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[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] LUCK AT THE DIAMOND FIELDS. r BY DALRYMPLE J. BELGRAVE (BAEIUSTER-AT-LAW). A TALE OF THE JKIMBERLEY I COACH. CHAPTER I. I THE coach to the Diamond Fields was just starting from the Beaufort West railway-station, and the passengers who were destined to travel over hundredi of miles of burnt up veldt together, to be jolted over water-courses, choked in dust-storms, and suffer the many discomforts and annoyances of South African travel in each other's society, were eyeing one another distrustfully. The feeling uppermost in the minds of several of them was that they were very likely to become not a little tired of one another before they reached the iron town of Kimberley. With one or two exceptions they were old residents on the Diamond Fields, returning after a trip home to Europe or to the Colony, and therefore they knew each other very well, at least by sight. Their acquaint- anceship as a rule made them look forward with all the more distaste to the idea of spending some days in the same coach. There were ten passengere, and Kate Gray, a soft, refined-looking English girl who was travelling by herself, and whose black dress suggested that she was equally alone in her journey through life, shrunk into the corner of the coach with a half shudder, and thought that her fellow-passengers were a singularly unprepossessing lot. She had tried to make light in anticipation of the annoyances in store for her; but now they were forced upon her, and she felt uncom- fortable and out of heart. She had lived for two years in South Africa, and though she had had great sorrow, none of those rougher experiences of colonial life had come in her way which it now seemed likely enough that she was destined soon to meet with. She was the daughter of a retired army officer, who, believing much in his business capacity and power to make money, had put his all when he left the army into an ostrich farm in the Cape Colony, and had taken his daughter out with him. Their life had been a pleasant one enough for some time. The farm was a pretty place. They were not very far off Capetown, and they had pleasant neighbours within reach. Unfortunately the farm was not suited to ostriches. The wretched birds refused to thrive and increase. They showed a wayward ingenuity in hunting poisonous plants and shrubs, on which they succeeded in committing suicide. Colonel Gray, when his birds died, borrowed money and bought more; then they died, and be bought sheep, which did the same. Then he died himself-more of sheep and ostriches than anything else; and after his death it was found out that he had lived long enough to ruin himself, and to leave his daughter without a penny. She at first thought of going home, but the long list of girls placed as she was, who advertised their willingness to teach, or act as companion only for a home, made her think that she was fortunate to be out of England. Then she heard of some Cape Dutch people up country near the Diamond Fields who wanted an English governess, and she took the place. She was plucky and capable, as well-bred English women are as a rule, and she had determined to think little about the discomfort of the journey, but as she noticed one of her fellow-passengers, a peculiarly aggressive specimen of the Diamond Field Jew, trying to stare her cut of countenance, with an impudent leer of admiration in his coarse face, she realised that her position was an unpleasant one. This gentleman was gather a well-known character at Kimberley-a cer- tain Mr. Joe Aarons, who had bought many stolen diamonds during his sojourn on the Fields, and was represented to be very rich and prosperous. Unfor- tunately for his fellow-travellers, Mr. Aarons, in the circle in which he moved, was considered a neat humorist, and already he had made one or two re- marks which gave his audience a foretaste of the com- fort he would likely ba to them. Two meaner Jews, men of the Aaron type, but less distinguished characters, appeared to be highly delighted at Joe's wit; and so was the only other representative of the fair sex, a lady known on the Diamond Fields, where she kept a canteen, as Mother Hemp-the prefix being added to her name rather in a spirit of sarcasm than affection. Probably this good lady had realised that it was quite useless to expect the arts of her toilet to withstand the strain of a coach-journey of almost a week, so she had not even taken the trouble to start fair, and already the coating of paint and powder was cracking and curling away from her yellow old cheeks, which looked curiously shrunk. Also to be more comfortable on the journey she had packed away her false teeth. The rest of the company, however, looked upon Mr. Aarons with anything but favour. A big, important-looking man, Mr. Bowker, the great Kimberley claim-owner, who was just returning from the Cape House of Assembly, felt somewhat disgusted at the idea of having to travel up to the Fields in the company of Mr. Aaions. He bad per- haps had in his time a little more to do with that person than he would like every one to know, and he was afraid that he might become too familiar on the journey. Then there was a young gentleman who was going to practise in the High Court of Kimber- ley, and who having had the advantage of three years of home education, was horribly disgusted with the land of his birth to which he had returned, and lost no opportunity of railing at all things con- nected with Africa. A colonial attorney, on his return from a trip home as he called it-though in England he was strangely abroad—made up the aris- tocratic element. The two other passengers