A

"Oh, that would be a great deal worse! If only there were some means of letting her find it out!"

At this terrible picture Edith shuddered | had been perfectly straight with the old eloquently. -with your mother. Look here; how "So you see it's a choice of evils," con- would it do if I were to break it to tinued the young man. "Some people, I her?" know, would think it was a great misfortune for you that you should have come to care for a poor beggar like me; but I am not going to say that, because I don't believe it is a real misfortune at all. How can it be a misfortune to love the man who loves you better than any one else in the world can possibly do, and who will always love you just the same as long as he lives?" ("Upon my word!" ejaculated Mrs. Winnington inaudibly.)

"Of course," Walter went on, "we
shall have troubles, and probably we shall
have to wait a good many years; but we
are young, and we can afford to wait, if
we must. You won't mind waiting?"
"Oh, no; it is not the waiting that I
shall mind," said Edith faintly.

"And we know that it won't be forever,
and that nothing can make either of us
change. When one thinks of that, all the
rest seems almost plain sailing. The
first explosion will be the worst part of
the business. I shall tell my father to
night."

Oh, must you? he say?"

so soon? What will

"He? Oh, he won't say much, dear old man. I dare say he won't exactly approve just at first; but when he sees that I am in earnest, he'll do what he can to help me. And then, you know, my dear, you'll have to tell your mother."

"Walter, I can't. I really could not do it. You have really no idea of what a coward I am. I always lie awake shivering all night before I go to the dentist's; and, indeed, I would rather have all my teeth pulled out, one by one, than tell mamma that I had engaged myself to you."

At this juncture it was only natural that the young lovers should embrace; and if Mrs. Winnington had not been literally stunned and paralyzed, she could hardly have maintained her silence any longer in the presence of such a demonstration. As it was, she neither moved nor uttered a word; and presently she heard Edith whisper pleadingly,

"Walter - dear — don't you think we could mightn't we keep it secret just a little longer?"

The honest Walter rubbed his ear in perplexity. "Well, of course we could; but it would be only a putting off of the evil day, and 1 should like to feel that we

Hardly bad this aspiration been breathed when a hollow groan was heard, proceeding apparently from the upper air. Edith started violently, and clasped her hands.

"Oh!" she shrieked, "what was that? Did you hear it?"

"Yes," answered Walter, who had himself been somewhat startled; "it was nothing; it was only one of the cows outside. What a timid little goose you are!"

"Oh, it was not a cow! No cow ever made such a dreadful sound as that. I am sure this dismal room is haunted - I can't stay here any more." And Edith fled precipitately.

Walter lingered for a moment, looked all round him, looked up at the ceiling, looked everywhere, except at the gallery. just over his head, and then hurried away after her.

The cause of all this disturbance was reclining in an armchair, fanning herself with her pocket-handkerchief, and feeling by no means sure that she was not about to have a fit.

It is perhaps hardly to be expected that any pity or sympathy should be felt for Mrs. Winnington, who, nevertheless, was a human creature very much like the rest of us better, possibly, than some, and no worse than a good many others. In the course of the present narrative her failings have necessarily been brought much to the front; but she was not one of those depraved persons-if indeed there be any such who deliberately say to evil, “Be thou my good." She was not a religious woman (though she had always paid due respect to the observances of the Church, as beseemed a bishop's wife); but neither was she a woman without clear, albeit perverted, notions of duty. That she was a miserable sinner, she was bound, in a general sort of way, to believe; but she certainly did not suppose that her sins were any blacker than those of her neighbors. According to her lights, she had done the best that she could for her daughters, whom she really loved after a certain fashion; and, according to her lights, she intended to continue doing the best she could for them. It is a fact that

she thought a great deal more about them | was able to assume something of her custhan she did about herself. Thus it was that she was every whit as much astonished and pained by what she had witnessed as the most virtuous mother into whose hands this book may chance to fall would be, were she to discover her own immaculate daughter in the act of embracing say the parish doctor or the poverty-stricken parish curate.

