the enemy, in some inaccessible hiding-place, by the Vazir Khanji, prime-minister and chief officer of the household. The Vazir himself was supposed to have fallen in the conflict which resulted in the taking of the city, and with him had apparently perished all chance of ever discovering the whereabouts of the treasure. Those who know the ways of Eastern conquerors will understand that the absence of spoil which was known to exist did not improve the lot of the conquered. Feroz Singh did his best to make up the deficiency by oppressing the people; and his descendants were faithful followers of his example. His Highness the Thakore received Heygate in semi-state; that is to say, the audience was given in what he called his presence chamber,' an apartment furnished with a mixture of real Oriental magnificence and second-hand European regiment; and he took the only course open to him. He laid the circumstances of the case before his Colonel, obtained six months' leave of absence to England, pending retirement, and went down to Bombay with a view to returning home by the next steamer. But here a sudden impulse changed all Basil Heygate's plans. While waiting at the hotel, he chanced on a paragraph in one of the Bombay papers announcing in a jocular vein that Gholam Singh, the Thakore of Dilnaghar, was about to purchase the cast-off uniforms of a native infantry regiment, in order to give the half-wild levies who formed his bodyguard the semblance of civilised troops. The writer of the paragraph drew a humorous picture of the figure these hitherto half-clad warriors would cut when dressed as regular soldiers, but without any knowledge of drill; and he ended by advising the Thakore to buy up a second-goods, bought cheap at some sale in Bombay. hand sergeant-major' to supply the deficiency. The hint was enough for Heygate. If the Kattiawar chieftain was bent on Europeanising his forces, he, Basil Heygate, was the man to I do it for him. It would be a terrible drop for the once gay officer of hussars to swell the retinue of a native rajah, even though he were appointed generalissimo to begin with; but it would be better than the idleness and uncertainty which would be his lot on reaching England; and at anyrate, if he found the new life unbearable, he was not compelled to stay. Again, Dilnaghar being a 'protected' State only, and not immediately under British control, there would be none of his fellow-countrymen there to remind him by their presence of his own altered position. As for his retirement from the English army, it would be just as easy to send in his papers from Dilnaghar as from London; and having six months' leave, there was no need for haste. After a risky week's voyage in a native craft to Verawal, the Kattiawar port, where he left his baggage, an eighty-mile tramp brought him to the scene of his adventure with the Fakir. Thus it was that Basil Heygate found himself ushered into the presence of Gholam Singh, Thakore of Dilnaghiar, and vassal of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Empress of India. Gholam Singh was a fifth-rate potentate, not even deemed worthy by the supreme Government of entertaining a British Resident' at his court, the result being that Dilnaghar was about the worst administered State in the peninsula. The Thakore taxed his unfortunate people to the last possible pie, spending the hardly-wrung revenue, firstly, on the price of immunity from annexation which he paid in the form of tribute to the Government; and secondly, on the selfish and indolent pleasures so dear to the Oriental mind. The history of the State of Dilnaghar to some extent accounted for the grasping character of its rulers. Gholam Singh and his family were not indigenous to the soil. He was third in succession to Feroz Singh, a warrior chieftain from the north, who had conquered the country some time about the commencement of the century, only to find that the prize was not up to expectation. The then ruler of Dilnaghar was captured and slain by Feroz Singh; but the vast treasure with which the palace was accredited was never discovered, having been concealed just before the entry of | He emphasised the unofficial nature of the reception by lying at full length during the interview on a common iron bedstead, which was covered with silken cushions of rare workmanship; and while Heygate was preferring his request for military employment, he played cup and ball diligently. But before he had said a dozen words, Heygate knew that his petition was to be granted. The air of insolent indifference which Gholam Singh chose to wear towards an Englishman not in Government service failed to hide a triumphant sparkle in his lazy eyes at the idea of possessing this well-knit young officer for his own." As Heygate painted in his best Hindustani a glowing picture of what the Dilnaghar troops would become under his tuition, successful efforts at cupping the ball became less frequent, and finally the Thakore flung the toy aside and listened unaffectedly. Basil Heygate was a new plaything worthy of attention, after all. "Your Highness would thus acquire an army, small perhaps in numbers, but one which in discipline and drill would put to shame the forces of Scindiah, Holkar, and the Nizam,' concluded the applicant, who was nothing if not thorough. 