WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY. CHAPTER XXI.

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 181, 5 July 1873, Page 2

WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY. CHAPTER XXI.

When you looked eadly, it wajj for wwit of mofwj, When the banker reached his honm, he" found the house full* of visitors. A party of girls sjnd young men had driven oven • from Llanfeclian to luncheon, and ■topped, to an early tea. The old n\w turned away with a sie"k heart from the rattls of the piano, and the dj«cordant laughter of youths and maidens, and hurried off to his own study, « room which overlooked *he estuary, nnd seldom used. Tlierc was no fire there,' and everything was dark and cheerless the better to harmonise with hit sad thoughts. These took no wide range. He felt only a dull and constant pain, a thickening of his pufte, a p hick ing at th» bottom of his throat, a ceaseless, stupor of the brain. He half hoped that something would give way, that a card might, snap, that lie might be released from t he,weary weight of life. Ah, if he had but a right hand now, a friend to -counsel him, a son to buck him ! That he should have been to deceived in John, the faithful clerk ! And yet, whon, he came to think of it, John had been very queer lately. Ever since lie had refused' to give those five shillings a week extra that John wanted, ho had been queer. Why couldn't Arthur help him ? Ah, he was a good boy, and enjoyed his shooting an.d love-making, and wrote a neat hand, and didn't m.ak,e many false steps ; but for any help he would be to his father — no ! He would lose his head entirely if he knew one-half of the present emergencies ! No, there was no help for him. Either he must submit to, be preyed upon by these vampires, these rogues who wero coining to him this very midnight — or he must shut up the bank, and take his chance, Yes, it was all very well $ men could live through a good deal, but he had already lived through so. much. And yet iqust he live on still ? No, he couldn't go down to the grave, with the fate of that youns; man hanging upon him like a stone ; he must live to re pout, to make atonement. £ut how ? He opened the window, and went out into the garden. It was a grim gray night, and sea, and sky, nnd mountain, were alike undistinguishable in the general glo.om ; but down below in the river, where a tug just arrived had cast anchor in the stream, the light at her mast- head cast a long rippling gleam on the dark waters. The tide below hp-hippod agajnstu^berocks j there was a faint murmur from the surf on the 6*r 5, a clou barked ; a horse in the stables snorted uneasily and clanked his chain ; a bell on shipboard rang out sonorously over the waters ; and there wasto be heard the soft beat of oars and the click of the rowlocks. ' Some one coming ashore from the ship,' said, Bowlands to himself, and he turned back into his cold, cheerless room,, and shut the window. Then he sat down again in His cushioned ohair, and groaned heavily : he was wearied.out, but he must sit up till midnight to keep his fatal trust. Winny Rowlands had not failed to notice that her father • was suffering, She had attributed, indeed, his depression to . ill health ; had tried to per&uade him to leave home, to have ■ change and rest. But the suggestion had made ,her father so angry that she had given up the hope of persuading him. She had tried to entice him away from his work, laid plans of excursions to be taken, of visits to be paid ; but the old man was inflexible. lie wouldn't leave his bank for a moment; he would sit there even after the bank had closed, wearily turning over papers, of which, nevertheless, he didn't seem able to grasp the contents. It was sad to Winny to see her father perplexed and troubled, and sh» had gone to bed in great misery and distress. She knew that something was wrong ; she felt that she was living in an atmosphere 0/ doubt and uncertainty, that her father had some heavy misfortune impending overVim : but he would not give her hid confidence. 'Oh, there was nothing,' he taid. 