A Voyage to the Moon

by George Tucker

  CHAPTER VI.

  _Some account of Morosofia, and its chief city Alamatua--Singulardresses of the Lunar ladies--Religious self denial--Glouglim miser andspendthrift._

  My feelings, at the moment I touched the ground, repayed me for all Ihad endured. I looked around with the most intense curiosity; but nothingthat I saw, surprised me so much as to find so little that was surprising.The vegetation, insects and other animals, were all pretty much of thesame character as those I had seen before; but after I became betteracquainted with them, I found the difference to be much greater than I atfirst supposed. Having refreshed ourselves with the remains of our stores,and secured the door of our machine, we bent our course, by a plain road,towards the town we saw on the side of a mountain, about three milesdistant, and entered it a little before the sun had descended behind theadjacent mountain.

  The town of Alamatua seemed to contain about two thousand houses, and tobe not quite as large as Albany. The houses were built of a soft shiningstone, and they all had porticoes, piazzas, and verandas, suited to thetropical climate of Morosofia. The people were tall and thin, of a paleyellowish complexion; and their garments light, loose, and flowing, andnot very different from those of the Turks. The lower order of peoplecommonly wore but a single garment, which passed round the waist. Onehalf the houses were under ground, partly to screen them from the continuedaction of the sun's rays, and partly on account of the earthquakes causedby volcanoes. The windows of their houses were different from any I hadever seen before. They consisted of openings in the wall, sloping somuch upwards, that while they freely admitted the light and air, the sunwas completely excluded: and although those who were within could readilysee what was passing in the streets, they were concealed from the gaze ofthe curious. In their hot-houses, it was common to have mirrors in theceilings, which at once reflected the street passengers to those who wereon the floor, and enabled the ostentatious to display to the public eyethe decorations of their tables, whenever they gave a sumptuous feast.

  The inhabitants subsist chiefly on a vegetable diet; live about as longas they do on the earth, notwithstanding the great difference of climate,and other circumstances; and, in short, do not, in their manners, habits,or character, differ more from the inhabitants of our planet, than some ofthese differ from one another. Their government was anciently monarchical,but is now popular. Their code of laws is said to be very intricate. Theirlanguage, naturally soft and musical, has been yet further refined by thecultivation of letters. They have a variety of sects in religion,politics, and philosophy. The territory of Morosofia is about 150 milessquare. This brief sketch must content the reader for the present. I referthose who are desirous of being more particularly informed, to the workwhich I propose to publish on lunar geography; and, in the mean time,some of the most striking peculiarities of this people, in opinions,manners, and customs, will be developed in this, which must be consideredas my _personal narrative_.

  As soon as we were espied by the inhabitants, we were surrounded by atroop of little boys, as well as all the idle and inquisitive near us.The Brahmin had not gone far, before he was met by some persons of hisacquaintance, who immediately recognised him, and seemed very much pleasedto see him again in the moon. They politely conducted us to the house ofthe governor, who received us very graciously. He appeared to be aboutforty-five years of age, was dressed in a pearl-coloured suit, and had amild, amiable deportment. He began a course of interesting inquiry aboutthe affairs of the earth; but a gentleman, whom we afterwards understoodwas one of the leaders of the popular party, coming in, he soon despatchedus; having, however, first directed an officer to furnish us with allthat was necessary for our accommodation, at the public expense--whichact of hospitality, we have reason to fear, occasioned him some troubleand perplexity at the succeeding election. We very gladly withdrew, asboth by reason of our long walk, and the excitement produced by so manynew objects, we were greatly fatigued. The officer conducted us torespectable private lodgings, in a lightsome situation, which overlookedthe chief part of the city.

  After a frugal, but not unpalatable repast, and a few hours' sleep,the Brahmin took me round the city and a part of its environs, to make meacquainted with the public buildings, streets, shops, and the appearanceof the inhabitants. I soon found that our arrival was generally knownand that we excited quite as much curiosity as we felt, though many ofthe persons we met had seen the Brahmin before. I was surprised that wesaw none of their women; but the Brahmin told me that they were everywhere gazing through their windows; and, on looking up, through theseslanting apertures I could often see their eyes peeping over the upperedge of the window-sill.

  I shall now proceed to record faithfully what I deem most memorable; notas many travellers have done, from their recollection, after their returnhome, but from notes, which I regularly made, either at the moment ofobservation, or very shortly afterwards. When we first visited the shops,I was equally gratified and surprised with what was familiar and what wasnew; but I was particularly amused with those of the tailors and milliners.In the lower part of their dress, the Lunarians chiefly resemble theEuropeans; but in the upper part, the Asiatics--for they shave the head,and wear turbans; from which fact the Brahmin drew another argument infavour of the hypothesis, that the moon was originally a part of theearth. Some of the female fashions were so extremely singular andfanciful, as to deserve particular mention.

