A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder James De Mille
A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder James De Mille
A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder James De Mille
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south of Van Dieman's Land, which also divides, and the southernmost<br />
current is supposed to cross the Pacific until it strikes Cape Horn,<br />
around which it flows, divid<strong>in</strong>g as before. Now my theory is, that<br />
south of <strong>De</strong>solation Island--I don't know how far--there is a great<br />
current sett<strong>in</strong>g toward the South Pole, and runn<strong>in</strong>g southwest through<br />
degrees of longitude 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, east of Greenwich; and<br />
f<strong>in</strong>ally sweep<strong>in</strong>g on, it would reach More's volcanoes at a po<strong>in</strong>t which<br />
I should judge to be about 80 degrees south latitude and 10 degrees<br />
west longitude. There it passes between the volcanoes and bursts<br />
through the vast mounta<strong>in</strong> barrier by a subterranean way, which has<br />
been formed for it <strong>in</strong> past ages by some primeval convulsion of nature.<br />
After this it probably sweeps around the great South Polar ocean, and<br />
emerges at the opposite side, not far from the volcanoes Erebus and<br />
Terror."<br />
Here the doctor paused, and looked around with some self-complacency.<br />
"Oh," said Melick, "if you take that tone, you have us all at your<br />
mercy. I know no more about the geography of the antarctic circle than<br />
I do of the moon. I simply criticize from a literary po<strong>in</strong>t of view,<br />
and I don't like his underground cavern with the stream runn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
through it. It sounds like one of the voyages of S<strong>in</strong>bad the Sailor.<br />
Nor do I like his description; he evidently is writ<strong>in</strong>g for effect.<br />
Besides, his style is vicious; it is too stilted. F<strong>in</strong>ally, he has<br />
recourse to the stale device of a sea-serpent."<br />
"A sea-serpent!" repeated the doctor. "Well, for my part I feel by<br />
no means <strong>in</strong>cl<strong>in</strong>ed to sneer at a sea-serpent. Its existence cannot<br />
be proved, yet it cannot be pooh-poohed. Every schoolboy knows that<br />
the waters of the sea were once filled with monsters more tremendous<br />
than the greatest sea-serpent that has ever been imag<strong>in</strong>ed. The<br />
plesiosaurus, with its snakelike head, if it existed now, would be<br />
called a sea-serpent. Some of these so-called fossil animals may have<br />
their representatives still liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the remoter parts of the world.<br />
Th<strong>in</strong>k of the recently discovered ornithorhynchus of Australia!"<br />
"If you please, I'd really much rather not," said Melick with a<br />
gesture of despair. "I haven't the honor of the gentleman's<br />
acqua<strong>in</strong>tance."<br />
"Well, what do you th<strong>in</strong>k of his notice of the sun, and the long light,