Evening Star Newspaper, May 14, 1898, Page 20

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, MAY 14, 1898-24 PAGES. CHAPTER Vi—Continaed. unately, dynastic considerations prevailed over sincere and enlightened pa- trivtism, time was frittered away in mu- tual recriminations, and before the cham- ee on any plan of action, the At 11 o'clock in the morning es of National Guards, Mobiles, ccompanied by citizens pped with ail sorts of weapons, began gather at the Place de la Concorde. At ‘kK the broke against ais Bourbon with a rear: “Viva 11 La decheance!” That was the moment for the members of the | and they knew their oppor- | trnity. Like a company comic opera bandits they dissemb!ed and left the cham- ber by various exits, only to reunite out- side. Acclaimed by the mob, they hastily trynsported themseives the Hotei de Unie uman wave repu golden extreme left, ique to Ville. There they immediately made them- selves into a government, the members of } which w usively composed of the deputies of £ cepting Gen. Trochu, the presidency, at the reserving for himself the title governor ct Paris. Jules Favre ied for vice presiuent. his comic cpera proce holding a solemn seance a bout 3 o'e k, af S of fidelity to the cap- ecure r the invasicn of the cham slatif refused to con- “avre and Ju prodigals at a fol covered wit te the wer pe burde sh them. n ot he new gov- ‘Then, on the » to kerrieres on that heart- m which all the world has stion of the republic stirred | f effervescence of joy longer of the fe un- | pop- g to! past | the army of the army Chalops except as an army of pri no new government, were pushed forward of the most important se concerned provisioning » city and the ur Magnin, who s vernois is minister of displayed the good judgment of his predecessor, the history of s might have been writ- differc ten y yur, grain, hay, straw, cattle, sheep—nothing was forgotten by Monsieur Duvernois—not even a supply of milistones for grinding cereals. As for his succe his mania was economy, and it is @ pity that he alone was not obliged to en- dure the consequences. Of all guilty fools respensible for their nation’s humiliation, the economical fool is the most deserving of perdition. Under the new military re- org tion, the government hastened to equ sixteen forts and the various redou and batteries that surrounded s and St. Denis in an oval measuring kilometers in circumference. Not only it necessary to construct emplace- gun platforms, casemates, maga- bomb-proofs and store | houses, it was also imperative that the er supply should be assured, mines ed, electric firing communications installed, and electric lights placed. Tele- graphic communication with Paris, sig- naling by semaphores, intrenchments and redoubts connecting the forts, ail these w necessary; but before the lines could be definitely established a whole series of suburban villages were barricaded and loopholed. Inside the first barrier of defense lay the fortifications of the city proper, divided into ninety-four bastions and nine secteurs, each of the latter com- manded by an admiral or a general. The city, therefore, was divided like a pie into nine sections, each section having its commander, whose role was not only mili- tary but also civil, and who, in concert with the municipal authorities included in his district, was responsible for the main- tenance of order, the policing of the ram- parts and streets and the crganization of the N. nal Guard. This scheme was ad- wirable, and, had it been maintained after the end of the selge until the city resumed its normal condition, the Commune might have been impossible. The city, then, was :rrounded by a double line of defense, the for outside the walls and the fortifica- tions proper. But this was not all. Belle- ville, that rabbit warren of the ragtag and bobtail, that ever simmering caldron of avarchy, lifted up its voice and bawied for barricades. To keep the vivacious denizens of that quarter in good humor, the gov- ernment permitted them to surround the outer bowevards with a third line of de- fense in the form of barricades. This they did with an enthusiasm and ability that was none the less suspicious because superintended by Herri Rochefort. For the defense of the forts and the ramparts 2,200 cannon were mounted and 300 held in reserve. These cannon were served by 15,000 artillerymen, including marine gun- ners and engineers. The garrison itself consisted of: First—Two army corps, the 13th Vinoys, the Mezieres Prodigals, and the 14th Corps, command: by Gen. Ducrot, about 60,000 men in all, and 1% field pieces. Vinoy’s men camped on the left bank of the Seine, Ducrot's on the right bank. Second—One hundred and five thousand Mobiles, not only from the department of the Seine, but also from every department of France. They were distributed between the forts and the city. Third—Seven thousand sailors from the ‘war ports on the coast, 6000 customs | were and ex-policemen. About franc corps, more or iess unruly and useless, a total of nearly 15 St. Six ational G 1 nuisance to everybody except elves, partly on account of the fool- by their superiors, in s instead n to the discipline and ve service outside the and partly