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 coulddiscover nothing in it; but the other appeared to me a vast oceanplanted with innumerable islands, that were covered with fruits andflowers, and interwoven with a thousand little shining seas thatran among them. I could see persons dressed in glorious habits withgarlands upon their heads, passing among the trees, lying down by thesides of fountains, or resting on beds of flowers; and could hear aconfused harmony of singing birds, falling waters, human voices, andmusical instruments. Gladness grew in me upon the discovery of sodelightful a scene. I wished for the wings of an eagle, that I mightfly away to those happy seats; but the genius told me there was nopassage to them except through the gates of death that I saw openingevery moment upon the bridge."
ADDISON.
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 forthe Southern District of New York.
ADVERTISEMENT.
It appears to be as natural for the human mind to be craving after thewonderful, the mysterious, the marvellous, and the new discoveries, asit is for the physical appetite to desire food, drink, and sleep, andthereby as it were constantly attempting to lift up the veil that hidesincomprehensibilities from our vision.
This interposition was, no doubt, wisely ordained, for the gazing uponsuch mysteries might strike us blind, and rob us of the little stock ofhappiness allotted to us while probationers here. May this longing notbe the germ of the proof of our immortality?
The history of the human race is not only filled with instances ofthis kind of craving, but it is universal, from the loftiest mindsas approach nearest the deity, such as Newton, La Place, and Mrs.Somerville, down to the most untutored savage that roams the forestwilds. Hence the key to the popularity of these charming productionswhich fascinate our youth and continue to delight our manhood byletting us into the supposed mysteries of an enchanting fairy land,with a grace of narrative that quite takes us captive, while ourcuriosity and wonder is raised to the highest pitch in watching thedevelopements unfolded in the narratives of these authors, and quiteimpatient till we learn the result of the plot, or discovery.
I allude to such productions as the Arabian Nights, Sir Thomas More'sUtopia, Bishop Berkeley's Adventures of Signior Gaudentio Di Lucca,Swift's Gulliver's Travels, De Foe's Robinson Crusoe, Bunyan'sPilgrim's Progress, and Lord