COSTERUS WAGNER was right in saying that the surest way for a company to succeed is to appeal to the imagination and work upon the credulity of mankind.
His scheme succeeded precisely because of its extravagant pretensions, which were everywhere discussed. The most serious papers took it up, and although they would not. have devoted ten lines gratuitously to promote an ordinary paving company or the like, they gave up several columns to debate the prospectus of the Luna Company. Colonial vanity had doubtless a share in this, for those most sceptical in the realization of the project were gratified by the fact that the idea emanated from Australia. The scheme was soon known all over Oceana, and discussed in every grade of society. Would-be shareholders besieged the office in Queen Street, and before very long it became necessary to have a special postman in a closed carriage every morning with the registered letters that hailed upon the office from all points of the compass. Peter Gryphins, Wagner, Vogel & Co., sole agents, were soon under the delightful necessity of opening a deposit at a bank. They did the thing grandly by entrusting their capital to the well-known house of Boutts & Co.
The strangest fact about the affair was that Costerus Wagner had not even taken the trouble to explain by what means he intended to carry it out. . He was probably well advised in this; for would-be opposers of the novel scheme had nothing but conjecture to fall back upon, and consequently they could not attack it to any great extent. Costerus declared that he would keep his secret safe until the Company was thoroughly established. Such reticence was highly applauded by the credulous, who were more eager than ever to .embark their money in a company thus judiciously managed.
The sole plan in reality that the governing committee of the Luna Company had in view was to net two millions sterling. And to tell the truth, that same plan constitutes the practical philosophy of most financial companies in this lower world.
Howbeit, the number of subscribers increased so rapidly that it became really necessary to lower the shares; and on the first Board Day they were obliged to hire the grand saloon of the Victoria Hotel for the reception of the subscribers. The chair was to be taken by Lord Randolph Clederow, a young nobleman on a visit to Australia. He had purchased five hundred shares, and had also laid a wager with Sir Bucephalus Coghill of a thousand guineas to one against thirty that the enterprise would succeed; which being interpreted means that in the event of success Sir Bucephalus, who was very incredulous by the way, bound himself to pay 30,000 guineas; whilst in case of the contrary contingency, he would only receive a thousand. It is clear from this arrangement, borrowed from the usages of the turf, that the young baronet was by no means sanguine about the Luna Company, whose prospectus had been shown to him by his model valet.
There was a numerous meeting on the 15th October.
It was attended by stockbrokers, merchants, ship-owners, brokers, and crowds of commercial men generally. On the platform sat Lord Randolph Clederow, flanked on either hand by a wine merchant and a tea merchant; Lord Randolph was a tall, fair, almost beardless young man, very near-sighted, and an eye-glass stuck in one eye; he was dressed to perfection.
The preliminaries over, and Lord Randolph unanimously voted to the chair, proposed by the wine merchant, seconded by the tea merchant, Costerus Wagner stood forth to develop his programme.
“The time,” said he, “had arrived when all the continents of earth were divided among its various races. A new field must be sought for British enterprise. The Anglo-Saxons were settled .in North America, in Australia, India, and Western Africa; their dominion extended over three parts of the g:obe, and they could not hope for further conquests on its surface, since a recent conference had internationalized Central Africa. But were they, therefore, to sit down idle? He, Costerus Wagner, did not think so.
“Quite close to the earth, a few millions of leagues in space, was another world as yet unexplored, ready and waiting to yield her riches up to the human race...(Applause.) This world was the inseparable companion of our earth, and accompanied her in her perpetual revolution...It was so near that our astronomical telescopes had determined the form of its continents, the height of the mountains, and the configuration of the seas;...so closely assocated was it with our life that from ages immemorial time had been measured by the lunar phases, and the tides of the ocean controlled by the same action... It was high time, in fine, that the moon should be brought into direct communication with her mother country, her sovereign protector, the earth...(Renewed applause.)
