Thomas M. Clark

“ On Sunday, as I was lying in my hammock, and thinking of home, it came to my mind that my dear mother [Pg 48] had probably expected me to pass the day with her; and then for the first time it flashed across me, that, when I wrote her on Friday, I entirely forgot that she supposed me all the while to have been in the little town of Canton, on the Boston and Providence Railroad. "What on earth," I said to myself, "will she imagine when she reads my letter? I certainly must have betrayed myself. ”

“ It may seem strange to some persons; but, with all my comforts about me, I felt more homesick than I did when I was lying on the ice in my bearskin, or when I was poking about in the bowels of the earth, trying to see how I could get out. There was nothing to occupy my body; and that, I suppose, was one reason why my mind worked as it did. At about ten o'clock, I went to bed, and, after tossing about uneasily for an hour or two, managed to fall asleep. ”

“ What was I to find in the cabins, and the offices, and the pantries, and the caboose-house? The caboose-house reminded me that I was getting hungry, and that it was near dinner-time. I had expected to make my meal of dry crackers and cold bear-meat; but it occurred to me, that, on such an occasion as the present, a luxurious repast would be more appropriate, as well as more agreeable, and that very possibly I might find in the caboose-house the materials for gratifying my appetite. ”

“ One day, as I entered my room, I found the young man carefully studying a copy of "The New-York Times," which, contrary to my custom, I had thoughtlessly left exposed on the desk. After the hours of study were over, he asked, in an off-hand kind of way, how far New York was from Canton. I thought it likely that the fellow knew already, and therefore I did not hesitate to tell him. He then took up the New York paper again, and, looking with great care at the date, began to count his fingers, mumbling something to himself in Chinese which I could not understand. ”

“ With my watch—which, by the way, I [Pg 76] had protected against the disturbance of the magnetic currents by a compensation balance—in my hand, I gazed earnestly and anxiously upon the two wafers. Fifteen minutes passed. In this time, the earth had revolved one ninety-sixth part of its daily course, and the inhabitants on the surface had travelled two hundred and fifty miles. If my hopes are well founded, it is hardly time yet for me to perceive any change in the two red spots upon which my gaze is fixed. ”

“ And, shortly, out I went, high up in the air,—higher—higher,—until I thought that I [Pg 86] should never come down again. But, after a time, I felt that I was descending; and the fear came upon me that I might tumble back once more into the axis of the earth. If I had reflected a moment, I might have perceived that this would be impossible; for, as soon as I had sunk from my elevation down to a point not more than a hundred feet from the end of the pole, I met the swift current of air rushing out, and was once more hoisted up in the clouds. ”

“ The sensation of floating in equilibrium was delightful and soothing; and yet I felt that it would be a relief to touch something solid. As soon as my candle lighted up the cavity, I saw that the walls of my strange abode were perforated in various places by holes, some of which were large enough to admit my body. ”

“ I am almost afraid that your application to business, and selling your papers at such a profit, is turning your brain. You must not work too hard, and you must be careful about your diet. I shall try and send you a bundle of doughnuts next week, when I fry. There is something in your letter about eating rats and birds'-nests, and other horrible things. I suppose that you intend that for a joke. I wish that you would tell me where you pass your evenings, and what kind of books you are reading, and how many meeting-houses there are in Canton, and where you go to meeting. ”

“ Not a human being was in sight as I stood once more on the earth: my confederate, whoever he was,—now that every thing was accomplished that he could do,—probably thinking it was safer for him to be out of the way. But there stood my beloved pony, who had carried me so often from the Air-Line Station to Canton ”

“ Jumping through the earth, and then getting stuck in the centre; being blown through the axis, and lighting on an iceberg at the north pole, and all that sort of thing,—I looked back upon rather as a matter of course. ”

“ If the axis of the earth is hollow,—about which I have no doubt,—and open at both ends,—inasmuch as it is winter at the south pole when it is summer at the north, and vice versa,—there must always be a strong current of air passing through it,—the cold air of one extreme rushing into the warmer region at the opposite pole. ”

“ Roxbury, March, 1867.
My dearest John,—I was very much disappointed that you did not come home to pass the Sabbath. I had a nice dinner all ready for you; and your little sister cried hard when she found that you were not to sit down with us. We were all very glad, however, to get your letter; and I am thankful that you have been so prospered in your business. I had no idea that you would be able to make so much money by selling papers in Canton: they must be a great reading community. I hope, my dear son, that all is made honestly. ”

“ For months I had not heard the sound of a human voice, and I began to long for the society of my fellow-men. Every morning I posted myself, with a spy-glass, on the highest peak of the berg, searching the horizon for a sail. My situation on the deck was becoming every hour more and more precarious. The melting of the ice underneath had already caused the stern to incline very decidedly towards the in [Pg 123] clined plane that led down to the ocean; and I felt that the slightest jar might, at any time, precipitate the whole concern, myself included, into the sea. ”

“ We, who are competent to solve any ordinary problem, furnish our young readers with this explanation. John left our American soil on Tuesday morning, at or about six o'clock. He is twelve hours—there or thereabouts—passing through the earth. [Pg 31] This brings him to China also in the morning, as every thing is topsy-turvy on the other side of the globe. His walk to Canton fills up most of the day,—Tuesday night here. He sleeps in Canton one night. ”

