It is commonly supposed that the Americans are entirely devoted to the pursuit of the dollar. It is true that they pursue the dollar more energetically, intelligently, and successfully than any other people, but no mistake can be greater than that of supposing that they pursue it exclusively. First there is no other country in the world in which the political sentiment is so widely diffused, and so deeply felt; where so much time and thought are devoted to it; where it calls forth so much hard intellectual work in the forms of writing, reading, and speaking. And this is true not of one, but of all classes, from the top to the bottom of society. Nor is there any other country in which the religious sentiment works so vigorously and so spontaneously, and is so fruitful in great, obvious, and ponderable results. And this as well among those who labour, as among those who elsewhere are supposed to have almost the monopoly of thinking and feeling. Again, in no other country do a million persons taken not from a horizontal, but from a vertical section of society, read so much; and there can be no surer gauge of the amount of pure mental activity than the amount of reading. The Americans are a nation of readers, and read far more than any other nation in the world. And not only do they read more, but what they read has more effect on them than is the case with any other people. In the three great departments then of intellectual activity and life—politics, religion, and in the use of literature—this people who are supposed to devote their whole soul to the pursuit of the dollar, are greatly in advance of ourselves and of all other nations. But whatever the amount of toil Americans may impose on themselves in getting money, it is not done with a view to saving. The American who hoards is a rare exception. They will make a good fight for the purpose of enlarging their business, and increasing their income. But, when this increase comes, it is used and not accumulated. All the world knows that there are no other people who spend so much on their families and houses, on travelling and entertaining, in hospitality and in charity. [Sidenote: _Improved Type of Features._]