FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON
by JULES VERNE
Table of Contents
I. The Gun Club
II. President Barbicane's Communication
III. Effect of the President's Communication IV. Reply From the Observatory Coafmbridge V. The Romance of the Moon
VI. The Permissive Limits of Ignorance and Belief inUnthiteed States
VII. The Hymn of the Cannon-Ball
VIII. History of the Cannon
IX. The Question of the Powders
X. One Enemy _V._ Twenty-Five Millions of Friends
XI. FloridaandTexas XII. Urbi et Orbi XIII. Stones Hill
XIV. Pickaxe and Trowel
XV. The Fete of the Casting
XVI. The Columbiad
XVII. A Telegraphic Dispatch XVIII. The Passenger of thAetlanta XIX. A Monster Meeting
XX. Attack and Riposte
XXI. How A Frenchman Manages An Affair XXII. The New Citizen of tUhenited States XXIII. The Projectile-Vehicle
XXIV. The Telescope of thReocky Mountains
XXV. Final Details
XXVI. Fire!
XXVII. Foul Weather
XXVIII. A New Star

A TRIP AROUND IT
Preliminary Chapter-- Recapitulating the First Part of
This Work, and Serving as a Preface to the Second
I.From Twenty Minutes Past Ten to Forty-Seven Minutes Past Ten P. M. II. The First Half Hour
III. Their Place of Shelter
IV. A Little Algebra
V. The Cold of Space
VI. Question and Answer
VII. A Moment of Intoxication
VIII. At Seventy-Eight Thousand Five Hundred and Fourteen Leagues
IX. The Consequences of A Deviation
X. The Observers of the Moon
XI. Fancy and Reality XII. Orographic Details XIII. Lunar Landscapes
XIV. The Night of Three Hundred and Fifty-Four Hours and A Half
XV. Hyperbola or Parabola XVI. The Southern Hemisphere XVII. Tycho
XVIII. Grave Questions
XIX. A Struggle Against the Impossible XX. The Soundings of the Susquehanna XXI. J. T. Maston Recalled
XXII. Recovered From the Sea
XXIII. The End
FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON
CHAPTER I
THE GUN CLUB
During the War of the Rebellion, a new and influential club was

established in the city Boafltimorein the State oMf aryland.
It is well known with what energy the taste for military matters became developed among that nation of ship-owners, shopkeepers, and mechanics.Simple tradesmen jumped their counters to become extemporized captains, colonels, and generals, without having
ever passed thSechoolofInstructionatWest Point;
nevertheless; they quickly rivaled their compeers of the old continent, and, like them, carried off victories by dint of lavish expenditure in ammunition, money, and men.
But the point in which the Americans singularly distanced the
Europeans was in the science of gunneNryo.t, indeed, that their weapons retained a higher degree of perfection than theirs, but that they exhibited unheard-of dimensions, and
consequently attained hitherto unheard-of rangeIsn.
point of
grazing, plunging, oblique, or enfilading, or point-blank firing, the English, French, and Prussians have nothing to learn; but their cannon, howitzers, and mortars are mere pocket-pistols compared with the formidable engines of the American artillery.
This fact need surprise no onTeh.e Yankees, the first mechanicians in the world, are engineers-- just as the Italians
are musicians and the Germans metaphysicians-- by right of birth. Nothing is more natural, therefore, than to perceive them
applying their audacious ingenuity to the science of gunnery. Witness the marvels of Parrott, Dahlgren, and Rodman.
The Armstrong, Palliser, and Beaulieu guns were compelled to bow before their transatlantic rivals.
Now when an American has an idea, he directly seeks a second
American to share iIt.f there be three, they elect a president
and two secretariesG.
iven four, they name a keeper of records,
and the office is ready for work; five, they convene a general meeting, and the club is fully constitutSeod. things were
managed inBaltimore. The inventor of a new cannon associated himself with the caster and the boTrehr.us was formed the
nucleus of the "Gun ClubI.n"
a single month after its formation
it numbered 1,833 effective members and 30,565 corresponding members.
One condition was imposed as a _sine qua non_ upon every candidate for admission into the association, and that was the condition of having designed, or (more or less) perfected a cannon; or, in default of a cannon, at least a firearm of
some description.It may, however, be mentioned that mere inventors of revolvers, fire-shooting carbines, and similar small arms, met with little consideratioAnr.tillerists always commanded the chief place of favor.
The estimation in which these gentlemen were held, according to one of the most scientific exponents of the Gun Club, was

"proportional to the masses of their guns, and in the direct
ratio of the square of the distances attained by their projectiles."
The Gun Club once founded, it is easy to conceive the result of the inventive genius of the AmericanTsh.eir military weapons
attained colossal proportions, and their projectiles, exceeding the prescribed limits, unfortunately occasionally cut in two some unoffending pedestriansT. hese inventions, in fact, left
far in the rear the timid instruments of European artillery.
It is but fair to add that these Yankees, brave as they have ever proved themselves to be, did not confine themselves to theories and formulae, but that they paid heavily, _in propria persona_, for their inventionsA. mong them were to be counted officers of all ranks, from lieutenants to generals; military
men of every age, from those who were just making their _debut_ in the profession of arms up to those who had grown old in the gun-carriage. Many had found their rest on the field of battle
whose names figured in the "Book of Honor" of the Gun Club; and of those who made good their return the greater proportion bore
the marks of their indisputable valCorr.utches, wooden legs, artificial arms, steel hooks, caoutchouc jaws, silver craniums, platinum noses, were all to be found in the collection; and it was calculated by the great statistician Pitcairn that throughout
the Gun Club there was not quite one arm between four persons and two legs between six.
Nevertheless, these valiant artillerists took no particular account of these little facts, and felt justly proud when the despatches of a battle returned the number of victims at ten-fold the quantity of projectiles expended.
One day, however-- sad and melancholy day!-- peace was signed between the survivors of the war; the thunder of the guns
gradually ceased, the mortars were silent, the howitzers were muzzled for an indefinite period, the cannon, with muzzles depressed, were returned into the arsenal, the shot were repiled, all bloody reminiscences were effaced; the
cotton-plants grew luxuriantly in the well-manured fields, all mourning garments were laid aside, together with grief; and the Gun Club was relegated to profound inactivity.
Some few of the more advanced and inveterate theorists set themselves again to work upon calculations regarding the laws of projectiles.They reverted invariably to gigantic shells
and howitzers of unparalleled calibeSrt.ill in default of practical experience what was the value of mere theories? Consequently, the clubrooms became deserted, the servants dozed in the antechambers, the newspapers grew mouldy on the tables,
sounds of snoring came from dark corners, and the members of the
Gun Club, erstwhile so noisy in their seances, were reduced to

silence by this disastrous peace and gave themselves up wholly to dreams of a Platonic kind of artillery.
"This is horrible!" said Tom Hunter one evening, while rapidly carbonizing his wooden legs in the fireplace of the
smoking-room; "nothing to do! nothing to look forward to! what a loathsome existence!When again shall the guns arouse us in
the morning with their delightful reports?"
"Those days are gone by," said jolly Bilsby, trying to extend his missing arms". It was delightful once upon a time!
One invented a gun, and hardly was it cast, when one hastened to try it in the face of the eneTmhye!n one returned to camp
with a word of encouragement frSomhermanor a friendly shake of the hand from McClellaBn.ut now the generals are gone back to their counters; and in place of projectiles, they despatch bales of cottonB. y Jove, the future of gunnery in Americais lost!"
"Ay! and no war in prospect!" continued the famous James T. Maston, scratching with his steel hook his gutta-percha cranium. "Not a cloud on the horizon! and that too at such a critical period in the progress of the science of artillYereys!, gentlemen!
I who address you have myself this very morning perfected a model (plan, section, elevation, etc.) of a mortar destined to change all the conditions of warfare!"
"No! is it possible?" replied Tom Hunter, his thoughts reverting involuntarily to a former invention of the Hon. J. T. Maston, by which, at its first trial, he had succeeded in killing three
hundred and thirty-seven people.
"Fact!" replied he. "Still, what is the use of so many studies worked out, so many difficulties vanquisheIdt'?s mere waste
of time!TheNew Worldseems to have made up its mind to live in peace; and our bellicose _Tribune_ predicts some approaching catastrophes arising out of this scandalous increase of population."
"Nevertheless," replied Colonel Blomsberry, "they are always struggling inEuropeto maintain the principle of nationalities."
"Well?"
"Well, there might be some field for enterprise down there; and if they would accept our services----"
"What are you dreaming of?" screamed Bilsby; "work at gunnery for the benefit of foreigners?"
"That would be better than doing nothing here," returned the colonel.

"Quite so," said J. T. Matson; "but still we need not dream of that expedient."
"And why not?" demanded the colonel.
"Because their ideas of progress in Othlde
Worldare contrary
to our American habits of thougThth.ose fellows believe that
one can't become a general without having served first as an ensign; which is as much as to say that one can't point a gun without having first cast it oneself!"
"Ridiculous!" replied Tom Hunter, whittling with his bowie-knife the arms of his easy chair; "but if that be the case there, all that is left for us is to plant tobacco and distill whale-oil."
"What!" roared J. T. Maston, "shall we not employ these remaining years of our life in perfecting firearmShsa?ll there
never be a fresh opportunity of trying the ranges of projectiles? Shall the air never again be lighted with the glare of our guns? No international difficulty ever arise to enable us to declare
war against some transatlantic poweSr?hall not the French sink one of our steamers, or the English, in defiance of the rights of nations, hang a few of our countrymen?"
"No such luck," replied Colonel Blomsberry; "nothing of the kind
is likely to happen; and even if it did, we should not profit by it. American susceptibility is fast declining, and we are all going
to the dogs."
"It is too true," replied J. T. Maston, with fresh violence;
"there are a thousand grounds for fighting, and yet we don't fight. We save up our arms and legs for the benefit of nations who don't know what to do with themBu! t stop-- without going out of one's
way to find a cause for war-- didNonrotht to the English?"
Americaonce belong
"Undoubtedly," replied Tom Hunter, stamping his crutch with fury.
"Well, then," replied J. T. Maston, "why shouldEnngolat ndin her turn belong to the Americans?"
"It would be but just and fair," returned Colonel Blomsberry. "Go and propose it to the President oUf nthiteed States," cried
J. T. Maston, "and see how he will receive you."
"Bah!" growled Bilsby between the four teeth which the war had left him; "that will never do!"
"By Jove!" cried J. T. Maston, "he mustn't count on my vote at the next election!"

"Nor on ours," replied unanimously all the bellicose invalids.
"Meanwhile," replied J. T. Maston, "allow me to say that, if I cannot get an opportunity to try my new mortars on a real field of battle, I shall say good-by to the members of the Gun Club, and go and bury myself in the prairieAsrkoafnsas!"
"In that case we will accompany you," cried the others. Matters were in this unfortunate condition, and the club was
threatened with approaching dissolution, when an unexpected
circumstance occurred to prevent so deplorable a catastrophe.
On the morrow after this conversation every member of the association received a sealed circular couched in the following terms:
BALTIMORE, October 3.
The president of the Gun Club has the honor to inform his colleagues that, at the meeting of the 5th instant, he will bring before
them a communication of an extremely interesting natHuree. requests, therefore, that they will make it convenient to attend in accordance with the present invitation. Very cordially,
IMPEY BARBICANE, P.G.C.
CHAPTER II
PRESIDENT BARBICANE'S COMMUNICATION
On the 5th of October,eiagtht p.m,.
a dense crowd pressed
toward the saloons of the Gun Club at No. 21 Union Square. All the members of the association residenBtalitnimoreattended
the invitation of their presidenAt.s regards the corresponding
members, notices were delivered by hundreds throughout the streets of the city, and, large as was the great hall, it was quite
inadequate to accommodate the crowd of _savantTs_h.ey overflowed

into the adjoining rooms, down the narrow passages, into the outer courtyards.There they ran against the vulgar herd who pressed up to the doors, each struggling to reach the front ranks, all eager to learn the nature of the important communication of President Barbicane; all pushing, squeezing, crushing with that
perfect freedom of action which is so peculiar to the masses when educated in ideas of "self-government."
On that evening a stranger who might have chanced to be in Baltimorecould not have gained admission for love or money into the great hallT. hat was reserved exclusively for resident or corresponding members; no one else could possibly have obtained a place; and the city magnates, municipal councilors, and
"select men" were compelled to mingle with the mere townspeople in order to catch stray bits of news from the interior.
Nevertheless the vast hall presented a curious spectacle. Its immense area was singularly adapted to the purpose.
Lofty pillars formed of cannon, superposed upon huge mortars as a base, supported the fine ironwork of the arches, a perfect piece
of cast-iron laceworkT. rophies of blunderbuses, matchlocks, arquebuses, carbines, all kinds of firearms, ancient and modern, were picturesquely interlaced against the walTlsh.e gas lit
up in full glare myriads of revolvers grouped in the form of lustres, while groups of pistols, and candelabra formed of muskets bound together, completed this magnificent display
of brilliance.Models of cannon, bronze castings, sights covered with dents, plates battered by the shots of the Gun Club, assortments of rammers and sponges, chaplets of shells, wreaths of projectiles, garlands of howitzers-- in short, all the
apparatus of the artillerist, enchanted the eye by this wonderful arrangement and induced a kind of belief that their real purpose was ornamental rather than deadly.
At the further end of the saloon the president, assisted by four secretaries, occupied a large platformH.is chair, supported by
a carved gun-carriage, was modeled upon the ponderous proportions of a 32-inch mortarI.t was pointed at an angle of ninety degrees,
and suspended upon truncheons, so that the president could balance himself upon it as upon a rocking-chair, a very agreeable fact in
the very hot weatherU. pon the table (a huge iron plate supported upon six carronades) stood an inkstand of exquisite elegance, made of a beautifully chased Spanish piece, and a sonnette, which, when required, could give forth a report equal to that of a revolver. During violent debates this novel kind of bell scarcely sufficed
to drown the clamor of these excitable artillerists.
In front of the table benches arranged in zigzag form, like the circumvallations of a retrenchment, formed a succession of bastions and curtains set apart for the use of the members of the club; and on this especial evening one might say, "All the

world was on the rampartsT."he president was sufficiently well known, however, for all to be assured that he would not put his colleagues to discomfort without some very strong motive.
Impey Barbicane was a man of forty years of age, calm, cold, austere; of a singularly serious and self-contained demeanor, punctual as a chronometer, of imperturbable temper and immovable character; by no means chivalrous, yet adventurous withal, and always bringing practical ideas to bear upon the very rashest enterprises; an essentially New Englander, a Northern colonist,
a descendant of the old anti-Stuart Roundheads, and the implacable enemy of the gentlemen of the South, those ancient
cavaliers of the mother countrIyn. the backbone.
a word, he was a Yankee to
Barbicane had made a large fortune as a timber merchant. Being nominated director of artillery during the war, he proved himself fertile in inventionB. old in his conceptions, he
contributed powerfully to the progress of that arm and gave an immense impetus to experimental researches.
He was personage of the middle height, having, by a rare exception in the Gun Club, all his limbs compHleitse.strongly
marked features seemed drawn by square and rule; and if it be true that, in order to judge a man's character one must look at his profile, Barbicane, so examined, exhibited the most certain indications of energy, audacity, and _sang-froid_.
At this moment he was sitting in his armchair, silent, absorbed, lost in reflection, sheltered under his high-crowned hat-- a
kind of black cylinder which always seems firmly screwed upon the head of an American.
Just when the deep-toned clock in the great hall struck eight, Barbicane, as if he had been set in motion by a spring, raised himself up.A profound silence ensued, and the speaker, in a somewhat emphatic tone of voice, commenced as follows:
"My brave, colleagues, too long already a paralyzing peace has plunged the members of the Gun Club in deplorable inactivity. After a period of years full of incidents we have been compelled
to abandon our labors, and to stop short on the road of progress. I do not hesitate to state, baldly, that any war which would
recall us to arms would be welcom(eT!"remendous applause!)
"But war, gentlemen, is impossible under existing circumstances;
and, however we may desire it, many years may elapse before our
cannon shall again thunder in the field of batWtlee.
must make
up our minds, then, to seek in another train of ideas some field for the activity which we all pine for."
The meeting felt that the president was now approaching the

critical point, and redoubled their attention accordingly.
"For some months past, my brave colleagues," continued Barbicane, "I have been asking myself whether, while confining ourselves to our own particular objects, we could not enter upon some grand experiment worthy of the nineteenth century; and whether the progress of artillery science would not enable us to carry it out to a successful issIueh.ave been considering,
working, calculating; and the result of my studies is the conviction that we are safe to succeed in an enterprise which to any other country would appear wholly impracticablTe.his project, the result
of long elaboration, is the object of my present communication.
It is worthy of yourselves, worthy of the antecedents of the Gun
Club; and it cannot fail to make some noise in the world." A thrill of excitement ran through the meeting.
Barbicane, having by a rapid movement firmly fixed his hat upon his head, calmly continued his harangue:
"There is no one among you, my brave colleagues, who has not seen the Moon, or, at least, heard speak oDfonit'.t be
surprised if I am about to discourse to you regarding the Queen of the NightI.t is perhaps reserved for us to become the Columbusesof this unknown worldO. nly enter into my plans, and second me with all your power, and I will lead you to its conquest, and its name shall be added to those of the thirty-six states which compose this GreUant ion."
"Three cheers for the Moon!" roared the Gun Club, with one voice. "The moon, gentlemen, has been carefully studied," continued
Barbicane; "her mass, density, and weight; her constitution,
motions, distance, as well as her place in the solar system, have all been exactly determineSd.elenographic charts have
been constructed with a perfection which equals, if it does not even surpass, that of our terrestrial maPphso. tography has
given us proofs of the incomparable beauty of our satellite; all is known regarding the moon which mathematical science, astronomy, geology, and optics can learn about Bheurt. up to
the present moment no direct communication has been established with her."
A violent movement of interest and surprise here greeted this remark of the speaker.
"Permit me," he continued, "to recount to you briefly how certain ardent spirits, starting on imaginary journeys, have penetrated the secrets of our satelliItne. the seventeenth
century a certain David Fabricius boasted of having seen with his own eyes the inhabitants of the moInon1. 649 a Frenchman,

one Jean Baudoin, published a `Journey performed from the Earth to the Moon by Domingo Gonzalez,' a Spanish adventAurtert.he
same period Cyrano de Bergerac published that celebrated
`Journeys in the Moon' which met with such succeFsrsanicne. Somewhat later another Frenchman, named Fontenelle, wrote `The Plurality of Worlds,' a _chef-d'oeuvre_ of its tiAmbeo. ut 1835
a small treatise, translated from Ntheew York_American_, related how Sir John Herschel, having been despatched toCathpeof
Good Hope for the purpose of making there some astronomical calculations, had, by means of a telescope brought to perfection by means of internal lighting, reduced the apparent distance of the moon to eighty yardHs!e then distinctly perceived caverns frequented by hippopotami, green mountains bordered by golden lace-work, sheep with horns of ivory, a white species of deer and inhabitants with membranous wings, like bTaths.is _brochure_, the work of an American named Locke, had a greatBsuatl,e.to bring this rapid sketch to a close, I will only add that a
certain Hans Pfaal, oRfotterdam, launching himself in a balloon filled with a gas extracted from nitrogen, thirty-seven times lighter than hydrogen, reached the moon after a passage of nineteen hours.This journey, like all previous ones, was purely
imaginary; still, it was the work of a popular American author-- I mean Edgar Poe!"
"Cheers for Edgar Poe!" roared the assemblage, electrified by their president's words.
"I have now enumerated," said Barbicane, "the experiments which I call purely paper ones, and wholly insufficient to establish serious relations with the Queen of the NiNghetv. ertheless, I
am bound to add that some practical geniuses have attempted to establish actual communication with heTr.hus, a few days ago,
a German geometrician proposed to send a scientific expedition to the steppes oSfiberia. There, on those vast plains, they
were to describe enormous geometric figures, drawn in characters of reflecting luminosity, among which was the proposition
regarding the `square of the hypothenuse,' commonly called the
`Ass's Bridge' by the Frenc`hE. very intelligent being,' said
the geometrician, `must understand the scientific meaning of that figure.The Selenites, do they exist, will respond by a similar figure; and, a communication being thus once established, it will be easy to form an alphabet which shall enable us to converse with the inhabitants of the mSooon.'
spoke the German geometrician; but his project was never put into practice, and up to the present day there is no bond
in existence between the Earth and her satelIltiteis.
reserved for the practical genius of Americans to establish a communication with the sidereal worlTd.he means of arriving thither are simple, easy, certain, infallible-- and that is the purpose of my present proposal."

A storm of acclamations greeted these worTdhs.ere was not a single person in the whole audience who was not overcome, carried away, lifted out of himself by the speaker's words!
Long-continued applause resounded from all sides.
As soon as the excitement had partially subsided, Barbicane resumed his speech in a somewhat graver voice.
"You know," said he, "what progress artillery science has made during the last few years, and what a degree of perfection firearms of every kind have reacheMd.oreover, you are well
aware that, in general terms, the resisting power of cannon and the expansive force of gunpowder are practically unlimited.
Well! starting from this principle, I ask myself whether, supposing sufficient apparatus could be obtained constructed upon the conditions of ascertained resistance, it might not be possible to project a shot up to the moon?"
At these words a murmur of amazement escaped from a thousand panting chests; then succeeded a moment of perfect silence, resembling that profound stillness which precedes the bursting
of a thunderstormI.n point of fact, a thunderstorm did peal forth, but it was the thunder of applause, or cries, and of uproar which made the very hall trembTlhe.e president attempted to speak, but could nIott.was fully ten minutes before he could make himself heard.
"Suffer me to finish," he calmly continu"eId.have looked at
the question in all its bearings, I have resolutely attacked it, and by incontrovertible calculations I find that a projectile
endowed with an initial velocity of 12,000 yards per second, and
aimed at the moon, must necessarily reachI
ihta. ve the honor,
my brave colleagues, to propose a trial of this little experiment."
CHAPTER III
EFFECT OF THE PRESIDENT'S COMMUNICATION

