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G1inT,T^qt^tT,.T j yj*tTrrinT7TiTrfPiT|TTT|T]p PjfT jT7! r'T^^7 nf '^l ^ ^ OR, THE RESULT OF A FANCY DRESS BALL risnjniTiHitUkii-'igiiiiiL'jiiiiii ' Lbtiim55giiin!-c'gjiCHriiggngin;gr'ja CiiAi'l'EU VII. lie refuses to stay to afternoon tea, however. Having waited until four o'clock, presumably on the chance of seiiing; the young woman who has bt'iin uioted out to him as a bride, he rises abruptly. "I fear there is no chance of my Hceing your ti.ster to-day'?" "I'm afraid not." says Diana with , -; ,. hesitation. 'But if you wait for tea " she hesitates a^ain. What she â- â€¢â€¢â- â- .â- - was g-oin.c to say or hint was, that . _•'â-  if lie dill wait, perhaps Hilary nii,i;ht '' then have come in from her R\ipposcd walk. But the hypocrisy is too much for her. And yet, would it have been a lie? If he does stay, ,,' _ •â-  most undoubtedly he will see her face " :•: to iace. v'V;'* -: '"Thanks, I'm afraid I can't stay â-  ;; '; .' - any longer," says Ker a little stiffly, V-.' * to her intense relief. He looks at •â- -â-  ? '""â-  for a moment, and then says -.••â- â€¢ shortly, "Have you a photograph of her?" "A photograph of Hilary" Diana's -, tone is faint. 'J'ho ground seems to have opened up beneath her feet. She casts a. terrified glance round her, to the tables, the cabinet, the chim- ^ re.v-piece. If there should be one of Hilary's here, and he should notice the likeness! J. ^: . A wave of thankfulness sweeps over -â- â-  her as she sees that the little stands on which Hilary u.-sotl to smile, and look grave, and ponder over impossi- ble baskets of flowersi, have all been carefull,v removed. "I think 1 ought to have one," sa.vs she uncertainly. "Upstairs, perhaps. If you will forgive me a moment " â-  . ,, "Certainly," s;i\-s Ker. who is '--â-  ( looking at her with .some surprise. :;:'â- .'â-  Her evident discomposure has .struck : : him. What kind of girl is this Hil- ary Burroughs? What mystery sur- , " rounds her? Yet Mrs. Dyson-Moore, i '; when he had questioned her cautious- â-  -, - l,v, had assured him she was pretty, â-  ^. : â- .â- '.';' charming, and all the rest of it. '_ â-  , ' Diana leaves the room hurriedl.y. glad of a chance of arranging her Ihoujihts and her next lie. as she tells herself somewhat bitterly. H'il- ary had no right to lead her into '. . : this sort of thing. V.'hy, if the ' '. children only knew! Good gracious ! it would demoralize them forever. â-  ' : â-  They would read her lectures for the ,' ;'â-  ,•'. future! Ker, left to his own reflources, moves mochaiucally toward the win- dow. Why should Mrs. Clifford re- fuse to let him see a photograph of her sister? Is she ugly ? Nobody could take Mrs. P.vson-Moore's opin- ion of any one. She would proba- bly call you ugfy if you were pretty, just for spite, or pretty if you were â€" if you were What a strange- looking parlormaid. She's pretty, if you like! Odd he hadn't thought much about that last night, but he I had remembered her when he had seen her again. Where on earth had Mrs. ClifTord picked her up? He could swear she was never born a parlor- maid. And, by Jove! There she is! There she is indeed! Out there in the .Harden, just where the shrubbei-- jes begin; with her charming head in delicate relict' ngainst the green of the laurels behind it, with her lips apart, and her eyes smiling â€" and her arm tucked in the most unmistakably confidential fashion into the arm* of â€" her master! Ker stares, us it disbelieving his own senses. Is that ClifTord, or one of the men? A groom, perhaps. There Is, however, no mistaking >)im Clif- ford, the strong, kind, mnuly face, the broad shouklers, the goodly length of limb. "Good Heavens! It his wife were to Bee him now," says Ker. in n horri- fied tone. Involuntarily he glances toward the door! It she should come back, and by some ill chance go to the window anil look out â€" and He looks out again himself hur- riedly. The "guilty pair," as he has already designated thorn, are now fast disappearing through the shrub- bery. The last glance he gets of them tells him that