Mizora: A Prophecy Page 8

  CHAPTER VIII.

  It was during my visit at my friend's house that I first witnessed thepeculiar manner in which the markets in Mizora are conducted.Everything, as usual, was fastidiously neat and clean. The fruit andvegetables were fresh and perfect. I examined quantities of them tosatisfy myself, and not a blemish or imperfection could be found on any.None but buyers were attending market. Baskets of fruit, bunches ofvegetables and, in fact, everything exhibited for sale, had the qualityand the price labeled upon it. Small wicker baskets were near to receivethe change. When a buyer had selected what suited her, she dropped thelabel and the change in the basket. I saw one basket filled with goldand silver coin, yet not one would be missing when the owner came tocount up the sales. Sometimes a purchaser was obliged to change a largepiece of money, but it was always done accurately.

  There was one singular trait these people possessed that, in conjunctionwith their other characteristics, may seem unnatural: they would giveand exact the last centime (a quarter of a cent) in a trade. I noticedthis peculiarity so frequently that I inquired the reason for it, andwhen I had studied it over I decided that, like all the other rules thatthese admirable people had established, it was wise. Said my friend:

  "We set a just value on everything we prepare for sale. Anything aboveor below that, would be unjust to buyer or seller."

  The varieties of apples, pears, peaches and other fruits had their namesattached, with the quality, sweet, sour, or slightly acid. In noinstance was it found to be incorrectly stated. I came to one stall thatcontained nothing but glass jars of butter and cream. The butter was arich buff color, like very fine qualities I had seen in my own country.The cream, an article I am fond of drinking, looked so tempting I longedto purchase a glass for that purpose. The lady whom I accompanied (myhostess' cook) informed me that it was artificially prepared. The butterand cheese were chemical productions. Different laboratories producedarticles of varying flavor, according to the chemist's skill. Althoughtheir construction was no secret, yet some laboratories enjoyed specialreputation for their butter and cheese owing to the accuracy with whichtheir elements were combined.

  She gave me quite a history about artificial food, also how they keptfruits and vegetables in their natural state for years without decayingor losing their flavor, so that when eaten they were nearly as fine aswhen freshly gathered. After hearing that the cream was manufactured, Iresolved to taste it. Dropping my coin into the basket, I took up aglass and drank it. A look of disgust crossed the countenance of mycompanion.

  "Do you not drink this?" I asked in surprise, as I set down the emptyvessel. "It is truly delicious."

  "At regular meal times we all use it, and sometimes drink it inpreference to other beverages--but never in public. You will never see acitizen of Mizora eating in public. Look all over this market and youwill not discover one person, either adult or child, eating or drinking,unless it be water."

  I could not; and I felt keenly mortified at my mistake. Yet in my owncountry and others that, according to our standard, are highlycivilized, a beverage is made from the juice of the corn that is notonly drank in public places, but its effects, which are alwaysunbecoming, are exhibited also, and frequently without reproof. However,I said nothing to my companion about this beverage. It bears nocomparison in color or taste to that made in Mizora. I could not havedistinguished the latter from the finest dairy cream.

  The next place of interest that I visited were their mercantile bazarsor stores. Here I found things looking quite familiar. The goods werepiled upon shelves behind counters, and numerous clerks were inattendance. It was the regular day for shopping among the Mizora ladies,and the merchants had made a display of their prettiest and richestgoods. I noticed the ladies were as elegantly dressed as if for areception, and learned that it was the custom. They would meet a greatmany friends and acquaintances, and dressed to honor the occasion.

  It was my first shopping experience in Mizora, and I quite mortifiedmyself by removing my glove and rubbing and examining closely the goodsI thought of purchasing. I entirely ignored the sweet voice of theclerk that was gently informing me that it was "pure linen" or "purewool," so habituated had I become in my own country to being my ownjudge of the quality of the goods I was purchasing, regardless always ofthe seller's recommendation of it. I found it difficult, especially insuch circumstances, to always remember their strict adherence to honestyand fair dealing. I felt rebuked when I looked around and saw theactions of the other ladies in buying.

  In manufactured goods, as in all other things, not the slightestcheatery is to be found. Woolen and cotton mixtures were never sold forpure wool. Nobody seemed to have heard of the art of glossing muslincuffs and collars and selling them for pure linen.

