-standers,

-she gave the returned soldier a sisterly embrace.

-'You dear old thing to come for us!' she exclaimed.</p>

-

-<p>'Emma, Emma!' exclaimed Ralph, laughing and

-disengaging himself; 'you have not learned to

-behave any better in five years.'</p>

-

-<p>But his young sister had vanished, and he

-turned to greet the vicar; and one or two of the

-ladies he recognised. In a few minutes Emma

-reappeared; and behind her came a tall fair

-girl with masses of golden hair, and great beautiful

-cold blue eyes. She greeted Major Loraine

-affectionately, but with the quiet stately grace

-habitual to her. Five years had not changed

-Katharine Loraine; at twenty-four she was still

-the same majestic Queen Katharine as at nineteen,

-with whom he had always had so little

-sympathy, whose nature he had found so difficult

-to understand.</p>

-

-<p>'Where is Louise?' he asked presently. 'Is she

-not here?'</p>

-

-<p>'She went into the churchyard just now,'

-answered Emma, 'to put a wreath on Nellie

-Bryant's grave. You remember her, Ralph?'</p>

-

-<p>'Louise's friend? Yes.'</p>

-

-<p>'A <i>triste</i> employment for Christmas eve,' observed

-one of the gentlemen decorators to Katharine,

-as he stooped to disentangle her dress from a

-long sprig of ivy.</p>

-

-<p>'Oh, Mr Leveson went to hold a lantern for her,'

-Katharine answered, with the slightest possible

-shade of contempt in the silvery tones of her

-voice; 'and Louise is never <i>triste</i>, unless she is

-by herself.'</p>

-

-<p>The choir was now fully assembled; the organist

-struck up the anthem, the rest were silent to

-listen, and Ralph Loraine went out to look for his

-ward. He came round the east end of the old

-church, and stood still for a moment in the

-shadow. There were two people standing at the

-edge of the path, looking down on the grave at

-their feet, where the lantern's light shewed the

-shining holly upon the upright marble cross. It

-shewed too the face of his friend's child; a beautiful

-face, as his step-mother had said, with large

-dark eyes and wavy dusky hair, a clear delicate

-complexion with a little rose-flush on the cheeks,

-and full red lips half-parted by the sweetest smile

-he had ever seen; with the same erect carriage of

-the head, the same fearless straight regard which

-had characterised her father.</p>

-

-<p>It was so strange to see her there a woman,

-whom he had left a mere girl; and as he looked

-on the fair face, something seemed to whisper that

-the ideal beauty he had so often dreamed of was

-before him at last. They moved away, and came

-slowly nearer, and paused again where he could

-see her companion; and for a moment he almost

-hated the man for his youth, and his handsome

-face, and the deep-blue eyes aflame with passion-fire

-as they rested on the child of his dead friend;

-and another whisper which silenced the first, told

-him how fitted was each for the other.</p>

-

-<p>'If <i>I</i> were lying there,' said Vere Leveson, and

-Ralph could hear every one of the foolish, softly

-spoken words, 'would you ever make wreaths for

-<i>me</i>, I wonder?'</p>

-

-<p>'I don't know.'</p>

-

-<p>'Don't you? I wish you did; for I thought just

-now I should be glad to be lying there, if you

-would remember me.'</p>

-

-<p>Ralph had heard enough, and tried to slip away

-unseen; but the gravel crunched under his feet

-and betrayed him.</p>

-

-<p>Louise started, and a bright vivid blush covered

-her face as she sprang forward. 'Lorrie! Oh, how

-glad I am to see you again!' she cried, as she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_811" id="Page_811">{811}</a></span>

-took both his hands in hers and lifted her cheek

-for his kiss.</p>

-

-<p>He felt half sorry she had done so; that and

-the old childish name put him immediately in

-his place as guardian, and made him ashamed of

-his thoughts. 'How you are altered, Louise!' he

-said, looking down at her admiringly. 'I think I

-should hardly have known you!'</p>

-

-<p>'I should have known you, Lorrie, anywhere,'

-she said reproachfully.</p>

-

-<p>'That is rather different,' he said; 'when we

-once get old, we don't change so quickly.'</p>

-

-<p>'You would not like it if I said you were old,

-Lorrie. But tell me, am <i>I</i> altered for the worse?

-or'&mdash;&mdash;</p>

-

-<p>'You have no need to come to me for compliments,

-surely,' he said smiling.</p>

-

-<p>'I should think more of yours than of any one's,'

-she whispered, with that sweet dangerous smile;

-a smile which a man like Ralph Loraine should

-have taken as a warning not to feel its influence

-too often.</p>

-

-<p>'How rude I am!' she said at last.&mdash;'Mr Leveson,

-do you know my guardian?' She turned to her

-companion, who stood holding the lantern a few

-yards from them.</p>

-

-<p>'I had the honour of dining in your company

-once, Major Loraine,' he answered, stepping forward.

-'It is some time ago, when I first joined at Madras;

-but I well remember my anxiety to see such a

-distinguished soldier as yourself.'</p>

-

-<p>There was a ring of truth and honest admiration

-in the words, which raised them above an

-ordinary compliment, and which made Ralph

-hold out his hand and answer cordially: 'I have

-a bad memory for faces, or I think I should have

-remembered yours.'</p>

-

-<p>'Thanks,' said Vere, laughing. 'We shall have

-the pleasure of seeing you to-night, I hope?'</p>

-

-<p>'Yes; my mother told me of the invitation.'</p>

-

-<p>'Of course he is coming,' said Louise. 'And

-you will dance with me all the evening, Lorrie;

-won't you?'</p>

-

-<p>'Not quite all, Miss Wrayworth; please, don't

-forget my waltzes,' said Vere, holding out his

-hand. 'I must be off now; so good-bye for the

-present. You won't forget?'</p>

-

-<p>She looked up quickly. 'Perhaps,' the lips said

-laughingly; but the dark eyes gave a sweet silent

-answer Ralph did not see, though he was watching

-them. But after Vere Leveson had gone, he

-walked home beneath the Christmas stars, with

-Louise's hand resting on his arm, dreaming as he

-went, a fair, fond, foolish dream.</p>

-

-

-<p class='p2'>The Christmas-eve ball at Leigh Park was a

-regular institution, one which Sir Harry Leveson

-had kept up for years. It was a pretty sight,

-Ralph thought, as he stood leaning against a

-window, and looking round to select a partner.

-And amongst all the fair women, the one he

-thought the fairest was his young ward Louise

-Wrayworth, in her white floating dress, with its

-wreaths of holly, and the red clustering berries in

-her dark hair.</p>

-

-<p>Ralph had been watching Vere Leveson, trying

-to decide in his own mind whether Mrs Loraine's

-verdict of flirtation was a just one; and he

-judged that it was; for the attentions of the young

-officer were apparently equally divided between

-Louise and Katharine. Ralph did not happen to

-be near when, later on, he led Louise to one of

-the cool empty rooms, where through the open

-window could be heard the merry Christmas bells.

-He did not see the hand-clasp or the light that

-flashed in the eyes of each. He did not hear the

-hurried whisper: 'Louise, you won't forget me,

-you will trust me till next Christmas-time?'</p>

-

-<p>The ball was over, the rooms were dark and

-silent; the whole world waited for the sun to

-rise on Christmas-day.</p>

-

-

-

-<hr class="chap" /></div><div>

-<h2><a name="IS_THE_TELEPHONE_A_PRACTICAL" id="IS_THE_TELEPHONE_A_PRACTICAL">IS THE TELEPHONE A PRACTICAL

-SUCCESS?</a></h2>

-

-

-<p><span class="smcap">In</span> September last appeared in this <i>Journal</i> an

-article entitled 'Singing and Talking by Telegraph;'

-and in that paper we attempted to describe

-the mechanism of that wonderful little instrument

-the telephone. It is now our purpose to say something

-regarding the progress that has been made

-towards perfecting the invention; but in order to

-make the article as clear as possible, we venture

-once more upon a few words explanatory of the

-instrument.</p>

-

-<p>The telephone as it is now made is an exceedingly

-simple-looking apparatus similar in appearance

-to a stethoscope; to the handle of a girl's

-skipping-rope; or better still, to a large-sized

-penny wooden trumpet. Inside this hollow cylinder,

-and within an inch or so of the wider end, is

-fixed a plate of iron as thin as a well-worn sixpence,

-and about the size of a half-crown piece.

-This is called the diaphragm. Behind the diaphragm,

-nearly touching it, and extending to the

-narrower end of the cylinder, is a piece of 'soft'

-iron enveloped in wire coils, with a permanent

-magnet beyond. Outside the narrower end of the

-cylinder, and communicating with the coils that

-surround the iron inside, are attached two screws

-or 'terminals,' which are 'joined up' to a main

-wire, communicating with the distant or receiving

-telephone wherever that may be, and which is

-precisely similar to the one we have described.

-When we apply our mouth to the bell-shaped

-end of the apparatus, and speak or shout or sing,

-we set the diaphragm vibrating as in a tuning-fork;

-the vibrations thus created are electrically

-communicated through the wire to a distant

-telephone, and are repeated on its diaphragm

-with more or less distinctness.</p>

-

-<p>It is known that the motion of an iron plate

-contiguous to the poles of a magnet creates a

-disturbance of electricity in coils surrounding

-those poles; and the duration of this current

-will coincide with the vibratory motion of the

-plate or diaphragm. When, therefore, the human

-voice (or any other suitable sound) impinges

-through the tube against this diaphragm, the

-diaphragm begins to vibrate, and awakens, so

-to speak, electrical action in the coils of wire

-surrounding the poles of the magnet; not a current,

-but a series of undulations, something like

-those produced by the voice in the air around us.

-In short the telephone is an apparatus designed

-to transmit sound through a wire of indefinite

-length; the voice being, so to speak, 'converted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_812" id="Page_812">{812}</a></span>

-into electricity at one end, the electricity becoming

-voice at the other.'</p>

-

-<p>With these few explanatory remarks, we now

-proceed to offer to our readers the following interesting

-experiments made by a gentleman well

-skilled in telegraphy.</p>

-

-<p>'Journalists,' he says, 'with no special knowledge

-of the difficulties the invention has to

-encounter as a telegraph instrument, have expatiated

-in such enthusiastic terms upon the results

-said to have been achieved by the telephone, that

-a somewhat exaggerated notion of its powers

-and capabilities has been accepted by the general

-public. It appears, therefore, to the writer of those

-lines that a statement of the experiences of a

-person practically engaged in the work of telegraphy

-may assist in placing the phenomena of

-the telephone on a proper footing.</p>

-

-<p>'Scientifically, the telephone is a great and

-undoubted success; and a person would be grievously

-in error if, because of some undoubted

-hindrances to its practical use, he pronounced it

-unworthy of further experiment. The emergence

-of telegraphy from the domain of experiment

-into that of daily practical use is a fact so

-undoubted, and one with which we are now so

-familiar, that it is impossible to say at what

-moment the telephone, at present a scientific toy,

-may become a daily necessity not only of telegraphic

-but of ordinary commercial work.</p>

-

-<p>'Being engaged in daily contact with a large

-telegraphic centre, and in association with men

-who have the command of every means of testing

-the invention in a practical work-a-day manner,

-the writer was able to gauge pretty accurately the

-range within which the telephone can work. It

-must be understood, however, that in recording

-the effects observed by him and his associates, he

-has no desire to invalidate, or even to call in question

-the experiences of others who may have been

-able to arrive at better results. The telephone is

-in the hands of some of the first electricians and

-telegraphists of the day, and differences of conditions

-(not to speak of differences of capacity on

-the part of the operator) may give variety in

-the observations made. The very difficulties and

-drawbacks now to be recorded will no doubt some

-day suggest to a master-mind the method by which

-they may be overcome. But till that day arrives,

-the telephone must be content to remain where

-the writer leaves it, an undoubted success from

-a scientific point of view, but overwhelmed with

-obstacles to its practical use, in this country at

-least, in general telegraphy.</p>

-

-<p>'When a telegraphist first gets into his hand

-this beautifully simple and electrically delicate instrument,

-his first inclination is to test its carrying-power.

-This is of course a closet experiment,

-not working with actual telegraph line, but

-with "resistance" equivalent to a telegraph line of

-stated length. An experiment of this nature gives

-better results than could be obtained by a veritable

-line, because the insulation is, so to speak, perfect.

-No leakage at undesigned points of contact, or

-disturbance from unfavourable atmospheric conditions,

-is felt, and the experiment is entirely under

-the observer's control. The apparatus used is

-designed to offer the same labour for the electric

-current to overcome, as would be offered by a

-stated length of outside telegraph line. This

-artificial resistance is nicely graduated, and as

-the method of testing was suggested by Ohm, a

-German electrician, the unit of resistance is, as

-we once previously explained, termed an "ohm."

-Removing the telephone to such a distance that

-the two observers were "out of earshot," the test

-with resistance was tried, and with a resistance of

-one thousand ohms&mdash;roughly speaking, equal to

-seventy miles of a well-constructed line&mdash;the sound

-was perfect, although not very loud. Every articulation

-of the speaker at the other end could be distinguished

-so long as silence was maintained in the

-room, or so long as no heavy lorry rumbling over

-the stones outside sent in harsh noises which

-drowned the faint whisper of the instrument. The

-resistance was gradually raised to four thousand

-ohms&mdash;nearly three hundred miles&mdash;with like

-favourable results; and for some little distance

-beyond, articulation could still be made out. But

-by the time ten thousand ohms had been applied,

-putting the speaker at a distance of, say, seven

-hundred miles, sound only, but not articulate

-sound, reached the ear. The tone was there, and

-every inflection of the voice could be followed;

-but articulation was absent, although the listener

-strove every nerve to catch the sound, which the

-speaker, as was afterwards ascertained, was shouting

-in a loud clear voice. The prolonged notes of

-an air sung could be heard with the resistance

-named, but again no words could be distinguished.

-The voice, whether in speaking or singing, has a

-weird curious sound in the telephone. It is in

-a measure ventriloqual in character; and with

-the telephone held an inch or two from the ear,

-it has the effect as if some one were singing far

-off in the building, or the sound were coming up

-from a vaulted cellar or through a massive stone

-wall.</p>

-

-<p>'Proceeding to our next experiment, we joined

-up the telephones in one office to several wires

-in succession, putting ourselves in circuit with

-lines going to various distances and working with

-different instruments. When this was done, the

-real obstacle to telephonic progress at once asserted

-itself in the shape of "induction." The first wire

-experimented with was partly "overhouse" and

-partly underground, and the offices upon it were

-working Wheatstone A B C instruments. It is

-difficult to render clear to the person ignorant of

-telegraphic phenomena the idea expressed by the

-word <i>induction</i>. Briefly it may be put thus, that

-when a strong electric current is passing on a

-wire, it has the faculty of setting up a current of

-opposite character in any wire not then working,

-or working with a feebler current, that may be in

-its vicinity. The why or the wherefore cannot be

-explained, but there is the fact.</p>

-

-<p>'In various recent articles on the telephone,

-mention has been made of "contact" as the cause

-of disturbance. This word, however, although it

-has been used by telegraphists, is misleading, and

-can only be used as an endeavour to express popularly

-an electric fact. Actual contact of one wire

-with another would spoil the business altogether.

-A wire bearing an electric current seems to be for

-the time surrounded, to an undefined distance, by

-an electric atmosphere, and all wires coming

-within this atmosphere have a current in an opposite

-direction set up in them. This is as near an

-explanation of the phenomena of induction as the

-state of telegraph science at present affords. Now

-the telephone works with a very delicate magnetic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_813" id="Page_813">{813}</a></span>

-current, and is easily overpowered by the action of

-a stronger current in any wire near which the telephone

-wire may come. To work properly it

-"requires a silent line."</p>

-

-<p>'In the place where the observations were made,

-there are a large number of wires, travelling

-under the floor, through the test-box, along

-passages to the battery-room and to a pole on

-the outside, whence they radiate, or out to

-a pipe underground, where many gutta-percha-covered

-wires lie side by side. On applying

-the ear to a telephone joined into a circuit

-working in such an office a curious sound is heard,

-comparable most nearly to the sound of a pot

-boiling. But the practised ear could soon separate

-the boiling into distinct sounds. There was one

-masterful Morse instrument&mdash;probably on the wire

-lying nearest the one on which we were joined up&mdash;whose

-peremptory "click, cli-i-i-ck, click," representing

-"dot, dash, dot" on the printed slip we read

-from, could be heard over all. Then there was

-the rapid whir of a Wheatstone fast-speed transmitter,

-sending dots and dashes at express speed

-by mechanical means; the sharp well-pronounced

-rattle in sounds of equal length of a needle instrument;

-and most curious of all, the "rrrrr-op, rr-op,

-rrrrrrrrrrrrr-op, rrrrr-op, rr-op" of the A B C, the

-deadliest foe to the telephone in its endeavours to

-gain admission into the family of telegraph instruments.

-There may be reason in this, for as the

-Wheatstone A B C is the instrument used for

-private telegraphy, or for the least important

-public offices, because it requires no "code" to

-be learned by the manipulator, so it would likely

-be the first to be displaced if an acoustic telegraph

-permanently took the field. So the sentient little

-A B C opens its mitrailleuse fire on the intruder,

-on whose delicate currents, in the words of an

-accomplished electrician, it plays "old harry." The

-peculiar character of the sounds we borrow on the

-telephone from this instrument arises from the

-fact that as the needle flies round the dial, a

-distinct current or pulsation passes for each letter,

-and the final "op" we have tried to represent shews

-the stoppage of the needle at the letters as words

-were spelled out.</p>

-

-<p>'It must not be understood that the <i>sounds</i>

-of those various instruments are actually heard

-in the telephone. What happens is, that the

-currents stealing along the telephone wire by

-induction produce vibrations in the diaphragm

-of that instrument, the little metal membrane

-working on the magnet in ready response to

-every current set up in the latter. When it

-is remembered that the principle of the telephone

-is that the sound-caused vibrations in the

-filmy diaphragm at one end create similar but

-magnetically-caused vibrations in the diaphragm

-at the other end, and so reproduce the sound, it

-will be obvious why the rapid roll of the A B C

-currents, or the swift sending of the fast-speed

-transmitter, when brought by induction into the

-telephone wire, cause disturbances in the sound

-vibrations, and thereby cripple the instrument.

-One instrument of either kind named would have

-a certain effect, but one Morse or single needle

-would not have any greatly prejudicial effect. But

-a number of Morses or needles going together,

-such as were heard in our experiments, would

-combine to be nearly as bad as one A B C or fast-speed

-Morse. So delicate is the diaphragm to

-sound (and necessarily so), that in all experiments

-with the telephone itself, such as those with "resistance,"

-or those made at home to test the instrument

-apart from telegraphic considerations, every

-sound from without broke in, giving an effect like

-the well-known "murmur of the shell."</p>

-

-<p>'Joining up our wire now to a more distant

-station at some miles along the railway, and

-having on its poles a number of what are

-known as "heavy" circuits, the pot-boiling sound

-assumed even more marked characteristics. The

-A B C no longer affected us; but a number of

-Morse instruments were in full gear, and the fast-speed

-transmitter was also at work. While we

-were listening, the circuit to which we were joined

-began to work, and the effect was literally electrical.

-Hitherto we had only borrowed currents&mdash;or,

-seeing they were so unwelcome, we might

-call them currents thrust upon us&mdash;and the

-sounds, though sharp and incessant, were gentle

-and rather low. But when the strong current was

-set up in the wire itself, the listener who held

-one of our telephones nearly jumped from the

-floor when an angry "pit-<i>pat</i>, pit-<i>pat</i>, pit-<i>pat</i>-pit"

-assailed his ear, causing him to drop the instrument

-as if he had been shot! It was a result none

-of us had expected, for it did not seem possible

-that the delicate metal diaphragm and the little

-magnet of the telephone could produce a sound so

-intense. Of course it was only intense when the

-ear was held close to the orifice of the instrument.

-Held in the hand away from the ear, the telephone

-now made a first-rate "sounder," and we could tell

-without difficulty not only the signals that were passing,

-but found in it a more comfortable tone than

-that given by the Morse sounder in common use.</p>

-

-<p>'Other experiments of a like character led to

-results so similar, that they may be left unnoticed;

-and we proceed now to describe one of a different

-character, designed to test the telephone itself. At

-a distance of about half a mile, access was obtained

-to a Morse instrument in private use, and joined

-to the office by "overhouse" wire. Dividing our

-party and arranging a programme of operations,

-two remained with a telephone in the office, while

-other two, of whom the writer was one, proceeded

-with the second telephone to the distant instrument.

-By an arrangement which a practical telegraphist

-will understand, the key of the Morse

-was kept in circuit, so that signals could be exchanged

-in that way. It may be noticed, however,

-that this was hardly necessary, as the diaphragm

-of the telephone can be used as a key, with the

-finger or a blunt point, so that dot and dash signals

-are interchangeable, should the voice fail to be

-heard. As the wire in this instance travelled

-almost alone over part of its course, we were in

-hopes that induced currents would be conspicuous

-by their absence. In this we were, however, disappointed,

-for the pot was boiling away, rather more

-faintly, but with the "plop-plop-plop" distinctly

-audible, and once more a sharp masterful Morse

-click was heard coming in now and again. The

-deadly A B C was, however, absent, so that our

-experiment proved highly successful. For some

-reason or another&mdash;probably an imperfect condition

-of the wire, or the effects of "induction" over and

-above what made itself audible to us&mdash;the spoken

-sounds were deficient in distinctness; but songs

-sung at either end were very beautifully heard,

-and indeed the sustained note of sung words had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_814" id="Page_814">{814}</a></span>

-always a better carrying-power than rapidly spoken

-words. Every syllable, and every turn of melody

-of such a song as <i>My Mother bids me bind my Hair</i>,

-sung by a lady at one end, or <i>When the Heart of

-a Man</i>, sung at the other, could be distinctly

-heard, but with the effect before noticed, that the

-voice was muffled or shut in, as if the singer

-were in a cellar, while it was not always possible

-to say at once whether the voice was that of a

-man or a woman.</p>

-

-<p>'In the course of some domestic experiments,

-it was remarked that in playing the scale downwards

-from C in alt. on the piano, the result

-to the listener was a "tit" only for the four

-upper notes, although all below that had a clear

-"ting," and the octaves below were mostly distinct,

-although at the low notes of the piano the sound

-was again lost. The ringing notes of a musical

-box were not so successful, but with close attention,

-its rapid execution of <i>Tommy Dodd</i> could be

-well enough made out. An endeavour was made

-to catch the ticking of a watch, but this was

-not successful, and the experiment is not recommended,

-as the near presence of a watch to

-a magnet is not desirable; and the watch exposed

-to it in this instance was, it is thought, affected

-for a short time thereafter, although it received

-no permanent damage.</p>

-

-<p>'The observations made in the course of these

-experiments convinced those present that the

-telephone presents facilities for the dangerous

-practice of "tapping the wires," which may make

-it useful or dangerous, according as it is used

-for proper or improper purposes. It might be an

-important addition for a military commander to

-make to his flying cavalry; as an expert sound-reader,

-accompanying a column sent to cut off

-the enemy's telegraph connections, might precede

-the act of destruction by robbing him of some

-of his secrets. The rapidity and simplicity of the

-means by which a wire could be "milked," without

-being cut or put out of circuit, struck the

-whole of the party engaged in the various trials

-that are described above. Of course the process of

-tapping by telephone could not be carried out

-if the instrument in use was an A B C or single

-needle, or if the wire was being worked duplex

-or with a fast-speed Morse, for in these cases

-the sounds are too rapid or too indefinite to be

-read by ear. The danger is thus limited to

-ordinary sounder or Morse telegraphs; but these

-still form the mainstay of every public system.</p>

-

-<p>'Since the trials above described were made, the

-newspapers have recorded a beautiful application

-by Sir William Thomson, of the electric part of

-the telephone to exhibit at a distance the motions

-of an anemometer; the object being to shew the

-force of air-currents in coal-mines. This is a

-useful application of an electric fact, and doubtless

-points the way to further discoveries. But

-it is to be noticed that the experiment, interesting

-as it is, hardly comes under the head of a tele<i>phone</i>,

-what is reproduced at a distance being not sound

-but motion.</p>

-

-<p>'Obviously the invention cannot rest where it

-is; and no one more readily than the practical

-telegraphist will welcome an instrument at once

-simple, direct, and reliable. Even in its present

-form the telephone may be successfully used

-where its wire is absolutely <i>isolated</i> from all other

-telegraph wires. But the general impression is

-that its power of reproducing the sound must be

-intensified before its use can become general even

-as a substitute in works or offices for the speaking-tube.'</p>

-

-

-

-<hr class="chap" /></div><div>

-<h2><a name="SINGING_MICE" id="SINGING_MICE">SINGING MICE.</a></h2>

-

-

-<p><span class="smcap">These</span> interesting animals are said to be smaller

-than ordinary mice, to be usually of a brownish

-colour, and to have long ears. Naturalists have

-not come to any exact reason as to why they

-sing. Some persons impute the singing to

-disease, as in the wheezing of any one from

-a cold. Others attribute it to an internal parasite.

-But these seem unsatisfactory explanations;

-for when the little creatures sing they are as

-lively as common domestic mice. The faculty

-of singing in a small way with various modulations

-appears to be quite natural to the animals.

-It has been noticed that during their musical performances

-there is a throbbing in the throat, and

-that the snout is elevated in giving play to the

-voice, as in the warbling of birds. The song or

-warble of these mice is said to be sweet and varied.

-Hitherto not much attention has been given by

-zoologists to the phenomenon; but we observe by

-various notices in <i>Land and Water</i> and in <i>Nature</i>,

-two periodicals devoted to pleasant discussions on

-subjects of natural history, &amp;c., that singing mice

-are becoming objects of careful investigation.</p>

-

-<p>An amusing account of a singing mouse appears

-in <i>Nature</i>, Nov. 9, from the pen of Mr Joseph

-Sidebotham, dating from Menton, south of France.</p>

-

-<p>'Last winter we occupied the rooms we now do

-at Menton. Early in February we heard as we

-thought the song of a canary, and fancied it was

-outside our balcony; however, we soon discovered

-that the singing was in our <i>salon</i>, and that the

-songster was a mouse. At that time the weather

-was rather cold, and we had a little fire, and the

-mouse spent most of the day under the fender,

-where we kept it supplied with bits of biscuit. In

-a few days it became quite tame, and would come

-on the hearth in an evening and sing for several

-hours. Sometimes it would climb up the chiffonier

-and ascend a vase of flowers to drink at the water,

-and then sit and sing on the edge of the table and

-allow us to go quite near to it without ceasing its

-warble. One of its favourite haunts was the wood-basket,

-and it would often sit and sing on the edge

-of it. On February 12, the last night of the

-Carnival, we had a number of friends in our <i>salon</i>,

-and the little mouse sang most vigorously, much

-to their delight and astonishment, and was not in

-the least disturbed by the talking. In the evening

-the mouse would often run about the room and

-under the door into the corridor and adjoining

-rooms, and then return to its own hearth. After

-amusing us for nearly a month, it disappeared;

-and we suspect it was caught in a trap set in one

-of the rooms beyond. The mouse was small and

-had very large ears, which it moved about much

-whilst singing. The song was not unlike that of

-the canary in many of its trills, and it sang quite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_815" id="Page_815">{815}</a></span>

-as beautifully as any canary, but it had more

-variety, and some of its notes were much lower,

-more like those of the bullfinch. One great

-peculiarity was a sort of double song, which we

-had now and then&mdash;an air with an accompaniment.

-The air was loud and full, the notes

-being low and the accompaniment quite subdued.

-Some of our party were sure that there

-was more than one mouse, until we had the

-performance from the edge of the wood-basket

-and were within a yard or two of it. My son

-has suggested that many or all mice may have

-the same power, but that the notes are usually

-so much higher in the scale that, like the cry

-of the dormouse and the bat, they are at the

-verge of the pitch to which the human ear is

-sensitive. This may be so; but the notes of our

-mouse were so low, and even the highest so far

-within the limits of the human ear, that I am

-inclined to think the gift of singing in mice is but

-of very rare occurrence.'</p>

-

-<p>In the same periodical, the following additional

-particulars as regards singing mice are presented

-by Mr George J. Romanes, Regent's Park.</p>

-

-<p>'Several years ago I received some of these animals

-from a friend, and kept them in confinement for

-one or two months. The description which your

-correspondent gives of their performance leaves

-very little to be added by me, as in all respects this

-description agrees perfectly with my own observations.

-I write, however, to remark one curious

-fact about the singing of these mice, namely, that

-it seemed to be evoked by two very opposite

-sets of conditions. When undisturbed, the little

-animals used for the most part to remain quiet

-during the day, and begin to sing at night; but if

-at any time they were alarmed, by handling them

-or otherwise, whether during the day or night,

-they were sure to sing vigorously. Thus the

-action seemed to be occasioned either by contentment

-or by fear. The character of the song, however,

-was slightly different in the two cases.</p>

-

-<p>'That these mice did not learn this art from

-singing birds there can be no doubt, for they were

-captured in a house where no such birds were kept.

-It may be worth while to add that this house

-(a London one) seemed to have been suddenly

-invaded, so to speak, by a number of these animals,

-for although my friend has lived in this house

-since the year 1862, it was only during a few

-months that singing mice were heard in it, and

-during these few months they were heard in considerable

-numbers.'</p>

-

-<p>As corroborative of the foregoing notices, we

-give the following very interesting account of a

-singing mouse, obligingly sent to us by a correspondent,

-Mr Alfred Wright.</p>

-

-<p>'In the early spring of last year I was invited

-by an old widow lady to see a singing mouse,

-which she had at night heard singing and scratching

-beneath the floor of her bed, and been so fortunate

-as to catch in a trap. I went, and found the

-little animal in a cage with a revolving wheel,

-similar to that in which a squirrel is usually confined.

-Whether the mouse was shy at the presence

-of a stranger, I do not know. It remained silent;

-but at length, after my patience had been nearly

-exhausted, it began to sing in clear warbling notes

-like those of a bird. When I called the next

-evening to hear the mouse again, I heard him to

-perfection; and was so filled with interest in the

-novelty, that I begged permission to bring any

-friend who was a sceptic of the fact, or who might

-desire to see the phenomenon. My request was

-readily granted. One friend of course had heard

-of a singing mouse, but he certainly would not

-allow that a prolonged squeak was a song&mdash;not

-he! Another friend of course had heard a mouse

-sing when he was a boy; but he was told, he

-perfectly well remembered, that the <i>noise</i> produced

-by the mouse was the result of some

-internal disease. Well, both of these went with

-me to hear the little creature. Unfortunately, at

-first it was again shy; but after an interval of

-silence it commenced to sing&mdash;sweetly, like the

-low notes, the jug, of the nightingale. My friends

-had come, had heard, and were conquered! The

-one acknowledged it was really a song and not

-a squeak; the other, that the noise was certainly

-dulcet; but still he thought it possibly might be

-the result of disease, and not natural to the little

-animal. We suggested that this wonderful natural

-curiosity (as we deemed it) should be sent to

-an eminent naturalist who resided near. Great,

-therefore, was my astonishment and pleasure when

-it was presented to me, who could only treat it

-like a schoolboy would his white mouse&mdash;as a

-pet. And truly it became a great pet to both

-my wife and myself.</p>

-

-<p>'In form, the singing mouse did not differ from

-his humbler brethren; but in colour he was of

-a darkish brown, and had very bright eyes. It

-soon became used to the presence of my wife,

-and sang constantly while revolving the wheel

-of his cage. The notes proceeded from the throat.

-He became exceedingly gentle, and was pleased

-at being caressed.</p>

-

-<p>'I deemed him so rare a curiosity that I ventured

-to offer to exhibit him to the distinguished naturalist

-referred to above, and in my letter described

-the little creature and its peculiarities, as I have

-done here. The naturalist most courteously

-replied: "The case of the singing mouse is very

-extraordinary, but the fact is now well established....

-The best account which has ever been published

-is by an American naturalist, and I have given

-an abstract of his account in my <i>Descent of Man</i>.</p>

-

-<p>"The American referred to is the Rev. S. Lockwood,

-author of <i>The American Naturalist</i>, and he

-gives an account of his observations of the <i>Hesperomys

-cognatus</i>, an American species, belonging to a

-genus distinct from that of the English mouse. This

-little animal gave two chief songs. Mr Lockwood

-gives both songs in musical notation; and adds,

-that though this mouse 'had no ear for time,' yet

-she would keep to the key of B (two flats) and

-strictly in the major key.... Her soft clear

-voice falls an octave with all the precision possible;

-then at the wind up it rises again into a very

-quick trill in C sharp and D." I have made this

-quotation, as it far better describes the peculiar

-qualifications of a singing mouse, than my inexperienced

-observations could announce.</p>

-

-<p>'My mouse remained in contented confinement

-upwards of a year, feeding upon a little sopped

-bread and canary-seed; and great was the grief of

-my wife (who was his keeper) and myself when

-he was found dead in his little nest. During the

-previous evening he had been heard singing with

-more than usual ardour.'</p>

-

-<p>We shall probably return to this interesting

-subject.</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" /></div><div>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_816" id="Page_816">{816}</a></span></p>

-

-

-

-

-<h2><a name="USING_UP_WASTE_SUBSTANCES" id="USING_UP_WASTE_SUBSTANCES">USING UP WASTE SUBSTANCES.</a></h2>

-

-

-<p><span class="smcap">The</span> subject denoted by the above title, more

-than once treated in the <i>Journal</i>, is adverted to

-by an obliging Lancashire correspondent who,

-surrounded by one of the busiest and most ingenious

-clusters of townsmen in England, has had

-his attention drawn to various substances waiting

-(as it were), for application to useful purposes.

-His suggestions are not wholly new, having to

-some extent been already anticipated; but they

-are sufficiently valuable to call for notice here.</p>

-

-<p>One relates to the waste that presents itself in

-the processes of manufacturing cotton. A residue

-known technically as <i>willowings</i>, that falls into

-a receptacle during the preparatory beating and

-disentangling of raw cotton-wool, consists of a

-dusty heap of seed-husks and short broken fibres.

-It is used by farmers to absorb the liquid manure

-of their cowsheds and middens or dung-heaps.

-Although some of the cottony fibre may be

-separated through a sieve, so much adheres to

-the seed-husk as to render it unsuitable for paper-making,

-for which it has often been tried. The

-suggestion now made is, that though unfitted for

-paper, this refuse may possibly be found useful

-in the manufacture of <i>millboard</i>. Large quantities

-of this tough and durable product are employed for

-bookbinding, for making the discs of railway wheels,

-&amp;c.; and as colour is not a matter of moment,

-the idea is that the mingled residue of cottony

-fibre and seed-husk might be rendered available.

-It is known that millboard made from wood-pulp

-is imported to a considerable extent from abroad;

-and we are told that 'a large portion of the

-private income of the great German Chancellor

-Prince Bismarck is derived from the manufacture

-of wood-millboard on his Varzin estate.' Many

-hundred tons of willowings could be obtained in

-Lancashire at a very cheap rate, even as low as

-two shillings per hundredweight.</p>

-

-<p>Another suggestion bears relation to the utilisation

-of refuse from the manufacture of prussiate

-of potash, a most valuable product in the hands

-of the manufacturing chemist. The prussiate is

-obtained in large ratio from woollen rags, after the

-separation of all the pieces that can be worked up

-into shoddy for cheap cloth. The refuse is calcined

-in cast-iron retorts, lixiviated with water,

-and drained off for subsequent treatment: leaving

-behind it a thick black sediment of impure animal

-charcoal. The suggestion relates to the application

-of this residue to the manufacture of blacking&mdash;a

-humble but valuable agent for those who appreciate

-tidiness in the appearance of boots and shoes

-and economy in the preservation of leather. If

-useful for this purpose, it might be found advantageous

-and economical as an ingredient in printers'

-ink. Whether this carbon residue is at present

-applied to any other useful purpose, we are not

-fully informed.</p>

-

-<p>A third suggestion relates to the preparation of

-animal size for the carpet-manufacture and for

-that of many kinds of woollen and worsted goods.

-This size is made from the clippings and scrapings

-of skins and hides, from rejected scraps of parchment

-and vellum, and from the worn-out buffalo

-skin pickers and skips largely used in textile

-manufactures; also from the pith of cattle-horns,

-which contain a large amount of valuable gelatine.

-The suggestion is, to utilise the refuse left after

-making this size. One large carpet factory in

-Yorkshire rejects as utterly useless a ton or more

-of this refuse every week. The horn-pith contains

-as one of its components phosphate of lime, and is

-on that account recommended to the notice of the

-manufacturers of chemical manures on a large

-scale.</p>

-

-<p>One more suggestion comes from our ingenious

-correspondent. Old corks are applicable to a

-greater number of purposes than we are generally

-in the habit of supposing. That many of them

-are ground up to make cork-stuffing for cushions,

-padding, &amp;c. is well known; but there are other

-uses for them as corks or half corks, besides

-making floating buoys and life-preservers. A

-taverner in a Lancashire town covered the floor of

-his lobby and bar with very open rope-matting,

-and filled up the openings with old corks cut

-down to the level of the surface of the mats. This

-combination is found to be almost indestructible

-under the feet; while it gives a good grip or foothold.

-As the making of rope-mats is one of the

-trades carried on in reformatories and some other

-large establishments, it is suggested that the

-managers should take into consideration the feasibility

-of adding old corks to their store of manufacturing

-materials.</p>

-

-<p>As this <i>Journal</i> finds its way into every corner

-of the busy hives of industry, it may possibly be

-that some of our readers are already acquainted

-with such applications of waste refuse to useful

-purposes as those which our esteemed correspondent

-suggests. But this is a point of minor importance.

-The primary question is, not whether

-an idea is absolutely new, but whether it is

-practicably susceptible of useful application. The

-history of manufactures teaches us that apparently

-humble trifles like these have proved to be worth

-millions sterling to the country.</p>

-

-

-

-<hr class="chap" /></div><div>

-<h2><a name="LET_BYGONES_BE_BYGONES" id="LET_BYGONES_BE_BYGONES">LET BYGONES BE BYGONES.</a></h2>

-

-

-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">

-<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Let</span> bygones be bygones; if bygones were clouded<br /></span>

-<span class="i2">By aught that occasioned a pang of regret,<br /></span>

-<span class="i0">Oh, let them in darkest oblivion be shrouded;<br /></span>

-<span class="i2">'Tis wise and 'tis kind to forgive and forget.<br /></span>

-</div><div class="stanza">

-<span class="i0">Let bygones be bygones, and good be extracted<br /></span>

-<span class="i2">From ill over which it is folly to fret;<br /></span>

-<span class="i0">The wisest of mortals have foolishly acted&mdash;<br /></span>

-<span class="i2">The kindest are those who forgive and forget.<br /></span>

-</div><div class="stanza">

-<span class="i0">Let bygones be bygones; oh, cherish no longer<br /></span>

-<span class="i2">The thought that the sun of Affection has set;<br /></span>

-<span class="i0">Eclipsed for a moment, its rays will be stronger,<br /></span>

-<span class="i2">If you, like a Christian, forgive and forget.<br /></span>

-</div><div class="stanza">

-<span class="i0">Let bygones be bygones; your heart will be lighter,<br /></span>

-<span class="i2">When kindness of yours with reception has met;<br /></span>

-<span class="i0">The flame of your love will be purer and brighter<br /></span>

-<span class="i2">If, Godlike, you strive to forgive and forget.<br /></span>

-</div><div class="stanza">

-<span class="i0">Let bygones be bygones; oh, purge out the leaven<br /></span>

-<span class="i2">Of malice, and try an example to set<br /></span>

-<span class="i0">To others, who craving the mercy of heaven,<br /></span>

-<span class="i2">Are sadly too slow to forgive and forget.<br /></span>

-</div><div class="stanza">

-<span class="i0">Let bygones be bygones; remember how deeply<br /></span>

-<span class="i2">To heaven's forbearance we all are in debt;<br /></span>

-<span class="i0">They value God's infinite goodness too cheaply<br /></span>

-<span class="i2">Who heed not the precept, 'Forgive and forget.'<br /></span>

-</div></div></div>

-

-<hr class="full" />

-

-<p class='center'>Printed and Published by <span class="smcap">W. &amp; R. Chambers</span>, 47 Paternoster

-Row, <span class="smcap">London</span>, and 339 High Street, <span class="smcap">Edinburgh</span>.</p>

-

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p class='center'><i>All rights reserved.</i></p>

