"Very creditable to you, and you may count upon whatever influence I have towards getting you a commission in either branch of the military service. I myself served in the Low Countries under the Duke of Marlborough in my youth, and although I have long since given up the profession of arms, I can never lose my interest in it. Your honored mother has promised me the pleasure of your company for a visit at Greenway Court, when we may discuss the matter of your commission at length. I am not far from an old man, Mr. Washington, but I retain my interest in youth, and I like to see young faces about me at Greenway." "Thank you, my lord," answered George, with secret delight. "I shall not let my mother forget her promise--but she never does that." "There is excellent sport at Greenway, and I have kept a choice breed of deer-hounds, as well as fox-hounds. I brought with me from England a considerable library, and you can, I hope, amuse yourself with a book; but if you cannot amuse yourself with a book, you will always be dependent upon others for your entertainment." "I am fond of reading--on rainy days," said George; at which candid acknowledgment the Earl smiled. What a delightful vista this opened before George, who was, like other healthy-minded boys, devoted to reading and hearing of battles, and fencing, and all manly sports! He glanced at Lance, standing erect and soldierly, as the boat moved through the water. He meant to hear all about the siege of Bouchain from Lance before the year was out, and blushed when he was obliged to acknowledge to himself that he had never heard of the siege of Bouchain. [TO BE CONTINUED.] HOW MAGIC IS MADE. BY HENRY HATTON. V. About the year 1864 Carl Herrmann introduced at the old Academy of Music, New York, a trick never seen here before, which he called "The Miser." It has since become common, and, under the more prosaic title of "Catching Money in the Air," is exhibited more or less skilfully by many of the present-day conjurers. None, however, has presented it so artistically as the originator, for in his hands it was a very clever bit of melodramatic acting. Borrowing a hat from the audience, he crept about the dimly lighted stage to the accompaniment of weird music, and with eager eyes and avaricious clutch seemingly plucked from the air half-dollars innumerable, which he deposited in the hat, until he had accumulated twenty-five or thirty. [Illustration: FIG. 1.] [Illustration: FIG. 2.] [Illustration: FIG. 3.] More modern conjurers have tried to improve on Herrmann's method by using apparatus of one kind or another in the trick, but he relied exclusively on his ability to palm a coin.