on account of the elective 3 common to each battalion. Any- body might believe, after this long enumer- ting the egime of ac | ation of defensive works, that the labor of sforming Paris into a vast fortress Ss pushed with unexampled, not to say miraculous, speed. That was not the case, and two generals of engineers, whose names it is not necessary to mention, were to blam With the German armies within a few day’s march from ‘is, with two great redoubts of Chatillon and Montret- out unfinished, these generals did not think it necessary for the workmen, masons, stonecutters, terrassiers and_car- penters to labor during the night. With AWRITTEN FOR THE EVENING STAR BY ROBT W-CHAMBERS along the narrow path, half overgrown with long gra: « are qui ve you. The words were simple enough and yet to him they meant more than the mere condoning of a tactless remark. There was sométhing almost intimate in the words ‘you are thoughtless;"’ something that was new to him and to Hilde, a reversal of their relations, a tacit assumption of a sit- uation as old as the beginning of creation, the myster an awakening, the enigma of life, the wev of a man with a maid. “Ye I was .houghtless,” he repeated, lingering over the words that alternately thrilled and troubled him, vaguely aware of the subtle metamorphosis that was tak- ing place before his eyes, the unconscious awakening of a child to womanhood. sumption of the right to chasten and forgive is a maid's first step in love. aid, “what it is that trou- thoughtless,” said Hilde; the valle the night breeze blowing in their faces, bringing with it a faint aro- matic odor of burning beechwood. “It is that 1 wish to ask your advice, criminalt. where the a mine rmed? were el ys of » ma first ¢ merely Lv! heen nt a n Sevre composed artiller: hurled ns of equal divis antry Jas-Meuden gate, whe $s stood guard at same time the arriving gallop along the Point de Jour bastions, ave sabered the canneneers and na- on the rampar g the nlimber behind the Cienture tracks, hold the ground forcements cot arrived from and Ve . except by the fort of Issy. simple, perhaps, for the great German masters of str If, there- fore, the work on the defe of F tained really splendid re the s neither due to the two engineer gen nor to the apathy of the Ger due—strange as it may app Haussmann. Why? Be: e the could never have be w work accomplished had not the government been able to summon to its sit the tors and their men Haussmann’s magnific splendid army of contrac- schooled, during M. nt administration, to undertake and execute vast enterprises pf construction and demolition with in- credible rapidity. How the irony of his | tory repeats itself! CHAPTER VII. An Account to Settle. It was dusk when Harewood returned to the Rue d’Ypres. He stood a moment on the steps of the bird store, looking out over the country beyond the city wall. Pale stars glimmered throvgh the vale ef dun- below stretched the shadowy valley ‘of the Seine, ¢im under its ramparts of low surrounding hills. In the northwest a pallid streak traced the sweep of the river, further still a pcint of white fire, brilliant as a star of the first magnitude, flashed and scintillated on the horizon. It was the new electric light on the great fertress of Mont-Valerien. As Harewood stood there, fumbling for his keys, absently watching the signal lan- terns hoisted above the Porte Rouge. spots of incandescent vermillion and sapphire in the deepening twilight, the door behind them unclosed, and Hilde glided out. “Good evening,” he said, turning instant- ly: “L suppose Lam late for dinner?” The girl closed the door behind her noise- lessly, returning his greeting with a trou- bled smite. “I heard the keys jingle; I thought it was you. No, you are not late; M. Bourke has not yet returned from the city. I—I havo something to ask of you: may I? “Of course,” he answered; and again that sudden warmth touched him at the confi- dence implied in her eyes and voice—a con- fidence he felt he deserved so little. “Not here, then,” she said, lowering her voice; “they may interrupt us.” As she spoke she stepped across the sidewalk, and he followed, wondering at the suppressed anxiety in her voice. A breeze blew over the sodded ramparts opposite; together they mounted the gen- tle slope’ where, cgainst the sky, each sep- arate blade of grass stood out, trembling in the freshening wind. On the summit of the glacis they hesi- tated; then, by a common impulse, they moved on along the path together, side by side, under the million stars. He wait- ed for her to speak; her head was turned away toward the vast stretch of country in the south, where, over the valley, a haze of somber smoke hung, touched with a aull_color. “They are trying to burn the forest of Thiais; you can see the smoke,” he said. “They can't do it: the wood is too green. It's a little late in the day now to think of clearing away the forests from the mili- tary zone. They should have begun a month ago. Look at the Meudon woods. There's cover enough there for the whole Prussian army. The engineers and sappers have been trying to burn it for a week past; now they are at it with axes. They might as well try to ditch the redoubts with