wished to weigh maturely what part to act towards you. I have hesitated
much. Most annoying circumstances have brought you into the presence of a
man who has broken all the ties of humanity. You have come to trouble my
existence."
"Unintentionally!" said I.
"Unintentionally?" replied the stranger, raising his voice a little.
"Was it unintentionally that the Abraham Lincoln pursued me all over the
seas? Was it unintentionally that you took passage in this frigate? Was it
unintentionally that your cannon-balls rebounded off the plating of my
vessel? Was it unintentionally that Mr. Ned Land struck me with his
harpoon?"
I detected a restrained irritation in these words. But to these
recriminations I had a very natural answer to make, and I made it.
"Sir," said I, "no doubt you are ignorant of the discussions which have
taken place concerning you in America and Europe. You do not know that
divers accidents, caused by collisions with your submarine machine, have
excited public feeling in the two continents. I omit the theories without
number by which it was sought to explain that of which you alone possess
the secret. But you must understand that, in pursuing you over the high
seas of the Pacific, the Abraham Lincoln believed itself to be chasing
some powerful sea-monster, of which it was necessary to rid the ocean at
any price."
A half-smile curled the lips of the commander: then, in a calmer tone:
"M. Aronnax," he replied, "dare you affirm that your frigate would not
as soon have pursued and cannonaded a submarine boat as a monster?"
This question embarrassed me, for certainly Captain Farragut might not
have hesitated. He might have thought it his duty to destroy a contrivance
of this kind, as he would a gigantic narwhal.
"You understand then, sir," continued the stranger, "that I have the
right to treat you as enemies?"
I answered nothing, purposely. For what good would it be to discuss
such a proposition, when force could destroy the best arguments?
"I have hesitated some time," continued the commander; "nothing obliged
me to show you hospitality. If I chose to separate myself from you, I
should have no interest in seeing you again; I could place you upon the
deck of this vessel which has served you as a refuge, I could sink beneath
the waters, and forget that you had ever existed. Would not that be my
right?"
"It might be the right of a savage," I answered, "but not that of a
civilised man."
"Professor," replied the commander, quickly, "I am not what you call a
civilised man! I have done with society entirely, for reasons which I
alone have the right of appreciating. I do not, therefore, obey its laws,
and I desire you never to allude to them before me again!"
This was said plainly. A flash of anger and disdain kindled in the eyes
of the Unknown, and I had a glimpse of a terrible past in the life of this
man. Not only had he put himself beyond the pale of human laws, but he had
made himself independent of them, free in the strictest acceptation of the
word, quite beyond their reach! Who then would dare to pursue him at the
bottom of the sea, when, on its surface, he defied all attempts made
against him?
What vessel could resist the shock of his submarine monitor? What
cuirass, however thick, could withstand the blows of his spur? No man
could demand from him an account of his actions; God, if he believed in
one-his conscience, if he had one- were the sole judges to whom he was
answerable.
These reflections crossed my mind rapidly, whilst the stranger
personage was silent, absorbed, and as if wrapped up in himself. I
regarded him with fear mingled with interest, as, doubtless, OEdiphus
regarded the Sphinx.
After rather a long silence, the commander resumed the conversation.
"I have hesitated," said he, "but I have thought that my interest might
be reconciled with that pity to which every human being has a right. You
will remain on board my vessel, since fate has cast you there. You will be
free; and, in exchange for this liberty, I shall only impose one single
condition. Your word of honour to submit to it will suffice."
"Speak, sir," I answered. "I suppose this condition is one which a man
of honour may accept?"
"Yes, sir; it is this: It is possible that certain events, unforeseen,
may oblige me to consign you to your cabins for some hours or some days,
as the case may be. As I desire never to use violence, I expect from you,
more than all the others, a passive obedience. In thus acting, I take all
the responsibility: I acquit you entirely, for I make it an impossibility
for you to see what ought not to be seen. Do you accept this condition?"
Then things took place on board which, to say the least, were singular,
and which ought not to be seen by people who were not placed beyond the
pale of social laws. Amongst the surprises which the future was preparing
for me, this might not be the least.
"We accept," I answered; "only I will ask your permission, sir, to
address one question to you-one only."
"Speak, sir."
"You said that we should be free on board."
"Entirely."
"I ask you, then, what you mean by this liberty?"
"Just the liberty to go, to come, to see, to observe even all that
passes here save under rare circumstances-the liberty, in short, which we
enjoy ourselves, my companions and I."
It was evident that we did not understand one another.
"Pardon me, sir," I resumed, "but this liberty is only what every
prisoner has of pacing his prison. It cannot suffice us."
"It must suffice you, however."
"What! we must renounce for ever seeing our country, our friends, our
relations again?"
"Yes, sir. But to renounce that unendurable worldly yoke which men
believe to be liberty is not perhaps so painful as you think."
"Well," exclaimed Ned Land, "never will I give my word of honour not to
try to escape."
"I did not ask you for your word of honour, Master Land," answered the
commander, coldly.
"Sir," I replied, beginning to get angry in spite of my self, "you
abuse your situation towards us; it is cruelty."
"No, sir, it is clemency. You are my prisoners of war. I keep you, when
I could, by a word, plunge you into the depths of the ocean. You attacked
me. You came to surprise a secret which no man in the world must
penetrate-the secret of my whole existence. And you think that I am going
to send you back to that world which must know me no more? Never! In
retaining you, it is not you whom I guard- it is myself."
These words indicated a resolution taken on the part of the commander,
against which no arguments would prevail.
"So, sir," I rejoined, "you give us simply the choice between life and
death?"
"Simply."
"My friends," said I, "to a question thus put, there is nothing to
answer. But no word of honour binds us to the master of this vessel."
"None, sir," answered the Unknown.
Then, in a gentler tone, he continued:
"Now, permit me to finish what I have to say to you. I know you, M.
Aronnax. You and your companions will not, perhaps, have so much to
complain of in the chance which has bound you to my fate. You will find
amongst the books which are my favourite study the work which you have
published on `the depths of the sea.' I have often read it. You have
carried out your work as far as terrestrial science permitted you. But you
do not know all-you have not seen all. Let me tell you then, Professor,
that you will not regret the time passed on board my vessel. You are going
to visit the land of marvels."
These words of the commander had a great effect upon me. I cannot deny
it. My weak point was touched; and I forgot, for a moment, that the
contemplation of these sublime subjects was not worth the loss of liberty.
Besides, I trusted to the future to decide this grave question. So I
contented myself with saying:
"By what name ought I to address you?"
"Sir," replied the commander, "I am nothing to you but Captain Nemo;
and you and your companions are nothing to me but the passengers of the
Nautilus."
Captain Nemo called. A steward appeared. The captain gave him his
orders in that strange language which I did not understand. Then, turning
towards the Canadian and Conseil:
"A repast awaits you in your cabin," said he. "Be so good as to follow
this man.
"And now, M. Aronnax, our breakfast is ready. Permit me to lead the
way."
"I am at your service, Captain."
I followed Captain Nemo; and as soon as I had passed through the door,
I found myself in a kind of passage lighted by electricity, similar to the
waist of a ship. After we had proceeded a dozen yards, a second door
opened before me.
I then entered a dining-room, decorated and furnished in severe taste.
High oaken sideboards, inlaid with ebony, stood at the two extremities of
the room, and upon their shelves glittered china, porcelain, and glass of
inestimable value. The plate on the table sparkled in the rays which the
luminous ceiling shed around, while the light was tempered and softened by
exquisite paintings.
In the centre of the room was a table richly laid out. Captain Nemo
indicated the place I was to occupy.
