ere soon beyond the reach of sight, but the crew of the
_Svensksund_ never took their eyes from the air-ship till, sailing in a
north-easterly direction at a height of about one hundred and fifty
feet, it disappeared behind a range of low hills.

Eleven days later a message was received by carrier pigeon (the fourth
dispatched by Herr Andree). It stated that on July 13th, two days after
the departure, all was going well. On August 31st a floating buoy was
found in the Arctic seas, and contained another message, but as it was
dated July 11th it was of less interest than the first.

Since then the explorer and his companions have passed from our
knowledge as completely as the silver wake of his trailing rope has
faded from the Arctic sea. The efforts made to follow its mysterious
path have failed for eight years, and the traveller's fate is another
secret locked in these frozen regions.

JOHN LEA.

FOOTNOTE:

[5] Herr Frankel had taken the place of Dr. Erkholm, who had retired
from the enterprise.

A STRONG MOTIVE.

Robert Louis Stevenson tells of a Welsh blacksmith who, at the age of
twenty-five, could neither read nor write. He then heard a chapter of
_Robinson Crusoe_ read aloud. It was the scene of the wreck, and he was
so impressed by the thought of what he missed by his ignorance, that he
set to work that very day, and was not satisfied until he had learned to
read in Welsh. His disappointment was great when he found all his pains
had been thrown away, for he could only obtain an English copy of the
book. Nothing daunted, he began once more, and learned English, and at
last had the joy and triumph of being able to read the delightful story
for himself.

A strong motive and a steady purpose overcome the greatest difficulties.

M. H.

DIAMONDS.

A man named John O'Reilly died not long ago in a store near Taungs, in
the Kimberley district of South Africa. Few people, perhaps, remember or
know that this man began the great diamond trade of Africa.

The story is quite a romance. In 1867 the baby son of a Mrs. Jacobs
found 'a pretty pebble' near the Orange River, and brought it to his
mother. She showed it to a Boer, who offered to buy it. 'You may have it
as a gift,' laughed the woman; 'there is no value in it.'

The Boer thought otherwise, and showed it to O'Reilly, who was then a
travelling trader. He took it to Colesberg, and there cut his initials
with it on the window of an inn, prov