It is impossible to describe the effect produced by the last words of the honorable president-- the cries, the shouts, the succession of roars, hurrahs, and all the varied vociferations which the American language is capable of supplyIitngw. as a scene of indescribable confusion and uproTarh.ey shouted, they clapped, they stamped on the floor of the Ahallll.the weapons
in the museum discharged at once could not have more violently set in motion the waves of sounOdn. e need not be surprised at this.
There are some cannoneers nearly as noisy as their own guns.
Barbicane remained calm in the midst of this enthusiastic
clamor; perhaps he was desirous of addressing a few more words to his colleagues, for by his gestures he demanded silence,
and his powerful alarum was worn out by its violent reports. No attention, however, was paid to his requHeset. was presently torn from his seat and passed from the hands of his faithful colleagues into the arms of a no less excited crowd.
Nothing can astound an AmericaInt. has often been asserted that the word "impossible" in not a French Poenoep. le have evidently been deceived by the dictionaIrnyA. merica, all is easy, all is simple; and as for mechanical difficulties, they
are overcome before they arisBe.etween Barbicane's proposition and its realization no true Yankee would have allowed even the semblance of a difficulty to be possibAle.thing with them is
no sooner said than done.
The triumphal progress of the president continued throughout the evening.It was a regular torchlight processioIrni.sh, Germans, French, Scotch, all the heterogeneous units which make up the population ofMarylandshouted in their respective vernaculars;
and the "vivas," "hurrahs," and "bravos" were intermingled in inexpressible enthusiasm.
Just at this crisis, as though she comprehended all this agitation regarding herself, the moon shone forth with
serene splendor, eclipsing by her intense illumination all the surrounding lights.The Yankees all turned their gaze toward
her resplendent orb, kissed their hands, called her by all kinds of endearing namesB. etweeneight o'clockandmidnightone
optician in Jones'-Fall Street made his fortune by the sale of opera-glasses.
Midnightarrived, and the enthusiasm showed no signs of diminution. It spread equally among all classes of citizens-- men of science, shopkeepers, merchants, porters, chair-men, as well as "greenhorns," were stirred in their innermost fibrAes. national enterprise was
at stake.The whole city, high and low, the quays bordering the Patapsco, the ships lying in the basins, disgorged a crowd drunk with joy, gin, and whiskEy.very one chattered, argued, discussed, disputed, applauded, from the gentleman lounging upon the barroom

settee with his tumbler of sherry-cobbler before him down to the waterman who got drunk upon his "knock-me-down" in the dingy taverns of Fell Point.
Abouttwo A.M,.
however, the excitement began to subside.
President Barbicane reached his house, bruised, crushed, and squeezed almost to a mummHy.ercules could not have resisted a similar outbreak of enthusiasmT.he crowd gradually deserted
the squares and streetsT.he four railways from Philadelphia andWashington,HarrisburgandWheeling, which converge at Baltimore, whirled away the heterogeneous population to the four corners of thUe nited States, and the city subsided into
comparative tranquility.
On the following day, thanks to the telegraphic wires, five hundred newspapers and journals, daily, weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly, all took up the questioTnh.ey examined it under
all its different aspects, physical, meteorological, economical, or moral, up to its bearings on politics or civilization.
They debated whether the moon was a finished world, or whether it was destined to undergo any further transformatDioind. it
resemble the earth at the period when the latter was destitute
as yet of an atmosphereW? hat kind of spectacle would its hidden hemisphere present to our terrestrial spheroiGd?ranting that
the question at present was simply that of sending a projectile up to the moon, every one must see that that involved the commencement of a series of experimenAtsl.l must hope that some dayAmericawould penetrate the deepest secrets of that
mysterious orb; and some even seemed to fear lest its conquest should not sensibly derange the equilibriumEuorfope.
The project once under discussion, not a single paragraph suggested a doubt of its realizatioAnl.l the papers,
pamphlets, reports-- all the journals published by the scientific, literary, and religious societies enlarged upon its advantages; and the Society of Natural HistoryBoofston, the Society of Science and ArtAolbf any, the Geographical and Statistical Society oNf ew York, the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, and the Smithsonian Wofashingtonsent innumerable letters of congratulation to the Gun Club, together with offers of immediate assistance and money.
From that day forward Impey Barbicane became one of the greatest citizens of thUe nited States, a kind oWf ashingtonof science.
A single trait of feeling, taken from many others, will serve to show the point which this homage of a whole people to a single individual attained.
Some few days after this memorable meeting of the Gun Club, the manager of an English company announced, atBtahlteimore
theatre, the production of "Much ado about NothinBgu.t" the

populace, seeing in that title an allusion damaging to Barbicane's project, broke into the auditorium, smashed the benches, and compelled the unlucky director to alter his playbill. Being a sensible man, he bowed to the public will and replaced
the offending comedy by "As you like it"; and for many weeks he realized fabulous profits.
CHAPTER IV
REPLY FROM THE OBSERVATORY OCFAMBRIDGE
Barbicane, however, lost not one moment amid all the enthusiasm
of which he had become the objeHcits.
first care was to
reassemble his colleagues in the board-room of the Gun Club. There, after some discussion, it was agreed to consult the astronomers regarding the astronomical part of the enterprise. Their reply once ascertained, they could then discuss the mechanical means, and nothing should be wanting to ensure the success of this great experiment.
A note couched in precise terms, containing special interrogatories, was then drawn up and addressed to the Observatory ofCambridgeinMassachusetts. This city, where the first university of thUenited Stateswas founded, is justly celebrated for its astronomical stafTf.here are to be found assembled all the most eminent men of scienHceer.e is to be
seen at work that powerful telescope which enabled Bond to resolve the nebula of Andromeda, and Clarke to discover the satellite of SiriusT. his celebrated institution fully justified
on all points the confidence reposed in it by the Gun Club.
So, after two days, the reply so impatiently awaited was placed in the hands of President Barbicane.
It was couched in the following terms:
_The Director of thCeambridgeObservatory to the President of the Gun Club at Baltimore._

CAMBRIDGE, October 7.
On the receipt of your favor of the 6th instant, addressed to the Observatory oCf ambridgein the name of the members of the Baltimore Gun Club, our staff was immediately called together, and it was judged expedient to reply as follows:
The questions which have been proposed to it are these-- "1. Is it possible to transmit a projectile up to the moon?
"2. What is the exact distance which separates the earth from its satellite?
"3. What will be the period of transit of the projectile when endowed with sufficient initial velocity? and, consequently, at
what moment ought it to be discharged in order that it may touch the moon at a particular point?
"4. At what precise moment will the moon present herself in the most favorable position to be reached by the projectile?
"5. What point in the heavens ought the cannon to be aimed at which is intended to discharge the projectile?
"6. What place will the moon occupy in the heavens at the moment of the projectile's departure?"
Regarding the _first_ question, "Is it possible to transmit a projectile up to the moon?"
_Answer._-- Yes; provided it possess an initial velocity of
1,200 yards per second; calculations prove that to be sufficient.
In proportion as we recede from the earth the action of gravitation diminishes in the inverse ratio of the square of the distance;
that is to say, _at three times a given distance the action is
nine times less._Consequently, the weight of a shot will decrease,
and will become reduced to _zero_ at the instant that the attraction of the moon exactly counterpoises that of the earth; that is to say
at 47/52 of its passagAe.t that instant the projectile will
have no weight whatever; and, if it passes that point, it will fall into the moon by the sole effect of the lunar attraction. The _theoretical possibility_ of the experiment is therefore
absolutely demonstrated; its _success_ must depend upon the power of the engine employed.
As to the _second_ question, "What is the exact distance which separates the earth from its satellite?"
_Answer._-- The moon does not describe a _circle_ round the earth, but rather an _ellipse_, of which our earth occupies one

of the _foci_; the consequence, therefore, is, that at certain times it approaches nearer to, and at others it recedes farther from, the earth; in astronomical language, it is at one time in
_apogee_, at another in _perigeeN_.ow the difference between its greatest and its least distance is too considerable to be left out of considerationI.n point of fact, in its apogee the
moon is 247,552 miles, and in its perigee, 218,657 miles only distant; a fact which makes a difference of 28,895 miles, or more than one-ninth of the entire distanTche.e perigee
distance, therefore, is that which ought to serve as the basis of all calculations.
To the _third_ question.
_Answer._-- If the shot should preserve continuously its initial velocity of 12,000 yards per second, it would require little more than nine hours to reach its destination; but, inasmuch as that initial velocity will be continually decreasing, it will
occupy 300,000 seconds, that is 83hrs. 20m. in reaching the point where the attraction of the earth and moon will be _in equilibrio_. From this point it will fall into the moon in
50,000 seconds, or 13hrs. 53m. 20seItc.will be desirable, therefore, to discharge it 97hrs. 13m. 20sec. before the arrival of the moon at the point aimed at.
Regarding question _four_, "At what precise moment will the moon present herself in the most favorable position, etc.?"
_Answer._-- After what has been said above, it will be necessary, first of all, to choose the period when the moon will be in perigee, and _also_ the moment when she will be crossing the zenith, which latter event will further diminish the entire distance by a length equal to the radius of the earth, _i. e._
3,919 miles; the result of which will be that the final passage remaining to be accomplished will be 214,976 mBileust. although
the moon passes her perigee every month, she does not reach the zenith always _at exactly the same momenSth_.e does not appear under these two conditions simultaneously, except at long
intervals of timeI.t will be necessary, therefore, to wait for
the moment when her passage in perigee shall coincide with that in the zenithN. ow, by a fortunate circumstance, on the 4th of December in the ensuing year the moon _will_ present these
two conditions.At midnight she will be in perigee, that is,
at her shortest distance from the earth, and at the same moment she will be crossing the zenith.
On the _fifth_ question, "At what point in the heavens ought the cannon to be aimed?"
_Answer._-- The preceding remarks being admitted, the cannon ought to be pointed to the zenith of the pIltascefi.re,

therefore, will be perpendicular to the plane of the horizon; and the projectile will soonest pass beyond the range of the terrestrial attraction.But, in order that the moon should
reach the zenith of a given place, it is necessary that the place should not exceed in latitude the declination of the luminary; in other words, it must be comprised within the
degrees 0@ and 28@ of lat. N. or S. In every other spot the fire must necessarily be oblique, which would seriously militate
against the success of the experiment.
As to the _sixth_ question, "What place will the moon occupy in the heavens at the moment of the projectile's departure?"
_Answer._-- At the moment when the projectile shall be discharged into space, the moon, which travels daily forward 13@ 10' 35'',
will be distant from the zenith point by four times that quantity,
_i. e._ by 52@ 41' 20'', a space which corresponds to the path which she will describe during the entire journey of the projectile. But, inasmuch as it is equally necessary to take into account the deviation which the rotary motion of the earth will impart to the shot, and as the shot cannot reach the moon until after a deviation equal to 16 radii of the earth, which, calculated upon the moon's orbit, are equal to about eleven degrees, it becomes necessary to add these eleven degrees to those which express the retardation of the moon just mentionedth: at is to say, in round numbers, about
sixty-four degrees.Consequently, at the moment of firing the visual radius applied to the moon will describe, with the vertical line of the place, an angle of sixty-four degrees.
These are our answers to the questions proposed to the
Observatory of Cambridge by the members of the Gun Club: To sum up--
1st. The cannon ought to be planted in a country situated between 0@ and 28@ of N. or S. lat.
2nd. It ought to be pointed directly toward the zenith of the place.
3rd. The projectile ought to be propelled with an initial velocity of 12,000 yards per second.
4th. It ought to be discharged at 10hrs. 46m. 40sec. of the 1st of December of the ensuing year.
5th. It will meet the moon four days after its discharge,
precisely at midnight on the 4th of December, at the moment of its transit across the zenith.
The members of the Gun Club ought, therefore, without delay, to commence the works necessary for such an experiment, and to be

prepared to set to work at the moment determined upon; for, if they should suffer this 4th of December to go by, they will not find the moon again under the same conditions of perigee and of zenith until eighteen years and eleven days afterward.
The staff of the Cambridge Observatory place themselves entirely at their disposal in respect of all questions of theoretical astronomy; and herewith add their congratulations to those of
all the rest of America.
For the Astronomical Staff, J. M. BELFAST,
_Director of the Observatory of Cambridge._
CHAPTER V
THE ROMANCE OF THE MOON
An observer endued with an infinite range of vision, and placed in that unknown center around which the entire world revolves, might have beheld myriads of atoms filling all space during the chaotic epoch of the universLe.ittle by little, as ages went
on, a change took place; a general law of attraction manifested itself, to which the hitherto errant atoms became obedient:
these atoms combined together chemically according to their affinities, formed themselves into molecules, and composed those nebulous masses with which the depths of the heavens are strewed. These masses became immediately endued with a rotary motion around their own central poinTt.his center, formed of
indefinite molecules, began to revolve around its own axis during its gradual condensation; then, following the immutable laws of mechanics, in proportion as its bulk diminished by condensation, its rotary motion became accelerated, and these two effects continuing, the result was the formation of one principal star, the center of the nebulous mass.
By attentively watching, the observer would then have perceived the other molecules of the mass, following the example of this central star, become likewise condensed by gradually accelerated rotation, and gravitating round it in the shape of innumerable stars.

Thus was formed the _Nebulae_, of which astronomers have reckoned up nearly 5,000.
Among these 5,000 nebulae there is one which has received the name of the Milky Way, and which contains eighteen millions of stars, each of which has become the center of a solar world.
If the observer had then specially directed his attention to one of the more humble and less brilliant of these stellar bodies,
a star of the fourth class, that which is arrogantly called the
Sun, all the phenomena to which the formation of the Universe is to be ascribed would have been successively fulfilled before his eyes.
In fact, he would have perceived this sun, as yet in the gaseous state, and composed of moving molecules, revolving round its axis
in order to accomplish its work of concentratTiohnis.
motion,
faithful to the laws of mechanics, would have been accelerated
with the diminution of its volume; and a moment would have arrived when the centrifugal force would have overpowered the centripetal, which causes the molecules all to tend toward the center.
Another phenomenon would now have passed before the observer's eye, and the molecules situated on the plane of the equator, escaping like a stone from a sling of which the cord had
suddenly snapped, would have formed around the sun sundry concentric rings resembling that of SatuIrn. their turn,
again, these rings of cosmical matter, excited by a rotary
motion about the central mass, would have been broken up and decomposed into secondary nebulosities, that is to say,
into planets.Similarly he would have observed these planets
throw off one or more rings each, which became the origin of the secondary bodies which we call satellites.
Thus, then, advancing from atom to molecule, from molecule to nebulous mass, from that to principal star, from star to sun, from sun to planet, and hence to satellite, we have the whole series of transformations undergone by the heavenly bodies during the first days of the world.
Now, of those attendant bodies which the sun maintains in their elliptical orbits by the great law of gravitation, some few in
turn possess satellitesU.
ranus has eight, Saturn eight, Jupiter
four, Neptune possibly three, and the Earth oTnhei.s last, one
of the least important of the entire solar system, we call the Moon; and it is she whom the daring genius of the Americans professed their intention of conquering.
The moon, by her comparative proximity, and the constantly varying appearances produced by her several phases, has always occupied a considerable share of the attention of the
inhabitants of the earth.

From the time of Thales of Miletus, in the fifth century B.C., down to that of Copernicus in the fifteenth and Tycho Brahe in the sixteenth century A.D., observations have been from time to time carried on with more or less correctness, until in the present day the altitudes of the lunar mountains have been determined with exactitudeG. alileo explained the phenomena of
the lunar light produced during certain of her phases by the existence of mountains, to which he assigned a mean altitude of
27,000 feet.After him Hevelius, an astronomer of Dantzic, reduced the highest elevations to 15,000 feet; but the calculations of Riccioli brought them up again to 21,000 feet.
At the close of the eighteenth century Herschel, armed with a powerful telescope, considerably reduced the preceding measurements.
He assigned a height of 11,400 feet to the maximum elevations, and reduced the mean of the different altitudes to little more than 2,400 feet. But Herschel's calculations were in their turn corrected by the observations of Halley, Nasmyth, Bianchini, Gruithuysen, and others; but it was reserved for the labors of Boeer and Maedler finally to solve the questTiohne.y succeeded
in measuring 1,905 different elevations, of which six exceed
15,000 feet, and twenty-two exceed 14,400 feTeht.e highest
summit of all towers to a height of 22,606 feet above the surface of the lunar discA. t the same period the examination of the moon was completed.She appeared completely riddled with craters, and her essentially volcanic character was apparent at each observation. By the absence of refraction in the rays of the planets occulted
by her we conclude that she is absolutely devoid of an atmosphere. The absence of air entails the absence of wIattebr.ecame,
therefore, manifest that the Selenites, to support life under such conditions, must possess a special organization of their own, must differ remarkably from the inhabitants of the earth.
At length, thanks to modern art, instruments of still higher perfection searched the moon without intermission, not leaving a single point of her surface unexplored; and notwithstanding
that her diameter measures 2,150 miles, her surface equals the one-fifteenth part of that of our globe, and her bulk the
one-forty-ninth part of that of the terrestrial spheroid-- not one of her secrets was able to escape the eyes of the astronomers; and these skillful men of science carried to an even greater degree their prodigious observations.
Thus they remarked that, during full moon, the disc appeared scored in certain parts with white lines; and, during the
phases, with blackO.
n prosecuting the study of these with
still greater precision, they succeeded in obtaining an exact account of the nature of these linTehs.ey were long and narrow furrows sunk between parallel ridges, bordering generally upon the edges of the craterTs.heir length varied between ten and 100 miles, and their width was about 1,600 yaArdsst.ronomers called

them chasms, but they could not get any furthWerh. ether these
chasms were the dried-up beds of ancient rivers or not they were unable thoroughly to ascertain.
The Americans, among others, hoped one day or other to determine this geological questionT.hey also undertook to examine the true nature of that system of parallel ramparts discovered on the moon's surface by Gruithuysen, a learned
professor of Munich, who considered them to be "a system of fortifications thrown up by the Selenitic engineeTrsh."ese two points, yet obscure, as well as others, no doubt, could not be
definitely settled except by direct communication with the moon.
Regarding the degree of intensity of its light, there was
nothing more to learn on this poIitntw.
as known that it is
300,000 times weaker than that of the sun, and that its heat has
no appreciable effect upon the thermometAers.
to the
phenomenon known as the "ashy light," it is explained naturally by the effect of the transmission of the solar rays from the
earth to the moon, which give the appearance of completeness to the lunar disc, while it presents itself under the crescent form during its first and last phases.
Such was the state of knowledge acquired regarding the earth's satellite, which the Gun Club undertook to perfect in all its aspects, cosmographic, geological, political, and moral.
CHAPTER VI
PERMISSIVE LIMITS OF IGNORANCE AND BELIEF IN THE UNITED STATES
The immediate result of Barbicane's proposition was to place upon the orders of the day all the astronomical facts relative to the Queen of the NighEt.verybody set to work to study assiduously. One would have thought that the moon had just appeared for the first time, and that no one had ever before caught a glimpse of
her in the heavensT.he papers revived all the old anecdotes in which the "sun of the wolves" played a part; they recalled the influences which the ignorance of past ages ascribed to her; in

short, all America was seized with selenomania, or had become moon-mad.
The scientific journals, for their part, dealt more especially with
the questions which touched upon the enterprise of the Gun Club. The letter of the Observatory of Cambridge was published by them, and commented upon with unreserved approval.
Until that time most people had been ignorant of the mode in which the distance which separates the moon from the earth is calculated. They took advantage of this fact to explain to them that this
distance was obtained by measuring the parallax of the moon. The term parallax proving "caviare to the general," they further explained that it meant the angle formed by the inclination of two straight lines drawn from either extremity of the earth's radius
to the moonO.
n doubts being expressed as to the correctness of
this method, they immediately proved that not only was the mean distance 234,347 miles, but that astronomers could not possibly
be in error in their estimate by more than seventy miles either way.
To those who were not familiar with the motions of the moon, they demonstrated that she possesses two distinct motions, the first being that of rotation upon her axis, the second being
that of revolution round the earth, accomplishing both together in an equal period of time, that is to say, in twenty-seven and one-third days.
The motion of rotation is that which produces day and night on the surface of the moon; save that there is only one day and one night in the lunar month, each lasting three hundred and
fifty-four and one-third hoursB. ut, happily for her, the face turned toward the terrestrial globe is illuminated by it with an intensity equal to that of fourteen mooAns to the other
face, always invisible to us, it has of necessity three hundred and fifty-four hours of absolute night, tempered only by that "pale glimmer which falls upon it from the stars."
Some well-intentioned, but rather obstinate persons, could not at first comprehend how, if the moon displays invariably the same face to the earth during her revolution, she can describe one turn round herselfT.o such they answered, "Go into your
dining-room, and walk round the table in such a way as to always keep your face turned toward the center; by the time you will
have achieved one complete round you will have completed one turn around yourself, since your eye will have traversed successively every point of the rooWm.ell, then, the room is
the heavens, the table is the earth, and the moon is yourself." And they would go away delighted.
So, then the moon displays invariably the same face to the earth; nevertheless, to be quite exact, it is necessary to add that, in consequence of certain fluctuations of north and south,

and of west and east, termed her libration, she permits rather more than half, that is to say, five-sevenths, to be seen.
As soon as the ignoramuses came to understand as much as the director of the observatory himself knew, they began to worry themselves regarding her revolution round the earth, whereupon twenty scientific reviews immediately came to the rescue.
They pointed out to them that the firmament, with its infinitude
of stars, may be considered as one vast dial-plate, upon which the moon travels, indicating the true time to all the inhabitants of
the earth; that it is during this movement that the Queen of
Night exhibits her different phases; that the moon is _full_
when she is in _opposition_ with the sun, that is when the three bodies are on the same straight line, the earth occupying the center; that she is _new_ when she is in _conjunction_ with the sun, that is, when she is between it and the earth; and, lastly
that she is in her _first_ or _last_ quarter, when she makes
with the sun and the earth an angle of which she herself occupies the apex.
Regarding the altitude which the moon attains above the horizon, the letter of the Cambridge Observatory had said all that was to be said in this respecEt.very one knew that this altitude
varies according to the latitude of the obserBveurt. the only
zones of the globe in which the moon passes the zenith, that is, the point directly over the head of the spectator, are of
necessity comprised between the twenty-eighth parallels and the equator.Hence the importance of the advice to try the experiment upon some point of that part of the globe, in order that the projectile might be discharged perpendicularly, and so the soonest escape the action of gravitatiTonh.is was an
essential condition to the success of the enterprise, and continued actively to engage the public attention.
Regarding the path described by the moon in her revolution round the earth, the Cambridge Observatory had demonstrated that this path is a re-entering curve, not a perfect circle, but an
ellipse, of which the earth occupies one of the _fIotciw_a. s
also well understood that it is farthest removed from the earth
during its _apogee_, and approaches most nearly to it at its _perigee_.
Such was then the extent of knowledge possessed by every American on the subject, and of which no one could decently profess ignorance.Still, while these principles were being
rapidly disseminated many errors and illusory fears proved less easy to eradicate.
For instance, some worthy persons maintained that the moon was an ancient comet which, in describing its elongated orbit round
the sun, happened to pass near the earth, and became confined within her circle of attractioTn.hese drawing-room astronomers

professed to explain the charred aspect of the moon-- a disaster which they attributed to the intensity of the solar heat; only,
on being reminded that comets have an atmosphere, and that the moon has little or none, they were fairly at a loss for a reply.
Others again, belonging to the doubting class, expressed certain fears as to the position of the moTohne.y had heard it said
that, according to observations made in the time of the Caliphs, her revolution had become accelerated in a certain degree. Hence they concluded, logically enough, that an acceleration of
motion ought to be accompanied by a corresponding diminution in the distance separating the two bodies; and that, supposing the double effect to be continued to infinity, the moon would end by one day falling into the earHtho. wever, they became reassured
as to the fate of future generations on being apprised that, according to the calculations of Laplace, this acceleration of motion is confined within very restricted limits, and that a proportional diminution of speed will be certain to succeed it.
So, then, the stability of the solar system would not be deranged in ages to come.
There remains but the third class, the superstitious.
These worthies were not content merely to rest in ignorance;
they must know all about things which had no existence whatever, and as to the moon, they had long known all abouOt nheers.et
regarded her disc as a polished mirror, by means of which people could see each other from different points of the earth and interchange their thoughtsA. nother set pretended that out of
one thousand new moons that had been observed, nine hundred and fifty had been attended with remarkable disturbances, such as cataclysms, revolutions, earthquakes, the deluge, etcT. hen they
believed in some mysterious influence exercised by her over human destinies-- that every Selenite was attached to some inhabitant
of the earth by a tie of sympathy; they maintained that the entire vital system is subject to her control,Beuttc.in time
the majority renounced these vulgar errors, and espoused the true side of the questionA. s for the Yankees, they had no other
ambition than to take possession of this new continent of the sky, and to plant upon the summit of its highest elevation the star- spangled banner of the United States of America.
CHAPTER VII

THE HYMN OF THE CANNON-BALL
The Observatory of Cambridge in its memorable letter had treated the question from a purely astronomical point of viTehwe. mechanical
part still remained.
President Barbicane had, without loss of time, nominated a working committee of the Gun CluTbh.e duty of this committee was to resolve the three grand questions of the cannon, the projectile, and the powderI.t was composed of four members of great technical knowledge, Barbicane (with a casting vote in
case of equality), General Morgan, Major Elphinstone, and J. T. Maston, to whom were confided the functions of secreOtanry.the
8th of October the committee met at the house of President Barbicane, 3 Republican StreeTt.he meeting was opened by the president himself.
"Gentlemen," said he, "we have to resolve one of the most important problems in the whole of the noble science of gunnery. It might appear, perhaps, the most logical course to devote our first meeting to the discussion of the engine to be employed. Nevertheless, after mature consideration, it has appeared to me that the question of the projectile must take precedence of that
of the cannon, and that the dimensions of the latter must necessarily depend on those of the former."
"Suffer me to say a word," here broke in J. T. Maston. Permission having been granted, "Gentlemen," said he with an inspired accent, "our president is right in placing the question of the projectile above all otheTrsh.e ball we are about to
discharge at the moon is our ambassador to her, and I wish to
consider it from a moral point of viTehwe.
cannon-ball,
gentlemen, to my mind, is the most magnificent manifestation of human power.If Providence has created the stars and the planets,
man has called the cannon-ball into existenLcet.
Providence
claim the swiftness of electricity and of light, of the stars,
the comets, and the planets, of wind and sound-- we claim to have invented the swiftness of the cannon-ball, a hundred times superior to that of the swiftest horses or railway train.
How glorious will be the moment when, infinitely exceeding all hitherto attained velocities, we shall launch our new projectile with the rapidity of seven miles a secoSnhda!ll it not,
gentlemen-- shall it not be received up there with the honors due to a terrestrial ambassador?"
Overcome with emotion the orator sat down and applied himself to a huge plate of sandwiches before him.

