TH E

YO U N G

E M A N C I PATO R

CR I STM iflS

! VUM B E R

V ol

B Y

WI LD

E S S E

SOM E

BUR N T OU T

FR O ! E N

DE CE M B E R

1 87 8

Go

AN D

SU N

WO R LD :
DR E A M

M Y P H

Ta le is Copy rzg fzt )

O S

'

h ow ma ny is

of

e qu e n c e
little
cons
g
I w a s in South A merica e n ga g e d i n mercantile tra n sa c
tions It will n o t b e n e ces sa ry t o n a m e the town i n wh ich
I took up m y residence suf ce it to sa y that it w a s nea r
the Pacic Coa st and withi n sight o f some of the loftiest
peaks o f the A ndes Th e re I re m a in e d for many months
during Which I had the pleasure o r oth e rwise o f feeling
more than once t h e sensations produced by an earthquak e
rs
ea
y

'

time ii ! that distant land or whether my business

t ran s actio ns prove d l u crativ e or n0 t : my s ol e r e as on for
,

12 2

URN T

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- OU T

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mentioning the fact that I ever wa s in South A merica at

is merely to i n troduce the follo wmg Si ngular and
a il
terri ble story
O ne b e autiful Summer day I had nothing particular to
do h aving nished my busi ness a n d p a ck e d up my things
preparatory t o returning home T o pass the time I took
a stro ll along a secl uded path where I could s e e the tall
snow
clad mountains o n the right and o n my left the
sparklin g ripp ling waters ashi n g with myriads of tfu l
gleams o f light far over the Pacic The scen e was
every way ench anting and I s at down to enj oy i t casti ng
alternate looks to the mountains and the ocean I w a s
alone ! and the quiet monotonous loveliness o f N ature
especially o n a h ot day in or near the tropics is ap t to
make a spectator drowsy unless he h a s so m ething par
In my
t i c u la r t o ll his thoughts o r attract his att e ntion
case external N ature though dressed i m b er most bewitch _
ing appare l prov e d far t o o weak to Cop e with that
nature within which impell e d me to sleep I do n ot

remember t o have struggled at all against my fate sleep

demanded me a s a victim a n d I yielded Without a murmu r
o r a sigh
How long I had been wrapped in slumber l o f
cou rse cannot sa y a s sleep and dreams know nothing of
the ight o f time ! but it seemed a s if I had scarcely closed
my eyes befor e the visio n I have to recount appeared I t
seems to have been waiti ng for sle e p to put me within its
power and n o sooner did it s e e i ts adv an tag e than I w as
pounced upon and led cap ti ve at i ts pleasure I have

ca lled my dr e am a vision for such it wa s all that I am

goi n g t o relate I saw and he a rd with such inten se realis m
t hat everything I ever experi e nced when awake seems
dreamy a nd unreal in co mparison with w hat was bur n t in
upon the substance of my being during that sleep The
reason may be this : Everything we receive through the
senses is sifted so to speak l ike the s u n light coming
down throu g h a fog ! but a vision falls With all i ts
fervency upon the sensorium without any sifting whatever
from the clear s ky of the inner world
How e ver let the vision speak for its e lf A s
was asleep s o it se e ms a n o ld man old e r i n app earanc e
-

'

'

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~

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ROZEN

I 23

than anyone I had e ver before seen came up to me H is

body was very thi n his n gers long and bony and the
n ails seemed as if they had not been pared for a genera
tion o r so His long lank hair was white as the snow
upon the peaks of the A ndes ! his face furrowed deeply
with age and anguish and his complexion darkened by
e xpo sure to the weather
In his eyes there glowed a wild
frenzy and his appearance de n oted the maniac
Still h is
bearing was n o t without dignit y his brow was lofty a n d
and
in
his
air
there
w ere manifest the fragments o f
poble
a shattered majesty that had once been natural to the
man
There wa s no doubt o f his insanity ! but I soo n
found that there were intervals o f perfect composure
during which his m a n ia c y was kept in thorough check
a n d his bright intelligence shone with
its true splendour

He came up to me as I s a t s o it seemed in my dream

beneath a withered stump o f a tree in the midst of a
vast pla in covered wit h frost a n d snow The cold made
m e shiver h orribly ! and from the quantities o f ice and
t h e dim light that gave every obj ect a sort o f spect ral
a ppearance I began to fancy myself in the neighbourhood
poles A s soon as my s t range
o f o n e o f the earth s
visitant s a w me he halted as if under the inuence o f
s udden
fright and gazed at me for some moments i n
speechle ss wonder He next began to laugh hysterically
and shout in a most boisterous manner Then turni n g to
m e and looking full in my fac e he cried
O h ! O h ! I thought they were all gone
Oh ! Oh ! I
th o ug h t I was all alone by this time
I have been all over
the world and back and you are the rst man I have seen
for such a long time
I thought I was alone o n the wreck
n ow and that my turn w a s nearly come

Wreck
I replie d
Have you been shipwr e ck e d
friend
Ship wrecks ! plenty of s h ipwrecks returned the o ld
m an
more th an I could count But dea r me ! he con
t in u e d
how startled I was to see you ! I tho u ght I had
t h e world all
to myself A ll to my sel f he m u sed
repeating the expression again and again Then tu rning
a bruptly to me he said
.

,
,

12

URNT

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'

D on t you know me
!