were river diggers, partners, and in a way great friends, though men of somewhat different character, and curiously unlike experience. One of them, Jim Brawnston by name, was as good a specimen as one might wish to meet with of the South African born Anglo-Saxon a brawny giant, of about twenty-eight, with a bushy beard, a pleasant honest look in his light blue eyes, and a laugh like a lion's roar. In his time he had followed most of the callings which are open to a Cape colonist who has a disposition to rove about rather than to settle down anywhere. He -had been a digger when the Diamond Fields first broke out, then had gone a trading trip up country, then had taken a turn at transport riding, and had for a time returned to his old business, and become a digger on the banks of the Vaal. Kate thought, as she caught a glance of the face of the other, a man some half dozen years older than his companion, that he was the most interesting of her fellow-travellers. Though his get-up was rough enough—he wore a flannel shirt, a pair of Bedford cord trousers, and an old shooting coat, which, though an expert would recognise it as having been the work of a good maker, was curiously faded and worn-Kate felt certain that he was an English gen- tleman. And there was an expression in his tanned face and sad-looking eyes-eyes which seemed -to tell that he had had in his time a good deal of trouble—which made her feel that his presence in the coach would make the journey less distasteful to her. He was listeniug with an expression of grave amusement to the two limbs of the law as they swaggered about England, what they had done when they wt home, where they had been, and whom they had known. His expression altered te one of anger and disgust when he caught some of Aarons' conversation, and noticed how horrified and frightened Kate looked. Surely she can't be travelling with that old hag," he thought to himself, as he looked at Mrs. Hemp. "And are you going up to the Fields, my dear?" said that lady to Kate, with a sham smile on her evil old face. We two ladies and all these gentlemen; well, we must look after each other, and keep them in their right place." I am in my right place sitting next to you, ain't I, miss ?" said Aarons, with a look of insolent admira- tion, which made her feel extremly uncomfortable. Jim Brawnston had always found tha* his partner George Darrell avoided woman's society, and seemed to have a deep-rooted dislike to the sex, but to his surprise on this occasion he interfered. I think you had r change places with me, you will be more comfortable," he said to Kate, with a look at Aarons which expressed a good deal. The latter seemed to be considerably surprised. Sit where you are, my dear," he said you're in very good company where you are, and I'll look after you." However, the young lady changed places with- out paying any attention to him, and as they settled themselves down, there was a crack of the whip and a yell from the driver, and the horses started off at a gallop. Darrell took his seat next to Aarons, and after he had settled himself down, he turned round to his neighbour. You hound, if you open your lips to speak to that lady I will throw you out of the coach," ho whispered to him. The Jew replied, with a choice collection of bad language, that he would talk to whom he pleased. Who are you, with your damned side ? I dare say you 'aven't got a couple of pound in the pocket, of your ragged coat; who the—" Joe said, and then pulled up and stopped-there was somsthing in the other's expression he didn't like. Darrell bad no more to say to him, but leaned back in his seat and smoked his pipe. He wondered whether or no he had not made a fool of himself in interfering. Well, it would have annoyed him all the journey to have seen her sitting near that greasy-looking brute of a Jew, he thought to himself; she seemed a good deal happier sitting next to Jim Brawnston, and talking to him brightly enough. The woman didn't live who would not be perfectly reassured by that kindly giant's honest face. It was a pretty face enough, Darrell thought it reminded him of days long past before he left all he cared for behind, and became the hopeless wanderer he was now. She looks as if she has had a good deal of trouble; what can she be going up to the Diamond Fields by herself for ? If she had people there they ought to look after her better than that," he thought. As he looked at her, another face rose up before his memory, which had once intoxicated him by its beauty till he threw his life away for it-the face of the woman in England who called herself by his name, and had a right to do so. He had seen no refined woman for years, and there was something in Kate's face which brought old memories back. Yes, he had }de a mess of it and spoilt his life—that was the burthen of his thoughts as the coach made its way across the sandy veldt, and the sun got up and scorched them, and the dust-clouds gathered together and choked them, and the stones on the road threw them up and down till all their bones ached. "Well, I do declare he ain't much company; seems mighty proud, and I dare say he ain't got a penny to spend. I knows his sort, and don't like 'em," said Mrs. Hemp to Mr. Aarons, after she had addressed several remarks to Darrell and got no answer. Joe Aarons scowled at Darrell and made no reply. When his interests were not at stake he seldom felt very keenly about anything, but he did long to pay the other out for the treatment he had received from him, and for supposing that he, Mr. Aarons, the well- known Kimberley diamond buyer, who was worth his fifty thousand pounds, insulted a girl who was travelling up by herself and couldn't be of much