Mildred ^ &reHJanion BV THE BUCHESS. CHAPTER VIII.—(Continued.) Just then the door opened and Mil dred entered. She came in swiftly, and advanced so rapidly toward the chimney-piece that, until she was with in a foot of him, she was not aware of his presence there, and acknowledged her surprise by a sudden start and ex lumatlon of alarm. ‘‘I beg your pardon," he said; “I did not mean to frighten you.” Even as he spoke a wild determina tion to know the worst from her own lips without loss of time seized upon him. "I came for a book," explained Mil dred, hurriedly. "Ah, here it is! In confusion 1 hardly remembered where 1 hail left it.” "Can you spare me a few minutes?” asked Denzil. without giving himself liberty to think further. “Certainly,” answered Mildred, in a tone of marked surprise. “But do you not think that another time would be more convenient? You see"—glancing at the clock—"how late it is? The ball will commence in less than half an hour, and we shall not be ready.” "1 will not detain you long," he said —two or three minutes at the furthest. Indeed, a few words will comprise all that I have to say. You must have seen"—desperately—"you must know for yourself-" "Stay," cried Mildred, faintly—"do not go on! You have said enough— believe me-" ic is too late now to stop me, in terrupted Denzil, passionately. "I must go on and tell you the one thought that occupies me day and night. Reject me -despise me, if you will, only hear me." To this, although lie waited as if in expectation, she made no answer. Per haps. had she then once more forbid den him, he might forever have held liis peace. Rut she kept complete silence. They formed a curious picture, standing there in the old-fashioned dresses they had not had time to re move; Denzil in white satin breeches and rich ruffles ami carefully-powdered hair. Miss Trevanion as "La Valliere,” with her trailing embroidered satin robe, her fair hair also thinly pow dered, and her soft white arms half hared. Encouraged by her speechlessness, Denzil spoke again "I love you," he said, simply. “I am only telling you what you have known all along—am I not? And yet. even to myself, when put into language, it seems quite different—the words sound so poor and cold, is it altogether hope loss, Mildred? Is there any chance for me?” She had moved a few steps backward as he began speaking, and now stood supporting herself by one hand resting on tlie table. She had lowered her eyes and fixed them on the ground, and ap peared calm enough though she made no response to his last appeal. ' Give me my answer,” he said. "You should not have gone on." she observed at length, her tone low but angry. “I forbade you to do so. It was unfair to compel me to listen when you knew l wished neither ty hear nor to understand. " "Give me mv answer." lie said again. "What answer can I give?” she asked, with a slight impatient move ment of the hand near him. "Better would it lie, to ask for none. I warned you before. Be satisfied now, and leave me." (iive me my answer, ne said lor the third time, sternly. "I will take it from your own lips now.” "Then, as you will have it." she rried, losing all moderation, "take from my own lips ‘No.’ ” There was a long pause. Donzil’s face was as white as death. Miss Tre vanion’s scarcely less so; while the hand that lay upon the table appeared bloodless from the intensity with which she leaned upon it. “Do you say that because my father earned his money by trade?” asked Denzil, slowly. “It cannot matter now," she an swered, coldly. "Yes. it does," he went on. excitedly; ‘ and I believe, from my heart, that that is the reason. I believe that, lov ing you as I do. I could in time have made you return my love had not your wretched pride stepped in to prevent it. Or can it tie true what 1 have heard said—that you would at any risk, willingly sell yourself to gain a title? If 1 could bring myself to think that of you—if that were possible— Tell me. Mildred—is it the truth?" “I do not unde-etand you,” said Mil dred, haughtily. "1 will listen to no more of your questioning, sir. Let me pass." “It is true, then'" he exclaimed, pas sionately. seizing her hand to detain her. ‘‘You do not deny it! And you will sacrifice yourself to obtain pos session of a mere position? 