No
said I , I never sa wyou before
A t this he started up from the s tone o n

which he had
sa t down
and with the wildest gesticulation he shouted
ercely
W h at
do n t you know Toti Pato o the greatest
astronomer that ever lived the man who discovered
the moo n s atmosphere and found o u t that M ar s a n d
V enus were both inhabited

I replied respectfully
I never heard o f th e
astro nomer yo u mention n o r yet of his grand discoveries
till this very moment
A t this he began t o laugh and then frantically walked
up and down for some time B y
and _by he again turned
to me with a most puzzled look and said
D o you mean to say that you never did hear of me and
my discoveries Where ca n you have lived all your life !
I replied
has been S p ent in
M ost of my time
land , my native country
I never saw such a look o f wonder as came ov er the
He evidently tho u ght
o l d man s face as I made this reply
I had lost my reason and t here we were looking
intensely and inquiringly into one a nother s e yes each feel
ing condent that his fellow was hopelessly insane A t
length he slowly retorte d
Y o u must be very V E R Y old if yo u lived i n o ld E ng
l and T h e name has not been much heard in my day !
though I remember well to have read of h e r glory and
renown ! and had not worse things driven it o u t o f my
mind I hav e no doubt I should still h a ve some vivid c on c e p
tion of he r tragic doom
F or a moment or t w o I looked at my companion with
breathless wonder and at length exclaimed
Tragic doom ! What What do you m ean
he re p lied
Why En gland as I well
M ean !
remember reading in history was overthrown by an earth
quake and comp letely expunged from the map o f the
world by a sudden sub sidence of the land in the year
,

A D
.

Two thousa nd ve hundred and eighty seven mused

my
frie
n d ! we are no w li ving
u must be dreaming
o
y
!

B URN T
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i n A nno D omini

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125

1 86

that is mor e th a n 70 0 yea

the date at whic h you say that E ngla n d was de s tr
D reaming ! dreaming !
he exclaimed
hands and tearing his hair in the most frantic
that my life would turn o u t to be a dream ! G o d knows
it would be m ost horrible even then But it has been no
drea m ! no dream o r awful vision woven by madness
I a m m ad
he co n tinued
but it is my su ffe rings that
have made me so What I have seen and su ffered woul d
Y e s ! I am mad ! but madness has
drive a god mad
been no refuge from su ffering I kn ow it a ll There has
been no oblivion for m e ! Would that I had died in the
destruction of the world
D estructio n of the world !
exclaime d I interrupting
him
How ! are we not now living in the world
H ow
can you talk of the destruction of the world !
I felt profoundly agitated and k n e w n o t what to m ake
The old astronomer was terribly earnest and
o f it all
though mad for certai n did not seem to be possessed by a
false and distorted vision of things his was the madness

that fully compreh e nded the situation a madness belong

ing far more to the h eart than the inte l lect As I per
c e i ve d later on his in s anity was but the reproduction of
the dreadf ul ca tastrophes he had seen N ature undergo and
the horrible confusi o n that had surrounded h i m for so
many months N at ure rs t went mad and her most
unfor tunate child wa s driven perfor ce along the same wild
path N a ture com m itted suicide her child saw the de ed
and comprehending its awf ul meaning went ma d Such
reections seem to have passed through my own mi n d
while listening to the astronomer s tale B ut it is t im e I
gave the tale itself

I know you think m e mad

resumed my friend ,
but listen you don t kno w anythi n g about the end of the
world you say ! well you m u s t I t hink b e an inhabi tant
o f some oth e r world come to visit this rui n ed globe perhaps
to relate to ot hers far away the fate of that planet where
onc e d w elt the race of M a n I ll tell you h ow it happened
I saw it all from b eginning to e n d Will you hear me
I had n o choice in the matter Listen 1 must for th e
and h is spell wa s
old man h a d alre a dy entrance d th e
!

'

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irresi s tible I fe lt bewildered I could not sh a ke o ff my

o w n identity nor persuade myself that what I remembered
Then on the
o f m y life and associations was all a dream
other side w as the seeming reality o f present experience
how could I doubt that the man before me was a real
being ! So true did the dream appear that at times I
was more then half inclined to think that my life was the
dream and the dream th e reality B ut perplexed though
I was I was eager to hear the o ld man s tale and when
he asked if I would listen I replied
Y e s tell me the whole story
He thereupon sa t down on a frozen stone directly in front
o f me and looking full into my face t hus began
As I told you j ust now I was an astronomer the chief
astronomer in fact in the large R epublic o f Para
M y observatory was built o n a moderate
w a n g a ro o
sized hill not far from the City of Co n goora I w as very
famous a ll over the world ! but you n ever heard o f me
eh ! Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! N ever heard o f Tot i Patoo
This
he said i n a most excited manner ! but in a few seconds
he again calmly took up the thread o f his narrat ive
apparently qui t e unconscious that he had broken it o ff

I loved astronomy and devoted to it all my p owers The

s u n I made my especial study and mastered and classied
all the phenomena exhibited by that luminary Well about
a week before the earthquake that rent South A merica
in twain and swamped the West Indies I

South America in twain ! West Indies swamped !

cried I in the most violent agitation

Why when did
that happen
I am in South A merica n o w am I not !
A t this outburst of mine the o ld man laughed again
and bestowed upon me a look which said as plain as
words
you mu st be insane
A t length he sai d
We are not in South America but in the R epublic o f
P a ra w a n g a roo that was o n the Co n tinent o f E o ro m a n g o
A nd as I w a s saying when
n ear the c entre of the Pacic
you interrupted me about a week befo re that earthquake
I observed several eno rmous S pot clusters o n the face o f
the sun a n d by means of the spectroscope I also s a w that
the sun s p h o t osp e re was in a state o f the most violent
agitation far more tre m endous storms being ragi n g there
.

