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U7 ment in a very A Charles were worse ~ the Manor at once, Did you really send i w! g ene red J gn an expression. found surprise, "Why, sirP she ered, "I understo nl, you'd gone away. into the coun- "Into (he counley?" I echioed. "Wha |. told you so?" $45 5 "The lady you sent to tell me! . « - "Lady? ~~ What = lady?" I inquired, amazed. "Surely, Parker, you've taken leave of your senses?" : "The lady came about an hour ago, &ir, and said that you had sent her to tell me that you. would be absent for ~ perhaps a week 'or so--that 'you had «gone down fo. your: uncle's. in Hamp- shire." A : , iY) i "I've sent no one," 1 responded, as- founded at this: fresh: phase of the al- fair. i old or young?" "Middle-aged." ) "Well-dressed?" z 7 "Yes, sir, She spoke 'with a funny kind of lisp, which made me think she . might be a foreigner. She said she knew. you quite well, being a friend of your aunt's, and that you were travel- ling down to Hampshire this morni "your uncle having taken fll, I remark- «d thal it was strange that you shouldn't "ome home for your bag things, Dut she gave me a message m you -- 40 send a bag packed with your ¢k by train from Waterloo to Christchurch' _ Station marked 'To be called for." "But didn't you think her story a vary lame one, Parker? I' asked; an- gry that my old serving-women should ave thus .been misled and deceived. ("Of course Tdi, sir, especially us you were absent all.night. I told her that, Sod she yx that you had called upon. her, ang fi your aunt Lady Durrant, had ping yout. Sut Ld to supper.- While al supper a telegram bad arrived summoning your aunt home "48 your uncle had been 'taken danger <usly ill, and at once 'you résolved do accompany. her. But You've hurt "What kind of lady was she-- «+o. your" head, sit, haven't: you?" She. ad- ded, noticing my bandages, "Yes," 1'answered. "I fell down. It 13 nothing--my own carelessness." This story was, to say the least, 8 + most ingenlous one, Whoever the' mys. derious woman was. she . apparently knew that my uncle, Sir Charles Dur- "vant, lived in the neighborhood of Christchurch; that he was at that mo- uftering fro oa ale a hr a Bl m paralysis, and er, that 1 had considerable expectations from hin, and would not hesitate lo travel down to see him if I knew him 10 be worse. One thing, therefore, was uite' plain, mas that my family. af-- Ss -wera perfectly well known to these © sere is movements were so ; ystif g. : os J ee "It 'was foolish of . Parker, very foglish indeed, to. en. credence absurd 3 that," 1 sald, Soman, ut 01 have Sisplayed mo di roman, but you have displ no "cretion in this affalr--nona 'whatever," ~ *I'm-very sorry, sir," the woman an- swered. . "Bul I knew that if Sir you'd .go down lo Took: 2." 1 "Then it must acclde: elapeod relurn to my chambers would allow her ficient time to call 'upon Mrs. 'Par- ker, scoure the key, watch my old ser- | ! came | vant leave, and then re-enter,' = - th have been this same woman who was in my chambers here when I' returned," I. said. 3 "A woman here?" she ejaculated. "Yes; when I cutered there was a woman here, and she escaped as though she were a thief. She must have: gone cut and rejoined the man, who was Jawaiting ber somewhere in the viginity. That would bear out the fact that encountered her again." "But how could she get in? I'm al- ways careful to 'see' that the 'door :s properly closed," i Cow "Probably she stole the extra latch- fey while prying about the place. See whether. it is slill on the nail," She crossed the room, and next mo- you ment gasped-- "I's gone, sir!" ~ "ARI" I said. "Just as I thought! The &lory she told you was a mere excuse 10 oblain admittance to the place, and, if possible, to get possession of the key. This she obfained, and, having watched you. out, returned and continued her search for something she desired to se- cure. 'We must at once examine the iwhole place. and soek to discever what's been. stolen.™ Ae "Do you think she was & common dhief, sir?" inquired Parker, dumbfound- ed at the ingenuity with which the latch. key had been secured. "ue, 'I don't know what to believe at pre- sent," 1 answered. "We must invostl- gate first, and form our conclusions af- ferwards. Now, make a thcrough search and see what has been disturbed and what is missing." I had no intention of entering into a' long explanation with Parker regard- ing the events of that fateful night; or to disturb _her peacd, of mind by velat- ing 'any of the Rp cirumsiances, Therefore I went to" mp am and locked away my muddy, blood-stained clothing, and afterwards returned, and with my hands felt the various objects in my sitling-room, to assure myself that none