A Trip to Venus

A Trip to Venus

The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Trip to Venus, by John Munro This eBook is for
the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You
may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: A Trip to Venus
Author: John Munro
Release Date: October 11, 2004 [EBook #13716]
Language: English
Character set encoding: UTF-8
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TRIP TO VENUS ***

Produced by Steven desJardins and Distributed Proofreaders.

A TRIP TO VENUS
A NOVEL BY JOHN MUNRO
Author of the "The Wire and the Wave," "The Story of Electricity," etc., etc.
Published in 1897 by Jarrold & Sons, London

CONTENTS.


CHAPTER I
. A MESSAGE FROM MARS


CHAPTER II
. HOW CAN WE GET TO THE OTHER PLANETS?


CHAPTER III

. A NEW FORCE


CHAPTER IV
. THE ELECTRIC ORRERY


CHAPTER V
. LEAVING THE EARTH


CHAPTER VI
. IN SPACE


CHAPTER VII
. ARRIVING IN VENUS


CHAPTER VIII
. THE CRATER LAND


CHAPTER IX
. THE FLOWER OF THE SOUL


CHAPTER X
. ALUMION


CHAPTER XI
. THE FLYING APE


CHAPTER XII

. SUNWARD HO!


CHAPTER XIII
. HOME AGAIN

"The heaven that rolls around cries aloud to you while it displays its eternal harmony, and
yet your eyes are fixed upon the earth alone."
DANTE.
"This truth within thy mind rehearse, That in a boúndless universe Is boundless better,
boundless worse.
"Think you this mould of hopes and fears Could find no statelier than his peers In yonder
hundred million spheres?"
TENNYSON.

A TRIP TO VENUS.


CHAPTER I
.
A MESSAGE FROM MARS.
While I was glancing at the Times newspaper in a morning train for London my eyes fell
on the following item:--
A STRANGE LIGHT ON MARS.--On Monday afternoon, Dr. Krueger, who is in charge
of the central bureau at Kiel, telegraphed to his correspondents:--
"_Projection lumineuse dans région australe du terminateur de Mars observée par
Javelle 28 courant, 16 heures.--Perrotin._"
In plain English, at 4 a.m., a ray of light had been observed on the disc of the planet Mars
in or near the "terminator"; that is to say, the zone of twilight separating day from night.
The news was doubly interesting to me, because a singular dream of "Sunrise in the
Moon" had quickened my imagination as to the wonders of the universe beyond our little
globe, and because of a never-to-be-forgotten experience of mine with an aged
astronomer several years ago.
This extraordinary man, living the life of a recluse in his own observatory, which was
situated in a lonely part of the country, had, or at any rate, believed that he had, opened
up a communication with the inhabitants of Mars, by means of powerful electric lights,
flashing in the manner of a signal-lantern or heliograph. I had set him down as a
monomaniac; but who knows? perhaps he was not so crazy after all.
When evening came I turned to the books, and gathered a great deal about the fiery planet,
including the fact that a stout man, a Daniel Lambert, could jump his own height there
with the greatest ease. Very likely; but I was seeking information on the strange light, and
as I could not find any I resolved to walk over and consult my old friend, Professor
Gazen, the well-known astronomer, who had made his mark by a series of splendid
researches with the spectroscope into the constitution of the sun and other celestial

bodies.
It was a fine clear night. The sky was cloudless and of a deep dark blue, which revealed
the highest heavens and the silvery lustre of the Milky Way. The great belt of Orion
shone conspicuously in the east, and Sirius blazed a living gem more to the south. I
looked for Mars, and soon found him farther to the north, a large red star, amongst the
white of the encircling constellations.
Professor Gazen was quite alone in his observatory when I arrived, and busily engaged in
writing or computing at his desk.
"I hope I'm not disturbing you," said I, as we shook hands; "I know that you astronomers
must work when the fine night cometh."
"Don't mention it," he replied cordially; "I'm observing one of the nebulas just now, but it
won't be in sight for a long time yet."
"What about this mysterious light on Mars. Have you seen anything of it?"
Gazen laughed.
"I have not," said he, "though I did look the other night."
"You