He fell back, and the Wind that took his Spirit carried me also intospace.
VII
THE LAST MEN
The Wind bore me onwards more than forty years, and I found seatedbeside a granary half-a-dozen wrinkled and very aged men, whose faceswere set with a determination to go on living to the bitter end. Theywere delirious, and naked; they tore their white beards; they mumbledand could not speak. The great beasts came out of the forest by nightsoftly and gazed at them with their lantern eyes, but never did themharm. All day long they ate and slept or wandered a little aimlesslyabout. During that year four of them died.
Afterwards I saw the last two men. One of them was lying on the groundgasping passionately for breath, his withered limbs awry with pain. Icould see that he had been a magnificent man in his youth. As his oldfriend died, the Last of the Race remembered his Humanity. He bentdown, kissed the livid lips, carefully and tearfully closed the filmedred eyes. He even tried to scratch a grave with his long finger-nails,but soon despaired. He then went away, plodding as fast as he couldhobble, weeping silently, afraid of the Dead. In the afternoon he cameto a vast city, where many corpses lay; and about nightfall, when thestars were shining, he came to a massive half-ruined Dome that hadbeen used for the worship of some God. Entering, he tottered towardsthe altar, which still stood, half-buried in stone-dust and flakes;and reaching up to a great bronze Crucifix that stood upon it, withhis dying strength he clasped to his arms the Emblem of our Sorrow.
* * * * *
I saw the vast Halls and Palaces of men falling in slowly, decaying,crumbling, destroyed by nothing but the rains and the touch of Time.And looking again I saw wandering over and above the ruins, movingcuriously about, myriads of brown, hairy, repulsive little apes.
One of them was building a fire with sticks.
BALLANTYNE PRESS: EDINBURGH
The New Age Press Books
A LIST OF NEW PUBLICATIONS
LONDON: 140 FLEET STREET
"_The New Age Press are winning an enviable reputation for theattractive character of their publications._"--A PRESS OPINION.
Crown 8vo. Art Vellum, Gilt, 2s. 6d. net.
#STUDIES IN SOLITARY LIFE.# By W. R. TITTERTON.
This volume is a collection of some of the best studies of Mr. W. R. Titterton, one of the most brilliant journalists of the Modern School, whose volume "Love Poems" has been one of the successes of the publishing season.
"Studies in Solitary Life" is not a collection of stories with plots, but rather true life studies and character sketches of unattractive people from the worldly standpoint.
Tramps, beggar-children, ledger-clerks, bohemian town-dwellers and all lonely people claim the author's sympathy, and his virile pen presents their surroundings and emotions so powerfully and realistically that the reader at once feels personally acquainted with the characters portrayed. When the reader has finished the book, he will find that he has been listening to a startling indictment and a triumphal justification of Life.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Crown 8vo. Daintily bound in 1/4-Canvas, Gilt, 1s. 6d. net.
#LOVE POEMS#, By W. R. TITTERTON.
"Sincere, but somewhat realistic ... a good many deal with the misery of base passion and lost women."--_The Times._
"His pen is a whip that cuts to the bone of life. He is restrained by no conventions."--_The Daily News._
"The author deals sympathetically with love themes seldom touched on except in poetry more or less pagan in outlook."--_The Glasgow Herald._
A SECOND EDITION IN NOW IN THE PRESS
Crown 8vo. Canvas, Gilt, 2s. 6d. net.
#NEW TRUTHS FOR OLD.# By ROBB LAWSON.
These Essays represent the thought of a converted Philistineendeavouring to free himself from the slavery of conventional ideas,and to find that justice which is "love with seeing eyes."
They deal with the following subjects:--
The Decay of Individuality. The Futility of Speech. Plain Writing. The Failure of Success. The Temptations of Enthusiasm. Of the Sorrow of Wisdom. Combativeness. The Worth of Attitude. On Second-Hand Minds. The Use of Enemies. On Reading Great Lives. Woman. On Self-Sacrifice. Discipline.
Crown 8vo. Gilt, Buckram, 2s. 6d. net.
#BALLAD OF A GREAT CITY.# By DAVID LOWE.
A charming volume of metrical comedies, ballads, and lyrics. Glasgow is referred to in the title ballad, many of the rest are steeped in traditional lore, and the two comedies are metrical versions of old Scots folk-tales.
"There are in the book many charming lyrical poems which ... show always the sentiment of a latter-day singer playing sweetly and gracefully round the sempiternal themes of poetry. The two Comedies are clever, simple, and fresh. The book will be read with especial interest by lovers of Poetry who favour Scottish themes."--_The Scotsman._
"The author has talent; his work flows easily and 'lets itself be read.'"--_The Birmingham Post._
"... A good deal in the vein of Burns. The author is a pleasant versifier."--_The Times._
"The poems show distinct lyrical faculty. The author's management of various metres is throughout true and musical."--_Aberdeen Daily Journal._
"These poems treat of the common interests of daily life ... appeal to a wide audience, and are sure to give widespread pleasure."--_Aberdeen Free Press._
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Canvas, Gilt, 2s. 6d. net. #GIFT OF THE NIGHT# (POEMS).
