Weekly Mail

RURAL NOTES. By Mr. J. Muir, Margam Abbey, Glamorganshire. AffSWEItS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Unless in special cases, no replies will be sent to readers by post, but all inquiries will have prompt and careful attention under this heading, and we invite notes and questions on ALL i-ut-al gubiects. WATER LILY IN TANK.—"Nymphia."—I doubt that your tank is too small to grow water lilies, The foliage and flowers would never have room to develop. There is one very interesting aquatic pou might grow. It is named Ouvirandra Fene- st ral is." Its leaves are curiously perforated it attains a height of BiD, or lOin., and spreads out a little more. It will grow constantly submerged in a warm house, and its cultural requirements apart from these are very few indeed. I have no honey for sale, and I hear that good samples arc not very plentiful this season. DRY ROT IN TIMBER.—" Lancastrian'' (Herts.)— There is very little use in attempting to remedy the wood in your cellar that is failing from this cause. You had better renew the decayed part and try and secure better ventilation next time. Paint, varnish, or lime wash will prevent dry rot if applied to the timber when it is dry and jeasoned, and put on as often as it is required. VARIOUS.—" W. T. J."—Glad to hear from you, and pleased you enjoyed your visit to the Worcester Nursery so much. I agree with all the advice you received there, and think that the apples, &c., tamed would be sure to give you satisfaction. You should have the gooseberries in four varieties. This is none too many for them to succeed each ether. "Raby Castle is a better currant than II Wilmots." Bamforth'sj Seedling is a raspberry that would give you splendid crops. You should try it. The "Victoria plum would do very well with you as a standard. You should get a first-rate tree for 3s. 6d. The twig you enclose is from the Acer negundo variegata. It is a free growing and very effec- tive maple which should be very generally planted, as its silvery foliage is not only ornamentil on the treo, but excellent for cutting and mixing with choice cut flowers, WHFN TO GATHI E LORD SUFFIELD" Appr,Es.- W. T. Siuitti.-Tliis is not a long keeping apple. Its season of use is from early August until November. They generally b' gin to full off eirly in September-, and whenever a few of them drop it is a sign the crop i ready for gathering, and they should bo taken in. Be careful noL to injure them as they are tender fruit. They may easily be so much injured as to prevent them from keeping so longas they should. Many have noticed that this tree or variety of apple is the greatest success when the trees are young. The largest fruit are also pro- duced then, and I have noticed that it is also le,os fertile when getting up in years. NAME OF PLUMS.-T. Kell_r.-So. 1 "Victoria"; No. 2 Greengage No. 3 "Kirks." The fruit is undersized, but this is a common complaint this season with open air fruit. I presume the green- gage is from a wall tree? HO;!¡rOWL WITH COLD IN THE HEAD,- "Beginner" (Matlock).—All crested fowls are somewhllt Halll J to have cold in the head in wet seasons. Their top knots, when saturated, take a long time to dry-in fact, I have known them wet for days tog. tlier. It is this that makes them diffi- cult to keep from cold in a season like the present. A preventative is to keep them under cover when it nins, and give them a house free from draughts. Give warm food twice daily, especially in the morning. Dry ashes are much better than saw- dust for the floor of the fowl house, but chaff is better than either for amusing the fowls in scrotching. LARGE BEBT ROOT. T. W. J."—Four pounds is a great weight for beet root. It is too 1 irge and coarse. Little root*, about Illbs., or 21bs. at most, are the best. You will find the large onep, espe- cially after they have been stored for a few months, become very tough. Your best way would be to select the smallest at taking up time. Store these carefully, and give the large ones to the pigs. BLUE LoBELIA.-Miss Norton.—Your lobelia is of the Speciosa class. It is n very good blue, but not distinct from the variety named. As you desire to keep it true, you will require to propa- gate it by cuttings, which should be rooted at once. It is somewhat difficult to keep the old plants. CARROTS SPLITTING.—" Anxious."—It is the frequent change in the weather that cause' it. It is a general complaint this season that carrot crops are not good. As you think the whole of yours will be destroyed in this way if it continue?, you may save those that are still sound by lifting and storing them at once. Do not wash the soil off, but allow it to dry aud then brush it carefully away with the hand. Cut the bps off about one inch from the crown, and when dry store away in a cool shed or cellar in sand or ashes modei ately moiet. STRINGS ON STRAWBERRY PLANTS.