de l'ester—exactly two o'clock, and you are awaiting us, so at once we will be off. only george and i have come for you. bernard and our friends will meet us at kûltymo tylû. now, be at rest. ready, george. no, mortals can have no realization of the rapidity with which wholly freed spirits are able to move. you, who to a degree are freed, do not realize it.
gentola—no, i do not. always, to me, we appear to be stationary, while all else is falling away from us. now, as we near ento, it seems to be rushing toward us, and now i perceive its divisions of land and water, and yonder is kûltymo tylû, and on yonder great tower our friends and my dear boy are watching and waiting for us. a greeting for you all, dear friends, and for you, too, my dear lad. yes, from afar off i saw you waving your hand to me, you dear, dear boy.
george—while de l'ester shall relate to you something that certainly will interest you, inez and i will make a hurried visit to da̤o, but ere he shall have concluded his narration we again will be with you.
de l'ester—we find that, until our mission shall have culminated, we must defer visiting certain localities of peculiar interest, and as some untoward event might, during your mortal existence, prevent your gaining through personal observation, information concerning them, we
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have decided that i shall endeavor to acquaint you with some of their features.
far within ento's arctic and antarctic regions there are lands which, during a large part of the year, are covered with ice and snow. still farther northward and southward and at the poles such intense cold perpetually prevails that the land surfaces are uninhabitable. in these regions are vast deposits of precious and other ores, and to gain access to them many difficulties had to be surmounted. i say had to be surmounted; for, during many centuries, mining within the arctic and antarctic circles has been a settled industry. in remote times, as at present, throughout ento's torrid and temperate zones, the mining industry has progressed northward, and to a lesser degree southward, and so gradual have been its movements that, almost imperceptibly, it has penetrated polar lands, and mainly through the agency of electrical appliances has the achievement been made possible. you have been informed that more than fifty ento centuries ago, the entoans understood electrical engineering and many electrical appliances, and that then, as now, tûza̤mos and air transports were used as common carriers, but, of course, they were less perfect than those of to-day. still, they served the requirements of their time, which were less exacting than the requirements of to-day. but you have not known that, quite within ento's arctic and antarctic circles, there are large underground communities of men, women and children, whose occupations, almost solely, are connected with the mining industry. naturally, one might infer that the disadvantages of their environments would be both discouraging and depressing. not so. through the agency of electricity their underworlds are brilliantly lighted and where necessary comfortably warmed, and it enables them to keep in constant touch with the outer world
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which, at any time, they may visit, and from whence they may command such luxuries and comforts as they may desire.
lines of tûza̤mos penetrate far northward and southward, and where they cannot go air transports can and do go. thus these communities are not at all isolated, and they go and come where and when they will. some time, if you may so desire, you shall visit some of them, and i may assure you that you will find them very interesting. yes, all mines are owned by the general government, and the remuneration of those engaged in them is so liberal, so equitable, as to assure to them prosperity and contentment. at the entrances of the various great mines are enormously lofty light towers, whose several floors are devoted to educational and other purposes. in the schools some of ento's foremost scientists of the past and of the present day have been taught electric and hydraulic engineering, geology, mineralogy and other specialties. other floors are for living rooms, nurseries, hospitals and the inevitable istoira̤. the several departments are attractively finished and furnished, and are quite as desirable as are well appointed dwellings of milder climes. on the summits of these lofty towers are immense electric lights which are to navigators of space what beacon lights are to mariners of seas. to air voyagers they afford cheering assurance of their whereabouts and of hospitable entertainment; for, at all mining centres, are air transport stations for the accommodation of travellers and for shipping purposes.
frequently, in arctic and antarctic regions, terrific snow storms occur, and were it not for the far reaching tower lights, air pilots would not be able to find transport landings, which ever are kept in readiness for their arrival. yes, the mines are located in mountainous regions, for as the poles are approached the planet's surface
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is very rugged and mountainous, and as on all stable planets the more nearly the poles are approached the vaster are the mineral deposits. yes, the same law applies to earth, and were i not somewhat opposed to prophesying, i might say that within ten years the insatiable gold worshippers of our planet will set up their altars in localities nearly as frigid as are ento's northern and southern mining regions. much more in this direction i might relate, but we anticipate that later on we may afford you views of what i have given you a mere idea. ah, here are george and inez.
