登陆注册
19595000000071

第71章

THE PROFESSOR'S EXPERIENCES

"Yes, my comet!" repeated the professor, and from time to time he knitted his brows, and looked around him with a defiant air, as though he could not get rid of the impression that someone was laying an unwarranted claim to its proprietorship, or that the individuals before him were intruders upon his own proper domain.

But for a considerable while, Servadac, the count, and the lieutenant remained silent and sunk in thought.

Here then, at last, was the unriddling of the enigma they had been so long endeavoring to solve; both the hypotheses they had formed in succession had now to give way before the announcement of the real truth. The first supposition, that the rotatory axis of the earth had been subject to some accidental modification, and the conjecture that replaced it, namely, that a certain portion of the terrestrial sphere had been splintered off and carried into space, had both now to yield to the representation that the earth had been grazed by an unknown comet, which had caught up some scattered fragments from its surface, and was bearing them far away into sidereal regions.

Unfolded lay the past and the present before them; but this only served to awaken a keener interest about the future.

Could the professor throw any light upon that? they longed to inquire, but did not yet venture to ask him.

Meanwhile Rosette assumed a pompous professional air, and appeared to be waiting for the entire party to be ceremoniously introduced to him.

Nothing unwilling to humor the vanity of the eccentric little man, Servadac proceeded to go through the expected formalities.

"Allow me to present to you my excellent friend, the Count Timascheff,"he said.

"You are very welcome," said Rosette, bowing to the count with a smile of condescension.

"Although I am not precisely a voluntary resident on your comet, Mr. Professor, I beg to acknowledge your courteous reception,"gravely responded Timascheff.

Servadac could not quite conceal his amusement at the count's irony, but continued, "This is Lieutenant Procope, the officer in command of the _Dobryna_."The professor bowed again in frigid dignity.

"His yacht has conveyed us right round Gallia," added the captain.

"Round Gallia?" eagerly exclaimed the professor.

"Yes, entirely round it," answered Servadac, and without allowing time for reply, proceeded, "And this is my orderly, Ben Zoof.""Aide-de-camp to his Excellency the Governor of Gallia,"interposed Ben Zoof himself, anxious to maintain his master's honor as well as his own.

Rosette scarcely bent his head.

The rest of the population of the Hive were all presented in succession:

the Russian sailors, the Spaniards, young Pablo, and little Nina, on whom the professor, evidently no lover of children, glared fiercely through his formidable spectacles. Isaac Hakkabut, after his introduction, begged to be allowed to ask one question.

"How soon may we hope to get back?" he inquired,"Get back!" rejoined Rosette, sharply; "who talks of getting back?

We have hardly started yet."

Seeing that the professor was inclined to get angry, Captain Servadac adroitly gave a new turn to the conversation by asking him whether he would gratify them by relating his own recent experiences.

The astronomer seemed pleased with the proposal, and at once commenced a verbose and somewhat circumlocutory address, of which the following summary presents the main features.

The French Government, being desirous of verifying the measurement already made of the arc of the meridian of Paris, appointed a scientific commission for that purpose.

From that commission the name of Palmyrin Rosette was omitted, apparently for no other reason than his personal unpopularity.

Furious at the slight, the professor resolved to set to work independently on his own account, and declaring that there were inaccuracies in the previous geodesic operations, he determined to re-examine the results of the last triangulation which had united Formentera to the Spanish coast by a triangle, one of the sides of which measured over a hundred miles, the very operation which had already been so successfully accomplished by Arago and Biot.

Accordingly, leaving Paris for the Balearic Isles, he placed his observatory on the highest point of Formentera, and accompanied as he was only by his servant, Joseph, led the life of a recluse.

He secured the services of a former assistant, and dispatched him to a high peak on the coast of Spain, where he had to superintend a rever-berator, which, with the aid of a glass, could be seen from Formentera. A few books and instruments, and two months'

victuals, was all the baggage he took with him, except an excellent astronomical telescope, which was, indeed, almost part and parcel of himself, and with which he assiduously scanned the heavens, in the sanguine anticipation of making some discovery which would immortalize his name.

The task he had undertaken demanded the utmost patience.

Night after night, in order to fix the apex of his triangle, he had to linger on the watch for the assistant's signal-light, but he did not forget that his predecessors, Arago and Biot, had had to wait sixty-one days for a similar purpose.

What retarded the work was the dense fog which, it has been already mentioned, at that time enveloped not only that part of Europe, but almost the entire world.

