The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

beconciliaticxtt a hew yjabs stoby bv uesby cressweix it was with the air of a man profoundly indifferent to bis successes tnat gerard strickland twitching his cuffs and stretch ing hi arms before letting bis hands fall into hia lap sank back into the luxurious arm chair by his library fire after throwing on she table the letter that announced his promo tion to an enviable post in the civil service as he thought of the pott his advancement seemed to him noeutjscc tor congratulation hut only one of those grim jests with which fortune delights to mock oisappointed men v an old man servant one of a ort growing rre entered the room ith mi eveoiogpapcr ltjiiaid ic at his matters side and htood at a respectful distance nailing half hesitating with some anxiety legible in hia ccuntcn ance well thomas asked strickland 1 bag your pardon sir j but do you remember what day it is today v no tnomas your wedding day sir stricklands f ite clouded x did not know sir whether you would wish for dinner the same wine as as you used to have no thomas i shall probably dine at the club i ordered dinner as usual sir and a bouquet in case quite right thomas quite right for an instant the heart of the promoted official bank the fidelity of his old domes- tie was humiliating uow he would once have resented the suggestion that thomas would remember this anniversary better than himself and that it should fall to tho old servant to order irom the florist the bouquet gerard himself had been formerly so proud to bring home on this evening to his wife but the slight sense of annoyance passed away quickly it was with absolute indif ference that seeing the man servant still waiting he asked anything else thomas j this morning when you had but just gone a young lady called hearing you were not at home she said she would call again this evening about six she wishes to see you on important business her name she left none did yon see her no air did john aay what she waa like bather tall air a young lady dark and fashionably dressed if she calls i will seeher you may go thomas the servant left and strickland continued to himself tall young dark welldressed business with me who can she be the lady is here sir in the drawing- room said thomas returning to the lib rary alter about ten minutes strickland went to the drawingroom at the door he paused a moment to ateal a look at his visitor she stood by one of the tables idly turning the leavesof a pho- 1 tograph album herback was toward him and ho could distinguish only the tall and graceful figuro o a woman welldressed und wearing expensive laces madam 1 he said advancing the lady turned strickland started as if he hadreceived an electric shock to conceal to the best of his ability his sur prise and the sudden pallor of his face he ttade her a profound bow i hope i am not inconveniencing you she said at the time returning hi salute then with a quiet ease she selected a chair and sat down not in the least i am at your service said strickland gether and we must avoid everything that would awaken suspicion she spoke sadly as well a earnestly a deep shadow of concern asttled on her hearers face wrapped in thought be delayed the answer his visitor became impatient your promised courtesy costs too much i she demanded no i am ready but i see many dffi- culties the bcrvants give the new manservant i found here this morning a holiday i will speak to thomas if a friend should call you will see no one if we meet your father people will see ts to gether wo will go in a closed carriage your father will stay here several hours good and simplehearted as he is do you be lieve it possible he will not rocogniza a bachelors house i will send my work my music and so on this evening the room is as you left it sentimentality no respect have you any further objections none it remains to be seen whether we shall be able to deceive mr gregory by playing the affectionate couple can you remember your grimaces and fooleries of two years ago ahe asked sarcastic ally no i have forgottea them replied strickland with a frown and the two looked into eaoh others eyes like two duelists when will you come here aaked strickland thia evening i will bring my things and i shall slightly disarrange thia and that i hope i shall not inconvenience you you are not expecting anyone no one i was going out if you wish i will stay and assist you my engagement is unimportant pray go wo should have to talk and we hive nothing to say to eaoh other nothing will you dine here no thanks ill go home now and return bye and bye she rose strickland bowed in response to her bow conducted her to the door with- out another word and returned with a sense of relief to the library when he returned home shortly after midnight the house had resumed an aspect long strange to it lights were burning in the drawingroom and a little alteration