Rapides gazette., March 08, 1873, Image 1

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"LET US HAVE PEACE."
ALEXANDRIA, PARISH OF RAPIDES, LA.
SCOH8BOOMSuna ~P OMal·niIan " No donlht , .m...- ...
Miscellaneous Selections.
OREGON.
BY JOAQUIF nILLUR.
A morn in Oregon ! The kindled camp
Upon the mountain brow, that broke below
In steep and grassy stairway to the damp
And dewy valey, snapped and flamed aglow
ith knots of pine Aove, the peaks of snow,
Wi, th unler-belts of sable forests, rose
And flashed in sudden sunlight. To andfro
And lar below, in lines and winding rows,
The bhersers drove their bands, and broke the
deep repose.
I beard their shouts like sounding hunter's horn,
Thelowing herds 'nade echoes far away ;
When lo the acicds came driving in with morn
Toward the sea, as fleeing from the day.
The valleys filled with cluouds. They lay
elow, leveled bse that reached and rolled
And broke like breakers of a stormy bay
Against the grassy shingle, fold on fold,
So like a splendid ocean, snowy white and cold.
The peopled valley lay a hMidden world,
The sh ut were shouts of drowning men that
died,
The broken elouds along the border curled,
Annd bent the grass with weighty freight of tide. 1
A savage stood In silence at my aide.
Thea sudden threw aback his bealed shrouds
And stretched his hand above the clouds, and
cried,
As all the land lay dead In snowy shrouds:
Behold ! the sun upon a silver sea of clouds."
Here lifts the land of clouds! The mantled
Made white with everlasting snow, look down t
Tlhrough mists of many canyon, and the storms
lThat stretch from t Autumn time until the 'down
The yellow hen of tpring. The cedars frown
lark-browed, through bannered clouds that h
stretch and stream
Above the sea from snowy mountair crown.
'h[e heavens roll, an all things drift or seem
To drift about and drive like some majestic ti
In waning utum time, when purpled skies
lign to haze an rfall in indolence below ti
'be snowy peaks, you see black terms arise
In rolling thunder-bank, above, and throw a]
ick barricades about the gleaming snow. at
'I hi strife begins ! The battling sueasons stand
Blroad breast to breast. A flash Contentions ti
."rri c.WThunnders crash, and lightnings brand et
'The battlements a " The cloudls possess e
the stormy land.
Then clouds blow by, the swans take loftier re
flight, i
The yellow blooms burst out upon the hill,
b'h purple camas comes ai in a night,
lnl spiked and dripping of the news that fill in
t he listy valley. " Sutnbeams break Ut
and spill
Their glory until the vale is full of noon.
le roses belt the streams, nor bird is still. in
TIe stars, s large as lilies, meet the moon Ir
zl ning of summer, born thus suden, full and I
MR. Ma RDOs'l was a solicitor of sound wt
repute, enjoving an xcellent practice; a in
tll, lean, elderly man, with good features, on
worn very sharp by time and hard work i
at his calling. His tall, bald orehead had de:
the look of old parchment, or of dlscol
(red ivory; his sallow face was deeply sal
lined and very gaunt. fo
Mr. Merdock sat at his desk-Idly for att
the moment-glancing now at the greend to
enclosure to be seen from his window, of
now at a tin box, one of a large pile of
similar tin boxes, ranged against the wall fro
opposite to him, now at the Times news- o
"' Poor Delpratt!" he said, with aglance
at tin box. The legend TH DEL- Mr
,iArTr TRUST was Inscribed upon it in the
dim gold letters. "e Dead !" He gazed ma
from the window at the waving 'grass and to
the murky elm of the graveyard without. tha
" For days ago !" He laid his hand upon as
the newspaper. It contained among its
advertisements of deaths the following abi
irief notification :- ret
" On the 20th of November, at the Man- at
or Houre, Lupton, Hants, ESro T h VERa na
DELPRATT, aged fifty-seven."
.lust then one of his clerks entered and I'd
handed himacard. He started ashe read bw
the name it bore. A.fteramoment's hesl- a ci
tation he sahimd, You must show him n, gre
Booth." wit
A young man entered, dressed In deep lsti
mourning, ma
" Mr. Ernest Delpratt Mr. Mer- wo"
lock was reading aloud the name on the sus
"You have forgotten me, I see, Mr. Inti
Merdock. But It is not surprising. Wea e l
have not met for some years. know io n
that Leam much changed in appearance. An
I wa a mere boy then the dro
lray be seated.-" bee
"Y are aware. of oulrse, of the sad to t
occurrence that has brought me here?" call
"l haveon just read n the imes of side
Mr. Delpratt s t eath." te t
S"You knew him Intimately ?" sta
' can scarceiy say so much as that. I ot
saw him frequently at one time. But of star
ate years we seldom met. I rarely uit nt
arded him as a friend. I heard from e
T her occaionally He w as knd n Inteh
aways to address me In the most od beti
rin. I have learnt of hia s death with ex- ad
tr e n t r e g r e t . " Del,
"yo know mOre O f hi s pri vlyate fairs th a als o
any one ?" a- ....