'My friend, say no more. I appoint you from this hour to the post of Chief Sirdar of my army. No man who serves Gholam Singh has cause to complain of his master's generosity, and you shall have free quarters in the palace with a salary of two hundred rupees a month,' said the Thakore with the air of a Iman who was doing a noble deed. The sum he offered to his new 'general' was less than the pay of a lieutenant in the English service; but it would be enough, Heygate thought, in a native city, where there were no social duties and no style to keep up. Rajab,' proceeded the Thakore, addressing one of his ministers, 'assemble such of the bodyguard as are on duty in the courtyard, so that the Sirdar may see his new command.' The Thakore proceeded to a window, followed by Heygate and by the other more or less disreputable-looking members of his suite. In a few minutes some fifty men entered the courtyard below, and fell in' in a manner which suggested that they had heard of such a thing as drill, if they had never seen it. The attempted imitation of civilised troops was further accentuated by the use of English words of command, which the native havildar in charge shouted parrot-like without knowing a word of the language he borrowed from. The men were well-built sturdy fellows enough, but uniform was unknown among them. Some few wore the ancient chain-mail in which the Saracens fought; others were dressed in scraps of old European regimentals; those who had tunics not wearing trousers, and vice versa; but the majority were in native costume, ragged, and none too clean. They were all armed with matchlocks about seven feet long. The effect of the operation which their officer called 'Shudder humps' with these pieces was so ludicrous that Heygate smiled. 'I understand that Your Highness has purchased European uniform for the men,' he said. 'That will greatly improve their appearance.' 'Yes, replied Gholam; 'I have well nigh depleted my treasury to do so.' If I am to do justice to your patronage,' continued Heygate, the men should be furnished with modern rifles, or at any rate with percussion muskets. A soldier-like appearance while they are armed with those matchlocks is out of the question.' To the young officer's surprise, his suggestion threw the Thakore into a state of hysterical rage and excitement. He took off his turban and tore his hair; he spat upon the floor and flung his arms over his head; and all the while he bewailed his unhappy lot in having been cheated of what he considered his patrimony by the failure of his ancestor to unearth the plunder of Dilnaghar. Here, he moaned, he had set his heart on having a smart body of troops round him; he had ordered a bargain in second-hand uniforms, and a brilliant Sirdar had been engaged; but the whole project was to be spoiled because he had not money enough to buy rifles. His Highness, in fact, comported himself after the manner of a thwarted Oriental potentate, which is very much the manner of a thwarted child. When he became calmer, he dilated to Heygate upon the circumstances of his enforced poverty, and finally dismissed him to quarters which he ordered to be prepared for the new Sirdar. The Thakore closed the interview with an intimation that Heygate's duties would commence on the morrow, when there would probably be entrusted to his care a scheme for providing the bodyguard with muskets or rifles. For the first time in his life the young Englishman salaamed to what a month before he would have called a 'dirty nigger,' and retired. He had already conceived a wholesome contempt for his master, but, on the whole, he was satisfied with his day's work. At any rate he had obtained what he came for, and though that was not much, it was the means of earning his livelihood in a profession he understood. Far better that than walking about the streets of London penniless in search of employment which was sure to be uncongenial. Thus he ruminated as he discussed his first meal under Gholam Singh's roof in one of two large but barely-furnished apartments that had been assigned to him. The bedroom contained nothing but a common native 'charpoy,' not nearly so good a one as that on which his own kitmutghar had slept; and the sitting-room boasted only