Secondly。Thatanoddlittledwarfandbottleconjurer，bothofwhoseears，forsomemisdemeanor，havebeencutoffclosetohishead，hasbeenmissingforseveraldaysfromtheneighboringcityofBruges。
Wellwhatofthat？
Thirdly。ThatthenewspaperswhichwerestuckalloverthelittleballoonwerenewspapersofHolland，andthereforecouldnothavebeenmadeinthemoon。TheyweredirtypapersverydirtyandGluck，theprinter，wouldtakehisBibleoathtotheirhavingbeenprintedinRotterdam。
Hewasmistakenundoubtedlymistaken。
Fourthly，ThatHansPfaallhimself，thedrukenvillain，andthethreeveryidlegentlemenstyledhiscreditors，wereallseen，nolongerthantwoorthreedaysago，inatipplinghouseinthesuburbs，havingjustreturned，withmoneyintheirpockets，fromatripbeyondthesea。
Don’tbelieveitdon’tbelieveawordofit。
Lastly。Thatitisanopinionverygenerallyreceived，orwhichoughttobegenerallyreceived，thattheCollegeofAstronomersinthecityofRotterdam，aswellasothercollegesinallotherpartsoftheworld，nottomentioncollegesandastronomersingeneral，are，tosaytheleastofthematter，notawhitbetter，norgreater，norwiserthantheyoughttobe。
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NotestoHansPfaal{*1}NOTEStrictlyspeaking，thereisbutlittlesimilaritybetweentheabovesketchytrifleandthecelebrated“Moon-Story“ofMr。
Locke；butasbothhavethecharacterof_hoaxes_althoughtheoneisinatoneofbanter，theotherofdownrightearnest，andasbothhoaxesareonthesamesubject，themoonmoreover，asbothattempttogiveplausibilitybyscientificdetailtheauthorof“HansPfaall“thinksitnecessarytosay，in_self-defence，_thathisown_jeud’esprit_waspublishedinthe“SouthernLiteraryMessenger“
aboutthreeweeksbeforethecommencementofMr。L’sinthe“NewYorkSun。”Fancyingalikenesswhich，perhaps，doesnotexist，someoftheNewYorkpaperscopied“HansPfaall。”andcollateditwiththe“Moon-Hoax。”bywayofdetectingthewriteroftheoneinthewriteroftheother。
Asmanymorepersonswereactuallygulledbythe“Moon-Hoax“thanwouldbewillingtoacknowledgethefact，itmayhereaffordsomelittleamusementtoshowwhynooneshouldhavebeendeceived-topointoutthoseparticularsofthestorywhichshouldhavebeensufficienttoestablishitsrealcharacter。Indeed，howeverrichtheimaginationdisplayedinthisingeniousfiction，itwantedmuchoftheforcewhichmighthavebeengivenitbyamorescrupulousattentiontofactsandtogeneralanalogy。Thatthepublicweremisled，evenforaninstant，merelyprovesthegrossignorancewhichissogenerallyprevalentuponsubjectsofanastronomicalnature。
Themoon’sdistancefromtheearthis，inroundnumbers，240，000
miles。Ifwedesiretoascertainhownear，apparently，alenswouldbringthesatelliteoranydistantobject，we，ofcourse，havebuttodividethedistancebythemagnifyingor，morestrictly，bythespace-penetratingpoweroftheglass。Mr。L。makeshislenshaveapowerof42，000times。Bythisdivide240，000themoon’srealdistance，andwehavefivemilesandfivesevenths，astheapparentdistance。Noanimalatallcouldbeseensofar；muchlesstheminutepointsparticularizedinthestory。Mr。L。speaksaboutSirJohnHerschel’sperceivingflowersthePapaverrheas，etc。，andevendetectingthecolorandtheshapeoftheeyesofsmallbirds。Shortlybefore，too，hehashimselfobservedthatthelenswouldnotrenderperceptibleobjectsoflessthaneighteeninchesindiameter；buteventhis，asIhavesaid，isgivingtheglassbyfartoogreatpower。Itmaybeobserved，inpassing，thatthisprodigiousglassissaidtohavebeenmoldedattheglasshouseofMessrs。HartleyandGrant，inDumbarton；butMessrs。H。andG。’sestablishmenthadceasedoperationsformanyyearsprevioustothepublicationofthehoax。
Onpage13，pamphletedition，speakingof“ahairyveil“overtheeyesofaspeciesofbison，theauthorsays：“ItimmediatelyoccurredtotheacutemindofDr。Herschelthatthiswasaprovidentialcontrivancetoprotecttheeyesoftheanimalfromthegreatextremesoflightanddarknesstowhichalltheinhabitantsofoursideofthemoonareperiodicallysubjected。”Butthiscannotbethoughtavery“acute“observationoftheDoctor’s。Theinhabitantsofoursideofthemoonhave，evidently，nodarknessatall，sotherecanbenothingofthe“extremes“mentioned。Intheabsenceofthesuntheyhavealightfromtheearthequaltothatofthirteenfulluncloudedmoons。
