Visit https://testbankbell.

com to download the full version and

explore more testbank or solution manual

Solution Manual for Introduction to Digital Signal

Processing Dick Blandford, John Parr

_____ Click the link below to download _____

http://testbankbell.com/product/solution-manual-for-
introduction-to-digital-signal-processing-dick-
blandford-john-parr/

Explore and download more testbank at testbankbell

Here are some recommended products that might interest you.
You can download now and explore!

Solution Manual for Introduction to Digital Signal

Processing, 1st Edition, Dick Blandford John Parr

http://testbankbell.com/product/solution-manual-for-introduction-to-
digital-signal-processing-1st-edition-dick-blandford-john-parr/

testbankbell.com

Solutions Manual to accompany Modern Digital Signal

Processing 1st edition 9780534400958

http://testbankbell.com/product/solutions-manual-to-accompany-modern-
digital-signal-processing-1st-edition-9780534400958/

testbankbell.com

Solutions Manual to accompany A Course in Digital Signal

Processing 9780471149613

http://testbankbell.com/product/solutions-manual-to-accompany-a-
course-in-digital-signal-processing-9780471149613/

testbankbell.com

Test Bank for Clinical Psychology, 8th Edition: Trull

http://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-clinical-psychology-8th-
edition-trull/

testbankbell.com
Solution Manual for Quantitative Analysis for Management,
11/E 11th Edition Barry Render, Ralph M. Stair, Michael E.
Hanna
http://testbankbell.com/product/solution-manual-for-quantitative-
analysis-for-management-11-e-11th-edition-barry-render-ralph-m-stair-
michael-e-hanna/
testbankbell.com

Test Bank for Managerial Economics: Foundations of

Business Analysis and Strategy, 13th Edition Christopher
Thomas S. Charles Maurice
http://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-managerial-economics-
foundations-of-business-analysis-and-strategy-13th-edition-
christopher-thomas-s-charles-maurice/
testbankbell.com

Cell and Molecular Biology Concepts and Experiments 6th

Edition Karp Test Bank

http://testbankbell.com/product/cell-and-molecular-biology-concepts-
and-experiments-6th-edition-karp-test-bank/

testbankbell.com

Test Bank for International Business: The New Realities,

3/E 3rd Edition S. Tamer Cavusgil, Gary Knight, John
Riesenberger
http://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-international-business-
the-new-realities-3-e-3rd-edition-s-tamer-cavusgil-gary-knight-john-
riesenberger/
testbankbell.com

Test Bank for Intermediate Accounting, 10th Edition, David

Spiceland, Mark Nelson, Wayne Thomas, James Sepe

http://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-intermediate-
accounting-10th-edition-david-spiceland-mark-nelson-wayne-thomas-
james-sepe/
testbankbell.com
Solution Manual for American Public Policy An
Introduction, 11th Edition

http://testbankbell.com/product/solution-manual-for-american-public-
policy-an-introduction-11th-edition/

testbankbell.com
Solution Manual for Introduction to Digital Signal
Processing Dick Blandford, John Parr
Full chapters at:
https://testbankbell.com/product/solution-
manual-for-introduction-to-digital-signal-
processing-dick-blandford-john-parr/

Chapter 1
Problem Solutions
Concept Problems
1. What is the difference between the transient response and the sinusoidal steady state response
of a digital filter.
Solution
The transient response of a filter is generally taken to be the response to a unit impulse. If the
filter is stable the response goes to zero in finite time. The sinusoidal steady state response is the
response to sinusoids of unit amplitude at some set of frequencies. For a linear system the
response is always sinusoidal and is usually expressed as a gain and a phase response. Any
transient startup of a sinusoidal signal is ignored.

2. Give at least three applications in which linear phase is a requirement.

Solution
•Any data transmission in which phase is used to encode information.
• Any signal which is to be passed through a filter which must not distort the wave shape
• Interpolators or decimators in which a linear phase FIR filter can be made more efficient
than a comparable IIR filter.
• Anywhere signals are filtered and added.

3. In the introduction to this chapter a digital filter was designed that approximated an analog
filter consisting of a resistor and a capacitor. Since it is clear that the digital filter was much
more complex in terms of hardware what kind of advantages might be gained by creating a
digital filter to replace an analog filter. Consider flexibility of the design, the design effort, cost
of the hardware, long term stability, and quality of the filter.
Solution
• Flexibility – While digital filters can be implemented in hardware using all hardware
components, the more typical implementation uses mostly software. Software makes a filter
much more flexible in terms of changes, error correction, scaling, or duplication.
• Design effort – Much of filter design, both analog and digital, comes from existing designs that
are modified to meet needs. If we were starting from scratch, the analog filter which does not
require an A/D or D/A converter is probably easier. In terms of the filter itself analog and digital
filters are roughly the same amount of design effort.
• Cost – Digital filters become much more cost effective as the order increases as compared to
analog filters. In terms of component cost for example, a second or third order analog filter can
be much cheaper than a standalone digital counterpart. But as the order gets higher, analog
-1-
filters become more expensive since parts precision and temperature compensation becomes
important.
• Long term stability – This is decidedly in favor of the digital filter which does not suffer from
aging or temperature drift to the degree that an analog counterpart does.
• Quality of the filter – At higher orders, digital filters are decidedly higher in quality than analog
counterparts. At lower orders the two can be competitive depending on what one is willing to
spend on hardware.

-2-
4. Explain why one would expect an IIR filter to be computationally more efficient for a given
algorithm than an FIR filter.
Solution
An FIR filter has all of its poles at the origin. In terms of frequency space, it's as if the filter has
a fixed gain and we locate zeros are specific locations where we want to drive the gain toward
zero. The IIR filter, on the other hand, has poles located anywhere inside the unit circle. The
designer can use poles and zeros together to adjust the gain up or down as needed. The poles
located inside the unit circle for the IIR filter provide feedback terms in the difference equation.
Thus, the output is fed back and can be used to further alter the gain.

The ability to locate poles anywhere inside the unit circle which provides feedback terms gives
the IIR filter a slight advantage in altering the gain curve over an FIR filter of the same order.

5. FIR filters do not have a feedback path. What are the implications of this for system stability?
Is oscillation possible? Why or why not?
Solution
FIR systems are always stable. A system is stable if its impulse response falls to zero in a finite
amount of time. For an FIR system, once an impulse has passed through the system, the output
must be exactly zero so all FIR systems are inherently stable.

Likewise, oscillation is not possible with an FIR filter. An oscillator has an output when there is
not input. For an FIR filter the output must eventually drop to zero once the input goes to zero.
Oscillation is not possible.

6. IIR filters have a feedback path and FIR filters do not. What would you expect to be the result
of small errors in the formulation of the coefficients for these two systems? Would the impact of
such an error be greater or less for an IIR filter? Explain.
Solution
For and IIR system a small error can be fed back to the input to reverberate through the system.
Some frequencies caused by errors may be amplified. In general, IIR systems are more sensitive
to coefficient quantization errors than are FIR systems which have no feedback.

7. Trapezoidal integration was used to approximate an integral and convert a differential

equation to a difference equation. What would be the consequences of using an approximation
based on a second order equation such as a parabola rather than the straight line fit of the
trapezoidal method?
Solution
A second order approximation will likely give a better approximation to an integral but it will
also double the order of the system. Higher order approximations are not used because of the
increased computational complexity of the result.

8. Since it is often difficult in practice to approximate an impulse, describe another method of

finding the impulse response indirectly from say, a step function which is readily available on
most signal generators.

-3-
Solution
Since the impulse is the derivative of the step the impulse response is the derivative of the step
response for a linear system. In practice, we can measure the step response, fit a curve to the
response so that we have it in closed form, and take the derivative of the fitted curve to get the
impulse response.

9. When a computer is used to evaluate a difference equation, the coefficients are represented as
binary numbers where the number of bits used is limited. This causes the coefficient to have a
small error called the quantization error. The same kind of error occurs in the A/D converter.
What other errors are likely in the evaluation of a difference equation?
Solution
The evaluation of a difference equation is the summing of the products of the coefficients and
input or output terms. When two N-bit numbers are multiplied a 2N-bit product is produced
which must be rounded or truncated to N-bits. This is another source of error that can be
mitigated by using extra bits for products called guard bits.

Overflow is another source of error. Filters can have overflow in a single stage at a particular
frequency and must be properly scaled to avoid this error.

Aliasing is another source of error. Aliasing most often come into play by way of high
frequency noise which comes with the input signal.

Finally, there can be error in the D/A and reconstruction process as the signal is converted from
digital back to analog.

10. Suppose that in the evaluation of a difference equation the coefficients of the input variable
and the delayed versions of the input variable are multiplied by a constant. What is the
consequence of this multiplication in the frequency domain?
Solution
The input variable and its delayed versions appear in the numerator of the transfer function. If
these are multiplied by a constant the effect will be go increase the gain of the filter by that
constant.

11. In problem 1.7 the impulse response of the FIR filters is given by
h(nT) = {b0 ,b1 ,b2 ,b3 ,b4 ,b5 }
Redraw the filter diagram so that the impulse response is given by
h(nT) = {0,0,0,b0 ,b1 ,b2 ,b3 ,b4 ,b5 }
What are the consequences of adding these zeros to the impulse response on the magnitude vs
frequency plot? What are the consequences on the phase vs frequency plot?

-4-
Solution

The magnitude plot will be unchanged but the phase plot will be the same shape but shifted by
three time periods across all frequencies.

12. Suppose the impulse response function for an FIR difference equation is symmetric. For
example the response might be given by
h(nT) = {b0 ,b1 ,b2 ,b3 ,b4 ,b5 ,b4 ,b3 ,b2 ,b1 ,b0 } .
How can the difference equation be written to use this symmetry to reduce the number of
multiplications necessary for its evaluation?
Solution
The difference equation can be written as:
y(n) = b0 x(n) + b1 x(n −1) + ...+ b4 x(n − 4) + b5 x(n − 5) + b4 x(n − 6) + ...+ b0 x(n −10)
Because of the symmetry we can factor out some of the coefficients to write:
y(n) = b0 [x(n) + x(n −10)] + b1[x(1) + x(n − 9)] + ... + b4 [x(n − 4) + x(n − 6)] + b5 x(n − 5)
Thus, instead of doing 11 multiplications we can do the additions first and do only 6
multiplications.