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-<pre>

-

-

-

-

-

-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular

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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Chambers's Journal, by Various.
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+
+@media handheld
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+  </head>
+<body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 51841 ***</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_801" id="Page_801">{801}</a></span></p>
+
+<h1>CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL<br />
+OF<br />
+POPULAR<br />
+LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART.</h1>
+
+<div>
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<p class='center'>
+
+<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. -->
+
+<a href="#CHRISTMAS-TIME">CHRISTMAS-TIME.</a><br />
+<a href="#A_CAST_OF_THE_NET">A CAST OF THE NET.</a><br />
+<a href="#FEATS_OF_ENDURANCE">FEATS OF ENDURANCE.</a><br />
+<a href="#A_DIFFICULT_QUESTION">A DIFFICULT QUESTION.</a><br />
+<a href="#IS_THE_TELEPHONE_A_PRACTICAL">IS THE TELEPHONE A PRACTICAL SUCCESS?</a><br />
+<a href="#SINGING_MICE">SINGING MICE.</a><br />
+<a href="#USING_UP_WASTE_SUBSTANCES">USING UP WASTE SUBSTANCES.</a><br />
+<a href="#LET_BYGONES_BE_BYGONES">LET BYGONES BE BYGONES.</a><br />
+
+<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. -->
+
+</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/header.png" width="600" height="294" alt="Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art. Fourth Series. Conducted by William and Robert Chambers." />
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="full" />
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""  width="85%">
+<tr><td align="left"><b><span class="smcap">No.</span> 730.</b></td><td align="center"><b>SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1877.</b></td><td align="right"><b><span class="smcap">Price</span> 1½<i>d.</i></b></td></tr>
+</table></div></div>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<div>
+
+<h2><a name="CHRISTMAS-TIME" id="CHRISTMAS-TIME">CHRISTMAS-TIME.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>'<span class="smcap">So</span> many men so many minds' has been a proverb
+long before our days, and will be to the end
+of time and human history; and uniformity of
+sentiment is the one thing which men need never
+hope to attain.</p>
+
+<p>Christmas-time is one of these battle-fields of
+feeling. To some it is just the consecration of
+so many circumstances of torture; to others the
+meeting-point of so many facts of pleasure. From
+the conventional greeting to the orthodox dinner&mdash;from
+the 'seasonable gifts' that are more obligatory
+than voluntary, to the toast that heralds the
+punch, and the dreams that follow on that last
+glass&mdash;all is so much pain to the flesh and weariness
+to the spirit; and they wonder how any one
+can find it otherwise. What is there in Christmas-time
+to make it pleasurable? they say. The
+gathering together of the family? A lot of rough
+boys home from school, who spoil the furniture
+and tease the dogs, lame the horses and ravage
+the garden, make the servants cross, the girls
+rude, and the younger children insubordinate; who
+upset all the order of the house, destroy its comfort
+like its quiet, and to whose safe return to
+discipline and your own restoration to tranquillity
+you look forward with impatient longing
+from the first hour of their arrival to the last
+of their stay? Or the advent of your married
+daughter with her two spoilt babies, who cry if
+they are looked at and want everything that they
+see, and that very objectionable young man her
+husband, with his ultra opinions and passion for
+argument, whom she would marry in spite of all
+that you could say, but to whom you can scarcely
+force yourself to be decently civil, not to speak of
+cordial, and whose presence is a perpetual blister
+while it lasts? Is this the family gathering about
+which you are expected to gush?&mdash;this with the
+addition of your son's fine-lady wife who snubs his
+mother and sisters with as little breeding as
+reserve, finds nothing at your table that she can
+eat, lives with her smelling-bottle to her nose and
+propped up with cushions on the sofa, and gives
+you to understand that she considers herself
+humiliated by her association with your family,
+and your son as much exalted as she is degraded?
+This is the domestic aspect of Christmas-time
+which is to make you forget all the ordinary
+troubles of life, creating in their stead a Utopia
+where ill-feeling is as little known as <i>ennui</i>, and
+family jars are as impossible as personal discomfort
+and dissent. Holding this picture in your
+hand, you decline to subscribe your name to the
+Io pæan universally chanted in praise of Christmas,
+and wrap yourself up in sullen silence when
+your neighbour congratulates you on having all
+your family about you, and wishes you a merry
+Christmas as if he meant it.</p>
+
+<p>If the domestic aspect is disagreeable, what is
+the social?&mdash;A round of dinners of which the
+<i>menu</i> is precisely the same from Alpha to Omega:&mdash;turbot
+and thick lobster-sauce; roast-beef and
+boiled turkey; indigestible plum-pudding and
+murderous mince-pies; with sour oranges and
+sweet sherry to keep the balance even, and by the
+creation of two acids perhaps neutralise each
+other and the third. This is the food set before
+unoffending citizens under the name and style
+of Christmas dinners for the month or six weeks
+during which the idiotic custom of Christmas dinners
+at all is supposed to last. You are expected
+to live in this monotony of dyspepsia and antipathetic
+diet till you loathe the very sight of the
+familiar food, and long for a change with a
+vehemence which makes you ashamed of yourself,
+and more than half afraid that you are developing
+into a gourmand of the worst kind.</p>
+
+<p>As if your nights were not sufficiently broken by
+the horrible compounds which trouble your digestion
+and disturb your brain, torturers known as
+the 'waits' prowl through the streets from midnight
+to dawn, causing you agonies beyond those which
+even the hurdy-gurdy men inflict. You are just
+falling to sleep&mdash;painfully courted and hardly won&mdash;when
+a hideous discord worse than the wailings
+of cats startles you into a nervous wakefulness
+which banishes all hope for that night. What can
+you do? They are too far off for that jug of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_802" id="Page_802">{802}</a></span>
+water to take effect, and you must not fire;
+anathemas do not hurt them, and if said aloud
+only waken up your wife and make her cry if
+she does not preach. You have nothing for it
+then but to lie still and groan inwardly, devoting
+to the infernal gods all the idiotic circumstances
+by which your life is rendered wretched, and
+your health, already frail, set still further wrong.
+In the morning, when wearied and nervously
+feverish from want of sleep, you go into the
+garden for a little quiet and delectation, you find
+your greenhouses stripped of the flowers which you
+had been lovingly watching for weeks, and your
+evergreens as ridiculously cropped as a shaved
+poodle. This is the day for the decoration of the
+church, and you, having made an expensive hobby
+of your garden, have to contribute what has cost
+months and good money to rear, for the childish
+satisfaction of John and Joan, lasting just two
+hours and five minutes. Not only have you lost
+your flowers and your evergreens&mdash;that splendid
+holly, which yesterday glowed like a flame, today
+nothing but a bundle of chopped ends!&mdash;but
+you know that your favourite daughter is flirting
+with the curate, and that a great deal is going on
+under cover of wreaths and crosses, laurustinus and
+chrysanthemum, of which you strongly disapprove
+yet cannot check. It is Christmas-time; decorating
+the church has become in these later days a kind
+of religious duty; and as a conscript father of
+your village, you must not forbid your daughter
+this pious pleasure any more than you can refuse
+your costly contribution in kind.</p>
+
+<p>Turn to the financial side of the time; and
+what have you?&mdash;bills coming in that you neither
+expected nor knew of, and every one looking for a
+Christmas-box, and insolent or irritated if they
+do not get it. The servants obsequious to the
+worth of half a sovereign&mdash;tradesmen and their
+lads punctual in anticipation of half-crowns&mdash;postmen
+levying blackmail, and watermen and
+dustmen demanding as their right that they should
+be fee'd for their persistent neglect of duty&mdash;every
+one making a dead set at your pocket and trying
+to get your money for themselves&mdash;the very
+children more caressing and affectionate because it
+is Christmas and papa always gives them something
+on Christmas-day:&mdash;You groan as you ask
+yourself where is disinterestedness on this earth?&mdash;and
+you groan still more as you draw your cheques
+and reduce your balance and wonder by what law
+of right it is that you should be the pipe by which
+other folks are to be supplied.</p>
+
+<p>No; you see no good or pleasure in this boasted
+Christmas-time as we keep it up in our benighted
+country. Its mirth is a sham and its inflictions
+are only too real. A time of tumult and expense,
+of indigestion and discomfort, you wait, grimly or
+fretfully as your mood may be, till it has passed
+and the current of your life is allowed to flow
+evenly as before. When you hear people sing its
+praises you long to stop their mouths, as you
+longed to silence the waits who woke you up out
+of your first sleep and spoilt your rest for the
+night. What manner of men are these, you think,
+who can find cause of congratulation in so much
+absurdity, if the fun is real to them&mdash;so much
+dreary make-believe, if it is unreal? You despise
+your genial, laughing, merry-hearted neighbour
+who goes into everything <i>con amore</i>, and accepts it
+all, from forfeits and snapdragon to plum-pudding
+and Christmas-boxes, as if he really liked it. You
+think what a fool he must be to be pleased with a
+rattle, tickled with a straw like this. But for the
+most part you do not believe in his mirth; and
+then you despise him still more as a hypocrite as
+well. For a hypocrite shamming folly is an
+offender against reason as well as truth, whom you
+find it hard to forgive, let the motive of his mummery
+be what it may.</p>
+
+<p>This is one side of the question; your neighbour
+takes the other.</p>
+
+<p>Who on earth, he says with his hands in his
+pockets, his back to the fire and his kindly smiling
+face to the room, who on earth can grumble at the
+facts of Christmas-time? For his part he finds
+it the jolliest season of the year, and he finds each
+season as jolly as the other, and all perfect in their
+own appointed way. He is none of your crying
+philosophers who go through life bewailing its
+miseries and oppressed by its misfortunes. Not
+he! He thinks the earth beautiful, men and
+women pleasant, and God very good; and of
+all occasions wherein he can transact his cheerful
+philosophy, Christmas is the best. The
+boys are home for their holidays; and it is
+a pleasure to him to take them out hunting
+and shooting, and initiate them into the personal
+circumstances belonging to English country
+gentlemen. He looks forward to the time when
+they will take his place and carry on the
+traditions of the family, and he wishes them to
+be worthy of their name and an honour to their
+country. He is not one of those nervous self-centred
+men who live by rule and measure and
+cannot have a line of the day's ordering disturbed.
+He likes his own way certainly; and he
+has it; but he can press his elbows to his sides
+on occasions, and give room for others to expand.
+He does not find it such an unbearable infliction
+that his boys should come home and racket about
+the place, even though they are a little upsetting,
+and do not leave everything quite as smooth and
+straight as they found it. He remembers his own
+youth and how happy it made him to come home
+and racket; and he supposes that his lads are very
+much the same as he was at their age. He thinks
+too that they do the girls good&mdash;wake them up a
+little&mdash;and while not making them rough or rude&mdash;the
+mother takes care of that&mdash;yet that they prevent
+them from becoming prim and missy, as
+girls are apt to be who have no brothers and are
+left too much to themselves. Certainly he does
+not approve of the flood of slang which is let loose
+in the house during their stay; but school-boy
+slang at the worst is not permanent, and in a
+week's time will be forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>As for the married daughter's children, they are
+the merriest little rogues in the world; and his
+wife looks ten years younger since they came. She
+was always fond of babies; and her grandchildren
+seem to renew her own past nursery with all the
+pleasure and none of the anxiety of the olden time.
+He rather wonders at his girl's taste in the matter
+of her husband&mdash;most fathers do&mdash;and cannot for
+the life of him see what there is to love in him.
+But if not an Alcibiades he is a good fellow in the
+main, and makes his young wife happy; which is
+the principal thing. And if his daughter-in-law is
+a trifle stiff, and fond of giving herself fine-lady
+airs, he for his part never stands that kind of
+nonsense, and will laugh her out of it before she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_803" id="Page_803">{803}</a></span>
+has been twenty-four hours in the house. He
+finds good-humour and taking no offence the best
+weapons in the world against folly and ill-temper;
+and prefers them as curative agents to any other.
+The girl is a nice girl enough, but she has been
+badly brought up&mdash;had a lot of false ideas instilled
+into her by a foolish mother&mdash;but when she has
+been away from the old influences, and associated
+with themselves for a little while, she will open
+her eyes and see things in their right light. Who
+indeed could resist the sweet sensible influence of
+his wife, her mother-in-law?&mdash;and are not his girls
+the very perfection of honest wholesome English
+ladies? It will all come right in time; he has no
+doubt of that; and meanwhile they must be patient
+and forbearing for Dick's sake, and not make
+matters worse than they are by their own want of
+self-control.</p>
+
+<p>Then as to the Christmas-boxes and the tips
+sacred to the season&mdash;well! well! after all they
+do not amount to much in the year, and see what
+pleasure they give! A man must be but a poor-spirited
+surly kind of hound who does not like to
+see his fellow-creatures happy; and a very little
+kindness goes a great way in that direction. He
+takes care to live within his income, and therefore
+he has always a margin to go on; and he does not
+object to use it. The servants have been very good
+on the whole, and do their duty fairly enough.
+And when they fail&mdash;as they do at times&mdash;why, to
+fail is human, and are they alone of all mankind
+to be blameless and never swerving in the right
+way? And are they alone of all mankind to be
+judged of by their worst and not by their best?&mdash;to
+be blamed for failure, but not praised for
+well-doing? He does not think so; and not
+thinking this, his half-sovereigns are given freely
+without the grudging which makes them an
+ungracious tax instead of a kindly voluntary gift.
+The tradespeople, too, do fairly well, and&mdash;they
+must have their profit like any one else! Those
+Christmas-boxes to their lads may be the nest-eggs
+for future savings; and even if they do go
+in a little finery or personal pleasure instead&mdash;young
+people will be young, and his own boys
+are fond of being smart and amused: so why not
+these others? You grumble at the waits? If you
+in your warm bed, well fed, well clothed, prosperous
+altogether, fret at the loss of an hour's sleep,
+what must these poor fellows feel, out in the cold
+frosty night, with the wind blowing and the sleet
+falling fast, and they not half fed nor a quarter
+clothed? For his own part he would like to give
+them a glass of hot grog all round; and as for
+grumbling at the few coppers which they brave
+all this physical discomfort to earn, he makes it
+shillings, and hopes it will do them good. We
+must live and let live, he says with his broad
+smile; and if we are sometimes a little inconvenienced
+by the efforts made by the poor to
+accomplish the art of living for their own parts&mdash;we
+must remember that our loss is their gain, and
+that they are men and women like ourselves&mdash;fathers
+of families who want to keep the pot boiling
+and the fire alight&mdash;mothers who love their
+children, and are anxious to do the best for them
+that nature and man will allow.</p>
+
+<p>You complain of indigestion and grumble at
+the monotony of your Christmas fare?&mdash;That is
+strange! Who can grumble at good plain succulent
+meat?&mdash;and why do you eat the sweets if they
+disagree with you? Neither pudding nor mince-pie
+comes into the eternal necessities of things,
+and you would do very well if only you would
+refrain. He does not eat things that he cannot
+digest, and in consequence he sleeps well, and when
+he wakes has neither regret nor remorse. Surely
+that is not such a painful trial&mdash;to forbear eating
+what is hurtful to your health, and in touching
+your health corroding your happiness as well.</p>
+
+<p>In a word, the whole difference of the spirit in
+which we meet the facts of Christmas depends
+on the good or ill humour with which we are
+naturally endowed, and which we have cultivated
+by common-sense on the one hand, or suffered to
+ride rough-shod over our reason on the other. If
+we are unselfish and sympathetic, Christmas-time
+is as pleasant to us as popular tradition would
+make it; if we are egotistical and peevish, it
+is a wearisome infliction and a sham which no
+honest man can pretend to believe in, nor any
+sensible one to admire.</p>
+
+<p>For our own part we believe in Christmas,
+because we believe in the kindness of man to man,
+in genial good-humour, in unselfishness, and the
+liking of wholesome natures to give happiness;
+and so far as we have gone yet we have seen no
+reason to change our views. A merry Christmas
+then to you all, friends, readers, and countrymen;
+and a happy New Year to follow after; and may
+God bless the rich and care for the poor, and lead
+us all in the right way while the day lasts and
+before the night has come!</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /></div><div>
+<h2><a name="A_CAST_OF_THE_NET" id="A_CAST_OF_THE_NET">A CAST OF THE NET.</a></h2>
+
+<p class='ph3'>THE STORY OF A DETECTIVE OFFICER.</p>
+
+
+<h3>CHAPTER IV.</h3>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Long</span> after it had grown quite dark, all remained
+quiet, and at last I resolved upon making a move.
+I had determined upon fetching Peter Tilley. I
+had plenty of assistance, but I thought I should
+like to have Peter with me. So I went down to
+the ferry; a gas-light which burned at the corner
+shewed me before I left my post that the bony
+ferryman was not there; and choosing a pretty
+good boat, with a strong young fellow to pull, I got
+in. It was a most unpleasant night; as dark as
+pitch, which was bad enough, but every now and
+then it lightened, which was worse, as it dazzled
+my eyes, and made me think we were running
+smash on board some great vessel which I had not
+seen a moment before, and couldn't see a moment
+after. However, the boatman was used to all
+kinds of weather, I suppose, and knew the river
+thoroughly; so through the darkness and the rain,
+which never left off for a moment, we reached the
+other side.</p>
+
+<p>I left the boat to wait for me, and ran up to the
+<i>Yarmouth Smack</i>. I looked in, and saw Peter
+leaning against the bar and smoking a short pipe,
+as a labourer ought to do; and he was talking in
+a friendly way to some rough-looking fellows. I
+slipped in, and using the name we had agreed
+upon, spoke to him. He knew my voice of course;
+but seeing me so changed, for my make-up was
+really splendid (it was, although I say so that
+shouldn't), it gave him such a shock that he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_804" id="Page_804">{804}</a></span>
+obliged to put the pewter down he was going to
+drink from and look steadily at me before he
+answered. 'I'm acoming,' he said at last, and we
+got outside; when, as we walked down to the ferry,
+I gave him a sort of idea of what was going on, and
+how I expected to make a great catch that night.
+Peter of course was very glad to be in for such a
+big thing as this, for he had never been mixed up
+with anything so important.</p>
+
+<p>Not to trust the boatman too much, I kept Peter
+back a few yards from the water while I finished
+my story, standing a little on one side, so as to be
+out of the way of the people who came and went
+to and from the ferry. While I was talking to
+him, a wherry ran in; we heard her grate on the
+pebbles and the sculls rattle as the man laid 'em
+in; but that we had heard before. It's a part of my
+habit to notice little things however, and I looked
+to see who had come in by this boat. There was
+only one passenger, a woman, and she passed us
+walking quickly; but quick as she walked, I saw
+her, and she saw me. Blessed if it wasn't Miss
+Doyle! My being there was no odds to Miss Doyle,
+nor could it have signified to her if she had seen
+me fifty times; yet I felt I would rather not have
+met her just then; it looked unlucky, and she was
+such an uncommonly sharp one too. Sharp or not,
+I couldn't see what she could make out of my
+standing under a wall on a wet night talking to
+another labourer.</p>
+
+<p>Having finished my explanation, we both got
+into the wherry, and I asked the man if he would
+like a good long job, which might perhaps last
+all night.</p>
+
+<p>'The longer the better, governor,' he says, 'if
+the pay is accordin'.'</p>
+
+<p>'The pay <i>will</i> be accordin',' I answered; 'and so
+you are engaged.'</p>
+
+<p>The first thing I made him do was to row
+round that oyster-smack, for the tide had risen
+enough to take us round her. I shewed no light,
+but we went inside her twice; and the fellow on
+the watch was very sharp, so he was leaning over
+the side when we came round the second time, and
+I could say quite quiet-like: 'I am in this boat
+now&mdash;watch the river.' That was quite enough;
+he knew he would not now have to look to the
+<i>Anchor</i> for signals.</p>
+
+<p>After this began what I believe was the most
+disagreeable sort of patrol I ever had. There was
+a time when I used to envy the Thames police;
+but I can't say I ever did after that night. We
+were obliged to be in motion almost continually,
+because we did not know from which side of the
+river the paper might come, and we weren't quite
+sure that it would come at all, especially on that
+night; and I don't know, speaking from my own
+experience, that there is anything more trying to
+the spirits than the pulling backwards and forwards
+and loitering about on the river Thames
+in a raw October night with a small thick rain
+falling. Twice we landed, and went once to the
+<i>Smack</i> and once to the <i>Anchor</i>. I couldn't grudge
+the men a glass of hot grog; in fact I was obliged
+to have some myself, even if I missed my capture
+through it.</p>
+
+<p>It grew later and later; the flashes of lightning
+still came at long intervals; but the lights on the
+shore went out, and excepting the gas-lamps which
+burnt at street-corners, ferries, and wharfs, all
+was dark. The traffic on the river had long
+ceased, no shouts or rattle of wheels came from the
+shore; and the rain still falling, it was, I give you
+my word, most horribly miserable, dull and sloppy
+beyond description. Twelve o'clock had struck,
+and one, and perhaps half an hour beyond it. I
+had cautioned my companions to speak very low;
+so the boatman only whispered when he said:
+'It's as quiet as it is likely to be, governor, if
+you've got anything to run. I have just seen the
+police galley creep along on the other side; I see
+her under that lamp. Now's your time.'</p>
+
+<p>He thought we were smugglers! Perhaps he
+didn't care if we were thieves. I told him to be
+patient; when at that very instant, just as we were
+creeping along under the lee of a coal-barge, a
+wherry shot very silently by, right in front of us,
+going across stream, and not six feet from our
+bows. In her sat the sulky ferryman; I knew
+him at a glance, dark as it was. 'Pull after that
+wherry,' I said.</p>
+
+<p>'Peter Tilley, my lad,' I continued, turning to
+Peter, 'the time's acoming, I think.'</p>
+
+<p>'I'm precious glad of it,' says Peter; 'for I'm
+catching a cold in my head every minute I sit in
+this confounded boat; and it's all soaking wet
+where I'm sitting.'</p>
+
+<p>Our man pulled on; he was a very strong fellow,
+as I have said, and we could have overtaken the
+other boat directly; but this of course I did not
+want. I knew where to look for the old scamp;
+and sure enough, after a few strokes across stream,
+he bent to the left and ran under the bows of the
+Dutch trader.</p>
+
+<p>All was dark and silent as the grave aboard the
+ship; but that didn't deceive the old boatman,
+nor did it deceive me. I stopped our man in the
+shade of the next vessel, if you can call anywhere
+a shade, when it was all pitch dark. We had not
+been there a minute before I heard a slight noise&mdash;it
+was impossible to see any one unless he stood
+between you and the sky&mdash;and then I could tell by
+the sound that a man had dropped into the wherry.
+There was no need to tell me what man it was.
+With an almost noiseless dip, the ferryman dropped
+his sculls into the river again and rowed on, we
+still after him. I took it for granted he was going
+to the other side of the ferry; but he suddenly bore
+off to the right, and rowed on for some little time,
+then striking in between two vessels, he went
+straight for the land.</p>
+
+<p>'Where is he going to?' I whispered.</p>
+
+<p>'To the landing at Byrle's wharf,' says the boatman
+in the same tone.</p>
+
+<p>So he was; and it appeared this landing-place
+was at the farther side of the wharf; that is, lower
+down the river.</p>
+
+<p>It was so dark we could hardly see them&mdash;for
+we could just make out there were now two
+persons in the boat&mdash;but as they reached the shore,
+a lamp that was burning on the wharf helped us a
+little. We could not clearly see what they were
+doing; but they certainly got out of the boat, and
+as certainly there were then more than two figures
+moving about, and seemingly engaged in placing
+parcels in the wherry. But it was very gloomy
+there; they were in the shade of the wharf, and
+the lamp glimmered weak and faint through the
+thick rain. It was the more difficult to see what
+was being done, because there were several boats
+tied up to the landing-place, making some confusion
+in the darkness. At last, however, we could see that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_805" id="Page_805">{805}</a></span>
+they were pushing off from the shore; so it was
+time for us to move. We pulled back for a while
+(there was no doubt as to which way the others
+would come), and then sheering off, lay between
+two colliers until we saw the wherry we had
+watched go by, and then we once more pulled
+after them.</p>
+
+<p>'I'm blest if I don't think there's another boat
+following <i>us</i>,' says Peter Tilley, staring as hard as
+he could behind us. I looked, but couldn't see
+anything; and Peter owned he might have been
+mistaken.</p>
+
+<p>We could not make out how many there were
+in the foremost boat. There was only one man rowing,
+that was plain; and he pulled short round at
+the proper place, as I knew he would, and rowed
+towards the Dutch trader. As he did so, we lost
+him for a second, a big steamer lying between us;
+but the hull of this vessel did not obstruct the
+view up the river. I seized the moment, and
+waved my lantern twice. It was all right. As
+quick as thought the light on board the oyster-smack
+was moved twice also, and then we too
+were pulling across the stream. I wanted to
+capture my men on board the trader, as otherwise
+the paper might be got rid of, because I
+couldn't be positively certain that it was not
+already on board. In fact, Mr Edmund Byrle
+was my chief aim, not the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>The wherry pulled under the bows of the vessel;
+we followed just in time to see, by a very convenient
+flash of lightning, two packages handed
+up; then a figure, which we had recognised by the
+same flash as the bony ferryman, got into the ship.
+As he disappeared, our wherry touched the vessel;
+and at the same instant, to my great relief, a long
+black Thames police galley came alongside us, and
+its crew, five constables, with Barney Wilkins, who
+was there as guide, clambered up like cats. I and
+Peter imitated them, but not quite so quickly; and
+when I looked over the bulwark, I saw by the
+light of a couple of lanterns, screened from the
+outside, four or five men, the boatman and the
+skipper being two, lifting up a great lid which
+fitted in the deck&mdash;the hatches I heard it called&mdash;while
+by their side lay the packages of paper.
+I could not see Mr Byrle; but there was no time to
+consider; we all jumped in at once, the men looking
+round in amazement at the noise. I fancied
+that just then I heard a shout from the boat.</p>
+
+<p>'What do you all want here?' said the skipper
+angrily.</p>
+
+<p>'We hold a warrant'&mdash;I began.</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, it is <i>you</i>, is it?' he screeched, like a
+hyena, or something of that sort. 'I owe you a
+little for a past score, and you shall have it.' As
+quick as lightning he pulled a long straight
+knife from the side of his trousers, where it must
+have been in some sort of sheath, and jumped at
+me with such suddenness that he would have
+stabbed me, only Barney Wilkins snatched a
+handspike from the deck, and dashing between us,
+hit him down with such a blow, that the skipper
+fell with a crash like a bullock when it is killed,
+the blood pouring from his head instantly.</p>
+
+<p>It was all as quick as thought. The other men
+were all seized in a breath. So quick was it all
+done, that I had no idea Barney was hurt, until
+he reeled, made a wild clutch as if he caught at
+something for support, and then pitched forward
+on his hands and knees.</p>
+
+<p>'Hollo, Barney!' I said, stooping down to him.
+'What's the matter, old fellow?'</p>
+
+<p>'It's all up, Mr Nickham,' he gasped; 'he's
+done me. I only hope I've killed him. Where's
+the other?'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, never mind the other, Barney,' I says.
+'Where are you hurt?'</p>
+
+<p>But as I spoke, one of the men came with a
+lantern, and Barney had no occasion to answer
+me, for I could see a straight stream of blood
+running from his chest on to the deck; and
+his hands giving way from weakness, he fell over
+on his side.</p>
+
+<p>'Pull in for the shore, you, sir!' said the sergeant
+of the Thames police to my waterman. 'You
+know Marigold Street? Knock up Mr Gartley, and
+tell him what has happened. Say we are afraid
+to move the man to his house, so he had better
+come aboard.'</p>
+
+<p>'Send one of your own men, will you?' answers
+the boatman. 'I've got something to tell the
+governor' (that was me), 'as I think he ought
+to know.'</p>
+
+<p>'Cut away then, Bill,' says the sergeant to a
+constable; 'these fellows are ironed, and we can
+manage all that are aboard this craft.'</p>
+
+<p>So the man went off in my wherry; and the
+Thames men tried to make poor Barney a little
+more comfortable, while I undid his waistcoat,
+hoping to stop the bleeding.</p>
+
+<p>'It ain't no use,' he said; but in that short
+time his voice was almost gone, and we could tell
+that he was dying. 'I'm done for, Mr Nickham.
+If there's a reward, you'll act fair and square, I
+know; you always was a gentleman&mdash;let my sister
+have'&mdash;&mdash; And with that he gave a gasp, and
+was dead.</p>
+
+<p>I rose up, dreadfully vexed for the poor chap.
+The sergeant and one of his men were looking
+after the skipper, when I felt myself touched on
+the arm.</p>
+
+<p>'I say, sir,' said the boatman, 'when I'm in for
+a thing, I go through with it honourable. Did
+you know as you was followed?'</p>
+
+<p>'Followed? no!' I said.</p>
+
+<p>'I thought we was!' said Peter Tilley.</p>
+
+<p>'We was followed, sir, by a light wherry with two
+people in it,' continues the boatman; 'and when
+they see our boats, they held hard; and as you all
+boarded the ship and the noise began, they rowed
+away as hard as they could go.'</p>
+
+<p>'Which way did they go?' I said.</p>
+
+<p>'Down river,' says the man. 'But it's of no use
+thinking of looking after them now. They are
+ashore long afore this.'</p>
+
+<p>This was likely enough; and it was quite certain
+that Mr Edmund Byrle was one of the two in the
+boat, and I had lost him for the present. Well,
+it couldn't be helped; so we set to work to question
+the men and search the ship, till the doctor came.
+The men knew nothing more about the business
+than that they were going to have two passengers,
+a lady and a gentleman, this voyage. One of the
+Thames men understood Dutch, or we should not
+have heard even this scrap of information. The
+sulky boatman never uttered a word, except that
+once he said as I passed him, and he said it with a
+bitter curse: 'I always had my doubts of <i>you</i>.'</p>
+
+<p>The doctor came off; but poor Barney was stone-dead,
+while the skipper's skull was badly fractured.
+However, the paper was all there; so I supposed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_806" id="Page_806">{806}</a></span>
+and so it proved; and I shouldn't have cared if the
+skipper's head had been broken fifty times over.</p>
+
+<p>We got our prisoners to the shore, leaving the
+craft in charge of a Thames police galley that
+came in answer to our signals; and late as it was,
+I drove with Peter Tilley in a cab to the City.
+Our people there were immensely glad, I can tell
+you; and when I went over to the Bank (for there
+was no need for secrecy or dodging now), I thought
+the gentlemen never would have left off paying
+me compliments. Poor Barney Wilkins that was
+dead deserved most credit; but it could not do
+him any good to say so now, so I let them go on.
+The paper was examined, and found to be exactly
+the quantity required; enough, I believe, to have
+made about twenty thousand bank-notes. Ah! if
+they <i>had</i> got into circulation!</p>
+
+<p>I hope you will understand, however, that I
+did act fair and square; and when the reward
+was paid (and the Bank people did come down
+most liberal; I bought my house at Pentonville
+with my share), I told the gentlemen about
+poor Barney and his wishes; and I'm proud
+to say they found his sister out and took her
+away; and after a time she went abroad with
+kind people who looked after her, and took care
+of her money till she got married, and did well.
+Why, she sent me a snuff-box made out of pure
+Australian gold, with a letter signed by herself
+and her husband, who was a butcher in a great
+way of business out there; and they sent it as an
+acknowledgment of my having acted all fair and
+square. I promised so to do, and I did.</p>
+
+<p>Edmund Byrle was never caught, and so far as
+we were concerned, was never heard of; and if
+it hadn't been for his father, I should never have
+understood a lot of things that puzzled me. I had
+given a pretty good guess as to how Miss Doyle
+came in the first place to inquire about Mr Byrle
+and the detective; a very clever idea in itself,
+but like many other clever things, it lost her the
+game. Mr Byrle had talked with his friends about
+employing detectives; and Miss Doyle knowing
+about the Bank paper, and being always on the
+watch, had got hold of just enough to mislead
+her. She went out with Edmund Byrle to Turkey,
+I think, and was married to him; and old Mr
+Byrle sent out a friend to see them; and it was
+in this way I got the particulars. It appears she
+knew me again&mdash;only as the limping labourer, of
+course&mdash;when she saw me talking at the ferry to
+Tilley. But she knew <i>him</i> as the detective at
+the <i>Yarmouth Smack</i>, and she thought that although
+it might be all right, yet a detective was a dangerous
+customer, and his acquaintances might be
+dangerous also. Consequently she tried to persuade
+Edmund to put off his journey; but he wanted
+the money for the paper, and wouldn't listen to
+her. But he agreed at last to go aboard in another
+boat, which satisfied her, as she felt so certain
+the skipper's boat would be attacked. As I have
+explained, her precaution saved him from fifteen
+years' 'penal,' which is the least he would have had.
+The skipper was sent for life, having killed a
+man in his arrest; but he didn't live six months
+in prison; he never got over the tremendous blow
+he received from Barney. All the reports spoke
+of his being a receiver of 'stolen goods.' The Bank
+paper was never mentioned, for the authorities
+did not want to unsettle the public again, or let
+them see what a narrow escape they had had.</p>
+
+<p>And now comes about the queerest part of my
+story. Call me names if I didn't stop the thieving
+at Byrle's factory as well as recover the Bank
+paper, killing two birds with one stone.</p>
+
+<p>It was all through my catching the bony ferryman.
+Finding that things was going hard with him,
+and hoping to make them easier, and being disappointed
+that those who were concerned with him
+did not come forward with money to provide for
+his defence, he 'rounded' on them; he split on
+them all, and owned how he was the means of
+taking the metal over to a fence on his side of the
+water, the things being stolen by a mechanic and a
+watchman who were in league. (I see I have used
+the word 'fence;' this means a receiver of stolen
+goods; but though I have been warned by the
+editor of this magazine, we can't do without <i>some</i>
+slang words.)</p>
+
+<p>Peter Tilley got a tidy present, and was noted
+for promotion through this business. I was glad of
+it, for Peter was a capital chap&mdash;never wanted to
+play first-fiddle; and I admire people of that disposition.
+I tell you what I did: I got the newest
+five-pound note of all what the Bank gave me, and
+they were all very clean and crisp, and I wrapped
+old Bob the gatekeeper's own sixpence in it; and
+I went to the factory and I stood a pint of ale, and
+says: 'Bob, here's your sixpence!' He hadn't
+known exactly who I was till then, for I had
+made excuses as usual; and then I'm blessed if
+he didn't quite cry over his luck. Mr Byrle too
+thought a lot of Bob's kindness, for I told the old
+gent about it; and I heard that on that very
+account he put six shillings a week on Bob's
+wages, and I was glad to hear it.</p>
+
+<p>They couldn't keep me off the detective staff
+after this; and although I am free to confess&mdash;now
+I am on my pension and nothing matters to me&mdash;that
+I only stumbled upon these discoveries by
+accident, I was praised to the skies by those for
+whom I worked. However, it all died away, as
+such things do; but I had managed to get my
+house at Pentonville, as I have hinted; and a
+pleasanter neighbourhood I don't know, or one
+more convenient for getting about. I have had
+some rather odd adventures since I have lived in
+my street; you can't help seeing strange things, if
+you keep your eyes open in London. But I didn't
+begin to tell about <i>them</i>. I have finished my
+account of the robberies at Byrle &amp; Co.'s and my
+story finishes in consequence.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /></div><div>
+<h2><a name="FEATS_OF_ENDURANCE" id="FEATS_OF_ENDURANCE">FEATS OF ENDURANCE.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">London</span>, which has witnessed many strange doings
+in its day, was lately the scene of the most
+wonderful feats of pedestrianism ever accomplished
+within a given period.</p>
+
+<p>Every hour, day and night, for six weary weeks
+a man plodded on his way round a measured
+track, until the grand total of fifteen hundred
+miles in one thousand hours had been made up,
+finishing his self-imposed task with his physical
+and mental faculties apparently unimpaired.</p>
+
+<p>The task of walking fifteen hundred miles in a
+thousand hours had never before been attempted,
+and henceforth the new achievement will throw
+into the cold shade of obscurity even the marvellous
+act of walking a thousand miles in as many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_807" id="Page_807">{807}</a></span>
+hours, which was once accomplished in 1809 by
+Captain Robert Barclay of Ury, a Scotchman, who
+proposed to perform the then incredible task of
+walking a thousand miles in a thousand consecutive
+hours. The proposition was received with
+every sign of incredulity, though, when the affair
+was finally arranged to take place, many thousands
+of pounds were staked on the event. Newmarket
+Heath was selected as the scene of the exploit, and
+the famous walk began on the 1st of June 1809, at
+midnight. It is unnecessary to repeat the details
+of this feat; it will suffice to mention that the
+enterprising captain completed his task on the 12th
+July, at four o'clock in the afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>Since then, an attempt has, we believe, been
+made to walk the same distance <i>backwards</i>; and
+within the past twelve months, Weston, the American
+pedestrian, has performed some remarkable
+exploits of the kind; being however at last beaten
+by an Irishman named Kelly.</p>
+
+<p>The hero of the lately completed task (fifteen
+hundred miles in a thousand hours) is a
+little Welshman of not more than five feet three
+and a half inches in height, and about forty-two
+years of age; while in personal appearance
+and general <i>physique</i> he presents anything but
+what is usually supposed to be the characteristic
+of a good pedestrian. His name is William Gale,
+and he is a bookbinder by trade, living at Clerkenwell.</p>
+
+<p>At the commencement of his task on Sunday
+the 26th of August, he weighed no more than
+eight stone four pounds (8 st. 4 lbs.); and from
+that day until Saturday the 6th October, during
+a portion of every hour day and night, he pursued
+his monotonous way around the inclosure at Lillie
+Bridge grounds, Brompton. When the attempt
+was first announced, even those most acquainted
+with pedestrian feats where great endurance was
+required, expressed themselves dubious as to the
+result; and in order to have a reliable record of
+his proceedings, Gale requested the different sporting
+papers to appoint competent men as judges&mdash;a
+request which was at once generously complied
+with.</p>
+
+<p>Thus we have an official report of his great
+exploit, and the public are enabled to judge for
+themselves on the nature of the feat performed.
+Gale's average pace appears to have been about
+four miles an hour; but when he had reached his
+thousandth mile he assumed a brave spurt, and
+footed it in ten minutes, or at the rate of six
+miles an hour. During the last few days of his
+walking he started rather stiffly at first, owing
+to the pain caused by the swelling of some
+varicose veins in his left leg; but undaunted by
+so great and manifest a disadvantage, and other
+disadvantages which we shall presently refer to,
+the gallant little Welshman 'plodded his weary
+way' with a determined pluck that won the
+admiration and applause of every one present.</p>
+
+<p>On Friday the 5th October, the day before the
+finish of the tramp, Dr Gant of the Royal Free
+Hospital was called in to see this extraordinary
+walker, and after examining his legs, he pronounced
+Gale to be in excellent condition so far as
+his physical powers were concerned; there being
+no fever, the pulse only seventy, no murmur at
+the heart; and the varicose veins which had been
+the cause of so much pain to him, were rather
+better than worse, having considerably decreased
+in size. Perhaps the most remarkable part of the
+performance is, that it has been accomplished on a
+system of training which entirely sets at variance
+all athletic rules, for Gale partook of no fixed
+refreshment, neither did he have his meals at
+stated hours. His chief food was plain mutton-chops;
+and as an instance of how he varied his
+dishes, his afternoon meal on Friday the 5th
+October, which might have been either breakfast,
+dinner, or supper (so irregular had he been in this
+respect), consisted of a lobster and bread and
+butter, followed by a fried sole, and one or two
+cups of ordinarily strong tea. During the walk he
+also drank a good deal of beer&mdash;not strong beer,
+but the ale which is usually sold at fourpence per
+quart, which he seemed to prefer to any other
+kind, probably on account of its freedom from that
+tendency to increase rather than assuage thirst, so
+remarkably apparent in the stronger beers.</p>
+
+<p>Many strange incidents occurred in the course
+of the six weeks, which were calculated to while
+away the time, and occasionally to bring a smile
+to the pedestrian's lips. For instance, a certain
+illustrated sheet, notorious for its very sensational
+cartoons, published a picture of Gale on the track
+followed by Old Time with the conventional
+scythe on his shoulder; and many people it would
+seem actually paid their money with the idea that
+they were going to see the two figures as thus
+represented. One man, who had evidently gone
+to the grounds for this purpose, had watched Gale
+go round the track several times, when he could
+no longer control his disappointment. He shouted
+aloud, angrily demanding his money back, because,
+as he said with the greatest <i>naïveté</i> possible, 'the
+beggar with the scythe hadn't turned up!'</p>
+
+<p>As the last week of the great walking match
+wore on, signs of weariness in the indomitable
+pedestrian became painfully apparent, and many
+persons began to fear that the task he had set
+himself would after all remain unaccomplished.
+On several of the rounds he fell asleep whilst
+walking, and dropped to the ground; but this contact
+with mother earth seemed to revive him
+instantly, and he plodded on as pluckily as before.</p>
+
+<p>At length success crowned his efforts; and at
+seventeen minutes past five o'clock (less a second)
+on Saturday afternoon the 6th October 1877, Gale
+terminated his long and dreary walk in the presence
+of a large, fashionable, and enthusiastic
+assemblage, who rewarded his efforts with several
+rounds of hearty applause.</p>
+
+<p>From the commencement of his task to the
+finish Gale bore up against all obstacles with extraordinary
+pluck and determination, his last mile
+being performed in <i>ten minutes and eight seconds</i>.
+He was at once removed to the tent or pavilion
+under which he had snatched so many brief half-hours'
+rest, and was examined by three medical
+men, who found that his heart was quite natural
+in its movements, and that the temperature of his
+body did not exceed one hundred and six degrees.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_808" id="Page_808">{808}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The great feat which has thus been accomplished
+without the aid of artificial training, is a marvellous
+instance of what human endurance, allied with
+courage and determination, can effect; though of
+what particular benefit it may be to the world at
+large it is utterly impossible to imagine.</p>
+
+
+<p class='p2'>Since the preceding account was written, Gale
+has accomplished a still more extraordinary feat,
+and one which for strength of will and physical
+endurance far surpasses his previous efforts. We
+still fail, however, to see the benefit which
+can accrue from exhibitions of this kind, and
+well might he have been contented with the
+laurels he had already won. He had scarcely
+allowed himself time to recover from his former
+task, when he once more appeared at a public
+place of entertainment, namely the Agricultural
+Hall at Islington, to walk four thousand quarter-miles
+under the astounding condition, that it was
+to be done in four thousand consecutive periods
+of ten minutes.</p>
+
+<p>This of course deprived him of the half-hour's
+rest which he could obtain at one time in the
+former race, and only allowed him a few minutes
+between each round to get a little sleep. Despite
+these drawbacks, however, Gale finished his task
+at eleven o'clock <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span> on the 17th November, after
+a dreary walk of nearly four weeks. By accomplishing
+his task, he has placed himself at the head
+of all the famous pedestrians the world has known;
+and we trust that this fact will be sufficient to
+satisfy his craving after what is at best but
+ephemeral fame.</p>
+
+<p>Men have on many occasions attempted walking
+feats which required a vast amount of physical
+endurance, and have failed from their utter inability
+to go without the natural quantum of sleep;
+but Gale has not only shewn himself to be possessed
+of the former, but to be altogether independent
+of the latter. This, however, instead of
+indicating 'pluck' merely, would rather seem to
+point to a peculiarity in the man's constitution;
+as there are doubtless many persons whose courage
+would enable them to perform the same or even a
+greater task if, like Gale, they could walk about
+in a state of somnolency or semi-sleep&mdash;a state in
+which, to use his own words, he was as one in a
+dream, unconscious of all that was going on
+around him, and believing himself to be walking
+in forests and other places of silvan beauty; and
+the truth of this was made evident by the fact that
+he would have often exceeded the limit of his
+walk had not the voice of his attendant aroused
+him from his stupor.</p>
+
+<p>The average time occupied by this extraordinary
+walker was by day about three minutes for each
+quarter of a mile, and by night about five minutes;
+and the fastest round recorded was done in two
+minutes and forty-two seconds. His pulse was
+always found to indicate a perfect state of health,
+and was as regular when he left off as when he
+commenced his task. His food consisted principally
+of fish, fowl, chops, eggs, and light puddings;
+and his drink was, with only one exception during
+the whole time, tea.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the
+whole affair was the fact that, although he sank
+into a deep sleep directly he reached his chair
+behind the curtain, which hid him from view
+between his walks, the moment the bell rang
+the second time, he would appear as fresh as
+ever and begin trudging away again.</p>
+
+<p>When the feat was accomplished, Sir John
+Astley stepped forward, and amid a scene of great
+enthusiasm, presented the undaunted Welshman
+with a silver belt of the value of a hundred guineas,
+bearing the following inscription: 'This belt was
+presented to <span class="smcap">William Gale</span> of Cardiff, on the 17th
+November 1877, by some of the nobility and gentry
+of Great Britain, in commemoration of his hitherto
+unprecedented feat, namely walking one thousand
+five hundred miles in one thousand hours at Lillie
+Bridge Grounds, August 26th to October 6th, 1877;
+and four thousand quarter-miles in four thousand
+consecutive periods of ten minutes, at the Agricultural
+Hall, London, October 21st to November 17th,
+1877.' The belt is of lion's skin, mounted on
+velvet, the metal portion of it weighing one hundred
+ounces of sterling silver.</p>
+
+<p>None will begrudge Gale his well-earned reward;
+but it is to be hoped that such exhibitions will in
+future be discountenanced by the general public,
+as they not only detract from the dignity of man,
+but are needless and unwarrantable in a country
+which, we trust, will ever pride itself on a nobler
+civilisation than that which is founded upon mere
+physical endurance.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /></div><div>
+<h2><a name="A_DIFFICULT_QUESTION" id="A_DIFFICULT_QUESTION">A DIFFICULT QUESTION.</a></h2>
+
+<p class='ph3'>THE STORY OF TWO CHRISTMAS EVES.</p>
+
+
+<h3 title='PROLOGUE.'>IN TWO CHAPTERS.&mdash;PROLOGUE.</h3>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">In</span> the gray light of an Indian dawn, with the
+cool breeze blowing through the curtains of the
+tent, and his friend's sorrowful eyes looking down on
+him, a soldier lay on his rough couch&mdash;waiting for
+death. They were soon to be parted those two, who
+had lived and fought together; but the face of
+the one who was starting on that journey of which
+none has measured the distance, was smilingly
+calm, while the eyes of the other glistened with
+regretful tears as he spoke low, faltering, remorseful
+words.</p>
+
+<p>'Hush, Ralph, hush!' the other said at last.
+'Don't you think, dear old fellow, I would sooner
+lose my life in having saved yours, than in any
+other way? After all, a few days or years sooner
+or later, what does it signify? My fate is perhaps
+the happiest, though I hope it is not. I don't
+think life is so very desirable,' he continued; 'I
+am only twenty-six; but mine has not been a
+happy one. It was my own fault, though. Take
+my advice, Ralph; don't marry young. There is
+only one thing that troubles me'&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'Your little girl,' Ralph interrupted. 'Wrayworth,
+let me take care of her; if I can make
+her happy, it will be some slight atonement,
+some'&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'You would take care of her, Ralph? would
+you?' The dying man's eyes shone gratefully as
+he looked up in his friend's face. 'She has nothing,
+poor little thing,' he went on sadly&mdash;'motherless,
+fatherless, scarcely more than a baby either. It
+would be a heavy charge to leave you, Ralph.'</p>
+
+<p>'Wrayworth! how can you speak so; you will
+drive me mad! You&mdash;you'&mdash;&mdash; He broke down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_809" id="Page_809">{809}</a></span>
+utterly; it was something so terrible to see this
+friend dying there&mdash;for him. 'Anything on earth
+that I can do'&mdash;&mdash; he murmured.</p>
+
+<p>'You will do for her,' said Wrayworth. 'Thank
+you. I have no friends to send her to. I meant
+to have made her very happy.'</p>
+
+<p>'She shall be; I swear it!' Ralph answered
+fervently, thankful for this charge, which might
+in some degree help him to pay that debt of gratitude,
+and forgetful that he had no control of fate,
+that the promise he gave of happiness was a
+fearfully presumptuous one. But he made it
+willingly, gladly, solemnly, before God; and as
+far as lay in his power it should sacredly be kept;
+any sacrifice he would make for this child.</p>
+
+<p>His friend's eyes rested on him searchingly for
+a moment. 'I trust you,' he said&mdash;'I trust you.'</p>
+
+<p>The hours passed on, the blazing sun arose, and
+Ralph went out into the burning glare with
+bent head and staggering footsteps, while words
+he had heard long since seemed floating round
+him in letters of fire: 'Greater love hath no man
+than this, that a man lay down his life for his
+friend.'&mdash;'Is there <i>none</i> greater?' he thought. 'Is
+there nothing <i>I</i> can do to repay&mdash;nothing?'</p>
+
+
+<h3>CHAPTER I.&mdash;ASKED.</h3>
+
+<p>The years were well on in their teens since
+that melancholy scene was enacted in the Indian
+tent&mdash;since Wrayworth consigned his only child
+to the guardianship of the friend whose life, at
+the expense of his own, he had saved on the
+battle-field. A carriage rolled along the snowy
+high-road through the cold clear air; the short
+winter's day was drawing to its close, and up in
+the darkening sky the stars were beginning to
+shine upon the world's most joyful season, upon
+Christmas eve. The world's most joyful season?
+We call it so, this festival, more than eighteen
+hundred years old; but does the world think it so?&mdash;the
+world, with its thousand cares and crosses,
+its deep and hidden sorrows, its partings and its
+tears? Of those amongst the myriads who keep
+the Yule-tide feast, how many hold it with a
+chastened joy! For on that day most of all our
+thoughts go back to other years, to other faces, to
+other lips that have wished us 'a merry Christmas;'
+to other hands, which have clasped ours so
+loyally, to those who have loved us so long ago!</p>
+
+<p>But Major Loraine had no sad memories connected
+with the season as he drove up to the old
+house, from which duty had so frequently called
+him, and which he had not seen for five years. In
+the wide, dark, panelled hall his step-mother
+stood waiting to welcome him, as gladly as though
+he had been her own son. He was only a boy
+when she first came there, when the pink was
+fresh on her cheek and the gold bright in her
+hair; they had been drawn to each other then;
+and through the long years of her widowhood his
+loving care had helped to lighten her load of
+sorrow; so it was not wonderful that for months
+past she had been eagerly looking forward to his
+return.</p>
+
+<p>The greetings over, they sat down side by side,
+talking, as those talk after long separation, of past,
+present, and future; of their acquaintances married,
+dead, or far away; of things on the estate, prosperous
+or failures; of the ball to be given next month,
+of the one they were going to, to-night; of how
+much Emma was improved since she 'came out,'
+how Katharine was considered one of the handsomest
+girls in the place, and how she might
+marry Sir Michael Leyland with thirty thousand
+a year if she liked.</p>
+
+<p>'But why ever doesn't she like?' asked the
+Major, astonished at this new phase in the character
+of his worldly-minded sister.</p>
+
+<p>'That is just what troubles me,' answered Mrs
+Loraine. 'They are all at the church now, helping
+to decorate. Louise wanted to stay at home to
+welcome you, but I sent them all off, so as to have
+you to myself for an hour. You will see a great
+alteration in Louise, Ralph.'</p>
+
+<p>'Shall I, mother?' he said smiling. 'I think
+not. Her letters are the same always; they have
+altered in style a little of course in the last year
+or two, but it is the same spirit&mdash;the same
+creature.'</p>
+
+<p>'But not the same face, Ralph. Remember you
+have not seen her for five years, which have not
+altered you, but which have changed her from an
+unformed girl of fourteen to a lovely woman;
+with that bright changing beauty, which has
+more charm for a man than regularity of feature.
+It is a very difficult question.'</p>
+
+<p>'What is a difficult question?' asked Ralph, as
+his mother paused.</p>
+
+<p>'What to do with Louise.'</p>
+
+<p>'You hinted something of the kind in your last
+letter, mother,' he said gravely. 'I am sorry, but
+I must confess this house seems large enough for
+four women. You know how I am situated; you
+know the promise which binds me. But tell me,'
+he added smiling, 'what has Louise done? She
+seemed to me gentle and tractable enough when I
+was last at home.'</p>
+
+<p>'I have not the slightest fault to find,' Mrs
+Loraine replied; 'you know I am very fond of
+her. You will think my difficulty very womanish;
+simply, Louise is too pretty.'</p>
+
+<p>'And some one has told her so,' said Ralph,
+laughing. 'Go on.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is not that; but I cannot bear to see my own
+child's happiness destroyed by another, who, if not
+a stranger, has at least no claim upon her.'</p>
+
+<p>Ralph frowned slightly. 'Perhaps not,' he
+answered; 'the claim is upon me, and it is a sacred
+one. So,' he continued, 'it is a case of rivals, I see.'</p>
+
+<p>'Simply this, Ralph. You remember the Levesons
+of Leigh Court, where we are going to-night?
+Their eldest son is in the &mdash;th Dragoons, and
+has been home on leave. Louise was away when
+he first came here, and he appeared very much
+struck with Katharine; and no wonder; she is
+very handsome. Well&mdash;don't laugh at me; I don't
+like match-making as a rule; but I thought as she
+seemed interested in him, there was no harm in
+inviting him sometimes. But as soon as Louise
+came home, he transferred his attentions to her.
+Katharine says nothing; but it makes a kind of
+awkwardness between them. I know she feels it,
+poor child; though indeed I believe Vere Leveson
+is simply flirting with Louise.'</p>
+
+<p>Major Loraine laughed. 'Poor mother!' he
+said, 'you will have enough to do if you take all
+your children's love affairs to heart so seriously.
+These things always right themselves, you know.
+But I confess I am surprised to hear of Katharine
+going in for sentiment; I should have thought Sir
+Michael more in her line. Is that all, mother?'</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_810" id="Page_810">{810}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'No; only the first of my difficulties,' she
+answered half sadly. 'You know what my health
+has been for the last few years; you know&mdash;&mdash; Well,
+you do not wish me to speak of that; but it is
+better to look in the face of possibility. Suppose
+anything happened to me, Ralph, what would
+become of Louise?'</p>
+
+<p>'You speak of what I hope may be far distant,
+mother,' he answered tenderly. 'But why should
+you be uneasy about her? In the event of her not
+marrying, she would always have a home here
+with me.'</p>
+
+<p>Mrs Loraine shook her head. 'Turn round and
+look in the glass,' she said; 'thirty-nine is not
+such a very formidable age.'</p>
+
+<p>He turned, and contemplated his bronzed face in
+the glass; such a handsome, noble face, telling of a
+nature that could not act falsely or meanly. The
+broad square forehead, marred by a sabre-cut, and
+the dark hair flecked here and there, by the Indian
+sun, with gray; nothing else to find fault with in
+the frank kind smile, the fine regular features, the
+dark true eyes.</p>
+
+<p>'I think there is no fear of my being taken for
+younger than I am, mother,' he said, smiling.</p>
+
+<p>'It is an awkward position for you, though,' she
+answered; 'and as I said, a difficult question
+what to do. We must hope for the best, Ralph.
+You are going to join the others now, I suppose?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes; I think I can find my way.'</p>
+
+<p>He went out into the keen frosty air, walking
+slowly, though it was unpleasantly cold to one
+accustomed to tropical climates. He was thinking
+over his mother's words, and knew she was right
+as to the awkwardness of the position. He saw
+the peace of the household was troubled, without
+knowing how to set matters right, and he thought
+of the old friend who had trusted his child to him.
+He had vowed she should be happy, and now it
+seemed a difficult vow to keep; but for the sake of
+the man who had died for him sixteen long years
+ago, the pledge then given must be redeemed.</p>
+
+<p>Louise Wrayworth's life had been a bright one
+hitherto; her guardian's home was the only one she
+could remember, and he had striven to fill in some
+degree her father's place. To him, from infancy
+to womanhood, she had looked up with loving
+grateful reverence, regarding him, present or
+absent, as the noblest of created beings.</p>
+
+<p>He reached the old church, and made his way
+round to the open vestry door. The steps were
+encumbered with bundles of evergreens; the voices
+of the workers, who had finished their task, were
+audible. He pushed the door further open, and
+went in. The floor was covered with boughs, and
+around the pillars were wreathed holly and other
+evergreens in honour of the joyous season. Some
+of the choristers stood waiting for the choir-practice,
+and the organist was softly playing <i>Adeste
+Fideles</i>.</p>
+
+<p>'Ralph!' cried a young fresh voice; and a
+slight fair girl with a merry face sprang up from
+the floor, with her hands full of the scarlet berries,
+which fell hither and thither in bright-hued rain,
+as with complete indifference to the by-standers,
+she gave the returned soldier a sisterly embrace.
+'You dear old thing to come for us!' she exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>'Emma, Emma!' exclaimed Ralph, laughing and
+disengaging himself; 'you have not learned to
+behave any better in five years.'</p>
+
+<p>But his young sister had vanished, and he
+turned to greet the vicar; and one or two of the
+ladies he recognised. In a few minutes Emma
+reappeared; and behind her came a tall fair
+girl with masses of golden hair, and great beautiful
+cold blue eyes. She greeted Major Loraine
+affectionately, but with the quiet stately grace
+habitual to her. Five years had not changed
+Katharine Loraine; at twenty-four she was still
+the same majestic Queen Katharine as at nineteen,
+with whom he had always had so little
+sympathy, whose nature he had found so difficult
+to understand.</p>
+
+<p>'Where is Louise?' he asked presently. 'Is she
+not here?'</p>
+
+<p>'She went into the churchyard just now,'
+answered Emma, 'to put a wreath on Nellie
+Bryant's grave. You remember her, Ralph?'</p>
+
+<p>'Louise's friend? Yes.'</p>
+
+<p>'A <i>triste</i> employment for Christmas eve,' observed
+one of the gentlemen decorators to Katharine,
+as he stooped to disentangle her dress from a
+long sprig of ivy.</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, Mr Leveson went to hold a lantern for her,'
+Katharine answered, with the slightest possible
+shade of contempt in the silvery tones of her
+voice; 'and Louise is never <i>triste</i>, unless she is
+by herself.'</p>
+
+<p>The choir was now fully assembled; the organist
+struck up the anthem, the rest were silent to
+listen, and Ralph Loraine went out to look for his
+ward. He came round the east end of the old
+church, and stood still for a moment in the
+shadow. There were two people standing at the
+edge of the path, looking down on the grave at
+their feet, where the lantern's light shewed the
+shining holly upon the upright marble cross. It
+shewed too the face of his friend's child; a beautiful
+face, as his step-mother had said, with large
+dark eyes and wavy dusky hair, a clear delicate
+complexion with a little rose-flush on the cheeks,
+and full red lips half-parted by the sweetest smile
+he had ever seen; with the same erect carriage of
+the head, the same fearless straight regard which
+had characterised her father.</p>
+
+<p>It was so strange to see her there a woman,
+whom he had left a mere girl; and as he looked
+on the fair face, something seemed to whisper that
+the ideal beauty he had so often dreamed of was
+before him at last. They moved away, and came
+slowly nearer, and paused again where he could
+see her companion; and for a moment he almost
+hated the man for his youth, and his handsome
+face, and the deep-blue eyes aflame with passion-fire
+as they rested on the child of his dead friend;
+and another whisper which silenced the first, told
+him how fitted was each for the other.</p>
+
+<p>'If <i>I</i> were lying there,' said Vere Leveson, and
+Ralph could hear every one of the foolish, softly
+spoken words, 'would you ever make wreaths for
+<i>me</i>, I wonder?'</p>
+
+<p>'I don't know.'</p>
+
+<p>'Don't you? I wish you did; for I thought just
+now I should be glad to be lying there, if you
+would remember me.'</p>
+
+<p>Ralph had heard enough, and tried to slip away
+unseen; but the gravel crunched under his feet
+and betrayed him.</p>
+
+<p>Louise started, and a bright vivid blush covered
+her face as she sprang forward. 'Lorrie! Oh, how
+glad I am to see you again!' she cried, as she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_811" id="Page_811">{811}</a></span>
+took both his hands in hers and lifted her cheek
+for his kiss.</p>
+
+<p>He felt half sorry she had done so; that and
+the old childish name put him immediately in
+his place as guardian, and made him ashamed of
+his thoughts. 'How you are altered, Louise!' he
+said, looking down at her admiringly. 'I think I
+should hardly have known you!'</p>
+
+<p>'I should have known you, Lorrie, anywhere,'
+she said reproachfully.</p>
+
+<p>'That is rather different,' he said; 'when we
+once get old, we don't change so quickly.'</p>
+
+<p>'You would not like it if I said you were old,
+Lorrie. But tell me, am <i>I</i> altered for the worse?
+or'&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'You have no need to come to me for compliments,
+surely,' he said smiling.</p>
+
+<p>'I should think more of yours than of any one's,'
+she whispered, with that sweet dangerous smile;
+a smile which a man like Ralph Loraine should
+have taken as a warning not to feel its influence
+too often.</p>
+
+<p>'How rude I am!' she said at last.&mdash;'Mr Leveson,
+do you know my guardian?' She turned to her
+companion, who stood holding the lantern a few
+yards from them.</p>
+
+<p>'I had the honour of dining in your company
+once, Major Loraine,' he answered, stepping forward.
+'It is some time ago, when I first joined at Madras;
+but I well remember my anxiety to see such a
+distinguished soldier as yourself.'</p>
+
+<p>There was a ring of truth and honest admiration
+in the words, which raised them above an
+ordinary compliment, and which made Ralph
+hold out his hand and answer cordially: 'I have
+a bad memory for faces, or I think I should have
+remembered yours.'</p>
+
+<p>'Thanks,' said Vere, laughing. 'We shall have
+the pleasure of seeing you to-night, I hope?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes; my mother told me of the invitation.'</p>
+
+<p>'Of course he is coming,' said Louise. 'And
+you will dance with me all the evening, Lorrie;
+won't you?'</p>
+
+<p>'Not quite all, Miss Wrayworth; please, don't
+forget my waltzes,' said Vere, holding out his
+hand. 'I must be off now; so good-bye for the
+present. You won't forget?'</p>
+
+<p>She looked up quickly. 'Perhaps,' the lips said
+laughingly; but the dark eyes gave a sweet silent
+answer Ralph did not see, though he was watching
+them. But after Vere Leveson had gone, he
+walked home beneath the Christmas stars, with
+Louise's hand resting on his arm, dreaming as he
+went, a fair, fond, foolish dream.</p>
+
+
+<p class='p2'>The Christmas-eve ball at Leigh Park was a
+regular institution, one which Sir Harry Leveson
+had kept up for years. It was a pretty sight,
+Ralph thought, as he stood leaning against a
+window, and looking round to select a partner.
+And amongst all the fair women, the one he
+thought the fairest was his young ward Louise
+Wrayworth, in her white floating dress, with its
+wreaths of holly, and the red clustering berries in
+her dark hair.</p>
+
+<p>Ralph had been watching Vere Leveson, trying
+to decide in his own mind whether Mrs Loraine's
+verdict of flirtation was a just one; and he
+judged that it was; for the attentions of the young
+officer were apparently equally divided between
+Louise and Katharine. Ralph did not happen to
+be near when, later on, he led Louise to one of
+the cool empty rooms, where through the open
+window could be heard the merry Christmas bells.
+He did not see the hand-clasp or the light that
+flashed in the eyes of each. He did not hear the
+hurried whisper: 'Louise, you won't forget me,
+you will trust me till next Christmas-time?'</p>
+
+<p>The ball was over, the rooms were dark and
+silent; the whole world waited for the sun to
+rise on Christmas-day.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /></div><div>
+<h2><a name="IS_THE_TELEPHONE_A_PRACTICAL" id="IS_THE_TELEPHONE_A_PRACTICAL">IS THE TELEPHONE A PRACTICAL
+SUCCESS?</a></h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">In</span> September last appeared in this <i>Journal</i> an
+article entitled 'Singing and Talking by Telegraph;'
+and in that paper we attempted to describe
+the mechanism of that wonderful little instrument
+the telephone. It is now our purpose to say something
+regarding the progress that has been made
+towards perfecting the invention; but in order to
+make the article as clear as possible, we venture
+once more upon a few words explanatory of the
+instrument.</p>
+
+<p>The telephone as it is now made is an exceedingly
+simple-looking apparatus similar in appearance
+to a stethoscope; to the handle of a girl's
+skipping-rope; or better still, to a large-sized
+penny wooden trumpet. Inside this hollow cylinder,
+and within an inch or so of the wider end, is
+fixed a plate of iron as thin as a well-worn sixpence,
+and about the size of a half-crown piece.
+This is called the diaphragm. Behind the diaphragm,
+nearly touching it, and extending to the
+narrower end of the cylinder, is a piece of 'soft'
+iron enveloped in wire coils, with a permanent
+magnet beyond. Outside the narrower end of the
+cylinder, and communicating with the coils that
+surround the iron inside, are attached two screws
+or 'terminals,' which are 'joined up' to a main
+wire, communicating with the distant or receiving
+telephone wherever that may be, and which is
+precisely similar to the one we have described.
+When we apply our mouth to the bell-shaped
+end of the apparatus, and speak or shout or sing,
+we set the diaphragm vibrating as in a tuning-fork;
+the vibrations thus created are electrically
+communicated through the wire to a distant
+telephone, and are repeated on its diaphragm
+with more or less distinctness.</p>
+
+<p>It is known that the motion of an iron plate
+contiguous to the poles of a magnet creates a
+disturbance of electricity in coils surrounding
+those poles; and the duration of this current
+will coincide with the vibratory motion of the
+plate or diaphragm. When, therefore, the human
+voice (or any other suitable sound) impinges
+through the tube against this diaphragm, the
+diaphragm begins to vibrate, and awakens, so
+to speak, electrical action in the coils of wire
+surrounding the poles of the magnet; not a current,
+but a series of undulations, something like
+those produced by the voice in the air around us.
+In short the telephone is an apparatus designed
+to transmit sound through a wire of indefinite
+length; the voice being, so to speak, 'converted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_812" id="Page_812">{812}</a></span>
+into electricity at one end, the electricity becoming
+voice at the other.'</p>
+
+<p>With these few explanatory remarks, we now
+proceed to offer to our readers the following interesting
+experiments made by a gentleman well
+skilled in telegraphy.</p>
+
+<p>'Journalists,' he says, 'with no special knowledge
+of the difficulties the invention has to
+encounter as a telegraph instrument, have expatiated
+in such enthusiastic terms upon the results
+said to have been achieved by the telephone, that
+a somewhat exaggerated notion of its powers
+and capabilities has been accepted by the general
+public. It appears, therefore, to the writer of those
+lines that a statement of the experiences of a
+person practically engaged in the work of telegraphy
+may assist in placing the phenomena of
+the telephone on a proper footing.</p>
+
+<p>'Scientifically, the telephone is a great and
+undoubted success; and a person would be grievously
+in error if, because of some undoubted
+hindrances to its practical use, he pronounced it
+unworthy of further experiment. The emergence
+of telegraphy from the domain of experiment
+into that of daily practical use is a fact so
+undoubted, and one with which we are now so
+familiar, that it is impossible to say at what
+moment the telephone, at present a scientific toy,
+may become a daily necessity not only of telegraphic
+but of ordinary commercial work.</p>
+
+<p>'Being engaged in daily contact with a large
+telegraphic centre, and in association with men
+who have the command of every means of testing
+the invention in a practical work-a-day manner,
+the writer was able to gauge pretty accurately the
+range within which the telephone can work. It
+must be understood, however, that in recording
+the effects observed by him and his associates, he
+has no desire to invalidate, or even to call in question
+the experiences of others who may have been
+able to arrive at better results. The telephone is
+in the hands of some of the first electricians and
+telegraphists of the day, and differences of conditions
+(not to speak of differences of capacity on
+the part of the operator) may give variety in
+the observations made. The very difficulties and
+drawbacks now to be recorded will no doubt some
+day suggest to a master-mind the method by which
+they may be overcome. But till that day arrives,
+the telephone must be content to remain where
+the writer leaves it, an undoubted success from
+a scientific point of view, but overwhelmed with
+obstacles to its practical use, in this country at
+least, in general telegraphy.</p>
+
+<p>'When a telegraphist first gets into his hand
+this beautifully simple and electrically delicate instrument,
+his first inclination is to test its carrying-power.
+This is of course a closet experiment,
+not working with actual telegraph line, but
+with "resistance" equivalent to a telegraph line of
+stated length. An experiment of this nature gives
+better results than could be obtained by a veritable
+line, because the insulation is, so to speak, perfect.
+No leakage at undesigned points of contact, or
+disturbance from unfavourable atmospheric conditions,
+is felt, and the experiment is entirely under
+the observer's control. The apparatus used is
+designed to offer the same labour for the electric
+current to overcome, as would be offered by a
+stated length of outside telegraph line. This
+artificial resistance is nicely graduated, and as
+the method of testing was suggested by Ohm, a
+German electrician, the unit of resistance is, as
+we once previously explained, termed an "ohm."
+Removing the telephone to such a distance that
+the two observers were "out of earshot," the test
+with resistance was tried, and with a resistance of
+one thousand ohms&mdash;roughly speaking, equal to
+seventy miles of a well-constructed line&mdash;the sound
+was perfect, although not very loud. Every articulation
+of the speaker at the other end could be distinguished
+so long as silence was maintained in the
+room, or so long as no heavy lorry rumbling over
+the stones outside sent in harsh noises which
+drowned the faint whisper of the instrument. The
+resistance was gradually raised to four thousand
+ohms&mdash;nearly three hundred miles&mdash;with like
+favourable results; and for some little distance
+beyond, articulation could still be made out. But
+by the time ten thousand ohms had been applied,
+putting the speaker at a distance of, say, seven
+hundred miles, sound only, but not articulate
+sound, reached the ear. The tone was there, and
+every inflection of the voice could be followed;
+but articulation was absent, although the listener
+strove every nerve to catch the sound, which the
+speaker, as was afterwards ascertained, was shouting
+in a loud clear voice. The prolonged notes of
+an air sung could be heard with the resistance
+named, but again no words could be distinguished.
+The voice, whether in speaking or singing, has a
+weird curious sound in the telephone. It is in
+a measure ventriloqual in character; and with
+the telephone held an inch or two from the ear,
+it has the effect as if some one were singing far
+off in the building, or the sound were coming up
+from a vaulted cellar or through a massive stone
+wall.</p>
+
+<p>'Proceeding to our next experiment, we joined
+up the telephones in one office to several wires
+in succession, putting ourselves in circuit with
+lines going to various distances and working with
+different instruments. When this was done, the
+real obstacle to telephonic progress at once asserted
+itself in the shape of "induction." The first wire
+experimented with was partly "overhouse" and
+partly underground, and the offices upon it were
+working Wheatstone A B C instruments. It is
+difficult to render clear to the person ignorant of
+telegraphic phenomena the idea expressed by the
+word <i>induction</i>. Briefly it may be put thus, that
+when a strong electric current is passing on a
+wire, it has the faculty of setting up a current of
+opposite character in any wire not then working,
+or working with a feebler current, that may be in
+its vicinity. The why or the wherefore cannot be
+explained, but there is the fact.</p>
+
+<p>'In various recent articles on the telephone,
+mention has been made of "contact" as the cause
+of disturbance. This word, however, although it
+has been used by telegraphists, is misleading, and
+can only be used as an endeavour to express popularly
+an electric fact. Actual contact of one wire
+with another would spoil the business altogether.
+A wire bearing an electric current seems to be for
+the time surrounded, to an undefined distance, by
+an electric atmosphere, and all wires coming
+within this atmosphere have a current in an opposite
+direction set up in them. This is as near an
+explanation of the phenomena of induction as the
+state of telegraph science at present affords. Now
+the telephone works with a very delicate magnetic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_813" id="Page_813">{813}</a></span>
+current, and is easily overpowered by the action of
+a stronger current in any wire near which the telephone
+wire may come. To work properly it
+"requires a silent line."</p>
+
+<p>'In the place where the observations were made,
+there are a large number of wires, travelling
+under the floor, through the test-box, along
+passages to the battery-room and to a pole on
+the outside, whence they radiate, or out to
+a pipe underground, where many gutta-percha-covered
+wires lie side by side. On applying
+the ear to a telephone joined into a circuit
+working in such an office a curious sound is heard,
+comparable most nearly to the sound of a pot
+boiling. But the practised ear could soon separate
+the boiling into distinct sounds. There was one
+masterful Morse instrument&mdash;probably on the wire
+lying nearest the one on which we were joined up&mdash;whose
+peremptory "click, cli-i-i-ck, click," representing
+"dot, dash, dot" on the printed slip we read
+from, could be heard over all. Then there was
+the rapid whir of a Wheatstone fast-speed transmitter,
+sending dots and dashes at express speed
+by mechanical means; the sharp well-pronounced
+rattle in sounds of equal length of a needle instrument;
+and most curious of all, the "rrrrr-op, rr-op,
+rrrrrrrrrrrrr-op, rrrrr-op, rr-op" of the A B C, the
+deadliest foe to the telephone in its endeavours to
+gain admission into the family of telegraph instruments.
+There may be reason in this, for as the
+Wheatstone A B C is the instrument used for
+private telegraphy, or for the least important
+public offices, because it requires no "code" to
+be learned by the manipulator, so it would likely
+be the first to be displaced if an acoustic telegraph
+permanently took the field. So the sentient little
+A B C opens its mitrailleuse fire on the intruder,
+on whose delicate currents, in the words of an
+accomplished electrician, it plays "old harry." The
+peculiar character of the sounds we borrow on the
+telephone from this instrument arises from the
+fact that as the needle flies round the dial, a
+distinct current or pulsation passes for each letter,
+and the final "op" we have tried to represent shews
+the stoppage of the needle at the letters as words
+were spelled out.</p>
+
+<p>'It must not be understood that the <i>sounds</i>
+of those various instruments are actually heard
+in the telephone. What happens is, that the
+currents stealing along the telephone wire by
+induction produce vibrations in the diaphragm
+of that instrument, the little metal membrane
+working on the magnet in ready response to
+every current set up in the latter. When it
+is remembered that the principle of the telephone
+is that the sound-caused vibrations in the
+filmy diaphragm at one end create similar but
+magnetically-caused vibrations in the diaphragm
+at the other end, and so reproduce the sound, it
+will be obvious why the rapid roll of the A B C
+currents, or the swift sending of the fast-speed
+transmitter, when brought by induction into the
+telephone wire, cause disturbances in the sound
+vibrations, and thereby cripple the instrument.
+One instrument of either kind named would have
+a certain effect, but one Morse or single needle
+would not have any greatly prejudicial effect. But
+a number of Morses or needles going together,
+such as were heard in our experiments, would
+combine to be nearly as bad as one A B C or fast-speed
+Morse. So delicate is the diaphragm to
+sound (and necessarily so), that in all experiments
+with the telephone itself, such as those with "resistance,"
+or those made at home to test the instrument
+apart from telegraphic considerations, every
+sound from without broke in, giving an effect like
+the well-known "murmur of the shell."</p>
+
+<p>'Joining up our wire now to a more distant
+station at some miles along the railway, and
+having on its poles a number of what are
+known as "heavy" circuits, the pot-boiling sound
+assumed even more marked characteristics. The
+A B C no longer affected us; but a number of
+Morse instruments were in full gear, and the fast-speed
+transmitter was also at work. While we
+were listening, the circuit to which we were joined
+began to work, and the effect was literally electrical.
+Hitherto we had only borrowed currents&mdash;or,
+seeing they were so unwelcome, we might
+call them currents thrust upon us&mdash;and the
+sounds, though sharp and incessant, were gentle
+and rather low. But when the strong current was
+set up in the wire itself, the listener who held
+one of our telephones nearly jumped from the
+floor when an angry "pit-<i>pat</i>, pit-<i>pat</i>, pit-<i>pat</i>-pit"
+assailed his ear, causing him to drop the instrument
+as if he had been shot! It was a result none
+of us had expected, for it did not seem possible
+that the delicate metal diaphragm and the little
+magnet of the telephone could produce a sound so
+intense. Of course it was only intense when the
+ear was held close to the orifice of the instrument.
+Held in the hand away from the ear, the telephone
+now made a first-rate "sounder," and we could tell
+without difficulty not only the signals that were passing,
+but found in it a more comfortable tone than
+that given by the Morse sounder in common use.</p>
+
+<p>'Other experiments of a like character led to
+results so similar, that they may be left unnoticed;
+and we proceed now to describe one of a different
+character, designed to test the telephone itself. At
+a distance of about half a mile, access was obtained
+to a Morse instrument in private use, and joined
+to the office by "overhouse" wire. Dividing our
+party and arranging a programme of operations,
+two remained with a telephone in the office, while
+other two, of whom the writer was one, proceeded
+with the second telephone to the distant instrument.
+By an arrangement which a practical telegraphist
+will understand, the key of the Morse
+was kept in circuit, so that signals could be exchanged
+in that way. It may be noticed, however,
+that this was hardly necessary, as the diaphragm
+of the telephone can be used as a key, with the
+finger or a blunt point, so that dot and dash signals
+are interchangeable, should the voice fail to be
+heard. As the wire in this instance travelled
+almost alone over part of its course, we were in
+hopes that induced currents would be conspicuous
+by their absence. In this we were, however, disappointed,
+for the pot was boiling away, rather more
+faintly, but with the "plop-plop-plop" distinctly
+audible, and once more a sharp masterful Morse
+click was heard coming in now and again. The
+deadly A B C was, however, absent, so that our
+experiment proved highly successful. For some
+reason or another&mdash;probably an imperfect condition
+of the wire, or the effects of "induction" over and
+above what made itself audible to us&mdash;the spoken
+sounds were deficient in distinctness; but songs
+sung at either end were very beautifully heard,
+and indeed the sustained note of sung words had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_814" id="Page_814">{814}</a></span>
+always a better carrying-power than rapidly spoken
+words. Every syllable, and every turn of melody
+of such a song as <i>My Mother bids me bind my Hair</i>,
+sung by a lady at one end, or <i>When the Heart of
+a Man</i>, sung at the other, could be distinctly
+heard, but with the effect before noticed, that the
+voice was muffled or shut in, as if the singer
+were in a cellar, while it was not always possible
+to say at once whether the voice was that of a
+man or a woman.</p>
+
+<p>'In the course of some domestic experiments,
+it was remarked that in playing the scale downwards
+from C in alt. on the piano, the result
+to the listener was a "tit" only for the four
+upper notes, although all below that had a clear
+"ting," and the octaves below were mostly distinct,
+although at the low notes of the piano the sound
+was again lost. The ringing notes of a musical
+box were not so successful, but with close attention,
+its rapid execution of <i>Tommy Dodd</i> could be
+well enough made out. An endeavour was made
+to catch the ticking of a watch, but this was
+not successful, and the experiment is not recommended,
+as the near presence of a watch to
+a magnet is not desirable; and the watch exposed
+to it in this instance was, it is thought, affected
+for a short time thereafter, although it received
+no permanent damage.</p>
+
+<p>'The observations made in the course of these
+experiments convinced those present that the
+telephone presents facilities for the dangerous
+practice of "tapping the wires," which may make
+it useful or dangerous, according as it is used
+for proper or improper purposes. It might be an
+important addition for a military commander to
+make to his flying cavalry; as an expert sound-reader,
+accompanying a column sent to cut off
+the enemy's telegraph connections, might precede
+the act of destruction by robbing him of some
+of his secrets. The rapidity and simplicity of the
+means by which a wire could be "milked," without
+being cut or put out of circuit, struck the
+whole of the party engaged in the various trials
+that are described above. Of course the process of
+tapping by telephone could not be carried out
+if the instrument in use was an A B C or single
+needle, or if the wire was being worked duplex
+or with a fast-speed Morse, for in these cases
+the sounds are too rapid or too indefinite to be
+read by ear. The danger is thus limited to
+ordinary sounder or Morse telegraphs; but these
+still form the mainstay of every public system.</p>
+
+<p>'Since the trials above described were made, the
+newspapers have recorded a beautiful application
+by Sir William Thomson, of the electric part of
+the telephone to exhibit at a distance the motions
+of an anemometer; the object being to shew the
+force of air-currents in coal-mines. This is a
+useful application of an electric fact, and doubtless
+points the way to further discoveries. But
+it is to be noticed that the experiment, interesting
+as it is, hardly comes under the head of a tele<i>phone</i>,
+what is reproduced at a distance being not sound
+but motion.</p>
+
+<p>'Obviously the invention cannot rest where it
+is; and no one more readily than the practical
+telegraphist will welcome an instrument at once
+simple, direct, and reliable. Even in its present
+form the telephone may be successfully used
+where its wire is absolutely <i>isolated</i> from all other
+telegraph wires. But the general impression is
+that its power of reproducing the sound must be
+intensified before its use can become general even
+as a substitute in works or offices for the speaking-tube.'</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /></div><div>
+<h2><a name="SINGING_MICE" id="SINGING_MICE">SINGING MICE.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">These</span> interesting animals are said to be smaller
+than ordinary mice, to be usually of a brownish
+colour, and to have long ears. Naturalists have
+not come to any exact reason as to why they
+sing. Some persons impute the singing to
+disease, as in the wheezing of any one from
+a cold. Others attribute it to an internal parasite.
+But these seem unsatisfactory explanations;
+for when the little creatures sing they are as
+lively as common domestic mice. The faculty
+of singing in a small way with various modulations
+appears to be quite natural to the animals.
+It has been noticed that during their musical performances
+there is a throbbing in the throat, and
+that the snout is elevated in giving play to the
+voice, as in the warbling of birds. The song or
+warble of these mice is said to be sweet and varied.
+Hitherto not much attention has been given by
+zoologists to the phenomenon; but we observe by
+various notices in <i>Land and Water</i> and in <i>Nature</i>,
+two periodicals devoted to pleasant discussions on
+subjects of natural history, &amp;c., that singing mice
+are becoming objects of careful investigation.</p>
+
+<p>An amusing account of a singing mouse appears
+in <i>Nature</i>, Nov. 9, from the pen of Mr Joseph
+Sidebotham, dating from Menton, south of France.</p>
+
+<p>'Last winter we occupied the rooms we now do
+at Menton. Early in February we heard as we
+thought the song of a canary, and fancied it was
+outside our balcony; however, we soon discovered
+that the singing was in our <i>salon</i>, and that the
+songster was a mouse. At that time the weather
+was rather cold, and we had a little fire, and the
+mouse spent most of the day under the fender,
+where we kept it supplied with bits of biscuit. In
+a few days it became quite tame, and would come
+on the hearth in an evening and sing for several
+hours. Sometimes it would climb up the chiffonier
+and ascend a vase of flowers to drink at the water,
+and then sit and sing on the edge of the table and
+allow us to go quite near to it without ceasing its
+warble. One of its favourite haunts was the wood-basket,
+and it would often sit and sing on the edge
+of it. On February 12, the last night of the
+Carnival, we had a number of friends in our <i>salon</i>,
+and the little mouse sang most vigorously, much
+to their delight and astonishment, and was not in
+the least disturbed by the talking. In the evening
+the mouse would often run about the room and
+under the door into the corridor and adjoining
+rooms, and then return to its own hearth. After
+amusing us for nearly a month, it disappeared;
+and we suspect it was caught in a trap set in one
+of the rooms beyond. The mouse was small and
+had very large ears, which it moved about much
+whilst singing. The song was not unlike that of
+the canary in many of its trills, and it sang quite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_815" id="Page_815">{815}</a></span>
+as beautifully as any canary, but it had more
+variety, and some of its notes were much lower,
+more like those of the bullfinch. One great
+peculiarity was a sort of double song, which we
+had now and then&mdash;an air with an accompaniment.
+The air was loud and full, the notes
+being low and the accompaniment quite subdued.
+Some of our party were sure that there
+was more than one mouse, until we had the
+performance from the edge of the wood-basket
+and were within a yard or two of it. My son
+has suggested that many or all mice may have
+the same power, but that the notes are usually
+so much higher in the scale that, like the cry
+of the dormouse and the bat, they are at the
+verge of the pitch to which the human ear is
+sensitive. This may be so; but the notes of our
+mouse were so low, and even the highest so far
+within the limits of the human ear, that I am
+inclined to think the gift of singing in mice is but
+of very rare occurrence.'</p>
+
+<p>In the same periodical, the following additional
+particulars as regards singing mice are presented
+by Mr George J. Romanes, Regent's Park.</p>
+
+<p>'Several years ago I received some of these animals
+from a friend, and kept them in confinement for
+one or two months. The description which your
+correspondent gives of their performance leaves
+very little to be added by me, as in all respects this
+description agrees perfectly with my own observations.
+I write, however, to remark one curious
+fact about the singing of these mice, namely, that
+it seemed to be evoked by two very opposite
+sets of conditions. When undisturbed, the little
+animals used for the most part to remain quiet
+during the day, and begin to sing at night; but if
+at any time they were alarmed, by handling them
+or otherwise, whether during the day or night,
+they were sure to sing vigorously. Thus the
+action seemed to be occasioned either by contentment
+or by fear. The character of the song, however,
+was slightly different in the two cases.</p>
+
+<p>'That these mice did not learn this art from
+singing birds there can be no doubt, for they were
+captured in a house where no such birds were kept.
+It may be worth while to add that this house
+(a London one) seemed to have been suddenly
+invaded, so to speak, by a number of these animals,
+for although my friend has lived in this house
+since the year 1862, it was only during a few
+months that singing mice were heard in it, and
+during these few months they were heard in considerable
+numbers.'</p>
+
+<p>As corroborative of the foregoing notices, we
+give the following very interesting account of a
+singing mouse, obligingly sent to us by a correspondent,
+Mr Alfred Wright.</p>
+
+<p>'In the early spring of last year I was invited
+by an old widow lady to see a singing mouse,
+which she had at night heard singing and scratching
+beneath the floor of her bed, and been so fortunate
+as to catch in a trap. I went, and found the
+little animal in a cage with a revolving wheel,
+similar to that in which a squirrel is usually confined.
+Whether the mouse was shy at the presence
+of a stranger, I do not know. It remained silent;
+but at length, after my patience had been nearly
+exhausted, it began to sing in clear warbling notes
+like those of a bird. When I called the next
+evening to hear the mouse again, I heard him to
+perfection; and was so filled with interest in the
+novelty, that I begged permission to bring any
+friend who was a sceptic of the fact, or who might
+desire to see the phenomenon. My request was
+readily granted. One friend of course had heard
+of a singing mouse, but he certainly would not
+allow that a prolonged squeak was a song&mdash;not
+he! Another friend of course had heard a mouse
+sing when he was a boy; but he was told, he
+perfectly well remembered, that the <i>noise</i> produced
+by the mouse was the result of some
+internal disease. Well, both of these went with
+me to hear the little creature. Unfortunately, at
+first it was again shy; but after an interval of
+silence it commenced to sing&mdash;sweetly, like the
+low notes, the jug, of the nightingale. My friends
+had come, had heard, and were conquered! The
+one acknowledged it was really a song and not
+a squeak; the other, that the noise was certainly
+dulcet; but still he thought it possibly might be
+the result of disease, and not natural to the little
+animal. We suggested that this wonderful natural
+curiosity (as we deemed it) should be sent to
+an eminent naturalist who resided near. Great,
+therefore, was my astonishment and pleasure when
+it was presented to me, who could only treat it
+like a schoolboy would his white mouse&mdash;as a
+pet. And truly it became a great pet to both
+my wife and myself.</p>
+
+<p>'In form, the singing mouse did not differ from
+his humbler brethren; but in colour he was of
+a darkish brown, and had very bright eyes. It
+soon became used to the presence of my wife,
+and sang constantly while revolving the wheel
+of his cage. The notes proceeded from the throat.
+He became exceedingly gentle, and was pleased
+at being caressed.</p>
+
+<p>'I deemed him so rare a curiosity that I ventured
+to offer to exhibit him to the distinguished naturalist
+referred to above, and in my letter described
+the little creature and its peculiarities, as I have
+done here. The naturalist most courteously
+replied: "The case of the singing mouse is very
+extraordinary, but the fact is now well established....
+The best account which has ever been published
+is by an American naturalist, and I have given
+an abstract of his account in my <i>Descent of Man</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"The American referred to is the Rev. S. Lockwood,
+author of <i>The American Naturalist</i>, and he
+gives an account of his observations of the <i>Hesperomys
+cognatus</i>, an American species, belonging to a
+genus distinct from that of the English mouse. This
+little animal gave two chief songs. Mr Lockwood
+gives both songs in musical notation; and adds,
+that though this mouse 'had no ear for time,' yet
+she would keep to the key of B (two flats) and
+strictly in the major key.... Her soft clear
+voice falls an octave with all the precision possible;
+then at the wind up it rises again into a very
+quick trill in C sharp and D." I have made this
+quotation, as it far better describes the peculiar
+qualifications of a singing mouse, than my inexperienced
+observations could announce.</p>
+
+<p>'My mouse remained in contented confinement
+upwards of a year, feeding upon a little sopped
+bread and canary-seed; and great was the grief of
+my wife (who was his keeper) and myself when
+he was found dead in his little nest. During the
+previous evening he had been heard singing with
+more than usual ardour.'</p>
+
+<p>We shall probably return to this interesting
+subject.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" /></div><div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_816" id="Page_816">{816}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="USING_UP_WASTE_SUBSTANCES" id="USING_UP_WASTE_SUBSTANCES">USING UP WASTE SUBSTANCES.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> subject denoted by the above title, more
+than once treated in the <i>Journal</i>, is adverted to
+by an obliging Lancashire correspondent who,
+surrounded by one of the busiest and most ingenious
+clusters of townsmen in England, has had
+his attention drawn to various substances waiting
+(as it were), for application to useful purposes.
+His suggestions are not wholly new, having to
+some extent been already anticipated; but they
+are sufficiently valuable to call for notice here.</p>
+
+<p>One relates to the waste that presents itself in
+the processes of manufacturing cotton. A residue
+known technically as <i>willowings</i>, that falls into
+a receptacle during the preparatory beating and
+disentangling of raw cotton-wool, consists of a
+dusty heap of seed-husks and short broken fibres.
+It is used by farmers to absorb the liquid manure
+of their cowsheds and middens or dung-heaps.
+Although some of the cottony fibre may be
+separated through a sieve, so much adheres to
+the seed-husk as to render it unsuitable for paper-making,
+for which it has often been tried. The
+suggestion now made is, that though unfitted for
+paper, this refuse may possibly be found useful
+in the manufacture of <i>millboard</i>. Large quantities
+of this tough and durable product are employed for
+bookbinding, for making the discs of railway wheels,
+&amp;c.; and as colour is not a matter of moment,
+the idea is that the mingled residue of cottony
+fibre and seed-husk might be rendered available.
+It is known that millboard made from wood-pulp
+is imported to a considerable extent from abroad;
+and we are told that 'a large portion of the
+private income of the great German Chancellor
+Prince Bismarck is derived from the manufacture
+of wood-millboard on his Varzin estate.' Many
+hundred tons of willowings could be obtained in
+Lancashire at a very cheap rate, even as low as
+two shillings per hundredweight.</p>
+
+<p>Another suggestion bears relation to the utilisation
+of refuse from the manufacture of prussiate
+of potash, a most valuable product in the hands
+of the manufacturing chemist. The prussiate is
+obtained in large ratio from woollen rags, after the
+separation of all the pieces that can be worked up
+into shoddy for cheap cloth. The refuse is calcined
+in cast-iron retorts, lixiviated with water,
+and drained off for subsequent treatment: leaving
+behind it a thick black sediment of impure animal
+charcoal. The suggestion relates to the application
+of this residue to the manufacture of blacking&mdash;a
+humble but valuable agent for those who appreciate
+tidiness in the appearance of boots and shoes
+and economy in the preservation of leather. If
+useful for this purpose, it might be found advantageous
+and economical as an ingredient in printers'
+ink. Whether this carbon residue is at present
+applied to any other useful purpose, we are not
+fully informed.</p>
+
+<p>A third suggestion relates to the preparation of
+animal size for the carpet-manufacture and for
+that of many kinds of woollen and worsted goods.
+This size is made from the clippings and scrapings
+of skins and hides, from rejected scraps of parchment
+and vellum, and from the worn-out buffalo
+skin pickers and skips largely used in textile
+manufactures; also from the pith of cattle-horns,
+which contain a large amount of valuable gelatine.
+The suggestion is, to utilise the refuse left after
+making this size. One large carpet factory in
+Yorkshire rejects as utterly useless a ton or more
+of this refuse every week. The horn-pith contains
+as one of its components phosphate of lime, and is
+on that account recommended to the notice of the
+manufacturers of chemical manures on a large
+scale.</p>
+
+<p>One more suggestion comes from our ingenious
+correspondent. Old corks are applicable to a
+greater number of purposes than we are generally
+in the habit of supposing. That many of them
+are ground up to make cork-stuffing for cushions,
+padding, &amp;c. is well known; but there are other
+uses for them as corks or half corks, besides
+making floating buoys and life-preservers. A
+taverner in a Lancashire town covered the floor of
+his lobby and bar with very open rope-matting,
+and filled up the openings with old corks cut
+down to the level of the surface of the mats. This
+combination is found to be almost indestructible
+under the feet; while it gives a good grip or foothold.
+As the making of rope-mats is one of the
+trades carried on in reformatories and some other
+large establishments, it is suggested that the
+managers should take into consideration the feasibility
+of adding old corks to their store of manufacturing
+materials.</p>
+
+<p>As this <i>Journal</i> finds its way into every corner
+of the busy hives of industry, it may possibly be
+that some of our readers are already acquainted
+with such applications of waste refuse to useful
+purposes as those which our esteemed correspondent
+suggests. But this is a point of minor importance.
+The primary question is, not whether
+an idea is absolutely new, but whether it is
+practicably susceptible of useful application. The
+history of manufactures teaches us that apparently
+humble trifles like these have proved to be worth
+millions sterling to the country.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /></div><div>
+<h2><a name="LET_BYGONES_BE_BYGONES" id="LET_BYGONES_BE_BYGONES">LET BYGONES BE BYGONES.</a></h2>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Let</span> bygones be bygones; if bygones were clouded<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">By aught that occasioned a pang of regret,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh, let them in darkest oblivion be shrouded;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">'Tis wise and 'tis kind to forgive and forget.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Let bygones be bygones, and good be extracted<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">From ill over which it is folly to fret;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The wisest of mortals have foolishly acted&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The kindest are those who forgive and forget.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Let bygones be bygones; oh, cherish no longer<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The thought that the sun of Affection has set;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Eclipsed for a moment, its rays will be stronger,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">If you, like a Christian, forgive and forget.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Let bygones be bygones; your heart will be lighter,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">When kindness of yours with reception has met;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The flame of your love will be purer and brighter<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">If, Godlike, you strive to forgive and forget.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Let bygones be bygones; oh, purge out the leaven<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Of malice, and try an example to set<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To others, who craving the mercy of heaven,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Are sadly too slow to forgive and forget.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Let bygones be bygones; remember how deeply<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">To heaven's forbearance we all are in debt;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They value God's infinite goodness too cheaply<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Who heed not the precept, 'Forgive and forget.'<br /></span>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<p class='center'>Printed and Published by <span class="smcap">W. &amp; R. Chambers</span>, 47 Paternoster
+Row, <span class="smcap">London</span>, and 339 High Street, <span class="smcap">Edinburgh</span>.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p class='center'><i>All rights reserved.</i></p>
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 51841 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature,

