The Strand 1911-11 Vol-XLII № 251

THE STRAND MAGAZINE. and rll to realize to the uttermost farthing on all descriptions of their properties, land, houses, stock, and chattels, they would be able to heap up together, and, were they animated by a single purpose and resolved at all costs to carry it through, they might alter the face of Europe and the destinies of mankind. For think of what a thousand millions interests. They are like Samson playing at tiddledewinks. One employs his fortune to provide free fiction and racing tips for the poor; another gives to hospitals ; another to colleges ; another buys a newspaper and a magazine and himself writes therefor, impossible tales of houris and buried treasure. All of them bury their talent under a bushel ; none of them allow their minds to dwell for THIS HALF-DOZEN MEN WOULD BE ABLE TO PAY OFF THE WHOLE NATIONAL DEBT. sterling means. This half-dozen of men, whom you would probably not regard twice if you saw them walking along the Strand, would not only be able to pay off the whole of the National Debt of Great Britain and Ireland, amounting to seven hundred and fifty millions, accumulated in the course of two centuries by a population now numbering forty-five millions, but they would have enough left over to buy the National Gallery, the South Kensington Museum, and every first-class battleship in the British Fleet. Such wealth is bewildering, such possibili- ties of power on the part of these six all but untitled, apparently undistinguished, unosten- tatious members of the community. But do you suppose for a moment that they are troubled by any such thought ? Do you suppose that the dazzling significance of their potentialities ever suggests itself for a moment to any of their minds ? It is very unlikely ; because it is one of the most usual limitations of a millionaire that he has no imagination ; or if he retains a shred of this quality, his own wealth has completely lost its glamour. If such men are conscious of their own power they never use it outside of their own special a moment on the great things they could do, while as for the greater things they could do in combination, one doubts if even Mr. Pierpont Morgan or Mr. Astor has ever given it a moment's thought. But what if, instead of being what they are, essentially prosaic, \" practical,\" and common- place, these six men became suddenly con- verted into six men of restless, enterprising, imaginative, and energetic nature, would they be content to doze away their wealth— that such a stupendous weapon as this should not be seized and put to some mighty use ? Rest assured they would not, when once the idea had struck them, let it slip away without bearing fruit. The meeting of six such men, linked together in such a plutocratic brother- hood, would be pregnant with events which might easily change the history of mankind. They, at least, would not be content to separate with a few dreary banalities about the weather or the price of stocks or the new rates of insurance—or even with some tepid

WHAT SIX RICH MEN COULD DO. 083 million pounds between us. We are stronger than any single organized power on earth. We can do things. Let us exert ourselves—let us see what we can do. Let us six men before we die really put forth our combined spending power. Instead of the futile, humdrum life other millionaires lead, let us exhibit to the world all our strength and all our glory.\" And then, like the members of the Tiers Etat in the tennis-court, they would clasp hands and swear not to separate until they had achieved consolidation and a programme. What things could they not achieve with a thousand million pounds! Suppose they were aggressive and inclined to wage war. Upon what a scale could they not wage it ! One of these six men once actually did put a thousand men into the field, fully armed and equipped, and maintained them for a year or two during the South African War, at his sole personal expense. But this sextet could, if they chose, put a million men in the field and maintain them for ten years, perhaps for twenty. Napoleon from 1790 to 1815 involved Britain in chaiges of six hundred and fifty million pounds. The Crimean War cost upwards of thirty million pounds for two years alone. On the other hand, there are far greater economies with a better system, yet the South African War did not cost much under two hundred and fifty million pounds. But a million armed men, with equipment to match, is a thing the world has only seen for brief periods at a time ; nor is there any reason to suppose that it would be necessary for such a force to be in the field for more than a cam- paign or two. Modern equipment is a very serious thing ; neither Napoleon's levies nor the armies of America in 1861-65 were more than a quarter drilled, fed, clothed, and armed. Of course it is assumed that in such an enterprise the sextet would embark all their principal. It would be necessary to spend money in order to conquer the earth ; but doubtless the conquest of the earth could be achieved with a thousand millions. If THIS SEXTET COULD, IF THEY CHOSE, PUT A MILLION MEN IN THE FIELD AND WAGE WAR FOR TEN YEARS. Wars have grown far more expensive than they used to be, not merely in the higher pay of officers and men and the increased cost of rations, but in the cost of transports, horses, and artillery. The American Revolu- tionary War, lasting from 1775 to 1781, burdened the country with one hundred and forty million pounds. The wars with they did not spend their principal—which in the circumstances is unthinkable, because all property would be in a fluid state— their income would amount to between thirty and forty millions a year, which would about defray the charges of a war similar to that between America and Spain or the Austro- Prussian War.

