Boys Own Paper August 2, 1913
Transcript of Boys Own Paper August 2, 1913
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NO. 44, VOLUME XXXV.] S A T U R D A Y , A U G U S T 2 , 1 9 1 3 . Pr i ce O n e Pen n y .[ALL RICHTS RESERVED.]
Land!' he cried joyously; 'land at l a s t ! ' " (Seep. G91.)
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690 The "Boy's Otvn Paper.
C H A P T E R X I X . — A D R I F T .
WH A T E V E R was happening, was hap
pening un doub tedl y with speed.
T h e quic k pass ing of untow ard events
wh ip p ed up the lad's s t reng th ; he drew
himself together, prepared to meet his fate
with the rest, but deter mined , so far as in hi m
lay , to see to it tha t his own share was not
increased in the general stress by the cir
cumstan ces under which he had so wron gly
been made a prisoner on board this wretched
craft. Th e capt ain t o o k no further not ice
of him, his attenti on was called to the m ate .
" What in thunder ? " he be gan, and
s to p p ed . The other s taggered towards him
and fell along the berth.
" Th ey Dago s ! " he gasped.
On the ins tant the capta in had s tepped
to his chest and, un loc kin g it, drew out a
r ev o lv er . Wi th no wor d, he rushed fr om
the cabin.
" The y'l l kill ' i m ! " ga sped the mate .
" T hey ' r e mad wi '
a m o n g s t that mo tl ey crew" wh o ha d cas t in
his lo t with the Br itish ers o n the si de of
reason against unrea soning fear.
Al l th e fighting was cen tre d rou nd the
star boar d davit s , where hung the boa t tha t
was the goal of the fear-ridden c r o wd . A
hug e negr o and a dark-ski nned D a g o s t o o d
upright in her, having torn and cut away the
canva s covering which to some extent had
kept her watertight during the recent gale.T h e wallowing vessel rose and fell heavi ly
in the bo ili ng seas, an d to the b o y it was a
fearsome sight to see ho w the dav its with
their freight di ppe d no w int o the green
trou ghs, and w ere no w lifted high ab ov e
th em. He cau ght at stays or riggi ng to
stead y himself, and wond ere d in the confus ion
what wo ul d be his share of the stiff wor k to
be don e, and wha t the en d.
Alread y the capta in, backe d by the
s tout-hearted Swede , had forced his way to
the boat-davits , and was beating off those
w h o would have loosed the ropes .
terror.
H o s taggered up,Hutton helping him.
H e seized a towel,
plunged it into a can
of water, and wring
ing it slightly, wound
it round his head.
" Tha t' s better ! "
he gasped , and, wi th
a draught from a
bot t le s tanding on
the r immed and holed
cab in shelf, pulled
h i m s e l f together
again.
" Come, b o y , " h e
said, " 'tes t h' ol d
man an' y ou an' me,an ' maybe Eriksson,
agin th' lot of 'em."
" What has hap
pene d ? " asked Hut
ton as they passed
up . Whatever i t was ,
he felt thankful tha t
it had c o m e in the
dayl igh t ; and, in
spite of the e vid ent
.seriousness of things,
he experienced a wild
leaping in his heart
towards the freedom
and freshness of the
m o v in g winds on
d eck ." Propel ler gone ! "
was the startling
reply. '" Rud der car
rie d aw ay w ith it !
Old Ma c, th' engi neer , kill ed b y a flyin' bo lt.
T h ' rott en old tub' s leakin' ; an' th ey Da g o s ,
mak in' off wi' th' onl y bo at that ' s a ha 'p 'o r th
o ' good ! "
F e w words , but c onv eyi ng the s tory of a
whole series of untow ard happeni ngs . Up
o n the de ck the noise of struggling a nd curses
rose ab ov e the soun d of the still wrathful
wa te rs. Me n wer e fighting fo r their l ives
with all the sav agery of corn ered beasts, the
fear-stricken pitte d against the unafraid.
" Out o ' that , yo u jellyfish ! " roar ed the
capta in ; and ma ny nam es worse far than
tha t he show ered upo n the m. His anger
was a fearful thin g to see. Ev en as H ut to n
and the mate cam e int o view he had caug ht
on e black-e yed and ear-r inged Portugue se
b y the throat and bumped him into uncon
sciousness against the funnel casing . A
tall, fair-haired fellow stood by his side,
arm ed w ith a piec e of iron tha t fell with
quick and unerring effect, work ing much
h av o c on those who cam e withi n its range.
This was Erikssen, the Swede, the o nly m an
W A R S H I P S O F O L D E N D A Y S .
Model of the " Royal Sovereign," 17th Century.(Royal Naval College, Greenwich.)
For description of this vessel see p. 418 of the present volume, whereelaborately carved stern is given. The above photograph shows the carvingthe prow and at the sides.
" Back , you fools ! " he roar ed. " Wh at
d o you reckon to get , even i f you do have
her tackles loose ? H o w are wo rm s like yo u
going to ke ep her afloat tw o minut es in th em
seas ? A h ! W o u l d you ? "
W i t h c o c k e d pistol he c o v e r e d an ugly
rush, and o ver his head flew a bag of biscuits .
It was caught by the nigger in the boat;
the other creature had enough to do to keep
his ow n shaki ng for m fro m being t hro wn
out at eve ry di p of the dav it arms . Ther e
was a flash—a rep ort —a scr ea m. One
fel low dropp ed g rove l l ing on the dec k ; the
rest fell b a c k .
" L o o k out ! " yel led Hut ton , taking his
part with no further thoug ht of how . He
dar ted forw ard. The seco nd man in the
boa t had m anag ed to rec over himself, an d
had a hand u plifte d, in whic h gle amed the
d ead ly blad e of a knife. Ano th er ins tant ,
and this had undoubtedly been buried in
the capta in 's back. Bu t before Hut ton
reached the latter, in the wild hope of
pushing him aside ere the blow should fall.
the Sw ede himself had struck. Round?
swung the iron bar, and, making startled,,,
ineffectual lunges to save himself, the wretch
aloft fell bac kwa rd with a howl of pain.
A t that moment the Condor dived again,
and when once mor e she had righ ted herself
Hutton realised, with a sinking of heart, that
one man 'was g o n e .
" Pu mp s, yo u shivering louts ! " shout ed
the captain, again staying a rush with a
bullet. '" Pu mp s ! Wh at use wou ld . . ."
His wor ds were cut short. Thr oug h the
air hurtled an iron bolt . It brough t up with
a crash in the face of the stout-hearted
Britisher an d he stagger ed back against
Erikssen. The latter, taken off his balance,
s l ipped up on the uneven deck , and the tw o
went do wn togeth er. Wit h a how l the men
were over them, s tampin g, kicking , s t ruggl ing
fo r the boat .
T h e woun ded mate had rushed forward,
only to rece ive a blow whi ch sent him reeling .
Hutton himself , blood up and afire, had
thr own his arm round
the ne ck of the first
man he could clutch.
To g e th er they reeled
and rolled, the fellow
held close in the arms
of the now maddened
b o y , and clutching in
turn at him. Now
under, now over. ,
anger, despair, new
found energy fast
burning within him,
Hutton hung on to
his arm, one thought
and one onl y upper
most in his mi nd : to
account for this crea
ture at least in the-
wild struggle, andnever give in. •
His very wildnesg
might wel l have been
his ow n undo ing. He
was using his strength
—what there was left
of it, after a ll his
recent vicissitudes—
t o o quic kly. He felt
it passing from him„.
and in the agony
of despair tried to
throttle hi s oppo
nent. Fo r the last,
time they rolled, and
this t ime Hutton was
u n d e r m o s t . T h efierce, black eyes-
looked intohis ,gleam
ing hatred and no
h o p e of mercy ; his
hands relaxed their ho ld ; against his will
he fell awa y from the wild clutc hing. Th e
man raised himself sligh tly, took the b o y ' s
head between his hands, and the next
m o m e n t wou ld hav e dashed it with all the
force of insensate fury against the iron edge
of a hatchway.
It was ove r under the minute. Th e crash
which might have ended the lad's life then
and there was softened into a dull thud ;
the fel low's h e a v y b o d y lay across his,
twitchi ng con vuls ive ly for a few seconds .
Th en he felt it pull ed and r olle d aside, a nd
Chi Ling was looki ng stolidly do wn at hi m,
wiping the while up on his c loak the red-
stai ned b lad e of a long knife wh ich he had
just draw n out of the b o d y already lying
inert in death.
H e rose s lowly , with sense dulle d by the-
shock thro ugh whi ch he had passed.
" Thank s , Ch i ! " he sa id brokenly.
" Y o u ' r e a good s o r t ! "
T h e Asiat ic looked at him stolidly. A ,
sudd en sho ut, how eve r, caused t hem both>
a view of theand gilding on
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Under the Edge of the Earth. 691
to turn tow ard s the bo at. Th e fight was
ove r . T h e D agos , with no cour age of m en
in their souls, had won their way by luck and
numbers, and not a little by the help of the
despi sed "n igg er . " The davi t s had been
swu ng outbo ard , and the bo at was f il l ing
with swearing, s t ruggling men. Th en som e
fo o l pulle d at one of the rope s at the w ron g
m o m e n t . There was a cry of terror from a
dozen craven throats, as the heavy craft
strained at the creaking tackle and t ook a
plunge stern first. Men bit and cu rse d,
and caught at each other , as the wallowing
Condor rol led once more to meet an gry
water , and, the up-e nded bo at di ppin g
bene ath the awfu l mass of gree n seas , were
swept away to their death . Wh en the
Condor had again r ighted on ly one poor
wretch clung shivering to the d angli ng
cutter , and with anothe r rol l in quick suc
cession he , too , was gone.
Th e mat e stagger ed t o his feet and sat
heavi ly up on the hatche s near the funnel .
Hut to n went towards h im.
" C o m e , b o y , " h e s a id , " c a n we s a v e
it ? "
H e poin ted to the disabled craft hang ing
as it w ere by a thread, the rope of theloosened tackle fastened to her bows.
" 'Tes our o nly chan ce ," he cont in ued :
" th ' other 's smashed in long sence. An '
us wi ' no screw, no rudder, an' no b oat !
Come, b o y ! "
Even as they turned to attempt the
dangerous and, indeed, hopeless task
another h eavy sea broke against the stagger
ing vessel , dr iving the boa t against h er side
with irresistible force. Th ey heard the
crash of the tortured timb ers and saw the
pull on the straining rope . Ther e was a
sharp jerk followed by a snap, and their
last hop e of safety was gone.
Th e mate fell back again with a groan.
" I was feared o' that. 'T es yo u an' me
an' ole Chi , now , agin they three. "He nodded in the direct ion of three scowl
ing Lati ns, all wh o were left alive from the
mot ley crew, and wh o were there o n l y
because they had been too late to scramble
into the doom ed cutter . Of these, one ,
being the man first han dle d by the r edo ubt
able capta in and kno cked t emporar i ly
silly, was lookin g no w no t part icularly
l ively . Hut ton turned to where tho captai n
lay, and Erikssen—Eriksse n, bra ve of
heart and strong of l im b. Th e latter was
crushed and ba t te red bey ond recogni t ion .
Th e lad felt sick with h orr or and pity , and
turned towards the str icken capta in. He
thought he saw movem ent , and s too ped
quickly to him, shoutin g to Chi Ling.
" He 's alive ! " he said ; " let 's g et himdown below ; he'll come r o u n d . "
Th e mate stepped across and m ad e a
snatch at something near the unconsc ious
man 's head.
" J u s t as well to have i t han dy, " he
muttered, drawing out from under a coil
of rope the pistol which had sl ipped from
the captain' s hand. The re were still three
charges lef t , and he made ostenta t ious
show of it as he ord ered the mut inee rs to
lift the captain up. T o Chi Li ng ho gav e
direct ions to prepare the berth b e l o w ;
t o them, com mands to car ry d ow n the
injured man, whose leg was broke n.
Th e Condor, rudderless and with no means
of propulsion, already some hundreds of
miles out of her course , wall owe d in thel i f t ing seas. Wit h the carrying aw ay of
the propel ler there had been slow but steady
leakage through the stern shaft ing, increased
in one or two places by cre vices in the
straine d plates of her iron sides . It was,
therefore, the mate's first care, once th e
captain was berthed, to see to it that th e
three worthless cravens bent themselves
to the pu mp s, after a signal of distres s h ad
been run up to the masthead. The n he went
off to summ on Hut ton f rom below.
" W e ' v e a-got to make ready for th ' warst ,"
he said. " No t ow er much hope of help,
an' no ne to o certai n t h' ole tu b '11 be afloat
more ' n another few days . 'Twi l l be a
matter o' bu ckl in ' to, b oy ! "
Hi s plan wa s to lash toge the r all th e
m o v a b l e and f loatable spars and t imbers .
Th e smaller they managed to col lect wi t h
much exert ion, and made fast to each other
with the aid of nai ls and rop es. Fo r the
larger i t had been necessary no w and again
to call for the assist ance of the men at th e
pu mp s; but , one way and another , spent
and wear y as the y were, they had man age d
er e thirty hours had passed to piece together
a suff icient ly buo yan t frame upo n barrels ,
and with a centr a! platfo rm raised a foo t o r
so abo ve the f rame.