in r the arrangement of tho furniture had reator- j rooms aa strickland preceded them into the victoria and with a polite bow to separate and retrrn to their several existences dinner was ended mr gregory smiled contentment and happiness and the two actors at the cpponie ends of the tabe of necessity smiled too their ports had proved difficult from the moment of the old gentleman s arrival they had had to call eaoh otber by tbeir christian nsmes and to use the little endear ments of two people still in love more than once a word an intonation that sounded like an echo of the dead pat made strick land pale and bertha trembe their em harassment momentarily increased the more perfect their distimulatiyn the bitterer waa the secret remorse that wrung the hearts of both of them whilst they exchanged for meaningless things words looks and smiles once the most sacred signs of affection with the fear of betraying themselves by an indiscretion was intermixed another a misgiving lest while they acted affection they should be guilty of real feelings warm er than the courteous indifference with which they desired to regard each other on the stairs when mr gregory pre ceding them was for an imtant out of sight bertha turned back and bestowed on her husband a grim look of fatigue that meant how are we to continue tnis tis only till tomorrow bertha he replied in an undertone wishing to help her but the christian naeae which because he had in the last two hours used it so frequent ly unwittingly slipped from his lips caused her to turn her face away with an angry frown by the fire in the back drawing room mr gregory appeared actuated by a desire to ask all the most awkward questions and to broach all the topics of conversation most difficult for his host and hostess letters are welcome bertha he said when people can net meet but i have en joyed my little visit more than all the pages you have sent mo ihere is very little in letters dont you think your wife grows handsomer strickland i tell her so every day ant so he tells me bertha his letters are all about jou you have a modol hus band my dear i have papa strickland hung his head and regarded the pattern of the carpet i should like to see your house bertha said mr gregory after a moment the little party sat out on a tour of tho mansion after an inspection of several ants and butterflies in a recent number of the journal of the bombay nttural history society mr lionel de niceviue describes the manner in which the larvae of a species of battel fly c taurcux ihiophraxtus fabricin are culti vated and protected by the large common black ants of fnit gardens and houses as a rule ants are the most deadly and inveter ate enemies of butteiflies and ruthlessly de stroy and eat them whenever they get the chance but in the present case the larva- exude a tweet liquid of some sort of which the ants are inordinately fond and which they obtain by stroking the larva gently with their aotnrre hnce the great care which is taken of them the larva feed on a small thorny bush of the jungle the zizy- phu jvjujba and at the foot ot this the ants construct a temporary neat about the middle of june just before the rains set in great activity is observable on the tree the ants are busy all day running along the branches and leaves in search of the larvw and guiding and driving them down the stem of tho tree towards the nest each prisoner is guarded until he is got safely irto his plac when ha falls off into a doze and undergoes his transformation into a pupa if the loose earth at the foot of the tree is scraped away hundreds ot larvre and puga- in all stages of development arranged in a broad even band all round the trunk will be seen the ants object to uncovering them and immediately set to work to put the earth back again if this is taken away again they will remove all the chrysaids and bury them ower down when tho as i shall avail mybelf of your condes cension i hope that was not merely a com pliment may i ask you how i can ouligo you the lady btroked the soft fur of her muff and once or twice lifted her searching eyes to his face apparently she was hesitatng to namo the purpose of her visit mean while strickland gratified hia cyos with a good lcok at her lovely fascinating still as the first dav he had seen her only her pure profile ha 1 gained more decision and her eyes baa a profounder meaning than when he last looked into them aa those of a woman who had lived and suffered ac length she said do you still correspond with my fath er yea it is however a fortnight since i last wrote to him i received a letter from him yesterday he is coming to town tomorrow thia time strickland made no attempt to conceal his surprise tomorrow 1 your father who never leaves home 1 themedical moncrderodhim to the south and bo will on his way stop in town to spend the night with she paused his daughter said striokland ho says hia sou and