The Professor's Experiences

: BOOK II

"Yes, my comet!" repeated the professor, and from time to time he

knitted his brows, and looked around him with a defiant air, as though

he could not get rid of the impression that someone was laying an

unwarranted claim to its proprietorship, or that the individuals before

him were intruders upon his own proper domain.



But for a considerable while, Servadac, the count, and the lieutenant

remained silent
nd sunk in thought. Here then, at last, was the

unriddling of the enigma they had been so long endeavoring to solve;

both the hypotheses they had formed in succession had now to give way

before the announcement of the real truth. The first supposition, that

the rotatory axis of the earth had been subject to some accidental

modification, and the conjecture that replaced it, namely, that a

certain portion of the terrestrial sphere had been splintered off and

carried into space, had both now to yield to the representation that

the earth had been grazed by an unknown comet, which had caught up some

scattered fragments from its surface, and was bearing them far away into

sidereal regions. Unfolded lay the past and the present before them; but

this only served to awaken a keener interest about the future. Could the

professor throw any light upon that? they longed to inquire, but did not

yet venture to ask him.



Meanwhile Rosette assumed a pompous professional air, and appeared to

be waiting for the entire party to be ceremoniously introduced to him.

Nothing unwilling to humor the vanity of the eccentric little man,

Servadac proceeded to go through the expected formalities.



"Allow me to present to you my excellent friend, the Count Timascheff,"

he said.



"You are very welcome," said Rosette, bowing to the count with a smile

of condescension.



"Although I am not precisely a voluntary resident on your comet, Mr.

Professor, I beg to acknowledge your courteous reception," gravely

responded Timascheff.



Servadac could not quite conceal his amusement at the count's irony, but

continued, "This is Lieutenant Procope, the officer in command of the

Dobryna."



The professor bowed again in frigid dignity.



"His yacht has conveyed us right round Gallia," added the captain.



"Round Gallia?" eagerly exclaimed the professor.



"Yes, entirely round it," answered Servadac, and without allowing time

for reply, proceeded, "And this is my orderly, Ben Zoof."



"Aide-de-camp to his Excellency the Governor of Gallia," interposed Ben

Zoof himself, anxious to maintain his master's honor as well as his own.



Rosette scarcely bent his head.



The rest of the population of the Hive were all presented in succession:

the Russian sailors, the Spaniards, young Pablo, and little Nina, on

whom the professor, evidently no lover of children, glared fiercely

through his formidable spectacles. Isaac Hakkabut, after his

introduction, begged to be allowed to ask one question.



"How soon may we hope to get back?" he inquired.



"Get back!" rejoined Rosette, sharply; "who talks of getting back? We

have hardly started yet."



Seeing that the professor was inclined to get angry, Captain Servadac

adroitly gave a new turn to the conversation by asking him whether

he would gratify them by relating his own recent experiences. The

astronomer seemed pleased with the proposal, and at once commenced a

verbose and somewhat circumlocutory address, of which the following

summary presents the main features.



The French Government, being desirous of verifying the measurement

already made of the arc of the meridian of Paris, appointed a scientific

commission for that purpose. From that commission the name of Palmyrin

Rosette was omitted, apparently for no other reason than his personal

unpopularity. Furious at the slight, the professor resolved to set to

work independently on his own account, and declaring that there were

inaccuracies in the previous geodesic operations, he determined to

re-examine the results of the last triangulation which had united

Formentera to the Spanish coast by a triangle, one of the sides of which

measured over a hundred miles, the very operation which had already been

so successfully accomplished by Arago and Biot.



Accordingly, leaving Paris for the Balearic Isles, he placed his

observatory on the highest point of Formentera, and accompanied as he

was only by his servant, Joseph, led the life of a recluse. He secured

the services of a former assistant, and dispatched him to a high peak on

the coast of Spain, where he had to superintend a reverberator, which,

with the aid of a glass, could be seen from Formentera. A few books and

instruments, and two months' victuals, was all the baggage he took with

him, except an excellent astronomical telescope, which was, indeed,

almost part and parcel of himself, and with which he assiduously scanned

the heavens, in the sanguine anticipation of making some discovery which

would immortalize his name.



