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diff --git a/old/55808-0.txt b/old/55808-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8ede608..0000000 --- a/old/55808-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2241 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, -Science, and Art, No. 734, January 19, 18, by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, No. 734, January 19, 1878 - -Author: Various - -Editor: William Chambers - Robert Chambers - -Release Date: October 24, 2017 [EBook #55808] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS JOURNAL OF LITERATURE, JAN 19, 1878 *** - - - - -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. 734. SATURDAY, JANUARY 19, 1878. PRICE 1½_d._] - - - - -THE STORY OF THIERS. - - -In a densely populated street of the quaint sea-port of Marseilles -there dwelt a poor locksmith and his family, who were so hard pressed -by the dearness of provisions and the general hardness of the times, -that the rent and taxes for the wretched tenement which they called -a home had been allowed to fall many weeks into arrear. But the good -people struggled on against their poverty; and the locksmith (who -was the son of a ruined cloth-merchant), though fallen to the humble -position of a dock-porter, still managed to wade through life as if -he had been born to opulence. This poor labourer’s name was Thiers, -and his wife was a descendant of the poet Chenier; the two being -destined to become the parents of Louis Adolphe Thiers, one of the most -remarkable men that ever lived. - -The hero of our story was at his birth mentally consigned to oblivion -by his parents, while the neighbours laughed at the ungainly child, -and prognosticated for him all kinds of evil in the future. And it is -more than probable that these evil auguries would have been fulfilled -had it not been for the extraordinary care bestowed upon him by his -grandmother. But for her, perhaps our story had never been written. - -Under her fostering care the child survived all those diseases which -were, according to the gossips, to prove fatal to him; but while his -limbs remained almost stationary, his head and chest grew larger, until -he became a veritable dwarf. By his mother’s influence with the family -of André Chenier, the lad was enabled to enter the Marseilles Lyceum -at the age of nine; and here the remarkable head and chest kept the -promise they made in his infancy, and soon fulfilled Madame Thiers’ -predictions. - -Louis Adolphe Thiers was a brilliant though somewhat erratic pupil. He -was noted for his practical jokes, his restlessness, and the ready and -ingenious manner in which he always extricated himself from any scrapes -into which his bold and restless disposition had led him. Thus the -child in this case would appear to have been ‘father to the man,’ by -the manner in which he afterwards released his beloved country from one -of the greatest ‘scrapes’ she ever experienced. - -On leaving school Thiers studied for the law, and was eventually called -to the bar, though he never practised as a lawyer. He became instead -a local politician; and so well did the rôle suit him, that he soon -evinced a strong desire to try his fortune in Paris itself. He swayed -his auditory, when speaking, in spite of his diminutive stature, -Punch-like physiognomy, and shrill piping speech; and shout and yell -as his adversaries might, they could not drown his voice, for it arose -clear and distinct above all the hubbub around him. While the studious -youth was thus making himself a name in his native town, he was ever on -the watch for an opportunity to transfer his fortunes to the capital. -His almost penniless condition, however, precluded him from carrying -out his design without extraneous assistance of some kind or other; -but when such a stupendous ambition as that of governing one of the -greatest nations of the earth filled the breast of the Marseilles -student, it was not likely that the opportunity he was seeking would be -long in coming. - -The Academy of Aix offered a prize of a few hundred francs for a -eulogium on _Vauvenargues_, and here was the opportunity which Louis -Adolphe Thiers required. He determined to compete for the prize, -and wrote out two copies of his essay, one of which he sent to the -Academy’s Secretary, and the other he submitted to the judgment of -his friends. This latter indiscretion, however, would appear to have -been the cause of his name being mentioned to the Academicians as a -competitor; and as they had a spite against him, and disapproved of his -opinions, they decided to reject any essay which he might submit to -them. - -On the day of the competition they were as good as their word, and -Thiers received back his essay with only an ‘honourable mention’ -attached to it. The votes, however, had been equally divided, and the -principal prize could not be adjudged until the next session. The -future statesman and brilliant journalist was not, however, to be cast -aside in this contemptuous manner, and he accordingly adopted a _ruse -de guerre_, which was perfectly justifiable under the circumstances. He -sent back his first essay for the second competition with his own name -attached thereto, and at the same time transmitted another essay, by -means of a friend, through the Paris post-office. This paper was signed -‘Louis Duval;’ and as M. Thiers knew that they had resolved to reject -his essay and accept the next best on the list, he made it as near as -possible equal to the other in point of merit. - -The Academicians were thoroughly out-generalled by this clever -artifice, and the prize was awarded to the essay signed ‘Louis Duval;’ -but the chagrin of the dons when the envelope was opened and the name -of Louis Adolphe Thiers was read out, can be better imagined than -described. The prize, which amounted to about twenty pounds, was -added to another sum of forty pounds gained by his friend Mignet for -essay-writing; and with this modest amount, the two friends set out -on their journey to Paris. On their arrival there, both of them were -at once engaged as writers on the _Globe_ newspaper, and M. Thiers’ -articles soon attracted such attention that the highest political -destinies were predicted for their author. - -Alluding to the small stature of our hero, Prince Talleyrand once -said: ‘_Il est petit, mais il grandira!_’ (He is little, but he will -be great!) Meanwhile, the young adventurer, as we may call him, was -engaged on general literary work for the press, writing political -leaders one day, art-criticisms the next, and so on, until a publisher -asked him to write the _History of the French Revolution_. He accepted; -and when published, the work met with so great a success that it placed -him in the front rank of literature, and gained for him the proud title -of ‘National Historian.’ After this the two friends published the -_National_ newspaper, an undertaking which we are told was conceived -in Talleyrand’s house, and was largely subscribed to by the Duke -of Orleans, afterwards King Louis-Philippe. M. Thiers disliked the -Bourbons; and when, in 1829, Charles X. dissolved a liberal parliament, -he took the lead in agitating for the reinstating of the people’s -rights. The king having determined to reply to the re-election of the -‘221’ by a _coup d’état_, the nature of which was secretly communicated -to M. Thiers, the latter hastened to the office of the _National_ -and drew up the celebrated Protest of the Journalists, which before -noon was signed by every writer on the liberal side. As M. Thiers was -leaving the office, a servant of Prince Talleyrand placed in his hand a -note, which simply bore the words, ‘Go and gather cherries.’ This was a -hint that danger was near the young patriot, and that he should repair -to the house of one of the Prince’s friends at Montmorency--a place -famous for its cherries--and there lie hidden until the storm had blown -over. - -M. Thiers did not immediately accept the hint, but remained in the -capital during the day, to watch the course of events and endeavour to -prevent his friends from doing anything rash. He energetically sought -to dissuade those who were for resisting the king’s decree by force of -arms; but did not succeed. When the barricades were raised, he left -Paris, because he thought that the people were doing an unwise thing, -which would lead to a fearful slaughter, and perhaps result in himself -and friends being shot. - -When, however, the battle between the army and the people had really -begun, the indomitable little man returned to Paris, and heedless of -the bullets that were flying about, he ran here and there trying to -collect adherents for the Duke of Orleans. He also had a proclamation -of the Duke, as king, printed, rushed out with it, damp as it was from -the press, and distributed copies to the victorious insurgents; but -this operation nearly cost him his life, for the crowds on the Place -de la Bourse were shouting for a republic, and a cry was immediately -raised to lynch M. Thiers. He only escaped by dashing into a -pastry-cook’s shop, and taking a header down the open cellar which led -to the kitchen. - -Nothing daunted by this _contretemps_, however, he sought out M. -Scheffer, an intimate friend of the Duke of Orleans, and started off -for Neuilly with him (without consulting anybody else), to offer the -crown of France to the Duke. When they found the Duke, he despatched -M. Thiers to Prince Talleyrand to ask his advice on the subject; and -the latter, who was in bed at the time, said: ‘Let him accept;’ but -positively refused to put this advice in writing. Thus the Duke of -Orleans became King of the French under the name of Louis-Philippe, and -the Marseilles student found himself a step nearer the accomplishment -of his aim. The poor locksmith’s son had overthrown one king and -established another! - -It was M. Thiers who caused the remains of Napoleon to be removed from -the gloomy resting-place in St Helena to the church of the Invalides in -Paris, where they were re-interred amid great pomp and circumstance. -He it was who also invented or gave currency to the now well-known -constitutional maxim, ‘The king reigns, but does not govern.’ - -In this reign M. Thiers commenced his great work on the _Consulate and -the Empire_, in which he so eulogised the First Napoleon and flattered -the military fame of France, that he unwittingly paved the way for the -advent of the second Empire. - -The revolution of 1848, which led to the abdication of Louis-Philippe, -found Thiers but a simple soldier in the National Guard, and parading -the streets with a musket on his shoulder, despite his diminutive -stature. A man of his transcendent ability, however, could not be left -long in so humble a position, and we therefore find the newly elected -sovereign Louis Napoleon trying hard to win over to his side this -unique citizen. But Thiers declined the honour, and remained a thorn in -Napoleon’s side during the whole period of his reign. When the _coup -d’état_ of 1851 was struck he was one of the leading statesmen whose -arrest was ordered and carried out. The patriot was seized and forcibly -taken out of his bed at an early hour in the morning, and imprisoned at -Mazas for several days. He was then escorted out of the country, and -became an exile from the land he loved so well. - -While the excitement in Paris, which culminated in the outbreak of the -war with Germany, was at its height, and the whole nation was singing -the _Marseillaise_ and shouting ‘à Berlin,’ M. Thiers’ voice was the -only one raised to protest against France precipitating herself into an -unjust and unnecessary war. He was unheeded at the moment; but a few -weeks sufficed to prove the soundness of his reasoning; and when the -Germans were marching on Paris, it was to the locksmith’s son that the -whole nation turned in its distress. - -The Napoleonic dynasty was deposed, and at the elections for the -National Assembly which afterwards took place, M. Thiers was elected -for twenty-six Departments--a splendid national testimony to his -patriotism and ability. As soon as the Assembly met he was at once -appointed ‘Chief of the Executive Power’ of the French Republic. -Thus the poor student of the Marseilles Academy had become, almost -without any effort of his own, the governor of his country; and how he -acquitted himself of the onerous and self-sacrificing task, let the -living grief of Frenchmen for his loss at this moment proudly attest. - -Previous to this appointment, however, and while the German army was -thundering at the gates of Paris, the brave old statesman had, in -his seventy-fourth year, shewn his unalterable devotion to France by -the famous journey he made to all the European courts to endeavour -to obtain assistance. Failing in this, he came back, and being made -President, as above mentioned, he made peace with the Germans on the -best terms he could get, turned round and beat the Communists in the -streets of Paris; and within three short years he had not only paid the -heaviest war indemnity ever known, but had cleared his country of the -Germans, consolidated her resources, and reorganised her army. - -On the morning of the 4th September last, France was suddenly plunged -into the deepest grief and dismay by the announcement that her greatest -citizen had been taken from her by death on the previous evening, at a -time when the whole nation was looking to him as the one man who could -save it from the dangerous crisis through which it was at that moment -passing. - -The funeral was a magnificent one, and though a wet day, there was not -a citizen in Paris that did not join the throng, which lined the whole -of the way to the cemetery. As the body of the great patriot was borne -along every hat was raised, and many among the crowd shed tears. A riot -was expected on the occasion, but the people behaved admirably and with -great forbearance; the greatest tribute of respect which they could -have shewn to the memory of one who had done so much for his country. - -The modesty of this great citizen was in perfect accordance with his -republican principles; for while President of the French Republic, his -card never bore anything more on it than the simple ‘Monsieur Thiers;’ -nor did he wear any uniform or decoration other than that one which is -so dear to the heart and eye of every true Frenchman, ‘the Legion of -Honour.’ Surely never did a worthier breast bear that famous Cross than -that of the man who, despite every obstacle both physical and moral, -and despite evil prognostications, bitter taunts, and the crushing hand -of poverty, rose by the grand yet simple force of his own indomitable -will from the position of a labourer’s son to that of the ruler of a -mighty nation. But even greater than all this was the fact, that having -attained to this grand position, he was ready, at what he believed -to be the call of duty, to lay aside his dignity, to step from his -proud position, and once more to assume the humbler rôle of a private -citizen. Such a sublime act of self-abnegation was sufficient to assure -to him the enthusiastic love and respect of an intelligent people, -and the esteem of the whole world, which may be said to have joined -with France in weaving a chaplet of immortelles to place upon the tomb -of one whose memory will be revered by all who respect indomitable -perseverance and true nobility of character. - - - - -HELENA, LADY HARROGATE. - - -CHAPTER III.--THE LETTER. - -When Sir Sykes, left alone, addressed himself to the perusal of the -crumpled letter which he had hitherto crushed in his clenched hand, -it was with no light repugnance that he applied himself to the task. -Slowly, and with shaking fingers, he unfolded and smoothed the ruffled -paper, spread it on the table before him, and not hastily, but with a -deliberate care that was evidently painful to him, read as follows: -‘Although a stranger to you, Sir Sykes Denzil, Baronet, I am no -stranger to what took place on March 24, 18--. Should you wish this -matter to remain, as it has hitherto done, untalked of by the world, -I must request that you will meet me this evening at _The Traveller’s -Rest_, by the cross-roads. I shall wait there for you until ten o’clock -to-night, and will then name the terms on which alone you can reckon on -my future silence.--Inquire for yours respectfully, DICK HOLD, staying -at _The Traveller’s Rest_.’ - -The baronet read and re-read this letter with the patient endurance of -a sufferer under the surgeon’s knife. Nothing but his labouring breath -and the deepening of the lines around his mouth and the furrows on his -high forehead, betrayed the pain that this precious document, indited -in a large sprawling hand, occasioned him. When he had gone through -it for the second time, he rose, and filling a glass with water from -a bottle that stood on a side-table, he drank a deep draught, and -then paced to and fro with hasty irregular steps, as some men do when -suddenly called upon for earnest thought and prompt decision. - -‘I will not go!’ he said authoritatively, but in a low voice--‘I will -not go.’ - -Such a peremptory summons as that which he had received implied more -than it stated. It was couched in terms which were sufficiently civil; -but the tone was still that of command, not of entreaty or persuasion. -Most gentlemen of the degree of Sir Sykes would have treated such a -demand either as a piece of insufferable insolence or as the freak -of a madman. The baronet knew well enough what sort of reception -his neighbours, Lord Wolverhampton, Carew of Carew, or Fulford of -Carstennis, would have given to a request so impudent. He was, as they -were, a justice of the peace and deputy-lieutenant, owner of a fine -estate, one whose name was mentioned with respect wherever men did -congregate. - -The meekest of us all are apt to rebel against unwarranted dictation. -And Sir Sykes was not meek. His friends and his servants--lynx-eyed -as we are apt to be to the foibles of others--knew that he was in -his unobtrusive way a proud man. The stronger, therefore, must have -been the influence that drew him, as the magnet draws iron to itself, -towards that unsavoury house of entertainment whence his unknown -correspondent had dated his missive. The first dressing-bell clanged -out its call unheeded, and it was only when the second bell rang that -Sir Sykes recalled his wandering thoughts sufficiently to remember that -it was time for him to dress, and that whatever cares might be busy -at his heart, he must yet wear his mask decorously before the world. -Dinner on that day at Carbery Court was not a peculiarly genial meal. -The baronet had taken, with his accustomed regularity, his place at -the table; but he was pale, and looked older by some years than he had -done a few hours since. Yet he resented Lucy’s half-timid inquiry: ‘You -are not ill, papa, I hope?’ and quietly declared that he was perfectly -well. The domestic relations differ so much in varying conditions of -life, that there are parents whose every thought and deed appear to -be the common property of the home circle, and others who sanction no -trespass on the inner self, the _to auton_ of the Greeks, which each of -us carries in the recesses of his own heart. - -Sir Sykes Denzil was one of those men who, as husband and father, never -carry their confidences beyond a certain convenient limit. He was no -tyrant, and his daughters, who fondly loved him and who believed in his -love for them, looked with regret on the cloud that so often rested -on his yet handsome features. But he had known how to preserve his -jealously guarded individuality from the encroachments of affectionate -interference, so that it was but very rarely that his actions were -the theme of open comment. Blanche and Lucy, therefore, though with -feminine nicety of observation they noted that their father could not -eat, but that he emptied his glass again and again, said nothing; -while Jasper, as he watched Sir Sykes with a stealthy inquisitiveness, -made the mental reflection that ‘the governor must be hard hit, very -hard indeed;’ and secretly determined to turn the occasion to his own -peculiar profit. - -‘Jasper!’ said Lucy anxiously, some time after the dinner had come to -an end; ‘what is the matter with papa? Do you know if he is really -unwell, or if anything has gone wrong? I waited here for you, in case -you might know what is amiss.’ - -Jasper, who had been intercepted as he was leaving the house for his -customary twilight stroll, with a cigar between his lips, turned lazily -round. ‘How can I tell, Lucy?’ he returned indifferently. ‘I’m not the -keeper of my father’s conscience, as the Lord Chancellor, by a polite -fiction, is supposed to be of the king’s.’ - -‘I only meant, has anything occurred, to your knowledge,’ pleaded Miss -Denzil, ‘calculated to annoy or distress him? Anything, for instance, -about you?’ - -‘How about me!’ demanded Jasper with a slight start and a slight frown. - -‘Don’t be angry, brother; I only meant, dear, about your--debts,’ -answered the girl, laying her hand on Jasper’s arm. - -‘Has he been talking to you on that delightful subject?’ retorted the -brother, almost roughly. ‘No; I see that he has not; at least not very -lately. One would think, to hear that eternal refrain of debts, debts, -debts for ever jangling in my ears, that I was the first fellow who -ever overran the constable. Surely I’m punished enough, if I _did_ -owe a trifle, by being caged up in this wearisome old Bastille of a -house, and---- There, there; Lucy, don’t cry. I’ll not say a word more -against Carbery, and you may set your mind at rest. If the governor has -anything to vex him, be assured that it is not in the least connected -with so insignificant a person as myself.’ And, as though weary of the -subject, he sauntered off. - -It was Sir Sykes’s habit on most evenings to spend a short time, half -an hour or so, in the drawing-room. He liked music; and Blanche, his -younger daughter, who had been gifted with the sweet voice and delicate -sense of harmony which are often found in conjunction with frail -health, knew the airs and the songs that best suited him. He never, -under any circumstances, remained long in company with his daughters, -being one of those men to whom the society of women is in itself -uncongenial; but on this particular evening he went straight from the -dining-room to the library, and sipped his coffee there, while the -twilight deepened into the gloom of night. - -The day had been fine enough, but the sun had sunk in a cloud-bank of -black and orange, and there were not wanting signs that a change of -weather was at hand. The wind had risen, and the clouds gathered as -the sun went down, and it seemed as though the proverbial fickleness -of our climate would soon be illustrated. But Sir Sykes, as he went -forth shortly after the clock on the turret had struck nine, paid no -heed to the weather, save that once or twice he glanced upwards with -a sort of half-conscious satisfaction at the darkling sky. The night, -with its friendly shadows and its threats of a coming storm, suited far -better with his purpose than cloudless azure and bright moonlight would -have done. The moon, not as yet long risen, was young and wan, and her -feeble lustre fell but at rare intervals through the wrack of hurrying -clouds. The larches in the plantations quivered and the aspens by the -trout-stream trembled as the gusts of wailing wind went by; while the -giant trees in the park, each one a citadel of refuge to squirrel and -song-bird, sent down a rustling sound, as though every one out of their -million leaves had found a tiny voice of its own to give warning of -the approaching gale. Sir Sykes skirted the lawn, passed through the -shrubbery, and struck into a path seldom trodden except by the feet of -his keepers, which led northwards through the park. - -There is something ignominious in the very fact that the master of -any dwelling, howsoever humble, should steal away from it with as -earnest a desire to elude observation as though he had been a robber -of hen-roosts or a purloiner of spoons. And perhaps such a proceeding -appeared still more so in the case of the owner of so stately a place -as Carbery. Sir Sykes felt as he glided, unseen as he hoped, past -paling and thicket, at once angry and ashamed. So repugnant to him was -the errand on which his mind was bent, that on reaching a private door -in the northern wall of the park he came to a halt, and held as it were -parley with himself before proceeding on the quest of the writer of the -letter. - -‘I do not know this fellow,’ he muttered wrathfully: ‘the man’s very -name is strange to me. But the twenty-fourth of March--_that_ can be no -mistake, no coincidence. That fatal date has burned itself too deeply -into my brain for me to disregard or to forget it. Yes, I must go; I -suppose that I must go.’ - -And with a heavy sigh, the master of that fair demesne and of many a -broad acre beyond it felt in his pocket for the key that would open -the postern before which he stood, unlocked the door, went out, and -reclosed and fastened it behind him. Then, without further hesitation, -he entered into a lane, the straggling branches of the hazels that -grew on the high banks to left and right almost brushing against his -person as he walked briskly on. So long as he had been within the -limits of Carbery Chase, Sir Sykes had done his best to escape notice, -keeping as often as he could tree and bush and rising ground between -himself and the grand house of which he was absolute proprietor. But -now he ceased to turn his head and look or listen for any sign that he -was followed, and pushed on, assured that his clandestine exit from -Carbery was unknown to any but himself. Sir Sykes, however, was very -much mistaken. He was dogged by the very pursuer whom, perhaps, of all -others he would have wished to keep in ignorance as to his conduct. -Jasper, whose feline vigilance, once awakened, could not readily be -lulled to sleep, had kept watch upon his father’s actions with a quiet -patient steadiness which nothing but vengeance or the greed of gain -could possibly have inspired. There is a certain sympathy, especially -with crooked motives, which enables us to anticipate the stratagems of -those with whom we have intercourse, and of this Jasper had his full -share. - -He was scarcely surprised when from his place of espial he saw his -father quit the house and thread his way through the grounds after such -a fashion as made it manifest that the baronet desired his excursion -to remain a secret to those beneath his roof. That something abnormal -should happen as a consequence of the letter which Sir Sykes had -received, and the reading of which had so powerfully affected its -recipient, the captain had considered as so probable, that he thought -it worth his while to lie in wait for the surprisal of the secret. Of -two probable hypotheses, Jasper, whose imagination was of a chastened -and practical order, had chosen rather to fancy that some stranger -would arrive, than that the baronet should himself go forth to meet -that stranger. But when he saw his father’s tall figure vanish amidst -the shadows of the dense evergreens and leafy lime-trees, he was not in -the least astonished. - -‘When it was a question of nobbling the _Black Prince_,’ he said -meditatively, ‘I wouldn’t trust myself, nor would Gentleman Pratt, to -talking it over anywhere but on Bletchley Downs with the vagabonds -who hocussed the horse, and who would for a fiver have sold their own -fathers.’ - -Some recollection that he, Jasper Denzil, late a captain in Her -Majesty’s service, was at that moment engaged, so far as in him lay, -in the questionable operation of ‘selling’ his own father, here -caused a twinge to his callous heart. But we are seldom without some -moral anodyne wherewith to lull to sleep that troublesome monitor, -conscience; and Jasper had but need to remember his debts, his -difficulties, and the fact that men at his club spoke of him as ‘Poor -Denzil--played out, sir!’ to assuage the momentary pang which some as -yet smouldering sense of honour occasioned to him. - -The skill with which he followed Sir Sykes, keeping the object of his -pursuit fully in view, yet never for an instant compromising himself -by coming into the range of vision, should the baronet, as he often -did, turn his head, would have done credit to a Comanche Indian on the -war-path. It was by a subtle instinct, not by practice, that he availed -himself of the shelter of tree and brake and hollow, until at length, -himself unobserved, he made sure that Sir Sykes was heading towards the -private door in the northern wall of the park. There was a side-gate -kept continually unlocked on account of the right of way, some six -hundred yards to the eastward, and from this the captain could issue -without difficulty. As for the private door, Sir Sykes had a key to fit -its lock; Jasper had none. The latter’s mind was instantly made up. - -Idle sybarite though he was, the captain was fleet of foot, an -accomplishment perhaps more common among languid men about town than -healthy hardy dwellers in the country would readily imagine. He had -made money once and again by the lightness of his heels, and they did -him good service now, as, after a rapid rush across the elastic turf of -the park and a quick traversing of the heathery surface of the rugged -common-land beyond, he caught a glimpse of his father’s stately figure -as it passed in between the tall hedges of the lane. - -‘It’s lucky I can run a bit!’ gasped out Jasper as he paused for an -instant to take breath, and then passing his cambric handkerchief -across his brow, on which the heat-drops stood thickly, plunged into -the dark lane between the steep banks of which the object of his -pursuit had disappeared. And now his task was the easier, in that Sir -Sykes, intent on what lay before him, and confident that his manner of -leaving his home was unknown, never once turned his head to look back. - -A ghastly sight it was--had human eye been there to note it--which the -wan moon shewed, when at uncertain intervals her white light fell on -the pale faces of these two men, father and son, so much and so little -alike, who were wending their way thus along the deep Devonshire lane. -In front was Sir Sykes, moody indeed and downcast, but a gentleman -of a goodly presence; while behind him came with feline footfall his -only son, as craftily eager in the chase as even a garrotter, our -British Thug, could have been. Once beyond the lane, the baronet and -his kindred spy had to traverse a tract of ragged and desolate common, -where the horse-road dwindled to a track of cart-wheels in the peaty -soil, and where Jasper felt that concealment would have been difficult, -had the baronet but looked behind him. - -But the rain, long threatened, came on, urged by the strength of the -sobbing wind, and Captain Denzil congratulated himself on the friendly -darkness that ensued. Nor was it long before Sir Sykes caught sight of -the dead tree, on a knotted bough of which was the signboard of _The -Traveller’s Rest_, the dilapidated roof and battered front of which -could dimly be seen through the gloom of night. - -‘After all, why not?’ ejaculated Jasper, as he saw his father, after a -moment’s hesitation, disappear within the ruinous porch of the roadside -public-house. - - -CHAPTER IV.--AT THE TRAVELLER’S REST. - -‘Person of the name of Hold? I should think so, rather. Want to see -him, do you? Turn to your right, then; get up them stone steps, and -just keep straight till you’re past the water-butt, and you’ll twig the -tap-room door.’ - -It was a sharp-eyed sharp-tongued boy who spoke, a boy in a tattered -jacket that had once been blue, and had once been garnished with brass -anchor buttons; but who retained his Cockney accent and his air of -brisk effrontery, like that of a London sparrow. - -‘Can’t you make out Her Majesty’s English, Mr Stiffback?’ said this -impudent servitor of _The Traveller’s Rest_, seeing that Sir Sykes -hesitated. - -‘You keep a civil tongue, Deputy,’ broke in a deeper voice from within -the darkling passage. ‘This, I suppose, is the gentleman who received a -letter from a party called Hold? Very good. This way, sir, please; and -mind you don’t hurt your head against the beam, for the ceiling’s low -and light’s scarce. So. Here we are; and this is the tap-room, and my -name is Hold. At this end of the room we’ll be quietest.’ - -And the baronet passively permitted himself to be led up some stone -steps and down some brick steps, and finally into a long low room, -at one end of which, although the weather was warm and the season -summer, there glowed and crackled a large fire of mingled peat and -wood, around which were clustered seven or eight persons male and -female, two of whom were smoking short discoloured pipes, while the -others were conversing in hoarse tones, or sniffing, with somewhat of a -wolfish expression of countenance, the savoury fumes that arose from a -frying-pan which a gaunt man in frowsy black was carefully holding over -the hottest part of the fire. - -There was a low wooden screen or partition, about breast-high, which -stretched across some three-fourths of this delectable apartment, which -was rudely furnished with some wooden settles and rush-bottomed chairs, -and a couple of greasy tables, vamped and clamped with sheet-iron to -repair the injury which excitable customers had done to the woodwork. - -‘My name, Sir Sykes, is Hold,’ said the owner of the name, when the -baronet had taken his seat on one of the mean-looking chairs, and -his singular correspondent had placed himself on one of the benches -opposite. - -‘I never heard it before, nor, to the best of my recollection, have we -ever met,’ said Sir Sykes dryly. - -‘Ah, yes, but we have met, Sir Sykes Denzil, Baronet,’ returned Hold, -with a twinkle of satisfaction in his bold black eyes; ‘not that it’s -any wonder you do not remember so humble a chap as yours truly. I have -the advantage of you.’ - -These last words were uttered with a malicious emphasis which caused -Sir Sykes to look again and keenly in the man’s face, while cudgelling -his memory, though in vain, to find some guiding clue. He saw a -hard, fierce, swarthy countenance, dark hair partly grizzled, and a -powerfully built frame, such as matched well with the face. Had Sir -Sykes on the Bench been consulted by his brother magistrates as to -the number of calendar months of imprisonment with hard labour to be -allotted to such a one as Hold, he would have said at once: ‘Give him -the heaviest sentence warranted by law, for, unless Lavater’s science -be false, there could scarcely exist a more dangerous scoundrel.’ - -Sir Sykes, however, was not on the bench, nor Hold in the dock at -quarter-sessions. So he merely replied with a steady look: ‘No, Mr -Hold, or whatever your name may be. To the best of my belief, I never -in my life saw you.’ - -‘Very good,’ quietly returned the man, taking out a black pocket-book -much frayed and battered, and rustling over the dog’s-eared leaves. -‘Let me see; yes, March the twenty-fourth is the first important date.’ - -‘And may I ask,’ interposed Sir Sykes, with somewhat of the cold -haughtiness which had stood him in good stead in many a moral duel, -‘what is the meaning of these perpetual references to a specified day -in March?’ - -Hold’s low inward laugh was one of sincere enjoyment. ‘It’s not only -at cards, Sir Sykes,’ he said with a chuckle, ‘that the game of brag -can be played. But come, it’s of no use, Sir Sykes Denzil, Baronet. My -hand’s too strong--chokeful of court-cards, kings, queens, knaves, and -aces--to give you a chance. I have entries here’--slapping the black -pocket-book--‘for more days than one. Take one of ’em at random. You -have cause to remember the ninth of April in the same year, Sir Sykes. -So have I.’ And with a nod and a wink, Hold slid back the book into an -inner pocket of his rough coat. - -The baronet’s blanched face and anxious eye betrayed how deeply he was -agitated by what he had heard. - -‘What do you want of me?’ he asked abruptly, but in a tremulous voice. - -‘Hark ye, shipmate!’ rejoined the other, leaning his head on his hand, -while his elbow rested on the stained and chipped table beside him; -‘all in good time. Business is business, and is not to be disposed of -in that sort of hop, skip, and jump way. Take another look at me, if -you like; and since you can’t tell who I am, say _what_ I am.’ - -‘I should say,’ answered Sir Sykes, gazing with undisguised repugnance -at the outward man of his dubious acquaintance, ‘that you have been a -sailor.’ - -‘No great wit wanted, I reckon,’ retorted Hold roughly, ‘to make -out that much. The very mermaid on my arm here, and the crown and -the anchor,’ he continued, baring his brawny wrist so as to exhibit -the blue tattoo marks which it bore, ‘would tell you that. But I’ve -followed more trades than one; tried them all in turn, sir. How does -that idle string of words that schoolboys say, come off the tongue? Ay, -I have it--Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor. Why, I’ve been everything -on the urchin’s roll-call except thief; I never was quite that--or -gentleman, which is a cut above me.’ - -‘You have seen the world evidently,’ said Sir Sykes in a bland tone; -‘but you must remember, Mr Hold, that you have not as yet explained to -me with sufficient clearness the nature of your business with me.’ - -‘Labour lost, if I did,’ rejoined Hold with a cynical smile. ‘A secret -is best of course when it belongs to one only. Two may get some good -out of it; but once it’s common property, the goose that laid the -golden eggs is picked bare to the last bone. Do you see,’ he added, -dropping his voice, ‘our good friends yonder, and do you suppose -that such as they are not all ears, as it were, to snap up any odds -and ends of our talk? He with the frying-pan is as knowing a hand as -any in England--a begging-letter writer, as the newspaper paragraphs -call it. And the others, well! the others are all on the lay more or -less, to scratch up a living by their wits. It’s only the cream of -the cadging profession that can afford to patronise the _Rest_. It’s -quite a genteel hotel of its class, I assure you. But now you know why -I don’t speak out. Better deal with me singly, than with all these -blood-suckers, I should say. And so, as we understand each other, we -need not enlighten others.’ - -‘Is there no more private place?’ the baronet began. - -But Hold broke curtly in: ‘None, Sir Sykes, in a crib like this. -Up-stairs, we’d double the risk of being overheard. Walls have ears, -you know. Now here, where we can see into the garden from this open -window at my elbow, we’re pretty safe.--Deputy!’ (this was addressed to -the sharp boy in the ragged jacket) ‘two glasses of rum, d’ye hear?’ - -Sir Sykes had had time to think, and it was in a firm tone that he now -spoke. - -‘Now, Mr Hold,’ he said, ‘I am a man of the world, and as such will not -affect indignation or astonishment in the fact that you wish to bargain -with me, for your own advantage, as to certain painful events of my -earlier life. Name your terms, but be moderate. The law, as you are -aware, is not very indulgent towards those who extort money by means of -threats or calumnies.’ - -Hold’s face, hitherto good-humoured, wore an ugly scowl. ‘Drop that -style of argument, if you’re wise, baronet,’ he said resolutely. ‘Dick -Hold is not often backward, when folks will fire shotted guns instead -of harmless blank cartridge. Come, come, commodore; if you dared to -indict me, you’d hardly be here. Try that game, if you choose. It only -serves the turn of those who can come into court with clean hands. -Yours mayhap would shew a stain or so.--Here is Deputy with the rum. -Let us drink, sir, to our better acquaintance, and be friends.’ - -Sir Sykes, however, pushed back the glass which Hold proffered him. -Sunk in his own estimation though he might be, he could not stoop to -pledge a ruffian of the stamp of this one. - -‘Your very good health, Sir Sykes Denzil, Baronet,’ said Hold -unconcernedly, as he tossed off his liquor. ‘We wear well, both of us; -though many a year has gone over our heads since that ninth of April -that you know of.’ - -‘Were you at Sandston, then, on that day?’ asked the baronet, thrown -off his guard, and a slight quivering of Hold’s eyelid told that a -point had been scored against his incautious opponent. - -‘Not so. At Tunbridge Wells rather,’ returned Hold slowly. ‘I remember -seeing the funeral--that of the poor little girl of yours who died, Sir -Sykes.’ - -Sir Sykes grew almost as white as he had done when first he began the -reading of the letter which had drawn him to such a rendezvous. - -‘You will oblige me, sir,’ he said in a voice that he vainly tried to -render firm and calm, ‘by being silent in future as to--as to’---- - -‘So that we understand one another, I agree to anything,’ was Hold’s -half-sullen rejoinder. - -‘And now to come to terms. You want money, no doubt?’ said Sir Sykes -more composedly. - -‘All people, to the best of my belief, want money,’ replied Hold with -a grin. ‘I am no cormorant, no shearer and skinner of such as come -under my handling. Just now, Sir Sykes, I will only ask you for five -hundred--a fleabite!’ - -The demand, considering the baronet’s rank and means, was unexpectedly -moderate. Sir Sykes in turn produced his pocket-book. ‘Few men,’ he -said, ‘keep such a sum in ready cash. But it so happens’--laying down -a roll of bank-notes upon the squalid table--‘that I have money, two -hundred and thirty pounds, with me; and here’--pencilling a few words -on a leaf which he tore out of the book--‘is my written promise for two -seventy. I will send you a cheque to-morrow.’ - -‘Nothing,’ observed Hold, ‘could be more satisfactory. Don’t send a -groom; grooms chatter; the post is safer. You won’t drink the rum, Sir -Sykes? I will.’ And he swallowed the alcohol at a gulp, and then swept -notes and paper into his pocket. ‘One thing more, Sir Sykes. I did not -come here for hush-money and nothing else. I want you to take into your -house and as a member of your family a person--of my recommending, Sir -Sykes.’ - -‘I fail to comprehend you, Mr Hold,’ said the baronet stiffly. - -The other laughed. ‘Her name,’ he said, ‘is Ruth.’ - -‘Ruth!’ exclaimed Sir Sykes, starting from his seat, and speaking so -unguardedly that the unwashed crew at the firelit end of the room -turned to peer at him. - -‘Yes, Ruth. Don’t you like the name?’ asked the fellow coarsely. ‘My -sister, Ruth Hold.’ - -‘Ruth--your sister--yours--at Carbery?’ gasped out the bewildered -baronet. - -‘You need not be afraid,’ was the rough reply: ‘she won’t disgrace your -fine house or your dainty ways. I doubt if your misses at home are more -thoroughly the lady than Ruth Hold--my--sister.’ - -‘You must see, your own good sense must shew you,’ stammered out Sir -Sykes, looking the picture of abject terror, as the smoky glare of the -lamp fell on his pale face, ‘that even were I willing to consent to so -extraordinary---- In short it cannot be.’ - -‘Sorry for you, then!’ returned Hold with a shrug; ‘for on your -acceptance of these terms alone is my silence to be bought. Come, -come, shipmate! hear reason. Ruth shall bear any surname you like, and -it can’t be hard to account for her coming to Carbery. You knew her -father--an old friend--military--died in India--left you her guardian, -Ruth’s guardian; eh, Sir Sykes?’ - -‘I--I will take time to think of it,’ said the baronet confusedly. ‘You -shall hear from me to-morrow. And now, I had better go.’ - -And he rose. Hold re-conducted him, civilly enough, as far as the outer -door, and watched him depart through the howling wind and driving -rain towards Carbery. But what neither Hold nor Sir Sykes could have -conjectured was that Jasper Denzil, hidden in a crazy arbour among the -sunflowers and pot-herbs of the inn garden, hard by the open window, -had during the greater portion of the interview played the part of an -unsuspected eavesdropper, and was now on his way by another route to -Carbery Chase. - - - - -ANALOGIES OF ANIMAL AND PLANT LIFE. - - -The boundary-line between the lowest forms of animal and vegetable -life is of a most indefinite character. Nature would seem to have -been guilty of many inconsistencies in her arrangement of these -organisms; for a being which at one period of its existence exhibits -the common characteristics of a plant, may at another period possess -the attributes of an animal. Such an organism is found in the form of a -fungus which grows on the surface of tan-pits. Under slightly altered -conditions it becomes a locomotive creature capable of feeding upon -solid matter. Naturalists have therefore always felt a difficulty in -deciding which of these doubtful organisms should be classed with the -one kingdom and which with the other. Indeed it has been seriously -proposed to form a separate class for their reception, a kind of -‘no-man’s land’ to which they might by general consent be relegated. - -It would at first appear that a sufficient distinction would be made -if such organisms as possess the power of spontaneous movement were at -once called animals. But this classification would prove to be most -erroneous, for many plants possess the power of movement in a very -high degree. The swarm-spores of such algæ as seaweeds, for instance, -swim actively about by means of minute filaments or _cilia_. They -were on this account long supposed to be animalcules, and it was not -until they were found to ultimately develop into the plants from which -they sprung, that their real place in nature was determined. These -swarm-spores, common enough in the sea and in pools and ditches all the -world over, are particles of matter which detach themselves from their -parent cells, and after a longer or shorter time of activity, come to -rest and form new algæ. They are provided with two or more vibratile -cilia--minute processes which we more fully alluded to in a recent -paper on ‘Bell Animalcules.’ - -The suggestion that animals should be distinguished by their motor -powers is also fallacious, for the reason that many animals do not -possess this power. Sponges, for instance, are organised bodies which -remain stationary attached to rocks. But their system of pores and -vents, through which a constant circulation is maintained, and by means -of which they are supplied with particles of solid matter as food, most -certainly entitle them to be ranked as animals. - -The similarity between the lowest organisms of the two kingdoms does -not seem so extraordinary after all, when by the help of the microscope -we examine their structural details. In both we find a similar -semi-fluid matter called protoplasm, which has been defined as ‘the -physical basis of life.’ In the cellular tissues of many plants this -fluid may, with a sufficiently high magnifying power, be seen in a -state of ceaseless activity. It is composed of four elements, namely -carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. An analogous substance is -found in white of egg, and protoplasm itself is one of the constituents -of blood. Many of our readers will know that the colour of blood is due -to innumerable red bodies called corpuscles, so minute, that myriads -will be contained in one drop of the vital fluid. But there are also -other corpuscles quite devoid of colour. These are minute particles -of protoplasm, and like the same matter in plants, they exhibit -peculiar phenomena of motion, allied to those seen in the _Amœba_ -or ‘Proteus-animalcule.’ We may therefore conclude that the vital -principle in both animals and plants is the same, and that the tissues -of both are built up of this protoplasm; the point of difference being -that, whereas animals obtain it ready-made from plants, the latter are -the manufacturers of it from mineral or inorganic sources. - -There are of course, besides the mere chemical constituents of -protoplasm, other conditions necessary to vitality. A certain range -of temperature would seem to be the most important, if we except -perhaps the presence of water, without which life can hardly exist. -But even here a curious exception is presented to us in the Rotifera -or wheel-animalcules--formerly alluded to in this _Journal_ in an -article on ‘Suspended Animation’--which may be kept in a state of dried -dust for many years, and which, on the addition of a drop of water, -will resume their original vigour and rapid movement. The so-called -mummy-wheat which is said to germinate after a burial of some thousands -of years, is an instance of this retention of the life-principle in -plants. Light as well as heat also plays an important part in the -mystery of vitality, although it is a curious but well-authenticated -fact that the mere growth of plants is most rapid in darkness. We may -see an instance of this in the stems of a growing plant which is placed -near a window. They will all be bent towards the glass. Hence it is a -common saying that they are attracted by the light. But the real reason -for this bent form is, that their darker side grows more rapidly than -the rest of the plant, forcing it to assume a curved form. - -It is in the nature of their food that plants and animals shew the most -marked points of difference. We may state as a broad rule that all -living things have the power of taking in foreign matter, wherewith to -supply and replenish their various parts. This process, in which the -many units which make up the structure are constantly dying away and -being reproduced, constitutes what we call growth. In carrying out this -function, animals convert organic into inorganic matter, whilst plants -do precisely the reverse. They may both be described as digesting -their food--if we accept as a definition of the term digestion, that -process by which insoluble food is reduced to a soluble form fitted for -absorption. In the animal this process is performed by means of glands -or their analogues in lower animals, which open upon the internal -surface of the stomach, and which secrete an acid fluid called the -gastric juice. This fluid contains pepsine--a dried preparation of -which, obtained from the stomach of the pig, forms a valuable remedy in -the treatment of indigestion. Its power of dissolving organic matter -is so subtle, that even after death it may act upon the stomach -itself, as well as upon any of the other organs with which it may -come in contact. The problem as to why the stomach is during life -preserved from destruction by its own secretion, was long a puzzle to -physiologists; but it has been decided according to one opinion, that -the alkalinity of the blood, which constantly circulates through the -tissues, protects them from injury by its neutralising influence. - -In plants the function of digestion is the same in principle, although -the absence of a mouth and special digestive organs renders it -different in detail. Plants require inorganic