-Science, and Art, No. 730, by Various

-

-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license

-

-

-Title: Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, No. 730

-       December 22, 1877

-

-Author: Various

-

-Editor: William Chambers

-        Robert Chambers

-

-Release Date: April 23, 2016 [EBook #51841]

-

-Language: English

-

-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

-

-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL, DECEMBER 22, 1877 ***

-

-

-

-

-Produced by Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed

-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-[Illustration: CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL

-

-OF

-

-POPULAR

-

-LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART.

-

-Fourth Series

-

-CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS.

-

-NO. 730.      SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1877.      PRICE 1½_d._]

-

-

-

-

-CHRISTMAS-TIME.

-

-

-'So many men so many minds' has been a proverb long before our days,

-and will be to the end of time and human history; and uniformity of

-sentiment is the one thing which men need never hope to attain.

-

-Christmas-time is one of these battle-fields of feeling. To some it is

-just the consecration of so many circumstances of torture; to others

-the meeting-point of so many facts of pleasure. From the conventional

-greeting to the orthodox dinner--from the 'seasonable gifts' that are

-more obligatory than voluntary, to the toast that heralds the punch,

-and the dreams that follow on that last glass--all is so much pain to

-the flesh and weariness to the spirit; and they wonder how any one

-can find it otherwise. What is there in Christmas-time to make it

-pleasurable? they say. The gathering together of the family? A lot

-of rough boys home from school, who spoil the furniture and tease

-the dogs, lame the horses and ravage the garden, make the servants

-cross, the girls rude, and the younger children insubordinate; who

-upset all the order of the house, destroy its comfort like its quiet,

-and to whose safe return to discipline and your own restoration to

-tranquillity you look forward with impatient longing from the first

-hour of their arrival to the last of their stay? Or the advent of your

-married daughter with her two spoilt babies, who cry if they are looked

-at and want everything that they see, and that very objectionable young

-man her husband, with his ultra opinions and passion for argument,

-whom she would marry in spite of all that you could say, but to whom

-you can scarcely force yourself to be decently civil, not to speak of

-cordial, and whose presence is a perpetual blister while it lasts? Is

-this the family gathering about which you are expected to gush?--this

-with the addition of your son's fine-lady wife who snubs his mother

-and sisters with as little breeding as reserve, finds nothing at your

-table that she can eat, lives with her smelling-bottle to her nose and

-propped up with cushions on the sofa, and gives you to understand that

-she considers herself humiliated by her association with your family,

-and your son as much exalted as she is degraded? This is the domestic

-aspect of Christmas-time which is to make you forget all the ordinary

-troubles of life, creating in their stead a Utopia where ill-feeling

-is as little known as _ennui_, and family jars are as impossible as

-personal discomfort and dissent. Holding this picture in your hand, you

-decline to subscribe your name to the Io pæan universally chanted in

-praise of Christmas, and wrap yourself up in sullen silence when your

-neighbour congratulates you on having all your family about you, and

-wishes you a merry Christmas as if he meant it.

-

-If the domestic aspect is disagreeable, what is the social?--A round

-of dinners of which the _menu_ is precisely the same from Alpha to

-Omega:--turbot and thick lobster-sauce; roast-beef and boiled turkey;

-indigestible plum-pudding and murderous mince-pies; with sour oranges

-and sweet sherry to keep the balance even, and by the creation of two

-acids perhaps neutralise each other and the third. This is the food

-set before unoffending citizens under the name and style of Christmas

-dinners for the month or six weeks during which the idiotic custom of

-Christmas dinners at all is supposed to last. You are expected to live

-in this monotony of dyspepsia and antipathetic diet till you loathe the

-very sight of the familiar food, and long for a change with a vehemence

-which makes you ashamed of yourself, and more than half afraid that you

-are developing into a gourmand of the worst kind.

-

-As if your nights were not sufficiently broken by the horrible

-compounds which trouble your digestion and disturb your brain,

-torturers known as the 'waits' prowl through the streets from midnight

-to dawn, causing you agonies beyond those which even the hurdy-gurdy

-men inflict. You are just falling to sleep--painfully courted and

-hardly won--when a hideous discord worse than the wailings of cats

-startles you into a nervous wakefulness which banishes all hope for

-that night. What can you do? They are too far off for that jug of

-water to take effect, and you must not fire; anathemas do not hurt

-them, and if said aloud only waken up your wife and make her cry if

-she does not preach. You have nothing for it then but to lie still

-and groan inwardly, devoting to the infernal gods all the idiotic

-circumstances by which your life is rendered wretched, and your health,

-already frail, set still further wrong. In the morning, when wearied

-and nervously feverish from want of sleep, you go into the garden for

-a little quiet and delectation, you find your greenhouses stripped of

-the flowers which you had been lovingly watching for weeks, and your

-evergreens as ridiculously cropped as a shaved poodle. This is the day

-for the decoration of the church, and you, having made an expensive

-hobby of your garden, have to contribute what has cost months and good

-money to rear, for the childish satisfaction of John and Joan, lasting

-just two hours and five minutes. Not only have you lost your flowers

-and your evergreens--that splendid holly, which yesterday glowed like a

-flame, today nothing but a bundle of chopped ends!--but you know that

-your favourite daughter is flirting with the curate, and that a great

-deal is going on under cover of wreaths and crosses, laurustinus and

-chrysanthemum, of which you strongly disapprove yet cannot check. It is

-Christmas-time; decorating the church has become in these later days a

-kind of religious duty; and as a conscript father of your village, you

-must not forbid your daughter this pious pleasure any more than you can

-refuse your costly contribution in kind.

-

-Turn to the financial side of the time; and what have you?--bills

-coming in that you neither expected nor knew of, and every one looking

-for a Christmas-box, and insolent or irritated if they do not get it.

-The servants obsequious to the worth of half a sovereign--tradesmen

-and their lads punctual in anticipation of half-crowns--postmen

-levying blackmail, and watermen and dustmen demanding as their

-right that they should be fee'd for their persistent neglect of

-duty--every one making a dead set at your pocket and trying to get

-your money for themselves--the very children more caressing and

-affectionate because it is Christmas and papa always gives them

-something on Christmas-day:--You groan as you ask yourself where is

-disinterestedness on this earth?--and you groan still more as you draw

-your cheques and reduce your balance and wonder by what law of right it

-is that you should be the pipe by which other folks are to be supplied.

-

-No; you see no good or pleasure in this boasted Christmas-time as

-we keep it up in our benighted country. Its mirth is a sham and its

-inflictions are only too real. A time of tumult and expense, of

-indigestion and discomfort, you wait, grimly or fretfully as your mood

-may be, till it has passed and the current of your life is allowed

-to flow evenly as before. When you hear people sing its praises you

-long to stop their mouths, as you longed to silence the waits who

-woke you up out of your first sleep and spoilt your rest for the

-night. What manner of men are these, you think, who can find cause of

-congratulation in so much absurdity, if the fun is real to them--so

-much dreary make-believe, if it is unreal? You despise your genial,

-laughing, merry-hearted neighbour who goes into everything _con amore_,

-and accepts it all, from forfeits and snapdragon to plum-pudding and

-Christmas-boxes, as if he really liked it. You think what a fool he

-must be to be pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw like this.

-But for the most part you do not believe in his mirth; and then you

-despise him still more as a hypocrite as well. For a hypocrite shamming

-folly is an offender against reason as well as truth, whom you find it

-hard to forgive, let the motive of his mummery be what it may.

-

-This is one side of the question; your neighbour takes the other.

-

-Who on earth, he says with his hands in his pockets, his back to the

-fire and his kindly smiling face to the room, who on earth can grumble

-at the facts of Christmas-time? For his part he finds it the jolliest

-season of the year, and he finds each season as jolly as the other,

-and all perfect in their own appointed way. He is none of your crying

-philosophers who go through life bewailing its miseries and oppressed

-by its misfortunes. Not he! He thinks the earth beautiful, men and

-women pleasant, and God very good; and of all occasions wherein he can

-transact his cheerful philosophy, Christmas is the best. The boys are

-home for their holidays; and it is a pleasure to him to take them out

-hunting and shooting, and initiate them into the personal circumstances

-belonging to English country gentlemen. He looks forward to the time

-when they will take his place and carry on the traditions of the

-family, and he wishes them to be worthy of their name and an honour

-to their country. He is not one of those nervous self-centred men who

-live by rule and measure and cannot have a line of the day's ordering

-disturbed. He likes his own way certainly; and he has it; but he can

-press his elbows to his sides on occasions, and give room for others

-to expand. He does not find it such an unbearable infliction that his

-boys should come home and racket about the place, even though they are

-a little upsetting, and do not leave everything quite as smooth and

-straight as they found it. He remembers his own youth and how happy it

-made him to come home and racket; and he supposes that his lads are

-very much the same as he was at their age. He thinks too that they do

-the girls good--wake them up a little--and while not making them rough

-or rude--the mother takes care of that--yet that they prevent them from

-becoming prim and missy, as girls are apt to be who have no brothers

-and are left too much to themselves. Certainly he does not approve of

-the flood of slang which is let loose in the house during their stay;

-but school-boy slang at the worst is not permanent, and in a week's

-time will be forgotten.

-

-As for the married daughter's children, they are the merriest little

-rogues in the world; and his wife looks ten years younger since they

-came. She was always fond of babies; and her grandchildren seem to

-renew her own past nursery with all the pleasure and none of the

-anxiety of the olden time. He rather wonders at his girl's taste in

-the matter of her husband--most fathers do--and cannot for the life of

-him see what there is to love in him. But if not an Alcibiades he is

-a good fellow in the main, and makes his young wife happy; which is

-the principal thing. And if his daughter-in-law is a trifle stiff, and

-fond of giving herself fine-lady airs, he for his part never stands

-that kind of nonsense, and will laugh her out of it before she has

-been twenty-four hours in the house. He finds good-humour and taking no

-offence the best weapons in the world against folly and ill-temper; and

-prefers them as curative agents to any other. The girl is a nice girl

-enough, but she has been badly brought up--had a lot of false ideas

-instilled into her by a foolish mother--but when she has been away

-from the old influences, and associated with themselves for a little

-while, she will open her eyes and see things in their right light.

-Who indeed could resist the sweet sensible influence of his wife, her

-mother-in-law?--and are not his girls the very perfection of honest

-wholesome English ladies? It will all come right in time; he has no

-doubt of that; and meanwhile they must be patient and forbearing for

-Dick's sake, and not make matters worse than they are by their own want

-of self-control.

-

-Then as to the Christmas-boxes and the tips sacred to the season--well!

-well! after all they do not amount to much in the year, and see what

-pleasure they give! A man must be but a poor-spirited surly kind of

-hound who does not like to see his fellow-creatures happy; and a very

-little kindness goes a great way in that direction. He takes care to

-live within his income, and therefore he has always a margin to go on;

-and he does not object to use it. The servants have been very good on

-the whole, and do their duty fairly enough. And when they fail--as

-they do at times--why, to fail is human, and are they alone of all

-mankind to be blameless and never swerving in the right way? And are

-they alone of all mankind to be judged of by their worst and not by

-their best?--to be blamed for failure, but not praised for well-doing?

-He does not think so; and not thinking this, his half-sovereigns are

-given freely without the grudging which makes them an ungracious

-tax instead of a kindly voluntary gift. The tradespeople, too, do

-fairly well, and--they must have their profit like any one else!

-Those Christmas-boxes to their lads may be the nest-eggs for future

-savings; and even if they do go in a little finery or personal pleasure

-instead--young people will be young, and his own boys are fond of being

-smart and amused: so why not these others? You grumble at the waits? If

-you in your warm bed, well fed, well clothed, prosperous altogether,

-fret at the loss of an hour's sleep, what must these poor fellows feel,

-out in the cold frosty night, with the wind blowing and the sleet

-falling fast, and they not half fed nor a quarter clothed? For his own

-part he would like to give them a glass of hot grog all round; and as

-for grumbling at the few coppers which they brave all this physical

-discomfort to earn, he makes it shillings, and hopes it will do them

-good. We must live and let live, he says with his broad smile; and

-if we are sometimes a little inconvenienced by the efforts made by

-the poor to accomplish the art of living for their own parts--we must

-remember that our loss is their gain, and that they are men and women

-like ourselves--fathers of families who want to keep the pot boiling

-and the fire alight--mothers who love their children, and are anxious

-to do the best for them that nature and man will allow.

-

-You complain of indigestion and grumble at the monotony of your

-Christmas fare?--That is strange! Who can grumble at good plain

-succulent meat?--and why do you eat the sweets if they disagree with

-you? Neither pudding nor mince-pie comes into the eternal necessities

-of things, and you would do very well if only you would refrain. He

-does not eat things that he cannot digest, and in consequence he sleeps

-well, and when he wakes has neither regret nor remorse. Surely that is

-not such a painful trial--to forbear eating what is hurtful to your

-health, and in touching your health corroding your happiness as well.

-

-In a word, the whole difference of the spirit in which we meet the

-facts of Christmas depends on the good or ill humour with which we are

-naturally endowed, and which we have cultivated by common-sense on the

-one hand, or suffered to ride rough-shod over our reason on the other.

-If we are unselfish and sympathetic, Christmas-time is as pleasant

-to us as popular tradition would make it; if we are egotistical and

-peevish, it is a wearisome infliction and a sham which no honest man

-can pretend to believe in, nor any sensible one to admire.

-

-For our own part we believe in Christmas, because we believe in the

-kindness of man to man, in genial good-humour, in unselfishness, and

-the liking of wholesome natures to give happiness; and so far as we

-have gone yet we have seen no reason to change our views. A merry

-Christmas then to you all, friends, readers, and countrymen; and a

-happy New Year to follow after; and may God bless the rich and care

-for the poor, and lead us all in the right way while the day lasts and

-before the night has come!

-

-

-

-

-A CAST OF THE NET.

-

-THE STORY OF A DETECTIVE OFFICER.

-

-

-CHAPTER IV.

-

-Long after it had grown quite dark, all remained quiet, and at last

-I resolved upon making a move. I had determined upon fetching Peter

-Tilley. I had plenty of assistance, but I thought I should like to have

-Peter with me. So I went down to the ferry; a gas-light which burned at

-the corner shewed me before I left my post that the bony ferryman was

-not there; and choosing a pretty good boat, with a strong young fellow

-to pull, I got in. It was a most unpleasant night; as dark as pitch,

-which was bad enough, but every now and then it lightened, which was

-worse, as it dazzled my eyes, and made me think we were running smash

-on board some great vessel which I had not seen a moment before, and

-couldn't see a moment after. However, the boatman was used to all kinds

-of weather, I suppose, and knew the river thoroughly; so through the

-darkness and the rain, which never left off for a moment, we reached

-the other side.

-

-I left the boat to wait for me, and ran up to the _Yarmouth Smack_. I

-looked in, and saw Peter leaning against the bar and smoking a short

-pipe, as a labourer ought to do; and he was talking in a friendly way

-to some rough-looking fellows. I slipped in, and using the name we had

-agreed upon, spoke to him. He knew my voice of course; but seeing me

-so changed, for my make-up was really splendid (it was, although I say

-so that shouldn't), it gave him such a shock that he was obliged to

-put the pewter down he was going to drink from and look steadily at me

-before he answered. 'I'm acoming,' he said at last, and we got outside;

-when, as we walked down to the ferry, I gave him a sort of idea of what

-was going on, and how I expected to make a great catch that night.

-Peter of course was very glad to be in for such a big thing as this,

-for he had never been mixed up with anything so important.