"Interesting to a serious lover of poetry."--_The Scotsman._
Canvas, Gilt, 2s. 6d. net. #A MAN OF LEISURE# (PLAY).
"Rich in touches of poetic feeling and with witty and humorous sayings."--_Glasgow Herald._
Buckram, Gilt, 2s. 6d. net. #BURNS'S PASSIONATE PILGRIMAGE.# (A few copies left of large paper edition, price 5s. net.)
"Well worth writing and is well written."--_The Times._
Cloth, Gilt, 2s. 6d. net. #SONNETS OF SWEET SORROW.#
"They carry with them something heroic and tonic."--_Glasgow Herald._
Fcap. 8vo. 1/4-Canvas, Gilt, 2s. net. Paper 1s. net.
#THE SANITY OF ART: An Exposure of the current nonsense about artistsbeing degenerate.# By G. BERNARD SHAW.
"A scathing indictment of Max Nordau's 'Degeneration.' Mr. Shaw's book should prove wholesome reading for the section of cranks who, like Nordau, shower abuse upon everything that departs from conventional standards."--_The Daily Mail._
"We confess that the perusal of so adroit an exercise in special pleading is thoroughly calculated to give pleasure to all admirers of ready wit and swift, felicitous phrasing ... packed with good argument, admirably employed and wielded."--_The Daily Telegraph._
"Quite a remarkable feat of literary fencing.... The 'Exposure' itself is not only valuable as a compendium of Shawesque first principles in philosophy and ethics, but also as a workable survey of the Arts."--_M.A.P._
Royal 8vo. 1s. net.
#THE G.B.S. PERPETUAL CALENDAR.# Made to hang on the wall.Contains quotations from the works of G. BERNARD SHAW forevery day in the year.
"This stimulating Calendar...."--_T.P.'s Weekly._
"The selection has been admirably done."--_The Daily News._
"If you are tired of the Bible and Shakespeare you may nail up the G.B.S. Calendar ... and when you read the texts you never know whether you are on head or heels. On April 19 we shall pick off the phrase 'If a great man could make us understand him we should hang him.' And we won't hang Shaw."--_The Daily Chronicle._
Crown 8vo. Stiff wrappers, 1s. net.
#THE ENDOWMENT OF MOTHERHOOD.# By Dr. M. D. EDER.
In this book an analysis is made of the present social conditions from the medical side.
A consideration that i
t is desirable to encourage the production of healthy children, and to repress the breeding of unhealthy children, leads the author to the conclusion that only by making mothers free to select their partners and economically independent of these partners, is any advance possible.
He points out how inadequate is the help which is afforded to maternity and presents a plan for the State Endowment of Motherhood, which would, at the same time, not remove the children from their mother's care. He further gives a summary of all the measures already undertaken for the purpose of making maternity easier.
Paper, 1s. net.
#THE COTTAGE HOMES OF ENGLAND.# By W. WALTER CROTCH. With anIntroduction by G. K. CHESTERTON. Third Edition, revised andenlarged.
"A scathing and nearly heart-breaking disclosure and condemnation of the scandalous condition of the cottage property of rural districts. The Housing Acts graphically and caustically exposed."--_The Manchester City News._
"A really useful book.... It deals with the housing problem in a plain, straightforward, practical fashion."--_The Pall Mall Gazette._
"We welcome it as a contribution of value to an important question."--_The Spectator._
Crown 8vo. Boards, 2s. net.
#THE DANCING FAUN:# A Novel. By FLORENCE FARR. Cheap Re-issue. Withcover design by AUBREY BEARDSLEY.
Crown 8vo. Gilt, Boards, 1s. 6d. net.
#A PROFESSIONAL SOCIALIST:# A Play in Five Acts. By ERICA COTTERILL.
"Well constructed and brightly written."--_Scotsman._
"Merit resides in the clearness with which the characters are thrown, as it were, upon the screen.... They are familiar types. We admire the freedom as well as the skill with which the author has sketched the eccentricities of the comrades."--_The Sheffield Independent._
"All the characters are finely drawn and are full of significance. The author is to be congratulated upon her insight, message, and dramatic instinct."--_The Christian Commonwealth._
"The dialogue ... is bright and sparkling ... there is a great deal that is clever and amusing in the play."--_The Glasgow Evening News._
"Miss Cotterill's play betrays the Shawian influence.... It is an entertaining play."--_Justice._
Crown 8vo. 1/4-Canvas, Gilt, 1s. net.
#HOW TO LIVE ON 24 HOURS A DAY.# By ARNOLD BENNETT.