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B U RNT - OU T

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i 27

t han any o n record N ot many hours had passed before

t h e earth was bombarded bym e t e o ri te s wh i ch fell in showe rs
M any o f them were of enormous size and they con tinued
to fall for t wo o r three d ays without intermission G reat
numbers o f people were killed and my observatory was
knocked to atoms by an a rolite of about
lbs weight
I wish I had been dashed to pieces too by the same stone !
I never should have been mad then ! N e ver seen the end
o f the world !
I m a de no r e ply ! a n d after a brief pause the astron
omer went o n
O u t o n t he ocean too fri ghtful damage was done and
a great many ships were sunk wi t h all their crews The
worse case o f the kind was the loss o f the P ria p o o lo o o f
tons burthen and carrying at the tim e
pas
s e n e rs
A
large
meteorite
truck
the
vessel
and
knocked
s
g
her in t wo pieces O nly eight o r ten persons escaped
with their li ves Pshaw ! Tha t s nothing ! s aid the o ld

man a s he s a w my look o f horror at his recital

these
e s that I am telling yo u now
are mere t ri
A s I said there was an earthquake t h e greatest e ver
kno wn It occurred o n the 1 8th of ! une A D
and
passed right through S 0 uth A merica longitudinally pushi n g
the western half of the Continent some miles o ut into the
Pacifi c and tilting up the eastern half in such a manner as
to form a range o f high mountains al ong the western edge
o f the section
and to sink a lar g e strip o f the eastern
shore o f the Continent thousands o f feet und e r the Atlantic
The whole Continent was a wreck : nowhere wa s a piec e
2 0 miles square left whole
Through the chasm made by
the earthquake the ocean waters rolle d fo rm n g the longe st
strait i n the world and known after wards as the E arth
q uak e Channel There were about I 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 o f
t
people in South A me rica before the ca astrophe but when
it w a s ove not o n e tenth o f th a t number could be found

The e ffects were powerfully felt also in political and

commercial matters Sev e ral wh o le nations disappeared
entirely and others w e re nations no longer A famine and
co m mercial disorganization ensued and sickness assist e d
the long dearth to decimate the wretched people who
s urvived
But the destructio n wa s no t con ned to South
.

'

12 8

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WOR LD

disapp eared and

City of M exico
shared the same fate Terrible business n o doubt b u t I
only wish I had gone down o r been ground to p o wder
along with the victims Of that earthquake Their fate
was Paradise compared with wha t mine h a s been But
regrets a re useless ! and besid e s it is nearly all over
Am e rica
The West Indies , to a rock ,
Central A merica , from Panama to the
.

a few years the world we nt o n again much th e

sam e as b e fOre Every nation su ffe red more o r less if
not from the e a rthq uake at least from the showers of
meteorites But the elasticity o f humanity soon restored
the Old race o f progress and prosperity It is wonderful
how soon the calamities were forgotten and h o w peace
ful ly the world went o n its w ay M y Observatory w a s soon
re built for me and I once more began my favourite studies
and O bservations The sun w a s now become an Object of
greater interest than ever and o f course I w as curious to
discover whether he di ffered at all from h is former self
after the terrible cannonade he had given u s But I sa w
very little di fference : the grea t luminary went shining on
as before as if too exalted t o consi der the possibility o f
doing inj ury or otherwise t o so small and distant a spec as
the ear th

I n e ed not recount the doings Of the few years that

remained they were uneventful, and most Of the time
was spent in peace and plenty at least by me a nd mine
Whatever fears I may h ave entertained o f an approach
ing cosmic cataclysm were g radually dispelled by o bs e rv
ing that nature had re sumed her Old composure and was
quietly running her accustomed race M a n he continued
turning to me depe nds upon N ature fo r everything H e
is
I mean he was part of th e great whole too i n sig
n i p a n t to n o u ld o r sway the whole he was borne i rre s is t
g
i b ly along w hatever pa th N ature happened to take when
her course was smooth and prosperous things went well
with him b ut when N ature became agitated o r convulsed
M a n partook o f her terrible paroxysms and became
utterly demoralized But I am for e stall ing
A bout ve y ears af ter t h e e arthquake o n a beautiful
day in s um mer I turned a larg e t e lescop e u p o n the s un
n

B U R N T - OU T

SU N

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WORL D,

12

an d for

som e time carefully scrutinized his face It was

about eight O clock in the morning when I began my
work and the power I used was on e magnifying
which showed up the details o f the sun s surface with
charming perfection The atmosphere was unusually pure
and quiet and the denition given by my instrument was
surpassingly sharp and distinct Besides a larger number
than usual of s u n
torches o r facul ae there were several
good clusters of spots in the study O f which I s oo n became
deeply absorbed R ound about o n e o f the spots there
was a ridge o f intensely bright light m uch larger and far
more brilliant than anything of the kind I had ever before
s e en While I was looking at it the ridge O f light began
to rotat e and sway to and fro in a most extraordi n ary
manner

This was all I had time to Observe : the next

m oment I w a s completely blinded by a sudden inrush o f
light into th e telescop e I s ta rte d away from the i n s tru
ment and for some se conds was unable to s e e anything !
and the overpowering heat tha t fl ooded the observatory
sent m e reelin g away t o nd shelter wherever I might
A s soon as my sigh t return e d I perceived that the whole
e arth as far as I could s e e was deluged with light tenfold
stronger than that o f a tropical noonday s u n The rocks
and mountains the houses and streets
yea the very

meadows glo we d with surpassing splendour ! and as I

s a w it I felt sure it was the ear th s funeral torch lighting
her and her children to the grave I at once gue ssed
what had happened ! for I had seen many a distant s u n
blaze o u t in sudden glory for a few weeks and then fade
away into prim ae val darknes s
A stronomers o f both
ancient and modern times had hinted again a nd a gain that
Our ow n s u n might some day take re and scorch the
earth to a cinder and afterwards go o u t like an exhausted
lamp

They had s uggested the possibility Of that terrible

catastrophe but they all had the happiness o f retiring to
rest while the course of N ature ran smoothly I however
most unfortunate of my kind ! have remained above
ground long enough to behold the c o n
a g ra t i o n they had
merely speculated upon Whenever I had watched a
.

