OF THE, U N I VE.RS ITY Of ILLINOIS 823 W589K 1866 / ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS, REVUE DES DEUX MONDES. “ Cette ingdnieuse reverie platonique abonde en details charmants, et ce qui vaut mieux en sentimens dlevds. Non seulement l’auteur com- prend la grace et la beaute des formes animees mais il en comprend la vertu et la verite. * Heliond^’ meritait done une mention spdeiale pour son 61dvation de pensee, sa subtilit6 de mdthode, les traditions de pla- tonisme anglican qu’il renferme, et la coufiance en la sage disposition des lois du monde sur laquelle ce livre repose.’* NORTH BRITISH REVIEW. “ A work in which are apparent the learning of the schools and the acuteness of philosophy combined with the graces of light literature and poetic fancy.” * MORNING ADVERTISER. “ This work is at once imaginative and genial, learned and fanciful, wise and witty. There is no doubt that * Heliondd’ is one of the most remarkable books which has been published for a long while, and will shortly be one of the most popular. Talk of Christmas books indeed ! here is one— not for children, but for boyhood, girlhood, youth, man- hood, and the accomplished lady.” GLOBE. “ For pretty conceits, gorgeous descriptions, elegant fancies, and un- earthly wonders, it is long since we have seen anything to equal ‘He- liondd.’ ” LEADER. “ Every paragraph in this octavo book of more than 400 pages con- tains something ingenious, elegant, and fanciful. Many who are glad to surprise science in undress will walk here to pick up, in a few care- less moments, tit-bits of learning and. philosophy enough to make a dinner-table scholar and a drawing-room savant” SPORTING REVIEW. “ The author, without a tinge of pedantry, has introduced a depth of philosophical knowledge, profound and scientific matter, intermixed research, with poetic fancy, rich humour, pleasing conceits, and charm- ing satire. It is a standard work that will outlive the ephemeral pro- ductions of the day.” BRIGHTON GAZETTE. “We scarcely know which most to admire in this work, the industry of the author in collecting as annotations an immense number of scien- tific facts, and the ingenuity with which he bases upon those facts a work of imagination, or the exceeding gracefulness of his style, spark- ling, vivacious, and humorous, his earnest plea for the beautiful, and his skilful setting fortlithereof in all its loveliness.” ALSO BY THE SAME AUTHOR., THE MEMOIRS OF A STOMACH. Edited by A MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR. Seventh (English Edition), Is. Morning Advertiser.— “ This pleasant, and, if rightly read, profitable jeu-d' esprit, has for its penman a scholar, an observer, a satirist, and a humorist— a rare combination, yet the more delightful from its infrequency. ... In truth, this book, amidst its quips and cranks, contains more dietetic truths, more caustic bitings into the polished surface of medical humbug, more gastronomic, physiological, aye, and philosophical teachings, than a score of ‘ professional ’ works.” Sun.—" We advise all lovers of fun, and all who have dyspeptic stomachs, to take one dose of humour from this work ; it is worth five hundred fees paid to an M.D.” Wilts Standard “ The manner in which the author alternately skims like a swallow in the sunshine of fun and imagination, and then dives down like a dab-chick into the depths of physiology and learning, is at once sur- prising and rare, and will have the effect, we should think, of puzzling not a little, the quidnuncs and critics of the day The description of the oyster is a very pearl of writing, worthy to be set in the memory of every lover of these dainty little fish.” Britannia “ The concluding advice of this well-written book would, if strictly followed, in nine cases out of ten, supersede the necessity of physic or physician.” Kidd's Own Journal.— * We never met with a more waggish minister of the home department. But as everybody will read this book, we shall merely offer a few random extracts Every stomach ought to purchase (this work) for its own individual benefit It is useful, profitable, and undeniably interesting.” Wells Journal.— * None but a highly-cultivated and elegant mind could have produced this work, which, notwithstanding its grotesque title, is full of beauties of composition and literary excellences both of thought and com- position. Moreover, it is useful and sound, and we could with pleasure fill our columns with extracts from its fascinating pages.” Dover Telegraph.— “ Everybody with any sort of stomachic ailment should read this book for their benefit, and those in sound health should read it for their amusement. Its ingredients are wit, mirth, humour, and philosophy, the latter none the less sonud because presented to us in a laughing form.” John Bull.— ' The author of this volume has done for the poor sufferer what Mrs. Beecher Stowe has done for the American negro— exposed the iniquity and oppression to which the unhappy victim of selfish tyranny is exposed.” News of the World. — “ There is so much sound sense in the work, and that too told so plainly and with such striking truth, that it carries con- viction with it. There is also so much humour, learning, and deep satire in the handling of the subject, that the very laughter engendered at each page will rouse the dyspeptic from his state of ennui, and by throwing a gleam of sunshine over his gloomy fancies, dispel the illusion under which an invalid is too frequently enveloped. It is the most witty, learned, and truthful book that we have seen for a long time.” HELIONDE ; OR, ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. BY SYDNEY WHITING, AUTHOR OF “The Memoirs of a Stomach,” “ A Literary Melange,” “ Pseudologia,” &c. Avia Pieridum peragro loca, nullius ante Trita solo: Lucretius, lib. iv. 'AcpoficiTCD Kai 7T€pL(j)p0V(0 TOV * TfjklOV . Aris. Nubes , 225 * THIRD EDITION. LONDON : FREDERICK WARNE & CO., BEDFORD STREET, COYENT GARDEN. 1866. (The Author reserves to himself all rights). Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/heliondeoradventOOwhit > $ w rB . /m ~J\ V A A TO FREDERICK GYE, ESQUIRE, OF THE ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA, THIS EDITION OF HELIONDE AS A EAINT EXPRESSION OF GREAT REGARD, 13 INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR, l ! S 50463 PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. In writing a few words as Preface to a new issue of Helionde, I confess to a feeling of pleasure and regret, — pleasure, when I acknowledge the cordial reception accorded to my work by the English journals, and the kind and flattering remarks of the Revue des Deux Mondes , — regret, that I cannot avail myself, by reason of their abundance, of the valuable suggestions which have been made to me since the first edition was published. I will also be bold, and, perhaps, indis- creet enough, to admit that nothing should ever induce me to again attempt a work X PREFACE. wherein the imaginative and industrial faculties are yoked together in one team; for the plunges of Dobbin against Pegasus are awful, and you are neither adequately rewarded by the public at large, nor by the pleasure usually derived from literary work. People who have a relish for “fancy” dis- own you by reason of your science, and recondite Thebans will have nothing to say to you because of your imagination ; and so you must appeal to that class — fortunately a large one — which has no objection to receive science en deshabille , accompanied by Fancy in her usual gala attire. As for the pleasure of composition, it is meta- phorically the story of Sancho Panza and the Physician ; directly you begin your feast in the realms of fiction, your repast is ordered off by the stern mandate of your self-elected mentor — scientific illustration. And then the labour ! Let any one place a ream or so of virgin paper before him, scatter his fresh made quills about like Count Fosco did, and then commit to PREFACE. XI M writing his idea of a new world, and he will soon discover how almost hopeless becomes the task of producing anything original ; and though sometimes he may be rewarded with success, too often he will find he is serving up the old, old dish, with perhaps only a little sauce or flavour which is new. If, also, with honest labour, he sets to work to read up scientific matters to accompany his flights of fancy, and resorts to out-of-the-way knowledge, gathered from the classic and other authors, to embellish and enrich the literary portion of his sub- ject, then, I say, the real difficulty of the undertaking will be known, and he will find the work as I found it — nearly over- whelming. I am thus candid — perhaps, too much so — because I speak from some slight ex- perience on the subject, having been occu- pied at different times with the two opposite poles of literary work ; for when Helionde had been before the world some years, it was my fate to compile the official cata- Xll PREFACE. logue of the Great International Exhibi- tion of 1862 — under circumstances of some difficulty. Other writings, too — good, bad, and indifferent — have occupied my pen for years past; but I would rather undertake another dry compilation, and re-write all I have ever written, than again attempt to describe a new world, and furnish its inhabitants with laws, cus- toms, manners, and morals. No amount of success would repay the enterprise ; not because of the labour expended, but simply because of the strain upon the mind in the effort to grasp that power which eludes us all — creation, a strain which if persisted in, would, I believe, end in an overthrow of the faculties altogether. My readers will, perhaps, here exclaim — then why, in the face of all these difficulties, was Helionde written ! and my answer is simple — because it was begun. A deter- mination to weave the yarn to the end after the first few threads were taken up, in ignorance of the work before me, is the PREFACE. XU1 secret of its conclusion; and while I set forth the difficulties of all such writings, I do so from no spirit of boastfulness — for, alas ! I know too well the short-comings of my book — but as a simple act of justice to myself; for in referring to the numerous writers who have made imaginary worlds and countries their theme, I have not be- come cognisant of any who have attempted, as I attempted, to associate their vagrant fancies with facts culled from almost every available source. And here let me say, as my last words to a preface necessarily egotistical and ex- planatory, that I cannot permit these sheets to be printed without expressing my sense of the great kindness rendered me by Sir David Brewster, in revising the scattered notes through Helionde. With no pre- tension to more than a smattering of scien- tific knowledge, I am indebted to Sir David’s guiding hand for keeping me tolerably steady in a region where no one ought to enter save those who by long years of XIV PREFACE. patience, investigation, and industry, have earned the right to speak ex cathedrd on scientific subjects ; unless, indeed — and then they may only venture in the vestibule — they have enjoyed the rare advantage of receiving aid from so great an authority, which I am only too proud and happy to acknowledge. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. In the following narrative, while convey- ing the reader to a new world , 1 and ex- citing his imagination by the novel masters therein, I have endeavoured, at least in all the descriptive passages, continually to bring him back to the real wonders around him, 1 The most fertile invention can but conceive new combina- tions : to create in the pure sense of the word, is, to human intellect, impossible. The astronomer Bessel (as quoted in the “ Plurality of Worlds”) declared that those who imagined inhabitants in the moon and planets, supposed them, in spite of all their protestations, as like to men as one egg is to another. XVI PREFACE. so that the love of the marvellous may be- come tempered with the necessity of learning home truths, illustrating, in fact, as far as I am able, the ideal and visionary, by the aid of the real and substantial. In the physical world it has become a ques- tion, for how long a period have multitudes walked on auriferous soil with unbounded wealth a few feet below them, in ignorance of the hidden ore which required but exer- tion to discover, crush, and refine ? and in the moral world the question may be asked, how long have folk been possessed of golden truths lying near the surface of their every- day course, without knowing that by energy and investigation they might possess them ? I do not for a moment flatter myself that in the following work I have turned up much of the pure metal; but I do trust I have laid bare many little specimens from the PREFACE. XVII treasures of knowledge, which may induce people — and especially young people — to dig for themselves into the soil of Nature’s wonders, and to bring to light many of the riches yet unknown to them in the regions of science, art, or literature. I can assert with truth, and I am sure the best writers of the day will corroborate the statement, that the most difficult part in writing a work purely of imagination is to discipline that faculty, which is too apt to become flighty, and to take refuge in ob- scurity 1 — a sure symptom of the confusion and overthrow of the intellect. In the en- deavour to avoid being obscure, I fear I may occasionally have indulged in descriptions too minute, but it is better to be understood too well, than not understood at all. 1 C£ The painful fashion of obscurity of verse has come up in late years, and is marring and misleading a quantity of useful talent.” — M acaulay. b XV111 PREFACE. Another blemish which I fear may be found in this volume is, that I very often quote facts from natural philosophy, and passages from authors, well known to the man of science and to the scholar ; but the students by the light of nature, or by the lamp of literature, should remember, that abroad there exists a lamentable ignorance of the commonest facts in physiology. If, therefore, I have erred in this particular, I can only offer as my excuse, or add to the fault, by avowing that I did so advisedly ; since I conceive that it is better for those who know a fact to read it twice, than that those who know it not, should remain in ignorance. I have no doubt, however, that the reading world, if it read this Sun Story at all, will very soon discover its lights and shades, without any indication on my part; but may be, it possesses neither the one nor the PREFACE. XIX other, but is a mere Icarian effort, whose author deserves to perish in the calm but deep sea of indifference. Possibly the piquant satire of Lucillius, in “ The Greek Anthology,” may be appro- priate : “ Menestratus riding on an ant, as on an elephant, was stretched, unlucky fellow, un- expectedly on his back; and being kicked, says, when the mortal [blow] seized him, ‘ Oh envious deity ! thus did Phsethon, riding, likewise perish.’ ” If, therefore, “ Helionde” turn out a flea • instead of even a small elephant, and myself prove a Menestratus, I shall exclaim, in the language of the Roman Poet, “ Mentullus strives to climb the Pimplsean mountain ; the Muses pitch him down headlong with forks.” I must request the general reader to con- XX PREFACE. sider this somewhat dry exordium to a light narrative, as a heavy prelude to a “ Fairy extravaganza,” and the masks having spoken amidst gloomy scenery, the change here en- sues, and the scene shifts to the illuminated palaces of the city of the Sun. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THROUGH SPACE TO HELIOPOLIS. PAGE Preliminary Discourse — Useful Digression — Stellar Re- lationship — Parallel W onders — Christabel — * Love — The HippogrifF — Illness — Sleep in the Sunshine — Transformation into Tenuity — Passage through Space — Delights thereof — Sage Reflections — Solar Terminus — Arrival at the Sun. 1 CHAPTER II. THE SUBURBS OP HELIOPOLIS. Gorgeous Gates of Heliopolis — Concrete Air — Alutedon’s Welcome — Cloud-Spun Vestures — Language — Caverns of Light — Curious Notes — Shutters in the Ground — Sun Spots explained — Night in the Brain — Sun and Ice — Fresh Wonders — Heliocentric Appearance of the Earth — The Sublime and Ridiculous — Elytron — Food — No Stomachs — Minica — Bed of Potpourri— Musical Couch 28 XXII CONTENTS,, CHAPTER III. OP HELIOPOLIS AND ITS WONDERS. PAGE Bath-Plant — Dress — Aborigines — Works of Art — Eeast of Fragrance — Vegetable Coiffure — Buds and Blossoms — Un Concetto — Religion — City of Diamonds — Order — Iris-Bridges — Manufactories — Palace of Helionax — Love of Curves — Caryatides — Beauty — Shops — Geo- metric Streets — Electric Carriages — Gentlemen Drivers — The Ladies — Costume — Fire-Pins — Eros and Ante- ros — Sculpture — Fountains of Light — Jets of Bou- quets — Wondrous Flowers — Bazaar of Odours — Moral Money — Rain — Kaleidoscope-Clouds — Glancing Ankles — Arrival at the Palace 73 CHAPTER IV. OP THE ROYAL PAMILY. The Palace — Authorities to Consult — Election of a Ruler — An Audience — Helionax — Love increases Beauty — Sun-Birds of Cuvier — Charming Life — Ma- chine Critics — Literary Reflexions — Pictures — Royal Courtesy — Heliotrope — Heliosweet — The Quintette — Dangerous Admiration — The Banquet — Beauty and Wit — Terrene Affairs — The Last Dust — Slight Inebri- ation — Speculations — Tableaux — Aerial Carriage — Dreams . . 142 CONTENTS. XX111 CHAPTER Y. THE FAUNA AND FLORA. PAGE The Washing-Plant — The Mirror-Shrub — The Bird- Bather — Musical Heeds — Dancing Pish — Swimming Archers — Luminous Plants — Plower-Lamp — Attempt to Drive — Vegetable Balista — Herbaceous Shrub — The Harp-Tree — Royal Carriages — The Hoop-Beast — Living Locomotives — Sky Spider — Balloon Animals — The Harp-Player — Piute-Tail — N ose-Trumpeter — Pan- Tails — Invisible Pish — Trap-Beasts — The Artist’s Priend — Shakspeare — Dangerous Glances— Home . 204* CHAPTER YI. PENULTIMATE. Love — Saidiph — The Sybil’s Glass — The Statue — Discus- sions — Visible Air — Self-questioning — Dignitaries — Religion — Synthesis — Analysis — Oak and the Acorn — Perment — Love — Idolatry — Place of Punishment — Crime repelled — Compensation — Rhapsody — Dis- covery — Ergopolis — Cloud-Pabrics — Curious Tests — Things as they Seem — Things as they Are — Air-Pig- ments — Making of Minica — The Princess — Plower- Cage — Music-Pood — A Lady’s Philosophy — Nature’s Justice — Blondel-Bird — Animate Statues — Retrospect — Confession — Sleep in the Garden .... 213 XXIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. LAST BUT NOT LEAST. PAGE The Missing Statue — Elower-Prison — Subhelion-Path — Court of Conscience — Speeches therein — Temptation — The Choice — Duplicate Garden — Statue of Life — Satiric-Love — Melting Stone — Error — Explanation — Helionic-Hades — Eearful Punishment — Heliosweet — Bird-Slaves — Anger — Thoughts of Earth — Christabel — Eternity of Love — Spirit Nature — Married yet Single — Contradictions — Spirit Invitation — Refusal thereof — Nuptials — Sapphire-Path — Mystery — Wife-Critic — Tears — Joy — Conclusion 321 HELIONDE ; OR, ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. CHAPTER I. THROUGH SPACE TO HELIOPOLIS. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE — USEFUL DIGRESSION — STELLAR RE- LATIONSHIP — PARALLEL WONDERS — CHRISTABEL — LOVE — THE HIPPOGRIFF — ILLNESS — SLEEP IN THE SUNSHINE — TRANSFORMATION INTO TENUITY — PASSAGE THROUGH SPACE — DELIGHTS THEREOF — SAGE REFLECTIONS — SOLAR TER- MINUS — ARRIVAL AT THE SUN. A drive through the regions of space, oc- casionally stopping for a few days at the different orbs of the Heavens ; an aerolite for your car; the horses of the Sun for your team; Apollo your Jehu; Saturn wuh his belts to stand up behind ; a comet for your B 2 HELIONDE ; OE, avant courier ; Venus your companion; Ceres and Hebe to welcome you with curtsies at the various hotels of the sky; feathers from the wings of moulting angels for your couch ; Aurora to call you in the morning ; a symphony of musical spheres while you dress; an omelette from Cygnus, and a draught from the milky way for your breakfast; a stroll over some Nephelococ- cygia, 1 especially if the sun shines; and then a fresh start for remote worlds through the illimitable fields of ether; — all this would certainly present many features of novelty in the way of travelling, but, unfortunately, I have not such a journey to describe. It, however, falls to my lot to have sojourned in a planet which, while regarded by us terrestrial mortals with more interest than any other, is not only an ignis in- cognitus, but we are even ignorant whether it be inhabited, or whether it is a huge lamp, 1 “ A cloud-built city 55 would doubtless present a beautiful appearance flooded in sunlight ; but on a wet day — Eheu ! ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 3 882,000 miles in diameter, 1 liung in the centre of space to impart light to certain circumambient worlds. It is not my intention to examine the opi nions upon this subject of either Rothman, Kepler, Gilbert, Digges, Origanus, Galileo, Laplace, Lagrange, Newton, Arago, or Her- schel ; nor will I resort to the dogmas of Aris- tarchus, Hipparchus, Ptolemeus, Albategnius, Alfraganus, Tycho Brahe, Roemerus, Rcesli- nus, Frascatorius, Copernicus, Clavius, or Maginus ; but this I may say, that in respect to the planets being inhabited, Tycho Brahe, in his epistles, indirectly expresses a belief that they are inhabited; so, also, Kepler supposed; while Thomas Campanella, a Ca- labrian monk, agreed in the same notion. 1 The above diameter is according to Sir John Herschel. Among the ancients, Heraclitus contended that the sun’s dia- meter was a single foot ; Anaxagoras, that it was as large as the country of Peloponnesus ; Anaximander, that it was the size of the earth; Macrobius, that it was eight times as large; Eratos- thenes, that it was seven-and-twenty times ; Hipparchus, up- wards of a hundred times ; and Possidonius, nearly sixty thou- sand times ! Plato and Cicero, Epicurus and Lucretius, de- clared they knew nothing whatever of the sun’s dimensions. B 2 4 HELIONDE; OR, and laboured hard to prove it . 1 A journey to the great luminary — a sort of Hegira from Earth to the Sun — enables me to affirm that the opinions of the latter gentlemen I have named -were quite correct; and further- more I discovered, that although the physi- cal combinations of the sun present the most opposite features to our own, yet that there exist many characteristics, both geographi- cally and ethnologically considered, similar to those which distinguish the earth . 2 In- o 1 Among the moderns (says Dr. Long), Huygens has written a treatise which he calls Cosmotheoros. He peoples the planets with reasonable creatures, hut he insists upon their being in all respects similar to the human race. Sir David Brewster, in his eloquent reply to Whe well’s Plurality of Worlds, says : “ But setting aside the ungainly creations of mythology, how many probable forms are there of beauty, and activity, and strength, which even the painter, the sculptor, and the poet could assign to the physical casket in which the diamond spirit may be enclosed ; how many possible forms are there, beyond their invention, which eye hath not seen, nor the heart of man conceived ?” 2 The hypothesis that all the members of the solar system possess similar constitutions to that of the earth, is founded upon the fact that no new elements have been discovered in meteoric stones, which are supposed to be fragments from other worlds. “ They contain the ordinary materials of earth, but associated in a maimer altogether new.” ( Vide Yestiges of Creation, p. 41.) ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 5 deed, experience lias proved to me that all nature is homogeneous, and that the wonder- ful phases which she exhibits are the result of one principle, one idea, one end, one aim When some diminutive star, far, far be- yond our own system, sends its feeble light through the lens of the astronomer’s tele- scope, it is a greeting of relationship, and a recognition of family ties. Combination is one of Nature’s great secrets, and the extra- ordinary cities of the Sun are, relatively speaking, no more marvellous than the cells of the bee , 1 the hillock of the ant, or the nest of the smallest bird. The vast amount of light it imparts is not more astonishing than the soft glimmer of the glowworm guiding 1 The economy of Nature is one of her most wonderful features. The cell of the bee, simple as it seems, is formed in hexagonal figures, the hexagon permitting a greater saving of material than any other geometrical figure. Mrs. Somerville tells us that there is not a particle of the finer vegetable mould that has not passed through the intestines of a worm preparing it for the germination of seed. (Phy. Geo. vol. ii. p. 43.) The same author declares “ there is probably not a drop of water on the earth’s surface but what has been borne on the wings of the wind.” How exquisite a work might be made from the poetry of physical facts, but the combination of a scientific and poetical mind is extremely rare. 6 HELIONDE ; OB, lier liege lord to bowers of bliss, the while he disports himself in the summer air. 1 It requires, I acknowledge, no small stretch of the imaginative powers to grapple simul- taneously with the maxima and minima, for we are ever prone to judge effects by the re- lation they bear to our senses. Habit recon- ciles us to all the miracles of life which are in perpetual activity around us, and to excite wonder it is necessary to move from out the 1 The female glowworm alone possesses the electric light, and the male is a beetle — a sort of entomological Leander, lighted by his Hero through the waves of air. If the word “wave” be objected to as an “audacious cata- chresis,” I must refer the reader to Sir John Herschel’s Astronomy, where he calls it an “ aerial ocean or, if this authority be insufficient, to an elegant line of Manilius : “ Ipsa natat tellus, pelagi lustrata corona Cingentis medium iiquidis amplexibus orbem.” “ Earth swims herself, enfolded by the main That clasps her bosom in his liquid arms or Shakspeare, thus : “ The sea of air or Cowley : “ Where birds with painted oars did ne’er How through the trackless ocean of the air or Cowper : “ Tell me ye shining hosts That navigate a sea that knows no storms.” ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 7 sphere of well-known phenomena. Natural 1 marvels please only the few ; unnatural ones possess charms for the multitude. The bubble of table-turning required to be punctured by Faraday before it collapsed, but not until it had been received as a truth in every capital in the civilised world. These observations are necessary to prepare the reader for the perusal of my narrative, and to dilute, as it were, the strength of his astonishment at the wonders in the Sun, by recalling him for a moment to the wonders around him. With the Theologasters, in Burton’s Di- gression of Air, I can safely exclaim, “ I shall 1 The butcher-bird supplying his own larder, and skewering his victims, the honey-birds, upon thorns, with their bosoms turned upward; the cuttle-fish (like an author who, by ob- scurity, hopes to elude criticism) escaping its enemies by the ejection of a black fluid — a fact known to Aristophanes, which he refers to in “ the clouds ;” the bee, as the love-bearer of the flowers, carrying parcels of pollen one to the other, and paid for his pains by honey and odour; the ants forming bridges of their own bodies for their comrades to pass over, unheeding whether they themselves perish in the stream ; — these, and a thousand other well-known facts, are as strange as though a table did turn ; but superstition is needed to whet the appetite for the supernatural. 8 HELI0ND1E ; OR, row enter upon a bold and memorable ex- ploit; one never before attempted in this age; I shall explain this day’s (night’s) trans- actions in the Sun (Moon), a place where no one has arrived save in his dreams.” Be it understood, however, I did not soar into the regions of air like Icaromenippus in Lucian. Nor did I ascend in a basket swung from the heavens, as is recorded in the Persian tales. Nor did I fly from Crete and perish in the sea like the son of Daedalus. Nor did I ride through the air like Abaris on his arrow. Nor, as Pythagoras, did I retire into the worlds of departed spirits, laden with hyperborean wonders. Nor, like the Jewish Talmudists, did I guess what goes on above. Nor did I ascend, like Mahomed in the Turks’ Alcoran, upon a Pegasus sent on purpose. Nor did I shoot out of a volcano in form of scoriae, and, being impelled beyond the earth’s attraction, become lost in the sun’s aravitation. Nor, like the Turk in Busbecjuius, will I pretend I can make wings and fly. No, gracious reader, the manner of ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 9 my reaching the glorious regions of eternal light happened as follows. It so chanced, that in the vigour of youth I was attacked by so severe a malady, that, after trying every remedy that human in- genuity could devise, I was recommended, as a last resource, to test the curative powers of an hydropathic establishment. I did so, and this trifling event resulted in the most astounding transmigration that ever fell to the lot of man. The cause of my illness is rather of an interesting nature, because it touches a chord of sympathy in old and young, and old and young will agree with me in this, when I confess that my malady was love. Yes, it so fell out that I devoted myself to one of those pretty, tender, soft, and coaxing creatures who frequent the continents of our planet, sharing with the animal called man the evil and the good of life ; who congregate with others of the species in cities and towns, and who dress themselves in various manners, according to fashion and fancy. The generic 10 HELIONDE ; OR, term for these interesting beings is “ woman,” but the especial one upon whom I hung such sentiments and affections as I possessed, was called by the somewhat romantic name of Christabel, and to my unsophisticated ideas there was no other Christabel in the wide world, or, if there were, none comparable to my particular Christabel, in the texture of her skin, the grace of her movements, the bloom of her cheek, the moisture of her lip, the roundness of her form, and the general sweetness of her nature. In the eccentric excess or extravagance of imagination, I used to compare her to a beautiful harp, whose strings were her luxuriant hair when loosened to the wind; whose pedals were her tiny feet ; whose sounds were the sweet tones of her musical voice, while the chord in which she was set was the dominant one of goodness. To possess this living instru- ment of nature’s best choosing, and to evoke the melody of love from its sweet attunement, was my ambition, my hope, and almost my only desire in life. I loved her without one ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 11 atom of conventionality mixed with the feeling, and I declare I never once thought of her fortune, nor of the externals of her life, nor of the particular sort of crenoline, or muslin, or silk, or satin which she chose to wear over her dainty self; — no, I loved her as a little human being cast on this crust of ours on purpose to be loved; and, moreover, I loved every atom of her with all the strength of my weakness, and the weakness of my strength. Of course there were obsta- cles almost insurmountable to our union, but with her permission I resolved one day to wait upon the governing Hippogriff of the family, he being no less a perso than an uncle, and uncles — from nursery tales up to Richards on the throne — have ever been proverbial for terrific conduct towards their Drothers’ and sisters’ children. The conver- sation which ensued, though of a confidential nature, is too full of example to be lost, especially as it was the proximate cause of my astonishing solar journey. Sir Roger de Griffin, for such was the 12 HELIONDE ; OR, uncle’s name, sat on one side of a library table, and I on the other. He looked placid, severe, and gentlemanly ; I, modest but determined, and my half above the table very courageous, but from the waist down- wards I experienced that sort of nervous trembling which every one has felt when the entire future of his life depends upon the few curt sentences passing between man and man. “ Sir,” said Sir Roger de Griffin, in an- swer to my declaration of attachment for his niece, “ I will return the candour of your confession by frankness equal to your own. Personally, there is not the shadow of an objection to your union with my niece, but since the