was displaced or missing. - © CHAPTER VIL. The visit of this mysterious woman in the white lace veil--at that time a fashionable feminine adornment--was, I felt assured, more than a coincidence, That it had some connection with the sirange events of the past night seem- od certain, yet; try how I would, I could form mo definite idea of either the molive of the visit or the object of her search. "As far as Parker could dis- cover, nothing whatever had been tak- en. A wriling-lable, the drawers of which contained some family papers, had apparently been haslily examined, but no object of value, nor any paper had been extracted. Therefore I con- cluded that I had returned befor the intruder: had had time {0 make the oampleta examination of my effects which she had' nlended. A curious thought occurred to me. 'Was the intruder in the white veil none Gther than the mysterious Edna her elf? That she" Ki ress between our parting and hd ~ As the day ware 'on I boctme fore my surmise was he cabmian West had d that she she was BRE statemen 1s uent y0us persons (his journal. He was down with fever - | at sce outlandish place on the Afghan and more impressed by, the belief that fhe actual truth. Yet to' whose hands I had 'had the riune to fall, = a I heard of Dick through the offica of frontier, and 'would certainly nob. be some for a couple of months or so, A letter from: him, wrillen before his at- tack, was cheerful enough, and full of humor, as of old, He hoped to be back oon, he said, so-that he might be able 4 lake "his baby," as he called me, out for walks again. He was nl aware that [ could walk alene. How I would purprise himt ICE : I smilod grimly, alas! when [ necol- lected how my first walk alone had 'nearly cost me my. life, and had placed upon my 'conscience the shadow of a terrible crime. Parker noticed my. con-| stant pensiveness, and remarked upon it, but I, of course, misled her by isay- ing that my mind was much overburd- cned with.private affairs. Al first 1 was puzzled how to get rid ol. my soiled and blood-stained clothes &0 that she should not discover them, and at last hit upon the expedient of aking. them {nto a bundle and going fcrth one night when she was over at Kennington with her daughter Lily, the dancing-girl, and casting them into the Thames from the Embankment. It was a risky operation, for that part of Lon- don is well guarded by police after dark; nevertheless I accomplished it in safety, and was much amused a few days later by reading in an evening paper that they had been found near [Londen Bridge and handed over to the river police, who, of course, scented a myslery. The blood-stains puzzled them, and the journal hinted thal Scotland Yard had instituted inquiries into the ownership of the discarded suil of clothes. The paragraph concluded with that sentence, indispensable in report. ing a"mystery, "The police are very re- {ioent about the matter," Fortunately, having cut out the mak- er's name, and taken everything from the peckets which might serve as a clue (0 ownership, I felt perfectly salg, end eagerly read the issue of the same fournal on the following evening, which told how the stains had been analyzed and found to be thdse of humén blood. A tle more than a week had passed since my remarkable midnight adven- ture, when one morning I received a brief note by post, which Parker read to 'me. It consisted of only two type- written lines stating that at mid-day I would receive a visitor, and was signed with the strange word "Avel." ; It was, [ knew, a message from Edna, and T-dressed myself with greater care in. expectation that she horself would visit me. In this, however, I was dis- appointed, for after existing some three hours on tiptoe wilh anxiety I found my (visitor to be a. well-spoken, middle aged man, whose slight accent when introducing himself betrayed that he was an American, {To be Conlinued.) sy ALFALFA OR LUCERNE. Bulletin Written by Prof. C. A. Zavitz, ol the Agricultural College. A bulletin on alfalfa, also known as Lucerne, has been wrilten by Prof. C. A Zavilz of the-Onlario Agricultural College and printed by the Ontario De- partment of Agriculture. It is now being distributed .and copies can be ob- tained on application to C. C. James, Deputy Minister. of Agriculture, Parlia ment. Buildings, Toronto. The bulletin in (he hands of all farmers who intend 'sowing ai | the following paragraphs: ia should be very carefully test. Its Tar, farm growth, and its be yields' of nulritious feed for clal influence on. | the soll, are all features: which com-| gan mend il. very. highly for those farms on. which it can be 'There erent. ways of laying fleld of 'alfalfa, and we ikely fo give very excel: land having a' cledn, surface 'soil overlyin, oil having no acidity. ip 'seed, free from im | hoe [RUSSIAN WINTER SGENES tho THE AWFUL STILLNESS OF THE OPEN COUNTRY. Ai English Correspondent Gives Elis Experionce of Russia in Win- : ter Time. Next to a glance*around the horizon from the deck of a ship in midocean, I know no sight so awe inspiring as that of Russia's, winter scenery. 