FOREIGN SELECTIONS. INTERESTING AND AMUSING EXCERPTS FROM THE PUBLICATIONS OF OVERSEA. THACKERAY'S DAUGHTER OX GEORGE SAND. ehl h 'av? HUn IlK ' WritOr ever saw Mine. Band ma hilv -1° imi ' n 1 ™ of a sort of sphinx duH S ,'» nn nyn v* dress ; Jl>r black »*«r 'hone face , V l «*" as "** sat motionless, a dark Two ™™ SUre ln the front of a theatre box. two men were sitting behind her— l remem «r.,, V Vt ''',' • unen »°tional. almost reluctant wutation she ?""' in return to my friend's S*v B«i and animated greeting. This was my on ; > sight of that woman of genius, of that multitude of women whose acquaintance I oniv at^m to be making to-day. Many people have said that Consuelo was drawn from Mrs. Bartoris; others have christ ened Mine. Pauline Viardot Consuelo. I once ask.-d this latter old friend about George Band. Everything has been already said." she an svered. "Tout a «'-te dit; ma is oe one Ton ne dira jamais asses, e'est oombten elle Mait bonne. Bale fetalt bonne, bonne, bonne." This Consuelo went on to say that she had only known George Sand In her later life, when she was wise and beneficent, and then it was she had rendered her one great and special service for which she should ever be gratefuL lime Sand had been the person to suggest and bring about her happy marriage. On one occasion — so Mrs. Kemble used to tell as— Mrs. Bartoris called on George Band. Mrs. KembJe asked her sister with some Interest what had happened, what Mine. Band bad said and what she was like. The younger sister laughed. "She was very vehement, very dicta torial, very contradictory; in short. very like, yourself, Fanny." Hut this can only have been a joke and meant as a joke, for the two women were of different elements and worlds apart. Mrs. Kemble had humor, George Sand was abso lutely without humor. Would that that saving grace had been there to rescue her from the exuberances of romance. — (Mrs. Richmond Ritchie, in The Cornhill Magazine. VAMPIRES AND VAMPING. Thus I have inexpensively pr instil, ar.d thrown away Mr. lirani Stokers "Draeula." One al ways heard that it was "horrid" enough to suit th- taste of Miss Catherine Morland in "North anger Abbey." Yet it only wins a smile from the experienced student of vanpiic.s and th.-ir ways. The rules of vampiring-. as Indicated by Mr. Stoker, are too numeroui and too elaborate. One does not see why the leading vampire. Count Draeula. could not bolt out of the box where he was finally run to earth by a solicitor named Jonathan. If be could lly about as a bat, why did he crawl down steep wails head foremost? The rules of the game of Vampire ought to be printed in sn appendix; at present the pastime is as difficult as Bridge. Perhaps I do not understand the rules. First —Every vampire, all day. must lie In consecrated ground. He can be stomped srhen in his ground, not when out of it. . All day a vampire is off side. Third— No vampire may enter a house unin vited. Fourth — No vampire may cross salt water ex cept at ebb tide and full tide. Fifth — Every person bitten by a vampire be comes a vampire. (This rule strike? at the root of morality* Sixth — No vanipire can vamp a person pro tected by gar!i.\ iTh-- peasantry of Southern Europe always sm--!I of garlic, perhaps as se curity against vampires.) Seventh — A vampire, staked through the heart trftb a. sharp piece of wood, is out. Oghth— Every man should stake bis own ymmg woman if she is a vampire. These appear to be th<- chief rules. There are others to which a person of taste would rather not allude.— (Andrew I^ang, In Longman's Ifaga ziii". AMONG BOER PRISONERS AT ST. HELENA. The Boer is a two sided Individual. On the one hand, he is decidedly slim and double faced; on the other, he is obstinate and ig norant to a degree, full of strife, ready and willing to be stirring up bitter feeling gainst the English. This latter propensity was car ried to such a pitch in their camps that it led to gross and malicious intimidation, and in one case to arson: and has led to the necessity of establishing separate peace camps, where those who are prepared to accept the inevitable and submit to British rule, and who are anxious to return to their homes, could express their views freely to one another without fear of threats and violence to their persons from their fellow prisoners. I will endeavor to relate briefly the system of intimidation that was going on. The irreconcilable party, with Commandants Wol marans and Eloff at their head, had established what they were pleased to call a vigilance com mittee, consisting of about forty members, all irreconcilables of the worst description, and many of them, in my opinion, real bad charac ters Pome of them were Hollanders, some «- Staats artillerymen, and a few Johannesburg de tectives beside*- to their shame be it said-one or two Englishmen. These men used to make it their business to go round the camp at night time, listening to the conversation of others, and if in their opinion the slightest tendency was Shown, or opinion expressed, in favor of ending the war by giving in. or a w.sh to take the oath of allegiance, if allowed to return to .south Af rica they became marked men at once, and w.