Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

THE BANKERS CRIME;! Diamond Cut Diamond. BY NATHAN D. URNER. CHAl'TEIl X. FT.ESH FOOD FOR AMAZEMENT. Breakfast was always a late one al HTn?-Tnn.-o'e nn SinndftV the Imnkei and Lis son usually partaking of it alone, j witli the exception of Miss Winford presiding at the coffee-urn and tiay, though seldom eating anything in their'presence, and usually with one of the other domestics in attendance as waitress. A mingling of economy and pretension, with a growing tendency iu favor of the former, had for years* been (he main characteristic of* the household, the aproned coachman and greeu-gTOcer's email boy of the evening before having constituted an addition of ostentation but seldom attempted. The breakfast of the Sunday morning nnder consideration w..s not at variance nuu no ^ivvtwvww Trae, Mr. Marlowe was looking so haggard and preoccupied as to attract the attention of Noel, who asked, with some anxiety, about his night's rest, but without eliciting other than an indifferent xeply; while the housekeeper, after pouring out the coffee, kept her eyee demurely lowered, as was her custom, and the servant flitted here and there, as occasion demanded. Mr. Marlowo was usually blessed with ? great appetite, but this morning he ato comparatively nothing, and it was evi. dent that he was ill at ease. "By the way, Noel," 6aid he, as th? young man was pushing back his chair, you found the newspaper you had mislaid. I suppose?" "Yes; it was lying on your offic? table with a mass of other papers. However, I did not read to Adele the article I wanted to, after all, aud now it is of bo consequence. * The banker was aching to ask him if be might not have seen, or touched, the missing document, at the finding of the newspaper, but he lacked the moral courage to do so. He shuddered at the bare possibility of the young man chancingto find it in one of hi6 pockets, as a conse-1 qnence, and, perhaps, obtaining a glimpse of its significance. "Shall you go to church?" b? therefore contented himself with asking, as Noel mrncA -from the table. "Not for the morning service," "was the reply. "I 6hall 6troll over to Jasmine Lodge, after my cigar is finished. Adele will be expecting me." Mr. Marlowe was not long in following him rrt of the room. He went to enjoy bis can cigar in the garden, Noel having selected the library for his digestive smoke. Though the other members of his household were strict in their religions observances, and he was pleased to nave it so, for the sake of appearances, the banker himself never went to church. He was so absolutely selfish as to bo Incapable of religious conviction, or even of religious feeling; and, perhaps, it was something of a glimmering offset to his heavy and increasing account with morality that he never ooup'ed his scoundreiism with the hypocrisy of pious eemtlance. "There is no real money in i. for mo," he had long been accustomed to say to Iiimseil; "to oe sure, respeciauimy w a sort of power in itself, and is often obtained and cultivated by santimonions ehuroh-going; but I've always felt more comfortable oomrading evil flat-footed, And so I shall continue." He bad already bit upon a plan lot hiding the evidences of his violent deed, which, for the time, was naturally engrossing him even more than the tiyatery of Hie misting document. The gardener had been diggiaig in <the back cellar a few days before, by reason ~ zt an imperfection in one 01 toe arauw. Kid bad, perhaps, left the implements erf his labor where they could bo madoavailable. It was to that place the dead body should be conveyed, and buried away cnder the brick pavement and deep down is the stiff clay. Such was" the banker's plan, and now, while pacing the garden walks, ho impatiently waited for the house to be empty, in order to carry it out. At last the propitious hour arriTed, Noel going first, old A1 worth following, with his daughter, on the way to chnreh, nd finally, as had Ion? been the ordei of the day, staid Miss "Winford going out of the gate on the coachman's arm, followed by the cook and two housemaids, in their best demeanor and newest gowns. Mr. Marlowe waited yet a little longer, to make sure against possible interruption by a return for some forgotten article, and then hurried into the house. He locked the street door behind him ?nd satisfied himself that the other doors were equally beuuieu. But he was determined to make assurance doubly sure. 4.?Iieft_k_thi?t might, possibly, liave 6ecietoa nimseir somewhere in the house; aud, though 6uch a thiug had never happened before, it would not now do to accept the faintest possibility of a witness to what ho was atoal to do. He explored every room in the house, not even excepting the poor rooms at the top. occupied by the Alworthe. At length, fully convinced that he was the only living person there, he descended into the back cellar to complete his preparations. It was large, paved with brick, ana fairly lighted by horizontal windows high up in the walls of either 6ide. It had long been in comparative disuse, and batrels were scattered here and