By far the most striking of the physical phenomena on the planet is the frightful chronic hurricane which rages round the equator. To this I must ask the reader’s special attention, inasmuch as some of the most astounding events in the Hesperian history are only to be understood with reference to this extraordinary and hitherto unexplained tornado. I have already mentioned the exceeding density of the air, and also the fortunate exemption of the greater part of the planet from storms. But it seems that this latent energy of the atmosphere finds its vent in a zone about five hundred miles in breadth, of which the equator forms the central line. According to all accounts a permanent tornado, of such violence that one who is accustomed only to the storms which occur in the rarer atmosphere of the earth, is incapable of even imagining it, tears and rages round this zone for ever. Still less could anyone conceive the aspect of the ocean subjected to this unceasing and tremendous hurricane. Anyone who could realize in imagination the cataract of Niagara, broken loose from its American moorings, and wandering on the sea, might perhaps have some notion of one of the equatorial waves. This is the reason why I described the northern and southern Hesperian hemispheres as mutually inaccessible. No ship constructed by mortal hands could approach this pandemonium and live. We shall see, farther on, that, after the lapse of many ages, counting from the first appearance of rational life, the transit was effected in a wholly unexpected manner. This transit led to a most awful discovery, and with this discovery we shall see that the Modern History of Hesperos begins. Moreover, the differences as to heat and cold in the various climatal regions of Hesperos are not nearly so great as those which are experienced on the earth. This fact is partly to be explained by the considerable increase in the density of the permanent cloud stratum, which takes place as we approach the equatorial zone. This provides a more effective barrier against the solar rays in the districts where such a screen is most needed. For the purpose of residence the two polar regions are unquestionably far the most agreeable. Each of them abounds in beautiful lakes and magnificent mountain scenery. The Hesperian mountains are on a much larger scale than any which occur on the earth. In particular, starting from a point near the northern pole, there runs in a south-easterly direction a mighty chain which has several peaks not less than twenty English miles in height.