18 RELICS FROM THE WRECK 



"I passed one day by a very ancient and populous wty 

 and I asked one of its inhabitants how long it had been 

 founded? 'It is, indeed, a mighty city/ replied he; 'we 

 know not how long it has existed, and our ancestors were on 

 this subject as ignorant as ourselves.' Some centuries after- 

 wards, as I passed by the same place, I could not perceive the 

 slightest vestige of the city. I demanded of a peasant, who 

 was gathering herbs upon its former site, how long it had been 

 destroyed ?' ' In sooth, a strange question,' replied he, ' the 

 ground here- has never been different from what you now 

 behold it.' ' Was there not,' said I, ' of old a splendid city 

 here?' 'Never,' answered he, 'so far as we know, and 

 never did our fathers speak to us of any such.' 



" On my return there again, after the lapse of other cen- 

 turies, I found the sea in the same place, and on its shores 

 were a party of fishermen, of whom I inquired how long 

 the land had been covered by the waters ? ' Is this a ques- * 

 tion', said they, ' for a man like you ? This spot has always 

 been what it is now.' 



" I again returned ages afterwards, and the sea had dis- 

 appeared. I inquired of a man who stood alone upon the 

 ground, how long the change had taken place, and he gave 

 me the same answer that I had received before. 



"Lastly, on coming back again after an equal lapse of 

 time, I found there a flourishing city, more populous and 

 more rich in buildings than the city I had seen the first 

 time ; and when I would have fain informed myself regard- 

 ing its origin, the inhabitants answered me, ' its rise is lost 

 in remote antiquity we are ignorant how long it has ex- 

 isted, and our fathers were on this subject* no wiser than 

 ourselves.' " 



We may smile at the ignorance of the inhabitants of the 

 fabled cities, but are we in a condition to give a more satis- 

 factory reply should it be inquired of us, 'What are the 

 physical changes which the country you inhabit has under- 



