/>
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 destination. It has

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 alarm. Was it

possible to go to the aid of these bold travelers? No! 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? There 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 sight. His home was

henceforth the post at Long's Peak; his horizon, the mirror of

that immense reflector. As 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 industry. With that, one can do

anything; and you will see that, some day, they will come out

all right."







ROUND THE MOON



A SEQUEL TO



FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON











ROUND THE MOON









PRELIMINARY CHAPTER





THE FIRST PART OF THIS WORK, AND SERVING AS A PREFACE TO THE SECOND



During the year 186-, the whole world was greatly excited by a

scientific experiment unprecedented in the annals of science.

The members of the Gun Club, a circle of artillerymen formed at

Baltimore after the American war, conceived the idea of

putting themselves in communication with the moon!-- yes, with

the moon-- by sending to her a projectile. Their president,

Barbicane, the promoter of the enterprise, having consulted the

astronomers of the Cambridge Observatory upon the subject, took

all necessary means to ensure the success of this extraordinary

enterprise, which had been declared practicable by the majority

of competent judges. After setting on foot a public

subscription, which realized nearly L1,200,000, they began the

gigantic work.



According to the advice forwarded from the members of the

Observatory, the gun destined to launch the projectile had to be

fixed in a country situated between the 0 and 28th degrees of

north or south latitude, in order to aim at the moon when at the

zenith; and its initiatory velocity was fixed at twelve thousand

yards to the second. Launched on the 1st of December, at 10hrs.

46m. 40s. P.M., it ought to reach the moon four days after its

departure, that is on the 5th of December, at midnight

precisely, at the moment of her attaining her perigee, that is

her nearest distance from the earth, which is exactly 86,410

leagues (French), or 238,833 miles mean distance (English).



The principal members of the Gun Club, President Barbicane,

Major Elphinstone, the secretary Joseph T. Maston, and other

learned men, held several meetings, at which the shape and

composition of the projectile were discussed, also the position

and nature of the gun, and the quality and quantity of powder

to be used. It was decided: First, that the projectile should

be a shell made of aluminum with a diameter of 108 inches and a

thickness of twelve inches to its walls; and should weigh

19,250 pounds. Second, that the gun should be a Columbiad

cast in iron, 900 feet long, and run perpendicularly into

the earth. Third, that the charge should contain 400,000 pounds

of gun-cotton, which, giving out six billions of litres of gas in

rear of the projectile, would easily carry it toward the orb of night.



These questions determined President Barbicane, assisted by

Murchison the engineer, to choose a spot situated in Florida, in

27@ 7' North latitude, and 77@ 3' West (Greenwich) longitude.

It was on this spot, after stupendous labor, that the Columbiad

was cast with full success. Things stood thus, when an incident

took place which increased the interest attached to this great

enterprise a hundredfold.



A Frenchman, an enthusiastic Parisian, as witty as he was bold,

asked to be enclosed in the projectile, in order that he might

reach the moon, and reconnoiter this terrestrial satellite.

The name of this intrepid adventurer was Michel Ardan. He landed

in America, was received with enthusiasm, held meetings, saw

himself carried in triumph, reconciled President Barbicane to

his mortal enemy, Captain Nicholl, and, as a token of

reconciliation, persuaded them both to start with him in

the projectile. The proposition being accepted, the shape

of the projectile was slightly altered. It was made of a

cylindro-conical form. This species of aerial car was lined with

strong springs and partitions to deaden the shock of departure.

It was provided with food for a year, water for some months,

and gas for some days. A self-acting apparatus supplied the

three travelers with air to breathe. At the same time, on one

of the highest points of the Rocky Mountains, the Gun Club had

a gigantic telescope erected, in order that they might be able

to follow the course of the projectile through space. All was

then ready.



On the 30th of November, at the hour fixed upon, from the midst

of an extraordinary crowd of spectators, the departure took place,

and for the first time, three human beings quitted the terrestrial

globe, and launched into inter-planetary space with almost a

certainty of reaching their destination. These bold travelers,

Michel Ardan, President Barbicane, and Captain Nicholl, ought to

make the passage in ninety-seven hours, thirteen minutes, and

twenty seconds. Consequently, their arrival on the lunar disc

could not take place until the 5th of December at twelve at night,

at the exact moment when the moon should be full, and not on the

4th, as some badly informed journalists had announced.



