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“ Oh, I expect 30, or the Bard wouldn‘t ever have dreamt of proposing to her. The immortal Singer knows his own worth ex- actly, to our place: ofdecimals, and esti- Montreal inAugust was hot and stuffy, but the Thousand Islands were simply delicious, and black-bass fishing among the back lakes was the only sport now left relive worthy a British fisherman's distin- guished consideration. “ Has she money, I wonder?" the editor of that struggling periodical, the NightJar, “gent-keg abauactedly. “ Suffolk lâ€"most congruous indeed for an idyllic, bucolic, impressionist poetâ€"He'll come back to town with a wreath round his hat, and his pockets stuffed with ballades and sonnets to his mistress‘ eyebrow, where " Suffolk unches " shall sweetly rhyme to “ red-chee apple that she gaily munches," with slight excursions on lunches. bunchs, crunches, and hunches, all a la )Iassinger, in endless protnsion.â€"Now then, Hather- ley ; there's a ballade ready made for you to your hand already. Send it by the first goat yourself to your lady, and cut out the ard on his own ground with the beauti- ful and anonymous East Angliau heir- ess. â€"â€"- I suppose, by the wav, Mas- singer didn‘t happen to confide to you the local habitation and the name of the proud reeipient of so much interested and anspznstic devotion T" “ He said, I think, if I remember right, htr name was Meysey.” “Meysey! 0h, then, that’s one of the Whitestrand Meyseys, you may be sure; daughter of old Tom Wyville Meysey, whose estates have all been swallowed up by the sea. They lie in the prebend of Consumptum per Mareâ€"If he‘s going to man-y her on the strength of her red, red gold, or of her vested securities in.Argen- ,i ,,,1 m,h_l,:_L L4" 1 . “I don't think they've all been quite swallowed up," one of the bystanders re marked in a pensive voice : he was Suffolk born: "at least, not yet, as far as I've heard of them. The devouring sea is en- ged in taking them a bite at a time, like oh Sewyer’s apple ; but he‘s left the Hall and the lands about it to the present dayâ€" so Ralf tells me." A most delightful time indeed at Beaten- Tberg, just above the Lake of Then, you know, with exquisite views over the Bernese .Oberland; and am]: a pretty little Swiss maiden, with liquid blue eyes and tow- coloured hair, to bring in one’s breakfast and pour out cofiee in the thick white coffee-cups. And then the flowers !â€"â€"a perfect paradise for a botanist, I assure yap; 0 yes; the yacht behaved very well indeed, considering, on her way to Ice- landâ€"as well as any yacht that sailed the seas â€" but just before reaching Reykjavikâ€"that's how they pronounce it with thej soft and a falling intonation on the last syllableâ€"a most tremendous gale came thundering down with rain and light- ning from the Verna Jokull, and, by Georee, air, it nearly foundered her outright with its sudden squalls in the open ocean. You never eaw anything like the way she heeled over; you could touch the trough of the waves every time from the gunwale. Yes, one budding genius in the descrip- tive-article tradeâ€"writeroi the interesting series of papers in the “ Charing Cross Re- view ” on Seaside Resortsâ€"afterwards re- printed in crown octavo fancy boards, as “ The Complete Idler "â€"had had a letter from the Bard himself only three days ago, announcing his intention to be back in har- ness in town again ‘hat very morning. " And what's the Immortal singer been doing'wit‘l himself this hot summer '3" cried a dozen veioesâ€"for it was generally felt in Cheyne Row circles that Hugh Maseinger, though etillee undiscovered as the sources of the‘Congo, was a coming men of proximate eventuality. “ Has he hooked his heiress yet? He vowed, when he left town in July, he was going onan angling expedition â€"as a fisher of womenâ€"in the eastern counties." “ Well. yes," the recipient of young love's first: confidences responded guardly ; “ I should say he hadâ€"To be sure, the Immor- tal One doesn't: exactly mention the factor amount of tne young lady’s fortune ; but he does casually remark in a. single passing sen- tence that he has got himself engaged to a Thing of Beauty somewhere down in Suf- folk.” fine and Turkish, he'll have to collectahia meats of income from a sen-green mer- maidâ€"at. the bottom of the deep blue sea; which will be Worse than even dealing with the Lind League, for the Queen's writ doesn’t run beyond the fore- shore, and No Rent is universal law on the bed of the ocean." Had anything