volume of pictures. It will not even be a regular history in the
accepted sense of the word.

I shall just take both of you by the hand and together we shall wander
forth to explore the intricate wilderness of the bygone ages.

I shall show you mysterious rivers which seem to come from nowhere and
which are doomed to reach no ultimate destination.

I shall bring you close to dangerous abysses, hidden carefully beneath a
thick overgrowth of pleasant but deceiving romance.

Here and there we shall leave the beaten track to scale a solitary and
lonely peak, towering high above the surrounding country.

Unless we are very lucky we shall sometimes lose ourselves in a sudden
and dense fog of ignorance.

Wherever we go we must carry our warm cloak of human sympathy and
understanding for vast tracts of land will prove to be a sterile
desert--swept by icy storms of popular prejudice and personal greed and
unless we come well prepared we shall forsake our faith in humanity and
that, dear boys, would be the worst thing that could happen to any
of us.

I shall not pretend to be an infallible guide. Whenever you have a
chance, take counsel with other travelers who have passed along the same
route before. Compare their observations with mine and if this leads you
to different conclusions, I shall certainly not be angry with you.