ce.
Now, every chemist knows that by means of fire and sal-ammoniac he can
produce ice. I now place the vessel in the flue of the furnace--so. We
will take our watches in our hands and count the time. In
seventy-seven seconds the transformation will be complete. . . . Let
us open the aperture. Look at the dish now--and taste it too. It is a
pineapple ice."

[Illustration: "It is a pineapple ice"]

A shiver ran through the reverend gentleman's whole body at the mere
sight of the mysterious delicacy.

"Taste it! Never!" he cried in horror. "Such things are not to be done
without the help of the foul Fiend himself!"

"Without that, indeed, it were impossible," said the Master calmly.
"Everything of that nature is done only with the aid of the powers of
Darkness. But, my friend, have you any special objection to them?"

"Have I any objection to the powers of Darkness?" exclaimed the
horrified ecclesiastic.

"Ah! You have, I see. Well, well; that's a somewhat antiquated
notion--a relic of those times when the theory prevailed that the
earth was governed by God. But nowadays we have changed all that. It
is an absolute necessity for all species of life on this apple-skin of
an earthcrust to have the forces of Hell immediately beneath them. The
breath of Heaven chills and stiffens everything. It is the agents of
Satan that produce everything--trees, fruit, beast and man."

"But, my dear sir," expostulated the clergyman, "these are strange
geognostic theories! Notwithstanding your assertions, man, at least,
is in no wise the work of Satan."

"And why not?" demanded the Master. "Man is so fashioned that he must
freeze to death unless he murder some other brute that happens to
have a fur skin. To appease his hunger, also, he must slay some other
animal. And his thirst--does he not even thirst for the blood of his
fellow man--of his own brother? Could such a monster, think you, be
fashioned in any other region than the place of perdition itself?"

"But you forget the human virtues!" interrupted the ecclesiastic.
"There are many men, you will admit, who rule their whole lives by the
law of Heaven."

"Of all things that, surely, is the most opposed to Nature. Those laws
of which you speak have been made merely to torment the human race.
The virtues are simply so many revolts against Nature. That alone is
good which satisfies the body."

"And the soul, my dear sir! What of the immortal soul!" said the
minister solemnly.