It occurred to me there were a great many rotundas; I afterward learned
there was one at each corner of the palace; that all were alike, and
that had I taken any but the one I did I should have come back into the
open air very shortly.
The outgoing passage I selected from this place was paved with needles
about three inches long and so sharp and thin as to quickly penetrate
any substance but metal. Now, I had no metal about me, and nothing else
that would endure these points.
So, down I sat again for contemplation. I examined the needles with
care, and found they had heads to them like tacks, and of a good
surface; that the heads rested on plates of metal, the bodies of the
needles going up through holes in other pieces of metal; thus they could
not tip over, and so firmly were they fixed they resisted all my efforts
to remove them.
To one side of this entrance there was a niche, and in this niche there
was a basket; and in this basket I found a great many needle-tacks like
those in the floor, probably left there by the workman on finishing his
job. There was also a chisel, an awl, and a hammer in this basket; and
it proved a short piece of labor to rip up the under soles of my boots,
insert a goodly number of the needle-tacks, and fasten the soles down
again. Thus, by walking on my toes, I easily made my way through the
passage, as the needles in my soles were of the same length as the
needles in the floor, therefore those in the floor could not penetrate
my feet.
Entering another rotunda, I found the floor of such delicate mosaic I
immediately sat down and removed the needles from my boots lest I damage
it.
All the passages from this rotunda left it on a level, save one, which
went up at an angle of forty-five degrees, and was paved with such
smooth tiles I could not keep my foothold, and was forced to sit down
and meditate.