从地球到月球
From the Earth to the Moon
第一章 大炮俱乐部
Chapter 1 The Gun Club
美国马里兰中部地区的巴尔的摩城，在南北战争期间成立了一个“大炮俱乐部”。
一些船东、商人跨出他们的柜台，成了军官甚至将军。他们在弹道科学上胜过欧洲并制造了一批超级大炮，受到了人们的崇拜。
这个俱乐部在有创意的情况下，凑足三个人，就选举出主席和两个秘书，有了第四人就当档案管理员，再有一个人就召开了全体大会，然后宣布俱乐部成立。
俱乐部成立一个月后就有一千八百三十三位正式会员和三万零五百六十五位通讯员。会员必须发明或改良过大炮或火器。
在大炮俱乐部的光荣册上，记载着失去生命的从士兵到将军以及伤残人的名字。在俱乐部会员中四个人不到两条胳膊，六个人只有两条腿。战争停止后，大炮俱乐部也冷清下来。
一天晚上，装着两条木腿的汤姆?亨特尔感到无聊得受不了，而失去 一条胳膊的比斯比更是感到那种热闹的日子一去不复返了，装着树胶脑壳的J．T．马斯顿对着早上刚完成的迫击炮设计感到没什么希望。
他们都渴望战争，都想去欧洲的战场上继续他们的试验，或者是找到打仗的理由。
J．T．马斯顿认为既然北美曾经属于英国，那么英国现在就可以属于美国。布隆斯利上校认为这很公平，J．T．马斯顿让他去和美国总统说，要不就别指望以后投他的票，并且如果不让自己的新型迫击炮在真正的战场上试验一下，就退出俱乐部到草原上隐居。屋里的人都积极响应。
这时他们收到俱乐部主席因贝?巴比康的通报，俱乐部将于本月五日召开会议，届时将发布大家感兴趣的问题。
uring the War of the Rebellion, a new and influential club was established in the city of Baltimore in the State of Maryland. It is well known with what energy the taste for military matters became developed among that nation of ship-owners, shopkeepers, and mechanics. Simple tradesmen jumped their counters to become extemporized captains, colonels, and generals, without having ever passed the School of Instruction at West Point; nevertheless, they quickly rivaled their compeers of the old continent, and, like them, carried off victories by dint of lavish expenditure in ammunition, money, and men.
But the point in which the Americans singularly distanced the Europeans was in the science of gunnery. Not, indeed, that their weapons retained a higher degree of perfection than theirs, but that they exhibited unheard-of dimensions, and consequently attained hitherto unheard-of ranges. In point of grazing, plunging, oblique, or enfilading, or point-blank firing, the English, French, and Prussians have nothing to learn; but their cannon, howitzers, and mortars are mere pocket-pistols compared with the formidable engines of the American artillery.
This fact need surprise no one. The Yankees, the first mechanicians in the world, are engineers-just as the Italians are musicians and the Germans metaphysicians- by right of birth. Nothing is more natural, therefore, than to perceive them applying their audacious ingenuity to the science of gunnery. Witness the marvels of Parrott, Dahlgren, and Rodman, The Armstrong, Palliser, and Beaulieu guns were compelled to bow before their transatlantic rivals.
Now when an American has an idea, he directly seeks a second American to share it. If there be three, they elect a president and two secretaries. Given four, the name a keeper of records, and the office is ready for work; five, they convene a general meeting, and the club is fully constituted. So things were managed in Baltimore. The inventor of a new cannon associated himself with the caster and the borer. Thus was formed the nucleus of the "Gun Club. " In a single month after its formation it numbered 1, 833 effective members and 30, 565 corresponding members.
One condition was imposed as a unique one upon every candidate for admission into the association, and that was the condition of having designed, or (more or less) perfected a cannon; or, in default of a cannon, at least a firearm of some description. It may, however, be mentioned that mere inventors of revolvers, fire-shooting carbines, and similar small arms, met with little consideration. Artillerists always commanded the chief place of favor.
The estimation in which these gentlemen were held, according to one of the most scientific exponents of the Gun Club, was "proportional to the masses of their guns, and in the direct ratio of the square of the distances attained by their projectiles. "
The Gun Club once founded, it is easy to conceive the result of the inventive genius of the Americans. Their military weapons attained colossal proportions, and their projectiles, exceeding the prescribed limits, unfortunately occasionally cut in two some unoffending pedestrians. These inventions, in fact, left far in the rear the timid instruments of European artillery.
It is but fair to add that these Yankees, brave as they have ever proved themselves to be, did not confine themselves to theories and formulae, but that they paid heavily, in propria personal, for their inventions. Among them were to be counted officers of all ranks, from lieutenants to generals; military men of every age, from those who were just making their debut in the profession of arms up to those who had grown old in the gun-carriage. Many had found their rest on the field of battle whose names figured in the "Book of Honor" of the Gun Club; and of those who made good their return the greater proportion bore the marks of their indisputable valor: crutches, wooden legs, artificial arms, steel hooks, caoutchouc jaws, silver craniums, platinum noses, were all to be found in the collection; and it was calculated by the great statistician Pitcairn that throughout the Gun Club there was not quite one arm between four persons and two legs between six.
Nevertheless, these valiant artillerists took no particular account of these little facts, and felt justly proud when the despatches of a battle returned the number of victims at ten-fold the quantity of projectiles expended.
