Argosy, Volume XXIII — Index Page, 1897 — page 185: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

— — ae ae a. - - ~, ee eee ee Le r. <> < oo = (3 . ~~ z om F = oe Sie, 54 ee a Se 7 7 - : . i & ive yo ’ A MONTH IN THE MOON. . 755. The sun drew near the western horizon of the lunar heavens. He reached it and sank slowly behind the neighboring mountains. The spectacle was curious from its novelty, but there was none of the splendor that had signalized the eclipse, nor was there even the beauty of an earthly sunset., That marvelous lighting up of height after height, the clouds of purple and gold, and fan-like rays of light which the great luminary displays at the hour of departure, were unknown on the moon, for the reason that the lunar atmosphere, being perfectly translucid, knows neither clouds nor vapor. The sun therefore simply went down without any firework parade. His disk slowly sank lower and lower for the space of an hour, and then dis- appeared from view, leaving a few golden streaks on the highest summits for a few minutes, after which, without the transition of twilight, night settled down in all its darkness over the visible face of the moon. CHAPTER XLI.—THE EARTHLIGHT. NIGHT on the visible side of the moon is not nearly so dark as on the other hemisphere. It is rather a kind of clear twilight that softens all the | surroundings. Gertrude Kersain had seated herself near one of the drawing room win- dows to look out on the lunar landscape under its novel aspect. It was more fantastic now than it had been even under the rays of the sun. The little flock of craters nestling at the foot of Tehbali were bathed in the silvery light on one side, while the other slept in utter darkness. Every- thing was perfectly motionless, and the cold, clear light lent such a strange, weird. appearance to it all that Gertrude, mechanically, as it were, looked about for the cause. Leaning out of the right side of the window, she caught sight in the heavens of an enormous star that she had never before seen. - Its disk was immense, measuring apparently two or three yards, and it diffused a wan light similar to that of the moon, only fifteen or twenty times stronger. Gertrude could not repress a cry of admiration mingled with fear. Norbert heard her, and came up at once. ‘Look !’’ she said, pointing to the marvelous star. ‘‘ What is that?” ‘Do you not recognize your native land?’’ said Norbert, laughing. ‘That is the Earth. Our very own old Earth, who is kindly lessening the horrors of our lunar night by giving usher light. We shall have it all along.’’ ‘‘ How strange, and yet it is only natural! I might have known that we should enjoy here the earthlight in place of the moonlight of other times. But it startled me at first to see that grand disk! It reminded me of the aspect of the moon on the third day of the grand experiment, and I was really half afraid of another catastrophe! What are those clearly defined marks on a black ground? One looksa little like Africa—there to the left !”” ‘It is quite the shape of Africa! It is Africa! If you come to the Hall of Telescopes I will show it to you through the glasses.’’ ‘Really ? Let us go directly! Fatima! Uncle! Come and see what Eomichbooks.com =>