A B URNT
OU T

O
3

SU N

AN D

A FR OZEN woR LD

burni n g sun in the far O ff rm a m e n t I had re garded it

merely as an event of astro nomical interest and never once
thought O f the calami ty it might be inicting upon the
myriads O f sentient beings that might previously have been
s p ending a j oyous existence in the planet worlds th at
rolled around that burning s u n
When I turned my
spectroscope upon the magnicent o rb and watched with
keenest ecstasy the spectrum that told me what metal s and
gases were burning in that distant sphere I never once
t houg h t of the millions o f miserable wre t ches w h o at that
moment were roasting in its terrible blaze B u t c o m
munity o f woe fo r a time a t least gives oneness o f interest
and now when my o w n s u n was on re I thought with a
pang o f those who had before n ow perished in similar
co n
a g ra t i o n s

I n ow also pic tured t o mys e lf som e astronomer

dwelli n g o n some plane t re volvmg round Sirius R igel
R egulus o r Capella w h o had been accustomed to s e e o u r
s u n as a faint spec Of light in o n e Of the constellations o f
his he a vens now having his attention attracted by its
increased brilliancy as it rose from the tenth or fourteenth
magnitude to the rst and then sitting down to h is i n st ru

ment to watch the phenomenon while the poor wre tches

who had drawn their life and bli ss from that very s u n
were roasting in the torrid heat !
Bah ! said he suddenly
what i s the u se Of senti
Fo r a few moments he sat in s i lence with h is
ment !
hands pressin g his head and his e lbows o n his knees
after which he resumed his story

N ot far from where I li ve d there was an enormous

cave in the heart of a mountain known as the Hunter s
Cavern How large the cavern w a s no o n e knew as it
was found imposs ible to explore the whole o f it Probably
it extended fo r several miles ! and tradition said that a
party which once s e t o u t to explore i t s furthest recesse s
had never returned nor could a n y trace s Of the m be found
A s soon as n ight came on o n that memorable da y and
the heat was at all b e arable I got some provisions packed
up
and removed wit h my wife an d fam i ly to t h e
Hunter s Cavern I found on our arrival that a larg e
nu m ber Of my nei gh bours h adpreceded me b t housands
,

'

B URN T
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AND A FR OZEN

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13 1

Of o th e rs I w a s told had been literally frighten e d to death

by the sudd e n and overwhelming ood of heat and light
that had j us t fallen upon the world M ul t itudes of other s
wer e so paralysed by terror that they had no heart for
anything a n ds o lay down to die without even seeking for
shelter

To make matters worse better I should say at

the very time o f the outbreak the C o n g o ora races were
being held and there we re n o less than
people o n
the race course most o f whom were smitten with sun
stroke f rightened to death or died of heat and exha u s t ion
b efore they c Ou ld reach any place of shelter
The horses
themselves took fright and raced away a t the top of their
s peed
some of them never stopping till they fell dead
However I c anno t relate every incident O f the day and if
I could my account would be a mere repet ition O f ghastly
scenes The cave as I remarked was a large one and
was known to everybody in the district Hence as soon
as night permitted people to t ra ve l t h e y came t h ro rtgi n g
in by thousands Trains now ran from distant places to
the station n earest the cavern and all th rough that night
droves of p eople continued to arrive I soon s a w that this

large inux o f people must lead to calamity that the

remedy would be qui te as bad as the disease ! though
I felt far too hopeless to care much w hat happened for I
was morally certain that the end of th e world w a s close a t
ha n d

I soon s a w howe ver that many others in the cavern

were by n o means given up yet to despair a n d that they
were prepared to make a struggle for existence even at
the cost of their fellows Those people looked with
j ealous eye upon every new arrival about midnight they
org a nized themselves into a band to prevent by force any
m ore from entering the cave The party thus banded
together were about 3 00 in number and as the mouth of
the cave was not more than nine o r ten yards wide they
were ampl y su fcient to prevent all further ingre s s
Promptly they placed a guard again s t the cave s mouth
ar med with sticks and such other w eapons as they could
nd at hand The people in the cave were fully at o n e
with the members O f the band wh om they regarded as
,

2
3

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their defenders and already we began to feel a hatre d

to wards the poor wretches who were hurrying t o the cave
for shelter Pity was gone N ature had ceased to care fo r
us and we imitating her example left O ff caring for o n e
another O utside o u r n e w dwelling all was quickly in a
state of confusion people kept arriving by hundreds and
hurried up to the cave s mouth condent of admittan ce
The sentries told them there was no room and refus e d to
let any pass M oth ers with infants and persons Of all
descriptions came forward to seek shelter from the heat
of the com i ng day but af ter the sentries had been p osted
every applicant was ruth lessly turned away We inside
heard their bitter lamentations and had we been Open to
the appeals of humanity we must have pitied them but
o ur hearts were steeled by calamity and terror and being
d e stitute o f all hop e ourselves we were beyo nd the powe r
o f feeling for the woes o f others