young lady’s worldly interests are confided to my care, I must confess to you, that the want on your part of a position and a secure income, is an insuperable obstacle to our accepting the honour you would con- fer upon our family.” I scarcely knew whether this was said ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 13 ironically or not ; but I came prepared to combat a first refusal, so I replied: “ For many years, Sir Roger, I have managed by my pen to sustain the position of a gentleman, and to possess at least the external elegances of life ; and why, let me ask, when an incentive to increased exer- tion is added to my natural desire to suc- ceed, should success be doubtful ?” “ Ill-health may overtake you,” he an- swered; “and where, as in the professions generally, is the partner or clerk to whom, for the time, you can delegate your affairs ? The creations of your brain bring you money, but are they spirits which will wait upon your bidding during sickness or sorrow ?” “ True, sir,” I replied; “ but my health is usually excellent, and the evil you antici- pate is, I hope and believe, a remote one.” “ I hope so, too,” said he; “ and, waiving this point of objection, permit me to ask you if you soberly mean to affirm that a man with- out some fixed occupation, one who depends 14 helionde; or, upon the caprice of his own faculties, or, still worse, whose means fluctuate with the changes in the reading world, is in a posi- tion to involve himself in family expenses, and to take a young lady from a home of luxury to introduce her to many privations, the more unendurable because of their novelty ?” “ But, Sir Roger,” said I, waxing elo- quent as well as a little wrathful, “ let me respectfully inquire whether you utterly ig- nore the fact that the loss of many routine luxuries may be compensated for by being loved ; and does it never suggest itself that a change from carriages and horses, routs and operas, to a life of tranquillity in a small but pretty residence, with white aprons to wait, instead of red plush to lounge, may, after all, be a change for the better ?” “ The old story,” said Sir Roger, wag- ging his head sagely — “ love in a cottage. You plead with warmth now for the honey- suckle and rustic door-porch, just as, in a few years’ time, when Messrs. Shortmen ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 15 and Co. have refused your last novel, you will be seeking pecuniary assistance from your nearest, if not your dearest relatives.” The whole family of the De Griffins were always proverbial for speaking the truth in a manner by no means wrapped up to dis- guise its ill-flavour, and this last speech of Sir Roger de Griffin, I must acknowledge, ren- dered me completely hors de combat. The bare supposition, after my numerous successes, that Messrs. Shortmen and Co. could pos- sibly refuse a work from such a pen as my own, made me wince with pain; and this cruel incision being followed up by an ap- plication of caustic in his assumed belief that I should be compelled to seek aid from my relations, completed my disgust, and settled both myself and the subject of our discourse. I dared not trust myself with a reply, but I made a strong effort, and rose to depart, expressing by my compressed lips and gloomy brow the state of my mind and feelings. I suppose I not only looked disconcerted, but also extremely miserable, 16 helionde; or, for in kind accents (and the whole family of the De Griffins could be kind and gentle occasionally) he held out his hand and ex- claimed : “ Go into the world, and endeavour to obtain some fixed and permanent employ- ment, and I promise you I will raise no obstacle to your wishes. I am aware of my dear Christabel’s attachment to you ; but there is truth in the homely old adage, ‘ When want comes in at the door, love flies out of the window.’ ” He pressed my hand more warmly than the family of the De Griffins were wont to press hands, and the interview was ended. The result was, I became seriously indis- posed — nay, seriously ill. Books for review came tumbling in, but neither their contents nor their pages were cut up, or cut open. An article I had promised to have in readi- ness by a certain day, was not even began, and I flew in vain for relief to the family doctor. Dyspepsia, with his legion of blue devils, soon set in, and though everybody ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 17 prescribed for me, no relief came. Neither diet nor medicine assuaged my sufferings, and at length I was so completely drugged by the physic-giving portion of the medical community, that with a growl, sneer, and sardonic laugh, I indited “ The Memoirs of a Stomach,” 1 which, instead of making medi- cal men angry, made them my friends (and in this capacity they ceased to prescribe physic), the while the dear public bought the book, and the publisher was bland and smiling. Instead of recovering, however, I became worse, and as a last resource I resolved to try “ the cold water cure,” so that it might extinguish the flame of my passion, and re- store me to a partially charred but preserved body. With Sir Edward Lytton Bulwer Lytton’s essay in my pocket, and resolution at my heart, I retreated to one of the first hydropathic establishments in England; and 1 The Memoirs of a Stomach. Written by Himself, that all. who eat may read. Edited by a Minister of the Interior* Eifth Edition. C 18 HELIONDE ; OB, in this place occurred that extraordinary metamorphosis which, if described by Ovid, would transcend beyond measure all those mythical changes which that author’s ele- gant, tender, and voluptuous pen has de- scribed, for the benefit of our young men at college, and for the good of society in general. The first week in my new abode passed away without any remarkable event, but at the end of that period the hottest summer set in that ever perhaps occurred in this country. It was one of the good old- fashioned sort of summers — “attended by the sultry hours” — such as our ancestors experienced when the sun really did come forth falling like molten gold; when the grass was turned into hay without cutting ; when brooks dried up without leave; and not a bird sang forth till the evening air braced up his little throat for song. Well, during this season of excessive heat I found the water system agreeable enough, and I drank of the fluid to such a degree that I ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 19 became almost transformed. My bones seemed to be turned into glass, my blood to water, and my veins to crystal aqueducts. Still I persevered, still I drank of the foun- tain, still I dabbled in the baths. The time, indeed, seemed approaching when 1 should be changed into a water-god, crowned by the hydropathic doctor, and installed as the ■ “ Genius of the Spring.” In fact, one night I absolutely dreamed that the trans- formation had taken place — but it was only a dream ; and still I drank and drank, and soaked and soaked. The summer sun increased in fierceness as the season advanced. By day scarcely a sound was heard, and the tinkle of the dis- tant sheep-bell, as it came wafted over the meadows, was the only evidence of life. Still I drank and drank, and soaked and soaked. It so happened, that one day, after a more than usually long ablution, I sauntered forth into the glades, and, like Endymion of old, I lay down and went to sleep. It is true c 2 20 HELIONDlS ; OK, there was no moon to fall in love with me, neither did I slumber for thirty years like the shepherd of Caria : but Sol performed the part of Luna, and while I there lay, close to a bed of fragrant heliotropes, 1 hushed in the calm repose which only a water-drinker enjoys, the sun’s piercing rays permeated my entire system, dissipated into vapour what little remained of the body corporate, and literally* drank me up, like a thirsty soul that he is. My feelings at the moment of dissolution it would be impossible to describe. The molecules of my body partly separated, and became thin and vaporous. Cohesion, however, still feebly existed, and, curiously enough, my sensations were by no means unpleasant. It seemed as though I were inhaling gallons of chloroform, and the pro- cess of attenuation produced a sort of half- dreamy, half-voluptuous feeling, similar to 1 Heliotropium, from 77X10?, tlie sun, and 773071-77, a turning or inclination, because, says Dioscorides, it turns its leaves round with the setting sun. ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 21 that which the hatchis-eaters are said to ex- perience. How long this sort of distillation lasted I know not, but at length I arose, like the genius out of the brass vessel of the fish- erman, a form of vapour yet in mortal shape, and I was drawn upward through the air by that inexorable power which had changed me into an exhalation, and while hurrying me towards another sphere was moulding me in a form capable of existing therein. 1 Upward and onward I was drawn, and at the moment of emerging from the earth’s atmosphere my attenuation increased, as would naturally result from leaving a resist- ing medium. For some period my progress was tolerably slow; but at length I ap- proached a point in space where the earth’s 1 This metamorphosis is scarcely more wonderful than the change which the Culicidse and other insects undergo, who, living for a certain period in one element, suddenly emerge into another, enjoying the blue air and warm sunbeams, having just before been existing in the stagnant pool or foetid heap of manure. The well-known comparison of the Greeks in respect to the soul of man being typified by the transforma- tion of the caterpillar, larva, and butterfly, scarcely requires alluding to, but it should be .remembered that the ancients employed but one name to express the soul and butterfly. 22 HELIONDE; OB, gravitation, ceased and that of the sun’s commenced, and at this period I remember nothing save a confused idea of darting along a high road of molten gold, the path- way being neither more nor less than a col- lection of sunbeams lying in close parallel lines, presenting a brilliant vista of millions of miles, at the terminus of which was the great luminary himself, attracting me at a speed no human mind could conceive. One peculiarity of my feelings was, I knew perfectly well whither I was bound; and although partly unconscious, I remember I experienced a sort of undefined apprehen- sion that a terrific concussion with the sun’s surface must soon occur, not guessing that the same atmospheric arrangement which prevented too sudden a change from a terrestrial to an aerial position would pre- vent any sudden collision with a hard sub- stance, presuming the sun to be such. Nor was I without a natural alarm that I might be rushing toward a huge furnace of eternal fire — the great smithy or forge of creation, ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 23 perhaps — a consideration still less a matter for surprise when it is remembered that I had been early educated to believe that the sun is an igneous body. 1 I experienced, however, no change of temperature as the distance from my destination decreased, and the fact of the sun’s possessing an atmo- sphere lessening in density in the ratio of the distance from the orb it surrounds, acted as a sort of atmospheric buffer, or graduated break. Owing, I say, to this arrangement, my approach to my journey’s end was ren- dered easy and agreeable, and enabled me to contemplate my position with tolerable accuracy. I had now travelled about 94,701,740 of English miles, and was therefore within a distance of 298,260 miles from the sun, and the powers of vision adapting themselves to 1 In respect of the sun’s substance , opinions have differed in every degree. Galileo, Newton, and Buffon, presumed him to he a mass of fire \ Euler and De Luc denying him to he light or fire in any shape ; and the elder Herschel main- taining him to he an opaque body. But, more curious still, in a so-called “ Treatise on the Sublime Art of Heliography,” the sun is pronounced to he a body of ice ! 24 HELIONDE ; OK, the peculiarity of my position, the remainder of my course was one of almost delirious delight. There, at my feet as it were, lay a vast orb, whose diameter is 111 times greater than that of the earth, and instead of exhibiting itself as a vast region of perpetual fire, its appearance, viewed from this distance, was as an enormous sphere, 1 suspended like our own planet without support in the blue heavens, and lying in the bosom of the serene illimitable, with that aspect of grand repose which Nature ever exhibits in her more stupendous efforts in creation. My way now, was of course a descending one, and I gradually approached the termi- nation of my wondrous j ourney with such sensations that only a spirit could feel, pos- sessed of newly-awakened faculties fitting him to enjoy new combinations of creation, at the same time being by no means bereft of the curiosity of an ordinary mortal thirst- ing for knowledge. 1 His powers of vision must, indeed, have been miraculous. ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 25 The man who has devoted his life to the study of Nature — who has drank deep of the draught which she has presented — who, having grouped together in his memory the marvels of her productions, both in the microcosm and in the macrocosm — who, having well-nigh exhausted the treasures of knowledge, and finds himself circumscribed, not by nature but by the comparative re- fusal of his senses to penetrate further — only such a man could comprehend the nature of my sensations when about to enter into a new world, the appetite for knowledge keen, and the food to satisfy it within my grasp. The sun’s aspect, now that I approached it, was no longer that of a sphere, but seemed a surface 1 composed of such physi- cal conformations as w r ould render its in- * To estimate the proportion of an area visible from an elevation, we must have recourse to the geometry of the sphere, which informs ns that the convex surface of a spherical segment is to the whole surface of the sphere to which it belongs as the versed sine, or thickness of the segment, is to the diameter of the sphere ; and further, that this thickness is almost exactly equal to the perpendicular elevation of the point of sight above the surface. 26 HELI0RDE ; OR, habitants somewhat similar to those of the earth. Nearer and nearer I approached, and I beheld hills and valleys, oceans and rivers. Still I drew nearer, and gorgeous cities were beneath me. Nearer yet, palaces brilliant with the light of a centre heati were visible ; so, also, pas- tures, and glades, and gardens, and undula- tions. Nearer still, I perceived I was approach- ing one particular city, and at this altitude ravishing sounds and delicious perfume arose, as it were, to welcome me. The ecstasy of physical enjoyment was now only equalled by an intellectual rapture, which seemed to enable me to converse in tones of love and admiration with the great spirit of the universe. Still slowly down the vast plane of space I descended, and the moment at length ar- rived when, like an offspring of ether, I sprang from its guardian embrace, and stood be- 1 This expression will be explained presently. ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 27 wildered and dazzled before the gates of Heliopolis, the capital of the Sun ! And here I must pause to request the reader, if he intends to follow me through my description of this wondrous abode, to call into play all the best energy of his imagination, for without this aid rendered by him I should despair of painting, even with colour from fancy’s most vivid palette, the picture which is sketched on the canvas of the following pages. 28 HELIOND^ ; OR, CHAPTER II. THE SUBURBS OF HELIOPOLIS. GORGEOUS GATES OF HELIOPOLIS — CONCRETE AIR — ALUTE- DON’S WELCOME — CLOUD-SPUN VESTURES — LANGUAGE — CAVERNS OF LIGHT — CURIOUS NOTES — SHUTTERS IN THE GROUND — SUN SPOTS EXPLAINED — NIGHT IN THE BRAIN — SUN AND ICE — FRESH WONDERS — HELIOCENTRIC AP- PEARANCE OF THE EARTH — THE SUBLIME AND RIDICULOUS — ELYTRON — FOOD — NO STOMACHS — MINICA — BED OF POT- POURRI — MUSICAL COUCH. Nothing I had hitherto conceived, equalled in beauty the gates of Heliopolis . 