This  spirit  of  selfishness,  withdrawing
the  individual  from  the  commonality,  brought
on,  in  this  instance,  the  desire  of  individual
wealth  and  personal  emolument.  Strife,
avarice,  cunning  and  deception  came  each  to
play  its  part.  Bickerings  and  feuds  mar-


42  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.
shalled  in  the  spirit  of  retaliation,  and  all  the
agencies  of  intestine  discord  were  soon  at
work.
The  continuation  of  a  government  char
acterized  by  a  community  of  property,  a  con
tempt  for  wealth  and  ornament,  and  a  weary
ing  simplicity  of  dress  and  abode,  was  hence,
in  itself,  impracticable ;  but,  the  element
which  most  nearly  approached  to  a  pre-emi
nence  in  working  the  fall  of  Utopia,  was  the
introduction  of  foreigners  and  their  manners.
Association  readily  breeds  assimilation,
and  the  various  customs  of  other  nations
soon  exerted  influences  that  in  addition  to
those  just  mentioned,  wrought  the  final  over
throw.
However,  anxious  stranger,  without
troubling  you  longer  with  my  own  analytical
opinions,  I  will  proceed  to  relate  a  few  of  the
more  prominent  incidents  in  the  history  of
this  unfortunate  island,  and  leave  you  to  draw
your  own  conclusions  from  these  stories  of
love  and  hope  and  beauty ;  of  pride  and
envy  and  avarice.
I  must  speak  of  deeds  that  were  done
before  my  day,  handed  down,  as  they  have


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  43

been,  by  indubitable  traditions,  with  no
inducement  to  misrepresentation,  so  I  will
go  back  to  what  seems  to  be  the  beginning,
and  I  doubt  not  but  what  you  will  be  able  to
trace  from  these  stories  the  spark  that  ulti
mately  brought  about  this  lamentable  ruin.
