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- Herausgeber: Charles River Editors
- Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018
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THE H.G. WELLS COLLECTION
H.G. Wells
KARPATHOS COLLECTIONS
Thank you for reading. In the event that you appreciate this book, please consider sharing the good word(s) by leaving a review, or connect with the author.
This book is a work of fiction; its contents are wholly imagined.
All rights reserved. Aside from brief quotations for media coverage and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form without the author’s permission. Thank you for supporting authors and a diverse, creative culture by purchasing this book and complying with copyright laws.
Copyright © 2016 by H.G. Wells
Interior design by Pronoun
Distribution by Pronoun
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The H.G. Wells Collection
The War of the Worlds
BOOK ONE: THE COMING OF THE MARTIANS
CHAPTER ONE: THE EVE OF THE WAR
CHAPTER TWO: THE FALLING STAR
CHAPTER THREE: ON HORSELL COMMON
CHAPTER FOUR: THE CYLINDER OPENS
CHAPTER FIVE: THE HEAT-RAY
CHAPTER SIX: THE HEAT-RAY IN THE CHOBHAM ROAD
CHAPTER SEVEN: HOW I REACHED HOME
CHAPTER EIGHT: FRIDAY NIGHT
CHAPTER NINE: THE FIGHTING BEGINS
CHAPTER TEN: IN THE STORM
CHAPTER ELEVEN: AT THE WINDOW
CHAPTER TWELVE: WHAT I SAW OF THE DESTRUCTION OF WEYBRIDGE AND SHEPPERTON
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: HOW I FELL IN WITH THE CURATE
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: IN LONDON
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: WHAT HAD HAPPENED IN SURREY
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: THE EXODUS FROM LONDON
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE “THUNDER CHILD”
BOOK TWO: THE EARTH UNDER THE MARTIANS
CHAPTER ONE: UNDER FOOT
CHAPTER TWO: WHAT WE SAW FROM THE RUINED HOUSE
CHAPTER THREE: THE DAYS OF IMPRISONMENT
CHAPTER FOUR: THE DEATH OF THE CURATE
CHAPTER FIVE: THE STILLNESS
CHAPTER SIX: THE WORK OF FIFTEEN DAYS
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE MAN ON PUTNEY HILL
CHAPTER EIGHT: DEAD LONDON
CHAPTER NINE: WRECKAGE
CHAPTER TEN: THE EPILOGUE
The Time Machine
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
EPILOGUE
The Invisible Man
CHAPTER I: THE STRANGE MAN’S ARRIVAL
CHAPTER II: MR. TEDDY HENFREY’S FIRST IMPRESSIONS
CHAPTER III: THE THOUSAND AND ONE BOTTLES
CHAPTER IV: MR. CUSS INTERVIEWS THE STRANGER
CHAPTER V: THE BURGLARY AT THE VICARAGE
CHAPTER VI: THE FURNITURE THAT WENT MAD
CHAPTER VII: THE UNVEILING OF THE STRANGER
CHAPTER VIII: IN TRANSIT
CHAPTER IX: MR. THOMAS MARVEL
CHAPTER X: MR. MARVEL’S VISIT TO IPING
CHAPTER XI: IN THE “COACH AND HORSES”
CHAPTER XII: THE INVISIBLE MAN LOSES HIS TEMPER
CHAPTER XIII: MR. MARVEL DISCUSSES HIS RESIGNATION
CHAPTER XIV: AT PORT STOWE
CHAPTER XV: THE MAN WHO WAS RUNNING
CHAPTER XVI: IN THE “JOLLY CRICKETERS”
CHAPTER XVII: DR. KEMP’S VISITOR
CHAPTER XVIII: THE INVISIBLE MAN SLEEPS
CHAPTER XIX: CERTAIN FIRST PRINCIPLES
CHAPTER XX: AT THE HOUSE IN GREAT PORTLAND STREET
CHAPTER XXI: IN OXFORD STREET
CHAPTER XXII: IN THE EMPORIUM
CHAPTER XXIII: IN DRURY LANE
CHAPTER XXIV: THE PLAN THAT FAILED
CHAPTER XXV: THE HUNTING OF THE INVISIBLE MAN
CHAPTER XXVI: THE WICKSTEED MURDER
CHAPTER XXVII: THE SIEGE OF KEMP’S HOUSE
CHAPTER XXVIII: THE HUNTER HUNTED
THE EPILOGUE
The Island of Doctor Moreau
INTRODUCTION.