pen- knives. What a muddle-headed people!” “You forget,” said Hilde, “that they are my people.” She spoke so sweetly that the rebuke struck him with added force. “I did forget,” he said; “forgive me.” ‘They turned again, retracing their steps “IT IS FORTUNATE energy ard the employm of 10,000 or | 15,40 workmen, Chatillon could have b of the Germd | isted weak YOU HAVE COME.” monseui > answered seriously. “Do once I told you how two ad rented an eft Ww J s de t ago? Well, they have re- turned.” “Returr ited Harewood angrily. “Yes, te They have offered to pay d to my uncle. It is not jeur Harewood—but it—it importance to us. + continued with sensitive reserve: “At nt our means do not permit us to re- et—and yet we do not like these >and 1.” son for not insisting on hat is justly due you,” said Harewood. That is true, monsieur,” she answere “but that is not all. These men Pay us, but only on condition that hem to rent from us another Pry is of some s med Harewood, getting “This,” continued the girl, ‘we do not is! although the three rooms under » roof are quite comfort , these men are not w ure to meet. Even when alive and Yolette and I came back from the convent at Christmas—they—they were at times a little rude with their attention Yolette and I were very glad when they left—even without paying anything at all Do you want my advice?” asked Hare- wood, brusqucly. ble. But, you Yofette and I my uncle was If you do not mind, Monsieur Hare- wood.” “Then let us go back to the house, for I wish your sister also to hear what I have to say.” “But—but—the two Gormans are there— now—trying to persuade Yolette.” Harewood’s eyes changed in a second. A white, pinched look came about his mouth; tren his whole face lighted up with a smile so charming, so perfectly winning, that Hilde’s troubled gaze cleared, and she in- voluntarily stepped closer to him. It was seldom that this expression came into Harewood’s face—-this absolute com- mand of a sudden rage so frightful that it whitened and sharpened every feature, only She Stared Back at Him. to be followed by a smile that would have disarmed the devil himself. Bourke had seen it once when Harewood’s little fox terrier was wantonly clubbed to death by & peasant in Saarbruck; the peasang was probably still in the hospital. “Come,” said Harewood pleasantly, “per- haps we can arrange this affair very easily. Why, there is Bourke now, going up the steps!” He called to.his comrade. ‘Wait, Figutnet 2 want to see yee oe it! Is it a you have 2 Bourke looked at them sharpiy as {hey came across the street, but he bowed gayly to Hilde and opened the door. “Riding crop?” he repeated; “here is one. T’ve seld the horses. Are you going to ride @ cock-horse to Banbury Cross, my son?” He stopped suddenly with a narrow glance at Harewood*s placid face. It was too placid—and Bourke knew It. “What's the trouble?” he asked bluntly. Harewood said: ‘Nothing much,” amd led the way into the parlor. * As they entered without knocking, Yo- lette rose hastily from a chair at the table and came to them, and at the same mo- ment, two men, lounging on the sofa, }08k- ed up angrily. The men were Speyer and Stauffer. “Monsieur Bourke,” said Yolette, reso- lutely controlling her votee, “it is fortunate you have come—I—I coutd net stay in this room another moment. Before Bourke could understand, Hare- wood said quietly: “Mademoiselle, it {s all arranged. Will you step into the office and write a receipt?” . His eyes told Hildeto go too. She obeyed, with a frightened glance at his face,which was still smiling, but white as a sheet. Spyer had risen; Stauffer also stood up, close beside Speyer. When the latter be- gan to speak, Harewood turned and looked at him, and he stopped short. “Bourke,” said Harewood in even tones, “would you mind stepping into the office ard bringing me the receipt?” Bourke’s somber, puzzled eyes rested on Speyer for a second; then he turned on his heel and left the room. “What do you mean by this?” blustered Speyer. inate” asked Harewood without emo- tion. There was no answer. Stauffer instinc- tively took a step toward the door, then paused as he met Harewood’s eyes. At that mement Bourke re-entered the room, ‘hold- ing a sheet of stamped paper in his hand. He laid it on the table before Speyer, but said nothing. After a silence Stauffer’s weak face ex- panded into a smile, and he picked up the paper with a pitiful little swagger. Then he laid a few gold coins on the table, piling one on the other in affected jocularity. “Will Mr. Harewood do me the honor of counting them?” he said, sauntering toward the door. Harewood stopped him with a gesture. Speyer, glowering across the table, watched the counting of the coins. When Harewood finished he stepped back a pace. “Get out—” Get out!” he said gently. Stauffer slipped past the table at once. Speyer hesi- tated, sneering, fairly weak with rage, then turned and walked out, followed closely by Harewood. At the door Stauffer began to laugh. His forced mirth seemed to sting Speyer to madness. He turned, as he reached the sidewalk. Hilde’s name was on his lips, but Harewood lashed him the mouth with his riding crop. he whispered with white lips. “Tf you don’t go I'll