It was a
wonderfully hot night, and not even the dark blue of the moonless
sky, studded with stars, could give any sensation of coolness. Round
the balcony were several windows belonging to the dressing-rooms of
the theatre, and the lights within shone through the vivid red of
the blinds with which they were covered. The door leading into the
bar was wide open, and within everything seemed hot, even under the
cool, white glare of the electric lights, which shone in large oval-
shaped globes hanging from the brass supports in clusters like those
grapes known as ladies' fingers. In front stretched the high
balustrade of the balcony, and as Vandeloup leaned back in his chair
he could see the white blaze of the electric lights rising above
this, and then the luminous darkness of the summer's night. Beyond a
cluster of trees, with a path, lit by gas lamps, going through it,
the lights of which shone like dull yellow stars. On the right arose
the great block of Parliament-buildings, with the confused mass of
the scaffolding, standing up black and dense against the sky. A
pleasant murmur arose from the crowded pavement below, and through
the incessant rattle of cabs and sharp, clear cries of the street
boys, Gaston could hear the shrill tones of a violin playing the
dreamy melody of the 'One Summer's Night in Munich' valse, about
which all Melbourne was then raving.
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