Evening star., 1926-12-01
HOMEWARD BOUND-Part III.

We are homesick for America. my
children and l. We feel a strong
yearning to be back again, and we
think of those three weeks in our
train. with old black Sam to serve
and look after us every minute or the
day. and our cabins. so close together.
so intimate and so full of flowers
every station, even the smallest.
And always something new, with
kind Col. Carroll ever ready to invent
different things that would give us
plea easure-ever a living proof of Amer
ica's hospitality and unstinted gener-
osity. How exciting it was to arrive
at each fresh place. to look out the
window and see the landscape ever
changing, till we finally had Travelled
over the whole great continent and
reached the ocean on the farther side.
Now it Is all over like a long dream.
but one that has not vanished with
the waking. Now / am wondering II
it was all very different to what L had
imagined when on the Leviathan 1
penned the first one of these articles.
Do you sometimes try to recall the
visions of places you had before you
went there? l often do, and 1t is most
amusing to compare them with the
reality. But in the case of New York,
for instance, the reality was SO diff
ferent from the preConceived picture
that l can hardly conjure it up again
to draw comparison.
Streets More Imposing.
That strange skyline. so unique. so
unexpected. More imposing still than
the first vision from the boat was
being inside the great streets. with the
giant houses looking down upon you
and telling YOU all the time that there
is no good in trying to compare them
with anything else. They were just
unique Americas invention. the in
vention 1T a New World that sees big.
What also forcibly strikes the Euro
pean is the stupendOus expenditure of
electricity. Nowhere in Europe are
towns lit up so extraordinarily. Moth
ing seems impossible in America. You
never seem to pause to consider what
a thing will cost. We. for instance,
would light up our great buildings on
certain festive nights but not for once
and for all as YOU do your Washing
ton Capitol, your Kansas City War
Memorial, and other great monuments
| have seen during my wanderings.
These formidable ref1ectors used all
the year round would mean to us an
impossible luxury we would not dare
to impose upon a town.
1t must be wonderful to have mil
lions at your disposal and to he sure
Of realizing your dreams. Dreams of
beauty they are. Just imagine, never
to have to hesitate but just to go for
ward and realize is glorious. indeed. !
have often had stupendous dreams
but / wOve them into my fairy stories
knowing that l would never he able
to realize them on earth, but you
realize your visions. all of them, and
you mean to realize bigger things still.
1t is little like reading good old
Jules Nerne's books.
Rush In and Succeed.
Some one once called YOU nation
of gamblers. You do not keep your
money in your pockets. but immedi
ately put all you have in some great
scheme. Because you do this you
generally succeed because there is no
hesitation-yOu just rush in and win.
Should you lose your money in the
undertaking, what matter? You just
begin again. Yes. it is very wonder
full. very remarkable. 1t teaches us
a new point of view
We, with our old inherited fortunes
places. houses, are afraid. We cling
to what generations have made ours
so we are not so daring, not so free.
We are too afraid to Iose. We would
mind too much. and would feel too
humiliated if we lost. You are GER
tainly colossal organizers. Every
thing is practical and thought out and
then entirely realized without a hitch.
That gives YOU the reputation OF
being materialists only. but this is n
unfair criticism. | think l have found
plenty Of idealism in America. OF
course. YOU are pleased with what
you do. There is nothing extraordi-
nary in that. You have every right
to be proud of your achievements.