THE BANQUET ON THE AERIAL SHIP.
The saloon, which was also the _salle a manger_, was situated in the
centre of the ship. Thus the entire travellers could assemble together
without disturbing the centre of gravity of the structure.
The saloon was composed of woven cane, and ornamented with a dado of
sage-green silk, on which were embroidered storks, pheasants and
eagles flying through space. An elongated table, also of wicker work,
contained a sumptuous repast.
The goddess congratulated the guests on their safety, which proved
that the skill that produced the _Aeropher_ had successfully grappled
with the difficult problem of aerial navigation.
The inventor of the _Aeropher_ said it was the apex of mechanical
skill. Invention had raised humanity from the depths of slavery,
ignorance, and weakness to a height of empire undreamed of in earlier
ages. Such material greatness expands the soul with godlike
attributes. The ideal, inventive soul, the typical soul, was a god.
The poet said that the _Aeropher_ was the symbol of that kind of
poetry in which energy and art were in equipoise. It glorified
mechanical skill. It had been prophesied that as civilization advanced
poetry would decline. There was a period in the history of Atvatabar
in which matters of taste, imagination and intellectual emotion had
been utterly neglected by a universal preference for scientific and
mechanical pursuits. The country was overrun with reasoners, debaters,
metaphysicians, scientists and mechanical artists, but there were no
poets. Such mechanical civilization was unfavorable to their
development. The founding of such institutions as the art palace of
Gnaphisthasia and the spiritual palace of Egyplosis had grafted on
their modern life the soul life of more ancient times, until
soul-worship had become the universal religion.
The goddess said that the aerial ship was the symbol of an ideal and
passionate temperament resolved on discovering new spheres of
spiritual beauty, so as to spiritualize the race. Such a soul ought to
be free to surround itself with that atmosphere from which it absorbs
life. It must choose its own weapons and armor, so as to be adequately
equipped for the battle. In its eagerness to climb on discovering
wings it must be accompanied by its own retinue of spirits, by
enthusiastic and lasting friendships so consoling to its nature. Such
was the idea of Egyplosis.
Captain Lavornal at this point stated that when the company regained
the deck he would put the rotating wheel, placed at the stern of the
ship, in motion, so as to produce the combination of a revolving as
well as an onward flight.
"These wheels," said he, "will spin us around, and by means of our
double rudder we produce both vertical and lateral undulations, which,
combined with the rotary movement of the deck, will produce a
delirious sensation. All the abandon of great and strong birds are
ours. We can imitate the sonorous sweep of the seemorgh, who plunges
with supreme majesty in the abyss of air."
"These elaborations of flight," said Lyone, "are not pursued merely
for physical pleasure, but in a mysterious way they are the moulders
of the soul itself. That essence, re-enforced with such subtle and
powerful enthusiasm, develops sensibility and assumes a grandeur and
ecstasy unknown to those who merely travel on the earth. Each gesture
of flight is a stride nearer omnipotence, an attribute more godlike by
reason of its supremacy over those obstacles that crush and
overwhelm."
I shared the same seat with Lyone at the prow of the vessel.
The scenery had in our absence developed into more marked grandeur.
Under the spell of an eternal morning, of such light as poets only
dream of, there rose on either side of us consummate rocks and
cataracts that signalled heaven. The swinging pillars of incredible
streams leaped thousands of feet into the gulf beneath. They charmed
us like glittering serpents. The gorge, the rocks, the cataracts, the
heavens of the earth above us were a prodigal feast to which nature
had bidden us.
[Illustration: THEN THE SHIP ROSE AGAIN TOWARD THE MAMMOTH ROCKS,
ADORNED WITH THE TAPESTRIES OF FALLING WAVE.]
As we explored the depths of the gulf the _Aeropher_ assumed an
undulating motion. For several miles the vessel kept descending,
until we swept through an overwhelming jungle of wild flowers. There
were acres of roses riotous in bloom, there was the trailing of wild
peas sweet as honey, the blue of larkspurs, the fragrance of musk
flowers, and the swaying cups of scarlet poppies.
Then the ship rose again toward the mammoth rocks that shimmered in
the sunlight adorned with the tapestries of falling wave. Still upward
we rose into the spell-bound sky, feeding on the savage sweets of
nature, the rhythm of the golden cliffs, the echoes of the waterfalls.
We were the associates of mighty pines that on the Theban peaks spread
incomparable solaces for mind and heart. Then, as we descended from
our extreme altitude, we began also to revolve with a splendid sweep
of motion, until the landscape swam around us like a dream.
It was a delirious phantasy of airy clouds, fluttering leaves, songs
of birds, milky avalanches, balsamic forests, and the awe-inspiring
silences of revolving walls!
The intoxication of such wheeling flight filled us with a strange joy.
Our journey became wistful, eager, breathless. We became poets, and
the soul of a poet is a chameleon that takes its glow and color from
the surrounding infection. The motion that bore us in daring circles
produced a euthanasia of mind and an exaltation of soul. The jugglery
of flight under such conditions produced a Nirvana of soul and a
Dharana of body. An exquisitely sweet whirlwind of emotion swept
through I know not how many souls on the _Aeropher_, but certainly
through the souls of Lyone and myself.
We both flew round and round like birds in intoxicating converse.
During the progress of the flight, intellect, will and memory
slumbered. I was deprived of the use of all external faculties, while
those of the soul were correspondingly increased. Imagination and
emotion were excited with rapturous energy. Lyone's eyes sparkled with
a celestial joy. She was again the goddess in her ecstasy!