Gertrude thanked Mr. Searles for what he had said, and the party withdrew
to the Winter Garden Cafe, pretty with palms, where Lucille, Leo, and
Alfonso talked of society matters, of art and music.
Gertrude read to her mother, while Hugh Searles and Colonel Harris
stepped outside into the gentlemen's cafe for a smoke, as both were fond
of a cigar. There the conversation naturally drifted upon the tariff
question.
Mr. Searles asserted that he favored free trade, and that he was sorry
America was not as far advanced and willing as Great Britain to recognize
the universal and fundamental principle of the brotherhood of mankind,
and the inborn right of everybody to trade as he liked in the world's
cheapest markets. He added that he sometimes felt that Americans were
too selfish, too much in love with the vulgar dollar.
Colonel Harris, wounded in his patriotism, now showed that he was a
little disturbed. He thanked Searles for his deep interest in Americans,
adding, "We are glad you have come to study Americans and America." Then
looking the Englishman full in the face he said, "Mr. Searles, you will
find human nature much the same wherever you travel. Nations usually
strive to legislate, each for its own interest.
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