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/. TACHIfi'S miL TO 8liT. CXTRAORDINART CAREER OF THE FREHCH MURDERER. 9wt!Utr â-  Tkree AAiutt*iiiaU*B* Alrca<iy Braaglit HaiM t* Biai â€" i:to Reeurd WHhMit a rarcllel la tba AaaaU or Crla« â€" Maaaer to BMirty la llUwins taek Naaalern to Kaa at Lars*. There is nothing in modern history with which to compare the sanguinary career of the French slaughterer, Vacher. The Jack the Ripper mur- ders in London ten years ago are cona- pletely eclipsed by it, aad the revela- tion ia still incomplete. Twenty-three AsaassLnations have already been brought home to this bloodthirsty wretch, and scarcely a day paasea that another is not added to the list. It ia doubtful if the murderer himaelf knows the niitnber of hla victims. He nonchalantly tells the story of some fresh tragedy to the examinincr Mag- istrate from time to time as the da- tails recur to his diseased mind. In- â-¼estigation in each case so far has pro- dooed full corroboration of the mur- dei-er's narrative. These ca.ses include â- everal crimen not heretofore discover- ed, but the Tictim's body has in each instance been found where indiiated â€"in a disused well or lonely thicket. The story of this man who tilled merely for the sake of kUling, should be made known throughout Christen- dom for it constitutes the most start- ling warning of modern times against the criminal folly of tui uing looie up- on society an individual subject to fits of homicidal mania. Vaiher, who ia only about 35 years old, was a peasant living near Lyons. He served his mili- tary term Ir a regiment of zouavea. and proved so good a soldier that he was made a non-commissioned ofticer. It was complained of him that he was BRUTALLY SEVERE to the recruits under him. A young man, a member of a renowned French ier, under pretence of minding his cows, raji away. The stranger, Vach- er, followed. "It's bitter cold." he said when he cams near. "WTij don't you light a firef If you want matchea, I can give you some." "I want none," said the hoy, "and don't be coming after me, but keep on the path." Rut Vacher came on, and the boy kept moving off until he got to the brow of the hill .where a man and a woman were digging. WTien the tramp saw^ them, HE STOPPED SHORT. They eyed him also, and thought there was something wron« aljout him. The man was so sure Vacher meant mis- chief that he took up a pitchfork to he ready for the worat. The tramp said: "This is a horrid country. The peo- ple are worse than dogs. I have l:eeu fasting for two days and nohody has offered me a crust. He had, not twenty minutes hefore. murdered Ro- sine. the l-t-year-old sister of yonng Rodier. but her body was not found until a week later. At another time three or four wo- men in turn escaped liim. A M!me. Marchand has identified Varher as a man who attacked her on the road near Lyons at Easter, 1895. She was returning from marknt, where she had sold some oranges, and a man came behind her and seized her by the throat. She strugirled violently, man- aegd to scratch her assailant's face and succeeded in finally screaming. Sever- al persons heard her. but before they reached her h-r assailant fled. Three other women were attacked in the same way that afternoon, hut were able to escape in a simitar manner. Vacher's most prominent victim was the M&rquis de Villeplaine. who was killed while walking in his park in southwestern France, not far trom the Spanish frontier. The' murderer crept up liehind him felled him by a blow on the head with a heavy stick an'l then cut hs threat. The murder- er carried off his vii-tim's coat and a portfo'io. containing some banknotes. Vacher went to Spain soon after this murder. One of his more recent crimes, which might never have b>>en known but for the murderer's boa.stful volunteered desrrlpticn of it. was the killing of a boy of 16 named Bully near Lyona in June la^^t. The boy was A NOTORIOUS POACHER family, tells how Vacher once ahu.sed him so savagely while drilling him that ! '""^ chicken stealer, so that his disai>- h> i,va« !.;„.„ â-  .t I rearan-e was made little a"c>unt of. he loat his temper and sprang at the v«, her told the magistrate that he young martinet. Luckily for the sol- met Hully on the high n>ad and de.»