there; but, nevertheless, in one coiner were the evidences of the brick md earth having been disturbed over the drain, and, best of all, there, leaning against the masonly, were a spale and pick. Mr Marlowe at once threw off hit dressing-gown, chose a place directly in the center of the cellar, and, availing himself of the tools alternately, 6et tc work with the vigor and determinatior thnt marked everything he undertook. Though unused to manual labor, he had, in less than an hour, effected an excavation about seven feet long bjJ twc wide, and three deep; and then he gav< over, satisfied with what he intended' chould be the grave of his victim and the concealment of bis crime, and indifferent to the fact that ho was breathless and streaming with perspiration, and that hit lirpered feet were soiled with clay. "\Lt will answer." he muttered to himAn V*ic /Irocoino-ermr-n nrvnin ptu, O'lpc'iij -O *Tnank good nese, the hole i6 easier tilled is than Bcraped out. Twenty minutes more will finish everything, and give me chance to clean myself besides. He went up the steps, unlocked the Tear hall-communicating door of tht bank, and entered the b ink office. E\er\thing in view was precisely as he had left it the night before. Be inwardly groaned at the evidences of his man}' Sruitlees searches for the vital papei whose evani*<hment was still such a mys. tery, and then passed around the cornel the Tanlc But he had no sooner inserted the k?j Into the combination-lock than he experienced a return of the horror that hac followed close upon the commission ol -the deed. Up to this instant he hac thought himself iron. Cat now a convulsive shudder seized him at thethonjjht of confronting and coming in contact (with the object for which he had come. The reflection of the sun. falling through 'the adioininc conservatory, and thence, witn but little diminution, tnrough tut paint-screened panes directly facing the iron doors, brightened tip the cramped passage, and would pour unobstructed!; right into the interior of the vault, when it should be opened. Horrible tbonght! It would fall di reclly on the wtiftfc, dead face lying there, and he troSiti^Ve to take up the body in Lis arms, to carry it. Still, delay was franght with peril. Mr. Marlowe presently controlled himself. He set his teeth hard, turned the key in the lock, and opened wide the doors. Then he started back with a cry of supreme amazement. The body had disappeared as my6teri. ously as the paper! ClIAI'TER XI. SEEKING AN EXPLANATION. Stunned or very nearly 60, Mr. Marlowe left the doors of the safe standing open, and staggered out of the little passage, vorv much as he had done on the precede I ing night, after closing them on the motionless form that had disappeared. How could that marvel have been effected? Dead or alive, the body of Jasper Marlowe must have been taken away by some outside agency. If dead, no one could have been interested in taking him away; therefore, it stood to reason that he bad been helped to escape, and restored to life, either before or after. But how? It was comparatively easy to recognize that the man's unconsciousness had only been apparent death?that Marlowe had been mistaken in regarding himself as a murderer, but the manner of such escape, restoration and disappearance, was simply not to be accounted for at all, at least by the banker, and for the time being. He alone possessed a key to the safe; he never permitted it to pass out of his possession, slept with it undeT his pillow, and was satisfied that tihere was no duplicate. He -arose from the soat into which he had dropped at his first bewilderment, and examined all tihe fastenings of the room. Windows and doors, with the exception of the door by Tvbich he had entered, were as firmly-secured as on hiB investigation before -going to bed. * There's nc use attempting to account for the unaccountable," thought tue banker, again-sinking into a chnir. "Who can have -duplicate keys to my bank and money-vault? That is the question. Noel has not, that :is certain. Neither has old A1 worth, at least to'the vault?there never was but one key made for that lock. The servants are not to be thought of, and, as for Miss "Winford, I don't believe the good ^opan saflO'et inside of this room 'twice in Eer life. Yet both Jasper's body, living or dead, and the paper, for which I thought I had killed him, have been spirited away; and they venture to assert that the day for miracles is passed." He presently came back to a realization of his untidy appearance, and started to go to his room; but just then there was a ring at the door-bell. Ho ran thronph the office, and. lifting one of the front window- curtains, peered j cautiously out "Good! it's only Croak," he mattered. "I can well afford to take him into my confidence now." Mr. Croak, on being admitted, was beginning to ask if the Alworths had got back from church, when Mr. Marlowe'* disordered appearance attracted hiB sharp little eyes, and he stopped short. "What, Marlowe!" said he, after a puzzled pause; "have you taken to your own gardening, and on Sunday at that?" "No," said Marlowe. "Come into the