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TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE.
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE.
The late Artemus Ward was in the habit of quoting—either from his own or another man’s store of wit—“Never prophesy unless you know for certain.” There is, however, a particular mode of foretelling which is neither dangerous nor venturesome; that process, namely, by which inferences are being drawn from analogous things that have come to pass, and applied to the contemplation of future events. The little book here presented in an English translation may serve as an illustration in point. It was
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Aleutic Time?
Aleutic Time?
“You are mistaken,” Bacon said; “on the contrary, it is bitterly cold; only you forget that we are in town. Just feel the heat of the current of air which rises from the sieve-like plate on which you are walking, and you will doubtless agree with me that the is by no means unfaithful to its obligations. Then look above you. Had the distribution been insufficient, we should still see the glass roof over our heads covered with this morning’s snow.” I looked up, and saw that the street was vaulted
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Distribution-of-Warm-Air Society
Distribution-of-Warm-Air Society
or ‘Endless Glass,’ as our people generally call it.” “I have no doubt that this must be a considerable improvement on your town-life throughout winter; but in summer-time I should say this must be intolerably hot.” “Not at all; the same society which undertakes the supply of warm air in winter also provides for us during the summer months a cooling draught. Nothing can be easier than that. You are doubtless aware of ice having been manufactured in the middle of summer for at least a couple of c
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Verre sans Fin,
Verre sans Fin,
“No,” answered my guide; “iron, on account of its greater specific weight, would have been less suitable here than aluminium; the latter not only corresponds in weight with the glass which it supports, but it also withstands the effects of the atmosphere far better than iron. You will very soon perceive in how many instances the new metal has superseded the old one, in additional proof of which I would just mention the fact that the modern antiquarians do not exclusively now speak of the ages of
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Age of Aluminium.
Age of Aluminium.
“No, no!” cried I; “none of those men could ever have foreseen the ultimate beneficial results of these discoveries of natural truths.” 6 “You are perfectly right in your remarks,” said Bacon, as I paused. “From my own personal knowledge of what has come to pass in the field of industry during the last two centuries, I could adduce a good many more examples to show that many of your nineteenth-century discoveries, which for a long time afterwards merely bore a purely scientific significance or c
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Heliochromes;
Heliochromes;
I quietly accepted the rebuff, and rejoiced to think that all those treasures of art of which my country is so proud had not then, after all, deteriorated in worth; on the other hand, it was to me a matter of little moment that mediocre talents, incapable of rising above the imitation of reality, had been compelled to exchange the brush for the camera obscura ; and I had no doubt that their productions would thereby gain—in faithfulness. As we left the exhibition building, I saw a huge waggon wi
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Energeiathecs,
Energeiathecs,
Naturally enough, I evinced a strong desire to enter, but Bacon remarked that a visit to such a place would take up a good deal of valuable time, that might be turned to a much more pleasurable and profitable account; to which Miss Phantasia added that if the gentlemen chose to enter that labyrinth of learning, she, for her part, preferred a walk in the square; the latter, crossed in all directions by parks and avenues and flower-beds, was moreover crowded with the most exquisite works of ancien
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National Library.
National Library.
“Well, then, be good enough to select for yourself,” said I; “I’ll follow you.” We entered one of the buildings. How I was surprised to see the crowd of officers and attendants! some anxious to direct and assist the still greater mass of visitors; others busily engaged in making out tickets and extracts for those scholars who had not time enough to do any such manual work themselves. I felt that this was an admirable school for young students, who were here able not only to gather a valuable kno
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Nineteenth-Century Books.
Nineteenth-Century Books.
“Pity, though,” said I, “for those who cannot make use of the library.” “ Cannot! ” exclaimed my guide; “but the doors are open to every one.” “Except to those who are unable to read, I suppose.” “Unable to read!” retorted Bacon; “but we are in Europe, my dear sir, not among the Hottentots or Bushmen! There is not one man or woman amongst us but what can read and write, and even do some arithmetic. Surely these elements of knowledge are the very first steps on the field of culture, and the sine
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Compulsory Education?”
Compulsory Education?”
“I easily understand,” said I, “that even the ordinary tourist would require a couple of days to gratify his morbid curiosity in this enceinte ; but could I not see some small department at least of all these sightworthy productions?” “Well,” answered Miss Phantasia, “let us see the collection in the that is my hobby,” continued she, as she stopped before one of the edifices. Could I trust my ears! A young lady’s favourite study was genealogy; old parchments, coats-of-arms, and heraldry her hobb
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Genealogical Museum;
Genealogical Museum;
“Don’t you even know the Bacon asked. “That surprises me; for as far back as the second half of the nineteenth century it was used to illuminate both here and in Paris some of the public edifices. Here it has been generally introduced for some time past, ever since the streets have been covered with our endless glass.” “But then that light is too brilliant and too white; that can’t be gas-light.” “Nor is it. Gas is now only burnt in those isolated districts where the houses stand far apart from
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Solar Light?”