1 imagined you incapable of such a thing; but see bow mistaken we all are in the idols we set up! I am thankful I was dis illusioned in time. I am glad—yes. glad—you have refused me; as a wom an who could so barter away her heart is not worthy to lie the wife of any honest man." Mildred was trembling with anger. “That will do," sh utispect ed of allowing their wishes to influence their judgment. Apparent!;, they would like to see what they expert to s*u\ The dire possibilities of international trade war are conjured up by free-traders and former protei tionists as the strongest possible argument indeed, the only possible argument in favor of the abandonment by the United States of the protective policy. So we are tedd nearly every day that Euro pean countries are conducting secret negotiations looking toward a trad > combine against this country, and that our only safety in this emergency is to repeal the Ditigley law and get right down to an unrestricted trade basis. First of all. there is no evidenc: whatsoever of the existei.ee of a plot, to form a continental tariff alliance against the United States. Still less » vi dence is there of the contemplation of a European alliance. If a European combine should he attempted. Great Britain would have to l>® left out of it. and Great Britain is very mu h the best customer the United States has among European countries. England must have our foodstuffs and raw ma terials. and she is not going to join anybody in a scheme whose object is to make these commodities cost ino:e in tin British market. i owing to the possibility of a conti nental combine, we find little more ^likelihood of it on the continent than in Great Britain. Germany has been making some experiments along tIn line of discrimination against Ameri can products, and her experience Is in structive. Consul Hicdrich writes from Bremen to our state department some pertinent facts relative to (he opera tion of the inspection law whereby im portations of American corned beef and other beef products are prohibited. Not long ago Dr. Karl Frank el, pro fessor of hygiene in the I'niversity of Halle, declared that this law is noth ing more than a cloak, faded and worn, hung over the agrarian idol. He show ed that while the government had de clared that the passage of the law was required in tlie interests of public health, "nothing suffered more from said law than did the public health of tlie nation. The prevailing high prices of meat necessarily lessened its con sumption, while the health of the na tion demanded an increase." As a matter of fact, fully one-half of Ger many's population is to-day suffering hardships by reason of stick tariff dis crimination as Germany has thus far seen fit to impose against American foodstuffs in obedience lo the demands of the German agrh ultural interests, and it does not seem probable that the situation will he subjected to any ad ditional strain of the same sort. Excepting Russia, ail the continental countries of Europe are more or less dependent upon the I'nited States for their food supplies and certain raw ma terials; while Russia, albeit independ ent of us in the matter of i ubststence, must either buy a considerable line of manufactured products from us. or else pay a higher price for them elsewhere. The situation and outlook as to a Eu ropean trade alliance of any kind against the I'nited States are well summed up by the Baltimore Herald, us follows: "When it comes to building uni versal tariff walls, this country might suffer a depression in trade, a slacken ing in industrial progress: but Europe would sustain from such a course not stagnation alone, but utter prostra tion. In any case, we would have anf abundance of all things for the home supply. Another result would soon en sue—the underfed millions of Europe would begin to swarm to our shores iti an increasing ratio, looking for relipf from unbearable home conditions. If any nation can stand alone and depend entirely upon her own resources, this nation can. Most surely in the squeeze of a tariff war we should not be the first to cry quits.” THERE IS BUT ONE WAY. I Only by Ki'ilurinc Whccm C'nn I rft* Trade Knglan — Aleut American Competition. The pressure of the industrial com petiton which Great Britain feels is in dicated by th" reduction of the wages of 225,000 workmen a few days ago. The average reduction was only about 50 cents a week but to men who have been earning not more than $5 to $7 a week that is a serious item. It is, however, the British method of meet ing the competition of the best paid labor in the world, whose pay is twice the figures here quoted. The question naturally arises, how ran the manufacturers in the United States compete with those of Great Britain when paying double t be wages? Several elements must enCs into the answer. First, the Brit'sh workman, having beuti for years the best in the world, has assumed that under no conditions can there be a bet ter. lie has obstinately clung to meth ods that are worn out. He will not yield to new inventions ami processes. The result is that from being the lrst workman a third of a century ago he is now inferior to his American and | German competitor. Again, good wages, with the prospect of better