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.nxm7er g‘W‘”-~n-‘. , __ grereeeereee+e++e+++er ‘. "3° 8. OHN BRETTON’S - LOVE MAKING. h++ec++r+++e+ee++++e “I am sorry, Mr. Bretton, but can never be your wife,” said Mrs. Dallinger. -~ The speaker was the schoolmistress of Broken. Ridge Schools, and even now at thirtyâ€"two she Was considerâ€" ed by far the prettiest 'woman in that rough mining town. e+++eewe E 4 H "Is itâ€"is it becauseâ€"you like somebody better ?” asked John Bretton, awkwardly. "No, it is not that,” said the woman, rather sadly. "Iâ€"I like you very much. I loved you from the first day I saw you. Do you rememâ€" ber ‘? When you took my photoâ€" graph . ’ ' John Bretton flushed with proâ€" icmsional pride. He was the local photographer, the only one' in the district, and he was fast making a comfortable fortune by taking' porâ€" traits cf the miners of Broken Ridge on all and every occasion, for a miner, when he is earning good wages, spends his money freely, and with all his rough ways he has a considerable amount of personal vanity. “It was the prettiest picture I ever took,” burst out John, enâ€"- thusiastically. “But there, you couldn't help making a pretty picâ€" ture,” he added, as his eyes| rested on her fine figure and pretty face, slightly flushed with the compliment he had just paid her. “Is it because you don’t like givâ€" ing up the school ?” he asked scntly, as his eyes the dainty sittingâ€"room of the school house. "No, no. That is not the son,” she said, with a little shake in her voice. “It is not that, be- cause I have received notice to leave ina month. I am dismissed from the school.” "Dismissed from the school cried John Bretton, in surprise. “Dismissed after being mistress here since we first started a school. After eight years.” _ L "Yes, I am dismissed,” replied Mrs. Dallingcr, sadly. “Theyâ€"they have heard somethingâ€"something deâ€" trimental to me; and they do not think I am a fit person now to tcach their children.” “You mean they have your husbandâ€"” “They have heard that band committed murder Mrs. Dallinger, bitterly. “And for his crime the woman whom he de< serted ten years ago is to be pun- ished. She is to be'branded as unfit to meet her fellowâ€"creatures, and she is to be thrown in the gutter to starve.” "The cowardly curs i” said John Bretton, angrily. "I should like to give them a bit of my mindâ€"and I will too. You have always earned your living honestly and done your duty. Not fit to teach their children indeed. Why, you’re miles too good. You’re an angel from lfeaven them, and there is not one of the little mites that would not lay down her tiny life. for love of you. Ah,- I ,know who has done this. I know who has raked up this miser- able story. This is a piece of Harold In heard that my hus- l” cried Venner's work. He always hated you.” ‘ ' "I don 1'. think .Mr. Venner pm. mine spok‘en travelled round world I was a murderer’s wife.” to worth nearly $25,000, so We should be quite wellâ€"toâ€"do people. Soon after this my father was taken ill and after months of suffering passed and it was then that grief away, and nursing broke me down, and I was ailing 'for months. “Later, they told me that Mark had gone north, and that he had quarrelled with his mate, and mur- dered him, it was supposed, for his share of the gold. This was at a lonely place called Merton’s Drive, and the body was not discovered for some days ; but although the head lhad been completely cut off, it was iidentified as the mate who had passi- ed through some town with Alfred York. From that time, ten years ago, I have never heard of him or from him. When I recovered I took to teaching, and.