"Like a brooch of pearls," said Miss Carmichael.
"Yes—not unlike that," responded Gazen, evidently amused at her comparison. "But that constellation is in the Southern Hemisphere. However, here is the 'ring' or 'planetary' nebula in the Lyre."
"What a wonderful thing!" exclaimed Miss Carmichael, with her eye at the instrument. "It looks to me like a golden hoop, with diamond dust inside."
I do not know where Miss Carmichael got her knowledge of jewellery, for to all appearance she wore none.
"Or the cup of a flower," she added, raising her head.
"Poets have called the stars 'fleurs de ciel,'" said Gazen, shifting the telescope, "and if so, the nebula are the orchids; for they imitate crabs, birds, dumb-bells, spirals, and so forth. Take a look at this one, and tell us what you think of it."
"I see a cloud of silver light in the dark sky," said Miss Carmichael, after observing it.
"What does it resemble?"
"It's rather like a pansy—or—"
"Anything else?"