"And now," said Barbicane, "let us quit the domain of poetry and come direct to the question."
"By all means," replied the members, each with his mouth full of sandwich.
"The problem before us," continued the president, "is how to communicate to a projectile a velocity of 12,000 yards per second. Let us at present examine the velocities hitherto attained.
General Morgan will be able to enlighten us on this point."
"And the more easily," replied the general, "that during the war
I was a member of the committee of experimIenmts.ay say,
then, that the 100-pounder Dahlgrens, which carried a distance of 5,000 yards, impressed upon their projectile an initial velocity of 500 yards a seconTdh.e Rodman Columbiad threw a shot weighing half a ton a distance of six miles, with a
velocity of 800 yards per second-- a result which Armstrong and
Palisser have never obtained in England."
"This," replied Barbicane, "is, I believe, the maximum velocity ever attained?"
"It is so," replied the general.
"Ah!" groaned J. T. Maston, "if my mortar had not burst----" "Yes," quietly replied Barbicane, "but it did buWrset. must
take, then, for our starting point, this velocity of 800 yards. We must increase it twenty-folNd.ow, reserving for another discussion the means of producing this velocity, I will call your attention to the dimensions which it will be proper to assign to the shoYt. ou understand that we have nothing to do here with projectiles weighing at most but half a ton."
"Why not?" demanded the major.
"Because the shot," quickly replied J. T. Maston, "must be big enough to attract the attention of the inhabitants of the moon,
if there are any?"
"Yes," replied Barbicane, "and for another reason more important still." "What mean you?" asked the major.
"I mean that it is not enough to discharge a projectile, and then take no further notice of it; we must follow it throughout its course, up to the moment when it shall reach its goal."
"What?" shouted the general and the major in great surprise.

"Undoubtedly," replied Barbicane composedly, "or our experiment would produce no result."
"But then," replied the major, "you will have to give this projectile enormous dimensions."
"No! Be so good as to listeYno. u know that optical instruments have acquired great perfection; with certain
instruments we have succeeded in obtaining enlargements of 6,000 times and reducing the moon to within forty miles' distance.
Now, at this distance, any objects sixty feet square would be perfectly visible.
"If, then, the penetrative power of telescopes has not been further increased, it is because that power detracts from their light; and the moon, which is but a reflecting mirror, does not give back sufficient light to enable us to perceive objects of lesser magnitude."
"Well, then, what do you propose to do?" asked the general. "Would you give your projectile a diameter of sixty feet?"
"Not so."
"Do you intend, then, to increase the luminous power of the moon?" "Exactly so.If I can succeed in diminishing the density of the
atmosphere through which the moon's light has to travel I shall
have rendered her light more intenTseo.
effect that object it
will be enough to establish a telescope on some elevated mountain. That is what we will do."
"I give it up," answered the ma"joYr.ou have such a way of simplifying things.And what enlargement do you expect to obtain in this way?"
"One of 48,000 times, which should bring the moon within an apparent distance of five miles; and, in order to be visible, objects need not have a diameter of more than nine feet."
"So, then," cried J. T. Maston, "our projectile need not be more than nine feet in diameter."
"Let me observe, however," interrupted Major Elphinstone, "this will involve a weight such as----"
"My dear major," replied Barbicane, "before discussing its weight permit me to enumerate some of the marvels which our ancestors have achieved in this respeIct.don't mean to
pretend that the science of gunnery has not advanced, but it

is as well to bear in mind that during the middle ages they obtained results more surprising, I will venture to say, than ours. For instance, during the siege of Constantinople by Mahomet II., in 1453, stone shot of 1,900 pounds weight were emploAytedM. alta, in the time of the knights, there was a gun of the fortress of St. Elmo which threw a projectile weighing 2,500 pounAdnsd. , now,
what is the extent of what we have seen ourseAlvrems?strong guns discharging shot of 500 pounds, and the Rodman guns projectiles of half a tonI!t seems, then, that if projectiles have gained
in range, they have lost far more in weNigohwt., if we turn our efforts in that direction, we ought to arrive, with the progress
on science, at ten times the weight of the shot of Mahomet II. and the Knights of Malta."
"Clearly," replied the major; "but what metal do you calculate upon employing?"
"Simply cast iron," said General Morgan.
"But," interrupted the major, "since the weight of a shot is proportionate to its volume, an iron ball of nine feet in diameter would be of tremendous weight."
"Yes, if it were solid, not if it were hollow." "Hollow? then it would be a shell?"
"Yes, a shell," replied Barbicane; "decidely it mustAbeso. lid
shot of 108 inches would weigh more than 200,000 pounds, a weight evidently far too greaSt.till, as we must reserve a certain
stability for our projectile, I propose to give it a weight of
20,000 pounds."
"What, then, will be the thickness of the sides?" asked the major. "If we follow the usual proportion," replied Morgan, "a diameter
of 108 inches would require sides of two feet thickness, or less."
"That would be too much," replied Barbicane; "for you will observe that the question is not that of a shot intended to pierce an iron plate; it will suffice to give it sides strong
enough to resist the pressure of the
Tgahse.
problem,
therefore, is this-- What thickness ought a cast-iron shell to have in order not to weight more than 20,000 pouOnudrs?clever secretary will soon enlighten us upon this point."
"Nothing easier." replied the worthy secretary of the committee;
and, rapidly tracing a few algebraical formulae upon paper,
among which _n_^2 and _x_^2 frequently appeared, he presently said:
"The sides will require a thickness of less than two inches."

"Will that be enough?" asked the major doubtfully. "Clearly not!" replied the president.
"What is to be done, then?" said Elphinstone, with a puzzled air. "Employ another metal instead of iron."
"Copper?" said Morgan.
"No! that would be too heavIy.have better than that to offer." "What then?" asked the major.
"Aluminum!" replied Barbicane.
"Aluminum?" cried his three colleagues in chorus. "Unquestionably, my friendsT. his valuable metal possesses the
whiteness of silver, the indestructibility of gold, the tenacity of iron, the fusibility of copper, the lightness of gItlaisss.
easily wrought, is very widely distributed, forming the base of most of the rocks, is three times lighter than iron, and seems to have been created for the express purpose of furnishing us with the material for our projectile."
"But, my dear president," said the major, "is not the cost price of aluminum extremely high?"
"It was so at its first discovery, but it has fallen now to nine dollars a pound."
"But still, nine dollars a pound!" replied the major, who was not willing readily to give in; "even that is an enormous price."
"Undoubtedly, my dear major; but not beyond our reach." "What will the projectile weigh then?" asked Morgan. "Here is the result of my calculations," replied Barbicane.
"A shot of 108 inches in diameter, and twelve inches in
thickness, would weigh, in cast-iron, 67,440 pounds; cast in aluminum, its weight will be reduced to 19,250 pounds."
"Capital!" cried the major; "but do you know that, at nine dollars a pound, this projectile will cost----"
"One hundred and seventy-three thousand and fifty dollars ($173,050). I know it quite weBll.ut fear not, my friends; the money will not
be wanting for our enterprisIe.will answer for
Nit.ow what say

you to aluminum, gentlemen?"
"Adopted!" replied the three members of the committeSeo. the first meetingT. he question of the projectile was definitely settled.
CHAPTER VII
HISTORY OF THE CANNON
ended
The resolutions passed at the last meeting produced a great effect out of doorsT.imid people took fright at the idea of
a shot weighing 20,000 pounds being launched into space; they asked what cannon could ever transmit a sufficient velocity to such a mighty massT.he minutes of the second meeting were destined triumphantly to answer such questionTsh.e following evening the discussion was renewed.
"My dear colleagues," said Barbicane, without further preamble, "the subject now before us is the construction of the engine,
its length, its composition, and its weigItht.is probable
that we shall end by giving it gigantic dimensions; but however great may be the difficulties in the way, our mechanical genius will readily surmount themB. e good enough, then, to give me
your attention, and do not hesitate to make objections at the close.
I have no fear of theTmh.e problem before us is how to communicate an initial force of 12,000 yards per second to a shell of 108
inches in diameter, weighing 20,000 poundNso. w when a projectile is launched into space, what happens toItiti?s acted upon by
three independent forces:the resistance of the air, the attraction
of the earth, and the force of impulsion with which it is endowed. Let us examine these three forceTsh.e resistance of the air is of
little importance.The atmosphere of the earth does not exceed forty miles.Now, with the given rapidity, the projectile will
have traversed this in five seconds, and the period is too brief for the resistance of the medium to be regarded otherwise than as insignificant.Proceding, then, to the attraction of the earth,
that is, the weight of the shell, we know that this weight will diminish in the inverse ratio of the square of the distance.

When a body left to itself falls to the surface of the earth, it falls five feet in the first second; and if the same body were removed 257,542 miles further off, in other words, to the distance of the moon, its fall would be reduced to about half a line in the first second.That is almost equivalent to a state of perfect rest.
Our business, then, is to overcome progressively this action
of gravitation.The mode of accomplishing that is by the force of impulsion."
"There's the difficulty," broke in the major.
"True," replied the president; "but we will overcome that, for the force of impulsion will depend on the length of the engine and the powder employed, the latter being limited only by the resisting power of the formeOr.ur business, then, to-day is
with the dimensions of the cannon."
"Now, up to the present time," said Barbicane, "our longest guns
have not exceeded twenty-five feet in lengWthe.
shall
therefore astonish the world by the dimensions we shall be obliged to adoptI.t must evidently be, then, a gun of great range, since the length of the piece will increase the detention of the gas accumulated behind the projectile; but there is no advantage in passing certain limits."
"Quite so," said the majo"rW.
hat is the rule in such a case?"
"Ordinarily the length of a gun is twenty to twenty-five times the diameter of the shot, and its weight two hundred and thirty-five to two hundred and forty times that of the shot."
"That is not enough," cried J. T. Maston impetuously.
"I agree with you, my good friend; and, in fact, following this proportion for a projectile nine feet in diameter, weighing 30,000 pounds, the gun would only have a length of two hundred and twenty- five feet, and a weight of 7,200,000 pounds."
"Ridiculous!" rejoined Maston". As well take a pistol."
"I think so too," replied Barbicane; "that is why I propose to quadruple that length, and to construct a gun of nine hundred feet."
The general and the major offered some objections; nevertheless, the proposition, actively supported by the secretary, was
definitely adopted.
"But," said Elphinstone, "what thickness must we give it?" "A thickness of six feet," replied Barbicane.

"You surely don't think of mounting a mass like that upon a carriage?" asked the major.
"It would be a superb idea, though," said Maston.
"But impracticable," replied Barbicane".No, I think of sinking
this engine in the earth alone, binding it with hoops of wrought iron, and finally surrounding it with a thick mass of masonry of stone and cementT. he piece once cast, it must be bored with great precision, so as to preclude any possible windSaoget.here
will be no loss whatever of gas, and all the expansive force of the powder will be employed in the propulsion."
"One simple question," said Elphinston"ei:s our gun to be rifled?" "No, certainly not," replied Barbicane; "we require an enormous
initial velocity; and you are well aware that a shot quits a
rifled gun less rapidly than it does a smooth-bore." "True," rejoined the major.
The committee here adjourned for a few minutes to tea and sandwiches.
On the discussion being renewed, "Gentlemen," said Barbicane, "we must now take into consideration the metal to be employed. Our cannon must be possessed of great tenacity, great hardness, be infusible by heat, indissoluble, and inoxidable by the
corrosive action of acids."
"There is no doubt about that," replied the major; "and as we shall have to employ an immense quantity of metal, we shall not be at a loss for choice."
"Well, then," said Morgan, "I propose the best alloy hitherto known, which consists of one hundred parts of copper, twelve of tin, and six of brass."
"I admit," replied the president, "that this composition has yielded excellent results, but in the present case it would be too expensive, and very difficult to woIrkth. ink, then, that
we ought to adopt a material excellent in its way and of low price, such as cast iroWn. hat is your advice, major?"
"I quite agree with you," replied Elphinstone.
"In fact," continued Barbicane, "cast iron costs ten times less than bronze; it is easy to cast, it runs readily from the moulds of sand, it is easy of manipulation, it is at once economical of money and of timeI.n addition, it is excellent as a material,
and I well remember that during the war, at the siege of
Atlanta, some iron guns fired one thousand rounds at intervals

of twenty minutes without injury."
"Cast iron is very brittle, though," replied Morgan.
"Yes, but it possesses great resistancIe.will now ask our
worthy secretary to calculate the weight of a cast-iron gun with a bore of nine feet and a thickness of six feet of metal."
"In a moment," replied Maston.Then, dashing off some algebraical formulae with marvelous facility, in a minute or two he declared the following result:
"The cannon will weigh 68,040 tonAsn. d, at two cents a pound, it will cost----"
"Two million five hundred and ten thousand seven hundred and one dollars."
Maston, the major, and the general regarded Barbicane with uneasy looks.
"Well, gentlemen," replied the president, "I repeat what I said yesterday.Make yourselves easy; the millions will not be wanting."
With this assurance of their president the committee separated, after having fixed their third meeting for the following evening.
CHAPTER IX
THE QUESTION OF THE POWDERS
There remained for consideration merely the question of powders. The public awaited with interest its final decisTiohne. size
of the projectile, the length of the cannon being settled, what would be the quantity of powder necessary to produce impulsion?
It is generally asserted that gunpowder was invented in the fourteenth century by the monk Schwartz, who paid for his grand

discovery with his lifeI.t is, however, pretty well proved
that this story ought to be ranked among the legends of the middle ages.Gunpowder was not invented by any one; it was the lineal successor of the Greek fire, which, like itself, was
composed of sulfur and saltpeteFr.ew persons are acquainted with the mechanical power of gunpowdNero. w this is precisely what is necessary to be understood in order to comprehend the importance of the question submitted to the committee.
A litre of gunpowder weighs about two pounds; during combustion it produces 400 litres of gaTsh.is gas, on being liberated and
acted upon by temperature raised to 2,400 degrees, occupies a space of 4,000 litresc:onsequently the volume of powder is to
the volume of gas produced by its combustion as 1 to 4,000. One may judge, therefore, of the tremendous pressure on this gas when compressed within a space 4,000 times too confined.
All this was, of course, well known to the members of the committee when they met on the following evening.
The first speaker on this occasion was Major Elphinstone, who had been the director of the gunpowder factories during the war.
"Gentlemen," said this distinguished chemist, "I begin with some figures which will serve as the basis of our calculation.
The old 24-pounder shot required for its discharge sixteen pounds of powder."
"You are certain of this amount?" broke in Barbicane. "Quite certain," replied the majo"rT. he Armstrong cannon
employs only seventy-five pounds of powder for a projectile
of eight hundred pounds, and the Rodman Columbiad uses only one hundred and sixty pounds of powder to send its half ton shot a distance of six milesT.hese facts cannot be called in question,
for I myself raised the point during the depositions taken before the committee of artillery."
"Quite true," said the general.
"Well," replied the major, "these figures go to prove that the quantity of powder is not increased with the weight of the shot; that is to say, if a 24-pounder shot requires sixteen pounds of powder;-- in other words, if in ordinary guns we employ a quantity of powder equal to two-thirds of the weight of the projectile, this proportion is not constaCnta.lculate, and you
will see that in place of three hundred and thirty-three pounds
of powder, the quantity is reduced to no more than one hundred and sixty pounds."
"What are you aiming at?" asked the president.

"If you push your theory to extremes, my dear major," said J. T. Maston, "you will get to this, that as soon as your shot becomes sufficiently heavy you will not require any powder at all."
"Our friend Maston is always at his jokes, even in serious matters," cried the major; "but let him make his mind easy, I am going presently to propose gunpowder enough to satisfy his artillerist's propensities. I only keep to statistical facts
when I say that, during the war, and for the very largest guns, the weight of the powder was reduced, as the result of experience, to a tenth part of the weight of the shot."
"Perfectly correct," said Morgan; "but before deciding the quantity of powder necessary to give the impulse, I think it would be as well----"
"We shall have to employ a large-grained powder," continued the major; "its combustion is more rapid than that of the small."
"No doubt about that," replied Morgan; "but it is very destructive, and ends by enlarging the bore of the pieces."
"Granted; but that which is injurious to a gun destined to perform long service is not so to our ColumbWiaed.shall
run no danger of an explosion; and it is necessary that our powder should take fire instantaneously in order that its mechanical effect may be complete."
"We must have," said Maston, "several touch-holes, so as to fire it at different points at the same time."
"Certainly," replied Elphinstone; "but that will render the working of the piece more difficuIltr.eturn then to my large-grained powder, which removes those difficulties.
In his Columbiad charges Rodman employed a powder as large as chestnuts, made of willow charcoal, simply dried in cast-
iron pans.This powder was hard and glittering, left no trace
upon the hand, contained hydrogen and oxygen in large proportion, took fire instantaneously, and, though very destructive, did not sensibly injure the mouth-piece."
Up to this point Barbicane had kept aloof from the discussion; he left the others to speak while he himself listened; he had evidently got an ideaH. e now simply said, "Well, my friends, what quantity of powder do you propose?"
The three members looked at one another.
"Two hundred thousand pounds." at last said Morgan. "Five hundred thousand," added the major.

"Eight hundred thousand," screamed Maston.
A moment of silence followed this triple proposal; it was at last broken by the president.
"Gentlemen," he quietly said, "I start from this principle, that
the resistance of a gun, constructed under the given conditions, is unlimited.I shall surprise our friend Maston, then, by stigmatizing his calculations as timid; and I propose to double his 800,000 pounds of powder."
"Sixteen hundred thousand pounds?" shouted Maston, leaping from his seat.
"Just so."
"We shall have to come then to my ideal of a cannon half a mile long; for you see 1,600,000 pounds will occupy a space of about
20,000 cubic feet; and since the contents of your cannon do not exceed 54,000 cubic feet, it would be half full; and the bore
will not be more than long enough for the gas to communicate to the projectile sufficient impulse."
"Nevertheless," said the president, "I hold to that quantity of powder.Now, 1,600,000 pounds of powder will create
6,000,000,000 litres of gasS.ix thousand millions! You quite understand?"
"What is to be done then?" said the general.
"The thing is very simple; we must reduce this enormous quantity of powder, while preserving to it its mechanical power."
"Good; but by what means?"
"I am going to tell you," replied Barbicane quietly.
"Nothing is more easy than to reduce this mass to one quarter of its bulk.You know that curious cellular matter which
constitutes the elementary tissues of vegetablTeh?is substance
is found quite pure in many bodies, especially in cotton, which
is nothing more than the down of the seeds of the cotton plant. Now cotton, combined with cold nitric acid, become transformed into a substance eminently insoluble, combustible, and explosive.
It was first discovered in 1832, by Braconnot, a French chemist, who called it xyloidineI.n 1838 another Frenchman, Pelouze, investigated its different properties, and finally, in 1846,
Schonbein, professor of chemistry at Bale, proposed its employment for purposes of warT. his powder, now called pyroxyle, or
fulminating cotton, is prepared with great facility by simply

plunging cotton for fifteen minutes in nitric acid, then washing it in water, then drying it, and it is ready for use."
"Nothing could be more simple," said Morgan.
"Moreover, pyroxyle is unaltered by moisture-- a valuable
property to us, inasmuch as it would take several days to charge the cannon.It ignites at 170 degrees in place of 240, and its combustion is so rapid that one may set light to it on the top
of the ordinary powder, without the latter having time to ignite." "Perfect!" exclaimed the major.
"Only it is more expensive."
"What matter?" cried J. T. Maston.
"Finally, it imparts to projectiles a velocity four times superior to that of gunpowdeIr.will even add, that if we mix it with one-eighth of its own weight of nitrate of potassium, its expansive force is again considerably augmented."
"Will that be necessary?" asked the major.
"I think not," replied Barbican"eS. o, then, in place of
1,600,000 pounds of powder, we shall have but 400,000 pounds of fulminating cotton; and since we can, without danger, compress
500 pounds of cotton into twenty-seven cubic feet, the whole quantity will not occupy a height of more than 180 feet within
the bore of the ColumbiaIdn.
this way the shot will have more
than 700 feet of bore to traverse under a force of 6,000,000,000 litres of gas before taking its flight toward the moon."
At this juncture J. T. Maston could not repress his emotion; he flung himself into the arms of his friend with the violence of
a projectile, and Barbicane would have been stove in if he had not been boom-proof.
This incident terminated the third meeting of the committee. Barbicane and his bold colleagues, to whom nothing seemed
impossible, had succeeding in solving the complex problems of
projectile, cannon, and powderT. heir plan was drawn up, and it only remained to put it into execution.
"A mere matter of detail, a bagatelle," said J. T. Maston.

CHAPTER X
ONE ENEMY _v._ TWENTY-FIVE MILLIONS OF FRIENDS
The American public took a lively interest in the smallest details of the enterprise of the Gun CIltubf.ollowed day by day the discussion of the committeTeh.e most simple
preparations for the great experiment, the questions of figures which it involved, the mechanical difficulties to be resolved-- in one word, the entire plan of work-- roused the popular excitement to the highest pitch.
The purely scientific attraction was suddenly intensified by the following incident:
We have seen what legions of admirers and friends Barbicane's project had rallied round its authoTrh.ere was, however,
one single individual alone in all the States of the Union who
protested against the attempt of the Gun CluHbe.
attacked it
furiously on every opportunity, and human nature is such that Barbicane felt more keenly the opposition of that one man than he did the applause of all the othHeres. was well aware of the motive of this antipathy, the origin of this solitary enmity,
the cause of its personality and old standing, and in what rivalry of self-love it had its rise.
This persevering enemy the president of the Gun Club had never seen. Fortunate that it was so, for a meeting between the two men would certainly have been attended with serious consequencTehsi.s rival
was a man of science, like Barbicane himself, of a fiery, daring, and violent disposition; a pure YankeHei.s name was Captain Nicholl; he lived at Philadelphia.
Most people are aware of the curious struggle which arose during the Federal war between the guns and armor of iron-plated ships. The result was the entire reconstruction of the navy of both the continents; as the one grew heavier, the other became thicker
in proportion.The Merrimac, the Monitor, the Tennessee, the Weehawken discharged enormous projectiles themselves, after having been armor-clad against the projectiles of othIenrsf.act
they did to others that which they would not they should do to them-- that grand principle of immortality upon which rests the whole art
of war.

Now if Barbicane was a great founder of shot, Nicholl was a great forger of plates; the one cast night and day at Baltimore, the other forged day and night at PhiladelpAhisa.soon as ever Barbicane invented a new shot, Nicholl invented a new plate;
each followed a current of ideas essentially opposed to the other. Happily for these citizens, so useful to their country, a distance
of from fifty to sixty miles separated them from one another, and they had never yet meWt. hich of these two inventors had the advantage over the other it was difficult to decide from the
results obtained.By last accounts, however, it would seem that the armor-plate would in the end have to give way to the shot; nevertheless, there were competent judges who had their doubts on the point.
At the last experiment the cylindro-conical projectiles of
Barbicane stuck like so many pins in the Nicholl plates.
On that day the Philadelphia iron-forger then believed himself victorious, and could not evince contempt enough for his rival; but when the other afterward substituted for conical shot simple
600-pound shells, at very moderate velocity, the captain was obliged to give inI.n fact, these projectiles knocked his best metal plate to shivers.
Matters were at this stage, and victory seemed to rest with the shot, when the war came to an end on the very day when Nicholl had completed a new armor-plate of wrought stIetelw. as a
masterpiece of its kind, and bid defiance to all the projectiles of the worldT. he captain had it conveyed to the Polygon at Washington, challenging the president of the Gun Club to break it.
Barbicane, peace having been declared, declined to try the experiment.
Nicholl, now furious, offered to expose his plate to the shock of any shot, solid, hollow, round, or conicRale.fused by the president, who did not choose to compromise his last success.
Nicholl, disgusted by this obstinacy, tried to tempt Barbicane by offering him every chancHe.e proposed to fix the plate within two hundred yards of the gBuna.rbicane still obstinate
in refusal.A hundred yards?Not even seventy-five!
"At fifty then!" roared the captain through the newspapers. "At twenty-five yards! and I'll stand behind!"
Barbicane returned for answer that, even if Captain Nicholl
would be so good as to stand in front, he would not fire any more.
Nicholl could not contain himself at this reply; threw out hints
of cowardice; that a man who refused to fire a cannon-shot was pretty near being afraid of it; that artillerists who fight at
six miles distance are substituting mathematical formulae for

individual courage.
To these insinuations Barbicane returned no answer; perhaps he never heard of them, so absorbed was he in the calculations for his great enterprise.
When his famous communication was made to the Gun Club, the captain's wrath passed all bounds; with his intense jealousy was mingled a feeling of absolute impotencHeo. w was he to invent anything to beat this 900-feet ColumbiaWd?hat armor-plate
could ever resist a projectile of 30,000 pounds weight? Overwhelmed at first under this violent shock, he by and by recovered himself, and resolved to crush the proposal by weight of his arguments.
He then violently attacked the labors of the Gun Club, published
a number of letters in the newspapers, endeavored to prove Barbicane ignorant of the first principles of gunneHrye. maintained that
it was absolutely impossible to impress upon any body whatever a velocity of 12,000 yards per second; that even with such a velocity a projectile of such a weight could not transcend the limits of the earth's atmospherFeu. rther still, even regarding
the velocity to be acquired, and granting it to be sufficient,
the shell could not resist the pressure of the gas developed by the ignition of 1,600,000 pounds of powder; and supposing it to resist that pressure, it would be less able to support that temperature; it would melt on quitting the Columbiad, and fall
back in a red-hot shower upon the heads of the imprudent spectators. Barbicane continued his work without regarding these attacks.
Nicholl then took up the question in its other aspWeciths.out touching upon its uselessness in all points of view, he regarded the experiment as fraught with extreme danger, both to the citizens, who might sanction by their presence so reprehensible
a spectacle, and also to the towns in the neighborhood of this deplorable cannon.He also observed that if the projectile did not succeed in reaching its destination (a result absolutely impossible), it must inevitably fall back upon the earth, and
that the shock of such a mass, multiplied by the square of its velocity, would seriously endanger every point of the globe. Under the circumstances, therefore, and without interfering with the rights of free citizens, it was a case for the intervention
of Government, which ought not to endanger the safety of all for the pleasure of one individual.
In spite of all his arguments, however, Captain Nicholl remained alone in his opinioNn.obody listened to him, and he did not succeed in alienating a single admirer from the president of the Gun CluTb.he latter did not even take the pains to refute the arguments of his rival.