5»4 THE STRAND MAGAZINE. THEY MIGHT FORM A JUNTA OF MIGHTY ADMIRALS AND ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL DOMINION OF THE SEA. In lieu of being illustrious generals, perhaps our millionaires might elect to compass their ambitions on the sea. They might achieve universal dominion by the possession of a great Navy, arid of themselves form an imposing junta of mighty admirals. It would matter little to them where they built their fleet, or whether they bought it ready-made. What is the value of a fleet in being of a first-class Power ? What is the worth of the British Fleet, one of the marvels of the world ? Probably not more—lock, stock, and barrel, from keel to fore-top— than a couple of hundred millions, if so much. A five hundred million pounds fleet would be unique, overpowering, irresistible. Such a fleet would sweep the seas of everything afloat, from a trawler to a Dreadnought. We are so accustomed to regarding the British Fleet as something so stupendous, almost omnipo- tent, that it is a shock to us to reflect that these six men have the wealth to build one far finer, stronger, and more efficient. And yet we are told an Empire of sixty million white men groans under the burden of what six men could carry on their own shoulders and not feel the weight. It is really difficult not to be appalled in THEY COULD SUMMON THE WHOLE POPULATION AND PAY THEM TWENTY POUNDS APIECE.

WHAT SIX RICH MEN COULD DO. 5«S considering some of the ways in which our six rich friends could disburse their money, if they were really bent on doing so, to the utmost of its purchasing power. You have, first of all, to consider comparative values. Now, the whole of the house property in Great Britain is only worth two hundred and twenty million pounds. All the buildings in London are only valued at forty-four millions of pounds. The gross value, or gross estimated rental, of all the property in England and Wales is only about two hundred and sixty millions. Therefore, at the behest of these six men, for a period of nearly four years no one in the kingdom need pay a penny of rent. Or, if they chose to be more directly liberal, they could summon the whole popu- lation of the British Isles to come forward and receive, every man, woman, and child, the sum of twenty pounds apiece. Think of The wealth of these six millionaires far exceeds the total value of the product of British industry for a whole year. Nearly seven millions of workers, toiling six days a week, produced a net output of British industry for 1910-11 of seven hundred and twelve million pounds. These six men would be able to pay for all the result of a year's toil accumulated in twelve months by a whole nation of toilers. They could buy up all the wealth of a year — all the machinery, all the manufactured goods, all the steel, all the iron, all the tobacco, all the sugar. That is what such wealth as theirs means. Another and striking example of their potentiality would be to the taste of us all. These six men could run the United Kingdom for six years and longer, pay the total amount of its expenses, and remit everything to the LETTERS CARRIED FREE IF THEY CHOSE, NOBODY WOULD PAY ANY TAXES. ALL.CUSTOM HOUSES WOULD CLOSE DOWN. LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS WOULD BE SENT FREE. such a memorable incident of wealth dis- tribution—the millions, young, old, rich, and poor, passing in a column six deep before these six open-handed millionaires, and each receiving his twenty golden sovereigns ! Most of this would have to be specially coined (there would probably be no such amount of gold available for the purpose), and one might suggest a coin with a multiple profile of the princely six on the obverse. taxpayer. Under this excellent and generous dispensation nobody would pay any taxes. All Custom Houses would close down. There would be no excise. Letters and telegrams would be sent free. For the total receipts of John Bull from all these sources is about one hundred and fifty millions, and our six millionaires have a thousand millions in their coffers. What a happy, care-free land England would be for those six years!

586 THE STRAND MAGAZINE. THESE SIX GENTLEMEN COULD PURCHASE OUTRIGHT ALL THE RAILWAYS, WITH ALL THEIR ROLLING-STOCK AND BUILDINGS, IN ENGLAND. What a debt of gratitude we would all owe Messrs. Rockefeller, Carnegie, Strath- cona, Morgan, Astor, and Rothschild ! And how happy they would surely be at having bestowed this boon upon us ! Who would hesitate to erect statues to all the six in recognition of this splendid public service ? Or there is another boon they could confer. Everybody realizes the imperfection of the arrangements regarding insurance money. Unpleasant things have generally got to happen before the beneficiaries can lay hands upon the sum insured for—death, fire, injury, old age—and a great deal of cash must be expended in the meanwhile in premiums. How nice it would be if all of us who are insured could \" touch \" (as the French say) all the money that is coming to us or our heirs, immediately ! It is a great deal of money in the aggregate, for the inhabitants of the United Kingdom are insured for no less a sum than eight hundred million pounds sterling. But our six influential friends could manage it for us. They could pay every man, woman, and child his or her insurance money and still have a couple of hundred millions left to give a little dinner at Claridge's occa- sionally, or buy a stall at the theatre. Or there are the mountainous municipal and county debts of the kingdom which are causing political economists to regard the future so gravely—debts which, in the language of one writer, are \" hanging like a millstone round the neck of the nation \"—debts which are sending up the rates to a figure undreamed of a generation or two ago. This local indebtedness mounts to the high figure of four hundred and ninety-four million pounds. What a small matter these six men would make of discharging the whole of this in full '. They could do so were it even twice as large. What is the total of Britain's commerce— her exports and imports ? Last year we imported five hundred and nineteen million three hundred and ninety thousand pounds' worth of goods, and we exported three hundred and seventy - eight million one hundred and eighty thousand pounds' worth. That is to say, our total commerce represents eight hundred and ninety-seven million five hundred and seventy thousand pounds a year. Such a sum is staggering to many of the nations of the world. Our six gentlemen would not be staggered, because, great as the sum is, it does not equal the cash in their own pockets. In other words, they could buy up John Bull and then sell him again. What further could they do ? Well, they could purchase the total coal supply of the kingdom—not for a year, but for more than