I. IN THE DINGEY OF THE “LADY VAIN.”
II. THE MAN WHO WAS GOING NOWHERE.
III. THE STRANGE FACE.
IV. AT THE SCHOONER’S RAIL.
V. THE MAN WHO HAD NOWHERE TO GO.
VI. THE EVIL-LOOKING BOATMEN.
VII. THE LOCKED DOOR.
VIII. THE CRYING OF THE PUMA.
IX. THE THING IN THE FOREST.
X. THE CRYING OF THE MAN.
XI. THE HUNTING OF THE MAN.
XII. THE SAYERS OF THE LAW.
XIII. A PARLEY.
XIV. DOCTOR MOREAU EXPLAINS.
XV. CONCERNING THE BEAST FOLK.
XVI. HOW THE BEAST FOLK TASTE BLOOD.
XVII. A CATASTROPHE.
XVIII. THE FINDING OF MOREAU.
XIX. MONTGOMERY’S “BANK HOLIDAY.”
XX. ALONE WITH THE BEAST FOLK.
XXI. THE REVERSION OF THE BEAST FOLK.
XXII. THE MAN ALONE.
The Wonderful Visit
THE NIGHT OF THE STRANGE BIRD
THE COMING OF THE STRANGE BIRD
THE HUNTING OF THE STRANGE BIRD
THE VICAR AND THE ANGEL
PARENTHESIS ON ANGELS
AT THE VICARAGE
THE MAN OF SCIENCE
THE CURATE
AFTER DINNER
MORNING
THE VIOLIN
THE ANGEL EXPLORES THE VILLAGE
LADY HAMMERGALLOW’S VIEW
FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE ANGEL IN THE VILLAGE
MRS. JEHORAM’S BREADTH OF VIEW
A TRIVIAL INCIDENT
THE WARP AND THE WOOF OF THINGS
THE ANGEL’S DEBUT
THE TROUBLE OF THE BARBED WIRE
DELIA
DOCTOR CRUMP ACTS
SIR JOHN GOTCH ACTS
THE SEA CLIFF
MRS. HINIJER ACTS
THE ANGEL IN TROUBLE
THE LAST DAY OF THE VISIT
THE EPILOGUE
When the Sleeper Wakes
CHAPTER I. INSOMNIA
CHAPTER II. THE TRANCE
CHAPTER III. THE AWAKENING
CHAPTER IV. THE SOUND OF A TUMULT
CHAPTER V. THE MOVING WAYS
CHAPTER VI. THE HALL OF THE ATLAS
CHAPTER VII. IN THE SILENT ROOMS
CHAPTER VIII. THE ROOF SPACES
CHAPTER IX. THE PEOPLE MARCH
CHAPTER X. THE BATTLE OF THE DARKNESS
CHAPTER XI. THE OLD MAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING
CHAPTER XII. OSTROG
CHAPTER XIII. THE END OF THE OLD ORDER
CHAPTER XIV. FROM THE CROW’S NEST
CHAPTER XV. PROMINENT PEOPLE
CHAPTER XVI. THE AEROPHILE
CHAPTER XVII. THREE DAYS
CHAPTER XVIII. GRAHAM REMEMBERS
CHAPTER XIX. OSTROG’S POINT OF VIEW
CHAPTER XX. IN THE CITY WAYS
CHAPTER XXI. THE UNDER SIDE
CHAPTER XXII. THE STRUGGLE IN THE COUNCIL HOUSE
CHAPTER XXIII. WHILE THE AEROPLANES WERE COMING
CHAPTER XXIV. THE COMING OF THE AEROPLANES
The First Men in the Moon
Chapter 1: Mr. Bedford Meets Mr. Cavor at Lympne
Chapter 2: The First Making of Cavorite
Chapter 3: The Building of the sphere
Chapter 4: Inside the Sphere
Chapter 5: The Journey to the Moon
Chapter 6: The Landing on the Moon
Chapter 7: Sunrise on the Moon
Chapter 8: A Lunar Morning
Chapter 9: Prospecting Begins
Chapter 10: Lost Men in the Moon
Chapter 11: The Mooncalf Pastures
Chapter 12: The Selenite’s Face
Chapter 13: Mr. Cavor Makes Some Suggestions
Chapter 14: Experiments in intercourse
Chapter 15: The Giddy Bridge
Chapter 16: Points of View
Chapter 17: The Fight in the Cave of the Moon Butchers
Chapter 18: In the Sunlight
Chapter 19: Mr. Bedford Alone
Chapter 20: Mr. Bedford in Infinite Space
Chapter 21: Mr. Bedford at Littlestone
Chapter 22: The Astonishing Communication of Mr. Julius Wendigee
Chapter 23: An Abstract of the Six Messages First Received from Mr. Cavor
Chapter 24: The Natural History of the Selenites
Chapter 25: The Grand Lunar
Chapter 26: The Last Message Cavor sent to the Earth
The Sea Lady
I. — THE COMING OF THE SEA LADY
II. — SOME FIRST IMPRESSIONS
III. — THE EPISODE OF THE VARIOUS JOURNALISTS
IV. — THE QUALITY OF PARKER
V. — THE ABSENCE AND RETURN OF MR. HARRY CHATTERIS
VI. — SYMPTOMATIC
VII. — THE CRISIS
VIII. — MOONSHINE TRIUMPHANT
The Food of the Gods
BOOK I. — THE DAWN OF THE FOOD
I. — THE DISCOVERY OF THE FOOD
II. — THE EXPERIMENTAL FARM
III. — THE GIANT RATS
IV. — THE GIANT CHILDREN
V. — THE MINIMIFICENCE OF MR. BENSINGTON
BOOK II. — THE FOOD IN THE VILLAGE
I. — THE COMING OF THE FOOD
II. — THE BRAT GIGANTIC
BOOK III. — THE HARVEST OF THE FOOD
I. — THE ALTERED WORLD
II. — THE GIANT LOVERS
III. — YOUNG CADDLES IN LONDON
IV. — REDWOOD’S TWO DAYS
V. — THE GIANT LEAGUER
A Modern Utopia
A NOTE TO THE READER
THE OWNER OF THE VOICE
CHAPTER THE FIRST. TOPOGRAPHICAL
CHAPTER THE SECOND. CONCERNING FREEDOMS
CHAPTER THE THIRD. UTOPIAN ECONOMICS
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. THE VOICE OF NATURE
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. FAILURE IN A MODERN UTOPIA
