Evening Star Newspaper, October 31, 1896, Page 21

EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, OCTOBER: 31, 1896-TWENTY-EIGHT PAGES. i —— was a wall on either side. I was immured|] As I stood, with fecjingsqthat no. pen in a narrow cell—what sort of cell? can portray, before ti, open grave into A scream rose in my throat—and stuck | which the casket enshriihg ali that I loved there; then {t broke loose, and with a | had just been lowered, I saw among the smothered nightmare cry I sprang to my | sad faces gathered there one—had it risen fe) feet. I found myself entangled in a mass | from the earth? Was it another illusion? ; of clingirg drapery. I flung it from me, | It was the face of Runegtane. At any other right and left., I hurled myself against | moment I should have sprung at his throat. the walls of my prison. They gave way, | He was stooping, and as he rose he cast a door burst open, and I plunged forward | a Little clod of earth upodthe €offin, Hands into a moonlit chamber, Behind me was | were outstretched to check him, voices were a closet full of clothes—nothing more. raised in protest; but his rang loud above The revulsion of feeling left me weaker | them all. { than an infant. My ae made one great “The girl is not dead¥/Ne cried. ‘Raise ~ throb and almost stopped; cold sweat was | up the casket!’ a JALLOWEEN $roe Y streaming dewn my limbs. I sank into aj ‘They shrunk back; they thought him mad. KELSEY chair, The room, which at first swung | | “I tell you she is not dead.” he shouted. CN By ' 2 round and round, at length came to rest, | “Be quick; already she is waking from her CHARLES i) GAINES and I perceived that it was of the most | trance.” “His face was livid. “Do not ordinary Gescription. A shaft of pale light | make me a murderer,” he cried, and press- from the window made plain the pattern of | ed forward. a cheap ingrain carpet on the floor; a few | A sudden recollection surged through my ight, 1896, by the Bacheller Syndicate.) pieces of furniture loomed up in -dusky | brain. I sprang to his aid, and together ‘ Ea 3 blots against the walls. Below, I pres- | We lifted up the casket. Part & but Tam not seeking to hypnotize you. To-| ently distinguished a low droning of| ‘You must open it,” he said) “She must pene Le Ge ntck night, at all events, that is no part Of, my | vol Where were my friends? What} see vou first.” oe oe a ae a P e Beith ee program. But I expected you, and hay ‘ome of Elsie? ers we ping v, with shaking A fl nt T Se Ot « I did: wi uldn't 12" + | prepared a little su prisc—you shall be a| ‘Still dreading surprises, I crept cautious- | hands, and the lid was soon off. i hent . ny Sarsapari ais Ssarsapari a. rue. 0 an t take him vi just the same. al A lot of ar jamboree. vith me.”* You are not going again?” I am. And you are going, too. y. John, what makes you so fussy? if d known you were going to be 60 crit- ary, I t believe I'd e what I said last night.” orry—so soon us went together. We But next time you It cal and bave ‘Are arb i you that’s simply silly. What a mor- ‘Now, bid, unreasonable boy you are, anyhow! I'm gladider than ever I was before m ail my life, and you know it perfectly we that I'm ashamed of myse if you're not, you ougnus't I'm so « Are you 5 to find fauit with Prof. 5) Z “Why—darlng—what had he to do wita it Well, you know how many, many times | you aske : evening told ¥ you ver “Don't, El: , dear. iress to a hypnotist. be ‘Of course, not. You owe it tome. W nh ense! You'd better take what you can get, and be satisfied.” I took what I could fet— pouting lips. It was very sweet, is the use of arguing w:th your i 4s the full moon of kisses? “If I'm to obey you, sir, hereafter—and I shall, dear,” she whi: red, “I shail be very old-fashioned, and just love and honor and obey you always when once those words are spoken, and I don’t want any of them changed—but if I'm to obey you then, 1 should think you might obey me a litte now.” What could I do but yield? I loved her from the delicate little ear that she weuldn’t pierce to the dainty Jitle foot that she would pinch. So I promised—and we sealed the promise. “Be sure you come early,” she said, as I I can't owe my hap ‘arm from ber i rathe took Mngering leave. “It's Halloween, you know, and there's no teiling what may happen if we're not together. . Professor Runestane told me to be there without fail at 9 o'clock, and to bring John. Bring John?" “Yes; wasn’t it strange? For we weren't really engaged then, you know. But it couldn't mean anyone else, for there isn't any other John—for me." - «+ a “He is a chariatan, thought made me angry. “He is interesting,” se door. next evening, y escape fro: I erled; for the she retortemtind as soon as I could the office, I drove e's home. This was a big ston: built by her grandfather a his sons with their own hands. nestled in a spacious dooryard full of trees, and a tall Fede of 4 wifshes f€nced it from the road. I found Elsic Peady on the little vine-cotered “ d me with a delightful . scold.ng a bit becaus » seated together. in UEBY, § ng through the ng gloom toward the vi I don’t. at all approve of ying. all the “But wh | ing ostor.” { | man. Hage. [3 mere spectator, if you choose.’