pletely covered up by a big shell striking a heap of earth close by and just putting it right over the gun. They cable us from Halifax that our provision cargo had been here, but was not allowed to enter, and had gone to Mayaguez. To-day we have despatched the messenger for Guantanamo. Hardly any meat in the market now, and within two days the one or two bakeries still open will close. For the troops they are making bread of barley and rice, out of the "Polaria," with fifteen per cent. of flour. It does not look particularly inviting, and is difficult to swallow. Friday, 17th June. At a quarter past five in the morning the firing began again; this time it seemed to be further off, and to the westward. It lasted until six o'clock, and about one hundred shots or more were fired. It seems that a yacht of the newspapers, or other yacht, approached Punta Cabrera and got out two steam launches and made for shore, but the Spanish troops there began to fire on them, and one launch had to get away with oars. The "Texas" then approached, and threw from sixty to eighty shells at the spot the fire of the troops seemed to come from, but no one was hurt, and there the matter ended. Meat eighty cents per pound to-day, and no bakeries open; therefore, no bread. To-day people hardly got up to see what the firing was, and those that did, went to bed again. They are getting used to it. I hear the Spanish government refuses to exchange Hobson, as they consider him too dangerous. A NARROW ESCAPE FOR THE "PLUTON." Saturday, 18th June. At night on the 15th we heard a few shots, and one very loud one. An officer of the "Pluton " told me last night that a big shell, which looked like a comet as it came, somewhat slowly, through the air, fell near them, between Smith Cay, and then came traveling in the water by means of a screw, and burst just in front of their ship. He says that had theirs been a heavy ship it would have burst it up, but the little "Pluton," which only draws seven and a half feet, was just lifted out of the water, and everyone on broad was thrown off his feet, but no one really hurt. The water round was strewn with dead fish, and the concussion was also felt by the "Mercedes," which was behind the "Pluton." He says it was a dynamite shell from the pneumatic gun of the "Vesuvius," which had arrived on that day. Just now, 11 P.M., we heard half a dozen cannon shot some way off. Miguel Lopez tells me that some of the soldiers stationed on the lower part of the Morro have seen people paddling about in the harbor entrance in tubs (tinas.) These evidently must be india-rubber duck-shooting punts, in which you sit and have a bag for each leg, with a paddle at the bottom in order to move you in the water. They must be trying to get at the torpedoes in the bay, or reconnoitering. Telegrams say that the Spanish government refuses to exchange Hobson and his men. He will be disappointed. People are now beginning to die in the streets of hunger, and the misery is frightful in spite of so many having gone to the woods. There is no bread, and, what is worse, there are no plantains or sweet potatoes nor yams, and of course no foreign potatoes. There is plenty of rice, owing to the fortunate chance of the "Polaria" having been obliged to leave here her Havana cargo. Were it not for that, the troops must starve. This latter is what the civilians will have to do, because, of course, there will be no giving in as long as the troops have something to eat. There are no onions, red beans, lard, pork, or anything that comes from abroad, except the "Polaria's" rice and barley (this latter intended for the beer manufactory in Havana). Orders have been issued not to give any maize to horses or pigs, but to keep it for the people. The military in command at San Luis Cristo and other country places will allow nothing to go into town, as they want to keep it all for themselves. The streets are full of beggars going round begging for what formerly was given to the pigs, but now there is nothing over for the pigs. I saw a thirteen-inch shell which must have been from the "Massachusetts." Any quantity of shell of all calibers are being picked up, intact. THINGS LIKELY TO BECOME VERY HOT. Sunday, 19th June. So far, 4 o'clock, we are having a quiet time of it, and beyond two or three cannon shot this morning at the divers who were examining the "Merrimac," nothing has happened. From the country we hear that at the Dejade there is a big insurgent commission ready to convey to the interior any families who may wish to go, as they say they are soon going to attack this place. The Americans may do so as soon as they have troops to land. If so, then there will be a scrimmage, and it will not be pleasant. Telegrams say that the "Talbot" is going to Havana to take away British subjects, and that Gollan, the Consul-General, is going on leave. Happy man. I just hear that two ships arrived to-day from the southward, and that a salute was fired, and a boat from each of the other ships got out and sent on board the new arrivals. This looks as if some commanding officer had arrived. Perhaps it may be the general commanding a party of troops to land here or at Guantanamo, as it is hardly to be supposed that this fleet is going to remain here for an indefinite time