.J] JOURMY W OTHSJl WORLDS joH'jr JACOB jisron. <'^ 01 DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY The Glenn Negley Collection of Utopian Literature UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Treasure'Rgom OIPT OP Glenn R. Negley ^^^ mwm ?« 'm^M'm ^mm^s$m '^X^^'^^A'^.- ■:'.„, ■ ~% •^Jt-'-i-':- ^« ^?1^^-.--:i/>^> ^■i-:4a^ Tlie Ciillisto and I lie eiMuet, (Page 145.) A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS A ROMANCE OF THE FUTURE BY JOHN JACOB ASTOR ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1894 »^- eA Copyright, 1894, By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. Electrotyped and Printed AT THE APPLETON PreSS, U. S. A. OTof ft" A ^ PREFACE The protracted struggle between science and the classics appears to be drawing to a close, with victory about to perch on the banner of science, as a perusal of almost any university or college catalogue shows. While a limited knowledge of both Greek and Latin is important for the correct use of our own language, the amount till recently required, in my judgment, has been absurdly out of proportion to the intrinsic value of these branches, or perhaps more correctly roots, of study. The classics have been thoroughly and painfully threshed out, and it seems impossible that anything new can be unearthed. We may equal the performances of the past, but there is no oppor- tunity to surpass them or produce anything original. Even the much-vaunted " mental training " argument is beginning to pall ; for would not anything equally (iii) iv PREFACE. difficult give as good developing results, while by learniufi: a live matter we kill two birds with one stone ? There can be no question that there are many forces and influences in Xature whose existence we as yet little more than suspect. How much more inter- esting it would be if, instead of reiterating our past achievements, the magazines and literature of the period should devote their consideration to what we do not know ! It is only through investigation and research that inventions come ; we may not find what we are in search of, but may discover something of perhaps greater moment. It is proljable that the principal glories of the future will be found in as yet but little trodden paths, and as Prof. Cortlandt justly says at the close of his history, " Next to re- ligion, we have most to hope from science." CONTENTS. BOOK I. CHAPTER PAGE I. — Jupiter 3 II. — Antecedental 17 III. — President Bearwarden's speech . . . .20 IV. — Prof. Cortlandt's historical sketch of the world IN A. D. 2000 34 V. — Dr. Cortlandt's history continued . . . .52 VI. — Far-reaching plans 80 VII. — Hard at work 95 VIIL— Good-bye 109 BOOK II. I. — The last of the earth II. — Space and Mars . III. — Heavenly bodies . IV. — Preparing to alight . V. — Exploration and excitement VI. — Mastodon and Will-o'-the-wisp VII. — An unseen hunter VIII. — Sportsmen's reveries . IX. — The honey of death . X. — Changing landscapes . 121 130 144 155 162 172 186 195 207 220 (V) VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE XL— A Jovian Niagara 233 XII.— Hills and valleys 247 XIII.— North-polar discoveries 266 XIV.— TUE SCENE SHIFTS 281 BOOK III. I.— Satl'rn . 299 II.— The spirit's first visit . 310 III.— Doubts and philosophy . 328 IV.— A providential intervention . . 339 v.— Ayrault's vision .... . 347 VI.— A GREAT void AND A GREAT LONGING . 353 VII. — The spirit's second visit . . 373 VIII.— Cassandra and cosmology . . 387 IX.— Dr. Cortlandt sees his grave . . 410 X.~Ayrault . 421 XL— Dreamland to shadowland . 431 XIL— Sueol . 442 XIIL— The priest's sermon ... . 450 XIV. — IIic ille jacet .... . 458 XV.— Mother Earth .... . 471 LIST OF ILLUSTKATIOIS^S, INCLUDING NINE DRAWINGS BY MR. DAN. BEARD, AND A DIAGRAM. FACING PAGE The Callisto and the Comet .... Frontispiece The Callisto was going straight up 115 The Signals from the Arctic Circle 127 Diagram of the Comparative Sizes of the Planets . . 155 The Ride on the Giant Tortoise 190 A Battle Royal on Jupiter 208 The Combat with the Dragons 342 Ayrault's Vision 350 They look into the Future 414 The Return 474 BOOK I. (1) A JUUKiNi^l iiN OTHER WORLDS, CHAPTER I. JUPITER. Jupiter — the magnificent planet with a diameter of 86,500 miles, having 119 times the surface and 1,300 times the volume of the earth— lay beneath them. They had often seen it in the terrestrial sky, emit- ting its strong, steady ray, and had thought of that far-away planet, about which till recently so little had been known, and a burning desire had possessed them to go to it and explore its mysteries. Now, thanks to apergy^ the force whose existence the an- cients suspected, but of which they knew so little, all things were possible. Ayrault manipulated the silk-covered glass han- dles, and the Callisto moved on slowly in comparison (3) 4 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. with its recent speed, and all remained glued to their telescopes as they peered through the rushing clouds, now forming and now dissolving before their eyes. AVhat transports of delight, what ecstatic bliss, was theirs ! Men had discovered and mastered the se- cret of apergy, and now, '' little lower than the angels," they could soar through space, leaving even planets and comets behind. "Is it not strange," said Dr. Cortlandt, "that though it has been known for over a century that bodies charged with unlike electricities attract one another, and those charged with like repel, no one thought of utilizing the counterpart of gravitation ? In the nineteenth century, savants and Indian jug- glers performed experiments with their disciples and masses of inert matter, by causing them to remain without visible support at some distance from the ground ; and while many of these, of course, were quacks, some were on the right track, though they did not push their research." President Bearw^arden and Ayrault assented. They were steering for an apparently hard part of the planet's surface, about a degree and a half north of its equator. JUPITER. " Since Jupiter's axis is almost at right angles to the plane of its orbit," said the doctor, " being in- clined only about one degree and a half, instead of nearly twenty-three and a half, as was the earth's till so recently, it will be possible for us to have any cli- mate we wish, from constantly warm at the equator to constantly cool or cold as we approach the poles, without being troubled by extremes of winter and summer." Until the Callisto entered the planet's atmosphere, its live moons appeared like silver shields against the black sky, but now things were looking more terrestrial, and they began to feel at home. Bear- warden put down his note-book, and Ayrault re- turned a photograph to his pocket, while all three gazed at their new abode. Beneath them was a vast continent variegated by chains of lakes and rivers stretching away in all directions except toward the equator, where lay a placid ocean as far as their tele- scopes could pierce. To the eastward were towering and massive mountains, and along the southern bor- der of the continent smoking volcanoes, while to- ward the west they saw forests, gently rolling plains, and table-lands that would have satisfied a poet or 6 A JOCRNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. set an agriculturist's heart at rest. " How I should like to mine those hills for copper, or drain the swamps to the south ! " exclaimed Col. Bearwarden. " The Lake Superior mines and the reclamation of the Florida Everglades would be nothing to this." ''Any inhabitants we may find here have so much land at their disposal that they will not need to drain swamps on account of pressure of population for some time," put in the doctor. "I hope we may find some four-legged inhabit- ants," said Ayrault, thinking of their explosive maga- zine rifles. " If Jujnter is passing through its Jurassic or Mesozoic period, there must be any amount of some kind of game." Just then a quiver shook the Callisto, and glancing to the right they noticed one of the volcanoes in violent eruption. Smoke filled the air in clouds, hot stones and then floods of lava poured from the crater, while even the walls of the hermet- ically sealed Callisto could not arrest the thunderous crashes that made the interior of the car resound. " Had we not l)etter move on ? " said Bearwarden, and accordingly they ^vent toward the woods they had first seen. Finding a firm strip of land l)etween the forest and an arm of the sea, they gently JUPITER. 7 grounded the Callisto, and not being altogether sure liow the atmosphere of their new abode would suit terrestrial lungs, or what its pressure to the square inch might be, they cautiously opened a port-hole a crack, retaining their hold upon it with its screw. Instantly there was a rush and a whistling sound as of escaping steam, while in a few moments their barometer stood at thirty-six inches, whereupon they closed the opening. "I fancy," said Dr. Cortlandt, ''we had better wait now till we become accustomed to this pressure. I do not believe it will go much higher, for the window made but little resistance when we shut it." Finding they were not inconvenienced by a pres- sure but little greater than that of a deep coal-mine, they again opened the port, whereupon their barome- ter showed a further rise to forty-two, and then re- mained stationary. Finding also that the chemical composition of the air suited them, and that they had no difficulty in breathing, the pressure being the same as that sustained by a diver in fourteen feet of water, they opened a door and emerged. They knew fairly well what to expect, and were not disturbed by their new conditions. Though they had apparently S A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. gained a good deal in weight as a result of their ethereal journey, this did not incommode them ; for though Jupiter's volume is thirteen hundred times that of the earth, on account of its lesser specific gravity, it has but three hundred times the mass — i. e., it would weigh but three hundred times as much. Further, although a cubic foot of water or anything else weighs 2*5 as much as on earth, objects near the equator, on account of Jupiter's rapid rotation, weigh one fifth less than they do at the poles, by reason of the centrifugal force. Influenced by this fact, and also because they were 483,000,000 miles from the sun, instead of 92,000,000 as on earth, they had steered f(jr the northern limit of Jupiter's tropics. And, in addition to this, they could easily apply the apergetic power in any degree to themselves when beyond the limits of the Callisto, and so be attracted to any extent, from twice the pull they receive from gravitation on earth to almost nothing. Bearwarden and Ayrault shouldered their rifles, while Dr. Cortlandt took a repeating shot-gun with No. 4 shot, and, having also some hunting-knives and a sextant, all three set out in a noi'thwesterlv direc- JUPITER. 9 tion. The ground was rather soft, and a warm vapor seemed to rise from it. To the east the sky was veiled by dense clouds of smoke from the towering volcanoes, while on their left the forest seemed to extend without limit. Clumps of huge ferns were scattered about, and the ground was covered with curious tracks. " Jupiter is evidently passing through a Carbon- iferous or Devonian period such as existed on earth, though, if consistent with its size, it should be on a vastly larger scale," said the doctor. " 1 never beheved in the theory," he continued, " that the larger the planet the smaller should be its inhabit- ants, and always considered it a makeshift, put for- ward in the absence of definite knowledge, the idea being apparently that the weight of very large crea- tures would be too great for their strength. Of the fact that mastodons and creatures far larger than any now living on earth existed there, we have absolute proof, though gravitation must have been practically the same then as now." Just here they came upon a number of huge bones, evidently the remains of some saurian, and many times the size of a grown crocodile. On 10 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. passing a growth of most luxuriant vegetation, they saw a half-dozen sacklike objects, and drawing nearer noticed that the tops began to swell, and at the same time became lighter in colour. Just as the doctor was about to investigate one of them with his duck-shot, the enormously inflated to])S of the creatures collapsed with a loud report, and the entire group soared away, AVhen about to alight, forty yards off, they distended membranous folds in the manner of wings, which checked their descent, and on touching the ground remained where they were without rebound. ''We expected to find all kinds of reptiles and birds," exclaimed the doctor. " But I do not know how we should class those creatures. They seem to have pneumatic feet and legs, for their motion was certainly not produced like that of frogs." When the party came up with them the heads again began to swell. '' I will perforate the air-chamber of one,'' said Col. Bearwarden, withdrawing the explosive car- tridjre from the barrel of his rifle and substitutinfi: one with a solid ball. " This will doubtless disable one so that we can examine it." JUPITER. 11 Just as they were about to rise, lie shot the largest through the neck. All but the wounded one soared off, while Bearwarden, Ayrault, and Cortlandt approached to examine it more closely. " You see," said Cortlandt, " this vertebrate — for that is as definitely as we can yet describe it — forces a great pressure of air into its head and neck, which, by the action of valves, it must allow to rush into its very rudimentary lower extremities, distending them with such violence that the body is shot upward and forward. You may have noticed the tightly inflated portion underneath as they left the ground." While speaking he had moved rather near, when suddenly a partially concealed mouth opened, show- ing the unmistakable tongue and fangs of a serpent. It emitted a hissing sound, and the small eyes gleamed maliciously. "Do you believe it is a poisonous species?" asked Ayrault. " I suspect it is," replied the doctor ; " for, though it is doubtless able to leap with great accuracy upon its prey, we saw it took some time to recharge the upper air-chamber, so that, were it not armed with poison glands, it would fall an easy victim to its more 12 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. powerful and swifter contemporaries, and would soon become extinct." " As it will be unable to spring for some time," said Bearwarden, '' we might as well save it the dis- appointment of trying," and, snapping the used shell from his rifle, he fired an explosive ball into the reptile, whereupon about half the body disappeared, wliile a sickening odour arose. Although the sun was still far above the liorizon, the rapidity with which it was descending showed that the short night of less than five hours would soon be upon them ; and though short it might be very dark, for they were in the tropics, and the sun, going down perpendicularly, must also pass completely around the globe, instead of, as in northern latitudes on earth in summer, approaching the horizon ob- liquely, and not going far below it. A slight and diffused sound here seemed to rise from the ground all about them, for which they could not account. Presently it became louder, and as the sun touched tlie liorizon, it poured forth in prolonged, strains. The large trumpet-shaped lilies, reeds, and helio- tropes seemed fairly to throb as they raised their anthem to the sky and the setting sun, while the JUPITER. 13 air grew dark with clouds of birds that gradually alighted on the ground, until, as the chorus grew fainter and gradually ceased, they flew back to their nests. The three companions had stood astonished while this act was played. The doctor then spoke : " This is the most marvellous development of I^ature I have seen, for its wonderful divergence from, and yet analogy to, what takes place on earth. You know our flowers oifer honey, as it were, as bait to insects, that in eating or collecting it they may catch the pollen on their legs and so carry it to other flowers, perhaps of the opposite sex. Here flowers evidently appeal to the sense of hearing instead of taste, and make use of birds, of which there are enormous numbers, instead of winged insects, of which I have seen none, one being per- haps the natural result of the other. The flowers have become singers by long practice, or else, those that were most musical having had the best chance to reproduce, we have a neat illustration of the ^ survival of the fittest.' The sound is doubtless produced by a shrinking of the fibres as the sun withdraws its heat, in which case we may expect another song at 14: A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. sunrise, when the same result will be effected by their expanding." Searching for a camping-place in which to pass the coming hours, they saw lights flitting about like will-o'-the-wisps, but brighter and intermittent. " They seem to be as bright as sixteen-candle- power lamps, but the light is yellower, and appears to emanate from a comparatively large surface, cer- tainly nine or ten inches square," said the doctor. They soon gave up the chase, however, for the lights were continually moving and frequently went out. While groping in the growing darkness, they came upon a brown object about the size of a small dog and close to the ground. It flew off wuth a humming insect sound, and as it did so it showed the brilliant phosphorescent glow they had observed. " That is a good-sized flre-fly," said Bearwarden. " Evidently the insects here are on the same scale as everything else. They are like the fire-flies in Cuba, which the Cubans are said to put into a glass box and get light enough from to read by. Here they would need only one, if it could be induced to give its light continuously." Having found an open space on high ground, JUPITER. 15 they sat down, and Bear warden struck his repeater, which, for convenience, had been arranged for Jupiter time, dividing the day into ten hours, beginning at noon, midnight being therefore five o'clock. " Twenty minutes past four," said he, " which would correspond to about a quarter to eleven on earth. As the sun rises at half -past seven, it will be dark about three hours, for the time between dawn and daylight will, of course, be as short as that we have just experienced between sunset and night." " If we stay here long," said the doctor, " I sup- pose we shall become accustomed, like sailors, to tak- ing our four, or in this case five, hours on duty, and five hours off." " Or," added Ayrault, " we can sleep ten consecu- tive hours and take the next ten for exploring and hunting, having the sun for one half the time and the moons for the other." Bearwarden and Cortlandt now rolled themselves in their blankets and were soon asleep, while Ayrault, whose turn it was to watch till the moons rose — for they had not yet enough confidence in their new do- main to sleep in darkness simultaneously — leaned his 16 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. back against a rock and lighted his pipe. In the dis- tance he saw the torrents of fiery lava from the vol- canoes reflected in the sky, and faintly heard their thunderous crashes, while the fire-flies twinkled uncon- cernedly in the hollow, and the night winds swayed the fernlike branches. Then he gazed at the earth, which, but little above the horizon, shone with a faint but steady ray, and his mind's eye ran beyond his natural vision while he pictured to himself the girl of his heart, wishing that by some communion of spirits he might convey his thoughts to her, and receive hers. It was now the first week of January on earth. He could almost see her house and the snow-clad trees in the park, and knew that at that hour she was dressing for dinner, and hoped and believed that he was in her heart. While he thus mused, one moon after another rose, each at a different phase, till three were at once in the sky. Adjusting the electric pro- tection-wires that were to paralyze any creature that attempted to come within the circle, and would arouse them by ringing a bell, he knocked the ashes from his pipe, rolled himself in a blanket, and was soon asleep beside his friends. CHAPTER IL ANTECEDENTAL. " Come in ! " sounded a voice, as Dr. Cortlandt and Dick Ayrault tapped at the door of the Presi- dent of the Terrestrial Axis Straightening Company's private office on the morning of the 21st of June, A. D. 2000. Col. Bearwarden sat at his capacious desk, the shadows passing over his face as April clouds flit across the sun. He was a handsome man, and young for the important post he filled — being scarcely forty — a graduate of "West Point, with great executive ability, and a wonderful engineer. " Sit down, chappies," said he ; " we have still a half hour before I begin to read the report I am to make to the stockholders and representatives of all the govern- ments, which is now ready. I know you smoke," passing a box of Havanas to the professor. Prof. Cortlandt, LL. D., United States Govern- (17) 18 A JOCRNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. ment expert, appointed to examine the company's calculations, was about fifty, with a high forehead, greyish hair, and quick, grey eyes, a geologist and as- tronomer, and altogether as able a man, in his own way, as Col. Bearwarden in his. Eichard Ayrault, a large stockholder and one of the honorary vice- presidents in the company, was about thirty, a uni- versity man, by nature a scientist, and engaged to one of the prettiest society girls, who was then a student at Yassar, in the beautiful town of Pough- keepsie. " Knowing the way you carry things in your mind, and the difficulty of rattling you," said Cort- landt, " we have dropped in on our way to hear the speech that I would not miss for a fortune. Let us know if we bother you." " Impossible, dear boy," replied the president genially. " Since I survived your official investi- gations, I think I deserve some of your attention in- formally." " Here are my final examinations," said Cort- landt, handing Bearwarden a roll of papers. " I have been over all your figures, and testify to their accuracy in the appendix I have added." ANTECEDENTAL. 19 So they sat and chatted about the enterprise that interested Cortlandt and Ayrault almost as much as Bearwarden himself. As the clock struck eleven, the president of the company put on his hat, and, saying au revoir to his friends, crossed the street to the Opera House, in which he was to read a report that would be copied in all the great journals and heard over thousands of miles of wire in every part of the globe. "When he arrived, the vast building was already filled with a distinguished company, repre- senting the greatest intelhgence, wealth, and powers of the world. Bearwarden went in by the stage en- trance, exchanging greetings as he did so with officers of the company and directors who had come to hear him. Cortlandt and Ayrault entered by the regular door, the former going to the Government representatives' box, the latter to join his fiancee^ Sylvia Preston, who was there with her mother. Bearwarden had a roll of manuscript at hand, but so well did he know his speech that he scarcely glanced at it. After being introduced by the chairman of the meeting, and seeing that his audience was all at- tention, he began, holding himself erect, his clear, powerful voice making every part of the building ring. CHAPTEE III. " To the Bondholders and Stockholders of the Ter- restrial Axis Straightening Company and Repre- sentatives of Earthly Governments. " Gentlemen : You know that the objects of this company are, to straighten the axis of the earth, to combine the extreme heat of summer with the in- tense cold of winter and produce a uniform tempera- ture for each degree of latitude the year round. At present the earth's axis — that is, the line passing through its centre and the two poles — is inclined to the ecliptic about twenty-three and a half degrees. Our summer is produced by the northern hemi- sphere's leaning at that angle towards the sun, and our winter by its turning that much from it. In one case the sun's rays are caused to shine more per- pendicularly, and in the other more obliquely. This (ao) PRESIDENT BEAR WARDEN'S SPEECH. 21 wabbling, like that of a top, is the sole cause of the seasons ; since, owing to the eccentricity of our orbit, the earth is actually fifteen hundred thousand miles nearer the sun during our winter, in the northern hemisphere, than in summer. That there is no limit to a planet's inclination, and that inclination is not essential, we have astronomical proof. Yenus's axis is inclined to the plane of her orbit seventy-five de- grees, so that the arctic circle comes within fifteen degrees of the equator, and the tropics also extend to latitude seventy-five degrees, or within fifteen de- grees of the poles, producing great extremes of heat and cold. " Yenus is made still more difficult of habitation by the fact that she rotates on her axis in the same time that she revolves about the sun, in the same way that the moon does about the earth, so that one side must be perpetually frozen while the other is parched. " In Uranus we see the axis tilted still further, so that the arctic circle descends to the equator. The most varied climate must therefore prevail during its year, whose length exceeds eighty-one of ours. '' The axis of Mars is inclined about twenty-eight 22 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. and two thirds degrees to the plane of its orbit ; consequently its seasons must be very similar to ours, the extremes of heat and cold being somewhat greater. '• In Jupiter we have an illustration of a planet whose axis is almost at right angles to the plane of its orbit, being inclined but about a degree and a half. The hypothetical inhabitants of this majestic planet must therefore have perpetual summer at the equator, eternal winter at the poles, and in the tem- perate regions everlasting spring. On account of the straightness of the axis, however, even the polar in- habitants — if there are any — are not oppressed by a six months' night, for all except those at the very pole have a sunrise and a sunset every ten hours — the exact day being nine hours, fifty five minutes, and twenty-eight seconds. The warmth of the tropics is also tempered by the high winds that must result from the rapid whirl on its axis, every object at the equator being carried around by this at the rate of 27,600 miles an hour, or over three thousand miles farther than the earth's equator moves in twenty-four hours. " The inclination of the axis of our own planet has PRESIDENT BEARWARDEN'S SPEECH. 23 also frequently considerably exceeded that of Mars, and again has been but little greater than Jupiter's ; at least, this is by all odds the most reasonable ex- planation of the numerous Glacial periods through which our globe has passed, and of the recurring mild spells, probably lasting thousands of years, in which elephants, mastodons, and other semi-tropical vertebrates roamed in Siberia, some of which died so recently that their flesh, preserved by the cold, has been devoured by the dogs of modern explorers. " It is not to be supposed that the inclining of the axes of Jupiter, Yenus, the Earth, and the other planets, is now fixed ; in some cases it is known to be changing. As long ago as 1890, Major-Gen. A. W. Drayson, of the British Army, showed, in a work entitled Untrodden Ground in Astronomy and Geol- ogy, that, as a result of the second rotation of the earth, the inclination of its axis was changing, it hav- ing been 23° 28' 23'' on January 1, 1750, 23° 27' 55-3" on January 1, 1800, and 23° 27' 30'9" on January 1, 1850 ; and by calculation one hundred and ten years ago showed that in 1900 (one hundred years ago) it would be 23° 27' 08-8". This natural straightening is, of course, going on, and we are 24: A JOURNEY IN OTHER \yORLDS. merely about to anticipate it. When this improve- ment was mooted, all agreed that the extremes of heat and cold could well be spared. ' Balance those of summer against those of winter by partially straight- ening the axis ; reduce the inclination from twenty- three degrees, thirty minutes, to about fifteen de- grees, but let us stop there,' many said. Before we had gone far, however, we found it would be best to make the work complete. This will reclaim and make productive the vast areas of Siberia and the northern part of this continent, and will do much for the antarctic regions ; but there will still be change in temperature ; a wind blowing towards the equator will always be colder than one blowing from it, while the slight eccentricity of the orbit will supply enough chancre to awaken recollections of seasons in our eternal spring. " The way to accomplish this is to increase the weight of the pole leaving the sun, by increasing the amount of material there for the sun to attract, and to lighten the polo approaching or turning towards the sun, by removing some heavy substance from it, and putting it preferably at the opposite pole. This shifting of ballast is most easily accomplished, as PRESIDENT BEARWARDEN'S SPEECH. 25 you will readily perceive, by confining and removing water, which is easily moved and has a considerable weight. How we purpose to apply these aqueous brakes to check the wabbling of the earth, by means of the attraction of the sun, you will now see. " From Commander Fillmore, of the Arctic Shade and the Committee on Bulkheads and Dams, I have just received the following by cable telephone: * The Arctic Ocean is now in condition to be pumped out in summer and to have its average depth in- creased one hundred feet by the dams in winter. We have already fifty million square yards of windmill turbine surface in position and ready to move. The cables bringing us currents from the dynamos at M- agara Falls are connected with our motors, and those from the tidal dynamos at the Bay of Fundy will be in contact when this reaches you, at which moment the pumps will begin. In several of the landlocked gulfs and bays our system of confining is so com- plete, that the surface of the water can be raised two hundred feet above sea-level. The polar bears will soon have to use artificial ice. Perhaps the cheers now ringing without may reach you over the tele- phone.' " 26 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. The audience became greatly interested, and when the end of the telephone was applied to a micro- phone the room fairly rang with exultant cheers, and those looking through a kintograph (visual tele- graph) terminating in a camera obscura on the shores of Baffin Bay were able to see engineers and work- men waving and throwing up their caps and fall- ing into one another's arms in ecstasies of delight. When the excitement subsided, the president con- tinued : " Chairman Wetmore, of the Committee on Ex- cavations and Embankments in Wilkesland and the Antarctic Continent, reports : ^ Two hundred and fifty thousand square miles are now hollowed out and enclosed sufficiently to hold water to an average depth of four hundred feet. Every summer, when the basin is allowed to drain, we can, if necessary, extend our reservoir, and shall have the best season of the year for doing work until the earth has per- manent spring. Though we have comparatively little water or tidal power, the earth's crust is so thin at this latitude, on account of the flattening, that by sinking our tubular boilers and pipes to a depth of a few thousand feet we have secured so terrific a vol- PRESIDENT BEARWARDEN'S SPEECH. 27 ume of superheated steam that, in connection with our wind turbines, we shall have no difficulty in rais- ing half a cubic mile of water a minute to our en- closure, which is but little above sea-level, and into which, till the pressure increases, we can fan or blow the water, so that it can be full three weeks after our longest day, or, since the present unimproved ar- rangement gives the indigenes but one day and night a year, I will add the 21st day of December. " ' We shall be able to find use for much of the potential energy of the water in the reservoir when we allow it to escape in June, in melting some of the accumulated polar ice-cap, thereby decreasing still further the weight of this pole, in lighting and warming ourselves until we get the sun's light and heat, in extending the excavations, and in charging the storage batteries of the ships at this end of the line. Everything will be ready when you signal " Kaise water." ' " " Let me add parenthetically," said Bearwarden, " that this means of obtaining power by steam boilers sunk to a great depth is much to be commended ; for, though the amount of heat we can withdraw is too small to have much effect, the farther towards 28 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. the centre our globe can be cooled the deeper will the water of the oceans be able to penetrate — since it is its conversion into steam that prevents the water from working its way in farther — and the more dry land we shall have." " You see," the president continued, " the storage capacity at the south pole is not quite as great as at the north, because it is more difficult to excavate a basin than to close the exits of one that already ex- ists, which is what we have done in the arctic. The work is also not so nearly complete, since it will not be necessary to use the southern reservoir for storing weight for six months, or until the south pole, which is now at its maximum declination from the sun, is turned towards it and begins to move away ; then, by increasing the amount of matter there, and at the same time lightening the north pole, and reversing the process every six months, we decrease the speed at which the departing pole leaves the sun and at which the approaching pole advances. The north pole, we see, will be a somewhat more powerful lever than the south for working the globe to a straight position, but we may be sure that the latter, in connection with the former, will be able to hold up its end." PRESIDENT BEARWARDEN'S SPEECH. . 29 [The building here fairly shook with applause, so that, had the arctic workers used the microphone, they might have heard in the enthusiastic uproar a good counterpart of their own period.] " I only regret," the president continued, " that when we began this work the most marvellous force yet discovered— apergy— was not sufficiently under- stood to be utilized, for it would have eased our labours to the point of almost eliminating them. But we have this consolation : it was in connection with our work that its applicability was discovered, so that had we and all others postponed our great undertaking on the pretext of waiting for a new force, apergy might have continued to lie dormant for centuries. With this force, obtained by simply blending negative and positive electricity with elec- tricity of the third element or state, and charging a body sufficiently with this fluid, gravitation is nulli- fied or partly reversed, and the earth repels the body with the same or greater power than that with which it still attracts or attracted it, so that it may be sus- pended or caused to move away into space. Sic itur ad astra, we may say. With this force and everlast- ing spring before us, what may we not achieve ? We 30 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. may some day be able to visit the planets, though many may say that, since the axes of most of those we have considered are more inclined than ours, they would rather stay here. ' Blessed are they that shall inherit the earth,' " he went on, turning a four- foot globe with its axis set vertically and at right angles to a yellow globe labelled " Sun " ; and again waxing eloquent, he added : " AVe are the instru- ments destined to bring about the accomplishment of that prophecy, for never in the history of the world has man reared so splendid a monument to his own genius as he will in straightening the axis of the planet. " Xo one need henceforth be troubled by sudden change, and every man can have perpetually the climate he desires. Northern Europe will again luxuriate in a climate that favoured the elephants that roamed in northern Asia and Switzerland. To produce these animals and the food they need, it is not necessary to have great heat, but merely to pre- vent great cold, half the summer's sun being ab- sorbed in melting the winter's accumulation of ice. " When the axis has reached a point at which it inclines but about twelve degrees, it will become PRESIDENT BEAR WARDEN'S SPEECH. 31- necessary to fill tlie antarctic reservoir in June and the Arctic Ocean in December, in order to check the straightening, since otherwise it might get be- yond the perpendicular and swing the other way. When this motion is completely arrested, I suggest that we blow up the Aleutian Isles and enlarge Bering Strait, so as to allow what corresponds to the Atlantic Gulf Stream in the Pacific to enter the Arctic Archipelago, which I have calculated will raise the average temperature of that entire region about thirty degrees, thereby still further increasing the amount of available land. " Ocean currents, being the result of the prevail- ing winds, which will be more regular than at pres- ent, can be counted upon to continue practically as they are. It may not be plain to you why the trade winds do not blow towards the equator due south and north, since the equator has much the same effect on air that a stove has in the centre of a room, caus- ing an ascending current towards the ceiling, which moves off in straight lines in all directions on reach- ing it, its place being taken by cold currents moving in opposite directions along the floor. Picture to yourselves the ascending currents at the equator 32 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. moving off to tlie poles from which they came. As they move north they are continually coming to parts of the globe having smaller circles of latitude than those they have left, and therefore not moved for- ward as rapidly by the earth's daily rotation as the latitudes nearer the equator. The winds consequent- ly run ahead of the surface, and so move east of north — the earth turning towards the east — while the heavier colder surface currents, rushing towards the equator to take the place of the ascending column, coming from regions where the surface whirls com- paratively slowly to those where it is rotating faster, are continually left behind, and so move southwest ; while south of the equator a corresponding motion results. Though this is not the most exact explana- tion, it may serve to make the action clear. I will add, that if any one prefers a colder or a warmer climate than that of the place in which he lives, he need only go north or south for an hour ; or, if he prefers his own latitude, he can rise a few thousand feet in the air, or descend to one of the worked-out coal-mines which are now used as sanitariums, and secure his object by a slight change of altitude. Let us speed the departure of racking changes and ex- PRESIDENT BEARWARDEN'S SPEECH. 33 tremes of climate, and prepare to welcome what we believe prevails in paradise— namely, everlasting spring." Appended to tlie address was the report of the Government Examining Committee, which ran : "We have critically examined the Terrestrial Axis Straight- ening Company's figures and calculations, also its statements involving natural philosophy, physics, and astronomy, all of which we find correct, and hereby approve. [Signed] " For the Committee : " Heney Chelmsford Coktlandt, " Chairman!'^ The Board of Directors having- ratified the acts of its officers, and passed congratulatory resolutions, the meeting adjourned sine die. CHAPTER lY. PROF. CORTLAXDT's HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A.D. 2000. Prof. Cortlandt, preparing a history of the times at the beginning of the great terrestrial and astronomical change, wrote as follows : " This period • — A. D. 2000 — is by far the most wonderful the world has as yet seen. The advance in scientific knowledge and attainment within the memory of the present generation has been so stupendous that it completely overshadows all that has preceded. All times in his- tory and all periods of the world have been remark- able for some distinctive or characteristic trait. The feature of the period of Louis XIY was the splen- dour of the court and the centralization of power in Paris. The year 1789 marked the decline of the power of courts and the evolution of government by the people. So, by the spread of republican ideas SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 35 and the great advance in science, education has be- come universal, for women as well as for men, and this is more than ever a mechanical age. "With increased knowledge we are constantly coming to realize how little we really know, and are also continually finding manifestations of forces that at first seem like exceptions to established laws. This is, of course, brought about by the modifying influ- ence of some other natural law, though many of these we have not yet discovered. "Electricity in its varied forms does all work, having superseded animal and manual labour in ev- erything, and man has only to direct. The greatest ingenuity next to finding new uses for this almost omnipotent fluid has been displayed in inducing the forces of Nature, and even the sun, to produce it. Before describing the features of this perfection of civilization, let us review the steps by which society and the political world reached their present state. " At the close of the Franco-Prussian War, in 1871, Continental Europe entered upon the con- dition of an armed camp, which lasted for nearly half a century. The primary cause of this was the mutual dislike and jealousy of France and Germany, 36 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. eacli of which strove to have a larger and better equipped national defence than the other. There were also many other canses, as the ambition of the Eussian Czar, supported by his country's vast though imperfectly developed resources and practically un- limited supply of men, one phase of which was the constant ferment in the Balkan Peninsula, and an- other Russia's schemes for extension in Asia ; an- other was the general desire for colonies in Africa, in which one Continental power pretty effectually blocked another, and the latent distrust inside the Triple Alliance. England, meanwhile, preserved a wise and profitable neutrality. " These tremendous sacrifices for armaments, both on land and water, had far-reaching results, and, as we see it now, were clouds with silver linings. The demand for hardened steel projectiles, nickel-steel plates, and light and almost unbreakable machinery, was a great incentive to improvement in metallurgy ; while the necessity for compact and safely carried amnmnition greatly stimulated chemical research, and led to the discovery of explosives whose powers no obstacle can resist, and incidentally to other more useful things. SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 37 " Further mechanical and scientific progress, how- ever, such as flying machines provided with these high explosives, and asphyxiating bombs containing compressed gas that could be fired from guns or dropped from the air, intervened. The former would have laid every city in the dust, and the latter might have almost exterminated the race. These discoveries providentially prevented hostili- ties, so that the ' Great AVar,' so long expected, never came, and the rival nations had their pains for nothing, or, rather, for others than themselves. " Let us now examine the political and ethno- logical results. Hundreds of thousands of the flower of Continental Europe were killed by over- work and short rations, and millions of desirable and often — unfortunately for us — undesirable people were driven to emigration, nearly all of whom came to English-speaking territory, greatly increas- ing our productiveness and power. As we have seen, the jealousy of the Continental powers for one another effectually prevented their extending their influence or protectorates to other continents, which jealousy was considerably aided by the small but destructive wars that did take place. High 38 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. taxes also made it more difficult for the moneyed men to invest in colonizing or development compa- nies, which are so often the forerunners of absorp- tion ; while the United States, with her coal — of which the Mediterranean states have scarcely any — other resources, and low taxes, which, though neces- sary, can be nothing but an evil, has been able to expand naturally as no other nation ever has before. ^' This has given the English-speakers, especially the United States, a free hand, rendering enforce- ment of the Monroe doctrine easy, and started Eng- lish a long way towards becoming the universal language, while all formerly unoccupied land is now owned by those speaking it. "At the close of our civil war, in 1S65, we had but 3,000,000 square miles, and a population of 34,- 000,000. The country staggered beneath a colossal debt of over $4,000,000,000, had an expensive but essentially perishable navy, and there was an omi- nous feeling between the sections. The purchase of Alaska in 1867, by which we added over half a million square miles to our territory, marked tlie resumption of the forward march of the United States. Twenty-five years later, at the presidential SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 39 campaign of 1892, the debt had been reduced to $900,000,000, deducting the sinking fund, and the charge for pensions had about reached its maximum and soon began to decrease, though no one objected to any amount of reward for hona fide soldiers who had helped to save the country. The country's wealth had also enormously increased, while the population had grown to 65,000,000. Our ancestors had, completed or in building, a navy of which no nation need be ashamed ; and, though occasionally marred by hard times, there was general prosperity. " Gradually the different States of Canada — or provinces, as they were then called — came to realize that their future would be far grander and more glorious in union with the United States than sepa- rated from it ; and also that their sympathy was far stronger for their nearest neighbours than for any one else. One by one these I^orthern States made known their desire for consolidation with the Union, retaining complete control of their local affairs, as have the older States. They were gladly welcomed by our Government and people, and possible rivals became the best of friends. Preceding and also fol- lowing this, the States of Mexico, Central America, 40 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. and parts of South America, tiring of the incessant revohitions and difficulties among themselves, which had pretty constantly looked upon us as a big brother on account of our maintenance of the Mon- roe doctrine, began to agitate for annexation, know- ing they would retain control of their local affairs. In this they were vigorously supported by the American residents and property-holders, who knew that their possessions would double in value the day the United States Constitution was signed. "Thus, in the first place, by the encouragement of our people, and latterly, apparently, by its own volition, the Union has increased enormously in power, till it now embraces 10,000,000 square miles, and has a free and enlightened population of 300,- 000,000. Though the Union established by Wash- ington and his contemporaries has attained such tre- mendous proportions, its growth is by no means finished ; and as a result of modern improvements, it is less of a journey now to go from Alaska to the Orinoco than it was for the Father of his Country to travel from Xew York or Phihidelpliia to the site of the city named in his honour. "Adequate and really rapid transportation facili- SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 41 ties have done much to bind the different parts of the country together, and to rub off the edges of local prejudice. Though we always favour peace, no nation would think of opposing the expressed wishes of the United States, and our moral power for good is tremendous. The name Japhet means enlargement, and the prophecy seems about to be lit- erally fulfilled by these his descendants. The bank- rupt suffering of so many European Continental pow- ers had also other results. It enabled the socialists — w^ho have never been able to see beyond themselves — to force their governments into selling their colo- nies in the Eastern hemisphere to England, and their islands in the Western to us, in order to realize upon them. With the addition of Canada to the United States and its loss to the British Empire, the land possessions of the two powers became about equal, our Union being a trifle the larger. All danger of war being removed by the Canadian change, a healthful and friendly competition took its place, the nations competing in their growth on different hemispheres. England easily added large areas in Asia and Africa, while the United States grew as we have seen. The race is still, in a sense, neck- 42 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. aud-neck, and the English-speakers together possess nearly half the globe. The world's recent rate of progress would have been impossible without this approximation to a universal language. The causes that checkmated the Continental powers have ceased to exist. Many millions of men whose principal thought had been to destroy other members of the race became producers, but it was then too late, for the heavy armaments had done their work. " Let us now glance at the times as they are, and see how the business of life is transacted. Manhat- tan Island has something over 2,500,000 inhabitants, and is surrounded by a belt of population, several miles wide, of 12,000,000 more, of which it is the focus, so that the entire city contains more than 14,500,000 souls. The several hundred square miles of land and water forming greater K'^w York are perfectly united by numerous bridges, tunnels, and electric ferries, while the city's great natural advan- tages have been enhanced and beautified by every ingenious device. Ko main avenue in the newer sections is less than two hundred feet wide, contain- ing shade and fruit trees, a bridle-path, broad side- walks, and open spaces for carriages and bicycles. SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 43 Several fine diagonal streets and breathing-squares have also been provided in the older sections, and the existing parks have been supplemented by inter- mediate ones, all being connected by parkways to form continuous chains. '' The hollow masts of our ships — to glance at another phase en passant — carry windmills instead of sails, through which the wind performs the work of storing a great part of the energy required to run them at sea, while they are discharging or load- ing cargo in port ; and it can, of course, work to better advantage while they are stationary than when they are running before it. These turbines are made entirely of light metal, and fold when not in use, so that only the frames are visible. Sometimes these also fold and are housed, or wholly disappear within the mast. Steam-boilers are also placed at the foci of huge concave mirrors, often a hundred feet in diameter, the required heat being supplied by the sun, without smoke, instead of by bulky and dirty coal. This discovery gave commercial value to Sahara and other tropical deserts, which are now desirable for mill-sites and for generating power, on account of the directness with which they receive the sun's 44 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. rajs and their freedom from clouds. Mile after mile Africa has been won for tlie uses of civilization, till great stretches that were considered impassible are as productive as gardens. Our condensers, which compress, cool, and rarefy air, enabling travellers to obtain water and even ice from the atmosphere, are great aids in desert exploration, removing absolutely the principal distress of the ancient caravan. The erstwhile 'Dark Continent' has a larger white population now than Xorth America had a hundred years ago, and has this advantage for the future, that it contains 11,600,000 square miles, while Xorth America has less than 9,000,000. Every part of the globe will soon sustain about as large and prosperous a population as the amount of energy it receives from the sun and other sources will warrant ; pul)lic debts and the efficiency of the governments being the variable elements. "The rabbits in Australia, and the far more objectionable poisonous snakes in South America and India, have been exterminated by the capture of a few dozen of the creatures in the infested districts, their inoculation with the virus similar to the miirus ti2?hi, tuberculosis, or any other contagious-germ com- SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 45 plaint to which the species treated was particularly susceptible, and the release of these individuals when the disease was seen to be taking hold. The rabbits and serpents released at once returned to their old haunts, carrying the j^lague far and wide. The unfortunate rabbits were greatly commiserated even by the medicos that wielded the death-dealing syringe ; but, fortunately for themselves, they died easily. The reptiles, perhaps on account of the wider distribution of the nerve centres, had more lingering but not painful deaths, often, while in articiolo mortis, leaving the holes with which they seemed to connect their discomfort, and making a final struggle along the ground, only to die more quickly as a result of their exertions. We have applied this also to the potato-bug, locust, and other insect pests, no victim being too small for the ubiquitous, subtle germ, which, properly cultivated and utilized, has become one of man's best friends. " We have microbe tests that show us as unmis- takably whether the germs of any particular disease — like malaria, typhoid, or scarlet fever — are present in the air, as litmus-paper shows alkalinity of a solution. We also inoculate as a preventive against 46 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. these and almost all other germ diseases, with the same success that we vaccinate for smallpox. " The medicinal properties of all articles of food are so well understood also, that most cures are brought about simply by dieting. This reminds me of the mistakes perpetrated on a friend of mine who called in Dr. Grave-Powders, one of the old-school physicians, to be treated for insomnia and dyspepsia. This old numskull restricted his diet, gave him huge doses of medicine, and decided most learnedly that he was daily growing worse. Concluding that he had but a short time to live, my friend threw away the nauseating medicines, ate whatever he had a nat- ural desire for, and was soon as well as ever — the obvious moral of which is, that we can get whatever treatment we need most beneficially from our food. Our physicians are most serious and thoughtful men. They never claim to be infallible, but study scien- tifically to increase their knowledge and improve the methods of treatment. As a result of this, fresh air, regular exercise for both sexes, with better condi- tions, and the preservation of the lives of children that formerly died by thousands from preventable causes, the physique, especially of women, is wonder- SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 47 fully improved, and the average longevity is already over sixty. " Our social structure, to be brief, is based on science, or the conservation of energy, as the Greek philosophers predicted. It was known to them that a certain amount of power would produce only a certain amount of work — that is, the weight of a clock in descending or a spring in uncoiling returns theoretically the amount of work expended in rais- ing or coiling it, and in no possible way can it do more. In practice, on account of friction, etc., we know it does less. This law, being invariable, of course limits us, as it did Archimedes and Pythag- oras ; we have simply utilized sources of power that their clumsy workmen allowed to escape. Of the four principal sources — food, fuel, wind, and tide — including harnessed waterfalls, the last two do by far the most work. Much of the electrical energy in every thunderstorm is also captured and condensed in our capacious storage batteries, as natural hygeia in the form of rain was and is still caught in our coun- try cisterns. Every exposed place is crowned by a cluster of huge windmills that lift water to some pond or reservoir placed as high as possible. Every 48 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. stiff breeze, therefore, raises millions of tons of water, wliicli operate hydraulic turbines as required. In- cidentally these storage reservoirs, by increasing the surface exposed to evaporation and the consequent rainfall, have a very beneficial effect on the dry re- gions in the interior of the continent, and in some cases have almost superseded irrigation. The wind- mill and dynamo thus utilize bleak mountain-tops that, till their discovery, seemed to be but indifferent successes in Dame Nature's domain. The electricity generated by these, in connection with that obtained by waterfalls, tidal dynamos, thunderstorms, chemical action, and slow-moving quadruple-expansion steam engines, provides the power required to run our elec- tric ships and water-spiders, railways, and stationary and portable motors, for heating the cables laid along the bottom of our canals to prevent their freezing in winter, and for almost every conceivable purpose. Sometimes a man has a windmill on his roof for light and heat; then, the harder the wintry blasts may blow the brighter and warmer becomes the house, the current passing through a storage battery to make it more steady. The operation of our ordi- nary electric railways is very simple : the current is SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 49 taken from an overhead, side, or underneath wire, directly through the air, without the intervention of a trolley, and the fast cars, for they are no longer run in trains, make five miles a minute. The entire w^eight of each car being used for its own traction, it can ascend very steep grades, and can attain high speed or stop very quickly. " Another form is the magnetic railway, on which the cars are wedge-shaped at both ends, and moved by huge magnets weighing four thousand tons each, placed fifty miles apart. On passing a magnet, the nature of the electricity charging a car is automatic- ally changed from positive to negative, or vice versa, to that of the magnet just passed, so that it repels w^hile the next attracts. The successive magnets are charged oppositely, the sections being divided half- way between by insulators, the nature of the electrici- ty in each section being governed by the charge in the magnet. To prevent one kind of electricity from uniting with and neutralizing that in the next section by passing through the car at the moment of transit, there is a " dead stretch " of fifty yards with rails not charged at all between the sections. This change in the nature of the electricity is repeated automatically 50 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. every fifty miles, and obviates tlie necessity of revolv- ing machinery, the rails aiding communication. " Magnetism being practically as instantaneous as gravitation, the only limitations to speed are the elec- trical pressure at the magnets, the resistance of the air, and the danger of the wheels bursting from cen- trifugal force. The first can seemingly be increased without limit ; the atmospheric resistance is about to be reduced by running the cars hermetically sealed through a partial vacuum in a steel and toughened glass tube ; while the third has been removed indefi- nitely by the use of galvanized aluminum, which bears about the same relation to ordinarj^ aluminum that steel does to iron, and which has twice the ten- sile strength and but one third the weight of steel. In some cases the rails are made turned in, so that it would be impossible for a car to leave the track with- out the road-bed's being totally demolished ; but in most cases this is found to be unnecessary, for no through line has a curve on its vast stretches with a radius of less than half a mile. Kails, one hundred and sixty pounds to the yard, are set in grooved steel ties, which in turn are held by a concrete road-bed consisting of broken stone and cement, making SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 51 spreading rails and loose ballast impossible. A large increase in capital was necessary for these improve- ments, the elimination of curves being the most labo- rious part, requiring bridges, cuttings, and embank- ments that dwarf the Pyramids and would have made the ancient Pharaohs open their eyes ; but with the low rate of interest on bonds, the slight cost of power, and great increase in business, the venture was a success, and we are now in sight of further advances that will enable a traveller in a high lati- tude moving west to keep pace with the sun, and, should he wish it, to have unending day." CHAPTEK Y. DR. CORTLANDt's HISTORY CONTINUED. " In marine transportation we have two methods, one for freight and another for passengers. The old-fashioned deeply immersed ship has not changed radically from the steam and sailing vessels of the last century, except that electricity has superseded all other motive powers. Steamers gradually passed through the five hundred-, six hundred-, and seven hundred-foot-long class, with other dimensions in proportion, till their length exceeded one thousand feet. These were very fast ships, crossing the Atlan- tic in four and a half days, and were almost as steady as houses, in even the roughest weather. " Ships at this period of their development had also passed through the twin and triple screw stage to the quadruple, all four together developing one Imndred and forty thousand indicated horse-power, (■V-i) SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 53 and being driven by steam. This, of course, involved sacrificing the best part of the ship to her engines, and a very heavy idle investment while in port. Storage batteries, with plates composed of lead or iron, constantly increasing in size, had reached a fair state of development by the close of the nineteenth century. " During the second decade of the twentieth cen- tury the engineers decided to try the plan of running half of a transatlantic hner's screws by electricity generated by the engines for driving the others while the ship was in port, this having been a success al- ready on a smaller scale. For a time this plan gave great satisfaction, since it diminished the amount of coal to be carried and the consequent change of dis- placement at sea, and enabled the ship to be worked with a smaller number of men. The batteries could also, of course, be distributed along the entire length, and placed where space was least valuable. "The construction of such huge vessels called for much governmental river and harbour dredging, and a ship drawing thirty-five feet can now enter l^ew York at any state of the tide. For ocean bars, the old system of taking the material out to 54 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. sea and discharging it still survives, thongli a jet of water from force-pumps directed against the obstruc- tion is also often employed with quick results. For river work we have discovered a better method. All the mud is run back, sometimes over a mile from the river bank, where it is used as a fertil- izer, by means of wire railways strung from pole^. These wire cables combine in themselves the func- tions of trolley wire and steel rail, and carry the suspended cars, which empty themselves and re- turn around the loop for another load. Often the removed material entirely fills small, saucer-shaped valleys or low places, in which case it cannot wash back. This improvement has ended the necessity of building jetties. " The next improvement in sea travelling was the ' marine spider.' As the name shows, this is built on the principle of an insect. It is well known that a body can be carried over the water much faster than through it. With this in mind, builders at first constructed light framework decks on large water-tight wheels or drums, having pad- dles on their circumferences to provide a hold on the water. These they caused to revolve by means SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 55 of macliinerj on the deck, but soon found that the resistance offered to the barrel wheels themselves was too great. They therefore made them more like centipeds with large, bell-shaped feet, connected witli a superstructural deck by ankle-jointed pipes, through which, when necessary, a pressure of air can be forced down upon the enclosed surface of water. Ordinarily, however, they go at great speed without this, the weight of the water displaced by the bell feet being as great as that resting upon them. Thus they swing along like a pacing horse, except that there are four rows of feet instead of two, each foot being taken out of the water as it is swung forward, the first and fourth and second and third rows being worked together. Although, on account of their size, which covers several acres, they can go in any water, they give the best results on Mediterraneans and lakes that are free from ocean rollers, and, under favourable conditions, make better speed than the nineteenth - century express trains, and, of course, going straight as the crow flies, and without stopping, they reach a destination in considerably shorter time. " Some passengers and express packages still cross 56 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. the Atlantic on 'spiders,' but most of these light cargoes go in a far pleasanter and more rapid way. The deep-displacement vessels, for heavy freight, make little better speed than was made by the same class a hundred years ago. But they are also run entirely by electricity, largely supplied by wind, and by the tide turning their motors, which become dynamos while at anchor in any stream. They therefore need no bulky boilers, engines, sails, or coal-bunkers, and consequently can carry unpre- cedentedly large cargoes with comparatively small crews. The officers on the bridge and the men in the crow's nest — the way to which is by a ladder inside the mast, to protect the climber from the weather — are about all that is needed ; while disable- ment is made practically impossible, by having four screws, each with its own set of automatically lubri- cating motors. " This change, like other labour-saving appliances, at first resulted in laying off a good many men, the least satisfactory being the first to go ; but the in- crease in business was so great that the intelligent men were soon re-employed as ofiicers at higher rates of pay and more interesting work than before, SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 57 while tliey as consumers were benefited