e purity of the etherial air, being not mixed
with any improper vapours, may be so agreeable to our bodies, as to
yield us sufficient nourishment," with many other arguments of the
like nature. The Bishop ultimately, however, severs the knot, by the
suggestion of his flying chariot, which he makes large enough (for,
_ce n'est que le premier pas qui coute!_) to carry not only food
for the _viaticum_ of the passengers, but also commodities for
their traffic!

Infinitely more ingenuity did the great comic poet of antiquity
display, when he selected the _Scarabaeus;_ as the food which had
already served the purposes of digestion with the Rider, was still
capable of affording nutrition to the animal:--

[Greek:
nun d'att'an autos kataphagoo ta sitia.
toutoisi tois autoisi touton chortasoo[6]]

Now all these schemes, ingenious as they may be, are objectionable for
the same reasons as the flying Island of Laputa--their glaring
violation of verisimilitude, and many of them of possibility. In these
respects, that of the author of the work before us is liable to less
objection: he only resorts to an extension of avowed physical
principles; and if we could suppose a substance, which, instead of
gravitating towards the earth, is repelled from it and attracted
towards the moon, (certainly a difficult "_premier pas_,") the
remainder of the machinery, for reaching that luminary, would not be
inconsistent with probability or the known laws of physics.

But, to return to the narrative:--The Brahmin having given Atterley a
description of some of the remarkable objects which he met with, in
his voyage to the moon; expressed his anxiety to repeat it, for the
purpose of ascertaining some facts about which he had been
speculating, as well as of removing the incredulity with which, he
could not but perceive, his story had impressed his hearer,
notwithstanding his belief in the Hermit's integrity; when Atterley
eagerly caught at the proposal. Their preparations, however, required
time as well as considerable skill, not only for the construction of
the vehicle, but also to avoid suspicion and interruption from the
Governor of Mergui,--and the priesthood, who possessed the usual
Oriental superstition and intolerance.

For the construction of their apparatus they had recourse to an
ingenious artificer in copper and other metals, whose child the
Brahmin had been instrumental in curing of a chronic disease, and in
whose fidelit