traditions dating back fifty thousand years, and authentic history for
nearly half that time."

The doctor and myself now began to realize that we had indeed something to
learn from these people, and I remarked:

"These figures astonish us, Thorwald, and you can hardly understand how
interested we are. But please continue. From what little I have seen I
should think you are much farther advanced in everyway than the
inhabitants of the earth."

"We believe," replied the Martian, "that our planet is much older than the
earth, and if we are right in that it is but natural that our civilization
should be older also. If the tendency of mind is toward perfection, if in
your experience you have found that, in the main, men look upward more
than downward, what would you expect to find in a world so beautiful as
this and where life has existed so long? From what we know of our own
history and from what we have learned of the worlds around us, we believe
the life-bearing period of Mars has long since passed its middle point,
and that both our planet and our race have passed through convulsions and
changes to which other worlds, perhaps the earth, are now subjected."

This appeared so reasonable that I said to him:

"We must believe that Mars is an afternoon planet. And now we want to hear
whatever you may choose to tell us about your civilization."

"That is a broad subject," replied Thorwald, "but it is something I like
to talk about. If I judge rightly of what you have already told me of the
earth and its people, I think we were in just about your situation ages