A GREAT AUTHOR'S UNREST.

Evening Post, Volume XLV, Issue 94, 22 April 1893, Page 2 (Supplement)

A GREAT AUTHOR'S UNREST.

Dickens describes his feelings when about to commence a new novel, in a letter which he wrote to Leigh Hunt in 1855, when he wjs contempating -writing " Little Dorrit." " I am now," lie writes, " iv v wandering, unsettled, restless, uncontrollable state, being about to write a new book. At such a time I am as infirm of purpose as Macbeth, as errant us Mad Tom, and as rugged ai Timon. I sit down to work, do nothing, get up and walk a dozen miles, come back, and sit dowu again next day, again do nothing, and get up, go down a railroad, find a place where I resolve to stay for a month ; come home next morning, go btrolliug about for hours and hours, reject all engagements to have my time to myself, get tired of myself, and yet can't come out oi myself to be pleasant to anyone ehe." A feeling, something akin to tho great novelist's, is experienced by every sick person. They first consult their doctor, and derive no benefit, thon commence taking the fhcap advertised quack medicines, with no result, and begin to despair of ever regaining strength. If they would only, iv the first instance, commence a course of Clements' Tonic, their physical troubles would soon be at rest, for this remedy is a suro ai.d positive cure for every disease duo to a dilnlitated and impoverished state of tho system, whether it makes itself known as Neuralgia, Indigestion, Liver Complaint, or in any other form. For a oaso in point, rji.d what is said by Mis C. 11. Haynes, Curriugton. who wiitos on January 7th, 1892: —About twelve mouths ago I suffered greatly with pains Imiveen tho shoulders, extreme weakne.--> and dizziness, with a depressed feeling— m fact, unable todoauytliing. Hearing of Clements' Tonic and its wonderful euies, I resolved to give it a trial. Before 1 finished two bottles I regained my usual health. lam only too happy to certify as to its wonderful curative proportion, as I am a living 1 witness ; in fact, I recommend it to all my friends, hoping that they may derive the same benefit as I have doue.~l remain, yours sincerely, Mrs. C H. Huyues Carrington, Now South Wales.

For many yearn past a Sunday-school by telegraph has been held every Sunday on v. r.tilroad in Ponnnylvania. According to ono authority, the superintendent propounds questions to the claas over the wire at different places, prayers are said, and a ohapter in the Bible read— all by wire.