1 That these were enormous beyond description no one will doubt, but it is a principle of nature 1 Speaking of the world-famous bronze gates of Ghiberti, Michael Angelo declared they were worthy of being the doors of Paradise ; but bronze and solidity scarcely convey the idea of an appropriate entrance to the abode of bliss. Like all beautiful works that require studying, these glorious doors will disappoint the beholder at first . The celebrated bronze door of Sansovino is another exquisite work, which is stated to have occupied thirty years in its construction. Models of both are to be seen in the Renaissance and Italian Courts of the Crystal Palace. ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 29 that size is lost in proportion. I myself, as I stood before these dazzling works of art, was perhaps, in relation to my former size, of colossal dimensions ; but when I glanced at my own person, I could perceive nothing outrageous, for my bulk was utterly lost in the relation it bore to surrounding objects . 1 It will be highly satisfactory for the reader to be informed at once, that so far as dress went, I was perfectly presentable to any one who might arrive, for the habiliments I wore when in the gardens of the hydropathic doctor had gone through a process similar to that of my own body, and they had adapted themselves admirably to my in- creased volume. Instead, however, of fitting in the usual way, they floated, in by no means ungraceful folds, around me. I 1 Weight, i. e. gravitation, must determine the size of bodies, not bulk. Astronomers believe that the gravitation of the sun would make a being there weigh about two tons. This surmise is founded upon dynamic calculations — the most laborious of which the human mind is capable. People are scarcely aware of the amount of labour which a seemingly trifling fact in astronomy represents. Cairaut and Lalande per- formed an extraordinary exploit in calculating the perturbations of Halley’s comet. “During six months,” says Lalande, “ we calculated from morning till night, sometimes even at meals.” 30 helionde; oe, scarcely heeded these matters at the mo- ment, for the surpassing beauty of the city portals absorbed all my attention. They were made of a very curious material called minica — a substance so extensively, indeed so universally, used in Heliopolis, that I must pause for a moment to describe the method of its manufacture. The various colours which composed the atmosphere of the sun 1 being brilliant and numerous, were, by a peculiar process, ar- rested under different forms of combination and at once solidified. Supposing, for a moment, that here, on earth, we were able to catch a portion of light and render it con- crete, turning it at once into a fine trans- parent substance, that imaginary art would, in a degree, resemble the manner of forming this beautiful substance. United to the brilliancy of the purest crystal were colours of every shade ; and I scarcely know to what other well-known substance to compare it, 1 The elder Herschel surmises that the atmosphere of the sun is not less than 1843, nor more than 2765 miles high. The mountains he reckons at 300 miles in elevation. ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 31 excepting, perhaps, to a huge block of trans- parent ice, presuming that an Iris were en- tombed in the centre, permeating with her prismatic colours the entire mass. Perhaps, however, a more correct com- parison would be to compare this minica to a huge diamond, its sparkles and colours fixed indelibly ; — but nothing can convey an idea of its exceeding beauty.* Columns and spars of this substance rose up high into the air, while arcs of the same passed transversely over them. These, again, were fastened by bands of an amethyst tint, united by huge clasps of a sort of opal- minica. The panels of these gates were composed of white slabs of concrete air, from the centre of which pencils of dazzling light radiated, casting an additional lustre over the entire structure. But whence came the light which cast its bright rays upon all things? The Sun was surely not lit by a sun ? And here was I, in the very orb which illumes a vast system, wondering by what possible arrangement it, itself, was illumined. 1 See note, p. 63 32 helionde; or, On this important subject I will speak pre- sently ; for while I was lost in amazement at all I saw, the gates of the Sun flew open, and an individual at the head of a body of abo- rigines advanced and greeted me in the politest manner, asking me to enter, while the courtesy was uttered in musical sounds I perfectly understood ; so I concluded I was in all respects provided with powers adequate to my new destiny. “ Permit me to ask from what world you have come ?” said he. “ From earth.” “From what country?” “ England,” I replied, rather pompously. Upon this he took from one of his followers a sort of tablet, evidently a list of heavenly spheres, and running his eye over it, mut- tered : “ Earth — small star with a moon ; in- habitants eat flesh ; mostly warlike and fierce ; cruel to animals; land and water; atmosphere of its own.” Here he stopped, as if satisfied that these few remarks classified the world from which I came; and then he added, in the most civil tones: ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 33 “We are glad to see you, son of the Earth-star, and not the less so because it is some time since a traveller from your sphere arrived. Permit me now to show you the way to an abode wherein you may repose and refresh yourself ; but, first, will you be so obliging as to change your attire ?” Hereupon some of the people that sur- rounded us brought forth a dress fabricated from a curious material resembling our own fleecy clouds. I afterwards found that the looms wherein it was made were built on elevations, and the great art consisted in catching the almost aerial matter as it floated by at the moment of its utmost speed, for then it could be drawn out with finer threads more readily than when strongly impelled by the winds of Heaven . 1 Not, however, to 1 Mr. Wakefield, referring to a line in Lucretius, “ Et, quasi densendo subtexit cserula nimbis , 55 remarks, "in the same way as in the art of weaving, the woof is thickened by thickening the texture of the threads employed . 5 * Again, Virgil : “ Nor buoyant flies the fleecy wool through Heaven . 55 Or Thomson : " The fleecy mantle of the sky . 55 D 34 helionde; ok. anticipate. I thanked my friend for his gift, and copying his own mode of wearing it, I found myself in a costume something similar to the Roman toga, but more ample ; indeed, so full, that a tunica would have been need- less. It united simplicity, airy lightness, and grace, so that I felt I was costumed perfectly a la mode } “ Sir,” said I, “ may I be permitted to ask by what name I may address you?” “ They call me Alutedon,” answered he, “ signifying the conductor of strangers, since I have the honour of filling that delightful post in the city of Heliopolis — at least as far 1 Before the invention of the loom, known to the early Greeks and Homans, “ The loom, that long renowned well-envied gift Of wealthy Plandria, who the boon received Prom fair Yenetia ; she from Grecian nymphs ; They from Phenice, who obtained the dole Prom old iEgyptus,” onr savage ancestors wore the skins of beasts pinned together with thorns , to which Yirgil refers in describing the dress of Achsemenides. What a contrast is presented to this in the description of Democritus of the Persian actsea, “ ornamented all over with golden millet grains ; and all the millet grains have knots of purple thread passing through the middle, to fasten them inside the garment.” ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 35 as the welcoming goes of all guests arriving at these portals, for there are numerous others round about, with which I have nothing to do.” “How fortunate I am,” I replied, “to have arrived at this particular gate, where my first impression of the inhabitants is so delightful, owing to the courtesy of my in- formant.” At this, Alutedon bowed and looked pleased, the more so, perhaps, because he felt I was sincere in the observation; in the same way that it was impossible for me not to observe that I was conversing with a solar gentleman , and I felt extremely pleased that I should be able to recognise the species in a new world. “ I shall now,” said Alutedon, “ have the honour of escorting you to the residence I mentioned, which I trust you will find suit- able to your requirements ; and as we pro- ceed, I shall be happy to answer any question your natural curiosity may prompt.” “ The first advantage I shall take,” I re- d 2 36 HELIONDE ; OR, plied, “is to inquire whether any title is attached to your name, that I may not commit the gaucherie of neglecting it.” 1 “ No,” answered he ; “ and you have al- ready, by intuition, subscribed to any little weakness I might possess on that point, for accentuation in this country is the distin- guishing mark of respect, and indeed of rank. Were you to call me Alutedon, it would be a mere provincialism: Alutedon is correct. Alutedon would, from one below me in rank, be an insult ; but from a foreigner, only a matter for a smile.” “ Is it so generally throughout your coun- try?” I inquired. “ Yes,” he answered ; “ our language is composed of groups of musical notes ; and rhythm imparts all the variety of meaning.” 3 1 What a thorough bit of English character. 2 The two first essentials of the harmony of human speech are, according to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, the two first essentials of music — melody and cadence . Elsewhere he says that the articulation of language, (jicovla , is analogous to the sound of a musical instrument. According to Quintilian, “rhythmus” answers exactly to the divisions of time in modern music. A fragment of Longinus offers an explanation ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 37 It would be difficult to convey an idea of Alfttedon’s manner of speaking. Each syl- lable was a full delicious sound of music, modulated in the most extraordinary man- ner. Sometimes the same note expressing an idea was staccato ; or gliding into another note its meaning was changed; then slightly swelling crescendo, it implied something else; then sinking diminuendo, its inference was altered. Thus one syllable, that is, one musical sound, had a thousand different modes of expression; and these again being multiplied by an infinite variety of combina- tions, a most exquisite mode of imparting thought was the result. “ And thus they speak in soft accord The liquid language of the skies. 0 Be it also remembered that although these sounds were composed of vibrations of the air, yet the air of the Sun was a far more subtle fluid than with us, consequently a de- of the difference between rhythmus and metre ; while, indeed, in almost every author, ancient or modern, are to be found suggestions or inferences as to the close identity of music and language. Lucretius terms Music the elder sister of Poetry. 38 HELIONDE ; OR, licacy yet power of articulation was attained quite indescribable and utterly unknown to our senses. Added to tlris, the capacity of appreciating sound was to the Helionites’ ear more than a thousand times greater than our own; and that which we should term seven elementary notes, consisted with them of something like five hundred, each capable of about one hundred and fifty different modes of expression . 1 The best explanation I can offer of the peculiar character of each syllable of the language of the Sun, will be by a reference to our own musical signa- tures; and as the similarity may amuse, I will endeavour to explain it. The word love, for instance, was expressed, we will imagine, by the note or musical vibration of the air expressing our b natural of the scale, thus — mu. Well, this in the Solists’ 1 The wonder of this ceases if we look at home. Human hearing, according to Dr. Wollaston, is limited to about nine octaves, and the hearing of some of the lower animals begins where that of man ends ; and yet the human ear can appre- ciate the twenty-fourth thousand part of a sound ! ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 39 language could be expressed in about one hundred and fifty different ways, implying all the various distinctions which that magic word possesses. General or universal love — involving the sort of kiss which Schiller bequeathed to all mankind, and expressed, as we are presuming, by the above note, be- came with a sharpness of sound thus — Illi, expressive of love for a particular person. Then the same note, half gliding into an- other similar note, would express tender re- gard, thus — m. The repetition of this glide would express erotic love — ■ *'--** £ . Elongated, it would denote family love, thus — mi. Love for the unseen, or reli- gious love, thus — ; and so on with lines, dots, signatures, inflections, accents, ad infinitum. The peculiarity of the language consisted in sound being capable of express- ing such small distinctions as the notes ♦ and ■* , which with us would be only ca- pable of appreciation by the eye. Indeed, 40 helionde; or, geometrical figures 1 of every description, from a conic section down to an ordinary circle, could be expressed in sound, so that the extent, power, and influence 2 of the lan- guage in this sphere may well be conceived. Although the mode of conveying idea was thus with the Solites musical, it must not be confused with the music, par excellence, of the Sun, which was composed of perfectly distinct combinations. Every single note of their music, whether vocal or instrumental, consisted of a cluster of concordant notes, 1 The nearest approach to this peculiarity with us will be found by means of the well-known effect of vibration on a plate of glass covered with small sand, which arranges itself into certain lines, according to the form of the plate, the point on which it is supported, and the point on which the violin bow is struck against its border. A perpendicular wire, with a small cone of charcoal, rendered incandescent by electric means, presents the most diverse and beautiful figures when struck at different elevations from its base. 2 Plato has perhaps of any man pronounced the strongest judgment upon the natural effects of music. “ No change,” said he, “ can be made in music without affecting the consti- tution of the state.” Lord Chatham strongly corroborated this when he said, “ Give me the making of the national bal- lads, and I care not who makes the laws.” ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 41 and the division of time was totally distinct from that of the language. As a familiar comparison, I can only add, the speech of the Helionites was in a degree similar to one of our operas without words, wherein every note had a distinct signification; while an opera with them would have been as dis- similar from their language, as music with us differs from the most musical tongue known upon earth. This digression being necessary, we will now return to our narrative, first premising that I make no attempt at a literal trans- lation of the various conversations which occurred, only rendering their sense , as far as I am able, into English. By this time Alutedon’s followers had allowed the portals to close, nor did they follow us as we proceeded ; and I now per- ceived my conductor and myself in a long pathway running between two hills, which, rising on either side, were dotted with habi- tations of every description, all of which, as 42 HELIONDE ; OR, far as I could discern, were made of the splendid material minica, assuming, of course, every possible form and colour. Alutedon here explained to me, in answer to my astonished looks, that a number of these narrow roads converged towards a smaller circumference, wherein was Helio- polis itself, and that my future abode was just on the confines of the bustling city. That which most caused me astonishment was the fact that there seemed to reign around a sort of twilight, the cause of which I was utterly incapable of comprehending, for the Sun evidently contained its own light in its own body somewhere; and whence, then, this partial obscurity ? In answer to my question as to the means by which the luminary was lighted, Alutedon, begging me observe the results, stooped down and re- moved from the ground a tolerably large piece of a sort of thick, green, close-grained turf, upon which we had been walking ; and I then perceived that it had acted as an opaque floor, for, streaming through the ADVENTUKES IN THE SUN. 43 aperture we had made, uprose a flood of illumination . 