we puff," cried Yoomy. "But in every puff, there
hangs a wreath. In every puff, off flies a care."

"Ay, there they go," cried Mohi, "there goes another--and, there, and
there;--this is the way to get rid of them my worshipful lord; puff
them aside."

"Yoomy," said Media, "give us that pipe song of thine. Sing it, my
sweet and pleasant poet. We'll keep time with the flageolets of ours."

"So with pipes and puffs for a chorus, thus Yoomy sang:--

Care is all stuff:--
Puff! Puff:
To puff is enough:--
Puff! Puff!
More musky than snuff,
And warm is a puff:--
Puff! Puff!
Here we sit mid our puffs,
Like old lords in their ruffs,
Snug as bears in their muffs:--
Puff! Puff!
Then puff, puff, puff;
For care is all stuff,
Puffed off in a puff:--
Puff! Puff!

"Ay, puff away," cried Babbalanja, "puff; puff, so we are born, and so
die. Puff, puff, my volcanos: the great sun itself will yet go out in
a snuff, and all Mardi smoke out its last wick."

"Puffs enough," said King Media, "Vee-Vee! haul down my flag. There,
lie down before me, oh Gonfalon! and, subjects, hear,--when I die, lay
this spear on my right, and this pipe on my left, its colors at half
mast; so shall I be ambidexter, and sleep between eloquent symbols."

CHAPTER XVIII
They Visit An Extraordinary Old Antiquary

"About prows there, ye paddlers," cried Media. "In this fog we've been
raising, we have sailed by Padulla, our destination."

Now Padulla, was but a little island, tributary to a neighboring king;
its population embracing some hundreds of thousands of leaves, and
flowers, and butterflies, yet only two solitary mortals; one, famous
as a venerable antiquarian: a collector of objects of Mardian vertu; a
cognoscenti, and dilettante in things old and marvelous; and for that
reason, very choice of himself.

He went by the exclamatory cognomen of "Oh-Oh;" a name bestowed upon
him, by reason of the delighted interjections, with which he welcomed
all accessions to his museum.

Now, it was to obtain a glimpse of this very museum, that Media was
anxious to touch at Padulla.

Landing, and passing through a grove, we were accosted by Oh-Oh
himself; who, having heard the shouts of our paddlers, had sallied
forth, staff in hand.

The old man was a sight to see; especially his nose; a remarkable one.
And all Mardi over, a remarkable nose is a prominent feature: an ever
obviou