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pardoned at last a thrilling christmas story by jack frosr arrivtd there mr dane pud the fare al though molly protested that it was her turn to stand treat opening a private door in the boundary wall he ud them cp to a znsgnlfieent man sion and strangest thing of all admicted thm by means of a private latchkey ushering them into the llbraiywhere there was a fire he tamed np the gas and said make yourself at home myrtle and you too molly this house belongs to a very old friend of mine excuse me for half an hour i want to hive a chat with my friend abont you youll see him presently when they were alone molly nudged myrtle and said in a tone of awe as she looked round at the magnifioence of the furn iture and the valuable array of books would you mind giving mo a pinch i dont believe im awake f its very strange his bringing us here certainly remarked myrtle i hope theres no mistake 1 i wont stand by and see you poor old father chuoked out raid molly stoutly ive got a strocg arm and a big umbrel la molleys awe was increased and ner eyes opened wider with astonishment when a liveried strvanb enterod with a silver salver laden with wine frnlc and bltcui8 young man woud you mind telling us if thla is for ub 1 she asked eyeing the good things as if she expected to see them vanish instantly che servant bowed deferentially and quitted too room poor follow he aint badlooking said molly but hee as deaf as a post i won der whatd in them there decanters miss myrtle pour some out and try laughed myr- tlo much amused at mollys eccentricity while she wae following this advice the door oponed and a handsome gentleman in full evening dress entered his face beaming with welcome smiles this was the proverbial last straw for molly dropped tho decanter as if abi had been caught in tho act of thieving and ijlurt- ed out please sir dont scold mo it was that deaf young man as told us wo might have some sherry wine disregarding this laughable appeal the newcomer took myrtles hand and said have i the pleasure of addressing miss dene qaite right sir put in the irreprersible molly aheb mus myrtle and i am molly spriggins her maid- of all work im very pleased to meet you miss spriggins how dye do he said with grave politeness that qiite flabbergasted her as sho averred bobbing a ourtsey m oily answered i dont mind if i do have a glasa of sherry wine birl im qaite well thank you my lord he helped her and then seating himself beside myrtie said 3 your fatherj who is a very old and dear friend of mine wished me to excuse hia absence he is rather tired with your permission i wlirririg for the housekeeper who willi attend you all your wants you must be tired after your long journey mytle assented and he bidding the pair goodnight they were taken under the house keepers wing and all the heart could wish for supplied them before retiring to rest that night molly looked under the bod searched every cup board and finally plaoed her umbrella within handy reaoh of her the bedchamber myrtle was allotted was a perfect gem no princess could have wished for a better the cost of upholstering ib must have been immense in fact its magnificence might well have formed a description in a fairy tale amazement and speculation kept her awake for some hours and just as she was sinking into repose came the bound of music under her window christmas waits singing carols tho fresh young volona of boys sounded angelic on the frosty midnight air and the orchestral accompaniment added enohant- ment to it in tho morning when she sprang out of her snowy nest fresh surprises were in store for her 0 a the occasional table was quito a oolleotlon of presents a snperb ladys dressingcase and a casket of jewels ha- monds of the finest water as well as other gifts from that mysterious christmas visitor santa claus molly too had not been forgotten by that bonefioent being whoa she drew on her right boot something hurt her drat the stono 1 ehe cried tcbtlly put ting her hand io and drawing out the offen der when io i she found ten sovereigns neatly rolled up in tissue paper this bouse will bo tho death of me she muttered as she attempted to draw on the left boot bless my heart alive if there isnt something in this as well it was a large packet of delioions sweets the sight of which proved too muoh for her and forthwith she commenced to eat them the same gentleman who had excused mr denes absence overnight met myrtle at breakfast which was served in sumptuous style ib not my dear father well enough to leave his room sir she asked anxiously you will sec him after breakfast he re- flied please do the hononrs miss dene take coffee please myrtle was too full of excitement to eat muoh though beriosb plied her with every delicacy artless girl tbongh she was it was plain to her that there was a mystery behind all this conducting her to the