  Fearing that I had wounded the feelings of the lady in attendance uponme, I hastened to apologize by explaining the peculiar methods of tradethat were practiced in my own country. They were immediately pronouncedbarbarous.

  I noticed that ladies in shopping examined colors and effects oftrimmings or combinations, but never examined the quality. Whatever theattendant said about _that_ was received as a fact.

  The reason for the absence of attendants in the markets and the presenceof them in mercantile houses was apparent at once. The market articleswere brought fresh every day, while goods were stored.

  Their business houses and their manner of shopping were unlike anythingI had ever met with before. The houses were all built in a hollowsquare, enclosing a garden with a fountain in the center. These wereinvariably roofed over with glass, as was the entire building. In winterthe garden was as warm as the interior of the store. It was adorned withflowers and shrubs. I often saw ladies and children promenading in thesepretty inclosures, or sitting on their rustic sofas conversing, whiletheir friends were shopping in the store. The arrangement gave perfectlight and comfort to both clerks and customers, and the display of richand handsome fabrics was enhanced by the bit of scenery beyond. Insummer the water for the fountain was artificially cooled.

  Every clerk was provided with a chair suspended by pulleys from strongiron rods fastened above. They could be raised or lowered at will; andwhen not occupied, could be drawn up out of the way. After the goodswere purchased, they were placed in a machine that wrapped and tied themready for delivery.

  A dining-room was always a part of every store. I desired to be shownthis, and found it as tasteful and elegant in its appointments as aprivate one would be. Silver and china and fine damask made it invitingto the eye, and I had no doubt the cooking corresponded as well with thetaste.

  The streets of Mizora were all paved, even the roads through thevillages were furnished an artificial cover, durable, smooth andelastic. For this purpose a variety of materials were used. Some hadartificial stone, in the manufacture of which Mizora could surpassnature's production. Artificial wood they also made and used forpavements, as well as cement made of fine sand. The latter was the leastdurable, but possessed considerable elasticity and made a very finedriving park. They were experimenting when I came away on sanded glassfor road beds. The difficulty was to overcome its susceptibility toattrition. After business hours every street was swept by a machine. Thestreets and sidewalks, in dry weather, were as free from soil as thefloor of a private-house would be.

  Animals and domestic fowls had long been extinct in Mizora. This was onecause of the weird silence that so impressed me on my first view oftheir capital city. Invention had superceded the usefulness of animalsin all departments: in the field and the chemistry of food. Artificialpower was utilized for all vehicles.

  The vehicle most popular with the Mizora ladies for shopping and cullingpurposes, was a very low carriage, sometimes with two seats, sometimeswith one. They were upholstered with the richest fabrics, wereexceedingly light and graceful in shape, and not above three feet fromthe ground. They were strong and durable, though frequently notexceeding fifty pounds in weight. The wheel was the curious andingenious part of the structure, for in its peculiar
construction laythe delight of its motion. The spokes were flat bands of steel, curvedoutward to the tire. The carriage had no spring other than these spokes,yet it moved like a boat gliding down stream with the current. I wasfortunate enough to preserve a drawing of this wheel, which I hope someday to introduce in my own land. The carriages were propelled bycompressed air or electricity; and sometimes with a mechanism that wassimply pressed with the foot. I liked the compressed air best. It wasmost easily managed by me. The Mizora ladies preferred electricity, ofwhich I was always afraid. They were experimenting with a new propellingpower during my stay that was to be acted upon by light, but it had notcome into general use, although I saw some vehicles that were propelledby it. They moved with incredible speed, so rapid indeed, that theupper part of the carriage had to be constructed of glass, and securelyclosed while in motion, to protect the occupant. It was destined, Iheard some of their scientists say, to become universal, as it was themost economical power yet discovered. They patiently tried to explain itto me, but my faculties were not receptive to such advanced philosophy,and I had to abandon the hope of ever introducing it into my owncountry.

