lks. He slightly emphasises all that
is most favourable in the being's circumstances. He dwells on the strong
points in his character. He listens to his stories. He shows himself
impressed by his abilities. We have but a few of these professional
optimists, and they are extremely well paid--that is to say, their power
of ordering from the Central Office is very considerable."

"Some of this seems to me rather childish," I said. "And some of it I do
not understand."

"You, a barbarian, can hardly be expected to grasp at once the
refinements of a higher civilisation. You will do so gradually. Now,
please, I have only just time to see the Professor before I keep my
appointment at the Heat and Light Control. Come along, please."

We passed up the spiral slope, my host going very slowly and breathing
heavily. The Professor's house was scarcely a hundred yards away, and I
think we took nearly five minutes to get to it. The outward appearance
was precisely similar to that of the house we had just quitted. When we
reached the outer door my guide knocked once. The door immediately
opened, as if of itself, and we passed into an empty hall. From this a
door led us into a large room devoted to the purposes of the bath and
the toilet. I subsequently found that in all these subterranean houses
this room was the largest. I remarked to my guide that no servant had
admitted us, and there seemed to be no one to introduce us into the
presence of the Professor.

"There are no servants," said my companion. "We have the second class,
the workers, but we should not admit them to live in our houses. We have
so far simplified life that one being can very well look after one
house, his own. As a matter of fact two second-class beings are sent
from the Hygienic Control of the Central Office every morning to clean
each house, but it is a question whether this should continue. We are
discussing it. It looks just a little like luxury, and luxury is
dangerous to longevity. Why should we have a servant to announce us? If
the Professor knows the visitor, it is not necessary. If he does not
know him, the visitor can supply the information just as well as the
servant. If the Professor had not wished to receive, the outer door
would not have opened."

We did not find the Professor in the first room we entered, but in the
dining-room, where he was taking pills out of one of those small
aluminium cups. He went on taking his pills and we watched in sole