The breakfast consisted of a certain number of dishes, the contents of
which were furnished by the sea alone; and I was ignorant of the nature
and mode of preparation of some of them. I acknowledged that they were
good, but they had a peculiar flavour, which I easily became accustomed
to. These different aliments appeared to me to be rich in phosphorus, and
I thought they must have a marine origin.
Captain Nemo looked at me. I asked him no questions, but he guessed my
thoughts, and answered of his own accord the questions which I was burning
to address to him.
"The greater part of these dishes are unknown to you," he said to me.
"However, you may partake of them without fear. They are wholesome and
nourishing. For a long time I have renounced the food of the earth, and I
am never ill now. My crew, who are healthy, are fed on the same food."
"So," said I, "all these eatables are the produce of the sea?"
"Yes, Professor, the sea supplies all my wants. Sometimes I cast my
nets in tow, and I draw them in ready to break. Sometimes I hunt in the
midst of this element, which appears to be inaccessible to man, and quarry
the game which dwells in my submarine forests. My flocks, like those of
Neptune's old shepherds, graze fearlessly in the immense prairies of the
ocean. I have a vast property there, which I cultivate myself, and which
is always sown by the hand of the Creator of all things."
"I can understand perfectly, sir, that your nets furnish excellent fish
for your table; I can understand also that you hunt aquatic game in your
submarine forests; but I cannot understand at all how a particle of meat,
no matter how small, can figure in your bill of fare."
"This, which you believe to be meat, Professor, is nothing else than
fillet of turtle. Here are also some dolphins' livers, which you take to
be ragout of pork. My cook is a clever fellow, who excels in dressing
these various products of the ocean. Taste all these dishes. Here is a
preserve of sea-cucumber, which a Malay would declare to be unrivalled in
the world; here is a cream, of which the milk has been furnished by the
cetacea, and the sugar by the great fucus of the North Sea; and, lastly,
permit me to offer you some preserve of anemones, which is equal to that
of the most delicious fruits."
I tasted, more from curiosity than as a connoisseur, whilst Captain
Nemo enchanted me with his extraordinary stories.
"You like the sea, Captain?"
"Yes; I love it! The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the
terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense
desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all
sides. The sea is only the embodiment of a supernatural and wonderful
existence. It is nothing but love and emotion; it is the `Living
Infinite,' as one of your poets has said. In fact, Professor, Nature
manifests herself in it by her three kingdoms-mineral, vegetable, and
animal. The sea is the vast reservoir of Nature. The globe began with sea,
so to speak; and who knows if it will not end with it? In it is supreme
tranquillity. The sea does not belong to despots. Upon its surface men can
still exercise unjust laws, fight, tear one another to pieces, and be
carried away with terrestrial horrors. But at thirty feet below its level,
their reign ceases, their influence is quenched, and their power
disappears. Ah! sir, live-live in the bosom of the waters! There only is
independence! There I recognise no masters! There I am free!"
Captain Nemo suddenly became silent in the midst of this enthusiasm, by
which he was quite carried away. For a few moments he paced up and down,
much agitated. Then he became more calm, regained his accustomed coldness
of expression, and turning towards me:
"Now, Professor," said he, "if you wish to go over the Nautilus, I am
at your service."
Captain Nemo rose. I followed him. A double door, contrived at the back
of the dining-room, opened, and I entered a room equal in dimensions to
that which I had just quitted.
It was a library. High pieces of furniture, of black violet ebony
inlaid with brass, supported upon their wide shelves a great number of
books uniformly bound. They followed the shape of the room, terminating at
the lower part in huge divans, covered with brown leather, which were
curved, to afford the greatest comfort. Light movable desks, made to slide
in and out at will, allowed one to rest one's book while reading. In the
centre stood an immense table, covered with pamphlets, amongst which were
some newspapers, already of old date. The electric light flooded
everything; it was shed from four unpolished globes half sunk in the
volutes of the ceiling. I looked with real admiration at this room, so
ingeniously fitted up, and I could scarcely believe my eyes.
"Captain Nemo," said I to my host, who had just thrown himself on one
of the divans, "this is a library which would do honour to more than one
of the continental palaces, and I am absolutely astounded when I consider
that it can follow you to the bottom of the seas."
"Where could one find greater solitude or silence, Professor?" replied
Captain Nemo. "Did your study in the Museum afford you such perfect
quiet?"
"No, sir; and I must confess that it is a very poor one after yours.
You must have six or seven thousand volumes here."
"Twelve thousand, M. Aronnax. These are the only ties which bind me to
the earth. But I had done with the world on the day when my Nautilus
plunged for the first time beneath the waters. That day I bought my last
volumes, my last pamphlets, my last papers, and from that time I wish to
think that men no longer think or write. These books, Professor, are at
your service besides, and you can make use of them freely."
I thanked Captain Nemo, and went up to the shelves of the library.
Works on science, morals, and literature abounded in every language; but I
did not see one single work on political economy; that subject appeared to
be strictly proscribed. Strange to say, all these books were irregularly
arranged, in whatever language they were written; and this medley proved
that the Captain of the Nautilus must have read indiscriminately the books
which he took up by chance.
"Sir," said I to the Captain, "I thank you for having placed this
library at my disposal. It contains treasures of science, and I shall
profit by them."
"This room is not only a library," said Captain Nemo, "it is also a
smoking-room."
"A smoking-room!" I cried. "Then one may smoke on board?"
"Certainly."
"Then, sir, I am forced to believe that you have kept up a
communication with Havannah."
"Not any," answered the Captain. "Accept this cigar, M. Aronnax; and,
though it does not come from Havannah, you will be pleased with it, if you
are a connoisseur."
I took the cigar which was offered me; its shape recalled the London
ones, but it seemed to be made of leaves of gold. I lighted it at a little
brazier, which was supported upon an elegant bronze stem, and drew the
first whiffs with the delight of a lover of smoking who has not smoked for
two days.
"It is excellent, but it is not tobacco."
"No!" answered the Captain, "this tobacco comes neither from Havannah
nor from the East. It is a kind of sea-weed, rich in nicotine, with which
the sea provides me, but somewhat sparingly."
At that moment Captain Nemo opened a door which stood opposite to that
by which I had entered the library, and I passed into an immense
drawing-room splendidly lighted.
It was a vast, four-sided room, thirty feet long, eighteen wide, and
fifteen high. A luminous ceiling, decorated with light arabesques, shed a
soft clear light over all the marvels accumulated in this museum. For it
was in fact a museum, in which an intelligent and prodigal hand had
gathered all the treasures of nature and art, with the artistic confusion
which distinguishes a painter's studio.
{several sentences are missing here in the omnibus edition}
Thirty first-rate pictures, uniformly framed, separated by bright
drapery, ornamented the walls, which were hung with tapestry of severe
design. I saw works of great value, the greater part of which I had
admired in the special collections of Europe, and in the exhibitions of
paintings.
Some admirable statues in marble and bronze, after the finest antique
models, stood upon pedestals in the corners of this magnificent museum.
Amazement, as the Captain of the Nautilus had predicted, had already begun
to take possession of me.
"Professor," said this strange man, "you must excuse the unceremonious
way in which I receive you, and the disorder of this room."
"Sir," I answered, "without seeking to know who you are, I recognise in
you an artist."
"An amateur, nothing more, sir. Formerly I loved to collect these
beautiful works created by the hand of man. I sought them greedily, and
ferreted them out indefatigably, and I have been able to bring together
some objects of great value. These are my last souvenirs of that world
which is dead to me. In my eyes, your modern artists are already old; they
have two or three thousand years of existence; I confound them in my own
mind. Masters have no age."
{4 paragraphs seem to be missing from this omnibus text here they have
to do with musical composers, a piano, and a brief revery on the part of
Nemo}
Under elegant glass cases, fixed by copper rivets, were classed and
labelled the most precious productions of the sea which had ever been
presented to the eye of a naturalist. My delight as a professor may be
conceived.