Solar Light?”
“Don’t you trouble your mind about that,” said my amiable guide; “early this morning I was at the meteorological institute, and I have ascertained that the weather will be fine for a fortnight at all events. The reports from the different meteorological stations are all equally propitious. The sky will be bright, and the wind favourable; I should be surprised if the aëronaut would have any occasion to use the energeiathecs, which, however, will accompany us as preventatives.” We parted company,
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The Telephon.
The Telephon.
Of course I was longing to examine the construction of the telephon. I was just about to ask one of the gentlemen present to give me some explanation on the subject, when there was a general demand for silence. The American lady was to afford us another treat. This time she sang an air from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and I was delighted to find that this masterpiece of the great maestro was not forgotten even three centuries after the composer’s death. At the close of her examination, the lady was u
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General Balloon Company.
General Balloon Company.
“If, now, the wind blows in the same direction that one wishes to travel, then the apparatus is not worked; that is to say, no current is passed through the wire. Should the wind, however, be unpropitious, then the ship is at once changed into a magnet. For example, suppose the wind to be due west, and the sails to be placed at right angles with the wind, then the vessel will be driven neither east nor northward, but towards a point intermediate; just as a vessel at sea when pushed north by the
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Travelling Dialect.
Travelling Dialect.
As I looked about me, it so happened that my eye fell upon some wide tubes peeping out from the sides and the hold of the vessel. I first thought that these were a new kind of cannon; so I asked whether we were on board of a man-of-war? Miss Phantasia smiled, but her smile was a bitter one immediately followed by a sigh. “War!” she echoed, “those chivalrous times we only know from history; our modern men are manufacturers, merchants, engineers, scholars, legislators, and so forth; but as for sol
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No more War!
No more War!
I was much impressed with the justness of the last words of my companion. It now became clear to me how every new railroad, every new telegraph line, the removal of every obstacle in the process of exportation and importation, does not only directly promote the general interest and welfare, but that they are as many links in the great chain by which men are united together in brotherhood as members of one and the same household. And yet methought I perceived a threatening cloud at this bright ho
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Free Trade; Universal Locomotion.
Free Trade; Universal Locomotion.
I had already noticed, during the conversation, that our aërial conveyance had assumed a gentle swinging position; and when Bacon paused in his remarks, Miss Phantasia cried to me, “Do, now, apply your eye to these pseudo-cannons, and tell us, pray, where we are.” I found at once that those tubes which I had mistaken for cannons were enormous telescopes; but my mistake was pardonable enough, so far as their outward appearance went. They were certainly much wider, from which I concluded, à priori
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Modern Telescopes.
Modern Telescopes.
As we came nearer I began to suspect that this wire might be a tubular bridge of some kind, and this surmise grew into certainty when Bacon assured me that a company had already been formed for the purpose of constructing a second one; “for,” added my informant, “this one has become utterly inadequate to the extensive communication between England and the continent.” A slight north-north-easterly direction, and a few minutes sufficed to bring us near to my native home, which to us, from our vess
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North Holland Submerged.
North Holland Submerged.
Thanking Bacon for this valuable piece of information, I further ventured to inquire whether in the new educational bill the principle had been recognised “that it is a matter of perfect indifference where any candidate had obtained the knowledge required by the law, and that the state had no other right but to demand this of the candidate, that he satisfy the government examiners with regard to his abilities.” “Here you are doubtless touching a knotty point,” answered my companion; “for this ha
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University Education.
University Education.
“Once upon a time a gentleman had a beautiful bird, and the beauty of this beautiful bird was this, that he laid every year a golden egg. Naturally enough, the man was very much afraid that this bird should escape, or perhaps be stolen from him. He therefore first cut its wings, and then put it into a solid cage. When the children of that gentleman grew up, they gradually became of opinion that the bird had not been properly treated by their father. One thought that some portion of the golden eg
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Loss of Dutch Colonies.
Loss of Dutch Colonies.
“If then I rightly understand your metaphor, France and England have both been compelled to let the island slip, and the Javanese are a free people by this time.” “Oh, free, of course; so is the dormouse,” answered the Dutchman. I suggested that his former remarks appeared to me to be more liberal. “Those concerned the land, but not the people.” “Well?” “The Javanese will never change their skin. Those of the present day are simply a few grades lazier than their progenitors. Since the last great
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Railway Nets.