a rickety table and two chairs; but the curried fowl was well cooked and decently served-a fact which prevented the tired traveller from indulging in too gloomy comparisons between his present quarters and his luxurious bungalow at Mhow. Heygate's reflections were interrupted by the entry of Rajab, Gholam's prime-minister and general factotum. Rajab was short and stout, with a cunning twinkle in his eye that suggested an entire want of principle, relieved by a dash of droll humour. If he set himself to cheat any one, as in truth he did very often, he would do it with an air of facetious relish, as though he cheated not for gain but for the sake of having his little joke. He saluted Heygate politely, and seated himself in the other chair. 'I bring your orders, Sirdar, for to-morrow,' he began. His Highness desires you to take two hundred men and to march to Dhoonghar, thirty miles north of this city. The Begum Luxmeebhai of that place is in arrear with her taxesluckily for our little project and you will therefore drive off all her flocks and herds, and also bear off anything of value in the Begum's house. She is reputed rich, and you should return well laden. This plan will save both her and ourselves trouble in computing the exact amount of her arrears, and it will moreover give His Highness the means of purchasing the rifles which his soul desires.' Heygate listened horror-struck. To head a band of marauding cattle-lifters and to plunder a helpless woman was as impossible to him as to hang the Begum Luxmeebhai on the nearest tree. In his ignorance of the manners and customs of native States, he had supposed that the only function of the 'troops' was to minister to the sense of ostentatious pride to which the protected rulers cling so closely, and his mistake was a revelation to him. He had forgotten that here in his own dominions the Thakore was paramount, and that the wail of the oppressed could easily be stifled ere it could reach the Supreme Government from the wilds of Kattiawar. Of course he recognised that there was an end of his project at once. His reply was an indignant refusal. Tell the Thakore,' he said, 'that he must get some one else to do his dirty work. I did not come here to act as chief cattle-stealer to His Highness. I shall return to Bombay at once; and I will take care that the Government is notified of the way in which the State of Dilnaghar is administered.' ་ Rajab smiled lazily. My young friend,' he said, 'do not be rash. His Highness has taken a fancy to you, and most assuredly you would find departure in your present frame of mind a difficult matter.' 'Pshaw!' said Heygate; 'Gholam Singh knows better than to molest an Englishman. I am quite willing to take all risk on that head.' 'Pardon me, my young friend; you are impetuous,' answered Rajab. I did not say that you would be molested. I merely intended to convey the hint that here in Dilnaghar those who offend His Highness have a bad time of it. Nothing brutal, you know; the days of the bowstring are past. But a pinch of powdered glass or of something stronger in one's food; a quiet prod from a knife on that lonely road between here and Verawal-why, there are a hundred ways of doing it! You understand me, I see.' Journal Heygate did understand. The price of refusing the post he had so eagerly sought would in all probability be secret assassination, carried out so skilfully that the cause of his death would never be known. But he wavered not for an instant. 'Go and tell your master,' he repeated, that I leave for Bombay to-night. Let him touch me at his peril.' 'I will go; but I will give you an hour to think of it before I report to the Thakore. This is unfortunate, and might have been prevented had the Fakir Indraji not taken it into his silly old head to die this afternoon. We had hoped to get some hint from him, by force if necessary, as to the whereabouts of the secret treasure. He was the only man in Dilnaghar old enough to remember the sack of the city.-Think better of your resolve, my brave friend!' and with a courtly bow the plausible Rajab departed. The news of the Fakir's death did not surprise Heygate, and he had other matters to think of. His best plan would be to start at once before the hour's grace was up, and get as far as he could on the road to Verawal before Gholam had heard of his defection. Thank goodness, he had his revolver, and he would sell his life dearly if any hired ruffians attacked him by the way. Putting his hand in his pocket to see if the pistol was safe, his fingers came in contact with the quill which the Fakir had given him earlier in the day. Now that the old man was dead, he remembered that he was at liberty to open it, and, idly curious as to what he should find inside, he broke the seals. A tiny