Page:Free Opinions, Freely Expressed on Certain Phases of Modern Social Life and Conduct.djvu/242

Apart altogether from the individual dignity and self-poise which are invariably lacking to the "vagrant," or home despising human being, the decay of home life in England is a serious menace to the Empire's future strength. If our coming race of men have been accustomed to see their mothers indulging in a kind of high-class public house feasting, combined with public house morals, and have learned from them an absolute indifference to home and home ties, they in their turn will do likewise and live as "vagrants,"—here, there and everywhere, rather than as well-established, self-respecting citizens and patriots, proud of their country, and proud of the right to defend their homes. Even as it is, there are not wanting signs of a general "wandering," tendency, combined with morbid apathy and sickly inertia. "One place is as good as another," says one section of society, and "anything is better than the English climate," says another, preparing to pack off to Egypt or the Riviera at the first snap of winter. These opinions are an exact reversion of those expressed by our sturdy, patriotic forefathers, who made the glory of Great Britain. "There is no place like England" was their sworn conviction, and "no place like home" was the essence of their national sentiment. The English climate, too, was quite good enough for them, and they made the best of it. When will the "Smart Set" grasp the fact that the much-abused weather, whatever it may be, is pretty much the same all over Europe? The Riviera is no warmer than the Cornish coast, but certes it is better provided with hotels, and—chiefest attraction of all—it