Ionia; land of wise men and fair women

ON I A

BY- ALEXANDER- CRAIG

IONIA.

I AM GLAD TO MEET MY FATHER'S FRIEND." — Page 71.

IONIA;

LAND OF WISE MEN AND
FAIR WOMEN

BY

ALEXANDER CRAIG

ILLUSTRATIONS AND COVER DESIGN BY

J. C. IvEYENDECKER

COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY
ALEXANDER CRAIG.

9? 7?

DEDICATED

TO

NAHUM EDWARD JENNISON
In acknowledgment of

valued counsel and encouragement.

CONTENTS.

Chapter Pase

I. An English Village 7

II. Darkest London 27

III. A Visitor from Another World 42

IV. A Far Country 70

V. Amongst New Friends 98

VI. A Model City 127

VII. A Day of Rest 150

VIII. The Ionian Games 164

IX. Timoleon, the Liberator 183

X. Timoleon, the Legislator 200

XL The Schools of lolkos 222

XII. A Modern Crcesus 244

XIII. Last Days in Ionia 258

XIV. Conclusion . 277

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page

"I AM GLAD TO MEKT MY FATHER'S FRIEND," 71

"PRESENTLY WE FLEW PAST WHAT SEEMED A CITY OF PALACES/' - 85

''BUT WE WERE RAPIDLY APPROACHING THE ACROPOLIS ITSELF," - 104

REQUESTED DAPHNE TO SING THE SONG OF NIOBE, ... - 163

THE MOHAMMEDAN ARMY WAS CAUGHT IN THE CURRENT AND

DESTROYED, ..-......._. 197

"BUT I HAD A LARGE STONE READY," 270

IONIA.

CHAPTER I.
AN ENGLISH VILLAGE.

The village of Chingford, in Surrey, is one of the pret
tiest in all England. Situated in a rich agricultural dis
trict, three miles from the nearest railway station, it is
undisturbed by the bustle of industrial and commercial
life, but its little community of five hundred souls pass
their lives in such peace and contentment as seldom falls
to the lot of those living in more enterprising and ambi
tious places. Its rows of handsome cottages, surrounded
by well-kept gardens, betoken a standard of comfort and
taste much superior to the ordinary level of rustic exist
ence. It boasts a fine old church with ivy-covered walls,
and has two or three modern edifices which are its special
pride. One of these is the schoolhouse, built of stone
from the designs of a celebrated London architect; an
other is Wolverton Hall, a two-story building of brick,
faced with stone, dedicated to the instruction and enter
tainment of the people. It contains a library and reading
room on the ground floor, while the second forms a hand
some hall for lectures, concerts and other meetings. Here
the village literary society assembles on Saturday even
ings and discusses high themes of state and philosophy,
and although the provincial accent of some of the speak-

8 IONIA.

ers might provoke a smile from the undergraduates of
Oxford or Cambridge, it is wonderful how the faculty of
expression has been developed amongst these simple vil
lagers. Some of the younger men prove themselves able
to take an intelligent grasp of practical questions and their
discussions are at least a great advance upon the pot
house talk of their forefathers. They are well known to
each other, and divided in friendly rivalry into various
groups; the interest they take in the subjects discussed
and the delight of victory to the side which wins most
votes at the end of a debate, is sufficient to furnish them
food for thought and entertainment during the whole of
the following week. Without the use of the library the
literary society never could have had an existence, and the
stimulus which the latter gives to mental exertion is seen
in the large proportion of readers of solid works on his
tory, biography, political economy and social science
which are to be found amongst these humble villagers.
The reading room is well stocked with the best weeklies,
monthly magazines and reviews, and not an evening
passes but its tables are surrounded by earnest students of
both sexes, young and old alike. This is more particu
larly the case, of course, during the long winter evenings.
In summer there are out-door games on the village com
mon for the boys and young men, while beyond the brook
at the lower end of the village is a beautiful park with
lawn and shade trees, bowling greens and croquet
grounds where the elder and less active of the people take
their ease and recreation.

Nearly in the center of the village is the public laundry,
free to all the families living in the place, and with a sep
arate room fitted up with swings and cots for babies so
that the women may bring their infants with them and
not be hindered in their work. The laundry is also the

AN ENGLISH VILLAGE. 9

public school of cookery, where, at the end of the week,
when the family washings are all completed and out of
the way, practical lessons in plain cooking are given free
of cost to all who choose to come, and the resulting
dishes furnish a weekly dinner or supper to the families of
the pupils in rotation. At the opposite end of the village
from the park is situated the parish church, and hard by
is the rectory where the good old parson, Dr. Wolverton,
has lived respected and admired by the whole community
for nearly fifty years. Beyond the rectory is the Grange, a
property of some fifty acres enclosed by high brick walls
and containing a wood of fine beech trees and a spacious
park dotted with rare old oaks, some of which began to
grow in the time of the Tudors. A wide driveway winds
through grove and park up to a handsome mansion dat
ing from the reign of Queen Anne, but recently renovated
and fitted up inside with all the devices which modern
ideas of comfort demand. Here resides the lady bounti
ful of the parish, Mrs. Helen Musgrave, daughter of the
old rector. She has been for many years a widow, and I
am her only son.

My father, David Musgrave, was the younger son of a
neighboring squire, and having but a younger son's por
tion, he had been placed by his father in a London bank
ing house, of which he became the head before he was
thirty-five years old. Retiring at fifty with a large for
tune, he had purchased the Grange and married the rec
tor's daughter, expecting to spend many years amongst
the scenes of his youth, enjoying the wealth which the
best part of his life had been spent in accumulating.

But man proposes and God disposes. My father had
no sooner settled down to a life of ease and enjoyment
than his health began to give way. He had never spared
himself in business, working early and late to raise him-

10 IONIA.

self to the top of the ladder, and he succeeded, but his
success cost him dearly. He had been possessed origin
ally of a powerful physique, and in the pursuit of business
scarcely ever allowed himself a holiday or any kind of
recreation, and nature took her usual revenge. Over
work had worn him out, and when at last he sought to
recover health and energy by repose and a return to his
native air, it was too late. No medical skill could help
him, and he died about four years after his marriage, and
when I was too young to remember him.

With the exception of a few bequests to various rela
tives all the wealth which he had amassed fell to be di
vided between his wife and child. My mother became
sole owner of the Grange, with other property to the value
of about seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds, while
a like amount fell to my share, and as it was invested in
the best securities and was to be allowed to accumulate
until I came of age, it was no ordinary fortune that await
ed me. Although my mother was only four and twenty
at her husband's death, and very attractive in person and
disposition, my father made no consideration as to re
marriage in his will, and it was expected by all friends and
neighbors that after a year or two of mourning she would
make some other man happy in the possession of her
hand and fortune, and after a time many a scion of the
county families paid court to her, but she disappointed
them all. She had made up her mind that her life was to
be devoted to the bringing up of her son and to the
improvement and happiness of the villagers amongst
whom she had been born.

Chingford was then a very different place from what it
afterwards became. The men were mostly agricultural
laborers, whose wages were but scanty at the best, and a
large proportion of them was spent at the two pot-houses

AN ENGLISH VILLAGE. 11

which were the great curse of the village. The dwelling
houses were in the last stages of dilapidation and decay;
the women were slatternly and unkempt and the children
for the most part ragged and vicious, given to robbing the
henroosts and orchards of the neighboring farmers. The
rector had labored earnestly amongst them, and had man
aged to induce a minority of the elders to attend church
regularly on Sundays and their children to come to Sun
day school, but as regards the majority he was in despair,
and he often compared his parish to Nazareth, out of
which nothing good could be expected to come.

It was therefore a difficult task which his daughter un
dertook when she resolved to make Chingford a model of
industry and thrift, of cleanliness and respectability, but
she set about the work with all the resolute determination
of a high-souled Christian woman. She first bought up the
two alehouses and demolished them, building a couple
of neat cottages in their place. Next she built the school-
house and installed an energetic young man as teacher,
with a couple of young lady assistants. There were plenty
of scholars, for the place swarmed with children, and
their mothers were glad to get them out of their way for
the best part of the day. Evening classes were estab
lished for adults, which at first were rather thinly attend
ed, but when the lady of the Grange went round to the
cottages and personally entreated the attendance of the
people who had grown up without schooling, none dared
refuse the opportunity offered, and the teachers soon had
their hands full. Very substantial prizes were offered to
those heads of families who should make most progress
in their studies. My mother announced that she had
bought twenty acres of land adjoining the village on the
west, which was to become the public common, with free
grazing for animals owned by the people, and that at the

12 IONIA.

end of the winter the twelve most proficient amongst the
fathers or mothers who attended the night school should
each be presented with a fine milch cow. To the children
also many prizes were given for attendance and proficien
cy in their studies, which were of a more useful character
than those usually given elsewhere, consisting of articles
of clothing, boots and shoes, hats and caps for the girls
and boys, with occasionally books for those who stood
least in need of these necessaries.

A few months made a wonderful change. The sup
pression of the drinking places alone acted as a stimulus
to respectability and self-respect. The men kept more
steadily at their work; the women grew ashamed of their
untidy habits and began to acquire a wholesome desire
for decent apparel and the cottages began to lose their
neglected and dirty appearance.

But Mrs. Musgrave was not content with inducing bet
ter habits amongst the people: she determined that the
village itself should be rebuilt entirely and that its inhabi
tants should be in possession of homes which they could
take both comfort and pride in, with sufficient ground to
each for both kitchen and flower gardens. She bought
up all the land, with the buildings standing on it, and en
gaged an eminent architect to make plans for the rebuild
ing of the whole with a view to picturesque general effect,
but also and more particularly to comfort and perfect
sanitary arrangements in each individual dwelling. A
competent superintendent was put in charge of the work
of construction, but the labor was done as far as possible
by the villagers themselves, so that they should have the
full benefit of the money which was being expended. It
was a work of time, because no family could be asked to
move before new quarters were ready for them, but as
fast as the new cottages were completed they were occu-

AN ENGLISH VILLAGE. 13

pied, and the ground cleared for the building of others;
and care was taken to give the most industrious and de
serving families first choice, in order that they might set
a good example of order and neatness in the care of house
and garden. In about two years Chingford was trans
formed from an assemblage of straggling and untidy hov
els to a beautiful village of handsome cottages which ex
cited the admiration of all who saw it. The people were no
less changed, and had become worthy in appearance and
conduct to be the dwellers in such an ideal place. There
were, of course, exceptions, men who could not live with
out liquor and women who preferred dirt and disorder to
cleanliness and comfort, but the unreclaimable ones mi
grated to other parts of the country where their bad hab
its would be less conspicuous, and their places were easily
supplied by worthy peasants from the neighborhood.

The laying out of the village park and the erection of
Wolverton Hall followed next, with various other im
provements which furnished work for two or three years
more. My mother dreaded the time when all these under
takings should be completed, for there had been evolved
from amongst the rude laboring people of Chingford
quite a little band of competent mechanics, for whom she
feared it would be difficult to find suitable employment,
but the difficulty vanished as the time approached. Some
had saved up money enough to set up themselves as con
tractors and builders in the nearest towns and villages,
others were offered good places by the architect or the
superintendent, and those that remained were not more
than sufficient for the work of keeping in order and re
pairing the village itself and the Grange and its appur
tenances.

By this time the people had come to look upon my
mother as a kind of providence, and young and old alike

14: IONIA.

worshiped her. They always spoke of her amongst them
selves as "Lady Musgrave," and although she reproved
them so severely for doing so that they discontinued it in
her presence, yet they could not understand why she was
not more entitled to be called "my lady" than many of the
titled dames of the county who could not be compared to
her either in point of wealth or character. She was care
ful not to demoralize them by giving alms to those who
were able to work, but the old people of the parish were
never allowed to go to the workhouse, and if a poor wo
man were left a widow with a family of children, she fur
nished help in various ways and enabled them to tide over
their misfortune until the children were old enough to
work for themselves. She constantly visited the sick and
furnished medical attendance free when necessary, as well
as wine and other luxuries which the limited means of
the stricken families could not afford. For years she kept
a trained nurse constantly at the Grange, whose business
was not so much to care for the patients as to teach the
women of the village how to do it. Amongst the early
lectures at the Hall were a series of addresses by eminent
physicians on the preservation of health, and the people
manifested such interest in these and the books on kin
dred subjects with which the library was well furnished
that the position of village doctor soon became almost a
sinecure.

While busy with these schemes for the reformation of
her father's parish, my mother found plenty of time to
attend to the education of her son. From the time that
I attained the age of six until my eighteenth year I stud
ied under tutors residing under our own roof and was
hardly ever parted from my mother for an entire day.
Being her only child she could not bear the idea of send
ing me to a public school, but in order that I should have

AN ENGLISH VILLAGE. 15

the advantage of studying with boys of my own age she
prevailed on my uncle, Sir Philip Musgrave, who re
sided about five miles from Chingford, to allow two of
his sons to be educated with me. A carriage was sent
for them every Monday morning and took them home on
Friday afternoon, so that for the greater part of the time
they lived at the Grange, and their schooling cost their
father nothing at all, an arrangement which suited him
very well, as he had several daughters to educate and his
estates were very much encumbered.

Of the two boys Philip was the elder, being a year
older than myself, and John about a year younger. They
were fine, manly fellows and we were very great friends
in the main, yet like all other boys we were liable to fall
out and fight occasionally, but my mother treated us so
impartially that our juvenile quarrels never lasted long,
and the good feeling between the families was never
interfered with in the slightest degree. Our teachers
being selected with great care and with absolute disre
gard of monetary considerations, we made good head
way in our studies from the start, and the mental equip
ment of all three being nearly equal, our mutual emula
tion was of great service to us. In mathematics John was
decidedly first, but in the acquisition of languages Philip
and I showed greater facility. We made rapid progress
in Latin and Greek, and by the time we were respectively
fourteen and fifteen years old we could both read and
converse in French and German with ease. In history
I stood first and never tired of it, my memory being so
tenacious that I scarcely ever forgot a name or a date
which I took the trouble to fix in my mind. Most of
our evenings were passed with my mother alone, for she
did not care for society in general, but preferred the
company of her boys. We sometimes read in turn to

16 IONIA.

her and sometimes passed the hours in games of chess
or whist, in which we became wonderfully proficient.
The time never dragged with us, but I enjoyed those
evenings best when, at the end of the week, my cousins
had gone and my mother and I were together by our
selves, for from my earliest years I loved her passion
ately and looked up to her as superior to all other living
beings. It was a great delight to me to read from my
favorite authors with her alone for audience, or talk to
her about my studies or the people of the village, or listen
to her when she played or sang, and I was sure that no
one else could sing so sweetly or look so graceful or
compare with her in any way.

' Three or four times during each winter we had parties
of young people at the Grange, to which the best families
in the neighborhood sent their girls and boys, and the
programme of amusements was so entertaining and
varied that all looked forward to these occasions with
unbounded delight and looked back upon them as
among the brightest spots in their lives. In summer
time the children of the village were invited to picnics
in the Grange park, where all sorts of games were held,
and I was encouraged to enter into the various sports
on equal terms with the children of our poorer neigh
bors, who were made to feel perfectly at home with us,
a privilege which they seldom abused. The pleasure
they took in the great swings under the trees, the races
and games in the park, and the grand banquet in the
open air, at which they were waited on by all the servants
of the Grange, was something to witness and remember.
The years of my childhood passed swiftly away, and it
was not without regret that I began to look forward at
eighteen to a four years' course at the University of Ox
ford. My cousins did not accompany me there, for at

AN ENGLISH VILLAGE. 17

this time they were both preparing to enter the army,
in which they are now distinguished and rising officers,
Philip in the cavalry and John in the engineers. I suf
fered severely from homesickness during the first three
months at Oxford, never having been from home for
any length of time before, but the distance by rail from
Chingford was not great and I embraced every oppor
tunity of spending a few days at the Grange. But I
began to find friends amongst my fellow-students and
gradually became reconciled to the new way of living,
though my home remained as dear to me as ever. My
mother began now to suggest to me that I should make
choice of a profession or career in life, for she never en
tertained the idea that the possession of wealth formed
any excuse for a life of idleness. I could see that the
subject was a painful one to her, for she feared that I
might adopt some vocation which would take me away
from Chingford and thus permanently separate us, so I
pondered over the matter long and earnestly and was in
no hurry to make up my mind. One day during the long
vacation after my second year at the university I said to
her: "You are anxious to know what I am going to be,
mother, and I can only think of one thing that would sat
isfy me."

"And what is that, my son?"

"To be prime minister of England."

My mother smiled and said : "Your ambition is rather
exalted. Do you think you have the talents necessary to
fill such a high station?"

"No, I do not," I answered, "for I have met many
fellows at Oxford who are much cleverer that I am, and
I have no doubt it would be the same in Parliament, so
I am afraid I shall have to aim at something lower. I
might possibly hope to be a cabinet minister some day

18 IONIA.

if I gave my whole life to politics, but as nothing less
than the premiership would suit me I think I shall stay
out of Parliament."

"And what do you find so attractive about the position
of the prime minister?"

"The power of doing good to his fellow-men. I know
of no one who has done as much as you to benefit the
people amongst whom we live, and it seems to me that
the noblest ambition for your son would be to carry out
your ideas of practical beneficence on a larger scale, and
if I were premier I might institute reforms into our laws
which would do much to ameliorate the condition of the
working classes of the whole country."

"I am afraid," she replied, "that you would find the
power of the prime minister much more limited in that
direction than you imagine. He is bound by the ties of
party, which prevent him carrying out his own ideas,
and he cannot move in the direction of reform any faster
than their convictions or their interests will permit. The
first duty of the prime minister is considered by his fol
lowers to be to retain the governing power as long as
possible and all other considerations have to give way to
that. Far-reaching measures of reform would inevitably
interfere with vested interests, which are always power
ful and conservative, and the statesman who should de
liberately defy them would be derided as a visionary and
a theorist and would soon be swept aside by men of less
elevated but more practical views. I am glad to know
that you put such a high value on my efforts, but when
you consider the smallness of the sphere in which I have
labored you must be careful not to exaggerate the
amount of good that has been done."

"But you have made a great many people happier and
better, and if you are not proud of it I am, and if you can

AN ENGLISH VILLAGE. 19

tell me of any one who has done more I should be glad
to know who it is."

"What I have done is not to be compared to the labors
of others, if measured by the sacrifices involved. Think,
for instance, of your grandfather's friend, the Rev. John
Calderwood, who has given his whole life to the poor
people of his parish in the East End of London, when,
if he had listened to the promptings of ambition or
worldly interest, he might have had high preferment in
the church and might easily have attained to a bishopric
by this time."

"He is a noble man," said I, "and I honor him for his
devotion to what he considers his Master's cause, and
yet you remember what he said when he was here last
summer — that the visible results of his life's work were
not a tenth part of what you had accomplished in this
little village."

"I think in saying so his modesty caused him to under
estimate his own work and his charity to overestimate
mine, but while he has sacrificed comfort and health and
every worldly advantage, I have made no sacrifice
at all. I have had every luxury that wealth could buy,
have lived in comfort amongst my own people, and the
work I have don'e amongst the villagers has been itself
the greatest pleasure to me. In the eyes of the Master
my efforts are not to be compared to his for one mo
ment."

"Well, mother mine, we cannot argue on that point,
but I think your modest opinion of yourself does not de
tract from the merit of your achievements, and I think
credit is due to results as well as to the means by which
they are attained. How would it be for me to go and
help Mr. Calderwood to do for his parish what you have
done for Chingford? It would take a lot of money, of

20 IONIA.

course, and you have never told me how much my for
tune will amount to. The extent of it will have some
influence on my choice of a career, and as I am now
come to years of discretion I think you might safely trust
me with that important secret."

"If I have not told you before it is partly because of
the greatness of the wealth which awaits you, but I think
it would be only right that you should know now, for it
will doubtless influence you in the way you have indi
cated. As I have always tried to impress upon your mind
that great wealth means great responsibility I trust you
may prove yourself equal to the trust that will be imposed
upon you on your coming of age, and yet I could almost
wish the time were further off, for I cannot think of you
yet as anything more than a boy, although I have to look
up to you when you stand beside me."

"Well, mother, I see you are afraid to come to the
point, but don't be alarmed, I promise you it won't turn
my head if it should be a million."

"Your father left you seven hundred and fifty thousand
pounds, all of which was very well invested, partly in
stocks and partly in London real estate. The interest has
been large and has been steadily added to the principal,
till now it amounts to fully two million pounds.'^

"Two million pounds!"

I had just said that a million woul<
but I had not bargained for two millions, and
that for the moment it made my head swim and took
away my breath.

"Why, mother, that's positively awful."

"I think it is literally an awful sum, my boy, and I have
prayed to God many a time that you would have the wis
dom to use it rightly."

"Amen," said I, and for a few minutes I was silent, feel-

AN ENGLISH VILLAGE. 21

ing absolutely miserable in the contemplation of the pos
session of such a load of wealth. All at once an idea
came into my mind, and I said, excitedly:

"I'll tell you what I'll do, mother, I will really go and
help Mr. Calderwood and make his wretched parish of St.
Oswald's an oasis in the desert of East London, and when
that is done we will begin upon the next and the next
and drive away all the wickedness and the misery of it and
set the people on their feet and make them self-respecting
and self-supporting citizens just like your Chingford
folks. Two million pounds! With such a sum as that
we can abolish all the London slums and make tens of
thousands of people happy."

My mother smiled at my enthusiasm, although it
brought tears to her eyes, and, as she wiped them away,
she said:

"God bless you my boy for the thought. There may
not be so much virtue in two million pounds as you think,
but it can be made to do a vast amount of good, and if you
continue to feel about it as you do now, the possession of
it will be a blessing to you instead of a curse, as it might
easily have been in other hands. For the present I would
not speak of it to anyone for you might change your mind
beforey|^are twenty-one, and I would advise you to
thinl^B fc^^Mfc|riously and learn more of what you
woujB HPAMiore committing yourself to it."

"I^Pmd like to begin at once," said I, "next week if it
were possible."

"Fortunately that is out of the question. Your fortune
cannot be touched until you reach twenty-one, and if you
will be guided by me you will not only finish the course
you have commenced at the university but spend at least
one year in traveling in foreign countries afterwards, so

22 IONIA.

that you may know something of other lands before you
begin any great work in your own."

"Well, mother, I am sure you know best, but I am also
sure that this money which my father left me will be a
great burden to me until I begin to spend some of it in
relieving the distresses of some of my less fortunate fel
low citizens."

And this idea which took such a sudden hold of me
proved to be no evanescent youthful fancy. It seemed to
me that the great wealth inherited from my father and the
beneficent work of my mother combined to point out the
path of duty clearly before me, and I believed myself
destined by Providence to accomplish a great work
amongst those of my countrymen and countrywomen
who had been overtaken by poverty and misfortune. The
east end of London offered a vast field for such efforts,
and to it my mind constantly turned. I continued to
pursue my studies at Oxford and endeavored to make as
good an appearance at the examinations as possible, but
all my spare time was devoted to reading works upon the
condition of the poor in London and elsewhere. I cor
responded with Mr. Calderwood and told him of the
course I had resolved upon, and as soon as I was master
of my fortune, sent him my first check as an installment
of greater things to come.

It was only the earnest entreaty of my mother that pre
vailed upon me to postpone for a year the commencement
of the work which had become the dream of my life. She
consented to accompany me during the first month of my
tour, and we had a very pleasant sojourn in France, Italy
and Switzerland. There were with us a former tutor of
mine, Dr. Reginald Godwin, and a maiden aunt of my
own, Miss Virginia Musgrave, my father's youngest sis
ter. She was a person of great vivacity and good nature,

AN ENGLISH VILLAGE. 23

and her presence added much to my mother's enjoyment
of the trip. But no amount of persuasion could induce
my mother to remain long away from her dear villagers,
so we returned by the Rhine and Belgium to England
and our native village. After a few days' rest Dr. Godwin
and I set off again and visited nearly every country in
Europe from Norway to Greece, and spent the winter
months in Syria and Egypt, returning by Spain, Italy and
Germany. Dr. Godwin was a delightful companion, for
he had not only traveled much and made himself ac
quainted with all that was to be seen of historical and
archaeological interest, but he had a very extensive ac
quaintance amongst the learned men of Europe, and at
every university we visited he was sure to find some old
friend who willingly did the honors of the place and
showed us many things rare and curious that we should
otherwise have missed.

While endeavoring to take full advantage of my oppor
tunities to see and learn all I possibly could from the fine
examples of architecture and painting which came in our
way, as well as to improve my knowledge of history by
studying the remains of ancient buildings to be found in
all the different countries we visited, I never for a moment
forgot the great work of my life, and made inquiry in all
the large cities as to the condition of the poor and what
was being done for their benefit. I was told of the build
ing of hospitals and schools, of the founding of asylums
for the aged and those who were afflicted with mental and
physical disease, of charity doled out in driblets, but no
where did I find any comprehensive plans in operation
for the permanent raising of the poorest class to a self-
supporting and self-respecting level in the way that my
mother had followed in our own little village. When I
told what she had done, wise men shook their heads and

24 IONIA.

said that while her good work was worthy of the greatest
praise, yet such a thing was only possible on a small scale
and would be utterly impracticable in a great city, where
the poverty and degradation of the lowest class was too
vast for human effort to alleviate. The charitable labors
of philanthropists might do good in certain individual
cases, but the ranks of the destitute were continually be
ing recruited from innumerable sources, and the great
mass of hapless poverty remained practically unchanged
from year to year. One great philosopher of world-wide
fame expressed himself in conversation with me in these
words:

"When we look backward over the history of mankind
we find the condition of the world steadily improving.
From epoch to epoch there is observed a constant up
ward tendency; there may be retrogression, but each step
forward is always in advance of the last. In the earliest
civilizations of which we have any record the condition
of the poor was almost intolerable. The pyramids of
Egypt and the Towers of Babylon were built by multi
tudes of slaves cowering under the lash of their taskmas
ters. Human life was of little account, and these great
monuments were erected only through the suffering of
myriads of poor wretches who toiled and died in misery
in order that the glory of kings might be exalted. What
a mighty advance we find in the joyous freedom and in
tellectual life of the Greeks! And yet even amongst them
the larger proportion of the people were slaves. Wars
were continually occurring, and the political situation was
one of great instability. From the palmy days of Greece
to the decay of the Roman empire and its disruption by
barbarous hordes from the North was undoubtedly a
great back-sliding, and yet the way was being prepared
for the mightiest advance of all, From that time onward

AN ENGLISH VILLAGE. 25

progress has been steady and sure. The art of printing
has unlocked the fetters of men's minds and dispelled the
ignorance which held them in bondage; slavery in
all forms has been abolished from every civilized country ;
war itself has become civilized and is waged as between
army against army rather than nation against nation; the
red cross goes with the conquerors and robs the battle
field of its worst horrors; the poorest of men nowadays
have opportunities which were denied to their ancestors,
and the accident of birth debars no man from attaining to
dignities, provided that he has the ability to contend with
adverse circumstances. The condition of humanity to
day is vastly improved in comparison with the middle
ages, but if we compare it with the lot of the masses liv
ing three thousand years ago it is like contrasting light
with darkness.

"Now the cause of all this upward progress is not to be
found in human effort directed consciously towards that
end. The good that philanthropists and reformers have
accomplished has invariably been local and temporary,
and has been accompanied by counterbalancing evils.
Christianity itself, which undertook to transform men into
angels, could not prevent the lapse of civilized Europe in
to semi-barbarism, and the mutual persecutions of its var
ious sects form a dark background to its doctrine of good
will towards men. The fact is, that while humanity is
weak, nature is strong. Evolution brought forth this
beautiful green earth from the dark womb of chaos. Ev
olution has educed civilization from the savage state.
Evolution will improve that civilization until the future
inhabitants of this world will look back upon our era as
one of barbarous ignorance and misery. The work may
be slow; there may be periods of retrogression, but they

26 IONIA.

will be only temporary. All human history and all cos
mic history prove to us that the march of progress is ir
resistible. We cannot help it much; the most we can do
is to endeavor not to hinder it. Whether we look for
ward or backward we find reason for supreme satisfaction
in the inherent beneficence of nature; the evils we see
around us will pass away and cause no uneasiness to him
who looks at them with a philosophic eye."

This was cold comfort to one whose soul was glowing
with enthusiasm in the idea of regenerating the down
trodden poor of his country, but it did not influence me
much. I thought if that was all the help we could get
from science and philosophy we must even get along
without them and let them pursue their cold and barren
path with whatever satisfaction they could find in it. I
could not believe that humanity was so helpless as the
great man seemed to think, and while failure was probable
and success uncertain, yet there were thousands of earnest
men and women whose efforts had left the world better
than they found it, and I did believe that constant en
deavor would at least clear the way for future laborers,
and that at last the true path of progress would be found
and humanity raised to a higher and nobler level.

It was therefore without any change of purpose or
abatement of zeal for my self-appointed task that I re
turned home after my year of travel. I had seen so
much of the poverty and distress of the great continental
cities that I was perhaps a little less sanguine of good re
sults, but at the same time I was more than ever con
vinced of the urgent necessity of the work to be done, and
felt impatient to make a beginning. I remained in
Chingford about two weeks, more to please my mother
than from any need I felt of rest or recuperation, and then

DARKEST LONDON. 27

set out for the Metropolis to survey the ground and con
sider the plan of operations in consultation with the rector
of St. Oswald's.

CHAPTER II.
DARKEST LONDON.

It was on a Monday afternoon early in June that I ar
rived at St. Oswald's intent on commencing what I sin
cerely believed had been marked out by Providence as the
work of my life. We had been enjoying the most de
lightful summer weather at Chingford for the two weeks
previous, but here it looked as if summer never showed
itself. A cold northeast wind was blowing, a dismal can
opy of cloud and smoke hung over the city and the steady
rain had almost cleared the streets of passengers. Not a
blade of grass nor anything green was visible, only dreary
blocks of houses built of brick and so encrusted with the
sooty deposit which rain and fog bring down in this part
of the city that it was difficult to tell whether the original
color had been red or white. The rector's parlor, whose
windows looked out on the dismal street, was not much
more cheerful than the view of the houses opposite. The
small panes of glass, it is true, were whole instead of being
broken and stuffed with rags like many of those which
confronted it, but the threadbare carpet, the old-fashioned
sofa and chairs with horse-hair upholstering, the faded
wall paper and the feeble coal fire which smoked up the
chimney, all betokened a lack of comfort which told of
the ascetic life of its bachelor owner.

On being ushered into the room I found two persons
present, one the Rev. John Calderwrood himself, a tell
man of sixty, with slightly stooping shoulders and scanty

28 IONIA.

hair and whiskers of a sandy gray, the other was his
curate, the Rev. Arthur Manson, a middle-sized, square-
built man of thirty, with clean-shaven face of the bull
dog type, massive jaws, coal-black hair and honest, clear,
gray eyes. This was my first introduction to Mr. Man-
son, and I was well pleased with his appearance. He
looked like one who would not shrink from difficulties
or readily give up any undertaking to which he had once
given his mind. We seated ourselves round the fire
place and Mr. Calderwood expressed his regret that my
first visit to his parish should have been made on such a
wet and gloomy day.

"Never mind that," I said, "the prospect is dark and
cheerless just now, but before long there will be some
sunshine upon St. Oswald's I promise you."

The old man smiled sadly and said, "See what a fine
thing youth is! Here am I, old and pretty nearly worn
out, with hope itself almost dead within me, and you come
along with a young heart and fresh courage, and faith
which refuses to be daunted by untoward appearances,
and talking of sunshine when only dark and lowering
clouds are visible. I trust your hopes will not be doomed
to disappointment as mine have been, and I have faith
enough left to believe that you may reap a harvest for
which I have toiled in vain."

"I am sure," said I, "that you will help us to reap that
harvest, nor do I think you should look so slightingly on
your own achievements. You have saved many a soul
from destruction and many a life from despair, and if the
mass of misery and destitution around you seems as great
as ever, it was simply because it was beyond the power of
any one situated as you have been to root it up. But I
wish to know something of the nature of the evils we have
to contend with, so if you please, I should like to hear

DARKEST LONDON. 29

from you what you consider the greatest difficulty in the
way of reforming the wretched people of which your par
ish is made up."

"It is difficult to say whether ignorance or vice is our
greatest enemy, ignorance which refuses to be enlight
ened, or vice which hardly recognizes itself as such, and
neither believes in nor has any aspirations after virtue.
Many of the people around us have inherited such de- /
praved natures that even the grace'of God seems power
less to change them. But there are others who are not
naturally wicked who would lead moral and respectable
lives if they could, and amongst these we manage to res
cue one here and there. Of these *very few remain
here, they become disgusted with their surroundings and
move to other neighborhoods where they can enjoy more
of the comforts and decencies of life, and we never try to
prevent them doing so. But their places are always filled
up with others who are as bad as the people around them,
and thus the parish remains at about the same level of
wickedness and misery."

"Do those whom you persuade to try and lead better
lives generally succeed in doing so, or is their reformation
as a rule only temporary?"

"Alas ! I am afraid we must admit that we are only par
tially successful in rescuing those even who are willing to
be helped ; there are dramshops and gin palaces at every
corner, and many a man whom we have thought to be
well along in the path of reformation has succumbed to
some momentary temptation and fallen back at once into
the slough from which it is more difficult afterwards to
rescue him."

Mr. Manson, who had hitherto remained silent, now
spoke with bitter earnestness, saying :

"That is the greatest curse of all! Those we have to

30 IONIA.

deal with are either perversely wicked or miserably weak
and the glittering gin palaces are constantly enticing the
latter to their ruin. If we could only close up those that
are within sight from the door of the church it would help
us some."

"They shall be closed," I said.

''And then the houses are in such miserable condition;
what with drafty doors and ill-fitting casements, to say
nothing of broken windows and the utter absence of sani
tary arrangements, the plague of rats and worse vermin,
the over-crowding and the noisome smells, it is no won
der the poor wretches fly to the public houses for the com
fort which it is impossible for them to find in their own
miserable homes/'

'That also shall be remedied," I said.

"I could give you thousands of instances," he contin
ued, "of men who have endeavored to abandon their evil
ways, but who have been dragged hopelessly down again
by the sheer misery of their surroundings on the one hand
and the allurements of the gin shop on the other, but one
will suffice, for the story repeats itself in all. A man of
the name of Wilkins, a brass-fitter, and an excellent me
chanic, came to live in the court whose entrance you can
see now from the further window, about six years ago,
He" was in the habit of getting drunk every Saturday and
remaining in a state of intoxication as long as his money
lasted. I spoke with him every time I could find him
sober and found that he was not bad at heart. He was
thoroughly ashamed of his weakness, but had no confi
dence in his ability to conquer his appetite for drink. I
induced him, however, to sign the pledge, and he tried
hard to keep it. For nearly two years he never tasted
liquor; he joined the church and endeavored to use his
influence with others to follow his example, speaking at

DARKEST LONDON. 31

temperance meetings and taking a class in Sunday school.
We looked upon him as thoroughly cured of his infirmity
and felt little fear of his relapsing from grace, but his wife
was a slatternly, untidy woman and his home never had
any appearance of comfort, and in an evil hour he was
tempted to cross the threshold of one of those wretched
dramshops. It was probably only a momentary indul
gence he proposed to himself, but the first glass of rum
undid all the good that his two years of self-denial had
accomplished, and he returned to his family in a state of
maudlin intoxication. From that time his power of will
has been utterly gone, and wre have never been able to
persuade him to another effort. He has a large family of
children who live in starvation and rags and are growing
up as thieves and worse than thieves, his wife has taken
to drink, herself, to drown her sorrows, and there is no
more hopeless, disreputable family in the whole parish.
It is cases like this that make our work so disheartening,
and we are glad to see those who try to lead decent re
spectable lives remove to other districts where their sur
roundings will be such as to elevate them instead of drag
ging them down even though our own parish should suf
fer by their absence."

'Then," said I, "it appears to me that the only hope of
reforming the parish is by shutting up the gin shops and
rebuilding the dwelling houses."

"That," said Mr. Calderwood, "would be transforming
rather than reforming it. We should undoubtedly have
a more respectable class of people living here, but they
would not be of the class amongst whom we have
labored."

"True enough," said I, "but you would still have
abundant scope for your missionary work in the slums
which lie beyond your transformed district. With your

32 IONIA.

permission we will have this plan put in operation at once,
at least as regards the four blocks which surround the
church."

"It would be a very expensive experiment."
"I think," said I, "it would hardly be called an experi
ment. The removal of those miserable tumble-down
structures and the erection of buildings fit for the abode
of human beings would be a good work in itself, and the
expense will be a matter of small consideration. But
that will be a work of time, and I propose for the present
under your guidance or that of Mr. Manson to make my
self more familiar with the character of the people we
have to deal with. I will accompany you in your round of
visits amongst them and see for myself all the wretched
ness and the misery of which I have so often heard you
speak. I think perhaps four or five days in the week will
be all I can stand of it at present, and I intend to retire
to Chingford every Friday or Saturday and breathe my
native air for a couple of days, returning with fresh energy
each Monday. How you gentlemen can stand it day in
and day out for years without breaking down is more
than I can understand."

"With me," said the rector, "it has become second na
ture, but indeed there never has been a year when I have
not taken a vacation for a week or two. You know
how often I have been the guest of Dr. Wolverton, and I
have many other friends with whom I have passed pleas
ant days in the country from time to time, especially of
late years when my strength has not been so great as it
used to be. But Mr. Manson has never left the post of
duty for one day for five years, and I fear his health will
give way under it unless he has some rest and recreation
soon."

DARKEST LONDON. 33

"Never fear for me," said the curate. "I am young and
strong and in no danger of breaking down."

But even as he spoke I examined him more narrowly
than I had hitherto done, and saw signs of exhaustion in
the pallor of his face, and a certain yellow tinge in the
whites of the eyes. He had a strongly built frame, but his
clothes hung somewhat loosely upon him, and it was evi
dent he stood greatly in need of toning up, and nothing
but a good long holiday and complete change of air and
scene would do it. So I said to him :

"Mr. Manson, I am going to ask a great favor of you,
and that is that you should go away from here for a few
weeks at least. Take a trip up the Rhine, or visit the
mountains and lakes of our own country. Breathe the
air of the hills and woods for a time and come back to
your work the strong man that nature intended you to be.
The charges shall be mine, and I will not hear of any de
nial. I said it would be a favor to me, but I will not ask
you to do it on that ground. We are both now embarked
in this enterprise of helping the poor and the unfortunate,
and without health we can do nothing, so it is your mani
fest duty to accept this offer which is made in the interest
of our common cause."

"Mr. Musgrave," he said, "I cannot find words to ex
press my grateful sense of your kindness, but I fear it
would be impossible for me to leave at the present time.
The work of the parish is too heavy for the rector alone."

"That difficulty might be overcome," said Mr. Calder-
wood, "and I do not think you should allow any modest
scruples to prevent you accepting Mr. Musgrave's timely
offer, for I really think a change is absolutely necessary
for you."

Then, turning to me, he said:

"Mr. Manson has a younger brother who has just tak-

34 IONIA.

en orders and is without a charge as yet. He has taken
great interest in our work here, and would take his broth
er's place most willingly and acceptably for a time."

'The very thing," said I, "and perhaps we may enlist
him permanently in our cause. I want one or two zeal
ous young men to act under my orders, and if Mr. Man-
son's brother is willing he shall be one of them. Now,
Mr. Manson, are you married?"

"No," said he, "I am a bachelor."

"Have you a sister?"

"Yes, my youngest sister lives at home with my father
and mother and my brother Edward."

"Well, take her with you. A man cannot always enjoy
a holiday alone, and your sister will be company for you.
Shall it be the Rhine or the Cumberland lakes or the high
lands of Scotland?"

"Really, Mr. Musgrave, your kindness is too over
whelming."

"Never mind about that," said I, "it is a settled thing;
you heard what the rector said. You just go home to
night and talk it over with your sister and make up your
minds when you want to go. I am an old traveler and
will be glad to help you to map out a route. And now,
Mr. Calderwood, I must leave you for the present, but I
shall report for duty to-morrow morning. There is just
one other thing I wish to say, and that is, that I am deter
mined to avoid giving alms personally in any case what
ever, and as I feel that when I go with you or Mr. Man-
son amongst the poor unfortunates I shall feel as if my
hand should be going into my pocket all the time to re
lieve their distresses, so I wish to ease my conscience on
that score beforehand by asking you to take this check
for five hundred pounds to be expended for the benefit of
your parishioners."

DARKEST LONDON. 35

"A generous gift," said he, "like many that have come
before it, both from yourself and your noble mother."

On my way down to the east end next morning I called
at my lawyers' and instructed them to go quietly to work
and buy up all the property on the four streets surround
ing St. Oswald's parish church and to secure options on
other property in the immediate vicinity, and having thus
prepared the way for future operations, proceeded to ful
fill my appointment at the rectory. I found Mr. Calder-
wood awaiting me, and together we set out on a round of
visitations amongst the parishioners. It did not take
long to convince me that little good could be accom
plished amongst them so long as they were compelled to
live in the miserable rookeries which formed the habita
tions of the parish. The squalor and filth, the noisome
smells, the dark, mouldy rooms, and the utter absence of
all sanitary conditions were such as to preclude any idea
of comfort and decency. The people themselves im
pressed me as being almost past redemption, loafing,
blear-eyed men and women, many of them just recover
ing from a weekly debauch of gin; ragged, unkempt chil
dren swarmed about the courts and alleys. The scanty
furniture of the rooms in which whole families lived to
gether betokened the direst poverty, and in more than
one case we found the wretched belongings of the tenants
turned out into the street or court on account of unpaid
rent, and the miserable inhabitants deprived of the
wretched shelter which had hitherto protected them from
the inclemency of the weather. Of sickness there was too
much evidence, and many a haggard wretch we saw
stretched upon a hard pallet or a heap of straw from
which they would never rise again. Long before the day's
work was over I felt sick at heart from the contemplation
of the scenes of misery and hopeless depravity we encoun-

36 IONIA.

tered. Here and there we found families whom misfor
tune had overtaken and who were evidently struggling to
keep up some show of decent living amid the- most ad
verse surroundings. There were widows with large
families who took in washing, men whom sickness long
continued had rendered unable to earn bread for their
children, and old persons who had outlived their strength
striving by means of chores and occasional jobs of light
work to keep body and soul together. For these my
heart bled, and it was with difficulty I could resist the im
pulse to give money for the relief of their immediate ne
cessities, but I adhered to my resolution and left all such
cases to the good rector, who knew so much better how

to deal with them. ^

I was glad when the day was over and I could betake
myself to my rooms in Hoodwell street overlooking the
Thames embankment, where I could breathe in comfort
and revel in the spacious view and clear air of the river.
I looked forward with dread to the repetition of days like
that which I had just passed through, and felt overcome
by a feeling of impotence in the thought of the hardened
vice and stubborn depravity of the miserable wretches
whom I had undertaken to reform. But I held on dog
gedly to the work ; day after day, and week after week, I
continued to play the part of auxiliary in the missionary
work of the rector, and now and again we had the con
solation of rinding some who required but a temporary
assistance to recover from the blows of unmerited misfor
tune. My weekly visits to Chingford and the encourage
ment and sympathy which my mother never failed to give
me on these occasions put fresh heart and hope into me,
and I invariably returned from the country with renewed
determination to carry on the work. Meantime the cu
rate's brother Edward had joined us and I had the satis-

DARKEST LONDON. 37

faction of seeing the elder Manson off on a trip to
Switzerland with his sister, who evidently looked upon
me as an angel in human form, so delighted was she
with the prospect of a holiday such as she had never
dreamed of in company with her brother, whose fail
ing health she had been too well aware of. Long be
fore their return I was owner of a large part of the land
and buildings in the center of the parish of St. Oswald's,
and it was with intense satisfaction that we saw the work
of tearing down the weather-beaten old buildings begun.
My plan of operations was now complete. I proposed to
tear down the old buildings block by block, and replace
them with substantial, well-ventilated apartment houses
arranged for renting in suites of two to four rooms on
terms so low as to make them within reach of people of
the poorest class, and giving the preference to those who
had previously lived in the neighborhood, so long as they
were disposed to live decent, cleanly lives. The work
could not be hurried, for I was averse to turning out one
set of tenants before I had accommodation prepared for
them, but as fast as one building was completed another
was torn down and a new one commenced. I closed the
gin shops at once in all the property that came into my
hands. This was rather an expensive process, for there
were leases to be bought up and the owners of these
places looked upon me as their natural enemy and held
out for exorbitant prices; but by employing a clever
lawyer as go-between I managed to come to terms with
them all without making any very serious inroad on my
bank account. This step in itself relieved us of many of
the worst characters in the district, for they very soon be
came tired of living in a place where they had to go sev
eral blocks to supply themselves with liquor. Still we
had abundant applications for the new dwellings, and the

38 IONIA.

difficulty was not to find tenants, but to retain sufficient
accommodation for those whom we desired to help, and
who showed themselves in any degree worthy by trying
to help themselves. I proposed to keep myself as much
in the background as possible, and having spent a whole
month in going about with the clergyman and thus learn
ing by personal contact all that was necessary of the char
acter and situation of the people of the district, I re
solved to engage three or four earnest men sympathizing
with my views to visit them and endeavor to save from
ruin and wickedness such as were not past redemption.
Edward Manson was the first of my missionaries and he
brought a warm heart and a strong will to the work.
I soon found others who were willing to engage in it and
selected two who proved able and trustworthy assistants.
One was a man of middle age, who had been rescued from
a drunkard's life by the rector himself. He had been
a physician in good practice, who had resorted to stimu
lants to enable him to stand the strain of overwork and
sleepless nights. The habit had grown upon him un
awares and resulted in the loss of his practice and the
death of his wife. He was apparently a mere wreck when
Mr. Calderwood picked him out of the gutter, but tem
perance had restored his strength and manhood, and,
although he could doubtless have recovered the ground
he had lost in his own profession, he preferred to devote
himself to the work of saving others from the vice which
had brought him down so low. We found his help in
valuable, for we had many cases where sickness was
the sole cause of the misfortunes of poor families, and
the doctor was very skillful and restored many a father
and mother wyho seemed past human help and enabled
them to start the world afresh. The third member of
our staff was, like Edward Manson, a young man who

DARKEST LONDON. 39

had taken orders and had been engaged as curate in
another part of London, but, hearing of the work which
I had undertaken, he came and offered his services, be
lieving that he could accomplish much more for the cause
of Christianity by laboring amongst the poor than by
assisting in the half-hearted worship of a fashionable con
gregation. He was a man somewhat of Mr. Calder-
wood's stamp and had very winning ways and great per
suasive powers. He was much liked by the children, and
through them brought many of their parents to amend
their lives of idleness and wickedness.

These three, and a young man whom I engaged as
agent for the property to collect the rents and see that
the houses were kept in good order and repair, com
pleted my staff, and in the course of twelve months we
had everything in good working order. I was aware,
of course, that even my large fortune would not be
sufficient to root out all the slums of the east end of
London and cover their sites with proper dwelling houses
for the poor. It would hardly have been sufficient to
rebuild the whole of Mr. Calderwood's parish, but I
hoped that other people of wealth would follow my ex
ample and that the work thus begun would be continued
indefinitely until London became in some respects a
model city for the whole world.

We kept resolutely on, however, and my little staff
of workers never got discouraged, although at times it
seemed as if there was very little practical result from
their untiring labors, but every now and again they
managed to pull some poor wretch out of the mire and set
him on his fe^t with fresh hope and courage for the
battle of life, and many a poor widow was enabled to
bring up her family to honest industry instead of drifting
to the penitentiary and the street. So far my work had

40 IONIA.

been a repetition on a larger scale of what my mother
had done for the little country village, and in one other
particular I resolved to copy her example. — ^

I was providing good, comfortable, sanitary homes for
St. Oswald's parishioners, and I determined to do some
thing as well for their amusement and instruction. On
the corner of the street facing the church I built the Mus-
grave Institute, named after my father, whose statue in
bronze I caused to be erected over the main entrance. It
is a handsome four-story building, designed to accom
plish the same purposes as the Wolverton Hall at Ching-
ford. The ground floor is a large, well-lighted restau
rant, wrhere wholesome food is provided to all comers at
astonishingly low prices, but never below actual cost.
The second floor is a library and reading-room, free to all
respectable inhabitants of St. Oswald's parish. Above
the library is a well-appointed gymnasium, to which all
my tenants are furnished free tickets, and which is largely
patronized by both sexes at different hours of the day.
The luxuriant bath rooms, with which it is provided,
have been a very great attraction both winter and sum
mer. The fourth story of the Institute is a lecture hall,
which is lent free of charge at all times to those having
the good of the people at heart and willing to furnish
them with a programme of wholesome entertainment or
useful information. The expenses of the Institute were
considerable, entailing the salary of a manager as well as
the wages of caretaker and scrubwoman, but this pro
vided places for some of our destitute people of the par
ish, and the benefits to the neighborhood were great be
yond all proportion to the cost.

At the end of four years the streets in the immediate
vicinity of St. Oswald's church were all rebuilt and pre
sented a very different appearance from that which

DARKEST LONDON. 41

greeted me on my first visit to the rector. It was doubt
less more of a transformation than a reformation, as that
gentleman himself had said, but I am sure that he
was delighted with the change, and glad to feel that
in his declining years he could devote himself more ex
clusively to the proper work of the church and leave the
slumming largely in the hands of my energetic little
staff. The church was now filled at every service by a
large congregation of respectable worshipers, whose spir
itual wants required all of the rector's care and the
curate's as well. The edifice itself had been improved
by the execution of some much-needed repairs and the
addition of a fine stained-glass window and a new pulpit
and reading-desk, and the rector's house had been en
tirely rebuilt at my expense in order that it might be in
keeping with its improved surroundings and afford to
its occupant a little more of the bodily comfort of which
he had formerly been too negligent.

I had now spent about half my fortune, and, although
the results were meager in comparison with the hopes
I entertained on beginning the crusade, I never regretted
what I had done nor entertained the idea of withdrawing
from the field. At the same time I resolved to pause for
a time in my expenditures and for the present devote
only my surplus income to the acquirement and rebuild
ing of lands and buildings. The rents of the tenements,
although not always regularly paid, amounted to a con
siderable sum over and above the expense of keeping
them in repair — sufficient, in fact, to cover all the ordi
nary expenses of our missionary enterprise.

I had now succeeded in getting everything into such
perfect working order that my own presence was not an
absolute necessity and I spent more time at Chingford
than I had done at the beginning, and early in the fifth

42 IONIA.

summer I took a vacation of several weeks' duration,
which I spent with my mother among the lakes and
mountains of Cumberland and the Scottish highlands.

CHAPTER III.
A VISITOR" FROM ANOTHER WORLD.

Returning from my vacation, I found that my manager
had given the use of Musgrave Hall for a meeting to
be presided over by a certain Mr. Septimus Jones, of
which the object, as announced in handbills widely cir
culated, was to consider "The condition of the working
classes in England."

I had no personal acquaintance with this Mr. Jones,
but knew him by reputation as a noisy and mischievous
demagogue. I regretted that our hall should have been
lent for such a meeting and intimated as much to the
manager of the Institute, but he explained that the man
was unknown to him, but came well recommended, and,
being a glib talker, had persuaded him that his views
were entirely in sympathy with ours. I said that we
must make a point of being present at the meeting and
find out about that for ourselves.

I was early on hand on the appointed evening and
had to undergo the penance of shaking hands with the
chairman and one or two of his clique. They invited
me to sit with them in the front row, but I declined and
took my seat at the back of the platform, where I could
see and hear everything without being too much in evi
dence myself. The hall was soon filled, and, although
I recognized a goodly number of our own people, the
majority were entire strangers and among them a great

A VISITOR FROM ANOTHER WORLD. 43

many appeared to be foreigners — seedy-looking, wild-
eyed men, whom I took to be anarchists from various
parts of the continent.

