And what was the result? How did a passion so extraordinary affect those who had been impelled by its power? The bubble burst at length, and though a fierce tornado had swept over Holland, the devastation could scarcely have been more complete. The hopes which had been so unnaturally inflated began to collapse. Panic seized upon the speculators, and bankruptcy followed panic, as rapidly as the house which is built of cards is demolished by a blow. It soon appeared that tulips were neither gold, nor houses, nor lands; neither bread for the hungry, nor clothing for the naked, nor a home for the friendless; and the worthlessness of the flower in itself, became the emblem of the delusions which it had fostered. Every town in Holland felt the blow. Multitudes were precipitated into poverty, at least, their only possessions consisted in a few bulbs--the representations at once of the speculator's thoughtlessness and his woe. The result of the folly was now manifest, and the madness of what was nothing but gambling, showed its bitter fruits. Merchants and their families who had lived all their lives in independence and luxury, were reduced to beggary by this mania for gold. THE ONLY SAFE GUIDE. Amid these calamities, the help of man was found to be signally vain, and those who had forgotten to take the Bible into the Counting-house, and the Market-place, were left to reap as they had sowed. Every effort was made to arrest the tide of ruin. Law was appealed to. The governing power of the nation was addressed, but all in vain. The gourd had withered, the refuge of lies had fallen, and not a few were buried in the ruins. The trade of Holland was prostrated for a time, and some of its merchant princes never recovered from the shock. THE REAL SOURCE OF WEALTH.