13. When the coefficients of a difference equation are implemented in real time we would like to
represent the coefficients with as many bits as possible since this reduces the quantization error.
Give three reasons why increasing the number of bits has negative consequences on the
implementation of a difference equation.
Solution
• The coefficients are stored in registers or memory and increasing the number of bits forces the
use of longer registers and more memory.
• The data path (busses) inside the DSP processor unit need to be as wide as the coefficients or at
least some integer multiple of the coefficient size. Increasing the number of bits makes the data
path wider and increases the hardware cost and complexity.
• Multiplication time will be longer since multiplication time is usually done on a bit by bit basis.
For cases where multiplication is done in parallel hardware, the cost and complexity of this
hardware is increased.

14. In general a sinusoid can be represented by the equation y = Asin(2ft) where A is the
amplitude and f is the frequency. This equation has two unknowns so that at least two values for
y at two different time samples are needed in order to determine A and f. What other
information do I need in order to uniquely determine values for A and f?
Solution
You need to know that the two samples are both within a single cycle of the sinusoid.

-5-
15. A given low pass filter has a cutoff frequency fc and a sample frequency fs. The sample
period is T = 1/fs. In implementing the filter it is essential that the evaluation of the difference
equation be completed in less than T seconds. What are the consequences with regard to fc if this
is not the case. For example, suppose it takes 1.2T to do the evaluation of the difference
equation.
Solution
This effectively decreases the sample frequency and there will be a corresponding decrease in the
cut off frequency of a low pass filter. In addition, if the sample frequency is slower than the
design called for, aliasing could be a problem.

Analysis and Design Problems

1.1 Using the numerical integration by trapezoids outlined in this chapter find the difference
equation for a digital filter to approximate the analog filter below.

Figure P1.1
An analog filter.
Solution
The loop equation for the circuit is
vi = vc + v0
But v0 = iR and
vc = (1/ C)  idt = (1/ RC)  v0 dt
The loop equation can be written as
(1/ RC)  v0 dt = vi − vo
Using (1.8) for trapezoidal integration we get
vi (n) − vo (n) = vi (n −1) − vo (n −1) + (T / 2RC)[vo (n) + vo (n −1)]
Which simplifies to
v0 (n) = K1[vi (n) − vi (n −1)]+ K2vo (n −1)
2RC 2RC − T
Where K1 = and K 2 =
2RC + T 2RC + T

1.2 A typical computer program for a digital filter was given as:
Initialize Variables
DO Forever
Call AtoD(Vi) ;Get a sample from the A to D
Vo = K1*Vi + K2*Vo1
Call DtoA(Vo) ;Output Vo to D to A
Vo1 = Vo ;Reset the value of the old variable.
Wait for T seconds to pass
Loop

-5-
End

Answer the following questions about the program:

A) What is the purpose of the statement “Wait for T seconds to pass.” What are the
consequences of removing this statement.
B) What variable(s) need to be initialized by the “Initialize Variables” statement.
C) If the A to D converter takes 10 microseconds to complete a conversion, the computer
requires 8 microseconds for each multiply and .5 microseconds for each add and the D to
A converter requires .1 microsecond, approximately what is the maximum sample
frequency for this filter with this difference equation.
Solution
A) This statement forces the loop to complete every T seconds. If it is removed, the sampling
frequency will change.
B) K1 and Vo1
C) There are 2 multiplies and 1 add = 16.5 µsec plus the A/D = 8 µsec plus the D/A = 0.1 µsec
comes to 24.6 µsec. Maximum sample frequency s 1/24.6µsec = 40.65 KHz.

1.3 For the difference equation given by:

vo (nT) = 0.3333vi (nT) + 0.3333vi (n −1)T + 0.3333vo (n −1)T
The sample frequency is 1 KHz.
A) Find and tabulate the impulse response.
B) Find and tabulate the step response.
C) Express the frequency response of the output/input in terms of sines and cosines.
D) Plot the magnitude and phase of the frequency response for the frequency range 0 to fs/2.
E) Does this filter represent a FIR or an IIR filter? Explain.
Solution
A)
n vi vi/3 vi(n-1)/3 vo(n-1)/3 vo
0 1 1/3 0 0 1/3
1 0 0 1/3 1/9 4/9
2 0 0 0 4/27 4/27
3 0 0 0 4/81 4/81
4 0 0 0 4/243 4/243
… … … … … …

B)
n vi vi/3 vi(n-1)/3 vo(n-1)/3 vo
0 1 1/3 0 0 1/3
1 1 1/3 1/3 1/9 7/9
2 1 1/3 1/3 7/27 25/27
3 1 1/3 1/3 25/81 79/81
4 1 1/3 1/3 79/243 241/243
… … … … … …

C) The difference equation is

vo (nT) = 0.3333vi (nT) + 0.3333vi (n −1)T + 0.3333vo (n −1)T

-6-
 jnT
vi (n −1)T = e j (n−1)T vo (nT ) = Ae jnT v (n −1)T = Ae j (n−1)T
Let vi (nT ) = e , , and o
This gives

Ae jnT = (1/ 3)e jnT + (1/ 3)e j (n−1)T + (1/ 3)Ae j (n−1)T
Divide both sides by e jnT
A = (1/ 3) + (1/ 3)e− jT + (1/ 3)Ae− jT
Solve this for A to get
(1/ 3)(1+ e − jT )
A=
1− e − jT
jnT jnT
vo (e ) Ae
jnT
= jnT = A
vi (e ) e

Applying Euler's identity we get

vo (e jnT ) (1/ 3)[cos(T ) +1− j sin(T )]
=
vi (e jnT ) 1− cos(T ) + j sin(T )
v e jnT (cos(T ) +1) 2 + sin 2 (T )
o
= (1/ 3)
vi e jnT (1− cos(T ) 2 + sin 2 (T )

 sin(T )   sin(T ) 
 (T ) = tan  −1 −1
 − tan  
 cos(T ) +1   1− cos(T ) 
D) Using MATLAB®
fs = 1000;T = 1/fs;
f = 0:fs/2;
w = 2*pi*f;

A = (1/3)*(1+exp(-j*w*T))./(1-(1/3)*exp(-j*w*T));
figure(1);clf;
subplot(2, 1, 1);
plot(f, abs(A));
title('Magnitude of A');
xlabel('frequency in Hz');
ylabel('Gain');
subplot(2, 1, 2);
plot(f, angle(A)*180/pi);
title('Phase of A');
xlabel('frequency in Hz');
ylabel('Angle in degrees');
Magnitude of A
1
Gain

0.5

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
frequency in Hz
Phase of A
0

-7-
 Angle in degrees
-50

-100
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
frequency in Hz

E) This represents an IIR filter since it has feedback.

-8-
1.4 The algorithm used in this chapter relied on a discrete approximation to the integral using
trapezoids.
A) Find the difference equation to approximate the integral if rectangles are used in place of
trapezoids.
B) Plot the frequency response of a trapezoidal and a rectangular integrator.
Solution
A)

If we take the variable y to represent the integral we can write:

nT
y(nT ) =  f (t)  dt
0
This equation can be broken into two separate parts and rewritten as:
(n −1)T nT
y(nT ) =  f (t)  dt +  f (t)  dt
0 (n −1)T

which can be written as

nT
y(nT ) = y([n −1]T ) +
(n−1)T
 f (t)  dt

If we approximate the integral with the area under the rectangle this equation becomes
y(nT) = y([n −1]T ) + Tf (nT)
jnT
B) To find the frequency response we let f (nT) = e and we take y(nT) = Ae jnT

Putting these values into the difference equation from part A gives:
Ae jnT = Ae j (n−1)T + Te jnT
Solve this equation for A to get
A(1− e− jT ) = T or
T
A= Rectangular integration sinusoidal gain equation.
1− e − jT
For the trapezoidal integrator (1.8) gives the difference equation:
y(nT ) = y([n −1]T ) + (T / 2)[ f (nT ) + f ([n −1]T )]
jnT
Let f (nT) = e and we take y(nT) = Ae jnT to get

Ae jnT = Ae j (n−1)T + (T / 2)[e jnT + e j (n−1)T ]

Solve for A to get
-8-
Visit https://testbankbell.com
now to explore a rich
collection of testbank,
solution manual and enjoy
exciting offers!
 1+ e− jT
A=T /2 Trapezoidal integration sinusoidal gain equation
1− e− jT

-9-
Use MATLAB® to plot the gain of the rectangular and trapezoidal gain equations.
fs = 1;T = 1/fs;
f = 0:.001:fs/2;
w = 2*pi*f;
Ar = T./(1-exp(-j*w*T));
At = (T/2)*(1+exp(-j*w*T))./(1-exp(-j*w*T));
figure(1);clf;
plot(f, abs(Ar));
title('Magnitude of rectangular and trapezoidal integrators');
xlabel('frequency in Hz');
ylabel('Gain');
hold on;
plot(f, abs(At), 'r');
axis([0 fs/2 0 10]);

Magnitude of rectangular and trapezoidal integrators

10

6
Gain

Rectangular
4

3
Trapezoidal

0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5
frequency in Hz

1.5 Describe in detail how you could use a sinusoidal signal generator and an oscilloscope to
determine the gain vs. frequency plot for a digital filter.
Solution
• Set up the function generator for sinusoidal outputs with a 1 volt amplitude.
• Apply the function generator to the digital filter and using a dual trace oscilloscope observe
both the input and the output.
• The gain is the amplitude of the output divided by the amplitude of the input and the phase is
the phase shift with the input as the reference. Measure the gain and phase for frequencies
from near zero to fs/2.

1.6 Show that the difference equation for the second order IIR filter Figure P1.6 is given by
yk = b0 xk + b1 xk −1 + b2 xk −2 − a1 yk −1 − a2 yk −2
where yk is the output variable at time k and uk is the input variable at time k.