"That maybe so,", said Mr. erdock,
"ile executed a will in your presenc, ae, o
s om e tea years go " was
M r. Merdock made no reply, th e
_."_I should e xplai," .the Yyoung man unt
wentn t,,, "that as  s !e surviving rela. ei
"Pardon me," Merdoek interrupted, vai
ia t ino relatives . f h eir
"Perhaps so-but he always regardedte
and Psoke me as his cousin, or rather was
w i, ll, t a se rt an, I f h e- h a d pr e s e d l, I t da g
I ho pee tat you n ag, n ohb e .To a m
Mr. Merciock merely bowed.
"The wollfound cantained no Instruc- a
tlions of the kindel'elbrrd to. Further ot asr
its terns I need not spea just now' uin
'Specally as, the document hai, ngbee ao
'iwn by Yo Y ou uare alrewaymtv e ust
w it h I ts c o n t e n ts . " i n t c t
"Tile only will of which I knon any th
i tul te.i'delberation, "was execute.4t by an
I he te.tator in ty presence some esi, c
T hesw iTh l l e e n - t en l
v, ..ar s . e w fo wa .. e o used and In in su
•'lneate corse 1lam In the habit of'and
r,'It i'+qllll t ilin ie in such <a ' es--a a m atter r'g o
it, prt'hd'ce and P'd'tition. Sine ('opt' ik t.,'
tiW ll i d safe. ' other, th,. w:.
tairot tikl itr hi, 'iwn Icpic 'l. That I.i,+
I iru'·tiiei tihe tdocument to which yopai
', ,,, be en re le rrin g." wt'i l
"No doubt."
" Let us be quite sure," said Mr. Mer
dock. He left the room. Presently he
returned. , The will bore date the 18th
of March, 1859."
"That is the will in question. It was
found in Mr. Delpratt's desk."
"You found none of later date? No
will or codicil "'
S " No, though I made careful search.
Some rough memoranda as to the disposal
of his property I did find, but these were
unsigned-me notes of an informal
character. Nothing in the uature of a
corn, will. You know of none?"
" I know of none." 1
morn There was a pause.
" Mr. Dellpratt died rather suddenly
that is to say, he had been suffering, as all
his household well knew from disease of
old. the heart of long standing. Still none
looked for his illness terminating fatally
at so early a date. His medical attendant
that visited him frequently of late. He was C
not present, however, when the sad event I
tide. occurred. He is fully satisfied, however,
as to the cause of death. He attributes l1
and t to aneurismal hypertrophy of the heart.
I am not doctor enough to understand It
precisely his meaning."
" The young man dabbed his white face I
ted with his handkerchief. He was much ti
moved, and his voice trembled as h9 con
tinued. a
"I need hardly say that
I, my cousin's - death has been a
that heavy blow to me. As you know, Mr. b
Merdock, In times past there were many
(ifferences between us-due to my folly ti
stic to my misconduct, I am now prepa d
fully to admit. But we had been recon- ti
eiled. We were on Intimate and afe. tt
tionate terms. I regarded him as my a1
benefactor, and was deeply grateful for th
all he had done for me. Most unfortun- w
ately I was absent from the house at the to
fe time of his death."
Mr. Merdock was silent, but he now be
and seemed from under his beetling brows to a
esa eye his visitor with a new curiosity. His TI
attention was attracted perhaps by the Li
icr restlessness that marked the young man's sh
manner. He moved uneasily in hi ohair, at
shifting his position constantly, and twist- to
ing his handkerchief into a string by the Hi
ak unconscious contortions of his hands. th
" I had left the house early in the morn- de
ing to attend the meet at some few miles
distance from Lupton. It was late when dr
nd I returned. My cousin had then been
dead some hours. Coming up to London, fel
to transact some business that could not mi
be postponed, I resolved to call upon you, tic
Mr. Merdock. In the first place, I have
to request that you will attend the funeral,
d which is fixed for the 27th, at noon, and bu
a in the next place to beg that you will act be'
s, on my behalf, as my legal adviser, In the prl
k new position that devolves upon me un- we
td der the terms of Mr. Delpratt's will." an,
I- "I shall attend the funeral, of course,"
ly said the lawyer. " I have sincere respect
for the memory of my late friend. I shall pet
r attend, if you please, In my character as col
n professional adviser, during many years, tea
v. of the deceased." tor
of " A carriage shall meet the early train eut
11 from town at Andover-the nearest sta- in
s- tion to Lupton Manor." hai
d "Any business arrangements in regard en
d to your own future posidon it may be ion
t- well, perhaps, to defer until after the fu- inm
neral.' pr.
