Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-10-03
A CRAZY MOON.

Nj. Ga0arfG q retired sea captain, dnu
presently.a an alderman of La Ferte-under
Bell, his native city, in which he had es
established his residence after thirty ode
years of good and loyal rheumatism CON
tracted in the national navy OF France
was promenading his garden after hi:
supper. 1t was in October, the evening
was somewhat dark. Mr.. Gabarit accel
Grated the heat of the digestion through
the fire Of an enormous pipe, from which
he drew methodically at regular intervals
big clouds Of smoke; he went to and fro
with q slow and wise step, keeping his
head straight in obedience to an ole
habit of interrogating the sky, in order
to know what the weather was to, be; h
saw, beyond the surrounding hills, q
luminous globe ascending in the darl
heavens.
There Is the moonl' said he, with thu
calm satisfaction Of q man saluting al
old acquaintance. ..
And as he reached the end Of his gar
den he made a round about face, recon
menced his promenade with the samI
slowness, and continued to look above
/ him.
The moon' Well yes, the moon! What
Is more natural than osee the moon ris
ing on the horizon? or course there Il
nothing very astonishing in that. 1t il
it's business, il it not, for this heavenly
body to roll like that in the Nocturnal firm
amentS and Mr.. Gabarit knew it, being
sea captain and an amateur astronomis'
in his moments of leisure. 1t Is justly the
reason why, that, by a vague instinct, IL
-.zaot;,, fhSa Familiar wnr1 Gmnnn " bf
had sublined it with u mute interroga
tion-"What, the mOon3' Only three
days ago its last quarter had disap
peared. Was it not a little soon for III
temperance! What the deuce does tina
mean2
Mr.. Gabarit had arrived at the end o
his thought and of his garden In the
same time. He turned around, still look
ing at heaven, aRd-if his pipe did no
fall on the ground it is that the exces
of his stupor caused him to close hi
mouth more firmly. He remained immo
bile, nailed to the spot, the eyes dilated.
asking himself If he was not insane, a:
the moon, which two minutes before NJ
had seen emerging scarcely above the
black line of the hills, was now III tht
middle of the celestial vault. And VIVA,
q moon! A moon formidable, prodiglous
big as n Of those giant pumpkins that
the n~eighboring farmers bring to the
market OF La Ferte-under-Bell.
At first MI. Gabarit thought that ne
had a.dullness Of sight; he rubbed his
eyes to conjurate this optical illusion
But hardly had he ceased the operation
when his stupor was, changed into /
fright. The luminous globe seemed now
to shuttle under the gloomy ceiling OF
heaven. 1t was running with such swift
ness that the eye could not easily follow
it in its course. Then it described a SHARP
curve and stopped. Again, as if it had beer
taken with vertigo, it allowed itself to fall
toward the earth, threatening it with I
sudden crushing; all NJ once, without q
transition, it went again in the air with /
vigorous spring, scaling the most sublime
nights OF empyrean. Without any doup
the moon danced in heavenl
The ex-sea captain remained as. petri
fed, rs annihiiated at the sight of this
improbable phenomenon. Hastily NJ
left his garden, ran into the unique stree,
of LII Ferte-uder Bell, opened furtively
q door under which a ray of light wa
passing and found himself i'll the back
room of the drug store OF Pharmacies
Cruchot, the only man supposed to have
his eyes open ut 9 o'clock p. NJ. In the gen
eral dowsiness " the peaceable and som
nolent city. With the scientist was the
Hon. Mr. Melon, mayor of La Ferte- under
Bell, with whom he defended with .
beroical desperation the remains OF I
shaking tower and re honor of an IN
fortunate queen on a dirty chess board.
What is the NATTER" exclaimed boil
players simultaneously, seeing the fright.
ened couutenance OF their co-citizen Cab.
art.
What is the matter, my friends'" an.
sgered the eX-Sea captain as he regalnec
mis- breath. There is that the moon has
become crazy! Come and see it"
Grassy? The moon?" The mayor ano
the pharmacist looked at each other a.
men who had the same thought-ltis he
this poor Gabarit, who had become crazy.
The old tar caught the look.
mo, my friends, l am not crazy! AnC
| repeat it is the moon which is crazy.
Come out with me only a moment. YOU
shall see that as we'll a l did myself"
The accent of his voice expressed such i
firm conviction that the two chess players
rose, crossed the store, and went into The
street. There they remained, their mouths
wide open. Gabarit had said the truth
The moon zigzagged in heaven. Phenom
euon highly improbable, yet visible, stupe
fyinc, incredible, whose the annals of Inc,
teorology had never mentioned the appa'
rition.
n I-.-a-I,, Ial- 90 Tho nfpht aytra,
ordinarily drawn near the earth, as one
would judge by the size of its diameter
danced a fantastical jig in the back
ground of armament. 1t went up am
down, dived, then reascended, giving tine
most evident signs of a yertiginouS q
rangement.
at is the end of the world" cried Hoa
Mr.. Melod, with n strangulated voice.
Suddenly the luminous globe made
supreme dive on the horizon, behind tn
summit Of the hills, and reappearc'
no more.
The three friends stayed at the SAL
place, painting, the eyes fixed on the blacl
line behind which they had seen the mooi
vanishing.
One, two, three, five minutes elapsed
Vic ulOOh hlu uOl NAAO 0oSAA"
at has %foundered in the infinite" sale
POLITICALLY Pharmacist Cruchot.
~Let us go in, gentlemen" replied the
MAYOR of La FeFte-under Bell.
They re-entered the drug store; whe;
they were seated in the back room they
looked at each other for u moment ii
deep silence.
"Gentlemen,' said the ex-sea captain
1--WE have witnessed a fact unknown unit
the present time in the history of thi:
world. How to explain this overthrow Of
the laws Of nature? l can not"
Neither l." sadly sighed Pharmacies
Cruchot.
in regard to me-" continued Gabarit
ano matter how familiar / am with as
Economical questions, | humbly avow my
incompetency. Scarcely do dare TO riss
this hypothesis, viz: The moon, through
an unknown cause, has deserted forever
our planetary system, and we have as
sisted to the tragical peripetious Of its de
parture. As what will follow, let US wait
gentlemen, until the newspapers bring t
-.g-- - -nvnnk- w-hn a.