- dler his companions seized him before pet'hed h'm in an unoccupied house he had succeeded in striking his mentor, otherwise court martial and •nntence to death for assaulting an officer might have been hi.s fate under the stern laws of military discipline in France. But there was no suspicion or ground for suspicion of Vacher's sanity at that time. Just after completing his ser- vice. V'acher was ill in hospital for â- everal weeks. During his confine- ment, he attempted to blow out h'.-» brains with a revolver, ar..l he still carries the bullet somewhere inside his •kull. The shi>t produced recurrent fits of insanity of so violent a char- acter that he was confined for some time at the lunatic asylum at Hole. Dr. Gibert, the well-known u.^iert in mental di.sea.ses says that the physi- cians at the asylum released Va;her, although they knew he was not fit to be at large, because they were â- /raid of an outcry In the press a;iaiust' the arbitrary confinement of a citizen under the pretext that be was In.saiie. That wa-s three year.s ago. Sin'^e that time Vacher has wan le red through the country districts of France, leav- ing everywhere a trail of blood, but undetected, even unsuspected, until by mere chance he was caught almost red- ilded near Lyon.s atiout three weeks ago. Most of his victims were shep- herd boys and girls, whom h? found tending their flocks in lonely fields or on hillsides, but sometimes he killed men and women. In each cose, be •eemed seized with a frenzy after striking down his vi'iim and cut and •lashed and often dismeinl>ered the body. He told the M.ictistrate erne day that he considered himself a scourge •lent br providence toaffli;-t li'.i;:,anit.v. But W% mtitive was ori?a ino'» ration- al and sordid. Uue :aan he killed ))«- eau.se his victim wore A CLKAN-La)Kim; : HIRT, which Vacher coveted- Sometimes, he admits, he killed because he needed money and food. The murderer was always remarVa- bly clever in shifting suspicion from himself. Two years ago he killed a shepherd boy on a country road a few miles from Lyons. He ha -ked I he bo<ly almost into pieces and then strol- led on. Within a few minutes the mu- tilHtedcori'sr' wasdi.scnveri'il and there wan immediate search for thf murder- er in all directions. A gendarme mounted on a bicycle soon overtook Vacher and called upon him to pro- duce his piipers. He readily hiinde«d ov<»r his discharge from the zouavis as a non-commissioned officer. "Why, that's my reRimcnt," exclaiiu- ed the gendarme. "I am hunting a man who h\s just cut a »)oy's throat. Have you .seen any suspicious charac- ter as yon came alongf" "Oh. yes." responded the murderer without the least sign of discomposure. "I -saw a man running acrc«s the fields to the north about a mile back." And the gendarme hurried off after the imagioary culprit. Occasionally by some lucky chance a victim esca4]ed him. A boy of IS nam- ed Rodier was herding cows near Cler- mont Ferrand one day in October, a yeftr ago, when he saw an ugly-look- ing, grinning fellow Bj>proach. He was a tramp, poorly dressed, and car- ried a big bag on his back and a heavy •tlok in his hand. The boy was fright- »n<j>l by the tramp's appearance, and W the artrang^r came near, young Rod- f i where they went to i)ass the n'ght. He spent some hours in cutting the body to pie<'es. and finally threw it into a well on the premises. Parts of the remains have now hpen recovered by foMowini? Vacher's dirncti<m3. This extraordinary criminal is .°ane encuKh under ordinary nlvervation anti therein, of course, lies the danger to stx-iety from creatures with such prcpen-ities. The most disgusting fea- ture of thi» whole frl«?htful record is the fact that a criminal sane or in- sane, should be able to go alxjut for three years in a civilized. well-i>opu- lated country, taking life at will and in an almtxt wholesale way and vet le comparatively free from the agents of the law. TOrR HANTiKERCHIEF. One oif tfae mu«t imiiortant detai'ls In the toilet of a fastidious woman is her handkercbieif, and that, whatever eilse may be lacking, U sure to be of col>- wnebby finenesa and of snowy purity. Fashions change in handkerchiefs as in aill otJuer tbiniga, but the all-white linen are sute to be good taste, and are a'.ways a safe [nircih se. A novelty at present is the small square of 'fnen edged wLl'hi an inch and a ha'.