account, by talking to her. He felt mad with anger as he looked at him. How he would like to pound in that face which had borne a look of such unaffected contempt for him, and hear that cold insolent voice cry out for mercy I Darrell paid little attention to him, and sat gloomily wrapt in his own thoughts. Mrs. Hemp addressed various remarks to him which he did not listen to. The English girl in the front seat talked to Jim Brawnston. Queer tastes that girl must have," Aarons thought to himself; talks to that digger chap who's as rough as they make 'em, and looks at me when I say a word to her as if I were dirt," and he looked at the diamond ringa on his coarse dirty hands, and wondered at that to him unknown specimen of humanity, the English gentlewoman. Some hours after sunset the coach drew up at one of those squalid roadside canteens which in South Africa are dignified by the name of hotels. The days one spends in South African travel are bad enough, but the nights at the worst of all bad inna are fat more wretched. A blanket in the open air under the marvellous star-lit Southern sky is something to look back to with pleasure, though the chill half hour before daybreak is not so very pleasant at the time. But those hotel bedrooms are things to shudder at, not to see; they open up to one's mind new possibi- lities of dirtiness. Then there is the evil-smelling dining-room, where the table has a historic cloth supposed once to have been white, which bears the grease and stains of long-forgotten meals, wirch generally consist of lumps of mutton and hard poached eggs served on the same plate. If the master of the house is a Dutchman, he will most likely be full of dull, brutish insolence; if he is aa Englishman, he probably will be drunk. The wait- ress will be a filthy Hottentot woman; while as one eats in the inner rooms one will hear noisy natives getting drunk off Cape smoke just outside. It was at such a place as this that the coach stopped for the night, and discharged its passengers for a few hours' enjoyment of the accommodation it afforded. A meal had been served, and those passengers who were able to secure beds had retired for the night. Darrell was smoking and reading by the dim light of a flickering oil lamp in the living-room. Jim Brawnston was stretched upon the floor in a sleep from which he would not easily wake. The Jews were listlessly fingering a dirty pack of cards; nobody had cared to play with them, and they had not thought it worth while to play with one another; while the landlord, who was not very sober, was laughing hoarsely at some not over pleasant stories they were telling. Do you know there is a lady in the next room ?" said Darrell, who had thrown his book down and walked up to where they sat. Lady ? Do you mean Mother Hemp, or the other girl ?" said Aarons, and his brutal nature found vent in a sentence erf Houndsditch sarcasm. His words were coarse enough to have aroused a milder temper than Darrell's, whose face turned pale with anger as he heard them. Aarons' sentence was not quite com- pleted, for before he finished it Darrell's long left arm had swung out from his shoulder, and his fist bad come down with a crash on the Jew's jaw. The others saw that if they joined in they would be four to one, so thpy made a rush at Darrell, the landlord swearing that he'd be if he'd see a gent wte behaved like a gent in his place, ordering drinks and paying for them, hit like that. He looked at Jim Brawnston's sleeping form, and reassured by the sound of a deep snore, he joined in the fight, aiming a blow ah Darrell's head with a bottle. The latter was not quite as cool as a man ought to be who is fighting four men at once. Instead of keeping on the defensive, he only thought of inflicting as much punishment as possible upon Aarons, and pressed oa to strike him again as he staggered back from the first blow. This gave the landlord a chance of getting at him from behind, and he succeeded in pinning his arms, and preventing him from hitting out. A savage gleam catqe into the Jew's eyes he saw that his enemy was in his power as he forced back Darrell's face with his left hand eio as to get a good blow at it with his right. Now, my broken-down swell, you're going to learn not to give your betters any of your —— cheek," he was saying with a tone of triumph in his Toica. The whole group had been too busy to notice a bedroom door which led into the living-room open, and a figure dressed in white glide up to where Brawnston lay sleeping. Kate, as she tried in vain to get some sleep, had heard the row from the beginning. It was not a pleasant scene for a young lady to take part in, but she had heard enough to tell her that the man who had been foolish enough to begin the fight on her account was likely to suffer more than he deserved. She had not understood Aarons' brutal remark, and would have been better Dleased if Darrell had not answered it so forcibly, but she knew tha blow she had heard through the door had been given on her account. As she opened the door she saw Brawnston's sleeping figure close to it; near him on a table there was a jug of water; she dashed it over his face as the quickest way of waking him. The experiment had succeeded admirably. He had woke up with a start, saw the fight which was going on, and in a second was in it. It did not take him long to knock two of the Jews out of time, while the landlord, seeing how things were going, took up the position of a non-combatant. Leave him to me," Darrell cried out as he tried to close with Aarons. There was a look in his partner's white face which made Brawnston know that he meant mischief. A few seconds'struggling and then Darrell's long fingers were