His watch, of course, was gone,
but not, I am glad to say, his chain, which hung dangling, though in his
flurry he had not noticed it. It made him look a trifle ridiculous. As
he wore no tie-pin he had not lost that, and beyond his temper he had
indeed lost nothing further save, possibly, a textbook upon
Thermodynamics. This book he _thought_ he remembered having put
into the bag, and if he had it belonged to his library, but he could not
quite remember this point, and when the Library claimed it he stoutly
disputed their claim.
In this dispute he was successful, but it was the only profit he made
out of that journey, unless we are to count his experience, and
experience, as all the world knows, is a thing that men must buy.
"King Lear"
The great unity which was built up two thousand years ago and was
called Christendom in its final development split and broke in pieces.
The various civilizations of its various provinces drifted apart, and it
will be for the future historian to say at what moment the isolation of
each from all was farthest pushed. It is certain that that point is
passed.
In the task of reuniting what was broken--it is the noblest work a
modern man can do--the very first mechanical act must be to explain one
national soul to another. That act is not final. The nations of Europe,
now so divided, still have more in common than those things by which
they differ, and it is certain that when they have at last revealed to
them their common origin they will return to it.
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