(f rujffle of footiaoig, which gives a pretty finish and Iiaunders remarkaldy The narrow htein edged wi;th !ace, or trimmed with two rows of n.irrow in- sertion, is aiSvays in good taste, and such a handketvhief r:iDi;e.s ia pric^ from 25 ceatn to 9'i eai'h. tlie difference de-ending lupon the "lace usedâ€" whether rea". valenniennes or imitation. Colored hundkerchief^i are again in fashion, the French utylte being the p.oin-volonxl centre, witli a border of a contrasting shade. The marking of a handkerchief Isan important item a'.ao. Indelible ink Ls considered bad form, and is never reaJy neveesary, ;ia a sin.i?le letter in script may Iv quickly and easily out- aned in the siiuple Kensiuston stitch. Men of fatdiion. too, for the time are forsaking the pure while handkerchief, affecting: the very fine linen with ft smaifl figure a^atlered over the centre and a colored border of the suime shade. A favorite alyM of marking men's handkerchiefs is to reproduce the sig- n-ature of the owner ui script, a much mor» miuwtuJne stylo t'han the unde- ciphcrabub mmuogram or the single ini- tial. Thift pure whilte linen handkerchief nieiisuring 23 iiinhea square, finished with a n.arro>v hem and embroidered aa suggested aliove, wiih the fac simile of the nxiAngra'ph is considered the acjuie of gcod taste by the fastidious man who avoids anything uulra in bis dras. THF THOl'GHTFUL DOMININE. Vou know how al>senl-minded our new [>arson is? Ub-huh ! I remember his taking the bite out of the caudlle and setting the apple down on the table. Never will forget it. Well, he weul into the barber shop this afternoon to have his hair cut. Lord a'uiassey I you don't say so .' Uh-huh ! mighty fond of that hair o' his. When John the Ixirber got all done he gave him the hand-ghiss. "All ri' like that I" he says. Parson looks at it a miuutt!, then .sets himself Ixiok In the chair. " N« not quite so short, pleaae." KEPIN& HIS HANDS OFF. THE PRINCE OP WALES' INVARIABLE RULE OF NEUTRALITY. will MM laterrere ia ihc «reat Eadnt- -rtt airtke la KaslaBd â€" Meaiiy Xrnlivl ia F*rrlSB Arair* -But Re Ik a Prn- fiuukrr BMweea Famlltr* and R< (weea Friend*. Although there appears to be a dis- position both in England and abroad to condemn the action of the Prince of Wales in declining to intervene in the great labor war which has been rag- ing for some time past between the engineers and the trades associated therewith on the one hand, and a fed- eration composed of their employer! on the other, yet theire is no doubt that in reftuing to assume the role either of arbiter or of mediator in the master he has manifested both sagacity and tact, writes a London correspond- ent. It ia perfectly true that any one who coYuld bring about a settlement who could bring about a settlement conferring a lasting benefit upon his fellow-countrymen and upon the na- tion at large. For the fight has para- lyzed not merely one branch of indus- try, bu t a largo number, forcing the consumer to seek foreign sources of supply, to which he will probably in future adhere, thus decreasing those markets for British manufactures that are annually becoming more and ihore restricted by American and German competition. Besides this, the strike which has lasted already several months, has reduced to want and un- told misery not merely the more than 500,000 men who are "out," but, what is far worse, their wives and their lit- tle ones; that is to say,, taking it all in all, a community of people num- bering considerably over 1.000,000. The Prince's critics draw attention to these circumstances, and point out that if ever there w,as an in.stance where his acknowledged pre-eminence as a peace- maker might be turneil to profitable account It is in the present case. The reasons which have prompted the Prince to decline are due, in the first place, to the fact that no matter what -the award of the arbitrator or the character of the compromise effected by the mediator, it is certain to be equally unwelcome to both parties of the dispute, since neither one nor the other obtains the full measure of its demands and will consequently be dis- posed to bear a grudge against the in- dividual who has by his reasonings in- duced it to recede from the stand which it had made. The unpopularity thus reaped by the Prince would have reflected not only upon himself per- sonally, but likewise upon thai throne wl.i h in moiieru times must look to the good-will of the masses as the principal source of its st rength and foundation. Secondly, the Prince has made a prac- tice throughout