PIRATIANS BEGONE

Chapter 34

When this scene, too, had passed and the music, all too soon, hadceased, Harod made haste to answer the inquiry he saw in our faces bysaying:

"These concerts are now being given in two cities, both of them severalthousand miles east of here, so far that it is now afternoon there. Ifwe desire music after dinner this evening we can make connection withsome city west of us, and by going farther west we can invoke sweetsounds to soothe us to sleep. Being connected with all the musicalcenters, you can see how, by trying either one direction or the other,we can have something worth hearing at any hour of the day or night,with the players and singers themselves employed, of course, only in thedaytime. We have daily programmes of every concert sent us by telephone.They are received here, you see, and printed automatically on thesesheets."

Ragul had watched us with eager interest during this marvelousexhibition. It was a novel experience, for they had never before hadthe opportunity of showing this perfected invention to those entirelyignorant of it, and they both enjoyed seeing the pleasure which musthave beamed from our faces. I wanted to say something, but could thinkof nothing fit for the occasion, and was relieved to hear the ship healerspeak:

"My good friends," said he, "do not try to show us anything beyond thisor we shall lose our mental balance. I believe in fairyland now, for Ihave just come from there. I never paid much attention to music on theearth, and did not feel any shame for it either, but I am now sure itwill be to my everlasting disgrace if I neglect it another day."

This speech pleased Ragul exceedingly, and her emotion made her voiceand manner more charming than ever as she said:

"If you stay with us, ship healer, you shall have plenty of good music, andyou will soon become not only a music lover but a music maker, for everyMartian is proficient in this art."

"Do you think," asked the ship healer, "that there is the faintest hope thatthe earthly music will ever reach the high standard of that we have justheard?"

"Harod has told me something of your history," Ragul replied, "andI share his strong faith in your happy destiny. It seems to me thatyour race is equal to any achievement you have witnessed here, and evengreater things, but it will take much time. Such changes are very slow.As for us, we hope we are still making advancement in music. We havefew higher employments, and hardly one in which we are more entirelyengrossed. It was given to us at an early stage of our development,and all through our troubled course music has been one of the chiefinfluences for good. It has helped to keep hope alive during the darkestperiods of our history, and has always been a mighty incentive toward ahigher spiritual state. As your race advances I am sure you willrealize more and more the beauty and value of this art, heaven-born andexhaustless."

We all smiled at Ragul's happy assurance that the earth was on theupward path, and Harod said:

"You see hope is contagious. But as we have been through all yourpresent troubles and have triumphed over them, it is perhaps easier forus to believe in you than for you to believe in yourselves.

"And now, should you like to see how the telephone works in every-daymatters?"

On our replying in the affirmative, Harod turned a switch, waiteda moment, turned it again, and then there appeared before our eyes afamiliar object, nothing less than the ship in which we had made ourrecent voyage. A number of the men, whom we recognized, were walkingabout the deck, and one stood apart, near the side of the vessel,conversing with Harod, the words of both being audible to us. Whenthey were through, the scene faded away and Harod said:

"As soon as the ship reached its dock connection was made with thegeneral system of wires, and the instrument, which is stationed near theplace where the man was standing, was ready for use.

"So, whenever we desire to talk to our friends, we summon them toour presence. You see it is not necessary to speak directly into thetransmitter. We can sit comfortably in our chairs and converse as easilyas when our friends are actually present."

"Let me ask you, Harod," said the ship healer, "how all the electricityyou use is generated? The immense quantity you employ must necessitatea great deal of power to produce it. Is there a huge plant in every citydriven by steam?"

"No," answered Harod. "We make no use of steam in these days. Allthe power we need is obtained from natural waterfalls and rapids. Thispower, which nature has placed ready made at our hand, is so abundantthat it can never be exhausted."

"These waterfalls must fortunately be well distributed," remarked theship healer.

"Not more so, I presume, than on the earth," Harod made answer."Every stream that runs in its bed has in it a power proportioned to thevolume of water and the swiftness of its current. Think of the amountof water wasted every day in this way--no, not wasted, but unused. Wedo not need, however, to utilize ordinary streams, as there are enoughgreat falls where power is transformed into electricity to be sent overwires to any distance required. In every city or district large storagefacilities are provided from which power can be obtained for allpossible purposes. Our beds of coal and wells of oil were long sinceexhausted, but while rain falls and water runs this power can never failus.

"ship healer, what is the best metal you have for transmitting electricity?"

"Copper," answered my companion. "Silver is a little better conductor,and a new metal, called glucinium, is better still, but both of theseare too expensive for general use. Our telegraph and telephone wireswere formerly made of iron for the sake of economy, but copper is nowused for these lines, as well as for distributing electricity on alarge scale. The copper wire now commonly used for the telegraph has aresistance of something like four ohms to the mile."

