CHARLES EVERETT.-You can make your currant tree bloom later, by removing early in January, most of the earth round the root, leaving only a sufficient quantity around it to protect it from the frosts. J. J. HISSEY.

Could you tell me the origin of Shrove Tuesday?Shrove Tuesday is the day previous to the beginning of Lent. The name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Scrifan, to confess, and signifying the time of confessing sins. After the people had confessed, they were permitted to indulge in festive amusements, and thus arose the custom of eating pancakes and fritters at Shrovetide, which has given this day the vulgar appellation of Pancake Tuesday. W. H. E. D.

In answer to the above, I beg to submit the following:-Taylor, the water poet, says, writing in 1630, "Shrove Tuesday, at, whose entrance in the morning all the whole kingdom is in quiet; but by the time the clock strikes eleven, which, by the help of a knavish sexton, is commonly before nine, then then there is a bell rung, called the 'Pancake Bell, the sound of which makes thousands of people distracted, and forgetful of either manners or humanity; and then there is a thing called wheaten flour, which the cooks do mingle with water, eggs, spice, and other tragical and magical enchantments; and then they put it by little and little into a frying pan of boiling suet, where it makes a confined dismal hissing, like the Lethean snakes in the reeds of Acheron, Styx, or Phlegethon, until at last, by the skill of the cook, it is transformed into the form of a flip-jack called a pancake, which, with ominous incantations, the ignorant people do devour very greedily."-CAMPBELL.

Shrove Tuesday means Confession Tuesday, on which day all the people in every parish throughout the kingdom, during the Romish Times, were obliged to confess their sins, one by one, to their own parish priests, in their own parish churches; and that this might be done more regularly, a great bell is rung in every parish at 10 o'clock or sooner, that it might be heard by all. Yet the custom of ringing the great bell in our parish churches, at least in some of them, still remains, and obtains in and about London the name of "Pancake Bell." The usage of dining on pancakes or fritters and such like provision still continues.-S. M. Also J. G. Cramer and Arthur H. Cook.

BROTHER SAM.-What is the best way to kill butterflies and moths without injuring their colour?-Put them under a glass and suffocate with sulphur. W. F. WARNER. Put them into a jar of carbonic acid gas.

J. J. HISSEY. The greater part of insects may be killed instantly, if a few bruised laurel leaves are kept in the box used for collecting them. W. WILSON.

Other replies have been received from Richard Stevens, Robert Thomas Godfrey, C. B. Plowright, S. C. P. B.

What are isothermal bands?-The isothermal bands are imaginary bands passing over the earth, and connecting places of equal average annual temperature. CHARLES B. PLOWRIGHT. Similar replies from W. F. Warner, J. G. Craney,

N. S. James.

ANSWERS REQUIRED.
What was the Domesday Book?
What is meant by bonfires ?

What is meant by the sign of chequers at public.
houses ?
ROBERT THOM GODFREY.
How to detect fictitious postage stamps?
Give a short account of the life of Pulaski. A.C.T.
In what reign were watches invented?
Who first brought the potato into England ?
JAMES HARICOT.
The simplest instruction as to the art of skating?
J.F.H.

A good receipt for preserving bird's eggs? W.H.R. Who was Machiavel, and what was the Machiavelian school of politics ?. JONAS N. TRAYLER. What is the origin of the orange blossom on marriage occasions? DOWNEND. In the reigns of what sovereigns of England has the coin of the realm been debased?

The properties of iron taken as a medicine ?
The cost and weight of dumb-bells for a youth of 18.
ERNANI.

What is the origin of the saying "Grinning like a Cheshire cat ;" and when was it first in use? M.H. A complete list of the French and Russian coins, and their value.

What is the origin of the harp, three lions, and one lion on our royal standard? W. F. WARNER.

What is the best method of obtaining the skeletons of small animals ? W. W. CULLWICH.

What is the meaning of the words, "Domine Dirige Nos," under the arms of the City of London, and the cause of their being chosen as the motto of the City of London ? WILLIAM WELLS.