without doing something to get at the Spanish squadron, which won't and, indeed, cannot now move. Monday, 20th June. Yesterday there were seventeen ships after the two mentioned had arrived. This morning there were twentyone at daybreak, and at eleven o'clock thirty-nine more appeared, making sixty vessels of all kinds. This looks like business, and now there is no doubt that they mean to land and take this place. Things are likely to become very hot, and God knows who will come through it. I have cabled to the Commodore, telling him of the situation, but I can't get British subjects, the principal ones, to say positively whether they wish a ship or not, and whether they will go if one comes. Had they said yes, I would to-day have seen the General again and ascertained if he still sustained his prohibition of any ship coming, and would have cabled the Commodore accordingly, to ask him for a ship if it could still be had. The events of the next few days will become matters of history, but we don't know who may be left to relate them. No answer yet from Guantanamo. There must, however, have been some fighting there, as there is a telegram saying that Sagasta had indignantly denied in Cortes that the corpses of the American marines killed at Guantanamo had been mutilated. At midday there was an explosion at the wharf, on board the schooner "Trafalgar," belonging to Estenger Messa. Two of the sailors were busy in the hold taking powder out of one of the unexploded American shells, and a friend of theirs, a sailor of the SS. "San Juan," was looking on. As the powder was hard, they took a piece of iron to loosen it with, with the result that it went off, or rather it went through the bottom of the schooner and sank her, killed the "San Juan" man, and badly wounded the other two. EDITOR'S NOTE.-During much of his residence at Santiago, Mr. Ramsden was actively engaged as a partner in the firm of Brooks & Co., so that he became thoroughly familiar with Spanish business and social affairs. He was a thorough Spanish scholar, and he knew every motive of the Spanish character. He passed through the miseries of the Ten Years' Rebellion, and played a part in the "Virginius" affair that placed the entire American nation in his debt. Captain Fry and fiftytwo of his associates of the "Virginius" were massacred by the Spanish in spite of Mr. Ramsden's protests. But when ninety-three others, Americans, were condemned to death, Mr. Ramsden resolutely demanded, in the face of the most violent public clamor, that the execution be delayed until he could learn whether the prisoners were American or English subjects. When the Spanish authorities hesitated, he sent to Jamaica for a British warship to enforce his demands. A day later the "Niobe" ran into Santiago harbor, ready to bombard the town, and the Americans were saved. Mr. Ramsden was also a man of scientific reputation. His hydrographic and weather reports won him a medal from Spain, and have been highly commended by the United States Signal Service. His collection of Cuban butterflies and beetles occupies an important place in the British Museum. A few days after the surrender of Santiago, he was taken suddenly ill with Cuban fever, and went to Kingston, Jamaica, where he died early in August. The following letter is of interest in this connection: TO THE EDITOR OF THE "HERALD": With profound regret and sorrow I read in your paper this morning the announcement of the death, at Kingston, Jamaica, W. I., of F. W. Ramsden, British Consul at Santiago de Cuba. While United States Consul at Santiago de Cuba from 1884 to 1892 I had the honor to win Mr. Ramsden's personal friendship. It is now my duty to pay tribute to his memory, and tell your readers of the great loss, not alone his countrymen, but also we Americans, have suffered through his untimely end. I believe that if our commanding officer at Santiago were asked, he could tell of Mr. Ramsden's heroic and noble efforts before Santiago capitulated, of the work he did in bringing about the surrender, and of his good and generous deeds all through the sufferings and privations incident to the Santiago campaign. Mr. Ramsden's long residence in Cuba, respected by both Cuban and Spaniard; his intimate knowledge of affairs and conditions, would have been, had God spared his life, of invaluable help to our government in the final adjustment of affairs in Cuba. Mr. Ramsden was a scientist, and had made a thorough and exhaustive study of the agricultural and mining resources of eastern Cuba. He was always ready to give the result of his own ceaseless work and research to whoever asked for it, and has done much to develop the country. His services in connection with our Weather Bureau were considerable. He was the friend of everyone who spoke our language, and many will remember his charming hospitality. Americans and Englishmen, Cubans and Spaniards, have suffered an irreparable loss through his death. OTTO E. REIMER. The present instalment includes only about one-half of Mr. Ramsden's diary; the remainder, covering the period of the complete investment of Santiago by land as well as sea, and of the surrender and the taking possession, will appear in the November number of the Magazine. McCLURE'S MAGAZINE-A LOOK FORWARD. THE year just