  There was another article manufactured in Mizora that excited my wonderand admiration. It was elastic glass. I have frequently mentioned theunique uses that they made of it, and I must now explain why. They haddiscovered a process to render it as pliable as rubber. It was moreuseful than rubber could be, for it was almost indestructible. It hadsuperceded iron in many ways. All cooking utensils were made of it. Itentered largely into the construction and decoration of houses. Allcisterns and cellars had an inner lining of it. All underground pipeswere made of it, and many things that are the necessities and luxuriesof life.

  They spun it into threads as fine and delicate as a spider's gossamer,and wove it into a network of clear or variegated colors that dazzledthe eye to behold. Innumerable were the lovely fabrics made of it. Thefrailest lace, in the most intricate and aerial patterns, that had theadvantage of never soiling, never tearing, and never wearing out.Curtains for drawing-room arches were frequently made of it. Some ofthem looked like woven dew drops.

  One set of curtains that I greatly admired, and was a long time ignorantof what they were made of, were so unique, I must do myself the pleasureto describe them. They hung across the arch that led to the glassconservatory attached to my friend's handsome dwelling. Three very thinsheets of glass were woven separately and then joined at the edges soingeniously as to defy detection. The inside curtain was one solidcolor: crimson. Over this was a curtain of snow flakes, delicate asthose aerial nothings of the sky, and more durable than any fabricknown. Hung across the arched entrance to a conservatory, with a greatglobe of white fire shining through it, it was lovely as the blush ofAphrodite when she rose from the sea, veiled in its fleecy foam.

  They also possessed the art of making glass highly refractive. Theirtable-ware surpassed in beauty all that I had ever previously seen. Isaw tea cups as frail looking as soap bubbles, possessing the delicateiridescence of opals. Many other exquisite designs were the product ofits flexibility and transparency. The first article that attracted myattention was the dress of an actress on the stage. It was lace, made ofgossamer threads of amber in the design of lilies and leaves, and wasworn over black velvet.

  The wonderful water scene that I beheld at the theatre was produced bywaves made of glass and edged with foam, a milky glass spun into tinybubbles. They were agitated by machinery that caused them to roll with aterribly natural look. The blinding flashes of lightning had been thedisplay of genuine electricity.

  Nothing in the way of artistic effect could call forth admiration orfavorable comment unless it was so exact an imitation of nature as tonot be distinguished from the real without the closest scrutiny. Inprivate life no one assumed a part. All the acting I ever saw in Mizorawas done upon the stage.

  I could not appreciate their mental pleasures, any more than a savagecould delight in a nocturne of Chopin. Yet one was the intellectualecstasy of a sublime intelligence, and the other the harmonious raptureof a divinely melodious soul. I must here mention that the processes ofchemical experiment in Mizora differed materially from those I hadknown. I had once seen and tasted a preparation called artificial creamthat had been prepared by a friend of my fathers, an eminent Englishchemist. It was simply a combination of the known properties of creamunited in the presence of gentle heat. But in Mizora they took certainchemicals and converted them into milk, and cream, and cheese, andbutter, and every variety of meat, in a vessel that admitted neither airnor light. They claimed that the elements of air and light exercised amaterial influence upon the chemical production of foods, that theycould not be made successfully by artificial processes when exposed tothose two agents. Their earliest efforts had been unsuccessful of exactimitation, and a perfect result had only been obtained by closelycounterfeiting the processes of nature.

  The cream prepared artificially that I had tasted in London, was thesame color and consistency as natural cream, but it lacked its relish.The cream manufactured in Mizora was a perfect imitation of the finestdairy product.

  It was the same with meats; they combined the elements, and the articleproduced possessed no detrimental flavor. It was a more economical wayof obtaining meat than by fattening animals.

  They were equally fortunate in the manufacture of clothing. Everymountain was a cultivated forest, from which they obtained every varietyof fabric; silks, satins, velvets, laces, woolen goods, and the richestarticles of beauty and luxury, in which to array themselves, were putupon the market at a trifling cost, compared to what they weremanufactured at in my own country. Pallid and haggard women andchildren, working incessantly for a pittance that barely sustainedexistence, was the ultimatum that the search after the cause of cheapprices arrived at in my world, but here it traveled from one bevy ofbeautiful workwoman to another until it ended at the Laboratory whereScience sat throned, the grand, majestic, humane Queen of this thricehappy land.