- eight years ago I obtained the appointment to Broken Ridge. I retained my married name, lbut let it be inferred that my hus- band was dead. Sometimes I wish he was.” » “If you knew that he was dead, Mrs. _Dallinger, would, you marry me ‘2” asked John Bretton, earnest- ly. "Yes, John Brettonâ€"if I knew," said Mrs. Dallinger, kindly; “but it is that 'if’ which0 makes what you ask impossible.” “One question more, Mrs. Dallinâ€" ger,” said John. “Did you know when you came to Broken Ridge that it was only a few miles from Merton’s Drive ?” . “I did not know that till a ago.” "And did you know that the murâ€" dered man’s head was never disâ€" covered ‘2,” . “Not until the Skull was found a week ago,” said the woman. with a shiver. “It was some silly words of then which told the year “Would you be brave enough to atâ€" Itend the inquiryâ€"it cannot be called 1.0m an inquestâ€"which will be held upon the skull toâ€"morrow.. Mrs. Dallinâ€" ger ?” asked Bretton, earnestly, "Oh, I cannot," cried the woman, with a shudder. “Is it necessary ? Is it wise ?" "It is not necessary,” said Bretton “for you will be asked nothing. But I wish you to come for your own sake and for mine.” "I do not understand you,” Mrs. Dallinger. "Never mind,” said Bretton. "Will lyou come because I ask you ?” "Yes, if you wish it, John ton, I will come.” * * it 1‘!- * * The Court House at Broken Ridge was crammed to its utmost capacity. Rumor had spread that the inquiry “on the finding of the skull at- Mer- ton’s Drive was going to be even S‘ai d Bretâ€" better than an inquest, and an inâ€" quest was always considered at Broken Ridge to be nearly- as good as a. circus. ' Certainly the Court House seemed to promise something unâ€" usual, for above each of the winâ€" dows was hung a roll of thick black cloth. What they were for was be ing eagerly specul'ated upon when {the magistrate entered, and a, sudden stillness fell upon the room. “Gentlemen,” Said the magistrate. “I am rather doubtful how to de- scribe the inquiry ,which we are about to make. It can be hardly considered an inquest, as we have alâ€" .ready held one ten years ago upon the body of the man to whom the skull which has recently been found is supposed to have belonged. 1nâ€" spector Short has laid before me certain facts, and he now proposes itself hatOS to .lay before thisâ€"erâ€"this assembly 1110..” said Mrs. ' Dalliilgel', smiling of townsmen some interesting evi~ 8(1qu at JOhllS lHIPCWOUS wrath dence which he thinks will identify “\lhy. once he even honored me byythe Skull as belonging to Richard asking me to become his. wife.” "Coroner Venner asked you to be- come his wife 'P” cried John, in amazement. "Coroner Venncr and Mr. John llretton have both done me that honor.” said Mrs. Dallinger, (demureâ€" ly. “But why are you so sur- ezl ‘2” 1 "Oh. nothing, Bretton, hurriedly. toâ€"morrow.” For a few moments he stood think- ing. 'l‘hen he’rose and crossed the room and tress’ side. - "Mrs. Dallinger,” he said, quietly. "I Want you to do Something. I know it will be painful to you, I want you to tell me what you know of 'the murder your husband committer .” “I can tell you very little,” said the woman, slowly. "At the time .I was very ill in Adelaide, and I was not told anything ghout it till .1) nothing, answered months had passed. I married Mark respected town councillor and llallinger thirteen years agesâ€"whenI Was nineteenâ€"and in those days I has considered pretty. But Mark’s love was not nearly so true as mine, and he soon.tired'- o'f‘me and began to treat me with cruelty. Once he went a little too far and the neigh-g bors began to talk, and the Story reached the.,;ears_ of my poor. old dadâ€"he was ' alive thenâ€"and, old man as he was, he publicly horseâ€" whipped my husband and took me away. The next-thingiwe-fheard of" Mark wasfth‘at-r he was at Belfast, where he was knOWn as Alfred York. About a year after he wrote a penitcnt letter saying he had ,made money at the mines and sent me $250. He said he was then going, with his mate to some other newér mines, ~and if things went' well: ,he' l Somers, 'who was foully murdered at Merton’s Drive ten years agoâ€" I beg your pardon, inspector ?” "I said I would identify it as beâ€" longing to the murdered man,” said the inspector. “Quite so ; quite so,” continued (the magistrate. “Inspector Short is 'anxious that I should not mistake the case. Of course we must bear in “I Will 1011 you [mind that it is within the reason of possibility that the skull may have belonged to some other individual and not to the man who was murâ€" stood