Page:Anti-slavery and reform papers by Thoreau, Henry David.djvu/117

 I06 Anti- Slavery and Reform Papers.

Tliis is one of those instances in which the individual g-enius is found to consent, as indeed it always does, at last, with the universal. This last sentence has a certain sad and sober truth, which reminds us of the scripture of all nations. All expression of truth does at length take this deep ethical form. Here is hint of a place the most eligible of any in space, and of a servitor in com- parison with whom all other helps dwindle into insignifi- cance. We hope to hear more of him anon, for even a Crystal Palace would be deficient without his invaluable services.

And as for the environs of the establishment : — " There w^ll be afforded the most enrapturing views to be fancied, out of the private apartments, from the galleries, from the roof, from its turrets and cupolas — gardens, as far as the eye can see, full of fruits and flowers, arranged in the most beautiful order, ^vith walks, colonnades, aqueducts, canals, ponds, plains, amphitheatres, terraces, fountains, sculptural works, pavilions, gondolas, places for public amusement, etc., to delight the eye and fancy, the taste and smell. . . . The walks and roads are to be paved with hard vitrified large plates, so as to be always clean from all dirt in any weather or season.

" The walks may be covered with porticos adorned with magnificent columns, statues, and sculptural works ; all of vitrified substance, and lasting forever. At night the roof, and the inside and outside of the whole square, are illumin- ated by gas-light, which, in the mazes of many-colored crvstal-like colonnades and vaultino-s, is reflected with a l)rilliancy that gives to the whole a lustre of precious stones, as far as the eye can see. Such are the future abodes of men. . . . Such is the life reserved to true intelligence, but withheld from ignorance, prejudice, and stupid adhe- rence to custom."