library ho placed her in a ohalr near tho fire and began talk ing of things of general interest to whloh she replied in mono syllables only excuse me sir she said at lait blush ing at her own impetuosity but lot mo intreat of youto tako me to my father he is 111 wretched myrtle my own trusnoartcd darling can you forgive me my deception i am yourfathcr her companion said tenderly yon was all she could say tho an nouncement quite took her breath away yes i ayearagol escaped from si beria reached paris was seized with a dan gerous illness bus recovered thanks to my old friend pierro verlona devotion j why cid yon not send for me dear father she asked in a tone of gentlo re proach because there was much to be done before i revealed myself in purt too i had aaim- placable enemy who would have recognised you from the striking resemblance of your self to your mother is she living pierro verlon would never tell me anything about my parents he was wise thestoryof ourwrongs would have poisoned th springs of your young life and made you pant for vengeance heavens i how i have prayed longed for revenge as i lay in my dungeon cell or toiled in tho mines of siberlai such a vengf al look came into his face as made her shudder she was sorry to heir hln say this on christmas day whan from every pulpit throughout tho length and breadth of the land peace and goodwill would be proclaimed my dear father you have suffered she said gently lit my love heal your wound do not talk of vengeance on tnie day at least 1 am fitly reproved myrtle j but i the escaped convict condemned unjustly by suborned witnesses would not ohange places with my enemy hla rank and wealth not withstanding tell ms ol my mother see pleaded am i like her yea judge for yourself plaolng in her hind an exqaisltelypalntoa miniature fram ed in diamonds myrtle kleaed it revorenlly and gentle tears fell upon it from her gloriouly dark eyes it is my christmas gift to you my dar ling myrtle i am rich a millionaire the wealth i possessed when i was sent to siberia and which i made over to pierre verlon has accumulated thanks to his j idicloub investments but remember i am still only an e soaped convicl though aomo day i hope to prove my innocence your secret is safe with me she said simply not a word mut bo breathed about my past or i shall have to qnio eaglahd you will meet tho noblest the most famous people of tho land here in time i hope but let them only suspeot who and what i am and i should be treated with scorn you will help me myrtle ys fir your own and dear mothers sake i will lii yjtvl father and daughter embraced lovingly as the church bells olanged out chriatmas greet ingsa message of peace and i good will to all bertram dine and his daughter spent a happy if not merry christmas he had a fund of anecdote to tell her and having mixed with tho world of fashion freely be fore his incarceration gave her an i dea of what her life would be when ehe launohed on it a quiet j v filled tholr hearts when they knelt together in church and thanked the giver of all good for hia mercies to them to him more especially ciom ft flrlawnhouse was filled in every avail able space with holly and mistletoe and on boxing day tho servants had a ball and supper to which they were permitted to in vite their friends molly was in the seventh heaven of delight and struck up quite a flirtation with tho footman whom ehe had thought deaf myrtle and her father opened the ball and stayed for a time to join in the merrymaking tne supper was a ohefds seuvrs turkeys feese ducks an 1 green peas fowls every ind of meat and puddings and a dessert fit for a king no expense had been spared to make it perfect christmas games followed kissing under the mistletoe coming in for more than its fair share of patronage oa twelth nijht there was a gigantic christmas tree to whloh all the poor children of the neighbourhood were invited by mr dene what mountains of cakeand piles of oranges apples nuts and fia were consumed and gallons of lemonade wine negus tea and coffee drank i if anything could make tho host forget the dungeons of siberia or the gloomy mines it was a sight like this the happy voices of ohildren have a con tagious ring and hard mast the heart be that is not touched by their fresh innocence and true abandon myrtle had a delightful time of it in shopping her father gave her carte blanclie and insisted that she must have one of the moat perfect wardrobes obtainable nor was mouy forgotten she was amply provided with overything necessary for hor position myrtle foresaw some trouble with tho faithful molly to whom her father had taken a great liking and meant to raise to a hotter position now molly dear myrtle said as they sat together sewing i want you to attend to your eduotion you shall share my lesaous if you like my father has engaed a firstclass governess i oan read and write already miss myrtle