Figure P1.6

-9-
An IIR filter.
Solution

y(k) = b2 x1 (k) + b1 x2 (k) + b0 x2 (k +1)

x1 (k +1) = x2 (k)
x2 (k +1) = −a2 x1 (k) − a1 x2 (k)
k x(k) x2(k+1) x2(k) x1(k) y(k)
0 1 1 0 0 b0
1 0 -a1 1 0 -b0a1+b1
2 0 -a2+a12 -a1 1 b2-b1a1+b0(-a2+a12)
3 0 a1a2 + a1a2-a13 -a2+a12 -a1 -b2a1+b1(-a2+a1 2)+b0(a1a2 + a1a2-a1 3)

We can also get the impulse response from the difference equation:
yk = b0 xk + b1 xk −1 + b2 xk −2 − a1 yk −1 − a2 yk −2
k x(k) x(k-1) x(k-2) y(k) y(k-1) y(k-2)
0 1 0 0 b0 0 0
1 0 1 0 -b0a1+ b1 b0 0
2 0 0 1 b2-b1a1+b0(-a2+a12) -b0a1+ b1 b0
2 3
3 0 0 0 -b2a1+b1(-a2+a1 )+b0(a1a2 + a1a2-a1 ) b2-b1a1+b0(-a2+a12) -b0a1+ b1

Since the difference equation has the same response to an impulse as does the evaluation of the
state diagram the two forms must represent the same system.

1.7 Find the general expression for the impulse response for the FIR filter shown in Figure P1.7.
Show that this response is always finite in length and has a length no greater than n+1 where n is
the subscript of the final coefficient.

Figure P1.7
An FIR filter.

-10-
Solution
h(nT) = {b0, b1, b2, b3, b4, b5, 0, 0, 0, …}

1.8 Answer the questions below for the difference equation given by:
vo (kT) = 0.5vi (kT) − .035vi (k −1)T − 0.825v0 (k −1)T
A) Does this equation represent an IIR or an FIR system? Explain.
B) Write the first 5 terms of the impulse response for this system.
C) Write the expression for the frequency response for this system if the sample frequency is
1,000 Hz.
Solution
A) This is an IIR system since it has feedback.
B)
k vi(k) vi(k-1) vo(k) vo(k-1)
0 1 0 0.5 0
1 0 1 -0.4475 0.5
2 0 0 0.3692 -0.4475
3 0 0 -0.3046 0.3692
4 0 0 0.2513 -0.3046

C) The difference equation is:

vo (nT) = 0.5vi (nT) −.035vi (n −1)T − 0.825v0 (n −1)T
jnT j (n−1)T jnT j (n−1)T
Let vi (nT ) = e , vi (n −1)T = e , vo (nT ) = Ae and vo (n −1)T = Ae
This gives

Ae jnT = 0.5e jnT − 0.035e j (n−1)T − 0.825Ae j (n−1)T

Divide both sides by e jnT
A = 0.5 − 0.035e− jT − 0.825Ae− jT
Solve this for A to get
(0.5 − 0.035e − jT )
A=
1− 0.825e − jT
jnT jnT
vo (e ) Ae
= jnT = A
vi (e jnT ) e

Applying Euler's identity we get

vo (e jnT ) [0.5 − 0.035cos(T ) + j0.035sin(T )]
=
vi (e jnT ) 1− 0.825cos(T ) + j0.825sin(T )

The magnitude response is:

voe jnT (0.5 − 0.035cos(T )) 2 + 0.035 2 sin 2 (T )
= (1/ 3)
vi e jnT (1− 0.825cos(T ) 2 + 0.8252 sin 2 (T )

The phase response is:

 0.035sin(T )   0.825sin(T ) 
-11-
 (T ) = tan −1   − tan −1  
 0.5 − 0.035cos(T )   1− 0.825cos(T ) 
T = 0.001.

-12-
1.9 Consider the difference equation given by
y(nT) = x(nT ) + Ky(n −1)T
A) Find the expression for the frequency response for y/x in terms of K. Take T = 1.
B) Use MATLAB® to plot the frequency response for two cases: K = 0.8 and K = 1/0.8 =
1.25. What is the same and what is different about these two responses?
C) Use MATLAB® to plot the impulse response for two cases: K = 0.8 and K = 1/0.8 = 1.25.
Plot at least 10 terms.
D) What can you conclude from the impulse response of these two difference equations that
is not evident from the frequency response?
Solution
A) The difference equation is:
y(nT) = x(nT ) + Ky(n −1)T
jnT jnT j (n−1)T
Let x(nT ) = e , y(nT ) = Ae and y(n −1)T = Ae

This gives
Ae jnT = e jnT + KAe j (n−1)T
Divide both sides by e jnT
A = 1+ KAe− jT
Solve this for A to get
1
A=
1− Ke − jT
jnT jnT
y(e ) Ae
= jnT = A
x(e jnT ) e

Applying Euler's identity we get

y(e jnT ) 1
jnT =
x(e ) 1− K cos(T ) + jK sin(T )

The magnitude response is:

ye jnT 1
jnT
=
xe (1− K cos(T ) 2 + K 2 sin 2 (T )

The phase response is:

 K sin(T ) 
 (T ) = 0 − tan −1 

 1− K cos(T ) 
B) The magnitude plots have the same shape but when K = 0.8 the magnitude is overall slightly
higher. If both plots were normalized to a gain of unity at 0 Hz they would be the same. The
phase plots are very different. For K = 0.8 the phase curve begins and ends at 0o. It reaches a
maximum of about -50o at about 0.1 Hz. When K = 1.25 the phase curve begins at -180o and
ends at 0o. The total phase changes is about 180o.

-12-
fs = 1;T = 1/fs; 6
Magnitude of A

f = 0:.001:fs/2; 4

w = 2*pi*f;

Gai
n
2

K = 0.8; 00 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45

A = 1./(1-K*exp(-j*w*T)); 0.5 frequency in Hz

Phase of A

figure(1);clf;
0

subplot(2, 1, 1); -20

Angle in
degrees
plot(f, abs(A)); -40

title('Magnitude of A, K = 0.8'); -60

0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45
0.5 frequency in Hz
xlabel('frequency in Hz'); Magnitude of A

ylabel('Gain'); 4

subplot(2, 1, 2);
3

Gai
2

plot(f, angle(A)*180/pi);

n
1

title('Phase of A, K = 0.8'); 00 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3

0.5 frequency in Hz
0.35 0.4 0.45

Phase of A

xlabel('frequency in Hz'); 200

100

0
ylabel('Angle in degrees');

Angle in
degrees
-100

-200
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45
0.5 frequency in Hz

C)
x = [1 zeros(1, 9)]; %impulse in 1
Impluse Response, K = 0.8

y = zeros(1, 10);
y(1) = x(1);
Voltage

0.5
K = 0.8;
for i = 2:length(y)
0
y(i) = x(i) + K*y(i-1); 0 1 2 3 4 5
Time in seconds
6 7 8 9

end 8
Impluse Response, K = 1.25

figure(4);clf; 6
fs = 1;T = 1/fs; 4
Voltage

nT = (0:9)*T;
2
subplot(2, 1, 1);
stem(nT, y); 0 1 2 3 4 5
Time in seconds
6 7 8 9

title('Impluse Response, K = 0.8');

xlabel('Time in seconds');
ylabel('Voltage');

D) When K = 1.25 the system is unstable.

1.10 A certain difference equation has an impulse response given by

h(nT) = {1.0, 0.5, 0.25, 0, 0, 0, …}
The step input function can be viewed as a series of impulses beginning at nT = 0. The step
output must then be a series of impulse responses since we are dealing with linear systems. Use
this information to find the first 5 terms of the step response of this system.
Solution
We view the step as a sequence of impulses each shifted one place further to the right from the
last. The step response is the sum of the shifted impulse responses.

n
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
0 1 0.5 0.25 0 0 0 0 0 0
-13-
1 0 1 0.5 0.25 0 0 0 0 0
2 0 0 1 0.5 0.25 0 0 0 0

-14-
 3 0 0 0 1 0.5 0.25 0 0 0
4 0 0 0 0 1 0.5 0.25 0 0
5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.5 0.25 0

sum 1 1.5 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75

1.11 When a step input is applied to a certain difference equation, the output, or step response, is
given by
s(nT) = {0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, …}
A step function in discrete time can be viewed as a sequence of shifted impulses to the step
response must be a sequence of shifted impulse responses. Use this information to derive the
impulse response for this system.
Solution
From the previous problem we see that the next term of the step response is always the previous
term plus the present term of the impulse response. We can write (from the solution of Problem
10)
stp(n) = stp(n-1) + h(n)
From this we get
h(n) = stp(n) – stp(n-1)
If the step response is
s(nT) = {0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, …}
The impulse response is:
h(nT) = {0.25, 0.25, 0.5, 0, 0, 0, …}

1.12 Consider the difference equation given by

y(nT) = 0.075x(nT) + 0.075x(n-1)T + 1.5y(n-1)T – 0.65y(n-2)T
The frequency response for y/x for this equation is given in Figure P1.12. The sample frequency
is fs = 1000. The exploded view of the magnitude and phase plots show that at an input
frequency of 100 Hz the gain is approximately 0.54 and the phase is approximately -111o. Using
MATLAB® allow x to be a sinusoid at 100 Hz with an amplitude of 1.0. Apply x to the
difference equation and calculate the sequence for y(nT). Verify the gain and phase shift that
were approximated from the frequency response curves. Note that you will have to produce
several cycles of y to get an accurate reading since the first few cycles will contain the transient
start up terms as well as the steady state response.

-14-
 Magnitude plot
1.5

1
Magnitude of

0.5
Gain

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
frequency in
Hz
Phase plot
0

-50
Phase in
degrees

-100
-150
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
500 frequency in Hz

Figure P1.12
The frequency response curve left and a blow up right for a difference equation.
Solution
fs = 1000;T = 1/fs;
t = 0:T:1;
fsig = 100;
x = sin(2*pi*fsig*t);
y = zeros(1, length(x));
y(1) = .075*x(1);
y(2) = .075*x(2) + .075*x(1) + 1.5*y(1);
for i = 3:length(y)

y(i) = .075*x(i) + .075*x(i-1) + 1.5*y(i-1) - .65*y(i-2);

end

figure(1);clf;
plot(t, x);
hold on;
plot(t, y, 'r');

axis([.2 .24 -1.2 1.2]);

title('Input and output sinusoids');

xlabel('Time in seconds');
ylabel('Voltage');

-15-
Visit https://testbankbell.com
now to explore a rich
collection of testbank,
solution manual and enjoy
exciting offers!
From the figure: A1 / A2  0.54 and (t 2 / t1)360  111
o

-16-
1.13 In the difference equation below K is a real number greater than 0.
y(nT) = x(nT) + x(n −1)T + Ky(n −1)T
A) Find the range of values of K that makes the impulse response grow without bound.
B) Find the range of values of K that makes the impulse response fall to zero.
Solution
y(nT) = x(nT) + x(n −1)T + Ky(n −1)T
Tabulate the impulse response.
n x(n) x(n-1) y(n) y(n-1)
0 1 0 1 0
1 0 1 1+K 1
2 0 0 K(1 + K) 1+K
3 0 0 K2(1 + K) K(1 + K)
3 2
4 0 0 K (1 + K) K (1 + K)
… … … … …
(N-1) (N-2)
N 0 0 K (1 + K) K (1 + K)

A) If K(N-1) + KN is to grow without bound then K  1

B) In order for K(N-1) + KN to approach zero we need K  1

1.14 An N-stage delay line is shown in Figure P1.15.

A) Write the difference equation for the output.
B) Write the frequency response for y/x.
C) Show that the magnitude of the frequency response is always 1 and the phase shift is
linearly related to the frequency.