Can any of your readers inform me when the chrysalis of the goat moth (Cossus Ligniperda) hatches, and how long the moth takes to perfect its F. B. growth? I have about a dozen of them. What are the properties of hydrogen that prove it to be a metal ? WILLIE. What is the best and cheapest way of making a camera obscura on a small scale ?

EDWARD J. RILEY. How to mend broken bone or ivory chessmen ? Is there any cement that will do it ? How to make a telescope? How to make a microscope?

G. M.

What preparation is used to give that glossy appearance to cartes de visite?

What ingredients are used to make one ounce of nitrate of silver? (Symbols, A8 O, N 05) W. T. C. What is litmus or test paper, and how is it made?

SYMBOL.

Recipe for making a phosphoric bottle? THOMAS. Why, when, where, and for what was Ovid banished? H. N. How to construct a fountain in a circular freshB. E. COST. water aquarium that holds 8 gallons. What chemicals are required to make the preparation which is applied to the backs of photographs ? NITRIC ACID. Wanted, information respecting the invention of the violin and flute ? LYNTON P. PETER. Who invented musical notes on the bass and treble LYNTON P. PETER.

cleff ?

Is it possible to fly with artificial wings?

LYNTON P. PETER. How long does it generally take to teach a starling to speak? LYNTON P. PETER. What was the origin of the name "Punch" (to the journal so called). LYNTON P. PETER, Launceston. The worth of a Roman penny. G. L. HARE. What is the origin of the lion and unicorn in the British Arms ? T. H. W. The easiest mode of modelling a cutter? W. PUTNAM. Best treatment for tame rabbits? FRANK PIPER. J. M. B. What is poetry? Can the art of ventriloquism be acquired?

how ?

If so, H. C. C.

CHAPTER IX.

THEY both saw it, and Klaus trembled. Stumf spoke a cheering word to reassure him, pulled up old Joan, and got out of the cart heavily.

There it lay under the hedge, with its white face turned up to the moon. It was a woman, fair and young; and as Stumf leant over her, he said to himself, "Rest her soul, she's gone among the strange faces."

Cautiously and trembling-as if he was afraid of being left alone in the cart-the idiot trailed his long, lean body over the side, and crept up to where Stumf was standing. Asleep? said the idiot. "Dead!" said Stumf.

Then he knelt down and began to loosen the cloak. She was very beautiful and very young, clothed in homely, country garb, torn and weather-stained. Stumf raised her head, took from his wallet a flask, and put it to her lips. He thought he heard a groan, and felt a feeble flutter; and he was not mistaken. She moaned audibly, and Stumf considered within

himself what was best to be done.

"Lend a hand, boy," he said to Klaus.

The boy came, shuddering, as if he feared to touch the almost lifeless thing.

"Quick, boy; we must get the poor thing under shelter. Into the cart with her there."

Klaus helped him, but he closed his eyes firmly when he gazed on the white face, and whispered

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"Oh, master, is this death ?"

"No, boy; you were right before-she is alive."

He seemed somewhat reassured by this, and gave what help he could. They placed the unconscious girl in the cart; then, getting in themselves, old Joan broke into a gallop, and away they rattled over the road until the gleaming town lights came in view.

Short of the town lived Stumf. There was a welcoming light from the window, and when they pulled up there was a welcoming smile and a welcoming voice. Martha, buxom Martha-quite the matron now, but just as comely and good humoured as of old-was standing at the door.

Stumf got out of the cart with more alacrity than usual. He began by kissing Martha, and then explained.

"We have found a poor girl dying, I fear, on the road. She must have your help, Martha."

"With all my heart," said Martha.

So they lifted the girl, and carried her indoors. It was a bright, cheerful room; and the supper was spread with an air of taste that a tasteful woman can give to the commonest things. The pewter flagons were bright as mirrors, and the cloth as white as snow.

They placed some cushions on a settle, and there they laid the poor girl. Martha busied herself with all a mother's interest for a pet child. As she bent over the pale face and chafed the cold hands, a sudden thought seemed to occur to her.

"Stumf," she said, "I am afraid

F

F

He came and looked at the face and seemed troubled.

