If he is disappointed in
commanding these requirements, if he finds neither co-operation
nor support, if some great scheme to which he may have devoted
much of his life thus proves to be only a castle in the air, he
may feel that nature has dealt hardly with him in not endowing him
with passions like to those of other men.
In treating a theme of perennial interest one naturally tries to
fancy what the future may have in store If the traveller,
contemplating the ruins of some ancient city which in the long ago
teemed with the life and activities of generations of men, sees
every stone instinct with emotion and the dust alive with memories
of the past, may he not be similarly impressed when he feels that
he is looking around upon a seat of future empire--a region where
generations yet unborn may take a leading part in moulding the
history of the world? What may we not expect of that energy which
in sixty years has transformed a straggling village into one of
the world's great centres of commerce? May it not exercise a
powerful influence on the destiny not only of the country but of
the world? If so, shall the power thus to be exercised prove an
agent of beneficence, diffusing light and life among nations, or
shall it be the opposite?
The time must come ere long when wealth shall outgrow the field in
which it can be profitably employed.
Pages:
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394