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aid I lo engaged to Ft hp Belturhe Heriott looked at her wit, surpr! "Do mean to tell m he asked, "thay Jou love Baturbet" you. love "Of course I do," replied Dulcie dé tly. on poor little thing," said Heriott lowly. "1 don't know what you mean," she Te flushing. 5 "Oh, you do," averred her com jon" with an leasant emile. derstand that 1 know ou don't care a button for Belturbet," It is Ne iouse and and money that app you, We Jou oan have them; but I will tell you this--yon will never have his love. I may be penni: ees, but at least I Jove zou, tho qnow you are not worth it. Bui I have ith you now. Take elturbet and i a oney: but don't forget that I have her in his arms and kissed fesed you like that" he said with a sneer, "and never willl" Then he Jutned and left her alone in the dusk ie ran Sutekly 'home. She locked herself in her room, and erideny herself. But it was cay lo shine oft The recollection of "Shs k fhe em them atill moved her and SF her cheeks. Poor a how fond he was of her! dm, | diffe from Arthur! Yet: what oould she dor Give up Arthur for penni: less Jim? No. Bome girls might do it, but not Dulcie Carwardine, who meant to he 2 Something Juore than the househol or man, Still, it was glo 26 im Sompan: Re to voll on the recollection of 's love; it wae flattering to think she could inepire euch feelings. She longed to meet him again and tell im Low sorry she wae that ciroum- stances would not allow her to return his afféction--for ehe did like him, much bet- ter than Arthur, Bhe understood him and could always talk freely to him, and rhe enjoyed. his merry jokes and gibes. Poor dim yee, and poor Duleie, too! She lik- ed to have his arme round her, and to have hie kisses. It was very hard to be obliged to marry Arthur Belturbet! Dulcie = began to be . influenced by thoughts and feelings to which she had hitherto been a stranger. It might be a'l very well, she decided, to flirt lightly with a man; buf to discover that he was in earnest, and that ehe had to diecourage "him because she was engaged to some one for whom she did not care in, the least, wae a serious matter. Before long, her feelings towards Jim underwent a change. It was several daye, however, before ehe realized the real meaning of the alteration. She did not wisit their private letter box, and spent her afternoons in dreary' solitude. wondering how on earth she could Ret through the coming winter if her only relaxation from the tedium and quietness of the house was to be a morn: ng walk with Arthur Belturbet. nthe fourth day after Heriott's de. olaration, Dulcie conquered her pride suf. ficiently to visit the letter-box. It con- tained nothing. She experienced a great sinking at heart, and before she reached Blue Posts felt that the only thing the that mattered wae another meeting wi fort A thought struck her. Suppose he fag left Old House? But if he had, sure- x Belturbet would have mentio! it. eo must eee Jim somehow and put ' ualngs right with. him, e was feverishly anxious by this time, and visited the letter-box very freely dur. ing the next few days, but without result, One morning ehe put a sheet of notepaper between the stones and wrote on it the words: "Stone Gap. Six-thirt; "Jf he doesn't go to our 'pillar won't. know I have written to him, oho told herself, "and if he does go, he will come to Stone Gap." He was there when Dulcie arrived a few minutes late. "1 thought I should never get here," ghe said breathlessly, 'Martha has watched me like a cat watches a mouse. She emiled at her lover, but no answer- ing smile met her gaze. Jim regarded her with hard eyes. "What do you want to eee me for?" he neked brusquely. Dulcie, who had expected a very differ. ent greeting, felt a shock of surprise. "For mary reasons," she said in an ag- grieved to "Well, bo. ne quick ag you can," was the cool retort, '"'hecause 1 have only a few minutes to spare.' "You are forgetting your manners," ahid, Duleié, crimgoning with mortifica- tl "I am not going to forget n that jou ou_ are engaged to Arthur 1turbet,'" e significant reply. "And since you ---- it will be better in future for us to see very little of each other. You made fool of me once, but I don't propose to give you the, opportunity of doing so a second tim i "You re exceadingly rude!" cried Dul- cie hotly. "We need not discuss my manners, lied Jim. 'You wished to see me, am here, He looked at her unmoved. Dulce struggled with her disappointment. In- stead of the fender Fords and glances she had expected, and, indeed, hoped for, she _ encountertd only this frigid F demeanour} "1 think you are very unkind," she said ich, however, to-nigh i bo; Te. and Stood looking at her, ** deed. I am eure it was not my fault that you fell in love with me; you knew I wae engaged to Arthur. I suppose it was ng of me to meet you here; but I dont see why you need be horrid or un. kind now. She looked Dailietioatly at him with wistful' blue "Duleie," he oy lind sternly, "I am not going fo argue with Jou--but I want you to understand that I have come to' my cad to make love " /menses. o Anality of "his control.' ot) Hele a Sih wisdom on." id. E pT ET oat be HE 50. deep, 1a heh 1 | at J , Or prefer him to A: ©0! 