CHAPTER III.
_The Brahmin and Atterley prepare for their voyage--Description of theirmachine--Incidents of the voyage--The appearance of the earth; Africa;Greece--The Brahmin's speculations on the different races of men--Nationalcharacter._
Having thus formed our plan of operations, we the next day proceeded toput them in execution. The coppersmith agreed to undertake the workwe wanted done, for a moderate compensation; but we did not think itprudent to inform him of our object, which he supposed was to make somephilosophical experiment. It was forthwith arranged that he shouldoccasionally visit the Hermit, to receive instructions, as if for thepurpose of asking medical advice. During this interval my mind wasabsorbed with our project; and when in company, I was so thoughtfuland abstracted, that it has since seemed strange to me that Sing Fou'ssuspicions that I was planning my escape were not more excited. Atlength, by dint of great exertion, in about three months every thingwas in readiness, and we determined on the following night to set outon our perilous expedition.
The machine in which we proposed to embark, was a copper vessel, thatwould have been an exact cube of six feet, if the corners and edgeshad not been rounded off. It had an opening large enough to receiveour bodies, which was closed by double sliding pannels, with quiltedcloth between them. When these were properly adjusted, the machinewas perfectly air-tight, and strong enough, by means of iron bars runningalternately inside and out, to resist the pressure of the atmosphere,when the machine should be exhausted of its air, as we took the precautionto prove by the aid of an air-pump. On the top of the copper chestand on the outside, we had as much of the lunar metal (which I shallhenceforth call _lunarium_) as we found, by calculation and experiment,would overcome the weight of the machine, as well as its contents,and take us to the moon on the third day. As the air which the machinecontained, would not be sufficient for our respiration more than aboutsix hours, and the chief part of the space we were to pass through wasa mere void, we provided ourselves with a sufficient supply, by condensingit in a small globular vessel, made partly of iron and partly of lunarium,to take off its weight. On my return, I gave Mr. Jacob Perkins, whois now in England, a hint of this plan of condensation, and it hasthere obtained him great celebrity. This fact I should not have thoughtit worth while to mention, had he not taken the sole merit of theinvention to himself; at least I cannot hear that in his numerous publicnotices he has ever mentioned my name.
But to return. A small circular window, made of a single piece of thickclear glass, was neatly fitted on each of the six sides. Several piecesof lead were securely fastened to screws which passed through the bottomof the machine; as well as a thick plank. The screws were so contrived,that by turning them in one direction, the pieces of lead attachedto them were immediately disengaged from the hooks with which theywere connected. The pieces of lunarium were fastened in like mannerto screws, which passed through the top of the machine; so that byturning them in one direction, those metallic pieces would fly intothe air with the velocity of a rocket. The Brahmin took with him athermometer, two telescopes, one of which projected through the topof the machine, and the other through the bottom; a phosphoric lamp,pen, ink, and paper, and some light refreshments sufficient to supplyus for some days.
The moon was then in her third quarter, and near the zenith: it was, ofcourse, a little after midnight, and when the coppersmith and his familywere in their soundest sleep, that we entered the machine. In about an hourmore we had the doors secured, and every thing arranged in its place, when,cutting the cords which fastened us to the ground, by means of small steelblades which worked in the ends of other screws, we rose from the earthwith a whizzing sound, and a sensation at first of very rapid ascent: butafter a short time, we were scarcely sensible of any motion in the machine,except when we changed our places.
The ardent curiosity I had felt to behold the wonderful things which theBrahmin related, and the hope of returning soon to my children and nativecountry, had made me most impatient for the moment of departure; duringwhich time the hazards and difficulties of the voyage were entirelyoverlooked: but now that the moment of execution had arrived, and I foundmyself shut up in this small chest, and about to enter on a voyage so new,so strange, and beset with such a variety of dangers, I will not deny thatmy courage failed me, and I would gladly have compromised to return toMozaun, and remain there quietly all the rest of my days. But shamerestrained me, and I dissembled my emotions.
At our first shock on leaving the earth, my fears were at their height; butafter about two hours, I had tolerably well regained my composure, to whichthe returning light of day greatly contributed. By this time we had a fullview of the rising sun, pouring a flood of light over one half of thecircular landscape below us, and leaving the rest in shade. While thosenatural objects, the rivers and mountains, land and sea, were fast recedingfrom our view, our horizon kept gradually extending as we mounted: but ere10 o'clock this effect ceased, and the broad disc of the earth begansensibly to diminish.
It is impossible to describe my sensations of mingled awe and admiration atthe splendid spectacle beneath me, so long as the different portions of theearth's surface were plainly distinguishable. The novelty of the situationin which I found myself, as well as its danger, prevented me indeed atfirst from giving more than a passing attention to the magnificent scene;but after a while, encouraged by the Brahmin's exhortation, and yet more bythe example of his calm and assured air, I was able to take a moreleisurely view of it. At first, as we partook of the diurnal motion of theearth, and our course was consequently oblique, the same portion of theglobe from which we had set out, continued directly under us; and as theeye stretched in every direction over Asia and its seas, continents andislands, they appeared like pieces of green velvet, the surrounding oceanlike a mirror, and the Ganges, the Hoogley, and the great rivers of China,like threads of silver.
