CHAPTER II.—CONTINUED.

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 194, 7 August 1873, Page 2

CHAPTER II. — CONTINUED.

It appeared,, however, in a few moments, that it vu a* person ' of that sort,' who had so far forgotten herself as toring the visitors' bell. Jane ushered in presently a young' won? an, whose neatness and appropriate attire offered et striking contrast to the dowdy individual who had preoeded her, w ith the brief announcement : ' Come about the lady'tmaid'a place, ma'am.' ' I hope this is she,' thought Miriam, the moment her eves rested on tho face of the young woman,. who obeyed, llise Monitor's somewhat lofty invitation to be seated ; but Bbc did not venture to anticipate that lady's questions. 'In order to save time,' began Miss Monitor, ' it is best to ask you at once if you are a good dressmaker ? That is indispensable. 1 I 1 have been accustomed to make drestes,' replied the young woman. ' Where have you lived V Miriam thought there was an uneasy look in the face, w | little trouble in the voice, as the answer came. ' ' I have lived with two ladies, madam ; they will be happy to recommend me, if the young lady think* I shall mit her/ Miriam interposed. She lelt pretty sure this was the right person. ' What is your name ?' she asked. ' Rose Dixon,' returned the other, but withoub looking at the young lady, whose eye she had avoided duiing this britt* interrogatory. Miriam remained standing behind M»»s Monitor's chair, looking intently at the ' friend,' for irhose sake her brother had enjpined her to play a comedy, and contrived to make Miss Monitor understand, by B«ndry sig- , nificant pinches and nudgeS) that the consider*! the new candidate an eligible person for the proposed siR"^ 011 ' RoseDiion was certainly young and nice-looiin/- The me „ serious obstacle to the success of the sch/me actively organised by Walter, and passively acquiesced in by Miriam, was the danger that Miss Monitor mijfut consider her tooyoung and too nice-looking. She wa9 slight, and of small stature ; but though her dress was pl*in, there was no trace of the servant-class about her, and neither was there any of the more objectionable pert gentility of the sovlrette. Miriam feared that she was almost fatally lady-like, and" could have wished for less refinement in the features, lessharmony in the Toice, and polish in the accent, for a little more vivid red in the deheato complexion, and somewhat lesa dependent gentleness in the expression of the clear-cut small features. But her apprehensions were unfounded. She did not reflect that she wat» looking at Bose Dixon with keen curiosity, and interest, with a foretaste of romance— ft. delicious anticipation of more to come ; whereas Miss Monitor was regarding her merely as an applicant for a servant'»place, who might, she hoped, suit in every essential respect r and rid her of any more trouble about the matter. While Miriam was taking in every detail of her.personal appearance, Miss Monitor was content with observing that Rose Evans was ' genteel ' looking, and that she had blue eyes and light brown hair, a ' nice' smile, and a pleasant respectful manner. She answered Miss Monitor's questions satisfactorily, and was quite content with the wages offered by Mr Clint. Miriam began to feel triumphant ; and she had sufficient tact to keep silent, so as not to t mbarrass Mis 3 Dixon during the cross-examination. ' Gentlemen are not generaHy good hands at arranging such matters,' said Miss Monitor, when she had exhausted, her list of questions, ' and Mr Clint has forgotten that he has not "given us time to apply to your former employers. You will be required to accompany Miss Clint to the Firs on Thursday, if she should decide on engaging you ; and unless the ladies in whose service you have been reside in* London, it will not b« possible to communicate with them. In that case' 1 11 nefautpas yfa ire attention,' said Miriam rapidly, and in a lowered voice ; elle a Pair n doux et si bon que'- ' Pardon me, madam,' said the young woman, while a* vivid blush suffused her fact : ' 1 understand French. 1 ' Thank you,' said Miriam frankly. ' I was only going tosay that I think you will suit me, and that, as my iather has not allowed me more time, we might perhaps dispense with the usual inquiries.' ' Where do your iormer employers live ? Have you any written recommendations ?' asked Miss Monitor, very well, disposed to take Miriam's view oi the ease, but still wishing, to do everything decently and in order, so far at circumstances permitted. There was a slight hesitation— just th« least possible pause— before Eo«e Dnon answered, »nd the blush of color faded out o/ her lace. 