Figure P1.14
A delay line

Solution
A) y(n) = x(n − N )
B) x(nT ) = e jnT and y(nT ) = Ae jnT

This gives
Ae jnT = e j (n−N )T
Divide both sides by e jnT
A = e − jNT
C) Magnitude of A
A =1
Phase of A
A = −NT

-16-
Other documents randomly have
different content
 “My lord, do you hear in the distance the bells of St Paul’s ringing
their peals?”
“Yes, they are ringing for the sacred union of clericalism with
worldly wisdom.”
“How could we reconcile the symbolic ceremony of a crowned
monarch with the limitations of our constitution?” asked Danford.
“How was it possible to adapt obsolete palliaments to the democratic
innovation of the coat and skirt? For I think we may truly call this
revolution in feminine dress the 1789 of Histology.”
“You are right, my dear Dan, but I want to know what our epoch
was aiming at?” asked Sinclair, sitting down on one of the steps.
“Was it playing a practical joke on democracy, or was it acting a
monarchical burlesque? What had our fashionable metropolis to do
with the customs of a London which began at the Strand, and whose
centre was the Tower? Doubtless, the auditory faculty of a
Plantagenet would have suffered from the bustling London of
Edward VII., and the clamouring noise of a railway station would
have certainly upset the nerves of even that bloodthirsty Richard III.”
“The fact is, my dear fellow,” said Lionel, who sat down near
Sinclair, “we had, before the storm, arrived at the cross-roads, and
had to choose which turning we should take. Were we to go straight
ahead, regardless of past traditions, on a motor car; or should we
have chosen a shady road and ambled back to Canterbury on a
Chaucerian cob, escorting that gentle dame yclept “Madam
Eglantine”? The twentieth century was the sphinx confronting us.
Were we going to meet it with an old adage, or were we at last to be
Œdipus and solve the question?”
“As long as we dragged at our heels the worthless baggage of the
past, we could not proceed on our road.” Danford stood in front of
the two men. “We went to our political business in fairy coaches, and
could not make out why we arrived too late for Parliamentary tit-bits.
We were playing the fool on the brink of a precipice, and spent our
time and energy in staging a sort of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in a
graveyard. It was as tragic as it was flippant, and if posterity will
laugh at our inconsistency, how much more must Mediævalism grin
at our lack of adaptability. I should like to know what King Alfred or
Queen Bess have to say about us?”
 “Poor Alfred,” sighed Lionel, “I feel for him, for he must be
mortified at having given the first impulse to English language to
produce—Marian Crivelli!”
“Ha! ha! ha! As to dear old Bess,” remarked Sinclair; “with all her
cunning, and the improbity of her politics, she was essentially
modern—of her times modernity, naturally, for of course,
Conservatism and Radicalism are relative. Had she seen the
development of science; had she crossed the Channel in one hour,
and the Atlantic in a week; and had she been able to send a wireless
message to a distant continent, she would have jumped with delight!
—she would have twigged in an instant that the curtain had dropped
upon the old world, and she would have advised her successor to
throw unscrupulously overboard, crown, sceptre, regal goods and
chattels—in fact, all royal overweight—to save the crew!”
“That reminds me,” suddenly said Lionel, “that I had a telephonic
causerie this morning with Victor de Laumel, in Paris. He said that
at the clubs everyone was discussing the latest. The Sovereigns of
Europe are going to meet in congress at the Hague to confabulate on
what they had better do in face of this strange event in England.”
“When the Sovereigns themselves are aware of the inconsistency of
their condition, and the futility of their prerogatives, then their eyes
will be open as to what their future conduct has to be.”
“That is just what Victor says. They are as excited about this
congress, in Paris, as they were about Fashoda and Dreyfus, and,
naturally, they blame us for it; all the smart clubs are dead nuts
against England for playing into the hands of Jove.”
“Oh! that does not astonish me in the least,” said Danford. “But
about this congress, Lord Somerville, I think we have already taught
the world a lesson, and that sooner than I ever expected. At this rate
the storm of London will rank as the greatest event in the history of
nations. If you look at history impartially, you will find that every
reform carried in its breast the seed of another excess. A wrong was
abolished, by what, at the time, appeared a right principle, until
another standpoint was reached, which showed us the wrong side of
the right principle.”
“If this strange condition of ours,” broke in Sinclair, “does, after
all, lead to the reform of the governing classes from within, then,
indeed, it was worth losing one’s shirt!” And the three men laughed
heartily.
“Look round, my lord,” and Danford pointed to the National
Gallery. “You have given the first impetus to true art.”
“No, no, Danford,” interrupted Lionel. “It was the public who gave
me the hint.”
“Never mind, my lord, the thing is done, and you have awakened
the consciousness of our English artists. Look down Parliament
Street, where your mind’s eye saw, a minute ago, the pantomime of
Government; you can see our ancient seat of Parliament transformed
into the sanctuary of technical education. The old lobbies are
swarming with efficient teachers. Public education, as it was to be
found in our old haunts of Eton, Rugby, etc., etc., was the proper
training for privileged classes; but the present education, which is
not compulsory, is the training of the child and adult without social
barriers; and the only religious dogma which he must live up to is
this: that the welfare of all is the welfare of each.”
“And yet,” sadly remarked Sinclair, “science is still but empiric, as
it has not yet revealed to us the mystery of the human heart; that
remains a sealed letter. Some writer has named that mysterious
recess of individuality, ‘the hidden garden’; but how ignorant we still
are of its vegetation. Do we know what causes, in that hidden garden
of the soul, a lovely rose to grow where the soil was barren; or a
toadstool to sprout where the seed of a robust plant had been sown?”
“No, we know no more of each other’s inner souls than the early
Britons knew of steam and electricity,” said Lionel. “As long as we
have not reached complete consciousness we shall never triumph
over the inconsistencies which place men on different platforms, and
spur them on to fight unfair battles.”
“Ah, my lord, you have a receptive mind, and I knew, from the
beginning, that the day would come when you would open your eyes
to the gulf which separates man from man. Yesterday morning the
Committee of Music Hall Artists introduced at our meeting a queer
sort of man, who struck me as visionary in his ideas, and matter-of-
fact in the carrying out of his plans.”
“Surely, Dan, he was an American,” remarked Sinclair, “for the gift
of bottling the ocean, or of cramming into a nutshell all the
contradictory philosophical theories, belongs to that race which
unites the creative power of a Jupiter to the jugglery of a
mountebank.”
“What that man, be he god or charlatan, suggests is too grave to be
spoken of lightly or to be taken up in a minute,” continued Danford,
“and I implore your lordship not to jump too quickly at a conclusion.
But, to come to facts, this man avers that he has discovered the
means of reading human thoughts and secret motives just as clearly
as one sees the hidden structure of a body by means of the X-rays.
He says that we have, owing to our normal hygiene and purity of life,
arrived at the time when this invention will be necessary to bring
perfect happiness to human beings; and that our past weeks of
paradisaical existence have changed John Bull and made him thirst
for a complete knowledge of his fellow-creatures. This is a serious
matter, gentlemen, and, for God’s sake, do not let us wreck the future
bliss of the world through our incautiousness. You have done much
for John Bull, my lord, but you have done it chiefly by being tactful
with him, and by not ruffling his susceptibilities. After all, man is a
strange being: he clings to the prejudices which makes his life a
living purgatory; and you must first see John Bull develop a craving
to investigate the ‘hidden garden’ before the final reform of man by
man can be effected from within.”
“Let us curb our enthusiasm for the sake of John Bull,” buoyantly
exclaimed Lionel, “and let us turn back, Danford. It is getting late,
and I have to be at the old War Office to meet ex-Field-Marshal
Burlow, to discuss with him what is to be done with the old offices.”
“My lord!” and Danford put his hand on Lionel’s shoulder, “an
idea has just struck me! You can do a good turn to the American
Seer, by giving over to him the War Office for his scientific
experiments. What could be more fitted to the science which is
devoted to the extension of sympathy, than the dwelling in which
was planned the extermination of races?”
“My dear man, the Seer shall have the old rookery, if I have a voice
in the matter, although I fear the shadows of past victims and the
remembrance of foregone civilised warfare will lurk at every corner,
and interfere with his humanising studies.”
“Quite the contrary,” said Sinclair. “The Seer, if he is what we
think, is sure to be stimulated by the ghosts of barbaric civilisations,
and his sense of humour will make him chuckle at the irony of fate,
which selected him to metamorphose Janus’s eyrie into a temple of
love and peace.”
 CHAPTER XVII

