ch men feel an obligation to dispose of their wealth for
public purposes, to a degree quite unknown in Europe. By these lavish
gifts the people are dazzled. They feel that the millionaire has paid
his ransom; and are ready to forgive irregularities in the process of
acquiring wealth when they are atoned for by such splendid penance. Thus
the rich man in America comes to assume the position of a kind of
popular dictator. He is admired on account of his prowess and forgiven
on account of his beneficence. And, since every one feels that one day
he may have the chance of imitating him, no one judges him too severely.
He is regarded not as the "exploiter," the man grown fat on the labour
of others. Rather he is the type, the genius of the American people; and
they point to him with pride as "one of our strong men," "one of our
conservative men of business."

Individualism, then, is stronger and deeper rooted in America than
elsewhere. And, it must be added, socialism is weaker. It is an imported
article, and it does not thrive on the new soil. The formulae of Marx are
even less congenial to the American than to the English mind; and
American conditions have not yet given rise to a native socialism, based
on local conditions and adapted to local habits of thought. Such a
native socialism, I believe, is bound to come before long, perhaps is
arising even now. But I would not hazard the assertion that it is likely
to prevail. America, it would seem, stands at the parting of the ways.
Either she may develop on democratic lines; and Democracy, as I think,
demonstrably implies some kind of socialism. Or she may fossilise in the
form of her present Plutocracy, and realise that new feudalism of
industry which was dreamt of by Saint-Simon, by Comte, and by Carlyle.
It would be a strange consummation, but stranger things have happened;
and it seems more probable that this should happen in America than that
it should happen in any European country. It is an error to think of
America as democratic; her Democracy is all on the surface. But in
Europe, Democracy is penetrating deeper and deeper. And, in particular,
there can be little doubt that England is now more democratic than the
United States.

III

NIAGARA

I shall not describe Niagara; instead I shall repeat a conversation.

After a day spent in visiting the falls and the rapids, I was sitting
to-night on a bench on the river bank. The racing water-ridges glimmered
fai