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through good and ill oliver ob brandons story by nora laugher chapter il clifford fairfax when all the world u eucit lad and all the tree are green and every uooaea swan lad and every le a q letu the n hey for boot aud hone lad and round the world away young blood mtut have its courts lad and every don hu day wont give np now fairfax without bagging something for our trouble ehf on we went persevering for two weary hours but to our great chagrin and disap pointment could see no ligu of elephants all at once chowko stopped lilted up his dark forefinger and listened harke sahib doctor chowko tinke hear somefin this time skidmore grasped his rifle tighter for we all three heard a peculiar pr- rrrrr trumpeting kind of sound then a few minutes after came a thundering crash ing as of a mighty army and a whole herd on they went clisord fail fax according to promise came down to the homettead for a game of cards with us the evening of my arrival he seemed to be a great favoiitu with everyone at irvineaide except mary who avoided him pointedly upon all occasions i wondered ed at mies irvines dislike to him for he rrl j itti i i t u 11 u a fi i and on we sped with all our might in the was a tail handsome fellow clever in fc v f q h his profession of a medical man a moat c- f tlv mzzz entertaining companion having travel id beating terrificly and the perspiration rkiur- v svi ti jlzzc a nitca j ed from us in streams great scott 1 jack the madmuch regment and obsrved and heat and excitement was something awful irjr uj tj i t then talk about your summer heat here after we had played several games i n cinadai youhav idea whatthat bam euchre and mrs irvine and the girls had retired we eat around the diningroom fire smoking and drinking some fine bottled cid er while fairfax related us some anecdotes of his life as a soldier in india by the by said jack refilling his pipe do you ever feel anything now of the hurt you got out there clifford yes occasionally but it is almost worn mer was like out there well the elephants rushed on with in creased speed and we after them chowko was first the major close behind him and i came last for just then i was almost dose up with running all at once to my right hand through the bushes i saw two eyes glaring at me like living coals i stood quite still off now iatear thav r fom is jw upidly atthem for amoment witha t- v i tiu u i i j fearful sort o fascination it was a tremen- though although it is nearly five ye doub urwi who with his formidable teeth displayed tore wildly at the branches with ago i can recall it as well as if it happened yesterday what was it i enquired an accident you met with in india yes merely a little scratch from a tie- uuder cover of thesmoke th butiwasp rotty bady hurtat late tho branches parted and with a low ugly growl he sprang at me hisolaws to get at me luckily however they resisted his efforts for a minute or two and i raised my rifle and fired taking care to the time help yourself to some more cider and let us hear it now i dont think i ever heard particulars of it said jack oat elephant hunting wereyounot actingrather making a terrific charge and laying me pro strate tearing my clothes and flesh in a terri ble manner i shall never forget it i quite thought that my last moment was come and skittishly and not taking proper precautions hould seeneshet major or chowko in v kt j t t their excitement they had rushed on after t iwi im 1 w ta h w the herd of elephants neither of them missing i suppose it would not have happened a me or hearing my shot with almost super lf 1 i oh t rs tumanstrength i curved my arm round to a let me see where were we oh 1 i remem- 1 k u my and plunged it into the ber we were quartered at a small place call- s tl tt s s j omu v u ij i brnte e heart iuat as its teoth were being ed silhet you have heard me speak of fc rf d fa hj h j q j h skdmoremsjor skidmore one of the best th of another rifle objects be- fellows of the 91st well one morning very comjng md awam before j and i fainted from loss of blood early skidmore and i were just sitting down to our caofa hagaree or what porhaps canadians might term a first breakfast it usually consisted of something substantial enough to carry us along until twelve oclock ac which hour after a oath we usually took a big feed of several courses we were just commencing our chota hagaree of curried rice when a moonshte who came to teach our chaplain the language rode excitedly into camp with the news that he had seen a whole drove oi elephants going into the nearest jungle alter swallowing or rather bolting our curry our horses were brought round and we set off under the guidance of chowko skid- mores young native servant two natives on ponies carried our rifles and hatches and two body servants of the regiment rode behind us it was a lovely morning but by jove 1 even then oppressively hot about an