1 At this discovery I could scarcely resist a cry of astonishment, for by it the fact burst upon my senses that we were walk- ing upon a transparent globe, and that below us, in unfathomable depths, lived and burned that stupendous light which, shoot- ing out its rays into millions and millions of miles, is the cause of light and heat not only to my own home, the planet Earth, but to a group of worlds 2 dependent also for their existence upon the beneficence of the mysterious fires I beheld at my feet. And this, too, without exerting any igneous effect upon the people who lived on the surface of this globe of light ; but, on the 1 Light flies across the earth’s orbit, a space of 195 millions of miles, in sixteen and a half minutes; while it has been calculated, that were the particles of light the size of the twelfth hundred thousand part of a grain of sand, moving at their present velocity, every object would be battered and per- forated by the celestial artillery, and our world and ourselves destroyed. 2 The solar system consists of thirty-eight primary orbs or planets, at least nineteen secondary planets or moons which revolve round the larger masses, and a host of comets. 44 helionde; or, contrary, furnishing them with a temperate climate and delicious days. In fact, that fire which at the distance of 95,000,000 miles burns on earth, when its rays are attended with the fiercest blaze, was here at its source gentle and calm, like a flood of moonlight permeating the sphere on which we stood. And yet, as Milton says : “ Hither, as to their fountains, other stars Repairing in their golden urns, draw light /’ 1 With wonder and amazement I was rooted to the spot. Recovering myself at length, while Alutedon smiled at my bewildered manner, I begged him to remove another square of this densely opaque coverlid; and, 1 The reader will not fail to remember that splendid passage in Lucretius, beginning : “ Largus item liquidi funs luminis, setherius sol, Inrigat absidue coelum candore recenti Subpeditatque novo confestim lumine lumen or the lines, perhaps, of Klopstock, quoted by Dr. Good : “ Well-spring of every beauty traced by sight, [Forth flowing endless through the realms of space.” Messias, h ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 45 acceding to my request, I again Rooked down into a profound abyss of chastened yet closest light. I placed my hand upon the surface of the ground, and found it cool and yielding to my touch; but I observed it became harder and more crystal-like the deeper I attempted to penetrate. At length, recovering my power of speech, I exclaimed: “Merciful goodness, Alutedon! what is below us ?” “ Simply,” answered Alutedon, smiling, “we are standing on an immense ball of electric light, increasing in density towards the centre ; and when you consider that this sphere is 882,000 miles in diameter, it ne- cessarily follows that its light increases in power towards a maximum point of half that distance, or to 441,000 miles below us ; and yet this luminous body, the source of light and heat to distant objects, is in it- self without what you would term caloric, and only exhibits the phenomenon of 46 HELIOND33 ; OR, heat when its rays meet with a solid body.” “This I comprehend,” I answered; “for if we climb a mountain on the earth, or ascend in a balloon, we get colder and colder the nearer we approach the supposed source of heat . 1 But still there is evidently warmth in the Sun.” “My good friend,” said my companion, “ so there is ; quite sufficient to furnish us unworthy inhabitants with comfort and plea- sure; but all things here are far more at- tenuated than with you, containing thus less of that 1 calorific medium,’ and, therefore, less of positive heat than you could ima- gine. But come,” he added, “ the period for repose will soon be over, and then we shall have enough to do and to see.” This latter speech was addressed to me, inasmuch as I found it impossible to resist stooping every moment to the ground, and 1 cc The sun’s rays are only powerful when they act on a calorific medium. They are the cause of the production of heat, by igniting with the matter of fire which is contained in the substances which are heated.” — F/iilosojpk. Trans. ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 47 displacing portions of that velvet-like sub- stance which shrouded the excess of light below ns. This, no doubt, to an habitue of the Sun, looked extremely ridiculous, for my friend at length gave vent to a good fit of laughter (a run up the chromatic scale), and begged me to desist. “For,” said he, “ some of our rakes may be returning home at this hour, and if they should see you digging into the surface of the Sun” (he might have added, “like a truffle dog”) “ they will certainly think you are demented, and I shall come in, perhaps, for a share of their opinion.” “How strange,” I thought to myself, “is this. Here am I, naturally lost in amazement at the stupendous method of lighting a uni- verse, looking down into the mysterious depths of the fountain of fire, which bids our sum- mers to come, and our sweet flowers to bloom — interpreting, in fact, one of the great secrets of Nature, and yet at the very moment, I may be scoffed at by some young fop returning home from a dance with the belles of Helio- 48 HELIOND^; OE, polis. How strange is the ascent of know- ledge, when familiarity with Nature’s miracles produces an indifference to their marvels, and where comparison is absolutely essential for the appreciation of the works of divine intellect.” My natural impulse was to fall prostrate on the ground, and to pour forth my soul-felt adoration of this new proof of power which had burst upon my comprehen- sion ; and yet not only would this act have seemed ridiculous in the estimation of passers by, but the fear of ridicule absolutely inclined me to obey my new friend’s mandate, and to hasten onward. “ Ah,” I thought to my- self, “ the weaknesses of human nature are not confined to earth.” As we proceeded, I asked my conductor if all the habitations I saw around me were lit from below. “ Most certainly,” he replied ; “ our light ascends instead of descending, as yours does ; and our floors are curtained and shuttered just as I suppose are your windows and sky- lights.” ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 49 “You have oceans and seas, for I observed them when descending.” “ Oh, yes,” said he ; “ and when the bot- tom of the waters is only slightly or unequally covered with a coating of an opaque sub- stance, the light shines upward, and we are enabled to perceive what the inhabitants of the fluid element are about. Our observa- tions in the ichthyological department of na- tural history are consequently very curious.” “ So I should think,” quoth I ; “ and with such means of investigation Professor Owen would soon discover whether the great sea- serpent of the earth is a great myth, or a veritable child of ocean . 1 But how is it, Alu- tedon, my friend, that as all your globe seems to be covered with a layer of this densely opaque body, that the electric light which 1 The name of Owen must call to mind one of the most wonderful examples of deductive reasoning on record. The skeleton of the “wingless bird of New Zealand” was theore- tically built up by Professor Owen from a small bone a few inches in length: the entire bones of the bird afterwards, arrived from Australia, and in every particular corroborated the ideal form which had been constructed by the professor. E 50 HELIONDE; OR, dwells in the centre of your sphere finds its way forth into the regions of space ?” “Ah,” said Alutedon, “your question is a very natural one. The fact is this. There are, it is true, vast continents of this turf-like substance imprisoning with its dense nature the light within, and vast tracts of ocean are covered at the bottom with the same ma- terial 5 but extensive as these dark fields are, they bear but a small proportion to the im- mense surface of the globe which is un- covered, and consequently transparent ; and it is from this cause that the rays from our intense electric lamp are enabled to spread into the regions of ether, lighting all things within a certain limit of a vast circum- ference.” “ Oh, oh !” I exclaimed, as a sudden con- viction rushed across my mind, “ this, then, accounts for a mystery which all our astro- nomers have hitherto been unable to solve. These opaque continents being grouped upon, or dotted over, the otherwise universally transparent surface of your planet, at once ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 51 explain what on earth we term maculae, or spots on the sun !” 1 “Of course,” answered Alutedon, by no means partaking of my delight at this dis- covery; “but are you not still more sur- prised when I tell you that we have night and day, and a warm and a cold season ?” “ Indeed,” I answered, “ I cannot tell how it is possible, considering that the light is part and parcel of your own sphere ; you cannot turn from it, for it is ever with you — ever present.” “ Do you not observe,” said he, “ that even while we are talking the day is becom- ing lighter and lighter? Had you arrived a few hours sooner, you would scarcely have seen. And yet our globe is never in dark- ness.” I thought Alutedon was poking a paradox at me, so I replied, perhaps a little petu- lantly : 1 Whatever be the real nature of these spots, first dis- covered by Galileo, they have been useful to the astronomer in enabling him to observe the diurnal revolution of the sun. E 2 52 HELIONDi; OR, “ Your world never in darkness, and yet lias its niglits ! Surely you are joking.” “Not at all,” said he; “and you will see at once that there exists more cause for wonder than smiles ; and even to us people in the Sun the arrangement I am about to describe is a beautiful exemplification of how exquisitely Nature adapts herself to the exigencies of every form of creation. On earth you have night and day in consequence of your rotating on your axis ; and although we too rotate in about twenty-five days and fifteen hours, yet that cannot possibly de- crease or increase our light, seeing that it exists in the heart of our sphere.” “ Clearly,” said I, “ turn as you may, your light turns with you ; then surely you have perpetual day ?” “Yes,” said he, “we have perpetual day! But not to keep you longer in suspense, know that action and repose are as essential, for the beings in this world as in your own, and per- petual day would so exhaust our energies, ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 53 that we should soon cease to exist. Provi- dence, therefore, by a beautiful adjustment of means to an end, has so formed the optic nerve of all organised creatures gifted with vision, that its power of sustaining light fades, and is renewed at certain fixed in- tervals ; thus in itself making day and night, and suggesting hours for action or repose.” In perfect astonishment I exclaimed : “ Then night, day, and twilight, appear to you from internal causes instead of ex- ternal ?” “ Certainly,” answered he. “ Does not the day, at this moment, seem to be brighten- ing?” “ Yes, indeed,” I responded. “ Well,” added he, “ the effect is produced because our optic nerves are gradually re- covering their energy, which, at their maxi- mum point of power will remain fixed a certain number of hours, and will then slowly grow less and less capable of bearing light, till the minimum point of lost power 54 HELIONDfi; OE, is gained : thus night sets in in the brain , not in external nature " 1 “ But,” said I, after a pause, “ there must be this inconvenience attending such an arrangement — you cannot pursue any avoca- tion during your nights.” “ Quite wrong,” quoth he, “ for the arti- ficial light we use in our houses and in our streets has the power of producing a tern- 1 One of the most curious optical arrangements is that of the Surinam sprat, which having to swim near the surface of the water, possesses two distinct properties of vision, the upper half of the eye refracting rays transmitted by air, and the lower part refracting rays transmitted by water. All the other parts correspond with this strange structure, and con- stitute a double eye in one. Another extraordinary adap- tion of means to an end is presented in the formation of the eyes of those reptiles living both on land and water. By muscles provided for the purpose, they increase, when in the water, the distance between the cornea and retina, and form a focus upon the retina, which, owing to the mode by which water refracts rays, would otherwise be beyond it. When in the air they relax these muscles, and the focus of an object falls as usual on the retina : — so that they are provided with spectacles fitting them for two elements. Yet another curious fact bearing more immediately upon the visual peculiarity of the people in the Sun, is the complete insensibility, in the human eye, to the impression of light on a certain point of the retina — like a mirror with part of the quicksilver rubbed off. Ac- cording to Daniel Bernoulli, this spot is about the eighth of an inch in diameter. ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 55 porary return of optic sensibility, though in a mitigated form. The cause of this subtle and beautiful problem you will comprehend when you have attended some of our philo- sophical institutions.” I was so struck with this admirable yet simple method of meeting the evils of per- petual day, that for some moments I re- mained silent. At length I asked : “ And your seasons, Alutedon — how about change in temperature ?” “ Our atmosphere,” he answered, “ at dif- ferent periods of the year becomes denser than at others, and thereby holds, as it were, a greater number of the molecules of light or heat in its grasp, producing summer at its highest point of density, and other sea- sons analogous to yours upon earth, accord- ing to a graduated scale of change. Ot course, when most rare, the atmosphere pro- duces our winter season .” 1 1 The diversity of our own seasons depends npon the oblique position of the sun’s path through the heavens. The obliquity of the ecliptic is growing less and less continually, and the seasons are thus imperceptibly tending to one unvaried spring. 56 helionde; or, “ Snow and ice in tlie Sun !” “ Certainly; and some of our most exqui- site articles here manufactured are produced during the winter months, for it so happens we possess the power of transferring all the ordinary productions of nature into articles suited to our wants. Ice we can turn into indissoluble blocks, and snow we can weave into garments soft and warm.” These facts charmed me not a little, as much by reason of a sort of analogy they established with the dear planet of my birth, as on account of their intrinsic inte- rest, and for some little time I could only ponder upon what I had heard. Alutedon very politely avoided disturbing my reverie ; but at length he ventured to do so, and the delicious music of his voice struck me as more beautiful from the pre- vious silence. “ Heliophilus,” said he — “ for such will be your title while you sojourn amongst us — does it not strike you as surprising that I should be acquainted with any of the facts ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 57 connected with the world from which you have come ?” “ Scarcely,” I replied ; “ for I imagine your knowledge of external phenomena is as far beyond that of ours, as your world’s bulk exceeds that of the earth.” “ No,” he answered ; “ I have gained a little smattering of what is going on in the stars from my official position, for as I before stated, it is my agreeable lot to welcome all strangers who may arrive at that particular portal where you alighted. Some of our visitors have no occasion to pass through a bodily metamorphosis to adapt them for our kingdom, but arrive in their primitive shape, and then indeed they are subjects of both wonder and amusement to us all.” “ Indeed,” I said, partly apostrophising ; “ so inhabitants of other worlds besides those of the earth find their way here ?” And I felt partly vexed that I was not exclusively a stranger in the land. Alutedon smiled at this question, and pointing upward to millions of stars, which, 58 helignde; or, owing to the rarefied nature of the Sun’s atmosphere,^ I could perceive, exclaimed: “ Why, dear Heliophilus, should you ima- gine that the earth, out of all that starry host, alone sends its messengers to our sphere ?” I think I must have blushed or appeared conscious of egotism, for his accents grew tender, and his sweet voice softened into a tone of almost affection, as he continued : “ Look upward again. Dost thou see that point of ruby 1 2 light in the far regions of space ? Look at it well, Heliophilus, shining 1 The upper strata of air, being less dense, offer less re- sistance to the luminous rajs, and hence a greater number of stars are visible at great elevations than at a lower level. 