'We tramp- al boldly down the long avenues of the park, skirted the wood-beyond and came out upon the fields. There was no moon and very few stars visible; yet it was not dark; the path underfoot cculd be clearly read by bending dowa, writes Victor E. Marsden in the Len- don Evening Standard, but we knew better than to venture far into the il lmitable unknown. Looking forward into the white ex- panse with never a landmark visible as far as the eye could reach even in day- time, one could compare his position only to that of being adrift in a cock- boat in midocean. There is a fascina- tion of horror about the great stillness, and it inspired the Prince to suggest A troyka drive into the invisible wastes around. On foot one risked spending the night in aimless wanderings to and fro; with horses there was always the instinct of the brute creation to depend upon and sufficient force in reserve to conquer something of the powers of mere space if we really got lost in the TRACKLESS EXPANSE OF WHITE. So, on the word, back we hurried home, an order was given, and out came in a very brief lime the troykas harnessed and ready. The whole party ensconced themselves three and four each in (he great sledges, country built, and nearly all wood, with outrigger runners that defy an upset, and off we plunged right across country. Russian flelds are not enclosed, only here and there tall stalks of weed are ieft to mark the divisions between one man's strip of plough land and his neighbor's; even these were half buried under the snow. For an hour or more we drove to (he merry music of {he lit- t's bell that hangs on the wooden arch, the "bow" above the head of the mid horse of the team--a very companion- able sound in the solemn stillness around. One or {wo (urns, now this way, new that, put the visitors beyond all nossibllity of computing distances and uweclions, Whether we were really lcst at length or it was all an admir- able contrivance to give a new sensa- tion to the uninitiated slill remains matter of doubt. A bitter wind was blowing and the prospect of doing the best and driving al full speed straight ahead until we struck a village and could either ask our way or pul up there for the night did not seem promising. The drivers held heated debates about the present whereabouts, and a lonely peasant ivo- man returning from town forty miles away gave the usual polite assent to the question incautiously put to her by <no of the party, THE RUSSIAN COMMON PEOPLE always agree with any proposition put. to them by their betters; it is their sim- ple idea of politeness to the gentlefolk. This took us another five miles in the wrong direction, and the whole party was gradually coming to the conclusion ts give the horses their heads and let ihem take us home, with doubts whe- ther three horses harnessed abreast would solve the problem, when we de scried a light, and made for it fully be HHeving we were at least twenty miles from home, instead of the half mile so quickly covered, to find the whole ad- venture most happily ended over lea and cigarettes and wonderful stories of past experiences, politics and scandal in high places. It was here that Konstantin Mikhailo- 'vieh told us of a favorite evening amusement in the great woods where the wolves abougd. * Two or three men out by night into the woods, settle ives as comfortably as may be and proceed to imitate the wolf call. g ifalfa. The bulletin closes with ['Tiitl by fittle answers come from ali tions until scores of wolves are prowling about, giving sometimes a ut Ontario. Lehanos of a shot If one is disposed that ee k, ils perentiial character of lly, however, the thing is mere fun, with a. few thrills thrown in; the ger is not great, for the wolves do nol attack man until driven frenzied n successfully, with hunger. None the less, when guns ure not taken it-is usual to carry a: re: volver im case of need. There is a ndliness- about this form of amuse. 