* He stood towering over me: his stature reaily extracrdinary. His eyes no longer wandered, but gleamed with a steely glitte You had beiter taste this wine,” he said. ¥ a little faint.” r 1 protested, confusedly, for I fear- ed it might be drugged. He Crank it off himself. you see, He laid his hend on my head and stroked it. The dizziness w soon relieved. I felt stronger, and my mind grew clearer. ‘At least," he said, “you will taste this fruit—both of you.” i was ashamed to. refuse, and took an orange—as did Elsie, with a queer little laugh. “Is it good?” she asked. No,” I answered, and laid it down. She laughed again. I rubbed eyes. ‘“‘What have you done with yours?” I demanded. “She dropped it on the floor,” responded the professor quickly, p'cking it up. “Never mind the oranges; they are not good, as | you say. I have something better to offer. It's Halloween. you remember. When Miss EL was here before she came with a number of friend: He looked at me fixedly. “Yes,” T responded, “so she told me.” “I really very much desire your good opinion,” he continued. ‘There is no rea- “It is harmless, “Ah-ha!” he snid, “you have conte.” son why you should not trust me. Look me full in the face as you would any other = You see nothing there that bodes you His look was quiet and there was no trace of ¢'! mauner now. him so. “I fo Ww that you would find it much pleasanter,” he said, “and that our experi- ments would be much mo} convincing If there were present a number of witnesses in whom i confidence. I have {n- s s to join us, and ugeested that we make the oc- rt of Halloween celebration. waitns while we talked, y were able io re- commanding; ariatanry in his 1 felt no distrust, and toid a mething new and > they ed them that I should » professor’ 1e3 OF the ev proved a pnotism and Hailoween. et exni bob- you afraid of rhosts? Just ‘as Itkely t you'll see’ one before the” night i It's Halloween, you know, and we're over. tempting them.” Yes, we are tempting them. I'm not of ghosts, for there are om but iof ¥. what do you r “I mean that if I saw a ghost I should I that I was going mad. The certai: t nothing was there would only all see ghosts in our sleep i, relentlessly * I con- fer the words would «i my voice hardened in spite of me. “We believe in th too. The 1 are full of people wh: nosts. Th ouch. It is thing to trifle with these and spirit of nothing. tat this she terious powers ich we know ab- You shan't talk 1, with spring- ho right to lecture me— turn wack, either. I'v ou've 1 we'll not ion't y softened and a litile hand “Dear John, I know he can't she cluded. I coner lam never have An attitude of ri is the next best thing to keeping wether. I den't doubt that w i him powerless, and probably a t impostor. ed that, or I 1 to this ‘vi sistance away ult Ri ; n't an Impostor,” she “You won't say that after you sor—so | n the doorw 2 prof standing I hate n hat tyled himself—was as We drove up. m from th: glance; I more tI feared His frame was t and bony, with an intrusive avy jaw. He was beardless, “k, wiry mane of unparted hair % masses below his shoul- - seemed ill at ease, and his eyes moved restlessly in their cavernous sock Nevertheless he greeted us effusively. “Ah-ha!" he said. “you have come. And you ha’ ht John. This is quite as it sh congratulate you, sir. It is & great pleasure to meet you—though I perceive that you are something of a skep- tt fi D bu bro! I don’t deny facts,” I answered, “As Well deny them as defy “I don’t acknowledge any debt to hypno- d I don’t propose to be hypnotized, at is what you mean,” I retorted. “You don't!" ‘There was a mom but he went on, smoothly: '$ ho cause for uneasiness. No one hypnotize you against your will, of It though, that you have © such an attitude, for naiure has made you a most responsive subjec you have a a something . ot sup He can only suggest and set the ima; tion at work. But yours is so active that ‘You fairly stand in dread of it. When you were a child you hardly dared close your eyes, because your fancy in the | dark tons. That was true; but how did he know it? I felt a sudden terror of the man, and evi dently he percetved it. “Sit down,” he said. overwroug I sank into a chair, for a sort of giddi- ness had come upon me. “That will quickly pass,” he safd. “Your nerves have for some time been