a "As you think best. Good morning,
Mr. Merdock. I will only add a hope
n that you will dismiss any prejudice you and
d may have formed against me in relation fro
d to my life in the past. I do assure you ten
t. that I am a different man. I am not now Gel
n as you once knew-me. Good morning." bet
a Later in the day the lawyer's room was "
g abruptly entered by Mr. Plxley, the see- to I
retary of the Albatros Insurance .Com
a- pany, of which Institudon Mr. Merdock tha
a had been for many years the solicitor. frot
"I was passing, Merdoek, so I thought w
d I'd look u," said Mr. Plxley, an active has
I bustling gentleman, who always declined for
-a chair, fnding that he could talk with
I, greater ease f permittedin erect posture,
with space for free movement and gesticu- un
p lation. " We're infora heavy claim. The den
matter's not ripe for discussion, but It's pre
worth mentioning. I don't say that it's dum
e suspicious as yet; but it's odd, and soon- rest
er or later, I take It, you'll have to look son
Intoit for us. Yet the partesare of great u
respectability; they always are, I notlce, on
r in cases of an unpleasant complexion. upC
And it's odd, as I said. The life only
dropped four days ago. Yet already its had
been thought advisable to notify the fet "
I to us, and the party most interested has n
called in person at the office. Now I con
f sider that rather sharp work. What can his
be the reason of it It's a pollcy of long day
standing-a heavy risk-we divided it, of ase
l course, with other offices, but still we But
f stand to lose a large amount. The sum run
insured, with accumulated bonuses, ring
makes a heavy total. Is it all fair? That's frot
the question. by
"That's the name of the gentleman n a
who called upon you," said Mr. Merdock, roa
and he handed the secretary M r. Ernest sn
Delpratt's card.fath
"The very man! You've seen him mn
also? Upon my word he doesn't let the teel
grass grow under his feet."seem
"He didn't come here about the lnsur- "
ance: but I happen to know a good deal e
about the' ase. The late Mr. Delpratt
was a client of mine. It was through me but
the insurancs was ected. Hae ws the give
natural son of old Joshua Deipratt, who hon
bequeathed to him ately the Lupton Lug
Manor estate-property o onslideable o
value in Ha h -rJoshua Deplltlat
was never married. His prumptIve tnt
heir was his nephew, Delam re beet
the father of Ernest. Delamss'e he i
was a scoundrel, and Joshasl che.
his Intention to Euastees, rat than toe alk
hisnephewe,lmr who had aoght
dalsgrace upon the famil. To aiga Del- s
amere Eustace borrow a Ire sum ofItma
money. This was in Joshas li~time,
mind. Eustace could not of course deat
charge theestates, whleh h.ws only to "
acmulre under the will of a man w art.
was still living, and who might at any stae
time change his mind as to theu o forI
sl of his property. The nly se ity He
Eustace could otr was his reversionary stu
Interest in a sum in the fmds invested o r e
the benefit of his mother and the subject he
Indeed of the Delpratt 'rust the deeds
and papers of which are in that tin box dock
beside yo. Further, he could, as he did, "]
insure his life heavily, lodge the policies, "]
and bind himself to pay thepreamtms resl
regularly. Of the money advaneed Eus- "]
t:wo, never touched a halfl-penny. All atco
v:.-. 'dlorbed by Delamere. On coming fore
it'o. Possession of the estates, Euatace And
i p:ii o'd the loan, but thought it worth a mi
Swhile to keep up the policle. He had little
especially in view the benefit of the legit
er- imate members of the family. Of these,
he Ernest Delpratt is now the sole repre
Ith sentative; for Delamere, his father, died
of drink, many years ago leaving no
'as other issue. Eustace, my old friend and
client, left no children. Here you have,
!o briefly tald, the story of the Delpratts."
"Then this Ernest is the last of the
h. race?"
al "The last of the race."
re " His father, you say, was a scoundrel ;
al and he?"
a "Well, I'd rather defermy opinion. We
musn't be in a hurry. He is, clearly-and
there he's wrong."
