- end_line
- 3804
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:09.927Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 3741
- text
- “My lord, then take another theory—which you will—the celebrated
sandwich System. Nature’s first condition was a soup, wherein the
agglomerating solids formed granitic dumplings, which, wearing down,
deposited the primal stratum made up of series, sandwiching strange
shapes of mollusks, and zoophytes; then snails, and periwinkles:—
marmalade to sip, and nuts to crack, ere the substantials came.
“And next, my lord, we have the fine old time of the Old Red Sandstone
sandwich, clapped on the underlying layer, and among other dainties,
imbedding the first course of fish,—all quite in rule,—sturgeon- forms,
cephalaspis, glyptolepis, pterichthys; and other finny things, of
flavor rare, but hard to mouth for bones. Served up with these, were
sundry greens,—lichens, mosses, ferns, and fungi.
“Now comes the New Red Sandstone sandwich: marly and magnesious, spread
over with old patriarchs of crocodiles and alligators,—hard carving
these,—and prodigious lizards, spine-skewered, tails tied in bows, and
swimming in saffron saucers.”
“What next?” cried Media.
“The Ool, or Oily sandwich:—rare gormandizing then; for oily it was
called, because of fat old joints, and hams, and rounds, and barons of
sea-beeves and walrusses, which then crowned the stratum-board. All
piled together, glorious profusion!—fillets and briskets, rumps, and
saddles, and haunches; shoulder to shoulder, loin ’gainst sirloin, ribs
rapping knuckles, and quarter to none. And all these sandwiched right
over all that went before. Course after course, and course on course,
my lord; no time to clear the wreck; no stop nor let; lay on and slash;
cut, thrust, and come.
“Next the Chalk, or Coral sandwich; but no dry fare for that; made up
of rich side-courses,—eocene, miocene, and pliocene. The first was wild
game for the delicate,—bantam larks, curlews, quails, and flying
weazels; with a slight sprinkling of pilaus,—capons, pullets, plovers,
and garnished with petrels’ eggs. Very savory, that, my lord. The
second side-course—miocene—was out of course, flesh after fowl: marine
mammalia,—seals, grampuses, and whales, served up with sea-weed on
their flanks, hearts and kidneys deviled, and fins and flippers
friccasied. All very thee, my lord. The third side-course, the
pliocene, was goodliest of all:—whole-roasted elephants, rhinoceroses,
and hippopotamuses, stuffed with boiled ostriches, condors,
cassowaries, turkeys. Also barbacued mastodons and megatheriums,
gallantly served up with fir-trees in their mouths, and tails
cock-billed.
“Thus fared the old diluvians: arrant gormandizers and beef-bolters. We
Mardians famish on the superficial strata of deposits; cracking our
jaws on walnuts, filberts, cocoa-nuts, and clams. My lord, I’ve done.”
“And bravely done it is. Mohi tells us, that Mardi was made in six
days; but you, Babbalanja, have built it up from the bottom in less
than six minutes.”
“Nothing for us geologists, my lord. At a word we turn you out whole
systems, suns, satellites, and asteroids included. Why, my good lord,
my friend Annonimo is laying out a new Milky Way, to intersect with the
old one, and facilitate cross-cuts among the comets.”
And so saying, Babbalanja turned aside.
- title
- Chunk 3