"It is beautiful and unique."
"You see, brother, I have a liking for streams of water. They always please my eye, and their babble and roar is music to my ears. And then, someone else will soon be visiting with me here. I call this my temporary Earth-home; and brother, nothing can be too beautiful for my wife."
His companion looked at him and smiled. The speaker smiled in return. They understood each other.
"Yes, she is coming soon—at any time, now."
They walked into the house and inspected the building. It was no exception to the other houses in the city, as beautiful as gold, silver, precious stones, fine woods, silks, and other fabrics could make it. Most of the rooms were furnished, as if in readiness for occupancy.
"I delight in statuary," was explained to the visitor, "and my wife delights in paintings. You see, I have catered to both our tastes, and especially hers. Those panels are the work of the famous Rene, and this ceiling was painted by the best artist in the city. Here, what do you think of this?"
They paused before a large painting hung in the best light. It showed traces of age, but the colors indicated the hand of a master. It represented a scene where grandeur and beauty mingle; in the distance, blue hills; nearer, they became darker and pine clad; in the foreground loomed a rocky ledge; encircled by the hills, lay a lake, around whose shores were farms and farm houses with red roofs; and in the foreground of the lake was an island.
"A fine picture," said the visitor, "and an old one."
"It is a scene in old-time Norway, by one of Europe's best painters. Here is another. This is new, hardly dry, in fact. You observe that there are no pines on those hills. The farm house and the orchard in the foreground are as natural as life. She will recognize them at once."
They passed out.