'It was a busy time this — making up th* book*, and so, on. The work was too heavy for him ; he'd have to get a partner. Ho should be all right in a day or two.' The sympathy Winny felt for her father' prevented her being satisfied with these excuses. She was so troubled and sad herself, that she knew some calamity impended. As she snt in her own roojn, over the fire, that night, and thought of other Christmas nights and of days long past, she re-. collected how, long ago, when she was a r little tfhild, there had been a similar trouble i and it was at this time of the - year too - X for she remembered that there was a, tremendous fall of show, and that all the toads were blocked up ; and tha^ l> er father, whose gold was all gone, and who was waiting for more from London, hnd stood on the bjmk steps all day long, in the storm and cold, for two livelong, days. And she remembered how, standing there on the stops, he would ]et nobody come into the bank, but sent all away from the. door, crying to each, as he came up : ' To-morrow, to-morrow ; corap qgain to,-morroy !' Jlow lie had held the steps of tho bnnfc against nil comers for, all, those weary hours ; and how, at last, post-chaises had como'iu, cuttings having been madethrough tfio snow-r-post-chaises, with six horses ench, and laden with boxes of gold. What rejoicing Mere was too ! How the bells rang, and the people cheered! It was on Christmas eve, that the succour had .arrived; for she well •reHtemb'ered 'the 'night before, wljon,. saiily troubled at her father^ perplexity, after being put to bed, she, bad got up, 'and, stolen- away,, unper.eeiv.od, .to \ifae summer-house on the i*ock, where, all unknown to anybody, s|^ had kept a. hoardj. of treasures — a broken gold ring, » 'tpng of gold* beads, a green button she believed to be an, emerald, a cutglass bottle. of fabulous value— how she hqd brought back all*, these treasures, .sadly brightened- at her outgoing and incoming.; and had carried them, to her father in his study, and, told him that he might sell them, or do what he liked with them, if he could' keep open the bank on the. proceeds. All this, and tho rest of her. past life, ah© thought oververy sorrowfully, slowly undressing. Her new dresses were all laid out — her blue srlk, v for her brother's wedding ; the - sweet bonnet, all laces and feathers ; all" the togs and fop- . peries of young maidenhood— but these things could give . her no pleasure. Tho old days of their family life, of the ■ time when she had ye.t a mother ty> comfprt and counsel her, when her father was a cheerful companion, her brother alike " a torment and delight— the thought of these old days, and the contrast with the suspense and, anxiety of the present, brought the tears to her eyes, as she put out her candle, and " crept slowly to bed. The. tears brimmed over on to her pillow, and then she. thought of her visit to ber treasure in* the old summer-house. All, if she could only do something ■ for her father now,! Sinking gradually into sleep, her last thought was of, the old summer-house and lier hidden, treasure. ~ ,

Inisn Juries,— Eroin" all pam of the country, says theSaturday Rfivicui— from Qlare, Limerick, and Galway, from Koscomtnon, Monaghan, and Clonmel— we have the same story of justice niocked, and law frustrated by incompetent jurymen. Ijt may be s»jd that this is only governing Ireland according to Irish ideas, and that if the Irish ar« content to, be, tried by jurors who are destitute even of *h elementary conception of their functions, 'that.jp their business and not ours. It is evident, however, that there are many people in, Ireland who do not relish the present state of things, and' who feel that, apart from the injury which may be done to , the interests of private persons, tUe .scandals .which arc connected with almost every trial that takes place cannot fail to. impair the dignity of justice and popular respect for law. The ignormt, peasai tt who are d)»?ged from their ploughs, and muck heaps. to stare and slumber through • long bewildering trial, are bv no means grateful for the privilege whioh has been, conferred- on them, and.it may be doubted whether there ever wns any eagar desire on their part to obtain it.. Universal' suffrage, .without regard'to education or capacity, even though admitted in politics, had better be kept at armji' len»th from fie processes of justice* , M The Man who Cannot Look tott in the Etes. — One of the popular fallacies-of the day is that the man who cannot look you in the eyes when you are talking to him is at heart a coward, or, in truth, a scoundrel; and" the man who meets., you with a steady, straightforward glance, and watches every j look and gesture, while you aro talking, is a brave and open- " hearted fellow, This is one of the notions of romimcuts that ha? passed into evervdny philosophy as fact. According to the novelist the thief