she answered demurely yes but theres a great deal more to be learned molly before you oan hope to im- jrove your position in the world you know t is not merely being able to read and write or even ordinary accomplishments that make a lady you must consider there is suoh a thing as society there la sueh a thing as using your aooompllshments in the right way there is such a thing as tact and judg ment in meeting people and suiting your conversation to their tastes in fact a thous and and one little things you will have to learn before you can take a position ob lor miss myrtle im afraid it oanb be done i oould never think of al that well at all events you promise to im prove dont you molly in oourse i do miss myrtle but whos this governess whats her name if i may make so bold to ask iv miss rebeoca prldo all right ill take lessons of bosky pride said molly with a deep aigh ef resignation you must not call her becky myrtle said laughing shes a lady and im to be a lady myrtle nodded when molly pursued aint i to read no tales or kiss under the mistletoe or box a chaps ears when hes imperentl t- that wouldnt bo ladylike would it now molly its what ive been used to miss myrtle and as parson roias uu scrdays can the leopard clean his tcalcs or tho serpent leave off biting his aunt thats me im molly spr that lady job is molly spriggins born and molly spriggins ill die no miss myrtle off if you please act the second for two whole years myrtle led a very happy life free from all care while her education was being completed under the most accomplished masters of the day her father never once referred to his unhappy past or gave any sign tnat life for item was not to ran on evenly and un- brokenly that he had command of ample means was selfevident for the word wealth was written large on every detail of their resi dence fairlawn house situated between putney and richmond on the banks of the thames although the mansion stood between the bighwy and the river it was thoroughly secluded fron the vulgar gaze by high walls within which were a miniature park and fliwergarden kept inporfeob order at a vast expense the house itself was in the e iz ibethn stylo and protected at the back by conser vatories shocked with the oholoest exotics like most houses of the class it had a pri vate doer abutting on the river mr dane had not brought his daughter to this palatial heme which he had f urcbitod right out until it was ia thorough otder he had superintended every detal him self and had every right to feel prouj of the resnlt a magnificent lawn as green ani even as a billiard table skirted the back and sloped down toward tho river in the centre of this was a minlaturo lake where aquatlo birds disported them selves amid waterlilies oa the lawn itself peafowl strutted about the gaudy plumage of the peacocks when they spread their fanlike tails looking like sun- kissed j swels it was a terrestrial paradiso and in the summer of which the english it must be admlhed get a vary small share lookod quite oriental in its blaze of colour mr denes bedroom was the only excep tion in its severe simplicity to the other wise gorgeouslyupholstered apartments like a famous duke he slept on a straw paillasse supported on an iron bedstead no carpet or curtains were there and for furniture only a couple of windsor chairs a dealtopped toilettetable a chest of drawers and a plain wa3h stand there is a story of a prisoner liberated when tho bastile was destroyed who for years had slopt on a spiked bedstead having a similar thing made for him beoauae ho could not rest on any other no doubt some snch experience as this gained in siberia guided mr danes eeoice in this instance thus illustrating the old adage that uee is beoond nature tho only other piece of eccentricity he could plead guilty to was in the arrangement of his study or retreat originally that room had led off the bil liard room but he had that blocked up and an entrance made from the back of the man sion thus severing it from any intercommuni cation this apartment he jealously guarded makinglb a kind of bluebeard chamber no servants brush or duster ever intruded and myrtle herself was tabooed muoh as he loved her in other respects the household was on a princely soalo liveried footmen and others were there- in almost prodigality but as yet no open seaame had been found to tills magnificent houao by the world of fashion j crystal silver and gold services of plate were lavishly placed on the table at each meal and a profusion of edibles enough to tempt theappctiteof an anchorite was always there although the family circle consisted of only three persona mr dene himself his daughter myrtle and her companion a miss pride who to use a homely simile was fat fair and forty but essentially the lady for all that in all matters of etiquette and deportment she was a pastmistress of the art her voice was like