What roused them to such a step as the foundation of a new science and art was the seriousness with which they viewed the last plague, that of loquacity. In the series of exilings no evil had given them such trouble as that of oratory, and they were afraid lest it was about to return in all its virulence. At first they feared this plague to be a case of atavism; for those whom it attacked earliest were descendants of ancestors, or closely related to families, that had been famous in the far past for power of expression. But it soon spread to strains of blood that had been marked by great reticence, if not taciturnity, and ultimately it was completely impartial in its choice of victims. It was manifest, however, that those who had ancestral oratory in the blood were first open to the attacks of the plague and were most difficult to cure; and the phenomenon sent alarm to the very heart of the community. All the mature citizens and especially the elders looked graver than I had ever seen them look, even at the prospect of Choktroo’s invasion; they came nearer to the appearance of dejection than I had imagined they could come. The whole matter drove my thoughts to work. When I reflected on the occasion, the attitude my mind had been accustomed to in my forgotten life returned, and it seemed to me as if there had been a storm over nothing. Talkativeness had been one of the commonest features of the men and women I had known in Europe; and loquacity was as little noticed as a red head or a pug nose. Indeed the chatterbox was ranked among the innocents who did little harm except to their own reputations. It became a complete puzzle to me, when I saw the horror with which the Limanorans looked on oratory. Had it not been one of the greatest of the arts of Christendom? Were not the great orators of my own nation looked upon as little short of inspired, and their statues placed in the noblest niche of our temple of fame? Did we not rush by the thousand to hear any one of them, when he was about to perform, and stand breathless by the hour, laying up for ourselves fatigue and faintness and asphyxia, merely for the delight of hanging on his lips? In life he roused hurricanes of enthusiasm; and when he died thousands who had never known him personally followed him mourning to the tomb, and on the most revered page of our literature was his name written. What could be the meaning of so hearty a detestation of so noble an art on the part of this progressive race? As usual I had not long to wait for a solution. My bewilderment had already stirred the curiosity of my proparents and Thyriel; and they had been watching my thoughts for some time before I put my questions, simple enough for my young comrade and betrothed to answer. She spent a whole afternoon that was devoted to flight-exercise, in discussing and solving my difficulties, and the struggle ended in strengthening my admiration for this noble people.