It happened, therefore, that the father of the pretty Provençale, who had refused him his daughter’s hand because he was too learned, came to read the famous letter in the Petit Marseillais. Without any assistance he managed to make out its meaning. And then he was seized with remorse, and, as a preliminary measure, sent Sulphuric Alcide an invitation to dinner.
And so the world was left as it was.
No attempt was made by Barbicane & Co. to resume business. Any attempt would have been futile. Alcide’s contention was indisputable. It could be shown by mechanics that to effect a displacement of 23° 28′, even with meli-melonite, so many Kilimanjaro guns or mines would be required, that the surface of the spheroid could not hold them.
The world’s inhabitants could thus sleep in peace. To modify the conditions of the Earth’s movement is beyond the powers of man. It is not given to mankind to change the order established by the Creator in the system of the Universe.
THE END.
Bournemouth:
Printed by W. Mate & Sons (1919) Ltd.,
58 Commercial Road.