'ment which combines the. necessary ex- ent. of sport with love of nature d nature's ways without any of the element of - the averag destroyer; it certainly seems % 'well as a new sensation, = ti pater said Farmer. Jones' boy, fn. r , 88 he leaned on nis' hoo, oor Aa Be or fl nt come over "ha Ip yo hoein'---" "They get HEEL EE 400+ 44449 About fhe Farm | GREEN FORAGE FOR HOGS. An especially timely bulletin has just issued from the Missouri Experi- ment Station by Dean H, J. Walers giv- ing the results of some experiments to ae be. value of different forage for gs. Thirtysix pi of about 50 Ibs, each were fed in ots on different, forage crops in connection with oorn until they were ready- for market,, accurate acoount being kept of the gains nade. In cheapness of grains the feeds used ranked as folows: corn and skim milk, cheapest; corn and alfalfa, sec- ond; corn and red clover, third; corn and bluegrass, fourth; corn and rape, fifth; corn and ship stuff, sixth. - A saving of about 75¢ a hundred in the cost gain was effected by using green clover instead of fresh blue- grass. A saving of $1.00 a hundred was effected by using alfalfa instead of bluegrass. When it is realized that alfalta comes on 'early and when pro- perly clipped stays green all summer and until the very hard freezes of early winter ils importance as a hog pas- ture is apparent. Clover yields more forage per acre than bluegrass, and as shown by these experiments has a much higher feeding value. It is of the utmost importance therefore (0 pro- vide this sort of pasture for hogs rather than to require them to run on a blue- grass, a timothy pasture, or even worse grass pasture, or even worse than blue- grass, a timothy pasture, or even far worse than this, to confine them in a dry lot in the summer time. This buletlin recommends a succes- sion of crops for profitable hog pasture. SALT FOR MANGEL CROP. The value of salt for the mangel crop has often been demonstrated, and it was cmphalically shown in experi- ments carried out by the Irish Depart- ment of Agriculture on eleven farms in cight counties, as shown in a report is- sued a year ago, says the English Agri- cultural Gazette. The average re- sults were only 3 tons 14 cwt. per acre without manure. Fifteen tons of farm manure gave an Increase of 12 tons 19 cwt. The addition of 4 éwt. of super- phosphate made the crop 2% tons more, the further addition of 2 cwt. of sulphate of ammonia made it 13 tons more still; and where kainit, at the rate of 2 cwt. per acre was added to the ot- ber three artificials and the farmyard manure, another 23% tons brought the yield up to 23 tons 13 cwt. But 4 cwt. of salt, instead of the kainit, gave an in- crease of 3 tons 7 cwt., the total yield being 24%lons, or 20 tons 16 cwt. more than where no manure was used. The farm manure is valued al 4s. per ten, which is enough, perhaps, consider- ing that a single crap would not ex- haust il; and thé whole of the manures cost £5 2s., while the increase due to them, at 10s. per ton, was worth £10 8s., showing a profit of £5 6s. per acre. What is more remarkable, however, is that & cwt. of salt, costing only 4s., when added to the farm manure, super- phosphate, and sulphate of ammonia, gave an increase of 3 tons 7 cwt. of mangels, worth £1 13s. 6d. LIVE STOCK NQTES. A horse is profitable to his owner in proportion to the good condition of his feel and legs. The healthful state of {hese is best subserved by good earth ficors. At the present season ewes should be brought into fair condition both to give them strength to bring forth their young, and to stimulate a good flow of milk. Care should be taken not to make them fat, as this is likely to produce in- flammatory symptoms after parturition. Horses that have done little work dur- ing the winter should be handled at this time of year with more than or- dinary care. This is particularly true of young horses and brood mares. An excessively hard day's work or heavy load now when they are unaccustomed 10 pulling(, may result very disastrously tn their future usefulness. Great care should be taken not to overtax a colt. It is tue live stock that keeps up the fertility of our farms, and upon the quality of the stock depends the margin of profit and 18ss. Every farmer should -iVe a purpose and a system in breed- ing; yet careless and aimless breeding is the rule with too many farmers. Test your cows and weed olit all below the profit line. If you are breeding for but- ter, use a bull from an extra buller cow ol a butter breed. Avoid inbreeding; it tends to delicate and enfeebled concon- stitutions, while by using a bull from another family, possessing the but- ter qualities in the same degree, you re- tain the butter tendency and increase the capacity by adding vigor to the off: spring: In selecling breeding stock see that the dam is individually good; that the sire has an unbroken pedigree, and is of a good strain, and especially that he has a good dam. It is an old saying that "the bull is half the herd." - FAM NOTES. "flook around a lithe and see ir you! cannot gel some beller .oals than your cwn for sced. A change is offen