e nearest
planet, but the maximum repulsion being at the start by reason of its
proximity to the earth--for apergy, being the counterpart of
gravitation, is subject to Newton's and Kepler's laws--the acceleration
of a body apergetically charged will be greatest at first. Two
inclined planes may have the same fall, but a ball will reach the
bottom of one that is steepest near the top in less time than on any
other, because the maximum acceleration is at the start. We are all
tired of being stuck to this cosmical speck, with its monotonous ocean,
leaden sky, and single moon that is useless more than half the time,
while its size is so microscopic compared with the universe that we can
traverse its great circle in four days. Its possibilities are
exhausted; and just as Greece became too small for the civilization of
the Greeks, and as reproduction is growth beyond the individual, so it
seems to me that the future glory of the human race lies in exploring
at least the solar system, without waiting to become shades."

"Should you propose to go to Mars or Venus?" asked Cortlandt.

"No," replied Ayrault, "we know all about Mars; it is but one seventh
the size of the earth, and as the axis is inclined more than ours, it
would be a less comfortable globe than this; while, as our president
here told us in his T. A. S. Company's report, the axis of Venus is
inclined to such a degree that it would be almost uninhabitable for us.
It would be as if colonists tried to settle Greenland, or had come to
North America during its Glacial period. Neither Venus nor Mars would
be a good place now."

"Where should you propose to go?" asked Stillman.

"To Jupiter, and, if possible, after that to Saturn," replied Ayrault;
"the former's mean distance from the sun is 480,000,000 miles; but, as
our president showed us, its axis is so nearly straight that I think,
with its internal warmth, there will be nothing to fear from cold.
Though, on account of the planet's vast size, objects on its surface
weigh more than twice as much as here, if I am able to reach it by
means of apergy, the same force will enable me to regulate my weight.
Will any one go with me?"

"Splendid!" said Bearwarden. "If Mr. Dumby, our vice-president, will
temporarily assume my office, nothing will give me greater pleasure."

"So will I go, if there is room for me," said Cortlandt. "I will at
once resign my place as Government expert, and consider it the grandest
eve