As Tuzu was about to descend the gangplank—a stout, manila rope provided for that purpose—Torrence asked leave to examine the magnificent necklace he wore. The fellow appeared pleased, and when my brother, who is an excellent judge of precious stones, expressed his conviction that they were gems of rare merit, he insisted upon our accepting them, together with other decorations. This, of course, we would not do, but the man threw the jewels at our feet, and could not be persuaded to touch them again. The metallic ornaments upon his wrists and the girdle he would not part with. It was evident that the stones were not valued as with us, and that the blessing we had bestowed upon the city was considered sufficient remuneration for them. Tuzu then looked over the rail and said something to the citizens below, and in a minute a shower of jeweled ornaments began pouring in upon us, in the wildest profusion. The deck became covered with precious stones of such magnificence that their aggregate value could hardly be estimated. I would not like to say what amount of wealth was thus heaped upon us, as the most conservative estimate would sound wild and extravagant, but it was something fabulous. The air was thick with bracelets, neckbands, anklets, belts, earrings. They fell upon the vessel in heaps, in piles; they caught upon every projection, until the trembling of the air ship in rising shook some of them loose, and we began to ascend beyond their reach. This shower of wealth had probably not lasted more than ten minutes, but during that time we accumulated inestimable treasure, and stones of every color and size. It was a dazzling sight, but when I reflected that these were not a tithe of the wealth of the city, my brain fairly swam at the thought. "After all," said Torrence, "it is simply the inversion of values; for what could be more beautiful than some of our Rhinestones, or even than some of our colored glass? No emerald is really as beautiful as a true Rhine crystal, but it is more rare, hence its value. The conditions here favor the formations that are most discouraged with us; why this should be is very evident, on the theory of inverted molecular action. The grinding and cooling of the earth’s crust resulted in certain products upon the outer surface, and in others upon the inner. I have always believed we should find exactly this state of things here, and should really have been surprised if the results of creation had been similar in kind and quantity upon both surfaces. No doubt with little effort we could find diamond mines that would entirely destroy their value with us." "Shall we get Tuzu to show us where they are?" I replied, feeling as if the gardens of Hesperides must be within our reach.