Ruth! they soon saw they could not do considerable money reward from govern-
much for her. The letter she had herself ment, as well as an unusually large area
seen acquainted them with that. There along the line of reef they had opened,
was absolutely nothing left. Both men and which from the first yielded rich
knew that Mr. Cosgrove's affairs had been stone. The gold-fields had proved a suc-
long in a bad way, but neither had any cess; much alluvial gold had been taken
idea of their being in so deplorable a out of the ravines and gullies, and many
state; and Willy Fitzgerald implored Mr. new quartz-reefs had been found out and
Gray to accept a sum of money which were being worked. Machinery had been
would at least keep Ruth from present attracted to the field at an early stage, and
inconvenience. She might be allowed to one of the results of the "crushings" was
believe it came from the estate, any- to fill the pockets of John and his mate
thing she liked," he urged, "provided she over and over again. It was no doubt a
had it; " but old Mr. Gray would not hear great triumph for him, but on the whole
of such a thing.
he found it wearisome. The excitement
was passed away, and he grew sick to
death of the bustle and push around him.
He sighed once more for the quiet bush-
life, the lowing of the peaceful herd, the
scent of the trampled sweet marjoram,
and the blood-stirring gallop through the
pleasant pasture lands. The memory
his early life grew irresistibly strong.
There was nothing to detain him. Ned,
who had become a person of considerable
importance, undertook the management of
the claim; so, saddling his horse one
morning, he abruptly took leave of his
friends-including the "lucky mates,"
whose favoring genius had enabled them
to secure the ground adjacent to his own,
and who were in a fair way to become in-
dependent for life- and started south
for Brisbane, whence he made his way up
to visit Stone and Bessie.

"No, no, Fitzgerald, my boy; it won't
do.
It's like your generous nature; but
it won't do won't do. What if she ever
came to know about it? No, no-it
won't do. We'll see about her; she'll be
all right, make mind easy."
your

So having nothing more to do, Fitz-
gerald rode home, and busied himself
about his work, and endeavored to forget
the existence of Ruth Bouverie.

When Bessie left Betyammo, she carried Ruth with her, in spite of kind old Mr. Gray's entreaties to make their house her home; and Ruth, determined not to eat the bread of idleness, put into execution a little scheme which she had evolved when staying with her friends. She qualified as a government school-teacher, and, through Stone's influence, got herself appointed to the little government school in the township near his property; and on it she expended all her energies, riding in early in the morning, and returning again at sundown, to be a companion to her friend, and gladden the household with her calm, sweet presence.

The public papers had apprised the
colony at large of the important discovery
which had been made in the shape of a
new gold-field, and of the exceedingly rich
prizes which some of the fortunate finders
had drawn in the great lottery; but as yet
John had kept silence about his share of
good fortune.
He stood almost alone.
He had no one to rejoice with him except
Stone and his wife, and the Grays per-
haps; but they lived too near Ungahrun,
and he did not care about going there.
He could not bring himself as yet to face
Ruth as another man's wife. His success
had not come unalloyed by pain. How
differently would he have felt a couple of
years earlier! Then, perhaps, he might
have had a chance against the rich man;
but now-now that he cared compara-
tively little for success, everything went
well with him. Ned and he received a

of

It was a soft, pleasant evening, and Stone, who had been round the stables and outhouse buildings, superintending personally the feeding and watering of a number of choice young pedigree stock, came up and joined Bessie, as she stood on the grass-plot in front of the house, nursing her baby. It was her second child, and the first, a sturdy little man, ran to meet his father, clamoring for a ride upon his shoulder.

"Come along, then, old fellow," said Stone, lifting him up; "we'll go and meet Ruth, and you shall ride back with her."

As he opened the little garden-gate leading down the road, he became aware of a horseman riding rapidly towards the house.

"Holloa, Bessie!" he remarked, calling attention to the fact, "we are going to have company to-night."

"Who can it be, I wonder?"

"No idea: some stranger, I suppose." Nearer and nearer the horseman drew, until at last, springing from his horse amid loud exclamations of delight and surprise, John West stood beside them,

shaking hands and answering a hundred | about, imparting to everything a feminine questions.

Indeed, so busy and excited were they all, that no one noticed Ruth as she rode up, and, dismounting, entered the little gate, but Mr. Stone, junior, who set up a shout of welcome.

"Do you know who this is?" inquired Bessie.

West turned round, and his heart stood almost still with the suddenness of the

start.

grace and elegance, with a magical touch, which to her husband is simply marvellous; and as he rests his eye on her figure, and the fragrant blossoms of the flower-garden which it is her especial delight to tend, the recollection of days of unrewarded toil, and misery, and danger, fades away as does an unsubstantial dream of the night before the brightness of the golden morning.