kill you. Can't you un- derstand—can’t you understand—I’ll_ kill you if you don’t go.” He flung him out into the street, and walked slowly back to the house, closing the door very softly behind him. He met Bourke in the hail and answered his_inqui with a shrug. Nice pair,” commented Bourke; ‘Yolette hedding tears; do you suppose they id anything blackguardly to her 1 fancy they did. It's well we came back when we cid. Is dinner ready, Cecil?” They knocked at the dining room door and entered. Yolette smiled at them as they entered. “It was very silly to ery she said sedately, scating herself at the table. Bourke, not knowing what to answer, sat down gravely and looked at the lioness; and Scheherazade, who had taken a gre is fancy to Harewood, stole around to chair and stood there, looking up ¥ luminous eyes, while her lithe tail gen’ waved in the air. “Some day,” fancy to m said Bourke, “she'll take’ a and we |shafl be inseparable His If-serious, ;,half-pretended —sus- picions as to Schehernzade’s intentions al- Ways delighted Yclette and Hilde. ‘Thi loved to hear him cgfl_ thg lioness a livi tomb and wish thatchis' bones might have a quieter grave. “He's ins you agajn,” cried Hil agross to her swn 'y Scheherazade would eat houldn’'t! Hear her purr, the @ M..@Bourke, that’ you chair anything she Bourke;,** him spee 1] her dagk eyes to Harewood's. “Is that true, monsiew 4 and laughed, nod- but Hilde’s face, al- and. sensitive, even in her mirth, gr gtaver;and more sensitive. It had changed wilkin aoday; something had come into it too subtle for Harewood "s Harewood. ding across th vays a litle grav a to detect; something that even escaped Yolett The contour of her cheek and neck was. still nost childlike, the full searlet mouth \ so a child's mouth, dy lip and cheek were finer and ofter shhdow tinged the eyes, an imperceptible tenderness touched the lips. nnot see, 1id Bourke, honest your hands can be so white if yo and Yolette wa e dinner thin; “We don't,” Yolette; ‘we only ed dry our little tea does the rest ing Hood vet Red Riding Hood haven't seen Red Rid- the scissors-grinder’s child. They live in the passage de 'Ombre, and they are vecy, very poor.”’ Hilde thought of it first,"” said Yolette. he little thing came to the door last ‘inger—oh, so cold and hungry. She comes every noon and evening now. Hilde made her a red cloak and hood.” Her father drinks.” “I think,” said Hilde, kitcken now. Shall I bring her in?” Bourke nodded, a trifle embarrassed. never knew what to say to children. looked shyly at Harewood, saw that he ap- proved, and then rose and went to the door. “Red Riding Hood!” she called, “Are you th little one? Yes? Then won't you come in There came the clatter of small sabots along the tiled hallway. Red Riding Hood appeared. Bourke stared at this thin little creature, who stared back at him with a pair of great eyes, biack as jet. But Harewood, easy with anything that seemed helpless or dependent, held out a strong, brown hand, smiling. Children and animals never re- sisted his smile, and Red Riding Hood was no exception. She came slowly forward and gave him a thin, red hand, never tak- ing her eyes from his, and he bent forward and kissed the child. Hilde’s face changed. An exquisite ten- derness touched her eyes as she looked at Harewood, trying to speak, but could not. “What is your name; mine is Harewood he said. “Mine is Marle Ledoux. I should rather be called Red Riding Hood,” said the child, seriously. Harewood was quiet and attentive. “Exactly,’”’ he said, “and I want you to come to visit me. Will you?” Yes,” said the child; “tomorrow.” “Then will you say goodnight to these ladies and gentlemen, Red Riding Hood?” The child looked earnestly at him, then walked to the door. “Bon soir, mesdames; bon soir, mes- sieurs,” she said, gravely, and walked out, her small wooden shoes échoing along the tiles. “What in the world has tamed our Little Red Riding Hood?” exclaimed Yolette. “Hilde, would you have believed it?” But Hilde turned away toward the sofa without answering and laid her cheek egainst Scheherazadp’s head. “While you're ty it, Jim,” said Bourke, laughing, ‘why don’t you make friends with Scheherazadé? Even a loness couldn’t resist you."1 Hilde clasped the lon’sthead closer to her breast. “0. she said, meth Toy turning, “he need ‘she may be in the He Hilde “No, t not take everything J love.” CHAPTER <VIII. A Peaceful ‘Hour. The days and nights of early September, 1870, were like perfect:days and nights in Jun, when soft wiits stir and the blue air scintillates under tt gémmed rays of the sun, The mornings’ Were fresh and exquis- ite, the sunsets..gérgecils, the midnight heavens Pepe On tha afternoon bf {HS 13th of Septem- ber, the day set by Gens Trochu for a grand review of the national and Mobile guards, Bourke, returning from the city, found Harewood writing his weekly synopsis of the situation for the Boston Tribune. “Hello,” he said, looking up from his dask ep “did you forward our mail matter, Bourke nodded and sat. down on the bed, Harewood, coat oe suet Arredde mole ‘uD, rélighted his pipe and contin writing. ‘When he had finished Bourke, lying on ine bed, was seerine: ery. DBS ones as larewood's cl ir scra] SS rr. “Tired, Cecil?” asked Harewood. oid ttle. I pitas from the Arc to the ice de la Bastille.’ 