[Illustration: THE MOON, AS SEEN BY LORD ROSSE'S TELESCOPE. 1856.] THE MOON HOAX; OR, A DISCOVERY THAT THE MOON HAS A VAST POPULATION OF HUMAN BEINGS. BY RICHARD ADAMS LOCKE. Illustrated with a View of the Moon, AS SEEN BY LORD ROSSE'S TELESCOPE. "The clouds still rested on one half of it, insomuch that I could discover nothing in it; but the other appeared to me a vast ocean planted with innumerable islands, that were covered with fruits and flowers, and interwoven with a thousand little shining seas that ran among them. I could see persons dressed in glorious habits with garlands upon their heads, passing among the trees, lying down by the sides of fountains, or resting on beds of flowers; and could hear a confused harmony of singing birds, falling waters, human voices, and musical instruments. Gladness grew in me upon the discovery of so delightful a scene. I wished for the wings of an eagle, that I might fly away to those happy seats; but the genius told me there was no passage to them except through the gates of death that I saw opening every moment upon the bridge." ADDISON. [Illustration: Logo] NEW YORK: WILLIAM GOWANS, 1859. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by WILLIAM GOWANS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. ADVERTISEMENT. It appears to be as natural for the human mind to be craving after the wonderful, the mysterious, the marvellous, and the new discoveries, as it is for the physical appetite to desire food, drink, and sleep, and thereby as it were constantly attempting to lift up the veil that hides incomprehensibilities from our vision. This interposition was, no doubt, wisely ordained, for the gazing upon such mysteries might strike us blind, and rob us of the little stock of happiness allotted to us while probationers here. May this longing not be the germ of the proof of our immortality? The history of the human race is not only filled with instances of this kind of craving, but it is universal, from the loftiest minds as approach nearest the deity, such as Newton, La Place, and Mrs. Somerville, down to the most untutored savage that roams the forest wilds. Hence the key to the popularity of these charming productions which fascinate our youth and continue to delight our manhood by letting us into the supposed mysteries of an enchanting fairy land, with a grace of narrative that quite takes us captive, while our curiosity and wonder is raised to the highest pitch in watching the developements unfolded in the narratives of these authors, and quite impatient till we learn the result of the plot, or discovery.