In the records, of course, the child stands in her own line of mothers; but in dealing with it personally it is Lato, or Amel, without dragging in its ancestors." "But have you names enough to give a new one to each child ?" "Assuredly we have, for each living generation." Then they asked about our methods, and found first that "we" did so and so, and then that other nations did differently.

Upon which they wanted to know which method has been proved best--and we had to admit that so far as we knew there had been no attempt at comparison, each people pursuing its own custom in the fond conviction of superiority, and either despising or quite ignoring the others.
With these women the most salient quality in all their institutions was reasonableness.

When I dug into the records to follow out any line of development, that was the most astonishing thing--the conscious effort to make it better.
They had early observed the value of certain improvements, had easily inferred that there was room for more, and took the greatest pains to develop two kinds of minds--the critic and inventor.

Those who showed an early tendency to observe, to discriminate, to suggest, were given special training for that function; and some of their highest officials spent their time in the most careful study of one or another branch of work, with a view to its further improvement.
In each generation there was sure to arrive some new mind to detect faults and show need of alterations; and the whole corps of inventors was at hand to apply their special faculty at the point criticized, and offer suggestions.
We had learned by this time not to open a discussion on any of their characteristics without first priming ourselves to answer questions about our own methods; so I kept rather quiet on this matter of conscious improvement.

We were not prepared to show our way was better.
There was growing in our minds, at least in Jeff's and mine, a keen appreciation of the advantages of this strange country and its management.