hour and a halfs hard riding brought ub to the jungle a stiffish looking place such immensely thick bushes and foli age that the suns brilliant rays could scarce ly penetrate we dismounted and peered into it it looked so dense and thorny that we began to think it looked next to impossi ble to get through it without being liter ally torn to pieces the major gave a long whistle and looked rather rueful fairfax bald he the beggars have chosen stiffish ground for their ambush do you think we had better tackle it i was just ripe for any sport that morn- ing yes tackle it by all means major i said tearing down some big creepers that somewhat obstructed my view the major held a short consultation with the two body servants and ordered them to wait outside the jungle chowko and the two natives were care fully scrutinizing the trees and bushes chowko after taking his hatchet chopped himself a path a snort distance into the jungle hurrying back to us after a short absence he informed the major dis where de rogue elephant be we lay in wait for them just upon the out skirts of the jungle accordingto the natives and caowko s advice for over an hour by that time i got thoroughly impatient and resolved to enter the jungle skidmore opposed it very strongly at first as did chowko and the natives the two latter began to show signs of fear at which the majors english tomper arose and he spoke to chowko who understood him toll tho two cowardly blaok devils to go back to tho body servants and wait there with them out side you can also go tack if you are afraid no no chowko not fraid only for sahib chowko stay major skidmore was just as anxious now to get a shy at the brutes as i was the two natives gladly ran back to the body servants who remained outside taking care of the horses after a short consultation with tho faith ful chowko we prepared to enter the jungle we followed chowko partly crawling upon our hands and knees partly walking in a crouching manner it was a mo3t danger ous experiment though for we felt that at any moment a tiger or leopard might spring upon us or one of tho small deadly cobra which abound there might sting us but we grew more excited every moment and risking when i returned to consciousness i was lying upon a green bank jusb outside the jungle supported by the majors arm and chowkos kind dark face bending over me are you mush hurt fairfax anxious ly enquired skidmore no 1 1 guess not i replied but i be lieve the brute has ripped my thigh open as indeed it proved upon investigation i hardly know how they got along they dared not attempt to take me all the way back to the camp but luckily chowko knew of an old mahomedan mosque or what locked very much like one at no very great distance which was used at that time as a bungalow for a yonng eoglish clergy man to this moeque or whatever it was they carried me and its occupant proved himself most kind and hospitable under my direction he cauterised my wound i had just strength enough to tell him what to do and what liniment to send to camp for i was ill there for three months i shall al ways remember that strange bungalow skidmore would have it that id had never beon a mosque but a suite of rooms in which the zenana of some rieh rajah performed their toilette after bathing in the adjacent tank well be they what they might they were most roomy and cool with enormously thick walls and a great echo along the dom ed roof the young olergyman bernard kingsley who by the way happens to be a brother to lieutenant kingsley now of our regiment was a capital good fellow he and his native servants nursed me as tenderly as a woman could have done i often think of that day in the jungle after all we had some sport for major skid more and chowko had shot two elephants and i had stabbed quite the largest and handsomest tiger we ever met with in in dia it was a near go though i said pass ing fairfax some tobacco yes you bet it was said irvine great scot 1 how i wish i had gone out there with you clifford i am growing a regular rover said fairfax musingly as he tit his pipe afresh a soldiers life is the life for me egypt will bo our next call i suppose for i can see we are going to have trouble there we had little enough to do in india the old doc tor sadly wants mo to soil out and settle down in fergus now that i am at home but i could not stand that one narrowgroove of a country medical practitioner in canada it is eight years ago since i first took it into my head to round the world away i shall never forget the dear old mothers tears dolly and enas pleadings the poor old dads anger at my leaving canada and that first start away from guelph station they have been my only drawbacks to the life that has such charm for me tho he knows i kisses bate i would baulk his base design- but the wretch be did it straight and then again and still i found that still my wheel went round and round concluding the last verse gladys turned