In a large city there was a botanical garden, and within it—a spacious greenhouse made of glass and iron. It was strikingly beautiful: the building stood on slender, twisted columns, above which rose light, lacy arches, linked together by a whole network of metal braces, into which glass panels were fitted. The greenhouse looked especially impressive at sunset, when the sun poured a reddish glow over it. Then it seemed to blaze all at once: crimson highlights slid, flickered, and shimmered, as if within an enormous precious gemstone, carefully polished down to small facets…