under ex- cessive tension, though you did not realize rT |. Shortly. “Weil can course osen “You are nervously ‘His manner had changed: there was really some fascination about the fellow, | though I stil! distrusted him. “Don't you see that there is nothing very bad avout me? I am a hypnotist, it is true, before and no harm came of it. | u see that no harm has } ty pan was he middie of the ubmitted to be “3 of “passes” pan was full of re dont n a ser place < Noating in i. | Forthwith, he thrust down his head und | made ludicrous efforts to seize these im- ! with his teeth. At length he | s to catch one, triumphanily | held up— ng—sputtering all the wane as if hi were full of cide: Then Philo Potter was mesmerized. He had seen Tom's perforiiance and Taughed heartily at it, but that made no difference; | he knelt on the floor and began ducking in the pan with the greatest earnestness. But Just as he plunged his face int sup- di the profes ted out that it hot. Poor Philo sprang to his vl of anguish, and his face S a beet. was scaidin | feet with a | grew as } | promptly re | basin of w I smber of the company “bobbed” in turn, and not one was able to resist the dilusion. When my radiant Elsie knelt be- fore the pan, 1 could hardiy refrain from protesting; but she was only told that the dish was fuil of honey, and a pretty picture she made, scrubbing her sweet lips with a dainty handkerchief to remove the “sticky stuff” that wasn't there. “Now, professor, tnat is Just too mean,” f her exclaim, in a curiously far- | away voi It wa: turn next, but the hypnotist As I promised, you shait tator tonight. You object to % hypnvtized, and 4, of course, must ect your wishes.” Again It heard a laugh, mellow and silvery. They were ail laughing loudly enough, but this seemed to float in trom without. The proxram of our sports was long and j bet 1 pulled the ." and t the latter oping strange and startling flavors under the subtie inspiration of the hypne- tist. The mirth grew uproarious. I entered more and more into it of the frolic, and laughed until I was weary. At last it wus propos: that I go out e and “winnow cor The theory of 4S ceremony is that !f you go through the motion of tossing up the grain three times an apparition of your fuiure bride will driit past you. Care must be taken, however, to fasten the doors wide open, for the wraith which assumes the form that Is to be so dear is in truth but one of thoxe mischievous spirits that flit about the earth each Halloween, and should it succeed in shutting the doors upon you great harm might come. 1 hesitated, but they all insisted: “Go along,” they crie “it Is only a game, and what can you but Elste any- how? You're not afraid of seeing . Wisie, are you?” Reiuctantly I went out into the dark- ness. The air seemed close, and little wind was stirring. No stars were visible. I could searecly grope my way, but after stumbling up a steep ascent found at length what seemed to be a barn. My nerves were now ir prime condition for spectral eifects, and I had a queer feel- ing that I was not alone, that some one was directing me, though I could distin- guish no words. I managed to prop upen the door, got hold of a shovel, and be- gan the make-belleve winnowing. At the first toss a faint rustling was audible. At the second there was a sough, } a8 of wind. At the third, a luminous fora toated before me. It did, indeed, and the face was Elsie’s—only it seemed fashioned from translucent mi Then tue door closed with a crash and suddenly the spectral face was change. It was Elsie’s still—oh! heaven forbid—it was Elsie’s, but—I must have swooned. P iL When corsciousress returned, the spell of terror was still upon me, but nothing was visible. The darkness was cavern- like. I was oppressed with a sense of suf- focation. As my thoughts grew clearer, 1 | perceived that I was tying on my back. I extended my arms, and with unspeakable horror encountered & cold obstacle; there ly down a sta‘rway and through several rooms. They were chill and empty. The merry cor.pany had vanished; of the great open fire before which we had roasted nuts I could fing no trace, not even the ashes. The murmur that had at first attracted my attention was, however, still audibie, and I now reached a door through the chinks of which leaked gleams of light. Tals door I pushed open; it disclosed the parlor into which we had first been usher- ed. On the table a light was burning, and near it—thank heaven for that—was Elsie, seated 2 a low rocking chair. Her at- titude was dreamy, and her eyes were almost closed. Opposite her sat the hypno- tist, his look fixed, his right arm ex- tended; and as I strode in I caught the words: ‘‘Remember—at the first clod. The professor turned with a start. Elsie opened her