Middletown transcript., 1871-09-09
~ orr MOON iSmA nirEDs

But here the question is naturally sug.
gcs,ea whether our own moon, which il
but quarter Of million Of miles from US,
ough, not FIRST to be examined for signs oi
life. When the telescope was first invent
ed, it is certain that astronomers were
mere hopeful Of recognizing such signs in
the scopes Of greater and greater power.
And many long year elapsed before as
,roIamers would accept tho conclusion that
tie moons sprfacc is wholly untitled for
the support Of any Of those forms Of life
with which we are familiar upon the earth.
That the belief in lunar men prevailed in
the popular mind long after astronomers
hqd abandoned il, is shown by tho eager
crcduli,y with which the story Of Sir John
lIrrschels supposed observations Of the
customs and manners Of the lunarians was
accepted even among well educated men.
Who can forge, the gravity with which
that most amazing hoax was repeated in
all quarters? It was. indeed. ingenious
ly coni.ived. The anxiety Of Sir John
llcrcl.cl to secure the assistance Of King
William. nnd the caro- with which our
sailcr king" inquired whether The inter
csls of nautical astronomy would ba cd
vancc1 by the proposed inquiries the
plausible explanation Of the mode Of OBJ
serva'ion. depending We were gravely as
surrl. upon the TRANSMISSION Of light the
trembling anxiety Of IIerschcl aud his fcl-
low workers as the monci.t arrived when
their search was TO commcncc; the flow
crs resembling poppies, which first re-
ward their scrutiny, and the final intro
luc,ion upon the scene Of those winged
bcings-uo, strictly speaking, men nor
properly to be called angels-,o whom
llcr.chel assigned the generic appclla,ion
Ncspcrtilio Homo. or batmcn All these
things, and many others equally assum-
ing were described with marvellous gravi-
| ty, and with nn attention to details re-
minding one Of the description in Gull.
vcr's Travels" One can hardly wonder.
then, that the narrative was received in
many quarters with rnquesiioning faith,
nor, lcl.ap4, even at the simplicity with
which Gas Sir John llcrschel himself re.
latcsl wrll-menning persons planned mca-
,ures for sending missionaries among
( the poor, bcnishtcd lunarians.
Yet astronomers have long known full
certainty that 10 form Of life, such ns we
art faaiIi.r wiltcan exist upon the moon
/ lhes lapY Thar. ii our satellite has IN mt.
mo>pherc "a, all. that atmosphere must be
80 limited IN cx;e... tl.,t 10 creature We
are acquainted with could live In it. They
know that she has no oceans, seas. rivers
or lakes. neither clouds nor rains, and
that il she had, there would be no winds
to watt moistrrc from place to place, OF
10 eause the clouds to drop fatness upon
tn lunar folds, They know. also, tina,
thr moon. suffice is subjected alternately
10 COLL ca more intense than that which
binls our arctic regions n everlasting
fri. ~. . - hea, compared with which
ihe fierce noon of tropical day is us the
freshness Of n spring morning. The,
search only over the lunar disc for the
signs Of volcanic action, feeling well as.
suIei that 10 trace Of the existence ol
living creatures will ever he detected il
that iesolutc orb - tmniM Hgl=iHr.