The chairman opened the meeting by saying that he
would make a short statement of the objects for which
they were assembled together. He spoke rapidly for
about half an hour, and his command of the English lan
guage (always excepting the letter H) proved that he
had some claim to the title of 'The people's orator," by
which he was sometimes known. The burden of his
speech was that, while the working people produced all
the wealth of the country, the possession and enjoyment
of it were in other hands. He denounced the capitalists,
the nobility and the government as being banded together
for the oppression and degradation of the honest poor,
who, he said, were little better than slaves. But slavery
was doomed the world over. The slavery of the blacks
had been overthrown in America and he ventured to pre
dict that the slavery of the whites would be terminated
at no distant day in Great Britain, for the truth would
make them free, and he was there to proclaim the truth
that all men were entitled to the product of the labor of
their hands and that, while they had the right to all the
good things of life, they had also the might to seize them.
They were many and their oppressors were few, and so
soon as they recognized the justice of their claims and
the strength which union could put into their hands, the
working classes would sweep away with irresistible force
the combination of tyranny and greed which had for un
told centuries ground them under its iron heeL-^ Loud
applause followed the conclusion of his speech, but I was
glad to see that our own people did not join very heartily
in the cheering and hand-clapping, but that most of the

44 IONIA.

noise was made by men whom I knew to be strangers
in the district.

Three or four of the chairman's friends spoke after
him, and what they lacked in eloquence was made
up in strong denunciation of their betters, each of
them being evidently determined to go beyond the chair
man himself in bitter invective and wholesale charges of
fraud and dishonesty on the part of the upper classes.
I felt my face burn with indignation at the way in which
my father's hall had been abused by such demagogues,
and I could not make up my mind whether to protest
against the sentiments expressed by rising and leaving
the hall or to sit still in my chair and see the wretched
business through to the end. One thing I was resolved
upon at all events and that was that the manager of the
Institute must in future obtain either my own consent
or that of the rector to granting the use of the hall to
outside parties. At about ten o'clock in the evening the
fire of the professional agitators seemed to have burned
itself out, and the chairman invited any person from the
body of the hall to come up to the platform and speak
on the subject before the meeting. As no one rose he
repeated the invitation and said that it was intended to
include all present, and especially if there happened to
be any stranger present who, although not an English
man, yet felt sympathy with the sorrows of the English
poor and wished to speak, he promised him a fair and
candid hearing. Upon this some one rose in the center of
the hall and advanced towards the platform. I could
not see him at first, but felt sure that we were about to
hear a tirade from some exiled nihilist from St. Peters
burg or anarchist from Paris, which was doubtless what
the chairman anticipated, but if it were so he was doomed
to a great disappointment.

A VISITOR FROM ANOTHER WORLD. 45

As the stranger mounted the platform I perceived that
we had to do with one who belonged to a different world
from those who had hitherto spoken, for at a glance one
could see that he was a gentleman. But that was not the
thought which first came uppermost in my mind, for as
soon as he came fairly into view my involuntary exclama
tion was, "Here is a man." His head was the head of
Jove; a broad forehead with massive brows, under which
shone a pair of lustrous black eyes ; a straight, powerful
nose; hair of iron gray, like his full beard, which was of
moderate length and carefully trimmed; a deep chest and
broad shoulders, with a figure straight and perfectly pro
portioned, made up an ensemble which would have at
tracted attention anywhere. My interest was awakened
at once and I listened intently to hear what he would
say.

His voice was deep and resonant, and at his first
words a hush fell upon the audience, who seemed spell
bound by his grand personality. He began by saying
that he had not come to the meeting with any intention
to speak, but that the chairman's urgent invitation seemed
to apply particularly to him and he felt it would be in
excusable for him in the circumstances to remain silent.
He went on to speak of the sorrowful lot of a child born
to poverty in a large city; of the depressing moral and
physical conditions which hemmed him in and prevented
his development; of his multiplied privation and his
meager and sordid pleasures; of the temptations to vice
and crime, the lack of education which dwarfed his mind
and the lack of fresh air and wholesome food which
dwarfed his body. He traced the course of such a child
to manhood and old age and premature death in such
moving terms that I felt the tears spring to my eyes,
and I saw that most of the women and many of the men

46 IONIA.

in the audience were quietly weeping. But when he
came to the remedy for the unfortunate state of things
he had so vividly portrayed and began to talk to them of
temperance, chastity, self-denial and thrift, the rougher
sort showed signs of impatience, shuffling their feet and
coughing loudly, and when they saw that their disappro
bation instead of discouraging the orator, only caused
him to speak more earnestly and emphatically on the ne
cessity of raising themselves up by their own efforts, in
place of trying to drag others down to their level, they
began to mutter and to hiss. One shouted "Aristocrat,"
another "Spy." Many of the more disreputable-looking
characters in the crowd rose to their feet and raised a
clamor which compelled the speaker to pause, while
threats of rough treatment were freely indulged in.

He was not to be coerced, however, but turned to
the chairman to ask if it was not possible for him to ob
tain a hearing. Mr. Jones could not, of course, refuse
this request, and, rising and holding out his right hand,
was able to secure a moment's cessation of the tumult
when he pointed out that the gentleman was on the plat
form by his special invitation and that, as Englishmen,
they ought to allow even an antagonist fair play and that
he hoped they would hear him quietly to the end. He
had no sooner sat down, however, than the hubbub began
again, and after waiting for a minute or two more the
stranger bowed to the chairman and walked slowly down
the platform steps and through the hall to the door.
Those who had been making the greatest disturbance
turned and glared at him as he passed, evidently sorry to
see him retire without molestation, but there was some
thing in his look and dauntless bearing which warned
them to refrain from further insult, and when he reached
the hall door no one else had moved from his place.

A VISITOR FROM ANOTHER WORLD. 47

Before he had passed out of sight, I started up and
quickly followed after him, for I felt to some extent re
sponsible for the way in which he had been treated and
would have been extremely sorry to let him go without
explanation or apology. Catching up with him just as
he reached the street, I explained to him that, while I was
the owner of the hall in which he had been so grossly
insulted, the meeting had been arranged without my con
sent and wishes, in my absence, and yet I could hardly
forgive myself for being indirectly responsible for such
outrageous treatment of a stranger, and especially of a
gentleman who had given utterance to such noble senti
ments as we had just heard from his lips. I would have
said more, but he stopped me, saying:

"Mr. Musgrave, not another word of apology. There
is no one to blame but myself. I knew that there were
many men in the hall whose lives are spent in rebellion
against established institutions and who would not listen
to reason, and therefore I should have remained silent.
But there is no harm done at all; on the contrary, it
has given me the opportunity of meeting you, which I
sincerely desired, for I have heard much of the great
work you have done here and should be very glad to
have a talk with you about it at any time that would suit
your convenience. My name is Delphion, and I am stay
ing at present at the Hotel Imperial."

I held out my hand, which he grasped with cordial
pressure, while I assured him that it gave me very great
pleasure to meet him, and added that I had a carriage
waiting, and if he had an hour to spare I should be de
lighted to have him come with me to my rooms in Hood-
well street, where we might have a quiet little chat over
a glass of wine and a cigar. He said that nothing would
please him better, so we got into the carriage together

48 IONIA.

and in a few minutes we cleared the noisy streets of the
East End and were bowling rapidly over the asphalt
pavements of the city.

Arrived at our destination, I led the way to my sitting-
room, where I had a large bay window commanding a fine
view of the Thames. On this particular evening the scene
was unusually fine, for the moon was full and the sky
clear, and the lights on the embankment and the vessels
in the river made up a very beautiful picture. My manser
vant having placed cigars and a bottle of my best Chateau
Vergniaux before us, we settled ourselves in our chairs
fronting the window and resumed our talk, which had
been somewhat disjointed as we rattled through the
streets in the carriage. My guest as yet had said nothing
about himself, but plied me with questions in regard to
all that I had done in St. Oswald's and the neighboring
district, proving himself a very appreciative listener.
Having heard my account of the four years' work he nat
urally inquired how it was that I had conceived the idea
of devoting myself to the regeneration of the lapsed
classes and I was led on to talk of the scenes of my child
hood and the good work my mother had accomplished
in our own village. It was now nearly midnight and Mr.
Delphion rose to go, saying that he felt very much in
terested in all that I had related to him, and hoping that
our acquaintance might ripen into friendship, asked me
to dine with him at his hotel the next day. I happened
to have an engagement for that date, but accepted for the
day following, so he took a card from his pocketbook,
wrote the name of his hotel on the bottom of it and
handed it to me, bidding me a cordial good-night. As
soon as he was gone I looked at the card in my hand,
on which was imprinted in handsomely engraved letters:

A VISITOR FROM ANOTHER WORLD. 49

JASON DELPHION

Hooghley Diamond Co.,
Calcutta.

What a peculiar man! What could be his nationality?
The name had a suggestion of Greek in it, but the Greeks
produced no such men nowadays. I felt much puzzled
and interested in my new acquaintance. Physically and
mentally he seemed superior to any man I had ever met
and I felt extremely curious to know a little more about
him, but speculation was useless and doubtless he would
take me, into his confidence in good time. I had been
remarkably frank with him, but no one could look into
his face without trusting him implicitly, and I felt as if
I had gained a friend for life.

At the hour appointed I arrived at the Hotel Imperial,
where I found my friend occupying very pleasant quar
ters; having a suite of rooms which must have been the
best in the famous hostelry. In one of these dinner was
served, and such a dinner as caused me to conclude that
the diamond business must be a prosperous one and my
host no mean judge of good living. Yet he ate sparingly
and of few dishes, and drank very moderately of the ex
cellent wines which he had provided. He proved himself
an excellent host, and whereas on our first meeting he
had allowed me to do most of the talking, the positions
were now reversed and I found that he could speak as
well as listen. Indeed his conversation proved here so
entertaining that when we left the dinner table I was
surprised to find that nearly an hour and a half had
elapsed since we had sat down to it. Having learned
from me that I had traveled through Europe and the
countries bordering on the Levant, he led the conversa-

50 IONIA.

tion in the direction of the various places of interest which
I had visited, but whereas I had merely skimmed over the
surface of things, he appeared to have made a thorough
study of everything that could interest a student or an
amateur in art. He not only knew all the picture gal
leries in Europe, but appeared to be familiar with every
picture in them and knew the history of all the great paint
ers down to the smallest detail. In architecture he was
past master. I spoke of some churches and cathedrals
which had interested me and he entered into details of the
different styles of architecture, illustrated by description
of ruins and chapels in out-of-the-way corners of Europe
which would have made one suppose that he had spent
all his life in studying them. Reference was made to the
pyramids and the ruins of Baalbec, and it appeared that
he had examined these with the skill and diligence of an
archaeologist. He had theories of his own in regard to
the dates of each of these ancient monuments, and in
fifteen minutes it seemed to me that I learned more from
him of the history of Egypt and Syria than I could have
picked up by reading whole volumes of books.

Surprised at his fluent talk on such various subjects, I
changed the theme again and again, but it made not the
slightest difference; there seemed to be no subject which
he had not mastered. I tried him on politics, but found
he knew far more of the present condition of every Euro
pean country than I did about England. I touched upon
history, which was my own special study, but in this also
I had to own that he was easily my master. And withal
there was no ostentation about all this encyclopedic
knowledge. He talked in an easy, pleasant way about
everything, never taking for granted that I knew less
than he, but bringing up the various points and incidents
as if the subject in hand were equally familiar to both of

A VISITOR FROM ANOTHER WORLD. 51

us. At last I gave up the attempt to sound the depths of
his knowledge and lay back in my chair and resigned my
self to the enjoyment of listening, for whatever subject
he touched upon seemed to be equally interesting. Per
ceiving my silence, he said :

"But I am afraid I bore you by talking too much."

"No," I replied, "on the contrary, you both enter
tain and instruct me, and I have seldom passed an even
ing so pleasantly in my life and I hope it will not be the
last we shall spend together."

"Well," said he, "it will not be my fault if we do not
see more of each other. The other night you were my
host and you entertained me as I have endeavored to
entertain you, and I am afraid you thought me rather in
quisitive in regard to your personal history. You told me
much of yourself and your family, whilst I have com
municated to you nothing of my own antecedents, and,
to tell you the truth, I am not at liberty to do so at pres
ent, but some day I may have that privilege, and in that
case I shall have much pleasure in telling you all about
myself and my people."

"I assure you," said I, "that I did not at all resent
your friendly interest in my affairs, and I have no wish to
learn more about you than you wish to impart. I am
sure you are a good man and one of the most learned
ever I met. There is only one thing I am curious about
and that is your nationality, but I shall ask no questions
about that or anything whatever that concerns you. I
am delighted to have met you and trust we shall be fast
friends."

"I am sure of it," said he, "but in regard to my na
tionality there need be no reserve. I am a Greek."

"A Greek! I should have taken you for an ancient
Greek."

52 IONIA.

"More ancient, perhaps, than you imagine, but why
do you say so?"

"Because in your personal appearance and your great
powers of mind you seem more like one of the wonderful
race which turned back the tide of Persian invasion from
Europe and leavened the world with intellectual force,
than of their modern representatives, who play so small
a part on the world's stage."

"You flatter me very much," said he, "but it may be
in my power some day to introduce you to many of my
countrymen whom you will find worthy to rank with
Homer or Pericles or Phidias."

This made me feel more curious than ever regarding
the antecedents of my new friend, but after what had
passed I could do nothing but wait until he saw fit to
tell me more about himself. He promised to meet me
at the Musgrave Institute on the following day, and from
that time forward he was a frequent visitor there and took
much interest in all that was going on, making from time
to time very pertinent suggestions, which we adopted
with good results. He was so moved with compassion by
the tales of suffering and distress which my lieutenants
brought in that he asked as a personal favor to be allowed
to render pecuniary assistance in certain cases, requests
which I could not well refuse, and in these instances he
spared neither time nor expense in relieving the suffer
ers and placing them in a position to recover from their
misfortunes. He spent many hours with us and when
business kept him away for any length of time I missed
him more than I could have thought possible.

We were both seated one day in my private office at
the Institute, talking, as usual, of the people of the dis
trict and the efforts being made for their redemption.
I was feeling rather despondent and confessed to him

A VISITOR FROM ANOTHER WORLD. 53

that the enthusiasm with which I had entered upon the
work had become chilled by the amount of callous in
difference with which it was viewed by those whom
we intended to help and restore to respectability and
virtue, and I asked him to give me his unreserved opin
ion of the possibility of saving the masses from their
misery on the plan which I had adopted or by any other
conceivable way.

He was silent for a little while and then said: "You
have no reason to regret what you have done, although
it has not come up to the ardent hopes which your youth
and inexperience led you to indulge. On the contrary,
you have every reason to congratulate yourself on the
good that has been accomplished by your means. You
have provided comfortable homes for thousands of
worthy people who would otherwise have had to endure
much discomfort or misery. You have put it into their
power to live with some regard to the laws of health
and given some attention to the cultivation of their
minds. This alone is worth all the money it has cost,
but you have done more. You have saved scores of
people from giving way to the seductions of vice and
intemperance, and I am sure that many a young person
and many widows and mothers in this district have cause
to regard you as their benefactor, and many a child will
grow up into healthy, self-respecting manhood and
womanhood who but for you would have succumbed to
the influences of poverty and privation and disease.
Therefore I say that you should not be at all discouraged,
but rather be glad that you had the means and the dis
position to help so many of the unfortunate. If the
larger measure of success which you once expected seems
beyond your power it is not you who are at fault, but
rather the whole framework of society. Europe calls

54 IONIA.

itself civilized, but what a wretched failure its civiliza
tion appears when we reflect that the masses of the peo
ple in all the countries 'you know of are steeped in
ignorance and poverty, and are engaged almost from
the cradle to the grave in a struggle for mere exist
ence, and have neither time nor means to enjoy the
bounties of nature or the treasures of intellect and art
which human genius has created.

"We hear a great deal about human progress, and op
timists endeavor to show that mankind is in the enjoy
ment of a high degree of happiness by pointing out the
miseries of previous ages in comparison with the free
dom and comfort of our own. Enjoying, as a rule, a con
siderable share of the benefits which wealth insures,
they selfishly shut their eyes to the hideous inequalities
of its distribution and try to make themselves believe that
the proletariat ought to be content with things as they
are, merely because in former times it can be proved that
they were worse. But from the standpoint of the toiling
millions the situation must seem very far from satisfac
tory. The many endure that the few may enjoy, and the
few spend their lives for the most part in reaching out
for gewgaws and baubles, social distinctions, glory and
power, never reflecting that they live on sleeping vol
canoes which may at any time burst forth and over
whelm them.

"To my mind, the signs of the time seem to
presage a plunge backward into anarchy and bar
barism rather than a further advance in culture and
civilization. Your modern society is like a creature hav
ing the mind of a child combined with the physical
strength of a giant. It has made great strides towards
the knowledge of the secrets of nature, but has not at
tained the wisdom necessary to a proper use of its

A VISITOR FROM ANOTHER WORLD. 55

discoveries. It is rapidly penetrating the mysteries of <\*e/
electricity; the power of steam has added tenfold to its
might; chemistry has revealed many of its hidden won
ders, and in dynamite and nitro-glycerine has disclosed
forces which are terrible to contemplate in the hand of
malice and ignorance. In other directions the most in
genious minds are working out problems which will
evolve new powers for good and evil which as yet are
hardly realized. Meantime the proletariat is becoming
more and more dissatisfied with the unequal and unjust
apportionment of the benefits which science and inven
tion have created. Dynamite outrages have occurred
in almost every country in Europe and are the terror of
its ruling powers. In a few years at most another great
invention will be added to the vaunted triumphs of the
human mind. Men will construct ships which will nav
igate the air as safely and much more swiftly than any
that sail the ocean. Think what a terrible opportunity
that would give to the anarchist and the criminal. How
would your soldiers or your police guard the heights and
depths of the atmosphere? How would you prevent
the plotter against the existing order of things from
stealing along in his airship on a dark or foggy night
and dropping a hundred pounds of dynamite over the
parliament house at Westminster or the palace of the
czar at St. Petersburg and shattering at one blow the
whole machinery of the government? Think what a
reign of terror such dynamite outrages as that would
inaugurate! What frantic efforts would be made to
stamp out disaffection! Wholesale reprisals would be
the order of the day, and the innocent, in all probability,
would be confounded with the guilty; liberty would
come to an end and despotism and anarchy divide the
field.

56 IONIA.

"On the other hand, private malice would adopt the
same fiendish means of satisfying its ends, and no man
could retire to rest at night without feeling that lie
might be blown to destruction with all his family be
fore morning. Take the case of a strike in -one of the
large industries of this country. Suppose the work
men reduced to starvation and their children crying in
vain for bread. Would not the temptation to wreak
vengeance on a selfish and grasping employer, when
vengeance would be so sure and swift, be too much for
the scruples of the ignorant, and, perhaps, wronged and
oppressed laborers?"

"Undoubtedly, but the man who cannot buy bread
will not be able to provide himself with an airship."

"True enough, but those who foment strikes are never
without means, and past experience shows that they do
not stop at violence or crime to gain their ends.

"I should be glad to believe that the dangers which I
have pictured are wholly imaginary, but they appear
to me to be inevitable. Your philosophers who proclaim
the belief that the world has at last entered upon a path
of continuous progress, with the "lamp of science to
illumine its path and preserve it from the pitfalls and
follies of past ages, are like the ostrich burying its head
in the sand and persuading itself that there is no danger
because it is unable to see it. If there were many rich
men like you the case would be different, but for the
most part those who are well-to-do are utterly indifferent
to the wrongs and sufferings of those who are beneath
them and their selfishness may well bring about the
utter ruin of society.

"Assuming that the present state of European civili
zation expresses the highest point of development yet
reached by the human race, it is easy to imagine

A VISITOR FROM ANOTHER WORLD. 57

irorhT]
it to '

Mother Nature taking her creature man to task in some
such fashion as this:

" 'I spent thousands of ages in preparing this world
for your habitation, slowly but surely adapting
supply your every want; its crust is stored with marble
and stone, with coal and iron and all useful minerals
in due proportion. I have covered its surface with rich
soils and abundant vegetation; its animals and plants
have been evolved from poor beginnings and brought
with infinite labor to the variety and perfection which
you find so admirably suited to your desires. I created
the sea to be the highway of your commerce and have
filled it with many kinds of creatures for your food. I
have inclosed all with a soft mantle of air which tempers
and reveals the glory of sun, moon and stars, and con
veys refreshing showers to the thirsty ground; but on
you I have lavished my most unwearying efforts. I have
nursed and fostered you through infinite dangers and
made you lord and ruler of all. I have guarded your
childhood and brought you through endless trials not
only unscathed but always stronger and better fitted for
the proud position destined for you. And I have done
all this with the rough tools at my command — blind
forces you call them — working only in direct lines and
crushing out remorselessly and inevitably whatever fails
to conform to their inexorable laws; irresistible in their
onward march and patient of results, for they have all
eternity for their work. But with you it is different;
you belong to fleeting time; now is the day of your
opportunity and it is for you to take advantage of it.
You are a child no longer; you are full grown. I have
given you an eye to see, a hand to work and a brain to
contrive and design. I have done a mother's part by
you and you are no longer in leading strings. Take

58 IONIA.

the reins into your own hands and assume direction of
the work which I have hitherto done for you. I am
ready to aid you still: my almighty forces will help you
at every step if you but move in the right direction. But
do not imagine that 'you are indispensable to me. Al
though I have done so much for you yet your failure
would not move me. I have other worlds to work in;
infinite space is rilled with suns and planets, and if you
fail I have other children who will succeed. I have pre
pared and am preparing millions of far-off worlds for
them, and could you visit these with me you would say
of some, 'Surely this is paradise,' and of others, 'Truly
this is little better than hell.' And I should bid you take
warning, for either fate is in store for you, and it is for
you to determine which it shall be. Of this, however,
you can feel assured: I have done all for you that I have
ever done for the most blessed wrorld that swings through
ethereal space, thrilling with the harmony of angelic life;
and you have the means of making this earth the home of
the noblest and best of my children if you will but wisely
use the powers I have bestowed upon you.' ':

He ceased speaking, and his face was rilled with an
expression of divine compassion, while a sensation of
awe crept over me and half unconsciously I asked:
"Are you not of this world yourself?"
A pleasant smile reassured me, and he replied:
"I. promised to tell you of myself and my people as
soon as I had permission to do so. That liberty has been
granted to me and I am about to tell you what has re
mained a secret to the world at large for centuries, and it
is imparted to you because you have devoted yourself to
the help of the suffering and the poor with a disinterested
generosity which is rare amongst all men, but especially
rare amongst those who are born to wealth.

A VISITOR FROM ANOTHER WORLD. 59

"Before I tell you in what part of the earth my country
is situated, let me state a few particulars in which we
differ from all other nations.

"Our laws are few and simple, but admirably adapted
to secure the happiness of the whole people. Crime is
so rare amongst us that we have no police force and the
legal profession is represented by half a dozen judges
whose places are sinecures. Our wealth is abundant,
but so equally distributed that want and the fear of want
are absolutely unknown amongst us. We have no aris
tocracy, and the establishment of a plutocracy is abso
lutely impossible. The laws of health are so thoroughly
understood and so carefully observed that disease of any
kind is very rare, and the average duration of life is not
far from a hundred years. Every child inherits a sound
constitution and a vigorous mind from its parents, and
the forms of the men are models of strength and sym
metry, while the women are beautiful in face and figure
beyond comparison with the fairest of their sex in any
other age or country. Beauty is with us considered the
birthright of the sex and it would be considered almost
a crime to permit a woman to be born without it.

"In all the refinements of civilization we are centuries
ahead of the rest of the world. In agriculture and the
mechanical arts we have made such progress that the
material wants of the people are abundantly supplied by
the labor of a comparatively small proportion of these
for a few hours a day. In music, painting and architec
ture we have many masters who rank higher than the
greatest of all time in the world at large. Our cities
abound in noble edifices which are devoted to the use,
entertainment and instruction of the people, any one of
which would become a world's wonder if it could be
transported to London or Paris, while the ordinary resi-

60 IONIA.

dences of our farmers and mechanics are models of archi
tectural taste, and perfect in their adaptation to comfort,
convenience and health.

"While our standard of living would be considered
luxurious by any other people, we are not given to the
luxury of idleness. Every man has his vocation, and
however wealthy he may be, it is his duty and privilege to
contribute to the public welfare by the labor of his hands
or his head until old age has diminished his ability; and
with us a man does not begin to be old until he has
reached the age of four score.

"Our government is a pure republic, but with all the
advantages of a monarchy, for the administrative power
resides with the chief magistrate, who is seldom changed
except by old age or death, and the responsibility of of
fice is seldom sought after, but is accepted only as a pub
lic duty and that often at the sacrifice of personal inclina
tion. The public revenues are ample at all times, and
are chiefly expended in the maintenance of roads and
waterways, in the adornment of our towns and cities, and
in the education of the young, the last item absorbing by
far the largest portion of the public funds. In all cases
our young people have the advantage of university train
ing, and it is never necessary for a child to spend his
years in labor before he arrives at the age of maturity.
The two sexes are similarly educated in literature, sci
ence and art, and in the primary schools are taught in
the same classes. In the universities they are separated,
and while the young men receive a thorough course of
instruction in such industry or profession as they are best
adapted for with the view of fitting them to earn a living,
the girls are taught those equally useful arts which make
the homes of our people attractive and delightful.
Every girl graduate is not only a thorough housekeeper

A VISITOR FROM ANOTHER WORLD 61

and cook, but she is also an experienced nurse, and is so~l
well versed in the laws of health that when she comes to '
occupy the place of wife and mother the services of the
physician are seldom required.

"Our ancestry is Hellenic, but not without a slight
admixture of other races, and while we take pleasure in
the thought that our forefathers were the pioneers of
European civilization, it is to our modern laws that we
attribute our present advantages, and while your people
were exploring the new world and founding colonies be
yond the seas, ours were groaning under Asiatic tyranny
and all but reduced to a condition of slavery and barbar
ism.

"Our country is a valley in the unexplored recesses of
the Himalayas, which, with a few adjacent glens and for
ests, comprises about ten thousand square miles. It is
absolutely inaccessible except to such as can sail on the
wings of the wind, and air-ships are our only means of _
exit and entrance.

"We believe we have solved the problem of human liv
ing, and as a lover and benefactor of your kind you are
invited to visit our fortunate country, which we call by
the name of Ionia."

The feelings with which I listened to this marvelous
recital can be more easily imagined than described, and I
was at first at a loss for words to answer the extraordi
nary invitation extended to me. At length I found the
use of my tongue, and said :

"You do me a great and I fear an unmerited honor,
and if it lies in my power you may be sure that I shall
avail myself of this great privilege. Am I to understand
that it is the government of this wonderful country which
honors me with so generous an invitation?"

"Assuredly," said he, "I am ambassador-at-large from

62 IONIA.

Ionia, though not accredited to any other govern
ment. It is my duty to observe all that is going on in
Europe, and send reports to the state, not only in regard
to politics, but also with reference to all important in
ventions either in the arts of peace or war. I am ex
pected to make note of the progress of science, the con
dition of the people in the various countries, and all that
pertains to human affairs. I have occupied the position
for ten years, spending most of my time abroad, but re
turning home annually for a period of rest and recupera
tion. In two months from now I return for good, and
another citizen will assume the duties of my position,
which is considered one of the least desirable in connec
tion with our government.

"I may as well explain to you how it is that I intro
duced myself to you as a diamond merchant. The dia
mond, as you know, is merely carbon crystallized, and
for over a hundred years we have been able to produce
stones equal in brilliance and purity to the finest that are
found in a natural state. The invention was purchased
by the government, but as diamonds have no value in
Ionia except in so far as they can be utilized in mining
and other industries, there is no temptation for any one
to attempt the discovery on his own account. The per
son who occupies my position is furnished with a quan
tity of gems of large size and almost unlimited value
which he exchanges for gold to defray his expenses, and
these are left entirely to his own discretion. He is also
permitted to retain for his own use and to bring into the
country a sum sufficient to ensure him a respectable in
come for the remainder of his life. I am thus known to
the jewelers in all European cities as the representative
of a wealthy company of diamond merchants, but none
of them suspects the stones to be other than natural or

A VISITOR FROM ANOTHER WORLD. 63

that I have any other function than that of a traveling
merchant. You will admit that I practiced no deceit in
introducing myself to you as I did, but on the other hand
I have taken the earliest opportunity of repaying the can
dor with which you treated me on our first interview."

"You have clone a great deal more than that," said I,
"for I told you nothing but what all the world might
know, while you have imparted to me the most stupen
dous secret in the history of the world."

"It is of course unnecessary for me to say that all I
have told you is strictly confidential, and that until you
have the express consent of our government, we shall
expect you as a point of honor to refrain from divulging
the secret of our existence and superior civilization, even
should you consider that the knowledge of them would
benefit humanity at large."

"I promise all that without hesitation or reserve, but
there is one serious difficulty about my acceptance of the
invitation to visit you. I have never had any secrets
from my mother, and could not undertake so serious a
journey without imparting to her a full knowledge of
its scope and intention."

"Your mother," he replied, "must be no ordinary
woman, and I think we can trust her as well as yourself.
You will be able to communicate with her by letter and
telegraph from Ionia, and she need have no cause for
anxiety while you are away."

"Then, I think, there will be nothing to prevent my
going with you, and I shall look forward to the trip with
unspeakable delight. But you must come and make my
mother's acquaintance and place the matter before her
yourself. I hope you can spare us a week or two at the
Grange before the time of your departure, and the sooner
you can come the better it will please me."

64 IONIA.

"I have much to do before I return," he said, "and it
is necessary for me to spend the next week on the con
tinent, but if the week after will suit your convenience I
shall be happy to be your guest for a few days."

So it was arranged, and about ten days afterwards I
had the pleasure of introducing Mr. Delphion to my
mother at the Grange.

My mother was delighted with her guest, and thought
him so far superior to all other men whom she had ever
seen that he appeared to belong to another race of men,
and asked me to tell her all I knew about him. But I
replied that Mr. Delphion would enlighten her on that
subject before he left; that what I knew of him was im
parted to me in confidence which she in good time would
share, but which I could not honorably betray.

"Surely," she said, "there cannot be anything about
such a man which it is necessary to conceal, anything I
mean in the slightest degree dishonorable."

"If the archangel Michael came down from heaven to
be your guest," said I, "there would be nothing dishon
orable in it, but he would not wish anybody to know it."

"Well," she said, "I have heard of such a thing as en
tertaining angels unawares, but you cannot make me be
lieve that such is the case with us, for I am sure that Mr.
Delphion is a mortal man, although different in many
respects from all others. However, I do not propose to
seek to penetrate the mystery which, it seems, surrounds
our guest, or ask you to betray his confidence by the
slightest hint, so I shall endeavor to repress my womanly
curiosity until he sees fit to indulge it."

"If you like I shall ask him to speak to you about him
self this evening."

"Not for the world," said she. "My son's friend shall
always be welcome in my house, and I would not have

A VISITOR FROM ANOTHER WORLD. C5

him think for a moment that he should present his cre
dentials to me in order to stand upon the footing of the
most honored guest."

''Well, mother, I believe you know that I never had a
secret from you before, and I have already stipulated
that you shall share in this one."

By this time it had begun to be rumored among the
great folks in the district that we had a lion of no ordi
nary sort as a guest at the Grange, and we began to re
ceive an unusual number of visitors, both ladies and gen
tlemen, who were all very much impressed with Mr. Del-
phion's appearance and conversation. They plied him
with invitations to call or come and dine with them, but
all such he politely declined, alleging the shortness of the
time at his disposal as a sufficient excuse. Many of the
ladies asked me privately to tell them who and what he
was, and tried all sorts of blandishments to get some in
formation from me, but to them all I gave but one an
swer —

"He is a visitor from another world."

And although this only piqued their curiosity it was all
the information they could obtain, for I would tell them
no more, and my mother, of course, could not.

Mr. Delphion seemed more inclined to cultivate the
society of our humble villagers than that of the fashiona
ble folks. He took great pleasure in inspecting all the
improvements my mother had made, and at her request
delivered a lecture in the hall on the different races of
India, which was greatly appreciated by a large and en
thusiastic audience. He also begged and received her
permission to entertain the whole population of the vil
lage at an open-air festival on the commons. This took
place on the Saturday afternoon following his arrival,
and proved a grand success. He had a brass band down

6

66 IONIA.

from London by a special train which brought also a
company of caterers who laid out such a feast of good
things as five hundred humble villagers had never seen
before. Foot races and other athletic sports were ren
dered doubly interesting by a great variety of handsome
presents provided for the winners. There was dancing
for the lads and lasses to the music of the band, and seats
were provided for the old folks to rest in and look on in
comfort. When the sun set after a glorious afternoon
the train departed with the musicians and the caterer's
men, but the villagers seemed loth to break up and ac
knowledge that the festival which they had all enjoyed
so much was actually over. There would still be an
hour of twilight, and someone proposed that they should
finish the day by a grand tug of war between married and
single men. This suggestion was received with a shout
of enthusiasm, and a strong rope was procured and twen
ty-five picked men on each side arranged themselves for
the fray. Each one of the fifty took hold of the rope,
married men on one side and bachelors on the other,
with six feet of rope between the foremost on each side.
Two stakes were set in the ground directly in the middle
and the victory should belong to the side which first suc
ceeded in hauling the nearest of their adversaries clear
across the line marked by the stakes. They were nearly
equally matched, but the younger men, being more sup
ple, seemed to pull better together, and four times in suc
cession they succeeded in drawing the foremost of their
adversaries across the dividing line. They now felt sure
of victory and indulged in a good deal of chaff and banter
at the expense of the other side. Just before time was
called for the fifth bout, an old grandsire whose three
sons were on the losing side, stepped up to Mr. Delphion,
cap in hand, and said :

A VISITOR FROM ANOTHER WORLD. 67

"Axing your pardon, sir, may I be so bold as to ask if
you be a married man?"

"Certainly I am," said he, "but why do you ask?"

"Nothing at all, sir, only I thought you would hate to
stand by and see your own side beaten."

"You mean," said Mr. Delphion, "that I should take
a hand and try to wrest the victory from the young men
even yet?"

"Well, sir, it's not my place to be saying such a thing,
but you do look as strong as any two on us."

Here my mother, who was sitting by watching the
game, interfered, saying:

"For shame, Dobson! How can you be so imperti
nent?"

But Mr. Delphion, who seemed much amused at the
suggestion, assured her that he should be delighted to
take a hand in the struggle provided the bachelors would
consent. This question was at once referred to them,
and they having no fear of the result agreed to the prop
osition without hesitation, and Mr. Delphion took off his
coat and assumed the position of captain of the married
men. He made some changes in their arrangement in
the line, and advised them as to how they could best
apply their strength and throw their united weight into
the tug, and then all took their places for the fifth and as
the bachelors fully believed the last trial. But they
found they had met their match at last. They tugged
and strained and hollered, but all was of no avail. Mr.
Delphion seemed rooted to the ground like an English
oak, and when the young men had exhausted themselves
he gave the word to his men, and slowly but surely they
pulled their adversaries forward till the mark was passed,
and the married men scored one point. The tables were
now turned: the bachelors made some changes amongst

68 IONIA.

their champions, turning out some of the lighter weights
and putting likely young fellows in their places, but they
did not score again, and at last the victory was declared
for the married men, amid much cheering and throwing
up of caps in the air. The bachelors looked quite crest
fallen and had little heart to reply to the thrusts of wit
with which they were now assailed, but Mr. Delphion
made them a little humorous speech which raised their
spirits, and finished by proposing three cheers for the
losers, which was heartily responded to, and the meeting
at last broke up. On our return home my mother gently
remonstrated with our guest for undertaking a task
which she thought might well have resulted in serious
injury.

"You and I," she said, "are not so young as we were,
and cannot safely attempt what would have been easy to
us at one time. Pardon me for classing you with myself
as regards age, for I am an old woman, and you are still
in your prime, but it alarmed me to see you entering
upon a trial of strength with all those men whose frames
are hardened by manual labor so that they can stand a
strain which might be fatal to one of more delicate or
ganization."

"But," said he, "so far from being at a disadvantage
with these hard-working men, I was really in better con
dition than any of them to bring all my strength and
weight into play, for whereas their labor stiffens their
joints while it hardens their muscles, I take just sufficient
exercise every day to keep my strength up to the proper
mark for any call that may be made upon it. I never
travel without a pair of light dumb-bells in my valise, and
practice with them at least an hour a day. In. the matter
of ages, although that is a delicate question when a lady
is concerned, I have no hesitation in saying that I am

A VISITOR FROM ANOTHER WORLD. 69

old enough to be your father, for I was sixty-eight at my
last birthday."

"Sixty-eight! Surely, Mr. Delphion, you are jesting."
"No, my dear madam, but in my country a man is still
in his prime at sixty-eight. And I may as well take this
opportunity of imparting to you what I have already told
your son about myself and my country. Our existence
is unknown to all the world, besides, and it is in the cause
of philanthropy that I have taken him and am about to
take you into my confidence, feeling sure from what I
know-, of you both that the trust will never be betrayed//
/KnA then he told my mother of that strange, far-off coun
try whose people have mastered the grand problem of
human life, while all others have so signally failed. He
wound up by stating that he had given me an invitation
to visit Ionia in order that I might verify by actual ob
servation the statements he had made in regard to the
superior civilization of its people, so that I might be
guided by what I there' saw and learned, in any future
efforts I might make for the elevation of the masses in
our own country.

"His coming to visit us," said he, "will necessitate your
being parted from him for a considerable time, and I
know that your son is all in all to you, but he will be as
safe with us as he can be anywhere, and you can corre
spond with him constantly, and whether any great good
to the world will result from his visit or not it will cer
tainly be both pleasurable and profitable to himself. He
is too considerate of your wishes to answer my invitation
before talking it over with you, and there is no need for
any haste in deciding the matter. I do not leave Europe
before the end of August, so you have plenty of time to
think of it, but when the time comes, I hope to have Mr.
Musgrave for my traveling companion."

70 IONIA.

My mother looked very grave at this, and while thank
ing Mr. Delphion for the kindness and consideration
shown us both, said she would like to think over it for a
day or two and talk with me about it, so the subject was
dropped for the time. But before our guest left us it
was all settled that I was to go with him, and I looked
forward to the expedition with as much pleasant antici
pation as if I had been contemplating a trip to another
planet.

By this time the establishment in St. Oswald's was in
good working order, and did not require my personal
oversight. I requested the rector to assume my respon
sibility there for a time, and placed a large fund to his
credit at the bank, so that he might be able to meet all
contingencies.

By way of consoling my mother for my long prospec
tive absence, I spent the last three or four weeks at home,
except for two or three flying trips to London to see that
matters were running smoothly there, and I found all my
agents working so cordially and zealously under Mr.
Calderwood's supervision that I felt satisfied that I
should not be seriously, missed.

CHAPTER IV.
A FAR COUNTRY.

Late in the afternoon of a day in the early part of Sep
tember Mr. Delphion and I rode up the slope of a steep
hill on the southern side of the Himalayas. The summit
of this hill formed the site of an old stone fort called
Benabra, dating from the early days of the Mogul em
pire. The country around is a barren plain without

A FAR COUNTRY. 71

shade or sign of human habitation, the nearest village
being ten miles away. The fort is the property of the
Ionian government, and is used by them in their com
munications with the outer world, and is inhabited by an
old Sikh and his family, a liberal allowance being paid
them to keep the place in order and keep their own coun
sel in regard to what they know of their masters, which,
however, is comparatively little. The old man's son had
brought our baggage earlier in the day, but we preferred
to wait till the sun was long past the meridian before un
dertaking the journey, and it wanted but an hour of his
setting when we arrived in sight of the fort. Evidently
we were not expected even then, for there was no sign of
life about the place, but just as we dismounted from our
horses a tall young man came through the gateway and
saluted my companion in Greek, and then turning to me,
grasped my hand warmly, saying :

"I .am glad to meet my father's English friend, and I
hope you will enjoy your visit amongst us."

He spoke quite fluently, but with a strange yet very
agreeable accent. I replied that I was delighted to meet
the son of my friend, and felt sure that my visit would
afford me greater pleasure than anything I had ever un
dertaken.

Although rather taller than the average Englishman,
I had to look up to this young man like a boy. I saw
that he had his father's sparkling eye and grand leonine
bearing. His face was clean-shaven except for the mous
tache, which was full and glossy black; his broad shoul
ders, deep chest and clean-cut muscular limbs made him
a model of manly grace and beauty. He had much of
the kindly expression which distinguished his father, and
no one could look into his face without feeling that he
was one to be trusted to the uttermost

72 IONIA.

As I walked between these two grand men towards
the interior of the fort I was overcome by a feeling of
deep humility, like one in the presence of beings of a su
perior race, and I thought: if all the men of Ionia are
like these two, what a puny race they must think I rep
resent.

A few steps brought us to the interior court, the sight
of which was very refreshing after our hot and dusty ride,
for it was full of all manner of beautiful greenery. Palms
and luxurious tropical flowers grew in great profusion,
and a lovely fountain threw up showers of spray in the
center.

"How is this," said I, "that you have water on the top
of a hill in the desert? This seems like magic."

"But for the water," said Mr. Delphion, "the fort
would never have been here. It comes, of course, from
higher hills far away, and probably follows some subter
ranean channel of volcanic origin."

Dion Delphion now reminded us that the sun was
sinking fast, and that we had a long journey before us,
and led the way up a flight of stairs to a pleasant room
overlooking the court, where we partook of a light re
freshment of coffee, rice cakes, chicken and fruit; after
which we repaired to the top of the fort, where I had my
first view of an air-ship. The whole fort was roofed in
with large stone flags, and as the ramparts were high,
a small fleet of these vessels might have lain there with
out being visible from below, and doubtless this was one
reason wrhy the lonians, desiring to pass to and from
their own valley unobserved, had chosen the place for
their solitary outpost. I approached the flying vessel
with a great deal of curiosity, and found it very different
from what I had imagined. There was nothing of the
balloon about it, nor any elaborate apparatus of sails to
make it float upon the wind. What I saw was like an

A FAR COUNTRY. 73

enormous egg, at least twenty feet long, rather high in
proportion to its length, and flattened at the bottom. It
stood on four slender legs, made of double bands of
elastic metal, which spread out at the foot like stirrups.
Something that looked like a lady's fan extended under
neath from a rod or shaft in the center, the broad end
reaching to the stern. A similar fan-like device stood
up perpendicularly behind, attached to a slender shaft
protruding several feet from the body of the vessel. The
surface of the ship was of a light sky-blue and beautifully
enameled, showing neither seam nor joint except where
a row of small port-holes ran round the sides and in
front where there were two larger windows, one on either
side, all of which were quite flush with the outer surface
so as to reduce the resistance of the air to a minimum.
There were also four or five small, round glasses in the
bottom of the hull close around the shaft to which the
fan was attached. This was all I saw, and as the work
ing of the vessel was still a perfect enigma to me, I asked
young Delphion to enlighten my ignorance, which he
readily undertook^ to do.

''You see this fan-like apparatus underneath," he said;
"that is the elevator, and is used solely to raise the vessel
when we take flight or let it down again when we wish to
land. When we have attained sufficient elevation the
sails are spread and the upright fan which we call the
propeller is brought into operation and gives us our
horizontal motion, and then the elevator is folded up
again as you see it now. I shall take a little flight before
you start with us, and you will understand the operating
of the vessel better by seeing it from the outside."

He then went inside through a little door in the rear
which I had not previously observed, on account of its
close fitting, and left me with his father to see how the

74 IONIA.

wonderful thing was managed. In a moment the ele
vator spread out its leaves (which were of thin, bright
metal, making a complete circle,) and began to revolve
with such rapidity that nothing could be seen but a
whirling haze. Slowly at first, and then more rapidly,
the ship began to ascend, till it was about a hundred feet
above us, and then a number of long masts or poles shot
out from the sides, and between these canvas was
stretched until the vessel was surrounded by an immense
spread of sail nearly horizontal, but inclining slightly up
ward towards the front. When this was accomplished
the propeller began to act in the same way as the ele
vator, and the ship shot forward with great velocity. At
the same moment another sail appeared in an upright
position between the propeller and the hull, and the ele
vator folded itself up, and in a few moments the ship had
disappeared, for the sun had gone down, and it was grow
ing dark. I inquired what the upright sail was for, and
Mr. Delphion informed me it was the rudder. Before I
could ask any more questions the vessel came fluttering
quietly down and landed exactly on the place from which
it started. Dion now opened the door and called to us
to enter, which we did by means of a slender metal lad
der which was let down from the inside, but once in I
found it so dark that I could see nothing except the faint
light coming in through the port-holes.. In that latitude
there is hardly any twilight, and as the sun had set some
minutes before, it was now almost dark; I was led to a
seat, however, and before I was conscious of any mo
tion of the vessel itself I saw the walls of the fortress ap
parently sinking beneath us. I inquired if the whole
journey had to be made in darkness, but Mr. Delphion
assured me that we should have all the light we wished
in a few minutes, but that Dion would have to get his

A FAR COUNTRY. 75

bearings from the mountains ahead of us in order to
shape his course. We appeared to be rising very rap
idly, for from where I sat I could see nothing of the earth
at all, but looking forward through the front windows
I could distinguish a short stretch of twilight with the
outlines of some dark hills between. It almost seemed
as if we were rising out of the earth's shadow and over
taking the sunlight, but presently the motion changed,
the sails were thrown out, and the propeller brought into
play, and I felt the ship assume a forward motion; a
number of incandescent lamps were lighted, and I found
that we were in a very handsome and comfortably fur
nished saloon.

Mr. Delphion and I were sitting in two large arm
chairs side by side; behind us was the machinery en
closed in a glass-covered case, occupying a space of
about three cubic feet, and behind that again sat Dion.
Immediately in front of him was a long, narrow box,
connected with the case which contained the machinery,
and in this wrere arranged a compass and several gauges
with two or three small wheels and levers, and by means
of these he directed the course of the vessel, causing it
to rise or fall, to swerve to the right or left, by an almost
imperceptible touch of the fingers. Perceiving the ceil
ing overhead to be rather lower than I should have ex
pected, I said to my companion :

'This saloon does not seem to occupy more than half
the bulk of the vessel; how is the remaining space dis
posed of?"

'The upper portion," said Mr. Delphion, "comprising
more than half of the hull, is a hydrogen chamber, which
serves to diminish the total weight, and at the same
time to give the necessary steadiness. Just as the ballast
in a ship keeps it always keel downward, so our hydrogen

76 IONIA.

chamber, being so very much lighter than the lower por
tion of the vessel, makes it impossible for any gust of
wind to upset it."

"And what is the source of your power? I see noth
ing like a steam engine or any other device to control
the machinery."

"Electricity," he said, "is the force which carries us
through the air. No other force can ever be used to
propel an air-ship, and although I once told you that we
expect the outside world to arrive at the discovery of
aerial navigation, they have to learn a good deal yet be
fore they accomplish it. Their ideas of the storage bat
tery are still very crude, and will have to be very much
improved before they can travel as \ve are doing now.
It would surprise your electrical experts to learn that we
can store enough of the subtle force in this vessel to keep
it moving for a week, and we not only do that, but we
can draw upon the same stores to warm and light it as
well. It is sometimes very cold when we get far away
from the earth, and more electrical force is required to
keep up the temperature to a comfortable point than to
propel the vessel on its course."

"At what height above the surface of the earth do you
usually travel?"

"That depends entirely upon the winds. If the lower
current is favorable we may remain within two or three
hundred feet of the surface, but if it is adverse we some
times rise to a height of two thousand or even three
thousand feet in order to find a breeze that will help,
rather than hinder us."

"At what height are we sailing just now?"

Mr. Delphion turned to his son and asked: "How
high are we just now, Dion?"

"About twelve hundred feet from the ground."

A FAR COUNTRY. 77

This seemed very high to me, and I asked if it was not
dangerous to be so far from the earth.

"On the contrary," said Mr. Delphion," the higher we
are the safer we are. For if anything should go wrong
with the machinery when we are only two or three hun
dred feet up we might reach the ground with disastrous
speed before we have time to put matters straight, where
as, if we are two thousand feet high there would be much
more time to apply the remedy before any harm could
befall. But as a matter of fact, the danger of any ser
ious accident happening to our air-ships is almost in
finitesimal, for the machinery which moves the propeller
is quite independent of that which works the elevator, so
if from any cause whatever the former should become
disabled, the latter could be brought into operation at
once, and thus the worst that can happen is a gradual
descent to the ground before the journey is finished.
Even such a slight misfortune as that is of very rare oc
currence, for every part of the machinery is of the tough
est metal ever made, and we overhaul it and see that
everything is in perfect order before starting on a trip."

"What is the ordinary speed of your aerial flights?"

"Different vessels have different rates of speed, just
the same as it is with sailing vessels and steamships. In
a calm atmosphere the speed varies all the way from fifty
to seventy-five miles an hour. The velocity of the wind
has to be added to or subtracted from this, according to
its being with or against us. We generally arrange to
have it with us if possible, but this cannot always be
done, and then progress is comparatively slow. Our
country is so well sheltered by mountains that we seldom
have winds blowing at a greater velocity than fifty miles
an hour, so that the greatest speed ever attained by our

78 IONIA.

air-ships is about a hundred and twenty-five miles in
sixty minutes."

"At what rate do you think we are going now?"

"Dion can tell us exaetly. How fast are we moving,
Dion?"

"Eighty-five miles an hour at present."

"That is about what I thought," said Mr. Delphion,
"The wind is with us, but it is a very gentle breeze;
not more, I should say, than ten miles an hour."

Dion now suggested that before the moon rose I
should go forward and take a look at the stars.

"Yes, you must do so," said his father, "for you will
find it a very brilliant spectacle. The clearness of the
air at this elevation has a marvelous effect."

So I walked forward to the front of the vessel, where
were two plate-glass windows of considerable size, and
so transparent that I could see as well as if I were in
the open air. Dion extinguished the lights, and a scene
of marvelous splendor burst upon my view. The heav
ens blazed with stars infinitely more numerous than
ever I had seen before, and many times brighter. And
what struck me as stranger still, they appeared not to
be all set in the same equi-distant sky as with us, but
the brighter ones seemed to hang in midair, while those
of smaller magnitude looked as if removed to awful dis
tances. The great multiplicity of stars at first prevented
my distinguishing any of the constellations that were
know'n to me, and I felt as if I were gazing at a new
and more gorgeous heaven of stars. Right in front —
in the northwest, but nearer, apparently, than any other
— blazed an orb of regal splendor, which required no
effort of the imagination to recognize as a distant sun;
farther north, amongst a vast swarm of brilliants, were
seven, conspicuously bright, which I presently made out

A FAR COUNTRY. 79

to be the Great Bear, and that other splendid orb, the
monarch of the sky, could be no other than Arcttirus,
but shining with tenfold his ordinary glory. Looking
up toward the zenith, I caught a glimpse of Vega pour
ing down a flood of quivering light that outrivaled
Venus at her brightest. Just then Dion said:

"I shall shut off the propeller for a minute so that/
you may hear the music of the spheres."

He did so, and an awful silence fell upon us. I could
see nothing of the earth below except a vague, cloudy
darkness, but above and all around were myriads of stars,
glowing and throbbing with the intensity of celestial
life. It was an awful thought that all those millions of
suns and worlds were surging through space suspended
in mere vacuity, and for the moment I could not resist
the fancy that we, too, had left the earth and were wan
dering about amongst the eternal stars. The thought
filled me with a sensation of horror, and I called out
"Enough," and the propeller instantly resumed its chant
and the chamber blazed again with light.

"I staggered back and dropped into my seat, and Mr.
Delphion, looking anxiously at me, said, "What ails
you, Mr. Musgrave? You look quite pale."

"You will doubtless think me very foolish," I replied,
"but the idea came into my head all of a sudden that I
was in the hands of the immortals, that you were Zeus,
and Dion, Apollo, and that you were carrying me away
off amongst the stars, and that I should never see the
earth again."

Mr. Delphion threw back his head and laughed heart
ily. It was the first time I had ever heard him laugh,
and there was such a genuine ring of human enjoyment
in it that I should have felt reassured at once, even if

80 IONIA.

the momentary fancy had taken a deeper hold upon me
than was actually the case.