  One piece of their attire was formed of a long piece of light stiffwood, covered with silk, and decorated with showy ornaments. It wasworn across the shoulders, beyond each of which it jutted out about halfa yard; and from either end a cord led to a ring running round the upperpart of the head, bearing no small resemblance to the yard of a ship'smast, and the ropes used for steering it. Several other dresses Isaw, which I am satisfied would be highly disapproved by my modestcountrywomen. Thus, in some were inserted glasses like watch crystals,adapted to the form and size of the female bosom. But, to do the Lunarladies justice, I understood that these dresses were condemned by thesedate part of the sex, and were worn only by the young and thoughtless,who were vain of their forms. I observed too, that instead of decoratingtheir heads with flowers, like the ladies of our earth, they taxed theanimal world for a correspondent ornament. Many of the head-dresses weremade of a stiff open gauze, occasionally stuck over with insects of thebutterfly and _coccinella_ species, and others of the gayest hues. Atother times these insects were alive; when their perpetual buzzing andfluttering in their transparent cages, had a very animating effect. Onedecoration for the head in particular struck my fancy: it was formed of asilver tissue, containing fireflies, and intended to be worn in the night.

  But the most remarkable thing of all, was the whim of the ladies inthe upper classes, of making themselves as much like birds as possible;in which art, it must be confessed, they were wonderfully successful.The dress used for this purpose, consisted of a sort of thick cloak,covered with feathers, like those of the South Sea islands, and was sofashioned, by means of a tight thick quilting, as to make the wearer, ata little distance, very much resemble an overgrown bird, except that thelegs were somewhat too thick. Their arms were concealed under the wings;and the resemblance was yet further increased, by marks with beaks adaptedto the particular plumage: some personating doves, some magpies; othersagain, hawks, parrots, &c., according to their natural figure, humour,&c.; while the deception was still further assisted by their extraordinaryagility, compared with ours, by means of which they could, with ease,hop eighteen or twenty feet. I told the Brahmin that some of the Indiansof our continent showed a similar taste in dress, by decorating themselveswith horns like the buffalo, and with tails like horses; which furnishedhim with a further argument in favour of a common origin.

  We spent above an hour in examining these curious habiliments, and ininquiring the purposes and uses of the several parts. Sometimes I wasinduced, through the Brahmin, to criticise their taste and skill, havingbeen always an admirer of simplicity in female attire. But I re
markedon this occasion, as on several others, subsequently, that the people ofthe moon were neither very thankful for advice, nor thought very highlyof the judgment of those who differ from them in opinion.

  After having rambled over the city about six hours, our appetites toldus it was time to return to our lodgings; and here I met with a newcause of wonder. The family with whom we were domesticated, belongedto a numerous and zealous sect of religionists, and were, in their way,very worthy, as well as pious people. Their dinner consisted of severaldishes of vegetables, variously served up; of roots, stalks, seeds,flowers, and fruits, some of which resembled the productions of theearth; and in particular, I saw a dish of what I at first took to bevery fine asparagus, but supposed I was mistaken, when I saw them eatthe coarse fibrous part alone. On tasting it, however, in the ordinaryway, I found it to be genuine, good asparagus; but I perceived that thefamily looked extremely shocked at my taste. After the other dishes wereremoved, some large fruit, of the peach kind, were set on the table,when the members of the family, having carefully paired off the skin,ate it, and threw the rest away. They in like manner chewed the shellsof some small grayish nuts, and threw away the kernels, which to me werevery palatable. The younger children, consisting of two boys and a girl,exchanged looks with each other at the selections I made, and I thoughtI perceived in the looks of the mother, still more aversion than surprise.I found too, that my friend the Brahmin abstained from all these things,and partook only of those vegetables and fruits of which both they and Iate alike. Some wine was offered us, which appeared to me to be neithermore nor less than vinegar; and, what added to my surprise, a bottle,which they said was not yet fit to drink, seemed to me to be pretty good,the Brahmin having passed it to me for my judgment, as soon as theypronounced upon it sentence of condemnation.

  After we arose from this strange scene, and had withdrawn to our chamber,I expressed my surprise to my companion at this contrariety in the tastesof the Terrestrials and Lunarians: whereupon he told me, that thedifference was rather apparent than real.

  "These people," said he, "belong to a sect of Ascetics in this country,who are persuaded that all pleasure received through the senses is sinful,and that man never appears so acceptable in the sight of the Deity, aswhen he rejects all the delicacies of the palate, as well as othersensual gratifications, and imposes on himself that food to which hefeels naturally most repugnant. You may see that those peaches, whichwere so disdainfully thrown into the yard, are often secretly picked upby the children, who obey the impulses of nature, and devour them mostgreedily. Even in the old people themselves, there is occasionally somebacksliding into the depravity of worldly appetite. You might haveperceived, that while the old man was abusing the wine you drank asunripe, and making wry faces at it, he still kept tasting it; and if Ihad not reached it to you, he would probably, before he had ceased hismeditations, have finished half the bottle. It must be confessed, thatalthough religion cherishes our best feelings, it also often proves acloak for the worst."