- r ; often insulted, disfigured by having their beards cut off. and threatened with other vio lr ._f the hairs on the face. Ihe degree to which this chemical process is under the influence of the nervous system is Strikingly obvious, but a similar action is treat ed on most of the secretory processes of the body. Tears are an illustration.— <. Hr. W. R. Gowers, in Knowledge ENGLISH AS SHE IP SPOKE. [Wanted, a house on agreement; rent net to exceed, etc.; comeatable to Tube Railway - i Morning J'ost. ) "Comeatable"! Next, please. At this rate we await with alarm the appearance of advertise ments couched in the following terms: T " '•• ¦'¦ Pleasant bungalow; smellable dis tance of sea; walkable to station. For Sale. -Hull terrier; excellent l.ouse dog; Bearable to duns and burglars. Wanted, for the Little England Debating So ciety. an orator <>f approved pro-boerability. Gentleman going abroad wishes to dispose of his bay mar.', rising 7 (breakfast 8:30), 1.V2, rideable, driveable. huntable. No reasonable offer refuseable Viewable Ly appointment any afternoon. — (Punch. A DREAM STORY. Prom time to time I have been so interested ' ami amused by reading in "The Spectator" ac- j counts of vivid and realistic dreams that I feel I tempted to narrate one that happened to me, i leaving :t to your judgment as to whether it is worthy of notice in your paper. In November, 1893. I awok.- one morning fully Impressed with the idea that I was receiving as a gift an un- ; usually large gypsy ring, .set with a single sapphire with a brilliant on each side. The j dream was a pleasant one ti> the f.-male mind, ; and I soon fell asleep again, but only to awake with a still stronger Impression that the Jewel was actually in my hands. So curious were my ! sensations that on my maid entering my room at 8 < I"<-k I told h'-r of the two dreams, most minutely describing the ring, and 1 also asked ' my husband t<> bear witness to the statement shou'd anything follow to confirm the dream. Two hoars later the postman arrived, and so j great was my excitement and astonishment at I *••• ing a small, neatly done up packet (evidently s ring case) that I dare scarcely open it. and | de< id- ¦! to ask my maid to do so. Before break- j ing the seal 1 asked her to repeat the descrip- ' I i< • r i of the rinp that I had previously Riven her, : and then the little packet was opened, and the joyful exclamation followed: "Why. my lady. bere it Is!" The ring was sent to me by a friend ; in memory of his wife, who bad died some' months before: but I had absolutely n<> Idea that I should be the recipient of any souvenir of h'-r. nor did I ever see her w-aring the ring j in question. The same maid is still in my s.-r vic ••. and can (as well as Sir Astley) substantiate my story. — (Letter in The Spectator. A WORD FOR TALLEYRAND. Talleyrand spoke well and wrote better, his app< .trance at the Academic de la Langue being |i .!¦•¦! for as an i vent. A social lion, be was not arrogant In prosperity, and In adversity he bore rji with dignity. Forced Into the priesthood, he never had or pretended to have a vocation; ex communicated by Rome, he was nevertheless able to serve the Church at critical times. Be ing In office under Louis XVIII. when Napoleon bu Idenly came back from Elba, the minister discovered that his liver was oui of order, that he must go to Carlsbad. 'The sirst duty of a diplomat." he observed, "is to t;*ke care of his li\> ¦!-." After Waterloo, when the situation again became difficult, the liver again became affected It was. by the way. of the victor at Waterloo that Talleyrand said. "I am . . . grateful to the duke, since he is the one statesman in the world who has ever spoken well of me." This with tears in his eyes. Thiers, In a touching eulogy pronounced upon him at his death, said that Tall, viand "never harmed anybody, and that he hated persecution and violence of any kind." While thwarting her rulers Talleyrand was secretly serving the interests of Franc-. He never betrayed le r. A celebrated French wiin-r said of him: "Talleyrand is not the only man of that generation who, having entered life with noble illusions, aft'-r several unsuccessful at tempts followed by as many disappointments, conceived a contempt for theory and acquired a stock of political scepticisms. It is only fair to acknowledge beside the flexibility of his. form the perst verance of his patriotism." The reply of Louis XVIII when ask- d his opinion of his minister was to quote the lines of Cornellle re garding Richelieu, "He has done me too much good that 1 should speak ill Of him, and too much harm that 1 could .speak well of him." (Saturday Review. BENUSSISM. It Is a curious fact that the Arab mind has seldom been deeply stirred by the extravagances of religion. The great movements nave been, with few exceptions, Puritanical and self denying; and so it is with Senussism. Like the. cult of the Wahabis, it deducts from, rather than adds to, the status of religion, but unlike Wahabism it leaves to the native some of the traditions of his people, notably the reverence for and pilgrimage to the tombs of saints. Dancing, music, smoking and > off...