round the Jew's throat, and as he tightened them there was an omi- nous twitch round the corners of his mouth. Stop it, man, or you'll kill me," the Jew gasped out as he felt himself choking. If he had been a good judge of expression, and bad been in a position to take stock of Darrell, he would not have been much reassured at the effect his suggestion had. Brawn- ston didn't interfere; he was contemplating in a dreamy way the two other men whom he had knocked down. It looked as if a crisis had come in Joe Aarons' history, but just then a cool hand clasped Darrell's wrist, and on looking round he for the first time saw that there was a woman present at the not very pretty scene that was taking place. Stay, leave him alone, you'll kill him 1" she said, rescuing Darrell from himself and his savageness as she had rescued him just before from his enemies. He will never be likely to forget the little figure with her glorious brown hair sweeping over her shoulders, and the half-frightened, half-disgusted look on her face. He felt rather more ashamed of himself than he had been for some time, so he let go his grip on Aarons' throat, who fell back a limp mass upon the ground. I am sorry that you should have beeu disturbed by this sort of thing; extremely sorry," he said to her as she disappeared through the door again. "What a brute she must think me, as bad as that cur," he said, half to himself, half to Brawnston, glancing at Aarons. "By Jove I" he added, "he looks rather queer." He's all right; it will be a rope that will break his neck," said Brawnston, as the man on the ground began to move. The other two men began to pull themselves together, and after a good deal of bad language from the defeated party, the incident eame- to an end, and every one turned off to sleep; Darrell thinking to himself that his endeavour to prevent the. lady passenger's sleep from being disturbed had been singularly unsuccessful. (70 be continued.)

OVER £ 2000 has been subscribed in Natal towards a public memorial in honour of the late Mr. Harry Escombe, Premier of the coVscy. AMONG the killed at HeilwoSs was trooper C. B, Toller, son of Mr. C. B. Tolit-i. f Hawarden. Trooper Toller was an undergraduate of Oxford Uni- versity, and volunteered to the front in the Imperial CIVIL-SURGEON HUGII ARNOLD BRYANT, of the Royal Army Medical Corps, and late of Castle-hul House, Shaftesbury, who died at Bloemfontein from enteric fever on the 7th inst., at the age of 33, was the third son of Mr. Thomas Bryant, F.R.C.S., consulting surgeon to Guy's Hospital, president of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, and Surgeon- Extraordinary to her Majesty. THE Prince of Wales is exceedingly fond of a button-hole flower. It cannot be said that he has any particular favourite but, especially during the summer months, half-a-dozen button-holes of various flowers are placed on his table every morning, and from these he takes his choice. THE Czar of Russia's suite consists of 173 persons, of whom 73 are general and 76 extra aides-de- camp. T/) the suite belong 15 members of the Imperial family, 17 princes of not Imperial birth 17 counts, nine barons, and 111 other noblemen.

HER PORTRAIT. I must tell you (writes one of the 17th Royal Fusi- liers from Fourteen Streams) that when we crossed the Vaal River a good many of us had to swim for it, just as we were, with all our clothes on and carrying our rifles as well. I lost my helmet crossing, and although I tried my best to save it, your photo got wet too. It was in my breast pocket at the time, where it has been ever since the war began, and it is there still.

THE LATEST MACHINE GUN. The Admiralty have decided to adopt the '3U type of Maxim machine gun, and as soon as a sufficient number can be manufactured they will replace all tlis guns of the '045 type now in use in the Royal Navy. The great advantage of the new type of gun is that it can be supplied with the ordinary Lee-Metford ammunition, whereas for the Maxims now in use a special class of ammunition has to be provided. The mounting of the new Maxim is also much more con- venient for field service than either the field carriage or pedestal mounting now used with the '045 gun.

KILLED BY A STRAY SHOT. ¡ Having been wounded the first day we were sur- rounded at Wepener (writes a private), one of our fellows went into hospital. On the 12th day: he was well enough to come out with the object of having a go at the enemv, so as to git his own back. Poor fellow, he had only walked a bare 20 yards from the hospital door when he was hit in the head by a stray shot and killed. •

MR. HOWARD GOULD, a son of the late Mr. Jay Goald, the American railroad and stock king, has been touring the Lakes of Killarney by coach. THE P.O. underground telegraph wire between London and Birmingham has just been completed at a cost of £ 150,000. SIR CHRISTOPHER FURNESS has, it is announced, acquired the controlling interest in the Scotia Engine Works, carried on by Mr. William Allan, M.P., and others ALL kinds of romantic stories are flying about concerning Elizabeth of Bavaria and her fianc6, Prince Albert of Flanders, who, it seems, from all accounts, have been attached to each other for some time, and had secret meetings in Paris, with the connivance of the Duchess Vendome and the Dowager Queen of Naples. THE revelations in the Oppenheim Concession affair reveal Mr. Kruger and the other Transvaal officials in their real light as artful dodgers. The bribes, it appears, were called bottles of wine," and some of them, certainly, were regular corkers. Mrs. Kruger is said to have got £1000, which may to some extent account for the fact that Mr. Kruger has always con. sidered her at good as gold.