The task he had undertaken demanded the utmost patience. Night after

night, in order to fix the apex of his triangle, he had to linger on the

watch for the assistant's signal-light, but he did not forget that

his predecessors, Arago and Biot, had had to wait sixty-one days for a

similar purpose. What retarded the work was the dense fog which, it has

been already mentioned, at that time enveloped not only that part of

Europe, but almost the entire world.



Never failing to turn to the best advantage the few intervals when the

mist lifted a little, the astronomer would at the same time cast an

inquiring glance at the firmament, as he was greatly interested in the

revision of the chart of the heavens, in the region contiguous to the

constellation Gemini.



To the naked eye this constellation consists of only six stars, but

through a telescope ten inches in diameter, as many as six thousand

are visible. Rosette, however, did not possess a reflector of this

magnitude, and was obliged to content himself with the good but

comparatively small instrument he had.



On one of these occasions, whilst carefully gauging the recesses of

Gemini, he espied a bright speck which was unregistered in the chart,

and which at first he took for a small star that had escaped being

entered in the catalogue. But the observation of a few separate nights

soon made it manifest that the star was rapidly changing its position

with regard to the adjacent stars, and the astronomer's heart began to

leap at the thought that the renown of the discovery of a new planet

would be associated with his name.



Redoubling his attention, he soon satisfied himself that what he saw was

not a planet; the rapidity of its displacement rather forced him to

the conjecture that it must be a comet, and this opinion was soon

strengthened by the appearance of a coma, and subsequently confirmed, as

the body approached the sun, by the development of a tail.



A comet! The discovery was fatal to all further progress in the

triangulation. However conscientiously the assistant on the Spanish

coast might look to the kindling of the beacon, Rosette had no glances

to spare for that direction; he had no eyes except for the one object of

his notice, no thoughts apart from that one quarter of the firmament.



A comet! No time must be lost in calculating its elements.



Now, in order to calculate the elements of a comet, it is always deemed

the safest mode of procedure to assume the orbit to be a parabola.

Ordinarily, comets are conspicuous at their perihelia, as being their

shortest distances from the sun, which is the focus of their orbit,

and inasmuch as a parabola is but an ellipse with its axis indefinitely

produced, for some short portion of its pathway the orbit may be

indifferently considered either one or the other; but in this particular

case the professor was right in adopting the supposition of its being

parabolic.



Just as in a circle, it is necessary to know three points to determine

the circumference; so in ascertaining the elements of a comet, three

different positions must be observed before what astronomers call its

"ephemeris" can be established.



But Professor Rosette did not content himself with three positions;

taking advantage of every rift in the fog he made ten, twenty, thirty

observations both in right ascension and in declination, and succeeded

in working out with the most minute accuracy the five elements of the

comet which was evidently advancing with astounding rapidity towards the

earth.



These elements were:



1. The inclination of the plane of the cometary orbit to the plane of

the ecliptic, an angle which is generally considerable, but in this case

the planes were proved to coincide.



2. The position of the ascending node, or the point where the comet

crossed the terrestrial orbit.



These two elements being obtained, the position in space of the comet's

orbit was determined.



3. The direction of the axis major of the orbit, which was found by

calculating the longitude of the comet's perihelion.



4. The perihelion distance from the sun, which settled the precise form

of the parabola.



5. The motion of the comet, as being retrograde, or, unlike the planets,

from east to west.



Rosette thus found himself able to calculate the date at which the comet

would reach its perihelion, and, overjoyed at his discovery, without

thinking of calling it Palmyra or Rosette, after his own name, he

resolved that it should be known as Gallia.