office." Croak followed him. Then Marlowe told him of everything that had happened since his meeting with his cousin Jasper, in aB few words aB possible. He even showed him the emptiness of the vault, as if that could make the mystery any clearer; and, after closing and" locking the iron doors once more, he likewise went further back, and told of his remarkable interview with Boncourt. Mr. Croak had a habit of concealing any amount of surprise on occasions; and now, after listening attentively, instead of expressing the anticipated amazement, his grotesque face took on en injured, reproachful look. "What, Gilbert!" said he; "you had all this, or most of it, on your mind when meeting me at the foot of the stairs last night, without confiding it to me?" "Are you a fool?" returned the banker. "Deeming myself a murderer, do you suppose I would have shared my secret with another?" Croak still pretended to think he had been misused. " Why don't you help me to solve the infernal mystery of it all, if there is any solution to it," said the banker, angrily. "It'-s no good for you to sit there wapgiug your head, like a toy mandarin. That fellow of yours, Wormer, might help ua to an explanation." "Possibly," admitted Cro.ik, drawing down the .corners of hi6 enormous mouth. "But my reflections have changed. Gilbert. I feel struck all of a heap, I'm thinking of how near I came being associated with a murderer unawares." "Tush! I'll wager that you were rather wishing your hands as clean as mine. lint iinrlcl 6ome one ik at me ^aie. i mast cot be seen till I've changed my clothes. Come up to my room with me." He beat a hasty retreat oat of the office and up-staira, followed by the lawyer. As the latter reached the top of the 6teps he cast a backward dance down to the street door, which was then being opened; after which he followed Marlowe into hia room, heaving a doep 6igb. "What is the matter with you now?" Baid the banker, at once setting alout his toilet without the least ceremony. "It is the Alworths who are coming in," was the rueful reply. "But for you nnd your cursed entanglements I migbt be even now basmng in mat sweet cmia s 6miles." "Smiles, indeed! Gad! do yon really believe that 6he abides your presence?" "I own to a certain reluctance?let me call it coyness?on her part, though the old gentleman is already my ally," said Croak. "But it will disappear in time. Jasmine Cottage and a competence are a glittering bait, to say nothing of my own merits. He, he, he!" "I should say so, and I have already seconded you, accoiding to my ngreement. lOf course the old imbecile told you of my having discharged him?" "To be sure! And I helped him to abuse yon bo earnestly as positively to earn au approving smile from the girl herself." "So. But suppose yon now engross yourself with my aff tire, which are of infinitely more moment." "And far less agreeable?" "But what do you think of them?" , "I haven't hit on any solution yet. We will see what "SVormer s:?ys. HoV about your housekeeper? Have you thought of her?" *Misa Winford? Not for an instant in IHio ??Annopttf?n Shfl'o an ffiltHfTJl fit 6be is bumble aud staid. Uesides, there's no possible way of 6nying or eavesdropping down there, and I was absolutely alone with my cousin in the bank, and everything closed around us." "Humph! Well, we'll 6ee Wormer." In a few minutes more Mr. Marlowe had finished his toilet, and they were passing out of the front door together, when tbe servants were perceived return lli^ ITUJLU L'liUHU 1U liiC nuuit. ViUCA uo iucj had gone?that is, with the housekeeper nnd coachman at the head of the colnmn. "Feel your way?question her," whispered the lawyer, with a nudge. "Uy the way, Miss Vinford," said the banker, as the servants came up, "do you think it possible for any one to have secretly enteied the offices last night?" Miss' 'Wmford at first seemed amazed at tne question, and to this succeeded an expression of alarm, as was perfectly natural. "Goodness gracious me, Mr. Marlowe, no! I can't imagine such a thing," shy exclaimed. "How you alarm me! Is anyth nj: missing?" "Not that I could Bee; but some of the furniture seemed to me to have been displaced. That will do for tbB present; I may hav? occasion to Epeak of this again." 'Iherf, as ha was moving away, leaving the bcasebeeptr and her companions u good deal flustered, lie Turned ogam, say?ng: , . "However, I may have been mistaken, bo yon need think no more of it. Miss Winford, Will Noel be with ns at din. ner?" "He didn't Bay," was tbe faint reply, foi the good woman had not yet recovered from the shock she had received. "Well, at all events, you may expect m< to bring Mr. Croak, and perhaps also Mr "Wormer, with me." And* after a snghi hesitation, he added: "Moreover, suppose you present mj respects to Mr. and Miss Alworth, ant 06k them to join us at table. They ar< not to be with us much longer, aud'will besides, like to 6ee Mr. Croak, I fancy." He then moved away with the lawyer leaving the group at the gate probably more astonished than they had been ai fitsL "That was good?that wa6really consid* of von. Marlowe?vour includinj the