THE BIRTH-RATE 71 



occupation, type and social status, there is nevertheless 

 a pronounced movement in the opposite direction. 

 The smaller nationalities are disentangling themselves, 

 and rightly or wrongly, wisely or unwisely, are en- 

 deavouring to recreate their own peculiar social 

 atmosphere. From Austria, eastwards and southwards, 

 a host of small countries are expressing their national 

 ambitions in different ways. Norway and Sweden have 

 agreed amicably to develop on divergent lines. Finland 

 and Poland show no desire to forget or forgive their 

 oppressed and submerged condition. Even Iceland 

 looks askance at her predominant partner, Denmark ; 

 while nearer at home we hear cries of " Wales for the 

 Welsh," and discover to our surprise and dismay that 

 the Irish nation is willing, even painfully, to recapture 

 its own discarded language, if by so doing it can 

 emphasize the distinctions of race and creed. On all 

 sides of us, those who have eyes to see can witness 

 the reconstruction of racial personality, and can specu- 

 late in which direction the process of evolution will 

 ultimately be the most successful. 