"Do you hear, Dion," said he, "how our friend flat
ters us?"

"I do not call it flattery," said Dion, "I should not
like to think my father was such an unscrupulous old
rascal as Zeus."

"I never thought of it in that way," said I, "but I am
sure that you and your father might very well serve as
models to a sculptor for these two gods."

"Now that is flattery, pure and simple," said the elder
Delphion, "but let us talk of something purely human."

"With all my heart," said I.

"Well, then," said he, "I will give you some further
information about the country you are going to visit,
so that it may seem a little less strange to you when
you arrive there, and that will be in something less than
two hours from now. The principal part of our territory
is, as I have already told you, a gently sloping valley,
extending a hundred and fifty miles from east to west,
averaging about forty in width. Through it flows the
river Pharos, which is navigable at all seasons as far
as the ancient capital, which is called Thalmon, situated
very near the center of the valley. The river has many
tributaries flowing into it from both sides, and these are
connected by a network of canals, which have no par
allel except perhaps in the Netherlands. All these
streams have their source amongst the higher mountain
peaks, and in order to regulate the water supply, a great
number of large reservoirs have been constructed
amongst the lower hills, and by this means we have a
constant supply of water at all seasons without any
danger of floods. The water is used for irrigation in
the dry season, which extends from July to November,

A FAR COUNTRY. 81

and every foot of land in cultivation can be flooded at
will, so that a succession of crops is produced every
season, and the country could support a much larger
population than it is now required to do. We are about
three millions of people, and we add to our numbers
very slowly, for we do not consider a rapid increase
desirable. The modern capital, lolkos, has about five .
hundred thousand inhabitants, the city of Thalmon
about half as many, and we have towns and villages of
all sizes in various parts of the country. The rural
population is large, for the farms are small, varying from
twenty-five to seventy-five acres, and are always culti
vated by the farmer himself, with tlie assistance in some
cases of his son. Of farm laborers as a class we have
none.

"The river Pharos flows from west to east, and empties
itself into Lake Malo, which we shall pass over before
arriving at our destination. This is a beautiful sheet of
water about twenty-five miles long, and is discharged
by the river Styx, which flows in a southerly direction
through an impassable gorge, denominated the Gates of
Hades, which in ancient times afforded an entrance to
the valley; but the road was destroyed and rendered
absolutely impracticable by our ancestors as a protec
tion against a formidable foe, of which I shall tell you
more at another time.

"The city of lolkos is built at the mouth of the river,
and commands a beautiful view of the lake and the vast
ranges of mountains surrounding it. Although the chief
seat of our manufactures, it is the cleanest and the quiet
est city in the world. The streets are paved with the
hardest cement: all the vehicles which roll through them
are propelled by electricity, and have rubber tires on
their wheels. The roads throughout the country are

82 IONIA.

paved in the same manner, and the spring rains clothe
the hillsides with grass, so that no dust is formed any
where. We have no coal and burn but little charcoal,
for our heat as well as light and motive power is sup
plied by electricity, and thus our atmosphere is free from
smoke as well as dust, and is always perfectly clear and
wholesome in city and country alike. We have a great
many beautiful edifices, and you will find a harmony of
design in the architecture of our streets which is not
to be met with in any European city.

"Our government is a republic, with a single legisla
tive body called the senate, which is elected by the rep
resentatives of the people. Every man has a vote, which
he casts annually for the magistrate of his district in the
city or province wrhere he resides. These magistrates
elect the senators, who are apportioned strictly accord
ing to population. Their term is for three years, one-
third of their number being renewed every year. A
moderate salary is attached to every public office, not
sufficient to form an inducement to aspire to the senator-
ship or magistracy, and there is so little desire for the
power of place amongst us that no man ever thinks of
soliciting the suffrages of the people. On the other
hand, it is held to be a public duty to accept office when
one is elected, and in the event of anyone declining with
out good and sufficient cause, accepted as such by the
judge appointed for such cases, he has to pay a heavy
fine, and all the costs of a fresh election besides. This
is a thing which very seldom happens, however, for there
is a certain amount of odium attaching to such a dere
liction of public duty.

"The chief executive officer is called the archon, who
is assisted by a cabinet of six ministers, chosen by him
self and responsible only to him, but theoretically im-

A FAR COUNTRY. 83

peachable by the senate. He has power to add to that
number if he thinks necessary, but has very seldom
availed himself of it. The archon is elected by the senate
for five years, but is usually re-elected and often holds
the high office for life.

''We have adopted many European customs, and
our calendar is the same as yours, except that we divide
the year into twelve months of thirty days, with one more
in January, March, June and September, and one more
in February in leap years. We have the week of seven
days, with the first set apart for rest and recreation.

"We address each other, in familiar intercourse by our
individual names only. This will seem a little strange
to you at first, but you will soon become accustomed to
calling me Jason, my wife Helen, my daughter Leda,
and so forth, and you must not be surprised to find your
self addressed simply as Alexander."

"I am sure I shall not mind what they call me, but
until I become used to the ways of the country it will
come hard to me to address your ladies by their Chris
tian names without prefix or title. Have you no titles
of any kind in Ionia?"

"None whatever. Even our first magistrate or archon
is addressed simply by his name, Minos, nor does the
dignity of his years and character suffer by what,
amongst your people, would be unwarrantable famil
iarity. But now we are getting near to the Gates of
Hades, the moon is up and the scene well worthy of
your attention. You may not have another opportunity
of seeing it, so if you will, we shall both step forward
and find out where we are."

So we took our places by the windows in the house,
and when Dion had turned out the lights I found we
were amongst the 'most wonderful mountain scenery I

84 IONIA.

had ever beheld. Right in front, and apparently about
three hundred feet below the airship, was a chaos of
rocks, tumbled together in shapeless masses, as if some
mighty convulsion had broken up a range of mountains
and thrown the fragments down pell-mell. We sped
over yawning chasms which appeared to be bottomless,
and past great mounds which rose up precipitously from
the general debris, but for mile upon mile there was not
a spot which could afford sustenance or even foothold
for man or beast. Beyond this scene of desolation arose
endless ranges of mountains, tier above tier, with snow-
clad peaks which gleamed like silver in the light of the
full moon. But presently we approached a great hill
which shut out the distant scene, and when we had swept
round it my companion directed me to look beneath, for
we were right over the Gates of Hades.

Beneath us was a deep gorge, the sides of which were
jagged precipices several hundred feet in height. The
moon was not very high yet, so that only an occasional
ray found its way to the bottom, but as my eye became
accustomed to darkness I could distinguish a mass of
foaming waters dashing past the cliffs and lashing them
selves into spray against projecting rocks. Then fol
lowed a stretch of smooth, dark river, relieved occasion
ally by the white waves of some tremendous whirlpools.
Again a half mile of rapids, boiling and surging more
furiously than the first, filled the space from side to side
with white foam. Gates of Hades was certainly no mis
nomer, and they would close swiftly on any unfortunate
soul caught within their dreadful jaws. But now I saw
that we were approaching the end of this fearful gorge.
There was a wider space of light between the black walls
of rock, and at last they disappeared from under us, and
we were flying over a beautiful sheet of still water sur-

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

PRESENTLY WE FI^EW PAST WHAT SEEMED A CITY OF
PALACES. — Page 85.

A FAR COUNTRY. 85

rounded by the glorious mountain ranges we had seen
in the distance.

And signs of human habitation came into view, ves
sels on the water, village lights on the shores, and a great
airship, illuminated from stem to stern, and many times
larger than the one we were in, flew past us like a fiery
meteor, and in the far distance a luminous haze, becom
ing more clear at every moment, indicated our approach
to a great city.

Every minute brought us nearer, until I could dis
tinguish the lines of the streets and the forms of majestic
edifices showing darkly against the light reflected from
the streets.

"Why is it," I inquired of my companion, "that so
few lamps are visible while at the same time every street
seems so perfectly illuminated?"

"Because," he replied, "the lights, which are placed
high up at every crossing, are covered with reflectors
which throw down the rays at such angles that the streets
are all equally illuminated, the lamps themselves being
placed so high as not to trouble the eye with their glare."

And now we were within a few miles of the city, but
instead of continuing in our course, which would have
brought us directly over it, we swerved to the right and
made for the angle of the bay which forms the head of
the lake, and gives to the city a water front of about
two miles in extent. We got a glimpse of the river,
spanned by handsome bridges, and a view of the stately
street which fronts the beach, the buildings being all on
the further side, with stone steps leading down on the
nearer side to the water's edge. Presently we flew past
what seemed a city of palaces rising directly from the
water, with a colossal statue of a man wearing a gorgeous
crown, which towered high over all in the center and

86 IONIA.

was brilliantly illuminated from below as if with the light
of day.

Anticipating m^-enquiry, Mr. Delphion hastened to
explain thisjwOnderful spectacle.

"That'-island is called the Acropolis, and contains the
goycfnment buildings and the palace of the archon. The
statue in the center is that of Timoleon, the great king
whose memory is almost worshiped by us. The pedestal
is made of immense blocks of granite, and the statue it
self of pure silver with a crown of gold (said to be the
only crown he ever wore), and it is set with diamonds,
which in any other part of the world would represent a
value almost incalculable."

Before he had finished speaking the Acropolis had
passed out of sight, and we were approaching with slack
ened speed a row of handsome villas situated on the
northern shore, and over one of them the ship paused
and gently fluttered down till it touched the center of
the level roof. We then made our way out, the sails and
fans were all furled, and in a minute the vessel was fast
moored to some large rings of metal built into the walls.
I would fain have lingered to enjoy the entrancing beauty
of the lake shimmering in the rays of the moon, but
realizing that Mr. Delphion must be anxious to embrace
his wife and daughter after his long absence, I made no
demur when invited to enter with them what appeared
like a summer house standing on one side, and found
myself in an elevator which conveyed us down to the
interior of the house. Arriving at the third floor, Dion
invited me to follow him, and took me to a large front
room, which he said was my bedchamber. Excusing
himself for a moment, he left me to become acquainted
with my new quarters and the impression produced was
favorable in the extreme. The walls and ceiling ap-

A FAR COUNTRY. 87

peared to be luminous, and they were painted by a mas
ter hand in representation of vines and flowers, so that
I might have fancied myself in the center of a beautiful
greenhouse. The floor appeared to be of oxidized silver,
but I learned afterwards that it was of aluminum; it was
covered, except near the walls, by a rug of velvet soft
ness, the prevailing tint being a light salmon which har
monized delightfully with the greens and pale blues of the
walls and ceiling. I was still puzzling over the source
of the soft, pleasing light, which seemed to emanate
from the walls and ceiling, when Dion tapped at the door,
which I at once opened, and he came in, carrying my
trunk and portmanteau, which he had fetched down from
the airship, carrying one in each hand as easily as if they
had been a pair of bandboxes. I began to apologize for
giving him that trouble but he would not listen to me,
saying it was no trouble at all, and as they had no man
servants in the country they did many little things them
selves which would be considered beneath a gentleman's
dignity in England, but which were right for a gentle
man to do in Ionia, for there was no one else to do them.
He then enquired how soon I should be ready to go
down stairs to meet his mother and sister, and I told him
to give me ten minutes to remove the dust of travel and
I should be at his service. I could not help thinking that
I should present rather a poor figure in my English
clothes, compared with Dion's splendid form, clad in
the graceful Ionian costume, but I made myself as
presentable as I could and accompanied him to the
story below, wrhere we found the rest of the family
in the library, a long, lofty room, lined with well-filled
bookcases, and having many comfortable chairs, reading
desks and globes for its movable furniture. All rose as
we entered, and Mr. Delphion introduced me to Helen,

IONIA.

his wife, and Leda, his daughter. I saw at a glance that
these two women were more perfectly beautiful than any
that I had ever seen before, but there was something
also which impressed me more profoundly, and that was
the expression of calm serenity, high intelligence, purity
and goodness which their faces bore, and made me feel
at the moment as if I were in the presence of two of the
angels of heaven rather than of mortals. I therefore
bowed profoundly to each, spell-bound for the moment
and unable to say a word for myself, but the elder lady
stepped forward and took me by the hand, saying:

"You are truly welcome to our home, Alexander, and
I hope you will make a long stay with us. Jason has told
us a great deal about you in his letters, and we think
very highly of you. We wish you to consider yourself
one of our family, and we are delighted to have you with
us."

The younger lady also shook hands with me, saying
that it was a new and very pleasant experience to have
a visitor from another country in Ionia, and hoping that
I should enjoy my stay amongst them.

I made my acknowledgments in the best way I could,
and just then the door opened and another beautiful
feminine form appeared, hardly as tall as the others, who
were much above the average height of English women,
but almost as perfect in grace of figure and loveliness of
face and expression. She was dressed like the others,
with exquisite taste, but wore a white apron, and I won
dered if this adorable creature could possibly be a house
hold servant. As soon as she appeared, my hostess said:

"Here is our cousin, Eurydice, come to tell us that
supper is ready. She does not speak English very well,
but knows French perfectly, which I presume you do
too, Alexander?"

A FAR COUNTRY. 89

I said that I understood French pretty well, so I was
introduced in that language to the charming cousin
Eurydice, and then we all went down together to the
dining room, and sat down to supper. Eurydice waited
on us and then took her place at the table with the rest,
and was treated so entirely as one of the family that as
soon as she was seated, the conversation was at once
changed from English to French, so that she might
understand and take her part in it with the rest.

I learned afterwards that this was the universal cus
tom in Ionia, the lady help, when there is one, being
always called cousin, and treated as one of the family,
a striking contrast to the custom in England, where the
lady help is only different from a common servant in (
having harder work and poorer pay. In Ionia no kind
of labor is considered menial or degrading, and no one
is looked down upon for having to work for a living, — /
idleness only is considered unworthy and contemptible.
The room in which this pleasant family party were as
sembled excited my admiration by the beautiful painting
of the walls and ceiling. Slender pilasters of some white
metal divided the walls, and the spaces between them
were filled with exquisitely painted landscapes represent
ing pastoral and hunting scenes; while the ceiling was
painted like the sky, covered by a transparent veil of
cirrus clouds. All the light in the room came from
ceiling and wall, and every portion of it was clearly
illuminated without glare or harshness. I expressed
my admiration of the beautiful soft light, and asked my
hostess, at whose right hand I sat, how it was accom
plished.

'The lamps," she said, "are placed in front of the cove,
which joins wall and ceiling, and if you look closely you
will see that they are held in a frame which runs all round

90 IONIA.

the room, the other side of which has reflecting surfaces,
which diffuse the light equally, while the side nearest
you, being in the shade and painted just like the ceiling,
is but indistinctly seen. In this way we avoid the harm
ful effect of any strong light upon the eyes, and retain
our powers of vision unimpaired."

'That is quite ingenious," I said, "and the effect is
delightful. Do many of your people have their dwell
ings lighted in that way?"

"All," she said, "and our public buildings are lighted
in the same way. We avoid glare in the streets also by
having the lamps so high that no one can see them with
out looking directly upwards, which is very seldom
necessary."

"That, also, is a very great improvement upon our
method, for, since the introduction of electric lighting,
the dangers of street crossings in London and other cities
are very much increased, and the glare of the arc lights
is not only disagreeable but injurious to the eye as
well."

"I hope you will find other things to admire in Ionia,
but should you find us deficient in any way, you must
be sure to enlighten us, and you will find us very willing
to adopt any improvement which your larger experience
of the world may suggest."

"My attitude here," said I, "shall be that of a humble
learner, and I am sure I shall not have the presumption
to assume the role of teacher in any department of hu
man knowledge."

"And yet, Alexander," said the beautiful Leda, "you
can teach us much if you will. In the matter of English
speech, for instance, we know that we must be very de
fective, all except my father, for we have never heard

A FAR COUNTRY. 91

a word of it pronounced by a native of your country
before."

"But you all speak it very well indeed. I never heard
English so beautifully spoken as here to-night."

"Oh, you must not flatter us," said Leda, "and we are
not going to ask you to play the part of professor, either,
but just promise to correct us when you find us going
far wrong, and you will find us quite grateful."

"I promise," said I, "but my task will be an easy one,
judging by all that I have heard so far."

"You have traveled in many countries," said the lady
Helen, "while we have always lived in one, and there
must, therefore, be many things familiar to you of which
we are ignorant, so you will be able to instruct us in
some things while we shall be delighted to show you all
that may be of interest to you here. And you have ar
rived in time to be present at our great yearly festival
of the national games which are to be celebrated here
next week."

"And what are they? Are they at all similar to the
ancient Olympian games?"

"They are similar and they are different, but my hus
band can tell you better about that than I."

Thus appealed to, my host proceeded to explain:

"Our modern games are different in one important
respect, for whereas the ancients admitted only the male
sex to the festival, we admit both sexes, although only
men and boys take part in the different contests. Hence
our modern athletes are dressed similarly to your own,
while the ancients wore no clothing at all. Something
is, no doubt, lost of the beauty of the spectacle by cover
ing the handsome forms of the supple and muscular
youths who compete for the prizes in running, leaping,
wrestling, etc., but much more is gained by the admis-

92 IONIA.

sion of their sisters, cousins and mothers to the enter
tainment. And we think too much of the ladies nowa
days to debar them from the enjoyment of these great
exhibitions of skill and strength. In other respects, our
games are very similar to those of the great Hellenic
festivals of old, except that in place of chariot races we
have rowing matches, and flying contests between dif-
erent classes of air vessels. The use of the horse has
been almost entirely discontinued in Ionia, hence chariot
races would be out of place amongst us."

"And so you are as much devoted as your ancestors to
physical culture?"

"As much or possibly more. Our national games are
attended by a larger concourse of people than ever the
Olympian games were, and these were held every four
years only, while ours is an annual festival."

"Moreover, every district of the country and every city

and town has its annual games, from which competitors

are selected to take part in the national races. Every

school has its gymnasium, and physical training precedes

the mental and accompanies it. The girls are trained

as well as the boys, though not exactly in the same way.

• They become very expert in many athletic sports and

exercises, but their modesty prevents them exhibiting

^themselves in any public spectacle."

"And how about the prizes?" I asked. "The ancients
were satisfied with the honor of being crowned with a
wreath of wild cherry. Does that custom still remain
with you, or are more substantial rewards now given?"

"The wreath of cherry leaves is still the victor's only
reward, except that in addition his name is engraved on
the wall which surrounds the arena — a massive wall of
granite one-third of a mile in extent, — and thus the vic
tor achieves a kind of immortality which is very much
sought after."

A FAR COUNTRY. 93

"And may I ask if the name of Jason Delphion is in
scribed on that wall?"

"Oh, yes," said Leda, "in more places than one. And
we hope to see Dion's name there, too, after next week."

"A hope," said Dion, "which is very likely to be dis
appointed."

"This is becoming very interesting," said I. "Of what
nature are the contests you are to engage in?"

"I am entered for two races, one rowing and one fly
ing. I hardly hope to win the former, for I have not
practiced so assiduously as some others. As to the lat
ter, much depends upon chance; one cannot foretell how
the wind may blow at any particular elevation, and it
is very easy to miscalculate. The flying race I am en
tered for is that of the skylarks, the smallest kind of air-
vessel, carrying only one person, and a very slight puff
of wind has a great effect upon them, so you see no one
can have any certainty of victory, whatever may be his
skill or the perfection of his vessel."

"May favoring winds attend you," said I, "but how
am I to attend this great festival in these outlandish
English clothes. Have I time to get myself fitted out
with Ionian garments before next week?"

"Directly after breakfast you will be waited upon by
a member of one of our tailoring firms, who will pro
vide you with a complete outfit by noon, and before even
ing you can have as many suits as you wish."

"That will be delightful," said I, "and pray tell me at
\vhat hour you usually breakfast?"

"Eight o'clock is the universal breakfast hour in the
city, and by nine everybody is at work; business men,
artists, mechanics, professors in the university, and teach
ers in schools ; all have the same work hours, which are
from nine to three. Four o'clock is the universal hour

94 IONIA.

for dinner, and these are our principal, and, with many
people, the only meals, although a light supper before
bedtime is not at all uncommon, and in this house we
always have a little supper, and we like to linger over
it, for there is nothing to do afterwards but retire to rest,
and it affords a pleasant opportunity to talk over the
events of the day."

I looked at my watch and found it was near twelve
o'clock, and guessing rightly that they were up long
past the usual bedtime, I pleaded fatigue after the events
and excitements of the day, and said good-night to all.

Dion took me up in the elevator, and as we went asked
if I was fond of swimming.

"Because," said he, "my sister and I go for a swim
every morning in the open air, and we should be glad to
have you go with us."

"At what hour?"

"We rise at six and leave the house at about a quarter
past. Fifteen minutes' walk takes us to the "Quarry,"
and we spend about an hour there, which leaves us ample
time to get back to breakfast without hurry."

"Six o'clock sounds to me a frightfully early hour, and
I have a good excuse for not going to-morrow in the
lack of suitable clothing, but after to-morrow I shall be
delighted to go with you, and I feel grateful to you for
the invitation."

"You must not say that; it will be very pleasant to
have you go with us. And now you must need rest, so
I shall wish you good-night and a sound sleep."

I felt too much agitated by the novelty of my situation
and the recollection of the strange journey I had made
to go to sleep at once, so when I had undressed and
turned out the lights I pulled up the blind and sat down
by one of the windows to see what I could of this new

A FAR COUNTRY. 95

world by moonlight. The air was wonderfully clear and
transparent, so that almost the whole extent of the lake
was visible, hemmed round on every side by hills. Here
a great precipice rose sheer from the water's edge, and
there an arm of the lake or some tributary stream opened
up a far-reaching glen, bordered by dark woods and ro
mantic valleys, but in the background the mountains
rose higher and higher, and distant snowy peaks were
to be seen on every side. Away in the east towered one
which dwarfed all the others, rising far towards the
zenith, all I could see of it being of dazzling white, which
showed its outline clearly against the pale blue of the
sky. Between me and it lay the Acropolis, crowded with
palaces sharply outlined against the mountain's snowy
sides. They made a noble picture, and I could readily
perceive that they were amongst the grandest efforts of
human genius, but the grandeur of nature's handiwork
in that stupendous mountain, towering in the distance
against the sky, seemed to my eyes to dwarf them as the
years of time are dwarfed when we think of eternity, and
I felt crushed by a sense of my own insignificance. I
had dreamed of accomplishing great things in the world,
and possibly of making a name for myself that would
long be remembered, but yonder awful peak had looked
down upon the world millions of years before I was born,
and would continue to do so for as many millions more
after my bones had crumbled into dust, and beside it I
was no greater than an insect creeping about an ant-hill
at its base. I turned my eyes upon the city, sleeping in
the moonlight, and it seemed like the creation of some
magician's wand called into existence in the night, for
not a sign of life was there. The lights were out, and
not a particle of smoke hung over its chimneys; indeed,
I could see nothing that looked like a chimney, but tow-

96 IONIA.

ers and domes innumerable, and many forms of archi
tectural beauty, and every stone as clean and bright as
if they had been put together yesterday. Over all
reigned a silence so profound that it seemed as if I could
hear the beating of my heart. Scarce a breath of air was
stirring, and only now and again a tiny wavelet broke
upon the beach below to emphasize the general stillness.
The scene was very beautiful, but the extreme absence
of sound and human activity made it seem unreal and
dream-like, so I turned to my bed to seek repose as one
turns to sleep again after being but half-awakened from
a dream.

I awoke with a start in the morning, the sunshine
streaming into my room through the window, which I
had left uncurtained. I feared I might be late for break
fast, and I guessed rightly that the lonians are a very
punctual people, who, when they name an hour mean
that time exactly, and not ten or fifteen minutes after it.
But on looking at my watch, I was glad to find that I
had plenty of time for my morning tub, and plenty of
leisure for dressing afterwards. What a change the
scene without presented from the night before. The
great white mountain, which had filled my spirits with
awe, now looked like a ghostly film in the distance, while
near at hand all was life and motion. A gentle breeze
covered the lake with golden, shining ripples; handsome
boats and barges skimmed its surface far and near, and
at least a score of airships could be seen cleaving their
way towards the city at dizzy heights in the atmosphere.
The city itself, shining in the morning light, had the
same appearance of freshness that struck me tne night
before, being perfectly free from the grime and dust that
discolor all European buildings, and yet I could see that
some of the walls before me were mellowed by time,

A FAR COUNTRY. 97

while others were as clear and bright as if the stones
had been quarried the day before. And it seemed from
my point of view to be full of splendid edifices, as if all
the temples and choicest buildings of Europe had been
massed together in one place. One street only I could
see distinctly, and that was the one fronting the lake.
The buildings were on one side only, with a broad street
of smooth cement in front, and then a flight of wide
stone steps leading down to the gravelly beach. The
street was something more than a mile in length, and
about the center appeared a handsome bridge of a singh
span, under which the river flowed into the lake. Six
imposing buildings with ample spaces between filled the
street from the nearest angle of the bay to the river.
They were all of marble, but each of a different shade.
Their architecture was different in style from anything
I had ever seen, but very beautiful, and altogether they
made a picture of such magnificence and splendor as
infinitely to surpass anything I had ever seen before.
The buildings on the farther side of the river appeared
to be on the same scale of grandeur and beauty, but of
course I could not see them so well.

A few pedestrians appeared on the street, and some
carriages propelled swiftly along without either horses
or steam, but there was no crowd or bustle; evidently
the full tide of the city's life had not yet commenced to
flow.

The only dwelling houses I could discover at first were
those situated near the Delphion mansion, on the north
shore of the lake. They were all built well back from the
road, which ran parallel to the lake and about fifty feet
from the water's edge. It was of hard cement, like the
street on the city's front, w7ith sidewalks of some darker
material, and all as clean and free from dust as if they
7

98 IONIA.

had just been scrubbed with soap and water. A con
tinuous green lawn surrounded the houses, extending as
far to right and left as I could see, with noble shade trees
growing at intervals. Looking across the lake I could
see a line of similar villas on the south shore, with others
back of them on the lower slopes of the hills, and the
transparency of the atmosphere was so perfect that I
could distinguish the colors of the dresses of some peo
ple moving about amongst them at a distance of not less
than two miles.

CHAPTER V.
AMONGST NEW FRIENDS.

When the family were assembled at the breakfast table,
I expressed my admiration of their magnificent city and
its glorious situation, but remarked that I could see noth
ing but public buildings, and that I could not understand
where the people lived.

"That is very easily explained," said my hostess, "for
most of the dwelling houses are on the other side of the
river, and a majority of the public buildings and all the
larger stores are on this side."

"And what is that splendid line of buildings fronting
the lake between us and the bridge?"

"Those are the university buildings."

"Oh, the university! Magnificent! It niusT'be*an
cation merely to have such beautiful structures before
one's eyes every day. And they are very extensive, too.
Do the young people of the whole country come to
lolkos to finish their education?"

"By no means; every district has its university, — there
are five of them altogether, and the others are not far

AMONGST NEW FRIENDS. 99

behind the university of lolkos either in extent, beauty
of architecture or excellence of instruction."

"Then I trust the youth of Ionia appreciate their un
rivaled advantages. Would it be permitted to a stran
ger, like myself, to inspect these palatial halls? I mean
the interior as well as the exterior."

'There is no public building in the country," said
Jason, "which you may not enter unchallenged. As for
the university, there is nothing to prevent you from at
tending any of the classes if you are inclined to do so,
and thus learning something of our methods of edu
cation."

"That would be useless until I know more of the lan
guage than I do now. And my stay will hardly be long
enough to enable me to profit by any course of instruc
tion."

"I did not mean that," said my host, "and I should
not for a moment entertain the idea that there is any
need for you to become a pupil in any of our schools.
But you have come here to find out what we are, and
our system of education has much to do with what we
are, so you will probably desire to know something
about it. As for your ignorance of our language, that
is not so great as your modesty would have us believe,
and I have no doubt but you will be able to speak it in
a few weeks as well as you read it now. But even that
difficulty would not stand in your way in some of the
class rooms, — those, for instance, where English, French
or German literature are studied, for in these the instruc
tion is given in the language which belongs to the sub
ject of the course. In fact, a visit from you to the class
of English literature would be hailed as an event of very
great importance, and I think you could not very well
escape without saying a few words to the students, who

100 IONIA.

would naturally be anxious to hear how an Englishman
speaks his own tongue."

"Then I am afraid I shall studiously avoid paying a
visit to that class, for I am no speaker."

"Perhaps they would be content with a reading from
Macaulay, or Gibbon, or say Milton?"

"That would not be quite so bad."

"That would be delightful," said Leda, "I should like
to be there and hear it. But perhaps you will be so
good as to read to us sometimes."

"I would gladly do anything," said I, "that would give
you pleasure, but the truth is I am not much of a reader,
either. It is true I used to take great delight in read
ing to my mother, but she was not a critical listener, and
was always interested if she thought the subject inter
ested me."

"Nor shall we be critical," said Leda, "nor very ex
acting, either, but it will be a great treat to us to hear an
English classic rendered by an English tongue."

"Very well," said I, "I promise one reading at any time
you may wish it, but I think very likely one will be
enough."

"And now," said my host, "I am about to pay my
respects to our archon, and if it will suit your conveni
ence, I shall be pleased to present you to him in the
afternoon."

"I am entirely at your service," said I, "but I trust
by that time I shall be outwardly presentable."

"You are entirely so at this moment," said Jason, "but
as you are so sensitive on the point, you can rest assured
that you will have it in your power to dress like an Ionian
before my return."

Very soon after breakfast I received a visit from the
tailor, a very handsome, gentlemanly person, not quite

AMONGST NEW FRIENDS. 101

so striking a figure as either Dion or his father, but very
well proportioned and athletic, his height being about
six feet, which I found afterwards to be about the aver
age stature of the men of Ionia. He knew little English,
but spoke French very fluently, and like a well-educated
man, as he undoubtedly was. He went through the busi
ness of taking my measurements from head to foot in a
rapid, business-like way, and promised me a complete
outfit in about three hours.

The interval I spent in the library, which I found a
veritable treasure-house, one side of it being devoted to
books in Greek, ancient and modern, and the other to
standard works in all the European languages. They
were all or nearly all printed in Ionia, and in typography,
paper and binding superior to even the best productions
of our English press. Every book had foot-notes in
Greek, and I foresaw that it would be a great delight to
me to renew the acquaintance of my favorite authors with
the new light which these annotations would throw upon
them. I went round from one case to another, glancing
at a passage here and there without undertaking any seri
ous reading, and in this way the time flew by very
quickly, and I was perfectly surprised when the fair
cousin, Eurydice, knocked at the door and informed me
that a package had arrived from the tailor and had been
taken to my room, whither I repaired without loss of
time, as eager to try on my new clothes as a young girl
with her first reception costume; but I took longer to
get into that suit than ever I spent in dressing either be
fore or since, for I had to find out the manner of adjust
ing and fastening each novel garment. At length, how
ever, the task was completed, and I surveyed myself in
the glass with considerable satisfaction, wondering, how
ever, if my own mother would know me if she could

102 IONIA.

meet me on the street in my new costume. My Eng
lish trousers were replaced by a pair of knee-breeches
of dark blue velvet, under which were silk stockings of
silver-gray. A tunic of fine woolen stuff of the same
color as the small clothes, shoes with silver buckles, a
shirt of cream-colored silk, with a standing collar, stiff
ened by interior crimping and showing above the neck
of the tunic, — these, with a chapeau of fine buff felt and
picturesque fashion, completed the costume. The fit of
every garment \vas perfect and there was a feeling of ease
and snug comfort in them which made me feel that I
should be very unwilling to don my stiff and heavy Euro
pean garments again. Although well pleased with my
general appearance, I yet felt a little shame-faced about
venturing downstairs into the presence of my hostess and
her daughter, and lingered unnecessarily long in putting
the finishing touches to my toilet, so that I was surprised
when Jason himself knocked at my door and inquired if
I was ready to go with him. I opened the door, and in
viting him in, asked him to tell me himself whether I
looked quite ready.

"You are so completely transformed that your own
mother would not know you, and you need not be afraid
of any stranger taking you for a foreigner. But come
and show yourself to the ladies, their opinion is worth
twenty of mine in such matters."

"Well, I suppose I must undergo that ordeal, but I am
afraid they will think me simply ridiculous."

"And why ridiculous?"

"Because I am such a pigmy beside you and Dion.
If all the men in Ionia are like you two, I shall always be
conspicuous by my diminutive stature."

"Oh, but you need have no fears on that head; we
have plenty of men in this country who are under five

AMONGST NEW FRIENDS. 103

feet ten inches in height, and that, I take it, is just about
what you are."

"Five feet ten and a quarter," I said, proudly.

"Come along, then, you will pass muster in a regiment
of us easily enough."

So we went, and the ladies were very kind, and even
complimentary. Leda went so far as to say that I looked
so perfectly like an Ionian that she almost regretted the
change, for it was so interesting to have a real live Eng
lishman in the house. Her father, she said, always
looked like one when he came back from his travels, but
they knew in his case it was only a disguise, and he al
ways made haste to resume his ordinary clothing, and
they preferred to see him in it, too; but with me it was
the other way, the Ionian dress was the disguise, and it
was so perfect that I might show myself on the streets or
anywhere and no one be any the wiser.

I thanked her for the compliment, and set out with my
friend without any further misgiving.

We walked about a quarter of a mile towards the city,
and then found awaiting us at a small pier extending
from the front street a very handsome barge belonging
to the government, which had conveyed my friend from
the Acropolis. The crew were two gentlemen in hand
some uniforms, and I was introduced to them as a mat
ter of course, and they very politely wished me a pleas
ant stay in the country, and hoped they could be of ser
vice to me while I remained.

We had not far to go, the Acropolis being but half a
mile from shore, and our handsome barge skimmed
through the water very swiftly. The lake was alive with
vessels coming from and going to the city, all propelled
without steam or sails, although I saw one or two sailing
yachts in the distance. The streets, so far as they were

104 IONIA.

visible, were crowded with people and vehicles, but there
was none of the noise we are accustomed to in our busy
streets, the smooth pavements and rubber-tired wheels of
Ionia dispensing with noise, and if I had but shut my
eyes I might have fancied myself a hundred miles away
from all human industry. But we were rapidly ap
proaching the Acropolis itself, the splendors of which
now engrossed all my attention. The island, originally ir
regular in shape, has been made into a parallelogram, six
hundred yards long by four hundred wide, the rocks
forming its surface having been leveled and used to
change its shape as a site for the buildings of the national
government. These are beyond all comparison the most
magnificent structures ever designed by human genius,
and rising directly on all sides from deep water, are seen
to great advantage from every side. My feelings as I
approached them for the first time were such as I cannot
put into words, and speech failed me at the time. I took
my hat from head and stood on the deck of the barge in
mute admiration and respect. Then seeing Jason ob
serve me with something like a smile on his face, for
there were tears in my eyes, I grasped his hand, and said:

"My friend, I thank you for bringing me to Ionia."

''Then," said he, "you think I did not exaggerate when
I told you we had edifices more splendid than anything
that Europe has ever had to boast of?"

"You never prepared me for this," I said; "it seems
like the work of gods, and not men. Our grandest
cathedrals, the work of five hundred years, are but the
bungling efforts of apprentices compared with this mag
nificent display of architectural grandeur."

"And yet," said Jason, "I can remember when there
was nothing here but a barren and unshapely rock from
which, as a boy, I have caught many a basket of fish."

BUT WE WERE RAPIDI/V APPROACHING THE ACROPOUS
ITSELF. — Page 104.

AMONGST NEW FRIENDS. 105

"That makes it more wonderful still. I think, after all,
you have carried me to the land of the gods. Human
hands as I know them could not accomplish such won
ders in so short a time or in any length of time."

Three canals form the entrances to the Acropolis, one
each on the north, south and west sides. The east side,
being farthest from the city, has none. We entered from
the west under a magnificent arch of white marble
adorned with splendid carving and with niches rilled with
statuary, both on the outer and inner faces. Passing
swiftly through we found ourselves in a wide canal, bor
dered by the greenest, most velvety turf in the world to
a breadth of twelve feet on each side; beyond this a wide
stone pavement crowded with people moving swiftly to
and fro, and on both sides the fronts of those splendid
palaces which had filled me with such wonder and admi
ration: They seemed even grander from this point of
view if that were possible. But I had little time for com
parison, for in a few seconds our barge was gliding into
the central basin in which all the three canals unite. The
square inclosing this basin is some six hundred feet from
side to side, and in the center of all stands the monument
of the great king. A mass of the native rock rises some
ten or twelve feet from the water; on this stands a mas
sive pillar of polished granite, and upon this the colossal
statue itself, the top of the crown reaching to a height of
two hundred and sixty feet from the base. We had a
magnificent view of the kingly figure as we approached,
and I admired its fine pr6portions and perfect poise, and
found grace and majesty in every line. Beyond the
monument, and fronting the side from which we came, is
the Hall of the Senate, which fills one whole side of the
square, and is the largest building on the island. The
other three sides being divided by the canals, are occu-

106 IONIA.

pied by six buildings, the palace of the archon, the treas
ury, the land office, and the offices of the departments of
education, irrigation and commerce. We landed on the
steps leading to the Palace of the Archon, but Jason, see
ing me inclined to linger, waited till I had feasted my
eyes on the architectural splendors of the grandest build
ings ever erected by man. The view of the Acropolis from
the lake had seemed to me of unapproachable magnifi
cence, and in the great mass of buildings presented to the
eye it has a grandeur of effect that even this assembly of
master-pieces could not surpass, and yet the splendor of
each of these seven palaces of marble and the wonderful
harmony of their different styles excited my enthusiasm
to a still greater degree, and I felt that the genius of the
architect had achieved in this square his highest crown
ing glory. We entered the palace and were conveyed in
an elevator to the uppermost story, where the chief mag
istrate of the republic spends his working hours, and he
is said to be the hardest working man in the country.
Being a bachelor, he has no family of his own, and regards
the people at large as his children, and never tires of the
labor of watching over their welfare. The palace is his
official residence, but he has never lived in it, preferring
a modest residence which he owns on the lake shore, not
far from that of the Delphions. Minos has been archon
for nearly thirty years, and at the age of ninety still pre
sides over the destinies of Ionia with unabated vigor, and
his name ranks in the estimation of the people as second
only to that of the great King Timoleon.

We were not kept waiting long in the ante-room, and
were ushered into the presence of the archon by a tall
and handsomely dressed gentleman of fine presence and
bearing. The room was very large and lofty, and lighted
by four windows looking out on the central square,

AMONGST NEW FRIENDS. 107

through which could be seen to great advantage the ad
jacent buildings and the colossal statue of the king.
Minos rose as we approached, and hardly waiting for the
ceremony of introduction, grasped my hand warmly, and
said:

''Alexander, I am very glad to see you, and I bid you
a hearty welcome to our country. You are the first
Englishman to set foot in Ionia, and the first European
we have seen for three hundred years. I am afraid we
are not a very hospitable people, and we are so well sat
isfied with ourselves that we have no desire to have the
rest of the world come and find out all the great things
we have accomplished and admire them. On the con
trary we should be very well content to go on living in
our own way, and allow the rest of the world to go on its
way without ever suspecting our existence. But we have
an idea that the way of the world at large is a very bad
way, and some of us have had rather an uneasy spot in
our consciences in regard to our fellow-creatures on the
other side of the mountains which guard our country so
securely. While the outside world has been stumbling ~~^
blindly on in the old, bad way of short-sighted folly, we /
have attained to a higher level of light and truth, and /
breathe a purer and diviner air. It is true that humanity /
at large accepts all its miseries as inevitable, and calmly I
lays upon God the responsibility of its sins and suffer
ings, but we know that these are not necessary elements
of human life, which can be made wholly admirable,
worthy and felicitous. And thus the question has often
forced itself upon us whether we are justified in keeping
to ourselves the benefits which our wise laws have in
sured to us, rather than risking our own well-being by
proclaiming our existence to our fellow-men, and en
deavoring to bring them round to the adoption of our

108 IONIA.

laws and customs. During the last hundred years many
of our citizens have offered to go out into the world as
missionaries and teach men how to live, but our fore
fathers have refused permission to those who thus sought
to make martyrs of themselves on the ground that the
danger to our own well-being was infinitely greater than
the prospect of benefit to those whom we in the fashion
of our ancestors still call barbarians.

"But we feel the responsibility just the same, and my
friend Jason and I have often talked of it, and he it was,
I think, that suggested the middle course of finding in
the outside world a man entirely devoted to the interests
of his fellows; a man of intelligence and liberal ideas, and
bringing him here to see with his own eyes what has
been accomplished by following the dictates of reason
and common sense. I gave the proposition my hearty
acquiescence, and he has been seeking the man we
wanted through every country in Europe, but seeking in
vain until some lucky chance enabled him to make your
acquaintance, and it did not take him long to decide that
you were worthy of our confidence. He wrote me a
long letter explaining the work you were engaged in,
and the spirit which animated you, and without a day's
delay I caused a telegram to be sent him authorizing
him to bring you back with him.

"And so you can understand that when I tell you I am
glad to see you, it is in no formal spirit of politeness, but
spoken from the heart, and your arrival takes from me
a burden which my old shoulders are weary of, and I am
beyond measure relieved to have it assumed by you, who
although you are so young, have already proved yourself
wiser than many hoary headed sages of your country."

"I have no words," said I, "to express the greatness of
the honor you have done me, nor do I underestimate the

AMONGST NEW FRIENDS. 109

greatness of the responsibility you invite me to assume.
Far be it from me to decline it, for it has been the dream
of my life to deliver the less fortunate of my fellow-coun
trymen from the load of misery under which they have
suffered. I am rejoiced to think that perhaps after all
my dreams may in some measure be realized, but it may
be that I am one of those fools who rush in where angels
fear to tread, and I would ask you, Minos, in all rever
ence and respect, why it is that you in your ripe wisdom
are so willing to place so great a trust in me, who am not
only young and inexperienced, but up to this day, a total
stranger to you?"

''Nay, Alexander, not a stranger. Although you do
not know me, I know you very well, and while I know
much that is good, I know nothing that is evil, and noth
ing that would render you unfit to be entrusted with this
great responsibility. Although I have never been out of
Ionia, I know a great deal of the world beyond. I have
seen it with Jason's eyes, and heard it through his ears,
and even if you were a stranger to me as you say, I rely
on his judgment as if it were my own, and when he says,
'This is the man we have sought,' it is enough, and it
would ill become me to put you through a course of ex
amination as to the character of your aspirations or the
extent of your learning. And so, Alexander, while I
hope to become better acquainted with you before you
leave us, it will simply be in friendship, and not in any
spirit of criticism or uncertainty as to your fitness for the
task we have imposed upon you. Jason's friend is above
suspicion."

"I am afraid," I said, "you compliment me far more
highly than my poor merits would warrant. I could
wish no higher title than that of Jason's friend," and of-

iio IONIA.

fering my hand to Mr. Delphion, I said: "I trust I shall
never disgrace that title."

"You never will," said he. "And let me tell you that
our archon is not given to flattery. I have never heard
him praise a man so much as he has done you, but the
greatness of the occasion warrants it. I have chosen
you amongst all the men I have ever met as the only one
fit to be entrusted with this great task, and it is well that
you should know in what esteem you are held by us."

"It is a great responsibility, and although I do not
shrink from it I fear that the consequences of it will
weigh upon my spirits and interfere with the perfect en
joyment of my visit."

"This must not be," said Minos; "you are here as our
guest, and your stay is to be a long one, and it would be
a matter of great regret to us if you did not find it a time
of unalloyed pleasure. Nor must you hold yourself as
unreservedly committed to the work of reforming man
kind on the lines laid down by our forefathers here in
Ionia. It may well be that you will come to the con
clusion that our laws and customs are too much at var
iance with the prejudices and superstitions of the modern
Europeans and their descendants ever to be adopted by
them. We could not blame you in such case, for it
would merely show that you had reached the opinion
which our own public men have always entertained.
And if you should, after mature deliberation, come to
such a decision, we have an alternate proposition to make
to you, and that is, that you should cast in your lot with
us, and we shall confer upon you the citizenship of
Ionia.

"Therefore, I say to you that it is your duty to throw
aside all care and thought of the future, and get all the
pleasure you can out of the opportunity which Provi-

AMONGST NEW FRIENDS. HI

clence and Jason Dclphion have thrown in your way, es
pecially as it is one which no one else in Europe has ever
had or is likely to have. Leave the future alone for the
time being; the question of deciding about your duty may
well be postponed for a few months, and we can talk
about it when your season of holiday is coming to an
end."

"I, shall do my best to act entirely upon your advice,
and for the present I thank you with all my heart for the
kindness and the honor you have heaped upon me to
day."

We then took our leave, and returned by the way we
came, except that we sailed through the southern canal
instead of the western, and went round the island before
returning; and from every point of view it appeared
beautiful beyond all my past experience or conception.

The evening of that day I remember as the first of
many pleasant evenings spent in the family circle of Del-
phion. We had two visitors and no more, and they
seemed on such intimate relations with the family of my
host that I saw they were almost looked upon as be
longing to it. They interested me greatly from the first
moment. One was a young man of herculean build, not
quite so tall as Dion, but with such development of chest
and muscle as showed him to be a man of extraordinary
physical strength. His head was a mass of short curls of
very fair hair, and his blue eyes and tawny moustache
marked him as more of a Teuton than a Greek. His
sister, a young girl of about twenty, was also a pure
blonde, with a figure in which perfect grace showed in
combination with a suggestion of the muscular strength
which her brother possessed to such a remarkable de
gree.

IONIA.

When they entered the room my host introduced us,
saying:

"Here are two of our friends, who might almost claim
to be of your race, for their ancestors came from Holland.
Your name is already known to them, and I have the
pleasure of introducing you to Daphne Van Tromp and
Leonidas Van Tromp." The lady graciously bowed, but
Leonidas shook hands very warmly, and yet with ex
treme gentleness, for I felt that he could have crushed
mine to a pulp with the slightest pressure if he had
wished to.

"Since Jason has suggested it," said he, "I welcome
you as a fellow-countryman. You at least know more
of the country of my ancestors than I do, and I might say
than I ever wish to know, for you have been there and
can tell us that it is a land of fog and marsh, which would
seem a very undesirable place to live in after Ionia."

"I have only been here one day, and yet I can assure
you that any other country in the world would appear
bleak and poor beside yours."

"We know that well," said the Gothic Hercules, "and
you will find very few of us anxious to emigrate. And
yet those Hollanders were good men and good patriots
in the old days — that is, about the time that my forefa
thers emigrated. They made the first successful fight for
political liberty in the modern world, and I am not
ashamed to be called Hollander, but, indeed, we are all
partly Hollander, and partly Hellenist, and our friend
Jason has probably as much Dutch blood in him as I."

"How can you expect Alexander to believe that when
he knows that your name is Van Tromp, and sees your
Teutonic blood showing in your hair?"

"Oh, these are merely outward signs," said Leonidas.
"There are other things to go by than these. For in-

AMONGST NEW FRIENDS. 113

stance, I know and you know, too, that Jason can speak
Dutch just like a native. Took to it just like a duck to
the water, while I do not know a single word of it except
my own name. That proves Dutch blood surely, if any
thing could."

"But I also speak Russian," said Jason, "and to be
consistent you must hold that I am a Slav as well as a
Hollander."

Leonidas made some reply, but I failed to catch its
import, for I was absorbed in watching the pretty group
on the other side of the room. Daphne sat between
Leda and Eurydice, her bright golden hair and laughing
blue eyes showing to the greatest advantage beside the
darker tresses and eyes of her companions. They were
in animated conversation, speaking their own language
in soft, modulated tones, which sounded like sweet mu
sic. They represented three different types of beauty,
but each of them seemed perfection embodied, and, if I
had been called upon like Paris to determine which wa-s
the most admirable, I should have been quite at a loss
for a decision.

Presently they ceased talking, and listened to my host,
who was recounting some of his experiences in European
capitals. He appeared to have met all the leading men
in Europe, and to have much more than a newspaper
knowledge of their characters. But his remarks were
not confined to public men; he gave us many descrip
tions of private life in different countries, from Sweden to
Spain, and from Scotland to Turkey, and depicted each
with such absolute fidelity as made us laugh heartily at
the idiosyncrasies of the different nations.

During a momentary pause the lady Helen asked him
to tell us about his first meeting with me, and he gave a
very vivid account of the meeting in Musgrave Hall.

114 IONIA.

He told of the thread-bare garments and anxious looks
of the people in the audience who had come there in the
vain expectation of hearing something that would give
them some hope of an improvement in their condition;
and then he described the speakers and quoted verbatim
from their grandiose orations. There was something
laughable in hearing their high-sounding phrases re
peated in cold blood, but I noticed that the effect pro
duced on his hearers was that of anger and disgust.
Leonidas especially seemed to boil over with indignation
at the thought of such paltry demagogues swaying the
minds of poor, ignorant men, his great fist was clenched
on his knee, and the veins in his temples swelled like
whip-cords, and if they had been within his reach, the
people's orators would have been in a pitiful case. But
Jason went on to tell of our meeting and the work I had
done amongst the poor of London, and of our little
country village, and of all that my mother was doing for
the poor people there, and interested his auditors very
much in the sayings and doings of our Chingford folk.
When he had finished, the ladies expressed a great ad
miration for the character of my mother, whom they all
said they would like to meet, and asked me if I could not
bring her to Ionia. I assured them that I should like to
do so above all things, but that I felt certain she could
never be induced to make so long a journey, and, as she
would consider it, one attended with so much peril, even
if she could make up her mind to be away from her
faithful villagers for a sufficient length of time, which I
thought would be out of the question. "But, on the
other hand," I continued, "if it would be possible for any
of you ladies to visit her she would be delighted to re
ciprocate the hospitality which I am now enjoying."
The lady Helen replied:

AMONGST NEW FRIENDS. 115

"That would be a great pleasure to any one of us, but
unfortunately it is not within our power. It is one of the
unwritten laws of the land, understood and acknowl
edged to be binding on all, that none shall leave Ionia
without the consent of the government, and except for
occasional hunting parties, none have ever crossed the
mountains but those who go upon government business.
For my part I have often thought that I should like to see
Athens and Rome, Paris and London, but at the same
time I have felt that the condition of the common people
in European countries must be very distressing to wit
ness, and I am satisfied that a visit to any of them would
arouse so many painful emotions that there would be lit
tle pleasure in satisfying one's curiosity in regard to
them."

"Pardon me," said I, "perhaps I do not understand
you, but it seems to me that you would see but little to
shock you unless you sought out the poor and the dis
tressed with a view of affording them charitable relief."

"It may be difficult to make you understand our way
of looking at these things," said my hostess, "but when
you have been here some little time and have seen for
yourself that the terms affluence and poverty have no
meaning for us, you will see how the division of society
into rich and poor appears to us a dreadful and unnatural
state of things. That any considerable body of the peo
ple should have to toil throughout their whole lives for
little more than suffices to keep body and soul together,
indicates a condition so little better than slavery that it
is hard for us to understand the difference. And that
is just the state of things we should be compelled to wit
ness in any part of Europe we might visit. Is it not so?"

"I am afraid it is," said I.

"Is it true," said Leonidas, "that many men in England

116 IONIA.

work hard all their days and have to go to the work
house when they become old and infirm, and are at last
buried in pauper's graves?"

"Such cases are not uncommon, but I believe they are
now the exception, whereas I fear that formerly they
were the rule among the rural laborers."

"That is a dreadfully unjust state of things," said
Leonidas. "The man who works hard all his life cer
tainly earns vastly more than a mere pittance; if he gets
no more he has been deprived of the greater portion of
his wages, and to treat him as a pauper at the end is add
ing wanton insult to injury. But I cannot understand
why men should submit to it if they know anything
about the earth they live in. Why do they not emigrate
to new countries, where their labor will be of more value?
I understand that these poor men marry and have fami
lies. Why do they not deny themselves of these luxu
ries for a time and work hard and live hard until they are
able to betake themselves to Canada or New Zealand?"

