would be very difficult for any one to hold him should he by chance be caught by the soldiers. Then he carefully sharpened his long doubleedged knife and glided silently and cautiously towards the camp. With little difficulty he drew near, and crouching in the shadow of a large tree endeavoured to locate the tent in which he had heard that Oyid and the white man slept. And what of Mayom? From the moment when he had realised that Oyid had escaped his vengeance he had secluded himself from the people of the village. During long hunting walks in the forest he had brooded over his wrongs and turned over in his mind many plans of vengeance. His pride, too, had been seriously ruffled, for some of the young men of the village had openly laughed at him, telling him that he was no use as a witch-doctor, for what was the use of his proclaiming a woman a witch if he was unable to bring her to for a slight disturbance justice? amongst the mules, which were picketed about fifty yards from the tent, attracted the sentry's attention, and he went away towards them to see what was the matter. And now that he found that Oyid was under the protection of a white man, apparently in happiness and safety, within only a few yards of the place in which he himself had practically sentenced her to death, he was seized with a wild longing for revenge and a desire to kill both her and the white man, whose wife he felt sure she must be. Cost him what it might, he was determined to carry out his murderous intentions that very night, and so show the villagers that it was hopeless to try and escape from penalties which he had ordained. When the night arrived, therefore, he stripped himself of the bit of bark cloth which was his only covering, and carefully oiled his whole body with sesame oil, for thus it A flicker from the camp fire showed him the outline of the tent, but it also disclosed to him the form of a sentry standing close by with a fixed bayonet. It was, however, a very dark night, and everything was in Mayom's favour Mayom seized the opportunity, and, bending low, stole rapidly towards the tent. The flaps at each end were tied back, but inside the tent all was darkness. Mayom, however, could just discern the big white mosquito-net round Hellard's bed. The moment for his revenge had come: an exultant, savage joy swept over him: he rose to his full height and advanced a step, ready to strike and to kill. And then suddenly, with a wild scream, some strong, furious furious body hurled itself against him. It was Oyid. After several hours of wakefulness she had at length fallen into a light sleep, only to wake with a start to see the form of a man standing in the tent doorway. With unerring instinct she knew that it was Mayom come to work his vengeance and to kill the man who had saved her life. Without a moment's hesitation she sprang upon Mayom as he stepped forward. A frantic hope surged through her brain that even at this critical moment, when death was so near her protector, she might yet be able by some means to guard him until he could defend himself. The struggle was short. With a savage ourse, Mayom struck once and then again, and Oyid sank heavily to the ground. But she had been in time. At her first cry Hellard had been roused, and, tearing through his mosquitonet with pistol in hand, was just in time to see the girl fall, and the form of a man springing towards the tentdoor. Without taking aim he fired shot after shot wildly at the retreating figure; but the darkness befriended Mayom, who, in a few seconds, was in safety in the gloom of the forest. And then Hellard turned to see the body of the girl who had saved his life. He knelt on the ground and lifted her head, resting it upon his knee, calling frantically for a candle to be brought. The camp was now thoroughly roused, and all crowded to the tent. Raynor forced his way in, carrying a light. It was then seen that Oyid had received two terrible wounds, and that Mayom's knife, which had been broken off at the handle by the force of his second blow, was still embedded in the girl's side. "She is dead," groaned Hellard, but at his words Oyid opened her eyes, and looking up into his face whispered a few words. Abdulla was bending over her listening. "What does she say? Quick, tell me," said Hellard excitedly. There was a faint shiver over the body, and then it was apparent to all that Oyid's troubles were over and that she was dead. Abdulla answered slowly: "She said, my lord, 'You saved my life: now I have saved yours: I am glad, oh, my master.' Hellard rose. He was dazed, stunned. He was young, and had never before seen red death. "And yet you said that these people did not know what gratitude was," muttered Raynor, and his voice had a curious choking sound in it as he spoke. "My God, forgive me for my thoughtless words," said Hellard slowly. ROGER CHEYNE. THE FENIAN BROTHERHOOD. THE Irish party expects to obtain Home Rule from the present Government as the price of their support of the Ministerial party in the House of Commons. After eight centuries of oppression Ireland is to be set free. At last the long fight for justice is to be terminated by the conquest of her rights, and Saxon misrule is to give place to the wellordered harmony of Irish rule on Irish soil. No man knows the details of the scheme of Home Rule which is to be submitted to a House pledged to pass it. The masterly generalities of the advocates of the measure leave us with so scant a knowledge of the essentials of the constitution of the new Government to be set up on College Green, that we must fall back upon conjecture if we would picture the condition of the new Ireland. It is in this connection that it is interesting to study a movement which fifty years ago drew upon itself the attention of the world. Initiated by Irishmen, administered and directed by them, the Fenian Brotherhood affords to the student of its history a valuable example of an organisation which failed for the very same reasons which would in all probability render the realisation of any comprehensive scheme for autonomous government in the Sister Isle not only difficult but probably impossible. The endless petty quarrels, the obstruction in debate, and the corrupt influences vitiating Parliamentary life, the difficulties and disputes preventing the smooth working of the administrative machinery,-all these we look for in any purely Irish representative assembly. And it was just such troubles as these which brought about the collapse of the Fenian movement fifty years