, a prisoner for life; once down
a man could not recover; he spent the rest of his life in captivity;
he and his descendants, to the third and fourth generations--for it
was as unlucky to be the son of a bankrupt as the son of a
convict--grovelled in the gutter. There is no longer a Marshalsea or a
Fleet prison; but the dread of failure survives. In the States that
dread seems practically absent.

Again, youth is extravagant; spends with both hands, cannot hear of
economy; burns the candle at both ends; eats the corn while it is
green; trades upon the future; gives bills at long dates without
hesitation, and while the golden flood rolls past takes what it wants
and sends out its sons to help themselves. Why should youth make
provisions for the sons of youth? The world is young; the riches of
the world are beyond counting; they belong to the young; let us work,
let us spend; let us enjoy, for youth is the time for work and for
enjoyment.

In youth, again, one is careless about little things; they will right
themselves: persons of the baser sort pervert the freedom of the
country to their own uses; they make 'corners' and 'rings' and steal
the money of the municipality; never mind; some day, when we have
time, we will straighten things out. In youth, also, one is tempted to
gallant apparel, bravery of show, a defiant bearing, gold and lace and
colour. In cities this tendency of youth is shown by great buildings
and big institutions. In youth, there is a natural exaggeration in
talk: hence the spread-eagle of which we hear so much. Then everything
which belongs to youth must be better--beyond comparison better--than
everything that belongs to age. In the last century, if you like,
youth followed and imitated age; it is the note of this, our country,
that youth is always advancing and stepping ahead of age. Even in the
daily press the youth of the country shows itself. Let age sit down
and meditate; let such a paper as the London _Times_--that old, old
paper--give every day three laboured and thoughtful essays written by
scholars and philosophers on the topics of the day. It is not for
youth to ponder over the meaning and the tendencies of things; it is
for youth to act, to make history, to push things along; therefore let
the papers record everything that passes; perhaps when the country is
old, when the time comes for meditation, the London _Times_ may be
imitated, and even a weekly collection of essays, such as the
_S