138 Coming Shadows : [March, 
his force in its passage through them, thus producing the 
heat so necessary for the support of animal and vegetable 
life exactly at the point where it is required. 
III. COMING SHADOWS: AN ETHNOLOGICAL 
STUDY. 
By E. S. 
S HERE is little pleasure in foretelling evil, and espe- 
cially in pointing out the illusory character of any 
hopes that may have been entertained by friends, 
neighbours, and countrymen. Sometimes, however, so to 
adt becomes a painful duty. In speculating upon the future 
condition of humanity authors and orators have given a 
brilliant forecast of the progress of the “Anglo-Saxon ” race. 
The correctness of the term here used I will not discuss, 
since no one can pretend to misconstrue its meaning. The 
outlook has latterly become more dazzling than ever 
since the two great branches into which that race is divided 
have laid aside much of the mutual jealousies which they 
entertained during the earlier half of the present century. 
Accordingly we have been told that by the year 2000 A.D. 
this race would in fadt dominate the globe. One great 
English-speaking community would occupy Australia and 
the islands of the Pacific ; another, seated in South Africa, 
would gradually overspread the table-lands and mountain- 
ranges of the “ dark continent.” Whether these two com- 
munities remained members of a British Empire, or became 
independent Republics, the result would, for the world at 
large, remain substantially the same. 
In the Western Hemisphere the case was even less 
doubtful. The Great Republic, it was said, would gradually 
overspread the whole of the continent, and the English 
tongue would alone be spoken from the confines of the Polar 
Ocean to Tierra del Fuego. Here, also, it was argued that 
mere political changes could little affedt the main issue. 
The Republic might break up into two or more distindt 
bodies, or might even adopt monarchical institutions, but 
