An adventure among the Rosicrucians Author:Franz Hartmann Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: III. THE REFECTORY. TTTE stepped out into the corridor and entered the garden. The palm-trees and exotic plants, by which we were surrounded, formed a stro... more »ng contrast to the weird and desolate scener)', with its fields of ice and scrub-pines, which I had seen before entering this enchanted valley. High bushes of Fuchsias changed with Rose-bushes, and all were covered with the most beautiful flowers; the air was perfumed from the odor of many varieties of Hyacinths, Heliotropes, and other plants whose names I do not remember. Nevertheless the place was not a hot-house, for there was no other roof over it than the clear blue sky. I wondered whether perhaps the garden was heated from below the surface, and the thought came into my mind that so much luxury seemed not to agree with the views, expressed by the Adept, that those who live within the paradise of their own souls do not care for external sensual gratification. But the Imperator seemed to know my thought even before it had taken a definite form in my mind, and said : — "We have created these illusions to make your visit to this place an agreeable one in every respect. All these trees and plants which you see, require no gardeners, and are inexpensive; they cost us nothing but an effort of our imagination." I went up to one of the rose-bushes and broke one of the roses. It was a real rose, as real as I had ever seen one before; its odor was sweet, and it had just unfolded its leaves in the rays of the mid-day sun. "Surely," I said, "this rose which I hold in my hand cannot be an illusion, or an effect of my imagination ? " " No," answered the Adept, " it is not produced by your own imagination, but it is a product of the imagination of nature, whose processes can be guided by the spiritual will of the Adept. ...« less