as much as any one else by the decreased cost of production and transportation. "With a view to facilitating interchange still further, our Government has gradually completed the double coast-line that Kature gave us in part. This was done by connecting islands separated from shore by navigable water, and leaving openings for ingress and exit but a few hundred yards wide. The breakwaters required to do this were built with cribbing of incorrodible metal, affixed to deeply driven metallic piles, and filled with stones along coasts where they were found in abundance or ex- cess. This, while clearing many fields and improv- ing them for cultivation, provided just the needed material ; since irregular stones bind together firmly, and, while also insoluble, combine considerable bulk with weight. South of Hatteras, where stones are scarce, the sand dredged from parts of the channel was filled into the crib, the surface of which has a concave metallic cover, a trough of still water being often the best barrier against the passage of waves. This double coast-line has been a great benefit, and propelled vessels of moderate draught can range in 58 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. smooth water, carrying very full loads, from Labra- dor to the Orinoco. The exits are, of course, pro- tected by a line of cribbing a few hundred feet to seaward. " The rocks have been removed from all chan- nels about Xew York and other commercial centres, while the shallow places have been dredged to a uni- form depth. This diminishes the dangers of naviga- tion and considerably decreases the speed with which the tides rush through. Where the obstructions con- sisted of reefs surrounded by deep water, their re- moval with explosives was easy, the shattered frag- ments being allowed to sink to the bottom and re- main there beneath the danger line. "Many other great works have also been com- pleted. The canals at Nicaragua have been in op- eration many years, it having been found best to have several sizes of locks, and to use the large ones only for the passage of large vessels. The improved Erie and Champlain Canals also enable ships four hundred feet long to reach Kew York from the Great Lakes via the Hudson River. " For flying, we have an aeroplane that came in when we devised a suitable motor powxr. This is SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 59 obtained from very light paper-cell batteries tliat combine some qualities of the primary and second- ary type, since they mnst first be charged from a dynamo, after which they can supply full currents for one hundred hours — enough to take them around the globe — while partly consuming the elements in the cells. The power is applied through turbine screws, half of which are capable of propelling the flat deck in its inclined position at sufficient speed to prevent its falling. The moving parts have ball bearings and friction rollers, lubrication being se- cured automatically, when required, by a supply of vaseline that melts if any part becomes hot. All the framing is of thin but very durable galvanized alu- minum, which has superseded steel for every pur- pose in which weight is not an advantage, as in the permanent way on railways. The air ships, whose length varies from fifty to five hundred feet, have rudders for giving a vertical or a horizontal motion, and several strengthening keels that prevent leeway when turning. They are entirely on the principle of birds, maintaining themselves mechanically, and dif- fering thus from the unwieldy balloon. Starting as if on a circular railway, against the w4nd, they rise 5 60 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. to a considerable lieiglit, and then, shutting off the batteries, coast down the aerial slope at a rate that sometimes touches five hundred miles an hour. AVhen near the ground the helmsman directs the prow upward, and, again turning on full current, rushes up the slope at a speed that far exceeds the eagle's, each drop of two miles serving to take the machine twenty or thirty ; though, if the pilot does not wish to soar, or if there is a fair wind at a given height, he can remain in that stratum of the atmosphere by moving horizontally. He can also maintain his elevation when moving very slowly, and though the headway be entirely stopped, the descent is gradual on account of the aeroplane's great spread, the batteries and motors being secured to the under side of the deck. " The motors are so light that they develop two horse power for every pound of their weight ; while, to keep the frames thin, the necessary power is ob- tained by terrific speed of the moving parts, as though a steam engine, to avoid great pressure in its cylinders, had a long stroke and ran at great pis- ton speed, which, however, is no disadvantage to the rotary motion of the electric motor, there being no SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 61 reciprocating cranks, etc., that must be started and stopped at each revolution. " To obviate the necessity of gearing to reduce the number of revolutions to those possible for a large screw, this member is made very small, and allowed to revolve three thousand times a minute, so that the requisite power is obtained with great simplicity of mechanism, which further decreases friction. The shafts, and even the wires connect- ing the batteries with the motors, are made large and hollow. Though the primary battery pure and simple, as the result of great recent advances in. chemistry, seems to be again coming up, the best aeroplane batteries are still of the combination-stor- age type. These have been so perfected that eight ounces of battery yield one horse power for six hours, so that two pounds of battery will supply a horse power for twenty-four hours ; a small fifty- horse-power aeroplane being therefore able to fly four days with a battery weight of but four hun- dred pounds. '' Limestone and clarified acid are the principal parts of these batteries. It was known long ago that there was about as much imprisoned solar energy in G2 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. limestone as in coal, but it was only recently that we discovered this way of releasing and using it. " Common salt plays an important part in many of our chemical reactions. By combining it with limestone, and treating this with acid jelly, we also get good results on raising to the boiling-point. '* However enjoyable the manly sport of yacht- ing is on water, how vastly more interesting and fas- cinating it is for a man to have a yacht in which he can fly to Europe in one day, and with which the exploration of tropical Africa or the regions about the poles is mere child's play, while giving him so magnificent a bird's-eye view ! ]\rany seemingly insoluble problems are solved by the advent of these birds. Having as their halo the enforcement of peace, they have in truth taken us a long step to- wards heaven, and to the co-operation and higher civilization that followed we shall owe much of the success of the great experiment on Mother Earth now about to be tried. " Another change that came in with a rush upon the discovery of a battery with insignificant weight, compact form, and great capacity, was the substitu- tion of electricity for animal power for the move- SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 63 ment of all vehicles. This, of necessity brought in good roads, the results obtainable on such being so much greater than on bad ones that a universal de- mand for them arose. This was in a sense cumula- tive, since the better the streets and roads became, the greater the inducement to have an electric car- riage. The work of opening up the country far and near, by straightening and improving existing roads, and laying out new ones that combine the sohdity of the Appian Way with the smoothness of modern asphalt, was largely done by convicts, work- ing under the direction of State and Government engineers. Every State contained a horde of these unprofitable boarders, who, as they formerly worked, interfered with honest labour, and when idle got into trouble. City streets had been paved by the mu- nicipality ; country roads attended to by the farmers, usually very unscientifically. Here was a field in which convict labour would not compete, and an important work could be done. When once this was made the law, every year showed improve- ment, while the convicts had useful and healthful occupation. " The electric phaetons, as those for high speed 64 A JOL'RNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. are called, Lave three and four wheels, and weigh, including battery and motor, five hundred to four thousand pounds. With hollow but immensely strong galvanically treated aluminum frames and pneumatic or cushion tires, they run at thirty-five and forty miles an hour on country roads, and attain a speed over forty on city streets, and can maintain this rate without recharging for several days. They can therefore roam over the roads of the entire hemi- sphere, from the fertile valley of the Peace and grey shores of Hudson Bay, to beautiful Lake Nicaragua, the Eiver Plate, and Patagonia, improving man by bringing him close to Xature, while they combine the sensations of coasting witli the interest of see- ing the country well. " To recharge the batteries, which can be done in almost every town and village, two copper pins at- tached to insulated copper wires are shoved into smooth-bored holes. These drop out of themselves by fusing a small lead ribbon, owing to the increased resistance, when the acid in the liatteries begins to ^ boil,' though there is, of course, but little heat in this, the function of charging being merely to bring about the condition in which part of the limestone can be SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 65 consumed, the batteries themselves, when in constant use, requiring to be renewed about once a month. A handle at the box seat turns on any part of the at- tainable current, for either going ahead or reversing, there being six or eight degrees of speed for both directions, while the steering is done with a small wheel. " Light but powerful batteries and motors have also been fitted on bicycles, which can act either as auxiliaries for hill-climbing or in case of head wind, or they can propel the machine altogether. " Gradually the width of the streets became in- sufficient for the traffic, although the elimination of horses and the consequent increase in speed greatly augmented their carrying capacity, until recently a new system came in. The whole width of the avenues and streets in the business parts of the city, including the former sidewalks, is given up to wheel traffic, an iron ridge extending along the exact centre to compel vehicles to keep to the right. Strips of nickel painted white, and showing a bright phos- phorescence at night, are let into the metal pave- ment flush with the surface, and run parallel to this ridge at distances of ten to fifteen feet, dividing QQ A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. each half of the avenue into four or five sections, their width increasing as thej approach the middle. All trucks or drajs moving at less than seven miles an hour are obliged to keep in the section nearest the building line, those running between seven and fifteen in the next, fifteen to twenty-five in the third, twenty-five to thirty -five in the fourth, and everything faster than that in the section next the ridge, unless the avenue or street is wide enough for further subdivisions. If it is wide enough for only four or less, the fastest vehicles must keep next the middle, and limit their speed to the rate allowed in that section, which is marked at every crossing in white letters sufiiciently large for him that runs to read. It is therefore only in the wide thoroughfares that very high speed can be attained. In addition to the crank that corresponds to a throttle, there is a gauge on every vehicle, which shows its exact speed in miles per hour, by gearing operated by the revo- lutions of the wheels. " The policemen on duty also have instantaneous kodaks mounted on tripods, which show the position of any carriage at half- and quarter-second intervals, by which it is easy to ascertain the exact speed, SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 67 should the officers be unable to judge it bj the eye ; so there is no danger of a vehicle's speed exceeding that allowed in the section in which it happens to be ; neither can a slow one remain on the fast lines. " Of course, to make such high speed for ordi- nary carriages possible, a perfect pavement became a sine qua non. We have secured this by the half -inch sheet of steel spread over a carefully laid surface of asphalt, with but little bevel ; and though this might be slippery for horses' feet, it never seriously affects our wheels. There being nothing harder than the rubber ties of comparatively light drays upon it — for the heavy traffic is carried by electric railways under ground — it will practically never wear out. " With the application of steel to the entire sur- face, car-tracks became unnecessary, ordinary wheels answering as well as those with flanges, so that no new tracks were laid, and finally the car companies tore up the existing ones, selling them in many instances to the municipalities as old iron. Our streets also need but little cleaning ; neither is the surface continually indented, as the old cobble-stones and Belgian blocks were, by the pounding of the horses' feet, so that the substitution of electricity for 68 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. animal power has done mucli to solve the problem of attractive streets. " Scarcely a ton of coal comes to Manhattan Island or its vicinity in a year. Very little of it leaves the mines, at the mouths of which it is con- verted into electricity and sent to the points of con- sumption by wire, where it is employed for all uses to which fuel was put, and many others. Conse- quently there is no smoke, and the streets are not encumbered with coal-carts ; the entire width being given up to carriages, etc. The ground iloors in the business parts are used for large warehouses, trucks running in to load and unload. Pedestrians there- fore have sidewalks level with the second story, con- sisting of glass floors let into aluminum frames, while all street crossings are made on bridges. Private houses have a front door opening on the sidewalk, and another on the ground level, so that ladies pay- ing visits or leaving cards can do so in carriages. In business streets the second story is used for shops. In place of steel covering, country roads have a thick coating of cement and asphalt over a foundation of crushed stone, giving a capital surface, and have a width of thirty-three feet (two rods) in thinly settled SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 69 districts, to sixtj-six feet (four rods) where the popu- lation is greater. All are planted with shade and fruit trees, while the wide driveways have one or two broad sidewalks. The same rule of making the slow-moving vehicles keep near the outside prevails, though the rate of increase in speed on approaching the middle is more rapid than in cities, and there is usually no dividing ridge. On reaching the top of a long and steep hill, if we do not wish to coast, we convert the motors into dynamos, while running at full speed, and so change the kinetic energy of the descent into potential in our batteries. This twentieth-century stage-coaching is one of the de- lights to which we are heirs, though horses are still used by those that prefer them. " We have been much aided in our material prog- ress by the facility with which we obtain the metals. It was observed, some time ago, that when arte- sian and oil wells had reached a considerable depth, what appeared to be drops of lead and antimony came up with the stream. It finally occurred to a well- borer that if he could make his drill hard enough and get it down far enough, keeping it cool by solidi- fied carbonic acid during the proceeding, he would 70 A JOURNEY IN OTUER WORLDS. reach a point at which most of the metals would be viscous, if not actually molten, and on being freed from the pressure of the crust they would expand, and reach the surface in a stream. This experiment he performed near the hot geysers in Yellowstone Park, and what was his delight, on reaching a depth scarcely half a mile beyond his usual stopping-place, to be rewarded by a stream of metal that heralded its approach by a loud explosion and a great rush of superheated steam ! It ran for a month, completely filling the bed of a small, dried-up river, and when it did stop there were ten million tons in sight. This proved the feasibility of the scheme, and, though many subsequent attempts were less successful, we have learned by experience where it is best to drill, and can now obtain almost any metal we wish. " ' Magnetic eyes ' are of great use to miners and civil engineers. These instruments are something like the mariner's compass, with the sensitiveness enormously increased by galvanic currents. The 'eye,' as it were, sees what substances are under- ground, and at what distances. It also shows liow many people are in an adjoining room — through the magnetic properties of the iron in their blood — SKETCH OP THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 71 whether they are moving, and in wliat directions and at what speed they go. In connection with the phonograph and concealed by draperies, it is useful to detectives, who, through a registering attachment, can obtain a record of everything said and done. " Our political system remains with but little change. Each State has still two United States Sena- tors, though the population represented by each rep- resentative has been greatly increased, so that the Senate has grown numerically much more than the House. It is the duty of each member of Congress to understand the conditions existing in every other member's State or district, and the country's interest always precedes that of party. AYe have a compre- hensive examination system in the civil service, and every officeholder, except members of the Cabinet, retains his office while efficiently performing his duty, without regard to politics. The President can also be re-elected any number of times. The Cabinet members, as formerly, usually remain in office while he does, and appear regularly in Congress to defend their measures. " The really rapid transit lines in 'New York are underground, and have six tracks, two being used for 72 A JOURNEY IX OTBER WORLDS. freight. At all stations the local tracks rise several feet towards the street and slope off in both direc- tions, while the express tracks do this only at stations at which the faster trains stop. This gives the pas- sengers a shorter distance to descend or rise in the elevators, and the ascent before the stations aids the brakes in stopping, while the drop helps the motors to start the trains quickly in getting away. " Photography has also made great strides, and there is now no difficulty in reproducing exactly the colours of the object taken. " Telephones have been so improved that one per- son can speak in his natural voice with another in any part of the globe, the wire that enables him to hear also showing him the face of the speaker though he be at the antipodes. All telephone wires being underground and kept by themselves, they are not interfered with by any high-tension electric-light or power wires, thunderstorms, or anything else. " Eain-making is another subject removed from the uncertainties, and has become an absolute science. We produce clouds by ex]3losions in the atmosphere's heights and by surface air forced by blowers through large pipes up the side of a mountain or natural ele- SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. ^3 vation and there discharged through an opening in the top of a tower built on the highest part. Tlie aeriduct is incased in a poor heat-conductor, so tliat the air retains its warmth until discharged, when it is cooled bj expansion and the surrounding cold air. Condensation takes place and soon serves to start a rain. " Yet, until the earth's axis is straightened, we must be more or less dependent on the eccentricities of the weather, with extremes of heat and cold, droughts and floods, which last are of course largely the result of several months' moisture held on the ground in the form of snow^, the congestion being relieved suddenly by the warm spring rains. " Medicine and surgery have kept pace with other improvements — inoculation and antiseptics, as already seen, rendering most of the germ diseases and formerly dreaded epidemics impotent ; while through the potency of electrical affinity we form wholesome food-products rapidly, instead of having to wait for their production by ISTature's slow pro- cesses. " The metric system, now universal, superseded 7^ A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. the old-fashioned arbitrary standards, so prolific of mistakes and confusion, about a century ago. " English, as we have seen, is already the lan- guage of 600,000,000 people, and the number is constantly increasing through its adoption by the numerous races of India, where, even before the close of the last century, it was about as important as Latin during the greatness of Kome, and by the fact that the Spanish and Portuguese elements in Mexico and Central and South America show a constant tend- ency to die out, much as the population of Spain fell from 30,000,000 to 17,000,000 during the nine- teenth century. As this goes on, in the Western hemisphere, the places left vacant are gradually filled by the more progressive Anglo-Saxons, so that it looks as if the study of ethnology in the future would be very simple. " The people with cultivation and leisure, whose number is increasing relatively to the population at each generation, spend much more of their year in the country than formerly, where they have large and well-cultivated country seats, parts of which are also preserved for game. This growing custom on the part of society, in addition to being of great ad- SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 75 vantage to the out-of-town districts, has done much to save the forests and preserve some forms of game that would otherwise, like the buffalo, have become extinct. " In astronomy we have also made tremendous strides. The old-fashioned double-convex lens used in telescopes became so heavy as its size grew, that it bent perceptibly from its own weight, when pointed at the zenith, distorting the vision ; while when it was used upon a star near the horizon, though the glass on edge kept its shape, there was too much atmosphere between it and the observed object for successful study. Our recent telescopes have, there- fore, concave plate-glass mirrors, twenty metres in diameter, like those used for converging the sun's rays in solar engines, but with curves more mathe- matically exact, which collect an immense amount of light and focus it on a sensitive plate or on the eye of the observer, whose back is turned to the object he is studying. An electrical field also plays an important part, the electricity being as great an aid to light as in the telephone it is to sound. With these placed generally on high mountain peaks, beyond the reach of clouds, wc have enormously increased the number 76 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. of visible stars, tliougli there are still probably bound- less regions that we cannot see. These telescopes have several hundred times the power of the largest lenses of the nineteenth century, and apparently bring Mars and Jupiter, when in opposition, within one thousand and ten thousand miles, respectively, so that we study their physical geography and topography ; and we have good maps of Jupiter, and even of Sat- urn, notwithstanding their distance and atmospheric envelopes, and we are able to see the disks of third- magnitude stars. " It seems as if, when we wish any particular dis- covery or invention, in whatever field, we had but to turn our efforts in its direction to obtain our desire. We seem, in fact, to have awakened in the scenes of the Arabian Nights; yet the mysterious genius which we control, and wliich dims Aladdin's lamp, is the gift of no fairy godmother sustained by the haze of dreams, but shines as the child of science with fadeless and growing splendour, and may yet bring us and our little planet much closer to God. " AVe should indeed be happy, living as we do at this apex of attained civilization, with the bound- less possibilities of the future unfolding before SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 7Y US, on tlie horizon of wliicli we may fairly be said to stand. "We are freed from the rattling granite pave- ment of only a century ago, which made the occu- pant of an omnibus feel like a fly inside of a drum ; from the domination of our local politics by ignorant foreigners ; and from country roads that either filled the eyes, lungs, and hair of the unfortunates travel- ling upon them with dust, or, resembling ploughed and fertilized fields, saturated and plastered them with mud. These miseries, together with sea-sickness in ocean travelling, are forever passed, and we feel that ' Excelsior ! ' is indeed our motto. Our new and in- creasing sources of power have so stimulated pro- duction and manufacturing that poverty or want is scarcely known ; while the development of the popu- lar demand, as a result of the supplied need, is so great that there is no visible limit to the diversifica- tion of industry or the possibilities of the arts. " It may seem strange to some that apparently so disproportionate a number of inventions have been made in the last century. There are several reasons. Since every discovery or advance in knowledge in- creases our chance of obtaining more, it becomes 78 A JOL^RNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. cumulative, and our progress is in geometric instead of arithmetical ratio. Public interest and general appreciation of the value of time have also effective- ly assisted progress. At the beginning of each year the President, the Governors of the States, and the Mayors of cities publish a prospectus of the great improvements needed, contemplated, and under way within their jurisdiction — it may be planning a new boulevard, a new park, or an improved system of sewers ; and at the year's end they issue a resume of everything completed, and the progress in every- thing else ; and though there is usually a great differ- ence between the results hoped for and those attained, the effect is good. The newspapers publish at length the recommendations of the Executives, and also the results obtained, and keep up public interest in all important matters. " Free to delve in the allurement and fascination of science, emancipated man goes on subduing Na- ture, as his Maker said he should, and turning her giant forces to his service in his constant struggle to rise and become more like II im who gave the com- mandments and showed him how he should go. " Notwithstanding our strides in material prog- SKETCH OF THE WORLD IN A. D. 2000. 79 ress, we are not entirely content. As the require- ments of the animal become fully supplied, we feel a need for something else. Some say this is like a child that cries for the moon, but others believe it the awakenino: and cravino^ of our souls. The liisto- rian narrates but the signs of the times, and strives to efface himself ; yet there is clearly a void, becoming yearly more apparent, w^hich materialism cannot fill. Is it some new subtle force for which we sigh, or would we commune with spirits ? There is, so far as we can see, no limit to our journey, and I will add, in closing, that, with the exception of religion, we have most to hope from science." CHxVPTER YI. FAR-EEACHIXG PLANS. Knowing tliat the rectification of the earth's axis was satisfactorily begun, and that each year would show an increasing improvement in climate, many of the delegates, after hearing Bear warden's speech, set out for their homes. Those from the valley of the Amazon and the eastern coast of South America boarded a lightning express that rushed them to Key West at the rate of three hundred miles an hour. The railroad had six tracks, two for through passengers, two for locals, and two for freight. There they took a " water-spider," six hundred feet long by three hundred in width, the deck of which was one hundred feet above the sur- face, which carried them over the water at the rate of a mile a minute, around the eastern end of Cuba, through Windward Passage, and so to the South (80) FAR-KE ACHING PLANS. 81 American mainland, where they continued their journey by rail. The Siberian and Russian delegates, who, of course, felt a keen interest in the company's proceed- ings, took a magnetic double-ender car to Bering Strait. It was eighteen feet high, one hundred and fifty feet long, and had two stories. The upper, with a toughened glass dome running the entire length, descended to within three feet of the floor, and afforded an unobstructed view of the rushing scenery. The rails on which it ran were ten feet apart, the wheels being beyond the sides, like those of a carriage, and fitted with ball bearings to ridged axles. The car's flexibility allowed it to follow slight irregularities in the track, while the free, independ- ent wheels gave it a great advantage in rounding curves over cars with wheels and axle in one cast- ing, in which one must slip while traversing a greater or smaller arc than the other, except when the slope of the tread and the centrifugal force happen to correspond exactly. The fact of having its supports outside instead of underneath, while increasing its stability, also enabled the lower floor to come much nearer the ground, while still the 82 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. wheels were large. Arriving in just twenty hours, they ran across on an electric ferry-boat, capable of carrying several dozen cars, to East Cape, Siberia, and then, by running as far north as possible, had a short cut to Europe. The Patagonians went by the all-rail Interconti- nental Line, without change of cars, making the run of ten thousand miles in forty hours. The Austra- lians entered a flying machine, and were soon out of sight ; while the Central Americans and members from other States of the Union returned for the most part in their mechanical phaetons. " A prospective improvement in travelling,'' said Bearwarden, as he and his friends watched the crowd disperse, " will be when we can rise beyond the limits of the atmosphere, wait till the earth revolves beneath us, and descend in twelve hours on the other side." " True," said Cortlandt, " but then we can travel westward only, and shall have to make a complete circuit when we wish to go east." A few days later there was a knock at President Bearwarden's door, while lie was seated at his desk looking over some papers and other matters. Tak- FAR-REACHING PLANS. 83 ing liis foot from a partly opened desk drawer where it had been resting, he placed it upon the handle of a liandsome brass-mounted bellows, which proved to be articulating, for, as he pressed, it called lustily, *' Come in ! " The door opened, and in walked Sec- retary of State Stillman, Secretary of the Navy Deepwaters, who was himself an old sailor, Dr. Cortlandt, Ayrault, Yice-President Dumby, of the T. A. S. Co., and two of the company's directors. " Good-morning," said Bearwarden, as he shook hands with his visitors. " Charmed to see you." '' That's a great invention," said Secretary Still- man, examining the bellows. " We must get Con- gress to make an appropriation for its introduc- tion in the department buildings in Washington. You have no idea how it dries my throat to be all the time shouting, ^ Come in ! ' " " Do you know, Bearwarden," said Secretary Deepwaters, "I'm afraid when we have this mil- lennium of climate every one will be so well satisfied that our friend here (pointing to Secretary Still- man with his thumb) will have nothing to do." "I have sometimes thought some of the excite- ment will be gone, and the struggle of the ' survival 84 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. of the fittest ' will become less problematical," said Bearwarden. ^' The earth seems destined to have a calm old age," said Cortlandt, " unless we can look to the Cabinet to prevent it." " This world will soon be a dull place. I wish we could leave it for a change," said Ayrault. *' I don't mean forever, of course, but just as people have grown tired of remaining like plants in the places in which thej grew. Man has been a caterpillar for untold ages ; can he not become the butterfly ?" " Since we have found out how to straighten the axis," said Deepwaters, " might we not go one bet- ter, and improve the orbit as well? — increase the dif- ference between aphelion and perihelion, and give those that still like a chans^inor climate a chance, while incidentally we should see more of the world — I mean the solar system — and, by enlarging the parallax, be able to measure the distance of a greater number of fixed stars. Put your helm hard down and shout ^ Hard-a-lee ! ' You see, there is nothing simpler. You keep her off now, and six months hence you let her luff." " That's an idea ! " said Bearwarden. " Our orbit FAR-REACHING PLANS. 85 could be enough like that of a comet to cross the orbits of both Yenus and Mars; and the climatic extremes would not be inconvenient. The whole earth being simultaneously warmed or cooled, there would be no equinoctials or storms resulting from changes on one part of the surface from intense heat to intense cold ; every part would have a twelve-hour day and night, and none would be turned towards or from the sun for six months at a time ; for, however eccentric the orbit, we should keep the axis absolutely straight. At perihelion there would sim^ply be increased evaporation and clouds near the equator, which would shield those regions from the sun, only to disappear again as the earth receded." ^' The only trouble," said Cortlandt, " is that we should have no fulcrum. Straightening the axis is simple enough, for we have the attraction of the sun with which to work, and we have but to in- crease it at one end while decreasing it at the other, and change this as the poles change their inclination towards the sun, to bring it about. If a comet with a sufficiently large head would but come along and retard us, or opportunely give us a pull, or if we 86 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. could increase the attraction of the other planets for us, or decrease it at times, it might be done. If the force, the control of which was discovered too late to help us straighten the axis, could be applied on a sufficiently large scale ; if apergy " " I have it ! " exclaimed Ayrault, jumping up. "Apergy will do it. We can build an air-tight pro- jectile, hermetically seal ourselves within, and charge it in such a way that it will be repelled by the magnetism of the earth, and it will be forced from it with equal or greater violence than that with which it is ordinarily attracted. I believe the earth has but the same relation to space that the individual mole- cule has to any solid, liquid, or gaseous matter we know ; and that, just as molecules strive to fly apart on the application of heat, this earth will repel that projectile when electricity, which we are coming to look upon as another form of heat, is properly applied. It must be so, and it is the manifest destiny of the race to improve it. Man is a spirit cursed with a mortal body, which glues him to the earth, and his yearning to rise, which is innate, is, I believe, only a part of his probation and trial." FAR-REACHING PLANS. 87 "Show US liow it can be done," shouted his listeners in chorus. " Apergy is and must be able to do it," Ayrault continued. "Throughout Katare we find a system of compensation. The centripetal force is offset by the centrifugal; and when, according to the fable, the crystal complained of its hard lot in being unable to move, while the eagle could soar through the upper air and see all the glories of the world, the bird re- plied, ' My life is but for a moment, while you, set in the rock, will live forever, and will see the last sun- rise that flashes upon the earth.' "We know that Christ, while walking on the waves, did not sink, and that he and EUjah were carried up into heaven. What became of their material bodies we cannot tell, but they were cer- tainly superior to the force of gravitation. We • have no reason to believe that in miracles any natu- ral law was broken, or even set aside, but simply that some other law, whose workings we do not understand, became operative and modified the law that otherwise would have had things its own way. In apergy we undoubtedly have the counterpart of gravitation, which must exist, or Nature's system of 88 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. compensation is broken. May we not believe that in Christ's transfiguration on the mount, and in the appearance of Moses and EHas with him — doubtless in the flesh, since otherwise mortal eyes could not have seen them — apergy came into play and upheld them ; that otherwise, and if no other modification had intervened, they would have fallen to the ground ; and that apergy was, in other words, the working principle of those miracles ? " "May we not also believe," added Cortlandt, " that in the transfiguration Christ's companions took the substance of their material bodies — the oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon — from the air and the moisture it contained ; for, though spiritual bodies, be their activity magnetic or any other, could of course pass the absolute cold and void of space without being affected, no mortal body could ; and that in the same manner Elijah's body dissolved into air without the usual intervention of decompo- sition ; for we know that, though matter can easily change its form, it can never be destroyed." All assented to this, and Ayrault continued : " If apergy can annul gravitation, I do not see why it should not do more, for to annul it the repulsion of FAR-REACHING PLANS. 89 the eartli tliat it produces must be as great as its at- traction, unless we suppose gravitation for the time being to be suspended ; but whether it is or not, does not affect the result in this case, for, after the aper- getic repulsion is brought to the degree at which a body does not fall, any increase in the current's strength will cause it to rise, and in the case of elec- tro-magnets we know that the attraction or repulsion has practically no limit. This will be of great ad- vantage to us," he continued, "for if a projectile could move away from the earth with no more rapid acceleration than that with which it approaches, it would take too long to reach the nearest planet, but the maximum repulsion being at the start by reason of its proximit}^ to the eartli — for apergy, being the counterpart of gravitation, is subject to Newton's and Kepler's laws — the acceleration of a body aperget- ically charged will be greatest at first. Two inclined planes may have the same fall, but a ball will reach the bottom of one that is steepest near the top in less time than on any other, because the maximum acceleration is at the start. We are all tired of be- ing stuck to this cosmical speck, with its monoto- nous ocean, leaden sky, and single moon that is 90 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. useless more tlian lialf the time, wliile its size is so microscopic compared with the universe that we can traverse its great circle in four days. Its possibili- ties are exhausted ; and just as Greece became too small for the civilization of the Greeks, and as re- production is growth beyond the individual, so it seems to me that the future glory of the human race lies in exploring at least the solar system, with- out waitinof to become shades." " Should you propose to go to Mars or Yenus ? " asked Cortlandt. " Xo," replied Ayrault, " we know all about Mars; it is but one seventh the size of the earth, and as the axis is inclined more than ours, it would be a less comfortable globe than this ; while, as our presi- dent here told us in his T. A. S. Company's report, the axis of Yenus is inclined to such a degree that it would be almost uninhabitable for us. It would be as if colonists tried to settle Greenland, or had come to Xortli America during its Glacial period. Neither Yenus nor ^lars would be a good place now." " AVlicre should you propose to go ? " asked Still- man. "To Jupiter, and, if possible, after that to Sat- FAR-REACHIXG PLANS. 91 urn," replied Ayrault ; " the former's mean distance from the sun is 480,000,000 miles ; but, as our presi- dent showed us, its axis is so nearly straight that I think, with its internal warmth, there will be nothino: to fear from cold. Though, on account of the plan- et's vast size, objects on its surface weigh more than twice as much as here, if I am able to reach it by means of apergy, the same force will enable me to regulate my weight. Will any one go with me ? " " Splendid ! " said Bearwarden. " If Mr. Dum- by, our vice-president, will temporarily assume my office, nothing will give me greater pleasure." '' So will I go, if there is room for me," said Cortlandt. " I will at once resign my place as Government expert, and consider it the grandest event of my life." " If I were not afraid of leaving Stillman here to his own devices, I'd ask for a berth as well," said Deepwaters. " I am afraid," said Stillman, " if you take any more, you will be overcrowded." " Modesty forbids his saying," said Deepwaters, " that it wouldn't do for the country to have all its eggs in one basket." 7 92 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. ^' Are YOU not afraid you will find the surface hot, or even molten ? " asked Vice-President Dumby. " With its eighty-six thousand five hundred mile diameter, the amount of original internal heat must have been terrific. '^ '' No," said Cortlandt, " it cannot be molten, or even in the least degree luminous, for, if it were, its satellites would be visible when they enter its shadow, whereas they entirely disappear." '' I do not believe Jupiter's surface is even per- ceptibly warm," said Bearwarden. " We know that Algol, known to the ancients as the ' Demon Star,' and several other variable stars, are accompanied by a dark companion, with which they revolve about a common centre, and which periodically obscures part of their light. Now, some of these non-luminaries are nearly as large as our sun, and, of course, many hundred times the size of Jupiter. If these bodies liave lost enough heat to be invisible, Jupiter's sur- face at least nmst be nearly cold." " In tlie phosphorescence of sea-water," said Cortlandt, " and in other instances in Nature, we find light without heat, and we may soon be able to pro- duce it in the arts by oxidizing coal without the FAR-REACHING PLANS. 93 intervention of tlie steam engine ; but we never find any considerable heat without hght." " I am convinced," said Bearwarden, " that we shall find Juj^iter habitable for intelligent beings who have been developed on a more advanced sphere than itself, though I do not believe it has progressed far enough in its evolution to produce them. I ex- pect to find it in its Palseozoic or Mesozoic period, while over a hundred years ago the English astrono- mer, Chambers, thought that on Saturn there was good reason for suspecting the presence of snow." " AVhat sort of space-ship do you propose to have ? " asked the vice-president. " As you have to pass through but little air," said Deepwaters, "I should suggest a short-stroke cylin- der of large diameter, with a flat base and dome roof, composed of aluminum, or, still better, of glucinum or beryllium as it is sometimes called, which is twice as good a conductor of electricity as aluminum, four limes as strong, and is the lightest of all known metals, having a specific gravity of only two, which last property will be of great use to you, for of course the more weight you have to propel the more apergetic repulsion you will have to develop." 94 A JOURNEY IX 0TIIP:R worlds. " I will get some drawing-paper I left outside iu my trap," said Ayrault, '' when with your ideas we may arrive at something definite," saying which, he left the room. " He seems very cynical in his ideas of life and the world in general," said Secretary Stillman, " for a man of his age, and one that is engaged." ''You see," replied Bearwarden, '' \\\^ fiancee is not yet a senior, being in the class of two thousand and one at Yassar, and so cannot marry him for a year. Xot till next June can this sweet girl graduate come forth with her mortar-board and sheepskin to enlighten the world and make him happy. That is, I suspect, one reason why he pro- posed this trip." CHAPTER YIL HARD AT WORK. In a few moments Ayrault returned with pencils, a pair of compasses, and paper. " Let us see, in the first place," said Deepwaters, " how long the journey will take. Since a stone falls 16'09 feet the first second, and 64 -|- feet the next, it is easy to calculate at what rate your speed would in- crease with the repulsion twice that of the ordinary traction. But I think this would be too slow. It will be best to treble or quadruple the apergetic charge, which can easily be done, in which case your speed will exceed the muzzle-velocity of a projectile from a long-range gun, in a few seconds. As the earth's repulsion decreases, the attraction of Mars and Jupiter will increase, and, there being no resistance, your gait will become more and more rapid till it is necessary to reverse the charge to avoid being dashed (95) 96 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. to pieces or being consumed like a falling star by the friction in passing through Jupiter's atmosphere. You can be on the safe side by checking your speed in advance. You must, of course, be careful to avoid collisions with meteors and asteroids ; but if you do, they will be of use to you, for by attracting or repel- ling them you can change your course to suit yourself, and also theirs in inverse ratio to their masses. Jupi- ter's moons will be like head and stern lines in ena- bling you to choose the part of the surface on whiclv you wish to land. With apergy it is as essential to have some heavy body on which to work, within range, as to have water about a ship's propellers. Whether, when apergy is developed, gravitation is temporarily annulled, or reversed like the late attrac- tion of a magnet when the current is changed, or whether it is merely overpowered, in which case your motion will be the resultant of the two, is an un- settled and not very important point ; for, though we know but little more of the nature of electricity than was known a hundred years ago, this does not prevent our producing and using it." ^' Jupiter, when in opposition," he continued, " is about 380,000,000 miles from us, and it takes light, HARD AT WORK. 97 which travels at the rate of 190,000 miles a second, just thirty-four minutes to reach the earth from Jupiter. If we suppose the average speed of your ship to be one-five-hundredth as great, it will take you just eleven days, nineteen hours and twenty minutes to make the journey. You will have a fine view of Mars and the asteroids, and when 1,169,000 miles from Jupiter, will cross the orbit of Callisto, the fifth moon in distance from the giant planet. That will be your best point to steer by." " I think," said Ayrault, " as that will be the first member of Jupiter's system we pass, and as it will %uide us into port, it would be a good name for our ship, and you must christen her if we have her launched." " ITo, no," said Deepwaters, " Miss Preston must do that ; but we certainly should have a launch, for you might have to land in the water, and you must be sure the ship is tight." " Talking of tight ships," said Bearwarden, pass- ing a decanter of claret to Stillman, " may remind us that it is time to splice the ' main brace.' There's a bottle of whisky and some water just behind you," he added to Deepwaters, " while three minutes after 98 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. I ring this bell," he said, pressing a button and jerk- ing a handle marked ' 8,' " the champagne cocktails will be on the desk." " I see you know his ways," said Stillman to Eearwarden, drooping his eyes in Deepwaters's direc- tion. ^' Oh, yes, I've been here before," replied Deep- waters. " You see, we navy men have to hustle now- a-days, and can't pass our time in a high-backed chair, talking platitudes." At this moment there was a slight rumbling, and eight champagne cocktails, with the froth still on, and straws on a separate plate, shot in and landed on a corner of the desk. " Help yourselves, gentlemen," said Bearwarden, placing them on a table ; " I hope we shall find them cold." " Do you know," said Deepwaters to Ayrault, while rapidly making his cocktail disappear, " the Callisto's cost with its outfit will l)e very great, especially if you use glucinum, which, though the ideal metal for the purpose, comes pretty high ? I suggest that you apply to Congress for an appropri- ation. This experiment comes under the ' Promotion HARD AT WORK. 99 of Science Act,' and any bill for it would certainly pass." " No, indeed," replied Ayrault ; " the Callisto trip will be a privilege and glor}^! would not miss, and building her will be a part of it. I shall put in every- thing conducive to success, but will come to the Gov- ernment only for advice." " I will send a letter to all our ambassadors and consuls," said Stillman, "to telegraph the depart- ment anything they may know or learn that will be of use in adjusting the batteries, controlling the machine, or anything else, and will turn over to you in a succinct form all information that may be relevant, for without such sorting you would be overwhelmed." " And I," said Deepwaters, " will order the com- manders of our vessels to give you a farewell salute at starting, and to pick you up in case you fail. "When you have demonstrated the suitability of apergy," he continued, "and the hahitability of Jupiter and Saturn — which, with their five and eight moons, respectively, and rings thrown in, must both be vastly superior to our little second-rate globe — we will see what can be done towards changing our orbit, and 100 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. if we cannot swing a little nearer to our new world or worlds. Then we'll lower, or rather raise, the boats in the shape of numerous Callistos, and have a land- ing-party ready at ea«ii opposition, while a man or two can be placed in charge of each projectile to bring it back in ballast. Thus we may soon have regular interplanetary lines." " As every place seems to have been settled from some other," said Cortlandt, " I do not see why, with increased scientific facilities, history should not re- peat itself, and this be the point from w^hich to colo- nize the solar system ; for, for the present at least, it would seem that we could not get beyond that." "As it will be quite an undertaking to change the orbit," said Deepwaters, "we shall have time meanwhile to absorb or run out all inferior races, so that we shall not make the mistake of extending the Tower of Babel." " He is putting on his war-paint," said Stillman, " and will soon want a planet to himself." " I see no necessity for even changing the orbit," said Bearwarden, "except for the benefit of those that remain. If this attempt succeeds, it can doubt- less be repeated. An increase in eccentricity would HARD AT WORK. 101 merely shorten the journey, if aphehon always coin- cided with opposition, which it would not." " Let us know how you are getting on," said Deepwaters to Ayrault, "and be sure you have the Callisto properly christened. Step lively there, land- lubbers ! " he called to Stillman ; " I have an appoint- ment at Washington at one, and it is now twenty minutes past twelve. We can lunch on the way." Ayrault immediately advertised for bids for the construction of a glucinum cylinder twenty-five feet in diameter, fifteen feet high at the sides, with a domed roof, bringing up the total height to twenty- one feet, and with a small gutter about it to catch the rain on Jupiter or any other planet they might visit. The sides, roof, and floor were to consist of two sheets, each one third of an inch thick and six inches apart, the space between to be filled with mineral wool, as a protection against the intense cold of space. There were also to be several keels and supports underneath, on which the car should rest. Large, toughened plate-glass windows were to be let into the roof and sides, and smaller ones in the floor, all to be furnished with thick shades and curtains. Ayrault also decided to have it dialed into two 102 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. stories, with ceilings six and a lialf to seven and a half feet high, respectively, with a sort of crow's nest or observatory at the top ; the floors to be lat- tice-work, like those in the engine-room of a steamer, so that when the carpets were rolled up they should not greatly obstruct the view. The wide, flat base and the low centre of gravity would, he saw, be of use in withstanding the high winds that he knew often prevailed on Ju])iter. As soon as possible he awarded the contract, and then entering his smart electric trap, steered for Yas- sar University along what was the old post-road — though its builders would not have recognized it with its asphalt surface, straightened curves, and easy grades — to ask his idol to christen the Callisto when it should be finished. Starting from the upper end of Central Park, he stopped to buy her a bunch of violets, and then ran to Poughkeepsie in two hours. Sylvia Preston was a lovely girl, with blue eyes, brown hair, and perfect figure, clear white skin, and just twenty. She was delighted to see him, and said she would love to christen tlie Callisto or do any- thing else that he wished. " But I am so sorry HARD AT WORK. 103 you are going away," she went on. '' I liate to lose you for so long, and we shall not even be able to write." " Why couldn't we be married now," he asked, '" and go to Jupiter for our honeymoon ? " " I'm afraid, dear," she answered, " you would be sorry a few years hence if I didn't take my degree ; and, besides, as you have asked those other men, there wouldn't be room for me." " We could have made other arrangements," he replied, " had I been able to persuade you to go." "Won't you dine with us at Delmonico's this evening, and go to the play ? " she asked. " Papa has taken a box." " Of course I will," he said, brightening up. " What are you going to wear ? " " Oh, I suppose something light and cool, for it's so hot," she answered. " I'll go now, so as to be ready," he said, getting up and going towards the door, to which Sylvia followed him. A man in livery stood at the step of the phaeton. Ayrault got in and turned on the current, and his man climbed up behind. 104 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. On turDing into the main road Ayrault was about to increase his speed, when Sylvia, who had taken a short cut, appeared at the wayside carrying her liat in one hand and her gloves in the other. " I couldn't let yon go all by yourself," she said. '' The fact is, I wanted to be with you.'' " You are the sweetest thing that ever lived, and I'll love you all my days," he said, getting down and helping Sylvia to the seat beside him. "AVhat a nuisance this fellow behind is ! " he continued — refer- ring to the groom — " for, though he is a Russian, and speaks but little English, it is unpleasant to feel he is there." " You'll have to write your sweet nothings, in- stead of saying them," Sylvia replied. " For you to leave around for other girls to see," answered Ayrault with a smile. '' I don't know what your other girls do," she re- turned, " but with me you are safe." Ayrault fairly made his phaeton spin, going up the grades like a shot and down like a bird. On reaching Xew York, he left Sylvia at her house, then ran his machine to a florist's, where he ordered some lilies and roses, and then steered his way to his club, HARD AT WORK. 105 where lie dressed for dinner. Shortly before the time he repaired to Delmonico's— which name had become historical, though the foimders themselves were long dead— and sat guard at a table till Sylvia, wearing his flowers and looking more beautiful than any of them, arrived with her mother and father, and Bearwarden, whom they knew very well. " How are the exams getting on, Miss Preston ? " Bearwarden asked. " Pretty well," she replied, with a smile. " We had English literature yesterday, and natural history the day before. Next week we have chemistry and philosophy." "AYhat are you taking in natural history?" asked Bearw^arden, with interest. "Oh, principally physical geography, geology, and meteorology," she replied. " I think them en- trancing." " It must be a consolation," said Ayrault, " when your best hat is spoiled by rain, to know the reason why. Your average," he continued, addressing Sylvia, "was ninety in the semi-annuals, and I haven't a doubt that the finals will maintain your record for the year." 106 A JOCRXEY IX OTHER WORLDS. " Don't be too sure," she replied. " I have been loafing awfully, and had to engage a ' grind ' as a coach." After dinner they went to the play, where they saw a presentation of Society at the Close of the Twentieth Century, which Sylvia and Ayrault en- joyed immensely. A few days after the Delmonico dinner, while Bearwarden, Cortlandt, and Ayrault sat together discussing their plans, the servant announced Ay- rault's family physician, Dr. Tubercle Germiny, who had been requested to call. " Delighted to see you, doctor," said Ayrault, shaking hands. " You know Col. Bearwarden, our President, and Dr. Cortlandt — an LL. D., however, and not a medico. "^^ *' I have had the pleasure," replied Dr. Germiny, shaking hands with both. " As you may be aware, doctor," said Ayrault, when they were seated, " we are about to take a short trip to Jupiter, and, if time allows, to Saturn. We have come to you, as one familiar with every known germ, for a few precautionary suggestions and advice concerning our medicine-chest." HARD AT WORK. 107 " Indeed ! " replied Dr. Germiny, " a tlior- oiigli knowledge of bacteriology is the groundwork of therapeutics. It is practically admitted that every ailment, with the exception of mechanical injuries, is the direct result of a specific germ ; and even in accidents and simple fractures, no matter what may be the nature of the bruise, a micro-organism soon announces its presence, so that if not the parent, it is the inseparable companion, in fact the shadow, of disease. ISTow, though not the first cause in this instance, it has been indubitably proved, that much of the effect, the fever and pain, are produced and continued by the active, omnipresent, sleepless sperm. Either kill the micrococcus or lieal the wound, and you are free from both. It being, therefore, granted that the ills of life are in the air, we have but to find the peculiar nature of the case in hand, its habits, tastes, and constitution, in order to destroy it. Im- poverish the soil on which it thrives, before its arrival, if you can foresee the nature of the inocula- tion to which you will be exposed, by a dilute solution of itself, and supply it only with what it particularly dislikes. lor an already established tubercle requiring rapid action of the blood, such as 108 A JOL'RNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. may well exist among the birds and vertebrates of Jupiter and Saturn, I suggest a hypodermic rattle- snake injection, while hydrocyanic acid and taran- tula saliva may also come in well. The combinations that so long destroyed us have already become our panacea." '' I see you have these poisons at your fingers' ends," said Ayrault, " and we shall feel the utmost confidence in the remedies and directions you pre- scribe." They found that, in addition to their medicine- chest, they would have to make room for the follow- ing articles, and also many more : six shot-guns (three double-barrel 12-bores, three magazine 10- bores,) three rifles, three revolvers ; a large supply of ammunition (explosive and solid balls), hunting- knives, fishing-tackle, compass, sextant, geometrical instruments, canned food for forty days, appliance for renewing air, clothing, rubber boots, apergetic apparatus, protection-wires, aneroid barometer, and kodaks. CHAPTER YIII. GOOD-BYE. At last the preparations were completed, and it was arrano^ed that the Callisto should beo^in its journey at eleven o'clock a. m., December 21st — the nortliern hemisphere's shortest day. Though six months' operations could hardly be expected to have produced much change in the in- clination of the earth's axis, the autumn held on wonderfully, and December was pronounced very mild. Fully a million people were in and about Van Cortlandt Park hours before the time an- nounced for the start, and those near looked in- quiringly at the trim little air-ship, that, having done well on the trial trip, rested on her longitudinal and transverse keels, with a battery of chemicals alongside, to make sure of a full power supply. The President and his Cabinet — including, of (109) 110 ^ JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. course, the shining lights of tlie State and Navy Departments — came from Washington. These, to- gether with Mr. and Mrs. Preston, and a number of people with passes, occupied seats arranged at the sides of the platform ; while sightseers and scientists assembled from every part of the world. " There's a ship for you ! " said Secretary Still- man to the Secretary of the Navy. " She'll not have to be dry-docked for barnacles, neither will the least breeze make the passengers sick." "That's all you land-lubbers think of," replied Deepwaters. " I remember one of the kings over in Europe said to me, as he introduced me to the queen : *Your Secretary of State is a great man, but why does he always part his hair in the middle ? ' " ' So that it shall not turn his head,' I replied. " ^ But with so gallant and handsome an officer as you to lean upon,' he answered, ' I should think he could look down on all the world.' Whereupon I asked him what he'd take to drink." " Your apology is accepted," replied Secretary Stillman. Cortlandt also came from Washington, where, as chief uf the Government's Expert Examiners Board, GOOD-BYE. Ill he had temporary quarters. Bearwarden sailed over the spectators' heads in one of the Terrestrial Axis Straightening Company's flying machines, while Ay- rault, to avoid the crowd, had come to the Callisto early, and was showing the interior arrangements to Sylvia, who had accompanied him. She was some- what piqued hecause at the last moment he had not absolutely insisted on carrying her off, or offered, if necessary, to displace his presidential and Doctor-of- Laws friends in order to make room. " You will have an ideal trip," she said, looking over some astronomical star-charts and photographic maps of Jupiter and Saturn that lay on the table, with a pair of compasses, " and I hope you won't lose your way." " I shall need no compass to find my way back," replied Ayrault, " if I ever succeed in leaving this planet ; neither will star-charts be necessary, for you will be a magnet stronger than any compass, and, compared with my star, all others are dim." " You should write a book," said Sylvia, '' and put some of those things in it." She was wearing a bunch of forget-me-nots and violets that she had cut from a small flower garden of potted plants Ayrault 112 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. had sent her, which she had placed in her father's conservatory. At tliis moment the small chime clock set in the Callisto's wood-work rang out quarter to eleven. As the sounds died away, Sylvia became very pale, and began to regret in her womanly way that she had allowed her hero to attempt this experiment. " Oh," she said, clinging to his arm, " it was very wrong of me to let you begin this. I was so dazzled by the splendour of your scheme when I heard it, and so anxious that you should have the glory of be- ing the first to surpass Columbus, that I did not real- ize the full meaning. I thought, also, you seemed rather ready to leave me,-' she added gently, ^" and so said little ; you do not know how it almost breaks my heart now that I am about to lose you. It was quixotic to let you undertake this journey." "An undertaker would have given me his kind ofiices for one even longer, had I remained here," re- plied Ayrault. " I cannot live in this humdrum world without you. The most sustained excitement cannot even palliate what seems to me like unre- quited love." "0 Dick!" she exclaimed, fiivinc: him a re- GOOD-BYE. 113 proaclif 111 glance, " you mustn't say that. You know you have often told me my reason for staying and taking my degree was good. My lot will be very much harder than yours, for you will forget me in the excitement of discovery and adventure ; but I — what can I do in the midst of all the old associa- tions ? " " Never mind, sweetheart," he said, kissing her hand, " I have seemed on the verge of despair all the time." Seeing that their separation must shortly begin, Ayrault tried to assume a cheerful look ; but as Sylvia turned her eyes away they were suspiciously moist. Just one minute before the starting-time Ayranlt took Sylvia back to her mother, and, after pressing her hand and having one last long look into her — or, as he considered them, his — deep-sea eyes, he returned to the Callisto, and was standing at the foot of the telescopic aluminum ladder when his friends arrived. As all baggage and impedimenta had been sent aboard and properly stowed the day before, the travellers had nothing to do but climb to and enter by the second-story window. 