Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. II.djvu/150

Rh day with new joy and fascination. She is blonde and blue, like the Scandinavian “maiden” of our songs; and considerably resembles a Swede. The wife of the second brother is a brunette, delicate, beautiful, witty, charming as a Frenchwoman, a great contrast to the fair “Sköldmö,” but most delightful. She is the happy mother of three clever lads. The Valkyria has three brothers. The two families live together in beautiful family love. That which I see in this country of most beautiful and best is family-life and nature, as well as the public institutions which are the work of Christian love.

Among the novelties here, at the present moment, are some Indians who have pitched their tent in the neighbourhood of the hotels on the shore, and there weave baskets and fans according to Indian taste, with other small wares which they sell toanybody who will buy them. The men are half-blood Indians, but the women true squaws, with black, wild elf-locks, and strong features. They are ugly, but the children are pretty, with splendid eyes and as wild as little wild beasts.

There is a “hop” every week in one of the hotels, that is, a kind of ball, which I suppose, differs only from other balls by people hopping about with less ceremony. I have not had the heart to leave the companionship of the sea and the moonlight to go to a ball and see human beings hopping about; neither have we here been without scenes of a less lively character. We have had a great battle in one hotel between the black servants and the white gentlemen, which has caused some bloody heads. The greatest share of blame falls upon a gentleman who owns slaves. He will be obliged to leave. There have been two attempts at murder in another hotel, but which were prevented in time. The blame of these is laid upon a negro, but still more upon the landlady's treatment of her domestics in this hotel. N.B.—All the waiters here are negroes or mulattoes.