so e find our selves io a pleasant embarrassment she leant back and with a small hand bo- fan drubbing a wallz on tho table at her side you call it pleasant said strickland i did not come hero to discuss words but to discover a plan of action i see none and you are a politican a man of genius 1 if those subtle arts that havo been so successfully employed in your own advancement could be without prejudice to you this onco employed to extricate mo from- excuse mo madam but your reproaches are scarcely likely to assist me to exorcise my imagination bah i well i have a plan first i do not wish cost what it may to let my father know the truth the unhappy truth 1 she made a little grimace and proceeded my father would be oruelly hurt and the sins of tho children ought not to bo visited apon their parents my remorse i bog your pardon that is of little consequonce here she looked aside to warn him not to expostulate and continued hitherto thanks to our precautions the distance of my fathers residence and the seclusion in which ho prefers to live he has been spared this sorrow tomorrow our clever edifice of dutiful falsehood falls to the ground and i at least am unable to conjecture tho con sequences and i mr strickland it is absolutely neces sary to prevent this scandal 1 trust you will assist me my father must find us to ed to the room a forgotten grace bouquets of flowers filled the vases and a faint sweot- ncb3 of violets floated about 40 hall and staircase the piano was open and some music stood on the bookstand on the boudoir tablo was a work basket by the hearth bis visitor was sitting in a low chair her little feet half buried in the boarakin rug and her head reposed on her hand whiut she gazed wistfully into the fire was it a dream berthas flowers bsithas music bertha hereelf in her home again two years misery cancelled in an evening in a moment rushed across his j memory a golden wooing a proud wedding i happy monhs and the bitter day of nap dration he turned away and pas3cd to his room saying good night i good night replied his wife without movidg the strange event that had taken place in gerard stricklands house prevented nono of i s inmates enjoying a wholesomo nights rest bertha persuaded that tomorrows comedy could effect no real change in her relation to her husband went to her room with the feelings of one who spends a night in a hotel strickland similarly regard ing the past as irremediable read in bod for half an hour and then fell asleep to get married they had both com mitted a thousand follies after meeting her at a tsble dhote strickland had pursued her half over europe vanquished the diffi culties of an approach to her father in his secluded country house and ultimately as sisted by the ladys prayers and tears gained the od mans reluctant consent to surrender his idolized daughter the young married people nassionatcly attached to eaoh other eoj yed fifteen months of re markable happiness and then came the end bertha became jealous devoted to her husband proud hasty immoderate in all her thoughts and emotions she renin ted with all the intendty of her naturo a meeting tmtwetn strickland and a former flame a dance a note half annours con- vorsaton tho husband unfortunately mot her passionate expostulations with the disdainful insouciance of an easy tempera ment the inevitable consequence ensued a bitter misunderstanding an impudent ser vant a malicious acquaintance half adozen venomous tongues lashed tho wifes jeal ousy into madness an explanation de manded from her husband was refused with a sneer he had begun to think her a proud unloving woman and under the circumstances judged selfjustification ri- dioulous tho following morning she entered hia library ond with marvellous calmness without quavering over a tingle word announced to him their immediate separation for ever taken by surprise strickland tried to temporizo acknowledged he had been thoughtless lid all in a mans power to avoid tho rupture bertha only replied so proudly and with so much severity that selfrespect forbadohim further self- defense thay separated strickland ex ternally boro bis misfortune with quietness and in- counsel with his own conscience concluded his life brokon and ruined by his own want of tact the husband and wife met two or threo times as peoplo who barely know each other ho devoted himself to professional duties resumed some of his bachelor habits and amused bimsolf as he could she led a quiet almost solitary life restricting her pleasures to such simple en joyments as she could provide herself at nome and soldom appearing in public on one point both agreed to write regularly to berthas father repeating such stereotyped fibroses as bartha is well and sends her ove 1 bclievod sho wrote to you a few days ago gerard is we and at present very busy he will not this year bo able to accomj an me to the seaside it will be easily believed that to