Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/46

34 rose and the performance commenced. The scene was laid in one of the far-off planets, and everything was arranged to produce as realistic an effect as possible. There seemed to be real houses and streets, real woods, and real clouds flitted across a deep blue sky. Everything was exactly imitated, even thunderstorms and rain, so that the audience could easily fancy themselves on the actual spot without any effort of imagination. When there was a garden scene, real trees and flowers appeared, the sun shone down from above, and a breeze flitted over the foliage, while every now and then the most luxurious music accompanied the movements of the actors. At last the piece came to an end and the curtain fell amidst a tempest of applause.

When Alec and Flora found themselves outside, the whole of the city was lighted up almost as bright as day by the numerous Menling lamps that were suspended far up in the air from tapering metal pillars.