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> A f «*•- ."* »r' V ♦' f ' >, r * f i » •f 1- \ •^ r ' I ! 0- OR, THE HERITAGE OF IVLADAME YALTA. CHAPTER I.â€" (Cont'd) He had received encouraging news ; her strength was returning, the fever had disappeared, and with the aid of vest it might be hoped the convalescent â- would soou be in a condition to receive her friends. Maxime was beside himself for joj, and as joy predisposes the beart to sympathize with the hap- piness of others, the idea occurred to him to pass by Hue de Suresnes and have a talk with Jules Vig- nory. The sky was serene once m'TO .and the air soft. He directed his steps toward the residence of his uncle, thinking as he did so of the strange course which events some- times take in this world of ours. Six weeks before, an attempted robbery had thrown him on a path which he had followed up with ar- dor, and which through a succes- sion of unforeseen incidents had lc(i him to make the acquaintance of an adorable woman, by the side of whom Mme. Sergeut was simply an ordinary beauty. And now he had completely forgotten the sever- ed hand, Robert de Carnoel, the brunette of the Rink, to think only of this countess whom he had but slightly known during one snowy day, but of whom he still kept a burning memory. He could scarcely evfen recall distinctly her features, and sometimes she seemed to have appeared to him in a dream- But the shadowy image haunted him, and he was impatient to have it assume once more form and sub- stance. The rest mattered little to him now. Vignory was happy, and Alice was cured of a senseless passion. They were approaching with full sails the tranquil port of marri- age, which everything indicated they would soon enter. The door was kept partially open during the hours when the public was admitted to the grating, ^nd Maxime entered without meeting any one. It was necessary to pass through a vaulted passage way in order to come out on the court, and then turn to the right to reach the oflSces. It wa sthere that the friends had come in collision with two in- dividuals of doubtful appearance, who had quickly passed into the street five minutes before the dis- covery of the theft. Evidently the authors of the attempt had passed by them then, and one of these au- <lacious robbers must have been a vomaa disguised as a man, the wo- man for whom he had so vainly sought. The incident now came back to him, and for the first time since he had undertaken the pursuit of the rogues it passed before his mind that the tall one might have been the man of Rue Jouflroyâ€" the same height, same figure. But the. wo- man dressed as a man could not be Madame Sergont, for Madame Ser- gent had both her hands. "All those bore but a subordin- ate part in the performance," thought Maxime: "they acted on behalf of some one who has not yet been detected. The bear belonged to the first expedition, when the woman left her hand on the- field of battle; he was also of the second, •nd the woman was not, her wound confining her to her hospital. Af- terward the bear despatched the brunette to obtain the bracelet from me by soft devices. But how could they know I was going that day to see the skating on rollers? Mystery ! . . . like all the rest. But it is certain he knew it. The ras- cals who followed me were acting under his orders in the event of Madame Sergcnt failing. At the Varietcs this pretty couple began again and I fell Into the trap ; but 1 can laugh them all to scorn. Au diablc 1 the bracelet. Blue Beard, the false Antlalusiau, the one hand- ed, the scamp of high degree who •aborn!^ all these subaltern scampn â€"and Vive la Comtesse Yalta!" On arriving at the lodge he found the glass door partly open, and iu the midat of a cloud of tobacco- eraoko saw three men sealtd before a fire, their backs turned toward him. He recognized the concierge, the valot de chambro, Joseph, and Malicome, the watch. His fir.=t im- pulse was to call to account these IcUows, who were converting the lodge into a smoking-room, but he was restrained by a sentence that met his ear. "I tell you again,"' said Joseph, "that th« secretary is as innocent as you or I." "Then what did ho ri»n away Jor?" asked father Dnulevant. "Br-o-iusf the old one didn't want him ti-. marry uiademoiscUe : but I'll lay my life on it he didn't touch the safe." Maxime was astounded. The Ikeft, then, was kvown to the tec- vants in spite of all the precautions taken to conceal it. I "But if the pretty secretary is innocent, why don't anybody hoar, from himf | "There are some as have heard," j replied Joseph, with an important air. "But it is true nothin's been heard for a month, and about that I has my notion.