y see the gaping mouths of
the dark old shafts through your telescopes. You may even see the
rusting pit tackle, the ruinous engine-houses, and the idle pick and
shovel. Or you may say that it is counterfeit silver, coined to take in
the young fools who love to gaze upon it. It is, so to speak, a bad
half-crown.

As you will! but I am of Endymion's belief--and no one was ever more
intimate with the moon. For me the moon is a country of great seaports,
whither all the ships of our dreams come home. From all quarters of the
world, every day of the week, there are ships sailing to the moon. They
are the ships that sail just when and where you please. You take your
passage on that condition. And it is ridiculous to think for what a
trifle the captain will take you on so long a journey. If you want to
come back, just to take an excursion and no more, just to take a lighted
look at those coasts of rose and pearl, he will ask no more than a glass
or two of bright wine--indeed, when the captain is very kind, a flower
will take you there and back in no time; if you want to stay whole days
there, but still come back dreamy and strange, you may take a little
dark root and smoke it in a silver pipe, or you may drink a little phial
of poppy-juice, and thus you shall find the Land of Heart's Desire; but
if you are wise and would stay in that land for ever, the terms are even
easier--a little powder shaken into a phial of water, a little piece of
lead no bigger than a pea, and a farthing's-worth of explosive fire, and
thus also you are in the Land of Heart's Desire for ever.

I dreamed last night that I stood on the blustering windy wharf, and the
dark ship was there. It was impatient, like all of us, to leave the
world. Its funnels belched black smoke, its engines throbbed against
the quay like arms that were eager to strike and be done, and a bell
was beating impatient summons to be gone. The dark captain stood ready
on the bridge, and he looked into each of our faces as we passed on
board. 'Is it for the long voyage?' he said. 'Yes! the long voyage,' I
said--and his stern eyes seemed to soften as I answered.

At last we were all aboard, and in the twinkling of an eye were out of
sight of land. Yet, once afloat, it seemed as though we should never
reach our port in the moon--so it seemed to me as I lay awake in my
little cabin, listening to the patient thud and throb of the great
screws, beating in the ship's side like a human hea