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CHAPTER XXIIIâ€"(Cont inuC-rl .) 'You are silent," cried he. coming closer to herâ€"so close that his very breath lifted the soft hair on her fore- head. "You are silent: you do not com demn my presence; you do not censure my persistent determination to find and speak with you at all hazardsâ€"even. at the chance of rousing your dis- pleasure. You are still silent! Is there no hope to be garnered from that ?" Constantia had moved backward. away from him. inlto the shadow of an ivied wall, and from that safe shelter she spoke. "\Vhy should you be without hope 9" she. asked, faintly. “‘VVhy-should hope be mine ?' you Should rather say," cried he. "Hitherto you have been so tantalizing. so imposâ€" sible to comprehend. my very soul before you. and yet you have turned aside." ‘ He spoke fluentlyâ€"eagerly. That he should be reproachful filled her with amaze. \Vhen had he poulred out his soul before her? “Oh. do not think I turned aside." she said, with a touch of gentle dignity. "But all this is strangeâ€"unthought of “By you, perhapsâ€"yet that I can hardly believeâ€"but not by me. Has all this past time counted as naught? Was I not at your feet night and day? Par- don me. if at mad momeiits I fanciedâ€"" He hesitated. “Yes,” he whispered "you fancied 7" “How kindly you speak now I" he cried, impatiently. "Yet. how cruel you can be! I fancied foolishlyâ€"without reason, if you willâ€"that sometimes those beautiful eyes of yours gave me encouragement. V‘Vas that so? Or am I now to be told that love like mine has come too lateâ€"that for the sake of mere conventionalism it must be thrust asideâ€"that it is fan-hidden f" Constantia made a step forward, and held out her hand to him. He was in griefâ€"in trouble. \Vhat did it all mean? How bad she hurt him? "\Vhy should your love be forbid- den 9" she murmured. softly. \Vas she not ready to accept and treasure it? Her heart beat violently, her voice was almost inaudible, but he heard her. She was hardly prepared for the change that came ' over himâ€"for the sudden subtle sense of triumph that brighten- ed his eyes and raised his figure to its fullest height. "Do you know what such words mean," he cried, "from you to me? Not forbiddenâ€"not! You permit me, then. to love you? There was more than I dared believe in that little message you sent me to-nighi." _ “A message!" repeated Constantia. faintly. “Do not deny it. 1 will have no evas- ion frnm your lips now. That sweet message. see! it lies upon my heart." “'ith a rather theatrical gesture that sat with indescribable absurdin upon his dignified figure. he half drew a crushed note from the folds of his doâ€" mino. "It has lain here ever since. That one little word about the black ems upon your shoulder, that was to distinguish you from Constantia. that told me all. » ll give me hope; it even suggested to me (forgive me. sweet) that you might be jealous of your cousin." He still held the little scented billet between his fingers, and a. wild longâ€" ing to possess, to read it, seized on Constantia. It would be so simple, so easy; whmver he believed her to be. it was not Constantia, and by putting forth a hand she could gain it. \Yet some honest instinct forbade her the act; with a heart bruised, and bleeding, and insulted, she still remembered “Noblesse oblige." "I sent you no memage,” she said, controlling herself bravely. "Are you afraid of me, that you still persist 2” exclaimed he, eagerly. “Can you not trust me '2 How you tremble! Have you not faith in my honor? You think. perhaps. that this note will be- tray you? You do not know me." He very ge ntly, did not. however, destroy the note in: her presence as another man might: have done. “Donna! my beautiful! my beloved one! believe in me." The girl stood motionless. The blood forsook her face. all her heart died within her. She knew now surely, what some instinct had told her before. that her cousin was the author of that note. She know too. that Feathersion, whom she had believed in, as in herl faith, was false. l She folrgot that she ought to speak,‘ to say something that should wither; him, as he stood there, so guiltily glad. so smfully triumphant. in ihe cold, un- scnsunl moonlight. She remained deadly silent, because she had forgot-l Eon all, but the treachery present to} or. "You do not speak," cried he, vehemâ€" ently. "Have you no word lo: 913‘!