they are both convulsed with lauRhtcr. ITe has had but a short pcciuaia- , lance with ClifTord. certainly, yet in that time he had learned to regard • him as an essontially honest man; . a thoroughly good fellow. So much , , for appearances. Never will he trust in them ajjain. He would I have staked his life on Clifford's pro- • bitj . yet here he is holding a clan- .' destine mesting with his own parlop- ; maid, in his own grounds! What a despicable hypocrite! Ker had notic- ed one or two little touches between him and his wife at luncheon, that had seemetl to betray a thorough '. nnderstnni'ing between them â€" a thor- ough and lasting afteetion; and now, I what is ho to think of those delicate "touches"? He remembers now that there had been other "touches" too, by no means "delicate" apparently. That ' luddcn up-gpringing of Clifford to â-  help her open that bottle of ale. Ilis tone when he did so : "Cio on. J 11 do It!" It was a low tone, but Itmlli^r, terribly familiar. JltOW, a' cvursr. for fear his wife 'should hear him. It suggested a confidential se.:ret existing between them! A secret! Was it a criminal secret? The shrubberies says "yes" to this. No doubt the assignation there had I been arranged beforehand. Thi.s I would account for Clifford's with- jdrawal from the drawing-room half jan hour ago. He had muttered ; .something to his wife on going, some I thing about a visit to one of the j farms â€" hut of course he was bound 'to make some excuse, to give an ex- planation, however vague, for his go- â-  Infi'- i Of cour.se he knew that this would be a safe opportunity to meet that â€" that â€" beautiful girl ! I Ker would have liked to apply isome bad epithet here to the parlor- |inaid, but somehow it does not come to him. It all savors so strongly of a low intrigue, that that word strikes upon his brain, but it seems I impassible to connect the word in- jtrigue with her. Her face rises be- fore him â€" the eyes so clear â€" the brow :so openâ€" the lovely, happy lips. And yet. this evidence! I He pulls himself together angrily ! Certainly something ought to be I done! Diana should be told! But I then, who is to tell her? Ker, with I a sudden pang, acknowledges that it would be impossible for him to draw upon the parlormaid. At this instant Diana returns. "I'm so sorry," says she calmly. "But there is no photograph of Hil- ary to give you." This is an ambiguous sentence. It might mean anything! "No photo- graph to give him." She evidently means to convey the idea that there is not one to give, But to Ker, now, with his suspicions thoroughly awakened, it conveys only the thought that there may be many, but not for him to see. He expresses a polite regret, says good-bye to his hostess, and havin;^ been accompanied by her to the door in the friendliest fashion, leaves the house. He has hardly gone one step bo- ,Vond the hall-door when Hilary thrusts her charming head out of the dining-room door. CHAITER VIII. "He's gone?" questions she. "Thank Heaven! Oh, Hilary, what a day we've bad!" "And by no moans 'cheap,' " says Hilary, who really is hopelessly friv- olous. "No. No indeed! All I've su.l'er- ed! I wouldn't do it again for any- thing. >lilary, I've counteil them up. and I think I told him four de- cided lies. And the worst of it is. I think.s ho suspects something." "What makes you think that ? Nonsenije, Di! There was nothing. I'm sure I think I was the best par- lormaid you have hud for years." "Still I'm sure he has found out something. His manner was quite changed before he left. A little KtilT, and he kept looking at ne in the strangest way. He asked for your photogiaph." "What?" "Yes. For your photograph. It was quite natural. Why shouldn't he ask for it? But when he did, I as- sure you my heart sank. I thsught T should have fainted, but i)roviden- tially some one hail removed you." "Don't talk as if you were an 'Irish Invincible,' " says Hilary with reproach. "I hope 1 shan't be removed in their way. As a fact I took all my photos out of the room myself. It occurred to mc that he might see one of them." "How you think o'.' things!" says