“Costerus Wagner would not insult his audience by repeating what all the world now knows concerning the moon, thanks to its thorough exploration by means of telescopes. Doubtless everyone present knew that the moon was a globe, 2153 miles in diameter, her surface equal to a thirteenth part of the earth, four times the size of Europe, and forty-one times that of France; in fine, that she was a colony of most respectable dimensions. As to her distance from the earth, he only mentioned it to draw attention to its insignificance. She was scarcely 240,000 miles off, that is to say, twenty times the distance that separates Melbourne from London!
“Costerus Wagner would even maintain that, as a matter of fact, and taking into account the actual progress of science, the moon is nearer to us than was the Cape of Good Hope or the isle of Cuba to the Greeks of the time of Pericles, or to the Romans under Augustus.
“The only point on which he wished to dwell was the fact that we did not yet know whether or not the moon was inhabited. In any case it was equally desirable to come to close quarters with her,...for, if peopled by a civilized and numerous race, English commerce would find in her a new field; and were she, on the contrary, uninhabited, the vast mineral riches of her virgin soil belonged of right to British industry.”
This bold speech evoked a perfect round of applause, amid which was heard repeated cries of “Hear!...Hear!...And let us form the company at once!” shouted several impatient shareholders.
“I understand that a desire is expressed for the immediate formation of the Company,” said Costerus as soon as silence was restored. “We are here for that purpose, and I have much pleasure in informing the distinguished audience that there has been so great a run upon the ten thousand shares in the market that we have been obliged to divide them. (Fresh rounds of applause.) Nothing now remains to be done except the formality of taking the votes, if agreeable to the noble president; but first I must, according to custom, invite possible objectors to speak.”
None stirred. One young man only rose up at the end of the room, as if about to ask a question, but reseated himself without opening his mouth. Lord Randolph Cletherow waited three minutes, and then, turning to his two supporters, he said,
“Gentlemen, I have the honour to propose the formation of the Luna Company, Limited, working joint stock company, for the acquirement and exploratiolt of the mineral riches of the Moon, with a capital of two millions sterling, divided into ten million shares. Let all who second my proposal hold up their hands.”...
Every hand went up, as if drawn by invisible threads from the ceiling.
“Any objectors?” resumed the president. Not a single protest was made.
“There can be no doubt as to the general opinion,” pursued Lord Randolph Cletherow. (Applause and acclamation.) “Consequently I have the honour to declare the Luna Company to be well and duly constituted...I shall now proceed to read the statutes that should, according to legal usage, be voted separately, article by article...
“Article 1. The direction of the works is now, and shall remain until their compietion, in the hands of Mr. Costerus Wagner, assisted by Messrs. Peter Gryphins and Ignaz Vogel, the originators of the enterprise. I put the article to the vote: those who approve will have the goodness to—...”
”I demand to be heard,” said, with a very French accent, the young man at the bottom of the room who had seemed at the first vote as if about to speak then. His visiting card was rapidly passed on from hand to hand till it reached the president, who, reading it aloud, said,—
“The right of speech is with M. Norbert Mauny, doctor of science, assistant astronomer at the Paris Observatory, and commissioner to New Zealand and Tasmania.”
All eyes turned to the stranger, who had already taken possession of the platform.
“Gentlemen,” he began at once, “I wish to make one very simple observation. I have purchased twenty shares in this Company. This proves my faith in the enterprise, which I hope to see successfully carried out. But whilst I have quite understood the wisdom of the promoters in keeping the means to be employed secret until the Company was formed, I protest against any further discussion of the statutes without some knowledge of the nature of those means...I demand some explanation before the interests of science, and our own interests, are entrusted to the Committee”
The audience seemed struck with the fairness and moderation of this proposition.
“He is right! He is right! “‘exclaimed many.
Costerus Wagner, visibly disconcerted, had to return to the platform.
“Gentlemen,” said he boldly, “absolute secrecy concerning the means to be employed is one of the indispensable elements of success in an enterprise of this kind. You have been good enough to trust me hitherto: I beg for a continuance of your confidence as our only safeguard against imitators and rivals!”...
