The Time Traveller and Weena reached the Palace of Green Porcelain at noon. The building was old and broken. The glass in the windows was gone. Large green pieces of the walls fell onto the ground. The Palace stood on a high hill. The Time Traveller looked at the view. He saw a wide river where London used to be.
The walls of the Palace were made of porcelain (a hard, shiny material used for plates and cups). There was writing on the walls in a strange language. The Time Traveller asked Weena about the writing. But Weena did not understand. She did not know what writing was. To the Time Traveller, Weena seemed very human because she was kind.
The Time Traveller and Weena entered the building through big, broken doors. They found a very long room with many windows. There was thick dust on the floor. The Time Traveller realized the building was a museum (a place where people look at old or interesting things). He saw the skeleton (the frame of bones inside a body) of a giant animal. The animal was extinct (a type of animal that does not live anymore).
The Time Traveller walked further into the room. He saw more skeletons of huge animals. He found glass cases like the ones in his own time. The things inside the cases were still in good condition. The Time Traveller saw that the Eloi sometimes visited this place. They broke some old things to make jewelry. But the place was very quiet and empty.
The Palace was very big. It had many different rooms. The Time Traveller found a room full of minerals and rocks. He saw some yellow sulfur. He thought about making gunpowder, but he did not have all the ingredients. He moved to another room. This room had old, dried plants and stuffed animals. Everything was falling apart because it was so old.
Then, the Time Traveller and Weena found a very large, dark room. It was full of big machines. The machines were rusty and broken. The Time Traveller liked machines very much. He looked at them closely. He hoped to find a machine to help him fight the Morlocks.
Weena suddenly came very close to the Time Traveller. She was afraid. The floor of this room went down into the ground. At the end of the room, it was very dark. The Time Traveller saw small footprints in the dust. He heard a clicking sound. He knew the Morlocks were nearby in the dark.
The Time Traveller needed a weapon. He went to a big machine and grabbed a metal handle. He pulled the handle with all his strength. The metal snapped. Now, the Time Traveller had a heavy mace (a thick metal stick used as a weapon). He wanted to use it to hit a Morlock. He felt very angry and wanted to kill them.
The Time Traveller and Weena went into another room. This room was full of old books. But the books were now just brown pieces of paper. They fell apart when he touched them. All the stories and knowledge of the world were gone. This made the Time Traveller feel very sad.
They went up some stairs to a room for chemistry. The Time Traveller looked in the glass cases. He found a small box. He opened it and found matches! He tried one, and it worked. The Time Traveller was so happy that he danced. Now he had fire to protect Weena and himself.
He also found a jar of camphor (a white substance that burns with a very bright flame). He put it in his pocket. He did not find any bombs or explosives. He still had his iron mace. He felt much better because he had fire and a weapon.
The Time Traveller and Weena spent the afternoon exploring. He saw a room full of old swords and guns. But the guns were rusty and did not work. He also saw many old idols (statues of gods). He even wrote his name on the nose of one stone statue.
In the evening, they went to a small garden inside the Palace. They sat under some fruit trees and ate. The sun began to set. The Time Traveller was not afraid of the night now. He had matches and he had camphor. He decided to sleep outside near a fire.
The Time Traveller thought about the next day. He wanted to go back to the White Sphinx. He wanted to use his iron mace to break the bronze doors. He was sure his Time Machine was inside those doors. He felt strong and ready to fight.