go to her husbands houso and to ask a favor of him had cost berthas pride a strugglo for papas sake for papas sake 1 ahe repeated to herself to steel her nerves to tho humilia tion which however stricklands cold courtesy had considerably lessened if ho would be equally considerate on the morrow a little spirit a little selfcommand and some olever pretending might enable them safely to conduot her father through the few hom b to be spent in town to set him off from breakfastroom the father stopped hia daughter and said bertha where is your mothers por trait the frame had got shabby and we have sent it to be regilt replied the daughter promptly where doss it generally hang there she assigned to the picture which she had taken away with her the first empty space on the wall that met her eye i dont think that a very good place said the old man ah what a woman she was 1 what a wonderful woman 1 you should bave known her strickland you owe her your wife when sho waa leaving me poor dear she nrade me promise never to hesitate to make any sacrifice tht should be for berthas happine s and jo when my little girl came to me and said papa i can novor be happy without gerard 1 thought of my dear wife and let her go i feared when i bent her abroad i should lose her well you were made for each other do you remember your first meeting in paris they remembered it the tour of tho house was completed and they returned to the drawingroom gerard and hia wife congratulating themselves not without reason that the good papa was not very observant for many a token of some thing abnormal had been plain enough with a common sigh of relief the two ac tors sank into their respective corners of their carriage after seeing mr greory off the next morning not a word was rpoken bertha watched the drops of rain that trick led down the windows gerard studied the baok of the coachman tbey had again be come straotrors presently moving accident ally strickland touched hia wifes arm i beg your pardon he said pray do not mention it perfeot strangers 1 yet both in the si lence were anxiously moditaing every event of the last few days remembering the most trifling impression and studying all they signified as they past near a cross street the husband asked shall i drive you to your own house i am coming to yours to superintend the packing my maid can not do it alone on arriving the wife ot onco went to her chamber strickland conscious of utter purposeloasncsi returned to the baok draw ingroom and took up the paper bertha passed backward and forward onco or twice he caught a glimpse of her moving about tho room at list he looked up you will tire yourself he said can not i assist you no thank you i havo nearly done a few minutes later she coma and seated herself on the opposite side of the fire she appeared tired as she sat she looked around to seo if anything had been forgotten i think it raina leas said strickland who had laid down the paper no it raina just the same as before is the carriage ready i havo sent to know the carriage would be ready in ten min utes those ten minutes seemed an eternity when the servant entered to say the carriage waited bertha rose and stood for a little while before the mirror arranging her laoes and ribbons with difficulty for her fingers trembled then she slowly drew on her t loves and turned towards her husband ho ad risen and was standing waiting good morning she said bowing slight ly he bowed but made no reply she turned and quietly with calm even step walked from tho room she could hear that he followed her they wore in the hall suddenly he step ped to hor side bertha i you aro not going without first forgiving me ho exclaimed in a voice mingle with grief and passion she turned round and in an instant had thrown herself into his arms butterfly is ready to emerge in about a week it is tenderly assisted to disengage itself from its shell and should it bestrong and healthy is left undisturbed to spread its wings and fly away for some time after they have gained strength tbey remain hovering over their old homo in one case a buttoifly fell to tho ground before its opening wings had dried and o soldierant tried to rescue it he carried it bvsk to the tree with the ut most care and made soveral attempts to assist the butterfly to hold on again but finding hia efforts unavailing he left the crip ple to recover himself oa his return ses- fog no improvement he appeared to lose all patience and rushing in bit off both wings and carried tho body into the nest but high handed proceedings of this kind are very unusual it is said to bo a curious steht to watch the fragile and delicate butterflies wandering about all fseble and helpless among the busy crowd of coarse clack ants and rubbing shoulders in perfect safety with the ordinary fierce bigheaded soldiers a larva of another species thrown down among them as an experiment was immediately set upon and torn