Alworths on my account, and I sha'n' forget it," 8aid C/oak, in pleased tones "Eut what are yon going down the slree for? Wormcr isn't in my office. He'i over yonder in my garden, with Bom< brandy and cigars that the inn-keepe: gave him for getting him out of that las scrape with the authorities. Come." "So," 6aid Marlowe, changing th< direction of his steps. "Well, wha did you think of her manner, when hinted about the bank having been en | tered?" "Perfectly natural and perfectly inno cc^i I had my eyes on her face fron the moment you spoke. Still, it must bi rc-membered that the woman's 6ad disfig. urement would aid a dissimulation, wer< it required of her. Eore we are." Mr. Croak's residence, in which hi lived wit h his clerk and an old housekeep er, was a dilapidated, sorry-looking cot. tage, directly across the road from thi banker's. It was surrounded by a ragged littl garden, containing some poor 6brubs ant applo-trees, and thus looked eomethini like a house that had become brokei down and half demented, and been, ii consequence, shut away in a debtor' nriaon. for imDO^eriRhed trees and unfor tunate plants. Upon following th? lawyer around th side of the cottaee, and back into th garden, Mr. Marlowe saw two person who had long been quite familiar t his eyes, One was a middle-sized, sprucely at tired man of 45 or thereabout, smooth fehaven, and with a certain sphinx-lik impenetrability of countenance, who wa lounging undc-r an apple tree with a news paper in his hands, and a black bottl and glass on the ground by his side. Thi was Mr. Worirer, Croak's confidential as sistant, who took 6uch a cynieil view o the opinion of others as to rather plum himself on the fact, pretty well knowi that he had in the course of his caree been both a professional criminal and stool-pigeon for detectives. Seated under a wood shed not far fron him, with a book, apparently a bible, i her lap, and spectacles on her nose, wa an lint ?till stronelv framed woman. When she looked up and removed be spectacles, as she did at the approach o the newcomers, she presented to the vie1 a very remarkable face?a strongly maTkei face, seamed with wrinkles, oat ever now and then giving the impression tha yon were looking at it through a sheet o dancing fl?me?not an essentially bai face, either, but one suggestive of an possibilities of wayward and lawles passions in the poet. This was Mk Beane, the lawyer's housekeeDer. She was, also, cot without her crimdno history, having had a 6ort of passion fo associating himself with the <lark side e humanity, even in his household tela tions?it being notorious that b?r aoaefo naa years t>erore saved net from tbe pal lows in London, to which she doubtlee would have been soat-on a chargj o murder bat for his perseverance in he behalf. Btrt, unlike tbe legal aseietanl Mrs. Beane felt the disgrace of her an tecedents so profoundly that she neve quitted the premises if she could help il and was a good deal of a misanthrope. "Bring two more chairs out here, Mm .Beane," said Croak, "and theri leave a to ourselves, * The woman silently complied, and who: the men were 6eaitd together alone Ma* Jowe, witn veiy i?w preliminaries, re counted to Wormer what be had alreao!; told to the lawyer. CHAPTER XII. WOMAN'S THEORT. Yon understand the relative position o the money-vault. and all that, I suppose? asked Mr. Mariowe, when Le Had go pretty far along in his account. "Of course," roplied Wormer, who hai an odd chirping littlo voice, in good keep ing with his dried- up impenetrability o visuge. "Haven't I been in your plac< fifty times in senich of my employer?" Then Mr. Marlowe went on until h< had finished his story, without anyreser. ration whatever. "It's lunny, too," commented "Wormer "The devil! that new-made grave in th< back-celler, especially." "I'll find some means of filling it in to night," said Marlowe, uneisily. "By no oceans! let it remain to increasi the alarro of the servants. Now let m< unwind, untwist, tLink, solve, meditate.' The secretive pucktrs multiplied on hii face, and his eyes Lalf-closed, as hi "leaned back his head, with his fingers in terlocked behind it. Both, Croak and Marlowe, respectfnll; TVifl O r\ r\, ttWUIll'U IliC ICSUH, a liu AVAU4W* WM sidered his clerk n sj-ecieB of annlytica genius, while the banker himself stoo< in a Bort of awe of Wormer'b reputei talents. "I've got it," presently observe* Wormer, coming out of bis reflection; with a jerk. The others laaned forward somewh? breathlesslv. "In the Cret piace, ine two disappearances?paper and man?actually occurred at the sume time, and by the same moans.1 The others looked disappointed. "Preposterous," ejaculuted Croak. "To besr.re it is!" cried Marlowe. "The man vanished from behind the vaultdoors during my absence?the paper dis. appeared, 60 to speak, from under mj very nose. There can be no associotior of the two disappearances." "Wormer coolly helped himself to 6om? of his brandy, as indifferently as if st 11 ^Jono in the garden, lighted a cigar, anc resumed his newspaper. "Come, come." said Croak, in a conciliatory tone. "We didn't mean to offend, Wormer. Give us