A Voyage to the Moon

A Voyage to the Moon Page 20

by George Tucker

  APPENDIX

  Anonymous Review of _A Voyage to the Moon_

  Reprinted from the American Quarterly Review No. 5 (March 1828), 61-88.

  ART. III.--_A Voyage to the Moon: with some account of the Mannersand Customs, Science and Philosophy, of the People of Morosofia andother Lunarians_: By JOSEPH ATTERLEY. New-York: Elam Bliss, 1827.12mo. pp. 264.

  It is somewhat remarkable, that perhaps the _only_ "Voyages tothe Moon," which have been published in the English tongue, shouldhave been the productions of English bishops:--the first forming atract, re-published in the Harleian Miscellany, and said to have beenwritten by Dr. Francis Goodwin, Bishop of Landaff, (who died in 1633,)and entitled "_The Man in the Moon, or the discourse of a voyagethither_, by Domingo Gonsales,"--and the second written in 1638, byDr. John Wilkins, Bishop of Chester, under the title of "_TheDiscovery of a New World, or a Discourse tending to prove, that 'tisprobable there may be another habitable world in the Moon, with adiscourse concerning the possibility of a passage thither."_ Thesetwo works differ in several essential particulars:--in Dr. Goodwin's,we have men of enormous stature and prodigious longevity, with aflying chariot, and some other slight points of resemblance to theTravels of Gulliver:--whilst Bishop Wilkins's is intended honestly andscientifically to prove, "that it is possible for some of ourposterity to find out a conveyance to this other world; and, if therebe inhabitants there, (which the Bishop, satisfactorily to himself,settles,) to have commerce with them!" From the first of these, Swifthas derived many hints in his voyage to Laputa, and improved them intothose humorous and instructive allusions, which have caused thereputation of the author of the _"Travels of Gulliver"_ to beextended to every portion of the civilized globe. Since the appearanceof this celebrated satire, no one sufficiently comprehensive to lashthe follies of the age--the _quicquid agunt homines_--has madeits appearance: we have had numerous ephemeral productions, inflictingsevere castigations upon particular vices or absurdities; but thevisionary conceits of the many, constantly promulgated in theprogressive advancement of human knowledge, although legitimateobjects of censure, have not, since the time of Swift, been embodiedinto one publication.

  The evident aim of the author of the Satirical Romance before us, isto fulfil for the present age, what _Swift_ so successfullyaccomplished for that which has passed by:--to attack, by the weaponsof ridicule, those votaries of knowledge, who may have sought to availthemselves of the universal love of novelty amongst mankind, to acquirecelebrity; or who may have been misled by their own ill-regulatedimaginations, to obtrude upon the world their crude and imperfecttheories and systems, to the manifest retardation of knowledge:--aneffect, too, liable to be induced in a direct ratio with the degreeof talent and ingenuity by which their views may have been supported.Several of these may always be more successfully attacked by ridiculethan by reason; inasmuch as they are, in this way, more likely to becomethe subjects of popular animadversion; and many, who could withstandthe serious arguments of their fraternity, cannot placidly endure theirridicule. Satire has, indeed, often done more service to the cause ofreligion and morality than a sermon, since the remedy is agreeable,whilst it at the same time communicates indignation or fear:--

  "Of all the ways that wisest men could find, To mend the age and mortify mankind, Satire, well writ, has most successful prov'd. And cures, because the remedy is lov'd."

  To produce, however, the full effect, satire must possess a certaindegree of impartiality, and be levelled in all instances at the vicesor follies, and not at the man. The first sketch of Gulliver's Travelsoccurs in the proposed Travels of Martinus Scriblerus, devised in thatpleasing society where most of Swift's miscellanies were planned. Hadthe work, however, been executed under the same auspices, it wouldprobably, as Sir Walter Scott has suggested,[1] "have been occupied bythat personal satire, upon obscure and unworthy contemporaries, towhich Pope was but too much addicted. But when the Dean mused insolitude over the execution of his plan, it assumed at once a moregrand and a darker complexion. The spirit of indignant hatred andcontempt with which he regarded the mass of humanity; his quiet andpowerful perception of their failings, errors, and crimes; his zealfor liberty and freedom of thought, tended at once to generalize,while it embittered, his satire, and to change traits of personalseverity for that deep shade of censure which Gulliver's Travels throwupon mankind universally." Most of the sentiments which impressedSwift, seem also to have been felt by the unknown author of the workbefore us: it is not, however, free from personal allusions; but theyare all conveyed in so good natured a manner, as to satisfy the readerthat the author has been solicitous to animadvert only on the vices ofthe individual; and in no part of the work is there the slightestevidence of prejudice or venom.

  The pseudo _Joseph Atterley_, the hero of the narrative, was bornin Huntingdon, Long-Island, on the 11th of May, 1786. He was the sonof a seafaring individual, who, by means of the portion he received byhis wife, together with his own earnings, was enabled to quit thatlaborious occupation, and to enter into trade; and, after the death ofhis father-in-law, by whose will he received a handsome accession tohis property, he sought, in the city of New-York, a theatre betteradapted to his enlarged capital. "He here engaged in foreign trade,and partaking of the prosperity which then attended American commerce,gradually extended his business, and finally embarked in the then newbranch of traffic to the East Indies and China; he was now generallyrespected both for his wealth and fair dealing; was several years adirector in one of the insurance offices; was president of the societyfor relieving the widows and orphans of distressed seamen; and, it issaid, might have been chosen alderman, if he had not refused, on theground that he did not think himself qualified."

  Our hero was, at an early age, put to a grammar school of good repute,in his native village, and, at seventeen, was sent to Princeton, toprepare himself for some profession; during his third year at thatplace, in one of his excursions to Philadelphia, he became enamoured"with one of those faces and forms, which, in a youth of twenty, tosee, admire, and love, is one and the same thing;" and was united tothe object of his affections, on the anniversary of his twenty-firstyear. This event gave him a distaste for serious study; and, longbefore this, he had felt a sentiment, bordering on contempt, formercantile pursuits; he therefore prevailed upon his father topurchase him a neat country seat in the vicinity of Huntingdon. Here,seventeen happy years glided away swiftly and imperceptibly, whendeath, by depriving him of the partner of his felicity, prostrated allhis hopes and enjoyments. For the purpose of seeking for that reliefto the feelings, which variety can best afford, he now determined tomake a voyage; and, as one of his father's vessels was about to sailfor Canton, embarked on board of her, and left Sandyhook on the 5thday of June, 1822. From this period, until the 24th of October, theirvoyage was comparatively agreeable; but when off the mouths of theGanges, one of those hurricanes, well known to the experiencednavigators of the eastern seas, struck the ship, and rendered her soleaky, that the captain considered it advisable to make for thenearest port; the leak, however, increasing rapidly, and findingthemselves off a coast, which the captain, by his charts, pronouncedto be a part of the Burman empire, and in the neighbourhood of Mergui,on the Martaban coast, they hastily threw their clothes, papers, andeight casks of silver, into the long-boat; and, before they were fiftyyards from the ship, had the melancholy satisfaction to see her godown.

  "It was a little after mid-day when we reached the town, which is perched on a high bluff, overlooking the coasts, and contains about a thousand houses, built of bamboo, and covered with palm leaves. Our dress, appearance, language, and the manner of our arrival, excited great surprise among the natives, and the liveliest curiosity; but with these sentiments some evidently mingled no very friendly feelings. The Burmese were then on the eve of a rupture with the East India Company, a fact which we had not before known; and mistaking us for English, they supposed, or affected to suppose, that we belonged to a fleet which was about to inv
ade them, and that our ship had been sunk before their eyes, by the tutelar divinity of the country. We were immediately carried before their governor, or chief magistrate, who ordered our baggage to be searched, and finding that it consisted principally of silver, he had no doubt of our hostile intentions. He therefore sent all of us, twenty-two in number, to prison, separating, however, each one from the rest. My companions were released the following spring, as I have since learnt, by the invading army of Great Britain; but it was my ill fortune (if, indeed, after what has since happened, I can so regard it) to be taken for an officer of high rank, and to be sent, the third day afterwards, far into the interior, that I might be more safely kept, and either used as a hostage or offered for ransom, as circumstances should render advantageous."