eyes; they brightened as they rested on me. “It must be very late,” she murmured, with a little yawn. “I can hardly keep awake. You must take me home now, John.” Runestane was regarding me with evi- dent displeasure. “You have come too soon,” he said, “but novices are never to be trusted; it takes time to estab- Ush full rapport. And you have had a needless shock, but it doesn’t matter. “Now g he continued, rudely. His manrer was almost fierce. “The seance 1s broken; don’t bother me with questions. Take her home, and thank fate that you didn’t push in a moment earlier. I was furious, though powerless to con- tend. “Where ‘are our friends?” I cried. “I demand an explanation.” “Go at once," he repeated, with menace in his tone. “Go! and keep out of my way hereafter, or it may be the worse for you.” Dismayed and pale, Elsie clung to my arm. “Oh! take me home,” she whispered. He almost pushed us out. Soon we were speeding down the road, but my hands were so unsteady that I could scarcely hold the reins. Elsie rested her glove upon my shoulder and her cheek upon her glove; bright tear drops trickled down my sleeve. “Dear John,” she sobbed, “forgive me. Poor boy, how you tremble. It was awful. We ought never to have come. It was very, very wrong of me to make you. For- give me, John. Forgive me, please, and don’t love me any less. I couldn't bear to have you blame me"—and her tears stream- ed afresh. I'm afraid it isn’t tor very Jong, anyv.ay,” she said. I didn't grasp the full import of her words then; I had reason to remember them afterward. I tried to comfort her in lover fashion, but I was still unnerved and all ajar. 1 was bewildered, too, and felt sure of nothing. “Oh, Elsie, what became of the com- pany?” I cried. ‘What really happened?’ “John! John! there wasn't any company fe gasped. ‘Don't you know there wasn’t? Not much of anything really happened except that he got hold of you with that awful influence.” “And the games we played, and the fel- lows he mesmerized, and tne tricks, and the fire—" t was nothing at all. We just sat in the parlor, and he talked and talked in that queer, droning way, and somehow you med to see everything he told about, and tov. I thought it was funny at first, rather glad to see you taken dow after the things you had said. I didn’t realize what a dreadful power he I hurled myself against the walls of my prison, was gaining over you; it didn’t seem possi- le that you were taking it seriously. last he sert you upstairs, and then—I don’t quite remember. I was growin guess.”” The mists were now dissipating in my brain. I saw that I had been made the subject of a huge hypnotic practical joke— a little mere severe, perhaps, than had been intended, owing to my temperament. But a new fear entered my heart. Elsie— had this vile wizard dared to plant his hideous delusions amid the bright imagin- ized—while I was put out of the way, chained hand and foot in that horrible trance?” “No! no!" she sald, with just the ghost of a smile. “I didn't play any Halloween games—except in your fancy, poor boy. I just sat still and waited. I don’t remember a single word he said. Only 1 feel so sad and sorry,” she cried with a sudden sob. “I had thought we would be so happy to- her. Why. Elsie! What fs this She fiung her arms about me—for the first time in her life. I cropped the reias; the horse first walked, then stopped short. She kissed me—my betrothed—upon both eyelids. “I owe it to them,” she sald; “they have been so abused tonight, through me, and they will shed so many, many tears before another Halloween.” * : ‘The next morning I was early at her door. She met me dressed in black, nor could I prevail upon her to make any change. “I must wear mourning for our love,” “I shall be dressed in white only wan, and all her exuber- ance lost; she was perfectly rational except on this one point—that she would. die be- fore the year had past. Nothing that I or any ote else could say had any effect upon this conviction. She knew that she must die; it was useless to deceive one’s self. How she knew, she could not say, but she knew it absolutely. If we would wait we would see. That Rumestane had anything to do with it she insistently denied. He had told her nothing, she said. She just knew. This we did not believe, but we were thoroughly frightened. Such delusions are all too likely to fulfill themselves. I told her father the whole story, and that after- neon we drove hastily over to the pro- fessor's headquarters. It was as I feared. He had already departed, and we could learn nothing of his whereabouts. Things went from bad to worse. The doctors were helpless, for there was no organic disease. My beloved simply sank in @ gradual decline, the victim of a fixed idea, which nothing could