ck and forth, and the cries of the children ought, in these dim
tunnels, to be hushed into awed silence. But no one else seemed so
impressed, though the men made measurements and discussed the labor and
expense of such enginery, as if it were a great achievement.

As they emerged she found herself close by Lady Moreham, also walking,
who remarked carelessly,

"You look solemn, Miss Hosmer."

"Do I? I think all this strength and power are wonderful, don't you,
my lady?"

"Yes, and awful! It oppresses me. When England lays her hand on
anything it is a heavy hand. The victim must yield, or die."

"And yet, surely our people are comfortable and wisely ruled? We are a
happy nation."

"Perhaps--of course. I was speaking of her in the abstract, merely.
But is it not true that the marked characteristic of all Englishmen is
tyranny? Don't they rule wherever they go? Aren't they always and
everywhere the dominant class--the oppressors? Watch the British
tourist in any far country. Does he ever conform to its customs in the
least? No, he forces them to come to his ways. You will see this in
every port we enter, every hotel we visit. English ideas govern
everything."

"But why shouldn't they?" asked Faith, feeling as if rather beyond her
depth, but bound to be loyal to her country. "If they have conquered
these people, haven't they the right to make laws for them?"

"Oh, laws! Yes. But not to strip them of all originality, all
independent thought and manner. They need not change their tastes,
their habits, their traditions--but there! what does a girl like you
know, or care, about all this, to be sure? Your wings have never felt
the cold shears of British superiority, nor your heart been wounded by
the sneers and scorn of her aristocracy."

She smiled bitterly, and Faith was puzzled to know what she could mean
when she, herself, was a distinguished member of the class she seemed
to take issue with.

They were separated then, and Faith borne on by the younger ones, but
as she looked out over the bay, with its forest of shipping, and down
at the terraced streets just below, she thought it a strange thing that
so favored a woman should rail at her own country and kinsmen. It
oppressed her loyal little heart, for she had begun to like the titled
lady, and hated to find so grave a flaw in her nature.

The signal house, perched like an eagle's nest on its rocky spur,
proved intensely interesting, though