{2 long paragraphs seem to be missing from this omnibus here}
Apart, in separate compartments, were spread out chaplets of pearls of
the greatest beauty, which reflected the electric light in little sparks
of fire; pink pearls, torn from the pinna-marina of the Red Sea; green
pearls, yellow, blue, and black pearls, the curious productions of the
divers molluscs of every ocean, and certain mussels of the water courses
of the North; lastly, several specimens of inestimable value. Some of
these pearls were larger than a pigeon's egg, and were worth millions.
{this para has been altered the last sentence reworded}
Therefore, to estimate the value of this collection was simply
impossible. Captain Nemo must have expended millions in the acquirement of
these various specimens, and I was thinking what source he could have
drawn from, to have been able thus to gratify his fancy for collecting,
when I was interrupted by these words:
"You are examining my shells, Professor? Unquestionably they must be
interesting to a naturalist; but for me they have a far greater charm, for
I have collected them all with my own hand, and there is not a sea on the
face of the globe which has escaped my researches."
"I can understand, Captain, the delight of wandering about in the midst
of such riches. You are one of those who have collected their treasures
themselves. No museum in Europe possesses such a collection of the produce
of the ocean. But if I exhaust all my admiration upon it, I shall have
none left for the vessel which carries it. I do not wish to pry into your
secrets: but I must confess that this Nautilus, with the motive power
which is confined in it, the contrivances which enable it to be worked,
the powerful agent which propels it, all excite my curiosity to the
highest pitch. I see suspended on the walls of this room instruments of
whose use I am ignorant."
"You will find these same instruments in my own room, Professor, where
I shall have much pleasure in explaining their use to you. But first come
and inspect the cabin which is set apart for your own use. You must see
how you will be accommodated on board the Nautilus."
I followed Captain Nemo who, by one of the doors opening from each
panel of the drawing-room, regained the waist. He conducted me towards the
bow, and there I found, not a cabin, but an elegant room, with a bed,
dressing-table, and several other pieces of excellent furniture.
I could only thank my host.
"Your room adjoins mine," said he, opening a door, "and mine opens into
the drawing-room that we have just quitted."
I entered the Captain's room: it had a severe, almost a monkish aspect.
A small iron bedstead, a table, some articles for the toilet; the whole
lighted by a skylight. No comforts, the strictest necessaries only.
Captain Nemo pointed to a seat.
"Be so good as to sit down," he said. I seated myself, and he began
thus:
"Sir," said Captain Nemo, showing me the instruments hanging on the
walls of his room, "here are the contrivances required for the navigation
of the Nautilus. Here, as in the drawing-room, I have them always under my
eyes, and they indicate my position and exact direction in the middle of
the ocean. Some are known to you, such as the thermometer, which gives the
internal temperature of the Nautilus; the barometer, which indicates the
weight of the air and foretells the changes of the weather; the
hygrometer, which marks the dryness of the atmosphere; the storm-glass,
the contents of which, by decomposing, announce the approach of tempests;
the compass, which guides my course; the sextant, which shows the latitude
by the altitude of the sun; chronometers, by which I calculate the
longitude; and glasses for day and night, which I use to examine the
points of the horizon, when the Nautilus rises to the surface of the
waves."
"These are the usual nautical instruments," I replied, "and I know the
use of them. But these others, no doubt, answer to the particular
requirements of the Nautilus. This dial with movable needle is a
manometer, is it not?"
"It is actually a manometer. But by communication with the water, whose
external pressure it indicates, it gives our depth at the same time."
"And these other instruments, the use of which I cannot guess?"
"Here, Professor, I ought to give you some explanations. Will you be
kind enough to listen to me?"
He was silent for a few moments, then he said:
"There is a powerful agent, obedient, rapid, easy, which conforms to
every use, and reigns supreme on board my vessel. Everything is done by
means of it. It lights, warms it, and is the soul of my mechanical
apparatus. This agent is electricity."
"Electricity?" I cried in surprise.
"Yes, sir."
"Nevertheless, Captain, you possess an extreme rapidity of movement,
which does not agree well with the power of electricity. Until now, its
dynamic force has remained under restraint, and has only been able to
produce a small amount of power."
"Professor," said Captain Nemo, "my electricity is not everybody's. You
know what sea-water is composed of. In a thousand grammes are found 96 1/2
per cent. of water, and about 2 2/3 per cent. of chloride of sodium; then,
in a smaller quantity, chlorides of magnesium and of potassium, bromide of
magnesium, sulphate of magnesia, sulphate and carbonate of lime. You see,
then, that chloride of sodium forms a large part of it. So it is this
sodium that I extract from the sea-water, and of which I compose my
ingredients. I owe all to the ocean; it produces electricity, and
electricity gives heat, light, motion, and, in a word, life to the
Nautilus."
"But not the air you breathe?"
"Oh! I could manufacture the air necessary for my consumption, but it
is useless, because I go up to the surface of the water when I please.
However, if electricity does not furnish me with air to breathe, it works
at least the powerful pumps that are stored in spacious reservoirs, and
which enable me to prolong at need, and as long as I will, my stay in the
depths of the sea. It gives a uniform and unintermittent light, which the
sun does not. Now look at this clock; it is electrical, and goes with a
regularity that defies the best chronometers. I have divided it into
twenty-four hours, like the Italian clocks, because for me there is
neither night nor day, sun nor moon, but only that factitious light that I
take with me to the bottom of the sea. Look! just now, it is ten o'clock
in the morning."
"Exactly."
"Another application of electricity. This dial hanging in front of us
indicates the speed of the Nautilus. An electric thread puts it in
communication with the screw, and the needle indicates the real speed.
Look! now we are spinning along with a uniform speed of fifteen miles an
hour."
"It is marvelous! And I see, Captain, you were right to make use of
this agent that takes the place of wind, water, and steam."
"We have not finished, M. Aronnax," said Captain Nemo, rising. "If you
will allow me, we will examine the stern of the Nautilus."
Really, I knew already the anterior part of this submarine boat, of
which this is the exact division, starting from the ship's head: the
dining-room, five yards long, separated from the library by a water-tight
partition; the library, five yards long; the large drawing-room, ten yards
long, separated from the Captain's room by a second water-tight partition;
the said room, five yards in length; mine, two and a half yards; and,
lastly a reservoir of air, seven and a half yards, that extended to the
bows. Total length thirty five yards, or one hundred and five feet. The
partitions had doors that were shut hermetically by means of india-rubber
instruments, and they ensured the safety of the Nautilus in case of a
leak.
I followed Captain Nemo through the waist, and arrived at the centre of
the boat. There was a sort of well that opened between two partitions. An
iron ladder, fastened with an iron hook to the partition, led to the upper
end. I asked the Captain what the ladder was used for.
"It leads to the small boat," he said.
"What! have you a boat?" I exclaimed, in surprise.
"Of course; an excellent vessel, light and insubmersible, that serves
either as a fishing or as a pleasure boat."
"But then, when you wish to embark, you are obliged to come to the
surface of the water?"
"Not at all. This boat is attached to the upper part of the hull of the
Nautilus, and occupies a cavity made for it. It is decked, quite
water-tight, and held together by solid bolts. This ladder leads to a
man-hole made in the hull of the Nautilus, that corresponds with a similar
hole made in the side of the boat. By this double opening I get into the
small vessel. They shut the one belonging to the Nautilus; I shut the
other by means of screw pressure. I undo the bolts, and the little boat
goes up to the surface of the sea with prodigious rapidity. I then open
the panel of the bridge, carefully shut till then; I mast it, hoist my
sail, take my oars, and I'm off."