'Mrs Waldron and Mrs France do not live in London,, mndam, but I have a letter from each of them.' As she handed the documents to Miss Monitor, RoseDrum closed her eyes for an instant, and drew a deep, breath. Miss Monitor proceeded to read one of the letters, laying, the other on tho table beside her. Miriam looked at Rose. ' This is a crisis,' she thought, ' and she find» it difficult.' ' Highly satisfactory ; quite so, indeed,' said Miss Monitor,, as she hold up tho letter she had just read, so that Miriam. might take it over her shoulder.—' i'ead that, my dear. 1 The letter was written in a fine, feminine, sloping-band, on highly glazed paper, with violet ink, and contained an elegantly worded testimony to the capacity and conduct of Hose Dixon, and on expiession of Mrs Waldron's regret at parting with her. Miriam read it, and compressed her lips, a little movement which was not lost on Hose Dixon. 'And this is equally satisfactory,' said Miss Monitor,, handing up the second letter to Miriam, who still retained the first. The two letters were utterly different in their exterior. The second was written on blue paper, of bu»iness-like make,, in a thick, bold, upright hand ; and the record of the golden opinions won by Rose Dixon i'rom the writer, was worded in a downright and forciblo manner, which lent the document quite other characteristics. Miriam, still holding the first open in her left hand, gravely perused the second. Theimpulse of misohie£ moved her, just a little. • Tins is very nice indeed,' she said, looking from one sheet of paper to the other. ' How d iffeiently. Mr» France of Nottingham and Mrs Waldron of Peterborough express themselves, and how unlike their respective handwriting is ! If there's any truth in what people say about handwriting betraying tho character, you must have beeH fortunate enough, to please two opposite persons.' She laid the letters on the table, emerging from her post behind Miss Monitor's chair ; and as she did so, ihe caught one swift appealing glance from Rose Dixon's mild blue eyes,, w hich filled her with sudden remorse. ' What a shame for me !' she thought. 'No doubt, this i» & necessary port of Walter's scheme, and she is not to blame for it ; I daresay it » a vcy hard part of it to her\ At all events, I have no business to play mine so ill.' fc She began to talk eagerly to Miss Monito'*— in the«enseof its being quite settled thatJßose Dixon was to be her maid, about the necessary packing, and the hour at which they Diust be at the London Bridge station. Rose Dixon recovered her self-command rapidly and put the letters in her pocket. It was also evident to Miriam's quick observation that thenecessity for her entering upon her duties bo toon was an unpleasant surprise to Rose Dixon. The ' wanted, to attend upon a young lady, immediately' of Mr Clint's advertisement had not implied to her that her seivice was to begin from the following day. Miriam came to her assistance. « I daresay you cannot get your own things ready before Thursday,' she said ; ' so you need not mind coming here to. pack for me. If you are here in good time on Thursday, it VjU rf 0 —They will all help me, won't tiiey ?' she continued,, turning with a smile to Mis» Monitor. • Certainly, my dear.' Miriam felt deeply grateful lo Mrs Dibley for having a. daughter requiring a liberal education, 6ißters in India, and brothers in China. Never had Miss Monitor been so acquiescent. Now , if she would only leave the room, if someother opportune visitor would only arrive., so that she might 6peak in private to her new maid, and satisfy the intent* curiosity she felt ! But circumstances had apparently accommodated her on the present occasion as far as they intended to do. There was no further pretext for prolonging the interview, and Miss Monitor rose. 'At nine o'clock on Tlmrdaj ,' she said, ' you will be here. Good afternoon ' Rose Dixon drew her veil down as soon as she had pasted" the gate of Ciescent House, and walked away rapidly to the right. A few hundred yards from the jealous brick wall and tho great gates, a narrow road intersected the main thorough' fare. She glanced, and then turned down it, and in a few minutes came up with a woman, »vho was loitering about in a purposeless manner. The woman was tall, of a gaunt figure, and dowdy appearance; and she woie a brown silk gown, and a black aliawl with a flounce of clumsy lace. Rose Dixon caught her arm, with a quick breath, almost a sob. 1 Well ?' ' I have seen her.' 1 Is it settled ?' 1 Yes.' 'That's a good thing. What an infinite relief to my mind !' ' Yes, Walter it is. I know that — I grant that ; and I like her face, and am sure I may trust her. But remember, though I am quite content to do anything to make things * asier for you ' — she looked at him with such troubled love in her blue eyes — ' Ido bo hate, lio Jso shrink from this horrid deceit.'