One day, however- sad and melancholy day!-peace was signed between the survivors of the war; the thunder of the guns gradually ceased, the mortars were silent, the howitzers were muzzled for an indefinite period, the cannon, with muzzles depressed, were returned into the arsenal, the shot were repiled, all bloody reminiscences were effaced; the cotton-plants grew luxuriantly in the well-manured fields, all mourning garments were laid aside, together with grief; and the Gun Club was relegated to profound inactivity.
Some few of the more advanced and inveterate theorists set themselves again to work upon calculations regarding the laws of projectiles. They reverted invariably to gigantic shells and howitzers of unparalleled caliber. Still in default of practical experience what was the value of mere theories? Consequently, the clubrooms became deserted, the servants dozed in the antechambers, the newspapers grew mouldy on the tables, sounds of snoring came from dark corners, and the members of the Gun Club, erstwhile so noisy in their seances, were reduced to silence by this disastrous peace and gave themselves up wholly to dreams of a Platonic kind of artillery.
"This is horrible! " said Tom Hunter one evening, while rapidly carbonizing his wooden legs in the fireplace of the smoking-room; "Nothing to do! Nothing to look forward to! What a loathsome existence! When again shall the guns arouse us in the morning with their delightful reports? "
"Those days are gone by, " said jolly Bilsby, trying to extend his missing arms. "It was delightful once upon a time! One invented a gun, and hardly was it cast, when one hastened to try it in the face of the enemy! Then one returned to camp with a word of encouragement from Sherman or a friendly shake of the hand from Medlellan. But now the generals are gone back to their counters; and in place of projectiles, they despatch bales of cotton. By Jove, the future of gunnery in America is lost! "
"Ay! And no war in prospect! " continued the famous James T. Maston, scratching with his steel hook his gutta-percha cranium. "Not a cloud on the horizon! And that too at such a critical period in the progress of the science of artillery! Yes, gentlemen! I who address you have myself this very morning perfected a model (plan, section, elevation, etc. ) of a mortar destined to change all the conditions of warfare ! "
"No! Is it possible? " replied Tom Hunter, his thoughts reverting involuntarily to a former invention of the Hon. J. T. Maston, by which, at its first trial, he had succeeded in killing three hundred and thirty-seven people.
"Fact! " replied he. "Still, what is the use of so many studies worked out, so many difficulties vanquished? Its mere waste of time! The New World seems to have made up its mind to live in peace; and our bellicose《Tribune》predicts some approaching catastrophes arising out of this scandalous increase of population. "
"Nevertheless, " replied Colonel Blomsberry, "they are always struggling in Europe to maintain the principle of nationalities. "
"Well? "
"Well, there might be some field for enterprise down there; and if they would accept our services—"
"What are you dreaming of? " screamed Bilsby; "work at gunnery for the benefit of foreigners? "
"That would be better than doing nothing here, " returned the colonel.
"Quite so, " said J. T. Matson; "but still we need not dream of that expedient. "
"And why not? " demanded the colonel.
"Because their ideas of progress in the Old World are contrary to our American habits of thought. Those fellows believe that one cant become a general without having served first as an ensign; which is as much as to say that one cant point a gun without having first cast it oneself ! "
"Ridiculous! " replied Tom Hunter, whittling with his bowie-knife the arms of his easy chair, "but if that be the case there, all that is left for us is to plant tobacco and distill whale-oil. "
"What! " roared J. T. Maston, "shall we not employ these remaining years of our life in perfecting firearms? Shall there never be a fresh opportunity of trying the ranges of projectiles? Shall the air never again be lighted with the glare of our guns? No international difficulty ever arise to enable us to declare war against some transatlantic power? Shall not the French sink one of our steamers, or the English, in defiance of the rights of nations, hang a few of our countrymen? "
"No such luck, " replied Colonel Blomsberry; "nothing of the kind is likely to happen; and even if it did, we should not profit by it. American susceptibility is fast declining, and we are all going to the dogs. "
"It is too true, " replied J. T. Maston, with fresh violence; "there are a thousand grounds for fighting, and yet we dont fight. We save up our arms and legs for the benefit of nations who dont know what to do with them! But stop-without going out of ones way to find a cause for war-did not North America once belong to the English? "
"Undoubtedly, " replied Tom Hunter, stamping his crutch with fury.
"Well, then, " replied J. T. Maston, "why should not England in her turn belong to the Americans? "
"It would be but just and fair, " returned Colonel Blomsberry.
"Go and propose it to the President of the United States, " cried J. T. Maston, "and see how he will receive you. "
"Bah! " growled Bilsby between the four teeth which the war had left him; "that will never do ! "
"By Jove! " cried J. T. Maston, "he mustnt count on my vote at the next election! "
"Nor on ours, " replied unanimously all the bellicose invalids.
"Meanwhile, " replied J. T. Maston, "allow me to say that, if I cannot get an opportunity to try my new mortars on a real field of battle, I shall say good-by to the members of the Gun Club, and go and bury myself in the prairies of Arkansas ! "
"In that case we will accompany you, " cried the others.
Matters were in this unfortunate condition, and the club was threatened with approaching dissolution, when an unexpected circumstance occurred to prevent so deplorable a catastrophe.
On the morrow after this conversation every member of the association received a sealed circular couched in the following terms:
BALTIMORE, October 3. The president of the Gun Club has the honor to inform his colleagues that, at the meeting of the 5th instant, he will bring before them a communication of an extremely interesting nature. He requests, therefore, that they will make it convenient to attend in accordance with the present invitation.
Very cordially,
IMPEY BARBICANE, P. G. C.
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