is the man who avoids your eye ; the consciously guilty man is one whoso eyes ofcnnofc look a man .straight in the face - r and the man* who intends to do you , wrong is the one who becomes agitated' whenever you look, straight at him. Tn fact, all this is nonsense. The purest x bravest, kindest man in the world 1 may not bo able to look another man in the ere. In many cases jfr is the over-sen-sitive man that avoids your glance, *nd the Braaen thief that looks at you with steady glance. The handling of the eyes in this particular is entirely a physical matter. A man may bo good and brave, and more sensitive, may be, physically speaking, incujmble of looking a man iv the eye, »nd from inherited mcl V'it«o» disinclined to do so. Among the numerous plants (says ihe Marlborough Express) which the science uf agriculture ha* rendered serviceable to man, there jvro none at the present d»y, perhaps, more widely known or moie highly esteemed than this, the literal "fruit of the -earth;' 1 and it is somewhat surprising that more accurate knowledge as to the growth and habits of the plants has nob been sought for by farmers uenerally., The same old-fashioned routine year after year <4| is pm-aned, excopfc when aouie unlooked-for circumstance renders a departure*from the rule either absolute or expedient, not perhaps for the sake of the potatoes, but in the attempt to grow some other crop. An instance of this kind has occurred on Charles Redwood's farm . A piece ef gra^s-Jand was broken up »nd planted, with hops, but from causes which do not at present couoern us, the hops failed Between the hop plants, in rows six feet apart, potatoes were planted, and such a crop has been produced m seldom gladdens the eye of the potato "grower. • Prom a single m n<je of land twenty tons of potatoes have been lifted. • We have a sample , of them at our office. The smallest of th«m niQMuret jn^irth lf>± inches by 13*. and another 19. l,y ftf inches a third 20 by 13J inches/and weigh respec ! tlv ?Vi ni> J3° ZSI } } h 14oM » an(l3lb 3oz 9 -eight potatoes mighing lfilbs OoniMerinß the dryness of the season, an<l the present price of potatoes, Mr Redwood may congratulato humejf on being. tolerably well recompensed for the loss of his hops, and we trust, the members of the | Agricultural Society will endeavour to profit by his ex, peuence m thp cultivation (jf. tl)U,valu»W© root cr^p,

Tau>E Unions ai»d Fakm Labourers.— A case forcibly ilUutrating the temper of trade unionists, remarks the Law lbnt> «u lfttfly before the count j court judge of Norfolk A number of a-'riciiltinnl hborers sued a farmer in separate actions to recover half a crown apiece for what they caJlod a day's work in nl tending upon a thrashing machine. Ihe defendant paid Is lid into court, ao that the plaintiff* fougl t for the odd 7d, which the judge most kindly offend to pa) rather than Double the legal gentlemen who were e'ignged. In the result it turned out that there was an express contract to thrash a stack of hay, which contract was not earned out by the men, -o that instead ot their having nn action acamst the fanner, he might ha\e sued them lor a breach of contract. " If," sa.d the learned judg«, " agricultural unions countenance such things the noonor they are out of existence the better." It w ill be a miserable state of things if these trades' unions incite ignorant laborers to go to law to redress grievances, not only imaginary, but winch recoil on their own beads. Our county courts havp OMite enough to do without being required to settle attempts *t coercion bv workmen How to Tell an Honest II vs.— An hotelkeepcr gives the New York lonespondcnt ot the St. Louis Globe a rule f.r detoctnm honest \, which he thin recounts — " Talking with h liotelkeeper the olhci d.i), I remarked that in a l.rge city like this he nnt-t l»o»e a dc-il by ti.m«tenf customers *ho would «o aw.i\ and forget to pny their bills. Jie replied, " Oil no,' I iu\er lo«e much money by people of that sort. 1 have jn.idc it a- rule mmm house, whenever a nun wants a room and ha-, no b.i»gage, to demand pay in ndv nice, us is usual. It he mamlots no objection, and puts Ins hand in his pocket for money, I tell him it is all right ; that he can pay as well when he goes away. That kind ot man pajs. But there is another sort of fellow who, when informed of the rule, pretends to be very indignant, insisting that he is a gentleman, and is not in the habit of having his imn.e questioned or his hones' y doubted In such a