114 A JOL'RNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. It distressed Bearwarden that the north pole's exact declination on the 21st day of December, when the axis was most inclined, could not be figured out by the hour at which they were to start, so as to show what change, if any, had already been brought about, but the astronomers were working industri- ously, and promised that, if it were finished by mid- night, they would telegraph the result into space by flash-light code. Raising his hat to \\is> fiancee and his prospective parents-in-lav7, Ayrault followed them up. To draw in and fold the ladder was but the work of a moment. As the clocks in the neighbouring steeples began to strike eleven, Ayrault touched the switch that would correspond to the throttle of an engine, and the motors began to work at rapidly increasing speed. Slowly the Callisto left her resting-place as a Galatea might her pedestal, only, instead of coming down, she rose still higher. A large American flag hanging from the window, which, as they started, fluttered as in a southern zephyr, soon Ijegan to flap as in a stiff breeze as the car's speed increased. With a final wave, at which a battery of twenty-one field-pieces made the air ring The Callisto was going straight up GOOD-BYE. 115 with a salute, and the multitude raised a mighty cheer, they drew it in and closed the window, seal- ing it hermetically in order to keep in the air that, had an opening remained, would soon have become rarefied. Sylvia had waved her handkerchief with the ut- most enthusiasm, in spite of the sadness at her heart. But she now had other use for it in trying to hide her tears. The Callisto w^as still going straight up, with a speed already as great as a can- non ball's, and was almost out of sight. The multi- tude then began to disperse, and Sylvia returned to her home. Let us now follow the Callisto. The earth and Jupiter not being exactly in opposition, as they would be if the sun, the earth, and Jupiter were in line, with the earth between the two, but rather as shown in the diagram, the Callisto's journey was consider- ably more than 380,000,000 miles, the mean oppo- sition distance. As they wished to start by daylight — i. e., from the side of the earth turned towards the sun — they could not steer immediately for Jupiter, but were obliged to go a few hundred miles in the direction of the sun, then change their course to 116 " A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. something like a tangent to the earth, and get their final right direction in swinging near the moon, since they must be comparatively near some material ob- ject to bring apergy into play. The maximum power being turned on, the projec- tile shot from the earth with tremendous and rapid- ly increasing speed, by the shortest course — i. e., a straight line — so that for the present it was not neces- sary to steer. Until beyond tlie limits of thfe atmos- phere they kept the greatest apergetic repulsion focused on the upper part of their cylinder, so that its point went first, and they encountered least pos- sible resistance. Lookino^ throuo^h the floor win- dows, therefore, the travellers had a most superb view. The air being clear, the eastern border of Xorth America and the Atlantic were outlined as on a map, the blue of the ocean and brownish colour of the land, with white snow-patches on the elevations, being very marked. The Hudson and the Sound appeared as clearly defined blue ribbons, and be- tween and around the two they could see Kew York. They also saw the ocean dotted for miles with points in which they recognized the marine spiders and cruisers of the Korth Atlantic squadron, and the GOOD-BYE. 117 ships on the home station, which they knew were watching them through their glasses. '' I see," said Cortlandt, " that Deep waters has been as good as his word, and has his ships on the watch to rescue us in case we fail." "Yes," replied Bearwarden, "he is the right sort. When he gave that promise I knew his men would be there." They soon perceived that they had reached the void of space, for, though the sun blazed with a splendour they had never before seen, the firmament was intensely black, and the stars shone as at mid- night. Here they began to change their course to a curve beginning with a spiral, by charging the Cal- listo apergetically, and directing the current towards the moon, to act as an aid to the lunar attraction, while still allowing the earth to repel, and their mo- tion gradually became the resultant of the two forces, the change from a straight line being so gradual, however, that for some minutes they scarcely per- ceived it. The coronal streamers about the sun, such as are visible on earth during a total eclipse, shone with a halo against the ultra-Cimmerian background, bursting forth to a height of twenty or thirty thou- 118 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. sand miles above the surface in vast cyclonic storms, producing so rapid a motion that a column of incan- descent gas may move ten thousand miles in less than ten minutes. Whether these great streaks were in part electrical phenomena similar to the aurora bore- alis, or entirely of intensely heated material thrown up by explosions within the sun's mass, they could not tell even from their point of vantage. " I believe," said Cortlandt, pointing to the streamers, " that they are masses of gas thrown be- yond the sun's atmosphere, which expand enor- mously when the pressure to which they are sub- jected in the sun is removed — for only in space freed from resistance could they move at such velocities, and that their brilliancy is increased by great elec- trical disturbance. If they were entirely the play of electrical forces, their change of place would be prac- tically instantaneous, which, however rapid their movement, is not the case." BOOK II (119) CHAPTER I. THE LAST OF THE EARTH. Finding that they were rapidly swinging towards their proper course, and that the earth in its journey about the sun would move out of their way, they divided their power between repelling the body they had left and increasing the attraction of the moon, and then set about getting their house in order. Bearwarden, having the largest appetite, was elected cook, the others sagely divining that labour so largely for himself would be no trial. Their small but business-like-looking electric range was therefore soon in full blast, with Bearwarden in command. It had enough current to provide heat for cooking for four hundred hours, which was an ample margin, and it had this advantage, that, no matter how much it was used, it could not exhaust the air as any other form of heat would 122 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. There were also a number of sixteen-candle-power incandescent lamps, so that when passing through the shadow of a planet, or at night after their arrival on Jupiter, their car would be brightly illuminated. They had also a good search-light for examining the dark side of a satellite, or exploring the spaces in Saturn's rings. Having lunched sumptuously on canned chicken soup, beef d la jardiniere, and pheasant that had been sent them by some of their admirers that morning, they put the bones and the glass can that had contained the soup into the double- doored partition or vestibule, placing a large sheet of cardboard to act as a wad between the scraps and the outside door. By pressing a button they unfastened the outside door, and the articles to be disposed of were shot off by the expansion of the air between the cardboard disk and the inside door ; after which tlie outside door was drawn back to its place by a cur- rent sent through a magnet, but little power being required to reclose it with no resisting atmospheric pressure. As the electricity ran along a wire passing through a hermetically sealed opening in the floor, there was no way by which more air than that in the vestibule could escape ; and as the somewhat flat space THE LAST OF THE EARTH. 123 between the doors contained less than one cubic foot, tlie air-pressure inside the CaUisto could not be ma- terially lessened by a few openings. " By filling the vestibule as full as possible," said Bearwarden, " and so displacing most of its air, we shall be able to open the outside door oftener without danger of rarefaction." The things they had discharged flew off with considerable speed and were soon out of sight ; but it was not necessary for them to move fast, provided they moved at all, for, the resistance being nil, they would be sure to go beyond the range of vision, pro- vided enough time was allowed, even if the CalKs- to's speed was not being increased by apergy, in which case articles outside and not affected would be quickly left behind. The earth, which at first had filled nearly half their sky, was rapidly growing smaller. Being al- most between themselves and the sun, it looked like a crescent moon ; and when it was only about twenty times the size of the moon they calculated they must have come nearly two hundred thousand miles. The moon was now on what a sailor would call the starboard bow— i.e., to the right and ahead. Being 124: A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. a little more than three quarters full, and only about fifty thousand miles off, it presented a splendid sight, brilliant as j^olislied silver, and about twenty-five times as large as they had ever before seen it with the unaided eye. It was just ten hours since they had started, and at that moment 9 a. m. in Xew York ; but, though it was night there, the Callisto was bathed in a flood of sunlight such as never shines on earth. The only night they would have was on the side of the Cal- listo turned away from the sun, unless they passed through some shadow, which they intended to avoid on account of the danger of colliding with a meteor in the dark. The moon and the Callisto were mov- ing on converging lines, the curve on which they had entered having swung them to the side nearest the earth ; but they saw that their own tremendous and increasing speed would carry them in front of the moon in its nearly circular orbit. Wishing to change the direction of their flight by the moon's attraction, they shut off the power driving them from the earth, whereupon the Callisto turned its heavy base towards the moon. They were already moving at such speed that their momentum alone THE LAST OF THE EARTH. - 125 would carry them hundreds of thousands of miles into space, and were then almost abreast of the earth's satellite, which was but a few thousand miles away. The spectacle was magnificent. As they looked at it through their field glasses or with the unaided eye, the great cracks and craters showed with the utmost clearness, sweeping past them almost as the landscape flies past a railway train. There was something awe-inspiring in the vast antiquity of that furrowed lunar surface, by far the oldest thing that mortal eye can see, since, while observing the ceaseless political or geological changes on earth, the face of this dead satellite, on account of the absence of air and water and consequent erosion, has re- mained unchanged for bygone ages, as it doubtless will for many more. They closely watched the Callisto's course. At first it did not seem to deflect from a straight line, and they stood ready to turn on the apergetic force again, when the car very slowly began to show the eftect of the moon's near pull ; but not till they had so far passed it that the dark side was towards them were they heading straight for Jupiter. Then they again turned on full power and got a send-off shove 126 A JOURNEY IX OTDER WORLDS. on the moon and earth combined, which increased their speed so rapidly that they felt they could soon shut off the current altogether and save their supply. " We must be ready to watch the signals from the arctic circle," said Bearwarden. " At midnight, if the calculations are finished, the result will be flashed by the search-light." It was then ten min- utes to twelve, and the earth was already over four hundred thousand miles away. Focusing their glasses upon the region near the north pole, which, being turned from the sun, was towards them and in dark- ness, they waited. " In this blaze of sunlight," said Cortlandt, " I am afraid we can see nothing." Fortunately, at this moment the Callisto entered the moon's tapering shadow. '' This," said Ayrault, " is good luck. We could of course have gone into the shadow ; but to change our course would have delayed us, and we might have lost part of the chance of increasing our speed." " There will be no danger from meteors or sub- satellites here," said J^earwarden, " for anything re- volving about the moon at this distance would be caught by the earth." The signals fnjin the Arctic Circle. THE LAST OF THE EARTH. 127 The sun had apparently set behind tlie moon, and they were eclipsed. The stars shone with the utmost splendour against the dead-black sky, and the earth appeared as a large crescent, still considerably larger than the satellite to which they were accus- tomed. Exactly at midnight a faint phosphorescent light, like that of a glow-worm, appeared in the re- gion of Greenland on the planet they had left. It gradually increased its strength till it shone like a long white beam projected from a lighthouse, and in this they beheld the work of the greatest search-light ever made by man, receiving for a few moments all the electricity generated by the available dynamos at Niagara and the Bay of Fundy, the steam engines, and other sources of power in the northern hemi- sphere. The beam lasted with growing intensity for one minute ; it then spelled out with clean-cut inter- vals, according to the Cable Code : " 23° no' 6\ The southern hemisphere pumps are now raising and storing water at full blast. We have already begun to lower the Arctic Ocean." " Yictory ! " shouted Bearwarden, in an ecstasy of delight. "Nearly half a degree in six months, with but one pole working. If we can add at this 128 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. rate each time to the speed of straightening already acquired, we can reverse our engines in five years, and in five more the earth will be at rest and right." " Look ! " said Ayrault, " they are sending some- thing else." The flashes came in rapid succession, reaching far into space. With their glasses fixed upon them, they made out these sentences : " Our telescopes, in w^iatever part of the earth was turned towards you, have followed you since you started, and did not lose sight of you till you entered the moon's shadow. On your present course you will be in darkness till 12.16, when we shall see you again." On receiving this last earthly message, the trav- ellers sprang to their search-light, and, using its full power, telegraphed back the following : " Many thanks to you for good news about earth, and to Secretary Deepwaters for lending us the navy. Re- sult of work most glorious. Hemember us to every- body. Shadow's edge approaching." This was read by the men in the great observa- tories, who evidently telephoned to the arctic Signal Light immediately, for it flashed back : " Got your message perfectly. Wish you greatest luck. The THE LAST OF THE EARTH. 129 T. A. S. Co. has decked the Callisto's pedestal with flowers, and has ordered a tablet set up on the site to commemorate your celestial journey." At that moment the shadow swept by, and they were in the full blaze of cloudless day. The change was so great that for a moment they were obliged to close their eyes. The pohshed sides of the Callisto shone so brightly that they knew they were easily seen. The power temporarily diverted in sending them the message then returned to the work of drain- ing the Arctic Ocean, which, as the north pole was now returning to the sun, was the thing to do, and the travellers resumed their study of the heavenly bodies. CHAPTER 11. SPACE AXD MARS. IS'ever before had the travellers observed the stars and planets under such favourable conditions. No air or clouds intervened, and as the Callisto did not revolve on its axis there was no necessity for changing the direction of the glasses. After an hour of this interesting work, however, as it was already late at the longitude they had left on earth, and as they knew tliey had many days in space before them, they prepared to go to l^ed. When ready, they had only to pull down tlie shades ; for, as apergy was not applied to them, but only to the Callisto, they still looked upon the floor as down, and closed the heavy curtains to have night or darkness. They found that the side of the Callisto turned constantly towards the sun was becoming very warm, the doul^le-toughened glass windows making it like a greenhouse ; but (130) SPACE AND MARS. 131 tliej consoled themselves with the thought that the sun's power on them was hourly becoming less, and they felt sure the double walls and thick upholstery would protect them almost anywhere within the solar system from the intense cold of space. "We could easily have arranged," said Ayrault, " for night and day on alternate sides of the Callisto by having strips of metal arranged spirally on the outside as on the end of an arrow. These would have started us turning as slowly as we like, since we passed through the atmosphere at a comparatively low rate of speed." " I am afraid," said Cortlandt, " the motion, how- ever slow, would have made us dizzy. It would be confusing to see the heavens turning about us, and it would interfere with using the glasses." The base and one side of the Callisto had constant sunshine, while the other side and the dome were in the blackest night. This dome, on account of its shape, sky windows, and the completeness with which it could be isolated, was an ideal observa- tory, and there was seldom a time during their wak- ing hours for the rest of the journey when it was not occupied by one, two, or all the observers. 132 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. " There is something marvellous," said Cortlandt, " about the condition of space. Its absolute' cold is appalling, apparently because there is nothing to ab- sorb heat ; yet we find the base of this material pro- jectile uncomfortably warm, though, should we expose a thermometer in the shade in front, we know it would show a temperature of three hundred to four hundred degrees below zero — were the instrument capable of recording it." Artificial darkness having been obtained, the trav- ellers were soon asleep, Bearwarden's dreams being regaled with thoughts of his company's triumph ; Ayrault's, naturally, with visions of Sylvia ; while Cortlandt frequently started up, thinking he had already made some great astronomical discovery. About 9 A. M., according to seventy-fifth meridian time, the explorers awoke feeling greatly refreshed. The tank in which the liquefied oxygen was kept automatically gave off its gas so evenly that the air remained normal, while the lime contained in cups absorbed the carbon dioxide as fast as they exhaled it. They had darkened those windows through which the sun was actually pouring, for, on account of the emptiness of the surrounding ether and conse- SPACE AND MARS. 133 quent absence of diffusion of liglit, nothing but the inky blackness of space and the bright stars looked in at the rest. On raising the shades they got an idea of their speed. A small crescent, smaller than the familiar moon, accompanied by one still tinier, was all that could be seen of the earth and its satel- lite. " We must," said Bearwarden, " be moving at the rate of nearly a million miles an hour, from the way we have travelled." "We must be doing fully a million," replied Cortiandt, "for by this time we are ]3retty well in motion, having got a tremendous start when so near the moon, with it and the earth in line." By steering straight for Jupiter, instead of for the place it would occupy ten days later, they knew they would swing past, for the giant planet, being in rapid motion, would advance ; but they did not object to this, since it would give them a chance to examine their new world in case they wished to do so before alighting ; while, if they preferred to land at once, they conld easily change their course by means of the moons, the fourth, from which their car was named, being the one that they knew would be of most use. 13^ A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. Their tremendous speed showed tliem thcj should have time for exploration on their arrival, and that they would reach their destination sooner than they had expected. The apergetic force being applied, as we have seen, only to the Callisto, just as power in starting is exerted on a carriage or railway car and only through it to the passengers, Ayrault and his companions had no unusual sensation except loss of weight, for, when they were so far from the earth, its attraction was very slight, and no other planet was near enough to take its place. After breakfast, wish- ing to reach the dome, and realizing that it would be unnecessary to climb, each in turn gave a slight spring and was obliged to put up his hands to avoid striking the roof. In the cool quiet of the dark dome it was difficult to believe that only twenty feet away the sun was shining with such intensity upon the metal base as to make it too hot on the inside to touch without gloves. The first thing that attracted their attention was the size and brilliance of Mars. Although this red planet was over forty million miles from the earth when they started, they calculated that it was less than thirty million miles from them now, or five mil- SPACE AND MARS. 135 lions nearer than it had ever been to them before. This reduction in distance, and the clearness of the void through which they saw it, made it a splendid sight, its disk showing clearly. From hour to hour its size and brightness increased, till towards evening it looked like a small, full moon, the sun shining squarely upon it. They calculated that on the course they were moving they should pass about nine hun- dred thousand miles to the right or behind it, since it was moving towards their left. They were inter- ested to see what effect the mass of Mars would have on the CalKsto, and saw here a chance of still further increasing their speed. Notwithstanding its tremen- dous rate, they expected to see the Callisto swerve from its straight line and move towards Mars, whose orbital speed of nine hundred miles a minute they thought would take it out of the Callisto's way, so that no actual collision would occur even if their air-ship were left to her own devices. Towards evening they noticed through their glasses that several apparently island peaks in the southern hemisphere, which was turned towards them, became white, from which they concluded that a snow-storm was in progress. The south polar 136 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. region was also markedly glaciated, tliongli tlie ice- cap was not as extensive as either of those at the poles of the earth. " As the Marsian winters must be fully as severe as ours," said Cortlandt, " on account of their length, the planet's distance from the sun, and the twenty- seven and a half degrees inclination of its axis, we can account for the smallness of its ice-caps only by the fact that its oceans cover but one fourth of its surface instead of three quarters, as on the earth, and there is consequently a smaller evaporation and rain- and snow-falL" They were too much interested to think of sleep- ing that night, and so, after dining comfortably, returned to their observatory. When within four million miles of Mars the Callisto began to swerve perceptibly, its curve, as when near the moon, begin- ning with a spiral. They swung on unconcernedly, however, knowing they could check their ap- proach at any time. Soon Mars appeared to have a diameter ten times as great as that of the moon, and promised shortly to occupy almost one side of their 6k3\ " We must be on the lookout for the satellites," SPACE AND MARS. 137 said Cortlandt ; " a collision with either would be worse than a wreck on a desert island." They therefore turned their glasses in the direc- tion of the satellites. " Until Prof. Hall, at Washington, discovered the two satellites in 1877," he continued, " Mars was sup- posed to be without moons. The outer one, Deimos, is but six miles in diameter, and revolves about its primary in thirty hours and eighteen minutes, at a distance of fourteen thousand six hundred miles. As it takes but little longer to complete a revolution than Mars does to rotate on its axis, it remains in the Martial sky one hundred and thirty-two hours be- tween rising and setting, passing through all the phases from new moon to full and back again four times ; that is, it swings four times around Mars before going below the horizon. It is one of the smallest bodies discovered wdth a telescope. The inner one, Phobos, is considerably larger, having a diameter of about twenty miles. It is but twenty- seven hundred miles from Mars's surface, and com- pletes its revolution in seven hours and thirty-eight minutes, which is shorter than any other known period, Jupiter's nearest moon being the next, with 138 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. eleven hours and fiftj-nine minutes. It thus re- volves in less than a third of the time Mars takes to rotate, and must consequently rise in the west and set in the east, as it is continually running ahead of the surface of the planet, though the sun and all the other stars rise and set on Mars in the same way as on the earth." When about fifteen thousand miles from Mars, they sighted Deimos directly ahead, and saw that they should pass on its left — i. e., behind — for it was moving across them. The sun poured directly upon it, making it appear full and showing all its features. There were small unevennesses on the surface, ap- parently seventy or a hundred feet high, which were the nearest approach to mountains, and they ran in ridges or chains. There were also unmistakable signs of volcanic action, the craters being large com- pared with the size of the planet, but shallow. They saw no signs of water, and the blackness of the shadows convinced them there was no air. They secured two instantaneous photographs of the little satellite as the Callisto swept by, and resumed their inspection of Mars. They noticed red and brownish patches on the peaks that had that morning turned SPACE AND MARS. I39 white, frum which they concluded that the snow had begun to melt under the warm spring sun. This strengthened the belief thej had already formed, that on account of its twenty-seven and a half de- grees inclination the changes in temperature on Mars must be great and sudden. So interested were they with this, that they did not at first see a large and bright body moving rapidly on a course that con- verged with theirs. "We must be ready to repel boarders," said Bearwarden, observing it for the first time and fixing his glass upon it. "That must be Phobos.'' ]^ot ten miles off they beheld Mars's inner moon, and though their own speed caused them to overtake and rush by it like a whirlwind, the satellite's rapid motion in its orbit, in a course temporarily almost parallel with theirs, served to give them a chance the better to examine it. Here the mountain ranges were considerably more conspicuous than on Deimos, and there were boulders and loose stones upon their slopes, which looked as if there might at some time have been frost and water on its surface ; but it was all dry now, neither was there any air. The evi- 10 140 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. dences of volcanic action were also plainly visible, while a noticeable flattening at the poles showed that the little body had once rotated rapidly on its axis, though whether it did so still they had not time to ascertain. When abreast of it they were less than two miles distant, and they secured several instan- taneous impressions, which they put aside to devel- op later. As the radius of Phobos's circle was far shorter than that of the parabolic curve they were making, it began to draw away, and w^as rapidly left behind. Applying the full apergetic force to Mars and the larger moon, they shot away like an arrow, having had their speed increased by the planet's at- traction while approaching it, and subsequently by repulsion. '' Either of those," said Bearwarden, looking back at the little satellites, '' would be a nice yacht for a man to explore space on. He would also, of course, need a sun to warm him, if he wished to go beyond this system, but that would not have to be a large affair — in fact, it might be smaller than the planet, and could revolve about it like a moon." " Though a sun of that size," replied Cortlandt, SPACE AND MARS. 141 '' mifflit retain its heat for the time you wished to use it, the planet part wonld be nothing like as com- fortable as what we have here, for it would be very difficult to get enough air-pressure to breathe on so small a body, since, with its slight gravitation-pull, to secure fifteen pounds to the square inch, or anything like it, the atmosphere would have to extend thou- sands of miles into space, so that on a cloudy day you would be in darkness. It would be better, therefore, to have such a sun as you describe and accompany it in a yacht or private car like this, well stocked with oxygen and provisions. When passing through me- teoric swarms or masses of solid matter, collision with which is the most serious risk we run, the car could follow behind its sun instead of revolving around it, and be kept from falling into it by partially revers- ing the attraction. As the gravitation of so small a sun would be slight, counteracting it for even a con- siderable time would take but little from the bat- teries." *' There are known to be several unclaimed masses," added Ayrault, " with diameters of a few hundred yards, revolving about the earth inside the orbit of the moon. If in some wav two of these 142 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. could be brought into sufficiently violent collision, tliej would become luminous and answer very well ; the increase in bulk as a result of the consolidation, and the subsequent heat, about serving to bring them to the required size. A\Tienever this sun showed spots and indications of cooling, it could be made to collide with the solid head of some comet, or small asteroid, till its temperature was again right; while if, as a result of these accretions, it became unwieldy, it could be caused to rotate with sufficient rapidity on its axis to split, and we should have two suns instead of one." " Bravo ! " said Eearwarden. " There is no limit to what can be done. The idea of our present trip would have seemed more chimerical to people a hundred years ago than this new scheme appears now." Thus they sat and talked, or studied maps and star-charts, or the stars themselves, while the hours quickly passed and they shot through space. They had now a straight stretch of over three hundred million miles, and had to cross the orbits of in- numerable asteroids on the way. The apparent size of the sun had by this time considerably decreased. SPACE AND MARS. 143 and the interior of the Callisto was no longer nncom- f ortablj warm. They divided the day into twenty- four hours from force of habit, and drew the shades tightly during what they considered night, while Bearwarden distino^uished himself as a cook. CHAPTEE III. HEAVENLY BODIES. The following day, while in their observatory, they saw something not many miles ahead. They watched it for hours, and in fact all day, but not- withstanding their tremendous speed they came but little nearer. " They say a stern chase is a long one," said Bearwarden ; " but that beats anything I have ever seen." After a while, howeyer, they found they v^ere nearer, the time taken having been in part due to the deceptive distance, which was greater than tliey supposed. '' A comet ! " exclaimed Cortlandt excitedly. " AVe shall really Ije able to examine it near." " It's going in our direction," said Ayrault, " and at almost exactly our speed." (144) HEAVENLY BODIES. 145 While the sun shone full upon it they brought their camera into play, and again succeeded in pho- tographing a heavenly body at close range. The nucleus or head was of course turned towards the sun ; while the tail, which they could see faintly, preceded it, as the comet was receding towards the cold and dark depths of space. The head was only a few miles in diameter, for it was a small comet, and was composed of grains and masses of stone and meteoric iron. Many of the grains were no larger than peas or mustard-seeds ; no mass w^as more than four feet in diameter, and all of them had very irregu- lar shapes. The space between the particles w^as never less than one hundred times their masses. ^'We can move about within it," said Ayrault, as the Callisto entered the aggregation of particles, and moved slowly forward among them. The windows in the dome, being made of tough- ened glass, set somewhat slantingly so as to deflect anything touching them, and having, moreover, the pressure of the inside air to sustain them, were fairly safe, while the windows in the sides and base were but little exposed. Whenever a large mass seemed dangerously near the glass, they applied an apergetic 146 . A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. shock to it and sent it kiting among its fellows. At these times the Callisto recoiled slightly also, the re- sulting motion in either being in inverse ratio to its weight. There was constant and incessant movement among the individual fragments, but it was not rotary. Nothing seemed to be revolving about anything else ; all were moving, apparently swinging back and forth, but no collisions took place. When the separate particles got more than a certain distance apart they reapproached one another, but when seemingly with- in about one hundred diameters of each other they swung off in some other direction. The motion was like that of innumerable harp-strings, which may approach but never strike one another. After a time the Callisto seemed to become endowed with the same property that the fragments possessed ; for it and they repelled one another, on a near approach, after which nothing came very near. Much of the material was like slag from a fur- nace, having evidently been partly fused. Whether this heat was the result of collision or of its near approach to the sun at perihelion, they could not tell, though the latter explanation seemed most simple and ]U'obable. AVlien at about the centre of the HEAVENLY BODIES. 147 nucleus tliey were in semi-darkness — not twilight, for any ray that succeeded in penetrating was daz- zlingly brilliant, and the shadows, their own in- cluded, were inky black. As they approached the farther side and the sunlight decreased, they found that a diffused luminosity pervaded everything. It was sufficiently bright to enable them to see the dark side of the meteoric masses, and, on emerging from the nucleus in total darkness, they found the shadow stretching thousands of miles before them into space. "I now understand," said Bearwarden, "why stars of the sixth and seventh magnitude can be seen through thousands of miles of a comet's tail. It is simply because there is nothing in it. The reason any stars are obscured is because the light in the tail, however faint, is brighter than they, and that light is all that the caudal appendage consists of, though what produces it I confess I am unable to explain. I also see why the tail always stretches away from the sun, because near by it is overwhelmed by the more powerful light ; in fact, I suspect it is principally in the comet's shadow that the tail is visible. It is strange that no one ever thought of 148 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. tliat before, or that any one feared the earth's passing throno:h the tail of a comet. It is obvious to me now that if there were any material substance, any gas, however rarefied, in this hairlike - accompaniment, it would immediately fall to the comparatively heavy head, and surround that as a centre." " How, then," asked Cortlandt, " do you account for the spaces between those stones ? However slight gravitation might be between some of the grains, if it existed at all, or was unopposed by some other force, with sufficient time — and they have eternity — every comet would come together like a planet into one solid mass. Perhaps some similar force maintains gases in the distended tail, though I know of no such, or even any analogous manifestation on earth. If the law on which we have been brought up, that ' every atom in the universe attracts every other atom,' were without exceptions or modifications, that comet could not continue to exist in its present form. Until we get some additional illustration, however, we shall be short of data with which to formulate any iconoclastic hypothesis. The source of the light, * Comet means lilunillv a hair. HEAVENLY BODIES. 149 I must admit, also puzzles me greatly. There is cer- tainly no lieat to wliicli we can attribute it." Having gone^ beyond the fragments, they applied a strong repulsion charge to the comet, creating thereby a perfect whirlpool among its particles, and quickly left it. Half an hour later they again shut off the current, as the Callisto's speed was sufficient. For some time they- had been in the belt of aster- oids, but as yet they had seen none near. The morn- ing following their experience with the comet, how- ever, they went to their observatory after breakfast as usual, and^ on pointing their glasses forward, es- j^ied a comparatively large body before them, a little to their right. " That must be Pallas," said Cortlandt, scrutiniz- ing it closely. " It was discovered by Olbers, in 1802, and was the second asteroid found, Ceres having been the first, in 1801. It has a diameter of about three hundred miles, being one of the largest of these sm.all planets. The most wonderful thing about it is the inclination of its orbit — thirty-five degrees — to the plane of the ecliptic ; which means that at each revo- lution in its orbit, it swings that much above and be- low the imaginary plane cutting the sun at its equa- 150 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. tor, from which the earth and other larger planets vary but little. This no doubt is due to the near ap- proach and disturbing attraction of some large comet, or else it was flung above or below the ordinary plane in the catastrophe that we think befell the large planet that doubtless formerly existed where we now find this swarm. You can see that its path makes a consider- able angle to the plane of the ecliptic, and that it is now about crossing the line." It soon presented the phase of a half moon, but the waviness of the straight line, as in the case of Yenus and Mercury, showed that the size of the mountains must be tremendous compared with the mass of the body, some of them being obviously fifteen miles high. The intense blackness of the shadows, as on the moon, convinced them there was no trace of atmosphere. " There being no air," said Cortlandt, " it is safe to assume there is no water, which helps to account for the great inequalities on the body's surface, since the mountains will seem higher when surrounded by dry ocean-bottom than they would if water came half-way up their sides. Undoubtedly, however, the main cause of their height is the slight effect of gravi- HEAVENLY BODIES. 151 tation on an asteroid, and the fact that the shrinkino" of the interior, and consequent folding of the crust in ridges, may have continued for a time after there was no longer water on the surface to cat them down. '' The temperature and condition of a body," continued Cortlandt, " seem to depend entirely on its size. In the sun we have an incandescent, gaseous star, though its spots and the colour of its rays show that it is becoming aged, or, to be more accurate, ad- vanced in its evolutionary development. Then comes a great jump, for Jupiter has but about one fourteen- hundredth of the mass of the sun, and we expect to find on it a firm crust, and that the planet itself is at about the fourth or fifth period of development, de- scribed by Moses as days. Saturn is doubtless some- what more advanced. The earth we know has been habitable many hundreds of thousands or millions of years, though three fourths of its surface is still cov- ered by water. In Mars we see a further step, three fourths of its surface being land. In Mercury, could we study it better, or in the larger satellites of Jupi- ter or Saturn, we might find a stepping-stone from Mars to the moon, perhaps with no water, but still having air, and being habitable in all other respects. 152 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. In our own satellite we see a world that Las died, though its death from an astronouiical point of view is comparatively recent, while this little Pallas has been dead longer, being probably chilled through and through. From this I conclude that all bodies in the solar system had one genesis, and were part of the same nebulous mass. But this does not include the other systems and nebulae ; for, compared with them, our sun, as -we have seen, is itself advanced and small beside such stars as Sirius having diame- ters of twelve million miles." As they left Pallas between themselves and the sun, it became a crescent and finally disappeared. Two days later they sighted another asteroid exactly ahead. They examined it closely, and con- cluded it must be Hilda, put dow^n in the astrono- mies as 'No. 153, and having almost the greatest mean distance of any of these small bodies from the sun. When they were so near that the disk was plainly visible to the unaided eye, Hilda passed between them and Jupiter, eclipsing it. To their surprise, the light was not instantly shut off, as when the moon occults a star, but there was evident refraction. HEAVENLY BODIES. 153 " By George ! " said Bearwarden, " here is an asteroid that has an atmospliere." There was no mistaking it. Thej soon discov- ered a small ice-cap at one pole, and then made out oceans and continents, with mountains, forests, rivers, and green fields. The sight lasted but a few mo- ments before they swept by, but they secured several photographs, and carried a vivid impression in their minds. Hilda appeared to be about two hundred miles in diameter. " How do you account for that living world," Bearwarden asked Cortlandt, " on your theory of size and longevity ? " " There are two explanations," replied Cortlandt, " if the theory, as I still believe, is correct. Hilda has either been brought to this system from some other less matured, in the train of a comet, and been captured by the immense power of Jupiter, which might account for the eccentricity of its orbit, or some accident has happened to rejuvenate it here. A collision with another minor planet moving in an orbit that crossed its own, or with the head of a large comet, would have reconverted it into a star, perhaps after it had long been cold. A comet may 154: A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. tirst have so chaDged the course of one of two small bodies as to make tliem collide. This seems to me the most plausible theory. Over a hundred years ago the English astronomer, Chambers, wrote of having found traces of atmosphere in some of these minor planets, but it was generally thought he was mistaken. One reason we know so little about this great swarm of minor planets is, that till recently none of them showed a disk to the telescope. In- asmuch as only their light was visible, they were indistinguishable from stars, except by their slow motion. A hundred years ago only three hundred and fifty had been discovered ; our photographic star-charts have since then shown the number re- corded to exceed one thousand." '{■ 'f' CHAPTEE TV. PREPARING TO ALIGHT. That afternoon Ayrault brought out some statis- tical tables he had compiled from a great number of books, and also a diagram of the comparative sizes of the planets. ^' I have been not a little puzzled at the discrepancies between even the best authors," he said, " scarcely any two being exactly alike, while every decade has seen accepted theories radically changed." Saying which, he spread out the result of his labours (shown' on the following pages), which the three friends then studied. ^' You see," Ayrault explained, " on Jupiter we shall need our apergetic outfits to enable us to make long marches, while on Saturn they will not be neces- sary, the increase in our weight as a result of that planet's size being considerably less than the usual load carried by the Eoman soldier." 11 (155) 15G A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. ^ t- .. i3 t-; T-H CO z-i -^ a - T' . . . wt 1- 1—1 T— 1 b c b eJ K ^§ C5 LO f^ "^ ri oi '-H Id ^ .^^ ^ CO ih ~ w CO 0000 ^ T- < b 'C> a> <^ CD 0$ o ^^ 1— 1 C? a r- 00 -t CO 0? 'f ^ if 1.0 C5 ^ ^ 6 cp Ci <~> <^ h 1— 1 i5 °'i GO C3 k b (M |3 CO -^ -^ CJ ■5" |2 CO ^ bo Ci t> (M -u T-H C> — '^^ '3 ij :o 00 CO CO CO 52 10 00 CO X 000 05 ^^ -^ i.O '^ 11 oi ■^ CO c; 000 0000 b b b b b K u -' ■§=■£ '-^ -j J> CO "^ C5 CC LO 00 oj ''^ CO 00 — - ^ — — < CO t- J-O 01 ? iO 1- .= '^ r 5 '■« c -: s /. s ^ T^ c^co i-O b b b If^ " CO c ;^i = 2« c) c: i-O T**C5 cc Ci ^ .~ .S — -i< i - -i 3 {- c; 1—1 ■^ 1.0 b -p- T-l CO c: 'l^ O OJ CO CO GO C? CO GO C- ^1'='^ !-« -— .- — ^ j (14 — 'A > -» ^ I- cr 2 z cr P£ : 2 C 5 z c J: %-, H -. z r oT r-: ^ '—. Tr, <; J: ^ y< PREPARING TO ALIGHT. 157 » h rt • CO GO o OJ £- o T-H o O ^"^ o o o lO Of o CO <^ C5 o T-H o o i> ,-1 o lO Ttl r- o CO ^ o o o o o o (— -, o o o CO o C5 CO t- O S^ =3 ^ - - S 02 o-r =32 ^"^ CO o o 00 o o o <^ (3 o r-t aii o i>. a gvj iO <3 o 00 CO £> i> rf sj o ^'• M^ on o CO CO fe s or? ^ o t^ M 2 ■- lO CO. C5 1—1 o T-H o o a •^ CO ^fs- Si C5 T— I H« ,-^-^-. lof tion ars ays. 00 ^ O on oo o o CI OD 00 C^ o oo o:? lo 00 rt^ o t- o5 i--! o o 1—1 1—1 coo T— 1 O 4}H 4h Ii.?i s T-l O'i ■ 00 o 5 :£ H s-j C o S > H g s !W r-. C/i 158 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. 1 i"^. + ^ -♦;» -* £ CO CO t- 1-1 t- CJ O iJ 1?^ cs - ^H c: GC r^ !l CO ^ o c: b 't S5"s l-f T-l Ti- T-H «b O O o o il£|^ to CO o ao 1- Lt 00 ii en 00 <=> CO ir. c: 00 S§.sss GJ b T^ b Oi ^ b b Com- pared with water asl. i> T-l t- ^ c J— \ T_ '^ C"» o *-? C? O Tf< C5 b^ t- o ib c? b ^ b H 55 S i? "-a ■ ^ C"? o o CI CO GO O IPii Oi o cp O 1— 1 b C^ T-H ri CJ b b b b » • m d Ph b ^ V 2 J3 1 t. ; 7 3 2 3 'C^ S K- e ■1 r^ ■^ 1^ 5 C/ ' U ^ '^ PREPARING TO ALIGHT. 159 " I do not imagine," said Cortlandt, " we should long be troubled by gravitation without our apergetic outfits even on Jupiter, for, though our weight will be more than doubled, we can take off one quarter of the whole by remaining near the equator, their rapid rotation having apparently been given providentially to all the large planets, l^ature will adapt herself to this change, as to all others, very readily. Although the reclamation of the vast areas of the l^Torth Ameri- can Arctic Archipelago, Alaska, Siberia, and Antarc- tic Wilkes Land, from the death-grip of the ice in which they have been held will relieve the pressure of population for another century, at the end of that time it will surely be felt again ; it is therefore a consolation to feel that the mighty planets Jupiter and Saturn, which we are coming to look upon as our heritage, will not crush the life out of any human beings by their own weight that may alight upon them." Before going to bed that evening they decided to be up early the next day, to study Jupiter, which was already a brilHant object. The following morning, on awakening, they went at once to their observatory, and found that Jupiter's IGO A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. disk was plainly visible to the naked eye, and before night it seemed as large as the full moon. They then prepared to check the Callisto's head- long speed, which Jupiter's attraction was beginning to increase. When about two million miles from the great planet, which was considerably on their left, they espied Callisto ahead and slightly on their right, as Deepwaters had calculated it would be. Applying a mild repulsion to this — which was itself quite a world, with its diameter of over three thousand miles, though evidently as cold and dead as the earth's old moon — they retarded their forward rush, knowing that the resulting motion towards Jupiter would be helped by the giant's pull. AVishing to be in good condition for their landing, they divided the remainder of the night into watches, two going to sleep at a time, the man on duty standing by to control the course and to get photographic negatives, on which, when they were developed, they found two crescent-shaped con- tinents, a speckled region, and a number of islands. By 7 A. M., according to Eastern standard time, they were but fifty thousand miles from Jupiter's sur- face, the gigantic globe filling nearly one side of the sky. In preparation for a sally, they got their guns PREPARING TO ALIGHT. id and accoutrements ready, and then gave a parting glance at the car. Their charge of electricity for de- veloping the repulsion seemed scarcely touched, and they had still an abundant supply of oxygen and provisions. The barometer registered twenty- nine inches, showing that they had not lost much air in the numerous openings of the vestibule. The pressure w^as about what would be found at an altitude of a few hundred feet, part of the rarefaction being no doubt due to the fact that they did not close the win- dow's until at a considerable height above Yan Cort- landt Park. They saw they should alight in a longitude on which the sun had just risen, the rocky tops of the great mountains shining like helmets in its rays. Soon they felt a sharp checking of their forward motion, and saw, from the changed appearance of the stars and the sun, that they had entered the atmos- phere of their new home. JN'ot even did Columbus, standing at the prow of the Santa Maria, with the :N"ew World before him, feel the exultation and delight experienced by these latter-day explorers of the twenty-first century. Their first adventures on landing the reader already knows. CHxiPTER y. EXPLORATION AND EXCITEMENT. When they awoke, the flowers were singing with tlie volume of a cathedral organ, the chant rising from all around them, and the sun was already above tlie horizon. Finding a deep natural spring, in which the water was at about blood-heat, they prepared for breakfast by taking a bath, and then found they had brought nothing to eat. '' It was stupid of us not to think of it," said Bearwarden, " yet it will be too much out of our way to return to the Callisto." " We have two rifles and a gun," said Ayrault, "and have also plenty of water, and wood for a fire. All we need is game." " The old excuse, that it has been already shot out, cannot hold here," said Cortlandt. " Seeing that we have neither wings nor pneu- (16-2) EXPLORATION AND EXCITEMENT. 163 matic legs, and not knowing the advantage given us bj our rifles," added Bearwarden, " it sliould not be shy either. So far," he continued, " we have seen nothing edible, though just now we should not be too particular ; but near a spring like this that kind must exist." " The question is," said the professor, " whether the game like warm water. If we can follow this stream till it has been on the surface for some time, or till it spreads out, we shall doubtless find a hunts- man's paradise." " A bright idea," said Bearwarden. " Let's have our guns ready, and, as old Deepwaters v/ould say, keep our weather eye open." The stream flowed off in a southeasterly direc- tion, so that by following it they went towards the volcanoes. " It is hard to realize," said the professor, " that those mountains must be several hundred miles away, for the reason that they are almost entirely above the horizon. This apparent flatness and wide range of vision is of course the result of Jupiter's vast size. With sufiiciently keen sight, or aided by a good glass, there is no reason w^hy one should 1G4 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. not see at least five li and red miles, with but a slight elevation." " It is surprising," said Ayrault, " that in what is evidently Jupiter's Carboniferous period the atmos- phere should be so clear. Our idea has been that at that time on earth the air was heavy and dense." " So it was, and doubtless is here," replied Cort- landt ; '' but you must remember that both those qualities would be given it by carbonic-acid gas, which is entirely invisible and transparent. Xo gas that would be likely to remain in the air would inter- fere with sight ; water vapour is the only thing that could ; and though the crust of this planet, even near the surface, is still hot, the sun being so distant, the vapour would not be raised much. By avoiding low places near hot springs, we shall doubtless have very nearly as clear an atmosphere as on earth. What does surprise me is the ease with which we breathe. I can account for it only by supposing that, the Car- boniferous period being already well advanced, most of the carl)onic acid is already locked up in the for- ests or in Jupiter's coal-beds." " IIow," asked Bearwarden, " do you account for the 'great red spot' that appeared here in 1878, EXPLORATION AND EXCITEMENT. 165 lasted several years, and then gradually faded? It was taken as unmistakable evidence that Jupiter's at- mosphere was filled with impenetrable banks of cloud. In fact, you remember many of the old books said we had probably never seen the surface." " That has puzzled me very much," replied Cort- landt, "but I never believed the explanation then given was correct. The Carboniferous period is essentially one of great forest growth ; so there would be nothing out of the way in supposing the spot, notwithstanding its length of twenty-seven thou- sand miles and its breadth of eight thousand miles, to have been forest. It occurred in what would cor- respond to the temperate region on earth. I^I'ow, though the axis of this planet is practically straight, the winds of course change their direction, and so the temperature does vary from day to day. What is more probable than that, owing perhaps to a pro- longed norther or cold spell, a long strip of forest lying near the frost line was brought a few degrees below it, so that the leaves changed their colour, as they do on earth ? It would, it seems to me, be enough to give the surface a distinct colour ; and the fact that the spot's greatest length was east and west, IGG A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. or along the lines of latitude, so that the whole of that region might have been exposed to the same conditions of temperature, strengthens this hypothe- sis. The strongest objection is, that the spot is said to have moved ; but the motion — five seconds — was so slight that it might easily have been an error in observation, or the first area affected by the cold may have been enlarged on one side. It seems to me that the stability the spot did have would make the cloud theory impossible on earth, and much more so here, with the far more rapid rotation and more vio- lent winds. It may also have been a cloud of smoke from a volcano in eruption, such as we saw on our arrival, though it is doubtful whether in that case it would have remained nearly stationary while going through its greatest intensity and fading, which would look as though the turned leaves had fallen off and been gradually replaced by new ones ; and, in addition to this, the spot since it was first noticed has never entirely disappeared, which might mean a vol- canic region constantly emitting smoke, or that the surface, doubtless from some covering whose colour can change, is normally of a different shade from the surrounding region. In any case, we have as yet EXPLORATION AND EXCITEMENT. IQ^ seen nothing that would indicate a permanently clouded atmosphere." Though they had walked a considerable distance, the water was not much cooled ; and though the stream's descent was so slight that on earth its cur- rent would have been very slow, here it rushed along like a mountain torrent, the reason, of course, being that a given amount of water on Jupiter would de- press a spring balance 2'55 times as much as on the earth. " It is strange," said Ayrault, " that, notwithstand- ing its great speed, the water remains so hot ; you would think its motion would cool it." " So it does," answered the professor. " It of course cools considerably more in a given period — as, for instance, one minute — than if it were moving more slowly, but on account of its speed it has been exposed to the air but a very short time since leaving the spring." Just before them the stream now widened into a narrow lake, which they could see was straight for some distance. "The fact is," said Bearwarden, "this water seems in such haste to reach the ocean that it turns 108 A JOURXF.Y IX OTHER WORLDS. neitlier to right nor to left, and does not even seem to wish to widen out.-' As tiie huge ferns and palms grew to the water's edge, they concluded the best way to traverse the lake would be on a raft. Accordingly, choosing a large overhanging palm, Bearwarden and Ayrault fired each an explosive l)all into its trunk, about eighteen inches from the ground. One round was enough to put it in the water, each explosion removing several cubic feet of wood. By repeating this process on other trees they soon had enough large timber for buoyancy, so that they had but to superimpose lighter cross-logs and bind the whole together with pliable branches and creepers to form a substantial raft. The doctor climbed on, after which Bearwarden and Ay- rault cast off, having prepared long poles for navi- gating. With a little care they kept their bark from catching on projecting roots, and as the stream con- tinued to widen till it was about one hundred yards across, their work became easy. Carried along at a speed of two or three miles an hour, they now saw that tlie water and the banks they passed were liter- ally alive with reptiles and all sorts of amphibious creatures, while winged lizards sailed from every over- EXPLORATION AND EXCITEMENT. 1(]9 hanging branch into the water as they approached. They noticed also many birds similar to storks and cranes, about the size of ostriches, standing on logs in the water, whose bills were provided with teeth. " We might almost think we were on earth," said AyrarJt, " from the looks of those storks standing on one leg, with the other drawn up, were it not for their size." " How do you suppose they defend themselves," asked Bearwarden, " from the snakes with which the water is filled ? " "I suspect they can give a pretty good account of themselves," replied Cortlandt, '' with those teeth. Besides, with only one leg exposed, there is but a very small object for a snake to strike at. For their number and size, I should say their struggle for existence was comparatively mild. Doubtless non-poisonous, or, for that matter, poisonous snakes, form a great part of their diet." On passing the bend in the lake they noticed that the banks were slightly higher, while j^alms, pine- trees, and rubber plants succeeded the ferns. In the distance they now heard a tremendous crashing, which grew louder as the seconds passed. It finally 170 A JOL'RXEY IN OTHER WORLDS. sounded like an earthquake. Involuntarily they held their breath and grasped their weapons. Finally, at some distance in the woods they saw a dark mass moving rapidly and approaching the river obliquely. Palms and pine-trees went down before it like straws, while its head was continuall}^ among the upper branches. As the monster neared the lake, the water at the edges quivered, showing how its weight shook the banks at each stride, while stumps and tree-trunks on which it stepped were pressed out of sight in the ground. A general exodus of the other inhabitants from his line of march began ; the moc- casins slid into the water with a low splash, while the boa-constrictors and the tree-snakes moved off along the ground when they felt it tremble, and a number of nisrht birds retreated into the denser woods with loud cries at being so rudely disturbed. The huge beast did not stop till he reached the bank, where he switched his tail, raised his proboscis, and sniffed the air uneasily, his height being fully thirty feet and his length about fifty. On seeing the raft and its occupants, he looked at them stupidly and threw back his head. " He seems to be turning up his nose at us," EXPLORATION AND EXCITEMENT. 171 said Bearwarden. "All the same, he will do well for breakfast." As the creature moved, his chest struck a huge overhanging palm, tearing it off as though it had been a reed. Brushing it aside with his trunk, he was about to continue his march, when two rifle re- ports rang out together, rousing the echoes and a number of birds that screeched loudly. 12 CHAPTER YI. MASTODOX AND WILL-o'-THE WISPS. Bearwaeden's bullet struck the mammotli in the shoulder, while Ayrault's aim was farther back. As the balls exploded, a half-barrelful of flesh and hide was shot from each, leaving two gaping holes. Instantly he rushed among the trees, making his course known for some time by his roars. As he turned, Bearwarden fired again, but the ball flew over him, blowing off the top of a tree. " Now for the chase ! " said Ayrault. '' There would be no excuse for losing him." Quickly pushing their raft to shore and securing it to the bank, the three jumped off. Thanks to their rubber boots and galvanic outfits which auto- matically kept them charged, they were as spry as they would have been on earth. The ground all about them, and in a strip twelve feet wide where the (1T2) MASTODON AND WILL-O'-THE WISPS. 173 mammotli liad gone, was torn up, and the vegetation trodden down. Following this trail, they struck back into the woods, where in places the gloom cast by the thick foliage was so dense that there was a mere twilight, startling as they went numbers of birds of grey and sombre plumage, whose necks and heads, and the sounds they uttered, were so reptilian that the three terrestrials believed they must also possess poison fangs. " The most highly developed things we have seen here," said Bearwarden, ^' are the flowers and fire- flies, most of the birds and amphibians being simply loathsome." As they proceeded they found tracks of blood, which were rapidly attracting swarms of the reptile birds and snakes, which, however, as a rule, fled at their approach. " I wonder what can have caused that mammoth to move so fast, and to have seemed so ill at ease ? " said the doctor. " His motive certainly was not thirst, for he did not approach the water in a direct line, neither did he drink on reaching it. One would think nothing short of an earthquake or a land-slide could trouble him." 174: A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. ^' There can be no land-slide here,'' said Ayrault, " for the country is too flat." "And after yesterday's eruptions," added Bear- warden, " it would seem as though the volcanoes could have scarcely enough steam left to make trouble." The blood-tracks, continuing to become fresher, showed them they were nearing the game, when sud- denly the trail took a sharp turn to the right, even returning towards the lake. A little farther it took another sharp turn, then followed a series of doub- lings, while still farther the ground was completely denuded of trees, its torn-up and trampled condition and the enormous amount of still warm blood show- ing how terrific a battle had just taken place. While they looked about they saw what appeared to be the trunk of a tree about four feet in diameter and six feet long, with a slight crook. On coming closer, they recognized in it one of the forefeet of the mammoth, cut as cleanly as though with a knife from the leg just above the ankle, and still warm. A little farther they found the huge trunk cut to slivers, and, just beyond, the body of the unfortunate beast with three of its feet gone, and the thick hide MASTODON AND WILL-O'-THE WISPS. 175 cut and slashed like so miicli paper. It still breathed, and Ayrault, who had a tender heart, sent an explo- sive ball into its skull, which ended its suffering. The three hunters then surveyed the scene. The largest and most powerful beast they had believed could exist lay before them dead, not from the bite of a snake or any other poison, but from mechanical injuries of which those they had inflicted formed but a very small part, and literally cut to pieces. " I am curious to see the animal," said Cortlandt, "capable of doing this, though nothing short of dynamite bombs would protect us from him." "As he has not stopped to eat his victim," said Bearwarden, " it is fair to suppose he is not carniv- orous, and so must have had some other motive than hunger in making the attack ; unless we can suppose that our approach frightened him away, which, with such power as he must possess, seems unlikely. Let us see," he continued, " parts of two legs remain un- accounted for. Perhaps, on account of their shape, he has been able the more easily to carry or roll them off, for we know that elephant foot makes a capital dish." " From the way you talk," said Cortlandt, " one 176 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. would suppose you attributed this to men. The Goliath we picture to ourselves would be a child compared to the man that could cut through these legs, though the necessity of believing him to have merely great size does not disprove his existence here. I think it probable we shall find this is the work of some animal with incisors of such power as it is difficult for us to conceive of." " There is no indication here of teeth," said Bearwarden, " each foot being taken off with a clean cut. Besides, we are coming to believe that. man ex- isted on earth during the greater part, if not the whole, of our Carboniferous period." " We must reserve our decision pending further evidence," said Cortlandt. " I vote we take the heart," said Ayrault, " and cook it, since otherwise the mammoth will be de- voured before our eyes." While Bearwarden and Ayrault delved for this, Cortlandt, with some difficulty, parted the mam- moth's lips and examined the teeth. ^' From the conical projections on the molars," said he, " this should be classed rather as a mastodon than as a mammoth." MASTODON AND WILL-O'-THE WISPS. 177 When the huge heart was secured, Bearwarden arranged shces on sharpened sticks, while Ayrault set about starting a fire. He had to use Cortlandt's gun to clear the dry wood of snakes, which, attracted doubtless by the dead mastodon, came in such num- bers that they covered the ground, while huge ptero- dactyls, more venomous-looking than the reptiles, hovered about the opening above. Arrano^iner a double line of electric wires in a circle about the mastodon and themselves, they sat down and did justice to the meal, with appetites that might have dismayed the waiting throng. When- ever a snake's head came in contact with one wire, while his tail touched the other, he gave a spasmodic leap and fell back dead. If he happened to fall across the wires, he immediately began to sizzle, a cloud of smoke arose, and he was reduced to ashes. " Any time that we are short of mastodon or other good game," said Ayrault, " we need not hunger if we are not above grilled snake." All laughed at this, and Bearwarden, drawing a whiskey-flask from his pocket, passed it to his friends. " When we rig our fishing-tackle," he continued, " and have fresh fish for dinner, an entree of rattle- 178 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. snake, roast mastodon for the piece de resistance, and begin the whole with turtle soup and clams, of which there must be plenty on the ocean beach, we shall want to stay here the rest of our lives." " I suspect we shall have to," replied Ayrault ; " for we shall become so like Thanksgiving turkeys that the Callisto's door will be too small for us." While they sat and talked, the flowers and plants about them softly began their song, and, as a visual accompaniment, the fire-flies they had not before no- ticed twinkled through the forest. " My goodness ! " exclaimed Cortlandt, " how time goes here ! We started to get breakfast, and now it's growing dark." Hastily cutting some thick but tender slices from the mastodon, and impaling them with the remains of the heart on a sharpened stake, they took up the wires, and the battery that had been supplying the current, and retraced their steps by the way they had come. Their rubber-lined cowhide boots protected them from all but the largest snakes, and as these were for the most part already enjoying their gorge, they trampled with impunity on those that remained in their path. When they had covered about half MASTODON AND WILL-O'-THE WISPS. 