 and that my uncle is that famous, learned, eccentric gentleman, Professor von Hardwig of Hamburg. It seems only yesterday that my uncle brought to his house in the Königstrasse a book in which I discovered an ancient parchment covered with runic characters. It had been written by a certain Arne Sacknusen, an Icelandic alchemist of the 16th century, who claimed to have made a journey to the center of the earth.