to pieces by the ants warm weather in australia the most remarkable feature of the australian climate ts the hot wind tho flit sandy interior of the continent resem bles the deserts of north africa and arabia and the winds therefore are very similar immense quantities of sand are drifted about by the wind and carried beyond the coast a considerable distance out to sea on jan 21 1845 capt start- hraometer rose to 151 degrees in the shade the mean temperature of december was 101 degrees for january 101 degrees and for february 101 degrees so parched was the ground that there were great cracks in it from eight to ten feet deep at coopers creek on nov 11 1845 he experienced one of these hotair currents and thus describes it the wind which had been blowing all morning from northeast increased to a gale and i shall never forget its withering ef fects i sought shelter behind a large gum tree but the blasts of heat were so terrific that i wondered the very grass did not take fire everything both animate and in animate gave way before it the horses stood with their backs to the wind and their noses to the ground the birds were mute and the leaves of the trees fell like a shower around us at noon i took out my thermometer graduated to 127 de grees and put it in the fork of a tree and on hour afterward when i went to examine it tho tubo was full of meroury and the bulb had burst about sunset the wind hod shifted to west and a thundercloud passed over us but only a few drops of rain fell the bursting of the instrument shows that the temperature waa much higher than 12t degrees the glass being unable to resist the expansion of the mercury vegetation suffers greatly from the parching character of this wind plants droop leaves shrivel as if frostbitten and wheat crops have been destroyed its intense dryness is shown by tho relative humidity falling to zero and evaporation amounting to an inch of water a day high up in the mountains to tbe east and southeast in the midst of a llojty morning occasional hot blasts are felt from the interior and they cause a pe culiar irritation of the nostrils and throaty although disagreeable as heated air and fatal to vegetation thia dry wind like thafr of india ib healthy the dry climate is practically free from miasma tio diseases fillmore and the hen in tho first quarter of this century a party of travellers waa journeying down the missouri in a flat boat tne river was covered with floating ice and provisions were scarce but the men were young possessed of much more wit than money and oble to extract plenty of fun out of the danger and privation one evening two of them a school teachor and a frenchman went ashore to buy pro visions ot a farm houso the teaohor offer ed half o dollar to the farmers wife for o motherly old hen that was scratching about the yard she refused with a torrent of abuse his comrade who was lounging over the gat whispered offsr another bit five bits 1 said the teacher the woman hesitated then to her amszs- ment the hen squeaked out im not worth is im four years old i im not worth it 1 the teacher started back in dismay the farmers wife regaining her courage chased the hen and caught it up in her arms take two bits 1 its all im worth 1 it said flapoing wildly in her arms she ran pale with terror to the french man and put it in his hands screaming out take it away 1 its bewitched i the young man threw the money back to her and carried off tho hen many years afterwards among the crowd in the east room of the white houro which attended one of tbe receptions of president fillmore was the kindly old sigcor blitz wellknown to all the ehildren of the eastern states as a ventriloquist when he was in troduced to tho preuidcnt the two men look ed at each other a moment and then burst into a laugh you never thought to see me here said mr fillmore now for the first time i piof huxleys honour the council of the royal sooiety in sel ecting prof huxley to be the recipient of tho copley medal for this year hove worth ily acquitted themselves of tho annual trust with which they have to deal what may be considered a crowning honour has thus been conferred upon one illustrious among biologists and illustrious during the years of a busy life as an exponent to the people of scientific aims list year the medal was given to sir joseph hooker who was as the life and letters testify intimately con nected with darwins projeots and work and it is appropriate that the succeeding aword has been made to prof huxley s only on the score of his having taken so large a part in what he himself has termed the reception of the origin of species the copley medal by common consent is re serve for distinguished savants who necessarily form the select few certainly pruf huxley is one of them what is pecular to him is the literary rift that he adds to his scientific attainments no one was more alive to thia than darwtn him- aeif