round to reach another bk and caught sight of me blushing rcsy refl as she did so oh mr brandon how yon startled me i bought you were gone shooting with jack well we did start out intending to go but jack was called back to speak to one of the hired men about something or the r and am glad of it otherwise i would have missed that delightful little song said i laying my gun dowa in a corner of the room it was downright mean of yoc to listen in that underhand way behind the door but you will forgive me miss gladys forgive you no that i wont you city men are just about as mean as you can be i dont want any help thank you you need not band me the books just go right away and kill the poor innocent little snow birds as you intended i had never seen gladys at all angry be fore this now do pardon me i said hum bly and sincerely it is the prettiest song in the world wont yon tell me where you picked it up and ill never never listen again if you do not wish me to well if you will promise never to listen again yea in fact ill run right away the next time i find you singing or else ill stuff both my ears with with gunwadding rather than offend you so terribly well said gladys trying not to laugh but failing ignominiously as she pictured me heroically atuffing gunwadding into my ears i guess i will have to forgive you but mind sir it is upon that one condition f oget it at your peril but you have not given me trie name of your song i really do not know it i found the verses in a very old book i was reading one day and what is tho air i persisted really mr brandon you are just as inquisitive as a yankee the air and here gladys paused growing shy and confused again the air is merely a tune of my own that i set it to mary says both the words and the air are very foolish so i never sing it before anyone i mentally onsigned miss irvine to hali fax for little gladys sweet voice could put soul and music into the most commonplace ballad ever written a glorious picture she made looking shyly out of those true brown eyes her slender figure had that lithe sup- plenessone rarely meets with amongst cana dian women such a form that one rarely finds outside the gardens of the south an exquisitely shaped head richly complexion- ed small dark oval face and falling away below her waist over the pink morning dress a mass of long eurly dark hair which had become unpinned in the exertion of placing large volumes too high for her reaoh although irvine and the snow birds were awaiting mo 1 lingered for the rest of the morning talking to gladys in the parlour taking up a nicely bound but well worn and well marked volume lying upon a small table i glanced at the owners name upon the title page what do vou sttidy shakespeare to that extent v x asked yes i rarely read anything else lately confess now mr brandon dont you think me a little learned prig indeed no i said admiringly but i have nevor before met a woman i mean a young woman pardon the term mind enough to understand him i dont know that i am egotistical enough to imply that i do understand him said gladys by all these notes and comments writ ten upon the margin i know that you do thoroughly understand and follow him now if you did not at first ah 1 if other wo men would read shakespeare more they would be better worth talking to but alas i they prefer the light wishywashy trash most of them you are an exception i am glad you are an enthusiast like myself shakespeares characters are all true companionable women said gladys return ing to her text without raising her eyes yesl i replied this reminds me of the gallant reason i once heard given by a celebrated physician why woman as intend ed for the companion and friend of man was taken from his rib in preference to any other bone she was not taken from his head lest she should rnle over him nor from bis feet lest he should trample upon ber but she was taken from bis side that be might shield and protect her and from near his heart that he might cherish and love her gladys beautiful brown eyes drooped as they met mine and her face flushed under my gaze as we rose to go to the dining room as we sat down to dinner i could not avoid seeing a cold glance from the elder sister and hearing the angry whisper gladys it is perfectly disgraceful of vou to flirt so with that man he may be a new york adventurer for aught we know how bitterly those few unkindly whis pered words hnrt me in the dark future months awaiting me mary irvine never knew clifford fairfax joined us in all our sports returning home with him late one afternoon after a hard days shooting we found gladys and mtss stone who had been skating with dolly and ena fairfax we with them were easily persuaded to sit down to a cosy high tea of cold wild turkey and cranberrv sauce baked bears paws buckwheat pan cakes and maple syrup doctor fairfax was gone to see a patient at salem but mrs fairfaxs good natured beaming face smiled benignly upon us