Chapter VII: Part 7

With faith he hath struggled for reason and right,
Withdrew from the darkness in search of the light;
With face to the morning, and gazing afar,
O'er Southern horizons he spies a new star,
And cries, "Hail, Zelania! though distant thou be,
Welcome thy light shining over the sea;
Welcome thy flag, to the heavens unfurled,
The beacon, the guide, and the hope of the world."

"Zelania is like unto another prophet, teaching from the mountain top. The blaze of her divine torch is not of a fitful glare, but the genial rays of its steady glow are so spreading over all the earth, that the people of all lands may soon behold and wonder, and inquire, and then emulate.

"Well, my children, the tales of my strange adventures are well-nigh told. The curtain will soon fall, and while the lessons from these happy sittings will remain with us as but fading memories, the wonders of this enchanting land will thrill and fill the inquiring souls of men for all time--for the day of Zelania is just at the dawn.

"Inspired by an inherited instinct, and guided by Anglo-Saxon genius, civilisation has won more victories since the crowning of Victoria than during all the generations from 'Saul of Tarsus' to Paul of Pretoria, and Zelania is away in the vanguard of the great progressive social force that is destined to enlighten the brain and unfetter the limbs of humanity.

"It is manifest destiny that Anglo-Saxon aspiration, language, and civilisation should dominate the world. With the realisation of this hope, business interests will prevent war; despotism will be good-naturedly hissed from the stage; Europe will be commercially united; production and exchange will be so adjusted as to employ all willing hands; the arsenals will become factories; the great guns will be stood erect as pillars in historic museums; the muskets will be cast into gas pipes, and swords into sheep-shears, and the gods will look down and smile upon the first generation of truly civilised men!

"Then, at the consummation of these noble purposes, when a monument shall have been erected in honor of those who led in the emancipation of humanity, on the highest tablet on the Temple of Eternal Fame, and in letters of imperishable splendor, shall be emblazoned,--

'ZELANIA.'"

FOOTNOTES

[A] The Remarkable Mountains, on the easterly side of Lake Wakatipu, S. Island.

[B] Lands for Settlement Act.

[C] During the 19th century the common use of the English language increased over 500 per cent., as against 150 per cent. for the German, 102 for the Italian, and about 66 for the French and Spanish. It is practically the business, and is rapidly becoming the "polite" language of the "civilised" world.

[D] The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1900, with amendments.

[E] Employers Liability Act, 1882, practically superseded by The Workers Compensation for Accident, 1900, Act.

[F] Government Accident Insurance Act, 1899.

[G] Old Age Pension Act, 1898.

[H] Testators' Family Maintenance Act.

End of Project Gutenberg's Mr. Oseba's Last Discovery, by George W. Bell