Diana with admiration. "Neverthe- less," descending once more into the lowest depths, "when he went away he left us full of suspicions." "Is that all he left us?" says Hil- ary with a disgusted air." She glances round her and at this mom- ent her e.ves fall upon the umbrella st,ind. "You have wronged him," cries she. "The noble creatures! I knew he would leave us something worth having. Behold his stick!" There it is! A good, serviceable- looking stick of cherry-wood, with a thin band of silver round the neck of it. "How could he have forgotten it?" says Diana. "Did you ever hear of n man forgetting "his stick before? His gloves if you like, or " "His head?" "Nonsense. He is going away for a week, and will want it. 1 sup- pose I had better send it over to the Dyson-Mooro."!'." "Why. he can't be gone beyond the Kate yet," says Hilary. "I'll run after him with it." "Hilary, don't! No. you mustn't ! He.«;idcs he must bo gone quite be- yond the gale by this time. And be- sides " "I'll chance it !" says Hilary. She catches up the slick, darts like a modern .M.alanta through the d©oi^ way, and is ^one up the avenue be- , fore Diana has fime to collect an- other argument. She would probably not have ovcr- tRken him, however, but for the fact that, finding his hand empty, and (liereforc awkward, he had dis- covered the loss of his stick and was returning for it. .lust as he comes to the clump of ihodadendrons that hide the house from view, he sees a charming, lithe figure running toward him. Such a figure. Not of fun certainly â€" though Itin is quick in it, especially in the eyes and mouth, if veiled. A lovely thing slie seems to him, all life, and that at its hweetest â€" with her soft hair flying loosely round hei- brow and her lijis a little parted. "Your slick, .sir," cries she demure- ly, as she comes up to him. He had stopped o!i seeing her, as it studying the strange charms that belong to this strangest of all strange parlor- i maids. I "Thank you," says Ker. He lakes the stick mechanically, as if not I thinking of it, and then says sud- idenly : "1 think it was you who gave mc that glass of water last I night." His tone is cold, even .severe. j "Yes, sir," returns the maid re- jspectfully. "And it was you," with a little glance at him from \mder the jlang lashes, "who gave mc"â€" hesita- tingly and fumbling in her pocketâ€" "this!" She has brought out the memor- able florin, and is now holding it up between her thumb and forefinger "Well?" says Ker. "I have been thinking, sir," gazing with evident sadness at the florin, "that a glass of water is not worth two shilling.s. An idiotic sense of gladness sud- denly overcomes Ker. After all â€" even in spite of that scene in the .shrubberies) â€" slie rau.st be a good girl, an honest girl, one who.sc con- science forbids her to take more than her due. Such extreme delicacy of conscience is not common with her class. Her class! He is aroused from his reveries by the good girl. "Will you take it back, sir?" She i.-, holding out the florin to him. "Nonsense!" says Ker, coloring furiously. "Tlicn I ma.v keep it?" "Of course," frowning. "Forever?" "Forever and ever," sa.ys he, laugh- ing now in spite of himself. "Well, I shall," says the counter- feit Bridget. "If only," with a sen- timental sigh, and downcast eyes, "to remen;bor!" "To remember what?" "Ah! nevei- mind." "But I do mind," says Ker, who has somehow forgotten for the mo- ment that monstrous episode in the shrubberies. â- â- I'm sorry for that." placidly. "WeJl, " with a respectful smile, "I shall keep it, sir, anywayâ€" forever." "Hid any one ever keep a two- shilling piece forever?" asks Ker with some amusement. "I shall!" says Bridget sweetly. "I'll make a hole in it, and hang it round my neck." "That's very good of you," says Ker. "I shall like to think I was the giver of it." All at once he puiis him.self to- gether. Memory has supplied him with a picture ! Once again ho sees this .girlâ€" this sirenâ€" with her arm in as she stands -with the handkerchief pressed against her eyes. A very pretty handkerchief of the very finest cambric. "Poor