-

-Not to trust the boatman too much, I kept Peter back a few yards from

-the water while I finished my story, standing a little on one side, so

-as to be out of the way of the people who came and went to and from the

-ferry. While I was talking to him, a wherry ran in; we heard her grate

-on the pebbles and the sculls rattle as the man laid 'em in; but that

-we had heard before. It's a part of my habit to notice little things

-however, and I looked to see who had come in by this boat. There was

-only one passenger, a woman, and she passed us walking quickly; but

-quick as she walked, I saw her, and she saw me. Blessed if it wasn't

-Miss Doyle! My being there was no odds to Miss Doyle, nor could it have

-signified to her if she had seen me fifty times; yet I felt I would

-rather not have met her just then; it looked unlucky, and she was such

-an uncommonly sharp one too. Sharp or not, I couldn't see what she

-could make out of my standing under a wall on a wet night talking to

-another labourer.

-

-Having finished my explanation, we both got into the wherry, and I

-asked the man if he would like a good long job, which might perhaps

-last all night.

-

-'The longer the better, governor,' he says, 'if the pay is accordin'.'

-

-'The pay _will_ be accordin',' I answered; 'and so you are engaged.'

-

-The first thing I made him do was to row round that oyster-smack, for

-the tide had risen enough to take us round her. I shewed no light, but

-we went inside her twice; and the fellow on the watch was very sharp,

-so he was leaning over the side when we came round the second time, and

-I could say quite quiet-like: 'I am in this boat now--watch the river.'

-That was quite enough; he knew he would not now have to look to the

-_Anchor_ for signals.

-

-After this began what I believe was the most disagreeable sort of

-patrol I ever had. There was a time when I used to envy the Thames

-police; but I can't say I ever did after that night. We were obliged

-to be in motion almost continually, because we did not know from which

-side of the river the paper might come, and we weren't quite sure that

-it would come at all, especially on that night; and I don't know,

-speaking from my own experience, that there is anything more trying to

-the spirits than the pulling backwards and forwards and loitering about

-on the river Thames in a raw October night with a small thick rain

-falling. Twice we landed, and went once to the _Smack_ and once to the

-_Anchor_. I couldn't grudge the men a glass of hot grog; in fact I was

-obliged to have some myself, even if I missed my capture through it.

-

-It grew later and later; the flashes of lightning still came at long

-intervals; but the lights on the shore went out, and excepting the

-gas-lamps which burnt at street-corners, ferries, and wharfs, all was

-dark. The traffic on the river had long ceased, no shouts or rattle

-of wheels came from the shore; and the rain still falling, it was,

-I give you my word, most horribly miserable, dull and sloppy beyond

-description. Twelve o'clock had struck, and one, and perhaps half an

-hour beyond it. I had cautioned my companions to speak very low; so the

-boatman only whispered when he said: 'It's as quiet as it is likely

-to be, governor, if you've got anything to run. I have just seen the

-police galley creep along on the other side; I see her under that lamp.

-Now's your time.'

-

-He thought we were smugglers! Perhaps he didn't care if we were

-thieves. I told him to be patient; when at that very instant, just as

-we were creeping along under the lee of a coal-barge, a wherry shot

-very silently by, right in front of us, going across stream, and not

-six feet from our bows. In her sat the sulky ferryman; I knew him at a

-glance, dark as it was. 'Pull after that wherry,' I said.

-

-'Peter Tilley, my lad,' I continued, turning to Peter, 'the time's

-acoming, I think.'

-

-'I'm precious glad of it,' says Peter; 'for I'm catching a cold in my

-head every minute I sit in this confounded boat; and it's all soaking

-wet where I'm sitting.'

-

-Our man pulled on; he was a very strong fellow, as I have said, and

-we could have overtaken the other boat directly; but this of course I

-did not want. I knew where to look for the old scamp; and sure enough,

-after a few strokes across stream, he bent to the left and ran under

-the bows of the Dutch trader.

-

-All was dark and silent as the grave aboard the ship; but that didn't

-deceive the old boatman, nor did it deceive me. I stopped our man in

-the shade of the next vessel, if you can call anywhere a shade, when

-it was all pitch dark. We had not been there a minute before I heard a

-slight noise--it was impossible to see any one unless he stood between

-you and the sky--and then I could tell by the sound that a man had

-dropped into the wherry. There was no need to tell me what man it was.

-With an almost noiseless dip, the ferryman dropped his sculls into the

-river again and rowed on, we still after him. I took it for granted he

-was going to the other side of the ferry; but he suddenly bore off to

-the right, and rowed on for some little time, then striking in between

-two vessels, he went straight for the land.

-

-'Where is he going to?' I whispered.

-

-'To the landing at Byrle's wharf,' says the boatman in the same tone.

-

-So he was; and it appeared this landing-place was at the farther side

-of the wharf; that is, lower down the river.

-

-It was so dark we could hardly see them--for we could just make out

-there were now two persons in the boat--but as they reached the shore,

-a lamp that was burning on the wharf helped us a little. We could not

-clearly see what they were doing; but they certainly got out of the

-boat, and as certainly there were then more than two figures moving

-about, and seemingly engaged in placing parcels in the wherry. But it

-was very gloomy there; they were in the shade of the wharf, and the

-lamp glimmered weak and faint through the thick rain. It was the more

-difficult to see what was being done, because there were several boats

-tied up to the landing-place, making some confusion in the darkness. At

-last, however, we could see that they were pushing off from the shore;

-so it was time for us to move. We pulled back for a while (there was no

-doubt as to which way the others would come), and then sheering off,

-lay between two colliers until we saw the wherry we had watched go by,

-and then we once more pulled after them.

-

-'I'm blest if I don't think there's another boat following _us_,' says

-Peter Tilley, staring as hard as he could behind us. I looked, but

-couldn't see anything; and Peter owned he might have been mistaken.

-

-We could not make out how many there were in the foremost boat. There

-was only one man rowing, that was plain; and he pulled short round

-at the proper place, as I knew he would, and rowed towards the Dutch

-trader. As he did so, we lost him for a second, a big steamer lying

-between us; but the hull of this vessel did not obstruct the view up

-the river. I seized the moment, and waved my lantern twice. It was all

-right. As quick as thought the light on board the oyster-smack was

-moved twice also, and then we too were pulling across the stream. I

-wanted to capture my men on board the trader, as otherwise the paper

-might be got rid of, because I couldn't be positively certain that it

-was not already on board. In fact, Mr Edmund Byrle was my chief aim,

-not the skipper.

-

-The wherry pulled under the bows of the vessel; we followed just in

-time to see, by a very convenient flash of lightning, two packages

-handed up; then a figure, which we had recognised by the same flash as

-the bony ferryman, got into the ship. As he disappeared, our wherry

-touched the vessel; and at the same instant, to my great relief, a

-long black Thames police galley came alongside us, and its crew, five

-constables, with Barney Wilkins, who was there as guide, clambered

-up like cats. I and Peter imitated them, but not quite so quickly;

-and when I looked over the bulwark, I saw by the light of a couple of

-lanterns, screened from the outside, four or five men, the boatman

-and the skipper being two, lifting up a great lid which fitted in

-the deck--the hatches I heard it called--while by their side lay the

-packages of paper. I could not see Mr Byrle; but there was no time to

-consider; we all jumped in at once, the men looking round in amazement

-at the noise. I fancied that just then I heard a shout from the boat.

-

-'What do you all want here?' said the skipper angrily.

-

-'We hold a warrant'--I began.

-

-'Oh, it is _you_, is it?' he screeched, like a hyena, or something of

-that sort. 'I owe you a little for a past score, and you shall have

-it.' As quick as lightning he pulled a long straight knife from the

-side of his trousers, where it must have been in some sort of sheath,

-and jumped at me with such suddenness that he would have stabbed me,

-only Barney Wilkins snatched a handspike from the deck, and dashing

-between us, hit him down with such a blow, that the skipper fell with a

-crash like a bullock when it is killed, the blood pouring from his head

-instantly.

-

-It was all as quick as thought. The other men were all seized in a

-breath. So quick was it all done, that I had no idea Barney was hurt,

-until he reeled, made a wild clutch as if he caught at something for

-support, and then pitched forward on his hands and knees.

-

-'Hollo, Barney!' I said, stooping down to him. 'What's the matter, old

-fellow?'

-

-'It's all up, Mr Nickham,' he gasped; 'he's done me. I only hope I've

-killed him. Where's the other?'

-

-'Oh, never mind the other, Barney,' I says. 'Where are you hurt?'

-

-But as I spoke, one of the men came with a lantern, and Barney had

-no occasion to answer me, for I could see a straight stream of blood

-running from his chest on to the deck; and his hands giving way from

-weakness, he fell over on his side.

-

-'Pull in for the shore, you, sir!' said the sergeant of the Thames

-police to my waterman. 'You know Marigold Street? Knock up Mr Gartley,

-and tell him what has happened. Say we are afraid to move the man to

-his house, so he had better come aboard.'

-

-'Send one of your own men, will you?' answers the boatman. 'I've got

-something to tell the governor' (that was me), 'as I think he ought to

-know.'

-

-'Cut away then, Bill,' says the sergeant to a constable; 'these fellows

-are ironed, and we can manage all that are aboard this craft.'

-

-So the man went off in my wherry; and the Thames men tried to make poor

-Barney a little more comfortable, while I undid his waistcoat, hoping

-to stop the bleeding.

-

-'It ain't no use,' he said; but in that short time his voice was almost

-gone, and we could tell that he was dying. 'I'm done for, Mr Nickham.

-If there's a reward, you'll act fair and square, I know; you always was

-a gentleman--let my sister have'---- And with that he gave a gasp, and

-was dead.

-

-I rose up, dreadfully vexed for the poor chap. The sergeant and one of

-his men were looking after the skipper, when I felt myself touched on

-the arm.

-

-'I say, sir,' said the boatman, 'when I'm in for a thing, I go through

-with it honourable. Did you know as you was followed?'

-

-'Followed? no!' I said.

-

-'I thought we was!' said Peter Tilley.

-

-'We was followed, sir, by a light wherry with two people in it,'

-continues the boatman; 'and when they see our boats, they held hard;

-and as you all boarded the ship and the noise began, they rowed away as

-hard as they could go.'

-

-'Which way did they go?' I said.

-

-'Down river,' says the man. 'But it's of no use thinking of looking

-after them now. They are ashore long afore this.'

-

-This was likely enough; and it was quite certain that Mr Edmund Byrle

-was one of the two in the boat, and I had lost him for the present.

-Well, it couldn't be helped; so we set to work to question the men and

-search the ship, till the doctor came. The men knew nothing more about

-the business than that they were going to have two passengers, a lady

-and a gentleman, this voyage. One of the Thames men understood Dutch,

-or we should not have heard even this scrap of information. The sulky

-boatman never uttered a word, except that once he said as I passed him,

-and he said it with a bitter curse: 'I always had my doubts of _you_.'

-

-The doctor came off; but poor Barney was stone-dead, while the

-skipper's skull was badly fractured. However, the paper was all there;

-so I supposed, and so it proved; and I shouldn't have cared if the

-skipper's head had been broken fifty times over.

-

-We got our prisoners to the shore, leaving the craft in charge of a

-Thames police galley that came in answer to our signals; and late as

-it was, I drove with Peter Tilley in a cab to the City. Our people

-there were immensely glad, I can tell you; and when I went over to the

-Bank (for there was no need for secrecy or dodging now), I thought the

-gentlemen never would have left off paying me compliments. Poor Barney

-Wilkins that was dead deserved most credit; but it could not do him

-any good to say so now, so I let them go on. The paper was examined,

-and found to be exactly the quantity required; enough, I believe, to

-have made about twenty thousand bank-notes. Ah! if they _had_ got into

-circulation!

-

-I hope you will understand, however, that I did act fair and square;

-and when the reward was paid (and the Bank people did come down most

-liberal; I bought my house at Pentonville with my share), I told the

-gentlemen about poor Barney and his wishes; and I'm proud to say they

-found his sister out and took her away; and after a time she went

-abroad with kind people who looked after her, and took care of her

-money till she got married, and did well. Why, she sent me a snuff-box

-made out of pure Australian gold, with a letter signed by herself and

-her husband, who was a butcher in a great way of business out there;

-and they sent it as an acknowledgment of my having acted all fair and

-square. I promised so to do, and I did.

-

-Edmund Byrle was never caught, and so far as we were concerned, was

-never heard of; and if it hadn't been for his father, I should never

-have understood a lot of things that puzzled me. I had given a pretty

-good guess as to how Miss Doyle came in the first place to inquire

-about Mr Byrle and the detective; a very clever idea in itself, but

-like many other clever things, it lost her the game. Mr Byrle had

-talked with his friends about employing detectives; and Miss Doyle

-knowing about the Bank paper, and being always on the watch, had got

-hold of just enough to mislead her. She went out with Edmund Byrle to

-Turkey, I think, and was married to him; and old Mr Byrle sent out

-a friend to see them; and it was in this way I got the particulars.

-It appears she knew me again--only as the limping labourer, of

-course--when she saw me talking at the ferry to Tilley. But she knew

-_him_ as the detective at the _Yarmouth Smack_, and she thought that

-although it might be all right, yet a detective was a dangerous

-customer, and his acquaintances might be dangerous also. Consequently

-she tried to persuade Edmund to put off his journey; but he wanted

-the money for the paper, and wouldn't listen to her. But he agreed at

-last to go aboard in another boat, which satisfied her, as she felt so

-certain the skipper's boat would be attacked. As I have explained, her

-precaution saved him from fifteen years' 'penal,' which is the least

-he would have had. The skipper was sent for life, having killed a man

-in his arrest; but he didn't live six months in prison; he never got

-over the tremendous blow he received from Barney. All the reports spoke

-of his being a receiver of 'stolen goods.' The Bank paper was never

-mentioned, for the authorities did not want to unsettle the public

-again, or let them see what a narrow escape they had had.

-

-And now comes about the queerest part of my story. Call me names if I

-didn't stop the thieving at Byrle's factory as well as recover the Bank

-paper, killing two birds with one stone.

-

-It was all through my catching the bony ferryman. Finding that things

-was going hard with him, and hoping to make them easier, and being

-disappointed that those who were concerned with him did not come

-forward with money to provide for his defence, he 'rounded' on them; he

-split on them all, and owned how he was the means of taking the metal

-over to a fence on his side of the water, the things being stolen by a

-mechanic and a watchman who were in league. (I see I have used the word

-'fence;' this means a receiver of stolen goods; but though I have been

-warned by the editor of this magazine, we can't do without _some_ slang

-words.)

-

-Peter Tilley got a tidy present, and was noted for promotion through

-this business. I was glad of it, for Peter was a capital chap--never

-wanted to play first-fiddle; and I admire people of that disposition. I

-tell you what I did: I got the newest five-pound note of all what the

-Bank gave me, and they were all very clean and crisp, and I wrapped old

-Bob the gatekeeper's own sixpence in it; and I went to the factory and

-I stood a pint of ale, and says: 'Bob, here's your sixpence!' He hadn't

-known exactly who I was till then, for I had made excuses as usual; and

-then I'm blessed if he didn't quite cry over his luck. Mr Byrle too

-thought a lot of Bob's kindness, for I told the old gent about it; and

-I heard that on that very account he put six shillings a week on Bob's

-wages, and I was glad to hear it.

-

-They couldn't keep me off the detective staff after this; and although

-I am free to confess--now I am on my pension and nothing matters to

-me--that I only stumbled upon these discoveries by accident, I was

-praised to the skies by those for whom I worked. However, it all

-died away, as such things do; but I had managed to get my house at

-Pentonville, as I have hinted; and a pleasanter neighbourhood I don't

-know, or one more convenient for getting about. I have had some rather

-odd adventures since I have lived in my street; you can't help seeing

-strange things, if you keep your eyes open in London. But I didn't

-begin to tell about _them_. I have finished my account of the robberies

-at Byrle & Co.'s and my story finishes in consequence.

-

-

-

-

-FEATS OF ENDURANCE.

-

-

-London, which has witnessed many strange doings in its day, was

-lately the scene of the most wonderful feats of pedestrianism ever

-accomplished within a given period.

-

-Every hour, day and night, for six weary weeks a man plodded on his way

-round a measured track, until the grand total of fifteen hundred miles

-in one thousand hours had been made up, finishing his self-imposed task

-with his physical and mental faculties apparently unimpaired.

-

-The task of walking fifteen hundred miles in a thousand hours had never

-before been attempted, and henceforth the new achievement will throw

-into the cold shade of obscurity even the marvellous act of walking a

-thousand miles in as many hours, which was once accomplished in 1809

-by Captain Robert Barclay of Ury, a Scotchman, who proposed to perform

-the then incredible task of walking a thousand miles in a thousand

-consecutive hours. The proposition was received with every sign of

-incredulity, though, when the affair was finally arranged to take

-place, many thousands of pounds were staked on the event. Newmarket

-Heath was selected as the scene of the exploit, and the famous walk

-began on the 1st of June 1809, at midnight. It is unnecessary to

-repeat the details of this feat; it will suffice to mention that the

-enterprising captain completed his task on the 12th July, at four

-o'clock in the afternoon.

-

-Since then, an attempt has, we believe, been made to walk the same

-distance _backwards_; and within the past twelve months, Weston, the

-American pedestrian, has performed some remarkable exploits of the

-kind; being however at last beaten by an Irishman named Kelly.

-

-The hero of the lately completed task (fifteen hundred miles in a

-thousand hours) is a little Welshman of not more than five feet three

-and a half inches in height, and about forty-two years of age; while

-in personal appearance and general _physique_ he presents anything but

-what is usually supposed to be the characteristic of a good pedestrian.

-His name is William Gale, and he is a bookbinder by trade, living at

-Clerkenwell.

-

-At the commencement of his task on Sunday the 26th of August, he

-weighed no more than eight stone four pounds (8 st. 4 lbs.); and from

-that day until Saturday the 6th October, during a portion of every hour

-day and night, he pursued his monotonous way around the inclosure at

-Lillie Bridge grounds, Brompton. When the attempt was first announced,

-even those most acquainted with pedestrian feats where great endurance

-was required, expressed themselves dubious as to the result; and in

-order to have a reliable record of his proceedings, Gale requested the

-different sporting papers to appoint competent men as judges--a request

-which was at once generously complied with.

-

-Thus we have an official report of his great exploit, and the public

-are enabled to judge for themselves on the nature of the feat

-performed. Gale's average pace appears to have been about four miles

-an hour; but when he had reached his thousandth mile he assumed a

-brave spurt, and footed it in ten minutes, or at the rate of six miles

-an hour. During the last few days of his walking he started rather

-stiffly at first, owing to the pain caused by the swelling of some

-varicose veins in his left leg; but undaunted by so great and manifest

-a disadvantage, and other disadvantages which we shall presently

-refer to, the gallant little Welshman 'plodded his weary way' with a

-determined pluck that won the admiration and applause of every one

-present.

-

-On Friday the 5th October, the day before the finish of the tramp,

-Dr Gant of the Royal Free Hospital was called in to see this

-extraordinary walker, and after examining his legs, he pronounced

-Gale to be in excellent condition so far as his physical powers were

-concerned; there being no fever, the pulse only seventy, no murmur

-at the heart; and the varicose veins which had been the cause of so

-much pain to him, were rather better than worse, having considerably

-decreased in size. Perhaps the most remarkable part of the performance

-is, that it has been accomplished on a system of training which

-entirely sets at variance all athletic rules, for Gale partook of no

-fixed refreshment, neither did he have his meals at stated hours. His

-chief food was plain mutton-chops; and as an instance of how he varied

-his dishes, his afternoon meal on Friday the 5th October, which might

-have been either breakfast, dinner, or supper (so irregular had he been

-in this respect), consisted of a lobster and bread and butter, followed

-by a fried sole, and one or two cups of ordinarily strong tea. During

-the walk he also drank a good deal of beer--not strong beer, but the

-ale which is usually sold at fourpence per quart, which he seemed to

-prefer to any other kind, probably on account of its freedom from that

-tendency to increase rather than assuage thirst, so remarkably apparent

-in the stronger beers.

-

-Many strange incidents occurred in the course of the six weeks, which

-were calculated to while away the time, and occasionally to bring a

-smile to the pedestrian's lips. For instance, a certain illustrated

-sheet, notorious for its very sensational cartoons, published a picture

-of Gale on the track followed by Old Time with the conventional scythe

-on his shoulder; and many people it would seem actually paid their

-money with the idea that they were going to see the two figures as

-thus represented. One man, who had evidently gone to the grounds for

-this purpose, had watched Gale go round the track several times, when

-he could no longer control his disappointment. He shouted aloud,

-angrily demanding his money back, because, as he said with the greatest

-_naïveté_ possible, 'the beggar with the scythe hadn't turned up!'

-

-As the last week of the great walking match wore on, signs of weariness

-in the indomitable pedestrian became painfully apparent, and many

-persons began to fear that the task he had set himself would after all

-remain unaccomplished. On several of the rounds he fell asleep whilst

-walking, and dropped to the ground; but this contact with mother earth

-seemed to revive him instantly, and he plodded on as pluckily as before.

-

-At length success crowned his efforts; and at seventeen minutes past

-five o'clock (less a second) on Saturday afternoon the 6th October

-1877, Gale terminated his long and dreary walk in the presence of a

-large, fashionable, and enthusiastic assemblage, who rewarded his

-efforts with several rounds of hearty applause.

-

-From the commencement of his task to the finish Gale bore up against

-all obstacles with extraordinary pluck and determination, his last mile

-being performed in _ten minutes and eight seconds_. He was at once

-removed to the tent or pavilion under which he had snatched so many

-brief half-hours' rest, and was examined by three medical men, who

-found that his heart was quite natural in its movements, and that the

-temperature of his body did not exceed one hundred and six degrees.

-

-The great feat which has thus been accomplished without the aid of

-artificial training, is a marvellous instance of what human endurance,

-allied with courage and determination, can effect; though of what

-particular benefit it may be to the world at large it is utterly

-impossible to imagine.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-Since the preceding account was written, Gale has accomplished a

-still more extraordinary feat, and one which for strength of will

-and physical endurance far surpasses his previous efforts. We still

-fail, however, to see the benefit which can accrue from exhibitions

-of this kind, and well might he have been contented with the laurels

-he had already won. He had scarcely allowed himself time to recover

-from his former task, when he once more appeared at a public place of

-entertainment, namely the Agricultural Hall at Islington, to walk four

-thousand quarter-miles under the astounding condition, that it was to

-be done in four thousand consecutive periods of ten minutes.

-

-This of course deprived him of the half-hour's rest which he could

-obtain at one time in the former race, and only allowed him a few

-minutes between each round to get a little sleep. Despite these

-drawbacks, however, Gale finished his task at eleven o'clock P.M.

-on the 17th November, after a dreary walk of nearly four weeks. By

-accomplishing his task, he has placed himself at the head of all the

-famous pedestrians the world has known; and we trust that this fact

-will be sufficient to satisfy his craving after what is at best but

-ephemeral fame.

-

-Men have on many occasions attempted walking feats which required a

-vast amount of physical endurance, and have failed from their utter

-inability to go without the natural quantum of sleep; but Gale has not

-only shewn himself to be possessed of the former, but to be altogether

-independent of the latter. This, however, instead of indicating 'pluck'

-merely, would rather seem to point to a peculiarity in the man's

-constitution; as there are doubtless many persons whose courage would

-enable them to perform the same or even a greater task if, like Gale,

-they could walk about in a state of somnolency or semi-sleep--a state

-in which, to use his own words, he was as one in a dream, unconscious

-of all that was going on around him, and believing himself to be

-walking in forests and other places of silvan beauty; and the truth of

-this was made evident by the fact that he would have often exceeded the

-limit of his walk had not the voice of his attendant aroused him from

-his stupor.

-

-The average time occupied by this extraordinary walker was by day

-about three minutes for each quarter of a mile, and by night about

-five minutes; and the fastest round recorded was done in two minutes

-and forty-two seconds. His pulse was always found to indicate a

-perfect state of health, and was as regular when he left off as when

-he commenced his task. His food consisted principally of fish, fowl,

-chops, eggs, and light puddings; and his drink was, with only one

-exception during the whole time, tea.

-

-Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the whole affair was the fact

-that, although he sank into a deep sleep directly he reached his chair

-behind the curtain, which hid him from view between his walks, the

-moment the bell rang the second time, he would appear as fresh as ever

-and begin trudging away again.

-

-When the feat was accomplished, Sir John Astley stepped forward, and

-amid a scene of great enthusiasm, presented the undaunted Welshman with

-a silver belt of the value of a hundred guineas, bearing the following

-inscription: 'This belt was presented to WILLIAM GALE of Cardiff, on

-the 17th November 1877, by some of the nobility and gentry of Great

-Britain, in commemoration of his hitherto unprecedented feat, namely

-walking one thousand five hundred miles in one thousand hours at Lillie

-Bridge Grounds, August 26th to October 6th, 1877; and four thousand

-quarter-miles in four thousand consecutive periods of ten minutes, at

-the Agricultural Hall, London, October 21st to November 17th, 1877.'

-The belt is of lion's skin, mounted on velvet, the metal portion of it

-weighing one hundred ounces of sterling silver.

-

-None will begrudge Gale his well-earned reward; but it is to be hoped

-that such exhibitions will in future be discountenanced by the general

-public, as they not only detract from the dignity of man, but are

-needless and unwarrantable in a country which, we trust, will ever

-pride itself on a nobler civilisation than that which is founded upon

-mere physical endurance.

-

-

-

-

-A DIFFICULT QUESTION.

-

-THE STORY OF TWO CHRISTMAS EVES.

-

-

-IN TWO CHAPTERS.--PROLOGUE.

-

-In the gray light of an Indian dawn, with the cool breeze blowing

-through the curtains of the tent, and his friend's sorrowful eyes

-looking down on him, a soldier lay on his rough couch--waiting for

-death. They were soon to be parted those two, who had lived and fought

-together; but the face of the one who was starting on that journey

-of which none has measured the distance, was smilingly calm, while

-the eyes of the other glistened with regretful tears as he spoke low,

-faltering, remorseful words.

-

-'Hush, Ralph, hush!' the other said at last. 'Don't you think, dear

-old fellow, I would sooner lose my life in having saved yours, than in

-any other way? After all, a few days or years sooner or later, what

-does it signify? My fate is perhaps the happiest, though I hope it is

-not. I don't think life is so very desirable,' he continued; 'I am only

-twenty-six; but mine has not been a happy one. It was my own fault,

-though. Take my advice, Ralph; don't marry young. There is only one

-thing that troubles me'----

-

-'Your little girl,' Ralph interrupted. 'Wrayworth, let me take care

-of her; if I can make her happy, it will be some slight atonement,

-some'----

-

-'You would take care of her, Ralph? would you?' The dying man's eyes

-shone gratefully as he looked up in his friend's face. 'She has

-nothing, poor little thing,' he went on sadly--'motherless, fatherless,

-scarcely more than a baby either. It would be a heavy charge to leave

-you, Ralph.'

-

-'Wrayworth! how can you speak so; you will drive me mad! You--you'----

-He broke down utterly; it was something so terrible to see this friend

-dying there--for him. 'Anything on earth that I can do'---- he murmured.

-

-'You will do for her,' said Wrayworth. 'Thank you. I have no friends to

-send her to. I meant to have made her very happy.'

-

-'She shall be; I swear it!' Ralph answered fervently, thankful for

-this charge, which might in some degree help him to pay that debt of

-gratitude, and forgetful that he had no control of fate, that the

-promise he gave of happiness was a fearfully presumptuous one. But he

-made it willingly, gladly, solemnly, before God; and as far as lay in

-his power it should sacredly be kept; any sacrifice he would make for

-this child.

-

-His friend's eyes rested on him searchingly for a moment. 'I trust

-you,' he said--'I trust you.'

-

-The hours passed on, the blazing sun arose, and Ralph went out into

-the burning glare with bent head and staggering footsteps, while words

-he had heard long since seemed floating round him in letters of fire:

-'Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for

-his friend.'--'Is there _none_ greater?' he thought. 'Is there nothing

-_I_ can do to repay--nothing?'

-

-

-CHAPTER I.--ASKED.

-

-The years were well on in their teens since that melancholy scene was

-enacted in the Indian tent--since Wrayworth consigned his only child

-to the guardianship of the friend whose life, at the expense of his

-own, he had saved on the battle-field. A carriage rolled along the

-snowy high-road through the cold clear air; the short winter's day

-was drawing to its close, and up in the darkening sky the stars were

-beginning to shine upon the world's most joyful season, upon Christmas

-eve. The world's most joyful season? We call it so, this festival, more

-than eighteen hundred years old; but does the world think it so?--the

-world, with its thousand cares and crosses, its deep and hidden

-sorrows, its partings and its tears? Of those amongst the myriads who

-keep the Yule-tide feast, how many hold it with a chastened joy! For

-on that day most of all our thoughts go back to other years, to other

-faces, to other lips that have wished us 'a merry Christmas;' to other

-hands, which have clasped ours so loyally, to those who have loved us

-so long ago!

-

-But Major Loraine had no sad memories connected with the season as he

-drove up to the old house, from which duty had so frequently called

-him, and which he had not seen for five years. In the wide, dark,

-panelled hall his step-mother stood waiting to welcome him, as gladly

-as though he had been her own son. He was only a boy when she first

-came there, when the pink was fresh on her cheek and the gold bright in

-her hair; they had been drawn to each other then; and through the long

-years of her widowhood his loving care had helped to lighten her load

-of sorrow; so it was not wonderful that for months past she had been

-eagerly looking forward to his return.

-

-The greetings over, they sat down side by side, talking, as those

-talk after long separation, of past, present, and future; of their

-acquaintances married, dead, or far away; of things on the estate,

-prosperous or failures; of the ball to be given next month, of the one

-they were going to, to-night; of how much Emma was improved since she

-'came out,' how Katharine was considered one of the handsomest girls

-in the place, and how she might marry Sir Michael Leyland with thirty

-thousand a year if she liked.

-

-'But why ever doesn't she like?' asked the Major, astonished at this

-new phase in the character of his worldly-minded sister.

-

-'That is just what troubles me,' answered Mrs Loraine. 'They are all at

-the church now, helping to decorate. Louise wanted to stay at home to

-welcome you, but I sent them all off, so as to have you to myself for

-an hour. You will see a great alteration in Louise, Ralph.'

-

-'Shall I, mother?' he said smiling. 'I think not. Her letters are the

-same always; they have altered in style a little of course in the last

-year or two, but it is the same spirit--the same creature.'

-

-'But not the same face, Ralph. Remember you have not seen her for five

-years, which have not altered you, but which have changed her from an

-unformed girl of fourteen to a lovely woman; with that bright changing

-beauty, which has more charm for a man than regularity of feature. It

-is a very difficult question.'

-

-'What is a difficult question?' asked Ralph, as his mother paused.

-

-'What to do with Louise.'

-

-'You hinted something of the kind in your last letter, mother,' he said

-gravely. 'I am sorry, but I must confess this house seems large enough

-for four women. You know how I am situated; you know the promise which

-binds me. But tell me,' he added smiling, 'what has Louise done? She

-seemed to me gentle and tractable enough when I was last at home.'

-

-'I have not the slightest fault to find,' Mrs Loraine replied; 'you

-know I am very fond of her. You will think my difficulty very womanish;

-simply, Louise is too pretty.'

-

-'And some one has told her so,' said Ralph, laughing. 'Go on.'

-

-'It is not that; but I cannot bear to see my own child's happiness

-destroyed by another, who, if not a stranger, has at least no claim

-upon her.'

-

-Ralph frowned slightly. 'Perhaps not,' he answered; 'the claim is upon

-me, and it is a sacred one. So,' he continued, 'it is a case of rivals,

-I see.'

-

-'Simply this, Ralph. You remember the Levesons of Leigh Court, where

-we are going to-night? Their eldest son is in the --th Dragoons, and

-has been home on leave. Louise was away when he first came here, and he

-appeared very much struck with Katharine; and no wonder; she is very

-handsome. Well--don't laugh at me; I don't like match-making as a rule;

-but I thought as she seemed interested in him, there was no harm in

-inviting him sometimes. But as soon as Louise came home, he transferred

-his attentions to her. Katharine says nothing; but it makes a kind

-of awkwardness between them. I know she feels it, poor child; though

-indeed I believe Vere Leveson is simply flirting with Louise.'

-

-Major Loraine laughed. 'Poor mother!' he said, 'you will have enough to

-do if you take all your children's love affairs to heart so seriously.

-These things always right themselves, you know. But I confess I am

-surprised to hear of Katharine going in for sentiment; I should have

-thought Sir Michael more in her line. Is that all, mother?'

-

-'No; only the first of my difficulties,' she answered half sadly. 'You

-know what my health has been for the last few years; you know---- Well,

-you do not wish me to speak of that; but it is better to look in the

-face of possibility. Suppose anything happened to me, Ralph, what would

-become of Louise?'

-

-'You speak of what I hope may be far distant, mother,' he answered

-tenderly. 'But why should you be uneasy about her? In the event of her

-not marrying, she would always have a home here with me.'

-

-Mrs Loraine shook her head. 'Turn round and look in the glass,' she

-said; 'thirty-nine is not such a very formidable age.'

-

-He turned, and contemplated his bronzed face in the glass; such a

-handsome, noble face, telling of a nature that could not act falsely or

-meanly. The broad square forehead, marred by a sabre-cut, and the dark

-hair flecked here and there, by the Indian sun, with gray; nothing else

-to find fault with in the frank kind smile, the fine regular features,

-the dark true eyes.

-

-'I think there is no fear of my being taken for younger than I am,

-mother,' he said, smiling.

-

-'It is an awkward position for you, though,' she answered; 'and as

-I said, a difficult question what to do. We must hope for the best,

-Ralph. You are going to join the others now, I suppose?'

-

-'Yes; I think I can find my way.'

-

-He went out into the keen frosty air, walking slowly, though it was

-unpleasantly cold to one accustomed to tropical climates. He was

-thinking over his mother's words, and knew she was right as to the

-awkwardness of the position. He saw the peace of the household was

-troubled, without knowing how to set matters right, and he thought

-of the old friend who had trusted his child to him. He had vowed she

-should be happy, and now it seemed a difficult vow to keep; but for the

-sake of the man who had died for him sixteen long years ago, the pledge

-then given must be redeemed.

-

-Louise Wrayworth's life had been a bright one hitherto; her guardian's

-home was the only one she could remember, and he had striven to fill in

-some degree her father's place. To him, from infancy to womanhood, she

-had looked up with loving grateful reverence, regarding him, present or

-absent, as the noblest of created beings.

-

-He reached the old church, and made his way round to the open vestry

-door. The steps were encumbered with bundles of evergreens; the voices

-of the workers, who had finished their task, were audible. He pushed

-the door further open, and went in. The floor was covered with boughs,

-and around the pillars were wreathed holly and other evergreens in

-honour of the joyous season. Some of the choristers stood waiting

-for the choir-practice, and the organist was softly playing _Adeste

-Fideles_.

-

-'Ralph!' cried a young fresh voice; and a slight fair girl with a merry

-face sprang up from the floor, with her hands full of the scarlet

-berries, which fell hither and thither in bright-hued rain, as with

-complete indifference to the by-standers, she gave the returned soldier

-a sisterly embrace. 'You dear old thing to come for us!' she exclaimed.

-

-'Emma, Emma!' exclaimed Ralph, laughing and disengaging himself; 'you

-have not learned to behave any better in five years.'

-

-But his young sister had vanished, and he turned to greet the vicar;

-and one or two of the ladies he recognised. In a few minutes Emma

-reappeared; and behind her came a tall fair girl with masses of golden

-hair, and great beautiful cold blue eyes. She greeted Major Loraine

-affectionately, but with the quiet stately grace habitual to her. Five

-years had not changed Katharine Loraine; at twenty-four she was still

-the same majestic Queen Katharine as at nineteen, with whom he had

-always had so little sympathy, whose nature he had found so difficult

-to understand.

-

-'Where is Louise?' he asked presently. 'Is she not here?'

-

-'She went into the churchyard just now,' answered Emma, 'to put a

-wreath on Nellie Bryant's grave. You remember her, Ralph?'

-

-'Louise's friend? Yes.'

-

-'A _triste_ employment for Christmas eve,' observed one of the

-gentlemen decorators to Katharine, as he stooped to disentangle her

-dress from a long sprig of ivy.

-

-'Oh, Mr Leveson went to hold a lantern for her,' Katharine answered,

-with the slightest possible shade of contempt in the silvery tones of

-her voice; 'and Louise is never _triste_, unless she is by herself.'

-

-The choir was now fully assembled; the organist struck up the anthem,

-the rest were silent to listen, and Ralph Loraine went out to look

-for his ward. He came round the east end of the old church, and stood

-still for a moment in the shadow. There were two people standing at

-the edge of the path, looking down on the grave at their feet, where

-the lantern's light shewed the shining holly upon the upright marble

-cross. It shewed too the face of his friend's child; a beautiful face,

-as his step-mother had said, with large dark eyes and wavy dusky hair,

-a clear delicate complexion with a little rose-flush on the cheeks, and

-full red lips half-parted by the sweetest smile he had ever seen; with

-the same erect carriage of the head, the same fearless straight regard

-which had characterised her father.

-

-It was so strange to see her there a woman, whom he had left a mere

-girl; and as he looked on the fair face, something seemed to whisper

-that the ideal beauty he had so often dreamed of was before him at

-last. They moved away, and came slowly nearer, and paused again where

-he could see her companion; and for a moment he almost hated the man

-for his youth, and his handsome face, and the deep-blue eyes aflame

-with passion-fire as they rested on the child of his dead friend; and

-another whisper which silenced the first, told him how fitted was each

-for the other.

-

-'If _I_ were lying there,' said Vere Leveson, and Ralph could hear

-every one of the foolish, softly spoken words, 'would you ever make

-wreaths for _me_, I wonder?'

-

-'I don't know.'

-

-'Don't you? I wish you did; for I thought just now I should be glad to

-be lying there, if you would remember me.'

-

-Ralph had heard enough, and tried to slip away unseen; but the gravel

-crunched under his feet and betrayed him.

-

-Louise started, and a bright vivid blush covered her face as she sprang

-forward. 'Lorrie! Oh, how glad I am to see you again!' she cried, as

-she took both his hands in hers and lifted her cheek for his kiss.

-

-He felt half sorry she had done so; that and the old childish name put

-him immediately in his place as guardian, and made him ashamed of his

-thoughts. 'How you are altered, Louise!' he said, looking down at her

-admiringly. 'I think I should hardly have known you!'

-

-'I should have known you, Lorrie, anywhere,' she said reproachfully.

-

-'That is rather different,' he said; 'when we once get old, we don't

-change so quickly.'

-

-'You would not like it if I said you were old, Lorrie. But tell me, am

-_I_ altered for the worse? or'----

-

-'You have no need to come to me for compliments, surely,' he said

-smiling.

-

-'I should think more of yours than of any one's,' she whispered, with

-that sweet dangerous smile; a smile which a man like Ralph Loraine

-should have taken as a warning not to feel its influence too often.

-

-'How rude I am!' she said at last.--'Mr Leveson, do you know my

-guardian?' She turned to her companion, who stood holding the lantern a

-few yards from them.

-

-'I had the honour of dining in your company once, Major Loraine,' he

-answered, stepping forward. 'It is some time ago, when I first joined

-at Madras; but I well remember my anxiety to see such a distinguished

-soldier as yourself.'

-

-There was a ring of truth and honest admiration in the words, which

-raised them above an ordinary compliment, and which made Ralph hold out

-his hand and answer cordially: 'I have a bad memory for faces, or I

-think I should have remembered yours.'

-

-'Thanks,' said Vere, laughing. 'We shall have the pleasure of seeing

-you to-night, I hope?'

-

-'Yes; my mother told me of the invitation.'

-

-'Of course he is coming,' said Louise. 'And you will dance with me all

-the evening, Lorrie; won't you?'

-

-'Not quite all, Miss Wrayworth; please, don't forget my waltzes,' said

-Vere, holding out his hand. 'I must be off now; so good-bye for the

-present. You won't forget?'

-

-She looked up quickly. 'Perhaps,' the lips said laughingly; but the

-dark eyes gave a sweet silent answer Ralph did not see, though he was

-watching them. But after Vere Leveson had gone, he walked home beneath

-the Christmas stars, with Louise's hand resting on his arm, dreaming as

-he went, a fair, fond, foolish dream.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-The Christmas-eve ball at Leigh Park was a regular institution, one

-which Sir Harry Leveson had kept up for years. It was a pretty sight,

-Ralph thought, as he stood leaning against a window, and looking round

-to select a partner. And amongst all the fair women, the one he thought

-the fairest was his young ward Louise Wrayworth, in her white floating

-dress, with its wreaths of holly, and the red clustering berries in her

-dark hair.

-

-Ralph had been watching Vere Leveson, trying to decide in his own

-mind whether Mrs Loraine's verdict of flirtation was a just one;

-and he judged that it was; for the attentions of the young officer

-were apparently equally divided between Louise and Katharine. Ralph

-did not happen to be near when, later on, he led Louise to one of

-the cool empty rooms, where through the open window could be heard

-the merry Christmas bells. He did not see the hand-clasp or the

-light that flashed in the eyes of each. He did not hear the hurried

-whisper: 'Louise, you won't forget me, you will trust me till next

-Christmas-time?'

-

-The ball was over, the rooms were dark and silent; the whole world

-waited for the sun to rise on Christmas-day.

-

-

-

-

-IS THE TELEPHONE A PRACTICAL SUCCESS?

-

-

-In September last appeared in this _Journal_ an article entitled

-'Singing and Talking by Telegraph;' and in that paper we attempted

-to describe the mechanism of that wonderful little instrument the

-telephone. It is now our purpose to say something regarding the

-progress that has been made towards perfecting the invention; but in

-order to make the article as clear as possible, we venture once more

-upon a few words explanatory of the instrument.

-

-The telephone as it is now made is an exceedingly simple-looking

-apparatus similar in appearance to a stethoscope; to the handle of a

-girl's skipping-rope; or better still, to a large-sized penny wooden

-trumpet. Inside this hollow cylinder, and within an inch or so of the

-wider end, is fixed a plate of iron as thin as a well-worn sixpence,

-and about the size of a half-crown piece. This is called the diaphragm.

-Behind the diaphragm, nearly touching it, and extending to the narrower

-end of the cylinder, is a piece of 'soft' iron enveloped in wire

-coils, with a permanent magnet beyond. Outside the narrower end of

-the cylinder, and communicating with the coils that surround the iron

-inside, are attached two screws or 'terminals,' which are 'joined up'

-to a main wire, communicating with the distant or receiving telephone

-wherever that may be, and which is precisely similar to the one we

-have described. When we apply our mouth to the bell-shaped end of the

-apparatus, and speak or shout or sing, we set the diaphragm vibrating

-as in a tuning-fork; the vibrations thus created are electrically

-communicated through the wire to a distant telephone, and are repeated

-on its diaphragm with more or less distinctness.

-

-It is known that the motion of an iron plate contiguous to the poles

-of a magnet creates a disturbance of electricity in coils surrounding

-those poles; and the duration of this current will coincide with the

-vibratory motion of the plate or diaphragm. When, therefore, the human

-voice (or any other suitable sound) impinges through the tube against

-this diaphragm, the diaphragm begins to vibrate, and awakens, so to

-speak, electrical action in the coils of wire surrounding the poles

-of the magnet; not a current, but a series of undulations, something

-like those produced by the voice in the air around us. In short the

-telephone is an apparatus designed to transmit sound through a wire

-of indefinite length; the voice being, so to speak, 'converted into

-electricity at one end, the electricity becoming voice at the other.'

-

-With these few explanatory remarks, we now proceed to offer to our

-readers the following interesting experiments made by a gentleman well

-skilled in telegraphy.

-

-'Journalists,' he says, 'with no special knowledge of the difficulties

-the invention has to encounter as a telegraph instrument, have

-expatiated in such enthusiastic terms upon the results said to have

-been achieved by the telephone, that a somewhat exaggerated notion of

-its powers and capabilities has been accepted by the general public.

-It appears, therefore, to the writer of those lines that a statement

-of the experiences of a person practically engaged in the work of

-telegraphy may assist in placing the phenomena of the telephone on a

-proper footing.

-

-'Scientifically, the telephone is a great and undoubted success; and

-a person would be grievously in error if, because of some undoubted

-hindrances to its practical use, he pronounced it unworthy of further

-experiment. The emergence of telegraphy from the domain of experiment

-into that of daily practical use is a fact so undoubted, and one with

-which we are now so familiar, that it is impossible to say at what

-moment the telephone, at present a scientific toy, may become a daily

-necessity not only of telegraphic but of ordinary commercial work.

-

-'Being engaged in daily contact with a large telegraphic centre, and

-in association with men who have the command of every means of testing

-the invention in a practical work-a-day manner, the writer was able to

-gauge pretty accurately the range within which the telephone can work.

-It must be understood, however, that in recording the effects observed

-by him and his associates, he has no desire to invalidate, or even to

-call in question the experiences of others who may have been able to

-arrive at better results. The telephone is in the hands of some of

-the first electricians and telegraphists of the day, and differences

-of conditions (not to speak of differences of capacity on the part

-of the operator) may give variety in the observations made. The very

-difficulties and drawbacks now to be recorded will no doubt some day

-suggest to a master-mind the method by which they may be overcome. But

-till that day arrives, the telephone must be content to remain where

-the writer leaves it, an undoubted success from a scientific point of

-view, but overwhelmed with obstacles to its practical use, in this

-country at least, in general telegraphy.

-

-'When a telegraphist first gets into his hand this beautifully simple

-and electrically delicate instrument, his first inclination is to test

-its carrying-power. This is of course a closet experiment, not working

-with actual telegraph line, but with "resistance" equivalent to a

-telegraph line of stated length. An experiment of this nature gives

-better results than could be obtained by a veritable line, because the

-insulation is, so to speak, perfect. No leakage at undesigned points of

-contact, or disturbance from unfavourable atmospheric conditions, is

-felt, and the experiment is entirely under the observer's control. The

-apparatus used is designed to offer the same labour for the electric

-current to overcome, as would be offered by a stated length of outside

-telegraph line. This artificial resistance is nicely graduated, and

-as the method of testing was suggested by Ohm, a German electrician,

-the unit of resistance is, as we once previously explained, termed an

-"ohm." Removing the telephone to such a distance that the two observers

-were "out of earshot," the test with resistance was tried, and with a

-resistance of one thousand ohms--roughly speaking, equal to seventy

-miles of a well-constructed line--the sound was perfect, although not

-very loud. Every articulation of the speaker at the other end could be

-distinguished so long as silence was maintained in the room, or so long

-as no heavy lorry rumbling over the stones outside sent in harsh noises

-which drowned the faint whisper of the instrument. The resistance

-was gradually raised to four thousand ohms--nearly three hundred

-miles--with like favourable results; and for some little distance

-beyond, articulation could still be made out. But by the time ten

-thousand ohms had been applied, putting the speaker at a distance of,

-say, seven hundred miles, sound only, but not articulate sound, reached

-the ear. The tone was there, and every inflection of the voice could

-be followed; but articulation was absent, although the listener strove

-every nerve to catch the sound, which the speaker, as was afterwards

-ascertained, was shouting in a loud clear voice. The prolonged notes

-of an air sung could be heard with the resistance named, but again

-no words could be distinguished. The voice, whether in speaking or

-singing, has a weird curious sound in the telephone. It is in a measure

-ventriloqual in character; and with the telephone held an inch or two

-from the ear, it has the effect as if some one were singing far off

-in the building, or the sound were coming up from a vaulted cellar or

-through a massive stone wall.

-

-'Proceeding to our next experiment, we joined up the telephones in one

-office to several wires in succession, putting ourselves in circuit

-with lines going to various distances and working with different

-instruments. When this was done, the real obstacle to telephonic

-progress at once asserted itself in the shape of "induction." The first

-wire experimented with was partly "overhouse" and partly underground,

-and the offices upon it were working Wheatstone A B C instruments. It

-is difficult to render clear to the person ignorant of telegraphic

-phenomena the idea expressed by the word _induction_. Briefly it may

-be put thus, that when a strong electric current is passing on a wire,

-it has the faculty of setting up a current of opposite character in

-any wire not then working, or working with a feebler current, that may

-be in its vicinity. The why or the wherefore cannot be explained, but

-there is the fact.

-

-'In various recent articles on the telephone, mention has been made of

-"contact" as the cause of disturbance. This word, however, although it

-has been used by telegraphists, is misleading, and can only be used

-as an endeavour to express popularly an electric fact. Actual contact

-of one wire with another would spoil the business altogether. A wire

-bearing an electric current seems to be for the time surrounded, to an

-undefined distance, by an electric atmosphere, and all wires coming

-within this atmosphere have a current in an opposite direction set up

-in them. This is as near an explanation of the phenomena of induction

-as the state of telegraph science at present affords. Now the telephone

-works with a very delicate magnetic current, and is easily overpowered

-by the action of a stronger current in any wire near which the

-telephone wire may come. To work properly it "requires a silent line."

-

-'In the place where the observations were made, there are a large

-number of wires, travelling under the floor, through the test-box,

-along passages to the battery-room and to a pole on the outside,

-whence they radiate, or out to a pipe underground, where many

-gutta-percha-covered wires lie side by side. On applying the ear to a

-telephone joined into a circuit working in such an office a curious

-sound is heard, comparable most nearly to the sound of a pot boiling.

-But the practised ear could soon separate the boiling into distinct

-sounds. There was one masterful Morse instrument--probably on the wire

-lying nearest the one on which we were joined up--whose peremptory

-"click, cli-i-i-ck, click," representing "dot, dash, dot" on the

-printed slip we read from, could be heard over all. Then there was the

-rapid whir of a Wheatstone fast-speed transmitter, sending dots and

-dashes at express speed by mechanical means; the sharp well-pronounced

-rattle in sounds of equal length of a needle instrument; and most

-curious of all, the "rrrrr-op, rr-op, rrrrrrrrrrrrr-op, rrrrr-op,

-rr-op" of the A B C, the deadliest foe to the telephone in its

-endeavours to gain admission into the family of telegraph instruments.

-There may be reason in this, for as the Wheatstone A B C is the

-instrument used for private telegraphy, or for the least important

-public offices, because it requires no "code" to be learned by the

-manipulator, so it would likely be the first to be displaced if an

-acoustic telegraph permanently took the field. So the sentient little

-A B C opens its mitrailleuse fire on the intruder, on whose delicate

-currents, in the words of an accomplished electrician, it plays "old

-harry." The peculiar character of the sounds we borrow on the telephone

-from this instrument arises from the fact that as the needle flies

-round the dial, a distinct current or pulsation passes for each letter,

-and the final "op" we have tried to represent shews the stoppage of the

-needle at the letters as words were spelled out.