A s the numb e r outside continued to increase it was

fear e d by those within that an attem p t might b e
made to storm the cave This anticipation ftu rn e d o u t
to be correct for early in the morni n g several hundred
men no better armed than our own garrison made a
desperate onslaught upon o ur sentries A ght ensued
which lasted with little intermission till sunrise when those
outside having gained no a dvantage though they fought
with the courage o f despair once more turn e d t o p ra ye rs
and entreaties and with bitter lam entations besought us to
let th em in Had we been so minded it would only have
prolonged their su fferings b e s i de s a u g m e n t in g ours A s
it was they were nally refused a n d when the su n ros e
with e rc e r heat even than o n the previous day most o f
the poor wretches dro oped and withered away a s fast as
the herbs and grass around them
But we inside might have envied their fate ! their
su fferings were sharp and soon over ours were more
lingering The rst night we had plenty o f food though
many thousands o f us were there ! but most o f it was
devoured by the time the rst breakfast was over A s
for water there was plenty Of that to get within the cave
there bei n g a good cool spring and a large standing pool
But the prospect was the most appalling that could be
conceived Hun ger a s sailed us before noo n of th e seco nd
,

'

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133

day a few people had brought a good stock of p rO V 1s1o nS

that is for themselves ! but it was n othing for s o many
A nd it soon became evident that those who had food to
spar e would not b e allowed to keep it for their ow n wants
Before th e e n d of the second day there were several ghts
over a few pounds o f bread and by nightfall n o t a crust
was le ft among the thousands Of people in th e cavern
B ut why
said I
did they not g o Out at night and
gather up provisions wherev e r they might be found
That repli e d th e astronomer
is a simple question
and what yo u sugg est seems t o you easy enough to have
been don e ! but every o n e in the ca ve was more or less
panic struck and preferred t o face the known dangers Of
the cav e rather than v e ntu re upon the unknown ones with
out
Inde e d on e small party did go o u t t o forage during
the second night ! but they never returned and we never
found o u t what b e came Of them O thers were afraid to
t
f
r
u
l
st
they
should
be
refused
admittance
again
o
o
e
o
!
g
no on e any longer b ad faith in h is fell ows n or would th e
most S olemn promise have been received by anyone

There was nothing fo r us ther e fore but to abid e o ur

fat e T o g o o u t w a s certain death to stay in was to fac e
famine and dis e ase The heat w a s frightful even in the
9
cave the thermometer standing at 1 5 0 F a h and still
risin g ! we were constant ly in a Turkish bath and o u r
thirst became agonizing in the extreme though we tried
t o allay it by copious draughts o f water
O ur supply Of
the precious liquid w a s plentiful e n ough for the rst fe w
days but before a w e ek had pass e d the bubbling S pring
had fallen very lo w and the water in t h e pool had all
evaporat e d
T h e heat also was constantly increasing
both withi n and without : the s u n burned the e rc e r o n
and plants and trees
e very successi ve day an d animals
were literally roasted to cinders and I verily believe the
earth would have b e come red
hot had the solar blaze con
t i n u e d to scorch her surface as it did during the rst fe w
days

n o t that
F ro m this fat e we were preserv e d
thing better follow e d by an unexp e cted but perfectly
natural ph e nomenon
Though I was well
versed in
m e teorolo gy I had in my b e wil derm e n t e ntirely over

13

BuR N r OU T

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AND A

the probab i lity o f what followed O f c ourse the

Su n could n o t co nti n ue shining as it did without causing
excessive evaporation U nder his horrid blaze the ocean
r e eked the rivers were soon dry and all ice disappea red
fro m th e mountains and poles of the earth The air soon
became loaded with w a ter
vapour and the heat as a con
s equence was tempered a little
and in a few days the
e arth was covered with a hot steam which rose ev e n to
the h e ight o f the loftiest mountains Through this dense
vapour the s u n when visible at all appeared like a great
red disc but frequently it w a s not seen for several con
But though an ocean Of water had been
s e c u t ive days
carried into the atmosphere there was n ot a drop O f rain
for the whole s ix mo n ths that the sun was burning fo r the
c old was never su fcient to condense the moisture and it
was a rarity even to see dew
Here the astronomer paused a moment as if to refresh
h is memory a n d I saw with anxiety the wild look and
frenzied e ye return which made me fear that I had heard
To
a s much o f his story as he would be able to relate
m y relief however he soon calm e d himself and b e gan
a gain

he resumed
that all this
Y o u will n o t suppose

chan ge was e ffected quietly that s o much water could be

raised into the air without great me teorological agitation
N ature w a s fairly mad and all her demeanour w a s most
u proarious
Instead O f quiet evap o ration the atmosphere
A t times
w a s the scene o f the m ost gigantic storms
thunder and
e v e ry Species Of tempest raged at once :
lightening bellowed and ashed incessantly for days to
gether and the former reverberated through o ur cave
with the most astounding din Hurricanes swe p t along at
such a speed that e ven larg e ro cks were overturned by
their power ! and o f course all the trees and houses i n
their path were swept away A t s e a the destruction
must have been frightful though no o n e survived to tell Of
it and we in th e cave were t oo unconcerned for ourselves
t o have any care for the woes o f oth e rs
A s I re m arked
the storms were almost incessant and altogether u n p a ra l
le lle d in violence
A t times they made large rents in th e
vapour that shrouded the ear t h and e x p o sed a g ain hundred s
looked

'

B URN T - OU T

SU N

AN D A

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R OZEN

3S

m ile s o f h e r surface to the undim med e rc e n e s s of the

burning sun
A ll the while too from t h e v e ry rst day the earth
was incessantly bombarded by pro j ectiles from the s u n
which was manifestly in a state o f explosion as well a s o f
c om bustion
Sometimes the fragments fell fo r hours
together over a given ar e a o f the earth and lay p iled in
heaps resembling ancient cairns but much larger M any
sunk dee p i nto the gr ound and those that fell on hard
rocks were completely pulverized M any o f the meteor
ites were tremendously large on e of m ore than 1 00 feet
dia meter fell a few mil e s from o u r den and the concus sio n
S hook the ground like an earthqu ake
A n oth e r o f p ro
dig i o us dimension s fell upon the mountain in which o u r cave
was situated and we thought the whole w a s about to
collapse and bury u s i n i ts ruins A s it was only a large
p art of o u r roof fell in killing and burying som e 2 0 0
persons in its fall