  Our hero was transported very rapidly in a palanquin, for thirteensuccessive days, when he reached Mozaun, a small village delightfullysituated in the mountainous district between the Irawaddi and Saloonrivers, where he was placed under the care of an inferior magistrate,who there exercised the chief authority. By submissive and respectfulbehaviour, he succeeded in ingratiating himself so completely with hiskeeper, that he was regarded more as one of his family, than as aprisoner; and was allowed every indulgence, consistently with his safecustody. It had been one of his favourite recreations, to ascend apart of the western ridge of mountains, which rose in a cone, about amile and a half from the village, for the purpose of enjoying theenchanting scenery that lay before him, and the evening breeze, whichpossesses so delicious a degree of freshness in tropical climates.Here he became acquainted with a personage, of whom, as he exerted animportant influence over the future conduct of our hero, it is ofconsequence that the reader should acquire early information:--

  "In a deep sequestered nook, formed by two spurs of this mountain, there lived a venerable Hindoo, whom the people of the village called the Holy Hermit. The favourable accounts I received of his character, as well as his odd course of life, made me very desirous of becoming acquainted with him; and, as he was often visited by the villagers, I found no difficulty in getting a conductor to his cell. His character for sanctity, together with a venerable beard, might have discouraged advances towards an acquaintance, if his lively piercing eye, a countenance expressive of great mildness and kindness of disposition, and his courteous manners, had not yet more strongly invited it. He was indeed not averse to society, though he had seemed thus to fly from it; and was so great a favourite with his neighbours, that his cell would have been thronged with visiters, but for the difficulty of the approach to it. As it was, it was seldom resorted to, except for the purpose of obtaining his opinion and counsel on all the serious concerns of his neighbours. He prescribed for the sick, and often provided the medicine they required--expounded the law--adjusted disputes--made all their little arithmetical calculations--gave them moral instruction--and, when he could not afford them relief in their difficulties, he taught them patience, and gave them consolation. He, in short, united, for the simple people by whom he was surrounded, the functions of lawyer, physician, schoolmaster, and divine, and richly merited the reverential respect in which they held him, as well as their little presents of eggs, fruit, and garden stuff.

  "From the first evening that I joined the party which I saw clambering up the path that led to the Hermit's cell, I found myself strongly attached to this venerable man, and the more so, from the mystery which hung around his history. It was agreed that he was not a Burmese. None deemed to know certainly where he was born, or why he came thither. His own account was, that he had devoted himself to the service of God, and in his pilgrimage over the east, had selected this as a spot particularly favourable to the life of quiet and seclusion he wished to lead.

  "There was one part of his story to which I could scarcely give credit. It was said that in the twelve or fifteen years he had resided in this place, he had been occasionally invisible for months together, and no one could tell why he disappeared, or whither he had gone. At these times his cell was closed; and although none ventured to force their way into it, those who were the most prying could hear no sound indicating that he was within. Various were the conjectures formed on the subject. Some supposed that he withdrew from the sight of men for the purpose of more fervent prayer and more holy meditation; others, that he visited his home, or some other distant country. The more superstitious believed that he had, by a kind of metempsychosis, taken a new shape, which, by some magical or supernatural power, he could assume and put off at pleasure This opinion was perhaps the most prevalent, as it gained a colour with these simple people, from the chemical and astronomical instruments he possessed In these he evidently took great pleasure, and by then means he acquired some of the knowledge by which he so often excited their admiration.

  "He soon distinguished me from the rest of his visiters, by addressing questions to me relative to my history and adventures, and I, in turn, was gratified to have met with one who took an interest in my concerns, and who alone, of all I had here met with, could either enter into my feelings or comprehend my opinions. Our conversations were earned on in English, which he spoke with facility and correctness We soon found ourselves so much to each other's taste, that there was seldom an evening that I did not make him a visit, and pass an hour or two in his company

  "I learned from him that he was born and bred at Benares, in Hindostan, that he had been intended for the priesthood, and had been well instructed in the literature of the east That a course of untoward circumstances, upon which he seemed unwilling to dwell, had changed his destination, and made him a wanderer on the face of the earth That in the neighbouring kingdom of Siam he had formed an intimacy with a learned French Jesuit, who had not only taught him his language, but imparted to him a knowledge of much of the science of Europe, its institutions and manners That after the death of this friend, he had renewed his wanderings, and having been detained in this village by a fit of sickness for some weeks, he was warned that it was time to quit his rambling life. This place being recommended to him, both by its quiet seclusion, and the unsophisticated manners of its inhabitants, he determined to pass the remnant of his days here, and, by devoting them to the purposes of piety, charity, and science, to discharge his duty to his Creator, his species, and himself, 'for the love of knowledge,' he added, 'has long been my chief source of selfish enjoyment'"

  The acquaintance between Atterley and the Brahmin, ripened by degrees,into that close friendship, which a congeniality of tastes andsentiments, under proper opportunities, never fails to engender.Atterley's visits to the hermitage, became more and more frequent, forupwards of three years, during which period, the Brahmin hadoccasionally thrown out obscure hints, that the time would come, whenour hero should be restored to liberty, and that he had an importantsecret which he would one day communicate. About this period, oneafternoon in the month of March, when Atterley repaired, as usual, tothe hermitage, he found the Brahmin dangerously ill of a pleuriticaffection, and apprehensive that the attack might prove fatal--

  "Sit down," said he, "on that block, and listen to what I shall say to you Though I shall quit this state of being for another and a better, I confess that I was alarmed at the thought of expiring, before I had an opportunity of seeing and conversing with you I am the depository of a secret, that I believe is known to no other living mortal I once determined that it should die with me, and had I not met with you, it certainly should But from our first acquaintance, my heart has been strongly attracted towards you, and as soon as I found you possessed of qualities to inspire esteem as well as regard, I felt disposed to give you this proof of my confidence Still I hesitated I first wished to deliberate on the probable effects of my disclosure upon the condition of society I saw that it might produce evil, as well as good, but on weighing the two together, I have satisfied myself that the good will preponderate, and have determined to act accordingly Take this key, (str
etching out his feverish hand,) and after waiting two hours, in which time the medicine I have taken will have either produced a good effect or put an end to my sufferings, you may then open that blue chest in the corner It has a false bottom On removing the paper which covers it, you will find the manuscript containing the important secret, together with some gold pieces, which I have saved for the day of need--because--(and he smiled in spite of his sufferings)--because hoarding is one of the pleasures of old men. Take them both, and use them discreetly."

  Atterley quitted the cell, and waited with feverish expectation forthe termination of the allotted two hours, when, to his inexpressibledelight, he found, on re-entering the cell, that not only did theBrahmin breathe, but that he slept soundly; and, in the course of anhour, he awoke, almost restored to health. This event, however, wasthe occasion of a more early disclosure of the Brahmin's importantsecret, but not until he had recovered his ordinary health andvigour:--

  "I have already told you, my dear Atterley, that I was born and educated at Benares, and that science is there more thoroughly understood and taught than the people of the west are aware of. We have, for many thousands of years, been good astronomers, chymists, mathematicians, and philosophers. We had discovered the secret of gunpowder, the magnetic attraction, the properties of electricity, long before they were heard of in Europe. We know more than we have revealed, and much of our knowledge is deposited in the archives of the castle to which I belong, but, for want of language generally understood and easily learnt, (for these records are always written in the Sanscrit, that is no longer a spoken language,) and the diffusion which is given by the art of printing, these secrets of science are communicated only to a few, and sometimes even sleep with their authors, until a subsequent discovery, under more favourable circumstances, brings them again to light.

  "It was at this seat of science that I learned, from one of our sages, the physical truth which I am now about to communicate, and which he discovered, partly by his researches into the writings of ancient Pundits, and partly by his own extraordinary sagacity. There is a principle of repulsion as well as gravitation in the earth. It causes fire to rise upwards. It is exhibited in electricity. It occasions water-spouts, volcanoes, and earthquakes. After much labour and research, this principle has been found embodied in a metallic substance, which is met with in the mountain in which we are, united with a very heavy earth, and this circumstance had great influence in inducing me to settle myself here.

  "This metal, when separated and purified, has as great a tendency to fly off from the earth, as a piece of gold or lead has to approach it. After making a number of curious experiments with it, we bethought ourselves of putting it to some use, and soon contrived, with the aid of it, to make cars and ascend into the air. We were very secret in these operations, for our unhappy country having then recently fallen under the subjection of the British nation, we apprehended that if we divulged our arcanum, they would not only fly away with all our treasures, whether found in palace or pagoda, but also carry off the inhabitants, to make them slaves in their colonies, as their government had not then abolished the African slave trade.

  "After various trials and many successive improvements, in which our desires increased with our success, we determined to penetrate the aerial void as far as we could, providing for that purpose an apparatus, with which you will become better acquainted hereafter. In the course of our experiments, we discovered that this same metal, which was repelled from the earth, was in the same degree attracted towards the moon, for in one of our excursions, still aiming to ascend higher than we had ever done before, we were actually carried to that satellite, and if we had not there fallen into a lake, and our machine had not been water-tight, we must have been dashed to pieces or drowned. You will find in this book," he added, presenting me with a small volume, bound in green parchment, and fastened with silver clasps, "a minute detail of the apparatus to be provided, and the directions to be pursued in making this wonderful voyage. I have written it since I satisfied my mind that my fears of British rapacity were unfounded, and that I should do more good than harm by publishing the secret. But still I am not sure," he added, with one of his faint but significant smiles, "that I am not actuated by a wish to immortalize my name; for where is the mortal who would be indifferent to this object, if he thought he could attain it? Read the book at your leisure, and study it."