his public lifeâ€" that is to say, since he came of age, about forty years ago â€" to si eer clear of every public c( ntroversy or dispute where he would be required to take sides. NEUTRAL IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS. Similar tact bos been displayed by the Prini-e with regard to foreign coun- tries, and while he manifests a natural fondness for Paris, a fondness which is shared by most foreign Princes, and esiiecially by those of Germany, Em- peror William first and foremost, yel no one knows precisely whether, in the | event of a war between the two na- , tions. bis sympathies would incline more to France than toward Germany. , He kept the true state of his feelings i 1 carefully concealed during the war of 1870, and is certain to do so again i should the occasion arise for the ex- ' ercise of similar discretion. indeed, the remarkable tact which this warm- hearted, generous-minded and some- what impulsive Prince has di.splayeil' iu connection with his altitude toward' | both domestic and foreign politics con.'' slitute the strongest possible assur- ance that when the time comes for him to take the place of his venerable U)'>ther a.H the ruler of the British Em-' pire he will worthily continue the tra- ditions of impartiality which she has imparted to constitutional monarchy in England. Let me add here that the I Prince i.s quite as much interested in j foreign affairs as he is in tho.se domes- tic, and that whenever an important dispatch reaches the Foreign Office from abroad a copy of it us at once forwarded by wire, not only to the Queen, but also to the Prince of Wales. | who is thus able to keep him.seIC quite as well posted upon international re- lations as is the (Jiieeu herself. LEARNED FROM PRINCE ALBERT. Of all the lessons taught to him by his wise and clear-sigbte.l father, the late Prince Consort, there is none that has more firmly impressed itself upon his mind than that of the necessity of aljsolute imimrtiality on the part not i only of a constitutional sovereign, but | :ilso on that of the lattcr's heir ap- parent. The crown to-day is not the de.spot, but merely the executive, the servant, so to H|*uk, of the will of then:itioTi. and in order ih.-^l the lat- ter should have absolute confidence in the occupant of the throne it is neces- sary that the people should feel assur- ed of the .sovereign's readiue.ss to con- form to their w ishes. These are some- times voiced by one political party and sometimes by the other. Only if the people can feel that their monarch is absolutely impartial, that there is on the part of' the executive no pre- ference for one platform more th;in for the other, can they reptose that blind trust in their ruler which is in- dispensible to sentiments of loyalty and affection, PEAOEMuVKER AMONG FRIENDS. In conclusion it may be stated that, while the Prince has invariably re- fained from Interfering either as an arbiter er 94 a mediator in any politi- •al or public controversies, he has throughout bis married life shuwn not onl;, a readiness but likewise a re- markable skill in reconciling differ- ences between families and between friends. No one living has contributed more to the disappearance of unkindly feeling between husbands and wives, between children and their parents, and between friends â- temporarily part- ed. He is peculiarly qualified for this .sort of work by his tact, his kind-heart- edness, and, above all, by his unrivaled knowledge of all the ins and outs of so<.iety, both at home and abroad, as well as the antecedents, the tastes, the shortcomings and the aspirations of the various members thereof. It was he who persuaded the Princesse de Sa- gnn to come to th» rescue of her eld- est son. with whom she had quarreled, when the young man waa locked up in prison on a charge of forging the name of young' Lebaudy. both his lilwration from jail and the withdrawal of the criminal charge being mainly due to the Prince's influence. It is the Bri- tish heir-apparent, too, who is cred- ited with bringing together the Prince and Princesse de Sogan in the even- tide of their life after a separation of thirty years. And it waa to him, also, that the widowed Countess of Dudley appealed to help her to save her eld- est son from ruin previous to his mar- riage, when he was wild. Not merely scores, but hundreds and even thous- ands of analogous incidents, both