for their bodies, so that they resembled nothing so much as spiders.
"See how in the pursuit of the beautiful one can lose all beauty," said Knops, confidentially.
"How hot it is here!" said Leo, gasping for breath.
"Yes, my dear fellow, there's no doubt of that; the heat is tremendous. Now some of your thermometers go no higher than one hundred and thirty, while ours can ascend to three and four hundred; that is, for the common air of our dwellings. Of course the heat demanded by many of our experiments is practically incalculable; for instance—"
"Oh, get me out of this!" entreated Leo.
"Here, step into this niche, put your mouth to this opening"—and Knops pointed to one of many silver tubes which projected near them—"Now breathe. Is not that refreshing?"
"Yes," said Leo, reviving, as he took a long draught of fresh cool air. "How do your people endure such heat?"
"They are used to it; besides, they can come to these little tubes, as you have done, whenever they please."
"Where does this air come from?"
"It is pure oxygen; we manufacture it, and here is a lump of pure carbon which we also manufacture," and he laid in Leo's hand what looked like a drop of dew. It was a diamond of exquisite lustre.