GLAMORGANSHIRE: NEATH 197 



one or more individuals in whom they are specially interested. 

 But a great number of these occurrences in everyone's life 

 are apparently what we term chance, and even if all are so, 

 the conclusion I wish to lay stress upon is not affected. It is, 

 that many of the conditions and circumstances that constitute 

 our environment, though at the time they may seem unfortu- 

 nate or even unjust, yet are often more truly beneficial than 

 those which we should consider more favourable. Some- 

 times they only aid in the formation of character; sometimes 

 they also lead to action which gives scope for the use of what 

 might have been dormant or unused faculties (as, I think, 

 has occurred in my own case) ; but much more frequently 

 they seem to us wholly injurious, leading to a life of misery 

 or crime, and turning what in themselves are good faculties 

 to evil purposes. When this occurs in any large number of 

 cases, as it certainly does with us now, we may be sure that it 

 is the system of society that is at fault, and the most strenuous 

 efforts of all who see this should be devoted, not to the mere 

 temporary alleviation of the evils due to it, but to the gradual 

 modification of the system itself. This is my present view. 

 At the time of which I am now writing, I had not begun 

 even to think of these matters, although facts which I now 

 see to be of great importance in connection with them were 

 being slowly accumulated for use in after years. 