"But how do you get back on board?"
"I do not come back, M. Aronnax; the Nautilus comes to me."
"By your orders?"
"By my orders. An electric thread connects us. I telegraph to it, and
that is enough."
"Really," I said, astonished at these marvels, "nothing can be more
simple."
After having passed by the cage of the staircase that led to the
platform, I saw a cabin six feet long, in which Conseil and Ned Land,
enchanted with their repast, were devouring it with avidity. Then a door
opened into a kitchen nine feet long, situated between the large
store-rooms. There electricity, better than gas itself, did all the
cooking. The streams under the furnaces gave out to the sponges of platina
a heat which was regularly kept up and distributed. They also heated a
distilling apparatus, which, by evaporation, furnished excellent drinkable
water. Near this kitchen was a bathroom comfortably furnished, with hot
and cold water taps.
Next to the kitchen was the berth-room of the vessel, sixteen feet
long. But the door was shut, and I could not see the management of it,
which might have given me an idea of the number of men employed on board
the Nautilus.
At the bottom was a fourth partition that separated this office from
the engine-room. A door opened, and I found myself in the compartment
where Captain Nemo-certainly an engineer of a very high order-had arranged
his locomotive machinery. This engine-room, clearly lighted, did not
measure less than sixty-five feet in length. It was divided into two
parts; the first contained the materials for producing electricity, and
the second the machinery that connected it with the screw. I examined it
with great interest, in order to understand the machinery of the Nautilus.
"You see," said the Captain, "I use Bunsen's contrivances, not
Ruhmkorff's. Those would not have been powerful enough. Bunsen's are fewer
in number, but strong and large, which experience proves to be the best.
The electricity produced passes forward, where it works, by
electro-magnets of great size, on a system of levers and cog-wheels that
transmit the movement to the axle of the screw. This one, the diameter of
which is nineteen feet, and the thread twenty-three feet, performs about
120 revolutions in a second."
"And you get then?"
"A speed of fifty miles an hour."
"I have seen the Nautilus manoeuvre before the Abraham Lincoln, and I
have my own ideas as to its speed. But this is not enough. We must see
where we go. We must be able to direct it to the right, to the left,
above, below. How do you get to the great depths, where you find an
increasing resistance, which is rated by hundreds of atmospheres? How do
you return to the surface of the ocean? And how do you maintain yourselves
in the requisite medium? Am I asking too much?"
"Not at all, Professor," replied the Captain, with some hesitation;
"since you may never leave this submarine boat. Come into the saloon, it
is our usual study, and there you will learn all you want to know about
the Nautilus."
A moment after we were seated on a divan in the saloon smoking. The
Captain showed me a sketch that gave the plan, section, and elevation of
the Nautilus. Then he began his description in these words:
"Here, M. Aronnax, are the several dimensions of the boat you are in.
It is an elongated cylinder with conical ends. It is very like a cigar in
shape, a shape already adopted in London in several constructions of the
same sort. The length of this cylinder, from stem to stern, is exactly 232
feet, and its maximum breadth is twenty-six feet. It is not built quite
like your long-voyage steamers, but its lines are sufficiently long, and
its curves prolonged enough, to allow the water to slide off easily, and
oppose no obstacle to its passage. These two dimensions enable you to
obtain by a simple calculation the surface and cubic contents of the
Nautilus. Its area measures 6,032 feet; and its contents about 1,500 cubic
yards; that is to say, when completely immersed it displaces 50,000 feet
of water, or weighs 1,500 tons.
"When I made the plans for this submarine vessel, I meant that
nine-tenths should be submerged: consequently it ought only to displace
nine-tenths of its bulk, that is to say, only to weigh that number of
tons. I ought not, therefore, to have exceeded that weight, constructing
it on the aforesaid dimensions.
"The Nautilus is composed of two hulls, one inside, the other outside,
joined by T-shaped irons, which render it very strong. Indeed, owing to
this cellular arrangement it resists like a block, as if it were solid.
Its sides cannot yield; it coheres spontaneously, and not by the closeness
of its rivets; and its perfect union of the materials enables it to defy
the roughest seas.
"These two hulls are composed of steel plates, whose density is from .7
to .8 that of water. The first is not less than two inches and a half
thick and weighs 394 tons. The second envelope, the keel, twenty inches
high and ten thick, weighs only sixty-two tons. The engine, the ballast,
the several accessories and apparatus appendages, the partitions and
bulkheads, weigh 961.62 tons. Do you follow all this?"
"I do."
"Then, when the Nautilus is afloat under these circumstances, one-tenth
is out of the water. Now, if I have made reservoirs of a size equal to
this tenth, or capable of holding 150 tons, and if I fill them with water,
the boat, weighing then 1,507 tons, will be completely immersed. That
would happen, Professor. These reservoirs are in the lower part of the
Nautilus. I turn on taps and they fill, and the vessel sinks that had just
been level with the surface."
"Well, Captain, but now we come to the real difficulty. I can
understand your rising to the surface; but, diving below the surface, does
not your submarine contrivance encounter a pressure, and consequently
undergo an upward thrust of one atmosphere for every thirty feet of water,
just about fifteen pounds per square inch?"
"Just so, sir."
"Then, unless you quite fill the Nautilus, I do not see how you can
draw it down to those depths."
"Professor, you must not confound statics with dynamics or you will be
exposed to grave errors. There is very little labour spent in attaining
the lower regions of the ocean, for all bodies have a tendency to sink.
When I wanted to find out the necessary increase of weight required to
sink the Nautilus, I had only to calculate the reduction of volume that
sea-water acquires according to the depth."
"That is evident."
"Now, if water is not absolutely incompressible, it is at least capable
of very slight compression. Indeed, after the most recent calculations
this reduction is only .000436 of an atmosphere for each thirty feet of
depth. If we want to sink 3,000 feet, I should keep account of the
reduction of bulk under a pressure equal to that of a column of water of a
thousand feet. The calculation is easily verified. Now, I have
supplementary reservoirs capable of holding a hundred tons. Therefore I
can sink to a considerable depth. When I wish to rise to the level of the
sea, I only let off the water, and empty all the reservoirs if I want the
Nautilus to emerge from the tenth part of her total capacity."
I had nothing to object to these reasonings.
"I admit your calculations, Captain," I replied; "I should be wrong to
dispute them since daily experience confirms them; but I foresee a real
difficulty in the way."
"What, sir?"
"When you are about 1,000 feet deep, the walls of the Nautilus bear a
pressure of 100 atmospheres. If, then, just now you were to empty the
supplementary reservoirs, to lighten the vessel, and to go up to the
surface, the pumps must overcome the pressure of 100 atmospheres, which is
1,500 lbs. per square inch. From that a power-"
"That electricity alone can give," said the Captain, hastily. "I
repeat, sir, that the dynamic power of my engines is almost infinite. The
pumps of the Nautilus have an enormous power, as you must have observed
when their jets of water burst like a torrent upon the Abraham Lincoln.
Besides, I use subsidiary reservoirs only to attain a mean depth of 750 to
1,000 fathoms, and that with a view of managing my machines. Also, when I
have a mind to visit the depths of the ocean five or six mlles below the
surface, I make use of slower but not less infallible means."
"What are they, Captain?"
"That involves my telling you how the Nautilus is worked."
"I am impatient to learn."
"To steer this boat to starboard or port, to turn, in a word, following
a horizontal plan, I use an ordinary rudder fixed on the back of the
stern-post, and with one wheel and some tackle to steer by. But I can also
make the Nautilus rise and sink, and sink and rise, by a vertical movement
by means of two inclined planes fastened to its sides, opposite the centre
of flotation, planes that move in every direction, and that are worked by
powerful levers from the interior. If the planes are kept parallel with
the boat, it moves horizontally. If slanted, the Nautilus, according to
this inclination, and under the influence of the screw, either sinks
diagonally or rises diagonally as it suits me. And even if I wish to rise
more quickly to the surface, I ship the screw, and the pressure of the
water causes the Nautilus to rise vertically like a balloon filled with
hydrogen."
