was the reply. "Probably not Mars, however, for it is believed that wanderer has never been sufficiently close to this earth to admit of it. No," he continued, "our astronomers cling to the belief that animal life was primarily transferred to our orb from one of those planets that, like Marini, move in a highly eccentric orbit, and only approach the earth at intervals of time almost too long for the human mind to conceive."
"Our ancestors, then," I observed, "in all likelihood came from some planet whose less fortunate inhabitants, unlike those of Mars, are mortal."
"It by no means follows," was the answer,—"at least, such is our opinion,—that because we are mortal, those from whom we have originally descended should be so; that is, previous to them becoming denizens of this earth."
"But supposing it were possible for some of the inhabitants of Mars to visit this earth, how would they fare?" I inquired.
"We believe that they would no longer be immortal," was the reply. "They would be affected by time in a similar manner to ourselves. Of course, it is not implied that they would not live longer than our own people; they might live for a thousand, or, for that matter, ten thousand years,