The day came at last when the Bishop of Sunbury was to deliver his
address on the future of religion.
St Paul’s had been considered too small to contain the large
assemblage of worshippers who were anxious to hear the prelate, and
it had therefore been arranged for him to speak to the crowd from
the steps of the Cathedral. Churchmen were not the only ones
interested in the long-promised message, but the world at large was
eager to learn what the ex-dignitary would tell them concerning the
great riddle: What makes a Bishop a Bishop?
It was one of these particularly English summer days, towards the
middle of July, in which the sun declined to appear in person. But
the atmosphere was none the less festive because the sun played
truant; and to most Londoners the weather was a symbol of true
modesty. Mayfair, Belgravia, Kensington—in fact, every district of
the metropolis was represented in the crowd that thronged the
Cathedral square. Those who preferred to remain at home or were
too unwell to attend the meeting, would be kept au courant through
the telephones; for it is only fair to say that the School of Accuracy in
the Delivery of News had completely metamorphosed the
temperaments of citizens, who, since the collapse of newspapers,
were genuinely struck by the dramatic power of a plain fact.
The crowd was large, but it did not at any time become rowdy. The
charioteers drove up Fleet Street in two lines and placed themselves
all round St Paul’s; while the pedestrian strolled leisurely under the
wide arcades. The recalcitrants, who were now a very small minority,
had prophesied a dismal dénouement to this meeting, and in order to
be safely out of danger, had secured their places at an early date, in
the dining-halls of the former shops. They reached their seats at an
unearthly hour, although the homily was announced for the
afternoon; but the recalcitrants remembered what they had suffered
at the Diamond Jubilee in getting to their places, and nothing on
earth could convince them that it would not be just the same for the
Bishop’s address. So, there they were, from five o’clock in the
morning, making themselves as comfortable as possible; first ringing
for their breakfast, then later on telephoning for luncheon. Shortly
before the time announced for the address, a party of friends might
be seen in one of the large shop windows enjoying their afternoon
tea. Seated in front was Mrs Archibald, with Lord Mowbray behind
her; these two held closely to one another, and kept up the old
traditions of bon ton, for they firmly believed that Society was
rushing to its ruin. Eva Sinclair, good-naturedly had given up joining
her husband in the crowd, so as to accompany poor Alicia Archibald,
who declared that she could never think of seeing the show without
one of her set. Next to these two sat Lady Carey, who, although she
had assented to all the modern reforms, had drawn the line at such a
public réunion as this one. She had begged Gwen to escort her, as
she could not bring herself to stay away and follow the development
of the meeting through her telephone. Montagu Vane was leaning on
the back of her chair, while Gwen and Nettie Collins made
themselves useful at the buffet.
On the other side of the churchyard was Mrs Pottinger, with a
good many of the American colony. They had absolutely declined
Mrs Archibald’s invitation to join her at the windows of the dining-
halls, preferring to mix with the crowd under the arcades. Beside her
stood her Royal Guide, although she might by this time have very
well dispensed with his services, but she kept him for Auld Lang
Syne, and for all the fun she had formerly derived from the Royal
Family; and perhaps also because she thought it would do him good,
for she was not an ungrateful woman.
“I see that the American colony has at last emerged from its
voluntary seclusion,” said Lionel to Danford, as they drove up and
took their position close to the steps.
“Yes, my lord, they retired to learn the art of observation, and have
achieved the task they set themselves to. Not only do they now
recognise the people they knew, but they have actually acquired the
faculty of putting names on to the faces they did not know.”
 “I am struck by the attitude of the American women. They move
with the same grace and ease as when Doucet and Paquin turned
them out into the social market.”
“You are right, my lord, they have made nature herself quite
elegant, and are teaching dowdy mother Eve a lesson in
deportment.”
“There is a downrightness in their demeanour which always upsets
my equanimity,” said Lionel, laughing.
“The American is a mathematical animal, my lord; and could a
geometrical figure walk, it would impersonate the tournure of a
Yankee.”
“Is that the Bishop coming out of the central porch?”
“Yes, my lord, and Jack Roller is beside him,” replied Danford.
“They are followed by representatives of all churches, who will group
themselves round the prelate.”
“The coup d’œil is harmonious,” remarked Lionel; “it puts me in
mind of Raphael’s School of Athens. Do you see on the right hand of
the Bishop a group of thin, pale men, their arms linked in one
another’s? I have no doubt those are Vicars and Curates. And notice
on the left that cluster of older men leaning in an attitude of keen
attention, shielding their ears with their hands, so as not to lose a
syllable of the address.”
“My lord, these are the Canons, Deans and Bishops. But watch that
surging crowd on the steps in front of the Bishop. Some, lying down
dejectedly, are supporting their hirsute faces with their right hands;
others, seated with their knees up to their chins, look stubbornly in
front of them. They are the Nonconformists, eager to know what this
Church dignitary has to say to them.”
“And what about those urbane men leaning modestly against the
doors of the Cathedral?” inquired Lionel.
“Ah! those must be the Romanists, my lord. Their attitude is
humble though firm; they stand aloof in mute reverence, but will
nevertheless be able to hear what the Bishop says, from the place
they have chosen. No one knows, not even Jack Roller, what the
Church has to say in this matter, and the prelate will have to solve his
own problem by himself.”
 A sonorous “Hush” stopped all conversations, but at first it was
impossible to hear one word, the prelate’s voice being too feeble for
the open air.
“Louder, my lord,” spoke the guide in a stage whisper; and the
Bishop, coughing several times, began the Lord’s Prayer, which was
repeated, sentence after sentence, by all those present. Never had the
prayer been more reverently recited than on this day, when
thousands of voices rose in a great wave of sound, and thousands of
heads bowed humbly to the simplest of divine messages. When the
Bishop spoke the last words, the crowd broke into a loud Amen,
which was followed by a long silence broken only by the sound of
horses’ hoofs pawing the ground.
On a sign from his guide the Bishop, after more preliminary
coughing, commenced his address. He displayed a slight nervousness
of manner and a decided inarticulateness in delivery; but his
audience, bent on hearing what he had to say, soon accustomed
themselves to his wearisome intonation. The first part of his speech
dealt with the duty of the British nation of setting an example of
modesty and purity to all other nations. So far, so good, he did not
depart from the customary dictates of British pride. He next
proceeded to state facts known to everyone; he pointed out, for
instance, that public baths were organised in all the parks of London;
that the streets’ safety had been assured by what he called “altruistic
discipline”; that the people’s food was now as delectable as that
partaken of by the higher classes; that the vanishing of newspapers
had been the means of raising the public level of morality; in fact, the
prelate confessed that true Christianity ruled more forcibly in
London, at present, than it had ever done at the epoch in which
flourished the Times, and the Church Times.
“Although the old Bishop does not put it in any original way; still, I
am glad he recognises the good points of our new Society,” said Lady
Carey, turning to Mrs Archibald, who looked listless and disdainful.
“My dear Alicia, you must own that since our general denudation
we have all been spared the squalid sights of misery?”
“But misery must exist all the same, whether we see it or not,”
remarked Vane, who could not lose a prejudice nor learn a lesson.
 “Ah! but we do not see it, my dear Montagu, and that is a blessing,”
retorted Mowbray.
“Misery unseen is half forgotten. Is not that the adage of true
selfishness?” This was Nettie, Gwen’s guide, who had brought a cup
of tea to Mrs Archibald.
“Listen,” said Lady Carey, at this moment laying her hand on Mrs
Archibald’s shoulder.
“When the storm divested us of all our covering,” the Bishop was
saying, “my first instinct was to recall the Gospels, hoping to find
there something suitable to the occasion. I discovered nothing that
could help me in this crisis; and as it was impossible to prevent our
present state, I meditated over what ought to be done for the greater
extension of purity and modesty.” The prelate’s voice was clearer and
his delivery more distinct. “I, and a few dignitaries of the Church of
England, organised a Society for the Propagation of Denudation,
otherwise called the S.P.D.; and after seeing the thing well launched
in London, we determined to send missionaries to all the countries
most in need of our Gospel. I am grieved to say that this first attempt
at purifying the world has not been successful, for last week our
missionary, as he landed on Calais pier, was arrested by the agents
des mœurs, and thrust into prison, and had to undergo there the
shamefullest of all penalties: the wearing of clothes. Let us for one
second imagine his tortured feelings; let us realise for an instant the
agony of his wounded sense of modesty, when he gazed at a shirt,”
(murmurs) “and at a pair of trousers.” (hisses and groans). “Our
missionary, sick at heart, implored of the officials to let him return to
England, and, having obtained permission, he took his little yacht
back to Dover. I saw him last week and had a very long discussion
with him upon the subject of how best to put our plans into
execution. But we recognised a difficulty when we contemplated the
situation of our missionary, had he landed unmolested at Calais, and
reached in safety the capital of merriment and incredulity. How
could he have proved the authenticity of his mission, when he had
lost his external credentials? In the name of what doctrine was a
paradisaical priest to address his clothed confrères? It occurred both
to him and to me, that, since our complete divestment, the principles
which kept our commonwealth together were more deeply rooted in
our altruistic souls; and further, that the number of our dogmas had
been reduced to a few tenets, which could be easily lived up to
without theological wrangling or ecclesiastic rivalry. The missionary
gravely declared to me, that we should never be able to attempt any
proselytism abroad, before we had thoroughly grasped the first
notion of the duties of a peace-maker. We threshed out the subject
until late that evening, and spent many more nights trying to
disentangle the skeins of conflicting doctrines; but after we had both
developed our ideas on the problem of propagandism, the practical
solution to the dilemma suggested itself to me last night, by which
true religion should be saved from the waters of Lethe.”
A gentle breeze fanned the crowd of anxious listeners. The
windows of the dining-halls were filled with human forms eagerly
leaning forward.
“Be brave, my Royal Guide, we shall never desert you, although
your Church gives you up,” and Mrs Pottinger laid her firm white
hand on the arm of His Royal Highness.
“Louder, my lord,” whispered Jack Roller to the Bishop.
The old man raised himself on his toes, and, lifting his eyes, to
heaven, uttered these words: “The union of all churches.”