george—i fear that we may have abused our leave of absence; if so i can only say that we have been so engrossed as to not note the passing moments. since our visit of the early morning her spirit attendants have succeeded in temporarily stimulating her vital energy, but ere long they will have to yield to the inevitable, and valloa̤, the golden haired, will be borne to ento's spirit world. evidently she realizes that death, the dread terror, is drawing near and it is touching to see her young, lovely face wearing a smile while her faintly throbbing heart is full of anguish at thought of leaving her adored father and dano, her betrothed. inez, my dear one, will you tell our sister about the dying girl?
inez—words cannot describe the pathos of the scene. since witnessing it my heart is burthened with measureless sympathy for mortal sorrow. by one side of valloa̤'s couch sat her father, his woful face betraying his consuming grief and anxiety. by the other side knelt dano, his rapt gaze wearing the expression of one who sees with clear eyes. so emaciated, so wan is valloa̤'s lovely face that it is as snow amid the wealth of her golden, flowing hair. as we looked and listened she turned to her father with encouraging words, then she smiled into his and her lover's eyes, and said, "dearest ones, pray do not regard me so wist
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fully. i am growing stronger; soon i shall be well;" and they, to hide from her their despair, smiled back at her, assuring her of their confidence in her speedy recovery. about her were ministering spirits who, to their utmost were sustaining her physical energy, and for a moment i stood near her and dano, who with a startled look, turned toward me, and quickly i moved away. he grows very sensitive, and valloa̤'s spirit vision is so clear that as she recedes from the mortal condition, in exceeding bewilderment she gazes into the thinly veiled spirit world, whose glory fills her soul with ecstasy. i now am satisfied that our band have acted wisely in not taking you into the presence of the dying girl, for assuredly your easily aroused sympathy would endanger your safety.
de l'ester—which we dare not trifle with, as in it is involved the success or failure of our mission. this, you perceive, is the loftiest tower of the city. it is a signal tower, and through this telescope, which is one of its scientific features, it commands a view of the immense distances of this levelled portion of the planet. gaze now over the city and express your impression of the view.
gentola—beautiful, wondrously beautiful! toward the east the city gently inclines downward, and across insa̤lû valley, merging itself into the country, which is so closely dotted with white dwellings and istoira̤s, gleaming amid the green of lawns, orchards and lofty bûda̤s and other forest trees, that one cannot say where the city ends and the country begins. southward the plateau rises gradually in broad terraces, on which are white and gold structures like stately palaces, amid blooming gardens and the feathery foliage of bûda̤s trees. some are less spacious, but scarcely less attractive in the beauty of their architecture and surroundings. there are open squares lined with palatial white and gold residences and other structures
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whose great domes and towers look down upon fountains so lovely as to defy my descriptive ability. upward and upward the terraces rise until against the background of the deep blue sky the southern portion of the city appears as a dim, mist-veiled, never-to-be-forgotten, magnificently lovely picture. i cannot imagine a scene more beautiful; no, not even in celestial worlds. seeing this wonderful city and learning to what heights humanity may attain arouses within me a hope for the future of our own sorrowful planet.
de l'ester—alas and alas, that many, many centuries must elapse ere your hope shall bear fruition. development of the peoples of a planet, as a whole, is not a matter of centuries, but of ages. centuries come and go, and only infinite intelligence can discern that all along the line one step has been taken. like the rising and falling of ocean's unquiet waves, now amid mad tempests, dashing their white crests toward the sky, anon with gentle undulations laving the sand strewn shore, so amid storm and calm, the peoples of planets slowly, but surely, evolve toward higher planes of being.
wars, with their lamentable features, are the upheavals of the animal impulses of crude civilizations, and earth's peoples are far from being civilized. all over our planet civil corruption and social, selfish greed and ambition for place and power are eating into the very vitals of society, hence of governments, and if spirit agencies cannot sway the minds of some who may serve as saviors, the poverty and agony of the masses in time will produce a state of delirium, in which the sense of accountability will be lost; then woe be to those who, through standing on the shoulders of their defrauded and oppressed brethren, have climbed to high places.
