Chapter 25 Twilight (1901) Summary

The major powers are fighting over access to China, which proves to be interesting to the student. Hay stands alone, attempting to preserve the balance. With the Senate opposing most of his measures, he is under a great deal of stress. Meanwhile, Clarence King retires to Arizona. With Hay facing opposition from the very people whose interests he was trying to protect, and with King, who could have been the greatest man of his generation, essentially waiting to die, Adams feels that society does not value real worth. The end of his generation seems to be drawing near.

For his part, Adams devotes himself for a time to trying to understand magnetism, a force known for thousands of years, yet still not understood. If God is unity, and Satan is complexity, then Adams is caught in between. He struggles his whole...