things, lias appealed to the ambition of the workman, consequently he is | more intelligent and more energetic. Instead nf resisting Innovations, he uses his skill and intelligence to turn inventions and new methods to his ad vantage. Lty making the host, use of new appliances the American workman can turn out enough more goods to en able the manufacturer to pay from 60 i to 100 per rent more wages to skilled , labor. Hut another powerful factor in creat ing this difference is the much-de nounced policy of Protection. The I'nited States is by far the best mar t - t., * t. ... - t I MU. „ AAA AAA l\t t in HIP M u I Ml. Ill«' I U,UW,VUW '»i people in the I'nited States consume as much in value of tile products of i 1 loci labor as twice as many people else*where. It may lie said to be the American policy, in contradistinction tec the' British or Free Trade policy, to reserve as far as possible, this best market in the world for the producers in the I'nited States; so at the very outset, for all the products of skilled labor, we have a wider market than any other nation in the world. Now it lands to reason that the certainty of a market that consumes three or four times as many goods as the market of any competing nation affords en ables the American manufacturer to thrive on a profit on each pound, yard, tic. nine'll smaller than can his com petitor tn any other country. it is the quantity sold that makes (tie price. To illustrate, tin* shoe manu fui tnrer who can put upon the mar ket loo cases a week cannot sell at so small a profit as the manufacturer who milk's 1,000 eases a week. Still further the Protective Tariff has always en abled the manufai tnrer to pay much higher wages than are paid elsewhere in tile world. The workman who earns * these wages has twice as much money to spend for the products of other la ber. Cut the wages paid in the I'nited States oO to 50 per cent, and consump tion of merchandise in many line's will he reduced in like ratio. Thus in a two fold measure tli" much-denounced Pro tective policy is the cause of the high wages in the I’nited States. Great Britain, driven into c lose quar ters by adhering to Its Free-Trade pol icy by competitors created by the Pro tc i five policy, lias but. one way of meeting tlie* ruinous American compe tition. and that method is the reduction of wages, thus to some extent curtail ing tiie capacity of labor to consume its own products. Indianapolis .Jour nal. WORLD A GOOD CUSTOMER. rAMCHlCHMX /MANOFfKTIttEKV Keciprorlty m. 1’rotfftlnn. Tlio mental attitude of American I free-traders on the subject of tariffs and reciprocity treaties is clearly de ; fined by the Milwaukee News. With a degree- of candor more commendable than common in the discussion of this question the News says: "Protection and reciprocity will not and cannot mix. Reciprocity will ha ! possible when our tariff laws are fiamed with the distinct understanding that they are intended for trading pur poses and not to give to American pro ducers a monopoly of the home mark et. To make reciprocity a success, the republican party must abandon protec ' tion." This is-wliv our domestic free-trad ! ers with one accord yearn for reciproc ity. They perfectly well understand what some protectionists seem to over look, that if a protective tariff law can be nullith d. a little at a time, by means of reciprocity treaties, it will not take long to repeal, abrogate and entirely destroy the effectiveness of that law | The kind of reciprocity that takes away from American producers the control of the home market Is the kind free-traders favor. Well and truly dc they maintain that to make that kind of reciprocity a success the republi can party must abandon protection. 1 h* Scepter of I’owor. Over and above the excess of exports which our own country shows in com parison with Great Britain and Ger many. it has this great advantage—• namely, a large balance of trade in its favor, as against a small balance for Germany and a balance the other way for the British islands. The great American trade balance stimulates home industry, protects its money sup plies and is steadily making the world j its debtor. The scepter of commercial and financial power, so long in the hands of England, is being transferred to this nation, which, from all present indications, will hold it. for genera tions to come.—Topeka Capital. A C’oIohhhI Failure. The talk, during the campaign of | 1:*00. about the danger of imperialism i in the * vent of McKinley’s election, was the worst kind of political dema gogy. Some people may have believed such silly twaddle, but men possessing the intelligence and information of William J. Bryan knew it to be merely a fabrication, a scheme to deceive the people, but, as such, It was a colossal | failure.