and patient examination, he said: "This fieh, my dear boy, belongs to a family which has been extinct for ages, and of which no trace has ever been found on earth, except foaail remains in the Devonian strata." "You do not mean to say," I cried, "that we have captured a live specimen of a fish belonging to the primitive stock that existed befoi-e the deluge?" "We have," said the Professor, who all this time was continuing his observations, "and you may see by careful examination that these foaail fish have no identity with existing species. To hold in one's hand, therefore, a living specimen of the order, is enough to make a naturalist happy for life. More- over this fish offers to our notice a remarkable peculiarity, never known to exist in any other fish but those which are the natives of subterranean waters, wells, lakes, in caverns, and such like hid- den pools." "And what may that beV" "It ,is blind." "Blind !" I cried, much surprised. "Not only blind," continued the Professor, "but absolutely without organs of sight." I now examined our discovery for myself. It was singular, to be sure, but it was really a fact. This, however, might be a solitary instance, I suggested. The hook was baited again and once more thrown into the water. This subterranean ocean must have been tolerably well supplied with fish, for in two hours we took a large number of similar fish. All, without exception were blind. This unexpected capture enabled us to renew our stock of provisions in a very satisfactory way. We were now convinced that this Subterranean Sea contained only fish known to us as fossil speci- mens — and fish and reptiles alike, were ail the more perfect the farther back they dated their origin. We began to hope that we should find some of those saurians which science has succeeded in recon- structing from bits -of bone or cartilage. I took up the telescope and carefully examined the horizon — looked over the whole sea; it wag utterly and en- tirely .deserted. Doubtless we were still too near thfi' coast. . After an examination of the ocean, I looked up- ward, towards the strange and mysterious sky. Why should not one of the birds, reconstructed by the n immortal Cuvier, flap his stupendous wings aloft in the dull strata of subterranean air? It would, of course, find quite sufficient food from the fish in the sea. I gazed for some time upon the void above. It .was as silent and as deserted as the shores we had but lately left. Nevertheless, though I could neither see nor dis- cover anything, my imagination carried me away into wild hypotheses. I was in a kind of waking dream. I thought I saw on the surface of the water those enormous antediluvian turtles as big as float- ing islands. Upon those dull and somber shores

passe_d a spectral row of the mammifers of early 

days, the great Leptotherium found in the cavern- ous hollow of the Brazilian" hills, the Mesicotherium, a native of the glacial regions of Siberia. Farther on, the pachydermatous Lopbrodon, that gigantic tapir, which concealed itself behind rocks, ready to do battle for its prey with the Anoplotherium, a singular animal partaking of the nature of the rhin- oceros, the horse, the hippopotamus and the camel, I thought — such was the eifect of my imagination — that I saw this whole tribe of antediluvian crea- tures. I carried myself back to far ages, long be- fore man existed— when, the earth was in too im- perfect a state for him to live upon it. The whole panorama of the world's life before the historic period, seemed to be born over again, and mine was the only human heart that beat in this unpeopled world! There were no more seasons; there were no more climates ; the natural heat of the world in- creased unceasingly, and neutralized that of the great radiant Sun. Next, unrolled before me like a panorama, came the great and wondrous series of terrestrial trans- formations. Plants disappeared; the granite rocks lost all trace of solidity; the liquid state was sud- denly substituted for that which had before ex- isted. This was caused by intense heat acting on the organic matter of the earth. The waters flowed over the whole surface of the globe; they boiled; they were volatilized, or turned into vapor; a kind of steam-cloud wrapped the whole earth, the globe itself becoming at last nothing but one huge sphere of gas, indescribable in color, between white heat and red, as big and as brilliant as the sun. What an extraordinary di'eam! Where would it finally take me? My feverish hand began to wi-ite down the marvelous details — details more like the imaginings of a lunatic than anything sober and real. I had during thi§ period of hallucination for- gotten everything — the Professor, the guide, and the raft on which we were floating. My mind was in a state of semi-oblivion, "What is the matter, Harry ^" said my uncle, sud- denly. My eyes, whj^^v^vere wide opened like those of a somnambulist, were fixed upon him, but I did not see hi^g,' ntft, could I clearly make out anything around me.' "(Pake Hii'e, my boy," again cried my uncle, "you will f^ into the sea." '^'■" As h? uttered these words, I felt myself seized on ^the other side by the firm hand of our devoted gu^. Had it not been for the presence of mind of Hans, I must surely have fallen into the waves and been drovraed. "Have you gone mad?'.' cried my uncle, shaking meMi'.'the other side. 'TVhat — what is the matter?" I said at last, com- ing to myself. "Are you ill, Harry?" continued the Professor in an anxious tone, "No — ^no ; but I have had an extraordinary dream. But it has passed away. All now seems well," I added, looking around me with strangely puzzled eyes. i "All right," said my uncle; "s. beautiful breeze, a splendid sea. We are going along at a rapid rate, and if I am,not out in my calculations we shall. soon see land. I shall not be sorry to exchange the nar- row limits of our raft for the myaterioua strand of the Subterranean Ocean," Aa my uncle uttered theae words, I rose and care- fully scanned the horizon. But the line of water was still confounded with the lowering clouds that hung aloft, and in the distance appeared to touch the edge of the water.