new been going on, 0.: follows, while we were all away '3 and ad anybody heard anything about the Bard, as Cheyne Row had unanimously nicknamed Hugh Masainger ? Cro‘imr was justihe'jolliest place to lounge on the sands. and the best centre for short excursions, that a fellow could find on La. year's tramp all round the shores of Eng- snd, Szotland, Wales or Ireland. Grouse were scanty and devilish cunning in Aberdeenshire this year; the young birds packed like old ones ; and the accom- modation st Lumphsnsn had turned out on nearer view by no means what it oughb to be. AU RESDEZVOUS DES BOSS CAMARADES. In the cosy smoking-room of the Cheyne Row Club,a. group of budding geniuses, con- vened mm the four quarters of the earth, stood once more in the bay window, looking out on the dull October street, and discuss- ing with one another in diverse tones the various means which each had adopted for killing time through his own modicum of summer holiday a. Reminiscencee and greet- ings were the order of the day. A buzz of voices pervaded the air. Everybody wan full to the throat of fresh impressions, and every body was laudably eager to share them all, gull but from the press, with the balance of humanity as then and there represented before him_â€"1‘he morquitoes at the North Cape were really unendurable: they bita piece out of your face boldly, and then perched on a tree to eat it; while the mid- night sun, as advertised, was a hoary old impoetor, exactly like any other sun Jan)- where, Wuen you came to examine h in through a mu ked glass at close quarters. THE THREAD OF LIFE; CHAPTER X'X SUNSHINE AND SHADE. Hugh shook his head in emphatic dissent. “ No," he answered ; “ the girl has no brothers. She's an only childâ€"the last oi her family. There was one son, a csptain in the Forty-fourth. or something of the sort; but he was killed in Zululand. and was never 3‘. Winchester. or I'm sure I should have heard of it. â€"They‘re a. kinless lot, extremer kinlcss; in fact I've almost realised the highest ambition of the Ameri- can humorist, to the (flee: that he might have the luck to marry a poor lonely friend less orphan.” “ She’s an heiress, then 2" Hugh nodded assent. “Well, a sort of an heiress,” he admitted modestly, as who should say, “ Not so good as she might be.” " The estate's been very much impaired by the inroads of the sea for the last ten years ; but there's still a decent remnant of it left standing. Enough for a man of modest ex- Dectetinnn to make a living off in these herd times, I fancy.” Hugh Massinger drew himself up stifl' and erect to his full height, and withered his questioner with a scathing glance from his dark eyes such as only he could dart at will to scarify and annihilate a. selected victim. “ I'm going to be married in the course of the year,” he answered coldly, "if that’s what you mean by committing matrimony. â€"â€"Mitchison,” turning round with marked abruptness to an earlier speaker, “what have you been doing with yourself all the summer ‘3" ' “My particular bushel Was somewhere down about Suffolk, I believe," Hugh Mas singer answered with magnificent indefinite- ness, as though minute accuracy to the mat- ter of a cJunty or thn were rather beneath his sublime consideration. “ I’ve been stop- ping at a dead-alive little place they call Whitestraud : a sort of moribund fishing village, minus the fish. It’s a lost corner among the mud flats and the salt marches; picturesque but ugly, and dull as ditch- watex. And having nothing else on earth to do there, I occupied myself with getting engaged, as you fellows seem to have heard by telegraph already. This is an age of publicity. Everything’s known in London nowadays. A man can’t change his cost, it appears, or have venison for dinner, or wear red stockings, or stop to chat with a pretty woman, but he finds a flaring paragraph about it next day in the society papers." “May one v'enture to 93-11. the lady's name 2"Mitohiaon inquired courteously, a. Iitfle apaib frqm th_e main group}. “ Oh, I've been riding a bicycle through the best part of Finland, getting up a. set of articles on the picturesque aspect of the Far North for the Ports Crayon, you know, and at the same time w3rking in the Russian anarchists for the leader column in the Morning Telephone.