WHAT SIX RICH MEN COULD DO. S87 eight years, for the selling value of all our coal is only one hundred and twenty-three million pounds per annum. Would it not be the sublimity of malice for these six men to secure a corner in coal—a real, effective corner, not a fictitious one—carry off the whole of Britain's coal supply by the simple expedient of paying twice the price for it, and make a huge bonfire of it to heat the Arctic regions, while all our factories closed down, our railways stopped, and we sat at home shivering ? Speaking of railways, these six gentlemen could, of course, purchase outright all the railways, with all their rolling-stock and buildings, in England. Another thing they could do with their money would be to buy up all the motor-cars in the world, and still have enough left to buy the Panama and Suez Canals, and then sufficient to buy up the total value of British shipping for ten years. Britain's shipping means forty-eight million pounds a year ; our six millionaires could pay for the whole of it for ten years and still keep sufficient to buy cigars and champagne with. Great Britain does a business of ninety- four million pounds a year in cotton. These six rich men could take all this cotton, these millions of bales of goods, for a period of ten years, and sink them in the bottom of the sea or give them away to the Hindus, who might have a change of dress every day of the year. But stay—there is another course their joint enterprise might take. Influenced by at least two of their number, who are fervent Scots, they might be tempted to undertake a thing of no less magnitude than the pur- chase of Scotland. Scotland, of course, is not to be bought, nor are her sons venal; but the assessed value of her real estate is only nine hundred and thirty million pounds. One can see the six millionaires contem- plating these figures with a jubilant eye. \" Dirt cheap,\" we hear them say. \" Really a capital investment. And how lucky we happen to have just the price asked in our pockets ! Let's buy Scotland.\" And Sandy, tempted by the ready cash, hands over his kingdom. These, then, are amongst the stupendous and lurid things these six elderly gentlemen could do if they possessed the requisite audacity and imagination. But instead of any of these things they will do nothing, which is, perhaps, just as well for the peace of the world ; for wealth such as theirs is far too dangerous a power not to be safely locked up and the key in the pockets of six just such quiet, safe, unimaginative elderly gentlemen, who will probably be greatly surprised to find themselves the subjects of such speculation and the heroes of this article. INFLUENCED BY TWO OK THEIR NUMBER, THE OMNIPOTENT SIX MIGHT BE INDUCED TO ' BUY ALL SCOTLAND-

CHAPTER XVI. AND LAST. DAME ELEANOUR AND STEPHANOTIS. I HERE were now two things for the three C.'s to look forward to—the return of Rupert and Lord Andor's coming-of-age party. The magic of the waxen man had ended so seriously that no one liked to suggest the trying of .any new spells, though Charlotte still cherished the hope that it might some day seem possible to try a spell for bringing the picture to life. But the banishment of Rupert had left a kind of dull blankness which made it difficult to start new ideas. Uncle Charles was less frequently visible even than at first, though when he did appear he was more like an uncle and less like a polite acquaintance. The books the children had discovered had meant a very great deal to him ; he told them so more than once. He went away now, almost every other day, to London to the British Museum, to Canter- bury to its Library, and once, for two days, to look up some old parchments in the A STORY FOR CHILDREN. By E. NESBIT. Illustrated ty H. R. Millar. Bodleian Library, which, as of course you know, meant going to Oxford. Mr. Pen fold was very kir>d, and the children did quite a lot of building under his directions ; but altogether it was a flattish time. Then suddenly things began to grow interesting again. What began it was the visit of a tall gentleman in spectacles. He had a long nose and a thin face, with a slow, pleasant smile. He called when the uncle was out, and left a card. Caroline heard Harriet explaining that the master was out, and rushed after the caller in hospitable eagerness. \" I'm sure uncle wouldn't like you to go away without resting,\" she said, breathlessly, when he stopped at the sound of her pattering feet on the gravel, and she caught up with him ; \" after you've come such a long way, and such a hot day, too.\" Charlotte and Charles, in the meantime, had hastily examined the gentleman's card in the Russian bowl on the hall-table. \" Mr. Alfred Appleby,\" it said, and added, as Charlotte said, most of the alphabet, begin- ning with \" F.R.S., F.S.A.,\" and this mingled with his name so that when Caroline privately asked them what was on the card they could only think of \" Mr. Alphabet.\" Mr. Appleby accepted Caroline's invitation, and turned back with her. \" I'm sorry,\" she said, \" that I can't take you straight into the drawing-room ; but if you don't mind waiting in the dining-room a minute, I'll get the drawing-room key and take you in there ; only I'm afraid the dining-