^ â€" it's b<Hjause he's been sent to his grave.'' "What! you believe thev've killed him?" "I am as certain of it as that is a well-blaekened pipe." "Who is there would have kiiled him 1" "Those he stood in the way of." "Come, now, he has most likely taken ship for America, but I don't believe he's st-jlen. And do you want to know who has? It's the little groom." "Georget? It ain't possible. I ain't over-fond of the little crab, for he's .several times played nie tricks passing by my lodge ; but I'd never have believed he'd touch the saie. First, he didn't stop 'n the offices after six in the evening." "No, but he was a cat. I caught him one morning asleep on a table. He said I'd shut him up the evening before without seeing him. He might have laid in .the closet the evening of the robbery.' "If he did, he did it on account of other people. And if he's been three-fourths murd'Ored in the street it's because there's people as want to put him out of the way, as they did Carnoel, who must have known something too." "And Vignory didn't lose any time taking his place and courting Mile. Alice. It's true he's per- mitted by the patron. But the poor little thing don't look much like getting married. She cries all the evening; the f«mme de chambre told me so." 'Bah! she'll be consoled," said Malicome. "And a nice thing it'll be for the cashier. He came here without a sou, and will die in the skin of a millionaire.' "It's not that'll make him gen- erous. Since I've known him I haven't found out the color of. his money." Maxime felt inclined to enter the lodge Tartar fashion and use his cane on these gossips, but he con- cluded it would not be well to. com- mit himself, and so passed on un- observed. Nothing is more instructive than the conversation of servants when their masters are in a position to be benefited by it, without their knowledge. One may learn many things of which he would otherwise remain ignorant, when the reverse side of servile platitudes is reveal- ed Maxime was acquainted with the class, and was not surprised at the liberty of speech in which they indulged, in svich little gatherings as this; but certain words that he had heard still rang in his ears. The settled conviction of the ma- jority of the lodge was that the sec- retary had been unjustly accused, and that Georget was coucevncd iu the theft. "If it should be true!" thought Maxime. "In that ca-se I have been guilty of two blunders: first, in assuring my cousin that her lov- er was unworthy of her; and sec ondly, in interesting myself in this little scamp who has bce:i tlio cause of all Uk- trouble. Yes, but it is not true. This rascal Joseph re grets the pourboircs with which M. d5 C'nnioc! rewarded him for trans- mitting clandestine messnges to Alice, "and that was enough to in- duce him to hand over to him let- ters-patent of innocence. No mat- ter, wheu I SCO the countess I shall ask her it she is certain of her pro- tege." , ^ Pushing open the door of the wanting- loom, he entered the oiEfice, where he found Vignory writing a letter. He was radiant ai;d almost ready to throw himself into the arms of Ma.xime, stage fas^hion, but the presence of the clerks mcJer- atcd these transports, and '.â- â€¢- led the nephew of his patron into a lit- tle room adjoining the oEQce â€" a temporary receptacle for old papers which, iince his change of fortune, Vignory had fitted up for the pur- pose of isolating himself at times from hia subordinates. Taking care to close the door, he seized Max- ime's two hands and pressed them warmly." "It is true, then," said the ne- phew, sufficiently enlightened by this demonstration, "you arc to be my cousin?" ""What! you know, thenâ€" 'I know nothing, but I guess all. Your face is triumphant." "I am the happiest of men." "Di.six!nse with these appropri- ate phrases and tell mc simply .what hat occurred." I "That will not take very long. I dined at your uncle'sâ€" a family dinner. We were four, M. Dor- gores, Mile. Alice â€" " "Mme. Martineau and you. Par- bleu ! if you enter bo into particu- lars you will never get through." "Well, after dinner your uncle was absorbed in readirig the sta- tutes of a new financial company, Madame Martineau had gone to sleep in the corner of the fire, so we found ourselves tete-a-tete, Mile. Alice and I " "And you seized the occasion to make an ardent declaration?" "I was going to try, but Mile . .Mice did not givo mo time to speak. She said to me : 'M. Vignory, I know you love me and I appreciate your pootl qualities. On a recent occasion yoa showed that you had a heart, for you undertook the de- fence of an unfortunate friend. I esteem you, and know that my fa- ther wiiihes me to marry you. I a\ithorize you to ask of him my hand.' " "Hum! here is a consent very lacking in euthusiasm. What was your reply to this frank and mod- erate discourse f" "I cannot tell â€" I was so agitat- ed." "Good! some disconnected phras- es, protestations of gratitude â€" eternal devotion â€" I think I under- stand. But finally you accepted 1" "Do