“ I could dress elegantly, sleep magnificently, and fare sumptuously. I selected the captain's room for my private apartment; and having no luggage to transport, it required but little time for me to take possession. [Pg 110]
The sun had now sunk as near the horizon as it ever did in that region during the month of July, and what we called evening at home drew near. I prepared my cup of tea in the cabin, and spread my supper on the centre-table; then went out to take a little stroll on the deck. I closed the door of the caboose-house, and, for the sake of appearances, fastened it ”

“ As soon as you have sawed away the bars, tie a white rag on the grating. On the first evening after this, when the wind is favorable, a kite will be flown to the window. Pull in the string very carefully, and you will come [Pg 62] to a larger cord. Keep pulling until a rope-ladder reaches you. Fasten this securely to the window, and follow the ladder down over the wall. You will there find your old pony fastened to a tree: jump on and be off. Strapped on his back you will see a can of condensed food and a jar of water, enough to supply you for some days. ”

“ I do believe that the wafers are not directly opposite to each other! let me wait a little while longer, that I may be certain. There is no mistake about it,—the right edge of one wafer just touches the left edge of the other. Eureka! Hurrah! I am right. [Pg 77] I am right. This big cylinder is the axis of the earth, fixed and immovable; and these huge walls are revolving round it. There's a discovery to make a man immortal! What fools the old geographers were that used to say,—"the axis is an imaginary line, running through," etc., etc. ”

“ I really do not think that I was half so much overcome when I first came out of the hole myself. [Pg 40]
And now for the city, to keep my appointment with the gentlemen at the Coffee-House. I had hired a pony to carry me to Canton, and had fastened it to a tree near by; and very soon I was galloping off like lightning. About ten o'clock, I reached the hotel; and, after stopping for a glass of water at the office to clear my throat, I entered the room where I knew my patrons would be assembled, and threw my bundle down upon the table.
Every man there started to his feet ”

“ The foremast of the ship was broken off about fifteen feet from the level of the deck, and I went to work to splice on a jury-mast. It was slow and pretty hard work. I had to arrange the blocks and tackles in the most scientific manner, in order to lift the heavy timber to its place; and it required a great deal of strength to bring the ropes around the fore and jury-mast, so as to bind them securely together. I then [Pg 121] managed to rig a yard to the mast, and, in the course of another day, had quite a respectable sail set. ”

“ While they all stood around staring at me as if I had just dropped from the clouds, I pro [Pg 41] ceeded very leisurely to untie the strings of the package; when, with a simultaneous movement, my eager customers rushed towards the table, reaching out their hands frantically for the papers.
"Gentlemen," said I, in a clear, collected voice, "before proceeding to distribute the mail, allow me to offer a few brief remarks." ”

“ For the information of foreigners and uneducated people in general, we must mention that there is a thriving village on the Boston and Providence railroad, about ten miles from Roxbury, which rejoices in the name of Canton. ”

“ I never knew any family of that name: only I happen to remember, that, up in Manchester, there were quite a large number of people by the name of Josslyn; and sometimes the boys used to call them, in sport, "the Josses." It is not a good habit to give nicknames to other persons, especially where you visit the family. You also speak of their burning a great deal of colored paper, and a great many scented sticks before an image. I asked Bob what he thought this meant: but he jumped right behind the closet-door, and made the most extraordinary noises with his mouth that I ever heard ”

“ We all hope that [Pg 53] you will come to see us next Saturday night. Bob says that you are so busy that you will not be able to leave; and that you have to sit up all night, and then sleep in the day-time. Bob and Mamie send their best love. I will send a pair of socks with the doughnuts. Your little sister says, "Tell brother that I want him to bring me something pretty from Canton." I don't know but she thinks you are away off in the great city of Canton, in China. ”

“ Rushing like mad across the ground,—oh, how pleasant it was to feel the soft soil under my cold feet!—I came to what looked like a dismasted ship, embedded clear up to the gunwale [3] in the ice. There lay the whole deck of a three-masted vessel, unbroken and undisturbed; but, as I soon ascertained, there was no hull underneath, for the deck had evidently been broken off from the lower parts of the ship, and [Pg 101] thrown up the smooth, inclined plane of ice to the spot where I found it, and then been frozen in there. ”

“ It was not necessary for me to guide him; dark as it was, the pony knew the way well enough; and I soon reached the cavity, [Pg 66] through which I hoped to visit "my own, my native land," where people are not arrested without knowing what is the crime with which they are charged. Removing the jar of water and the can of food from my pony's back, without stopping to think why I did it, but following a sort of instinct which afterwards saved me from perishing, I fastened these articles on my shoulders and around my waist ”

“ I went, therefore, at once to the caboose, and slid back the door, which required considerable effort; and, sure enough, there was every thing at hand that I expected, and a great deal more. The accident which lifted the deck from the hull of the ship must have happened about the middle of the forenoon; for there was the fire all ready to be lighted in the cooking-stove,—shavings, kindlings, and coal in place; and there lay the cooking utensils quite convenient. ”

“ If, indeed, it should so happen [Pg 43] that you should ever see any remarkable and novel movement in the heavens, of course I cannot hinder you from forming your own impressions, and making your own deductions from the phenomena.
"And now, gentlemen, every morning between ten and eleven o'clock, I propose to be here with the papers; price one dollar per copy, cash on delivery."
The bundle, containing one hundred papers, was immediately disposed of; some gentlemen taking two or three, and others half a dozen. ”