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. WOMEN IN A MODERN UTOPIA
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. A FEW UTOPIAN IMPRESSIONS
CHAPTER THE EIGHTH. MY UTOPIAN SELF
CHAPTER THE NINTH. THE SAMURAI
CHAPTER THE TENTH. RACE IN UTOPIA
CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH. THE BUBBLE BURSTS
APPENDIX — SCEPTICISM OF THE INSTRUMENT
In the Days of the Comet
PROLOGUE. — THE MAN WHO WROTE IN THE TOWER
BOOK I. — THE COMET
I. — DUST IN THE SHADOWS
II. — NETTIE
III. — THE REVOLVER
IV. — WAR
V. — THE PURSUIT OF THE TWO LOVERS
BOOK II. — THE GREEN VAPORS
I. — THE CHANGE
II. — THE AWAKENING
III. — THE CABINET COUNCIL
BOOK III. — THE NEW WORLD
I. — LOVE AFTER THE CHANGE
II. — MY MOTHER’S LAST DAYS
III. — BELTANE AND NEW YEAR’S EVE
EPILOGUE. — THE WINDOW OF THE TOWER
The War in the Air
PREFACE TO REPRINT EDITION
CHAPTER I. OF PROGRESS AND THE SMALLWAYS FAMILY
CHAPTER II. HOW BERT SMALLWAYS GOT INTO DIFFICULTIES
CHAPTER III. THE BALLOON
CHAPTER IV. THE GERMAN AIR-FLEET
CHAPTER V. THE BATTLE OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC
CHAPTER VI. HOW WAR CAME TO NEW YORK
CHAPTER VII. THE “VATERLAND” IS DISABLED
CHAPTER VIII. A WORLD AT WAR
CHAPTER IX. ON GOAT ISLAND
CHAPTER X. THE WORLD UNDER THE WAR
CHAPTER XI. THE GREAT COLLAPSE
Tono-Bungay
BOOK THE FIRST. THE DAYS BEFORE TONO-BUNGAY WAS INVENTED
CHAPTER THE FIRST. OF BLADESOVER HOUSE, AND MY MOTHER; AND THE CONSTITUTION OF SOCIETY
CHAPTER THE SECOND. OF MY LAUNCH INTO THE WORLD AND THE LAST I SAW OF BLADESOVER
CHAPTER THE THIRD. THE WIMBLEHURST APPRENTICESHIP
BOOK THE SECOND. THE RISE OF TONO-BUNGAY
CHAPTER THE FIRST. HOW I BECAME A LONDON STUDENT AND WENT ASTRAY
CHAPTER THE SECOND. THE DAWN COMES, AND MY UNCLE APPEARS IN A NEW SILK HAT
CHAPTER THE THIRD. HOW WE MADE TONO-BUNGAY HUM
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. MARION I
BOOK THE THIRD. THE GREAT DAYS OF TONO-BUNGAY
CHAPTER THE FIRST. THE HARDINGHAM HOTEL, AND HOW WE BECAME BIG PEOPLE
CHAPTER THE SECOND. OUR PROGRESS FROM CAMDEN TOWN TO CREST HILL
CHAPTER THE THIRD. SOARING
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. HOW I STOLE THE HEAPS OF QUAP FROM MORDET ISLAND
BOOK THE FOURTH. THE AFTERMATH OF TONO-BUNGAY
CHAPTER THE FIRST. THE STICK OF THE ROCKET
CHAPTER THE SECOND. LOVE AMONG THE WRECKAGE
CHAPTER THE THIRD. NIGHT AND THE OPEN SEA
The World Set Free
PREFACE
PRELUDE: THE SUN SNARERS
CHAPTER THE FIRST: THE NEW SOURCE OF ENERGY
CHAPTER THE SECOND: THE LAST WAR
CHAPTER THE THIRD: THE ENDING OF WAR
CHAPTER THE FOURTH: THE NEW PHASE
CHAPTER THE FIFTH: THE LAST DAYS OF MARCUS KARENIN
The Wheels of Chance
I. — THE PRINCIPAL CHARACTER IN THE STORY
II. — THE RIDING FORTH OF MR. HOOPDRIVER
III. — THE SHAMEFUL EPISODE OF THE YOUNG LADY IN GREY
IV. — ON THE ROAD TO RIPLEY
V. — HOW MR. HOOPDRIVER WAS HAUNTED
VI. — THE IMAGININGS OF MR. HOOPDRIVER’S HEART
VII. — OMISSIONS
VIII. — THE DREAMS OF MR. HOOPDRIVER
IX. — HOW MR. HOOPDRIVER WENT TO HASLEMERE
X. — HOW MR. HOOPDRIVER REACHED MIDHURST
XI. — AN INTERLUDE
XII. — OF THE ARTIFICIAL IN MAN, AND OF THE ZEITGEIST
XIII. — THE ENCOUNTER AT MIDHURST
XIV. — THE PURSUIT
XV. — AT BOGNOR
XVI. — THE MOONLIGHT RIDE
XVII. — THE SURBITON INTERLUDE
XVIII. — THE AWAKENING OF MR. HOOPDRIVER
XIX. — THE DEPARTURE FROM CHICHESTER
XX. — THE UNEXPECTED ANECDOTE OF THE LION
XXI. — THE RESCUE EXPEDITION
XXII. — MR. HOOPDRIVER, KNIGHT ERRANT
XXIII. — THE ABASEMENT OF MR. HOOPDRIVER
XXIV. — IN THE NEW FOREST
XXV. — AT THE RUFUS STONE
XXVI. — THE ENVOY
Love and Mr. Lewisham
I. — INTRODUCES MR. LEWISHAM
II. — “AS THE WIND BLOWS”
III. — THE WONDERFUL DISCOVERY
IV. — RAISED EYEBROWS
V. — HESITATIONS
VI. — THE SCANDALOUS RAMBLE
VII. — THE RECKONING
VIII. — THE CAREER PREVAILS
IX. — ALICE HEYDINGER
X. — IN THE GALLERY OF OLD IRON
XI. — MANIFESTATIONS
XII. — LEWISHAM IS UNACCOUNTABLE
XIII. — LEWISHAM INSISTS
XIV. — MR. LAGUNE’S POINT OF VIEW
XV. — LOVE IN THE STREETS
XVI. — MISS HEYDINGER’S PRIVATE THOUGHTS
XVII. — IN THE RAPHAEL GALLERY
XVIII. — THE FRIENDS OF PROGRESS MEET
XIX. — LEWISHAM’S SOLUTION
XX. — THE CAREER IS SUSPENDED
XXI. — HOME!
XXII. — EPITHALAMY
XXIII. — MR. CHAFFERY AT HOME
XXIV. — THE CAMPAIGN OPENS
XXV. — THE FIRST BATTLE
XXVI. — THE GLAMOUR FADES
XXVII. — CONCERNING A QUARREL
XXVIII. — THE COMING OF THE ROSES
XXIX. — THORNS AND ROSE PETALS
XXX. — A WITHDRAWAL
XXXI. — IN BATTERSEA PARK
XXXII. — THE CROWNING VICTORY
Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul
BOOK ONE - THE MAKING OF KIPPS
I. — THE LITTLE SHOP AT NEW ROMNEY
II. — THE EMPORIUM
III. — THE WOODCARVING CLASS
IV. — CHITTERLOW
V. — ‘SWAPPED’
VI. — THE UNEXPECTED
BOOK TWO - MR. COOTE THE CHAPERON
I. — THE NEW CONDITIONS
II. — THE WALSHINGHAMS
III. — ENGAGED
IV. — THE BICYCLE MANUFACTURER
V. — THE PUPIL LOVER
VI. — DISCORDS
VII. — LONDON
VIII. — KIPPS ENTERS SOCIETY
IX. — THE LABYRINTHODON
BOOK THREE - KIPPSES
I. — THE HOUSING PROBLEM
II. — THE CALLERS
III. — TERMINATIONS
Ann Veronica: A Modern Love Story
CHAPTER THE FIRST: ANN VERONICA TALKS TO HER FATHER
CHAPTER THE SECOND: ANN VERONICA GATHERS POINTS OF VIEW
CHAPTER THE THIRD: THE MORNING OF THE CRISIS
CHAPTER THE FOURTH: THE CRISIS
CHAPTER THE FIFTH: THE FLIGHT TO LONDON
CHAPTER THE SIXTH: EXPOSTULATIONS
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH: IDEALS AND A REALITY
CHAPTER THE EIGHTH: BIOLOGY
CHAPTER THE NINTH: DISCORDS
CHAPTER THE TENTH: THE SUFFRAGETTES
CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH: THOUGHTS IN PRISON
CHAPTER THE TWELFTH: ANN VERONICA PUTS THINGS IN ORDER
CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH: THE SAPPHIRE RING
CHAPTER THE FOURTEENTH: THE COLLAPSE OF THE PENITENT
CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH: THE LAST DAYS AT HOME
CHAPTER THE SIXTEENTH: IN THE MOUNTAINS
CHAPTER THE SEVENTEENTH: IN PERSPECTIVE
The History of Mr. Polly
I. — BEGINNINGS, AND THE BAZAAR
II. — THE DISMISSAL OF PARSONS