"Bravo, Captain! But how can the steersman follow the route in the
middle of the waters?"
"The steersman is placed in a glazed box, that is raised about the hull
of the Nautilus, and furnished with lenses."
"Are these lenses capable of resisting such pressure?"
"Perfectly. Glass, which breaks at a blow, is, nevertheless, capable of
offering considerable resistance. During some experiments of fishing by
electric light in 1864 in the Northern Seas, we saw plates less than a
third of an inch thick resist a pressure of sixteen atmospheres. Now, the
glass that I use is not less than thirty times thicker."
"Granted. But, after all, in order to see, the light must exceed the
darkness, and in the midst of the darkness in the water, how can you see?"
"Behind the steersman's cage is placed a powerful electric reflector,
the rays from which light up the sea for half a mile in front."
"Ah! bravo, bravo, Captain! Now I can account for this phosphorescence
in the supposed narwhal that puzzled us so. I now ask you if the boarding
of the Nautilus and of the Scotia, that has made such a noise, has been
the result of a chance rencontre?"
"Quite accidental, sir. I was sailing only one fathom below the surface
of the water when the shock came. It had no bad result."
"None, sir. But now, about your rencontre with the Abraham Lincoln?"
"Professor, I am sorry for one of the best vessels in the American
navy; but they attacked me, and I was bound to defend myself. I contented
myself, however, with putting the frigate hors de combat; she will not
have any difficulty in getting repaired at the next port."
"Ah, Commander! your Nautilus is certainly a marvellous boat."
"Yes, Professor; and I love it as if it were part of myself. If danger
threatens one of your vessels on the ocean, the first impression is the
feeling of an abyss above and below. On the Nautilus men's hearts never
fail them. No defects to be afraid of, for the double shell is as firm as
iron; no rigging to attend to; no sails for the wind to carry away; no
boilers to burst; no fire to fear, for the vessel is made of iron, not of
wood; no coal to run short, for electricity is the only mechanical agent;
no collision to fear, for it alone swims in deep water; no tempest to
brave, for when it dives below the water it reaches absolute tranquillity.
There, sir! that is the perfection of vessels! And if it is true that the
engineer has more confidence in the vessel than the builder, and the
builder than the captain himself, you understand the trust I repose in my
Nautilus; for I am at once captain, builder, and engineer."
"But how could you construct this wonderful Nautilus in secret?"
"Each separate portion, M. Aronnax, was brought from different parts of
the globe."
"But these parts had to be put together and arranged?"
"Professor, I had set up my workshops upon a desert island in the
ocean. There my workmen, that is to say, the brave men that I instructed
and educated, and myself have put together our Nautilus. Then, when the
work was finished, fire destroyed all trace of our proceedings on this
island, that I could have jumped over if I had liked."
"Then the cost of this vessel is great?"
"M. Aronnax, an iron vessel costs L145 per ton. Now the Nautilus
weighed 1,500. It came therefore to L67,500, and L80,000 more for fitting
it up, and about L200,000, with the works of art and the collections it
contains."
"One last question, Captain Nemo."
"Ask it, Professor."
"You are rich?"
"Immensely rich, sir; and I could, without missing it, pay the national
debt of France."
I stared at the singular person who spoke thus. Was he playing upon my
credulity? The future would decide that.
The portion of the terrestrial globe which is covered by water is
estimated at upwards of eighty millions of acres. This fluid mass
comprises two billions two hundred and fifty millions of cubic miles,
forming a spherical body of a diameter of sixty leagues, the weight of
which would be three quintillions of tons. To comprehend the meaning of
these figures, it is necessary to observe that a quintillion is to a
billion as a billion is to unity; in other words, there are as many
billions in a quintillion as there are units in a billion. This mass of
fluid is equal to about the quantity of water which would be discharged by
all the rivers of the earth in forty thousand years.
During the geological epochs the ocean originally prevailed everywhere.
Then by degrees, in the silurian period, the tops of the mountains began
to appear, the islands emerged, then disappeared in partial deluges,
reappeared, became settled, formed continents, till at length the earth
became geographically arranged, as we see in the present day. The solid
had wrested from the liquid thirty-seven million six hundred and
fifty-seven square miles, equal to twelve billions nine hundred and sixty
millions of acres.
The shape of continents allows us to divide the waters into five great
portions: the Arctic or Frozen Ocean, the Antarctic, or Frozen Ocean, the
Indian, the Atlantic, and the Pacific Oceans.
The Pacific Ocean extends from north to south between the two Polar
Circles, and from east to west between Asia and America, over an extent of
145 degrees of longitude. It is the quietest of seas; its currents are
broad and slow, it has medium tides, and abundant rain. Such was the ocean
that my fate destined me first to travel over under these strange
conditions.
"Sir," said Captain Nemo, "we will, if you please, take our bearings
and fix the starting-point of this voyage. It is a quarter to twelve; I
will go up again to the surface."
The Captain pressed an electric clock three times. The pumps began to
drive the water from the tanks; the needle of the manometer marked by a
different pressure the ascent of the Nautilus, then it stopped.
"We have arrived," said the Captain.
I went to the central staircase which opened on to the platform,
clambered up the iron steps, and found myself on the upper part of the
Nautilus.
The platform was only three feet out of water. The front and back of
the Nautilus was of that spindle-shape which caused it justly to be
compared to a cigar. I noticed that its iron plates, slightly overlaying
each other, resembled the shell which clothes the bodies of our large
terrestrial reptiles. It explained to me how natural it was, in spite of
all glasses, that this boat should have been taken for a marine animal.
Toward the middle of the platform the longboat, half buried in the hull
of the vessel, formed a slight excrescence. Fore and aft rose two cages of
medium height with inclined sides, and partly closed by thick lenticular
glasses; one destined for the steersman who directed the Nautilus, the
other containing a brilliant lantern to give light on the road.
The sea was beautiful, the sky pure. Scarcely could the long vehicle
feel the broad undulations of the ocean. A light breeze from the east
rippled the surface of the waters. The horizon, free from fog, made
much. Most annoying circumstances have brought you into the presence of a
man who has broken all the ties of humanity. You have come to trouble my
existence."
"Unintentionally!" said I.
"Unintentionally?" replied the stranger, raising his voice a little.
"Was it unintentionally that the Abraham Lincoln pursued me all over the
seas? Was it unintentionally that you took passage in this frigate? Was it
unintentionally that your cannon-balls rebounded off the plating of my
vessel? Was it unintentionally that Mr. Ned Land struck me with his
harpoon?"
I detected a restrained irritation in these words. But to these
recriminations I had a very natural answer to make, and I made it.
"Sir," said I, "no doubt you are ignorant of the discussions which have
taken place concerning you in America and Europe. You do not know that
divers accidents, caused by collisions with your submarine machine, have
excited public feeling in the two continents. I omit the theories without
number by which it was sought to explain that of which you alone possess
the secret. But you must understand that, in pursuing you over the high
seas of the Pacific, the Abraham Lincoln believed itself to be chasing
some powerful sea-monster, of which it was necessary to rid the ocean at
any price."
A half-smile curled the lips of the commander: then, in a calmer tone:
"M. Aronnax," he replied, "dare you affirm that your frigate would not
as soon have pursued and cannonaded a submarine boat as a monster?"
This question embarrassed me, for certainly Captain Farragut might not
have hesitated. He might have thought it his duty to destroy a contrivance
of this kind, as he would a gigantic narwhal.
