The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-07-18
A TRIP TO H SUN.

baronet. He was a cold, calm, passion
less man almost as cold, calm n
passionless as he was English. For
years he had been a member OF the
London Beefsteak club.
Sir Fillemup had three friends at the
club. They met every evening to bet.
They would bet on anything. One day
they bet on the length of their respec-
tive feet. Sir Fillemup won by two
laps.
Il would, be willing to bet that I can
climb up to the sun" said he.
His friends bet him 800, 600, and the
money was staked.
Il will start in three days." he said
calmly.
And how long will you be gomez"
they asked.
Ten days." was the cool response.
From that moment Sir Fillemup
absented himself from the club. He
was preparing for his flight.
His preparations were simple. First
he procured a suit of Japan silk, light
and flexible. Then he pulled on a pair
of boots of his own invention. The
legs reached to the armpits. The soles
were of gun barrels arranged perpen-
dicularly.
From a belt at his waist depended
two 4,OOO-ton columbiads. The guns
and columbiads were SO arranged as
to load and fire themselves 60 times a
minute.
The process was so simple as to make
explanation unnecessary. With the
recoil from the firing of these pieces
Sir Fillemup proposed to secure a
velocity of 1000, 900 miles an hour.
This would enable him to reach the
sun in 4 days and % hours.
He calculated to remain there two
days. Then, reversing himself, he pro-
posed to turn his guns loose again and
return to the earth in the same time
occupied by his ascent.
He had fixed upon May 7 at 1 o'clock
in the morning. A framework had
been built to suspend him until he
could get his ordinance in working
order. At a signal the guns opened,
and Sir Fillemup dashed into the air.
He had not miscalculated his We
locity, though it seemed to him that
he ought to have reached his destina
ton in about 10 minutes at the rate he
was going. Still his pedometer showed
only a rate of 1000, 900 miles an hour.
There was nothing upon which the
sun could reflect, and Sir FilIemup
was in darkness after leaving the
earth's atmosphere, except when he
looked straight at the sun. 1t was to
him then a perfectly round ball, afford
ing neither light Ter heat.
He did not feel that he was moving.
He could see it drawing closer.
At the end of the second day he ap-
peared to be surrounded by a yellow
nebula. 1t was not dense, but a series
of not unpleasant shocks showed that
he was passing through a magnetic
influence.
The yellow belt appeared to be COM
posed Of sparks that compelled him to
cover his face and hands They were
apparently iron filings in a state of
fusion. His dress was protected from
danger by fire by a preparation of
alum.
Toward the middle of the third day
he emerged from this zone and en-
tered another of intense cold and fear
fully dark. Beyond he could see a
peculiar mass of matter, brownish in
color and oval in shape.
Passing through the frigid belt the
detonations of his cannons almost deaf
ened him. It was clear that he had
again entered an atmosphere. During
the afternoon he passed through the
warmer zone, and at 10 o'clock, just 95
hours after leaving the earth, he stood
on the dun colored mass. He had
reached the sun.
What struck him as most peculiar
was the warm, even temperature.
There was no intense heat. Every
thing around gave the impression of
iron, not in state of fusion, as he ex
pectedto find it, but moderate.
No sooner had he landed than his
cannons and guns were torn from him.
They stuck fast to the surface OF the
sun.
He recognized the reason. He was
on an immense magnet. How large
he could not tell. He thought of the
yellow zone and the cold belt through
which he had passed and saw the solar
principle at a glance.