His next business was to draw up a formal report. Not only did he at

once recognize that a collision with the earth was possible, but he soon

foresaw that it was inevitable, and that it must happen on the night of

the 31st of December; moreover, as the bodies were moving in opposite

directions, the shock could hardly fail to be violent.



To say that he was elated at the prospect was far below the truth; his

delight amounted almost to delirium. Anyone else would have hurried from

the solitude of Formentera in sheer fright; but, without communicating

a word of his startling discovery, he remained resolutely at his post.

From occasional newspapers which he had received, he had learnt that

fogs, dense as ever, continued to envelop both hemispheres, so that

he was assured that the existence of the comet was utterly unknown

elsewhere; and the ignorance of the world as to the peril that

threatened it averted the panic that would have followed the publication

of the facts, and left the philosopher of Formentera in sole possession

of the great secret. He clung to his post with the greater persistency,

because his calculations had led him to the conclusion that the comet

would strike the earth somewhere to the south of Algeria, and as it had

a solid nucleus, he felt sure that, as he expressed it, the effect would

be "unique," and he was anxious to be in the vicinity.



The shock came, and with it the results already recorded. Palmyrin

Rosette was suddenly separated from his servant Joseph, and when, after

a long period of unconsciousness, he came to himself, he found that

he was the solitary occupant of the only fragment that survived of the

Balearic Archipelago.



Such was the substance of the narrative which the professor gave

with sundry repetitions and digressions; while he was giving it, he

frequently paused and frowned as if irritated in a way that seemed by

no means justified by the patient and good-humored demeanor of his

audience.



"But now, gentlemen," added the professor, "I must tell you something

more. Important changes have resulted from the collision; the cardinal

points have been displaced; gravity has been diminished: not that I ever

supposed for a minute, as you did, that I was still upon the earth. No!

the earth, attended by her moon, continued to rotate along her proper

orbit. But we, gentlemen, have nothing to complain of; our destiny might

have been far worse; we might all have been crushed to death, or the

comet might have remained in adhesion to the earth; and in neither of

these cases should we have had the satisfaction of making this marvelous

excursion through untraversed solar regions. No, gentlemen, I repeat it,

we have nothing to regret."



And as the professor spoke, he seemed to kindle with the emotion of such

supreme contentment that no one had the heart to gainsay his assertion.

Ben Zoof alone ventured an unlucky remark to the effect that if the

comet had happened to strike against Montmartre, instead of a bit of

Africa, it would have met with some resistance.



"Pshaw!" said Rosette, disdainfully. "A mole-hill like Montmartre would

have been ground to powder in a moment."



"Mole-hill!" exclaimed Ben Zoof, stung to the quick. "I can tell you it

would have caught up your bit of a comet and worn it like a feather in a

cap."



The professor looked angry, and Servadac having imposed silence upon

his orderly, explained the worthy soldier's sensitiveness on all that

concerned Montmartre. Always obedient to his master, Ben Zoof held his

tongue; but he felt that he could never forgive the slight that had been

cast upon his beloved home.



It was now all-important to learn whether the astronomer had been able

to continue his observations, and whether he had learned sufficient of

Gallia's path through space to make him competent to determine, at least

approximately, the period of its revolution round the sun. With as much

tact and caution as he could, Lieutenant Procope endeavored to intimate

the general desire for some information on this point.



"Before the shock, sir," answered the professor, "I had conclusively

demonstrated the path of the comet; but, in consequence of the

modifications which that shock has entailed upon my comet's orbit, I

have been compelled entirely to recommence my calculations."



The lieutenant looked disappointed.



"Although the orbit of the earth was unaltered," continued the

professor, "the result of the collision was the projection of the comet

into a new orbit altogether."



"And may I ask," said Procope, deferentially, "whether you have got the

elements of the fresh orbit?"



"Yes."