—T. Richards. —What you term strings are generally known as runners. They, as you Eay. are emitted like string., and when ilioy run out a foct ormoie they form plants at the end. These deprive the main plant of much suppoit, and should consequently not be allowed to grow any length. Indeed, all strawberry plants, whether in pots or planted in the open ground, should be gone over once a week at this season with the object r.f removing all iupeifluous growths of this kind. This will strengthen the main plant considerably. COCKKRKL WITH HIGH TAIL.—" Intending Exhi- bitor" (Present)-.—This is no new feature. It is well known amongst fanciers as squirrel tailed, the remark applying to a fowl cockerel or pullet. when it carries its tail turned over its back. It is possible that if you examine it you will find th" btck is not quite right; but in any case a fowl with this peculiarity w ill rarely take a prize. Some judges might award it, but as a rule it would be passed or disqualified. You would, therefore, only throw your money away to enter it. I do not advise you to use such a bird for breeding. TOMATOES.—S. Richardson asks, "Are tomatoes classed as fruit or vegetable (" They are often cooked as a vegetable, and just as often used raw, not quite as a fruit, but as a salad. Generally speaking they are classed as a vpgetable, I have seen them exhibited in a collection of fruit, but do not approve of their being there. Their place is amongst vegetables. LARGE EGGS.—Mr. Crosbie corrects a mistake made in reference to his egg. It should have been 31oz., not 3;i(.z, BOOK ON HORSES.—P. Williams.—" Horses: How to Bieed, Rear, and Keep in Health and Sickness," will suit you price Is. Publishers Dean and Son, 160a, Fleet-street, London. THE SWEET-SCENTED TOBACCO —" M. M." (Rain- hill, rear Prescot).—You will be able to buy p'ants or seed ciicaply from any of the Liverpool nur- serymen, such as Messrs. Carr, or the IIol ticultural Company, Garston. DISEASED POTATOES.—Thomas Chapman,—The tubers you send are affected by the ordinary disease. There is really no cure for it, and tho weather of late has been greatly in its favour. NAMU OF DAHLIA.—"New Grower."—The variety is Mra. Langtry," one of the best for exhibition. THE WEATHER AND VEGETATION. Of late the weather has been most ungenial. The fpre part of the summer was better than the corresponding period of last year, but July and Augnst especially have been worse than those months in 1890. It is undoubtedly a disastrous season for all who have to pro- duce crops of vegetation. The daily rain and depressing lack of sunshine have made terrible havoo with May crops. Hay is a failure. It was not very plentiful at its best, but if it had been secured in good oondition the quality would have compensated for this, but now there is neither quantity nor quality. It is the worst hay harvest experienced for many years. Very little, indeed, will be per- fect in quality. The price is sure to be very high in the winter. All with a good sample in hand should, therefore, retain it a little while longer. Grain crops generally have attained their usual height in straw, and the heads of grain appear luxuriant, but very little of it is so heavy as it usually is m & hot summer, and the quality is ^n^eri°^; r • applies to it when standing. What it may be when cut down and put in the rickyard it is difficult to say. I fear that it will be of the most inferior de- goriptioa. and much of it already merits this i¡¡, term. Turnips and mangolds are highly promising, although a superabundance of top growth may be found on many. The potato disease is spreading rapidly, but this impor- tant orop is certainly very much superior to what it was in 1890. Then disease was very oommon before the tubers had attained any great size, but the bulk of them are full grown now. Second crops of clover have made extraordmary growth, and nothing short of the best summer weather will enable those who own to get it in in good conditions. Should the weather not be in favour of this it ought to be grazed. Grass generally is very watery, and stock is not gaining so much as was expected. In short, everything indicates that the season will prove one of the worst on record. Vege- tables are very poor in quality and deficient in flavour. Late peas do not fill. Broad beans to pod now have failed. Maggots are becoming troublesome in the carrots. Apples and pears