reach—unless, perhaps, the voice of the hypnotist who had imposed It. I had now come to regard him as a mur- derer—a very fiend. At last, hopeless of any other means of cure, I jeft the town and spent several months in blind and feverish efforts to find him. It was a vain search; no clue could be discovered. ‘The fatal year had almost passed, and another Halloween was approaching, when I was recalled by the news that Elsie was failing fast and constantly asked to see me. I arrived, but just in time; and in my arms she sank into what seemed a gentle slumber—only there was no awakening. it was long before I could believe her dead. For days she lay in a marble beauty in the chamber of mourning, but her heart was still, and no breath ever clouded the mirror that We so often held to her lips. Finally it was felt that there could be no more delay. The day of the funeral was | business? Selling much?” wet; it was Hulloween, over my loved one; her face showed color, and her lips were parted. Her eyelids fluttered; then they opened wide. She saw me—knew me. We did not wait for her to realize her grewsome surroundings. Lifted in loving hands she was quickly borne to a quiet chgmber, where, as the full tide of life and consciousness came gradually back, 1 watched beside her—and with me was Runestane. Only once, however, did he speak to her, and that was before she seemed fuily aroused. “Phe spell is ended,” he said, in that slow, droning voice that I so well remem- bered. “The spell is ended; live, and be happy. “And may God forgive me,” he added, “fer this rash and criminal experiment.” Runestane remained only long enough to make certain of Elsie’s safety and sanity. “This is no place for me,” he said. “I shall remember it always with remorse and horror. I could not blame you if you sought my life. Yet you must know that I am no crazy charlatan, but a deep student of these obscure phenomena of hypnotism and suggestion. My true name is well known to the world, but I dare not tell it. Like the mediaeval student of forbidden magic, I was lured on by the fascination of these unwarranted experiments, until I was almost ready to stultify my soul to satisfy my thirst for further knowledge. I shall brave such risks as this no more. “You wonder, doubtless, why I did not come to your aid before such a desperate pass was reached. The truth is, I dared not. To enable you fully to understand the Matter a long course of abstruse study would be necessary; but, in brief, I had made an impression in the unconscious substratum of her mind so deep and of such a nature. that neither I nor any other could reach it until its term was run. It Was a horrible experiment—nothing less than a species of psychological vivisection. Thank God that her life is not upon my soul. Had you interrupted me that night by entering the room one moment sooner the impression wouid have been left in- complete; and in that case there would h&ve been no possible awaking. It would have been death, indeed. “I cannot ik you to forgive me,” he concluded, ut my shadow shall never again cross your path.” . . . . Happy, Indeed, is my home; no sorrow has ever yet crossed its threshold: “Bat iny sweet wife trifles no more the per- lous, mysteries of A¥pnotism, ter PBR the spirits of Halloween. b at (t ‘PH END. a CZAR AND CZARINA, How They Looked, Talked and Acted From the London Truth, rt Y The president stood bétween Nicholas and Alexandra as they descehided thomt' thé pal- ace on wheels at Passy, railway. to drive through Paris. The excellent president is pompous, portly, scrupulously ‘attentive to externals, self-satisfied, l:kes to be thought a Lord Bountiful and has lots of “side.” The czar has just body enough’ to maintain and sheathe a high-strung nervous system. One can hardly realize that he 1s ke, so modest, quiet and unaffected is. his bear- ing. He is refined without being finical, delicate without effeminacy. “Though ex- tremely impressionable and emotional, he behaves like a man of a cold nature, and keeps under all circumstances-a level hea:l. Greek artists, orators, writers understood the beauty of restraint. This is a vir that has become a second nature t czar. A French of of h used to more demonstrative thought he was made of smiles, he said, were pale and chill sunbeams. I do not share this opinion, and one way or another I saw a good deal of caar and ezarina. French taste has been spoiled by the assumption by their “chic” people of the inflation, bounce, stagey “panache” of their public men. Spaniards would have felt the czar’s good form. Much of it was induced, of course, by education, but it seemed natural and, I thought, sweet as a field flower. It was modesty itself, unal- loyed with shyness, and one thought the disposition must be obliging. Impossible to be more affable in an easy, quiet, thought- ful way. A pair of candid, kindly blue eyes bring him at once into touch with those who meet his gaze. They are full-eyes, and a little like those of Alexander II, but do not, like Alexander's, express a’ mournful sense of.