- are strictly forbidden, as being contrary to the spirit if not to the letter of the Koran. in contradiction to this strict enforcement of orthodoxy, mystic ideas of Sufism are not wanting. Vet the Senussi allows his followers no direct doctrine of mys ticism. He preaches repentance and abstention; the mysticism he keeps for himself. It is he only who has reached the stage, through the perfection of knowledge, in which be can dic tate to bis people, and he holds out no hope, no matter how pure the life may be, of any other mortal reaching a parallel perfection. While he is reported to perform miracles, there is no evi dence that he lays credit to such powers, nor that he has ever claimed to be the promised AJahdi. The stories current, more in the maga zines and newspapers of Europe than in North Africa, that the Senussi has collected enormous stores of arms and ammunition, can be dis THE SECRET ORCHARD By Agnes and Egertoti Castle. The new nov-l i.y Urn antbora of "Tbe Pride ol Jeanica^**ctc. The leadinc male character is the I „,. „......, ~~ Duke of Quny, a descendant of the DRAMATIC A STORY OF ARISTO royal Stuarts. He is depicted as a THRILLING v^ CRATIC PARISIAN typical Stuart, full of power to win the FASCINATING | IFI : ardent love of men and women, but I . " easy-going, weak and inclined to personal indulgence. rus wife, Helen, is an American girl. The^e two, with Joy, a young girl whom the Duchess wishes to adopt and whose lite has been strangely interwoven with theirs, are the principal characters in the book. The plot is very romantic, the story is full of movement, and the main situation highly original and striking. The dialogue is delightful reading, and among other things contains a discussion of the Drey fus case and the Charity Bazaar lire. J2mo. Cloth, $1.50. Illustrated b% QuuUs D. WillLims. THE VICTORS Robert Barr's Hasterpiece. Darling and eventful as a tale of knight errantry, it is so thoroughly modern as to utilize in its machinery the operation ot a metropolitan department store, the stealing of a Railway Franchise, and the rise to power of a Tammany Hall leader. Patrick Maguire, big, brawny, and smo >th of tongue, eaily decides that th?re is a good thini» for him in the big city, and ho M.irU after it. How lie succeeds — becoming the biij " Boss" by methods that are known to be practical and prai t - ed by the initiated — is Mr. Batr's theme. Another " live issue ' treated In Mi Ban is that <>f " Christian Science." The work has a climax, whose strength has rarely been equalled isi modern fiction. 12mo, C.oih, $1.50. With frontispiece by B. Vest Clinedinst. FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY. missed as Cables. He possesses no army, scarce ly a retinue. His Role force and power is his own prestige, and the missionary enterprise of his devotees, who carry his reputation all over North Africa. His name Is known and honored by millions, but these millions are scattered over thousands of oasea :t;:tl separated by thou sands of miles. The Berber and the Arab, deadly enemies of each other, each reverence him, but the Idea of a vast united movemeni is preposterous. Religion may !><• able to do much to heal <¦;¦¦ n wounds, but th<- hatred and j>-al ousy of the two rival native races of North Africa are Incurable. (Walter B. Harris, in Blackwood's Magazine. QUEER FACTS Al'olT ORCHIDS. The life of an orchid hunt, r comblm s In ii t >-«-l f all the most sensational features of exploration in untrodden districts, often infested by fero cious beasts and by even more savage natives, and in many cases highly malarious and disease laden. The rarer orchl la are generally found in the most inaccessible spots, and In Ihe densest and mosi marshy jungles. Even the natives avoid the districts Into which the Intrepid orchid hunter penetrates In search <>f his floral quarry. A few years aso eight orchid hunters met at Tamatave, and then separated in search of si i mens. Within i year only one of them survived, and he had spenl months in the most p.-.n!ial swamps, from which he emerg d with his health permanently impa red. < m.