closing has been, from both ters, and thus giving it a continuous a material and a moral point of view, interest. the most prosperous in the history of this magazine. The magazine has gained in influence and prestige, and a hundred thousand new subscribers have been added to a circulation already enormous. We enter the new magazine year with a solid army of nearly 400,000 subscribers behind us. Of course the first interest of such a fact is for the editor: to him it means a command of ample resources and a proof that his magazine is read. But, in the case of MCCLURE'S MAGAZINE, it has a certain general or public interest: for MCCLURE'S has been edited on no novel or sensational lines. Its plan of procedure has been very simple and direct. It has always published the best literature of contemporary production, and its contributions in the fields of science, biography, adventure, and current activities have been usually the work of skilled writers; so that the literary and also the art standards of the magazine have always been the highest; and its prosperity is a gratifying proof-at an hour when many are disposed to question the fact that the good thing pays, and pays, too, simply by virtue of being good. MCCLURE'S has been the medium for most of the stories and poems published by Mr. Kipling during its lifetime. The same is true of the writings of Anthony Hope and Robert Louis Stevenson. And these are only examples of a policy which must be by now perfectly familiar to our friends. It is more interesting, however, to look ahead and talk about what we are going to do. We give herewith a brief description of some of the articles and stories which we hope will not only retain the support of our present friends, but bring us new allies. A SERIAL BY RUDYARD KIPLING.-As in previous years, all, or nearly all, of Mr. Kipling's stories will be published in this magazine. Speaking of his story "In Ambush, published in our August number, the "Brooklyn Eagle" said: "If he were to write a continued story of school life on the line indicated in this sketch, it would be as successful a book as 'Tom Brown' or 'Huckleberry Finn.'" Such a book Mr. Kipling is now writing for us, and we expect to begin the publication of it in January. It will consist of six stories, each complete in itself, but all dealing with the same charac MISS TARBELL'S LINCOLN.-Three years ago Miss Tarbell began the publication of her articles dealing with the early life of Lincoln. The series ended with the nomination of Mr. Lincoln at Chicago in 1860 for the Presidency. It can be truthfully said that no biography ever achieved such a success as this one. Within a few weeks after the publication began, over a hundred thousand new subscribers were added to the magazine. In the December number Miss Tarbell will begin a series of articles on Lincoln's later life. The new series will begin with a description of the formal notification of Lincoln of his nomination, by the committee appointed by the Chicago Convention, and will tell the story of his career from that moment until the closing scenes at Springfield, Illinois, when the body of the most beloved man of the century was laid to rest. We are sure these later articles by Miss Tarbell will be followed with the most intense interest; and any American who fails to read them will be poorer thereby. CAPTAIN A. T. MAHAN ON THE WAR. Captain Mahan, who acted throughout the war with Spain as a member of the Board of Strategy, is recognized everywhere as the foremost living authority on naval power and warfare. MCCLURE'S MAGAZINE has secured the exclusive use of whatever he may write on the subject of the war; and he will contribute to the magazine an exposition and interpretation of the war, particularly in its naval engagements and aspects. It is safe to say that there will be nothing produced in all the literature of the war of higher interest and significance than Captain Mahan's contribution. KIPLING'S NEW VOLUME OF STORIES. A new volume of stories by Mr. Rudyard Kipling is about as big a literary event as the times can give us, and its announcement is unquestionably a matter of deep personal interest to a larger number of English-speaking people than any other such announcement could be. Now most able critics would take the ground that this dual statement is somewhat paradoxical: that the biggest literary event has not been in the past the one most likely at any one time to interest the that Found Herself" throbs the machinerylargest number of people; yet few indeed loving heart of McAndrew himself, and in would dispute its truth in this case. And ".007" steam-engines live for us like men of right here lies one of the most marvelous points to be found in considering Mr. Kipling's work. It is the literary fruit of democracy. Nothing like his popularity with the average man has been known before in literary history, except in the case of Burns, whom Scotland, intellectually the most democratic country that ever existed, took and holds to her heart in similar fashion. In a wider world, where the democratic idea in a far more sweeping form is on trial, two new and especially striking phenomena rise to demonstrate its worth as no theorizing could ever do one is Mr. Kipling's popularity, the first-hand joy of