2 “ Insulated stars of a red colour, almost as deep as that of blood, occur in many parts of the heavens, and many of the double stars exhibit the beautiful phenomenon of contrasted or complementary colours. It is easier suggested in words than conceived in imagination, what variety of illuminations two suns — a red and a green, or a yellow and a blue one — must afford a planet circulating about either; and what charming contrasts a red and a green day, for instance, alter- nating with a white one and with darkness, might arise from the presence or absence of one or other, or both, above the horizon.” — Sir John Herschel’s Astronomy , p. 395. ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 59 and lustrous like a gem set in the azure robe of Omnipotence; look at it and gaze with affection, for that star is the earth .” 1 There was something indescribable in the tones of Alutedon’s voice as he spoke, and something so gentle and enthralling in his manner, that I almost expected to hear the flutter of an angel’s wings wafting him to other regions : but I did gaze upward as he told me ; and who, earth-born, could have looked on that minute point in space, mil- lions of miles distant, without being almost overpowered by his sensations ? Just con- ceive our terrestrial history, with all our struggles, wars, passions, strivings, longings, love, sorrow, hatred, progress, art, science, literature, commerce, conquests, crime, vir- tue, and all the energy of nature in the past, and man in the present, all, all represented and expressed by that tiny star, shining above me like a little opening in the canopy 1 To a spectator placed in the Sun all the planets would appear to describe circles in the heavens, though their orbits are really elliptical. 60 helionde; oe, of heaven. “ Ah,” thought I, “ thou unit amongst myriads, how chastened would thy inhabitants become — how sensible of the small part they play in the great drama of creation — could they but view thee, as I view thee now, a sand-note of fire in the melody of the heavens.” Then, from a sort of revulsion of feeling, while I gazed on the starry hieroglyphics of the sky, and on the beauteous architecture of the universe, I thought of the houses in Harley-street ; and while I adored the calm and stupendous Kosmos, I thought of a tea-party in St. John’s Wood, with people around a table trying to turn it. In fact, I fell from the sublime to the ridiculous down the inclined plane of thought, and contact with the ab- surd roused me from my reverie. “ Ah !” I exclaimed, “ it is all wonderful. But tell me, Alutedon, since you seem to be acquainted with the nature of our globe, have many of our inhabitants received the benefit of your escort in this sphere ?” “ Yes, several,” he answered ; “ but they ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 61 were all poets, since your people with, pro- saic minds would never bear the attenuation necessary for the voyage. Not that poets,” added my informant, “ are better than other men ; on the contrary, they are often sad fel- lows, but delicacy of mental organisation is prefatory to becoming a more refined and sublimated animal.” 1 “ Indeed!” I exclaimed; “do you mean writers of poetry ?” AMtedon laughed at this. “ No,” he said, “ I mean poetical tempera- ments, those whose minds are so strung as to appreciate forms of actual beauty, and to imagine fresh combinations of excellence. There are many who have no gift for ex- pressing poetry, but who feel it to the depth of their souls.” 1 The saw saith, f f It is murder to hinder a poet from killing himself;” but another saw, sharper than the first, has it, “He who can view the world as a poet is always at soul a king.” To this might be added Sir Philip Sidney’s quaint description of what a poet ought to be ; who winds up as follows : “ He eometh unto you with a tale which holdeth children from play ; he eometh to you with words set in delightful proportion, either accompanied with, or prepared for, the will- enchanting skill of music ; and with a tale.” 62 IIELIONDE ; OR, “ How about our men of money ?” I asked. “ Never come here,” said Alutedon, drily. “A rich member of your city corporation did, if I remember, once leave your earth in a form of solar tenuity, but he collapsed into a metallic meteor, and fell back to the earth in no time.” “ But wealthy men,” said I, smiling, “are extremely useful members of society. They are ganglionic sources of wealth to others; reservoirs and fountain-heads whence flow the streams of gold. Then, is their trans- formation into rarer natures impossible ?” “ Can’t say,” replied Alutedon, curtly ; “ at all events, they never come here. Plu- tus and Helios will never be friends.” “ How about our lawyers ?” I demanded ; “ do they ever pay you a visit ?” At this question the expression of Alute- don’s face was so comical I could scarcely refrain from laughter, while certainly there was no further necessity for an interrogation. How long the conversation might have ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 63 continued in this strain I know not, but the increasing beauty of the scene around us made me pause to observe it. The sloping hills to my right and left were, as I before intimated, covered witn edifices made of the lustrous and beautiful minica ; 1 but they were now bathed in floods of softened yet intense light, which streamed up from apertures made by fan- 1 Nothing could seem more impossible than the manner of forming “ minica” by means of solidifying air. Indeed, many will think the idea verges on the ridiculous : and so it may ; but it will be found that this “ stretch of the imagination,” which I hold a prescriptive right to use in the text, is equalled, if not exceeded, by a statement in a work called “ The Mar- vels of Science,” and which would seem to indicate in the writer an equal solicitude for the full development of the two substances in the title of his very amusing, and generally in- structive book. In describing the properties of air, he finishes by saying: “It is composed of minute globular particles, which are in ceaseless motion revolving round their axes, and, though these evolutions are not usually discernible under cer- tain conditions of temperature, the particles solidify , and their movements are then apparent.” The author then proceeds to quote his authority, who declares he witnessed near Olexyko, in Prussia, the atmosphere like a hard compact mass, tremor- ously shaken, and which even resounded audibly ! Mr. Pullom then goes on to surmise that “ the Masters of Science, arguing from analogy, have long concluded that the atmosphere pos- sessed the properties common to more definite bodies, and is capable both of solidification and liquefaction.” 64 helionde; or, tastic cuttings in the thin, but dark and dense, coverlid of this curious region. Around some of the habitations this opaque sub- stance, which I shall henceforth call Elytron, was cut away simply in concentric rings, so that the light streamed up from the open- ings, embracing the fairy-like residences in circumfluent light. Other occupants evinced their taste in arranging the openings of the Elytron in divers forms, like the different beds of flowers in our own parterres. From these the light arose, casting a halo upwards, and forming corresponding patterns in the atmo- sphere, like phantom geometrical figures writ in the air by magic hands; or as fantas- tic shapes invented in fairyland, changing their forms as the breezes swept through their airy outlines. Other habitations were shrouded in a semi*obscure light, produced by mats not wholly opaque, so arranged as to exclude the up-pouring rays. These abodes, Alutedon told me, belonged prin- cipally to the rich — those who could best afford to slumber till a late hour. ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 65 By this time we had walked some consi- derable distance, and I could not fail to observe that the general body of light in- creased over all things. I perceived, too, that the tops of the hills had no sort of covering whatsoever ; and as the light streamed out of their summits it was at once dissipated and diffused over the general atmosphere, while the contrast between the opaque portions of the ground and the various openings became every instant less apparent; so I understood, owing to the causes already explained, that we had been walking during the period of a solar night — night of the optic nerve 1 — and that a brilliant day would soon be ushered in. I also began to feel that I was by no means purely etherial, for a sensation of ex- haustion gave unmistakable evidence that waste and replenishment of the system were exerting their sway even in this refined 1 Page 52. In speaking hereafter of the nights in the Sun, I shall allude to them as ordinary nights, to avoid all unneces- sary recapitulation. F 66 HELIONDi; OR, sphere ; and as, no doubt, my looks exhibited the real state of the case, Alutedon took from his belt (made of a flexible ray of light) a sort of bulb-like flask of such deli- cate workmanship that the shade of that splen- did old reprobate, Benvenuto Cellini, would, through sheer envy, have shaken in its shoes. Alutedon presented this to me ; and such was the perfect adaptation of my senses to the new world I was in, that I at once placed it to my lips, and imbibed the aroma of a delicious perfume 1 which revived me immediately. 1 Alexis, in his fC Wicked Woman,” says : f< The best receipt for health Is to apply sweet scents nnto the brain.” Masnrias asks, “ Are yon not aware that it is in our brain that our senses are soothed, and indeed reinvigorated by sweet smells ?” The ancients often anointed the breast with perfume, be- cause cc scents do, of their own nature, ascend upwards,” and also because they considered that “ the soul had its dwelling in the heart.” Anacreon says : “ Why fly away, now that you’ve well anointed Your breast, more hollow than a flute, with unguents.” Aud Alcseus, the poet, “ He shed a perfume over all my heart.” See Yonge’s “ Banquet of the Learned,” book xv. ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 67 By this I conjectured that the inhabitants of the Sun lived upon delicate exhalations of flowers and fruits, and not upon solid food. Indeed, I had remarked that the only functions I possessed that could possibly support life were the lungs. “ What ! no stomach !” exclaims the as- tonished reader, and a Killarney echo an- swers, “None.” I was destined to exist upon air and perfume, like the rest of the people here; and by this arrangement of nature a number of inconveniences were avoided, and amongst others that of coarse gluttony; though I afterwards discovered that there existed gourmets in the odour line, as there are gourmands with us, and that dis- tillers, in all the graduated scale from a Sava- rin to a scullery-maid, were the class in the Sun answering to our genus “cook.” Just as one of our connoisseurs of wine lifts up his glass daintily between his fingers, and after regarding it in the light, takes a cau- tious sip, and gives a bland smile if it meet his approval, so these children of light would r 2 68 HELIOND^; OB, hold the vessel containing their fragrant food, and giving it a gentle squeeze, allow an atom of scent to titillate the critical nose, and then, if approved, they applied their lips to the orifice of the flask and imbibed the con- tents, as we inhale chloroform or laughing- gas . 1 This system of nature supporting life by bringing the blood in constant contact with a large surface of air by means of an excess of pulmonary extension, had the effect of i Apollonius of Herophila, in his treatise on perfume, writes as follows : — “ The iris is best at Elis, and at Cyzicus ; perfume from roses is most excellent at Phaselis, Naples, and Capua ; that made from crocuses is in highest perfection at Soli, in Cilicia, and at Rhodes ; the essence of spikenard is best at Taurus ; the extract of vine-leaves at Cyprus and at Adra- myttium ; the best perfume from marjoram and from apples comes from Cos ; Egypt bears the palm for its essence of cypirus, and the next best is the Cyprian and Phoenician, and after them comes the Sidonian ; the perfume called Panathe- naicum is made at Athens ; and those called Metopian and Mendesian are prepared with the greatest skill in Egypt. Still the superior excellence of each perfume is owing to the purveyors, and the materials, and the artists, and not to the place itself.” This enumeration, which, by the way, ought to be invalu- able to Messrs. Delcroix, will, by changing the names of scent and places, do equally well for a description of the odours in Heliopolis. ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 69 imparting great purity to the system, delicacy to the organisation, refinement to the cere- bral functions, and exceeding sensibility of temperament generally. In lieu of great muscular power, nervous energy was para- mount — not acting upon fibres, but imme- diately upon the mind — so that the percep- tions of these Helionites were intensely vivid, but chastened by an extreme tender- ness of nature. An adoration of the shadowy images of pure spiritual existence, and a keen appre- ciation of the wondrous forms of physical beauty 1 which surrounded them, were also characteristics of these most singular people, 1 Goethe says, “We should do our utmost to encourage the Beautiful, for the Useful encourages itself.” Hawks- worth has a paper in the “Adventurer,” to prove that per- sonal beauty is produced by moral sentiments, and upon this subject Lavater’s works contain unanswerable facts. Leigh Hunt makes a most eloquent appeal to people in general to cultivate a love of the beautiful, which after all — however much people may differ in their definition of beauty, Aristotle making size an element of beauty, Burke making smallness — is the external form of internal harmonies. We must re- member, too, that certain predispositions of the mind are needful for the appreciation of beauty. Amongst others, are 70 HELIONDE ; OR. whose vices were humbler grades of virtue, and whose ills were those arising from the chromatic colourings of happiness involving the necessity of some, being less blessed than others. Alutedon was now taking me from the path we had hitherto followed, and I found we were ascending a gentle slope, in which stood an exquisite sort of cottage which he informed me was to become my home. When I say small, of course I mean relatively so, for on our earth it would have occupied about the space of one of the largest squares; but here so vast were sur- rounding objects that it appeared but an extremely pretty villa, encircled, like one of our own dear country retreats, with flowers and climbing plants, and shrubs and trees, but all differing from those of the earth in texture, appearance, and purpose . 1 fff cultivation, sensibility, serenity and cheerfulness , 55 and above ail, a loving and tender nature. The mind then becomes a delicate beautyscope (to coin a new word), which indicates the various degrees of beauty to great perfection. 1 The flora of the Sun will be hereafter described. ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 71 “ Now,” said Alutedon, as we stood on the threshold of this little Paradise, “ I shall leave you, that you may enjoy a few hours’ repose, and when your tired nature is re- cruited, I shall have the pleasure of escorting you over our city, and of presenting you to our sovereign prince ; while the greatest boon you can bestow upon me will be to express any desire you may wish to have gratified.” Of course I returned a proper response, full of gratitude, to this courteous speech, and scarcely was his back turned, when, overcome with the excitement of all I had seen, I cast myself on a couch, which, judg- ing by its odour and peculiar texture, was made of pot-pourri, or some mixture of dried flowers 1 peculiar to the Sun. 1 “ And on the fourth day she (Cleopatra) paid more than a talent for roses ; and the floor of the chamber for the men was strewed a cubit deep, nets being spread over the blooms. 