matters for support. -Potatoes and turnips will, for instance, withdraw immense quantities of -alkaline matter from the soil. Beans and peas will rob the ground in -like manner of its lime, while the various kinds of grasses will choose -silica for their nourishment. It is this selective property of plants -which renders necessary the rotation of crops. A succession of alkaline -plants would in time render the ground quite unproductive of vegetation -of that kind; but if a proper rotation of crops be observed--the soil, -whilst giving up one of its constituents, is gradually regaining those -which it has previously lost. A consideration of these conditions of -agriculture forms the very groundwork of scientific farming. - -Exceptions to the rule that plants consume inorganic matter are -furnished by certain fungi and also by the insectivorous plants. One -of these latter, the _Dionæa muscipula_, or Venus’s flytrap, we fully -described some months ago; but the subject is so replete with interest -that we shall not hesitate to recur to it and to refer to some of the -other members of the same family. - -Without reproducing our description of the _Dionæa_, we may assist -our readers’ memory by shortly stating that the leaf of the plant is -formed of two lobes joined by a midrib, and that each half of the leaf -is furnished with three sensitive hairs. On a fly or other insect -settling on the leaf and so irritating these hairs, the two lobes -gradually close and imprison the intruder. The most remarkable property -of the plant is that it not only kills insects in this way, but that -it actually _digests_ them in a manner exceedingly similar to that by -which animals are nourished; for after the prey is secured, a liquid -secreted in the upper part of the leaf is exuded, and this liquid is -analogous with that furnished in the case of animals by the glands of -the digestive mucous membrane. The closeness of the analogy will be -better understood by referring to an experiment which was made with a -view to testing the solvent powers of this secretion. A slice chipped -from a dog’s tooth was placed between the lobes of a _Dionæa_ leaf. -After some days the lobes were separated, and the piece of tooth was -found to be in such a soft fibrous condition that it was torn to shreds -by the slight force employed in removing it. This energetic power of -the secretion will remind the reader of what we have already said -regarding the action of the gastric juice upon the animal tissues after -death. Another curious point of similarity between the two fluids is -observed in the fact that in both cases the secretion is stimulated by -the presence of food. - -It seems almost incredible to think how such a peculiarity in a plant -should have, until very recent years, remained in obscurity. It is -true that more than a century ago an English naturalist described -it, and submitted his observations to Linnæus. But since that time -the matter had aroused very little interest, until some few years ago -when Darwin published his wonderful book on Insectivorous Plants. -This want of attention is evidently due to the fact that Linnæus -himself merely looked upon the plant as one, like the sensitive plant, -having an excitable structure. He regarded the imprisoned insects as -merely an accidental occurrence, stating it as his opinion that they -were probably released when the leaf re-opened. The matter was thus -quietly set at rest by a great authority, and no more was heard of the -_Dionæa_ until an able naturalist of North Carolina, where the plant is -indigenous, again called attention to it. - -Another plant belonging to this group has several peculiarities which -are worthy of notice. We allude to the _Sarracenia_, which is found -in the eastern states of North America. This plant grows in bogs and -similar moist neighbourhoods. The leaf consists of a trumpet-shaped -tube half covered with an arched lid. This tube exhibits a smooth -and slippery surface for some distance down its interior; but lower -still it is studded with bristles, its lowest depths being filled with -a fluid of intoxicating properties. Round the mouth of the pitcher -thus formed exude drops of a sweet viscid fluid. The _Nepenthes_ -form another branch of the family of Pitcher-plants, including many -different species. Indigenous to the Asiatic Archipelago, their -appearance is that of a half-shrubby climbing plant, the leaf of which -terminates in a long stem, to which is attached a hanging pitcher. -These pitchers vary in length from an inch to a foot, or even more; -indeed some are large enough to entrap a bird or small quadruped. Their -structure is not so complicated as those of the _Sarracenia_, although -in other respects they greatly resemble them; while in both cases the -digestive functions are closely allied with those of the _Dionæa_. But -the most seductive of all these traps for unwary insects is certainly -the _Darlingtonia_. Its victim is first of all attracted by the bright -colour of its petals, and after it has settled upon the plant, and -helped to fertilise it by the movement of its body against the pollen, -it slips into a treacherous pitcher, to be first intoxicated, and then -totally annihilated. Surely there will be no difficulty in finding an -analogy here to certain social institutions belonging to the higher -order of animals! - -The electrical phenomena common to both plants and animals must next -claim our attention. The celebrated Galvani was the first to direct -attention to the existence of an electrical current in the muscle -of a frog’s leg. Volta disputed this, and insisted that the current -produced by Galvani was due to certain metallic connections which he -employed, and not to any inherent electricity in the muscle itself. -Since Galvani’s time, however, numerous investigators have followed up -his researches; and it is now an accepted fact that every exertion of -muscular force is accompanied by a current analogous to electricity, -the strength of which is in exact proportion to the mechanical power -called into play. It is a curious fact that this peculiar force remains -in the muscle for a certain time after death, but it is totally lost -so soon as rigidity sets in, and no earthly power can recall it. It -may therefore be considered as essentially a vital phenomenon. It is -moreover greater in mammals than in birds, and is least noticeable in -reptiles and fishes. But we must not omit to mention that among the -latter are found several which have a powerful electric battery as -their chief defensive power. The Mediterranean torpedo--one of the Ray -or Skate family of fishes--after which our most modern engines of war -are named, is the chief of these. - -Although it has long been known that currents of electricity existed -in plants, such currents were attributed to chemical reaction between -the external moisture and the internal juices of the plants themselves, -and also to atmospheric disturbance. They have therefore hitherto -borne very little analogy to the muscular electricity of animals. But -very recently the subject has received great attention; in fact the -electrical disturbance consequent on the excitation of the leaf of our -old acquaintance the _Dionæa_, formed part of the subject of a paper -lately read before the Royal Society. The authors of this contribution -to our knowledge of a very obscure subject, proved by numerous delicate -experiments that the current which accompanied the closure of the leaf -in question was in every respect similar to that obtained from the -muscles of animals. - - - - -THE BELL-RINGER. - -IN FOUR CHAPTERS. - - -CHAPTER IV.--THE ANTHEM OF THE BELLS. - -It was a solemn gathering when two hours later, the physician entered -Bertram’s room in company with Squire Peregrine, Colonel Lindsay, and -Gertrude. The change in the Squire was marvellous; his sternness had -left him; he followed his daughter and his old friend; he hung upon -every word which fell from the lips of the man of science; and during -the time when the doctors were alone with their patient and Nathan, -he paced his room in a state nearly bordering on mental distraction. -Meeting the doctors as they at length emerged from the sick-room, he -grasped them by the arm. ‘Will he live? will he live?’ he reiterated -wildly. ‘Tell me the truth. My son, my son!’ - -In vain they urged him to be calm; his reasoning powers seemed to have -deserted him. - -‘He must not die; he shall not die!’ he repeated; until Colonel -Lindsay, laying his hand upon his shoulder, whispered: ‘There is hope. -Do not despair. My old friend, remember how much yet remains to be -done for him. The active cause of mischief is at last removed.’ He -produced a small piece of the blade of a knife, at the sight of which -the Squire shuddered. ‘Humanly speaking, you owe his life twice over to -Nathan Boltz. As to the perpetrator of the outrage, he will be dealt -with according to his deserts; at present, we have no clue to his -whereabouts.’ - -This speech of the Colonel’s was intended to answer two purposes--to -give the Squire time to recover himself, and to arrest any remarks -which might fall from the medical men, who were to remain all night -at the Hall. It had the desired effect; they saw that private family -affairs were connected with this murderous attack and remained silent, -only insisting that Nathan (whom Bertram had faintly recognised) should -remain with him. The Squire sent for him, and in the presence of all -his family, grasped him by the hand and begged him to stay. How he -overcame all his scruples, how he placed himself in the position of -a debtor, was made plain to all who heard him; and Gertrude felt her -heart throb almost to pain as she sat by listening to the words of her -father, the proudest of the Peregrine race. - -Therefore it was that Nathan took his place in the sick-room, -surrounded by every luxury which appertains to wealth. It was a -strange position; but he entered upon it with his usual large-hearted -earnestness, believing he was fulfilling his promise to the mother of -the sick man. - -In the meantime, Patricia was undergoing a torment of fear and -suspense. A week had elapsed, Oliver had not returned, and no inquiry -had as yet been made concerning him. She dared not question any one, -and though many an eye was bent upon her in a half-pitying manner, -she would not for worlds betray her wretchedness. She asked not to be -confirmed in her miserable doubts and horrible fears, for she felt -certain her lover was somehow concerned in her brother’s illness. Yet -why this change in her father? She could not understand; and pondering -day by day, became pale and ill, restless and depressed. - -Christmas-day came and went much in the same way as other days. There -were no decorations in the church, and no sound of the sweet loud bells -of Linden Tower, for Bertram lay hovering between life and death, and -all bell-ringing was suspended on his account. Another week passed on; -wearily dragged the hours; when at the close of a dark day of rain and -wind, a messenger arrived with a note for Patricia, which caused her -heart to throb and her pulse to rebound with agonising pain. The writer -of the dirty ill-spelt letter begged her to go at once to a farm-house -ten miles distant, where Oliver Peregrine lay dying. Now Patricia knew -she must put away her mask for ever. With eager haste she ran with the -summons to her father, and the utter wretchedness in her face made him -full of pity for her. - -‘Jenkyns shall bring the carriage for you, my darling, immediately. -I know the spot; close to the stone quarries--a dangerous place. Be -brave, Patricia. But you must not go alone; Colonel Lindsay will -accompany you.’ - -She made no reply; her white lips moved, but no sound came forth. -After a vain attempt to speak, she left the room, and shortly after -was handed by Colonel Lindsay into the carriage. Their drive was -accomplished in silence. Patricia’s agonising suspense was too great -for speech; and her gallant companion felt too much to attempt -commonplaces. - -When they arrived at the farm, Patricia descended from the carriage, -and entered the house alone. In an inner room a woman was busy making -a clearance of such articles as she could stuff away in corners and -behind chairs, while a faint moaning told that the unhappy man occupied -the apartment. - -‘I found the gentleman lying at the bottom of a quarry,’ said the man -who lived on the farm. ‘It’s a fortnight back, sir, that going round -the place as late as ten o’clock, I heard as it were close to me some -one groaning as if in dreadful pain. It was some time before I could -find out where the noise came from. At last my wife and me together -got down to the bottom of the quarry, and managed between us to drag -him to the top. He was wonderful bad, but refused to tell his name or -let a doctor be fetched, and only let my boy run with the note because -he felt he was dying. We have done what we could, sir; but you see we -don’t know many folks about here, or we might have helped him more.’ - -Patricia listened intently as the man gave these particulars, and made -her way alone to the side of her cousin. He lay upon a bed placed -hastily on the floor, his face worn to a shadow with intense suffering -of mind and body. As Patricia gazed upon the helpless sufferer, all her -love for the man burst forth; she knelt down, covered her face with her -hands, and wept piteously. - -The woman who stood by, with true woman’s instinct, guessed the nature -of her sorrow, and said gently: ‘You see, miss, the gentleman would -not say who he were, or we should ha’ sent before. I have done what I -could; but I fear he’s very, very bad.’ She wanted to break the truth -as gently as she could, for her experienced eye had noted every change. - -‘I am dying,’ said Oliver in a low voice. ‘’Tis nearly over, Patricia; -but the pain has almost left me; and if I have strength, I must tell -you a very painful story, for I need your forgiveness, as you will -find. Do not grieve for me, Patricia.’ He paused. ‘Are you alone?’ - -Patricia shook her head. - -‘Who is with you?’ - -‘Colonel Lindsay.’ - -‘Tell him to come here.’ - -At this crisis, wheels were heard outside, and Colonel Lindsay returned -with Patricia, bringing with them Mr Downes, the surgeon. - -‘Mr Downes is here,’ said the Colonel, ‘through a message which I sent -him previous to leaving home; he will probably think it advisable to -remain with us for a time.’ - -Then Patricia knew that the surgeon was there not only in his medical -capacity, but as a witness to whatever might fall from the lips of her -lover; and yet her dread of any unpleasant revelation was intensified -by her great love for the man whose humiliation and shame she would -fain have spared. Mr Downes having carefully examined the patient, -administered a restorative, and Oliver related with pain and difficulty -the following story. - -‘You know that Bertram and I were in college at the same time, where -my naturally extravagant habits led us both into debt. When we left -college, my uncle, believing me all that I ought to be, begged me -to remain at the Hall as companion to his son; at the same time he -proposed that I should qualify myself for the Church, and behaved to -me with the kindness of a father. I managed to fix the burden of our -debts upon Bertram, whose easy disposition and generous nature led -him to trust me thoroughly. During a London season we again became -steeped in difficulties beyond our power to remove. Returning to the -Hall, I fancied myself fascinated by the beauty of Ruth Boltz. How I -overcame her scruples, and finally induced her to fly to London with -me, I have no strength to tell; nor how I beguiled her to remain there, -leading her to hope for marriage. I had come to town for more purposes -than one. While at the Hall, our creditors had become clamorous; and -Bertram, in despair of obtaining any help from his father, and not -daring to tell of his entanglements, took counsel with me as to what -was to be done. By degrees I opened up my plan, filled in a cheque, and -forced Bertram by threats of exposure to forge his father’s name. This -done, I took care that he himself should present it at the banker’s. My -uncle who was unusually precise and correct in all business matters, at -once discovered the fraud. It was easy to cast the blame on Bertram, -whom I had persuaded to remain in London; and the fact of his absence -sealed his guilt. Ruth’s flight was at once connected with his; and -enraged beyond expression, his father forbade him the house, tore up -his letters unopened, and refused ever to acknowledge him again. In -vain Bertram appealed to me to speak for him; I only traduced him the -more while appearing to shield him; and persuaded him to go abroad -while he had the means of doing so. Seven months later, poor Ruth came -home and applied to me in her distress. Again I promised her marriage, -and from time to time made her an allowance. She promised to keep my -secret; yet her presence in the village was a continual annoyance to -me, for I feared that some time, in her despair, she might reveal the -truth. But I could not prevail upon her to leave the neighbourhood, and -I waited year after year before I could mature my plans to secure the -position which I had always coveted. At last she died, worn out with -trouble, and would no doubt have spoken out at last. But sending for my -aunt, the latter arrived too late. Poor suffering Ruth was dead.’... - -Here the sufferer paused in mental agony, and after partaking of -stimulant, resumed his dread confession. ‘Then I was elated with my -false freedom. My uncle had long since erased Bertram’s name from his -will, and named me as his heir. I soon proposed to my cousin Patricia, -and we were on the point of marrying, when my aunt’s death postponed -it. In the midst of all my prosperity, I had a vague terror of Nathan -Boltz, believing that he knew my secret, and I hated him for his -supposed knowledge of it. Once more my marriage was about to take -place, and again Hilda’s death interposed, and saved Patricia from a -life of shame. Bertram returned; and deceived by his sister, Nathan -believed that in him he saw her betrayer. Then the grand principle of -his life was worked out--forgiveness. The return of Colonel Lindsay -helped on my ruin. I made a desperate effort to retain the prize which -I felt slipping from my grasp. After that dreadful scene in the church, -I fled in frantic haste across the country, eager to escape from -myself. But the hand of God was upon me; I could not elude that; and -believing that I had been a murderer, I looked upon myself as paying -the penalty of my sin, for I knew from the first that I must die. I -have no more to add, only to express my grief and my repentance, and to -pray that God may pardon my fearful sin.’ - -He stopped, greatly exhausted; and Mr Downes again did what he could -for his relief. All through the night, Patricia sat holding his hand in -hers, assuring him of their forgiveness, and ministering to his wants; -and Oliver Peregrine blessed her with the solemnity of a dying man. At -daybreak it was all over. Patricia’s watching had been a short one; but -she knew that henceforth she would walk through life alone. - - * * * * * - -Oliver Peregrine was buried in Linden churchyard; and Nathan, at the -Squire’s urgent request, witnessed the last rites, and stood uncovered -while the earth was filled into the grave of the man who had so wronged -him. Never again, however, would he prepare the narrow resting-place in -which dust mingles with its kindred dust, or stand in the belfry tower -as master of the bells. Nathan had parted from the old life, which -would know him no more. After Bertram’s recovery, he travelled with him -for two years, and learned to know him as a brother. On their return, -the village people could scarcely recognise the quondam bell-ringer in -the accomplished gentleman and travelled man of the world. The soil had -been ready to receive the seed; but while the intellect was enlarged -the heart of the man remained the same. Thus it came about that on a -certain happy day, Nathan, who was the affianced husband of Gertrude, -stood once more in the belfry tower; and with her by his side, and the -ringers clustered round, while Bertram and Colonel Lindsay looked on -from the doorway, he begged that he might try his hand again. A proud -consent was given, and prouder than ever were the ringers, of him who -had been their chief. After a slight pause, Nathan’s hand, now white -and shapely, grasped the rope once more. ‘Now lads!’ he cried--‘now!’ -and the bells chimed out a right merry peal. - - - - -UNDER FIRE. - - -Most men who have been under fire will frankly confess that the -sensation is anything but a pleasant one. But inspired by a sense of -duty and a lively enthusiasm, the anxious feeling soon passes off. The -skirmishers load and fire, the gunners work their guns without much -thought of their own danger. Indeed it is well if this indifference -does not go too far, for then reckless excitement and careless haste -take the place of soldierly deliberation and prudence. - -At Waterloo the fighting between two armies armed with old weapons -of short range was all at what we now call close-quarters. The most -effective range for artillery was about five hundred yards, and -musketry-fire was exchanged at less than half that distance. Rifled -weapons of long range have changed all this, and the introduction -of breech-loading small-arms has worked a perfect revolution on the -battle-field. In 1866 the Prussian needle-gun shewed in the fighting in -Bohemia the terrible effects that can be produced by rapid rifle-fire. -Every army in Europe was soon provided with breech-loading rifles; and -in the war of 1870, for the first time two great armies thus formidably -armed met in battle. In the first conflicts of the war the Prussians -attacked in close order, as they had done in 1866; but in the great -battle of Gravelotte, fought on August 18, 1870, they learned a lesson -which made them completely change their tactics; and every European -army (but one) has followed their example. The lesson was dearly -bought. On that day the French army, one hundred and twenty thousand -strong, lay along the hills to the west of Metz, where it was attacked -by two hundred thousand Germans. The village of St Privat, on holding -which the security of the whole French position depended, was held by -Marshal Canrobert’s corps. The village is surrounded by long gentle -slopes; and in fighting it is always found that it is more difficult -to storm such a place than one that stands upon a steep hill. The very -steepness of the ascent in some degree protects the attacking party as -they ascend, by making the fire of the defenders more vertical; whereas -on a gentle slope each bullet has a longer course and more chances of -doing harm. As a preparation for the attack on St Privat, and in order -in some degree to destroy the steadiness of the defenders, the place -was bombarded for some time with one hundred and twenty guns; then -when it was hoped that the artillery-fire had cleared the way, three -brigades of the Guards, the picked men of the German army, were ordered -to carry the village. - -Massed in close order, with a front of two thousand paces, and covered -by clouds of skirmishers, the Guards began their advance up the slopes. -In ten minutes the attack was over, and had utterly failed. Brief as -it was, it was a terrible time. The German official Report does not -deal in exaggerated language, and it speaks of the ‘storm of bullets -that came beating down from St Privat’ and forced the Guardsmen to -crowd together in every hollow and behind every wave of the ground. The -French used their chassepots to deadly purpose; in those ten minutes -six thousand of the Prussian Guard had fallen. But the rapid fire of -the French had all but emptied their cartridge-boxes, and the defective -arrangements made by the staff had not provided properly for supplying -the deficiency. This is always a danger to which men armed with the -breech-loader are liable, and it is an awkward one, for in modern war -the man who is without cartridges is virtually disarmed. The cartridges -of the dead and wounded were collected and distributed; but this was a -poor resource. The enemy had formed new columns of attack, composed of -Saxon and Prussian troops, and these, though not without heavy loss, -carried the village, and decided the battle which shut Marshal Bazaine -and his great army up in Metz. The day after Gravelotte was fought and -won, the German headquarters staff published an order that an attack in -heavy masses like that which had won Sadowa but had failed at St Privat -should never be attempted again. - -The deadliness of breech-loading fire has produced another effect upon -tactics in battle. The spade has taken a place second only to the -rifle, and no General occupies a position in battle even for a couple -of hours without rapidly strengthening it with light intrenchments. -These consist generally of a shallow trench, the earth from which -is thrown up towards the enemy, so as to form a little parapet in -front of it. This is the shelter-trench which we hear of so often in -war correspondence. Effective shelter-trenches can be constructed in -from eighteen minutes to half an hour, according to the nature of the -ground and the skill of the men engaged in the work; and they have this -advantage, that they can be continually