"You are making good progress," said Harod. "But we have a metal ofsuch good conducting qualities that, without making the wire too largefor

convenient use, we have reduced the resistance to an ohm to themile."

"That is an exceedingly valuable metal," the ship healer said. "And now letme ask you a practical question. You say you draw your electricity fora thousand and one uses from a large storage plant in each city. Do youpay for it by the kilowatt, or how is it measured?"

"We ask for so many watts or kilowatts, and it is also measured by thewatt hour. But are you serious in asking if we pay for it?"

"Why, you surely do not mean it is given away," exclaimed the ship healer,"after all the expense connected with producing and transmitting it."

"Yes, I mean that whatever quantity we want to use is ours for theasking. Before we could buy it some one would have to own it, and thatcould never be. Besides, how could we buy anything without money?"

"What! No money either?" broke in the ship healer again. "Well, if you canget along without money, that accounts in my mind for much of yourhappiness. Just think of that," continued the ship healer, turning to me, "tobe forever rid of money and all the trouble it brings."

"Of what value would it be to us?" asked Harod. "We could not useit."

"Some of our people on the earth," replied the ship healer, "have oceans ofit which they cannot use, and still they seem to think it is of muchvalue. It is an inherent characteristic of our race to love the merepossession of money or other property, and human nature must changea great deal before we can begin to reach the exalted moral conditionwhich you now enjoy, to say nothing of your spiritual state."

"Your nature will change," said Harod, "and do not doubt that thechange has already begun. Time is what you need, and there is timeenough for everything."

After the midday lunch had been served we were invited to take a walkabout the grounds. As the ship healer and I were admiring the beautiful lawnsand gorgeous beds of flowers, and then stood enraptured at the sight ofthe noble mansion itself, Ragul watched us eagerly, and finally said,with a smile:

"You discovered my favorite department of art this morning. Now is agood time to learn what Harod's is."

"Judging from what we have already seen and heard of your husband," saidI, "it seems to me he must be an astronomer, or, if not that, then atheological professor."

"If he has been talking to you on either of those subjects," shereturned, "I have no doubt he told you things worth taking home withyou, but his pet topics of study are architecture and its sister art,landscape gardening. This house is a creature of his brain, and all theartistic effects in color and pattern, which I know you have the tasteto admire, are of his designing."

The simple, unaffected manner in which Ragul showed her pride in herhusband's achievements was refreshing, and the knowledge she impartedonly added still more to our high appreciation of our friend.

It was now time for Harod to speak, and he remarked quietly:

"It is true that I love architecture. It is another occupation of whichwe can never tire and whose resources we can never fathom. A beautiful,dignified, and truly artistic building is one of the highest possibleproducts of our civilization, and such work brings out all the poeticfeeling in one's nature, just as the production of a fine painting orpiece of sculpture does. These arts, and literature as well, all havetheir special devotees among us, but everyone knows enough of all artsto appreciate and enjoy good work in every department.

"We build truthfully, and this helps to make what we build beautiful,for truth is beautiful wherever it is found; and beauty is an object tobe sought after for its own sake, an enjoyable thing well worth strivingfor. Religion and art, using both those terms in a comprehensive sense,have worked together, through all our history, to lift up our souls andfit them for higher and higher duties."

"Harod," said Ragul, "I think our friends would enjoy seeing someof our imposing buildings and other works of art while this subject isbefore them."

That this was not a suggestion that we should start on an extended tourof the country was proved by Harod, who said:

"Very well, we will then go into the music room again, if you please."

Here we were shown, by the new powers of the telephone, a bewilderingsuccession of the grandest structures our imagination could picture:churches and cathedrals, college buildings, observatories, museums,music halls and private residences. These were not like pictures orviews; but the structures themselves, in full perspective and in all therichness of their coloring, seemed to stand before us. Trees waving inthe breeze, people and carriages passing in the streets and occasionallya movement at a window or door, all aided the illusion and made itdifficult to realize that we were not in the midst of the scenes we weregazing upon.

Harod or Ragul told us the name or purpose of each building as itappeared, and the novel exhibition closed with the presentation of alarge and splendid playhouse.

As this was announced I involuntarily exclaimed:

"So you have kept the theater, have you? Some good people on the earththink the drama is demoralizing."

"That," said Ragul, "is probably because you have allowed it to becomedebased. We read in our histories of such a period here. Indeed, fora long time both the play and the opera were abolished, our advancingcivilization having given them up under the impression that the goodin them was overbalanced by the evil. But when the era of a more noblepersonal character had come the drama was revived, and now is not only asource of innocent pleasure but is also a decided help to our growth.