Excerpt from I Wonder: Essays for the Young PeopleThere comes a time in your life, when you play as it were a game of cards against Faith. It is the oldest of all games. You and she, across the green table of Earth, are confronted and the rule is, that you play first. You sit and stare, across the table, at the backs of her cards. You have a strong hand you hold the cruelty of Nature, ' and the iniquities of Man the facts of drink, insanity, inherited disease the misery of the unemployed. What a hand you have got, what a hand! Come, you begin. T/zose eighteen, on whom the tower of Siloczm fell, and slew tbem - try that card. The game sways now to you, now to her, till the fan of your hand is thinned. You will find that she, no less than you, has a strong hand, stronger than you thought: and, if you live long enough, she is likely to win. For she holds, with much else that is worth having, certain cards which you will never beat: and she is an old and skilful player. Be careful to keep your temper over the game: and, of course, you play not for money but for Love.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.