people complain he wrote to prof haxley 20 years ago of the unequal dis tribution of wealth bnt it is a much great- or shame and injustice that anyone should have the power to write so many brilliant essays as you have lately done there is no one who writes like yon green hair and whiskers the territorial enterprise says aeon- tract has been let on the martin white mine at ward nevada and work is to be resumed forthwith a queer phenomenon is connect ed wjth the working of tho martin white ore the ore is very base and it is ne cessary to roost the whole of it during the roasting process no disagreeable or dsle- terioua fumes are observable yet the hair and beards of all the men engaged about the works are soon dyed a bright and permanent green even the eyebrows of the workmen aro as green as grata in scores of nevada mines ores of various kinds are smelted and roosted but at none of them is either the hair or beards of the workmen changed from their natural hue it said that there is uir piumore aiow ior tne nrst time ii leas arsenic ia the ore of the martin white understand the mybtery of the old hen than in that of many other mines old fohicaon ttkruld smelters say arsenic has no suoh effect on the chicago herald darling 1 you will never leave me agiin no no lova never i the newest f nr collars are deep and point ed forming a v at the baok and coming to a point at the waistline in front the frenoh barber frenoh barbers writes blakely hall wrap the end of a towel over the fingers of their left hand and whon it is necessary to touch the fooo at all it is the towel that comes into contact with it and not tbe bar bers hand the main point about their work is tho swiftness and dexterity with which tbey shave in america a mm usually reconciles himself to bo fifteen or twenty minutes in tho chair and five min utes of it is pent in dodging hair tonics bay rum brillimtine face lotions and powder tho french use nono of these things they lather a mans face very slightly run over it with a rczor sponge it off and tho man dries it himself with a towol and leaves tho shop five or six minutes after he had entered it very many french men shave twice a day if they are going out in tho evening and it is the regular cus tom to step into a barbers on their way to dinner and getshaved after they hove as sumed evening drcs there is no pomatum or oosmetic of any sort nsed so that tho barbers smell is agreeably lacking luoky she didnt sneeze she was a remarkably fine grown girl and as they came down tho staircase from the supper room she hung lovingly upon her lovers arm if you didnt really mean that you thought my dress was too tight did you mr pitch er im afraid i did but then it doesnt matter you havent got a cold havent got a oold why what of that what of that why youre very lucky thats all lucky why because theres no fear of your sneezing if you happened to sneeze by george youd have nothing on fnew york meroury will the firemen hang their hose hair and all deolaro that the emerald hue impartei to the hair ia due to the presence of borne unknown ond mysterious metal or mineral white light and aandy beards and hair take a grass green whereas black or dark brown hair ia dyed a deep bottle green the hair is not injured by its change of color it retains its original softness and strength the man of many passes life with the general passenger agent of a railroad is one continued round of pleasure ho is about the only official connected with tho management of a railroad who can travel arcund tho country without money and with out price his fas pocketbook contains the magical open sesame to all lines of road in the country and ho also possesses the privi leges of the sleeping cars and the dining cars when tho general freight agent travels he has his annual railroad passes but he is obliged to produce to tho representatives of the sleeping car companies and pay the usual tariff for his meals in the dining cars a general passongor agent can start for new york with only his oollection of annuals and the price of two cocktails and return homo with the entire outfit as some one will certainly tnrn up to purchase his cook- tails for him to paraphrase the old time chestnut the genoral passenger agent could go around tho world with a paper collar and a 2 bill and change only the collar iwi m w 1 muffs are larger than for several seasons pait and are in soft round shapes nono cf tie lining showing on tho outside an exchange contains an article entitled how to make prayer meetings interest ing to any one who gives tbe matter a littlo thought it must appear strange that advice on such a subject should be necessary if any body of men or women were to ap proach an early authority praying for some thing which they earnestly desired there would be no lack of interest in the proceed ings so far as they were concerned whose fault is it that any prayer meetings are nn- intsresting i