"You understand then, sir," continued the stranger, "that I have the
right to treat you as enemies?"
I answered nothing, purposely. For what good would it be to discuss
such a proposition, when force could destroy the best arguments?
"I have hesitated some time," continued the commander; "nothing obliged
me to show you hospitality. If I chose to separate myself from you, I
should have no interest in seeing you again; I could place you upon the
deck of this vessel which has served you as a refuge, I could sink beneath
the waters, and forget that you had ever existed. Would not that be my
right?"
"It might be the right of a savage," I answered, "but not that of a
civilised man."
"Professor," replied the commander, quickly, "I am not what you call a
civilised man! I have done with society entirely, for reasons which I
alone have the right of appreciating. I do not, therefore, obey its laws,
and I desire you never to allude to them before me again!"
This was said plainly. A flash of anger and disdain kindled in the eyes
of the Unknown, and I had a glimpse of a terrible past in the life of this
man. Not only had he put himself beyond the pale of human laws, but he had
made himself independent of them, free in the strictest acceptation of the
word, quite beyond their reach! Who then would dare to pursue him at the
bottom of the sea, when, on its surface, he defied all attempts made
against him?
What vessel could resist the shock of his submarine monitor? What
cuirass, however thick, could withstand the blows of his spur? No man
could demand from him an account of his actions; God, if he believed in
one-his conscience, if he had one- were the sole judges to whom he was
answerable.
These reflections crossed my mind rapidly, whilst the stranger
personage was silent, absorbed, and as if wrapped up in himself. I
regarded him with fear mingled with interest, as, doubtless, OEdiphus
regarded the Sphinx.
After rather a long silence, the commander resumed the conversation.
"I have hesitated," said he, "but I have thought that my interest might
be reconciled with that pity to which every human being has a right. You
will remain on board my vessel, since fate has cast you there. You will be
free; and, in exchange for this liberty, I shall only impose one single
condition. Your word of honour to submit to it will suffice."
"Speak, sir," I answered. "I suppose this condition is one which a man
of honour may accept?"
"Yes, sir; it is this: It is possible that certain events, unforeseen,
may oblige me to consign you to your cabins for some hours or some days,
as the case may be. As I desire never to use violence, I expect from you,
more than all the others, a passive obedience. In thus acting, I take all
the responsibility: I acquit you entirely, for I make it an impossibility
for you to see what ought not to be seen. Do you accept this condition?"
Then things took place on board which, to say the least, were singular,
and which ought not to be seen by people who were not placed beyond the
pale of social laws. Amongst the surprises which the future was preparing
for me, this might not be the least.
"We accept," I answered; "only I will ask your permission, sir, to
address one question to you-one only."
"Speak, sir."
"You said that we should be free on board."
"Entirely."
"I ask you, then, what you mean by this liberty?"
"Just the liberty to go, to come, to see, to observe even all that
passes here save under rare circumstances-the liberty, in short, which we
enjoy ourselves, my companions and I."
It was evident that we did not understand one another.
"Pardon me, sir," I resumed, "but this liberty is only what every
prisoner has of pacing his prison. It cannot suffice us."
"It must suffice you, however."
"What! we must renounce for ever seeing our country, our friends, our
relations again?"
"Yes, sir. But to renounce that unendurable worldly yoke which men
believe to be liberty is not perhaps so painful as you think."
"Well," exclaimed Ned Land, "never will I give my word of honour not to
try to escape."
"I did not ask you for your word of honour, Master Land," answered the
commander, coldly.
"Sir," I replied, beginning to get angry in spite of my self, "you
abuse your situation towards us; it is cruelty."
"No, sir, it is clemency. You are my prisoners of war. I keep you, when
I could, by a word, plunge you into the depths of the ocean. You attacked
me. You came to surprise a secret which no man in the world must
penetrate-the secret of my whole existence. And you think that I am going
to send you back to that world which must know me no more? Never! In
retaining you, it is not you whom I guard- it is myself."
These words indicated a resolution taken on the part of the commander,
against which no arguments would prevail.
"So, sir," I rejoined, "you give us simply the choice between life and
death?"
"Simply."
"My friends," said I, "to a question thus put, there is nothing to
answer. But no word of honour binds us to the master of this vessel."
"None, sir," answered the Unknown.
Then, in a gentler tone, he continued:
"Now, permit me to finish what I have to say to you. I know you, M.
Aronnax. You and your companions will not, perhaps, have so much to
complain of in the chance which has bound you to my fate. You will find
amongst the books which are my favourite study the work which you have
published on `the depths of the sea.' I have often read it. You have
carried out your work as far as terrestrial science permitted you. But you
do not know all-you have not seen all. Let me tell you then, Professor,
that you will not regret the time passed on board my vessel. You are going
to visit the land of marvels."
These words of the commander had a great effect upon me. I cannot deny
it. My weak point was touched; and I forgot, for a moment, that the
contemplation of these sublime subjects was not worth the loss of liberty.
Besides, I trusted to the future to decide this grave question. So I
contented myself with saying:
"By what name ought I to address you?"
"Sir," replied the commander, "I am nothing to you but Captain Nemo;
and you and your companions are nothing to me but the passengers of the
Nautilus."
Captain Nemo called. A steward appeared. The captain gave him his
orders in that strange language which I did not understand. Then, turning
towards the Canadian and Conseil:
"A repast awaits you in your cabin," said he. "Be so good as to follow
this man.
"And now, M. Aronnax, our breakfast is ready. Permit me to lead the
way."
"I am at your service, Captain."
I followed Captain Nemo; and as soon as I had passed through the door,
I found myself in a kind of passage lighted by electricity, similar to the
waist of a ship. After we had proceeded a dozen yards, a second door
opened before me.
I then entered a dining-room, decorated and furnished in severe taste.
High oaken sideboards, inlaid with ebony, stood at the two extremities of
the room, and upon their shelves glittered china, porcelain, and glass of
inestimable value. The plate on the table sparkled in the rays which the
luminous ceiling shed around, while the light was tempered and softened by
exquisite paintings.
In the centre of the room was a table richly laid out. Captain Nemo
indicated the place I was to occupy.
The breakfast consisted of a certain number of dishes, the contents of
which were furnished by the sea alone; and I was ignorant of the nature
and mode of preparation of some of them. I acknowledged that they were
good, but they had a peculiar flavour, which I easily became accustomed
to. These different aliments appeared to me to be rich in phosphorus, and
I thought they must have a marine origin.
Captain Nemo looked at me. I asked him no questions, but he guessed my
thoughts, and answered of his own accord the questions which I was burning
to address to him.
"The greater part of these dishes are unknown to you," he said to me.
"However, you may partake of them without fear. They are wholesome and
nourishing. For a long time I have renounced the food of the earth, and I
am never ill now. My crew, who are healthy, are fed on the same food."
"So," said I, "all these eatables are the produce of the sea?"
"Yes, Professor, the sea supplies all my wants. Sometimes I cast my
nets in tow, and I draw them in ready to break. Sometimes I hunt in the
midst of this element, which appears to be inaccessible to man, and quarry
the game which dwells in my submarine forests. My flocks, like those of
Neptune's old shepherds, graze fearlessly in the immense prairies of the
ocean. I have a vast property there, which I cultivate myself, and which
is always sown by the hand of the Creator of all things."
"I can understand perfectly, sir, that your nets furnish excellent fish
for your table; I can understand also that you hunt aquatic game in your
submarine forests; but I cannot understand at all how a particle of meat,
no matter how small, can figure in your bill of fare."