enriched millions in a rising and genuine literary light; and the other, newer still (and Mr. Kipling is the very man who could put before us all the significance of this) is the charging of our raw volunteers up the bloody hill of San Juan without orders a deed such as subject peasants never did and never would perform. "The Day's Work" is the title of Mr. Kipling's new book, and in it are collected for the first time the fruits of his maturest day, of the richest period of his life so far as he has yet lived it. It records an extraordinary sweep of sympathies. In "The Ship our time. "The Tomb of His Ancestors" brings us the wild romance of a strange and ancient people; "The Brushwood Boy," exquisite in its poetic spirituality, moves the heart with the old love-song of the race, while "The Devil and the Deep Sea" strikes with rollicking force a more familiar note, and joys shamelessly in the doings of strong men whose code of honor happens to differ from the law's demands. William, the Conqueror," a novelette rather than a short story, is one of the finest things Mr. Kipling has ever done, and bears the old rare hall-mark of first-class work, inasmuch as it gratifies by not one merit but by a dozen, and may be prized by as many people for as many different reasons; perhaps, for instance, because it gives us such a knowledge of famine experiences in India as the best special correspondent has failed to faintly convey, or because William herself is the dearest of her creator's heroines since Dinah Shadd was young. It is proper that the publishers who have presented so much of Mr. Kipling's greatest work in the pages of this magazine should also bring out his latest book. It will be published in a few days by the Doubleday and McClure Company. RECESSIONAL. BY RUDYARD KIPLING. EDITOR'S NOTE.-We have been requested a great many times of late to republish Mr. Kipling's poem "Recessional," and we gladly reproduce it herewith in compliance with these requests. GOD of our fathers, known of old Lord of our far-flung battle-line- The captains and the kings depart- An humble and a contrite heart. Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget-lest we forget! Far-called our navies melt away On dune and headland sinks the fire- Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! If, drunk with sight of power, we loose Or lesser breeds without the Law- For heathen heart that puts her trust Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord! Amen. Knox College GALESBURG, ILLINOIS The special claim of Knox College is that it is pre-eminently practical in its aims and thorough in its work. Many of its instructors have had the benefit of courses of study at Johns Hopkins and the best German Universities, such as Leipzig, Strassburg, and Bonn. All are recognized scholars in their several specialties, and experienced teachers. No time or money is wasted at Knox on the unessential or the purely ornamental. Only students of serious purposes are sought, and the one endeavor has been, from the foundation of the college sixty years ago, to impart the training and instruction that will be of most service in after life. The wisdom of this policy and the success the College has had in carrying it out are shown in the fact that Knox College graduates, wherever found, are noted for their vigor of moral character and their practical capability. The Standard, and the Courses of Study The standard at Knox College is as high as that of the best Eastern colleges of its type. The three courses have each the same time value: The Classical course has a backbone of ancient language; the Scientific, of science; and the Literary, of modern language. Each of the three courses occupies four years. In each year there are three terms. Connected with Knox College are: Knox Academy, Knox Conservatory of Music, and Knox School of Art. A College That is Also a Home Situated in one of the most comfortable and attractive towns in the country, and being as it is thoroughly democratic in its character, Knox College never fails to arouse in its students the most ardent attachment. It becomes at once a home to them. The moral and intellectual tone of the community is high, and the interest of the towns-people is at the same time a support to the institution and a safeguard to the students who live in their midst. "There is here," said Madam Blanc, the well-known French woman of letters, writing of nox College and Galesburg, which she visited a year or two ago,-"there is here the same simicity, the same veneration for science and its representatives, the same patriarchal manners" ; in the German University town. "I would give more," said a noted university professor, "for the ideals and purposes of the men and women whose lives have gone into the structure of this College than for all the libraries wealth can buy." FOR CATALOGUE WITH FULL INFORMATION In regard to departmental work, with lists of Teachers, Students, and Graduates, and other matter of interest to prospective students, address 66 JOHN H. FINLEY, President, Galesburg, Illinois "N Send for Illustrated Circular describing ORTHWARD; OVER THE FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY, 27 and 29 West 23d Street, New York Please mention McClure's when you write to advertisers. |