your views." "Yes, do," said Marlowe, also in alarn Ie6t the oracular lips should have Hopelessly closed: "There maybe money ir this thing for you, man." i It was only, however, after persistent perauisions that "Wormer consented tc unbend an I thaw oat. "Here's the way it fill was," said he "The pnper really did disappear while yot wore putting the unconscious man in th< vault." "Conld my son have appropriated it?' exclaimed the banker. "liosh! could he have chown any reBject to you, after mastering its con. tents>* "But, a moment later, I looked in vair for it everywhere. It was neither on th( table or under it." "Simply because you had nev^r put il there! Dou't interrupt me, please. Yoc I thought you put it there, of course. See I now. You snatched the paper from th( man's hand a6 he was falling under youi | murderous stroke. At that instant you heard your son's approach. In a frightened flutter, your first instinct was tc conceal the bodv. You didn't think ol saving tiice by locking the door. No; you were too infernally frightened foi that. Your first gesture was to thro\n aside the paper, your next action was to .snatch up the body in yoar arms. Instead of alighting on the table, the paper mist h*ve aiipped off, and fallen on the body. Uii&Tvarps to von, it wai crnmDied . - -JVzj'U' U ~ . ' 'rz? np and included in your nervous clutch of the body. Eqnally unawares to yon, , it adheredin 6ome way to your burden's I clothing, and accompanied it into the I interior of the safe. You locked up both body and paper together." f He accompanied his sharply stated I theory with illustrative gesticulations that greatly emphasized the force of his A 5 words. "It may have so chanced," reluctantly t admitted the banker. "Oh, he's a deep one?he's a backreaeber?is Wormerl" 6aid Croak, robbing his hands. 1 "This theory admitted," chirped out the ^r0( analytical prodigy, eelf-Batisfiadly help- . ing himself to ano,her inhospitable pull r< at the brandy, "who effected the disappearance of both man and document? the That is tho question." was "Ay, there's just where the rub comes abl in," 6aid Croak. rj "Has either of you thought of suspecting any one?" sPe "Hardly. But we just half-imagined l"r that some one rf tho servants?say, Alisa stai Winford " to i "Bo6h again! Boncourt's the man!" <3er They looked at him in astonishment. t "Sort of knocks you cold,|eh? Weren't exactly prepared for it, were you?" chuck? led the clerfc, enjoying ihe sensation he ^ I bad caused. ao1 H "With dtie deference," said Marlowe, ] | fearful of drying the information at its 0f source once more, 'it 6eems to me hardly jer ' possible." .. , ? "At least extraordinary," said Croak, nsl ' equally prudential. a v "You're out, both of you. I don't care En i if that interview with you, Mr. Marlowe, ' was Eoncourt's first glimpse of the ins terior of your office, it was enough for him. That man is a genius in nis line, . and his line is varied. Bolts and bars m 9 and combination locks would melt before him. j "Jasper, in his tnlk with you, must have lied. He had, doubtless, communicated with Boncourt before seeking your presence, He could have done bo, for ininstance, through thot late-comer at the garden party?that Captain What-d'yecall-him you have mentioned. It could have been done in the course of that chat e on racing mitters? a sort of between-the. lines whispering, as it were?without you being any the wiser "isss tnis 6tamp aro up to any sort of snuff. Then, afterward, Jasjer not " having reappeared, after entering the a house, Boncourt drew his own concluv lions correctly, made his way in after you had gone to bed, and the job wa* done." "This won't do?it won't hanpr together always with due deference, of course," J f persisted Marlowe. "Granting that bolts J and bars and combination locks would ? melt before his entrance, they couldn't r uj ' melt together, on the inside, after his de- ^ _ parture; and the inner fastenings of the 1 "-Vifin T ontoroi] it tViia morn? I CUIiUQ AWlLlf niivu A vu?w*vu -- , ing, 6bowed no trace of having been dis* I turbed." ? "Oh, indeed!" was the sarcastic chirp in response. "Then, of course, they could not have been di6tnrbed, and made fast , again from the outside? No, no; of conree not] It stands to reason that both man T and paper -ejected their onn disappearance, or were carried away through the J ceiling or through the floor, or were diB- 1 i solved into the air. Did you notice any ? loose boards or broken plastering lying ' around? Pardon me; if I had known or ' your having formulated a theory of your ?wn I would not have ventured " '* : "A charming day, gentlemec," suddenly , interrupted a kindly and familiar voice. *1 was told by the servants across the way . that I would And you here. Nice, secluded ?pot, too, and no artificialities." ~ They alll looked up, a good deal surprised. Th? nneaker was Boncourt himself. He j strolled carelessly into view, whipping ' hie shapely leg airily with his delicate * liitle cane, and coolly appropriated one ?7 '? -end of Wormer'B bench, but nevertheless hit might have entered the garden 60 softly Ba " fre to have ov-erheard much that had been jn< 1 said. yjj "The denoeT said Marlowe, mastering ^ tie oonfusicaa with difficulty. "I made IT sure-of you being at Jasmine Lodge, with Adele and Noel. Bu "I was there, of course, but felt bored, Mi and came ov-er here to find Bome of you. ajr ' AdeJe has a headache, and will not entsr. j/j ' tain any one to-day?not even Noel. H? . has gone to take her a brief boating, how. . ever, and wished me to say that he would W1 dine with yon." Bi J TO BB CONTINUED. J f M J.. \ On? Good Tnra Deserve* Another. 