nobleman, who had for some years been resident in England and had married an Englishwoman. In the course of conversation this lady happened to mention the fact that she had some small children at home who were eager to see their young Queen, but whom she had not ventured to bring with her to the reception. "I should so much like to see them and to gratify their wish," said the Queen, impulsively; "pray bring them to me early tomorrow, immediately after breakfast. They all speak Dutch, of course?" "Well, your Majesty," was the reply, "I am sorry to say that they do not. You see, they have been brought up here; my husband and I always speak English together, and we have English servants; the children have hardly ever heard Dutch spoken at all, and I, no doubt very wrongly, have not yet had them taught their father's language." "I am sorry too," rejoined the Queen; "but, that being the case, I had rather not see your little ones now. Dutch children ought to speak Dutch; when yours can do so, bring them over to Holland, and I shall be delighted to receive them wherever I may be." It was a severe lesson to be administered by a girl of fourteen to, a matron of twice her age; but it gave great satisfaction in all ranks of Dutch society, and no doubt those children have been learning Dutch with exemplary assiduity during the past twelvemonth.

A CUBAN WEAPON.

The national weapon of Cuba is the deadly machete. One of the horrible features of a field of battle where machetes are used is the number of partly beheaded and fearfully mutilated bodies that are found. The machete has played no small part in the history of all uprisings in the Spanish-speaking provinces. It is the tool of the Cuban working man. With it he earns his living, cutting the sugar-cane. With it he cuts the firewood for his own use. Indeed, it is hatchet and knife combined for him. Every man in Cuba possesses a machete, no matter how poor he be. It is exceedingly sharp, and the haft is very short. Cuba is, perhaps, the only country whose sword is her reaping-hook. The mode of using the machete is entirely different from that which is usual with the sword. The thrust is not employed at all. The machete is pulled from the scabbard with an upward diagonal stroke, the long sharp edge toward the enemy. The stroke is aimed at the abdomen. Then the wrist is simply turned over at arm's length, and the machete makes a stroke back to slash the victim's neck. With one more turn of the wrist the edge strikes down, cleaving the body again.

FRANCE.-WAR PIGEONS FOR NAVAL PURPOSES.

Under the auspices of Le Petit Journal an experiment on a large scale was arranged in order to test the value of these birds for naval purposes, close on 4,500 pigeons from various dovecotes being shipped on board the Manoubia. Out of this number 800 were started on June 30th at a distance of about ninety miles from home, and 1,600 more when 125 miles off. Rough weather compelled the vessel to run in at Belle Ile for shelter for two days, but on July 4th 600 pigeons were started at a distance of 186 miles, and on the next day 1,500 at 310 miles. In the first place none of the pigeons suffered from sea-sickness, nor did the noise of the waves appear to affect them in any way. It has often been asserted that pigeons, when released at sea, will show a disinclination to leave the vessel, but perch on masts and spars. However, nothing of the kind happened; the pigeons never showed any hesitation, but at once made straight for their respective cotes, just as if they had been started on land. As regards losses, for distances of 125 miles, and under, they were lower than they are sometimes in contests on land, varying from 4 to 12 per cent. For the distance of 186 miles the losses averaged 41 per cent., and for 310 miles 75 per cent. These figures speak for themselves, but it must be borne in mind, in considering them, that the experiment was improvised, and that a large number of the pigeons had never seen the sea.

The greatest waves known are said to be those off the Cape of Good Hope, where, under the influence of a north-west gale, they will sometimes reach a height of forty feet.

THE UNIVERSAL PEACE CONGRESS AT BUDAPESTH.

Continued from page 139).

EVENING BANQUET.

In the evening, a magnificent dinner was provided in the Grand Hôtel Royal, by the municipality of Budapest. About 300 guests assembled in " a sea of light, which flooded the Great Hall." Lord Mayor (Oberbürgermeister) Rath presided, and was supported by the Minister of the Interior, Baron Perczel, and Vice-burgomaster Märkus. Burgomaster Rath gave the toast of the Emperor and Empress, King and Queen of Hungary, which was duly honoured. Burgomaster Märkus welcomed the members of the Congress, in the name of the Municipality of Budapest. Senator Agostin Pierantoni toasted the City of Budapest. Count Zichy proposed the health of M. F. Passy, and Herr Julius von Horváth that of General Türr, who he said took part thirtytwo years ago in the battle of Santa Maria and was now at the head of the Peace Movement. Director Friedrich Frank proposed the Hungarian Press, to which Dr. Hugo Ganz responded. The Baroness Von Suttner proposed the toast of Queen Elizabeth of Hungary. M. Elie Ducommun drank to the Hungarian Nation. The Marquis M.Pandolfi to Hungary and its beautiful Capital. M. Houzeau de la Haie to the ladies of Budapest, Mrs. Byles to the wife of Sir Samuel Baker, who was a Hungarian iady, &c., &c., &c., the company separating at a late hour, after lingering over their coffee and liqueurs and lauding the hospitality of the generous Hungarians.

