ut nothing caused quite so much
astonishment as that which we had to tell and to show.

The party which had gone to visit Plato and the lunar Alps brought back,
however, information which, in a scientific sense, was no less interesting
than what we had been able to gather.

They had found within this curious ring of Plato, which is a circle of
mountains sixty miles in diameter, enclosing a level plain remarkably
smooth over most of its surface, unmistakable evidences of former
inhabitation. A gigantic city had evidently at one time existed near
the centre of this great plain. The outlines of its walls and the
foundation marks of some of its immense buildings were plainly made out,
and elaborate plans of this vanished capital of the moon were prepared
by several members of the party.

More Evidences of Habitation.

One of them was fortunate enough to discover an even more precious
relic of the ancient lunarians. It was a piece of petrified skullbone,
representing but a small portion of the head to which it had belonged,
but yet sufficient to enable the anthropologists, who immediately fell
to examining it, to draw ideal representations of the head as it must
have been in life--the head of a giant of enormous size, which, if it
had possessed a highly organized brain, of proportionate magnitude,
must have given to its possessor intellectual powers immensely greater
than any of the descendants of Adam have ever been endowed with.

Giants in Size.

Indeed, one of the professors was certain that some little concretions
found on the interior of the piece of skull were petrified portions
of the brain matter itself, and he set to work with the microscope to
examine its organic quality.

In the mean time, the repairs to the electrical ships had been completed,
and, although these discoveries upon the moon had created a most profound
sensation among the members of the expedition, and aroused an almost
irresistible desire to continue the explorations thus happily begun,
yet everybody knew that these things were aside from the main purpose in
view, and that we should be false to our duty in wasting a moment more
upon the moon than was absolutely necessary to put the ships in proper
condition to proceed on their warlike voyage.

Departing from the Moon.

Everything being prepared then, we left the moon with great regret, just
forty-eight hours after we had landed upon its surface, carrying with us
a determination to