3 'Help yer on with yer coat, sir?" i II. * ^ 1 "Thanks!" the pro i ? ?Q , Go The Capitol Dome at Washington. De( The Capitol dome at Washington is a 1 the only considerable dome of iron in slai the world. It is a vast hollow sphere ant weighing 8,000,300 pounds. How much 1 i is that? More than 4000 tons, or almost reel > the weight 70,000 full-grown persous,or mis about equal to 1000 ladened coal cars of pro: ^ four tons cash, which, if strung out one orijj 1 behind the other, would occupy a mile lan< \ und a half of track. Ou the very top the r of the dome the allegorical figure, pos: i "America," weighing 13,985 pouuds, the lifts its proud head high in the air. .The bac [ pressure of this dome and figure upon the this ? jH? 14 Anr? ??fi piers IIDU piUUIS 13 il,ll I puuua i-v uuu ! the square foot. It would, however, re silk ' quire a pressure of 755,286 pounds to wot 1 the square foot to crush the supporters o! ( gal. the dome. The cost of this immense J | dome was little short of $1,000,000.? Noi ^ St. Louis Republic. > _ Up] l&SS&iil'wi*. . v. ^ vr_, f.il" ' . . '* X THE MANIPURIS. ?W THEY DEFEATED A BKIT ISH FORCE. Description of Manipnr and Its Inhabitants?Cause ol the Trouble With Great Rf if n i n Tie news of the defeat of the British Dps ia Manipur has excited great in:st in military circles here and elseere. The peculiar manner in which small force was virtually annihilated 5, it is generally thought, unavoide. rhe defeat and disaster, in some rects, resembles the retreat from Cabul ough the Khyber Pass. In both initces the small Biltish force was forced retire under circumstances which rened annihilation inevitable. In the reit from Cabul the force had to retire account of the shortness of provisions, the Manipur affair the Goorkhas were wnea ior want 01 ammunition, [t is hardly probable that the thought any trouble on this part of the Indian ritory had ever occurred to the Eng1 military authorities, and the result is ery serious matter to the British Indian lpire. , fbe 8tate of Mampur will in all probility now be subdued And annexed tc : Indian Empire, The defeat occurred the picturesque *nd rugged region ol mjr/ EQUIPPED AND READY. jb lands and forests northeast of the y of Bengal, to the south of the prov:e of Assam and bordering on the still settled races called the Looshais, above littagong, aDd their neighbors, the line, on the western frontier of Uppei irmah. The small native State of mipur, beyond the Tipporah Mountis, ruled by the Maharajah Chandra rti Singh, during forty years past has en on peaceful and amicable terms 1h the British Government of India, it after many troubles with his unruly bjects, he was deposed last year. He then appealed for assistance to Mr. W. Quinton, the British Chief Comssioner of Assam, who set forth from illoug with an escort of 470 men, de:hracuts of the Forty-second and irtv-fourth battalions of Goorkha Light fantry. Advancing from Kohima, the ition nearest to to the boundary ol cam and Manipur, Mr. Quinton summed a durbar of the native chiefs to mand the arrest of the rebellious chief, rled the Senaputty, or head of the army Manipur, who had usurped power and d overthrown the lawful prince. The pedition had enterod Manipur, it is ted, on March 22, but it does not ap area to nave reacnca tnc capital, wnicn jji Mf'wni WARRIOH FIGHTING. he town of Imphal, or Eempal, with 000 inhabitants, who call themselves itheis, and are in some degree cived. On the night of March 23 the nmiesioncr's camp was suddenly atked bj a great multitude of armed >esmen. rhe Goorkhas fought bravely undei British officers. The conflict was 1 j /I,,,,* lui^ nuugeu IJUllUL; IWW nuuig UIIjo, the 27th, the ammunition of th< orkhas being entirely spent, it was idful to order a retreat, which became iclpless flight, and nearly all were jghtered. Mr. Qninton and LieuteuBrackenbury were killed. rbe native population of Maniimr. koned at not more than 220,000, is of :ed races, besides the Meitheis, who foce TTindnnism and claim a sacred ;in for the reigning family; the highlers seem to have more affinity with neighboring Kooki tribes. Manipur sesses a famous breed of ponies, and game of polo, or hockey on horsek, is said to have been invented in country. Some of the more civilized ves are expert weavers of ciotu and , saddlers, carpenters and metal kers, who emigrate? into Eastern Benlanipur is a small: native State in rtheastern India, b&tween Assam and pfr Burmah. It is about 800 square > . { ' ' ' * ^ miles in extent, and has a population of 200,000. They are not savages, but are MANIPUR MU8ICIA1T. very