“We can settle it in a way that shall satisfy everyone,” replied Norbert Mauny. “Let the promoters of the enterprise communicate their plans to a delegation of members chosen now, who retiring into a private room for the purpose of hearing the facts, shall draw up a summary to be communicated to us; and let them use their discretion as to matters that it may be advisable to keep secret... We can then continue our discussion of the statutes in perfect confidence.”...
“True! True!” exclaimed several subscribers.
“No!...No!”...cried others. “We will not have a delegation!...We demand a public and open explanation.”...
Then ensued a great uproar; and at length, after ascertaining many individual opinions, the president declared that the general consensus was in favour of a public explanation, even with certain reserves if necessary.
After consultation with his partners, Costerus Wagner seemed to have made up his mind, and, returning a third time to the platform, he said,—
“In faith, gentlemen, I should certainly Dave preferred absolute secrecy, and I still think it would have been the wisest course on every ground;...but I quite understand your very natural curiosity, and after all, as our Company is now irrevocably formed, there will be no harm in letting you know the great outlines of my project...(Applause. Hear!...Hear!...) Its leading principle is this. The distance at perigee of the moon is scarcely 90,000 leagues, as I said just now. What is 90,000 leagues? About twenty-seven times the diameter of our globe, which is not even the whole length of the iron rails that cover its surface, supposing these to be laid end to end...Is this to stand in the way of the generation that has penetrated the Mont Cenis and the St. Gothard, and has made the Isthmus of Suez and of Panama?...I think not, indeed. In my opinion it is simply a question of constructing an aerial tubular tunnel of sufficient length, having its foundation on the earth and directed vertically towards the moon. It will be made of segments of castiron, laid end to end. One segment firmly fixed, the rest will be merely a question of numbers...It may seem a bold undertaking, but it is quite practicable. All due proportions observed, it is only as if a capillary tube of a metre and twelve centimetres in length were fixed on an orange six centimetres in diameter...You have merely to substitute the vertical globe for the orange, and in place of the capillary tube, one that shall be of a sufficient length and breadth The problem is the same. This is my main idea I must, of course, be reticent concerning the requisite ways and means to carry it into practice, for your common sense will tell you that it would be dangerous to speak of them here in detail. Suffice it that the plans have been long and carefully studied and matured, and they are now ready. They are not in the least chimerical, and will appear quite simple when we come to carry them out!”
Some little applause followed, but it was slight and of a hesitating nature. The audience were evidently more disappointed than not with the explanation. All eyes turned to Norbert Mauny, who had, for his part, listened with ill-.concealed scorn.
“A mighty simple question, indeed!” he said. “How do you mean to climb your chimney? Perhaps, like the sweeps, by means of a rope?”
”The problem is capable of several solutions,” retorted
Costerus Wagner, “and we can make our choice betvveen them when we are building. the tunne1.”
“You will certainly have plenty of time,” replied the French astronomer, “for the enterprise, even if it be feasible, will take a long course of years!”
“Not so long as you seem to think!” exclaimed Costerus. “I guarantee to finish it within five years!”...
‘”In five years?” said Norbert, taking out his pocketbook. “We are out of our reckoning!...If I understand rightly, you contemplate the erection of a kind of tower of Babel? An enormous lighthouse in fact, on the widest and highest site you can find, say on the summit of the Himalayas, with one storey rising above another up to the moon.
“Not to be so indiscreet as to inquire how you expect to enable your workmen to breathe when they shall have reached a certain height above the earth...I content myself with the bare figures in question, and this is the result they give: supposing that your tower rises at the rate of 328 feet a year,—which with two or three exceptions is the greatest height ever yet attained by any monument—it will take 500,000 years to complete it! Supposing that its annual progress is 3 miles, you would require 65,000 years. If it grows at the rate of 375 miles, it will take 508 years. If 3000 miles, you will require eighty years to finish it...
“In order to bring it to completion in five years, it must rise at the rate of 50,000 miles a year...It is, you see, a matter of simple calculation. The plan is utterly impracticable from this point of view at all events, even if it were not also impossible on every ground!”...
A cold showerpbath could not have produced a more chilling effect upon the audience. Costerus Wagner was dumfoundered.
