THE SKETCHER.

Otago Witness, Issue 1855, 10 June 1887, Page 30

THE SKETCHER.

one point, however, on which none of us ventured an explanation, and that was how it came that the people of a planet which never approached us more nearly than 30 millions of miles were familiar with any of the languages we used ; and why, out of all languages, the English in particular. This was to us an insoluble mystery which we could only hope that the experiences of the next night would solve.

The following evening was fortunately as clear as its predecessor, and long before the orb of Mars was visible in the evening sky we had our tube levelled in its direction, so as to husband every one of the few precious minutes at our disposal. Mr Wright, who had been absent all day, now came upon the ground attended by several men, each bearing a heavy roll of what looked like calico. It transpired that during the day he had been impressed with the idea that if we with our telescope could read the bulletins of the Martians, they could certainly do the like -by ours. He had accordingly prepared a series of rolls of white calico several feet in width, upon which he had painted in black capitals of large size a series of questions to which he hoped to get replies. They were as follow :—: —

The astronomers of the planet Earth greet the astronomers of Mars with awe and admiration. We wish to know : — 1. How comes it that you use our language ? 2. What is. the nature of your control over ponderable matter ?

3. What are your historical records ?

" These," said Mr Wright, as he superintended the spreading out and hanging of the rolls between the brick- work mounting of our telescope and a tall pole some 50ft away, " will do for a beginning. Dawn has not yet struck the Martian observatory, and they have still time to read our message. They may then still have time also to print answers to our questions before their planet passes below our horizon. They are doubtless watching us now, but it will take 12 minutes for our message to pass on the wings of light over the hundred and thirty millions of miles that just now separate our orbs. Consequently, supposing they could immediately frame and print answers to our questions, it will take 24 minutes before we can receive returns. But as it is now just sundown here, we must allow considerably more than that time before it will be dark enough to inspect them favourably. Therefore by the time we can do so I have strong hopes that our experiment in planetary telegraphy may succeed without waiting till to-morrow for a reply."

Mr Wright again put his eye to the instrument and raised his. hand to the button. We noticed, however, that he did not move it. Something had evidently arrested his attention. Presently he removed his eye, and said:

" Look there, gentlemen ! "

The object which had made him pause was singular and impressive. Upon that portion of the twilight belt of the planet towards which our instrument was directed appeared the figure of a gigantic arrow, the shaft and barbed point of which were composed of what resembled nothing so much as a string of electric light. Placed, as it was, in the very centre of our field of view, we could not help, in the light of what had already occurred, regarding this arrow as a signal meant for our guidance, and it was thereupon immediately decided to move the eyepiece in the direction pointed out. Mr Wright did so, and found that the course was marked out for, he estimated, more than 100 miles by a string of the same lights stretching eastward from the point of the arrow. As the end of the line was reached, a most brilliant spectacle burst upon his view, and as all the party looked at it for a short time in turn, I will state what I saw. The plateau on which the great telescope that I have already described stood was bathed in a flood of light, presenting a most striking contrast to the darkness that surrounded it. An immense concourse of people filled this space, some standing and moving on the ground, others floating about it. The monster telescope was pointed in our direction, and from the movements of the assembled multitudes, it was easy to infer that something unusual was about to take place. Suddenly the lights went out, and total darkness supervened. I had been the last of the party to look, and this happened while I was looking. Mr Wright was of opinion that some accidental motion of the tube had occurred, and took position at the instrument to rectify it. But as soon as he applied his eye he said :

" No ; there is nothing wrong. • I still see the dim outline of the telescope. Strange, fiery shapes are darting about in the air. Now they are moving rhythmically. They are shaping themselves into letters — Eoman capitals — and the letters are grouping themselves into words. It is ns if words were being printed in gigantic letters of fire. And the words are English : ' Astronomers of Earth, all hail ! ' Ha ! these words have disappeared and others are taking their places : 'We have read your questions ' — that line has also gone — 'and now answer them. Somebody please write down as I speak: ' You ask how it comes ' — another line — 'that we use your language.' The words form more rapidly than if written by a pen. 'We are much farther advanced — in science than you are. We antedate your sphere — countless though the ages it has existed — by millions of ages more. You ask concerning our historical records. Our sphere, like yours, has passed — through hundreds of trying ordeals — of flood and flame. But now it has reached maturity. Its frame is set — its «rust has thickened— its central fires contracted—its surface smoothed — its atmosphere purified. It is a hundred thousand of ■our years — more than twice that number of yours— since the last convulsion depopulated our race. In the long tranquillity that has succeeded — we have matured in art and science. We have watched you for 200,000 years. During that time we have seen — no iess than eight convulsions — sweep across the surface — blot out your records — depopulate your races — leaving the rude and "uncultivated mountaineers —to begin the ■ceaseless struggle again. We witnessed your last convulsion through our telescopes — <8000 years ago, During the long period of

rest preceding — a period -.of 20,000 years — we held constant and intimate'communicatioh with you. Since that convulsion we signaled to you no more — for your astronomical anrl optical science was dead — till 50 years ago— since which time we have signaled with lights — hoping to attract your attention — and aid you with new methods of science, We had but faint hopes of this — knowing how your race is still held bound— by force, superstition, and prejudice. Wherefore this day we rejoice — for by the bold and restless spirit — of discovery, inherent in your race — the dissevered are once more re-linked. You wonder how it is we use your language. Our telescopes, which are thousands of times — more powerful than you dream of — enable us to decipher and read — your bulletins, yoiu proclamations, your sign-boards. We are familiar with all your languages. Had you been French, German, or Italian— we should have addressed you as such. You, ask < concerning the nature — of our control over ponderable matter. Thousands of years ago you possessed the same. We will teach you to regain what you have lost.' " , ,

"While Mr Wright was reporting the, above sentences, which we took down as fast as he uttered them, and which I have now read from my notes, the faint star, which was our all-absorbing object of interest, had sunk low in the west, and, as he concluded, it disappeared from sight beneath the horizon.

"The little party returned to the house that evening with the consciousness of having accomplished the most transcendent scientific result, in the light of the possibilities it carried in its train, that the world had yet seen. It had solved at one bound, and by the simplest of scientific processes, that vexed problem whether other worlds are inhabited or not— a problem the extent of whose multifarious bearings upon philosophy, religion, and ethics, it was impossible to estimate. It had now been proved that Mars was not only inhabited, but inhabited by a race possessing similar characteristics and in full sympathy with our own, though certainly farther advanced in optical science and control over physical forces, and probably our superiors in social and political economy, philosophy, and art. The few sentences that had been transmitted to us, one hundred and thirty millions o£ miles across the luminous ether, showed that the Martians knew more about our past history than we did ourselves. They afforded the most signal confutation of the theory of cosmogony as at present accepted by civilised nations, and knocked the foundations from under that fanciful structure, erected hy human pride and propped up by human vanity, which serves as a temple for the cherishing of the delusion that the inhabitants of the insigni- ■ ficant planet Earth hold a unique place in the illimitable universe, and > are especial objects for the anger or favour of the Great Engineer of all."