The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-01-30


pressure is released.
Let them come" was the almost Joy
GUS cry. I'VE shall be ready or them
now. The Americans have solved the
problem. Edison mas placed the means OF
victory within our power"
Looking back upon that time now,
recall. with a thrill, the pride that stirred
me at that thought that, after all, the
inhabitants OF the earth were a match
for those terrible men from Mars, de-
spit all the advantage which they had
gained from their millions of years of
prior civilization and science.
AS good ortunes, like bad, never come
singly. the news of Mr. Edison's ais
covery was quickly followed by additional
glad tidings from that laboratory of mar
vcls in the lap Of the Orange
mountains. During their conquest
the Martians had astonished the
inhabitants of the earth no less
with their flying machines-which nau.
gated our atmosphere as easily as they
had that of their NATIVES )llner-thsn with
their more destructive inventions. These
flying machines in themselves had given
them an enorm Jus advantage ia the con-
test. High above the desoIation that they
had caused TO reign on the surface Of the
earth. and. out OF range Of our guns they
had hung safe in the upper air. From the
CLOUDS they hdd dropped death upoH the
earth.
Now. rumor declared that Mr.. Edison
had invented and perfected a flying ma
chine much more complete and manage
able than that of the Martians had been.
Wonderful stories quickly found their
way into the newspapers concerning what
Mr. Edison had already accomplished
with the aid his model electrical bal
loon. His laboratory was carefully guard
ed against the invasion Of the curious,
because he rightly felt that a premature
announcement. which should promise
more than could actually be fulfilled.
would. at this critical juncture. plunge .
mankind back again into the gulf Of de-
spair out Of which il had just begun TO
emerge
Nevertheless. inklings Of the truth
leaked out. The flying machine had been
seen by many persons lowering by night
high above the Orange hills and dlsap-
pearing I'm the faint starlight as If it
had gone away into the depths OF space
out Of which # would re-emerge before
the morning light had streaked the east,
and be seen settling down again within
the walls that surrounded the laboratory
OF the great inventor At length the ru-
NOR. gradually deepening into "a convio-
ton spread that Edison himself.
accompanied by few scientific
friends, had made an experimental trial
trip TO the moon. At time when the
spirit Of mankind was less profoundly
stirred such a story would have been re-
ceivod with complete Incredibly. but now
rising on TIE wings Of the new hope that
was bopying up the earth. this eXtraordi- |
nary rumOr became a DAY star of truth |
TO the nations.
And il was true. | had myself been one |
OF the occupants Of the car Of flying Ship |
of Space on that night when II silently |
laf. the earth. and rising cut Of The great |
shadow of the globe sped on 20 the moon. |
We mad landed upon the SCARED and
dcsOlate face OF the carths satellite. ana !
but that there. are greater and more in |
tercsting events the telling Of which must |
not be delayed ! should undertake to |
describe the particulars Of this first visit J
of men to another world
But. as J have already intimated. this |
was only an experimental trip. BY visit |
ing this little nearby island in the ocean |
space. Nj. Edison simply wished to dem !
onstrate the practicability of his inven- |
ton and TO convince. first OF all himself |
and his scientific friends that it was pos
sible for men-mortal men-to quit and |
revisit the earth at their will. That aim /
this experimental trip triumphantly at |
iained.
II would carry me into technical de-
ails that would hardly interest the read
or. to describe the mechanism Of Mr..
Edison's flying machine. Let it suffice
to say that it depended upon the prin-
ciple Of electrical attraction and repul-
sion. BY means OF q most ingenious and |
construction he had mas
tered the problem OF how TO produce,
i'm a limited space. electricity OF any
desired potential of any polarity. ana
that without danger 20 the experimenter
or TO the material experimental upon.
II is eravitation, as everybody knows,
that makes man a prisoner on The earth.
If he could overcome or noutralize gray
Itatlon be could float away, a free croa-
ture Of interstollar space Mr.. Edison in
his invention had pitted electricity
against gravitation Nature. IN fact, had |
done the same thing long before. Every
astronomer knew IT, but none had been
able 20 initiate or 10 reproduce this mira
Gle Of nature When a comet approaches
the sun. the orbit ia which IL travels in
dicates that it is moving under the inn
pulse of the suns gravitation II is IN
reality falling in q great parabolic or
alliptcal curve through space But While
q comet approaches the sun II begins 70
out for millions, and
sometimes hundreds of millions OF miles
IN the side away from the sun-an inn
neuse luminous train called It's tail. This
rain extends back into that part of
space from which the comet Is moving
rhus the sun at one ana the same time
S drawing the comet toward itself ana
irving off from the comet in an opposite
Al .ection minute particles OF atoms which.
instead Of obeyirg the graNtational force.
are plainly compelled To disobey IT, That
his energy. which the sun exercised
against its own gray .tation,is electrical in
Is nature, hardly anybody viii doubt
The head OF the comet being comparative
~ heavy and massive. falls on toward the
sun. despite the electrical repulsiOn. But
he atoms which form the tail, being
almost without weight. yield TO the cleo
rlcal rather than TO the gravitational
influence and so ny away from the sun.
Now. what Mr.. Edison has done was,
n effect 20 create an electrical particle
which might be compared 10 one OF the
ltoms composing the tail Of comet.
although I'm reality IL was u kind of car.
r metal. weighing some hundreds OF
pounds and capable OF bearing some
thousands of pounds with ii in It's night.
3y producing with the aid of the cleo
rlcal generator contained in this car,
IN enormous charge OF electricity. Mr..
edison was able TO counterbalance, and
rife more than counterbalance the at
raction OF the earth. and thus cause the
ar to fly on from the earth as an cleo
rihed pithball flies from the prime con-
luctor.
Az we sat in tho brilliantly lighted |