And of course Blandina jined in with him, and though that is what I wanted of her, as second chaperone, it provoked me time and agin; queer, hain't it?
So as that too wuz quite nigh by, we went to the Palace of Mines and Metals.

It wuz a beautiful buildin', the walls covered with ornamental carvin' and ornaments, and two tall pillars standin' up each side of the entrance as if they wuz two Genis jealously guardin' the Under World from intrusion.

But we got by 'em.

And what didn't we see there?
Everything that wuz ever dug out of the earth, and the way it wuz discovered, mined and made useful to man.
Gems, precious stuns, granite, marble and all the processes for cutting and polishing.

Minerals of all kinds, natural mineral paints and fertilizers, cement, luminants and waters.