III. — CRIBS
IV. — MR. POLLY AN ORPHAN
V. — MR. POLLY TAKES A VACATION
VI. — MIRIAM
VII. — THE LITTLE SHOP AT FISHBOURNE
VIII. — MAKING AN END TO THINGS
IX. — THE POTWELL INN
X. — MIRIAM REVISITED
The New Machiavelli
BOOK I.—THE MAKING OF A MAN
I. — CONCERNING A BOOK THAT WAS NEVER WRITTEN
II. — BROMSTEAD AND MY FATHER
III. — SCHOLASTIC
IV. — ADOLESCENCE
BOOK II. — MARGARET
I. — MARGARET IN STAFFORDSHIRE
II. — MARGARET IN LONDON
III. — MARGARET IN VENICE
IV. — THE HOUSE IN WESTMINSTER
BOOK III. — THE HEART OF POLITICS
I. — THE RIDDLE FOR THE STATESMAN
II. — SEEKING ASSOCIATES
III. — SECESSION
IV. — THE BESETTING OF SEX
BOOK IV. —ISABEL
I. — LOVE AND SUCCESS
II. — THE IMPOSSIBLE POSITION
III. — THE BREAKING POINT
Marriage
BOOK THE FIRST — MARJORIE MARRIES
I. — A DAY WITH THE POPES
II. — THE TWO PROPOSALS OF MR. MAGNET
III. — THE MAN WHO FELL OUT OF THE SKY
IV. — CRISIS
V. — A TELEPHONE CALL
BOOK THE SECOND—MARJORIE MARRIED
I. — SETTLING DOWN
II. — THE CHILD OF THE AGES
III. — THE NEW PHASE
BOOK THE THIRD—MARJORIE AT LONELY HUT
I. — SUCCESSES
II. — TRAFFORD DECIDES TO GO
III. — THE PILGRIMAGE TO LONELY HUT
IV. — LONELY HUT
V. — THE TRAIL TO THE SEA
The Passionate Friends
I. — MR. STRATTON TO HIS SON
II. — BOYHOOD
III. — INTENTIONS AND THE LADY MARY CHRISTIAN
IV. — THE MARRIAGE OF THE LADY MARY CHRISTIAN
V. — THE WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA
VI. — LADY MARY JUSTIN
VII. — BEGINNING AGAIN
VIII. — THIS SWARMING BUSINESS OF MANKIND
IX. — THE SPIRIT OF THE NEW WORLD
X. — MARY WRITES
XI. — THE LAST MEETING
XII. — THE ARRAIGNMENT OF JEALOUSY
The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman
I. — INTRODUCES LADY HARMAN
II. — THE PERSONALITY OF SIR ISAAC
III. — LADY HARMAN AT HOME
IV. — THE BEGINNINGS OF LADY HARMAN
V. — THE WORLD ACCORDING TO SIR ISAAC
VI. — THE ADVENTUROUS AFTERNOON
VII. — LADY HARMAN LEARNS ABOUT HERSELF
VIII. — SIR ISAAC AS PETRUCHIO
IX. — MR. BRUMLEY IS TROUBLED BY DIFFICULT IDEAS
X. — LADY HARMAN COMES OUT
XI. — THE LAST CRISIS
XII. — LOVE AND A SERIOUS LADY
Boon
NOTE
INTRODUCTION
I. — THE BACK OF MISS BATHWICK AND GEORGE BOON
II. — BEING THE FIRST CHAPTER OF “THE MIND OF THE RACE”
III. — THE GREAT SLUMP, THE REVIVAL OF LETTERS, AND THE GARDEN BY THE SEA
IV. — OF ART, OF LITERATURE, OF MR. HENRY JAMES
V. — OF THE ASSEMBLING AND OPENING OF THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON THE MIND OF THE RACE
VI. — OF NOT LIKING HALLERY AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE DISCOURAGEMENT OF LITERATURE
VII. — WILKINS MAKES CERTAIN OBJECTIONS
VIII. — THE BEGINNING OF “THE WILD ASSES OF THE DEVIL”
IX. — THE HUNTING OF THE WILD ASSES OF THE DEVIL
X. — THE STORY OF THE LAST TRUMP
Bealby: A Holiday
DEDICATION AND NOTE TO THE READER
I. — YOUNG BEALBY GOES TO SHONTS
II. — A WEEK-END AT SHONTS
III. — THE WANDERERS
IV. — THE UNOBTRUSIVE PARTING
V. — THE SEEKING OF BEALBY
VI. — BEALBY AND THE TRAMP
VII. — THE BATTLE OF CRAYMINSTER
VIII. — HOW BEALBY EXPLAINED
The Research Magnificent
THE PRELUDE — ON FEAR AND ARISTOCRACY
I. — THE BOY GROWS UP
II. — THE YOUNG MAN ABOUT TOWN
III. — AMANDA
IV. — THE SPIRITED HONEYMOON
V. — THE ASSIZE OF JEALOUSY
VI. — THE NEW HAROUN AL RASCHID
Mr. Britling Sees it Through
BOOK I. — MATCHING’S EASY AT EASE
I. — MR. DIRECK VISITS MR. BRITLING
II. — MR. BRITLING CONTINUES HIS EXPOSITION
III. — THE ENTERTAINMENT OF MR. DIRECK REACHES A CLIMAX
IV. — MR. BRITLING IN SOLILOQUY
V. — THE COMING OF THE DAY
BOOK II. — MATCHING’S EASY AT WAR
I. — ONLOOKERS
II. — TAKING PART
III. — MALIGNITY
IV. — IN THE WEB OF THE INEFFECTIVE
BOOK III. — THE TESTAMENT OF MATCHING’S EASY
I. — MRS. TEDDY GOES FOR A WALK
II. — MR. BRITLING WRITES UNTIL SUNRISE
The Soul of a Bishop
I. — THE DREAM
II. — THE WEAR AND TEAR OF EPISCOPACY
III. — INSOMNIA
IV. — THE SYMPATHY OF LADY SUNDERBUND
V. — THE FIRST VISION
VI. — EXEGETICAL
VII. — THE SECOND VISION
VIII. — THE NEW WORLD
IX. — THE THIRD VISION
Joan and Peter
CHAPTER I. — PETER’S PARENTAGE
CHAPTER II. — STUBLANDS IN COUNCIL
CHAPTER III. — ARTHUR OR OSWALD?
CHAPTER IV. — FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE UNIVERSE
CHAPTER V. — THE CHRISTENING
CHAPTER VI. — THE FOURTH GUARDIAN
CHAPTER VII. — THE SCHOOL OF ST. GEORGE AND THE VENERABLE BEDE
CHAPTER VIII. — THE HIGH CROSS PREPARATORY SCHOOL
CHAPTER IX. — OSWALD TAKES CONTROL
CHAPTER X. — A SEARCHING OF SCHOOLMASTERS
CHAPTER XI. — ADOLESCENCE
CHAPTER XII. — THE WORLD ON THE EVE OF WAR
CHAPTER XIII. — JOAN AND PETER GRADUATE
CHAPTER XIV. — OSWALD’S VALEDICTION
The Undying Fire
I. — THE PROLOGUE IN HEAVEN
II. — AT SEA VIEW SUNDERING-ON-SEA
III. — THE THREE VISITORS
IV. — DO WE TRULY DIE?
V. — ELIHU REPROVES JOB
VI. — THE OPERATION
VII. — LETTERS AND A TELEGRAM
The Secret Places of the Heart
I. — THE CONSULTATION
II. — LADY HARDY
III. — THE DEPARTURE
IV. — AT MAIDENHEAD
V. — IN THE LAND OF THE FORGOTTEN PEOPLES
VI. — THE ENCOUNTER AT STONEHENGE
VII. — COMPANIONSHIP
VIII. — FULL MOON
IX. — THE LAST DAYS OF SIR RICHMOND HARDY
The Chronic Argonauts
I. — BEING THE ACCOUNT OF DR. NEBOGIPFEL’S SOJOURN IN LLYDDWDD
II. — HOW AN ESOTERIC STORY BECAME POSSIBLE
III. — THE ESOTERIC STORY BASED ON THE CLERGYMAN’S DEPOSITIONS
IV. — THE CHRONIC ARGO
The Land Ironclads
The Grisly Folk
Select Conversations with an Uncle
1. OF CONVERSATION AND THE ANATOMY OF FASHION
2. THE THEORY OF THE PERPETUAL DISCOMFORT OF HUMANITY
3. THE USE OF IDEALS
4. THE ART OF BEING PHOTOGRAPHED
5. BAGSHOT’S MURAL DECORATIONS
6. ON SOCIAL MUSIC
7. THE JOYS OF BEING ENGAGED
8. LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI
9. ON A TRICYCLE
10. AN UNSUSPECTED MASTERPIECE
11. THE GREAT CHANGE
12. THE PAINS OF MARRIAGE
OTHER REMINISCENCES
1. A MISUNDERSTOOD ARTIST
2. THE MAN WITH A NOSE
Tales of Space and Time
THE CRYSTAL EGG
THE STAR
A STORY OF THE STONE AGE
A STORY OF THE DAYS TO COME
The Jilting of Jane, and Other Stories
I. THE JILTING OF JANE.
II.THE STOLEN BACILLUS.