Diana's, of course," he tells himself. At this moment "Bridget" glances at hiMi from behind her shield. "I hope you won't tell the mistress sir," says she in woebegone tones. â- â- I? Why should I tell her?" says Ker indignantly. â- 'What I think so scandalous is, that there should be anything to tell her." â- â- Y'cs, sir." She has gone behind the handker- chief again, and her shoulders are shaking. Evidently she is crying hard. "To mc," Bays Ker, a little soften- ed by this evidence, of contrition, "your mistres.s seem.i both good .ind kind." "Oh, yes, she is, sir; she is indeed. Vou can't think how kind." "Then I think it abomiiu\ble of ,vou," spoken sternl.v. "to betray her in that sort of way." "I won't do it again, sir. I won't, indeed! " Her voice is quite stilled now. She is plainly in floods of tears. Ker begins to feel quite sorr.y for the poor, misguided girl. No doubt Cliilord is greatly in fault. This pretty creature has only wanted one word from a friend... a real friend â€" to show her the iniquity of her ways, and waken her to a sense of her In- gratitude toward a kind mistress. "I'm glad to hear you say that," says he, "and " He jjauses. Some- how Diana's sad fate recurs to him again. How is she to be defended against a bad husband, and this so evidently easily-led girl ? "I wish," sa,ys he impulsively, "that you would try to bo a good girl." 'â- I'll try," says Bridget, who now seems suffocating. "That's right," says Ker heartily. â- 'And you won't tell misses, sir?' wo were ad.iudged guilt.v_ and made to pay $15,000,000 for '«he damage. This has rankled with .\W(irfi*,a ever since, and whenever u confi»r«ncc of the Powers is Hununoned she seeks to raise the que.stion. The United States had the oppor- tunlt./ of securing the abolition of privateering in IH."}?, in the Declara- tion of Paris, but she rofu.sed to sign any .such contention unlei/s the Pow- ers also agreed to stop all iutei'fer- ence with merclmnt traffic during war. In this altitude America also refused to admit several other iiunortant ar- ticles, such as the riglit,^ of blockade and the respect of a neutral flog con- veying an enemy's commerce, i Her principal enemy in this fad" about the freedom of raerclmnt com- merce is Great Britain. It would bo dead against our interests to consent to it, as in time of war one of our strongest assets will be the power of our fleet to haiiiper an enem.v'a tiade b.v closing our ports and channels to his aliips. But both Britain and America re- served the right to use "projectiles intended to diffu.se aflph.yxiating or deleterious gases." All the other Powers, with a few trifling exceptions agreed, at the Hague Conference, to deny themselves THESE LUXURIES IN WAR. The United States, again, is not a signatory to the Geneva Convention. This is an agreement to enable Pow- ers to organize relief societies to at- tend the sick and wounded in time of war. It was concluded as a restilt of the horrors of s\ilTering experienced at the Battle of Solferino, in 18.59. and was signed by fourteen Govern- ments. America, however, did no! support it. Britain, for her part, has just as large a catalogue of fnd.s us anybody else. Some seem to be sensible, oth- ers not. We showed oirs.'lves to bo V when invited to attend the l!rUF;iels Conference. "You know that," savs he a little , , . . . ,„ stiCfly. Ts she only desirous, after !^'<^'"y determined in 18 all, of getting olf scot-free? Her face now open to his inspection, the ha«d- j'^''^^ '^'is summoneil witii a view to ker chief having been lowered, helps humanizing war, as a rijsult of the to this idea. It is just as it â- was ] Franco-German horrors. Amongst before it went behind the flag of dis- |the tilings which it was de.sired to tress, lovely, bright, pale-pink. stop in warfare were tho uh- of pois- 'â- I'd like to shake hands with j'ou over that, sir." The lovely parloi-inaid holds out her hand to him and perforce feels that he must take it. ons. either in liquid or on weapons, of shell.s and explosive bullets, of rod- hot shot, and guns loaded with scraps he iof iron. Britain objricted to joining olHcial- (To be Continued. NATIONS WITH WAR f ABS METHODS OF WAHFARE OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. Russia Must Have British Coal â€" Britain Approves of Dum- Dum Bullet. warfare it h.is been 'found that tlie Every nation is touchy on some small calibre E;iot is almost imeless. point in connection with war. In !lt will go clean through a black will;- the present struggle we shall probab- , out slopping; his headlong rush. Tliu ly heai' man.v complaints made by "Dum-Dum" stops him. cither party as to one or the othei i CinNA'JS LITTLE FADS having committed some breach of the ' .