- ponna! Donna! Think what AiiXieLy is mine, whilst Iâ€"â€"" l . j'Oh. sir. go!" interrupted slie, realâ€"‘ izmg at this moment through all her: sorrow, the wrong done to him in letâ€" ting him further speak. “Go, I enâ€" treat you l" ln hcr agitation sliv had spoken aloud, and‘us her clear, girlish voice. with its musical Irish brozulness, reached his ear. so unlike the trainaute accents he had expected to hear, he fell buck a step or two, aghast. and all his selfâ€"posâ€" sesswn deserted him, and be stored at her 'lilanklyâ€"duinl). ~His extreme defezii touched Constan- tia and made licr strung. She laid her hand upon the wall llt‘iil' her to steady herself, zind slowly witlidrcw the mask from her lace. Her piile. young, pretty face, sad in its pallor, and earnestness,i and cOntempt, looked straight at him. With a beauty he had been a little dead to, in the past. "A mistake like this." she said, “is? not to be remedied. \Vords would be wasted on it. I regret that it w-is inv misfortune to lead you so far astray, bu-tâ€"I was innocent of intention !" Shel looked at him with a. keen anxiety. I have poured out ' “lLl. EVEN .easicr because of her bare hands. , eyes g'eaming "Yov must know that," she said. She had given him, unconsciously, limc to recover. To find himself mis- taken in «he object. of his devotion. to know Lli'il can unincaiit had listened to his scnlimcnial ravings, this in .1!- self was enough to unsettle for the inâ€" sltinl the reason of any ordinary man: but that. it. should be Constantia who had been the recipient of his love-con- fidenccs, poured forth for another, was a vile aggravation of the horror that such a Situation was bound to hold. He writlied beneath it, but during the pause that ensued upon recoveryâ€"and the time it look Constantia to form and give voice to her protestâ€"lie pull» ed himself together in a measure, and now tried to throw a jaunty air into his speech. "Not so much a mistake, as a good joke." he said, acting the hypocrite, it mth be confessed, with but a poor countenance. "What I Did you think I did not know? That I could not see the difference between you and your cousin? Could you not guess? You were always a little wanling in the finer shades of humor. my dear (‘onâ€" nie, but yet I believed you would have seen through my absurd protestations of affection for Mrs. Dundas. (Pray do not betray me to her. She would never forgive me l) A being with a ! soul sprightly as yours should have read through any disguise, through an_v-" “Had you been able to read through mine," said Constantia, coldly, “this scene would not have been." “Do you not still catch it 7" began he, with a daring assumption of laughâ€" ing surprise. But she stayed him With a glance. . "()li, cease this deception!" she said. quickly. “It is unworthy ofâ€"whai I once thought you! No! Not another word. If you would do me one [Ii-st favorâ€"go !" She spoke with vigor, though in a low veice. He recognized the power of it. and turned abruptly away. The Sha- dows caught and hid him. and With a Sigh of passionate relief, she Sunk once again upon the stone seat of the para- pet. CHAPTER XXIV, So this was what a masked hall meant? Except that she felt so cold so numbed. she could have laughed aloud :it the ironical flavor of her thought. This ball to which she had looked forward with such eager im- patience. VVould she ever care to go to a ball again? , She wondered to herself why she did not feel some sorrow, some regret- “ by there were no tears in her eyes? She felt, indeed. no inclination to {12V- 'l here was nothing, only a burning sense of angerâ€"a contemptuous and“T that curled her lip. 'l‘ruly her inâ€" stincts had not deceived her about thiit woman. She was just, however, in her resentment, as few women are. She did not exculpate the hero in the sorry affair, and blacken beyond all recogâ€" nition the siren who had led him from safe herbors into the maelstrom of a love that could only end in destruction. If shc condemned Donna. she scorned 111311: and there was no place in all her mind _thal’ held so much as one of The old kindly-feelings he used to inspire. By degrees her thoughts traveled haf‘k t0 heir first entry to-nig‘ht into this ill«omened house. She remem-' bered how she had seen Donna. and had noted the_ slight difference between the two dOIilanCS. She remembered, tOO. With a Mile bi‘ter pang, how she had appraised Donna in her mind as being gr’ncr...is beyond her fellows, in that SIJP.