Nicholl, driven into his last entrenchments, and not able to fight personally in the cause, resolved to fight with money.
He published, therefore, in the Richmond _Inquirer_ a series of wagers, conceived in these terms, and on an increasing scale:
No. 1 ($1,000).-- That the necessary funds for the experiment of the Gun Club will not be forthcoming.
No. 2 ($2,000).-- That the operation of casting a cannon of 900 feet is impracticable, and cannot possibly succeed.
No. 3 ($3,000).-- That is it impossible to load the Columbiad, and that the pyroxyle will take fire spontaneously under the pressure of the projectile.
No. 4 ($4,000).-- That the Columbiad will burst at the first fire.
No. 5 ($5,000).-- That the shot will not travel farther than six miles, and that it will fall back again a few seconds after its discharge.
It was an important sum, therefore, which the captain risked in
his invincible obstinacyH.
e had no less than $15,000 at stake.
Notwithstanding the importance of the challenge, on the 19th of May he received a sealed packet containing the following superbly laconic reply:
"BALTIMORE, October 19. "Done.
"BARBICANE."
CHAPTER XI
FLORIDA AND TEXAS
One question remained yet to be decided; it was necessary to choose a favorable spot for the experimeAnct.cording to the
advice of the Observatory of Cambridge, the gun must be fired perpendicularly to the plane of the horizon, that is to say,

toward the zenithN.
ow the moon does not traverse the zenith,
except in places situated between 0@ and 28@ of latiIttude. became, then, necessary to determine exactly that spot on the globe where the immense Columbiad should be cast.
On the 20th of October, at a general meeting of the Gun Club, Barbicane produced a magnificent map of the United States. "Gentlemen," said he, in opening the discussion, "I presume that we are all agreed that this experiment cannot and ought not to be tried anywhere but within the limits of the soil of the Union. Now, by good fortune, certain frontiers of the United States
extend downward as far as the 28th parallel of the north latitude.
If you will cast your eye over this map, you will see that we have at our disposal the whole of the southern portion of Texas and Florida."
It was finally agreed, then, that the Columbiad must be cast on the soil of either Texas or FloriTdha.e result, however, of
this decision was to create a rivalry entirely without precedent between the different towns of these two States.
The 28th parallel, on reaching the American coast, traverses the peninsula of Florida, dividing it into two nearly equal portions. Then, plunging into the Gulf of Mexico, it subtends the arc formed by the coast of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana;
then skirting Texas, off which it cuts an angle, it continues its course over Mexico, crosses the Sonora, Old California, and loses itself in the Pacific OceIatn.was, therefore,
only those portions of Texas and Florida which were situated below this parallel which came within the prescribed conditions of latitude.
Florida, in its southern part, reckons no cities of importance;
it is simply studded with forts raised against the roving Indians.
One solitary town, Tampa Town, was able to put in a claim in favor of its situation.
In Texas, on the contrary, the towns are much more numerous and important.Corpus Christi, in the county of Nueces, and all the cities situated on the Rio Bravo, Laredo, Comalites, San
Ignacio on the Web, Rio Grande City on the Starr, Edinburgh in the Hidalgo, Santa Rita, Elpanda, Brownsville in the Cameron, formed an imposing league against the pretensions of Florida.
So, scarcely was the decision known, when the Texan and Floridan deputies arrived at Baltimore in an incredibly short space of time. From that very moment President Barbicane and the influential members of the Gun Club were besieged day and night by formidable claims.If seven cities of Greece contended for
the honor of having given birth to a Homer, here were two entire
States threatening to come to blows about the question of a cannon.
The rival parties promenaded the streets with arms in their hands;

and at every occasion of their meeting a collision was to be apprehended which might have been attended with disastrous results. Happily the prudence and address of President Barbicane averted
the danger.These personal demonstrations found a division in
the newspapers of the different StatesT.he New York _Herald_ and
the _Tribune_ supported Texas, while the _Times_ and the _American
Review_ espoused the cause of the Floridan deputTiehse.
members
of the Gun Club could not decide to which to give the preference.
Texas produced its array of twenty-six counties; Florida replied that twelve counties were better than twenty-six in a country only one-sixth part of the size.
Texas plumed itself upon its 330,000 natives; Florida, with a far smaller territory, boasted of being much more densely populated with 56,000.
The Texans, through the columns of the _Herald_ claimed that
some regard should be had to a State which grew the best cotton in all America, produced the best green oak for the service of
the navy, and contained the finest oil, besides iron mines, in which the yield was fifty per cent. of pure metal.
To this the _American Review_ replied that the soil of Florida, although not equally rich, afforded the best conditions for the moulding and casting of the Columbiad, consisting as it did of sand and argillaceous earth.
"That may be all very well," replied the Texans; "but you must first get to this countrNy.ow the communications with Florida
are difficult, while the coast of Texas offers the bay of Galveston, which possesses a circumference of fourteen leagues, and is capable of containing the navies of the entire world!"
"A pretty notion truly," replied the papers in the interest of
Florida, "that of Galveston bay _below the 29th parallel!_
Have we not got the bay of Espiritu Santo, opening precisely upon
_the 28th degree_, and by which ships can reach Tampa Town by direct route?"
"A fine bay; half choked with sand!" "Choked yourselves!" returned the others.
Thus the war went on for several days, when Florida endeavored to draw her adversary away on to fresh ground; and one morning the _Times_ hinted that, the enterprise being essentially
American, it ought not to be attempted upon other than purely
American territory.
To these words Texas retorted, "American! are we not as much so

as you?Were not Texas and Florida both incorporated into the
Union in 1845?"
"Undoubtedly," replied the _Times_; "but we have belonged to the
Americans ever since 1820."
"Yes!" returned the _Tribune_; "after having been Spaniards or English for two hundred years, you were sold to the United States for five million dollars!"
"Well! and why need we blush for thWata?s not Louisiana bought from Napoleon in 1803 at the price of sixteen million dollars?"
"Scandalous!" roared the Texas deputie"sA.
wretched little
strip of country like Florida to dare to compare itself to Texas, who, in place of selling herself, asserted her own independence, drove out the Mexicans in March 2, 1846, and declared herself a federal republic after the victory gained by Samuel Houston, on the banks of the San Jacinto, over the troops of Santa Anna!-- a country, in fine, which voluntarily annexed
itself to the United States of America!"
"Yes; because it was afraid of the Mexicans!" replied Florida. "Afraid!" From this moment the state of things became intolerable.
A sanguinary encounter seemed daily imminent between the two parties in the streets of BaltimoIrte.became necessary to keep
an eye upon the deputies.
President Barbicane knew not which way to loNookt.es, documents, letters full of menaces showered down upon his hoWushei.ch side ought he to takeA? s regarded the appropriation of the soil, the facility of communication, the rapidity of transport, the claims
of both States were evenly balanceAds.
for political prepossessions,
they had nothing to do with the question.
This dead block had existed for some little time, when Barbicane resolved to get rid of it all at oHncee.called a meeting of
his colleagues, and laid before them a proposition which, it will be seen, was profoundly sagacious.
"On carefully considering," he said, "what is going on now between Florida and Texas, it is clear that the same difficulties will recur with all the towns of the favored State.
The rivalry will descend from State to city, and so on downward. Now Texas possesses eleven towns within the prescribed conditions, which will further dispute the honor and create us
new enemies, while Florida has only oIneg.o in, therefore, for Florida and Tampa Town."
This decision, on being made known, utterly crushed the

Texan deputies.Seized with an indescribable fury, they addressed threatening letters to the different members of the Gun Club by nameT.he magistrates had but one course to take, and they took iTt.hey chartered a special train, forced the Texans into it whether they would or no; and they quitted the city with a speed of thirty miles an hour.
Quickly, however, as they were despatched, they found time to hurl one last and bitter sarcasm at their adversaries.
Alluding to the extent of Florida, a mere peninsula confined between two seas, they pretended that it could never sustain the shock of the discharge, and that it would "bust up" at the very first shot.
"Very well, let it bust up!" replied the Floridans, with a brevity of the days of ancient Sparta.
CHAPTER XII
URBI ET ORBI
The astronomical, mechanical, and topographical difficulties
resolved, finally came the question of finanTchee.
sum
required was far too great for any individual, or even any single State, to provide the requisite millions.
President Barbicane undertook, despite of the matter being a purely American affair, to render it one of universal interest, and to request the financial co-operation of all peoples.
It was, he maintained, the right and duty of the whole earth
to interfere in the affairs of its satelTlihtee.
subscription
opened at Baltimore extended properly to the whole world-- _Urbi et orbi_.
This subscription was successful beyond all expectation; notwithstanding that it was a question not of lending but of giving the moneyI.t was a purely disinterested operation in the strictest sense of the term, and offered not the slightest

chance of profit.
The effect, however, of Barbicane's communication was not confined to the frontiers of the United States; it crossed
the Atlantic and Pacific, invading simultaneously Asia and Europe, Africa and OceanicaT.he observatories of the Union placed themselves in immediate communication with those of foreign countries.Some, such as those of Paris, Petersburg, Berlin, Stockholm, Hamburg, Malta, Lisbon, Benares, Madras, and others, transmitted their good wishes; the rest maintained
a prudent silence, quietly awaiting the resAulst. for the
observatory at Greenwich, seconded as it was by the twenty- two astronomical establishments of Great Britain, it spoke plainly enough.It boldly denied the possibility of success,
and pronounced in favor of the theories of Captain Nicholl. But this was nothing more than mere English jealousy.
On the 8th of October President Barbicane published a manifesto full of enthusiasm, in which he made an appeal to "all persons
of good will upon the face of the eaTrthi.s" document, translated into all languages, met with immense success.
Subscription lists were opened in all the principal cities of the Union, with a central office at the Baltimore Bank, 9
Baltimore Street.
In addition, subscriptions were received at the following banks in the different states of the two continents:
At Vienna, with S. M. de Rothschild. At Petersburg, Stieglitz and Co.
At Paris, The Credit Mobilier.
At Stockholm, Tottie and Arfuredson.
At London, N. M. Rothschild and Son. At Turin, Ardouin and Co.
At Berlin, Mendelssohn.
At Geneva, Lombard, Odier and Co. At Constantinople, The Ottoman Bank. At Brussels, J. Lambert.
At Madrid, Daniel Weisweller.
At Amsterdam, Netherlands Credit Co. At Rome, Torlonia and Co.
At Lisbon, Lecesne.
At Copenhagen, Private Bank.
At Rio de Janeiro, Private Bank. At Montevideo, Private Bank.
At Valparaiso and Lima, Thomas la Chambre and Co. At Mexico, Martin Daran and Co.
Three days after the manifesto of President Barbicane $4,000,000
were paid into the different towns of the UnWiointh.
such a

balance the Gun Club might begin operations at oBnucte.some days later advices were received to the effect that foreign subscriptions were being eagerly taken uCpe.rtain countries distinguished themselves by their liberality; others untied
their purse-strings with less facility--a matter of temperament. Figures are, however, more eloquent than words, and here is the official statement of the sums which were paid in to the credit
of the Gun Club at the close of the subscription.
Russia paid in as her contingent the enormous sum of 368,733 roubles. No one need be surprised at this, who bears in mind the scientific
taste of the Russians, and the impetus which they have given to astronomical studies--thanks to their numerous observatories.
France began by deriding the pretensions of the Americans. The moon served as a pretext for a thousand stale puns and a score of ballads, in which bad taste contested the palm
with ignorance.But as formerly the French paid before singing,
so now they paid after having had their laugh, and they subscribed
for a sum of 1,253,930 francAst. to enjoy themselves a little.
that price they had a right
Austria showed herself generous in the midst of her financial crisis. Her public contributions amounted to the sum of 216,000 florins-- a perfect godsend.
Fifty-two thousand rix-dollars were the remittance of Sweden and Norway; the amount is large for the country, but it would undoubtedly have been considerably increased had the subscription been opened in Christiana simultaneously with that
at Stockholm.For some reason or other the Norwegians do not like to send their money to Sweden.
Prussia, by a remittance of 250,000 thalers, testified her high approval of the enterprise.
Turkey behaved generously; but she had a personal interest in the matter.The moon, in fact, regulates the cycle of her years and her fast of RamadaSn.he could not do less than give
1,372,640 piastres; and she gave them with an eagerness which denoted, however, some pressure on the part of the government.
Belgium distinguished herself among the second-rate states by a grant of 513,000 francs-- about two centimes per head of her population.
Holland and her colonies interested themselves to the extent of
110,000 florins, only demanding an allowance of five per cent. discount for paying ready money.
Denmark, a little contracted in territory, gave nevertheless

9,000 ducats, proving her love for scientific experiments.
The Germanic Confederation pledged itself to 34,285 florins.
It was impossible to ask for more; besides, they would not have given it.
Though very much crippled, Italy found 200,000 lire in the pockets of her peopleI.f she had had Venetia she would have done better; but she had not.
The States of the Church thought that they could not send less than 7,040 Roman crowns; and Portugal carried her devotion to science as far as 30,000 cruzadoIts.was the widow's mite--
eighty-six piastres; but self-constituted empires are always rather short of money.
Two hundred and fifty-seven francs, this was the modest contribution of Switzerland to the American woOrkn.e must freely admit that she did not see the practical side of
the matter.It did not seem to her that the mere despatch of a shot to the moon could possibly establish any relation of affairs with her; and it did not seem prudent to her to embark her capital in so hazardous an enterpriAseft.er all, perhaps
she was right.
As to Spain, she could not scrape together more than 110 reals. She gave as an excuse that she had her railways to finish.
The truth is, that science is not favorably regarded in that country, it is still in a backward state; and moreover, certain Spaniards, not by any means the least educated, did not form a correct estimate of the bulk of the projectile compared with
that of the moonT.hey feared that it would disturb the established order of things.In that case it were better to keep aloof; which they did to the tune of some reals.
There remained but England; and we know the contemptuous antipathy with which she received Barbicane's proposition.
The English have but one soul for the whole twenty-six millions of inhabitants which Great Britain containTsh.ey hinted that
the enterprise of the Gun Club was contrary to the "principle of non-intervention." And they did not subscribe a single farthing.
At this intimation the Gun Club merely shrugged its shoulders and returned to its great worWk.hen South America, that is to
say, Peru, Chili, Brazil, the provinces of La Plata and Columbia,
had poured forth their quota into their hands, the sum of $300,000, it found itself in possession of a considerable capital, of which
the following is a statement:
United States subscriptions, . . $4,000,000
Foreign subscriptions. . . $1,446,675

----------- Total, . . . . $5,446,675
Such was the sum which the public poured into the treasury of the Gun Club.
Let no one be surprised at the vastness of the amTohuentw. ork of casting, boring, masonry, the transport of workmen, their establishment in an almost uninhabited country, the construction
of furnaces and workshops, the plant, the powder, the projectile, and incipient expenses, would, according to the estimates, absorb nearly the wholeC. ertain cannon-shots in the Federal war cost
one thousand dollars apieceT.his one of President Barbicane, unique in the annals of gunnery, might well cost five thousand times more.
On the 20th of October a contract was entered into with the manufactory at Coldspring, near New York, which during the war had furnished the largest Parrott, cast-iron guInt s.was
stipulated between the contracting parties that the manufactory of Coldspring should engage to transport to Tampa Town,
in southern Florida, the necessary materials for casting
the Columbiad.The work was bound to be completed at latest by the 15th of October following, and the cannon delivered
in good condition under penalty of a forfeit of one hundred
dollars a day to the moment when the moon should again present herself under the same conditions-- that is to say, in eighteen
years and eleven days.
The engagement of the workmen, their pay, and all the necessary details of the work, devolved upon the Coldspring Company.
This contract, executed in duplicate, was signed by Barbicane, president of the Gun Club, of the one part, and T. Murchison director of the Coldspring manufactory, of the other, who thus executed the deed on behalf of their respective principals.
CHAPTER XIII

STONES HILL
When the decision was arrived at by the Gun Club, to the disparagement of Texas, every one in America, where reading is a universal acquirement, set to work to study the geography
of Florida.Never before had there been such a sale for works like "Bertram's Travels in Florida," "Roman's Natural History of East and West Florida," "William's Territory of Florida," and "Cleland on the Cultivation of the Sugar-Cane in Florida."
It became necessary to issue fresh editions of these works.
Barbicane had something better to do than to rHeaed.desired
to see things with his own eyes, and to mark the exact position of the proposed gunS.o, without a moment's loss of time, he placed at the disposal of the Cambridge Observatory the funds necessary for the construction of a telescope, and entered into negotiations with the house of Breadwill and Co., of Albany, for the construction of an aluminum projectile of the required size.
He then quitted Baltimore, accompanied by J. T. Maston, Major
Elphinstone, and the manager of the Coldspring factory.
On the following day, the four fellow-travelers arrived at
New Orleans.There they immediately embarked on board the
_Tampico_, a despatch-boat belonging to the Federal navy, which the government had placed at their disposal; and, getting up
steam, the banks of Louisiana speedily disappeared from sight.
The passage was not lonTg.wo days after starting, the _Tampico_, having made four hundred and eighty miles, came in sight of the
coast of FloridaO.
n a nearer approach Barbicane found himself
in view of a low, flat country of somewhat barren aspect. After coasting along a series of creeks abounding in lobsters and oysters, the _Tampico_ entered the bay of Espiritu Santo,
where she finally anchored in a small natural harbor, formed by the _embouchure_ of the River Hillisborough, at seven P.M., on the 22d of October.
Our four passengers disembarked at onc"eG.entlemen," said Barbicane, "we have no time to lose; tomorrow we must obtain horses, and proceed to reconnoiter the country."
Barbicane had scarcely set his foot on shore when three thousand of the inhabitants of Tampa Town came forth to meet him, an honor due to the president who had signalized their country by
his choice.
Declining, however, every kind of ovation, Barbicane ensconced himself in a room of the Franklin Hotel.

On the morrow some of the small horses of the Spanish breed, full of vigor and of fire, stood snorting under his windows;
but instead of four steeds, here were fifty, together with their riders.Barbicane descended with his three fellow-
travelers; and much astonished were they all to find themselves in the midst of such a cavalcaHdee. remarked that every
horseman carried a carbine slung across his shoulders and pistols in his holsters.
On expressing his surprise at these preparations, he was speedily enlightened by a young Floridan, who quietly said:
"Sir, there are Seminoles there." "What do you mean by Seminoles?"
"Savages who scour the prairieWs. e thought it best, therefore, to escort you on your road."
"Pooh!" cried J. T. Maston, mounting his steed.
"All right," said the Floridan; "but it is true enough, nevertheless." "Gentlemen," answered Barbicane, "I thank you for your kind
attention; but it is time to be off."
It was five A.M. when Barbicane and his party, quitting Tampa Town, made their way along the coast in the direction of Alifia Creek.
This little river falls into Hillisborough Bay twelve miles above Tampa Town.Barbicane and his escort coasted along its right bank to the eastwardS. oon the waves of the bay disappeared behind a bend of rising ground, and the Floridan "champagne" alone offered itself to view.
Florida, discovered on Palm Sunday, in 1512, by Juan Ponce de
Leon, was originally named _Pascha FloridaI_t .little deserved that designation, with its dry and parched coaBsutst. after
some few miles of tract the nature of the soil gradually changes and the country shows itself worthy of the naCmulet.ivated plains
soon appear, where are united all the productions of the northern and tropical floras, terminating in prairies abounding with
pineapples and yams, tobacco, rice, cotton-plants, and sugar-canes, which extend beyond reach of sight, flinging their riches broadcast with careless prodigality.
Barbicane appeared highly pleased on observing the progressive elevation of the land; and in answer to a question of J. T. Maston, replied:
"My worthy friend, we cannot do better than sink our Columbiad in these high grounds."

"To get nearer the moon, perhaps?" said the secretary of the Gun Club.
"Not exactly," replied Barbicane, smiling; "do you not see that among these elevated plateaus we shall have a much easier work of it?No struggles with the water-springs, which will save us
long expensive tubings; and we shall be working in daylight
instead of down a deep and narrow wOeullr.
business, then, is
to open our trenches upon ground some hundreds of yards above the level of the sea."
"You are right, sir," struck in Murchison, the engineer; "and, if I
mistake not, we shall ere long find a suitable spot for our purpose."
"I wish we were at the first stroke of the pickaxe," said the president. "And I wish we were at the _last_," cried J. T. Maston.
About ten A.M. the little band had crossed a dozen miles. To fertile plains succeeded a region of foreTshtse.re perfumes
of the most varied kinds mingled together in tropical profusion. These almost impenetrable forests were composed of pomegranates, orange-trees, citrons, figs, olives, apricots, bananas, huge vines, whose blossoms and fruits rivaled each other in color and perfume. Beneath the odorous shade of these magnificent trees fluttered and warbled a little world of brilliantly plumaged birds.
J. T. Maston and the major could not repress their admiration on finding themselves in the presence of the glorious beauties of
this wealth of natureP.resident Barbicane, however, less sensitive to these wonders, was in haste to press forward; the very luxuriance of the country was displeasing to him.
They hastened onward, therefore, and were compelled to ford several rivers, not without danger, for they were infested
with huge alligators from fifteen to eighteen feet long.
Maston courageously menaced them with his steel hook, but he only succeeded in frightening some pelicans and teal, while
tall flamingos stared stupidly at the party.
At length these denizens of the swamps disappeared in their turn; smaller trees became thinly scattered among less dense thickets-- a few isolated groups detached in the midst of endless plains over which ranged herds of startled deer.
"At last," cried Barbicane, rising in his stirrups, "here we are at the region of pines!"
"Yes! and of savages too," replied the major.
In fact, some Seminoles had just came in sight upon the horizon;
they rode violently backward and forward on their fleet horses,

brandishing their spears or discharging their guns with a dull report. These hostile demonstrations, however, had no effect upon Barbicane and his companions.
They were then occupying the center of a rocky plain, which the sun scorched with its parching raysT. his was formed by a considerable elevation of the soil, which seemed to offer to the members of the Gun Club all the conditions requisite for the construction of their Columbiad.
"Halt!" said Barbicane, reining u"pH. as this place any local appellation?"
"It is called Stones Hill," replied one of the Floridans.
Barbicane, without saying a word, dismounted, seized his instruments, and began to note his position with extreme exactnTehses. little
band, drawn up in the rear, watched his proceedings in profound silence.
At this moment the sun passed the meridBiaanr.bicane, after a
few moments, rapidly wrote down the result of his observations, and said:
"This spot is situated eighteen hundred feet above the level of
the sea, in 27@ 7' N. lat. and 5@ 7' W. long. of the meridian of Washington.It appears to me by its rocky and barren character to offer all the conditions requisite for our experimOennt.that
plain will be raised our magazines, workshops, furnaces, and workmen's huts; and here, from this very spot," said he, stamping his foot on the summit of Stones Hill, "hence shall our projectile take its flight into the regions of the Solar World."
CHAPTER XIV
PICKAXE AND TROWEL
The same evening Barbicane and his companions returned to Tampa Town; and Murchison, the engineer, re-embarked on board the Tampico for New OrleansH. is object was to enlist an army of