"In suspie'ous cases"
S"kind, I don't say that this is suspi
eil cous as yet," interrupted Mr. Merdock.
of " Let me continue. In suspicious cases
we what we have to inquire is, who is the
ly person who benefits by the death of the
t Insured? If wrong's been done, there
ma must be an inducement, a motive for It.
it Find out that, and"
r, "My dear Pixley, hadn't you better
a leave it all to me? Don't keep a dog and
t. bark yourself. I'll attend to it. I'm go
d ing to the4hneral on the 97th."
Your are? Then I've nothing more
e to say; only keep me informed of every
h thing."
"Of everything. And mind you do the
same towards me."
That night Mr. Merdock left London.
a On the morning of the 27th of Novem
ber a carriage from Lupton Manor was
waiting at the Andover station to meet
the early train from London. Mr. Mer
dock, however, stood on the platform of
the station some time before the arrival of
the train. He was dressed in deep black,
and looked worn and anxious. Among
the passengers brought down from town
was Mr. Plxley. Mr. Merdock hastened
towards him, and drew him aside.
"You got my letter of course? Now
be very careful, Pilxley. Don't say
a word more than you can help.
There's a carriage waiting to take us to
Lupton, a pleasant drive over the Hamp
shire downs. The driver's been resting
at the Andover Arms; he only drew up
to the station when the train was in sight.
He supposes that we both came down by I
the train. You're understood to be my I
clerk."
They entered the carriage, and were
driven from the station.
"Put up that window Pizley. That t
fellow musn't hear us. This is a delicate
matter, and we must proceed very cau- I
tiously."
" Well? And what's been done?"
" I've not been idle, but, I'll own, I've
but a poor case as yet. I can't get much c
beyond suspicion. I cannot arrive at
proof. Still, I've set two or three at r
work, and something may come out at c
any moment." 1
" The funeral will proceed ?" t
"Not so loud. Yes. You know, or,
perhaps you don't know, what country e
coroners are. And.we've scarcely a pre
text for demanding an inquest. The doc-. a
tor, a local practitioner, sticks to his an
enrismal hypertrophy. What can we do v
in the face of his certificate? The servants
have been got at and questioned skilfully
enough, without awakening their susplc
ions. A hint of physic bottles destroyed r
immediately after the death of Mr. Del
pratt. h
"But If the funeral"
" The funeral doesn't matter. If we've p
any evidence to go upon, we can obtain u
from the Home Office an order for disin- Ii
terment. Never mind about the funeral. a
Get that over quietly; it may be all the h
better for us." n
" But the other doctor, who gave a hint h
to the office." h
" I've seen him, and it only comelto h
this-he suspects. He was dismissed y
from attendance upon the deceased three d
weeks ago; so, you know, he couldn't T
have seen poor Delpratt during his last d
fortnight of life." b
" But what does he suspect?" it
" Suspicions, mind, amount to nothing, t
unless you can support them with evi- fi
dence of facts, and that we can't do at S
present. But he suspects that the medi- b
dines were tampered with, and that death oI
resulted from the administration of-poi- fI
son-probably arsenic, in small but Mfe n
quent doses. That could only have been al
done by some one in constant attendance w
upon the deceased." ci
"And we know that Ernest Delpratt al
had opportunities of that kind." is
"Y s; that we know. He sat up some il
nights with the deceased, was with him, fr
indeed, continually, except on the day of Is
his death; then he was absent, out all w
day-hunting, he told me. He lied. I've fe
ascertained that. He did go to the meet. C
But there was a poor day sport, a short te
run with a you fox, and a kill n Dar- nt
rington Plantations, only a few miles w
fromnLupton. He might have been home in
by two o clock. But he stayed drinking be
in a littm public-house on the Purham m
road. So, you see, he lied. That doesn't as
srprise me; he was always a liar, ahis th
father was before him. It looks likead- bh
ministering the last fatal dose, and then de
keeping out of the way of the closing He
seene to avoid suspio." a
" He was on good terms with the do- L]
ceased?"P'
"Yes. Notsogood as he'dmakeout, en
but still on good terms. He'd been for- v
g ven, and made weleme to the Manor- a
ase. Poor Delpratt, I take It, was try- de
ing to like him, ad, on the whole the of
ioung ma had belhved pretty well of sh
•". "n hadobeenmdtet d orrly. In qu
truth, Ernest was as had as Delamere had
been. DismIssed from the army befos'ee
be was twenty fr diagraceftal condut--- es
cheating at cards-then guilty of what's pc
raled in plain terms, at the Old Bailey, am
orpr. But thething was hnshed up,
a tbe young m ws palpcked cd-to Au 0
" Who wh with him at the time of~ ii £a
dsesth P'
"No one. There we're weak. He ad
certainly heart disease o'f considerable
sinaNg-smu eat. rha. to aeontwi
rorhisden&. Ther's onlythis toadd: t
Eels knownto have compitned of the
tog taste of his med au, ad of the wi
laternal ,pain and buring thirs s
'At all, asu said yourel Mer o
lock, ulnstnow, itd bt a p ee.
