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Dill UR THE POLE. CAPT BERNIER WILL START NORTH ON JUNE FIRST NEXT. He Will Follow \unsen's Course. But Will Full on :1 Steel ship, and WM! Adopt Innovation» “'lncli lle Claims “'lll Bring success. The first distinctively Canadian ex- pedition in search of the North Pole will probably! set out for the Arctics next year. It will he commanded by Capt. Bonnier, of Quebec. an old-time navigator, than whom no Arctic ex- plorer was ever more confident of achieving his selfâ€"imposed task. The captain's plan inclules several novel pli'opositirms for facilitating his reach of the desired goal. A seafaring man from his youth and a captain of many years' experience and of wonderful success in his vocation, the study of the great problem of Arctic explora- tion has been the hobby of his life. He is of Frenchâ€"Canadian extraction. and confident of his ability to plant the flag,r of the Em.me and the arms of his native country upon the exact endspf the world's imaginary axis. The captain has promise of generous Canadian aid for his expedition. and has gone to England to interview Sir Clements Markham. president of the Royal Geographical Society, on the project. and also to make ar- rangements for the construction of a new ship. It will be decided in England whether this vessel is to be of wood or malleable steel; that is, the Siemens-Martin mild steel. A STEEL SHIP. The experience of Nansen‘s Fram makes the captain rather unfavorable to a wooden ship, because of the fears that that vessel engendered among her crew when in the ice floes. His preferenceis for asteel ship, the sides of which can. be so heated from within that she will avoid the evil efâ€" fects of ice pressure and being shaped like the Fram will readily rise from the pressure of opposing ice flees. Capt. Bonnier estimates the total cost of the expedition at from $80,000 to 890.000, of which $45,000 to $50,000 will be required for the vessel and its out- fiit. He gives his own services free. .Sir Clements Markham has al- ready declared that another expedi- tion ought to continue Nansen’s work, taking the drifting ice further to the east than he did. in which case he be- lieves it would float over or nearly over the pole. Bernier does not share the belief of some that there is any extent of land in the neigh- borhood of the pole, that would in- terfere with the regular drift of the Arctic ice. He declares it unreason- able to believe that there is other than deep water in the vicinity of the pole. when 300 miles south of it in the direction of Greenland, the depth of water is from 1,800 to 2,000 fathoms. TO START JUNE 1. Capt. Bonnier proposes to set out on his voyage about June 1, leaving {Vancouver for Behring Straits. ac- companied by a crew of twelve, all passessedof special scientific attainâ€" ments. The coast of Siberia will be followed as far as the new Siberian hiands. the expedition passing to the west of them to survey .Szinnikof Land ‘and to finish the survey of North Bennett Island commenced by the Jeannette's crew. There the oppor- tunity will be watched for in the late period of navigation, to proceed to the north of the Jeannette's Arctic position through one of the northâ€" eastcrly openings in the ice that are always found to exist about October. The winter quarters of the ship will be about 500 miles from the pole. Here the explorers will slaughter the lllVf‘. stock brought with them for food and store the flesh in a depot on the ice alongside of the ship, against the time when there will be nothing to kill around them. In the latitude where the first winter will be passed, the explorers expect to kill largc quantities of bear, seal and walrus, not only for current use. but also to add to their reserve stores. A DRIFTING MATCH. All this time the captain expects to has gradually nearing the pole, car- .ried toward it by the drift of the ice In which the vessel and attendant camps will be imbeddcd, or upon the surface of which they will be borne. So gradual is the drift and so slow will be .the {pro-gm.” of the party that they only expect to reach the pole during the third summer of their absence from home. It may not be posible for the expedition to take the drift ice far enough to the east Ito be sure of passing directly over the pole. because of the easterly drift. In order to counteract this, however, a series of observation staâ€" tions will be emblished on the ice. ten miles apart, and stretching away dim east of the main camp. These observation camps will conâ€" stitute ome of the main features of the expedition. 