are small, and do not ripen, and flowers laok their usual fragrance and brightness. Many are waiting on week after week for good weather which does net come, and, when the result of the crops of 1391 is published, the yield generally will be found much more deficient than is generally supposed at present. GERANIUMS FOR FLOWERING IN WINTRR. There are very few plants capable of making such a splendid display of showy flowers in winter as geraniums when specially grown to bloom at that season. They will produce quite as many large trusses in December as July. They are equally bright and they remain longer perfect in December than in the warmer months of summer. This applies to plants grown for glass houses, but I feel quite sure that they would also grow and flower equally well in windows if pre- pared for it. The chief point in this is to grow the plants into dwarf robust specimens during the summer, and never allow them to bloom, the object being to secure strong healthy wood, well ripened, by the end of September. Such plants do not want to be grown in a glass-house in summer, as this would make them tender for winter, but if grown in the open air or merely protected from rough weather until the end of this month, their being moved under glass will cause them to grow luxuriantly and produce flowers in a surprising manner. Care ahould be taken at present that the plants do not run out into two or three long shoots, and worms must be prevented from entering the pots. Do not let them crowd on each other, and let the sun shine fully on them all during Sep- tember. PROPAGATING FLOWER-BED GERANIUMS. Amateurs with a few flower-beds generally plant a quantity of geraniums in them in summer. In many cases the same plants are kept on from year to year, and no attempt is made to propagate young ones. This is a mistake. Young plants are easiest to keep over the winter. They may be stored closely, and are more robust than the old ones. They are also more useful in summer, especially the first summer, as they are very dwarf and become very showy plants. All should, therefore, propagate a quantity of young plants every autumn, and no time should now be lost in getting the cuttings in to root. The plants have not flowered freely this season, but they have made ample wood, and there is no scaroity of cuttings. In taking the cuttings off, some are afraid that they cut the main shoots, and thereby dis- figure the plant, but the beauties of the plants will soon be over, and the securing of the cuttings should now be the first con- sideration. The little side shoots that have been partially grow ing in the shade of the others do not make good cuttings. They are too tender. The main points or any shoot that is fully exposed and hardy are most suitable. Several of these may always be secured from each plant without spoiling the beauty of it. In fact, many of the old plants are so much overgrown at present that it will improve them to take the cuttings off, Cuttings about 4in. in length are very suitable. They should not be longer than this. Pick off the blooms or buds, cut the bottom straight through under a pair of leaves, remove the leaves close in to the stem, and the cutting is made. How AND WHERE TO ROOT THEM. They root best in sandy soil. The compost may be composed of three parts loam, one quarter of leaf soil or half decayed manure, and the other part sand. A very rich mix- ture is not desirable, as it makes the cuttings grow too much at first, and they are apt to suffer before the winter is over. Three or four cuttings may be inserted in a three inch pot, or from eight to ten in a three inoh pot. Shallow boxes may also be filled with them, putting the cuttings in at a distance of two inches apart. I root and winter some thousands in boxes annually. The cutting should be inserted in the soil to a depth of about liIl" and the soil must be made very firm round each one, as this induces them to root sooner and more freely. It is important that the young plants should be very hardy in enter- ing the winter, and they should be placed in the open air in the full sunshine from the time they are put in until frost comes or, at least, until the middle of October. They will then be very hardy, and not liable to be easily injured in winter. So long as they are kept from too much damp and frost they will do very well in a glass house, frame, or room. LARGE EGGS. Mr. D. Fowler, Fenton Estate, Halifax, writes respecting large eggs "I have frequently collected large eggs. One day litely, amongst others, I had two which together weighed Snz.