-â€"Bates went with me on the illegitimate machineâ€"yes, that means a. tricycle; the bicycle nlone's accounted lawful; he’s doing the sketches to illustrate my letterpress, or I'm doing the letterpress to illustrate his sketchesâ€" whichever you please, my little dear ; you pays your money and you takes your choice, All for the sum of a sixpenco weekly. The roads in Finland are ebominsbly rough, and the Finnish language is the heastliest and most agglutinative I ever had to deal with, even in the entrancing pages of Ollendorfl'. but there’s good copyâ€"very good copy.â€"The Telephone and the Porte Crayon shared our expensesâ€"And where have you been hiding your light yourself since we last saw you ‘3 ' Hugh Msssinger's manner melted at once. He would not be chafl'ed, but: it rather re- lieved him, in his present strained condition of mind, to enter into inoffensive confidences with a. polite listener. “ Has she any b‘rothers ?" Mitchison asked with apparent ingennousness, approaching the question of Miss Meyaey‘s fortune (like Hugh himself) by obscure bywnys, as being a politer modeflthan the direct assault. "There was a fellow named Meyseyfi in {i1}; fifth form with me at Winchester, I remem- ber ; perhaps he might have been some sort of relmion.” " She‘s a. Miss Meyeey," he said in A low- er tone, drswinz over towards the fireplace: “one of the Suffolk Me; saysâ€"you've heard of the family. Her father has a very nice place down by the sea at Whitestrand. They‘re the banking peo 16, you know : remote cousins of the old engiug judge’s. Very nice old things in their own way, though a. trifle slow and out of dateâ€"not to say mouldy.â€"But after all, rapidity is hard- ly the precise quality one feels called upon to exact in a prospective hther-in-lsw : slowness goes with some solid virtuas. The honoured tortoise has never been accused by its deadliest foes of wasting its patrimony inlexvtravs‘gant espenditure.” " Can’t aay."'hie friend whispered back uneasily. “He‘s gotquick ears. Listeners generally hear no good of themselves. But anyhow, we've got to brazen it out now. The best way’s just to take the bull by the horns boldly.â€"Well, Massinger, we were all taking about you when you came in. You're the chief subject of conversation in literary circles at the present day. Do you know it‘s going the round of all the clubs in London at this moment that you shortly contemplate committing matrimony ?” _" Do you think he heard us 7" one of the peccant goasipera whisgered to another with a scared face. dtznn right hand: with aingnlnr unanimity in rapid auccmsion to grasp the languid fin- gers of a tall dark new comer who had nlip~ pad in, after the fashion usually sttributed to angels or their op unite. in the very nick of eime tn camh the as: echoes of a candid opinion from his peers and oonbempouries upon his own conduct. A5 the last rpeiker let the words drop carelessly from bu mouth, the buzz of voices in the smoke room aueed suddenly : there was a slight and aw ward lull in the con- versation for half a minute ; and the crowd of budding geniqeee we“ stretching out its mates himself at full market value. He’s the last man on earth to throw himself away for a mere trifle. When he sells his soul in the matrimonial Exchange, it’ll be for the highest current market quotation, to an eligible purchaser for cash only, who must combine considerable charms of body and mind with the superadded advantage of a respectable balance at Drummond's or at Contts's. The Bard known downto the ground the exact monevworth of a handsome poet; he wouldn't dream of let- ting himself go dirt cheap. like a common everyday historian _or novelist." Hugh Musinger shuffled uneasily before his steadfast glance. Was it only his own poor guilty conscience, or did Relf know all? he wondered silent» 1y. The man was eyeing him like his evil angel. He longed for time to pause and reflect; to think out the best possible non-committing lie in answer to this direct and leading question. How to parry that deadly thrust on the spur of the moment he knew not. Relf wasgazing at him still in- tently. Hesitation would be fatal. He blundered into the first form of answer that came uppermost. “My cousin Elsie has gone away," he stau‘mered out in haste. “ "heâ€"she left the Meyseys quite abrupt- ly.” V This was going one step too far. Hugh Mmlngar fell: wally indignant now, and his indignation enabled him to cover hi1 rotten V “ As a consequence of your engagement?" Relf asked sternly. \Varren Ralf bent his head in soher ac quiescence. “ I had heard so." he said with grim formality. “ Your siege was success- fuL You carried the citadel by storm that day in the sandhills.