"Bad fortune. Would I had taken the fool's advice and driven by the other road." "She would have died."

"Better for all of us if she had," said Stumf.

"No, no, no," was Martha's answer; "better as it is. We must take care of her."

Stumf opened his eyes widely.

"Perhaps it is not her after all." Perhaps not."

But very well Martha knew that the poor, pale, moaning woman before her was none other than her little mistress of former yearsthe Lady Elizabeth. She knew of her escapeknew that her husband had proclaimed the reward that day for her arrest-knew that it was stated that she had taken with her in her flight a Latin Bible, and here it was with her-a heavy volume for so frail a being to have carried with her, but it was bound to her as if she had feared to lose it, even in death.

After a little while they carried the poor girl to an upper room, where Martha got her to bed, moaning piteously but all unconscious of anything about.

And all unconscious she remained for many days. Martha was her constant attendant, and she cautioned Klaus to say nothing of what had happened, and Klaus promised and kept his word.

That the poor sufferer was in reality no other than the Lady Elizabeth, Martha had not a moment's doubt; and Stumf prudently inquired little and said nothing, except such words of kindness about his uninvited guest as he might have spoken about the veriest stranger.

Martha put away the Bible and locked it up in a drawer whereof she only kept the key. About seventeen days after being brought to the house of Stumf, the strange lady opened her eyes and saw Martha. "Martha!"

"Oh, my lady."

And Martha knelt down and kissed her. Oh, Martha! where am I?"

"At home with me, darling."

"Am I a little child, and is it all a dream?"

Martha did not know how to answer, so she kissed her again and said she must keep very quiet and take some broth, and try to sleep, and by and by she should know all about it.

Poor Lady Elizabeth obeyed just as she had been used to do; and so a day passed, and another day, and yet another, and then she became anxious to know all about it, and Martha told her all she knew, except of the reward offered.

When the Lady Elizabeth was strong enough to sit up for a little while at mid-day, she told Martha all the circumstances of her escape. It was all through the wit and kindness and courage of the dairy girl. She had changed clothes with her, and taken her milking-pail, and marched past the old deaf portress, and taken the way to the village,

and been met (as we have seen) by the sweetheart of the dairy-maid, to whom she brought many messages, and who helped her on her way.

Then you did not play the ghost after all?" said Martha.

Lizzie looked surprised.

"That was the story I heard," said Martha. When the portress went her rounds that night after the sisters had retired, what should she see in the little graveyard but the figure of a nun? She challenged it sharply, but it came. on towards her without a word. She grew frightened at its manner, especially when it raised its white hand in a strange way and beckoned. The portress was fully satisfied it was none other than a real ghost, and when it beckoned she followed. It led her to the penitential room, the door of which was opened, and it entered. She still followed it; and when they were within, the light was suddenly extinguished, herself as suddenly thrown down, with fright, she says, so that she did not dare to speak, but, waited for what would come. Nothing came, and so she ventured to creep to the door at last and found it locked. Then she looked for her keys, and found them gone. There was a great to-do next morning, for no bell had rung for midnight prayers, and the portress was nowhere to be found. Her keys were found in the garden of the convent, and the porter's door was unlocked. Before long, however, sister Ursula managed to make herself heard, and then she told her ghost story. The nuns were all summoned, all the inmates of the house brought together; one was missing-that one was yourself."

66

66

And what did they do?"

The abbess saw at once that sister Ursula had been imposed upon, and you were accused of this trick. Search was made everywhere, but without effect, as you well know."

"But Mistress Agatha, my governante?".

'

"She was greatly angered, she hastily visited the old library, and came back with the report that you had taken with you a Latin Bible belonging to herself-"

"I did-though I knew not it was her's. Where is it now?

دو

as one of Stumf's household. But she never stirred abroad.

There was one point on which when they were alone she was always pressing Martha with a great deal of interest. And Martha seemed almost afraid to talk about it. It was about the boy whose mother had been martyred so many years before.

What Martha told Lizzie was what our readers know. But four years had passed on since the time that he had quitted the house of Krautz, so there was more to tell.

