“This was one of the most wonderful inventions of the Seventieth century,” said the old man. “The early inhabitants of the earth could not have dreamed that it would be possible to go around it in twenty-four hours. In fact, there was a time when they were not able to go around it at all. Scientists were astonished when a man called Malburn, a great inventor, announced that, at a height of four thousand feet, he could disconnect an air ship from the laws of gravitation, and cause it to stand still in space till the earth had turned over. Fancy what must have been that immortal genius’ feelings when he stood in space and saw the earth for the first time whirling beneath him!” They walked on for some distance across the park till they came to a great instrument made to magnify the music in light. Here they paused and seated themselves. “It will soon be night,” said the old man. “The tones are those of bleeding sunset. I came here last evening to listen to the musical struggle between the light of dying day and that of the coming stars. The sunlight had been playing a powerful solo; but the gentle chorus of the stars, led by the moon, was inexplicably touching. Light is the voice of immortality; it speaks in all things.” An hour passed. It was growing dark. “Tell me what immortality is,” said the boy. “What does life lead to?” “We do not know,” replied the old man. “If we knew we would be infinite. Immortality is increasing happiness for all time; it is” — A meteor shot across the sky. There was a burst of musical laughter among the singing stars. The old man bent over the boy’s face and kissed it. “Immortality,” said he—“immortality must be love immortal.”