On the whole, this is the tradition of British commerce.
Our rule has been to be prudently adventurous. We have not been like the man who took the talent and hid it in a napkin ; but, on the other hand, we have not been hysterical in the matter of booms. "There is something in it—not nearly as much as the Prospectus and the Press declare, or the inventor prophesies ; still, there is something in it and so it is worth backing." Here is the lively oracle that echoes down the ringing avenues of trade. Do not let us start "smiling clubs" or pretend we are doing better than we are doing ; but, above all, do not let us be downhearted or frightened at shadows. The British people arc not going under in trade, in politics, or in the matter of social order. We are not so crazy as to say that all is for the best in the best possible of worlds, for that is a visible, audible, tactile lie. There is, however, a decent living for the vast majority of mankind if only they will work and not behave like lunatics. A conventional and commonplace conclusion, but true all the same.
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