'Not only will they be sighted from one another. but they will be connected by telephonic communication. supplemented by a system of wireless telegraphy. The flagstaffs of these stations will be composed of hollow aluminum pipes, two to three inches in diameter, conâ€" taining emergency supplies of food. These pipes will be eighteen feet. high. Each station will be supplied with self-registering thermometer and lnroxuetcr. Fch of thorn at least are to be established, and if this east- ward extension of communication for fifly miles is found, by observation, to be hufficient for overcoming the Westward drift, the number and 0x- tau-ion of these observation litmus can readily be increased, so that the passage of at least a portion of ‘ the party immediately over the pole , may be definitely accomplished. B\LLOONS TO BE itlzllllSASED. Small balloons with rcrords of the expodition’s progress will be released at monthly or fortnightly intervals, and each succeeding ballruon will con- tain the record entrusted to former (mes. to provide against the loss of amy. Each will be furnished with, twenty days’ supply of hydrogen. To evaporation they will be so freig'hvted as to be imprisoned in the coil air near the surface of the sea, and Capt. Bernier is convinced that the prevailing currents of air will carry them first to the south and then east. Boats for use in cases of emergency will be taken out in sec- tions. The expedition expects to return by way of Spitzbergen. Judging by the facts that the polar basin has a highâ€" er level than either the Pacific or the Atlantic cor-an, that the latter is lower then the Pacific. and that the. cold winds of the .polar basin help the ice and water thence on the way to the North Atlantic to feed the, evaporation always going on there, Catpt. Bernier believes it now to be nothing more than a matter of time and patience until he shall have passed directly over the pole and re- turned safely home to tell the story of the expedition. At first his only anxiety was as to the possibility ofl neaching the mouth of the river Lena from Behring Straits. Dr. Nansen writes him that he has no doubts that he can easily do so. Prof. Norden- skro-ld, who reached the polar sea via Behring Straits from Stockholm, also writes encomagingly. The Royal Society of Canada and the Quebec Geographical Society have indorsed Capt. Bernier’s plans. So has J. \V. Tyrncll, the explorer of the barren lands and the chairman of the Commit tee on Polar Researches of the Ontario Land Surveyors" Association. who says; "I believe you are on the right track to success." Dr. G. M. Dawson. director of the Geological Survey of Canada, writes; "The re- cent voyage of the Fram seems to indicate that an expedition carried out along bhe line of Capt. Bernier's project, if properly equipped and manned. would [have every probability of a successful issue.” And Dr. Bell, the assistant Director-General of Dominion Surveys, supplements the above with the following; “I think you have chosen the best course and the best method, and that if you .fol- low out these plans you will succeed." â€"_‘â€" PROVISIONS DEARER IN ENGLAND. â€"â€"I Rig .ulvauce Over Inst l'enr's l’rlcesâ€"Jam Alum ls“ Cheaper. It costs a good deal more to live to-day than it did twelve lmonths ago, Mr. \Villiam Alstrom. of Kimberley road. Numihead, the general [accretary of the newly formed London Coffee and Eating House Keepers' associa- tion, estimates that £1 will purchase no more food now than 153 would a year ago. "For instance,” he said to a London Daily Mail representative, "meat has gout-e 'up 18 per cent. in price, flour 15 per cent, sugar ’/ l-L‘r per cent, tca 121â€"2 per rent.. eggs 15 per cent, 03aâ€" con 30 per cent. currants‘ as much as :20 per cent, raisins 80 per cent, sul- tanas 60 per cent, butter 71-: per cent. lird 15 per cent. and even such accessories as mustard and vinegar have increased in price. "The coffee house keepers have been obliged to raise their prices, for they saw insolvency looming ahead. A large number 'have handed them- selves together and rcsolvcd to sell no more halfpcnny cups of tea. no more halfpenny boiled or fried eggs) nu plate of [hot meat under 5d. no plate of cold (meat f.)r less than 3d and no puddings at less than 4d each. ‘ "\Vhy, even our crockery his gone i [Up :20 per cent,” added the general 1 secretary, “and as for coal and gas, everybody knows what a hugr in- crease has taken place in the prior-s of these pecans-tries. Ith has gone down? The only thing that is cheap- or is jun." l staâ€" avoid l A LI UNG GHA'S DUMI. ’ ’ IT IS IN THE SOUTH OF CHINA AND IS FAIR AND FERTILE. .