第118章

We descended and entered. There was nothing to remind one of the humble capital, of buts and sheds of the long-vanished day of the land-boom.

No, this was a modern city, with wide streets, compactly built; with fine homes everywhere, embowered in foliage and flowers, and with imposing masses of public buildings nobly grouped and architecturally beautiful.

There was prosperity, in the air; for another boom was on. Providence, desiring to show especial regard for the neighboring colony on the west called Western Australia--and exhibit a loving interest in its welfare which should certify to all nations the recognition of that colony's conspicuous righteousness and distinguished well-deserving, had recently conferred upon it that majestic treasury of golden riches, Coolgardie;and now South Australia had gone around the corner and taken it, giving thanks. Everything comes to him who is patient and good, and waits.

But South Australia deserves much, for apparently she is a hospitable home for every alien who chooses to come;, and for his religion, too.

She has a population, as per the latest census, of only 320,000-odd, and yet her varieties of religion indicate the presence within her borders of samples of people from pretty nearly every part of the globe you can think of. Tabulated, these varieties of religion make a remarkable show.

One would have to go far to find its match. I copy here this cosmopolitan curiosity, and it comes from the published census:

Church of England,........... 89,271

Roman Catholic,.............. 47,179

Wesleyan,.................... 49,159

Lutheran,.................... 23,328

Presbyterian,................ 18,206

Congregationalist,........... 11,882

Bible Christian,............. 15,762

Primitive Methodist,......... 11,654

Baptist,..................... 17,547

Christian Brethren,.......... 465

Methodist New Connexion,..... 39

Unitarian,................... 688

Church of Christ,............ 3,367

Society of Friends,.......... 100

Salvation Army,.............. 4,356

New Jerusalem Church,........ 168

Jews,........................ 840

Protestants (undefined),..... 6,532

Mohammedans,................. 299

Confucians, etc.,............ 3,884

Other religions,............. 1,719

Object,...................... 6,940

Not stated,.................. 8,046

Total,.......................320,431

The item in the above list "Other religions" includes the following as returned:

Agnostics, Atheists, Believers in Christ, Buddhists, Calvinists, Christadelphians, Christians, Christ's Chapel, Christian Israelites, Christian Socialists, Church of God, Cosmopolitans, Deists, Evangelists, Exclusive Brethren, Free Church, Free Methodists, Freethinkers, Followers of Christ, Gospel Meetings, Greek Church, Infidels, Maronites, Memnonists, Moravians, Mormons, Naturalists, Orthodox, Others (indefinite), Pagans, Pantheists, Plymouth Brethren, Rationalists, Reformers, Secularists, Seventh-day Adventists, Shaker, Sh1ntOlStS, Spiritualists, Theosophists, Town (City) Mission, Welsh Church, Huguenot, Hussite, Zoroastrians, Zwinglian, About 64 roads to the other world. You see how healthy the religious atmosphere is. Anything can live in it. Agnostics, Atheists, Freethinkers, Infidels, Mormons, Pagans, Indefinites they are all there.

And all the big sects of the world can do more than merely live in it: they can spread, flourish, prosper. All except the Spiritualists and the Theosophists. That is the most curious feature of this curious table.

What is the matter with the specter? Why do they puff him away? He is a welcome toy everywhere else in the world.