THE WONDERFUL GARDEN. 589 room's rather awful, because we've been thinking of playing Red Indians, and the gum is drying on the scalps on most of the chairs.\" Mr. Appleby declined the drawing-room at any price, and was able to tell them several things they did not know about Red Indians, wampum, moccasins, and war-paint. He was felt to be quite the nicest thing that had happened since what Caroline and Charlotte, in private conversation, always spoke of as \" that awful image day.\" When Mrs. Wil- mington came in to see what those children were up to, Mr. Appleby won her heart by addressing her as \" Mrs. Davenant.\" \" Took me for the lady of the house at once,\" she told Harriet. The gentleman stayed to luncheon, and very good company they found him. He told the most amusing stories, all new to the hearers. He carved the fowls in a masterly way, and had two goes of pudding. And all the time he looked with exactly the right admiration and wonder at the portrait of Dame Eleanour in her ruff, with her strange magic philtres and her two wonderful books. \" We found those books, Mr. Alphabet,\" said Charlotte. And then the whole story had to be told. Mr. Alphabet—for so we may call him now—was deeply interested, and nodded understanding^- as the tale of the different spells unfolded itself. \" And do you propose to continue your experiments ? \" he asked, when he had heard the tale of the leopard, the last of the adven- tures which could be told, for the affair of the wax man was, of course, a thing that could never be disclosed. \" There's nothing particular that we want to do a spell about just now,\" said Caroline. \" I did think of trying to do one to get father and mother home, but it might be very inconvenient to them to leave India just now. You never know, and we shouldn't like to work a spell that would only be a worry to them.\" Mr. Alphabet said, \" Quite so ! \" \" What / keep on wanting to try,\" said Charlotte, \" is to make her come alive \"— she nodded towards the picture—\" only there doesn't seem to be any spell for that in any of the books. She looks such a dear, doesn't she ? Suppose she made a spell herself and did something magic to that picture, so that it should come alive if someone in nowadaystimes got hold of the other end of the spell; you know what I mean ? \" \" Quite so,\" said the visitor; \" why not ? \" \" It wouldn't be the real her, I suppose ? \" said Charlotte; \" but it might be like a cinematograph and a phonograph mixed up. I want to see her move and hear her speak, like she did when she was alive.\" And again the gentleman said, \" Why not ? \" \" If only we could find out the proper spell,\" said Charles. \" You see, everything came

59° THE STRAND MAGAZINE. curtain move slightly, and at first you'll think it is the air from the open window, and then you'll see a bulge in the green curtain—don't forget it's to be green—and then a white hand will draw it back, and she will come stepping down out of her frame on to the nearest chair, with her rustling silk petticoat and her scarlet, high-heeled shoes. Perhaps that's how she'll come. I only say ' perhaps,'mind. Because, of course, you might meet her in the wood, or in some scene of gay revelry, or in the won- derful garden itself; her garden, which is <ept just as she planted it. There's an old document your uncle's been showing me. She leaves her blessing to the family so long as the garden's kept as it was in her time. With a long \"THE UNCLE HIMSELF, TOTTERING ON THE HOUSEMAID'S STEPS, HUNG THE CURTAINS IN PLACE.\" list of the flowers and a plan of the garden, with the proper places for the flowers all marked. Did you know that ? \" \" You're not kidding us ? \" Charles asked, suddenly. \" Could you think it of me ? No, I see you couldn't. You try my spell and write and tell me how it works. All right, Davenant— coming. Where's my hat ?—oh, outside, yes—and my umbrella, right. Good-bve. all of you. Thank you very much for a most delightful day.\" \" Thank you.\" said Caroline, and they all said \" Good-bye, and come again soon ! \" Uncle Charles, when the matter was laid before him, raised no objection to the curtain- ing of the picture. He even drove with them to Maidstone and bought special curtains for the purpose, soft, wide, green woollen stuff it was, very soft, verv wide, verv green. Mrs. Wilmington hemmed the curtains and the uncle himself, tottering on the housemaid's steps, hung the curtains in place. \" Take your last look.\" he said, coming down tin- steps and holding the green curtains apart, so that Dame Eleanour looked out of the dusk of the curtains almost as if she were alive. \" Take a good look at her. so that you will know her again if vou do see her.\" \" If ? \" said Charlotte. \" I mean when,\" said the uncle, letting the long, straight folds of the curtains fall into place. The question of gar- lands now occupied all thoughts, even those of

