Daybreak: A Romance of an Old World

to attend to some duty in the management of the vessel. When he returned I r

hand of machinery, which in its perfection is almost intelligent. It is so in all departments of work. Inventions looking toward the saving of labor have closely followed each other for so many years that their object is about accomplished, and all the pain and sorrow accompanying daily toil are things of the dead past. Even our animals are relieved from distressing labor and sh

and companions in a sense of our higher race. Every animal, large and small, has lost its power and will to harm us. The wasp has lost its sting, the serpent its poi

condition?" I asked. "Was there a natural tenden

ticle of food. We early came to see it was not necessary for ourselves and that without it we were much better prepared to assume the higher duties belonging to our advanced life. We then began to experiment with the animals nearest us. It was a slow and discouraging task at first, but finally we obtained results tha

ld think there would have been some kinds of animals that would resi

in all this world, no conscious life is taken to support another life. No blood is let for our refres

d even to the fish of the

of the sea," ans

er animals, you can understand that their comfort is an object of our solicitude, an

I, "what is the source of the

rwald, "if you have begun

ing to harness it, but it is s

Mars. Do not be discouraged in your efforts to bring that mysterious and wonderful agent, electricity, into complete subjection. You will find it your mo

of these valuable helps. Electricity

us. Here," he continued, taking from his pocket a brightly polished case of metal, "is a compact storage battery, containing, not electricity itself, of course, but elements so prepared that a simple touch will start into motion a powerful current, able to perform almost any task I may ask of it. This case

s face looked a little skeptical

le, it were necessary for you to go from here to the other end of this ves

pted to try it; but, as I told your companion just now, you had better

large tubes, in which the cars are propelled by electricity. These tubes run both on land and water, being suspended in the latter a little way below the surface. Both tubes and cars are air-tight, and the adjustment is so perfect that the cars slide along with the greatest ease. Riding in an air-tight chamber would not be pleasant if much time were to be occupied in that way, b

artment inventors had a fruitful field, the use of aluminum offering abundant opportunity for the greatest variety of devices, and the development of the flying machine was one of the most interesting features in the march toward our present high civilization. Perhaps the presence of so

more rapid still, and the cheapest and in some respects the easiest way of getting over the surface of the glob

ng down only a small quantity each time. But, in their endeavor to obtain the very best quality of lifting material possible, they went much higher than they intended, although this did not cause them as much inconvenience as might have been expected, since they were provided with the latest improved breathing apparatus. The result of their adventure, however, was a discovery of such magnitude that it drove from their minds all thought of their real errand and we never again heard of that project. After remaining at an extreme height a few hours, the surface of the planet being hidden by clouds, they began to descend, and when they were near enough to see the features of the country below them, everything looked strange and unknown. They could not account for this, but continued their fall, fully persuaded that it must be their own world and not some other which they were approaching. But even if they had not been correct in that, they could hardly have been more surprised than they wer

e docto

mode of traveling bec

troduce it on the earth. When you return and begin to think it over you will probably see so many practical difficult