by the schoolmis- dared. l “I do not look, gentlemen, upon this in the nature of an inquest, but I ~llave asked the coroner, Mr. but Venner, to attend, as if he considers it; necessary he can later hold a forâ€" mal inquest on the body-I should say, of course, the skull. “As Mr. Venner has only been in the district during the last six years, during which time he has risen to the position of being our cor- oner, I am sure he would like to hear a. resume of the former inquest, and I have no doubt that many in this room will hear it also for the first time. “Gentlemen, on March the 17th, ten years ago, two men came to Broken Ridge, who gave the names of Alfred York and Richard Somers. Who tliey'were or from whence they came never transpired, but it . w-as known that they were miners, and each‘ possessed a, large amount of ‘ gold 'dust. They stayed for one night at the Grand Hotel. Both men were finely-built fellows, character they were very different. One was rough and ready, and wore The lhow, the hair : and heard alter“, the a. red shirt and other 'was ‘more . dressed ..with. great care. It was the no collar. ‘ was going‘td settle down and ” ‘t'rir‘n’ latter Ifi’an “who-met his death so over a new leaf, and he hoped I untimely. ~ \7 should then come back to him. He "0n the following morning they said he had gold dust with him paid their bill and left the hotel to- of- a dandy}. ' . and "face, , at. gether, and they were seen on the track to Merton’s Drive by a manâ€" Jack llowleyâ€"who has 'since died. Nothing more was heard of them until the body of the better dressed man, Richard Somers, was dead in Merton’s Drive some after. The body was found _ with the head completely severed; and it was never traced, but the skull now discovered is believed to be that of the murdered man. Ten years ago a verdict of murder was against Alfred York, but he was never apprehended. Gentlemen, I now ask Inspector Short to lay be- fore you his evidence.” .5 ' Inspector Short was a dapper litâ€" tle man who quickly got to business. Witness were-called to prove the find- ing of the skull. Then with a 'quiet smile the genial little inspector turned to the presiding magistrate. “I propose now, your worship,” he said, “to offer you some evidence which may assist you in identifying the skull which you see upon the table before you. I call John Bret- ton." “You are a photographer ?” asked. "I am." “On the 17th of March, ten years ago, you took the portraits of two men newly arrived who gave their names Somers.” "That is so.” "It; was by the aid of this photo. that the body of Richard Somers was identified a few ‘days after the murder ‘2” “It was.” "Do you 'believe the skull on the he . table here to be the skull of Richard Somers ?” “I do not,” replied Bretton, amidst much excitement. "Illustrate your reasons,” said the inspector. I In a few moments the thick black curtains wore drawn over the win- dows and the court was in darkness, except for a few gasâ€"burners. A white s:rec~n was raised at the end, and a stand in the centre of the court was found to contain a lime- light lantern. In a few moments a disc of white light was shining on the screen, the other lights were lowered. With startling rapidity an enlarged photo. of the skull was thrown upon the sheet, and John LBretton’s voice came clearly over the hush'ed court. “This, gentlemen, is a photo. I have recently taken of the skull which is alleged to belong to Richâ€" ard Somers." Then the skull disappeared, and in a few moments in its place sprang the face of a handsome man. “This, gentlemen, is the portrait I took of Richard Somers on March 17th.” For some moments every eye was on the screen, and many seemed to recall the handsome face, and strangely enough this was not conâ€" fined to the older inhabitants. “Gentlemen,” continued John lireâ€" ton’s clear voice, "the position 'in which I photographed the skull was identical with the position in which Richard Somers’ head was held. I shall now project both the photos. on the screen together, one super- imposed over the other and both visible at the same time, and I want you to