scrap of discoloured paper covered with Guzerati characters rewarded his search. It was lucky for Heygate that his studies with a view to securing a Staff appointment had included a smattering of the language. With amazement gradually dawning into appreciation of the vast importance of the paper, this is what he read : 'I, the Vazir Khanji, in future to be known as Indraji the Fakir, write this. The hosts of the conquering Feroz are at hand. I have builded up the treasure in the city wall in order to save it from his despoiling hands. The stone in which my shackle is fixed is the key of the hiding-place. Remove the stone, and the wealth of Dilnaghar will be found. While I have life, I guard it from the extortioner. When I die, it shall belong to whomsoever I shall give this paper.' So the aged Fakir stood revealed as none other than the Vazir Khanji, who nearly seventy years before had sat him down in this mean guise to guard his slaughtered master's wealth from the invader. What a record that brief paper held of fidelity to his self-imposed trust! And to think that he, Basil Heygate, had chanced upon the old man in his need, and had thus become possessed of information which would mean the difference between life and death to him. Well he knew he could never disinter the hidden hoard from the city wall unaided, but at least it would enable him to make terms with the Thakore, which would get him safely out of the country, and at the same time benefit the unhappy inhabitants by relieving their ruler's exchequer. Heygate's action was prompt. He sent his attendant for Rajab, and astonished that official with the news that the secret of the treasure was known to him, of course suppressing any allusion to Indraji. The terms he offered to Gholam were these in order to insure his own safety against any treachery, he would communicate with the authorities in Bombay as to his whereabouts, asking that Gholam Singh might be held accountable if he did not return in a given time. On receipt of a reply, he would divulge the hiding-place of the treasure on condition of receiving one-tenth part of the value. This arrangement he insisted on having under Gholam's own signature; and he enclosed it with his letter to Bombay-only to be opened in case of his non-return. He had no fear as to the safety of his letter, as the Thakore was in much too great a hurry to finger the spoil to put any obstacle in its way, and as long as Heygate alone knew the secret he was safe. In ten days an acknowledgment of the letter arrived. Within an hour Heygate conducted the Thakore and his ministers to the spot where the man they had known as Indraji had sat so long. The ring which had encircled the Fakir's neck had been cut through in order to remove the body, but the stump of the staple still projected from the wall. "There!' said Heygate. 'Remove that stone, and your quest will be at an end.' The masons whom they had brought set to work with a will; and as the crowbars chinked and the great stone began to show signs of moving, the young man's excitement was almost painful. What if Indraji's story was a fiction, after all? Even the fear of the Government would hardly save him from the Thakore's first burst of disappointed rage. But relief came at last; the great stone moved, and toppling forward revealed a sight which struck the bystanders dumb with astonishment. There, in a vast hollow, of which the stone had been merely the doorway, were piled vessels of gold and silver, heaps of precious stones and glittering gems, which had broken loose from the rotting bags that had contained them, an avalanche of gold mohurs that had been apparently shovelled in like chaff, and several chests which spoke of still richer treasures to be explored. Heygate had hardly given a thought to his stipulated tenth share hitherto, expecting at the most a few thouhe knew that a tithe of all that shining wealth sand rupees, welcome but not omnipotent. Now would save his career, and send him back to the regiment he loved so well with more than enough for his needs. In Three days later, when the hoard had been valued, Heygate was escorted to the city gate with much pomp by the Thakore in person. his knapsack he had a draft on His Highness's Bombay agents for seven lacs of rupees-the equivalent of fifty thousand pounds. Arrived at the memorable archway, the final parting took place. I hope,' said the retiring Sirdar, ‘that Your Highness will not now find it necessary to harry the Begum Luxmeebhai or any of your subjects. The Government would be sorry to hear of it.' To this diplomatic hint Gholam Singh replied suavely enough: 'I am a beneficent ruler, my friend; my people will participate in the wealth you have brought us. Thanks to you, Dilnaghar will be a paradise of content.' But