Gentola̤, you will please give me your attention. At no great distance the branch running in a southwestward direction forms a junction with another Waterway which is not yet completed, and which later on we may observe. For the present we will continue our course toward the northwest. The large town at this intersection is an important shipping point, and yonder is quite an imposing temple, two smaller ones and some pretty suburban Istoira̤s. There are some imposing public buildings, many handsome private residences, a pretty park, and the streets are wide and beautifully kept, and along the margins of the street canals are borders of blooming plants. Really, it is an attractive town, but at present we cannot give it further attention. It is named Fûna̤voh Ritza̤, which in your language would mean Town of the Intersection. Passing in either direction are vessels of various sizes, some of them equaling in dimension and tonnage the huge steamships traversing the seas and oceans of our planet, and it is not too much to say that in point of scientific construction and beauty of finish and furnishing Earth does not possess their equal. They are so scientifically constructed as to be practically indestructible, and electricity is the propelling energy; also it lights them, and when desired heats them. For a brief period we will take passage on the vessel about to leave port. Gentola̤, come to the bow and observe how swiftly and almost noiselessly it cleaves the water. At this rate of speed it will soon cross the second intersection, and before to-morrow will be traversing the broad expanse of Villostû Nykon (Sea of Many Islands). We now will glance through the interior. These great saloons and luxuriously appointed sleeping apartments are finished in rare carved woods and inlaid designs of Ento's fruits and flowers through which peer lovely child faces of marvellously delicate and artistic execution.
You perceive that this vessel carries many passengers, and all in equal comfort. Unlike the vessels of our planet it carries no steerage passengers, for on Ento such an atrocity is as unknown as are class distinctions, which the Sacred Writings distinctly forbid. This is the Sacred statement: "I, Andûmana̤, the Creator of all that is declare that of one blood, one bone, one flesh, I have made all the children of My Love, so let no man dare say, I am better than my brother," and I can assure you that the Sacred commandment is obeyed.
On this deck are the offices, saloons, sleeping, culinary and dining apartments. On the deck below, to which we will now descend, are the engineer's and his assistants' apartments and departments, and also storage for freight. For the motive energy, the mechanism is partly here, and partly in what may be termed the hold. These vessels are so like and so unlike the seagoing vessels of our planet that should I attempt to describe existing differences I would consume too much time and space, but we desire that you shall bear to the peoples of Earth a knowledge of the fact that it is possible for vessels of the largest size to be propelled by electric energy, and also that now on Earth there are men inspired by Spirit Electricians who are working to that end, and that ere long there will come into the Earth sphere men, who, on the Spirit side, have learned the higher applications of electric energy, and who will know how to use them. The time is not far distant when, on our planet, steam as a motive power will have become as obsolete as it is on Ento.
Your continued surprise, at seeing on Ento much that corresponds with, or at least bears a resemblance to Earth forms, is so natural that we do not marvel at it; still, if you will bear in mind a fact we already have stated, that form is the expression of a universal principle, and that in conformity with the degree of his evolvement, man expresses it, you will cease to wonder that our next door neighbors, the Entoans, shape the keels of their vessels on the same lines as Earth's shipbuilders shape the keels of their vessels. Adaptation of means to ends is an expression of form. Thus the savage who shapes the primitive dugout, or his more advanced brother who constructs the more shapely bark canoe, intuitively applies the principle of form as a means to an end. As the Entoans of the present are the result of the Entoans of the past, you may rest assured that their progenitors also used dugouts and bark canoes, and only through their larger accumulated experiences do they, in some directions, take precedence of their less mature Earth brethren, who, in time, will outgrow their youthfulness. We now will ascend to the upper deck, for we are approaching one of the circular basins which are features of all Waterways. They occur at intervals of about twenty English miles, and through the system of atmospheric telegraphy the movements of all vessels are so perfectly controlled that their passage in opposite directions is accomplished through the medium of the basins, and thus collisions never occur.
Observe how swiftly, how gracefully, yonder huge vessel sweeps around the further curve of the basin, cleaving the water like a thing of life, and leaving in its wake great undulating billows of snowy foam. Across the basin friendly salutations come to our fellow voyagers, and they cry back, "Lohaû, lohaû. Fa̤endos a̤yon mûya." Ah me, it is hail and good-bye to most things, and now it is good-bye to this fine vessel which for a time has given us hospitality and you an object lesson.
George, we now will ascend. Sweeping northward and southward, yet tending eastward, we will afford you a comprehensive view of the equatorial lands and portions of the North and South Temperate Zones. Observe how diversified is this Equatorial region. Cities, towns and villages dot the wide expanses which largely are devoted to agricultural pursuits, and so productive are the lands that they not only afford sustenance for local populations but admit of great quantities of grains, fruits and vegetables being shipped to other less favored localities. Truly, Ento's Irrigated Belt is the garden of the Planet. George, we now will quickly pass northward to the headwater of Cēhylû Ooltoma̤h (Rushing River).
Gentola̤, in this chain of spring-fed lakes the great river rises, and during a considerable portion of the year its volume is greatly enlarged through melting snows and frequent rains of this rather cold but humid region. We will follow its course southward so that you may observe the cities, towns and villages lining its banks, and the various kinds of craft traversing its navigable length. You perceive that Pfylonna, the city beneath us, is at the head of navigation, and we with profit and pleasure might pass an hour in viewing its points of interest, but not now, for time is flying and at any moment we may be called to Da̤o.
Yes, this northern region is more picturesque than are the lands of the Temperate and Equatorial countries, which, as we proceed southward, stretch into great level plains which sustain a dense population, largely of agriculturists. Yonder, on the eastern bank of the river, is a pretty, wooded height, the remnant of a mountain chain of the long ago. Now its slight elevation is little more than a sufficient barrier against the tumultuous floods, which during the spring pour down between it and the stone embankments of Cēhylû Ooltoma̤h's western shore. Yes, Ento's Waterways, Irrigating System, Embankments and other stupendous works excite wonder and admiration for the skill, industry and enterprise involved, but generally, when self-preservation is at stake, humanity rises superior to emergencies. Inidora̤, while we hastily survey the surrounding country, will you learn if the Istoira̤ may be interesting enough to engage our attention? Some rural Istoira̤s possess very attractive features.
Inidora—I feel strongly impelled to gratify your curiosity and my own. I shall be gone but a moment, and if worth while will summon you.
De L'Ester—Again we are near the northern limit of the Irrigating and Waterways System, and to what a state of perfection it has been brought. Those great Structures are pumping Stations, and so excellent is the mechanism employed that the water distribution is under perfect control. The government of Ento indulges in no half-way measures. Whatever is done is done as well as can be accomplished.