(TYLTYL _obeys_ LIGHT'S _order. Forthwith, the stage is lit up with an ineffably pure, divinely roseate, harmonious and ethereal brightness. The heavy ornaments in the foreground, the thick red hangings become unfastened and disappear, revealing an immense and magnificent hall, a sort of cathedral of gladness and serenity, tall, innocent and almost transparent, whose endless fabric rests upon innumerous long and slender, limpid and blissful columns, suggesting the architecture of the Palladian churches or certain drawings by Carpaccio, notably the "Presentation of the Virgin" in the Uffizi Gallery. The table of the orgie melts away without leaving a trace; the velvets, the brocades, the garlands of the_ LUXURIES _rise before the luminous gust that invades the temple tear asunder and fall, together with the grinning masks, at the feet of the astounded revellers. These become visibly deflated, like burst bladders, exchange glances, blink their eyes in the unknown rays that hurt them; and, seeing themselves at last as they really are, that is to say, naked, hideous, flabby and lamentable, they begin to utter yells of shame and dismay, amid which those of_ FAT LAUGHTER _are clearly distinguishable above all the rest. The_ LUXURY OF UNDERSTANDING NOTHING _alone remains perfectly calm, while his friends rush about madly, trying to flee, to hide themselves in corners which they hope to find dark. But there is not a shadow left in the dazzling room. And so the majority, in their despair, decide to pass through the threatening curtain which, in an angle on the right, closes the vault of the Cave of Miseries. Each time that one of them, in his panic, raises a skirt of the curtain, a storm of oaths, imprecations and maledictions is heard to issue from the hollow depths of the cave. As for the_ DOG, BREAD _and_ SUGAR, _they hang their heads, join the group of the_ CHILDREN _and hide behind them very sheepishly_.) TYLTYL (_watching the_ LUXURIES _flying_) Goodness, how ugly they are!... Where are they going?... LIGHT I really believe that they have lost their heads.... They are going to take refuge with the Miseries, where I very much fear that they will be kept for good.... TYLTYL (_looking around him, wonder-struck_) Oh, what a beautiful hall, what a beautiful hall!... Where are we?... LIGHT We have not moved: it is your eyes that see differently.... We now behold the truth of things; and we shall perceive the soul of the Joys that endure the brightness of the diamond. TYLTYL How beautiful it is!... And what lovely weather!... It is just like midsummer.... Hullo! It looks as though people were coming to talk to us.... (_The halls begin to fill with angel forms that seem to be emerging from a long slumber and glide harmoniously between the columns. They are clad in shimmering dresses, of soft and subtle shades; rose-awakening, water's-smile, amber-dew, blue-of-dawn, etc_.) LIGHT Here come some amiable and curious Joys who will direct us....