avals and
inroads of a thousand years introduced by the decline and fall of the
Roman Empire. Two developments have taken place. A conquering race has
reduced a native population in part to subjection and has imposed upon
the natives its laws, customs, and language. In course of time the
subject race becomes a lower social class and slowly assimilates with
the upper classes, producing a homogeneous nationality with a new
evolution of laws, customs, and language. This is the history of four
great nations of Europe,--the French, the German, the English, the
Italian. The other development has been the segregation of a portion of
the conquered race, who having fled their conquerors avoid actual
subjection by escaping to the mountains and islands. Here they preserve
their original purity of stock and language. This is the history of
Austria-Hungary, whose earlier population of Slavs has been scattered
right and left by German and Hun and who now constitute separate
branches and dialects of the unassimilated races. That Austria-Hungary
with its dozen languages should be able to hold together as a "dual
empire" for many years is one of the marvels of history, and is
frequently ascribed to that which is the essence of autocracy, the
personal hold of the emperor.

The little bundle of republics known as Switzerland is a federation of
French, Germans, and Italians, who retain their languages and have
developed what out of such a conflict of races has elsewhere never been
developed, a high grade of democratic government. Here in historic times
there has been no amalgamation of races or assimilation of languages,
but there has been the distinct advantage of a secluded freedom from
surrounding feudal lords, which naturally led to a loose federation of
independent cantons. It is Switzerland's mountains and not her mixed
races that have promoted her democracy. At the other end of the world
the highest development of democracy is in the colonies of Australasia,
where a homogeneous race, protected from foreign foes, and prohibiting
the immigration of alien races and inferior classes, has worked out
self-government in politics and industry. In the Roman Empire we see the
opposite extreme. At first a limited republic, the extension of
conquests, and the incorporation of alien races led to that
centralization of power in the hands of one man which transformed the
republic into the empire. The British Empire, which to-day covers all
races