“We must quash the votes and have our money back!” suddenly exclaimed a corn merchant.
“Yes!...Yes!...Let us have our money back!” echoed several hundreds of voices.
“You have no right to it!” howled Peter Gryphins, jumping on the platform and shaking his fist at the audience—”it was legally voted, and Parliament even could not annul the proceedings now!...The subscribed shares belong to the Company...Whoever disapproves of the management is at liberty to retire. But the capital cannot be touched!”...
“That is the chief thing in your eyes, doubtless,” cried a shrill voice above the uproar.
In vain the President tried to restore order .
He was about to put on his hat as a sign that the meeting was dissolved, when Norbert Mauny checked him with a sign that he had more to say.
Silence ensued at once.
“It does not follow that everything is bad about the Company,” he said. “I am far from so thinking. On the contrary, I must own that the problem it proposes to solve has been working in my mind for some years past, and I call it a disgrace that humanity has not yet conquered our near satellite, the muon!...I agree with Mr. Wagner that if we do not set about it, the matter will assuredly be settled by our sons or grandsons, who will mock at the idea of its having been deemed an impossible achievement. When, therefore, I saw by the newspapers that the attempt was about to be made, I sent my subscription and crossed the torrid zone to give my assistance in the enterprise. It is not the practicability therefore’ of the scheme that I have criticized, but the proposed plan of action, which seems to me to be equally wrong, puerile, and impracticable; whereas it would be comparatively’ an easy task to overcome all the difficulties by other means.”...
“How now!” muttered Costerus Wagner...”You have your own little plan, have you? Why on earth didn’t you say so before?”...
“Yes,” answered Norbert; “I have my own plan, and I am ready to lay it before the assembly if they wish me to do so. I have come to Melbourne for that purpose. But, first of all, I must give an account of myself, that I may not be looked upon as an Utopian.”
“Yes!...Yes!...that’s it Speak out!” exclaimed the people, charmed with his fervid eloquence.
Encouraged by the applause he met with, Norbert began by giving, with a frank modesty of demeanour, the broad outlines and aims of his life and studies. The son of an inspector-general of forests, he had early been drawn to mathematics, and had passed with distinction successively through the Naval and’the Polytechnic Schools. At the age of twenty-two he was a pupil of the Astronomical Observatory of Paris. He accompanied the scientific expeditions to Taiti and to the Isle of Kerguelen, and on the morrow of his obtaining the great Gobert prize for proficiency in the study of spectral analysis he had the singular good fortune to make the discovery of two hitherto unknown planets. Inheriting soon afterwards a small independent fortune, he was about to start off on a fresh mission to Tasmania, when he heard with surprise of the new financial company in course of formation at Melbourne. Norbert himself had always been inclined to these speculative dreams, based only on hypothesis, and outside the domain of actual science. Often and often he had spent long nights in taking observations of the moon, and as he explored her continents, craters, and valleys, and photographed every little detail of her surface, he had indulged in many a day-dream as to the possibility of reaching her distant shores. He had made no secret of his wild theories, and had angered more than one old astronomer accustomed only to the routine of daily observations in. accordance with the known rules of science. In vain did the young man point to the gigantic strides made of late in physical science, and to the vast increase that every year brings to our knowledge of the moon; in vain did he spend himself
in explaining how we have a right to hope for further revelations from the mere fact that clearer and more detailed impressions of our satellite can be taken with the telescope and camera obscura than are obtainable of the African Continent. He was only treated as a heretic to science. The young man at length, disgusted with the spirit of routine, vowed to himself that he would be reticent concerning his ideas until it should be possible to carry them out. He had long thought that he had solved the problem. The only difficulty that stopped the way was the enormous capital required. But now the money was at hand; and though possibly the subscribers could not claim it back, they had an indisputable right to dictate and regulate its employment. Everything depended on whether they would fall in with his views.
“Speak up!...speak up!”...replied the assembly. “I come now,” said the young orator, sipping a glass of water, “to the plan that I think feasible.”