-

-'It must not be understood that the _sounds_ of those various

-instruments are actually heard in the telephone. What happens is, that

-the currents stealing along the telephone wire by induction produce

-vibrations in the diaphragm of that instrument, the little metal

-membrane working on the magnet in ready response to every current set

-up in the latter. When it is remembered that the principle of the

-telephone is that the sound-caused vibrations in the filmy diaphragm

-at one end create similar but magnetically-caused vibrations in the

-diaphragm at the other end, and so reproduce the sound, it will be

-obvious why the rapid roll of the A B C currents, or the swift sending

-of the fast-speed transmitter, when brought by induction into the

-telephone wire, cause disturbances in the sound vibrations, and thereby

-cripple the instrument. One instrument of either kind named would have

-a certain effect, but one Morse or single needle would not have any

-greatly prejudicial effect. But a number of Morses or needles going

-together, such as were heard in our experiments, would combine to be

-nearly as bad as one A B C or fast-speed Morse. So delicate is the

-diaphragm to sound (and necessarily so), that in all experiments with

-the telephone itself, such as those with "resistance," or those made

-at home to test the instrument apart from telegraphic considerations,

-every sound from without broke in, giving an effect like the well-known

-"murmur of the shell."

-

-'Joining up our wire now to a more distant station at some miles

-along the railway, and having on its poles a number of what are known

-as "heavy" circuits, the pot-boiling sound assumed even more marked

-characteristics. The A B C no longer affected us; but a number of Morse

-instruments were in full gear, and the fast-speed transmitter was also

-at work. While we were listening, the circuit to which we were joined

-began to work, and the effect was literally electrical. Hitherto we had

-only borrowed currents--or, seeing they were so unwelcome, we might

-call them currents thrust upon us--and the sounds, though sharp and

-incessant, were gentle and rather low. But when the strong current was

-set up in the wire itself, the listener who held one of our telephones

-nearly jumped from the floor when an angry "pit-_pat_, pit-_pat_,

-pit-_pat_-pit" assailed his ear, causing him to drop the instrument as

-if he had been shot! It was a result none of us had expected, for it

-did not seem possible that the delicate metal diaphragm and the little

-magnet of the telephone could produce a sound so intense. Of course

-it was only intense when the ear was held close to the orifice of the

-instrument. Held in the hand away from the ear, the telephone now made

-a first-rate "sounder," and we could tell without difficulty not only

-the signals that were passing, but found in it a more comfortable tone

-than that given by the Morse sounder in common use.

-

-'Other experiments of a like character led to results so similar,

-that they may be left unnoticed; and we proceed now to describe one

-of a different character, designed to test the telephone itself.

-At a distance of about half a mile, access was obtained to a Morse

-instrument in private use, and joined to the office by "overhouse"

-wire. Dividing our party and arranging a programme of operations, two

-remained with a telephone in the office, while other two, of whom the

-writer was one, proceeded with the second telephone to the distant

-instrument. By an arrangement which a practical telegraphist will

-understand, the key of the Morse was kept in circuit, so that signals

-could be exchanged in that way. It may be noticed, however, that this

-was hardly necessary, as the diaphragm of the telephone can be used as

-a key, with the finger or a blunt point, so that dot and dash signals

-are interchangeable, should the voice fail to be heard. As the wire in

-this instance travelled almost alone over part of its course, we were

-in hopes that induced currents would be conspicuous by their absence.

-In this we were, however, disappointed, for the pot was boiling away,

-rather more faintly, but with the "plop-plop-plop" distinctly audible,

-and once more a sharp masterful Morse click was heard coming in now and

-again. The deadly A B C was, however, absent, so that our experiment

-proved highly successful. For some reason or another--probably an

-imperfect condition of the wire, or the effects of "induction" over and

-above what made itself audible to us--the spoken sounds were deficient

-in distinctness; but songs sung at either end were very beautifully

-heard, and indeed the sustained note of sung words had always a better

-carrying-power than rapidly spoken words. Every syllable, and every

-turn of melody of such a song as _My Mother bids me bind my Hair_, sung

-by a lady at one end, or _When the Heart of a Man_, sung at the other,

-could be distinctly heard, but with the effect before noticed, that the

-voice was muffled or shut in, as if the singer were in a cellar, while

-it was not always possible to say at once whether the voice was that of

-a man or a woman.

-

-'In the course of some domestic experiments, it was remarked that in

-playing the scale downwards from C in alt. on the piano, the result

-to the listener was a "tit" only for the four upper notes, although

-all below that had a clear "ting," and the octaves below were mostly

-distinct, although at the low notes of the piano the sound was again

-lost. The ringing notes of a musical box were not so successful, but

-with close attention, its rapid execution of _Tommy Dodd_ could be well

-enough made out. An endeavour was made to catch the ticking of a watch,

-but this was not successful, and the experiment is not recommended,

-as the near presence of a watch to a magnet is not desirable; and the

-watch exposed to it in this instance was, it is thought, affected for a

-short time thereafter, although it received no permanent damage.

-

-'The observations made in the course of these experiments convinced

-those present that the telephone presents facilities for the dangerous

-practice of "tapping the wires," which may make it useful or dangerous,

-according as it is used for proper or improper purposes. It might be

-an important addition for a military commander to make to his flying

-cavalry; as an expert sound-reader, accompanying a column sent to

-cut off the enemy's telegraph connections, might precede the act of

-destruction by robbing him of some of his secrets. The rapidity and

-simplicity of the means by which a wire could be "milked," without

-being cut or put out of circuit, struck the whole of the party engaged

-in the various trials that are described above. Of course the process

-of tapping by telephone could not be carried out if the instrument in

-use was an A B C or single needle, or if the wire was being worked

-duplex or with a fast-speed Morse, for in these cases the sounds are

-too rapid or too indefinite to be read by ear. The danger is thus

-limited to ordinary sounder or Morse telegraphs; but these still form

-the mainstay of every public system.

-

-'Since the trials above described were made, the newspapers have

-recorded a beautiful application by Sir William Thomson, of the

-electric part of the telephone to exhibit at a distance the motions

-of an anemometer; the object being to shew the force of air-currents

-in coal-mines. This is a useful application of an electric fact, and

-doubtless points the way to further discoveries. But it is to be

-noticed that the experiment, interesting as it is, hardly comes under

-the head of a tele_phone_, what is reproduced at a distance being not

-sound but motion.

-

-'Obviously the invention cannot rest where it is; and no one more

-readily than the practical telegraphist will welcome an instrument

-at once simple, direct, and reliable. Even in its present form the

-telephone may be successfully used where its wire is absolutely

-_isolated_ from all other telegraph wires. But the general impression

-is that its power of reproducing the sound must be intensified before

-its use can become general even as a substitute in works or offices for

-the speaking-tube.'

-

-

-

-

-SINGING MICE.

-

-

-These interesting animals are said to be smaller than ordinary mice,

-to be usually of a brownish colour, and to have long ears. Naturalists

-have not come to any exact reason as to why they sing. Some persons

-impute the singing to disease, as in the wheezing of any one from a

-cold. Others attribute it to an internal parasite. But these seem

-unsatisfactory explanations; for when the little creatures sing they

-are as lively as common domestic mice. The faculty of singing in a

-small way with various modulations appears to be quite natural to the

-animals. It has been noticed that during their musical performances

-there is a throbbing in the throat, and that the snout is elevated

-in giving play to the voice, as in the warbling of birds. The song

-or warble of these mice is said to be sweet and varied. Hitherto not

-much attention has been given by zoologists to the phenomenon; but we

-observe by various notices in _Land and Water_ and in _Nature_, two

-periodicals devoted to pleasant discussions on subjects of natural

-history, &c., that singing mice are becoming objects of careful

-investigation.

-

-An amusing account of a singing mouse appears in _Nature_, Nov. 9, from

-the pen of Mr Joseph Sidebotham, dating from Menton, south of France.

-

-'Last winter we occupied the rooms we now do at Menton. Early in

-February we heard as we thought the song of a canary, and fancied it

-was outside our balcony; however, we soon discovered that the singing

-was in our _salon_, and that the songster was a mouse. At that time the

-weather was rather cold, and we had a little fire, and the mouse spent

-most of the day under the fender, where we kept it supplied with bits

-of biscuit. In a few days it became quite tame, and would come on the

-hearth in an evening and sing for several hours. Sometimes it would

-climb up the chiffonier and ascend a vase of flowers to drink at the

-water, and then sit and sing on the edge of the table and allow us to

-go quite near to it without ceasing its warble. One of its favourite

-haunts was the wood-basket, and it would often sit and sing on the

-edge of it. On February 12, the last night of the Carnival, we had

-a number of friends in our _salon_, and the little mouse sang most

-vigorously, much to their delight and astonishment, and was not in the

-least disturbed by the talking. In the evening the mouse would often

-run about the room and under the door into the corridor and adjoining

-rooms, and then return to its own hearth. After amusing us for nearly

-a month, it disappeared; and we suspect it was caught in a trap set in

-one of the rooms beyond. The mouse was small and had very large ears,

-which it moved about much whilst singing. The song was not unlike that

-of the canary in many of its trills, and it sang quite as beautifully

-as any canary, but it had more variety, and some of its notes were

-much lower, more like those of the bullfinch. One great peculiarity

-was a sort of double song, which we had now and then--an air with an

-accompaniment. The air was loud and full, the notes being low and the

-accompaniment quite subdued. Some of our party were sure that there was

-more than one mouse, until we had the performance from the edge of the

-wood-basket and were within a yard or two of it. My son has suggested

-that many or all mice may have the same power, but that the notes are

-usually so much higher in the scale that, like the cry of the dormouse

-and the bat, they are at the verge of the pitch to which the human ear

-is sensitive. This may be so; but the notes of our mouse were so low,

-and even the highest so far within the limits of the human ear, that I

-am inclined to think the gift of singing in mice is but of very rare

-occurrence.'

-

-In the same periodical, the following additional particulars as regards

-singing mice are presented by Mr George J. Romanes, Regent's Park.

-

-'Several years ago I received some of these animals from a friend, and

-kept them in confinement for one or two months. The description which

-your correspondent gives of their performance leaves very little to

-be added by me, as in all respects this description agrees perfectly

-with my own observations. I write, however, to remark one curious

-fact about the singing of these mice, namely, that it seemed to be

-evoked by two very opposite sets of conditions. When undisturbed, the

-little animals used for the most part to remain quiet during the day,

-and begin to sing at night; but if at any time they were alarmed, by

-handling them or otherwise, whether during the day or night, they were

-sure to sing vigorously. Thus the action seemed to be occasioned either

-by contentment or by fear. The character of the song, however, was

-slightly different in the two cases.

-

-'That these mice did not learn this art from singing birds there can

-be no doubt, for they were captured in a house where no such birds

-were kept. It may be worth while to add that this house (a London one)

-seemed to have been suddenly invaded, so to speak, by a number of these

-animals, for although my friend has lived in this house since the year

-1862, it was only during a few months that singing mice were heard

-in it, and during these few months they were heard in considerable

-numbers.'

-

-As corroborative of the foregoing notices, we give the following very

-interesting account of a singing mouse, obligingly sent to us by a

-correspondent, Mr Alfred Wright.

-

-'In the early spring of last year I was invited by an old widow lady

-to see a singing mouse, which she had at night heard singing and

-scratching beneath the floor of her bed, and been so fortunate as to

-catch in a trap. I went, and found the little animal in a cage with

-a revolving wheel, similar to that in which a squirrel is usually

-confined. Whether the mouse was shy at the presence of a stranger, I

-do not know. It remained silent; but at length, after my patience had

-been nearly exhausted, it began to sing in clear warbling notes like

-those of a bird. When I called the next evening to hear the mouse

-again, I heard him to perfection; and was so filled with interest in

-the novelty, that I begged permission to bring any friend who was

-a sceptic of the fact, or who might desire to see the phenomenon.

-My request was readily granted. One friend of course had heard of

-a singing mouse, but he certainly would not allow that a prolonged

-squeak was a song--not he! Another friend of course had heard a mouse

-sing when he was a boy; but he was told, he perfectly well remembered,

-that the _noise_ produced by the mouse was the result of some internal

-disease. Well, both of these went with me to hear the little creature.

-Unfortunately, at first it was again shy; but after an interval of

-silence it commenced to sing--sweetly, like the low notes, the jug, of

-the nightingale. My friends had come, had heard, and were conquered!

-The one acknowledged it was really a song and not a squeak; the other,

-that the noise was certainly dulcet; but still he thought it possibly

-might be the result of disease, and not natural to the little animal.

-We suggested that this wonderful natural curiosity (as we deemed it)

-should be sent to an eminent naturalist who resided near. Great,

-therefore, was my astonishment and pleasure when it was presented to

-me, who could only treat it like a schoolboy would his white mouse--as

-a pet. And truly it became a great pet to both my wife and myself.

-

-'In form, the singing mouse did not differ from his humbler brethren;

-but in colour he was of a darkish brown, and had very bright eyes. It

-soon became used to the presence of my wife, and sang constantly while

-revolving the wheel of his cage. The notes proceeded from the throat.

-He became exceedingly gentle, and was pleased at being caressed.

-

-'I deemed him so rare a curiosity that I ventured to offer to exhibit

-him to the distinguished naturalist referred to above, and in my letter

-described the little creature and its peculiarities, as I have done

-here. The naturalist most courteously replied: "The case of the singing

-mouse is very extraordinary, but the fact is now well established....

-The best account which has ever been published is by an American

-naturalist, and I have given an abstract of his account in my _Descent

-of Man_.

-

-"The American referred to is the Rev. S. Lockwood, author of _The

-American Naturalist_, and he gives an account of his observations of

-the _Hesperomys cognatus_, an American species, belonging to a genus

-distinct from that of the English mouse. This little animal gave two

-chief songs. Mr Lockwood gives both songs in musical notation; and

-adds, that though this mouse 'had no ear for time,' yet she would keep

-to the key of B (two flats) and strictly in the major key.... Her soft

-clear voice falls an octave with all the precision possible; then at

-the wind up it rises again into a very quick trill in C sharp and D."

-I have made this quotation, as it far better describes the peculiar

-qualifications of a singing mouse, than my inexperienced observations

-could announce.

-

-'My mouse remained in contented confinement upwards of a year, feeding

-upon a little sopped bread and canary-seed; and great was the grief of

-my wife (who was his keeper) and myself when he was found dead in his

-little nest. During the previous evening he had been heard singing with

-more than usual ardour.'

-

-We shall probably return to this interesting subject.

-

-

-

-

-USING UP WASTE SUBSTANCES.

-

-

-The subject denoted by the above title, more than once treated in the

-_Journal_, is adverted to by an obliging Lancashire correspondent

-who, surrounded by one of the busiest and most ingenious clusters

-of townsmen in England, has had his attention drawn to various

-substances waiting (as it were), for application to useful purposes.

-His suggestions are not wholly new, having to some extent been already

-anticipated; but they are sufficiently valuable to call for notice here.

-

-One relates to the waste that presents itself in the processes of

-manufacturing cotton. A residue known technically as _willowings_,

-that falls into a receptacle during the preparatory beating and

-disentangling of raw cotton-wool, consists of a dusty heap of

-seed-husks and short broken fibres. It is used by farmers to absorb the

-liquid manure of their cowsheds and middens or dung-heaps. Although

-some of the cottony fibre may be separated through a sieve, so much

-adheres to the seed-husk as to render it unsuitable for paper-making,

-for which it has often been tried. The suggestion now made is, that

-though unfitted for paper, this refuse may possibly be found useful

-in the manufacture of _millboard_. Large quantities of this tough and

-durable product are employed for bookbinding, for making the discs of

-railway wheels, &c.; and as colour is not a matter of moment, the idea

-is that the mingled residue of cottony fibre and seed-husk might be

-rendered available. It is known that millboard made from wood-pulp is

-imported to a considerable extent from abroad; and we are told that

-'a large portion of the private income of the great German Chancellor

-Prince Bismarck is derived from the manufacture of wood-millboard on

-his Varzin estate.' Many hundred tons of willowings could be obtained

-in Lancashire at a very cheap rate, even as low as two shillings per

-hundredweight.

-

-Another suggestion bears relation to the utilisation of refuse from

-the manufacture of prussiate of potash, a most valuable product in

-the hands of the manufacturing chemist. The prussiate is obtained in

-large ratio from woollen rags, after the separation of all the pieces

-that can be worked up into shoddy for cheap cloth. The refuse is

-calcined in cast-iron retorts, lixiviated with water, and drained off

-for subsequent treatment: leaving behind it a thick black sediment of

-impure animal charcoal. The suggestion relates to the application of

-this residue to the manufacture of blacking--a humble but valuable

-agent for those who appreciate tidiness in the appearance of boots and

-shoes and economy in the preservation of leather. If useful for this

-purpose, it might be found advantageous and economical as an ingredient

-in printers' ink. Whether this carbon residue is at present applied to

-any other useful purpose, we are not fully informed.

-

-A third suggestion relates to the preparation of animal size for the

-carpet-manufacture and for that of many kinds of woollen and worsted

-goods. This size is made from the clippings and scrapings of skins

-and hides, from rejected scraps of parchment and vellum, and from

-the worn-out buffalo skin pickers and skips largely used in textile

-manufactures; also from the pith of cattle-horns, which contain a large

-amount of valuable gelatine. The suggestion is, to utilise the refuse

-left after making this size. One large carpet factory in Yorkshire

-rejects as utterly useless a ton or more of this refuse every week.

-The horn-pith contains as one of its components phosphate of lime, and

-is on that account recommended to the notice of the manufacturers of

-chemical manures on a large scale.

-

-One more suggestion comes from our ingenious correspondent. Old corks

-are applicable to a greater number of purposes than we are generally

-in the habit of supposing. That many of them are ground up to make

-cork-stuffing for cushions, padding, &c. is well known; but there are

-other uses for them as corks or half corks, besides making floating

-buoys and life-preservers. A taverner in a Lancashire town covered the

-floor of his lobby and bar with very open rope-matting, and filled up

-the openings with old corks cut down to the level of the surface of

-the mats. This combination is found to be almost indestructible under

-the feet; while it gives a good grip or foothold. As the making of

-rope-mats is one of the trades carried on in reformatories and some

-other large establishments, it is suggested that the managers should

-take into consideration the feasibility of adding old corks to their

-store of manufacturing materials.

-

-As this _Journal_ finds its way into every corner of the busy hives

-of industry, it may possibly be that some of our readers are already

-acquainted with such applications of waste refuse to useful purposes as

-those which our esteemed correspondent suggests. But this is a point

-of minor importance. The primary question is, not whether an idea is

-absolutely new, but whether it is practicably susceptible of useful

-application. The history of manufactures teaches us that apparently

-humble trifles like these have proved to be worth millions sterling to

-the country.

-

-

-

-

-LET BYGONES BE BYGONES.

-

-

-    Let bygones be bygones; if bygones were clouded

-      By aught that occasioned a pang of regret,

-    Oh, let them in darkest oblivion be shrouded;

-      'Tis wise and 'tis kind to forgive and forget.

-

-    Let bygones be bygones, and good be extracted

-      From ill over which it is folly to fret;

-    The wisest of mortals have foolishly acted--

-      The kindest are those who forgive and forget.

-

-    Let bygones be bygones; oh, cherish no longer

-      The thought that the sun of Affection has set;

-    Eclipsed for a moment, its rays will be stronger,

-      If you, like a Christian, forgive and forget.

-

-    Let bygones be bygones; your heart will be lighter,

-      When kindness of yours with reception has met;

-    The flame of your love will be purer and brighter

-      If, Godlike, you strive to forgive and forget.

-

-    Let bygones be bygones; oh, purge out the leaven

-      Of malice, and try an example to set

-    To others, who craving the mercy of heaven,

-      Are sadly too slow to forgive and forget.

-

-    Let bygones be bygones; remember how deeply

-      To heaven's forbearance we all are in debt;

-    They value God's infinite goodness too cheaply

-      Who heed not the precept, 'Forgive and forget.'

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-Printed and Published by W. & R. CHAMBERS, 47 Paternoster Row, LONDON,

-and 339 High Street, EDINBURGH.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-_All rights reserved._

-

-

-

-

-

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-Literature, Science, and Art, No. 730, by Various

