On the 10th no change. J.T. Maston nearly
went mad, and fears were entertained for his brain
until then so well preserved in its gutta-percha cranium.
But on the 11th one of those frightful tempests peculiar
to tropical regions was let loose in the atmosphere.
Terrific east winds swept away the clouds which had
been so long there, and in the evening the half-disc
of the moon rode majestically amidst the limpid constellations
of the sky.
A NEW STAR.
That same night the news so impatiently expected burst
like a thunderbolt over the United States of the Union,
and thence darting across the Atlantic it ran along
all the telegraphic wires of the globe. The projectile
had been perceived, thanks to the gigantic reflector
of Long’s Peak.
The following is the notice drawn up by the director
of the Cambridge Observatory. It resumes the
scientific conclusion of the great experiment made
by the Gun Club:—
“Long’s Peak, December 12th.
“To the Staff of the Cambridge Observatory.
“The projectile hurled by the Columbiad of Stony
Hill was perceived by Messrs. Belfast and J.T.
Maston on the 12th of December at 8.47 p.m., the moon
having entered her last quarter.
“The projectile has not reached its goal.
It has deviated to the side, but near enough to be
detained by lunar attraction.
“There its rectilinear movement changed to a
circular one of extreme velocity, and it has been
drawn round the moon in an elliptical orbit, and has
become her satellite.
“We have not yet been able to determine the
elements of this new star. Neither its speed
of translation or rotation is known. The distance
which separates it from the surface of the moon may
be estimated at about 2,833 miles.
“Now two hypotheses may be taken into consideration
as to a modification in this state of things:—
“Either the attraction of the moon will end
by drawing it towards her, and the travellers will
reach the goal of their journey,
“Or the projectile, maintained in an immutable
orbit, will gravitate round the lunar disc till the
end of time.
“Observation will settle this point some day,
but until now the experiment of the Gun Club has had
no other result than that of providing our solar system
with a new star.
“J BELFAST.”
What discussions this unexpected denouement
gave rise to! What a situation full of mystery
the future reserved for the investigations of science!
Thanks to the courage and devotion of three men, this
enterprise of sending a bullet to the moon, futile
enough in appearance, had just had an immense result,
the consequences of which are incalculable. The
travellers imprisoned in a new satellite, if they have
not attained their end, form at least part of the lunar
world; they gravitate around the Queen of Night, and
for the first time human eyes can penetrate all her
mysteries. The names of Nicholl, Barbicane, and
Michel Ardan would be for ever celebrated in astronomical
annals, for these bold explorers, desirous of widening
the circle of human knowledge, had audaciously rushed
into space, and had risked their lives in the strangest
experiment of modern times.