Tow ard s the end of the seco nd da y the
mate came down for a last visit to his"chief
in the ca bin.
" Th ' Atlan t ic ' s win nin g," he said gruff ly.
" T h e y three j e l lybags can ' t keep un ou t ,
an' there's no steam for th ' pu mp . Po or
ol e M a c ' s gone, an' he 'v e a-carr ied his
knowledge o' th ' engine s with ' im. W e' l l
may hap hold out another twel ve hour or so ,
but I 'm for takin ' no r isk."
A n d he pro mpt ly had the bat ter ed captain
carr ied up on dec k, where, lashed to a short
spar , s tepped as mast on to the raft, a n d
cove red with warm co ats and rugs t ied over
him, he lay in readiness for the last even
tualities to the poor Condor. Tinned meat s ,
biscuits, two large kegs of water, and a few-
o d d s and ends, not
forget t ing canvas for
sai l and sweep for
propel ler , had also
been lashed aboard.
Th e night was clear
a n d starlight, th eseas had sun k to
their normal state
of unrest. T w o o f t h c
hands had thrown
themselves in utter
weariness upo n the
lower deck. The
third, with Chi Ling,
was at the pum p.
A t th e first p ee p of
dawn the mate
roused Hut ton .
" I ' m goin ' below,
fo r m o r e v i c t u a l s , "
he sa id , "a n ' to
rouse th ' rest. W e
me d be washed off any t ime now; she 'm
settli n' ! "
Hut ton s tood up
beside the o pen ing
in the bulwarks be
tween the empty
d a v i t s , t h r o u g h
which they proposed
to l aunch their craft .
H e not iced wi th a
shudder how close
the sea was creeping
to the lower deck .
Lif t ing suddenly
his fascinated eyes
f rom the shuddering
sight, he saw, faraway on the hor izon ,
a huge dark mass
uprisen from the sea.
" L a n d ! " h e c r ie d
joyously ; " lan d at
l a s t ! "
Y e t , as he looked, EXAMINER: "Have you
he realised at once TOMKIXS (who has made
that they wer e nearing the upl if te d r idge with
startling s u d d e n n e s s : then again, that the
great mas s was nearing them ; then again—
W i t h a cry of fear he rushed back tow ards
the comp ani on way leading to the capta in ' s
quarters.
" Q u i c k ! " he shouted dow n. " Q u i c k ,
on deck ! "
There was no reph" from below ; surely
the mat e mus t hav e gon e forw ard. In an
a g o n y of fear he turned to make his way back
along the de ck and a scream of terror
assailed his ears . H e looked towards the lower
deck be yo nd the brid ge. Chi Lin g and the
other hand were rushing towar ds him, their
terr i f ied eyes upo n the bulwar ks ab ov e them.
It was to o late. Alr ead y the sore str icken
Condor had begun to fou nd er ; a l ready the
tower ing mass was upon them. Hu t to n was
c lose to the raf t. Ins tin cti vel y he flung hims elf
upo n i t , cl inging with al l the p ow er that com es
of fear to the central spar, as the hu ge tida l
wave spum ed abo ve the c r ippled sh ip . The
bu oy an t frame l i fted free, just scra ping
roughly at the bulwarks as it tore past in
the grip of the water . Sub mer ged , gaspi ng,
choking, he held o n for une ndi ng ages, as it
seemed, till at last the l ight once m o r e
struck his eyebal ls , and the cold water
streame d aw ay from him. St i l l cl ingi ng an d
choking he drew in quic k con vul siv e breaths.
A loud repor t behind him, and a spo utin g
of waters into the air as he turned, b r o u g h t
t o him the real isat ion of things. Go ne !
A n d go ne with al l the remaining hands, sav e
on ly himself , and the gasping, splut ter ing,
helpless cap tain at his side !
(To he continued.) •
Hopeful !
sat for this exam, before, Tonikius ? "
a hash of it ) : " JJo, sir, but I shall again, sir."
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692 The \Boy r s Obvn Taper.
A R O M A N ' S H O N O U R .
I S a Carthaginian dungeon,
Dark and cold, beneath the ground,
Laden with the cruel fetters,
Rome's great Regains lies bound.
Gone is all his mighty army I
Gone is all that made him great!And alone, in bitter silence,
He prepares to meet his fate.
Up above, within the city,
All is terror, wrath and fear.
For the arms of Rome have triumphed;
Once again their troops are near.
Now the council is assembled,
And the chiefs deliberate
How to save the threatened city
From the foemen at the gate.
Then out speaks the crafty Hanno,
" Terms of peace we must obtain.
Let us send another envoy,
Who an audience shall gain.
Let us send the Roman captive,
Once a Consul of their State,
They will yield to his persuasion
And will save him from his fate."
From the dungeon they have brought him,
And before them now he stands:
Tet his glance is still undaunted,
Though the fetters chain his hands.
Then speaks Hanno : " Tell us, Roman,
Thou art honoured in thy home,
Wilt thou therefore be our envoy
And convey our terms to Rome ?
" But, before thou hast the password
Which shall take thee safely home,
And before I bid the soldiers
Set thee on thy way to Rome,
Thou shalt swear by the Immortals,
By the Gods that gave thee breath,
To return, if thou dost fail us,
Baok to torture and to death."
By W. J. HAWKES, M.A.
" Hear me, now, ye men of Carthag e!'
Quoth the Roman, clear and loud,
And his voice rang true and fearless
As he gazed upon the crowd.
" Let no name of the Immortals
In this mattar now be heard.For what Roman soldier ever
Hath gone back upon his word ?
" If ye send me as your envoy,
Whether good or ill my fate,
I will carry back your message
To the Fathers of my State;
And an answer I will bring you
From the people of my land,
And that answer I will give you
In the place where now I stand."
" Haughty Roman," answered Hanno,
" By thy promise thou art bound ;
And we know that we shall see tiiee
Once again upon this ground.
So we bid thee do thine utmost,
All thy mightiest effort make
To obtain-fpr-us-a treaty,For thy life—it is the stake! "
Now at Rome within the Senate
All the Senators have met,
And before them with his message
Is the captive-envoy set.
Not a word has he of greeting
For the friends who wish him well,
But he bids them all keep silence,
For he has a tale to tell.
Then he tells the tale of Carthage,
How the chieftains sue for peace,
How they seek to make a treaty,
How they wish the war to cease.
And before the Roman Senate
Can give answer to his word,
Boldly urging and advising
Once again his voice is heard.
" Now ye hear, O Conscript Fathers,
What our foemen doth request,
But I bid you lirst remember
What shall suit our city best.
For ye would not spare a serpent
Which but once had bit your heel ISurely Carthage, our destroyer,
Shall our Roman vengeance feel ? "
Now with one accord the Senate
Have assented to the war,
And the Consul rises quickly,
Quickly speaks as once before :
" Mighty Regulus, we bid thee
Once again a welcome home;
Many a Roman heart rejoices
Thus to see thee here in Rome." .
Answered Regulus, " M y Father,
h'or no welcome may I stay,
Back again to death and torment
I must go this very day.
But, indeed, my heart rejoices
That the Gods have helped the State;
Nowthe Romans
oncemore triumph,Oladly will I meet my fate ! "
"lis in vain they seek to stay him,
"Tis in vain they bid him hold;
None can turn him from his purpose,
None can change a mind so bold.
Tears and sighs are unavailing,
Wife and child he passes by—•
Regulus, for love of Honour,
Has returned alone to die I
And men say that there in Carthage,
Underneath a summer sky,
Bravely Regulus has shown thera
How a Roman ought to die.
And at Rome there is no soldier,
No, nor slave, who has not heard
Of tins greatest of all heroes—
" lie who died to keep his word."
H I N T S O N S I N G I N G .
W h a t m a t ; be d o ne bj j B o ^ s in -this D i r e c t i o n .
O M E wee ks ago (see
No s . 17 and 35, pp.
261, 547) we sp oke
about the import
ance of every boy
learning to play at
least one music al in
s t rument . W e g a v e
the name s of all the
instruments wh i c h
were worth y of at
tent ion, with one
. e x c e p t i o n . Strange
1 to say the instru-
1 ment to which we
allude is in every
b o d y ' s possession
and is carr ied abo ut
with him wherever
he goes . It is a
m o r e wonder fu l ly made instrument than
any we have ment ioned. Fun ny ta lk this
ma y s eem to be, but it is quit e true. In
the throat of eve ry human b eing is place da marvel lou sly const ructed organ, which
i s k n o wn a s t h e " L a r y n x " ( that is, the
" v o i c e - b o x " ) .
This organ is the producer of all tone of
any sort , whether in singing or speaking.
As a rule its use and action are only im
perfect ly understood by voice-trainers.
Special ists , here and there, possess a laryn go-
B y F R E D E R I C K J A M E S , M U S . B A C , L . R . A . M .
scope— an apparatus by which it is possible
to obse rve the m ov eme nts of anyo ne's
laryn x when singing or speaking. By
this means defects of tone can often be
traced to the true causes.
T h o u g h the pow er to emit voca l sounds
is c o m m o n to all huma n being s (for all of
us possess a laryn x) it is a pit y tha t , c o m
parat iv ely speaking, few people make any
serious at tempts to sing prope rly. Training
and practice in the voca l art are never even
drea med of by the majori ty of peopl e. Th ey
are content to use their voices in any sort of
way tha t occu rs to them—of ten v ery dis
cor dan tly— and yet , eve n these discordant
voices could be put rig ht b y ve ry simple
means .
I t is remarkab le tha t several matters
w hich are of consider able impo rtanc e in
singing are done better and more naturally
b y babies and even by animals, than b y
boys , girls, an d adults. A ba by (or an
animal—the horse, for instance) breathes
in a correct and natural manner. Wh en i tmakes a sound i t opens its month wide and
th e tongue lies flat —not cur led up at the
t ip or the root . As peop le leave infancy
behi nd them the y general ly go wro ng on
th e three matters ment ioned abo ve . These
must be earnest ly tackled by people who
wish t o b e c o m e g o o d singers. A little
instruct ion is necessary at this point , but
surely it is now ada ys g ive n in all singing-
classes and choirs.
Class-singing is (at last) a part of the curri
cu lum of al l schools—prima ry and second ary,
but we are not sure that all boys appreciate
i t , especial ly the " dr ie r" parts, such as
voca l exercise s an d singing-at-sight. This
often arises from a somewhat prevalent idea
tha t ability to be really g o o d singers is
granted by Nature only to the few. We
must dismiss ideas of this sort . We may
sta te with confidence that those who can
talk, can (if the y wi sh) also sing—or, in
other wor ds, the pow er to talk carries
with it the pow er to sing, tho ugh the latter
needs, in the case of some persons, more
deve lop ing than the former.
I s not this the case with the study of
math emat ics, th e art of draw ing, the
learning to swi m ? So me boys do these
things m ore easi ly than others and yet
eve ry one can be rewa rded wi th tolerable
success in all these things if efforts are
hones t ly made . Reme mber tha t singingwill rema in as a con stan t pleasure through
out our l ives.
F or many years the writer of this article
has, from time to time, heard Old Boys
talk in this wa y : /
" I am sorry tha t I did not try my best
in your singing classes when I was at
school . I really did as little as possible, for
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Hints on Singing". 693
I thought that sing ing was not at all ' in m y
line.' Sinc e I left school I have c onsta nt ly
wished that I could sing decen tly, and read
musi c at sight. I realise no w that I made
a mistak e, an d I feel myse lf to be to o old
to reme dy i t . "
On the other hand some Old B oys will
speak as follows : " D o I sing * Of cou rse
I do . I am a membe r of a chora l soci ety
and a choir , and I woul d not on any acco untmiss the pleasure the y giv e me wee k b y
week. I also do so me song- singin g and
have many enjoyable t imes as a result."
Confessions of this sort carry a lesson with
them whic h we need not t rouble to point o ut .
What should be done by a boy (whose
voice has not ye t brok en) in order to
deve lop his singin g po we rs ? Th e first
thing is to observe carefully all that th e
singing-master tells you at schoo l . H e
will give you hints on the best way to take
breath, an d where t o take i t . These matters
are of great imp ortan ce espec ial ly i f a bo y
wishes to go in for solo-singing. Then
again, the singing-master wil l draw attention
to another ve ry impo rtant fact , viz . , that
al l boys hav e at least two qual i t ies of v o i c e —
one, a noisy one (akin to " shouti ng ") a nd
the other one , a smooth er and purer voice .
T h e latter sometimes is diff icul t to
acquire, and needs a teacher 's help . T o
explain i t by words is impossible, though
we can give a general hint which wi l l assist
a little (perhaps a good dea l). It is this—
never force y o u r voice to mak e a great
soun d. Sing soft ly. This wil l kee p yo ur
noi sy voice in subjec t ion , and wi l l dev elo p
that par t of your voice whic h wi l l u l t imate ly
lead to clear , pure tone.
Som e b o y s have acqui red this qual i ty
of tone by trying to imitate a wo m a n ' s
voice (a sweet v o i c e of course i s unders tood) .
T o anyone in real earnest to be a solo-
singer we recommend him to get a b o o k o f
voca l exercises and to pract ise them acco rd
ing to the instruct ions give n. In such cases,
howeve r, the help of a teacher is need ed.