"This, which you believe to be meat, Professor, is nothing else than
fillet of turtle. Here are also some dolphins' livers, which you take to
be ragout of pork. My cook is a clever fellow, who excels in dressing
these various products of the ocean. Taste all these dishes. Here is a
preserve of sea-cucumber, which a Malay would declare to be unrivalled in
the world; here is a cream, of which the milk has been furnished by the
cetacea, and the sugar by the great fucus of the North Sea; and, lastly,
permit me to offer you some preserve of anemones, which is equal to that
of the most delicious fruits."
I tasted, more from curiosity than as a connoisseur, whilst Captain
Nemo enchanted me with his extraordinary stories.
"You like the sea, Captain?"
"Yes; I love it! The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the
terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense
desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all
sides. The sea is only the embodiment of a supernatural and wonderful
existence. It is nothing but love and emotion; it is the `Living
Infinite,' as one of your poets has said. In fact, Professor, Nature
manifests herself in it by her three kingdoms-mineral, vegetable, and
animal. The sea is the vast reservoir of Nature. The globe began with sea,
so to speak; and who knows if it will not end with it? In it is supreme
tranquillity. The sea does not belong to despots. Upon its surface men can
still exercise unjust laws, fight, tear one another to pieces, and be
carried away with terrestrial horrors. But at thirty feet below its level,
their reign ceases, their influence is quenched, and their power
disappears. Ah! sir, live-live in the bosom of the waters! There only is
independence! There I recognise no masters! There I am free!"
Captain Nemo suddenly became silent in the midst of this enthusiasm, by
which he was quite carried away. For a few moments he paced up and down,
much agitated. Then he became more calm, regained his accustomed coldness
of expression, and turning towards me:
"Now, Professor," said he, "if you wish to go over the Nautilus, I am
at your service."
Captain Nemo rose. I followed him. A double door, contrived at the back
of the dining-room, opened, and I entered a room equal in dimensions to
that which I had just quitted.
It was a library. High pieces of furniture, of black violet ebony
inlaid with brass, supported upon their wide shelves a great number of
books uniformly bound. They followed the shape of the room, terminating at
the lower part in huge divans, covered with brown leather, which were
curved, to afford the greatest comfort. Light movable desks, made to slide
in and out at will, allowed one to rest one's book while reading. In the
centre stood an immense table, covered with pamphlets, amongst which were
some newspapers, already of old date. The electric light flooded
everything; it was shed from four unpolished globes half sunk in the
volutes of the ceiling. I looked with real admiration at this room, so
ingeniously fitted up, and I could scarcely believe my eyes.
"Captain Nemo," said I to my host, who had just thrown himself on one
of the divans, "this is a library which would do honour to more than one
of the continental palaces, and I am absolutely astounded when I consider
that it can follow you to the bottom of the seas."
"Where could one find greater solitude or silence, Professor?" replied
Captain Nemo. "Did your study in the Museum afford you such perfect
quiet?"
"No, sir; and I must confess that it is a very poor one after yours.
You must have six or seven thousand volumes here."
"Twelve thousand, M. Aronnax. These are the only ties which bind me to
the earth. But I had done with the world on the day when my Nautilus
plunged for the first time beneath the waters. That day I bought my last
volumes, my last pamphlets, my last papers, and from that time I wish to
think that men no longer think or write. These books, Professor, are at
your service besides, and you can make use of them freely."
I thanked Captain Nemo, and went up to the shelves of the library.
Works on science, morals, and literature abounded in every language; but I
did not see one single work on political economy; that subject appeared to
be strictly proscribed. Strange to say, all these books were irregularly
arranged, in whatever language they were written; and this medley proved
that the Captain of the Nautilus must have read indiscriminately the books
which he took up by chance.
"Sir," said I to the Captain, "I thank you for having placed this
library at my disposal. It contains treasures of science, and I shall
profit by them."
"This room is not only a library," said Captain Nemo, "it is also a
smoking-room."
"A smoking-room!" I cried. "Then one may smoke on board?"
"Certainly."
"Then, sir, I am forced to believe that you have kept up a
communication with Havannah."
"Not any," answered the Captain. "Accept this cigar, M. Aronnax; and,
though it does not come from Havannah, you will be pleased with it, if you
are a connoisseur."
I took the cigar which was offered me; its shape recalled the London
ones, but it seemed to be made of leaves of gold. I lighted it at a little
brazier, which was supported upon an elegant bronze stem, and drew the
first whiffs with the delight of a lover of smoking who has not smoked for
two days.
"It is excellent, but it is not tobacco."
"No!" answered the Captain, "this tobacco comes neither from Havannah
nor from the East. It is a kind of sea-weed, rich in nicotine, with which
the sea provides me, but somewhat sparingly."
At that moment Captain Nemo opened a door which stood opposite to that
by which I had entered the library, and I passed into an immense
drawing-room splendidly lighted.
It was a vast, four-sided room, thirty feet long, eighteen wide, and
fifteen high. A luminous ceiling, decorated with light arabesques, shed a
soft clear light over all the marvels accumulated in this museum. For it
was in fact a museum, in which an intelligent and prodigal hand had
gathered all the treasures of nature and art, with the artistic confusion
which distinguishes a painter's studio.
{several sentences are missing here in the omnibus edition}
Thirty first-rate pictures, uniformly framed, separated by bright
drapery, ornamented the walls, which were hung with tapestry of severe
design. I saw works of great value, the greater part of which I had
admired in the special collections of Europe, and in the exhibitions of
paintings.
Some admirable statues in marble and bronze, after the finest antique
models, stood upon pedestals in the corners of this magnificent museum.
Amazement, as the Captain of the Nautilus had predicted, had already begun
to take possession of me.
"Professor," said this strange man, "you must excuse the unceremonious
way in which I receive you, and the disorder of this room."
"Sir," I answered, "without seeking to know who you are, I recognise in
you an artist."
"An amateur, nothing more, sir. Formerly I loved to collect these
beautiful works created by the hand of man. I sought them greedily, and
ferreted them out indefatigably, and I have been able to bring together
some objects of great value. These are my last souvenirs of that world
which is dead to me. In my eyes, your modern artists are already old; they
have two or three thousand years of existence; I confound them in my own
mind. Masters have no age."
{4 paragraphs seem to be missing from this omnibus text here they have
to do with musical composers, a piano, and a brief revery on the part of
Nemo}
Under elegant glass cases, fixed by copper rivets, were classed and
labelled the most precious productions of the sea which had ever been
presented to the eye of a naturalist. My delight as a professor may be
conceived.
{2 long paragraphs seem to be missing from this omnibus here}
Apart, in separate compartments, were spread out chaplets of pearls of
the greatest beauty, which reflected the electric light in little sparks
of fire; pink pearls, torn from the pinna-marina of the Red Sea; green
pearls, yellow, blue, and black pearls, the curious productions of the
divers molluscs of every ocean, and certain mussels of the water courses
of the North; lastly, several specimens of inestimable value. Some of
these pearls were larger than a pigeon's egg, and were worth millions.
{this para has been altered the last sentence reworded}
Therefore, to estimate the value of this collection was simply
impossible. Captain Nemo must have expended millions in the acquirement of
these various specimens, and I was thinking what source he could have
drawn from, to have been able thus to gratify his fancy for collecting,
when I was interrupted by these words:
"You are examining my shells, Professor? Unquestionably they must be
interesting to a naturalist; but for me they have a far greater charm, for
I have collected them all with my own hand, and there is not a sea on the
face of the globe which has escaped my researches."
"I can understand, Captain, the delight of wandering about in the midst
of such riches. You are one of those who have collected their treasures
themselves. No museum in Europe possesses such a collection of the produce
of the ocean. But if I exhaust all my admiration upon it, I shall have
none left for the vessel which carries it. I do not wish to pry into your
secrets: but I must confess that this Nautilus, with the motive power
which is confined in it, the contrivances which enable it to be worked,
the powerful agent which propels it, all excite my curiosity to the
highest pitch. I see suspended on the walls of this room instruments of
whose use I am ignorant."