FIFTH SESSION, TUESDAY, 22ND SEPTEMBER.

On the opening of the last sitting of the Congress, at ten a.m., on Tuesday morning, the President announced that a message had been received from the Emperor-King, thanking the Congress for the address which it had forwarded to him.

The order of the day was resumed and Dr. Richter and M. Gaston Moch presented the Report of Committee B, on the constitution of future Congresses, which recommended the further postponement of the question to another Congress. The two reporters, however, opposed the recommendation of the report they had to present, and, in elaborate and forcible speeches, opened a discussion, especially on the point whether future Congresses should be confined to the Peace Societies, or whether they should be open to other Societies, such as the Social Democratic and similar societies. At length, on the motion of Professor Stein (Berne), it was resolved, by a majority of the Congress, that societies which do not make the Peace cause their main object, may have a deliberative voice, but no such society may have more than one vote. With this amendment, the Report of the Committee fixing the constitution of future Congresses was carried, and a chapter in the history of the Universal Peace Congress was closed.

It is only fair to those who have taken part in this long controversy to note that it has arisen from the two conceptions of a Congress, which has divided the delegates year by year. The one section, which has uniformly proved to be the majority, have used the word Congress as applying to a legislative assembly like the American Congress, the other as applying to a popular gathering assembled for the purpose of enunciating certain truths and proposals, and for the mere purpose of discussion and testimony, without assuming any legislative and governing functions. Hence the divergence. The former view has prevailed, and it is now decided that the Congress is to be considered an organised, permanent institution, acting through an appointed executive, having full powers of action between its assemblies, and that it is no longer to be confined to the Peace Societies. This being so, the Societies, especially the larger ones, which desire their due share of administration and influence, should see to it that they secure their full measure of representation, and that their delegates are carefully appointed and instructed, and diligently attend to the duties entrust

An appeal to tion, which acclamation.

Dr. Richt that the Cou. and invite

bject of Peace and ArbitraBureau, was carried by Peace Societies, proposed ce in every two years, rg. The proposal

was divided, and M. F. Passy, in an eloquent speech, opposed the first part, and urged that the Congress should continue to meet as hitherto. This was supported by Mr. S. J. Capper. Mrs. Belva Lockwood, who had only just arrived, seconded Dr. Richter's resolution. A discussion followed, in which Dr. Clark, Professor Stein, and M. Ducommun took part, and ultimately a large majority voted in favour of the Congress meeting every year, as heretofore. Dr. Richter then repeated the invitation to meet next year in Hamburg. An invitation to Lisbon was also submitted. The Congress decided that the invitation to Hamburg stand over for the present, and the matter be left for the Bureau to decide when it has ascertained where the Interparliamentary Conference will hold its next meeting.

The usual votes of thanks and accompanying speeches followed, and the President closed the work of the Congress by a suitable Address.

CONCLUDING BANQUET.

The proceedings of the Congress terminated by a complimentary banquet, given at the Grand Hôtel Royal, by the Delegates, to the Hungarian Society and friends. Elaborate provision was made. The Baron von Suttner presided, and speeches were delivered by his niece, the Baroness Mitzi von Suttner, his wife, the Baroness Bertha von Suttner, Count Zichy, Signor Pierantoni, M. E. Ducommun, Mr. S. J. Capper, Mr. Moscheles, and others.

Doubtless, the real object of a Peace Congress, the promotion of solidarity and enthusiasm among Peace workers, was promoted in such festive gatherings more even than in formal session. For the din of discussion soon dies away, resolutions slumber peacefully in reports which are seldom opened, and the wisdom of debate only seldom gives birth to what is immediately or widely practical; but the sentiment, the enthusiasm, the inspiration, which are the soul of a movement, remain, and the reign of Universal Peace has already begun, when different nationalities have caught even a glimpse of the Divine fact that "All men are brothers."