A profound silence followed; and as the true purport of these

words became evident to the crowd, a loud murmur of approval
arose, which convinced the preacher he had struck the keynote of the
public feeling. The ice was broken, and feeling himself at one with his
congregation, the ex-dignitary proceeded unhesitatingly with his
discourse, in language which was always sincere, and at times even
waxed eloquent. He revealed to his public his inner thoughts and
struggles. Strange to say, at every phrase he destroyed what he had at
one time worshipped, and extolled that which he had formerly
condemned.
“Three months ago,” went on the prelate, “humanity had very
erroneous ideas of politics, economics, morals, and, I fear, also of
religion; but now that man has not a rag upon his back, now that
monk’s hood, Bishop’s apron, Hebrew canonicals are no more,
conflicting dogmas cannot avail to separate man from man. The
principle of love forms the basis of all divine teachings, and moral
relationships between all creatures are the aim of all those who
reverence an ideal of some sort. There is no doubt, my friends, that
with the vanishing of clothes has disappeared also religious casuistry.
Religion, and by that I mean love and charity, is as easy to practise in
our large cities as it was in the small community of Galilee. The first
thing which we must well understand is that religion must never be
gloomy, nor ascetic, but, on the contrary, must shed a radiance over
mankind; for practical religion consists in the perfect development of
all our faculties, and in the enjoyment of that which is beautiful.
Happiness is the true aim of religion, and it cannot be obtained by
means of that religious depression which annihilates human efforts
towards social reforms. Only by working hand in hand with science,
and by strictly following her researches and approving of her
discoveries, can that summum bonum be achieved.”
“The old fellow is unconsciously paving the way towards the goal;
and I think the Seer’s invention will not raise the clergy’s wrath,” said
Lionel to his little buffoon.
“My lord, there is no saying what a Bishop will do when he has lost
his gaiters,” replied Danford.
“My dear friends”—the Bishop’s tone rose higher—“I am speaking
as a man, not as the head of a Bishopric (I do not quite see how I
could do the latter, since it is impossible nowadays to know a Canon
from a Bishop, a Cardinal from a Rabbi), well my friends, I come as a
man to tell you that we must accept the position, and give up
attempting to unite the substance with the shadow. Let us start once
more fairly on the road to enlightened happiness, and let us lead the
theological reform, next to which the great Reformation was but
child’s play. For centuries we have wrangled over the simplest
doctrine: ‘Love thy neighbour.’ We all taught its lesson according to
our lights, but, strange to say, bitter animosity continued to rule the
world. It is only since our complete divestment that we realised that
we looked first to the label, and rarely ever to the fundamental
teaching. But, my friends, before we can in any way reform the
morals of foreign countries, we must tighten the bonds which link
men together, and carry into effect the great plan of religious unity.
It is the only logical basis on which to establish true religion, and
unless we strike the iron while it is hot we shall see morality
disappearing under a heap of argumentation. Do not take me for a
visionary constructing theoretical reforms which cannot be put into
practice. I want you to know that I have looked at this problem from
a practical point of view. You know as well as I do that, although
every country had its turn in reforming the world, somehow the old
injustice and the spirit of vindictiveness had a trick of creeping up
again. But now that the hour has struck for England to do something
in the world’s tournament, let us no longer procrastinate but do the
right thing at the right moment. Much will be expected of the British
race, for it is inclined to find fault with every other nation. The
danger is at hand, and no one can accomplish this reform like us, nor
can any other Church but ours effect this reconciliation. I therefore
trust you will all help me in the work of joining hands.”
“Yes, the Bishop’s firm will get the job of repapering and
whitewashing the old barn.” And Dan chuckled as he turned towards
Lord Somerville.
“How irreverent you are, Dan,” reprovingly said Lionel.
“My lord, you do not know your own countrymen. It is only when a
great reform evokes a trivial image in John Bull’s sleepy mind that an
Utopian ideal has any power to move him. You see, John Bull is of a
homely disposition, and he is very fond of telling you that the surface
of our planet and the relations between nations have greatly altered
since a man one day watched a kettle simmering. The Bishop knows
his own flock well enough, and he leads them with a gentle hand.”
“Listen, Dan, to his closing words.”
“England has behaved well throughout this crisis, my friends, it
has shown self-control and good-humour in making the best of a
very uncomfortable position; and I have no hesitation in declaring
before you all, that it is owing to our being essentially a moral nation
that God chose us to evangelise other races less felicitous. Let us
never forget that we are a practical nation, incapable of being led
away from the path of wisdom by moonstruck Utopians; and let us
always bear in mind that the Anglo-Saxon is always ready to take his
share in a case of rescue, when the means of effecting it lie in
conforming to the country’s code of honour.”
“There he is again at his old game of British pride,” and Lionel
shrugged his shoulders as he tightened his horse’s reins and moved
on.
 “Ah! my lord, be more lenient with him; the man means well, and
that is all we want for the present. Naturally he sticks to a few
obsolete prejudices, but never mind that, for he has risen to the
greatest heights in being for once sincere.”
“Well, Mr Vane?” inquired Mrs Archibald, as she turned her face
towards the dismayed countenance of the dilettante, “what do you
think of the Bishop’s address?”
“Our ranks are thinning, dear Mrs Archibald; the more reason for
us to draw close to one another and to struggle against the rising
waves of vulgarity.” The little fetish of Society put his hand to his
eyes—what was it? A pang at his heart or a sudden faintness? No one
knew, for he soon recovered his self-control and was as flippant as
ever.
 CHAPTER XVIII

“How isolated we are in this wide, wide world,” said Mrs Archibald
to Lord Mowbray, a few days after the meeting in St Paul’s. They had
rambled beyond Putney Bridge on a warm afternoon, and having
reached Barnes Commons had seated themselves upon the soft grass.
These two recalcitrants mourned pitifully over their present state
and uncongenial surroundings, and, as they sat, related to each other
in short, spasmodic sentences their grievous historiette of woe.
Anecdote after anecdote escaped their lips, which recalled a past
glory, a social Paradise for ever lost to them. Mrs Archibald
described to her companion the scene in Lord Somerville’s library,
when Temple had spoken what she had at the time considered such
shameful words. However, she was beginning to have some dim
understanding of what Sinclair had meant when he said that a blush
at the right moment was a good thing; and she and Lord Mowbray
felt somewhat uncomfortable as they realised the anomaly of
recalling a clothed Society in their state of nature. For the first time
in their artificial lives did their two hearts throb and long for
something they had never known, and as they talked bitter tears
trickled down their pale cheeks. When they had nearly finished their
task of disentangling the skein of their complex past lives, they came
to a full stop; and behind the mass of frivolity and petty sorrowings
evoked by their anxious brain, they remarked in a corner, a dying
Cupid, panting for life, whom they decided to revive. But here we
must stop, for it does not do always to analyse the motives of human
beings; suffice it to say that in their frenzied revolt against the
uncongeniality of their surroundings, they fell into each other’s arms.
Often a puerile cause has been the means of working out a
momentous effect. But a remarkable thing occurred to these two
recalcitrants, as they stood heart to heart, lip to lip: one by one their
prejudices disappeared, the shallowness of their social past dawned
upon them, and they now saw the meaning of their present
condition.
They returned to London, to the great world, as man and wife, and
completely cured of their feverish delusion.