5 “Whew!” exclaimed Harewood. “What for, to see the review? Was it worth the ‘ives. ‘There’ a bit of excitement in the “Yes. LJ ¥ ae yawned Bourke, ating. his wo be ae il puckered by the light, ‘hair in order. “That review,” he continued, “was sig- Rificant, Jim. saw 300,000 men in line from the Arc to the Place de la Bastille, all bawling the ‘Marseillaise,’ and all of them nothing but nation#1 guards ana Mobiles. They made a great deal of noise. “Was it impressive?” asked Harewood. “They made a great deal of noise,” re- peated Bourke. ‘Oh!” “They are not regulars, of course. I don’t know What they can do. It was queer not to see the uniforms everybody expects to see in a review in Paris—the cuirassiers, you know—and the rest. The people are acting foolishly, anyway, I think. The: stark mad over the new republic. The: changing the names of the streets, too. The Rue Bonaparte is now the Rue de Peuple, the Place Royale is the Place de Vosges—O, the whole business is too child- ish—too grotesque! Think of wasting time and energy in such foolish occupations with a couple of hundred thousand German soldiers—heaven knows how close to the gates! Why, Jim, they have even scratch- ed the imperial N from the bridges, and the pubMe bu'ldings, and have painted, ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’ over every- thing. Victor Hugo and Edgar Quintet are dancing cancans on the ramparts, hurl- ing odes and lyrics at the Prussians! Think how Moltke must grin! But their crown- ing madness has just been accomplished. In spite of the governor of Paris and the minister of war, they have decreed that all officers of Mobiles shall be elected by ae wn soldiers! What frightful stu- pidity!”” “What became of the Mobiles and ra- tional guard? Gone to the forts?” “Some—the Mobiles. The others are scat- tered. They are to police the city and ramparts. I fancy we'll have a few here soon. Today the sixty-nine gates of the city and all the railroad tunnels have been closed until the siege ends. They’re es- tablishing drawbridges over the moats. I tried to cable that, bug the censor cut it out. By the way, eighty odd words of your Tuesday dispatches were cut out, too. Don’t swear, Jim.” Harewood began to qualify the censor with such energy that Bourke, unable to control his laughter, went into his own room and shut the door. “Predestined idiot! muttered Harewood, scowling at his manuscript. “Now I sup- pose he'll also cut this to suit his own degraded intelligence!” He shoved back his chair and looked out of the window, sulky, impatient, a iittle wrathful at Bourke’s amusement. For he cared a great Geal about his Work. He labored faithfully to acquire a literary style. His style, at its best, was simple and honestly direct, often forceful, and sometimes clear. To have a French censor butcher and garble it always made him furious, but he was always able to enjoy the good-natured banter of his comrades when he had cool- ed down. It was his first service as cor- respondent in the field, and he learned that there was little romance in it. He learned other things, too. He found that electricity had nothing to do with the speed of telegrams, but that their celerity was regulated entirely by the diplomacy and generosity of the sender. He learned wh to bribe and when not to—when to use wire: nd when to use the mails— when to see, when to be blind—when to speak—when to remain silent. He found that the were four things which army officers dreaded—bad roads, the War De- partment, typhus, and war corresponcen They could become habituated to the first lagues, but it needed the diplomacy i to recencile a general to the vi newspaper men. However, infliction when this was once accomplished, half of the battle might be considered won. The other half of the batile was in reality a duel—a perpetual assault upon a cool, po- lite, often playful, often sympathizing of- ficial, who apparently po: 1 an insati- able thirst for literature, and who took the closest per interest in the pe- rusal of manus This official was the dreaded censor. ewood had easily won half the battle—but what man can affirm that anybody except the censor ever won the other half? Of course, it was not difli- cult to evade censorship for a while, but indiscretion meant not only personal in- convenience, bui also ultimate expulsion. Harewood sat moodily by the window, biting the amber pipe stem, staring ab- senUly across the fortifications opposite, where, beyond, wrapped in a sapphire haze, the valley of the Bievre lay, green and bmiliant, under the showered sunshine. To the st_a-dun-colored vapor hung over Meudon woods, to the south the sun glittered on distant window panes, dottil® the valley. with tiny points of fire. Ever: where lay paiches of green wo check- ered expanses of yellow grain stubble, and Ploughed ground, squares of paler green where cabbages grew, or blots of Somber verdure, marking potato fields. White spires rose beyond I'Hay; greenhouses, arkling, clustered along the route to ay, and all the great warders of the valley loomed purple through the mist, majestic, mysterious—Fort Ivry, Fort Bi- cetre, Fort Montrouge and Fort Vanves. Bourke sauntered in presently, notebook open, pipe lighted. “Forgot to teil you something,” he said, between his teeth. "1 found out that Jules Favre contemplat making overtures to Bismarck. What do you think of that? Rather a tumble, after his diplomatic twaddle—eh, Jim?’ He took his pipe out of nis mouth with a gesture of disgus! did you hear about it?” asked Harewcod, intersely interested. Now, my son, that’s my needn't ask rewood laughed and nodded. “My conclusions are,” ‘continu waving his pipe, “that if he tries to 1x up things he will fail; first, because the Parisians will surely repudiate any agre ment; second, because he can't swatlow his own words, and Bismarck won't let him oft withoui the cession of Lorraine, at least; third, because I'm convinced that this war is not, as Bismarck says it is, a war against Napoleon, but a war against France and the French, and I teil you, Jim, Germany means to crush’ France for years to come. Why,” he continued, “if all they want is to humiliate and de- stroy Napoleon and his dynasty, they have done it already. The emperor is a pris- oner in Germany, the Parisians have chased the poor empress and the prince imperial across the channel. France is a republic now. Then, why don't King Wil- helm and Bismarck ask for an indemnity and go home to their cabbage gardens?” Harewood listened attentively, but of- fered no comment. Bourke continued: “Oh, what the Germans want. They mean to dominate the continent and occupy the place that France held three months ago. There is but one way to do it—crush France. They're coming here to try it, too. If they succeed it may mean a per- manent German federation—perhaps an empire—a Teutcnic empire dominating all eastern Europe. I tell you, Jim, it makes me sick. France, with all her faults, has done more for human progress, human lib- erty—for everything that makes Iffe worth while—than all the other European na- tions put together. Today, aye, tomorrow, too, Germany might drop out of the world and the world would never be the worse. But blot out France or Engiand or our own blessed country, and it would mean something very different. I shall now go and write this out. It’s probably inval- uable. Much obliged for your attention, Jim.” business, and you E Bourke, no, that isn’t (To be continued.) Se ee The Cuban “Water Monkey.” From the.Chicago Inter-Ocean, ‘The Cubans have a domestic utensil called a “water monkey,” that is to be found in bouses, hotels and offices. It answers the fame purpose as the olla and the ciay jugs in Mexico. It is made of gray perous clay and is manufactured in Mal- aga, “where the raisins come from.” By absorption and evaporation a blanket of cool air surrounds the jug continually and keeps the water almost as cold as if it contained ice. In a*country where ice is both scarce and expensive these jugs are nae se: nkeys have two apertures, The water monkeys hav through -ons."about the size of .a dollar, which the \water ‘is. poured into a glass, On the opposite side-is a protruberance with a small hole running through it. From this the experienced Cuban drinks without touching it to his lips. When atout to drink he holds it two or three inches from his mouth, into which the tiny stream of water pours. Gradually and slowly he lifts the monkey away from him urtil it is almost at arm’s length, the water contiruing to flow from the monkey down his throat. Occasionally the drinker gulps, and when his thrist has been satis- fied he returns the toward his mouth, then it up, shutting off the stream. It takes considerable ex- perience to drink out of a water monkey gracefully. The beginner sends a stream of water down his neck instead of his throat of five until he Be wonder,” said the garrulous boarder, pe abe Ras coal pple ia e the Cheerful Idiot, otter cak Be got ICASTLES IN SPAIN Are Used for Collateral by Adven- turers in Paris. SHREWD METHODS OF MAKING MONEY Live Off the Gullibility of Suscep- tible Frenchmen. SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE ooo Special Correspondence of The Evening Star. HERE IS A TYP’ of the Parisian ad- venturer the mention of whose name brings smiles to every face and remi- niscences to every tongue. He is the “rasta,” in the slang of upper-classdom, and he is a dark- complexioned son of southern skies. He ea? may be a Spanish x Ste” South American; he may even on occasion be Italian. But it is not for nothing that the English-speaking peoples have translated from the French the “Chateaux d’Espagne” for their half- humprous, half-melancholy reminiscence. “Castles in Spain"—the phrase sums up the “rasta” from his dawnings in the mists of long ago, the rosy mists from which he first burst out, effulgent, glowing, from the hot and scented south to warm up the imaginations of his colder Latin cousins of fair France. “To warm them up” remains the phrase. The “rasta” is “hot stuff’—from Spain. He comes from Spain, and he has cas- tles there in Spain; or, if not castles, the delightful knowledge of a hidden treasure or some new “concession” from his gov- ernment, or influence, or something con- traband but safe. His dress is gorgeous and his