exhaustion. Then, taking advantage of the lull, and keeping his wife by his side, McLeod stepped up on a little bowlder and made a ringing speech, wherein he paid a well-deserved tribute to "the manliness, enterprise, and general good conduct" of his hearers, winding up by thanking them for past kindness to "Paul Riverton" and their present welcome to himself and Pauline McLeod, the last words being accentuated by a gracefully sweeping salutation from the young lady herself.

At this a fresh thunder of applause broke out and threatened to roll on till night; but, at an opportune moment, "Cornish Joe" signaled for silence, and most happily voiced the sentiments of the crowd in a few sentences, not exactly grammatical, but straight to the point. "Boys," said he, "ben't hur a beauty? Ben't them both stunners? [Howls of hearty assent.] If she wur one as would take it, or wuz poor an' sufferin', 'stid of bein' a angel like hur is, we'd chip in twice the weight of hur purty self in gold, wouldn't us? [Yells of 'You bet!' from every part of the audience.] Well, then, wot I'm comin' to are this. Hur's a bit broke up now, an' the good man's clean beat with the hunger an' trampin'. Wot they wants are a square meal an' time to rest. Let's give them a big send-off an'

then

go to our own suppers."

The send-off, however, enthusiastic as it was, did not quite satisfy the friendly diggers, who, forming themselves into an impromptu procession, triumphantly escorted the happy couple to our hut; and then, with a chorus of good wishes, quietly dispersed.

Our table was composed of a flatted log supported by legs formed of lengths of unpeeled saplings, and our seats were equally rude. In the way of table furnishings we had tin plates and cups, three-pronged iron forks, and cheap knives, all of which "Paul Riverton," much to our wonderment, used to insist upon keeping clean and bright; yet I question if around any millionaire's mahogany, and regaled by choicest viands, served upon gold and silver plate, drinking rare wines from crystal goblets, and feasting their eyes on priceless napery, while inhaling the perfume of a thousand flowers, sat that night, in all the wide world, so happy a party as surrounded

our humble board, and ate, with honestly earned appetites, its simple fare.

It was a no less novel than wholly delightful experience here, hundreds of miles beyond civilization's furthest outpost, to have our black, uncreamed, but not sugarless, tea poured out by a charmingly beautiful hostess, and to receive from her hands great slices of real yeastrisen bread, nowhere else to be found on the diggings at that time. The strangest thing of all was how completely for the nonce we all forgot that those same hands had in like manner ministered to us for the last five months. But then we did n't know they belonged to a woman; that made all the difference.

After supper came Mrs. McLeod's strange story.

66

My name," said she, was Pauline Rivers. My widowed father, a prosperous broker, lived in San Francisco, and my errant husband here was his confidential clerk. I need not trouble you by details of how it came about, but shall merely say that we two married about eighteen months ago, though I am not yet quite twenty years of age, and Angus was then barely twenty-one. My father made. it a condition of our union that, I being his only child, we should continue to live with him, or rather, he with us; for he gave me, as a wedding gift, the handsome house he then occupied. Thus we young folks were at once provided with a comfortable home, and for several months were as happy as any two on earth could be.

"Then came reports of wonderful discoveries on Fraser River; my husband, who was working for a moderate salary, caught the gold fever, and, just one year ago this very day, left for the new diggings, being confident of returning before Christmas with a fortune. With the exception of one letter, mailed at Victoria on his way out, I never heard from him; but this was no special cause for uneasiness, as I knew that he must soon have wandered far beyond postal facilities.

"Early in October my dear father died suddenly, but he left a will; and I found myself in possession of several thousands of dollars in cash, besides my own previously deeded house and other valuable city property. Naturally, I now felt a

redoubled longing for my husband's companionship, but unless by some strange chance he should happen to see one of my numerous advertisements, there was no possibility of acquainting him with the altered position of affairs, and I was obliged to await the coming of Christmas with. what patience I could. When that day, and also New Year's day, came and went without bringing him, or any word from him, my anxiety became unendurable, and I decided upon the rather quixotic scheme of going in search of him; not knowing, as I now do, that an explanatory letter was then on its way to me.

"Putting my house in charge of a trusted friend and leaving with him a will in which I bequeathed everything to mv husband, I sailed for Victoria on the third day of January. In that city Mrs. Angus McLeod disappeared and 'Paul Riverton' started for Yale, arriving there, as you know, just in time to join this party. To the average young woman such a venture would appear a madly desperate one; but I had been accustomed to much outdoor exercise, was confident of being able to preserve my incognita, and being, as you have seen, possessed of unusual physical strength, I hoped to endure the hardships of the march without disgracing my comrades, who, of course, would not knowingly have admitted a woman to the party.'