OUR LONDON JJ0RRESP0NDENT. The old theory, that an English summer is composed of three fine days and a thunder- storm has already received in some sort an illustration. The thermometer has broken its record in London for abnormal heat at an early date in June, and, after that wave, there wr-s no mistaking the thunderstorm. As is usually the case, we suffered the more from this rise in temperature because it was so swift and sudden. It had been only a few days pre- viously that we were shivering in the cold winds, were resuming our overcoats, and were even gloomily considering the probability of having once more to light fires. Then, with a rush, up went the temperature to nearly ninety in the shade, and the personal inconvenience, and even the sufferinbecame intense. In so- called hot climates the inhabitants are pre- pared for this kind of thing, and they dresa and dine accordingly; but our climate is so variable that we can practically do nothing else than wear the same clothes, eat the same meats, and drink very much the -same drinks month in and month out. If we attempt to do anything else, the weather has altered while we are changing, and we find, as a rule, that we had better have stuck to what we had done before. Some amount of agitation has been aroused in the great commercial centre of London by the changes in the various postal services, brought into operation this week by the shift- ing of the depot for the provincial mails from St. Martin's le Grand to Mount plea- sant. The latter name will convey no hint of its position to dwellers outside the metropolis; and it may, therefore, ba explained that the new building occupies the site of the now-removed Coldbath-fields Prison, which lies between Holborn and Islington. The tendency of late years has been to place prisons outside the metropolis rather than in such crowded districts and, while the site of Millbank is now occupied by the National Gallery of British Art, that of Coldbath-fields is taken by the new annexe of the General Post Office. The alterations this latter course has entailed mainly affect the Eastern Central district, which comprises the whole of the City of London; and, as that is the main centre for business transactions, anything that curtails its facilities for posting to the provinces is certain to be closely watched. A very great City [improvement" wl-iich for many years has been about has at last been definitely resolved upon by the Corporation of London, that brings the building of a new Central Criminal Court. The present erection in the Old Bailey has long been recognised as mean in design and inadequate in execution but it was one thing to have this generally re- cognised and quite another to have it reformed. One difficulty, for instance, was a battle of the s'tes, for, while the general feeling was proved by retaining tbe Central Criminal Court on the historic site of the [Old Bailey, contiguous to the famous prison of Newgate, there were some who wished the new erection to be on the Thames Embankment. The former carried the day, and the plans, having now been approved by the Corporation, have this week been on public view. They have been drawn in consultation with the judges who know what such courts should be, and it would seem that at last London will be pro- vided with accommodation of this kind worthy of her position and adequate to the require- ments of the chief criminal court of the Empire. Another matter, and one of even deeper interest, with which the Corporation of London has been of late deeply concerned, is that of the organisation and equipment of the City of London Imperial Volunteers who have served their country so well in South Africa. The salient facts and figures on this head have been made generally available within th& past few days in the form of a Blue-book issued under the authority of the Lord Mayor. These show the energy and completeness with which a corps of picked men, comprising three- hundred-and-fifty horse, and one-thousand-one- hundred foot, with a battery of artillery, was shipped for service abroad. The two main points in their organisation was that the authority and responsibility should be centred in the Lord Mayor, and that the Volunteers should be impartially drawn from all the metropolitan corps. How this has worked Lord Roberts has testified in the words, I have no finer or keener material under my command than the City of London Imperial Volunteers.* The interment in Westminster Abbey this week of Mrs. Gladstone in the grave in which her illustrious husband was laid to his rest just two years ago, has closed a career of much philanthropic usefulness, and has furnished material for national felicitation in the remem- brance of how much our greatest statesmen have owed to the loving care of their wives. All who knew the late Lord Beaconsfield were aware how deeply he felt what was due to his consort; and probably the only occasion upon which the House of Commons ever saw a tear course down that impassive face was when his greatest political antagonist, Mr. Gladstone, expressed sincere sympathy with him because of his wife's illness. None'are likely also to forget the devotion of the present Prime Minister to the late Lady Salisbury and the nation has reason to be glad that the purity of the domestic hearth upon which it has so long prided itself, has been nowhere more plainly demonstrated than in the case of its most most famous modern statesman. Not only soldiers generally but all civilians will rejoice over the issue of certain instruc- tions for the summer by the Commander of the South-Eastern District, for