—Hermitage (Mo.) Index Oa : zette. ATLANTIC SOUNDINGS DISCOVERIES OF THE BRITISH EXPEDITION OF 1899. I’oneuth tho Ocisin Nature* In *«o»rlnjc th» I Mint of Conti limit# to It#*" Tt»«* Azores Are Salj to lie Voicuoie Inlands. Mr. Peake’s account of a deop-sea £GtiXiuiu& #*Xp^uiLiuii ia iS;)i), pubiinhtf'i by John Murray the other day, is a substantial addition to our knowledge of the North Atlantic ocean. The-ob ject of this enterprise was mainly com mercial, being connected with the lay ing of telegraph cables, but the author has collated the results of several other undertakings which had no pur pose but the advancement of science, such as the voyage of the Challenger, in which Sir John Murray, who con tributes notes to the present paper, took so active a part. These new soundings have enabled Mr. Peake to constrict a map of the bed of the North Atlantic, which is very valu able especially in regard to the vicin ity ».f the Azores. It was known that these islands rise from a submarine plateau, generally about 2,000 fathoms fx low the surface, and that between it and the slopes leading up, on the one side to the American, on the other to the European shores, lie two yet broad er valleys the beds of which are about 500 fathoms deeper. The plateau it self was an offshoot from that which, at a less distance from the surface, link: Great Britain with the Shetlonds, the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland, and in which the broad valleys have their heads, deepening as they proceed southward. The Azores are volcanic i. lands, piled up mosses of lava. But tne sea bed around is now proved to be far more irregular than was for merly supposed. If the ocean were lowered by 1,600 fathoms, they would iorm two distinct groups; out a mr ther sinking oi r>00 fathoms would 'unite them into one. The great islands thus revealed, of which the present j Azores ore the culminating summits, would, however, he largely extended toward the north, and on this mass I also several conspicuous hills would | be seen to rise. Even among ttie exist I ing islands the surface is diversified, as the map shows, by submarine enii j nences and rather deen bosins. tint | everywhere beneath the ocean the pro cess of rock building is going on. Slowly but surely nature Is "sowing the dust of continents to lie,” not only j with the material of Aeonian hills, but also with that which has once been | alive. In every part of the North At I lantie this work Is proceeding. The i large map issued with Mr. Peake's pa per brings the operation graphically j before our eves. A deposit of a bluish - | colored clay forms a broad fringe around the margin of the continental masses, and covers the plateau linking j Britain with Greenland. It is the finer ' detritus of the land, borne by the cur rents into the ocean. To what depth it extends depends on circumstances; ; ttie zone is broader when the sea lied : sinks gradually, narrower where it 1 .steepens more quickly. Around the Azores a volcanic lium is found, while ; at the Bermudas, the deposit is pound ed-up i oral—as might be expected. In a | few places green grains are numerous, | the casts of minute organisms—a ma terial like our green sands. South of the Azores, and i’> one or two isolated i spots, is a b> d burned almost entirely of small hells cf inolhisks. called ■ pteropodB. But beyond the limit of all these, down to the depths of 2,600 fathoms, the ocean floor is covered with calcareous mud. composed of the reties of minute living creatures, such hb algae and foraminifera— the so-call ed globigerina ooze—material similar to that of the chalk; and this passes at yet greater depths into a reddish clay, as to the exact origin of which different opinions have been entertain ed.— London Standard. Catering to t!i« 'Vent. For many years New York refused to recognize the west as worthy of the slightest metropolitan consideration, and no effort was made to cater to the i wants of the visiting swarms of rough diamonds and unlicked cubs from the boundless prairies. But mercy! How tilings have changed! Our hotels and restaurants no longer look to Boston and Philadelphia for support. Where the Hub and the Quaker City spend one dollar Chicago spends five. Ex j amine the registers of the leading ho tels and see where the patrons come ' from. The west is "running things" here. In Broadway, not far from For ty-second street, there will be opened on or about April 1 a stylish restaurant with especial attractions for ...ip rich German element of Chicago, St. Louis. Milwaukee, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Kansas City, etc., and | venture to predict that if will be pack ed at all hours with the "ton” of the west.—New York Press. Blo«qaito«