Whence public strife and naked crime

And—deadlier than the cup you shun—

A people schooled to mock, in time,

All law—not one.

Cease, then, to fashion State-made sin,

Nor give thy children cause to doubt

That Virtue springs from iron within—

Not lead without.

THE PROPHET AND THE COUNTRY

North of London stretches a country called “The Midlands,” filled with brick cities, all absolutely alike, but populated by natives who, through heredity, have learned not only to distinguish between them but even between the different houses; so that at meals and at evening multitudes return, without confusion or scandal, each to the proper place.