Fol low up your singing-class work by
go ing ove r i t al l again wh en at ho me , with
and wi thout p ianofor te accompaniment .
Y o u can also get col lec t ions of su i table
songs, vary ing from sixpe nce to half a
c row n in price. A n y g o o d music dealer
will give yo u informat ion on this matter.
B o o k s of nat iona l melo dies, folkson gs (ve ry
interest ing), etc. , can be got at little c o s t .
Songs of the ord inar y type such as Sull iva n's
" Orphe us and his Lu te " ma y be stu died.
Th e quest ion is often asked, " Shou ld a
b o y use his v o i c e wh en i t is ' br eak ing ' ? "
This has never been properly set t led,
becau se number s of singers (some in theforemo st rank) wil l tel l yo u that they never
have stopped singing for even a day since
th ey first began to sing as you ngs ter s.
Certainly to rest th e voice during the
" breaking-sta ge " wil l do no harm, and we
ar e sure that i t is dang erou s to con tinue
singing at this stage if the result is a hu sk y
tone, or i f any physical inconvenience (un
comfortable feel ing in the throat) is fel t .
Man y of the harsh voices we meet wi th ,
bot h in singing and speaking, are due t o
carelessness in the " break ing-st age." (B y-
the-by, how rare it is to hear a really
musical speaking voice. Some of our
celebrated speakers and preachers are
s imply horrid in this respec t . )
I t * . * .
" S O U T H W A R D H O ! " T O T H E P O L E :
A n t a r c t i c a , o r t h e L a n d o T t h e S n o w Q u e e n *
B y W . J . G O R D O N .
1909. Shackle ton 's
A M E S R o s s h a d
l o c a t e d t h e
Magnet ic South
Pole in 1841,
so had Sco tt in1902, and to
Da v i d s was left
the hono ur of
standing on the
exact spot , as
show n by the
d i p - c i r c l e , o n
J a n u a r y 1 6 ,
journ ey to the
south was delay ed by terr ible weath er
and s topped by shor tage of pro vi s ion s ;
and his return was a starva t ion mar ch
ending in two of the par ty falling ill when
stores were exhausted, their deaths being
on ly averted by a magnif icent effort for
relief by the leader and a comp an ion , whi ch
was fortunately successful .Th o u g h m u c h g o o d work was done i t
was felt that Antarc t i ca mus t be furthe-r
explored and the pol e reach ed, and that
Captain Sco tt was the man to do i t ; and
so a new expe dit io n under his leadership
was decid ed upon . Whi le i t was in p repar
a t ion Capta in Roal d Amu ndse n was obta in ing
funds for fitting ou t ano the r expe dit ion
ostensibly for the Arc t ic seas by wa y of the
Pacific and Bering Stra it . Proceeding to
Funchal on this v o y a g e h e there i n f o r m e d
his crew that he had cha nge d his plans
a n d that hi s real dest inat io n wa s the south ;
and he sailed straight for Antarc t i c a w i th
the sole intent ion of reaching th e Sou th
Pole before Captain Sco tt .
The story of his well- manag ed dash intothe A ntarc t ic wil l be fou nd on pag e 281 of
this vol ume and need not detain us here.
Landing as near his go al as poss ibl e, he
we n t straight for it as soon as he cou ld ,
and, favoured wi th g o o d weather and g o o d
fortune, reached the central plain on D ecem
ber 14, 191 1. The re he set up a tent a n d
hoi sted his natio nal flag, w hic h he left
in token of his visit, returning to meet
[his
S H A C K L E T O NF A R T H E S T S O O T H
CAP" S C O T TR E A C H E D P O L E ~\p
t J f l N . i a . 1 9 1 2 . .SOUTH
POLE
A M O N D 5 E N
R E A C H E D P O L E
D E C . 1 4 . 1 9 11 .
Ho w Scott and Amundsen reached the South Pole.
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THE "TERR A NOVA."
Captain Scott's famous vessel in the Antarctic Ice.
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" Southward Ho!" to the Pole. 695
Ms ship, the famo us Fram, which on
Febru ary 1 quitte d Antarc tica , on whic h
he had landed just a year before .
Captain Scott left England in the Terra
Nova on his last v o y a g e in June 1910, and
he reached the South Pole on Janua ry
18, 1912. Half a mile f rom it ho found
Amundsen ' s tent with the Norwegian flag
still fiying. Prob ably Amu nds en had been
ove r the very spot, but he fixed his position
with a sextant, while Scot t used a the odolit e,
an d at l ow angles there is no question as to
which instr ument is mor e like ly to be
correct . With Scott were Dr. Wilson,
Captai n L. E. G. Oate s of the Innis killing
Dragoons , Lieut . H. R. Bowe rs of the
R oya l Indian Marine, and Pet ty Officer
Edga r Eva ns of the R o y a l N a v y .
Th e loss of his ponie s in Mar ch 1911 obl iged
Scot t to start later than he intend ed an d
to trav el with a lighter loa d. Th e weather
throughout the outward journey, and
especially a long gale in 83° Sout h, d ela yed
him. The soft snow in the lower reaches
of the glacier again reduced the pace, and
the provi sion reserves suffered, t hough
•every detail of their food supplies, clothing,
and depots made on the interior ice-sheet
and on that long stre tch of 7 00 miles to the
Pole and bac k, worke d out to perfection .
Th e advanc e party would have returned
to the glacier in fine fo rm and with a surplus
of food but for the astonishing failure of
the man who was least expected to fall.
Evan s was thoug ht to be the strong man
of the party and the Beardmore Glacier
is not difficult in fine weath er, bu t on the
return they did not get a single fine day,
an d this with a sick companion enormously
increased the difficulties. They got into
fr ightful ly rough ice, and E vans received
a conc ussi on of the brain. He died a natura l
death, but left the m a shaken party with
the season unduly advanced.
This was, howe ver , nothi ng to the surprise
which awai ted them on the Barrier. On the
sum mit in lat. 85° to 86° the y had a te m
perature of minu s 20° to minus 30° . On t he
Barri er in lat. 82°, ten thous and feet lo wer ,
the y had minu s 30° in the da y, an d minu s
47 ° at night pretty regularly, with a continu
ou s head wind during their day marches. In
Sc o t t ' s diary it is written :—
" I do not think hum an b eings ever
c a m e through such a month as we have
com e thro ugh, and we should have got
thr oug h it in spite of the wea the r but for
the s ickening of a sec ond com pan ion , Captain
Oates , and a short age of fuel in our de pot s
fo r whi ch I ca nno t ac co un t, an d finally
but for the st orm wh ic h has fallen on us
within eleven miles of this depot , at which
we ho pe d to secure the final su pplie s.
Surely misfortune cou ld scarcely have
exceeded this last b l o w . We arrived
within eleven miles of our old One Ton
C a m p with fuel for one hot meal and food .
fo r two days. For four days we have
been unable to leave the tent , a gale blowing
ab ou t us. W e are weak, writi ng is difficult,
but for my own sake I do not regret this
j ourney whic h has sho wn us that Englishmen
ca n endure hardship, help one another,
and meet death with as great a fortitude
as ever in the past ."
Quiet, strong, and true to the end, w ith
no false not e to mar the nobl e sto ry that
sent a thrill of admira tion th roug h the
world, Scott and his companions met their
fate as men who are really men should do.
Ne v e r was higher courage shown , neve r a
better guide for those wh o wou ld b e really
w o r t h y of their race. The y gave their lives
to the enterprise, they t ook risks and k ne w
they t o o k them , the y did their best to the
last, an d their countr ymen understand the m
and will not let their memory fade.
The first to mee t dea th wa s Capt ain Oate s.
He slept through the night of March 16
h o p i n g not to wake, but he awok e in t he
m o r n i n g . It was blow ing a blizza rd. He
said " I am just goi ng outsi de, and I ma y
be so me tim e " ; and h e wen t out int o the
bl izzard to die. " We knew ," wrote Scott ,
" tha t he was wal king to his dea th, but
thou gh we tried to dissuade him, we knew
it was the act of a brave ma n. "
Th e relief part y fou nd the bod ies of
Sc o t t , W ilson and B owe rs in their tent
on Nov em ber 12, and apparently Scot t died
last. " Ha d we li ved ," he had written, ." I
should have a tale to tell of the hardiho od,
endurance and cou rage of my com panio ns
which would have stirred th e heart of every
Engl ish man" —as indeed i t does in the
brief record he left.
Th e b o d y of Captain Oates was not found,
but to his memory was raised a simple
mon ume nt bearing an epit aph whic h will
no t be forgotten :
L A W R E N C E E D W A R D G R A C E O A T E S ,
Captain.
H E R E A B O U T S
D I E D A V E R Y G A L L A N T
G E N T L E M A N .
^0
T h r o u g h A f g h a n
Or , La r i Khan of th e Di am on d Sta r .
B y J . C L A V E R D O N W O O D ,
Author of " Sinclair of the Scouts,"" Jeffrey of the White Wolf Trail," etc.
AKBflR KHAN
BOB ca me to the
c o n c l u s i o n ,
after much cogi
t a t i o n , t h a t n o
better plan for the
concea lment of his
wealth cou ld be
a d o p t e d than that
o f t h e M u l l a h .
H e cou ld not be
sure that it would
no t bo interfered
with if hidden in
th e T ow er , so he
determined to sink
it in the Lak e, after
making some im
provements upon the plan of A b d u l .
He secreted a quantity of gold in the
strong room of the Tower , taking enough
fo r any immediate need. Wit hou t making
a n y o n e acquainted with his design, he
sa nk the box with the remainde r in the
dep ths of the Lake, not far f rom the island,and carried the twine, fastened to an iron
peg, to the land, where he drove the peg
into a rock beneath the surface of the water.
He knew well that Amran would never
sail past a floating p ie ce of w o o d without
lifting it out of the water to see if a cord
were fastened to it.
He next t o o k steps to get the Ghilzais
t o settle on his land, clear it of the d ebris ,
CHAPTER XXX . BOB GOES TO KABUL.
and bring it once more into a sta te of culti
vation . He determine d to erect a village
at no distant date, which should once
m o r e carry the name of Ghari Ghilzai.
In the S pring of 1841 he had just con clu ded
an arran gement with a numb er of Ghilzai
cattle breeders and farmers, when a message
reached him f rom Akba r Kha n. It had been
sent f rom a village near Ka bul , and the
Prince reque sted him to go to the city and
take a lodging not far f rom the Bala Hissar.
" Y o u are a Feringhee, Lari Kha n,"
the messa ge ran, " and ma y be of service
to you r countrym en. The toils are
tightening aro und them, and dangers
multipl y. A wise head and a tong ue well
versed in the sp eech of the Af gha n are
needed at the British Mission. Besides,
I want to see thee on a mat te r connected
with Afzul Ali. I hav e ma de friends with
the dog , and he fawns upon me . Come
with, at least, twenty horsemen well armed.
I will arrange for a lod gin g for thee, an d will
station a man at the Lahore Gate to guidethee to it. Enter the city abo ut dusk. Th y
friend, Mahomed Akbar."
"What doesth ismean, Amran?" said Bob.
"Mischief , my l o rd ; there will always
be mischief where Akb ar Kha n is. Wilt
thou go ? "
" Of course, Amr an , and thou wilt
a c c o m p a n y m e . "
' " T h o u art a rich man, m y lord , an d so
am I. R i c h men love pea ce and seek no
strife. Is it wise to thrust thyself into
danger ? "
" " Pea ce,' said the eagle when he carried
the lamb away , but he gre w hungry again,
Amran . "
" But n ot I, m y lo rd ; warfare has n oattraction for me, no w. "
" Stay with the wom en , Amr an, and
sing songs under t he trees, and dr eam that
thou wert once a man. Th ou art now a
s h a d o w of the man I kne w, an d art fett ered
in golden chains. Well , peac e be with
thee, it is something to know that thou
wert once a man, an d I will thi nk of th e
Amran I used to know."
" Thy tongue outs like a whip, my lord,"
replied Amran, with a rueful face, " an d I
wish th e gold had never com e m y May.
Wh at c an I do with it ? It haunts m y
dreams by night and troubles mo by day.
I d are no t lea ve it out of m y sight lest so me
thief carr y it aw ay. I woul d that it were
at the bo tt om of the Lak e aga in."" Choose so me of the finest st ones an d
se w the m into th y belt, Amr an , and find
som e hidde n spot, where thou canst bury
th e rest until quiet falls again upon Afghan
istan. Or if yo u prefer it, take to the road
again and begin to tra de."
" The Passes are b locked , Lari Khan, by
the most bloodthirsty thieves in Asia, as
well thou knowest . N o kafda cou ld ge t
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696 The "Boy's Obun Taper.
thro ugh with out paying toll, and not with
a prop ort ion mere ly but with all. Plague
fall upon the go ld , say I ! "
B o b knew well that Amr an and T alib
w ould never dre am of being left behind at
th e T ow er if he rode to Ka bu l. He suggested
once mor e the plan of secreting the gold
and jewels , and for the ne xt few hours the
three me n m o v e d about in mysterious
lonel iness, and after nightfall returned with
satisfied looks upon their faces . They had
hidden their wealth in the rocks of which
the island was c o m p o s e d .
