uneasiness a country in all respects alluring to the desires of man--yet
found him not there in lordly possession?
Beauty and intellect, wealth and industry, splendor and careful economy,
natures lofty and generous, gentle and loving--why has not Man claimed
this for himself?
CHAPTER V.
The Preceptress of the National College appointed her daughter Wanna as
a guide and instructor to me. I formed a deep and strong attachment for
her, which, it pains me to remember, was the cause of her unhappy fate.
In stature she was above the medium height, with a form of the fairest
earthly loveliness and exquisite grace. Her eyes were so deep a blue,
that at first I mistook them for brown. Her hair was the color of a ripe
chestnut frosted with gold, and in length and abundance would cover her
like a garment. She was vivacious and fond of athletic sports. Her
strength amazed me. Those beautiful hands, with their tapering fingers,
had a grip like a vise. They had discovered, in this wonderful land,
that a body possessing perfectly developed muscles must, by the laws of
nature, be symmetrical and graceful. They rode a great deal on small,
two-wheeled vehicles, which they propelled themselves. They gave me one
on which I accompanied Wauna to all of the places of interest in the
Capital city and vicinity.
I must mention that Wauna's voice was exceedingly musical, even in that
land of sweet voices, but she did not excel as a singer.
The infant schools interested me more than all the magnificence and
grandeur of the college buildings. The quaint courtesy, gentle manners
and affectionate demeanor of the little ones toward one another, was a
surprise to me. I had visited infant schools of my own and other
countries, where I had witnessed the display of human nature,
unrestrained by mature discretion and policy. Fights, quarrels, kicks,
screams, the unlawful seizure of toys and trinkets, and other
misdemeanors, were generally the principal exhibits. But here it was all
different. I thought, as I looked at them, that should a philanthropist
from the outside world have chanced unknowingly upon the playground of a
Mizora infant school, he would have believed himself in a company of
little angels.
At first, a kindness so universal impressed me as studied; a species of
refined courtesy in which the children were drilled. But time and
observation proved to me that it was the natural impulse of the heart,
an inherited trait of m
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