-one was rather It si than 4"z, and the other slightly more. I have had plenty from 3 £ oz. to 3ioz. I might have had a caso full of them, but always used them for culinary purposes. My f"wls are Audnlusians and Minorca! LARGE EGG FROM PLYMOUTH HOCK. Mr. J. W. Crowther, Grosvenor-buildings, Raventhorpe, via Kormanton, writes:— I have a Plymouth Rook hen that lays large eggs. I had five eggs during last month. Two were 3oz. each, one 3§r.z., one 4oz, and one 3oz. Her usual eggs weigh from 2$r,z. to 2f- z. The lien weighs SJJlb." LIQUID MANURE IN WET WEATHER. It is quite right that many plants intended for winter blooming should be given stimu- j lants in autumn to develop the wood and buds fully, but in very wet weather it j is often difficult to give liquid without doing much harm, as the plants do not require muoh artificial watering then. In fact, many spoil what would be good plants by over watering or watering them when the soil was already over wet. It is very much better to apply the stimulant in the form of sol id manure, such as cow or horse droppings, or guano and such like. If any of these are put on the surface of the soil in small quantities and allowed to be washed in by the rain, they will prove much more beneficial in wet weather than applications of liquid. PLUMS. In his recent remarks on fruit oulture Mr. A. Pettigrew observed that "The plum, like most of the stone fruits, is subject to the attacks of aphides, red spider, noneydew, mildew, gum, and canker. The aphides •hi?6 show themselves first on the points of vi2or°us slioota, which they cause to thn are observed the points of ZAJI nipped off to keep the blight preadmg over the tree, except io case of the main shoots of wall trees, when the affected leaves only hould bo picked off. Syringing the trees with soap suds and tobacco water keeps them in check, but once the trees are badly affected-as they are in some places this season- it is not easy to get rid of them by any means. Honeydew is the effect of the npllides' atlacks, Red spider is difficult to master in dry seasons, and some districts are worse for it than other?. All kinds of deciduous trees are subject to it in warm, close, confined situations like the castle gardens here. If once they get a strong footing it is almost impossible to eradicate them. Mildew may be destroyed by sulphur in some for:11 or other. Girn and canker cause the leaves of tho affected trees to silver and the branches to die baclr. When such is the case, I know of no remedy exc-pt taking the trees out and planting young ones in their plice. There are many varieties of plums to choose from, both culinary and dessert. The follow- ing are what are chiefly grown in the castle gardens :—Victoria, Dermiston's Superb, Nectarine, Prince Engdhart, Bryanston Gage. Transparent. Gage, Kirk's Purple, and Coe's Golden Drop." MARGUERITKS FOR WINTER. The ordinary marguerites, so often seen in flower in window-boxes and flower-beds in summer, may be grown to bloom in winter, and they are exceedingly valuable flowers at that time. Old plants that have been flowering all the summer will not con- tinue to do so in winter, but if some of the youngest are selected and the whole of the flowers cut off and kept off until November or December, healthy young shoots will be formed by that time that will produce flowers in the shortest days in a greenhouse or warm pit. I find plants in 6in. pots are the bent. They should be restricted early in their growth that they may be dwarf at the time of flowering. If September should be a genial month, these plants may be kept in the open air. EEL FISHING. "Ulverstone" writes:— I am now sending you remark3 on this, iilifeb, I hop?, wiil bo of use to your readers. The material used for threading the worms on is ordi- nary worsted. This material should be abmt two and a half yards in length and double, to make a good bunch. To string the worms I use an old darning-needle with the point ground off, or an old umbrella rib with the eye in the end ot it. The largest worms obtainable must be used. Some people have an idea that they cannot catch eels without l ooks, but such is not the case, as they get their teeth and gills ttst in the worsted, and they cannot get off until you take them out of the water; but you have to pull out very quick, and if they arc plentiful you may get three or four at one pull. As sou as you find. them biting let them give one or two good pullg, then draw your line out. You must keep the Icd in your hand all the time the but is in the water. In at:aching the line to the worsted, let there be a short, end hanging down, and to this a sinkfi- should be tied. Tiiis plau of catchiug eels is a most successful one."