179 the distance to the raft, a huge boa-constrictor, which they had mistaken for a branch, fell upon Cortlandt, pinioning his arms and bearing him to the ground. Dropping their loads, Bearwarden and Ayrault threw themselves upon the monster with their hunting- knives with such vim that in a few seconds it beat a hasty retreat, leaving, as it did so, a wake of phos- phorescent light. " Are you hurt ? " asked Bearwarden, helping him up. "Not in the least," replied Cortlandt. "What surprises me is that I am not. The weight of that boa-constrictor would be very great on earth, and here I should think it would be simply crushing." Groping their way through the rapidly growing dai'kness, they reached the raft without further ad- venture, and, once on the lake, had plenty of light. Two moons, one at three quarters and the other full, shone brightly, while the water was alive with gym- notuses and other luminous creatures. Sitting and lying upon the cross-timbers, they looked up at the sky. The Great Bear and the north star had ex- actly the same relation to each other as w^hen seen from the earth, while the other constellations and the 180 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. Milky Way looked identically as when they had so often gazed at them before, and some idea of the immensity of space was conveyed to them. Here was no change ; though they had travelled three liundred and eighty million miles, there was no more perceptible difference than if they had not moved a foot. Perhaps, they thought, to the telescopes — if there are any — among the stars, the sun was seen to be accompanied by two small, dark companions, for Jupiter and Saturn might be visible, or perhaps it seemed merely as a slightly variable star, in years when sun-spots were numerous, or as the larger plan- ets in their revolutions occasionally intercepted a part of its light. As they floated along they noticed a number of what they took to be Will-o'-the-wisps. Several of these great globules of pale flame hovered about them in the air, near the surface of the water, and anon they rose till they hung above the trees, apparently having no forward or horizontal motion except when taken by the gentle breeze, merely sink- ing and rising. " How pretty they are ! " said Cortlandt, as they watched them. " For bodies consisting of marsh gas, they hold together wonderfully."* MASTODON AND WILL-O'-THE WISPS. 181 Presently one alighted on the water near them. It was considerably brighter than any glow-worm, and somewhat larger than an arc lamp, being nearly three feet in diameter ; it did not emit much light, but would itself have been visible from a considerable distance. Cortlandt tried to touch it with a raft-pole, but could not reach far enough. Presently a large fish approached it, swimming near the surface of the water. When it was close to the Jack-o'-lantern, or whatever it was, there was a splash, the fish turned up its white under side, and, the breeze being away from the raft, the fire-ball and its victim slowly floated off together. There were frequently a dozen of these great globules in sight at once, rising and descending, the observers noticing one peculiarity, viz., that their brightness increased as they rose, and decreased as they sank. About two and a half hours after sunset, or mid- night according to Jupiter time, they fell asleep, but about an hour later Cortlandt was awakened by a weight on his chest. Starting up, he perceived a huge white-faced bat, with its head but a few inches from his. Its outstretched wings were about eight feet across, and it fastened its sharp claws upon him. 182 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. Seizing it by the throat, he struggled violently. His companions, awakened by the noise, quickly came to his rescue, grasping him just as he was in danger of being: drao^jred off the raft, and in another moment Bearwarden's knife had entered the creature's spine. " This evidently belongs to the blood-sucking species," said Cortlandt. " I seem to be the target for all these beasts, and henceforth shall keep my eyes open at night." As day would break in but little over an hour, they decided to remain awake, and they pushed the dead bat overboard, where it was soon devoured by fishes. A chill had come upon the air, and the in- cessant noise of the forms of life about them had in a measure ceased. Cortlandt passed around a box of quinine as a preventive against malaria, and again they lay back and looked at the stars. The most splendid sight in their sky now was Saturn. At the comparatively short distance this great planet was from them, it cast a distinct shadow, its vast rings making it ap- pear twice its real size. With the first glimmer of dawn, the fire-balls descended to the surface of the MASTODON AND WILL-O'-THE WISPS. 183 water and disappeared within it, their lights going out. With a suddenness to which the explorers were becoming accustomed, the sun burst upon them, ris- ing as perpendicularly as at the earth's equator, and more than twice as fast, having first tinged the sky with the most brilliant hues. The stream had left the forest and swamp, and was now flowing through open country between high banks. Pushing the raft ashore, they stepped off on the sand, and, warming up the remains of the masto- don's heart, ate a substantial breakfast. While washing their knives in the stream pre- paratory to leaving it — for they wished to return to the Callisto by completing the circle they had begun — they noticed a huge flat jelly-fish in shallow water. It was so transparent that they could see the sandy bottom through it. As it seemed to be asleep, Bear- warden stirred up the water around it and poked *it with a stick. The jelly-fish first drew itself together till it touched the surface of the water, being nearly round, then it slowly left the stream and rose till it was wholly in the air, and, notwithstanding the sun- light, it emitted a faint glow. " Ah ! " exclaimed Bearwarden, " here we have 184 A JOL^RNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. one of our Jack-o'-lanterns. Let us see wliat it is going to do." " It is incomprehensible to me," said Cortlandt, " how it maintains itself ; for it has neither wings nor visible means of suj^port, yet, as it was able to immerse itself in the stream, thereby displacing a volume of liquid equivalent to its bulk, it must be at least as heavy as water." The jelly-fish remained poised in the air until directly above them, when it began to descend. " Stand from under ! " cried Bearwarden, stepping back. " I, for one, should not care to be touched." The great soft mass came directly over the spot on which they had been standing, and stopped its descent about three feet from the ground, parallel to which it was slowly carried by the wind. A few yards off, in the direction in which it was moving, lay a long black snake asleep on the sand. When directly over its victim the jelly globule again sank till it touched the middle of the reptile's back. The serpent imme- diately coiled itself in a knot, but was already dead. The jelly-fish did not swallow, but completely sur- rounded its prey, and again rose in the air, with the snake's black body clearly visible within it. MASTODON AND WILL-O'-THE WISPS. 185 " Our Will-o'-the-wisp is prettier by night than by day," said Bearwarden. " I suggest that we investi- gate this further." " How ? " asked Cortlandt. " By destroying its life," replied Bearwarden. " Give it one barrel from your gun, doctor, and see if it can then defy gravitation." Accordingly Cortlandt took careful aim at the ob- ject, about twenty yards away, and fired. The main portion of the jelly-fish, with the snake still in its embrace, sailed away, but many pounds of jelly fell to the ground. Most of this remained where it had fallen, but a few of the larger pieces showed a faint luminosity and rose again. " You cannot kill that which is sim23ly a mass of protoplasm," said Cortlandt. " Doubtless each of those pieces will form a new organism. This proves that there are ramifications and developments of life which we never dreamed of." CHAPTEK YII. AN UNSEEX HUNTER. They calculated that tliey liad come ten or twelve miles from the place at which they built the raft, while the damp salt breeze blowing from the south showed them they were near the ocean. Concluding that large bodies of water must be very much alike on all planets, they decided to make for a range of hills due north and a few miles off, and to complete the circuit of the square in returning to the Callisto. The soft wet sand was covered with huge and cu- rious tracks, doubtless made by creatures that had come to the stream during the night to drink, and they noticed with satisfaction as they set out that the fresher ones led off in the direction in which they were going. For practice, they blew off the heads of the boa-constrictors as they hung from the trees, and of the other huge snakes that moved along the (186) AN UNSEEN HUNTER. 187 ground, with explosive bullets, in every thicket through which they passed, knowing that the game, never having been shot at, would not take fright at the noise. Sometimes they came upon great masses of snakes, intertwined and coiled like worms ; in these cases Cortlandt brought his gun into play, rak- ing them with duck-shot to his heart's content. " As the function of these reptiles," he explained, " is to form a soil on which higher life may grow, we may as well help along their metamorphosis by artificial means." They were impressed by the tremendous cannon-like reports of their firearms, which they per- ceived at once resulted from the great density of the Jovian atmosphere. And this was also a consider- able aid to them in making muscular exertion, for it had just the reverse effect of rarefied mountain air, and they seldom had to expand their lungs fully in order to breathe. The ground continued to be marked with very large footprints. Often the impressions were those of a biped like some huge bird, except that occa- sionally the creature had put down one or both fore- feet, and a thick tail had evidently dragged nearly all the time it walked erect. Presently, coming to 13 1S8 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. something tliey had taken for a large flat rock, they were surprised to see it 'move. It was about twelve feet wide by eighteen feet long, while its shell seemed at least a foot thick, and it was of course the largest turtle they had ever seen. '^ Twenty-four people could dine at a table of this size with ease," said Bearwarden, " while it would make soup for a regiment. I wonder if it belongs to the snapping or diamond-backed species." At this juncture the monster again moved. " As it is heading in our direction," resumed Bearwarden, " I vote we strike for a free pass," and, taking a run, he sprang with his spiked boots upon the turtle's shell and clambered upon the flat top, which was about six feet from the ground. He was quickly followed by Ayrault, who was not much ahead of Cortlandt, for, notwithstanding his fifty years, the professor was very spry. The tortoise was almost the exact counterpart of the Glyptodon asper that formerly existed on earth, and shambled along at a jerky gait, about half as fast again as they could walk, and while it continued .to go in their direction they were greatly pleased. They soon found that by dropping the butts of their rifles sharply and simul- AN UNSEEN HUNTER. 189 taneously on either side, just back of the head, they could direct their course, by making their steed swerve away from the stamping. " It is strange," said Ayrault, '' that, with the exception of the mastodon and this tortoise, we have seen none of the monsters that seem to appear at the close of Carboniferous periods, although the ground is covered with their tracks." " Probably we did not reach the grounds at the right time of day," replied Bearwarden. "The large game doubtless stays in the woods and jungles till night." " I fancy," said Cortlandt, " we shall find repre- sentatives of all the species that once lived upon the earth. In the case of the singing flowers and the Jack-o'-lantern jelly-fish, we have, in addition, seen developments the existence of which no scientist has ever before even suspected." Occasionally the tortoise stopped, whereupon they poked it from behind with their knives. It was a vicious-looking brute, and had a huge horny beak, with which it bit off young trees that stood in its way as though they had been blades of grass. They were passing through a valley about half a mile wide, 190 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. bordered on each side by woods, when Bearwarden suddenly exclaimed, " Here we have it ! " and, look- ing forward, they unexpectedly saw a head rise and remain poised about fifteen feet from the ground. It was a dinosaur, and belonged to the scaled or armoured species. In a few moments another head appeared, and towered several feet above the first. The head was obviously reptilian, but had a beak similar to that of their tortoise. The hind legs were developed like those of a kangaroo, while the small rudimentary forepaws, which could be used as hands or for going quadruped-fashion, now hung down. The strong thick tail was evidently of great use to them when standing erect, by forming a sort of. tripod. " How I wish we could take a pair of those creatures with us when we return to the earth ! " said Cortlandt. " They would be trump cards," replied Bear- w^arden, " in a zoological garden or a dime museum, and would take the wind out of the sails of all the other freaks." As they lay flat on the turtle's back, the monsters gazed at them unconcernedly, munching the palm- The ride on the giant tortoise. AN UNSEEN HUNTER. 191 tree fruit so loudly that they could be heard a long distance. " Having nothing to fear from a tortoise," re- sumed Cortlandt, ^' they may allow us to stalk them. We are in their eyes like hippocentaurs, except that we are part of a tortoise instead of part of a horse, or else they take us for a parasite or fibrous growth on the shell." "They would not have much to fear from us as we really are," replied Bearwarden, " were it not for our explosive bullets." " I am surprised," said Ayrault, " that grami- nivorous animals should be so heavily armed as these, since there can be no great struggle in obtain- ing their food." " From the looks of their jaws," replied Cort- landt, " I should say they are omnivorous, and would doubtless prefer meat to what they are eating now. Something seems to have gone wrong with the ani- mal creation hereabouts to-day." Their war-horse clanked along like a badly rusted machine, approaching the dinosaurs obliquely. When only about fifty yards intervened, as the hunters were preparing to aim, their attention was diverted by a 192 ^ JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. tremendous commotion in tlie woods on their left and somewhat ahead. With tlie crunching of dead branches and swaying of the trees, a drove of mon- sters made a hasty exit and sped across the open valley. Some showed only the tops of their backs above the long grass, while others shambled and leaped with their heads nearly thirty feet above the ground. The dinosaurs instantly dropped on all- fours and joined in the flight, though at about half- minute intervals they rose on their hind legs and for a few seconds ran erect. The drove passed about half a mile before the travellers, and made straight for the woods opposite ; but hardly had the monsters been out of sight two minutes when they reappeared, even more precipitately than before, and fled up the valley in the same direction as the tortoise. " The animals here," said Bearwarden, " behave as though they were going to catch a train ;. only our friend beneath us seems superior to haste." " I would give a good deal to know," said Cort- landt, " what is pursuing those giants, and whether it is identical or similar to the mutilator of the masto- don. Kothing but abject terror could make them run like that." AN UNSEEN HUNTER. 193 " I have a well-formed idea," said Bearwarden, " that a hunt is going on, with no doubt two parties, one in the woods on either side, and that the hunters may be on a scale commensurate with that of their victims." "If the excitement is caused by men," replied Cortlandt, " our exploration may turn out to be a far more difficult undertaking than we anticipated. But why, if there are men in those woods, do they not show themselves ? — for they could certainly keep pace with the game more easily in the open than -among the trees." " Because," replied Bearwarden, " the men in the woods are doubtless the beaters, whose duty it is to drive the game into and up the valley, at the end of which the killing will be done." " We may have a chance to see it," said Ayrault, "or to take a hand, for we are travelling straight in that direction, and shall be able to give a good account ourselves if our rights are challenged." " Why," asked Cortlandt, " if the hunting parties that have been in our vicinity were only beaters, should they have mutilated the mastodon in such a way that he could not walk ? And how were they 194 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. able to take themselves ojff so quickly — for man in his natural state has never been a fast mover? I repeat, it will upset my theories if we find men." It was obvious to them that tortoises were not much troubled by the apparently general foe, for the specimen in which they were just then interested continued his course entirely unconcerned. Soon, however, he seemed to feel fatigue, for he drew his feet and head within his shell, which he tightly closed, and after that no poking or prodding had the desired effect. " I suspect we must depend on shank's mares for a time," said Bearwarden, cheerfully, as they scrambled down. " We can now see," said Cortlandt, " why our friend was so unconcerned, since he has but to draw himself within himself to become invulnerable to anything short of a stroke of lightning; for no bird could have power enough to raise and drop him from a great height upon rocks, as the eagles do on earth." " I suspect, if anxious for turtle soup," said Bear- warden, " we must attach a lightning-rod, and wait for a thunderstorm to electrocute him." CHAPTER Ylir. Feeling grateful to the huge tortoise for the good service he had rendered, they shot a number of the great snakes that were gliding about on the ground, and placed them where he would find them on awaking. They then picked their way careful- ly towards stretches on which the grass was short- est. When they had gone about two miles, and had already reached higher ground, they came to a ridge of rock running at right angles to their course. This they climbed, and on looking over the edge of the crest beheld a sight that made their hearts stand still. A monster, somewhat resembling an alligator, except that the back was arched, was waddling about perhaps seventy-five yards from them. It was sixty feet long, and to the top of its scales was at least twenty-five feet high. It was constantly moving, and (195) 196 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. the travellers noticed with some dismay that its mo- tion was far more rapid than they would have sup- posed it could be. " It is also a dinosaur," said the professor, watch- ing it sharply, " and very closely resembles the Ste- gosaurus nngulatus restored in the museums. The question is, What shall we do with the living speci- men, now that we have it ? " " Our chairman," said Ayrault, " must find a way to kill it, so that we may examine it closely." " The trouble is," said Bearwarden, " our bullets will explode before they penetrate the scales. In the absence of any way of making a passage for an explosive ball by means of a solid one, we must strike a vital spot. His scales being no harder than the trunk of a tree, we can wound him terribly by touching him anywhere ; but there is no object in do- ing this unless we can kill him, especially as there is no deep stream, such as would have delayed the mas- todon in reaching us, to protect us here. We must spread out so as to divert his attention from one to another." After some consultation it was decided that Cort- landt, who had only a shot-gun, should remain where SPORTSMEN'S REVERIES. 197 they were, while Bearwarden and Ayrault moved some distance to the right and left. At a signal from Cortlandt, who was to attract the monster's attention, the wings were to advance simultaneously. These arrangements they carried out to the let- ter. When Bearwarden and Ayrault had gone about twenty-five yards on either side, the doctor imitated the peculiar grunting sound of an alligator, at which the colossal monster turned and faced him, while Bearwarden and Ayrault moved to the attack. The plan of this was good, for, with his attention fixed on three objects, the dinosaur seemed confused, and though Bearwarden and Ayrault had good angles from which to shoot, there was no possibility of their hitting each other. They therefore advanced steadily with their rifles half up. Though their own danger increased with each step, in the event of their miss- ing, the chance of their shooting wild decreased, the idea being to reach the brain through the eye. Cort- landt's part had also its risks, for, being entirely de- fenceless with his shot-gun against the huge creature, whose attention it was his duty to attract, he staked all on the marksmanship of his friends. Not con- sidering this, however, he stood his ground, hav- 198 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. ing tlie thumb-piece on his Winchester magazine shoved up and ready to make a noisy diversion if necessary in belialf of either wing. Having aroused the monster's curiosity, Cortlandt sprang up, waving his arms and his gun. The dinosaur lowered his head as if to charge, thereby bringing it to a level with the rifles, either of which could have given it the fatal shot. But as their fingers pressed the trig- gers the reptile soared up thirty feet in the air. Ayrault pulled for his first sight, shooting through the lower jaw, and shivering that member, while Bearwarden changed his aim and sighted straight for the heart. In an instant the monster was down airain, just missing Ayrault's head as he stepped back, and Bearwarden's rifle poured a stream of explosive balls against its side, rending and blowing away the heavy scales. Having drawn the dinosaur's attention to himself, he retreated, while Ayrault renewed the at- tack. Cortlandt, seeing that the original plan had miscarried, poured showers of small shot against the huge beast's face. Finally, one of Ayrault's balls ex- ploded in the brain, and all was over. " We have killed it at last," said Bearwarden ; " but the first attack, though artistic, had not the SPORTSxMEN'S REVERIES. I99 brilliant results we expected. These creatures' mode of fighting is doubtless somewhat similar to that of the kangaroo, which it is said puts its fore- paws gently, almost lovingly, on a man's shoulders, and then disembowels him by the rapid movement of a hind leg. But we shall get used to their method, and can do better next time." They then reloaded their weapons and, while Cortlandt examined their victim from a naturalist's point of view, Bearwarden and Ayrault secured the heart, which they thought would be the most edible part, the operation being rendered possible by the amount of armour the explosive balls had stripped off. " To-morrow," said Bearwarden, " we must make it a point to get some well-fed birds; for I can roast, broil, or fricassee them to a turn. Life is too short to live on this meat in such a sportsman's paradise. In any case there can be no end of mas- todons, mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, moa birds, and all such shooting." As the sun was already near the horizon, they chose a dry, sandy place, to secure as much immu- nity as possible from nocturnal visits, and, after pro- 200 A JOURNEY IX OTHER \YORLDS. curing a supply of water from a pool, proceeded to arrange their camp for tlie night. They first laid out the protection-wires, setting them while the sun still shone. Kext they built a lire and prepared their evening meal. While they ate it, twilight be- came night, and the fire-flies, twinkling in legions in the neighbouring valley, seemed like the lamps of a great city. "Their lights," said Bearwarden, pointing to them, " are not as fine as the jelly-fish AVill-o'-the- wisps were last night, but they are not so danger- ous. Ko gymnotiis or electric eel that I have ever seen compared with them, and I am convinced that any one of us they might have touched would have been in kingdom come." The balmy air soothed the travellers' brows as they reclined against mounds of sand, while the flowers in the valley sent up their dying notes. One by one the moons arose, till four — among them the Lilliputian, discovered by Prof. Barnard in 1893 — were in the sky, flooding the landscape with their silvery light, and something in the surroundings touched a sympathetic cord in the men. '" Oh that I were vouno^ a^^ain,'' said Cortlandt, SPORTSMEN'S REVERIES. 201 " and had life before me ! I should like to remain here and grow up with this planet, in which we already perceive the next 'New World. The beauties of earth are barren compared with the scenes we have here." "You remember," replied Bearwarden, "how Cicero defends old age in his De Senectute, and shows that while it has almost everything that youth has, it has also a sense of calm and many things besides." " Yes," answered Cortlandt, " but, while plausi- ble, it does not convince. The pleasures of age are largely negative, the old being happy when free from pain," " Since the highest joy of life," said Ayrault, " is coming to know our Creator, I should say the old, being further advanced, would be the happier of the two. I should never regard this material life as greatly to be prized for itself. You remember the old song : " ' Youth ! When we come to consider The pain, the toil, and the strife, The happiest man of all is The one who has finished his life.' 202 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. ^'I suspect," continued Ayrault, "that the man who reaches even the lowest plane in paradise will find far more beautiful visions than any we have here." As they had but little rest the night before, they were all tired. The warm breeze swayed the long dry grass, causing it to give out a soft rustle ; all birds except the flitting bats were asleep among the tall ferns or on the great trees that spread their branches towards heaven. There was nothing to recall a picture of the huge monsters they had seen that day, or of the still more to be dreaded terror these had borne witness to. Thus night closes the activities of the day, and in its serene grandeur the soul has time to think. AVhile they thought, how- ever, drowsiness overcame them, and in a little while all were asleep. The double line of protection-wires encircled them like a silent guard, while the methodical ticking of the alarm-clock that was to wake them at the approach of danger, and register the hour of inter- ruption, formed a curious contrast to the irregular cries of the night-hawks in the distance. Time and again some huge iguanodon or a hipsohopus would SPORTSMEN'S REVERIES. 203 pass, shaking the ground with its tread ; but so im- phcit was the travellers' trust in the vigilance of their mechanical and tireless watch, that they slept on as calmly and unconcernedly as though they had been in their beds at home, while the tick was as constant and regular as a sentry's march. The wires of course did not protect them from creatures hav- ing wings, and they ran some risk of a visitation from the blood-sucking bats. The far-away vol- canoes occasionally sent up sheets of flame, which in the distance were like summer lightning ; the torrents of lava and crashes that had sounded so thunderous when near, were now like the murmur of the ocean's ebb tide, lulling the terrestrials to deeper sleep. The pale moons were at intervals momen- tarily obscured by the rushing clouds in the upper air, only to reappear soon afterwards as serene as before. All ISTature seemed at rest. Shortly before dawn there was an unusually heavy step. A moment later the ever- vigilant bat- teries poured forth their current, and the clang of the alarm-bell made the still night ring. In an in- stant the three men were awake, each resting on one knee, with their backs towards the centre and 14 20J: A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. their polished barrels raised. It was not long before tlicy perceived the intruder by the moonlight. A huge monster of the Triceratops prorsus species had entered the camp. It was shaped something like an elephant, but had ten or twelve times the bulk, being over forty feet in length, not including the long, thick tail. The head carried two huge horns on the forehead and one on the nose. " A plague on my shot-gun ! " said Cortlandt. " Had I known how much of this kind of game we should see, I too should have brought a rifle." The monster was entangled in the wires, and in another second would have stepped on the batteries that were still causino^ the bell to rinor. " Aim for the heart," said Bearwarden to Ay- rault. ^' When you show me his ribs, I will follow you in the hole." Ayrault instantly fired for a point just back of the left foreleg. The explosion had the same effect as on the mastodon, removing a half -barrel of hide, etc ; and the next second Bearwarden sent a bullet less than an inch from where Ayrault's had stopped. Before the colossus could turn, each had caused several explosions in close proximity to the SPORTSMEN'S REVERIES. 205 first. The creature was of course terribly wounded, and several ribs were cracked, but no ball had gone through. AYith a roar it made straight for the woods, and with surprising agility, running fully as fast as an elephant. Bearwarden and Ayrault kept up a rapid fire at the left hind leg, and soon com- pletely disabled it. The dinosaur, however, sup- ported itself with its huge tail, and continued to make good time. Knowing they could not give it a fatal wound at the intervening distance, in the un- certain light, they stopped firing and set out in pursuit. Cortlandt paused to stop the bell that still rang, and then put his best foot foremost in regaining his friends. For half a mile they hurried along, until, seeing by the quantity of blood on the ground that they were in no danger of losing the game, they determined to save their strength. The trail entered the woods by a narrow ravine, passed through what proved to be but a belt of timber, and then turned north to the right. Presently in the semi-darkness they saw the monster's head against the sky. He was browsing among the trees, tearing off the young branches, and the hunters suc- ceeded in getting within seventy-five yards before 206 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. being discovered. Just as he began to run, the two rifles again fired, this time at the right hind leg, which tliey succeeded in hamstringing. After that the Triceratops prorsus was at their mercy, and thej quickly put an end to its suffering. " The sun is about to rise," said Bearwarden ; '' in a few minutes we shall have enough light." They cut out a dozen thick slices of tenderloin steak, and soon were broiling and eating a substantial breakfast. "• There are not as many spectators to watch us eat here," said Cortlandt, " as in the woods. I sug- gest that, after returning to camp for our blankets and things, we steer for the Callisto, via this Tri- ceratops, to see what creatures have been attracted by the body." On finishing their meal they returned to the place at which they had passed the night. Having straightened the protection-wires, which had become twisted, and arranged their impedimenta, they set out, and were soon once more beside their latest victim. CHAPTER IX. THE HONEY OF DEATH. At first nothing seemed to have been disturbed, when they suddenly perceived that both forelegs were missing. On further examination they found that the ponderous tail, seven feet in diameter, was cut through in two places, the thicker portion hav- ing disappeared, and that the heavy bones in this extremity of the vertebral column had been severed like straws. The cut surfaces were but little cooler than the interior of the body, showing how recently the mutilation had been effected. "By all the gods!" exclaimed Bearwarden, "it is easy to see the method in this ; the hunters have again cut off only those parts that could be easily rolled. These Jovian fellows must have weapons compared with which the old scythe chariots would be but toys, with which they amputate the legs of (207) 208 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. their victims. We must see to it that their scimi- tars do not come too near to ns, and I venture to hope that in our bullets they will find their match. What say you, doctor ? " " I see no depression such as such heavy bodies would necessarily have made had they been rolled along the ground, neither does it seem to me that these curious tracks in the sand are those of men." The loose earth looked as if the cross-ties of some railroad had been removed, the space formerly occupied having been but partly filled, and these depressions were across the probable direction of motion. " Whatever was capable of chasing mastodons and carrying such weights," said Ayrault, " will, I suspect, have little to fear from us. Probably nothing short of light artillery would have much effect." " I dare say," replied Bearwarden, " we had better give the unknown quantity a wide berth, though I would give a year's salary to see what it is like. The absence of other tracks shows that his confreres leave ' Scissor-jaw' alone." Keeping a sharp lookout in all directions, they ^ ^ A battle royal on Jupiter. THE HONEY OF DEATH. 209 resumed their march along the third side of the square which was to bring them back to the CalUsto. Their course was parallel to the stream, and on com- paratively high ground. Cortlandt's gun did good service, bringing down between fifty and sixty birds that usually allowed them to get as near as they pleased, and often seemed unwilling to leave their branches. By the time they were ready for lunch- eon they saw it would be dark in an hour. As the rapidity of the planet's rotation did not give them a chance to become tired, they concluded not to pitch their camp, but to resume the march by moonlight, which would be easy in the high, open country they were traversing. While in quest of fire-wood, they came upon great heaps of bones, mostly those of birds, and were attracted by the tall, bell-shaped flowers grow- ing luxuriantly in their midst. These exhaled a most delicious perfume, and at the centre of each flower was a viscous liquid, the colour of honey. "If this tastes as well as it looks," said Bear- warden, " it will come in well for dessert " ; saying which he thrust his finger into the recesses of the flower, intending to taste the essence. Quietly, but 210 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. like a flash, the flower closed, his hand being nearly caught and badly scratched by the long, sharp thorns that now appeared at the edges. " Ha ! " he exclaimed, '' a sensitive and you may almost say a man-eating plant. This doubtless has been the fate of these birds, whose bones now lie bleaching at its feet after they have nourished its lips with their lives. Xo doubt the plant has use for them still, since their skeletons may serve to fertilize its roots." Wishing to investigate further, Bearwarden placed one of the birds they had shot within the bell of another flower, which immediately contracted with such force that they saw drops of blood squeezed out. After some minutes the flower opened, as beautiful as ever, and discharged an oblong ball compressed to about the size of a hen's e^g, though the bird that was placed within it had been as large as a small duck. Towards evening these flowers sent up their most beautiful song, to hear which flocks of birds came from far and near, alighting on the trees, and many were lured to death by the siren strains and the honey. Before resuming their journey, the travellers paid THE HONEY OF DEATH. 211 a parting visit to the bell-sliaped lilies on their pyra- mids of bones. The flowers were closed for the night, and the travellers saw by the moonlight that the white mounds were simply alive with diamond- headed snakes. These coiled themselves, flattened their heads, and set up such a hissing on the explor- ers' approach that they were glad to retire, and leave this curious contrast of hideousness and beauty to the fire-flies and the moons. Marching along in Indian file, the better to avoid treading on the writhing ser- pents that strewed the ground, they kept on for about two hours. They frequently passed huge heaps or mounds of bones, evidently the remains of hears or other large animals. The carnivorous plants grow- ing at their centre were often like hollow trees, and might easily have received the three travellers in one embrace. But as before, the mounds were alive with serpents that evidently made them their homes, and raised an angry hiss whenever the men approached. " The wonder to me," said Bearwarden, " is, that these snakes do not protect the game, by keeping it from the life-devouring plants. It may be that they do not show themselves by day or when the victims are near, or that the quadrupeds on wdiich these 212 A JOURNEY IX OTHER \;\'ORLDS. plants live take a pleasure, like deer, in killing tliem by jumping with all four feet upon their backs or in some other way, and after that are entrapped by the flowers." Shortly after midnight they rested for a half hour, but the dawn found them trudging along steadilj^, though somewhat wearily, and having about com- pleted the third side of their square. Accordingly, they soon made a right-angle turn to the left, and had been picking their way over the rough ground for nearly two hours, with the sun already high in the sky, when they noticed a diminution of light. Glancing up, they saw that one of the moons was passing across the sun, and that they were on the eve of a total eclipse. " Since all but the fifth moon," said Cortlandt, " revolve exactly in the plane of Jupiter's equator, any inhabitants that settle there will become accus- tomed to eclipses, for there must be one of the sun, and also of the moons, at each revolution, or about forty-five liundred in every Jovian year. The reason we have seen none before is, because we are not exactly on the equator." They had a glimpse of the coronal streamers as the THE HONEY OF DEATH. 213 last portion of the sun was covered, and all the other phenomena that attend an eclipse on earth. For a few minutes there was a total return to night. The twinkling stars and other moons shone tranquilly in the sky, and even the noise of the insects ceased. Presently the edge of the sun that had been first ob- scured reappeared, and then N'ature went through the phenomenon of an accelerated dawn. Without awaiting a full return of light, the travellers pro- ceeded on their way, and had gone something over a hundred yards when Ayrault, who was march- ing second, suddenly grasped Bearwarden, who was in front, and pointed to a jet-black mass straight ahead, and about thirty yards from a pool of warm water, from which a cloud of vapour arose. The top of the head was about seven feet high, and the length of the body exceeded thirty feet. The six legs looked as strong as steel cables, and were about a foot through, while a huge, bony proboscis nine feet in length preceded the body.^ This was carried hori- zontally between two and three feet from the ground. Presently a large ground sloth came to the pool to drink, lapping up the water at the sides that had partly cooled. In an instant the black armored 214 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. monster rushed down the slope with the speed of a nineteenth-century locomotive, and seemed about as formidable. The sloth turned in the direction of the sound, and for a moment seemed paralyzed with fear ; it then started to run, but it was too late, for the next second the enormously exaggerated ant — for such it was— overtook it. The huge mandible shears that when closed had formed the proboscis, snapped viciously, taking off the sloth's legs and then cutting its body to slivers. The execution was finished in a few seconds, and the ponderous insect carried back about half the sloth to its hiding-place, where it leisurely devoured it. ''This reminds me," said Bearwarden, "of the old lady who never completed her preparations for turning in without searching for burglars under the bed. Finally she found one, and exclaimed in delight, 'I've been looking for you fifty years, and at last you are here ! ' The question is, now that we have found our burglar, what shall we do with him ? " " I constantly regret not having a rifle," replied Cortlandt, " though it is doubtful if even that would lielp us here." THE HONEY OF DEATH. 215 " Let us sit down and wait," said Ayrault ; " there may be an opening soon." Anon a woolly rhinoceros, resembling the Rhino- ceros tichorhinus that existed contemporaneously on earth with the mammoth, came to drink the water that had partly cooled. It was itself a formidable- looking beast, but in an instant the monster again rushed from concealment with the same tremen- dous speed. The rhinoceros turned in the direction of the sound, and, lowering its head, faced the foe. The ant's shears, however, passed beneath the horn, and, fastening upon the left foreleg, cut it off w^ith a loud snap. " ^ow is our chance," exclaimed Cortlandt ; " we may kill the brute before he is through with the rhinoceros." " Stop a bit, doctor," said Bearwarden, ^' lYe have a good record so far ; let us keep up our reputa- tion for being sports. Wait till he can attend to us." The encounter was over in less than a minute, three of the rhinoceros's legs being taken off, and the liead almost severed from the body. Taking up the legs in its mandibles, the murderous creature was re- turning to its lair, when, with the cry of '' Now for 210 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. the fray ! " Bearwarden aimed beneath the body and blew off one of the farther armoured legs, from the inside. " Shoot off the legs on the same side," he counselled Ayrault, while he himself kept up a rapid fire. Cortlandt tried to disconcert the enemy by raining duck-shot on its scale-protected eyes, while the two rifles tore off great masses of the horn that covered the enormously powerful legs. The men separated as they retreated, knowing that one slash of the great shears would cut their three bodies in halves if they were caught together. The monster had dropped the remains of the rhinoceros when attacked, and made for the hunters at its top speed, which was somewhat reduced by the loss of one leg. Before it came within cutting distance, however, another on the same side was gone, Ayrault having landed a bullet on a spot already stripped of armour. After this the men had no difficulty in keeping out of its way, though it still moved with some speed, snipping off young trees in its path like grass. Finally, having blown the scales from one eye, the travellers sent in a bullet that exploded in the brain and ended its career. " This has been by all odds the most exciting THE HONEY OF DEATH. 217 hunt we have had," said Ayrault, " both on account of the determined nature and great speed of the attack, and the ahiiost impossibility of finding a vul- nerable spot." " Anything short of explosive bullets," added Bearwarden, " would have been powerless against this beast, for the armour in many places is nearly a foot thick." " This is also the most extraordinary as well as most dangerous creature with which we have had to deal," said Cortlandt, because it is an enormously enlarged insect, with all the inherent ferocity and strength. It is almost the exact counterpart of an African soldier-ant magnified many hundred thou- sand times. I wonder," he continued thoughtfully, "if our latter-day insects may not be the deteriorated (in point of size) descendants of the monsters of mythology and geology, for nothing could be a more terrible or ferocious antagonist than many of our well- known insects, if sufficiently enlarged. 'No animal now alive has more than a small fraction of the strength, in proportion to its size, of the minutest spider or flea. It may be that through lack of food, difficulties imposed by changing climate, and the ne- 218 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. cessitv of burrowing in winter, or tlirongli some other conditions changed from what they were accustomed to, their size lias been reduced, and that the fire-flies, huge as they seemed, are a step in advance of this specimen in the marcli of deterioration or involution, which will end by making them as insignificant as those on earth. These ants have probably come into the woods to lay their eggs, for, from the behaviour of the animals we watched from the turtle, there must have been several ; or perhaps a war is in progress between those of a different colour, as on earth, in which case the woods may be full of them. Doubtless the reason the turtle seemed so uncon- cerned at the general uneasiness of the animals was because he knew he could make himself invulnerable to the marauder by simply closing his shell, and we were unmolested because it did not occur to the ant that any soft-shelled creatures could be on the turtle's back." " I think," said Bearwarden, " it will be the part of wisdom to return to the Callisto, and do the rest of our exploring on Jupiter from a safe height ; for, though we succeeded in disabling this beauty, it was largely through luck, and had we not done so we THE HONEY OF DEATH. 219 should probably have provided a hon louche for our deceased friend, instead of standing at his grave." Accordingly they proceeded, and were delighted, a few minutes later, to see the sunlight reflected from the projectile's polished roof. 15 CHAPTER X. CHANGING LANDSCAPES. On reaching the Callisto, Ayrault worked the lock he had had placed on the lower door, which, to avoid carrying a key, was opened by a combination. The car's interior was exactly as they had left it, and they were glad to be in it again. " IN'ow," said Bear warden, " we can have a sound and undisturbed sleep, which is what I want more than anything else. No prowlers can trouble us here, and we shall not need the protection-wires." They then opened a window in each side — for the large glass plates, admitting the sun when closed, made the Callisto rather warm — and placed a stout wire netting within them to keep out birds and bats, and then, though it was but little past noon, got into their comfortable beds and slept nine hours at a stretcli. Tlieir strong metal house was securely at (220) CHANGING LANDSCAPES. 221 rest, receiving the sunlight and shedding the rain and dew as it might have done on earth. No winds or storms, hghtnings or floods, could trouble it, while the multiformed monsters of antiquity and mythology restored in life, with which the terrestrials had been thrown into such close contact, roamed about its pol- ished walls. Is'ot even the fiercest could affect them, and they would but see themselves reflected in any vain assaults. The domed symmetrical cylinder stood there as a monument to human ingenuity and skill, and the travellers' last thought as they fell asleep was, '' Man is really lord of creation." The following day at about noon they awoke, and had a bath in the warm pool. They saw the ar- moured mass of the great ant evidently undisturbed, while the bodies of its victims were already shining skeletons, and raised a small cairn of stones in mem- ory of the struggle they had had there. "We should name this place Kentucky," said Bearwarden, "for it is indeed a dark and bloody ground," and, seeing the aptness of the appellation, they entered it so on their charts. While Ayrault got the batteries in shape for resuming work, Bear- warden prepared a substantial breakfast. This con- 222 A JOURNEY IN OTnER WORLDS. sisted of oatmeal and cream ke])t hermetically sealed in glass, a dish of roast grouse, coffee, pilot bread, a bottle of Sauterne, and another of Rhine wine. '' This is the last meal we shall take here- abouts," said their cook, as they plied their knives and forks beneath the trees, " so here is a toast to our adventures, and to all the game we have killed." They drained their glasses in drinking this, after which Bearwarden regaled them with the latest concert-hall song, which he had at his tongue's end. About an hour before dark they re-entered their projectile, and, as a mark of respect to their little ship, named the great branch of the continent on which they had alighted Callisto Point. They then got under way. The batteries had to develop almost their maximum power to overcome Jupiter's attrac- tion ; but they were equal to the task, and the Callisto was soon in the air. Directing their apergy to the mountains towards the interior of the continent, and applying repulsion to any ridge or hill over whicli they passed, thereby easing the work of the batteries engaged in supporting the Callisto, they were soon sweeping along at seventy-five to one hundred miles CHANGING LANDSCAPES. 223 an hour. By keeping the projectile just strongly enough charged to neutralize gravitation, they re- mained for the most part within two hundred feet of the ground, seldom rising to an altitude of more than a mile, and were therefore able to keep the windows at the sides open and so obtain an unobstructed view. If, however, at any time they felt oppressed by Jupi- ter's high barometric pressure, and preferred the terrestrial conditions, they had but to rise till the barometer fell to thirty. Then, if an object of in- terest recalled them to sea-level, they could keep the Callisto's inside pressure at what they found on the Jovian mountains, by screwing up the windows. On account of the distance of sixty-four thousand miles from Jupiter's equator to the pole, they calculated that going at the speed of a hundred miles an hour, night and day, it would take them twenty-five terres- trial days to reach the pole even from latitude two degrees at which they started. But they knew that, if pressed for time, they could rise above the limits of the atmosphere, and move with planetary speed ; while, if they wished a still easier method of pursuing their observation, they had but to remain poised be- tween the sun and Jupiter, beyond the latter's upper 2-24: A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. air, and photograph or map it as it revolved before them. Bj sunset they had gone a hundred miles. Wish- ing to push along, they closed the windows, rose higher to avoid any mountain-tops that might be invisible in the moonlight, and increased their speed. The air made a gentle humming sound as they shot through it, and towards morning they saw several bright points of light in which they recognized, by the aid of their glasses, sheets of flame and torrents of molten glowing lava, bursting at intervals or pour- ing steadily from several volcanoes. From this they concluded they were again near an ocean, since vol- canoes need the presence of a large body of water to provide steam for their eruptions. With the rising sun they found the scene of the day before entirely changed. They were over the shore of a vast ocean that extended to the left as far as they could see, for the range of vision often ex- ceeded the power of sight. The coast-line ran almost due north and south, while the volcanoes that dotted it, and that had been luminous during the night, now revealed their nature only by lines of smoke and vapour. They were struck l>y the boldness and ab- CHANGING LANDSCAPES. 225 ruptness of the scenery. The mountains and cliffs had been but little cut down by water and frost action, and seemed in the full vigour of their youth, which was what the travellers had a right to expect on a globe that was still cooling and shrinking, and consequently throwing up ridges in the shape of mountains far more rapidly than a planet as matured and quiescent as the earth. The absence of lakes also showed them that there had been no Glacial period, in the latitudes they were crossing, for a very long time. "We can account for the absence of ice-action and scratches," said Cortlandt, " in one of two ways. Either the proximity of the internal heat to the sur- face prevents water from freezing in all latitudes, or Jupiter's axis has always been very nearly perpen- dicular to its orbit, and consequently the thermome- ter has never been much below thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit ; for, at the considerable distance we are now from the sun, it is easy to conceive that, with the axis much inclined, there might be cold weather, dur- ing the Northern hemisphere's winter, that would last for about six of our years, even as near the equator as this. The substantiation of an ice-cap at the pole 226 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. will disprove the first hypothesis ; for what we took for ice before alighting may have been but banks of cloud, since, having been in the plane of the planet's equator at the time, we had naturally but a very oblique s'iew of the poles ; while the absence of glacial scratches shows, I take it, that though the axis may have been a good deal more inclined than at present, it has not, at all events since Jupiter's Palaeozoic period, been as much so as that of Uranus or Yenus. The land on Jupiter, corresponding to the Lauren- tian Hills on earth, must even here have appeared at so remote a period that the first surface it showed must long since have been worn away, and therefore any impressions it received have also been erased. " Comparing this land with the photographs we took from space, I should say it is the eastern of the two crescent-shaped continents we found apparently facing each other. Their present form I take to be only the skeleton outline of what they will be at the next period of Jupiters development. Tlicy will, I predict, become more like half moons than cres- cents, though tlie profile may l)e much indented by gulfs and bays, their superficial area being greatly increased, and the intervening ocean correspondingly CHANGING LANDSCAPES. 227 narrowed. AYe know that Korth America had a very different shape during the Cretaceous or even the Middle Tertiary period from what it has now, and that the Gulf of Mexico extended up the valley of the Mississippi as far as the Ohio, by the presence of a great coral reef in the Ohio River near Cincin- nati. AYe know also that Florida and the South- eastern Atlantic States are a very recent addition to the continent, while the pampas of the Argentine Republic have, in a geological sense, but just been upheaved from the sea, by the fact that the rivers are all on the surface, not having had time to cut down their channels below the surrounding country. By similar reasoning, we know that the cailon of the Colorado is a very old region, though the precipitate- ness of its banks is due to the absence of rain, for a local water-supply would cut back the banks, having most effect where they were steepest, since at those points it would move with the greatest speed. Thus the majestic canon owes its existence to two things : the length of time the river has been at work, and the fact that the water flowing through it comes from another region where, of course, there is rain, and that it is merely in transit, and so affects only the 228 -^^ JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. bed on which it moves. Granting tliat this is the east- ern of the two continents we observed, it evidently corresponds more in shape to the Eastern liemi- sphere on earth than to the Xew World, both of which are set facing one another, since both drain towards the Atlantic Ocean. But the analogy here liolds also, for the past outlines of the Eastern hemi- sphere differed radically from what they are now. The Mediterranean Sea was formerly of far greater extent than we see it to-day, and covered nearly the whole of northern Africa and the old upheaved sea-bottom that we see in the Desert of Sahara. Much of this great desert, as we know, has a considerable elevation, though part of it is still below the level of the Medi- terranean. " Perhaps a more striking proof of this than are the remains of fishes and marine life that are found there, is the dearth of natural harbours and indenta- tions in Africa's northern coast, while just opposite, in southern Europe, there are any number ; which shows that not enough time has elapsed since Africa's upheaval for liquid or congealed water to produce them. Many of Europe's best harbours, and Bos- ton's, in our country, have been dug out by slow CHANGING LANDSCAPES. 229 ice-action in the oft-recurring Glacial periods. The Black and Caspian Seas were larger than we now find them ; while the Adriatic extended much farther into the continent, covering most of the country now in the valley of the Po. In Europe the land has, of course, risen also, but so slowly that the rivers have been able to keep their channels cut down ; proof of their ability to perform which feat we see when an ancient river passes through a ridge of hills or mountains. The river had doubtless been there long before the mountains began to rise, but their elevation was so gradual that the rate of the river's cutting down equalled or exceeded their com- ing up ; proof of which we have in the patent fact that the ancient river's course remains unchanged, and is at right angles to the mountain chain. From all of which we see that the Eastern hemisphere's crescent hollow— of which, I take it, the Mediterra- nean, Black, and Caspian Sea depressions are the re- mains — has been gradually filled in, by the elevation of the sea's bottom, and the extension of deltas from the detrital matter brought from the high interior of the continents by the rivers, or by the combined action of the two. ISTow, since the Gulf of Mexico 230 A JOURXF.Y IN OTHER WORLDS. lias been constant!}^ growing smaller, and the "Medi- terranean is being invaded by the land, I reason that similar causes will produce like effects here, and give to each continent an area far greater than our entire globe. The stormy ocean we behold in the west, which corresponds to our Atlantic, though it is far more of a mare clausum in the geographical sense, is also destined to become a calm and placid inland sea. There are, of course, modifications of and checks to the laws tending to increase the land area. England was formerly joined to the continent, the land connecting the two having been rather washed away by the waves and great tides than by any sink- ing of the English Channel's bottom, the whole of which is comparatively shallow. Another case of this kind is seen in Cape Cod and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Xantucket, all of which are washing away so rapidly that they would probably disappear before the next Glacial period, were we not engaged in preventing its recyrrence. These detached islands and sand-bars once formed one large island, which at a still earlier time undoubtedly was joined to the mainland. The sands forming the de- tached masses are in a great processional march CHANGING LANDSCAPES. 231 towards the equator, but it is the result simply of winds and waves, there being no indication of sub- sidence. Along the coast of Kew Jersey we see denudation and sinking going on together, the well- known sunken forest being an instance of the latter. The border of the continent proper also extends many miles under the. ocean before reaching the edge of the Atlantic basin. Volcanic eruptions sometimes demolish parts of headlands and islands, though these recompense us in the amount of ma- terial brought to the surface, and in the increased distance they enable water to penetrate by relieving the interior of part of its heat, for any land they may destroy." CHAPTER XL A JOVIAN NIAGARA. Four days later, after crossing a ridge of moun- tains that the pressure on the aneroid barometer showed to be about thirty-two thousand feet hig^h, and a stretch of flat country a few miles in width, they came to a great arm of the sea. It was about thirty miles wide at its mouth, which was narrowed like the neck of a bottle, and farther inland was over one hundred miles across, and though their glasses, the clear air, and the planet's size enabled them to see nearly five hundred miles, they could not find its end. In the shallow water along its shores, and on the islands rising but a few feet above the waves, they saw all kinds of amphibians and sea-monsters, ^fany of these were almost the exact reproduction in life of the giant plesiosaurs, dinosaurs, and elasmo- saurs, whose remains are preserved in the museums (232) A JOVIAN NIAGARA. 233 on earth. The reptilian bodies of the elasmosaurs, seventy-five feet in length, with the forked tongues, distended jaws and fangs of a snake, were easily taken for the often described but probably mythical sea-serpent, as partially coiled they occasionally raised their heads twelve or fifteen feet. "Man in his natural state," said Cortlandt, "would have but small chance of surviving long among such neighbours. Buckland, I think, once in- dulged in the jeu d'esjyrit of supposing an ichthyo- saur lecturing on the human skull. ' You will at once perceive,' said the lecturer, ' that the skull before us belonged to one of the lower order of animals. The teeth are very insignificant, the power of the jaws triflins:, and altoo:ether it seems wonderful how the creature could have procured food.' Armed with modern weapons, and in this machine, we are, of course, superior to the most powerful monster ; but it is not likely that, had man been so surrounded during the whole of his evolution, he could have reached his present plane." IS'otwithstanding the striking similarity of these creatures to their terrestrial counterparts that ex- isted on earth during its corresponding period, there 234 A JOURXEY IN OTHER WORLDS. were some interesting modiiications. The organs of locomotion in the amphibians were more developed, while the eyes of all were larger, the former being of course necessitated by the power of gravity, and the latter by the greater distance from the sun. '• The adaptability and economy of Nature," said Cortlandt, "have always amazed me. In the total blackness of the Kentucky Mammoth Cave, where eyes would be of no use to the fishes, our common nj other has given them none ; while if there is any light, though not as much as we are accustomed to, she may be depended upon to rise to the occasion by increasing the size of the pupil and the power of the eye. In tlie development of the ambulatory muscles we again see her handiwork, probably brought about through the ' survival of the fittest.' The fishes and those wholly immersed need no in- crease in power, for, though they weigh more than they would on earth, the weight of the water they displace is increased at the same rate also, and their buoyancy remains unchanged. If the development of life here so closely follows its lines on earth, with the exception of comparatively slight modifications, which are exactly what, had we stopped to think, A JOVIAN NIAGARA. 235 we should have expected to find, may we not rea- sonably ask wlietlier she will not continue on these lines, and in time produce beings like ourselves, but with more powerful muscles and eyes capable of seeing clearly with less light? Keasoning by anal- ogy, we can come to no other conclusion, unless their advent is anticipated by the arrival of ready- made colonists from the more advanced earth, like ourselves. In that case man, by pursuing the same destructive methods that he has pursued in regard to many other species, may exterminate the inter- vening links, and so arrest evolution." Before leaving Deepwaters Bay they secured a pail of its water, which they found, on examination, contained a far larger percentage of salt and solid material than the oceans on earth, while a thermom- eter that they immediately immersed in it soon registered eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit; both of which discoveries confirmed them in what they already knew, namely, that Jupiter had advanced comparatively little from the condition in which the water on the surface is hot, in which state the earth once was. They were soon beyond the estuary at which 16 236 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. tliej had stopped to study the forms of life and to make this test, and kept on due north for sev- eral days, occasionally rising above the air. As their famiharity with their surroundings increased, they made notes of several things. The mountains cov- ered far more territory at their bases than the terres- trial mountains, and they were in places very rugged and showed vast yawning chasms. They were also wooded farther up their sides, and bore but little snow ; but so far the travellers had not found them much higher than those on earth, the greatest altitude being the thirty-two thousand feet south of Deep- waters Bay, and one other ridge that was forty thou- sand ; so that, compared with the size of the planet and its continents, they seemed quite small, and the continents themselves were comparatively level. They also noted that spray was blown in vast sheets, till the ocean for miles was white as milk. The wind often attained tornado strength, and the whole sur- face of the water, about what seemed to be the storm centre, frequently moved with rapidity in the form of foam. Yet, notwithstanding this, the waves were never as large as those to which they were accustomed on earth. This they accounted for very easily by the A JOVIAN NIAGARA. 