Tantalising rewards lead a man on to hurry blindly along a path beset with traps and snares. On the various stages of his journey he loses some of the finer qualities with which he may have been originally endowed, but which he finds impediments and encumbrances in his progress towards the inviting but illusive goal. Here he drops caution, there self-respect, here consideration for others must be sacrificed; there, again, scrupulousness and even honesty must be cast aside. The man who “rises,” who “makes his pile,” who “succeeds,” goes up the ladder of wealth, the rungs of which are vanity and applause, mistaking it for the ladder of life, the rungs of which are service, sacrifice, and resolution. There are bags of gold at the top within sight; it matters not that some of the rungs are dangerously weak. Others have reached the top or near it, why should not he? Every step forward is marked by outward signs and changes. The cottage with its simple adornments is exchanged for the villa with its walnut suites and art knickknacks; this is followed by a larger detached villa which requires several servants; the dogcart and groom-gardener are soon transformed into a motor-car and chauffeur; the male servant with livery adds the necessary importance; the butler becomes indispensable for the town residence, with a country seat as well for shooting and entertainment; and so on, more and more display until the ultimate goal is reached, with, strange to say, no real satisfaction or contentment. New friends are made on the road and old friends are dropped. Each advance signifies a fresh endeavour to live in the same style as those on the next higher level, with whom it becomes a duty to associate. Meanwhile the man’s powers of digestion and those of his family do not increase, nor does their mental equipment. Even his capacity for enjoyment he finds has its limits and appears to become further restricted. But he knows he will be judged, even as he has judged others, by the quantity and quality of his worldly possessions, and he follows obediently the model and example the rich have set up. There are some who see the emptiness of this course; there are some who have the character not to desire to alter the way of living to which they have been accustomed; but are there any who would condemn the accumulation of riches and resist the incessant temptations that are put in their way of making more?