As already related, Fitzgerald recov

"Don't you remember Ruth Bouve-ered his soundness of heart, but not for rie?" said Stone, hastily.

"Ruth Bouverie ?" returned John, with an unmistakable emphasis on the surname, and an ashen face, which caused that of the person in question to grow a deep crimson.

"Yes, of course; what else?" answered the settler, going over to his wife, who had been making a series of telegraphic signals to him, and accompanying her inside the house, leaving Ruth and John standing together on the grass-plot.

long. His renewed intercourse with the Grays brought him once more into contact with Phoebe, and day by day he became more and more impressed with her charming character and sterling qualities, until at last, wondering how he could have been so blind as to prefer any one before her, he begged her to become his wife. For some months Phoebe held out, in order, as she said, to give him time to know his own mind; but eventually yielding to his repeated solicitations, she consented, and the new house at Ungahrun opened its doors to receive a throng of rejoicing friends and neighbors eager to welcome the advent of its new mistress.

"What is the matter, Bessie?" asked the mystified man. Anything wrong?" "No," she said, laughing; "only you are such a great stupid, and can't see one inch before you. I always told you I knew more than I cared to tell about the cause Desmard is succeeding well as a squatof John's disappearance, didn't I?” ter out west, his father having advanced "Whew!" whistled Stone. "Oh! a sufficient sum to purchase a share in that's it, is it? and my lord here was jeal-what will with time become a valuable ous of Fitzgerald and station.

Something of that sort," returned Ned has developed into a machineBessie. "That's all right now, though, owner, and bids fair to become one of thank goodness; and mother says that the largest mining capitalists in the colWilly has got over the disappointment ony. completely, and is more there than ever. Now you know, and just leave them to themselves. They'll be all right directly."

And apparently knowing, shrewd witted Bessie was right; for that evening at supper John West's face wore a beaming look of happiness, such as had not lighted it for many a day; while Ruth, filled with sweet content, listened to the narrative of his adventures with mingled pity and amazement, weeping at the last tears of sorrow over the fate of the un

happy Ralf, with a sincerity of grief which

was undeserved.

But little now remains to be told. Yielding to his inclinations, John West purchased a compact, well-grassed cattle station in a favorite part of the country, where, surrounded by pleasant neighbors, he literally lives under the shade of his own fig-tree, and drinks the juice of his own grape. Ruth, now his wife, moves

From The Nineteenth Century.
DIARY OF LIU TA-JEN'S MISSION TO
ENGLAND.*
I.

RAILWAYS, MINES, ETC.

THE first time I met Sir Thomas Wade, the British minister at Peking, he began

his Excellency Liu, who went to England as joint

The following translations are from the diary of minister with Kuo Ta-jên in the autumn of 1876, after the conclusion of the Chefoo Convention. The diary was written in obedience to instructions issued by the Office of Foreign Affairs at Peking to all China's representatives abroad, directing them to keep a record of information of the home government, and it has been what they saw and heard in foreign countries for the printed and circulated amongst the high officers of the empire only. By far the greater part of the book describes more or less accurately facts which came under the author's observation in England-more interesting,