you doubt' it?" "No; you are rational enough to make a rational marriage." "Of reason and inclination too. I h;xve worshipped her fur two years without daring to say .so." "You are not the only one." At these words Vignory colored slightly, and Maxime, who never disRuised his thoughts, resumed : "Do not suppose I wish to dis- courage you. My little cousin is sincere when she says .she esteems you ; I am even inclined to believe that she will end by loving you, and that yOu will one day be the most cherished of husbands. But do not forget that she has loved passion- ately a man whom she ^vould have married but for untoward circuna- stances. Your position is a deli- cate one." "I know it, but it does not fright- en me." "So much the better. In your place I should be a little jealous of the past. And there arc moments when I feel disposed to ask if M. de Carnoel has not been unjustly ac- cused." This time the cashier turnetl pale. "If he were innocent he would have appeared," he murmured. "At least, if he bo not dead." "Dead! why should you sup- pose â€" " "In passing by the lodge just now I caught a few very singular re- marks. Joseph and Malicome be- lieve that Robert has been murder- ed." "It is absurd. He has left France beyond a doubt." "Are you sure? I saw him in Paris eight days after the theft; and then he suddenly disappeared. 1\ is notvnatural." "On the contrary, it is all very clear. He went first to Brittany, and after remaining there two or thrco days, returned here. Col. BorisoIX can prove it. But what are you driving at!" "To say to you, my dear Jules, that all tills affair of the theft docs not yet sco;n dear to ine, and I be- gin lo think the leal .-.ilprits have not yet been suspected. For in- .stanco, it never entered our uiinds that it could be Gcori;ct; but the servants maintain that it was. "Georget: your protege whom yun recommended so warmly to M. Dorgeres?" "Oh, I don't answer tor the- as- sertions of these messieurs, but it I':, plain that the rogues had some communication with the house. G'jorgct went and came incessantly here. Might he not have hidden somewhere, and opened the door to the rogues at a moment when no one was about?" "Why bring \ip all this sad story?" asked Vignory, in an agi- tated voice; "I made a fete day of th'j announcement of my marriage to you, and hoped you would sym- pathize with my joy ; instead of do- ing 80, you talk only of a young man who was my friend, whom I defended as long as I could, but for whose return it is impossible for m<* to wish." "Pardon me," cried Maxime, touched by this appeal to his feel- ings, "I am a fool. Du diablc I it I know why I interest myself in these people. All's well that ends well, and I am delighted that you arc to marry Alice. When will the ceremony take place?" "M. Dorgeres proposes the first of February." "Then I have no thne to lose in selecting my bridal present, and 1 give you my word of honor to talk no more of M. de Carnocd ' (To be continued.) STRINGING. The well-knit person is not neces- sarily the only one who can unravel a good yarn. Necessity industry. is the stepmother of It's never too l/ite to mendâ€" un- til it is too late. TAXI CAB STOCK EARNIN GS, Do Bot aniler estimate the earning pow^er of ihc Taxicab. ) Tbe Taxicab habit grcws, and where there b one user to-day there will be two to-morrow. To the Taxicab patron all o'Jier methods of city travel seem conunon-place snd or£sary. We advise t^e parchase of Taxicab Stock at per share, par value $5.00, because it has a big future, and is now a^u<^ ^**^ a big money earner. Sobscrip'ions will be accepted up to 133 shares ii the order received at this office. E. A. EAGLISH ^f^l'^i%^:L^ TORONTO Send (or onr Ulnatratcd booklet. sa On the Farm A. SERIES OF QUESn )NS Why is it, when the proof is over- whelming, that tbe heifers from a registered bull are worth a third more in the cow mark.'.t, that a graded-up herd is twice as prod-je tivc in milk, that a great majority of farmers owning cows, with eves in their heads to see thea? things, will still persist in using a cheap grade or scrub bull worth pyssihly for beef $25 or $30? Why is it, with proof jn every hand to confirm it, *hat it is w >t-ih while to feed a good "ow all she will eat of a well-balanced r.at:on with milk, butter and cheese at present prices; that you will find a host of farmers who believe that they will lose money if they feed such a cow a liberal grain ration 1 Why is it, when any common mind could easily reason to it that a cow nard.