notice that the feaâ€" turesâ€"especially the teeth and eyes-â€" do not fit or seem to be rightly placed in the skull.” Amidst a breathless hush the face on the screen began to sink away about. the eyes and mouth, and to assumfit ghastly appearance. Pre- sently the _skull could be distinctly seen beneath the smiling face, but. as John had said, the eyt-s were not truly in the sunken seekels , of the skull ; neither did the teeth and ‘ jaw truly fit'the chin and mouth. “Gentlemen,” said John, “I shall now change the face for another, and I beg of you to mark the change.” Gradually the face changed and the features became so startlingly corâ€" rect that the effect was horribly ghastly. It looked like a death’s head surrounded by the ghostly im- age of a living face. lentleman,” said John, “this is the face of the man to whom I claim the skull belongs. Let me reâ€" move the latter and show you the features of Alfred York, or, to give him his correct name, Mark Dallinâ€" ger, the husband of our schoolâ€" mistress, who has lately been brand- ed asthe wife of a murderer, when she should have been pitied as the wife if a murdered man.” A thunderous burst .of applause and cheering greeted this statement, and had it not' been that John had a slide with “There is more yet” written upon it, the meeting would have broken up in its anxiety to apologize to the pretty schoolmis- tress of Broken Ridge. Silence»- was quickly restored, John’s voice again rang out the crowded room. “There is one thing more, gentle- men,” he said. “‘I should like 'to Show you again the portrait if Richard Somers, whom we can now call the murderer. Perhaps you will recognize him?” I .. .' ', llack’came‘ the image of the. first handsome face, and all strained their an d 0 Ver - eyes. but in .iinpcse another portrait of the-same “See,” said 'Bretton, "I'will super-- man' taken at a later date. Watch but' how little the features changed.” ‘ ‘ _~,. -' “i Slowly the hair and chin and up- per lip began to darken, and" in a few moments wild voices rang out from the watching crowd. “I know found days returned as Alfred York and Richard l l l l l him now. I know him. It’s Venner, the coroner l” they yelled. ' In a -moment the black curtains were torn down, but the coroner had gone. . His .seat was vacant. Among the first to step forward was the magistrate and the chair- man of the school committee, who grasped Mrs. Dallinger’s hand. “Accept my apologies, my dear Mrs. Dallinger,” they cried. "You will, of course, not dream of leaving the school now ?” “I am afraid she must,” said John Bretton,~quietly ; “because she is accepting a life engagement with John Bretton.”â€"London Tit-Bits. __'_+_._. RELIGIOUS FANATICS. â€"â€"_.~ Horrible Ways in Which Some In- dians Express Belief. Dillerent people have different ways of showing their religion. There have been those who sought salvaj tion by torturing others, and there are still those who think to attain it by torturing themselves. When the Indian gentleman in- dulges in his favorite religious exer- cise he lies upon a bed of nails and takes care that his zeal shall be seen and appreciated by the multiâ€" tude._,,,, To lie for hours, as this man will, on the sharp points of nails causes extreme agony, and when he is finally lifted from his bed his flesh is lacerated in a. shocking man- ner. But_alms pour in on him after- wards from those who have observed his devotion and believe in his con- sequent sanctity. This bed-ofâ€"nails devotional exercise is not uncommon among the Indian fakirs. in India tells of an aged blind fakir whom he came across who had for years spent most of his time sitting on a bed of nails. This old fellow, however, had got beyond the point where it hurt him much, for his skin had become so tightened by constant application of the nail points that he was merely uncomfortable. _ The East Indians are ingenious in inventing forms of religious torture for themselves. One exercise which finds favor among the fakirs is to hold up the. arms until they become withered and stiff, and cannot be put down again position. These people let their fin- ger nails