a subterranean scowl struggled bravely with the smile on His Highness's face; and as Heygate turned his horse's head for the road along which he had tramped footsore and sick at heart three weeks before, he thought with satisfaction of the letter and agreement lying at Bombay. They stood between him and-well, His Highness the Thakore's pleasure. BLACK LABOUR IN QUEENSLAND. THE Bill which has lately been passed by the Legislature in Queensland permitting a renewal of the importation of South Sea Islanders, or Kanakas, for employment on the sugar plantations, has caused a good deal of discussion in England both in the Press and in Parliament. Not unnaturally, the fear has been expressed that a repetition might occur of the abuses which took place prior to the Commission of 1885, in connection with the recruiting of coloured labourers, and that, if the measure passed unchallenged by England, it might be thought her approval was being given to a scheme which has in some quarters been denounced as little better than slavery. The facts of the case, however, show not only that black labour is absolutely necessary in Queensland, unless the sugar industry is allowed to die out, but that the hiring of Kanakas has for years past been conducted under stringent regulations, laid down by the Queensland Government, requiring that ships carrying immigrants shall be licensed, and providing that agents shall be on board to see that 'all islanders have voluntarily engaged themselves, and have entered into their agreements with a full knowledge and understanding of their nature and conditions.' There is evidence, however, that the rules laid down have not in some cases been sufficiently observed. Under the new Act, therefore, they have been made still more severe; and as the Queensland Government seem determined to see them carried out, and to punish any infringement of them, there is no reason to apprehend that the reintroduction of black labour will not be properly conducted. As regards the treatment of the Kanakas when on the plantations, recent testimony, which I can confirm from my own observation in the colony, shows that they are well housed and fed, receive a fair wage, and when their time is up, return to their homes with some money in their pockets, unless, indeed, they have spent it in bright-coloured clothes and handkerchiefs, for which they have a weakness. The causes which have led to the reintroduction of black labour into Queensland are not far to seek. The tropical heat, although necessary for the growth of the sugar-cane, renders field-labour by the white man so unpleasant, that he will not submit to it, at all events at such wages as the planters can afford to pay. So far, well enough; but the white man in attempting to exclude the necessary Kanaka, and thus adhere to the political cry of Australia for the white man-under which the present Premier, Sir Samuel Griffith, came into power-has almost destroyed one of the most important industries in Queensland. Fortunately, however, the folly of this policy has now been perceived; the edict against the black man has been withdrawn, and, according to recent accounts from the colony, the sugar-planters, whose estates were going out of cultivation, are again putting forth their energies, and a new era of prosperity may fairly be anticipated. The exclusion of the Kanaka, so far from being in the interest of white labour, has proved exactly the contrary, for statistics show that the decrease in the numbers of coloured labourers has been followed by a decrease in the same ratio in the employment of white men. According to Mr W. A. Ackers of Townsville, there 1886 in the Mackay district of Queensland, and were seven thousand coloured men employed in eight thousand white people; while in 1888, when the number of coloured men had been reduced to two thousand, the white men employed numbered only four thousand, being a decrease of fifty per cent. in two years. According to the same authority, the wages paid to the Kanakas throughout the colony in 1888 amounted to between fifty and sixty thousand pounds; whereas during the same period the white men employed either directly or indirectly in connection with the sugar industry received as much as one hundred and seventy-four thousand pounds. The interests involved are of some magnitude. In 1887 the capital invested in this industry was five million pounds, and the value of the machinery for the production of sugar was one million pounds. One quarter of the total area under cultivation in Queensland was under sugarcane. The value of sugar exported in 1888 was eight hundred thousand pounds; and of the sugar consumed in the colony, two hundred thousand pounds, giving a total of one million pounds. In 1890 the value of sugar exported