"Because, in the first place, they know very little about
the world at large, and in the second, their way of life
does not seem to them so hard as it does to you. Their
fathers and grandfathers lived just as they do, and their
priests tell them that it is a virtue to be content with the
lot to which God has called them."

"Then, apparently, the church is in league with the
state for the purpose of keeping the poor people where
they are, and preventing them from improving their con
dition. But I beg your pardon, Alexander; here am I
vilifying your countrymen to your face before you have
been twenty-four hours in Ionia. I am afraid that in
respect of good manners you must already be of the opin
ion that there is at least one Ionian who would do well to
go to England and take lessons,"

AMONGST NEW FRIENDS. 117

"On the contrary," said I, "it was I who introduced the
subject, and I am really anxious that you should tell me
frankly what in your opinion are the worst features of
our European civilization, for in that way my eyes may
be opened to observe many points of difference that
otherwise might escape me. You will, therefore, be do
ing me the greatest possible kindness if you will continue
to criticize our English customs and institutions."

"Excuse me," said the blonde Hercules, "I am too im
pulsive, too apt to let my feelings run away with me. I
would rather listen while you discuss this matter with
Dion or the young ladies."

As no one spoke, I proceeded to elicit opinions by
questioning each, and first, turning to Dion, I asked him
to tell me wherein he considered us most backward as a
people.

"I have not given the matter very careful attention,"
said he, "but in reading books about the English, espe
cially books written by themselves, one thing has always
struck me painfully, and that is, the way in which those
who are in high station are worshiped by all the others."

"Worshiped! Is that word not rather strong?"

"Not to my mind. They are addressed as 'My lord,'
'Your grace,' 'Your majesty,' and so on, and you will
hardly find terms of stronger adulation in your prayer-
book. Then the slightest movements and actions of
these great ones are chronicled in your journals as if they
were events upon which the fate of the world depended.
Their births, marriages and deaths are recorded with
fulsome details, and even their slightest movements, as,
for instance, how they pass their evenings, where they
ate their dinners, how they amused themselves after
wards, what dresses the ladies wore, and how they
decked themselves out with diamonds and pearls, and

118 IONIA.

so on, are all considered of sufficient importance to ap
pear in public print. I do not speak of England alone,
but of all the other European nations as well, and repub
lican America is not a whit better. They have no lords
or titled ladies there, it is true, but they worship their
millionaires in just the same way, and every newspaper
in its 'society' column proves the profound scepticism of
the people in regard to the first article of their political
creed — that all men are born equal. Your English
author, Thackeray, writes very amusingly about this atti
tude of mind in his 'Book of Snobs,' but at the same time
proclaims it as a universal failing, from which he allows
that he is by no means exempt himself. I suppose it is
an inevitable result of the inequitable division of wealth,
which is so universal in the outside world, but it is none
the less pitiful, both in those who give and those who re
ceive such degrading homage."

"I am sure you are right, Dion, and yet I must confess
it has never appeared to me in so very objectionable a
light, for we are so used to the idea that the mass of the
people must be not only poor, but badly educated and
deficient in intelligence as well, that it seems very natural
that they should look up to the lords of the soil as beings
of a superior order to their own. I fear we have to ac
complish a great reformation before there can be any
great change in this particular, but please tell me of some
other flaws in our social system ; it is most interesting to
know how these things appear to you, who are entirely
free from our native prejudices."

"Ask the ladies," said Dion; "they have not spoken
yet."

"Indeed," said his mother, "it was I who began this
criticising which Alexander takes so graciously, but per-

AMONGST NEW FRIENDS. 119

haps he would like to hear what the young ladies think of
Europe."

"Indeed I should," said I; "if they will be frank and
tell me the very worst. Leda, will you help me by say
ing wherein we show our barbarism most?"

"I should not think of using the word barbarous to
such highly civilized people as the English, French or
Germans, who have produced such splendid literature,
and have advanced so far in science and art, and yet one
cannot glance at any of your newspapers without seeing
much that is distressing to think of, and astonishing
when we consider that it exists, side by side, with much
culture, wealth and refinement. For that reason I very
seldom look at a European paper, although we have a
number of the more prominent ones on file in the ladies'
public library, but the other day I chanced to look over
the Times' and noticed a statement there in regard to the
school children of Vienna to the effect that a very large
proportion of them were in a state bordering on starva
tion; that they were clothed in rags, and that they
scarcely knew what it was to be warm, except when they
came to school. Now it may be that this is an excep
tional condition of things, and yet we are forced to be
lieve that in all the cities of Europe a large proportion of
the children are brought into the world without any pro
vision for the tender nurture and education which,
amongst us, is the birth-right of every one. The thought
of the helpless innocents enduring hunger, cold, and
every other privation, is a very distressing one, and I am
unable to understand how the people who are well to do
can find any pleasure in comfortable surroundings when
they know that such cruel suffering exists in their im
mediate neighborhood."

"I think, Leda," said I, "you have pointed out the

180 IONIA.

greatest blot in our modern civilization. We have made
much progress in many ways, and we have the poor al
ways with us in undiminished numbers, and many chil
dren are crying for bread in cities of almost countless
wealth. Much is done by private charity and govern
ment measures to relieve distress, and yet it never seems
to be sensibly diminished. The truth is we do not know
how to cure this great evil, and I am here in the hope of
finding out how you have done away with poverty in
order that we may, if possible, profit by your example.

"And now, Daphne, will you please give me the benefit
of your thoughts?"

"After Eurydice," said she, "I will tell you; if I can
think of anything sufficiently bad."

"Well, then, Eurydice, will you please tell me wherein
you think us most imperfect?"

"There is one thing that has jarred upon my feelings
in reading books by European authors, and that is, that
some kinds of labor^are looked upon amongst you as
degrading. A man who works with his hands is sup
posed to be a common, uneducated, ignorant person, and
no gentleman is supposed to earn his living in any but
the learned professions. Now with us it is different; all
work is equally honorable, and, although brain work is
undoubtedly of higher quality than hand work, you will
find that our mechanics are not looked down upon by
artists or literary men, for the simple reason that they
are just as likely as not their equals in general intelli
gence. If you attend any of the receptions given by the
mayor or the president of the university you will be sure
to find groups of ladies and gentlemen discussing some
difficult problem of astronomy or biology; and of the
principal speakers you will find that one is a professor of
natural history, another a carpenter, and a third may be

AMONGST NEW FRIENDS. 121

the man who steered your boat to-day to the Acropolis. 1
This question touches me personally, and that is why it
has occupied my attention more than any other in read
ing European books. If this were a European house
hold I should be entirely out of place in the family sit
ting room, my place would be the kitchen, and Jason and
Helen, instead of being like a second father and mother
to me, would be my master and mistress, and I should be
simply their servant, which means little different from a
slave."

"What you have said, Eurydice, proves to me more
than anything else how vast is the difference between our
civilization and yours. For the fact that so few profes
sions are open to gentlemen amongst us simply shows
what a miserable minority our gentlemen, taking the
word in the sense of men of culture, are, compared with
the bulk of the community. If your mechanics are able
to hold learned discussions with your professors, then I
am sure that our savants could sit with advantage at the
feet of the undergraduates, and it is almost discouraging
to think that we are so very far behind in intellectual
progress. Nevertheless, I thank you for pointing out
this essential point of difference, which shall have my
most careful attention, and if you are almost infinitely in
advance of us it will give us the advantage of a higher
standard to aim at, and our progress ottght to be corre
spondingly great.

"And now, Daphne, you see I am far from sinking
under this load of condemnation, and we shall be glad
to hear what you have to add to it. Do not spare us, I
beg of you."

"It is an ungracious task you have imposed upon us,"
said the lovely blonde, "but as you ask us to be perfectly
frank and candid, I may say that what appears to me to

122 IONIA.

be the most appalling of all the disadvantages you labor
under is the continual presence amongst you of disease
in its most dreadful forms. I understand that in your
large cities such fearful diseases as typhoid fever, scarlet
fever, diphtheria and even small-pox are always present
in greater or less virulence, and that they spare neither
old nor young, rich nor poor, and the consequence is
that you do not, on the average, live half your days.
Consumption appears to find its victims everywhere, and
cuts off young men and women by the thousand in the
very bloom of their youth. Nothing can surely be sad
der than to see youth or maiden droop and die just when
all the brightest hopes of life are blossoming, unless it be
to see little children carried off by agonizing sickness just
when they have wound themselves most tightly round
the affections of their parents. I understand that a large
proportion of the children born in Europe die before they
are two years old, and it makes me wonder whether it is
the ignorance of the parents or the incompetence of the
doctors or the callousness of the governing powers that
is most to blame."

Daphne's expression as she spoke was one of infinite
tenderness and compassion, and I remained silent for a
minute before undertaking to reply. At last I said:

"All you have said is true, but I never realized the un
speakable sadness of it before. Whatever we are accus
tomed to seems natural, and we become indifferent to it.
In a time of war men become used to seeing their com
rades fall around them, and their appetite for the next
meal is unimpaired. In a plague-stricken city people see
the bodies of their neighbors carried off in the dead cart
by day or by night, and become indifferent to the horrors
around them until their own turn comes. So we in
Europe know that children are being constantly stricken

AMONGST NEW FRIENDS. 123

down under the eyes of their parents, mothers taken
away from their babes, husbands from their wives, and
youths and maidens from their families, and so long as
the fell destroyer keeps aloof from our own hearth and
home we think nothing of it, for it has always been so.
Jason has told me that in this land of yours these things
do not happen, or only in exceptional cases; if it is the
rule that men and women die only in the fullness of their
years, when they have tasted all the sweets of life, and fall
asleep only when the fountain of their existence is ex
hausted, then yours is, indeed, a blessed land, and I shall
be able to make all men's ears tingle with the tale."

"I have never known a young person die," said
Daphne. "Accidents do sometimes happen, but they are
very rare. No one has died under ninety years old in
our family for generations, and almost everyone you
meet will tell you the same about their own. That seems
to us the natural state of things, and it is difficult for us
to understand why it should be so very different else
where."

"Nor can I explain it to you. Doubtless our ignor
ance is at the bottom of it all. You spoke of ignorance
on the part of the parents, apathy on the part of the rul
ing powers, and incompetence on the part of the medical
profession. The first two causes may certainly be cred
ited with a large part of the responsibility, but as for the
last, I had supposed that our physicians and surgeons
were very learned and skillful. I should like to hear
what our host has to say upon that point."

"From personal experience," Jason said, "I am not in
a position to speak, for I have never had occasion to
consult a European medical man at any time. I have
met some of them personally and found them very in
telligent, well-bred gentlemen, but I have seldom

124 IONIA.

known them to save a life in danger, and I have known
them to fail in many cases where I thought they ought to
have succeeded. They are banded together like the
members of a trades' union, and whether the patient lives
or dies they are very careful to collect their fees where-
ever it is possible to do so. I may wrong many of them
in saying this, and one would gather a very different im
pression from reading some of your foremost authors.

"They tell us of large-hearted men of wonderful ability
and learning, working day and night for the good of the
community, and that with an absolute indifference to
monetary reward. Unfortunately I have never person
ally known of any such cases, but on the contrary, I
have sometimes been disgusted with the grasping spirit
of practitioners who limited their fee only by the extent
of their client's supposed fortune. For instance, I have
a friend in Paris, the head of a large jewelry firm named
Lapointe and Company, whose little daughter was taken
sick about two years ago. The operation of tracheot
omy was performed, and the child speedily got well, and
M. Lapointe, who loved her passionately, would gladly
and gratefully have paid a good round fee to the surgeon
who had undertaken the case. But when he received a
bill for fifteen thousand francs, his feelings were changed,
and he flatly refused to pay it. He was no millionaire,
business had been dull for a year or two, and fifteen
thousand francs was more than he could well spare. In
a weak moment he allowed the question to be arbitrated
by a jury of physicians, and they unanimously decided
that the fee was just and proper, and ought to be paid;
and it was. When the physicians carry on their work in
the full glare of publicity, as when the head of a nation is
stricken, they show themselves as helpless as so many
children, but this does not prevent their trying to enrich

AMONGST NEW FRIENDS. 125

themselves by charging enormous sums for helping the
patient to die. Their fees would be many times too
large if they had saved their patient, but it is the oppor
tunity of a life-time, and they seize it like bandits when
they have a prince to ransom.

"Were the salvation of Great Britain intrusted to my
hands with the powers of absolute dictatorship, the first
thing I should do would be to summon all the doctors
and all the lawyers, and at least nineteen-twentieths of
the clergy to London, and ship them off to the antipodes.
I should give them land and seed and agricultural imple
ments, and a supply of food for a few months, and let
them shift for themselves. Then I should set to work
with some hope of success with the people accustomed
to work for an honest living.

"Without the doctors' pills and potions they would be
able to live in health and die in peace ; without lawyers to
foment their differences they would avoid civil disputes
or settle them quickly by arbitration ; without the clergy
to stir up theological strife they would forget their reli
gious differences and work together in harmony for the
general improvement.

"The vast sums which these professional gentlemen
have drawn from the resources of the people would sup
port all the poor people who were too old to work, as
well as all the orphans and incapables, and educate the
children in a thorough and practical way, and leave a
large fund besides for much needed reforms ; and in two
generations at most the millennium would dawn upon
England."

"What an opportunity the English people lost when
they let you come away," said Leonidas.

"Why did you not ask Queen Victoria to resign?"
said his sister.

12G IONIA.

"And then I might have been an empress," said the
lady Helen.

"And I a princess imperial," said Leda.

"I wonder how it would feel to be Prince of Wales?"
said Dion.

"And you could not have done less than make me a
duke," said Leonidas.

And so they went on while Jason said never a word,
evidently well pleased that they should have a little fun
at his expense, but when their sarcasm exhausted itself,
he turned to me and said, gravely:

"I was wrong, Alexander, entirely wrong. As dic
tator I could manage the people of England well enough,
but my unruly family would bring my gray hairs with
sorrow to the grave in less than six months."

At this Leonidas sprang to his feet, and assuming a
tragic pose, said, in a voice that sounded like distant
thunder:

"And so perish all tyrants!"

"Amen, amen!" cried all the rest.

"And thus you see," continued Jason, "how demoraliz
ing is the effect of exalted station on people who are not
born to it, for these young persons, ordinarily most duti
ful and affectionate, are so carried away by the thought of
it that they are gloating in imagination over my untimely
death. But let us talk of something nearer to us at pres
ent than the British Empire. I mean the national games.
I have yet to learn who are to be the contestants in the
principal races, and Alexander will doubtless wish to
know a little more about the great celebration in which
he is to assist as our most honored guest."

But our hostess suggested that it was time for a little
supper, and so it was at the table that the coming festival
was discussed, and that with such lively interest that I

A MODEL CITY. 127

began to catch a little of the true Hellenic enthusiasm
for physical beauty and manly sports. The ladies
seemed to look forward to the great event as eagerly as
the gentlemen, and I thought how fortunate were the
young men who carried away the prizes under the ad
miration of such beautiful eyes.

CHAPTER VI.
A MODEL CITY.

Remorselessly at six o'clock next morning Dion called
me and intimated that it was time to dress for the early
swim, and although I responded immediately to the sum
mons I could not refrain from the liveliest regrets at my
consenting to be roused at such an untimely hour. But
when we were once outside, the glorious beauty of the
scene and the freshness of the morning air made me feel
that the sacrifice of a little sleep was already repaid.
The "Quarry" was just a little way off on the other side
of the hill, which rose behind the row of houses where
my friends live, and we walked along at a rapid pace,
Leda chatting gaily with her brother and myself, and
looking, if possible, more divinely beautiful than ever in
her exquisitely simple morning dress. A number of
swiftly moving barges were crossing the lake towards
the canal or stream which communicates with the quarry,
and the air was filled with the sound of the talk and
laughter of the passengers with which they were
crowded. Young people they were mostly, though not
without a sprinkling of gray beards, and the handsomest,
happiest looking crowds of people I had ever seen. A
very few minutes' walk brought us to our destination, a

128 IONIA.

sheet of water about a quarter of a mile in extent, beau
tifully clear, so that one could distinctly see the bottom
of white marble rock, except where the precipitous sides
were reflected as in a mirror. The walls were very high,
and just as the quarrymen had left them, except that to
the height of forty feet they had been cut into galleries
supported by Doric columns, behind which were the
dressing rooms, hewn out of solid marble. In the center
rose an island of the native rock, on which was a minia
ture temple, adorned with finely executed statuary. The
road we followed was considerably above the water level,
and landed us at the second gallery, from which at this
point, steps led straight down into the water. Already
a great many people were disporting themselves in the
crystal element, and although their dresses were more
modest than those to be seen at our sea-side resorts, es
pecially those of the males, yet it seemed to me that I had
never seen such grace of form and motion as was ex
hibited by these splendid swimmers. We separated here
from our fair companions, the ladies' dressing rooms be
ing on one side, and those of the gentlemen on the other.
As I followed Dion along the gallery, I was quite ab
sorbed in wratching the motion of the bathers below, who
seemed to be in their natural element: practicing every
variety of stroke, and diving below the surface like ducks.
My attention was suddenly arrested by a couple of
strange looking monsters coming straight down the cen
ter of the pond at an enormous rate of speed.

"What are those strange creatures, Dion?" I ex
claimed. 'They look like seals, but what are they doing
here?"

'They are men," said he, "in racing suits. They are
rather out of place here, and are only allowed early in
the morning. After half past six they must retire in fa-

A MODEL CITY. 129

vor of those in ordinary bathing dress, and as it is close
upon that time they are taking their last spin. Let us
stand here a moment, and if they come as far before turn
ing you will be able to see them distinctly. You see they
are on their backs, and have a rubber hood which fits
tightly on the head and shoulders to enable them to cut
the water like aquatic animals. Now before they turn
look at their hands and feet. You see they have elastic
edges which open out with the stroke and hold the water
like a hollow vessel but making no resistance to the re
turn. On their lower limbs are flounces an inch deep,
three of them between the ankle and the knee, which
open just far enough to take a hold of the water as they
shoot their feet out, and close against the leg as they
draw them back. These devices render the limbs of a
man equal in purchase to the fins of a fish, and enable
him to rival the fish in speed. But as I was saying, this
is not the place for racing; the open lake is the place for
that."

Before he had done speaking the two strange looking
figures had almost disappeared. They had turned just
about opposite us, and gone back the way they came,
cleaving the water with astonishing speed, not less, I
should say, than ten miles an hour.

Walking a little farther, Dion showed me a dressing
room which I could use, and requested an attendant to
furnish me with a suitable bathing suit, and in a few min
utes we were ready for the plunge. Descending by the
nearest stairway, we dived at once into deep water and
found it deliciously cool and exhilarating. By this time
the water was so full of swimmers that I wondered
whether we should be able to find Leda amongst them
all, but she had been before us, and had already crossed
from the other side, and almost as soon as we came to the

130 IONIA.

surface she had joined us, and we shaped our course for
the central island. I swam my hardest so as not to keep
them back, but they made no effort to distance me, al
though I knew by the easy way in which they made their
strokes, chatting with each other as they went, that they
could easily have left me far behind if they wished.
Presently we arrived at the island temple, and landing
on some steps in front, we passed into the interior, which
was adorned with handsome statuary, representing gods
and heroes of ancient Greece. A stairway on one side
led to the top of the walls, and thither we followed some
of the other bathers who had preceded us. The temple
was built without a roof, and on three sides it rose per
pendicular from the water to a height of some thirty feet.
From this height most of the bathers dived as soon as
they reached it, and Dion asked me if I could do likewise.
I said I could not, but would be glad to see him and Leda
do it. And this they did without hesitation, flying
through the air as gracefully as a pair of eagles swoop
ing down from the sky; then when they had turned
themselves in the water they joined hands, and with
light, graceful strokes slowly swam to the surface, which
they reached about eighty feet away. It was a lovely
sight to witness, but I had no mind to emulate their ex
ample, and by the more inglorious way of the staircase
I reached the steps again where I found them awaiting
me.

Leda now proposed a visit to the cave of Poseidon,
which she said was only a hundred yards off and well
worth a visit. So we swam to the opposite side, and
through a low, but wide archway, into what seemed to
me a place of utter darkness, and if Dion had not given
me his hand I should have been utterly bewildered. In
a few moments, however, when the sunlight left my

A MODEL CITY. 131

eyes, I began to see the outlines of the place. It was
a long, vaulted cavern, with a watery floor, and on each
side were steps, extending the whole length of the cave
and reaching to the bottom of the arch of the roof. On
these a number of the bathers were seated, and we took
our place amongst them on one of the upper steps near
the farther end. I now saw that what light there was pro
ceeded from the water itself. Below the surface the walls
were perpendicular, and a row of electric lamps ran
round the bottom, so that while the upper portion of the
water was comparatively dark, the lower part was per
fectly illuminated. The great feature of the cave, how
ever, was immediately beneath us, and consisted of a
representation of the golden temple of Poseidon.
Twelve statues, representing twelve of the ancient Gre
cian deities, stood in a circle on the floor, supporting
a richly carved entablature, and in the space enclosed
sat the sea-god on a car drawn by dolphins, his trident
upright in his right hand. All this was exquisitely
carved in white marble and brightly illuminated with a
flood of rich yellow light from cunningly concealed
lamps, so that the effect was really that of a temple of
gold. In and out through the twelve openings swam
and floated living forms as graceful and perfect as those
of sculptured gods and goddesses.

I looked on this wonderful sight in silence and ad
miration for a few seconds, and then, turning to Leda,
said:

"I owe you a thousand thanks for bringing me here.
I never saw anything so ravishingly beautiful before."

"It is indeed lovely," said she. "Almost worth com
ing from England to see, — is it not?"

"But there are Leonidas and Daphne. Will you not
bring them here, Dion?"

132 IONIA.

And her brother dived swiftly into the water, and for
the moment disappeared. I stood up to see if I could
distinguish our two friends amongst the amphibians
below, and there stood Leonidas grasping the trident to
steady himself, while his other hand held one of
Daphne's. His figure showed to no disadvantage beside
the massive form of Poseidon, while Daphne might
have been taken for Venus herself, about to rise from
the sea, except that there was more of drapery about her
than the goddess is usually supposed to wear. Presently
Dion was beside them, but by this time they had been
a good many seconds below, and were under the neces
sity of coming to the surface to breathe. Daphne gave
her free hand to Dion, Leonidas let go his hold of the
trident, and the three floated gently upward out of the
illuminated space into the darker water above, where
we lost sight of them, but presently they came up the
steps and joined us.

There were probably fifty or sixty people in the cave,
but the perpendicular walls at the ends echoed every
sound so sharply that there seemed a perfect babel of
talk going on, as if thousands of people were gathered
together in the comparatively small space, and every
one talking his hardest to every one else. There was
no shouting or screaming, but a confused, low murmur,
which neither gained nor diminished in volume, but
suddenly there was a shrill bugle call from the other
side, and midway between the two ends. It was only
a human voice, but the imitation was so perfect that I
thought the sound came from a brass instrument.
Everybody stopped speaking, so that the bugler might
have it all to himself, and as the sound of these voices
died away and the echoes caught the bugle notes and re
peated them again and again, it seemed as if a whole

A MODEL CITY. 133

company of buglers were playing together, and each
trying to outpeal the others. When the voice ceased,
the echoes gradually became fainter and fainter, as if
withdrawn to distances more and more remote. When
they had altogether ceased, the same voice, or another
equally clear and resonant, commenced singing a kind
of a chant, which sounded pleasant enough, but had
very little melody. The tones of it, however, must have
been skillfully arranged, for before three lines had been
sung, the echoes furnished the most harmonious chords
as an accompaniment; the effect was very fine, and filled
the cave with a weird, unearthly kind of harmony. This
was also allowed to die away into silence, the last whis
pering notes seeming the sweetest of all, and then the
singer gave vent to a loud "Ha," which, being echoed
rapidly from end to end, had all the effect of a peal of
laughter so natural as to be contagious, and forcing the
audience to join in real laughter almost in spite of them
selves. This was the signal to go, and everybody took
to the water and swam out in swift procession to the
open air. As our time was up, we all made for the points
from which we had started, but all the way down Dion
and Leonidas kept gamboling like a pair of dolphins,
now under the water and now on the surface, playing all
sorts of tricks, and seemingly able to live without air
for a surprising length of time, for they never came up
panting, and would dive again after a breath or two just
as if the water were their natural element.

On the way home, I asked Dion if all the people in
Ionia were expert swimmers, or if those I had seen this
morning were the exception?

In reply he said:

"Every person in Ionia above the age of six or seven
can swim. It is part of our education, and one of the
first things that are taught us. Everywhere there is

134 IONIA.

abundance of water. Those parts of the country that
are far from the lake have the river or the canals, and
every city and town has large open-air swimming baths
like the one we have just been enjoying ourselves in.
Every school has shallow tanks for the use of the young
children, and it is impossible for any one to grow up
amongst us without acquiring the art of swimming. Our
climate is favorable to it, too, for open-air bathing is
enjoyable for nine or ten months in the year, and as it
is a very healthful exercise, it is neglected by no one,
and the result is, as you have seen this morning, we are
not far from being amphibious animals."

"It appears to me," said I, "that you can turn your
selves into aquatic animals altogether when you please,
for those two men we saw this morning in the racing
suits, as you called them, seemed more like seals than
men. Is that kind of swimming much in vogue amongst
you?"

"It is practiced only by a few, and does not add very
much to the pleasure of swimming, for it is very fatigu
ing until one becomes used to it, and makes diving
almost impossible. The choice of positions is very lim
ited, as you must swim either on your back or on the
right or left side. On the other hand it is very safe, for
the hood is inflated with air, and those who are accus
tomed to it can accomplish long distances in a short
time. It is no unusual thing for a party of two or three
to leave the city in the morning, swim the whole length
of the lake, and, after a little rest and refreshment, start
on the return trip and finish it before night."

"Well, it is a wonderful accomplishment to beat the
fish in their own element, but I think the ordinary swim
ming is good enough for me. I feel much refreshed by

A MODEL CITY. 135

the morning exercise, and I mean to repeat it if you do
not find me in the way."

"On the contrary, we are delighted to have you with
us, and you swim like one of ourselves, so you must
come every morning until the cold weather sets in."

"You flatter me too much, Dion, but I mean to take
advantage of the opportunity and try to improve by your
example."

As soon as breakfast was over that morning my host
intimated to me that his chief business for the present
was to make me better acquainted with the people and
the country, and if I felt inclined, he proposed that we
should go for a ride through the city and see some of
its chief thoroughfares and buildings. In this I, of
course, readily acquiesced, wondering at the same time
what kind of carriage we should ride in, as I had not as
yet seen any of their vehicles, except at a distance.
When we were ready to start, he took me to the coach
house in the rear portion of the grounds, and there
showed me no less than eight handsome carriages of
various sizes, made to carry from two to six p"ersons,
some open and others covered. They were of light con
struction, beautifully painted, and all as bright and clean
as if they had just left the carriage factory.

"What handsome vehicles these are," I said. "You
must have an excellent coachman to keep them in such
splendid order."

"We have no coachman, and need none. There is no
dust nor mud on our streets, and the carriages need no
more attention than the furniture in the house. But
choose which one you will ride in."

I pointed to one of the smallest, which seemed very
comfortable for two, and my friend asked me to step in,
and he followed and sat down beside me. Then, at the

136 IONIA.

touch of a lever, the carriage backed out, turned, and
bowled away over the lawn to the road below. The
wheels having rubber tires, a carriage-drive was un
necessary, as they made very little impression on the
grass. There was a graceful elegance about this little
vehicle, with its finely-moulded front, which made it
suggestive of the pretty barges I had seen on the lake,
and I smiled as I thought of the clumsy contrivances
our horseless carriages are at home, which always look
as if they were meant to have horses before them to
give them a finished appearance. It was more like sail
ing, too, than riding on land, for the motion of the
pneumatic tires over this perfectly smooth pavement
produced neither jar nor noise.

We passed first along the front street, with the lake
on our left and the superb buildings of the university
on the other, — buildings which I should have said were
peerless had I not visited the Acropolis the day before.
We turned to the right when we reached the river, and
here a scene of extraordinary bustle and activity pre
sented itself. The broad streets and the bridges, which
seemed innumerable, were full of vehicles and foot-pas
sengers; the river was covered with boats and vessels
of all sizes, moving swiftly up and down, but the din
and roar of city streets as we know them was absent, a
subdued murmur of human voices and the gentle sound
of the tiny waves breaking on the beach behind us were
all that could be heard. The soft tires of wagon or car
riage made no noise on those immaculately smooth
streets, and the vessels, propelled by the same electric
force, made no noise in moving up or down the stream.
It seemed like enchantment to be in the midst of such
a busy scene, and yet be surrounded by almost perfect
silence, and I had to rub my eyes more than once be-

A MODEL CITY. 137

fore I could persuade myself that I was wide awake
and not dreaming.

''Jason, " I said, "you must speak to me, or I shall
think I have gone suddenly deaf."

"How so, Alexander? What put such an idea into
your head?"

"It seems so unnatural to be in the very heart of a
city, with all its active movement going on before your
eyes, and yet not hear the roar of business."

My friend laughed and said:

"To tell you the truth, it always seems strange to me,
too, when I come back from Europe. But you will soon
become accustomed to it, and when you go back you
will find the hubbub of London's streets noisy and un
pleasant for a time."

"I have no doubt but you are right, and the silence is
not at all disagreeable, only I feel as if I were dreaming
all the time, and to dispel that idea I want you to keep
on talking, and tell me all about what we see. What are
those beautiful bridges made of? They look so airy and
light that it is hard to believe they are strong enough to
bear the traffic which is now passing over them."

"They are of aluminum, which with us serves all the
purposes of iron and steel, and a great many other sub
stances besides. You know that it is one of the lightest
of metals, and wre have found out how to make it hard
and tough like finely tempered steel, and its lightness
enables us to obtain strength and solidity, with a great
saving of material. Iron is a scarce mineral in our
mountains, wrhich seemed a great hardship in the early
days of our separation from the rest of the world, but
ultimately proved the greatest boon, by forcing us to
find out how to extract this infinitely more serviceable

138 IONIA.

metal from the rocks and the soil, which contain it in
inexhaustible quantities."

"I never saw such handsome bridges or such a mag
nificent street as this. Palaces on either hand as far as
the eye can see, and so many handsome domes and
towers rising far and near. What are those splendid
structures opposite to us?"

"Those are the city public buildings."

"And these on this side, which are only a little less
magnificent?"

"These are mostly hotels and banks."

"And where are the stores, and the workshops, and
the dwelling-houses of the people?"

"I shall show you them all before the day is much
older. We shall turn to the right at the next corner,
and we shall be in Mercer street, where the ladies do a
large part of their shopping."

But when we arrived there, I could see nothing resem
bling our retail shops, — no display windows, no flaunt
ing signs, nothing that I could see to indicate that goods
were offered for sale. The street was wide and filled
with handsome carriages, the buildings were high and
stately, with large plate-glass windows, and on each side
were handsome trees, which afforded a continuous shade
to pedestrians on the sidewalk, but not tall enough to
obscure the light of the windows even of the first story.

"Well," said I, "this is a very pretty street, but where
are the stores?"

"All these buildings are stores, and judging by the
number of people passing in and out I should say they
are doing a very good business."

"But they have no signs out, and no display windows
— nothing to attract customers."

"If you look carefully, you will see the merchant's

A MODEL CITY. 139

name and business displayed over each door, but the
goods inside are the attraction, and the customers will
come where they are most satisfactory. In this country
we spend very little money in advertising, and it would
not pay if we did. Our people do not believe in bar
gains, but are willing to pay a good price for a good
article. We thus save the immense sums which go to
support your far too numerous newspapers, as well as
the money which is spent in disfiguring your streets and
public conveyances. Our wholesale merchants do not
keep up an army of commercial travelers or flood the
postoffice with lying circulars, and in this way they can
do business on a much smaller margin, and the com
munity at large is the gainer to an enormous extent."

"But I do not see how new goods or new business
houses can be brought before the public in any other
way."

"New lines of goods can easily be introduced by old-
established merchants if they are of real value, and of
that they are, perhaps, the best judges. As for new busi
ness enterprises, they will always be supported if they
are required, and if not, they had better be left alone.
You are aware that amongst your merchants failure is
the rule and success the rare exception, amounting only
to some five per cent, of all those engaging in business.
With us it is the reverse, and such a thing as bankruptcy
is almost unknown. Our people are not in such a hurry
to get rich as to embark in any undertaking without
forethought or the means of compelling success, which
are, — capital, experience and good judgment. In this
way, we avoid the loss which results from bad debts
and from commercial panics, which are impossible in
such a community as ours."

"Do you mean me to understand that your merchants

140 IONIA.

and business men enjoy uninterrupted prosperity, and
that they never know what dull times are?"

"I mean that they do not encounter the extreme fluc
tuations in business that your merchants have to con
tend with. The periods of depression which result in
the closing of factories and the swamping of large num
bers of commercial houses are caused by lack of confi
dence in the ability of debtors to meet their obligations,
but where there is no inflation of credit there can be no
lack of confidence. Now, in Ionia, cash payments are
the universal rule, and no one asks or could obtain more
credit than what is necessary for the convenience of busi
ness. In retail trade, cash payments are the rule for each
,.' ' transaction, and in wholesale business accounts are set
tled monthly, and if the buyer is unable to liquidate his
account on the usual day, his credit is at an end: he can
buy no more goods, and must go out of business.
Everyone knows this, and therefore it is that no one
embarks in trade with the idea of being carried along by
credit obtained from the bank or the manufacturer, but
first provides himself with sufficient capital to pay his
way under all circumstances. Thus you see that such
a thing as 'panic' cannot exist, for the soil of credit or
financial dependency in which it grows is altogether too
limited amongst us for it ever to take root."

"Have you no such thing as joint stock companies?"
"Yes, but their stock is seldom for sale, and is, there
fore, not used for speculation. Nearly all our large busi
ness houses are joint stock companies, but the share
holders are generally those who are engaged in carry
ing on the business. Not only the managers but the
bookkeepers, clerks and salesmen, and in manufacturing
business the foreman and mechanics very commonly
own more or less of the stock. The privilege oi pur-

A MODEL CITY. 141

chasing it is one of the rewards of zeal and ability, and
the result is that there is hardly any such distinction
amongst us as employers and employes, for all except
those least skilled or competent are interested in the
success of each undertaking, and each contributes his
best endeavors to produce the finest results."

While giving these explanations my friend had turned
our noiseless carriage westward, and we were pursuing
a course parallel to the river, and had traversed the en
tire district devoted to retail trade, which embraced a
great many handsome streets. Those we were now en
tering had a different appearance. The private carriages
were fewer and their occupants mostly of the male sex,
and large wagons loaded with merchandise came and
went in all directions. Yet all this movement was ac
complished without noise or confusion; every vehicle
of whatever description had wheels provided with pneu
matic tires, and, keeping to its own side, was propelled
with great speed by electricity. On approaching cross
ings, they invariably slowed down considerably, and the
rules of the road were so well understood and acted
upon that there never appeared any danger of collision
or blocking of traffic or any occasion for the chaff and
bickering which goes on so continuously with our Lon
don drivers.

There were a great many magnificent buildings in the
streets we now passed through, some of the warehouses
occupying whole blocks, and built to last for ages, but
always with an eye to artistic effect, and I would fain
have lingered to examine at leisure some of those palaces
of commerce. But Jason requested me to defer this to
another visit, as his intention on this first day was to
give me a general idea of the plan of the city, and that
would occupy all the time at our disposal. At this point

142 IONIA.

commenced a series of canals communicating with the
river, and running at right angles to it alternately with
the streets. In this way all the warehouses backed on
alleys, which were wider than the streets themselves,
each with a navigable canal running through its center.
It was here that the business of receiving and shipping
goods was done, and the number of vessels which lined
the wharves showed how large a part the waterways
sustain in the commerce of the country.

The bridges were all of similar construction to those
which crossed the river, and seemed so light and fragile
as to suggest a doubt of their solidity, but the great
volume of traffic which was then passing over them
without jar or perceptible vibration, proved them to be
as strong in reality as they were airy in appearance.
They are constructed entirely of the metal aluminum,
and the carriage-way is polished by the passing of vehi
cles so that it shines like silver.

A few minutes' ride brought us to the manufacturing
district, and there, for the first time since we set out on
our ride, my ear recognized sounds such as we are wont
to call the hum of business.

"Now, at last," I said, "the spell of enchantment is
broken, and I can perceive that this is no phantom city.
I can hear the whirr of wheels and the beating of ham
mers, and I am sure that I am wide awake."

"Is there nothing lacking now to make it all seem
like perfect reality?"

"Yes; there is the smoke, and grime, and dust. This
clear, crystal atmosphere seems out of place in a manu
facturing district, and those splendid edifices of stone,
— which look as fresh as if built yesterday, — are they
really factories?"

"Every one of them."

A MODEL CITY. 143

"I cannot understand how you manage to- carry on
all this business without accumulating dirt?"

"The secret lies in electricity, which gives us heat, and
light and mechanical force, without smoke and the other
waste products of combustion."

"But," said I, "it is not only the earth and the air that
are so spotlessly clean, but the water also? The very
canals which we cross are full of pure, clear water, and
I can see numbers of fishes swimming in their depths."

"The reason of that," said Jason, "is that they are
filled with living water. They are fed from a higher
level of the river, and there are always currents flowing
through them. Stagnant water is always more or less
detrimental to health, and we do not suffer such a thing
in Ionia. Nor do we allow any impurities to be drained
into canal, river or lake. The factories have to dispose
of their waste products in some other way, just as the
towns and cities do of their sewage, and the community
gains not only in health but in wealth as well, for all the
waste material is ultimately returned to the soil, which is
thereby enriched and made more and more productive."

We had now arrived at a part of the city where the
land seemed to occupy less space than the water, for we
found ourselves amongst a perfect network of canals and
basins. The quiet of the business portion of the city had
given place to a babel of sounds produced by the clang
of hammers and the buzz of turning-lathes pertaining to
the industry of ship-building. Jason stopped the car
riage at the door of a handsome office building of granite,
and saying that this was the establishment of our friend,
Van Tromp, he took me inside, through the counting-
room, where several clerks were busy with their ledgers.
To one of these Jason spoke, asking if Leonidas was to
be seen, and this gentleman conducted us to a large

144 IONIA.

apartment in the rear, where we found the young Goth
himself, busy with a number of drawings spread over a
large table. Leonidas greeted us warmly, and offered
to take us over the yards and show us how ships were
built in Ionia.

I said I should be delighted, if it were not taking up
too much of his valuable time.

''My time," said he, "could not be spent to a more
laudable end, and my work will not suffer, for I always
manage to keep abreast of it and never let it get behind.
And first," he said, "let me show you some of these
models, of which there are, as you see, several hundred
in this room."

So he showed us all the different descriptions of sail
ing craft which he had built, — barges and passenger
boats for the river, fishing boats, yachts and larger ves
sels for lake navigation. Every model seemed perfect
of its kind, with exquisite lines for swift sailing and
sumptuous cabins for the accommodation of passengers
and crew. I noticed that only one or two of the pleasure
yachts were fitted with masts, and he explained that sails
were only used by a very few who fancied that kind of
pastime. All the vessels used in the country were pro
pelled by electricity, and neither masts nor smoke-stacks
were required. The bridges over the river would not
allow of such useless encumbrances, and the great ma
jority of all the vessels in use, either for passengers or
freight, had to pass under these bridges almost daily.

He then invited me to come and see some of the
vessels now under construction, and we visited a num
ber of ships, and inspected at least a dozen vessels of
various sizes in all stages of progress. I remarked that
none of them were very large, and Leonidas reminded
me that the voyages they had to make were very short,

A MODEL CITY. 145

and that it would hardly pay to build ships which would
take longer to load than it would to make their whole
trip. The largest vessel we saw was for passengers: it
was of about a thousand tons measurement, and was for
the lake service, leaving the city each morning and call
ing at all the principal ports, and returning the same
day. Leonidas pointed out that all the vessels were con
structed with double hulls, with air spaces between, and
that the keel and the ribs divided these spaces into a vast
number of air-tight compartments, so that the piercing
of the hull in several places would not cause it to sink.
In fact, he assured us that it was impossible to sink one
of these vessels, even if the water poured into the hold
through several large holes, provided the cargo were not
of unusually heavy material and greater than the vessel
was warranted to carry.

The inner and outer shells were formed of thin plates
of aluminum, and I remarked that they seemed of rather
weak material for the purpose. For reply Leonidas took
up a large sledge-hammer, and, swinging it several times
round his head with one hand, struck the side of the ves
sel by which we were standing a blow which would have
shattered an ordinary boiler-plate, but the only result
was that the hammer was thrown back with great force
by the elasticity of the plate, which showed scarcely any
mark from the blow. I took up the hammer itself, which
was of bright, white metal, and found it so heavy as to
require the strength of both my arms to raise it as high
as my head.

"What makes this hammer so heavy?" I asked. "It
seems to be made of aluminum, like everything else,
but it is much heavier than iron."

"It is aluminum outside," said the ship-builder, "and
tempered in a peculiar way, so that it is as hard as glass
10

146 IONIA.

and tougher than your finest steel, but it has a core of
lead, and that gives it the weight required to strike an
effective blow."

"I had no idea that it could be so heavy when I saw
you swing it with one hand just now, and after that ex
hibition of your strength I should be very sorry for any
man who would be rash enough to quarrel with you."

Leonidas looked very grave at this foolish speech of
mine, and said:

"Surely you do not think I would take advantage of
the strength of my muscles to hurt any one! The man
who would get into a fight in Ionia would be for ever
disgraced. We never have any opportunity of fighting,
except with bears or tigers in the Indian jungles when
we go on our hunting expeditions, and you must join
us on the next one we undertake, — that is, if you would
find any pleasure in such a thing."

"I did not know that you ever left the country for such
a purpose."

"Oh, yes; we do frequently. We go in our air-ships,
and accomplish the journey by night to avoid observa
tion. Our aerial mode of traveling enables us to pene
trate to parts of the jungle where no other human being
ever set foot, and we always find plenty of game."

"I should much like to go with you as a spectator, but
I am no sportsman, myself."

"Very well; I will see that you have the opportunity
at no very distant date."

"I thank you for that," said I, "and for your valuable
time this morning."

"On the contrary," said he, "it is I who have to thank
you for honoring my establishment with so early a visit,
and if you would but stay a little longer, there are other

A MODEL CITY. 147

things about the yards which I might be able to interest
you in."

"Some other day, Leonidas," said Jason. "I promised
our guest a general view of the city to-day, and we have
not crossed the river yet."

"In that case, I must not hinder you," said Leonidas,
"and I hope you will have a pleasant day."

So we left the ship-yard, and, riding eastward, crossed
the river by one of its innumerable bridges. We were
still surrounded by workshops and factories, the busy
hum of which enabled me to realize that I was sur
rounded by members of my own species, although the
architectural magnificence of the various buildings we
passed suggested the idea that we were surrounded by
the workshops of the gods.

A few minutes of swift riding brought us to a different
kind of scene, in which I felt spell-bound, as in the morn
ing, by silence.

We were in the residence district. Wide, straight
streets extended in every direction, with breadths of
smooth, green grass and rows of handsome shade-trees
on each side. Each block was occupied by one great
building, with entrances at the corners and in the center
of each side. No two blocks were alike, but with a gen
eral harmony in height and design, there was great
variety in style and material, so that each one as we
passed it seemed more perfect in beauty than those that
had gone before. After a few minutes of silent admira
tion, I asked:

"Are these great palaces the residences of your mil
lionaires?"

"Oh, no," said Jason, "this is where our mechanics, V.J*
and clerks, and all people of ordinary incomes, have their
abode. Each family occupies only a suite of rooms, of

148 IONIA.

course, and they find it more economical and convenient
than having separate houses. Your English people
make a great mistake in spreading your cities over such
a vast extent of territory."

"It is a mere prejudice, no doubt," said I, "but an
Englishman's house is his castle, and he does not be
lieve in sharing it with anybody else."

'That is all very well when he lives in the country,
but in the cities it is the height of folly. The inhabitants
of London could have much better habitations than they
have now, on a quarter of the space at present occupied.
The street architecture and the paving of the streets
might be infinitely better, with only half the outlay. The
cost of gas and water mains, of street lighting and of
transportation would all be reduced to a quarter of what
they are at present. The same might be said of the cost
of your police department, — a thing of which we in
Ionia know nothing about, for we have no police force,
and, happily, no need for any. • One other advantage you
would have in the economy of space, and that is that
you would be able to devote more ground to parks and
places of recreation for young and old. You have some
noble parks in London, but there are too few of them,
and they are too far away from the dwellings of those
who need them most. Here in lolkos, you will find one
within a mile, at the farthest, of any dwelling-house. We
are just coming to one of these play-grounds now, and
you will see how much they are appreciated."

While Jason was speaking, I became aware of a lively
sound of children's voices like what we hear when a
large school sends forth its hundreds of children from
the decorum of the class-room to the freedom of the
play-ground. In a few seconds we were in the midst of
a park occupying four ordinary blocks, and divided in two

A MODEL CITY. 149

by the street on which we were riding. Each half of
this space was surrounded by trees, and shrubs, and
pretty beds of flowers, affording shady walks and com
fortable benches for old people, and mothers with young
children in their charge. The center of each was a large
well-kept lawn, where the youths of both sexes disported
themselves in all kinds of games and exercises. One
side was reserved for school-children, and the other to
young men and women old enough to attend the uni
versity. The day being Saturday, and the schools closed,
the number of those engaged in play was much larger
than it would have been on any other week-day, and we
stopped a few moments to enjoy the lively scene. The
beautiful forms and faces of these young people, their
handsome dresses and their extraordinary agility in the
various games made up a picture which the older people
about evidently enjoyed very much, and which I felt
loath to leave behind, but Jason reminded me that we
had still far to go, and that we would find the same scene
repeated at many points of our drive. We continued
on our way through streets similar to those we had al
ready passed, and soon came to another park like the
first, except that in the center was a large building with
a beautiful dome, which I learned was a public library,
one of many which the city contained, and which were
scattered over the city so as to be easy of access to the
people of each district. Another of these parks showed
a building like an ancient Greek temple of the Doric
order, which Jason said was a picture gallery, open to
the public every day in the year. We passed a good
many magnificent public buildings, all of which were in
the center of parks, or occupying squares free of other
buildings, so that their full beauty could be seen and
appreciated from all sides. Continuing our course main-

150 IONIA.

ly in a southerly direction, we arrived in a district occu
pied by the houses of the wealthier citizens, each stand
ing on its own grounds, which were beautifully adorned
with shrubs, and flowers, and statuary. The houses were
the most costly in material, and the most elegant in de
sign that I had ever seen, and there seemed to be no end
of them, mile after mile of such streets and residences,
showing the wealth of the city to be vastly greater than
that of any other in the world. We returned by the
drive along the lake front, which was rilled with car
riages — public and private. It was past three o'clock,
and the citizens were returning from the labors of the
day; some were wealthy merchants, some more humble
— mechanics and clerks, — but so far as appearance or
dress was concerned, it was impossible for one to dis
tinguish which was which. There was not one amongst
them all but would have attracted attention in any city
of Europe as a remarkably handsome and distinguished-
looking man.

CHAPTER VII.
A DAY OF REST.

The next day, being the first of the week, was a day
of absolute rest from almost every kind of labor. We
sat out on the verandah after breakfast, reading the
weekly journals, which are published on Saturday night
and devoted to literature, science and art, rather than to
what we call news. To the Ionian the various moves
and feints of the European game of politics are abso
lutely devoid of interest, and if a murder had been com
mitted or a train wrecked anywhere in Europe or

A DAY OF REST. 151

America, he would rather not hear of it, and such things
do not occur in his own country. Hence there is little
demand for daily newspapers, and, although one is pub
lished at government expense, and containing all official
announcements and proclamations, it is but little read,
and its circulation is very small. The Ionian is content
to take his current history of the world in weekly in
stallments, and, even so, it must be condensed into a few
sfiorT paragraphs.

As we sat reading that morning, with the most beau
tiful scene in the world spread out before us, — blue water,
purple mountain and gray city all luminous in the clear
air and warm September sun, — it seemed to me as if I
had never seen the idea of a Sabbath so perfectly real
ized. Now and again a vessel, full of passengers for the
country, passed from the river and sailed away down the
lake, but there were no other boats about, no vehicles
were moving on the street, and pedestrians few and far
between. It was the day of rest for all, and the citizens
were observing it thoroughly, as is their custom in re
gard to everything they undertake. I made a remark to
my host on the delightful feeling of repose produced by
the absence of noise and movement, and he replied that
it was intended that the first day of the week should be
one of complete cessation of labor, but that if we were
on the other side of the city, where the majority of the
people reside, I should find abundance both of noise and
activity. From nine o'clock in the morning the parks
and public play-grounds are full of young people, en
gaged in sports and exercises, and as it would be no
rest to them to keep still, they make it the busiest day of
the week.

"What about the museums and picture galleries? Are
they closed to-day?" I asked.

"They are all open in the afternoon and evening," he

152 IONIA.

said, "and if the weather is fine, most of the people turn
out into the streets and enjoy a promenade or a visit
to one or other of these institutions."

"And have you no churches or places for public wor
ship?"

"We have temples of music in every district of the
city and the country, and it is the custom for most of
the people to spend a couple of hours there on the day
of rest. Come with me to-day, and you can judge for
yourself whether they are places of worship or not."

"I shall be delighted, of course. At what hour are the
services held?"

"They commence at noon, and it is nearly time for
us to go now."

So we all set out together, and as the distance was not
over a mile, we walked, Jason and his wife and I in front,
while Dion followed with Leda and Eurydice. As we
came near the place, we found ourselves amongst quite
a throng of people, all going in the same direction, and
a few minutes' walk brought us to the entrance of the
temple, which is a very fine example of the Corinthian
order, having double rows of massive columns on all
four sides, and no windows or other openings in the
walls, except the doors at one end. Having entered, I
found we were in a large hall with a beautifully arched
roof, pierced by many windows, so arranged that the
light was thrown upon the walls, and that not a single
ray could reach the floor directly. The walls were cov
ered with magnificent paintings, on which" the eye was
compelled to rest, owing to the dim lighting of the in
terior space. The softly-carpeted floor was taken up with
seats like the pews in a church, except that each indi
vidual seat had comfortable arm-rests, so that there
could be no possibility of overcrowding. A large num-

A DAY OF REST. 153

ber of people \vere in the place before we arrived, and
in a few moments every seat seemed to be occupied, and
the doors closed. The younger members of the family
seemed to have got separated from us in the throng of
people, for when we had taken our places I found only
the lady Helen and her husband near me. I would have
asked what had become of them, but an absolute silence
reigned in the building, and I feared to break it, even by
a whisper, lest I should transgress the etiquette of the
place, so I held my peace and occupied myself in ex
amining the beautiful paintings which adorned the walls.
My attention became riveted upon one which was on
my left front near a platform slightly raised above the
floor, and adorned by statuary, and palms, and flower
ing plants. The picture itself was brightly lighted from
above, and represented an ocean bay, with woods and
meadows on one side and a vast stretch of mountain-
land on the other; in the foreground, the half-naked
figure of a savage stood on the beach beside a canoe.
The back of the man only was visible, and he seemed to
be waiting for the sunrise, which was evidently just at
hand, for there was a silver streak on the sea where it
joined the sky in the center of the picture, and some
fleecy clouds which floated higher up were already tinged
with a faint rose-color, while between them was a broad
belt of sky glowing with pale amber light. Uncon
sciously I began to expect the rising sun in sympathy
with the figure in the foreground, and fell into a reverie
in which I seemed to see the colors change in these
gauzy clouds as the coming of the sun sent his search
lights through them, exhibiting glorious and ever-
changing harmonies of crimson, and green, and purple,
and gold; the hill-tops caught the first rays of rosy light
as they started upwards; the silver rim on the sea spread

154 IONIA.

and widened; the dawn was changing to day; a mo
ment more, and the sun himself appeared in a blaze of
splendor which dazzled my sight. I passed my hand
across my eyes, looked again and realized that I had
been dreaming, though awake, for the picture was ex
actly as I had seen it first, but the air was filled with the
music of many instruments in glorious harmony. I felt
conscious of having listened to the music for some time,
but the beginning of it had been a series of sweet chords,
coming in soft whispers, which had translated themselves
in my mind into the most gorgeous sunrise I had ever
seen on land or sea. But now the gentle zephyrs of har
mony had given place to loud-swelling chords, sug
gestive of the full splendor of the risen sun pouring its
floods of light and life upon a newly-awakened world.
The source of the music was unseen, and I felt glad that
there was no see-sawing of fiddle-bows or frantic move
ments of a conductor's baton obtruding the mechanical
element in the production of those divine harmonies,
and neutralizing the exalted feelings which they inspired.
The symphony came to an end all too soon, but was
followed by a space of delightful quiet, unbroken by
whispering comment or murmuring gossip, and the
aftertaste of the music lingered pleasantly in the brain.

