The Realms of Mystery 275 



nutritious rice. The inhabitants which Adam found 

 in Paradise were wild pigeons, myriads of them fly- 

 ing in clouds that darkened the sky, the brown 

 quail with its little captain's plume and its musical 

 call, the wild turkey strutting in its pride, the wild 

 goose flying en echelon across the sky, the arrowy 

 wild duck, the swan floating like a white cloud, the 

 wood-thrush filling the forest with a tide of exquis- 

 ite melody, the painted humming-bird and butter- 

 fly — a noble paradise it was, dignified in its grandeur, 

 brilliant in its floral and animated beauty, melodious 

 with all sweet song, redolent of all delightful odors. 

 Adam could not direct his steps anywhere, could 

 not cast his eye toward the earth to the scenes im- 

 mediately about him, nor to the distant view of the 

 snow-draped mountains, without having them filled 

 with curious beauty or distant grandeur, nor could 

 he look up without beholding the splendor of cloud, 

 or rainbow, or auroral flame, or sparkling star. 

 But Adam was neither to be palled with beauty nor 

 enervated by ease. The machaerodus was there, 

 bearing two serrated sabers, the crouching panther, 

 the huge cave-bear, the striped hyena, the tawny 

 hair-clad elephant. Adam must sharpen his wits to 

 circumvent the rapacious strength which he could 

 not directly resist; he must tax his invention for 

 better weapons than nature had furnished to his 

 rivals. He must devise means for striking those 

 foes at a distance which he dared not meet in im- 

 mediate grapple. He must put his soft hand and 