had diminished by one hundred thousand pounds-the result of the policy above described. As the reintroduction of suitable labour, now resolved upon, means the continuance of an industry of these proportions, the subject is of considerable importance as regards the future prosperity of Queensland. MARGUERITE. SHE lingered 'midst the lilies white and fair, Herself the fairest flower that blossomed there, She sang of happy days that were to be It was a golden dream of Hope and Love, The lilies drooped their heads; the storm-clouds came And I have wandered on through weary years, Since my fair Love, my little gentle flower, JAMES J. STEVENSON. Printed and Published by W. & R. CHAMBERS, Limited, 47 Paternoster Row, LONDON; and EDINBURGH. All Rights Reserved. THREE AUSTRALIAN BOOMS. In all countries accustomed to the ups and downs of mining ventures, the news of a large find of either gold or silver causes the most intense excitement. The mere rumour of a rich discovery at any place is sufficient to send hundreds of the Bedouin population of the mining districts flocking to the spot. These seem always ready to fit on the shortest notice to other fields, always ready once more to try their luck in a fresh gamble with Nature. So they wander about from field to field, sometimes making money, more often losing it; seldom, very seldom keep ing it when made. In no part of the globe is this more constantly seen than in the Australian colonies. The Australians are indeed a gambling community, always ready for a 'plunge,' whether it be on the almost daily horserace or the last-discovered Eldorado. Wages are high, so the working-man has usually a few pounds to spare. The generality of them cannot resist the temptation to try their luck at the game which has made so many of their employers rich. The successful speculator is always 'en évidence,' an object of envy to some, and a lure to others. The ruined gambler sinks out of sight, and the lesson he might teach is never learned. When the Broken Hill silver mines were first discovered, and it had been satisfactorily proved that silver really existed in payable quantities, half the population of Australia went 'silver mad.' The land round Broken Hill was pegged out into claims to the extent of thousands of acres. Companies were started by the score, many of them with barely sufficient capital to pay the expenses of sinking a hundred-foot shaft or driving a moderate adit. Every one bought scrip; shares rose at the rate of pounds daily. The clever ones realised fortunes and sold out; the majority held on for that little bit more which all men want, and in many cases lost all. A few of the lodes when properly opened up turned out enormous quantities of silver, and, until the present strikes, paid large dividends. The ma PRICE 1d. jority of the companies have now collapsed, others barely pay working expenses. Some curious stories are told of fortunes made or missed at this time. One prospector was sinking along the line of a lode which ran through his claim. As he went down, he found the lode kept constantly widening and then 'pinching' again, an almost certain sign that it would soon die out. He therefore sunk till the lode widened again, and then sold his claim for a few hundred pounds, very pleased at having, as he considered, got a very good price for a very bad article. It is only natural to suppose that his guileless joy was not so keen when he heard that the claim had turned out one of the best on the field, worth in the market fully a million sterling. The mining boom' was quickly followed by a 'boom' in property. Mushroom land and building societies started in numbers. Town properties changed hands again and again at enormous prices. Very often no cash passed between buyer and seller, bills being taken in payment-in many cases never met. One block of buildings and the land on which they stood were sold to a speculator, who paid a small deposit, with permission to pull down the building and erect better ones, more suitable for the good time coming. The old material was hardly off the ground before the 'boom' collapsed; the purchaser could not meet his engagements, vanished; and the unfortunate seller found himself with his property once more on his hands, but minus the buildings. In the meantime prospectors from Broken Hill had gone to the west coast of Tasmania, where silver had, it was believed, been found in the early days of the convict occupation. These men went through almost incredible hardships. The country was covered either with dense bush or button-grass swamp. Riding was impossible. All their provisions had to be carried their backs; their blankets, wet through by day, were often their sole covering at night. However, their efforts were rewarded, outcrops of ore on |