CHAPTER II
THE RISE OF ENGLAND
In spite of the summer which drew a circle round Traitor's Hill, the eye, leaving that scene with reluctance, travelled down to the monstrous diagram of London.
The spectacle of London seemed to suggest a certain lesson of its own. In its vastness it appeared to prove that there must have been some master-spell of policy or of power, no trumpery or wily makeshift, to have raised us up. For the gradient of national greatness runs uphill all the way.
It would be well to ascertain the nature of this master-secret of ours. And the next step in thought would be to make clear whether it will prove sufficient for our future. If not, then, lastly, we must consider how to adjust our lives to the new epoch, how to grasp futurity, and how still to lead the world.
In the first place, then, the cause of this country's position is worth a brief examination, in order that it may be set forth and correctly assigned. Several current explanations, each of a
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