III. THE FLOWERING OF THE STRANGE ORCHID.
IV. IN THE AVU OBSERVATORY.
V. AEPYORNIS ISLAND.
VI. THE REMARKABLE CASE OF DAVIDSON’S EYES.
VII. THE MOTH.
VIII. THE TREASURE IN THE FOREST.
IX. THE STORY OF THE LATE MR. ELVESHAM.
X. UNDER THE KNIFE.
XI. THE SEA RAIDERS.
XII. THE OBLITERATED MAN.
XIII. THE PLATTNER STORY.
XIV. THE PURPLE PILEUS
XV. A SLIP UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
XVI. THE MAN WHO COULD WORK MIRACLES.
XVII. A VISION OF JUDGMENT.
XVIII. JIMMY GOGGLES THE GOD.
XIX. MISS WINCHELSEA’S HEART.
XX. THE VALLEY OF SPIDERS.
XXI. THE NEW ACCELERATOR.
XXII. THE TRUTH ABOUT PYECRAFT.
XXIII. THE MAGIC SHOP.
XXIV. THE EMPIRE OF THE ANTS.
XXV. THE BEAUTIFUL SUIT.
The Door in the Wall, and Other Stories
THE DOOR IN THE WALL
A DREAM OF ARMAGEDDON
THE CONE
A MOONLIGHT FABLE
THE DIAMOND MAKER
THE LORD OF THE DYNAMOS
THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND
The Stolen Body, and Other Stories
1. FILMER
2. MR. SKELMERSDALE IN FAIRYLAND
3. THE STORY OF THE INEXPERIENCED GHOST
4. MR. LEDBETTER’S VACATION
5. THE STOLEN BODY
6. MR. BRISHER’S TREASURE
Certain Personal Manners
THOUGHTS ON CHEAPNESS AND MY AUNT CHARLOTTE
THE TROUBLE OF LIFE
ON THE CHOICE OF A WIFE
THE HOUSE OF DI SORNO A MANUSCRIPT FOUND IN A BOX
OF CONVERSATION—AN APOLOGY
IN A LITERARY HOUSEHOLD
ON SCHOOLING AND THE PHASES OF MR. SANDSOME
THE POET AND THE EMPORIUM
THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS
THE LITERARY REGIMEN
HOUSE-HUNTING AS AN OUTDOOR AMUSEMENT
OF BLADES AND BLADERY
OF CLEVERNESS—PROPOS OF ONE CRICHTON
THE POSE NOVEL
THE VETERAN CRICKETER
CONCERNING A CERTAIN LADY
THE SHOPMAN
THE BOOK OF CURSES
DUNSTONE’S DEAR LADY
EUPHEMIA’S NEW ENTERTAINMENT
FOR FREEDOM OF SPELLING
INCIDENTAL THOUGHTS ON A BALD HEAD
OF A BOOK UNWRITTEN
THE EXTINCTION OF MAN
THE WRITING OF ESSAYS
THE PARKES MUSEUM
BLEAK MARCH IN EPPING FOREST
THE THEORY OF QUOTATION
ON THE ART OF STAYING AT THE SEASIDE A MEDITATION AT EASTBOURNE
CONCERNING CHESS
THE COAL-SCUTTLE. A STUDY IN DOMESTIC AESTHETICS
BAGARROW
THE BOOK OF ESSAYS DEDICATORY
THROUGH A MICROSCOPE. SOME MORAL REFLECTIONS
THE PLEASURE OF QUARRELLING
THE AMATEUR NATURE-LOVER
FROM AN OBSERVATORY
THE MODE IN MONUMENTS STRAY THOUGHTS IN HIGHGATE CEMETERY
HOW I DIED
Anticipations
I. — LOCOMOTION IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
II. — THE PROBABLE DIFFUSION OF GREAT CITIES
III. — DEVELOPING SOCIAL ELEMENTS
IV. — CERTAIN SOCIAL REACTIONS
V. — THE LIFE-HISTORY OF DEMOCRACY
VI. — WAR
VII. — THE CONFLICT OF LANGUAGES
VIII. — THE LARGER SYNTHESIS
IX. — THE FAITH, MORALS, AND PUBLIC POLICY OF THE NEW REPUBLIC*
The Discovery of the Future
Mankind in the Making
PREFACE
I. — THE NEW REPUBLIC
II. — THE PROBLEM OF THE BIRTH SUPPLY
III. — CERTAIN WHOLESALE ASPECTS OF MAN-MAKING
IV. — THE BEGINNINGS OF THE MIND AND LANGUAGE
V. — THE MAN-MAKING FORCES OF THE MODERN STATE
VI. — SCHOOLING
VII. — POLITICAL AND SOCIAL INFLUENCES
VIII. — THE CULTIVATION OF THE IMAGINATION
IX. — THE ORGANIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION
X. — THOUGHT IN THE MODERN STATE
XI. — THE MAN’S OWN SHARE
This Misery of Boots
I. — THE WORLD AS BOOTS AND SUPERSTRUCTURE
II. — PEOPLE WHOSE BOOTS DON’T HURT THEM
III. — AT THIS POINT A DISPUTE ARISES
IV. — IS SOCIALISM POSSIBLE?
V. — SOCIALISM MEANS REVOLUTION
The Future in America
I. — THE PROPHETIC HABIT OF MIND
II. — MATERIAL PROGRESS
III. — NEW YORK
IV. — GROWTH INVINCIBLE
V. — THE ECONOMIC PROCESS
VI. — SOME ASPECTS OF AMERICAN WEALTH
VII. — CERTAIN WORKERS
VIII. — CORRUPTION
IX. — THE IMMIGRANT
X. — STATE-BLINDNESS
XI. — TWO STUDIES IN DISAPPOINTMENT
XII. — THE TRAGEDY OF COLOR
XIII. — THE MIND OF A MODERN STATE
XIV. — CULTURE
XV. — AT WASHINGTON
THE ENVOY
Socialism and the Family
First and Last Things
INTRODUCTION
BOOK THE FIRST - METAPHYSICS
1.1. THE NECESSITY FOR METAPHYSICS
1.2. THE RESUMPTION OF METAPHYSICAL ENQUIRY
1.3. THE WORLD OF FACT
1.4. SCEPTICISM OF THE INSTRUMENT
1.5. THE CLASSIFICATORY ASSUMPTION
1.6. EMPTY TERMS
1.7. NEGATIVE TERMS
1.8. LOGIC STATIC AND LIFE KINETIC
1.9. PLANES AND DIALECTS OF THOUGHT
1.10. PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS FROM THESE CONSIDERATIONS
1.11. BELIEFS
1.12. SUMMARY
BOOK THE SECOND - OF BELIEFS
2.1. MY PRIMARY ACT OF FAITH
2.2. ON USING THE NAME OF GOD
2.3. FREE WILL AND PREDESTINATION
2.4. A PICTURE OF THE WORLD OF MEN
2.5. THE PROBLEM OF MOTIVES
2.6. A REVIEW OF MOTIVES
2.7. THE SYNTHETIC MOTIVE
2.8. THE BEING OF MANKIND
2.9. INDIVIDUALITY AN INTERLUDE
2.10. THE MYSTIC ELEMENT
2.11. THE SYNTHESIS
2.12. OF PERSONAL IMMORTALITY
2.13. A CRITICISM OF CHRISTIANITY
2.14. OF OTHER RELIGIONS
BOOK THE THIRD - OF GENERAL CONDUCT
3.1. CONDUCT FOLLOWS FROM BELIEF
3.2. WHAT IS GOOD?
3.3. SOCIALISM
3.4. A CRITICISM OF CERTAIN FORMS OF SOCIALISM
3.5. HATE AND LOVE
3.6. THE PRELIMINARY SOCIAL DUTY
3.7. WRONG WAYS OF LIVING
3.8. SOCIAL PARASITISM AND CONTEMPORARY INJUSTICES
3.9. THE CASE OF THE WIFE AND MOTHER
3.10. ASSOCIATIONS
3.11. OF AN ORGANIZED BROTHERHOOD
3.12. CONCERNING NEW STARTS AND NEW RELIGIONS
3.13. THE IDEA OF THE CHURCH
3.14. OF SECESSION
3.15. A DILEMMA
3.16. A COMMENT
3.17. WAR
3.18. WAR AND COMPETITION
3.19. MODERN WAR
3.20. OF ABSTINENCES AND DISCIPLINES
3.21. ON FORGETTING, AND THE NEED
3.22. DEMOCRACY AND ARISTOCRACY
3.23. ON DEBTS OF HONOUR
3.24. THE IDEA OF JUSTICE
3.25. OF LOVE AND JUSTICE
3.26. THE WEAKNESS OF IMMATURITY
3.27. POSSIBILITY OF A NEW ETIQUETTE
3.28. SEX
3.29. THE INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE
3.30. CONDUCT IN RELATION TO THE THING THAT IS
3.31. CONDUCT TOWARDS TRANSGRESSORS
BOOK THE FOURTH - SOME PERSONAL THINGS
4.1. PERSONAL LOVE AND LIFE
4.2. THE NATURE OF LOVE
4.3. THE WILL TO LOVE
4.4. LOVE AND DEATH
4.5. THE CONSOLATION OF FAILURE
4.6. THE LAST CONFESSION
New Worlds for Old
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
I. — THE GOOD WILL IN MAN
II. — THE FUNDAMENTAL IDEA OF SOCIALISM
III. — THE FIRST MAIN GENERALIZATION OF SOCIALISM
IV. — THE SECOND MAIN GENERALIZATION OF SOCIALISM
V. — THE SPIRIT OF GAIN AND THE SPIRIT OF SERVICE
VI. — WOULD SOCIALISM DESTROY THE HOME?
VII. — WOULD MODERN SOCIALISM ABOLISH ALL PROPERTY?
VIII. — THE MIDDLE-CLASS MAN, THE BUSINESS MAN, AND SOCIALISM
IX. — SOME COMMON OBJECTIONS TO SOCIALISM
X. — SOCIALISM—A DEVELOPING DOCTRINE
XI. — REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALISM
XII. — ADMINISTRATIVE SOCIALISM
XIII. — CONSTRUCTIVE SOCIALISM
XIV. — SOME ARGUMENTS AD HOMINEM
XV. — THE ADVANCEMENT OF SOCIALISM
An Englishman Looks at the World
1. — THE COMING OF BLÉRIOT
2. — MY FIRST FLIGHT
3. — OFF THE CHAIN
4. — OF THE NEW REIGN
5. — WILL THE EMPIRE LIVE?