‘ liad made her gift in no whit less dr‘SIrable than the covering she had chosen for herselfâ€"the domino, the gloves. the very fan (with which she had been so foolishly pleased) the same. ‘ _ She unhooked the fan from her waist in a_slow methodical way, and. breakâ€" lng it across her knee, dropped it into th.1 rushing slrcamlet; it fell with a faint crushing sound. having struck the stone-work of the parapet, and then dis- alipczired. She drew off her gloves th“n. and tore them gently and delibâ€" .crately, and sent them after the fan- Slic could not. however, so dispose of domino, nor of her own thoughts lh°rc was no passion in her actions. no vcliitiuenceâ€"only a certain longing to get rid of _things detested. Her musings came back upon her presently. She felt, in a. degree, and the knowledge that the fan was no longer touching her; and after awhile sh? recalled her meeting with Stronge. How was it he had not been deceived? She could no! mistake his manner, at all_events. He had known her. and. besides, she had let him hear her voice. \\ hat instinct had forbidden her to Speak toâ€"to that otherâ€"save in 8. whisper? She was glad in her soul. however. that she obeyed it, and that so the truth was laid bare to her. lies. it was strange that Mr. Sli‘onge had known her; he had not recognized her. but the other had. A little glow of gratitude toward him. that. had he but known it. would have raised him into the seventh heaven, awoke with- .in her heart for Andrew Stronge. He hurl l! nown through her disguise. though she had not known him; he could not be deceived. some wordsâ€"a lineâ€"ran through her brain: "()h! IOV'CI‘S' eyes are sharp to see." “as lic, then, the true loverâ€"had. li‘cnlhf'rx'lon never loved her :it all? His eyes. in trulh. had not been “sharp to sce;“ he had proved himself utterly buse'and falseâ€"false to the heart’s ccr-. She brought her fingers with a force born of passion. though her body still, for the most part, remained obedient to her will, resting calm, quiescent, rigid. us though carved in marble. 'l'curs, however, rose, and wellcd, slowly to hcr eyes. “How was it'.‘ Has be gone? \"as be making very violent li)\0 to you? Onc can imagine it," cried a gay voice togel her at hr-r elbowâ€"a voice consumed with laughtcr. j'Did he comport himself pr-~perl_v. Did he do it nicely? [hope for once iii his life the starch was out n." him." ~ L ‘ll\'tlllli'in slzirlcd convulsively. She turnivl slowly round, and saw Donna's at her miscliievously lhrnugl her mask. Slic. seemed shameâ€" lessly unabashed. Constantia. with hvjr own faci' iincnvci'cd, regarded her iiith a. wonder that should have scorched her. bad she been possessed of fccling. The girl was almost too angry tovspenk. The heat of indignation had rlricd the Wars on her cheeks, and she stood cr-fct bcfore her adversary, with h'ir lic;l u'cll up, though every limb was l1“llilllllg‘. “It was to was making “No.” she said, slowly. YOU. it seems. that he love." By proxy! \thit a sell for him!" said Donna, with u. grimace. She broke into open laughter this tirn'e. "I would have given a thousand crown: to see his face when he saw yours. Oil. why are the best comedies those ihai are iicvcr seen in public f" "'iour imagination is so vivid that IShOiild think you derive a considerâ€" able amount of amusement from these hidden comedies, even at second-hand," said Constantia. coldly. Then sud- denly her anger broke forth. “How dare you speak to me ?" she cried, in a tone low but. full of passion. “I won- der you are not ashamed to stand there before me, knowing what you know. To youâ€"a married womanâ€"he uttered vows of love, he. aildresseed words that could only be regarded as insultingâ€" to you l“ "My good Connie, recollect. yourself.