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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature,
+Science, and Art, No. 730, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, No. 730
+       December 22, 1877
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: William Chambers
+        Robert Chambers
+
+Release Date: April 23, 2016 [EBook #51841]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL, DECEMBER 22, 1877 ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL
+
+OF
+
+POPULAR
+
+LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART.
+
+Fourth Series
+
+CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS.
+
+NO. 730.      SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1877.      PRICE 1½_d._]
+
+
+
+
+CHRISTMAS-TIME.
+
+
+'So many men so many minds' has been a proverb long before our days,
+and will be to the end of time and human history; and uniformity of
+sentiment is the one thing which men need never hope to attain.
+
+Christmas-time is one of these battle-fields of feeling. To some it is
+just the consecration of so many circumstances of torture; to others
+the meeting-point of so many facts of pleasure. From the conventional
+greeting to the orthodox dinner--from the 'seasonable gifts' that are
+more obligatory than voluntary, to the toast that heralds the punch,
+and the dreams that follow on that last glass--all is so much pain to
+the flesh and weariness to the spirit; and they wonder how any one
+can find it otherwise. What is there in Christmas-time to make it
+pleasurable? they say. The gathering together of the family? A lot
+of rough boys home from school, who spoil the furniture and tease
+the dogs, lame the horses and ravage the garden, make the servants
+cross, the girls rude, and the younger children insubordinate; who
+upset all the order of the house, destroy its comfort like its quiet,
+and to whose safe return to discipline and your own restoration to
+tranquillity you look forward with impatient longing from the first
+hour of their arrival to the last of their stay? Or the advent of your
+married daughter with her two spoilt babies, who cry if they are looked
+at and want everything that they see, and that very objectionable young
+man her husband, with his ultra opinions and passion for argument,
+whom she would marry in spite of all that you could say, but to whom
+you can scarcely force yourself to be decently civil, not to speak of
+cordial, and whose presence is a perpetual blister while it lasts? Is
+this the family gathering about which you are expected to gush?--this
+with the addition of your son's fine-lady wife who snubs his mother
+and sisters with as little breeding as reserve, finds nothing at your
+table that she can eat, lives with her smelling-bottle to her nose and
+propped up with cushions on the sofa, and gives you to understand that
+she considers herself humiliated by her association with your family,
+and your son as much exalted as she is degraded? This is the domestic
+aspect of Christmas-time which is to make you forget all the ordinary
+troubles of life, creating in their stead a Utopia where ill-feeling
+is as little known as _ennui_, and family jars are as impossible as
+personal discomfort and dissent. Holding this picture in your hand, you
+decline to subscribe your name to the Io pæan universally chanted in
+praise of Christmas, and wrap yourself up in sullen silence when your
+neighbour congratulates you on having all your family about you, and
+wishes you a merry Christmas as if he meant it.
+
+If the domestic aspect is disagreeable, what is the social?--A round
+of dinners of which the _menu_ is precisely the same from Alpha to
+Omega:--turbot and thick lobster-sauce; roast-beef and boiled turkey;
+indigestible plum-pudding and murderous mince-pies; with sour oranges
+and sweet sherry to keep the balance even, and by the creation of two
+acids perhaps neutralise each other and the third. This is the food
+set before unoffending citizens under the name and style of Christmas
+dinners for the month or six weeks during which the idiotic custom of
+Christmas dinners at all is supposed to last. You are expected to live
+in this monotony of dyspepsia and antipathetic diet till you loathe the
+very sight of the familiar food, and long for a change with a vehemence
+which makes you ashamed of yourself, and more than half afraid that you
+are developing into a gourmand of the worst kind.
+
+As if your nights were not sufficiently broken by the horrible
+compounds which trouble your digestion and disturb your brain,
+torturers known as the 'waits' prowl through the streets from midnight
+to dawn, causing you agonies beyond those which even the hurdy-gurdy
+men inflict. You are just falling to sleep--painfully courted and
+hardly won--when a hideous discord worse than the wailings of cats
+startles you into a nervous wakefulness which banishes all hope for
+that night. What can you do? They are too far off for that jug of
+water to take effect, and you must not fire; anathemas do not hurt
+them, and if said aloud only waken up your wife and make her cry if
+she does not preach. You have nothing for it then but to lie still
+and groan inwardly, devoting to the infernal gods all the idiotic
+circumstances by which your life is rendered wretched, and your health,
+already frail, set still further wrong. In the morning, when wearied
+and nervously feverish from want of sleep, you go into the garden for
+a little quiet and delectation, you find your greenhouses stripped of
+the flowers which you had been lovingly watching for weeks, and your
+evergreens as ridiculously cropped as a shaved poodle. This is the day
+for the decoration of the church, and you, having made an expensive
+hobby of your garden, have to contribute what has cost months and good
+money to rear, for the childish satisfaction of John and Joan, lasting
+just two hours and five minutes. Not only have you lost your flowers
+and your evergreens--that splendid holly, which yesterday glowed like a
+flame, today nothing but a bundle of chopped ends!--but you know that
+your favourite daughter is flirting with the curate, and that a great
+deal is going on under cover of wreaths and crosses, laurustinus and
+chrysanthemum, of which you strongly disapprove yet cannot check. It is
+Christmas-time; decorating the church has become in these later days a
+kind of religious duty; and as a conscript father of your village, you
+must not forbid your daughter this pious pleasure any more than you can
+refuse your costly contribution in kind.
+
+Turn to the financial side of the time; and what have you?--bills
+coming in that you neither expected nor knew of, and every one looking
+for a Christmas-box, and insolent or irritated if they do not get it.
+The servants obsequious to the worth of half a sovereign--tradesmen
+and their lads punctual in anticipation of half-crowns--postmen
+levying blackmail, and watermen and dustmen demanding as their
+right that they should be fee'd for their persistent neglect of
+duty--every one making a dead set at your pocket and trying to get
+your money for themselves--the very children more caressing and
+affectionate because it is Christmas and papa always gives them
+something on Christmas-day:--You groan as you ask yourself where is
+disinterestedness on this earth?--and you groan still more as you draw
+your cheques and reduce your balance and wonder by what law of right it
+is that you should be the pipe by which other folks are to be supplied.
+
+No; you see no good or pleasure in this boasted Christmas-time as
+we keep it up in our benighted country. Its mirth is a sham and its
+inflictions are only too real. A time of tumult and expense, of
+indigestion and discomfort, you wait, grimly or fretfully as your mood
+may be, till it has passed and the current of your life is allowed
+to flow evenly as before. When you hear people sing its praises you
+long to stop their mouths, as you longed to silence the waits who
+woke you up out of your first sleep and spoilt your rest for the
+night. What manner of men are these, you think, who can find cause of
+congratulation in so much absurdity, if the fun is real to them--so
+much dreary make-believe, if it is unreal? You despise your genial,
+laughing, merry-hearted neighbour who goes into everything _con amore_,
+and accepts it all, from forfeits and snapdragon to plum-pudding and
+Christmas-boxes, as if he really liked it. You think what a fool he
+must be to be pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw like this.
+But for the most part you do not believe in his mirth; and then you
+despise him still more as a hypocrite as well. For a hypocrite shamming
+folly is an offender against reason as well as truth, whom you find it
+hard to forgive, let the motive of his mummery be what it may.
+
+This is one side of the question; your neighbour takes the other.
+
+Who on earth, he says with his hands in his pockets, his back to the
+fire and his kindly smiling face to the room, who on earth can grumble
+at the facts of Christmas-time? For his part he finds it the jolliest
+season of the year, and he finds each season as jolly as the other,
+and all perfect in their own appointed way. He is none of your crying
+philosophers who go through life bewailing its miseries and oppressed
+by its misfortunes. Not he! He thinks the earth beautiful, men and
+women pleasant, and God very good; and of all occasions wherein he can
+transact his cheerful philosophy, Christmas is the best. The boys are
+home for their holidays; and it is a pleasure to him to take them out
+hunting and shooting, and initiate them into the personal circumstances
+belonging to English country gentlemen. He looks forward to the time
+when they will take his place and carry on the traditions of the
+family, and he wishes them to be worthy of their name and an honour
+to their country. He is not one of those nervous self-centred men who
+live by rule and measure and cannot have a line of the day's ordering
+disturbed. He likes his own way certainly; and he has it; but he can
+press his elbows to his sides on occasions, and give room for others
+to expand. He does not find it such an unbearable infliction that his
+boys should come home and racket about the place, even though they are
+a little upsetting, and do not leave everything quite as smooth and
+straight as they found it. He remembers his own youth and how happy it
+made him to come home and racket; and he supposes that his lads are
+very much the same as he was at their age. He thinks too that they do
+the girls good--wake them up a little--and while not making them rough
+or rude--the mother takes care of that--yet that they prevent them from
+becoming prim and missy, as girls are apt to be who have no brothers
+and are left too much to themselves. Certainly he does not approve of
+the flood of slang which is let loose in the house during their stay;
+but school-boy slang at the worst is not permanent, and in a week's
+time will be forgotten.
+
+As for the married daughter's children, they are the merriest little
+rogues in the world; and his wife looks ten years younger since they
+came. She was always fond of babies; and her grandchildren seem to
+renew her own past nursery with all the pleasure and none of the
+anxiety of the olden time. He rather wonders at his girl's taste in
+the matter of her husband--most fathers do--and cannot for the life of
+him see what there is to love in him. But if not an Alcibiades he is
+a good fellow in the main, and makes his young wife happy; which is
+the principal thing. And if his daughter-in-law is a trifle stiff, and
+fond of giving herself fine-lady airs, he for his part never stands
+that kind of nonsense, and will laugh her out of it before she has
+been twenty-four hours in the house. He finds good-humour and taking no
+offence the best weapons in the world against folly and ill-temper; and
+prefers them as curative agents to any other. The girl is a nice girl
+enough, but she has been badly brought up--had a lot of false ideas
+instilled into her by a foolish mother--but when she has been away
+from the old influences, and associated with themselves for a little
+while, she will open her eyes and see things in their right light.
+Who indeed could resist the sweet sensible influence of his wife, her
+mother-in-law?--and are not his girls the very perfection of honest
+wholesome English ladies? It will all come right in time; he has no
+doubt of that; and meanwhile they must be patient and forbearing for
+Dick's sake, and not make matters worse than they are by their own want
+of self-control.
+
+Then as to the Christmas-boxes and the tips sacred to the season--well!
+well! after all they do not amount to much in the year, and see what
+pleasure they give! A man must be but a poor-spirited surly kind of
+hound who does not like to see his fellow-creatures happy; and a very
+little kindness goes a great way in that direction. He takes care to
+live within his income, and therefore he has always a margin to go on;
+and he does not object to use it. The servants have been very good on
+the whole, and do their duty fairly enough. And when they fail--as
+they do at times--why, to fail is human, and are they alone of all
+mankind to be blameless and never swerving in the right way? And are
+they alone of all mankind to be judged of by their worst and not by
+their best?--to be blamed for failure, but not praised for well-doing?
+He does not think so; and not thinking this, his half-sovereigns are
+given freely without the grudging which makes them an ungracious
+tax instead of a kindly voluntary gift. The tradespeople, too, do
+fairly well, and--they must have their profit like any one else!
+Those Christmas-boxes to their lads may be the nest-eggs for future
+savings; and even if they do go in a little finery or personal pleasure
+instead--young people will be young, and his own boys are fond of being
+smart and amused: so why not these others? You grumble at the waits? If
+you in your warm bed, well fed, well clothed, prosperous altogether,
+fret at the loss of an hour's sleep, what must these poor fellows feel,
+out in the cold frosty night, with the wind blowing and the sleet
+falling fast, and they not half fed nor a quarter clothed? For his own
+part he would like to give them a glass of hot grog all round; and as
+for grumbling at the few coppers which they brave all this physical
+discomfort to earn, he makes it shillings, and hopes it will do them
+good. We must live and let live, he says with his broad smile; and
+if we are sometimes a little inconvenienced by the efforts made by
+the poor to accomplish the art of living for their own parts--we must
+remember that our loss is their gain, and that they are men and women
+like ourselves--fathers of families who want to keep the pot boiling
+and the fire alight--mothers who love their children, and are anxious
+to do the best for them that nature and man will allow.
+
+You complain of indigestion and grumble at the monotony of your
+Christmas fare?--That is strange! Who can grumble at good plain
+succulent meat?--and why do you eat the sweets if they disagree with
+you? Neither pudding nor mince-pie comes into the eternal necessities
+of things, and you would do very well if only you would refrain. He
+does not eat things that he cannot digest, and in consequence he sleeps
+well, and when he wakes has neither regret nor remorse. Surely that is
+not such a painful trial--to forbear eating what is hurtful to your
+health, and in touching your health corroding your happiness as well.
+
+In a word, the whole difference of the spirit in which we meet the
+facts of Christmas depends on the good or ill humour with which we are
+naturally endowed, and which we have cultivated by common-sense on the
+one hand, or suffered to ride rough-shod over our reason on the other.
+If we are unselfish and sympathetic, Christmas-time is as pleasant
+to us as popular tradition would make it; if we are egotistical and
+peevish, it is a wearisome infliction and a sham which no honest man
+can pretend to believe in, nor any sensible one to admire.
+
+For our own part we believe in Christmas, because we believe in the
+kindness of man to man, in genial good-humour, in unselfishness, and
+the liking of wholesome natures to give happiness; and so far as we
+have gone yet we have seen no reason to change our views. A merry
+Christmas then to you all, friends, readers, and countrymen; and a
+happy New Year to follow after; and may God bless the rich and care
+for the poor, and lead us all in the right way while the day lasts and
+before the night has come!
+
+
+
+
+A CAST OF THE NET.
+
+THE STORY OF A DETECTIVE OFFICER.
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+Long after it had grown quite dark, all remained quiet, and at last
+I resolved upon making a move. I had determined upon fetching Peter
+Tilley. I had plenty of assistance, but I thought I should like to have
+Peter with me. So I went down to the ferry; a gas-light which burned at
+the corner shewed me before I left my post that the bony ferryman was
+not there; and choosing a pretty good boat, with a strong young fellow
+to pull, I got in. It was a most unpleasant night; as dark as pitch,
+which was bad enough, but every now and then it lightened, which was
+worse, as it dazzled my eyes, and made me think we were running smash
+on board some great vessel which I had not seen a moment before, and
+couldn't see a moment after. However, the boatman was used to all kinds
+of weather, I suppose, and knew the river thoroughly; so through the
+darkness and the rain, which never left off for a moment, we reached
+the other side.
+
+I left the boat to wait for me, and ran up to the _Yarmouth Smack_. I
+looked in, and saw Peter leaning against the bar and smoking a short
+pipe, as a labourer ought to do; and he was talking in a friendly way
+to some rough-looking fellows. I slipped in, and using the name we had
+agreed upon, spoke to him. He knew my voice of course; but seeing me
+so changed, for my make-up was really splendid (it was, although I say
+so that shouldn't), it gave him such a shock that he was obliged to
+put the pewter down he was going to drink from and look steadily at me
+before he answered. 'I'm acoming,' he said at last, and we got outside;
+when, as we walked down to the ferry, I gave him a sort of idea of what
+was going on, and how I expected to make a great catch that night.
+Peter of course was very glad to be in for such a big thing as this,
+for he had never been mixed up with anything so important.
+
+Not to trust the boatman too much, I kept Peter back a few yards from
+the water while I finished my story, standing a little on one side, so
+as to be out of the way of the people who came and went to and from the
+ferry. While I was talking to him, a wherry ran in; we heard her grate
+on the pebbles and the sculls rattle as the man laid 'em in; but that
+we had heard before. It's a part of my habit to notice little things
+however, and I looked to see who had come in by this boat. There was
+only one passenger, a woman, and she passed us walking quickly; but
+quick as she walked, I saw her, and she saw me. Blessed if it wasn't
+Miss Doyle! My being there was no odds to Miss Doyle, nor could it have
+signified to her if she had seen me fifty times; yet I felt I would
+rather not have met her just then; it looked unlucky, and she was such
+an uncommonly sharp one too. Sharp or not, I couldn't see what she
+could make out of my standing under a wall on a wet night talking to
+another labourer.
+
+Having finished my explanation, we both got into the wherry, and I
+asked the man if he would like a good long job, which might perhaps
+last all night.
+
+'The longer the better, governor,' he says, 'if the pay is accordin'.'
+
+'The pay _will_ be accordin',' I answered; 'and so you are engaged.'
+
+The first thing I made him do was to row round that oyster-smack, for
+the tide had risen enough to take us round her. I shewed no light, but
+we went inside her twice; and the fellow on the watch was very sharp,
+so he was leaning over the side when we came round the second time, and
+I could say quite quiet-like: 'I am in this boat now--watch the river.'
+That was quite enough; he knew he would not now have to look to the
+_Anchor_ for signals.
+
+After this began what I believe was the most disagreeable sort of
+patrol I ever had. There was a time when I used to envy the Thames
+police; but I can't say I ever did after that night. We were obliged
+to be in motion almost continually, because we did not know from which
+side of the river the paper might come, and we weren't quite sure that
+it would come at all, especially on that night; and I don't know,
+speaking from my own experience, that there is anything more trying to
+the spirits than the pulling backwards and forwards and loitering about
+on the river Thames in a raw October night with a small thick rain
+falling. Twice we landed, and went once to the _Smack_ and once to the
+_Anchor_. I couldn't grudge the men a glass of hot grog; in fact I was
+obliged to have some myself, even if I missed my capture through it.
+
+It grew later and later; the flashes of lightning still came at long
+intervals; but the lights on the shore went out, and excepting the
+gas-lamps which burnt at street-corners, ferries, and wharfs, all was
+dark. The traffic on the river had long ceased, no shouts or rattle
+of wheels came from the shore; and the rain still falling, it was,
+I give you my word, most horribly miserable, dull and sloppy beyond
+description. Twelve o'clock had struck, and one, and perhaps half an
+hour beyond it. I had cautioned my companions to speak very low; so the
+boatman only whispered when he said: 'It's as quiet as it is likely
+to be, governor, if you've got anything to run. I have just seen the
+police galley creep along on the other side; I see her under that lamp.
+Now's your time.'
+
+He thought we were smugglers! Perhaps he didn't care if we were
+thieves. I told him to be patient; when at that very instant, just as
+we were creeping along under the lee of a coal-barge, a wherry shot
+very silently by, right in front of us, going across stream, and not
+six feet from our bows. In her sat the sulky ferryman; I knew him at a
+glance, dark as it was. 'Pull after that wherry,' I said.
+
+'Peter Tilley, my lad,' I continued, turning to Peter, 'the time's
+acoming, I think.'
+
+'I'm precious glad of it,' says Peter; 'for I'm catching a cold in my
+head every minute I sit in this confounded boat; and it's all soaking
+wet where I'm sitting.'
+
+Our man pulled on; he was a very strong fellow, as I have said, and
+we could have overtaken the other boat directly; but this of course I
+did not want. I knew where to look for the old scamp; and sure enough,
+after a few strokes across stream, he bent to the left and ran under
+the bows of the Dutch trader.
+
+All was dark and silent as the grave aboard the ship; but that didn't
+deceive the old boatman, nor did it deceive me. I stopped our man in
+the shade of the next vessel, if you can call anywhere a shade, when
+it was all pitch dark. We had not been there a minute before I heard a
+slight noise--it was impossible to see any one unless he stood between
+you and the sky--and then I could tell by the sound that a man had
+dropped into the wherry. There was no need to tell me what man it was.
+With an almost noiseless dip, the ferryman dropped his sculls into the
+river again and rowed on, we still after him. I took it for granted he
+was going to the other side of the ferry; but he suddenly bore off to
+the right, and rowed on for some little time, then striking in between
+two vessels, he went straight for the land.
+
+'Where is he going to?' I whispered.
+
+'To the landing at Byrle's wharf,' says the boatman in the same tone.
+
+So he was; and it appeared this landing-place was at the farther side
+of the wharf; that is, lower down the river.
+
+It was so dark we could hardly see them--for we could just make out
+there were now two persons in the boat--but as they reached the shore,
+a lamp that was burning on the wharf helped us a little. We could not
+clearly see what they were doing; but they certainly got out of the
+boat, and as certainly there were then more than two figures moving
+about, and seemingly engaged in placing parcels in the wherry. But it
+was very gloomy there; they were in the shade of the wharf, and the
+lamp glimmered weak and faint through the thick rain. It was the more
+difficult to see what was being done, because there were several boats
+tied up to the landing-place, making some confusion in the darkness. At
+last, however, we could see that they were pushing off from the shore;
+so it was time for us to move. We pulled back for a while (there was no
+doubt as to which way the others would come), and then sheering off,
+lay between two colliers until we saw the wherry we had watched go by,
+and then we once more pulled after them.
+
+'I'm blest if I don't think there's another boat following _us_,' says
+Peter Tilley, staring as hard as he could behind us. I looked, but
+couldn't see anything; and Peter owned he might have been mistaken.
+
+We could not make out how many there were in the foremost boat. There
+was only one man rowing, that was plain; and he pulled short round
+at the proper place, as I knew he would, and rowed towards the Dutch
+trader. As he did so, we lost him for a second, a big steamer lying
+between us; but the hull of this vessel did not obstruct the view up
+the river. I seized the moment, and waved my lantern twice. It was all
+right. As quick as thought the light on board the oyster-smack was
+moved twice also, and then we too were pulling across the stream. I
+wanted to capture my men on board the trader, as otherwise the paper
+might be got rid of, because I couldn't be positively certain that it
+was not already on board. In fact, Mr Edmund Byrle was my chief aim,
+not the skipper.
+
+The wherry pulled under the bows of the vessel; we followed just in
+time to see, by a very convenient flash of lightning, two packages
+handed up; then a figure, which we had recognised by the same flash as
+the bony ferryman, got into the ship. As he disappeared, our wherry
+touched the vessel; and at the same instant, to my great relief, a
+long black Thames police galley came alongside us, and its crew, five
+constables, with Barney Wilkins, who was there as guide, clambered
+up like cats. I and Peter imitated them, but not quite so quickly;
+and when I looked over the bulwark, I saw by the light of a couple of
+lanterns, screened from the outside, four or five men, the boatman
+and the skipper being two, lifting up a great lid which fitted in
+the deck--the hatches I heard it called--while by their side lay the
+packages of paper. I could not see Mr Byrle; but there was no time to
+consider; we all jumped in at once, the men looking round in amazement
+at the noise. I fancied that just then I heard a shout from the boat.
+
+'What do you all want here?' said the skipper angrily.
+
+'We hold a warrant'--I began.
+
+'Oh, it is _you_, is it?' he screeched, like a hyena, or something of
+that sort. 'I owe you a little for a past score, and you shall have
+it.' As quick as lightning he pulled a long straight knife from the
+side of his trousers, where it must have been in some sort of sheath,
+and jumped at me with such suddenness that he would have stabbed me,
+only Barney Wilkins snatched a handspike from the deck, and dashing
+between us, hit him down with such a blow, that the skipper fell with a
+crash like a bullock when it is killed, the blood pouring from his head
+instantly.
+
+It was all as quick as thought. The other men were all seized in a
+breath. So quick was it all done, that I had no idea Barney was hurt,
+until he reeled, made a wild clutch as if he caught at something for
+support, and then pitched forward on his hands and knees.
+
+'Hollo, Barney!' I said, stooping down to him. 'What's the matter, old
+fellow?'
+
+'It's all up, Mr Nickham,' he gasped; 'he's done me. I only hope I've
+killed him. Where's the other?'
+
+'Oh, never mind the other, Barney,' I says. 'Where are you hurt?'
+
+But as I spoke, one of the men came with a lantern, and Barney had
+no occasion to answer me, for I could see a straight stream of blood
+running from his chest on to the deck; and his hands giving way from
+weakness, he fell over on his side.
+
+'Pull in for the shore, you, sir!' said the sergeant of the Thames
+police to my waterman. 'You know Marigold Street? Knock up Mr Gartley,
+and tell him what has happened. Say we are afraid to move the man to
+his house, so he had better come aboard.'
+
+'Send one of your own men, will you?' answers the boatman. 'I've got
+something to tell the governor' (that was me), 'as I think he ought to
+know.'
+
+'Cut away then, Bill,' says the sergeant to a constable; 'these fellows
+are ironed, and we can manage all that are aboard this craft.'
+
+So the man went off in my wherry; and the Thames men tried to make poor
+Barney a little more comfortable, while I undid his waistcoat, hoping
+to stop the bleeding.
+
+'It ain't no use,' he said; but in that short time his voice was almost
+gone, and we could tell that he was dying. 'I'm done for, Mr Nickham.
+If there's a reward, you'll act fair and square, I know; you always was
+a gentleman--let my sister have'---- And with that he gave a gasp, and
+was dead.
+
+I rose up, dreadfully vexed for the poor chap. The sergeant and one of
+his men were looking after the skipper, when I felt myself touched on
+the arm.
+
+'I say, sir,' said the boatman, 'when I'm in for a thing, I go through
+with it honourable. Did you know as you was followed?'
+
+'Followed? no!' I said.
+
+'I thought we was!' said Peter Tilley.
+
+'We was followed, sir, by a light wherry with two people in it,'
+continues the boatman; 'and when they see our boats, they held hard;
+and as you all boarded the ship and the noise began, they rowed away as
+hard as they could go.'
+
+'Which way did they go?' I said.
+
+'Down river,' says the man. 'But it's of no use thinking of looking
+after them now. They are ashore long afore this.'
+
+This was likely enough; and it was quite certain that Mr Edmund Byrle
+was one of the two in the boat, and I had lost him for the present.
+Well, it couldn't be helped; so we set to work to question the men and
+search the ship, till the doctor came. The men knew nothing more about
+the business than that they were going to have two passengers, a lady
+and a gentleman, this voyage. One of the Thames men understood Dutch,
+or we should not have heard even this scrap of information. The sulky
+boatman never uttered a word, except that once he said as I passed him,
+and he said it with a bitter curse: 'I always had my doubts of _you_.'
+
+The doctor came off; but poor Barney was stone-dead, while the
+skipper's skull was badly fractured. However, the paper was all there;
+so I supposed, and so it proved; and I shouldn't have cared if the
+skipper's head had been broken fifty times over.
+
+We got our prisoners to the shore, leaving the craft in charge of a
+Thames police galley that came in answer to our signals; and late as
+it was, I drove with Peter Tilley in a cab to the City. Our people
+there were immensely glad, I can tell you; and when I went over to the
+Bank (for there was no need for secrecy or dodging now), I thought the
+gentlemen never would have left off paying me compliments. Poor Barney
+Wilkins that was dead deserved most credit; but it could not do him
+any good to say so now, so I let them go on. The paper was examined,
+and found to be exactly the quantity required; enough, I believe, to
+have made about twenty thousand bank-notes. Ah! if they _had_ got into
+circulation!
+
+I hope you will understand, however, that I did act fair and square;
+and when the reward was paid (and the Bank people did come down most
+liberal; I bought my house at Pentonville with my share), I told the
+gentlemen about poor Barney and his wishes; and I'm proud to say they
+found his sister out and took her away; and after a time she went
+abroad with kind people who looked after her, and took care of her
+money till she got married, and did well. Why, she sent me a snuff-box
+made out of pure Australian gold, with a letter signed by herself and
+her husband, who was a butcher in a great way of business out there;
+and they sent it as an acknowledgment of my having acted all fair and
+square. I promised so to do, and I did.
+
+Edmund Byrle was never caught, and so far as we were concerned, was
+never heard of; and if it hadn't been for his father, I should never
+have understood a lot of things that puzzled me. I had given a pretty
+good guess as to how Miss Doyle came in the first place to inquire
+about Mr Byrle and the detective; a very clever idea in itself, but
+like many other clever things, it lost her the game. Mr Byrle had
+talked with his friends about employing detectives; and Miss Doyle
+knowing about the Bank paper, and being always on the watch, had got
+hold of just enough to mislead her. She went out with Edmund Byrle to
+Turkey, I think, and was married to him; and old Mr Byrle sent out
+a friend to see them; and it was in this way I got the particulars.
+It appears she knew me again--only as the limping labourer, of
+course--when she saw me talking at the ferry to Tilley. But she knew
+_him_ as the detective at the _Yarmouth Smack_, and she thought that
+although it might be all right, yet a detective was a dangerous
+customer, and his acquaintances might be dangerous also. Consequently
+she tried to persuade Edmund to put off his journey; but he wanted
+the money for the paper, and wouldn't listen to her. But he agreed at
+last to go aboard in another boat, which satisfied her, as she felt so
+certain the skipper's boat would be attacked. As I have explained, her
+precaution saved him from fifteen years' 'penal,' which is the least
+he would have had. The skipper was sent for life, having killed a man
+in his arrest; but he didn't live six months in prison; he never got
+over the tremendous blow he received from Barney. All the reports spoke
+of his being a receiver of 'stolen goods.' The Bank paper was never
+mentioned, for the authorities did not want to unsettle the public
+again, or let them see what a narrow escape they had had.
+
+And now comes about the queerest part of my story. Call me names if I
+didn't stop the thieving at Byrle's factory as well as recover the Bank
+paper, killing two birds with one stone.
+
+It was all through my catching the bony ferryman. Finding that things
+was going hard with him, and hoping to make them easier, and being
+disappointed that those who were concerned with him did not come
+forward with money to provide for his defence, he 'rounded' on them; he
+split on them all, and owned how he was the means of taking the metal
+over to a fence on his side of the water, the things being stolen by a
+mechanic and a watchman who were in league. (I see I have used the word
+'fence;' this means a receiver of stolen goods; but though I have been
+warned by the editor of this magazine, we can't do without _some_ slang
+words.)
+
+Peter Tilley got a tidy present, and was noted for promotion through
+this business. I was glad of it, for Peter was a capital chap--never
+wanted to play first-fiddle; and I admire people of that disposition. I
+tell you what I did: I got the newest five-pound note of all what the
+Bank gave me, and they were all very clean and crisp, and I wrapped old
+Bob the gatekeeper's own sixpence in it; and I went to the factory and
+I stood a pint of ale, and says: 'Bob, here's your sixpence!' He hadn't
+known exactly who I was till then, for I had made excuses as usual; and
+then I'm blessed if he didn't quite cry over his luck. Mr Byrle too
+thought a lot of Bob's kindness, for I told the old gent about it; and
+I heard that on that very account he put six shillings a week on Bob's
+wages, and I was glad to hear it.
+
+They couldn't keep me off the detective staff after this; and although
+I am free to confess--now I am on my pension and nothing matters to
+me--that I only stumbled upon these discoveries by accident, I was
+praised to the skies by those for whom I worked. However, it all
+died away, as such things do; but I had managed to get my house at
+Pentonville, as I have hinted; and a pleasanter neighbourhood I don't
+know, or one more convenient for getting about. I have had some rather
+odd adventures since I have lived in my street; you can't help seeing
+strange things, if you keep your eyes open in London. But I didn't
+begin to tell about _them_. I have finished my account of the robberies
+at Byrle & Co.'s and my story finishes in consequence.
+
+
+
+
+FEATS OF ENDURANCE.
+
+
+London, which has witnessed many strange doings in its day, was
+lately the scene of the most wonderful feats of pedestrianism ever
+accomplished within a given period.
+
+Every hour, day and night, for six weary weeks a man plodded on his way
+round a measured track, until the grand total of fifteen hundred miles
+in one thousand hours had been made up, finishing his self-imposed task
+with his physical and mental faculties apparently unimpaired.
+
+The task of walking fifteen hundred miles in a thousand hours had never
+before been attempted, and henceforth the new achievement will throw
+into the cold shade of obscurity even the marvellous act of walking a
+thousand miles in as many hours, which was once accomplished in 1809
+by Captain Robert Barclay of Ury, a Scotchman, who proposed to perform
+the then incredible task of walking a thousand miles in a thousand
+consecutive hours. The proposition was received with every sign of
+incredulity, though, when the affair was finally arranged to take
+place, many thousands of pounds were staked on the event. Newmarket
+Heath was selected as the scene of the exploit, and the famous walk
+began on the 1st of June 1809, at midnight. It is unnecessary to
+repeat the details of this feat; it will suffice to mention that the
+enterprising captain completed his task on the 12th July, at four
+o'clock in the afternoon.
+
+Since then, an attempt has, we believe, been made to walk the same
+distance _backwards_; and within the past twelve months, Weston, the
+American pedestrian, has performed some remarkable exploits of the
+kind; being however at last beaten by an Irishman named Kelly.
+
+The hero of the lately completed task (fifteen hundred miles in a
+thousand hours) is a little Welshman of not more than five feet three
+and a half inches in height, and about forty-two years of age; while
+in personal appearance and general _physique_ he presents anything but
+what is usually supposed to be the characteristic of a good pedestrian.
+His name is William Gale, and he is a bookbinder by trade, living at
+Clerkenwell.
+
+At the commencement of his task on Sunday the 26th of August, he
+weighed no more than eight stone four pounds (8 st. 4 lbs.); and from
+that day until Saturday the 6th October, during a portion of every hour
+day and night, he pursued his monotonous way around the inclosure at
+Lillie Bridge grounds, Brompton. When the attempt was first announced,
+even those most acquainted with pedestrian feats where great endurance
+was required, expressed themselves dubious as to the result; and in
+order to have a reliable record of his proceedings, Gale requested the
+different sporting papers to appoint competent men as judges--a request
+which was at once generously complied with.
+
+Thus we have an official report of his great exploit, and the public
+are enabled to judge for themselves on the nature of the feat
+performed. Gale's average pace appears to have been about four miles
+an hour; but when he had reached his thousandth mile he assumed a
+brave spurt, and footed it in ten minutes, or at the rate of six miles
+an hour. During the last few days of his walking he started rather
+stiffly at first, owing to the pain caused by the swelling of some
+varicose veins in his left leg; but undaunted by so great and manifest
+a disadvantage, and other disadvantages which we shall presently
+refer to, the gallant little Welshman 'plodded his weary way' with a
+determined pluck that won the admiration and applause of every one
+present.
+
+On Friday the 5th October, the day before the finish of the tramp,
+Dr Gant of the Royal Free Hospital was called in to see this
+extraordinary walker, and after examining his legs, he pronounced
+Gale to be in excellent condition so far as his physical powers were
+concerned; there being no fever, the pulse only seventy, no murmur
+at the heart; and the varicose veins which had been the cause of so
+much pain to him, were rather better than worse, having considerably
+decreased in size. Perhaps the most remarkable part of the performance
+is, that it has been accomplished on a system of training which
+entirely sets at variance all athletic rules, for Gale partook of no
+fixed refreshment, neither did he have his meals at stated hours. His
+chief food was plain mutton-chops; and as an instance of how he varied
+his dishes, his afternoon meal on Friday the 5th October, which might
+have been either breakfast, dinner, or supper (so irregular had he been
+in this respect), consisted of a lobster and bread and butter, followed
+by a fried sole, and one or two cups of ordinarily strong tea. During
+the walk he also drank a good deal of beer--not strong beer, but the
+ale which is usually sold at fourpence per quart, which he seemed to
+prefer to any other kind, probably on account of its freedom from that
+tendency to increase rather than assuage thirst, so remarkably apparent
+in the stronger beers.
+
+Many strange incidents occurred in the course of the six weeks, which
+were calculated to while away the time, and occasionally to bring a
+smile to the pedestrian's lips. For instance, a certain illustrated
+sheet, notorious for its very sensational cartoons, published a picture
+of Gale on the track followed by Old Time with the conventional scythe
+on his shoulder; and many people it would seem actually paid their
+money with the idea that they were going to see the two figures as
+thus represented. One man, who had evidently gone to the grounds for
+this purpose, had watched Gale go round the track several times, when
+he could no longer control his disappointment. He shouted aloud,
+angrily demanding his money back, because, as he said with the greatest
+_naïveté_ possible, 'the beggar with the scythe hadn't turned up!'
+
+As the last week of the great walking match wore on, signs of weariness
+in the indomitable pedestrian became painfully apparent, and many
+persons began to fear that the task he had set himself would after all
+remain unaccomplished. On several of the rounds he fell asleep whilst
+walking, and dropped to the ground; but this contact with mother earth
+seemed to revive him instantly, and he plodded on as pluckily as before.
+
+At length success crowned his efforts; and at seventeen minutes past
+five o'clock (less a second) on Saturday afternoon the 6th October
+1877, Gale terminated his long and dreary walk in the presence of a
+large, fashionable, and enthusiastic assemblage, who rewarded his
+efforts with several rounds of hearty applause.
+
+From the commencement of his task to the finish Gale bore up against
+all obstacles with extraordinary pluck and determination, his last mile
+being performed in _ten minutes and eight seconds_. He was at once
+removed to the tent or pavilion under which he had snatched so many
+brief half-hours' rest, and was examined by three medical men, who
+found that his heart was quite natural in its movements, and that the
+temperature of his body did not exceed one hundred and six degrees.
+
+The great feat which has thus been accomplished without the aid of
+artificial training, is a marvellous instance of what human endurance,
+allied with courage and determination, can effect; though of what
+particular benefit it may be to the world at large it is utterly
+impossible to imagine.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Since the preceding account was written, Gale has accomplished a
+still more extraordinary feat, and one which for strength of will
+and physical endurance far surpasses his previous efforts. We still
+fail, however, to see the benefit which can accrue from exhibitions
+of this kind, and well might he have been contented with the laurels
+he had already won. He had scarcely allowed himself time to recover
+from his former task, when he once more appeared at a public place of
+entertainment, namely the Agricultural Hall at Islington, to walk four
+thousand quarter-miles under the astounding condition, that it was to
+be done in four thousand consecutive periods of ten minutes.
+
+This of course deprived him of the half-hour's rest which he could
+obtain at one time in the former race, and only allowed him a few
+minutes between each round to get a little sleep. Despite these
+drawbacks, however, Gale finished his task at eleven o'clock P.M.
+on the 17th November, after a dreary walk of nearly four weeks. By
+accomplishing his task, he has placed himself at the head of all the
+famous pedestrians the world has known; and we trust that this fact
+will be sufficient to satisfy his craving after what is at best but
+ephemeral fame.
+
+Men have on many occasions attempted walking feats which required a
+vast amount of physical endurance, and have failed from their utter
+inability to go without the natural quantum of sleep; but Gale has not
+only shewn himself to be possessed of the former, but to be altogether
+independent of the latter. This, however, instead of indicating 'pluck'
+merely, would rather seem to point to a peculiarity in the man's
+constitution; as there are doubtless many persons whose courage would
+enable them to perform the same or even a greater task if, like Gale,
+they could walk about in a state of somnolency or semi-sleep--a state
+in which, to use his own words, he was as one in a dream, unconscious
+of all that was going on around him, and believing himself to be
+walking in forests and other places of silvan beauty; and the truth of
+this was made evident by the fact that he would have often exceeded the
+limit of his walk had not the voice of his attendant aroused him from
+his stupor.
+
+The average time occupied by this extraordinary walker was by day
+about three minutes for each quarter of a mile, and by night about
+five minutes; and the fastest round recorded was done in two minutes
+and forty-two seconds. His pulse was always found to indicate a
+perfect state of health, and was as regular when he left off as when
+he commenced his task. His food consisted principally of fish, fowl,
+chops, eggs, and light puddings; and his drink was, with only one
+exception during the whole time, tea.
+
+Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the whole affair was the fact
+that, although he sank into a deep sleep directly he reached his chair
+behind the curtain, which hid him from view between his walks, the
+moment the bell rang the second time, he would appear as fresh as ever
+and begin trudging away again.
+
+When the feat was accomplished, Sir John Astley stepped forward, and
+amid a scene of great enthusiasm, presented the undaunted Welshman with
+a silver belt of the value of a hundred guineas, bearing the following
+inscription: 'This belt was presented to WILLIAM GALE of Cardiff, on
+the 17th November 1877, by some of the nobility and gentry of Great
+Britain, in commemoration of his hitherto unprecedented feat, namely
+walking one thousand five hundred miles in one thousand hours at Lillie
+Bridge Grounds, August 26th to October 6th, 1877; and four thousand
+quarter-miles in four thousand consecutive periods of ten minutes, at
+the Agricultural Hall, London, October 21st to November 17th, 1877.'
+The belt is of lion's skin, mounted on velvet, the metal portion of it
+weighing one hundred ounces of sterling silver.
+
+None will begrudge Gale his well-earned reward; but it is to be hoped
+that such exhibitions will in future be discountenanced by the general
+public, as they not only detract from the dignity of man, but are
+needless and unwarrantable in a country which, we trust, will ever
+pride itself on a nobler civilisation than that which is founded upon
+mere physical endurance.
+
+
+
+
+A DIFFICULT QUESTION.
+
+THE STORY OF TWO CHRISTMAS EVES.
+
+
+IN TWO CHAPTERS.--PROLOGUE.
+
+In the gray light of an Indian dawn, with the cool breeze blowing
+through the curtains of the tent, and his friend's sorrowful eyes
+looking down on him, a soldier lay on his rough couch--waiting for
+death. They were soon to be parted those two, who had lived and fought
+together; but the face of the one who was starting on that journey
+of which none has measured the distance, was smilingly calm, while
+the eyes of the other glistened with regretful tears as he spoke low,
+faltering, remorseful words.
+
+'Hush, Ralph, hush!' the other said at last. 'Don't you think, dear
+old fellow, I would sooner lose my life in having saved yours, than in
+any other way? After all, a few days or years sooner or later, what
+does it signify? My fate is perhaps the happiest, though I hope it is
+not. I don't think life is so very desirable,' he continued; 'I am only
+twenty-six; but mine has not been a happy one. It was my own fault,
+though. Take my advice, Ralph; don't marry young. There is only one
+thing that troubles me'----
+
+'Your little girl,' Ralph interrupted. 'Wrayworth, let me take care
+of her; if I can make her happy, it will be some slight atonement,
+some'----
+
+'You would take care of her, Ralph? would you?' The dying man's eyes
+shone gratefully as he looked up in his friend's face. 'She has
+nothing, poor little thing,' he went on sadly--'motherless, fatherless,
+scarcely more than a baby either. It would be a heavy charge to leave
+you, Ralph.'
+
+'Wrayworth! how can you speak so; you will drive me mad! You--you'----
+He broke down utterly; it was something so terrible to see this friend
+dying there--for him. 'Anything on earth that I can do'---- he murmured.
+
+'You will do for her,' said Wrayworth. 'Thank you. I have no friends to
+send her to. I meant to have made her very happy.'
+
+'She shall be; I swear it!' Ralph answered fervently, thankful for
+this charge, which might in some degree help him to pay that debt of
+gratitude, and forgetful that he had no control of fate, that the
+promise he gave of happiness was a fearfully presumptuous one. But he
+made it willingly, gladly, solemnly, before God; and as far as lay in
+his power it should sacredly be kept; any sacrifice he would make for
+this child.
+
+His friend's eyes rested on him searchingly for a moment. 'I trust
+you,' he said--'I trust you.'
+
+The hours passed on, the blazing sun arose, and Ralph went out into
+the burning glare with bent head and staggering footsteps, while words
+he had heard long since seemed floating round him in letters of fire:
+'Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for
+his friend.'--'Is there _none_ greater?' he thought. 'Is there nothing
+_I_ can do to repay--nothing?'
+
+
+CHAPTER I.--ASKED.
+
+The years were well on in their teens since that melancholy scene was
+enacted in the Indian tent--since Wrayworth consigned his only child
+to the guardianship of the friend whose life, at the expense of his
+own, he had saved on the battle-field. A carriage rolled along the
+snowy high-road through the cold clear air; the short winter's day
+was drawing to its close, and up in the darkening sky the stars were
+beginning to shine upon the world's most joyful season, upon Christmas
+eve. The world's most joyful season? We call it so, this festival, more
+than eighteen hundred years old; but does the world think it so?--the
+world, with its thousand cares and crosses, its deep and hidden
+sorrows, its partings and its tears? Of those amongst the myriads who
+keep the Yule-tide feast, how many hold it with a chastened joy! For
+on that day most of all our thoughts go back to other years, to other
+faces, to other lips that have wished us 'a merry Christmas;' to other
+hands, which have clasped ours so loyally, to those who have loved us
+so long ago!
+
+But Major Loraine had no sad memories connected with the season as he
+drove up to the old house, from which duty had so frequently called
+him, and which he had not seen for five years. In the wide, dark,
+panelled hall his step-mother stood waiting to welcome him, as gladly
+as though he had been her own son. He was only a boy when she first
+came there, when the pink was fresh on her cheek and the gold bright in
+her hair; they had been drawn to each other then; and through the long
+years of her widowhood his loving care had helped to lighten her load
+of sorrow; so it was not wonderful that for months past she had been
+eagerly looking forward to his return.
+
+The greetings over, they sat down side by side, talking, as those
+talk after long separation, of past, present, and future; of their
+acquaintances married, dead, or far away; of things on the estate,
+prosperous or failures; of the ball to be given next month, of the one
+they were going to, to-night; of how much Emma was improved since she
+'came out,' how Katharine was considered one of the handsomest girls
+in the place, and how she might marry Sir Michael Leyland with thirty
+thousand a year if she liked.
+
+'But why ever doesn't she like?' asked the Major, astonished at this
+new phase in the character of his worldly-minded sister.
+
+'That is just what troubles me,' answered Mrs Loraine. 'They are all at
+the church now, helping to decorate. Louise wanted to stay at home to
+welcome you, but I sent them all off, so as to have you to myself for
+an hour. You will see a great alteration in Louise, Ralph.'
+
+'Shall I, mother?' he said smiling. 'I think not. Her letters are the
+same always; they have altered in style a little of course in the last
+year or two, but it is the same spirit--the same creature.'
+
+'But not the same face, Ralph. Remember you have not seen her for five
+years, which have not altered you, but which have changed her from an
+unformed girl of fourteen to a lovely woman; with that bright changing
+beauty, which has more charm for a man than regularity of feature. It
+is a very difficult question.'
+
+'What is a difficult question?' asked Ralph, as his mother paused.
+
+'What to do with Louise.'
+
+'You hinted something of the kind in your last letter, mother,' he said
+gravely. 'I am sorry, but I must confess this house seems large enough
+for four women. You know how I am situated; you know the promise which
+binds me. But tell me,' he added smiling, 'what has Louise done? She
+seemed to me gentle and tractable enough when I was last at home.'
+
+'I have not the slightest fault to find,' Mrs Loraine replied; 'you
+know I am very fond of her. You will think my difficulty very womanish;
+simply, Louise is too pretty.'
+
+'And some one has told her so,' said Ralph, laughing. 'Go on.'
+
+'It is not that; but I cannot bear to see my own child's happiness
+destroyed by another, who, if not a stranger, has at least no claim
+upon her.'
+
+Ralph frowned slightly. 'Perhaps not,' he answered; 'the claim is upon
+me, and it is a sacred one. So,' he continued, 'it is a case of rivals,
+I see.'
+
+'Simply this, Ralph. You remember the Levesons of Leigh Court, where
+we are going to-night? Their eldest son is in the --th Dragoons, and
+has been home on leave. Louise was away when he first came here, and he
+appeared very much struck with Katharine; and no wonder; she is very
+handsome. Well--don't laugh at me; I don't like match-making as a rule;
+but I thought as she seemed interested in him, there was no harm in
+inviting him sometimes. But as soon as Louise came home, he transferred
+his attentions to her. Katharine says nothing; but it makes a kind
+of awkwardness between them. I know she feels it, poor child; though
+indeed I believe Vere Leveson is simply flirting with Louise.'
+
+Major Loraine laughed. 'Poor mother!' he said, 'you will have enough to
+do if you take all your children's love affairs to heart so seriously.
+These things always right themselves, you know. But I confess I am
+surprised to hear of Katharine going in for sentiment; I should have
+thought Sir Michael more in her line. Is that all, mother?'
+
+'No; only the first of my difficulties,' she answered half sadly. 'You
+know what my health has been for the last few years; you know---- Well,
+you do not wish me to speak of that; but it is better to look in the
+face of possibility. Suppose anything happened to me, Ralph, what would
+become of Louise?'
+
+'You speak of what I hope may be far distant, mother,' he answered
+tenderly. 'But why should you be uneasy about her? In the event of her
+not marrying, she would always have a home here with me.'
+
+Mrs Loraine shook her head. 'Turn round and look in the glass,' she
+said; 'thirty-nine is not such a very formidable age.'
+
+He turned, and contemplated his bronzed face in the glass; such a
+handsome, noble face, telling of a nature that could not act falsely or
+meanly. The broad square forehead, marred by a sabre-cut, and the dark
+hair flecked here and there, by the Indian sun, with gray; nothing else
+to find fault with in the frank kind smile, the fine regular features,
+the dark true eyes.
+
+'I think there is no fear of my being taken for younger than I am,
+mother,' he said, smiling.
+
+'It is an awkward position for you, though,' she answered; 'and as
+I said, a difficult question what to do. We must hope for the best,
+Ralph. You are going to join the others now, I suppose?'
+
+'Yes; I think I can find my way.'
+
+He went out into the keen frosty air, walking slowly, though it was
+unpleasantly cold to one accustomed to tropical climates. He was
+thinking over his mother's words, and knew she was right as to the
+awkwardness of the position. He saw the peace of the household was
+troubled, without knowing how to set matters right, and he thought
+of the old friend who had trusted his child to him. He had vowed she
+should be happy, and now it seemed a difficult vow to keep; but for the
+sake of the man who had died for him sixteen long years ago, the pledge
+then given must be redeemed.
+
+Louise Wrayworth's life had been a bright one hitherto; her guardian's
+home was the only one she could remember, and he had striven to fill in
+some degree her father's place. To him, from infancy to womanhood, she
+had looked up with loving grateful reverence, regarding him, present or
+absent, as the noblest of created beings.
+
+He reached the old church, and made his way round to the open vestry
+door. The steps were encumbered with bundles of evergreens; the voices
+of the workers, who had finished their task, were audible. He pushed
+the door further open, and went in. The floor was covered with boughs,
+and around the pillars were wreathed holly and other evergreens in
+honour of the joyous season. Some of the choristers stood waiting
+for the choir-practice, and the organist was softly playing _Adeste
+Fideles_.
+
+'Ralph!' cried a young fresh voice; and a slight fair girl with a merry
+face sprang up from the floor, with her hands full of the scarlet
+berries, which fell hither and thither in bright-hued rain, as with
+complete indifference to the by-standers, she gave the returned soldier
+a sisterly embrace. 'You dear old thing to come for us!' she exclaimed.
+
+'Emma, Emma!' exclaimed Ralph, laughing and disengaging himself; 'you
+have not learned to behave any better in five years.'
+
+But his young sister had vanished, and he turned to greet the vicar;
+and one or two of the ladies he recognised. In a few minutes Emma
+reappeared; and behind her came a tall fair girl with masses of golden
+hair, and great beautiful cold blue eyes. She greeted Major Loraine
+affectionately, but with the quiet stately grace habitual to her. Five
+years had not changed Katharine Loraine; at twenty-four she was still
+the same majestic Queen Katharine as at nineteen, with whom he had
+always had so little sympathy, whose nature he had found so difficult
+to understand.
+
+'Where is Louise?' he asked presently. 'Is she not here?'
+
+'She went into the churchyard just now,' answered Emma, 'to put a
+wreath on Nellie Bryant's grave. You remember her, Ralph?'
+
+'Louise's friend? Yes.'
+
+'A _triste_ employment for Christmas eve,' observed one of the
+gentlemen decorators to Katharine, as he stooped to disentangle her
+dress from a long sprig of ivy.
+
+'Oh, Mr Leveson went to hold a lantern for her,' Katharine answered,
+with the slightest possible shade of contempt in the silvery tones of
+her voice; 'and Louise is never _triste_, unless she is by herself.'
+
+The choir was now fully assembled; the organist struck up the anthem,
+the rest were silent to listen, and Ralph Loraine went out to look
+for his ward. He came round the east end of the old church, and stood
+still for a moment in the shadow. There were two people standing at
+the edge of the path, looking down on the grave at their feet, where
+the lantern's light shewed the shining holly upon the upright marble
+cross. It shewed too the face of his friend's child; a beautiful face,
+as his step-mother had said, with large dark eyes and wavy dusky hair,
+a clear delicate complexion with a little rose-flush on the cheeks, and
+full red lips half-parted by the sweetest smile he had ever seen; with
+the same erect carriage of the head, the same fearless straight regard
+which had characterised her father.
+
+It was so strange to see her there a woman, whom he had left a mere
+girl; and as he looked on the fair face, something seemed to whisper
+that the ideal beauty he had so often dreamed of was before him at
+last. They moved away, and came slowly nearer, and paused again where
+he could see her companion; and for a moment he almost hated the man
+for his youth, and his handsome face, and the deep-blue eyes aflame
+with passion-fire as they rested on the child of his dead friend; and
+another whisper which silenced the first, told him how fitted was each
+for the other.
+
+'If _I_ were lying there,' said Vere Leveson, and Ralph could hear
+every one of the foolish, softly spoken words, 'would you ever make
+wreaths for _me_, I wonder?'
+
+'I don't know.'
+
+'Don't you? I wish you did; for I thought just now I should be glad to
+be lying there, if you would remember me.'
+
+Ralph had heard enough, and tried to slip away unseen; but the gravel
+crunched under his feet and betrayed him.
+
+Louise started, and a bright vivid blush covered her face as she sprang
+forward. 'Lorrie! Oh, how glad I am to see you again!' she cried, as
+she took both his hands in hers and lifted her cheek for his kiss.
+
+He felt half sorry she had done so; that and the old childish name put
+him immediately in his place as guardian, and made him ashamed of his
+thoughts. 'How you are altered, Louise!' he said, looking down at her
+admiringly. 'I think I should hardly have known you!'
+
+'I should have known you, Lorrie, anywhere,' she said reproachfully.
+
+'That is rather different,' he said; 'when we once get old, we don't
+change so quickly.'
+
+'You would not like it if I said you were old, Lorrie. But tell me, am
+_I_ altered for the worse? or'----
+
+'You have no need to come to me for compliments, surely,' he said
+smiling.
+
+'I should think more of yours than of any one's,' she whispered, with
+that sweet dangerous smile; a smile which a man like Ralph Loraine
+should have taken as a warning not to feel its influence too often.
+
+'How rude I am!' she said at last.--'Mr Leveson, do you know my
+guardian?' She turned to her companion, who stood holding the lantern a
+few yards from them.
+
+'I had the honour of dining in your company once, Major Loraine,' he
+answered, stepping forward. 'It is some time ago, when I first joined
+at Madras; but I well remember my anxiety to see such a distinguished
+soldier as yourself.'
+
+There was a ring of truth and honest admiration in the words, which
+raised them above an ordinary compliment, and which made Ralph hold out
+his hand and answer cordially: 'I have a bad memory for faces, or I
+think I should have remembered yours.'
+
+'Thanks,' said Vere, laughing. 'We shall have the pleasure of seeing
+you to-night, I hope?'
+
+'Yes; my mother told me of the invitation.'
+
+'Of course he is coming,' said Louise. 'And you will dance with me all
+the evening, Lorrie; won't you?'
+
+'Not quite all, Miss Wrayworth; please, don't forget my waltzes,' said
+Vere, holding out his hand. 'I must be off now; so good-bye for the
+present. You won't forget?'
+
+She looked up quickly. 'Perhaps,' the lips said laughingly; but the
+dark eyes gave a sweet silent answer Ralph did not see, though he was
+watching them. But after Vere Leveson had gone, he walked home beneath
+the Christmas stars, with Louise's hand resting on his arm, dreaming as
+he went, a fair, fond, foolish dream.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Christmas-eve ball at Leigh Park was a regular institution, one
+which Sir Harry Leveson had kept up for years. It was a pretty sight,
+Ralph thought, as he stood leaning against a window, and looking round
+to select a partner. And amongst all the fair women, the one he thought
+the fairest was his young ward Louise Wrayworth, in her white floating
+dress, with its wreaths of holly, and the red clustering berries in her
+dark hair.
+
+Ralph had been watching Vere Leveson, trying to decide in his own
+mind whether Mrs Loraine's verdict of flirtation was a just one;
+and he judged that it was; for the attentions of the young officer
+were apparently equally divided between Louise and Katharine. Ralph
+did not happen to be near when, later on, he led Louise to one of
+the cool empty rooms, where through the open window could be heard
+the merry Christmas bells. He did not see the hand-clasp or the
+light that flashed in the eyes of each. He did not hear the hurried
+whisper: 'Louise, you won't forget me, you will trust me till next
+Christmas-time?'
+
+The ball was over, the rooms were dark and silent; the whole world
+waited for the sun to rise on Christmas-day.
+
+
+
+
+IS THE TELEPHONE A PRACTICAL SUCCESS?
+
+
+In September last appeared in this _Journal_ an article entitled
+'Singing and Talking by Telegraph;' and in that paper we attempted
+to describe the mechanism of that wonderful little instrument the
+telephone. It is now our purpose to say something regarding the
+progress that has been made towards perfecting the invention; but in
+order to make the article as clear as possible, we venture once more
+upon a few words explanatory of the instrument.
+
+The telephone as it is now made is an exceedingly simple-looking
+apparatus similar in appearance to a stethoscope; to the handle of a
+girl's skipping-rope; or better still, to a large-sized penny wooden
+trumpet. Inside this hollow cylinder, and within an inch or so of the
+wider end, is fixed a plate of iron as thin as a well-worn sixpence,
+and about the size of a half-crown piece. This is called the diaphragm.
+Behind the diaphragm, nearly touching it, and extending to the narrower
+end of the cylinder, is a piece of 'soft' iron enveloped in wire
+coils, with a permanent magnet beyond. Outside the narrower end of
+the cylinder, and communicating with the coils that surround the iron
+inside, are attached two screws or 'terminals,' which are 'joined up'
+to a main wire, communicating with the distant or receiving telephone
+wherever that may be, and which is precisely similar to the one we
+have described. When we apply our mouth to the bell-shaped end of the
+apparatus, and speak or shout or sing, we set the diaphragm vibrating
+as in a tuning-fork; the vibrations thus created are electrically
+communicated through the wire to a distant telephone, and are repeated
+on its diaphragm with more or less distinctness.
+
+It is known that the motion of an iron plate contiguous to the poles
+of a magnet creates a disturbance of electricity in coils surrounding
+those poles; and the duration of this current will coincide with the
+vibratory motion of the plate or diaphragm. When, therefore, the human
+voice (or any other suitable sound) impinges through the tube against
+this diaphragm, the diaphragm begins to vibrate, and awakens, so to
+speak, electrical action in the coils of wire surrounding the poles
+of the magnet; not a current, but a series of undulations, something
+like those produced by the voice in the air around us. In short the
+telephone is an apparatus designed to transmit sound through a wire
+of indefinite length; the voice being, so to speak, 'converted into
+electricity at one end, the electricity becoming voice at the other.'
+
+With these few explanatory remarks, we now proceed to offer to our
+readers the following interesting experiments made by a gentleman well
+skilled in telegraphy.
+
+'Journalists,' he says, 'with no special knowledge of the difficulties
+the invention has to encounter as a telegraph instrument, have
+expatiated in such enthusiastic terms upon the results said to have
+been achieved by the telephone, that a somewhat exaggerated notion of
+its powers and capabilities has been accepted by the general public.
+It appears, therefore, to the writer of those lines that a statement
+of the experiences of a person practically engaged in the work of
+telegraphy may assist in placing the phenomena of the telephone on a
+proper footing.
+
+'Scientifically, the telephone is a great and undoubted success; and
+a person would be grievously in error if, because of some undoubted
+hindrances to its practical use, he pronounced it unworthy of further
+experiment. The emergence of telegraphy from the domain of experiment
+into that of daily practical use is a fact so undoubted, and one with
+which we are now so familiar, that it is impossible to say at what
+moment the telephone, at present a scientific toy, may become a daily
+necessity not only of telegraphic but of ordinary commercial work.
+
+'Being engaged in daily contact with a large telegraphic centre, and
+in association with men who have the command of every means of testing
+the invention in a practical work-a-day manner, the writer was able to
+gauge pretty accurately the range within which the telephone can work.
+It must be understood, however, that in recording the effects observed
+by him and his associates, he has no desire to invalidate, or even to
+call in question the experiences of others who may have been able to
+arrive at better results. The telephone is in the hands of some of
+the first electricians and telegraphists of the day, and differences
+of conditions (not to speak of differences of capacity on the part
+of the operator) may give variety in the observations made. The very
+difficulties and drawbacks now to be recorded will no doubt some day
+suggest to a master-mind the method by which they may be overcome. But
