I walked round by the familiar paths and
passages, and looked in at the open gate of the
yard.

There he was— the dear old friend of the
happy days that were never to come again—
there he was in the old corner, on the old
beehive chair, with his pipe in his mouth, and his
Robinson Crusoe on his lap, and his two friends,
the dogs, dozing on either side of him! In the
position in which I stood, my shadow was
projected in front of me by the last slanting rays
of the sun. Either the dogs saw it, or their
keen scent informed them of my approach.
They started up with a growl. Starting in his
turn, the old man quieted them by a word, and
then shaded his failing eyes with his hand, and
looked inquiringly at the figure at the gate.

My own eyes were full of tears. I was obliged
to wait for a moment before I could trust myself
to speak to him.

KNOTS.

KNOTS are of great antiquity, perhaps as old
as human fingers; in proof, may be adduced the
mystery attached to, and the traditions
connected with, several knots. They formed part of
the sorcerer's stock in trade, as they have recently
formed part of the spirit-juggler's. The Lapland
witches sold winds, in the shape of knots on a
rope; the purchaser untied the knot corresponding
to the wind he wanted. The true-lover's
knot, Sir Thomas Browne tells us, " had,
perhaps, its original from the nodus Herculaneus,
or that which was called Hercules his knot
[very tight and esteemed sacred], resembling
the snaky complication in the caduceus or rod
of Hermes." The Gordian knot, which we
should much like to see, is another ancient
celebrity. Gordius, be it remembered, was a
Phrygian husbandman promoted to a kingdom
by the oracle of Apollo. In memory whereof,
he hung up his plough-traces as a votive offering
in the temple of Jupiter. One rope of those
traces he tied with so cunning a knot, that it
was foretold that whoever loosed it should be
king of all Asia. Alexander the Great, because
he could not untie it, cut it with his sword.

Instead of the maxim "Est modus in rebus,"
we might often say, " Est nodus in rebus," to
indicate that the " res " are knotty affairs—
which need not be adverse or unpleasant.
A knot of dear friends is delightful company.
Knotted wood is sought out for cabinetwork
and inlaying. The moon's nodes or knots
in her orbit are got over by our satellite without
much difficulty. However perplexing the
plot of a drama may be, we are satisfied if the
dénouement, or unknotting, be good. There is
a little marsh-bird, the knot (a favourite dish
with King Canutus, from whom it takes its
specific Latin name), which is so excellent to
eat, that Ben Jonson includes " knots and
stints " in his list of delicacies. The more
knots an hour a ship can make, the better the
passengers will like it. Many a .pair of
lovers would willingly tie with their tongues a
knot which they cannot untie with their teeth.
A "quipos" or Peruvian letter, composed of
knots made on a number of diversely coloured
strings, may often have conveyed good news.
Still, there are knots sinister as well as knots
propitious. If there exist a true-lovers' knot,
there is also a knot to hinder love— namely the
magical nœud d'aiguillette, performed in several
ugly fashions. The antidote is to wear a ring
in which the right eye of a weasel is set.
Knotgrass, with its minute and pretty flowers, is
believed to have the effect of stunting and dwarfing
the growth of children and animals to whom
it is administered.

Knots are a study in themselves, an art, an.
accomplishment. They may be considered
historically, biographically, technically, and
metaphorically.

What was the subtle knot with which Samson
tied the foxes' tails together in pairs, with
a firebrand between them? Himself, the men
of Judah bound with two new cords; but how?
The middle-age jailors and executioners must
have had their knots of considerable efficiency;
as when a culprit, or feudal rival, was tied to
four horses, and so torn in quarters by their
pulling in opposite directions. How was Ma-
zeppa bound to his steed? There are real
knots and make-believe knots. The officials
who transferred convicts from prison to the
galleys, as well as those who kept and managed
them in the various bagnes of Europe, must
have had some slight knowledge of knots. Nor
were the " two nautical gentlemen," who shut
up the Davenports, bad scholars in this branch
of art.

That wrinkle, as recorded by Mr. Galton,
deserves to be set forth here. It hangs on the
fact that an active man, whose hands and feet
are small, can be but imperfectly secured by
ligatures, unless the cord or whatever else you
use has been thoroughly well stretched. Many
people have exhibited themselves for money, who
have allowed themselves to be tied hand and foot
and then put in a sack, whence they have emerged
in a few minutes, with the cords in a neat coil
in their hands. The brothers Davenport
possessed this skill, but they knew better than to
show themselves for pence at country fairs.
By implying that they were released by
supernatural agency, they held fashionable and
profitable séances in London. The two exhibitors
were tied, face to face in a cupboard,
respectively by two persons selected by the audience,
and who inspected one another's knots as well
as they could. On their expressing themselves
satisfied, the cupboard was closed and the lights
in the room were kept low for five or ten minutes,
until a signal was made by the confined
performers. Then, in a blaze of gaslight, the doors
were opened from within, and out walked the
two men, leaving the rope behind them.

At length two nautical gentlemen insisted on
using their own cord, which they had previously
well stretched. This proceeding baffled the
Davenports. Thenceforward, wherever they