Why

Here one of the deeply interested listeners drew a round of hearty applause from the others by exclaiming, Paul, Mrs. McLeod, you were the salvation of the party! But for your wonderful heroism and cheering ways not one of us would have lived to reach this place."

"Well," modestly resumed the young lady, you know the secret of it all now. Bodily fatigue and suffering were never thought of, so overmastering was my desire to succeed. 'A woman's will,' you know, conquers-[" Yes, when backed up by a woman's love and devotion," some one interjected]-conquers all things.'

"I had sense enough to know that, wandering at haphazard from one part to another of this illimitable country, I might spend years without meeting my husband; whereas, if I settled down on these new much-talked-of diggings, he

would be, if still living, pretty certain to visit them sooner or later. Hence arose my habit, so kindly tolerated by all of you, of meeting every party of newcomers; and (this with a divinely tender smile) I have at last gained my reward."

Of course, McLeod had heard the substance of his wife's story earlier in the afternoon, but how, on hearing it now so charmingly repeated, he managed to confine his demonstrations to a mere holding of her hand, I do not know, unless, indeed, he restrained himself out of consideration for us. Turning to us, the young man said: "Not meeting with much success on the Fraser, I and a dozen other unlucky fellows wandered off west to the Cascade Range on what proved to be a wild-goose chase; for, though we found the color in hundreds of places, we could not make decent wages at any of them. Hoping for better luck in the spring, we built a warm cabin and wintered there. About the middle of May, when we were doing a little better, we heard of the big finds here, and, breaking up camp, started at once. It has taken us all this time to make the journey, as, for the first six weeks, we had to live on such game as we could kill. I could not bear the thought of returning empty-handed to San Francisco, and must make up for lost time now."

"No need of that, Angus. We are rich enough," said Mrs. McLeod. "How much gold have we, gentlemen?"

Rather more than twelve thousand dollars' worth each at the last weighing, and we have gained nearly a hundred ounces since," one of us replied.

"Let us go home at once, then, Angus. Added to the income of our San Francisco property and the money I have in bank there, that will render us quite independent."

"No, no, my dear wife; I must not live upon you. I will at least try to procure by the labor of my own hands a fair equivalent to the wealth you 've so hardly earned here."

So it was finally agreed that Angus McLeod should take the ci-devant Paul Riverton's place in our company, while that metamorphosed individual would assume the double rôle of commander-in chief and housekeeper, though she would

not listen for a moment to our strenuously urged proposition that she and her husband should count as two in future dividings of gold.

"We are one only," she peremptorily declared. "What! would you want to pay me for keeping house for my husband and brothers?"

We dropped the amicable contention then and there; and if, about a year afterward, there came from London to our "sister's" San Francisco home a magnificent and specially massive service of solid silver, with her monogram engraved on each piece; and if (charges and duties having been paid on all) on curiously opening a certain accompanying casket, she found therein a lovely but not extravagant set of diamonds, surely we were not to blame for that.

By and by, from incoming traders and peripatetic peddlers, our lady commander picked up various stuffs and materials, out of which, being as clever with her needle as in all else, she managed to evolve a perfectly enchanting wardrobe, though its component parts were profound mysteries to the masculine mind.

In all my gold-digging experiences, I have never known so happy a time as were the next three months at Antler Creek. Our claims turned out exceedingly well, we had a real home to rest in, a lovely" sister," who sang like an angel, to charm our petty cares away, and a most gentlemanly, pleasant companion in the person of our new mate.

It was a really interesting study to note how the known presence of a lady on the diggings improved the tone of the place. Men hitherto rough, profane, and rude soon fell under the refining influence emanating from our cabin and became once more civilized beings; and whenever Mrs. McLeod chanced to stroll out among the workers, all hats were doffed as if to a queen, though few queens can boast of subjects so devotedly loyal as were hers.

As it was advisable to reach the coast before winter set in, our party and several others left the creek on the 15th of October. Up to that time we had accumulated the enormous amount of 1,088 pounds (Troy weight) of gold, which, at the then price of seventeen dollars an ounce, gave each of us about thirty-seven thousand dollars, reckoning Mr. and Mrs. McLeod's portion as one share.

Great as were our earnings, some parties had done even better. It is a wellknown fact that a Canadian named Cameron carried away from the Cariboo District, as his own share of a single season's work, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars' worth of gold.