Alice's Flirtation. Do you mean it, Alice ? asked John Mantel, as he took the ring she held towards him. "Certainly," she answered, or I would not return it." Think well before you act, and don't do anything rash. Remember this is a serious matter," urged John. 1 have thought, and I don't regard it as the least bit serious. I am simply tired of b ing continually accused of flirting by you, and don't intend to tolerate it any longer. You should remember that I have other gen- tlemen friends who have as good a right to pay me attention as you, and the fact that we were engaged does not in my mind give you the right to interfere in the matter." But, Alice, you certainly know it is not right for you to go riding with Tom Morgan when you are engaged to me." "I know that you are the only* one who seems to think so, and I know, too, that I am tired of our engagement. So take your ring, Mr. Mantel, and remember that in future we can only be friends. You are at liberty to get another girl, who may possibly be silly enough to listen to your absurd requests." As he heard these words an angry excla- mation struggled for utterance, but he sup- pressed it. They were standing under the old willow t ee down by the gate, where three months previous he had asked the girl to his wife, had received her consent and slipped the ring on her finger. After this events had progressed smoothly between them until Tom Morgan came up in the country to spend his vacation. lie was a nephew of Mrs. Brown, who was a parti- cular friend of Alice's mother, and the girl first made his acquaintance at that lady's house. He made himself very entertaining, and she was so well pleased with him that when he asked her to go riding with him she did not refuse. After this they were often seen together, and, as Mrs. Brown declared, it was astonishing what a passion for riding Tommy" had suddenly developed. John Mantel noticed all this, but did not attach any importance to it until Alice's name began to be frequently mentioned in connection with Mr. Morgan. Then he concluded it was quite time for him to inter- fere. The girl, however, only laughed lightly, and told him she did not mind what people said so long as she enjoyed herself. When he informed her that he was not pleased with it himself she laughed again and accused him of jealousy. So matters progressed in this manner, much to John's dissatisfaction, until patience ceased to be a virtue, and he determined to remon- strate again with her, and tell her that he could tolerate it no longer. He did so with the result above recorded. Then you consider my request in the present case absurd? asked John. I certainly do," she answered and if you understood yourself you wouldn't talk to me in that way. Mr. Morgan is a perfect gentleman, and I intend to go riding with him whenever i choose to do so." Under those oircumstances, I don't see that anything can be gained by prolonging the interview. But am I to understand that you deliberately break our engagement ?" H Mr. Mantel," she haughtily replied, you are to understand just whatever you choose, I assure you." Then you are not the woman I took you to be," said John, losing his temper at last, and I am glad to discover the faot in time. As for the ring, to keep it would only remind me of that which I now hope I shall soon forget; so I will bury it, together with the love I bore you, out of my sight;" and drop- ping the ring upon the soft earth he plaoed his heel upon it and crushed it from view. Then, lifting his hat haughtily, he strode rapidly away. For a moment she was tempted to call him back and acknowledge her fault, but pride asserted itself and her lips were sealed. If Let him go," she said, mentally. "I'll show him that I can get along very well without him." She watched him recede till he was far up the road, but he did not once look back, She was about returning to the house when the sound of an approaching vehiole attracted her attention. Looking up she beheld Tom Morgan driving rapidly towards her. 11 Good morning, Miss Wentworth," he called out, as he drew rein in front of the gate. May I have the pleasure of your company for a short drive. It's such a lovely day that a carriage ride will be delightful." I don't obiect," she answered if you'll exouse me 1 11 be ready jU 9 few minutes," She returned to the house, but shortly ap- peared again equipped for the ride, and they were soon whirling away up the road. Far ahead the girl could see the tall form of John Mantel striding along, and she smiled as she realised that in a few minutes they would pass him. This will show him how little I care," she thought. Presently they were close upon him, and, heaving the carriage approach, John looked around to see Alice gazing upon him with laughing