' Don't worry yourself on that score, dearest ; it's my fault, uu know, not yovrt' (which was judicious and availing conT^Wation for the woman who loved him) ; ' and, really, there's " some fun in it too. Come, tell me all about it.'

This Eist^bt or a Boulder. — The following is from the Press: — "A lecture was delivered in Si. Andrew's by Dr Haast, the subject being the history of a from the Ca> terbury phvns, from its formation on the tea bottom until its final deposit in the river bed. The lecturer commenced bv staling that it amis impossible to deliver & lecture on that could be properly understood without his heaiers haung some pievious knowledge of the technical scientific terms, but he would as far as wes possible avoid the use of bard or scientific words, and endeavour to make bis discourse intelligible to all. Tbe stone he produced would tell its own story, and in as plain and • straightforward a manner as any individual discoursing of his own individual biogr^by. The lecturer went on to say that millions of years ago there was a vast island t » the east of New Zealand, of which tome portion of the Chatham Islands form a remnant. F'-om this largo rivers bore down the material for the formation of sanlstone and slates, and an explanation was given of how the beds, many thousands of feet in thickness, were found. After an animated description was given of tbe strange phases of animal an I vegelable life in fiose remote times, the lecturer proceeded to explain how these beds were formed into bard stone, and by the action of inte nal heat were gr.iJually raised above tbe surface of.tbe sea and eventually formed high mountain- The causes were then expla .ied by winch these mountains were again destroyed, and it was s'-own how tbe rocks — of winch ****J^e boulder was a poiti >n — raa.ie fheir appearance on tbe -Jwrface of tlie eaith. A vivid description of tbe Southern , Alps '.waa then given dvi ing tbe so-called glacier period ■when these mountains were far higher and covered with far I greater quanl'ties of peipetual snow than at present. It ] was then demonstrated how tb© boulder was deposed on the surface of one of the great glaciers, and cai'iied down | towa -ds tbe Canterbury plains, which were then one hvge river bed over whic'i tbe huge torrents flowed. At the pame time tbe causes were explained of the manner in which these great plains weie found, and tbe present liver beds chan1 aeMecl out. In conclusion the lectmer stated that fie sandtfc.ne boulder would not for ever keep its p'esent slate, but *ould in cou -se of ti ue find its way to go t'.roiigh tbe same 1 • preoess which wouU resolve it into its original dements At ti« close of tbe lecture, which was listened to with the i depett interest and attention, Pr Baast e.itered info a t W&!<s *yVm't(; explaoation > f the various processes which we have btlefly sketched, w^ich he illustrated with specimens and diagrams explanatory of the subject. CUTTi>.a thb LINB. — That important discovery in naval tactics, to -vbich Great En tain owes so many biilliant naval Yictorics th« cult'iig of tbe line, was not as is generally supposed, an sccidentiil disi <»cry. And although its execution was an att of noble tla.-iu^ yet it was not ao espe.