from behind the capacious teaurn jacks roguish blue eyes took a milder glow as he looked down at pretty liura stone seated near him as we were adjourning to the drawing room for a little music mr gully grai n ger dropped in to relate the last titbit of fergus scandal crossing the room to gladys i sat down upon the ottoman beside her i could see fairfaxs dark eyes watch ing me and a sudden fear came to me what if he loves her too 1 the thought almost maddened me fairfax being in a better pos ition than myself beside being a vast deal better looking with his dark swarthy com plexion bronzed by an indian sun merry black eyes and gay devilmaycare soldierly manner when mrs fairfax requested gladys to sing i rose preparing to turn over the pages for ner but clifford fairfax was too quick for me selecting that quaint song barbara allen from some music sheets lying upon the piano she sang it in her sweet unfalter ing voice then i heard ber ask fairfax to sing he had a good voice and played his own accompaniment looking up into gladys eyes as she stood by his side he sang must i leave thee t oh i send menot away so far away from thee and thy dear sight for with thee my full heart will ever stay i cannot cannot bear to say goodnight i bid farewell yet still i do not go but near to thee i dare no longer stay for honor calls me hence to meet the foe tomorrow in the battles bloody fray we two have loved an d yet we two must part tho thou art here thy heart is still with me and i tho far away from where thou art my soul my wry life remains with thee spoil that now oliver it ib almost a pi itold yon a pity why irvine i dont think i could have spent one mom day here at the homestead thinking that fairfax was in love with gladys and that his love was recipro cated i am a jealous fool and it almost drove me wild to see him look at her as though she were his property already but i can excuse bim now what a born idiot i was i cannot help laughing now but do you i e ally and truly think gladys could care for me jack am i sure that little gladys cares for you you ask yes brandon lam just as certain as i am of being a true born guelph township canadian just as certain as i am of loving the sweetest and truest girl in ontario bar one jack bar one 1 v well anything for peace oliver repuld- jack laughing at my happiness and wil ling liura drliog to himself after a wished me good night to be cost1nukd chalter iii larmobr mental abkrratioh a damask cheek and ivory arm shall neer my wishes win give mo an animated form that speaks a mini within but ah 1 where bcth th tr charms unlto how perfect la the view with every image cf delight with graces ever now strolling back again into the house one everything on we pressed the shrubs grew m with f tjtihl mora and more riaantio w rrmlrl wrlw hoo a sweet olear voice singing in the parlor i could see that it was gladys perched upon a high stool arranging some books upon their shelves therefore i listen ed more and more gigantic we could hardly force our way through them they lacerated onr flesh so painfully mammoth ceeepers some of them thicker than my body climbed np the enormous trunks of the trees and stretched out their long arms to each other somewhat resembling the tall rigging of a ship the branohea of these huge creepers we had continually to chop off with our hatchets chowko was indofatigable he was a strong muscular fellow and by this time thoroughly excited yet with his aid we got on but slowly the thorny pear trees and prickly brambles tore and pierced our flesh so fearfully that the blood ran down us in small streams by jove this is awful said the major receiving a severe scratch in one of his eyes from a big brambly looking shrub but we damon came a praising me vowing that he loved me too none like i so fair could be none like him could be so true i meant to chide but spoke no sound and still my wheel went round and round damon somewhat bolder grown in his hand mine fondly placed pressed it gently in his own then his arm went round my waist somehow i smiled instead of frowned and still my wheel went round and round damon brought his face nigh mino which is your favorite play i oan hardly tell othello is a great favorito of mine but i half think i like hamlet best of the tragedies and jmuoh ado about nothing of the comedies i love to think of the ideal women that he has ortrayed some perhaps that have only ivod in his own wondrous imagination but yet having never lived will yet live for ever as shakespeare lives gladys replied her sweet face lit up with admiration yes i said i thoroughly following her enthusiasm who indeed but shakespeare could describe female character as he has done for holding the mirror up to nature he has shown mb women in all their virtues vices and weaknesses yet never do they lose the true charm of their womanliness and never did he portray a woman a fool bat one cannot read shakespeare alone will you let me