The First Men in the Moon
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Transcriber’s Notes:
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
Additional Transcriber’s Notes are at the end.
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THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON
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“I was progressing in great leaps and bounds”_Frontispiece._]
The First Men in the Moon
By
H. G. Wells
Author of “Tales of Space and Time,” “Love and Mr. Lewisham,” and “Anticipations”
“Three thousand stadia from the earth to the moon.... Marvel not, my comrade, if I appear talking to you on super-terrestrial and aerial topics. The long and the short of the matter is that I am running over the order of a Journey I have lately made.”--LUCIAN’S _Icaromenippus_
London
George Newnes, Limited
Southampton Street, Strand
1901
CONTENTS
PAGE I. MR. BEDFORD MEETS MR. CAVOR AT LYMPNE 1
II. THE FIRST MAKING OF CAVORITE 28
III. THE BUILDING OF THE SPHERE 41
IV. INSIDE THE SPHERE 54
V. THE JOURNEY TO THE MOON 61
VI. THE LANDING ON THE MOON 70
VII. SUNRISE ON THE MOON 77
VIII. A LUNAR MORNING 85
IX. PROSPECTING BEGINS 92
X. LOST MEN IN THE MOON 107
XI. THE MOONCALF PASTURES 115
XII. THE SELENITE’S FACE 132
XIII. MR. CAVOR MAKES SOME SUGGESTIONS 140
XIV. EXPERIMENTS IN INTERCOURSE 152
XV. THE GIDDY BRIDGE 161
XVI. POINTS OF VIEW 178
XVII. THE FIGHT IN THE CAVE OF THE MOON BUTCHERS 191
XVIII. IN THE SUNLIGHT 207
XIX. MR. BEDFORD ALONE 221
XX. MR. BEDFORD IN INFINITE SPACE 238
XXI. MR. BEDFORD AT LITTLESTONE 249
XXII. THE ASTONISHING COMMUNICATION OF MR. JULIUS WENDIGEE 271
XXIII. AN ABSTRACT OF THE SIX MESSAGES FIRST RECEIVED FROM MR. CAVOR 277
XXIV. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SELENITES 289
XXV. THE GRAND LUNAR 316
XXVI. THE LAST MESSAGE CAVOR SENT TO THE EARTH 340
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
“I WAS PROGRESSING IN GREAT LEAPS AND BOUNDS” _Frontispiece_
“HE GESTICULATED WITH HIS HANDS AND ARMS” _To face page_ 6
“I LOOKED BACK AT HIS RECEDING FIGURE” ” ” 11
“I SAT ACROSS THE EDGE OF THE MANHOLE AND LOOKED DOWN INTO THE BLACK INTERIOR” ” ” 54
“WE WATCHED INTENSELY” ” ” 87
“I REALISED MY LEAP HAD BEEN TOO VIOLENT” ” ” 101
“INSECTS,” MURMURED CAVOR, “INSECTS” ” ” 130
“THERE THE THING WAS, LOOKING AT US” ” ” 137
“BEDFORD,” HE WHISPERED, “THERE’S A SORT OF LIGHT IN FRONT OF US” ” ” 177
“THE NEARER I STRUGGLED, THE MORE AWFULLY REMOTE IT SEEMED” ” ” 236
“THEY CARRIED HIM INTO DARKNESS” ” ” 292
THE GRAND LUNAR ” ” 322
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THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON