Short stories; United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
While we had talked the afternoon had waned, and the sun had sunk below
the horizon, the roseate atmosphere of the planet imparting a splendor
to the cloud coloring, and a glory to the land and sea scape, never
paralleled by an earthly sunset. Already the familiar constellations
appearing in the sky reminded me how near, after all, I was to the
Earth, for with the unassisted eye I could not detect the slightest
variation in their position. Nevertheless, there was one wholly novel
feature in the heavens, for many of the host of asteroids which circle
in the zone between Mars and Jupiter were vividly visible to the naked
eye. But the spectacle that chiefly held my gaze was the Earth, swimming
low on the verge of the horizon. Its disc, twice as large as that of any
star or planet as seen from the Earth, flashed with a brilliancy like
that of Venus.
“It is, indeed, a lovely sight,” said my companion, “although to
me always a melancholy one, from the contrast suggested between the
radiance of the orb and the benighted condition of its inhabitants. We
call it ‘The Blindman’s World.’” As he spoke he turned toward a curious
structure which stood near us, though I had not before particularly
observed it.
“What is that?” I asked.
“It is one of our telescopes,” he replied. “I am going to let you take
a look, if you choose, at your home, and test for yourself the powers
of which I have boasted;” and having adjusted the instrument to his
satisfaction, he showed me where to apply my eye to what answered to the
eye-piece.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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