THE PASSAGE OF THE DARDANELLES. Many well-meaning, but uninformed, people are just now urging the British Government to send the Fleet up the Dardanelles, to bombard the Sultan's palace. But even this preliminary proceeding is by no means the light and easy affair which it is popularly regarded as being. A correspondent of the Daily Mail writes of it as follows :

Let us now turn to the Dardanelles, which people talk so complacently of forcing. Here we have a long, tortuous, and narrow passage of some fifty miles, from the Mediterranean to the Sea of Marmora, swept by a strong current. The average width of the straits is only two miles, whilst at the narrowest point the channel is only 1,000 yards broad. On either side, the ground is the most favourable for forts, the most unfavourable for ships, as the forts, being placed high, can direct a plunging or downward fire against the decks of ships, whilst ships will find it

DIFFICULT TO REACH THE FORTS AT ALL

with their guns. It is well known that ironclads-cr, indeed, modern vessels of any type-are peculiarly susceptible to plunging fire, against which the thin armour of their decks cannot protect them satisfactorily.

In 1878 Hornby, when he led his squadron up the narrows, found that scarcely a gun in his fleet could be trained upon the Turkish batteries on the cliffs. He had, however, no occasion to fire a shot, as the Turks, then in alliance with us, did not oppose our passage.

It would be a different matter to-day.

The Dardanelles forts are described by Rogalla Von Bieberstein in 1891 as follows: "At the very entrance to the straits, where the width is about 24 miles, are Forts Sedil-Bahr-Kelessi, with sixty guns and ten mortars, and Kum Kalessi, with thirty-six guns and twelve mortars. To these must be added two strong earthworks, each mounting sixteen guns, which gives a total of 166 heavy guns. In war, every kind of mine and torpedo would supplement the terrific cross-fire of these batteries. Then some miles farther up, at the narrowest point, where the current is swiftest, where the fairway is rendered hard of passage by shoals, and where the cliffs on either side rise high, is a second tremendous

group of works, mounting between them no fewer than 620 guns and forty-eight mortars, distributed in nineteen forts or earthworks, many of which are strongly constructed, in accordance with the progress of military art. The guns are, many of them, of large calibre; even in 1878 there was a fifty-ton Krupp. Here again, the defence would have the assistance of mine fields and all manner of torpedoes; and can enfilade the fairway with gunfire. The ships must come into action singly-moving in line ahead-the only possible order, and can then only direct a feeble fire upon their assailants. They cannot move at all till, by the tedious and wearisome process of creeping or "sweeping," they have cleared the fairway of mines. Any damage to steering gear, or propellers, in the strong current might prove fatal.

I do not doubt that the British Fleet would force its way up, although I doubt whether there is any other navy in the world who would attempt

SO DESPERATE AN UNDERTAKING.

Of this I am sure, that our sailors would not enter the Sea of Marmora without very heavy loss, both in men and material. The Turks, fighting behind earthworks, are by no means contemptible enemies, as they proved to Sir John Duckworth in 1807. Our ships would have to undergo one battering from the first series of ports, after clearing away the mines. They would then have to undergo a worse battering at the Narrows.

Supposing all went well, and no ships were lost in the minefields, or disabled by the Turkish torpedo craft, which are probably in a very sorry state, our fleet will enter the Sea of Marmora, having sustained a good deal of damage, and fired much precious ammunition away. Behind it are still the Turkish forts, which it must repass on its return. It is cut off from all communication with England, in hostile waters, unable to procure coal. Against Constantinople it can do less than nothing. Sir John Duckworth threatened a bombardment in 1807-when Russia was on our side -and found that humanity, political considerations, and last, but not least, the very uselessness of such a measure, forbade it. He had to retreat, for he had no army to overawe the Sultan's land forces. On his way down, most of his ships were roughly handled, and he lost twenty-nine killed, and 138 wounded in the narrows. The lesson is one which we might note.

On the whole, I should conclude that the passage of the Dardanelles is only possible to strongly-armoured ships, and that perhaps by night alone. The dispatch of an army corps up the Straits is impossible till the forts have been reduced; and Turkey disposes of, at the lowest estimate, 200,000 armed men, who, if we attacked the Sultan, will, whatever his sins, defend him with Ottoman obstinacy till the last.

But I think I have made it clear that an attack upon Constantinople, as we stand now, is an absurd dream, and would involve a useless sacrifice of life.

PEACE SUNDAY.-WURTEMBERG MEMORIAL. An important Memorial has been adressed by the Peace Societies of Wurtemberg, both to the Catholic Bishop and to the Protestant Consistory, asking permission for the institution of a Peace Sunday in that kingdom, as in England and other countries.