Again the hall was filled with the sweet sounds of the
instruments rehearsing a most delightful melody, and
then a new note was sounded wliich thrilled me to the
soul. It was a woman's voice, but such a voice as I
never heard before, so velvety soft and sweet, so rich and
full, filling the hall with its glorious tones like sunshine
in a deep, clear river. It began with a succession of
slow, clear, ringing notes, and then burst into a melody
of joy and gladness sweeter than any sky-lark ever car
oled. I could not distinguish the words, the language

A DAY OF REST. 155

was not sufficiently familiar to me, but no words were
needed, for the song told its own story. It told, as no
words can tell, of the ineffable joy of living in a world
where all things are beautiful, day and night, sunshine
and shadow, flowers and stars, mountain and lake, ver
dant plain and flowing river, all combining to delight the
eye of man and ravish him with infinite variety; and it
told of human joy, too, sweet affection and brotherly
love, and noble deeds and splendid achievements.

All this and more did that wonderful song suggest,
and in listening to it I felt inspired by new hope and con
fidence in the final triumph of right over wrong on this
old sinful world of ours.

It came to an end at last, and I listened in vain
during the service for another strain from that heavenly
voice. But there was much more of exquisite music, in
which many voices joined, and when, after two hours, it
was over, and we all walked home together, I told my
friend Jason that of all the religious services I had ever
taken part in this was not only the most delightful, but
also the most soul-inspiring and elevating.

The whole family sat down for a while to rest in the
shade in front of the house, and enjoy the beauty of the
scene and the delicious cool air that came in gentle
zephyrs from the lake. The talk ran upon the music we
had been hearing, and I mentioned the strange effect pro
duced on my mind as I looked at the picture of the ris
ing sun and listened unconsciously to the music, and
Jason said:

"You are not the first that has had that experience.
It was the sunrise symphony that was being played, and
the first notes of it are so soft and low that if your eyes
were riveted upon the picture it was perfectly natural
that you should fall into a dreamy state in which the

156 IONIA.

suggestions of the music seemed to come through the
eye instead of the ear."

"It was a very beautiful dream," said I, "but that noble
song which followed was the most entrancing music I
ever heard. I have heard all the great singers of Europe
and thought I knew all that the human voice was capa
ble of, but that song was a new revelation to me. The
voice was absolutely perfect and unapproachable; to lis
ten to it was the most unalloyed delight, and there is
nothing I wish for so much as to hear it again."

My friends seemed much amused at my enthusiasm,
and were all smiling except Leda, who blushed like a
rose. Her father said:

"That wish will not be very difficult to gratify and per
haps no farther off than this evening. What do you say,
Leda?"

The truth now dawned upon me, and I exclaimed:
"What, Leda! was it you who sang so divinely? Accept
my heartfelt thanks and homage."

And kneeling on one knee I touched the fingers of her
right hand with my lips, whereat they all laughed heart
ily, Leda herself appearing as much amused as the rest.
Recovering her composure, she said:

"I am very glad, Alexander, that my singing gave you
so much pleasure, but there are many who can sing bet
ter than I, and that you will find out for yourself before
you have been in lolkos much longer."

"Give me leave to doubt that, Leda; it is your mod
esty and not your judgment that speaks. Besides, what
you say is impossible, for your singing was absolutely
perfect, and could not be excelled; indeed, it is difficult
for me to believe that you have an equal. I leave the
question to your father."
Seeing that I looked to him for an answer, Jason said:

A DAY OF REST. 157

"Perhaps none of us here are in a position to judge
this matter impartially. There is no one whose singing
I like so well as Leda's, but that may be because she is
my daughter, and there are many others whom I think
you will find superior to the professional vocalists of
Europe."

"And have you no professional singers here?"

"No, we have no need for them. Those amongst us
who have the talent are glad to exercise it without fee or
reward, and they would consider it beneath them to ap
pear on a public stage to be stared at by an audience
while they sang."

"And to what do you attribute the immense superior
ity of your people in this respect?"

"In the first place to the perfect health which they
enjoy from the day of their birth, whereby the vocal
organs are always in the best condition and capable of
the highest training. In the second place it is partly due
to the purity of our atmosphere, which is free not only
from excess of moisture, but also from dust and smoke.

"A third reason for the excellence of our musicians is
found in our system of education, which provides, not a
uniform training for all scholars, except as regards the
minor elements of learning, but rather a development to
the highest degree of the particular talents which each
child possesses. It is the business of the teachers to
find out what those talents are, and to see that every
opportunity is provided for their cultivation, without
neglecting such general instruction as is fitted to produce
intelligent, well-informed men and women. In this way
every kind of natural ability is developed to the utmost
extent, and there is little chance for any of our people
to go through life without finding their true vocation,

158 IONIA.

and the precious years of youth are not wasted in studies
for which the pupil is not naturally fitted."

"Then what you have said holds good doubtless in re
gard to painting, sculpture, architecture, and all the me
chanical arts, as well as music."

"Most certainly, for with us education covers the
whole field of human activity, and is not supposed to be
completed until the pupil is thoroughly trained to play
his part in life in the sphere to which he is best adapted."

"Fortunate youth," said I, "to be born in such a coun
try. The more I learn of your institutions, the more
barbarous do those of my own country appear by com
parison, but I cannot hope to understand what is going
on around me here until I become more thoroughly ac
quainted with your language. I presume you can rec
ommend me to a teacher?"

"We must think about that," said Jason.

"I would make a suggestion to our friend," said Dion,
"and that is that he should spend some of his time on the
public carriages of the city, where he will hear nothing
but Greek spoken, and thus be learning the language
unconsciously. Most of the drivers can speak either
English or French and would be glad to give him all the
assistance in their power. I know one, for instance,
whose French is perfect, and who will be glad of the op
portunity of learning English, and I shall be glad to in
troduce you to him. He will take it as a compliment,
and you will find him a very intelligent, agreeable com
panion — what do you think of it?"

"I think it is an excellent plan, and I shall be delighted
to give it a trial. But I must make it my first business
to-morrow to change some English gold for the currency
of the country, so that I may be able to pay my way."

"You can do that, of course, at any time, but you may

A DAY OF REST. 159

not have any opportunity of spending money for some
time. You must be careful not to offer any to my friend
the driver, for that would hurt his feelings very much.
It will be a course of mutual instruction, with advantages
on both sides, and no financial obligation on either."

"But at least I must have money to pay the fares on
the omnibus or car or whatever you call it."

At this Dion looked a little puzzled, and his father
hastened to explain.

"There is no charge for riding in the public convey
ances of the city. All transportation of passengers with
in the city limits is done at the cost of the municipality."

"That seems strange, but it must be very pleasant for
the people who ride, although it must be an enormous
expense to the city."

"On the contrary, it is the most economical plan. The
people have to pay the cost in any case, and when it is
done at the public charge all the expense of collecting
fares and keeping account of them is avoided. But that
is only one of many things which the city provides for —
heat, water and lighting are all furnished without
charge."

"But surely the taxes must be enormous to cover all
these expenses."

"No indeed, they are very light and consist only
of the small annual rent paid for ground occupied. All
the land covered by the city is owned by the municipal
ity, or what is the same thing, the city has a perpetual
lease of it on payment of a moderate rent to the govern
ment, and thus all increase in the value of the land is
enjoyed by the people at large instead of going into the
pockets of speculators. This house is mine, but not the
ground on which it stands; for that I pay a fair, but
very moderate rent, which represents all my share of the

ICO IONIA.

expense of the municipality. In this way the city is in
receipt of an enormous revenue, which it finds some dif
ficulty in spending, but which is raised without injustice
or inequality, and at very little expense for collection."

"I find," said I, "that you manage everything better
than we do, and I feel myself like a new-born child in a
world in which he has everything to learn."

But at this point my education was interrupted by a
summons to dinner, and it was not till some time after
wards that I learned the history of the single tax system
in Ionia. In the evening of that day I enjoyed the first
of a series of concerts by the members and friends of the
Delphion family, which I am never likely to forget. On
that occasion there were present besides the family only
three visitors, Leonidas and his sister Daphne, and a
gentleman of the name of Theseus, music master and
composer. He had taught Leda all she knew of music
and singing; he was professor of music in the univer
sity, and conductor at the temple of music and composer
of several of the magnificent pieces I had heard per
formed there in the morning. He was tall and thin, with
white hair and beard, a high forehead and piercing black
eyes, in which the fire of genius burned with unmistak
able lustre. The music room, which I had not seen be
fore, was on the same floor as the library, and similar in
size. It contained a piano and an organ, instruments of
the violin order of all sizes, flutes and many others which
were new to me. The floor was of dark, polished wood,
and almost covered with rugs made of the skins of var
ious animals of the chase, amongst which were those of
the lion, the leopard and the tiger, and others, including
one which had belonged to a polar bear of the largest
size.

While the tuning of instruments and other prelimina-

A DAY OF REST. 161

ries were going on, I asked my host if he had brought
these skins with him from Europe.

"No," he replied, "I shot most of the animals myself.
Dion killed the tiger on whose skin your feet are, and
the lion, whose coat you see under the piano, and some
others; between us we are responsible for the deaths of
all these noble animals, whose furs help to furnish our
chamber of music."

"But the polar bear, surely you did not shoot that?"

"Indeed I did," said he, "and close by the north pole,
too. That was many years ago, when I was quite a
young man. An expedition was sent from Ionia to the
pole, and we reached it, too, but the dangers and diffi
culties were so great that it has never been repeated.
Twelve air-ships started, but only six came back. The
winds were so contrary and so violent that it took us ten
days to get there, instead of five, and our provisions were
almost exhausted. Six of the ships were more or less
disabled, and we left them there under an immense cairn
of stones, and if ever your explorers reach the pole itself
they will find its position so marked, and if they have the
curiosity to remove the stones they will find the remains
of the air-ships with an intimation that some Greeks have
been there before them, but as we carefully avoided put
ting any date to the document we left sealed up near the
top of the cairn, they may come to the conclusion that it
has lain there from the time when Athens was in her
ancient glory."

The music master here intimated that all was ready,
and requested Jason to play the violoncello part.

"But I was in hopes," said Jason, "that you would al
low me to assist Alexander in the part of audience. It
is not often you have such a distinguished listener, and
he might feel lonesome if I did not stay and listen, too."
n

162 IONIA.

"I am in hopes," said Theseus, "that he will do us the
greater honor of assisting either with voice or instru
ment."

"Of that," said I, "I regret to say I am quite incapable.
I have no musical ability or training, and although that
very circumstance may render me a poor critic, it will
not prevent me being a most delighted listener, and that
must be my part."

So Jason was excused for the time, but by and by his
services were required, and except when solos or duets
were being performed, I was sole auditor.

And never was so rich a feast of music served up to a
king as I enjoyed that evening. Such wonderful melo
dies and such exquisite blending of voice and instrument;
it was the music of the gods. Leda sang for me again
and again, and each song seemed the most enchanting
ever I heard. And the other voices were scarcely less
wonderful. Daphne's rich contralto, Dion's pure and
powerful tenor, and Leonidas' grand basso were each a
joy and pure delight to hear. The lady Helen proved
herself a consummate pianist; Theseus played now the
organ and now the violin with the touch of a master, and
the others played each several instruments in turn, with
equal skill. For over two hours they held me spell
bound, and when the concert seemed to be ended I
thanked them for the exquisite pleasure they had given
me, and said further: "Your music expresses the hap
piness which seems to be a distinguishing characteristic
of your life in this fortunate valley, and while I feel as if
I could enjoy listening to it for ever, and would not wish
the character of it changed in the slightest degree, I can
not help remarking that there was not one note of pathos
or of tragedy in it all. You are to be congratulated in
the absence of melancholy themes in your music, for

REQUESTED DAPHNE TO SING THE SONG OF NIOBE.— Page 163.

A DAY OF REST. 163

doubtless it means that your lives are almost free from
mourning and grief."

"It is true," replied Leda, "that when we sing, it is
natural for us to use the music of mirth and gladness, but
if you would like to hear something of an opposite char
acter, the master can play you a dirge which will almost
break your heart, and Daphne can sing you a song fitted
to draw tears from a marble statue."

Hearing this, Theseus, who was still at the organ,
played a few bars of a funeral march, which seemed to
express the grief of a whole people prostrated with woe,
but he broke off short and requested Daphne to sing the
song of Niobe, which she did with such melting tones
that I was forced to put my handkerchief to my eyes to
wipe away the tears which would flow in spite of me. I
caught Leda smiling at me, but the effort was too much
for her, and she finished by fairly sobbing aloud.

When the song was finished, I said to Daphne:

"You have fairly conquered us with that beautiful
song, so beautifully rendered, and, yet I am glad to ob
serve, that you had to go back several thousand years
to find a subject so pathetic. How fortunate it must be
to be born amongst a people where sorrow is a plant of
alien growth."

"It is even as you say," said Daphne; "few of us have
any sorrows of our own, and we have to borrow a little
trouble even to make a song of, but let us not end our
music on such a melancholy key. Theseus, will you not
dispel the sadness which we have both helped to create?"

And the master played the prelude to the song of the
king, a kind of anthem in praise of Timoleon, in which
all joined; a chorus of glory and triumph, which so car
ried me away, that I could barely help rising and shout
ing aloud myself.

164 IONIA.

CHAPTER VIII.
THE IONIAN GAMES.

The scene of the national games of Ionia is situated on
the southern shore of Lake Malo, about three miles be
low the city of lolkos. The ground rises directly from
the water's edge in the form of an amphitheater, on the
slopes of which a million spectators could be accommo
dated. In front of this is a space of artificially made
ground extending into the lake, and bounded by wharves
of granite. This forms the arena on which most of the
races and other athletic sports take place. It is nearly
circular in form, rather more than a quarter of a mile in
diameter, and covered with a thick sod of fine grass,
which is carefully cropped and rolled and watered, so
that at a distance it looks like a carpet of green velvet.
The inner boundary of the arena is a wall of marble
which curves from shore to shore, attaining a height .of
seven feet in the center, and sloping down to the points
where the wharves commence, which are marked by two
statues in bronze representing Apollo and Hercules.
The height of the wall on the outside is about two feet,
and all round it, tier above tier, are placed the seats for
the spectators. These are strong, wooden benches, which
are stored away during the year, and brought out and
placed in order during the week before the games. They
are furnished with spikes which pierce the turf and hold
them firmly in place, and are arranged so that everyone
has a perfect view of the arena while comfortably seated,
and the spaces between the rows are so ample that the
audience can take their places or disperse in a very few

THE IONIAN GAMES. 165

minutes. The front seats are, of course, the best, but as
every one of the spectators is provided with a powerful
field-glass there is no rush or crowding, and all take the
lowest seats vacant as they arrive, without distinction or
preference, except that the front row is reserved for the
Archon and his ministers and other dignitaries, with the
members of their families.

A large proportion of the spectators are from the coun
try, and of course the hotels are filled at this time, and
many find accommodation with friends or relatives resid
ing in the city, but a vast number are provided by the
government with tents, pitched like the encampment of a
great army on a table-land above the amphitheater itself.

Being attached to the family of a minister, I had the
privilege of sitting in the front row, and had the most
perfect view possible of all the magnificent sports, but
the view of the audience itself was to me one of the most
interesting features of the entertainment. There is al
ways something imposing in the appearance of a great
multitude of people, and nowhere else had I seen at one
time a tenth part of the number that were here assem
bled. But the marvel was that every face here was ra
diant with beauty and intelligence, and beaming with en
joyment and good-will. Of all the men, women and
children seated in that amphitheater there was not one
that a painter would not have delighted to take for a
model, or that could have failed to rejoice the eye of a
sculptor. I looked amongst them in vain for a woman
who could by the severest critic be reckoned as homely,
or a man whose face was not noble and attractive, while
the children were perfect models of grace and beauty.
All were handsomely and richly dressed, which of itself
was an exquisite charm, while their behavior was the
perfection of courtesy and good breeding. Of course

166 IONIA.

there were no very young children there, for it was no
place for them, but I saw numbers of school children of
ten years of age and upwards, who comported them
selves in such a way as to prove them perfect little ladies
and gentlemen.

The games occupy four days, from Tuesday to Friday,
leaving Monday and Saturday for the arrival and depart
ure of visitors. The hour of commencing is ten o'clock,
and the sports are continued till three, with the interval
of an hour at noon for social intercourse and refreshment.
In the evening all the picture galleries, museums and li
braries are open and thronged with visitors from the
country, the residents of the city remaining at home on
these occasions to avoid over-crowding. Thus the fes
tival is especially a season of pleasure to the city's guests,
but it affords the most unbounded enjoyment to all who
take part in it, and the exuberance of good spirits is so
infectious that I felt myself losing my English indif
ference to all forms of entertainment and entering into
the enjoyments of the time with the enthusiasm of a
child.

The program for the first day consisted of running,
leaping, throwing heavy weights, wrestling, etc., and
while I do not propose to quote any of the records made,
lest they should seem incredible, I will state that they
were far in advance of anything ever achieved by the
best of English athletes. The runners appeared to fly
over the ground so that their feet barely touched it, and
in leaping, both as to height and distance, their feats were
such as I should have deemed impossible if I had not wit
nessed them with my own eyes. There was a race in
which the course was a mile in circuit, with a large num
ber of hurdles of a height of six feet placed at intervals.
All these had to be cleared at a bound, and although

THE IONIAN GAMES. 167

there were twenty competitors, not one of them failed to
clear each hurdle, and that without any apparent effort
or the slightest relaxation of speed. The forms of the
young men engaging in these races were marvelously
graceful and symmetrical, and impressed me with an
idea of masculine beauty that was altogether new. I
could not tell which to admire most, the supple and
beautifully moulded limbs of the runners, or the great
chests and iron muscles of the wrestlers and others who
exhibited feats of strength later in the day. They all
wore clothing similar to that worn by our own athletes,
but not sufficient to disguise the perfection of form and
motion which the exercises called forth. Our friend
Leonidas, who had been champion wrestler at the pre
vious festival, had some worthy successors in those who
struggled with each other in the arena that day, and
when I saw their wonderful feats of strength and skill
my admiration for one who had come off winner in such
a contest rose to a very high pitch. The first day passed
very pleasantly, and the results of the various contests
seemed to give general satisfaction, but as I was unac
quainted with any of the competitors I felt no personal
interest in them, but on the second day both Dion and
Leonidas were to take part, which made it much more
exciting for the members of the family whose guest I
was. Dion competed in the forenoon in a splendid row
ing race for individual scullers, but failed to carry off the
prize after an exciting contest, in which he came in a
close second.

Leonidas competed in the last event of the day, which
was a three-mile swimming race. The course was tri
angular; from the end of the wharf enclosing the arena
northeast to a buoy moored a mile off, then west to an
other buoy at the same distance, and back to the wharf
again, making an equilateral triangle, of which the sides

168 IONIA.

were each exactly a mile long. Smaller buoys were
fixed at intervals to indicate the straight course, and in
the interior of the triangle half a dozen skiffs, each man
aged by two men who were accomplished swimmers and
divers, accompanied the competitors in case the strength
of any of them should fail and necessitate assistance.
Chairs were placed on the wharf for the judges, and the
government officials with their families, but the majority
of the spectators retained their usual places, and could
see the race quite distinctly by using their field-glasses.

There were thirteen candidates for the prize, all men
of splendid muscular development, and apparently about
twenty-five to thirty years of age, all except one young
fellow, who seemed not more than twenty-two, but whose
long, clean-cut limbs, muscular thighs and well-de
veloped biceps marked him as a very formidable com
petitor. I asked Leda, who sat next to me, if she knew
the youngest of the swimmers, and she said she did not,
but referred the question to Dion, who occupied the seat
next her on the other side. Dion said his name was
Orestes, that he came from Thalmon, and was considered
quite a prodigy amongst swimmers in that part of the
country. Meantime the competitors had taken their places
on the end of the wharf all ready for the plunge. They
were dressed in woolen attire, each having a distinctive
color; the arms were bare and the legs also below the
knee, and as their figures appeared outlined against the
lake they formed a magnificent group, which could not
have been matched elsewhere for perfect physical de
velopment and manly beauty. The signal for starting
was given by the firing of a gun, and the swimmers
dived into the deep water simultaneously. When they
came to the surface Orestes was leading by several feet,
and swimming at a tremendous rate of speed. Most of

THE IONIAN GAMES. 169

the others made great efforts to overtake him, but he
kept his lead, and steadily increased it. Such a pace evi
dently could not be kept up long, and it seemed as if
most of the swimmers would be exhausted before the
first turning point was reached, unless the speed were re
duced. Leonidas was now behind all the others, and he
did not seem to be making any effort to get to the front,
but swam steadily on his right side with a slow but pow
erful stroke, evidently husbanding his resources for the
distant home-stretch. As he was very well known, and
was looked upon as the champion of lolkos,- several re
marks were made about his lack of speed, and one young
fellow hazarded the assertion that he was out of the race,
but he was immediately corrected by an old patriarch,
who told him that if the others did not speedily relax
their efforts Leonidas would be the only one to swim
over the course. All this, of course, was said in Greek,
and I had to listen attentively to make out the meaning
of the words, but I understood, nevertheless, and men
tally thanked the old gentleman for Leda's sake, but as
he was a friend of the family and knew that she was be
trothed to Leonidas, I had a suspicion that he spoke for
her encouragement as much as from real conviction.
However that may have been, the foremost swimmers
soon began to ease off a little, and Orestes, finding him
self a long way in front, settled down to a more steady
stroke. And now Leonidas began to forge ahead, and at
the end of the first mile he had passed about half of the
competitors. At the end of the second mile there were
only two ahead of him, and he speedily gained the second
place. At this point a number of those who were far
thest behind gave up the contest and climbed into the at
tendant boats, but some half a dozen of them swam dog
gedly on, apparently without any hope of winning, but

170 IONIA.

either trusting to an accidental turn of fortune or making
it a point of honor to swim over the entire course.
, The last half-mile was marked by a white buoy with a
red flag, and at this point Orestes still appeared to be
about fifty feet ahead of Leonidas, but the latter for the
first time quickening his stroke, gained upon him rap
idly. The young fellow now realized that the race was
not yet won, and began to make the most strenuous ef
forts to retain his position, but the length of the course
and the great exertions he had made at the beginning
told on him fearfully. His strokes were rapid and ner
vous, but they had lost their vigor, and foot by foot the
gap was closing up. I could not help feeling sorry for
the young fellow, who doubtless had been counting on
an easy victory; it must have been terribly exasperating
to know that this tireless pursuer was pressing him so
hard and the goal so near, and that while his own ener
gies were failing his competitor was only now putting
forth his full strength. Leonidas lay now on his left
side, and at every stroke of his powerful right arm the
foam flew before his head, which was buried in the water
at every sweep. At length they were side by side, yet
Orestes would not surrender without a struggle, and
putting forth all his remaining strength, he managed to
gain a few inches. But the effort was too much for his
exhausted condition, and with a sudden cry he disap
peared below the surface. Without a moment's hesita
tion Leonidas dived after him, and for many seconds that
seemed like minutes, they both remained under the wa
ter. Leda had risen from her seat, and as the moments
passed and her lover failed to appear her face assumed a
look of horror and distress that was most painful to wit
ness. I kept telling her that there was no cause for
alarm, that Leonidas was so strong that he could not fail

THE IONIAN GAMES. 171

to master the young man even if he struggled, and that
he would come up in a moment more. Dion was saying
the same things to her in their own tongue on the other
side, but I doubt if she heard a word spoken by either of
us. She was as pale as death, her mouth drawn in
agony, and her eyes almost starting from their sockets
as if they would pierce the depths of the water in search
of her lover. I was on the point of giving up hope my
self when at last a golden ripple broke the surface and
Leonidas' close-cut, curly, amber locks rose up, followed
by the darker head of Orestes. Leonidas was swim
ming with his left hand free, while with his right he held
the body of his competitor, both arms pinioned to his
sides. Evidently there had been a struggle, and it was
well for our friend that he had the strength of a giant,
for without it he could never have reached the surface
alive. Meanwhile the third swimmer in the race con
tinued calmly on the course, but Leonidas did not re
linquish his charge until two of the attendant divers had
him safely between them. He then easily passed the
other man, who indeed made no effort to win, evidently
feeling that he could not do so honorably in the circum
stances. When Leonidas reached the goal, the whole
multitude rose and cheered lustily. The women waved
their handkerchiefs, and the men their hats, and the
cheering continued as long as Leonidas was in sight.
The sound had something of the majesty of nature's
mighty voices — the thunder, or the waves dashing on the
shore in a storm; it was not so deafening as one would
have expected, on account doubtless of the distance at
which the great majority of the individuals joining in it
were necessarily situated, but the vastness of multitude
was there, and it inspired a feeling akin to awe by the
consciousness of its far-reaching volume. Few indeed

172 IONIA.

are the men who have been honored with such a spon
taneous and magnificent triumph, and most would have
had their heads turned by it, but Leonidas walked
straight to his tent apparently unconscious that all this
uproar was being made on his account. He was not al
lowed to enter it at once, however, for several of the
managers of the games interposed and insisted on his
acknowledging the ovation. He turned around, appar
ently with great reluctance, walked a few steps forward,
bowed gracefully to the archon, who was standing in his
place and clapping his hands enthusiastically, another
bow to the people on the right and one to the left, and
then with quick strides he disappeared through the door
of his tent.

Meantime Leda alone of that great assembly had re
sumed her seat, her handkerchief pressed to her eyes,
which rained tears of joy. I expected to see her faint
when the cruel suspense of that terrible half minute was
over, but fainting is an accomplishment in which the
ladies of Ionia are not very proficient. She had remained
standing until Leonidas was actually out of the water,
and then sank into her seat and wept silently until the
cheering subsided. She then calmed herself with a great
effort in order to avoid attracting attention, but remain
ing very quiet, and dared not trust herself to speak all
the way home. When the family met at the dinner table
she was quite herself again.

That was a very happy evening at the Delphion's.
Leonidas and Daphne, of course, were there; Dion's
failure was entirely forgotten, and all the ladies seemed
bent on petting the hero of the day. Leonidas persisted
in talking on every subject but the one thai was upper
most in their minds. Being forced at last to say some-

THE IONIAN GAMES. 173

thing about it, he declared that it was one of the most un
pleasant experiences of his life.

"You must have had a dreadful struggle with Or
estes below the water," said the lady Helen; "we began
to think you never would come up."

"Oh, that was nothing," said Leonidas; "I had some
trouble with him, for he did not know what he was doing,
and tried to wrap all his limbs around me as soon as I
grasped him by the arm. I soon had both arms fast, but
it took me a little longer to free myself from the clutch of
his legs, and all this time we were sinking till we actu
ally touched the bottom. But you know I was stronger
than he, and never had the slightest doubt about the
result, although I had been exerting myself considerably
and was very glad to be able to breathe again when we
came up. Yet I have been through something of the
kind before and did not think much of it, but the idea
of all that crowd shouting themselves hoarse over it and
my being compelled to acknowledge their plaudits, as if
I had done something great! I feel ashamed when I
think of it."

"But you know," said my hostess, "the voice of the
people is the voice- of God, and it never spoke more un
mistakably than it did to-day. And I am sure there are
many people speaking of it in lolkos to-night."

"Well, it shall riot Ij so here if I can help it, and I'll
tell you what will be done to prevent it. Since you ladies
appear to think I am deserving of so much honor, you
cannot refuse to grant me a boon if I ask it, can you?"

"What is it?" they all asked in chorus.

"That you four ladies shall give us a concert of vocal
and instrumental music, and Jason and Alexander and
Dion and I shall be the audience, and you must entertain
us until supper time."

174 IONIA.

This modest request could not be denied, and all the
four exerted themselves to furnish' music worthy of the
occasion. But Leonidas only partially succeeded in
serving his purpose of diverting attention from his gal
lant feat, for the ladies found a great many pieces in
honor of heroes of the past which they made apply to
him by turning their eyes upon him while they sang, and
although he affected not to see it he could not help blush
ing several times, greatly to our amusement. They re
served their most effective piece to the last. It was sup
posed to be a chorus of Spartan maidens, sung in praise
of the immortal three hundred of Thermopylae, and as
the name of Leonidas occurred in it again and again, and
was held up as the greatest name amongst mortals, we
felt that the ladies had gained their point, as they always
do, and their crowning effort was rewarded with much
applause and laughter. Leonidas himself laughed with
the rest, but said he never liked that piece, for the words
were positively silly, and the music only second rate.

The trials of speed between various classes of air-ships
came off on the following day. The race of the dragons
was a magnificent spectacle. These are the largest class
of aerial vessels, and one condition of the race was that
each should carry at least a hundred men including the
crew. Each city and district was represented, and the
ships were all magnificently painted and decorated, but
that of the mining town of Laureion was the most gor
geous, literally blazing with crimson and gold. It was
understood that the miners were determined to wrest the
prize from the capital, whose ships had carried off the
honors for five successive seasons. The people of Lau
reion are very wealthy, and very proud of their city, and
they had spared no expense in preparing for this contest.
They had purchased ships from three or four of the most

THE IONIAN GAMES. 175

celebrated builders and had subjected them to repeated
tests in their own neighborhood, in order to find out
which was the most speedy and trustworthy. The one
they finally selected was said to be the fastest that had
ever been built, but as much depends upon the crew as
upon the vessel, and there was considerable difference of
opinion as to whether they would be able to carry off the
prize from the skillful navigators of lolkos.

Directly north across the lake, at a distance of twelve
miles from the race grounds, there is a snow-covered
mountain peak, known as Parnassus, and the course for
the dragons was from the tableland back of the amphi
theater straight to the peak, around it from the east side,
and back again. We could not see the vessels as they
started, but a few seconds would bring them all into view
and then we should have them all clearly in sight with
our field-glasses over the whole course, except for the
short time required to go behind the mountain. Pre
cisely at the hour appointed the signal gun was fired, and
in an incredibly short time we saw fifteen magnificent
vessels flying over our heads and sailing grandly over
the lake. The wind was blowing straight towards Par
nassus ; where we sat it was merely a gentle zephyr, and
it did not seem as if it could make much difference one
way or the other, but as the vessels rose higher they
seemed to catch a stronger breeze, for those which at
tained the greatest height were seen to be making the
greatest speed. The men of Laureion and those of lolkos
were the first to take advantage of this circumstance, and
were well ahead of the rest, but the others soon rose to
the same level and followed the leaders in a row, looking
to the naked eye like a flock of wild geese sailing away to
their northern haunts in triangular order. The lines
were soon broken, however, for the Laureion crew took

176 IONIA.

their vessel higher yet, and it became impossible to tell
which was first, but the lolkos rounded the mountain
first, which was the signal for a cheer from the people of
the capital, and still another vessel had disappeared be
hind the mountain before the Laureion reached it. The
miners gained the peak at last, and being very near the
top made the turn in a much shorter time than the others.
And now they took a widely different course from the
rest, for while the lolkos kept as low as possible in order
to meet with the minimum resistance from the wind, the
Laureion soared higher still, evidently seeking a counter-
current of air, and they apparently found what they were
seeking, for they soon began to move towards us with
enormous speed. When the lolkos reached the opposite
shore it seemed to be almost touching the water and
skimmed over the surface like a duck. I thought the
race was theirs, till suddenly the Laureion swooped down
from the sky with such enormous velocity that I feared
to see them fall into the lake, but the crew knew their
business too well for that. Making a beautiful curve,
they reached the level of the table land, shot over our
heads like a cannon ball, and touched ground fifteen sec
onds ahead of their nearest opponents. The whole time
of the race was about fourteen minutes, which was con
sidered very fast for such large vessels. The last race of
the day was that for the Skylarks, carrying only one man,
and it was especially interesting to us because Dion Del-
phion was one of the competitors, and he had not made
any secret of the fact that he had set his mind much more
strongly upon winning this than the rowing race in
which he took part. The course was the same as for the
larger vessels, with this difference, that instead of going
round the mountain they were required to bring back
some of the snow from its sides, scooping it up in a vessel

THE IONIAN GAMES. 177

of metal about the size of a two-quart measure, with a
long chain attached, which was furnished to each com
petitor before starting.

When the signal gun was fired most of the little ves
sels sought to attain the level of the stronger breezes by
mounting upward perpendicularly before directing their
vessels forward, but Dion and one or two others adopted
a more slanting course, and this proved the wisest, for
they reached the mountain before the others. Dion's
vessel was of a pale, delicate green, and as all the others
were of different colors, we were able to follow it all the
way with our powerful glasses, although even with these
it appeared in the distance no larger than a bee. He
went much higher than any of the other aeronauts, who
steered mostly for the lowest point of the snow-line, hop
ing thereby to save half a mile or so of the distance. All
at once I lost sight of the little green speck and turned to
ask Leda if she still had it in view, but I saw that she, too,
had lowered her glass.

"Where has he gone to?" I asked.

"He has gone behind the mountain," she said.

"And why should he do that?"

"I am not sure," she said, "but let us watch for his re
appearance."

I put up my glass again, and in a minute more the
green point reappeared, headed straight for the camp.

Meantime all the other skylarks had arrived at the
mountain, and we could see them skimming back and
forth over the snow, evidently trying in vain to fill their
pitchers. A full minute passed from the time of Dion's
reappearance before the first of the others started in pur
suit, and by that time he must have been fully half a mile
ahead, after allowing for the greater distance he had to
travel. None of them could make up that lead, and he

12

178 IONIA.

landed a full half minute ahead of the next man, and re
ceived hearty cheers for his decisive victory. We could
not quite understand how he had managed so completely
to out-manoeuver all his competitors, but he made it
very clear to us later in the day.

He reminded us that we had enjoyed a succession of
sunny, cloudless days for a week or more, and said he felt
sure that the snow on the southern slope of the mountain
exposed to the full blaze of the sun must have been partly
melted and frozen many times, and the surface must be
covered with a solid coating of ice, so that if there was
any loose snow anywhere it must be on the northern side
under the shadow of some high rock. He found such a
spot without difficulty and filled his pitcher at the first
scoop, whereas the others were obliged to land and fill
theirs by hand, after vainly trying to scoop up the snow
on the wing. The conditions of the race were not an
nounced till just before the start, so there was no oppor
tunity of a previous examination of the mountain, and
Dion was allowed to have won solely by his superior
skill and judgment.

The fourth and last day of the race was taken up by the
competition of orchestral societies from different parts of
the country, and from the cities. There was no limit to
the number of orchestras from each place, and the capi
tal was represented by no less than five, Thalmon by two
and Laureion by two, the total number competing being
twenty-five. The audience was much smaller than on
the previous days, for many of the visitors who were not
devoted to music spent the day in the art galleries, which
were crowded from morning till night. This enabled
those who were left to arrange themselves in more com
pact space and hear the music to greater advantage. I
never saw an audience so attentive or so thoroughly de-

THE IONIAN GAMES. 179

lighted with what they heard, and the music and the ren
dering of it were such as I am very sure has never been
heard in any other part of the world. I think I enjoyed
this last day most of all, and that is saying much, for the
whole festival had been a season of unalloyed pleasure.

But the crowning spectacle was still to come: in the
ceremony of awarding the prizes. This took place on
the evening of the fourth day.

An hour after sunset was the time appointed, and the
audience was greater than ever, so that almost every seat
was occupied. During the afternoon a great change had
been accomplished in the arena. Between the center of
it and the middle of the great wall, a platform had been
erected and covered with a handsome carpet. On each
side were seats for about a hundred persons, arranged in
a semi-circle, in rows rising upwards from the floor, all
richly upholstered, and having a background of flowers
and palms and other tropical plants. On the right side
sat the victors in the different games, who were to be
crowned with wreaths of wild cherry. On the other side
were the archon and the ministers of state, the city coun
cillors and the representatives of any of the other city or
district governments who happened to be present. In
front of these sat thirteen beautiful maidens, and in the
center of the row Daphne Van Tromp, in a graceful
dress of white silk, while the others, who were all bru
nettes, wore dresses of similar make and material in deli
cate shades of blue, pink, primrose, etc. On Daphne's
right sat Leda, and on the left Eurydice, all the rest be
ing friends and former fellow-students chosen to sup
port her in the ceremony of crowning the victors. It is
the custom for the archon to select some young lady
from amongst the families of his friends for this honora
ble service, and she has the selection of the twelve who

180 IONIA.

are to occupy the seats of honor by her side. Leda had
been the crown-giver at the previous festival, and then
Daphne had sat at her right side; next year some other
maiden would occupy the place of honor, for the same
one is never chosen twice by the archon. The crown-
giver is free to select whom she will to support her, but
they must be unmarried, and not over twenty-five years
old'

When all had taken their places the lights were turned
out over the amphitheater, which brought into brilliant
relief the distinguished companies on both sides of the
platform, on whom a flood of light was poured from
lamps placed a hundred feet above them, and shaded so
that their direct rays could not reach the audience. The
handsome, bearded seniors on the one side, with the row
of lovely maidens in front, in contrast with the lithe fig
ures of the young athletes opposite, who were dressed in
a uniform of blue and white donned for the occasion, and
well calculated to display their fine proportions, their
uncovered heads and clear-cut faces showing to great ad
vantage in the brilliant electric light, — all this formed a
picture of human beauty which of itself was a feast for the
eyes of that artistically educated assembly, and they
showed their appreciation of it by cheers and applause,
which overpowered the music of the orchestra below.
There were two bands of music placed respectively on the
hither and further sides of the platform ; one of these was
a local orchestra, and the other was the one which was
victorious in the contest of the early part of the day.
These played alternately during the whole of the crown
ing ceremony, and although at any other time their
splendid performances would have been listened to with
the closest attention, the cheers which greeted each of the
victors as he came forward to be crowned, prevented us

THE IONIAN GAMES. 181

from hearing their strains, except only at short intervals.
It being impossible to announce the names of the
prize-winners vocally so as to be heard by so many peo
ple, this was not attempted. The names of each and the
titles of the races they had won were displayed in letters
of gold by some electrical device on the dark background
beyond the platform. As each name appeared the for
tunate youth rose from his place, crossed the platform,
and knelt on a cushion in front of the crown-giver of the
year, and Daphne, standing up and receiving the wreath
from the hands of the lady next her, placed it on his
head. The victor then rose, and with a graceful bow, re
turned to his place, to be succeeded by the next, whose
name appeared after a moment's interval on the invisible
canvas between us and the lake. The prizes for those
contests in which numbers took part, such as that of the
dragons and the rowing races of eight oars, were not
wreaths, and the victors were not crowned like the indi
vidual winners. They were rewarded by the presenta
tion of a trophy of gold of great value and artistic beauty,
of which they were allowed to retain possession for the
year, or until it was wrested from them by a different
crew. There were seven of these splendid works of art,
and they were displayed on a table covered by a snow-
white cloth which stood on the platform in front of the
ladies, on the right, or the side nearest the audience, the
wreaths being placed on a similar table on the left. Both
tables were profusely decorated with flowers. The tro
phies were too heavy for a woman's strength to lift, so
when the races to which they belonged were called, they
were lifted by two stalwart attendants and placed on the
cushion in front of Daphne. She then placed her hands
upon the trophy, the captain of the winning crew did the
same, and thus received possession. It was then re-

182 IONIA.

placed on the table to be taken away later on by its tem
porary owners.

Each victor, as he appeared, was greeted with ap
plause by the audience, which he acknowledged with a
bow as he crossed the platform in returning. Some were
greater favorites than others, and were received with
louder cheering, but when it came Leonidas' turn to be
crowned, the audience, remembering his heroic rescue of
Orestes, treated him to a repetition of the ovation given
him on the day before, which so mortified him that he
privately resolved never to take any active part in the
games in future.

Dion was the last of the victors to be crowned, and he
also received an unusual amount of applause, partly be
cause he was a favorite and partly, no doubt, because he
was the last. As soon as he had returned to his place a
signal gun was fired, and in a moment a dozen of the
largest air-ships or dragons appeared in view, brilliantly
lighted from stem to stern. They were hovering over
the lake near the shore, and as all had been dark in that
quarter but a moment before, it seemed as if they were
phantom ships created by some stroke of magic art.
And now they commenced a series of beautiful evolu
tions, wheeling in columns and in line, crossing each
other's bows and sailing over and under each other with
the perfect order and precision of an army corps going
through their drill. This splendid spectacle continued
for about fifteen minutes, and then they separated into
two squadrons and went through the form of a sham-bat
tle, bombarding each other with shells and rockets so that
the air was like a tornado of fire, and I marveled that the
vessels were not injured, till it was explained to me that
every part of their exterior was fire-proof, so that the
bursting of a shell or a rocket in contact with any part

TIMOLEON, THE LIBERATOR. 183

of them was as harmless as so much water. These mis
siles, harmless though they were, exploded with loud
detonations, and it was difficult to realize that we were
not witnessing a terrific and destructive action in aerial
warfare. The firing of a great gun on the shore gave the
signal for the turmoil to cease, and the twelve vessels
then formed a hollow square, above the water's edge.

The festival was now over, but the great audience re
mained seated until the archon and the other prominent
personages had taken their departure. Daphne and her
twelve attendants moved off first, escorted by the victors,
wearing their wreaths. Minos and the high officials who
had occupied the seats of honor followed next with the
members of their families, from the front row of seats
amongst the audience. Two barges carried all these
persons, of whom I had the privilege of being one, two
more held the bands of music, and the fleet of four moved
off in stately procession, escorted by the twelve air-ships
of war formed in a square above us, so that we occupied
the space beneath its center. This formation was main
tained all the way to the city, and the air vessels kept up
a continual discharge of rockets on the outside of the
square so that we seemed to be moving between walls of
fire. Carriages were in waiting at the landing-place to
convey us all to our homes, and the aerial fleet sailed
away over the lake with a thunderous parting salute.

CHAPTER IX.
TIMOLEON, THE LIBERATOR.

During the next few weeks I spent my time partly in
learning the language of the nation whose guest I was,
and partly in studying the geography of the country and

184 IONIA.

becoming acquainted with its towns and villages, and the
manner in which its agriculture is carried on. Jason"
placed himself entirely at my disposal, and several times
a week we made aerial excursions to different points of
interest, in the course of which the land was spread be
neath us like a map, and every detail could be observed
with a minuteness which no other mode of traveling
could approach. Every/feod) of the land between its
mountain ramparts>8^cultivated like a garden, and every
part devoted tp^tlie products to which experience shows
it to be bes'f adapted. The slopes at the foot of the
northern hills are mainly occupied by vineyards and the
raising of silk worms. The lower hills are covered with
sheep and the smaller valleys between with cattle; cotton
is raised in great quantities in the center of the valley,
ut the bulk of the country is divided into small farms
where all kinds of grain and vegetable crops are pro
duced in rotation. The country abounds in rivers and
streams, which are connected by innumerable canals, like
the veins and arteries of the human body, and there are
numbers of large reservoirs for storing superfluous water
so that such a thing as a failure of crops is unknown, and
the produce per acre is such as would astonish the most
thorough-going scientific farmers of our own country.
This result is owing not alone to the fact that heat and
moisture are always supplied in sufficient quantities, but
also to the elaborate system of returning waste products
to the soil, which is provided for by a department of the
government presided over by some of the ablest scient
ists of the country. The sewage of every city, town and
village is carried underground to large reservoirs, and
there quickly transformed into the most admirable fer
tilizers, which are sold to the farmers at very moderate
rates, and the result is that the land is constantly grow-

TIMOLEON, THE LIBERATOR. 185

ing richer, and the returns from it becoming greater with
each decade.

The farms vary from forty to a hundred acres, and all
the labor is done by the lessee himself, or in some cases
by the farmer and his grown up son, who is very com
monly his successor. For, although every farm pays
rent to the government, the annual charge is very mod
erate, and the leases are made for a long period of years,
and the same farms are sometimes held by the same
family for centuries.

The farm houses are very substantial, and even elegant
in character, and every one has its flower and vegetable
gardens, which are models of neatness and beauty. I
noticed that all plowing, harrowing and reaping is done
not by horse power, but by automatic machinery, elec
tricity being, of course, the motive power.

"Where," I asked of Jason, "does all the electricity
come from to accomplish such a great amount of work?"

"You will observe," said 'he, "that every farmer has a
wind-mill, or in some cases two. These are going night
and day during the most of the year, and they keep his
water tank filled, do his plowing and reaping and supply
all the power required to run every piece of machinery he
can use."

"But I do not understand," said I, "how such great re
sults can be accomplished by such an apparently inade
quate cause."

"That is because you are not yet initiated into one of
our greatest discoveries, which enables us to utilize the
magnetism with which the earth is stored, and which
requires only a small current of electricity to set it free
and enable us to make use of it to an unlimited extent.
Your scientists and economists have been calculating the
extent of the coal stored beneath the earth's surface, and

186 IONIA.

wondering what would become of your industries when it
is exhausted, never dreaming that the great globe itself
is a storehouse of force so infinite in extent that all that
man can ever use of it is but like one grain of sand com
pared to the shores of the ocean. Your electricians are
coming nearer to that grand discovery every year, and
when it finally dawns upon them they will see that they
have been like men groping about with bandaged eyes,
while the sun has been pouring its floods of light upon
the whole world around them. It will dwarf every me
chanical invention and scientific discovery of past times,
and will doubtless lead to the belief that a new era of
prosperity is about to dawn upon the human race, but I
question if it will be productive of any permanent bene
fit, and its immediate consequences will be disastrous to
great numbers, for it will dislocate the whole industrial
system, and bring starvation and ruin to coal miners and
many others."

'Then you do not consider this as one of the funda
mental secrets of the great advance your own people have
made in civilization?"

"By no means. Science and mechanical improve
ments have multiplied our comforts, but they have played
but a secondary part in raising the people to the high
moral, intellectual and physical standard which they have
attained. Their superiority in these respects is owing
entirely to our beneficent laws, and especially to the four
great laws of Timoleon, which I propose to explain to
you in the course of these excursions, but in order that
you may understand how they came to be enacted and
how the memory of the great king, as we call him, is
revered amongst us, I think it would be well for me first
to give you a short outline of the history of Ionia, and
especially of the life of Timoleon himself."

TIMOLEON, THE LIBERATOR. v 187

"That will give me more pleasure than anything else
I could think of, and the pleasure will be less than the
profit, for I came here mainly to know the secrets of
your superiority to all other races and peoples, and I
should be glad to have you commence the narration just
as soon as you feel disposed."

"We must put it off till the commencing of our return
trip, for we are now arriving at the forest, where we
must disembark for a time and look around us."

This conversation occurred during the first of our ex
cursions, when we traversed the whole valley of Ionia
in a couple of hours, having the river directly under
neath us nearly all the way, and passing many towns and
villages, and especially the ancient capital, the city of
Thalmon, whose handsome squares and gardens and
magnificent buildings marked it as second only in beauty
and grandeur to lolkos itself. As we approached the
head of the valley an opening in the hills appeared, cov
ered with a dense growth of noble trees, and very soon I
found that we were floating over a sea of foliage com
posed of many tints of green, rippling into silver as the
wind passed over it. The sun poured a flood of warm
light upon it, and birds of beautiful plumage were seen
flitting about in great numbers; far away in front the
purple mountains rose against a background of bright-
blue sky, while the nearer hills were dark with pines
nearly to their summits. It was a scene of unrivaled
beauty, and the novelty of viewing a forest from above
the tree tops lent to it a peculiar charm.

Presently an opening appeared, and we descended
upon the roof of the Forest House, a handsome building
of great extent, built in the form of a square, with the
river flowing through the center. Descending to the
interior court we found ourselves in a delightful garden

188 IONIA.

and passed many groups of happy looking holiday
makers, most of whom my friend saluted, without stop
ping to speak, for he wished me to see something of the
forest itself. We entered it by one of several avenues
leading from the palace and I was at once struck by the
great size and perfect proportions of the trees. There
were no saplings or misshapen, unhealthy specimens,
but every tree was perfect in form and sound in every
part. This, I was told, was the result of the labors of a
corps of experienced foresters, maintained by the gov
ernment to keep the extensive grounds in order, and they
did their work well, for even in English parks I never
saw such magnificent oaks, elms and beeches as abound
ed here. There were other varieties, including many
which were new to me, but all seemed to be enjoying the
right conditions for perfect development.

We walked along a beautiful avenue completely
overarched by the foliage, catching sight now of
a reach of the river with some merry company in
barge or row-boat, and again of an open glade where
young people were disporting themselves in athletic
games on the turf. Five minutes' walk brought us to a
lake in whose cool depths many swimmers were disport
ing themselves, and we remained for a time to watch
their gambols. Then we passed still farther into the
depths of the forest, where the silence was broken only
by the music of the birds, which kept up a veritable con
cert among the trees. Farther on we saw a herd of deer,
which were so tame that they came quite close and al
lowed us to stroke their shaggy coats. Neither animal
nor bird is molested in the forest, except such as are
noxious and mischievous, so that it is a perfect paradise
for them, and they exist in great numbers, and add much
to the attractions of the place. Having walked about a

TIMOLEON, THE LIBERATOR. 189

couple of miles from the palace, we reached a boat-land
ing on the river, where we waited till one of the electric
barges came by on its return trip. We boarded, and had
a delightful run down past banks of ferns and wild flow
ers, with glimpses of mountain-tops beyond the trees,
sunshine and shade swiftly alternating and a soft, sweet-
scented breeze blowing in our faces all the way. A few
minutes brought us to the Forest House, the interior of
which we spent a little time in examining before we de
parted for lolkos in our air-ship. We walked through
the halls, which were of choice colored marble, those on
every floor being different in design and material; we
looked into the public rooms, — such as the dining-room,
the parlors and reading-rooms, the concert hall and the
gymnasium, and admired their fine proportions and
decorations: the walls and ceilings were frescoed by
masters in the art, and the furniture was rich, elegant
and appropriate. Every room afforded entrancing views
from the windows, and seemed designed for the use of
persons of boundless wealth and taste, and yet they were
intended for the plain people, — the mechanics, trades
men, farmers and others, all of whom know how to ap
preciate and enjoy without abusing all these luxuries.
The roof, which is flat, is mainly devoted to the landing
of air-vessels, which are protected from the wind by high
walls on each side, but all round the outside runs a para
pet, furnished with innumerable seats, where the guests
congregate to enjoy the cool evening air and the glorious
sunsets for which the forest is celebrated.

