[Illustration: _Tattooed Maori Chief.--"Maori Carving."_] _SCENE VIII.--Act II._ APPROPRIATING A WORLD. All being in readiness, a number of very perfect maps were thrown on the canvas, showing the plains, valleys, mountains, lakes, and rivers of Zelania, with the nature of the production of each island; and a careful and detailed description as to location and resources was given by the orator. Then, calling the attention of his audience, Oseba notified the people that he was now reaching the closing chapter of his report, or in our refined phrase he was on "the home stretch." He said:-- "Now, my children, at this stage of our inquiry, I desire to remind you again how closely man is allied to Nature; how he is adjusted to all the environing conditions; how the fresh breezes of a temperate zone give him a fair skin; how a varied and pleasing aspect gives him a cheerful temperament; how the mountains suggest to him freedom, and the seas adventure; how climate depresses or exhilarates; how pastoral pursuits awaken the romantic in his nature; agriculture, patience and sturdy industry; and the search for precious metals, a careless independence and intelligence. "Then, for this last, let the Titans wrest from Nature all that conspired to make the Phoenician, the Greek, the Norse, and the Briton, and mould them artistically into the most pleasing form, and lo! Zelania would appear in her pristine glory to--fashion a man." Here he briefly described the workings of the government of Zelania, how it had adopted the parliamentary system of Britain, and that, while it acknowledged a proud allegiance to the British crown, it was probably the most unmitigated democracy the world had ever beheld. "As a member of a compact," Oseba said, "Zelania owes but a loose allegiance to the Motherland, for she is at liberty to part the cable at any time and float away with the parental blessings. But, as a fact, she is held by a sentiment stronger than bands of steel; and by the voluntary sacrifice of many of her noblest sons on distant fields, she has proven, not only her loyalty to the Crown, but her love for the Empire and her devotion to British aspiration. Theirs is not merely the loyalty of the subject--'tis the tender regard of children for the generous kindred of homeland. "Now, my children," continued the orator, "I am going to show you another series of views, some the works of man, and some the works of Nature, that have influenced my actions. Glance through the album I have given you, and you will see the style of men, who, on the lines so strongly suggested by the inviting environment, have fashioned the social creeds of the country. "It is a grand thing to behold men strong enough and brave enough to lead the people up, not to where they may 'see the promised land,' but to secure for them and their children a nobler heritage than Joshua ever saw or Moses ever dreamed of."