CHAPTER IV.

The elder experienceth a huge expansion of ideas in regard to the magnitude of the earth; whereupon Paddle-finding Mr. Tub's ideas in a growing state-greatly addeth to their enlargement by convincing him of the stupendous dimensions of the lower world, and the numerousness of its inhabitants.

On the third night of our narrative elder Tub would not trust himself out of doors, for although Paddle had proved a harmless visitant in his former interviews, yet the elder felt an undefinable fear of him, and a mistrust as to the purpose of his visits; he therefore kept himself close in the chimney corner, and was employed through most of the evening in perusing a map of the globe. The great magnitude of the earth had never loomed so largely to his mental vision as it then did, and he was utterly amazed as his mind gradually expanded to a realization of it. Ever and anon he muttered his astonishment to Dorothy Tub, who occupied

an arm-chair in the other chimney-corner, which was the match to the one that contained his own portly person.

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Really! Dorothy, my dear, this is a mighty big world of ours! The 'Old Dominion,' of itself, is a monstrous big piece of ground. Then thar's Pennsylvania-and Ohio-and New York-all the eastern-all the western-the middle, and southern states! Then thar's the country away across the rocky mountains to the Pacific-and the immense tract across our national limit to the north pole-and Texas and Mexico on the south! And after all, I have scarcely mentioned an eighth part of the solid portion of our globe, and scarcely two thirds of America alone! Only think, Dorothy Tub!"

The elder looked up on making this last appeal to his spouse; but no Dorothy Tub was there to sympathize in his amazement -her arm-chair was vacant. Nor, in truth, had elder Tub any right to expect that Mrs. Tub would continue there to play echo to his exclamations, for she herself had employment in the same line, on the score of

certain corns and rheumatic affections, which, by their peculiar uneasiness, prognosticated a change in the weather. And she had so declared through the evening again and again; but Mr. Tub had been too profoundly engaged to heed her complaints,

-and it thus happeneth oft with men, when their wives are detailing their aches and pains, and the same is a crying sin on their part. As to Dorothy, when she had ascertained that Mr. Tub was deaf to her interesting recital, she vacated her chair, and betook herself to bed in a huff.

"A monstrous big world," exclaimed the elder, continuing his erudite cogitations, "for besides Europe-and Asia-and Africa -there are New Holland, and New South Wales, besides numerous islands in the different oceans; and, after all, full three fourths of the globe are covered with water. Why, I wonder”.

Here a significant "ahem!" from the opposite arm-chair, broke in upon his speculations, and on his looking in that direction, his surprise was great at beholding Shadrach Paddle therein seated, and regarding him

with the same expression of humorous interest as upon former occasions.

"You think your world a large one, Mr. Tub," said that queer personage, "what then would you think, could you appreciate the magnitude of hell? Why, my friend, in comparison therewith your globe is no bigger than a hazel-nut. The planet Jupiter would make eight hundred such worlds as yours; but hell would make more than that many Jupiters-nay, it would make more than all the globes in your planetary system, the sun included. This, at first thought, may seem an extravagant statement, but reflection, Mr. Tub, and estimating the fact upon data admitted by your own creed, will satisfy you that I am not far amiss. Let us calculate.

"The population of your earth is variously computed at from eight to twelve hundred millions. We will take ten hundred millions as a medium. This number of human beings is swept into eternity and renewed every twenty-five years, and for all these heaven and hell are the only receptacles.