  Here, by the way, we may remark, that the kind of vehicle best adaptedfor conveyance through the aerial void, has been a weighty stumblingblock to authors, from the time of the eagle-mounted Ganymede, to thatof Daniel O'Rourke; or of the wing furnished Daedalus and Icarus, tothat of the flying Turk in Constantinople, referred to by Busbequius;or of the flying artist of the happy valley, in Rasselas. WhenTrygaeus was desirous of reaching the Gods, he erected, we are told, aseries of small ladders--[Greek: epeita lepta klimakia]--but receivinga severe contusion on the head, from their downfall, he ingeniouslyhad recourse to a scheme of flying through the air, on a colossalvariety of those industrious but not over-delicate insects, the_Scarabaeus Carnifex_--the only insect, notwithstanding, accordingto Aesop, privileged to ascend to the habitations of the gods--

  [Greek: monos peteinoon eis theous aphigmenos.[2]]

  Most of the stories of Pegasi and Hippogriffs, and of flying chariots,from that of Phaeton downwards to Astolfo's,[3] were evidentlyintended by their authors as mythical; not so, however, with BishopWilkins;--he boldly avers, for several reasons which he keeps tohimself, and for others not very comprehensible to us, which hedetails "seriously and on good grounds," "that it is possible to makea flying chariot, in which a man may sit, and give such a motion untoit, as shall convey him through the air; and this perhaps might bemade large enough to carry divers men at the same time, together withfood for their _viaticum_, and commodities for traffic." "It isnot," lucidly continues the Bishop, "the bigness of any thing in thiskind, that can hinder its motion, if the motive faculty be answerablethereunto. We see a great ship swims as well as a small cork; and aneagle flies in the air, as well as a little gnat. This engine may becontrived from the same principles by which Archytas made a woodendove, and Regiomontanus a wooden eagle. I conceive it were nodifficult matter, (if a man had leisure,) to show more particularlythe means of composing it"!--which want of leisure in the credulousBishop, our readers will regret with us, especially those inventivegeniuses, who, like the projector in the reign of George I., publisheda scheme for manufacturing pine plank from pine saw-dust, or the stillmore ingenious undertaker of later times, who proposed to make _pineplank_ out of _oak_ saw-dust, by the mere addition of a littleturpentine!

  Again, Swift's flying Island of Laputa is a phenomenon so opposed toall scientific probability, and so directly at variance with naturallaws, that it loses in interest in a direct ratio with the violence itdoes to our feelings. Nor is the mode of conveyance imagined byVoltaire less incongruous than that of Swift. When Micromegas, ahinhabitant of Sirius, whose adventures were evidently suggested bythose of Gulliver, accompanied by an inhabitant of Saturn, leaves thelatter planet, they are, in the first place, made to leap upon theRing of Saturn, which they find tolerably flat, "comme l'a fort biendevine un illustre habitant de notre petit globe:" thence they go frommoon to moon, and a comet passing close to one of these, they throwthemselves upon it, with their attendants and instruments. In theircourse, they fall in with the satellites of Jupiter, and pass on toJupiter itself, where they remain for a year; but what becomes of thecomet in the mean time, we are not informed! Leaving Jupiter, they"coast" along the planet Mars, and finally reach the earth, where theyresolve to disembark. Accordingly "ils passerent sur la queue de lacomete; et trouvant une aurore boreale toute prete, ils se mirentdedans, et arriverent a terre sur le bord septentrional de la MerBaltique"![4]

  The vehicle, however, has not formed the sole obstacle to thoseprojectors:--the _viaticum_, especially the food, has been adifficulty
not readily got over. Before Bishop Wilkins alludes to hisflying chariot, he remarks, that even if men could fly, the swiftestof them would probably be half a year in reaching the end of hisjourney; and hence a problem would arise, "how it were possible totarry so long without sleep or diet?" Of the former obstacle, however,he quickly disposes,--"seeing we do not then spend ourselves in anylabour, we shall not, it may be, _need_ the refreshment of sleep:but if we do, we cannot desire a softer bed than the air, where we mayrepose ourselves firmly and safely as in our chambers"! Of the latterhe finds somewhat more difficulty in disposing,--"and here it isconsiderable, that, since our bodies will then be devoid of gravityand other impediments of motion, we shall not at all spend ourselvesin any labour, and so, consequently, not much need the reparation ofdiet, but may perhaps live altogether without it, as those creatureshave done, who, by reason of their sleeping for many days together,have not spent any spirits, and so not wanted any food; which iscommonly related of serpents, crocodiles, bears, cuckoos, swallows,and such like. To this purpose, Mendoca reckons up divers strangerelations, as that of Epimenides, who is storied to have sleptseventy-five years; and another of a rustic in Germany, who, beingaccidentally covered with a hay-rick, slept there for all the autumnand the winter following, without any nourishment Or, if we must needsfeed upon something else, why may not smells nourish us? Plutarch, andPliny, and divers other ancients, tell us of a nation in India, thatlived only upon pleasing odours; and it is the common opinion ofphysicians, that these do strangely both strengthen and repair thespirits. Hence was it that Democritus was able, for divers daystogether, to feed himself with the mere smell of hot bread.[5] Or, ifit be necessary that our stomachs must receive the food, why then itis not impossible that the purity of the etherial air, being not mixedwith any improper vapours, may be so agreeable to our bodies, as toyield us sufficient nourishment," with many other arguments of thelike nature. The Bishop ultimately, however, severs the knot, by thesuggestion of his flying chariot, which he makes large enough (for,_ce n'est que le premier pas qui coute!_) to carry not only foodfor the _viaticum_ of the passengers, but also commodities fortheir traffic!

  Infinitely more ingenuity did the great comic poet of antiquitydisplay, when he selected the _Scarabaeus;_ as the food which hadalready served the purposes of digestion with the Rider, was stillcapable of affording nutrition to the animal:--

  [Greek: nun d'att'an autos kataphagoo ta sitia. toutoisi tois autoisi touton chortasoo[6]]

  Now all these schemes, ingenious as they may be, are objectionable forthe same reasons as the flying Island of Laputa--their glaringviolation of verisimilitude, and many of them of possibility. In theserespects, that of the author of the work before us is liable to lessobjection: he only resorts to an extension of avowed physicalprinciples; and if we could suppose a substance, which, instead ofgravitating towards the earth, is repelled from it and attractedtowards the moon, (certainly a difficult "_premier pas_,") theremainder of the machinery, for reaching that luminary, would not beinconsistent with probability or the known laws of physics.

  But, to return to the narrative:--The Brahmin having given Atterley adescription of some of the remarkable objects which he met with, inhis voyage to the moon; expressed his anxiety to repeat it, for thepurpose of ascertaining some facts about which he had beenspeculating, as well as of removing the incredulity with which, hecould not but perceive, his story had impressed his hearer,notwithstanding his belief in the Hermit's integrity; when Atterleyeagerly caught at the proposal. Their preparations, however, requiredtime as well as considerable skill, not only for the construction ofthe vehicle, but also to avoid suspicion and interruption from theGovernor of Mergui,--and the priesthood, who possessed the usualOriental superstition and intolerance.

  For the construction of their apparatus they had recourse to aningenious artificer in copper and other metals, whose child theBrahmin had been instrumental in curing of a chronic disease, and inwhose fidelity as well as good will they could securely rely.

  "The coppersmith agreed to undertake the work we wanted done, for a moderate compensation, but we did not think it prudent to inform him of our object, which he supposed was to make some philosophical experiment. It was forthwith arranged that he should occasionally visit the Hermit, to receive instructions, as if for the purpose of asking medical advice. During this interval my mind was absorbed with our project; and when in company, I was so thoughtful and abstracted, that it has since seemed strange to me that Sing Fou's suspicions that I was planning my escape were not more excited. At length, by dint of great exertion, in about three months every thing was in readiness, and we determined on the following night to set out on our perilous expedition.

  "The machine in which we proposed to embark, was a copper vessel, that would have been an exact cube of six feet, if the corners and edges had not been rounded off. It had an opening large enough to receive our bodies, which was closed by double sliding pannels, with quilted cloth between them. When these were properly adjusted, the machine was perfectly air-tight, and strong enough, by means of iron bars running alternately inside and out, to resist the pressure of the atmosphere, when the machine should be exhausted of its air, as we took the precaution to prove by the aid of an air pump. On the top of the copper chest and on the outside, we had as much of the lunar metal (which I shall henceforth call _lunarium_) as we found by calculation and experiment, would overcome the weight of the machine, as well as its contents, and take us to the moon on the third day. As the air which the machine contained, would not be sufficient for our respiration more than about six hours, and the chief part of the space we were to pass through was a mere void, we provided ourselves with a sufficient supply, by condensing it in a small globular vessel, made partly of iron and partly of lunarium, to take off its weight. On my return, I gave Mr. Jacob Perkins, who is now in England, a hint of this plan of condensation, and it has there obtained him great celebrity. This fact I should not have thought it worth while to mention, had he not taken the sole merit of the invention to himself, at least I cannot hear that in his numerous public notices he has ever mentioned my name.