237 fact that, while water weighed 2'55 times as much as on earth, the pressure of air was but httle more tlian half as much again, and consequently its effect on all but the very surface of the heavy liquid was comparatively slight. " Gravity is a useful factor here," observed Cort- landt, as they made a note of this ; " for, in addition to giving immunity from waves, it is most effective in checking the elevation of high mountains or table- lands in the high latitudes, which we shall doubtless find sufficiently cool, or even cold, while in tropical regions, which might otherwise be too hot, it inter- feres with them least, on account of being partly neu- tralized by the rapid rotation with which all four of the major planets are blessed." At sunrise the following morning they saw they were approaching another great arm of the sea. It was over a thousand miles wide at its mouth, and, had not the photographs showed the contrary, they would have thought the Callisto had reached the northern end of the continent. It extended into the land fifteen thousand miles, and, on account of the shape of its mouth, they called it Funnel Bay. Kis- ing to a height, they flew across, and came to a great A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. table-land peninsula, with a chain of mountains on either side. The southern rano^e was somethingr over, and the northern something less than, five thousand feet in height, while the table-land between sloped almost imperceptibly towards the middle, in which, as they expected, they found a river compared to which the Mississippi or the Amazon would be but a brook. In honour of the President of the Terrestrial Axis Straightening Company, they called this great pro- jection, which averaged about four thousand miles across by twelve thousand miles long, Bearwarden Peninsula. They already noticed a change in cli- mate ; the ferns and palms became fewer, and were succeeded by pines, while the air was also a good deal cooler, which was easily accounted for by their alti- tude — though even at that height it was considerably denser than at sea-level on earth — and by the fact that they were already near latitude thirty: The exposed points on the plateau, as also the summits of the first mountains they had seen before alighting, were devoid of vegetation, scarcely so much as a blade of grass being visible. Since they could not account for this by cold, they concluded that the most probable explanation lay in the tremendous hur- A JOVIAN NIAGARA. 239 ricanes that, produced by the planet's rapid rotation, frequently swept along its surface, like the earth's trade-winds, but with far more violence. On reaching the northern coast of the peninsula they increased their elevation and changed their course to northeast, not caring to remain long over the great body of water, which they named Cortlandt Bay. The thousands of miles of foam fast flew be- neath them, the first thing attracting their attention beins: a change in the ocean's colour. In the eastern shore of Cortlandt Bay they soon observed the mouth of a river, ten miles across, from w^iich this tinted water issued in a flood. On account of its colour, which reminded them of a stream they knew so well, they christened it the Harlem. Believing that an expedition up its valley might reveal something of interest, they began the ascent, remaining at an elevation of a few hundred feet. For about three hundred miles they followed this river, which had but few bends, while its sides be- came more and more precipitous, till it flowed through a canon four and a half miles across. Though they knew from the wide discoloration of Cortlandt Bay that the volume of water discharged was tremendous, 240 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. the stream seldom moved at a rate of more than five miles an hour, and for a time was free from rocks and rapids, from Avhicli tliej concluded that it must be very deep. Half an hour later they saw a cloud of steam or mist, which expanded, and almost ob- scured the sky as they approached. Next they heard a sound like distant thunder, which they took for the prolonged eruption of some giant crater, though they had not expected to find one so far towards the in- terior of the continent. Presently it became one con- tinuous roar, the echo in the canon, whose walls were at this place over six hundred- feet high, being simply deafening, so that the near discharge of the heaviest artillery would have been completely drowned. " One would think the end of the world was ap- proaching ! " shouted Cortlandt through his hands. " Look ! " Bearwarden roared back, " the wind is scattering the mist." As he spoke, the vapoury curtain was drawn aside, revealing a waterfall of such vast proportions as to dwarf completely anything they had ever seen or even imagined. A somewhat open horseslioe lip, three and a half miles straight across and over four miles following the line of the curve, discharged a A JOVIAN NIAGARA. 241 sheet of water forty feet thick at the edge into an abyss six hundred feet below. Two islands on the brink divided this sheet of liquid into three nearly equal parts, while myriads of rainbows hovered in the clouds of spray. Two things especially struck the observers : the water made but little curve or sweep on passing over the edge, and then rushed down to the abyss at almost lightning speed, shivering itself to infinitesimal particles on striking any rock or pro- jection at the side. Its behaviour was, of course, due to its weight, and to the fact that on Jupiter bodies fall 40*98 feet the first second, instead of sixteen feet, as on earth, and at correspondingly increasing speed. Finding that they were being rapidly dazed and stunned by the noise, the travellers caused the Cal- listo to rise rapidly, and were soon surveying the superb sight from a considerable elevation. Their minds could grasp but slowly the full meaning and titanic power of what they saw, and not even the vast falls in their nearness could make their significance clear. Here was a sheet of water three and a half miles wide, averaging forty feet in depth, moving at a rapid rate towards a sheer fall of six hundred feet. They felt, as they gazed at it, that the power of that 242 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. waterfall would turn backward every engine and dynamo on the eartli, and it seemed as if it might almost put out the fires of the sun. Yet it was but an illustration of the action of the solar orb exerted on a vast area of ocean, the vapour in the form of rain being afterwards turned into these comparatively narrow limits by the topography of the continent. Compared with this, Kiagara, with its descent of less than two hundred feet, and its relatively small flow of water, would be but a rivulet, or at best a rapid stream. Reluctantly leaving the fascinating spectacle, they pursued their exploration along the river above the falls. For the first few miles the surface of the water was near that of the land ; there were occasional rapids, but few rocks, and the foaming torrent moved at great speed, the red sandstone banks of the river being as polished as though they had been waxed. After a while the obstructions disappeared, but the water continued to rush and surge along at a speed of ten or twelve miles an hour, so that it would be easily navigable only for logs or objects moving in one direction. The surface of the river was soon on an average fifty feet below the edge of the banks, A JOVIAN NIAGARA. 243 this depression being one result of the water's rapid motion and weight, which facihtated the carving of its channel. When they had followed up the river about sixty miles towards its source they came upon what at first had the appearance of an ocean. They knew, however, from its elevation, and the flood coming from it, that the water must be fresh, as they soon found it was. This lake was about three hundred miles wide, and stretched from northeast to south- west. There was rolling land with hills about its shores, and the foliage on the banks was a beauti- ful shade of bluish purple instead of the terrestrial ubiquitous green. When near the great lake's upper end, they passed the mouth of a river on their left side, which, from its volume, they concluded must be the princi- pal source, and therefore they determined to trace it. They found it to be a most beautiful stream, aver- aging two and a half miles in width, evidently very deep, and with a full, steady current. After proceed- ing for several hours, they found that the general placidity grew less, the smooth surface occasionally became ruffied by projecting rocks and rapids, and 244 A JOTRXEY IX OTHER WORLDS. the banks rose till the voyagers again fonnd them- selves in a ravine or canon. During their sojourn on Jupiter they had had but little experience with the tremendous winds that they knew, from reason and observation, must rage in its atmosphere. They now heard them whistling over their heads, and, notwithstanding the protection afforded by the sides of the canon, occasionally re- ceived a gust that made the Callisto swerve. They kept on steadily, however, till sunset, at which time it became very dark on account of the high banks, which rose as steeply as the Palisades on the Hudson to a height of nearly a thousand feet. Finding a small island near the eastern bank, they were glad to secure the Callisto there for the night, below the reach of the winds, which they still heard singing loudly but with a musical note in what seemed to them like the sky. " It is incomprehensible to me," said Ayrault, as they sat at dinner, " how the sun, at a distance of four hundred and eighty-three million miles, can raise the amount of water we have here passing us, and compared with which the discharge of the great- est river on earth would be insignificant, to say noth- A JOVIAN NIAGARA. 245 ing of the stream we ascended before reaching this." " We must remember," replied Cortlandt, " that many of the conditions are different here from those that exist on earth. We know that some of the streams are warm, and even hot, and that tlie tem- perature of Deepwaters Bay, and doubtless that of the ocean also, is considerably higher than ours. This would facilitate evaporation. The density of the atmosphere and the tremendous winds, of which I suspect we may see more later, must also help the sun very much in its work of raising vapour. But the most potent factor is undoubtedly the vast size of the basin that these rivers drain." " The great speed at which the atmospheric cur- rents move," said Bearwarden, " coupled with the comparative lowness of the mountain chains and the slight obstruction they offer to their passage, must distribute the rain very thoroughly, notwithstanding the great unbroken area of the continents. There can be no such state of things here as exists in the western part of South America, where the Andes are so high that any east-bound clouds, in crossing them, are shoved up so far into a cold region that all 246 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. moisture they may have brought from the Pacific is condensed into rain, with wliich parts of the western slope are dehiged, while clouds from the Atlantic have come so far they have already dispersed their moisture, in consequence of which the region just east of the Andes gets little if any rain. It is bad for a continent to have its high mountains near the ocean from which it should get its rain, and good for it to have them set well back." " I should not be surprised," said Cortlandt, " if we saw another waterfall to-morrow, though not in the shape of rain. In the hour before we stopped we began to see rapids and protruding rocks. That means that we are coming to a part of the channel that is comparatively new, since the older parts have had time to wear smooth. I take it, then, that we are near the foot of a retreating cascade, which we may hope soon to see. That is exactly the order in which we found smooth water and rapids in river No. 1, which we have named the Harlem." After this, not being tired, they used the re- maining dark hours for recording their recent ad- ventures. CHAPTER XII. HILLS AND VALLEYS. With the first light they resumed their journey, and an hour after setting out they sighted, as Cort- landt had predicted, another cloud of vapour. The fall — for such it proved to be — was more beautiful than the other, for, though the volume of water was not so great, it fell at one leap, without a break, and at the same tremendous speed, a distance of more than a thousand feet. The canon rang with the echoes, while the spray flew in sheets against the smooth, glistening, sandstone walls. Instead of com- ing from a river, as the first fall had, this poured at once from the rocky lip, about two miles across, of a lake that was eleven hundred feet above the surging mass in the vale below. ^' It is a thousand pities," said Bearwarden, " that this cataract has got so near its source ; for, at (347) 24S A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. the rate these streams must cut, this one in a few hundred years, unless something is done to prevent it, will have worn back to the lake, and then good- bye to the falls, which will become a series of rapids. Perhaps the first effect will be merely to reduce by a few feet the height of the falls, in which case they will remain in practically the same place." About the shores of this lake they saw rhinoce- roses with long thick wool, and herds of creatures that much resembled buffaloes. " I do not see," said Bearwarden, " why the iden- tical species should not exist here that till recently, in a geological sense, inhabited the earth. The climate and all other conditions are practically the same on both planets, except a trifling difference in weight, to which terrestrials would soon adapt them- selves. We know by spectroscopic analysis that hydrogen, iron, magnesium, and all our best-known substances exist in the sun, and even the stars, while the earth contains everything we have found in meteorites. Then why make an exception of life, instead of supposing that at corresponding periods of development the same living forms inhabit all ? It would be assuming the eternal sterilization of the HILLS AND VALLEYS. 249 fanctions of Nature to suppose that our earth is the only body that can produce them." " The world of organic life is so much more com- plex," replied Cortlandt, " than that of the crystal, that it requires great continuity. So far we certainly have seen no men, or anything like them, not even so much as a monkey, though I suppose, according to your reasoning, Jupiter has not advanced far enough to produce even that." " Exactly," replied Bearwarden, " for it will re- quire vast periods; and, according to my belief, at least half the earth's time of habitability had passed before man appeared. But we see Jupiter is admira- bly suited for those who have been developed some- where else, and it w^ould be an awful shame if we allowed it to lie unimproved till it produces apprecia- tive inhabitants of its own, for we find more to ad- mire in one half-hour than its entire present popu- lation during its lifetime. Yet, how magnificent this world is, and how superior in its natural state to ours! The mountainous horns of these crescent- shaped continents protect them and the ocean they enclose from the cold polar marine currents, and in a measure from the icy winds; while the elevated 250 A JOURXEY IX OTHER WORLDS. country on the horns near the equator might be a Garden of Eden, or ideal resort. To be sure, the continents might support a larger population, if more broken up, notwithstanding the advantage resulting from the comparatively low mountains along the coasts, and the useful w^inds. A greater subdivision of land and water, more great islands connected by isthmuses, and more mediterraneans joined by straits, would be a further advantage to commerce ; but with the sources of power at hand, the resistless winds and water-power, much increased in effectiveness by their weight, the great tides when several moons are on the same side, or opposite the sun, internal heat near the surface, and abundant coal-supply doubtless al- ready formed and also near the surface, such small alterations could be made very easily, and would serve merely to prevent our becoming rusty. " As Jupiter's distance from the sun varies from 506,563,000 miles at aphelion to only 460,013,000 at perihelion, this difference, in connection with even the slight inclination of the axis, must make a slight change in seasons, but as the inclination is prac- tically nothing, almost the entire change results from the difference in distance. This means that the HILLS AND VALLEYS. 251 rise or fall in temperature is general on every degree of latitude, all being warmed simultaneously, more oi- less, as the planet approaches or departs from the sun. It means also that about the same conditions that Secretary Deepwaters suggested as desirable for the earth, prevail here, and that Jupiter represents, there- fore, about the acme of climate naturally provided. On account of its rapid rotation and vast size, the winds have a tornado's- strength, but they are nothing at this distance from the sun to what they would be if a planet with its present rate of rotation and size were where Venus or even the earth is. In either of these positions no land life with which we are ac- quainted could live on the surface ; for the slope of the atmospheric isobars— i. e., the hues of equal baro- metric pressure that produce wind by becoming tilted through unequal expansion, after which the air, as it were, flows down-hill — would be too great. The as- cending currents about the equator would also, of course, be vastly strengthened ; so that we see a wise dispensation of Providence in placing the large plan- ets, which also rotate so rapidly, at a great distance from the sun, which is the father of all winds, rotation alone, however rapid, being unable to produce them." 17 252 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. Tliej found this lake was about six times the size of Lake Superior, and that several large and small streams ran into its upper end. These had their sources in smaller lakes that were at slightly higher elevations. Though the air was cool, the sun shone brightly, while the ground was covered with flowers resembling those of the northern climes on earth, of all shapes and hues. Twice a day these sent up their song, and trees were covered with buds, and the birds twittered gaily. The streams murmured and bubbled, and all things reminded the travellers of early morn- ing in spring. " If anything could reconcile me," said Bearwar- den, '" to exchange my active utilitarian life for a rus- tic poetical existence, it would be this place, for it is far more beautiful than anything I have seen on earth. It needs but a Maud Muller and a few cows to com- plete the picture, since N'ature gives us a vision of eternal peace and repose." Somehow the mention of ]\Iaud Muller, and the delicate and refined flowers, whose perfume he in- haled, brought up thoughts that were never far below the surface in Ayrault's mind. " The place is heaven- ly enough," said he, " to make one wish to live and HILLS AND VALLEYS. 253 remain here forever, but to me it would be Hamlet with Hamlet left out." "Ah! poor chap," said Cortlandt, "you are in love, but you are not to be pitied, for though the thrusts at the heart are sharp, they may be the sweetest that mortals know." The following morning they reluctantly left the picturesque shores of Lake Serenity, with their beau- tiful tints and foliage, and resumed the journey, to explore a number of islands in the ocean in the west, which were recorded on their negatives. Ascending to rarefied air, they saw great chains of mountains, which they imagined ran parallel to the coast, rising to considerable altitudes in the east. The tops of all glistened with a mantle of snow in the sunlight, while between the ridges they saw darker and evidently fertile valleys. They passed, moving northwest, over large and small lakes, all evidently part of the same great system, and continued to sweep along for sev- eral days with a beautiful panorama, as varying as a kaleidoscope, spread beneath their eyes. They ob- served that the character of the country gradually changed. The symmetrically rounded mountains and hills began to show angles, while great slabs of rock 2^4: A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. were split from the faces. The sides also became less vertical, and there was an accumulation of detrital fragments about their bases. These heaps of frac- tured stone had in some cases begun ta disintegrate and form soil, on which there was a scant growth of vegetation ; but the sides and summits, whose jagged- ness increased with their height, were absolutely bare. "Here," said Cortlandt, "we have unmistakable evidence of frost and ice action. The next interest- ing question is. How recently has denudation oc- curred ? The absence of plant life at the exposed places," he continued, as if lecturing to a class, " can be accounted for here, as nearer the equator, by the violence of the wind ; but I greatly doubt whether water will now freeze in this latitude at any season of the year, for, even should the Korthern hemisphere's very insignificant winter coincide with the planet's aphelion, the necessary drop from the present tem- perature would be too great to be at all probable. If, then, it is granted that ice does not form here now, notwithstanding the fact that it has done so, the most plausible conclusion is that the inclination of Jupiter's axis is automatically changing', as we know the earth's has often done. There being nothing incompatible HILLS AND VALLEYS. 255 in this view with the evidence at hand, we can safely assume it correct for the time being at least. When farther south, you remember, we found no trace of ice action, notwithstanding the comparative slowness with which we decided that the ridges in the crust had been upheaved on account of the resisting power of gravity, and, as I see now, also on account of Jupi- ter's great mass, which must prevent its losing its heat anything like as fast as the earth has, in which I think also we have the explanation of the compara- tively low elevation of the jnountains that we found we could not account for by the power of gravitation alone.* From the fact that the exposed surface far- ther south must be old, on account of the slow up- heaval and the slight wear to -which it is exposed, about the only wearing agent being the wind, which would be powerless to erase ice-scratches, especially since, on account of gravity's power, it cannot, like our desert winds, carry much sand — which, as we * It is well known that mountain chains are but ridges or foldings in the crust upheaved as the interior cools and shrinks. This is proved by reason and by experiments with viscous clay or other material placed upon a sheet of stretched rubber, which is afterwards allowed to contract, whereupon the analogues of moun- tain ridges are thrown up. 256 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. know, has cut away the base of tlie Sphinx — I think it is logical to conclude that, though Jupiter's axis is changing naturally as the earth's has been, it has never varied as much as twenty-three and a half de- grees, and certainly to nothing like the extent to which we see Yenus and Uranus tilted to-day.'' "I follow you," said Bearwarden, "and do not see how we could arrive at anything else. From Jupiter's low specific gravity, weighing but little more than an equal bulk of water, I should say the interior must be very hot, pr else is composed of light material, for the crust's surface, or the part we see, is evidently about as dense as what we have on earth. These things have puzzled me a good deal, and I have been wondering if Jupiter may not have been formed before the earth and the smaller planets." " The discrepancies between even the best author- ities," replied Cortlandt, " show that as yet but little has been discovered from the earth concerning Jupi- ter's real condition. The two theories that try to ac- count for its genesis are the ring theory and the neb- ulous. "We know that the sun is constantly emitting vast volumes of heat and light, and that, with the ex- HILLS AND VALLEYS. 257 ception of the lieat resulting from the impact of fall- ing meteors, it receives none from outside, the prin- cipal source being the tremendous friction and pres- sure between the cooling and shrinking strata within the great mass of the sun itself. A seeming paradox therefore comes in here, which must be considered : If the sun were composed entirely of gas, it would for a time continue to grow hotter ; but the sun is inces- santly radiating light and heat, and consequently be- coming smaller. Therefore the farther back we go the hotter we find the sun, and also the larger, till, instead of having a diameter of eight hundred and eighty thousand miles, it filled the space now occu- pied by the entire solar system. Here is where the two theories start. - According to the first, the revolv- ing nebulous mass threw off a ring that became the planet ISTeptune, afterwards another that contained the material for Uranus, and so on, the lightest sub- stance in the sun being thrown off first, by which they accounted for the lightness of the four great planets, and finally Mars, the earth, and the small dense planets near the sun. The advocates of this theory pointed to Saturn's rings as an illustration of the birth of a planet, or, rather, in that case a satellite. 258 ^ JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. According to this, the major planets have liad a far longer separate existence than the minor, which wonld account for their being so advanced notwith- standing their size. This theory may again come into general acceptance, but for the present it has been discredited by the nebulous. According to this sec- ond theory, at the time the sun filled all the space inside of Neptune's orbit, or extended even farther, several centres of condensation were formed within the nebulous, gaseous mass. The greatest centre be- came the sun, and the others, large and small, the planets, which — as a result of the spiral motion of the whole, such as is now going on before our eyes in the great nebulae of fifty-one M. Canum venaticorum, and many others — began to revolve about the greatest central body of gas. As the separate masses cooled, they shrank, and their surfaces or extreme edges, which at first were contiguous, began to recede, which recession is still going on with some rapidity on the part of tlie sun, for we may be sure its diame- ter diminishes as its density increases. According to either theory, as I see it, the major planets, on ac- count of their distance from the central mass, have had longer separate existences than the minor, and HILLS AND VALLEYS. 259 are therefore more advanced than they would be had all been formed at the same time. '' This theory explains the practical uniformity in the chemical composition of all members of this system by assuming that they were all once a part of the same body, and you may say brothers and sisters of the sun, instead of its offspring. It also makes size the only factor determining temperature and density, but of course modified by age, since otherwise Jupiter would have a far less developed crust than that with which we find it. I have always considered the period from the molten condition to that with a crust as comparatively short, which stands to reason, for radiation has then no check ; and the period from the formation of the crust, which acts as a blanket, to the death of a planet, as very long. I have not found this view clearly set forth in any of the books I have read, but it seems to me the simplest and most natural explanation. 'Now, granted that the solar system was once a neb- ula, on which I think every one will agree — the same forces that changed it into a system of sun and planets must be at work on fifty-one M. Canum venaticorum, Andromeda, and ninety-nine M. Yir- 9r,0 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. giiiis, and must inevitably change them to suns, each with doubtless a system of planets. "If, then, the condition of a nebula or star de- pends simply on its size, it is reasonable to suppose that Andromeda, Sirius, and all the vast bodies we see, were created at the same time as our system, which involves the necessity of one general and si- multaneous creation day. But as Sirius, with its diameter of twelve million miles, must be larger than some of the nebulae will be when equally condensed, we must suppose rather that nebulte are forming and coming into the condition of bright and dead stars, much as apples or pears on a fruit tree are constantly growing and developing, so that the Mosaic description of the creation would proba- bly apply in point of time only to our system, or perhaps to our globe, though the rest will doubtless pass through precisely the same stages. This, I think, I will publish, on our return, as the Cortland t astro- nomical doctrine, as the most rational I have seen de- vised, and one that I think we may safely believe, until, perhaps, through increased knowledge, it can be disproved." After thev crossed a line of hills that ran at HILLS AND VALLEYS. 261 right angles to their course they found the country more rolHng. All streams and water-courses flowed in their direction, while their aneroid showed them that they were gradually descending. When they were moving along near the surface of the ground, a de- licious and refined perfume exhaled by the blue and white flowers, that had been growing smaller as they journeyed northward, frequently reached their nos- trils. To Cortlandt and Bearwarden it was merely the scent of a flower, but to Ayrault it recalled men- tal pictures of Sylvia wearing violets and lilies that he had given her. He knew that the greatest tele- scopes on earth could not reveal the Callisto moving about in Jupiter's sunshine, as even a point of light, at that distance, and, notwithstanding Cortlandt's learning and Bearwarden's joviality, he felt at times extremely lonely. They swept along steadily for fifty hours, having bright sunny days and beautifully moonlit nights. They passed over finely rounded hills and valleys and well- watered plains. As they approached the ocean and its level the temperature rose, and there was more moisture in the air. The plants and flow- ers also increased in size, again resembling some- 2G2 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. wliat the large species they had seen near the equator. '' This would be the place to live," said Bearwar- den, looking at iron mountains, silver, copper, and lead formations, primeval forests, rich prairies, and regions evidently underlaid with coal and petroleum, not to mention huge beds of aluminum clay, and other natural resources, that made his materialistic mouth water. " It would be joy and delight to de- velop industries here, with no snow avalanches to clog your railroads, or icy blizzards to paralyze work, nor weather that blio^hts vou with sun-strokes and fevers. On our return to the earth we must or- ganize a company to run regular interplanetary lines. We could start on this globe all that is best on our own. Think what boundless possibilities may be be- fore the human race on this planet, which on account of its vast size will be in its prime when our insig- nificant earth is cold and dead and no longer capable of supporting life I Think also of the indescribable blessing to the congested communities of Europe and America, to find an unlimited outlet here ! Mars is already past its prime, and Venus scarcely habitable, but in Jupiter we have a new promised land, com- HILLS AND VALLEYS. 2G3 pared with wliicli our earth is a pygmy, or hut httle more than microscopic." "I see," said Ayrault, "that the possibihties here have no hmit ; but I do not see how you can compare it to the promised land, since, till w^e under- took this journey, no one had even thought of Jupi- ter as a habitable place." " I trace the Divine promise," replied Bearwar- den, " in what you described to us on earth as man's innate longing and desire to rise, and in the fact that the Almighty has given the race unbounded ex- pansiveness in very limited space. This would look to me as the return of man to the garden of Eden through intellectual development, for here every man can sit under his own vine and fig-tree." " It seems to me," said Cortlandt, " that no paradise or heaven described in anything but the Bible com- pares with this. According to Yirgil's description, the joys on the banks of his river Lethe must have been most sad and dreary, the general idleness and monotony apparently being broken only by wrestling matches between the children, while the rest strolled about with laurel wreaths or rested in the shade. The pilot Palinurus, who had been drowned by falling 264: A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. overboard while asleep, but who before that had pre- sumably done his duty, did not seem especially happy ; while the harsh, resentful disposition evidently re- mained unsoftened, for Dido l)ecame like a clilf of Marpesian marble when ^neas asked to be forgiven, though he had doubtless considered himself in duty bound to leave her, having been twice commanded to do so by Mercury, the messenger of Jove. She, like the rest, seems to have had no occupation, while the consciences of few appear to have been sufficient- ly clear to enable them to enjoy unbroken rest." " The idleness in the spirit-land of all profane writers," added Bearwarden, "has often surprised me too. Though I have always recommended a certain amount of recreation for my staff — in fact, more than I have generally had myself — an excess of it becomes a bore. I think that all real progress comes through thorough work. Why should we assume that progress ceases at death ? I believ^e in the verse that says, ' We learn liere on earth those things the knowledge of which is perfected in heaven.' " "According to that," said Cortlandt, "you will some day be setting the axis of heaven right, for in HILLS AND VALLEYS. 265 order to do work there must be work to be done — a necessary corollary to wliicli is that Leaven is still imperfect." " IS^o," said Bearwarden, bristling np at tlie way Cortlandt sometimes received Lis speecLes, " it means simply tliat its development, tLougL perfect so far as it goes, may not be finisLed, and tliat we may be tLe means, as on eartli, of Lelping it along." " TLe conditions constituting Leaven," said Ay- rault, " may be as fixed as tLe laws of Kature, tLougL tLe products of tliose conditions migLt, it seems to me, still be forming and subject to modifi- cation tLereby. TLe reductio ad ahsurdttm would of course apply if we supposed tLe work of creation absolutely finisLed." CHAPTEK XIII. NORTH-POLAR DISCOVERIES. Two days later, on the western horizon, they be- held the ocean. Many of the streams whose sources they had seen when they crossed the divide from the lake basin, and whose courses they had followed, were now rivers a mile wide, with the tide ebbine: and rising within them many hundreds of miles from their mouths. When they reached the shore line they found the waves breaking, as on earth, upon the sands, but with this difference : they had before noted the smallness of the undulations compared with the strength of the wind, the result of the water's weight. These waves now reminded them of the behaviour of mercury, or of melted lead when stirred on earth, l)y the rapidity with which the crests dropped. Though the wind was blowing an on-shore gale, there was but little combing, and when (26C) NORTH-POLAR DISCOVERIES. 26 Y there was any it lasted but a second. The one effort of the crests and waves seemed to be to remain at rest, or, if stirred in spite of themselves, to subside. When over the surface of the ocean, the voyagers rose to a height of thirty thousand metres, and after twenty-four hours' travelling saw, at a distance of about two hundred miles, what looked like another continent, but which they knew must be an island. On finding themselves above it, they rose still higher to obtain a view of its outlines and compare its shape with that of the islands in the photographs they had had time to develop. The length ran from south- east to northwest. Though crossed by latitude forty, and notwithstanding Jupiter's distance from the sun, the southern side had a very luxuriant vege- tation that was almost semi-tropical. This they ac- counted for by its total immunity from cold, the density of the air at sea-level, and the warm moist breezes it received from the tepid ocean. The climate was about the same as that of the Riviera or of Florida in winter, and there was, of course, no parching summer. " This shows me," said Bearwarden, " that a country's climate depends less on the amount of heat 18 268 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. it receives from tlie sun than on tlie amount it re- tains ; proof of which we have in the tops of the Himalayas perpetually covered with snow, and snow- capped mountains on the very equator, where they get the most direct rays, and where those rays have but little air to penetrate. It shows that the pres- ence of a substantial atmosphere is as necessary a part of the calculation in practice as the sun itself. I am inclined to think that, with the constant effect of the internal heat on its oceans and atmosphere, Jupi- ter could get along with a good deal less solar heat than it receives, in proof of which I expect to find the poles themselves quite comfortable. The reason the internal heat is so little taken into account on earth is because, from the thickness of the crust, it cannot make itself felt ; for if the earth were as chilled through as ice, the people on the surface would not feel the difEerence." A Jovian week's explorations disclosed the fact that though the island's general outlines were fairly regular, it had deep-water harbours, great rivers, and land-locked gulfs and bays, some of which penetrated many hundred miles into the interior. It also showed that the island's leno;th was about six thou- NORTH-POLAR DISCOVERIES. 269 sand miles, and its breadth about three thousand, and that it had therefore about the superficial area of Asia. They found no trace of the great monsters that had been so numerous on the mainland, though there were plenty of smaller and gentle-looking creatures, among them animals whose build was much like that of the prehistoric horse, with unde- veloped toes on each side of the hoof, which in the modern terrestrial horse have disappeared, the hoof being in reality but a rounded-off middle finger. " It is wonderful," said Bearwarden, " how com- paratively narrow a body of water can keep different species entirely separate. The island of Sumatra, for instance, is inhabited by marsupials belonging to the distinct Australian type, in which the female, as in the kangaroo, carries the slightly developed young in a pouch ; while the Malay peninsula, joined to the mainland, has all the highly developed animals of Asia and the connected land of the Eastern hemi- sphere, the narrow Malacca Strait being all that has kept marsupials and mammals apart, though the separating power has been increased by the rapid current setting through. This has decreased ,the chance of creatures carried to sea on drift-wood or 270 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. uprooted trees getting safely over to such a degree that apparently none have survived ; for, had they done so, we may be certain that the mammals, with the advantage their young have over the mar- supials, would soon have run them out, the mar- supials being the older and the less perfect form of life of the two." Before leaving the beautiful sea-girt region be- neath them, Cortlandt proposed that it be named after their host, which Bearwarden seconded, where- upon they entered it as Ayrault Island on the charts. After this they rose to a great height, and flew swiftly over three thousand miles of ocean till they came to another island not quite as large as the first. It was four thousand five hundred miles long by something less than three thousand w^de, -and was therefore about the size of Africa. It had several high ranges of mountains and a number of great rivers and fine harbours, while murmuring, bub- bling brooks flowed through its forest glades. There were active volcanoes along the northern coast, and the blue, crimson, and purple hues in the luxuri- ant foliage were the most beautiful they had ever seen. NORTH-POLAR DISCOVERIES. 271 " I propose," said Bearwarden, " that we christen this Sylvialand." This Cortlandt immediately sec- onded, and it was so entered on the charts. "These two islands," said Bearwarden, "may become the centres of civilization. With flying ma- chines and cables to carry passengers and informa- tion, and ships of great displacement for the inter- change of commodities, there is no Hmit to their possible development. The absence of large waves will also be very favourable to sea-spiders, which will be able to run at tremendous speeds. The con- stancy in the eruptions of the volcanoes will offer a great field to Jovian inventors, who will unquestion- ably be able to utilize their heat for the production of steam or electricity, to say nothing of an inex- haustible supply of valuable chemicals. They may contain the means of producing some force entirely different from apergy, and as superior to electricity as that is to steam. Our earthly volcanoes have been put to slight account because of the long intervals between eruptions." After leaving Sylvialand they went westward to the eastern of the two crescent continents. It was separated from the island by about six thousand 272 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. miles of ocean, and had less width than the western, having about the proportions of a three-day crescent, while the western had the shape of the moon when four or five days old. They found the height of the mountains and plateaus somewhat less than on the eastern continent, but no great diiierence in other respects, except that, as they went towards the pole, the vegetation became more like that of Scotland or a north temperate region than any they had seen. On reaching latitude fifty they again came out over the ocean to investigate the speckled condition they had observed there. They found a vast archipelago covering as great an area as the whole Pacific Ocean. The islands varied from the size of Borneo and Mada- gascar to that of Sicily and Corsica, while some con- tained but a few square miles. The surface of the archipelago was about equally divided between land and water. " It would take good navigation or an elaborate system of light-houses," said Bearwarden, "for a captain to find the shortest course through these groups." The islands were covered with shade trees much resembling those on earth, and the leaves on many NORTH-POLAR DISCOVERIES. 273 were turning yellow and red, for this hemisphere's autumn had already begun. " The Jovian trees," said Cortlandt, " can never cease to bear, though the change of seasons is evi- dently able to turn their colour, perhaps by merely ripening them. When a ripe leaf falls off, its place is doubtless soon taken by a bud, for germination and fructification go on side by side." Before leaving, they decided to name this Twen- tieth Century Archipelago, since so much of the knowledge appertaining to it had been acquired in their own day. At latitude sixty the northern arms of the two continents came within fifteen hundred miles of each other. The eastern extension was split like the tail of a fish, the great bay formed thereby being tilled with islands, which also extended about half of the distance across. The western extremity shelved very gradually, the sand-bars running out for miles just below the surface of the water. After this the travellers flew northward at great speed in the upper regions of the air, for they were anxious to hasten their journey. They found nothing but unbroken sea, and not till they reached latitude eighty-seven was there a sign of ice. They then saw 27-i A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. some small bergs and field ice, but in no great quan- tities. As tlieir outside thermometer, when just above the placid water — for there were no waves here — registered twentj-one degrees Fahrenheit, they accounted for this scarcity of ice l)y the absence of land on which fresh water could freeze, and by the fact that it was not cold enough to congeal the very salt sea- water. Finally they reached another archipelago a few hundred miles in extent, the larger islands of which were covered with a sheet of ice, at the edges of which small icebergs were being formed by l)reaking off and slowly floating. Finding a small island on wliieh tlie coating was thin, they grounded the Cal- listo, and stepped out for tlie first time in several days. The air was so still that a small piece of paper released at a height of six feet sank slowly and went as straight as the string of a plumb-line. The sun was bisected by the line of the horizon, and appeared to be moving about them in a circle, with only its upper half visible. As Jupiter's northern hemisphere was passing through its autumnal equinox, they con- cluded they had landed exactly at the pole. " Now to work on our exj^eriment," said Cort- NORTH-POLAR DISCOVERIES. 275 landt. " I wonder how we may best get below tlie frozen surface ? " " We can explode a small quantity of dynamite," replied Bearwarden, " after which the digging will be comparatively easy." While Cortlandt and Bearwarden prepared the mine, Ayrault brought out a pickaxe, two shovels, and the battery and wires with wdiich to ignite the explosive. They made their preparations within one hundred feet of the Callisto, or much nearer than an equivalent amount of gunpowder could have been discharged. " This recalls an old laboratory experiment, or rather lecture," said Cortlandt, as they completed the arrangements, " for the illustration is not as a rule carried out. Explode two pounds of powder on an iron safe in a room with the windows closed, and the windows will be blown out, while the safe remains uninjured. Explode an equivalent amount of dyna- mite on top of the safe, and it will be destroyed, while the glass panes are not even cracked. This illustrates the difference in rapidity with which the explosions take place. To the intensely rapid action of dynamite the air affords as much resistance as a 97G A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. solid substance, while tlie explosion of the powder is so slow that the air has time to move away ; hence tlie destruction of the windows in the iirst case, and tlie safe in the second/' When they had moved beyond the danger line, Bearwarden, as the party's practising engineer, pressed the button, and the explosion did the rest. They found that the ground was frozen to a depth of but little more than a foot, below which it became perceptibly warm. Plying their shovels vigorously, they had soon dug the hole so deep that its edges were above their heads. When the floor was ten feet below the surrounding level tlie thermometer regis- tered sixty. " This is scarcely a fair test," said Cortlandt, " since the heat rises and is lost as fast as given off. Let us therefore close the opening and see in wdiat time it will melt a number of cubic feet of ice." Accordingly they climbed out, threw in about a cart-load of ice, and covered the opening with two of the Callisto's thick rugs. In half an hour all the ice had melted, and in another half hour the water was hot. NORTH-POLAR DISCOVERIES. 277 " ^o arctic expedition need freeze to death here," said Bearwarden, " since all a man would have to do would be to burrow a few feet to be as warm as toast." . As the island on which they had landed was at one side of the archipelago, but was itself at the ex- act pole, it followed that the centre of the archi- pelago was not the part farthest north. This in a measure accounted for the slight thickness of ice and snow, for the isobaric lines would slope, and conse- quently what wind there was would flow towards the interior of the archipelago, whose surface was colder than the surrounding ocean. The moist air, how- ever, coming almost entirely from the south, would lose most of its moisture by condensation in passing over the ice-laden land, and so, like the clouds over the region east of the Andes, would have but little left to let fall on this extreme northern part. The blanketing effect of a great thickness of snow would also cause the lower strata of ice to melt, by keep- ing in the heat constantly given off by the warm planet. " I think there can be no question," said Cort- landt, " that, as a result of Jupiter's great flattening 27S A JOURNEY IX OTRER WORLDS. at the poles and the drawing of the crust, which moves faster in Jupiter's rotation than any other part, towards the equator, the crust must be par- ticularly thin here ; for, were it as thin all over, there would be no space for the co^l-beds, which, judging from the purity of the atmosphere, must be very extensive. Further, we can recall that the water in the hot spring near wdiicli we alighted, which evidently came from a far greater depth than we have here, was not as hot as this. The conclusion is clear that elsewhere the internal heat is not as near the surface as here." " The more I see of Jupiter," exclaimed Bear- warden enthusiastically, " the more charmed I be- come. It almost exactly supplies wdiat I have been conjuring up as my idea of a perfect planet. Its com- pensations of high land near the equator, and low with effective internal heat at the poles, are ideal. The gradual slope of its continental elevations, on ac- count of their extent, will ease the work of operating railways, and the atmosphere's density will be just the thing for our flying machines, while Nature has supplied all sources of power so lavishly that no un- dertaking will be too great. Though land as yet, to NORTH-POLAR DISCOVERIES. 279 judge by our photographs, occupies only about one eighth of the surface, we know, from tlie experience of the other planets, that this is bound to increase ; so that, if the human race can perpetuate itself on Jupiter long enough, it will undoubtedly have one fourth or a larger proportion for occupation, though the land already upheaved comprises fully forty times the area of our entire globe, which, as we know, is still three fourths water." " Since we have reached what we might call the end of Jupiter, and still have time," continued Ay- rault, " let us proceed to Saturn, where we may find even stranger things than here. I hoped we could investigate the great red spot, but am convinced we have seen the beginning of one in Twentieth Century Archipelago, and w^hat, under favourable conditions, will be recognized as such on earth." It was just six terrestrial weeks since they had set out, and therefore February 2d on earth. " It would be best, in any case, to start from Jupiter's equator," said Cortlandt, " for the straight line we should make from the surface here would be at right angles to Saturn. We shall probably, in spite of ourselves, swing a few degrees beyond the 2 so ^ JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. line, and so can get a bird's-eye view of some por- tion of the southern hemisphere." " All aboard for Saturn I " cried Bearwarden en- thusiastically, in his jovial way. " This will be a journey." CHAPTER XIY. THE SCENE SHIFTS. Having returned the rugs to the Callisto, they applied the maximum power of the batteries to ris- ing, closed all openings when the barometer regis- tered thirty, and moved off into space. When several thousand miles above the pole, they diverted part of the power to attracting the nearest moon that was in the plane of Jupiter's equator, and by the time their upward motion had ceased were moving well in its direction. Their rapid motion aided the work of resisting gravity, since their car had in fact become a small moon, revolving, like those of Uranus or that of Neptune, in an orbit varying greatly from the plane of the ecliptic. As they flew south at a height rang- ing from two thousand to three thousand miles, the planet revolved before them, and they had a chance of obtaining a thorough view. There were but a few (281) 282 -^ JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. scattered islands on the side of the Xortliern licnii- sphere opposite to that over which they had reached the pole, and in the varying colours of the water, which they attributed to temperature or to some sub- stance in solution, they recognized what they had always heard described on earth as the bands of Jupi- ter, encircling the planet with great belts, the colour varying with the latitude. At about latitude forty- five these bands were purple, farther south light olive green, and at the equator a brown orange. Shortly after they swung across the equator the ocean again became purple, and at the same time a well-defined and very brilliant white spot came into view. Its brightness showed slight variations in intensity, though its general shape remained unchanged. It had another peculiarity, in that it possessed a fairly rapid motion of its own, as it moved eastward across the surface of the ocean. It exhibited all the phe- nomena of the storm they had w^atched in crossing Secretary Deepwaters Bay, but covered a larger area, and was far more violent. Their glasses showed them vast sheets of spray driven along at tremendous speed, while the surface was milky white. " This," said Bearwarden, picking up a book. THE SCENE SHIFTS. 283 " solves to my mind the mystery of the white spot described by the English writer Chambers, in 1889, as follows : " ' During the last few years a brilliant white spot has been visible on the equatorial border of the great southern belt. A curious fact in connection with this spot is, that it moves with a velocity of some two hundred and sixty miles per hour greater than the red spot. Denning obtained one hundred and sixty- nine observations of this bright marking during the years 1880-1883, and determined the period as nine hours, fifty minutes, eight and seven tenths seconds (five and a half minutes less than that of the red spot). Although the latter is now somewhat faint, the white spot gives promise of remaining visible for many years. During the year 1886 a large number of ob- servations of Jupiter were made at the Dearborn Observatory, Chicago, U. S., by Prof. G. W. Hough, using the eighteen-and-a-half-inch refractor of the observatory. Inasmuch as these observations are not only of high intrinsic interest, but are in confiict, to some extent, with previous records, a somewhat full abstract of them will be useful : The object of gen- eral interest was the great red spot. The outline, 19 2Si A JOCRNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. shape, and size of this remarkable object has re- mained without material change from the year 1879, when it was first observed here, until the present time. According to our observations, during the whole of this period it has shown a sharp and well- defined outline, and at no time has it coalesced or been joined to any belt in its proximity, as has been alleged by some observers. During the year 1885 the middle of the spot was very much paler in colour than the margins, causing it to appear as an elliptical ring. The ring form has continued up to the present time. While the outline of the spot has remained very constant, the colour has changed materially from year to year. During the past three years (1884-'8r)) it has at times been very faint, so as barely to be vis- ible. The persistence of this object for so many years leads me to infer that the formerly accepted theory, that the phenomena seen on the surface of the planet are atmospheric, is no longer tenable. The statement so often made in text-books, that in the course of a few days or months the whole aspect of the planet may be changed, is obviously erroneous. The oval white spots on the southern hemisphere of the planet, nine degrees south of the equator, have THE SCENE SHIFTS. 285 been systematically observed at every opposition dur- ing the past eiglit years. They are generally found in groups of three or more, but are rather difficult to observe. The rotation period deduced from them is nearly the same as from the great red spot. These spots usually have a slow drift in longitude of about five seconds daily in the direction of the planet's rotation, when referred to the great red spot ; cor- responding to a rotation period of twenty seconds less than the latter.' "This shows," continued Bearwarden, "that as long ago as towards the close of the nineteenth cen- tury the old idea that we saw nothing but the clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere was beginning to change; and also how closely the two English writers and Prof. Hough were studying the subject, though their views did not entirely agree. A white spot is merely a storm-centre passing round and round the planet, the wind running a little ahead of the surface, which accounts for its rapid rotation compared with the red spot, which is a fixture. A critic may say we have no such winds on earth ; to which I reply, that winds on a planet of Jupiter's size, with its rate of rotation —though it is 480,000,000 miles from the sun and 2S6 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. the internal heat is so near the surface — and with land and water arranged as they are, may and in- deed must be very different from those prevailing on earth, the conditions producing and affecting them being so changed. Though the storm-centre moves two hundred and sixty miles an hour, the wind need not blow at that rate." Later they saw several smaller spots drifting east- ward, but concluded that any seaworthy ship might pass safely through them, for, though they were hurricanes of great violence, the waves were small. '' There would be less danger," said Bearwarden, " of shipping seas here than there is on earth ; the principal risk to travellers would be that of being blown from the deck. On account of the air's weight in connection with its velocitj^, this would necessitate, some precaution." The next object of interest w^as the great red spot. It proved, as Cortlandt had predicted, to be a continent, with at that time no special colour, though they easily recognized it by comparing its outlines with those of the spot in the map. Its length, as they already knew, was twenty-seven thousand miles, THE SCENE SHIFTS. 287 and its breadtli about eight thousand miles, so that it contained more square miles than the entire surface of the earth, land and water included. " It is clear," said Cortlandt, " that at some sea- son of Jupiter's long year a change takes place that affects the colour of the leaves — some drought or prolonged norther ; for it is obvious that that is the simplest explanation. In like manner we may ex- pect that at some times more white spots will move across the ocean than at others." " On account of the size of these continents and oceans," said Bearwarden, " it is easy to believe that many climatic conditions may prevail here that can scarcely exist on earth. But what a magnificent world to develop, with its great rivers, lakes, and mountains showing at even this distance, and what natural resources must be lying there dormant, awaiting our call ! This constantly recurs to my mind. The subjugation and thorough opening up of this red spot continent will probably supply more interesting problems than straightening the axis of the earth." "At our next visit," replied Ayrault, "when we have established regular interplanetary lines of 2SS A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. travel, we may have an opportunity to examine it more closely." Then they again attracted the nearest moon beyond which they had swung, increased the repul- sion on Jupiter, and soared away towards Saturn. ^' We have a striking illustration of Jupiter's enormous mass," said Cortlandt, as the apparent diameter of the mighty planet rapidly decreased, " in the fact that notwithstanding its numerous moons, it still rotates so rapidly. We know that the earth's days were formerly but half or a quarter as long as now, having lasted but six or eight hours. The explanation of the elongation is simple : the earth rotates in about twenty-four hours, while the moon encircles it but once in nearly twenty-eight days, so that our satellite is continually drawing the oceans backward against its motion. These tidal brakes acting through the friction of the w^ater on the bottom, its unequal pres- sure, and the impact of the waves on the shore, are continually retarding its rotation, so that the day is a fraction of a second lousier now than it was in the time of Csesar. This same action is of course tak- ing place in Jupiter and the great planets, in this case there being five moons at work. Our moon, we THE SCENE SHIFTS. 289 know, rotates on its axis but once while it revolves about the earth, this being no doubt due to its own comparative smallness and the great attraction of the earth, which must have produced tremendous tides before the lunar oceans disappeared from its surface." In crossing the orbits of the satellites, they passed near Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon. "This," said Cortlandt, "was discovered by Galileo in 1610. It is three thousand four hundred and eighty miles in diameter, while our moon is but two thousand one hundred and sixty, revolves at a distance of six hundred and seventy-eight thousand three hundred miles from Jupiter, completes its revo- lution in seven days and four hours, and has a spe- cific gravity of 1'87." In passing, they observed that Ganymede pos- sessed an atmosphere, and continents and oceans of large area. " Here," said Bearwarden, " we have a body with a diameter about five hundred miles greater than the planet Mercury. Its size, light specific gravity, at- mosphere, and oceans seem to indicate that it is less advanced than that planet, yet you think Jupiter has 290 A JOURXEY IN OTHER WORLDS. liad a longer separate existence than the ])lanets nearer the sun ? " ''Undoubtedly," said Cortlandt. "Jupiter was condensed while in the solar-system nebula, and be- gan its individual existence and its evolutionary career long before Mercury was formed. The mat- ter now in Ganymede, however, doubtless remained part of the Jupiter-system nebula till after Mercury's creation, and, being part of so great a mass, did not cool very rapidly. I should say that this satellite has about the same relation to Jupiter that Jupiter has to the sun, and is therefore younger in point of time as well as of development than the most distant Callisto, and older, at all events in years, than Europa and lo, both of which are nearer. This supposition is cor- roborated by the fact that Europa, the smallest of these four, is also the densest, having a specific grav- ity of 2'14, its smallness having enabled it to overtake Ganymede in development, notwithstanding the lat- ter's start. In the face of the evidence before us we must believe this, or else that, perhaps, as in the case of the asteroid Hilda, something like a collision has rejuvenated it. This might account for its size, and for the Xautical Almanac's statement that there is a THE SCENE SHIFTS. 291 ' small and variable ' inclination to its orbit, while lo and Europa revolve exactly in tlie plane of Jupiter's equator." They had about as long a journey before them as they had already made in going from the earth to Jupiter. The great planet soon appeared as a huge crescent, since it was between them and the sun ; its moons became as fifth- and sixth-magnitude stars, and in the evening of the next day Jupiter's disk became invisible to the unaided eye. Since there were no way stations, in the shape of planets or asteroids, be- tween Jupiter and Saturn, they kept the maximum repulsion on Jupiter as long as possible, and moved at tremendous speed. Saturn was somewhat in ad- vance of Jupiter in its orbit, so that their course from the earth had been along two sides of a triangle with an obtuse angle between. During the next four ter- restrial days they sighted several small comets, but spent most of their time writing out their Jovian experiences. During the sixth day Saturn's rings, although not as much tilted as they would be later in the planet's season, presented a most superb sight, while they spun in the sun's rays. Soon after this the eight moons became visible, and, while slightly 292 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. reducing the Callisto's sj^eed, they crossed the orbits of lapetus, Hyperion, and Titan, when they knew they were but sev^en hundred and fifty thousand miles from Saturn. " I am anxious to ascertain," said Cortlandt, " whether the comjDOsition of yonder rings is simi- lar to that of the comet through which we passed. I am sure they shine with more than reflected light.'' " We have been in the habit," said Ayrault, " of associating heat with light, but it is obvious there is something far more subtle about cometary light and that of Saturn's rings, both of which seem to have their birth in the intense cold of interplanetary space." Passing close to Mimas, Saturn's nearest moon, they supplemented its attraction, after swinging by, by their own strong pull, bringing their sjDced down to dead slow as they entered the outside ring. At distances often of half a mile they found meteoric masses, sometimes lumps the size of a house, often no larger than apples, while small particles like grains of sand moved between them. There were two mo- tions. The ring revolved about Saturn, and the par- ticles vibrated among themselves, evidently kept THE SCENE SHIFTS. 293 apart by a mutual repulsion, wliicli seemed both to increase and decrease faster than gravitation ; for on approaching one another they were more strongly repelled than attracted, but when they separated the repulsion decreased faster than the attraction, so that after a time divergence ceased, and they remained at fixed distances. The Callisto soon became imbued with motion also, but nothing ever struck it. When any large mass came unusually near, both it and their car emitted light, and they rapidly separated. The sun- light was not as strong here as it had been when they entered the comet, and as they penetrated farther they were better able to observe the omnipresent luminosity. They were somewhat puzzled by the approach of certain light-centres, which seemed to contain nothing but this concentrated brightness. Occasionally one of these centres would glow very brightly near them, and simultaneously recede. At such times the Callisto also glowed, and itself recoiled slightly. At first the travellers could not account for this, but finally they concluded that the centres must be meteoric masses consisting entirely of gases, pos- sessing weight though invisible. 204 A JOLTRNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. " Vv^e have again to face," said Cortlandt, " that singular law that till recently we did not suppose ex- isted on earth. All kinds of suppositions have been advanced in explanation of these . rings. Some writers have their thickness, looked at from the thin edge, as four hundred miles, some one hundred, and some but forty. One astronomer of the nineteenth century, a man of considerable eminence, was con- vinced that they consisted of sheets of liquid. I^ow, it should be obvious that no liquid could maintain itself here for a minute, for it would either fall upon the planet as a crushing hail, or, if dependent for its shape on its own tenacity, it would break if formed of the toughest steel, on account of the tremendous weight. Any number of theories have been ad- vanced by any number of men, but in weight we have the rub. 'No one has ever shown how these in- numerable fragments maintain themselves at a height of but a few thousand miles above Saturn, withstand- ing the giant's gravitation-pull. Their rate of revo- lution, though rapid, does not seem fast enough to sustain them. Neither have I ever seen it explained why the small fragments do not fall upon the large ones, though many astronomers have pictured the THE SCENE SHIFTS. 