"I repeat it-a poor ema."
" I don't see that we've any rimnd for h
ressting payment of the polc, we
"PerLps not,as yet. But never rush
t conclusions, Plxley. We've time be- au
rore us, and many things may happen.
And mind, in any case, I mean to spring
Smine upon that young man such as he
ittle dreams of. Eustace Delpratt was eta
egit- my friend. I don't fbrget that. Hush!
e, We've arrived. Bemember you're my
Sre- clerk."
died The funeral was of a simple kind. It
U no was chiefy remarkable, perhaps, for
and its paucity of mourn.ºrs. But, as Mr.
iave, Merdock had explained, the late Mr. Del
s." pratt had, legally speaking, no relatives.
the No "'nhertable bood" to use the con
veyancers' term, had fowed in his veins,
andl be had died childless.
Iel; Ernest Delpratt was the chief mourner. I
" Keep close to me, Pixley," Mr. Mer
We dock whispered to his Mend, afer the fu
and neral ceremony was concluded, and the I
mourners had returned to the manor- I
house. Then he added aloud, " I wish it
Kspi- to be fully known that I have attended I
k. here to-day as the friend of many years
eses and the professional adviser, of the late
the Eustace Vere Delpratt."
the " That is quite understood," said Er- I
sere nest Delpratt, rather impatiendy. " It is
r it. now proposed that in that character you
shquld read the will of the deceased. He q
tter placed upon the table a small packet the c
and seals of which had been broken.
go- " You wish me to do so P' l
"Certainly. I wish all the usual forms
ore to be observed on this melancholy occn.
ry- slon." 8
" Be it so, then. And you produce this G
the documentasthe last will of the late Mr. b
Eustace Vere Delpratt ' t
Mr. Merdock took hbi seat at the head
en- of the table. He laud beside him a
vas small black leather
eet "The will you pr e" he said, with m
er- a grave, business-ike air, turning toward In
of Ernest Delpratt, "bears date the 18th of. P
lof March, 186. It was drawn by me, and ti
ik, my name appears as that of one of the fa
ng witnesses, attesting the due execution of is
wn the dooument by the testator. By this to
agd will the whole of Eustace Delpratt's es- T
tate, both re land personal, is bequethed h
)w to you, and you are appointed his sole ex- D
sy ecutor. You produce this as his last will In
Ip. and testament? You know of no other be
to will or codicll executed by the deceased'" oc
ip- "He executed no other will or codicil," is
og said Ernest, In a low, faint voice. o0
up " The deceased had, however, it seems, is
it. some little time since, coatemplated mak. fol
by ing a new disposition of his property. II
sy He had drawn up a few notes and mem- du
oranda. He designed to make a hand- he
re some provision for Mr. Ernest Delpratt no
but the residue of his estate he propos m
at to apply in a different way. But need pr
te not go into that. Mr. Eustace Vere Del- wi
u- pratt did not survive to make a new will, gr
and these brief writings of his are with, tie
out legal value." ly
ve Mr. Merdock paused, and took a pinch So
,h of snuff. br
at "I have now to state," he continued, he
at raising his voice somewhat, "that practi- Mi
at cally, this document notwithstanding, the de
late Eustace Vere Delpratt died Intes- th
tate."