â€" ‘l‘he ('nnton lllllrlcl Very Dlfl‘ercnl From lhv- Central and lerllll‘l‘ll l'rovlm‘csâ€" Speak 1| Dllforclll Language. What strikes an observer most about China and the. Chinese is that sad- denly a veil has been rent. from a vast organism, which up to the present half-century had remained exclusive self-contained and repellent to all ex- ternal influenccand all modern know- ledge. [Not only is the type of civil- ization vastly different. but the mind is of another cast. the idea of separate order. Inference is the key. to Chinese character and Chinese in- tercourse, but a foreigner, however, long he may dwell in the country. never quite makes out what a native is driving at from anything he says or does. To save “face” even a coolie will forge and fabricate dcan times. From this point of view “cor- rectitude” is all in all, and it is far worse for him and his to lose "face" than to lie through thick and thin. , Up the French river the French priests allege that their work is practically fruitless. In fact, the. two provinces, of which Canton is the. capital are sunk deep in the curi- ous compound of spiritualistic mate- rialism. These southern people speak a language radically different from that of the middle and northern pro-g vinces, even though "within the four‘ seas all men are brethren." l THE CANTONESE DIALECT. Cantonese is a dialect of which. hardly a word is understood in other ‘parts and the officials always employ interpreters in their intercourse with the natives. When the magistrate takes his seat in the yaunen a bell summons his interpreter, almost as in our East End police court. The land they live in is fair and fertile. Along the course of the west riverl and its myriad of creeks and tribu- taries the soil is bountifully fed with the alluvial mod the river brings down, for at Wucbau the rise at flood time is as much as fifty feet in anr average year. Great fields of mulvl berry stretch out on all sides. looking exactly like a vast plantation of thin hop-poles and from them is taken the autumn harvest of silk cocoons, which go to fill the hundred and forty odd filatures of the Canton district and a multitude of home industries all through the province. Interspersed with the silk trees are thick patches of sugar-cane, and everywhere you walk by the “ paddy-field," which sup-y plies the food in which the heart of, the Chinese rejoices. Ranges of green‘ and tawny bills, the bamboo grassl contrasting with the bare strips ofi red sandstone, come down in places almost to the water’s edge, and are, at most, but five or six miles distant, never rising to the grandeur of a mountain range. but of sufficient height to give an impressive splendor to the pleasant scenery. PLACES 0F \VORSHIP. Temples and Buddhist monasteries are planted about the clefts and fissures of the hills. In the south, as, one might expect from the parallel of Europe, the buildings display brighter colors and more ornate de- corations than in the sombre north. The lines of the arch are straight and stiff, but upon them is set every sort of grotesque animal and figure that occurs to the limited scope of Chinese imagination. Inside the courts of the “joss house" the figures of the Chi- nese theogony are more plentifully be- decked wi‘h tinsel and brass and colours than they are on the Yangtse. No temple is without its gliding. but in the south there are no signs of a more frequent application of gold leaf than in the dingy recesses of northern gloom. To reâ€"gild a temple is accounted a work of holiness, which is set down on the credit side of the account when the dead man‘s spirit is seized by the infernal ljctors and taken before Kuang-Ti to be. sub- mitted to the unpleasant interroga- tions of the court below. There are opportunities in plenty of fire insur- ance. of this kind. because the Chinese find it very hard to keep their hands off fresh gilt when it can be turned to the purposes of personal profit. At Canton there Is a famous tem-l ple, the sides of which are lined withl brass and gilded figures in a sittingl posture, to the number of 408, repre- senting the various incarnations of the great Buddha. The long rows are and bewildering, even though they do not suggest more than a curious GALLERY OF FAMILY STATUES. â€"something like busts of a patrician family in old Romeâ€"but a common peculiarity is that, while the M3...