295 composition of these rings as we find they exist. Nor do we know why the molecules of a gas are driven farther apart by heat, while their activity is also increased, though if this activity were revolution about one another to develop the centrifugal, it would not need to be as strong then as when they are cold and nearer together. There may be explana- tions, but I have found none in any of the literature I have read. It seems to me that all this leads to but one conclusion, viz. : apergy is the constant and visible companion of gravitation, on these great planets Jupiter and Saturn, perhaps on account of some peculiar influence they possess, and also in comets, in the case of large masses, while on earth it appears naturally only among molecules — those of gases and every other substance." " I should go a step further," said Bearwarden, " and say our earth has the peculiarity, since it does not possess the influence necessary to generate nat- urally a great or even considerable development of apergy. The electricity of thunderstorms, northern lights, and other forces seems to be pro- duced freely, but as regards apergy our planet's natural productiveness appears to be small." 296 A JOURXEY IX OTHER WORLDS. The omnipresent luminosity continued, but the glow was scarcely bright enough to be perceived from the earth. " I believe, however," said Bearwarden, referring to this, " that whenever a satellite passes near these fragments, preferably when it enters the planet's shadow, since that wdll remove its own light, it will create such activity among them as to make the luminosity visible to the large telescopes or gelatine plates on earth." " Kow," said Ayrault, " that we have evolved enough theories to keep astronomers busy for some time, if they attempt to discuss them, I suggest that we alight and leave the abstract for the concrete." AVhereupon they passed through the inner ring and rapidly sank to the ground. BOOK III (297) CHAPTEE I. SATURN. Landing- on a place about ten degrees north of tlie equator, so that tliey might obtain a good view of the great rings — since on the line only the thin edge would be visible — they opened a port-hole with the same caution they had exercised on Jupiter. Again there was a rush of air, showing that the pressure without was greater than that within ; but on this occasion the barometer stopped at thirty-eight, from which they calculated that the pressure was nineteen pounds to the square inch on their bodies, instead of fifteen as at sea-level on earth. This difference was so slight that they scarcely felt it. They also dis- carded the apergetic outfits that had been so useful on Jupiter, as unnecessary here. The air was an icy blast, and though they quickly closed the opening, the interior of the Callisto was considerably chilled. 20 (209) 300 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. " AVe shall want our winter clothes,'' said Bear- warden ; '' it might be more comfortable for ns ex- actly on the equator, though the scene at night will be far liner here, if we can stand the climate. Doubt- less it will also be warmer soon, for the sun has but just risen." " I suspect this is merely one of the cold waves that rush towards the equator at this season, which corresponds to about the lOtli of our September," replied Cortlandt. " The poles of Saturn must be intensely cold during its long winter of fourteen and three quarter years, for, the axis being inclined twenty-seven degrees from the perpendicular of its orbit, the pole turned from the sun is more shut off from its heat than ours, and in addition to this the mean distance — more than eight hundred and eighty million miles — is very great. Since the chemical composition of the air we have inhaled has not troubled our lungs, it is fair to suppose we shall have no difficulty in breathing." Having dressed themselves more warmly, and seen by a thermometer they had placed outside that tlie temperature was thirty-eight degrees Fahren- heit, which had seemed very cold compared with the SATURN. 301 warmth inside the Calhsto, they again opened the port-hole, this time leaving it open longer. What they had felt before was evidently merely a sudden gust, for the air was now comparatively calm. Finding that the doctor's prediction as to the suitability of the air to their lungs was correct, they ventured out, closing the door as they went. Expecting, as on Jupiter, to find principally verte- brates of the reptile and bird order, they carried guns and cartridges loaded with buckshot and 'No. 1, trusting for solid-ball projectiles to their revolvers, which they shoved into their belts. They also took test-tubes for experiments on the Saturnian bacilli. Hanging a bucket under the pipe leading from the roof, to catch any rain that might fall— for they re- membered the scarcity of drinking-water on Jupiter — they set out in a southwesterly direction. Walking along, they noticed on all sides tall liHes immaculately pure in their whiteness, and mushrooms and toadstools nearly a foot high, the former having a delicious flavour and extreme fresh- ness, as though only an hour old. They had seen no animal life, or even sign of it, and were wondering at its dearth, when suddenly two large white birds 302 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. rose directly in front of tliem. Like tlioiiglit, Bear- warden and Ayrault had tlieir guns np, snapping the thumb-pieces over "safe" and pulhng the triggers ahnost simuUaneously. Bearwarden, having double buckshot, killed his bird at the first iire ; but Ayrault, having only Xo. 1, had to give his the second barrel, almost all damage in both cases being in the head. On coming close to their victims they found them to measure twelve feet from tip to tip, and to have a tremendous thickness of feathers and down. " From the looks of these beauties," said Bear- warden, " I should say they probably inhabited a pretty cold place." " They are doubtless northern birds," said Cort- landt, " that have just come south. It is easy to be- lieve that the depth to which the temperature may fall in the upper air of this planet must be something startling." As they turned from the cranes, to which species the birds seemed to belong, they became mute with astonishment. Every mushroom had disappeared, but the toadstools still remained. " Is it possible we did not see them ? " gas])ed Ayrault. SATURN. 303 "We must inadvertently Lave walked some dis- tance since we saw them," said Cortlandt. " They were what I looked forward to for lunch," exclaimed Bear warden. They were greatly perplexed. The mushrooms were all about them when they shot the birds, which still lay where they had fallen. " We must be very absent-minded," said the doc- tor, " or perchance our brains are affected by the air. We must analyze it to see if it contains our own pro- portion of oxygen and nitrogen. There was a good deal of carbonic-acid gas on Jupiter, but that would hardly confuse our senses. The strange thing is, that we all seem to have been impressed the same way." Concluding that they must have been mistaken, they continued on their journey. All about they heard a curious humming, as that of bees, or like the murmuring of prayers in a reso- nant cathedral. Thinking it was the wind in the great trees that grew singly around them, they paid no attention to it until, emerging on an open plain and finding that the sound continued, they stopped. " Now," said Bearwarden, " this is more curious than anything we found on Jupiter. Here we have 304 A JOUKNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. an incessant and rather pleasant sound, with no visi- ble cause." " It may possibly be some peculiarity of the grass," replied Cortlandt, *' though, should it continue when we reach sandy or bare soil, I shall believe we need a dose of quinine." '" I feel' perfectly well," said Ayrault ; " how is it with you ? " Each finding that he was in a normal state, they proceeded, determined, if possible, to discover the source from which the sounds came. Suddenly Bear- warden raised his gun to bring down a long-beaked hawk ; but the bird flew off, and he did not shoot. " Plague the luck I " said he ; '* I went blind just as I was about to pull. A haze seemed to cover both barrels, and completely screened the bird." '' The Callisto will soon be hidden by those trees," said Cortlandt. " I think we had better take our bear- ings, for, if our crack shot is going to miss like that, we may want canned provisions." Accordingly, he got out his sextant, took the alti- tude of the sun, got cross-bearings and a few angles, and began to make a rough calculation. For several minutes he worked industriously, used the rubber at SATURN. 305 the end of his pencil, tried again, and then scratched out. '' That humming confuses me so that I cannot work correctly," said he, " while the most irrelevant things enter my mind in spite of me, and mix up my figures." " I found the same thing," said Bearwarden, " but said nothing, for fear I should not be believed. In addition to going blind, for a moment I almost forgot what I was trying to do." Changing their course slightly, they went towards a range of hills, in the hope of finding rocky or sandy soil, in order to test the sounds, and ascertain if they would cease or vary. Having ascended a few hundred feet, they sat down near some trees to rest, the musical hum con- tinuing meanwhile unchanged. The ground was strewn with large coloured crystals, apparently ru- bies, sapphires, and emeralds, about the size of hens' eggs, and also large sheets of isinglass. Picking up one of the latter, Ayrault examined it. Points of light and shade kept forming on its surface, from w^hich rings radiated like the circles spreading in all directions from a place in still water at which a peb- ble is thrown. He called his companions, and the 306 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. three examined it. The isinglass was about ten inches long by eight across, and contained but few impuri- ties. In addition to the spreading rings, curious forms were continually taking shape and dissolving. '' This is more interesting," said Bearwarden, ^'than sounding shells at the sea-shore. We must make a note of it as another thing to study." They then spread their handkerchiefs on a mound of earth, so as to make a table, and began examining the gems. " Does it not seem to you," asked Ayrault, a few minutes later, addressing his companions, " as though Ave were not alone ? I have thought many times there was some one — or perhaps several persons — here besides ourselves." " The same idea has occurred to me," replied Cortlandt. " I was convinced, a moment ago, that a shadow crossed the page on which I was taking notes. Can it be there are objects about us we can- not see? We know there are vibrations of both light and sound that do not affect our senses. I wish we had brought the magnetic eye ; perchance that might tell us." " Anything sufficiently dense to cast a shadow," SATURN. 307 said Ayrault, " sliould be seen, since it would also be able to make an image on our retinas. I believe any impressions we are receiving are produced tlirough our minds, as if some one were thinking very intent- ly about us, and that neither the magnetic eye nor a sensitive plate could reveal anything." They then returned to the study of the isinglass, which they were able to s]3lit into extremelj^ thin sheets. Suddenly a cloud passed over the table, and almost immediately disappeared, and then a shar23ened pencil with which Ayrault had been writing began to trace on a sheet of paper, in an even hand, and with a slight frictional sound. " Stop ! " said Bearwarden ; " let us each for him- self describe in writing what he has seen." In a moment they had done this, and then com- pared notes. In each case the vision was the same. Then they looked at the writing made by the invisi- ble hand. ^'Absor^ta est mors in mctoria^^ it ran. '' Gentlemen," began Bearwarden, as if address- ing a meeting, " this cannot be coincidence ; we are undoubtedly and unquestionably in the presence of a spirit or of several spirits. That they understand Latin, we see ; and, from what they say, they may 30S A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. have known death. Time may show whether they have been terrestrials like ourselves. Though the conditions of life here might make us delirious, it is scarcely possible that different temperaments like ours should be affected in so precisely the same way ; besides, in this writing we have tangible proof." "It is perfectly reasonable," said Ayrault, "to conclude it was a spirit, if we may assume that spirits have the power to move the pencil, which is a ma- terial object. Nobody doubts nowadays that after death we live again ; that being the case, we must admit that we live somewhere. Space, as I take it, can be no obstacle to a spirit ; therefore, why sup- pose they remain on earth ? " "This is a w^onderful place," said Cortlandt. "We have already seen enough to convince us of the existence of many unknown laws. I wish the spirit would reveal itself in some other way." As he finished speaking, the rays of the distant and cold-looking sun were split, and the colours of the spectrum danced upon the linen cloth, as if ob- tained by a prism. In astonishment, they rose and looked closely at the table, when suddenly a shadow that no one recognized as his own ap])eared upon the SATURN. 309 cover. Tracing it to its source, their eyes met those of an old man with a white robe and beard and a look of great intelligence on his calm face. They knew he had not been in the little grove thirty sec- onds before, and as this was surrounded by open country there was no place from which he could have come. CHAPTEK II. THE SPIRIT S FIRST VISIT. " Greetings and congratulations," he said. " Man has steadfastly striven to rise, and we see the results in you." " I have always believed in the existence of spir- its," said Cortlandt, " but never expected to see one with my natural eyes." " And you never will, in its spiritual state," re- plied the shade, " unless you supplement sight with reason. A spirit has merely existence, entity, and will, and is entirely invisible to your eyes," " How is it, then, that we see and hear you ? " asked Cortlandt. "Are you a man, or a spectre that is able to affect our senses ? " " I icas a man," replied the spirit, " and I have given myself visible and tangible form to warn you of danger. My colleagues and I watched you when (310) THE SPIRIT'S FIRST VISIT. 311 you left the cylinder and when you shot the birds, and, seeing your doom in the air, have been trying to communicate with you." "What were the strange shadows and prismatic colours that kept passing across our table ? " asked Bearwarden. "They were the obstructions and refractions of light caused by spirits trying to take shape," replied the shade. " Do you mind our asking you questions ? " said Cortlandt. " No," replied their visitor. " If I can, I will an- swer them." "Then," said Cortlandt, '4iow is it that, of the several spirits that tried to become embodied, we see but one, namely, you ? " " That," said the shade, " is because no natural law is broken. On earth one man can learn a handi- craft better in a few days than another in a month, while some can solve with ease a mathematical prob- lem that others could never grasp. So it is here. Perhaps I w^as in a favourable frame of mind on dy- ing, for the so-called supernatural always interested me on earth, or I had a natural aptitude for these 312 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. tliiugs ; for soon after death I was able to affect tlie senses of the friends I had left." " Are we to understand, then," asked Cortlandt, " that the reason more of our departed do not reap- pear to us is because thej cannot ? " '' Precisely," replied the shade. " But though the percentage of those that can return and reappear on earth is small, their number is fairly large. History has many cases, ^"e know that the prophet Samuel raised the witch of Endor at the ])ehest of Saul ; that Moses and Elias became visible in the transfiguration ; and that after his crucifixion and burial Christ re- turned to his disciples, and was seen and heard by many others." " How," asked Bearwarden deferentially, '* do you occupy your time ? " " Time," replied the spirit, " has not the same sig- nificance to us that it has to you. You know that while the earth rotates in twenty -four hours, this planet takes but about ten ; and the sun turns on its own axis but once in a terrestrial month ; while the years of the planets vary from less than three months for Mercury to Xeptune's one hundred and sixty -four years. Being insensible to heat and cold, THE SPIRIT'S FIRST VISIT. 313 darkness and light, we have no more changing sea- sons, neither is there any night. When a man dies," he continued with solemnity, " he comes at once into the enjoyment of senses vastly keener than any he possessed before. Our eyes — if such they can be called — are both microscopes and telescopes, the change in focus being ejffected as instantaneously as thought, enabling us to perceive the smallest microbe or disease-germ, and to see the planets that revolve about the stars. The step of a fly is to us as audible as the tramp of a regiment, while we hear the mechanical and chemical action of a snake's poi- son on the blood of any poor creature bitten, as plainly as the waves on the shore. We also have a chemical and electrical sense, showing us what effect different substances will have on one another, and what changes to expect in the weather. The most complex and subtle of our senses, however, is a sort of second sight that we call intuition or prescience, which we are still studying to perfect and understand. AYith our eyes closed it reveals to us approaching as- tronomical and other bodies, or what is happening on the other side of the planet, and enables us to view the future as you do the past. The eyes of all but 314: A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. the highest angels require some light, and can be dazzled by an excess ; but this attribute of divinity nothing can obscure, and it is the sense that will first enable us to know God. By means of these new and sharpened faculties, which, like children, we are con- tinually learning to use to better advantage, we con- stantly increase our knowledge, and this is next to our greatest happiness." " Is there any limit," asked Bearwarden, " to human progress on the earth ? " " Practically none," replied the spirit. " Progress depends largely on your command of the forces of Kature. At present your principal sources of power are food, fuel, electricity, the heat of the in- terior of the earth, wind, and tide. From the first two you cannot expect much more than now, but from the internal heat everywhere available, trade- winds, and falling water, as at Niagara, and from tides, you can obtain power almost without limit. Were this all, however, your progress would be slow ; but the Eternal, realizing the shortness of your lives, has given you power with which to rend the globe. You have the action of all uncombined chemicals, atmospheric electricity, the excess or froth of which THE SPIRIT'S FIRST VISIT. 315 you now see iu thunderstorms, and the electricity and magnetism of your own bodies. There is also mo- lecular and sympathetic vibration, by which Joshua not understandingly levelled the w^alls of Jericho ; and the power of your minds over matter, but little more developed now than when I moved in the flesh upon the earth. By lowering large quantities of high-powered explosives to the deepest parts of the ocean bed, and exploding them there, you can pro- duce chasms through which some water will be forced towards the heated interior by the enormous pressure of its own weight. At a comparatively slight depth it will be converted into steam and pro- duce an earthquake. This will so enlarge your chasm, that a great volume of water will rush into the red-hot interior, which will cause a series of such terrific eruptions that large islands will be upheaved. By the reduction of the heat of that part of the in- terior there will also be a shrinkage, which, in con- nection -with the explosions, will cause the earth's solid crust to be thrown up in folds til] whole conti- nents appear. Some of the water displaced by the new land will also, as a result of the cooling, be able permanently to penetrate farther, thereby decreasing 21 31 G A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. by that much tlie amount of water in the oceans, so that the tide-level in your existing seaports will be but slightly changed. By persevering in this work, you will become so skilled that it will be possible to evoke land of whatever kind you wish, at any place ; and by having high table-land at the equator, sloping off into low plains towards north and south, and maintaining volcanoes in eruption at the poles to throw out heat and start warm ocean currents, it will be possible, in connection with the change you are now making in the axis, to render the conditions of life so easy that the earth will support a far larger number of souls. " With the powers at your disposal you can also alter and improve existing continents, and thereby still further increase the number of the children of men. Perhaps with mild climate, fertile soil, and de- creased struggle for existence, man will develop his spiritual side. " Finally, you have apergy, one of the highest forces, for it puts you almost on a plane with angels, and with it you have already visited Jupiter and Saturn. It was impossible that man should remain chained to the earth durinc: the entire life of his race. THE SPIRIT'S FIRST VISIT. 317 like an inferior animal or a mineral, lower even in freedom of body than birds. Heretofore you have, as I have said, seen but one side in many workings of Nature, as if you had discovered either negative or positive electricity, but not both ; for gravitation and apergy are as inseparably combined in the rest of the universe as those two, separated temporarily on earth that the discovery of the utilization of one with the other might serve as an incentive to your minds. You saw it in :N'ature on Jupiter in the case of several creatures, suspecting it in the boa-constrictor and Will-o'-the-wisp and jelly-fish, and have standing illustrations of it in all tailed comets— luminosity in the case of large bodies being one manifestation— in the rings of this planet, and in the molecular motion and porosity of all gases, liquids, and solids on earth ; since what else is it that keeps the molecules apart, heat serving merely to increase its power ? God made man in his own image ; does it not stand to reason that he will allow him to continue to become more and more like himself ? Would he grudge him the power to move mountains through the intelligent application of Nature's laws, when he himself said they might be moved by faith ? So far you have 31S A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. been content to use tlie mechanical power of water, its momentum or dead weight merely ; to attain a much higher civilization, you must break it up chemically and use its constituent gases." " How," asked Bearwarden, " can this be done ? " " Force superheated steam," replied the spirit, '' through an intensely heated substance, as you now do in making water-gas — preferably platinum heated by electricity — apply an apergetic shock, and the oxy- gen and hydrogen will separate like oil and water, the oxygen being so much the heavier. Lead them in different directions as fast as the water is decom- posed — since otherwise they would reunite — and your supply of power will be inexhaustible." "Will you not stay and dine with us?" asked Ayrault. " While in the flesh you must be subject to its laws, and must need food to maintain your strength, like ourselves." '• It will give me great pleasure," replied the spir- it, " to tarry with you, and once more to taste earthly food, but most of all to have the blessed joy of being of service to you. Here, all being immaterial spirits, no physical injury can befall any of us ; and since no one wants anything that any one else can give, we THE SPIRIT'S FIRST VISIT. 319 have no opportunity of doing anytWng for each other You see we neither eat nor sleep, neither can any of us again know physical pain or death, nor can ^e comfort one another, for every one knows the truth about himself and every one else, and we read one another's thoughts as an open book." " Do you," asked Bearwarden, " not eat at all . " We absorb vitality in a sense," replied the spint. a As the sun combines certain substances into food for mortals, it also produces molecular vibration and charges the air with magnetism and electricity, winch we absorb without efiort. In fact, there is a fan>t pleasure in the absorption of this strength, when, m magnetic disturbances, there is an unusual amount of immortal food. Should we try to resist it, there would eventually be a greater pressure without than within, and we should assimilate involuntarily. We are part of the intangible universe, and can feel no hunger that is not instantly appeased, neither can we ever more know thirst." "Why" asked Oortlandt reverently, "did the angel with the sword of flame drive Adam from the Tree of Life, since with his soul he had received that which could never die ? " 320 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. '* That was part of the mercy of God," the shade replied ; " for immortality could be enjoyed but meagrely on earth, where natural limitations are so abrupt. And know this, ye who are something of chemists, that had Adam eaten of that substance called fruit, he would have lived in the flesh to this day, and would have been of all men the most un- happy." " Will the Fountain of Youth ever be discov- ered ? " asked Cortland t. "That substances exist," replied the spirit, "that render it impossible for the germs of old age and de- cay to lodge in the body, I know ; in fact, it would be a break in the continuity and balance of Kature did they not ; but I believe their discovery will be coincident with Christ's second visible advent on earth. You are, however, only on the shore of the ocean of knowledge, and, by continuing to advance in geometric ratio, will soon be a})le to retain your mor- tal bodies till the average longevity exceeds Methusey lah's ; but, except for more opportunities of doing good, or setting a longer example to your fellows by your lives, where would be the gain ? "I now see how what appeared to me while I THE SPIRIT'S FIRST VISIT. 321 lived on earth insignificant incidents, were the acts of God, and that what I thonght injustice or misfortune was but evidence of his wisdom and love ; for we know that not a sparrow fall- eth without God, and that the hairs of our heads are numbered. Every act of kindness or unselfish- ness on my part, also, stands out like a golden letter or a white stone, and gives me unspeakable comfort. At the last judgment, and in eternity following, we shall have very different but just as real bodies as those that we possessed in the flesh. The dead at the last trump will rise clothed in them, and at that time the souls in paradise will receive them also." " I wonder," thought Ayrault, " on which hand we shall be placed in that last day." "The classification is now going on," said the spirit, answering his thought, " and I know that in the final judgment each individual will range himself automatically on his proper side." " Do tell me," said Ayrault, " how you were able to answer my thought." " I see the vibrations of the grey matter of your brain as plainly as the movements of your lips " ; in 322 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. fact, I see the thoughts in the embryonic state tak- ing shape." When their meal was ready they sat down, Ay- rault placing the spirit on his right, with Cortlandt on his left, and having Bearwarden opposite. On this occasion their chief had given them a particular- ly good dinner, but the spirit took only a slice of meat and a glass of claret. " Won't you tell us the story of your life," said Ayrault to the spirit, "and your experiences since your death ? They would be of tremendous interest to us." " I was a bishop in one of the Atlantic States," re- plied the spirit gravely, '' and died shortly before the civil war. People came from other cities to hear my sermons, and the biographical writers have hon- oured my memory by saying that I was a great man. I was contemporaneous with Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. Shortly after I reached threescore and ten, according to earthly years, I caught what I considered only a slight cold, for I had always had good health, but it became pneumonia. My friends, children, and grandchildren came to see me, and all seemed going well, when, without warning, my physi- THE SPIRIT'S FIRST VISIT. 323 cian told me I had but a few hours to live. I could scarcely believe my ears ; and though, as a Churchman, I had ministered to others and had always tried to lead a good life, I was greatly shocked. I suddenly remembered all the things I had left undone and all the things I intended to do, and the old saying, 'Hell is paved with good intentions,' crossed my mind very forcibly. In less than an hour I saw the physician was right ; I grew weaker and my pulse fluttered, but my mind remained clear. I prayed to my Creator with all my soul, ' O spare me a little, that I may recover my strength, before I go hence, and be no more seen.' As if for an answer, the thought crossed my brain, * Set thine house in order, for thou shalt not live, but die.' I then called my children and made disposition of such of my property and personal effects as were not covered by my will. I also gave to each the advice that my experience had shown me he or she needed. Then came another wave of remorse and regret, and again an intense longing to pray ; but along with the thought of sins and neglected duties came also the memory of the honest efforts I had made to obey my conscience, and these were like rifts of sunshine during a storm. 324 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. These thoughts, and the blessed promises of religion I had so often preached in the churches of my diocese, were an indescribable comfort, and saved me from the depths of blank despair. Finally my breath- ing became laboured, I had sharp spasms of pain, and my pulse almost stopped. I felt that I was dying, and my sight grew dim. The crisis and climax of life were at hand. ' Oh ! ' I thought, with the phi- losophers and sages, ' is it to this end I lived ? The flower appears, briefly blooms amid troublous toil, and is gone ; my body returns to its primordial dust, and my works are buried in oblivion. The paths of life and glory lead but to the grave.' My soul was filled with conflicting thoughts, and for a moment even my faith seemed at a low ebb. I could hear my children's stifled sobs, and my darling wife shed silent tears. The thought of parting from them gave me the bitterest -wrench. With my fleeting breath I gasped these words, ' That mercy I showed others, that show thou me.' The darkened room grew darker, and after that I died. In my sleep I seemed to dream. All about were refined and heavenly flowers, while the most delightful sounds and per- fumes filled the air. Gradual) v the vision became THE SPIRIT'S FIRST VISIT. 325 more distinct, and I experienced an indescribable feeling of peace and repose. I passed through fields and scenes I had never seen before, while every place was filled with an all-pervading light. Sometimes I seemed to be miles in air ; countless suns and their planets shone, and dazzled my eyes, while no bird-of- paradise was as happy or free as I. Gradually it came to me that I was awake, and that it was no dream. Then I remembered my last moments, and perceived that I had died. Death had brought free- dom, my work in the flesh was ended, I was indeed alive. " ' O Death, where is thy sting ? O Grave, where is thy victory ? ' In my dying moments I had for- gotten what I had so often preached — 'Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die.' In a moment my life lay before me like a val- ley or an open page. All along its paths and waysides I saw the little seeds of word and deed that I had sown extending and bearing fruit forever for good or evil. I then saw things as they were, and realized the faultiness of my former conclusions, based as they had been on the incomplete knowledge obtained through embryonic senses. I also saw the Divine 326 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. purpose in life as tlie design in a piece of tapes- try, whereas before I had seen but the wroner side. It is not till we have lost the life in the Hesli that we realize its dignity and value, for every hour gives us opportunities of help- ing or elevating some human being — it may be ourselves — of doing something in His ser- vice. *'Kow that time is past, the books are closed, and we can do nothing further ourselves to alter our status for eternity, however much we may wish to. It is on this account, and not merely to save you from death, which in itself is nothing, tliat I now tell you to run to the Callisto, seal the doors hermet- ically, and come not forth till a sudden rush of air that you will see on the trees has passed. A gust in which even birds drop dead, if they are unable to escape, w^ll be here w^hen you reach safety. Do not delay to take this food, and eat none of it when you return, for it will be filled with poisonous germs.*" " How can we find you ? " asked Ayrault, grasp- ing his hand. " You must not leave us till we know how we can see you again." THE SPIRIT'S FIRST VISIT. 327 " Think hard and steadfastly of me, you three," replied the spirit, "if you want me, and 1 shall feel your thought"; saying which, he vanished before their eyes, and the three friends ran to the Cal- listo. CHAPTER III. DOUBTS AND PHILOSOPHY. On reaching it, thej climbed the ladder leading to the second-story opening, and entering through this, they closed the door, screwing it tightly in place. " Xow," said Cortlandt, " we can see what changes, if any, this wonderful gust will effect." '' He made no strictures on our senses, such as they are," said Bearwarden, "but implied that evo- lution would be carried much further in us, from which I suppose we may infer that it has not yet gone far. I wish we had recorked those brandy peaches, for now they will be filled with poisonous germs. I wonder if our shady friend could not tell us of an antiseptic with which they might be treated ? " " Those fellows," thought xVyrault, who had climbed to the dome, from which he had an ex- (328) DOUBTS AND PHILOSOPHY. 329 tended view, " would jeer at an angel, while the def- erence they showed the spirit seems, as usual, to have been merely superficial." "Let us note," said Cortlandt, "that the spirit thermometer outside has fallen several degrees since we entered, though, from the time taken, I should not say that the sudden change would be one of tem- perature." Just then they saw a number of birds, which had been resting in a clump of trees, take flight sudden- ly ; but they fell to the ground before they had risen far, and were dashed to pieces. In another moment the trees began to bend and sway before the storm ; and as they gazed, the colour of the leaves turned from green and purple to orange and red. The wind blew off many of these, and they were carried along by the gusts, or fluttered to the ground, which was soon strewed with them. It was a typical au- tumnal scene. Presently the wind shifted, and this was followed by a cold shower of rain. "I think the worst is over," said Bearwarden. " The Sailor's Guide says : ' When the rain's before the wind, Halliards, sheets, and braces mind ; 330 A JOURXEY IX OTHER WORLDS. When the wind's before the rain, Soon you can make sail again.' Doubtless that will hold good here." This proved to be correct ; and, after a repetition of the precautions they had taken on their arrival on the planet in regard to the inhalability of the air, they again sallied forth. They left their magazine shot-guns, taking instead the double-barrelled kind, on account of the rapidity with which this enabled them to fire the second barrel after the iirst, and threw away the water that had collected in the bucket, out of respect to the spirit's warning. They noticed a pungent odour, and decided to remain on high ground, since they had observed that the birds, in their effort to escape, had flown almost vertically into the air. On reaching the grove in which they had seen the storm, they found their table and everything on it exactly as they had left it. Bearwarden threw out the brandy peaches on the ground, exclaiming that it was a shame to lose such good preserves, and they proceeded on their walk. They passed hundreds of dead birds, and on reaching the edge of the toadstool valley were not a little surprised to find that every toadstool had disappeared. DOUBTS AND PHILOSOPHY. 331 " I wonder," said tlie doctor, " if there can be any connection between the phenomenon of the disappear- ance of those toadstools and the death of the birds ? We conld easily discover it if they had eaten them, or if in any other way the plants could have entered their bodies ; but I see no way in which that can have happened." Resolving to investigate carefully any other fungi they might see, they resumed their march. The cold, distant-looking sun, apparently about the size of an orange, was near the horizon. Saturn's rotation on its axis occupying only ten hours and fourteen min- utes, being but a few minutes longer than Jupiter's, they knew it would soon be night. Finding a place on a range of hills sheltered by rocks and a clump of trees of the evergreen species, they arranged them- selves as comfortably as possible, ate some of the sandwiches they had brought, lighted their pipes, and watched the dying day. Here were no fire-flies to light the darkening minutes, nor singing flowers to lull them to sleep with their song, but six of the eight moons, each at a different phase, and with varied brightness, bathed the landscape in their pale, cold rays; while far above them, like a huge rainbow, 22 332 A JOURNEY IN OTDER WORLDS. stretched the great rings in effulgent sheets, reaching thousands of miles into space, and flooded everything with their silvery light. " How poor a place compared with this," they thought to themselves, " is our world ! " and Ayrault wished that his soul was already free ; while the dead leaves rustling in the gentle breeze, and the night- winds, sighing among the trees, seemed to echo his thought. Far above their heads, and in the vastness of space, the well-known stars and constellations, not- withstanding the enormous distance they had now come, looked absolutely unchanged, and seemed to them emblematic of tranquillity and eternal repose. The days were changed by their shortness, and by the apparent loss of power in the sun ; and the nights, as if in compensation, were magnificently illuminated by the numerous moons and splendid rings, though neither rings nor satellites shone with as strong a light as the terrestrial moon. But in nothing outside of the solar system was there any change ; and could ^neas's Palinurus, or one of Philip of Macedon's shepherds, be brought to life here, he would see ex- actly the same stars in the same positions; and, did he not know of his own death or of the lapse of DOUBTS AND PHILOSOPHY. 333 time, he might suppose, so far as the heavens were affected, that he had but fallen asleep, or had just closed his eyes. '' I have always regretted," said Cortlandt, " that I was not born a thousand years later." '* "Were it not," added Ayrault, " that our earth is the vestibule to space, and for the opportunities it opens, I should rather never have lived, for life in itself is unsatisfying." " You fellows are too indefinite and abstract for me," said Bearwarden. " I like something tangible and concrete. The utilitarianism of the twentieth century, by which I live, paradoxical though it may seem, would be out of place in space, unless we can colonize the other planets, and improve their arrange- ments and axes." Mixed with Ayrault's philosophical and meta- physical thoughts were the memories of his sweet- heart at Yassar, and he longed, more than his com- panions, for the spirit's return, that he might ask him if perchance he could tell him aught of her, and whether her thoughts were then of him. Finally, worn out by the fatigue and excitement of the day, they set the protection- wires, more from 334: A JOURXEY IN OTHER WORLDS. force of habit than because they feared molestation ; and, rolHng themselves in their blankets — for the night Avas cold — were soon fast asleep ; Ayrault's last thought having been of his Jiancee, Cortlandt's of the question he wished to ask the spirit, and Bear- warden's of the progress of his Company in the work of straightening the terrestrial axis. Thus they slept seven hundred and ninety million miles beyond their earth's orbit, and more than eight hundred million from the place where the earth was then. While they lay unconscious, the clouds above them froze, and before morning there was a fall of snow that covered the ground and them as they lay upon it. Soon three white mounds were all that marked their presence, and the cranes and eagles, ris- ing from their roosts in response to the coming day, looked unconcernedly at all that was human that they* had ever seen. Finally, weakened by the resound- ing cries of these birds. Bear warden and Cortland t arose, and meeting Ayrault, who had already risen, mistook the snowy form before them for the s})irit, and thinking the dead bishop had revisited them, they were preparing to welcome him, and to pro- pound the questions they had formulated, when DOUBTS AND PHILOSOPHY. 335 Ayrault's familiar voice showed them their mis- take. " Seeing your white figures," said he, " rise ap- parently in response to those loud calls, reminded me of what the spirit told us of the last day, and of the awakening and resurrection of the dead." The scene w^as indeed weird. The east, already streaked with the rays of the rising far-away sun, and the pale moons nearing the horizon in the west, seemed connected by the huge bow of light. The snow on the dark evergreens j^roduced a contrast of colour, while the other trees raised their almost bare and whitened branches against the sky, as though in supplication to the mysterious rings, which cast their light upon them and on the ground. As they gazed, however, the rings became grey, the moons dis- appeared, and another day began. Feeling sure the snow must have cleared the air of any deleterious substances it contained the day before, they de- scended into the neighbouring valley, which, having a southerly exposure, was warm in comparison with the hills. As they walked they disturbed a number of small rodents, which quickly ran away and disap- peared in their holes. 336 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. " TLongli we have seen none of the huge creatures here," said Cortlandt, " that were so plenti- ful on Jupiter, these burrowers belong to a distinctly higher scale than those we found there, from which I take it we may infer that the evolution of the animal kingdom has advanced further on this planet than on Jupiter, which is just what we have a right to expect ; for Saturn, in addition to being the smaller and therefore more matured of the two, has doubt- less had a longer individual existence, being the farther from the sun." Notwithstanding the cold of the night, the flowers, especially the lilies, were as beautiful as ever, which surprised them not a little, until, on ex- amining them closely, they found that the stems and veins in the leaves were fluted, and therefore elastic, so that, should the sap freeze, it could expand with- out bursting the cells, thereby enabling the flowers to withstand a short frost. They noticed that many of the curiously shaped birds they saw at a distance from time to time were able to move with great rapidity along the ground, and had about concluded that they must have four legs, being similar to winged squirrels, when a long, low quadruped, about DOUBTS AND PHILOSOPHY. 337 twenty-five feet from nostrils to tail, wliich tliey were endeavouring to stalk, suddenly spread two pairs of wings, flapping tlie four at once, and then soared off at great speed. " I hope we can get one of those, or at least his photograph," said Cortlandt. " If they go in pairs," said Bearwarden, " we may find the companion near." At that moment another great winged lizard, con- siderably larger than the first, rose with a snort, not twenty yards on their left. Cortlandt, who was a good shot with a gun at short range, immediately raised his twelve-bore and fired both barrels at the monster ; but the double-B shots had no more dis- abling effect than if they had been number eights. They, however, excited the creature's ire ; for, sweep- ing around quickly, it made straight for Cortlandt, breathing at him when near, and almost overpowering the three men with the malodorous, poisonous cloud it exhaled. Instantly Bearwarden fired several re- volver bullets down its throat, while Ayrault pulled both barrels almost simultaneously, with the muzzles but a few inches from its side. In this case the in- itial velocity of the heavy buckshot was so great, and f 338 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. they were still so close together, that they penetrated the leathery hide, tearing a large hole. With a roar the wounded monster beat a retreat, first almost pros- trating them with another blast of its awful breath. " It would take a stronger light than we get here," said Bearwarden, "to impress a negative through that haze. I think," he continued, '' I know a trick that will do the business, if we see any more of these dragons." Saying which, he withdrew the cartridges from his gun, and with his hunting-knife cut the tough paper shell nearly through between the wads separating the powder from the shot, drawing his knife entirely around. " Now," said he, " when I fire those, the entire forward end of the cartridge will go out, keeping the fifteen buckshot together like a slug, and with such penetration that it will go through a two-inch plank. It is a trick I learned from hunters, and, unless your guns are choke-bore, in which case it might burst the barrel, I advise you to follow suit." Finding they had brought straight-bored guns, they arranged their cartridges similarly, and set out in the direction in which the winged lizards or drag- ons had gone. CHAPTER lY. A PROVIDENTIAL INTERVENTION. The valley narrowed as tliej advanced, the banks rising gently on both sides. Both dragons had flown straight to a grove of tall, spreading trees. On com- ing near to this, they noticed a faint smell like that of the dragon, and also like the trace they found in the air on leaving the Callisto the day before, after they had sought safety within it. Soon it almost knocked them down. " AYe must get to windward," said Cortlandt. " I already feel faint, and believe those dragons could kill a man by breathing on him." Accordingly, they skirted around the grove, and having made a quarter circle — for they did not wish the dragons to wind them — again drew nearer. Tree after tree was passed, and finally they saw an open space twelve or fifteen acres in area at the (339) 34:0 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. centre of the grove, when they were arrested by a curious sound of munching. Peering among the trunks of the huge trees, they advanced cautiously, but stopped aghast. In the opening were at least a hundred dragons devouring the toadstools with which the ground was covered. Many of them were thirty to forty feet long, with huge and terribly long, sharp claws, and jaws armed with gleaming batter- ies of teeth. Though they had evidently lungs, and the claws and mouth of an animal, they reminded the observers in many respects of insects enormously exaggerated, for their wings, composed of a sort of transparent scale, were small, and moved, as they had already seen, at far greater speed than those of a bird. Their projecting eyes were also set rigidly in their heads instead of turning, and consisted of a number of flat surfaces or facets, like a fly's eye, so that they could see backward and all around, each facet seeing anything the rays from which came at right angles to its surface. This beautiful grove was doubtless their feeding-ground, and, as such, was likely to be visited by many more. Concluding it would be wise to let their wounded game escape, the three men were about to retreat, having found A PROVIDENTIAL INTERVENTION. 341 it difficult to breatlie the air even at that distance from the monsters, when the wounded dragon that they had observed moving about in a very restless manner, and evidently suffering a good deal from the effect of its wounds, espied them, and, with a roar that made the echoes ring, started towards them slowly along the ground, followed by the entire herd, the nearer of which now also saw them. See- ing that their lives were in danger, the hunters quickly regained the open, and then stretched their legs against the wind. The dragons came through the trees on the ground, and then, raising them- selves by their wings, the whole swarm, snorting, and darkening the air with their deadly breath, made straight for the men, who by comparison looked like Lilliputians. With the slug from his right bar- rel Bearwarden ended the wounded dragon's career by shooting him through the head, and with his left laid .low the one following. Ayrault also killed two huge monsters, and Cortlandt killed one and wounded another. Their supply of prepared car- tridges was then exhausted, and they fell back on their revolvers and ineffective spreading shot. Ee- solved to sell their lives dearly, they retreated. 342 ^ JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. keeping their backs to the wind, witli the poi- sonous dragons in front. But the breeze was very sHght, and they were being rapidly blinded and asphyxiated by the loathsome fumes, and deaf- ened by the hideous roaring and snapping of the dragons' jaws. Realizing that they could not much longer reply to the diabolical host with lead, they believed their last hour had come, when the ground on which they were making their last stand shook, there was a rending of rocks and a rush of impris- oned steam that drowned even the dragons' roar, and they were separated from them by a long fissure and a wall of smoke and vapour. Struggling back from the edge of the chasm, they fell upon the ground, and then for the first time fully realized that the earth- quake had saved them, for the dragons could not come across the opening, and would not venture to fly through the smoke and steam. When they recov- ered somewhat from the shock, they cut a number of cartridges in the same way that they had pre- pared those that had done them such good serv- ice, and kept one barrel of each gun loaded with that kind. " AVe may thank Providence," said Bearwarden, A PROVIDENTIAL INTERVENTION. 343 " for that escape. I hope we shall have no more such close calls." With a parting glance at the chasm that had saved their lives, and from which a cloud still arose, they turned slightly to the right of their former course and climbed the gently rising bank. "When near the top, being tired of their exciting experiences, they sat down to rest. The ground all about them was covered with mushrooms, white on top and pink un- derneath. " This is a wonderful place for fungi," said Ay- rault. " Here, doubtless, we shall be safe from the dragons, for they seemed to prefer the toadstools." As he lay on the ground he watched one particular mush- room that seemed to grow before his eyes. Suddenly, as he looked, it vanished. Dumfounded at this un- mistakable manifestation of the phenomenon they thought they had seen on landing, he called his com- panions, and, choosing another mushroom, the three watched it closely. Presently, without the least noise or commotion, that also disappeared, leaving no trace, and the same fate befell a number of others. At a certain point of their development they vanished as completely as a bubble of air coming to the surface 344 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. of water, except that they caused no ripple, leav- ing merely a small depression where they had stood. " Well," said Bearwarden, " in all my travels I never have seen anything like this. If I were at a sleight-of-hand performance, and the prestidigitateur, after doing that, asked for my theory, I should say, * I give it up.' How is it with you, doctor ? " he asked, addressing Cortlandt. "There must be an explanation," replied Cort- landt, '' only we do not know the natural law to which tlie phenomenon is subject, having had no experience with it on earth. We know that all sub- stances can be converted into gases, and that all gases can be reduced to liquids, and even solids, by the ap- plication of pressure and cold. If there is any way by which the visible substance of these fungi can be converted into its invisible gases, as water into oxygen and hydrogen, what we have seen can be logically explained. Perhaps, favoured by some af- finity of the atmosphere, its constituent parts are broken up and become gases at this barometric pres- sure and temperature. We must ask the spirit, if he visits us again." A PROVIDENTIAL INTERVENTION. 345 '' I wish lie would," said Ayrault ; " there are lots of things I should like to ask him." " Presidents of corporations and other chairmen," said Bearwarden, " are not usually superstitious, and I, of course, take no stock in the supernatural ; but somehow I have a well-formed idea that our friend the bishop, with the great power of his mind over matter, had a hand in that earthquake. He seems to have an exalted idea of our importance, and may be exerting himself to make things pleasant." At this point the sun sank below the horizon, and they found themselves confronted with night. " Dear, dear ! " said Bearwarden, " and we haven't a crumb to eat. I'll stand the drinks and the pipes," he continued, passing around his ubiquitous flask and tobacco-pouch. " If I played such pranks with my interior on earth," said Cortlandt, helping himself to both, " as I do on this planet, it would give me no end of trou- ble, but here I seem to have the digestion of an ostrich." So they sat and smoked for an hour, till the stars twinkled and the rings shone in their glory. "Well," said Ayrault, finally, "since we have 346 ^ JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. nothing but motions to lay on the table, I move we adjourn." '' The only motion I shall make," said Cortlandt, who was already undressed, " will be that of getting into bed," saying which, he rolled himself in his blanket and soon was fast asleep. Having decided that, on account of the proximity of the dragons, a man must in any event be on the watch, they did not set the protection-wires. From the shortness of the nights, they divided them into only two watches of from two hours to two and a half each, so that, even when constant watch duty was necessary, each man had one full night's sleep in three. On this occasion Ayrault and Cortlandt were the watchers, Cortlandt having the morning and Ay- rault the evening watch. Many curious quadruped birds, about the size of large bears, and similar in shape, having bear-shaped heads, and several crea- tures that looked like the dragons, flew about them in the moonlight ; but neither watcher fired a shot, as the creatures showed no desire to make an attack. All these species seemed to belong to the owl or bat tribe, for they roamed abroad at night. CHAPTER Y. AYRAULT S VISION. When Ayrault's watch was ended, he roused Cortlandt, who took his place, and feeling a desire for solitude and for a last long look at the earth, he crossed the top of the ridge on the slope of which they had camped, and lay down on the farther side. The south wind in the upper air rushed along in the mighty whirl, occasionally carrying filmy clouds across the faces of the moons ; but about Ayrault all was still, and he felt a quiet and serene repose. He had every intention of remaining awake, and was pondering on the steadfastness of the human heart and the constancy of love, when his meditations be- gan to wander, and, with his last thoughts on Sylvia, he fell asleep. Kot a branch moved, nor did a leaf fall, yet before Ayrault's sleeping eyes a strange scene was enacted. A figure in white came near and 23 (347) 348 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. stood before him, and he recognized in it one Violet Slade, a very attractive girl to whom he had been attentive in his college days. She was at that time just eighteen, and people believed that she loved him, but for some reason, he knew not why, he had not proposed. " I thought you had died," he said, as she gazed at him, " but you are now looking better than ever." " From the world's point of view I am dead," she replied. "I died and was buried. It is therefore permissible that I should show you the truth. You never believed I loved you. I have wished earnestly to see you, and to have you know that I did." "I did you an injustice," Ayrault answered, per- ceivins: all that was in her heart. " Could mortals but see as spirits do, there would be no misunder- standings." " I am so glad to see you," she continued, " and to know you are well. Had you not come here, we could probably not have met until after your death ; for I shall not be sufficiently advanced to return to earth for a long time, though my greatest solace while there was my religion, which is all that brought me here. We, however, know that as our AYRAULT'S VISION. 349 capacity for true happiness increases we shall be hap- pier, and that after the resurrection there will be no more tears. Farewell," she whispered, while her eyes were^lled with love. Ayrault's sleep was then undisturbed for some time, when suddenly an angel, wreathed in light, ap- peared before him and spoke these words : " He that walked with Adam and talked with Moses has sent me to guard you while you sleep. I^o plague or fever, wild beast or earthquake, can molest you, for you are equally protected from the most pow- erful monster and the most insidious disease -germ. ' Blessed is the man whose offences are covered and whose sins are forgiven.' Sleep on, therefore, and be refreshed, for the body must have rest." " A man may rest indeed," replied Ayrault, "when he has a guardian angel. I had the most unbounded faith in your existence before I saw you, and believe and know that you or others have often shielded me from danger and saved my life. Why am I worthy of so much care ? " " ^ Whoso dwelleth under the defence of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Al- mighty,' " answered the angel, and thereupon he 350 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. became invisible, a diffused light taking his place. Shortly afterwards this paled and completely van- ished. " Xot only am I in paradise," though^ Ayrault ; " I believe I am also in the seventh heaven. Would I might hear such words again ! " A group of lilies then appeared before the sleeper's eyes. In the midst was one lily far larger than the rest, and of a dazzling white. This spoke in a gentle voice, but with the tones of a trombone : "Thy thoughts and acts are a pleasure to me. Thou hast raised no idols within thy heart, and thy faith is as incense before me. Thy name is now in the Book of Life. Continue as thou hast begun, and thou shalt live and reign forever." Hereupon the earth shook, and Ayrault was awak- ened. Great boulders were rolling and crashing down the slope about him, while the dawn was al- ready in the east. " My mortal eyes and senses are keener here while I sleep than when I wake," he thought, as he looked about him, " for spirits, unable to affect me while waking, have made themselves felt in my more sensi- Ayrault's vision. AYRAULT'S VISION. 35 1 tive state while I was asleep. Nevertheless, this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. " The boulders were still in motion when I opened my eyes," he mused ; " can it be that there is here- abouts such a flower as in my dreams I seemed to see ? " and looking beyond where his head had lain, he beheld the identical lily surrounded by the group that his closed eyes had already seen. Thereupon he un- covered his head and departed quickly. Crossing the divide, he descended to camp, where he found Cortlandt in deep thought. '' I cannot get over the dreams," said the doctor, " I had in the first part of the night. Notwithstand- ing yesterday's excitement and fatigue, my sleep was most disturbed, and I was visited by visions of my wife, who died long ago. She warned me against skepticism, and seemed much distressed at my present spiritual state." " I," said Bearwarden, who had been out early, and had succeeded in bringing in half a dozen birds, " was so disturbed I could not sleep. It seemed to me as though half the men I have ever known came and warned me against agnosticism and my materialis- 352 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. tic tendencies. Tliej kept repeating, ' You are losing the reality for the shadow.' " " I am convinced," said Ajrault, "that they were not altogether dreams, or, if dreams indeed, that they were superinduced by a higher will. We know that angels have often appeared to men in the past. May it not be that, as our appreciativeness increases, these communications will recur ? " Thereupon he related his own experiences. " The thing that surprised me," said Cortlandt, as they finished breakfast, " Avas the extraordinary real- ism of the scene. We must see if our visions return on anything but an empty stomach." CHAPTER YL A GREAT VOID AND A GREAT LONGING. Resuming tlieir march, the travellers proceeded along the circumference of a circle having a radius of about three miles, with the Callisto in the centre. In crossing soft places they observed foot-prints forming in the earth all around them. The im- pressions were of all sizes, and ceased when they reached rising or hard ground, only to reappear in the swamps, regulating their speed by that of the travellers. The three men were greatly sur- prised at this. "You may observe," said Cortlandt, "that the surface of the impression is depressed as you watch it, as though by a weight, and you can see, and even hear, the water being squeezed out, though whatever is doing it is entirely invisible. They must be made by spirits sufficiently advanced to (353) 354 A JOURXEV IX OTHER WORLDS. have weight, but not advanced enough to make themselves visible." Moved bj a species of vandalism, Bearwarden raised his twelve-bore, and fired an ordinary car- tridge that he had not prepared for the dragons, at the space directly over the nearest forming prints. There was a brilliant display of prismatic colours, as in a rainbow, and though the impressions already made remained, no new ones were formed. '' Kow you have done it ! " said" Cortlandt. " I hoped to be able to investigate this further." " We shall doubtless see other and perhaps more wonderful things," replied Bearwarden. " I must say this gives me an uncanny feeling." When they had completed a little over half their circle, they came upon another of the groves with which Saturn seemed to abound, at the edge of which, in a side-hill, was a cave, the entrance of which was composed of rocky masses that had apparently fallen together, the floor being but little higher than the surface outside. The arched roof of the vestibule was rendered water-tight by the soil that had formed upon it, which again was overgrown by vines and bushes." A GREAT VOID AND A GREAT LONGING. 355 " This," said Bearwarden, " will be a good place to camp, for the cave will protect lis from dragons, unless they should take a notion to breathe at us from the outside, and it will keep us dry in case of rain. To-morrow we can start with this as a centre, and make another circuit." "We can explore Saturn on foot," said Cortlandt, " and far more thoroughly than Jupiter, on account of its comparative freedom from monsters. Not even the dragons can trouble us, unless we meet them in large numbers." Thereupon they set about getting fuel for their fire. Besides collecting some of the dead wood that was lying all about, they split up a number of resinous pine and fir trees with explosive bullets from their re- volvers, so that soon they not only had a roaring fire, but filled the back part of the cave with logs to dry, in case they should camp there again at some later day. ^Neither Cortlandt nor Bearwarden felt much like sleeping, and so, after finishing the birds the president had brought down that morning, they per- suaded Ayrault to sit up and smoke with them. Wrapping themselves in their blankets— for there was a chill in the air — they sat about the camp-fire 356 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. they had built in the mouth of the cave. Two moons that were at the full rose rapidly in the clear, cold sky. On account of their distance from the sun, they were less bright than the terrestrial moon, but they shone with a marvellously pure pale light. The larger contained the exact features of a man. Tliere was the somewhat aquiline nose, a clear-cut and expressive mouth, and large, handsome eyes, wliich were shaded by well-marked eyebrows. The whole face was very striking, but was a personifica- tion of the most intense grief. The expression was in- deed sadder than that of any face they had ever seen. The other contained the profile of a surpassingly beautiful young woman. The handsome eyes, shaded by lashes, looked straiglit ahead. The nose was per- fect, and the ear small, while the hair was artistically arranged at the top and back of the head. This moon also reflected a pure white ray. The former appeared about once and a quarter, the latter but three quarters, the size of the terrestrial moon, and the travellers immediately recognized them by their sizes and relative positions as Tethys and Dione, discovered by J. D. Cassini in March, 168-J:. The sad face was turned slightly towards that of its companion, and A GREAT VOID AND A GREAT LONGING. 