WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY.

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 185, 17 July 1873, Page 3

WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY.

And then lie dicw a ds.il trom his poke, And looking : t it wt*-'i J-ick-lushv imc, Says, very \\i>clv. It is (en o'clock. Thk clock was striking ten ; it was n. bright \\f\vm morning, you will remember, although in December, ;»•> warm ii-. a modern June. A i'nll spring-tide was # >et runiiing in, 'mil just on the very ton ol it a dismasted s!up alcwly nnd laboriously followed the tugs of a boat, which, pulled by four stout seamen, reminded one of some tiny urchin pulling at tho halter of a massive-limbed dray-horse. All the old salts of Abcrhirnant were at the pier-head ; Frank the ofliccr, too, with his telcscopo ; and a flag floated gaily from the staff in front of tho wooden shed which did duty as a cus-tom-liouse. But there was no answering signal from the ship. H couldn't bo expected of her, as her masts had gone by the board. As she breasted across the harbour-mouth, flinging Uie waters gallantly aside, although she shewed her stern to the onlookers, no one could make out her name. Even the cuslom-hoiwe glnss couldn't reveal it, and tho old sails could make nothing of her. Mr Rowlands could mako nothing of her either, as he walked briskly down to the bank. There was a figure standing at the corner of the side-street, however, he could make out well enough— it was the Hen Doctor. A sardonic grin of triumph was on his face 5 in his baud he held firmly clutched a big black-lcuthcr pocketbook. He looked down every now and then to assure himself that ho had it safe ; at each stroke of tho clock, he looked up to see if tho bank-door was still closed. When ho saw Evan Rowlands coming down the street, he took a few hasty strides towards the bank and placed himself on its Bteps. ' Come, Mr Rowlands 5 it's past ten o'clock : you should bo more regular with the bank than this ; yes, by Jupiter !' 'If jou'd bo moro regular in visiting your patients, it would be a good thing, doctor ; you know you haven't been near tbe workhouse for a month. You'll ha\ c tho inspector down upon you soon.' 'The inspector be singed!' said the doctor, 'with his papers and his stufl'; he can't shew anything like thi*, Rowlands, bach,' said the doctor, tapping his pocket-book. 'As long as I've that, I'm nil right; oh, Rowlands 9 — What! are you going to open the door yourself? I thought you were too proud to do that. I can recollect your graudmothcr washing tho steps of a, morning, for all that, Rowlands, Inch ' 'Thero was nobody over accused your grandmother of that, doctor,' said Rowlands, leisurely fitting the key into the lock 5 ' for her front door opened into a dung-heap ; and they say, too, doctor, that when Sir Robert upset his carriago one day over the heap, and would have it carted away, that thoy shovelled up her house along with it, not knowing the one from tho other.' 'By Jupiter said tho doctor, pale with roge, for ho could never stand a joke against himself or his relations. Then added under his breath, ' I believe the old rogue has got plenty of money, after all, or else he wouldn't be so sharp.' Rowlmds didn't feel very sharp, however, as he led the way into the counting-house. It was very hard that the bank should break dow 11 at last, after he had so nearly saved it. And -\cb, what could he do 9 There was only about the hundred pounds left in gold in the bauk coders, lie knew that. To a*k nny forbearance from the doctor, he knew «v Mini. No; he was utterly shipwrecked at last. All his ellbrts had ended thus and thus. He lingered long in 1111lockmp the safes ; the familiar keys really seemed stianjje to his bands ; the familiar books and shelves loomed weird and unreal to bun, through 11 haze of dun lurid light. This was the very hour of doom ; would nothing stop it ? ' I've got tho notes all sofc for you, you see, Mr Rowlands, bach.' ' You'll find gold inconvenient for you doctor; won't you take a draft for port of tho amount ' ' ' No ! ' shouted the doctor. ' Gold ! down on tho counter, quick, in a minute. I'll teach you to insult my grandmother ; yes, by Jupiter.' Rowands turned despairingly away, and began to fumble about the empty money-bags. Surely ruin had come upon him in its most repulsive iorm. Rather had he that any man should w itness his final agony than the Hen Doctor. Surely Providence would do something for him. Remembering tho subscriptions ho bad paid to good works— the money ho had given to alleviate distress — the sums he had lost to act a little Providence himself, to develop trade, to encourage industry— surely, surely, he thought, something ought to interposo betwixt himself and destruction. He lifted up his head and listened. ' Come, now ! ' shouted the doctor ; ' come ! the gold ! Arian Uaur ' Come ! Or shnll I run into tho street and en/ that Rowlands' bank his stopped ? ' Rowlands shivered and moaned, but still listened intently. The last words of the doctor had almost doprived him of sensation. That long and far cry ! harbinger of desolation and woo ! That the cry should go forth against him, that men should shout his name from tbe bill-top 1 ?, that his shame should be known in all the vallovs of the land! Ah, why had lie not prepared for this moment of agony ? Why had he not at hand some potent drug, some sudden poison, that his faco might not be brought to shame ? Still he listened. There came a long and far cry, borne up by tho seabreeze, a sound of shouting, the quick yapping shouts of the Cymry, the shrill screams of women, a tramplo and a rush of feet. The old man came to the counter with empty handc, trembling, eager, expecting lie knew not what. The noise and ruVi of feet increased, and in another moment the bank doors were thrown violently open, ami a crowd of mm thronged in ; borno upon the shoulders of the crowd was a bronzed, ruddy seaman, of blue eyes and long brown bcaid. 'What! Evan Pugh ?' ' What ! Ronlnndj, bach f It was tho captain of the Menevia's Pride. The two men seized each other by both hands, their eyes glistening. After all, life has something besides money bags. ' What ! yon didn't go down with tho Pride, then ?' sneered tho doctor. ' I wonder you're not ashamed to show yourself without your ship.' 'Ship, my beauty! — tho Menevia's Priclo lies safe at anchor in the haibour. I saved her after all, thanks be to Providence !' Tho doctor clutched up his notes, and vanished in the crowd. ' Hi ! doctor, stop !' shouted tbo banker. ' How about the bond ?' ' Stop, stop ! doctor, bai h' cried tho crowd ; but he wouldn't stop, but hied away as fast as his legs would carry him. 1 1 knew you weren't lost, Evan,' said the banker, looking proudly round j I was the only man who said it ; but I've always said that the Mcnevia's Pride would come safe home ; but I own, Evan, when I saw the dog my heart sank for 3011.'

