Allow me to
explain. I have a line of very large greenhouses which extends from one
end of my smoking-room. These different houses are kept at varying
degrees of heat and humidity so as to reproduce the exact climates of
Egypt, China, and the rest. You see, our crystal chamber is a tramway
running with a minimum of friction along a steel rod. By pulling this
or that handle I regulate how far it shall go, and it travels, as you
have seen, with amazing speed. The effect of my hot-houses is
heightened by the roofs being invariably concealed by skies, which are
really very admirably painted, and by the introduction of birds and
other creatures, which seem to flourish quite as well in artificial as
in natural heat. This explains the South American effect."
"But not the Egyptian."
"No. It is certainly rather clever. I had the best man in France, at
least the best at those large effects, to paint in that circular
background. You understand, the palms, cacti, obelisk, and so on, are
perfectly genuine, and so is the sand for fifty yards or so, and I defy
the keenest-eyed man in England to tell where the deception commences.
It is the familiar and perhaps rather meretricious effect of a circular
panorama, but carried out in the most complete manner.
Pages:
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63