114 THE BALTIC FORCE 



Wherever the Baltic people hold their con- 

 quests in Asia, Europe, or America, a nation 

 arises of mixed blood from their marriages with 

 black-haired natives or fellow emigrants. A 

 few centuries after the settlement, four hun- 

 dred years or so, the austere repubhc, or 

 monarchy of free men with a king as Leader, 

 blossoms into a grand empire, ablaze with 

 genius, rich, corrupt, decaying. 



But, if the Baltic colonists have settled to 

 sunward of the 49th parallel, the sunlight 

 begins to affect the nerves of the blonde 

 emigrants, to weaken the children, to give a 

 feverish energy to business, to kill off the 

 unsheltered outdoor workers, and emasculate 

 the sheltered aristocracy. A few centuries 

 later the dark-haired natives of the region have 

 time once more to resume their ancient habit 

 of sitting in the sun. They made the statues 

 and portraits of fair gods and saints, blonde 

 kings and heroes. " Once upon a time," they 

 sa}^, " we had Olympic games. Our cavalry 

 were irresistible. We ruled the entire 

 world ! " But the race of the blonde 

 conquerors has perished from among them, 

 gone like last winter's snow save for a 

 few surviving aristocrats, and some poor 

 melting drifts of peasantry up in the moun- 