r, There was a mrmur of surprise. Ern- o
ry est Delpratt rose from his seat, and raised R"
e- his hand. He tried to speak, but his voice sol
c- appeared to fail him. hat
n- "Three years after Its execution, this
lo willvas revoked." die
s " By deed ?" some one asked, up
ly "No. By the adoption of another
c- course, not less decisive. In fact, by mar- he
Id rage." hit
1- " It's a lie!" Ernest Delpratt screamed, I
hoarsely. De
"The late Mr. Delpratt," the lawyer -
re proceeded, calmly, " was married in Jan
n nary, 186, at the chapel of the embassy,
t- in Parie, to Hortense Leroux, a Frencn
1. actress. Legal proof of that marriage I
se have with me. Into the details of-the al
matter I need hardly enter. I may state, al
it howover, that In tarl life Mr. Delpratt it I
had met with severe disappontment. He to
to had contemplated an allnce with a say
d young lady, a member of one of the most ha
is dlngulshed families of this country. wo
't To that uneion the stain upon his birth was far
at deemed by the lady's friends an insuper- cl
ble objection. The engagement, such tit
it may be called, was therefore abruptly
, terminated. Mr. Delpratt was deeply w
flicted. He determined never to marr has
at Some time afterwards he made this will, of
- equeathing his entire property to the son
b only surviving legitimate memberof his ear
I- family-Mr. Ernest Delpratt. But he had all
e reason at a later date to be much offeded
n at the conduct of the man his generosity all
e would have enriched. To the peculiar cir- for
cumstanoes of the ease I will not farther Om
It allude. Mr. Ernest Delpratt left Eng- 390
land, and was for nearly t years absent
e in Australl. In the interval my late
, frend and client again turned his thoghts hot
if towards marriage. He resolved tofdi a le
Il wife among a class little likely to be af-. pit
e feeted by the circumstances of his oIn. o
Chance threw him In the 'way of this Hot- wh
t tense Leroux. She is now dead; Ibring of 4
no charge against her, therefore. I lay,
Swill only say that she was one
e in every way unworthy of her has- coo
g band, and thatthe marria was a most #t&
a unhappy one. The newry-wedded pair oth
t sparatd forever within a few weeks of rap
a teirunion. She was amply providedfor for
- but survived only a few ya, meeting her this
a death under very palni dra mstances. l
SHer drescdentJly ah t are, and she ec
Lyons theater. Mr. Delpratt'smarriae n
was kept a strict secret. It had been on ai
Semni~zed privately, sad was known to Mhnl
very few. Henever alluded to it. It was iLo
-a distres in ddent in his lfe,which he !
- desired to rget. He placd the proofs hay
of te marriage in my ans some years ago
f lsince. Of its validity there ean be no asr
a question whatevmr." w
I "It's a tramped-up story," ored Era- of
a est, with a livld face. "I' goto law. PI de
esatablish ther wil. It's mmtomt. sap- d
a pose thatlt could be revokedal by aud a the
marriage." A
A servant ented and handed a nos to aloi
Mr. Merdock. the
: The company rose, and prepareattoquit pl
a scene that had beaome strangely pain- ral
I "And the propety ' oe aued. p
"Mr. Derl daing lateatat, and i ui
a "It ean't b.-t shan't be," Ernest cr ed, It
wildly. "Il not be swinmed in this
I'll eb ish tei will. At leastse a at
of the  nbsranes shbaIl be mibe. Tepl- b
ies are in my possslom, Tkhey wese
ell assitgned to me. I ean prove It. It tbs
b r ys lea drstood tLha t tQea
were intendad for my bhent.',,
" In grd to oe ofthose asuranes I tim
am at liberty to state that, acting upon torl
my advice, the directors of the Lbatss sta
Smee will refuse payment ofthe claim." thn
The lawyer looked the young man very i
I stadily In the face. mc
" Wat next? What are you going
charge me with next? lefhee payme.
How dare you? Why-do you thini
poisoned the man t'
"We know you did t" said Mr. Me
dock quickly, in a low tone, as he stra~
his clhed han sharply upon the tab
and handed the note ne had just recely
to Ernest Delpratt.
He clutched it tremblingly; read
with raging eyes. Then it fell from 1
shaking fingers, and fluttered on to t
floor. He gave a strange, piteous moas
raised his hands, and pressed them again
his head, as though to still some terrib
acute pain.
" I'm ill," be murmured, faintly. "L
me get some fresh air. Ishall be bett
presently-I shall"--and he stagger
from the room.
Mr. Merdock found himself left aloe
with Mr. Pixley.
"I told you I should spring a mh
upon that young man," said the lawye
quietly. " I think I've been as good
my word."
"What was that note you hands
him ?"
" Bead it."
Mr. Plxley took the paper from tb
oor and read: "E. D. boughtarsenic
Gibbons, Chemist, Catharine street, Salit
bury-on the 17th and 89th October, an
the 20th November."
" He's certainly a villian, if there eve
was one,' remarked Mr. Pixley.
"And now I can tell you somethlnj
more about him. You're fond of dwell
ng upon the mottves that lead to orime
Pixley. At the same time I may tell yoi
that you omit from your calculations th
fact that much wickedness in this worli
is aeeomplished at a very cheap price, a
to say-for very inadequate reasons
There was motive enough in this ease
however-m re than enough. Ernes
Delpratt had of course discovered the wil
In his favor, never dreaming that it bha
been revoked, or of the manner of Its rev
ocation. But more than that. The mar
is a gambler, and deeply involved. He
)wes at least ive thousand pounds. He
"s a defaulter upon the turf, and he has
Forged acceptances in the deceased's name,
[have ascertained that. Bills are falin.