  "But to return. A small circular window, made of a single piece of thick clear glass, was neatly fitted on each of the six sides. Several pieces of lead were securely fastened to screws which passed through the bottom of the machine as well as a thick plank. The screws were so contrived, that by turning them in one direction, the pieces of lead attached to them were immediately disengaged from the hooks with which they were connected. The pieces of lunarium were fastened in like manner to screws, which passed through the top of the machine; so that by turning them in one direction, those metallic pieces would fly into the air with the velocity of a rocket. The Brahmin took with him a thermometer, two telescopes, one of which projected through the top of the machine, and the other through the bottom; a phosphoric lamp, pen, ink, and paper, and some light refreshments sufficient to supply us for some days.

  "The moon was then in her third quarter, and near the zenith: it was, of course, a little after midnight, and when the coppersmith and his family were in their soundest sleep, that we entered the machine. In about an hour more we had the doors secured, and every thing arranged in its place, when, cutting the cords which fastened us to the ground, by means of small steel blades which worked in the ends of other screws, we rose from the earth with a whizzing sound, and a sensation at first of very rapid ascent, but after a short time, we were scarcely sensible of any motion in the machine, except when we changed our places."

  After the apprehensions of Atterley, occasioned by the novelty anddanger of his situation, had partly subsided, he was enabled, withmingled awe and admiration, to contemplate the magnificent spectaclebeneath him. As the earth turned round its axis, during their ascent,every part of its surface came successively under view. At nineo'clock, the whole of India was to the west of them; its riversresembling small filaments of silver
, and the Red Sea a narrow plateof the same metal. The peninsula of India was of a dark, and Arabia ofa light, grayer green, and the sun's rays striking on the Atlantic,emitted an effulgence dazzling to the eyes. On looking, some timeafterwards, through the telescope, they observed the AfricanContinent, at its northern edge; fringed, as it were, with green;"then a dull white belt marked the great Sahara or Desert, and then itexhibited a deep green to its most southern extremity." The Morea andGrecian Archipelago now fell under their telescope, and gradually thewhole Mediterranean, and Arabian Gulf--the great media separatingAfrica from Europe and Asia; "the political divisions of thesequarters of the world were of course undistinguishable, and few of thenatural were discernible by the naked eye. The Alps were marked by awhite streak, though less bright than the water." By the aid of theglass they could just discern the Danube, the Nile, and "a river whichempties itself into the Gulf of Guinea," and which Atterley took to bethe Niger; but the other streams were not perceptible. The mostconspicuous object of the solid part of the globe was the greatDesert; the whole of Africa, however, appeared of a brighter hue thaneither Asia or Europe.

  "I was struck too, with the vast disproportion which the extent of the several countries of the earth bore to the part they had acted in history, and the influence they had exerted on human affairs. The British islands had diminished to a speck, and France was little larger, yet, a few years ago it seemed, at least to us in the United States, as if there were no other nations on the earth. The Brahmin, who was well read in European history, on my making a remark on this subject, reminded me that Athens and Sparta had once obtained almost equal celebrity, although they were so small as not now to be visible. As I slowly passed the telescope over the face of Europe, I pictured to myself the fat, plodding Hollander--the patient, contemplative German--the ingenious, sensual Italian--the temperate Swiss--the haughty, superstitious Spaniard--the sprightly, self-complacent Frenchman--the sullen and reflecting Englishman--who monopolise nearly all the science and literature of the earth, to which they bear so small a proportion. As the Atlantic fell under our view, two faint circles on each side of the equator, were to be perceived by the naked eye. They were less bright than the rest of the ocean. The Brahmin suggested that they might be currents; which brought to my memory Dr. Franklin's conjecture on the subject, now completely verified by this circular line of vapour, as it had been previously rendered probable by the floating substances, which had been occasionally picked up, at great distances from the places where they had been thrown into the ocean. The circle was whiter and more distinct, where the Gulf Stream runs parallel to the American coast, and gradually grew fainter as it passed along the Banks of Newfoundland, to the coast of Europe, where, taking a southerly direction, the line of the circle was barely discernible. A similar circle of vapour, though less defined and complete, was perceived in the South Atlantic Ocean."

  By degrees the travellers saw one half of the broad expanse of thePacific, which glistened like quicksilver or polished steel, andsubsequently the middle of the Pacific lay immediately beneath them;the irregular distribution of land and water on the globe, the expanseof Ocean here, being twice as large as in any other part, givesoccasion to some amusing discussions on the various theories ofcosmogony, to which we can only refer the reader; wearied, however, bythese and other discussions, Atterley slept for six hours, and onawaking, found the Brahmin busy in calculating their progress; afterwhich the latter lay down and soon fell into a tranquil sleep, havingpreviously requested that he might be awakened at the expiration ofthree hours, or sooner if any thing of moment should occur. Atterleynow looked down again through the telescope, and found the earthsurprisingly diminished in its apparent dimensions, from the increasedrapidity of their ascent; the eastern coasts of Asia were still fullin view, as well as the whole figure of that extensive continent--ofNew-Holland, of Ceylon and of Borneo; but the smaller islands wereinvisible.

  "I strained my eye to no purpose, to follow the indentations of the coast, according to the map before me, the great bays and promontories could alone be perceived. The Burman Empire, in one of the insignificant villages of which I had been confined for a few years, was now reduced to a speck. The agreeable hours I had passed with the Brahmin, with the little daughter of Sing Fou, and my rambling over the neighbouring heights, all recurred to my mind, and I almost regretted the pleasures I had relinquished. I tried with more success to beguile the time by making notes in my journal, and after having devoted about an hour to this object, I returned to the telescope, and now took occasion to examine the figure of the earth near the Poles, with a view of discovering whether its form favoured Captain Symmes's theory of an aperture existing there, and I am convinced that that ingenious gentleman is mistaken. Time passed so heavily during these solitary occupations, that I looked at my watch every five minutes, and could scarcely be persuaded it was not out of order. I then took up my little Bible, (which had always been my travelling companion,) read a few chapters in St. Matthew, and found my feelings tranquillized, and my courage increased. The desired hour at length arrived; when, on waking the old man, he alertly raised himself up, and at the first view of the diminished appearance of the earth, observed that our journey was a third over, as to time, but not as to distance."

  After having again composed himself to rest for about four hours,Atterley was awakened by the Brahmin, in whose arms he found himself,and, on looking around, discovered that he was lying on what had beenthe ceiling of the chamber, which still, however, felt like thebottom. The reason of this phenomenon was thus explained to him by theBrahmin--"we have, while you were asleep, passed the middle pointbetween the earth's and the moon's attraction; and we now gravitateless towards our own planet than (to) her satellite. I took theprecaution to move you, before you fell by your own gravity, from whatwas lately the bottom, to that which is now so, and to keep you inthis place until you were retained in it by the moon's attraction; forthough your fall would have been, at this point, like that of afeather, yet it would have given you some shock and alarm. Themachine, therefore, has undergone no change in its position orcourse;--the change is altogether in our feelings."

  The whole face of the moon, Atterley now found to be entirely changed,and on looking through the upper telescope, the earth presented anappearance not very dissimilar; but the outline of her continents andoceans was still perceptible in different shades, and capable of beingreadily recognised; the bright glare of the sun, however, made thesurfaces of both bodies somewhat dim and pale.

  "After a short interval, I again looked at the moon, and found not only its magnitude very greatly increased, but that it was beginning to present a more beautiful spectacle. The sun's rays fell obliquely on her disc, so that by a large part of its surface not reflecting the light, I saw every object on it, so far as I was enabled by the power of my telescope. Its mountains, lakes, seas, continents, and islands, were faintly, though not indistinctly, traced; and every moment brought forth something new to catch my eye, and awaken my curiosity. The whole face of the moon was of a silvery hue, relieved and varied by the softest and most delicate shades. No cloud nor speck of vapour intercepted my view. One of my exclamations of delight awakened the Brahmin, who quickly arose, and looking down on the resplendent orb below us, observed that we must soon begin to slacken the rapidity of our course, by throwing out ballast. The moon's dimensions now rapidly increased; the separate mountains, which formed the ridges and chains on her surface, began to be plainly visible through the telescope; whilst, on the shaded side, several volcanoes appeared upon her disc, like the flashes of our fire-fly, or rather like the twinkling of stars in a frosty night. He remarked, that the extraordinary clearness and brightness of the objects on the moon's surface, was owing to her having a less extensive and more transparent atmosphere than the earth: adding--'The difference is so great, that some of our astronomical observers have been induced to think she has none. If tha
t, however, had been the case, our voyage would have been impracticable.'"

  After gazing for some time on this magnificent spectacle, withadmiration and delight, one of their balls of _lunarium_ was letoff for the purpose of checking their velocity. At this time theBrahmin supposed they were not more than four thousand miles from thenearest point of the moon's surface. In about four hours more, herapparent magnitude was so great, that they could see her by lookingout of either of the side windows.

