1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



301 



I jumped at it, seized it, drew myscur 

 np parallel with it, held it firmly at the 

 top, where it swuug by a hook, aud 

 drew my legs up so as to present as 

 small a compass as possible. Then I 

 waited. It was but a few secouds, but 

 it seemed hours. I heard the roar of the 

 approaching train. Then the engine 

 dashed past me. There was a whir aud 

 a rush, and all was dark. 



When I came to my senses I was ly- 

 ing on the floor of the postal yan. Two 

 men in their shirt sleeves were busily 

 engaged in sorting letters at a rack. I 

 felt bruised aud stiff all over, and I 

 found that my left arm was bound in a 

 filing made out of a handkerchief. 



"Where are we?" I asked. 



They turned around. 



"Oh, you've come to, have you?" said 

 one of them. "Now perhaps you'll give 

 an account of yourself. It's precious 

 lucky you're here at all, let me tell 

 you, for if you had been a taller man 

 we should omy have got part of you in 

 the net. As it is, you've got your col- 

 lar boue broken. We've tied it up a 

 bit." 



I told them the motive that had 

 prompted me to take the desperate step 

 I had done. They piled a quantity of 

 empty mailbags on the floor and made 

 me a rough shakedown. 



A little after 8 we drew up at Silk- 

 minster station. There was a policeman 

 on the platform, and I at once told my 

 story to him, the result being that we 

 drove round to the jail aud insisted 

 upon seeing the governor. Of course he 

 was deeply interested in what I had to 

 tell them and at once made arrange- 

 ments to stop the execution. The home 

 secretary was communicated with by 

 means of special wire. Fortunately he 

 happened to be in town, and after a 

 couple of hours of anxious suspense a 

 reprieve was received from him. 



"Well," said the governor, "I don't 

 know which I ought to congratulate 

 most, Mr. Fenthurst or yourself, for you 

 have both had a most narrow escape." 



Little remains to be told. I soon 

 identified the condemned man as the 

 person whom I had met in the train. 

 He also turned out to be the son of my 

 old friend, as I had fully expected. 

 After the due formalities he was dis- 

 charged. Suspicion having strongly at- 

 tached itself to hia name, however, he 



was very miserable, until about a rort- 

 night afterv>'ard the real murderer was 

 .(discovered and naptured. Charles Fent- 

 hurst and myself became firm friends, 

 and althougli I was fearfully shaken 

 and upset for some weeks after this ad- 

 venture I never regretted the night on 

 which I was picked up with the mails. 

 — Strand Magazine. 



Original Definitions. 



A teacher in the mountain field gives 

 in a recent letter some of the answers 

 that came in from the pupils in theii 

 examination papers. Some of them are 

 amusing. 



"Climate is the combined space of 

 heat aud mcisrure. " 



"The solar system is situated in that 

 part of the heavens called the milky 

 way. ' ' 



"The polar circle is parallel, running 

 slanting round the earth." 



"It is the wind's duty to refresh and 

 cherish the earth. " 



"A volcano is the safety valve of an 

 earthquake. ' ' 



Digestive organs are termed "dijec- 

 tive organs," and the different. races ol 

 men were ;.^iveu as "Indians, negroes, 

 whites and French. ' ' — American Mis- 

 sionary. 



The Kaiser and England. 



The British throne descends to the 

 eldest son of the sovereign and to his 

 sons in order and after them to his 

 daughters; in default of them, to the 

 second son and his sons and daughters, 

 and so on through the sovereign's sons. 

 In default of sous, it descends to the eld- 

 est daughter of the sovereign and to her 

 sons and daughters and so on. Thus the 

 emperor of Germany has a right of suc- 

 cession to the throne, but it is very 

 small. There are 23 persons between 

 him and the British throne. 



Taught the Teacher. 



In the biography of Dr. Hawtrey, a 

 famous English schoolmaster, there is a 

 description of his unkempt appearance, 

 with a comment which has been great- 

 ly quoted. It is said that he was scold- 

 ing for being late at morning lesson 

 some boy, who replied that he had no 

 time to dress. "But I can dress in 

 time," said the doctor. "Yes," replied 

 the bov. "but I wash." 