7 What wag othe to Fisvenf" And LIT t this poi = ered ny she and x on, Heriott, who Alive i have any Ana if at he aia not rose ought Toney which had belonged to their mo- Duleje or awe} ied ith renewed + JYigor | about their Taihere Setermination leave e them : sud & Dittance, a hor e 8 ih "bot stopped. or Ra between quiverin + were W. i, 'the: 5 would er mine and P Primrose's, peted. be ceased, and for a ®5 stared with wide eyes into Ions Pl ness. Before ghe fell ael she had Jormulated da plan, hich if it gucceeded, ed, bring her what he had ee more than anything else -- marriage with Jim Heriott. to CHAPTER VIL For several daye Dulcie meditated whether to tell Arthur Belturbet at once that she only loved him as a brother -- or in plain English, to end her engage- ment to him--or to wait until éhe was ae- sured of a definite position. That was how she preferred to describe the situa- tion in which she wou!d find herself after the termination of her father's Hinese. John Carwardine was undoubted! ly a ing. Martha's grim features wore, i sible, a harder look, and Primrose's vals and pathetic face, her deeply shadow gray eyes, filled Arthur Belturbet on the keenest distress whenever he saw her. It wae not very often, for he seldom called at Blue Posts, and.Dulcie had reduced her walks with him to ome every other day, on the plea that she was needed in the in. valid's room, but in reality because she feared she might betray herself when she was alone with him, Belturbet was relieved, but. politely SXpressed his re- Rret at seeing her so little, "Everything seems different now father ig ill," Dulcie said to him vaguely, one day. "I don't seem to know what to do or think." Belturbet remarked that illness was very unsettling. He felt that he was un- eympathetic, but his engagement Dulcie was so unnatural that he was un- fable to attempt to console or comfort her "ae a lover ehould have done. 0 saw "that Primrose wae far more in need of help than Dulcie, and it wae for Prim. rose that his heart ach Duleie, he knew intuitively, merely regarded her father's illness, now the first shock was over, ag an irksome and unpleasant busi ness which could terminate in only one way He supposed that when Dilcie was fatherless, -he would have to marry her as soon as decorum permitted; it would tarany Db be expected of him, He blamed himself repeatedly for hie folly in being beguiled by forget-me-not blue eyes an | r ¥ 1 o would could have read his thouglits she would have been 'able to say with truth: "I could have told you | 0, only you would not have believed me. A hundred times, he wished "himself back in his chambers, a briefless bar- T rT, it ie true, but happy and un- fettered, bound by honor to no woman, and at liberty to woo where he chose. He had been far happier, he told himself bit. terly; a year ago. There was no doubt about it, 'he was a fool! He confessed it many, times, yet he 'was abide by the consequences g It never occurred to him that Dulcie might give Ry his freedom. She seemed so entirely satisfied with his perfunctory attentions that he took it for granted that hie extremely cool woo- ing suited her mo Many plans were maturing in Dulcie's pretty head, but she feared to break with Belturbet, lest the precautions she had taken to prevent herself and Primrose be- ing left practically penniless on her fa- ther's death ghould prove unsuccessful. The Heriotte had left Old House and returned to their flat in London; both in bad: tempers owing to the failure of their plans. Jim worked furiously in his little workshop, haunted by Sxoeedingly su pleasant recollections. He had e lov: ove to the girl 'his best friend was engag to, and ended by guatrelling with her-- in' fact, he had be like a cad all the way round. He knew that Duleie was a pretty, mercenary little creature, but since he happened to be in love with her, he regarded her failings and peccadilloes with a very lenient eye. Bhe might be selfish and untruthful and a host of other things, but she was bewitching little Dul- oie Carwardine, and he loved h d- there it was! So he shut himself up in his workshop and spoilt a large auantits. of good materials a eavage endeavor to invent something that would--to use his own worde--make the engineering world 'sit up." While Dulce was trying her d to regain her' fr to make up eedom, Beltur- bet. %ling to reconcile himself to the unenta le state of being engaged to a girl he did not love, Primrose triving to understand 'why ever ad gone wrong in her little wor by og old Martha trying her beét to col onceal the trinmph she Toy in having achieved the object for which ehe had echemed fre d he last a8 to Primrose nd Dulcie a waking AiRTEmATe. Beltur- bei called and saw two white-faced girls th eyes swimming in tears. To im se her father's death wae pitiful in its BE Ee she sorrowed honeetly for ie wept in ympaihy ad hs 7,8t Duele, wh