A RIDE ACROSS ASIA. LORD DUMMORE'S ADVIi.VU'ItLH. A most notable journey mi hnraobnuk iioi'ods the continent of Asia linn just been (■01111)1010(1 by Loid Dunmore, who liiih beon intorvßWPd at Constantinople by n rep re - M'litntivo ol the l'all Mull Budget. Jjiml Dunmore rniy.i : — TIIU HKAI. STAIIT. '• In April i begun seriously. Wont up the Jeuluni (the iinciuut Hyda^X-'N) inlo X s unir, hultinpr at Krinugar, where 1 boliove there bun miiou been tioulile. In May I oroshod tho Western IlimaliiyiiH, in'o Balti.stau and Lmlalch, or Mnlillo Thibet, and reaching Lob, tho capital. Ileio I was joined by Major Koche, of tho 3rd Urii^oou GuurdH, tind we formed v caravan. Wo engaged thirty men mid had fifty-six liorHcs. Lute in June wo crossed tho Eastern Himalayan, and wont into Weatoin Thibet, travelling thoncc over tho Mustngh or Ico Mountains into Chinese territory. Wo travelled by tho Kimikorum Pass, which, as you know, is the highest cat u van pass iv the world. It is 19,000 feet nbovo sea lovol. For twelvo consecutive days wo woro at a mean altitude of 17,'-.)0 feet above soa level. That moanH living 1 , eatiug, drinking, walking through snow run ovor ice at an altitude nearly TWO THOUSAND FEET IIIOHEK TIU.N MONT lII.ANO. "Major Roche and I suffered a groat deal, and tho men seemed to like it lohh thuu wo did. We lost a horse or two through tho rarefaction of tho air. Besides, there wasn't a blade of grass for the poor brutos to oat. On tho 16th of July wo mado the Chinese fort of Sugey. Thon -we took once more to tho heights, and crossed the Kuon Luen Mountains by a pass 18,850 foot high. No Englinhmun had ever crossed them before. We stayed somo time in tho Sugey Pass, exploring. Thoro wo lost two horses, which fell over precipices. At length we roached Sunju ; after resting briefly we crossed the deborts and. oases of Chinese Turkestau, arriving in August at Yarkand, tho capital of Eastern Turkestau. Thence over several mountains, and, with no little difficulty, across flooded rivers tiil we HIT CAPTAIN YOUNOUDSIIAND's TRAIL, on the desert of Shaltan Kum. No white man's foot but his had trodden it before us." "Did you follow his route over tho Pamirs?" "Yes and no. After we had reached Tnsh Kurgan wo spont three months in the disputed districts, riding moro than 600 miles round the Afghan, Chinese, and Russian frontiers. In November we reached Colonel Yanoff's headquartors." "Did you find him as ferocious as you expected r" "Well, you must remember that whon I started he had not gone out on tho warpath, so I had no expectations about him," was Lord Dunmore's parry. "I had rather not hpoak of him now. We shot some specimens of the Ovis Poli, the wild mountain sheep of the Pamirs, which takes its name from Marco Polo, who discovered it." "Did you make any discoveries?" " Yes. We explored several now passes, and took scientific observations all over the country. As a result of these I have sent a new map of the Pamirs to the Royal Geographical Society for publication. During our sojourn in the country tho thermometer ranged between 20deg. and 30deg. Fahr. ; we were never free from frost. Yanoff's men suffered severely. It struck me that the Asiatic, even of the Cossack variety, is not good at bearing cold." " Had you no adventures ?" ' ' Not with the Russians. But after we had left their fort of Rangkul we crossed the Sarigol mountains by a pass which no European had travelled. After our descent a Chinese officer with fifteen men came upon us, and we were ARRESTED AS RUSSIAN SPIES. ' ' Were you long detained ?' ' " No. We had a tiresome detention, but did not excite ourselves. After some time we succeeded in convincing our captor that we were Englishmen. Ho released us, and when avo got to Kashgar the authorities had the grace to apologise. At Kashgar we had to break up the caravan, as tho Russians refused to allow Major Roche to cross their Central Asiatic frontier." "And you ?" " Oh, I had a personal permit from the Czar, and proceeded alone I left Kashgar in December, unattended by any interpreter or guide, or even by a ' practicable ' servant. After 19 days' riding I reached the Alai Mountains, and crossed by the Great Terek Pass. I had to travel through the snow on foot. Threo of my horses were frozen to death. From the Terek my lino was across Central Asiatic Russia, passing through Osh, Andijan, Margilan, Khokhand, Khojend, and Tashkend. There I I was snowed up for 18 days trying to reach Khiva. But at that season Khiva is unapproachable, since the Oxus cannot be navigated, owing to the massos of floatiug ico. So I left ' the majestic river floatiug on,' and at length reached the Syr Daria (Jaxartes), which I crossed on the ice. Samarkand was my next point. In fact, the riding ended there I took the Transcuspian Railway to Bokhara, Merv, Askabad, and, having crossed the Caspian and the Caucasus, embarked at Batoum. As you know, I arrived here ou the 14th, just a year after my start." ' ' The end of the journey was quite solitary ?" "Yes, from China I was entirely alone. I sold my camvan at Osh, on the frontier, and dismissed the men, who returned to Yarkand." " But how did you manage to communicate your ideas?" " Oh, I speak Russian. And I found the little Kirghiz that I knew extremely useful." A PROSPEROUS JOURNEY. ' ' Then you did not have any hair-breadth adventures on the way. Lord DuumoreF" " No, I can't say that there was anything very thrilling. Iv fact, we were very lucky all the time. During the whole nine months of caravan work we only lost five horses - four from falling over precipices and being frozen to death, and one in the high altitudes over tho Karakorum. We didu't lose a single man. By tho way," went on Lord Dunmoro, emphatically, "" I ought to say that the courtesy I received from Russians in the Pamiis and Russian Central Asia was most marked. Everywhere they treated me with the greatest regard, and I have a lot to be grateful to them for."