The Bishop (of Rottenburg), replies, expressing considerable sympathy with the wishes of the Memorialists, and reminds them that they have already various opportunities of praying for and preaching Peace in the regular services arranged for church worship, but he declines to encourage a special Peace Sunday, because Peace Societies are, to a certain extent, political bodies, and hence extraneous and undesirable expressions might be imported into the special observance of such a day. Of course, the Bishop is here mistaken, as is shown by the safe experience of Great Britain.

The Bishop, however, intimates that possibly, with the growth of Peace sentiments among the German people, the time may come when a Peace Sunday may be allowed to them also.

The Wurtemberg Consistory has replied in a similar strain, and declining to grant the desired permission.

THE PEACE SOCIETY AND THE ARMENIANS. The following Resolution was adopted by the Committee of the Peace Society, on October 2nd :-"The Committee of the Peace Society have followed, with intense sorrow, the continuation of the horrible treatment of the Christian population by the Turks and the Government of the Porte, in Constantinople and Armenia ;

"They regret that the traditional policies and jealousies of the Great Powers are such as to admit of proceedings which are an outrage on our common humanity, and which are reprobated by every right-thinking man ;

"And they earnestly entreat Her Majesty's Government to leave no exertions unturned, in their endeavours to promote, in a spirit of conciliation and concession, such an agreement among the Powers, as shall immediately and for ever, put an end to the misrule, massacre, and misery in the Turkish Empire, and, at the same time, draw closer together the bonds of Peace between the nations of Europe."

THE ARMENIAN QUESTION.

The two following letters, very appropriate at this juncture, appeared in the Times of September 26th:

Sir,-Will you allow one who can remember Crimean War days to express the hope that we may not now become as mad, in our action against Turkey, as we then became in our anxiety, through supporting her, to hinder the progress of Russia?

Every one of the smallest feeling must detest the cruelty of the Turk, and would gladly see him removed and his Empire decently governed; but some of us are not clear that the Armenians are free from blame, and have given no excuse to their oppressors for taking the disgusting and cruel course which has shocked all Europe.

Nor are we clear that if England were to attempt to act singlehanded, we should avoid the far greater calamity of a great war, a calamity which would involve miseries and losses compared with which the recent massacres and all their horrible consequences sink into insignificance. It is easy to be indignant, and it may often be "well to be angry," but it is not always easy to allow reason to prevail over anger, and so to avoid doing evil that good may come. I remain, yours faithfully, WILLIAM FOWLER (Ex-M.P.). 43, Grosvenor Square, September 24th.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, September 20th was the forty-second anniversary of the battle of the Alma. It is now forty years since the end of the Crimean War, and it seems that some amongst us are determined, if they possibly can, to plunge the country again into a great European contest. "The land had rest forty years," as we read in ancient history, and it seems as if forty years were still the period required for the growth of a generation that has no experience of the horrors and sufferings of war, and is ready to plunge into bloodshed with a light heart. It may be useful to reprint a letter which Sydney Smith wrote to the Countess Grey in 1823, when the Liberal party in this country was agitating in favour of some sort of intervention on the Continent :

"For Heaven's sake, do not drag me into another war! I am worn down and worn out with crusading and defending Europe and protecting mankind; I must think a little of myself. I am sorry for the Spaniards, I am sorry for the Greeks; I deplore the fate of the Jews; the people of the Sandwich Islands are groaning under the most detestable tyranny; Bagdad is oppressed; I do not like the present state of the Delta; Thibet is not comfortable. Am I to fight for all these people? The world is bursting with sin and sorrow. Am I to be the champion of the Decalogue, and to be eternally raising fleets and armies to make all men good and happy? We have just done saving Europe, and I am

afraid the consequences will be that we shall cut each other's throats. No war, dear Lady Grey !-no eloquence, but apathy, selfishness, common sense, arithmetic! I beseech you, secure Lord Grey's swords and pistols, as the housekeeper did Don Quixote's armour. If there is another war, life will not be worth having. May the vengeance of Heaven' overtake all the legitimates of Verona! but in the present state of rents and taxes, they must be left to the vengeance of Heaven. I allow fighting in such a case to be a luxury; but the business of a prudent, sensible man is to guard against luxury." Yours truly,