' Ah, Mr Rowlands, Mort ami tho taffrail rails wore washed o(r together. There was not enough water on tho b:ir to carry 113 over, and wo were obliged to put to sea again, and a gicat sea carried away poor Mort and the best part of our name too, Rowlands, bach. And, indeed, I was glad to see the poor beast again.' Then all tho people hurried away to carry Captain Pugh all round the town, and treat him at all tho public houses ; co that once more tho bank was quite silent and deserted. But not for long : Rowlands once more heard a tread upon the pavement ; his heart beat t\me to tho Btep. Yes ; it was as he feared — it was young Robertson. ' Mr Rowlands,' ho said, sitting down and sighing heavily, I hate here n. draft for fivo thousand pounds, drawn by you on your London agcuts, and refused by them. My instructions are to present this draft and demand instant payment.' Rowlands's hand shook as ho took up tlio draft and examined it. ' I can't understand it,' he cried ; ' I must have time to loot to it.' ' Unfortunately,' said Robertson, my instructions are peremptory. By a peculiar and summary method of recovering crown debts, I am authorised, by a paper which / have here, to call upon the deputvsherilT to levy an extent on jour effects ret I houl further iltlr/i/ ' 'Could jou let. me see that paper?' said tho banker, snatching at any chance of reprieve. Gerard felt in Ins bag for his papers : they wero gone.