grow until they become so long that ' they curl around the fingers like snakes. ‘ A devotee of this kind has to be fed by others ‘who are not so extreme in their religious VJCWS as he is. With the natives of India selfâ€"inflicted torture seems to always be carried out as a RELIG l 0 US I’ll A CTICE. The American. Indians, like the East Indians, \vere‘proliiic in the in- vention of modes of torture. But, unlike them, they seem never to have tortured themselves as a religious exercise; With them it was a method of proving their endurance and disâ€" regard of physical pain. Among the Indians of the Northwest a certain amount of physical torture had to be undergone by every candidate for admission to the ranks of warriors. The selfâ€"torture of the'fakirs of In- dia is a phase of a. feeling which has been common to many divers peoples 'in regard to the saving of their souls. It is the outcome of the same morbidness that caused the late rising of the Doukhobors, and which made the New England Puri- tan "frown upon bear baiting, not because of its cruelty, but because of the pleasure itgave,” and which still pi-ot‘luces' processions of Flagel- lantes in some towns of Southern Europe and in the southwestern part of Mexico. While in many cases this physical selfâ€"torture is the actual outward expression of “the broken anl the contrite heart.” it has among the Indian fakirs come to be alâ€" most eutirely an ostentatious dis- play, the pains of which are borne for the sake of the reputation for sanctity which the self-tortured one attains and the consequent alms which come to him. Still, some of these fakirs are imbued with a high degree of fanaticism and honestly. believe that by lying 'on a bed of sharp nails in this world they have a better chance of reaching Nirvana in the next. â€"â€".â€"â€"â€"+â€"~â€"_-â€"._. MARRIAGE CUSTOMS. In Switzerland the bride, on her wedding-day, will permit no one- not even her parentsâ€"to kiss her upon the lips. In many of the proâ€" vinces the .cook pours hot water over the threshold after the bridal couple” havegone, in order to keep it warm foranother bride. A favorâ€" ite wedding day in Scotland is De- cember 31st, ‘ so that the young couple can leave their old' life with the old year, and begin their marâ€" ried life with the new oneâ€"‘surely .a pretty idea. The Italians permit no wedding-gifts 'that are' sharp or pointed, from which practice emanâ€" ates our superstition that the gift of a knife severs friendship. One of the most beautiful of allniarriage" cuss toms is- that of the bride immediateâ€" ly:.after theceremony flinging h'e-r bouquet among 'her maiden' friends. The one who catches it is supposed to be the next bride. w â€"-â€"+4~â€"â€"+--, - Angry Landlordâ€"“Look here,‘ are you _going to' pay the Irentv' or m ve?” Tenantâ€"“I ' have always heard it was-cheaper to'move.”;An-- gry Landlord (sneeringly)â€"“Well,~ it by this time.” Tenant â€"â€" “I ani not so sure about that. You See, I have never paid any rent." into their natural- you' ought to know something about. INTO THE FORBIDDEN GITY ' ‘_ ACHIEVEMENT OF THREE DAR ING YOUNG JAPANESE. It Is-‘aegarded by Their Country. men as Being Most Sig- _nifica.1it. . The Sacred City of Lassa, the eup- ital city of Tibet, hitherto a forbid. den city to all foreigners, has. beer entered recently by three daring J a- panese explorers, says Japan and America. They are Capt. teru Narita, I-liroshi Nomi and Kei- kai Kawaguchi, a Buddhist priest of Honganji, Kyoto. Capt. Y. Narita is a promising y0ung soldier and a son of Sam- urai of the Satsuma clan. He went- to China several years ago, staying in that country for several months while he was preparing for his ardu- ous expedition. After many danger: and hardships he succeeded in reach ing Lassa, having taken~ severu.