  I told him that our clergy were superior to this weakness, most of themmanifesting a proper sense of the bounty of Providence, by eating anddrinking of the best, (not very sparingly neither); and that in New-York,we considered some of our preachers the best judges of wine among us. Soonafterwards, we again sallied forth in quest of adventures, and bent ourcourse towards the suburbs.

  We had not gone far, before we saw several persons looking at a manworking hard at a forge, in a low crazy building. On approaching him, wefound he was engaged in making nails, an operation which he performedwith great skill and adroitness; and as soon as he had made as manyas he could take up in his hand at once, he carried them behind hislittle hovel, and dropped them into a narrow deep well. Some of theby-standers wished to beg a few of what he seemed to value so lightly,and others offered to give him bread or clothes in exchange for hisnails, but he obstinately resisted all their applications; in fact,little heeding them, although he was almost naked, had a starved, haggardappearance, and evidently regarded the food they proffered with awishful eye.

  The lookers on told us the blacksmith had been for years engaged in thisbusiness of nail-making; he worked with little intermission, scarcelyallowing himself time for necessary sleep or refreshment; that all thefruits of his incessant labour were disposed of in the manner we hadjust seen; and that he had already three wells filled with nails, whichhe had carefully closed. He had, moreover, a large and productive farm,the increase arising from which, was laid out in exchange for the metalof which his nails were made. He had, we were informed, so much attachmentto these pieces of metal, that he was often on the point of starvationbefore he would part with one.

  I observed to the Brahmin, that it was a singular, and somewhatinexplicable, species of madness.

  "True," he replied; "this man's conduct cannot be explained upon anyrational principles--but he is one of the Glonglims, of which I havespoken to you; and examples are not wanting on our planet, of conductas irreconcilable to reason. This man is making an article which isscarce, as well as useful, in this country, where gravity is less thanit is with us: the force of the wind is very great, and the metal ispossessed but by a few. Now, if you suppose these nails to be piecesof gold and silver, his conduct will be precisely that of some of ourmisers, who waste their days and nights in hoarding up wealth which theynever use, nor mean to use; but, denying themselves every comfort oflife, anxiously and unceasingly toil for those who are to come afterthem, though they are so far from feeling, towards these successors,any peculiar affection, that they often regard them with jealousy andhatred."

  While we thus conversed, there stepped up to us a handsome man, foppishlydressed in blue trowsers, a pink vest, and a red and white turban; who,after having shaken my companion by the ears, according to the custom ofthe country among intimate friends, expressed his delight at seeing himagain in Morosofia. He then went on, in a lively, humorous strain, toridicule the nail-smith, and told us several stories of his singularattachment to his nails. In the midst of these sallies, however, a harshlooking personage in brown came up, upon which the countenance of ourlively acquaintance suddenly changed, and they walked off together.

  "I apprehend," said the Brahmin, "that my gay acquaintance yondercontinues as he formerly was. The man in brown, who so unseasonablyinterrupted his pleasantry, is an officer of justice, and has probablytaken him before a magistrate, to answer some one of his numerouscreditors. You must know," added he, "that the people of the moon,however irrational themselves, are very prompt in perceiving theabsurdities of others: and this lively wit, who, as you see, wants neitherparts nor address, acts as strangely as the wretch he has been ridiculing.He inherited a large estate, which brought him in a princely revenue;and yet his desires and expenses so far outgo his means, that he isalways in want. Both he and the nailmaker suffer the evils of poverty--of poverty created by themselves--which, moreover, they can terminatewhen they please; but they must reach the same point by directly oppositeroads. The blacksmith will allow himself nothing--the beau will denyhimself nothing: the one is a slave to pleasure--the other, the victimof fear. I told you that there were but few whose estates produced themetal of which these nails are made; and this thoughtless youth happensto be one. A few years since, he wanted some of the blacksmith's nailsto purchase the first rose of the season, and pledged his mines to pay,at the end of the year, three times the amount he received in exchange;and although, if he were to use but half his income for a single year,the other half would discharge his debts. I apprehend, from what I haveheard, that he has, from that time to this, continued to pay the sameexorbitant interest. When I was here before, I prevailed on him to takea ride with me into the country, and, under one pretext or another,detained him ten days at a friend's house, where he had no inducementto expense. When he returned, he found his debts paid off; but knowinghe was master of so ready and effectual an expedient, he, the next day,borrowed double the sum at the old rate. Since that time his debts haveaccumulated so rapidly, that
he will probably now be compelled tosurrender his whole estate."

  "Is he also a Glonglim?" I asked.

  "Assuredly: what man, in his entire senses, could act so irrationally?"

  "There is nothing on earth that exceeds this," said I.

  "No," said the Brahmin; "human folly is every where the same."