ecorative in effect. A light rod of aethereum above each
port carried a number of burnished rings from which drooped handsome
lace curtains, that could either be looped back or allowed to veil the
window, according to the fancy of the occupants. Above these, again,
were hung a number of exquisite pictures in water-colour. The floor was
covered with a very rich and handsome Turkey carpet, into which one sank
almost to the ankles, as into a thick bed of soft moss; chairs, couches,
and divans of exquisite shape and seductive capacity were scattered here
and there about the apartment, and at its fore or wider end stood, close
together, a grand piano and a chamber organ, both in superbly modelled
aethereum cases, and both, it need scarcely be said, of the finest
quality and workmanship obtainable; while the narrower or after end was
almost filled by a capacious electric stove, or fireplace, with a most
singularly handsome mantelpiece, supported on either side by a
beautifully modelled female figure. The centre of the mantelpiece was
occupied by a handsome clock, having a set of silvery chimes for the
quarters and a deep, rich-toned gong for the hours, and on either side
of it were a number of elegantly shaped vases, full of choice hot-house
flowers. But the most striking feature of the whole apartment was its
beautiful coved and panelled ceiling, with its exquisitely moulded
interlacing ribs, the choice and dainty paintings that adorned its
panels, and the magnificent skylight that occupied its centre. This
skylight, it may be mentioned, was such only in appearance, as it did
not pierce the deck or derive its light from the outside; it was merely
a fanciful and decorative device of the professor's, the light emanating
from a series of electric lamps shaded by coloured glass screens, so
tinted as to permit, by the simple manipulation of certain concealed
mirrors, the effect of every description of light, from that of the
unclouded midday sun, through every gradation of morning or afternoon
light, to that of sunset, the softest dusk of evening, or even the light
of the full moon.

The apartment presented a charmingly cosy and comfortable as well as
attractive appearance as the four men entered it, the electric stove
emitting a cheerful glow and diffusing just the right degree of warmth,
while an afternoon effect of brilliant sunlight streamed richly down
through the magnificent stained-glass of the skylight in the centre