Gothenburg, Leith, New York, and even Barcelona. Of course there are a
number in England. Our scheme, briefly, is to collect these men
together, to build a manufactory and houses for them--to form them, in
fact, into a close corporation, and then supply the world with
malgamite."

"It is a great scheme, Mr. Roden."

"Yes, it is a great scheme; and it is, I think, laid upon the right
lines. These people require to be saved from themselves. As they now
exist, they are well paid. They are engaged in a deadly industry, and
know it. There is nothing more demoralizing to human nature than this
knowledge. They have a short and what they take to be a merry life."
The tired--looking man paused and spread out his hands in a gesture of
careless scorn. He had almost allowed himself to lapse into enthusiasm.
"There is no reason," he went on, "why they should not become a happy
and respectable community. The first thing we shall have to teach them
is that their industry is comparatively harmless, as it will
undoubtedly be with Von Holzen's new process. The rest will, I think,
come naturally. Altered circumstances will alter the people
themselves."

"And where do you intend to build this manufactory?" inquired Mrs.
Vansittart, to whom was vouch-safed that rare knowledge of the fine
line that is to be drawn between a kindly interest and a vulgar
curiosity. The two are nearer than is usually suspected.

"Here in Holland," was the reply. "I have almost decided on the
spot--on the dunes to the north of Scheveningen. That is why I am
staying at The Hague. There are many reasons why this coast is