ignorant, and are possibly unaware of tbe real extent of the British power. The State is under British protection, and, beiDg too difficult of access to Dt managed by the district offieer of Cachar, it was found necessary to station a resident at the capital. For years past there has been frequent attempts on the pari of various chiefs to obtain possession oi the throne, and these internecine feuds, in which the Rajah, the Jobrai, and the Benaputty played the leading parts, were the provoking cause of the recenl trouble. Kohimo, the nearest British post, consists of a stockade and a native village. The buildings within the stockade consists of four or five barrack-like huts, built of mud or bamboo, and witl thatched dwellings. The walls arc formed of rough-hewn boards joined together by bamboo wattling. The housei t_; i-J : An. are ouui mggieuj-pi^gieu, wnuuub uuj attompt at a street.?New York 1 digram. England's lOO-Year-Old Admiral. Sir Provo William Parry Wallis, th< senior Admiral of the British fleet, re cently celebrated bis hundredth birth day and is still in the service. In n< other country in the world would such i thing be possible, and it has never oc curred in England before. The old mar is still hale and hearty aud, to all ap pearances, likely to enjoy life for som< time longer. He has drawn pay frou the navy for ninety-six years, has beer actually in the service for ninety of these and it is eighty-seven years since he firs went to sea. He was born at Halifax Nova Scotia, April 12, 1791, while hi ADMIRAL SIR PROVO WILLIAM PARR1 WALLI3. father was stationed there as Chief Clerk of the Navy Yird, and, according to a custom then prevailing in the case of sons of officers or people of influence, was placed on the pay roll of one of the vessels of the navy wheu he was but four years old. In 1800, when only nine, he went aboard the Cleopatra for training r?nd four years later made his first voyage in her. The Cleopatra, after a fight in midocean, was captured by the French frigate Ville de Milan, but was rescued >y another British vessel a week later, la 1808, at the age of seventeen, he was made a Second Lieutenant and was in nany actions during the French war. Ele was Second Lieutenant of the Shannon when that frigate defeated the Chesapeake in the famous fight off Boston Harbor in 1813. The Captain having and the First Lieutenant irilled the command of the frigate and her prize devolved upon young Wallis. He was promoted for his gallantry and sfficiency in this action and in 1819 was made a Captain. The dates of his promotions after this were as follows: Rear Admiral, 1851; Vice Admiral, 1857; Admiral, 1863, and Admiral of the fleet, 1877. It was by the special order of the Queen that he was retained in the - -3 -ii-!- - J iV service aner ne oau aiuimuu me ui -eventy, at which the rule requires reirement. This was on account of the xceptional length and character of his -crvice. He was created a G. C. B. in 1873.?Chicago Post. On a recent afternoon the little four year-old daughter of Mr. M. D. Proctor, who resides on Major Shelton's farm, three miles north of Covington, Tenn., fell into a well forty feet deep and containing about twenty feet of water. Mrs. Proctor, in her frenzy, leaped in aftci the child, and by clinging to the brick -?nAin l-n/minor hf>rsr>lf and little one above the water until the husband aud father arrived and drew them safely out of their perilous situatiou. Neither suffered auy serious injury.? Mcmyh is Appeal- A valnn che. Mrs. Samuel Clemens, wife of "Mark Twain," und Mrs. Frank Stockton, arc both gentle-faced, middle-aged ladies, who, though ambitious and admirers of the fame of their respective husbands, have never been known to perpetrate the smallest jest or quietest sally. The income derived by French people who rear fowls is, according to returns, about $335,000,000. "the inca republic^ A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OP PERU ANIj'v ~~ ITS RESOURCES. % Throwing Off the Spanish Shackle^ ?Disastrons War With Chile? / The System of Government ?Mineral Products. The Republic of Peru, the capital oi which is Lima, stretches along the Pacifid Coast from Ecuador to Chile, having' Brazil and Bolivia on the eastern frontier] It revolted from Spain in 1821, anditf *, first Constitution -was adopted in 1828J In 1829 it fought with Colombia. IdJ 1804-0Y mere was a ucsuiiory euurt vu the part of Spain to reuew her domina: tion, when Chile came vigorously anc 1 heroically to the rescue of Peru. j In 1878-81, after forming a secret alliance for the; purpose with Bolivia, Peru ^ fought a desperate war with its quondam friend, Chile, and inconsequence lost the province of Tarapaca and provisionally the department of Tacna. The area of Peru is about 465,74' square miles, and its population approzli _ mates 3,500,000, of whom considerably more than half are aborignals. i The present Constitution of Peru wai adopted in 1856, and was revised toiosu extent in 1860. . There are in Peru, as in most of. thi other South American Republics, an executive President, a Senate and House o: s Representatives; but the conditions o1 Government are not so liberal as in thq majority of Republican Statsa. The Pres?