recent unhappy and notorious events have made all of us familiar with the difficulties which may arise from prolonged drill on a very hot day in the regulation regimental attire. Aldershot having provided a fatal object lesson, instructions have now been given that parades for drill or work- ing or fatigue parties may, at the discretion of commanding officers, be in shirt sleeves, while men wearing serge tunics may open them at the throat. Parades are directed to be held in the early morning, and they are to be preceded by either the regular breakfast or a special issue of coffee and biscuit before starting, while the men are to be also given bread and cheese or other food to be carried into the field, while their water-bottles are to be filled, and, if necessary, re-filled. These are regulations which will appeal to every humane man and, if they are generally acted upon, they will do much to remove from the public mind much of the uncomfortable feeling that had been aroused by the recent fatal mis- chance- The bowlers have already had pitches to rejoice their hearts this cricket season, which promises to be rendered all the more in- teresting because of the vagaries of the weather and the chances thus allowed to the ball as against the bat. Whenever there is a fine dry summer, and the batsman has it prac- tically his own- way, we are apt to heai much as to the necessity for so re- moulding the rules of the game as to givo the bowler a greater chance; but s heavy shower immediately followed by a hot sun will often work more wonders in the latter's favour than could be affected by any possible alteration of the rules or even the nar- rowing of the bat. The tendency of the timin, ol course, is to get the pitch more and more per. I fect but no necessity has yet been proved foi revolutionising the rules of cricket as a oon sequence. R.

NEWS NOTES. Mn, PAUL KKUGEK, in his wheeled "capital, has doubtless being experiencing a good deal of worry, and one can imagine him wishing himself safely away from South Africa with a comfortable competence and tranquility assured for the remnant of his days. But he has to lie upon the bed of his making, now. His reckon- isg time cannot be far away. A heavy load of responsibility is on his head. LIEUT.-GENERAL BADEX-POWEJ.L-that is the well-won local rank of the hero of Mafeking whilst serving on the Staff in South Af rica-bas been displaying his wonderful resource in the subjugation of the Transvaaleis of the West. 4, B-P." quickly let them know llustenberg way what the paramountcy of the British flag meant. IT was a fine strategic move on Lord Roberts' part to compass the complete cutting off of the Orange River Colony from the Transvaal, and so render it easy for the forces at his disposal to deal with the scattered commandos in detail. Botha and some of his generals seem loth to own themselves beaten: but it is ob- viously useless for them to resist, and the sooner they give in the better. THERE are reports of Kruger wanting to H throw up the sponge and cast himself on the mercy of Britain but Steyn, they say, savagely resists, and so bars the way to speedy pacification. However this may be, the in- evitable comes daily nearer within ken, and all sensible people are hoping for the speeding of peace. The cost of the war has been truly dreadful, in human life and in treasure. IT is distinctly reassuring to be told by the Foreign Office that there is absolute concert on the part of the Great Powers as to the critical situation in China; and we trust that such resolute joint action will be taken forthwith as to be effectual in settling the hash" of these dreadful Boxers," and the agitators who worked them up into such outrageous action. If the Chinese authorities are not strong enough to safeguard the lives and vast interests of strangers in their Empire, then the Powers must restore order bvthe importation of adequate out- side force; and further must insist upon making such arrangements for the future as to render insurrectionary excesses impossible of recur- rence on any large scale. The thing to do is to unmask the mischief-makers, and deal with them according to their deserts. Britain is particularly well represented by Sir Claude Macdonald [and Admiral Seymour at such a juncture; and the presence on the China Station of Captain Percy Scott is also opportune. One wonders whether this is the beginning of the long threatened break-up of China. It is a very ancient Em- pire, with a distinguished if chequered past; but its Government's chief est characteristic for centuries has been corruption. Has not the moment arrived for the holding of an universal inquiry over Chinese affairs, Manchurian domi- nation being brought to the bar, and the composite Court of the Nations assuming tem- porarily provisional ruling powers. There are those who are persuaded that if the Em- press Dowager and some of her most potent following were removed out of the way things would work very much more smoothly. A strong and honest hand is wanted to take con- trol in the Chinese capital, with the advan- tage of the aid of enlightened and incorrupti- ble counsellors, backed up by sufficient authority. Surely the countrymen of Confu- cius can produce the men for the hour, if aided in good faith by the Governments of all the countries interested in the welfare of the Orient. DEEP sympathy has been expressed in fitting terms by her Majesty the Queen and all ranks of her subjects for the connection those injured and killed outright in the lamentable railway accident on Saturday at Slough. Next to the wonder as to how such a catas- trophe