of course, to his fellow-countrymen thau to foreigners,

5

the conversation by remarking that the safety of the whole empire in truth, no
end of government was the preservation small matter. I think the views of the
of the people, and that the subject which Chinese government on this question
required the most urgent attention of should be stated with no uncertain sound.
China's rulers at present, was the open- Such a railway would be dangerous not
ing of coal and iron mines, and the con- only to China, but to England also. For
struction of railways. On my journey even now the ill-feeling against foreigners
from Tientsin to Shanghai also, the has by no means died out amongst the
foreigners on board the steamer all dwelt people. If a railway is made, and graves,
upon the same subject. I made them houses, and land again destroyed, the
understand that our doctrine held material people's resentment will become stronger
profit to be of small account compared than ever, and ruffians will take advan-
with moral right [i.e. that in China civil- tage of the state of popular feeling to
ization is moral, not material]; and that murder the English. And when once
our aim was to benefit the people, not to disturbance reigns, the foreign communi-
embarrass them. But they never weary ties in China will not alone suffer: the
of arguing the question backwards and new railway will be ready at hand to con-
forwards; and at first I could not make vey the rabble into India, and the tables
out why they were so zealous in pressing will be turned upon the English. A whole
a measure which, as they said, would add people of one mind is not easily withstood.
greatly to the wealth and power of China They resemble a mighty stream that
[since it is not to be supposed they have sweeps all before it: something more is
either much at heart]. But, after reach-needed to oppose them than machinery
ing Shanghai, I made a visit to the and firearms. There are the examples of
Polytechnic Institution there with Fêng Washington and the War of Indepen-
Taotai, who showed me a plan, which had dence in former times, and of the San
been sent by a foreigner, of a projected Yuan Li case in recent times, to show
railway to connect India and Peking by how things would go. Let not the En-
one line of rails running the whole length glish forget that if they light a fire, the
of the empire and crossing the border! wind may change, and the flame kindled
I then understood that this railway ques- for others may cause their own destruc-
tion was not one merely of acquiring tion. When the sun has reached the
places of trade [but that its end was con- centre of the heaven, it declines; when
quest]. If our rulers are not resolute in the moon is full, its wane begins..
resistance, the authorities in the maritime The great emperors and statesmen of
provinces, in their delight at what is new China were by no means inferior in ability
and strange, will find themselves playing or wisdom to the men of the West; and
into the hands of the foreigners before they never engaged in this riving of
they know where they are. Merchants heaven and splitting of earth, nor rashly
may spread reports of the desirability of put their trust in mechanics and brute
these changes in the hope of gain, and force, nor entered into rivalry with the
delude the officials; officials may take up powers of nature, in the pursuit of wealth
the cry in the hope of reward to ensue and power. For their mental vision could
and deceive the throne; until the evil is reach to first principles of right, and they
too great to be stopped. But, in truth, discerned calamity afar off; but the En-
can any one be deceived by such reports?glish are ignorant of everything but the
"The empire cannot be governed by the road to wealth, rushing madly on with
yard measure of the merchant: first prin- never a look behind. If we tell them all
ciples cannot be reached by those who this in so many words, can we hope that
excel only in the use of their hands." they will see their error ?
Does not the old saying hold good
yet?

With such a railway completed, a few days would be sufficient to involve the

II.

INSIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF TROOPS STA-
TIONED AT SINGAPORE, ETC.
IN amount of shipping, the Straits Set-
tlements hardly yield to Hongkong. But
the number of troops does not exceed two
or three hundred men at each of the three
stations (Singapore, Penang, and Malac-
ca). Even at Ceylon, an island by no
means insignificant in size, only four hun-

no measure likely to injure the people should be entertained.

In the number of tourists, rich merchants, and those who go to reside in foreign countries for purposes of trade, China cannot compare with the States of Europe. But the capital required for railway enterprise is considerable, and, if high freight is not charged, financial fail

dred men are stationed. It would seem that to get possession of trading stations all over the world, for the advantage of her commerce, is a principle of British policy; but, being unwilling to face the expenditure which the maintenance of large garrisons at many. points would involve, the British at last hit upon the expedient of telegraph lines and steamvessels. The French invented steam-ves-ure must result. Now the Chinese are sels, but the English brought them to their present state of perfection. Thus, by means of rapid communication, the English effect a great saving of military expenditure an excellent device. But Russia intends to extend her seaboard to the south at the expense of Turkey, and, should the latter power succumb, the Russians will come down the Red Sea, like water from an upturned jar, and England will not only have to watch over the safety of India, but to maintain large military garrisons at Aden and all the stations on the south-east. England will then have to be on the qui vive in every direction; she will not be able to secure the safety of so many stations; and she will be in the position of the crouching wolf who, if he moves forward, treads on his dewlap, and, if back, on his tail.

III.

JOINT-STOCK ENTERPRISE.

IN China, whenever a great work is undertaken, the necessary expense has to be defrayed from the State exchequer; and this is no doubt a great bar to improvement. But although we might wish the people to learn the foreign custom in this particular (joint-stock enterprise), we cannot force them to do so. Habits of fraud and deceit are common in China, and are becoming every day more so. When two or three persons put a hundred or so together for purposes of trade, unless each one of them gives his most careful personal attention to the affair, he will be robbed by absconding partners and shopmen. If, then, it were a question of hundreds of thousands, who would be confiding enough to risk his money?

habitually frugal, and the goods transported from place to place are chiefly the common necessaries of every-day life, the profit on which is very inconsiderable. Suppose five tons of common produce had to be conveyed three hundred and fifty miles, the freight by railway might be about 300l. (?), and, although the time taken in transit would be very short, who would be inclined to support a railway at such a price?

