"It is the capital of Venus," exclaimed Edmund. "There can be nothing
greater than this!"
It must, indeed, be the capital, for in the midst of it rose an edifice
of unparalleled splendor, which could only be the palace of a mighty
monarch. Above this magnificent building, which gleamed with metallic
reflections, although it was as light and airy in construction as
frostwork, rose the loftiest of the aerial towers, a hundred, two
hundred--I cannot tell you how many stories in height, for I never
succeeded in counting them.
The other air ships now dropped back, and ours alone approached this
stupendous tower, making apparently for its principal landing stage.
Along the sides of the tower a multitude of small air ships ran up and
down, stopping at various stages to discharge their living cargoes.
"Elevators," said Edmund.
Glancing round we saw that similar scenes were occurring at all the
towers. They were filling up with people, and the continual rising and
descending of the little craft that bore them, the holiday aspect of the
gay colors everywhere displayed, and the brilliancy of the whole
spectacle moved us beyond words.
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