Page:The Diothas, or, A far look ahead (IA diothasorfarlook01macn).pdf/134

 or ornamental plants similarly acclimatized, would at times, unexpectedly meeting my eye. make me doubt for a moment whether these were really the once familiar banks of the Mohegan.

Yet, comparatively mild as the climate had become, it must have been pleasant to resort, on occasion, to these winter-gardens, to feast the eye, if only for a brief space, with the sight of orchard and orange-grove in full bloom, or covered with rich fruit, in the dead of winter. Here, too, was kept an extensive collection of strange animals. The larger carnivora, it is true, had long since become extinct as the mammoth; all attempts at preserving specimens in captivity having ultimately failed. There were, however, fine specimens of the elephant, the camel, and other semi-domestic animals. But the great attraction, the glory of the garden, were the herds of cows and of horses, so familiar by name in the early history of mankind, but now never seen except in such collections.

It was not long after leaving this charming spot, of which I had to content myself with a hasty inspection, when the city began to show in the distance. Soon the faint hum became more audible as it was borne to our ears on the sea-breeze that tempered the warmth of the hot July sun.

We entered the city by one of the avenues assigned to the use of curricles. This was called the Avenue of Sciences. The emblematic statues, at the cross-streets, represented the various sciences in the persons of the two, one of each sex, who had most highly contributed to the advancement of that science.