the cooing of a dove hor still hand- somo face wreathed in perpetual smiles like cloudless sunny italian sky temper she had none in fact she must have been born without one or if not she kept it carefully looked out of eight and succeeded in life in conseqaenoe in matters of dress she waa faultless and had sho beon rioh might easily have become an acknowledged leader of tho fashion and as suoh one of tho most redoubtable bat the time arrived at last when myrtles no vitiate wee finished and she was to make he debut her first bow on the worlds atoje of fashion after a rehearsal of two years d uratlou peoples curiosity hadbeon whetted by the reports circulated by servants gossip of the magnificence that reigned in and abont fairlawn house following this came tho most ridiculous aaaumptiona d ene waa an exiled nobleman a merohant prince a successful speculator a fortunate goldseeker in faot there was no limit to the indulgence which people especially those moving in fashionable society gave way to in information bat dear miaa pride we dont know anyone said myrtle when iho commenced to assist in writing out the invitations of oonrae not dear but people will come for all that sho rejoined with one of her seraphic smiles why asked myrtle in her innooonce became rumour i believe has already credited your papa with being as rioh as crceius and as magnificent as louis yclept the grand they will oome because they want to come dear this was myrtles first lesion in the ways of tho world before the grand reception came off at that riparian residence fairlawn house myrtle was fated to meet with an adventure twas a lovely summer evening the bretzs was sighing through the trees to the accompaniment of innumerable feathered muslolans and the tun was sinking to rest in a blaza of glory glad to escape from the houao where even at this lato hour men were at work preparing for the grand forthcoming event myrtle rccllnod in a boat which was moored to the bank and read one of the latest fashionable novels she became so absorbed that she did not notice that the boat had slipped from its moorings and was floating out towards the centre of tho river boisterous laughter and shouts of hi freighted with arrys and sarahs making straight for her tiny craft seemingly intent upon running it down so spellbound was abe at the sight of her impending doom that she oould sot utter a single cry or even tfife- np a mute prayer for safety near her was a gentleman in a dingy who perceiving her dscgsr paddled to her side and with a firm bind and practised eye palled her aside only just in time to avoid tho impending collision instead of wasting his breath in idle re- monttancea on these rude vandals and goths who kissed their hands and pocket- handkerchiefs bliea imitating catcalls myrtles rescuer turned hit attention to wards reassuriog her i trost they have not terrified you he said keeping cno hand tn the boat and speaking in a tone of genuine sympathy that made his words sound all the sweeter thank you im afraid i must own to being horribly f rlghtonod she replied with a smile that won its way to hia heart in a moment pray let me assist yen further 1 he pleaded greatly struck with her beauty and wondering how she got into her present dilemma for he siw at a glauc that not only was the boat oarluea but also rudder less first let me thank you slnceroly fur the great service you have already rendered me she said animatedly the rosea return ing to her face with deepening color lam only too pleased to have helped you in ao trifling a way he replied eager ly i see you are without oars yes i was reading and did not notice that tho boat had broken away from its moorings till i found myself hero i live yonder at fairlawn house with your permission i will have much pleasure in towing your truant boat baok to its moorings he said with a frank smile displaying a fine set of teeth under a blonde moustache thank you vary muoh i hope my fathor haa nob discovered my mishap he would be very upaet she rejoined with another of thoao heavenly smiles which formed one of her chiefeat charms they seemed to spring from the very soul itself iu the absence of a rope he made the boat fast to the dingy with his scarf and in a short time all too short for him myrtle was once more in absolute safety myrtle myrtle 1 she heard her father call from the lawn with a hasty farewell and reiterated thanks she sprang out of tho boat and disappeared through the door leaving him to dream of her beauty and that smile wnich was to haunt him for all life chance meetings frequently have more to do in mouldiog our destiny than any formal introduction in society v perhapa this one was of that character i at all events the handsome stranger might be mat paddling his d fcigy near fairlawn houee and myrtle never seemod tired of being in her pretty boat whenever tho op portunity offjred of stealing