“Before the great crisis of the world’s history, for many generations there had been so excessive a use of electricity, that the climates had become seriously disturbed and the whole earth and air so unduly charged, that there had followed a succession of terrible earthquakes of so violent a nature as to shake the earth to its very centre. Then a wonderful thing happened which at first threatened the whole of creation on this earth—from some cause or other, even yet not understood, the earth’s gravity became slightly increased. All the scientists raved at the calamity, as they called it, saying that the rains would damage the fruit and vegetation, that the sap in trees and plants would not be able to rise, that muscular exertion would not be possible, and that all mankind would become too heavy and weary to live, while the air would become unbreathable. Very soon, however, they found all as usual, for all being in the same proportion, everything in nature, animate and inanimate, was just as perfectly adjusted as before, and many scientists asserted that no increased gravity had taken place—for as the increase was exactly proportionate throughout, a pound still weighed a pound, of course. For long the debate continued, serving no purpose, for even if walking had not been possible it would have mattered little, for the time was approaching when, all forms of work coming under government control and wages being paid according to the work done, almost every one could buy a motor-vessel of some sort for land or aërial traction, and walking became less and less indulged in—and probably in a few generations from now humans will find their legs transformed into wings. “But to return to actual facts. The strangest change of all, which drove people to a perfect frenzy and caused not a few to become insane, was the gradual approach of a second moon; no one knows how, or why; probably it had been wandering in space and would not have been influenced at all by earth, but for the increased gravity. Be the cause what it may, there it was, revolving in the solar system round the earth half a circle behind Luna, thus lighting up earth when Luna was hidden, as she is now, and consequently, every night is more or less moonlight. “People recalled the records of the wondrous approach of the planet stolen by the great airship _Regina_, now owned by me, and many thought the ship had made a secret journey and brought back a second planet, or perhaps the same as before, but no—the ‘seventh moon of Jupiter’ which she had created was still attending that planet, and so the new world must really be a new moon.” “Had the vessel attracted it, do you think?” inquired Gilbert.