357 it looked as if some tale of the human heart, some romance, had heen engraved and preserved for all time on the features of these dead bodies, as they silently swung in their orbits forever and anon were side by side. " In all the ages," said Cortlandt, " that these moons have wandered with Saturn about the sun, and with the solar system in its journey through space, they can never have gazed upon the scene they now behold, for we may be convinced that no mortal man has been here before." " We may say," said Ayrault, " that they see in our bodies a type of the source from which come all the spiritual beings that are here." " If, as the writers of mythology supposed," re- plied Cortlandt, "inanimate objects were endowed with senses, these moons would doubtless be unable to perceive the spiritual beings here ; for the satel- lites, being material, should, to be consistent, have only those senses possessed by ourselves, so that to them this planet would ordinarily appear deserted." " I shall be glad," said Bearwarden, gloomily, " when those moons wane and are succeeded by their fellows, for one would give me an attack of the 358 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. blues, while the other would subject me to the incon- venience of falling in love." As he spoke, the upper branches of the trees in the grove began to sway as a cold gust from the north sighed among them. " Lose no more oppor- tunities," it seemed to cry, " for life is short and un- certain. Soon you will all be colder than I, and your future, still as easily moulded as clay, will be set as Marpesian marble, more fixed than the hard- est rock." " Paradise," said Cortlandt, ^' contains sights and sounds that might, I should think, arouse sad remi- niscences without the aid of the waters of Lethe, un- less the joy of its souls in their new resources and the sense of forgiveness outweigh all else." With a parting look at the refined, silvery moon, and its sorrow-laden companion, they retired to the sheltering cave, piled up the fire, and talked on for an hour. " I do not see how it is," said Bearwarden, " that these moons, considering their distance from the sun, and the consequently small amount of light they receive, are so bright." " A body's brightness in reflecting light," re- A GREAT VOID AND A GREAT LONGING. 359 plied Cortlandt, " depends as much on the colour and composition of its own surface as on the amount it receives. It is conceivable that these moons, if placed at the earth's distance from the sun, would be far brighter than our moon, and that our famihar satellite, if removed to Saturn, would seem very dim. We know how much more brilliant a mountain in the sunlight is when clad in snow than when its sides are bare. These moons evidently reflect a large proportion of the light they receive." When they came out shortly after midnight the girl's-face moon had already set, leaving a dark and dreary void in the part of the sky it had so ideally filled. The inexpressibly sad satellite (on account of its shorter distance and more rapid rate of revolu- tion) was still above the horizon, and, being slightly tilted, had a more melancholy, heart-broken look than before. While they gazed sadly at the emptiness left by Dione, Cortlandt saw Ayrault's expression change, and, not clearly perceiving its cause, said, wishing to cheer him : " E'ever mind, Dick ; to-mor- row night we shall see it again." " Ah, prosaic reasoner," retorted Bearwarden, who saw that this, like so many other things, had re- 360 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. minded Ajrault of Sylvia, " that is but small conso- lation for having lost it now, though I suppose our lot is not so hard as if we were never to see it again. In that moon's face I find the realization of my fan- cied ideal woman ; while that sad one yonder seems as though some celestial lover, in search of his fate, had become enamoured of her, and tried in vain to win her, and the grief in his mind had impressed itself on the then molten face of a satellite to be the monument throughout eternity of love and a broken heart. If the spirits and souls of the departed have any command of matter, why may not their intensest thoughts engrave themselves on a moon that, when dead and frozen, may reflect and shine as they did, while immersed in the depths of space ? At first Dione bored me ; now I should greatly like to see her again." " History repeats itself," replied Cortlandt, " and the same phases of life recur. It is we that are in a changed receptive mood. The change that seems to be in them is in reality in us. Remain as you are now, and Dione will give you the same pleasure to- morrow that she gave to-day." To Ayrault this meant more than the mere set- A GREAT VOID AND A GREAT LONGING. 361 ting to rise again of a heavenly body. The perfume of a flower, the sighing of the wind, suggesting some harmony or song, a full or crescent moon, recalled thoughts and associations of Sylvia. Everything seemed to bring out memory, and he realized the utter inability of absence to cure the heart of love. " If Sylvia should pass from my life as that moon has left my vision," his thoughts continued, " ex- istence would be but sadness and memory would be its cause, for the most beautiful sounds entail sorrow ; the most beautiful sights, intense pain. Ah," he went on with a trace of bitterness, while his friends fell asleep in the cave, '^ I might better have remained in love with science ; for whoso studies Nature, which is but a form of God, in the right spirit, is not dependent for his joy or despair on the whims of a girl. She, of course, sees many others, and, being only twenty, may forget me. Must I content myself with philosophical rules and mathematical formulse, when she, whose changeful- ness I may find greater than the winds that sigh over me, now loves me no longer ? O love, which makes us miserable when we feel it, and more miserable still when it is gone ! " 362 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. He strung a number of copper wires at different degrees of tension between two trees, and listened to the wind as it ranged up and down on this impro- vised a'EoHan harp. It gradually ran into a regular refrain, which became more and more like words. Ayrault was puzzled, and then amazed. There could be no doubt about it. '' You should be happy," it kept repeating — " you should be happy," in soft musical tones. " I know I should," replied Ayrault, finally rec- ognizing the voice of Yiolet Slade in the song of the wind, " and I cannot understand why I am not. Tell me, is this paradise, Yiolet, or is it not rather purgatory ? " The notes ranged up and down again, and he perceived that she was causing the wind to blow as she desired — in other words, she was making it play upon his harp. " That depends on the individual," she replied. " It is rather sheol, the place of departed spirits. Those whose consciences made them happy on earth are in paradise here ; while those good enough to reach heaven at last, but in whom some dross re- mains, are further refined in y])irit, acd to them it is A GREAT VOID AND A GREAT LONGING. 3G3 purgatory. Tliose who are in love can be liappy in but one way while their love lasts. What is happi- ness, anyway ? " " It is the state in which desires are satisfied, my fair Yiolet," answered Ayrault. " Say, rather, the state in which desire coincides with 'duty," replied the song. " Self-sacrifice for others gives the truest joy ; being w^ith the object of one's love, the next. You never believed that I loved you. I dissembled well ; but you will see for yourself some day, as clearly as I see your love for another now." " Yes," replied Ayrault, sadly, " I am in love. I have no reason to believe there is cause for my un- rest, and, considering every thing, I should be happy as man can be ; yet, mirdbile dictu, I am in — hades, in the very depths ! " " Your beloved is beyond my vision ; your heart is all 1 can see. Yet I am convinced she will not forget you. I am sure she loves you still." " I have always believed in homoeopathy to the extent of the shnilia similihus ciorantur^ Yiolet, and it is certain that where nothing else will cure a man of love for one woman, his love for another will. 24 364 A JOURNEY IX OTYlFAl WORLDS. You can see how I love Sylvia, but you have never seemed so sweet to me as to-day." " It is a sacrilege, my friend, to speak so to me now. You are done with me forever. I am but a disembodied spirit, and escaped hades by the grace of the Omnipotent, rather than by virtue of any good I did on earth. So far as any elasticity is left in my opportunities, I am dead as yon moon. You have still the gift that but one can give. Within your animal body you hold an immortal soul. It is pli- able as wax ; you can mould it by your will. As you shape that soul, so will your future be. It is the ark that can traverse the flood. Raise it, and it will raise you. It is all there is in yourself. Preserve that gift, and when you die you will, I hope, start on a plane many thousands of years in advance of me. There should l)e no more comparison between us than between a person with all his senses and one that is deaf and blind. Though you are a layman, you should, with your faith and frame of mind, soon be but little behind our spiritual bishop." " I supposed after death a man had rest. Is he, then, a bishop still !f " " The progress, as he told you, is largely on the A GREAT VOID AND A GREAT LONGING. 3(35 old lines. As lie stirred men's hearts on earth, he will stir their souls in' heaven ; and this is no irk- some or unwelcome work." '' You say he will do this in heaven. Is he, then, not there yet ? " " He was not far from heaven on earth, yet tech- nically none of us can be in heaven till after the gen- eral resurrection. Then, as we knew on earth, we shall receive bodies, though, as yet, concerning their exact nature we know but little more than then. We are all in sheol — the just in purgatory and paradise, the unjust in hell." " Since you are still in purgatory, are you un- happy?" " No, our state is very happy. All physical pain is past, and can never be felt again. "We know that our evil desires are overcome, and that their imprints are being gradually erased. I occasionally shed an intangible tear, yet for most of those who strove to obey their consciences, purgatory, when essential, though occasionally giving us a bitter twinge, is a joy-producing state. E'ot all the glories imaginable or unimaginable could make us happy, were our con- sciences ill at ease. I liave advanced slowly, yet 366 -^ JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. some tilings are given us at once. After I realized I had irrevocably lost your love, tliongli for a time I had hoped to regain it, I became very restless ; earth seemed a prison, and I looked forward to death as my deliverer. I bore you no malice ; you had never especially tried to win me ; the infatuation — that of a girl of eighteen — had been all on my side. I lived five sad and lonely years, although, as you know, I had much attention. People thought me cold and heartless. How could I have a heart, having failed to win yours, and mine being broken ? Having lost the only man I loved, I knew no one else could re- place him, and I was not the kind to marry for pique. People thought me handsome, but I felt myself aged when you ceased to call. Perhaps when you and she who holds all your love cqme to sheol, she may spare you to me a little, for as a spirit my every thought is known ; or perhaps after the resurrection, when I, too, can leave this planet, we shall all soar through space together, and we can study the stars as of old." ^' Your voice is a symphony, sweetest Yiolet, and I love to hear your words. Ah, would you could once more return to earth, or that I were an ethereal spirit, that we might commune face to face ! I would A GREAT VOID AND A GREAT LONGING. 36Y follow yon from one end of Shadowland to the otlier. Of what use is life to me, Avith distractions that draw my thoughts to earth as gravitation drew my body ? I wish I were a shade." " You are talking for effect, Dick— which is use- less here, for I see how utterly you are in love." " I am in love, Yiolet ; and though, as I said, I have no reason to doubt Sylvia's steadfastness and con- stancy, I am very unhappy. I have always heard that time is a balsam that cures all ills, yet I become more wretched every day." "Do all you can to preserve that love, and it will bring you joy all your Hfe. Your happiness is my happiness. What distresses you, distresses me." The tones here grew fainter and seemed about to cease. " Before you leave me," cried Ayrault, " tell me how and when I may see or hear you again." " While you remain on this planet, I shall be near ; but beyond Saturn I cannot go." " Yet tell me, Yiolet, how I may see you ? My love unattained, you perceive, makes me wretched, while you always gave me calm and peace. If I may 308 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. not kiss the hand I ahnost asked might be mine, let me have but a ghmce from your sweet eyes, which will comfort me so much now." " If you break the ice in the pool behind you, you shall see me till the frame melts." After this the silence was broken only by the sighing of the wind in the trees. The pool had sud- denly become covered with ice several inches thick. Taking an axe, Ayrault hewed out a parallelogram about three feet by four and set it on end against the bank. The cold grey of morning was already colour- ing the east, and in the growing light Ayrault beheld a vision of Yiolet witliin the ice. The face was at about three fourths, and had a contemplative air. The hair was arranged as he had formerly seen it, and the thoughtful look was strongest in the beautiful grey eyes, which were more serious than of yore. Ayrault stood riveted to the spot and gazed. " I could have been happy with her," he mused, '^ and to think she is no more ! " As drops fell from the ice, tears rose to his eyes. " Wliat a pretty girl ! " said Bearwarden to Cort- landt, as they came upon it later in the day. " The A GREAT VOID AND A GREAT LONGING. 369 face seems etclied or imprinted by some peculiar form of freezing far within the ice." The next morning they again set out, and so tramped, hunted, and investigated with varying suc- cess for ten Saturnian days. They found that in the animal and plant forms of life Nature had often, by some seeming accident, struck out in a course very different from any on the earth. Many of the ani- mals were bipeds and tripeds, the latter arranged in tandem, the last leg being evidently an enormously developed tail, by which the creature propelled itself as with a spring. The quadrupeds had also some- times wings, and their bones were hollow, like those of birds. Whether this great motive and lifting power was the result of the planet's size and the power of gravitation, or whether some creatures had in addition the power of developing a degree of aper- getic repulsion to offset it, as they suspected in the case of the boa-constrictor that fell upon Cortlandt on Jupiter, they could not absolutely ascertain. Life was far less prolific on Saturn than on Jupiter, doubtless as a result of its greater distance from the sun, and of its extremes of climate, almost all organic life being driven to the latitudes near the equator. 370 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. There were, as on Jupiter, many variations from the forms of life to which they were accustomed, and adaptations to the conditions in which they found themselves ; but, with the exception of the strange manifestations of spirit life, they found the workings of the fundamental laws the same. Often when they woke at night the air was luminous, and they were convinced that if they remained there long enough it would be easy to devise some telegraphic code of light- flashes by which they could communicate with the 6]nrit world, and so get ideas from the host of spirits that had already solved the problem of life and death, but who were not as yet sufficiently developed to be able to return to the earth. One day they stopped to investigate what they had supposed to be an optical illusion. They observed that leaves and other light substances floated several inches above the surface of the water in the pools. On coming to the edge and making tests, they found a light liquid, as invisible as air, superimposed upon the water, with sufficient buoyancy to sustain dry wood and also some forms of life. They also observed that insects coming close to the surface and apparently inhaling it, rapidly increased in size and weight, from which they con- A GREAT VOID AND A GREAT LONGIXG. 371 eluded it must throw off nitrogen, carbon, or some other nourishment in the form of gas. The depth upon the water was unaffected by rain, which passed tlirough it, but depended rather on the condition of the atmosphere, from which it was evidently con- densed. There seemed also to be a relation between the amount of this liquid and the activity of the spir- its. Finally, when their ammunition showed signs of running low, they decided to return to the Callista, go in it to the other side of the planet, and resume their investigations there. Accordingly, they set out to retrace their steps, returning by a course a few miles to one side of the way they had come, and mak- ing the cave their objective point. Arriving there one evening about sunset, they pitched their camp. The cave was sheltered and comfortable, and they made preparation for passing the night. " I shall be sorry," said Ayrault, as they sat near their fire, "to leave this place without again seeing the bishop. He said we could impress him anywhere, but it may be more difficult to do that at the antip- odes than here." " It does seem," said Bearwarden, " as though we should be missing it in not seeing him again, if that 372 ^^ JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. is possible. Nothing but a poison-storm brought him the first time, and it is not certain that even in such an emergency would he come again uncalled." ''I think," said Ayrault, ''as none of the spirits here are malevolent, they would warn us of danger if they could. The bishop's spirit seems to have been the ouly one with suthciently developed power to re- appear as a man. I therefore suggest that to-morrow we try to make him feel our thought and bring him to us." CHAPTER YII. THE SPIEIT S SECOND VISIT. Accordingly, the next morning they concentrated their minds simultaneously on the spirit, wishing with all their strength that he should reappear. " Whether he be far or near," said Ayrault, " he must feel that, for we are using the entire force of our minds." Shadows began to form, and dancing prismatic colours appeared, but as yet there was no sign of the deceased bishop, when suddenly he took shape among them, his appearance and disappearance being much like that of stereopticon views on the sheet before a lantern. He held himself erect, and his thoughtful, dignified face had the same calm expression it had worn before. " We attracted your attention," said Ayrault, " in the way you said we might, because we longed so to see you." (373) 37i A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. " Yes," added Bearwarden and Cortlandt, " we felt we must see you again." " I am always at your service," replied the spirit, '' and will answer your questions. With regard to my visibility and invisibility " — he continued, with a smile, " for I will not wait for you to ask the ex- planation of what is in your minds — it is very simple. A man's soul can never die ; a manifestation of the soul is the spirit ; this has entity, consciousness, and will, and these also live forever. As in the natural or material life, as I shall call it, will aifects the material first. Thus, a child has power to move its hand or a material object, as a toy, before it can be- come the medium in a psychological seance. So it is here. Before becoming visible to your eyes, I, by my will, draw certain material substances in the form of gases from the ground, water, or air around me. These take any shape I wish — not necessarily that of man, though it is more natural to appear as we did on earth — and may absorb a portion of light, and so be able to cast a shadow or break up the white rays into prismatic colours, or they may be wholly in- visible. By an effort of the will, then, I combine and condense these gases — which consist principally of THE SPIRIT'S SECOND VISIT. 375 oxygeD, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon — into flesh, blood, water, or anything else. You have already learned on earth that, by the application of heat, every solid and every liquid substance, which is solid or liquid simply because of the temperature at which you find it, can be expanded into gas or gases ; and that by cold and pressure every gas can be reduced to a liquid or a solid. On earth the state of a sub- stance, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous, depends simply upon those two conditions. Here neither thermal nor barometric changes are required, for, by mastering the new natural laws that at death become patent to our senses, we have all the necessary con- trol. It requires but an effort of my will to be almost instantly clothed in human form, and but another effort to rearrange the molecules in such a way as to make the envelope visible. Some who have been dead longer, or had a greater natural apti- tude than I, have advanced further, and all are learn- ing ; but the difference in the rate at which spirits acquire control of previously unknown natural laws varies far more than among individuals on earth. " These forms of organic life do not disintegrate till after death ; here in the natural state they break 376 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. down and dissolve into their structural elements in full bloom, as was done by the fungi. The poison- ous element in the deadly gust, against which I warned you, came from the gaseous ingredients of toadstools, which but seldom, and then only when the atmosphere has the greatest affinity for them, dissolve automatically, producing a death-spreading wave, against which your meteorological instruments in future can warn you. The slight fall you noticed in temperature was because the specific heat of these gases is high, and to become gas while in the solid state they had to withdraw some warmth from the air. The fatal breath of the winged lizards — or dragons, as you call them — results from the same cause, the action of their digestion breaking up the fungus, which does not kill them, because they ex- hale the poisonous part in gaseous form with their breath. The mushrooms dissolve more easily ; the natural separation that takes place as they reach a certain stage in their development being precipitated by concussion or shock. " Having seen that, as on earth, we gain control of the material first, our acquisitiveness then extends to a better understanding and appreciation of our THE SPIRIT'S SECOND VISIT. 377 new senses, and we are continually finding new ob- jects of beauty, and new beauties in things we sup- posed we already understood. We were accustomed on earth to the marvellous variety that Nature pro- duced from apparently simple means and presented to our very limited senses; here there is an inde- scribably greater variety to be examined by vastly keener senses. The souls in hell have an equally keen but distorted counterpart of our senses, so that they see in a magnified form everything vile in them- selves and in each other. To their senses only the ugly and hateful side is visible, so that the beauty and perfume of a flower are to them as loathsome as the appearance and fumes of a toadstool. As evolution and the tendency of everything to perpetuate itself and intensify its peculiarities are invariable through- out the universe, these unhappy souls and ourselves seem destined to diverge more and more as time goes on ; and while we constantly become happier as our capacity for happiness increases, their sharpen- ing senses will give them a worse and worse idea of each other, till their mutual repugnance will know no bounds, and of everything concerning which they obtain knowledge through their senses. Thus these 378 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. poor creatures seem to be the victims of circum- stances and the unalterable laws of fate, and were there such a thing as death, their misery would un- questionably finally break their hearts. That there will be final forgiveness for the condemned, has long been a human hope ; but as yet they have experienced none, and there is no analogy for it in Nature. '' But while you have still your earthly bodies and the opportunities they give you of serving God, you need not be concerned about hell ; no one on earth, knowing how things really are, would ever again forsake His ways. The earthly state is the most precious opportunity of securing that for which a man would give his all. Even from the most world- ly point of view, a man is an unsjDcakable fool not to improve his talents and do good. "What would those in sheol not give now for but one day in the flesh on earth, of which you unappreciatives may still have so many? The well -used opportunities of even one hour might bring joy to those in jDaradise forever, and greatly ease the lot of those in hell. In doing acts of philanthropy, however, you must remember the text of the sermon the doctor of divinity preached THE SPIRIT'S SECOND VISIT. 379 to Cranmer and Kidley just before they perished at the stake : ' Though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing' — which shows that even good deeds mnst be per- formed in the proper spirit. " A new era is soon to dawn on earth. I^otwith- standing your great material progress, the future will exceed all the past. Man w411 find every substance's maximum use, thereby vastly increasing his comfort. Then, when advanced in science and reason, with the power of his senses increased by the delicate instru- ments that you, as the forerunners of the coming man, are already learning to make, may he cease to be a groveller, like our progenitors the quadrupeds, and may his thoughts rise to his Creator, who has brought him to such heights through all the intrica- cies of the way. Your preparation for the life to come can also be greatly aided by intercourse with those who have already died. "When you really want to associate spiritually with us, you can do so ; for, though perhaps only one in a hundred million can, like me, so clothe himself as to be again visible to mortal eyes, many of us could affect gelatine or ex- tremely sensitive plates that would show interrup- 25 380 A JOCRNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. tions in the ultra-violet chemical rays that, like the thermal red beyond the visible spectroscope, you know exist though you can neither see nor feel them. Spirits could not affect the magnetic eye, because magnetism, though immaterial itself, is induced and affected only by a material substance. The impres- sion on the plate, however, like the prismatic colours you have already noticed, can be produced by a slight rarefaction of the hydrogen in the air, so that, though no spirit could be photographed as such, a code and language might be established by means of the effect produced on the air by the spirit's mind. I am so interested in the subject of my disquisition that I had almost forgotten that your spirits are still subject to the requirements of the body. Last time I dined with you ; let me now play the host." " We shall be charmed to dine with you," said Ayrault, " and shall be only too glad of anything that will keep you with us." " Then," said the spirit, " as the table-cloth is laid, we need only to have something on it. Let each please hold a corner," he continued, taking one him- self with his left hand, while he passed his right to his brow. Soon flakes as of snow began to form in THE SPIRIT'S SECOND VISIT. 381 the air above, and slowly descended upon the cloth ; and, glancing up, the three men saw that for a con- siderable height this process was going on, the flakes increasing in size as they fell till they attained a length of several inches. When there was enough for them all on the table-cloth the shower ceased. Sitting down on the ground, they began to eat this manna, which had a delicious flavour and marvellous purity and freshness. "As you doubtless have already suspected," said the spirit, " the basis of this in every case is carbon, combined with nitrogen in its solid form, and with the other gases the atmosphere here contains. You may notice that the flakes vary in colour as well as in taste, both of which are of course governed by the gas with which the carbon, also in its visible form, is combined. It is almost the same process as that performed by every plant in withdrawing carbon from the air and storing it in its trunk in the form of wood, which, as charcoal, is again almost pure carbon, only in this case the metamorphosis is far more rapid. This is perhaps the natural law that Elijah, by God's aid, invoked in the miracle of the widow's cruse, and that produced the manna that fed 382 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. the Israelites in the desert ; while apergy came in play in the case of the stream that Moses called from the rock in the wilderness, which followed the descend- ants of Abraham over the rough country through which they passed. In examining miracles with the utmost deference, as we have a right to, we see one law running: throuo^h all. Even in Christ's miracle of changing the water to wine, there was a natural law, though only One has dwelt on earth who could make that change, which, from a chemist's stand- point, was peculiarly difficult on account of the re- quired fermentation, which is the result of a devel- oped and matured germ. Many of His miracles, however, are as far beyond my small power as heaven is above the earth. Much of the substance of the loaves and fishes with which He fed the multitude — the carbon and nitrogenous products — also came from the air, though He could have taken them from many other sources. The combination and building up of these in the ordinary way would have taken weeks or months, but was performed instantaneously by His mighty power." " What natural laws are known to you," asked Bearwarden, " that we do not understand, or THE SPIRIT'S SECOND VISIT. 383 concerning the existence of wliich we are igno- rant ? " " Most of tlie laws in the invisible world," said the spirit, " are the counterpart or extension of laws that appear on earth, though you as yet understand but a small part of those, many not having come to your notice. You, for instance, know that light, heat, and motion are analogous, and either of the last two can be converted into the other ; but in practice you produce motion of the water molecules by the application of heat, and seldom reverse it. One of the first things we master here is the power to freeze or boil water, by checking the motion of the mole- cules in one case, and by increasing it, and their mu- tual repulsion, in the other. This is by virtue of a simple law, though in this case there is no natural manifestation of it on earth with which to compare it. While knowledge must be acquired here through study, as on earth, the new senses we receive with the awakening from death render the doing so easy, though with only the senses we had before it would have been next to impossible. " At this moment snow is falling on the Callisto ; but this you could not know by seeing, and scarcely 384 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. any degree of evolution conld develop your sight sufficiently, unassisted by death. With your instru- ments, however, you could already perceive it, not- Avithstanding the intervening rocks. " Your research on earth is the best and most thorough in the history of the race ; and could we but give you suggestions as to the direction in which to push it, the difference between yourselves and angels might be but little more than that between the number and intensity of the senses and the com- position of the body. By the combination of natural laws you have rid yourselves of the impediment of material weight, and can roam through space like spirits, or as Columbus, by virtue of the confidence that came with the discovery of the mariner's com- pass, roamed upon and explored the sea. You have made a good beginning, and were not your lives so short, and their requirements so peremptory, you might visit the distant stars. " I will show you the working of evolution. Life sleeps in minerals, dreams in plants, and wakes in you. The rock worn by frost and age crumbles to earth and soil. This enters the substance of the primordial plant, which, slowly rising, produces the THE SPIRIT'S SECOND VISIT. 385 animal genu. After that the way is clear, and man is evolved from protoplasm through the vertebrate and the ape. Here we have the epitome of the struggle for life in the ages past, and the analogue of the journey in the years to come. Does not the Almighty Himself make this clear where He says through his servant Isaiah, ' Behold, of these stones will I raise up children ' ? — and the name Adam means red earth. God, having brought man so far, will not Jet evolution cease, and the next stage of life must be the spiritual." " Can you tell us anything," asked Ayrault, " con- cerning the bodies that those surviving the final judgment will receive ? " " I^sTotwithstanding the unfolding of knowledge that has come to us here," replied the spirit, " there are still some subjects concerning which we must look for information to the inspired writers in the Bible, and every gain or discovery goes to prove their veracity. We know that there are celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial, and that the spiritual bodies we shall receive in the resurrection will have power and will be incorruptible and immortal. We also know by analogy and reason that they will be 386 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. unaffected by the cold and void of space, so that their possessors can range through the universe for non- nillions and decilHons of miles, that they will have marvellous capacities for enjoying what they find, and that no undertaking or journey will be too diffi- cult, though it be to the centre of the sun. Though many of us can already visit the remote regions of space as spirits, none can as yet see God ; but we know^ that as the sight we are to receive with our new bodies sharpens, the pure in heart will see Him, though He is still as invisible to the eyes of the most developed here as the ether of space is to yours." CHAPTEE YIII. CASSANDRA AND COSMOLOGY. The water-jug being empty, Ayrault took it np, and, crossing the ridge of a small hill, descended to a running brook. He had filled it, and was straight- ening himself, when the stone on which he stood turned, and he might have fallen, had not the bishop, of whose presence he had been unaware, stretched out his hand and upheld him, "I thought you might need a little help," he said with a smile, '' and so walked beside you, though you knew it not. Water is heavy, and you may not yet have become accustomed to its Satur- nian weight." "Many thanks, my master," replied Ayrault, re- taining his hand. " Were it not that I am engaged to the girl I love, and am sometimes haunted by the thought that in my absence she may be forgetting 3S3 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. me, I should wish to spend the rest of my natural life here, unless I could persuade you to go with me to the earth." " By remaining here," replied the spirit, with a sad look, "you would be losing the most priceless opportunities of doing good. Neither will I go with you; but, as your distress is real, I will tell you of anything happening on earth that you wish to know." " Tell me, then, what the person now in my thoughts is doing." " She is standing in a window facing west, water- ing some forget-me-nots with a small silver sprinkler which has a ruby in the handle." " Can you see anything else ? " "Beneath the jewel is an inscription that runs: 'By those who in warm July are born A single ruby should be worn ; Then will they be exempt and free From love's doubts and anxiety.' " " Marvellous ! Had I any doubts as to your pre- science and power, they would be dispelled now. One thinir more let me ask, however : Does she still love me ? " CASSANDRA AND COSMOLOGY. 389 " In her mind is but one thought, and in her heart is an image — that of the man before me. She loves you with all her soul." " My most eager wish is satisfied, and for the moment my heart is at rest," replied Ayrault, as they turned their steps towards camp. " Yet, such is my weakness by nature, that, ere twenty-four hours have passed I shall long to have you tell me again." " I have been in love myself," replied the spirit, " and know the feeling ; yet to be of the smallest service to you gives me far more happiness than it can give you. The mutual love in paradise exceeds even the lover's love on earth, for it is only those that loved and can love that are blessed. " You can hardly realize," the bishop continued, as they rejoined Bearwarden and Cortlandt, " the joy that a spirit in paradise experiences when, on reopen- ing his eyes after passing death, which is but the por- tal, he finds himself endowed with sight that enables him to see such distances and with such distinctness. The solar system, with this ringed planet, its swarm of asteroids, and its intra-Mercurial planets — one of which, Yulcan, you have already discovered — is a beautiful sight. The planets nearest the sun receive 390 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. such burning rays that their surfaces are red-hot, and at the equator at periheHon are molten. These are not seen from the earth, because, rising or setting ahnost simultaneously ^vith the sun, they are lost in its rays. The great planet beyond Neptune's orbit is perhaps the most interesting. This we call Cassan- dra, because it would be a prophet of evil to any visitor from the stars who should judge the solar sys- tem by it. This planet is nearly as large as Jupiter, being 80,000 miles in diameter, but has a specific gravity lighter than Saturn. Bode's law, you know, says. Write down 0, 3, 6, 12, 2-i, 48, 96. Add 4 to each, and get 4, 7, 10, IG, 28, 52, 100 ; and this series of numbers represents very nearly the relative dis- tances of the planets from the sun. According to this law, you would expect the planet next beyond Neptune to be about 5,000,000,000 miles from the sun. But it is about 9,500,000,000, so that there is a gap between Xeptune and Cassandra, as between Mars and Jupiter, except that in Cassandra's case there are no asteroids to show where any planet was ; we must, then, suppose it is an exception to Bode's law, or that there was a planet that has completely disappeared. As Cassandra would be within the law CASSANDRA AND COSMOLOGY. 39I if there had been an intermediary planet, we have goodi prima facie reason for believing that it existed. Cassandra takes, in round numbers, a thousand years to complete its orbit, and from it the sun, though brighter, appears no larger than the earth's evening or morning star. Cassandra has also three large moons ; but these, when full, shine with a pale-grey light, like the old moon in the new moon's arms, in that terrestrial phenomenon when the earth, by re- flecting the crescent's light, and that of the sun, makes the dark part visible. The temperature at Cassan- dra's surface is but little above the cold of space, and no water exists in the liquid state, it being as much a solid as aluminum or glass. There are rivers and lakes, but these consist of liquefied hydrogen and other gases, the heavier liquid collected in deep places, and the lighter, with less than half the specific gravity of ether, floating upon it without mixing, as oil on water. When the heavier penetrates to a suffi- cient depth, the interior being still warm, it is con- verted into gas and driven back to the surface, only to be recondensed on reaching the upper air. Thus it may happen that two rains composed of separate Hquids may fall together. There being but little of 392 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. any other atmosphere, much of it consists of what you might call the vapour of hydrogen, and many of the well-known gases and liquids on earth exist only as liquids and solids ; so that, were there mortal inhab- itants on Cassandra, they might build their houses of blocks of oxygen or chlorine, as you do of limestone or marble, and use ice that never melts, in place of glass, for transparence. They w^ould also use mer- cury for bullets in their rifles, just as inhabitants of the intra- Yulcan planets at the other extreme might, if their bodies consisted of asbestos, or were in any other way non-combustibly constituted, bathe in tin, lead, or even zinc, which ordinarily exist in the liquid state, as water and mercury do on the earth. " Though Cassandra's atmosphere, such as it is, is mostly clear, for the evaporation from the rivers and icy mediterraneans is slight, the brightness of even the highest noon is less than an earthly twi- light, and the stars never cease to shine. The dark base of the rocky cliffs is washed by the frigid tide, but there is scarcely a sound, for the pebbles can- not be moved by the w^eightless waves, and an oc- casional murmur is all that is heard. Great rocks of ice reflect the light of the grey moons, and never CASSANDEA AND COSMOLOGY. 393 a leaf falls or a bird sings. With the exception of the mournful ripples, the planet is silent as the grave. The animal and plant kingdoms do not exist ; only the mineral and spiritual worlds. I say spiritual, because there are souls upon it; but it is the home of the condemned in hell. Here dwell the transgressors who died unrepentant, and those who were not saved by faith. This is the one in- stance in which I do not enjoy my developed sight, for I sometimes glance in their direction, and the vision that meets me, as my eyes focus, distresses my soul. Their senses are like an imperfect mir- ror, magnifying all that is bad in one another, and distorting anything still partially good when that exists. All those things that might at least distract them are hollow, their misery being the inevitable result of the condition of mind to which they be- came accustomed on earth and which brouo:ht them to Cassandra. But let us turn to something brighter. " Though the solar system may seem complex, the sun is but a star among the millions in the Milky Way, and, compared with the planetary sys- tems of Sirius, the stars of the Southern Cross, and the motions of the nebula, it is simplicity itself. 394 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. Compared with the splendour of Sirius, with its diameter of twelve million miles, the sun, measur- ing but eight hundred and forty thousand, becomes insignificant; and this giant's system includes groups and clusters of planets, many with three times the mass of Jupiter, five and six together, each a differ- ent colour, revolving about a common centre, while they swing about their primary. Their numerous moons have satellites encircling them, with orbits in some cases at right angles to the plane of the eclip- tic, so that they shine perpendicularly on what cor- respond to the arctic and antarctic regions, while their axes are so inclined that the satellites turn a complete somersault at each revolution, producing glistening effects of ice and snow at the poles. Some of the moons are at a red or white heat, and so prevent the chill of night on the planets, while they shine A^ith more than reflected light. In addition to the five or six large planets in each group, which, however, are many millions of miles apart, there is in some clusters a small planet that swings backward and forward across the connnon centre, like a pendulum, but in nearly a straight line; and while this multii)licity of motion goes on. CASSANDRA AND COSMOLOGY. 395 the whole aggregation sweeps majestically around Sirius, its mighty sun. Our little solar system con- tains, as we know, about one thousand planets, sat- ellites, and asteroids large enough to be dignified by the name of heavenly bodies. Yast numbers of the stars have a hundred and even a thousand times the mass of our sun, and their systems being rela- tively as complex as ours — in some cases even more so — they contain a hundred thousand or a million individual bodies. '' Over sixty million bright or incandescent stars were visible to the terrestrial telescopes a hundred years ago, the average size of which far exceeds our sun. To the magnificent telescopes of to-day they are literally countless, and the number can be indefi- nitely extended as your optical resources grow. Yet the number of stars you see is utterly insignificant compared with the cold and dark ones you cannot see, but concerning which you are constantly learning more, by observing their effect on the bright ones, both by perturbing them and by obscuring their rays. Occasionally, as you know, a star of the twelfth or fifteenth magnitude, or one that has been invisible, flares up for several months to the fourth or fifth, 26 39G A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. tliroiigli a collision with some dark giant, and then returns to what it was in the beginning, a gaseous, fihny nebula. These innumerable hosts of dark mon- sters, though dead, are centres of systems, like most of the stars you can see. '' A slight consideration of these figures will show that, notwithstanding the number of souls the Creator has given life on earth, each one might in fact have a system to himself ; and that, however long the little irlobe mav remain, as it were, a mint, in which souls are tried by fire and moulded, and receive their final stamp, they will always have room to circulate, and will be prized according to the impress their faces or hearts must show. But Sirius itself is moving many times faster than the swiftest cannon ball, carrying its system with it ; and I see you asking, ' To what does all this motion tend ? ' I will show you. Many quadril- lions of miles away, so far that your most powerful telescopes have not yet caught a glimmer, rests in its serene grandeur a star that we call Cosmos, because it is the centre of this universe. Its diameter is as great as the diameter of Cassandra's orbit, and notwith- standing its terrific heat, its specific gravity, on ac- count of the irresistible pressure at and near the cen- CASSANDRA AND COSMOLOGY. 397 tre, is as great as that of the planet Mercury. This holds all that your eyes or mine can see ; and the so- called motions of the stars— for we know that Sirius, among others, is receding— is but the difference in the rate at which the different systems and constella- tions swing around Cosmos, though in doing so they often revolve about other systems or swing round common centres, so that many are satellites of sat- ellites many times repeated. The orbits of some are circular, and of others elliptical, as those of comets, and some revolve about each other, or, as we have seen, about a common point while they perform their celestial journey. A star, therefore, recedes or ad- vances, as Jupiter and Yenus with relation to the earth. The planet in the smaller orbit moves faster than that in the larger, so that the intervening dis- tances wax and wane, though all are going in the same general direction. In the case of the members of the solar system, astronomical record can tell when even a most distant known planet has been in opposi- tion or conjunction ; but the earth has scarcely been habitable since the sun was last in its present position in its orbit around Cosmos. The curve that our sys- tem follows is of such radius that it would require the 39S A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. most precise observations for centuries to show that it was not a straight line. " We call this the unis'erse because it is all that the clearest eyes or telescopes have been able to see, but it is only a subdivision — in fact, but a system on a vaster scale than that of the sun or of Sirius. Far beyond this visible universe, my intuition tells me, are other systems more gigantic than this, and en- tirely different in many respects. Even the effects of gravitation are modified by the changed condition ; for these systems are spread out flat, like the rings of this ])lanet, and the ether of space is luminous instead of lilack, as here. These systems are but in a later stage of development than ours ; and in the course of evolution our visible universe will be changed in the same way, as I can explain. " In incalculable ages, the forward motion of the planets and their satellites will be checked by the re- sistance of the ether of space and the meteorites and solid matter they encounter. Meteorites also over- take them, and, by striking them as it were in the roar, propel them, but more are encountered in front — an illustration of which you can have by walking rapidly or riding on horseback on a rainy day, in CASSANDRA AND COSMOLOGY. 399 wliicli case more drops will strike your chest than your back. The same rule applies to bodies in space, while the meteorites encountered have more effect than those following, since in one case it is the speed of the meteor minus that of the planet, and in the other the sum of the two velocities. "With this checking of the forward motion, the centrifugal force decreases, and the attraction of the central body has more effect. When this takes place the planet or satellite falls slightly towards the body around which it revolves, thereby increasing its speed till the centrifugal force again balances the centrip- etal. This would seem to make it descend by fits and starts, but in reality the approach is nearly con- stant, so that the orbits are in fact slightly spiral. What is true of the planets and satellites is also true of the stars with reference to Cosmos ; though many even of these have subordinate motions in their great journey. Though the satellites of the moons revolve about the primaries in orbits inclined at all kinds of angles to the planes of the ecliptics, and even the moons vary in their paths about the planets, the planets themselves revolve about the stars, like those of this system about the sun, in substantially the same 400 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. plane ; and what is true of the planets is even more true of the stars in their orbits about Cosmos, so that when, after incalculable ages, they do fall, they strike this monster sun at or near its equator, and not fall- ing perpendicularly, but in a line varying but slightly from a tangent, and at terrific speed, they cause the colossus to rotate more and more rapidly on its own axis, till it must become greatly flattened at the poles, as the earth is slightly, and as Jupiter and Saturn are a good deal. Even though not all the stars are ex- actly in the plane of Cosmos's equator, as you can see they are not there are as many above as below it, so that the general average will be there ; and as all are moving in the same direction, it is not necessary for all to strike the same line, those striking nearer the poles, where the circles are smaller, and where the surface is not being carried forward so fast by the giant's rotation, will have even more effect in increas- ing its speed, since it will be like attaching the driv- ing-rods of a locomotive near the axle instead of near the circumference, and with enough power will pro- duce even greater results. As Cosmos waxes greater from the result of these continual accretions, its at- traction for the stars will increase, until those cominof CASSANDRA AND COSMOLOGY. 401 from the outer regions of its universe will move at such terrific speed in their spiral orbits that before coming in contact they will be almost invisible, hav- ing already absorbed all solid matter revolving about themselves. These accessions of moving matter, con- tinually received at and near its equator, will cause Cosmos to spread out like Saturn's rings till it be- comes flat, though the balance of forces will be so perfect that it is doubtful whether an animal or a man placed there would feel much change. "But these universes — or, more accurately, divis- ions of the universe — already planes, though the vast surfaces are not so flat as to preclude beautiful and gently rolling slopes, are spirit-lands, and will be in- habited only by spirits. Then there are great phospho- rescent areas, and the colour of the surface changes with every hour of the day, from the most brilliant crimson to the softest shade of blue, radiant with many colours that your eyes cannot now see. There are also myriads of scented streams, consisting of hundreds of different and multi-coloured liquids, each with a perfume sweeter than the most delicate flow- er, and pouring forth the most heavenly music as they go on their way. But be not surprised at the magni- 402 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. tude of the change, for is it not written in Revela- tion, ' I saw a new heaven and a new earth ; for the first heaven and the first eartli were passed awaj ' ? Xor can we be surprised at vastness, sublimity, and beauty such as never was conceived of, for do we not find this in His word, ' Eye hath not seen, nor ear lieard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him ' ? In this blissful state, those that feared God and obeyed their consciences will live on for- ever ; but their rest can never become stagnation, for evolution is one of the most constant laws, and never ceases, and they must always go onward and upward, unspeakably blessed by the consciences they made their rule in life, till in purit}^ and power they shall equal or exceed the angels of their Lord in heaven. " But you men of finite understanding will ask, as I myself should have asked. How, by the law of hydrostatics, can liquids flow on a plane ? Eemem- ber that, though these divisions are astronomical or geometrical planes, their surfaces undulate ; but the moving cause is this : At the centre of these planes is a pole, the analogue, we will say, of the magnetic pole on earth, that has a more effective attraction for CASSANDRA AND COSMOLOGY. 403 a gas than for a liquid. "When liquids approach the periphery of the circle, the rapid rotation and de- creased pressure cause them to break up, whereupon the elementary gases return to the centre in the atmosphere, if near the surface, forming a gentle breeze. On nearing the centre, the cause of the sep- aration being removed, the gases reunite to form a liquid, and the centrifugal force again sends this on its journey." " Is there no way," asked Bearwarden, '' by which a man may retrieve himself, if he has lost or misused his opportunities on earth ? " " The way a man lays up treasures in heaven, when on earth," replied the spirit, " is by gladly do- ing something for some one else, usually in some form sacrificing self. In hell no one can do anything for any one else, because every one can have the sem- blance of anything he wishes by merely concentrat- ing his mind upon it, though, when he has it, it is but a shadow and gives him no pleasure. Thus no one can give any one else anything he cannot obtain himself ; and if he could, since it woidd be no sacri- fice on his part, he would derive ho great moral com- fort from it. Neither can any one comfort any one 404: A JOURXEY IN OTHER WORLDS. else bj putting his acts or offences in a new liglit, for every one knows tlie whole truth about himself and everybody else, so that nothing can be made to ap- pear favourably or unfavourably. All this, however, is supposing there is the desire to be kind ; but how can spirits that were selfish and ill-disposed on earth, where there are so many softening influences, have good inclinations in hell, where they loathe one an- other w^ith constantly increasing strength ? " Inasmuch as both the good and the bad continue on the lines on which they started when on earth, we are continually drawing nearer to God, while they are departing. The gulf may be only one of feeling, but that is enough. It follows, then, that with God as our limit, which we of course can never reach, their limit, in the geometrical sense, must be total separation from Ilim. Though all spirits, we are told, live forever, it occurs to me that in God's mercy there may be a gradual end ; for though to the happy souls in heaven a thousand years may seem as nothing, existence in hell must drag along with leaden limbs, and a single hour seem like a lifetime of regret. Since it is dreadful to think that such unsoothed anguish should continue forever, I have CASSANDRA AND COSMOLOGY. 405 often pondered whether it might not be that, bj a form of involution and reversal of the past law, the spirit that came to life evolved from the mineral, plant, and animal worlds, may mercifully retrace its steps one by one, till finally the soul shall penetrate the solid rock and hide itself by becoming part of the planet. Many people in my day believed that after death their souls would enter stately trees, and spread abroad great branches, dropping dead leaves over the places on which they had stood while on earth. This might be the last step in the awful tragedy of the fall and involution of a human soul. In this way, those who had wasted the priceless opportunities given them by God might be mercifully obliterated, for it seems as if they would not be needed in the economy of the universe. The Bible, however, mentions no such end, and says unmistakably that hell will last forever ; so that in this supposition, as in many others, the wish is probably father of the thought.'' " But," persisted Bearwarden, " how about death- bed repentances ? " " Those," replied the spirit, " are few and far be- tween. The pains of death at the last hour leave but little room for aught but vain regret. A man dies 406 ^ JOCRNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. suddenly, or may be unconscious some time before the end. But they do occur. The question is, How nmch credit is it to be good when you can do no more harm? The time to resist evil and do that which is right is while the temptation is on and in its strength. While life lasts there is hope, but the books are sealed by death. The tree must fall to one side or the other — there is no middle ground — and as the tree falleth, so it lieth. " This, however, is a gloomy subject, and one that in your heart of hearts you understand. I would rather tell you more of the beauties and splendours of space — of the orange, red, and blue stars, and of the tremendous cyclonic movements going on within them, which are even more violent than the storms that rage in the sun. The clouds, as the spectroscope has already shown, consist of iron, gold, and plati- num in the form of vapour, while the openings re- vealed by sun-spots, or rather star-spots, are so tre- mendous that a comparatively small one would con- tain many dozen such globes as the earth. I could tell you also of the mysteries of the great dark com- panions of some of the stars, and of the stars that are themselves dark and cold, with naught but the far-' CASSANDRA AND COSMOLOGY. 407 away constellations to cheer them, on which night reigns eternally, and that far outnumber the stars you can see. Also of the nmltiplicity of sex and ex- traordinary forms of life that exist there, though on none of them are there mortal men like those on the earth. "Nature, in the process of evolution, has in all these cases gone off on an entirely different course, the most intelligent and highly developed species be- ing in the form of marvellously complex reptiles, winged serpents that sing most beautifully, but whose blood is cold, being prevented from freezing in the upper regions of the atmosphere by the pres- ence of salt and chemicals, and which are so intelli- gent that they have practically subdued many of these dark stars to themselves. On others, the most highly developed species have hollow, bell-shaped tentacles, into which they inject two or more oppos- ing gases from opposite sides of their bodies, which, in combination, produce a strong explosion. This provides them with an easy and rapid locomotion, since the explosions find a sufficient resistance in the surrounding air to propel the monsters much faster than birds. These can at pleasure make their breath 408 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. SO poisonous that the lungs of any creatures except themselves inhaling it are at once turned to parch- ment. Others can give their enemies or their prey an electric shock, sending a bolt through the heart, or can paralyze the mind physically by an effort of their wills, causing the brain to decompose while the victim is still alive. Others have the same power that snakes have, though vastly intensified, mesmerizing their victims from afar. Still others have such deli- cate senses that in a way they commune with spirits, though they have no souls themselves ; for in no part or corner of the universe except on earth are there animals that have souls. Yet they know the meaning of the word, and often bewail their hard lot in that no part of them can live when the heart has ceased to beat. " Ah, my friends, if we had no souls — if, like the aesthetic reptilia, we knew that when our dust dissolved our existence would be over — we should realize the preciousness of what we hold so lightly now. Man and the spirits and angels are the only beings with souls, and in no place except on earth are new souls being created. This gives you the great- est and grandest idea of the dignity of life and its CASSANDRA AND COSMOLOGY. 409 inestimable value. But it is as difficult to describe the liia;lier wonders of the stellar worlds to yon as to picture the glories of sunset to a blind man, for you have experienced nothing with which to compare them. Instead of seeing all that really is, you see but a small part." CHAPTER IX. DOCTOR COETLANDT SEES HIS GRAVE. "Is it not distasteful to yon," Cortlandt asked, " to live so near these loathsome dragons ? " " Xot in the least," replied the spirit. " They affect us no more than the smallest micro-organism, for we see both with equal clearness. Since we are not obliged to breathe, they cannot injure us ; and, besides, they serve to illustrate the working of God's laws, and there is beauty in everything for those that have the senses required for perceiving it. A fea- ture of the spiritual world is, that it does not inter- fere with the natural, and the natural, except through faith, is not aware of its presence." " Then why," asked Cortlandt, " was it necessary for the Almighty to bring your souls to Saturn, since there would have been no overcrowding if you had remained on the earth ? " (410) DOCTOR CORTLANDT SEES HIS GRAVE. 411 " That," replied the spirit, " was part of His wis- dom ; for the spirit, being able at once to look back into the natural world, if in it, would be troubled at the mistakes and tribulations of his friends. Now, as a rule, before a spirit can return to earth, his or her relatives and friends have also died ; or, if he can return before that happens, he is so advanced that he sees the ulterior purpose, and therefore the wisdom of God's w^ays, and is not distressed thereby. Lastly, as their expanding senses grew, it would be painful for the blessed and condemned spirits to be together. Therefore we are brought here, where God reveals Himself to us more and more, and the flight of the other souls — those unhappy ones — does not cease till they reach Cassandra." " Can the souls on Cassandra also leave it in time and roam at will ? " asked Cortlandt. " I have seen none of them myself in my journeys to other planets ; but as the sun shines upon the just and the unjust, and there is no exception to Nature's laws, I can reply that in time they do, and with equal powers their incentive to roam would be greater ; for we are drawn together by common sympathy and pure, requited love, while they are mutually re- 27 412 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. pelled. Of course, some obtain a measure of free- dom before the rest, and these naturally roam the farthest, and the more they see and the farther they go, the stronger becomes their abhorrence for every- thing they meet." '' Cannot you spirits help us, and the mortals now on earth, to escape this fate ? " "The greatest hope for your bodies and souls lies in the communion with those that have passed through death ; for the least of them can tell you more than the wisest man on earth ; and could you all come or send representatives to the multitudes here who cannot as yet return to you, but few on earth would be so quixotically sinful as to refuse our ad- vice. Since, however, the greatest good comes to men from the learning that they make an effort to secure, it is for you to strive to reach us, who can act as go-betweens from God to you." " It seems to me," said Bearwarden, " that people are better now than formerly. The sin of idolatry, for instance, has disappeared — has it not ? " " Men still set up idols of wealth, passion, or am- bition in their hearts. These they worship as in days gone by, only the form has changed." DOCTOR CORTLANDT SEES HIS GRAVE. 413 "Could tlie souls on Cassandra do us bodily or mental injury, if we could ever reach their planet ? " asked Bear warden. " They might oppress and distress you, but your faith would protect you wherever you might go." "Can you give us a taste of your sense of pre- science ? " asked Bearwardon again ; " for, since it is not clear in what degree the condemned receive this, and neither is it by any means sure that I shall be saved, I should like for once in my history to ex- perience this sense of divinity, before my entity ends in stone." " I will transfer to you my sense of prescience," replied the spirit, " that you may foresee as prophets have. In so doing, I shall but anticipate, since you will yourselves in time obtain this sense in a greater or less degree. Is there any event in the future yoti would like .to see, in order that, when the vision is fulfilled, it may tend to stablish your faith ? " " Since I am the oldest," replied the doctor, " and shall probably die before my friends, reveal to us, I pray you, the manner of my death and the events immediately following. This may prove an object- lesson to them, and will greatly interest me." 4U A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. '• Your death will be caused by blood-poisoning, brought on by an accident," began the spirit. " Some daybreak will find you weak, after a troubled ni^ht. with your bodily resources at a low ebb. Sunset will see you weaker, with your power of resistance almost gone. Midnight will find you weaker still, and but little removed from the point of death. A few hours later a kind hand will close the lids of your half-shut eyes, which never again will behold the light. The coffin will inclose your body, and the last earthly journey begin. Now," the spirit continued, "you shall all use my sight instead of your own." The walls of the cave seemed to expand, till they resembled those of a great cathedral, while the stalac- tites appeared to be metamorphosed into Gothic col- umns. They found themselves among a large con- gregation that had come to attend the last sad rites, while the great organ played Chopin's " Funeral March." The high vault and arches received the organ's tone, and a sombre light pervaded the inte- rior. There was a slight flutter and a craning of necks among those in the pews, as the procession be- gan to ascend the aisle. AVhile the slow step of the pallbearers and those carrying the coffin sounded on They look into the future. DOCTOR CORTLANDT SEES HIS GRAVE. 