o,
two or three canoes, concealed by the overhanging trees. A great man of
the place was dead, and, according to the native custom, a little girl
must be thrown alive into the river to drown. The few Christians had
protested in vain against the murder, and, finding they could not
prevent the deed, waited now in the shadow of the bank to save the
child, if they could. They watched the poor little terrified creature
flung into deep water, struggling and sinking. But, mercifully for her,
one of the customs is to fasten a dozen or so of fowls about the neck of
the victim, and the frightened birds, by their fluttering and flapping,
kept her head above water until she drifted within reach of the
rescuers. The little one was saved, and taken away from the
neighbourhood, where her life would never have been secure.

And so, little by little, the sun rises upon the Dark Continent. One by
one the old evil customs pass away. The Moorish galleys no longer hold
the seas in dread; the slave caravan no longer leaves its terrible track
of bleaching bones from Central Africa to the coast. Benin and Omdurman,
and other 'cruel habitations,' have been thrown open and broken down.
Wise heads have thought and planned, brave blood has been shed, noble
lives laid down for the good of Africa, and, by slow degrees, the
shadows are fleeing before the dawn.

MARY H. DEBENHAM.

THE FAIRIES' NIGHT.

The foxgloves are the sentinels
That guard the fairies' sleep,
When twilight comes, and to their beds
The wee elves softly creep.

And each wild rose a cradle is
To lull them to repose,
While over them, so pink and white,
The petals tightly close.

They all night long serenely sleep,
Until the peep of day;
And then the roses open wide
To send the elves away.

THE COW-WAGGON.

During a recent visit at a Western ranch, we saw what was to us an
entirely novel vehicle, a 'cow-waggon'--an immense canvas-covered van
drawn by four horses. We also enjoyed the experience of a drive in one,
lurching over the plain like a yacht in a rough sea.

The cow-waggon is fitted with all the necessary camping outfit used by
the cow-boys on a 'round-up,' or cattle-herding expedition. Every bit of
space is used, and in its ample canvas cavern are packed the beds,
provisions, cooking utensils, tent canvas, and the odds-and-ends of the
'outfit.'

The back of the cow-waggon comes down and turns out on supports,