A Strange Manuscript Found in a

board the Falcon dinner was the great event of the day, and in its presence even the manuscript had to be laid aside. Before long they were all seated around the din

notony of high life, and, like many of his order, was fond of seeking relief from the ennui of prosperity amid the excitements of the sea. Next to him was Dr. Congreve, a middle-aged man, with iron-gray hair, short beard and mustache, short nose, gray eyes, with spectacles, and stoutish body. Next came Noel Oxenden, la

lence; but at length it became evident that they were thinking o

r dreamed of people living at the South Pole-and in a warm climate, too? Then it seems deuced odd, too,

it isn't much to se

ly, pricking up his ears at this, and peer

anuscript,

what is it that you see? W

nsparent hoax, that's all. You don't mean to say, I

e doctor. "Will you please state

ith a great flourish of trumpets, and so he has taken this way of going about it. You see, he has counted

octor, mildly. "He couldn't prove the auth

in notoriety, and that would give h

, my dear fellow; but come, let us discuss this for a little while in a common-s

onths or so,

, there are successive layers of barnacles on that copper cylind

sensation novelist must have been a lunatic

inued the doctor, "

swered Melick. "The oce

a very vague expression. What do you mean? Of cou

it would be carried away, in the ordinary course

presently-but just now, in reference to your notion of a sensation novelist, and an English origin, let me a

ubstance. No doubt the writer has had it prepared fo

hat is is?" as

N

tell you; i

pyr

d anyone able to prepare such a substance as this for writing. It must have come from a country where it is actually in use. Now, mark you, the papyrus-plant may still be found growing wild on the banks of the upper Nile, and also in Sicily, and it is made use of for ropes and other things of that sort. But as to making writing material out of it, that is hardly possible for the art is lost. T

, "why one shouldn't get papyrus now an

up? That would be impossible. But, apart from this, just consider the strong internal evidence that there is as to the authenticity of the manuscript. Now, in the first place, there is the description of Desolation Island, which is perf

with much enthusiasm, paused here

ll report of it just before we started, and you can see

atitude, tracing a coast-line of six hundred miles. Observe, now how all this coincides with More's narrative. Well, I now come to the crowning statement. In 77° 32′ south latitude, 167° east longitude, he came in sight of two enormous volcanoes over twelve thousand feet in height. One of these was in an active state of eruption. To this he gave the name of Mount Erebus. The other was quiet; it was of somewhat less height, and he gave it the name of Mount Terror. Mark, now, how wonderfully this rese

lt of the American exp

some day be penetrated by ships, which will sail for hundreds of miles farther south. All that is wanted is a favorable season. But mark the coincidence between Ross's report and More's manuscript. This

More are not the Erebus and Terror

y are on the other

of Ross's men and thrown overboard. If I'd been on that expe

lso have manufactured the papyrus and the c

pyrus and the copper cylinder in China o

e position of More's volc

the doctor. "More gives no data. In fact he had

r would ever express himself in that way. That's what struck me from t

his eyebrows, but to

Ocean. Then it unites with a current which flows round the south of Van Dieman's Land, which also divides, and the southernmost current is supposed to cross the Pacific until it strikes Cape Horn, around which it flows, dividing as before. Now my theory is, that south of Desolation Island-I don't know how far-there is a great current setting toward the South Pole, and running southwest through degrees of longitude 60°, 50°, 40°, 30°, 20°, 10°, east of Greenwich; and f

and looked around with

ze from a literary point of view, and I don't like his underground cavern with the stream running through it. It sounds like one of the voyages of Sinbad the Sailor. Nor do

the waters of the sea were once filled with monsters more tremendous than the greatest sea-serpent that has ever been imagined. The plesiosaurus, with its snakelike head, if it existed now, would be ca

aid Melick with a gesture of despair. "I haven

ce of the sun, and the long light, a

would of course read up about the polar day, and all that. Everyone knows th

mined sceptic,"

the polar day?" a

uantities of the continuous day and continuous night vary in accordance with the distance from the pole. At the north point of Nova Zembla, 75° north latitude, there is uninterrupted light from May 1st to August 12th,

e doctor's wine-glass with

you must feel rather dry. You should tak

ed the glass to his lips and swall

has been read thus far, is the flatness of the South Pole, a

ot hold of a very good idea there, and has taken c

"between the two diameters of the earth,

o ask. I've always heard that the earth is flattened at the poles, bu

th, and beamed upon the com

er that question, if you care

w, by all means," said Feathers

ustive examination of the subject, has deduced that the equatorial radius of the earth is over 3962 miles, and the polar radius over 3949 miles. This makes the depression at either pole upward of thirteen miles. A depression of over thirteen miles, as you must plainly see, should produce strange results in the scenery at the poles. Of course, if there are mountains, no difference would be noticed between this and any other part of the earth's surface; but if there is water, why, we ought to expect some such state of thing

have on the climate at t

matter in a state of intense heat and combustion. At the poles the surface is thus thirteen miles nearer to these tremendous fires. Of course it may be supposed that the earth's crust is of about equal thickness on all parts; yet still, even if this be so, thirteen miles ought to make some difference. Now at the North Pole there seem to be causes at work to counterbalance the effect of the internal heat, chiefly in the enormous accumulation of polar ice which probably hems it in on every side; and though many believe in an open polar sea of warm water at the North Pole, yet still the effect of vast ice-masses and of cold submarine currents must be to render the climate severe. But at the South Pole it is differen

t be ready to support and to fortify by endless arguments, all of the most plausible kind. For my own

the doctor's view, and regarded Melick as

this south polar ocean t

their utmost value; and the idea that I have gathered from his narrative is that of a vast sea like the Mediterranean, surrounded by impassable mountains, by great and fertile countries, peopled with an immense variety of animal

st is the idea which the writer o

they had fi

lick is tired of it, I dare say. I would relieve him, but I'm an infernal

art," said the

atherstone; "we will all b

ook up the manuscrip