It was a glorious June day when, with
twenty stalwart Ghilzai horsemen, Bo b
and his tw o lieutenants rode t o Ka bu l.
Eac h man was splendidly moun ted and
armed, and wore on his " lu ng hi " (Afghan
hat) a small silver seven-pointed star. Th ey
were in the highest spirits, and the magnifi
c e n t sunshine and invigor ating air ma de
the horses curvet and prance with delight.
T h e y passed numerous parties of Shah
Shii jah's troops.
W h e n the y emerge d up on the plain in
front of Kabul, they saw the cantonm ents
in which the Brit ish force had assembled.
T h e y were on the o ther side of the Ka bu l
river and close to the canal. On the Kohist an
R o a d , between Bey mar oo vil lage and the
K i n g ' s Garde n, the British Mission had its
residences and offices ; then came a splendid
orchard, in which the magazine was placed,
and b ey on d it were the huts and tents of
the soldiers, with gardens and orcha rds on
e a c h side.
B o b noticed, with a start of surprise, that
the cantonme nts were com man de d on every
side by forts and walle d garden s, and that
the orcha rds and pla ntations offered
abunda nt opportunit ie s for attack. On
the right were the Be ym ar oo Height s,
c r o wn i n g the village of that name, and on
the left the heights of Seeah Sung. Ev ent o his eyes it seem ed as thoug h it would
have be en impossibl e to hav e chosen a more
dangerous position for a force likel y to be
o p p o s e d by enemies f rom Ka bul and the
country around.
" The Feringhees seem to know no fear,"
said Am ra n Ali, as he reined his horse in,
and gazed quietly o v e r the busy scene.
" Wh at is the ga me the y are plav ing in
the fields there ? "
" C r i c k e t , " replied B o b ; "i t is our
nationa l game, Amra n, and, I believ e, a
v e r y fine on e. Th e ma n at the end is
defending his wickets f rom the ball which
will be thr own against the m by tha t man
w h o is running. It trains hand and eye to
be quick at de fence . "" B y Al la h! " said Amran scornful ly ,
" y o u r soldiers oug ht to practis e it every
d a y , the y certainty nee d to kn ow somethin g
about defence. W h a t foo l chose this place
for the enc ampm ent of an a rmy ? A n
Af g h a n child woul d have know n better.
E v e r y ya rd of it is cove red by forts or walls,
behind which marksme n ma y be placed,
and h ow do you exp ect you r horsemen to
charge in country like that ? "
" Bu t it is well supplied with wate r,"
said Bo b, wh o did not wish the Afg han t o
not ice his ow n fears, " a n d it is near to
K a b u l . "
" Wa te r freezes in winter, Lar i Kha n,
and Kabul may be filled with enemies whose
on ly desire is the destru ction of the ar mywh i c h is thus closed in between hills and
garde ns. An d all the while, there is the
Bala Hissar, sitting on its heights a nd
defended f rom eve ry att ack by strong walls
and gates. Veril y, the Feringhe es are fools
or heroes . Fo r thy sake, Lari Kha n, I do
not say which."
T h e y rode up to the Lahore gate, where
they were joined by a richly-dressed officer
of Akb ar Kha n. He saluted Bo b and led
the wa y thro ugh the Char Chou k or Gra nd
Bazaar of Kabul, to where a street on the
left hand le d to the Kuzz ilba sh or Pe rsian
quarter. They passed two large houses, at
the do ors of whic h a British guard was
stationed, and, turning into a court yard
wh i c h bel onge d to an extensi ve residence,
th e officer dismounted and w elcom ed B o b
on his arrival at the place set apart for him
b y Akbar Khan.
B o b learned that the house near was
occup ied by Sir Alexander Burnes, and that
the plac e oppo sit e to it was the Treasury,
under the guardia nship of Captain John son.
H e dismisse d the servants wh o had be en
left to keep the house unti l his arrival,
sending them away with substantial gifts,
and Amran went to the Bazaar and picked
up some Ghilzais who, with their families,
ha d com e into the city.
T h e y seemed quiet men, likely to be
faithful, and Amr an, whose experi ences in
horse-dealin g had made him an exper t
in reading character, was sure that they
would give no trouble. The courtya rd was
defended with a strong gate, and the househad on ly narro w win dow s facing the street.
In the evening Akba r Khan , at tended
b y some five Barukzye Sirdars, came to
se e Bo b. It was manifest that he had
important news to commun icat e. For
several hours he had a private interview
with Bob.
K a b u l at this time was c r o w d e d with
armed Afghans, drawn f rom every part
of the country, tr ibesmen f rom the hills,
refugees f rom places taken by the British,
and soldiers of eve ry clan in the neighbour
h o o d of the city. The place was seething
with rebellion against Shah Shujah and
with hatred of the British. Unde rgro und
trea chery wa s hatc hing its plots , and, th ough
on the surface ever ythin g seem ed tranquil,it was really like an active vo lcano , rumbling
and tossing with forces, which, once le t
loose, wou ld bring death upo n multitud es.
S o m e of the cleve rest and most wily brains
in Afghan istan we re wea ving plots, and
A k b a r Kh an was taking a leading par t in
al l that was goin g on. He was havi ng
secret interviews with the chiefs, and,
hidi ng fo r a tim e his bitter enmity with
Afzul Ali, had ente red int o a workin g
agreement with the Afreedee ruffian.
T h e great divisions of the Ba ruk zye and
S u d d o z y e were at bit ter enmity with each
other, b ut it was necessary for the su ccess
o f Ak b ar Kh an tha t the Kuzzil bashes, a race
of Persian des cent long settled in Afghanis tan
and ma inly soldiers, shoul d be drawn ove rt o his side. Afzul Ali wou ld mak e a suitable
go-between, as there were friendships
b e t we e n him and several of the Kuz zilb ash
leaders. In additi on, the city was full of
Mullahs and Ghazees, who were constantly
inflaming the minds of the peo ple against
the infidels , an d prea chi ng a war of religi on,
which wou ld end in drivin g the hated
Feringh ee out of Afghani stan, an d punish
ing the false ruler who was kept upon the
thron e by infidel mo ne y and ba yone ts.
Afzul Ali hated Ak bar Khan, and kn ew
tha t this feeling of enmity was more than
rec iproca ted by the youn g leader, but he
had his eye s upo n the rich Treas ury which
was unde r the charge of Captain John son,
fo r he knew that it was sto red with Br itishgold. A s a matter of fact, it was costing
the Indian Government more than a million
and a half pounds sterling every year
t o mainta in Shah Shujah in Ka bu l, and
m o r e chiefs than Afzul Ali were keepin g a
sharp eye upon the chance of one day
loot ing the Treasury.
A k b a r Khan was a curious mixture of
g o o d and bad. Genial in dispositi on, and
faithful in his friendshi ps, and in ma ny w ay s
good- natur ed and kind-hearted, he was,,
nevertheless, swaye d by ungoverna ble bursts
of passion, which for the time being trans
formed him into a cruel, reckless tyrant.
Hi s hatred towards Shah Shujah was of:
the col des t and mo st relentless description.,
and he detested him, in his character of
chief representative of the Barukzye clan
and of all whol e-s oule d patr iots. In his
eyes the Shah was not only a cowardly
traitor, who had open ly leagued himself
wit h the infidel enem ies of Afgha nista n, but
also a man w ho had vow ed destruction upon
the family and tribe of Dos t Moh am me d.
Al t h o u g h Akbar hated the British as a.
people , he had a profou nd respect for man y
of them as individuals, and woul d willingty
be in a posit ion to afford the m a mea sure
of pro tec tio n, if it lay in his pow er . •
F o r this reason he had sent for Bob, and
desired Lari Khan to be in Kabul with a
sufficient numbe r of men, so that in case of
disturbance British prisoners or hostages-
mig ht be assured o f fair t rea tment. As he-
detailed his ideas, Bo b saw that his coming
t o the ci ty might be of immens e servi cet o his fell ow-co untry men. He therefore
assented to the propos itions of Akba r, and,
dete rmine d to mak e his hous e a strongh old
in which the British might find a refuge
if circumstances demanded.
Hi s first dut y was to find out how his
men would stand b y hi m. On the first-
oppo rtun ity he called Amr an Ali an d
Tal ib , and bade the m s ummo n all the m en.
W h e n the y gathered in the court yard
the gates were closed, and B ob , in the quiet
of the evening, explained what was in his
mind. He prom ised to pay double wages
t o the me n while th ey were with him, a nd
at the end of their service undertook to
give each one a farm at Ghari Ghilzai by
which they would becom e independentowners of land.
" I know," he said, " t h a t as patriotic-
Afghans you dislike the presence of a
Feringh ee army in you r counfa y, but I
want yo u to remember that the British
have com e here becaus e they wan t Afghanis
tan to be indepe ndent of Russia and Persia.
A t present the pe ople are broke n up i nto
warring factions, and this makes it easy for
a strong, united ene my to invade t he
coun try. Spies are consta ntly bribing the
chiefs, and thus there iscontinual unrest. N o
man knows what another may be plotting,
and while suspicio n reigns united actio n is
imposs ib le . The British are under the
impression that Afghanis tan wants Shah
Shujah. W e know tha t they are mistaken,but they ha ve prom ised to leave the coun try
wh e n it is united. The sooner this is
attained the soon er will be their departure.
" Now , my men, you know that I a m
British, altho ugh I am with yo u as a brother
and a leader. I kn ow the power of Britain,
the multit ude o f her soldiers and the exte nt
of her wealt h. The Afgha ns ma y destro y
e v e r y British soldier in this count ry, but it
will ma ke n o differenc e so far as the result
is conc erne d. Fo r eve ry regimen t destr oyed,
ten will take its place , and t he me n who will
com e will not b e Indians f rom the hot plains,,
but Britons f rom the great Empi re bey ond
the bl ac k wa ter s. Th e y are fighting-men
of immense strength and unyielding courage.
I saw som e of the m at the taki ng of Ghuz nee ,and I can tell you that nothing can keep
th em bac k. Th ey are lions in the fight,
and the y have men enou gh to hold!
Afghanistan against the world."
A mur mur of incredul ity arose f rom the
m e n , and ma ny of the m gripped their
weapons , while a fierce battle light shone in
their ej'es. B o b went on cal mly : ' ' Kab ul
is full of plot ters , and the Gha zee s are do in g
•
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Through Afghan Snotas. 697
V E R Y M I X E D B A T H IN G .
A possible result of the next heat wave at the Zoo.
all they c an to fom ent rebel lion against
Shah Shujah. The Kuzz ilba shes are being
worked up to att ack the British. The army
is in a lamentable position, cooped in on
eve ry side on a plain which is commanded
all round . The Afghans in and aro und
K a b u l could over whel m it without any
great difficulty, if they determined to at tack.
It may bo that a rebellion will bre ak ou t in
this city, and then, as you know, the rage of
the excited popula ce will over leap e very
bound, and the British will be mass acre d
without mercy . Now , mark me well, forevery
Briton killed, Ka bu l will hav e to pa y a
hundredfoldsooner or later. I have promised
Akbar Khan to protect my countrymen,
and to give them a shelter in this house
as long as I can keep them f rom the. mob .
I am going to do it beca use I am a B rit on,
and becaus e it will be best for Afg hani sta n.
1 cann ot do it witho ut the hel p of a faith
fu l force, and I want you , my ow n peopl e
of Ghari Ghilzai, to s tand by the friend of
A'bdul the Mullah. I promi se yo u liberal
pay and a rich reward, and further, revenge
upon Afzul Ali. I give y o u until to-morrow
morning to decide what course you will
take. May Allah guide yo u to a wise
decision ! "
Late that night Amran and Talib desired
to speak with him. The y anno unce d that
out of the twenty-two men five on ly were
inclined to waver in their allegiance, the
rest had dec ided to fol low Lari Khan in
everything he did, and were ready to take
an oath upo n the Kor an in evi den ce of their
fidelity. As for themselves, they had never
fo r one mome nt drea med of separating
themselves f rom the purposes of their
loader.
" D i s m i s s the unwil ling ones , an d let
them go where they will, Amran," said
Bob, as he pressed their hand s in grat itud e ;
" give the m a present, and p ay th em for a
mon th in adva nce . I do not want waverers
with me. Th e business will pr oba bl y be
of such a character that your fidelity will
be tested to the uttermost —a wavere r m i g b ^
become a t ra i tor ."
Th e next morni ng Bob was aroused at
daybr eak by the sentry stationed at his
door . Five men stood outside looking as
miserable as men could look .
" You have c o m e to say farewell," he
said with a chee ry smile ; " go in peace , my
men, I ow e yo u no ill will. Amran Ali
has orders to see that you do not go with
empty hands."
" N a y , my lord ," said Ahm ed , the eldest
of th e five, " we bo broken-he arted because
of our weakness. We hav e eaten thy salt,
and thou hast trusted us. W e hav e thought
th e matter over through the night hours, and
our love for thee will not let us desert thee .
W e are thy servants to the end, if thou
wilt fo rg ive . W e desire not to lea ve thee ,
an d are read y to die , if ne ed be, fighting
by thy side if thou wilt accept us."