415 the stone floor, the clear voice of the clergyman that headed the procession sounded these words through the cathedral : " I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth." As the bier advanced, Beargarden and Ay- rault recognized themselves among the pallbearers— the former with grey mustache and hair, the latter considerably aged. The hermetically sealed lead cof- fin was inclosed in a wooden case, and the whole was draped and covered with flowers. " Oh, my faith !" cried Cortlandt, " I see my face within, yet it is but a decomposing mass that I once described as I." Then again did the minister's voice proclaim, '' I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord ; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and beheveth in me shall never die." The bearers gently set down their burden; the minister read the ever-impressive chapter of St. Paul to the Corinthians ; a bishop solemnly and silently sprinkled earth on the cofiin ; and the choir sang the 398th hymn, beginning with the words, " Hark, hark my soul ! angelic songs are swelling," which had al- 416 A JOURXEY IX OTHER WORLDS. ways been Cortlandt's favourite, and tlie service was at an end. The bearers again shouldered all that was left of Ilenrj Cortlandt, and his relatives accom- panied this to the cemetery. Then came a sweeping change of scene. A host of monuments and gravestones reflected the sunlight, while a broad river ebbed and flowed between high banks. A sexton and a watchman stood by a granite vault, the heavy door of which they had opened with a large key. Hard by were some gardeners and la- bourers, and also a crowd of curiosity-seekers who had come to witness the last sad rites. Presently a funeral procession appeared. The hearse stoj)ped near the open vault, over the door of which stood out the name of Cortlaxdt, and the accompanying min- ister said a short prayer, while all present uncovered ^ their heads. After this the coffin was borne within and set at rest upon a slab, among many generations of Cortlandts. In the hearts of the relatives and friends was genuine sorrow, but the curiosity-seekers went their way and gave little thought. " To-morrow will be like to-day," they said, "and more great men will die." Then came another change of scene, though it DOCTOR CORTLANDT SEES HIS GRAVE. 417 was comparatively sliglit. The sun slowly sank be- yond the farther bank of the broad river, and the moon and stars shone softly on the gravestones and crosses. Two gardeners smoked their short clay pipes on a bench before the Cortlandt vault, and talked in a slow manner. "He was a great man," said one, "and if his soul blooms like the flowers on his grave, he must be in paradise, which we know is a finer park than this." " He was expert for the Government when the earth's axis was set right," said the second gardener, "and he must have been a scholar, for his calcula- tions have all come true. He was one of the first three men to visit the other planets, while the obitu- aries in the papers say his history will be read here- after like the books of Csesar. After burying all these great people, I sometimes wish I could do the same for myself, for the people I bury seem to be remembered." After this they relapsed into their meditations, the silence being broken only by an occasional murmur from the river's steady flow. Hereupon the voyagers found they were once 418 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. more in the cave. Tlie fire had burned low, and the dawn was already in the east. Cortlandt wiped his forehead, shivered, and looked extremely pale. '' Thank Heaven,'' he cried, " we cannot ordina- rily foresee our end ; for but few would attain their predestined ending could they see it in advance. May the veil not again be raised, lest I faint before it I I looked in vain for my soul,-' he continued, " but could see it nowhere." "The souls of those dying young," replied the spirit, " sometimes wish to hover near their ashes as if regretting an unfinished life, or the opportunities that have departed ; but those dying after middle age are usually glad to be free from their bodies, and seldom think of them again." " I shall append the lines now in my head to my history," said Cortlandt, "that where it goes they may go also. They can scarcely fail to be instruct- ive as the conclusions of a man who has seen beyond his grave." Whereupon he wrote a stanza in his note-book, and closed it without showing his com- panions what he had written. " May they do all the good you hope, and much more!" replied the spirit, "for the reward in the DOCTOR CORTLANDT SEES HIS GRAVE. 419 resurrection morning will vastly exceed all your labours now. "O, my friends," the spirit continued most ear- nestly, addressing tlie three, "are you prepared for your death-beds ? "When your eyes glaze in their last sleep, and you lose that temporal world and what you perhaps considered all, as in a haze, your dim vision will then be displaced by the true creation that will be eternal. Your unattained ambitions, your hopes, and your ideals will be swallowed in the grave. Your works will secure you a place in history, and many will remember your names until, in time, ob- livion covers your memory as the grass conceals your tombs. Are you prepared for the time when your eyes become blind, and your trusted senses fail ? Your sorrowing friends will mourn, and the flags of your clubs will fly at half-mast, but no earthly thing can help you then. In what condition will the resurrection morning find you, when your sins of neglect and commission plead for vengeance, as Abel's blood from the ground? After that there can be no change. The classification, as I have al- ready told you, is now going on ; it will then be finished." 420 ^ JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. " AVe are the most utterly wretched sinners ! " cried Avraiilt. " Show us how we can be saved." '' As an inhabitant of spirit-land, I will give yoii worldly counsel," replied the bishop. " Daring my earthly administration, as I told you, people came from far to hear me preach. This was because I had eloquence and earnestness, both gifts of God. But I was a miserably weak sinner myself. That which I would I did not, and that which I would not that I did ; and I often prayed my congregation to follow my sermons rather than my ways. I seemed to do my followers good, and Daniel thus commends my way in his last chapter : ' They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ev^er,' and the explanation is clear. There is no surer way of learning than trying to teach. In teaching my several ilocks I was also improved my- self. I was sown in weakness, but was raised in power, strength being made perfect in weakness. Therefore improve your fellows, though yourself you cannot raise. The knowledge that you have sent many souls to heaven, though you are yourself a cast- away, will give you unspeakable joy, and place you in heaven wherever you may be. Yet remember DOCTOR CORTLANDT SEES HIS GRAVE. 421 this : none of us can win lieaven ; salvation is the gift of God. I have said as much now as you can re- member. Farewell. Improve time while you can. Fear God and keej3 His commandments. This is the w^hole duty of man.'' So saying, the spirit vanished in a cloud that for a time emitted light. " I am not surprised," said Bearwarden, " that people took long journeys to hear him. I would do so myself." " I have never had much fear of death," said Cortlandt, " but the mere thought of it now makes my knees shake, and fills my heart with dread. I thought I saw the most hateful forms about my coffin, and imagined that they might be the personi- fication of doubt, coldness, and my other shortcom- ings, which had come perhaps from sympathy, in invisible form. I was almost afraid to ask the spirit for the explanation." "I saw them also," replied Bearwarden, "but took them to be swarms of microbes waitinc: to de- stroy your body, or perhaps trying in vain to pene- trate your hermetically sealed coffin." Cortlandt seemed much upset, and spent the rest 422 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. of the day in writing out the facts and trying to assign a cause. Towards evening Bearwarden, who had recovered his spirits, prepared supper, after which they sat in the entrance to the cave. CHAPTER X. AYKAULT. As the night became darker they caught sight of the earth again, shining very faintly, and in his mind's eye Ayranlt saw his sweetheart, and the old, old repining that, since reason and love began, has been in men's minds, came upon him and almost crushed him. Without saying anything to his com- panions, Ayrault left the cave, and, passing through the grove in which the spirit had paid them his second visit, went slowly to the top of the hill about half a mile off, that he might the more easily gaze at the faint star on which he could picture Sylvia. " Ah ! " he said to himself, on reaching the sum- mit, " I will stay here till the earth rises higher, and when it is far above me I will gaze at it as at heaven." Accordingly, he lay down with his head on a mound of sod, and watched the familiar planet. (423) 424 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. '' AVe were born too soon," he soliloquized ; '^ for had Sylvia and I but lived in the spiritual age fore- told by the bishop, we might have held communion, while now our spirits, no matter how much in love, are separated absolutely by a mere matter of distance. It is a mockery to see Sylvia's dwelling-place, and feel that she is beyond my vision. O that, in the absence of something better, my poor imperfect eyes could be transformed into those of an eagle, but with a million times the power ! for though I know that with these senses I shall see the resurrection, and hear the last trump, that is but prospective, while now" is the time I loni^ for siojht." On the plain he had left he saw his friends' camp-iire, while on the other side of his elevation was a valley in wliich the insects chirped sharply, and through which ran a stream. Feeling a desire for solitude and to be as far removed as possible, he arose and descended towards the water. Though the autumn, where they found themselves, was well ad- vanced, this night was warm, and the rings formed a great arch above his head. Xear the stream the frogs croaked happily, as if unmindful of the long, very long Saturnian winter; for though they were AYRAULT. 425 removed but about ten degrees from the equator, the sun was so remote and the axis of the planet so in- clined that it was unlikely these individual frogs would see another summer, though they might live again, in a sense, in their descendants. The insects also would soon be frozen and stiff, and the tall, graceful lilies that still clung to life would be with- ered and dead. The trees, as if weeping at the evan- escence of the life around them, shed their leaves at the faintest breeze. These fluttered to the ground, or, falling into the tranquil stream, were carried away by it, and passed from sight. Ayrault stood musing and regretting the necessity of such general death. " But," he thought, " I would rather die than lose my love; for then I should have had the taste of bhss without its fulfilment, and should be worse off than dead. Love gilds the commonplace, and deifies all it touches. Love survives the winter, and in my present frame of mind I should prefer earth and cold with it to heaven and spring. Oh, why is my soul so clogged by my body ? " A pillar of stone standing near him was sud- denly shattered, and the bishop stood where it had been. 426 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. " Because," said tlie spirit, answering his thought, " it has not jet power to be free." " Can a man's soul not rise till his body is dead ? " asked Ayrault. The spirit hesitated. ''Oh, tell me," pleaded Ayrault. "If I could see the girl to whom I am engaged, for but a mo- ment, could be convinced that she loves me still, my mind would be at rest. Free my soul or spirit, or whatever it is, from this body, that I may traverse intervening space and be with her." " You will discover the way for yourself in time," said the spirit. " I know I shall at the last day, in the resurrec- tion, when I am no longer in the flesh. Then I shall have no need of your aid ; for we know that in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven. It is while I am mortal, and love as mortals do. that I wish to see my promised bride. A spirit may have other joys, and perhaps higher ; but you who have lived in the world and loved, show me that which is now my heart's desire. You have shown us the tomb in which Cortlandt will AYRAULT. 427 lie buried ; now help me to go to one who is still alive." " I pray that God will grant you this," said the spirit, " and make me His instrument, for I see the depth of your distress." Saying which, he vanished, leaving no trace in his departure except that the pil- lar of stone returned to its place. With this rather vague hope, Ayrault set off to rejoin his companions, for he felt the need of human sympathy. Saturn's rapid rotation had brought the earth almost to the zenith, the little point shining with the unmistakably steady ray of a planet. Huge bats fluttered about him, and the great cloud-masses swept across the sky, being part of Saturn's ceaseless whirl. He found he was in a hypnotic or spiritual- istic state, for it was not necessary for him to have his eyes open to know where he was. In passing one of the pools they had noticed, he observed that the upper and previously invisible liquid had the bright colour of gold, and about it rested a group of figures enveloped in light. "Why do you look so sad?" they asked. "You are in that abode of departed spirits known as para- dise, and should be happy." 28 42S ^ JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. " I suppose I should be happy, were I here as you are, as the reward of merit," he repHed. " But I atn still in the flesh, and as such am subject to its cares." " You are about to have an experience," said an- other speaker. " This day your doubts will be at rest, for before another sunset you will know more of the woman you love." The intensity of the spiritualistic influence here somewhat weakened, for he partially lost sight of the luminous figures, and could no longer hear what they said. His heart was in his mouth as he walked, and he felt like a man about to set out on his honeymoon, or like a bride who knows not whether to laugh or to cry. An indescribable exhilaration was constantly present. "I wonder," thought he, "if a caterpillar has these sensations before becoming a butterfly ? Though I return to the rock from which I sprang, I believe I shall be with Sylvia to-day." Footprints formed in the soft ground all around him, and the air was filled with spots of phosphores- cent light that coincided with the relative positions of the brains, hearts, and eyes of human beings. These surrounded and often preceded him, as though lead- AYRAULT. 429 ing him on, while the most heavenly anthems filled the air and the vault of the sky. " I believe," he thought, with bounding heart, " that I shall be initiated into the mysteries of space this night." At times he could hear even the words of the choruses ringing in his ears, though at others he thought the effect was altogether in his mind. " Oh, for a proof," he prayed, "that no sane man can doubt ! My faith is implicit in the bishop and the vision, and I feel that in some way I shall return to earth ere the close of another day, for I know I am awake, and that this is no dream." A fire burned in the mouth of the cave, within which Bearwarden and Cortlandt lay sleeping. The specks of mica in the rocks reflected its light, but in addition to this a diffused phosphorescence filled the place, and the large sod-covered stones they used for pillows emitted purple and dark red flames. " Is that you, Dick ? " asked Bearwarden, awaking and groping about. " We built up the fire so that you should find the camp, but it seems to have gone down." Saying which, he struck a match, where- upon Ayrault ceased to see the phosphorescence or 430 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. bluisli light. At that moment a peal of thunder awakened Cortlandt, who sat up and rubbed his eyes. '* I think," said Ayrault, " I will go to the Callisto and get our mackintoshes before the rain sets in." Whereupon he left his companions, who were soon again fast asleep. The sky had suddenly become filled with clouds, and Ayrault hastened towards the Callisto, intending to remain there, if necessary, until the storm was over. For about twenty minutes he hurried on through the growing darkness, stopping once on high ground to make sure of his bearings, and he had covered more than half the distance when the rain came on in a flood, accompanied by brilliant lightning. Seeing the huge, hollow trunk of a fallen tree near, and not wishing to be wet through, xVyrault fired several solid shots from his revolver into the cavity, to drive out any wild animals there might be inside, and then hurriedly crawled in, feet first. He next drew in his head, and was congratulating himself on his snug retreat, when the sky became lurid with a flash of lightning, then his head dropped forward, and he was unconscious. CHAPTEE XL DKEAJVILAND TO SKADOWLAND. As Ayrault's consciousness returned, lie fancied he heard music. Though distant, it was distinct, and seemed to ring from the ether of space. Occasion- ally it sounded even more remote, but it was rhyth- mical and continuous, inspiring and stirring him as nothing that he had ever heard before. Finally, it was overcome by the more vivid impressions upon his other senses, and he found himself walking in the streets of his native city. It was spring, and the trees were white with buds. The long shadows of the late afternoon stretched across the way, but the clear sky gave indication of prolonged twilight, and the air was warm and balmy. Nature was filled with life, and seemed to be proclaiming that the cold was past. (431) 432 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. As he moved along the street he met a funeral procession. " Wliat a pity," he thought, " a man should die, with summer so near at hand ! " lie was also surprised at the keenness of his sight ; for, inclosed in each man's body, he saw the outline of his soul. But the dead man's body was empty, like a cage without a bird. He also read the thoughts in their minds. " Xow," said a large man in the carriage next the hearse, " I may win her, since she is a widow." The widow herself kept thinking : " Would it had been I ! His life was essential to the children, while I should scarcely have been missed. I wish I had no duties here, and might follow him now." While pondering on these things, he reached Sylvia's house, and went into the little room in which he had so often seen her. The w^arm south- westerly breeze blew tlirough the open windows, and far beyond Central Park the approaching sunset promised to be beautiful. The table was covered with flowers, and though he had often seen that variety, he had never before noticed the marvellous combinations of colours, while tlie room was filled DREAMLAND TO SHADOWLAND. 433 with a tliousand delicious perfumes. The thrush hanging in the window sang divinely, and in a silver frame he saw a likeness of himself. " I have always loved this room," he thought, " but it seems to me now like heaven." He sat down in an arm-chair from force of habit, to await \\\?, fiancee. "Oh, for a walk with Sylvia by twilight!" his thoughts ran on, " for she need not be at home again till after seven." Presently he heard the soft rustle of her dress, and rose to meet her. Though she looked in his direction, she did not seem to see him, and walked past him to the window. She was the picture of loveliness, silhouetted against the sky. He went towards her, and gazed into her deep-sea eyes, which had a far-away expression. She turned, went grace- fully to the mantelpiece, and took a photograph of herself from behind the clock. On its back Ayrault had scrawled a boyish verse composed by himself, which ran : " My divine, most ideal Sylvia, vision, with eyes so blue, 'Tis in the highest degree consequential, To my existence in fact essential. That I should be loved by you." 43-i A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. As slie read and reread those lines, with his whole soul he yearned to have her look at him. He watched the colour come and go in her clear, bright complexion, and was rejoiced to see in her the personification of activity and health. Beneath his own effusion on the photograph he saw something written in pencil, in the hand he knew so well : " Did you but know how I love you, No more silly things would you ask. With my whole heart and soul I adore you — Idiot ! goose ! bombast ! " And as she glanced at it, these thoughts crossed her mind : '' I shall never call you such names again. How much I shall have to tell you ! It is provoking that you stay away so long." He came still nearer — so near, in fact, that he could hear the beating of her heart — but she still seemed entirely unconscious of his presence. Losing his reserve and self-control, he impulsively grasped at her hands, then fell on his knees, and then, dum- founded, struggled to his feet. Her hands seemed to slip through his ; he was not able to touch her, and she was still unaware of his presence. Suddenly a whole flood of hght and the truth DREAMLAND TO SHADOWLAND. 435 burst upon him. He had passed jDainlessly and un- consciously from the dreamland of Saturn to the shadowland of eternity. The mystery was solved. Like the dead bishop, he had become a free spirit. His prayer was answered, and his body, struck by lightning, lay far away on that great ringed planet. How he longed to take in his arms the girl who had promised herself to him, and w^ho, he now saw, loved him with her whole heart ; but he was only an imma- terial spirit, lighter even than the ether of space, and the unchangeable laws of the universe seemed to him but the irony of fate. As a spirit, he was intangible and invisible to those in the flesh, and likewise they were beyond his control. The tragedy of life then dawned upon him, and the awful results of death made themselves felt. He glanced at Sylvia. On coming in she had looked radiantly happy ; now she seemed depressed, and even the bird stopped singing. ^' Oh," he thought, ^' could I but return to life for one hour, to tell her how incessantly she has been in my thoughts, and how I love her ! Death, to the aged, is no loss— in fact, a blessing — but now ! " and he sobbed mentally in the anguish of his soul. If he could but communicate with her, he thought ; but he 436 ^ JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. remembered what the departed bishop had said, that it would take most men centuries to do this, and that others could never learn. By that time she, too, would be dead, perhaps having been the wife of some one else, and he felt a sense of jealousy even beyond the grave. Throwing himself upon a rug on the floor, in a paroxysm of distress, he gazed at Sylvia. " Oh, horrible mockery ! " he thought, thinking of the spirit. " He gave me worse than a stone when I asked for bread ; for, in place of freedom, he sent me death. Could I but be alive again for a few mo- ments ! " But, with a bitter smile, he again remem- bered the words of the bishop, " What would a soul in hell not give for but one hour on earth ?" Sylvia had seated herself on a small sofa, on which, and next to her, he had so often sat. Her gentle eyes had a thoughtful look, while her face was the personification of intelligence and beauty. She occa- sionally glanced at his photograph, which she held in her hand. " Sylvia, Sylvia ! " he suddenly cried, rising to his knees at her feet. "I love, I adore you ! It was my longing to be with you that brought me here. I DREAMLAND TO SHADOWLAND. 437 know you can neither see nor hear me, but cannot your soul commune with mine ? " " Is Dick here ? " cried Sylvia, becoming deadly pale and getting up, " or am I losing my reason ? " Seeing that she was distressed by the power of his mind, Ayrault once more sank to the floor, bury- inor his face in his hands. Unable to endure this longer, and feeling as if his heart must break, he rushed out into the street, wish- ing he might soothe his anguish with a hypodermic injection of morphine, and that he liad a body with which to divert and suppress his soul. Night had fallen, and the electric lamps cast their white rays on the ground, while the stars overhead shone in their eternal serenity and calm. Then was it once more brought home to him that he was a spirit, for darkness and light were alike, and he felt the beginning of that sense of prescience of which the bishop had spoken. Passing through the houses of some of the clubs to which he belonged, he saw his name still upon the list of members, and then he went to the places of amusement he knew so well. On all sides were familiar faces, but what interested him most was the great division incessantly going on. 438 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. Here were jolly people enjoying life and playing cards, who, liis foresight showed him, would in less than a year be under ground — like Mercutio, in " Romeo and Juliet," to-day known as merry fellows, who to-morrow would be grave men. While his eyes beheld the sun, he had imagined the air felt warm and balmy. He now saw that this had been a hallucination, for he was chilled through and through. He also perceived that he cast no shadow, and that no one observed his presence. He, on the other hand, saw not only the air as it entered and left his friends' lungs, but also the substance of their brains, and the seeds of disease and death, whose presence they themselves did not even suspect, and the seventy-live per cent of water in their bodies, making them appear like sacks of liquid. In some he saw the germs of consumption ; in others, affections of the heart. In all, he saw the incessant struggle between the healthy blood-cells and the malignant, omnipresent bacilli that the cells were trying to over- come. Many men and women he saw were in love, and he could tell what all were about to do. Oh, the secrets that were revealed, while the motives for acts were now laid bare that till then he had misunder- DREAMLAND TO SHADOWLAND. 439 Stood ! He had often heard the old saying, that if every person in a ball-room could read the thoughts of the rest, the ball would seem a travesty on enjoy- ment, rather than real pleasure, and now he perceived its force. He also noticed that many were better than he had supposed, and were trying, in a blunder- ing but persevering way, to obey their consciences. He saw some unselfish thoughts and acts. Many things that he had attributed to irresolution or incon- sistency, he perceived were in reality self-sacrifice. He went on in frantic disquiet, distance no longer be- ing of consequence, and in his roaming chanced to pass through the graveyard in which many generations of his ancestors lay buried. Within the leaden coffins he saw the cold remains ; some well preserved, others but handf uls of dust. " Tell me, O my progenitors," he cried, '^ you whose blood till this morning flowed in my veins, is there not some way by which I, as a spirit, can com- mune with the material world ? I have always ad- mired your judgment and wisdom, and you have all been in Shadowland longer than I. Give me, I pray you, some ancestral advice." The only sound in answer was the hum of the 440 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. insects that filled the evening air. The moonlight shone softly, but in a ghastly way, on the marble crosses of his vault and those around, and he felt an unspeakable sadness within this abode of the dead. " How many unfinished lives," he thought, " have ended beneath these sods ! Unimproved talents here are buried in the ground. Unattained ambitions, and those who died before their time ; those who tried, in a half-hearted way, to improve their opportunities, and accomplished something, and those who neglected them, and did still less — all are together here, the just with the unjust, though it be for the last time. The grave absorbs their bodies and ends their probation- ary record, from which there is no appeal." Near by were some open graves, ready to receive their occupants, while a little farther on he recognized the Cortlandt mausoleum, looking exactly as when shown him, through his second sight, by the spirit on the previous day. From the graves filled recently, and from many others, rose threads of coloured matter, in the form of gases, the forerunners of miasma. lie now per- ceived shadowy figures flitting about on the ground and in the air, from whose eyes poured streams of DREAMLAND TO SHADOWLAND. 441 immaterial tears. Their brains, hearts, and vertebral columns were the parts most easily seen, and they were filled with an inextinguishable anguish and sor- row that from its very intensity made itself seen as a blue flame. The ruffles and knickerbockers in which some of these were attired, evidently by the effects of the thoughts in their minds, doubtless f^om force of habit from what they had worn on earth while alive, showed that they had been dead at least two hundred years. Ayrault also now found himself in street clothes, although when in his clubs he had worn a dress suit. " Tell me, fellow-spirits," he said, addressing them, "how can I communicate with one that is still alive ? " They looked at him with moist eyes, but answered not a word. " I attributed the misery in my heart," thought Ayrault, "entirely to the distress at losing Sylvia, which God knows is enough ; but though I suspected it before, I now see, by my companions, that I am in the depths of hell." CHAPTER XII. SHEOL. Failing to find words to convey his thoughts, lie threw himself into an open grave, praying that the earth might hide his soul, as he had supposed it some day would hide his body. But the ground was like crystal, and he saw the white bones in the graves all around him. Unable to endure these surroundings longer, he rushed back to his old haunts, where he knew he should find the friends of his youth. He did not pause to go by the usual way, but passed, without stopping, through walls and buildings. Soon he beheld the familiar scene, and heard his own name mentioned. But there was no comfort here, and what he had seen of old was but an incident to what he gazed on now. Praying with his whole heart that he might make himself heard, he stepped upon a foot-stool, and cried : SHEOL. 443 " Your bodies are decaying before me. You are burying your talents in the ground. We must all stand for final sentence at the last day, mortals and spirits alike— there is not a shadow of a shade of doubt. Your every thought will be known, and for every evil deed and every idle word God will bring us into judgment. The angel of death is among you and at work in your very midst. Are you prepared to receive him? He has already killed my body, and now that I can never die I wish there was a grave for my soul. I was reassured by a vision that told me I was safe, but either it was a hallucination, or I have been betrayed by some spirit. Last night I still lived, and my body obeyed my will. Since then I have experienced death, and with the resulting increased knowledge comes the loss of all hope, with keener pangs than I supposed could exist. Oh, that I had now their opportunities, that I might write a thesis that should live forever, and save milhons of souls from the anguish of mine! Inoculate your mortal bodies with the germs of faith and mutual love, in a stronger degree than they dwelt in me, lest you lose the life above." But no one heard him, and he preached in vain. 29 444: A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. He again rushed forth, and. after a half -in volun- tary effort, found himself in the street before his loved one's home. Scarcely knowing why, except that it had become nature to wish to be near her, he stood for a long time opposite her dwelling. " O house ! " he cried, " inanimate object that can yet enthral me so, I stand before your cold front as a suppliant from a very distant realm ; yet in my sadness I am colder than your stones, more alone than in a desolate place. She that dwells within you holds mv love. I Ion 2^ for her shadow or the sound of her step. I am more wretchedly in love than ever — I, an impotent, invisible spirit. Must I l^ear this sorrow in addition to my others, in my fruitless search for rest ? My life will be a waking night- mare, most bitter irony of fate." The trees swayed al)ove his head, and the moon, in its last quarter, looked dreamily at him. " Ah," thought Ayrault, " could I but sleep and be happy ! Drowsiness and weariness, fatigue's grasp is on me ; or may Sylvia's nearness soothe, as her voice has brought me calm ! Quiet I may some day en joy, but slumber again, never ! I see that souls in hades must ever have their misdeeds before them. SHEOL. 4^5 Happy man in tliis world, the repentant's sins are forgiven ! You lose your care in sleep. Somnolence and drowsiness— balm of acliing hearts, angels of mercy! Mortals, how blessed! until you die, God sends you this rest. When I recall summer evenings with Sylvia, while gentle zephyrs fanned our brows, I would change Pope's famous line to ' Man never is, but always has been blessed.' " A clock in a church-steeple now struck three, the sound ringing through the still night air. " It will soon be time for ghosts to go," thought Ayrault. " I must not haunt her dwelling." There was a light in Sylvia's study, and Ayrault remained meditatively gazing at it. " Happy lamp," he thought, " to shed your light on one so fair ! She can see you, and you shine for her. You are better off than I. Would that her soul might shine for me, as your light shines for her ! The hght of ray life has departed. O that the dark- ness were complete ! I am dead," his thoughts ran on, "and when the privilege— bitter word !— that permits me to remain here has expired, I must doubtless return to Saturn, and there in purgatory work out my probation. But what comfort is it that 446 ^ JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. a few centuries hence I may be able to revisit my native earth t — " The flowers will bloom in the morning light, And the lark salute the sun, The earth will continue to roll through space, And 1 may be nearer my final grace, But Sylvia's life-thread will be spun. " Even Sylvia's house will be a heap of ruins, or its place will be taken by something else. If I had Sylvia, I should care for nothing ; as I have lost her, even this sight, though sweet, must always bring re- gret. I wish, at all events, I might see Sylvia, if only with these spirit-eyes, since, as a mortal, she may never gladden my sight again." To his surprise, he now perceived that he could see, notwithstanding the drawn shades. Sylvia was at her writing-desk, in a light-coloured wrapper. She sat there resting her head on her hand, looking thoughtful but worried. Though it was so late, she had not retired. The thrush that Ayrault had often in life admired, and that she had for some reason brought up-stairs, was silent and asleep. " Ilapi^y 1)1 rd I " he said, " you obtain rest and forgetfulness on covering your head ; but what wing SHEOL. 44Y can cover my soul ? I used to wisli I might flutter towards heaven on natural wings like you, little thrush. ]^ow I can, indeed, outfly you. But what- ever I do I'm unhappy, and wherever 1 go I'm in hell. What is man in his helj^less, first spiritual state ? He is but a flower, and withers soon. Had I, like the bishop, been less blind, and obeyed my conscience clear, I might have returned to my native earth while Sylvia still sojourns here ; and coming thus by virtue of development, I should be able to commune with her. " What is life ? " he continued. " In the retro- spect, nothing. It seems to me already as but an infinitesimal point. Things that engrossed me, and seemed of such moment, that overshadowed the duty of obeying my conscience — what were they, and where ? Ah, where ? They endured but a moment. Eeality and evanescence — evanescence and reality." The light in Sylvia's room was out now, and in the east he beheld the dawn. The ubiquitous grey which he saw at night was invaded by streams of glorious crimson and blue that reached far up into the sky. He gazed at the spectacle, and then once more at that house in which his love was centred. 448 ^ JOURXEY IN otiip:r worlds. ^' ■^Vould I might be her guardian angel, to guide lier in the right and keep her from all harm I Sleep on, Sylvia. Sweet one, sleep. Yon stars fade beside your eyes. Your thouglits and your soul are fairer far than the east in this day's sunrise. I know what I have lost. Ah, desolating knowledge I for I have read Sylvia's heart, and know I was loved as truly as I loved. When Bearwarden and Cortlandt break her the news — ah, God! will she live, and do they yet know I am dead ?" Again came that spasm to shed spirit tears, and had he not known it impossible he would have thought his heart must break. The birds twittered, and the light grew, but Ayrault lay with his face upon the ground. Finally the spirit of unrest drove him on. lie passed the barred door of his own house, through which he had entered so often. It was unchanged, but seemed de- serted. Next, he went to the water-front, where he had left his yacht. Invisibly and sadly he stood upon her upper deck, and gazed at the levers, in response to his touch on which the craft had cleft the waves, reversed, or turned like a thing of life. " 'Twas a pretty toy," he mused, " and many SHEOL. 449 hours of joy have I liad as I floated through Hfe on board of her." As he moped along he beheld two unkempt Ital- ians having a piano-organ and a violin. The music was not fine, but it touched a chord in Ayrault's breast, for he had waltzed with Sylvia to that air, and it made his heart ache. " Oh, the acuteness of my distress," he cried, " the utter depth of my sorrow ! Can I have no peace in death, no oblivion in the grave ? I am reminded of my blighted, hopeless love in all kinds of unexpected ways, by unforeseen trifles. Oh, w^ould I might, in- deed, die ! May obliteration be my deliverer ! " "Poor fellows," he continued, glancing at the Italians, for he perceived that neither of the players was happy ; the pianist was avaricious, while the violinist's natural and habitual jealousy destroyed his peace of mind. "Unhappiness seems the common lot," thought Ayrault. "Earth cannot give that joy for which we sigh. Poor fellows! though you rack my ears and distress my heart, I cannot help you now." CHAPTER XIII. THE PEIEST S SERMON. It being the first day of the week, the morning air was filled with chimes from many steeples. " Divine service always comforted in life," thought Ayrault, " perchance it may do so now, when I have reached the state for which it tried to prepare me." Accordingly, he moved on with the throng, and soon was ascending the heights of Morningside Park, after which he entered the cathedral. The priest whose voice had so often thrilled him stood at his post in his surplice, and the choir had finished the processional hynm. During the responses in the litany, and between the commandments, while the con- gregation and the choir sang, he heard their natural voices as of old ascending to the vaulted roof and arrested there. He now also heard their spiritual (450) THE PRIEST'S SERMON. 451 voices resulting from tlie earnestness of tlieir prayers. These were rung through the vaster vault of space, arousing a spiritual eclio beyond the constellations and the nebulae. The service, which was that of the Protestant Episcopal Church, touched him as deeply as usual, after which the rector ascended the steps to the pulpit. " The text, this morning,'* he began, " is from the eighth chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Eomans, at the eighteenth verse : ' For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us.' Let us suppose that you or I, brethren, should become a free and disembodied spirit. A minute vein in the brain bursts, or a clot forms in the heart. It may be a mere trifle, some unexpected thing, yet the career in the flesh is ended, the eternal life of the liberated spirit begun. The soul slips from earth's grasp, as air from our fingers, and finds itself in the frigid, boundless void of space. Yet, through some longing this soul might rejoin us, and, though invis- ible, might hear the church-bells ring, and long to recall some one of the many bright Sunday mornings spent here on earth. Has a direful misfortune be- 452 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. fallen this brother, or has a slave been set free ? Let us suppose for a moment that the first has occurred. ' Vanity of vanities,' said the old preacher. ' Calamity of calamities,' says the new. That soul's probation- ary period is ended ; his record, on which he must go, is forever made. He has been in the flesh, let us say, one, two, three or four score years ; before him are the countless seons of eternity. He may have had a reasonably satisfactory life, from his point of view, and been fairly successful in stifling conscience. That still, small voice doubtless spoke pretty sharply at first, but after a while it rarely troubled him, and in the end it spoke not at all. He may, in a way, have enjoyed life and the beau- ties of nature. He lias seen the fresh leaves come and go, but he forgot the moral, that he himself was but a leaf, and that, as they all dropped to earth to make more soil, his ashes must also return to the ground. But his soul, friends and brethren, what becomes of that ? Ah ! it is the study of this question that moistens our eyes with tears. Xo evil man is really happy here, and what must be his suffering in the cold, cold land of spirits? No slumber or for- getfulness can ease his lot in hades, and after his THE PRIEST'S SERMON. 453 condemnation at the last judgment lie must forever face the unsoftened realities of eternity. 'No evil thing or thought can find lodgment in heaven. If it could, heaven would not be a happy place ; neither can any man improve in the abyss of hell. As the horizon gradually darkens, and this soul recedes from God, the time spent in the flesh must come to seem the most infinitesimal moment, more evanescent than the tick of a clock. It seems dreadful that for such short misdoings a soul should suffer so long, but no man can be saved in spite of himself. He had the opportunities — and the knowledge of this must give a soul the most acute pang. " In Eevelation, xx, 6, we find these words, ' Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first res- urrection : on such the second death hath no power.' I have often asked myself. May not this mean that those with a bad record in the general resurrection ' after a time cease to exist, since all suffer one death at the close of their period here ? " This is somewhat suggested by Proverbs, xii, 28, ' In the way of righteousness is life, and in the path- way thereof there is no death.' This might limit the everlasting damnation, so often repeated elsewhere. 454 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. to the lives of the coudemned, since to them, in a sense, it would be everlasting. " Let ns now turn to the bright picture — the soul that has weathered the storms of life and has reached the haven of rest. The struggles, tempta- tions, and trials overcome, have done their work of refining with a rapidity that could not have been equalled in any other way, and though, perhaps, very imperfect still, the journey is ever on. The reward is tenfold, yet in proportion to what this soul has done, for we know that the servant who best used his ten talents was made ruler over ten cities, while he that increased his five talents by five received five ; and the Saviour in whom he trusted, by whose aid he made his fight, stands ready to receive him, saying, ' Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.' " As the dark, earthly background recedes, the clouds break and the glorious light appears, the con- trast heightening the ever-unfolding and increasing delights, which are as great as the recipients have power to onjoy, since these righteous souls receive their rewards in proportion to the weight of the crosses that they have borne in the right spirit. These souls are a joy to their Creator, and are the heirs of THE PRIEST'S SERMON. 455 Him in lieaven. The ceaseless, sleepless activity that must obtain in both paradise and hades, and that must make the hearts of the godless grow faint at the contemplation, is also a boundless promise to those who have Him who is all in all. '' Where is now thy Saviour ? where is now thy God? the unjust man has asked in his heart when he saw his just neighbour struggling and unsuccess- ful. Both the righteous and the unrighteous man are dead. The one has found his Saviour, the other is yearly losing God. What is Ihe suffering of the present momentary time, eased as it is by God's mercy and presence, compared with the glories that await us ? What would it be if our lives here were filled with nothing else, as ye know that your labour is not vain in the Lord ? Time and eternity— the finite and the infinite. Death was, indeed, a deliverer, and the sunset of the body is the sunrise of the soul." The priest held himself erect as a soldier while delivering this sermon, making the great cathedral ring with his earnest and solemn voice, while Ayrault, as a spirit, saw how absolutely he meant and believed every word that he said. ISTearly all the members of the congregation were 456 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. moved — some more, some less than tliey appeared. After the benediction they rapidly dispersed, carry- ing in their hearts the germs he had sown ; bnt whether these would bear fruit or wither, time alone could show. Ayrault had noticed Sylvia's father and mother in church, but Sylvia herself was not there, and he w^as distressed to think she might be ill. " Why," pondered Ayrault, " am I so unhappy ? I was baptized, confirmed, and have taken the sacra- ment. I have always had an unshaken faith, and, though often unsuccessful, have striven to obey my conscience. The spirits also on Saturn kept saying I should be happy. Now, did this mean it was incum- bent upon me to rejoice, because of some blessing I already had, and did not appreciate, or did their 2>re- science show them some prospective happiness I was to enjoy ? The visions also of Yiolet, the angel, and the lily, which I believed, and still believe, were no mere empty fancies, should have given me the most unspeakable joy. It may be a mistake to apply earth- ly logic to heavenly things, but the fundamental laws of science cannot change. " Why am I so unhappy ? " he continued, return- THE PRIEST'S SERMON. 457 ing to his original question. "The visions gave promise of special grace, perhaps some special favour. True, my prayer to see Sylvia was heard, but, consid- ering the sacrifice, this has been no blessing. The request cannot have been wrong in itself, and as for the manner, there was no arrogance in my heart. I asked as a mortal, as a man of but finite understand- ing, for what concerned me most. "Why, oh why, so wretched?" CHAPTER XIV. HIC ILLE JACET. At daybreak the tlmnder-shower passed off, but was followed by a cold, drenching rain. Supposing Ayrault had remained in the Callisto, Bearwarden and Cortlandt did not feel anxious, and, not wishing to be wet through, remained in the cave, keeping up a good fire with the wood they had collected. To- wards evening a cold wind came up, and, thinking this might clear the air, they ventured out, but, finding the ground saturated, and that the rain was again begin- ning to fall, they returned to shelter, prepared a din- ner of canned meat, and made themselves as comfort- able as possible for the night. " I am surprised," said Cortlandt, " that Dick did not try to return to us, since he had the mackin- toshes." " T dare say he did try," replied Bearwarden, " but (458) r HlC ILLE JACET. 459 finding the course inundated, and knowing we should not need the mackintoshes if we remained under cover, decided to put back. The Calhsto is, of course, as safe as a church." " I hope," said Cortlandt, " no harm has come to liim on the way. It will be a weight off my mind to see him safely with us." " Should he not turn up in the morning," replied Bearwarden, " we must begin a search for him bright and early." Making up the fire as near the entrance of the cave as they could find a dry place, so that Ayrault should see it if he attempted to return during the night, they piled on wood, and talked of their recent experiences. " However unwilHng I was," said Cortlandt, " to believe my senses, which I felt were misleading me, I can no longer doubt the reality of that spirit bishop, or the truth of what he says. When you look at the question dispassionately, it is what you might logic- ally expect. In my desire to disprove what is to us supernatural, I tried to create mentally a system that would be a substitute for the one he described, but could evolve nothing that so perfectly filled the re- 30 460 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. quirements, or that was so simple. Nothing seems more natural than that man, having been evolved from stone, should continue his ascent till he dis- cards material altogether. The metamorpliism is more striking in the first change than in the second. Granted that the soul is immaterial, and that it leaves the body after death, what is there to keep it on earth ? Gravitation cannot afi'ect it. What is more likely than that it is left behind by the earth in its orbit, or that it continues its forward motion, but in a straight line, till, reaching the paths of the greater planets, it is drawn to them by some affinity or attrac- tion that the earth does not possess, and that the souls held in that manner remain here on probation, devel- oping like young animals or children, till, by gradu- ally acquired power, resulting from their wills, they are able to rise again into space, to revisit the earth, and in time to explore the universe ? It might easily come about that, by some explainable sympathy, the infant good souls are drawn to this planet, while the condemned pass on to Cassandra, which holds them by some property peculiar to itself, until perhaps they, too, by virtue of their wills, acquire new power, unless involution sets in and they lose what they HIC ILLE JACET. 461 have. The simplicity of the thing is what surprises me now, and that for ages philosophers have been racking their brains with every conceivable fancy, when, by simply extending and following natural laws, they could discern the whole." " It is the old story," said Bearwarden, " of Co- lumbus and the egg. Schopenhauer and his prede- cessors appear to have tried every idea but the right one, and even Darwin and Huxley fell short in their reasoning, because they tried to obtain more or less than four by putting two with two." Thus they sat and talked while the night wore on. Neither thought of sleeping, hoping all the while that Ayrault might walk in as he had the night before. At last the dawn began to tint the east, and the growing light showed them that the storm had passed. The upper strata of Saturn's atmosphere being filled with infinitesimal particles of dust, as a result of its numerous volcanoes, the conditions were highly favourable to beautiful sunrises and sun- sets. Soon coloured streaks extended far into the sky, and though they knew that when the sun's disc appeared it would seem small, it filled the almost 462 A JOURNEY IX OTHER WORLDS. boundless eastern horizon with the most variegated and gorgeous hues. Turning away from the welcome sight — for their minds were ill at ease — they found the light strong enough for their search to begin. Writing on a sheet of paper, in a large hand, " Have gone to the Callisto to look for you ; shall afterwards return here," they pinned this in a conspicuous place and set out due west, keeping about a hundred yards apart. The ground was wet and slippery, but over- head all was clear, and the sun soon shone brightly. Looking to right and left, and occasionally shouting and discharging their revolvers, they went on for half an hour. " I have his tracks," called Bearwarden, and Cort- landt hastened to join him. In the soft ground, sure enough, they saw Ay- rault's footprints, and, from the distance between them, concluded that he must have been running or walking very fast ; but the rain had washed down the edges of the incision. The trail ascended a gentle slope, where they lost it ; l)ut on reaching the sum- mit they saw it again with the feet together, as though Ayrault had paused, and about it were many HIC ILLE JACET. 463 other impressions with the feet turned in, as if the walkers or standers had surrounded Ayrault, who was in the centre. "I hope," said Cortlandt, "these are nothing more than the footprints we have seen formed about ourselves." "See," said Bearwarden, "Dick's trail goes on, and the others vanish. They cannot have been made by savages or Indians, for they seem to have had weight only while standing." They then resumed their march, firing a revolver shot at intervals of a minute. Suddenly they came upon a tall, straight tree, uprooted by the wind and lying diagonally across their path. Following with their eyes the direction in which it lay, they saw a large, hollow trunk, with the bark stripped off, and charred as if struck by lightning. Obliged to pass near this by the uprooted tree — whose thick trunk, upheld by the branches at the head, lay raised about two feet from the ground— both searchers gave a start, and stood still as if petrified. Inside the great trunk they saw a head, and, on looking more closely, descried Ayrault's body. Grasping it by the arms, they drew it out. The face was pale and the limbs ^r4 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. were stiff. Instantly Cortlandt unfastened the collar, while Bearwarden applied a flask to the lips. But thej soon found that their efforts were vain. *' The spirit ! '' ejaculated Cortlandt. " Dick may be in a trance, in which case he can help us. Let us will hard and long. Accordingly, they threw them- selves on their faces, closing their eyes, that nothing might distract their concentration. Minutes, which seemed like ages, passed, and there was no response. '' Xow," said Bearwarden, " will together, hard." Suddenly the stillness was broken by the spirit's voice, which said : " I felt more than one mind calling, but the effect was so slight I thought first I was mistaken. I will help you in what you want, for the young man is not dead, neither is he injured." Saying which, he stretched himself upon Ayrault, worked his lungs artificially, and willed with an in- tensity the observers could feel where they stood. Quickly the colour returned to Ayrault's cheeks, and with the spirit's assistance he sat up and leaned against the tree that had protected him from the storm. " Your promise was realized," he said, addressing HIC ILLE JACET. 465 the spirit. " I have seen what I shall never forget, and lest the anguish — the vision of which I saw — come true, let us return to the earth, and not leave it till I have tasted in reality the joys that in the spirit I seemed to have missed. I have often longed in this life to be in the spirit, but never knew what longing was, till I experienced it as a spirit, to be once more in the flesh." " You see the mercy of God," said the spirit, " in not ordinarily allowing the spirits of the departed to revisit earth until they are prepared — that is, until they are sufliciently advanced to go there unaided — by which time they have come to understand the wisdom of God's laws. In your case the limiting laws were partially suspended, so that you were able to return at once, with many of the faculties and senses of spirits, but without their accumulated experience. It speaks well for your state of preparation that, with- out having had those disguised blessings, illness or misfortune, you were not utterly crushed by what you saw when temporarily released. While in the trance you were not in hell, but experienced the feel- ings that all mortals would if allowed to return im- mediately. Thus no lover can return to earth till 466 ^^ JUUKXEY IN OTHER WORLDS. liis fiancte has joined liim here, or till, perceiving the benevolence of God's ways, he is not distressed at what he sees, and has the companionship of a host of kindred spirits. " The spirits you saw in the cemetery were indeed in hell, but had become sufficiently developed to re- visit the earth, though doing so did not relieve their distress ; for neither the development of their senses, which intensifies their capacity for remorse and re- gret, nor their investigations into God's boundless mercies, which they have dehberately thrown away, can comfort them. *' Some of your ancestors are on Cassandra, and others are in purgatory here. Though a few faintly felt your prayer, none were able to return and an- swer beside their graves. It was at your request and prayer that He freed your spirit, but you see how unhappy it made you." " I see," replied Ayrault, " that no man should wish to anticipate the workings of the Almighty, although I have been unspeakably blessed in that He made an exception — if I may so call it — in my favour, since, in addition to revealing the responsi- bilities of life, it has shown me the inestimable value HlC ILLE JACET. 467 and loyalty of woman's love. I fear, however, that my return to earth greatly distressed the waterer of the flowers you showed me." " She already sleeps," replied the spirit, " and I have comforted her by a dream in which she sees that you are well." " When shall we start ? " asked Bearwarden. " As soon as you can get ready," replied Ayrault. " I would not risk running short of enough current to generate the apergy needed to get ns back. I dare say when I have been on earth a few years, and have done something for the good of my soul— which, as I take it, can be accomplished as well by advancing science as in any other way— I shall pine for another journey in space as I now do to return." " How I wish I were engaged," said Bearwarden, glancing at Cortlandt, and overjoyed at Ayrault's recovery. Accordingly, they resumed their march in the direction in which they had been going when they found Ayrault, and were soon beside the Calhsto. Cortlandt worked the combination lock of the lower entrance, through which they crawled. Going to the second story, they opened a large window and 468 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. let clown a ladder, on which the SiDirit ascended at their invitation. Bearwarden and Ayrault immediately set about combining the chemicals that were to produce the force necessary to repel them from Saturn. Bubbles of hydrogen were given off from the lead and zinc plates, and the viscous primary batteries quickly had the wires passing through a vacuum at a white heat. " I see you are nearly ready to start," said the spirit, " so I must say farewell.'' " Will you not come with us ? " asked Ayrault. " Xo," replied the spirit. " I do not wish to be away as long as it will take you to reach the earth. The Callisto's atmosphere could not absorlj my body, so that, should I leave you before your arrival, you would be burdened with a corpse. I may visit you in the spirit, though the desire and effort for com- munion with spirits, to be of most good, must needs come from the earth. Ere long, my intuition tells me, we shall meet again. " The vision of your own grave," he continued, addressing Cortlandt, " may not come true for many years, but however long your lives may be, according to earthly reckoning, remember that when they are HIC ILLE JACET. 469 past they will seem to have been hardly more than a moment, for they are the personification of frailty and evanescence." He held up his hands and blessed them ; and then repeating, "Farewell and a happy return!" de- scended as he had come up. The air was filled with misty shadows, and the pulsating hearts, luminous brains, and centres of spiritual activity quivered with motion. They sur- rounded the incarnate spirit of the bishop and set up the soft, musical hum the travellers had heard so often since their arrival on Saturn. " I now understand," thought Ayrault, " why the spirits I met kept repeating that I should be happy. They perceived I was to be translated, and though they doubtless knew what suffering it would cause, they also knew I should be awakened to a sense of great realities, of which I understood but little." They drew up the ladder and turned on the cur- rent, and the Callisto slowly began to rise, while the three friends crowded the window. " Good-bye ! " called the spirit's pleasant voice, to which the men replied in chorus. The sun had set on the surface of the planet while 470 ^ JOCRNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. tliey made their pre])arati(jns ; but as the CalHsto rose higher, it seemed to rise again, making the sides of tlieir ear shine hke silver, and, carefully closing the two open windows, they watched the fast-receding world, so many times larger and more magniticent than their own. CHAPTEE XY. MOTHER EARTH. " There is something sad," said Cortlandt, " about the end of everything, but I am more sorry to leave Saturn than I have ever been in taking leave of any other place."" When beyond the Kmits of the atmosphere they applied the full current, and were soon once more cleaving the ether at cometary speed, their motion towards the sun being aided by that great body itself. They quickly passed beyond the outer edge of the vast silvery rings, and then crossed one after an- other the orbits of the moons, from the last of which, lapetus, they obtained their final course in the direc- tion of the earth. They had an acute feeling of homesickness for the mysterious planet on which, while yet mortal, they had found paradise, and had communed with spirits as no modern men ever did. (471) 472 ^ JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. Witliout deviating from their almost straight Hne, they passed within a million miles of Jupiter, which had gained in its smaller orbit on Saturn, and a few days later crossed the track of Mars. As the earth had completed nearly half a revo- lution in its orbit since their departure, they here turned somewhat to the right by attracting the ruddy planet, in order to avoid passing too near the sun. *^ On some future expedition," said Ayrault, " and when we have a supply of blue glasses, we can take a trip to Yenus, if we can find a possible season in her year. Compared with this journey, it would be only like going round the block." Two days later they had rounded the sun, and laid their course in pursuit of the earth. That the astronomers in the dark hemisphere were at their posts and saw them, was evident ; for a brilliant beam of light again flashed forth, this time from a point a little south of the arctic circle, and after shining one minute, telegraphed this message : " Rejoiced to see you again. Hope all are well." Since they were not sufficiently near the moon's shadow, they directed their light-beam into their own, which trailed off on one side, and answered : '" All MOTHER EARTH. 473 well, thank you. Have wonderful things to re- late." The men at the telescopes then, as before, read the message, and telephoned the light this next ques- tion : " AYhen are you coming down, that we may notify the newspapers ? " "We wish one more sight of the earth from this height, by daylight. We are now swinging to get between it and the sun." " We have erected a monument in Yan Cortlandt Park, and engraved upon it, ' At this place James Bearwarden, Henry Chelmsford Cortlandt, and Eich- ard Kokeby Ayrault left earth, December 21, a. d. 2000, to visit Jupiter.' " " Add to it, ' They returned on the 10th of the following June.' " Soon the CalHsto came nearly between the earth and the sun, Avhen the astronomers could see it only through darkened glasses, and it appeared almost as a crescent. The sight the travellers then beheld was superb. It was about 11 a. m. in London, and Eu- rope was spread before them like a map. All its peninsulas and islands, enclosed blue seas, and bays came out in clear relief. Gradually Eussia, Germany, 474 A JOURNF.Y IN OTHER WORLDS. France, the British Isles, and Spain moved towards tlie horizon, as in grand procession, and at the same time the Western hemisphere appeared. The hour of day at the longitude above which they hung was about the same as when they set out, but the sun shone far more directly upon the Northern hemi- sphere than then, and instead of bleak December, this was the leafy month of June. They were loath to end the lovely scene, and would fain have remained where they were while the earth revolved again ; but, remembering that their friends must by this time be waiting, they shut off the repulsion from the earth. '' AVe need not apply the apergy to the earth until quite near," said Ayrault, " since a great part of the top speed will be taken off by the resistance of the atmosphere, especially as we go in base first. We have only to keep a sufficiently strong repulsion on the dome to prevent our turning over, and to see that our speed is not great enough to heat the car." When about fifty miles from the surface they felt the expected check, and concluded they had reached the upper limits of the atmosphere. And this in- The return. MOTHER EARTH. 475 creased, notwithstanding tlie decrease in their speed, showing how quickly the air became dense. When about a mile from the earth they liad the Callisto well in hand, and allowed it to descend slow- ly. The ground was already black with people, who, havinir learned where the Callisto was to touch, had hastened to Yan Cortland t Park. " I am overjoyed to see you," said Sylvia, when she and Ayrault met. "I had the most dreadful presentiment that something had gone wrong with you. One afternoon and evening I was so perplexed, and during the night had a series of nightmares that I shall never forget. I really believed you were near me, but your nature seemed to have changed, for, instead of its making me happy, I was frightfully distressed. The next day I was very ill, and unable to get up ; but during the morning I fell asleep and had another dream, which was intensely realistic and made me believe — yes, convinced me — that you were well. After that dream I soon recovered ; but oh, the anguish of the first ! " Ayrault did not tell her then that he had been near her, and of his unspeakable suffering, of which hers had been but the echo. 31 476 A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. Three weeks later a clergyman tied the knot that was to unite them forever. "While Sylvia and Ayrault were standing up to receive the congratulations of their friends, Bear- warden, in shaking his hand, said : " Remember, we have been to neither Uranus, nor Neptune, nor Cassandra, which may be as interesting as anything we have seen. Should you want to take another trip, count me as your humble servant." And Cortlandt, following behind him. said the same thing. Shortly after this, Sylvia went up-stairs to change her dress, and when she cam.e down she and Ayrault set out on their journey together through life, amid a chorus of cheers and a shower of rice. Cortlandt then returned to his department at Washington, and Bearwarden resumed his duties with the Terrestrial iVxis Straightening Company, in the presidential chair. FINIS. ■*i<:^,. •^ ■"*■»■ '••N-»i>-'5>.;- .^.'^^■^.