-solitude. The under part of the face, however, shows the habit of reticenc ‘The czar's impressionable nerves are dom without the curb. But he cannot when stirred prevent the nervous centers sud- dealy drawing to themselves all the blood in his body; this makes his pallor striking, and brings on a state that ought to, but does not, make him quiver all over like a strongly excited thoroughbred horse. Doc- ight say from this that he Is a 5 He ts not. One detects no morbid- ness. His cool, collected manner excludes the idea that he is morbid. I should say he has good sense, ability to bend his mind to toll and cleverness. ‘The ‘“mutin’ nose gives the face a charming finish, quite un- expected in an autocrat. The czar, in inind and body, takes after the Holsteins, who,- since Peter II and Catherine Il (first cous- manners, tea. is-tea. derstood sarsap /OLOUOOSo commodity who years. Your ¢ Interesting Incidents of the Voyage Northpoleward, Christiania Letter in New York Evening Post. ‘The discussion of Dr. Nansen’s move- ments is still the topic of the day in thi- country, and the interest in him and the ¥tdm, now on her journey southward, be- ing towed by the steamship Halaagaland, is even now at boiling point. We have Nansen hats, Nansen tablecloths, N. pins, Nansen handkerchiefs, Nansen ties’ at the music halls, Nansen balloons, Nansen brooches and Nansen—North Pole A musical composition has even appearance in which the several incidents of the journey are portrayed, such he departure fram Norway *hrist- mas ev2 on board, ¢ mareh to Franz | Josef’s. Land,” with Jackson, * &c, The whole fimshes triumpnanuy with the national song as a welcome hoi : Medais have also been struck commemo- | I vent. The first impressions are | of silver bronze, while the later ones wi be in aluminum. On the obverse side is 4 picture of the north pele and above this the words, “Nansen-Johinsen, degrees 14 minui ‘The Fram, $5 degrees 14 minutes'N.” Rouad the motif are tie dates ot the departure and return of both the Fram and the sledge journey, with the in- ription: “Forskeraandens Morgensol glini- «a op mod islagt Pol.” (The sunlight of science shone upon the icy pole.) On the | reverse side {3 a representation of the Fram with Frithjof Nansen’s initials, and round the picture the names of the members of the expedition. ‘Thé appearance of the Fram has suffered litle, since her departure three years ago. A little more airt on her deck, perhaps; a Jittle' more weatherbeaten and_ battered. | Everything {s in its place, and the reserve screw has never even been called into re- quisition. The big beats Grand an] Grav sen (so naméd after two of the chief res- taurants in Christiania), are in their places, hanging from the davits as they were when the Fram started on her voyage. From the davits sti!l hang meat and fish, only this time the meat is bear flesh shot by the explorers. ‘The petroleum launch alone has | proved a disappointment, and was not as useful as it was expected to be. Fire, water and ice did their worst, but to no purpos it refused to dispose of itself, and one fine cay—that is to say, in the summer of 1s tired of having it about, the explorers chopped it up and used the materials for runners under their sledges. A new generation of dogs has arisen on board the Fram, after the consumption by each cther of those shipped at Charbarwa. Of these only one Is left, Susi by name, and she is a great pet, and the only one of the dogs allowed below deck. Dr. Nansen’s | Eskimo jog Kirk (from Ryber's expedi- tion), that he took with him, and Susi had ins), were five times In his genealogy. One sees a touch of this “mutin” nose in the otherwise Greek profile of Catherine; Paul I had it to a caricatural degree; there {s a trace of it in the King of Denmark, and its accentuation is one of the charms of his daughter, Marie Feodorevna. The French say It gives him anvesptegle expression. A danseuse.who figured in the pavane danced before their imperial majesties at Ver- sailles<cailed the czar’s nose um-petit nez Polisson, by which she meant a darling lit- tle s#ucy-nose, Like his nose, the-czar’s talk 1s piquant. But he doés not seek to shine in Conversation, and mistrusts’ lter- ary effect in speeches. The uniform of Het- man of the Cossacks is a dressing gown of soft-cloth, open at the sides of the skirt. It conceated, when the czar"was on horse- back, the smallness of his figure. Carrying his head well and broken from infancy to military discipline, he