" I cannot, Ah me d; first thought s are
of ten true thoughts, and ye were sure last
night."
"' Hear us, my lord. Th ou hast promised
each ma n a farm at t he end of our servic e.
If thou wilt keep us with thee, we will not
ask for any reward of this kind. We are
willing to be punished in this way for out
waver ing , and, be sides, thou needest not
increase our pay."
B o b could not have asked for a g reate r
proof of their sorrow ; the Afg han loves his
land on ly second to his money, and this
frank offer showed that the men were
genuine. He went back into his r o o m an d
waited for some ten minute s and then
rejoined his men.
' ' Say no mor e, Ah me d, the past is
forgiven and forgott en. As yo u desire,
so shall it be. Y o u r wavering shall not
be reme mbe red against yo u. I shall no te
h o w you behave, and if I think well, at the
end of the service yo u shall receive a suita ble
gift of land. Go bac k to you r comr ade s,
and I will tell them that we are once
more a band of brothers, whose aim is
o n e . "
Tears rolled d o w n their cheeks as th ey
turned away, and Bo b knew that no mat te r
what difficulties mig ht arise in the future,,
he had at least five faithful men in his-
ranks.
" I knew tha t they would c o m e ro u n d . "
said Amr an afterwards. " Th ey sat b y
themselves all night and I cou ld hear them
groaning in their mise ry. It is g o o d for
them that they changed their minds, for,
b y Alla h ! if the y ha d left us th ey wou ld
not have got out of Ka bu l in safety. Talib'
and I wou ld ha ve seen to that. My knife
has been rattling in its sheath, and m y
hand itched to punish them, the d o g s . "
T h e fierce look upon his face sufficiently
indicate d his feelings, and Bo b felt that hi-
w ould have carried out his threat against
his wavering comrades.
" Say no more about it, Amran, the past
is pas t . Th ey will be all the mo re steadfast
in the futu re. "
" They will be wise, my lord," was the
reply of the truculent Khyb ere e.
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698
6
C H A P T E R X X X I .
THE LULL BEFORE THE STORM.
r~\ L L that da y
fif'r~\ /^k ; i n d for many
%£A Ota / s u c c e e d i n g
•MSr / days , Bo b
Jf wo rk ed hard
at the defence
STFJ SI '[ 'he walls were
- ? " < r ^d , ^^^^BL^^i) thick and strong.
" f W ' * some s tou t t imber
JV^ '^^k ^ o r * n e narrow
windows, a nd
K som e baulks for
gt |L JP"^ * n e g a t eway .
W i t h these he
mad e an inner barric ade of great strength,
l o o p h o l e d for muske try and defen ded at the
t o p with sharp sp ikes . L o o p h o l e s were made
in the walls look ing on to the street, a nd
shelters erected in the flat roof.
T h e men were sent to the Bazaars to
b u y provis ions, and quietly a large store
•of ammuni t ion was purchased , and s to red
in the basement. The well in the cou rty ard
was cleaned out, and the spring which
supplie d i t seen to . Ak ba r Kh an had a
•brass field piec e at his ca mp am ong the
hills. This being taken from its carriage
an d plac ed in a ho l low log, was successfully
brought into the courtyard, secreted in
a load of firewood. It was mou nte d in
•the stables and made ready to be wheeled
in to the gate way when requi red . Ten men
were set apart, under the leadership of
Tal ib , to be t rained to se rv er s gunners .
Thu s quietly, and wit hout atft-acting the
at te n t ion of sp ies and neighbours , Bob
man age d t o mak e his house a very respect
ab le strongho ld, sufficiently well equ ipp ed to
b e defe nded successfully by a num ber of resolut e men, and we ll able to resist any
outbrea k of a mob .
But , as ma y be easily unde rsto od, his
o c c u p a n c y of a wel l -known house, belonging
to Ak bar Kha n , had no t been al low ed to
pass unnot iced by man y v ig i lan t eyes . The
Kuzz ilba sh Quarter, in which i t was situated,
was a hot-bed of sedition , and s pies were
constan t l y on the lookou t fo r anyth in g ne w.
T h e emblem of the star worn in the turbans
of his men was not unc om mo n, but the
general smartness of the fo r ce did no t
pass wi thout comme nt , and Afzul Ali had
•set his spie s t o wo rk in or de r to find ou t
what Akb ar Kh an had on foo t .
T h e wily chief himself had sounded
A k b a r Kha n, bu t wi thout success . Interviews were now of almo st daily occ urre nce
betwe en the Baruk zye Si rdar and the
Afreedee, an d each tried to find ou t w ha t
was going on behind the vei l of out war d
fr iendsh ip . The Afreede e Chief h ad taken
up his abode in a strong fort , si tuated close
t o the hil ls behin d the to wn , whic h was ad
mir abl y adapt ed alike for defe nce or retreat.
Passages were const ructed th rough which
the garr i son cou ld ascend to the hil ls, and
thus i t was easy for the Af reed ee and his
(followers to leave the city.
On o n e occasion a secret interview had
'been arranged , and a numerous comp any
l a d as sem b led . Ak b ar Kh an , att ired in a
magnificent dress, had com e early, and had
b e e n left by himself in the audience chamberwhi le Afzul Al i pu t th e finishing t ou ch es
to h is ow n cost ume. Akb ar Kha n no t iced
a rich c loak in an anter oom , upo n the
breast of which several decorations gli t tered.
S o m e were Brit ish medals which had been
t aken fro:n plundered c o n v o y s and dead
•officers. Among the m the q uic k eyes of Ak
bar notic ed the Af gha n order of chiva lry—
ifcwo d iam o n d stars.
H e rec ognis ed one as the forme r pr oper ty
of Dos t Moh amm ed, and the o ther as the
star belonging to Bo b. Wit hou t a mome nt 's
hesitation he t o o k his knife and, ripping
the m from the clo ak, put th em into his
girdle, and bundling the garment up, flung
it out of the wi n d o w to the soldiers of his
escor t . As an officer looked up, he waved
his hand, and in an instant th e c loak was
snatched up and conc ealed , and tw o t roopers
trott ed ou t of the cour tyar d with i t .
W i t h unchange d countenanc e Akb ar Kha n
went b ac k to the audienc e cha mber , and
entered into an animated conversation with
the chiefs wh o were assemb ling. Presently"
Afzul Ali ca me in, clad in a splendid costu me,
blazing with jewels, but wi thout his cloa k.
H e won der ed where the garment had got to,
bu t thought that his servants ha d neglected
to put i t out for him. Tha t night Akb ar
Khan sent the stars to Bob , and told him to
take bet ter ca re of his pro pe rty in fut ure.
" I should have been better pleas ed,"
he wro te , " i f I cou ld have sent Afzul ' s
ears with them, but we must be cont ent t o
take a sto p at a tim e. D o no t wea r these
in publ ic, for the Afr eedee will learn thathi s c loak has disappe ared, and inquiries
will b e m ad e . "
Ear ly in Octo ber B ob put himself in
the way of some of the officers who were in
at tendance upon Si r Alex ander Burnes .
T h e y were a l i t t le inclined to patronise
the yo un g Afg han Sirdar who strolled near
them, and , no t knowi ng that he knew
English, passed various crit icisms upon him
in his hea ring.
Burnes at this t ime had not very much
to do , a l though he was e xpect i ng that
the appro ach ing retire ment of Sir Will iam
Macnaghte n , who had been made Governor
of Bo mb ay , woul d adva nce h im to the
pos i t ion of Br i t i sh En vo y, and thus place
him in the highest rank among the polit icalofficers of the Br i t i sh Govern ment in Kabul .
H e spo ke the A fgh an tongu e with a fair
am oun t of fluency, and was glad of an
oppor tun i t y of making the acquain tance of
an Af ghan of posit i on, such as he deeme d
B o b to be.
H e started with ama zem ent whe n he learned
that the you ng Sirdar was an Englishm an.
A t first he rese nted wha t he con sid ere d
to be B o b ' s faithlessness to his country,
and expressed himself somewhat freely.
His brother , Capta in Burnes, was present
wi th h im, and Bob cou ld se e tha t both men
were inclined to be severe in their cr i t ic i sms.
H e himsel f would have fel t uncomfor tab le
had he no t known that he was in a position
t o render great ser vice to the Brit ish,without in any way playing the spy upon
the Afgha n Sirdar wh o t rusted h im .
A m o n g the Brit ish he woul d onl y be an
unat tached follower, probably in some
inferior posit ion. His counsels wou ld be
neither aske d for nor appre ciate d, and it
was not l ikely tha t General Elph instone or
Brigad ier Shel ton would attach the slightest
impo rta nce to his presenc e or opini on. On
the other hand, as one t rusted b y Ak b ar
Khan, and established in a stronghold in
K a b u l , with ampl e provi sion and a strong
b o d y of trai ned men , he mig ht be of the
greatest service to Brit ish refugees or to
officers wh o might be handed ov er to the
Af g h a n s as hostages .
Gradu ally the ic y rece ption beca me of a more cordial characte r, and in the end
B o b fou nd himself chatti ng merrily wi th
Burnes and his broth er. He did not conc eal
his thoug hts on the dangero us situation
of the can tonments ou ts ide Kabul .
" I t i s abso lu te madne ss ," he said , " an d
if there is a disturbanc e and a n attack y o u
will see the re sult of the fol ly very speedi ly .
Not hin g will save the army if the Afgha ns
make an attack in force. The Bala Hissar
is the only safe place in Kabul, and there is
ab u n d an t r o o m withi n its walls for all th e
Brit ish. The wome n and children ought
to be in a secure positi on. Th e farmers
ar e flocking to the cantonme nt Ba zaar
to sell their provisio ns, and an imme nse
store might be purchased in Kabul itself.
Ag e n t s ought to be instructed to buy up
f o o d and forage as quietly as possible, andto store i t . The ammuniti on should be
p a c k e d in carts, in readiness for a rapid
m o v e m e n t . Arrangements should be made
to seize the gate s of the Ba la Hissar b efore
dayl igh t , and then the entire force, assembled
under arms through the night, should march
rap idl y to the La hor e Gate and so into the
fortress, before the Afgha ns have t ime to
realise what is happeni ng. It ough t to
have been done when the market -was
c r o wd e d with prod uce after the harvest,
e v e n no w it is not to o la te. "
Burnes sat back in his seat, and smiled
as Bo b eagerly explai ned his views. " Yo u
are doubtless a veteran diplomati st and
soldier , Lari Khan, and your ideas are bold
and v igorously expressed . Hav e youthought about what Shah Shujah might
have to say on the matter ? "
" I d o not care what he wou ld think or
say, Sir Al ex an de r; to me the first conc ern
would be the se curit y of the British arm y,
an d the lives of wo me n and child ren. Shah
Shujah woul d probab ly oppose such a
m o v e m e n t with all his might, but tha t
would onl y mak e me the more determined
to carry it out . Bu t if I were General
Elphins tone an d Sir William, I should
consult n o b o d y until my troops were all
in the Ba la Hissar , and once there, the
Afghans wou ld be compell ed to mak e the
best of it. Th ey are no less hostile when
y o u are on the plain than they would be
if yo u were in the citad el. In fact, theexposed position of the cantonments i s j j ^
const ant tempt atio n to them, and when thW
time is ripe they will attack the British
force as surely as I am speaking to you at
this m o m e n t . "
" W h a t e v e r their desires may be, their
power to carr y them out is l imited. The
c i ty is much quieter than it has been for
many months past. Our presence means
trade and abun danc e of read y mon ey, and
the Afgh ans kno w it . Th ey have accepted
the situation, and in a short time the British
force will be able to retire, a nd the coun try •
will be comparat ively tranquil under the
rule of Shujah."
" I do not think so, Sir Ale xan de r. Quiet
in Afghanis tan usually means preparationfo r disturbanc e. Ka bul , as yo u know , is
full of chiefs with their arm ed followers.
A k b a r Kh an is dai ly in the ci ty, and Afzul
Al i is dwelling in the Ku zzilb ash Quartet.
T h e y are no longer at e nmity w ith each
other, and this to me is significant."
" I have mad e short w ork of that Afreedee
s c o u n d r e l , " said Burnes hotly. " He came
to me some tim e ago and I ha d a quarrel
with him. He threatene d me , and I swore
that I w ould horse whip him out of the
courtyard if he did not curb his speech,
an d men d his wa ys. He wen t off like a
frightened cur, and since then he has kept
a civi l dis tance between us ."
" He ma y have crept awa y like a cur,
but n ot as a frightened one, Sir Alexander.T h e villain has plen ty of courag e, and
would not tolerate a threat unless he knew
that by biding his time he could exact a
weigh tier rev eng e. He has his spies ever y
where, and I e xpe ct that every movement
on y o u r part is watched and reported to
him. Y o u live to o near to the Treasury
to be safe, and some night Afzul will have
per fec ted his plans, and then he will try to
The Boy's Otvn Taper.
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Through Afghan Snotas. 699
accomplish his revenge and satisfy his greed
at the same time. Y ou ma y not fear him
very muc h, but if ever you require a shelter
I want you to remember that my house
o v e r there," he pointed up the street, " is
well defended by faithful men, and is barri
caded and prep ared fo r a stiff defence. If
y o u will take this whistle and b l o w a shrill
blast upon it, like this "•—here Bo b pro duc ed
a loud screaming noise by a full breath in
th e i ns t rument—"the gates will be re ady
fo r your admission, and m y men will
k n o w that yo u are in danger . This is
•a whistle which is used in t he mou nta ins
o f Thibet, and the sound carries a long
dis tance."