- have worn their color to a rich ll {1 inn-ressive ‘ the illustrious l came bronze, the hands are nearly all as bright as new gold. The explanation is that the adventurous coolie is al- ways appropriating the hands for the secular purposes of trade, sequently the priests are continually replacing them. and conâ€" Such a sari‘ilcg“ ox- cites no surprise in a country where the priests themselves are ever ready to sell the holiest of iiolirs, and where silver is replaced by puvticr and bl‘cnze by iron every day of the week. The Only reason that a lamp in n Yzingtsc temple gave for not disposing of an ancient incense burner was that if he did, the people would kill him. Personally, he had no Objections. H» l elievrd in th~ a, rag, " ’l‘h~ iin g - maker does not. worship Buddha;. he rise and ' knows too much about the idol." Just as these temples are cleaner and richer in the southern provinces than else- where, save in Szechuan, so the pri- ,vate houses are of a finer and more substantial build. In Kwangtung many ofthem stand out by themselves. LIKE AN ENGLISH FARM, with strong walls surrounding well- kept, oneâ€"storied dwelling rooms, and the blue brick, made at the many brickliolds, which line the banks. is far more durable and cohesive than the unbaked mud that: does duty for it-in so rmmy other parts. The roots, too, are neatly [11941. and fit to resist. the full fury of tropical storms. It is not only the detached house which is thus superior. All along the lowr-r reaches the villages, which thrive and batten upon the production of silk have an air of permanent prosperity, that, as contrasted with the pitiful ' poverty of so much that one sees 9139- where strikes a pleasant contrast. In their festivals and solemn sacraments they make a parade and effect which have something of Indian gorgeous- ness about them. Above Samshui, on the southern bank. [saw a municipal procession winding in and out of the waving clumps of feathery bamboo that in the distance. at any rate, was a pretty moving picture. A band of musicians in scarlet garments led the way before a. whole army of tablet bearers. who proclaimed the virtues of dead. Above them floated the standard of the mandar- . ins. and in the centre was a huge, ser- pent made up in pantomimic fashion, of painted matting hung upon a ‘ framework supported by anu’mber of unseen "supers" who waggled and twisted in the orthodox way. Behind came priests and coolies and in the place of honour were mounted offici- als. with their red umbrellas of office I borne before them. At close quarters all this would have been tawdry enough, but, seen in the bright sun- light, with the background of red sandstone, fringed by the most grace- ful of tropical trees, it was not only curiousâ€"it was most beautiful. â€"â€".._â€" SUPERSTITIOUS WOMEN. â€"-1 They Place a Great Deal of Confidence In Dream . It (it can’t seem possible that in this enlightened age superstition could be rife among the educated, but there are nevertheless a number of young women who converse fluently if not eloquently in three languages, and who read Spencer and Browning and Emerson, but who place a dream- book with their Bible on the table beside the bed and consult it in the morning the first thing. “'ith a Credultity worthy a darky mummy if their sleep 1113 been visit- ed with unusual visions. they seize this volume as soon as: their eyes are fairly opened and look for an explana- tion. If misfortune is foretold by it, the sceker after knowledge assumes a “bravado she is far from feeling. “I don't care," she says, to her- self, by way of bolstering up her courage, “I‘m not superstitious anyâ€" way, and I don‘t believe in such ar- rant nonsense." But she's nervous just the same, for a couple of days, until other troubles have driven this mythical one out of her mind. 'l‘here’s one young woman known to the writer who never dream of a young child without shivering and sharking for days after, in fear of some dreadful thing hipponin-g to her. She has not consulted a dreambook on the subject. and so she doesn‘t know how infants and bad luck be- coamceted in her mind. bul, nevertheless, after she‘s had a visiâ€" tant of this sort while sleeping, she says prayers of unusual length and then makes up her mind to be pa- tient under afflictions sore. She's an intelligent woman, mind you, but uhe doesn‘t attempt to ex- plain the terror that bescts her at this particulir dream. She doesn’t cull herself superstiâ€" tious. of course no woan does. not even the one who won't walk under .t litider. but her friends do, and