Twelve Dozen ok Evßßrrmm — When TYollope (says the Bilfast Newspaper) in one of his novels, spoke of a bride having twelve dozen pocket handkerchiefs, lie considered lie had reached the verge of probability. But Miss lloUischild, whe, a few weeks a^o, became Mrs E. Yoikc, did not confine herself to handkerchiefs in dozen do/ens. The Bond Street milliner to whom the order for the trousseau was gi\en, had instructions to provide twelve dozen of every article which it was within the bounds of possibility for a lady to require. Pen and powers fail to pourtray the piles of dresses, mantles, linen, lace, shoes, &c, which went to make up that trousseau. The cost, happily, concerned only the Uothschilds, but it must have been considerable, for one of tboso evening dreises nlone would be required fifty yards of silk. Such is lifo — in London. Tlio young lady for whom all the mass of finery was provided was tlic last person who would huvo been oxpocted to indulge in it. She it was who, with her sister, completed about two yoars ago, a translation of tho Old Testament Script ur ft, but which was printed only for private circulation. It wag tho work of several years, during which tnno the translators almost altogether eschewed fashionable life. A Ludicrous Incident,— -Tho following which occurred in the Supremo Court of Fiji is thus described by the Gazette: — The benches prepared for tho jury had been new ly varnished, and the jury had scarcely sat down when they discovered that they stuck, and were entangled in a specie* of " catch'cin-fdivc-o." Amidst universal laughter, in which the Bench joined, hw Honor ordered the messenger to bring somo relief, and the jury took their seats on copies of tho Ttmrs, which were liberally provided. Tho consumption oi iron for railrouda during the present year is estimated at 1,750,000 tons.

Is Dji"iiii mv Oak iiix. v — It Mould ap|>< n th:<t it is. if the following er.tuct fiom the Ballarat Star is coiictt That paper writes :— '-Whatever may be the nature of the virus -.\luch pro U cjs dipthuria, it appeal s to be comutucable by inoculation. In the recent outbreak of the disease at AliteiHon, t\\ o persons were seiiously affected by handling clothes upon which some of the diseased children had expectoiatod. One, the eldest daughter, w ashed borne of the clothes used by a diseased child, nud whilst Amng bo | the virus was communicated to her blood through a wound in the hand. In a slx.it time a pustule arose, and a led mark spiead up her aim, and aftom.uds symptoms at dipthena developd themselves Happily she -was not \ iruleutly attacked, and has recovered. A neighbour who visited the siiA family was attacked in a similar manner, although the diptheria symptoms weie not fully developed. These facts may, possibly, have some useful bearing upon the nature and treatment of this mysteiious and fatal disease. " It is stated that about £3500 lias been already collected or promised towards the erection of an Knglish church, which will be the first Protestant. c-JniirU ever jet erectod in Koine, the chapel which has hitherto served for the English residents being, as is well known, outsido tho w alls of the city. A «*ito has been obtained for the building in the Piazza San Silvestro, adjoining the Piazza di Spagna. In an appeal which has been made ibr further contributions the sum needed is 9ct down at about £7000 in all, towards which about half is in hnnd. The erection of the church has tho approval ot the Bishops of Durham and Cashel, and tho appointment of the incumbent tv ill bo vested in trustees, the church itself being undi r the episcopal control of the Bishop of Gibraltar. The Sirwcea arc to be " conducted on the thoroughly PiotcsUiit aid Scriptural principles of tho Church of England." The Morniny Post thinks the future of tho lloman Church very much depends upon her future Pontiffs being able to i cad the signs of the times and the conditions of their own success. A now Pope comius,' into office with stiong views about the patrimony of Sfc Peter, and resolved to {.tiain his spiritual authority in. aid of the recovery of his tempoial juiisdiction, would be guilty of a bluudcr whose results would not be limited to himself. If, on the other hand, ho distinguishes between temporal accidents and spiritual essence, as a true Pontiff should, he would in all probability leplace the Papal chair upon foundations so unassailable that no political conflicts could shake them, and no reason be left to anyone to seek their overthrow. Sevei.il peisons who look luncheon together the other day on the occasion of a letting of grass parks near Arbroath, immediately afterwards became very ill. In some cases the illness lasted for several days, and ono of the party, a Mr John Eassie, innkeeper, died. It is rumoured that some beef supplied to the party was saturated with croton oil, which had been administered to Clio animal as medicine.