one the most profitable things possible. Every farm is a greal labora where the finest, brainest study the world can be carried on. He Righest science is involved. V vogation presents itself to any mean to be breeder and originator of de: sirable plants and, animals for the use of man? ny It is fot so very much trouble fo a good crop of oats. All we need to is to have the ground in good con get at it in proper scason, use ' seed, and--wail. A good many times wa are in too big a hurry about gelling iv our oats; not too soon, bul too much of a hurry to get through. So we slip over the work and then wonder why ye do not get good returns, -- THE BLIGHT OF ISLAM. (By A. Banker.) The country on which is concentar the supremest regard of all Christen- dom, far surpassing in intcrest an fascination any other place in the whole, world--the Holy Land--owing to the blighting effects of the effete rule of the Turk, in rough weather is practi cally shut out and isolated from th world. For the absence of any harbor, which any civilized power, even the, most unimportant, would long ago have, provided, venders landing altogether] impracticable except in [fairly moderale; weather, And even then a landing at Jolla, (fcrmerly Joppa) is an experience f quently, though happily not always, the reverse of agreeable. The steamer an- chors some distance from the town and' is soon surrounded by Arab boats, one ol which approaches the lowered slair- gangway as ncar as practicable. The passenger hen descends the stairway, and seals himself, or herscl{--and woe te. her if she be stout and heavy--on th: small grating at foot, his feet dang=« ling over the surging billows. arms are (hen seized by two stalwart Arabs, who, as the boat rises on th crest of a wave to within a few feel cl the platform, drop him into the arms of two other swarthy Arabs, who, while he is suspended in mid-air, vio- lently clutch hold of his feet or legs. Down, down, goes the boat in the trough of the sea; and down, down, goes the passenger, who, gnipped tightly by the Arabs, in a few moments Is hurtled, sprawling, into the bottom of the boad emidst a number of exhausted and frightened ladies and gentlemen, some of the former trembling, and almost in hysterics, and all probably more or less sore wilh bruises and rough hand-' ling. The Arabs then with wild gesti- culations and wuder still clamor and gutteral vociferations row off towards the shore, every now and then the surf breaking over the boal and drenching the occupants. And then, the middle passage accom, plished, what a thrill, almost of ecs-| lasy, courses through tho veins, as the traveller sets foot upon the shore and| feels that he is on holy ground. His unpleasant experiences are forgotten; and as he journeys from place to place, Lallowed by the presence, during His' earth-life, of the Saviour of the world, he feels indeed that all that discomfort, was as nothing compared with the, pleasure of (reading upon that sacred scil. Surely it is time that the Great Pova, crs should peremptorily call upon this semi-civilized government to forthwith pul an end to this disgraceful state of affairs, and oonstruct a proper harbor.) For here the Great Founderof our haly, religion, having on our behalf left fon a time His archangel-surrounded throne, in the heaven of heavens, Hved a life of penury and obloquy, and then, as cur Substitute, suffered the penalties we had incurred through our manifold transgressions, thereby blotting out th record on high against all and any who will prostrate themselves before Him and plcad that great atonement. _-- GOOD RULES FOR EMPLOYES. Be on time at your post of duty. Be respectful lo your employers. Be mum about all maliers passing through your hands. Be silent about all office business; let others do the telling, Be sure and attend strictly to your own work; let others do theirs. Be kind to those around you. Be agreeable and accommodaling at al! times. : ..- Be at your post during business hours. Be sensible and keep away from the desks of others. i Be neat: about .your work. Be ambitious fo improve. Be humble rather than arrogant. Be studious, that you may iearn the intricacies of the business in which you are engaged. . Be prompt in gelling out your work., "Procrastination is the thief of time.' Be orderly about your desk. Be neat about your dress. Be of good principle; never gain fa vor with your superiors: by practising treachery towards your fellow-clerks. Be dignified; never suffer yourseld lo indulge in. frivolity, Be sure and show no favoritism in of- fice; leave that for other business houcs. Be h life in your business sur- 1 at aThile ith Them Jou and. whe D8 you wil 5d "as a faithful friend and Soin us employe,