â-  n . < i i, .. >•,. ,« "" •* , ,, i» r 4. 1 'have i.-racticallv prr-\(;nted her iron! laws of war. very few wars take " ' â-  ' are not a very industrious girl," says he austerely. "But why, sir ?" "Your hands. Look at your hands." Bidget looks at them. She spreads them abroad, indeed, as if examining the offending members with great interest. "Are they too white, sir?" asks she at last. "Much too white." "You," thoughtfully, "would like them to be brown?" She holds Clifford's, and her face uplifted to them up before Ker's eyes. They his IH evident confidence. He can | look pale as paper in the sunlight, almost hear the light laughter with | "I don't know what I want," savs which she and he disappeared into j Ker angrily. He turns upon his tho shnbbery. He can almost hear heel, and leaves her. too. ho tells hiir..self. Avilh a return of his former indignation, the weeiJ- iiig of poor, pretty, faithful, Diana, when the truth, as eventually no doubt it will be. is laid bare to her. "Look here," says he sternly, turn- ing to tho "siren." "I think I saw you ju.st now. out there." pointing ill the direction of the laurel-walks. "Me. sir?" "Yes. you." "rerhajis I was gathering laurel- leaves, sir, for cook to put in the milk?" "No, you were not. " soys Ker .shortly, "you wore talking to â€" your master!" "Ohâ€" I " She grows crimsonâ€" so crimson, so undeniably embarrassed, that Ker for the second feels his heart stop beating. Vet wh.y should it stop? Siio is guilty! This hot blush must be one of shame. And yet to blush at all, is not that a sign of grace? It horrifies hiui to llnd presently that he is even at this last hour striving to condone the culprit's fault. As a fact, Hilary is coinpleleiy taken aback by his attack. She hail not anticipated it. When lau.ghing with Jim over the absurd situations at luncheon it had not occurred to either h.er or him that they could be seen from the drawing-room window. They had thought of Ker as being engaged with Hiann. Hilary had really run out to get some laurel- leaves to put into the milk that is to .make the children's rice for sup- per, and had there mot Jim on his way to the farm that lay beyond the' mill over there. They could not resist n hurried laugh over the lun- cheon, and ao had been- discovered. Her enibarrassmont, after a mom- ent, gives wB.y to other feolings. Having run lightl.v in her mind over the facts of the case, as they must seem to Ker, an overpowering sense of mirth makes her its slave. What had he thought? that she was flirting with Jimâ€" poor old Jimâ€" bohind the mistress' back? It seems too funny for anything. With n view to having her amuse- ment, she puHs out he<' handker- chief and buries her face in it. To Ker it seems that she is crying through fear, no doubt, ne tells him- self contemptuously. He feels no pity for her; that absolute untruth about the picking of the laurel-leaves for the cook has disgusted him. It WAS Inn ready a lie! Ha watchvn h«r What a very white delicate hand ! ily in tho Conference, becaUMc. in the He looks at it as it lies within his [words of our Foreign .Secretar.v. .such OV!^- jrules "facilitated aggressive wars and "Never does a stroke of work if Iparalyzed the patriotic eflorta of an she can help it evidently. I.vaves all jjavaded people." As Britain ab- to poor Diana." decides he. !sta«ned, nothing direct resulted from Ho rests his eyes on hers. :y,„ Conference. â- â- It seems to mc. Bridget, that you To this da.v Britain retains a kindly feeling towards expanding bullets. THE "DUM-DUM" (a bullet which expands whi-n it strikes) is regarded with horror b.v the otiicr European Slate.