" I har dly think it will be re qui re d,"
said Burnes, as he dropped the whistle
carelessly into his poc ket . " I am not
l ikely to be atta cked , for I am not a militar y
man, and have always foun d that soft words
are best. I am respec ted by the Afgh ans ,
and if I ha ve an opp ort uni ty to address
the m it will be all r igh t."
" Not if Afzul Ali is behind the c r o w d , "
replied Bob . " Wo rd s will be useless when
he decides that the time has c o m e for b l o w s .
M y men will be on the lo ok- out , da y a nd
night, and if y ou t ake my advi ce, Sir
Alexa nder, yo u will try to reac h my hous e
the moment the a t t ack begins ."
" G o o d - b y e , Lari Khan, I am glad to
hav e me t you, and to have heard yo ur view s
on the si tuation. Yo u won 't mind my
{To be continued.)
giving you a hint on the gene ral posit ion of
affairs. If I wer e yo u, I shou ld leave
diplom atist s and soldiers to deal with an
international situation, and al low older heads
than yo ur ow n to dec ide what is best. Y o u
mean well, I k n o w , but these matters ru n
in a peculiar channel, and require fully
qualified men . By the way, early nex t year
1 migh t be able to d o somethi ng for you if
y o u w ould like to ente r our ser vic e. I shall
probably be Envoy in a few weeks, and
your knowle dge of the la nguage w ould
ma ke yo u useful. Thi nk it ove r , and c o m e
t o see me about New Year 's Day. G o o d
b y e ; how quiet the city is, yo u won 't need an
escort to take yo u a few yar ds. I never
knew Kabul to be so tranquil."
^0C H A N G I N G T H E : C O L O U R o r F L O W E R S .
S o m e R e m a r k a b l e C h e m i c a l E x p e r i m e n t s .
1"^ L O W E E S , as we receive the m f rom th e; hand of Nat ure, are so beaut iful that
it is inde ed waste of tim e to try " t o
paint the l i l y . " No ne the less, the
curious experime nts with which the writer
is abou t to de al ma y not be wi tho ut
interest. The se have been sel ected as the
most remar kable of a num be r of way s of
chang ing the co lours of real flowers wThich
have recently c o m e under notice. The
results of the met hod s mentio ned are so
singular that no apo logy is requ ired f or
introducing them to the readers of the
" B . O . P . "
In th e first pla ce stress should be laid
upon the fact that in all these expert-
B y S. L E O N A R D B A S T I N .
ments it is essential that the f lowers ally, it ma y be ment ione d that ordinaryshould be fresh ly gath ered . Seein g that a re d ink is a g o o d aniline solution, and
good many of the methods depend largely this will give excellent results when any
upon a free flow of sap,
it is important that the
plan should be carried
ou t whilst there is a
g o o d movement up
an d d o w n the stem.
This will o n l y con
tinue in its mo st
active form for a few
hours after gathering,
so that it is obv ious ly
a wise plan not to
gather our specimens
Purple Flowers exposed to the fumes ot strong ammonia turn mostextraordinary tints, varying in the different blossoms.
The White Carnations with long stems are stood in aniline dye (green orblue) and the colour is absorbed into the petals.
until we have all the
other requisites ready.
T he first series of
experiments involve
the use of aniline dyes.
These are readily
obtain ed in powd er
form from any chemist,
and may be dissolved
in water. Incide nt-
shades of pin k are required. Some of the
simplest kinds of flowers to treat with
aniline dy es are those wit h succu lent stems,
such as lilies of the val ley, Christmas roses ,
hyacinths, etc.
T h e s t rength of the solution of the dye
wil l , of course, depend upon the l ight
ness or otherwise of the co lou r which i s
wa nt ed in th e finished flower. A s a
general rule it will be fou nd that the
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7C0 The "Boy's Oban Taper.
Many Sweet Peas held over the fumes of a gas burner change theircolour to an extraordinary extent.
t int in the flower is not so deep as the
l i q u i d in whi ch the stalks are immersed
appea rs to be when held up to the l ight .
T h e rapid abs orpti on of the c olours will
be muc h aide d if , befor e plac ing the s tems
iu the sol ution, they are sli t upw ar ds wit h
a sharp knif e for abo ut half an inch .
Af t e r th e pla ci ng of th e flowers in t he
mixture, i t is a g o o d pla n to put t he m m
a dark c upb oa rd, and it wi ll be found
that at the e nd of an hou r or so ev er y
petal is bri ghtl y t inted wit h the dy e.
B y the use of aniline dy es ma ny ver y
singular results can be secur ed with wh ite
carna tions, o r " pin ks. " Some years ago
the floral wo rl d wa s star t led by the intro
d u c t i o n of the gree n carna tion, and for a
short t im e big prices wer e paid for the se
novel t i es . Th e produce rs abso lu tely re
fused t o part with any cuttings of the
plant, and this, perha ps, mad e some
people inquis i t ive. A n y h o w , before long
the fact leaked out that the b lossoms had
been t rea ted wit h dye, by a met hod so
s imple that anyo ne wou ld be able to
secure a similar result.
In the different kind s of carna tions and
pinks some very remarkable o u tcom es may
be secured . Qui te o f ten whi te fo r ms
wil l , af t e r t rea tment, appear wi th
coloured stripes on the ir petals , whi ls tagain t hey may be t inte d in the same wa y
all over . Of cours e, if one cares to do
so , i t is easy to dye coloured carnations,
espec ia l ly if these are very delicately
t in ted . Thus , pale p ink forms , t rea ted
with a green dye, will com e out a most
singular shade be twe en a blue and a
m au v e .
T h e appl icat ion of ammonia fumes wi l l
so met im es b r i n g
about very strange
changes in thecolours
of flowers. Here,
there is a very inter
esting field f orexperi-
ment, as there seem
to be a good m an y
flowers which are notaffected in some way
or another by this
treatment. The best
method of applying
the fumes is shown
in an acco mpany ing
i l l u s t r a t i o n . An
ordinary saucer is
secured, and, as well,
a small vase holding
wate r in which the
flowers to be treated
ca n be placed. No w
half fill the saucer
with water, and into
this put a few drops
of strong ammonia.
T h e n p l a c e t h e
vase containin g the
flowers in the centre
of the saucer, and
cover the who le wit h
a glass shade. If
the v ase is small , a n
ordinary jam-jar will
answer the purpose
admirably. Under
this treatm ent m an y
k i n d s o f v i o l e t
flowers will turn a
m o s t v iv id green. Whi te petals will change
to yellow, carmi ne to black, and bright red
to a strong green.
B y exper iment i ng wi th many d i f ferent
kin ds of flowers some ver y singu lar results
can be sec ured ; n ot a f ew of these w ou ld
p r o b a b l y be more striking than the
changes ind icated . Seeing that the
flowers so treated wil l retain their altered
colours for man y hours, i t is possible to
p r o d u c e som eth ing of a sensa tion at the
local flower show by making an exhibit
of these no vel tie s. I t is an i nteres ting
sight to see a c row d of the local exper t
gardeners d iscussing the " n e w fo r ms " of
flowers wi th wh ic h, of course, the y arequite unfamiliar.
In concl usion, tw o more way s of alter
ing the c ol our s of flowers m ay be men
tione d. One of these requires the use of
a we ak so luti on of nitri c aci d. In its
pure state the acid is, of course, dan
gerous to handle, but it can be used in an
ext remely d i lu te fo rm , and it is bes t pur
chased from the chemist in this way .
There i s then no harm in handli ng the
stuff.
T h e com m on vio let asters are the best
sub jects fo r treating, and their petals
should be just moistened with the nitric
acid so lu t ion . Th ey wi l l then becom e
red, and in addi tion the blossom s will
acquir e a ver y agreeable odour. W hy , i t
is not so easy to say. It is kn ow n that
man y of the colo urs of our mode rn sweet
peas are of rather a fleeting character, but
f e w peop le realise ho w strangely the t ints
will alter if the blooms are held ov er a
gas burner. Th e fumes will bring about
some startling changes, and these wil l , o f
course , depend upon the composi t i on of
the origina l shade.
A e a last word, one would emphasise-
again the great importance in all these
exper iments o f seeing that the flowers
w h i c h are sele cted are quite fresh.
Otherwise the results of the treatment-
wil l onl y be partially satisfactory..
W E reduce life to the pettiness of our
dai ly livin g ; we shoul d exalt our livi ng to
the gran deur o f life.— Phillips Brooks.
7 * - 1
Many white-petalled flowers will absorb through their stems the colours of aniline dyes.Thick-stemmed flowers before being placed in the dye are slightly cut in the stem. Red inkis an aniline dye.
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701
r i iHE scene is on the Sundhari, a big Indian
L river, and in one of her more des olate
reaches. At a spot where the bed prop er
exceeds a mile in wid th is the ha mle t of
Hathighaut, close dow n by the water 's
edge ; while domi nati ng it, on a project ing
bluff of the cliff-like southern shore, perches
an abandoned but still habitable, travellers'
bungalow or rest-house. Her e, and for some
leagues east and west, bot h banks are high
and precipi tous, and not far ab ov e Hathi
ghaut they c onve rge so muc h as to form a
gorge, dow n which the water, eve n when
low, races with dangerous veloci ty .A few paces to the right of the bun gal ow
t ho high bank is cut by a ramp, co mme nci ng
from the level grou nd at the rear and end
ing at the river itself, for. until the coming
of railways , nil travellers by the Grand
Trunk ro ad crosse d the Sundhar i at Hath i
ghaut by a ferry. Like ma ny othe r Indi an
rivers, the Sundhari divi ded inhab ited from
uninhabi ted cou ntr y, for while the southe rn
shore was thinly spr inkled wit h villages ,
the northern ba nk for miles arou nd w as
clothed with heavy jungle, totally devo id
of human beings.
Th e incident abou t to be related occ urre d
during the hot season, whe n the Sundhari,
dwindled to perhap s a hundr ed ya rds in
breadth, hugged the south ba nk, leaving theremainder of her bed a dry, sandy waste ,
dotted with boulders. In spite of this
shrinking, the stream remained navigable
fo r native boats, as the water naturally
kept to the deepest part of the bed.
Away some six miles up river, and bey on d
the gorge allude d to, lay the interesting
ruins of an ancient Hindu templ e na med
B oodhdeyvu l , but wh ich, from its in
accessibility, was barred to the a vera ge
globe-trotter . This temp le dul y figured in
the guid e-bo oks ; still, as the rail way di d not
touch it by thirty miles, and no made r oads
reached the place from anywhere, B oodh
d e y v u l was seldom visited by the sightseer.
Soon after my transfer from the Pu njaub
t o Bungi pore in Central India I heard of
B oodhdeyvu l , and, being keen on collect ing
photo grap hs of antiquities, I obtain ed a
fortnight's leave at tho close of the wor kin g
season, and. taking a camera amongst my
other kit, I went by nativ e boat to Hathi
ghaut, the nearest point to Boo dhd ey vul
that boasted of a bungalow, which I would
consti tute my headquarters, and thence
purposed makingadayexcursion to the ruins.
CHAPTER I.
After a week 's incessant to wing against
the current I reached Hathighaut, climbed
to the eyrie-like bungalow, made myself
comfortable, breakfasted, and slept till
three o ' c lock , whe n I had tea. By no w the
great heat of the da y had pa ssed , so I
strolled out into the open , an d while loo king
abo ut me I saw, poise d on a boul der in the
dry part of the river bed , a large eart henwa re
hundi or globular pot, apparently left there
by some forgetful bather. I adjudged the
object to be ab out eight hundre d yar ds off,
and, being fond of shoo ting at a mark, I
fetched my Snider rifle, lay do wn on thecliff-verge, and co mme nc ed blazing awa y at
the pot. I made four miss es; I bec ame
angry ; I altered the sigh t, sla mme d in a
fifth cartridge and was about pulling trigger
when a voice behind me said, " Let me try
this time, sir."
I screwed my neck, and beheld a seedy-
looking white man standing at my fee t; he
wore a grin on his face, and I had an unc om
fortable suspicion that his amusement was the
result of witness ing my ba d m arks mans hip.
" Hallo a ! " I excla imed, scra mbling to
m y legs and staring daze dly at the appari
tion, " who the dickens are you ? "
" I ain't much, mister," he replied, speak
ing with a strong accent, " any how , my name
is Abe Riley. But it 's just itching, I am, tok n o c k that there ove r, " pointin g to the
pot . " I' ve use d a Snider af ore no w, so
give me a go , and I' ll palaver as muc h as
y o u l ike afterwards."
Invo lunt ari ly I han ded him my rifle and
stood aside. Clutching the piece with
avid ity he dr op pe d on one knee , shifted
the s ight, clap ped the we ap on to his left
shoulder and pulled trigger ; the pot flew to
smithereens !