ho, id ol nok seem a dlapir't 5h ardener, ot: drawers As loo] Tn aucetion which siooa 'ins our father's desk, M i RL RE our fet! Ne died," said je. right 1 have not the sl Sauss I eannol believe lighter is 3 he @ kev, of .courde, should ne's Qarwar possession," 4 hein Mie Sactha shot a venomous giaes at the two girls, thrust a hand into a Papaciots ocket, drew out a heavy bunch of keys flung them on the writing table, a ere they arel She said Tudely. ; on licked 'them up and Taded them to Primrose. "Do a know which is the key of the writing-table?" he asked. There were a good many drawers to be opened and a quan Baby, ¢ Dt panera to searched ronEh but M orton found no trace of a Will. "There does not seem to be any such | document.' Ho he said, turning 1. Marha must I 49% 'Orewe to put it his shall we s Dely yo) you to look through "the papers?' yuleie, , Bweetly. hape Marthe can find i Thereupon they a all ea to search the drawers of the Martha with feverish haste, Dulcie wathout much sign .of anx- ety, and Primrose with careful thorough. eas, 'Buf they could discover = nothing Tike a Will *"'Suppoce we send for Doctor Orewe and question him." suggested Mr. Norton. Martha went off hurriedly to fetch him, and when she had gone Mr. Norton look- ed at the two girls with a slightly pus zled air, "It is rather odd," he said, "that if your father intended to make 'another Will he did not send for me.' "I think: it most peculiar," Dul- 'you, cié. "I don't understand it at a Primrose?" "No," answered Primrose Wn, % cause if ur father made a in, if ought to be here." "Well, let us have tea, and when Dootor he can throw some Crewe comes, per rhaps, said Dulcie, light on thetmatter," It wae nearly an hour. before Martha returned wi the doctor. ae they" are?" riod Dulcie ae she w them coming .up the drive: oN should like to épeak to Doctor Crewe firet, with your permission," said Mr. Norton. "Please do everything that ought to be done in the circumstances," replied Primrose, (To 'be continued.) ar Wn GERMAN DEAD MERE LADS. French and Germans of Every Class |; Lose Flower of Youth. A Belgian despatch recently call- ed attention to the youth of the German soldiers as if this were a surprising thing. But the German, like the French, standing army is, of course, composed of boys be- tween the ages of eighteen and twenty-four. Each year a third of the army goes back to civilian life and a new third is recruited. None of these are, of course, married; hence there are few widows being made by the German fighting round Liege, if this is any compensation for the loss 'of the "flower -of the |. country's youth, It 'is only when the French and |} German reservists join the first line, that married and older men are in action. This is, by the way, volunteer regiments in which so many of the men were married. As for the French and German nou- commissioned officers, they are; of course, in large part professional | soldiers and family men, like their | officers. But their soldiers are too often mere boys just out of school, without 'the faintest appreciation, 'perhaps, of what the war is 'all "about. In a sense these armies are de- mocratic, because the sons of rich be | and poor alike serve; the educated for a year only, and perhaps in' 'erack regiments; but there is no will not pay a terrible price "i young men for hg inhumanity that is going on to-day. "nent | class in France or | The m & Dosior acre {at for er . pron \ oe m, a the 108 SEES dis hat : Jaa to quite unlike ithe record of our own | The wall around Paris-and the 17 detached forts two miles beyond the alls were built by Louis Phillippe. They sustained the German siege of | 1870-1871, and the outer forts have since greatly stren ned. :| The third line. of forts, on Ethene. of Bt. Germain, Cormilles and Vil: | liers, are of modern construction, with the latest types of batteries and heavy guns. The inner wall about Paris sur- rounds the best known and most im- Portant sections of the city, includ- ing the business sections along the grand boulevards, the residence sec- tions to the north and west of the city and the Latin quarter and other sections of the left bank of the Seine. Outside of the wall a circle sailles, Vincennes and many others. The: forts of the second and third line. of defence are a) these suburbs, prote: the approaches to the capital. The wall 'contains 93 bastions and 67 gates. Bome 'of these have been abandoned owing to the pressure of modern construction and trade. ut recent advices received here rom Paris state that all the gates still existing are now closed at 8 o'clock at night, with rigid regula. tions against movements from with- in or without. 