SIR,-Having been absent from England, at the Budapest Peace Congress, whilst numerous meetings have been held in this country to urge British armed interposition on behalf of Armenia, I have had to listen to many remarks from intelligent foreigners respecting their impressions of the motives supposed by them to underlie this action on the part of our countrymen. And it has been humiliating to find that, in all quarters abroad, Great Britain is regarded with suspicion, as being influenced by selfish or ambitious designs, rather than by a disinterested compassion for the sufferings of the Armenians. Foreigners of all classes remark in effect :-" England has already taken virtual possession of Egypt, which she retains in spite of treaty conditions, and she has also retained a firm hold on Cyprus. She is now evidently grasping after some further share in the spoils of the Ottoman Empire, and no one knows better than she does, how to veil such purposes under the pretext of humanitarian indignation. If this indignation were sincere, it would surely have something to say to her own conduct in South Africa." Of course we are ourselves honestly conscious that, at least in reference to Armenia, we have no other objects in view than those of the most disinterested character. But it seems impossible to convince our Continental friends of our sincerity. One and all, they are pervaded with a contrary impression.

And it will probably be impossible to overcome their conviction, even in part, unless this country is prepared to make some voluntary surrender of its own real or presumed influence in the East, as a peace offering to Russia and the other Powers, and as some proof, by national sacrifice, of a genuine and unfeigned compassion for the Armenians.

What may be the nature of such sacrifice, it is not for me to indicate, though some have made suggestions in this direction. Of one thing, however, in common with the Committee and other leading members of the Peace Society, I feel assured-that it would be an act of national madness to take any step which might involve this country in war with Turkey and the Powers. The result would be to sacrifice thousands of lives for every score hitherto taken, and not only that, but the remnant of the Armenians would probably be wiped out, while the other Christians in the Ottoman Empire, Greeks, Romanists, and Protestants, would alike become victims of Mahommedan attack, and that, too, to a large extent in regions unassailable either by the British Navy or Army.

A frank appeal to the common humanity of the Christian Powers, accompanied by some unequivocal proof of our national sincerity, and also the continuation of our active interest and especially of our contributions for the relief of the poor Armenian survivors and refugees-these are, I feel assured, the best means at our disposal for ameliorating the lot of that terribly outraged people.

Yours sincerely,

W. EVANS DARBY, Secretary of the Peace Society.

47, New Broad Street, E.C., September 28th.

THE LONDON "DAILY MAIL."

This journal (in contrast to certain others) has set an excellent example in its pleadings for Peace, during the past month. The Editor remarks as follows:-Day by day the real philanthropists who have the cause of the Armenians at heart, and the sham philanthropists who would use Armenia as a party weapon to damage the Government, are working passionately to displace the sober sense of Englishmen by hysteria, to make us forget our national duty in a paroxysm of humanitarian zeal. Day by day it will be our task to say a word for sobriety of the emotions, for calmness of judgment, for practical, hard-headed appreciation of the facts of the situation.

The trouble is that the Man in the Street is being persuaded to think that he knows more about the position in the East than the Foreign Office. We have before us a printed circular, inviting us to help in forwarding an Armenian demonstration in Hydepark on October 11th. We are informed that the movement to this end was inaugurated at "a preliminary meeting of a thoroughly representative character," and the names of the gentlemen who constituted the meeting, and who now constitute the organising committee, are appended. They are very worthy and honest people two Labour Members of Parliament, an alderman of the London County Council, a clergyman, and twenty-eight officials or members of trade unions! We have not the slightest doubt that every member of the committee is earnest in his sympathy for the Armenians, and we have not the slightest wish to make them appear ridiculous. But they must pardon us for believing that they are less competent to decide whether England should act independently against Turkey than the Prime Minister.

What we would ask them and our readers to remember, is that the Government knows a great deal more than any of us. The network of our embassies and consulates spreads over Europe; we have agents in every Continental Court, eyes watching for us and ears listening for us in every Continental town. The Foreign Office has a thousand sources of information constantly open, and the public knows, and must know, nothing of the information that comes every day from these sources, except such fragments as Ministers consider it judicious to filter through the Press. Is there any man who, bearing these things in mind, will have the colossal conceit to fancy that he is a better judge of England's policy than the Secretary for Foreign Affairs?

THE IGNORANCE OF WAR-AGITATORS. "G. W." writes to a contemporary:-I met a man this evening who was vehement in his denunciation of what he was pleased to call the criminal apathy of Lord Salisbury. England will be eternally disgraced, so I was assured, if she refuses to draw the sword in defence of the Armenians. "Tell me," I said, "for I am very ignorant, are the Armenians a yellow-skinned race?" The declaimer did not know. "Their religion? Is it Catholic, or Greek, or either?" He did not know. "Their language? Is it that of the Turk, or have they one of their own?" He did not know. "Where is Armenia? Turkey in Asia, or in Europe?" He did not know!