" Good shot, and left-ha nded to o ! " I
ejaculated admiringly, no w looki ng him
ove r with more atte ntion. He was a man
of perhaps a little over thirty, with a pleas
ing expression, keen brown eyes, well set-up
figure, and an alert manner. He spoke
nicely though not very retinedly, and in
spite of his ragge d, travel- staine d cl othes .-
his grimy face and hands, there was some
thing about the fellow that attracted
rather than repelled.
" Oh, I ought to be, mister," he said, in
reply to m y remark ; " cons ider ing I'm a
T e x a n and have passed nearly all my born
days on the prairies and in the woods. I ' d
give some to be back there," he conc lude d,
with a sigh.
" An Ame ric an ? " I echoed .
" What on earth are you doing
in this out-of- the-w ay corner of
India ? "" G u e s s I 'm tramping, sir ," he answered,
smiling sadly . " I ca me out to this co u n t ry
thinki ng to fall eas y int o some snug bert h as
handy ma n wi th one of your —you r—
rajahs as I 've heard Brit ishers over there
tell on ; so I half wor ke d my passag e slick
across f rom N ' Y o r k to Bo mb ay ; I 've been
trying to get a jo b tw o mont hs no w, but
none of 'em wants a chap who can't do no
more than shoot straight, stick on to the
wildest broncho as was ever foaled, and
some more tricks of the same kind. Y o u
see, I ain't a scholar; I can write my name,
that 's abo ut a ll; whe reas , so far as I can see,
they l ike fellows as can re ad, quill-dri ve,
and rig out spruce, and I can't do one or
t'oth er. Wi sh I was ba ck ! " Aga in sighing.
I l istened wonder ingly. " An d what are
y o u going to do now ? " I de mand ed, when
lie ceased speaking.
" I p lumped down my last rupee in railing
to some township four days ahint of this,
where I was told a rajah hung out as might
take me on in his stable ; but the old case
didn' t wa nt me , so, finding myself cleared
out, and nothing else to sell, I turned W e a r y
Willie, we nt to the minister of the garris on
and asked him wha t I had better do. He
gave me a mea l of vittl es and ad vis ed me to
streak for Calcutta, where the Am urc an
Consul wou ld see after m e ; so I ' m just
foot ing i t to Calcutta, beggin g my w ay
of the niggers I am. for the whites ain't
plentiful, n o h o w . "
" Y o u are not very far fro m the railw ayn o w , " I observed .
" Couldn ' t take the cars, mister; ain't
go t tho mo ne y, not to bu y a four-ce nt slip,
unless yo u help me ."
" W e' l l see abou t that by and by . What 's
that coil slung a cross y ou r shoul der ? " I
inquired, regarding him curiously.
" A lass o, we ca ll it ; the on ly fixing I' ve
left ; all the others, t icker , bowie, six-shooter,
have go ne for keepin g b o d y and soul together.
L o o k here, mister," he suddenly resumed.
" though you see me in this poor state, I
hope yo u think me honest Inju n ? "
" Qu it e! " I answered readily, for by
n o w he had favourably impressed me.
There wa s nothing hang -dog abo ut him ;
lie spoke out, and looked me frankl y in theface.
" G o o d ! Then. sir. if you'll give me
some thin g to eat and let me rest here a bit
I shall ay bully for yo u. "
I han ded him ove r to the tende r mercies
of my head servant, w ith instructions to
put the vag ran t int o the othe r wing of the
bungalow, let him hav e a bat h, furnish him
with some spare clothes of mine, his own
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<02 The "Boy's Otvn Taper.
bein g filthy, and gi ve hi m a g o o d meal.
Riley tha nke d me and went off. I saw no
m ore of him for the remain der of the da y :
he must h ave been dea d beat, for m y servan t
repor ted tha t no sooner had he devou red his
food than th e p o o r chap tumbled off to
sleep.
Tha t even ing , after I had din ed in my
room and the t r amp in his, I sent for him
and propo sed a saunter along the r iverbank, when he c o u l d tell me something of his
history. There was a bright m o o n shedding
a silve ry radi ance o n all thing s, and no t a
leaf stirred. I carried my Snider, and
listened with interest to my companion 's
graphic yarns of his life " out We st ." As
w e strolled on we turned a bend, when, to
m y prof ound astonishm ent , I heard excl ama
tion s in Englis h floating up fro m be low,
and for a while l o o k e d in vain for the
speakers.
" There they are, s i r ," murmured Riley,
poin t ing out two na t ive boat s moore d some
w a y down on the farther side of the wate r.
'' Guess they' re goi ng to du mp out on th e
sand for the nigh t ."
I had failed to dist inguis h the din gy,mast less craft , but tho sharp-eyed Te xa n
had spotted them at once !
" Lo t ' s hurry o n, " I said. " and I' ll as k
them to the bungalow . If they accept , yo u
must shift into one of the outh ouse s.
R i l ey . "
" Under the stars, if need be, sir ; no call
fo r me to be squeami sh."
W e stepped out , and, on approa ching
closer, my astonishment was increased by
hearing a woman's musical accents mingling
with the roug her tones of men . In the m o o n
light several natives were unloading a tent,
while the figures of three Europe ans, o ne of
them a lady, stood on the little fore-deck of
th e nearest boat . Wishi ng to reconnoitre
th e strangers before invi t ing them t o the
bunga low , I led the way a little to inland,
continued on, and when abreast of the
boats we dropped on al l fours, and, creeping
back to the verge of the cliff, looked d o w n
o n the party. Prese ntly on e of the whites
left his comp anio ns, dive d under the arched
cover ing of the bo at, emer ged on to the stern-
deck , and, hopping ashore, started a wa y
across the sand in the dire ctio n of the nor th
bank. He had cov ered some distance ere
the others b ec ame aware of his abse nce, a nd
the lady, in a shrill alto, called, " Father !
wher e are yo u goi ng ? "
" To pick up sticks for the c o o k , m ydear ! " ca me th e che ery respon se ; " he'll
req uire the m wh en he finishes hel pin g with
th e tent, and w e wa nt o ur dinner ! " sayin g
which the man conti nued on towar ds a dark
(To be concluded.)
line, formed by drift wood, evidently lef t
b y th e Sundhari when subsiding from her
last freshet. I resol ved to say noth ing till
the wood-gatherer 's return, as he was no
do ub t the leader of the party ; so I continued
m y wat ch in silence. The lady and t he
second gent lema n also landed, and assisted
th e servants to the accompaniment of much
talking and merriment; addressing each
other as " Kitty " and " T o b y . " But now,
while listening with all my ears, I was
abruptl y nudge d by Riley , who, point ing
across the water, whispe red ene rgetically,
" L o o k , sir ! "
I o b e y e d , but not iced nothing more than
that he whom the lady called " Father " had
reach ed the fringe of drift wood, and was
m oving along it, probably in quest of big
pieces. I said so to the tram p.
" Ther e's a varm int sneakin g after hi m,
as sure as • Shoo t ! " he no w loud ly
ejacul ated, " or there'll "
I interrupted him by mutely thrusting m y
l oaded Snider into his hands, for I cou ld
see no " var min t." In a mo me nt he had
judged the range, adjusted the sight, and
ful l-cocked the rifle ; in the ne xt he a ime d,again from the left shoulder, and pulled
trigger. Th e lou d repor t rev erbera ted
among the cliffs, re-echoed from the oppo si te
shore, and died away in sullen mutter ings.
T h e S o n o f a n A n a r c h i s tA ' Ta le o f S t r a n g e M y s t e r y a n d W i l d A d v e n t u r e .
B y W. A. B. C L E M E N T S O N , M.A. ,
Author of ACoitple of Scamps," etc.
HUS ended, so far
as Paolo antl his
fr iends wete con
cerned, their adven
t u r e s w i t h t h e
anarchists .
I t would not be true
to say tha t they Jived
hap pil y eve r after, as
they do in fairy tales ;
but henceforward their
l ives bec ame more l ike those of ordinary
people , equal ly interesting and exci t ing tothemselv es no dou bt , bu t less so to m y
readers, s ince there are no mo re thrilling
adventures to record.
Pao lo d id not b e c o m e a great viol inist ,
though he st i l l amused himself with the old
'" Cremon a." Wh at he d id b e c o m e wh e n
he grew up, I leave my readers to guess for
themselves .
T h e terr ible experienc es, from whic h he
h ad c o m e forth so t r iumphant ly with a
reputat ion for coura ge, whic h he had we ll
earned , had giv en him a training, wh i c h
liad fitted h im for th e bat t le of life far
better than hi s parents ' kind indulgence
cou ld ever have do ne ; and Paolo , thoug hno t wi tho ut his faults (of wh ich one was an
impe tuou s and f iery te mper) was a bo y
w h o m any on e might be gla d to call his f riend .
R o n a l d , B o b b i e and he formed a trio of
chum s, who were alway s together , in the
holidays at least , in every interesting piece
of mischief , and every heal thy amuse ment
CHAPTER XXVII. THE DAY OF RECKONING.
k n o w n to count ry boys . The y were the
life and sou l of the 1st Dash ford T ro op of
B o y Scou ts, the busiest and m ost cheerful
members of every camping expedi t ion ,
and no one c o u l d be dull for long when
they were anyw here a bou t .
Madame Costa sang no more in public,
but Luigi st i l l conti nued to paint and Sir
Samuel fou nd him work of a l ight character
b y which he c o u l d add to his inc ome .
T h e family t oo k a small house in Dashfor d.
where th ey l ive d till it was nece ssar y for
them to return to Lon don , owing to Luigi ' sgrow ing reputa t ion as a portrait-painter.
Before our friends were able to settle d o w n
to a quiet and peaceful life, the secret society
w hich had trou bled them was brou ght to an
end in a most drama tic manner.
T h e informat ion which Paolo had obta ined
f rom the lips of the dying anarchist proved,
invaluable to the pol ice . Paol o had no t
even waited till he returned t o Lo n d o n ,
but go t the Briti sh Con sul to sen d the
particulars to Scot land Yard by cable .
Insp ecto r Rivers was del ighted ; the facts
thus pla ced in his possessi on were just wha t
he needed to complete his plan for des
troying the anarchist organisat ion. K eeping the matter a dead secret, he caused a
vigi lant wa tch to be ke pt on all the places
mentio ned by Bardi and on the different
suspected persons as they arr ived in London.
A c c o r d i n g to Bardi 's information a great
meet ing of the leaders of the " Son s of
Glor ious Lib ert v " h ad been arrang ed for a
particular day in January, and, unless tho
anarchists changed their plans, Inspector
Rive rs hop ed to have them in a t rap frot;i
which there was no escape. I t is prob ablo
tha t Bard i had ex agge rate d his own import -
anco in con nec t ion with the socie ty, for his
death seemed to make little or no difference
to the plans of the com mitt ee. The Italian
pol ice had been careful to keep Pao lo's
story secret , so there was no reason for tho
anarchists to fear t r eachery.
F o r some days before the t ime fixed fo r
the me etin g a large band of dete ctiv es werewatching the house in the East End, where
it was to be held. Th e police also took tho
precau tion of occ upy ing the houses on ei ther
side of it, whi ch happe ned to be emp ty, as
well as taking rooms in the bui ldings imme di
atel y in front and behin d the an archist s'
headquarters. The men who occup ied
these houses were disgui sed as o rdina ry
eastenders and prete nded to have noth ing
to do with e ach ot her ; so no one, least of all
the anarchists , suspected tha t a siege was
actual ly being begun.
On the evening of the day appointe d the
police in the hou se opp osi te had the satisfac
tion of seeing the anarchists arrive one byo n e and unobt rus ive ly enter the meeting
place . Only two or three at most appeared
to be missing, wjien the besiegers closed
th e t rap by bringing up a large b o d y of
armed constables to block the ends of the
surrounding streets.
It was nearly midn ight w hen a polic eman
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The Son o_f an Anarchist. 703
in unifo rm presented himself at the front
door and kn ock ed loud ly. A dark face
appeared at an upper wi ndo w for a mo men t
an d then the sou nd of a pistol shot rang
out in the stillness of the night. Th e pol ice
man had fortunately stepped aside sharply
an d taken cover in a door wa y, so he was no t
hi t ; in another minute he made a bol t dow n
th e street to seek shelter before the rest of th e anarchists should be aroused.
Presently there was a burst of firing at the
back of the house. The anarchists , t rying
to escape by the back door , were met by
a volley from the roof of one of the houses
behind, which the police ha d occupied.
A n at tempt wa s then made to escape by the
front , which was effectually stoppe d by the
police opposi te ki l l ing an anarchist and
wounding two others.
The part i t ion between the anarchists '
house and the on e next to it w as onl y lath and
plaster, so the police n e x t d o o r set to work
t o force an entrance with axes. Hearing
the at tacking party hackin g awa y at thewalls, th e anarchists realised tha t they were
caught l ike rats in a t rap and tha t there was
no escap e ; but, b eing all desp erate an d law
less men, th ey dec ide d to fight to the deat h.
Th e police workin g at the breach could
hear th e harsh voice of the dwarf e xho rtin g
his men to fight bra vel y. Sud denl y, h o w
ever, they heard a wo rd mentio ned, which
made them pause in their work and gaze
at one another in blank alarm— " dyna mite ."
" Save yourselves," cr ied the officer in
c o m m a n d of the at tacking party. " They
are goi ng to blow up the house ."
