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 ._<TJoutenant-Colonel ncc , A. L. Paget, In Long
man's Magazine,
SUDDEN BLANCHING OF HUMAN HAIR.
In his paper on the whitening of the hair of
animals Mr. Lyddeker remarks that, from the
evidence, the fact of rapid blanching of human
hair from emotion must be accepted, It may
Interest him and some of your readers to know
or a definiTe instance of this effect, not from
emotion but from disease. I have recorded It
2hSi It Is not likely to *I««^**Ej!£
..,.„ Tjjs xerv. Syst.," Vol. II). A man, in
coSS'lienS ii Tn Injury. tad hemorrhage over
ESsSfe te feasaaag
1; .»;. v. r ; s.-rved to i si.- Pa-r and l-aier.
NEW-YORK TRIBUNE ILLUSTRATED SUPPLEMENT.
arated from the normal brown by a very nar
row darker zone, almost black, In the middle
ime. oi .0u,5... emotion must act by its pro
round derangement of the function of the cortex
oi the brain. Mere we had a like effect pro
auced by an organic Influence, occurring under
observation, within two days, and limited to the
opposite side to that which the disease would in
nuence. The escape of the hair of the scalp, and
affection of that of the face, may be ascribed
to the special Beat of the chief cerebral irrita
tion, rhe hairs were made pale throughout
their length. This, as an absolute fact, a re
sult produced in two days, is significant The
only possible explanation is that the process at
the root of the hair by which the normal pig- ;
ment is produce) is so changed that a material
is formed capable of discharging the color of
the pigment, and that this ascends the tubular
hair and causes its effect, at hast as far from
the root as the length <>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.-.<ii-
I>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 th<m will be too far gone for recovery. Tbe
orchid importer lias always to be prepared for
bea\ y losses.
Twenty-seven thousand valuable plants were
Bent home on one occasion from Colombia !>y
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