+till that day arrives, the telephone must be content to remain where
+the writer leaves it, an undoubted success from a scientific point of
+view, but overwhelmed with obstacles to its practical use, in this
+country at least, in general telegraphy.
+
+'When a telegraphist first gets into his hand this beautifully simple
+and electrically delicate instrument, his first inclination is to test
+its carrying-power. This is of course a closet experiment, not working
+with actual telegraph line, but with "resistance" equivalent to a
+telegraph line of stated length. An experiment of this nature gives
+better results than could be obtained by a veritable line, because the
+insulation is, so to speak, perfect. No leakage at undesigned points of
+contact, or disturbance from unfavourable atmospheric conditions, is
+felt, and the experiment is entirely under the observer's control. The
+apparatus used is designed to offer the same labour for the electric
+current to overcome, as would be offered by a stated length of outside
+telegraph line. This artificial resistance is nicely graduated, and
+as the method of testing was suggested by Ohm, a German electrician,
+the unit of resistance is, as we once previously explained, termed an
+"ohm." Removing the telephone to such a distance that the two observers
+were "out of earshot," the test with resistance was tried, and with a
+resistance of one thousand ohms--roughly speaking, equal to seventy
+miles of a well-constructed line--the sound was perfect, although not
+very loud. Every articulation of the speaker at the other end could be
+distinguished so long as silence was maintained in the room, or so long
+as no heavy lorry rumbling over the stones outside sent in harsh noises
+which drowned the faint whisper of the instrument. The resistance
+was gradually raised to four thousand ohms--nearly three hundred
+miles--with like favourable results; and for some little distance
+beyond, articulation could still be made out. But by the time ten
+thousand ohms had been applied, putting the speaker at a distance of,
+say, seven hundred miles, sound only, but not articulate sound, reached
+the ear. The tone was there, and every inflection of the voice could
+be followed; but articulation was absent, although the listener strove
+every nerve to catch the sound, which the speaker, as was afterwards
+ascertained, was shouting in a loud clear voice. The prolonged notes
+of an air sung could be heard with the resistance named, but again
+no words could be distinguished. The voice, whether in speaking or
+singing, has a weird curious sound in the telephone. It is in a measure
+ventriloqual in character; and with the telephone held an inch or two
+from the ear, it has the effect as if some one were singing far off
+in the building, or the sound were coming up from a vaulted cellar or
+through a massive stone wall.
+
+'Proceeding to our next experiment, we joined up the telephones in one
+office to several wires in succession, putting ourselves in circuit
+with lines going to various distances and working with different
+instruments. When this was done, the real obstacle to telephonic
+progress at once asserted itself in the shape of "induction." The first
+wire experimented with was partly "overhouse" and partly underground,
+and the offices upon it were working Wheatstone A B C instruments. It
+is difficult to render clear to the person ignorant of telegraphic
+phenomena the idea expressed by the word _induction_. Briefly it may
+be put thus, that when a strong electric current is passing on a wire,
+it has the faculty of setting up a current of opposite character in
+any wire not then working, or working with a feebler current, that may
+be in its vicinity. The why or the wherefore cannot be explained, but
+there is the fact.
+
+'In various recent articles on the telephone, mention has been made of
+"contact" as the cause of disturbance. This word, however, although it
+has been used by telegraphists, is misleading, and can only be used
+as an endeavour to express popularly an electric fact. Actual contact
+of one wire with another would spoil the business altogether. A wire
+bearing an electric current seems to be for the time surrounded, to an
+undefined distance, by an electric atmosphere, and all wires coming
+within this atmosphere have a current in an opposite direction set up
+in them. This is as near an explanation of the phenomena of induction
+as the state of telegraph science at present affords. Now the telephone
+works with a very delicate magnetic current, and is easily overpowered
+by the action of a stronger current in any wire near which the
+telephone wire may come. To work properly it "requires a silent line."
+
+'In the place where the observations were made, there are a large
+number of wires, travelling under the floor, through the test-box,
+along passages to the battery-room and to a pole on the outside,
+whence they radiate, or out to a pipe underground, where many
+gutta-percha-covered wires lie side by side. On applying the ear to a
+telephone joined into a circuit working in such an office a curious
+sound is heard, comparable most nearly to the sound of a pot boiling.
+But the practised ear could soon separate the boiling into distinct
+sounds. There was one masterful Morse instrument--probably on the wire
+lying nearest the one on which we were joined up--whose peremptory
+"click, cli-i-i-ck, click," representing "dot, dash, dot" on the
+printed slip we read from, could be heard over all. Then there was the
+rapid whir of a Wheatstone fast-speed transmitter, sending dots and
+dashes at express speed by mechanical means; the sharp well-pronounced
+rattle in sounds of equal length of a needle instrument; and most
+curious of all, the "rrrrr-op, rr-op, rrrrrrrrrrrrr-op, rrrrr-op,
+rr-op" of the A B C, the deadliest foe to the telephone in its
+endeavours to gain admission into the family of telegraph instruments.
+There may be reason in this, for as the Wheatstone A B C is the
+instrument used for private telegraphy, or for the least important
+public offices, because it requires no "code" to be learned by the
+manipulator, so it would likely be the first to be displaced if an
+acoustic telegraph permanently took the field. So the sentient little
+A B C opens its mitrailleuse fire on the intruder, on whose delicate
+currents, in the words of an accomplished electrician, it plays "old
+harry." The peculiar character of the sounds we borrow on the telephone
+from this instrument arises from the fact that as the needle flies
+round the dial, a distinct current or pulsation passes for each letter,
+and the final "op" we have tried to represent shews the stoppage of the
+needle at the letters as words were spelled out.
+
+'It must not be understood that the _sounds_ of those various
+instruments are actually heard in the telephone. What happens is, that
+the currents stealing along the telephone wire by induction produce
+vibrations in the diaphragm of that instrument, the little metal
+membrane working on the magnet in ready response to every current set
+up in the latter. When it is remembered that the principle of the
+telephone is that the sound-caused vibrations in the filmy diaphragm
+at one end create similar but magnetically-caused vibrations in the
+diaphragm at the other end, and so reproduce the sound, it will be
+obvious why the rapid roll of the A B C currents, or the swift sending
+of the fast-speed transmitter, when brought by induction into the
+telephone wire, cause disturbances in the sound vibrations, and thereby
+cripple the instrument. One instrument of either kind named would have
+a certain effect, but one Morse or single needle would not have any
+greatly prejudicial effect. But a number of Morses or needles going
+together, such as were heard in our experiments, would combine to be
+nearly as bad as one A B C or fast-speed Morse. So delicate is the
+diaphragm to sound (and necessarily so), that in all experiments with
+the telephone itself, such as those with "resistance," or those made
+at home to test the instrument apart from telegraphic considerations,
+every sound from without broke in, giving an effect like the well-known
+"murmur of the shell."
+
+'Joining up our wire now to a more distant station at some miles
+along the railway, and having on its poles a number of what are known
+as "heavy" circuits, the pot-boiling sound assumed even more marked
+characteristics. The A B C no longer affected us; but a number of Morse
+instruments were in full gear, and the fast-speed transmitter was also
+at work. While we were listening, the circuit to which we were joined
+began to work, and the effect was literally electrical. Hitherto we had
+only borrowed currents--or, seeing they were so unwelcome, we might
+call them currents thrust upon us--and the sounds, though sharp and
+incessant, were gentle and rather low. But when the strong current was
+set up in the wire itself, the listener who held one of our telephones
+nearly jumped from the floor when an angry "pit-_pat_, pit-_pat_,
+pit-_pat_-pit" assailed his ear, causing him to drop the instrument as
+if he had been shot! It was a result none of us had expected, for it
+did not seem possible that the delicate metal diaphragm and the little
+magnet of the telephone could produce a sound so intense. Of course
+it was only intense when the ear was held close to the orifice of the
+instrument. Held in the hand away from the ear, the telephone now made
+a first-rate "sounder," and we could tell without difficulty not only
+the signals that were passing, but found in it a more comfortable tone
+than that given by the Morse sounder in common use.
+
+'Other experiments of a like character led to results so similar,
+that they may be left unnoticed; and we proceed now to describe one
+of a different character, designed to test the telephone itself.
+At a distance of about half a mile, access was obtained to a Morse
+instrument in private use, and joined to the office by "overhouse"
+wire. Dividing our party and arranging a programme of operations, two
+remained with a telephone in the office, while other two, of whom the
+writer was one, proceeded with the second telephone to the distant
+instrument. By an arrangement which a practical telegraphist will
+understand, the key of the Morse was kept in circuit, so that signals
+could be exchanged in that way. It may be noticed, however, that this
+was hardly necessary, as the diaphragm of the telephone can be used as
+a key, with the finger or a blunt point, so that dot and dash signals
+are interchangeable, should the voice fail to be heard. As the wire in
+this instance travelled almost alone over part of its course, we were
+in hopes that induced currents would be conspicuous by their absence.
+In this we were, however, disappointed, for the pot was boiling away,
+rather more faintly, but with the "plop-plop-plop" distinctly audible,
+and once more a sharp masterful Morse click was heard coming in now and
+again. The deadly A B C was, however, absent, so that our experiment
+proved highly successful. For some reason or another--probably an
+imperfect condition of the wire, or the effects of "induction" over and
+above what made itself audible to us--the spoken sounds were deficient
+in distinctness; but songs sung at either end were very beautifully
+heard, and indeed the sustained note of sung words had always a better
+carrying-power than rapidly spoken words. Every syllable, and every
+turn of melody of such a song as _My Mother bids me bind my Hair_, sung
+by a lady at one end, or _When the Heart of a Man_, sung at the other,
+could be distinctly heard, but with the effect before noticed, that the
+voice was muffled or shut in, as if the singer were in a cellar, while
+it was not always possible to say at once whether the voice was that of
+a man or a woman.
+
+'In the course of some domestic experiments, it was remarked that in
+playing the scale downwards from C in alt. on the piano, the result
+to the listener was a "tit" only for the four upper notes, although
+all below that had a clear "ting," and the octaves below were mostly
+distinct, although at the low notes of the piano the sound was again
+lost. The ringing notes of a musical box were not so successful, but
+with close attention, its rapid execution of _Tommy Dodd_ could be well
+enough made out. An endeavour was made to catch the ticking of a watch,
+but this was not successful, and the experiment is not recommended,
+as the near presence of a watch to a magnet is not desirable; and the
+watch exposed to it in this instance was, it is thought, affected for a
+short time thereafter, although it received no permanent damage.
+
+'The observations made in the course of these experiments convinced
+those present that the telephone presents facilities for the dangerous
+practice of "tapping the wires," which may make it useful or dangerous,
+according as it is used for proper or improper purposes. It might be
+an important addition for a military commander to make to his flying
+cavalry; as an expert sound-reader, accompanying a column sent to
+cut off the enemy's telegraph connections, might precede the act of
+destruction by robbing him of some of his secrets. The rapidity and
+simplicity of the means by which a wire could be "milked," without
+being cut or put out of circuit, struck the whole of the party engaged
+in the various trials that are described above. Of course the process
+of tapping by telephone could not be carried out if the instrument in
+use was an A B C or single needle, or if the wire was being worked
+duplex or with a fast-speed Morse, for in these cases the sounds are
+too rapid or too indefinite to be read by ear. The danger is thus
+limited to ordinary sounder or Morse telegraphs; but these still form
+the mainstay of every public system.
+
+'Since the trials above described were made, the newspapers have
+recorded a beautiful application by Sir William Thomson, of the
+electric part of the telephone to exhibit at a distance the motions
+of an anemometer; the object being to shew the force of air-currents
+in coal-mines. This is a useful application of an electric fact, and
+doubtless points the way to further discoveries. But it is to be
+noticed that the experiment, interesting as it is, hardly comes under
+the head of a tele_phone_, what is reproduced at a distance being not
+sound but motion.
+
+'Obviously the invention cannot rest where it is; and no one more
+readily than the practical telegraphist will welcome an instrument
+at once simple, direct, and reliable. Even in its present form the
+telephone may be successfully used where its wire is absolutely
+_isolated_ from all other telegraph wires. But the general impression
+is that its power of reproducing the sound must be intensified before
+its use can become general even as a substitute in works or offices for
+the speaking-tube.'
+
+
+
+
+SINGING MICE.
+
+
+These interesting animals are said to be smaller than ordinary mice,
+to be usually of a brownish colour, and to have long ears. Naturalists
+have not come to any exact reason as to why they sing. Some persons
+impute the singing to disease, as in the wheezing of any one from a
+cold. Others attribute it to an internal parasite. But these seem
+unsatisfactory explanations; for when the little creatures sing they
+are as lively as common domestic mice. The faculty of singing in a
+small way with various modulations appears to be quite natural to the
+animals. It has been noticed that during their musical performances
+there is a throbbing in the throat, and that the snout is elevated
+in giving play to the voice, as in the warbling of birds. The song
+or warble of these mice is said to be sweet and varied. Hitherto not
+much attention has been given by zoologists to the phenomenon; but we
+observe by various notices in _Land and Water_ and in _Nature_, two
+periodicals devoted to pleasant discussions on subjects of natural
+history, &c., that singing mice are becoming objects of careful
+investigation.
+
+An amusing account of a singing mouse appears in _Nature_, Nov. 9, from
+the pen of Mr Joseph Sidebotham, dating from Menton, south of France.
+
+'Last winter we occupied the rooms we now do at Menton. Early in
+February we heard as we thought the song of a canary, and fancied it
+was outside our balcony; however, we soon discovered that the singing
+was in our _salon_, and that the songster was a mouse. At that time the
+weather was rather cold, and we had a little fire, and the mouse spent
+most of the day under the fender, where we kept it supplied with bits
+of biscuit. In a few days it became quite tame, and would come on the
+hearth in an evening and sing for several hours. Sometimes it would
+climb up the chiffonier and ascend a vase of flowers to drink at the
+water, and then sit and sing on the edge of the table and allow us to
+go quite near to it without ceasing its warble. One of its favourite
+haunts was the wood-basket, and it would often sit and sing on the
+edge of it. On February 12, the last night of the Carnival, we had
+a number of friends in our _salon_, and the little mouse sang most
+vigorously, much to their delight and astonishment, and was not in the
+least disturbed by the talking. In the evening the mouse would often
+run about the room and under the door into the corridor and adjoining
+rooms, and then return to its own hearth. After amusing us for nearly
+a month, it disappeared; and we suspect it was caught in a trap set in
+one of the rooms beyond. The mouse was small and had very large ears,
+which it moved about much whilst singing. The song was not unlike that
+of the canary in many of its trills, and it sang quite as beautifully
+as any canary, but it had more variety, and some of its notes were
+much lower, more like those of the bullfinch. One great peculiarity
+was a sort of double song, which we had now and then--an air with an
+accompaniment. The air was loud and full, the notes being low and the
+accompaniment quite subdued. Some of our party were sure that there was
+more than one mouse, until we had the performance from the edge of the
+wood-basket and were within a yard or two of it. My son has suggested
+that many or all mice may have the same power, but that the notes are
+usually so much higher in the scale that, like the cry of the dormouse
+and the bat, they are at the verge of the pitch to which the human ear
+is sensitive. This may be so; but the notes of our mouse were so low,
+and even the highest so far within the limits of the human ear, that I
+am inclined to think the gift of singing in mice is but of very rare
+occurrence.'
+
+In the same periodical, the following additional particulars as regards
+singing mice are presented by Mr George J. Romanes, Regent's Park.
+
+'Several years ago I received some of these animals from a friend, and
+kept them in confinement for one or two months. The description which
+your correspondent gives of their performance leaves very little to
+be added by me, as in all respects this description agrees perfectly
+with my own observations. I write, however, to remark one curious
+fact about the singing of these mice, namely, that it seemed to be
+evoked by two very opposite sets of conditions. When undisturbed, the
+little animals used for the most part to remain quiet during the day,
+and begin to sing at night; but if at any time they were alarmed, by
+handling them or otherwise, whether during the day or night, they were
+sure to sing vigorously. Thus the action seemed to be occasioned either
+by contentment or by fear. The character of the song, however, was
+slightly different in the two cases.
+
+'That these mice did not learn this art from singing birds there can
+be no doubt, for they were captured in a house where no such birds
+were kept. It may be worth while to add that this house (a London one)
+seemed to have been suddenly invaded, so to speak, by a number of these
+animals, for although my friend has lived in this house since the year
+1862, it was only during a few months that singing mice were heard
+in it, and during these few months they were heard in considerable
+numbers.'
+
+As corroborative of the foregoing notices, we give the following very
+interesting account of a singing mouse, obligingly sent to us by a
+correspondent, Mr Alfred Wright.
+
+'In the early spring of last year I was invited by an old widow lady
+to see a singing mouse, which she had at night heard singing and
+scratching beneath the floor of her bed, and been so fortunate as to
+catch in a trap. I went, and found the little animal in a cage with
+a revolving wheel, similar to that in which a squirrel is usually
+confined. Whether the mouse was shy at the presence of a stranger, I
+do not know. It remained silent; but at length, after my patience had
+been nearly exhausted, it began to sing in clear warbling notes like
+those of a bird. When I called the next evening to hear the mouse
+again, I heard him to perfection; and was so filled with interest in
+the novelty, that I begged permission to bring any friend who was
+a sceptic of the fact, or who might desire to see the phenomenon.
+My request was readily granted. One friend of course had heard of
+a singing mouse, but he certainly would not allow that a prolonged
+squeak was a song--not he! Another friend of course had heard a mouse
+sing when he was a boy; but he was told, he perfectly well remembered,
+that the _noise_ produced by the mouse was the result of some internal
+disease. Well, both of these went with me to hear the little creature.
+Unfortunately, at first it was again shy; but after an interval of
+silence it commenced to sing--sweetly, like the low notes, the jug, of
+the nightingale. My friends had come, had heard, and were conquered!
+The one acknowledged it was really a song and not a squeak; the other,
+that the noise was certainly dulcet; but still he thought it possibly
+might be the result of disease, and not natural to the little animal.
+We suggested that this wonderful natural curiosity (as we deemed it)
+should be sent to an eminent naturalist who resided near. Great,
+therefore, was my astonishment and pleasure when it was presented to
+me, who could only treat it like a schoolboy would his white mouse--as
+a pet. And truly it became a great pet to both my wife and myself.
+
+'In form, the singing mouse did not differ from his humbler brethren;
+but in colour he was of a darkish brown, and had very bright eyes. It
+soon became used to the presence of my wife, and sang constantly while
+revolving the wheel of his cage. The notes proceeded from the throat.
+He became exceedingly gentle, and was pleased at being caressed.
+
+'I deemed him so rare a curiosity that I ventured to offer to exhibit
+him to the distinguished naturalist referred to above, and in my letter
+described the little creature and its peculiarities, as I have done
+here. The naturalist most courteously replied: "The case of the singing
+mouse is very extraordinary, but the fact is now well established....
+The best account which has ever been published is by an American
+naturalist, and I have given an abstract of his account in my _Descent
+of Man_.
+
+"The American referred to is the Rev. S. Lockwood, author of _The
+American Naturalist_, and he gives an account of his observations of
+the _Hesperomys cognatus_, an American species, belonging to a genus
+distinct from that of the English mouse. This little animal gave two
+chief songs. Mr Lockwood gives both songs in musical notation; and
+adds, that though this mouse 'had no ear for time,' yet she would keep
+to the key of B (two flats) and strictly in the major key.... Her soft
+clear voice falls an octave with all the precision possible; then at
+the wind up it rises again into a very quick trill in C sharp and D."
+I have made this quotation, as it far better describes the peculiar
+qualifications of a singing mouse, than my inexperienced observations
+could announce.
+
+'My mouse remained in contented confinement upwards of a year, feeding
+upon a little sopped bread and canary-seed; and great was the grief of
+my wife (who was his keeper) and myself when he was found dead in his
+little nest. During the previous evening he had been heard singing with
+more than usual ardour.'
+
+We shall probably return to this interesting subject.
+
+
+
+
+USING UP WASTE SUBSTANCES.
+
+
+The subject denoted by the above title, more than once treated in the
+_Journal_, is adverted to by an obliging Lancashire correspondent
+who, surrounded by one of the busiest and most ingenious clusters
+of townsmen in England, has had his attention drawn to various
+substances waiting (as it were), for application to useful purposes.
+His suggestions are not wholly new, having to some extent been already
+anticipated; but they are sufficiently valuable to call for notice here.
+
+One relates to the waste that presents itself in the processes of
+manufacturing cotton. A residue known technically as _willowings_,
+that falls into a receptacle during the preparatory beating and
+disentangling of raw cotton-wool, consists of a dusty heap of
+seed-husks and short broken fibres. It is used by farmers to absorb the
+liquid manure of their cowsheds and middens or dung-heaps. Although
+some of the cottony fibre may be separated through a sieve, so much
+adheres to the seed-husk as to render it unsuitable for paper-making,
+for which it has often been tried. The suggestion now made is, that
+though unfitted for paper, this refuse may possibly be found useful
+in the manufacture of _millboard_. Large quantities of this tough and
+durable product are employed for bookbinding, for making the discs of
+railway wheels, &c.; and as colour is not a matter of moment, the idea
+is that the mingled residue of cottony fibre and seed-husk might be
+rendered available. It is known that millboard made from wood-pulp is
+imported to a considerable extent from abroad; and we are told that
+'a large portion of the private income of the great German Chancellor
+Prince Bismarck is derived from the manufacture of wood-millboard on
+his Varzin estate.' Many hundred tons of willowings could be obtained
+in Lancashire at a very cheap rate, even as low as two shillings per
+hundredweight.
+
+Another suggestion bears relation to the utilisation of refuse from
+the manufacture of prussiate of potash, a most valuable product in
+the hands of the manufacturing chemist. The prussiate is obtained in
+large ratio from woollen rags, after the separation of all the pieces
+that can be worked up into shoddy for cheap cloth. The refuse is
+calcined in cast-iron retorts, lixiviated with water, and drained off
+for subsequent treatment: leaving behind it a thick black sediment of
+impure animal charcoal. The suggestion relates to the application of
+this residue to the manufacture of blacking--a humble but valuable
+agent for those who appreciate tidiness in the appearance of boots and
+shoes and economy in the preservation of leather. If useful for this
+purpose, it might be found advantageous and economical as an ingredient
+in printers' ink. Whether this carbon residue is at present applied to
+any other useful purpose, we are not fully informed.
+
+A third suggestion relates to the preparation of animal size for the
+carpet-manufacture and for that of many kinds of woollen and worsted
+goods. This size is made from the clippings and scrapings of skins
+and hides, from rejected scraps of parchment and vellum, and from
+the worn-out buffalo skin pickers and skips largely used in textile
+manufactures; also from the pith of cattle-horns, which contain a large
+amount of valuable gelatine. The suggestion is, to utilise the refuse
+left after making this size. One large carpet factory in Yorkshire
+rejects as utterly useless a ton or more of this refuse every week.
+The horn-pith contains as one of its components phosphate of lime, and
+is on that account recommended to the notice of the manufacturers of
+chemical manures on a large scale.
+
+One more suggestion comes from our ingenious correspondent. Old corks
+are applicable to a greater number of purposes than we are generally
+in the habit of supposing. That many of them are ground up to make
+cork-stuffing for cushions, padding, &c. is well known; but there are
+other uses for them as corks or half corks, besides making floating
+buoys and life-preservers. A taverner in a Lancashire town covered the
+floor of his lobby and bar with very open rope-matting, and filled up
+the openings with old corks cut down to the level of the surface of
+the mats. This combination is found to be almost indestructible under
+the feet; while it gives a good grip or foothold. As the making of
+rope-mats is one of the trades carried on in reformatories and some
+other large establishments, it is suggested that the managers should
+take into consideration the feasibility of adding old corks to their
+store of manufacturing materials.
+
+As this _Journal_ finds its way into every corner of the busy hives
+of industry, it may possibly be that some of our readers are already
+acquainted with such applications of waste refuse to useful purposes as
+those which our esteemed correspondent suggests. But this is a point
+of minor importance. The primary question is, not whether an idea is
+absolutely new, but whether it is practicably susceptible of useful
+application. The history of manufactures teaches us that apparently
+humble trifles like these have proved to be worth millions sterling to
+the country.
+
+
+
+
+LET BYGONES BE BYGONES.
+
+
+    Let bygones be bygones; if bygones were clouded
+      By aught that occasioned a pang of regret,
+    Oh, let them in darkest oblivion be shrouded;
+      'Tis wise and 'tis kind to forgive and forget.
+
+    Let bygones be bygones, and good be extracted
+      From ill over which it is folly to fret;
+    The wisest of mortals have foolishly acted--
+      The kindest are those who forgive and forget.
+
+    Let bygones be bygones; oh, cherish no longer
+      The thought that the sun of Affection has set;
+    Eclipsed for a moment, its rays will be stronger,
+      If you, like a Christian, forgive and forget.
+
+    Let bygones be bygones; your heart will be lighter,
+      When kindness of yours with reception has met;
+    The flame of your love will be purer and brighter
+      If, Godlike, you strive to forgive and forget.
+
+    Let bygones be bygones; oh, purge out the leaven
+      Of malice, and try an example to set
+    To others, who craving the mercy of heaven,
+      Are sadly too slow to forgive and forget.
+
+    Let bygones be bygones; remember how deeply
+      To heaven's forbearance we all are in debt;
+    They value God's infinite goodness too cheaply
+      Who heed not the precept, 'Forgive and forget.'
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Printed and Published by W. & R. CHAMBERS, 47 Paternoster Row, LONDON,
+and 339 High Street, EDINBURGH.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_All rights reserved._
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular
+Literature, Science, and Art, No. 730, by Various
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL, DECEMBER 22, 1877 ***
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Chambers's Journal, by Various.
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature,
+Science, and Art, No. 730, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, No. 730
+       December 22, 1877
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: William Chambers
+        Robert Chambers
+
+Release Date: April 23, 2016 [EBook #51841]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL, DECEMBER 22, 1877 ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_801" id="Page_801">{801}</a></span></p>
+
+<h1>CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL<br />
+OF<br />
+POPULAR<br />
+LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART.</h1>
+
+<div>
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<p class='center'>
+
+<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. -->
+
+<a href="#CHRISTMAS-TIME">CHRISTMAS-TIME.</a><br />
+<a href="#A_CAST_OF_THE_NET">A CAST OF THE NET.</a><br />
+<a href="#FEATS_OF_ENDURANCE">FEATS OF ENDURANCE.</a><br />
+<a href="#A_DIFFICULT_QUESTION">A DIFFICULT QUESTION.</a><br />
+<a href="#IS_THE_TELEPHONE_A_PRACTICAL">IS THE TELEPHONE A PRACTICAL SUCCESS?</a><br />
+<a href="#SINGING_MICE">SINGING MICE.</a><br />
+<a href="#USING_UP_WASTE_SUBSTANCES">USING UP WASTE SUBSTANCES.</a><br />
+<a href="#LET_BYGONES_BE_BYGONES">LET BYGONES BE BYGONES.</a><br />
+
+<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. -->
+
+</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/header.png" width="600" height="294" alt="Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art. Fourth Series. Conducted by William and Robert Chambers." />
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="full" />
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""  width="85%">
+<tr><td align="left"><b><span class="smcap">No.</span> 730.</b></td><td align="center"><b>SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1877.</b></td><td align="right"><b><span class="smcap">Price</span> 1½<i>d.</i></b></td></tr>
+</table></div></div>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<div>
+
+<h2><a name="CHRISTMAS-TIME" id="CHRISTMAS-TIME">CHRISTMAS-TIME.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>'<span class="smcap">So</span> many men so many minds' has been a proverb
+long before our days, and will be to the end
+of time and human history; and uniformity of
+sentiment is the one thing which men need never
+hope to attain.</p>
+
+<p>Christmas-time is one of these battle-fields of
+feeling. To some it is just the consecration of
+so many circumstances of torture; to others the
+meeting-point of so many facts of pleasure. From
+the conventional greeting to the orthodox dinner&mdash;from
+the 'seasonable gifts' that are more obligatory
+than voluntary, to the toast that heralds the
+punch, and the dreams that follow on that last
+glass&mdash;all is so much pain to the flesh and weariness
+to the spirit; and they wonder how any one
+can find it otherwise. What is there in Christmas-time
+to make it pleasurable? they say. The
+gathering together of the family? A lot of rough
+boys home from school, who spoil the furniture
+and tease the dogs, lame the horses and ravage
+the garden, make the servants cross, the girls
+rude, and the younger children insubordinate; who
+upset all the order of the house, destroy its comfort
+like its quiet, and to whose safe return to
+discipline and your own restoration to tranquillity
+you look forward with impatient longing
+from the first hour of their arrival to the last
+of their stay? Or the advent of your married
+daughter with her two spoilt babies, who cry if
+they are looked at and want everything that they
+see, and that very objectionable young man her
+husband, with his ultra opinions and passion for
+argument, whom she would marry in spite of all
+that you could say, but to whom you can scarcely
+force yourself to be decently civil, not to speak of
+cordial, and whose presence is a perpetual blister
+while it lasts? Is this the family gathering about
+which you are expected to gush?&mdash;this with the
+addition of your son's fine-lady wife who snubs his
+mother and sisters with as little breeding as
+reserve, finds nothing at your table that she can
+eat, lives with her smelling-bottle to her nose and
+propped up with cushions on the sofa, and gives
+you to understand that she considers herself
+humiliated by her association with your family,
+and your son as much exalted as she is degraded?
+This is the domestic aspect of Christmas-time
+which is to make you forget all the ordinary
+troubles of life, creating in their stead a Utopia
+where ill-feeling is as little known as <i>ennui</i>, and
+family jars are as impossible as personal discomfort
+and dissent. Holding this picture in your
+hand, you decline to subscribe your name to the
+Io pæan universally chanted in praise of Christmas,
+and wrap yourself up in sullen silence when
+your neighbour congratulates you on having all
+your family about you, and wishes you a merry
+Christmas as if he meant it.</p>
+
+<p>If the domestic aspect is disagreeable, what is
+the social?&mdash;A round of dinners of which the
+<i>menu</i> is precisely the same from Alpha to Omega:&mdash;turbot
+and thick lobster-sauce; roast-beef and
+boiled turkey; indigestible plum-pudding and
+murderous mince-pies; with sour oranges and
+sweet sherry to keep the balance even, and by the
+creation of two acids perhaps neutralise each
+other and the third. This is the food set before
+unoffending citizens under the name and style
+of Christmas dinners for the month or six weeks
+during which the idiotic custom of Christmas dinners
+at all is supposed to last. You are expected
+to live in this monotony of dyspepsia and antipathetic
+diet till you loathe the very sight of the
+familiar food, and long for a change with a
+vehemence which makes you ashamed of yourself,
+and more than half afraid that you are developing
+into a gourmand of the worst kind.</p>
+
+<p>As if your nights were not sufficiently broken by
+the horrible compounds which trouble your digestion
+and disturb your brain, torturers known as
+the 'waits' prowl through the streets from midnight
+to dawn, causing you agonies beyond those which
+even the hurdy-gurdy men inflict. You are just
+falling to sleep&mdash;painfully courted and hardly won&mdash;when
+a hideous discord worse than the wailings
+of cats startles you into a nervous wakefulness
+which banishes all hope for that night. What can
+you do? They are too far off for that jug of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_802" id="Page_802">{802}</a></span>
+water to take effect, and you must not fire;
+anathemas do not hurt them, and if said aloud
+only waken up your wife and make her cry if
+she does not preach. You have nothing for it
+then but to lie still and groan inwardly, devoting
+to the infernal gods all the idiotic circumstances
+by which your life is rendered wretched, and
+your health, already frail, set still further wrong.
+In the morning, when wearied and nervously
+feverish from want of sleep, you go into the
+garden for a little quiet and delectation, you find
+your greenhouses stripped of the flowers which you
+had been lovingly watching for weeks, and your
+evergreens as ridiculously cropped as a shaved
+poodle. This is the day for the decoration of the
+church, and you, having made an expensive hobby
+of your garden, have to contribute what has cost
+months and good money to rear, for the childish
+satisfaction of John and Joan, lasting just two
+hours and five minutes. Not only have you lost
+your flowers and your evergreens&mdash;that splendid
+holly, which yesterday glowed like a flame, today
+nothing but a bundle of chopped ends!&mdash;but
+you know that your favourite daughter is flirting
+with the curate, and that a great deal is going on
+under cover of wreaths and crosses, laurustinus and
+chrysanthemum, of which you strongly disapprove
+yet cannot check. It is Christmas-time; decorating
+the church has become in these later days a kind
+of religious duty; and as a conscript father of
+your village, you must not forbid your daughter
+this pious pleasure any more than you can refuse
+your costly contribution in kind.</p>
+
+<p>Turn to the financial side of the time; and
+what have you?&mdash;bills coming in that you neither
+expected nor knew of, and every one looking for a
+Christmas-box, and insolent or irritated if they
+do not get it. The servants obsequious to the
+worth of half a sovereign&mdash;tradesmen and their
+lads punctual in anticipation of half-crowns&mdash;postmen
+levying blackmail, and watermen and
+dustmen demanding as their right that they should
+be fee'd for their persistent neglect of duty&mdash;every
+one making a dead set at your pocket and trying
+to get your money for themselves&mdash;the very
+children more caressing and affectionate because it
+is Christmas and papa always gives them something
+on Christmas-day:&mdash;You groan as you ask
+yourself where is disinterestedness on this earth?&mdash;and
+you groan still more as you draw your cheques
+and reduce your balance and wonder by what law
+of right it is that you should be the pipe by which
+other folks are to be supplied.</p>
+
+<p>No; you see no good or pleasure in this boasted
+Christmas-time as we keep it up in our benighted
+country. Its mirth is a sham and its inflictions
+are only too real. A time of tumult and expense,
+of indigestion and discomfort, you wait, grimly or
+fretfully as your mood may be, till it has passed
+and the current of your life is allowed to flow
+evenly as before. When you hear people sing its
+praises you long to stop their mouths, as you
+longed to silence the waits who woke you up out
+of your first sleep and spoilt your rest for the
+night. What manner of men are these, you think,
+who can find cause of congratulation in so much
+absurdity, if the fun is real to them&mdash;so much
+dreary make-believe, if it is unreal? You despise
+your genial, laughing, merry-hearted neighbour
+who goes into everything <i>con amore</i>, and accepts it
+all, from forfeits and snapdragon to plum-pudding
+and Christmas-boxes, as if he really liked it. You
+think what a fool he must be to be pleased with a
+rattle, tickled with a straw like this. But for the
+most part you do not believe in his mirth; and
+then you despise him still more as a hypocrite as
+well. For a hypocrite shamming folly is an
+offender against reason as well as truth, whom you
+find it hard to forgive, let the motive of his mummery
+be what it may.</p>
+
+<p>This is one side of the question; your neighbour
+takes the other.</p>
+
+<p>Who on earth, he says with his hands in his
+pockets, his back to the fire and his kindly smiling
+face to the room, who on earth can grumble at the
+facts of Christmas-time? For his part he finds
+it the jolliest season of the year, and he finds each
+season as jolly as the other, and all perfect in their
+own appointed way. He is none of your crying
+philosophers who go through life bewailing its
+miseries and oppressed by its misfortunes. Not
+he! He thinks the earth beautiful, men and
+women pleasant, and God very good; and of
+all occasions wherein he can transact his cheerful
+philosophy, Christmas is the best. The
+boys are home for their holidays; and it is
+a pleasure to him to take them out hunting
+and shooting, and initiate them into the personal
+circumstances belonging to English country
+gentlemen. He looks forward to the time when
+they will take his place and carry on the
+traditions of the family, and he wishes them to
+be worthy of their name and an honour to their
+country. He is not one of those nervous self-centred
+men who live by rule and measure and
+cannot have a line of the day's ordering disturbed.
+He likes his own way certainly; and he
+has it; but he can press his elbows to his sides
+on occasions, and give room for others to expand.
+He does not find it such an unbearable infliction
+that his boys should come home and racket about
+the place, even though they are a little upsetting,
+and do not leave everything quite as smooth and
+straight as they found it. He remembers his own
+youth and how happy it made him to come home
+and racket; and he supposes that his lads are very
+much the same as he was at their age. He thinks
+too that they do the girls good&mdash;wake them up a
+little&mdash;and while not making them rough or rude&mdash;the
+mother takes care of that&mdash;yet that they prevent
+them from becoming prim and missy, as
+girls are apt to be who have no brothers and are
+left too much to themselves. Certainly he does
+not approve of the flood of slang which is let loose
+in the house during their stay; but school-boy
+slang at the worst is not permanent, and in a
+week's time will be forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>As for the married daughter's children, they are
+the merriest little rogues in the world; and his
+wife looks ten years younger since they came. She
+was always fond of babies; and her grandchildren
+seem to renew her own past nursery with all the
+pleasure and none of the anxiety of the olden time.
+He rather wonders at his girl's taste in the matter
+of her husband&mdash;most fathers do&mdash;and cannot for
+the life of him see what there is to love in him.
+But if not an Alcibiades he is a good fellow in the
+main, and makes his young wife happy; which is
+the principal thing. And if his daughter-in-law is
+a trifle stiff, and fond of giving herself fine-lady
+airs, he for his part never stands that kind of
+nonsense, and will laugh her out of it before she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_803" id="Page_803">{803}</a></span>
+has been twenty-four hours in the house. He
+finds good-humour and taking no offence the best
+weapons in the world against folly and ill-temper;
+and prefers them as curative agents to any other.
+The girl is a nice girl enough, but she has been
+badly brought up&mdash;had a lot of false ideas instilled
+into her by a foolish mother&mdash;but when she has
+been away from the old influences, and associated
+with themselves for a little while, she will open
+her eyes and see things in their right light. Who
+indeed could resist the sweet sensible influence of
+his wife, her mother-in-law?&mdash;and are not his girls
+the very perfection of honest wholesome English
+ladies? It will all come right in time; he has no
+doubt of that; and meanwhile they must be patient
+and forbearing for Dick's sake, and not make
+matters worse than they are by their own want of
+self-control.</p>
+
+<p>Then as to the Christmas-boxes and the tips
+sacred to the season&mdash;well! well! after all they
+do not amount to much in the year, and see what
+pleasure they give! A man must be but a poor-spirited
+surly kind of hound who does not like to
+see his fellow-creatures happy; and a very little
+kindness goes a great way in that direction. He
+takes care to live within his income, and therefore
+he has always a margin to go on; and he does not
+object to use it. The servants have been very good
+on the whole, and do their duty fairly enough.
+And when they fail&mdash;as they do at times&mdash;why, to
+fail is human, and are they alone of all mankind
+to be blameless and never swerving in the right
+way? And are they alone of all mankind to be
+judged of by their worst and not by their best?&mdash;to
+be blamed for failure, but not praised for
+well-doing? He does not think so; and not
+thinking this, his half-sovereigns are given freely
+without the grudging which makes them an
+ungracious tax instead of a kindly voluntary gift.
+The tradespeople, too, do fairly well, and&mdash;they
+must have their profit like any one else! Those
+Christmas-boxes to their lads may be the nest-eggs
+for future savings; and even if they do go
+in a little finery or personal pleasure instead&mdash;young
+people will be young, and his own boys
+are fond of being smart and amused: so why not
+these others? You grumble at the waits? If you
+in your warm bed, well fed, well clothed, prosperous
+altogether, fret at the loss of an hour's sleep,
+what must these poor fellows feel, out in the cold
+frosty night, with the wind blowing and the sleet
+falling fast, and they not half fed nor a quarter
+clothed? For his own part he would like to give
+them a glass of hot grog all round; and as for
+grumbling at the few coppers which they brave
+all this physical discomfort to earn, he makes it
+shillings, and hopes it will do them good. We
+must live and let live, he says with his broad
+smile; and if we are sometimes a little inconvenienced
+by the efforts made by the poor to
+accomplish the art of living for their own parts&mdash;we
+must remember that our loss is their gain, and
+that they are men and women like ourselves&mdash;fathers
+of families who want to keep the pot boiling
+and the fire alight&mdash;mothers who love their
+children, and are anxious to do the best for them
+that nature and man will allow.</p>
+
+<p>You complain of indigestion and grumble at
+the monotony of your Christmas fare?&mdash;That is
+strange! Who can grumble at good plain succulent
+meat?&mdash;and why do you eat the sweets if they
+disagree with you? Neither pudding nor mince-pie
+comes into the eternal necessities of things,
+and you would do very well if only you would
+refrain. He does not eat things that he cannot
+digest, and in consequence he sleeps well, and when
+he wakes has neither regret nor remorse. Surely
+that is not such a painful trial&mdash;to forbear eating
+what is hurtful to your health, and in touching
+your health corroding your happiness as well.</p>
+
+<p>In a word, the whole difference of the spirit in
+which we meet the facts of Christmas depends
+on the good or ill humour with which we are
+naturally endowed, and which we have cultivated
+by common-sense on the one hand, or suffered to
+ride rough-shod over our reason on the other. If
+we are unselfish and sympathetic, Christmas-time
+is as pleasant to us as popular tradition would
+make it; if we are egotistical and peevish, it
+is a wearisome infliction and a sham which no
+honest man can pretend to believe in, nor any
+sensible one to admire.</p>
+
+<p>For our own part we believe in Christmas,
+because we believe in the kindness of man to man,
+in genial good-humour, in unselfishness, and the
+liking of wholesome natures to give happiness;
+and so far as we have gone yet we have seen no
+reason to change our views. A merry Christmas
+then to you all, friends, readers, and countrymen;
+and a happy New Year to follow after; and may
+God bless the rich and care for the poor, and lead
+us all in the right way while the day lasts and
+before the night has come!</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /></div><div>
+<h2><a name="A_CAST_OF_THE_NET" id="A_CAST_OF_THE_NET">A CAST OF THE NET.</a></h2>
+
+<p class='ph3'>THE STORY OF A DETECTIVE OFFICER.</p>
+
+
+<h3>CHAPTER IV.</h3>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Long</span> after it had grown quite dark, all remained
+quiet, and at last I resolved upon making a move.
+I had determined upon fetching Peter Tilley. I
+had plenty of assistance, but I thought I should
+like to have Peter with me. So I went down to
+the ferry; a gas-light which burned at the corner
+shewed me before I left my post that the bony
+ferryman was not there; and choosing a pretty
+good boat, with a strong young fellow to pull, I got
+in. It was a most unpleasant night; as dark as
+pitch, which was bad enough, but every now and
+then it lightened, which was worse, as it dazzled
+my eyes, and made me think we were running
+smash on board some great vessel which I had not
+seen a moment before, and couldn't see a moment
+after. However, the boatman was used to all
+kinds of weather, I suppose, and knew the river
+thoroughly; so through the darkness and the rain,
+which never left off for a moment, we reached the
+other side.</p>
+
+<p>I left the boat to wait for me, and ran up to the
+<i>Yarmouth Smack</i>. I looked in, and saw Peter
+leaning against the bar and smoking a short pipe,
+as a labourer ought to do; and he was talking in
+a friendly way to some rough-looking fellows. I
+slipped in, and using the name we had agreed
+upon, spoke to him. He knew my voice of course;
+but seeing me so changed, for my make-up was
+really splendid (it was, although I say so that
+shouldn't), it gave him such a shock that he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_804" id="Page_804">{804}</a></span>
+obliged to put the pewter down he was going to
+drink from and look steadily at me before he
+answered. 'I'm acoming,' he said at last, and we
+got outside; when, as we walked down to the ferry,
+I gave him a sort of idea of what was going on, and
+how I expected to make a great catch that night.
+Peter of course was very glad to be in for such a
+big thing as this, for he had never been mixed up
+with anything so important.</p>
+
+<p>Not to trust the boatman too much, I kept Peter
+back a few yards from the water while I finished
+my story, standing a little on one side, so as to be
+out of the way of the people who came and went
+to and from the ferry. While I was talking to
+him, a wherry ran in; we heard her grate on the
+pebbles and the sculls rattle as the man laid 'em
+in; but that we had heard before. It's a part of my
+habit to notice little things however, and I looked
+to see who had come in by this boat. There was
+only one passenger, a woman, and she passed us
+walking quickly; but quick as she walked, I saw
+her, and she saw me. Blessed if it wasn't Miss
+Doyle! My being there was no odds to Miss Doyle,
+nor could it have signified to her if she had seen
+me fifty times; yet I felt I would rather not have
+met her just then; it looked unlucky, and she was
+such an uncommonly sharp one too. Sharp or not,
+I couldn't see what she could make out of my
+standing under a wall on a wet night talking to
+another labourer.</p>
+
+<p>Having finished my explanation, we both got
+into the wherry, and I asked the man if he would
+like a good long job, which might perhaps last
+all night.</p>
+
+<p>'The longer the better, governor,' he says, 'if
+the pay is accordin'.'</p>
+
+<p>'The pay <i>will</i> be accordin',' I answered; 'and so
+you are engaged.'</p>
+
+<p>The first thing I made him do was to row
+round that oyster-smack, for the tide had risen
+enough to take us round her. I shewed no light,
+but we went inside her twice; and the fellow on
+the watch was very sharp, so he was leaning over
+the side when we came round the second time, and
+I could say quite quiet-like: 'I am in this boat
+now&mdash;watch the river.' That was quite enough;
+he knew he would not now have to look to the
+<i>Anchor</i> for signals.</p>
+
+<p>After this began what I believe was the most
+disagreeable sort of patrol I ever had. There was
+a time when I used to envy the Thames police;
+but I can't say I ever did after that night. We
+were obliged to be in motion almost continually,
+because we did not know from which side of the
+river the paper might come, and we weren't quite
+sure that it would come at all, especially on that
+night; and I don't know, speaking from my own
+experience, that there is anything more trying to
+the spirits than the pulling backwards and forwards
+and loitering about on the river Thames
+in a raw October night with a small thick rain
+falling. Twice we landed, and went once to the
+<i>Smack</i> and once to the <i>Anchor</i>. I couldn't grudge
+the men a glass of hot grog; in fact I was obliged
+to have some myself, even if I missed my capture
+through it.</p>
+
+<p>It grew later and later; the flashes of lightning
+still came at long intervals; but the lights on the
+shore went out, and excepting the gas-lamps which
+burnt at street-corners, ferries, and wharfs, all
+was dark. The traffic on the river had long
+ceased, no shouts or rattle of wheels came from the
+shore; and the rain still falling, it was, I give you
+my word, most horribly miserable, dull and sloppy
+beyond description. Twelve o'clock had struck,
+and one, and perhaps half an hour beyond it. I
+had cautioned my companions to speak very low;
+so the boatman only whispered when he said:
+'It's as quiet as it is likely to be, governor, if
+you've got anything to run. I have just seen the
+police galley creep along on the other side; I see
+her under that lamp. Now's your time.'</p>
+
+<p>He thought we were smugglers! Perhaps he
+didn't care if we were thieves. I told him to be
+patient; when at that very instant, just as we were
+creeping along under the lee of a coal-barge, a
+wherry shot very silently by, right in front of us,
+going across stream, and not six feet from our
+bows. In her sat the sulky ferryman; I knew
+him at a glance, dark as it was. 'Pull after that
+wherry,' I said.</p>
+
+<p>'Peter Tilley, my lad,' I continued, turning to
+Peter, 'the time's acoming, I think.'</p>
+
+<p>'I'm precious glad of it,' says Peter; 'for I'm
+catching a cold in my head every minute I sit in
+this confounded boat; and it's all soaking wet
+where I'm sitting.'</p>
+
+<p>Our man pulled on; he was a very strong fellow,
+as I have said, and we could have overtaken the
+other boat directly; but this of course I did not
+want. I knew where to look for the old scamp;
+and sure enough, after a few strokes across stream,
+he bent to the left and ran under the bows of the
+Dutch trader.</p>
+
+<p>All was dark and silent as the grave aboard the
+ship; but that didn't deceive the old boatman,
+nor did it deceive me. I stopped our man in the
+shade of the next vessel, if you can call anywhere
+a shade, when it was all pitch dark. We had not
+been there a minute before I heard a slight noise&mdash;it
+was impossible to see any one unless he stood
+between you and the sky&mdash;and then I could tell by
+the sound that a man had dropped into the wherry.
+There was no need to tell me what man it was.
+With an almost noiseless dip, the ferryman dropped
+his sculls into the river again and rowed on, we
+still after him. I took it for granted he was going
+to the other side of the ferry; but he suddenly bore
+off to the right, and rowed on for some little time,
+then striking in between two vessels, he went
+straight for the land.</p>
+
+<p>'Where is he going to?' I whispered.</p>
+
+<p>'To the landing at Byrle's wharf,' says the boatman
+in the same tone.</p>
+
+<p>So he was; and it appeared this landing-place
+was at the farther side of the wharf; that is, lower
+down the river.</p>
+
+<p>It was so dark we could hardly see them&mdash;for
+we could just make out there were now two
+persons in the boat&mdash;but as they reached the shore,
+a lamp that was burning on the wharf helped us a
+little. We could not clearly see what they were
+doing; but they certainly got out of the boat, and
+as certainly there were then more than two figures
+moving about, and seemingly engaged in placing
+parcels in the wherry. But it was very gloomy
+there; they were in the shade of the wharf, and
+the lamp glimmered weak and faint through the
+thick rain. It was the more difficult to see what
+was being done, because there were several boats
+tied up to the landing-place, making some confusion
+in the darkness. At last, however, we could see that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_805" id="Page_805">{805}</a></span>
+they were pushing off from the shore; so it was
+time for us to move. We pulled back for a while
+(there was no doubt as to which way the others
+would come), and then sheering off, lay between
+two colliers until we saw the wherry we had
+watched go by, and then we once more pulled
+after them.</p>
+
+<p>'I'm blest if I don't think there's another boat
+following <i>us</i>,' says Peter Tilley, staring as hard as
+he could behind us. I looked, but couldn't see
+anything; and Peter owned he might have been
+mistaken.</p>
+
+<p>We could not make out how many there were
+in the foremost boat. There was only one man rowing,
+that was plain; and he pulled short round at
+the proper place, as I knew he would, and rowed
+towards the Dutch trader. As he did so, we lost
+him for a second, a big steamer lying between us;
+but the hull of this vessel did not obstruct the
+view up the river. I seized the moment, and
+waved my lantern twice. It was all right. As
+quick as thought the light on board the oyster-smack
+was moved twice also, and then we too
+were pulling across the stream. I wanted to
+capture my men on board the trader, as otherwise
+the paper might be got rid of, because I
+couldn't be positively certain that it was not
+already on board. In fact, Mr Edmund Byrle
+was my chief aim, not the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>The wherry pulled under the bows of the vessel;
+we followed just in time to see, by a very convenient
+flash of lightning, two packages handed
+up; then a figure, which we had recognised by the
+same flash as the bony ferryman, got into the ship.
+As he disappeared, our wherry touched the vessel;
+and at the same instant, to my great relief, a long
+black Thames police galley came alongside us, and
+its crew, five constables, with Barney Wilkins, who
+was there as guide, clambered up like cats. I and
+Peter imitated them, but not quite so quickly; and
+when I looked over the bulwark, I saw by the
+light of a couple of lanterns, screened from the
+outside, four or five men, the boatman and the
+skipper being two, lifting up a great lid which
+fitted in the deck&mdash;the hatches I heard it called&mdash;while
+by their side lay the packages of paper.
+I could not see Mr Byrle; but there was no time to
+consider; we all jumped in at once, the men looking
+round in amazement at the noise. I fancied
+that just then I heard a shout from the boat.</p>
+
+<p>'What do you all want here?' said the skipper
+angrily.</p>
+
+<p>'We hold a warrant'&mdash;I began.</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, it is <i>you</i>, is it?' he screeched, like a
+hyena, or something of that sort. 'I owe you a
+little for a past score, and you shall have it.' As
+quick as lightning he pulled a long straight
+knife from the side of his trousers, where it must
+have been in some sort of sheath, and jumped at
+me with such suddenness that he would have
+stabbed me, only Barney Wilkins snatched a
+handspike from the deck, and dashing between us,
+hit him down with such a blow, that the skipper
+fell with a crash like a bullock when it is killed,
+the blood pouring from his head instantly.</p>
+
+<p>It was all as quick as thought. The other men
+were all seized in a breath. So quick was it all
+done, that I had no idea Barney was hurt, until
+he reeled, made a wild clutch as if he caught at
+something for support, and then pitched forward
+on his hands and knees.</p>
+
+<p>'Hollo, Barney!' I said, stooping down to him.
+'What's the matter, old fellow?'</p>
+
+<p>'It's all up, Mr Nickham,' he gasped; 'he's
+done me. I only hope I've killed him. Where's
+the other?'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, never mind the other, Barney,' I says.
+'Where are you hurt?'</p>
+
+<p>But as I spoke, one of the men came with a
+lantern, and Barney had no occasion to answer
+me, for I could see a straight stream of blood
+running from his chest on to the deck; and
+his hands giving way from weakness, he fell over
+on his side.</p>
+
+<p>'Pull in for the shore, you, sir!' said the sergeant
+of the Thames police to my waterman. 'You
+know Marigold Street? Knock up Mr Gartley, and
+tell him what has happened. Say we are afraid
+to move the man to his house, so he had better
+come aboard.'</p>
+
+<p>'Send one of your own men, will you?' answers
+the boatman. 'I've got something to tell the
+governor' (that was me), 'as I think he ought
+to know.'</p>
+
+<p>'Cut away then, Bill,' says the sergeant to a
+constable; 'these fellows are ironed, and we can
+manage all that are aboard this craft.'</p>
+
+<p>So the man went off in my wherry; and the
+Thames men tried to make poor Barney a little
+more comfortable, while I undid his waistcoat,
+hoping to stop the bleeding.</p>
+
+<p>'It ain't no use,' he said; but in that short
+time his voice was almost gone, and we could tell
+that he was dying. 'I'm done for, Mr Nickham.
+If there's a reward, you'll act fair and square, I
+know; you always was a gentleman&mdash;let my sister
+have'&mdash;&mdash; And with that he gave a gasp, and
+was dead.</p>
+
+<p>I rose up, dreadfully vexed for the poor chap.
+The sergeant and one of his men were looking
+after the skipper, when I felt myself touched on
+the arm.</p>
+
+<p>'I say, sir,' said the boatman, 'when I'm in for
+a thing, I go through with it honourable. Did
+you know as you was followed?'</p>
+
+<p>'Followed? no!' I said.</p>
+
+<p>'I thought we was!' said Peter Tilley.</p>
+
+<p>'We was followed, sir, by a light wherry with two
+people in it,' continues the boatman; 'and when
+they see our boats, they held hard; and as you all
+boarded the ship and the noise began, they rowed
+away as hard as they could go.'</p>
+
+<p>'Which way did they go?' I said.</p>
+
+<p>'Down river,' says the man. 'But it's of no use
+thinking of looking after them now. They are
+ashore long afore this.'</p>
+
+<p>This was likely enough; and it was quite certain
+that Mr Edmund Byrle was one of the two in the
+boat, and I had lost him for the present. Well,
+it couldn't be helped; so we set to work to question
+the men and search the ship, till the doctor came.
+The men knew nothing more about the business
+than that they were going to have two passengers,
+a lady and a gentleman, this voyage. One of the
+Thames men understood Dutch, or we should not
+have heard even this scrap of information. The
+sulky boatman never uttered a word, except that
+once he said as I passed him, and he said it with a
+bitter curse: 'I always had my doubts of <i>you</i>.'</p>
+
+<p>The doctor came off; but poor Barney was stone-dead,
+while the skipper's skull was badly fractured.
+However, the paper was all there; so I supposed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_806" id="Page_806">{806}</a></span>
+and so it proved; and I shouldn't have cared if the
+skipper's head had been broken fifty times over.</p>
+
+<p>We got our prisoners to the shore, leaving the
+craft in charge of a Thames police galley that
+came in answer to our signals; and late as it was,
+I drove with Peter Tilley in a cab to the City.
+Our people there were immensely glad, I can tell
+you; and when I went over to the Bank (for there
+was no need for secrecy or dodging now), I thought
+the gentlemen never would have left off paying
+me compliments. Poor Barney Wilkins that was
+dead deserved most credit; but it could not do
+him any good to say so now, so I let them go on.
+The paper was examined, and found to be exactly
+the quantity required; enough, I believe, to have
+made about twenty thousand bank-notes. Ah! if
+they <i>had</i> got into circulation!</p>
+
+<p>I hope you will understand, however, that I
+did act fair and square; and when the reward
+was paid (and the Bank people did come down
+most liberal; I bought my house at Pentonville
+with my share), I told the gentlemen about
+poor Barney and his wishes; and I'm proud
+to say they found his sister out and took her
+away; and after a time she went abroad with
+kind people who looked after her, and took care
+of her money till she got married, and did well.
+Why, she sent me a snuff-box made out of pure
+Australian gold, with a letter signed by herself
+and her husband, who was a butcher in a great
+way of business out there; and they sent it as an
+acknowledgment of my having acted all fair and
+square. I promised so to do, and I did.</p>
+
+<p>Edmund Byrle was never caught, and so far as
+we were concerned, was never heard of; and if
+it hadn't been for his father, I should never have
+understood a lot of things that puzzled me. I had
+given a pretty good guess as to how Miss Doyle
+came in the first place to inquire about Mr Byrle
+and the detective; a very clever idea in itself,
+but like many other clever things, it lost her the
+game. Mr Byrle had talked with his friends about
+employing detectives; and Miss Doyle knowing
+about the Bank paper, and being always on the
+watch, had got hold of just enough to mislead
+her. She went out with Edmund Byrle to Turkey,
+I think, and was married to him; and old Mr
+Byrle sent out a friend to see them; and it was
+in this way I got the particulars. It appears she
+knew me again&mdash;only as the limping labourer, of
+course&mdash;when she saw me talking at the ferry to
+Tilley. But she knew <i>him</i> as the detective at
+the <i>Yarmouth Smack</i>, and she thought that although
+it might be all right, yet a detective was a dangerous
+customer, and his acquaintances might be
+dangerous also. Consequently she tried to persuade
+Edmund to put off his journey; but he wanted
+the money for the paper, and wouldn't listen to
+her. But he agreed at last to go aboard in another
+boat, which satisfied her, as she felt so certain
+the skipper's boat would be attacked. As I have
+explained, her precaution saved him from fifteen
+years' 'penal,' which is the least he would have had.
+The skipper was sent for life, having killed a
+man in his arrest; but he didn't live six months
+in prison; he never got over the tremendous blow
+he received from Barney. All the reports spoke
+of his being a receiver of 'stolen goods.' The Bank
+paper was never mentioned, for the authorities
+did not want to unsettle the public again, or let
+them see what a narrow escape they had had.</p>
+
+<p>And now comes about the queerest part of my
+story. Call me names if I didn't stop the thieving
+at Byrle's factory as well as recover the Bank
+paper, killing two birds with one stone.</p>
+
+<p>It was all through my catching the bony ferryman.
+Finding that things was going hard with him,
+and hoping to make them easier, and being disappointed
+that those who were concerned with him
+did not come forward with money to provide for
+his defence, he 'rounded' on them; he split on
+them all, and owned how he was the means of
+taking the metal over to a fence on his side of the
+water, the things being stolen by a mechanic and a
+watchman who were in league. (I see I have used
+the word 'fence;' this means a receiver of stolen
+goods; but though I have been warned by the
+editor of this magazine, we can't do without <i>some</i>
+slang words.)</p>
+
+<p>Peter Tilley got a tidy present, and was noted
+for promotion through this business. I was glad of
+it, for Peter was a capital chap&mdash;never wanted to
+play first-fiddle; and I admire people of that disposition.
+I tell you what I did: I got the newest
+five-pound note of all what the Bank gave me, and
+they were all very clean and crisp, and I wrapped
+old Bob the gatekeeper's own sixpence in it; and
+I went to the factory and I stood a pint of ale, and
+says: 'Bob, here's your sixpence!' He hadn't
+known exactly who I was till then, for I had
+made excuses as usual; and then I'm blessed if
+he didn't quite cry over his luck. Mr Byrle too
+thought a lot of Bob's kindness, for I told the old
+gent about it; and I heard that on that very
+account he put six shillings a week on Bob's
+wages, and I was glad to hear it.</p>
+
+<p>They couldn't keep me off the detective staff
+after this; and although I am free to confess&mdash;now
+I am on my pension and nothing matters to me&mdash;that
+I only stumbled upon these discoveries by
+accident, I was praised to the skies by those for
+whom I worked. However, it all died away, as
+such things do; but I had managed to get my
+house at Pentonville, as I have hinted; and a
+pleasanter neighbourhood I don't know, or one
+more convenient for getting about. I have had
+some rather odd adventures since I have lived in
+my street; you can't help seeing strange things, if
