d by the sun, and
in the shadow of a planet, if need were, by coal-gas and electricity.
In either case, to temper the extremes of heat or cold, the interior
could be lined with a non-conductor. Liquefied oxygen or air for
breathing, and condensed fare would sustain the inmates; and on the
whole they might enjoy a comfortable passage through the void, taking
scientific observations, and talking over their experiences."

_G_. "It would be a novel observatory, quite free from atmospheric
troubles. They might be able to make some astronomical discoveries."

_I_. "A novel laboratory as well, for in space beyond the attraction of
the earth there would be no gravity. The travellers would not feel a
sense of weight, but as the change would be gradual they would get
accustomed to it, and suffer no inconvenience."

_G_. "They would keep their gravity in losing it."

_I_. "The car, meeting with practically no resistance in the ether,
would tend to move in the same direction with the same velocity, and
anything put overboard would neither fall nor rise, but simply float
alongside. When the car came within the sensible attraction of the moon,
its velocity would gradually increase as they approached each other."

_G_. "Always supposing the aim of the gun to have been exact. You might
hit the moon, with its large disc and comparatively short range,
provided no wandering meteorite diverted the bullet from its course; but
it would be impossible to hit a planet, such as Venus or Mars, a mere
point of light, and thirty or forty million miles away, especially as
both the earth and planet are in rapid motion. A flying rifle-shot from
a lightning express at a distant swallow would have more chance of
success. If you missed the mark, the projectile would wheel round the
planet, and either become its satellite or return towards the earth like
that of Jules Verne in his fascinating romance."

_I_. "Jules Verne, and other writers on this subject, appear to have
assumed that all the initial effort should come from the cannon. Perhaps
it did not suit his literary purpose to employ any other driving force.
At all events he possessed one in the rockets of Michel Ardan, the
genial Frenchman of the party, which were intended to break the fall of
the projectile on the moon."

_G_. "If I recollect, they were actually fired to give the car a fillip
when it reached the dead-point on its way back to the earth."

_I_. "Even in a vacuum, where an ord