About 11 o'clock it was necessary to get a fresh supply of air, whenmy companion cautiously turned one of the two stop-cocks to let outthat which was no longer fit for respiration, requesting me, at thesame time, to turn the other, to let in a fresh supply of condensedair; but being awkward in the first attempt to follow his directions,I was so affected by the exhaustion of the air through the vent nowmade for it, that I fainted; and having, at the same time, given freerpassage to the condensed air than I ought, we must in a few secondshave lost our supply, and thus have inevitably perished, had not thewatchful Hermit seen the mischief, and repaired it almost as soon asit occurred. This accident, and the various agitations my mind hadundergone in the course of the day, so overpowered me, that at an earlyhour in the afternoon I fell into a profound sleep, and did not awakeagain for eight hours.
While I slept, the good Brahmin had contrived to manage both stop-cockshimself. The time of my waking would have been about 11 o'clock at night,if we had continued on the earth; but we were now in a region where therewas no alternation of day and night, but one unvarying cloudless sun. Itsheat, however, was not in proportion to its brightness; for we found thatafter we had ascended a few miles from the earth, it was becoming muchcolder, and the Brahmin had recourse to a chemical process for evolvingheat, which soon made us comfortable: but after we were fairly in the greataerial void, the temperature of our machine showed no tendency to change.
The sensations caused by the novelty of my situation, at first checkedthose lively and varied trains of thought which the bird's-eye view of somany countries passing in review before us, was calculated to excite: yet,after I had become more familiar with it, I contemplated the beautifulexhibition with inexpressible delight. Besides, a glass of cordial, as wellas the calm, confiding air of the Brahmin, contributed to restore me to myself-possession. The reader will recollect, that although our motion, atfirst, partook of that of the earth's on its axis, and although the_positive_ effect was the same on our course, the _relative_ effect wasless and less as we ascended, and consequently, that after a certainheight, every part of the terraqueous globe would present itself t
o ourview in succession, as we rapidly receded from it. At 9 o'clock, the wholeof India was a little to the west of us, and we saw, as in a map, thatfertile and populous region, which has been so strangely reduced tosubjection, by a company of merchants belonging to a country on theopposite side of the globe--a country not equal to one-fourth of it, inextent or population. Its rivers were like small filaments of silver; theRed Sea resembled a narrow plate of the same metal. The peninsula of Indiawas of a darker, and Arabia of a light and more grayish green.
The sun's rays striking obliquely on the Atlantic, emitted an effulgencethat was dazzling to the eyes. For two or three hours the appearanceof the earth did not greatly vary, the wider extent of surface we couldsurvey, compensating for our greater distance; and indeed at that timewe could not see the whole horizon, without putting our eyes close tothe glass.
When the Brahmin saw that I had overcome my first surprise, and hadacquired somewhat of his own composure, he manifested a dispositionto beguile the time with conversation. "Look through the telescope,"said he, "a little from the sun, and observe the continent of Africa,which is presenting itself to our view." I took a hasty glance overit, and perceived that its northern edge was fringed with green; thena dull white belt marked the great Sahara, or Desert, and then it exhibiteda deep green again, to its most southern extremity. I tried in vainto discover the pyramids, for our telescope had not sufficient powerto show them.
I observed to him, that less was known of this continent than of theothers: that a spirit of lively curiosity had been excited by thewestern nations of Europe, to become acquainted with the inhabitedparts of the globe; but that all the efforts yet made, had still lefta large portion almost entirely unknown. I asked if he did not think itprobable that some of the nations in the interior of Africa were moreadvanced in civilization than those on the coast, whose barbarous customof making slaves of their prisoners, Europeans had encouraged andperpetuated, by purchasing them.
"No, no," said he; "the benefits of civilization could not have been soeasily confined, but would have spread themselves over every part of thatcontinent, or at least as far as the Great Desert, if they had everexisted. The intense heat of a climate, lying on each side of the Line,at once disinclines men to exertion, and renders it unnecessary. Vegetablediet is more suited to them than animal, which favours a denser population.Talent is elicited by the efforts required to overcome difficultiesand hardships; and their natural birth-place is a country of frost andsnow--of tempests--of sterility enough to give a spur to exertion, butnot enough to extinguish hope. Where these difficulties exist, and giveoccasion to war and emulation, the powers of the human mind are mostfrequently developed."
"Do you think then," said I, "that there is no such thing as naturalinferiority and differences of races?"