6. — THE LABOUR UNREST
7. — THE GREAT STATE
8. — THE COMMON SENSE OF WARFARE
9. — THE CONTEMPORARY NOVEL
10. — THE PHILOSOPHER’S PUBLIC LIBRARY
11. — ABOUT CHESTERTON AND BELLOC
12. — ABOUT SIR THOMAS MORE
13. — TRAFFIC AND REBUILDING
14. — THE SO-CALLED SCIENCE OF SOCIOLOGY
15. — DIVORCE
16. — THE SCHOOLMASTER AND THE EMPIRE
17. — THE ENDOWMENT OF MOTHERHOOD
18. — DOCTORS
19. — AN AGE OF SPECIALISATION
20. — IS THERE A PEOPLE?
21. — THE DISEASE OF PARLIAMENTS
22. — THE AMERICAN POPULATION
23. — THE POSSIBLE COLLAPSE OF CIVILISATION
24. — THE IDEAL CITIZEN
25. — SOME POSSIBLE DISCOVERIES
26. — THE HUMAN ADVENTURE
The War That Will End War
I. — WHY BRITAIN WENT TO WAR: A CLEAR EXPOSITION OF WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING FOR
II. — THE SWORD OF PEACE: “EVERY SWORD THAT IS DRAWN AGAINST GERMANY NOW IS A SWORD DRAWN FOR PEACE”
III. — HANDS OFF THE PEOPLE’S FOOD
IV. — CONCERNING MR. MAXIMILIAN CRAFT
V. — THE MOST NECESSARY MEASURES IN THE WORLD
VI. — THE NEED OF A NEW MAP OF EUROPE
VII. — THE OPPORTUNITY OF LIBERALISM
VIII. — THE LIBERAL FEAR OF RUSSIA
IX. — AN APPEAL TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
X. — COMMON SENSE AND THE BALKAN STATES
XI. — THE WAR OF THE MIND
Scientific War
The Elements of Reconstruction
INTRODUCTION
II. — SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE AND THE NATION’S FOOD
III. — THE LONG VIEW AND LABOUR
IV. — PROBLEMS OF POLITICAL ADAPTATION
V. — AN IMPERIAL CONSTITUTION
VI. — HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE EMPIRE
What is Coming? A Forecast of Things After the War
I. — FORECASTING THE FUTURE
II. — THE END OF THE WAR[1]
III. — NATIONS IN LIQUIDATION
IV. — BRAINTREE, BOCKING, AND THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD
V. — HOW FAR WILL EUROPE GO TOWARD SOCIALISM?
VI. — LAWYER AND PRESS
VII. — THE NEW EDUCATION
VIII. — WHAT THE WAR IS DOING FOR WOMEN
IX. — THE NEW MAP OF EUROPE
X. — THE UNITED STATES, FRANCE, BRITAIN, AND RUSSIA
XI. — “THE WHITE MAN’S BURTHEN”
XII. — THE OUTLOOK FOR THE GERMANS
God the Invisible King
PREFACE
I. — THE COSMOGONY OF MODERN RELIGION
II. — HERESIES; OR THE THINGS THAT GOD IS NOT
III. — THE LIKENESS OF GOD
IV. — THE RELIGION OF ATHEISTS
V. — THE INVISIBLE KING
VI. — MODERN IDEAS OF SIN AND DAMNATION
VII. — THE IDEA OF A CHURCH
THE ENVOY
War and the Future
THE PASSING OF THE EFFIGY
THE WAR IN ITALY (AUGUST, 1916)
I. — THE ISONZO FRONT
II. — THE MOUNTAIN WAR
III. — BEHIND THE FRONT
THE WESTERN WAR (SEPTEMBER, 1916)
I. — RUINS
II. — THE GRADES OF WAR
III. — THE WAR LANDSCAPE
IV. — NEW ARMS FOR OLD ONES
V. — TANKS
HOW PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THE WAR
I. — DO THEY REALLY THINK AT ALL?
In the Fourth Year: Anticipations of a World Peace
PREFACE
I. — THE WAY TO CONCRETE REALIZATION
II. — THE LEAGUE MUST BE REPRESENTATIVE
III. — THE NECESSARY POWERS OF THE LEAGUE
IV. — THE LABOUR VIEW OF MIDDLE AFRICA
V. — GETTING THE LEAGUE IDEA CLEAR IN RELATION TO IMPERIALISM
VI. — THE WAR AIMS OF THE WESTERN ALLIES COMPACTLY STATED
VII. — THE FUTURE OF MONARCHY
VIII. — THE PLAIN NECESSITY FOR A LEAGUE
IX. — DEMOCRACY
X. — THE RECENT STRUGGLE FOR PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION IN GREAT BRITAIN
XI. — THE STUDY AND PROPAGANDA OF DEMOCRACY
The Idea of a League of Nations
PART ONE
PART TWO
Russia in the Shadows
I. — PETERSBURG IN COLLAPSE
II. — DRIFT AND SALVAGE
III. — THE QUINTESSENCE OF BOLSHEVISM
IV. — THE CREATIVE EFFORT IN RUSSIA
V. — THE PETERSBURG SOVIET
VI. — THE DREAMER IN THE KREMLIN
VII. — THE ENVOY
The Salvaging of Civilization
I. — THE PROBABLE FUTURE OF MANKIND
II. — THE PROJECT OF A WORLD STATE
III. — THE ENLARGEMENT OF PATRIOTISM TO A WORLD STATE
IV. — THE BIBLE OF CIVILIZATION—PART ONE
V. — THE BIBLE OF CIVILIZATION—PART TWO
VI. THE SCHOOLING OF THE WORLD
VII. COLLEGE, NEWSPAPER AND BOOK
VIII. THE ENVOY
Washington and the Hope of Peace
INTRODUCTION
I. — THE IMMENSITY OF THE ISSUE AND THE TRIVIALITY OF MEN
II. — ARMAMENTS: THE FUTILITY OF MERE LIMITATION
III. — THE TRAIL OF VERSAILLES: TWO GBEAT POWERS ARE SILENT AND ABSENT
IV. — THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER OF THE GREAT WAR
V. — THE PRESIDENT AT ARLINGTON
VI. — THE FIRST MEETING
VII. — WHAT IS JAPAN?
VIII. — CHINA IN THE BACKGROUND
IX. — THE FUTURE OF JAPAN
X. — “SECURITY"— THE NEW AND BEAUTIFUL CATCHWORD
XI. — FRANCE IN THE LIMELIGHT
XII. — THUS FAR
XIII. — THE LARGER QUESTION BEHIND THE CONFERENCE
XIV. — THE REAL THREAT TO CIVILIZATION
XV. — THE POSSIBLE BREAKDOWN OF CIVILIZATION
XVI. — WHAT OF AMERICA?
XVII. — EBB TIDE AT WASHINGTON
XVIII. — AMERICA AND ENTANGLING ALLIANCES
XIX. — AN ASSOCIATION OF NATIONS
XX. — FRANCE AND ENGLAND— THE PLAIN FACTS OF THE CASE
XXI. — A BEMINDER ABOUT WAR
XXII. — SOME STIFLED VOICES
XXIII. — INDIA, THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND THE ASSOCIATION OF NATIONS
XXIV. — THE OTHER END OF PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE—THE SIEVE FOR GOOD INTENTIONS
XXV.— AFRICA AND THE ASSOCIATION OF NATIONS
XXVI. — THE FOURTH PLENARY SESSION
XXVII. — ABOUT THE WAR DEBTS
XXVIII. — THE FOUNDATION STONE AND THE BUILDING
XXIX. — WHAT A STABLY ORGANIZED WORLD PEACE MEANS FOR MANKIND
THE H.G. WELLS COLLECTION
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS
BOOK ONE: THE COMING OF THE MARTIANS
CHAPTER ONE: THE EVE OF THE WAR
No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter. It is possible that the infusoria under the microscope do the same. No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of human danger, or thought of them only to dismiss the idea of life upon them as impossible or improbable. It is curious to recall some of the mental habits of those departed days. At most terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise. Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment.