-', and at the Ha.guc Conference an attempt was mad'e to declare it contrary to the laws of war. Together with the Unit- ed States, wo protested that the â- 'Dum-Dum" bullet did not aggravate the sufferings of the wounded. Very shortly afterwards the liullet was accidentally used in our .South -African War. but. in view of Furopc- ,an protests, it was dropped at once. Neverthi'k'ss. International Law does not bind us in this uialter. while it does bind our fellow nations. It would be a,',Tainst British principle5=. in any case, to ii.se them if an enem;.' ab- stained from doing so. AU we claim is that the "Dum-Dum" is fair in w,ar a,?ainst uncivilized races. Porlu- .cral is another Stale witii a leanin; towards the "Dum-Dum." and also declined to aboli.sh it. But there is a riefi'uco for 'the "Diiin- Eum" bullet. It is invariably only used ogain!;t savages. In African being regarded as one of the civilized Powers of the world. The title tc civilization rests on whether or not a Power has subscriljeil to Interna- tional Law. as repi-e.^nled in the various Conventions. Chioa did not sign the Geneva Con- vention reg.irding the nursing of the wounded, or the Trent.v of F.nn's ol TS87, while Japan did. Therefore, in Jai>an'.s war Willi China she was vei-y much concerned as to whrlher .she was to treat China as civilized or as \a barbarian. .She finally decided to icall China civilized, and so thra.shod I her in a civilized manner. j Hrilain has a subHtantial fad to put I before the Powers as a result of the lioer War. It is thai when an arm.v is in eOeclive occujialion of a coun- ilrv the native forcen. if the.v continue their resistance, should be treated a.^ rebels. De Wet's irritating tactic^ after the occuiinti'on of Petroria were the oaiise of this fad. and 'guerilla warfai'e" will probably be treated verv difTerentlv next time we find our- selves faced with it. There is no doubt that, before the liresent war is over, new and stranje fads will crop up with regard to naval war. Amongst the resouirces some Powers have iried to abolish is the submarine, but that is too from- isiag n weapon for the Po':»erp to wiUingl.i surifnder â€" Peai-son's Weekly. WOCnEN-LRGtJED UUNNER. A lasne man named Francois R<;f:iii. who calls him.self the champion wood- en-tagged man. ran a rnco on the Boulevard de rAbalt.ioir. Par's, covc"-- place without some such complaints. Russia has herself started gruaiibling, on the ground that Japan made a "treacherous " attack on her ships at Port Arthur without first declai'- ing war. ^ Tho charge is unjustifiable, for over sixty wars of the last cenlur.v were started without a formal declaraliim. In fact, declarations of war Have gone eut of fashion. Nearly all tho Powers agreed at the Hagujo Conference that permanent ar- bitration was a very desirable thing. But Gernian.v protested, and her ac- tion prevented the idea being general- ly ntloplecl. The Kaiser and his Government declared that to be com- pelled to submit dis|)utes to arbitrii- lion was "dangerous and derogalor.v to a monarch's sovereignl.v and inde- pendence." and the Kaiser refused to pledge himself to bow to the decis- ions of juj[iK«s not appointed by him. on a case that h«d not arisen. A great grievance of Uuaeia against "porfidiou* .Mbion." which in decidod- l.V comical, is the verv fact that we arc neutral. This alone crii^pleti Rus- sia's passage to the Far East, b.v re- strictiiig her coal supply ot our sta- tions en the route. Britain cannot even ait atill without offending some- bod.y. THE PARTICULAR FAD ot the United States is an objection to privateering and atfjacks on mcr- chont shipping in times of war. She adopted tho grievance as a result ol the Alahanna maraudings in 180fi. by which scores of the Federal .nliips wers sunk. The Alabama was proved t«» have been built in Britain, and to 'ing n-ne miles in an hour. f,uA a. lili-U have flailed from m Hrltisli port, anfi jover tourteen miles irf two hovvra. •I- fhf y-