But all th is wa s n othing When th e s u n had bee n

burning about a mo hth we felt such a shock a s cannot
b e describ e d in human language o n e e ffect o f which
w a s t o throw us in the cave eith e r violently dow n u po n
the oor o r against the western wall
What wa s
the cause of the tremendous j erk we could n o t then divine
We heard the m ost appa lling n ois e s and felt no doubt that
the mountains all around u s wer e falling into ruin Ind e ed
from th e mouth O f o u r hiding place I sa w o n e mountain
s uddenly snap asunder a t the m o ment Of the concussion
a nd i ts upper half toppled over into the valley that lay at
its wester n foot But the most remarkable result o f t h e
shock was the shortening of the day ! for I found to m y
a m azement that the earth now performed her diurna l
revolution in t w enty hours instead Of twe nty
fo ur a s
formerly

The explanation will scarc ely be credited though

I know from personal inspecti on that it is true A t
the time all u ded to as I ascertained subsequently a n
enormous proj ectile from the sun scores o f miles in
diameter struck the earth on the Western coast of Africa
The shock was the most terric that could be conceived
the ribs o f the earth were shattered by it The proj ectil e
of

O
3

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buried itself man y miles deep in th e earth s crust ! the

waters of the Atlantic around the spot rushed into the
chasm after the s u n S hot and there they were actually
made to boil for days by the heat ge n erated by the co n
In addition to minor e ffects the shot gave the
c us s i o n
earth such a wrench as made h e spin faster upon her
axis thus Shortening the day as I before stated
While all thos e things were going on outsid e we in
the cavern were su ffering every kind Of torture and
misery The heat alone made the place a very hell
Then came famine and fevers and all other descriptions o f
sickness In S ix weeks we w e re reduced t o 1 0 0 in number
and many o f those were by that time delirious The s ur
vi vo rs had nothing to live upon but the bodies Of the dead
a n d this was o u r only food for about six months
DO you
wonder that I am mad
he said t urning to me

NO !
I wonder how yo u contrived to
I re p li e d
keep alive so long in such horrible circumstances
He took no notice of my answer but suddenly went on
again
The cav e w as soon a charnel hous e and the stench was
wo rse than that O f an Opened sepulchre ventilation was
impossible and the atmosphere became load e d with every
foulness and with odours Of the most deleterious nature
Those who had any heart left committed suicide and the
rest lay d own to die with the most perfect indi ffere n ce
But the things I have named did n ot comprise the s u m o f
o ur miseries
F ights and quarrels were o f daily occur
renc e and what w a s mor e horrible still we had n ot lost
o u r Old relish for del icacies and the dry shrunken corpses
Of those wh o died Of disease and famine failed t o satisfy
and we exercis e d o ur ingenuity to catch
o u r dainty taste
game more worthy of digestion I don t know who rst
suggested it or who w a s the rst to satisfy his cravings
in the way I am about to describe ! but of this I am
certain there w as no On e of u s all that had the slightest
scruple about it
Whenever we were w a nting fresh meat as we
termed it several Of us would band together and having
singled o u t the very best m an or woman of the lo t watched
o ur Opportunity to give the d e ath blow
This at time s

138

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OZEN WO RLD

with incredible patience and labour collected from the for

saken ho u ses There he sat with cart loads o f gold and
s ilver within his reach
He was too intensely occupied in
c ounting and arranging his money to bestow upon us even
a glance F or some time we watched him as we s a t and
rested and were j ust abou t to move away again when
down came a large meteorite knocking the miser and his
treasur e far i n to the ground We laughed at the i n cident
feeling
a n d the n made o ur way back towards the cave
that as easy a n d sudden an exit from life and misery would
be most welcome to r s But no meteorite pitied o u r
wretchedness and we had the misfortu n e to enter t he
gloomy cavern once more

ar
e

ate

a
te

ar
e

ale

at

a
e
r

By the way he excl ai med energet ically as if a new

thought had struck him instead Of sitting here we might

walk as far as the cave I have not been there S ince the
Would yo u like to go and s e e it !
f burning
s u n left O f
By all means replied I A nd the Old man at once
arose and led the way While I had sat listening to my
informant all perso nal interests I had forgotten ! b ut as
Soon as we rose I re n e m b e re d that I was soon to g o back
to E ngland never for a moment perce i v i ng the incongruity
b e tw en my intended voyage and the fact that I was
listening to a record Of the end Of the world H o w e ve r I
had no power to refuse t o a ccompany my guide and SO I
We turned down a
followed wherever he m ight lead
large desolate valley and I became conscious that the cold
was innitely S harper than any I h ad e ver before felt
The ice covered all the ground se veral yards in depth O n
which my
o u r way we pas s ed some very extensive ruins
guide told me were those o f the city o f C o n g o ora

he said point ng to a buildi ng o n a l w

U p there

Y o u s e e how the s u n
hill
i s my Old Observatory
s hots h ave battered it
He paused for a few s econds and looked as if he would
like to take me up to s e e t h e sacred ruins but suddenly
started o ff agai n towards th e ca ve After wending o n in
S ilence for a mile o r two he b efore and I following my
g u ide turned abruptly round a n d pointi ng to an enormous
mountai n of de rz s said
!