'The second line of forts includes the famous fortress of Montvaler- ian, which was the centre of aback in the Serian siege of 1870. It is yy two grou of works--Pautes Bruyeres wi the Chatillon fort and batteries. South of the city is the row of forts at Ivry, Bictre, Mont Rouge, Vanves and Issy. North and east of the city are three great forts around Bt. Denis, and two others at Fort Aubervillers and Fort Charenton, commanding the approaches from the great wood of Bondy, "Defences. Require 170,000 Men. The outer circle of forts; which 'are of the most modern type, have ifrom 24 to 60 § heavy guns, and 600 to 1,200 men. In all the three lines of 8 require 170,000 men to operate them, not sunting troops 'assembled within the' city. Accord- ing to military experts it would Te- quire a force of 500,000 men to in- 'vest these defences. General Count von Moltke, field rehal of the German forces at, the 'stated in a report on that siege that the French artillery armament con- sisted of more than 2,600 pieces, in- cluding 200 of the largest calibre of 'naval 'ordnance. There were rounds for each sun, and 8 reserve of 8,000, of powde: of suburbs extends for many miles, |; > | including Nenilly, Argenteuil, Ver-. among | {, cling them and Foreign wg) the siege of Paris of 1870-71, | ent with S00 cow The uired 4, wagons q and 10,000 horses, hii were 'nob availabl 6. : later stage the Germans At | brought up their big siege guns at- tacking the enciente Tis, and dropping 300 to 400 15-centimetre shells into the heart of the city. Notwithstanding the fury of the German attacks, Paris withstood |: the siege for 132 days. Bince then the entirely new and outer third line of defence has been erected, and military experts say the fortifica- tions as a whole are far more. for- midable than those which: resisted | the siege of 1870-71. FEE Sant] AI NI Ag EAE WHY KAISER DI.CLARED WAR. Dido Want to bes Called: © liam he Coward" Again, i fo Pld lany @ 6, from a very early date Aha ed the Emperor at Kiel: through"--to see. it through ainst Russia, so says the Berlin correspondent of the 'London peror said that the Berajevo mur- ders 'opened up:an abyss."' At any rate they caused his Majesty re Togs his head. He hastened back to Berlin--only to involve himself in a quarrel with Vienna about the State funeral, which after all for imaginery reasons of. ill-health he did not attend. - His Majesty. then went on his northern eruise, bub returned to Berlin suddenly on July 26, to the open regret of the Office; asthe British Charge d'Affaires, Sir Horace Rumbold, telegraphed to London. Aes as the crisis became acute 1 eo some in es. Emperor's me laquiries. of mind, and was told on excellent author. ity that for the first time hé had abandoned the part of "keeper of the peace."" There were in fact to {be no more German newspaper articles in the press suchas . ap- 'peared during the Morocco « crisis 'under the heading "Guillaume le Poltron."' I do not mean that the Emperor was determined = upon war, but he 'had removed his re- straining hand, and Germany drift- ed slowly but surely through the icross-currents 'to the Russian ulti- matum and to war. The more sin- cere the efforts made for peace, the 'more futile they were, Instead of drawing back from the "abyss,"' Germany tumbled into it. The only justification, if it is a justification, that can be'offered of the Emperor's attitude is that he was deeply moved by the Berajevo murders and believed that their ini: | quity would unite Western Europs even. at the cost of the obligations and: interests of the Western pow- 16 movement forward of heavy guns would have re-| 4,500 fou news of Serajevo murder reach- i Times. In his speech 'from 'thely throne to the Reichstag the Em-|'Agj about, the | Gorman Kaiser Revives, vi signia: Bestowed for ¥ A or. Shortly after the opening of hos. tilities the German Kaiser, gion ing. the precedent estab established b, William I., reinstituted the ay. Order of the Iron Cross. The New York BStaats-Zeitung fummishes an interesting history of this. woxeted mark of Bsttnetion which is aw ed solely. for the performance deed of ue ight ver nthe field of battle. King Frederick Willia ET Proce: founded the order on : March. 10, 1813, as a x Toward for ser- ig ¥ had determined "t0 see: te band just 'inside The 'only other ot upon it i three oak leaves in the centr is customary in the case orders, there were two. cl¥: a'grand cross, the later fwie regular size. In 1841 a permanes 'endowment was added paying fixed annual sums to the wearers of . decoration. On July 19, 1870, the day France again 'declared war on Pru) sia, the order was revived by Kong William® I. on the same conditions as originally instituted. At that time the three oak leaves were drop- ped, and the letter W, the crown, and the date 1870 were substituted. for the original Tasks, but the three leaves 2 Eh who have won a mandi attle followed by the forced retirement of an enemy, for the capture of an im- portant fort, or for successfully de- fending a fort against the enemy' capture. In addition to the who have won the cross for dual acts of distinguished regiments | pecially meritorious service: The is no decoration for a German mili- tary man that carries with if greater glory than the Iron. Cross, ei it is significant that the thou- sands of veterans who possess this risless dutors decor tio have always wil most pro- | bts respect it by ihe entire German 'public.