5 ’ — Athenaeus, book iy. Homer speaks, too, of splendid beds, especially those which Arete orders her handmaids to prepare for Ulysses. Ephippus says : “ Place me where rose-strewn couches fill the room, That I may steep myself in rich perfume . 55 Pliny tells us that a floor of roses was often a means of 72 helionde; or, Strange to relate, at the moment my wearied limbs pressed this delicious bed, a strain of ravishing music, subdued but soul- stirring, poured forth a symphony which I fancied was wafted from Heaven itself. The melody was quite indescribable, but it awoke all the religious feelings of the heart, and swept those chords of the mind which vibrate to the love and adoration of the invisible and unknown. Too ravished with the me- lody to speculate as to its source, I sank into slumber undisturbed by the shadow of a vision. dispelling by its fragrance that heaviness and stupefaction which too often succeed drinking. The custom until modern times was usual in Persia and Arabia, and is alluded to by Rakeek, an Arabian poet. ADVENTUKES IN THE SUN, 73 CHAPTER III. OF HELIOPOLIS AND ITS WONDERS. BATH PLANT — DRESS — ABORIGINES — WORKS OF ART — FEAST OF FRAGRANCE— VEGETABLE COIFFURE — BUDS AND BLOSSOMS— UN CONCETTO — RELIGION — CITY OF DIAMONDS— ORDER — IRIS-BRIDGES — MANUFACTORIES — PALACE OF HELIONAX — LOVE OF CURVES — CARYATIDES — BEAUTY — SHOPS — GEO- METRIC STREETS — ELECTRIC CARRIAGES — GENTLEMEN DRI- VERS — THE LADIES — COSTUME — FIRE-PINS — EROS AND ANTEROS— SCULPTURE — FOUNTAINS OF LIGHT — JETS OF BOU- QUETS— WONDROUS FLOWERS— BAZAAR OF ODOURS — MORAL MONEY — RAIN — KALEIDOSCOPE-CLOUDS — GLANCING ANKLES — ARRIVAL AT THE PALACE. When I awoke I found the most brilliant light streaming up through the crystal-like floor of my room, though a most excellent arrangement of Elytronic matting enabled me to moderate it as I pleased. I felt so refreshed, so joyful, and my spirit so elastic, that I could scarcely believe I existed in a 74 HELIONDiE; OB, natural world, and tlie prospect around me was well calculated to sustain the delu- sion. My abode consisted of my bed-chamber, or Thalamus , 1 with arched openings leading to a garden. A curtain of some curious material led to another apartment, which I must call the Atrium, or principal chamber, leading out of which I discovered the Bal- neum, the baths in which were filled with a milk-white fluid, which I perceived dropped from clusters of blossoms trained from a tree in the garden 2 into the chamber. Into this bath I leapt with delight; and while I lay luxuriating in its warm and soft embrace, the corollas of the flowers above, suddenly opened internal valves, and poured down a 1 This and the following names are borrowed from those given to the rooms in the houses of Pompeii. 2 This bath-plant is scarcely more wonderful than the com- mon cocoa-nut tree, and many of the trees of North and South America, whose different fruits supply the inhabitants with food, milk, canoes, weapons of all sorts, twine, gum, sugar, glue, and other essentials to man. Of the palm it has been said, “ a single tree will supply every want of its possessor, even though a Sybarite in his way.” ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 75 shower of some cool perfumed fluid on my head. When I had sufficiently enjoyed the thraldom of the delicious douche, I arose like a god kissed by the lips of Elysian waters, and my surprise may well be conceived when at this minute a shower of the softest and sweetest farina fell all over me, which I perceived was yet another gift of the extra- ordinary plant above me . 1 * * * This mixing with the moisture on my skin, formed a sort of aro- matic paste, which instinct told me to rub well into my body, the while I thought to myself, “ To what a land of luxury I have come !” 1 It is not often an opinion against tlie use of the bath is to be found, but “ every medal has its obverse. 5 ’ Antiphanes, in the “ Deipnosophists,” points out their injurious character: “ Plague take the bath ! just see the plight In which the thing has left me ; It seems to have boiled me up, and quite Of strength and nerve bereft me. Don’t touch me, curst was he who taught a Man to soak in boiling water.” Again, Hermippus : “ As to mischievous habits, if you ask my vote, I say there are two common kinds of self-slaughter : One, constantly pouring strong wine down your throat. T’other plunging in up to your throat in hot water.” 76 helionde; oe, Another shower of a fragrant liquid, different from the other, completed my ablutions ; and 1 then perceived a pile of immensely large leaves, soft as eider-down and fine as gos- samer-web, lying ready to my hand. With these natural towels I polished myself off, and casting my cloud-spun mantle around me, was prepared for the events of the first day in Heliopolis. An opening from this chamber led into another, wherein I found garments of every conceivable texture and colour. Some were coarse, made of the clouds that floated over the surface of the Sun just before rain came on. Others were more delicate, made from the same material, but selected and spun in aerial looms at high altitude. Others were so extremely fine that they were evidently manufactured with nicest art from the air itself. In fact, I was not long in perceiving that the atmosphere which enveloped the Sun was so rich, in gifts to the inhabitants that it could well be likened to our own fruitful soil. It furnished building materials ADVENTURES* IN THE SUN. 77 of all sorts of shape and tint ; manufactured goods of every conceivable quality; fancy fabrics for the rich ; useful ones for the poor; with the aid of perfume it supported life ; it prevented corruption in every form ; and as will be fully seen anon, it was the means of riches and comfort to the inhabitants. Perhaps it may be asked why the people in a climate so salubrious needed dress in any shape — why did they not exist in a state similar to our parent before the fall ? and I can only reply by explaining the fact that the Helionites bore an exact resemblance to the beings of earth, save and except they were all exquisitely beautiful, and instead of their animal economy rendering animal food necessary, air and perfume, as before explained, were the aliments which sustained life. The lungs extended from the thorax to the hip-joints, occupying the place of a human being’s stomach, duodenum, &c., so that any residue of sweet fragrance perco- lated through the skin. The bath, therefore, 78 helionde; or, was an important point in the conduct of their personal affairs. The circulation of blood was performed, as with us, by means of a heart ; and a very important organ it was; for be it remem- bered, it had to force the blood through an astonishing excess of pulmonary develop- ment. The specific weight of the blood, however, was much less than might be sup- posed, owing to the pure nutriment on which the Solites existed, and thus its passage through the veins and arteries suffered no im- pediment from intrinsic causes of hindrance. The absence of all solid food removed the necessity for mastication ; consequently, in lieu of molars and incisors, they possessed a delicate line of ivory, extending, as our teeth extend, around the jaw-bones, fixed therein by an alveolar process, as are our own grinders. Indeed, the appearance pre- sented was that of a row of the most ex- quisite teeth, and it was only by close in- spection that you perceived they were with- out divisions. ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 79 These bands of beautiful material served the Helionites to press against the firm sub- stance which held the various odours on which they subsisted, so that while they filled an office of utility, they added to the personal charms of these glorious beings — and here again Nature manifested the afflu- ence of her handiworks, by her ever-beloved union of utility and ornament. Since the Helionites, therefore, were pos- sessed of an outward appearance similar to that which distinguishes a human being born in this planetp it consequently follows that dress was a necessary tax upon their perfect freedom of locomotion; or should the reader demur to this, and deny the necessity, I can only declare that the exigencies of my nar- 1 Of the beings in this sphere Mr. Horace Smith could never have sung — “ Plumes ! pearls ! that gem beauty’s diadem ! "Unguents that perfume give it ! Your pomp and grace is the refuse base Of the ostrich, oyster, and civet ! Even mighty kings— those helpless tilings Whose badge is the royal ermine — Their glory’s pride must steal from the hide Of the meanest spotted vermin.” 80 HELIONDE J OK, rative compel me to avoid a statuesque r'e- flex of the living and breathing forms it was my fortune to meet. I should fill fifty volumes instead of one were I to describe every little article of de- coration or utility which abounded in my dwelling. The arrangements were all per- fect. Works of art greeted me at every step; but though in appearance they were solid, they escaped the sense of touch, and the hand passed through their exquisite outlines instead of coming in contact with a hard substance. My ravished vision, how- ever, drank in the perfection of forms, and surprise at their tenuity was lost in won- der at their aerial loveliness . 1 Of course all things were arranged in reference to the ascending property of light, while the ceil- ing or roof of the edifice was cut in all manner of facets, which refracting the rays, 1 Aii effect somewhat similar to this can be produced by means of concave mirrors, from which aerial figures stand out in a manner so illusive that the beholder can scarcely credit their immateriality until satisfied by an attempt to grasp them.— -See Sir D. Brewster on “Natural Magic.” ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 81 imparted a brilliant and gorgeous effect diffi- cult to describe. I now entered a fourth apartment, answer- ing to the Roman “ Triclinium,” 1 and I drew a long breath of delight as the sweet aroma of a hundred odours was wafted on the air. These perfumes (to compare volatiles with food and wine) answered to the promulsis, bellaria, and mulsum, of the ancients, and were enclosed in flexible flasks, or “ am- phorm,” made of pliable glass, inlaid with minute pencillings of light, which had been caught and transmuted into golden lines and threads. I tested each and all of these fragrant deli- cacies, and found that they varied as much 1 The Triclinium, or dining-room, of the ancient Homan houses, was often a scene of the greatest extravagance and luxury. In the pages of Horace, Juvenal, Petronius, Martial, Suetonius, Aulus Gellius, Macrobius, and, especially for odd recitals, Athenseus, will be found most interesting descriptions of the “goings on 5J of the followers of Epicurus, whose palates by practice had become so nice they recognised the different breeds of oysters, and like Nero, were able to detect the various species, whether from Circoei, or from the Lucrine Pcock, or from the beds of Hutupise. G 82 HELIONDi; OR, as our articles of food vary. After inhaling this recherche nourishment I felt perfectly refreshed, and passing into the garden, took a stroll amongst the flowers and shrubs, which surpassed the fabled beauties of the Hesperides or Alcinous. A casual glance at the floral wonders around, soon con- vinced me that vegetation in this sphere sup- plied the inhabitants with a thousand neces- sities, and subscribed to their personal wants in a most remarkable manner. There was the Bath plant, the uses of which I had al- ready experienced. Then there were others, a sort of vegetable coiffure, which cut the hair of the Helionites with its sharp scissors- like leaves, powdered it with pollen, scented it with an essential oil of its own growth, and absolutely combed it with its serrated corollas, and arranged it in graceful folds according to the impulse of the hour or the fashion of the day . 1 1 This, to the general reader, may smack too much of the marvellous ; but be it known unto him that in our own botany there are flowers which eat meat ! and whose natures approxi- mate so nearly to that of animals, that naturalists have been ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 83 These plants formed a link between the animal and the vegetable world, but they were not gifted with the power of locomo- puzzled to fix the line which divides the animal and vegetable kingdom. I have been at some pains to ascertain the par- ticulars relating to this most curious class of flowers, and I am indebted to D r. Basham for th ollowing information on the subject : “The Dioncea muscipula is supposed to derive nutriment from the flies that are caught by the closing of the lobes of the leaves. The margin of these lobes is furnished with a number of spines, which, when the lobes fold together, accu- rately dovetail one with another, like the teeth of a trap. When an insect crawls over the unfolded lobe the irritability of the leaf is excited, the lobes suddenly close, and the insect is caught, and afterwards falls round the roots, where, de- caying, it furnishes nutriment as a manure. It was Mr. Knight who made experiments on the apparently carni- vorous plants. Some of these were secured from the possi- bility of any insects having access to them, and were supplied with scraped beef, while others were left unfed. The result seemed to be in favour of those which had been supplied with this animal provender. With regard to the pitchers of Sarra- cennia and Nepenthes, the contents of these receptacles seem to consist of something more than water. The fluid contained in the unopened pitcher of a plant which flowered in the botanic garden of Edinburgh was found to emit, while boiling, an odour like baked apples, from contained vegetable matter, and, when evaporated to dryness, yielded crystals of the quad- roxatate of potash. In the record of this experiment in the Botanical Magazine , 2798, and in Jameson’s Journal for 1830, a good account of nepenthes will be found. The mode of germination of this plant is most interesting.” G 2 84 HELIOND^; OR, tion,i and it required a certain knowledge of their various attributes before one could employ them properly. The nature of their odour was a sort of language, varying in degrees of sweetness according to their humour; for sometimes they had little tiffs one with another, and then they scolded with fragrance, and blurted out honey-dew in a most spiteful manner. Others of the flowers and shrubs were purely vegetable, increasing in beauty ac- cording to their decrease in utility ; for Nature generally compensates for the ab- sence of some good by the counterbalance of another . 3 No language can convey an idea 1 And plants walk as well as eat meat, as the following description of the “ Desmodium gyrans” will prove : — “ The leaflets, paired laterally beneath a large terminal leaf, alter- nately incline np and down, changing one movement for the other as soon as they attain a certain elevation or depression ; and this oscillation is shared by the terminal leaf, which has a corresponding range of inclination, and moves up and down in a similar way .” — Marvels of Science. 2 Birds of the most beautiful plumage are generally songless ; while those with music in their souls are dressed in brown or russet. The ornithology of China, Japan, and Australia, paints the air with its gaudy palette; but vocal melody is rare. ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 85 of their exceeding loveliness ; and when it is remembered that light on the surface of the sun boasted at least 200 elementary colours, it is not to be wondered at that their com- binations produced tints, and dyes, and shadows of tints marvellous to contemplate. 