240 A BOOK-LOVER'S HOLIDAYS 



visualize the long-vanished past in history helps 

 a practical politican to do his ordinary work in 

 the present workaday world. The governor of 

 Gibraltar or of Aden, who cares merely to do 

 his own intensely practical work, need know 

 nothing whatever about any history more an- 

 cient than that of the last generation. But this 

 is not true of the traveller. It is not even true 

 of the politician who wishes to get full enjoy- 

 ment out of life without shirking its duties. He 

 certainly must not become a mere dreamer, or 

 believe that his dreams will help him in prac- 

 tical action. But joy, just for joy's sake, ha» 

 its place too, and need in no way interfere with 

 work; and, of course, this is as true of the joy 

 of the mind as of the joy of the body. As a 

 man steams into the Mediterranean between the 

 African coast and the "purple, painted head- 

 lands" of Spain, it is well for him if he can 

 bring before his vision the galleys of the Greek 

 and Carthaginian mercantile adventurers, and 

 of the conquering Romans; the boats of the 

 wolf -hearted Arabs; the long "snakes" of the 

 Norse pirates, Odin's darlings; the stately and 

 gorgeous war craft of Don John, the square- 

 sailed ships of the fighting Dutch admirals, and 

 the lofty three-deckers of Nelson, the greatest 

 of all the masters of the sea. Aden is like a 