-i-meiit of doubtul success, but o>*e founded u t on tbe most scientific pnnci"i l es. To Mr f'lerk, of Eldin, the merit of tbe d'^coverv belongs, lie had observed that during three successive w a s British sailors in the rencontre of S'ngle|sbips j|r of small squad-oas never ioiled to exhibit the most dis'^^iguished seamanship, intrepUit.y, and perseve anee, atv tended with tbe most uninterrupted success ; yet wherever large fleets of (en, twenty, or thirty ships were assembled and formed in a live of battle, nothing memorable had ever been achieved, and not a single ship had been lost or won. He therefore concluded that the French must have adopted a new system of tactics which we bad nut thea discovered, and that the method Intlie to pursued on our t a t, s<oce it vras always unsuccessful, must have been radically w.ong. 1 This led Mr t'levkto inquire inio the cause, and after a ) laborious inveitigali>>n he discovered that nothing but the ' plan of cutting the euemy's lioe was wanting to countevact all their manoeuvres and ensuve success. In Januay, 176 •, (be visited London, and exhibited liis plan (o Mr Bichurd Atkinson, the intimate friend of Admiral Rodney, who promised to communicate it to him. Tbe gallant admiral approved of the| system, a.id declared tfiat he would strictly adhere to it in fighting the eneMy. It was not long before be had an opportunity, and in the engagement of tbe 12th of Anril, 1782, with the French fleet under Count dc 3-rasse, near Dom'^ica, be gate tbe first example of culti"g the line, and ensiD-ed a gioi bus victory. From this first execution V of Mr (.'Jerk's system, a new era has been fixed in the history of the naval transactions of Great Britain. During three successive wars, no deoisive engagement bal almost ever happened before that gained by Rodney. Since that period no eogage net has ever proved in l ecisive ; and tbe gloiiou3 vicl n-ie3 of ) 'owe, bt. Vi"cent, Duncan, and Nelson, attest tl c mwrtanee of the discovery. The following letter from Mr R. H. Home appeared in the Ti/nes of the 17th Ap'-il • — " St, — Your readers must all have n 'ticed that after the steamship Atlantic had struck upon tlie rocks, the third officer Brady) and two quarat masters swam ashore with life-lines ; and that a boy I also swam to tbe boats. It appears that Mr Brady, if not the quarter-masters, swam to and fr > several limes ; and they did this while hundreds of mm were upon the deck, or clinging to tbe rigging. The obvious conclusion must be MUiat nearly tbe whole of these hundreds of men could not even a few yards to save their lives. Let us think of this, and how very few efforts with tbe arms and legs would have sufficed, the fact being tint the real danger in these circumstances to those who ran s-wnu at all is not from the aca, but the shore, if it be rocky , or lined with masses of «ntanglei seaweed. But although they saw tho landing of Mr Brady and the others effected in safety, they perished wit 1 ! oold, or became mad, and were drowned. How much it is to be regretted that there is no paternal despotism that could absolutely c<>mi>el cveiy school, both private and public (ami for both se'.e*), to provide suitable instruction in swimming. The newly-projectc I Floating and Swimming Batlis on the Thames may do something, but the paternal despotism is the on 3 gre» ( . need that Mr Gladstone _ should take into consideration before tbe coming summer W and autumn furnish the wsual number (besides the shipwrecks) of those wbo lose their lives for want of this important part of compulsory education." Josh Billings on Silence.— Silence iz a still noiie. One ov the hardest things for a man to do is to keep still. Everybody wants tew be beard fust, as this iz jist what fills the world with nonsense. Everybody wants tew talk, few want to think, and nobody wants to listen. The greatest talker* among the feathered folks are the magpie and the ginny hen, and neither of them are of much account. If a man ain't sure be is right, the best kard he kan play iz a blank one. I have known menny a man tew beat in an argument by just nodding hit head once in a while, and simply say, " jess so, jess so." It takes a grate many blows to drive in a nail, but one will clinch it. Sum men talk just as a French pony trots, all day long, in a half-bushel meazzure. Silence never makes enny blunders, and