The HOME is the moulder of Character in the individual, and in most cases the Home influences determine the future of the man.
Home influences are the most lasting and abide by the individual unto the end of his material career.
All the habitations of the people of Mars are beautiful, and a brief description of one will give our reader an understanding of the other millions of homes on the planet.
I will take you into a Martian home in the city of Urid the Beautiful. The rooms are large and commodious. Sunlight, which has been filtered through translucent glass to temper and rob it of its glare, floods every room.
There are no stairs to climb, for the five or six rooms--depending on the size of the family--form a rectangle with a court in the center. There is a fountain in the center of the court, and beautiful flowers grow in profusion. Birds of vivid plumage fill the air with their song.
In one of the large rooms a mother sits at a sewing machine making a garment. For the Martians use these machines too, although they are a great improvement on yours. Not all the clothing is made in the homes, but much of it is, and this is easily understood when you recall that the Martians are true artists and possessed of great originality.
The mother's attention is now and then centered on a very small child who sits on a velvety carpet. This carpet would be a most wonderful acquisition in the home of a man of wealth on your Earth. It has a soft, fluffy pile two inches thick, and makes a most comfortable floor for the baby to play upon. This baby is about 18 months old, and plays with toys just as your Earth babies do.
A beautiful young girl enters the room. She is dressed in a simple becoming gown of white, and she carries her school books with her. After removing her hat and putting her books away she begins to tell her mother of the wonderful things learned at school that day. She is studying the Harmony of Music, particularly the relationship between Electro-Magnetic Vibrations and Music.
The mother shows much interest, and from her store of knowledge clears up many doubtful points in the mind of her daughter. And so the hours pass quickly until the father comes home and joins the family circle.
The walls of the room are white, and are relieved here and there by the most beautiful tapestries. The few furnishings of the room express beauty through the artistry that is born of Love.
There is a lack of useless furniture and bric-a-brac in the room.
A table, a few chairs and a receptacle for books, also a couch, complete the furnishings. But this simplicity in the matter of furniture adds a spirit of freedom to the home.
There is no kitchen drudgery in store for the Housewife. The family repair to a dining-room where food is served by the mother. The food has just arrived from a central depot in a mechanical contrivance which runs underground. After the meal has been partaken of, the soiled dishes are returned in the same manner by which they were conveyed to the home.
Later in the evening the family prepares to attend a lecture or musical concert nearby. Or perhaps a visit to some distant part is considered, in which case an airship is ordered from a public aerodrome.