“ entreated Mrs, Dundzis aii'ily. “The truth. the Whole trut 11, and nothing but the truth for me. It was to you those flowcry vows were proffered, to you those insulting words were said. Oh. [lei 0h. Connie, who would have. beâ€" IlCVP/fl it of you l Oh, well, really now, you know, the line should be drawn somewhere." “How can you make a jest of it? How try loâ€"" “But you yourself confessed he was making love to you, and in anything but asecinly fashion." “In the lcltelr, not in the spirit, as you Well know. You laugh. You deâ€" rive amusement from this. Is all shame dead within you? 'l‘o-day, Var- ley; toâ€"marrow, I‘VOIIIIIOI‘SlOH; the next day, who shall decide I" “1 shall. naturally,” returned Mrs. Dundas, with unabated gayety. “Who should have a betler rignt‘l Surely. my dear girl, you will not deny me a chief Vllii'i“. in a matter of such vital importance f” “\ouâ€"a married womanâ€"and with lovcrsl” continued Constantia, in a choked tone. "So many of them. and your husband ignorant, trustful, lov- ing.” "'l‘licrc is safety in a multitude, my pretty lecturer. If it were only one. now â€"sa.y Feathers! onâ€"how much worse it would sound!" Constantia made a vehement gesture. "Say what you like," she said; “it will be. without grace of godliness." "You are angry," suggested Donna. mildly. and apparently with surprise. "Quelle betisel and with me, who have perhaps done you the best turn you will ever get. Ingralitude dwells with silly girls like you. Have I not, then. opened your eyes i" “To what 3" coldly. "To the fact that Mr. Strong-e, if a trifle depressing, is worth a million of the most fascinating hypocriles alive; and of such last, if I mistake not, is our smooth friend h‘ealherston. As for the trade-markâ€"every one is in trade nowadays. Stick to your wetflblanket man. say I, and in after years cast blessâ€" ing“ on the head of your despised cous- in." “It is not necessary to waste so much eloquence," said Constantia. with a con- temptuous glance. “Believe me. I I shall in future interfere in no wise With Your and Mr. [Featherston's arrange- ments." I "Poufl It is scarcely worth while tryâ€" ing to manage matters for you," said Mrs. Dundas. "you are so remarkably dense. Why, you absurd child. can't you see that if Iwanted your precious Feath- erston I could have had him without the asking; that it was by my will and pleas- ure _he was betrayed into thinking the domino with the Maltese cross mine. He gave me an unwelcome him once. and such debts I always repay fourfold.” “You wish me to understand you?” revengeful," said Constantia. “That 13.3 valuable knowledge! It shows mg what to expect from you in the future. "Let us prorogue Parliament," Said Donna. lightly. "To speak to You “1 your present mood would be to own mY- 88.1fm foolish as you. You are bent on Villlfying me in your own mind. 60 that aFgument would be useless. Yet_I 991" $15! Saying I am without fault in the affair." "Does treachery. then. not 0mm” Treachery, not only to your guest, but to one of your own blood; your kinsâ€" woman. Was it nothing to clothe me like yourself that i might be pained, humiliated? To press 119011 “19 glfts that should help to my undoing? Is your soul so dead within you that You can not comprehend the shame I feel? Have you no feeling? No! Stand baCk In)!!! me. Do not touch 'me.” Her Irish blood was now aflame. and h.“ tall, supple young figure, drawn to .‘m fullest height. shock with the intensity of her emotion. “Traitress l" she said be- tween her teeth. “I would not havf’: treated a dog as you have treated me. She raised her right arm with an in}- perious gesture, as if to forbid Dolmas approach. and still holding it uplifted, turned away and walked quickly toward the house. Donna looked after her. _ "She is a little savage now'.” she said, half aloud, "but she will be a. superb woman. She can have the world at her feet if she will, but she will spell her chances, and all her good times. by her absurd morality l” She, too, left the moonlit parapet and Stepped lightly toward the near shrub- llGF)’- Again the amused smile curved her lips. her eyes shone gayly: 8116 53,-W some one who had evidently been W321“ ing for her during her interview With Constantia. and she waved her hand to him. As she drew closer he came to meet her. It was Lord Varley. (To be Continued.) .