5. Three-quarters of a pound of sugar is enough for any fruit unless it is very sour, when a pound may be used. 6. Stir often and do not let the jam burn. 7. Skim well. 8. Bring to the boil after the sugar has melted, and boil until done. 9. Put a little on a plate, let it cool, and see if it will set; if so, it has been cooked enough. 10. Let the jam cool, and pour it into jars. 11. Let it get perfectly cold, lay a round of paper that has been dipped in brandy on the top inside the jar, and tie down larger pieces outside. When tied down brush over the top with white of egg. TO RENDER DOWN FAT. _Method._—Take any pieces of fat, cooked or uncooked, cut them up and remove all skin and any pieces of meat there may be on them, put them in a saucepan with enough water to come halfway up the fat, put on the lid and boil for half an hour; take off the lid and let the water boil away; when the pieces of fat are brown and crisp, take the saucepan off the fire and let the contents cool a little; strain off the liquid fat into an earthenware pan or tin. This can be used again and again for deep fat frying, if strained after each using, and will keep for a long while. It is excellent for cakes and pastry. STRAY LEAVES FROM ASSAM. TWO WIVES. “And my man?” “Your man was shot down amongst the first who fell.” The questioner turned away without a word, and lifting her child from the ground, slung it in her cloth and left the bungalow. A terrible disaster had occurred. A political officer had been attacked and killed, and his escort cut to pieces, by the Angami Nagas. A few of the survivors had succeeded in reaching the stockade, and one of them—a bright young fellow who had marched out two days before, leaving behind him a one-week’s bride—was having an ugly wound on his head dressed by the native doctor. A crowd of terrified women surrounded him, eager to hear his fearful tale, and by degrees they learnt the truth—not one could hope her husband had escaped, for he believed himself and one companion to be the only survivors out of eighty men. It was a sad tale of mismanagement, treachery, and bloodshed. “We were in a trap,” the young fellow explained in broken sentences. “They fired upon us suddenly and killed a lot before we could escape to open ground. Kama Ram got us together at the foot of the hills, and we fought hard until he fell.” A fair-faced Nepalese woman covered her face with her cloth and broke into low sobs.