ease I imumblv insist on the production of the funds, tor I know ll I don't gtt them then I never should get them in the world Men who talk about their honor, and assume to be insulted when requested to pay, can be depended on for first-chus dead bea.ts " » „, , , -n ' Puffery as in Paris — M. Philareto Chasles, the Pans p.. respondent of the Athenawm, writes :—" faster Puff continues thriving among us, and is quite the sovereign of the situation. He does indulge in the most audacious tricks, winch we lake ior a gqod mnfaljon of American policy and manners. The pull' insane vies with the pufV pyramidal. Imagine an English political newspaper publishing not an adveiti-ement puff, but a leader on a polebrated establishment de nouveautes, with an account of the number of counter-jumpers employed of the quantities of silk, satin, and bonibjzme sold each M, ""d jour columns of equally interesting details. Tins is what one of our first-rate gazettes does, with the signature ot a noted writer appended to the article, and description, in the penny-a-line way, of the splendid palace, 'winch reminds one of the Arabian night- ' 'I in truth is, that any line of demai cation between commerce and intellect is destio\ed and done with ; the most eolos' il oxaggeiatmns pa>« cunent. For instance, the writer of tin* article I allude to says that during Ins visit he wa3 striic!. with the intellectual couiitenuurp of one of t'le employes —'What is the gentleman's snlarj 9> n*kcd the Whiter. Tlu answer vn — ' He ha-, been here 12 jcur-. an 1 gets only 55,00(> fvimcs a year as yet ! ' £2230 a year ! S-ich tricks a' la Barnuin arc 'half forgiven here, and dmni«-id with a laugh When millinery or grocery call them to their aid— well < But in tlie literary and intellectual sphere such things are dangerous or rather deadh. I am sorry to mu the neeessitv of putting is now grown to such a pitch, that e\en Hugo," Sardon, and our first men of wit and poetry, practice the art as a religious duty. Drama, history, no\ cloven l\ncs cannot do without it. Before any literary novelty comes out a hundred small paragraphs stimulate public curiosity ' The author has broken his leg '— ' He fell from his horse,'— or. he 'lost his first-born eon.' Ne\t morning the report is said to ha\e been false ; he lost nothing, neither ' leg' nor ' son.' Then, the illustrious poet refuses s,ooo,oool", offered bj his editor lor his next v.oik. Some da) s after, the poet and editor shake hands, and agree for a sum of (SOOOOOf, paid half in advance. Then a celebrated American scholar and playwright has begged to be allowed to translate the work in English, the remuneration of the original author being only 20,000f, in cash This lasts six months ; readers are bewildered ; the work comes out, nnd is mere trash. The editor, who paid in reality a yen wall poition of the stupendous item, is declared a bankrupt. false mermaid ha* done her wot k, and all is o\or " A most spirited and enterprising undertnking has jii't been fairh btaited, which will practnally re-ult m the addition of another settlemipt or dependency of New Zealand. Our readeis will doubt le-s remember the disastrous wreck of the ship Geneial Grant at the Auckland Islands, some rears ngo and the warch credit ion organised by tho able Superintend, nt of Southland (the Hon J. P. 'lay ior). and dispatched wnder the charge of Mr 11. Armstrong, one of the ProMiieial Executive, formerly an officer in the P and O Comps»n\'B t-ervicc. Tiie expedition wus most efficiently carried out by Mr Armstrong, but failed to find any more survivors of «he wreck. Ample store* of provisions, howler weie left in diffeient parts of the islands, in the event pf future wrecks, several having been known to occur on the«e dar-ceroi-s rocky cliffs., . AlaTininn , accounts were brought of the peril* of the coast (especially that wonderful ta^e which engulphed the ill-lnted Gen-r.d G-raiit), off the bnrrcn and inhospitable shores, and the inclement and boißlerous climate. Dr Moneki on, however (also a member of the Provincial Executive), who went as surgeon lo the Expedition looked on the island with different eu>s, and conceived an idea wßfich has gradually incubated, and now appears tull-ficd-'ed Dr Monckton, as is well known, applied some time back, for a lcn«e of the islands. Some difficulty arising he arrived in ' Wellington about a month ago to arrange the affair, and has i em .lined since, partially working out Ins plans The lea"c. has now been signed, and