â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"+â€"- A DEVOTED QUEEN. The queen regent of Spain. is des- cribed by a Madrid correspondent as be- ing very devoted to her people. A few (Lays ago, while driving out with the Archduke Eugene, she met a priest carrying the Vialicus to a. dying pen- son. She alighted with her brother. in- vited the priest to take her seat, and followed the carriage on foot to the house where the moribund person was lying. Her majesty Went up to the second floor, and found a young wo- man of about thmeâ€"am(l-tiventy await- mg to receive the unclion. She spoke in a motherly way to the poor girl. and made particular inquiries as to her pai'ents' condition. On her return to the palace she gave her private doci- tor instructions to [my the patient several visits a duly; and the necessary medicines. and some choice food, besidâ€" es 555!) in money, were sent to that sorâ€" row-stricken house. Pisniiil tin ll. THE BOER CHIEF AS PICTURED BY FR ENDS AND FOES. lloiicst, and Y0! “Vii-[Ii Iii-tween One and Two Minion Dollars. .‘lindc in the last Ten i'cui’sâ€"A I? ",zilly Hunter and 01‘ In- dispiilnble Courage ‘ Sli'ict Calvinist. There have been so many word-por- traits of Paul Kruger. so many comra- (lictory accounts of his motives and ob- jects, says the London Saturday Re- view, that a man with a new impresâ€" sion of him may well feel some diffi- dence in putting it forward. But. after all, the characlcr of a ruler is disc0V- cred by invasions and rebellions. and it is easier now to see Kruger as he is than it was a year ago. Speaking roughly, one is able to divide the exist- ing descriptions of the President into two classesâ€"those made by his friends. and those made by his foes. His adâ€" mirers have presenied him to us as a sort of Boer Cromwellâ€"unlettered. itis true, and unacquaini‘ed with the con- ditions of modern life, but gifted with the faculties of a. leader and ruler of his peopleâ€"courageous, honest, pious. The picture of him given by his deâ€" tractors. on the other hand, is not so consistent nor so clear in outline; the features are blurred by contradictions or dchumanizcd by exaggeration; but if hate cannot give us a recognizable or even a possible portrait of the man. it can put forward facts and argu- ments which make one believe that [his Village Cromwell is a. more comâ€" plex. and therefore a more human and interesling. if a less ethically perfect, being than his worshippers imagine. “You call Kruger honest and disinterâ€" ested." cry his adversaries, with a fine Scorn; "how, then, do you. account for the fact that he's worth £300,000 or £400,1100â€"all made in the last 8 or 10 years ?" And if one in defence ad- duces the fact that President Kruger has always SAVED SEVEN-EIGHTS. of his salary, and invested his savings in farms near Johannesberg and Pre- toria. which have increased 30-fold in value in the last decadeâ€"if, in fact, one shows that Kruger‘s wealth 118.5 been accumulated honestly, and that. bad he been dishonest, he could easily have been worth as many millions as he is now worth hundreds of thousands, his adversaries. instead of admitting the argument, go on to point out that Kru- ger has winked at bribes taken by his relatives and distributed monopolies among his friends. and that the admin- istration of the Transvaal Government is dishonourably distinguished by in- Competencc and corruption. "This Government differs from all other Governments," said a. financier to me the 0: her day in Johannesberg. In that here you have to buy not only the masters but the men. If you want a document from a. Government department, you have to distribute ‘fivers' to the clerks in order to get. it in any reasonable time." All this is probably true. It'must be remem- bered, however. in extenuation. that the Boers a. few thousand ignorant farm- ers scattered over a. great territory, have had in the last 10 years to con- stilule a Government which should be! able to handle all the details of _a. com- plex modern civilization, 5. ciVIIizalion. too, that has grown. and is growmg with unexampied rapidity. Eight years ago there was open veldt dotted With half a dozen makeshift tents and 20 or 30 bullock waggons where toâ€"day stands the town of Johannesberg, with its hundred thousand inhabitantsiis streets of brick and