man is in one, angel and animal, and ever as the angel
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strives for ascendency, the animal snarls and shows its teeth, and you may believe me that, were it not that spirits of highest realms control illumined minds of earth, who serve as restraining influences in the consciousness of the masses, a chaotic state of society quickly would ensue. apparently, it is a provision of divine law that the wise and strong shall aid the unwise and weak; that the higher shall reach down to uplift the lowly, and those who fail to fulfill this righteous law thereby so lessen their spiritual estate that, in the world of equitable adjustments, they find themselves in a state of poverty undreamed of by mortal man.
yes, even as the peoples of earth agonize in the throes of evolution, so in past ages have the entoans agonized; so, to a degree, do they yet agonize, for though they are more highly evolved than are the peoples of our planet, they, as i have once said, are yet in their swaddling clothes.
yes, ages elapsed ere they evolved from savagery to a civilization which made it possible for their ideals to assume form and expression in the construction of this wonderful and beautiful city. wonderful not only in its architecture, but in its many fine expressions of science, of art, of social amenities and usages, and other admirable features of an advanced evolution, which has carried from the past into the living present such lessons of wisdom as have been learned in the school of experience. the school whose pupils never play truant and who ever are learning their lessons well or ill, and who, perforce of natural law, must advance onward toward clearer, higher views of the meaning of life, of love, of god in humanity.
now again look southward. is not it a vision to enrapture the soul of an artist or a lover of the beautiful? see how temples, domes and light towers lose themselves
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in the cloudlike, luminous haze which the slanting sun rays glorify into an indescribable loveliness. toward the lovely valley insa̤lû the shadows of declining day are falling over the whiteness of the city and over domed temples and light towers. afar, gray and empurpled mist wreaths are rising and veiling the pallid beauty of fountain groups, whose silvery treasures, thrown high into the quiet air, are tinted by the glory of the setting sun, which gleams athwart ta̤imon, over which, like dream phantoms, vessels great and small are noiselessly gliding. lower, lower sinks the red disk of the solar king, and fleecy clouds, catching the reflection of his last beams, put on their robes of crimson and gold, and like angels in flight, drift across the deepening azure of the sky.
george, we now will ascend, but not to a great height, for soon the light towers will be ablaze, and you, gentola̤ and bernard, will witness a spectacle you will not soon forget.
look downward now. shadows are brooding over the great city, and save for the musical tones of the temple bells every sound is hushed, but wait a little and the scene will change.
ah, you are startled, as well you may be. is not the transformation marvellous? is not the scene grandly, weirdly beautiful? below us is the wide-spreading city, whose lofty electric light towers suddenly have turned night into day, and southward, where the terraced plateau attains its greatest elevation, is the great light tower on whose summit is an immense golden and crimson crystal symbol of andûmana̤'s abode, and as the afterglow of its radiance fades from the sky, suddenly the sacred symbol will blaze into the splendor of its amazing beauty. now, from every temple, the music of chiming bells floats upward and the atmosphere is vibrant with their rhythmic
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notes. with expectant gaze, all eyes are turned toward the symbol of their religion, and now flashing upon the bosom of night behold the glowing, scintillating, radiant wonder. simultaneously from every lip bursts forth a prayer, which i will translate into your language.
andûmana̤, creator and preserver, even as the shadows of night wrap us about, so may thy love infold us while we sleep, and may thy messengers, who read our inmost thoughts, bear to thee the fervent adoration of thy loving but ever sorrowful children. oirah, oirah, oirah. (so be it.)
in low, plaintive tones the chiming bells accompany the intoned prayer, and every face is uplifted toward the great glowing sun, whose dazzling radiance penetrates the dense fog enveloping the city as with a snowy mantle.
gentola—ever since you promised me that some time i should at night behold some portion of ento, i have tried to imagine how it might appear, but never have i imagined a scene so grand, so beautiful, so marvellously strange as this.
