are chisseled all over with these marks? Yes; this it is, concerning
which they once shed blood. This it is, concerning which they still
divide."

"Which of us is right?" again demanded the impatient twain.

"Unite, and both are right; divide, and both are wrong. Every unit is
made up of parts, as well as every plurality. Nine is three threes; a
unit is as many thirds; or, if you please, a thousand thousandths; no
special need to stop at thirds."

"Away, ye foolish disputants!" cried Media. "Full before you is the
thing disputed."

Strolling on, many marvels did we mark; and Media said:--"Babbalanja,
you love all mysteries; here's a fitting theme. You have given us the
history of the rock; can your sapience tell the origin of all the
isles? how Mardi came to be?"

"Ah, that once mooted point is settled. Though hard at first, it
proved a bagatelle. Start not my lord; there are those who have
measured Mardi by perch and pole, and with their wonted lead sounded
its utmost depths. Listen: it is a pleasant story. The coral wall
which circumscribes the isles but continues upward the deep buried
crater of the primal chaos. In the first times this crucible was
charged with vapors nebulous, boiling over fires volcanic. Age by age,
the fluid thickened; dropping, at long intervals, heavy sediment to
the bottom; which layer on layer concreted, and at length, in crusts,
rose toward the surface. Then, the vast volcano burst; rent the whole
mass; upthrew the ancient rocks; which now in divers mountain tops