< ^ dent is assisted by two Vice-Presidents one senior to the other, with the flni > right of succession in case of vacancy. j i These three office-holders are elected every four years. An Executive Coua > cil of five Ministers, directly responsibly ' * to the President, is nominated by him a1 i the time of his entering on his term ol office; and he, not the Congress,*has the | power of removing them. I The twenty departments nominate tw( members each to the Senate, which also includes Representatives of Tacna. ^ 1 i The House of Representatives contain! J 110 members, returned by indirect dec' tion?the districts choosing electors, L who then meet in the chief towns of the ' rlonnrtmpnt ami select Dcnutiefl in thi ratio of one to every ?0,000 inhabitants^ The local governmep', of the depart* 1 ments, like the central State Govern* 1 ment, has been somewhat disorganized by war and internal dissensions, so that | the Constitution may be said to be in ft large measure dependent upon the popular caprice. The established religion i(j Roman Catholic. The finances of Peru are greatly d&j moralized and disorganized, and no re| cent returns of revenue and expenditure are either reliable or available. Thq public debt approximates f250,000,000g the interest on which is not paid, and io consequence the expenditures are coxy siderably in excess of the income. In short, Peru has been practically ruined [ by the wild policy which it has adopteg 3 I thronoh the intervention and influence of 1 foreign capitalists. 1 r Peru is perhaps the best known of all ' South American countries. It is the seal of the ancient civilization of the In cm 1 and contains some of the famous silvea 3 mines worked for so many centuries. If ia divided by its mountains into thre# regions?the coast, the central plateau and the Amazon region. The coast line of Peru presents an almost unj broken front of arid ridges of Band oi bleak ranges of rock running somen times to the sea, yet behind those ridga and between those We mountains are valleys of unparalleled fertility, througB. which wind streams of water fed by the unfailing snows of the highest peaksj! streams whose volume and foroe abata as they reach the wall of sand towarqC [ the sea and in which they are finally lost. There are few rivers of the multb* lude alone the western slope of the Corf, dilleras that find their way unbarred bjj tand to the ocean. In these valleys th? products of the field ore exuberant and varied, corn, cotton, sugar cane, alfalfa)! rice, with grapes, apples, pears, peaches' and other fruits, abound. The maturity of the crops depends upon the time of sowing and planting, so that they majj r be arranged to mature consecutively} < thus keeping the mills always at work, i] . : The mineral resources of Peru are verjj abundant. Silver is lound throughout her territory, also gold, coal, copper and many other minerals. -< The plateau is an agricultural country, broken by many rides. In the south ifl a poition of the great basin of Lake Titicaca, the remainder being in Bolivia^ the whole is entirefrflurrounded by hillsj thus cutting off all escape fon its waters] North of this basin, in the valleys, floW the tributaries of the Amazon; on thfl jilateau they flow due north, and theni. escaping through the ridges, pour theii waters into the Ucayali, the Hullaga an^ the Maranon. These again, increased bj the streams rising upon the eastern slopes of the Cordilleras, enter the Amazon. 7 The greater portion of the population live on the central plateau, the province! of Jauja being the most thickly inhab-i ited. i| The Amazon provinces are thickljr covered -with vegetation, and are thinlj inhabited. They are traversed in all directions by water courses; the climate is mild, and the soil extremely fertile; In this country lies the head of navigation of the Amazon, beyond -which the ???- oro fair onnoictiflfV WHYS ujJC&i tu vi auiv uiv ?vn} ? of mule paths almost impassable during the rainy season. The early Spaniard^ built extensive roads through the plateau, and it is said that the "RoyaJ Highway"' traversed the country from north to south. Along the coast there are also good roads, but across the mountains there arc few passages^ Several routes are used from the coast to navigation upon the Amazon, as previously mentioned, via the Mftranon, Chacha< poyas and Huanuco, besides which there are no doubt others to reach the Purua and the Iieni. . 1 To overcome the difficulties of transt^rtntinn nn.1 tn orivA :i mnrkl't for the - ?--- " ? extensive mineral products, railways have been extensively built aad projected. The first efforts were toward the coast, and resulted in the construct tion ol the Moliendo and Arequipa and the Cullao and the Oroya railways; but recently others have been projected not only to the Pacific, but also to the eastward to reach the Pachitea, the Ucajall and the Purus.?JYtw York Mail ana TV.-., '"r" A London firm published 77,000,000 fl tracts in a year. j j H Italy and Abyssiuia are having a tilt-K , over a treaty. ^ 898