'

B U R N T - OU T

AND

SU N

FR

OZEN WO RLD

1 39

Th e r e it i s ! There is the mountain that s n a p t

asunder a n d fel l into the valley when the earth got that
extra twist I mentio n ed
O n we went again and nev e r S lack e n e d ou r pace till
we had reached the mouth Of the Hunter s Caver n
F rom the portal I found a most intole rable Od o u r
but the O ld man motioned me to follow him
c e e di n g
and I perforce entered the cave M y guide by so me
mean s that I could not detect lit a torch as soon as h e
was fairly in and with this in his hand he showed m e
around the den A t eve ry step I wa s stumbling ove r
s keletons
o r detached portions o f them ! but among all
the Obstacles that crowded o ur path my guide passed ligh t:
as a fairy and unerring a s a st ream that winds through
a meandering valley
hen we reached a particular corner
he halted and point i ng to a number Of bones that la y
pretty near together he S aid

T h e re a re t h e ruins of m y wife and children fo u r

dau g hters and two sons A ll eaten up during the famine
This was all he said and then he took me to anothe r
part o f the cave
There ! said b e stoppin g in front O f a large h e ap of

rubbish you now s e e the place wh e re o u r roof fell in

and buried s o many people a s I told yo u P le nty o f go o d
food buried there he continued but we were t oo w eak
to dig it out N o w I will take you to S ee a spot that I have
not mentioned
A t this he started O ff at a rapid pace which I foun d
di ffi cult to equal I see m to see him n o w hurrying through
that infernal place : the torch held higher than h is head
and his long hair streaming behind The surrounding
gloom made more horrid by the glare of the torch
seemed the proper setting for such a picture M y eye s
were riveted upon him and several times I fell over ske le

tons that lay in my path G hosts and Spectres to o SO I

fully believed met me a t every turn and hobgoblin s
i tte d around my head mutterin g dreadful a nd mysterious
whispers H orrible s e nsations possessed me and the S weat

stood o u t in larg e cold drops up on my S kin

Was this
Old man the D evil thought I
leading me away to h i s
place of horrors
A nd my h e art stood still with t e rror
!

4
O

B URN T - OU T

FR OZEN WORLD

AND A

SU N

But man or angel or devil I had no power to stop : How

fa r we travelled through that re g i o n o f horrors I ca n n o t
tell but suddenly my guide stopped and turning half round
to me said
Look
In the lurid light O f the torch I s aw that the Old
astronomer was standing upon a small proj ecting ledge
o f rock
which ov erhung a dark chasm w hos e depth I
could not divine : Wishing to know something Of it I
took up a stone and thre w it down the pit counting one
two three & c to mark the time o f its descent It went

do wn down b u t I heard nothing no sound oated back

to tell me that the stone had reached the bottom I tried
several others with the same results my guide watching me
with evident amusement At length he laughed and said

N obody knows how deep that chasm is except

he
added after a brief pause
they wh o have gone down
there perhaps
D o you mean to tell me
said I that any people have
gone down into that frightful chasm

he replied
The c ra g I am stand
M any ! M any !
ing on is the Crag of D el iverance Ah I forgot to tell
you t hat
Why is it called by that name
I inquired
Why don t you see this is where they used to come

and l e ap i nto the chasm when they were tired of life the
peopl e in the cavern did I mean after the sun caught re
T here were many among us that had an insane antip athy to
human esh and rather than eat oth ers or be eaten them
sel ves they slunk away he re and sprang into the darkness
H undreds did tha t ! I wa s nearly doing it myself several
times but some strange power held me back However
I S hall go that way at last
Before I could reply he was rushing away from th e
pre cipice back through the cavern to wards the entran c e
I followed after as best I could never losing sight of the
torch though its bearer was far ahead A t len g th we
reached the cavern s mouth and emerged into the open
a i f w h e n I saw hanging in the S ky a round disc about as
bright as ta rnished brass with large dark patches on it

That said the astrono m er

out sun
is th e old burnt
,

'

'

'

U R NT
OU T

SU N

AND

FR O

ZEN WO RL D

4
I

I must stay to s e e i ts very last icker and then I shall g o

It is nearly do n e I s e e and I must make haste t o
t oo
tell you the res t O f my tale
Y o u remember that I told you o f thre e o f u s going to
the town when the s u n had been burning fo r about S I !
months Well that n ight we lay down and slept till morn
ing and when I awoke I found my comrades dead I
need not tell yo u h o w I did for breakfast ! but early in
the morning I w e n t to the mouth Of the cave and found
and the sky was more
t hat there had been a little rain
misty than I had seen it before since we rst entered the
cave For several days I had thought that the heat had
declined so m e what in its intens ity and now when I sa w
the wet ground I knew that the solar re was well nigh
burnt o u t I fel t neither hope n or fear at the prospect

now before me thin gs could n o t be w orse and I c o u ld

any chance of improvement Every day the
n ot se e
temperature diminish e d and at the end Of a fortnight the
w ater fell from th e clo u ds in cataracts and never ceased
Hurri canes also raged with horrible
for nearly a month
viole n ce and all through the wet and stormy season I was
compe lled to keep my den where I fel t terribly cold
though the heat was stil l tropical T O keep myself warm
I kept a re constantly burning and put o n all the clothes
I could nd around me When the rain ceased I went
o u t and s a w the s u n s o far diminished in splendour that I
could look him in the face without any inconvenience to
my eyes In a few days after the mountains wer e again
covered with snow and even around the cave the frost
Little snow fell on the plains as
w a s several i n ches thick
most o f the moisture had come down a s rain and hail
It soon became so cold that I thought the very air itself
f
would freeze every particle o moisture was frozen o u t o f
it and the brilliancy Of the rm a m e n t w a s s o magnicent
as seen through an absolutely pure atmosphere that I
began for the rst time to wish myself back with my
telescopes Had they not been battered to pieces by the
meteorites I could n ot have resisted the desire to go up to
my Observatory and turn them upon the heav e ns Buti t
was too late