-I won’t: congratu- late you. You know my opinion already of marriages arranged upon that mercantile basis. I told it you beforehand. We need not now recur to the subject'sâ€"But Miss Chslloner ?â€"How about her? Did you leave her well? Is she still at Whitestrand?" He looked his man throngb and Huang]: as he spoke, with a. cold shm light in those tru_thfn1 eyes of his. Hugh drew him aside towards the back of the room and lowered his voice still more markedlv in reply. “I 1er miss Meyaay very well,” he answered with as much ease of manner as he could hastily assume. " You may perhaps have heard from rumour or from the public prints that she and I have struck up an engagement. In the lucid language of the newspaper announcements, 3 mirriage has been definitely arranged be- tween us.” v The poet wavered, but he did not flinch. From the fixed look in Relf's eye, he felt certain in an instant that the skipper of the Mud-Turtle knew somethin â€"if not every- thingâ€"of his fatal secret. ow much did he know 2 and how much not ?â€"that was the question. Had he tracked Elsie to her nameless grave at Orfoxdness 2 Had he reccgnized the body in the mortuary at the lighthouse ? Had he heard from the cutter's man the horrid truth as the corpse’s identity 1 All these things or any one of them might well have happened to the owner of the Mud-Turtle, cruising in and out of East Anglian creeks in his ubiquitous little vessel. Warren Relf was plainly a dangerous sub- ject. Butin any case, Hugh thought with shame, how rash, how imprudent. how un- worthy of himself thus to betray in his own face and features the terror and astonish- ment with which he regarded him 1 He might have known Relf was likely to drop in any day at the club 1 He might have known he would sooner or later meet him there ! He might have prepared beforehand a neat little lie to deliver pat with a casual air of truth on their first greeting I And instead of all that, here he was, discomposed and startled, gazing the painter straight in the face like a dazed fool. and never knowing how or where on earth to start any ordinary subject of polite conversation. For the first time in his adult life he was so taken aback with childish awe and mute surprise that he felt positively relieved when Relf board- ed him with the double-barrelled question : “ And how did you leave Miss Meysey and Miss Challoner, Massinger 2” The question must inevitably be asked again, and he must do his best to face it with pretended equanimity. “A relation of mineâ€"a. distant cousinâ€"a Girton girlâ€" waa living with the family as Miss Mevaey's governess or companion or something,” he answered with what jauntiness he could summon up. “ It WM through her that I first got to know my future wife. And old Mr.- Meyaey, the coming papa-E-lagv"â€"A 7 So far, Hugh had tried with decent suc- ces to keep up his usual a pearance of care- less ease and languid goo humour, in spite of volcanic internal desires to avoid the painful subject of his approaching marriage altogether. He was schooling him- self, indeed, to face society. He was sure to hear much of his Suffolk trip, and it was well to get used to it as early as possible. But the next question fairly blanched his cheek, by leading up direct to the skeleton in the cupboard : “ How did you first come to get acquainted with them ?" He stopped dead short. Words failed him. His jaw fell abruptly. A strange thrill seemed to course through his frame. His large black eyes protruded suddenly from their sunken orbits ; his olive-coloured cheek blanched pale and pasty. Some un- expected emotion had evidently checked his ready flow of speech. Mitchison and the painter turned round in surprise to see what might be the cause of this unwonted flutter. It was merely Warren Relf who had entered the club, and was gazing with a stony Brit- ish stare from head to foot at Hugh Massin- 862. “ Oh, just the uses! type of Suffolk Squire, don’t you know," Mminger replied cere- leesly. "A breeder cf fst oxen and of pig-_ 3 pamphleteer on Guano end on Grain, a quarter-sessions chairmen, ebler none ; but with faint reminiscences still of an Oxford training left in him to keep the milk of hu- man kindness from turning sour by long ex- posure to the pernicious Influence of the East Anglian sunshine. I should enjoy his society better, however, if I were a. trifle deaf. He has less to say. and he says it more, than any other mm of my'ecqusint- ance. Still, he’s a jolly old boy enough, as old boys go. We shall rub along somehow till he pops OK the hooks and leaves us the paternal acres on our own account to make merry upon." " Ah,yes, of course," the artist answered. “ I dare say when you Ital-t your carriage. you'll be too proud to remember a poor devil of an oil and color man like me. In those days no doubt, you‘ll migrate like ell the rest to the Athenaeum. Well, well, the world moves â€"once every twentyfour hours on its own axisâ€"and in the long run we all move with it and go up together. When I m an R. A. 1'“ run down 3nd visit you at the ancestral mansion, and perhaps paint {gm wife's portraitâ€"for a thousand vuineu. 