down to the river to be continued a kaves and dog daya it is qiito wrong to suppose that the dog days are the most favgrable to oanlne madnosa rtbies ocouts among dogs in the arctio regions as well as in the torrid z raes indeed sixtyfive of kanes sledge dogs died of rabies and at m paateura institu tion the largest number of patients are treated in the cold month of february and the smallest number in tho hot month of august entirely disproving our notion of the dog days of summer the term mad dog is a misnomer slnoe the word mad is now need to denote insanity which la a nonfebrile disease while rabies is a febrile disease the delirium of which is analogous to the delirium present in all bad kinds of fever having the peculiarity that it assumes the form of irritability of temper and henoe the victims manifest it by biting while lunatics do not bite at all or at least very rarely some doga howl others have a curious sharp and incessant bark moat are dejected and sullen at first and all are more or less violent in the later stages of the disease mist does as well aa human be ings have a horror of water in every form either the bightsound or feeling of it throw ing them into convulsions this fear of water manifests itself in tho rabbit some dogs die of paralysis without dread of water but with an inability to swallow ib the mere cffjrt to do so always bringing on a spam of the gullet fralyals is in general the last act in the drama of rabies paralysis stands in an inverse ratio to that of the dread of water in relation to therabbib doand man in man paralysis is rsre in the dog occas ional ani common in the rabbit which ib exactly the reverse order of things in the case of the fear of water maliones machine there younp ooman i get out of the way cant yet 1 dispelled the charm of her book and to her horror tho taw a large boat the virginia correspondent of the cincin nati commercial says there oould not bo anything nearer perfeotlon of politioal organization than that of tho republicans of virginia under mabone the organization ot the oolourcd voters who are all republi cans and the white men who vote the republican tlokot is at perfeob and compact as that of an army division as i have said the republican voters of virginia are as distinctively and perfectly organized as au army corps and their organization goes evon to a more demooratio extent than the army itself because it reaches to companies of ten instead or stopping at 100 every ten men of the republicans are under the control of a captain of tens who wears a large badge and who gives a smaller one to eaoh of his company ten ot these captains report and are held responsible to a oommander of hun dreds and the commanders of hundreds re port and are held responsible to the colonel of thousands it is the business of eaoh cap tain of tens to see that his ten men are at the polls and cast their vote and the same re lative dutyit imposed upon eaoh commander up to the grand commander himself all of these fficers and men are f urniihed with handsome badges and others emblems of authority so that in the end every man be comes an officer for even the humble mem- bers of companies cf ten wear with great pride their own plain badges and gaze with awe and veneration upon the cxi badge of their captain like necessity j well old boy you lost your johnston suit jones yea the judge was too much like necessity v johnston like necessity now j jones he knew no law the tttanbv4al gold helds seiners arrltlnj in kane xunibera at j shannesbura at present south africa is pauinr through ciao of the severest perlodt of drought ib has ever experienced riln has not fallen for a year in many very large tracts of land and conseqsently there is au amoant of suffering among cattle and of misery in the minds and hearts of prosperous farmers that can hardly be understood by the inhabitants of countries more favored in this respect prcf sseley the geologist who has just completed a tour of the country says that the cases of egypt mesopotamia and india whioh once the meet fertile countries in the world had become nothing but desert tracts through the ignorant destruction of timber andtjjb neglect of re- planting are warnings to soo arlci au over toe country vast tracts have been denuded of trees for the take of supplying fuel and even for more trivial causes far up the country and to a distance 200 miles north of kitnberly the country has beea ruthles jly stripped of its trees prof seeley says that the land need not have been stripped of its trees for fuel had the knowledge of the farmer extended beyond the cattle above which he is but a little elevated intellectually there is coal is abusdance in south afrioa and if attention were devoted to its mining there la no reason why industries which depend for their pros perity on the supply of iuel should not also fbnruh here afric reqiiioa 2000000 