Ihe at the Branch Bank at Andover, whicl
he must meet, or prepare for exposure, ii
not arrest. So he determines upon the
nurder of his benefactor. Once the pro
prietor of Lupton Manor, all will go wet
with him, he thinks. But he was in toc
rest a hurry. If he had only waitedalit
le, a new will, under which he was large.
y to benefit, Would have been executed.
Something his crime would then have
rou.ht him. As It is he gets nothing;
is Jmoly beggars himself. Murdering
tr. Delpratt, as he did, in fact, the mur
lerer, to speak plainly, cuts his own
hroat !"
A strange noise was heard in the hall
outside the library door. The servants
reatly excited, entered the room. It was
ome moments before they could re
ate Intelligibly the tidings they brought.
The body of Ernest Delpratt had been
Incovered lying on the floor of one of the
~pper rooms of Lupton Manor House.
Its one hand clutched a razor, with which
se had Inflicted frightful wounds upon
minself. He-was quite dead.
It was the room in which Eustaee Vere
)elpratt had met his death by poison.
-All the Yewa Round.
Are the Planets Iahabitedt
Tax Evening Mail contains, under the
bove head, an argument tending to an
firmative answer to this question; but
is founded more on poetical lzn
on than on sober truth. The writer
ys: " Reasonitn from analogy, it is
ardly possible iat such nmagidficent
orlds as are within telescop inspection
Ssurp.ssing our own in magnitude and
destial beauty, are soliltr lobes, doe
tote of living fIrms o foreI oy
g as much as we," etc., and heends
Wth the statement that the spectroscope
as demonstrated that the composition
fthese worlds as to their metallic re
maoes is essentially like that of the
urth; and he asks, finally, " why not in
1 other respects?"
The answer to this question is that in
1 other respects the conditions required
r organle life are exceedingly complex.
me of them is a tempetre between
n1 and 1000 Fah., and this condition
revails only on two of the plaets, the
arth and Mars; all the others are too
at, and their moons are too cold; at
est, it is probable that the moons of Ju
r Saturn, and Uranus are as thor
y cooled of as our own moon,
h is totly nfit for the existence
Sorganic life as the tops of our lims
yas. If the spectroscope had not dem
israted that the celestial bodies were
impounded of the same elements as our
rxn, we might perhaps argue that, fl
is elements unknown to us, another
,ige of tem.rture might be required
i orgmnic lie, but the revelations which
s dmirle instrument has given ex
de suech a supposition; asnd a in con
ot.ion with the telesope and photonme
r, it ha also taught us that a tempera
re of 1000 Fah. and upward pevail
I al the planets except ]mars, kses
at al ahabitedst fhe wm tims.
We say st tecsamne time; the moon may
e been inhabited millions of years
o, when the surface of the earth was
red hot as that of Jupiter is now; and
hen by furthercooling d urig thoumads
caentures our earth will have become
oialte, it may be the turn for Japiter
i other planets to becompe the seene of
a most uxurios organic mle.
A German mig Is: *God work
owly, because Hetsernal." No doubt
ie universe was not created hi a hurry;
ahe have been revolving around ca
al suns for millions of centuries, and
cordlingto nasltemble Iaws haw their
r inividnafly and are placed dnibba'
It conditions; the larger ones must soo
owe than the mae, a.the urth
am the sun hster hamo nearer to
at orb. Eash has its own dimi~ d ,
ant; while it sweeps in its course
rough spaces so large that all the em
res of our earth are comparatively a
er handfhll.--&ientife American.
Educated Observers,
I IN talking to the San Franaesans not
long ago. Professor Agassl pgsd upon
them t e propriety of etablisein in their
c mid.t a Museum of Natural a e not
merely because' a collection of seleatlo
I specimens, such as they have the means
of making, would be an honor tothelr
t city and state, but more especialy because
s such collections serve to make educated
observer s. whose habits of observtion
will enable them to. become worthy don
ttrbutors to the general ftnd of human
Nowf, s that one happy phrase "ed
cated observers," the preser struck the
key-note of all trueeduatla plmpls.
I The habit of observation is, abovea else,
the educator, and the man or woman who
cultivates that makes sure wrk in the
matter of acquiring Inflbrmadm, whether
the habit be accompanied by much or lit
tle of scholastic culture. All that we
know of physical science, of coarse, we
owe to obeervation alone. BDt tis is not
all. In a thouansd other ways as study
of things and the study of men ie even
more value than the study of booh. In
deed, the very books we use, f they be of
any account at all, are the mes or ess
immediate fruit of intelllgent obertveoo.