stone. its club, its news- paper offices, and its mining exchanges The 40 miles of veldt along the Rand. thich could have been bought in 1885 for a few thousand pounds is now worth over three hundred millions. Men who 10 years ago were struggling clerks or needy adventurers are to-day MILLIONAIRE MINE-OWNERS. whose names are mentioned with re- spect in every European capital. Temp- tations beget faults, and society that has suddenly shot up from poverty to riches can scarcely hope to be distinguished for honesty. It is sufficient, surely, to say here, that, if Kruger has allowed bribes to be. taken by his relatives and de rid- ents. if he has given concessions ohis friends that trammel industry, and has thus enri had pardsans atthe public ex- pense, his personal honesty has not been seriously impu ned. nder great temptation he has 18611 what Hamlet calls “indifferent honest"â€"honest, that is. after the fashion of poor human DE- ture. For there are those of us who would have our children and relations immaculately virtuous, as if to atone for our shortcomings, while Kruger seems content to let those near and clear to him fill their pockets as they can. provided his own hands are clean. And if his personal honesty is in- disputable. even more can be said of his courage; for courage, indeed. is of the essence of the man; he has shown all sides of itâ€"save perhaps one. His mere physical courage and insensibil- ity of nerves are extraordinaryâ€" r- feet in old age as in youth. ore than 40 years a 0 he himself amputat- ed the thumb 0 his left hand, injured in a. gu explosion; and a few years ago. ’ en suffering from toothache. he gave proof of similar hardihood. Some of the enlightened members of his fam- ily begged him to go to the dentist. But, after hearing what the charges of the tooth doctor would be. Kruger angrily rejected the suggestion. A night or two later the pain increased so that he could not sleep, whereupon he got up and FRIED THE TOOTH OUT with his own claspknife, and went to sleep afterwards without more ado. A mig ly hunter from his youth upâ€"he has killed lions and buffalo with his old singleâ€"barrelled muzzle-louder~â€"the temper of his 70th year is that of his early manhood. urii lug the “'hiie .olhcr day with Chief Justice Kolze to see the Presidenmhc Chief Juslice told me that when the news reached Pro- loria, late on Tuesday. Dec. 31, that Jameson with his force was nearing lx'lugersdorp. lic found that Kruger had ordered his horse to be saddled. and was gciiing- ouL his rifle, in order :0 go and personally lead his burghers l0 latile. “Now that this Jameson's on the veldt." cried the old man exul- ianlly, "we‘ll soon see what he’s worlhf' “and it took a great deal of argument to persuade the President," said the Chief Justice, “that his brains here in rPreioria were of more value [0 the Staze than his hand and eye out yonder on the veldt." Kruger’s moral courage is so mark. ed that it might be mistaken for ob< stinacy. Year by year as the Uitland- ers have increased in number, and as Johannesberg has grown to weath and influence, Kruger has diminished the privileges of ihe foreign emigrants. Be. fore 1885 it was possible for anyone to become a fully naturalized liurgher of lh“ Transvaal after a residence of two yours and a declaration of allegiance, Toâ€"day one maypass one's life in the Transvaal wiih the satisfaction of knowing that one‘s children torn and bred in the State will be regarded as foreigners. And Kruger is quite will- ing to lake the responsibility for this RETROGRADE ACTION As a rule it is true. he tells you that the Volksraad is responsible for these measures; but pushed into a corner he will not deny his initiative. At the back of his mind there is the justifica; Lion aptly phrased by his chief Holland- er adviser. "As the flood rises we bqu the dykes higher." On the other hand. this_mora.l courage makes noble deeds IJQsSlble to him. When Jameson and his force were prisoners in Pretoria Certain Boers demanded the immediate trial and punishment at least of the leader and the officers. But Kruger StPOd Ont against argument and anger “'llh resolute imperturbability. One “'Ould have said. indeed, that he took a. Certain Pleasure in the assertion of his personal