workmen, and to collect together the greater part of the materials. The members of the Gun Club remained at Tampa Town, for the purpose of setting on foot the preliminary works by the aid of
the people of the country.
Eight days after its departure, the Tampico returned into the bay of Espiritu Santo, with a whole flotilla of steamboats. Murchison had succeeded in assembling together fifteen hundred artisans.Attracted by the high pay and considerable bounties offered by the Gun Club, he had enlisted a choice legion of stokers, iron-founders, lime-burners, miners, brickmakers, and artisans of every trade, without distinction of color.As many of these people brought their families with them, their departure resembled a perfect emigration.
On the 31st of October, at ten o'clock in the morning, the troop disembarked on the quays of Tampa Town; and one may imagine the activity which pervaded that little town, whose population was
thus doubled in a single day.
During the first few days they were busy discharging the cargo brought by the flotilla, the machines, and the rations, as well
as a large number of huts constructed of iron plates, separately
pieced and numberedA.
t the same period Barbicane laid the
first sleepers of a railway fifteen miles in length, intended to
unite Stones Hill with Tampa TowOnn.
the first of November
Barbicane quitted Tampa Town with a detachment of workmen; and on the following day the whole town of huts was erected round Stones Hill.This they enclosed with palisades; and in respect
of energy and activity, it might have been mistaken for one of the great cities of the UnioEnv.erything was placed under a
complete system of discipline, and the works were commenced in most perfect order.
The nature of the soil having been carefully examined, by means of repeated borings, the work of excavation was fixed for the
4th of November.
On that day Barbicane called together his foremen and addressed them as follows": You are well aware, my friends, of the
object with which I have assembled you together in this wild
part of FloridaO.
ur business is to construct a cannon measuring
nine feet in its interior diameter, six feet thick, and with a stone revetment of nineteen and a half feet in thickWneess.have, therefore, a well of sixty feet in diameter to dig down to a depth of nine hundred feeTt.his great work must be completed within eight months, so that you have 2,543,400 cubic feet of
earth to excavate in 255 days; that is to say, in round numbers,
2,000 cubic feet per daTy.hat which would present no difficulty
to a thousand navvies working in open country will be of course more troublesome in a comparatively confined spaHceo.wever, the

thing must be done, and I reckon for its accomplishment upon your courage as much as upon your skill."
At eight o'clock the next morning the first stroke of the pickaxe was struck upon the soil of Florida; and from that moment that prince of tools was never inactive for one moment in the hands of the excavatoTrsh.e gangs relieved each other
every three hours.
On the 4th of November fifty workmen commenced digging, in the very center of the enclosed space on the summit of Stones Hill,
a circular hole sixty feet in diameTtehr.e pickaxe first
struck upon a kind of black earth, six inches in thickness, which was speedily disposed oTf.o this earth succeeded two feet of fine sand, which was carefully laid aside as being valuable for serving the casting of the inner moAufltde.r the
sand appeared some compact white clay, resembling the chalk of
Great Britain, which extended down to a depth of four feet.
Then the iron of the picks struck upon the hard bed of the soil; a kind of rock formed of petrified shells, very dry, very solid, and which the picks could with difficulty penetrAatte.this
point the excavation exhibited a depth of six and a half feet and the work of the masonry was begun.
At the bottom of the excavation they constructed a wheel of oak, a kind of circle strongly bolted together, and of immense strength. The center of this wooden disc was hollowed out to a diameter equal to the exterior diameter of the ColumbUiapdo. n this wheel
rested the first layers of the masonry, the stones of which were bound together by hydraulic cement, with irresistible tenacity.
The workmen, after laying the stones from the circumference to the center, were thus enclosed within a kind of well twenty-one
feet in diameterW.
hen this work was accomplished, the miners
resumed their picks and cut away the rock from underneath the wheel itself, taking care to support it as they advanced upon blocks of
great thickness. At every two feet which the hole gained in depth they successively withdrew the blockTs.he wheel then sank little
by little, and with it the massive ring of masonry, on the upper
bed of which the masons labored incessantly, always reserving some vent holes to permit the escape of gas during the operation of
the casting.
This kind of work required on the part of the workmen extreme nicety and minute attentionM. ore than one, in digging
underneath the wheel, was dangerously injured by the splinters of stone.But their ardor never relaxed, night or dBayy.day
they worked under the rays of the scorching sun; by night, under the gleam of the electric ligThth.e sounds of the picks against
the rock, the bursting of mines, the grinding of the machines, the wreaths of smoke scattered through the air, traced around Stones Hill a circle of terror which the herds of buffaloes and

the war parties of the Seminoles never ventured to pass. Nevertheless, the works advanced regularly, as the steam-cranes actively removed the rubbish.Of unexpected obstacles there was little account; and with regard to foreseen difficulties, they
were speedily disposed of.
At the expiration of the first month the well had attained the depth assigned for that lapse of time, namely, 112 Tfheiest. depth was doubled in December, and trebled in January.
During the month of February the workmen had to contend with a sheet of water which made its way right across the outer soil.
It became necessary to employ very powerful pumps and compressed-air engines to drain it off, so as to close up the orifice from whence it issued; just as one stops a leak on board ship.They at last succeeded in getting the upper hand of
these untoward streams; only, in consequence of the loosening of the soil, the wheel partly gave way, and a slight partial
settlement ensued.This accident cost the life of several workmen.
No fresh occurrence thenceforward arrested the progress of the operation; and on the tenth of June, twenty days before the expiration of the period fixed by Barbicane, the well, lined throughout with its facing of stone, had attained the depth of
900 feet.At the bottom the masonry rested upon a massive block measuring thirty feet in thickness, while on the upper portion
it was level with the surrounding soil.
President Barbicane and the members of the Gun Club warmly congratulated their engineer Murchison; the cyclopean work had been accomplished with extraordinary rapidity.
During these eight months Barbicane never quitted Stones Hill for a single instanKt. eeping ever close by the work of excavation, he busied himself incessantly with the welfare
and health of his workpeople, and was singularly fortunate
in warding off the epidemics common to large communities of men, and so disastrous in those regions of the globe which are exposed to the influences of tropical climates.
Many workmen, it is true, paid with their lives for the rashness inherent in these dangerous labors; but these mishaps are impossible to be avoided, and they are classed among the details with which the Americans trouble themselves but littTleh.ey have in fact
more regard for human nature in general than for the individual in particular.
Nevertheless, Barbicane professed opposite principles to these, and put them in force at every opportunSioty,. thanks to his
care, his intelligence, his useful intervention in all
difficulties, his prodigious and humane sagacity, the average of

accidents did not exceed that of transatlantic countries, noted for their excessive precautions-- France, for instance, among others, where they reckon about one accident for every two hundred thousand francs of work.
CHAPTER XV
THE FETE OF THE CASTING
During the eight months which were employed in the work of excavation the preparatory works of the casting had been carried on simultaneously with extreme rapiditAy. stranger arriving at
Stones Hill would have been surprised at the spectacle offered to his view.
At 600 yards from the well, and circularly arranged around it as a central point, rose 1,200 reverberating ovens, each six feet
in diameter, and separated from each other by an interval of three feet.The circumference occupied by these 1,200 ovens presented a length of two mileBse.ing all constructed on the same plan, each with its high quadrangular chimney, they produced a most singular effect.
It will be remembered that on their third meeting the committee had decided to use cast iron for the Columbiad, and in particular the white descriptionT. his metal, in fact, is the most
tenacious, the most ductile, and the most malleable, and consequently suitable for all moulding operations; and when smelted with pit coal, is of superior quality for all engineering works requiring great resisting power, such as cannon, steam boilers, hydraulic presses, and the like.
Cast iron, however, if subjected to only one single fusion, is rarely sufficiently homogeneous; and it requires a second fusion completely to refine it by dispossessing it of its last
earthly deposits. So long before being forwarded to Tampa Town, the iron ore, molten in the great furnaces of Coldspring, and brought into contact with coal and silicium heated to a high temperature, was carburized and transformed into cast iron.
After this first operation, the metal was sent on to Stones Hill. They had, however, to deal with 136,000,000 pounds of iron, a

quantity far too costly to send by railwTahye.
cost of
transport would have been double that of mateIrtiala.ppeared preferable to freight vessels at New York, and to load them with the iron in barsT.his, however, required not less than sixty-
eight vessels of 1,000 tons, a veritable fleet, which, quitting
New York on the 3rd of May, on the 10th of the same month ascended the Bay of Espiritu Santo, and discharged their cargoes, without
dues, in the port at Tampa TowTnh.ence the iron was transported by rail to Stones Hill, and about the middle of January this enormous mass of metal was delivered at its destination.
It will easily be understood that 1,200 furnaces were not too
many to melt simultaneously these 60,000 tons of
Eiraocnh. of
these furnaces contained nearly 140,000 pounds weight of metal. They were all built after the model of those which served for
the casting of the Rodman gun; they were trapezoidal in shape, with a high elliptical arcTh.hese furnaces, constructed of
fireproof brick, were especially adapted for burning pit coal, with a flat bottom upon which the iron bars wereThlaisid.bottom, inclined at an angle of 25 degrees, allowed the metal to flow into the receiving troughs; and the 1,200 converging trenches carried
the molten metal down to the central well.
The day following that on which the works of the masonry and boring had been completed, Barbicane set to work upon the central mould.His object now was to raise within the center of the well, and with a coincident axis, a cylinder 900 feet high, and nine feet in diameter, which should exactly fill up the
space reserved for the bore of the ColumbTiahdi.s cylinder was composed of a mixture of clay and sand, with the addition of a little hay and strawT.he space left between the mould and the masonry was intended to be filled up by the molten metal, which would thus form the walls six feet in thicknTehsiss. cylinder,
in order to maintain its equilibrium, had to be bound by iron bands, and firmly fixed at certain intervals by cross-clamps fastened into the stone lining; after the castings these would
be buried in the block of metal, leaving no external projection.
This operation was completed on the 8th of July, and the run of the metal was fixed for the following day.
"This _fete_ of the casting will be a grand ceremony," said J. T. Maston to his friend Barbicane.
"Undoubtedly," said Barbicane; "but it will not be a public _fete_" "What! will you not open the gates of the enclosure to all comers?" "I must be very careful, MastoTnh.e casting of the Columbiad
is an extremely delicate, not to say a dangerous operation, and
I should prefer its being done privatelAy.t the discharge of

the projectile, a _fete_ if you like-- till then, no!"
The president was righTt.he operation involved unforeseen
dangers, which a great influx of spectators would have hindered him from avertingI.t was necessary to preserve complete
freedom of movementN. o one was admitted within the enclosure
except a delegation of members of the Gun Club, who had made the voyage to Tampa TownA. mong these was the brisk Bilsby, Tom Hunter, Colonel Blomsberry, Major Elphinstone, General Morgan,
and the rest of the lot to whom the casting of the Columbiad was a matter of personal interesJt.. T. Maston became their cicerone.
He omitted no point of detail; he conducted them throughout the magazines, workshops, through the midst of the engines, and compelled them to visit the whole 1,200 furnaces one after
the other.At the end of the twelve-hundredth visit they were pretty well knocked up.
The casting was to take place at twelve o'clock precisely.
The previous evening each furnace had been charged with 114,000 pounds weight of metal in bars disposed cross-ways to each other, so as to allow the hot air to circulate freely between them.
At daybreak the 1,200 chimneys vomited their torrents of flame into the air, and the ground was agitated with dull tremblings.
As many pounds of metal as there were to cast, so many pounds of coal were there to burTn.hus there were 68,000 tons of coal
which projected in the face of the sun a thick curtain of smoke. The heat soon became insupportable within the circle of furnaces, the rumbling of which resembled the rolling of thunTdheer. powerful ventilators added their continuous blasts and saturated with
oxygen the glowing platesT.he operation, to be successful, required to be conducted with great rapidOityn. a signal given
by a cannon-shot each furnace was to give vent to the molten iron and completely to empty itseTlfh.ese arrangements made, foremen and workmen waited the preconcerted moment with an
impatience mingled with a certain amount of emotNioont.
a soul
remained within the enclosure.Each superintendent took his post by the aperture of the run.
Barbicane and his colleagues, perched on a neighboring eminence, assisted at the operationI.n front of them was a piece of
artillery ready to give fire on the signal from the engineer.
Some minutes before midday the first driblets of metal began to flow; the reservoirs filled little by little; and, by the time
that the whole melting was completely accomplished, it was kept in abeyance for a few minutes in order to facilitate the
separation of foreign substances.
Twelve o'clock struck!A gunshot suddenly pealed forth and shot its flame into the aiTr.welve hundred melting-troughs were simultaneously opened and twelve hundred fiery serpents crept toward the central well, unrolling their incandescent curves.

There, down they plunged with a terrific noise into a depth of
900 feet.It was an exciting and a magnificent spectacle.
The ground trembled, while these molten waves, launching into the sky their wreaths of smoke, evaporated the moisture of the mould and hurled it upward through the vent-holes of the stone lining
in the form of dense vapor-cloudTsh.ese artificial clouds unrolled their thick spirals to a height of 1,000 yards into
the air.A savage, wandering somewhere beyond the limits of the horizon, might have believed that some new crater was forming in the bosom of Florida, although there was neither any eruption,
nor typhoon, nor storm, nor struggle of the elements, nor any of those terrible phenomena which nature is capable of producing. No, it was man alone who had produced these reddish vapors, these gigantic flames worthy of a volcano itself, these
tremendous vibrations resembling the shock of an earthquake, these reverberations rivaling those of hurricanes and storms; and it was his hand which precipitated into an abyss, dug by himself, a whole Niagara of molten metal!
CHAPTER XVI
THE COLUMBIAD
Had the casting succeededT? hey were reduced to mere conjecture. There was indeed every reason to expect success, since the mould has absorbed the entire mass of the molten metal; still some considerable time must elapse before they could arrive at any certainty upon the matter.
The patience of the members of the Gun Club was sorely tried during this period of timeB. ut they could do nothinJg.. T. Maston
escaped roasting by a miraclFe.ifteen days after the casting
an immense column of smoke was still rising in the open sky and the ground burned the soles of the feet within a radius of two hundred feet round the summit of Stones HItilwl. as impossible
to approach nearerA. patience they might.
ll they could do was to wait with what
"Here we are at the 10th of August," exclaimed J. T. Maston one morning, "only four months to the 1st of DecemWbeer!shall
never be ready in timeB!"arbicane said nothing, but his

silence covered serious irritation.
However, daily observations revealed a certain change going on in the state of the grounAdb. out the 15th of August the vapors ejected had sensibly diminished in intensity and thickness.
Some days afterward the earth exhaled only a slight puff of smoke, the last breath of the monster enclosed within its circle of stone.Little by little the belt of heat contracted, until
on the 22nd of August, Barbicane, his colleagues, and the engineer were enabled to set foot on the iron sheet which lay level upon the summit of Stones Hill.
"At last!" exclaimed the president of the Gun Club, with an immense sigh of relief.
The work was resumed the same dTayh.ey proceeded at once to extract the interior mould, for the purpose of clearing out the boring of the pieceP.ickaxes and boring irons were set to work without intermission.The clayey and sandy soils had acquired extreme hardness under the action of the heat; but, by the aid
of the machines, the rubbish on being dug out was rapidly carted away on railway wagons; and such was the ardor of the work, so persuasive the arguments of Barbicane's dollars, that by the 3rd
of September all traces of the mould had entirely disappeared.
Immediately the operation of boring was commenced; and by the aid of powerful machines, a few weeks later, the inner surface
of the immense tube had been rendered perfectly cylindrical, and the bore of the piece had acquired a thorough polish.
At length, on the 22d of September, less than a twelvemonth after Barbicane's original proposition, the enormous weapon, accurately bored, and exactly vertically pointed, was ready
for work.There was only the moon now to wait for; and they were pretty sure that she would not fail in the rendezvous.
The ecstasy of J. T. Maston knew no bounds, and he narrowly escaped a frightful fall while staring down the tBuubte.for
the strong hand of Colonel Blomsberry, the worthy secretary, like a modern Erostratus, would have found his death in the depths of the Columbiad.
The cannon was then finished; there was no possible doubt as to its perfect completionS. o, on the 6th of October, Captain
Nicholl opened an account between himself and President Barbicane, in which he debited himself to the latter in the sum of two
thousand dollars.One may believe that the captain's wrath was increased to its highest point, and must have made him seriously ill. However, he had still three bets of three, four, and five
thousand dollars, respectively; and if he gained two out of these, his position would not be very bBadu.t the money question did

not enter into his calculations; it was the success of his rival in casting a cannon against which iron plates sixty feet thick would have been ineffectual, that dealt him a terrible blow.
After the 23rd of September the enclosure of Stones hill was thrown open to the public; and it will be easily imagined what was the concourse of visitors to this spTohte!re was an
incessant flow of people to and from Tampa Town and the place, which resembled a procession, or rather, in fact, a pilgrimage.
It was already clear to be seen that, on the day of the experiment itself, the aggregate of spectators would be counted by millions; for they were already arriving from all parts of
the earth upon this narrow strip of promontEoruyr.ope was emigrating to America.
Up to that time, however, it must be confessed, the curiosity of the numerous comers was but scantily gratifMiedo.st had counted upon witnessing the spectacle of the casting, and they were treated to nothing but smokTeh.is was sorry food for
hungry eyes; but Barbicane would admit no one to that operation. Then ensued grumbling, discontent, murmurs; they blamed the president, taxed him with dictatorial conduHcti.s proceedings
were declared "un-American."There was very nearly a riot round
Stones Hill; but Barbicane remained inflexibWle.hen, however,
the Columbiad was entirely finished, this state of closed doors could no longer be maintained; besides it would have been bad taste, and even imprudence, to affront the public feeling. Barbicane, therefore, opened the enclosure to all comers; but, true to his practical disposition, he determined to coin money
out of the public curiosity.
It was something, indeed, to be enabled to contemplate this immense Columbiad; but to descend into its depths, this seemed to the Americans the _ne plus ultra_ of earthly felicity. Consequently, there was not one curious spectator who was not willing to give himself the treat of visiting the interior of
this great metallic abyssB. askets suspended from steam-cranes permitted them to satisfy their curiosiTtyh.ere was a
perfect mania.Women, children, old men, all made it a point of duty to penetrate the mysteries of the colossal gun.
The fare for the descent was fixed at five dollars per head; and despite this high charge, during the two months which preceded the experiment, the influx of visitors enabled the Gun Club to pocket nearly five hundred thousand dollars!
It is needless to say that the first visitors of the Columbiad were the members of the Gun CluTb.his privilege was justly reserved for that illustrious bodTy.he ceremony took place on
the 25th of SeptemberA.
basket of honor took down the
president, J. T. Maston, Major Elphinstone, General Morgan,

Colonel Blomsberry, and other members of the club, to the number of ten in alHl. ow hot it was at the bottom of that long tube
of metal!They were half suffocatedB. ut what delight!
What ecstasy!A table had been laid with six covers on the massive stone which formed the bottom of the Columbiad, and lighted by a jet of electric light resembling that of day itself. Numerous exquisite dishes, which seemed to descend from heaven, were placed successively before the guests, and the richest wines
of France flowed in profusion during this splendid repast, served nine hundred feet beneath the surface of the earth!
The festival was animated, not to say somewhat noTiosays.ts flew backward and forwardT. hey drank to the earth and to her satellite, to the Gun Club, the Union, the Moon, Diana, Phoebe, Selene, the "peaceful courier of the nightA!"ll the hurrahs, carried upward
upon the sonorous waves of the immense acoustic tube, arrived with the sound of thunder at its mouth; and the multitude ranged round Stones Hill heartily united their shouts with those of the ten
revelers hidden from view at the bottom of the gigantic Columbiad.
J. T. Maston was no longer master of himWsehlfe.ther he
shouted or gesticulated, ate or drank most, would be a difficult matter to determineA. t all events, he would not have given his place up for an empire, "not even if the cannon-- loaded, primed, and fired at that very moment--were to blow him in pieces into the planetary world."
CHAPTER XVII
A TELEGRAPHIC DISPATCH
The great works undertaken by the Gun Club had now virtually come to an end; and two months still remained before the day for the discharge of the shot to the moToon.the general impatience
these two months appeared as long as yeHaristh! erto the smallest details of the operation had been daily chronicled by the journals, which the public devoured with eager eyes.
Just at this moment a circumstance, the most unexpected, the

most extraordinary and incredible, occurred to rouse afresh their panting spirits, and to throw every mind into a state of the most violent excitement.
One day, the 30th of September, at 3:47 P.M., a telegram, transmitted by cable from Valentia (Ireland) to Newfoundland and
the American Mainland, arrived at the address of President Barbicane.
The president tore open the envelope, read the dispatch, and, despite his remarkable powers of self-control, his lips turned pale and his eyes grew dim, on reading the twenty words of this telegram.
Here is the text of the dispatch, which figures now in the archives of the Gun Club:
FRANCE, PARIS,
30 September, 4 A.M.
Barbicane, Tampa Town, Florida, United States.
Substitute for your spherical shell a cylindro-conical projectile. I shall go insideS.hall arrive by steamer Atlanta.
MICHEL ARDAN.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE PASSENGER OF THE ATLANTA
If this astounding news, instead of flying through the electric
wires, had simply arrived by post in the ordinary sealed envelope, Barbicane would not have hesitated a momeHnet. would have held
his tongue about it, both as a measure of prudence, and in order not to have to reconsider his plaTnhs.is telegram might be a
cover for some jest, especially as it came from a Frenchman. What human being would ever have conceived the idea of such a journey? and, if such a person really existed, he must be an idiot, whom one would shut up in a lunatic ward, rather than within the walls of the projectile.

The contents of the dispatch, however, speedily became known;
for the telegraphic officials possessed but little discretion, and Michel Ardan's proposition ran at once throughout the several States of the UnioBn.arbicane, had, therefore, no further motives for keeping silencCe.onsequently, he called
together such of his colleagues as were at the moment in Tampa Town, and without any expression of his own opinions simply read to them the laconic text itseIltf.was received with every
possible variety of expressions of doubt, incredulity, and
derision from every one, with the exception of J. T. Maston, who exclaimed, "It is a grand idea, however!"
When Barbicane originally proposed to send a shot to the moon every one looked upon the enterprise as simple and practicable enough-- a mere question of gunnery; but when a person, professing to be a reasonable being, offered to take passage within the projectile, the whole thing became a farce, or, in plainer language a humbug.
One question, however, remainedD. id such a being exist? This telegram flashed across the depths of the Atlantic, the designation of the vessel on board which he was to take his passage, the date assigned for his speedy arrival, all combined to impart a certain character of reality to the proposal.
They must get some clearer notion of the matStecra. ttered groups
of inquirers at length condensed themselves into a compact crowd, which made straight for the residence of President Barbicane.
That worthy individual was keeping quiet with the intention of watching events as they arosBe.ut he had forgotten to take
into account the public impatience; and it was with no pleasant countenance that he watched the population of Tampa Town gathering under his windowsT.he murmurs and vociferations
below presently obliged him to appeHare.
came forward,
therefore, and on silence being procured, a citizen put
point-blank to him the following questio"nIs:
the person
mentioned in the telegram, under the name of Michel Ardan, on his way here?Yes or no."
"Gentlemen," replied Barbicane, "I know no more than you do." "We must know," roared the impatient voices.
"Time will show," calmly replied the president.
"Time has no business to keep a whole country in suspense," replied the orator. "Have you altered the plans of the
projectile according to the request of the telegram?"
"Not yet, gentlemen; but you are right! we must have better information to go byT.he telegraph must complete its information."