  "Her disc had now lost its former silvery appearance, and began to look more like that of the earth, when seen at the same distance. It was a most gratifying spectacle to behold the objects successively rising to our view, and steadily enlarging in their dimensions. The rapidity with which we approached the moon, impressed me, in spite of myself, with the alarming sensation of falling; and I found myself alternately agitated with a sense of this danger, and with impatience to take a nearer view of the new objects that greeted my eyes. The Brahmin was wholly absorbed in calculations for the purpose of adjusting our velocity to the distance we had to go, his estimates of which, however, were in a great measure conjectural; and ever and anon he would let off a ball of the lunar metal.

  "After a few hours, we were so near the moon that every object was seen in our glass, as distinctly as the shells or marine plants through a piece of shallow sea-water, though the eye could take in but a small part of her surface, and the horizon, which bounded our view, was rapidly contracting. On letting the air escape from our machine, it did not now rush out with the same violence as before, which showed that we were within the moon's atmosphere. This, as well as ridding ourselves of the metal balls, aided in checking our progress. By and by we were within a few miles of the highest mountains, when we threw down so much of our ballast, that we soon appeared almost stationary. The Brahmin remarked, that he should avail himself of the currents of air we might meet with, to select a favourable place for landing, though we were necessarily attracted towards the same region, in consequence of the same half of the moon's surface being always turned towards the earth."

  The Brahmin now pointed out the necessity of looking out for somecultivated field, in one of the valleys they were approaching, wherethey might rely on being not far distant from some human habitation,and on escaping the perils necessarily attendant on a descent amongstrocks, trees, and buildings. A gentle breeze now arising, as appearedby their horizontal motion, which wafted them at the rate of about tenmiles an hour, over a ridge of mountains, a lake, a thick wood, &c.they at length reached a cultivated region, which the Brahminrecognised as the country of the Morosofs, the place they were anxiousto visit. By now letting off two balls of lead to the _Earth_,they descended rapidly; and when they were sufficiently near theground to observe that it was a fit place for landing, opened the doorof their Balloon, and found the air of the moon inconceivably sweetand refreshing. They now let loose one of their lower balls, whichsomewhat retarded their descent; and in a few minutes more, beingwithin twenty yards of the ground, they let go the largest ball oflunarium, which, having a cord attached to it, served in lieu of agrapnel; by this they drew themselves down, were disengaged from themachine in a twinkling, and landed "safe and sound" on, we presume,"_luna firma!_"

  Having seen our travellers securely deposited in the moon, we mayremark, that in the passage from the earth, various topics of aninteresting and important character were canvassed by the Brahmin andhis companion; one, _on the causes of national superiority_,suggested by the views of Africa, and a comparison between thatbenighted country and others more illuminated, is especially worthy ofattention, as containing a condensed and philosophical view of thesubject; eloquently and perspicuously conveyed.

  The view of America, suggests some remarks on the _politicalpeculiarities of the United States_, with speculations on theirfuture destiny.

  A lively description of the contrast between the circumstances of theKamtschadale--

  "The shuddering tenant of the frigid zone,"

  and the gay, voluptuous native of the Sandwich, and other isles withinthe tropics--the one passing his life in toil, privation, and care--theother in ease, abundance, and enjoyment--leads to a similar conclusionto that expressed by Goldsmith:--

  "And yet, perhaps, if countries we compare, And estimate the blessings which they share, Though patriots flatter, still shall wisdom find An equal portion dealt to all mankind."

  A disquisition also takes place--_whether India or Egypt were theparent of the Arts?_

  This leads them to refer to the strange custom in the country of theBrahmin, which impels the widow to throw herself on the funeral pile,and be consumed with her husband:--

  "I told him," says Atterley, "that it had often been represented as compulsory--or, in other words, that it was said that every art and means were resorted to, for the purpose of working on the mind of the woman, by her relatives, aided by the priests, who would be naturally gratified by such signal triumphs of religion over the strongest feelings of nature. He admitted that these engines were sometimes put in operation, and that they impelled to the sacrifice, some who were wavering; but insisted, that in a majority of instances, the _Suttee_ was voluntary.

  "'Women,' said he, 'are brought up from their infancy, to regard our sex as their superiors, and to believe that their greatest merit consists in entire devotion to their husbands. Under this feeling, and having, at the same time, their attention frequently turned to the chance of such a calamity, they are better prepared to meet it when it occurs. How few of the officers in your western armies, ever hesitate to march, at the head of their men, on a forlorn hope? and how many even court the danger for the sake of the glory? Nay, you tell me that, according to your code of honour, if one man insults another, he who gives the provocation, and he who receives it, rather than be disgraced in the eyes of their countrymen, will go out, and quietly shoot at each other with fire-arms, till one of them is killed or wounded; and this too, in many cases, when the injury has been merely nominal. If you show such a contempt of death, in deference to a custom founded in mere caprice, can it be wondered that a woman should show it, in the first paroxysms of her grief for the loss of him to whom was devoted every thought, word, and action of her life, and who, next to her God, was the object of her idolatry? My dear Atterley,' he continued, with emotion, 'you little know the strength of woman's love!'"

  Other topics of interest are also discussed with the like ingenuity.

  After this episode, it is time for us to return to our travellers,whose feelings, the moment they touched the ground, repayed them forall they had endured. Atterley looked around with the most intensecuriosity; but nothing he saw, "surprised him so much, as to find solittle that was surprising:"--vegetation, insects, and other animals,were pretty much of the same character as those he had before seen;but, on better acquaintance, he found the difference greater than hehad at first supposed. Having refreshed themselves with the remains oftheir stores, and secured the door of the machine, they bent theircourse to the town of Alamatua, about three miles distant, whichseemed to contain about two thousand houses, and to be not quite aslarge as Albany; the people were tall and thin, and of a pale,yellowish complexion; their garments light, loose, and flowing, andnot very different from those of the Turks; they subsist chiefly on avegetable diet, live about as long as we do on the earth,notwithstanding the great difference of climate, and othercircumstances; and do not, in their manners, habits, or character,differ more from the inhabitants of this globe, than some of thelatter do from one another; their government, anciently monarchical,is now popular; their code of laws very intricate; their language,naturally soft and musical, has been yet further refined by thecultivation of letters; and they have a variety of sects in religion,politics, and philosophy.

  The lunarians do not, as Butler has it--

  "When the sun shines hot at noon, Inhabit cellars under ground, Of eight miles deep and eighty roun
d."

  But, one half of their houses is beneath the surface, partly for thepurpose of screening them from the continued action of the sun's rays,and partly on account of the earthquakes caused by volcanoes. Thewindows of the houses consisted of openings in the wall, sloping somuch upwards, that, whilst they freely admitted the light and air, thesun was completely excluded. As soon as they were espied by thenatives, great curiosity was of course excited; not, however, to sotroublesome an extent, as might have been, from the circumstance ofthe Brahmin's having visited the moon before. Hence he was soonrecognised by some of his acquaintances, and conducted to the house ofthe governor, by whom they were graciously received, and who "began acourse of interesting inquiries regarding the affairs of the earth;"but a gentleman, whom they afterwards understood to be one of theleaders of the popular party, coming in, he soon despatched them;having, however, first directed an officer to furnish them with allthat was necessary for their accommodation, at the public expense;"which act of hospitality, they had reason to fear, occasioned himsome trouble and perplexity at the succeeding election."

  A more minute description follows, of the dress of the male and femalelunarians, especially of that of the latter, to which we can merelyrefer the reader. There is one portion, however, of the inhabitants,with whom the reader must be made acquainted, inasmuch as they formsome of the author's most prominent characters. A large number oflunarians, it seems, are born without any intellectual vigour, andwander about like so many automatons, under the care of thegovernment, until illumined by the mental ray, from some terrestrialbrain, through the mysterious influence which the moon is known toexercise on our planet. But, in this case, the inhabitant of the earthloses what he of the moon gains, the ordinary portion of understandingbeing divided between two; and, "as might be expected, there is a mostexact conformity between the man of the earth, and his counterpart inthe moon, in all their principles of action, and modes of thinking:"--

  "These Glonglims, as they are called, after they have been thus imbued with intellect, are held in peculiar respect by the vulgar, and are thought to be in every way superior to those whose understandings are entire. The laws by which two objects, so far apart, operate on each other, have been, as yet, but imperfectly developed, and the wilder their freaks, the more they are the objects of wonder and admiration."

  "Now and then, though very rarely, the man of the earth regains theintellect he has lost; in which case, his lunar counterpart returns tohis former state of imbecility. Both parties are entirely unconsciousof the change--one, of what he has lost, and the other, of what he hasgained."[7]

  The belief of the influence of the moon on the human intellect, theBrahmin remarks, may be perceived in the opinions of the vulgar, andin many of the ordinary forms of expression; and he takes occasion toremark, that these very opinions, as well as some obscure hints in theSanscrit, give countenance to the idea, that they were not the onlyvoyagers to the moon; but that, on the contrary, the voyage had beenperformed in remote antiquity; and the Lunarians, we are told, have asimilar tradition. Many ordinary forms of expression are adduced insupport of these ideas.