"You did?" exclaimed Mrs. Winning. "Your son is here," answered Mrs. ton, now quite restored to her natural self. Winnington, in a deep, tragic voice wor-"Then I must say, Mr. Brune, that you thy of Mrs. Siddons. Yes, Mr. Brune; have been rather something has indeed happened. No, pect to hear this!" not an accident; don't jump about, there's a good man; my nerves are completely unstrung. As we have met, I may as well tell you about it at once. If you are not in a hurry, perhaps you will give me a few minutes in private."

lo and behold! he was taking up a tone of | less you have anything more of a practical
complete equality. And the worst of it nature to suggest, I shall wish you good
was that she could not very well see how evening."
he was to be put to silence; for it was
certainly true that Edith was penniless.

"I need not point out to you," she said, smothering her indignation, "that a stop must be put to this immediately."

"I suppose so. I am sorry for the poor boy-and for the poor girl too, for that matter; but we can only hope that they will both get over it."

"Edith undoubtedly will. She is a mere child; she has been led into folly and deceit by one in whom I had unwisely placed implicit trust," cried Mrs. Winnington, who could not refuse herself the satisfaction of making this rather unjust accusation. "Of course," she added, "you will at once let your son understand that he is not to hold any sort of communication with her in future, beyond what is necessary in order to avoid exciting remark, and that, as far as possible, he must abstain from going anywhere where he is likely to meet her."

"I am not sure," answered Mr. Brune, "that I am prepared to take such authoritative measures as that. Neither you nor I, Mrs. Winnington, desire this match; but, you see, we don't happen to be the principal persons concerned; and if we can't be generous, we may at least be just. So far as one can see, there is no likelihood that these young people will ever be able to marry, and, if they ask me my advice, I should recommend them without hesitation to give each other up; but supposing, for the sake of argument, that they chose to exchange promises of fidelity, and to wait for better times, I don't think that I, for my part, should consider myself justified in forbidding an engagement. You, of course, can do what you think proper; I am only speak ing of my own possible action. Walter has been a good son to me, and I shall not cross him in any way that I can help."

When he was gone, Mrs. Winnington sank back into her chair which she had just vacated, and raised her clasped hands to heaven.

"Oh," she exclaimed, "what a world we live in! Everybody is false, everybody is selfish; it makes one feel as if one would never be able to believe in any one but oneself again!"

The amusing part of it is that she was perfectly sincere.

From The Queen.

AMERICAN PERFUMES.

THE manufacture of perfumes in the United States is an industry which counts itself but about twenty-five years old. Thirty years ago Parisian, London, and other foreign makers of agreeable perfumes supplied the entire American demand. To-day the American industry has reclaimed seven-eighths of the trade, and expects within ten years to supply ninetenths of all the cologne water and other perfumes used in the country. New York city stands foremost as a manufac turer of these products. The census of 1880 records sixteen manufacturers in New York, employing three hundred and one hands, and producing 1,094,700 dollars worth of the scented goods per annum. Philadelphia and New York for a number of years monopolized the business in the United States, but of late Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco, and other cities have begun to compete. Investigation among the trade in New York elicited the fact that, while that city and Philadelphia produce the great bulk of all colognes, perfumes, and toilet waters made in the United States, Chicago ranks next, turning out each year about one-half the quantity manufactured in New York alone. A popular impression that many of the best handkerchief extracts bearing the names of flowers are based on skilfully simulated odors turns "Call me what you please, my dear out to be totally untrue. Cologne water, lady," replied Mr. Brune, who had also however, as is generally known, was orig risen; "or call me both, if you think it inally that bearing the Farina's mark, and would relieve your feelings at all to do imported from the city of Cologne itself. so. Vituperation, however, will scarcely It is a refreshingly fragrant, alcoholic help us to arrive at a clearer understand preparation, excellent for toilet purposes, ing; and indeed I believe we understand the sick-room, and otherwise; but Fari each other quite clearly as it is. So, un-na's preparation is to-day simply one of

Mrs. Winnington started to her feet in a fury. "I declare, Mr. Brune," she exclaimed, "I don't know whether to call you weak or wicked!"

