VOGEL'S GOLDEN DREAM

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2106, 15 April 1889, Page 2

VOGEL'S GOLDEN DREAM

Sir Jallna Voga.'j novel "Anno Domtnt 2009" has mat v;! h touch unfavorable orlilalßm. It is oaotbtoaa from the nambav of characters iatrodaoed, and sketchy from the uamber of ooonrrenoes only half dea* odbed. A favorite passage for quotation Is a description of the "dishing" of a gang of ooDßplratora who are .entrapped by mnana of an outrageous Impassibility la the shape of mechanical mesmerism. The denouement of * great scheme fot draining the Molyneax river Into the Mataura la perhaps better worth quoting, the ibheme being upoa whiah Sir J. Vogel'a mind evidently f astern ai somethlng more than a fitting pro j sot to be exploited In tbe pagei of Jdlea Verne, The critical moment. had come. The watera of the Molyneax had been tamed into a new ohannel, and vast crowds lined the river banks, watohing the gradual subsidence of the stream* The passage proceeds : " The time wai approaching when it would be known II it was to be nttar failure or entire snooess, or Bometblog midway between. It had been arranged that If any conspicuous deposit cf gold beo*me apparent, a signal should be given, m response to whlob all the gems along Ihs river banks should be fir d At a quarter past 1 o'clock thegaoj pealed forth, and, lyud as was the noUe they made, it seemed trifling compared with the obeera that ran tip and down the river from both banks from the throats of oonntleas thousands of epeotatora, The announcement of success occasioned almost delirium, for It seemed that every person fn the vast crowd h*d an Jndiv'dnal Interest In the undertaking. The tele* phone announced thit at* a tora In the river, about seven miles from the lake, what appeared to be a large pool of fine gold was uncovered. Even as the newt went round, there appeared In the middle of the river right opposite Xndy Taleri'e stand, a faint, yellow glow beneath the water Gradually it grew brighter and brighter, until at length, to the eyes of the fascinated beholders, there appeared a long, Irregular fissure about twenty-five feet m length by about six or seven In width, whioh appeared to be filled with gold. Some of the oompany now\ rnthed forward, and amid the deafening cheers of the onlookers, dug out Into boxes,' which had been prepared for the purpose, shovelfuls of gold. Freah boxes were sent for, but the gold appeared Inexhaustible. Eaoh box held 5000 <z. and fifty b^xei would represent In value £1,000,000 sterling. Five hundred brixei were filled, and still the pool oppoalte Hilda was not emptied, and it was reported that two equally rloh receptacles were being drained In other parts, Qnards of the Yolnnteer Force were told off to protect the gold until it coo'd be placed m safety."