eyes. Tie quickly turned his gaze away, and stepped to one side while the buggy rolled past. A bitter exclamation sprang to his lips, but he forced it back, and smiling sarcasti- cally, continued his way. Meanwhile Alice and Morgan rode on, and the girl soon forgot her recent quarrel with John Mantel. They spent a pleasant two hours in driving and returned in time for dinner. The next day Morgan failed to appear as usual, and Alice wondered at his absence. Towards evening she went over to Mrs. Brown's, and when in the course of conver- sation that lady informed her that "Tommy" had returned to the city she was very much surprised and considerably vexed. Isn't his departure rather sudden P" she asked. Well, no. He is to be married this month, you know, and, as his vacation is now over, he returned this morning to make preparations for the wedding. He told me to tell you that he was sorry he couldn't see you again, and that I should bid you good-by for him." "Very kind of him, I'm sure," said the girl, but even as she uttered the words tears of vexation and disappointment came into her eyes. She did not prolong her visit. Her pride bad been sadly outraged by Morgan's treat- ment of her, and she felt the humiliation keenly. I've been a wretched fool." she said, and when she reached the privacy of her room her feelings found relief in a copious flood of tears. If John Mantel could have seen her then he would have beheld a very unhappy girl. What a fool I was to quarrel with John," she sobbed. He'll never forgive me." At last she thought of the ring he had crushed into the earth, and hastily drying her eyes, she went down to the gitte to secure it. She bad no difficulty in removing the earth with a sharp stick, and in a few minutes she held the treasure in her hand, battered and soiled. Sighing wearily, she returned to the house. The days now passed dreamily enough for Alice. She did not mingle much in society, and her friends wondered at. the sudden change, but when they heard that Tom Morgan had returned to the city and was about to be married to a young lady there, they concluded that this was the cause of her recent strange conduct. Occasionally she encountered John Mantel, but he would only bow coldly and pass on. In this way the days went by until summer had gone and fall was at hand. Of late Alice had fallen into the habit of taking long strolls through the woods some distance from her home, and one dav in the early part of September found her indulging in one of these solitary rambles. This time she wandered further than usual, and when she turned to retrace her steps she was startled to see how deep into the forest she had pene- trated. My gracious she ejaculated, in alarm. I must hurry back at once." At the same instant a great noise in the bushes caused her to look up, and her heart almost ceased beatting at the sight she beheld. There, not more than fifty yards off, and coming straight towards her, was a large bloodhound. The fierce glitter of his eves and the froth dropping from his horrible jaws told the girl that the brute was mad. She realised that escape was impossible, and made no attempt to retreat. On came the bound, his great bounds carrying him rapidly toward the helpless girl, and soon he was close upon her. She saw the greenish glitter in his blood-shot eySr the long, sharp teeth revealed to the gums, and with a scream of terror closed her eyes on the horrible sight. But just at this critical moment the sharp report of a rifle rang through the woods, and she opened her eyes again to see the hound, with one mighty leap, fall dead at her feet. With a glad cry she turned to see who her preserver was, and beheld the tall form of John Mantel, rifle in hand, walking towards her. Ob, John! she cried, extending her hands, and as Mantel, seeing what was about to occur, dropped his gun and sprang forward, he was just in time to catch her as she fell fainting into his arms. It was some time before she regained con- sciousness, but when she at last looked up he said li I regret that you Inve had such a fright, Miss Wentworth, and it was fortunate that I happened to be near at the time. The danger is over now, however, and if you are strong enough to walk I'll aocompany you to within a safe distance of home. So they started on, the girl leaning upon his arm. Then suddenly she startled him by bursting into tears, Well, what's the matter now ?" he asked, helplessly. She looked up at him as she answered— You never intend to forgive me for the way I treated you, do you?" That settled it. The sight of her pretty face looking so sadly up into his caused John to forget and forgive all, and as he folded her in his arms and her head sank upon his breast- But what's the use of writing any more?— E. B. Youmans.