the enterprising medico is about to enter on his new domain His scheme" is merely to use the islands as n sheep and cattle run " He considers 'tint its advantageous position with regard to the South Sea whalers and other shipping ought to ensure him an ample maiket for his surplus stock, and he purposes keeping up regular communication with the Bluff bv means of a suitable schooner, which, we understand, he has already secured. Sealing is also expected to prove a remunerative branch of the undertaking at first, although, pf course, the phocce Will ultimately be driven off by tho ounc and vaccine invaders ol their hitherto almost undisturbed territory. T> Monckton intends commencing operations mstanter, and we cordially wish him the success his pluck and enterprise so well deserve— Pos/. The dances of the Seneca Indians, aa described by the bt Lotus Republican, appeqr to be, if posmble, even more graceful and interesting than those which take place in London ballroom* It seems that these dances oeem four fimesa at stait-d periods, and are unlike anything of the kind to be found among other civilized tribes. The four dances are called the dog dance, the strawberry dance, the green corn dance, and the bread dance, each one lasting from a week to ten days. The dog dance occurs in January, and is the grandest d.nee of the year A white dog, us near spotless as can be found, is first carefully f. ttened and then hanged on Borne ccmenient tree The w hole tribe then assemble round the suspended animal and offer up the sacrifice to the Great Father It is a matter of etiquette that the chiefs and dignitaries of the tribe should appear in •' full dre«s" on the occasion After the dirge is finishpd the chief adorns the do<r's no«e, ears, and joint* with gaudy ribbons. The people then dispose, but the dog hangs on thetree threedays longer, when the whole tribe again assemble round him ; fires are lwUled to heal the sick and afflicted, und the fnne is beguiled bv dancing, ringing, and smoking After n while the chief cuts the dog down, and then each member of the tribe comes forward nnd throws a bunch of ribbons on him until he is complctly cohered. Tins done, they build a fire over him, and when that dies out, ex en body goes up and sniffs the smoke fiom the ashes to ensure future prosperity. The ceremony completed, all solemnity disappears, and jollity is the order of the day Tl eve arc always a goodly number of w bite sped at orb— men and » omen— w ho join wit h the Indians in il eir feast and dancing ns wildly ns any of thr redskins. Before fhe war it was the Insluon when a perfectly white dog could not be piocurrd to substitute the fattest baby of the tribe, whose mother felt more, than honored by the sacrifice of her oflspnng. Tins good old fashion has now fceen abandoned. . The latest number of Marl wood's Maqazwe contains a burlesque entitled " Sir Tr.iy ; an Arthurian Idyll, which \ery aptly hits Tennyson in his \ulnerable part. Here is a specimen •— The widowed Dame of Hunbard's ancient line Turned to h.cr cunloard, comeied anglewise Betwixt tins wall and that, in quest of aught To satisfy the cravings of Sir Tray, Prick-eared companion of her solitude, lted-spotted, dan y-w lute, and baie of rib, Prayer in his eye, prayer in his slinking gait, "Wide on his creating jaws i evolved the door, The cupboard yawned, dt:e p-thrqatcd, thinly set For teeth, with bottles, ancjent canisters, And plates of various pattern, })Hie or white ; Deep m the void she thrusts her hooked hose, Peering near-sighted for thp wished-for bone, While hei soft robe of samite, titled high, The thiifty darning of her hose revealed— The pointed feature travelled o'er the delf Greasing its tip, but bone or bread found none, Wherefore Bir Tray abode dinnerlesi, Licking his paws beneath the spinning-wheel, And meditating much upon eayoury meats. A singular accident happened to ft little girl in the Shoalha^an district, New South \Valcs. It appears the mother, in Older to parity the child, i til into thr fire an egg £oroa*t, and wenfc abo.it her household (lulus, leavum the child watching the i lou-ss ol roasting the egg She had been nbHiit but a It w minutes (-bjs the Neto*) when sne was alainied by a loud report like the discharge of apistei followed- by screanib. The mother r»n to the fireplace and found that the egg had exploded, blowing the red-hot aajbes into the eyes and i«oe of the poor infant. The inUnse ' agony the child must have •littered e«u be imagined.