has a‘soldierly air in the saddle. We ‘noticed what tiny feet he had, and somebody who gften anced with the Jowager czarina saiggheyywere a heri- {tage from her. The <p@ring/ dates. from 1872. I should not ska own her from her photos. She must have sierling quall- ties which they do not even hifit. The nose is like’sher mother’s; and/eyeg’ and mouth like the prince consort’s,/ Th¢,eyes. betray standing anxieties, and~ she ‘watchfulness of one who fearg to blunder, They are fine eyes, of a blue that a with a com- plexion fresh to the deg ft ruddiness, and a matchless head of (not red) baits She was under all tances af- rable. Ib “Hello, Brown! estate How's the : “Yep. Lots.’ ly between then. sixteen puppies, born this as, however, five of them seemed unpromising, they ‘were shct, and only twelve are left. All of them have names, and are very affectionate. In a. private letter to a friend, Licut. Hjalmar Johansen describes the departure of the sledge expedition in the beginning of February, 1885. This took place before the polar night was over, and three starts were made before they were finally under way. The first time they had not left the Fram long before one of the sledges broke down. The second time he and Dr. Nansen had actually been four days on their jour- ney when they decided to return and reduce their load of provisions. The third start was successful, and Dr. Nansen’s plucky companion here gives some account of their journey, of which so m&ny details have al- ready been published, adding, characteristi- cally, “But one can stand mcre than one thinks when one once begins.” He goes cn to give a description of a ducking he got one night when dragging the sledges from floe to floe. On this occasion there were 40 degrees (centigrade) of cold. One sledge had already been conveyed safely across When the lane suddenly widened and it was as much as they could do to get back to the other two sledges. In the at- tempt Jchansen fell into the water, but clambered out on the farther side, while Nansea remained on the other. it was only after many hours’ hard work and a long detour that the two succeeded in meeting again. “It was good to get Into the sleep- ing bag that day and have scmething hot to drink,” says Johansen in his ietter; “my clothes were of course as stiff ax glass, and it was several days before they were soft again. We had many a tough job on that journey, but now it is all forgotten and I am happily none the worse for it, and as Well as ever,” and this in spite*of the fact that ‘their last meal in camp consisted of soup made of rotting bear meat boiled in sea water, thickene@ with cornstarch. Hjalmar Johansen, Dr. insen’s com- panion on the sledge journey, is a reserve lieutenant in the army and was born in Skien in 1867. After having been at the military college in Christiania for a year he became clerk to the county sheriff at Skien; he is one of the best gymnasts, ske lobers and shots in Norway. ‘st and foremost among the other members of the expedition is Capt. Sverdrup, Nansen’s com- panion on his Greenland expedition. His aid and counsel have always been gener- cusly acknowledged by Nansen, and at the entertainments given at Tromsoe for the explorers, the latter spoke of him as “the only man who could have piloted the Fram through the ice in the way he had, and whom he depended on as on himself.” Finally Nansen, amid thundering applause, lifted Sverdrup in his arms, and said: “Here you se? whom I place highest of all.” Capt. Sverdrup was born in Bindolen in: 1855, and is married and bas one child. dideut. Sigurd Scott-Harsen of the royal navy, another prominent member, was So any flour is flour. fer. You want the best. There are grades. flour it would be easy to determine. But you don’t. How should you? When you are going to buy a out an old established house to trade with, and trust their experience and reputation. Do so when buying sarsaparilla. Ayer’s Sarsaparilla has been on the market 50 reputable medicine. las=-=-but only one Ayer’s. Still | &nd a quick voy stemmed the onslaughts of rinderpest. an emetic. as an eye salve, and to its milky sap the But grades dif- It’s so with sarsaparilla. You want the best. If you un- arilla as well as you do tea and se value you don’t know you pick It is a There are many sarsaparil- It cures. have doubts? "Send for the “Curebook.” It kills doubts and cures doubters. J. C. Ayer Co., Lowell, Mass. randfather used Ayer’s. born in 1968,.and,is .a,¢on of a well-known and much-respected clergyman in Christi- ania. To his lot fell the task of making astronomical, magnetic and meteorological observations. The time spent on board is described by the men as terribly monotonous, and to while away the long hours much cardplay- ing was resented to,,.the favorite game be- ng one known in Norway as halyioly. To! give zest to tnis, as coin of the realm was of no value in those regions, they issued 1. 