Now, this is only one amongst a number of na
tional parks where the people are privileged to spend
their yearly vacations, which are taken by all as
a matter of course. I visited most of them in
company with Jason, and found them all equally

190 IONIA.

attractive, and all designed and equipped with such
exquisite taste and on a scale of such costly mag
nificence as showed that the government's sole care is
for the comfort and well-being of the people at large.
One of these parks is an island, situated in an arm of the
lake, running up between high hills, a most romantic
situation, and largely favored by those living inland, out
of sight of Lake Malo. Another is in an upland valley,
where there are miles and miles of beautiful springy turf,
and where horses of a fine breed are kept for those
who love to take exercise in the saddle. These are the
only horses in the whole country, and for beauty, speed
and sagacity they are not to be matched anywhere else
in the world. Several of the parks are to be found scat
tered through the valley, and abound in pleasant groves
and fountains, flower-gardens and green arbors, and are
much favored by elderly people, who love to saunter in
pleasant places and pass the time in conversation. - One
of the summer resorts (it can hardly be called a park)
is amongst the perpetual snows of the high mountains,
and here, in the midst of summer, all the winter delights
are enjoyed, — skating, snow-shoeing and tobogganing
on a grand scale down a mile of steep mountain side and
across a valley two miles wide. The hotel at this place
is built of double walls of aluminum, transported to the
spot on air vessels, for there is no other way of reach
ing it. Another of these recreation grounds is among
the hills on the north side of the great lake, where there
are many fine trout streams, which unite to form a lovely
sheet of water, stocked with many kinds of fish by the
care of the fishing department of the state. There the
lover of the gentle art may while away his time amid the
loveliest scenery, and seldom fail to fill his basket. And
there are many other such places by lake and mountain,

TIMOLEON, THE LIBERATOR. 191

so that the people have a great variety of choice for their
summer vacations, and the certainty of facilities for all
kinds of healthful recreation as well as comfortable quar
ters wherever they may go. In all of them, there is
abundance of land and suitable buildings provided by
the government, either in the form of grand palatial
structures, as in the forest, or of a number of widely-
scattered cottages situated conveniently to the sport, as
is the case in the valley of the anglers. In the former
class, the buildings are rented to a company or an indi
vidual, who performs the office of hotel-keeper, charging
certain fixed and moderate rates, which are not in any
case to be exceeded; in the latter, the cottages are rented
to families or small parties who look after their own
cuisine and keep the premises in order. Every family
and every individual in the country is thus enabled to
enjoy a change of air and scene on such terms as all
can easily afford, and by varying their choice from year
to year, the charm of novelty is added to all the other
delights of their summer outing.

I visited all these splendid play-grounds with Jason in
the air-ship, and by the end of October I had visited or
passed over nearly every portion of the country. We
devoted at least three days of each week to this pleasant
work, and sometimes the lady Helen and sometimes her
daughter accompanied us, and their presence always
added to the enjoyment of the trip, but I never spent a
dull hour in Jason's company, for his stores of informa
tion were unlimited, and his command of language such
as I have never known in any other man.

He began his sketch of the history of the lonians on
our return trip the very first day, and continued it each
time we went out alone. His narrative would be too long
for repetition here, but a short abridgment of it will be

192 IONIA.

necessary to show the circumstances under which this
remarkable people entered upon their grand career of
progress and development.

The lonians are descended from a body of seven thou
sand Greeks, mostly Athenians, and natives of the
Ionian cities, who were in the service of the Persian king
at the time of the invasion of Alexander.

Being located in the southern part of the Persian em
pire, they found themselves isolated and cut off from all
support at the time of its final overthrow. They scorned
to place themselves under the banner of the Macedonian
tyrant, and as a return to their own country was im
possible, they struck out eastward to find a new home
for themselves, and after many painful wanderings and
some hard fighting, at last found repose in the valley
now occupied by their descendants. The country was
mostly desert at that time, and the inhabitants few, so the
Greeks had no trouble in expelling them, retaining only
such of the women as they wanted for wives. The
Athenians knew something of the art of irrigation, and
soon brought a considerable part of the land under culti
vation. They lived in peace and prosperity for many
centuries, unmolested by any intruders from the out
side world. When the population became too numerous
for the cultivated land to support, it became customary
for bands of the young men to go out and serve as sol
diers under the various Hindoo potentates, the survivors
returning from time to time with their spoil and settling
down to become husbandmen or mechanics and fathers
of families. The government had been democratic for
many centuries, but the captain of one of these bands of
mercenaries made himself master of the country, and his
descendants reigned as kings from the tenth down to the
sixteenth century.

TIMOLEON, THE LIBERATOR. 193

About the year 1575, one of the lieutenants of Akbar
Khan, the great Mogul conqueror, penetrated the valley,
overthrew the reigning monarch and brought the people
into subjection. lie caused every member of the royal
family to be put to death except one, a boy of fourteen,
named Timoleon, whom Aristarchus, a faithful minister
of the crown, carried off, with a considerable amount of
the royal treasure, and secreted in the mountains till an
opportunity presented itself for their escape from the
country. He caused it to be knowTn amongst those who
were faithful to the country's cause that the boy would
return as soon as he became of age and attempt to regain
his father's throne and drive the invaders out. There
were still several bands of Ionian soldiers fighting in
various parts of India, and some trusty patriots under
took to convey to them the secret of the young king's
intended return, and the date of it, so that they should
be ready at the appointed time to fight for freedom.
Aristarchus, with his charge, made his way to the Dutch
East Indies, and from thence to Europe. There they
met the Prince of Orange, and also the young Henry of
Navarre, and learned something of Eurpoean soldiering
in which the young prince distinguished himself on many
occasions. They also visited Greece and Italy, and many
other countries, and thus gained a much larger knowl
edge of the world than was possessed by most men then
living. Aristarchus devoted himself to the education of
his charge, and endeavored to instil into him such prin
ciples as would make him an able and wise ruler.

Returning at the appointed time by the way they came,
they secreted themselves near the southern outlet of the
pass which then led from Ionia to the outer world, and
which was afterwards known as the Gates of Hades.
Posting themselves so as to observe the approaches to

13

19-1 IONIA.

the pass, it was not long before they saw some small
bands of Ionian veterans returning in anticipation of
the expected uprising, and through them they estab
lished communication with their friends inside. On a
given day they entered, surprised and overcame the gar
rison at the head of the gorge, and sent word to all who
could bear arms to assemble at that point. In this way
they gathered together a force of several thousand men
inured to righting, and ready to die for their country
rather than submit to the ascendancy of the hated Mos
lems. The mogul governor, finding himself trapped, as
sembled his troops and made a furious assault upon the
Greeks, but Timoleon, who had assumed the command
at once and showed himself to be a born leader, posted
his men so skillfully and made such good use of the few
small cannon he had found in the fort, that the Moham
medans were repulsed with great slaughter, and com
pelled to sue for peace. This was granted on condition
that they should depart without arms or valuables, and
carrying only a few days' provisions for each man. All
the treasure they had accumulated and such of the
Grecian women who had been compelled to live with
them as chose to stay, were left behind. Timoleon, ex
pecting their return at an early date with large reinforce
ments, set to work to form an army from amongst those
of his people who had seen service in India, and drilled
it in European fashion. He also strengthened the de
fences of the Gates of Hades and sent out spies
to bring word of the approach of any invading force.
Two years passed, and Akbar seemed to have forgotten
them. He was busy elsewhere with larger schemes of
conquest. Meantime, Timoleon occupied himself in im
proving the internal resources of the country. Roads
and canals were built and repaired, and every encourage-

TIMOLEON, THE LIBERATOR. 195

ment was given to industry and trade. The fisheries on
the lake were stimulated by the opening up of convenient
markets, and many substantial boats were built and
given to the fishermen on condition that they were to be
used as a fleet of war in case of invasion. The approach
to the valley from the head of the Gates of Hades was
very long and narrow, winding for many miles between
mountain and lake, and this Timoleon intended to use
as a second line of defence, posting bodies of troops on
precipices overhanging the lake, and thus, with the help
of his fleet, take the enemy between two fires.

His little army was used as a police force, and the dis
orders which had arisen during the period of Moslem
rule were speedily suppressed, and the country very soon
began to wear the appearance of peace and prosperity.
But Timoleon was far from satisfied with the condition
of the people. There were no manufactures, and the
system of irrigation was very crude and imperfect, so
that not half the land was cultivated, and that only very
poorly. Remembering the magnificent dikes and canals
of Holland, he could not help wishing that he had a corps
of Dutch engineers and artisans in his service to utilize
to the full extent the unusual advantages of the country
for irrigation and navigable waterways. Remembering
also the situation of the people of the Netherlands at the
time, and the apparent hopelessness of their struggle
with the Spanish monarchy, he had little doubt that
many of the choicest spirits and most capable artificers
might be induced to leave their own distracted country
for a quiet home beyond the seas.

With this end in view, he commissioned his old friend
Aristarchus to make another visit to Holland, providing
him with ample funds to charter a ship, and sending
with him a chosen guard of veterans. That voyage

196 IONIA.

was accomplished successfully in about two years' time,
and resulted in the addition to the country's resources
of fifty skilled artificers and engineers, including men
who understood the manufacturing of cloth and of paper,
printers, type-founders, masons, carpenters and other
competent mechanics.

Hardly had the immigrants arrived when the long-
expected attack was made by the mogul emperor. He
sent some fifty thousand of his choicest troops to re
duce Ionia to submission, but they never succeeded in
entering it. Half way up the pass, where the river
changed its course and was crossed by a wooden bridge,
Timoleon had built a strong fortification, which com
manded both bridge and road, so that the Moslems were
unable to force their way through. On six successive
days they advanced to the attack with great resolution,
only to be mown down by the discharge of cannon at
short range or picked off by the sharpshooters whom
Timoleon had placed at every point of vantage amongst
the rocks. Once they gained the center of the bridge,
but the young king charged them so furiously at the
head of fifty of his bravest soldiers that they were driven
back with great slaughter, and not one of those who had
set foot on the bridge returned alive. The next day the
invaders disappeared, and the pass was left clear from
end to end.

But Timoleon knew that Akbar was accustomed to
conquer, and that this first attempt would of a surety
be followed by another, and that so long as there was a
road into the country he would never desist in his efforts
to subdue it. The Ionian king therefore consulted with
the most experienced of his Dutch engineers as to the
feasibility of closing the pass altogether, and shutting
the valley off from any practicable approach. It was

THE MOHAMMEDAN WAS CAUGHT WITH THE CURRENT AND
DESTROYED — Page 197.

TIMOLEON, THE LIBERATOR. 197

found that there were many overhanging rocks near the
bridge which could easily be dislodged by charges of
gunpowder, thus creating a dam which would cause the
water to back up and fill the whole space between the
cliffs. This was accordingly done, and the second attack
expected with grim determination. It took place within
two months, and the second army was larger and better
equipped than the first. They brought with them two
heavy siege guns, which played upon Timoleon's fort
with much destructive effect. The retreat was quickly
sounded, and after firing the fuses connected with the
mines, the lonians retired to a considerable distance.
The invaders followed up their seeming advantage, and
crowded in great numbers over the bridge and into the
fort, but their further advance was checked by the fire of
a couple of small pieces which commanded the roadway.
They kept crowding forward to the bridge, however,
until it was covered by a solid mass of turbaned warriors,
and then came a tremendous explosion, followed by
others in quick succession. The fort, the bridge and all
who were anywhere near them were crushed under great
masses of falling rocks, and the water being effectually
dammed up, accumulated rapidly, so that the lonians
had to retire farther and farther up the pass to save
themselves from drowning. By ascending some of the
crags higher up, they could see the host of the enemy
gathered in the bed of the river at some distance below
the scene of the explosion, evidently meditating another
attack. The stoppage of the stream had left the river dry
below, but it was only for a time. After several hours,
the accumulated waters burst the dam and swept on
ward with irresistible force, and the Mohammedan army
was caught in the current and destroyed to a man. The
lonians always supposed that Akbar was present with

198 IONIA.

his army, and perished among the rest, but their descend
ants discovered, on renewing acquaintance with the
outer world, that this was a mistake. History shows
that the great mogul did not take the command of this
expedition in person, but delegated it to one of his lieu
tenants. When it was found that the great explosion and
resulting flood had made the gorge impenetrable to man
or beast, Timoleon announced that no attempt would be
made to reopen it for a number of years, as inaccess
ibility was their best security. He had probably no in
tention of making any attempt to reopen it while he
lived, but thought it best to say as little about that as
possible on account of his new subjects from the Nether
lands. They, no doubt, pined sometimes for the cloudy
skies and colder climate of their native country, and it
was doubtless best to leave them with the faint hope of
a possible return at some distant day, but as the years
rolled on and new ties were formed, the desire doubt
less died away, and there is no record of any dissatis
faction of the Dutch colony in their new home.

All fear of invasion being at an end, Timoleon settled
down in earnest to the work of his life. A new system
of irrigation was laid out and completed, rivers were
straightened, deepened and made navigable, and the
whole valley covered with profitable farms. Manufac
tories of every kind were established, the arts of printing,
paper-making and type-founding introduced for the first
time, and the whole valley ransacked for books in order
that they might be preserved and multiplied. The new
capital was laid out and built on a scale to suit many
generations to come, and in the construction of sewers
and the laying out of streets, such far-seeing wisdom was
shown that very few changes have been necessary up to
the present time. All the mountains round about were

TIMOLEON, THE LIBERATOR. 199

prospected for valuable minerals, and gold, silver, cop
per, tin and lead were found in abundance, but very little
iron and absolutely no coal whatever. This was con
sidered a great misfortune at the time, but has since
proved a blessing in disguise in leading to the discovery
of aluminum and electricity as substitutes for iron and
steam. But the material well-being of his people was
the smallest of the ends which the great king had in
view. His supreme claim to the gratitude of posterity
lies in the laws he promulgated, and the institutions he
established to secure their moral and intellectual ad
vancement. He founded schools and colleges in every
part of the country, and made education compulsory.
He endowed a school of science and mechanical art, and
provided liberal rewards for useful inventions, so that
without the institution of patent laws, the inventive
genius of the country has ever been stimulated to the
highest point of activity. He suppressed wrong-doing
with a strong hand, and even before the close of his reign
the criminal class had practically ceased to exist. Be
sides all this, he was superior to the weakness of leaving
a race of descendants to enjoy the kingly power after
him, knowing that while his own spirit was as pure and
lofty as that of Marcus Aurelius, his son or his son's son
might play the part of Commodus, and undo all the good
he had accomplished. He therefore refrained from mar
rying so that, as he was the last of his line, there could
be no claimants to his throne. He even relinquished the
title of king, and allowed himself to be elected archon in
order that the constitution he framed for the govern
ment of the country might be in good working order at
the time of his death. The power he inherited was an
absolute despotism, and no one ever questioned his right,
not only to administer, but also to make the laws by

200 IONIA.

which the country was governed, and to him alone be
longs the credit of the legislation which lies at the foun
dation of all its prosperity and progress. During his
reign, the people became educated and enlightened to
such an extent that they were fit for self-government,
and the constitution devised by Timoleon has been found
amply sufficient for future generations, and has never
been materially changed to this day.

CHAPTER X.
TIMOLEON, THE LEGISLATOR.

Having traced the history of the Ionian people down
to the conclusion of the reign of Timoleon, Jason pro
ceeded to enlighten me as to the character of the laws
instituted by that monarch, the beneficial effects of which
have exalted his name amongst them to the highest pitch
of reverence and gratitude.

He began by saying:

"Our great king enacted many excellent laws, but
amongst them all, four stand pre-eminent, as being the
cause of all our great prosperity and social well-being.
They are commonly known as, The Four Laws of Tim
oleon, and are, first, the Land Law; second, the Law of
Inheritance; third, the General Criminal Law; and,
fourth, the Marriage Law.

"The first makes the soil of the country the property
of the people as a whole, and has prevented the forma
tion of a landed aristocracy. The second provides that
no person shall become possessed by inheritance of more
than a certain limited amount of wealth, and has pre
served us from the dangers of plutocracy. These two

TIMOLEON, THE LEGISLATOR. 201

laws together secure a fairly equal division of the prod
ucts of labor, and have saved us from the class dis- —7 r
tinctions which divide the people of all other countries
according to the amount of their wealth.

"The criminal law exterminated the whole brood of
evil-doers and relieved tts-from the necessity of keeping
up jails, reformatories and a police establishment. It
has reduced the legal profession almost to the vanishing
point, and done away with the necessity of maintaining
criminal courts, and thus effected an incalculable sav
ing of expense to the community, besides providing ab
solute security to person and property. The marriage
law, however, as it was the latest product of Timoleon's
legislative wisdom, is the instrument by which, above
all others, we have been raised in the scale of civiliza
tion. It provides that those who are unworthy to be
the progenitors of succeeding generations shall be de
barred from the privilege of parenthood, and thus se
cures an infallible advance from generation to genera
tion in the physical, intellectual and moral character of
the people."

"Before you go further," said I, "in explanation of
the operation of each of these laws, I will ask you to
give me an account of their origin, for it is difficult to
understand how one man could arrive at so much wis
dom as to originate laws so far in advance of his time,
and calculated to produce such wonderful results."

"That I will, with all my heart," said Jason, "and, first
of all, with regard to the character of Timoleon himself,
I must remind you that great men often appear in groups
in a way that is not easily accounted for; thus, in the gold
en age of Athens, Pericles, Phidias and the three greatest
dramatists of Greece were all contemporary, or nearly so;
and in the sixteenth century, Shakespeare, Elizabeth, Wil-

202 IONIA.

Ham of Orange, and Henry of Navarre all lived at the same
time as Timoleon, and it is just as difficult to account
for the genius of the great poet of England as of the
great legislator of Ionia. Moreover, he had the advan
tage of being schooled in adversity, and that of inter
course with some of the greatest men of his time, besides
the benefits of extensive travel and of observing the man
ners and customs, the wrongs and sufferings of many
different peoples, and the difference between nations
which were free and self-governing, and those which were
ruled by despots. In addition to all this, he was under
the care of one of the wisest men of his time, who had
been his guardian from childhood, and who devoted him
self to educating and forming his mind during the years
of their exile. Without Aristarchus' devoted care and
training, the young king would never have survived,
or, having survived, would certainly not have attained
to the wisdom and philanthropy which distinguished his
maturity.

"Having said so much to prove that Timoleon was
partly what circumstances made him, I shall proceed to
show you how his great genius enabled him to control
the circumstances in which he was placed, so as to serve
his great purpose of making his reign the starting-point
of a new era of progress and prosperity for the people
he was born to rule.

"When he had driven the moguls from the valley, it
was found that the titles to all landed property were in
the direst confusion. The heirs to many of the largest
estates had disappeared, and their lands had been seized
by strangers, or bought for trifling sums from the con
querors, while at the same time many citizens returning
from foreign military service laid claim to these lands by
right of kinship with the former owners. Much- of the

TIMOLEON, THE LEGISLATOR. 203

land, again, had been held by the conquerors and tilled
for them by the old inhabitants as slaves, and the conse
quence of all this confusion was that the claimants to every
farm were many and the difficulty of deciding among
them so great that there was no possibility of making a
settlement which should be satisfactory to all ; and to in
vestigate all the different claims would have been the la
bor of several years. Out of this dire chaos, Timoleon
brought order and harmony by issuing a proclamation
that all lands were to be considered as belonging to the
crown, and that for the five years following his assump
tion of the governing power, the holders of them were
to occupy the position of tenants and pay a yearly rent,
which should take the place of all other taxes and fur
nish the whole revenue of the state. Before the five
years were up, the amount of arable land had been
doubled, and as the value of the new farms was produced
solely by the extension of irrigation at the expense of
the state, none but the state could claim any title to them.
By that time, moreover, the principle of raising revenue
by a rent for land had been proved to have many ad
vantages, and the king had the wisdom to change a tem
porary expedient into the permanent law of the country.
"The Law of Inheritance, which I have set down as
second of the great tetrad, was not enacted till about
the twenty-fifth year of Timoleon's reign, and owed its
origin, not to any series of accidental circumstances like
the first, but simply to the far-seeing wisdom of the
king. The prosperity which resulted from his be
neficent rule, and especially from the operation of the
land law, and the vast increase of tillable soil which was
divided into numerous farms, instead of, as in most coun
tries, into a comparatively small number of large estates,
was enjoyed by the whole people, with a near approach

204: IONIA.

to equality. But the increase of manufactures and the
development of trade between the towns and provinces
threatened the accumulation of wealth in the hands of
a comparatively small number of the people to the loss
and degradation of the majority. To avert this danger
Timoleon promulgated the Law of Inheritance, of which
the chief provisions are:

"First: That no person should be permitted to gain
possession by inheritance of more than a certain fixed
amount, which was equivalent to about a hundred thou
sand pounds of your money.

"Second: That heirship should be only in the direct
line; that is to say, children should inherit from their
parents only, and not from brothers, cousins, or other
lateral relations. In the case of children dying before
their parents, the latter might become the heirs.

"Third: That the power of bequest was limited to a
fixed sum, which amounted to about fifty thousand
pounds sterling, in favor of any one person.

"Fourth: That all property over and above what the
law permitted to be inherited or bequeathed should be
long to the state.

"The next of the four great laws is that which relates
to the treatment of criminals, and its operation has been
so successful that for a hundred years and more it has
become a deal letter, for the criminal class has ceased to
exist.

"In order that you may understand the origin of this
admirable statute, I must tell you that when Timoleon
commenced his reign the country swarmed with non
descripts, who had come in the wake of the Mohamme
dans, and whom their lax administration permitted to
live by pilfering and every kind of crime. Timoleon
banished large numbers of them, but when the Gates of

TIMOLEON, THE LEGISLATOR. 205

Hades were closed, there were still many of them left,
and they increased like vermin in their holes, and be
came an intolerable nuisance to the industrious com
munity.

"Believing that mercy shown to such miscreants
meant injustice to the public at large, Timoleon or
dained that every adult criminal convicted a second time
should be punished capitally, and although this stern
measure reduced their numbers to a certain extent, the
jails were still crowded and the numbers of those who
preyed on society seemed to increase rather than dim
inish, and the difficulty of dealing with them caused the
king more anxiety and trouble than he had experienced
with the Mohammedans themselves. Amongst his ser
vants was a negro eunuch, who had been presented to
him as a slave by an Egyptian grandee. This man had
followed the king in all his wanderings, and was very
much attached to him. Seeing his master sorely vexed
and troubled by the scum of the community, he one day
ventured to remark:

"/If they were all such as I am, they would not
trouble your maje'sty for ever.'

"The hint was sufficient, and Timoleon saw that the
key to the difficulty was in his hands. He called a
council of physicians, and the result of their delibera
tions was the embodiment of the law which put an end
to crime in Ionia. It provided that all convicted crim
inals, male or female, young or old, should be subjected
to a surgical operation which deprived them of the power
of procreation. This served a double purpose: it put
a stop to their increase, and made identification more
easy in case of a second offence. Every opportunity
was- -given to discharged prisoners to lead an honest
life; the extensive public works furnished employment

£06 IONIA.

to all who were willing to work, but no mercy was shown
to those who relapsed into crime. Their numbers from
this time rapidly diminished, and before Timoleon had
reigned for fifty years the criminal class had practically
died out.

"It was, no doubt, the success of this important meas
ure which suggested the last and most beneficial of the
four great laws of which I am speaking. Timoleon's
great ambition was that his reign should not only be
known as a time of peace and prosperity, but that it
should be the starting-point of a career of development
and progress for the whole people which should be last
ing as well as thorough. Having put an end to one class
of evils by depriving of the rights of parentage those
who were unfit to exercise them, he saw that there was
practically no limit to the benefit which might be ex
pected from the extension of the same principle in a
milder form to all ranks of society. The subject was a
difficult one, and although he had elaborated the idea in
his own mind, he refrained from any attempt to carry
it into practice while he remained on the throne. His
power was absolute, and he could make such laws as he
pleased, but in a matter of such transcendent importance,
where the principle involved was so opposed to the
usages of all nations, he preferred that the people should
act for themselves through their representatives. At the
same time, he was an old man, and had set his heart on
this reform being inaugurated while he still lived, so he
laid it before the senate at their very first session under
the new constitution which he gave to the country.

"He prepared a very elaborate and earnest message,
in which he set forth that the great prosperity which the
people had enjoyed during his reign was owing in large
measure to the fact that the population was limited in

TIMOLEON, THE LEGISLATOR. 207

proportion to the size of the country, and although the
land was still abundantly able to support all who were
then living, in comparative comfort, the time might soon
come when this would not 'be the case, and the people
would relapse into that condition from which it had
been his life-long endeavor to free them. They were
doubling their numbers every twenty-five years, and at
that rate of increase the great mass would soon be re
duced to poverty, and would become, to all intents and
purposes, the slaves of the few who, by financial ability
and selfish greed, would be able to control the wealth
of the country. Ignorance would go hand in hand with
poverty, and the best school system which could be de
vised would fail to educate the children of parents who
were unable to find bread for their families, for the chil
dren themselves would be compelled to labor to help
support their parents. Early marriages and large fami
lies were the rule, especially amongst those who could
lease afford these luxuries, and the result in a few gener
ations would be such as it was melancholy to think of.

"But it was the business of the state to look after the
well-being of the people in the future as well as in the
present, and he thought the state abundantly able to
ward off the evil with which the community was too
evidently threatened. The right of parentage should be
limited to those who were able to show a reasonable
prospect of supporting a family in comfort, and abso
lutely denied to all who were physically, mentally or
morally unworthy to become fathers or mothers. In
this way the too rapid increase of population would be
checked and the character of the people steadily im
proved by preventing those who were depraved in mind
or body from reproducing their kind. He had prepared
for their consideration the draft of a bill embodying these

208 IONIA.

principles, and while they might find it necessary to
change some of its details, he trusted to see it in sub
stance become the law of the land. He was now an old
man, and could not live to see the benefits which would
come in time from such a measure, but he felt sure that
future generations would bless the first senate of Ionia
for the establishment of such a law.

"And so he laid before them the law for the regulation
of marriages substantially as wre have it to-day, for the
king was revered in his own day, just as he has ever
been since, and his government had been so successful in
everything pertaining to the happiness and well-being
of the people, that they almost worshiped him, and
were ready to assent to anything he desired. The senate
passed the bill without change and without one dissent
ing vote, and steps were immediately taken to carry it
into effect.

"Commissioners were appointed for every district,
each having a staff of competent assistants of both sexes,
with power to examine all candidates for marriage and
issue licenses to such only as they found worthy accord
ing to rules framed for their guidance. The marriage
able age was fixed at twenty-five years in the males, and
twenty-two in the females. The former were bound to
show that they were possessed of a certain minimum of
property, and that they were masters of some trade or
art which would ensure a reasonable prospect of ability
to support a family. The commissioners were required
to have the candidates examined as to physical develop
ment and health, mental capacity and character. They
were also to enquire respecting the ancestors of the
candidates, particularly in regard to hereditary diseases,
and all forms of insanity. All extreme cases of dwarfed
or stunted physique, personal deformity or ugliness,

TIMOLEON, THE LEGISLATOR. 209

-—particularly in die^women.—- lax morality or mental in
capacity, and all drunkards, were to be peremptorily re
jected, with a stern disregard to the social standing or
wealth of the individuals aspiring to the wedded state.
In ordinary cases, merit of one kind might be considered
to offset deficiencies in others, but there were limitations
which could not be set aside, and persons of feeble mind
or loose character, or those having weak chests or any
hereditary disease were absolutely debarred from becom
ing the parents of the future generation.

"To this law we attribute most of the advantages we
enjoy as compared with all other civilized nations, and
such a law, if properly administered in any country, will
rapidly exalt its people to a much higher standard than
any other nation can attain to under any other system.

"And now, friend Alexander, I have told you in few
words the secrets of our success, and if you have any
questions to ask in regard to the practical working of
these laws I shall be glad to give you all the information
at my command."

"I must confess," said I, "that these laws are admi
rably adapted to bring about the results which their
founder had in view, but it seems to me that there are
grave difficulties in the way of their adoption by any
community I am acquainted with, and the first and most
formidable of these is in regard to the marriage law.
Any system limiting the rights of wedlock must inevi
tably lead to a great increase of the social evil. How
did the great king contend with that difficulty?"

" By restricting and regulating the social evil so as to
do away with its worst features. He regarded the
women who sacrificed themselves to the community as
public benefactors and gave them comfortable accommo
dation in quarters set apart for their use. His govern-

14

210 IONIA.

ment protected instead of oppressing and harassing
them, and provided an asylum and a maintenance for
them in their old age."

"But," said I, "when you take away the pains and
penalties of any particular form of vice, you inevitably
increase the number of those who yield to its seduc
tions."

"Undoubtedly," replied Jason, "but Timoleon did not
consider that an objection to his system. His purpose
was that the mothers of the nation should be chaste, not
merely from the accident of circumstances, but by dis
position and principle, and the weeding out from their
members of those who were otherwise could not fail to
result beneficially in the end. He regarded the social
evil as a necessary, but temporary, one, and the results
justified his wisdom, for it died out altogether in about
a hundred years from his time."

"I fail to comprehend," said I, "how that came about.
One can understand how, from pure mothers only pure
daughters would be born; but surely it must have been
otherwise with their sons."

"Perhaps you do not give sufficient credit to the
mothers in this respect, for their influence over their
children is almost unlimited. But other influences were
at work as well. Amongst your people it is a common
saying that a reformed rake makes the best husband, but
with us it was different, for the rake never had a chance
to show what kind of a husband he could make, and
thus the morals of the men kept pace with those of the
women, or nearly so."

"Then I am to understand that your people have
learned how to keep the sexual passion under perfect
control?"

"Yes, and all other passions as well. Our young

TIMOLEON, THE LEGISLATOR.

people are taught as soon as they are old enough to
understand it, that the essential difference between
Greeks and barbarians (I trust you will excuse my using
that word, — it is a very old expression with us, and no
offence is meant by it) the source of all our advantages,
lies in the fact that we have subdued and dominated our
brute instincts, while they permit themselves to be con
trolled by them, and are thus a prey to innumerable ills
from which we are free; and being blind to the results
of their own folly, they blame their Creator for intro
ducing them to such an evil world, or else make lame
and paltry excuses for his supposed injustice."

"I should have thought that, in rising so far above the
animal part of our nature, there would be some danger
of the race tending to extinction. Do the facts relative
to the fruitfulness of marriages amongst you lend any
color to this supposition?"

"Not in the slightest degree. The marriages which
are not blessed with offspring are very rare indeed. A
rapid increase of the population is not considered de
sirable, and as the death rate is low, families of two or,
at most, three children, are looked upon as the most de
sirable, and the latter number is very rarely exceeded.
It would be considered cruelty to subject any woman to
the hardship of bearing and bringing up any greater
number. And you have seen the results for yourself:
our women at sixty look as fresh and young as yours at
forty, and their beauty never entirely forsakes them.

"But supposing that any signs of sterility should make
their appearance, the remedy would not be far to seek.
A premium would be put upon fertility just as in early
days the opposite course was sometimes followed, and in
a short time the balance would be restored."

"You think, then, that there is no evil which can af-

212 IONIA.

flict humanity for which the remedy cannot be found in
your law of marriage?"

'That is my opinion, decidedly. By its means chiefly,
aided by the other three of the great laws of Timoleon,
we have banished crime, avarice, idleness, lust, intemper
ance, insanity, poverty and every form of distress and
wickedness, while at the same time we have cultivated
strength, beauty, industry, wealth, intellect and talent
of every kind. The tendency is constantly towards what
is higher and better, — physically, mentally and morally;
and there is no limit to the progress that can be made.
We are as far above the people inhabiting this valley be
fore Timoleon's time as they were above the Fiji Island
ers, and we have no manner of doubt that in three hundred
years more our descendants will exhibit powers of mind
and a mastery over nature's forces that will leave us rel
atively as far behind. And the advance will continue as
long as the sun goes on to shed its rays of heat and
light and life upon the globe."

"And after that?"

"After that is too far off for me to trouble myself
about. Our posterity have millions of years of sunshine
before them, and that is as much of eternity as my mind
can grasp."

"One thing more I will ask you," said I. "How is
it that with all your prosperity and the superabundance
of blessings which are within the reach of all, your peo
ple retain such a capacity for enjoyment? Perhaps to
you the question seems foolish, but it has often been re
marked amongst us that those who have every luxury
within reach soon lose their capacity for pleasure and
that when they have everything that the human heart
can desire they at once begin to discover imaginary
troubles, as if they could not exist without something to

TIMOLEON, THE LEGISLATOR. 213

grumble about. But with the lonians it appears to be
quite different: they do not take their pleasure sadly,
as we English have been said to do, but, on the contrary,
they engage in every kind of recreation with all the zest
of children out for a holiday; pleasure never seems to
pall upon them, and they seem to find enjoyment in the
mere fact of living."

"Having spent so much of my time in Europe, I am
well aware of the contrast which has struck you so forci
bly. The difference is seen in the mere expression of the
faces, and there are many reasons for it. One is, doubt
less, that the cares and worries of life sit much more
lightly upon our people than upon yours. The fear of
want is something unknown to us, while with the ma
jority of your people it is never wholly absent. Where
that is not so, as in your own case, there is always the
consciousness that misery, and disease, and every form
of suffering are continually present amongst the mass
of the people by whom you are surrounded, and that
human life, as you know it, is, on the whole, rather a
melancholy thing, and barely worth the living. With us
it is altogether different: we know very little of suffer
ing and nothing of the poorly requited toil which saps
the foundation of vitality and makes life a mere endless
struggle. We enjoy our work because it is always con
genial, and because it is not too laborious. It does not
exhaust our energies, but leaves us plenty of strength
and inclination for intellectual pursuits and every form
of recreation. Another reason is that wre are taught to
observe the rules of health, and look upon any indulg
ence prejudicial to them as both weak and wicked. Any
person who enjoys perfect digestion and at the same
time is free from worry and mental anxiety finds a
natural enjoyment in every function of life. Where this

IONIA.

is not so, there is something entirely wrong in the en
vironment, and in some way or other the laws of nature
are being violated.

"But our system provides against this as against every
other evil or misfortune which can beset mankind. The
commissioners of marriage have the means of learning
thoroughly the character and disposition of all candi
dates. At the present day, the refusal of license is a rare
exception, but this is simply because the operation of
the law has eliminated all, or nearly all, unworthy traits
from the persons forming the community. Yet they are,
nevertheless, careful in making their investigation, and
neither fear not favor stands in the way of the perform
ance of their duties. In the first place, our books 'of pub
lic registration show the ancestry of every individual for
many generations, and anything worthy of note is re
corded either for or against each person who has lived and
died in Ionia. In the second place, the school and college
records are open to the inspection of the commission
ers, and much can be learned from them. For example,
V all the boys at school are taught boxing, and although
it is not carried to a brutal extent, their personal cour
age is sufficiently tested, and the commissioners take
care that no coward shall ever be the father of childrenS
The applicant is further required to give an account 01
himself after leaving school, and inquiry is made as to
how he has comported himself as son, brother, and mem
ber of society in general. /Now, if any one should be
found to have a morose and unpleasant disposition, it
would take a great deal of merit in other directions to
turn the scale in his favor and procure him the marriage
license.^ Thus you see that there is no defect of character
that our system fails to remedy, and everything that

TIMOLEON, THE LEGISLATOR. 215

stands in the way of individual happiness or the good of
society is sure to be eliminated in course of time."

"You are greatly to be envied," said I, "in having
had the law established amongst you for so many gener
ations and justified by the unspeakable benefits derived
from its operation, but the difficulty of its adoption by
any people brought up in liberty under a free constitu
tion seems to me almost insuperable. It would be de
nounced as visionary and impracticable. It would be
said that the proposal to place in the hands of any body
of magistrates the power to make a selection from
amongst the strongest, handsomest and best of the peo
ple to breed from, while the rest were condemned to
celibacy, would be treating them too much like cattle,
and on all sides it would be denounced as an intolerable
encroachment upon the natural rights of mankind."

"We recognize the greatness of the difficulty," replied
Jason, "and are so far from undervaluing it that we
have never made any attempt to grapple with it our
selves, and if you should recoil from the formidable task
no one here will blame you, and you have the alternative
of casting in your lot with us and enjoying all the bless
ings which fall to our lot. But your statement of the
case is far from being correct, unless you mean it as the
view which the average Englishman is likely to take of
it. There never has been any such idea amongst us as
making a selection of the best specimens to breed from,
but simply a refusal of the right to reproduce their kind
in the case of those who were clearly unworthy to do so,
and as these have always been a small minority, there
is very little hardship or self-denial required from the
community as a whole."

"With regard to liberty and the natural rights of man
you must admit that these phrases are very misleading,

216 IONIA.

and calculated to undermine the very basis of society if
insisted upon too strongly by the unreasoning, undisci
plined masses, as, for instance, in the case of the French
Revolution. The Western nations are given to making
a fetish of liberty and worshiping it as a panacea for all
political ills, whereas it is merely a negative quality after
all, and means no more than the absence of despotism.
Pure, unrestrained liberty is only possible to men in
a purely savage state, and no advance in civilization is
possible without some curtailment of it. The lowest
savage enjoys the liberty of killing and eating his ene
mies, and his enemies comprise all other human beings
on the earth except those of his own tribe or village. He
has the liberty of killing his wives or his children if they
displease him, and the number of his wives is limited
only by his own individual strength. But as society be
comes organized these natural rights and liberties are
taken away from the individual, the number of his wives
is reduced to a few, and finally to one, and the State
steps between him and his family and denies his right to
ill-treat them. Similarly with regard to property, the
common saying is that 'a man can do what he will with
his own,' but in civilized society that axiom is true only
to a certain extent. The community requires that roads
and bridges shall be built, that property shall be pro
tected and the young people educated, and every man is
made to contribute of his own to these and a thousand
other necessary purposes. With us duty comes first and
liberty afterwards, and as the good of the individual can
only be obtained through the well-being of the whole
community we insist that each member of it must sac
rifice just so much of his liberty and his personal ad
vantages as the present and future good of society re
quires. This principle is recognized by all nations with

TIMOLEON, THE LEGISLATOR. 217

any pretense to civilization, and we merely carry it a
little farther than you do. You say that a man can have
but one wife, and we say that he cannot have the one if
his enjoyment of that privilege will be harmful to future
generations. Is there anything monstrous or unreason
able in that?"

"By no means."

"But yet you despair of being able to persuade your
countrymen of the advantages of our system."

"I must say I have but slender hopes of being able to
shake their deep-rooted prejudice against such an inno
vation."

"Well, it is not for me to blame you. On the contrary,
I feel relieved to think that you are free to remain
amongst us and become a citizen of Ionia. I have come
to look upon you almost as a son, and should be sorry
to think of your returning for good to the unhappy outer
world."

"Your kindness to me almost makes me hesitate, and
yet my duty demands that I should tear myself away
from this earthly paradise."

"Why so?"

"While I despair of being able to induce the people of
England to take steps in the right direction, yet I cannot
forget that there are many lands and islands of the ~sea"
where people of our own blood are building up new com
munities untrammeled by the ancient customs and su
perstitions which bind us to the narrow ideas of our fore
fathers. To them my message must be addressed, and I
must endeavor to rouse them to the conviction that hu
man life need not always be a record of misery and fail
ure, but that on the contrary by adopting the simple and
obvious means which your example has proved and sanc
tioned, any community may enter at once on a pathway

218 IONIA.

of progress and bid defiance to almost every human ill."
"Perhaps you are right," said Jason. "In a new coun
try you might be listened to, while in an old one your
story would be treated with scorn and contempt. And
if the experiment is once made in earnest a single genera
tion will show such mighty results that the whole world
will be compelled to follow suit. You are young yet
and may live to see the beginning of the reformation of
the world. But you have spoken so far of only one of
our great laws, although that is by far the most im
portant. Have you no question to ask concerning the
other three?"

C"It seems to me," said I, "that the law of marriage
alone is sufficient for the renovation of society, if carried
out fearlessly, honestly and intelligently, and yet the
others would doubtless be of great help and benefit^)
The land law is not entirely novel to us in principle. The
right of private property in land has been much discussed
both in Europe and America, as you are doubtless well
aware, and I have always felt that those who were op
posed to it had the best of the argument, although the
idea of making its reversal a panacea for all economical
evils always seemed to me absurd. And yet without it
anything like a fair distribution of wealth would be im
possible. I am therefore prepared to advocate it as a
measure which no progressive community can afford to
overlook. Your method of dealing with criminals com
mands my hearty admiration, and it appears so simple
and obviously effective that one cannot help wondering
that it has not been generally adopted long" ago. If I
were to criticize it at all I should say that it leans too
much to the side of mercy. A community which is re
solved on making rapid moral progress has no use for
deliberate criminals, and I do not quite see why felons

TIMOLEON, THE LEGISLATOR. 219

who have arrived at the years of discretion should have
two chances for their lives. But the law is excellent as
it stands, and I would not seriously advocate changing it
unless it were to include habitual drunkards in the scope
of its preventive operation."

"An excellent idea," said my friend, "but drunkenness
is a vice which pertains more particularly to Northern
countries. Our people have never been much given to
it, and hence stringent measures were unnecessary.
"What do you think of our law of inheritance?"
"I think it is entirely just and equitable. No man can
fairly earn a million sterling during his lifetime, unless it
might be the inventor who, like Watt or Stephenson, by
new mechanical contrivances, enhances the efficiency of
human labor to a manifold degree; but these are not the
men who amass large fortunes, and no one grudges
them such reward as they receive. The man who, by
manipulating the markets either of stocks or goods, and
by superior cunning amasses a colossal fortune, has sim
ply filched from other men a part of the wealth they have
produced, and has no more moral right to it than a pick
pocket or a house-breaker to what he steals. It is im
possible to make laws to prevent men becoming rich by
trade or speculation, but when he dies I think it is per
fectly right for the state to step in and say: 'It is not for
the good of the community that one individual should
possess so much while others have none at all, and the
greater portion of this wealth must revert to the people at
large, from whom it has been taken without equivalent
rendered.' But it appears to me that the men who have
been able to outwit their competitors in the scramble for
money will not fail to find a way to cheat the government
in the end. What is to hinder such a man from dividing
up his wealth before he dies, so that when his estate

IONIA.

comes to be inventoried it will be found that the members
of his family are already legally possessed of the great
bulk of his fortune?"

'That indeed seems an easy way of evading the law,
and our government found it necessary to supplement it
by another law which made such transfers legal only
when they took place twelve months before the death of
the person bestowing the property, and by a thorough
registration of all kinds of property it was made very
difficult to evade this enactment. Then you must re
member that those who are the most eager in the acqui
sition of wealth are precisely those who are the least
willing to part with it, even to their own kith and kin,
and as a man seldom knows the date of his death, it has
very often happened that the subdivision of the estate of
a millionaire has come too late to cheat the public out
of what the law intended should revert to it.

"I speak of what happened in the early days of the re
public, for we have had no trouble on this score for many
generations."

"And is that simply because the people have become
too honorable to endeavor to evade the spirit of the
laws?"

"I think I may fairly say that such is the case nowa
days, but it was not always so. There was a time when
the law of inheritance seemed about to become a dead
letter in regard to one section of the community, and
then we had to fall back upon our marriage law, which is
omnipotent in its scope and purpose. We had a small
colony of Jews amongst us, who lived in obscurity in the
ancient capital. How they came there no one knew,
but as they are found in all quarters of the civilized world
it is not perhaps to be wondered at that some of them
found their way even into Ionia. The general prosperity

TIMOLEON, THE LEGISLATOR. 221

inaugurated by the reign of Timoleon gave them oppor
tunities of which their greed and their undoubted genius
for business enabled them to make the utmost. They
increased rapidly in wealth and numbers, and by the be
ginning of the Eighteenth century all the banking busi
ness of the country was in their hands, and it seemed as
if in a short time they would be possessed of all the riches
of the community. Their prosperity made them inso
lent, and they began to set the laws at defiance. Our
young men became their servants and our young women
their mistresses, and they adopted the style of a superior
race, and behaved as if the Greeks were born merely to
be the slaves of their luxury. The law of inheritance
had no power over them, for every Jew that died was
found to be without any considerable estate, and the vast
wealth they had amassed passed from father to son with
out the smallest contribution to the state, and increased
rapidly from generation to generation.

"The archon of that time was a man of the name of
Theophilus, an able and fearless ruler. He saw plainly
that the country was drifting to ruin if the power and
wealth of the Jews could not be curtailed. To send
them out of the country was impossible, as there was no
way of exit, and as humanity forbade a wholesale mas
sacre, he resolved to limit their numbers by the aid of the
law of marriage. Calling the commissioners together he
pointed out the danger which menaced the country, and
persuaded them to refuse all license of marriage between
a Jew and a Jewess. Either might be permitted to
marry with persons of Grecian blood, but not with each
other. The haughty Hebrews stormed and threatened,
tried to bribe the commissioners, and did succeed in
bribing a number of the poorer electors at the polls.
But all was of no avail, and they saw that they were in

IONIA.

danger of extinction as a separate race, and then they
took the step which sealed their doom. The archon was
assassinated. This roused the people to fury, and it was
with difficulty that a wholesale slaughter of the hated
race was prevented. A searching inquiry was made,
several of the wealthiest of the Jews were found to be
accessory to the crime, and they were executed without
mercy. The senate passed a law that no person of Jew
ish blood should ever be allowed to marry in Ionia, and
so the whole tribe died out and passed away for ever."

"But what hindered them from marrying according to
their own religious rites and having children just as
much as ever?"

"That would be impossible in Ionia. I have not de
tailed all the provisions of the marriage law, but merely
told you its main features. It provided for the case of
natural children, and such all were considered whose
parents were not publicly married. They were treated
as orphans by the state and brought up at the public
charge, inheriting neither name nor property. Their
mothers were banished with them to a settlement
amongst the hills, and never allowed to regain their lib
erty."

CHAPTER XI.
THE SCHOOLS OF IOLKOS.

Having explored the country pretty thoroughly, Jason
proposed that we should spend some time in visiting the
schools and colleges of the capital, and we devoted sev
eral weeks to this undertaking.

It was evident to me at once that the national system

THE SCHOOLS OF IOLKOS. 223

of education is conducted on the most liberal scale, for
the ample space and the splendor of the buildings de
voted to it were far beyond anything to be seen in
Europe. Each edifice is a master-piece of architectural
art, and the adornment of the interiors by painting and
sculpture is such that the taste of the scholars must be
unconsciously educated by mere attendance at their
classes. The ventilation and lighting are perfect, and
care is taken to prevent over-crowding, so that there is
abundance of space and pure air for every pupil.

The children commence their schooling at the age of
seven, but for the first three years the curriculum is con
fined to physical training and such knowledge as can be
imparted by object lessons. They are taught dancing
and various forms of marching and drill, and such mus
cular exercises as will conduce to the health and vigor of
their little bodies without any danger of over-straining.
It was a pleasing sight to witness the motions of a hun
dred little girls, all as beautiful in face and form as so
many fairies, going through what appeared to me very
complicated manceuvers, stepping in time to music, and
each little face filled with eager delight in the perform
ance of the pleasant task. And when anyone made a
false step or moved in the wrong direction the blush of
confusion which clouded the little face showed that no
severe discipline was necessary; the consciousness of
doing wrong was a sufficient punishment, and the same
mistake would seldom be made twice. The boys and
girls are taught together in the dancing classes, and very
quickly acquire the skill and ability to go through the
most difficult and complicated figures with grace and
ease. The children were always dressed with great
taste, although plainly; in fact, I never saw a badly
dressed person in the country, but these little ladies and

IONIA.

gentlemen performed their parts and carried themselves
with a dignity and elegance that would have made the
courtiers of Louis the Great envious, and the perfect ab
sence of self-consciousness which they attained would
have been impossible in ill-fitting or poorly made gar
ments. Yet these were not the children of a favored
class, and it was impossible to distinguish by dress or
demeanor the son or daughter of the artisan from those
of the wealthiest merchant.

All these exercises take place in the open air when the
weather is favorable, but when it rains or when the
weather is cold, ample room is found for them indoors in
large, well ventilated halls, which are always kept at the
right temperature. The gymnasiums are larger and
more perfectly appointed than anything I ever saw in
Europe, and from one to two hours are spent in them
every day by all students from the time they enter school
till the day of final graduation. Both boys and girls
enter into this part of their education with a zest which
was exhilarating to witness, and the preceptors have
more trouble in moderating their zeal than in teaching
them how to learn the most difficult feats. Every muscle
of the body is brought into play and exercised in modera
tion, under teachers who have learned all there is to be
known of anatomy and physiology, and this has doubtless
much to do with the perfect health enjoyed not only by
the children but by all the inhabitants of the country as
long as they live. The pupils are not taught the alpha
bet before they reach the age of ten, but their progress
after that is so great that boys and girls of twelve and
thirteen years know more than most of our undergradu
ates at Oxford or Cambridge, and I found that many of
the youngest pupils at the university were further ad
vanced in mathematics than our senior wranglers. All

THE SCHOOLS OF IOLKOS.

were able to speak and write one or more European
languages, and their knowledge of their own tongue and
its literature, ancient and modern, was such as could only
be paralleled by a genius like Macaulay in respect to
English. In botany, zoology, geology and astronomy
they were equally proficient. I saw a class of high
school boys at their astronomical lesson, and while I had
not become sufficiently familiar with their language to
understand all that was said, I could not help admiring
their close attention and the quick replies that were
given to the teacher's questions. When the lesson was
over I asked Jason to explain to me the chart which the
teacher had used during the lesson. It appeared to rep
resent the solar system, but the planets seemed to me
different in number and proportion from what I had al
ways understood, and I was much puzzled over it. To
my astonishment my friend replied:

"That was not the chart of our solar system, but rep
resented the planetary system of Sirius."

"What," said I, "do you mean to tell me that these
children know so much more of our stellar universe than
all our Herschells and Proctors have ever dreamed of
finding out?"

"Naturally they do know more in some respects, for
their teachers have advanced much further. Our tele
scopes are far more powerful than any you have in Eu
rope, and we have other instruments which your scien
tists have not yet invented. Surely you are not sur
prised at a little thing like that, since you were aware
that our people were further advanced in all science and
learning than any other nation?"

"Theoretically I knew it to be so, but this practical
illustration bewilders me. I think we may as well stop
here in our investigation of your educational system. I

15

226 IONIA.

feel no more capable of appreciating it than a Hottentot
would be of grasping the instruction given in our col
leges at Oxford."

Jason laughed, and said:

"Your modesty makes you depreciate yourself alto
gether too much. There are many things you know
more about than we do."

"What, for instance?"

"Modern European history and the condition of the
various classes composing European society. If you
should become one of our citizens and take up your resi
dence here you will need some occupation like the rest
of us, and I have no doubt but you will be offered a pro
fessor's chair in the university, which I am sure you
could fill with great credit."

"I am afraid you are jesting with me in saying so, but
whether you are or not, I assure you that if I should
come here to stay the first thing I should do would be to
ask permission to go to school and take my place
amongst boys of fifteen or sixteen, and even then I fear I
should be entirely out of the running."

"I assure you that you undervalue your powers and
attainments altogether too much. But we need not dis
cuss that question at present. You spoke of cutting
short the investigation of our school and college system,
but I beg of you not to entertain such an idea. You
have seen comparatively little as yet, and there are many
things that will interest you in the university."

"As you will have it so, we shall proceed, and I shall
do my best with your help to understand what I see and
hear."

So we went on from day to day, following the classes
in ascending order, and as my friend had foretold, I found
much to admire and interest me. The ground to be cov-

THE SCHOOLS OF IOLKOS.

ered was very extensive, for the various buildings and
enclosures connected with the university covered several
square miles and included all the national art galleries
and museums situated in the metropolis. These are
open at all times to all the people, but are intended for
the use of the students more especially, and every day
during school hours the professors can be seen with their
classes studying the magnificent collections. These
groups we frequently joined, and I had the pleasure of
listening to the instructions given and was commonly
introduced to the -professor if occasion offered. I am
afraid my attention was more occupied with the students
than with the lesson in hand, for whether male or female,
the charm of seeing so many handsome, intellectual faces
eagerly absorbed in scientific problems or in the study of
form and color possessed an irresistible attraction for me.
They probably for the most part knew who I was, and,
although none of them had ever seen a foreigner before,
their excellent breeding forbade any scrutiny of my ap
pearance, and I could observe them without being ob
served on my part.

The geological museum is more extensive and com
plete than anything I had seen elsewhere, and this sur
prised me not a little, for of course the specimens were
gathered from many different countries, and I was not
aware that the lonians had been in the habit of sending
out expeditions for such purposes. The same was true
of the other scientific collections, which were all very
complete and admirably arranged. Another thing that
I noticed was that with very rare exceptions the speci
mens were not shut up in glass cases, but all displayed
openly on shelves or tables, which rendered their ex
amination much more easy and more satisfactory. This
could only be done, of course, where the atmosphere is

228 IONIA.

entirely free from dust, and where the utmost confidence
is felt in the honesty of every member of the community.