The death is announced of Edmond O'Mulloy of Emly, County Tipperary, aged 106 years. The London correspondent of the Freeman's Journal says that Captain O'Shea is soon to be married to an English lady. At Glasgow on Saturday William Grant, aged 32, was remitted to the High Sheriff's Court, charged with embezzling JM78 from the City of Glasgow Loan Bank, Candleriggs, Glasgow. The police state that bis defalcations, when all is known, will amount to £ 1,000. Grant bad been in the bank for fifteen years. The two Metropolitan police-constables who gave evidence at the Thames Police-court a few days ago against a woman who was proved to have been falsely accused have been dismissed the force by order of Sir E. Bradford, Chief Commis- pioner, for giving untruthful evidence. The British steamer Elbruez has arrived at Antwerp having on board Captain Andrews, of the miniature American boat the Sea Serpent, in which he attempted to race Captain Lawlor, of the Mermaid, another equally small craft, from Boston to England. Captain Andrews was picked up in mid-ocean in a terribly exhausted condition and was glad to abandon the contest. A painful feeling was created in Redhill on Friday evening by the rumour that Mr. Walter Blandford Wateilow, of High Trees, had been found dead at his residence under circumstances which left no doubt that he had taken his own life, there being a revolver beside him, with three barrels recently discharged. The deceased gentle- man, who filled the office of high sheriff of Surrey during the Jubilee year, was extremely popular in the county as a public man, and was a brother to Sir Sidney Waterlow.

THE Editor of the Medical Annual after a care- ful examination of CADBURY'S COCOA, pronounces it to 1,^ a and a beverage the bigheit jf

The Golden Age. HOW TO LIVE FOR EVER. Thomas Lake Harris's Revelation. Mr. Harris must certainly be a man of most un- usual courage or he would hardly have ventured, after all that has lately been sail about him by Mrs. Oliphant and other, to publiiii 'I l,e Brother- hood of the New Life." For yeirs (say3 the St. James's Gazette) he has claimed to rank with the seers of old as an inspired teacher in this latest pamphlet, however, lie goes further he announces calmly, quietly, as if it were the most natural thing in tha worlJ, that he possesses a power more wonderful than ever human being possessed before. TIIE CHOSEN INSTRUMENT OF INVISIBLE POWERS. For nearly 50 years Mr. Harris maintains that he has ben in close relation with the spiritull world. Voices have echoed round him, guiding, directing, and inspiring him, and bringing homo to him I" some mysterious fashion the fact that he is the chosen instrument of invisible powets. Once convinced of the reality of hi3 mis- sion, his only anxiety was to fit himself for the right discharge of its duties. To what special for, of di~cu>lir.e he subjected himself we are not informed; but we are given to undertnd that it was one involving strenuous exertion, mental as well as physical, abstinence, and self- sacrifice. In grim earnest I have grappled with the fi-rc problem of human life." But cv, n at this time the voices did not leave him wiLLout solace. THE NEW HARMONIC CIVILISATION. "Fir nearly half a century," he says, "I have been dreaming a lovely dream of the New Har- monic Civilisation; of the ending of all feuds, the vanishment of all diseases, tho abolishment of all antagonisms, tho removal of nil squalors and poverties, in a fulfilled Christian era." It was being slowly borne in upon his mind that the golden age-Lhe real golden this time—was at hand; for I- the solidest and most enduring ot organisations first float before tho wutld's thought as picLured imagination?." It was this vision that ixcited Mr. Uarris to begin his straggle, as it were, with death. Tho thought that lie too must die just when he was begin- ning to live," and thus miss the good time that is coming, seems to have sorely afflicted Mr. Harris; and ho straightway began to ask whether de th were ii.deed inevitable —whether he him-elf might not funi as >!utton for that problem which iu ail a^c* has puzzled tho brains of philosophers. DEATH NOT INEVITABLE. It waq of no vulg,r Elixir of Life he dreamed, but rittli, r of some spiritual agency by which men might free themselves from the degradation their own wickedness ha l brought upon them and from •' the ouiou3 obsequiousness to nature it involved. Death is the result of evil; with porfect purity, therefore, there must be !if To supplement, as it. were, the teaching of the voices, Mr. Harris turned his attention to the study of science and of the writing of the early philosophers. Suir »unded by a bind of devoted disciples—Laurence OliphanO was one of them-who followed his work with iutensi interest, he devoted himself for years heart and soul to the task of investigating the source of life. THG: SOURCE