The down journey at this season, and on a beaten trail, though fatiguing enough, was a mere picnic compared to the terrible tramp of the preceding winter, and we reached Yale on the eighteenth day after leaving Antler Creek. Yale, partly by boat, partly by land carriage, we made our way to the mouth of the Fraser River, and thence by regular steamer to Victoria, Vancouver's Island.

From

Here, after a fortnight's stay, during which they heaped upon us every kindness in their power to bestow, McLeod and his peerless wife took ship for their California home. But they did not pass altogether out of my life; for thirteen years afterwards, having in the mean time made a second trip to Australia, and a first trip to other far-away Eastern lands, I went to San Francisco for the sole purpose of visiting these dear friends.

I found both in perfect health and not looking a day older than when I had last seen them, though a twelve-year-old Angus and a wondrously beautiful little Pauline now called them" papa" and "mamma."

Never was a warmer welcome than mine, and never a happier month than the one of my stay in that ideal home, where ennobling love reigned supreme and care and sorrow seemed to be unknown.

E

NGLAND was always a well-wooded

country. In the time of the Romans it was carpeted with a succession of virgin forests from Bristol Channel to the North Sea, and from Land's End to Solway Firth. In the reign of King Cnut, we are told, the greater part of English soil was utterly uncultivated. A good third of the land was covered with wood thicket, or scrub; another third consisted of heath and moor. In both the east and the west there were vast tracts of marsh land; fens nearly a hundred miles long severed East Anglia from the midland counties. The bustard roamed over the downs, the beaver still haunted the fens; the huntsmen roused the bear in its forest lair; the London craftsmen chased the wild boar and the wild ox in the woods of Hampstead; while wolves prowled around the homesteads of the north. Macaulay testifies that at the time of Monmouth's rebellion, men were yet living who could remember when the wild deer ranged freely through a succession of forests from the banks of Avon to the southern coast.

At the present day some of the English shires are better wooded than others-notably Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Hampshire, Shropshire, Bedford, Wilts, Yorkshire, Gloucester, Berks, Warwick, Nottingham, and Buckingham. But apart from these more favored localities, where the older and historic growths have been spared, there is hardly a hundred square miles of soil or an English estate lacking a noble stretch of woodland. From the summit of the Leith Hills, a few miles from London, at an elevation of only a thousand feet above the sea, one may take in a view of two hundred square miles of territory, largely consisting of gorse and heatherclad uplands and rolling hills and valleys adorned with bosky masses of oak, chestnut, cedar, beech, yew, and elm trees.

Standing also on a platform of the great round tower of Windsor Castle, and looking out over the richly-wooded Thames Valley, one can readily believe that the comparatively small inclosure now known as Windsor Great Park was formerly heart

and part of a great stretch of greenwood known as Windsor Forest. In fact, England is well wooded, even at the present day, and sixty thousand acres of royal forest lands are inclosed for the growth of timber. The New Forest, the forests of Epping, Sherwood, and Dean, are among the largest; but the oak grows to the greatest perfection in the wealds of Sussex. Surrey, and Kent, many parts of which have remained wooded ever since the time of the Romans. There were in England, so late as the last century, as many as sixty-eight forests, eighteen chases, and upward of eight hundred gentlemen's parks.

Under the ancient English laws-some of them long antedating the Conquest, and first codified by King Cnut-a forest was "a tract of wooded country in which the sovereign enjoyed the exclusive right of hunting game. Forests were not necessarily inclosed, but they were under the especial protection of certain tribunals, termed Forest Courts, and a particular system of harsh and stringent laws protected the king's rights. By force of these laws any injury done to the soil or trees of a royal forest, or any poaching on the game sheltered within its limits, was visited with merciless punishment-even death in some cases." The Saxon laws relating to game and woodcraft were mild and humane; but William of Normandy, passionately devoted to the chase, devised a series of tyrannical enactments under which the people fairly groaned and sweated. But with the decline of feudalism these forests courts and laws fell into innocuous desuetude, although the restrictions regarding the private preservation of game exist to this day and are rigidly enforced by the landed proprietors, as many a poor poacher learns to his cost.

In the opening chapter of "Ivanhoe Sir Walter Scott refers to the great forest "which formerly covered the larger part of the beautiful hills and valleys which lie between Sheffield and the pleasant town of Doncaster. Remains of this extensive stretch of woodland are still to be seen at the noble seats of Wentworth, of Warn