alwaz gins az much credit az iz due |it, and ofttimes more. When i see a man listening to me cluss i alwuz say to mi self, " look out, Josh, that fellow iz taking your meazzure." I hay heard men arg£ % pint two hours and a half and not get any further from where they started than a mule in a bark mill. They did a good deal ov going round and round. I hay sat on jurys Apnd ha 1 a lawyer talk the law, fakts, and evidence of the case all out of me, besides starting the taps on mi boots. I hay been tew church hungry for sum gospel and cum hum so pbull ov it that i couldn't draw a long breth without starting a button. Brevity and lilenoe are two grate kards, and next to saying nothing, taying a little is the strength of the game. One tl ing iz certain, it is only tbe grate thinkers who can •fipvd to be brief, and there has been but few volumes yet T^ublishe.l whioh could not be cut down two-thirds. It iz hard to find a man ov good sense who can look back upon enny occasion and wis'i be bad sed sum |more, but it is easy tew find menny who wish they had sed less. A thing led is hard to recall, but unged it can be spoken at enny time. Brevity is the child ov silence, and iz a great credit to the old man. A Datik: Tfi'GEi/T — Incidents in daily life, says the London Daily Telegraph of April 5, after all, out-do the socalled sensation novelists. If a na< r&tor of avowed fiction were to select the narrow platform of a locomotive as the scene of a murder — if he were to deserve how hatred rose to homicidal heat between tbe stoker and driver — how, while the engine was in motion, one slew tho other in the darkness of the night, cast hit bojly on the line, and leaping down himself, fled — his story would probably be set down as farfetched and over stiaine 1. Yet the tragedy we have briefly sketched wm acted this week on tbe Limerick and Cork railway. A goods train, starting from Limerick on Wednesd»y night, passed Charleville, and then stopped. The astonished jguard jumped from his box and ran up to the engine, but, when be a 'rived, neither fireman nor driver was visible. rr I he light of his lamp, however, revealed traces of blood and hair. He at once searched the line on the back track, and first discovered the driver's hat, and next hit dead body lying on the sleepers. Taking the train on to Butt«vant he reported the facts to the > -lice, who set on foot a search after tbe missing fireman. They found him the next morning in a cabin not far from the railway, and got possession of hi« clothes, which were stained with evidence of his guilt. It is reported that he referred the leath of his WRj comrade to a sudden quarrel, caused by the driver's violence towards him. Justice may find out tbe fact* ; but, however L tbe final strife atose, tbe incident is one that fastens upon r the imagination, and must take its place among the most L remarkable class of crime*. Here, on an engine speeding I tbroujh tbe darkness, two men fall into deadly feud, and [ one, quickly murdered, is ca3t forth upon the rails, while the other, stopping tbe train, flies for his 1 fe. It is a fearful example of crime brought about by uncontrolled temper, which grat'ffies its fury regardless of all consequences. Ay i&t^c OOC9 G-r r — The Into S>r Frederick Madden, W in b ; s will, directe.l tmt n.'l bis private journals from the yeai* 18L0to the vea'- '872 bntli 'nchisive, n volume ofletters relating to t le Ho! ha.n manure- its. and several books bound in oarcboient and voa.i, and a'so some bundles of papers on vn ious subjects, should be sent to tbe Bodleian Library, fastened uo in a boz. within a week after bis death, subject to the condition that the box should not be opened until the first day of January, 1920. The enrators of the l-brarj hays acotpted the bequest. — Pall Mall Gazette.

