The other half, partly divided from it by a curtain, struck the eye differently.

A stove of peculiar fashion, equipped with a powerful bellows, cumbered the hearth; before this on a long table were ranged a profusion of phials and retorts, glass vessels of odd shapes, and earthen pots.

Crucibles and alembics stood in the ashes before the stove, and on a sideboard placed under the window were scattered a set of silver scales, a chemist's mask, and a number of similar objects.

Cards bearing abstruse calculations hung everywhere on the walls; and over the fireplace, inscribed in gold and black letters, the Greek word "EUREKA" was conspicuous.
The existence of such a room in the quiet house in the Corraterie was little suspected by the neighbours, and if known would have struck them with amazement.

To Grio its aspect was familiar: but in this case familiarity had not removed his awe of the unknown and the magical.