OF LIFE. He arrived at the conclusion that" Then are two chief currents of vital force that operate through the human mind and its organism for the evolutionary advance. The first and it,in,,cstretial flows through scientific invention f)r the con- quet and reclamation of nature, and for the adap. tation of its immense productive forces to the human service. But there is in evolution a correlative current, which is dominant aud supremo. Pythagoras apprehended its existence and defined it as operating by laws of rhythmic harmony in the universe and in the constitution of man. It is implied, though but hinted at, in tho remains of literature, surviving from the great and creative epochs of As:an, Hebrew, and Grecian history." TWO KINDS OF BREATHING. He goes on :—" The estranged nnd carnally sub- jected mankind breathe bodily away from Gol,tila source nnd centre of existence till each nerve-tissue of man's frame is infested and led captivo in the coilage of the universal evil. Men who wish to live must learn to breathe towards the centre of liie." This is what Mr. Harris has done. With lie says," the breath is two-fold besides the usual breathing from and into Nature is an organic action of breathing from and into the Adorable Fount and Spirit of exis- tence. First realised as by a new birth of the breathing system a breat.h of new intellectual and sacrcdly cherished as a gift of God, has advanced, till at present each organ of the frame respires in breathing rhythms, making of the body one con- scious form of unified intellectual and physical harmony; the i-pirit, the real or higher self, is absorbing the lowly natureluoci, yet meanwhile nourishing it with the rich and vital elemen's of a loftier realm of being." THE ALLEGED MTSTERY OF LIFE. Having obtained this twofold breathing power, the next thing to bj done was to^r.:srrve it, fir the benefit of humanity, of course:—" For the list thirty years my efforts have been concentrated to s?ti,v;ve. Whilst cul ivating an intense interest, both in the individual and public welfare, the maintenance of the broath is our fin-t duty- We were often obliged, if wo would pre- servo life, to maintain among ouisolves as. rict seclusion. Thus the alleged my^tety of my life, when understood, is as simple as that of George Fox or of Thomas Edison." Three years ago Mr. Harris retired to a mountain reticaf« bent upon turning his discovery—i.e., the new respiration, to account; or, as he puts it, of solving the problem:— RENEWING HIS YOUTH. How, in a word, without passing through physical decease, shall man practically embody and realise the resurrection ? t I had elaborated the science of the process I now appl'c" that process to a final test in my own organs. The alternative was success or dissolution. Success came as suddenly, as pleasantly, as when a deep-laden fltorm-toed ship glides over the harbour-bar from the raging outside sea and swings at ease in a land-locked haven. The final cord of the rhythmic law, that operate for the renaissance of the human system and its senses from nge to youth, was not touched till the early days of the Jggt autumn, and not until naf own bodily structure4,were reduced to an appear. ance of frail, emaciated, and perishing age.. Within a week after finding the touch of the last rhythmic chord. the bent form stood up* right; flesh grew upon the bones; the dim eyes found their sparkle; every bodily sense awoke reinvigorated; the fountains of the blood seemed to flow « vertical motion, rounding in each recuporativerorr-n to one grand conscious- ness of bodily grandeur, freedom, and, in a sense, of corporate immortality. I have passed through December. I am in Maytime. No more an old man of nigh 70, but now renewed in more than the physical and mental prowess of tbO early prime, my retirement is at an end." THE COMING INHERITANCE OF iLi. It must not be thought that Mr. £ U £ cis intends to conceal his discovery and allow all-aimund hits to die whilst he lives on for ever. "Tho gifb that I hold," he says," is the coming inheritance of all- Man to receive the gift tnujb first accept the common burden and sorrow;, and service of mankind." Already under hiff'gspiance men and women of heart, of thought, of^nnmane principle realise this new breath and draw by vital and organic sympathies into the relations of Coca• munion in the Now Life. We shall soon begin to see our noblest, most beroici most humane men and. women, without* respect to the previous religious or social culture, lifting up, breathing forth corporally in a firstness of the neurEectioa." Bven to-dsf Mr. Harris counts amongst his followers, he tells us, "eminent divines of tea Church of Englandf and of the orthodox and liberal denomination* authors and profesaional men of well known diK* tinction, learned Oriental scholars "-a If harol* nucleus," in fact, who are p'aving the way for the Golden Age.