ago. Split up into fiercely antagonistic factions, encumbered by too many leaders, perpetually involved either in disputes or financial difficulties, the Fenians wasted their efforts and failed. The story of their internal dissensions, as related by one of their most trusted leaders, sheds an interesting light on the working of the Irish conspiracy. As soon as he judged it profitable, General Millen, head centre and leader of the projeeted expeditionary force which was to land in Ireland and give the signal of rebellion to the 50,000 men supposed to be but awaiting his arrival to raise the standard of revolt, as soon as it paid him to do so, General Millen sold his friends. Seeing that the movement was doomed to failure, Millen went over to the enemy. History repeats itself. The causes which led to the collapse of Fenianism in '65 will bring about the failure of the purely Irish administration which it is contemplated to create. The Land League and the Clan-na-Gael are composed to-day of the same class of men who plotted under Stephens in the 'Sixties. The Sinn Fein and the Redmondite Caucus will be the masters of Ireland. It will be a misrule of factions. It is interesting, then, to look back for & moment and see what Irish organisation can mean. Although a general officer in the Liberal army of Juarez in Mexico, Millen was a young man when this story opens. A native of Tyrone, he left Ireland as a lad, and after some years in America enlisted under General Medillen for service against the Church, or Conservative party. His advancement was rapid. Promoted Colonel in 1858, he was already a General in 1861. After fighting in several of the battles of the campaign which was to end in the defeat of his party, notably at Puebla, against the French, Millen resigned his commission and accepted the post of United States Consul at the port of Manzanillo. It was during his residence here that his connection with the Brotherhood began, and it was to enrol himself in their ranks that he quitted this new employment. Fenian His attention had been drawn to this organisation by an advertisement in a copy of "The San Francisco Times.' It was headed "The Friends of Ireland Club," and contained an account of a new society under this name which had been formed simultaneously in Dublin and Amer ica. The aims of the society were "to effect the unity of all creeds and parties of Irishmen for the regeneration of their native land and its liberation from the hands of the Saxon oppressor." Millen wrote for further information, and finally sent in his name as a member. A year after, while on a journey to New York on a consular mission, he called in person at the headquarters of the Club in Duane Street, and a few weeks later the committee invited him to take up the post of Military Adviser to the Fenian Brotherhood. He accepted, and thus began the connection which was to end so ill. The position of the Fenian Brotherhood when Millen joined was briefly this. There were two main divisions. In Ireland a network of provincial branches had been organised by Stephens. These centres, as they were called, possessed from nine to ten members in the smaller country villages; and in the large towns, as Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Belfast, the adherents numbered themselves by hundreds. Composed mainly of civilians, these organisations nevertheless contained a fair sprinkling of ex-soldiers. These drilled their comrades and instructed them in the use of the musket. Of these soldiers the majority were deserters from the British Army. Some were IrishAmericans, whose occupation had ceased at the close of the American Civil War. A few were soldiers of fortune like Millen. All were animated by a spirit of hatred for British rule, and welcomed the chance of "having a fling at the Saxon." Each centre was placed under a leader responsible for its efficiency to the head Executive in Dublin. Official accounts of the numerical strength of the whole Irish section of the Brotherhood varied so widely that it is only possible to make an approximate estimate on the assumption that the figures were considerably too large. On one occasion it was stated that 50,000 men were ready to take up arms on behalf of the Irish Republic. On another Stephens himself asserted that there were not less than 140,000. It is probable that even the former figure is somewhat in advance of the truth. In America the two Societies of the Fenian Brotherhood and the Friends of Ireland Club existed side by side and in close co-operation. The headquarters of the latter were at San Francisco, while the former was directed from New York. These two organisations subscribed into a common treasury. In numbers probably inferior to the Irish section, the two associations combined, nevertheless, were the predominant partners in the great scheme for throwing off the Saxon yoke in Ireland and the substitution of a Republic. For it was they who supplied the sinews of war. Their chief, who corresponded to Stephens in Europe, was a Mr O'Mahony. The Fenians in Ireland were, in fact, in very great measure dependent upon their sympa thisers in America. They were kept in spirits and their numbers were daily augmented by the glowing accounts of the success and progress of the American section which reached them from New York. And as each despatch from American headquarters was generally accompanied by a substantial draft of money, the Brotherhood in Ireland began in time to believe that the resources of their Society in the New World were almost limitless. They at all times believed implicitly in these glowing accounts, and so it was that Stephens was easily able to persuade them that their efforts, backed up by American gold and American men, would be sufficient when the time came to make victory certain. Nor was this all. O'Mahony was not a man to be sparing of promises, and to confirm the confidence of "the men in the gap," as they were called,-he even went so far as to guarantee the assistance of the United States Government. On the other hand, the Fenians in America were led to believe, from the reports which O'Mahony received from Dublin, that the organisation there had 50,000 men ready to take the field at twenty-four hours' notice. All that they required, according to Stephens, was some arms and ammunition. A few good military officers too would be necessary for the higher commands. For the rest, they had able and experienced leaders under whom to take the field. Thus each half of the organisation trusted in the other. |