improved, the trench being -deepened, the parapet raised, and a ditch formed outside it, if the -position is occupied long enough; so that what was at first a mere -shelter-trench, gradually becomes a formidable line of earthworks. -A trench is a very efficient protection against artillery-fire, for -unless the shells drop actually into it, or upon the parapet, the -fragments are not likely to hurt the men crouching or lying down in -it; and such accurate hits are rare, most of the projectiles falling a -little behind or a little short of the line aimed at. - -It is a fact that the actual number of men put _hors de combat_ by -artillery-fire is very few in any case. It really is meant to produce -an effect on the _morale_ of the troops attacked; that is to say, -to make them nervous, excited, liable to panic, and apt to give way -before a sudden onset. Hundreds of shells exploding on the ground and -in the air, and scattering showers of fragments on all sides, dropping -neatly over walls and barricades, crashing through walls and roofs, and -searching woods and thickets, are apt to gradually break down the nerve -of all but the steadiest men. - -As a matter of actually killing and maiming a large number of the -enemy, it is coming to be believed that the old artillery of Napoleon’s -days used at close quarters, that is at about four hundred yards, -against heavy masses, was more deadly than the modern rifled gun. -Artillery is now effective up to two thousand five hundred yards, and -sometimes even beyond that range. Rifle-fire generally begins at four -hundred yards, though picked marksmen may be engaged at longer ranges. -The ordinary fighting range of the rifle is thus now equal to that of -the field-gun of thirty years ago, and the accuracy of the fire is -increased in even a greater ratio. With the old musket the chances -of a bullet finding a human billet were extremely uncertain. At one -hundred yards there was a deviation of two feet to right or left, which -at two hundred yards had increased to more than six feet. The average -deviation of the Martini-Henry is about seven inches at three hundred -yards, a little less than a foot at five hundred, and about twenty -inches at eight hundred; or less than the error of the old musket -at one hundred yards. Without aiming, a rapidity of fire equal to -twenty-five shots per minute has been obtained with the Martini-Henry -with which our army is now furnished. How different from the weapons -used in the Peninsula and at Waterloo. - -Yet it is singular that the proportion which the loss in battle -bears to the number of men engaged is on the whole decreasing, -notwithstanding (or perhaps in consequence of) improved armaments. At -Marengo in 1800 the loss in killed and wounded amounted to one-sixth of -the effective force engaged; at Austerlitz (1805) it was one-seventh; -at Preuss-Eylau (1807), as much as one-third; at Wagram (1809), rather -more than one-ninth; at Borodino (1812), one-fourth; and at Waterloo -(1815), rather more than one-sixth. Coming now to more recent battles, -we find that at Solferino (1859) the loss was only one-fourteenth; at -Sadowa (1866), one-eleventh; at Gravelotte (1870), one-ninth; at Sedan, -only one-seventeenth. It would seem that the diminution of the loss is -the result of the open order, the use of cover, and the briefness of -the struggle at the decisive points, where, on account of the severity -of the fighting, it cannot last very long. Men will stand longer under -a fire that knocks over only one man in a minute, than they will under -one that kills a score in the same time. The heavy fighting at Plevna -before its fall, was an exception to this diminution of loss, for in -one of their attacks the Russians lost as much as one-fifth, but this -was the result of their fighting in heavy columns, in defiance of the -experience of 1870. Statistics from both the Russian and the German -armies shew that at all times the officers in proportion to their -numbers lose more than the men. Naturally they are liable to attract -attention and to be picked off by the enemy’s marksmen. - -With the immense armies of our day the total loss of men is enormous. -At Sadowa the Prussians lost 10,000 men out of 215,000 engaged; the -Austrians and Saxons 30,000 out of 220,000. At Gravelotte the French, -120,000 strong, lost 14,000; the Germans 20,000 out of 200,000. At -Sedan the losses of the Germans were 10,000; of the French, 14,000. The -heaviness of the German loss at the battle of Gravelotte was as we have -already said, largely due to the failure of the Guards at St Privat. - -From these statistics of loss in battle it may be imagined what a -painful task and what severe labour are thrown upon the army which -remains in possession of a battle-field at the end of the fight. The -length of the lines in a general engagement like Sadowa is enormous, -ranging from ten to fifteen miles; and the depth of the tract over -which the fighting rolls perhaps from two or three to five or six -miles; so that the ‘battle-field’ is a tract of country from thirty to -eighty square miles in extent, and this immense tract is strewn with -thirty or forty thousand killed and wounded. Here they lie scattered, -so that it is a long walk from one fallen man to another; but over -there on that hill-side, or in that village where the fight was close -and hot, they are thrown together in little heaps, and there is no need -of searching for them. Wherever there is water, wounded men are sure to -be found, who have dragged themselves down to it. Perhaps they are dead -at the brink. There is little blood to be seen; the rivers of blood -shed on the battle-field exist only in poetry. Of the actual blood -in a pool here and there on the field, most has come from cavalry or -artillery horses killed by shell-fire. - -The victors in the fight have thrown on their hands not only their own -wounded, but those of the enemy. The hurried telegram which announces -their success gives also in round numbers a rough estimate of the loss -on both sides; generally it is an unintentional exaggeration, for it -is hard to judge correctly. In two or three days the real numbers are -known; for the dead have been collected, counted, and buried, with -great mounds of earth that will mark the battle-field for centuries, -and shew too where the fight was hottest. The wounded, much more -numerous than the dead, have been collected in the field-hospitals, and -as many as possible are being sent off by train to the great hospitals -of distant cities, in order to relieve the strain upon the resources of -the medical staff and the volunteer aid societies working in the field. -Hard work it is to deal with the immense mass of suffering men. Think -what it is to have to arrange suddenly for even two cases of severe -illness in an ordinary household, and then try to imagine what labour, -care, and forethought are required to provide for many thousands of -wounded men in the open country. - -The care for the wounded begins while the fight is actually in -progress. No help is so efficient as that which comes at once. A man is -hit. If the wound is slight, he perhaps does not know anything about -it till the fight is over, when he perceives that there is something -wrong with his leg or his side; or if he does perceive it, he is able -to bandage it at once with a handkerchief, or the bandage that now is -carried by almost every soldier. The surgeon of the battalion gives him -his assistance if he is at hand; but most men have to do without him -if the work is hot, for he cannot multiply himself or be everywhere, -though he does his best to accomplish something like it. In most -armies, if the men are attacking, he can only attend to the slightly -hurt, who are able to keep up with the rest. It is only when the -battalion is halted or on the defensive that he can attend to the more -seriously injured who fall, for they must not be left behind. The first -help is always the most important; given at once to a slightly wounded -man, it saves him from having to go into hospital and keeps him in the -ranks; given to a fallen man, it probably saves his life. The great -danger is exhaustion from loss of blood or from the nervous shock that -follows a bullet-wound, which makes a man seem as if he were dying, -though with a little help it soon passes off. To stop the bleeding with -a tourniquet or a bandage, to give a drink of water or a little brandy, -is the aid needed at the outset. This is done actually under fire. - -The next help is provided by the field ambulances, or as they are very -appropriately called in our service, ‘dressing-stations;’ these are -established in shelter-places upon the actual battle-field in rear -of the fighting line. Sometimes an inn, a farmhouse, or some barn is -available for this purpose; if not, there are hospital tents or the -shade of trees. Here is to be found a staff of surgeons and dressers, -with appliances for the more necessary operations, and a store of -stimulants and sustaining food. To bring the wounded men out of the -firing, there are attached to each regiment a few trained bearers with -stretchers. These bearers being provided, no man is allowed to leave -the ranks to help the wounded; otherwise, every man that fell would be -the means of withdrawing two others from the fight, and whole companies -might melt rapidly away. The bearers remove as many as they can to the -dressing-stations; they take those nearest to hand, and the wounded man -who attracts their attention is lucky. Many more less fortunate than -he have to wait till the battle is over, for comparatively few can be -carried off during the actual fighting. Some, though too disabled to -remain in the fight, can themselves make their way to the stations. -They ask their way of any bearers they meet; or if they meet none, -they look out anxiously for the white flag with the red cross that -flies over the little harbour of refuge of which they are in search. -The wounded men who are thus brought or come into the stations have -their wounds dressed by the surgeons, with the help of chloroform if -necessary; a record of the nature of the wound and of the treatment so -far, is rapidly written on a card; and if the man will bear removal, -his stretcher is placed in an ambulance-wagon, and an easy journey of -three or four miles places him in the field-hospital, established in -tents or buildings well out of even long-range artillery-fire. - -These field-hospitals, rapidly organised with _matériel_ that is -conveyed with every well-organised army, can accommodate several -hundreds of men; and while the battle proceeds, fresh field-hospitals -are being got ready wherever buildings or tents are available, for -the night will bring in a host of patients. At first there are few -men in them; most of the wounded that have been treated are still at -the field ambulances. In the evening they arrive more rapidly; next -day they come in crowds, and the hospitals are encumbered with them. -And now the railway system of the country comes to the help of the -overburdened medical staff. Hospital trains--that is to say trains -fitted with hanging-beds or stretchers, and provided with nurses and -surgeons--carry back to the hospitals of great cities in the rear, all -those of the wounded who can safely bear the journey. Gradually death, -recovery, or removal clears the field-hospitals; one by one they are -closed, their _matériel_ and appliances are packed in the wagons of -the hospital service, and with their staff of surgeons, dressers, and -nurses, they follow the armies in the field. Meanwhile the hospital -trains have distributed the wounded into the permanent hospitals at -home or into special ones provided for the war. If the army is an -English one, ships comfortably fitted up as hospitals have received the -wounded at the nearest coast to the battle-field, and they are lying -in comfortable hammocks, between airy decks, perhaps at anchor in some -roadstead, or better still, going rapidly under sail and steam towards -home. - -We can dwell with satisfaction on this work of mercy, in which so -many willing hands engage to repair, as far as can be done, the wreck -and ruin of war. It is a work of mercy which ought to bind nations -together, for men of many lands meet to labour under the red cross of -mercy wherever war devastates Europe. For many, alas! the help comes -too late; the bullet has done its work swiftly and surely; life is -gone; or the wound is mortal and the sufferer dies, and will lie under -the long green battle-mound. An officer will look at the tablet under -his uniform that gives the name and corps of the fallen man, and make -an entry in his list of dead; and the news is sent to his friends far -away at home. These are the messages that give more pain even than the -bullet or bayonet, and terrible it is to think that when men meet in -battle the rapid fire of the rifle is doing its work not only in the -field, but far away in distant cities and villages, where the sound of -the fighting cannot be heard; and where there are women and children -and old men to whom that fight will bring sorrow and pain and even -death, as surely as if the rapid rifle-fire itself had swept them down. -This is perhaps the darkest side of the picture, the portion of the -loss caused by war, which our statistics cannot touch. - - - - -A NARROW ESCAPE. - -FROM THE FRENCH OF ALEXANDRE DUMAS’ ‘LE MAÎTRE D’ARMES.’ - - -The death of the famous dog Sutherland--thus named after the -Englishman who had made a gift of it to the Empress Catharine II. of -Russia--nearly caused a tragic mistake, in so far as it nearly cost the -donor, a celebrated banker, his life. The occurrence took place at St -Petersburg. - -One morning, at daybreak, Mr Sutherland, the gentleman who had -presented the dog to the Empress, and who was consequently a favourite -with that august personage--was suddenly awoke by his man-servant. - -‘Sir,’ said the footman, ‘your house is surrounded with guards, and the -master of the police demands to speak to you.’ - -‘What does he wish with me?’ exclaimed the banker, as he leaped from -his bed, somewhat startled by this announcement. - -‘I know not, sir,’ answered the footman; ‘but it appears that it is a -matter of the highest importance, and which, from what he says, can -only be communicated to you personally.’ - -‘Shew him in,’ said Mr Sutherland, as he hastily donned his -dressing-gown. - -The footman departed, and returned some minutes afterwards with His -Excellency Mr Reliew, upon whose face the banker read at the first -glance some formidable intelligence. The worthy banker, however, -maintained his calmness, and welcoming the master of the police with -his usual urbanity, presented him with a seat. His Excellency, however, -remained standing, and in a tone the most dolorous which it was -possible to assume, said: - -‘Mr Sutherland, believe me when I assure you that I am truly grieved -to have been chosen by Her Majesty, my very gracious sovereign, to -accomplish an order, the severity of which afflicts me, but which has -without doubt been provoked by some great crime.’ - -‘By some great crime, Your Excellency!’ exclaimed the banker. ‘And who -then has committed this crime?’ - -‘You, doubtless, sir, since it is upon you that the punishment is to -fall.’ - -‘Sir, I swear to you that I know not of any reproach with which to -charge myself as a subject of our sovereign; for I am a naturalised -Russian, as you must know.’ - -‘And it is precisely, sir, because you are a naturalised Russian -that your position is terrible. If you had remained a subject of His -Britannic Majesty, you would have been able to call in the aid of the -English consul, and escape thus perhaps the rigour of the order which I -am, to my very great regret, charged to execute.’ - -‘Tell me then, Your Excellency, what is this order?’ - -‘Oh, sir, never will I have the strength to make it known to you.’ - -‘Have I lost the good graces of Her Majesty?’ - -‘Oh, if it were only that!’ - -‘Is it a question to make me depart for England?’ - -‘Oh! no; even that must not be.’ - -‘Mon Dieu! you terrify me. Is it an order to send me to Siberia?’ - -‘Siberia, sir, is a fine country, and which people have calumniated. -Besides, people return from it.’ - -‘Am I condemned to prison?’ - -‘The prison is nothing. Prisoners come out of prison.’ - -‘Sir, sir!’ cried the banker, more and more affrighted, ‘am I destined -to the knout?’ - -‘The knout is a punishment very grievous; but the knout does not kill.’ - -‘Miserable fate!’ said Sutherland, terrified. ‘I see indeed that it is -a matter of death.’ - -‘And what a death!’ exclaimed the master of the police, whilst he -solemnly raised his eyes with an expression of the most profound pity. - -‘How! what a death! Is it not enough to kill me without trial, to -assassinate me without cause? Catharine orders, yet’---- - -‘Alas! yes, she orders’---- - -‘Well, speak, sir! What does she order? I am a man; I have courage. -Speak!’ - -‘Alas! my dear sir, she orders---- If it had not been by herself that -the command had been given, I declare to you, my dear Mr Sutherland, -that I would not have believed it.’ - -‘But you make me die a thousand times. Let me see, sir, what has she -ordered you to do?’ - -‘She has ordered me to have you STUFFED!’ - -The poor banker uttered a cry of distress; then looking the master of -the police in the face, said: ‘But, Your Excellency, it is monstrous -what you say to me; you must have lost your reason.’ - -‘No, sir; I have not lost my reason; but I will certainly lose it -during the operation.’ - -‘But how have you--you who have said you are my friend a hundred -times--you, in short, to whom I have had the honour to render certain -services--how have you, I say, received such an order without -endeavouring to represent the barbarity of it to Her Majesty?’ - -‘Alas! sir, I have done what I could, and certainly what no one would -have dared to do in my place. I besought Her Majesty to renounce her -design, or at least to charge another than myself with the execution -of it; and that with tears in my eyes. But Her Majesty said to me with -that voice which you know well, and which does not admit of a reply: -“Go, sir, and do not forget that it is your duty to acquit yourself -without a murmur of the commissions with which I charge you.”’ - -‘And then?’ - -‘Then,’ said the master of the police, ‘I lost no time in repairing -to a very clever naturalist who stuffs animals for the Academy of -Sciences; for in short, since there was not any alternative, I deemed -it only proper, and out of respect for your feelings, that you should -be stuffed in the best manner possible.’ - -‘And the wretch has consented?’ - -‘He referred me to his colleague, who stuffs apes, having studied the -analogy between the human species and the monkey tribe.’ - -‘Well?’ - -‘Well, sir, he awaits you.’ - -‘How! he awaits me! But is the order so peremptory?’ - -‘Not an instant must be lost, my dear sir; the order of Her Majesty -does not admit of delay.’ - -‘Without granting me time to put my affairs in order? But it is -impossible!’ - -‘Alas! it is but too true, sir.’ - -‘But you will allow me first to write a letter to the Empress?’ - -‘I know not if I ought; my instructions were very emphatic.’ - -‘Listen! It is a last favour, a favour which is not refused to the -greatest culprit. I entreat it of you.’ - -‘But it is my situation which I risk.’ - -‘And it is my life which is at stake.’ - -‘Well, write; I permit it. However, I inform you that I do not leave -you a single instant.’ - -‘Thanks, thanks. Pray, request one of your officers to come, that he -may convey my letter.’ - -The master of the police called a lieutenant of the Royal Guards, -delivered to him the letter of poor Sutherland, and ordered him to -bring back the answer to it immediately. Ten minutes afterwards, the -lieutenant returned with the order to bring the banker to the imperial -palace. It was all that the sufferer desired. - -A carriage stood at the gate. Mr Sutherland entered it, and the -lieutenant seated himself near him. Five minutes afterwards they were -at the palace, where Catharine waited. They introduced the condemned -man to her presence, and found Her Majesty in convulsions of laughter. - -It was for Sutherland now to believe her mad. He threw himself at her -feet, and seizing her hand in his, exclaimed: ‘Mercy, madame! In the -name of heaven, have mercy on me; or at the least tell me for what -crime I have deserved a punishment so horrible.’ - -‘But my dear Monsieur Sutherland,’ replied Catharine with all the -gravity she could command, ‘this matter does not concern you at all!’ - -‘How, Your Majesty, is it not a matter concerning me? Then whom _does_ -it concern?’ - -‘Why, the dog of course which you gave me, and which died yesterday -of indigestion. Then in my grief at this loss and in my very natural -desire to preserve at least his skin, I ordered that fool Reliew to -come to me, and said to him: “Monsieur Reliew, I have to request that -you will have Sutherland immediately stuffed.” As he hesitated, I -thought that he was ashamed of such a commission; whereupon I became -angry and dismissed him on his errand.’ - -‘Well, madame,’ answered the banker, ‘you can boast that you have in -the master of the police a faithful servant; but at another time, -pray, I entreat of you, to explain better to him the orders which he -receives.’ - -The four-footed Sutherland was duly promoted to a glass case _vice_ the -banker--relieved. - - - - -AN INTERNATIONAL POLAR EXPEDITION. - - -In a former paper on Polar Colonisation we mentioned that an American -enthusiast had suggested that, with a view to the achievement of -greater results, the enterprise of exploring the Arctic regions should -be made an international one. A somewhat similar idea appears to have -occurred about the same time to Count Wilczek, and Lieutenant Charles -Weyprecht, of Arctic fame. After many months of careful consideration, -these gentlemen lately issued at Vienna the programme of the work -which they propose should be undertaken by an International Polar -Expedition. The elaborate scheme therein propounded was originally -prepared with a view to its details being fully discussed by the -International Meteorological Congress which was to have met at Rome -in the month of September of last year, but which, owing to political -events, it has been found necessary to postpone till the present -year. The peculiarity of their project is that they aim at purely -_scientific_ exploration in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, and that -they leave geographical discovery out of their programme, intending -that it should be undertaken by a separate expedition. To accomplish -the highly important end they have in view, they suggest that each of -the states participating in the work should equip an expedition and -despatch it to one of the stations enumerated by them. Each of the -powers interested will be left to decide how long it will continue the -work and what questions should be studied beyond those laid down in -the international programme. The investigations to be undertaken in -common will only include the phenomena of meteorology and terrestrial -magnetism, _auroræ boreales_, and the laws which govern the movements -of ice. As of course uniformity and the utmost possible accuracy in -the observations to be taken are absolutely necessary for purposes -of comparison, the propounders of the scheme enter into very minute -details, especially as regards the magnetic observations. The following -are the places which are considered the most favourable for the -purposes above indicated: (In the northern hemisphere), the north coast -of Spitzbergen, the north coast of Novaya Zemlya, the vicinity of the -North Cape of Finmark, the north coast of Siberia at the mouths of the -Lena, New Siberia, Point Barrow at the north-east of Behring Strait -(occupied by Maguire 1852-54), the Danish settlement on the west coast -of Greenland, and the east coast of Greenland in about latitude 75°; -(in the southern hemisphere) the neighbourhood of Cape Horn, Kerguelen -or Macdonald Islands, and one of the groups south of the Auckland -Islands. Each state interested, it may be mentioned in conclusion, must -establish a station for a year at least, and conform strictly to the -terms of the programme. - - - - -THE FIRST PRIMROSE. - - - A Primrose awoke from its long winter sleep, - And stretched out its head through its green leaves to peep; - But the air was so cold, and the wind was so keen, - And not a bright flower but itself to be seen. - ‘Alas!’ sighed the Primrose, ‘how useless am I, - As here all alone and half hidden I lie; - But I’ll strive to be cheerful, contented to be, - Just a simple wild flower growing under a tree.’ - Soon a maiden passed by, looking weary and sad, - In the bright early spring-time, when all should be glad, - But she spied the sweet Primrose so bright and so gay, - And the sight of it charmed all her sadness away; - And the Primrose gave thanks to the dear Lord above, - Who had sent it on such a sweet mission of love. - - CATHARINE DAVIDSON. - - * * * * * - -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,, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS JOURNAL OF LITERATURE, JAN 19, 1878 *** - -***** This file should be named 55808-0.txt or 55808-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/8/0/55808/ - -Produced by Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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