question, which, doubtless, your philosophical
instruments have long since answered."

"Well," replied the Professor, "examining the situation from only one
point of view, we are now distant three hundred and fifty leagues from
Iceland."

"So much?" was my exclamation.

"I have gone over the matter several times, and am sure not to have made
a mistake of five hundred yards," replied my uncle positively.

"And as to the direction--are we still going to the southeast?"

"Yes, with a western declination[2] of nineteen degrees, forty-two
minutes, just as it is above. As for the inclination[3] I have
discovered a very curious fact."

[2] The declination is the variation of the needle from the true
meridian of a place.

[3] Inclination is the dip of the magnetic needle with a tendency to
incline towards the earth.

"What may that be, Uncle? Your information interests me."

"Why, that the needle instead of dipping towards the pole as it does on
earth, in the northern hemisphere, has an upward tendency."

"This proves," I cried, "that the great point of magnetic attraction
lies somewhere between the surface of the earth and the spot we have
succeeded in reaching."

"Exactly, my observant nephew," exclaimed my uncle, elated and
delighted, "and it is quite probable that if we succeed in getting
toward the polar regions--somewhere near the seventy-third degree of
latitude, where Sir James Ross discovered the magnetic pole, we shall
behold the needle point directly upward. We have therefore discovered by
analogy, that this great centre of attraction is not situated at a very
great depth."

"Well," said I, rather surprised, "this discovery will astonish
experimental philosophers. It was never suspected."

"Science, great, mighty and in the end unerring," replied my uncle
dogmatically, "science has fallen into many errors--errors which have
been fortunate and useful rather than otherwise, for they have been the
steppingstones to truth."

After some further discussion, I turned to another matter.

"Have you any idea of the depth we have reached?"

"We are now," continued the Professor, "exactly thirty-five
leagues--above a hundred miles--down into the interior of the earth."

"So," said I, after measuring the distance on the map, "we are now
beneath the Scottish Highlands, and have over our heads the lofty
Grampian Hills."

"You are quite right," said the Professor, laughing; "it sounds very
alarming, the weig