Ex.

many excellent ones. It is of interest to and bottled for sale. The attars, or ottos, know that good cologne water is prepared as we occasionally see it, are oils distilled from odorless spirits, made from corn, from the barks, rinds, or leaves of aroand scented with lavender, rosemary, ber-matic plants, trees, or fruits. In this gamot, lemon, orange, and in some in-process the substance is distilled by stances essential oils of spices. Perhaps steam, which carries off the essential oil eighty-five per cent. of the mixture is al- and deposits it upon the surface of the cohol. That prepared from corn is pre- water, from which it is readily drawn off. ferred because it can be obtained quite There are other and less frequent methfree from any odor, which is not the case ods of obtaining the subtle fragrance, but with spirits made from potatoes or the that first given constitutes the most im grape. The processes by which the portant. From the above it is shown that odors of flowers are obtained are, with an the raw material used by the manufacturexception to be noted hereafter, confined ers of the best perfumes has to be imto France, England, northern Italy, and a ported. Large quantities are used every few to Turkey. The reason of this is year, and the business, as stated at the that the flowers used in the manufacture of outset, is rapidly growing. Efforts, it pomade extracts in which form Amer- may be added, have been made in Florida ican manufacturers receive the basis for to use the process previously described their first-grade perfumes - are those by which to steal from American tropical mostly indigenous to the soil of southern flowers their perfumes. The attempt has France and upper Italy. The climate not, it is stated, been abandoned, although there, from its evenness, seems specially a partial success only has been achieved, fitted to produce highly scented flowers. from causes heretofore pointed out. In no other part of the globe do flowers periments made in the same direction on grow which are, except in a few instances, Staten Island some time since resulted possessed of the requisite density of per- fruitlessly. The full meaning of the want fume. The pomade extracts referred to of success of efforts at enfleurage in are prepared by a curious and interesting America is shown by the fact that, while process, technically termed enflcurage. in the south of France one hundred A refined fat is spread upon a large sieve; pounds of rose-leaves furnish one dessert upon this are laid the petals of the flow-spoonful of extract of rose, in America it ers from which the perfume is to be is roughly estimated that a ton of rosetaken. Subsequently another layer of leaves would be necessary to produce the like character, and, on top, others also, same quantity. American perfume manconstitute the arrangement. This is sub-ufacturers complain that they are unjustly jected to a moderately warm temperature for some hours, and afterwards to a higher heat, which causes the grease to melt and run into a vat. The leaves remain upon the sieve, devoid of odor. The same grease subjected to a repetition of the process gives the double extract, and, if repeated again, the triple extract. It is then put up in tin cans and sold to the manufacturer of perfumes at Paris and elsewhere in Europe, as well as in the United States. This pomade extract, as it is called, is, in the United States, for instance, subjected to treatment with the odorless corn spirits, and the perfume held by the grease, finding greater affinity for the alcohol, leaves the former for the latter. To rid the compound of the grease, the Wenck Perfume Manufacturing Company's process consists in "freezing." By lowering the temperature of the mixture very considerably the pomade is precipitated, and the true perfume extract of this, that, or the other flower is run off

It is no

taxed fifty per cent. ad valorem on the
"raw material" they have to import, erro-
neously designated pomade.
way to be confounded with the article
sold under that name for use on the hair,
though resembling it in appearance; yet,
imported as it is in large quantities, it
has to come under the rule, which makes
it cost one-half more than it can be ob
tained for in France. In addition to
handkerchief extracts and cologne water,
the remaining products of American per-
fume factories are known as toilet waters.
These have been introduced of late years,
and have found a wide sale. It is claimed
for them that balsam and other ingredi
ents of a tonic or an astringent nature are
specially intended to invigorate the skin
and regulate the perspiration. The
American manufacturers of these subtle
products are now looking forward to the
time when their home standard perfumes
will command a preference on the toilet
tables of London and Paris.

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