But an unforeseen circumstance, viz., the detonation produced

by the Columbiad, had the immediate effect of troubling the

terrestrial atmosphere, by accumulating a large quantity of

vapor, a phenomenon which excited universal indignation, for the

moon was hidden from the eyes of the watchers for several nights.



The worthy Joseph T. Maston, the staunchest friend of the three

travelers, started for the Rocky Mountains, accompanied by the

Hon. J. Belfast, director of the Cambridge Observatory, and

reached the station of Long's Peak, where the telescope was

erected which brought the moon within an apparent distance of

two leagues. The honorable secretary of the Gun Club wished

himself to observe the vehicle of his daring friends.



The accumulation of the clouds in the atmosphere prevented all

observation on the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th of December.

Indeed it was thought that all observations would have to be put

off to the 3d of January in the following year; for the moon

entering its last quarter on the 11th, would then only present

an ever-decreasing portion of her disc, insufficient to allow

of their following the course of the projectile.



At length, to the general satisfaction, a heavy storm cleared

the atmosphere on the night of the 11th and 12th of December,

and the moon, with half-illuminated disc, was plainly to be seen

upon the black sky.



That very night a telegram was sent from the station of Long's

Peak by Joseph T. Maston and Belfast to the gentlemen of the

Cambridge Observatory, announcing that on the 11th of December

at 8h. 47m. P.M., the projectile launched by the Columbiad of

Stones Hill had been detected by Messrs. Belfast and Maston--

that it had deviated from its course from some unknown cause,

and had not reached its destination; but that it had passed near

enough to be retained by the lunar attraction; that its

rectilinear movement had been changed to a circular one, and

that following an elliptical orbit round the star of night it

had become its satellite. The telegram added that the elements

of this new star had not yet been calculated; and indeed three

observations made upon a star in three different positions are

necessary to determine these elements. Then it showed that the

distance separating the projectile from the lunar surface "might"

be reckoned at about 2,833 miles.



It ended with the double hypothesis: either the attraction of

the moon would draw it to herself, and the travelers thus attain

their end; or that the projectile, held in one immutable orbit,

would gravitate around the lunar disc to all eternity.



With such alternatives, what would be the fate of the travelers?

Certainly they had food for some time. But supposing they did

succeed in their rash enterprise, how would they return?

Could they ever return? Should they hear from them?

These questions, debated by the most learned pens of the day,

strongly engrossed the public attention.



It is advisable here to make a remark which ought to be well

considered by hasty observers. When a purely speculative

discovery is announced to the public, it cannot be done with too

much prudence. No one is obliged to discover either a planet,

a comet, or a satellite; and whoever makes a mistake in such a

case exposes himself justly to the derision of the mass.

Far better is it to wait; and that is what the impatient Joseph

T. Maston should have done before sending this telegram forth to

the world, which, according to his idea, told the whole result

of the enterprise. Indeed this telegram contained two sorts of

errors, as was proved eventually. First, errors of observation,

concerning the distance of the projectile from the surface of

the moon, for on the 11th of December it was impossible to see

it; and what Joseph T. Maston had seen, or thought he saw, could

not have been the projectile of the Columbiad. Second, errors of

theory on the fate in store for the said projectile; for in making

it a satellite of the moon, it was putting it in direct

contradiction of all mechanical laws.



One single hypothesis of the observers of Long's Peak could ever

be realized, that which foresaw the case of the travelers (if

still alive) uniting their efforts with the lunar attraction to

attain the surface of the disc.



Now these men, as clever as they were daring, had survived the

terrible shock consequent on their departure, and it is their

journey in the projectile car which is here related in its most

dramatic as well as in its most singular details. This recital

will destroy many illusions and surmises; but it will give a

true idea of the singular changes in store for such an

enterprise; it will bring out the scientific instincts of

Barbicane, the industrious resources of Nicholl, and the

audacious humor of Michel Ardan. Besides this, it will prove

that their worthy friend, Joseph T. Maston, was wasting his

time, while leaning over the gigantic telescope he watched the

course of the moon through the starry space.