But where was he? Where, the little dilettante who had for years
carefully ministered to Society’s artistic needs? He had fed the grand
monde with small buns of his own making, and his flatterers and
parasites had turned away from him in disgust, begging for some
other bun of a better kneading.
Towards the end of July, Lord Somerville and his faithful buffoon
were walking in Half Moon Street when Lionel suddenly suggested
that they should look up Montagu Vane.
“As you like, my lord,” replied Danford; “I have not caught sight of
the little figure for many days.”
They came to the dilettante’s house, where, as in every house in
England, the front door stood open. (Vane had not been able to resist
public opinion, and for the sake of his own reputation as a
fashionable man, he had given way to this custom.) The two men
entered the hall, and as they began to ascend the staircase they had
the impression of penetrating into the Palace of the Sleeping Beauty.
They went up the narrow stairs, very soon found themselves in the
large drawing-rooms, and looked round at the frescoed walls
representing mythological subjects.
“This place of fashionable gatherings looks more abandoned than
the deserts of Arabia,” said Lionel, “this was the last haunt of the
social élite; and there is about these rooms a stale aroma of vieille
Société, which makes me feel faint.”
They seated themselves upon chairs carved in the shape of shells;
other seats and fauteuils represented flowers and fruits, in imitation
of Dresden china. Poor Vane, he had done his level best to keep up
his standard of rococo art.
“I was told that very few came to his parties of late—was that so?”
inquired Danford.
“Ah! my dear Dan, I have seen him waste his energy and such gifts
as he had to entertain half-a-dozen men and women, so as to keep up
his ephemeral influence over what he still persisted in calling—his
salon. Some, like Mrs Archibald—ah! I always forget she is Lady
Mowbray now—came with her present husband; Lady Carey
accompanied them, simply for the sake of past associations, or out of
pity. One evening—ah! I can never forget that evening, why! it was
only last week—Sinclair and I arrived at ten o’clock, and found Vane
all alone, in that very shell-seat you are in. He was waiting for his
guests. I can see him in my mind’s eye, lying back, his eyes shut. The
rooms were discreetly lighted up; the tables, or monopodiums, as he
insisted on calling them, were laden with luscious fruit, whilst
muffled melody of an invisible orchestra, playing antiquated gavottes
and minuettos, was heard in the distance. Latterly these were the
only strains he approved of. When he caught sight of us in the
doorway, he got up and came forward, seizing hold of our hands.
‘Oh! my dear friends,’ said he, ‘you are welcome! You will help me to-
night.’ I noticed a thrill of sadness in his voice, and I detected a tear
in the corner of his eye. ‘What’s up?’ asked Sinclair. ‘My dear friends,’
he replied, ‘you will never guess. The Prince of Goldstein-Neubaum,
my social guide, has dropped me!’ Poor Vane went on telling us that
the Prince had telephoned to him an hour ago, announcing that he
could no longer continue to be his guide. ‘And what do you think?’
went on the little dilettante, ‘he said he was going to join the School
of Observation! Too dreadful, my poor friends. When the leaders of
Society give up the game, what is there left? Of course you, who
represent our Peerage, are utterly lost, so are the men who, like you,
Sinclair, directed the public’s taste; but there still remained Royalty,
and I always hoped they would ultimately bring you all back to a
saner way of regarding life.’ ‘And you are all alone?’ said Sinclair to
him. ‘Well, we shall help you. Do you expect many to-night?’ as he
looked round at the great display of flowers and refreshments. ‘To
tell you the truth,’ and Vane spoke in subdued tones, ‘I thought it was
time to bring matters to a crisis, and I telephoned all over London to
remind my friends that this evening would be my last At Home, as
the season would soon break up.’ My dear Dan, it was pitiful to watch
the poor little man’s sadness, and I have never been so sorry for him
as I was on that memorable evening.”
“I daresay, my lord, very few turned up,” remarked Dan.
 “My dear fellow, not one single soul came that night. When twelve
o’clock struck, Vane’s face became the colour of a corpse. The ticking
of the pendulum, as it swung remorselessly backwards and forwards,
seemed to furrow deep wrinkles in the wan face of our desolate
friend. We were witnessing the final agony of a marionette which
Society had held up by strings; until one day it grew weary of its
plaything, and dropped the toy upon the ground. He sat there, his
little curly head drooping on his breast, like a withered flower on its
stem; whilst the invisible orchestra played Boccherini’s minuetto.
The atmosphere of that past haunt of Society was redolent of exotic
perfumes which made us giddy. Towards three o’clock in the
morning we left him without disturbing his reflections, and we have
never seen him since; it is only a week ago.”
“Shall we go, my lord? Time is short, and this is no place for men
like you.”
“Let us run upstairs, Dan. I reproach myself for not having come to
inquire after him before.”
Lionel led the way upstairs, followed by the somewhat reluctant
Danford. They pushed open the door leading into the dilettante’s
bedroom, but at first, could not see anything, for the shutters were
closed. The overpowering stillness caused the two men to pause on
the threshold, and to hold their breath. After a few seconds they
heard the regular tick-tack of an old empire timepiece, and gradually
their eyes perceived in the dark the glittering brass ornaments of the
furniture. Danford the practical saw no fun in remaining thus in total
obscurity, and he groped his way towards the large bay window. He
turned the latch, pushed the shutters aside, and let in a flow of
sunshine which revealed the mahogany bedstead on which lay the
small body of Montagu Vane.
Lionel, who had crossed the room and joined Dan, touched his
arm.
“There he is,” murmured the two men. They walked on tip-toe
close to the bed and gazed upon the little dilettante, stretched out on
his pallet sleeping his last sleep.
“He is quite cold,” whispered Lionel, laying his hand on the
motionless heart.
 “But not yet stiff, my lord,” added Dan, whose keen eye detected
the suppleness of the limbs, which could not have been cold for more
than a few hours. The wrinkles had been smoothed down, and the
petty, frivolous expression of the small face had been replaced by the
placid aspect of a wax doll.
“Do you think there was any struggle, my dear Dick?” Lionel
looked at his guide with anguish.
“No, my lord; there seems to have been no wrench, no painful
parting from life. What you witnessed, that evening when the world
abandoned him, must have been the only agony he ever knew.”
“Yes, his was a sad life. He loved no one.”
“My dear Lord Somerville, what is much worse still, no one loved
him. The inadequacy of this little man to his environment made his
existence pitiful.”
They looked round the room. The doors, window frames and
shutters were all of mahogany. The bed, in the shape of a gondola,
also of mahogany, was supported by two gilded swans’ heads, and
garlands in gilt ornamented the sides of the bed. In one corner of the
room was a mahogany pedestal on which stood a silver candelabra;
in another corner, a small chiffonier was placed; and on the dressing-
table stood a silver bowl containing a bouquet of faded roses.
“What a strange idea of his,” Lionel whispered; “this is quite a
woman’s bedroom, and a copy of Madame Récamier’s room in
Paris.” Tears gathered in his eyes. “And this is all he could invent to
surround himself with; but I daresay it all went together with his
taste for the old minuetto.”
“Let us be off, my lord. His silly little tale is told, and this
atmosphere is unhealthy.”
They left the bedside, closed the mahogany shutters and went out
of the room.
“We shall have to give notice at the Crematorium,” said Lionel,
when they were once more in the balmy air and sunshine.
“If you like I will go, my lord. Do not trouble yourself.”
It was pleasant to breathe again the fragrance of trees and flowers.
Piccadilly seemed full of life and happiness after that scene in the
death chamber. It was altogether so artificial that Lionel could feel
no sorrow for the loss of his little friend, and by the time they had
reached Park Lane he had almost banished from his memory the
mahogany room and the little corpse lying there.
“I do not think I shall mention this to Gwendolen,” said Lord
Somerville.
“I should not, my lord. Why should you mention the death of what
you are not quite sure ever existed? The little dilettante was an
optical delusion of Society’s over-heated brain. When the brain fever
was cured, the delusion went; and no one now could remember the
existence of the little mannikin.”
“Next week we open the Palace of Happiness. Dick, I dread it.”
“You need not, my lord. Step by step you have led that worthy
John Bull through the labyrinths of Utopia, and all the way he has
marvelled at the easy roads. Dear old, ingenuous John Bull patted
your back, expressing his joy at being in the company of a sane mind
who knew that two and two made four.”
“Ah! but I quake, Dan, when I think he will soon find out that very
often two and two make five. What will John Bull do to me when he
sees that I have played a trick upon him?”
“The last lesson will be easier to teach than were the first ones, my
lord. There is something in the character of John Bull which
facilitates the work of reform; whilst you are instructing him, he
labours under the delusion that it is he who is teaching you a lesson.
Look at all that we have already achieved: hygiene has reformed the
race, physical pain has well-nigh disappeared; and next week we are
to be in possession of the greatest invention of all, by means of which
we shall be able to read the inner souls of our fellow-creatures. On
that day we shall say Eureka. Think of it, my lord, realise the
grandeur of that invention! The object and subject will be one,
appearance and reality will be seen in their whole; in one word, mind
and matter will be united.”
“My dear Dan, I know that no happiness can ever be lasting until
one soul can penetrate another. But how ever will the Britisher take
this invention? You know his susceptibilities, his deep love for self-
isolation, how he hates to wear his heart on his sleeve, and his horror
of letting any of his fellow-creatures guess his inner emotion. I
cannot help being anxious.”
 “Do not be faint-hearted, my lord. John Bull will receive your last
message with the greatest composure. He will work out his own
salvation, with the firm belief that he is only carrying out his own
plans on a logical basis.”
“Here we are at Hertford Street, Dick; I am going to see Sir
Richard. You might go to the Crematorium.”
“By Jove, my lord! I had quite forgotten the poor little body!”
ejaculated Danford, and the two men parted.
 CHAPTER XIX

“Are you there?” inquired Victor de Laumel of Lionel through the

telephone, a few days before the opening of the palace.
“Is that you, Victor?”
“Yes; we are all very much amused over here, and wonder if you
are really in earnest about your Palace of Happiness?”
“Nothing more serious, my dear boy. It will be the crowning of all
our social reforms.”
“Bah, mon cher! you have lost all your sense of humour! When I
think of our diners fins, and our pleasant chats together, I cannot
understand your making such fools of yourselves—especially over a
mere trifle.”
“Trifle, my dear Victor! This is the most important event in our
history, and the results to which this trifle will lead are colossal. But
you will one day perhaps be induced to imitate us.”
“Nonsense, my dear man; we are too eclectic to return to
paradisaical fashions. Rabelais, with his boisterous jovialty, and
sound doctrine of good health united to good spirits, is more to the
taste of a race which to this day, in some provinces, speaks his
sixteenth-century vernacular, and inherits his practical views of life.”
“Ah! but we have read Carlyle, my dear Victor, and seen through
the hollowness of our former social fabric.”
“Mon cher ami, had you carefully read Montaigne, you would
know that the great essayist had hurled a stone at the tawdriness of
our clothes-screens long before the Recluse of Cheyne Walk. But I
forget that you take this kind of thing to heart! You are a moral race
—oh! a very moral one—whatever you may do.”
“I think, dear Victor, you will be impressed with our national
reforms when you are thoroughly acquainted with them.”
 “Well, well, what is the upshot of all this? I can quite realise the
scientific import of the Seer’s discovery; though, for my own part, I
should very much object to seeing the inner soul of a Loubet or the
secret motives of a Combes. But I can imagine that in business
dealings, or in matrimonial transactions, it might be of great
advantage to be able to investigate the motives of financiers or of
mothers-in-law. Still, I want to know what part you, the English
aristocracy, are playing in this burlesque?”
“We are the leaders in this great bloodless revolution; and we have,
owing to our self-abnegation, saved the masses, and rebuilt our
social edifice on a stronger basis than before.”
“My poor Lionel, that’s been done long ago! Our revolution of 1789
was nothing but a noble renunciation of all prerogatives and
privileges on the part of our noblesse; still, the outrages of 1793 very
soon showed how futile were the attempts at reform—from within.”
“Different countries have different customs, dear Victor, and you
must never judge our self-controlled commonwealth from the
standpoint of your bloodthirsty democracy. It is not so much that our
aristocracy is unlike yours, but that your lower classes are utterly
different from our own.”
“Anyhow, dear Lionel, I have made up my mind to go over and see
things for myself.”
“Ah, that’s a good fellow! Come along, and we will do all that lies in
our power to make you happy. You won’t be bored, I declare; and
your visit over here will at all events furnish you with some topics of
conversation on your return to Paris.”
And Victor de Laumel arrived next day in the afternoon, after a
lovely crossing in his yacht (for the Calais-Dover had ceased running,
and he was the first foreigner who had landed in England since the
storm). He stood on the Charing Cross platform as God made him; it
having occurred to him that the Londoners might be offended at his
Parisian outfit and at his disregarding the new fashion of
denudation. On the day following his arrival, his first visit was to
Montagu Vane; but on his arrival at his house, he found to his great
surprise that it had been pulled down. He inquired after the little
dilettante from several of his friends, on his way to Selby House, but
quite in vain, for no one could tell him anything; and he thought that
London Society had certainly not improved, if it could forget the
existence of its arbiter in all matters of art. He did not, however,
ponder long over such questions; he had come over to judge
impartially the London reforms, and he was not going to allow his
prejudices to influence him; so he made the most of his short stay in
the capital, seeing everything, escorted either by Lionel or by
Sinclair, who, by the way, seemed to him to have become dreadfully
dull. His rambles with Danford rather amused him, although he saw
no novelty in the admission to fashionable households of these little
truth-tellers, for this had been done before in mediæval times; but
what baffled him was the good-fellowship with which the Upper Ten
appeared to treat these little buffoons. He dined at the dining-halls,
attended meetings at the ex-clubs in Pall Mall, went to tournaments,
plays, even drove in a chariot with Tom Hornsby, and above all
admired Gwendolen beyond expression. But, after he had done these
things and thrown himself body and soul in the spirit of the new
civilisation, he came to the conclusion that it was all very well for a
race which took things au serieux, but that it would never do for
Parisians; and he could not for one instant believe that on the
borders of the Seine political rancour could ever be uprooted and
replaced by love and charity, because one man had seen another in
nature’s garb.
“Ah! quelle plaisanterie, mon cher!” Victor would ejaculate, when
his friend highly extolled the beauties of their Paradise Regained.
“But how on earth,” exclaimed Lionel, one day, as he and Victor
walked along Bond Street together, “are you able to recognise
everyone as you do? It took Society a very long time before it could
distinguish a Duke from a hall porter!”
“Que vous êtes drôle, mon pauvre ami! I never found any
difficulty! You see, we French people are not lacking in perspicacity,
and although we excel in all matters of elegance, and attach perhaps
more importance to our appearance than your nation ever did, yet
we never lose sight of the person’s individuality hidden beneath the
woven tissues.”

