It was, he found, much more difficult to proclaim himself than
he had supposed, and in the meantime, while he meditated his
coup d'etat, he did what he was told and learnt the manners
and customs of the Country of the Blind. He found working and
going about at night a particularly irksome thing, and he decided
that that should be the first thing he would change.
They led a simple, laborious life, these people, with all the
elements of virtue and happiness as these things can be understood
by men. They toiled, but not oppressively; they had food and
clothing sufficient for their needs; they had days and seasons of
rest; they made much of music and singing, and there was love among
them and little children. It was marvellous with what confidence
and precision they went about their ordered world. Everything, you
see, had been made to fit their needs; each of the radiating paths
of the valley area had a constant angle to the others, and was
distinguished by a special notch upon its kerbing; all obstacles
and irregularities of path or meadow had long since been cleared
away; all their methods and procedure arose naturally from their
special needs. Their senses had become marvellously acute; they
could hear and judge the slightest gesture of a man a dozen paces
away--could hear the very beating of his heart.
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