"To the telegraph!" roared the crowd.
Barbicane descended; and heading the immense assemblage, led the way to the telegraph officAe. few minutes later a telegram was dispatched to the secretary of the underwriters at Liverpool, requesting answers to the following queries:
"About the ship Atlanta-- when did she leave EuroHpaed? she on board a Frenchman named Michel Ardan?"
Two hours afterward Barbicane received information too exact to leave room for the smallest remaining doubt.
"The steamer Atlanta from Liverpool put to sea on the 2nd of
October, bound for Tampa Town, having on board a Frenchman borne on the list of passengers by the name of Michel Ardan."
That very evening he wrote to the house of Breadwill and Co., requesting them to suspend the casting of the projectile until
the receipt of further orderOs.n the 10th of October, at nine
A.M., the semaphores of the Bahama Canal signaled a thick smoke on the horizonT. wo hours later a large steamer exchanged
signals with themt.he name of the Atlanta flew at once over
Tampa Town.At four o'clock the English vessel entered the Bay
of Espiritu SantoA.
t five it crossed the passage of
Hillisborough Bay at full steamA.t six she cast anchor at
Port Tampa.The anchor had scarcely caught the sandy bottom when five hundred boats surrounded the Atlanta, and the steamer was taken by assaultB. arbicane was the first to set foot on deck,
and in a voice of which he vainly tried to conceal the emotion, called "Michel Ardan."
"Here!" replied an individual perched on the poop.
Barbicane, with arms crossed, looked fixedly at the passenger of the Atlanta.
He was a man of about forty-two years of age, of large build, but slightly round-shoulderedH. is massive head momentarily
shook a shock of reddish hair, which resembled a lion's mane. His face was short with a broad forehead, and furnished with a moustache as bristly as a cat's, and little patches of yellowish whiskers upon full cheeksR. ound, wildish eyes, slightly
near-sighted, completed a physiognomy essentially feline.
His nose was firmly shaped, his mouth particularly sweet in expression, high forehead, intelligent and furrowed with wrinkles like a newly-plowed fielTd.he body was powerfully developed and firmly fixed upon long leMgsu.scular arms,
and a general air of decision gave him the appearance of a hardy, jolly, companion.He was dressed in a suit of ample dimensions, loose neckerchief, open shirtcollar, disclosing a robust neck;

his cuffs were invariably unbuttoned, through which appeared a pair of red hands.
On the bridge of the steamer, in the midst of the crowd, he bustled to and fro, never still for a moment, "dragging his anchors," as the sailors say, gesticulating, making free with everybody, biting his nails with nervous aviditHy.e was one of those originals which nature sometimes invents in the freak of a moment, and of which she then breaks the mould.
Among other peculiarities, this curiosity gave himself out for
a sublime ignoramus, "like Shakespeare," and professed supreme contempt for all scientific meTn.hose "fellows," as he called
them, "are only fit to mark the points, while we play the game." He was, in fact, a thorough Bohemian, adventurous, but not an adventurer; a hare-brained fellow, a kind of Icarus, only possessing relays of wingsF.or the rest, he was ever in
scrapes, ending invariably by falling on his feet, like those
little figures which they sell for children's tIonysa.
few
words, his motto was "I have my opinions," and the love of the impossible constituted his ruling passion.
Such was the passenger of the Atlanta, always excitable, as if boiling under the action of some internal fire by the character of his physical organizationI.f ever two individuals offered
a striking contrast to each other, these were certainly Michel Ardan and the Yankee Barbicane; both, moreover, being equally enterprising and daring, each in his own way.
The scrutiny which the president of the Gun Club had instituted regarding this new rival was quickly interrupted by the shouts and hurrahs of the crowTd.he cries became at last so
uproarious, and the popular enthusiasm assumed so personal a form, that Michel Ardan, after having shaken hands some thousands of times, at the imminent risk of leaving his fingers behind him, was fain at last to make a bolt for his cabin.
Barbicane followed him without uttering a word.
"You are Barbicane, I suppose?" said Michel Ardan, in a tone of voice in which he would have addressed a friend of twenty years' standing.
"Yes," replied the president of the Gun Club.
"All right! how d'ye do, Barbicane? how are you getting on-- pretty well? that's right."
"So," said Barbicane without further preliminary, "you are quite determined to go."

"Quite decided."
"Nothing will stop you?"
"Nothing. Have you modified your projectile according to my telegram." "I waited for your arrivaBl.ut," asked Barbicane again, "have
you carefully reflected?"
"Reflected? have I any time to spaIref?ind an opportunity of making a tour in the moon, and I mean to profitThbeyreit.is the whole gist of the matter."
Barbicane looked hard at this man who spoke so lightly of his project with such complete absence of anxie"tByu. t, at least,"
said he, "you have some plans, some means of carrying your project into execution?"
"Excellent, my dear Barbicane; only permit me to offer one remark: My wish is to tell my story once for all, to everybody, and then have done with it; then there will be no need for recapitulation.
So, if you have no objection, assemble your friends, colleagues, the whole town, all Florida, all America if you like, and
to-morrow I shall be ready to explain my plans and answer any objections whatever that may be advanceYdo. u may rest assured
I shall wait without stirrinWg. ill that suit you?" "All right," replied Barbicane.
So saying, the president left the cabin and informed the crowd of the proposal of Michel ArdaHn.is words were received with clappings of hands and shouts of joTyh.ey had removed all difficulties.
To-morrow every one would contemplate at his ease this European hero. However, some of the spectators, more infatuated than the rest,
would not leave the deck of the AtlaTnhtae.y passed the night
on board.Among others J. T. Maston got his hook fixed in the combing of the poop, and it pretty nearly required the capstan to get it out again.
"He is a hero! a hero!" he cried, a theme of which he was never tired of ringing the changes; "and we are only like weak, silly women, compared with this European!"
As to the president, after having suggested to the visitors it was time to retire, he re-entered the passenger's cabin, and remained there till the bell of the steamer made it midnight.
But then the two rivals in popularity shook hands heartily and parted on terms of intimate friendship.

CHAPTER XIX
A MONSTER MEETING
On the following day Barbicane, fearing that indiscreet
questions might be put to Michel Ardan, was desirous of reducing the number of the audience to a few of the initiated, his own colleagues for instanceH. e might as well have tried to
check the Falls of Niagara! he was compelled, therefore, to give up the idea, and let his new friend run the chances of a public conference.The place chosen for this monster meeting was a vast plain situated in the rear of the Itnowan.few
hours, thanks to the help of the shipping in port, an immense roofing of canvas was stretched over the parched prairie, and protected it from the burning rays of the sTunh.ere three
hundred thousand people braved for many hours the stifling heat while awaiting the arrival of the FrenchmOanf. this crowd of spectators a first set could both see and hear; a second set saw badly and heard nothing at all; and as for the third, it could neither see nor hear anything at Aaltl. three o'clock Michel
Ardan made his appearance, accompanied by the principal members of the Gun ClubH. e was supported on his right by President Barbicane, and on his left by J. T. Maston, more radiant than
the midday sun, and nearly as rudAdyrd. an mounted a platform,
from the top of which his view extended over a sea of black hats.
He exhibited not the slightest embarrassment; he was just as gay, familiar, and pleasant as if he were at hToomet.he
hurrahs which greeted him he replied by a graceful bow; then, waving his hands to request silence, he spoke in perfectly correct English as follows:
"Gentlemen, despite the very hot weather I request your patience for a short time while I offer some explanations regarding the
projects which seem to have so interested yIoaum.
neither an
orator nor a man of science, and I had no idea of addressing you in public; but my friend Barbicane has told me that you would
like to hear me, and I am quite at your seLrvisicteen.
to me,
therefore, with your six hundred thousand ears, and please excuse the faults of the speakNero. w pray do not forget that

you see before you a perfect ignoramus whose ignorance goes so far that he cannot even understand the difficultIitess!eemed
to him that it was a matter quite simple, natural, and easy to take one's place in a projectile and start for the moon!
That journey must be undertaken sooner or later; and, as for the mode of locomotion adopted, it follows simply the law of progress. Man began by walking on all-fours; then, one fine day, on two
feet; then in a carriage; then in a stage-coach; and lastly by railway.Well, the projectile is the vehicle of the future, and the planets themselves are nothing elNseo!w some of you,
gentlemen, may imagine that the velocity we propose to impart to it is extravagantI.t is nothing of the kinAdl.l the stars
exceed it in rapidity, and the earth herself is at this moment carrying us round the sun at three times as rapid a rate, and
yet she is a mere lounger on the way compared with many others of the planets!And her velocity is constantly decreasing.
Is it not evident, then, I ask you, that there will some day appear velocities far greater than these, of which light or electricity
will probably be the mechanical agent?
"Yes, gentlemen," continued the orator, "in spite of the
opinions of certain narrow-minded people, who would shut up the human race upon this globe, as within some magic circle which it must never outstep, we shall one day travel to the moon, the planets, and the stars, with the same facility, rapidity, and
certainty as we now make the voyage from Liverpool to New York! Distance is but a relative expression, and must end by being
reduced to zero."
The assembly, strongly predisposed as they were in favor of the
French hero, were slightly staggered at this bold theory. Michel Ardan perceived the fact.
"Gentlemen," he continued with a pleasant smile, "you do not
seem quite convincedV.
ery good!Let us reason the matter out.
Do you know how long it would take for an express train to reach the moon?Three hundred days; no morAe!nd what is that?
The distance is no more than nine times the circumference of the earth; and there are no sailors or travelers, of even moderate activity, who have not made longer journeys than that in their lifetimeA. nd now consider that I shall be only ninety- seven hours on my journeAy.h! I see you are reckoning that the
moon is a long way off from the earth, and that one must think twice before making the experimenWt. hat would you say, then,
if we were talking of going to Neptune, which revolves at a distance of more than two thousand seven hundred and twenty millions of miles from the suAnn! d yet what is that compared
with the distance of the fixed stars, some of which, such as Arcturus,
are billions of miles distant from
Ausn?d then you talk of the
distance which separates the planets from the sAund!
there
are people who affirm that such a thing as distance exists.

Absurdity, folly, idiotic nonsenseW! ould you know what I think of our own solar universeS?hall I tell you my theorIyt?is
very simple!In my opinion the solar system is a solid homogeneous body; the planets which compose it are in actual contact with each other; and whatever space exists between them is nothing more than the space which separates the molecules of the densest metal, such as silver, iron, or platinIumha!ve
the right, therefore, to affirm, and I repeat, with the conviction which must penetrate all your minds, `Distance is but an empty name; distance does not really exist!'"
"Hurrah!" cried one voice (need it be said it was that of
J. T. Maston)". Distance does not exist!A" nd overcome by the energy of his movements, he nearly fell from the platform to the ground. He just escaped a severe fall, which would have
proved to him that distance was by no means an empty name.
"Gentlemen," resumed the orator, "I repeat that the distance between the earth and her satellite is a mere trifle, and undeserving of serious considerationI. am convinced that
before twenty years are over one-half of our earth will have paid a visit to the mooNno. w, my worthy friends, if you have any question to put to me, you will, I fear, sadly embarrass a poor man like myself; still I will do my best to answer you."
Up to this point the president of the Gun Club had been satisfied with the turn which the discussion had assumed.
It became now, however, desirable to divert Ardan from questions of a practical nature, with which he was doubtless far less conversantB. arbicane, therefore, hastened to get in
a word, and began by asking his new friend whether he thought that the moon and the planets were inhabited.
"You put before me a great problem, my worthy president," replied the orator, smiling."Still, men of great intelligence,
such as Plutarch, Swedenborg, Bernardin de St. Pierre, and others have, if I mistake not, pronounced in the affirmative. Looking at the question from the natural philosopher's point of view, I should say that nothing useless existed in the world; and, replying to your question by another, I should venture to assert, that if these worlds are habitable, they either are,
have been, or will be inhabited."
"No one could answer more logically or fairly," replied the president. "The question then reverts to thAisr:e these
worlds habitable?For my own part I believe they are." "For myself, I feel certain of it," said Michel Ardan.
"Nevertheless," retorted one of the audience, "there are many arguments against the habitability of the worlTdhs.e conditions

of life must evidently be greatly modified upon the majority of them.To mention only the planets, we should be either broiled alive in some, or frozen to death in others, according as they are more or less removed from the sun."
"I regret," replied Michel Ardan, "that I have not the honor of personally knowing my contradictor, for I would have attempted to answer himH. is objection has its merits, I admit; but I
think we may successfully combat it, as well as all others which affect the habitability of other worldIfs.I were a natural philosopher, I would tell him that if less of caloric were set
in motion upon the planets which are nearest to the sun, and more, on the contrary, upon those which are farthest removed from it, this simple fact would alone suffice to equalize the
heat, and to render the temperature of those worlds supportable by beings organized like ourselveIsf. I were a naturalist,
I would tell him that, according to some illustrious men of science, nature has furnished us with instances upon the earth of animals existing under very varying conditions of life;
that fish respire in a medium fatal to other animals; that amphibious creatures possess a double existence very difficult of explanation; that certain denizens of the seas maintain life
at enormous depths, and there support a pressure equal to that of fifty or sixty atmospheres without being crushed; that
several aquatic insects, insensible to temperature, are met with equally among boiling springs and in the frozen plains of the Polar Sea; in fine, that we cannot help recognizing in nature a diversity of means of operation oftentimes incomprehensible, but not the less reaIl.f I were a chemist, I would tell him that
the aerolites, bodies evidently formed exteriorly of our terrestrial globe, have, upon analysis, revealed indisputable traces of carbon, a substance which owes its origin solely to organized beings, and which, according to the experiments of Reichenbach, must necessarily itself have been endued with animation. And lastly, were I a theologian, I would tell him
that the scheme of the Divine Redemption, according to St. Paul, seems to be applicable, not merely to the earth, but to all the celestial worlds.But, unfortunately, I am neither theologian,
nor chemist, nor naturalist, nor philosopher; therefore, in my absolute ignorance of the great laws which govern the universe,
I confine myself to saying in reply, `I do not know whether the worlds are inhabited or noatn: d since I do not know, I am going to see!'"
Whether Michel Ardan's antagonist hazarded any further arguments or not it is impossible to say, for the uproarious shouts of the
crowd would not allow any expression of opinion to gain a hearing. On silence being restored, the triumphant orator contented himself with adding the following remarks:
"Gentlemen, you will observe that I have but slightly touched

upon this great questionT.here is another altogether different line of argument in favor of the habitability of the stars, which I omit for the preseInto. nly desire to call attention
to one pointT. o those who maintain that the planets are _not_
inhabited one may replyY: ou might be perfectly in the right, if you could only show that the earth is the best possible
world, in spite of what Voltaire has sSahide.
has but _one_
satellite, while Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune have each several, an advantage by no means to be despiBseudt .that
which renders our own globe so uncomfortable is the inclination of its axis to the plane of its oHrbeint.ce the inequality of
days and nights; hence the disagreeable diversity of the seasons. On the surface of our unhappy spheroid we are always either too hot or too cold; we are frozen in winter, broiled in summer;
it is the planet of rheumatism, coughs, bronchitis; while on the surface of Jupiter, for example, where the axis is but slightly inclined, the inhabitants may enjoy uniform temperatures.
It possesses zones of perpetual springs, summers, autumns, and winters; every Jovian may choose for himself what climate he likes, and there spend the whole of his life in security from
all variations of temperatureY. ou will, I am sure, readily
admit this superiority of Jupiter over our own planet, to say nothing of his years, which each equal twelve of ours!
Under such auspices and such marvelous conditions of existence, it appears to me that the inhabitants of so fortunate a world must be in every respect superior to ourselAvelsl. we require,
in order to attain such perfection, is the mere trifle of having an axis of rotation less inclined to the plane of its orbit!"
"Hurrah!" roared an energetic voice, "let us unite our efforts, invent the necessary machines, and rectify the earth's axis!"
A thunder of applause followed this proposal, the author of which was, of course, no other than J. T. MaAstnodn,. in all probability, if the truth must be told, if the Yankees could
only have found a point of application for it, they would have constructed a lever capable of raising the earth and rectifying its axis.It was just this deficiency which baffled these
daring mechanicians.
CHAPTER XX

ATTACK AND RIPOSTE
As soon as the excitement had subsided, the following words were heard uttered in a strong and determined voice:
"Now that the speaker has favored us with so much imagination, would he be so good as to return to his subject, and give us a little practical view of the question?"
All eyes were directed toward the person who spHokee.was a little dried-up man, of an active figure, with an American
"goatee" beard.Profiting by the different movements in the crowd, he had managed by degrees to gain the front row of spectators. There, with arms crossed and stern gaze, he watched the hero of the meeting.After having put his question he remained silent,
and appeared to take no notice of the thousands of looks directed toward himself, nor of the murmur of disapprobation excited by
his words.Meeting at first with no reply, he repeated his
question with marked emphasis, adding, "We are here to talk about the _moon_ and not about the _earth_."
"You are right, sir," replied Michel Ardan; "the discussion has become irregular.We will return to the moon."
"Sir," said the unknown, "you pretend that our satellite is inhabited. Very good, but if Selenites do exist, that race of beings assuredly must live without breathing, for-- I warn you for your own sake-- there is not the smallest particle of air on the surface of the moon."
At this remark Ardan pushed up his shock of red hair; he saw that he was on the point of being involved in a struggle with this person upon the very gist of the whole quesHtieonl.ooked sternly at him in his turn and said:
"Oh! so there is no air in the moAonnd? pray, if you are so good, who ventures to affirm that?
"The men of science." "Really?"
"Really."
"Sir," replied Michel, "pleasantry apart, I have a profound respect for men of science who do possess science, but a profound contempt for men of science who do not."
"Do you know any who belong to the latter category?"

"Decidedly. In France there are some who maintain that, mathematically, a bird cannot possibly fly; and others who demonstrate theoretically that fishes were never made to live in water."
"I have nothing to do with persons of that description, and I
can quote, in support of my statement, names which you cannot refuse deference to."
"Then, sir, you will sadly embarrass a poor ignorant, who, besides, asks nothing better than to learn."
"Why, then, do you introduce scientific questions if you have never studied them?" asked the unknown somewhat coarsely.
"For the reason that `he is always brave who never suspects danger.' I know nothing, it is true; but it is precisely my very weakness
which constitutes my strength."
"Your weakness amounts to folly," retorted the unknown in a passion. "All the better," replied our Frenchman, "if it carries me up to
the moon."
Barbicane and his colleagues devoured with their eyes the intruder who had so boldly placed himself in antagonism to their enterprise. Nobody knew him, and the president, uneasy as to the result of so free a discussion, watched his new friend with some anxiety.
The meeting began to be somewhat fidgety also, for the contest directed their attention to the dangers, if not the actual impossibilities, of the proposed expedition.
"Sir," replied Ardan's antagonist, "there are many and incontrovertible reasons which prove the absence of an atmosphere in the moonI. might say that, _a priori_, if one
ever did exist, it must have been absorbed by the earth; but I
prefer to bring forward indisputable facts."
"Bring them forward then, sir, as many as you please."
"You know," said the stranger, "that when any luminous rays cross a medium such as the air, they are deflected out of the straight line; in other words, they undergo refractWione.ll!
When stars are occulted by the moon, their rays, on grazing the edge of her disc, exhibit not the least deviation, nor offer the slightest indication of refractionI.t follows, therefore, that
the moon cannot be surrounded by an atmosphere.
"In point of fact," replied Ardan, "this is your chief, if not your _only_ argument; and a really scientific man might be

puzzled to answer iFt.or myself, I will simply say that it is defective, because it assumes that the angular diameter of the moon has been completely determined, which is not the case. But let us proceedT. ell me, my dear sir, do you admit the existence of volcanoes on the moon's surface?"
"Extinct, yes!In activity, no!"
"These volcanoes, however, were at one time in a state of activity?" "True, but, as they furnish themselves the oxygen necessary for
combustion, the mere fact of their eruption does not prove the presence of an atmosphere."
"Proceed again, then; and let us set aside this class of
arguments in order to come to direct observationIsn.
1715 the
astronomers Louville and Halley, watching the eclipse of the
3rd of May, remarked some very extraordinary scintillations. These jets of light, rapid in nature, and of frequent recurrence,
they attributed to thunderstorms generated in the lunar atmosphere."
"In 1715," replied the unknown, "the astronomers Louville and Halley mistook for lunar phenomena some which were purely terrestrial, such as meteoric or other bodies which are generated in our own atmospherTe.his was the scientific
explanation at the time of the facts; and that is my answer now."
"On again, then," replied Ardan; "Herschel, in 1787, observed a
great number of luminous points on the moon's surface, did he not?"
"Yes! but without offering any solution of thHemer.schel himself never inferred from them the necessity of a lunar atmosphere.
And I may add that Baeer and Maedler, the two great authorities upon the moon, are quite agreed as to the entire absence of air on its surface."
A movement was here manifest among the assemblage, who appeared to be growing excited by the arguments of this singular personage.
"Let us proceed," replied Ardan, with perfect coolness, "and come to one important facAt. skillful French astronomer, M. Laussedat, in watching the eclipse of July 18, 1860, probed that the horns of the lunar crescent were rounded and truncated. Now, this appearance could only have been produced by a deviation of the solar rays in traversing the atmosphere of
the moon.There is no other possible explanation of the facts." "But is this established as a fact?"
"Absolutely certain!"

A counter-movement here took place in favor of the hero of the meeting, whose opponent was now reduced to silenAcred.an resumed the conversation; and without exhibiting any exultation at the advantage he had gained, simply said:
"You see, then, my dear sir, we must not pronounce with absolute positiveness against the existence of an atmosphere in the moon. That atmosphere is, probably, of extreme rarity; nevertheless at
the present day science generally admits that it exists."
"Not in the mountains, at all events," returned the unknown, unwilling to give in.
"No! but at the bottom of the valleys, and not exceeding a few hundred feet in height."
"In any case you will do well to take every precaution, for the air will be terribly rarified."
"My good sir, there will always be enough for a solitary individual; besides, once arrived up there, I shall do my best to economize, and not to breathe except on grand occasions!"
A tremendous roar of laughter rang in the ears of the mysterious interlocutor, who glared fiercely round upon the assembly.
"Then," continued Ardan, with a careless air, "since we are in accord regarding the presence of a certain atmosphere, we are forced to admit the presence of a certain quantity of water. This is a happy consequence for mMeo.reover, my amiable
contradictor, permit me to submit to you one further observation. We only know _one_ side of the moon's disc; and if there is but little air on the face presented to us, it is possible that there
is plenty on the one turned away from us." "And for what reason?"
"Because the moon, under the action of the earth's attraction, has assumed the form of an egg, which we look at from the smaller end.Hence it follows, by Hausen's calculations, that
its center of gravity is situated in the other hemisphere.
Hence it results that the great mass of air and water must have been drawn away to the other face of our satellite during the first days of its creation."
"Pure fancies!" cried the unknown.
"No! Pure theories! which are based upon the laws of mechanics, and it seems difficult to me to refute thIemap.peal then to
this meeting, and I put it to them whether life, such as exists upon the earth, is possible on the surface of the moon?"

Three hundred thousand auditors at once applauded the proposition. Ardan's opponent tried to get in another word, but he could not obtain a hearingC. ries and menaces fell upon him like hail.
"Enough! enough!" cried some.
"Drive the intruder off!" shouted others.
"Turn him out!" roared the exasperated crowd.
But he, holding firmly on to the platform, did not budge an
inch, and let the storm pass on, which would soon have assumed formidable proportions, if Michel Ardan had not quieted it by
a gesture.He was too chivalrous to abandon his opponent in an apparent extremity.
"You wished to say a few more words?" he asked, in a pleasant voice. "Yes, a thousand; or rather, no, only oInf ey!ou persevere in
your enterprise, you must be a----"
"Very rash person!How can you treat me as such? me, who have demanded a cylindro-conical projectile, in order to prevent
turning round and round on my way like a squirrel?"
"But, unhappy man, the dreadful recoil will smash you to pieces at your starting."
"My dear contradictor, you have just put your finger upon the true and only difficulty; nevertheless, I have too good an opinion of the industrial genius of the Americans not to believe that they will succeed in overcoming it."
"But the heat developed by the rapidity of the projectile in crossing the strata of air?"
"Oh! the walls are thick, and I shall soon have crossed the atmosphere."
"But victuals and water?"
"I have calculated for a twelvemonth's supply, and I shall be only four days on the journey."
"But for air to breathe on the road?"
"I shall make it by a chemical process."
"But your fall on the moon, supposing you ever reach it?"