blankets to supply the native population alone besides this there is demand for wollsn clothing for the ever increasing white papulation the profeaaor says that he anticipates hereafter a larger development of coal than la at present known in refer ence to gold he says that he believeb that gold oooura in the cp3 colony very muoh more widely than haa hithertc been bubpeoted especially in the lava sheets which are so extensively developed iu the central part q the colony it is quite a new thing to find gold as it is found here in these lava sheets a great mbny of these contain a very largo percentage of gold another faob of interest is that when these lava sheets come up they constantly overflow or pene trate into the fisaurob of the rock expanding and when left bare craoklng so that rain water catches the dissolved constitutions of the lava sheet and a new mineral whioh belongs to the family called zeolytes haa resulted thesq z solytes are nothing but minerals like the felspar combined with a certain amount of water in the process of reorysballization in many cases these substances are found to be comparatively rioh in gold concerning asbestos discoveries the pro fessor said the epooimena were the fiaesb he had ever seen and in so far as he oould judge v by the ordinary mothod of twisting the fibre a and getting some idea of its durability and elasticity lb seemed to be of considerable commercial value manganese is also found here in considerable quantity a fact ef im portance in oonneotion with tho manufacture of steel aa to the diamonds ha had visited the mines of klmberley and he was strongly im pressed with the tact that many oi the diamonds were broken and this process of breaking has nob occured in the washing or petting the rock out of the mines bus took place before they reaohed their position io what is called there the blue the inference is that these diamonds are much older than the rook which contains them and the solontifio suggestion concerning the occurrence of the diamonds as thoy are found here is that as the blue is composod of pebbles found in the conglomer ate of zrartberp lower down in the colony conglomerate may have spread further north than even kimberley it ia in oonneotion with this that the ooal beds are found if by the extraordinary pressure whioh produces heat the ooal haa been changed and crystal lized then volcinlc aotlon piercing theso beds may have brought up the diamonds to the surface and diamond mlnea may yet be found in other parts of the colony than where they are now worked the august output of gold haa not proved so large as was expected bub yeb ia suffi ciently large to satisfy all those interested in the mines the total is 32142 ounces tbat is about 7000 ounces less than the may output the faub ol thlb de- orease in no way lies in a dtfi ionoy in the ore but rather in the mode of working august is known to be a dry month and steps must bo taken by storage reservoirs or otherwise to preserve the water agrinab such emergencies if a high ayerago output is to be maintained the ore beoomes richer the deeper the workings are but something must be done to provide against tho running short of water in the future aa well aa against flood- j ing of the mlnea in the wet season au unforeseon difficulty in mining hue arisen this month in a strike among tho iron workers of johannesburg the men are not seeking inorease of pay with that they are satisfied as thoy may well be their pay ranging from 5 to 7 per weok but they wish a sh jrtening of the hours of labor whioh the employers are not likely to grant the strike will soon oollapse aa there are plenty of hands ready to agreo to the masters terms transvaal share markets have been in aotlvlty during the past week extensive european orders have come in and suoh stook as robinsons jumpers langlaagtes langlaagte royals no 1 heriob deep levels jumpers deep levels nooltge- daohts and others have been in good demand as well as de beers diamond mining shares whioh are now looked on as a stook as good as consols a good deal of discussion has arlsan both in england and in the colony over the question of granting a royal oharter to the company headed by the hon cecil rhodes better known as the diamond king this company intends to push its operations into matabele- land and as far north as tho ztmicsl where fold reeft and alluvial are said 8 abound t will lay down railways from klmberley through beobuanaland and will be the means of opening up to civilization a vast tract of territory from whioh the white man has been hitherto exoluded chicago forethought- i wife f lawyer who is engaged in the oronin murder trial why did you keep tommy in the library so long great liwyor i waa posting him about thla trial l what for tho child is too young to know about such things perhaps he is now but he will have to take my place in it when i am gone yoa know