And the more to tell was this:

The boy had grown to be almost a man. He had identified himself closely with the people who were then the subjects of persecution. He began to preach and teach, and the report amongst his brethren was that he was earnest and eloquent beyond his years. More than this. Report said that he had found his father; that the gentleman who had taken him from the baker's widow was his father, who had not perished as was supposed, but had lived to find his child, and to be proud of him. There was a strange story told, Martha said, about some Bible leaves being cut out which had helped to identify the boy, but of this she knew little.

Lizzie was not a little surprised that Martha should know so much, and especially at the mysterious tone which Martha assumed in talking of these things. When on the question of whether she had seen the youthful preacher lately, she admitted that she had; when pressed as to whether he was really so beautiful and so clever as report averred, she fell a-weeping, and said he was a miracle, which was saying a good deal.

Lizzie scarcely liked to ask-but she felt so deeply interested, not curious, it was more than curiosity, to see and hear the orphan child, as she had always called him-whether it was possible she could do so. Martha Strubly negatived the idea. But it was pressed again and again, again and again, again and again, until at last, if Lizzie did not fear the risk, Martha said she thought she might.

And Lizzie feared no risk, and agreed to everything.

CHAPTER X.

ONE night, under cover of the darkness, Martha conducted the Lady Elizabeth to the secret meeting place of the brethren.

It was the same rude chamber into which four years before the boy had been taken by his new protector.

There were some of the old faces there. Fiery Eyes more fiery than ever; the moustached visage with the old restless expression; the neighbour's wife from over the way, the grave looking man, who was for patient waiting. Some of the faces were gone; two of them were under the water, cold; more than one in gaol, shut up within stone walls and iron bars, and some were fugitives. The number had increased largely; there were five and forty persons at the least in the room.

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but Martha drew her forward, and the women made room for them to sit down.

The men sat on one side of the room, and the women on the other; there was a table at the upper end with lights upon it, and by it stood a youth of prepossessing beauty; he was speaking earnestly and his voice was musical. Lizzie recognised him at once-it was the child of her childish dreams. She felt it must be so, and whispered to Martha, and Martha said it was.

She knew not what he was saying, she only heard his voice, only saw his face.

Now and again there was a murmur of approval through the assembly, now and again a harsh voice would dissent from what was said; but nothing disturbed, the youth spoke on, clear, tranquil, musical, the colour mounting to his temples sometimes, and the light flashing from his eyes, but never for a moment losing his self-possession.

Fiery Eyes and Moustache talked rapidly together when the young man ceased to speak, and sat down with the rest. It seemed that both these men were opposed to what had been advanced, and at the same time were opposed to one another. They both wanted to be heard, and neither would give place to the other. What it was all about Lizzie could not tell; they were using words which she had seldom heard, and discussing things political as well as things religious in a somewhat angry mood. Not at all choice in the language he employed was Fiery Eyes; he denounced the Government, he denounced the Catholics, he denounced the Lutherans as beer drinking song-singers, he denounced everybody who ventured to think differently to himself, and described them as "Canaanites," sons of Belial," "vessels fitted for destruction," children of the wicked one," and as red with the blood of the saints." He expressed a particular desire to "hew them in pieces," a desire which it was certainly impossible to gratify, and he ventured to express his own conviction of their ultimate destiny in a manner any way but conciliatory.

the

When he ceased, a voice was heard from the back of the room, and the moment Elizabeth heard it she shuddered. She looked straight towards the place from which the sound proceeded, and saw a plain-looking man whom she did not recognize. He said that, as a new disciple, it ill became him to occupy their time, but that he felt with all his heart the importance of the truths uttered by his eloquent brother. He was of opinion that a preconcerted revolt should be made. He would advise caution, but boldness was often the best of caution. Why should they hesitate?

Fiery Eyes clanked his sword in the scabbard, and echoed

"Why?"

An open resistance was no doubt the right thing, and so on, with much more to the same effect. Lizzie looked towards him again and again as he spoke; and when she saw him lift his white hand and exhibit its palm and outstretched fingers she shuddered as she shuddered when he first spoke.

Then the young man spoke again, and his voice fell like music on her ear. He pointed