"I have been much perplexed by that question," said he. "When I regardthe great masses of mankind, I think there seems to be among them somecharacteristic differences. I see that the Europeans have every whereobtained the ascendancy over those who inhabit the other quarters ofthe globe. But when I compare individuals, I see always the same passions,the same motives, the same mental operations; and my opinion is changed.The same seed becomes a very different plant when sowed in one soil oranother, and put under this or that mode of cultivation."
"And may not," said I, "the very nature of the plant be changed, after along continuance of the same culture in the same soil?"
"Why, that is but another mode of stating the question. I rather think,if it has generally degenerated, it may, by opposite treatment, be alsogradually brought back to its original excellence."
"Who knows, then," said I, "what our missionaries and colonizationsocieties may effect in Africa."
He inquired of me what these societies were; and on explaining theirhistory, observed: "By what you tell me, it is indeed a small beginning;but if they can get this grain of mustard-seed to grow, there is nosaying how much it may multiply. See what a handful of colonists havedone in your own country. A few ship-loads of English have overspreadhalf a continent; and, from what you tell me, their descendants willamount, in another century, to more than one hundred millions. There isno rule," he continued, "that can be laid down on this subject, to whichsome nations cannot be found to furnish a striking exception. If meredifficulties were all that were wanting to call forth the intellectualenergies of man, they have their full share on the borders of the GreatDesert. There are in that whitish tract which separates the countrieson the southern shores of the Mediterranean from the rest of Africa,thousands of human beings at this moment toiling over that dreary oceanof sand, to whom a draught of fresh water would be a blessing, and thesimplest meal a luxury.
"Perhaps, however, you will say they are so engrossed with the animalwants of hunger and thirst, that they are incapable of attending to anything else. Be it so. But in the interior they are placed in parallelcircumstances with the natives of Europe: they are engaged in strugglesfor territory and dominion--for their altars and their homes; and thisstate of things, which has made some of them brave and warlike, has madenone poets or painters, historians or philosophers. There, poetry has notwanted themes of great achievement and noble daring; but heroes havewanted poets. Nor can we justly ascribe the difference to the enervatinginfluence of climate, for the temperature of the most southern parts ofAfrica differs little from that of Greece. And the tropical nations, too,of your own continent, the Peruvians, were more improved than those whoinhabited the temperate regions. Besides, though the climate had instilledsoftness and feebleness of character, it might also have permitted thecultivation of the arts, as has been the case with us in Asia. On thewhole, without our being able to pronounce with certainty on the subject,it does seem probable that some organic difference exists in the variousraces of mankind, to which their diversities of moral and intellectualcharacter may in part be referred."--By this time the Morea and theGrecian Archipelago were directly under our telescope.
"Does not Greece," said I, "furnish the clearest proof of the influenceof moral causes on the character of nations? Compare what that countryformerly was, with what it now is. Once superior to all the rest of thehabitable globe, (of which it did not constitute the thousandth part,)in letters, arts, and arms, and all that distinguishes men from brutes;not merely in their own estimation, (for all nations are disposed to ratethemselves high enough,) but by the general consent of the rest of theworld. Do not the most improved and civilized of modern states still takethem as their instructors and guides in every species of literature--inphilosophy, history, oratory, poetry, architecture, and sculpture? Andthose too, who have attained superiority over the world, in arms, yielda voluntary subjection to the Greeks in the arts. The cause of theirformer excellence and their present inferiority, is no doubt to be foundin their former freedom and their present slavery, and in the loss ofthat emulation which seems indispensable to natural greatness."
"Nay," replied he, "I am very far from denying the influence of moralcauses on national character. The history of every country affordsabundant evidence of it. I mean only to say, that though it does much,it does not do every thing. It seems more reasonable to impute the changesin national character to the mutable habits and institutions of man,than to nature, which is always the same. But if we look a little nearer,we may perhaps perceive, that amidst all those mutations in the characterof nations, there are still some features that are common to the samepeople at all times, and which it would therefore be reasonable toimpute to the great unvarying laws of nature. Thus it requires noextraordinary acuteness of observation, no strained hypothesis, toperceive a close resemblance between the Germans or the Britons ofantiquity and their modern descendants, after the lapse of eighteencenturies, and an entire revolution in government, religion, language,and laws. And travellers still perceive among the inhabitants of modernGreece, deteriorated and debased as they are by political servitude,many of those qualities which distinguished their predecessors: thesame natural acuteness--the same sensibility to pl
easure--the samepliancy of mind and elasticity of body--the same aptitude for the artsof imitation--and the same striking physiognomy. That bright, serenesky--that happy combination of land and water, constituting the perfectionof the picturesque, and that balmy softness of its air, which have provedthemselves so propitious to forms of beauty, agility, and strength, alsooperate benignantly on the mind which animates them. Whilst the fruitis still fair to the eye, it is not probable that it has permanentlydegenerated in fragrance or flavour. The great diversities of nationalcharacter may, perhaps, be attributed principally to moral and accidentalcauses, but partly also to climate, and to original diversities in thedifferent races of man."