Rich

For this reason excepting, perhaps, a few of the richest commercial houses in each province- merchants would not transport their goods by railway. Thanks to the tender care which the government has for the common people, they live at home in peace and plenty, and would certainly not wish to leave their native village, unless for strong reasons. men might occasionally indulge in excursions to places of interest in their own neighborhood, but they would not need to go far to satisfy their curiosity; certainly they would not travel five or ten thousand miles, as foreigners seem to think they must do if they wish to escape the charge of provinciálism. Granted that a railway were constructed in China, at first crowds of people, in wonder at so strange and ingenious a contrivance, would rush to try the new sensation : I believe that in half a year's time the number of passengers would be so small that the daily receipts would scarcely pay the daily expenses for coal, wages, etc., to say nothing of interest on capital. But economy of the State's resources and care for the preservation of the people are fixed principles of China's polity; and she will never be willing to disturb the peaceful existence of her subjects, or fruitlessly lavish her riches on a measure adapted to the ends of those who wish to become wealthy too fast. In short, railways are no more practicable in China than Buddhism is in Europe: different systems are not to be forced into the same groove. And, as I told the interpreter whom Sir T. Wade sent with me to England, if foreigners press their arguments in favor of railways, we must

T

tell them outright that this is a matter of | drive round and see the streets and great
internal administration, with which for- centres of trade. The width and clean-
eigners can have no right to meddle, ness of the streets, the height and mag-
since China is an independent State.
Thus we can close their argument by
bringing against them a principle of their
own international law, and they can have
no more to say.

v.

THE JAPANESE.

nificence of the houses, the number and handsome appearance of the hotels and shops, certainly exceed anything that I have seen in my life. By the roadside there were men on horses in armor, wearing red clothes, who, we were told, belonged to the Queen's Life Guards, and were there to keep the peace. From their eyes fixed on the distance, and their motionless rigidity, one might think they were cast in iron. At night the streets are in such a blaze of artificial light, that a mountain of fire or a sea of stars could not be brighter.

VIII.

UN

JAPAN has made her administrative
system accord with that of European
States; and she has copied Western dress,
ceremony, and customs. Accordingly
Europeans despise the Japanese, as hav-
ing sacrificed their own natural tastes
and habits in the desire to accord with
those of another race. Ts 'ai Kuo-hsiang,
commander of a Chinese gun-vessel, said ASSAULT ON I.EGATION SERVANT.
to me: "When we meet foreigners at
dinner we should eat in the Chinese fash-
ion; when a foreigner takes off his hat to
us, we should bow with our hands raised
in return. If we give up our own cus-
toms and learn theirs, they will surely
laugh at us." Jung Hung, a Chinese
official, wears foreign clothes, and on this
account Dr. Macartney said that he had
reason to be ashamed of himself. Chi-
nese officials who are serving in foreign
countries, should take warning from this.

EXPECTED CIVILITY OF THE ENGLISH.

VI.

SUITS OF ARMOR AT MALTA.

I NOTICED that this armor would fit a man of about four feet odd high; and I was told that a hundred years ago this was the average height of an Englishman. At the present day the English are all above five feet high, and some reach six feet. Can there be any other reason for this than the escape from the ground [and effect on the race] of the earth's spirit? *

VII.

THE LONDON STREETS, ETC.

AFTER this interview with the Earl of
Derby, Sir Thomas Wade invited us to

* Western readers may be astonished to hear that among the theories by which the educated classes in China account for the material superiority of Western nations, not the least important attributes it to the opening of iron and coal mines, not because of the iron and coal that come out of them, but because of the spirit of the earth which is thereby let loose. Such being their opinion, why do they not adopt the same easy means of prosperity themselves? Because they believe that this spirit of the earth is soon exhausted

with fatal results to the race concerned.

ONE of the legation servants was walking out to make purchases, when he met a drunken Londoner, who began to brandish his arms, and catching hold of our man, knocked off his hat. He was taken into custody by the police, and brought before the lord mayor for trial and punishment. The office of lord mayor is the same as that of village elder in China. In England the local business of government is all performed by such persons. The lord mayor considered this man's offence, in molesting a member of the Chinese mission before it had been many days in England, a grave one, and sentenced him to two months' imprisonment with hard labor, that others might take warning. The people were, moreover, requested, by a notice printed in the newspapers, to unite in protecting the members of the mission. All official notifications are made known in England by means of the newspapers. The minister Kuo wrote to the Earl of Derby asking that the man might be pardoned; but no reply was received.

On our way to England also a passenger on the steamer insulted my servant, upon which the captain put the former on land at Aden, and it was only through my intercession that the man was taken on board again.

a

I had always regarded the English as people living in small and contemptible islands, of unbridled violence, and without an idea of deference or politeness. I was therefore surprised at the way in which high and low united to treat us with careful civility, to carry out to its full extent the national duty in this respect.