The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-02-13

It's course. Then 81 mad crashed through
he opposite side OF The car. and, pass
ng on. disappeared into space. The store
of air contained In the air had imme-
diltely rushed out through the openings
and when two or three Of us, having
donncd our alright suits as quickly az
possible. entered tho wrecked car we
found all OF its inmates stretched upon the
.loor in q condition Of asphyxiation. They
as well as those who lay upon the ex-
terror were Immediately removed TO the
iagship. restOruivcs were applied; ard,
fortunately. our aid had come so prompt
y that the lives Of all OF them were
saved But life had fed from the mangled
bodies Of those who had stood directly
IN the path Of tho fearful projectile.
The strange accident had beel -yitncss
"a by several OF tho members Of tie
.ioet. and they quickly drew together 20
inquire for the particulars. Fortunately
10 happened that the disinfegratOrs con
tained in the wrecked car we're not In
.urod. Mr. Edison thought that II would
be possible to repair the car itself. and
tor that purpose be had II attached 90
he flagship I'm order that IT might be
carried on as far as the moon The bod
tcs of the dead were transported with 80.
aa it was determined, instead of commit
ing them 10 the fearful deep of space
where they would have wandered for
ever. or else have fallen ike meteors
upon the earth. TO give them intcrInent
~ The lunar soil
As We now rapidly approached the moon
me change which the appearance OF its
surface underwent was no less wonderful
han that which The surface Of the earth
mad presented I'M the reverse order while
Has.. OBJ
silver orb shining with comparative faint
ness among the stars. it slowly assumed
the appearance OF a vast mountainous
desert. As we drew nearer its cOiors
became more prOnOuncci, the great nat
regions appeared darker the mouniaih
peaks stOnc moro brilliantly The huge
chasns seemed bottomle1s and blacket
than midnight. Gradually separate noun
lains disappeared What seemed Ike exc
panses of snow and immense glaciers
streaming down their sides, spanked
with great brilliancy IN the ncrpendicu-
lar rays Of the sun. Our motion had now
assumed the aspect of falling We SEEM
ga 20 be dropping from an immeasurable
height and with an incOnceivabie velocity,
straight down upon those great peaks.
Here and there curious lights glowed
upon the mysterious surface OF thc moon.
Where the edge OF the moon cut the sky
behind &c. &c was broken and jagged with
mountain masses. Vast crater rings over
spread IT'S surface. and in some OF these
] imagined / could perceive a lurid illl-
minatl0n coming out OF their deepest cav
tiles. and the curling of mephitic vapors
around ibCr terrible jaws
We were approaching that part OF the
moon which is known TO astronomers
as the Bay OF Rainbows. Here huge
semi-circular region, a. smooth almost
as the surface OF prairie. lay beneath
our eyes. stretching southwark into q
vast ocean-lkc eXpanse. while on the
north it was enclosed by an enormous
range OF mountain cliffs. rising peTpen-
dicliary TO o. height of many thousands
OF feet. and rent and gashcd IN every
direction by forces which seemed at some
remote period TO have lab0red 40 tearing
this little world TO pieces.
IL was a fearful spectacle dead and
mancied world. too dred0ful 10 look upon.
The idea OF the death OF the moon was,
OF course. not a new one 20 many or us.
We had long been aware that tho oarth's
satellite was a body which had passed
beyond tho stage OF life if indeed. it had
ever been life supporting GLOBE but
none OF us were prepared for tho terrible
At each end Of the scmi-circular ridge
that encloees tho Pay of Rainbows there
is q lofty promontory That az the north
western extremity had long been known
20 astronomers under tho name Of Cape
Iapiaco The other promontory At the
southeastern termination. is called cape
Her9cIdcs. 10 was toward tho latter
that we were approaching. and by inter
change Of signals an the members or the
souadron had been Informed that cape
Horaclides was 10 be our rendezvous
upon the moon.
had OFTEN on the earth drawn a smile
from nv friends by showing them rms
pronnoutorv with a telescope and calling
their attention TO tho fact that the outline
OF the peak ermnating the cape was SUCH
as TO present a remarkable resemblance 10
a human face. Enthusiastically FEMININE
countenance. seen IN profile and possess
inr no small degree OF beauty. To my as
constituent. this curious human sem
blance shn remained when we had APP
proachod so close TO the moon that the
mountains forming the capes filled nearly
the whole field OF view of the window
from which ] was watching It. The resern-
biauce. indeed. was most startling
"C'an this. indeed. be Diana herselt?'
I said. half aloud. but instantly after
ward I was laughing az nay fancy. for
Mr. Edison had overheard me and eX-
claimed:
Where is she:" ...--....
"Nho?'
DIANA"
"Why. there" I said. pointing 20 the
moon. But. lo' the appearance had Gono
even while I spoke A swift change had
taken place in the llne OF sight by which
we were viewing II. and the likeness had
disaupeared in consequence.
4 few moments later my astonishment
was revived. but the cause this time was
a very different one. Ne had been drop
ping rapidly toward the mountains. and
the electrician In charge OF tho car was
swiftly and constantly changing his po-
tental. and. like a pilot who feels his
way into am unknown harbor, endeavoring
20 approach the moon in such manner
that no hidden peril should surprise us.
As VIC thus approached 1 suddenly per-
coived. browning the very apex of the
lofty peak near the termination OF the
cane. the ruins Of what appeared TO bee
an ancient watch tower. II '"as evidently
composed Of Cvclcpean blocks. larger
than any that bad ever seen even among
the ruins OF Greece, Egypt, and Asia
Minor
Here. then, was visible proof that the
moon had been inhabited. although prob
ably It was not inhabited now. I cam
not describe the eXultant feeling which
took possession OF me az his discovery
II ~ lied so mucl that learned men hal
been disputing about for centuries.
"Whet will they say" exclaimed.