This book, by the author of "Savoir-Vivre Papers" and "The Human Machine," which have attracted such attention in _T.P.'s Weekly_, is designed to be of practical hourly assistance to all those who wish to give colour, interest, and completeness to their lives. It deals minutely with the disposal of time, and shows particularly how the average thoughtful man, instead of merely vegetating when not at business, may arrange his day so as to _live_ fully with all his intellectual faculties.
Paper, 6d. net.
#WOMAN: Her Position To-day.# By CONSTANCE SMEDLEY, Author of "TheConflict," "The Daughters," &c. With an Appendix "WOMAN AND THESTATE," by Mrs. PHILIP SNOWDEN.
"As a vindication of the women's enfranchisement demand, this popular, clever, lively book is worth reading."--_The Christian Commonwealth._
"A sprightly little volume which puts forward many forceful and convincing arguments."--_The Clarion._
"A notable contribution to the literature of the suffragette movement."--_The Dundee Advertiser._
"That the author is Miss Smedley accounts for the liveliness or trenchancy of the writing.... Well worth listening to."--_Glasgow Evening News._
Paper, 6d. net.
#THE COMMON-SENSE OF THE WOMAN QUESTION.# By MILLICENT MURBY.
One of the most sensible and best-written books on the Woman Question.
The book deals frankly with this problem as it appeals to both men and women. Particular attention is given to the specific functions of the two sexes, and the social part played by each, showing that the recognition of women's political responsibility is essential to race-progress.
Paper, 6d. net.
#THE LAST GENERATION: A Story of the Future.# By J. E. FLECKER.
A Thrilling Story. The author is a grim disciple of Mr. H. G. Wells at his grimmest; he gives a series of vivid snapshots portraying the events which lead to the final extinction of the race of man.
Paper, 6d. net.
#THE MYSTERY OF TIME:# A Masque. By FLORENCE FARR.
Wrapper, price 6d. net.
#A PRIEST TO THE TEMPLE.# By GEORGE HERBERT. (First printed in 1652.)
#FREELAND: A Social Anticipation.# By Dr. THEODOR HERTYKA. Originallypublished at 6s., but having secured the remainder of the edition weare selling copies at 3s. each.
"Shows how Capitalism stops the growth of wealth, and presents us to a working model of Society on a basis of economic justice. _A valuable book for students of economics._"
THE ABOVE BOOKS can be obtained of ALL BOOKSELLERS, or, if postage is remitted, from the publishers THE NEW AGE PRESS, 140 FLEET STREET, LONDON
THE NEW AGE
A Weekly Review of Politics, Literature and Art
EDITED BY A. R. ORAGE
_Every Thursday_ _ONE PENNY_
Has the most brilliant list of Contributors of any Penny or Sixpenny weekly paper in Great Britain
Among the Contributors to the volume just completed are:--G. BernardShaw, H. G. Wells, G. K. Chesterton. E. Nesbit, Hilaire Belloc, M.P.,Arnold Bennett, Havelock Ellis, Edward Carpenter, Filson Young, SirHartley Williams, John Galsworthy, Israel Zangwill, WordsworthDonisthorpe, Hubert Bland, Oscar Levy, Aylmer Maude, Edwin Pugh,Conrad Noel, Eden Phillpotts, Tolstoi, Anatole France, GustaveHerve, Dr. Josiah Oldfield, John Davidson, and many others.
_What the Press say about "The New Age"_
"The very ably-conducted Review."--_Spectator._
"_The New Age_ is the only notable accession to Socialist journalism in recent years."--_Lancashire Daily Post._
"In the columns of The New Age the few literary wits we possess delight to impinge one another on the horns of ridicule."--The North Mail.
_Extracts from Letters received_
"I congratulate you very heartily on the conduct of the most interesting publication in England. So useful a paper is almost indispensable."--M. F. B. (LONDON).
"_The New Age_ is the best weekly going."--_F. S. C._ (_Malvern_).
"Something to look forward to with pleasure each week."--_K. S._ (_Hampstead_).
"I have come to look for Thursday mornings with a certain relish and to open _The New Age_ with an expectation which I may say is never disappointed. No other paper prints so freely the views of those who differ from your own, and there is no journal in the kingdom which should be valued more for its open-mindedness and impartiality."--_D. J._ (_Manchester_).
"I take the keenest delight in reading _The New Age_--the _best_ newspaper of the day."--_Lady_ ---- (_Sutherland_).
"Though I disagree so profoundly with it, as a journalist I greatly admire the enterprise and brilliancy of _The New Age_."--_From the Editor of one of the Leading Sixpenny Weeklies._
Write for a Specimen Copy, Free on mentioning this announcement THE NEW AGE PRESS, 140 FLEET STREET, LONDON
The Last Generation: A Story of the Future Page 3