Thetopographythroughout，evenwhenprofessingtoaccordwithBlunt’sLunarChart，isentirelyatvariancewiththatoranyotherlunarchart，andevengrosslyatvariancewithitself。Thepointsofthecompass，too，areininextricableconfusion；thewriterappearingtobeignorantthat，onalunarmap，thesearenotinaccordancewithterrestrialpoints；theeastbeingtotheleft，etc。
Deceived，perhaps，bythevaguetitles，MareNubium，MareTranquillitatis，MareFaecunditatis，etc。，giventothedarkspotsbyformerastronomers，Mr。L。hasenteredintodetailsregardingoceansandotherlargebodiesofwaterinthemoon；whereasthereisnoastronomicalpointmorepositivelyascertainedthanthatnosuchbodiesexistthere。Inexaminingtheboundarybetweenlightanddarknessinthecrescentorgibbousmoonwherethisboundarycrossesanyofthedarkplaces，thelineofdivisionisfoundtoberoughandjagged；but，werethesedarkplacesliquid，itwouldevidentlybeeven。
Thedescriptionofthewingsoftheman-bat，onpage21，isbutaliteralcopyofPeterWilkins’accountofthewingsofhisflyingislanders。Thissimplefactshouldhaveinducedsuspicion，atleast，itmightbethought。
Onpage23，wehavethefollowing：“Whataprodigiousinfluencemustourthirteentimeslargerglobehaveexerciseduponthissatellitewhenanembryointhewomboftime，thepassivesubjectofchemicalaffinity！”Thisisveryfine；butitshouldbeobservedthatnoastronomerwouldhavemadesuchremark，especiallytoanyjournalofScience；fortheearth，inthesenseintended，isnotonlythirteen，butforty-ninetimeslargerthanthemoon。Asimilarobjectionappliestothewholeoftheconcludingpages，where，bywayofintroductiontosomediscoveriesinSaturn，thephilosophicalcorrespondententersintoaminuteschoolboyaccountofthatplanetthistothe“EdinburghjournalofScience！”
Butthereisonepoint，inparticular，whichshouldhavebetrayedthefiction。Letusimaginethepoweractuallypossessedofseeinganimalsuponthemoon’ssurfacewhatwouldfirstarresttheattentionofanobserverfromtheearth？Certainlyneithertheirshape，size，noranyothersuchpeculiarity，sosoonastheirremarkable_situation_。Theywouldappeartobewalking，withheelsupandheaddown，inthemanneroffliesonaceiling。The_real_
observerwouldhaveutteredaninstantejaculationofsurprisehoweverpreparedbypreviousknowledgeatthesingularityoftheirposition；the_fictitious_observerhasnotevenmentionedthesubject，butspeaksofseeingtheentirebodiesofsuchcreatures，whenitisdemonstrablethathecouldhaveseenonlythediameteroftheirheads！
Itmightaswellberemarked，inconclusion，thatthesize，andparticularlythepowersoftheman-batsforexample，theirabilitytoflyinsorareanatmosphereif，indeed，themoonhaveany，withmostoftheotherfanciesinregardtoanimalandvegetableexistence，areatvariance，generally，withallanalogicalreasoningonthesethemes；andthatanalogyherewilloftenamounttoconclusivedemonstration。Itis，perhaps，scarcelynecessarytoadd，thatallthesuggestionsattributedtoBrewsterandHerschel，inthebeginningofthearticle，about“atransfusionofartificiallightthroughthefocalobjectofvision。”etc。，etc。，belongtothatspeciesoffigurativewritingwhichcomes，mostproperly，underthedenominationofrigmarole。
Thereisarealandverydefinitelimittoopticaldiscoveryamongthestarsalimitwhosenatureneedonlybestatedtobeunderstood。
If，indeed，thecastingoflargelenseswereallthatisrequired，man’singenuitywouldultimatelyproveequaltothetask，andwemighthavethemofanysizedemanded。But，unhappily，inproportiontotheincreaseofsizeinthelens，andconsequentlyofspace-penetratingpower，isthediminutionoflightfromtheobject，bydiffusionofitsrays。Andforthisevilthereisnoremedywithinhumanability；foranobjectisseenbymeansofthatlightalonewhichproceedsfromitself，whetherdirectorreflected。Thustheonly“artificial“lightwhichcouldavailMr。Locke，wouldbesomeartificiallightwhichheshouldbeabletothrow-notuponthe“focalobjectofvision。”butupontherealobjecttobeviewed-towit：uponthemoon。Ithasbeeneasilycalculatedthat，whenthelightproceedingfromastarbecomessodiffusedastobeasweakasthenaturallightproceedingfromthewholeofthestars，inaclearandmoonlessnight，thenthestarisnolongervisibleforanypracticalpurpose。