'ncntendu. And what sort of 3 body In the Erospoctive father~Lu-lew ?" “ Then we shall all come down in due time," another man put inâ€"a painter by tradeâ€"joining the up u he spoke. “ and find the Bard a 1311 ed proprietor on his own brand acres, living in state and bounty in the bnronial Hall, lord of Burleigh, fair and free, or whatever other name the place may be_called by‘ l” “ If I inéite you to come." Hugh answered giggifi'oantly wjth curt Emphuiq. E v'en after serfdom was abolished, so slow was their progress that, after these forty-two years, they only own between them a. small wooden house and three hundred roub!es. With this fortune thev think it safe to marry. How many Cmadiana would peraevere for nearly half a. century in laying pmny to penny before venpnrjng on marriage? A correspondent of an English paper, writing from Moscow, tells the story of two Russian peasants who have waited forty-two years to to married. They met when the man was twenty and the women seventeen, but, being serfs and miserably poor, set themselves to work and save, to earn money enough to wed. A _ A élergyman who has married handreds Li couples among the fashionable circles of our seaboard cities, said lately, “The criticism may seem uncharitable. but it: is matter of sober fact that in hslf of the marriages which come under my observation, there was reason to suppose that the motive of either bride or bridegroom was to better her or his wo_ridly condition." Theâ€"reason of this in not thM: the young Cmdian is less oaplble of deep, unselfish On the twenty-third of Febrnsrv, 1770. a series of terrific explosions took place, the crust of the earth was lifted several hun- dred feet, while flxmes and lava issued from the rent in its surface. An hour later, there was another convulsion. which hurled into the air rocks weighing thousands of tons, and elevated the eaut'a about thxee thousand feet. Discharges of lava. and blistered stone con tinned for several days. and in less than two months, the level field had become a. mount- tain of a. very considerable height. Con- stant discharges from its crater have since raised it to over four thousand feet above the sea. In 1769, the re'gio'n now occupied by it was a level plain, forming the coffee endin- digo plentaaion of Senor Don Balthaz )r Evez ). In December of that year. the gentle- man was absent from home, and his servsnts became so Alarmed by frequent earthquakes that the fled from the place. When they returns , a week or two later, it was to find that large craters had been opened in the grgund, giving vent to smoke and flame. Rambling and explosions are constantly going on within Yz L100, and are audible at the distance ofa. hundred miles. Its dis- charges are very regular, but; it is chiefly remarkable as being the only volcano which is known to have originated in Ameriaa since it: discovery by Columbus. The volcnno of YZAICO’ in San Salvadnr, is for many reasons the most wonderful moun- tain upon the globe. It rises several thou- sand feet high, almost directly from the sea, and is surmounted by an immense column of smoke broken by masses of flimes, a thou- sand. feet in height, and rising with Such regulgrity that the mountain has been call- edZ‘Ttgqilight-hpuseBt: éfifiris’aféidéiig Hugh Massinger's fingers itched inex- pressibly that moment to close round the painter's honest bronzed throat in a WIld death-struggle. He Was a pas- sionate man, and the provocation was ter- rible. The provocation was terrible be- cause it was all true. He was a liar. a forger, a cowardâ€"and a murderer !