All that we know has bees learned -
inally by this process. We observe a ht
and larn t tltl a Act. Frorm Ittad
others we draw oonclusloas. And this is
the genesis of all our knowin.. We get
rom books only the vsults of ether peo
ple's observations, and, while these are of
great worth without doubt, we am not do
a more foolish thing than to rest stladed
with them, and neglect the coutlesso
portunities we have of qgueslh g tme
things about us for information at list
hand. As well might we ralees to lek at
Niagara because we have already seen
pictumes and read descriptiem of the esta
raot.
Training of precisely this rt.-ths.l
tivation of the habit of looking at and
looking into the things with whis we
daily come in contact-Is one of the great
educational needs of our Mne, as t has
been of all other times. The only wonder
is, that professional educators n the past
have been so slow to reoognise the want
and to supply it. We observe facts, and
we question them of their cause and
meaning Instinctively. We do it even in
early childhood, and ordinarily the ten
dency is pretty effectually checked then
by those who ought rather to encourage
it, and to so direct It that it will bear
abundant fruit. The child who asts him
self down to commit something to mem
ory, however worthless, or however un
Intelligible to him that something pay be,
is sure of encouragement. Bat l he ask
why iron sinks and wood floats in the
water, he is shut up like a jack-kni,
with some idlotislly wise saw about be
ng seen and not heard.
But it is not merely the habita obssrv
ing that we need to cultivate. We must
learn to observe intellgetly--to looeek at
things with our wits about us, and to
learn their causes and aonssquseess as
well as the facts themselves. Anybody
may see the bud, the blossom, ad the
fruit of a tree in all their reu r oder,
but if he see no more than te, Is o
serving is of little wo th. He mst see
in the bud the beginning of a blosses, in
the blossom the promise, ina the fit the
fulfllment, before his look will have
taught him even so small a thIgjr why
the bud and the blossom are, Weo can
hardly tllto be observers so l a we
have eyes and ears, but we may, ft we
will, make ourselves educated obserers,
which is quite another thing. We rny
learn to make a teacher out e. y
around us, ad thus draw
from a mundred soees that wee ether.
wise sealed books to us, and inised we
must do something of seort if we
would be really and truly edmasd.-
H.erth end Home.
The Great BriZtsh hut.
Tas great and disastrous steam "
which has reoently swept over Great
ain Is one of the most mrabevsamRL
)f the kind on record. Tr eb super
Leavy snow in London, and heiter
n the northern pae a the I dsm.
Pavored with a marine Lma., mewlen
- ono to the winter weather ils
Sthe Patte siopes of the Und Stes,
owept by warm and vpor-ldes air esr
'new fom the great ocean. Is Deeber,
100, h land was visited by onme of its -
nptuonaI an phenomenal now stems.
n February, 1811, another dsehI
snow storm visited Scotland, can ig gr
cs of ItM. The "gat frost," as it is
own which occurred in December 10,
was ered in by a heavy smow in
lootland, which metsorologilts we m b.
nquently enabled to trace to a oenmi
ms stream of intensely cold, dry san
av ir ow ng m To b s arth
weads ahroh R raaer Nor m
northerly wind. Oe ohr1 n
hat year smne of the gabh ereae
-risd l to twenty dsgr blow
We have no aecurate report as yet reeal
ag the eodltions uander whbL tUs Plear
emperatre hs bern loUserd l Orat
Britain; but i ls dutles de toeer.
lom anim to those wrhb bmsew I
Irthwestrn e euro IeD, embms,
It is also highly probbse tlbth p
boats of hIstr-.g., that ezp1 d
a Pladers,in 154, whes in ge in
tie casks, wuas c t eheth hsVsL by
weight; tht of 1 whuathe ww
ioversd witha bridge a e tlas ms t
md 1740, when Thae T was femm
rI, ns ware h ad dam iwaL
ioa It, and other netabl pIhmam
oa in Western Europe re rz m ao
she -ma atmospherle arrsh ead semi
ions observed at Tobelsk 18 3.
It Is doebthl whIher say part of Sh
estern de of the Amees'sm Cs
bos Californsi to Sith, ever h as
seed inch frgorire etrmasses a
,otern Europe--N. 7. H rsu
bmetnast th.t on e tleheb
,ren -TrheWeia, a ,ero IA d
In 1862 Its enlerarsem t was U! ;
which made it 'W 3 d at ma bt
tom, seventy 03 sba 5, mn in
Sasad L of Isaag a beat ear
two h ndrd and thirty teas. It is
burden. The Welland Casa, from Lake
Erie to Ontario, pases vesselsof sixhun
Ir-d tons, and is to be enlarged to double
its present capacty.