- J 
-G12 
THE MOON. 
BY JAMES BREEN, F.R.A.S. 
F ollowing the example of Paracelsus,, wlio^ accordiug 
to his own account^ was able to hold conversations with 
the dead,. Cardan informs us that he himself was gifted with 
the power of falling into an ecstasy whenever he chose, and of 
seeing whatever he pleased. Thus, for instance, he could see 
the sky radiant with stars at mid-day, and on one occasion he 
tells us he received a visit from an inhabitant of the moon. It 
is to be feared, however, that the scientific Munchausen did 
not receive much reliable information respecting our satellite 
from his unearthly guest ; at least, our first knowledge of its 
constitution dates from the time of Gahleo and the discoveiy 
of the telescope (1610), although the mountainous character of 
its surface was already suspected, from a rugged projection of 
the inner part of the crescent, which at one phase of the moon 
is apparent even to the naked eye. 
If we follow the moon through a lunation, as the sun^s light 
beats successively against the rugged shores of the broken 
part of the inner crescent, we see every variety of bold and 
bleak mountain scenery, and that, too, without the danger 
attendant on alpine ascents. It is true that, as with the other 
bodies of the system, we must in general remain satisfied with 
a bnd^s-eye view of its hills and peaks ; for even at the 
circular edge of the moon, where we should see them best, 
they are so closely piled together that it is impossible to dis- 
tinguish. them separately, except when one of extraordinary 
height projects beyond its otherwise smooth edge. But we 
can see, from the gigantic shadows which the mountains 
cast, their rugged form and great height. Every hour 
changes the appearance of the broken edge ; the outlying 
and isolated peak of some great mountain-chain becomes 
gradually larger, and is finally merged in the general luminous 
surface ; great circular spaces, enclosed with rough and rocky 
walls many miles in diameter, become apparent, some with 
fiat and perfectly smooth floors, variegated with streaks ; others 