manners florid. He is lavish in ex- penditure, yet able to use temporary aid— “advances.” In justice to his sunny and florescent temperament you may not liken him to “gold brick men™ or “green goods men,” for “confidence” is not that which he works on. He is so opalescent with the fires of flaming dago days and flashing dago nights, so opulent in look and lan- guage, rich In dress and manner, so de- ighted and delighting, that his victims, carried off their feet and whirled in a ka- “jag” of the imagination, leave hind in the mad rout of pas- sions and desire: war between the United States and Spain is already beginning to furnish the magnetic rastaquouere—to give him his fuil title—with the most precious of all data for his operations. In its mysteries, in its cret plans of statesmen and of capitalis he has but to pick and choose that which b fore he always has lacked in comple: “raison d'etre,” which y be fr or living.” He ha: is a “secret agent to wrap himself in the most seductive kind of glamour. He need not be explicit—he must not be explicit. He will have to do with French capital in equipping priva- teers, in speculations regarding war sup- plies, in the negotiations of “concession In one line only will the war threaten him, and such is his power of rebound that he may actually find a way of turning ob- vious disadvantage to advantage. This is the line of marriage, in which the “rasta” has rejoiced in all times. The “Rasta” in Love. Cor some reason or other democratic America has n r cared overmuch for Spanish titles, giving preference first to English, then to French, then to Italian, then to German blue blood. It is not thus with the democracy of France. Barred out from English alliances by English preju- dice, from German alliances by Franco- German prejudice, and distrusting im- mensely the mass of post-Napoleonic titles of her own fair land, it is only natural to find the Brench bourgeoise look Kindly at the tremendously authentic names of Spain. ‘Then, again, we must not shut our eye: veracious fa of the 4 os Dp sonal attraction for all northern-born wo- men. Undoubtedly the “rasta” h: a ge- nius for the arts of love. Anxious to get at the bottom cf the mystery, 1 have not hesitated to interrogate American, English and French wives and widows, | > time, falling heavily on their hands | risian flats and pen ns, has been be guiled by mild flirtation. Why this fur- tive preference when the veivet-e pagnol tak trouble to give you a chane: he is always so dead in earn nswe comes invariably, after the V ations and denials. The rasiag has no more sense of | humor n a woman; no more self-doubt | than a woman. He believes immense!y in | himself. With the eloquence of earnestness he pro- ceeds to make his court en regle, never ne- giectful, never forgetful, ever flattering, ever promising. His “castle in Spain” is dangled under the French girl's eyes. Her papa and mamma are delighted. They have made money—now they are to see their offspring with a name. They are to be grandperents to a grandee. The prepara- tions for the marriage are hastened. Until one day the fascinating bridegroom “touches” his beau-pere for a substantial sum of money—and departs. Works on Commission. Then, in the world of gallantry of Paris he has ever found a field for his seductive genius. As a lanceur de femmes the ras- taquouere stands proudly pre-eminent. He has relations in the world of negro princes, half-breed, ex-presidents and all the mys teriously wealthy riff-raff of the orient and South America. He is constantly seen among the fashionables of the Bois de Bou- logne afternoon carriage parade, at theat- rical first nights, in the chic restaurants, and everywhere among smart, lively, money-spending folk. So he has no diffi- culty of making the acquaintance of pretty actresses—and others—who have not as yet attained the success they deserve, and so are on the lookout for a wealthy backer. Does the young lady seek a wealthy backer? He will find her one. And when he finds him she must show herself a grate- ful girl by giving up a weekly sum—as a “commission.” The rastaquouere seeks a commission on everything he touches. Strong in his knowledge of the half-open gambling clubs of Paris, it has always been one of his per- quisites to introduce the new acquaint- ances he makes from day to day, and in the act touch two commissions. Naturally the proprietors of the gambling “club” are willing he should have his commission for each new customer. And the first moment “Castles in Spain,” of course, mean “‘cas- tles in the air,” but now and then there are new Casino of a newer Monte Carlo had things turned out as the brilliant Spania: Promised his French stockholders He came up to Paris with the grand scheme in his pocket, and set Paris club men all on fire with the idea. The tim were propitious, for it was at the mom of one of those periodic crises of the ropean fast life when the European con- science rises up against the gambling cor- poration of Monaco. Its cone the prince was just expiring. § renewed? All moral Europe t “No!” as usual. Yet this time it did look as if the king of red and black must shift his seat. Where ihe go? “To Spain!” the enticir the Paris