D o w n th e stairs and into the street rushed
the men, heedless of the shots tha t fol lowed
them from the anarchists ' windo ws. One
man braver than th e rest ran across to warn
his comrades in the house on the other side
of the anarchists' den, lest the y should beove rw he lm ed in the ruins.
Either tho anarchists did not not ice the
flight of the police from the adjoining houses,
or it was too late for them to change their
plans, for sudd enly , with a deafen ing roar,
which shoo k the who le place and broke
eve ry pane of glass in the neighb ourh ood,
the explosion to ok place. The walls of the
anarchists' house seemed to bulge o utwa rds
while a blaze of yellow fire shot forth in all
dire ct io ns; and high into the air were
hurled masses of mason ry, burn ing wood,
t i les and chimney-pots which rained down
on the surrounding streets with a terrific
clatter.
Th e n fol lowed for som e minu tes a de ad
silence, as if the senses of ev ery one had bee n
nu mbe d by the noise ; and then arose from
th e crowd, tha t had been at t racted by the
firing, shrieks of terror ; me n rushed hither
an d thither aw ay fr om the scene of the
disaster, open- mouth ed and with fr ightened
e y e s ; wo men fainted and chi ldren screamed,
while the police and ambulance men went
quiet ly about their d u t y attending to those
' The anarchists being: all desperate and lawless men, decided to fight to the death.
wh o had been w oun ded by falling stones or
bits of glass.
In anot her minu te up ca me the fire-brigade
with their gleaming engines to ext inguish
the fire tha t leapt from the smoking ruins ;
and the besieging force came out of their
hiding-places to lend their aid in searching
fo r wo u n d e d anarchists or keeping bac k the
exci ted crowd.Th e battle had been short and sha rp:
but it was all over now . N ot a ma n wh o
had at tended tha t last fatal meeting of the
" Sons of Glorious Libe rty " remained al ive.
L uck i ly none of the pol ice or of the c r o w d
ha d been kill ed eith er b y the firing or th e
explos ion, thoug h not a few were wou nde d ;
so Inspector Rivers was ent i t led to al l
the glo ry he received for freeing Lon do n
and th e wor ld of the crue l gan g, wh o in t he
sacred name of " Libe rty " had comm itt ed
so many cr imes .
But the real hero of the war, tho ugh be
was at this moment sleeping safely in his
ow n bed at Dashford, was young Paolo,wh o by his splendid pluck had not only saved
his father fro m the anarchists, b ut ev en
helped to bring about their final downfall.
W h e n the next morning a long t r iumphant
telegram ca me from Inspecto r Rivers for
Luigi , the Costa family learnt with deep
thankfulness that their enemies would t rouble
them no more.
" Father, ho w gran d it will be that w o
need fear them no long er," said Paol o. " We
are free from them at last, real ly
free."
'* Ye s, " said Luigi , embra cing
his son with a thankful heart.
" Free at l a s t ! "
But tho true and brave can
neve r be ens lave d b y fear o-r
favour , for they are always free.
[ T H E E N D . ]
HIS OPPORTUNITY.
O N E of the largest fo rtun es eve r
r eco rded at Somerset House was-
made by the ra i lway k ing , Tho ma s
Bra sse y. In his early life he
earned his l iving as a w orkin g
engineer, and when the Liv erp ool
and Manches ter Rai lway was in
process of cons truct i on, he applied
f o r work in tha t d e p a r t m e n t .
Th rou gh a blund er of the f ore man
of a gang, he was set to work
as a labou rer . H o said noth ing
at the t ime, deeming i t useless,
but set to shovell ing with the rest..
He was at o n c e impressed with
the terr ible was te invo lve d in.
let t ing out the work of construc
t ion to a whol e host of sm all
contr actors . One man , or a t
least two or three, he reflected,
cou ld do the wo rk bet ter , cheaper ,
and more expedit iously. Then-
c a m e th e startling thought , " Why
sho uld not the o ne man be me f "
A few years passed by , and T om
Bra sse y was at the hea d of a gr eatl abour a rmy , compr i s ing dozens
of battal ions, and engaged in
building the rai lways, not only
of Eng land and Scot land , but of
France , Germany, and Belgium
as well; and all because a fore
man mistook a skilled for an
unski l l ed workman.
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper August 2, 1913
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704 The "Boy's Otetn Taper.
Our Rote Book.
A F A M O U S O A R S M A N .
THE LATE E. B. ETHERINGTON-SMITH.
By \V. LIVINGSTONE IRWTN.
THE tragically sudden death of Mr. R. B. Etherington-Smith, M.B., F.R.C.S. , towards the end of April-came as a great shock to rowing men. A few daysbefore his death he performed an operation on a caseof gangrene of the lung, and it is thought that he musthave been infected, for the next day he was seriouslyill with peritonitis. An operation was performed,but the patient became exhausted and passed away.
His death removes one of the most popular, as wellas one of the most famous, of University oarsmen.He was a son of Mr. J. H. Etherington-Smith, a Bencher•of the Inner Temple, and was educated at Repton,afterwards going up to Trinity, Cambridge. Laterhe became assistant-surgeon at St . Bartholomew'sHospital and was Warden of the College. His fatherhad narrowly missed his Blue at Oxford, and " Ethel,"as R. B. Etherington-Smith was popularly called, wasa member of the London Rowing Club before he wentup to Cambridge, making his first appearance atHenley in 189-5, when he rowed No. 5 in the LondonR.C. Thames Cup crew.
From that year until 1908 he rowed in practically-every Henley regatta. In 1896 he rowed in the
First Trinity boat which was defeated by Leander inthe Grand Challenge Cup. In 1897 he again rowed'for London in the Grand and also competed in theStewards' crew. In the same year he won the Col-quhoun Sculls at Cambridge, and the following seasonstroked the First Trinity eight which was beaten byLeander in the final of the Grand. He also strokedhis college crew in the Ladies' Plate, being defeated byEton in the Final. In 1898, in partnership with•O. J. D. Goldie, he won the Lowe Double Sculls atCambridge and also the University Pair-oars, andrepeated both performances in the following year,when he was partnered in the Sculls by R. H. Sandersonand in the Pairs by W. Dudley Ward.
[1'noto. Elliott <£• Fry.
Mr. R. B. Etherington-Smith.
Etherington-Smith • won his Blue in 1898, rowingNo . 6 against Oxford, who won easily. In the fol-
: lowing year he rowed at No. 5, and Cambridge, strokedby J. II. Gibbon, won for the first time in ten years.In the summer of that year he rowed No. 4 hi thecombined Trinity College crew which lost to Leanderin the Grand, and also stroked the Trinity Stewards'four which was deteated by Magdalen. In 1900Etherington-Smith again rowed No. 5 in the winningCambridge crew. In this race he had the uniqueexperience of rowing against his brother " T. B. ,"who was at No. 7 in the Oxford boat. At Henley herowed in the Trinity crew which lost again to Leanderin the Grand, and was at No. 2 in the Trinity Stewards'four which was also defeated by Leander. He alsorowed, with W. Dudley Ward, for the Goblets, but
'this pair was beaten.In 1901 this great oarsman stroked the Leander crew
which beat Pennsylvania University in the final forthe Grand after a great struggle, and also rowed No. 2in the Leander Stewards' four. In the following yearhe competed for the Diamond Sculls nt Henley, losingthe final to P. S. Kelly, of Oxford, and also for theWingfield Sculls, the amateur championship of theThames.
In 1903 he was elected captain of Leander, whichpost he also held in 1905 and 1906. In 1903 he rowedNo. 4 in the Leander crew which beat Third Trinityin the final of the Grand. He did not row in 1004,but in 1905 he was in the Leander crew which won theGrand and was also in the Leander four which carriedoff the Stewards' Cup. Leander did not send in aneight for the Grand in the following year, but " Ethel "Smith was in the four which again won the Stewards*Cup. His last race at Henley was in the OlympicRegatta of 1908, when 'ie was captain of the Leandercrew which won the Eights.
As a coach Etherington-Smith had made his namefamous in the annals of the sport. He coached theCambridge crews in 1910 and 1911 after they went
to Putney, aud also officiated as umpire at manyregattas. He was umpire when Barry defeated Arnstand Durnan in the races for the Championship of the World.
Etherington-Smith was considered one of the mostbrilliant young surgeons in the country, and it is sadthat such a promising career should have been cutshort so suddenly. As Mr. W. B. Woodgate wrote onthe day when the death occurred : " The personalityof ' Ethel' will survive hi memory with all who everknew him. There is always strong fraternity amongBlues, rivals and colleagues alike; but, searchingback through memory and personal reminiscences
of brother oarsmen for more than half a century, Ican recall none who so thoroughly won the aifectiouof aquatic friends and ' foes' alike as him for whomwe now hang flag half-mast."
Another life has been laid down in the cause of science and duty, and surely there could be no linerepitaph over the grave of R. B. Etherington-Smith thanthe old familiar words: " Greater love hatli no man thanthis, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
r. .TONES. —Write to the India Office for information.The appointments would be made in India, not inthis country.
ARCHIE.—1. It is a common ailment with dogs; donot be alarmed unnecessarily. 2. A little breadand milk, but not meat.
COINER.—1. A farthing by its name signifies " thefourth part " of a penny. The old Saxon word was" feorthung." 2. Send a rubbing of the coin youfound and perhaps we shall be able to identify it.3. Value not more than half a crown.
F. L. P.—The Spanish ball game, " Jai alai," wasdescribed in the December part, p. 112. This is-till in print.
G. F. LKEl'ER (Melbourne).—For a ten-year-olddraughts problem composer your little coup isvery well set, and it has also the merit of naturalness.We shall be pleased to show it in due course.
ENTHUSIAST.—See " Autograph Collecting," by H. T.Scott, M.D., L.R.C.P. (Upcott Gill, 5s.). Thisbook will advise you on the collecting and arranging
of autographs and the detection of forgeries, togetherwith the present-day market prices.
A NEW READER.—Tour stamps are Swiss and Hungarian. Helvetia (Switzerland) preserves the nameof the Helvetii, ,a powerful Celtic tribe who dweltin that country.
T. C. BKLLOT.—There is no objection to your copyingthe song in question in an autograph album. If itwere a case of republication then permission wouldhave to be obtained.
H . S. JONES.—We are sorry that the mistake shouldhave occurred. A. Lee, the football player referredto, lost an arm and not a leg. The author of thearticle was misinformed.
FRED HALES.—We have already given a colouredplate of Bird's Eggs. Possibly this may be doneagain and in this case due announcement will bemade.
I. K. L.—Oat or wheat straw makes the best beddingfor a dog. Hay tends to encourage parasites, andpine shavings are not to be recommended. Takegreat care to keep the bedding clean. Each week the kennel should be brushed out and dusted with adisinfectant. It is a good plan to whitewash thekennel at intervals of about three months.
WHITACH.—Your drawing is not good enough toreproduce, but it certainly shows promise. Thefigure is freely drawn and the composition is good.
We should advise you to attend art classes and studytechnique. The Press Art School (37 Dacres Road.Forest Hill, S.E.) tuition by correspondence, might
be of use to you.
Cl'RIOUS.—Mazeppa wr
as an actual historical character.Ho was a " hetman " of the Cossacks, and belongedto a noble Polish family. At the time of his famousride, lashed to the bare back of a horse, he wasa page in the Court of Jan Casimir, King of Poland.Byron makes Mazeppa tell his tale to Charles XII.after the battle of Pultowa.
W. B. (Derby).—1. "The Wire and the Wave, orCable-laying in the Coral Seas," by J. Munro.appeared in our 12th volume. This has been out of print for several years. 2. Your " favourite artist "will be represented in the next volume.
C. A. SWANN.—We must have further particularsbefore we can advise as to the value of the coin.A present-day 50-cent piece, of course, would beworth only its face value. If the coin in questionis an old one its value will depend on its age andconsequent rarity. .
AN OLD READER (Hadileld).—The writer to whom yourefer has prepared several articles and these willappear in our pages from time to time. See " Howto Build a Glider " in the June part.
A.TAX.—We have replied to the same question manytimes before, and the answer has always been thesame. The cure is in your own hands. Take plentyof exercise, interest yourself in some particularhobby or pursuit, and seek people's society ratherthan try to avoid it. You have to conquer yournervousness by will-power; medicine will not affordrelief.
H. J. LEACH.—The elephant lias been made serviceablein war for many centuries. It can draw a loadequal to that of sixteen bullocks, and can subsist onsimpler food. When horses and bullocks areutilised large amounts of fodder have to be carriedfor their sustenance. Elephants—whose fiat, cushionlike feet are well adapted for progress in mountainousdistricts, in ascending or descending steep anddifficult places—can transport mountain-guns intoregions that are otherwise inaccessible to artillery.
A . S. WARD.—In archery bowmen usually draw withthree fingers, and the glove is made with threestalls accordingly; many archers, however, findtwo fingers sufficient. The arrow should be heldbetween the ends and the first joints of the first andsecond fingers. The bow-arm must be held quitefirmly at the moment of loosing the shaft, otherwisethe flight of the latter cannot be steady. Consulta standard book on Archery for general hints onstanding, " nocking," drawing, etc.