make llg'h‘; of her until she exposes some fet‘ich of theirs. when the subject is carefully avoided afterward. l l I I H ARITUTII} ULER ; line of sucz-ession. K. LORD FAIRFAX WORKS IN A NEW YORK BANK. Intends to ltcslurc :Iic Glories of Ills Houseâ€"finch ls Ilu‘ .lmhlllon of [he Young Noble-nan “’lm “'lshvs In Be- came a Hunk): “III: ’I Ills Object. work day morning at 9 o'clock a handsome young man. tall, erect and dressed in deep mourning, enters the. counting room of Brown Bros. 5L (‘0: at 59 \\'all St” New York, ind takes his position behind a desk. with a score of other clerks. In a. fnw minutes he is immersed in the business of the big firm. If this young man was a resident of Foot land, where his ancestors lived. he would be addressed as “your Lord- ship." In New York he is simply Mr. Fairfax. In reality he is the only Am.- ericzln citizen who can rightfully use tilde title of Lord. He is Albert Kir- by Fairfax. otherwise Baron Fairfax, of Cameron. to which title he suc« ceedcd upon the death of his father a few weeks ago. Young Lord Fairfax, who is the twelfth Baron, and is the oldest son of the late Baron John Coutell Fair- fax, of Northampton, Prince George County, ALL, was born in 1870. In :11» p-earance he is much younger. This may be in a measure due to hislight silken hair, which, with an unusual- ly plllitl complexion and deep bllus eyes, suggcst the Saxon. FAIRFAX UNMARRIED. Lord Fairfax is unmarried. His bro- ther, Charles Edmond, is the next in Like his father. the present Lord is unaffected and modest to a degree. He is plain in dress and quiet in manner. (He is’much like oth- er young men of his age and similar pursuit in life, save that his manner is unusually reserved, and in ‘his quiet dignity the real gentleman is ever apparent. How some young men with far ’more money than Lord Fair- fax would revel in his title and an- l‘? var y cclrtryl The Fairfax peerage dates from 16.7. It was Thomas. the sixth Bar- on of that line. who’left Scotland and settled in Virginia in 1739. He had inhtrited a tract of about 6,000,000 acres of land, called the Northern Neck, between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers. Upon this vast es- tate he erected two mansions. Beâ€" voir and Greenway Court. where he lived for years in state in true baron»- ial fashion. Northampton, the present home of the Fairfax family, is a tractl of land of about 700 acres, which the late Lord Fairfax purchased from. the den mendants of former Governor Sipriggs. of Maryland. The property was at one time a part of a tract owned by Lord Baltimore. AN OLD HOUSE. The old house on the plantation is over 150 (years old. In; it the present Lord Fairfax and his sisters and bro- thers. Sister Mary Cecilia, of New York; Mrs. 'I‘unstall Smith, of Balti- more; and two daughters who have never left their ancestral homeâ€" Carolina Snowden and Frances Mer- vin Fairfaxâ€"and his brother, Charles Edmond Fairfax. were born. It is a quaint old structure for a baronial home. It has a frontage of over 100 feet and is about 30 feet deep. with: a great wide hallway running through the middle. Surrounding this house are numerous others, barns and ser- vants' houses, while venerable trees and foliage shade the grounds for acres. There are many quaint relics in the possession of Ithe Fairfax family. Old heirlooms. family portraits of former lords and ladies of the house of Cam- eron, and some ancient pilte. Most of the family's valuable possessions, how- ever. are storel in New York in the care of the present head of the house. Young Lord Fairfax dOes not go into society to any extent. Many doors would be open to him, but he prefers the company of old acquaint- ances. His ambition is not to go to Eng- land and take [his seat in the House of Lords, to which he is entitled. but to become a banker and acquire. weal..h ..u_fficienlt to restore the glories of old Fairfax in the South. _.___.__. COOKING SULTAN‘S FOOD. The food for the Sultan of Turkey is cooked by one man and his assist- ants, and no others touch it. It is cooked in silver vessels, and when done, each kettle is sealed by a slip of paper, and a stamp and this is broken in the presence of the Sultan by the High Chamberlain, who takes one spoonful from each separate ket- tle before the Sultan tastes it. This is to guard against poison. The Sultan never uses a plate. He rare- ly uses a knife or forkâ€"a spoon. his bread, a pancake, or fingers are found far handier. It requires just twice as many slaves as there are courses to :erve a dinner Do him.