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From Lucian’s Wonderland, being a Translation of the ‘Vera Historia,’ by St J. Basil Wynne Willson, M. A., illustrated by A. Payne Garnett; Edinburgh and London: Blackwood and Sons; 1899, pp. 37-44.


BOOK  I

37

CHAPTER III.

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS IN THE MOON — ROAST FROGS — LIQUID AIR — BALDNESS A BEAUTY — A MARVELLOUS EMUNCTION — INTERNAL ORGANISM — ROBES OF GLASS — REMOVABLE EYES — EARS — A MAGIC MIRROR — WE QUIT THE MOON.

LIFE
IN THE
MOON.
Decorated letter N OW I wish to describe the new and strange things that I noticed during my sojourn in the moon.

All live on the same form of food. They light a fire and roast frogs, of which they have large numbers flying about in the air, on the cinders. Whilst the process of roasting is going on, 38 they take seats as if round a table and snuff up the savoury steam that rises, and thus enjoy a sumptuous repast. Such is their food.

Their drink is air pressed into a cup, from which a dewlike moisture is distilled.

Any one who is bald and hairless is reckoned handsome among them. Long-haired people are an abomination to them. On the contrary, on long-haired stars or comets, long hair is considered a beauty. This fact I can vouch for, because there were some visitants from comets in the Moon at the time, from whom I received this information. I should add that they grow beards down to a little above the knee.

The Moon-men have no nails on their feet, but they are all solid-footed without toes.




[39]
Black and white pen and ink drawing by A. Payne Garnett, of bald men with pointed ears, three seated around a smoking pot, three standing.  One of the standing ones is trying to catch a flying frog.

A MEAL IN THE MOON (ROASTED FROGS).
[40]
[blank]


DuringTHE MEN
OF THE
MOON.
41 work or exercise they exude milk at every pore, whereof, with the admixture of a few drops of their honey, they make excellent cheeses.

They manufacture oil from onions, as clear and sweet-smelling as myrrh. Moreover, they have vines in great abundance that produce water. The berries of the grape are like hail, and it seems to me what whenever a wind shakes these vines the bunches break, and the result is a hailstorm on earth.

They make use of the stomach, which they can open or shut at will, as a wallet or pouch, placing therein all their necessities. Seemingly there are no bowels or liver within the stomach: all that one can see is a hairy and shaggy interior, where their young can find a warm retreat from the cold.

The dress of the rich is of soft glass; that 42 of the poor, of woven bronze — for the country is richly productive of this metal, which they work by sprinkling it with water as though it were wool.

As to the nature of their eyes I shrink from saying anything, lest you, my reader, should think me to be lying, on account of the incredulity of my story. Nevertheless in spite of my apprehension I will proceed to a description of this marvel also. A man can at will remove his eyes and keep them until he have occasion to use them. Then he can reinsert them and regain his sight. Many, who have lost their own, borrow from others. Some — that is to say, the rich — have a stock of eyes stored away.

Their ears are leaves of plane-trees, though some have them of wood.

43

A
MAGIC
MIRROR.
When a man grows old, he does not die, but dissolves into air like smoke.

Moreover, I beheld another wonderful sight in the Palace. A vast mirror lies over a somewhat shallow well. Any one who descends into the well, hears all that is said amongst us mortals on earth; and any one who gazes into the mirror, beholds all the cities and nations as plainly as if he were present on the spot. On looking, I saw my friends, and all my own country, but whether or not they saw me I cannot say for certain. The incredulous person who refuses to credit my statement will learn the truth of it if he will only some day visit the place himself.

Bidding farewell to the King and his courtiers, we embarked and set sail. Endymion presented me with two of the glass 44 tunics and five of the bronze, and also a complete suit of peas-pod armour, all of which I subsequently left behind in the whale. He also gave us an escort of a thousand Horse-Griffins for sixty miles.







Black and white pen and ink drawing by A. Payne Garnett, looking on the posterior view of a nude man riding a dragon, holding a lance.










Next:

CHAPTER  IV.







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