TheEarlofRoss’stelescope，latelyconstructedinEngland，hasa_speculum_withareflectingsurfaceof4，071squareinches；theHerscheltelescopehavingoneofonly1，811。ThemetaloftheEarlofRoss’sis6feetdiameter；itis51/2inchesthickattheedges，and5atthecentre。Theweightis3tons。Thefocallengthis50feet。
Ihavelatelyreadasingularandsomewhatingeniouslittlebook，whosetitle-pagerunsthus：“L’HommedanslalvneouleVoyageChimeriquefaitauMondedelaLvne，nouuellementdecouuertparDominiqueGonzales，AduanturierEspagnol，autrem閠ditleCouriervolant。MisennotrelangveparJ。B。D。A。Paris，chezFrancoisPiot，preslaFontainedeSaintBenoist。EtchezJ。Goignard，aupremierpilierdelagrand’salleduPalais，prochelesConsultations，MDCXLVII。”Pp。76。
ThewriterprofessestohavetranslatedhisworkfromtheEnglishofoneMr。D’AvissonDavidson？althoughthereisaterribleambiguityinthestatement。“J’enaieu。”sayshe“l’originaldeMonsieurD’Avisson，medecindesmieuxversezquisoientaujourd’huydanslac騨oissancedesBellesLettres，etsurtoutdelaPhilosophicNaturelle。Jeluiaicetteobligationentrelesautres，dem’auoirnonseulementmisenmainccLivreenanglois，maisencoreleManuscritduSieurThomasD’Anan，gentilhommeEccossois，recommandablepoursavertu，surlaversionduquelj’advouequej’
aytir？leplandelamienne。”
Aftersomeirrelevantadventures，muchinthemannerofGilBlas，andwhichoccupythefirstthirtypages，theauthorrelatesthat，beingillduringaseavoyage，thecrewabandonedhim，togetherwithanegroservant，ontheislandofSt。Helena。Toincreasethechancesofobtainingfood，thetwoseparate，andliveasfarapartaspossible。Thisbringsaboutatrainingofbirds，toservethepurposeofcarrier-pigeonsbetweenthem。Byandbythesearetaughttocarryparcelsofsomeweight-andthisweightisgraduallyincreased。Atlengththeideaisentertainedofunitingtheforceofagreatnumberofthebirds，withaviewtoraisingtheauthorhimself。Amachineiscontrivedforthepurpose，andwehaveaminutedescriptionofit，whichismateriallyhelpedoutbyasteelengraving。HereweperceivetheSignorGonzales，withpointrufflesandahugeperiwig，seatedastridesomethingwhichresemblesverycloselyabroomstick，andbornealoftbyamultitudeofwildswans_ganzas_whohadstringsreachingfromtheirtailstothemachine。
ThemaineventdetailedintheSignor’snarrativedependsuponaveryimportantfact，ofwhichthereaderiskeptinignoranceuntilneartheendofthebook。The_ganzas，_withwhomhehadbecomesofamiliar，werenotreallydenizensofSt。Helena，butofthemoon。
Thenceithadbeentheircustom，timeoutofmind，tomigrateannuallytosomeportionoftheearth。Inproperseason，ofcourse，theywouldreturnhome；andtheauthor，happening，oneday，torequiretheirservicesforashortvoyage，isunexpectedlycarriedstraighttip，andinaverybriefperiodarrivesatthesatellite。
Herehefinds，amongotheroddthings，thatthepeopleenjoyextremehappiness；thattheyhaveno_law；_thattheydiewithoutpain；thattheyarefromtentothirtyfeetinheight；thattheylivefivethousandyears；thattheyhaveanemperorcalledIrdonozur；andthattheycanjumpsixtyfeethigh，when，beingoutofthegravitatinginfluence，theyflyaboutwithfans。
Icannotforbeargivingaspecimenofthegeneral_philosophy_ofthevolume。
“Imustnotforgethere，thatthestarsappearedonlyonthatsideoftheglobeturnedtowardthemoon，andthattheclosertheyweretoitthelargertheyseemed。Ihavealsomeandtheearth。Astothestars，_sincetherewasnonightwhereIwas，theyalwayshadthesameappearance；notbrilliant，asusual，butpale，andverynearlylikethemoonofamorning。_Butfewofthemwerevisible，andthesetentimeslargeraswellasIcouldjudgethantheyseemtotheinhabitantsoftheearth。Themoon，whichwantedtwodaysofbeingfull，wasofaterriblebigness。