148 THE MERCHANT'S DREAM.

 

loom, there another folding, arranging, or
packing into cases the products thereof;
and at the head of all was the manufac-
turer himself.

“Ts his a useless life ?” asked the guide.
“Ts he wasting the high endowments of an
immortal mind in thus devoting himself to
the office of gathering in the raw material
and reproducing it again as an article of
comfort and luxury? But see! Another
has presented himself. It is the merchant.
He has come to receive from this man the
products of his looms, and send them over
the world, that all may receive and enjoy
them. Are his energies wasted? No, Al-
geron! If the merchant were not to en-
gage in trade, the manufacturer could not
get his goods to market, and would no
longer afford the means of subsistence that
he now does to hundreds and thousands
who produce the raw material. Without
him, millions who receive the blessings fur-
nished by nature and art in places remote
from their city or country, would be de-