+you keep your eyes open in London. But I didn't
+begin to tell about <i>them</i>. I have finished my
+account of the robberies at Byrle &amp; Co.'s and my
+story finishes in consequence.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /></div><div>
+<h2><a name="FEATS_OF_ENDURANCE" id="FEATS_OF_ENDURANCE">FEATS OF ENDURANCE.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">London</span>, which has witnessed many strange doings
+in its day, was lately the scene of the most
+wonderful feats of pedestrianism ever accomplished
+within a given period.</p>
+
+<p>Every hour, day and night, for six weary weeks
+a man plodded on his way round a measured
+track, until the grand total of fifteen hundred
+miles in one thousand hours had been made up,
+finishing his self-imposed task with his physical
+and mental faculties apparently unimpaired.</p>
+
+<p>The task of walking fifteen hundred miles in a
+thousand hours had never before been attempted,
+and henceforth the new achievement will throw
+into the cold shade of obscurity even the marvellous
+act of walking a thousand miles in as many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_807" id="Page_807">{807}</a></span>
+hours, which was once accomplished in 1809 by
+Captain Robert Barclay of Ury, a Scotchman, who
+proposed to perform the then incredible task of
+walking a thousand miles in a thousand consecutive
+hours. The proposition was received with
+every sign of incredulity, though, when the affair
+was finally arranged to take place, many thousands
+of pounds were staked on the event. Newmarket
+Heath was selected as the scene of the exploit, and
+the famous walk began on the 1st of June 1809, at
+midnight. It is unnecessary to repeat the details
+of this feat; it will suffice to mention that the
+enterprising captain completed his task on the 12th
+July, at four o'clock in the afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>Since then, an attempt has, we believe, been
+made to walk the same distance <i>backwards</i>; and
+within the past twelve months, Weston, the American
+pedestrian, has performed some remarkable
+exploits of the kind; being however at last beaten
+by an Irishman named Kelly.</p>
+
+<p>The hero of the lately completed task (fifteen
+hundred miles in a thousand hours) is a
+little Welshman of not more than five feet three
+and a half inches in height, and about forty-two
+years of age; while in personal appearance
+and general <i>physique</i> he presents anything but
+what is usually supposed to be the characteristic
+of a good pedestrian. His name is William Gale,
+and he is a bookbinder by trade, living at Clerkenwell.</p>
+
+<p>At the commencement of his task on Sunday
+the 26th of August, he weighed no more than
+eight stone four pounds (8 st. 4 lbs.); and from
+that day until Saturday the 6th October, during
+a portion of every hour day and night, he pursued
+his monotonous way around the inclosure at Lillie
+Bridge grounds, Brompton. When the attempt
+was first announced, even those most acquainted
+with pedestrian feats where great endurance was
+required, expressed themselves dubious as to the
+result; and in order to have a reliable record of
+his proceedings, Gale requested the different sporting
+papers to appoint competent men as judges&mdash;a
+request which was at once generously complied
+with.</p>
+
+<p>Thus we have an official report of his great
+exploit, and the public are enabled to judge for
+themselves on the nature of the feat performed.
+Gale's average pace appears to have been about
+four miles an hour; but when he had reached his
+thousandth mile he assumed a brave spurt, and
+footed it in ten minutes, or at the rate of six
+miles an hour. During the last few days of his
+walking he started rather stiffly at first, owing
+to the pain caused by the swelling of some
+varicose veins in his left leg; but undaunted by
+so great and manifest a disadvantage, and other
+disadvantages which we shall presently refer to,
+the gallant little Welshman 'plodded his weary
+way' with a determined pluck that won the
+admiration and applause of every one present.</p>
+
+<p>On Friday the 5th October, the day before the
+finish of the tramp, Dr Gant of the Royal Free
+Hospital was called in to see this extraordinary
+walker, and after examining his legs, he pronounced
+Gale to be in excellent condition so far as
+his physical powers were concerned; there being
+no fever, the pulse only seventy, no murmur at
+the heart; and the varicose veins which had been
+the cause of so much pain to him, were rather
+better than worse, having considerably decreased
+in size. Perhaps the most remarkable part of the
+performance is, that it has been accomplished on a
+system of training which entirely sets at variance
+all athletic rules, for Gale partook of no fixed
+refreshment, neither did he have his meals at
+stated hours. His chief food was plain mutton-chops;
+and as an instance of how he varied his
+dishes, his afternoon meal on Friday the 5th
+October, which might have been either breakfast,
+dinner, or supper (so irregular had he been in this
+respect), consisted of a lobster and bread and
+butter, followed by a fried sole, and one or two
+cups of ordinarily strong tea. During the walk he
+also drank a good deal of beer&mdash;not strong beer,
+but the ale which is usually sold at fourpence per
+quart, which he seemed to prefer to any other
+kind, probably on account of its freedom from that
+tendency to increase rather than assuage thirst, so
+remarkably apparent in the stronger beers.</p>
+
+<p>Many strange incidents occurred in the course
+of the six weeks, which were calculated to while
+away the time, and occasionally to bring a smile
+to the pedestrian's lips. For instance, a certain
+illustrated sheet, notorious for its very sensational
+cartoons, published a picture of Gale on the track
+followed by Old Time with the conventional
+scythe on his shoulder; and many people it would
+seem actually paid their money with the idea that
+they were going to see the two figures as thus
+represented. One man, who had evidently gone
+to the grounds for this purpose, had watched Gale
+go round the track several times, when he could
+no longer control his disappointment. He shouted
+aloud, angrily demanding his money back, because,
+as he said with the greatest <i>naïveté</i> possible, 'the
+beggar with the scythe hadn't turned up!'</p>
+
+<p>As the last week of the great walking match
+wore on, signs of weariness in the indomitable
+pedestrian became painfully apparent, and many
+persons began to fear that the task he had set
+himself would after all remain unaccomplished.
+On several of the rounds he fell asleep whilst
+walking, and dropped to the ground; but this contact
+with mother earth seemed to revive him
+instantly, and he plodded on as pluckily as before.</p>
+
+<p>At length success crowned his efforts; and at
+seventeen minutes past five o'clock (less a second)
+on Saturday afternoon the 6th October 1877, Gale
+terminated his long and dreary walk in the presence
+of a large, fashionable, and enthusiastic
+assemblage, who rewarded his efforts with several
+rounds of hearty applause.</p>
+
+<p>From the commencement of his task to the
+finish Gale bore up against all obstacles with extraordinary
+pluck and determination, his last mile
+being performed in <i>ten minutes and eight seconds</i>.
+He was at once removed to the tent or pavilion
+under which he had snatched so many brief half-hours'
+rest, and was examined by three medical
+men, who found that his heart was quite natural
+in its movements, and that the temperature of his
+body did not exceed one hundred and six degrees.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_808" id="Page_808">{808}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The great feat which has thus been accomplished
+without the aid of artificial training, is a marvellous
+instance of what human endurance, allied with
+courage and determination, can effect; though of
+what particular benefit it may be to the world at
+large it is utterly impossible to imagine.</p>
+
+
+<p class='p2'>Since the preceding account was written, Gale
+has accomplished a still more extraordinary feat,
+and one which for strength of will and physical
+endurance far surpasses his previous efforts. We
+still fail, however, to see the benefit which
+can accrue from exhibitions of this kind, and
+well might he have been contented with the
+laurels he had already won. He had scarcely
+allowed himself time to recover from his former
+task, when he once more appeared at a public
+place of entertainment, namely the Agricultural
+Hall at Islington, to walk four thousand quarter-miles
+under the astounding condition, that it was
+to be done in four thousand consecutive periods
+of ten minutes.</p>
+
+<p>This of course deprived him of the half-hour's
+rest which he could obtain at one time in the
+former race, and only allowed him a few minutes
+between each round to get a little sleep. Despite
+these drawbacks, however, Gale finished his task
+at eleven o'clock <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span> on the 17th November, after
+a dreary walk of nearly four weeks. By accomplishing
+his task, he has placed himself at the head
+of all the famous pedestrians the world has known;
+and we trust that this fact will be sufficient to
+satisfy his craving after what is at best but
+ephemeral fame.</p>
+
+<p>Men have on many occasions attempted walking
+feats which required a vast amount of physical
+endurance, and have failed from their utter inability
+to go without the natural quantum of sleep;
+but Gale has not only shewn himself to be possessed
+of the former, but to be altogether independent
+of the latter. This, however, instead of
+indicating 'pluck' merely, would rather seem to
+point to a peculiarity in the man's constitution;
+as there are doubtless many persons whose courage
+would enable them to perform the same or even a
+greater task if, like Gale, they could walk about
+in a state of somnolency or semi-sleep&mdash;a state in
+which, to use his own words, he was as one in a
+dream, unconscious of all that was going on
+around him, and believing himself to be walking
+in forests and other places of silvan beauty; and
+the truth of this was made evident by the fact that
+he would have often exceeded the limit of his
+walk had not the voice of his attendant aroused
+him from his stupor.</p>
+
+<p>The average time occupied by this extraordinary
+walker was by day about three minutes for each
+quarter of a mile, and by night about five minutes;
+and the fastest round recorded was done in two
+minutes and forty-two seconds. His pulse was
+always found to indicate a perfect state of health,
+and was as regular when he left off as when he
+commenced his task. His food consisted principally
+of fish, fowl, chops, eggs, and light puddings;
+and his drink was, with only one exception during
+the whole time, tea.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the
+whole affair was the fact that, although he sank
+into a deep sleep directly he reached his chair
+behind the curtain, which hid him from view
+between his walks, the moment the bell rang
+the second time, he would appear as fresh as
+ever and begin trudging away again.</p>
+
+<p>When the feat was accomplished, Sir John
+Astley stepped forward, and amid a scene of great
+enthusiasm, presented the undaunted Welshman
+with a silver belt of the value of a hundred guineas,
+bearing the following inscription: 'This belt was
+presented to <span class="smcap">William Gale</span> of Cardiff, on the 17th
+November 1877, by some of the nobility and gentry
+of Great Britain, in commemoration of his hitherto
+unprecedented feat, namely walking one thousand
+five hundred miles in one thousand hours at Lillie
+Bridge Grounds, August 26th to October 6th, 1877;
+and four thousand quarter-miles in four thousand
+consecutive periods of ten minutes, at the Agricultural
+Hall, London, October 21st to November 17th,
+1877.' The belt is of lion's skin, mounted on
+velvet, the metal portion of it weighing one hundred
+ounces of sterling silver.</p>
+
+<p>None will begrudge Gale his well-earned reward;
+but it is to be hoped that such exhibitions will in
+future be discountenanced by the general public,
+as they not only detract from the dignity of man,
+but are needless and unwarrantable in a country
+which, we trust, will ever pride itself on a nobler
+civilisation than that which is founded upon mere
+physical endurance.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /></div><div>
+<h2><a name="A_DIFFICULT_QUESTION" id="A_DIFFICULT_QUESTION">A DIFFICULT QUESTION.</a></h2>
+
+<p class='ph3'>THE STORY OF TWO CHRISTMAS EVES.</p>
+
+
+<h3 title='PROLOGUE.'>IN TWO CHAPTERS.&mdash;PROLOGUE.</h3>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">In</span> the gray light of an Indian dawn, with the
+cool breeze blowing through the curtains of the
+tent, and his friend's sorrowful eyes looking down on
+him, a soldier lay on his rough couch&mdash;waiting for
+death. They were soon to be parted those two, who
+had lived and fought together; but the face of
+the one who was starting on that journey of which
+none has measured the distance, was smilingly
+calm, while the eyes of the other glistened with
+regretful tears as he spoke low, faltering, remorseful
+words.</p>
+
+<p>'Hush, Ralph, hush!' the other said at last.
+'Don't you think, dear old fellow, I would sooner
+lose my life in having saved yours, than in any
+other way? After all, a few days or years sooner
+or later, what does it signify? My fate is perhaps
+the happiest, though I hope it is not. I don't
+think life is so very desirable,' he continued; 'I
+am only twenty-six; but mine has not been a
+happy one. It was my own fault, though. Take
+my advice, Ralph; don't marry young. There is
+only one thing that troubles me'&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'Your little girl,' Ralph interrupted. 'Wrayworth,
+let me take care of her; if I can make
+her happy, it will be some slight atonement,
+some'&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'You would take care of her, Ralph? would
+you?' The dying man's eyes shone gratefully as
+he looked up in his friend's face. 'She has nothing,
+poor little thing,' he went on sadly&mdash;'motherless,
+fatherless, scarcely more than a baby either. It
+would be a heavy charge to leave you, Ralph.'</p>
+
+<p>'Wrayworth! how can you speak so; you will
+drive me mad! You&mdash;you'&mdash;&mdash; He broke down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_809" id="Page_809">{809}</a></span>
+utterly; it was something so terrible to see this
+friend dying there&mdash;for him. 'Anything on earth
+that I can do'&mdash;&mdash; he murmured.</p>
+
+<p>'You will do for her,' said Wrayworth. 'Thank
+you. I have no friends to send her to. I meant
+to have made her very happy.'</p>
+
+<p>'She shall be; I swear it!' Ralph answered
+fervently, thankful for this charge, which might
+in some degree help him to pay that debt of gratitude,
+and forgetful that he had no control of fate,
+that the promise he gave of happiness was a
+fearfully presumptuous one. But he made it
+willingly, gladly, solemnly, before God; and as
+far as lay in his power it should sacredly be kept;
+any sacrifice he would make for this child.</p>
+
+<p>His friend's eyes rested on him searchingly for
+a moment. 'I trust you,' he said&mdash;'I trust you.'</p>
+
+<p>The hours passed on, the blazing sun arose, and
+Ralph went out into the burning glare with
+bent head and staggering footsteps, while words
+he had heard long since seemed floating round
+him in letters of fire: 'Greater love hath no man
+than this, that a man lay down his life for his
+friend.'&mdash;'Is there <i>none</i> greater?' he thought. 'Is
+there nothing <i>I</i> can do to repay&mdash;nothing?'</p>
+
+
+<h3>CHAPTER I.&mdash;ASKED.</h3>
+
+<p>The years were well on in their teens since
+that melancholy scene was enacted in the Indian
+tent&mdash;since Wrayworth consigned his only child
+to the guardianship of the friend whose life, at
+the expense of his own, he had saved on the
+battle-field. A carriage rolled along the snowy
+high-road through the cold clear air; the short
+winter's day was drawing to its close, and up in
+the darkening sky the stars were beginning to
+shine upon the world's most joyful season, upon
+Christmas eve. The world's most joyful season?
+We call it so, this festival, more than eighteen
+hundred years old; but does the world think it so?&mdash;the
+world, with its thousand cares and crosses,
+its deep and hidden sorrows, its partings and its
+tears? Of those amongst the myriads who keep
+the Yule-tide feast, how many hold it with a
+chastened joy! For on that day most of all our
+thoughts go back to other years, to other faces, to
+other lips that have wished us 'a merry Christmas;'
+to other hands, which have clasped ours so
+loyally, to those who have loved us so long ago!</p>
+
+<p>But Major Loraine had no sad memories connected
+with the season as he drove up to the old
+house, from which duty had so frequently called
+him, and which he had not seen for five years. In
+the wide, dark, panelled hall his step-mother
+stood waiting to welcome him, as gladly as though
+he had been her own son. He was only a boy
+when she first came there, when the pink was
+fresh on her cheek and the gold bright in her
+hair; they had been drawn to each other then;
+and through the long years of her widowhood his
+loving care had helped to lighten her load of
+sorrow; so it was not wonderful that for months
+past she had been eagerly looking forward to his
+return.</p>
+
+<p>The greetings over, they sat down side by side,
+talking, as those talk after long separation, of past,
+present, and future; of their acquaintances married,
+dead, or far away; of things on the estate, prosperous
+or failures; of the ball to be given next month,
+of the one they were going to, to-night; of how
+much Emma was improved since she 'came out,'
+how Katharine was considered one of the handsomest
+girls in the place, and how she might
+marry Sir Michael Leyland with thirty thousand
+a year if she liked.</p>
+
+<p>'But why ever doesn't she like?' asked the
+Major, astonished at this new phase in the character
+of his worldly-minded sister.</p>
+
+<p>'That is just what troubles me,' answered Mrs
+Loraine. 'They are all at the church now, helping
+to decorate. Louise wanted to stay at home to
+welcome you, but I sent them all off, so as to have
+you to myself for an hour. You will see a great
+alteration in Louise, Ralph.'</p>
+
+<p>'Shall I, mother?' he said smiling. 'I think
+not. Her letters are the same always; they have
+altered in style a little of course in the last year
+or two, but it is the same spirit&mdash;the same
+creature.'</p>
+
+<p>'But not the same face, Ralph. Remember you
+have not seen her for five years, which have not
+altered you, but which have changed her from an
+unformed girl of fourteen to a lovely woman;
+with that bright changing beauty, which has
+more charm for a man than regularity of feature.
+It is a very difficult question.'</p>
+
+<p>'What is a difficult question?' asked Ralph, as
+his mother paused.</p>
+
+<p>'What to do with Louise.'</p>
+
+<p>'You hinted something of the kind in your last
+letter, mother,' he said gravely. 'I am sorry, but
+I must confess this house seems large enough for
+four women. You know how I am situated; you
+know the promise which binds me. But tell me,'
+he added smiling, 'what has Louise done? She
+seemed to me gentle and tractable enough when I
+was last at home.'</p>
+
+<p>'I have not the slightest fault to find,' Mrs
+Loraine replied; 'you know I am very fond of
+her. You will think my difficulty very womanish;
+simply, Louise is too pretty.'</p>
+
+<p>'And some one has told her so,' said Ralph,
+laughing. 'Go on.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is not that; but I cannot bear to see my own
+child's happiness destroyed by another, who, if not
+a stranger, has at least no claim upon her.'</p>
+
+<p>Ralph frowned slightly. 'Perhaps not,' he
+answered; 'the claim is upon me, and it is a sacred
+one. So,' he continued, 'it is a case of rivals, I see.'</p>
+
+<p>'Simply this, Ralph. You remember the Levesons
+of Leigh Court, where we are going to-night?
+Their eldest son is in the &mdash;th Dragoons, and
+has been home on leave. Louise was away when
+he first came here, and he appeared very much
+struck with Katharine; and no wonder; she is
+very handsome. Well&mdash;don't laugh at me; I don't
+like match-making as a rule; but I thought as she
+seemed interested in him, there was no harm in
+inviting him sometimes. But as soon as Louise
+came home, he transferred his attentions to her.
+Katharine says nothing; but it makes a kind of
+awkwardness between them. I know she feels it,
+poor child; though indeed I believe Vere Leveson
+is simply flirting with Louise.'</p>
+
+<p>Major Loraine laughed. 'Poor mother!' he
+said, 'you will have enough to do if you take all
+your children's love affairs to heart so seriously.
+These things always right themselves, you know.
+But I confess I am surprised to hear of Katharine
+going in for sentiment; I should have thought Sir
+Michael more in her line. Is that all, mother?'</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_810" id="Page_810">{810}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'No; only the first of my difficulties,' she
+answered half sadly. 'You know what my health
+has been for the last few years; you know&mdash;&mdash; Well,
+you do not wish me to speak of that; but it is
+better to look in the face of possibility. Suppose
+anything happened to me, Ralph, what would
+become of Louise?'</p>
+
+<p>'You speak of what I hope may be far distant,
+mother,' he answered tenderly. 'But why should
+you be uneasy about her? In the event of her not
+marrying, she would always have a home here
+with me.'</p>
+
+<p>Mrs Loraine shook her head. 'Turn round and
+look in the glass,' she said; 'thirty-nine is not
+such a very formidable age.'</p>
+
+<p>He turned, and contemplated his bronzed face in
+the glass; such a handsome, noble face, telling of a
+nature that could not act falsely or meanly. The
+broad square forehead, marred by a sabre-cut, and
+the dark hair flecked here and there, by the Indian
+sun, with gray; nothing else to find fault with in
+the frank kind smile, the fine regular features, the
+dark true eyes.</p>
+
+<p>'I think there is no fear of my being taken for
+younger than I am, mother,' he said, smiling.</p>
+
+<p>'It is an awkward position for you, though,' she
+answered; 'and as I said, a difficult question
+what to do. We must hope for the best, Ralph.
+You are going to join the others now, I suppose?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes; I think I can find my way.'</p>
+
+<p>He went out into the keen frosty air, walking
+slowly, though it was unpleasantly cold to one
+accustomed to tropical climates. He was thinking
+over his mother's words, and knew she was right
+as to the awkwardness of the position. He saw
+the peace of the household was troubled, without
+knowing how to set matters right, and he thought
+of the old friend who had trusted his child to him.
+He had vowed she should be happy, and now it
+seemed a difficult vow to keep; but for the sake of
+the man who had died for him sixteen long years
+ago, the pledge then given must be redeemed.</p>
+
+<p>Louise Wrayworth's life had been a bright one
+hitherto; her guardian's home was the only one she
+could remember, and he had striven to fill in some
+degree her father's place. To him, from infancy
+to womanhood, she had looked up with loving
+grateful reverence, regarding him, present or
+absent, as the noblest of created beings.</p>
+
+<p>He reached the old church, and made his way
+round to the open vestry door. The steps were
+encumbered with bundles of evergreens; the voices
+of the workers, who had finished their task, were
+audible. He pushed the door further open, and
+went in. The floor was covered with boughs, and
+around the pillars were wreathed holly and other
+evergreens in honour of the joyous season. Some
+of the choristers stood waiting for the choir-practice,
+and the organist was softly playing <i>Adeste
+Fideles</i>.</p>
+
+<p>'Ralph!' cried a young fresh voice; and a
+slight fair girl with a merry face sprang up from
+the floor, with her hands full of the scarlet berries,
+which fell hither and thither in bright-hued rain,
+as with complete indifference to the by-standers,
+she gave the returned soldier a sisterly embrace.
+'You dear old thing to come for us!' she exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>'Emma, Emma!' exclaimed Ralph, laughing and
+disengaging himself; 'you have not learned to
+behave any better in five years.'</p>
+
+<p>But his young sister had vanished, and he
+turned to greet the vicar; and one or two of the
+ladies he recognised. In a few minutes Emma
+reappeared; and behind her came a tall fair
+girl with masses of golden hair, and great beautiful
+cold blue eyes. She greeted Major Loraine
+affectionately, but with the quiet stately grace
+habitual to her. Five years had not changed
+Katharine Loraine; at twenty-four she was still
+the same majestic Queen Katharine as at nineteen,
+with whom he had always had so little
+sympathy, whose nature he had found so difficult
+to understand.</p>
+
+<p>'Where is Louise?' he asked presently. 'Is she
+not here?'</p>
+
+<p>'She went into the churchyard just now,'
+answered Emma, 'to put a wreath on Nellie
+Bryant's grave. You remember her, Ralph?'</p>
+
+<p>'Louise's friend? Yes.'</p>
+
+<p>'A <i>triste</i> employment for Christmas eve,' observed
+one of the gentlemen decorators to Katharine,
+as he stooped to disentangle her dress from a
+long sprig of ivy.</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, Mr Leveson went to hold a lantern for her,'
+Katharine answered, with the slightest possible
+shade of contempt in the silvery tones of her
+voice; 'and Louise is never <i>triste</i>, unless she is
+by herself.'</p>
+
+<p>The choir was now fully assembled; the organist
+struck up the anthem, the rest were silent to
+listen, and Ralph Loraine went out to look for his
+ward. He came round the east end of the old
+church, and stood still for a moment in the
+shadow. There were two people standing at the
+edge of the path, looking down on the grave at
+their feet, where the lantern's light shewed the
+shining holly upon the upright marble cross. It
+shewed too the face of his friend's child; a beautiful
+face, as his step-mother had said, with large
+dark eyes and wavy dusky hair, a clear delicate
+complexion with a little rose-flush on the cheeks,
+and full red lips half-parted by the sweetest smile
+he had ever seen; with the same erect carriage of
+the head, the same fearless straight regard which
+had characterised her father.</p>
+
+<p>It was so strange to see her there a woman,
+whom he had left a mere girl; and as he looked
+on the fair face, something seemed to whisper that
+the ideal beauty he had so often dreamed of was
+before him at last. They moved away, and came
+slowly nearer, and paused again where he could
+see her companion; and for a moment he almost
+hated the man for his youth, and his handsome
+face, and the deep-blue eyes aflame with passion-fire
+as they rested on the child of his dead friend;
+and another whisper which silenced the first, told
+him how fitted was each for the other.</p>
+
+<p>'If <i>I</i> were lying there,' said Vere Leveson, and
+Ralph could hear every one of the foolish, softly
+spoken words, 'would you ever make wreaths for
+<i>me</i>, I wonder?'</p>
+
+<p>'I don't know.'</p>
+
+<p>'Don't you? I wish you did; for I thought just
+now I should be glad to be lying there, if you
+would remember me.'</p>
+
+<p>Ralph had heard enough, and tried to slip away
+unseen; but the gravel crunched under his feet
+and betrayed him.</p>
+
+<p>Louise started, and a bright vivid blush covered
+her face as she sprang forward. 'Lorrie! Oh, how
+glad I am to see you again!' she cried, as she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_811" id="Page_811">{811}</a></span>
+took both his hands in hers and lifted her cheek
+for his kiss.</p>
+
+<p>He felt half sorry she had done so; that and
+the old childish name put him immediately in
+his place as guardian, and made him ashamed of
+his thoughts. 'How you are altered, Louise!' he
+said, looking down at her admiringly. 'I think I
+should hardly have known you!'</p>
+
+<p>'I should have known you, Lorrie, anywhere,'
+she said reproachfully.</p>
+
+<p>'That is rather different,' he said; 'when we
+once get old, we don't change so quickly.'</p>
+
+<p>'You would not like it if I said you were old,
+Lorrie. But tell me, am <i>I</i> altered for the worse?
+or'&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'You have no need to come to me for compliments,
+surely,' he said smiling.</p>
+
+<p>'I should think more of yours than of any one's,'
+she whispered, with that sweet dangerous smile;
+a smile which a man like Ralph Loraine should
+have taken as a warning not to feel its influence
+too often.</p>
+
+<p>'How rude I am!' she said at last.&mdash;'Mr Leveson,
+do you know my guardian?' She turned to her
+companion, who stood holding the lantern a few
+yards from them.</p>
+
+<p>'I had the honour of dining in your company
+once, Major Loraine,' he answered, stepping forward.
+'It is some time ago, when I first joined at Madras;
+but I well remember my anxiety to see such a
+distinguished soldier as yourself.'</p>
+
+<p>There was a ring of truth and honest admiration
+in the words, which raised them above an
+ordinary compliment, and which made Ralph
+hold out his hand and answer cordially: 'I have
+a bad memory for faces, or I think I should have
+remembered yours.'</p>
+
+<p>'Thanks,' said Vere, laughing. 'We shall have
+the pleasure of seeing you to-night, I hope?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes; my mother told me of the invitation.'</p>
+
+<p>'Of course he is coming,' said Louise. 'And
+you will dance with me all the evening, Lorrie;
+won't you?'</p>
+
+<p>'Not quite all, Miss Wrayworth; please, don't
+forget my waltzes,' said Vere, holding out his
+hand. 'I must be off now; so good-bye for the
+present. You won't forget?'</p>
+
+<p>She looked up quickly. 'Perhaps,' the lips said
+laughingly; but the dark eyes gave a sweet silent
+answer Ralph did not see, though he was watching
+them. But after Vere Leveson had gone, he
+walked home beneath the Christmas stars, with
+Louise's hand resting on his arm, dreaming as he
+went, a fair, fond, foolish dream.</p>
+
+
+<p class='p2'>The Christmas-eve ball at Leigh Park was a
+regular institution, one which Sir Harry Leveson
+had kept up for years. It was a pretty sight,
+Ralph thought, as he stood leaning against a
+window, and looking round to select a partner.
+And amongst all the fair women, the one he
+thought the fairest was his young ward Louise
+Wrayworth, in her white floating dress, with its
+wreaths of holly, and the red clustering berries in
+her dark hair.</p>
+
+<p>Ralph had been watching Vere Leveson, trying
+to decide in his own mind whether Mrs Loraine's
+verdict of flirtation was a just one; and he
+judged that it was; for the attentions of the young
+officer were apparently equally divided between
+Louise and Katharine. Ralph did not happen to
+be near when, later on, he led Louise to one of
+the cool empty rooms, where through the open
+window could be heard the merry Christmas bells.
+He did not see the hand-clasp or the light that
+flashed in the eyes of each. He did not hear the
+hurried whisper: 'Louise, you won't forget me,
+you will trust me till next Christmas-time?'</p>
+
+<p>The ball was over, the rooms were dark and
+silent; the whole world waited for the sun to
+rise on Christmas-day.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /></div><div>
+<h2><a name="IS_THE_TELEPHONE_A_PRACTICAL" id="IS_THE_TELEPHONE_A_PRACTICAL">IS THE TELEPHONE A PRACTICAL
+SUCCESS?</a></h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">In</span> September last appeared in this <i>Journal</i> an
+article entitled 'Singing and Talking by Telegraph;'
+and in that paper we attempted to describe
+the mechanism of that wonderful little instrument
+the telephone. It is now our purpose to say something
+regarding the progress that has been made
+towards perfecting the invention; but in order to
+make the article as clear as possible, we venture
+once more upon a few words explanatory of the
+instrument.</p>
+
+<p>The telephone as it is now made is an exceedingly
+simple-looking apparatus similar in appearance
+to a stethoscope; to the handle of a girl's
+skipping-rope; or better still, to a large-sized
+penny wooden trumpet. Inside this hollow cylinder,
+and within an inch or so of the wider end, is
+fixed a plate of iron as thin as a well-worn sixpence,
+and about the size of a half-crown piece.
+This is called the diaphragm. Behind the diaphragm,
+nearly touching it, and extending to the
+narrower end of the cylinder, is a piece of 'soft'
+iron enveloped in wire coils, with a permanent
+magnet beyond. Outside the narrower end of the
+cylinder, and communicating with the coils that
+surround the iron inside, are attached two screws
+or 'terminals,' which are 'joined up' to a main
+wire, communicating with the distant or receiving
+telephone wherever that may be, and which is
+precisely similar to the one we have described.
+When we apply our mouth to the bell-shaped
+end of the apparatus, and speak or shout or sing,
+we set the diaphragm vibrating as in a tuning-fork;
+the vibrations thus created are electrically
+communicated through the wire to a distant
+telephone, and are repeated on its diaphragm
+with more or less distinctness.</p>
+
+<p>It is known that the motion of an iron plate
+contiguous to the poles of a magnet creates a
+disturbance of electricity in coils surrounding
+those poles; and the duration of this current
+will coincide with the vibratory motion of the
+plate or diaphragm. When, therefore, the human
+voice (or any other suitable sound) impinges
+through the tube against this diaphragm, the
+diaphragm begins to vibrate, and awakens, so
+to speak, electrical action in the coils of wire
+surrounding the poles of the magnet; not a current,
+but a series of undulations, something like
+those produced by the voice in the air around us.
+In short the telephone is an apparatus designed
+to transmit sound through a wire of indefinite
+length; the voice being, so to speak, 'converted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_812" id="Page_812">{812}</a></span>
+into electricity at one end, the electricity becoming
+voice at the other.'</p>
+
+<p>With these few explanatory remarks, we now
+proceed to offer to our readers the following interesting
+experiments made by a gentleman well
+skilled in telegraphy.</p>
+
+<p>'Journalists,' he says, 'with no special knowledge
+of the difficulties the invention has to
+encounter as a telegraph instrument, have expatiated
+in such enthusiastic terms upon the results
+said to have been achieved by the telephone, that
+a somewhat exaggerated notion of its powers
+and capabilities has been accepted by the general
+public. It appears, therefore, to the writer of those
+lines that a statement of the experiences of a
+person practically engaged in the work of telegraphy
+may assist in placing the phenomena of
+the telephone on a proper footing.</p>
+
+<p>'Scientifically, the telephone is a great and
+undoubted success; and a person would be grievously
+in error if, because of some undoubted
+hindrances to its practical use, he pronounced it
+unworthy of further experiment. The emergence
+of telegraphy from the domain of experiment
+into that of daily practical use is a fact so
+undoubted, and one with which we are now so
+familiar, that it is impossible to say at what
+moment the telephone, at present a scientific toy,
+may become a daily necessity not only of telegraphic
+but of ordinary commercial work.</p>
+
+<p>'Being engaged in daily contact with a large
+telegraphic centre, and in association with men
+who have the command of every means of testing
+the invention in a practical work-a-day manner,
+the writer was able to gauge pretty accurately the
+range within which the telephone can work. It
+must be understood, however, that in recording
+the effects observed by him and his associates, he
+has no desire to invalidate, or even to call in question
+the experiences of others who may have been
+able to arrive at better results. The telephone is
+in the hands of some of the first electricians and
+telegraphists of the day, and differences of conditions
+(not to speak of differences of capacity on
+the part of the operator) may give variety in
+the observations made. The very difficulties and
+drawbacks now to be recorded will no doubt some
+day suggest to a master-mind the method by which
+they may be overcome. But till that day arrives,
+the telephone must be content to remain where
+the writer leaves it, an undoubted success from
+a scientific point of view, but overwhelmed with
+obstacles to its practical use, in this country at
+least, in general telegraphy.</p>
+
+<p>'When a telegraphist first gets into his hand
+this beautifully simple and electrically delicate instrument,
+his first inclination is to test its carrying-power.
+This is of course a closet experiment,
+not working with actual telegraph line, but
+with "resistance" equivalent to a telegraph line of
+stated length. An experiment of this nature gives
+better results than could be obtained by a veritable
+line, because the insulation is, so to speak, perfect.
+No leakage at undesigned points of contact, or
+disturbance from unfavourable atmospheric conditions,
+is felt, and the experiment is entirely under
+the observer's control. The apparatus used is
+designed to offer the same labour for the electric
+current to overcome, as would be offered by a
+stated length of outside telegraph line. This
+artificial resistance is nicely graduated, and as
+the method of testing was suggested by Ohm, a
+German electrician, the unit of resistance is, as
+we once previously explained, termed an "ohm."
+Removing the telephone to such a distance that
+the two observers were "out of earshot," the test
+with resistance was tried, and with a resistance of
+one thousand ohms&mdash;roughly speaking, equal to
+seventy miles of a well-constructed line&mdash;the sound
+was perfect, although not very loud. Every articulation
+of the speaker at the other end could be distinguished
+so long as silence was maintained in the
+room, or so long as no heavy lorry rumbling over
+the stones outside sent in harsh noises which
+drowned the faint whisper of the instrument. The
+resistance was gradually raised to four thousand
+ohms&mdash;nearly three hundred miles&mdash;with like
+favourable results; and for some little distance
+beyond, articulation could still be made out. But
+by the time ten thousand ohms had been applied,
+putting the speaker at a distance of, say, seven
+hundred miles, sound only, but not articulate
+sound, reached the ear. The tone was there, and
+every inflection of the voice could be followed;
+but articulation was absent, although the listener
+strove every nerve to catch the sound, which the
+speaker, as was afterwards ascertained, was shouting
+in a loud clear voice. The prolonged notes of
+an air sung could be heard with the resistance
+named, but again no words could be distinguished.
+The voice, whether in speaking or singing, has a
+weird curious sound in the telephone. It is in
+a measure ventriloqual in character; and with
+the telephone held an inch or two from the ear,
+it has the effect as if some one were singing far
+off in the building, or the sound were coming up
+from a vaulted cellar or through a massive stone
+wall.</p>
+
+<p>'Proceeding to our next experiment, we joined
+up the telephones in one office to several wires
+in succession, putting ourselves in circuit with
+lines going to various distances and working with
+different instruments. When this was done, the
+real obstacle to telephonic progress at once asserted
+itself in the shape of "induction." The first wire
+experimented with was partly "overhouse" and
+partly underground, and the offices upon it were
+working Wheatstone A B C instruments. It is
+difficult to render clear to the person ignorant of
+telegraphic phenomena the idea expressed by the
+word <i>induction</i>. Briefly it may be put thus, that
+when a strong electric current is passing on a
+wire, it has the faculty of setting up a current of
+opposite character in any wire not then working,
+or working with a feebler current, that may be in
+its vicinity. The why or the wherefore cannot be
+explained, but there is the fact.</p>
+
+<p>'In various recent articles on the telephone,
+mention has been made of "contact" as the cause
+of disturbance. This word, however, although it
+has been used by telegraphists, is misleading, and
+can only be used as an endeavour to express popularly
+an electric fact. Actual contact of one wire
+with another would spoil the business altogether.
+A wire bearing an electric current seems to be for
+the time surrounded, to an undefined distance, by
+an electric atmosphere, and all wires coming
+within this atmosphere have a current in an opposite
+direction set up in them. This is as near an
+explanation of the phenomena of induction as the
+state of telegraph science at present affords. Now
+the telephone works with a very delicate magnetic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_813" id="Page_813">{813}</a></span>
+current, and is easily overpowered by the action of
+a stronger current in any wire near which the telephone
+wire may come. To work properly it
+"requires a silent line."</p>
+
+<p>'In the place where the observations were made,
+there are a large number of wires, travelling
+under the floor, through the test-box, along
+passages to the battery-room and to a pole on
+the outside, whence they radiate, or out to
+a pipe underground, where many gutta-percha-covered
+wires lie side by side. On applying
+the ear to a telephone joined into a circuit
+working in such an office a curious sound is heard,
+comparable most nearly to the sound of a pot
+boiling. But the practised ear could soon separate
+the boiling into distinct sounds. There was one
+masterful Morse instrument&mdash;probably on the wire
+lying nearest the one on which we were joined up&mdash;whose
+peremptory "click, cli-i-i-ck, click," representing
+"dot, dash, dot" on the printed slip we read
+from, could be heard over all. Then there was
+the rapid whir of a Wheatstone fast-speed transmitter,
+sending dots and dashes at express speed
+by mechanical means; the sharp well-pronounced
+rattle in sounds of equal length of a needle instrument;
+and most curious of all, the "rrrrr-op, rr-op,
+rrrrrrrrrrrrr-op, rrrrr-op, rr-op" of the A B C, the
+deadliest foe to the telephone in its endeavours to
+gain admission into the family of telegraph instruments.
+There may be reason in this, for as the
+Wheatstone A B C is the instrument used for
+private telegraphy, or for the least important
+public offices, because it requires no "code" to
+be learned by the manipulator, so it would likely
+be the first to be displaced if an acoustic telegraph
+permanently took the field. So the sentient little
+A B C opens its mitrailleuse fire on the intruder,
+on whose delicate currents, in the words of an
+accomplished electrician, it plays "old harry." The
+peculiar character of the sounds we borrow on the
+telephone from this instrument arises from the
+fact that as the needle flies round the dial, a
+distinct current or pulsation passes for each letter,
+and the final "op" we have tried to represent shews
+the stoppage of the needle at the letters as words
+were spelled out.</p>
+
+<p>'It must not be understood that the <i>sounds</i>
+of those various instruments are actually heard
+in the telephone. What happens is, that the
+currents stealing along the telephone wire by
+induction produce vibrations in the diaphragm
+of that instrument, the little metal membrane
+working on the magnet in ready response to
+every current set up in the latter. When it
+is remembered that the principle of the telephone
+is that the sound-caused vibrations in the
+filmy diaphragm at one end create similar but
+magnetically-caused vibrations in the diaphragm
+at the other end, and so reproduce the sound, it
+will be obvious why the rapid roll of the A B C
+currents, or the swift sending of the fast-speed
+transmitter, when brought by induction into the
+telephone wire, cause disturbances in the sound
+vibrations, and thereby cripple the instrument.
+One instrument of either kind named would have
+a certain effect, but one Morse or single needle
+would not have any greatly prejudicial effect. But
+a number of Morses or needles going together,
+such as were heard in our experiments, would
+combine to be nearly as bad as one A B C or fast-speed
+Morse. So delicate is the diaphragm to
+sound (and necessarily so), that in all experiments
+with the telephone itself, such as those with "resistance,"
+or those made at home to test the instrument
+apart from telegraphic considerations, every
+sound from without broke in, giving an effect like
+the well-known "murmur of the shell."</p>
+
+<p>'Joining up our wire now to a more distant
+station at some miles along the railway, and
+having on its poles a number of what are
+known as "heavy" circuits, the pot-boiling sound
+assumed even more marked characteristics. The
+A B C no longer affected us; but a number of
+Morse instruments were in full gear, and the fast-speed
+transmitter was also at work. While we
+were listening, the circuit to which we were joined
+began to work, and the effect was literally electrical.
+Hitherto we had only borrowed currents&mdash;or,
+seeing they were so unwelcome, we might
+call them currents thrust upon us&mdash;and the
+sounds, though sharp and incessant, were gentle
+and rather low. But when the strong current was
+set up in the wire itself, the listener who held
+one of our telephones nearly jumped from the
+floor when an angry "pit-<i>pat</i>, pit-<i>pat</i>, pit-<i>pat</i>-pit"
+assailed his ear, causing him to drop the instrument
+as if he had been shot! It was a result none
+of us had expected, for it did not seem possible
+that the delicate metal diaphragm and the little
+magnet of the telephone could produce a sound so
+intense. Of course it was only intense when the
+ear was held close to the orifice of the instrument.
+Held in the hand away from the ear, the telephone
+now made a first-rate "sounder," and we could tell
+without difficulty not only the signals that were passing,
+but found in it a more comfortable tone than
+that given by the Morse sounder in common use.</p>
+
+<p>'Other experiments of a like character led to
+results so similar, that they may be left unnoticed;
+and we proceed now to describe one of a different
+character, designed to test the telephone itself. At
+a distance of about half a mile, access was obtained
+to a Morse instrument in private use, and joined
+to the office by "overhouse" wire. Dividing our
+party and arranging a programme of operations,
+two remained with a telephone in the office, while
+other two, of whom the writer was one, proceeded
+with the second telephone to the distant instrument.
+By an arrangement which a practical telegraphist
+will understand, the key of the Morse
+was kept in circuit, so that signals could be exchanged
+in that way. It may be noticed, however,
+that this was hardly necessary, as the diaphragm
+of the telephone can be used as a key, with the
+finger or a blunt point, so that dot and dash signals
+are interchangeable, should the voice fail to be
+heard. As the wire in this instance travelled
+almost alone over part of its course, we were in
+hopes that induced currents would be conspicuous
+by their absence. In this we were, however, disappointed,
+for the pot was boiling away, rather more
+faintly, but with the "plop-plop-plop" distinctly
+audible, and once more a sharp masterful Morse
+click was heard coming in now and again. The
+deadly A B C was, however, absent, so that our
+experiment proved highly successful. For some
+reason or another&mdash;probably an imperfect condition
+of the wire, or the effects of "induction" over and
+above what made itself audible to us&mdash;the spoken
+sounds were deficient in distinctness; but songs
+sung at either end were very beautifully heard,
+and indeed the sustained note of sung words had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_814" id="Page_814">{814}</a></span>
+always a better carrying-power than rapidly spoken
+words. Every syllable, and every turn of melody
+of such a song as <i>My Mother bids me bind my Hair</i>,
+sung by a lady at one end, or <i>When the Heart of
+a Man</i>, sung at the other, could be distinctly
+heard, but with the effect before noticed, that the
+voice was muffled or shut in, as if the singer
+were in a cellar, while it was not always possible
+to say at once whether the voice was that of a
+man or a woman.</p>
+
+<p>'In the course of some domestic experiments,
+it was remarked that in playing the scale downwards
+from C in alt. on the piano, the result
+to the listener was a "tit" only for the four
+upper notes, although all below that had a clear
+"ting," and the octaves below were mostly distinct,
+although at the low notes of the piano the sound
+was again lost. The ringing notes of a musical
+box were not so successful, but with close attention,
+its rapid execution of <i>Tommy Dodd</i> could be
+well enough made out. An endeavour was made
+to catch the ticking of a watch, but this was
+not successful, and the experiment is not recommended,
+as the near presence of a watch to
+a magnet is not desirable; and the watch exposed
+to it in this instance was, it is thought, affected
+for a short time thereafter, although it received
+no permanent damage.</p>
+
+<p>'The observations made in the course of these
+experiments convinced those present that the
+telephone presents facilities for the dangerous
+practice of "tapping the wires," which may make
+it useful or dangerous, according as it is used
+for proper or improper purposes. It might be an
+important addition for a military commander to
+make to his flying cavalry; as an expert sound-reader,
+accompanying a column sent to cut off
+the enemy's telegraph connections, might precede
+the act of destruction by robbing him of some
+of his secrets. The rapidity and simplicity of the
+means by which a wire could be "milked," without
+being cut or put out of circuit, struck the
+whole of the party engaged in the various trials
+that are described above. Of course the process of
+tapping by telephone could not be carried out
+if the instrument in use was an A B C or single
+needle, or if the wire was being worked duplex
+or with a fast-speed Morse, for in these cases
+the sounds are too rapid or too indefinite to be
+read by ear. The danger is thus limited to
+ordinary sounder or Morse telegraphs; but these
+still form the mainstay of every public system.</p>
+
+<p>'Since the trials above described were made, the
+newspapers have recorded a beautiful application
+by Sir William Thomson, of the electric part of
+the telephone to exhibit at a distance the motions
+of an anemometer; the object being to shew the
+force of air-currents in coal-mines. This is a
+useful application of an electric fact, and doubtless
+points the way to further discoveries. But
+it is to be noticed that the experiment, interesting
+as it is, hardly comes under the head of a tele<i>phone</i>,
+what is reproduced at a distance being not sound
+but motion.</p>
+
+<p>'Obviously the invention cannot rest where it
+is; and no one more readily than the practical
+telegraphist will welcome an instrument at once
+simple, direct, and reliable. Even in its present
+form the telephone may be successfully used
+where its wire is absolutely <i>isolated</i> from all other
+telegraph wires. But the general impression is
+that its power of reproducing the sound must be
+intensified before its use can become general even
+as a substitute in works or offices for the speaking-tube.'</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /></div><div>
+<h2><a name="SINGING_MICE" id="SINGING_MICE">SINGING MICE.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">These</span> interesting animals are said to be smaller
+than ordinary mice, to be usually of a brownish
+colour, and to have long ears. Naturalists have
+not come to any exact reason as to why they
+sing. Some persons impute the singing to
+disease, as in the wheezing of any one from
+a cold. Others attribute it to an internal parasite.
+But these seem unsatisfactory explanations;
+for when the little creatures sing they are as
+lively as common domestic mice. The faculty
+of singing in a small way with various modulations
+appears to be quite natural to the animals.
+It has been noticed that during their musical performances
+there is a throbbing in the throat, and
+that the snout is elevated in giving play to the
+voice, as in the warbling of birds. The song or
+warble of these mice is said to be sweet and varied.
+Hitherto not much attention has been given by
+zoologists to the phenomenon; but we observe by
+various notices in <i>Land and Water</i> and in <i>Nature</i>,
+two periodicals devoted to pleasant discussions on
+subjects of natural history, &amp;c., that singing mice
+are becoming objects of careful investigation.</p>
+
+<p>An amusing account of a singing mouse appears
+in <i>Nature</i>, Nov. 9, from the pen of Mr Joseph
+Sidebotham, dating from Menton, south of France.</p>
+
+<p>'Last winter we occupied the rooms we now do
+at Menton. Early in February we heard as we
+thought the song of a canary, and fancied it was
+outside our balcony; however, we soon discovered
+that the singing was in our <i>salon</i>, and that the
+songster was a mouse. At that time the weather
+was rather cold, and we had a little fire, and the
+mouse spent most of the day under the fender,
+where we kept it supplied with bits of biscuit. In
+a few days it became quite tame, and would come
+on the hearth in an evening and sing for several
+hours. Sometimes it would climb up the chiffonier
+and ascend a vase of flowers to drink at the water,
+and then sit and sing on the edge of the table and
+allow us to go quite near to it without ceasing its
+warble. One of its favourite haunts was the wood-basket,
+and it would often sit and sing on the edge
+of it. On February 12, the last night of the
+Carnival, we had a number of friends in our <i>salon</i>,
+and the little mouse sang most vigorously, much
+to their delight and astonishment, and was not in
+the least disturbed by the talking. In the evening
+the mouse would often run about the room and
+under the door into the corridor and adjoining
+rooms, and then return to its own hearth. After
+amusing us for nearly a month, it disappeared;
+and we suspect it was caught in a trap set in one
+of the rooms beyond. The mouse was small and
+had very large ears, which it moved about much
+whilst singing. The song was not unlike that of
+the canary in many of its trills, and it sang quite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_815" id="Page_815">{815}</a></span>
+as beautifully as any canary, but it had more
+variety, and some of its notes were much lower,
+more like those of the bullfinch. One great
+peculiarity was a sort of double song, which we
+had now and then&mdash;an air with an accompaniment.
+The air was loud and full, the notes
+being low and the accompaniment quite subdued.
+Some of our party were sure that there
+was more than one mouse, until we had the
+performance from the edge of the wood-basket
+and were within a yard or two of it. My son
+has suggested that many or all mice may have
+the same power, but that the notes are usually
+so much higher in the scale that, like the cry
+of the dormouse and the bat, they are at the
+verge of the pitch to which the human ear is
+sensitive. This may be so; but the notes of our
+mouse were so low, and even the highest so far
+within the limits of the human ear, that I am
+inclined to think the gift of singing in mice is but
+of very rare occurrence.'</p>
+
+<p>In the same periodical, the following additional
+particulars as regards singing mice are presented
+by Mr George J. Romanes, Regent's Park.</p>
+
+<p>'Several years ago I received some of these animals
+from a friend, and kept them in confinement for
+one or two months. The description which your
+correspondent gives of their performance leaves
+very little to be added by me, as in all respects this
+description agrees perfectly with my own observations.
+I write, however, to remark one curious
+fact about the singing of these mice, namely, that
+it seemed to be evoked by two very opposite
+sets of conditions. When undisturbed, the little
+animals used for the most part to remain quiet
+during the day, and begin to sing at night; but if
+at any time they were alarmed, by handling them
+or otherwise, whether during the day or night,
+they were sure to sing vigorously. Thus the
+action seemed to be occasioned either by contentment
+or by fear. The character of the song, however,
+was slightly different in the two cases.</p>
+
+<p>'That these mice did not learn this art from
+singing birds there can be no doubt, for they were
+captured in a house where no such birds were kept.
+It may be worth while to add that this house
+(a London one) seemed to have been suddenly
+invaded, so to speak, by a number of these animals,
+for although my friend has lived in this house
+since the year 1862, it was only during a few
+months that singing mice were heard in it, and
+during these few months they were heard in considerable
+numbers.'</p>
+
+<p>As corroborative of the foregoing notices, we
+give the following very interesting account of a
+singing mouse, obligingly sent to us by a correspondent,
+Mr Alfred Wright.</p>
+
+<p>'In the early spring of last year I was invited
+by an old widow lady to see a singing mouse,
+which she had at night heard singing and scratching
+beneath the floor of her bed, and been so fortunate
+as to catch in a trap. I went, and found the
+little animal in a cage with a revolving wheel,
+similar to that in which a squirrel is usually confined.
+Whether the mouse was shy at the presence
+of a stranger, I do not know. It remained silent;
+but at length, after my patience had been nearly
+exhausted, it began to sing in clear warbling notes
+like those of a bird. When I called the next
+evening to hear the mouse again, I heard him to
+perfection; and was so filled with interest in the
+novelty, that I begged permission to bring any
+friend who was a sceptic of the fact, or who might
+desire to see the phenomenon. My request was
+readily granted. One friend of course had heard
+of a singing mouse, but he certainly would not
+allow that a prolonged squeak was a song&mdash;not
+he! Another friend of course had heard a mouse
+sing when he was a boy; but he was told, he
+perfectly well remembered, that the <i>noise</i> produced
+by the mouse was the result of some
+internal disease. Well, both of these went with
+me to hear the little creature. Unfortunately, at
+first it was again shy; but after an interval of
+silence it commenced to sing&mdash;sweetly, like the
+low notes, the jug, of the nightingale. My friends
+had come, had heard, and were conquered! The
+one acknowledged it was really a song and not
+a squeak; the other, that the noise was certainly
+dulcet; but still he thought it possibly might be
+the result of disease, and not natural to the little
+animal. We suggested that this wonderful natural
+curiosity (as we deemed it) should be sent to
+an eminent naturalist who resided near. Great,
+therefore, was my astonishment and pleasure when
+it was presented to me, who could only treat it
+like a schoolboy would his white mouse&mdash;as a
+pet. And truly it became a great pet to both
+my wife and myself.</p>
+
+<p>'In form, the singing mouse did not differ from
+his humbler brethren; but in colour he was of
+a darkish brown, and had very bright eyes. It
+soon became used to the presence of my wife,
+and sang constantly while revolving the wheel
+of his cage. The notes proceeded from the throat.
+He became exceedingly gentle, and was pleased
+at being caressed.</p>
+
+<p>'I deemed him so rare a curiosity that I ventured
+to offer to exhibit him to the distinguished naturalist
+referred to above, and in my letter described
+the little creature and its peculiarities, as I have
+done here. The naturalist most courteously
+replied: "The case of the singing mouse is very
+extraordinary, but the fact is now well established....
+The best account which has ever been published
+is by an American naturalist, and I have given
+an abstract of his account in my <i>Descent of Man</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"The American referred to is the Rev. S. Lockwood,
+author of <i>The American Naturalist</i>, and he
+gives an account of his observations of the <i>Hesperomys
+cognatus</i>, an American species, belonging to a
+genus distinct from that of the English mouse. This
+little animal gave two chief songs. Mr Lockwood
+gives both songs in musical notation; and adds,
+that though this mouse 'had no ear for time,' yet
+she would keep to the key of B (two flats) and
+strictly in the major key.... Her soft clear
+voice falls an octave with all the precision possible;
+then at the wind up it rises again into a very
+quick trill in C sharp and D." I have made this
+quotation, as it far better describes the peculiar
+qualifications of a singing mouse, than my inexperienced
+observations could announce.</p>
+
+<p>'My mouse remained in contented confinement
+upwards of a year, feeding upon a little sopped
+bread and canary-seed; and great was the grief of
+my wife (who was his keeper) and myself when
+he was found dead in his little nest. During the
+previous evening he had been heard singing with
+more than usual ardour.'</p>
+
+<p>We shall probably return to this interesting
+subject.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" /></div><div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_816" id="Page_816">{816}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="USING_UP_WASTE_SUBSTANCES" id="USING_UP_WASTE_SUBSTANCES">USING UP WASTE SUBSTANCES.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> subject denoted by the above title, more
+than once treated in the <i>Journal</i>, is adverted to
+by an obliging Lancashire correspondent who,
+surrounded by one of the busiest and most ingenious
+clusters of townsmen in England, has had
+his attention drawn to various substances waiting
+(as it were), for application to useful purposes.
+His suggestions are not wholly new, having to
+some extent been already anticipated; but they
+are sufficiently valuable to call for notice here.</p>
+
+<p>One relates to the waste that presents itself in
+the processes of manufacturing cotton. A residue
+known technically as <i>willowings</i>, that falls into
+a receptacle during the preparatory beating and
+disentangling of raw cotton-wool, consists of a
+dusty heap of seed-husks and short broken fibres.
+It is used by farmers to absorb the liquid manure
+of their cowsheds and middens or dung-heaps.
+Although some of the cottony fibre may be
+separated through a sieve, so much adheres to
+the seed-husk as to render it unsuitable for paper-making,
+for which it has often been tried. The
+suggestion now made is, that though unfitted for
+paper, this refuse may possibly be found useful
+in the manufacture of <i>millboard</i>. Large quantities
+of this tough and durable product are employed for
+bookbinding, for making the discs of railway wheels,
+&amp;c.; and as colour is not a matter of moment,
+the idea is that the mingled residue of cottony
+fibre and seed-husk might be rendered available.
+It is known that millboard made from wood-pulp
+is imported to a considerable extent from abroad;
+and we are told that 'a large portion of the
+private income of the great German Chancellor
+Prince Bismarck is derived from the manufacture
+of wood-millboard on his Varzin estate.' Many
+hundred tons of willowings could be obtained in
+Lancashire at a very cheap rate, even as low as
+two shillings per hundredweight.</p>
+
+<p>Another suggestion bears relation to the utilisation
+of refuse from the manufacture of prussiate
+of potash, a most valuable product in the hands
+of the manufacturing chemist. The prussiate is
+obtained in large ratio from woollen rags, after the
+separation of all the pieces that can be worked up
+into shoddy for cheap cloth. The refuse is calcined
+in cast-iron retorts, lixiviated with water,
+and drained off for subsequent treatment: leaving
+behind it a thick black sediment of impure animal
+charcoal. The suggestion relates to the application
+of this residue to the manufacture of blacking&mdash;a
+humble but valuable agent for those who appreciate
+tidiness in the appearance of boots and shoes
+and economy in the preservation of leather. If
+useful for this purpose, it might be found advantageous
+and economical as an ingredient in printers'
+ink. Whether this carbon residue is at present
+applied to any other useful purpose, we are not
+fully informed.</p>
+
+<p>A third suggestion relates to the preparation of
+animal size for the carpet-manufacture and for
+that of many kinds of woollen and worsted goods.
+This size is made from the clippings and scrapings
+of skins and hides, from rejected scraps of parchment
+and vellum, and from the worn-out buffalo
+skin pickers and skips largely used in textile
+manufactures; also from the pith of cattle-horns,
+which contain a large amount of valuable gelatine.
+The suggestion is, to utilise the refuse left after
+making this size. One large carpet factory in
+Yorkshire rejects as utterly useless a ton or more
+of this refuse every week. The horn-pith contains
+as one of its components phosphate of lime, and is
+on that account recommended to the notice of the
+manufacturers of chemical manures on a large
+scale.</p>
+
+<p>One more suggestion comes from our ingenious
+correspondent. Old corks are applicable to a
+greater number of purposes than we are generally
+in the habit of supposing. That many of them
+are ground up to make cork-stuffing for cushions,
+padding, &amp;c. is well known; but there are other
+uses for them as corks or half corks, besides
+making floating buoys and life-preservers. A
+taverner in a Lancashire town covered the floor of
+his lobby and bar with very open rope-matting,
+and filled up the openings with old corks cut
+down to the level of the surface of the mats. This
+combination is found to be almost indestructible
+under the feet; while it gives a good grip or foothold.
+As the making of rope-mats is one of the
+trades carried on in reformatories and some other
+large establishments, it is suggested that the
+managers should take into consideration the feasibility
+of adding old corks to their store of manufacturing
+materials.</p>
+
+<p>As this <i>Journal</i> finds its way into every corner
+of the busy hives of industry, it may possibly be
+that some of our readers are already acquainted
+with such applications of waste refuse to useful
+purposes as those which our esteemed correspondent
+suggests. But this is a point of minor importance.
+The primary question is, not whether
+an idea is absolutely new, but whether it is
+practicably susceptible of useful application. The
+history of manufactures teaches us that apparently
+humble trifles like these have proved to be worth
+millions sterling to the country.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /></div><div>
+<h2><a name="LET_BYGONES_BE_BYGONES" id="LET_BYGONES_BE_BYGONES">LET BYGONES BE BYGONES.</a></h2>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Let</span> bygones be bygones; if bygones were clouded<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">By aught that occasioned a pang of regret,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh, let them in darkest oblivion be shrouded;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">'Tis wise and 'tis kind to forgive and forget.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Let bygones be bygones, and good be extracted<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">From ill over which it is folly to fret;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The wisest of mortals have foolishly acted&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The kindest are those who forgive and forget.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Let bygones be bygones; oh, cherish no longer<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The thought that the sun of Affection has set;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Eclipsed for a moment, its rays will be stronger,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">If you, like a Christian, forgive and forget.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Let bygones be bygones; your heart will be lighter,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">When kindness of yours with reception has met;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The flame of your love will be purer and brighter<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">If, Godlike, you strive to forgive and forget.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Let bygones be bygones; oh, purge out the leaven<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Of malice, and try an example to set<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To others, who craving the mercy of heaven,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Are sadly too slow to forgive and forget.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Let bygones be bygones; remember how deeply<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">To heaven's forbearance we all are in debt;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They value God's infinite goodness too cheaply<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Who heed not the precept, 'Forgive and forget.'<br /></span>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<p class='center'>Printed and Published by <span class="smcap">W. &amp; R. Chambers</span>, 47 Paternoster
+Row, <span class="smcap">London</span>, and 339 High Street, <span class="smcap">Edinburgh</span>.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p class='center'><i>All rights reserved.</i></p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular
+Literature, Science, and Art, No. 730, by Various
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL, DECEMBER 22, 1877 ***
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+</pre>
+
+</body>
+</html>
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