“As you will not take me to see your wonderful palace,” said Victor
to Lionel the day before the opening, “you might at least tell me
where it is.”
 “We chose Regent’s Park as a suitable place, and built in the centre
of it a monumental edifice, not unlike our old Crystal Palace, though
twice as large, and covered with a glass dome. Round the top of the
hall runs a gallery out of which doors open into rooms of about
twenty feet square. In these private laboratories scientific
experiments can be developed by anyone who brings an invention to
the Committee of Public Reforms.”
“What anarchy, my dear Lionel; I cannot imagine how such a plan
would work at our Sorbonne!”
“Ah! but you are an academical country!” replied Lord Somerville.
“You would be astonished at the number of young scientists who are
coming to the fore. Ever since education ceased to be compulsory,
personal initiative has become more frequent amongst men of the
younger generation who are eager to play a useful part on our world
stage. After the scientific discovery has been thoroughly tested in a
private laboratory, and its results declared to be satisfactory by the
inventor, it is publicly tried in the central hall before all who can
comfortably assemble there, and repeated each day, until all
Londoners, together with representatives of every town in England,
have judged whether or no the discovery is like to add happiness to
humanity.”
“I suppose it was you who chose the name by which the palace is
called?” inquired Victor.
“I suggested it, but there was a long discussion about that. The
clergy, desirous to immortalise their union with other churches, were
anxious to call it the Palace of Scientific Religion; the bigwigs of the
old War Office, who have become more pacific than the Little
Englanders of our past civilisation, insisted that the place should be
named the Palace of Bloodless Victories.”
“Then what did you do to bring them round to your way of
thinking?”
“My dear man, I did not bring them round at all; they gradually
came round of their own accord, when they realised that happiness
was our aim, and that all our efforts were but means to that end.”
“Strange people you are,” thoughtfully remarked Victor.
“Never has man been so thoroughly disciplined, my dear Victor, or
so free to develop his faculties to the utmost, as since he voluntarily
gave up the attempt to dominate his fellows.”
“All the positivists, past and present, have preached that felonious
doctrine,” said Victor, shrugging his shoulders. “Even your great
Herbert Spencer—who was what one may call a pessimistic reformer
—owned that before man could realise a perfect state of freedom, he
would have to master the passions which give a bias to all his actions,
and render him powerless to create a social Utopia. May this blissful
state of things continue, and may the Seer find your hearts as pure as
newborn babes when he turns his searchlight on to you.”
“There is no fear of that, dear Victor; London has been going
through mental gymnastics for a few weeks, and you could not find
one creature that did not harbour the purest intentions. Even that
uninteresting couple, the Mowbrays, have not in their whole
composition a grain of malice, although they started late in their
career of reform.”

The Palace of Happiness opened next day, on what Londoners

were formerly wont to call Goodwood Day. Thousands and
thousands marching in perfect order entered the hall, and seated
themselves on the benches which had been erected one above the
other and reached right up to the gallery. At one end of the hall, on a
marble platform raised three feet from the ground, Lionel and Gwen,
Sinclair and Eva, with many others who formed part of the
committee, were reclining on couches. Victor de Laumel sat
discreetly behind the Somervilles, for they had hinted to their
Parisian friend that his presence might attract the attention of the
public and put it out of humour against the whole performance.
Lionel kept saying that until this ceremony was over they were not
out of the wood, and could not say positively that John Bull had been
won over.
Notwithstanding the size and height of the hall, the scent of
flowers was intoxicating, as masses of cut roses, jasmine and
carnations were strewed over the platform and the seats, whilst huge
garlands of tropical flowers hung in festoons along the upper gallery.
At the other end of the edifice, opposite the platform, an enormous
arch had been constructed as an entrance to the hall, through which
the crowd could watch the slow progress of the procession in the
distance, as it came up the broad avenue bordered with exotic plants.
From where they were seated in the hall, it was difficult to
distinguish the exact details of that triumphal procession, but they
could discern in the sunshine a dazzling object carried in state by
several male figures. This was the casket, or, as it was more
appropriately called, the Reliquary, which contained the instrument
designed by the Seer to bring universal happiness. The bearers of this
heavy burden were numerous, for the Reliquary was large and
weighty, and strong muscles were needed to lift up and down this
solid mass of gold. Not only had the great of the land volunteered to
fulfil the humble duties of bearers in this unparalleled pageant, but
men who held exalted positions at Court had of one accord given up
their coronets and decorations, their military orders and medals, in
order that these might be melted down and recast into this
magnificent casket. Likewise had Royal Princesses, and the flower of
feminine aristocracy, unhesitatingly handed over to the Seer all their
tiaras, necklaces and costly jewels, to ornament the outside of this
precious receptacle. It was an impressive sight, and one which no
living man could compare with any past pageant in history, to see
these men, who three months ago had firmly believed in the power of
wealth and position, standing now shoulder to shoulder divested of
their worldly masks and leading the way to the happy goal. Perhaps
also their hearts throbbed with pride as they thought of the private
ceremony which was to follow this public function: a special train
was to carry the Reliquary and the bearers to Dover, where, from the
pier, they would hurl the symbol of all past vanities into the Channel.
They thirsted for this last act of self-abnegation, and moreover they
felt that it would be a salutary hint to the nation over the way.
The clock struck twelve, and as the last stroke vibrated through the
clear atmosphere, the head of the procession passed through the
porch.
Mrs David Pottinger, holding the hand of the American Seer,
entered first; behind her came the twenty bearers carrying the
Reliquary. The public stared in amazement at its size—twelve feet
long and eight feet wide—and they were dazzled by the beauty of the
mass of solid gold all inlaid with precious stones. As the bearers
slowly advanced into the middle of the hall, the whole assembly rose,
and many were moved to tears as they read on the top of the casket
the magic word, Happiness, spelt in diamonds, rubies and sapphires.
Not one word, not one clap of hands were heard to disturb the
sanctity of the ceremony. Immediately behind the Reliquary came
the American colony, walking three abreast. They were all there,
proud of their kinsman, to whom the world in future would owe an
eternal debt of gratitude, and they were honoured at being allowed to
be of use to dear old England, whose hospitality they so thoroughly
appreciated. Behind these marched the Music Hall Artists, men and
women; and at their approach a thrill ran through the audience. They
fluttered with wild excitement at the sight of these dapper men and
spruce little women, who seemed to bring with them an element of
good-natured fun, and to whom England owed, in a sense, its
salvation. What the audience felt was similar to that which they
formerly experienced in the days when the Horse Guards used to
appear on the scene, to announce the approach of a Royal carriage.
Still, no words rose to their lips; their gratitude for these wise jesters
was too deeply rooted in their hearts to find expression in vulgar
applause. Their eyes lingered in rapture on the ranks of the satirists
whose action had, at a critical moment, pulled Society together, and
taught its members how to observe and how to remember.
From these the audience looked up at the twenty bearers, and
marvelled at their transformation, recognising in one a Royal
Highness, in others a Prime Minister, a Field-Marshal, an
Archbishop, a South African millionaire and various Members of
Parliament.
Mrs Pottinger and the Seer were within a few steps of the platform,
when the procession suddenly came to a standstill; the members of
the committee, rising from their seats, came forward and bowed to
the couple, whilst Gwendolen and her friends remained behind with
their guest from the other side of the Channel, to whom they were
anxious to show the utmost courtesy. The twenty bearers carefully
lifted the heavy burden from their shoulders, and deposited on the
ground, the Reliquary which rested on ten sphinxes’ heads carved in
solid gold. The twenty representatives of a vanished civilisation
showed no signs of lassitude after their long pilgrimage, but stood
upright, facing the committee with the tranquil expression which
heroes bear on their faces when they have accomplished their duty.
 The bells began to peal in honour of the new era just dawning on
the world, and the men and women gathered in thousands in the
hall, gazed in silent admiration at the beauty of the Reliquary
enveloped in the burning rays of sunshine. They remembered what
that word spelt in precious stones had meant to each of them. They
called up in their mind’s eye the pageants of the last few years, with
all the morbid excitement and savage rowdiness which accompanied
such shows; and they blushed at what they were brought up to regard
as happiness, which was in reality merely a fierce love of enjoyment
and a wrong notion of national honour. The topsy-turvyism of past
London was so revolting and so incongruous with their present mode
of life, that to many who were present, Hogarth’s print of Gin Lane
came before their eyes, as a symbol of an intoxicated world in which
even the houses reeled on the top of each other in a universal
culbute.
Suddenly the bells stopped, and Mrs Pottinger and the Seer,
having bowed to the committee, turned round and walked back to
the Reliquary. There was a slight nervousness about the inventor’s
movements, and his hand shook visibly as he held it above the
casket. Gradually he lowered it until the precious stones came in
contact with the palm of his hand; and when his sinewy fingers
grasped the golden latch, which he lifted with a sharp snap, the noise
sounded, in the intense silence, like a gun fired in the distance. To
Lionel’s memory it brought back the first exodus of Londoners three
months ago.
At that moment, as if compelled by some higher power, the
assembly broke into a shout of joy, which was echoed by the
thousands who were gathered outside the hall; and a few seconds
afterwards they gave expression to their pent-up emotion by
shouting the word which was inscribed on the Reliquary.
“Happiness! Happiness!” they unceasingly vociferated, whilst the
Seer slowly opened the lid encrusted all over with diamonds.
“Happiness! Happiness!”
The bells began to peal once more, and the sun flooded the hall
through every aperture. The Seer brought out of the Reliquary a
small instrument in the shape of a revolving wheel, which he held at
arm’s length above his head. At that instant the shouting was so
deafening that the Seer had to exercise all his self-control not to
break down under the emotion which mastered him.
The rays of the sun streaming into the hall were so dazzling, that
every detail was blurred; the glass dome seemed to lift itself away in
the azure, and the walls to crumble down, as the last barrier which
had separated man from man was annihilated.
An unfettered world wrapped in a golden vapour stood under the
blue sky, shouting for ever and ever, “Happiness! Happiness!
Happiness!”
Welcome to our website – the ideal destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. With a mission to inspire endlessly, we offer a
vast collection of books, ranging from classic literary works to
specialized publications, self-development books, and children's
literature. Each book is a new journey of discovery, expanding
knowledge and enriching the soul of the reade

Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and

personal growth!

testbankbell.com