â€"But he dared notâ€"he dared not. To thrust these hateful words down Relf’s throat would be to court exposure, and worse than exposure ; and exposure was just what Hugh Messin- ger could never hear to face like a man. Sooner than that, the river, or aconite. He must swallow it all, proud soul as he was. He must swallow it all, now and for ever. As he stood there irresolute, with blanched lips and itching fingers, his nails pressed hard into the palms of his hands in the fierce endeavour to repress his passion, he felt a. sudden light touch on his right shoulder. It was Hath- erley once more. “I say, Messinger," the journalist put it lightly, all unconscious of the tragedy he was interruptin , “come down and knock about the bals on the table a bit, will you ?" lie had murdered ElsieSnd knew it. That was the way Msssinger interpreted to himself the “ Yes " that the painter had just now so truthfully and directly answer- ed him. If Hugh Messinger was to go on living at all, he must go on living in the wonted fashion of nineteenth-century literate hu- manity. Tragedy must hide itself behind the scenes; in public he must still be the prince of high comedians. He uncloeed his hands and let go his breath with a terrible effort. Ralf stood aside tolet him pass. Their glances met as Hugh left the room arm in arm with Hatherley. Reli's was a. glance of contempt and scorn; Hugh Mes- singer's vyas one of undying hem-ed. ” I have found you, Massinger, and I have found you out,” the painter answered in a very low voice, with a sudden burst of am remediteted frankness. ‘I know you now or exactly the very creature you areâ€"a liar, a forger, a coward, and only two fingers’ width short of e murderer.â€"There ! you may make what use you like of that.â€" For myself, I will make no use at all of it. â€"For reasons of my own. I will let you go. I could crush you if I would, but I prefer to screen you. Still, I tell you once for all the truth. Remember it well.-â€"I know it; you know it ; and when both know we each of us know it." 3 little more gracefully. “You have no right to ask me thet," he answered in gen- uine anger. “My private relations with my own family we surely no concern of your: or of any one‘e. " Warren Ralf bowed his heed grimly once more. " Where has she gone 2" he asked in e searching voice. “ I'm interested in Miss Chelloner. I may venture to inquire that much at least. I'm told you've heard from her. Where in she now? Will you kindly tell me 2" “ I don’t know," Hugh answered angrily, drivento bay. Then with sudden inspir- ation, he added significmfly: “Do you, eihhar 2" ” Yea," Warren Ralf responded with 501 emu directness. The answer took Msuinger aback once more. A cold shudder ran down his spine. Their even met. For one moment they stared one anotheroub. Then Hu h'eglance fell slowly and homily. He dare not ask one word moreâ€"Ralf mush have tracked her, for certain. to the lighthouse. He must have seen the grave, perhtps even the bodyâ€"Th3 was 000 terrible.â€"Henoeforth, it wu war to the knife beeween them. “ Hut thou found me, 0 mine enemy ?" he broke out: lullenly. Forty-two Yea rs. (TO BE CONTINUED ) Yzalco . Jesus, the Holith among the mighty. and the Mightiest among the holy, has lifted with his pierced hands empires ofi' their hinqea, has turned the stream of centuries out of his channel, and still governs the ages. Doing any one thing wellâ€"even setting stitches and plaiting frillsâ€"puts a. key into one'a hand to the opening of some different; secret ; and we can never know what may be to come out of the mzauest drudgery. A traveller at St. Clairsville, Gs” out of curiosity visited the court house and was almost horrified to find his only sister the defendant in a murder trial going on at the time. She had mysteriously disappeared from home years before and her whereabouts were unknown to her people. A plant called the “laughing plant,” or, in scientific patience, “ Cmabalia Sativa," has been discovered, and it is alleged that when it: is eaten in its green state or taken mg a. tincture made either from the green or the dried leaf, 3: a powder of the dned leaf, or smoked a: tobacco, it is potent in produc- ing exaltabion, laughter, and cheering ideas. A large apple tree near t’olo, Illinois, which has borne for fifty-one years. had upon it last vear forty-five bushels, which were sold for $1 25 per bushel. Heaven, then, is the state of the soul, when. rising above space and time, it com- munes with God and eternity. When God enters the soul. then heaven enters the soul. 