Railway Nets.
We floated over Venice, where the Italian standard waved from the top of St. Mark’s, although I could recognise a few Austrian vessels by their immense double eagle. Now ascending, then again descending, it was often impossible for us to discover where we found ourselves, until I noticed Constantinople; but nowhere could I descry a single crescent, nor any other emblem that might have led me to conclude what Government had got possession of the ancient capital of the Eastern empire. Crossing the
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Geographical Changes in Europe.
Geographical Changes in Europe.
I asked Bacon did he know what this edifice was intended for? He looked through the telescope, and replied, “Why, that is the famous observatory of Orumiah. I know it by an illustration of the building which I have in my library. I have not been there myself, but it must be well worth seeing.” “But how did they come to erect a building of such gigantic dimensions so far beyond the circle of civilization?” “Simply for the sake of saving time,” was the answer; “now-a-days only those spots are sele
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Astronomical Observatories.
Astronomical Observatories.
“Then at last,” said I, “the science of astronomy has wandered back to the cradle of its infancy, the soil of Chaldea. But what has become of the once so celebrated observatories of Leiden, Greenwich, the Pulkowa, etc., etc.?” They have been changed into calculatoria , as in fact they had been already for some time past. Among them are distributed the observations made at the central observatory, and these they have to work out. At the same time these calculatoria continue to be of some use to t
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Calculatoria.
Calculatoria.
I followed the direction of his finger, and saw an immense “poster,” on which I recognised at a glance the well-known lunar district of Tycho; of course I was acquainted with its ring mountains and the bright silver beams radiating as from a common centre; these were the words on the placard: GREATEST DISCOVERY OF THE AGE! INEXHAUSTIBLE TIN MINES IN THE MOON! WHOSOEVER MEANS TO GET RICH HAD BETTER ASSOCIATE HIMSELF WITH THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED MOON TIN EXPLORATION COMPANY, TYCHO. I had already ris
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Tin Mines in the Moon.
Tin Mines in the Moon.
“Poor children of man!” I thought. “Will you then always remain the same, always and for ever, always the slaves of your passions, and thereby the tools of those who take advantage of your weaknesses?” But my thoughts wandered into a different direction as soon as I noticed another placard simply containing this (although in monstrous figures and characters): Again I asked my companion for an explanation. “This is simply to call a meeting for the purpose of forming a league to oppose the one-two
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Anti 1–2 League.
Anti 1–2 League.
“Male and female parties!” exclaimed I, in utter astonishment. “Have those then become the two contending parties in politics?” “Naturally enough,” replied he. “Nothing else could have happened; it is the direct and natural consequence of the emancipation of women, whereby all rights have been granted them that were formerly exclusively accorded to men.” I could not help expressing my surprise at such a result, and added that I was afraid that it must have materially affected the relation betwee
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Woman’s Rights.
Woman’s Rights.
At last I ventured to interrupt Bacon in the perusal of his learned work. “Where do you think,” I asked, “we are going to?” To which he answered perfectly dryly: “I suppose we cannot be very far from New Zealand. We have made a considerable détour through the upper air in order to take advantage of the atmospheric current which arises between the tropics, and then extends to the north and south and east successively, but now we are descending again. See how the barometer is going up.” Thinking o
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The New Zealand of the Future.
The New Zealand of the Future.
“Does the same apply to the inhabitants of all countries where Europeans have settled?” “No, only to those that are situated beyond the tropics; for the tropical regions, with the exception of the cooler mountain districts, are in the long run unsuited to the Caucasian race. The interior of Africa has still its original negro population; New Guinea is still inhabited by the Papoos, and many other islands of tropical clime are still occupied by the descendants of the ancient aboriginals, although
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MR. W. TEGG’S LIST OF PUBLICATIONS.
MR. W. TEGG’S LIST OF PUBLICATIONS.
Astronomy Simplified for General Reading. With numerous and highly important Discoveries in Spectrum Analysis. By J. A. S. Rolwyn , Author of “A Treatise on the Structure of Matter.” Imp. 32mo, cloth, 2s.; gilt edges, 2s. 6d. Bampfylde Moore Carew (The History of), King of the Mendicants, with an enlarged Dictionary of the Terms used by that Fraternity; also some account of the Gipsies and their Language. Fcap. 8vo, cloth, 3s. Burns (Robert), The Life of. By John Gibson Lockhart , D.C.L., Editor
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