club m Yes cou my « for I have a prom Fingered Frances by Mi How many hundreds of th francs he knows. had the fing They must have ru lions, for his corporation reatly to build the “c decorate it down to the very tables for th and rouge et noir; and the the lavish Spaniard, opening banks of carat and baskets of champagne of illimitable wealth, sur Souvenirs of the gay capit “concession,” it fell through, the first the Prince of Mona ed himself aga on prince fe folk who like ar the little around and bet where it will fall way ball whirl and, s ondiy, because the geod queen regent would not hear of it. She would not—then. But may she The roulette wheels are still at the hotel at Huelva in a great unused hall which they call the “ball room.” It would not be So strange if their time should come yet through the dire necessities of war. On by one Spain has been bargaining out that she has left to “concede” to. th French and German capitalists who hol her in the hollow of their hand. But a new Monte Carlo—that would be a new re- source and raise new millions How They Talk War. Meanwhile it is amusing to see how these brave Spanish sports in Paris ¢ in the Prospect of the war. It is impossible to ex- agecrate their self-importance. They are at their best when talking of the situation to the ladies. At the Casino and the Mou- lin Rouge, at the loud, musi taurants of the Place Blanche, are looked up There is not on. recking= res- ht, like Maxim's they spread thems. te as men of importance ef them who has not ves a by his own tacit admission, some connection with the secret plans of Spain. They know what will take p) in the none tant future. They can 1 rili the al listener with the pr “tof 3 war. For them it is nothing less than con- tinental Europe and South America against the Unit 1 England, And whe ; r land. And when you take into consideration the tone of th French press it is not so strat that their appear to have some méaning Parisians. : STH CLG HEILIG. A DISAPPEARING ISLAND, Mysterious Bit of Land That Gave Two Nat rouble, From the Sau Francisco Chronick “ar away, out in the deep Pacitle oce: hy there ex asmail strip of | which shows that it decided spirit and a Sweet little will of its own, for it will aot undergo allegiance to any country. ( ernments often experience ¢ dera trouble in preserving the allegiance of » ple they have conquered Sa rule a piece of property or real ¢ has been looked upon as likely to in in the same place for a considerable period of his littie island, which has received th me of Falcon Isiand, proves an excep- ton to the rule, however sooner has it been annexed than it disappears off the face of the globe, ieaving only a dangerous ate its Llormer whe ats, ~ up in a few years’ time, when the country which has performed the au- ion has given up all claim, Our vld frien teh shn Bull, always on the o increase his imperial empire, was t t to encour it. In 1589 the Brit- sh corvette aS Sent on a cruise among the ith Sca Islands, with orders from the tish admiralt to s had hith upoa r coral reefs t herio been unclaimed, and to take p the name of the queen. Cruising aro she*noted from afar of a prominent isl: toward which she Tail palm tre Were grow ng on its southern extremity, which was a commanding bluff, rising 150 feet above the sea. Having reported the re to th Imiralty, next year they sent out at With orders to make fur- ther reports. What w the mit} captain of the E on arriving place where he h year befor the i sporti Union Jac tind that it isappea om view. Instead of the iful island ailed ults of his voyage ansport ship) ding s from the n was a low us coral reef With the sea surging up nst it Two ye > seized with the inordinate xing new ter- ritory, sent the haffault to the : vund her to Fe ad of finding a sunken h the foam of the ker ew discovered a nd the of the tsland nd by the English corvette in 1880. carcely two years had 7 way yhen a brig sent out by to revisit found her way to Falcon disappeared, it being simply rous to navigation, whereupon s obliged to give up all ri of possession. soe What They Do. From the Chicago Record. “Women wear dotte ey veils and ruin theta ‘Well, mer rvin other p: w plaid golf stockings and ple’s eye soe A Puzzle. From Life. “A young man must have brains to get into society nowadays.” “But what would he do with them after he got in?” The village blacksmith is usually 1 ,/ Considered the type of go ealth. A090" Even he sickens and dies frequently in early youth. No man, not even the *\ most robust, can af- ) ford to negiect his health, which is his _ most precious en- dowment. The axe} ‘man who does so pee SIE will sooner or | @ later pay the penalty in some Bb: serions or fatal | malady. When a man finds that he is losing his ap- petite, = he passes restless nights, that he awakens in the morning unrefreshed and without ambition or mental or bodily vigor, when he is troubled with headaches, nerv- ousness or biliousness, it is ttme for take serious thought for his health. These symptoms are by no means trivial, and are imdicative of disorders that may Jead to consumption, nervous prostration, malarial troubles or some serious blood disease. Dr. Pierce’s Golden Medical Dis-