Is it in

I will undertake to say that there is not one in fifty of the shouters for war who is better informed. Are they likely to know more about the strength of the army we could put into the field and the force it would have to face; the strength of the navy as compared with the hostile combination it might have to reckon with; the feeling in the Colonies and India, and the measure of support they would be prepared to give us, if we fought the Turk on behalf of the Armenian? They are not. They are as ignorant as the French were ignorant of the strength of Germany, in 1870. We know what that ignorance cost France. And England has even more at stake.

Unfortunately for us, our people do not know the meaning of war. If only we could brigade our shouters and Fleet-street featherheads, and convince them that they would be put in the forefront, if it came to battle with the Turk, the war-scream would soon die away. But, since that cannot be, we must pray that the weighty warnings of informed and public men like Lord Rosebery will so strengthen Lord Salisbury's hands that he may feel himself strong enough to resist the mad pressure

that, allowed its way, would place England in a position more perilous than she had to face after Erfurt; for in 1808 the hearts of the Continental peoples were with us rather than with the Emperors; we fed ourselves, the Continent was dependent upon British manufactures-even the French army on the banks of the Vistula was clad and shod with British goods imported by the French Minister at Hamburg in face of the Berlin decreeand our fleets were in undisputed control of every sea. And yet those were days when the national existence was threatened, as it had not been since Hastings.

INTERNATIONAL LAW CONGRESS AT VENICE. The Congress of the Institute of International Law was opened on September 24th, in the Senate Hall of the Doge's Palace, Venice.

Signor Sineo, Minister of Posts and Telegraphs, who delivered the inaugural address of welcome to the Delegates, announced that King Humbert had conferred decorations on Professor Brusa, President of the present Congress, on Professor Westlake, President of last year's Congress, on Professor Bar, President two years ago, and on Herr Lehr, the Secretary. The Minister expressed his good wishes for the success of the praiseworthy efforts of the Congress for codifying international law on all questions of international interest.

SHE BREAKFASTED WITH LINCOLN.

An incident, finely illustrating the simple, homely habits and sympathetic soul of Lincoln, is narrated in the Washington Post It can best be told in the narrator's own words :

Early in the war, my husband was instrumental, both by his energy and means, in organising a volunteer regiment in New York, of which he was given the colonelship. Our marriage had been a youthful one, and when he bade me good-bye, to join the army, I was a bride of twenty, and a mere child, as far as any experience of worldly affairs was concerned. Not many months had elapsed, after his departure, until the distressing news came that he had been captured by the Confederates, and was a prisoner in Libby. I was, of course, wild with grief and excitement, and in my simplicity I felt that if only some one would go to Washington and see the President, his freedom would in some way be obtained. First one member of my family, then another, tried to convince me of the futility of such a movement. But, after a few wretched days and wakeful nights, I made up my mind I would go to Washington and see the President myself. I knew my family would prevent me, if possible; so, under the pretence of spending the night with friends in a distant part of New York, I boarded a night train for Washington. I felt such confidence in the success of my trip, as only simplicity and youth

can.

It was no later than six o'clock, on a beautiful spring morning, when I reached the Baltimore and Potomac depôt. I was so eager in my mission, so sure of my success, that I had no thought of hotels, breakfast, or anything else, but went directly from the station to the White House. When I rang the bell, I was informed, to my dismay, that the President had not yet arisen, and positively would not receive anyone before nine o'clock. I tried to plead for an earlier reception; told the doorkeeper that I was Colonel 's wife; that he was in Libby prison; that I had come all the way from New York to tell the President about it; but the door was closed upon me. Besides my eagerness to effect my husband's release, I was fearful that delay might cause my absence to be discovered at home. I tremblingly walked to a seat in the park and impatiently waited for the hands of my watch to point to nine. Promptly at the minute I was again at the door.

"Is the President up yet?" I inquired.

"Yes, madam, he is at breakfast, and you cannot see him." "But I must see him," I repeated, excitedly. "Tell him that I am here-Colonel 's wife-my husband is in prison-I must get back to New York."

I suppose pity for my almost hysterical condition touched the man's heart, for he asked me to wait, and in a few minutes I was ushered into the presence of the President. He was sitting at a round table near a window of the room-his library, I think