‘ years to accomplish his self-appoint ed task. He stayed in the Holy City for eighteen days, and then re turned to Japan about two month: ago. About the same time thru Capt. Narita visited Lass-a Mr. Hir- oshi Nomi reached the interior 0 Tibet. There has been no news fron him for some time, and he is suppos ed to be on his- way home; He is : very young man, but brave and coo and quiet in his ways. Mr. Keika; Kawaguchi, the third of the Japan ese explorers, had the hardest ex perience. He went by way of tin Himalaya. Mountains, and suffered ; severe attack of snow blindness. was totallyblind for some time, bu: A traveller- has entirely recovered from his moun tain disease. Once he was mistake} for a, robber by the Tibetans, “’11! came very near making him pay th/ penalty, which is in Tibet to put U’lf robber on a horse AND THEN SHOOT HIM. Mr. Kawaguchi, who is a Budldhis priest, at last succeeded in reachim Lassa, and is still residing in than city. . These achievements, remarkable it themselves, are significant in another way. In the first place they shov the tremendous energy and indomita; ble daring of the Japanese. It wil‘ be found in the case of others wlu have tried to reach Lassa, that the: were men who had fitted themselvel by long study and experience for tl'u. attempt, and who made the final of fort under the most favorable con ditions possible. All of them, witl one or two rare exceptions, failed la- mentably. llvlissionaries,‘ who hav: won the confidence of the Tibetans, and who had learned their language failed to penetrate even to the tin vicinity of the sacred city. Sonu succeeded in getting within a‘ day’: march, and were tortured or turned back or killed. Even the most ac- complished explorer of modern times, Sven I’ledin, the incomparabh Swede, who had fitted himself for his work by years of study and trave could not pass the Tibetan guard: that protected - the sacred precincts of Lassa. Yet these Japanese, young and untried adventurers, with the exception of Capt. Narita, who pre- pared for his expedition by living in China for several months, succeeded in attaining a goal that has been gle- nied to the most daring and exper- ienced travelers in the world. ' But the chief significance of thes4 remarkable achievements is the rela- tion of a .new force and energy in the world of action. It reveals a1 awakening in Japan such as occnr -red in Spain when there dawned up- on her early greatness, and when shc' was preparing to send forth into tln world her explorers and conquerorsâ€" Columbus, Cortez, Pizarro, De Soto !or in England when Drake and How- ard and l-Iawke led. the way to th« glories of England on sea and land and transformed her into a world- explorer and WORLD CONQUERQR. It reveals the .birth of tremendous national energy and an indomitable national spirit. Japan is no long- er a group of islands, a collection of people, but a nation, possessed by a fiery national spirit. These things reveal it, just as it was revealed by the greater things of the war with iChina, and by the splendid heroism- of her Soldiers? in the advance on Pc- kin, and by their .more than splen- did ehivalry and courtesy toward the conquered Chinese. We must now look to Japan for the Spokes, Bun-tons, Magellans, Liv- ingstones, Cooks, Marco I’olos, We find someof these hardy and daring explorers penetrating into portions of China forbidden to foreigners j for centuries; we llnd more. of them pass- ,ing the _ _ iaround Lassa and calmly resudmg Ewithin the holy limits of the capital of Lamaism, unshaken and unfraid, while the English explorers still find the Himalaya the bounds. of their ‘explorations _ from their neighboring ,possessmns in India; and we may soon find them penetrating to the North Pole with the same nonchal- ance with which they advanced “to the walls of Tientsin and Pekin un- (ler fire, scaled the walls of Ping ,Yang, or sank the (.‘rhinese warships in the harbor of Weiâ€"hai-wci. A new nation has been born into the. world. They 'had a dispute, and agreed to .leave it to, the military expert. l“What bullet,” they asked, “do you: cb’nsider the deadliest ‘2"‘Ii‘0r Several min’utes he. remained in a _ brown study. Then he. .lookeiliup with th( air of one who had'settled'the mat ter finally and definitely. “The om that hits,” he said. Yoshi-. Hf . cordons of Tibetan guardSi.» i». 'u - .9. .'- r f r . 9 775:.“â€" I “yrâ€"1.x .t’xer' \A ' r,» "‘»‘.7"""F",. m1 . g 5 I x'fl'fi‘ .