in Enfgland and on the continent, could be cited, and, indeed, matters have reach- ed such a pass that whenever anybody in the great world in England, or even on the continent, gets into domestic trouble of one kind or another he or she instinctively turns for advice and assistance to the Prince of 'Wales, the arbiter of society, not only in Enyland. but also in Paris, where in royalist cir- cles he Is accorded a homage in this re- spect which should belong by right to the Duke of Orleans. ABOOT THE FIRST UMBRELLA. .Uaiatt IS* Years As* Jaaiu Baa way tar- ried One In Lontltm. The umbrella is a comparatively modern feature of European civiliza- tion. In 1750 Jonas Hanway. a Quaker, first went through the streets of Lon- don <-axrying an umbrella. Three years from now, in 1900, it will be meet to celebrate the sesquicentennial of this most useful imidement. lAs this is an age of celebration, it is not likely that so good an opportun- ity will be missed. Already in London they are discussing the proper manner of doing homage to the umbrella. Mr. Hajivvay was a man of strong character, but it required all his cour- : age to brave the Lnndon crowd, with his strange rain shield. The Inhabi- tants of that great metropolis received him with jeers an t even more substan- tial marks of disapproval. But he was imi)erturl:*hle, and in con.seiiuence of bis example the umbrella came very rapidly into general use, Hanway bal travelled much in the East, and there he had noted the great Ijenefits derived by the natives from the umbrella, both as a protection again<«t TIH'B SUN AND RAIN. The East, with its infinitely older civ- ilization, has l>eeii familiar with ihis. OS with many other useful articles, at a time when Europe was sunk in the wildest savagery. Umbrellas were known to the Egyp- tians and were certainly used by the ancient Hindoos. The umbrella is I mentioned in a pi:eui of Sakunta'a, written in the -sixth century, and it figures in various i>as-reliels among ! the Nineveh .sculptures discovered l)y i Sir Henry l^ayard. The Chinese 'Book i of the R.tes of 'icheim " printed at'out the year 300. contains a descripti'^i of a veritable gamp. An<l it is on lecrod a veritable gamp. -\nd il is on le.ord i that when the .son of the Emperor of '. China was captured in the second Tar- ' ta.r invasion he was made lo carry the i umbrella of llie Tartar chief when he I went out hunting. j the parasol was invariably carried i by the high-bred dames in ancient I Greece, and awhile paiapline was' borne by the priestesses of the goildess j Athene in the annual Si'irophuria. The ' fa.'hion migrated alsr lo Rome, where ' the umbraculura carried by the woincn ' and even by some of- the men. was MADE OF LE.VTHKR, I and could be oi)eued aad shut. This ' fact is mentioned liy Martial. Juvenal ; and Ovid; while the 'at Ier also speaks â-  of "a golden luulTeila which wardeS t off the keen sun." j In Sioju the umbrella has always ] been regarded as a mark of distinc- ' tion and M. de Loubere, in his work ' on that coiutry, tells us how the use of the umbrella was only granted to certain of the King'.s subjects. 1 he King was invariably protected in his ' progresses by an umbrella appearing ; as three separate prote-tions again.st ' the weather hart been mounted on one slick, one over the other. Tavernier speaks in his "Voyage lo the East," I of the throne of the Great Mogul 1-e- : ing supported on either side by an um- | brelUi. The princes of the Mahratta ' provinces in India lx)re the title of ; Chatrapti, lord of the umbrella; while! in .\va. to this present day the title I of the ruler Ls "King of the White Ele- ' phant and Lord of the Twenty-Four UmbreHas." ThorooffMy GraMol. MR. STEPHEN '^RLISLB GLADLI TELLS HOW Ha WAS COMD. AtUr •Iher â- emcUln Farcil le DelD Cllaik •r. Wllllaau- flak ruu Hade Olo a â- anUhy â- â€¢â- . From the Siontreal Herald. Down on ^V'illiam street the balk of the butter and cheese trade is done and it is there that the Montreal cold storage and freezing company's mam- moth building is located. In the sum^ mer time, when extensive shipments are being made, the big block is a veritable beehive. Several well kaowjl exporting firms have their warehouses in this building and one of them Is Wm. T. Ware &, Co. Their head ware- house man is Mr. Stephen Belisle, who as his name indicatas, ia a French- Oanadian and in the prime