^ just as good air as the inen and women do, that farmers shut up a stable of cows with all their manures and urine about them, w thout a supply of fresh air and proceed deliberately to poison their cows to death ? Why is it, when it must be appar- ent before their eyes every day, that the farmers who are most in- telligent are the most prosperous, that so large .a proportion of men who keep cows will not read or t.iko any pains to inform them- selves on this dairy question 1 AVhy do spch men prefer to be ignorant rather than intelligent? Why is it, that, when thousands upon thousands of farniers use silos I and declare constantly that the silo is a money-mtkinat thing, it is .so hard to convince a large portion of other fanners that it would b." a wise thing for them if they built a silo? Why is it. that a groat propot- i:ion of fanners will persi.5t in feed- ing oats worth S23 a ton. and com worth the same, when they could sell the grain and buy a better feed that will produce a quarter to a third more milk, for a much loss proportion in price ? Why is it that so nany'farTcrs will still use the dirty, uncomfort- able rigid old stanchion with all the danger of injury to the cow stepping on the teats and udder oi the next cow when she is laying down? Why is it. that so few farmers will put in t'oe King ^y.^tem of ven- tilation in their stables and more will persist in building new barns and stables with no provision what- ever for i<uch a system of ventila- tion when it would be very easy to prnvido this almost indispensible thing for the health and increased efficiency of the ;;attle 1 Why is it. that it is so hard and such »iow work ia getting farmers to take eRpecial pains to produce clean, sweet cream for the cream- ery, and sec to it th.nt the creani ii sent to the creamery before it is spoiled and unlit to make good butter from if,? Why is it, that farmers as a class, • arc 80 slow and diflicult to convince of the value of all these i.iuch needed improvements and of a change on their part towards such improvements After all the missionary work that has been put forth, but com- paratively few of our farmers are alive to these questions. â€"Hoard's Dairyman. IMPROVED SEED WHEAT. The Experimental Station of Kansas has been doing sonic most excellent work in improving seed wheat, beginning with the Turkey or Turkish Red, which was intro duccd in that state some twenty- five years ago by Mennonites from Russia. The United State Department of Agriculture has been bringing over in tbs last ten years a large iiuan- ber of samples. The c.vperimeni station has been pii-owing pr.C, breeding them, and has Iv 'p '!is tributing them among Kan as farmers It may perhaps surprise those who have only a very little faith in growing winter wheat to know that the average yield from the different varieties of this Turk- ish Red wheat, which goes under the various names of Kharkov, De- fiance. Malakof, Crimean, Hungar- ian, Weisenberg. and Ghirka, have averaged from thirty-eight to fifty- six bushels per acre. This, be it remembered, is the average for five years. A number of varieties have yielded this last year from forty- six to fifty-four bushels per acre. The station has also been experi- menting with soft wheats, w^hich do better in the southern part of that state and corresponding cli- mates th?-n in the central or north- ern parts and climates north. The yield of these has averaged for the last tour years from thirty-five to forty-one bushels per acre. ,(r- GUARDING THE CASTLE I'RECAITIONS >VUICH ARE TAKEN AT WINDSOR. How the Lives of King Edward and Boyal Visitors arc Safe- guarded. The visit of King Manuel of Por- tug.al at Windsor Castle recently was the cause of considerable quiet energy at Scotland Yard, and known anarchists were watched for at the ports, and those whose pres- ence was known in this country were sh.'idowed, says the London Daily Mail. The precautions, how- ever, taken hr the safety of King Edward are so nearly perfect that little remains to be done in the ac- tual guardianship of Windsor Cas- tle. For an unauthorized person to pain an entrance into one of the King's palaces is almost an impos- sibility. It has bet^n done, but the number of times could be almost counted on the fingers of a hand. Within the walls of Windsor Cas- tle are treasures of priceless value, and even if (ho court is not in re- sidence no one can enter without his presence being known to the police. Althoiigh the royal residences are so well guarded at all times the guard is stronge-t when a foreign sovereign pays a state visit to this countrv. Then ,ilm<'8t every other m.in {.•< a dpt.ective within a mile or two of Windsor Castle, and no one who is not well known has the slightest chance of tretting within easy reach of the royal apartments. TWO SENTRIES ON DUTY. When the King is in residence at Windsor the guards are doubled. Instead of one man marching up and down with bayonet fixed be- tv/een sentry box and sentry box there are two. Thoii there are Metropolitan po- licemen on duty at each gateway, as well as I ova! gatekeepers in scarlet and gold livery. In adili- li(in to that there are plain clothes dclecHves and iiigiit watchmen. .'