THE WONDERFUL GARDEN. 591 he seemed much struck by the literary style of that remarkable work. \" Never did the florographist select from cunning Nature's wondrous field a more appropriate interpreter of man's innermost passions than when he chose the arbor vitae to formulate the significance, ' Live for me.' I was not aware that human beings could write like that,\" he said ; \" and I thought vou said ' arbor vitae' meant something quite different.\" \" They often do,\" said Caroline. \" We used to think the book didn't know its own mind, but we think now it put in new mean- ings when it found them out. It's rather confusing at first. But ' Live for me' is fine. It's just what we want the picture to do, isn't it ? What else ? \" \" I leave it to you,\" said the uncle, laying down the book. \" Your author's style is too attractive. I could waste all the rest of the daylight on him. Farewell. If I can be of any assistance in hanging the garlands, let me know. Good-bye.\" Nobody was quite sure what a garland was, because in books people sometimes wore gar- lands on their heads, w-hen of course they would be wreaths, and sometimes twined them round pillars, in which case they would be like Christmas decorations. \" We had better have both kinds,\" said Caroline, \" to be quite sure.\" On a foundation of twigs of the arbor vitae twined round with Jaeger wool, originally bought for Caroline to knit a vest for her Aunt Emmeline (\" But I know I shall never finish it,\" she said), symbolic flowers wrere tied, some in circlets or wreaths, others in long straight lengths. \" Rye grass, which means ' A changeable disposition,' \" was suggested by Charlotte, \" because we do want her to change : from paint to alive,\" she said ; \" and pink verbena means ' Family reunion,' and she is a relation, after all. Besides, pink's such a pretty colour.\" . Caroline ascertained that yew meant \" Life,\" but Charles was considered to have made the hit of the afternoon by his dis- covery that Jacob's ladder meant \" Come down,\" which was, of course, exactly what they wanted the lady to do. The gardener knew what Jacob's ladder was, though the children did not, and their fear that it might be a dull shrub with invisible flowers was dispelled when they beheld its blue brightness. \" We ought to wear coronilla ourselves,\" said Caroline ; \" a new piece every day. It means ' Success attend your wishes.' \" But the gardener had not heard of coronilla. \"The book says it's a flowering shrub of the pea family,\" Caroline read from the \" Language of,\" which, as usual, she had been carrying under her arm, \" with small pinnate leaves, whatever they are. An elegant bush with reddish-brown blossoms when first expanded, varying to yellow at a later period of their graceful existence.\"

592 THE STRA.XD MAGAZINE. he was wholly innocent, his cold being only a rather violent example of the everyday kind. He was kept out of draughts, and taken for walks by Mrs. Wilmington, and not allowed to bathe, and he became bored beyond description. Really, the girls were better off in bed, with a brightening vista of jelly, beef-tea, fish, chicken, leading to natural beef and pudding, and getting up to breakfast. When the three were re-united it was the very day of Lord Andor's party, and of course they were not allowed to go, \" for fear of chills.\" Charles, after tea had been taken away, shut the dining-room door carefully, and said :— \" I've got something to confess.\" \" Well ? \" said the others, as he stopped short, and displayed no intention of ever going on. \" I don't suppose you'll ever care to speak to me again when I've told you.\" \" Don't be a copy-cat.'' said Charlotte, sharply. \" If you've done anything really, say so. You know we'll stand by you,\"' she added, more kindlv. \" Well, then,\" said Charles, \" I'm very sorry. And I do hope it hasn't spoiled the whole show ; but you don't know how fed up I was with being alone, and the Wilmington fussing, and the uncle never out of his books for more than a minute at a time. And I did \"it one day when I felt I couldn't bear anything another minute.\" \" Did what, dear ? \" said Caroline, trying to be patient. \" Looked behind the curtains,\" said Charles, miserably. - : \" I knew you would,\" said Charlotte ; \" at least, I mean I should have known if I'd thought of it. It's exactly like you, and I'll never do any magic with you again.\" \" Oh, yes,\" said Charles, \" rub it in.\" \" I expect it has spoiled it all.\" said Caroline. \" Oh, Charles, how could you ? '.' . \" I'm much more sorry than you are,\" said Charles, wretchedly, \" because the magic had begun. She'd gone out of the frame.\" \" Gone ! \" said the girls together. \" Quite gone. It was all black behind the curtains. She wasn't there.\" \" Are you sure ? \" \" Certain sure.\" Both girls sprang towards the curtains, and both stopped short as Charles hastily grabbed an arm of each. \" Don't ! \" he said. \" You wait. I've thought about it a lot. I haven't had any- thing else to do, you know.\" \" Poor old Charles ! \" said Charlotte. \" I'm sorry I scratched, but it is aggravating, now, isn't it ? \" \" Not for you. it isn't,\" said Charles. \" You haven't looked behind the curtains. You haven't broken your part of the magic. It's all right for you. You'll see her right enough. It's me that won't. You're all right.\" \" But I expect your looking broke the spell, and she's back again,\" said Caroline, reaching

