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56 before the city itself, but then it was too indistinct to make anything out of it.

Ilaclatella now came up by my side, and said,—

“I see that you are puzzled by the mass of colours overhanging the city.”

I answered in the affirmative, and looked eagerly towards him for an explanation.

“That,” he said, “is the Great Fountain of Tehana, one of the wonders of Neuroomia. It marks the place of the Pole, the southern extremity of the world, and the culminating point of our planet.”

I did not utter a word, but felt much the same as when I first saw Atazatlan. I thought for a moment of the tragic end of so many of our own great navigators in endeavouring to reach the opposite point—their ardour, hopes, fears, and despair.

My friend, upon seeing that I was distressed, inquired what was the matter. I then referred to the fate of some of the brave men we had sent to the North. He here said that I would probably be requested, if willing, to give detailed accounts concerning this and other matters connected with the great world I had left, during my stay in the city. He also informed me for the first time of the reception I was about to receive from the people of Tehana. It was now well known throughout