An Official IU> Q uhr witikm-t Wink -In connection with President Giant's iwent *i»it to Wilmington, Delaware, was a very plen-.int toni]»r).uiCT incident * vtt^ r „ banquet given in ti.- honour ,il the residence of Mr jlculU, attenacd also by the (Jove, nor and mombus ol the Delaware Legislature— a 'banqiu t without wme or ol her inloMCaiinji liquors -a beaut ilul bouqel ot (lowers wax piesented to tlie Piesulent. Ho w.h ul-o .it the -n.no time addicss-ert oy Miss Emma Wnnvll, who mi id .— " Mr Pie-idert,— 1 lease accept, on behalf ot Mrs lleald and the ladies present, tins bouquet, wjth our thanks, lor your great act in cM-luaing wine from your Kew Year's reception. Whatever net o your adniinfetraticii be remembered, tins act ot the man will never be forgotten b) the womeu of our laud. ltio rrea.dent received the bouquet, thus gracefully tendered, witn thank*. — Xationul Temperance Advocate. ' Josn Hillings o> Matiumom —Sum marry lor outj, and never diskover their mistake; this is lucky Sum marry for inouev, !.md— don't see it Sum marry lor }.c( igree, nn.l fepl big for six months, and then verj wiwiblj cum tew the conclusion that pcdipieo anit no belter than skim-milk 3um marry tew ple/e frond-, and are surprised to learn that their fronds don't care .1 cii»» for them atterward Hum marrr bekaua? the.y hay bin h.ghstod sutmvharo else This is a cross match, a bay and a sorrel ; pride may make it endmable. Sum nmrrv <or love without a cent in tlieir pocket, nor a iriend in the world, nor a drop ot pedigree. This looks desperate, but it js the strength ov the game i marrying for love ain't a success, then matnmonj is a dccl C Qn Dec. 8, 1871, and again on Dee 6, 1883, the planet Venus will cross the sun's face, and no like phenomenon will occur after 1882, until the year 2004. It chances, moreover, that m one respect the transit ot 187-i presents an appoituuity which will not recur during the transit ot 168.., so that in 130 years astronomers will be without, the means ot remedying any omission which may be made nl the case ot the transit now near at hand On this occasion, too, there will be an opportunity of making absolutely the most etlective observations for the determination of the sun b distance possible during the interval of 235 years. On these grounds the Spectator advocates a Government expedition to Antartic regions to make the necessary observations. 11 no expedition is sent from this country, one should be (our contemporary thinks) sent from Austrulia or New Zealand. There is a woman in Washington who has buried five husbands. HeccnUy sbo married a sixth. Upon the clay of the wedding a. man called at tho house ot the groom, asked for that gentleman, ai)d then proceeded to measure his body with a tape line. The infatuated groom entertained an idea that tins might, perhaps, be a man sent round by bis tailor After the ceremony in church, however, the husband was surprised to lind this same person standing in tho vestibule and winking furiously at the bride as the party came out to the carriages. Just as they were starting Qll'the mysterious being put his head into the carnage window, aniT whispered to the bride : " Got a ready-made one that'll ]U st suit him' Vrauliful fit— beautiful ! When the happy man demanded th« n.une ol the intruder the bride blushed, and -aid she believed he was some kind ol an uiulei taker. Ihen the man was not so happy- ile Wlls Imrdh hupp? at all, a .id a certain gloom bccincd to oven-n.t thi> bmie\ni.".>n iVniaps the undertaker wiw too j»i>>'»pl Bui .t.!i \,.- jike to tec u man lake an interest in his business.