The planet Mars, I scarcely need remind the reader, revolves about the sun at a mean distance of 140,000,000 miles, and the light and heat it receives from the sun is barely half of that received by this world. It must be, if the nebular hypothesis has any truth, older than our world; and long before this earth ceased to be molten, life upon its surface must have begun its course. The fact that it is scarcely one seventh of the volume of the earth must have accelerated its cooling to the temperature at which life could begin. It has air and water and all that is necessary for the support of animated existence.
Yet so vain is man, and so blinded by his vanity, that no writer, up to the very end of the nineteenth century, expressed any idea that intelligent life might have developed there far, or indeed at all, beyond its earthly level. Nor was it generally understood that since Mars is older than our earth, with scarcely a quarter of the superficial area and remoter from the sun, it necessarily follows that it is not only more distant from time’s beginning but nearer its end.
The secular cooling that must someday overtake our planet has already gone far indeed with our neighbour. Its physical condition is still largely a mystery, but we know now that even in its equatorial region the midday temperature barely approaches that of our coldest winter. Its air is much more attenuated than ours, its oceans have shrunk until they cover but a third of its surface, and as its slow seasons change huge snowcaps gather and melt about either pole and periodically inundate its temperate zones. That last stage of exhaustion, which to us is still incredibly remote, has become a present-day problem for the inhabitants of Mars. The immediate pressure of necessity has brightened their intellects, enlarged their powers, and hardened their hearts. And looking across space with instruments, and intelligences such as we have scarcely dreamed of, they see, at its nearest distance only 35,000,000 of miles sunward of them, a morning star of hope, our own warmer planet, green with vegetation and grey with water, with a cloudy atmosphere eloquent of fertility, with glimpses through its drifting cloud wisps of broad stretches of populous country and narrow, navy-crowded seas.
And we men, the creatures who inhabit this earth, must be to them at least as alien and lowly as are the monkeys and lemurs to us. The intellectual side of man already admits that life is an incessant struggle for existence, and it would seem that this too is the belief of the minds upon Mars. Their world is far gone in its cooling and this world is still crowded with life, but crowded only with what they regard as inferior animals. To carry warfare sunward is, indeed, their only escape from the destruction that, generation after generation, creeps upon them.
And before we judge of them too harshly we must remember what ruthless and utter destruction our own species has wrought, not only upon animals, such as the vanished bison and the dodo, but upon its inferior races. The Tasmanians, in spite of their human likeness, were entirely swept out of existence in a war of extermination waged by European immigrants, in the space of fifty years. Are we such apostles of mercy as to complain if the Martians warred in the same spirit?
The Martians seem to have calculated their descent with amazing subtlety—their mathematical learning is evidently far in excess of ours—and to have carried out their preparations with a well-nigh perfect unanimity. Had our instruments permitted it, we might have seen the gathering trouble far back in the nineteenth century. Men like Schiaparelli watched the red planet—it is odd, by-the-bye, that for countless centuries Mars has been the star of war—but failed to interpret the fluctuating appearances of the markings they mapped so well. All that time the Martians must have been getting ready.
During the opposition of 1894 a great light was seen on the illuminated part of the disk, first at the Lick Observatory, then by Perrotin of Nice, and then by other observers. English readers heard of it first in the issue of Nature dated August 2. I am inclined to think that this blaze may have been the casting of the huge gun, in the vast pit sunk into their planet, from which their shots were fired at us. Peculiar markings, as yet unexplained, were seen near the site of that outbreak during the next two oppositions.
The storm burst upon us six years ago now. As Mars approached opposition, Lavelle of Java set the wires of the astronomical exchange palpitating with the amazing intelligence of a huge outbreak of incandescent gas upon the planet. It had occurred towards midnight of the twelfth; and the spectroscope, to which he had at once resorted, indicated a mass of flaming gas, chiefly hydrogen, moving with an enormous velocity towards this earth. This jet of fire had become invisible about a quarter past twelve. He compared it to a colossal puff of flame suddenly and violently squirted out of the planet, “as flaming gases rushed out of a gun.”
A singularly appropriate phrase it proved. Yet the next day there was nothing of this in the papers except a little note in the Daily Telegraph, and the world went in ignorance of one of the gravest dangers that ever threatened the human race. I might not have heard of the eruption at all had I not met Ogilvy, the well-known astronomer, at Ottershaw. He was immensely excited at the news, and in the excess of his feelings invited me up to take a turn with him that night in a scrutiny of the red planet.
In spite of all that has happened since, I still remember that vigil very distinctly: the black and silent observatory, the shadowed lantern throwing a feeble glow upon the floor in the corner, the steady ticking of the clockwork of the telescope, the little slit in the roof—an oblong profundity with the stardust streaked across it. Ogilvy moved about, invisible but audible. Looking through the telescope, one saw a circle of deep blue and the little round planet swimming in the field. It seemed such a little thing, so bright and small and still, faintly marked with transverse stripes, and slightly flattened from the perfect round. But so little it was, so silvery warm—a pin’s-head of light! It was as if it quivered, but really this was the telescope vibrating with the activity of the clockwork that kept the planet in view.
As I watched, the planet seemed to grow larger and smaller and to advance and recede, but that was simply that my eye was tired. Forty millions of miles it was from us—more than forty millions of miles of void. Few people realise the immensity of vacancy in which the dust of the material universe swims.
Near it in the field, I remember, were three faint points of light, three telescopic stars infinitely remote, and all around it was the unfathomable darkness of empty space. You know how that blackness looks on a frosty starlight night. In a telescope it seems far profounder. And invisible to me because it was so remote and small, flying swiftly and steadily towards me across that incredible distance, drawing nearer every minute by so many thousands of miles, came the Thing they were sending us, the Thing that was to bring so much struggle and calamity and death to the earth. I never dreamed of it then as I watched; no one on earth dreamed of that unerring missile.
That night, too, there was another jetting out of gas from the distant planet. I saw it. A reddish flash at the edge, the slightest projection of the outline just as the chronometer struck midnight; and at that I told Ogilvy and he took my place. The night was warm and I was thirsty, and I went stretching my legs clumsily and feeling my way in the darkness, to the little table where the siphon stood, while Ogilvy exclaimed at the streamer of gas that came out towards us.
That night another invisible missile started on its way to the earth from Mars, just a second or so under twenty-four hours after the first one. I remember how I sat on the table there in the blackness, with patches of green and crimson swimming before my eyes. I wished I had a light to smoke by, little suspecting the meaning of the minute gleam I had seen and all that it would presently bring me. Ogilvy watched till one, and then gave it up; and we lit the lantern and walked over to his house. Down below in the darkness were Ottershaw and Chertsey and all their hundreds of people, sleeping in peace.
He was full of speculation that night about the condition of Mars, and scoffed at the vulgar idea of its having inhabitants who were signalling us. His idea was that meteorites might be falling in a heavy shower upon the planet, or that a huge volcanic explosion was in progress. He pointed out to me how unlikely it was that organic evolution had taken the same direction in the two adjacent planets.