  "Thus," says the Brahmin, "it is generally believed, throughout allAsia, that the moon has an influence on the brain: and when a man isof insane mind, we call him a lunatic. One of the curses of the commonpeople is, 'May the moon eat up your brains!' and in China, they sayof a man who has done any act of egregious folly, 'He was gatheringwool in the moon.'" I was struck with these remarks; and told thehermit that the language of Europe afforded the same indirect evidenceof the fact he mentioned,--that my own language, especially, aboundedwith expressions which could be explained on no other hypothesis: for,besides the terms "lunacy," "lunatic," and the supposed influence ofthe moon on the brain, when we see symptoms of a disordered intellect,we say the mind _wanders_, which evidently alludes to a part ofit rambling to a distant region, as is the moon. We say too, a man is"_out of his head_," that is, his mind being in another man'shead, must of course be out of his own. To "know no more than the manin the moon," is a proverbial expression for ignorance, and is withoutmeaning, unless it be considered to refer to the Glonglims.[8]

  "We say that an insane man is 'distracted,' by which we mean that hismind is drawn two different ways. So also, we call a lunatic _a manbeside himself_, which most distinctly expresses the two distinctbodies his mind now animates. There are, moreover, many otheranalogous expressions, as 'moonstruck,' 'deranged,' 'extravagant,' andsome others, which, altogether, form a mass of concurring testimonythat it is impossible to resist."

  Leaving this ingenious _badinage_ with the defence of the seriousand sentimental Schiller,

  "Hoher Sinn liegt oft in Kindischen Spiele,"

  we return to our travellers, who, at their lodgings, meet with aninstance of _lunar puritanism_--the family eating those portionsof fruits, vegetables, &c., which are thrown away by us, and _viceversa_, "from a persuasion that all pleasure received through thesenses is sinful, and that man never appears so acceptable in the sightof the Deity, as when he rejects all the delicacies of the palate, aswell as other sensual gratifications, and imposes on himself that foodto which he feels naturally most repugnant."

  _Avarice_ is satirized by the story of one of these Glonglims, whois occupied in making nails, and then dropping them into a well--refusingto exchange them for bread or clothes, notwithstanding his starved,haggard appearance, and evident desire for the food proffered:--

  "Mettant toute sa gloire et son souverain bien A grossir un tresor qui ne lui sert de rien."

  And this is followed by a picture of _reckless prodigality_ inanother Glonglim.

  We pass over the description of the physical peculiarities of themoon, which seem to be according to the received opinions ofastronomers, as well as the satire on _National Prejudices_, inthe persons of the Hilliboos and Moriboos, and that on the Godwiniansystem of morals.

  An indisposition experienced by Atterley, occasions his introductionto Vindar,[9] a celebrated physician, botanist, &c., on whose opinionswe have a keen satire.

  On leaving Vindar's house, they observed a short man, (Napoleon,)preparing to climb to the top of a plane tree, on which there was oneof the tail feathers of a flamingo; and this he would only mount inone way--on the shoulders of his men:--

  "I could not see this rash Glonglim attempt to climb that dangerous ladder, without feeling alarm for his safety. At first all seemed to go on very well; but just as he was about to lay hold of the gaudy prize, there arose a sudden squall, which threw both him and his supporters into confusion, and the whole living pyramid came to the ground together. Many were killed--some were wounded and bruised. Polenap himself, by lighting on his men, who served him as cushions, barely escaped with life. But he received a fracture in the upper part of his head, and a dislocation of the hip, which will not only prevent him from ever climbing again, but probably make him a cripple for life.

  "The Brahmin and I endeavoured to give the sufferers some assistance; but this was rendered unnecessary, by the crowd which their cries and lamentations brought to their relief. I thought that the author of so much mischief would have been stoned on the spot; but, to my surprise, his servants seemed to feel as much for his honour as their own safety, and warmly interfered in his behalf, until they had somewhat appeased the rage of the surrounding multitude."

  The _absurdities_ of the _physiognomical system_ of Lavater,and of the _craniological system_ of MM. Gall and Spurzheim, werenot likely to escape animadversion, in a work of general satire,fruitful as they have already been in such themes. The representativeof the former, is a fortune-telling philosopher, Avarabet, (Lavater,)whose course of proceeding was, to examine the finger nails, and,according to their form, colour, thickness, surface, grain, and otherproperties, to determine the character and destinies of those whoconsulted him; and that of the latter, a physician, who judged of thecharacter of disposition or disease, by the examination of a lock ofthe hair. The upshot
of the story is, as might be anticipated, thatthe fortune-telling philosopher is caught, and exposed in his owntoils.

  The _impolicy of privateers, and of letters of marque andreprisals_, is next animadverted on, by the story of twoneighbours, who are at variance, and whose dependants are occupied inlaying hold of what they can of each other's flocks and herds, anddoing as much mischief as possible, by which both parties, ofnecessity, suffer.

  A visit to a projector in building, husbandry, and cookery, introducesus to some inventions not unworthy of the occupation, of the courtiersof _La Reine Quinte_, or of the Professors of the Academy ofLagado.

  The doctrine of the aerial formation of meteoric stones, receives,too, a passing notice from our author, who is clearly no supporter ofit. It was a long time before the ancients received credit for theirstories of showers of stones; and all were ready to joke with Butler,at the story of the Thracian rock, which fell in the river Aegos:--

  "For Anaxagoras, long agon, Saw hills, as well as you i'th' moon, And held the sun was but a piece Of red hot iron as big as Greece. Believ'd the heavens were made of stone, Because the sun had voided one: And, rather than he would recant Th' opinion, suffered banishment."

  A difficulty surrounds the subject, however we view it._Aerolites_, as they have been designated, have now been found inalmost every region and climate of the globe--from Arabia to thefarthest point of Baffin's Bay; and this very circumstance would seemto be opposed to their aerial origin, unless we are to suppose thatthey can be formed in every state, and in the opposite extremes of theatmosphere. The Brahmin assigns them a lunar origin, and adds, "ourparty were greatly amused at the disputations of a learned society inEurope, in which they undertook to give a mathematical demonstration,that they could not be thrown from a volcano of the earth, nor fromthe moon, but were suddenly formed in the atmosphere. I should as soonbelieve, that a loaf of bread could be made and baked in theatmosphere."

  The "gentleman farmer and projector," being attacked, during theirvisit, with cholera morbus, and considering himself _in extremis_,a consultation of physicians takes place, in which one portraitwill be obvious--that of Dr. Shuro, who asserts disease to bea unit; and that it is the extreme of folly, to divide diseases intoclasses, which tend but to produce confusion of ideas, and anunscientific practice. The enthusiasm of the justly celebratedindividual--the original of this portrait, was so great, that theslightest data were sufficient for the formation of some of his mostelaborate _hypotheses_--for _theories_ they could not properlybe called; and, accordingly, many of his beautiful and ingenioussuperstructures are now prostrated, leaving, in open day, theinsufficiency of their foundation. One of the most strikingexamples of this nature, was his belief that the black colour ofthe negro is a disease, which depletion, properly exercised, mightbe capable of remedying--a scheme not a whit more feasible, thanthat of the courtiers of _La Reine Quinte_, referred to byRabelais, "who made blackamoors white, as fast as hops, by justrubbing their stomachs with the bottom of a pannier."

  The satire here is not so fortunately displayed, as in otherinstances, owing probably to the difficulty of saying any thing new onso hackneyed a subject; for it has ever happened, that,--

  "The Galenist and Paracelsian, Condemn the way each other deals in."

  The affair concludes, by the Doctors quarrelling; and, in the meantime, the patient, profiting by some simple remedies administered bythe Brahmin, and an hour's rest, was so much refreshed, that heconsidered himself out of danger, and had no need of medicalassistance.

  _Pestolozzi's system of education_, is with justice satirized;since, instead of affording facilities to the student, as thesuperficial observer might fancy, it retards his acquisition ofknowledge, by teaching him to exercise his external senses, ratherthan his reflection.[10]

  In a _menagerie_ attached to an academy, in which youths ofmaturer years were instructed in the fine arts, the travellers had anopportunity of observing the vain attempts of education, to controlthe natural or instinctive propensities.

  "Naturam expellas furca tamen usque recurret."

  "For nature driven out, with proud disdain, All powerful goddess, will return again."

  The election of a town constable, exhibits the violence of _LunarPolitics_ to be much the same as the terrestrial, and seems to havesome allusion to an existing and important controversy amongstourselves. The _prostitution of the press_ is satirized by thestory of a number of boys dressed in black and white--wearing thebadges of the party to which they respectively belong, and eachprovided with a syringe and two canteens, the one filled with rosewater, and the other with a black, offensive, fluid: the rose waterbeing squirted at the favourite candidates and voters--the other fluidon the opposite party. All these were under regular discipline, and atthe word of command discharged their syringes on friend or foe, as thecase might be.