Never failing to turn to the best advantage the few intervals when the mist lifted a little, the astronomer would at the same time cast an inquiring glance at the firmament, as he was greatly interested in the revision of the chart of the heavens, in the region contiguous to the constellation Gemini.

To the naked eye this constellation consists of only six stars, but through a telescope ten inches in diameter, as many as six thousand are visible.

Rosette, however, did not possess a reflector of this magnitude, and was obliged to content himself with the good but comparatively small instrument he had.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 教诫新学比丘行护律仪

    教诫新学比丘行护律仪

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 光宣诗坛点将录

    光宣诗坛点将录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 轮椅上的英雄

    轮椅上的英雄

    作者以其丰富的人生体验做积累,精心编织出一幕幕浮世绘式的精彩故事,主题闪烁着人性的光辉。作品常以情节的大起大落、大开大合来写人生的大喜大悲。故事谋篇布局以严谨著…
  • 极品男色,妻主太萌

    极品男色,妻主太萌

    这是一个无意中获得某种异能的萌女,悲催的掉入古代男伶馆的轻松诙谐故事。俗话说的好,历史陈阿娇,那是金屋藏娇的开山鼻祖。她也自称阿娇,不过很可惜,她姓焦名佩。谁能想象一个以长发为美的女尊世界。一个剪着娃娃头的圆脸小可爱,她背着大包头盘黑猫,就掉入了一个满是绝色的男伶馆?(本文纯属虚构,请勿模仿。)
  • 穿越我的世界MC

    穿越我的世界MC

    主人公夏虎和夏侯高考失利,离家出走,出现以为穿越到了我的世界这个游戏世界里。
  • 总裁的向日葵娇妻

    总裁的向日葵娇妻

    一束向日葵,让腹黑孤独的他遇上单纯善良的她,开启了一段小虐甜宠的旅程。介绍无力,大家来看看吧!
  • 话说春秋战国那时候儿

    话说春秋战国那时候儿

    本书(作者张宇龙)以时间为基本顺序讲述了春秋战国时的历史故事。周王室东迁后逐渐衰弱,诸侯趁机做大,并出现了五个霸主。到春秋中叶,战争更是不断,国与国之间,甚至在诸侯国内都有规模不小的战争。进入战国时期后,各国间已经没有了友好,只剩下赤裸裸的利益关系。本书在介绍三家分晋和田氏代齐以后的战国时代时,前期多以历史故事为主,后期多以人物为主,人与事相辅相成,一直讲述到大秦统一。
  • 道非凡记

    道非凡记

    你所认为的并不是真的,你其实就是书中的任务。生死尽在笔下
  • 80后离婚潮:再见,枕边人

    80后离婚潮:再见,枕边人

    全书预计100万字,将稳定更新,欢迎阅读、收藏!微信公众号:jlz1985,欢迎订阅。对爱情充满想象,对婚姻毫无准备,似乎成为80后的通病。到底为了什么而结婚,能够维持婚姻的又是什么。故事以看似美满并被朋友圈视为婚姻范本的方致远、周宁静夫妻的生活为主线,围绕着他们的同学、朋友,展开了一系列狗血却现实的剧情。追溯着这帮人的成长历程、情感历程,整理着似乎永远理不清的现在时,展望着不敢展望又必须勇往直前的未来。他们有的已婚、有的未婚、有的离异,但不管如何,他们要面对和解决的,他们思考和执着的仍是幸福二字。幸福到底是自由、还是相守,到底是放手、还是牵手……
  • 梦里花开迟未归

    梦里花开迟未归

    有些人,便是一眼,就注定了一世的牵绊。最近的一段时间,潇潇总是在反反复复地做着一个梦,在梦里,她看到了许多穿着奇怪的人,确切地说,那是古装,在那个梦里,有人在不断地呼唤她,那声音很绝望,很凄凉。画面一转,她又来到了一个处处都盛开着梅花的地方,那梦里有欢快的笑声,还有追逐打闹的人。那些画面里都有着一个女孩,那个女孩长得很美,看起来只有四五岁的样子。她的穿着看上去很尊贵,俨然一股皇家风范。潇潇却在想,那个出现在我梦中女孩究竟是怎么回事儿。我和她之间,会是有什么联系吗?后来,发生的一切都验证了这个想法,也许人生就像一场梦吧。镜花水月,又有几人能够看清。