"It will be six times less dangerous than a sudden fall upon the earth, because the weight will be only one-sixth as great on the surface of the moon."
"Still it will be enough to smash you like glass!"
"What is to prevent my retarding the shock by means of rockets conveniently placed, and lighted at the right moment?"
"But after all, supposing all difficulties surmounted, all
obstacles removed, supposing everything combined to favor you,
and granting that you may arrive safe and sound in the moon, how will you come back?"
"I am not coming back!"
At this reply, almost sublime in its very simplicity, the assembly became silentB. ut its silence was more eloquent than could have been its cries of enthusiasTmh.e unknown profited
by the opportunity and once more protested:
"You will inevitably kill yourself!" he cried; "and your death will be that of a madman, useless even to science!"
"Go on, my dear unknown, for truly your prophecies are most agreeable!" "It really is too much!" cried Michel Ardan's advers"aIryd.o
not know why I should continue so frivolous a discussion!
Please yourself about this insane expeditioWn!e need not trouble ourselves about you!"
"Pray don't stand upon ceremony!"
"No! another person is responsible for your act."
"Who, may I ask?" demanded Michel Ardan in an imperious tone. "The ignoramus who organized this equally absurd and
impossible experiment!"
The attack was direcBt. arbicane, ever since the interference
of the unknown, had been making fearful efforts of self-control;
now, however, seeing himself directly attacked, he could restrain himself no longerH. e rose suddenly, and was rushing
upon the enemy who thus braved him to the face, when all at once he found himself separated from him.
The platform was lifted by a hundred strong arms, and the president of the Gun Club shared with Michel Ardan triumphal honors.
The shield was heavy, but the bearers came in continuous relays, disputing, struggling, even fighting among themselves in their

eagerness to lend their shoulders to this demonstration.
However, the unknown had not profited by the tumult to quit his post.Besides he could not have done it in the midst of that compact crowd.There he held on in the front row with crossed arms, glaring at President Barbicane.
The shouts of the immense crowd continued at their highest pitch throughout this triumphant marchM. ichel Ardan took it all with evident pleasure.His face gleamed with delighSte. veral times
the platform seemed seized with pitching and rolling like a weatherbeaten ship.But the two heros of the meeting had good sea-legs. They never stumbled; and their vessel arrived without dues at the port of Tampa Town.
Michel Ardan managed fortunately to escape from the last embraces of his vigorous admirerHs.e made for the Hotel Franklin, quickly gained his chamber, and slid under the
bedclothes, while an army of a hundred thousand men kept watch under his windows.
During this time a scene, short, grave, and decisive, took place between the mysterious personage and the president of the Gun Club.
Barbicane, free at last, had gone straight at his adversary. "Come!" he said shortly.
The other followed him on the quay; and the two presently found themselves alone at the entrance of an open wharf on Jones' Fall.
The two enemies, still mutually unknown, gazed at each other. "Who are you?" asked Barbicane.
"Captain Nicholl!"
"So I suspectedH.
itherto chance has never thrown you in my way."
"I am come for that purpose." "You have insulted me." "Publicly!"
"And you will answer to me for this insult?" "At this very moment."
"No! I desire that all that passes between us shall be secret. Their is a wood situated three miles from Tampa, the wood

of Skersnaw.Do you know it?" "I know it."
"Will you be so good as to enter it to-morrow morning at five o'clock, on one side?"
"Yes! if you will enter at the other side at the same hour." "And you will not forget your rifle?" said Barbicane.
"No more than you will forget yours?" replied Nicholl.
These words having been coldly spoken, the president of the Gun
Club and the captain parteBd.arbicane returned to his lodging; but instead of snatching a few hours of repose, he passed the night in endeavoring to discover a means of evading the recoil of the projectile, and resolving the difficult problem proposed by Michel Ardan during the discussion at the meeting.
CHAPTER XXI
HOW A FRENCHMAN MANAGES AN AFFAIR
While the contract of this duel was being discussed by the president and the captain-- this dreadful, savage duel, in which each adversary became a man-hunter-- Michel Ardan was resting from the fatigues of his triumpRhe.sting is hardly an
appropriate expression, for American beds rival marble or granite tables for hardness.
Ardan was sleeping, then, badly enough, tossing about between the cloths which served him for sheets, and he was dreaming of making a more comfortable couch in his projectile when a frightful noise disturbed his dreamTs.hundering blows shook
his door.They seemed to be caused by some iron instrument. A great deal of loud talking was distinguishable in this racket, which was rather too early in the morn"inOgp.en the door,"
some one shrieked, "for heaven's sakeA!"rdan saw no reason

for complying with a demand so roughly expresHseodw. ever, he
got up and opened the door just as it was giving way before the blows of this determined visitoTr.he secretary of the Gun Club
burst into the roomA.
bomb could not have made more noise or
have entered the room with less ceremony.
"Last night," cried J. T. Maston, _ex abrupto_, "our president
was publicly insulted during the meetinHge.
provoked his
adversary, who is none other than Captain NichTohlle!y are fighting this morning in the wood of SkersnIawhe. ard all the particulars from the mouth of Barbicane himselIff. he is
killed, then our scheme is at an eWnde. must prevent his duel;
and one man alone has enough influence over Barbicane to stop him, and that man is Michel Ardan."
While J. T. Maston was speaking, Michel Ardan, without interrupting him, had hastily put on his clothes; and, in less
than two minutes, the two friends were making for the suburbs of
Tampa Town with rapid strides.
It was during this walk that Maston told Ardan the state of the case. He told him the real causes of the hostility between Barbicane and Nicholl; how it was of old date, and why, thanks to unknown friends, the president and the captain had, as yet, never met face to facHe.e added that it arose simply from
a rivalry between iron plates and shot, and, finally, that the scene at the meeting was only the long-wished-for opportunity for Nicholl to pay off an old grudge.
Nothing is more dreadful than private duels in AmeTrihcea. two adversaries attack each other like wild beaTsths.en it is that
they might well covet those wonderful properties of the Indians of the prairies-- their quick intelligence, their ingenious
cunning, their scent of the enemAy. single mistake, a moment's hesitation, a single false step may cause deOatnh. these
occasions Yankees are often accompanied by their dogs, and keep up the struggle for hours.
"What demons you are!" cried Michel Ardan, when his companion had depicted this scene to him with much energy.
"Yes, we are," replied J. T. modestly; "but we had better make haste." Though Michel Ardan and he had crossed the plains still wet with
dew, and had taken the shortest route over creeks and ricefields,
they could not reach Skersnaw in under five hours and a half. Barbicane must have passed the border half an hour ago.
There was an old bushman working there, occupied in selling fagots from trees that had been leveled by his axe.

Maston ran toward him, saying, "Have you seen a man go into the wood, armed with a rifleB?arbicane, the president, my best friend?"
The worthy secretary of the Gun Club thought that his president must be known by all the woBrldu.t the bushman did not seem to understand him.
"A hunter?" said Ardan.
"A hunter?Yes," replied the bushman. "Long ago?"
"About an hour."
"Too late!" cried Maston.
"Have you heard any gunshots?" asked Ardan. "No!"
"Not one?"
"Not one! that hunter did not look as if he knew how to hunt!" "What is to be done?" said Maston.
"We must go into the wood, at the risk of getting a ball which is not intended for us."
"Ah!" cried Maston, in a tone which could not be mistaken, "I would rather have twenty balls in my own head than one in Barbicane's."
"Forward, then," said Ardan, pressing his companion's hand.
A few moments later the two friends had disappeared in the copse. It was a dense thicket, in which rose huge cypresses, sycamores, tulip-trees, olives, tamarinds, oaks, and magnolias.
These different trees had interwoven their branches into an inextricable maze, through which the eye could not penetrate. Michel Ardan and Maston walked side by side in silence through the tall grass, cutting themselves a path through the strong creepers, casting curious glances on the bushes, and momentarily expecting to hear the sound of riflAes for the traces which Barbicane ought to have left of his passage through the wood, there was not a vestige of them visible: so they followed the barely perceptible paths along which Indians had tracked some enemy, and which the dense foliage darkly overshadowed.
After an hour spent in vain pursuit the two stopped in

intensified anxiety.
"It must be all over," said Maston, discourag"Aed.man like
Barbicane would not dodge with his enemy, or ensnare him, would
not even maneuver!He is too open, too bravHee.
has gone
straight ahead, right into the danger, and doubtless far enough from the bushman for the wind to prevent his hearing the report of the rifles."
"But surely," replied Michel Ardan, "since we entered the wood we should have heard!"
"And what if we came too late?" cried Maston in tones of despair. For once Ardan had no reply to make, he and Maston resuming
their walk in silenceF.rom time to time, indeed, they raised
great shouts, calling alternately Barbicane and Nicholl, neither of whom, however, answered their crieOsn. ly the birds,
awakened by the sound, flew past them and disappeared among the branches, while some frightened deer fled precipitately before them.
For another hour their search was continuTedh.e greater part
of the wood had been exploreTdh.ere was nothing to reveal the presence of the combatantsT.he information of the bushman was after all doubtful, and Ardan was about to propose their abandoning this useless pursuit, when all at once Maston stopped.
"Hush!" said he, "there is some one down there!" "Some one?" repeated Michel Ardan.
"Yes; a man!He seems motionlessH. is rifle is not in his hands. What can he be doing?"
"But can you recognize him?" asked Ardan, whose short sight was of little use to him in such circumstances.
"Yes! yes!He is turning toward us," answered Maston. "And it is?"
"Captain Nicholl!"
"Nicholl?" cried Michel Ardan, feeling a terrible pang of grief. "Nicholl unarmed!He has, then, no longer any fear of his adversary!" "Let us go to him," said Michel Ardan, "and find out the truth."
But he and his companion had barely taken fifty steps, when they paused to examine the captain more attentiveTlyh.ey expected

to find a bloodthirsty man, happy in his revenge. On seeing him, they remained stupefied.
A net, composed of very fine meshes, hung between two enormous tulip-trees, and in the midst of this snare, with its wings
entangled, was a poor little bird, uttering pitiful cries, while it vainly struggled to escapTe.he bird-catcher who had laid
this snare was no human being, but a venomous spider, peculiar to that country, as large as a pigeon's egg, and armed with enormous claws.The hideous creature, instead of rushing on its prey, had beaten a sudden retreat and taken refuge in the upper branches of the tulip-tree, for a formidable enemy menaced
its stronghold.
Here, then, was Nicholl, his gun on the ground, forgetful of danger, trying if possible to save the victim from its cobweb prison.At last it was accomplished, and the little bird flew joyfully away and disappeared.
Nicholl lovingly watched its flight, when he heard these words pronounced by a voice full of emotion:
"You are indeed a brave man."
He turned.Michel Ardan was before him, repeating in a different tone:
"And a kindhearted one!"
"Michel Ardan!" cried the captai"nW.
hy are you here?"
"To press your hand, Nicholl, and to prevent you from either killing Barbicane or being killed by him."
"Barbicane!" returned the captain".I have been looking for him for the last two hours in vaWinh. ere is he hiding?"
"Nicholl!" said Michel Ardan, "this is not courteous! we ought always to treat an adversary with respect; rest assureed if Barbicane is still alive we shall find him all the more easily; because if he has not, like you, been amusing himself with freeing oppressed birds, he must be looking for _yWouh_e.n we have found him, Michel Ardan tells you this, there will be no duel between you."
"Between President Barbicane and myself," gravely replied
Nicholl, "there is a rivalry which the death of one of us----"
"Pooh, pooh!" said Ardan".Brave fellows like you indeed! you shall not fight!"

"I will fight, sir!" "No!"
"Captain," said J. T. Maston, with much feeling, "I am a friend of the president's, his _alter ego_, his second self; if you
really must kill some one, _shoot me!_ it will do just as well!"
"Sir," Nicholl replied, seizing his rifle convulsively, "these jokes----"
"Our friend Maston is not joking," replied Ard"Ianf.ully understand his idea of being killed himself in order to save
his friend.But neither he nor Barbicane will fall before the balls of Captain NichollI.ndeed I have so attractive a proposal to make to the two rivals, that both will be eager to accept it."
"What is it?" asked Nicholl with manifest incredulity. "Patience!" exclaimed Ardan". I can only reveal it in the
presence of Barbicane."
"Let us go in search of him then!" cried the captain.
The three men started off at once; the captain having discharged his rifle threw it over his shoulder, and advanced in silence. Another half hour passed, and the pursuit was still fruitless. Maston was oppressed by sinister forebodingsH. e looked fiercely
at Nicholl, asking himself whether the captain's vengeance had already been satisfied, and the unfortunate Barbicane, shot, was perhaps lying dead on some bloody traTckh.e same thought seemed to occur to Ardan; and both were casting inquiring glances on Nicholl, when suddenly Maston paused.
The motionless figure of a man leaning against a gigantic catalpa twenty feet off appeared, half-veiled by the foliage.
"It is he!" said Maston.
Barbicane never movedA.
rdan looked at the captain, but he did
not wince.Ardan went forward crying: "Barbicane! Barbicane!"
No answer!Ardan rushed toward his friend; but in the act of seizing his arms, he stopped short and uttered a cry of surprise.
Barbicane, pencil in hand, was tracing geometrical figures in a
memorandum book, while his unloaded rifle lay beside him on the ground.

Absorbed in his studies, Barbicane, in his turn forgetful of the duel, had seen and heard nothing.
When Ardan took his hand, he looked up and stared at his visitor in astonishment.
"Ah, it is you!" he cried at
I have found it!" "What?"
"My plan!"
"What plan?"
"laIsth. ave found it, my friend,
"The plan for countering the effect of the shock at the departure of the projectile!"
"Indeed?" said Michel Ardan, looking at the captain out of the corner of his eye.
"Yes! water! simply water, which will act as a spring-- ah! Maston," cried Barbicane, "you here also?"
"Himself," replied Ardan; "and permit me to introduce to you at the same time the worthy Captain Nicholl!"
"Nicholl!" cried Barbicane, who jumped up at on"Pcea.rdon me, captain, I had quite forgotten-- I am ready!"
Michel Ardan interfered, without giving the two enemies time to say anything more.
"Thank heaven!" said he".It is a happy thing that brave men
like you two did not meet sooner! we should now have been mourning for one or other of yBout, thanks to Providence, which has interfered, there is now no further cause for alarm.
When one forgets one's anger in mechanics or in cobwebs, it is a sign that the anger is not dangerous."
Michel Ardan then told the president how the captain had been found occupied.
"I put it to you now," said he in conclusion, "are two such good fellows as you are made on purpose to smash each other's skulls with shot?"
There was in "the situation" somewhat of the ridiculous, something quite unexpected; Michel Ardan saw this, and determined to effect a reconciliation.

"My good friends," said he, with his most bewitching smile, "this is nothing but a misunderstandinNgo. thing more! well! to prove that it is all over between you, accept frankly the proposal I am going to make to you."
"Make it," said Nicholl.
"Our friend Barbicane believes that his projectile will go straight to the moon?"
"Yes, certainly," replied the president.
"And our friend Nicholl is persuaded it will fall back upon the earth?" "I am certain of it," cried the captain.
"Good!" said Ardan". I cannot pretend to make you agree; but I suggest this:Go with me, and so see whether we are stopped on our journey."
"What?" exclaimed J. T. Maston, stupefied.
The two rivals, on this sudden proposal, looked steadily at each other.Barbicane waited for the captain's answer. Nicholl watched for the decision of the president.
"Well?" said Michel". There is now no fear of the shock!" "Done!" cried Barbicane.
But quickly as he pronounced the word, he was not before Nicholl.
"Hurrah! bravo! hip! hip! hurrah!" cried Michel, giving a hand to each of the late adversarie"Ns.ow that it is all settled,
my friends, allow me to treat you after French fasLheiotnu. s be off to breakfast!"
CHAPTER XXII
THE NEW CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES

That same day all America heard of the affair of Captain Nicholl and President Barbicane, as well as its singular _denouement_. From that day forth, Michel Ardan had not one moment's rest. Deputations from all corners of the Union harassed him without cessation or intermissionH. e was compelled to receive them
all, whether he would or nHoo. w many hands he shook, how many people he was "hail-fellow-well-met" with, it is impossible
to guess!Such a triumphal result would have intoxicated any
other man; but he managed to keep himself in a state of delightful
_semi_-tipsiness.
Among the deputations of all kinds which assailed him, that of "The Lunatics" were careful not to forget what they owed to the future conqueror of the mooOn.ne day, certain of these poor people, so numerous in America, came to call upon him, and requested permission to return with him to their native country.
"Singular hallucination!" said he to Barbicane, after having dismissed the deputation with promises to convey numbers of messages to friends in the moo"nD.o you believe in the
influence of the moon upon distempers?" "Scarcely!"
"No more do I, despite some remarkable recorded facts of history. For instance, during an epidemic in 1693, a large number of
persons died at the very moment of an eclTiphse. celebrated
Bacon always fainted during an eclipCseh. arles VI relapsed
six times into madness during the year 1399, sometimes during the new, sometimes during the full moGona.ll observed that
insane persons underwent an accession of their disorder twice in every month, at the epochs of new and full mInoofnac. t,
numerous observations made upon fevers, somnambulisms, and other human maladies, seem to prove that the moon does exercise some mysterious influence upon man."
"But the how and the wherefore?" asked Barbicane.
"Well, I can only give you the answer which Arago borrowed from
Plutarch, which is nineteen centuries o`lPd.erhaps the stories are not true!'"
In the height of his triumph, Michel Ardan had to encounter all the annoyances incidental to a man of celebMritya.nagers of entertainments wanted to exhibit himB.arnum offered him a
million dollars to make a tour of the United States in his show. As for his photographs, they were sold of all size, and his portrait taken in every imaginable postuMre.ore than half a
million copies were disposed of in an incredibly short space of time.

But it was not only the men who paid him homage, but the women as well.He might have married well a hundred times over, if he
had been willing to settle in lTifhe.e old maids, in
particular, of forty years and upward, and dry in proportion, devoured his photographs day and nigThth.ey would have married
him by hundreds, even if he had imposed upon them the condition of accompanying him into spacHe.e had, however, no intention
of transplanting a race of Franco-Americans upon the surface of the moon.
He therefore declined all offers.
As soon as he could withdraw from these somewhat embarrassing demonstrations, he went, accompanied by his friends, to pay a
visit to the ColumbiadH. e was highly gratified by his
inspection, and made the descent to the bottom of the tube of this gigantic machine which was presently to launch him to the regions of the moonI.t is necessary here to mention a proposal of J. T. Maston'sW. hen the secretary of the Gun Club found that Barbicane and Nicholl accepted the proposal of Michel
Ardan, he determined to join them, and make one of a smug party of four.So one day he determined to be admitted as one of the travelers. Barbicane, pained at having to refuse him, gave him
clearly to understand that the projectile could not possibly contain so many passengersM. aston, in despair, went in search of Michel Ardan, who counseled him to resign himself to the situation, adding one or two arguments _ad hominem_.
"You see, old fellow," he said, "you must not take what I say in bad part; but really, between ourselves, you are in too
incomplete a condition to appear in the moon!" "Incomplete?" shrieked the valiant invalid.
"Yes, my dear fellow! imagine our meeting some of the inhabitants up there!Would you like to give them such a
melancholy notion of what goes on down here? to teach them what war is, to inform them that we employ our time chiefly in
devouring each other, in smashing arms and legs, and that too on a globe which is capable of supporting a hundred billions
of inhabitants, and which actually does contain nearly two hundred millions?Why, my worthy friend, we should have to turn you out of doors!"
"But still, if you arrive there in pieces, you will be as incomplete as I am."
"Unquestionably," replied Michel Ardan; "but we shall not."
In fact, a preparatory experiment, tried on the 18th of October,

had yielded the best results and caused the most well-grounded hopes of successB. arbicane, desirous of obtaining some notion
of the effect of the shock at the moment of the projectile's departure, had procured a 38-inch mortar from the arsenal
of Pensacola.He had this placed on the bank of Hillisborough Roads, in order that the shell might fall back into the sea, and the shock be thereby destroyeHd.is object was to ascertain the extent of the shock of departure, and not that of the return.
A hollow projectile had been prepared for this curious experiment. A thick padding fastened upon a kind of elastic network, made of the best steel, lined the inside of the wIat llws.as a veritable
_nest_ most carefully wadded.
"What a pity I can't find room in there," said J. T. Maston, regretting that his height did not allow of his trying the adventure.
Within this shell were shut up a large cat, and a squirrel
belonging to J. T. Maston, and of which he was particularly fond. They were desirous, however, of ascertaining how this little
animal, least of all others subject to giddiness, would endure this experimental voyage.
The mortar was charged with 160 pounds of powder, and the shell placed in the chamberO. n being fired, the projectile rose with
great velocity, described a majestic parabola, attained a height
of about a thousand feet, and with a graceful curve descended in the midst of the vessels that lay there at anchor.
Without a moment's loss of time a small boat put off in the direction of its fall; some divers plunged into the water
and attached ropes to the handles of the shell, which was quickly dragged on boardF.ive minutes did not elapse between the moment of enclosing the animals and that of unscrewing the coverlid of their prison.
Ardan, Barbicane, Maston, and Nicholl were present on board the boat, and assisted at the operation with an interest which may
readily be comprehendedH.
ardly had the shell been opened when
the cat leaped out, slightly bruised, but full of life, and
exhibiting no signs whatever of having made an aerial expedition. No trace, however, of the squirrel could be discoverTedh.e truth
at last became apparent-- the cat had eaten its fellow-traveler!
J. T. Maston grieved much for the loss of his poor squirrel, and proposed to add its case to that of other martyrs to science.
After this experiment all hesitation, all fear disappeared. Besides, Barbicane's plans would ensure greater perfection for his projectile, and go far to annihilate altogether the effects
of the shockN.
othing now remained but to go!

Two days later Michel Ardan received a message from the President of the United States, an honor of which he showed himself especially sensible.
After the example of his illustrious fellow-countryman, the Marquis de la Fayette, the government had decreed to him the title of "Citizen of the United States of America."
CHAPTER XXIII
THE PROJECTILE-VEHICLE
On the completion of the Columbiad the public interest centered in the projectile itself, the vehicle which was destined to
carry the three hardy adventurers into space.
The new plans had been sent to Breadwill and Co., of Albany, with the request for their speedy executiTonh.e projectile was consequently cast on the 2nd of November, and immediately forwarded by the Eastern Railway to Stones Hill, which it
reached without accident on the 10th of that month, where Michel
Ardan, Barbicane, and Nicholl were waiting impatiently for it.
The projectile had now to be filled to the depth of three feet with a bed of water, intended to support a water-tight wooden disc, which worked easily within the walls of the projectile.
It was upon this kind of raft that the travelers were to take their place.This body of water was divided by horizontal
partitions, which the shock of the departure would have to break in succession.Then each sheet of the water, from the lowest
to the highest, running off into escape tubes toward the top of the projectile, constituted a kind of spring; and the wooden disc, supplied with extremely powerful plugs, could not strike the lowest plate except after breaking successively the
different partitions.Undoubtedly the travelers would still
have to encounter a violent recoil after the complete escapement of the water; but the first shock would be almost entirely destroyed by this powerful sprinTg.he upper parts of the walls

were lined with a thick padding of leather, fastened upon springs of the best steel, behind which the escape tubes were completely concealed; thus all imaginable precautions had been taken for averting the first shock; and if they did get crushed, they
must, as Michel Ardan said, be made of very bad materials.
The entrance into this metallic tower was by a narrow aperture contrived in the wall of the coTnhe.is was hermetically closed
by a plate of aluminum, fastened internally by powerful
screw-pressure. The travelers could therefore quit their prison at pleasure, as soon as they should reach the moon.
Light and view were given by means of four thick lenticular glass scuttles, two pierced in the circular wall itself, the
third in the bottom, the fourth in the Tthoeps.e scuttles then
were protected against the shock of departure by plates let into solid grooves, which could easily be opened outward by unscrewing them from the insidRe.eservoirs firmly fixed
contained water and the necessary provisions; and fire
and light were procurable by means of gas, contained in a special reservoir under a pressure of several atmospheres.
They had only to turn a tap, and for six hours the gas would light and warm this comfortable vehicle.
There now remained only the question of air; for allowing for
the consumption of air by Barbicane, his two companions, and two dogs which he proposed taking with him, it was necessary to
renew the air of the projectiNleo. w air consists principally
of twenty-one parts of oxygen and seventy-nine of nitrogen.
The lungs absorb the oxygen, which is indispensable for the support of life, and reject the nitrogeTnh.e air expired loses nearly
five per cent. of the former and contains nearly an equal volume of carbonic acid, produced by the combustion of the elements of the blood.In an air-tight enclosure, then, after a certain
time, all the oxygen of the air will be replaced by the carbonic acid-- a gas fatal to liTfeh.ere were two things to be done
then-- first, to replace the absorbed oxygen; secondly, to destroy the expired carbonic acid; both easy enough to do, by
means of chlorate of potassium and caustic potTashhe.
former
is a salt which appears under the form of white crystals; when raised to a temperature of 400 degrees it is transformed into chlorure of potassium, and the oxygen which it contains is entirely liberated.Now twenty-eight pounds of chlorate of
potassium produces seven pounds of oxygen, or 2,400 litres-- the quantity necessary for the travelers during twenty-four hours.
Caustic potash has a great affinity for carbonic acid; and it is sufficient to shake it in order for it to seize upon the acid
and form bicarbonate of potassiumB.y these two means they would be enabled to restore to the vitiated air its life- supporting properties.

It is necessary, however, to add that the experiments had hitherto been made _in anima vilWi_.hatever its scientific
accuracy was, they were at present ignorant how it would answer with human beingsT. he honor of putting it to the proof was energetically claimed by J. T. Maston.
"Since I am not to go," said the brave artillerist, "I may at least live for a week in the projectile."
It would have been hard to refuse him; so they consented to his wish.A sufficient quantity of chlorate of potassium and
of caustic potash was placed at his disposal, together with provisions for eight daysA. nd having shaken hands with his friends, on the 12th of November, at six o'clock A.M., after strictly informing them not to open his prison before the 20th, at six o'clock P.M., he slid down the projectile, the plate of which was at once hermetically sealeWd.hat did he do with himself during that weekT?hey could get no information.
The thickness of the walls of the projectile prevented any sound reaching from the inside to the outsOidne. the 20th
of November, at six P.M. exactly, the plate was opened.
The friends of J. T. Maston had been all along in a state of much anxiety; but they were promptly reassured on hearing a jolly voice shouting a boisterous hurrah.
Presently afterward the secretary of the Gun Club appeared at the top of the cone in a triumphant attitHudee.had grown fat!
CHAPTER XXIV
THE TELESCOPE OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
On the 20th of October in the preceding year, after the close of the subscription, the president of the Gun Club had credited the Observatory of Cambridge with the necessary sums for the construction of a gigantic optical instrumeTnth.is instrument
was designed for the purpose of rendering visible on the surface of the moon any object exceeding nine feet in diameter.

