Off on a Comet! a Journey through Planetary Space by Jules Verne (free children's ebooks pdf .txt) ๐
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- Author: Jules Verne
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The colony took possession of their new abode with but few formalities. Everyone, however, approved of all the internal arrangements of Ninaโs Hive, and were profuse in their expressions of satisfaction at finding themselves located in such comfortable quarters. The only malcontent was Hakkabut; he had no share in the general enthusiasm, refused even to enter or inspect any of the galleries, and insisted on remaining on board his tartan.
โHe is afraid,โ said Ben Zoof, โthat he will have to pay for his lodgings. But wait a bit; we shall see how he stands the cold out there; the frost, no doubt, will drive the old fox out of his hole.โ
Towards evening the pots were set boiling, and a bountiful supper, to which all were invited, was spread in the central hall. The stores of the Dobryna contained some excellent wine, some of which was broached to do honor to the occasion. The health of the governor general was drunk, as well as the toast โSuccess to his council,โ to which Ben Zoof was called upon to return thanks. The entertainment passed off merrily. The Spaniards were in the best of spirits; one of them played the guitar, another the castanets, and the rest joined in a ringing chorus. Ben Zoof contributed the famous Zouave refrain, well known throughout the French army, but rarely performed in finer style than by this virtuoso:
โMisti goth dar dar tire lyre! Flic! floc! flac! lirette, lira! Far la rira, Tour tala rire, Tour la Ribaud, Ricandeau, Sans repos, repit, repit, repos, ris pot, ripette! Si vous attrapez mon refrain, Fameux vous etes.โThe concert was succeeded by a ball, unquestionably the first that had ever taken place in Gallia. The Russian sailors exhibited some of their national dances, which gained considerable applause, even although they followed upon the marvelous fandangos of the Spaniards. Ben Zoof, in his turn, danced a pas seul (often performed in the Elysee Montmartre) with an elegance and vigor that earned many compliments from Negrete.
It was nine oโclock before the festivities came to an end, and by that time the company, heated by the high temperature of the hall, and by their own exertions, felt the want of a little fresh air. Accordingly the greater portion of the party, escorted by Ben Zoof, made their way into one of the adjacent galleries that led to the shore. Servadac, with the count and lieutenant, did not follow immediately; but shortly afterwards they proceeded to join them, when on their way they were startled by loud cries from those in advance.
Their first impression was that they were cries of distress, and they were greatly relieved to find that they were shouts of delight, which the dryness and purity of the atmosphere caused to re-echo like a volley of musketry.
Reaching the mouth of the gallery, they found the entire group pointing with eager interest to the sky.
โWell, Ben Zoof,โ asked the captain, โwhatโs the matter now?โ
โOh, your Excellency,โ ejaculated the orderly, โlook there! look there! The moon! the moonโs come back!โ
And, sure enough, what was apparently the moon was rising above the mists of evening.
CHAPTER XXII. A FROZEN OCEAN
The moon! She had disappeared for weeks; was she now returning? Had she been faithless to the earth? and had she now approached to be a satellite of the new-born world?
โImpossible!โ said Lieutenant Procope; โthe earth is millions and millions of leagues away, and it is not probable that the moon has ceased to revolve about her.โ
โWhy not?โ remonstrated Servadac. โIt would not be more strange than the other phenomena which we have lately witnessed. Why should not the moon have fallen within the limits of Galliaโs attraction, and become her satellite?โ
โUpon that supposition,โ put in the count, โI should think that it would be altogether unlikely that three months would elapse without our seeing her.โ
โQuite incredible!โ continued Procope. โAnd there is another thing which totally disproves the captainโs hypothesis; the magnitude of Gallia is far too insignificant for her power of attraction to carry off the moon.โ
โBut,โ persisted Servadac, โwhy should not the same convulsion that tore us away from the earth have torn away the moon as well? After wandering about as she would for a while in the solar regions, I do not see why she should not have attached herself to us.โ
The lieutenant repeated his conviction that it was not likely.
โBut why not?โ again asked Servadac impetuously.
โBecause, I tell you, the mass of Gallia is so inferior to that of the moon, that Gallia would become the moonโs satellite; the moon could not possibly become hers.โ
โAssuming, however,โ continued Servadac, โsuch to be the caseโโ
โI am afraid,โ said the lieutenant, interrupting him, โthat I cannot assume anything of the sort even for a moment.โ
Servadac smiled good-humoredly.
โI confess you seem to have the best of the argument, and if Gallia had become a satellite of the moon, it would not have taken three months to catch sight of her. I suppose you are right.โ
While this discussion had been going on, the satellite, or whatever it might be, had been rising steadily above the horizon, and had reached a position favorable for observation. Telescopes were brought, and it was very soon ascertained, beyond a question, that the new luminary was not the well-known Phoebe of terrestrial nights; it had no feature in common with the moon. Although it was apparently much nearer to Gallia than the moon to the earth, its superficies was hardly one-tenth as large, and so feebly did it reflect the light of the remote sun, that it scarcely emitted radiance enough to extinguish the dim luster of stars of the eighth magnitude. Like the sun, it had risen in the west, and was now at its full. To mistake its identity with the moon was absolutely impossible; not even Servadac could discover a trace of the seas, chasms, craters, and mountains which have been so minutely delineated in lunar charts, and it could not be denied that any transient hope that had been excited as to their once again being about to enjoy the peaceful smiles of โthe queen of nightโ must all be resigned.
Count Timascheff finally suggested, though somewhat doubtfully, the question of the probability that Gallia, in
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