will, But fairness of mind or worldly wisdom and a. deep know- ledge of the character of his people was shown in the way he went about. “Pong the malcontents, setting forth his reasons for exercising mercy. and gradually persuading everyone that 00m Paul felt as he felt. though as head of the state he was compelled to adopt a_ higher course of conductâ€" a course Justiflable by Holy Writ.and not inconsistent with poiicy. Again and again in the last three or four ' months Kruger has stood against pub- lic opinion, and at length swayed it to his service. Yet even his high “lore-l Courage suffers human lapses: his enemies say that his word is quite untrustworthy. It would be nearer the truth to state that he is impression- able' 933113’ moved by those whom he trusts, and that when moved he makes promises which his ractical sense pm Vents him from fulfilling. His adver- sarles glve curious instances of the pe- cuhar Way in which he T\VISTS SCRIPTURAL TEXTS for self-Justification. But all this test¢ [fies .to, the necessity Kruger feels of 82191319111? and justifying his backslid- 11185; in act It almost amounts to a Pl‘opf that the man is in the main truth- Iovmg, .I can say nothing as to Kruger'a PIEtY- He belongs to the strictest sect of Calvinists. is proud even '0! ’femg 3. "Dapper." It is worth while to exPlain this word. because it shows “1‘? eXtTemely Close relationship that 9x153 between the Boers and the Eng- lish- :‘Dopper" comes from "doD-" “.hich is the German “Topf,” a bowl. and is. supposed to apply to this sec: 0f.r°“819n15i5 because they wore their hair as if the barber had put a 110W1 "13011 their heads, and cut around it. Accordin to this derivation. WhiCh seems t e most probable, “Round:- head' would be an almost perfect translation of "Dapper." Paul Kruger is not. only a secter but. 3-150 3- preacher of considerable eminence. Almost opposite his house there stands 8; “Dopper” church. and there President Kruger often holds forth to the intense edification of the faithful. In truth. there is a good deafof the orator in Oom Paul. and not a little of the actor as well. As Cromwell is said to have been an epi- leptic, so this Boer Cromwell is some- thing of a neuropath. Had he been educated he woqu have shown a sub- tle and wide intelligence. Even now. according to Chief Justice Kotze, he will discuss such questions as immor- tality and the beneficence of the Deity with a. singuJarly fair appreciation of the arguments that make against his own belief, which he nevertheless reâ€" curs to. as if yielding to an overpow- ering instinct developed through genâ€" erations of pious forbears. A BRAVE DEFENDER. The author of a. book on early Cana- dian life says that a young girl was one afternoon on her way to the spring for a. pail of water, when she heard her pet lamb blast, and saw what she sup- posed was a. large dog worrying it. Being a brave girl she dropped the pail. seized a stout stick which lay on the ground and rushing forward began to beat the brute with all her might. The animal let go the lamb and turn- ed u on the girl, showing his teeth and. snar lug. She saw then that she had to deal with a wolf instead of a dog. The sharp ears, bushy tail and gaunt figure were convincing. But she was not fri htened; excitement and tears for her tggavo her courage. and when the wol again seized the lamb she valiant, ly attacked him and again he released his prey. She used the club vigorousâ€" ly and rained blows upon the wolf, cry- ing for help meantime. Her brother. hearin her outcry. ran with his gun toward t e springubut the wolf saw the reinforcement coming and. fled into the woods. ABOUT HAIR. Curious as it seems. there is a. dis- tinct relation between man's pursuits and the color of man's hair. An un- usual proportion of men with dark. straight hair enter the ministry; red- whiskei‘ed men are apt to be given to sporting and horseflesti‘. while the tall vigorous blonde man, lineal descendant of the Vikings. siill contributes .a large contingent to travelers and emigrants. It has been discovered, after numerous experiments that dark hair is much stronger than fair. One dark hair can carry a weight of 113 grammes, while a li htâ€"colored hair will break if .5 weig l of 75 grammes is hung from it.