“The chances against anything manlike on Mars are a million to one,” he said.
Hundreds of observers saw the flame that night and the night after about midnight, and again the night after; and so for ten nights, a flame each night. Why the shots ceased after the tenth no one on earth has attempted to explain. It may be the gases of the firing caused the Martians inconvenience. Dense clouds of smoke or dust, visible through a powerful telescope on earth as little grey, fluctuating patches, spread through the clearness of the planet’s atmosphere and obscured its more familiar features.
Even the daily papers woke up to the disturbances at last, and popular notes appeared here, there, and everywhere concerning the volcanoes upon Mars. The seriocomic periodical Punch, I remember, made a happy use of it in the political cartoon. And, all unsuspected, those missiles the Martians had fired at us drew earthward, rushing now at a pace of many miles a second through the empty gulf of space, hour by hour and day by day, nearer and nearer. It seems to me now almost incredibly wonderful that, with that swift fate hanging over us, men could go about their petty concerns as they did. I remember how jubilant Markham was at securing a new photograph of the planet for the illustrated paper he edited in those days. People in these latter times scarcely realise the abundance and enterprise of our nineteenth-century papers. For my own part, I was much occupied in learning to ride the bicycle, and busy upon a series of papers discussing the probable developments of moral ideas as civilisation progressed.
One night (the first missile then could scarcely have been 10,000,000 miles away) I went for a walk with my wife. It was starlight and I explained the Signs of the Zodiac to her, and pointed out Mars, a bright dot of light creeping zenithward, towards which so many telescopes were pointed. It was a warm night. Coming home, a party of excursionists from Chertsey or Isleworth passed us singing and playing music. There were lights in the upper windows of the houses as the people went to bed. From the railway station in the distance came the sound of shunting trains, ringing and rumbling, softened almost into melody by the distance. My wife pointed out to me the brightness of the red, green, and yellow signal lights hanging in a framework against the sky. It seemed so safe and tranquil.
CHAPTER TWO: THE FALLING STAR
Then came the night of the first falling star. It was seen early in the morning, rushing over Winchester eastward, a line of flame high in the atmosphere. Hundreds must have seen it, and taken it for an ordinary falling star. Albin described it as leaving a greenish streak behind it that glowed for some seconds. Denning, our greatest authority on meteorites, stated that the height of its first appearance was about ninety or one hundred miles. It seemed to him that it fell to earth about one hundred miles east of him.
I was at home at that hour and writing in my study; and although my French windows face towards Ottershaw and the blind was up (for I loved in those days to look up at the night sky), I saw nothing of it. Yet this strangest of all things that ever came to earth from outer space must have fallen while I was sitting there, visible to me had I only looked up as it passed. Some of those who saw its flight say it travelled with a hissing sound. I myself heard nothing of that. Many people in Berkshire, Surrey, and Middlesex must have seen the fall of it, and, at most, have thought that another meteorite had descended. No one seems to have troubled to look for the fallen mass that night.
But very early in the morning poor Ogilvy, who had seen the shooting star and who was persuaded that a meteorite lay somewhere on the common between Horsell, Ottershaw, and Woking, rose early with the idea of finding it. Find it he did, soon after dawn, and not far from the sand pits. An enormous hole had been made by the impact of the projectile, and the sand and gravel had been flung violently in every direction over the heath, forming heaps visible a mile and a half away. The heather was on fire eastward, and a thin blue smoke rose against the dawn.
The Thing itself lay almost entirely buried in sand, amidst the scattered splinters of a fir tree it had shivered to fragments in its descent. The uncovered part had the appearance of a huge cylinder, caked over and its outline softened by a thick scaly dun-coloured incrustation. It had a diameter of about thirty yards. He approached the mass, surprised at the size and more so at the shape, since most meteorites are rounded more or less completely. It was, however, still so hot from its flight through the air as to forbid his near approach. A stirring noise within its cylinder he ascribed to the unequal cooling of its surface; for at that time it had not occurred to him that it might be hollow.
He remained standing at the edge of the pit that the Thing had made for itself, staring at its strange appearance, astonished chiefly at its unusual shape and colour, and dimly perceiving even then some evidence of design in its arrival. The early morning was wonderfully still, and the sun, just clearing the pine trees towards Weybridge, was already warm. He did not remember hearing any birds that morning, there was certainly no breeze stirring, and the only sounds were the faint movements from within the cindery cylinder. He was all alone on the common.
Then suddenly he noticed with a start that some of the grey clinker, the ashy incrustation that covered the meteorite, was falling off the circular edge of the end. It was dropping off in flakes and raining down upon the sand. A large piece suddenly came off and fell with a sharp noise that brought his heart into his mouth.
For a minute he scarcely realised what this meant, and, although the heat was excessive, he clambered down into the pit close to the bulk to see the Thing more clearly. He fancied even then that the cooling of the body might account for this, but what disturbed that idea was the fact that the ash was falling only from the end of the cylinder.
And then he perceived that, very slowly, the circular top of the cylinder was rotating on its body. It was such a gradual movement that he discovered it only through noticing that a black mark that had been near him five minutes ago was now at the other side of the circumference. Even then he scarcely understood what this indicated, until he heard a muffled grating sound and saw the black mark jerk forward an inch or so. Then the thing came upon him in a flash. The cylinder was artificial—hollow—with an end that screwed out! Something within the cylinder was unscrewing the top!
“Good heavens!” said Ogilvy. “There’s a man in it—men in it! Half roasted to death! Trying to escape!”
At once, with a quick mental leap, he linked the Thing with the flash upon Mars.
The thought of the confined creature was so dreadful to him that he forgot the heat and went forward to the cylinder to help turn. But luckily the dull radiation arrested him before he could burn his hands on the still-glowing metal. At that he stood irresolute for a moment, then turned, scrambled out of the pit, and set off running wildly into Woking. The time then must have been somewhere about six o’clock. He met a waggoner and tried to make him understand, but the tale he told and his appearance were so wild—his hat had fallen off in the pit—that the man simply drove on. He was equally unsuccessful with the potman who was just unlocking the doors of the public-house by Horsell Bridge. The fellow thought he was a lunatic at large and made an unsuccessful attempt to shut him into the taproom. That sobered him a little; and when he saw Henderson, the London journalist, in his garden, he called over the palings and made himself understood.
“Henderson,” he called, “you saw that shooting star last night?”
“Well?” said Henderson.
“It’s out on Horsell Common now.”
“Good Lord!” said Henderson. “Fallen meteorite! That’s good.”
“But it’s something more than a meteorite. It’s a cylinder—an artificial cylinder, man! And there’s something inside.”
Henderson stood up with his spade in his hand.
“What’s that?” he said. He was deaf in one ear.
Ogilvy told him all that he had seen. Henderson was a minute or so taking it in. Then he dropped his spade, snatched up his jacket, and came out into the road. The two men hurried back at once to the common, and found the cylinder still lying in the same position. But now the sounds inside had ceased, and a thin circle of bright metal showed between the top and the body of the cylinder. Air was either entering or escaping at the rim with a thin, sizzling sound.
They listened, rapped on the scaly burnt metal with a stick, and, meeting with no response, they both concluded the man or men inside must be insensible or dead.
Of course the two were quite unable to do anything. They shouted consolation and promises, and went off back to the town again to get help. One can imagine them, covered with sand, excited and disordered, running up the little street in the bright sunlight just as the shop folks were taking down their shutters and people were opening their bedroom windows. Henderson went into the railway station at once, in order to telegraph the news to London. The newspaper articles had prepared men’s minds for the reception of the idea.
By eight o’clock a number of boys and unemployed men had already started for the common to see the “dead men from Mars.” That was the form the story took. I heard of it first from my newspaper boy about a quarter to nine when I went out to get my Daily Chronicle. I was naturally startled, and lost no time in going out and across the Ottershaw bridge to the sand pits.