could have occurred at all in our age of almost perfected railway precaution is the marvel that, it having occurred in such circumstances, more havoc was not occasioned. We are so accustomed to immunity from danger in travelling that when a crash comes-as now and then a crash must come under mortally-controlled conditions, be they planned never so well — we take our seats for a journey with scarcely a thought of the perils involved in the rapid transport of many human beings and their belongings. It requires a disaster to induce us to realise the risks We run when seemingly all that can be done has been done to minimise them. That is the sad lesson of the Slough accident, due inquiry into the cause of which is being made- in the proper form by the proper authority. IT is interesting to note that a historic bit of South London, the burial-ground of Christ Church, Blackfriars-road, has been converted into a recreation ground and public garden for the residents in this densely-populated district. It has been laid out with great taste by lady gardeners. The place is full of interesting memories. Near by was the famous Bear Garden kept by Edward Alleyn, whose name is perpetuated in the College of God's Gift at Dulwich and other charitable foundations which owe their existence to his bounty. THE proposal made early in the year to erect a public memorial at Omagh, the headquarters of the 27th Regimental District, to the officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers who have fallen during the present war in South Africa has been put into active operation. At a meeting of the provisional committee held in Omagh the other day, under the presideucy of the Duke of Aber- corn, and a large and influential committee, re- presentative of the counties of Fermanagh, Tyrone, Donegal, and Londonderry, was ap- pointed.

v ITALY AND THE POWERS. King Humbert, in opening the Italian Parliamo?t on Saturday, said that its excellent relations with 'ill the Powers gave to the country the certainty that national interests will on every occasion be guaranteed. A Rome correspondent says that the dominant note of his Majesty's speech was that he would not per- mit of a continuance of the attacks upon the Consti- tution.

1 1 1, ART AND LlfESATUKE'. THE Fins Art Society have replaced the colIce.ioj#w of drawings by Sir John Tenniel vhh a series ol water colour landscapes by Mr. H. L. Norris. This artist h'lS a pleasant faculty for choosing pretty sub- jects, and1 for treating them with a certain elegance that, never degenerates inlo weakness. He draws well, with knowledge and certainty, and he has a definite sense of colon? management; so that his work is capable of appeeling strongly to people who like to see pretty motivt-s skilfully interpreted. He has kept art excellent level of performance throughout the whole series of drawings, and has rot allowed any desire to appeal to the popukr taste to lead him into neglect of his artistic responsibilities. Tins collection of portraits of artists pi in ted bv themselves, which was formed by the late Alexander M acDonald, of Kepplestone, has long been famous as a practically unique gathering of remarkable pictures. It remained, after Mr. MacDomdd's death. in the possession of his widow, who made several important additions to it. Now Mrs. MaoDonald has died, and the whole of these- portraits, with several other valuable paintings and a considerable Bum of money, pass to the city of Aberdeen. It would have been a matter for great regret if such a collection had been broken up, so that the news that it is to become public property, and to be permanently preserved in its complete form, will be very welcome to fill art lovers. Ax interesting correspondence has been going on in the Pall Mall Garetie on the misquotat ion aoiiiinon to the average writer-even the educated writer. The matter is usually summed up in a recent issue of our contemporary by a contributor who tabulates some of the blunders that everybody makes. Here, for ex- ample, are a few of his corrections But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil. (James iii. 8.) For I, who hold sage Romer's rule the best, Welcome the coming, speed the going guest. (Pope Satire II.) He that complies against his will Is of his own opinion still. Hudibras," Part IIL) Cause or just impediment. (Book of Common Prayer.) When Greeks joined Greeks, then was the tug of war. (Nathaniel Lee.) Fine by Degrees and beautifully less. (Prior: Henry and Emma.") There are, however (as the Echo says) three lines of verse which in their inaccurate form have become part of the current speech of the multitude. No in- sistence on the fact that Milton and Pope and Gray did not write them as they are inevitably misused will ever get the ordinary person to say: To-morrow to fresh woods and pastures new. A little learning is a dangerous thing. They kept the noiseless tenour of their way. A VERY valuable manuscript has been found in Asia Minor by a French officer of artillery, and deposited, says the Temps, in the Bibiiotheque Nationale at Paris. It is a fragment of the Gospelef St. Matthew, in Greek, on purple parchment. There are also five illustrations, which will, by reason of their great archaeological and artistic value, be reproduced speci- ally by the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles- lettres, and will form the subject of a study in the Journal des Savants, by M. Aumont, keeper of MSS. in the Bibiiotheque Nationale. IT is not improbable that a new book of essays by "Mark Rutherford may be published in the autumn. It will be eagerly looked for by