THE WONDERFUL GARDEN. 593 of green and white silk, and sealed ; and on the end of the ribbon, which hung down about three inches, was another large green seal. \" Look here, Char ! How funny ! \" said Caroline. \" It looks awfully old. Written on vellum or something, and the seal's uncle's coat of arms.\" \" Let's take it to uncle,\" Charlotte sug- gested. \" Why, what's up ? \" Caroline was holding the letter out to her in a hand that shook. \" Look ! \" she said, and her voice shook too. \" Look ! The thing's got our names on it 1\" It had. On the square parchment face were the three names, written in a strange ■ yet readable handwriting, in ink that was faded as with the slow fading of many, many years :— \" To Caroline, Charlotte, and Charles.\" \" You open it, Caro,\" said Charlotte ; and Charles, who had come across from his favourite mandarin, said, \" Yes, Caro ; you open it.\" It seemed a pity to break the green seals, and they were glad that the plaited silk slipped off easily when the letter was folded a little. But the second green seal had to be broken. The parchment, crackling in Caro- line's uncertain hands, was unfolded, and within was writing, lines in that same strange but clear hand, that same dim, faded ink. \" At eight of the clock lean on this marble table and gaze in the mirror, and you shall see and speak with me. But look only in the mirror, uttering no word, and wear the pink verbena stuck behind your ears and the roses on your hearts.—Your kinswoman, \" Eleanour.\" \" Then I didn't spoil it,\" Charles spoke first, \" not even for myself. Because it's addressed to me the same as to you.\" \" Yes,\" said Caroline, \" you'd better be between us two, though, Charles, and you must not look round.\" \" As if I should think of doing such a thing/' said Charles, indignantly. At five minutes to eight that evening the three C.'s stood in front of the console-table with pink verbena behind their ears and red roses over their hearts. Mrs. Wilmington had \" done \" the vases in the dining-room that very morning, and, curiously enough, roses and pink verbena were the flowers she had chosen. \" It must be a strong magic to have made her do that,\" said Charlotte; \" secrecy and family reunion.\" Vol. xlii.-55. The room was not dark, of course, at that time in the evening ; but then it was not quite light either. The three C.'s, Charles occupying a guarded position in the middle, stood quite still and waited. And presently, quite surely and certainly, with no nonsense about it, they saw in the looking-glass the door open that led to the

594 THE STRAND MAGAZINE. put her hand over Charles's to \" make sure,\" and so moved was he by the singing and the beautiful mystery of the whole adventure that he hardly wriggled at all. There was a soft rustling sound behind them. Very slowly they all counted from one to twenty- seven. Caroline's hand was clasping Char- lotte's, and at the end of the count a long pressure, returned, told each that the other had finished her counting. They opened their eyes and turned round. The draw- ing-room was empty. It seemed impos- sible. Yet it was true. \" It's all over,\" said Charles. \" But we've seen her,\" said Caroline. \" We've heard her,\" said Charlotte. \"Ye s,\" said Charles. \" I intend to be perfectly good every minute as long as I live. I wish Rupert had been here. He would never have done any- thing wrong again either, like he did when \" \"It's very wrong,\" Charlotte inter- rupted, \" to remem- ber things other people have done wrong. Come on, let's go back to the dining- room. It's lonely here without Her.\" They went back to the dining-room and sat talking the great mystery over, almost in whispers, till it was time to go to bed. \" And to-morrow we're to go out,\" were Charlotte's last words. \" And the F. of H.D. ought to be flowering. It's just seven weeks since we sowed it.\" \"Of course it is,\" said Caroline; \"don't talk as if you were the only one who remem- bered it. I say, if you had to say what your heart's desire would be, what would it ? \" \" To see Her again.\" said Charlotte, \" and hear her starry voice.\" Next morning there was a discussion about the curtains the moment the three entered the dining-room. Ought they, or ought they not, to remove the curtains ? The girls were for leaving them and putting up garlands every day as long as they stayed in the Manor House. But Charles, who had faithfully put fresh flowers—not always garlanded, it is true, but always flowers—every day during the measles interval, had had enough of it, and said so. THE LADY OF THE PICTURE.

THE WONDERFUL GARDEN. 595 he said, \" yesterday. So the charm's worked, and we oughtn't to go on garlanding, ought we?\" \" You really saw her ? \" the uncle asked. And was told many things. \" Then,\" he said, when he had listened to it all, \" I think we might draw back the curtains. The magic has been wrought, and now all should be restored to its old state.\" \" I told you so,\" said Charles. \" Shall I take down the curtains ? \" said the uncle. And the three C.'s said \" Yes.\" He pulled at the green folds, and the cur- tains and drooping soft flowers of yesterday fell in a mingled heap on the floor. And from the frame, now disclosed, the lady's lips almost smiled on them as her beautiful eyes gazed down on them with a new meaning. \" But she'll never speak to us again,\" said Caroline, almost in tears. \" Or sing to us,\" said Charlotte, not very steadily. \" Or tell us to count twenty-seven slowly,\" said Charles, sniffing a very little. \" But it's something, isn't it,\" said the uncle, \" to have seen her, even if only for once ? \" You will understand that anything Mrs. Wilmington might say was powerless to break the charm of so wonderful an adventure. Hollow tales she told of the portrait's having been borrowed for a show of pictures of celebrities who had lived in the neighbour- hood, and of the picture being brought back very late the night before, after the servants had gone to bed. Also of a gentleman who told her that Mr. Alphabet sent his love. Also of a lady, a great actress from London, who had taken part in the pageant which was one of the features of Lord Andor's eoming- of-age party. \" A very nice lady she was, too, dressed up to look the part of the picture, and put down as Dame Eleanour in the pro- gramme, which I can show you printed in silver on satin paper.\" \" I dare say it's true what the Wilmington says,\" said Caroline, when they were alone; \" but it doesn't make any difference. Our lady wasn't dressed up to look the part; she was the picture. Perhaps our heart's desire will turn out to be seeing her again. Let's go and see if the seed has flowered.\" It had. In that plot of the terraced garden which the old gardener had marked with the pencilled stick label seven tall, straight stems had shot up, perfect and even in each leaf and stalk, as every plant was which grew in that wonderful soil. And each stem bore only one flower—white and star-shaped, and with a strange, sweet scent. \" I wish Rupert were here,\" said Charlotte. \" We ought to wait for Rupert.\" And as she spoke there was Rupert coming to them through the flowers of the lower garden. \" So they've flowered,\" he said, without any other greeting. \" Yes; and now we're going to eat them