0. U.'s ef 10,000, 50,000 and 100,00) kron- er. That actual money was little in de- mand is shown by the fact that on leaving civilized regions one of the men had in his possession a five-kroner note and 60 ore (about 10 cents) in small change. On his return, however, the note was still iniact, but the ores. mi ng. “Then there was some after all,” we remarked to him. “That is as you take it,” was the answer; “the 60 ore were certainly made use of, but as metal for soldering!” There was hardly any kind of work or preparation in which the men did not en- | sage with enthusiasm as a change from late Sir Theophilus Shepstone’ was indebted for the preservation ofa valuable horse which had got some of the blinding juice of the euphorbia into his eye. The most popular plant, however, ig the u-mondi, whose aromatic roots act as a very whole- some tonic. Ti fs on the point of extinction in the colony, and alarge:price is.now paid for its roots. When called in, the doctor receives a fee known as “ulugxa,” varying from thye shillings to half a guinea, according to his standing. Should a cure result a further fee is claimable, but failure to cure is un rewarded by payment beyond the ca Every dector has to take out a lice practice from the magistrate or trator of native law in the distric lust be favorably indorsed by Lis or her (for lady doctors have from time immemorial among the kri For this license a payment of £3 43 ade, and the holder is immedia use for money, s 1, or love philtres or charm: the savage bre: tive law i pro! to soothe the monotony of their every-day life. Much | other quac in or lights reading, Hy of the lighter sorts of | tors, are expn idden to pr: literature, depicting home scenes and home | black art. practically extinct in fe, was got through, but even the mo: exciting novels cannot be read more than certain number of times. The cards, there- iore, remained prime favorites to the end, and became so ¢) S On of the crew said, y might, have boiled down for soup.” After the Fram had got safely out of the ice the cards were acriticed to the gods with much solemnit in the hope of securing favorabie winds , ge home. | the col on of dream doctor was in full swing in Zaluland prior to the dethron pre- ‘one convenient method with awkward relatives and Chak, the am doctor, and in pursuit of his profession (”) on one occasion brutally mur- red no fewer than 40 women, for mere | lust of blo seein | ing with R DOCTOR. jas he expired = i . he a | Queer Methods, and Remedies of Natal | Medicine Men, Frem the 1 Gaz, In Natal, native physicians are divide: into two classes—medicine and herbalists. The former, known to.\heir fellows as Izinyanga zo kwe lapa e especially proficient fn the healing art; while the lat- | ter, rejoicing in the name of THE KAF you am gone; but I sce the white Mam-es@@ing@and hil be your master.” i From ihe New York We' : 2 a ; Fond Mother—“My dear, don’t you think of marrying that Mr. Goodsoul. He's hard- hearted, lazy, selfish and without one spark of humanity.” Daughter— out?” hy, the day I went to visit your Aunt Sally he was in the same train, and my window stuck, and I asked him to raise it. Well, you mayn't believe it, but it’s an actual fact that he didn’t work at {t more than half an hour before he stopped try- ing, and advised me to take another seat, and I had all my bundles there, too! —- — A Light Snack, From the New York Press. ercy! How did you find it zemeti,” effect their cures through the me- | dium of herbs with medicinal properties, | of which there are over 100 species in the colony known to the natives. One of the most frequent cases with which a native doctor has to deal is snake bite, and for this there are at least a dozen herbal ant!- dotes, the chief of which is the root of the aster asper, a small plant somewhat like ac-colored flowers. It has been used with success by hunters on their dogs when snake-bitien, but the secret of the infallible remedy “for the deadliest | the cans ° a ; snake bite is sald to have died with Cete- | inet, “april Chiet’s wife spoke solici wayo, who had a gray powder which never | 'OUSI¥Y. “Before you go, my dear,” she failed to cure. Herbs for cattle diseases | Said. “can't I get you a little light lunch- are plentiful, but so far none of them has | con? The isi-nwazi is a favorite remedy for “red- water” in cattle, and is aiso employed as The umbelebele is very valuable He hesitated. “You know the petite blond there! I knew you were hungry!” She tripped away to give orders to the royal purveyor. one—Ah, THE MODERN HAT; Or, a Pardonable Error. From Filegende Btatter.