In S ix weeks aft e r th e rst rainfall th e oc e a n w as

,

4
2

B URN T

OU T

AN D A

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FR OZEN WORLD

fr ozen over and I felt a strong impulse to travel I

crossed the ocean and rounded the whole world travelling
over the ice I don t know why I did it nor how I lived
all th e time There was nothin g to be seen but ic e ice
every where O ver this when it was smooth I slid like a
N O living thing
S kater g o mg at a tremendous S peed

w a s t o be s e en anywh ere death and silence possessed the

wh ole earth

A t ti m es during my journey the sun woul d suddenly

b l aze o u t a fre sh and for a few hours sc orc h me u n
But every fresh outburst onl y left him th e
b e arably
A voice S O it seem ed Often
dark er wh en i t was over
w hispered t o me that I mus t remain alive a s long a s the
M a ny a time I thought I had seen
s u n continued t o shine
h is last ic ker a n d j oyfully hoped that my exit w a s at
h and but all my hopes had hi thert o ended in disappoint
But to d ay the voice whis pers that my task is done
m ent
W hen I found yo u S itting under the tree I w as j us t re
t urned fro m my ramble ro und the w orld
I have told my
s tory
and n o w yo u kno w how the wo rld was destroyed
He had scarcely ceased S peaking when the s u n once
m ore ashed up with a brilliancy quite overpower i ng
The
T h e Old man s face brightened as he watched it
s igns o f madness wer e g one fo r the time
and he stood
b efore me in all the m aj esty Of intellec tual life
That is h is dying struggle s ai d he alluding t o the
Worthy Of himself he will exp ir e i n a ood of
s un
l
d
lory
rivalling
even
his
S
plendour
w
en
worlds
h
O
g
r ej oiced at h is risi n g and manifold life throbbed in ec s tacy
a s he ran h is daily ra ce
While th e astronomer w as thus speaking th e su n s ud
s hell ! and we distinctly s a w
de n ly exploded like a bo m b
t h e ickering fra gments ying in all direct ions a cros s the
h eavens
These were soon extinguished in u tter darkness
a n d the s u n was no more
A ll the light we n o w had left
w a s given by t h e stars
Suddenly the astrono m er c au ght hold of m y hand and
l e d me away in silence to the cave and o n th rough the
de nse darkness towards the chasm
I felt alarmed n ow
fo r my safety and tried t o disengage my ha n d
This w as
i m possi ble I found a n d n o choice wa s l eft m e but t o
.

URN T
OU T

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ROZEN WORLD

43

follow After a long j ourney he halted and lit h is torch

in the light Of which I found that h e was stand ing again
u pon the crag o f D eliverance

Ah !
said he
I told yo u I should go this way at
last and now I am going ! M y deliverance is n o w at
hand and you must go with me !
I woul d have remonstrated o r defended myself but I
was speechless and s o chilled with h orror that I could
move neither hand n or tongue Besides I was completely
fascinated by h is look Suddenly he ung his torch dow n
the abyss and before th e darkness had fairly closed round
u s I was fast lock e d in the astronomer s embrace
Th e
next mo ment I felt him take the fatal leap with m e i n
his arms and we were falling falling do w n down th e
terri ble chasm ! A wild yell br oke from me a s soon a s
my to ngue was loose and with that I wakened up
covered with cold S weat and trembling terribly from
head to foot A s soon a s I w a s su fciently sane t o c o m
prehe n d my situation I found that the ground around m e
w a s being rocked by a considerable earthq u ake ! and it
w a s this phenomenon probably, that gave rise to m y
dream
Wh o shall sa y the dream nay n ot some day be fullled
Wh o knows but that the Solar System may wind up its
tragi
comedy in the way described !
,

'

'

M A NO R ,

TH E H AU N T ED
G H O ST

ST O R Y

CH R IST M AS

FO R

TH E M

anor s tood in a fair domain

O ld i n ru i ns and grey
A nd ivy grew o n the broken walls
A nd brightened its grand decay !
A nd th e stately trees thre wa s o m bre shad e
The silent paths along
Inviting the o w l to a nightly prowl
A nd the thrush to a morning S ong
,

P OETR Y

It

h a d had n o te n ant for many a y e ar ,

A nd it s owners , n ow , were dead ,

The last had di e d on a foreign shore

With a curse upon h is head
The curse that follow s a wicked man
Tho Peasant or Princ e is b e !
He died like a dog and as a dog
They ung him into the s e a

ha u nted n ow
SO twas said the M anor w a s
Whatever that may b e
I cannot tell but I kno w the place
Was shunned to a great degre e
A nd sounds were heard which to mortal
Brought ever a shuddering sens e
A nd creatures came which could ne er be seen
A nd none could s a y from whence
A nd bells rang o u t o n the still night air
With a strange and j arring sound
A nd feet went scampering through th e house
F rom the attic t o the ground
A nd passers b y described the tr e ad
A S o f a mighty host
A nd SO at last it w a s resolved

T o call this legion

G host
Then the r e arose in every mind
The thought it must be settled
It had been tried before and failed
A nd folks were somewhat
nett led
T o think that what they could not s e e
Should Se t them at de a n c e
A nd S O the village o ne and all
Proposed a strong alliance
All to the M anor boldly did repair

O f course in th e
de ad Of night
F or G hosts as they s ay
not liking the day
di fferen t light
M ust be seen in a
But when they g o t there do wn the dark kitchen stair
Went rushing th e common grey rat

d
up
a
ight
higher
near
a
broken
bell
wire
n
A

Wh ioh Sh e playe d with was s e at e d a Cat

,

E M
.

R E LTON