"Not those exclusively. Even the women of leisure are not so satisfied as they used to be. There has been, for a great many years, more or less chaffing about women's rights, but now they are beginning to take the matter seriously." "Ah, they are waking up, perhaps?" "Yes, some of them are waking up,--a good many of them. It is a little ridiculous, when one thinks of it, seeing they have no power to enforce their 'rights', and can never attain them except through the condescension of men. Tell me, Severnius, when did your women wake up?" Severnius smiled. "My dear sir, I think they have never been asleep!" We stalked along silently for a time; the subject passed out of my mind, or was driven out by the beauties of the landscape about us. I was especially impressed with the magnificence of the trees that hedged every little patch of farm land, and threw their protecting arms around houses and cottages, big and little; and with the many pellucid streams flowing naturally, or divided like strands of silk and guided in new courses, to lave the roots of trees or run through pasture lands where herds were feeding. A tree is something to be proud of in Paleveria, more than a fine residence; more even than ancient furniture and cracked china. Perhaps because the people sit out under their trees a great deal, and the shade of them has protected the heads of many generations, and they have become hallowed through sacred memories and traditions. In Paleveria they have tree doctors, whose business it is to ward off disease, heal wounded or broken boughs, and exterminate destructive insects. Severnius startled me suddenly with another question: "What, may I ask, is your theory of Man's creation?" "God made Man, and from one of his ribs fashioned woman," I replied catechetically. "Ours is different," said he. "It is this: A pair of creatures, male and female, sprang simultaneously from an enchanted lake in the mountain region of a country called Caskia, in the northern part of this continent. They were only animals, but they were beautiful and innocent. God breathed a Soul into them and they were Man and Woman, equals in all things." "A charming legend!" said I. Later on I learned the full breadth of the meaning of the equality he spoke of. At that time it was impossible for me to comprehend it, and I can only convey it to you in a complete account of my further experiences on that wonderful planet. Chapter 3. THE AURORAS' ANNUAL.