  The "_glorious uncertainty of the law_" (proverbial with us,)falls also under notice. In Morosofia, it seems, a favourite mode ofsettling private disputes, whether concerning person, character, orproperty, is by the employment of prize fighters who hire themselvesto the litigants:--

  "And out of foreign controversies By aiding both sides, fill their purses: But have no int'rest in the cause For which th' engage and wage the laws Nor farther prospect than their pay Whether they lose or win the day."

  The chapter concludes with a discussion between an old man and hiswife, in which the _policy of encouraging manufactures_, isargued.

  In an account of Okalbia--a happy valley--similar only in name to thatin _Rasselas_, the author seems to sketch his views of a _perfectcommonwealth_, and glances at some important questions of_politics_ and _political economy_. Prudential restraints areconsidered sufficient to obviate a _redundancy of population_--andon _Ricardo's theory of rent_, the author holds the same opinionsas those already expressed in this Journal.

  Some useful hints are also afforded on the subject of _legislationand jurisprudence_.

  After having passed a week amongst the singular and happy Okalbians,whom our travellers found equally amiable, intelligent, andhospitable, they returned to Alamatua.

  Jeffery's _theory of beauty_, as developed in the article_beauty_, of the _supplement to the Encyclopaedia Britannica_,in which he denies the existence of original beauty and refersit to association, is ridiculed by an extension of a similar kindof reasoning to the smell.

  A description of a _Lunar fair_ follows, which, like aterrestrial, is the resort of the busy, the idle, the knavish, and thegay: some in pursuit of pleasure; others again, without any settledpurpose, carried along by the vague desire of meeting with somethingto relieve them from the pain of idleness. _Political contests_are here represented under the character of gambling transactions, andif we mistake not, there is a distinct allusion to more than oneimportant contest in the annals of this country.

  Having now satisfied his curiosity, Atterley became anxious to returnto his native planet, and accordingly urged the Brahmin to lose notime in preparing for their departure. They were soon, however,informed that a man high in office, by way of affecting politicalsagacity, had proposed to detain them, on the ground that when suchvoyages as their's were shown to be practicable, the inhabitants ofthe earth, who were so much more numerous than those of the moon,might invade the latter with a large army, for the purpose of rapineand contest; but notwithstanding the influence of this sapientpolitician, they finally obtained leave to quit the moon whenever theythought proper.

  Having taken a "respectful or affectionate" leave of all theirlunarian friends, and got every thing in readiness,--at midnight ofthe twentieth of August, they again entered their copper_balloon_, and after they had ascended until the face of the moonlooked like one vast lake of melted silver, with here and there smallpieces of grayish dross floating on it, Atterley reminded the Brahminof a former promise to detail the history of his early life, to whichhe assented:--of this, perhaps the most interesting part of the book,to
the general reader, we regret that our limits will only admit ofour giving a very condensed and imperfect narrative.

  Gurameer, the Brahmin, was born at Benares. He was the only son of apriest of Vishnu, of rank, and was himself intended for thepriesthood. At school, he meets with a boy of the name of _BaltyMahu_, between whom and himself a degree of rivalry, andsubsequently the most decided enmity, existed--a circumstance thatdecided the character of Gurameer's subsequent life. They afterwardsmet at college, where a more extended theatre was afforded for theexercise of Balty Mahu's malignity. During a vacation, Gurameer, beingon a visit to an uncle in the country, one day, when the family hadgone to witness a grand spectacle in honour of an important festivalin their calendar, which he could not himself attend consistently withthe rules of his caste, was tempted to visit the deserted Zenana, orladies' apartment, where he accidentally meets with a beautiful youngfemale. The acquaintance, thus begun, soon ripened into intimacy, bymeans of walks in the garden, contrived by Fatima, one of his femalecousins. At length they are constrained to separate. Veenah (for sothe young lady is named) returns to Benares, whither Gurameer soonfollows her. On making his father acquainted with his attachment, thelatter endeavours to persuade him to overcome it, and informs him thatVeenah's father is avaricious, and a bigot, and hence, that he wouldprobably be prejudiced against him, owing to some imputations whichhad been cast on Gurameer's religious creed, and industriouslycirculated by his old enemy, Balty Mahu, who proves to be the cousinof Veenah These considerations prevail upon Gurameer to defer anyapplication to Veenah's father, until the suspicions regarding hisfaith had either died away or been falsified by his scrupulousobservance of all religious duties. This resolution he determines tocommunicate to his mistress. Accordingly, in the evening, he betakeshimself to the quarter of the city where Veenah's father lives; and,walking to and fro before the house, soon discovers that he isrecognised. By a cord, let down from the window, he conveys a letterto her, which, the following evening, she answers; and thus a regularcorrespondence was kept up, which, by the exercise it afforded totheir imaginations, and the difficulties attendant upon it, inflamedtheir passion to the highest pitch. He had, however, soon themisfortune to be discovered by Balty Mahu, and, in consequence, Veenahis debarred from pen and ink, but contrives to acquaint her lover thattheir intercourse has been discovered, by a short note, written with aburnt stick. Gurameer now goes in despair to Veenah's father, fromwhom he experiences a haughty repulse, and who, in the followingnight, secretly leaves the city, with his daughter, embarking on theGanges, and taking measures to prevent the discovery of the place ofhis retreat. At the expiration of two or three months, an end is putto Gurameer's doubts and apprehensions, by his return, with hisdaughter and son-in-law--a rich Omrah, four times her age. After thefirst ebullitions of rage have subsided, his love returns; but he isnever able to succeed in obtaining an interview with Veenah. By hiscousin Fatima, he learns the circumstances of Veenah's marriage, andthe deceptions which had been practised on her, aided by the unboundedauthority which parents exercise in eastern countries. The unhappyVeenah, as firm in her principles as she was gentle in disposition,refuses to see him. "Tell him," said she, "that Heaven has forbiddenit, and to its decrees we are bound to submit I am now the wife ofanother, and it is our duty to forget all that is past. But if this bepossible, my heart tells me it can be only by our never meeting!"

  Gurameer now fell into a state of settled melancholy, and consented totravel, more for the purpose of pleasing his parents, than from anyconcern for his own health; but travelling had little effect--"hecarried a barbed arrow in his heart; and the greater the efforts toextract it, the more they rankled the wound." When so much emaciatedthat he was not expected to live a month, he took a voyage, coastwise,to Madras; and, on his arrival there, learned that Balty Mahu hadrecently left that place. This intelligence operated like a charm; thedesire of revenge roused all his energies and became his masterpassion. He immediately set off in pursuit; but, although often near,could never overtake him. His health rapidly improves; and at lengthhe hears that the old Omrah's health is rapidly declining. Thisinformation awakens new thoughts and hopes, and Balty Mahu isforgotten. He hastens hack to Benares; and when near the city, hearstwo merchants, in conversation, remark that the Omrah is dead, andthat his widow was the next day to perform the _Suttee_. Heimmediately mounts his horse, and reaches the city the next morning atsunrise. In the street he mixes with the throng;--hears Veenah pitied,her father blamed, and himself lamented. He now sees Veenah approachthe funeral pile, who, at the well known sound of his voice, shriekedout, "he lives! he lives!" and would have attempted to save herselffrom the flames; but the shouts of the surrounding multitude, and thesound of the instruments, drowned her voice. He now attempts toapproach the pile for the purpose of rescuing her, but is forciblyheld back until the wretched Veenah is enveloped in flames. On hisagain attempting to reach the pile, he was charged with profanation;and, on Balty Mahu's making his appearance and encouraging the charge,in frantic desperation he seizes a scymetar from one of the guards,and plunges it in his breast. The influence of his friends, and thesacred character of persons of his caste, saved the Brahmin fromcapital punishment; but he was banished from Hindostan. He now removedto the kingdom of Ava, where he continued so long as his parentslived, after which he visited several countries, both of Asia andEurope; and in one of his journeys, having discovered Lunarium Ore inthe mountain near Mogaun, he determined to pass the remainder of hisdays in that secluded retreat.--"So ends this strange, eventfulhistory."

  When the Brahmin terminated his narrative, the extended map beneaththem was already assuming a distinct and varied appearance:--

  "The Brahmin, having applied his eye to the telescope, and made a brief calculation of our progress, considered that twenty-four hours more, if no accident interrupted us, would end our voyage; part of which interval I passed in making notes in my journal, and in contemplating the different sections of our many peopled globe, as they presented themselves successively to the eye. It was my wish to land on the American continent, and, if possible, in the United States. But the Brahmin put an end to that hope, by reminding me that we should be attracted towards the Equator, and that we had to choose between Asia, Africa, and South America; and that our only course would be, to check the progress of our car over the country of greatest extent, through which the equinoctial circle might pass. Saying which, he relapsed into his melancholy silence, and I betook myself once more to the telescope. With a bosom throbbing with emotion, I saw that we were descending towards the American continent. When we were about ten or twelve miles from the earth, the Brahmin arrested the progress of the car, and we hovered over the broad Atlantic. Looking down on the ocean, the first object which presented itself to my eye, was a small one-masted shallop, which was buffetting the waves in a south-westerly direction. I presumed it was a New-England trader, on a voyage to some part of the Republic of Colombia: and, by way of diverting my friend from his melancholy reverie, I told him some of the many stories which are current respecting the enterprise and ingenuity of this portion of my countrymen, and above all, their adroitness at a bargain.

