"It is my belief," said Edmund, "that, notwithstanding the buoyancy of
the heavy atmosphere, those structures cannot be maintained at such
elevations without mechanical aid. You will see when we get nearer that
every stage is furnished with some means of support, probably vertical
screws reacting upon the air."
Again he had guessed right, for in a little while we were near enough to
see the screws, working in a maze of motion, like the wings of a
multitude of insects. The resemblance was increased by their gauzy
structure, and, as they turned, they flashed and glittered as if
enameled. (The supernatant structures that they maintained were, as we
afterwards ascertained, framed of hollow beams and trusses--a kind of
bamboo, of great strength and lightness.)
Now we rose over the intervening hill, and as we did so a cry burst from
our lips. A vast city made its appearance as by magic, a magnified
counterpart of the aerial city above it. Put all the glories of
Constantinople, Damascus, Cairo, and Bombay, with all their spires,
towers, minarets, and domes together, and multiply their splendor a
thousand times, and yet your imagination will be unable to picture the
scene of enchantment on which our eyes rested.
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