Hauha uism as it Is. — A corr3 a pondent of the KawJce's Bay Herald, who has recently travelled through the Urewera and Taupo country, writes to that journal — " It would nob do to Ru'ahuna without some allusion to cue iel)^ious services c *on the"-. The Ureweras we hauhaus still in creed, but Hauhauiam among them, ■'ke so many other fanatical ilnebunes winch have started, .a the first instance, in the midst of hloodthiisty extiavac,ances, has now toned down into a quiet and respectable, though highly heterodox form of monotheism They are pure deists, rejroGing entirely the New Testament and all its teachings in regard to the Messiah ; they rest their faith exclusively on what is t.wght in the Old with reference to the Jehovah of Ancient Israel. Like the Israelites, too, they observe the lasL day ot the week instead of the first, and in fact in everything conform as nearly as their lights enable them to the Jewish doctrines and practice. Every day, morning and evening, service is held. The whole "hapu, assembled m the Wharepuni, chant together several verses culled from the Psalms and other of the poetical books of the Scripture. Then one of the number gets up and repeats a short prayer, at the end of which he stretches out his hand and cries in loud voice, "Glory." In this ejaculation a'l join. This concludes the proceeding?. The whole business only occupies about ten minutes. The natives are thoroughly well versed in the history of the Old Testament kings and heroes, and are fond of quoting such narratives as that of Samuel hewing in pieces the captured king of the Araalakites, or Jael driving the nails into the temples of Sisera, as precedents which, as they maintain, justify the strongest measures into which they were hurried when their religious fanaticism was at its height. Sebiotts Results of a Joke. — A practical joke, attended with very serious results, was perpetrated the other day in Pitlsburg, Pennsylvania, and is recorded by the PUtsburg Gazette. A preacher named White, who hails from Massachusetts, got into " a situation bordering on drink," and wandered about the streets until his weary footsteps halted in front of the Western Hotel, whero he stopped and offered his services to enliven a party of guests assembled at that establishment. Ignorant of the sacred profession of the stranger, a mock marriage was proposed, and a young lady and gentleman present entering into the fun of the affair, enacted the part of bride and bridegroom. The ceremony was accordingly"performed with much solemnity by the Rev Mr White, who after he had proclaimed the banns informed the company, to their horror, that he ■was an authorised minister, and that the couple he had just united were now one flesh, and nothing but death could part them. The scene which followed was of the most harrowing nature. The two young persons had never met before that day, and were utterly ignorant of each other's temperament and antecedents. Alderman Donaldson was hurriedly sent for, but, although he felt deeply for those concerned, all he could do was to swear the minister, and certify that they were legally married. The unhappy pair took their departure from the hotel in a hired carriage amid the condolence of their friends. One Sunday in two churches near the boundary Hues of Renfrew and Ayr, a coincidence occurred which may be worthy of note. In one of the two the officiating clergyman, in a sermon on " God made the winter," said : " People give £15 for a single dinner, and a guinea a year for foreign mis- j sions. They have wine on their tables at 70s a dozen, and half-a-guinea against their names in the list of contributions to an hospital. They have twenty people dining at their tables at Christmas, and no poor children better taught or better fed by their chanty. They have their healths drunk in champagne and sparkling hock, and no blessmgs invoked on their heads by the orphan or the widow." In the other church the minister, preaching on the subject of Cinstian liberality, said the Bible impressed the tenth part of a man's income to the Lord. People spent six-pence a week on tobacco and a great deal of money on ' drams,' but they came to church and put a penny on the plate. And what did a penny amount to in a year? Four shillings and four-pence. And often they did not give that sum brcame of their J occasional absence — N- B. Mail. The case of Haris v. Nickersen, in the Court of Queen's Bench recently, will prove useful in settling a question which has been for some time doubtful, as to the liability of auctioneers. The defendant, an auctioneer, advertised in the London papers that certain brewing materials, plant, and office furniture, would be sold by him at Bury St Edmunds on a certain daj and two following days. The plaintiff, a commission broker in London, having a commission to buy the office furniture, went down to the sale ; on the first two days he bought a few lots ; on the third day on which the furniture was advertised for sale, the whole of the lots of furniture were withdrawn. The plaintiff brought an action in a London County Court against the defendant to recover for his loss of time and expenses. The judge having given a verdict for the plaintiff, with leave to defendant to appeal, the Court above traversed the judgment, holding that advertising the sale was a mere declaration, and did not amount to a contract with anyone who might act upon it, nor to a warranty that all the articles advertised would be put up for sale.