596 THE STRAND MAGAZINE. don't even know what the name of the flower is ; but it's most awfully kind of you, uncle, all the same.\" \" Oh, the name of the flower ? \" said the uncle. \" It's stephanotis.\" \" But that means, ' Will you accompany me to the East ? ' \" said Caroline. \" Well,\" said the uncle, \" and will you ? \" \" To the East ? \" \"STANDING IN A RING IN THE SUNNY GARDEN, FLOWERS.\" \" Yes,\" said the uncle. \" Let us sit down on the steps and talk over the idea.\" They sat down, and the uncle explained. \" Your finding these books,\" he said, \" has so completely revolutionized my ideas of magic that I cannot complete my book. I must throw it into the melting-pot—re-write it entirely. And to do that I need more knowledge than I have. And I intend to travel, to examine the magic of other lands. The first country I shall visit is India, and it occurred to me that you might like to go with me and visit your parents. I have been corresponding with them by cable,\" he added, waving the pale-coloured papers, \" and your parents are delighted with the idea of the family reunion (pink verbena). We start, if the idea smiles to you, next week.\" \" Oh, uncle ! \" was all that anyone could find to say, till Charlotte added, \" But what about Rupert ? \" \" Rupert is to go too,\" said the uncle — \"as far as Suez, where his father will meet him.\" \"Is father coming home, then ? \" Rupert asked, breath- lessly. \"For a year's 1 e a v e,\" said the uncle ; \" but you haven't any of you answered the stephanotis question yet. Will you accompany me to the East ? \" Caroline ran to a flower-bed, and came back with some leaves and flowers, which she thrust into the uncle's hand. \" Small white bell-flower, wood - sorrel, aquilegia,\" she said. \"They mean 'Perfect

PERPLEXITIES. Puzzles and Solutions. By Henry E. Dudeney. 62.—A DUNGEON PUZZLE. A FRENCH prisoner, for his sins (or other people's), was confined in an underground dungeon containing sixty-four cells, all communicating with open doors, as shown in our illustration. In order to reduce the tedium of his restricted life, he set himself various puzzles, and this is one of them. Starting from the cell in which he is shown, how could he visit every cell once, and only once, and make as many turnings as T 1 1 i l£j ] i_ possible ? His first attempt is shown by the dotted track. It will be found that there are as many as fifty-five straight lines in his path, but after many attempts he improved upon this. Can you get more than fifty-five ? You may end your path in any cell you like. Try the puzzle with a pencil on chessboard diagrams, or you may regard them as rook's moves on a board. 63.—MATE IN TWO. Here is a pretty little problem by Dr. Gold, a well- known composer of these chessboard subtleties. White to play and checkmate Black in two moves. BLACK. i m §jJLf mi in # I IS U mm Hi LB * ■ m - WHITE. White to play and mate in two moves. 64.—MRS. TIMPKINS'S AGE. Edwin : \" Do you know, when the Timpkinses married eighteen years ago Timpkins was three times as old as his wife, and to-day he is just twice as old as she ? \" Angelina : \" Then how old was Mrs. Timpkins on the wedding day ? \" Can you answer Angelina's question ? 65—THE CONE PUZZLE. I have a wooden cone, as shown in Fig. 1. How am I to cut out of it the greatest possible cylinder ? 1 **■ 3 It will be seen that I can cut out one that is long and slender, like Fig. 2, or short and thick, like Fig. 3. But neither is the largest possible. A child could tell you where to cut, if he knew the rule. Can you find this simple rule ? Solutions to Last Month s Puzzles. 58.—THE FOUR STARS. The diagram explains itself. The dark lines indicate the cuts, which divide the square into four