that enlarging circle of readers who have grown to regard Mr. Hale White as one of the most distinctive of living writers, if not strictly speaking a man of genius. He is known, of course, as a student of philosophy and an original thinker. Though his more recent novels have not equalled in interest the "Autobiography" and The Revolution in Tanner's Lane," a collection of essays from his pen is not likely to be passed over on that account. LORD WANTAGE, who has earned some passing notoriety by his purchase of Chevalier Desanges pic- tures known as the Victoria Cross Gallery," and by Jianding them over to the town of Wantage, from which he took his title, was known to the last gene- ration for the conspicuous part he played at the Battle of the Alma. Here he carried the Queen's colour, and was a special mark for the Russian sharpshooters. The silk of the, colour was found at the close of the day to have no fewer than 23 shot holes in it, and the staff was broken. The regiment to which he belonged, owing to some misunderstood order, retired some distance, leaving Lieutenant Lindsay, as he then was, with but a few comrades almost surrounded by the enemy. They stood back to back, and, using their revolvers with deadly effect, kept the enemy at bay until a battalion came to their rescue. For this they received the Victoria Cross. THERE is an interesting interview with Mr. Sheldon in the Christian World from which we take the fol- lowing as to the obstinacy with which smart Yankee publishers declined to recognise the fortune to be made from Mr. Sheldon's works Half a dozen of them declined In His Steps." Perhaps they did not read it. But be thinks they did. Anyway, they would not touch it. Then a young printer who knew nothing about publishing said that he would try his hand. And it has made him! His is a great ptioligh-ing firm to-day. And Mr. Sheldon's books have gone into every country, and from Arkansas to Armenia men and women are writing him, blessing him and blessing God on his behalf. And let the men whose royalties" are mounting up to tens of thousands of pounds think of this—out of the millions of copies sold in Great Britain, Mr. Sheldon has made the noble sum of iOdol.—eight pounds sterling-and spell that out in full, if you please-eight pounds sterling profit on millions of books. For the rest Mr. Sheldon seems to have made an easy conquest of all who have come into contact with him. A big man (he is described)-" big built, well developed, large in body, large of heart, and large of brain, with the big sleepy blue eyes of a dreamer; but he is the most practical dreamer that I have talked to. He sees visions and he dreams dreams; but he has the strangest knack of turning his visions into realities and his dreams into heroic activities of all the men I know." WHILE there is so much talk about the proposal to allow the British Museum authorities to exercise a reasonable discretion as to the preservation of printed matter, we venture to suggest an alternative which, while avoiding the destruction of books, shall actually render even the most worthless publications valuable. It has been proved in America—where so many ingenious things are discovered—that com- pressed paper is actually stronger than oak, and very nearly as strong as iron. Our proposal (say the Morning Post) is that the walls of any future extension of the library in Great Russell-street sheill be built of indifferent novels and other ephemeral literature. Let the volumes be simply used instead of bricks, having first been submitted to hydraulic pressure; let the backs with the titles appear on the inside, and cover the outside with strong stucco. By this means millions of books could be profitably employed, and if atlsome future date,(it should be found thatthia or that work was the early fruit of some inspired genius, it could easily be extracted from the mass, just as clay bricks are frequently extracted for the introduction of a scaffold rest or a ventilator, and some other volume inserted in its stead. We seriously commend this plan, in which, though it is our own, we claim no patent rights, to the consideration of the trustees. THAT gigantic specialistic publishing concern, Kelly's Directories, Limited—which in the matter of address holds literally now an Imperial monopoly- goes on year by year expanding the obligations of the entire oommunity to it for accurate information, commercial and general, compiled and arranged so as to assist the inquirer in the readiest way that mtel- ligent skill and long experience can compass. That gigantic red-book, Kelly's "Post Office London Directory," is one of the wonders of the won- drous Victorian Era; the ever-swelling series of county and town directories diixer only in degree and subservient essentialities from theit monstre prototype the numerous trade direc- tories of England, Scotland and Wales are each in their spheres the perfection of handiness; while their various other handbooks, guides, and works of reference are all equally excellent and indispensable to those whose interests they are designed to serve. Two particularly admirable trade directories in the long Kelly catalogue, of which new editions have re- cently be-an issued, are those dealing with the, so-to- speak, kindred trades cf 41 Stationers, Printers, Book* sellers, Publishers, and Paper Makers," and with the allied businesses of Chemists and Druggists and Chemical Manufacturers." These are both up to the high Kelly standard for completeness and con- ciseness, and are corrected and expanded right up to date. No greater commendation than this ia pos*. •ible.