  "'Methinks,' says the Brahmin, 'you are describing a native of Canton or Pekin. But,' added he, after a short pause, 'though to a superficial observer man appears to put on very different characters, to a philosopher he is every where the same--for he is every where moulded by the circumstances in which he is placed. Thus; let him be in a situation that is propitious to commerce, and the habits of traffic produce in him shrewdness and address. Trade is carried on chiefly in towns, because it is there carried on most advantageously. This situation gives the trader a more intimate knowledge of his species--a more ready insight into character, and of the modes of operating on it. His chief purpose is to buy as cheap, and to sell as dear, as he can; and he is often able to heighten the recommendations or soften the defects of some of the articles in which he deals, without dang
er of immediate detection; or, in other words, big representations have some influence with his customers. He avails himself of this circumstance, and thus acquires the habit of lying; but, as he is studious to conceal it, he becomes wary, ingenious, and cunning. It is thus that the Phenicians, the Carthagenians, the Dutch, the Chinese, the New-Englanders, and the modern Greeks, have always been regarded as inclined to petty frauds by their less commercial neighbours.' I mentioned the English nation.

  "'If the English,' said he, interrupting me; 'who are the most commercial people of modern times, have not acquired the same character, it is because they are as distinguished for other things as for traffic: they are not merely a commercial people--they are also agricultural, warlike, and literary; and thus the natural tendencies of commerce are mutually counteracted.'

  "We afterwards descended slowly; the prospect beneath us becoming more beautiful than my humble pen can hope to describe, or will even attempt to portray. In a short time after, we were in sight of Venezuela. We met with the trade winds and were carried by them forty or fifty miles inland, where, with some difficulty, and even danger, we landed. The Brahmin and myself remained together two days, and parted--he to explore the Andes, to obtain additional light on the subject of his hypothesis, and I, on the wings of impatience, to visit once more my long-deserted family and friends. But before our separation, I assisted my friend in concealing our aerial vessel, and received a promise from him to visit, and perhaps spend with me the evening of his life. Of my journey home, little remains to be said. From the citizens of Colombia, I experienced kindness and attention, and means of conveyance to Caraccas; where, embarking on board the brig Juno, captain Withers, I once more set foot in New-York, on the 18th of August, 1826, after an absence of four years, resolved, for the rest of my life, to travel only in books, and persuaded, from experience, that the satisfaction which the wanderer gains from actually beholding the wonders and curiosities of distant climes, is dearly bought by the sacrifice of all the comforts and delights of home."

  We have thus placed before the reader an analysis of this interestingSatirical Romance. The time and space we have occupied sufficientlyindicate the favourable sentiments respecting it with which we havebeen impressed. Of the execution of the satires, from the severalextracts we have given, the reader will himself be enabled to judge.This is of course unequal, but generally felicitous. In the personalallusions which occur through the work, the author exhibits, as wehave before noticed, a freedom from malice and all uncharitableness,and in many of them has attained that happy _desideratum_ whichDryden considered a matter of so much difficulty:--

  "How easy is it," he observes, "to call rogue and villain, and that wittily! But how hard to make a man appear a fool, a blockhead, or a knave, without using any of those opprobrious terms! To spare the grossness of the names, and to do the thing yet more severely, is to draw a full face, and to make the nose and cheeks stand out, and yet not to employ any depth of shadowing. This is the mystery of that noble trade, which yet no master can teach to his apprentice; he may give the rules, but the scholar is never the nearer in his practice; neither is it true, that this fineness of raillery is offensive. A witty man is tickled, while he is hurt, in this manner, and a fool feels it not: the occasion of an offence may possibly be given, but he cannot take it. If it be granted, that, in effect, this way does more mischief--that a man is secretly wounded, and, though he be not sensible himself, yet the malicious world will find it out for him, yet, there is still a vast difference betwixt the slovenly butchering of a man, and the fineness of a stroke that separates the head from the body, and leaves it standing in its place. A man may be capable, as Jack Ketch's wife said of his servant, of a plain piece of work, a bare hanging; but to make a malefactor die sweetly, was only belonging to her husband."[11]

  In conclusion, we must express our regret, that the author should nothave added notes to the work--the want of them will be seriously feltby every one; some of the satires, indeed, must escape the reader,unless he pay a degree of attention, which notes would have renderedunnecessary. In his next edition, we trust that this deficiency may besupplied; and we anticipate as much instruction and entertainment,from the wide scope which such an undertaking will afford, as we havederived from the perusal of the text. Cheerfully would we extend tohim, if required, the leisure claimed by Spenser, after he hadcomposed the first six books of his "_Faerie Queene_," providedhe would promise us similar conditions:--

  "After so long a race as I have run Through Faery Land, which those six books compile, Give leave to rest me, being half foredonne, And gather to myself new breath awhile;

  "Then, as a steed refreshed after toyle, Out of my prison will I break anew, And stoutly will that second work assoyle, With strong endeavour, and attention due."

  * * * * *

  [APPENDIX FOOTNOTES]

  [Footnote 1: Scott's Swift, vol. xi. p. 4]

  [Footnote 2: Aristoph. in Pace. 130.]

  [Footnote 3: Orlando furioso, Canto xxxiv. St. 68 and 69.]

  [Footnote 4: Micromegas, Histoire Philosophique, chap. 8.]

  [Footnote 5: Fuller, a learned contemporary of the Bishop, has givenus an amusing case of litigation, originating from this nourishingcharacter of odours.--

  "A poor man, being very hungry, staid so long in a cook's shop, whowas dishing up meat, that his stomach was satisfied with only thesmell thereof. The choleric cook demanded of him to pay for hisbreakfast, the poor man denied having had any; and the controversy wasreferred to the deciding of the next man that should pass by, whochanced to be the most notorious idiot in the whole city be, on therelation of the matter, determined that the poor man's money should beput betwixt two empty dishes, and the cook should be recompensed withthe jingling of the poor man's money, as he was satisfied with thesmell of the cook's meat."--_Fuller's Holy State_, lib. iii. c.12.]

  [Footnote 6: Aristophan. in pace. 137.]

  [Footnote 7: The idea of the Glonglims is the author's. Ariosto makesthe lost intellect, of those who become insane upon the earth, ascendto the moon, where it is kept _bottled_.--

  "Era come un liquor suttile e molle, Atto a esalar, se non si tien ben chiuso; E si vedea raccolto in varie ampolle, Qual piu, qual men capace, atte a quell' uso."

  _Orlando furioso_, Cant. 34. St. 83.]

  [Footnote 8: Our author might also have alluded to the old apology forevery thing inane or contemptible--"It is a tale of the man in themoon." When that arch flatterer, John Lylie, published (in 1591) his"_Endymion_, or _the man in the moon_"--a _court comedy_, as itwas afterwards called; in other words, intended for the gratificationof Queen Elizabeth, and in which her personal charms and attractionsare grossly lauded--he pleads guilty to its defect in plot, in thefollowing exquisite apologetic prologue:--

  "Most high and happy Princess, we must tell you a tale of the man inthe moon; which, if it seem ridiculous for the method, or superfluousfor the matter, or for the means incredible, for three faults we canmake but one excuse,--it is a tale of the man of the moon."

  "It was forbidden in old time to dispute of Chymera, because it was afiction: we hope in our times none will apply pastimes, because theyare fancies: for there liveth none under the sun that knows what tomake of the man in the moon. We present neither comedy, nor tragedy,nor story, nor any thing, but that whosoever heareth may say this:--'Why, here is a tale of the man in the moon.' Yet this is the mandesignated by Blount, who re-published his plays in 1632, as the '_onlyrare poet of that time, the witie, comicall, facetiously-quicke, andunparallel'd John Lylie, Master of Arts!'"]

  [Footnote 9: It is to be regretted that the author has not followedthe good example set him by Johnson, in his _Debates in the Senateof Magna Lilliputia_, published in the Gentlemen's Magazine for1738: the denominations of the speakers being formed of the letters oftheir real names, so that they might be easi
ly deciphered. Thisneglect has obscured many of the author's most interesting satires.Who could suppose from the letters alone, that _Wigurd_, _Vindar_,and _Avarabet_, were respectively intended for _Godwin_, _Darwin_,and _Lavater_?]

  [Footnote 10: It is a curious circumstance, that Swift, in hisdescription of the Academy of Lagado, should have so completelyanticipated the Pestalozzian invention.]

  [Footnote 11: Dryden's Essay on Satire]

 

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