read with you 1 gladys shook her head decisively but read me something now said she opening the book at haphazard i read aloud the forest scene in as you like it 1 then turning to hamlet 1 commenced where ophelia steals upon lam unawares while weary of his unexecuted task he argues against his better self the expediency of suicide then when ophe lia suddenly appears bofore him he is sur prised at first iuto being courteous and al most loving until ho begins to suspect that she too is deceiving him and then being al most maddened by the fearful necessity of personating nudness ho heaps upon that most deject and wretched lady who had sucked the honey of his muaio vows the most bitter agony that of a lovers unjust anger as i finished reading i saw that gladys eyes were dim with tears this seems to mo said she the saddest scene of any fcor poor ophelia neither lear nor romeo and juliet have anything so fearfully heartrending what do you chink are the best traits of a heroine mr brandon she atked by and bye affection and cheerfulness i replied quickly affection is ever a womans nobl est and best charm for then she not only loves bat sympathizes and pities by that sweet power of sympathy she oan draw all hearts to hers especially when with it is combined that most fascinating of powers habitual cheerfulness which like a perpetual sunlight gleams through the mind and influences tho whole body with its beauty and instre lighting up tho face with the truest of all beauty making the possessor a fit compan ion nay guardian angel for man the affected puppy how dare he i i muttered to myself the words were his own composition and they fell upon my ears like a knell i am afraid that i there and then consigned the military amateurpoet to the far realms of eternal frizzling gladys mignon face crimsoned under my angry gaze as clifford fairfax familiarly drawing her hand through his arm led ber back to her seat beside me on the ottoman they pressed me to sing but i was in no singing mood that evening sitting down to the piano i dashed off noisy airs from chil- peric then in answer to dolly fairfax to play something else i branched off into mendelssohns songs without words i know not why but they made mo think differently of gladys oh i my darling he cannot care for you as i do leaving the piano and finding myself un- percerved i slipped out through the heavily rlmson curtained glass door on to the piazza it wa bitterly cold but the keen north wind cooled my heated forehead and allayed the tempest within my heart i had scarcely stood at the far end of the piazza a moment when two fur robed figures came up the steps from the garden by tho ray of light from one of the drawing room win dows i saw they were irvine and miss stone and i could hear the latter weeping un fortunately i could not retreat without their seeing ma id so i was compelled to hesr a portion of tuoir conversation jacks broad breast hoavtil with compassion as the poor girl touched by his kindness sobbed out a brief account of the cruel treatment she had experienced from her step mother that morning then jack folding her in his sheltering arms poured forth the story of his love and begged her to leave her unhap- y home and become his wife at once and aura bent her pretty face upon his heart and smiled away her tears never before did i realize so thoroughly the great dramatists assertion that it is a bitter thing to look into happiness through another mans eyes later on when irvineside was wrapped in slumber and jack and i sat smoking by the ttarlor fire i told him how unwillingly i had witnessed the little love scene between him self and miss stone never mind old chappie it saves me the trouble of telling you she is a dear good little girl isnt she i only hope brandon that some day you and gladys will be as happy as we are gladys i gasped then you dont really think she cares for fairfax jaot for clifford fairfax why brandon ou are joking oh 1 lsee it all now 1 and rvine bursttfnto a long and immoderate fitof laughter why cliff was engaged to mary for nearly three years but they often quarrel led and just before he sailed the second time for india they had one big final quarrel which evidently terminated their engagement i guess yon have observed ere this that mary has a devil of a temper she is something- like that roan mare niagara kicks over tho traces eh bat she is a good girl at heart too much spunkiness is her only fault sho and clifford dont seem to have made it op yet but i bet it wont be long first he is just as fond of her as ho always was and marys heart isnt quite cabbage hard so you thought he admired gladys 1 he and little gladys were just pretending to flirt to a womens hunt in bengal at the last meeting of the royal asiatic society of bengal a descripton was given of a peculiar custom among the aboriginal tribes of ranchi a grcup of hamlets in chota nagpore it is kniwi as the era sendra or womens