manifestation of childish optimism? Let us frankly answer that it may be
one or the other or both. There are cynics and sentimentalists who are
the despair of all who are seriously working for better citizenship. But
the chances are that the men to whom our stranger was listening were
neither cynics nor sentimentalists, but idealists who had the American
temperament.

Among those who laughed good-naturedly over the temporary success of the
clever rascal may have been those who had been giving their energies to
the work of prevention of just such misdeeds. They are reformers with a
shrewd twinkle in their eyes. They take a keen intellectual pleasure in
their work, and are ready to give credit to any natural talent in their
antagonist. If they are inclined to take a cheerful view of the whole
situation it is because they are in the habit of looking at the
situation as a whole. The predominance of force is actually on their
side and they see no reason to doubt the final result. They have learned
the meaning of the text, "Fret not thyself because of evildoers." In
fact the evildoer may not have done so much harm as one might think. Nor
is he really such a hopeless character. There is good stuff in him, and
he yet may be used for many good purposes. They laugh best who laugh
last, and their good-natured laughter was anticipatory. There are forces
working for righteousness which they have experienced. On the whole
things are moving in the right direction and they can afford to be
cheerful.

This is the kind of experience which comes to those who are habitually
dealing with crude materials rather than with finished products. They
cannot afford to be fastidious; they learn to take things as they come
and make the best of them. The doctrine that things are not as they seem
is a cheerful one, to a person who is accustomed to dealing with things