- of the others had been captured i>\ native priests, who il>. nched him with oil and burned him to death on their altar. The expense of collecting the orchids and get ting them at last Into tin- salesroom is very great. For example, a iin<- orchid is found In a wry out ot " th-- way paitofColi ml> a. After being gathered the plants are wired to sticks and nailed insid-- boxes. These boxes are conveyed on a jourtu y of several days to Bogota, whence another six days" Journey takes them to Honda. wh«rc they an- placed on rafts and conveyed down the Magdalena River to Savanilla— a fort night's Journey— where the steamer is awaited, When at last, after a heavy outlay, the con signment reaches England, quite half the speci mens will be dead, and In many cases tbe whole of thy Mr. Roezl, and of these only two survived the voyage. They were sold for ¦!•> guineas i ach not a high price whi n one considers what they bad cos!. Until the plan! flowers Its value is purely speculative. Its species is in must cases readily determined, but it may present stun.- variation which will greatly enhance Its value. For ex ample, a certain orchid with a purple bloom may be worth about five shillings, but an example uf tbe sal!!.- species with white flowers will realize EIOO at auction. The value of a plant depends upon its rarity and novelty even more than upon it; beauty. Many years ago an orchid, of quite new and unknown species, arrived in the packing in which some foreign plants were seni home. No one knew where it came from, and for a lon^ while it continued unique, orchid hunters Bought everywhere for it, but not till seventy years later was it found. Another orchid arrived in 1854 without any known place of origin, and notwithstanding per sistent search, Its native habitation has not been found yet. Koine years ago two orchids were found in the THE GREATEST POLITICAL NOVEL WRITTEN IN YEARS. ORIGINAL ENGROSSING WITTY Jt " To the victors belong the spoils" Jt A STIRRING STORY OF A " BOSS " AND OTHERS. Zoological Gardens on a heap of rubbish. They came la the packing with some South American monkeys, but their place of origin has not yet been discovered.— (Harmsworth Londou Masa* Zilie. LAST LINKS WITH Si'f»TT. There still lives In what Lord Rosebsry, sp*»ak ing in the Scottish capital, called "this Ediii •: burgh so sacred and beautiful t.» us," one wh<: saw Sir Walter on the evening he declared him self to be the author of the Waverley Novels no longer the Great Unknown. This veteran, tleorg»i Croal, "distinctly remembers the storn! of enthusiasm aroused on thai occasion. Hi was also at Abbotsford two years later on pro fessional duty, and had the pleasure of playiiu: several Scotch airs on the pianoforte, to th« evident gratification of his august patron. Itotl: of these events are recalled with pride by Mr. Croal, whose recollections might be though! unique among those now living in the year ol grace I9O1." However, they are not unique, for another wrlti r, after referring to the Edinburgh citizen who was present at the Theatrical Fund Banquet in \*-~. states- "in Bowden, in Rox burghshire, during the summer months, I con versed with four individuals who had seen Sir Walter. One of them. Miss Janet Roxburgh, bad attained tbe great age of one hundred years, ami was still atde to speak Intelligently about th>- past. Another woman living in the village rememNired as a «ii! Beeing Sir Walter "hirp !i;i ;' across the village green to visit a name sake. Janet Scott, with whom h<- delighted to have a chat, as sh-- had a great wealth of folk lore stories, and from her Sir Walter gleaned much of the local Scotch dialect. Charles New lands remembered being at the laying of th>> fo> ndation ston • of the bridge over the Tweed Just at the junction wh>-re the Kttrick joins it, when Sir Walter performed the ceremony. Another correspondent, alive in I'.t'H), Aaron Forrester, gunsmith, and his sister. Miss For rest.r. talked with Sir Walter, and Thomas Small, Inspector of poor, saw him inarching In the Circuit Court procession at the county town." "The Berwickshire News" In the autumn of 1900 reported that "there lives at Hawick orH James Rutherford, an octogenarian, who sti;l pursues his trade of tailor, and while sitting croeslegged at work speaks graphically of UM people and Old World customs be saw In days of yore. He is an Earlston man by birth, an 4 ser.ed his apprenticeship with the clothier wh\ suppli'd the undertaker with the s.iMe suis he wore at Sir Walter's funeral thai dark Sep' tember day in l^lL'. when the kindliest of Scots' was laid t" rest in bushful Dry burgh. Ruther- 1 ford, one Hogmanay, went *guisardwftV ''''¦• 1 youthful 'guisers' called at Abbotsford. and {lure sang 'Scots wha hae' so enthusiastically that Sir Walter rewarded them with a crown, itutb. iford ofttimes watched the well loved si. in a. ax.- In hand, trimming the guides In hM new plantations, and chronicles 'he was ayl kindly in his manner, and fond of children and animals." ' (Gve Blantyre Simpson, In Cham 4 b< re's Journal. FORCE of II a hit. From The Baltimore American. "Have you no regret?" we asked of the drug* gist who had served arsenic instead of quinine. •No" he replied, "but I have something just as good." However, he well knew that we expected him to say this, else why would we have written the lirst question? 13