"Then perhaps you know--"



"I know this, sir, that at 47 minutes 35.6 seconds after two o'clock on

the morning of the 1st of January last, Gallia, in passing its ascending

node, came in contact with the earth; that on the 10th of January it

crossed the orbit of Venus; that it reached its perihelion on the 15th;

that it re-crossed the orbit of Venus; that on the 1st of February

it passed its descending node; on the 13th crossed the orbit of Mars;

entered the zone of the telescopic planets on the 10th of March, and,

attracting Nerina, carried it off as a satellite."



Servadac interposed:



"We are already acquainted with well-nigh all these extraordinary facts;

many of them, moreover, we have learned from documents which we have

picked up, and which, although unsigned, we cannot entertain a doubt

have originated with you."



Professor Rosette drew himself up proudly and said: "Of course, they

originated with me. I sent them off by hundreds. From whom else could

they come?"



"From no one but yourself, certainly," rejoined the count, with grave

politeness.



Hitherto the conversation had thrown no light upon the future movements

of Gallia, and Rosette was disposed apparently to evade, or at least to

postpone, the subject. When, therefore, Lieutenant Procope was about to

press his inquiries in a more categorical form, Servadac, thinking

it advisable not prematurely to press the little savant too far,

interrupted him by asking the professor how he accounted for the earth

having suffered so little from such a formidable concussion.



"I account for it in this way," answered Rosette: "the earth was

traveling at the rate of 28,000 leagues an hour, and Gallia at the rate

of 57,000 leagues an hour, therefore the result was the same as though

a train rushing along at a speed of about 86,000 leagues an hour had

suddenly encountered some obstacle. The nucleus of the comet, being

excessively hard, has done exactly what a ball would do fired with that

velocity close to a pane of glass. It has crossed the earth without

cracking it."



"It is possible you may be right," said Servadac, thoughtfully.



"Right! of course I am right!" replied the snappish professor. Soon,

however, recovering his equanimity, he continued: "It is fortunate

that the earth was only touched obliquely; if the comet had impinged

perpendicularly, it must have plowed its way deep below the surface, and

the disasters it might have caused are beyond reckoning. Perhaps,"

he added, with a smile, "even Montmartre might not have survived the

calamity."



"Sir!" shouted Ben Zoof, quite unable to bear the unprovoked attack.



"Quiet, Ben Zoof!" said Servadac sternly.



Fortunately for the sake of peace, Isaac Hakkabut, who at length was

beginning to realize something of the true condition of things, came

forward at this moment, and in a voice trembling with eagerness,

implored the professor to tell him when they would all be back again

upon the earth.



"Are you in a great hurry?" asked the professor coolly.



The Jew was about to speak again, when Captain Servadac interposed:

"Allow me to say that, in somewhat more scientific terms, I was about to

ask you the same question. Did I not understand you to say that, as the

consequence of the collision, the character of the comet's orbit has

been changed?"



"You did, sir."



"Did you imply that the orbit has ceased to be a parabola?"



"Just so."



"Is it then an hyperbola? and are we to be carried on far and away into

remote distance, and never, never to return?"



"I did not say an hyperbola."



"And is it not?"



"It is not."



"Then it must be an ellipse?"



"Yes."



"And does its plane coincide with the plane of the earth?"



"Yes."



"Then it must be a periodic comet?"



"It is."



Servadac involuntarily raised a ringing shout of joy that echoed again

along the gallery.



"Yes," continued the professor, "Gallia is a periodic comet, and

allowing for the perturbations to which it is liable from the attraction

of Mars and Jupiter and Saturn, it will return to the earth again in two

years precisely."



"You mean that in two years after the first shock, Gallia will meet the

earth at the same point as they met before?" said Lieutenant Procope.



"I am afraid so," said Rosette.



"Why afraid?"



"Because we are doing exceedingly well as we are." The professor stamped

his foot upon the ground, by way of emphasis, and added, "If I had my

will, Gallia should never return to the earth again!"



More

;