'He'baund the babe upon his back, and re- joined the retreating army. Dry by day, as he nurehed, he devoted himaelf to the infant, and was sustained by the determina- tion to save it, no mttter what he himself might sufl‘ar. He carried it through the long retreat, and saw it safe in tender hands on board a transport in Vigo Bxy. The babeaaved his life. For through the little one came that heroic purpose which made him strong to endure. Capt. stiea took the boat load of island treasures, Chief Man!th and his crew rowed away in the direction of their lonely home, and when last seen they were standing on the bank waving their farewells to the fast receding barque. The mother's unselfish appeal roused the dispiriced otfi :ar. He accepted the new duty, and as he took the babe into his arms {rem strength came Into the wearied body. He determined to endure cold, hunger, and fatigue, that he might prove faithful to the dyjng_mother'e trueu. A Jersey Man's Adventure In [he Paclne Ocean. An interesting narrative that reads like a romance is contained in a letter written by Captain George Davies, of the British barque Queen's Island, to J. C. Parker, of Wilming- ton, Del.. describing a visit to a distant and lonely isle in the South Pacific ocean. This isolated spot in the great waste of waters is known as Palmerston Island, and is situated in latitude lS”4' south and longitude 163°IOI east, being represented on the charts of the world as an uninhabited coral reef, quite dis- ' tant from navigation. Upon this exclusive territory Captain Davies says that one Wm. Marston, who claims to have formerly lived near Salem, N. J., reigns like a veritable Monte Cristo, lord and master of all no survays. When the barque was 03' Palmerston Island Capt. sties was greatly surprised to see a boat’s crew put 03 from the shore and signal that they wished to be taken on board. It was at first thought that the unexpected guests were wrecked sailors, but when the small boat pulled under the shadow of the barqne the discovery was made that the little craft was loaded to the gunwales with cocoa- nuts and tropical fruits. The islanders were out on a trading expedition, and apprised Capt. Davies of their desire to exchange their cargo for wearing apparel and other products of civilizttion not to be obtained on their lonely island. The crew of the barque welcomed the strangers on board and sat around them in wonderment, while William Marston, the King of Palmerston Island, spun his yarn. He spoke with feeling of his old Jersey home, and claimedthathis par- ents are still living in that State somewhere. Twenty-five years ago he shipped as a see- man on the barque Rifleman, at San Fran- cisco. bound to the Tahita. one of the ronp of the Society Islands. He deserte the vessel directly after she had reached her destination. and remained on the island for three years. At the end of that time he migrated to Palmerston Islanr’, where for twenty-one years he had been planting and growing cocoannt trees and selling copra or dried cocoanut to traders, who visited the island about once a year in the interest of San Francisco merchants. The popula- tion of Palmerston island numbers but thirty-souls, all of whom, save himself, are natives of adjacent islands, who have made their homes on Palmerston, and toil year after year in the cocoanut groves that abound there. 1b was signallv illustrated during the fearful retreat of Sir John Moore‘s small army through the snow in the northwestern portion of the Spanish peninsula. An over- whelming host pressed the British, day by day ;cold, hunger, and the charges of the Fremh cavalry thinned their ranks ; but: they marched toward the sea wifh patient endurance, and calm fortitude. One day an English officer, weakened by lack of food and fatigue, turned aside into a wood to die unseen. Suddenly he came across a soldier’s wife lying upon the ground nearly dead. Claeped in her arms and pro- tected by a. shawl was her babe. With her expiring breath she prayed the oflicer to take the little one, and save its life. “ Whoaoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it,” said the Master, then rebuking the conventional opinion and sel- fish cowardice of His day. He used this paradox that He might make His disciples think of the relative values of life and duty, and stimulate them to aicrifice themselves to their convictions. The pxradox is a prophecy which has had “ springing and germinant accomplish- ment," to use Bacon’s felicitous phrase, in every deed of heroism, and in the death of each martyr. feeling than the young men of other nations. but the: he has lesrned to attach more im- ortence then chev do to the luxuries and ieplo of life. He has nob the money provi e as comfortable or splendid a how for his wife as hie father has given him. hence he looks out for e “ girl with money," who will and can provide it for herself. IOST FOR MANY YEARS. Saved by a Babe.