hunt oi the present occasion the object was to ex i- i the cholera demon and it is usual wicn any great calamity overtakes the land fr the women to dres3 themselves up in tens clothes arm themselves and go out to hunt not in the jungles but in the nearet villages east of them they chase pigs aud fowla and everything they kill is thri they also levy black mail from the heads of the villages for the purchase of liquor the villagers cannot prevent the slaughter of their animals but the head men generally com promise matters by giving the huntresses a pig and paying a small sum towards evening the hunting party retires to a neighbouring stream where they cook and eat the meat and drink the liquor they eat nothing after this meal bnt bathe and return home men are not allowed to accompany them on such occasions and they conduct themselves for the time being in a very masterful and masculine manner they are decked out in coats and all the finery they oan borrow fiom their husbands and sweethearts and they flourish their spears axes and sticks beat their iron drums shout sing hunting songs and dance juat as the men do tho ceremony begins in the west and each village that has been visited goes out on a similar excursion to its neighbours but always to the east by i this means it is supposed that the evil spirit is safely conducted out of the district with- j out offending its dignity one village near ranchi is an exception it is called mahadaiva or devoted to mahadev and there the amazons are not allowed to enter as it is supposed to be under the special protection of its patron saint if cholera appears there it is because the mahadev is offended and he must be propitiated before it can disappear a study in postage stamps there are about six thousand different de- scriptions of postage stamps in existence the museum of the berlin poateffice alone contains between four thousand and five thousand specimens of which half are from europe and the remainder divided between 9 asia africa america and australia what country carries offthepalm for absurdity and i grotesqueness of artistio design and inferiority of execution we are not told but if the col- 1 leotion is faithfully representative the variety of ugliness must be considerable some of the stamps it appears bear coats of arms and other emblems impartially borrowed from the heavens above the earth beneath and the waters under the earth stars eagles lions horses berpents railway trains dol phins and other fearful wild fowl there are moreover the effigies of five emperors eighteen kings three queens one grand duke several inferior titled rulers and many presidents in so many countries and nationalities some really attractive speci mens must have been elaborated but if so it is a pity cur authorities did not borrow a hint or two from the best for anything more bald monotonous and commonplace than the british series of postage stampi down to the latest issue cannot well be im agined papermaters journal the cheerfulness of genius men of truly great powers of mind hav generally been cheerful sooial and indulgen w hife a tendency to sentimental whining o fierce intolerance may be ranked among th surest symptons of little souls and inferio intellects in the whole list of onr englia poets we can only r member shenstone an savage two certa ot the lowestrwhj were querulout and discontented cowlej indeed used to call himself melancholf bnt he was not in earnest and at anyrav was full of conceits and affectations and hi nothing to make as proud of him shake peare the greatest of them uij was evidetj ly of a free and joyous tcmrierament ai so was chancer their comn t master 53 same disposition apoears u nave prodon nated in fletcher jonsru mid their gri contemporaries the rcomis of mil partook somewhat of the iustcrity of j party to which he belong- and of j controversies in whioh rut was invd l ed but even when fvlen on ffll days and evil tongues hi pirit seem i p have retained its serenity a its dignity a j in his private life as well us his poetryt majesty of a high oharaotor is tempered vi great sweetness genial indulgences practical wisdom frakcis jeffre try and bring mary to her senses they were tno supply acting upon my advice bat i guess youll the mill nee brass lamps are out of date being sur eded by those of repousse silver or venel wrought iron they frequently standi or seven feet high j a costly inkstand and pair of candolt are of royal dresden china in the delfc tintings peculiar to that ware they r a suitable ornament for a handsome libs table a magnificent lamp is of rare enamel around which twines a maj lizard with flaming oyes the base carved teakwood the shado is mste one gorgeouslycolored yellow and p tulip a man who would be a good workeni sco toit that ho is a good sleeper inn life is like a mill sorrotimcs the straw so copious that one needs caro but littlab jy but often the stream thajtuj needs to be economised i