Before them, to the west, lay the city, the object of their long journey—before them, it lay as a queen in the midst of her surroundings. At first sight, it seemed one immense palace, rather than a city of palaces, as the second view indicated. Street after street, mansion after mansion, the city stretched away as far as the eye could reach, mingling with trees and gardens.
Rising from the center of the city was the temple. Its walls shone like polished marble, and its towers seemed to pierce the sky, as around about them a white cloud hung. This cloud extended from the temple as a center, over the whole city, and seemed as it were a covering.
The sun sank behind the horizon; still the cloud glowed with light, as if the sun's rays still lingered there.
For ten minutes the carriage had paused on the elevation, and the two men had gazed in silence. Then the driver, as if awakening from a dream, gave the horses the word to go, as he said:
"We must drive on."
"Yes; night is coming on."
The second speaker was a middle aged man of commanding bearing. He leaned back in the carriage as they sped onward.
"So this is the world renowned city," he said, "the new capital of the world to which we all must bow in submission; within whose borders sit judges and rulers the like of which for power and wisdom have never yet appeared. Truly, she is the rising light of the world. What say you, Remand?"
"'Tis indeed a wondrous sight, your majesty. The reality far exceeds any reports that have come to us."
"It is well, Remand, that we chose this slower mode of coming into the city. Electricity would have brought us here in a fraction of the time; but who would miss this beautiful drive?"