bove the sea. The people were
therefore told, by royal proclamation, in these words:

I, Hiram of Tyre, the King, and of all the People,

GOD OMNIPOTENT,

Hereby make known to you that it has become my pleasure to
reveal unto you my

PARADISE

which hitherto I have concealed in the clouds. Ye who are worthy
shall behold it

TODAY!

Of all the clever things he had done, Hiram believed the composition
of that proclamation the cleverest.

"Those who do not see, will think themselves unworthy," he said, "and
will tremble in fear of my wrath. They will see a little more each day
and will think themselves growing worthy. And they will believe; they
must, when they see it all. Besides, they will look upward, toward the
clouds, to see the paradise descending. They will never think of
looking below to see it rising."

And so it happened. The people could not help but be impressed when
they saw the amazing structure. It grew daily, apparently of its own
accord, for no workmen were seen; and most wonderful of all, it seemed
to rest on nothing in the air!

This was because the first story was of clearest glass, so clear,
indeed, that the people saw through it and thought they saw nothing.
On this the other stories were erected, and, of course, they appeared
to be suspended in space.

There were seven stories to represent seven heavens. The second, the
one above the glass, was constructed of iron, the third was of lead,
the fourth of shining brass, the fifth of burnished copper, the sixth
of glistening silver, and the last story of all, of pure gold.

The whole building was lavishly studded with precious stones, gems and
jewels of many hues. By day, when the sun shone and was reflected from
the thousands of jewels and the polished metals, the appearance was
dazzling; the people could not help but regard as a heaven that which
they could scarcely look upon without being blinded. In the setting
sun the uppermost story, with its huge golden dome, glowed like an
expanse of fire; and by night, the myriad gems twinkled like
additional stars.

Yet some people would not believe this was a paradise, and so Hiram
had to set his wits to work again.

"Thunder and lightning I must produce," he said, and this part of his
ambition he found not at all difficult.

In the second story he kept huge boulders and round heavy stones. When
these were rolled about the people thought the noise was thunder. By