“Well,” replied my uncle, “is there any scientific reason against it?”

“No; I see none, as soon as the theory of central heat is given up.”

“So then, thus far,” he answered, “the theory of Sir Humphry Davy is confirmed.”

“Evidently it is; and now there is no reason why there should not be seas and continents in the interior of the earth.”

“No doubt,” said my uncle; “and inhabited too.”

“To be sure,” said I; “and why should not these waters yield to us fishes of unknown species?”

“At any rate,” he replied, “we have not seen any yet.”

“Well, let us make some lines, and see if the bait will draw here as it does in sublunary regions.”