Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1896-12-31

which they failed to get at least DOT tion was an enormous ruby, worn as a royal armlet They told tho king that he should give them that ruby so they could present it to Queen Victoria, and that on receipt thereof she would be so i pleased that nothing would serve her but complete annihilation of King John g Egyptian enemies. For some un- known reason, however, the king re- mained obdurate, and that is why he still possesses the ruby.
 In 1885 the star of the Englishmen began to wane. The Egyptian govern ment made up It's mind that there could be no peace with Abyssinia until the two Englishmen were out of the coun- try. So an expedition was sent out aft CT them under Osman Pa6ha, the best officer ill the khedive's 8 army. Strangely enough, he managed to capture them, and they were carried to Cairo. Here they were treated with extreme consid- eration, and after the bare formality of trial sentence of banishment was i imposed. Major Barlow had no fancy for leaving country that had flowed with milk and honey, so, by forging a number of letters, by continuing his policy of intrigue, he gained permission to take quantity of gunpowder with him, travel east and exchange it for ivory. He then bribed an Egyptian off. ciai, shipped tons of gunpowder into Abyssinia, was detected, fled, and final- ly succeeded i'll making his way back to the nation that had made him power. Retribution finally overlook him, how ever, for tho rod of iron with which he ruled King Johns army produced mu- tiny, and Barlow was killed by the very men he had trained i'll arms.
 Houghtoa accepted his sentence and France. He was not content, however, to refrain from evil even on an ocean voyage, and so he very shrewdly made oyertures to the captain of the vessel to become a pirate, assuring him that within two months he would make him immensely wealthy. It so happens ], however, that the captain was a rather clever and thoroughly honest man. h. stead of joining in with Houghton' 
 France at the very first opportunity
 So trifing misadventure as this did not daunt Houghton in the least. He made his way to Paris and posed without delay as the accredited repre- sentative of the King of Abyssinia. He had considerable money, which, with the Berlin nest egg, gave him ample fat f1y. E4 101V 4i1 fo NxfaG one of almost oriental luxury. Social honors of all sorts were his. All classes honored him and did all possible to make life pleasant. Then he became en- tangled in all alliance with notorious woman, and a series of orgies began, beside which the greatest exoesses of the Moulin Rouge are as child play.
 At last. however, the French police arrested Houghton, and he was sent to prison for two months. Ill the fall of 1888 he made his way to England and there began the career of swindling that has ended ill a prison. From time to time he was connected with very shady transactions, but always man. aged to avoid arrest until a short time since, when he tried to blaokmail & London broker, was arrested, tried and sentenced to Is months at Wormwood Scrubbs prison, q London place of pun- ishment for criminals of the more de- graded type.
 There at the present moment is the man who once held the fate of nation ill the hollow of his hand, breaking stone for the good of England s roads. = Washington Post.