The picture galleries are several miles in extent, and
every painting is a master-piece which would be almost
priceless in Europe. The hall of statuary is full of sculp
ture finer than anything else the world has produced
since the days when Athens was in its ancient glory. I
could have spent many days and even weeks in admiring
these magnificent works, but Jason would not allow me
to linger long amongst them at that time, for we had
other work in hand. We spent a day in the botanical
garden, which is a paradise of beauty, and contains living
examples of almost every species of plant, flower and
tree, from those of the tropics to the stunted specimens
grown under the arctic circle. The extremes of climate
are represented by different buildings heated or cooled to
the requisite temperature, and the students are able to in
vestigate the varied species of the vegetable kingdom
growing under natural conditions within the grounds of
the university.

The school of agriculture is one of the most important
departments of the educational system, and has a large
number of thoroughly trained scientists on its staff. Every
young man aspiring to be a farmer must graduate from
it, and that means that he must not only have a thorough
knowledge of crops and soils, but also a very thorough
grounding in botany and chemistry as applied to the
conditions of agriculture in Ionia. Several thousand
acres are utilized as an experimental farm by this depart
ment, with all the necessary buildings for lecture rooms,
dormitories for professors and students, barns and
houses for cattle and sheep, etc. This is located at a dis
tance of some miles from the city, and we visited it upon
several occasions, and found great pleasure in observing

THE SCHOOLS OF IOLKOS.

the beautiful order and cleanliness which prevailed in all
its details, the fine development of the different breeds of
stock and the attention given to making every foot of
ground produce the largest possible yield of the most
suitable varieties of grain, fruit and vegetables. The
farmer students were young men of splendid physical
proportions, and although this might be truly said of all
the men of Ionia, yet I never felt myself quite such a
pigmy as when following the professors and their classes
through the fields or stock houses of the university farm.
They were all men of six feet and over, with the chests
and limbs of gladiators, and yet the most gentle man
nered, scholarly, and refined set of young men it was
possible to imagine. I made the acquaintance of quite
a number of them, and received more invitations to visit
them at the homes of their parents, who were mostly
farmers in different parts of the country, than I could
have accepted if my visit had been prolonged for several
years.

Of the schools of electricity, of engineering, of me
chanical and manufacturing arts, I shall not attempt
any description, for it would require a volume to do
them justice. They are conducted upon the soundest
scientific methods, and provide the country with a body
of thoroughly trained artificers and mechanics, masters
of arts in the true sense of the word, whose skill is to be
traced in every department of industry.

Adjoining the botanical gardens are the menagerie and
the aquarium, both very extensive and well managed in
stitutions. The aquarium contains only such fish as are
found in the waters of Ionia, but of these not one species
is lacking, and the numbers and variety are very great.
Many of these have been brought from foreign countries
and successfully introduced to the rivers and lakes of

230 IONIA.

Ionia, and I recognized amongst them all the speckled
and other beauties of our own island excepting, of course,
the salmon, which could not thrive at such a distance
from the salt water. The men who live by fishing on the
shores of Lake Malo are all educated at the university
of lolkos, and that is perhaps one reason why the fisher
ies never fail on these waters. They are in close touch
with the government, and make it their business to see
that the supply is kept up by the government hatcheries,
and that the young fish are not molested, and the close
seasons carefully observed. They are a thriving com
munity and own the stock in all the great institutions for
curing and preserving the harvest of the lake, and thus
providing a very important and palatable addition to the
food of the people.

The menagerie surprised and delighted me by the com
pleteness with which the animal kingdom was repre
sented, and by the fine condition and thriving appear
ance of the specimens. The cages are of great size and ar
ranged so that the animals live as nearly as possible in
their natural state. The polar bears, for instance, have
a building to themselves, enclosed by double walls, and
kept at a temperature just a little above the freezing-
point, and containing an enormous tank in which they
find abundant exercise, and they grow to a size which
makes them seem gigantic in comparison with those to be
seen at our London Zoo. The monkeys again live in a
kind of crystal palace, which encloses a grove of well
grown trees, and flourish as well as they possibly could
in their native state. All the other animals are equally
well taken care of, and have a sleek and comfortable ap
pearance such as I have never before observed them to
wear in captivity.

I inquired of Jason how they managed to transport so

THE SCHOOLS OF IOLKOS. 231

many wild animals from distant countries, seeing that
they must be brought in air-ships, and those only of the
smaller class, for the largest vessels are not allowed to
leave the country.

"Most of the animals," said he, "are captured very
young, and we have little difficulty in breeding them
here, for we make their captivity, as you have observed,
as pleasant as we can. But there are limits to our ability
to secure examples of the different species. You may
have noticed that we have no hippopotamus, and only
three elephants, but with most of the other quadrupeds
there is no difficulty. Our young men are very fond of
going on hunting expeditions, and if you care to accom
pany one of these you will see that no opportunity is lost
of securing desirable specimens of young tigers and other
ferocious animals, as well as the milder species, to add to
our collection."

"I should like very much to take part in one of these
expeditions, and will embrace the first opportunity that
offers. Are they generally successful in securing large
game?"

'They very seldom fail," said Jason, "for they are al
ways under the command of a hunter of great expe
rience, and our method of driving the game is such as
never fails to bring all the animals from a large section of
the country within reach of the guns. It is very exciting
sport, and I will see that you do not fail of an opportunity
of witnessing or taking an active part in it."

Meantime we continued our round of investigation,
and faithfully visited the class-rooms as well as the great
treasuries of art and science, which belong to the uni
versity, but long before we had reached the higher grades
I found that the students had advanced much further
than I had attained in my career at Oxford. We visited

232 IONIA.

a junior class in astronomy, and enjoyed a rare, and to me
quite unexpected, treat. We entered the hall before the
hour for the lecture to begin, and seated ourselves behind
the class so as to see all that passed without ourselves be
ing conspicuous. Presently the professor arrived, and
in a few sentences introduced the subject of the day's
lesson, which was to be a general review of the fixed
stars as they appear during all the various seasons of the
year. While he spoke I was puzzling myself over the
shape of the room, of which the walls and ceiling were
shaped like the inside of a sphere, the floor occupying a
space rather below its center. Suddenly the lights went
out, and a most extraordinary transformation took place.
We appeared to be magically transported to the
open air, with the sky all around us, studded
with all its stars and constellations. The illusion was so
perfect that I could hardly believe at first that we were
still in the same room till I had felt with hands and feet
for the chair and the floor in my vicinity. The sphere
which enclosed us had appeared a light, bright blue when
illuminated from within, but now that all the light en
tered from without through the tiny holes representing
the stars, it assumed the deep blue-black shade of the
sky on a clear, starry night. Delighted as I was with
this beautiful spectacle, I was still more surprised to find
that the sphere was revolving, and that during the hour
occupied by the lecture this miniature sky would mimic
the changes of the whole year in the heavens, each month
being represented by its movement during five minutes'
time. Of course the smallest stars did not appear in this
artificial sky, but all those down to the fifth magnitude
were shown, and the milky way and the more prominent
nebulae were indicated with wonderful accuracy. The
class faced the north pole of the sphere, and the pro-

THE SCHOOLS OF IOLKOS. 233

fessor dealt mostly with the stars of the Northern hemis
phere, but now and again he would direct the students to
look the other way while he pointed out the glories of the
Southern constellations. The hour passed very quickly
and pleasantly, and I felt sorry when the scene was
changed again by the illumination of the interior lamps.
I requested Jason to introduce me and thanked the pro
fessor for the great and unexpected pleasure I had en
joyed as well as for the instruction his lecture had af
forded me.

In reply he invited me to renew my visit as often as I
could find it convenient, and explained that the course
covered a very thorough study of the fixed stars, and
also of the motions of the different bodies of the solar
system amongst the constellations, the sun and moon be
ing represented by discs only faintly illuminated, so as
not to hide the light of the stars.

I promised to avail myself of the invitation as fre
quently as I could, and did so upon more than one oc
casion with never failing enjoyment, and much benefit to
my rather scanty astronomical education.

Upon another occasion we visited a class of young
ladies engaged in the study of English literature. The
lesson was already well advanced when we entered, but
the professor, observing us, interrupted the examination
by saying that he hoped to give the students the rare
opportunity of hearing the language which formed the
basis of their studies spoken by a gentleman from Eng
land, and stepping down from the platform he saluted
Jason as an old friend, and requested an introduction to
their distinguished visitor, as he was pleased to call me.
Then, in very polite and flattering terms, he requested me
to address a few remarks to the class, who would esteem
it a very high and unexampled privilege. My first im-

234 IONIA.

pulse was to refuse at once, for I am no orator, and al
though I had sometimes overcome my natural diffidence
so far as to speak occasionally amongst my fellow-stu
dents at Oxford, it was always a great effort to me, and
I had seldom attempted it without some preparation in
advance. But this was a much more formidable under
taking. I had to face a company of sixty or seventy
young girls from seventeen to twenty years of age, every
one of whom was radiantly beautiful, which of itself was
enough to drive all the ideas out of the head of a young
man; but in addition to this I knew that these girls were
addressed daily by the most eloquent teachers, and that
every one of them was vastly my superior in natural
powers and intellectual attainments. But while my heart
beat as if it would choke me, and I felt myself blush to
the roots of my hair, I remembered that I represented
England there, and that Britons were not in the habit of
acknowledging themselves beaten, and, somewhat to my
own surprise, I accepted the invitation. To give me a
little time to collect my thoughts, however, I asked if
Jason might say a few words by way of introduction, and
we all three ascended the platform together. My friend
paved the way for me with a few eloquent sentences,
which I wished he would extend to an oration, but he
came to an end very quickly, and the ordeal was before
me. I spoke very slowly at first, and in a very low voice,
not daring to look up and face so many beautiful eyes. I
told them that I felt myself in quite a false position on
that platform, for so far from coming to Ionia as a
teacher, I was there in the position of a very humble and
modest learner. I spoke of their magnificent university,
and made some comparison between it and my Alma
Mater, and went into some detail in regard to the diffi
culties in the way of women who desired to attain a uni-

THE SCHOOLS OF IOLKOS. 235

versity education in my own country. Speaking of the
prejudices of some of our most eminent professors on
this subject, I quoted the remark of some crusty old don
about the duty of women being to attend to their babies
and their husbands' dinners. A ripple of laughter from
the class at the absurdity of the speech caused me to look
up, and perceiving that the young ladies were all really
interested and sympathetic, my nervousness left me all
at once, and I was able to make an address of some
twenty minutes' duration, and sat down with the feeling
that I had not altogether disgraced myself.

The professor thanked me in very pleasant terms, and
congratulated the students on the lesson they had that
day received in English pronunciation, and time being
up, dismissed the class. He then said some flatter
ing things to me of the satisfaction he felt and had al
ready expressed in hearing me speak, and went so far as
to say that if I could be prevailed on to stay in Ionia my
services would be greatly valued as a teacher in connec
tion with the study of foreign languages and literature.

Jason seconded him in this, and they almost succeeded
in persuading me that I could be of some use in a country
where all were my superiors in nearly every respect, but
I could not help thinking that they were influenced in
this by their natural desire to make things pleasant to me,
and assured them that I should not think of undertaking
to teach without a long course of study, and that for the
present, at least, my duty required me to relinquish so
pleasing a prospect.

I felt thankful that I had come through the ordeal of
addressing the students so satisfactorily, but admon
ished Jason on the subject, and adjured him not to allow
me to be caught in such a position again.

We continued our course of investigation, however,

236 IONIA.

and before we had finished I obtained a pretty good idea
of the work accomplished in the university, and the high
standard of attainments required from the students.
There is no school of law in the university, and none of
divinity. Neither is there any school of medicine, but
the department of health is a very important one, em
bracing an exhaustive course "of study in physiology,
anatomy and hygiene for all the students, but more espe
cially for the ladies, who, in having the care of the chil
dren as part of their future work, are expected to lay the
foundations of robust and healthy living for all. There
are few physicians in the country, for there is but little
need for them, but those who do resolve to adopt that
profession have to study for five years beyond the usual
course, and must become not only doctors of health, but
also masters of surgery, and the curriculum is so severe
that none but the few who are specially gifted in that di
rection ever undertake it.

The study of music fills a large part of the educational
course of the young people, and its practice and enjoy
ment provide much more of the entertainment of their
after lives than is the case with any other nation. I
never found any of them deficient in musical apprecia
tion, and the great majority of them would be considered
as gifted performers amongst us. All the children are
trained in singing, and almost without exception take
great delight in it. In the university, music is not com
pulsory, although the great majority of the students de
vote a portion of their time to it, but its higher depart
ments are open only to those having special ability. As
there are several thousand students embraced in the
various classes there is material amongst them for the
formation of the finest choruses and orchestras, and the

THE SCHOOLS OF IOLKOS. 237

pleasure of hearing their rehearsals was vastly greater
than anything I had ever experienced in Europe.

I may mention here a custom which is without parallel
in any other part of the world, so far as I know, and
which provides a means for the diffusion of knowledge
in the higher walks of science and art, and shows how
much the lonians appreciate purely intellectual pleas
ures. During the college season, which extends through
nine months of the year, the chief professors hold recep
tions in the halls of the university, each one having his
special evening during the week. More than one are
given on the same evening, and in one building the pro
fessor of botany entertains, in another the professor of
music or of architecture; the next evening the professors
of geology, of electricity or of painting, take the places
of the first, so that during the week every branch of
learning has its turn. These receptions are open to all
the people, and are very well attended, the visitors form
ing groups and discussing such subjects as they please,
but as each particular branch of learning has its votaries,
there is generally a large number assembled who are
capable of taking part in the most interesting discussions
in regard to the science or art of which the host of the
evening is the public representative, and the result is that
the latest views and discoveries in each are thoroughly
digested at these assemblies, and in this way the people
keep abreast of the steady march of learning.

I once listened to a most interesting controversy on
the duration of the last glacial epoch, in which the prin
cipal speakers were the professor of geology and a young
gentleman of thirty who seemed to have made a most
thorough study of the subject, and upheld his side of the
argument with great ability and eloquence, although de
ferring with much tact and modesty to the professor's

£38 IONIA.

High reputation and learning. I afterwards inquired of
Jason who the young man was, and he told me he was a
working ship-builder in the employ of our friend Leoni-
das Van Tromp, and that he was as good a workman as
he had proved himself a student of science. Such cases
are not exceptional, but occur at every one of these as
semblies, and no one is surprised to find in a mechanic a
consummate art critic or a profound scholar.

During all these receptions the splendid music hall of
the university is open and choral and instrumental music
of the highest order is rendered by the students, each
chorus and orchestra furnishing the entertainment for
one evening, and providing the most superb soloists from
amongst their number. The performers occupy a high
gallery at one end of the hall, and are not individually
visible. The attendance is always large, and the audi
ence listen in respectful silence. Neither talking nor en
coring are indulged in, and even applause, although
sometimes irrepressible, is never encouraged nor allowed
to delay the programme of the evening.

In connection with the school of health we visited the
dissecting rooms, where a number of young men were
busy at their examination of various portions of the
human anatomy. I asked Jason where they obtained
their subjects in a country where there were neither
criminals nor paupers, and he said, in reply:

"We do not care what becomes of our bodies after we
are done with them. Sanitary law requires that they
should be reduced to their original elements as soon as
possible, and cremation is the almost universal rule, but
if a man (or a woman, either, for that matter,) can be of
any service after he is dead, what can be more natural
than that he should bequeath his body to the cause of
science. When a man is married his wife or children

THE SCHOOLS OF IOLKOS. 239

would not like to have his remains so treated, but where
there are no such near relations, there can be no objec
tion; nevertheless, except where the subject has ex
pressly donated his body before death, it is always cre
mated, and yet the students never lack for subjects."

"If anybody should make such a disposition of his re
mains in England," said I, "he would be considered little
better than a monster in human form."

"The feeling is natural," replied Jason, "and yet it is
only a superstition after all, and the desire to help the
cause of science, even after one is dead, is altogether ra
tional and laudable."

The last of the institutions connected with the uni
versity to be visited was the hospital. This is situated
on a hill some miles below the city, rising steeply from
the lake, and with quite a deep valley between it and the
higher mountains, a situation which procures it the
freshest ozone-laden breezes from all sides. Like all the
other public institutions of the country, it is palatial in
structure, and of very great extent. There are two sep
arate buildings, one of three hundred by a hundred and
fifty feet, and the other two hundred feet long by a hun
dred and fifty feet wide. Both are surrounded by pretty
flower gardens, and a handsome colonnade surrounds
each on all the four sides, so that the convalescent pa
tients have ample opportunity for walking or resting in
the sun or the shade, according to the season and the
strength to which they may have attained. Each build
ing is four stories high; wide halls occupy the center of
each floor; every room is an outside one, with spacious
views of mountain or lake from every window. The
larger building is devoted to cases of child-birth, and the
smaller to those of a general character, and while the
former is generally pretty well occupied, the latter is

240 IONIA.

seldom more than half filled. No payment is accepted
from any patient whatsoever, so that no one need ever
feel any compunction in accepting the benefits of the
hospital, and although a majority of the inmates belong
to the least wealthy class, it is not at all uncommon for
well-to-do people to take advantage of the magnificent
accommodation which the hospital affords. Visitors are
not allowed in the ladies' hospital unless they are mem
bers of the family of the patient, or very intimate friends,
so our inspection was confined to the other building.
With one of the doctors for a guide we visited many of
the rooms, which were all large and airy, having walls
and ceiling painted in light, creamy tints, with tasteful
ornamentation, devoid of all glaring or violent effects;
the windows beautifully draped with flowers and delicate
creeping plants, made to grow on pretty movable frames
surrounding them; double shades which could be ar
ranged to admit the exact quality and amount of light
desired; handsome beds of bright aluminum; comfort
able easy chairs and lounges; luxurious rugs on highly
polished floors; such were the furnishings of all the
rooms, and they seemed fit for the accommodation of
princes.

But what made the lot of the patients appear truly
enviable was that each was waited on by a beautiful
young nurse, arrayed in a becoming dress of soft pearl-
gray, moving about with light, noiseless step, and with
deft hands arranging pillows and ministering to every
W7ant before it could be realized. These are the young
ladies of the university, who have to serve for three
months as hospital nurses to finish the university course.
There are enough of them to provide four nurses to each
patient, the day and night being divided into as many
equal parts, so that each has a spell of six hours duty,

THE SCHOOLS OF IOLKOS. 241

with eighteen for rest and recreation. In addition to the
student nurses, there are a number of matrons attached
to the hospital, whose business it is to instruct the young
ladies in their duties and give special assistance in diffi
cult cases. But I saw no symptoms of awkwardness or
inattention on the part of the young nurses, nor, judging
by the expression of their faces, did the work seem dis
tasteful to them: a divine pity for the suffering of their
patients seemed to possess them all, and the grace and
beauty which characterized each one gave them the ap
pearance of ministering angels.

The doctor knocked quietly at each door which he
proposed to have us enter, unless where it happened to
be open, and a soft-spoken colloquy passed between him
and the nurse before we were admitted. Sometimes the
patients were well enough to converse with us, and they
all appeared highly pleased with our visit. Each spoke
enthusiastically of the hospital and the treatment they
had received in it, and some of them even seemed to be
sorry they were getting well and would have to leave it
soon.

Our guide tapped at the door of one room whose oc
cupant was a young man who had sustained a serious
injury in making some chemical experiments. In a
moment it was noiselessly opened, and as the nurse whis
pered to the doctor that her patient had just fallen into
a quiet sleep, we refrained from entering, and passed on.
I had just caught a glimpse of the face of the sleeper,
which was very pale and emaciated, and a few inches
over his head hung, suspended from a rubber tube, a
cone of metal, the use of which I was somewhat puzzled
over. I asked the doctor what it was for, and he said
he would explain it to me as soon as we came to an un-

16

242 IONIA.

occupied room. This was not far to seek, and I was
told to take the place of a patient in the bed.

"Now," said the doctor, "I place this cup over your
head. What do you feel?"

"Nothing at all."

"Well, suppose you feel hot and tired and restless, and
wish to sleep but cannot; I turn this little stop, and what
is the result?"

"A most delicious zephyr gently fans my face and
head, bearing in its cool breath the scent of a thousand
flowers. One could go to sleep under its influence and
dream of heaven."

"And now," said the doctor, "suppose your head aches
and your temples throb with pain and fever; I make a
little adjustment, and what do you find?"

"A cool stream of air flowing past my temples, which
I am sure would cure any headache ever I experienced."

"That is about all that this little apparatus can do,"
said the doctor.

"And that is a great deal," said I. "But tell me by
what miracle of chemistry you manage to infuse the
scents and the balmy freshness of the woods and the hills
through this rubber tube?"

"By no miracle of chemistry, but by a very simple
mechanical device. Not more than seven miles from
here, as the crow flies, is a little valley noted for the
multitude and the fragrance of its wild flowers and sur
rounded on all sides by pine woods, so that its atmos
phere is laden with sweetness and health. The man
agers of the hospital have built a little house there with
fine wire screens on all sides, in place of windows, to
prevent the ingress of insects, and from its interior the
air is pumped through aluminum tubes to this place. It
is received in a reservoir built on the roof, where the

THE SCHOOLS OF IOLKOS. 243

temperature is regulated, and from there it is conveyed
to every room in the house. The flow is constant day
and night, and the patients breathe it constantly, but as
you have seen, it is a very simple matter to make local
application of it when desirable."

The doctor now invited me to inspect the rooms in
the upper story, which were reached by a commodious
elevator in the center of the building. We found there
a spacious, airy and handsomely furnished room, where
convalescents lounged and talked and read, or admired
the glorious views of mountain and lake, which could be
seen from the windows. There was also a fine billiard
room, and another devoted to cards and chess, in all
of which we found the patients cheery, chatty and full
of the enjoyment of returning health. Last of all we
examined the kitchen, which was also on the highest
floor. A perfect palace of a kitchen, — marble floors,
snowy tables, brightly burnished stoves, heated by
electricity, at which a number of handsome women in
dresses of spotless white were preparing all kinds of
delicate dishes to tempt feeble appetites. It was near
dinner time, and there was a great deal of bustle and
activity, but without noise or confusion ; order and clean
liness prevailed, and, judging by the savory odors of
soups and other dishes which were being prepared for
serving, there needed no male chef to teach these deft^
fingered ladies their trade. The doctor invited us to
dine with him, and we partook of a banquet of which the
dishes were fit to be served up to the gods. We were
not wearied with infinite variety, but everything was
exquisite in quality and exquisitely cooked. I had been
struck with the excellence of the cuisine at the table of
my host, but I found that here and everywhere else in
Ionia the science of cookery was carried to the highest
point of perfection.

244 IONIA.

CHAPTER XII.
A MODERN CRCESUS.

The marriage of Leda Delphion to Leonidas Van
Tromp was a very brilliant affair. The archon himself
officiated, which of itself gave much eclat to the cere
mony, especially as he has only twice before honored
bride and groom in the same way. Any magistrate in
the country can perform the marriage ceremony and no
publicity necessarily attaches to it, for it can be done at
any place and time. The important thing is to get the
license, and when that is obtained the rest is mere matter
of form. The temple of music, however, is generally
chosen for marriages, and, just as with us, music and
flowers are employed to lend their aid to the rejoicing
natural to such occasions.

The temple was nearly filled with a gaily-dressed
crowd when Leda arrived, surrounded by the members
of her family; the great organ filled the hall with joyous
music as we walked down to the farther end, — the bride
first, on her father's arm, followed by the lady Helen and
myself, with Dion and Eurydice bringing up the rear.
On a platform slightly raised sat the venerable archon
in his purple robes, the space around him having been
converted into a veritable bower of roses.

The bride and the members of her family seated them
selves on the front row of seats on the archon's right,
the bridegroom and his father and mother and the beau
tiful Daphne occupying the corresponding places on the
left. Immediately behind were the young unmarried
friends of each, — the ladies behind the bride, and the

A MODERN CRCESUS.

gentlemen opposite. After a short pause, the organ
commenced a choral symphony, in which first the girls
sang alone and afterwards the men, then both together
in delightful concord. I thought it the finest piece of
choral music I had yet heard. It was composed by the
master, Theseus, expressly for this occasion. The words
were not new, but full of poetry and beautifully expres
sive of the felicitous wishes natural to the circumstances.
I felt that even so modest a man as Leonidas ought to
be able to cast off his natural shyness under the influ
ence of such poetry and such music.

The ceremony was very similar to our English mar
riage service. The archon rose as soon as the singing
was over, and in a clear, distinct voice, stated that they
were assembled to celebrate the marriage of his dear
young friends — Leda Delphion and Leonidas Van
Tromp — whom he requested to approach and stand be
fore him. When they had taken their places side by side,
he read from a book certain passages appointed by the
government for the ceremony, setting forth the great
responsibility of the parties to a marriage contract in
view of their probable relation to future generations, but
comforting them with the assurance that the. Slate itself
had weighed them in the balance of its judgment and
declared them worthy of the great trust which they were
about to accept. The reading did not occupy more than
five minutes, but the effect was most solemn and im
pressive. Closing the book, Minos said that he had
known the bride and groom all their lives, and their
families for the best part of a century, and that he was
glad to unite so worthy a couple in marriage. Then,
addressing each by name, he intimated that if they loved
each other with their whole hearts and wished to take
other for husband and wife as long as life lasted,

246 IONIA.

they should join hands before him, and when they had
done so, he pronounced them man and wife. Then
stepping down, he shook hands with both and congratu
lated them, kissing the bride's forehead. The organ
broke forth in a glorious wedding march, and the bridal
party proceeded by a side door to an elevator, which
took us all to the roof of the building, where an air-ship
stood waiting. It was very handsome outside, having
been built for the occasion, but the glimpse I caught of
its interior showed that it was splendidly upholstered in
pale rose-silk, and the friends had almost filled it with
beautiful flowers. The young couple having made their
adieux, stepped inside and flew off through the air to
enjoy their honeymoon. A delightful dinner party at
the Delphions wound up the clay very pleasantly, and
prevented the beautiful mother from realizing that she
had lost her still more beautiful daughter, for the time
being, at least.

Invitations to dinner and receptions came thick and
fast to the Delphion mansion at this time, and as my
name was always included, my host affirmed that the
motive in most cases was simply to see what an Eng
lishman was like. I contended that, as he had retired
permanently from his labors in foreign fields, it was
natural that his numerous friends should desire to re
new their old acquaintance with him, and I was in
cluded only out of natural politeness, but I sus
pect that curiosity in regard to the appearance and
manners of an English barbarian had a good deal
to do with the invitations, for they were so nu
merous that it was quite impossible to accept more
than a small proportion of the hundreds that were re
ceived. We spent a great many evenings out, however,
both in town and country, for the speed of aerial travel-

A MODERN CRCESUS. 247

ing made a journey of thirty or forty or even fifty miles
a very slight difficulty. I never failed to enjoy the so
ciety of the lonians, and as I had made considerable
progress in their language, was able to take a part in
all the conversation that was going on, and would have
had to take the lion's share in it against my own will
if I had not had friend Jason to help me out in answer
ing questions in regard to foreign countries and peoples.
He was such a wonderful conversationalist and had such
vast stores of information about everything under the
sun that it was always easy to get him to talk by refer
ring some question to him, or asking him to corroborate
my opinion on any point under discussion, and once
under the spell of his eloquence our friends would for
get to question the little barbarian.

We visited many beautiful houses, sumptuously fur
nished and adorned with masterpieces of painting and
sculpture, but few of them built on so extensive a scale
as the country houses of our English nobility. There
was one, however, which surpassed them all in magnifi
cence, and that was the house of a wealthy merchant of
lolkos, named Theophilus Myron. He was about to
give a children's party on the occasion of his daughter's
twelfth birthday, and wrote to the Delphions asking
them to come and bear him company along with one or
two other old friends. Jason told me that, as a rule,
it was difficult for people who were very wealthy to in
duce visitors to come to their houses, for anything like
ostentation was looked upon as vulgar, but that this
gentleman's place was so well worth seeing that on my
account he was in favor of accepting this invitation,
especially as Theophilus was really a very genial and
intellectual man, and far too sensible to assume any
airs on account of his superior wealth. So it was ar-

IONIA.

ranged that we should all go to the dinner, except Eury-
dice, who positively declined, and said she would take
the opportunity of visiting her parents on that day, as
she had not seen them for some time.

On the day appointed, which happened to be Sunday,
we set out in the same air-ship which brought me into
the country, — Jason, and the lady Helen and myself, with
Dion as engineer and conductor.

Our way took us down over the lake: it was a bright
December day, and we started about noon with a favor
ing breeze and a bright sun, although there were some
heavy clouds in the sky. We had pursued our flight for
but a few minutes when suddenly we rushed into the
midst of a most terrific storm : first a blast of wind struck
the vessel, and made it roll like a ship at sea; then a
shower of hail fell upon it with a noise like the fire of
musketry at close quarters; then came rain, which fell
in sheets and streamed over the windows as if we were
submerged in some river; blinding flashes of lightning
followed in quick succession, and thunder roared all
around us without a moment's intermission. I thought our
time had surely come, and tried to resign myself to what
appeared inevitable destruction, and yet the faces of my
companions, seen by the lightning flashes which relieved
the gloom of the storm, showed no signs of alarm. Even
the lady seemed to feel no fear, but sat calmly back in
her chair, apparently in serene enjoyment of the ele
mental war going on around us. It was all over in a
few minutes; perhaps it was only a few seconds, but they
were the longest I have ever known. The light began
to break upon us from above, the rain ceased, and soon
we were floating in brilliant sunshine, while the storm
roared on below. Dion had turned on the elevator
and tilted the sails upward to their utmost extent, so that

A MODERN CRCESUS.

in spite of the heavy downpour of rain, we had shot up
ward through the storm-cloud and sailed into a region
of calm and sunshine. At Jason's suggestion, I went
forward to the bdw and looked down upon the scene
from which we had just emerged, and instead of the
black cloud which had overshadowed us, I saw a sea of
opal with rolling billows of gorgeous and ever-chang
ing hues bursting here and there into flame as the light
ning bolts shot downward to the lake. The thunder
still rolled on, but it sounded distant and harmless, and
presently the storm swept northward to the hills and the
blue water came into view a long, long way beneath,
while our ship swept on its course with the swiftness of
an eagle's flight.

The residence of Theophilus more than justified all
that I had heard in its praise. It occupies the level sum
mit of a hill whose precipitous slopes are washed on three
sides by the waters of the lake, and affords from every
point the most beautiful views imaginable. The house
itself is built of pure white marble, forming three sides of
a square, the enclosed space beautifully laid out as a
flower-garden, with a splendid fountain in the center.
Surrounding it on every side is a park something
like half a mile in area, with the noblest of the for
est trees left standing. Towards the south the trees
gradually become thicker and merge into the original
forest, which covers the hills for many miles. A
smoothly-paved road, fifty feet wide, leads into the
heart of the forest, and connects with a stairway leading
to a little harbor at the neck of the peninsula, where
several yachts are generally lying at anchor. There is
no other road connected with the place, all communi
cation being by air-ship or water craft. The magnifi
cence of the palace itself and the beauty of its situation

250 IONIA.

proved that Theophilus was a man of taste as well as
wealth. He received us very graciously, but had the
air of a man born to command: he was tall, even for an
Ionian, but rather portly in build; a wide forehead,
piercing gray eyes, firm mouth and strongly molded
jaws were the most striking features of his smooth-
shaven face. He was about fifty-five years old, but
looked to be about the same age as Jason Delphion.
His wife was a year or two younger than himself, and
looked rather thin and careworn. She had been very
beautiful, but showed the wear and tear of time vastly
more than the lady Helen, and I could not help think
ing that if the burden of riches produced such results it
would be much better to be free from it. We found
the other guests assembled, to the number of six,
amongst whom were Daphne Van Tromp, and her father
and mother, a handsome couple, whom I should have
mistaken for her elder brother and sister, so young-
looking they were. As soon as we were all introduced,
Theophilus invited us to the theater, where the young
folks were already assembled, so we followed him round
to the eastern wing, where the pretty little theater is
situated. The auditorium, luxuriously seated for two
hundred and fifty people, is enclosed by semi-circular
walls of pale rose-colored marble, of which the lower
portion is handsomely carved and graced with many
statues in bronze, while the upper part is formed by
arches which unite in the center, beautifully painted in
the intervening spaces.

A cluster of powerful electric lamps hanging in the
center shed all their rays upon the walls and ceiling,
illuminating them brightly and adding to their beauty
by making them appear self-luminous.

The stage was framed by a handsome arch of bronze,

A MODERN CRCESUS. 251

and the drop-scene presented a view of the palace itself,
with its splendid background of forest and mountain.

The young folks were already assembled in the
theater, and occupied all the front seats, and we elders
took the places left vacant behind. A very efficient
orchestra was playing when we entered, and in a few
moments they had finished and the curtain rose. The
play was a comedy founded on the mummeries of a
petty German court, and full of amusing situations. It
kept the little folks in the audience heartily entertained,
and the big folks enjoyed it almost as much. The dia
logue was bright and witty, the dressing correct in every
particular, and the talent displayed by the actors and
actresses extraordinary, considering that they were all
amateurs and none of them over fifteen years of age.
There was no hitch from beginning to end, and no te
dious waits between the scenes, and the whole perform
ance passed off with a sparkle and vim that I had never
seen equaled anywhere. The play over, the whole party
were escorted to the dining-hall, situated in the top
story of the palace, and extending from side to side of
the eastern wing at its northern face.

We were conveyed in commodious elevators, of which
there are no less than a dozen in different parts of the
building, and in a few minutes the whole company were
seated round one long table, the elders at one end, with
the young people filling all the other places, — boy and
girl alternately, — all as beautiful as angels, handsomely
dressed and behaving like the well-bred little ladies and
gentlemen they were. The table was dressed with flow
ers in lavish profusion and excellent taste; the windows
on the three sides looked out on distant lake and moun
tain, which took on the loveliest tints of purple and
rose as the sun declined. The wall on the fourth side

IONIA.

was divided by Corinthian columns of alabaster into
three spaces, on which were painted splendid battle
scenes, representing Marathon, Salamis and Platsea.
From somewhere out of sight came soft strains of mu
sic, and the murmur of the sweet Greek voices was like
music itself. I would fain have remained silent, enjoy
ing in a delicious reverie the pleasant sounds and the
beautiful forms within and without, but our host seemed
to think he owed me particular attention, and addressed
his conversation in an especial manner to me. I com
plimented him on the beauty of his residence and its
magnificent situation, and he answered :

"I am delighted with your approbation. I suppose
you have seen many of our people's playing-grounds.
Do you think this will make a worthy addition to the
rest?"

"Did you plan and build it with that end in view?"
I asked.

"Not exactly so," said Theophilus; "it was partly to
gratify myself and partly to use up some of the wealth
that I cannot help accumulating. But of course I knew
that it would be owned by the people after me, for it
is of more value than the law will allow me to leave to
my son. I have a choice in the matter only so far as
this: I can make a gift of it to the nation while I live,
or I can die and leave them to take it in spite of me.
In the former case, the government would cause a tablet
to be inserted in some prominent part of the building,
stating that in such a year the merchant Theophilus
presented this palace to the people, to be enjoyed by
them for ever as a holiday house, whereas if it goes by
default, they will probably erase my monogram from the
principal entrances and my name will be promptly for
gotten. In the one case, it would be a monument to my

A MODERN CRCESUS. 253

liberality, and in the other a monument to my selfish
ness."

"And which course do you intend to follow?"

"If I live till my daughter marries, I shall probably
build her a house somewhere else, not so large or costly
as this, but large enough for me to have a corner in it
for myself, and assume the part of a generous patriot.
If death claims me before then, I cannot help it, and I
am sure I shall not distress myself over it."

"In any other part of the world," said I, "a man who
had acquired a large fortune would esteem it a hardship
not to be allowed to pass it on to his family, and thus
become the founder of a house which should be power
ful and respected in the state for generations. Do you
not share that feeling?"

"By no means. I have not the wish any more than I
have the power to place my son above the necessity of
labor. It is a mean spirit which would seek to enjoy
what others have produced without rendering any
equivalent. All children in this country have the benefit
of the best education, and to do much more than that
for them would be to sap the foundation of their energies
and render them unfit to be citizens, self-respecting and
self-supporting. Furthermore, we look upon ourselves
all as one family. Our national registration offices show
that each of us can claim several thousand ancestors in
the time of the great king, in three hundred years more
the number of my descendants may be as great, and
thus as an ancestor I have a large interest in the general
welfare, and desire that comfort and prosperity should
fall to the lot of all, which would be impossible if the
gifts of fortune were to be reserved for a favored few."

"That sounds like true patriotism," said I, "and when
I hear such sentiments from one who is placed in your

254 IONIA.

position, I cannot wonder at the great advances your
people have made in all that tends to ennoble humanity;
but one thing still puzzles me, and that is, — how amongst
such a people you manage to find servants to do the
work of such a palace as this?"

"Softly," said our host. "I would not have one of
my lady friends who are waiting on us at this moment
hear you speak of them in that way."

"I beg your pardon," said I; "the word slipped out
inadvertently. I ought not to have used it."

"No offense in the world," said Theophilus. "I am
sure it was not overheard; and you have touched upon
one of the greatest difficulties we have to contend with.
The ladies of my household are all capable of filling
much higher positions, and it is only by great favor that
I persuade them to come and live here at salaries which
would astonish you if I should name them. The work
is very light, for everything is done by machinery, —
scrubbing, sweeping, washing, dusting, and all labor
that might be termed menial, are done by machines, and
the ladies have only to superintend them and see that
^hey do their work properly. Then I have to provide a
library, a music-room, and the most splendid accommo
dation for my lady helps; the whole of the other wing-
belongs to them, and they have as much enjoyment from
thje comforts of the house as the members of my family."

Jason, who had been an amused listener to these re
marks, here observed:

"I know of few men, Theophilus, who would have
the courage to undertake the task of carrying on a huge
establishment like this, and if it were not that you are
gifted with a quite extraordinary genius for organiza
tion, you would have given it up in despair long ago."

"And after all," said Theophilus, "the brunt of the

A MODERN CRCESUS. 255

task falls to my wife, whose talent for management is
far superior to mine."

The lady thus complimented replied:

"For my part, I am ready to give it up at any time.
I do the best under my husband's directions to keep
everything running as smoothly as possible, but al
though we have a very efficient and capable household
staff and I look upon all our helpers as dear friends, I
often sigh for the quiet and repose of a smaller house
hold. But I see that our young friends are getting tired
of sitting still so long; it is time to give them the op
portunity to take a little exercise."

The remainder of the evening up till nine o'clock, at
which sensible hour the party dispersed, was spent in a
large hall occupying two stories of the main building on
the ground floor. Here the young people danced, while
the elders of the party looked on from comfortable chairs
on a dais at one end. This was a very large room, some
three hundred feet long by half that in width. It was
provided with a double ceiling, the lower one being of
stained glass, supported by numerous columns of bronze,
which stood in parallel rows about three feet from the
walls. The prevailing tint of the false ceiling was a rich
cream, with a series of pretty scenes depicting the dances
of all climes and ages worked in varying shades of rose-
color. The spaces between the rows of pillars and the
walls were filled with all kinds of rare and beautiful
plants, growing in handsome pots and boxes of alumi
num. The room was flooded with light, but all of it came
either through the tinted ceiling or from the mass of
greenery at the sides, upon which numerous electric
lamps poured their light, while they were themselves
concealed. The effect was delightful in the extreme,
and with the soft music which came from the farther

256 IONIA.

end and the beautiful forms and graceful motions of the
little folks on the floor, made up an ensemble which
might well pass for fairyland.

"I think," said I to the lovely Daphne, who sat next
to me, "we can well find it in our hearts to forgive our
friends their enormous wealth for providing us with such
an enchanting scene as this."

"Indeed," said Daphne, "it is perfectly enchanting.
But you must not suppose that any one grudges The-
ophilus his great fortune, for he is the most generous of
men. While his genius enables him to prosper in all
his undertakings, he takes care that all who are asso
ciated with him share in his profits, down to the hum
blest clerk. And although there is no need for charity
in our country, yet he finds means to spend money
lavishly for the good of the people, and has presented
libraries and gymnasiums to at least a score of the
smaller towns and villages throughout the country. He
can well afford to jest about being held up to posterity
as a sordid or selfish man, for he is known throughout
the country for his liberality and open-handed gene
rosity, and will be long remembered for his munificence."

"I am greatly delighted to hear it," said I, "and yet
I am not surprised after the sentiments he expressed at
the dinner-table. But look at those pretty children be
low us; what beautiful figures they are dancing, and
how well and gracefully they all go through their parts.
That is truly the poetry of motion. Why is it that none
of the grown people dance?"

"We look upon dancing as suitable only for children.
They enter into it with all their heart and soul, and it
is a charming sight; but for men and women to be cut
ting capers in that way would be merely to make
themselves ridiculous. Besides, it tends to a kind of

A MODERN CRCESUS. 257

familiarity which, while perfectly harmless in children,
could not but be offensive when the years of discretion
are attained. I understand that people of all ages dance
in other countries, but it would not seem right to us."

"Well, doubtless you know best, but there is another
thing I would ask, and that is — why is it that I have
never seen a theater or an opera-house since I came to
the country? I had never thought of it before, but that
little jewel of a play-house we passed the afternoon in
brought the matter to my mind."

'That," said Daphne, "is another form of amusement
which we have outgrown, and leave to the children.
You could not get women to exhibit themselves on a
stage in Ionia upon any consideration, and even men
would be held to demean themselves by playing im
aginary parts in public. To the children it is all very
real, and furnishes great amusement, both for actors and
spectators, but if the performers were adults it would
savor too much of sham and folly. Dramatic perform
ances are suitable for childhood, either of the individual
or of the race. The adult mind refuses acceptance of the
illusions of the stage, and is therefore unable to interest
itself in plays and players."

"And have you not devised anything to take the place
of these two forms of amusement?"

"I cannot say that we have," said Daphne; "but that
is merely because we do not feel any need to be amused.
Do you think we seem a melancholy people?"

Daphne smiled as she said this, and looked as if she
thought the idea of requiring to be amused was the droll
est thing she had ever heard of for a long time, so I
laughed with her and said:

"On the contrary, you appear all as happy as children,
to whom life is one long holiday."

17

258 IONIA,

"And why should we not be as happy? It is a beau
tiful world, providing full satisfaction for every want
and desire of our nature. And we have books and pic
tures and music and friends. It is very, very pleasant to
live. Stay with us, Alexander, and perhaps you may
be able to become a happy child like the rest of us, and
get rid of the atmosphere of sad gravity which envelops
an Englishman."

It was a very tempting invitation, and one which it
would have been impossible to resist if one could have
flattered himself that any interest warmer than mere
humanity inspired the adorable woman who uttered it.

CHAPTER XIII.
LAST DAYS IN IONIA.

I have now to relate the history of a pleasant little
excursion beyond the mountains of Ionia. I was invited
to accompany Leonidas and Dion, with a few others, on
a shooting trip in which large game were expected, the
locality chosen for the hunt being a very inaccessible
portion of Southern Thibet, where tigers and leopards
were plentiful.

We started about an hour after sunset in five air-ves
sels, each carrying from t\vo to four men. The hunt
ing ground was a long wray off, and it took the whole
night to accomplish the journey. I traveled with Dion
and another young man of the name of Cleon, who was
nearly as skillful an aerial navigator as Dion himself.
Each took charge of the vessel for half the night, so that
each had a chance to obtain some sleep and arrive at
the scene of operations in good condition. The vessels

LAST DAYS IN IONIA. 259

kept in the same order all the way, that of the master of
the hunt going first, followed by the others, two and two,
each keeping his neighbors in front and to the right or
left at a certain distance, and always clearly in sight.

For my part, as I had nothing to attend to in the way
of duties, I slept very soundly all night, the smooth
motion of the vessel and the hum of the propeller con
tributing very much to drowsiness. I awoke just as the
light of day began to break on a range of mountains
far away before us: the stars were fading from the scene,
but one splendid orb disputed with the coming sun the
supremacy of the eastern sky. Between us and the
mountains a great river rolled majestically, reflecting
from its broad bosom the azure-light of the dawn, and
a giant palm tree on the nearest shore stood boldly out
lined by the silvery sheen. Not a breath of wind was
stirring, and yet it seemed to me I heard some sound
besides the drone of our ship's revolving fan. It was
a strain of soft harmony like the sound of manly voices,
beautifully blended and softened by distance to exquisite
sweetness. Heard there in the dawn, so far above the
earth and with the sky seemingly so near, it suggested
a chorus of archangels, and I held my breath and lis
tened, but alas, it stopped too soon. But again a single
voice took up the melody, — a clear, mellow voice, — and
it came nearer and became more and more distinct, a
beautiful song indeed, and beautifully sung. Again the
other voices joined; this time much louder than before,
but finely blended, and I fancied I could make out the
grand rolling thunder of Leonidas' bass. Solo and
chorus were repeated several times, and only ceased
when the stars had disappeared, and the sun came up
from behind the hills and flooded the whole world be
low us with golden light.

X;GU IONIA.

"What was that music?" I asked of Cleon, who was
in charge of the ship while Dion calmly slept.

"That was the song of the morning star, sung by
Leonidas and his friends on our right hand."

"And how was it that it was so faint at first and after
wards so loud and clear?"

"I saw that you were listening, and I steered our ves
sel closer to theirs, so that I might give you the chance
to hear it better. It is a beautiful song, and they have
all good voices."

"I thank you very much. I would not have missed it
for a great deal."

We soon reached the hill country, which was destitute
of all signs of cultivation. All the vessels landed in a
secluded valley, beside a clear running stream. In a
wonderfully short time an excellent breakfast was pre
pared, and these young men showed that in the absence
of their sisters and wives they could play the part of
cook with much skill. But there was a great deal to be
done that day, and the meal was disposed of in short
order; then to the vessels again, and we went skimming
over the wild mountain country in the wake of Philenor,
the master of the hunt. We landed at the foot of a long
ravine filled with a dense growth of trees and under
brush, through which a slender stream of water trickled
on its way to the plain below. Two precipitous walls of
rock approached each other at the lower end to within
a distance of fifty feet, and the pebbles and boulders fill
ing the intervening space showed that in the rainy season
this streamlet must be a roaring torrent, but at this time
the water seemed to lose itself among the stones which
formed a rough but perfectly secure road for beasts of
prey. Above this narrow gorge was a clear space of
level sod about an acre in extent, and there it was we

LAST DAYS IN IONIA. 261

landed, taking up a position on one side so that what
ever might pass from the upper part of the ravine should
come within reach of the guns. And now the party di
vided, and while some prepared for the shooting, the rest
undertook the part of beaters. One of the vessels was
moored against the steep side of the ravine in such a
way as to screen the hunters from the sight of approach
ing animals, while the others took to the air again — two
men in each vessel, one to navigate it and the other to
drive the animals in our direction.

In a few minutes they were out of sight, beyond the
tree-tops, and absolute silence reigned in the valley. Not
a word was spoken, each man stood with a gun resting
on his hip, and two more at his feet ready to be used
without loss of time. Presently a distant crackling fire
was heard, like musketry file firing, and it crept nearer
and gradually became louder, until I could distinguish
the vessels coming down the ravine, crossing it in zig
zag fashion from side to side as they advanced. The
sounds came from the dropping of small explosive balls
from the vessels, which made a loud explosive noise
when they reached the ground, but without causing any
combustion. The effect of this was to frighten whatever
animals the woods might shelter, and cause them to fly
before the approaching fusillade. At first it seemed as
if the cover must be destitute of game, for not a living
creature appeared, but when the vessels had arrived with
in half a mile of us a great boar with tremendous tusks
rushed past us and plunged through the stones of the
gorge out of sight. 'No one fired; evidently this was
not the kind of game they were after. I waited in
breathless expectation to see what would come next.
Philenor named one of the hunters, which was equiva
lent to an order to shoot ; the young man quickly raised

262 IONIA.

his piece and fired, and a beautiful striped panther
sprang up into the air on the other side of the glade and
fell back dead. Then came a great serpent gliding
along by the water, and concealing itself amongst the
grass, so that only a small portion of its body was visi
ble at one time. A shot through the head ended its
career of wickedness. Next came a large tigress, with
two cubs running by her side. A shot from the rifle of
Leonidas found a vital spot, and stretched her dead on
the grass. At first the cubs stayed by the body of their
mother whining and licking her side, but the near ap
proach of the dropping fire from the vessels frightened
them, and they ran off and would have made their es
cape, but Philenor, believing that the valley must now
be empty of all large game, gave the word, and Leonidas
and Dion each ran out armed with the instrument used
for capturing young animals of this sort, which con
sisted of a net made of fine wire attached to a stout
pole about six feet long. Leonidas was two or three
feet ahead of his friend, and had just succeeded in net
ting one of the cubs when a large male tiger rushed
with the speed of a whirlwind from under the trees, and
uttering a terrific roar, sprang at him. Leonidas turned
his head only in time to see the tiger in the air just a few
feet behind him. He sprang nimbly to one side, but
quick as he was the tiger would have descended upon
him had not Dion, with rare presence of mind, caught
the beast's head in his net, and with a powerful jerk
brought it to the ground so that the tiger rolled head
over heels on the grass, the impetus of his spring carry
ing him quite a distance. I expected that the two
young men would now spring back, out of the line of
fire, and allow the other hunters a chance to shoot; but,
to my surprise and horror, I saw that they were bent on

LAST DAYS IN IONIA. 263

fighting it out with the poor weapons they happened
to have in their hands. The tiger was quick in recover
ing itself, but Leonidas, the trained athlete, was quicker.
He had disengaged the net from his pole in order to use
it as a club, and, rushing after the great beast, dealt it
a terrific blow on the head as it was turning to attack
them again. The tiger had never met such a doughty
antagonist before; it fell to the ground stunned and
blinded, beating the air with its paws. The stout ashen
pole was shivered to splinters, leaving but a fragment in
the hand of Leonidas, but Dion had rushed to his friend's
side and was about to follow up the attack when Philenor
sternly ordered them both out of the way. Being used
to discipline, they at once leapt nimbly aside, and the
master huntsman himself finished the tiger with a shot
through the head.

The cubs \vere now secured, and placed safely in a
chest in one of the air vessels. The other animals were
skinned, and the furs awarded to the huntsmen who
brought them down, a point which, in case of doubt, the
master of the hunt invariably decided, and from his de
cision there was no appeal. Philenor awarded the
skin of the large tiger to Dion, since, though he
had not killed him, he had foiled his attack
on Leonidas, whose life he had doubtless saved, but
Dion demurred to accepting the trophy in this irregular
way, and proposed that if Philenor would not accept it,
as he had every right to do, it should be given to me.
This seemed to please all parties, and I accepted it with
gratitude as a souvenir of one of the most exciting epi
sodes of my life. I brought it back to England, and it
is allowed to be one of the largest and finest skins ever
taken from the body of a tiger.

The day's work was only begun, however, and in a

264 IONIA.

few minutes we were miles away looking for another
favorable spot for large game. This was soon found,
and the same plan of operations followed with good re
sults, only this time the hunters and beaters changed
places, those who had manned the vessels the first time
doing the shooting the second, and thus before the day
was over each member of the party had the chance of
bringing down a tiger or a leopard or a deer, and there
were very few misses, so that all went home satisfied.
In the course of the day we passed over at least a hun
dred square miles of territory, and cleared that district
of some very formidable pests. Even I, although I had
never handled a gun before, managed to bring down a
good-sized leopard. It was an easy shot, and that was
why Philenor reserved it for me. The animal, skulking
away from the terrifying fusillade of the vessels, had taken
refuge in a tree on the verge of a forest near where we
were stationed; it had not seen us, as its attention was
taken up by the approach of the vessels. It was a long
time before Philenor could make me see it, as its head
only was visible, but it was perfectly still, and not more
than forty feet away, so I took a steady aim and pulled
the trigger, and, to my great surprise and delight, the
leopard dropped from the tree stone dead.

A most jovial al fresco supper concluded the pleasures
of a rare day's sport, and we started on the return jour
ney as the sun was setting, and I slept so soundly all the
way home that I was surprised to wake up and find that
we were once more in lolkos.

