ht what citizenship means. The
outward symbol is the readiest teacher; let them never forget that
they live under the stars and stripes; let them learn--German,
Norwegian, Italian, Irish--what it means to belong to the Great
Republic. Is this all that a two months' visitor can bring away from
America? It is the most important part of my plunder. What else has
been gathered up is hardly worth talking about, in comparison with
these two discoveries which are, after all, perhaps only useful to
myself: the discovery of the real youthfulness of the country and the
discovery of the real meaning and the necessity of the spread-eagle
speeches and the flaunting of the flag in season and out of season. It
may seem a small thing to learn, but the lesson has wholly changed my
point of view. The fact is perhaps hardly worth recording; it matters
little what a single Englishman thinks; but if he can induce others to
think with him, or to modify their views in the same direction, it may
matter a great deal.

And, of course, an Englishman must think of his own future--that of
his own country. Before many years the United Kingdom must inevitably
undergo great changes: the vastness of the Empire will vanish; Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa will fall away and will become
independent republics; what these little islands will become then, I
know not. What will become of the English-speaking races, thus firmly
planted over the whole globe, is a more important question. If a man
had the voice of the silver-mouthed Father, if a man had the
inspiration of a prophet, it would be a small thing for that man to
consecrate and expend all his life, all his strength, all his soul, in
the creation of a great federation of English-speaking peoples. There
should be no war of tariffs between them; there should be no
possibility of dispute between them; there should be as many nations
separate and distinct as might please to call themselves nations; it
should make no difference whether Canada was the separate dominion of
Canada, or a part of the United States; it should make no difference
whether Great Britain and Ireland were a monarchy or a republic. The
one thing of importance would be an indestructible alliance for
offence and defence among the people who have inherited the best part
of the whole world. This alliance can best be forwarded by a promotion
of friendship between private persons; by a constant advocacy in the
press of all the