\ lup.atic seldoTO gots further than Henry VIII. "s f;atcw.\.y ct Windsor. The little police office is just inside the gate, and here is of- fi«ially recorded every day any- thing of note that takes place with- iug the precincts of the castle. .\ few yards inside the gate are also the riuarters of the officer who i-i iu command of the castle guard. Tolephon;?s are- installed all over the castle and the different en- trances are connected with the main switchboard near tho equerries' en trance. It a paper knife was taken out of the castle to-day it would be missed tomorrow. Every treasure and piece of furniture »n W'indsor Cas- tle i.s entered into btvgc book? and photographs arc kept of all tin- most valuable artiolos. DEPEND OX THE B.\YONKT. The sent'.ii^s wcie alwavs proviilni with ball cartridges iiriiil a guards man lJri>d Ihrcfl buUfts into a stoiio elc|ili:uit on tho V.A^t. Tcr'Ai* of \Vi;!»<«or l.'as!)''. wuicii V» i.-.i»f>«V. f,,.. ., ..â- 'â- -• M, •'â- r' »••-(« iif U»e » Nrly ' M ' .y !iu\e lo deptad p(> their bayonets. It i.s very seldom that thefts take place at royal residences. The po- lice have power to search all the bags or parcels being conveyed from the royal palaces. Many years ago a sentry at Windsor Castle man- aged to hook down a valuable gold watoh and chain from one of tho royal apartments with his bayonet ou the end of his riile, but he was quickly found out and punishe^ A night watchman goes on inside the castle at W^indsor ei night and comes off in the morn"^ ing. In case of fire he would at once give the alarm and in a very few minutes the roy.il firemen and castle guard would l)e on the spot and all entrances would be closed and guarded. The same system prevails at the chief of the other royal residences. There used to be sentries at Frog- more in the early part of the last century, but there are none now. .\round the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmorc, where Queen Victoria's remains repose, the Metropolitan pdlice are on duty all through the twenty-four hours. DUTIES OF GUARDS. The penalty for a soldier failing to perform his duty when on guard outside royal residences is so se- vere that there are very few cases indeed on record of men having tj be taken off their posts. Two hours on aiid four hours off duty are the alioted times in the twenty-four hours round, and men are very seldom discovered asleep. When the court is in residence at the chief royal palaces the strain of duty is very severe at times. The royal household police, of course take turns at night and day duty, and when important func- tions are on they have a very busy time. In addition to the soldiers, po- lice and detectives there are, of course, the royal servants and lodge keepers, who know a stranger at once. Even it a visitor got through the strong cordon around royal resi- dences he would still have to face the six-foot footmen in scarlet and gold who sit just inside the chief entrances. Near at their hand is a telephone, and if they have the least suspicion of a visitor the po- lice arc acquainted in a trice. A stranger v/ould have the great- est difficulty, even if he success- fully eluded the h.ill porter, to find his way about Windsor Castle .ind Buckingham Palace. WON'T SEE COMKT FOR YE.VKS The Sun Will Itttertere With Earlj ObserTafioiis. Problems gather in the wake of Halley's Comet as it wings its flight towards tho sun and earth. Little by little more of its romantic story becomes known. but the greater light oasts a denser shadow, and a completer view reveals more clear- ly tho central problem of the comet. Every fine night the comet is pho- to;j;raphed at Greenwich, (England) Observatory, and Mr. Crommclia recently informeJ a newspaper re- prcr.entalive that is is brightening very rapidly indeed. W'hen it was first photographed its magnitude was about sixteen. Now it is about tv.'olvo. Th.it is. it is about eighty times brighter than in September, and it is brightening about ono magnitude (i.e., twenty times) a month. It is now thought thai ihe comet may become faintly visible to tho naked eye by tho middle or end of February, but ic will then be near- iiiu; ihc b;ick of tho sun and it will bo too close to that object to ho cli^arly visible. For two months after it will reii;;tin ia tho very neur uei;;hb<irhood of tho .â- iuii and no ob- j^rrvatioui will bo po.'-siblt*. !i" ii ia not sif n in Febviiary the eiimet will nnt 'ovojiiie visible until the end of Ai-vil, whvn it will be a iiioruing star, ri.vug alxu't 21-2 in'urs before llio sv.u. It wJ" Iran- (ir t!ic sun » di.st: ah^it ii a.m. v\ May 19. and thi- vr'll be j> mi)iiicut. <[ intense inlcrcs^ ti- a-^tnn't'i.aers. ;i» it will Ihoi; he jjf.s.siblo to see wh«*hf ;• vho nuclri.'s ••lows in front of th s-rn of I'ot. It il i-ftu be ;ee» it >»ill hr frirmhW t,i form ion:« idea of lUe Jcnwtj of the comet. < J t