Early in the year invitations were received by myself
and most of my friends to spend a week or two at Lau-
reion, the mining city at the foot of Mount Olympus. I
had heard much of the delights of this city in the moun
tains, but the reality far surpassed my expectations. The

LAST DAYS IN IONIA. ' 265

public buildings are very little behind those of lolkos
in grandeur and beauty, and the private residences are
without exception perfect models of taste and Comfort.
The inhabitants are all wealthy, the head of every family
being part owner of the mines which draw from the sur
rounding mountains vast stores of gold, silver, copper
and every other metal except iron. The production is
so great that it is necessary to shut down the mines for
a month or two every year, and the winter is chosen as
the season of rest and recreation, because mining is more
difficult then on account of the cold, and because of the
great enjoyment the citizens derive from winter sports.
Skating, tobogganing, snow-shoeing, and every form of
exercise to which a cold climate lends itself are practiced
on a great scale, and with wonderful skill and grace, and
the hospitality of the people is such that the population
of the city is often nearly doubled by the guests invited
from all parts of the country at this time.

The city itself is a wonderfully attractive picture, the
splendor of its streets and buildings contrasting strangely
with the savage, snow-clad mountains by which it is sur
rounded on every side. The level land is thoroughly
cultivated, but its extent is only a few square miles, and
the high mountains make it appear less than it is, so that
this splendid city of granite and limestone, with streets
of aluminum paving as bright as silver, seems like the
work of some magician in the savage wilderness. Snow
falls to a great depth in this little valley sometimes, but
the people do not mind it; the streets are cleared by
powerful sweeping and shoveling machines, and there
are numerous large buildings whose floors are covered
every day with a fresh coating of ice, and the games go
on in defiance of the wildest weather. The snow had
not yet begun to fall on the lower ground when we were

266 IONIA.

there, and one bright afternoon Dion and myself, with
Daphne Van Tromp, set out for a long skate up the
river, which runs into the valley from a wild and ro
mantic glen on the north. The air was keen and fresh,
the sun shone bright on the hills and woods, and we
sped merrily on past dark precipices and copses of ever
greens, with great mountain peaks showing high above
us through the trees. In a very short time we reached
the limit of our excursion, which was a beautiful water
fall a hundred and fifty feet high, framed in the most
beautiful frost work imaginable. Here we sat on a
fallen tree to rest and admire the beauty of the scene.
The noise of the fall made talking impossible, so after
a few minutes of repose we commenced our return jour
ney. We had but seven miles to go, and plenty of day
light to do it in, so we went very leisurely, and stopped
now and again to admire the lovely vistas of mountain
scenery which presented themselves at intervals on either
side. About a mile below the falls a cluster of distant
peaks seen through a narrow valley arrested our atten
tion, and we stood stock still to enjoy the splendor of
the view. The silence was absolute, and the majesty of
nature's grand architecture awed us so that we spoke
only in whispers, when suddenly a long-drawn howl of
some animal, apparently not far off, arrested our atten
tion.

"What was that?" I asked.

''Wolves," said Dion, "and we must make haste and
get away from here."

So we started off with what speed we could, but I soon
felt that I was a drag upon my companions, and begged
them to leave me and seek their own safety. I could
climb some tree and wait till help came.

"If you could leave us both," said Daphne, "in some

LAST DAYS IN IONIA. 267

safe place, you could easily distance the wolves and re
turn and rescue us."

"I will not leave you unless it is your wish," said Dion;
"but there is a large rock standing against the precipice
just beyond the next turning. There you would both be
safe, and I should soon return with all the help neces
sary."

Meantime the howling increased, and it was evident
that the pack was in chase of us and gaining every min
ute.

"Yonder is the rock," said Dion; "it is twelve feet
high; you will be quite safe, and have plenty of room
on the top. Is that to be our plan?"

"By all means," said Daphne, "let us make haste."

So we stopped below the rock, but for my part I could
not see how we were to scale it ourselves. Dion soon
solved the difficulty; he said to Daphne:

"Put your foot on my hand as I kneel, rest your hand
on my head, and spring when I say 'Now.' "

This was no sooner said than done, and the lady
sprang like a bird to the top of the rock. My turn came
next, and although I made a much more awkward job
of it, I managed by Daphne's help to scramble up beside
her. Dion then took off his cloak and threw it up to us
to use as a cushion to sit upon, and he was aff like the
wind, and out of sight in a moment.

"Now," said Daphne, "we must stop the wolves here.
They could never overtake Dion or come within sight of
him, but an accident might happen — he might trip on a
fallen branch and fall stunned on the ice. It is not likely,
for he will be careful as well as swift, but we must not
expose him to the chance of so awful a fate as to be de
voured by the wolves, so we must both shout our loud
est when the leaders come near. And if we had some

268 IONIA.

stones, — see there are some good sized ones in that rift
behind us. Can you throw well?"

"I used to be able to throw a cricket ball pretty
straight."

"Well, take two or three on your left arm and try to
hit one of them. That will stop them if our shouting
does not. Stand well back lest you overbalance your
self, and I shall grasp your left sleeve as an additional
precaution."

The wolves were now very near, and they were not
few in number as we could tell by their continuous howl
ing. At length the leader dashed round the rocks which
marked the bend of the river. He was a ferocious
looking beast, as large as a great Dane, with a gray,
shaggy coat, fierce, blood-shot eyes, and jaws dripping
with foam. Close after him came the pack, not less than
thirty in number, howling and snapping at each other,
ferocious looking brutes, with dreadful fangs. It was a
sight to make a brave man tremble, but the beautiful girl
beside me remained as cool as if she were in the safest
corner of Laureion.

Now they were abreast of us, and would have passed,
but we both raised our voices and shouted in unison.
At the same time I took good aim at the leader and
bowled him over on the ice. He was not much hurt,
however, and seeing us, made a dash at the rock on
which we stood, as if he thought he could reach us with
a leap. He failed, of course, and fell back with a yell of
disappointed rage. The others also turned aside and
sprang at the rock with such a chorus of howls as almost
made my blood curdle. I threw all the stones I had on
my arm, and with so good an aim that one of them was
struck down senseless and the others turned upon him
and devoured him alive before our eyes.

LAST DAYS IN IONIA. 269

I turned to pick out some more stones from the crev
ice, but Daphne stopped me, saying, "Don't throw any
more, if you please, Alexander. I could not bear to see
any more of them torn to pieces in that way. It is too
horrible. Let us sit down with our backs to the preci
pice. Now we shall be quite comfortable, and we shall
not wait very long for rescue."

And the fearless girl took a sketch-book from her
pocket and began rapidly sketching the ferocious ani
mals below us. Some of them kept springing vainly at
the rock on which we sat, but most of them sat on their
haunches in a semi-circle, alternately howling and lick
ing their chops in anticipation of the meal they expected
to make of us before long.

Meantime Daphne sketched away rapidly, filling page
after page with vigorous outlines of the wolves in all the
various positions they assumed in their frantic rage.

I was lost in admiration of her coolness and nerve,
and when the noise of the angry beasts had somewhat
diminished I said:

"Daphne, do you know anything of the emotion of
fear?"

She turned her beautiful eyes on me with a look of as
tonishment, and said:

"Surely, Alexander, you do not think Dion would
have left us if we had been in any danger?"

"Certainly not," I said; "but at the same time the sight
of these ferocious animals and the dreadful clamor they
make would unnerve the boldest spirit that ever wore a
gown in my country."

Daphne laughed, and said, with a blush:

"Then I am afraid you will think me very unwomanly,
for to tell you the truth, I cannot remember ever being

270 IONIA.

afraid of anything. Indeed I have never seen anything
to be afraid of any more than I do at this moment."

Just then, as if to test the undaunted Daphne's courage
to the utmost, the wolves, tired of waiting for their prey,
rushed at the rock of refuge in a body, snarling and yell
ing like fiends, and the great gray wolf which we had
distinguished as the leader, ran to the middle of the ice
and rushed frantically towards our position, and, leaping
upon the backs of the others, actually succeeded in
touching the edge of the rock with his paws. He slipped
back again, but only to make another determined attempt
to reach us.

Daphne tucked her dress under her, and folded in the
edge of the cloak on which we sat, and then coolly re
marked:

"His wolfship is presuming too much on our acquaint
ance. If he repeats that experiment I shall offer no ob-
jec.tion to your crippling him with one of these stones."

The \volf lost no time in making another rush, and for
a moment it seemed as if he would make his footing se
cure, but I had a large stone ready, and brought it down
with all my force on his right paw, which made him drop
back with a howl of anguish, and the attempt was not
again repeated. Daphne calmly resumed her sketching,
and while admiring her rapid, vigorous work, I replied
to her last remark.

"The more I see of the women, as well as the men of
Ionia, the greater I feel to be the immeasurable superior
ity of your race. It seems to me as if I had been so
journing amongst the gods, and, although you have all
had the unspeakable kindness to treat me as an equal, I
cannot help thinking that when I am gone you will ut
terly forget me, or at the best think of me as a poor lit-

• I

BUT I HAD A I.ARGK STONE READY. —Page 270.

LAST DAYS IN IONIA. 271

tie barbarian, whom you petted while here as a kind of
foreign curiosity."

"There you wrong us, Alexander, for indeed we look
upon you as a friend, and while sympathizing with the
task you have undertaken, we shall hope and expect to
see you back amongst us, and the warmest welcome
awaits you when you return. And I am at this moment
preparing something which may serve to keep us in
your remembrance. You know that I paint a little, and
I propose to make a picture of this very scene, which you
shall take as a present from me to your mother, of whom
we have heard such great and noble things. The point
of view will be down there on the other side of the river,
with the wolves in the foreground, a young man and a
maiden on a rock in the middle distance, with this great
precipice behind, and perhaps there may be a mountain
peak somewhere far away above us, and the red sun set
ting on the right. Don't you think it will be an excellent
subject? I must come again to make a sketch of the
whole scene — tomorrow, perhaps, if you and Dion can
come with me — what do you say?"

"I say that you will give my mother a great deal of
happiness, not unmixed, perhaps, with terror at the sup
posed danger of her son and the brave young lady beside
him. But if you would make her happiness complete,
you might add a portrait of the artist as well."

"I do not promise that, but you shall have something
else to remind you of this little adventure."

"And what will that be?"

"You see that great wolf limping about and licking the
paw which you so cruelly maltreated — you shall have his
skin for a rug, and a fine one it will make."

"Now you are jesting, Daphne. How can you prom
ise that?"

272 IONIA.

"Because Dion will be here in a few minutes with a
number of the young men of Laureion, and they will not
let one of those wolves escape. It is years since the
creatures ventured so near any part of our country, and
they will be sure to kill them all, and I know that they
will offer the choicest skins to you and me."

"And will they shoot them all here before our eyes?"

"No, I am sure they will not do that, for they know
that such a butchery would be very painful both to you
and to me. How they will entice them away I do not
know, but they will find a way. You see the poor
wolves are in a trap between these two great precipices;
we are the bait, but the bait will come off safe and sound,
and the wolves will be the victims."

Just at that moment an air-ship flew by overhead, and
a voice called out:

"All safe, Daphne?"

"All safe, Dion."

The response rang out clear in Daphne's musical
tones, and must have removed any doubt in Dion's mind
as to the wisdom of leaving us where we were.

Another air-ship flew by, and another, and another,
till in the space of two minutes a dozen must have passed
by, and still they kept coming.

The sun was near its setting, but there was light
enough for the work to be done. After a short interval
we heard a shot from beyond the turn of the river above
us, answered by a shot from below. Then we saw Dion
on foot on the ice. He threw two large stones, which
came skimming along like cannon balls amongst the
wolves, while at the same time he shouted his loudest to
attract their attention. In a moment the whole pack
made for him with frantic yells. Dion disappeared be
hind the rocks, and, as it seemed to us, the wolves were

LAST DAYS IN IONIA. 273

out of sight almost at the same moment. Then came a
sharp fusillade of fire-arms which was kept up for two or
three minutes. Then there was silence, and our deliver
ers came and helped us down from our perch. Every
last wolf was dead, and we returned in Dion's vessel to
Laureion, escorted by some hundreds of air-ships. They
kept streaming out of the city as we approached, and
turning as they met us, swelled the procession to such
an extent that we seemed to be returning in triumph
from a great victory.

The few remaining weeks of my stay in Ionia sped by
with amazing swiftness, and when it came to the end I
was perfectly overwhelmed with the kindness of those
who had been strangers to me but a short time before,
but whom I now regard as the dearest of friends. Every
one insisted on my promising to come again, and they
loaded me with presents of great beauty and intrinsic
value. Not the least prized of these is the painting by
Daphne of our siege by the wolves, which now hangs in
our dining room at the Grange. It is much admired by
connoisseurs, who find it difficult to believe that it is the
work of a young lady of twenty summers, for they declare
it to be a master-piece which is scarcely equaled in the
finest galleries of Europe. My mother is very proud of
it, but protests that she can never look at it without fear
and trembling.

On the last day of my stay I had a parting interview
with the venerable archon. Jason went with me to the
Acropolis, and Minos spoke with great kindness and feel
ing, saying that he regretted losing me as a citizen, al
though he could not but commend my choice of return
to the outer world.

"I can easily find it in my heart," he continued, "to

envy the part you propose to play, for you are young and

is

IONIA.

have, I trust, a long life before you. You are free to un
dertake the cure of a world sick with innumerable mala
dies, and you know of a regime which will infallibly cure
them all, if you can but succeed in getting it adopted.
You might well say with Hamlet that the world is out
of joint, but you need not regret like him that you were
born to set it right. On the contrary, you must feel it
a great privilege to make the attempt, and it requires no
gift of prophecy to predict that you will succeed."

"I am glad to hear you say so," I replied, "but there is
a vast mass of prejudice to be overcome, and I feel that
it will be a work of time and difficulty."

"Undoubtedly," said Minos, "but you must not allow
that to discourage you. I do not say that the story of
what you have seen here will be believed at once, or that
the system which has done so much for us will be con
sidered applicable to other conditions of society, but
sober reason and sound sense will ultimately prevail.
You must be prepared for opposition from every class of
society; from the conservatives, because they are op
posed to all innovations; from liberals and reformers
because they have their own pet schemes for ameliorat
ing the condition of the people, and are unable to see any
virtue in other methods; from the privileged classes be
cause they believe that their advantage consists in the
maintenance of the prevailing injustice and inequality;
from the very religious because they consider sin and
suffering indispensable to human life on earth, and
would look upon any proposition to do away with them
entirely as little short of impious. You must be pre
pared to find yourself held up to universal scorn and
execration as one who presumes to interfere with the
most sacred of human rights. But you must never allow
yourself to be discouraged under any circumstances. If

LAST DAYS IN IONIA. 275

the people of England will not listen to you, those of
America may; and if not, there is Australia, there is New
Zealand, there are people of your race scattered all over
the globe, and the smaller the community the greater the
chances of success for an experiment with our Ionian
laws. But I believe that you will meet with a certain
amount of sympathy and encouragement wherever you
go. There are reasonable people in all parts of the
world wrho are dissatisfied with the existing state of so
ciety, people who lament the miserable terms upon which
the majority of their fellow-creatures are compelled to
accept existence, and who will gladly listen to any propo
sition which offers a just hope of radical improvement.
In any case you must not forget that you have warm
friends here whose best wishes go with you, and if at any
time you should feel despondent or disposed to believe
that after all the whole world may be right and yourself
wrong, just come back to Ionia for a season, and I am
sure that you will find such sympathy and encourage
ment here as will enable you to renew the fight with un
abated vigor and determination to conquer."

"I thank you, Minos," said I, "for all your kindness,
and, although I may be very glad to accept your invita
tion and come back for a time to renew my acquaintance
with the noble people of Ionia, I can never despair of
final success after what I have already seen of their great
achievements. Through you I would express my grati
tude to them all, and now I must say farewell."

"Good-bye, Alexander. I am an old man, but I do not
despair of seeing you again. I shall hear of you in any
case, and you take my best wishes for success, and an old
man's blessing."

That same evening I sailed away over the lake from

276 IONIA.

lolkos as the sun was setting, and as the beautiful city
faded from my sight I felt like a lost soul shut out of
paradise, and if Jason had not accompanied me I should
have given way to the utmost dejection; but he allowed
me little time to think of all the dear friends and pleasant
scenes I was leaving behind, talking cheerily of future
visits and of all the great things he expected me to ac
complish. He accompanied me for several days, and did
not leave me till I was on board ship at Bombay. He
even seemed sorry to let me go then, and, as we stood at
the ship's side, insisted on my promising to return at no
distant date.

"For you know," said he, "that I look upon you as
one of my family, and I have some qualms of conscience
in allowing you to undertake this great mission alone.
Ever since I commenced to mingle with the people of
Europe I have felt that we were in some manner called
upon to open their eyes to the folly of continuing from
generation to generation to cultivate ignorance and dis
ease and crime, knowing as we did that all these evils can
be eradicated by the simplest means. The convictions
of our ruling men, however, were not to be disregarded,
and I could only look for another to take up the task
I was not in a position to assume. I found in you the
man I wanted, but my feeling for you has become like
that of father to son, and I almost feel ashamed to de
volve upon your young shoulders the duty which at times
I have felt should be mine."

"Your kindness is too great, Jason, but as I never
knew my father, I shall be glad always to think of you in
that relation. And if anything should encourage me to
assume with confidence the great work before me it is
that you have thought me worthy of it."

CONCLUSION. 27?

"I am sure of it, Alexander, and there is much in what
Minos said: it is a great privilege as well as a great re
sponsibility. Good-bye, my son. Remember that Ionia
expects great things from you."

CHAPTER XIV.
CONCLUSION.

London seemed to me to be very much changed for
the worse when I got back from the East. The smoke
which filled the air obscuring the light, and rendering
breathing difficult; the accumulated grime of years
streaking the public buildings with sooty black; the
mud and filth of many of the streets; the employment
of animals for the movement of vehicles, animals with
iron-shod feet, calculated to destroy the best pavements
in the shortest time; the poverty of design and material
in most of the buildings, and the utter absence of har
mony or congruity of architecture in the structures of
each street or block; all these combined impressed me
with the crudeness of our so-called civilization.

But what I saw of the people themselves affected me
still more unpleasantly. It was a raw March day, with
a chill east wind, and I saw with sorrow and shame poor
little children and wretched-looking old men and wo
men dressed in scanty, thread-bare garments, shivering
with cold. A blind old man begging for public charity;
a blaspheming, drunken wretch with his coat in rags
staggering down an alley, followed by a troop of boys
who pelted him with mud and stones, yelling after him in
fiendish glee; an unhappy urchin, discovered in some
petty crime, and dragged off to jail by a policeman, the

278 IONIA.

sulky scowl of ignorance distorting his features; such
things as these seen from a cab as I passed from station
to station, things which formerly I should have taken as
a matter of course, now affected me very painfully.
Knowing that my mother awaited me anxiously, I meant
to take the very first train for Chingford, but as I passed
through .the city, I felt as if I could not bring myself to
endure its obnoxious sights and sounds for many a day
to come. The people all seemed to me to be dwarfed in
stature, homely in feature, and clumsy in figure, and
very badly dressed. Care and trouble seemed to cloud
every brow except the very youngest, and to have left its
traces in lines and wrinkles which never could be
smoothed away. I had been sojourning amongst the
gods, and the faces of ordinary mortals seemed mean
and abject by comparison. When I got down at the
station I paid the cabman double or triple fare, and he
bowed and touched his hat with fawning servility. This
made me feel like kicking him, and I blushed for shame
to think that Englishmen could be such slaves.

Fortunately, I had not long to wait for a train, and
when I reached home my mother's loving welcome
made me forget the unpleasantness of my drive through
London.

After dinner we sat and talked as we had so often done
together when I was a boy. Mother said:

"You have no idea, my son, how long your absence
has appeared to me. It seemed as if these six months
would never come to an end, and at times I felt as if I
never should live through it. But I knew from your let
ters that you were enjoying your visit more than you
could tell in words, and I tried to make you believe that
the time passed tolerably well with me."

"Mother, I shall never leave you so long alone again."

CONCLUSION. 279

"What, after tasting the joys of this earthly paradise,
do you think you will ever be content away from it?"

"My duty requires it. But I am free to visit Ionia
again, and have the most pressing invitation to return
when I please, and to take you with me if you will con
sent to go, which I sincerely hope you will."

"What, you want your old mother to take a flying
trip through the air like a witch on a broom-stick? I
am surprised to hear you suggest it."

"My dear mother, I protest against such language, for
in the first place you are not old, and in the second place
you could make the trip without the slightest sacrifice
either of dignity or safety. You take your seat in a
most comfortable car just as you would in a railway car
riage, and electricity does all the rest."

"But I should die of fright. I do not think you will
ever be able to persuade me to go, but of course that
need not prevent your going by yourself some time or
other, but not for a good long while. Now, I wish to
ask you one thing: Did you lose your heart in Ionia?
Did you fall in love with any of the beautiful young wo
men you described in terms of such unbounded admira
tion?"

"I think not, mother. Indeed I took special pains to
guard against any such catastrophe. It would have been
the sheerest presumption in me to pay my addresses to
any of these adorable women, for in the first place, they
are all too good for me, and in the second place I could
not ask one of them to live with me in this unhappy out
side world any more than I could ask to drag an angel
down from heaven."

My mother looked grave at this, and said :

"I think you humiliate yourself too much. At least
you must allow me to differ from you to this extent, that

280 IONIA.

I think no woman on earth can be too good for my boy."

"Ah, but mother, you have not seen these lonians,
and until you have seen them, you will never know how
perfect in form and feature they are, nor how to all the
personal graces they unite those of the mind and heart.
You cannot understand how different our own people
look to me since. All the faces I saw in London looked
to me like caricatures; those of the men as well as the
women. Faces that I should formerly have thought
handsome strike me now as remarkable only for the lack
of something necessary to make them really attractive.
Whether in form, complexion or expression, all ap
peared to have some conspicuous defect."

"Now, if you say much more I shall begin to hate
your Ionian friends. Even your poor mother, I suppose,
seems to you a very inferior sort of person, now that you
have come back to your own poor country."

"No, no, you must not entertain that idea for a single
moment. You know that I have always thought you
the best woman on earth, and I think so still. Without
the advantage of being born in Ionia, you have all the
grace and all the sweetness of perfect womanhood, and
therefore I honor you more than all of them. You are
enshrined in my inmost heart, and shall be so while I
live."

"I fear you are flattering me, my boy, and yet I could
not bear to imagine you thought any less of me than you
have always done, so I will try not to be jealous of Leda
and Daphne, and the rest of them. And now that I have
you safe home again, I trust you will stay with me for
some time, but I suppose you will be running off to Lon
don to see how things are going on in that dreary east
end parish."

"No, mother, I am not going to leave you. The work

CONCLUSION. 281

in London is in good hands, and does not need my su
pervision. I should like to hear what is going on,
but instead of running up there myself, I propose to in
vite Mr. Calderwood and one of the young men down
here for a day or two. The rest will do them good, and
they can tell me all I need to know. Besides, I should
like to talk with them about all I have seen and learned
while I have been away, and get their advice as to the
work which lies before me."

"I see your old enthusiasm is not dead, but seeks a
wider field. You were once ambitious to save the Lon
don poor, and now you dream of raising the whole hu
man race to the standard of Ionia."

"My past experience teaches me to expect failure
rather than success, but I must do what I can for my
poor fellow-creatures."

"And if a mother's prayers will help you, success will
surely crown your efforts."

Within a week the rector of St. Oswald's came to the
Grange, and with him my agent, Mr. Manson. They
enjoyed a few days of rest and change, and gave me all
the news of our London enterprise, and I related to them
my wonderful experiences in the East, substantially as I
have done in the foregoing pages. They listened with
wonder and admiration to all the strange things I had to
tell them, but seemed somewhat bewildered by the new
light thrown upon the old question of helping down
trodden humanity, which both had grappled with like
earnest, single-hearted men as they are. I let them
think it over without asking for their opinions till the
last evening of their stay, when I had my grandfather,
Dr. Wolverton, over from the rectory to dinner, after
which we all repaired to the library and seated ourselves
round a glowing fire of logs, the cheering comfort of

282 IONIA.

which was intensified by the wind and rain beating spite
fully upon the windows. The old doctor occupied a
great arm-chair on one side of the fire, with Mr. Calder-
wood next to him; my mother sat opposite, and I by her
side, while the young curate sat in the center, and com
pleted the semi-circle.

The two rectors had talked all through the dinner
about the days of their youth, and the changes that had
taken place in church and state since then, and would
have kept on with their reminiscences till morning, but
when we were fairly seated in the library, I told them
that I wished to hear what they had to say about the use
I ought to make of the great privileges which had been
accorded to me in becoming acquainted with the people
of Ionia and learning their remarkable history.

"You have heard my story," said I. "You know how,
in an obscure corner of the earth, a race of husbandmen
and soldiers has grappled with the problems which have
baffled the greatest nations of the earth, and solved them
with such triumphant success that they are now a thou
sand years ahead of the rest of the world in all that con
cerns the grandeur and the happiness of mankind. The
means by which they have arrived at such an enviable re
sult, appear to me so simple and so sure, that no people
or state which has the wisdom to adopt them can fail of
accomplishing the same end. But there is a vast mass of
prejudice and ignorance to be overcome before the first
beginnings can be made, and I ask you, who are my
oldest and dearest friends, to tell me unreservedly what
you think of the prospects of success in the proclamation
of this simple gospel of reason and common sense."
After a short pause, my grandfather said:
"I am almost too old to understand ideas so contrary
to all that we have grown to consider as the fundamental

CONCLUSION. 283

principles of society. We have been taught that the
poor should be always with us, and that in some respects
it is better to be poor than to be rich, Tor it is easier for
a camel to pass through a needle's eye than for a rich
man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.' I should be
the last to discourage you in what you conceive to be
your duty, but at my time of life it is difficult to conceive
of a world where there should not be rich and poor, and
the one appears to me the necessary complement of the
other: the poor to perform all those tasks which are
unfit for people of refinement and education, the rich to
help the poor and, in doing so, develop those instincts of
charity and benevolence which modify and excuse the
selfishness of wealth. So far as I am able to see, the
poor around us are contented and happy, and with fewer
wants and cares, probably derive as much enjoyment
from life as those in higher station."

"But, my friend," broke in the London rector, "you do
not — excuse my saying it — you do not know what real
poverty is. In the country the numbers of the hopeless
poor are few, and their rich neighbors never allow them
to starve or die from sheer neglect. And they have sun
shine and pure air in abundance, and the glory and the
beauty of nature all around them. And in your own
parish in particular, where your daughter has worked
such miracles, the pressure of poverty is unknown. But
if you could see the poor in London, crowded together
in filthy tenements, where a breath of pure air is unat
tainable, where vice and disease and poisonous drinks
hold perpetual carnival; if you could see little children
growing up under such conditions and becoming stunted
and depraved, without the opportunity or the will to learn
of anything better, and doomed from the cradle to a life
of misery and shame, you could not think of poverty as a

284 IONIA.

condition of things to be tolerated by good men and wo
men, if there is any possibility of getting rid of it. What
say yon, Mr. Manson?"

"I feel as you do," said that gentleman. 'The poverty
we know — and having come into daily contact with it, we
know it only too well — is a disgrace to our boasted civili
zation, and a curse which may be the ruin of England,
unless some means are found to cope with it more effec
tually than any that have yet been tried."

"I see," said my grandfather, "that I am in no posi
tion to speak on this subject, and I bow to your superior
judgment. But my grandson's idea, if I understand him
rightly, is to do away with not only the vicious poverty
of cities, but also the respectable poverty of the country.
In this strange country he has just visited he found all
the people educated and cultured to a degree that the
best of us have not attained to here. Miners and fisher
men, mechanics and wagon drivers, and household ser
vants, too, have all been through college, and are able
to hold their own in the most abstract fields of learning
with university professors and statesmen. That is a
condition of things which I am unable to comprehend.
If we have no poor people to perform the drudgery of
life I cannot understand how every-day life can be car
ried on at all. Then, if there is no class enjoying great
wealth, but all reduced to one uniform level, what be
comes of our noble palaces and the beautiful parks and
woods which are the ornament of the country?"

"The noble parks and palaces will be there just the
same," said I, "but instead of being inhabited by one or
two persons for a portion of the year, they will con
tribute to the health and enjoyment of the whole people
at all times when their possession is most desirable. As
for bringing all men to the same level, there can be no

CONCLUSION. 285

objection to that, provided the level is constantly being
raised higher and higher, and consists not in dragging
down those who are above, but in raising those who are
below. However, no such result will ever come to pass,
for there will always be some who have greater ability to
make money than others, and there will be enough for
all to have sufficient, while some have a superfluity. All
that is necessary is to guard against the extremes, which
are harmful to all alike.

"I cannot agree with you in thinking it necessary that
human beings should ever be compelled to live by drudg
ery. I understand the word to mean mere mechanical
labor, without skill or the exercise of any intellectual
force, and such labor in my opinion should always be per
formed by machinery and not by men or women, and so
it is in Ionia. I went into the mines there, and in place
of scores of men working with picks in painful and
cramped positions, I saw machines that would perform
the labor of fifty men directed by one. The ore was
sawed out, broken into blocks, and dumped into wagons
with a precision and speed that were perfectly astonish
ing. And so it is in every department of industry, even
down to the housework of the women. They have cun
ning machines for sweeping, scrubbing, laundry work,
and even for the washing of dishes. And the only thing
that prevents us from doing all our drudgery by machin
ery is the lamentable cheapness and redundancy of hu
man labor. The production of human drudges goes on
without let or hindrance, and the poor creatures are jeal
ous of the introduction of new machinery lest it take the
bread out of their mouths. The trades unions are
banded together against new inventions just because
these tend to facilitate production and increase the re
turns of labor. But the moment you put a check on the

286 IONIA.

unlimited production of laborers the keen competition
amongst them will be reduced, the market value will rise
with the skill of each pair of hands, and necessity will
bring forth innumerable inventions for which, at present,
there is no occasion."

"And this brings you," said Dr. Wolverton, "to the
main question, whether it is practicable to limit the right
of reproduction in a country enjoying the blessing of free
institutions. The old commandment: 'Be fruitful and
multiply and replenish the earth,' has been held until now
to be binding upon all, and every man who takes to him
self a wife and adds to the population by producing nu
merous offspring has been supposed to be performing a
public duty. It may be that the earth is now sufficiently
replenished, and that it is time to call a halt and pay some
attention to the quality of the offspring, rather than to the
quantity of it, but we old folks have been accustomed to
think that nature's law and that of the Bible were in such
perfect agreement on this point that any interference
with them would partake of the nature of blasphemy and
be foredoomed to failure.

"You see, I am speaking out plainly, as you requested,
not from any wish to discourage you, but rather to indi
cate the reception which your new gospel is likely to re
ceive at the hands of old-fashioned people. But I should
be glad to hear what my old friend Calderwood has to
say on the subject."

"The authority and example of the great apostle Paul,"
said the London rector, "is surely sufficient to justify us
in regarding the commandment you have quoted as one
which is not universally binding. When a man has work
to do which demands all his energy, and all his thought,
no one thinks any the less of him for declining to burden
himself with family ties. The Roman Catholic Church,

CONCLUSION. 287

which for so many hundred years was the only church of
the greater part of Europe, has sealed the custom of
celibacy with its approval, and the system has undoubt
edly produced many saints of both sexes. We Protest
ants do not approve of it, but at the same time, we think
none the less of its priests or its sisters of charity as indi
viduals, because they deny themselves the comforts of
marriage. On the other hand, I confess that my par
ochial duties have brought me into contact with thou
sands and tens of thousands of children, yes, and grown
up men and women, too, of whom it might truly be said
that it would have been better if they had never been
born. Now, if there be any means by which the state
can prevent the birth of these miserable creatures, so
ciety would be the gainer to an incalculable extent. It
appears to me that only good citizens should enjoy the
rights of citizens, and that those who contribute nothing
to the public well-being should be treated in such fash
ion as the health and prosperity of the community de
mand, consistently with the dictates of humanity and
mercy. To that extent, at least, I am in entire sympathy
with the law of marriage, which Mr. Musgrave assures
us has produced such wonderfully beneficial results to
the people of Ionia. Whether it is practicable in a free
country like ours, is a question which requires the most
serious consideration."

"Now, Mr. Manson," said I, "it is your turn to speak.
I am sure that you have something to say on this mo
mentous question, and I beg of you to give me your
opinion candidly and without reserve."

"I shall do so with much pleasure," said he, "and have
no occasion for reserving any of my thoughts, for my
sympathies are entirely with you in the ideas you have
imbibed from your noble friends on the other side of the

288 IONIA.

world. To me their story is a revelation of hope and joy
for humanity. I have long felt that our modern Euro
pean society was the worst kind of sham and fraud; like
a whited sepulchre above, but full of rottenness and dead
men's bones below. Here in this island are thirty mil
lions of people, of whom half a million revel in luxury,
two or three millions enjoy a fair measure of comfort
and such intellectual and artistic pleasure as make life
tolerable, and all the rest endure existence without hope,
and with little more of comfort than the beasts of the
field. You speak of the rural poor as being well off
compared to the wretched creatures who crawl through
the slums of London. But, tell me, are my lord's horses
and his dogs not vastly better off than the laborers who
cultivate his estate? They are better fed and better
housed; every precaution is taken that their health may
not be injured, and that they are not injured by over
work. The laborers have to toil early and late in all
sorts of weathers; rheumatism and ague work their will
upon them, and they have no hope but in the grave.
The workmen of our cities are little better off; their
pleasures are few, and their hardships many, and if they
can keep themselves and their children from pauperism
it is the utmost they can expect. True, they are used to
it, and their spiritual directors admonish them to be con
tent with the station to which God has called them. But
I protest against such canting hypocrisy. God never
made this beautiful world to be peopled by a race of toil
ing slaves, and it is no wonder that our jails and our
workhouses are filled, and that crime and vice and strong
drink claim their victims by the hundred thousand.

"And what have we done for it all? We have built
churches and schools; we have had temperance cru
sades and salvation army campaigns, but what does it all

CONCLUSION. 289

amount to? Some few have been dragged from the low
est depths of vice and misery, some few have been saved
from falling into degradation and crime, but the cess
pools of society are as foul as ever, and condi
tions which contribute to human guilt and misery re
main unchanged. I have mourned over the prospect till
my heart has ached with despair, for I could not see a
ray of hope anywhere, and I have looked upon the con
dition of humanity in this world as hopeless. I have
said to myself that, unless human nature can be
changed, toil and hopeless misery must continue to be
the lot of the vast mass of men and women. But now
comes Mr. Musgrave with proofs that human nature can
indeed be changed; that in one blessed spot of earth it
has been transformed so that the inhabitants are more
like the angels of heaven than the weak and wicked
creatures which disgrace our great centers of popula
tion. And the means are so simple and obvious that the
wonder is wre never thought of them before. We have
improved our fruits and our flowers, our dogs and our
horses, and our cattle, so that they could hardly be
known for the same by one who had not watched all the
stages of the process. And why have we not applied the
same methods to our own species, which needed im
provement vastly more than all the rest? It can hardly
be said that we doubted nature's power to help us in this
as it has done in the case of inferior creatures. On the
contrary, we knew it all the time; we knew that as we
could not expect to gather grapes from thorns, nor figs
from thistles, it would be foolish to expect the children
of the vicious and depraved to be moral and virtuous.
But we have never made the slightest effort to check the
begetting of drunkards and criminals, and our feeble
19

290 IONIA.

and paltry attempts to stop the tide of mischief at the
flood were foredoomed to failure.

"It is strange that we have been blind so long, and I,
for one, feel inexpressibly thankful to Mr. Musgrave for
having opened my eyes. Tell your story to the world,
Mr. Musgrave, and do not despair of results. Those
who are interested in maintaining the present unhappy
state of things may jeer and deride, for the redemp
tion of humanity is a jest to them, but sooner or later
the seed will bear fruit, and the path which the lonians
have beaten out will be followed by every nation which
aims to rank amongst the leaders of civilization."

"I thank you, Mr. Manson," said I, "for these en
couraging words. I have no fear for the future, but it
is most comforting to know that others share my hopes."

''Behold the enthusiasm of youth," said Dr. Wolver-
ton. "It sees no difficulties, and makes light of preju
dices which are the growth of centuries; the future dream
seems to it like the present reality, and the mirage on the
horizon appears to be a smiling oasis but a few steps off.
While we old fellows grope and stumble in the dark, the
young ones bound forward with all the sanguine hopes
of the morning. Your ideas may be all right, my young
friends, and I sincerely trust that success may yet crown
your efforts, but it is not easy to take the world by storm,
and I confess that I do not see the way as clearly as you
do. The changes that have been made in the physical
world do not guarantee that corresponding changes can
be accomplished in mental and moral fields. Your
whole plan is based on the assumption that children will
always resemble their parents — is it not?"

"In a general way it is," said I. "Every man and every
woman is such as he and she are by reason of the quali
ties inherited from their parents or other ancestors,

CONCLUSION.

modified by education and circumstances. I think there
can be no gainsaying that."

"Maybe not, but we have not all been accustomed to
think so. It used to be considered that while physical
qualities were inherited, mental qualities were not."

''Then how is it that an Englishman's brain is larger
than a Hottentot's?"

"Oh, that is simply a matter of race."

"But a man's connection with his race comes entirely
through his father and mother. If you bring a Hotten
tot man and woman to England their children will still
be Hottentots. You may even adopt them into English
families, and give them the training of English children,
but they will never develop into Englishmen, and at the
first opportunity they will return to the bush and throw
off the varnish of civilization with their clothes, and be
come savages just like their ancestors. That has been
proved repeatedly, and cannot be denied. On the other
hand, certain families of Englishmen have shown the
same mental qualities from generation to generation.
Some have been prolific in statesmen, others in scholars,
and still others in bankers and merchants. We do not
expect the same mental ability in the children of laborers
and those of lawyers, simply because the former inherit
brains that are inferior to those of the latter."

"Then why is it that genius is so seldom inherited?"

"Because every man inherits the qualities of both his
parents in greater or less proportion, and not only so,
but he inherits some of the qualities of ancestors farther
back than either. A man may be more like his grand
father than his father, or he may inherit some peculiar
trait from a remote ancestor which has passed both his
father and his grandfather by. But these instances are
exceptional; as a general rule children resemble their

292 IONIA.

parents mentally, morally and physically. Now, since
genius implies a rare combination of qualities, and it is a
very rare thing for a man of genius to marry a woman
of genius, it would be unreasonable to expect his chil
dren to resemble him in the extraordinary conjunction
of faculties which place him in his own particular sphere
away above other men. And yet it happens sometimes:
the two Pitts in statesmanship, the two Dumas in litera
ture, the two Stephensons in mechanics, and the two
Herschells in astronomy, are instances amongst many
which might be mentioned."

"Pass that point, then," said my grandfather, "and let it
be admitted, for the sake of argument, that children of
intellectual parents resemble them intellectually; do you
not think you are expecting too much of human nature
to believe, that people who are defective either physically
or mentally will submit to be deprived of the comforts
of marriage for the benefit of future generations?"

"No right thinking man whose family is tainted with
lunacy would seek to become a father," said Mr. Man-
son.

"Nor any sensible woman, who knows that she is
positively ugly, to become a mother," said I.

"No man whose lungs are weak should ever wish to
marry," said Mr. Manson.

"Nor any woman who is tainted with scrofula," said I.

"Cut the list short," said the reverend doctor. "We
are not speaking about what ought to be, but what
actually is. You know such people as you speak of do
get married every day, and pass on their infirmities and
defects to their children."

"That is the very reason why we propose to have the
state step in and prevent them doing what their own
consciences ought to forbid."

CONCLUSION. 293

"But we are discussing the case of a country like this,
which is governed by the votes of the people themselves.
If you can find another Timoleon and give him despotic
power, no doubt you could accomplish all you wish, but
how you can prevail upon a democracy to make such
sacrifices I confess I am unable to understand."

"The greatest and most heroic sacrifices are recorded
of democracies. Did not the Athenians leave their beau
tiful city to be defiled by the Persian host rather than
surrender their freedom. Did not the Hollanders inun
date some of their fairest provinces rather than submit
to the Spaniards? But we do not propose such sacrifices
to the people anywhere. The limitation of the right of
marriage at any time will only affect a small minority,
and if the people can be persuaded that the liberty, or
rather the license, permitted to that minority, is injurious
to all the rest, there can be little doubt as to how they
will vote. Each one will doubtless persuade himself that
he is not to be counted amongst the unworthy minority,
and in most cases he will be in the right in thinking so.
The smallest spark of public spirit should be sufficient to
make a man willing to run an insignificant risk for the
sake of a great public good. If ten men were stranded
on a desert island and the only chance of deliverance lay
in the attempt by one of their number to reach a port
three hundred miles away, in an open boat without a com
pass, none of the ten might be willing to undertake the
voyage, and yet all might be willing to cast lots to de
cide who should undertake the perilous task, and to abide
by the decision."

"Then," said my grandfather, "it is the selfishness of
men that you propose to appeal to, and not any high
sense of honor or public good."

"Undoubtedly," said I, "but it is to an enlightened self-

294 IONIA.

ishness. A hundred years from now we hope that the
benefits of a far-seeing public policy will be so apparent
to all that higher motives may have sway amongst the
foremost nations. But to-day selfishness is the ruling
principle, and we could not expect it to be otherwise."

'There, I am sure, you are not mistaken, but to come
to another point: do you not think that your friends in
Ionia were rather hard on their criminals? We are
treating ours in England with more humanity than ever
before, and I am told the results are very satisfactory.
Why not experiment on that line a little farther before
resorting to more cruel measures?"

"I have no doubt," I said, "that the most humane
treatment of criminals is the best for them individually,
perhaps, and it would be wrong to inflict upon them the
smallest amount of unnecessary suffering. But in my
opinion the case of the whole body politic is a desperate
one, and if we can effect a cure by cutting off a diseased
member, it is our manifest duty to do so. The existence
of the criminal class is a menace to the moral health of
the people, just as gangrene or cancer is to the living
body, and to prove that this is true in a much larger
sense than is commonly supposed, let me read to you a
paragraph which appeared in a prominent newspaper
only the other day:

" Trofessor Sellman, of the University of Bonn, Ger
many, has been making a practical investigation into the
doctrine of heredity, and furnishes some valuable data
for the study of sociology. Frau Ada Jurke, for sixty
years was a resident of the city of Cologne, and died
there about a century ago. She was a confirmed profli
gate, addicted to all debasing vices, and frequently con
victed of crime. She was the mother of several chil
dren, and six generations of her posterity, numbering

CONCLUSION.

altogether 834 persons, can be traced. Professor Sell-
man located and secured the biographies of 709 members
of this remarkable family. One hundred and six were
of illegitimate birth, one hundred and sixty-two were
professional beggars, and sixty-four of them died in
alms-houses. One hundred and eighty-one women lived
lives of open shame; seventy-six were convicted and
imprisoned for crime, and seven have been executed for
murder. Professor Sellman calculates that it has cost
the state an average of £2,4.00 a year, or a total of £240,-
ooo to care for the paupers of this remarkable family, to
protect society against them, and to punish their crimes
for a hundred years.'

"Now this remarkable history finds a strange parallel
in a book published twenty years ago by Mr. R. L. Dug-
dale, a gentleman connected with the penitentiary
commission of the State of New York. It is called
The Jukes,' and gives a minute account of several gen
erations of a family so-called. Their common ancestor
was a man of idle and profligate life, who was born about
the middle of the last century. Seven hundred and nine
of his descendants have been identified, of whom one
hundred and eight were paupers, one hundred and twen
ty-eight prostitutes, and seventy-six convicted criminals,
including a number of murderers. The writer estimates
that the total number of this man's posterity must be
something like twelve hundred persons, and that they
have cost the state not less than a million and a quarter
of dollars. He sums up the net results in these words:

" 'Over a million and a quarter dollars of loss in sev
enty-five years, caused by a single family, twelve hundred
strong, without taking into account the entailment of
pauperism and crime of the survivors in succeeding gen
erations, and the incurable disease, idiocy and insanity

296 IONIA.

growing out of this debauchery, and reaching further
than we can calculate.'

"Now there is not the slightest reason to suppose that
these two cases are in any way exceptional; on the con
trary, we are justified in concluding that every criminal
who arrives at maturity is the source of a stream of pol
lution which costs the state vast sums of money, and
which spreads like blood poison throughout the lower
ranks of society. It acts not merely as a moral taint,
although that is undoubtedly its worst feature, but on
account of the disregard by these wretches of all natural
and moral law, it fills our hospitals with the most loath
some disease, and our asylums with the worst forms of
insanity.

"The Ionian system would put a stop to all these hor
rors in the first or second generation, and in the light of
the disclosures made by the American penitentiary officer
and the German professor, who shall dare to assert that
the system is too severe or that the unspeakable benefits
which it secures to the people are purchased at too great
a cost? And what is the cost? The denial of existence
to swarms of creatures who are a curse to themselves
and a disgrace to our common humanity, whose lives
are filled with misery and shame, and menace the happi
ness and wellbeing of all around them. This of itself is
a great gain, and the community which can purge itself
of its scum has made a mighty stride in the direction of
true progress."

"There can be no question about that," said Mr. Man-
son. "If London could be freed from its professional
criminals there would be but little need for the police
force, and the honest poor could easily be dealt with. It
has been forced upon my mind on many occasions that the
children of criminal parents are not only a danger to the

CONCLUSION. 297

community, but a plague to themselves, and I have won
dered what could be the purpose of the Almighty in cre
ating such swarms of foredoomed souls. But now I see
that the remedy is in our own hands, and I am satisfied
that the maudlin sentimentality which would sacrifice
the welfare of the people to the tender feelings of crim
inals can hold no place in the building up of a model
state."

"You take the right view of the case, Mr. Manson,"
said I. "If the social organism is to be renewed by put
ting a stop to the creation of unsound members, where
can we begin better than with those who sacrifice their
rights by breaking its laws?"

"I am afraid," said Dr. Wolverton, "that the principle
of mercy is to have but an insignificant place in your
model state. I understand that you would inflict capital
punishment in every case of felony by old offenders."

"When mercy would interfere with the public weal it
must be sternly eliminated, but vindictive cruelty will
have no place in our system. Crime must be rooted out,
but it can be done without the infliction of agonizing
pain. We do not propose to hang men like dogs as they
do in England to-day, or butcher them with the guillo
tine as the French do. Capital punishment will be gently
and mercifully inflicted by the drinking of a cup of mild
poison in the old Athenian way, and no harm done at all.
A mad dog hates to be killed, but it is better dead than
living, and a determined criminal loses nothing that is
worth possession when his career of wrong-doing is
summarily ended."

"Well," said the doctor, "I suppose we shall have to
surrender the criminals to your questionable mercy, but
what do you propose to do about the land? Do you ad-

298 IONIA.

vocate the Ionian system of joint possession by the peo
ple?"

"The land question is, no doubt, a difficult one, but
when all the people come to stand on an equal footing of
intelligence and education, the injustice of a small num
ber owning the soil from which all derive sustenance,
will be universally acknowledged, and, in some way, it
will be remedied so that equal opportunities may be af
forded to all. The change cannot be made in a day,
but will come in time; the government must ultimately
be the universal landlord."

"And what, then, will become of our grand old nobil-
ity?"

"Your grand old nobility must improve itself very
much to be accorded a place in the community at all.
The people of the future will have all, and more than all
the refinement which is claimed for the nobility of the
present day, all their high sentiment of honor and much
more than the average of intelligence which they possess,
without the selfishness and vice which have always been
so prevalent amongst them. I assure you that we can
well spare your grand old nobility."

"And what about those who amass large fortunes by
their skill in commerce and manufacturing business —
do you propose to confiscate their estates when they
die?"

"The men who contrive, by skill in manipulating the
markets, or by superior fortune, or even by what might
be called good management of business, to pile up vast
hoards of wealth out of all proportion to their legitimate
needs, are really public plunderers who have no moral
right to their enormous gains, for it can seldom be said
that they render any fair return for the millions they ac
cumulate. It is not possible, and, perhaps, it would not

CONCLUSION. 299

be advantageous to set any limits to what a man may
acquire by his own efforts, but if the public good requires
an approximately equal distribution of wealth, it is per
fectly legitimate to make the people at large the heirs of
the millionaires, and to allow only a moderate compe
tence to their children. The good of the whole people,
and especially the welfare of future generations shall be
the primary object of government, and all private con
siderations must give way to that paramount considera
tion."

"I see you propose to reform society from the root up
wards," said my grandfather, "and, although I am too
old and too conservative to appreciate and thoroughly
sympathize with your radical ideas, I am sure I wish you
all success, and I think your proposals, at least, worthy
of consideration and discussion."

"Our day is nearly over, Doctor," said Mr. Calder-
wood, and we must confess that it has been to a large
extent an evil one. We have known many good men
and good women who have earnestly striven to benefit
their fellow creatures, but their efforts have been over
balanced by the greed, selfishness and short-sightedness
of those to whom the greatest privileges have been given.
Neither high station nor wealth nor learning has accom
plished much, nor, with a few honorable exceptions, has
attempted much for the improvement of the condition of
the masses, and the future is as dark as the past under
the old regime. But our young friends propose to in
augurate an entirely different system, a system which has
already been tried with wonderful success, and I trust
their sanguine hopes are destined to glorious fulfillment.
Surely it is permitted us to believe that a time may come
when the woes of the widow and the orphan, and the
sufferings of the destitute, may be prevented, and human

300 IONIA.

life be as full of joy and sunshine as it now is of sorrow
and gloom."

"I say amen to that with all my heart/' said Dr. Wol-
verton.

"That such a time will come," said I, it is impossible to
doubt, when we think of the mighty strides man has
made in the extension of his dominion over nature within
a few decades. The difficulties of time and distance have
been all but annihilated; the lightning has been har
nessed in man's service, and provides instantaneous com
munication with all parts of the globe; the oceans, which
were the terror of our forefathers and the boundaries of
their world, are dominated by swiftly-moving castles and
palaces of steel; the land is covered with pathways of
metal, over which, night and day, continually fly caravans
of merchandise, and splendid vehicles in which numerous
travelers are sumptuously lodged and fed; the creatures
of the earth have been moulded to man's desires, and the
waters bring forth their increase at his bidding; floods
have been prevented, and the destructive havoc of whirl
winds foretold by his admirable prescience; worlds
mightier than his own have been surveyed and measured ;
the great sun itself has been weighed as in a balance, and
stars whose awful distance is measured by years of the
unspeakably swift motion of light, have been analyzed as
if they were present in his laboratory. Man has grasped
the universe with the mind of a god, and failed only in the
regulation of his own species, in which he has acted like
a helpless imbecile. The human race has been allowed /
to spread like a noxious weed over the earth, growing
wherever it can find nourishment, and propagating itself
in uncultivated hideousness. This culpable recklessness
must and shall be changed, and the powers of mind which
have enabled man to bend all the forces of nature to the

CONCLUSION. 301

fulfillment of his desires will assuredly prove sufficient to
deal with the maladies of his own race."

This ended our conference, and my two friends re
turned next morning to their arduous duties in London,
but before they left, a wonderful piece of intelligence
reached us. A cable message in the Times newspaper
announced that a bill had been introduced into the legis
lature of the State of Ohio actually embodying some of
the most important features of the marriage law of Ionia,
and thus proving that the practical people of the United
States have already grappled with the great problem of
hereditary crime and disease.

The feelings which this glorious news inspired were
those of exultation and hope realized, for the mere fact
that such a law had been proposed appeared to us like
the first ray of light heralding a glorious dawn.

All hail to you, Americans! You have been foremost
in many great and good works. Follow up this noble
beginning of a great reform, and you shall ere long give
to the nations of the earth the splendid spectacle of a
people with whom the golden age of poets' dreams has
become a great and enduring reality.

THE END.

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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

"FORM NO. DD6, 60m, a/so BERKELEY, CA 94720 ^

U.C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES

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