of life. If ever there waa a grateful man on the faoe of the earth to-day that man ia Stephen Belisle. After suffering In- de8cril>al)le agonies for several months he is now the picture of health and feels that it is his duty to tell all the world how hto was restorni to health and happiness. Mr. 1^1 isle explained his troubles, now fortunately a thing of the past, to a reporter of the Herald recently. " My work called me to ell iwrts of the warehouse." said he, 'and sometimes I went into the freezing room without my coat or cap on and then hack to the other '. parts of the wareh>use to the warmer I atmosphere. About a year ago I be- : came very ill with a complication of , diseases. I was suffering with iuilii;es- ' tion. biliousness and the resulting ' nervous disorders such as sick heatU ache and loss of appetite. I he^n doc- toring, but I seemed to grow worse every day. I slept very little, and aa time went on. I was not able to de any work, and even the exertion of moving about would tire me out. I had a very poor appetite and what food I ate did not agree with me. I also I suffered from a severe pain in tuel«ck I and side. During that time I had tried many medicines Imt they gave I me no relief. I hod become .so weak i and my .system was so run down that ' life was a burden to me. I was ad- j vised to try Dr. Williams' Pink Pills, ' whti-h I did with extremely bene- ficial results. I commenced taki- g the pills al)out Christmas time and now I am feeling so good that t thought it my duty to write the pro- prietors of Dr. W^illisuns' Pink Pilla and let them know how extremely grateful I am for the cure their medi- cine has effected in me. I bod taken only six lx)xes when my condition of health was a paradise to what it had l-een for some months previous. Mr. Belisle is a quiet unassuming man and evidently not given to over en- thusiasm. Imt there was nu mistaking his earnestness when recounting his experiences to the rejmrter. He will always a firm lieliever in Or Wil- liams' Pink Pills. Pr Williams' Pink Pills cure by go- ing to the root of the disease. They renew^ and build up the blood, and strengthen the nerves thus driving disease from th" system Avoid imita- tions by insisting th/it every box you purchase is enclosxl in a wrapper bearing the full tralc mark Dr. VVil- liama' Pink Pills for Pale People. PARIS STREETS. Pedesirlanx .ire KrlBs Nare nnd Wore â- iimp^rrd >.ii (tar P]ivemriit%. A plaint is going up that the Pari' pedestrian is slowly being ousted by an increasing mass of im|)ediment» from the pavement into the road, where existence is already disputed by cycles, cabs, bus-ses, automobiles perambulat- ing advertisements, et hoc genus oiune. The impedimenta of the pavement con- sists of kisqiies, trees, "Morris rol- umne," lienches. the little edifice-i which serve a necessary but unsavury .so«-ial end. and lost but most important of it. cafe terraces. It is alleged that the encroachments of the last are becom- ing more and more threatening from the point of vie^v of the safety and convenience of the pedestrian. Cer- tainly cases are not rare in which the terrace monopolizes the whole oC the jmveineajt, and in narrow streets one 18 often forced on to the roadway, where a precious sharp hxik-out has tu be kept for juggerniiuts of omnibuses and <ia.be. It may not be generally known, by the way, lh.it it is to M. I-epine, the prefect of police, who the other day made his adieu to the muni- cipal council, that we owe the police- man, a had imitation of the London Roliert, who stands with a milkwbito staff atiemptiug to control the traffic at congested points of the city. Nor is it generally known that M. l.epine sent , a .score of picket policemen over to London to leiirii from the. police of that well-imliced cit^v this very art of controlling the traffic, which, however, seems to have been imperfectly learned. ALL ROYALTY RELATED. Nearly all the royal i.s-r.sonages of Blurope are cousins, and uoi very far removed, as it has l>een laid down liy a (Jerinan geue<»logist that every cro.4U:-d he.id of Europe, excepting Tur- key, is descended from one or other of two sisiers who lived about 150 years ago. A merchant offers substitutes be- cause he makes .'v lot of money on them. Good articles cannot be put on the market at a high profit. VOB TWBNTT-8BVBN TBARa BAKING POWDER THECOOK'SBESTFRIENCt tJtROCST SAkK IN CANADA /