Then I started to think. Next I began to feel and finally a
broad grin overspread my face, for the scene before me was not real
after all, but a wonderful painting on the interior of the building.
CHAPTER VI
Putting my hand against the surface and walking along I discovered that
this great scene which appeared to stretch away into the distance for
several miles, including the trees, brook, lake, sun, clouds, sky, and
everything else, was painted on the wall, ceiling and floor, of a
circular room. The ceiling was arranged in the shape of a dome, while
the floor made a concave connection with the wall. The whole apartment
could not have been over fifty feet in diameter. The entire room was
covered by one painting, and so well had the work been done that the
only way I could discern the difference between the real and artistic
scene was by extending my hands in front of me and feeling my way along.
But what about the music? Surely I heard it, and without doubt the
skilled musicians had performed their work right before my eyes. And the
sun, the light, and the fragrance from the flowers, what about these?
While in a state of perplexity at not being able to understand these
mysterious things, my eyes fell upon something which I had not noticed
previously, at the same time causing me to give a sudden start as if
pierced by an electric shock.
To the left of the door through which I had entered and lying in a
reclining position upon a bed of flowers, similar in shape to a modern
sofa, was the most beautiful object, I think, ever created--a woman.
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