1 Oh that Mr. Ruskin had been my com- panion, how his colour-loving soul would have become intoxicated with prismatic draughts ! The number of odours, too, was propor- tionately great, as also the forms of their floral progenitors, while all things, be it re- membered, were in relation to the dimen- sion of the sphere ; and every product of the sun, whether organic or inorganic, partook of the general increase. I wandered in this maze of buds and blossoms for some time, and soon discovered that the sense by which I smelt perfumes * Our own prismatic colours consist of three elementary ones ; and it is difficult to conceive how the light of the sun, in the sun, could furnish more than those known on the earth — unless, indeed, a higher degree of optic sensibility could de- tect any redundance. 86 HELIOND^; OB, was quite distinct from that of their inhala- tion for the purpose of existence. How long I should have remained in this enchanting garden I know not ; but the footstep of some one approaching told me I was not alone, and the graceful Apollo-like form of Alutedon, his face beaming with the sunshine of a cheerful and happy spirit, emerged from the foliage of some adjacent shrubs. He smiled when he perceived me bending over the perfumed cups of the fragile beings of the soil, and in playful tones exclaimed : “ Have a care you are not contaminated by these idle and spoiled children of Flora, for nothing can equal the dolce far niente style of their lives. They are called in the morniug by Light, and even then scarcely turn in their beds ; they are dressed by their waiting-maid Colour, and never do a thing for themselves; they are fed by the Breezes, and have only to open their leafy lips with- out even earning their salt ; they are waited on by the honey-bee. their belted knight, ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 87 and trusty messenger, and by him they send poetical love-ditties one to the other, and only give him board and lodging for his pains ! Then fly such idle company, dear Heliophilus, and come with me abroad to see the busy world and the doings in Heli- opolis.” “ A thousand thanks, dear friend,” said I, smiling at his concetto, “ but I could live for ever in this little world, my home. How can I possibly evince my gratitude to your good Prince who has presented me with a dwelling in itself a Paradise of the Sun ?” “Oh! a mere bagatelle,” he answered; “ and as for gratitude, if you feel any, so much the better for us, for in this country we live by eliciting the kindly feelings of the heart ; and in the same way that our bodies are supported by delicate exhalations, so our minds receive all their pleasure and satisfaction from the essence of the good and kind sentiments of those about us.” I was struck with this statement, but I said nothing further on the subject, for I felt 88 HELIONDE ; OR, that thanks would ill express all I desired to say ; so I turned the conversation by telling him how astonished I was at the miraculous bath, and how completely overwhelmed with surprise at the magical hymn which had burst on my ravished ear the previous night. t! There is nothing very wonderful in either,” answered he, “for ordinary laws are the cause of both. An arrangement of musical notes so placed as to respond to the pressure of your body explains the one, and the other is referable to Nature’s pro- viding certain plants with a peculiarity of structure which we turn to our best advan- tage. Every couch on which we sleep is provided with a musical spirit (if I may use the term) ; so that under any circumstance it is impossible to repose without the reli- gious faculties being awakened, and prayer and gratitude to the Giver of Life is the result.” “ But would it not be better,” I demanded, “ if prayer and thanksgiving were elicited ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 89 without any other dictation than that of in- ternal feeling ?” “ Possibly,” said he, “ in your world ; but religious melody here is what religious books are with you on earth; for the soul in its highest flights can find no expression so appropriate as that of melody.” “ But,” rejoined I, still father obstinate on my point of objection, “ you make the stirring of the religious faculties an act of compulsion ; but ought not the dictates of worship to flow from the inward impulse of the soul ?” “ Nay,” replied Alutedon, “ we only sug- gest worship by the strains which greet us at retiring to rest, and if there were no corre- sponding fervour in the heart, so much the worse. But whether right or wrong, the fact is a fact with us people on the Sun, that a sacred melody before resigning ourselves to the loss of unconsciousness is quite essen- tial a state happiness — indeed, it is part of our religion.” I was, of course, deeply anxious to learn 90 helionde; oe, the precise nature of the religion of these people, so I ventured to ask, not without some misgiving, what particular form their love assumed for the great Author of their being. “It consists,” he replied, “of a never- ceasing struggle during our life to emerge, when we pass into a new state of existence, into that form of an unalloyed nature which shall harmonise us in a degree with the characteristics of the Deity. Our external or material method of manifesting this desire is chiefly by the aid of exquisite melodies ; and melody, you must remember, excites the various faculties of veneration, love, tender- ness, and imagination — all, as I take it, parts at least of the unfathomable Intellect that rules our destiny and upholds the universe.” “ But, surely,” said I, “ you have churches and stated times of worship ?” “ ‘ Churches,’ ” he exclaimed, “ when the whole world is a temple ! ‘ stated hours of worship,’ when our life is one perpetual act ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 91 of adoration ! 1 If our internal feelings of love for the unseen become wearied by too great a tension, we resort to the master works of our great musicians; for you must remember that the power of music to reno- vate the faculties of the mind, and to re- arrange the disturbed balance of religious perceptions, is attributable to our love of, and necessity for, that principle which is termed order . 2 The simplest musical in- strument, capable of yielding the musical scale, lying neglected and untouched, con- tains within its silent material form a por- tion of the mind of omnipotence; and, per- haps, absurd as this assertion may seem, if 1 If one train of thinking be more desirable than another, it is that which regards the phenomena of nature with a con- stant reference to a supreme, intelligent author. To have made this the ruling, the habitual sentiment of our minds, is to have laid the foundation of everything religious. The world henceforth becomes a temple, and life itself one con- tinued act of adoration. — Paley’s Natural Theology . 2 The pleasure afforded by harmony is attributed by Dr. Young to the love of order, and “to a predilection for a regular repetition of sensations natural to the human mind, which is gratified by the perfect regularity and rapid recur- rence of vibrations.” 92 IIELIONDE : OR, you consider the power of this so-called 4 order,’ from which sprang not only music with her train of sweet influences, but the universe itself, the seeming extravagance will vanish.” 44 True,” I replied, 44 and there exists not the minutest form of matter but which, in eloquent language, speaks of a supreme in- telligence; but the mind requires consider- able training ere it can properly translate the every-day things of life into a language speaking of divine power . 1 * * There is one question, Alutedon, I desire especially to ask of you, 4 Do you not find it impossible to refer at once to the supreme Creator without the aid of some intermediate assist- ance, which on the one hand shall, by the force of supreme intellect, comprehend divine attributes, and on the other be able to adapt itself to the nature of, comparatively, a low order of beings ?’ ” 1 I never wanted articles on religious subjects half so much as articles on common subjects treated with a decidedly Chris- tian tone. — D r. Arnold. ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 93 I then explained the nature of the reli- gion of our western world, and endeavoured to impart a slight notion of the exceeding beauty of the Christian belief. I expounded to him as well as I was able its sustaining influence under all the evils mankind had to suffer, and I attempted to make clear to him how completely our moral existence was supported by the exquisite doctrines of our great teacher, and how he had formed an harmonious moral world of beauty out of the chaos of men’s passions. I entered at some length into the subject, which evidently made a great impression on Alutedon, and it was some little time before he replied to my question. “ No,” he at length said, “ we have no occasion for an intermediator ; but the time may come when the shadow of evil shall pass over this favoured world, and, then, perhaps a beacon of moral light may be needed amidst the storms of passions and the wreck of virtue: or possibly, in the dim past, we have already gone through an ordeal of 94i HELIONDE ; OR, suffering and sin similar to your own, and our present happy condition is perhaps a bright epilogue to a period of sadness, upon which the curtain has fallen never more to rise.” The vast fields of thought which this brief dialogue opened up absorbed both of us in contemplation. At length Alutedon, with a happy smile, exclaimed, “ But come, Helio- philus, no more of this ; for as soon as we reach yonder ridge of hills we shall get a glimpse of Heliopolis, which, let me tell you, is famous amongst all the nations scattered over the Sun.” During our conversation we had walked, or rather sauntered, along a continuation of the path we had threaded the previous day, and an abrupt line on the horizon made me intuitively feel I should from thence have a view of Heliopolis. Nor was I wrong in my surmise ; for no sooner had we made our way through a small grove of emerald fruit, the cores of which were luminous, than we ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 95 stood upon the verge of a valley, within whose bosom lay the City of the Sun. Never shall I forget the prospect which now burst upon my astonished view. Spread out in vast dimensions was a metropolis which would have covered an area of nearly all Europe, built entirely of the beautiful minica, and blending every conceivable co- lour in soft radiations, while palace after palace, dome above dome, minaret upon mi- naret, cupolas rivalling cupolas, rose, glis- tening in the bright and buoyant air of the Sun ; the refulgent rays of whose light were here and there reflected back into double magnificence by peculiar glossy and shining clouds, which floated over the city, like recumbent and benignant genii of the place. In truth, the w r hole capital appeared an entire city of diamonds, w r hose thousand facets were the irregular outlines consequent upon a diversified and complicated archi- tecture viewed from a distance. If all the gems and precious stones of this world 96 HELIONDE ; OR, (earth) had been collected together, arranged symmetrically, according to the rules of highest art, and then an electric light sent through them, reflected, refracted, and po- larised, such, and such only, could convey, on the scale of an ant-hill to the Andes, an idea of Heliopolis as I looked down from the elevation on which I stood, riveted to the spot in amazement and awe. The city itself was surrounded on all sides with gentle undulations, covered with the velvet-like elytron; and indented in these slopes were pathways converging to a com- mon centre, similar to the one I had already traversed with Alutedon. At the trans-urban termini of these roads were erected gates like unto the one at whose portals I had arrived, while those paths which led directly into the city were united to it, by bridges spanning a sort of dip ; and these bridges were made of nothing more nor less than what we term rainbows, rendered permanently solid, but retaining in this state all their original ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 97 prismatic splendours. The slopes, within which this gorgeous capital reposed, were dotted with houses, looking in the distance, owing to the sparkling material of which they were built, like clusters of stars just fallen to the ground. Further off, rising in the dim horizon, were enormous buildings, quite differing from any of the others, and these Alutedon in- formed me were manufactories for making minica, and every description of fabric, from the clouds, from water, from air, and also from ten thousand articles furnished by the vegetable world. Alutedon, smiling at my looks of astonish- ment, pointed out the palace of his So- vereign ; but I scarcely needed this intima- tion, by reason of its superb appearance From the spot where we stood it did not ap- pear larger than many of the public edifices, but in architectural beauty it rose con- spicuous as a model of taste and harmony. Its walls were composed of solid blocks of an amethyst-tinted minica, and each block was H 98 helionde; or, set in golden cement, which formed succes- sive edges or frames around them, beautiful in the extreme. These, as Alutedon informed me, were chased and engraved in the most elaborate manner. The mullions and the hyperthyron of certain openings for the ad- mission of perfumed air (windows, it must not be forgotten, were on the ground) were the colour called by us eau de Nile, and a fretwork or delicate tracery of Helionic pre- cious stones were set around them. The dome or roof was formed of an entire block of the purest minica, free from the slightest flaw, and perfectly achromatic. By a delicate and difficult art upon this were engraved various lines and curves of beauty, which were classified and arranged in such a manner that the spaces between the points of union produced exquisite patterns . 1 1 Apropos of curves, I must ask the reader’s attention to a beautiful physiological fact, which I believe is not so ge- nerally known as it deserves. Curves, or portions of the circle or ellipse, are, and have been, time immemorial, esteemed for their beauty, from the period when the Egyptians copied them from the egg, down to the time of Hogarth and his ADVENTURES IN THE SUN. 99 A frieze ran round the base of this dome with figures in strong relief, describing the progress of art in the kingdoms of the Sun, and the various emblematic figures were com- posed of a peculiar and rare substance which, owing to the presence of a sort of moving laminae, conveyed the idea of motion to the objects. The cornice above the frieze, and the entablature below it, were made of bands or slabs of enormous ruby-like stones, con- veyed thither from an immense distance from the mines of the Sun, their peculiarity being a sort of intrinsic lustre, which had the “ line of beauty. 5 ’ The fact of this predilection arises simply because the muscles of the eye move in undulatory lines, thus conveying to the brain a facility for comprehending them. If the muscles moved in lines of acute angles, we should admire all square forms and sharp and abrupt turnings, like the articles of decoration in the time of the Empire. Of course, occasionally we admire those angles where a distinct use suggests them, or wdiere they become an agreeable variety to the curve, just as after a period of rest we enjoy the change of standing or walking. As Owen Jones truly observes, cc There can be no beauty of form, no perfect proportion or arrangement of lines, which does not produce repose.” It is possible that even the accom- plished writer of these lines, is not aware that dissection of^ the human eye, has exposed . the cause of an effect so well known to, and so admirably used by, the gifted architect. H 2 100 helionde; or, power of turning its own colours into har- mony with surrounding objects. At every angle of the building were figures of the spirits of the elements , 1 colossal in size, and formed by wondrous mechanism in such a manner that the element they pre- sented existed, or seemed to exist, in them- selves. That of Fire, appeared an angel-like form in glowing fuel, sometimes copper- coloured, anon vermilion, then incandescent, but never distracting the beholder, or sub- tracting, by an impertinent evidence, from the other objects of beauty around . 2 The figure of Air was the most lovely form 1 Evidently answering to our Caryatides and Persians. Vitruvius declares that