CHAPTER IX
They Discourse Of Alma


Sailing to and fro in the lake, to view its scenery, much discourse
took place concerning the things we had seen; and far removed from the
censer-bearers, the sad fate that awaited the boy was now the theme
of all.

A good deal was then said of Alma, to whom the guide, the pilgrims,
and the censer-bearers had frequently alluded, as to some paramount
authority.

Called upon to reveal what his chronicles said on this theme, Braid-
Beard complied; at great length narrating, what now follows condensed.

Alma, it seems, was an illustrious prophet, and teacher divine; who,
ages ago, at long intervals, and in various islands, had appeared to
the Mardians under the different titles of Brami, Manko, and Alma.
Many thousands of moons had elasped since his last and most memorable
avatar, as Alma on the isle of Maramma. Each of his advents had taken
place in a comparatively dark and benighted age. Hence, it was
devoutly believed, that he came to redeem the Mardians from their
heathenish thrall; to instruct them in the ways of truth, virtue, and
happiness; to allure them to good by promises of beatitude hereafter;
and to restrain them from evil by denunciations of woe. Separated from
the impurities and corruptions, which in a long series of centuries