THE CHEMISTS DREAM. 



57 



lion whence it came. The buzz of 

 conversation, cheerful as it "would 

 seem from the occasional bursts of 

 merriment that were heard, grew 

 more and more distinct, until the 

 dark and narrow passage I had 

 been following suddenly opened 

 tipon one of those magnificent rock- 

 parlours, of whose grandeur and 

 beauty description can convey but 

 a faint idea. A flood of light illu- 

 minated the arching roof with the 

 vast columns of stalactite sparkling 

 with crystals that supported it, and 

 was reflected with imposing effect 

 from the huge sheets of the same 

 material, of the purest white, that 

 hung from the ceiling in graceful 

 but substantial drapery. I stood 

 in one of nature's noblest halls 

 but not alone. 



A strange company had gathered 

 there. " Black spirits and white, 

 blue spirits and gray," were before 

 me. A festive occasion had assem- 

 bled in joyous mood and in holiday 

 attire the first-born of creation, the 

 ELEMENTS of things. 



In dreams nothing ever surprises 

 us. It seemed perfectly natural to 

 see those fairy forms in that strange 

 grotto ; so, accosting without hesi- 

 tation the one nearest to me, I 

 apologized for my intrusion, and 

 was about to withdraw. From my 

 new acquaintance, however, I re- 

 ceived so cordial a welcome, and 

 so earnest an invitation to become 

 a partaker in the festivities, that I 

 could not deny myself the pleasure 

 of accepting the hospitality so 

 kindly proffered. 



I was soon informed that some 

 of the leading characters among 

 the elements had resolved some 

 weeks before upon having a ge- 

 neral pic-nic dinner party. Fifty- 

 six family invitations had ac- 

 cordingly been sent out, one to 

 each of the brotherhood ; and pre- 

 parations for the feast made upon 

 a most extensive scale. Sea and 

 land had been ransacked for deli- 



cacies, and everything was put in 

 requisition that could minister to 

 the splendour of the entertainment 

 or to the enjoyment of the occasion. 



At the hour I so unexpectedly 

 came upon them, nearly all the 

 guests with their families had as- 

 sembled in the strange drawing- 

 room I have described, awaiting 

 the summons to the banquet. Spa- 

 cious as that drawing-room was, it 

 was nearly filled with these inte^- 

 resting children of nature. And 

 here they were seen, not as in the 

 chemist's laboratory, writhing in. 

 the heated crucible, or pent-up in 

 glassy prisons ; or peering out of 

 gas-holders and Florence flasks, but 

 arrayed in their native beauty; 

 each free as air, and acting as im- 

 pulse prompted. There were those 

 present of every hue, every style of 

 dress, every variety of appearance. 

 The metals, the gases, the salts, the- 

 acids, the oxides, the alkalies all 

 were there. From the mine, from 

 the shop of the artizan, from the 

 mint, from the depths of ocean 

 even, they had come ; and a gayer 

 assemblage, a more animated scene, 

 my eyes had never beheld. 



Many of the ladies of the party 

 were most tastefully attired. Chlo- 

 rine wore a beautiful greenish-yel- 

 low robe, that displayed her queen- 

 like form to good advantage. The 

 fair daughters of Chromium par- 

 ticularly attracted my attention, 

 with their gay dresses of the live- 

 liest golden-yellow and orange-red. 

 Iodine had but just arrived, and 

 was not yet disencumbered of an 

 unpretending outer garment of 

 steel-gray that enveloped her per- 

 son ; but the warmth of the apart- 

 ment soon compelled her to throw 

 this aside ; when she appeared ar- 

 rayed in a vesture of thin gauze, 

 of the most splendid violet colour 

 imaginable. Carbonic Acid was 

 there, but not clad in the airy 

 robes in which I expected to see 

 her. The pressure of the iron hand 



