On his invitation
I now rose, put by my money, and followed him. Returning by the hall we
went through a passage and entered a room of vast extent, which in its
form and great length and high arched roof was like the nave of a
cathedral. And yet how unlike in that something ethereal in its aspect,
as of a nave in a cloud cathedral, its far-stretching shining floors and
walls and columns, pure white and pearl-gray, faintly touched with
colors of exquisite delicacy. And over it all was the roof of white or
pale gray glass tinged with golden-red--the roof which I had seen from
the outside when it seemed to me like a cloud resting on the stony
summit of a hill.
On coming in I had the impression of an empty, silent place; yet the
inmates of the house were all there; they were sitting and reclining on
low couches, some lying at their ease on straw mats on the floor; some
were reading, others were occupied with some work in their hands, and
some were conversing, the sound coming to me like a faint murmur from a
distance.
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