CURIOSITIES. [We shall be glad to receive Contributions to this section, and to pay for such as are accepted.] A MOROCCAN SNAKE-CHARMER. THE snake-charmer at Tangier performs in a corner of the market-place. He allows the snake to seize his tongue and support its whole weight in this manner. He then blows into some straw, which catches fire, and he pretends that the poison from the snake's fangs set the straw alight. lie shows the snake's fangs and the two wounds in his own tongue to prove that the fangs have not previously been re- moved. During the performance an assistant keeps up a deafening noise by beating an instrument resem- bling a frying-pan.—Dr. C. A. Marsh, i, Merrifield Terrace, Torpoint R.S.O., Cornwall. A GIANT PUMPKIN. THE giant pumpkin in which four-year-old Miss Rolls, of Santa Paula—probably the only lady who ever lived in a pumpkin—is seated in an ordinary child's chair, was raised by Mr. C. C. Teague, manager of the Blanchard ranch, and is particularly wonderful from the fact that on the same viae were twelve others, weighing an average of i8olb. each. As this weighs 2301b., a little figuring shows that there was over a ton of pumpkin on one vine—2.3901b., to be exact. It received no fertilizer or special cultivation. This pumpkin measures 7ft. 8in. around the \" waist.\" stands, as here shown. 3ft. gin. high, and measures in circumference length- wise 10ft. Sin.—Mr. John L. Von Rlon, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. WHERE MOTORING IS STILL A CRIME. rpiIE small city of Odder, Den- X mark, a place of some four thousand inhabitants, still refuses to allow the motor-car to use its roads. Motorists passing through the town have to procure a horse to draw their car through the streets, and those guilty of contraventions of this regulation arc heavily fined.—The World's Pictorial News, 1,2-14, Ked Lion Court, E.C.

CURIOSITIES. 599 HOW THE STEEPLE FELL. THE three follow ing views show different stages in the demolition of the steeple of the Baptist Church here. The old church being over fifty years old, it was decided to pull it down and rebuild it with bricks, and much excitement was caused as the steeple, which was a hundred and thirty-five feet high, was seen to topple over and crash through the roof of the building to the ground.—Mr. J. R. Black, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. A NEW USE FOR A MOTOR-CAR. A CHICAGO man has devised a way to make his motor- l\\ car run his houseboat. The rear wheels of the car are connected with the paddle-wheels of the boat, and when the engine is started the craft moves as easily and swiftly as if it were propelled by a turbine engine. The picture repro- duced above shows the boat in motion, and the car on the aft deck. — Mr. Robert H. Moulton, 365, East Fifty-Ninth Street, Chicago, Illinois. MORE CURIOUS THAN COMFORTABLE. \"\"piIK Mashu- ! JL kulumbui natives of Nnrth- Western Rho- desia have a most wonderful head-dress, which is made up of cuttings of hair from other boys' heads mixed with mud and grease. Some- times these top- knots are studded with all sorts of curiosities, such as beads, bits of broken crockery, brass paper - fasteners (the latter gener- ally stolen by the native mes- sengers from the Native Commis- sioner's office), feathers, and so forth. The result, as the photograph shows, forms one of the mostcurious coiffures in the wor 1 d. — Miss Elizabeth Goslin, The Boma, Ma- goye, Northern Rhodesia.

6oo THE STRAND MAGAZINE. WDflgJNG A WAGER. SOME years ago, when I was studying German in Hanover, an American living in the same flats wagered that he would perform the extraordinary feat shown in the photograph. He placed a cushion on the stone window-coping and. having executed a short-arm balance, placed his feet firmly against the top of the window, finally putting both hands in his pockets. In this position he remained for ten minutes, and so won his bet. It was for only five shillings. As can be gathered from the photograph, there is a drop of ten feet into the stone basement below. The daring performer's hollowed back and the varying light and shade show clearly that his body was actually arched outwards from the window7, and that only the firm pressure of his head and feet kept him from falling into the basement. You will notice that both halves of the window were free to swing, and were not fixed in any way. I need hardly add that a crowd soon collected.—Mr. C. E. S. Palmer, British Vice-Consul, Dardanelles, Turkey. BRIDGE PROBLEM. (By Wladimir de Ro/ing.) Hearts—8. Diamonds—Knave, 10, 8. Clubs—9, 7. Spades—5, 4, 2. Hearts—2. Diamonds—6, 5, Clubs-8, 6, 3, 2. Spades—8. Hearts—King, queen, 9. 7. Diamonds—4. Clubs—5, 4. Spades—6, 3. Hearts- Diamom Clubs- Spa des- x, kt -Nor ave, 10, 6, s, 4, 3. ANIMAL DOUBLES. WE published last month a number of drawings of extraordinary animals, each of which was made up of two other animals, and had a corresponding name which contained within itself each of the separate names. These names readers were left to puzzle out for themselves, but, as promised, we give this month a correct list, with which they may compare their attempts, i. The Buffalocust. 2. The Sea-urchin- cbilla. 3. The Camelion. 4. The Cobracoon. 5 The Flamingorilla. 6. The Gazellephant and the Elephantelope. 7. The Hippopotamousc, the Hip- popotamoose, and the Hippo|>otamussel. 8. The Octopussycat. q. The Cowl, 10. The Halibutter- fly. 11. The Boaconstrictortoise. SOLUTION TO THE DICKENS MATCH PUZZLE. LAST month we asked our readers to represent with eight matches the whole of humanity in the immortal and comprehensive language of one of Dickens's leading characters. The solution is as follows, the quotation being from chapter two of \" Martin Chuzzlcnit \" :— w \" Don't say we get drunk, Pa,\" urged the eldest Miss Pecksniff. \" When I say we, my dear,\" returned her