At the period when the Gun Club essayed their great experiment, such instruments had reached a high degree of perfection,
and produced some magnificent resultTs.wo telescopes in particular, at this time, were possessed of remarkable power and of gigantic dimensions.The first, constructed by Herschel, was thirty-six feet in length, and had an object-glass of four feet six inches; it possessed a magnifying power of 6,000.
The second was raised in Ireland, in Parsonstown Park, and belongs to Lord RosseT. he length of this tube is forty-eight feet, and
the diameter of its object-glass six feet; it magnifies 6,400 times, and required an immense erection of brick work and masonry for the purpose of working it, its weight being twelve and a half tons.
Still, despite these colossal dimensions, the actual
enlargements scarcely exceeded 6,000 times in round numbers; consequently, the moon was brought within no nearer an apparent distance than thirty-nine miles; and objects of less than sixty
feet in diameter, unless they were of very considerable length, were still imperceptible.
In the present case, dealing with a projectile nine feet in diameter and fifteen feet long, it became necessary to bring the moon within an apparent distance of five miles at most; and for that purpose to establish a magnifying power of 48,000 times.
Such was the question proposed to the Observatory of Cambridge, There was no lack of funds; the difficulty was purely one
of construction.
After considerable discussion as to the best form and principle of the proposed instrument the work was finally commenced. According to the calculations of the Observatory of Cambridge, the tube of the new reflector would require to be 280 feet in length, and the object-glass sixteen feet in diameter.
Colossal as these dimensions may appear, they were diminutive in comparison with the 10,000 foot telescope proposed by the astronomer Hooke only a few years ago!
Regarding the choice of locality, that matter was
promptly determined.The object was to select some lofty mountain, and there are not many of these in the United States. In fact there are but two chains of moderate elevation, between which runs the magnificent Mississippi, the "king of rivers"
as these Republican Yankees delight to call it.
Eastwards rise the Appalachians, the very highest point of which, in New Hampshire, does not exceed the very moderate altitude of 5,600 feet.

On the west, however, rise the Rocky Mountains, that immense range which, commencing at the Straights of Magellan, follows the western coast of Southern America under the name of the Andes or the Cordilleras, until it crosses the Isthmus of
Panama, and runs up the whole of North America to the very borders of the Polar SeTa.he highest elevation of this range
still does not exceed 10,700 feWet.ith this elevation, nevertheless, the Gun Club were compelled to be content, inasmuch as they had determined that both telescope and Columbiad should be erected within the limits of the Union. All the necessary apparatus was consequently sent on to the summit of Long's Peak, in the territory of Missouri.
Neither pen nor language can describe the difficulties of all kinds which the American engineers had to surmount, of the prodigies of daring and skill which they accomplishTehde.y had
to raise enormous stones, massive pieces of wrought iron, heavy corner-clamps and huge portions of cylinder, with an
object-glass weighing nearly 30,000 pounds, above the line of perpetual snow for more than 10,000 feet in height, after crossing desert prairies, impenetrable forests, fearful rapids,
far from all centers of population, and in the midst of savage regions, in which every detail of life becomes an almost insoluble problem.And yet, notwithstanding these innumerable obstacles, American genius triumphedI.n less than a year after
the commencement of the works, toward the close of September, the gigantic reflector rose into the air to a height of 280 feet.
It was raised by means of an enormous iron crane; an ingenious mechanism allowed it to be easily worked toward all the points of the heavens, and to follow the stars from the one horizon to the other during their journey through the heavens.
It had cost $400,000T. he first time it was directed toward the moon the observers evinced both curiosity and anxiWetyh.at were they about to discover in the field of this telescope which magnified objects 48,000 timesW? ould they perceive peoples, herds of lunar animals, towns, lakes, seNaso?! there was
nothing which science had not already discovered! and on all the points of its disc the volcanic nature of the moon became determinable with the utmost precision.
But the telescope of the Rocky Mountains, before doing its duty to the Gun Club, rendered immense services to astronoTmhyan. ks to its penetrative power, the depths of the heavens were sounded to
the utmost extent; the apparent diameter of a great number of stars was accurately measured; and Mr. Clark, of the Cambridge staff, resolved the Crab nebula in Taurus, which the reflector of Lord Rosse had never been able to decompose.

CHAPTER XXV
FINAL DETAILS
It was the 22nd of November; the departure was to take place in ten days.One operation alone remained to be accomplished to
bring all to a happy termination; an operation delicate and perilous, requiring infinite precautions, and against the success of which Captain Nicholl had laid his thirdItbweta. s,
in fact, nothing less than the loading of the Columbiad, and the introduction into it of 400,000 pounds of gun-cotNtoinc.holl had thought, not perhaps without reason, that the handling of such formidable quantities of pyroxyle would, in all probability,
involve a grave catastrophe; and at any rate, that this immense mass of eminently inflammable matter would inevitably ignite when submitted to the pressure of the projectile.
There were indeed dangers accruing as before from the carelessness of the Americans, but Barbicane had set his heart on success, and took all possible precautioInns.the first
place, he was very careful as to the transportation of the gun-cotton to Stones HilHl. e had it conveyed in small quantities, carefully packed in sealed caseTsh.ese were
brought by rail from Tampa Town to the camp, and from thence
were taken to the Columbiad by barefooted workmen, who deposited them in their places by means of cranes placed at the orifice of
the cannon.No steam-engine was permitted to work, and every fire was extinguished within two miles of the works.
Even in November they feared to work by day, lest the sun's rays acting on the gun-cotton might lead to unhappy resTuhltiss. led
to their working at night, by light produced in a vacuum by means of Ruhmkorff's apparatus, which threw an artificial brightness
into the depths of the ColumbiaTdh.ere the cartridges were
arranged with the utmost regularity, connected by a metallic thread, destined to communicate to them all simultaneously the electric spark, by which means this mass of gun-cotton was eventually
to be ignited.
By the 28th of November eight hundred cartridges had been placed in the bottom of the ColumbiSaod. far the operation had

been successful!But what confusion, what anxieties, what struggles
were undergone by President BarbicanIen!
vain had he refused
admission to Stones Hill; every day the inquisitive neighbors scaled the palisades, some even carrying their imprudence to the point of smoking while surrounded by bales of gun-cotton. Barbicane was in a perpetual state of alaJr.mT. . Maston
seconded him to the best of his ability, by giving vigorous chase to the intruders, and carefully picking up the still lighted cigar ends which the Yankees threw abAouts.omewhat difficult task! seeing that more than 300,000 persons were gathered round the enclosureM. ichel Ardan had volunteered to
superintend the transport of the cartridges to the mouth of the Columbiad; but the president, having surprised him with an enormous cigar in his mouth, while he was hunting out the rash spectators to whom he himself offered so dangerous an example, saw that he could not trust this fearless smoker, and was therefore obliged to mount a special guard over him.
At last, Providence being propitious, this wonderful loading came to a happy termination, Captain Nicholl's third bet being thus lost.It remained now to introduce the projectile into the Columbiad, and to place it on its soft bed of gun-cotton.
But before doing this, all those things necessary for the journey had to be carefully arranged in the projectile vehicle.
These necessaries were numerous; and had Ardan been allowed to follow his own wishes, there would have been no space remaining for the travelersI.t is impossible to conceive of half the
things this charming Frenchman wished to convey to the moon. A veritable stock of useless trifleBsu! t Barbicane interfered
and refused admission to anything not absolutely needed.
Several thermometers, barometers, and telescopes were packed in the instrument case.
The travelers being desirous of examing the moon carefully during their voyage, in order to facilitate their studies,
they took with them Boeer and Moeller's excellent _Mappa Selenographica_, a masterpiece of patience and observation, which they hoped would enable them to identify those physical features in the moon, with which they were acquainted.
This map reproduced with scrupulous fidelity the smallest details of the lunar surface which faces the earth; the mountains, valleys, craters, peaks, and ridges were all represented, with their exact dimensions, relative positions, and names; from the mountains Doerfel and Leibnitz on the
eastern side of the disc, to the _Mare frigoris_ of the North Pole.
They took also three rifles and three fowling-pieces, and a large quantity of balls, shot, and powder.
"We cannot tell whom we shall have to deal with," said Michel Ardan.

"Men or beasts may possibly object to our vItisist. only wise to take all precautions."
These defensive weapons were accompanied by pickaxes, crowbars, saws, and other useful implements, not to mention clothing
adapted to every temperature, from that of polar regions to that of the torrid zone.
Ardan wished to convey a number of animals of different sorts, not indeed a pair of every known species, as he could not see the necessity of acclimatizing serpents, tigers, alligators, or
any other noxious beasts in the mo"oNn.evertheless," he said
to Barbicane, "some valuable and useful beasts, bullocks, cows, horses, and donkeys, would bear the journey very well, and would also be very useful to us."
"I dare say, my dear Ardan," replied the president, "but our projectile-vehicle is no Noah's ark, from which it differs both in dimensions and objectL. et us confine ourselves to possibilities."
After a prolonged discussion, it was agreed that the travelers should restrict themselves to a sporting-dog belonging to Nicholl, and to a large NewfoundlanSde.veral packets of seeds were also included among the necessarieMs.ichel Ardan, indeed,
was anxious to add some sacks full of earth to sow them in; as it was, he took a dozen shrubs carefully wrapped up in straw to plant in the moon.
The important question of provisions still remained; it being necessary to provide against the possibility of their finding
the moon absolutely barrenB. arbicane managed so successfully, that he supplied them with sufficient rations for a year.
These consisted of preserved meats and vegetables, reduced by strong hydraulic pressure to the smallest possible dimensions.
They were also supplied with brandy, and took water enough for two months, being confident, from astronomical observations,
that there was no lack of water on the moon's suArfsacteo. provisions, doubtless the inhabitants of the _earth_ would find nourishment somewhere in the _moonA_.rdan never questioned this; indeed, had he done so, he would never have undertaken the journey.
"Besides," he said one day to his friends, "we shall not be completely abandoned by our terrestrial friends; they will take care not to forget us."
"No, indeed!" replied J. T. Maston.
"Nothing would be simpler," replied Ardan; "the Columbiad will be always there. Well! whenever the moon is in a favorable condition as to the zenith, if not to the perigee, that is to

say about once a year, could you not send us a shell packed with provisions, which we might expect on some appointed day?"
"Hurrah! hurrah!" cried J. T. Matson; "what an ingenious fellow!
what a splendid ideaI!ndeed, my good friends, we shall not forget you!"
"I shall reckon upon youT!hen, you see, we shall receive news regularly from the earth, and we shall indeed be stupid if we
hit upon no plan for communicating with our good friends here!"
These words inspired such confidence, that Michel Ardan carried all the Gun Club with him in his enthusiWasmha.t he said
seemed so simple and so easy, so sure of success, that none could be so sordidly attached to this earth as to hesitate to follow the three travelers on their lunar expedition.
All being ready at last, it remained to place the projectile in
the Columbiad, an operation abundantly accompanied by dangers and difficulties.
The enormous shell was conveyed to the summit of Stones Hill. There, powerful cranes raised it, and held it suspended over the mouth of the cylinder.
It was a fearful momenWt! hat if the chains should break under its enormous weight?The sudden fall of such a body would inevitably cause the gun-cotton to explode!
Fortunately this did not happen; and some hours later the projectile-vehicle descended gently into the heart of the cannon and rested on its couch of pyroxyle, a veritable bed of explosive eider-down.Its pressure had no result, other than
the more effectual ramming down of the charge in the Columbiad.
"I have lost," said the captain, who forthwith paid President
Barbicane the sum of three thousand dollars.
Barbicane did not wish to accept the money from one of his fellow-travelers, but gave way at last before the determination of Nicholl, who wished before leaving the earth to fulfill all
his engagements.
"Now," said Michel Ardan, "I have only one thing more to wish for you, my brave captain."
"What is that?" asked Nicholl.
"It is that you may lose your two other Tbheetsn! we shall be sure not to be stopped on our journey!"

CHAPTER XXVI
FIRE!
The first of December had arrived! the fatal day! for, if the projectile were not discharged that very night at 10h. 48m. 40s. P.M., more than eighteen years must roll by before the moon would again present herself under the same conditions of zenith and perigee.
The weather was magnificenDt. espite the approach of winter, the sun shone brightly, and bathed in its radiant light that
earth which three of its denizens were about to abandon for a new world.
How many persons lost their rest on the night which preceded this long-expected day!All hearts beat with disquietude, save only the heart of Michel ArdaTnh.at imperturbable personage
came and went with his habitual business-like air, while nothing whatever denoted that any unusual matter preoccupied his mind.
After dawn, an innumerable multitude covered the prairie which extends, as far as the eye can reach, round StonesEHveirlyl.
quarter of an hour the railway brought fresh accessions of sightseers; and, according to the statement of the Tampa Town
_Observer_, not less than five millions of spectators thronged the soil of Florida.
For a whole month previously, the mass of these persons had bivouacked round the enclosure, and laid the foundations for a town which was afterward called "Ardan's TowTnh."e whole plain was covered with huts, cottages, and tenEtvs.ery nation under
the sun was represented there; and every language might be heard spoken at the same timIet. was a perfect Babel re-enacted.
All the various classes of American society were mingled together in terms of absolute equaliBtya.nkers, farmers, sailors, cotton-planters, brokers, merchants, watermen,
magistrates, elbowed each other in the most free-and-easy way. Louisiana Creoles fraternized with farmers from Indiana;

Kentucky and Tennessee gentlemen and haughty Virginians conversed with trappers and the half-savages of the lakes and butchers from CincinnatiB. road-brimmed white hats and Panamas, blue-cotton trousers, light-colored stockings, cambric frills,
were all here displayed; while upon shirt-fronts, wristbands,
and neckties, upon every finger, even upon the very ears, they wore an assortment of rings, shirt-pins, brooches, and trinkets,
of which the value only equaled the execrable tWastoem. en, children, and servants, in equally expensive dress, surrounded their husbands, fathers, or masters, who resembled the patriarchs of tribes in the midst of their immense households.
At meal-times all fell to work upon the dishes peculiar to the Southern States, and consumed with an appetite that threatened speedy exhaustion of the victualing powers of Florida,
fricasseed frogs, stuffed monkey, fish chowder, underdone
'possum, and raccoon steaksA. nd as for the liquors which accompanied this indigestible repast!The shouts, the vociferations that resounded through the bars and taverns decorated with glasses, tankards, and bottles of marvelous shape, mortars for pounding sugar, and bundles of straws! "Mint-julep" roars one of the barmen; "Claret sangaree!" shouts another; "Cocktail!" "Brandy-smash!" "Real mint-julep in the new style!A" ll these cries intermingled produced a bewildering and deafening hubbub.
But on this day, 1st of December, such sounds wereNroareo.ne thought of eating or drinking, and at four P.M. there were vast numbers of spectators who had not even taken their customary lunch! And, a still more significant fact, even the national
passion for play seemed quelled for the time under the general excitement of the hour.
Up till nightfall, a dull, noiseless agitation, such as
precedes great catastrophes, ran through the anxious multitude. An indescribable uneasiness pervaded all minds, an indefinable sensation which oppressed the heart.Every one wished it was over.
However, about seven o'clock, the heavy silence was dissipated. The moon rose above the horizoMn.illions of hurrahs hailed
her appearance.She was punctual to the rendezvous, and shouts of welcome greeted her on all sides, as her pale beams shone gracefully in the clear heavenAs.t this moment the three
intrepid travelers appearedT. his was the signal for renewed cries of still greater intensitIyn.stantly the vast
assemblage, as with one accord, struck up the national hymn of the United States, and "Yankee Doodle," sung by five million of hearty throats, rose like a roaring tempest to the farthest
limits of the atmosphereT.hen a profound silence reigned throughout the crowd.

The Frenchman and the two Americans had by this time entered the enclosure reserved in the center of the multituTdhee.y were
accompanied by the members of the Gun Club, and by deputations sent from all the European ObservatorieBsa.rbicane, cool and
collected, was giving his final directionsN. icholl, with
compressed lips, his arms crossed behind his back, walked with a firm and measured steMp. ichel Ardan, always easy, dressed in thorough traveler's costume, leathern gaiters on his legs, pouch
by his side, in loose velvet suit, cigar in mouth, was full of inexhaustible gayety, laughing, joking, playing pranks with J.
T. Maston.In one word, he was the thorough "Frenchman" (and worse, a "Parisian") to the last moment.
Ten o'clock struck! The moment had arrived for taking their places in the projectileT!he necessary operations for the descent, and the subsequent removal of the cranes and scaffolding that inclined over the mouth of the Columbiad, required a certain period of time.
Barbicane had regulated his chronometer to the tenth part of a second by that of Murchison the engineer, who was charged with the duty of firing the gun by means of an electric spark.
Thus the travelers enclosed within the projectile were enabled
to follow with their eyes the impassive needle which marked the precise moment of their departure.
The moment had arrived for saying "good-bTy!h"e scene was a touching one.Despite his feverish gayety, even Michel Ardan was touched.J. T. Maston had found in his own dry eyes one
ancient tear, which he had doubtless reserved for the occasion. He dropped it on the forehead of his dear president.
"Can I not go?" he said, "there is still time!"
"Impossible, old fellow!" replied BarbicanAe. few moments later, the three fellow-travelers had ensconced themselves in
the projectile, and screwed down the plate which covered the entrance-aperture. The mouth of the Columbiad, now completely disencumbered, was open entirely to the sky.
The moon advanced upward in a heaven of the purest clearness, outshining in her passage the twinkling light of the stars.
She passed over the constellation of the Twins, and was now nearing the halfway point between the horizon and the zenith.
A terrible silence weighed upon the entire sceNnoet!
a breath of
wind upon the earth! not a sound of breathing from the countless chests of the spectatorsT! heir hearts seemed afraid to beat!
All eyes were fixed upon the yawning mouth of the Columbiad.
Murchison followed with his eye the hand of his chronometer.
It wanted scarce forty seconds to the moment of departure, but

each second seemed to last an aAget! the twentieth there was a general shudder, as it occurred to the minds of that vast assemblage that the bold travelers shut up within the projectile were also counting those terrible secondSso.me few cries here and there escaped the crowd.
"Thirty-five!-- thirty-six!-- thirty-seven!-- thirty-eight!-- thirty-nine!-- forty!FIRE!!!"
Instantly Murchison pressed with his finger the key of the electric battery, restored the current of the fluid, and discharged the spark into the breech of the Columbiad.
An appalling unearthly report followed instantly, such as can be compared to nothing whatever known, not even to the roar of thunder, or the blast of volcanic explosionNs!o words can
convey the slightest idea of the terrific souAnnd!immense
spout of fire shot up from the bowels of the earth as from a crater. The earth heaved up, and with great difficulty some few spectators obtained a momentary glimpse of the projectile victoriously
cleaving the air in the midst of the fiery vapors!
CHAPTER XXVII
FOUL WEATHER
At the moment when that pyramid of fire rose to a prodigious height into the air, the glare of flame lit up the whole of Florida; and for a moment day superseded night over a considerable extent of the countrTy.his immense canopy of fire
was perceived at a distance of one hundred miles out at sea, and more than one ship's captain entered in his log the appearance
of this gigantic meteor.
The discharge of the Columbiad was accompanied by a perfect earthquake.Florida was shaken to its very depths.
The gases of the powder, expanded by heat, forced back the

atmospheric strata with tremendous violence, and this artificial hurricane rushed like a water-spout through the air.
Not a single spectator remained on his fMeeet!n, women children, all lay prostrate like ears of corn under a tempest. There ensued a terrible tumult; a large number of persons were seriously injured.J. T. Maston, who, despite all dictates of
prudence, had kept in advance of the mass, was pitched back 120 feet, shooting like a projectile over the heads of his
fellow-citizens. Three hundred thousand persons remained deaf for a time, and as though struck stupefied.
As soon as the first effects were over, the injured, the deaf, and lastly, the crowd in general, woke up with frenzied cries. "Hurrah for Ardan!Hurrah for Barbicane!Hurrah for Nicholl!" rose to the skiesT. housands of persons, noses in air, armed with telescopes and race-glasses, were questioning space, forgetting all contusions and emotions in the one idea of watching for the projectileT.hey looked in vainI!t was no
longer to be seen, and they were obliged to wait for telegrams from Long's PeakT. he director of the Cambridge Observatory was at his post on the Rocky Mountains; and to him, as a skillful
and persevering astronomer, all observations had been confided.
But an unforeseen phenomenon came in to subject the public impatience to a severe trial.
The weather, hitherto so fine, suddenly changed; the sky became heavy with cloudsI.t could not have been otherwise after the terrible derangement of the atmospheric strata, and the dispersion of the enormous quantity of vapor arising from the combustion of
200,000 pounds of pyroxyle!
On the morrow the horizon was covered with clouds-- a thick and impenetrable curtain between earth and sky, which unhappily extended as far as the Rocky MountaiInt s.was a fatality!
But since man had chosen so to disturb the atmosphere, he was bound to accept the consequences of his experiment.
Supposing, now, that the experiment had succeeded, the travelers having started on the 1st of December, at 10h. 46m. 40s. P.M., were due on the 4th at 0h. P.M. at their destinSaotiotnh.at
up to that time it would have been very difficult after all to
have observed, under such conditions, a body so small as the shell. Therefore they waited with what patience they might.
From the 4th to the 6th of December inclusive, the weather remaining much the same in America, the great European instruments of Herschel, Rosse, and Foucault, were constantly directed toward the moon, for the weather was then magnificent; but the comparative weakness of their glasses prevented any

trustworthy observations being made.
On the 7th the sky seemed to lighTtehne.y were in hopes now, but their hope was of but short duration, and at night again thick clouds hid the starry vault from all eyes.
Matters were now becoming serious, when on the 9th the sun reappeared for an instant, as if for the purpose of teasing
the Americans.It was received with hisses; and wounded, no
doubt, by such a reception, showed itself very sparing of its rays.
On the 10th, no changJe.! T. Maston went nearly mad, and great fears were entertained regarding the brain of this worthy individual, which had hitherto been so well preserved within his gutta-percha cranium.
But on the 11th one of those inexplicable tempests peculiar to those intertropical regions was let loose in the atmosphere.
A terrific east wind swept away the groups of clouds which had been so long gathering, and at night the semi-disc of the orb of night rode majestically amid the soft constellations of the sky.
CHAPTER XXVIII
A NEW STAR
That very night, the startling news so impatiently awaited, burst like a thunderbolt over the United States of the Union, and thence, darting across the ocean, ran through all the telegraphic wires of the globTe.he projectile had been
detected, thanks to the gigantic reflector of Long's Peak!
Here is the note received by the director of the Observatory of Cambridge.It contains the scientific conclusion regarding
this great experiment of the Gun Club.
LONG'S PEAK, December 12. To the Officers of the Observatory of Cambridge.

The projectile discharged by the Columbiad at Stones Hill has been detected by Messrs. Belfast and J. T. Maston, 12th of December, at 8:47 P.M., the moon having entered her last quarter. This projectile has not arrived at its destinatIitonh.as
passed by the side; but sufficiently near to be retained by the lunar attraction.
The rectilinear movement has thus become changed into a circular motion of extreme velocity, and it is now pursuing an elliptical orbit round the moon, of which it has become a true satellite.
The elements of this new star we have as yet been unable to determine; we do not yet know the velocity of its passage. The distance which separates it from the surface of the moon may be estimated at about 2,833 miles.
However, two hypotheses come here into our consideration.
1. Either the attraction of the moon will end by drawing them into itself, and the travelers will attain their destination; or,
2. The projectile, following an immutable law, will continue to gravitate round the moon till the end of time.
At some future time, our observations will be able to determine this point, but till then the experiment of the Gun Club can
have no other result than to have provided our solar system with a new star.
J. BELFAST.
To how many questions did this unexpected _denouement_ give rise? What mysterious results was the future reserving for the
investigation of science?At all events, the names of Nicholl, Barbicane, and Michel Ardan were certain to be immortalized in the annals of astronomy!
When the dispatch from Long's Peak had once become known, there
was but one universal feeling of surprise and alWarmas. it
possible to go to the aid of these bold traveNleor!s?for they
had placed themselves beyond the pale of humanity, by crossing the limits imposed by the Creator on his earthly creatures.
They had air enough for _two_ months; they had victuals enough for _twelve;-- but after that?T_here was only one man who
would not admit that the situation was desperate-- he alone had confidence; and that was their devoted friend J. T. Maston.
Besides, he never let them get out of sHigihst.home was henceforth the post at Long's Peak; his horizon, the mirror of
that immense reflectorA.
s soon as the moon rose above the

horizon, he immediately caught her in the field of the telescope; he never let her go for an instant out of his
sight, and followed her assiduously in her course through the stellar spaces.He watched with untiring patience the passage
of the projectile across her silvery disc, and really the worthy man remained in perpetual communication with his three friends, whom he did not despair of seeing again some day.
"Those three men," said he, "have carried into space all the resources of art, science, and industrWy.ith that, one can do anything; and you will see that, some day, they will come out all right."
[End.]