oh, that the peoples of our planet might, if but for a moment, behold this illustration of the possibilities inherent in humanity, for surely it would stimulate them to higher endeavor, to emulate the attainments of the entoans, whose peace, prosperity, learning, culture, refinement and kindliness is in strong contrast with the turmoil, poverty, selfishness and lack of real friendliness prevalent among the masses of our rightly named sorrowful star. yes, i know that the entoans are sorrowful, but it is not of a nature that debases them, and i hope and pray that soon it may give way to measureless joy.
de l'ester—so hope, so pray all who are engaged in this mission.
gentola—as i listen to the chiming of the temple bells
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i do not distinguish one discordant note, and all ring in perfect unison. i should like to know how this is accomplished?
inidora—all ento temples possess chimes of bells, and all the chimes of each city are tuned to the same key note. they are electrically connected, and by means of electrical mechanism all are simultaneously rung. our people have stated times of worship, which are at sunrise, at midday and at sunset, and when in a few moments yonder radiant symbol of ento's faith shall be extinguished, again the waiting people will implore divine protection through the night, and the chiming bells again will ring their plaintive oirah, oirah, oirah. (amen or be it so.)
yes, in cities and towns and country places the same religious ceremonies are observed. at sunrise the blessing of andûmana̤ and the protection of the divine ones who dwell in astranola̤ are invoked. at midday all sacrifices and offerings of value are laid upon the altar. at sunset in temples flowers alone are laid upon the altar, and the high priest invokes for his people the protection of andûmana̤'s messengers. no, it is only in kûltymo, da̤o, camarissa̤ and two other cities of ento that there are such symbols as we now are gazing upon. but see, the glory of its beauty is paling and—now it has disappeared. again the chiming bells fill the air with melody. again from every lip ascends a prayer for protection through the darkness of night. gradually the melody dies into silence, and through the deepening twilight and the soft radiance of its many light towers, kûltymo tylû gleams in pallid whiteness, in phantom-like loveliness. quietly, tranquilly, the people are returning to their homes. no sounds of traffic or of labor break the stillness of the great white and gold city, but from soiva̤s (parks) and ilofēn mûna̤a̤ (amusement gardens) strains of sweet music float upward and
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thither, presently, men, women and children will wend their ways.
and thus, kûltymo tylû, queen city of my beloved ento, we leave thee, and as our faces turn away from thee, our backward, lingering glances stray over thy peerless loveliness, and we regretfully murmur info oovistû.
gentola—dear friends, so strange, so enchanting are some of the experiences that you are affording me that i am at a loss to express either my emotions or my boundless gratitude. oh, if only i might remember all that i see, all that occurs. why is it that, after i have regained full consciousness, i can no more recall these experiences than i can recall a dimly remembered dream?
de l'ester—cannot you comprehend that it is you, the ego or spirit self which alone takes cognizance of these experiences? that the magnetic chord connecting you, the spirit self, with your conscious mind, which is the animal soul consciousness, is, so to say, the telegraphic wire through which, under our control, your physical organism is made to automatically record the words transmitted by whichever member of our band may be acting as operator? while you are with us your soul consciousness is in abeyance; hence, is not an active factor in these experiences, and can record nothing concerning them. take comfort from this statement. when under my control you shall rewrite, and as far as feasible correct the imperfect record of our journeys to and experiences on ento; imperfect because you are not yet fully developed in your peculiar phase of mediumship; your memories relating to our mission will experience a sort of resurrection, and you will recall much, if not all, that has and yet will transpire while engaged in our endeavor to serve as we would be served. not until you shall be wholly freed, will you fully comprehend this statement, but when you shall be enabled to recall these
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experiences, also to a degree, you will realize that they are more than dreams. yes, doubtless, there are those who will regard you as a visionary. that will be their mistake, not yours.
now we are over the intersection of the central waterway, with one running toward the northwest, which also intersects with one traversing a portion of the north temperate zone. since genessano allis immo demonstrated the practicability of great waterways, several have been completed and others are in course of construction. through them and their feeders the retention of the annual floods and control of irrigation has been greatly simplified and their measureless value demonstrated.
to-morrow we all will meet at this point. we held you too long yesterday and you are yet somewhat devitalized. we will see to it that you shall sleep restfully to-night, and in the morning at nine o'clock we will be en evidence.
george, inez and your wistful-eyed lad will see you safely home, and we will repair to da̤o.