"You will find these same instruments in my own room, Professor, where
I shall have much pleasure in explaining their use to you. But first come
and inspect the cabin which is set apart for your own use. You must see
how you will be accommodated on board the Nautilus."
I followed Captain Nemo who, by one of the doors opening from each
panel of the drawing-room, regained the waist. He conducted me towards the
bow, and there I found, not a cabin, but an elegant room, with a bed,
dressing-table, and several other pieces of excellent furniture.
I could only thank my host.
"Your room adjoins mine," said he, opening a door, "and mine opens into
the drawing-room that we have just quitted."
I entered the Captain's room: it had a severe, almost a monkish aspect.
A small iron bedstead, a table, some articles for the toilet; the whole
lighted by a skylight. No comforts, the strictest necessaries only.
Captain Nemo pointed to a seat.
"Be so good as to sit down," he said. I seated myself, and he began
thus:
"Sir," said Captain Nemo, showing me the instruments hanging on the
walls of his room, "here are the contrivances required for the navigation
of the Nautilus. Here, as in the drawing-room, I have them always under my
eyes, and they indicate my position and exact direction in the middle of
the ocean. Some are known to you, such as the thermometer, which gives the
internal temperature of the Nautilus; the barometer, which indicates the
weight of the air and foretells the changes of the weather; the
hygrometer, which marks the dryness of the atmosphere; the storm-glass,
the contents of which, by decomposing, announce the approach of tempests;
the compass, which guides my course; the sextant, which shows the latitude
by the altitude of the sun; chronometers, by which I calculate the
longitude; and glasses for day and night, which I use to examine the
points of the horizon, when the Nautilus rises to the surface of the
waves."
"These are the usual nautical instruments," I replied, "and I know the
use of them. But these others, no doubt, answer to the particular
requirements of the Nautilus. This dial with movable needle is a
manometer, is it not?"
"It is actually a manometer. But by communication with the water, whose
external pressure it indicates, it gives our depth at the same time."
"And these other instruments, the use of which I cannot guess?"
"Here, Professor, I ought to give you some explanations. Will you be
kind enough to listen to me?"
He was silent for a few moments, then he said:
"There is a powerful agent, obedient, rapid, easy, which conforms to
every use, and reigns supreme on board my vessel. Everything is done by
means of it. It lights, warms it, and is the soul of my mechanical
apparatus. This agent is electricity."
"Electricity?" I cried in surprise.
"Yes, sir."
"Nevertheless, Captain, you possess an extreme rapidity of movement,
which does not agree well with the power of electricity. Until now, its
dynamic force has remained under restraint, and has only been able to
produce a small amount of power."
"Professor," said Captain Nemo, "my electricity is not everybody's. You
know what sea-water is composed of. In a thousand grammes are found 96 1/2
per cent. of water, and about 2 2/3 per cent. of chloride of sodium; then,
in a smaller quantity, chlorides of magnesium and of potassium, bromide of
magnesium, sulphate of magnesia, sulphate and carbonate of lime. You see,
then, that chloride of sodium forms a large part of it. So it is this
sodium that I extract from the sea-water, and of which I compose my
ingredients. I owe all to the ocean; it produces electricity, and
electricity gives heat, light, motion, and, in a word, life to the
Nautilus."
"But not the air you breathe?"
"Oh! I could manufacture the air necessary for my consumption, but it
is useless, because I go up to the surface of the water when I please.
However, if electricity does not furnish me with air to breathe, it works
at least the powerful pumps that are stored in spacious reservoirs, and
which enable me to prolong at need, and as long as I will, my stay in the
depths of the sea. It gives a uniform and unintermittent light, which the
sun does not. Now look at this clock; it is electrical, and goes with a
regularity that defies the best chronometers. I have divided it into
twenty-four hours, like the Italian clocks, because for me there is
neither night nor day, sun nor moon, but only that factitious light that I
take with me to the bottom of the sea. Look! just now, it is ten o'clock
in the morning."
"Exactly."
"Another application of electricity. This dial hanging in front of us
indicates the speed of the Nautilus. An electric thread puts it in
communication with the screw, and the needle indicates the real speed.
Look! now we are spinning along with a uniform speed of fifteen miles an
hour."
"It is marvelous! And I see, Captain, you were right to make use of
this agent that takes the place of wind, water, and steam."
"We have not finished, M. Aronnax," said Captain Nemo, rising. "If you
will allow me, we will examine the stern of the Nautilus."
Really, I knew already the anterior part of this submarine boat, of
which this is the exact division, starting from the ship's head: the
dining-room, five yards long, separated from the library by a water-tight
partition; the library, five yards long; the large drawing-room, ten yards
long, separated from the Captain's room by a second water-tight partition;
the said room, five yards in length; mine, two and a half yards; and,
lastly a reservoir of air, seven and a half yards, that extended to the
bows. Total length thirty five yards, or one hundred and five feet. The
partitions had doors that were shut hermetically by means of india-rubber
instruments, and they ensured the safety of the Nautilus in case of a
leak.
I followed Captain Nemo through the waist, and arrived at the centre of
the boat. There was a sort of well that opened between two partitions. An
iron ladder, fastened with an iron hook to the partition, led to the upper
end. I asked the Captain what the ladder was used for.
"It leads to the small boat," he said.
"What! have you a boat?" I exclaimed, in surprise.
"Of course; an excellent vessel, light and insubmersible, that serves
either as a fishing or as a pleasure boat."
"But then, when you wish to embark, you are obliged to come to the
surface of the water?"
"Not at all. This boat is attached to the upper part of the hull of the
Nautilus, and occupies a cavity made for it. It is decked, quite
water-tight, and held together by solid bolts. This ladder leads to a
man-hole made in the hull of the Nautilus, that corresponds with a similar
hole made in the side of the boat. By this double opening I get into the
small vessel. They shut the one belonging to the Nautilus; I shut the
other by means of screw pressure. I undo the bolts, and the little boat
goes up to the surface of the sea with prodigious rapidity. I then open
the panel of the bridge, carefully shut till then; I mast it, hoist my
sail, take my oars, and I'm off."
"But how do you get back on board?"
"I do not come back, M. Aronnax; the Nautilus comes to me."
"By your orders?"
"By my orders. An electric thread connects us. I telegraph to it, and
that is enough."
"Really," I said, astonished at these marvels, "nothing can be more
simple."
After having passed by the cage of the staircase that led to the
platform, I saw a cabin six feet long, in which Conseil and Ned Land,
enchanted with their repast, were devouring it with avidity. Then a door
opened into a kitchen nine feet long, situated between the large
store-rooms. There electricity, better than gas itself, did all the
cooking. The streams under the furnaces gave out to the sponges of platina
a heat which was regularly kept up and distributed. They also heated a
distilling apparatus, which, by evaporation, furnished excellent drinkable
water. Near this kitchen was a bathroom comfortably furnished, with hot
and cold water taps.
Next to the kitchen was the berth-room of the vessel, sixteen feet
long. But the door was shut, and I could not see the management of it,
which might have given me an idea of the number of men employed on board
the Nautilus.
At the bottom was a fourth partition that separated this office from
the engine-room. A door opened, and I found myself in the compartment
where Captain Nemo-certainly an engineer of a very high order-had arranged
his locomotive machinery. This engine-room, clearly lighted, did not
measure less than sixty-five feet in length. It was divided into two
parts; the first contained the materials for producing electricity, and
the second the machinery that connected it with the screw. I examined it
with great interest, in order to understand the machinery of the Nautilus.
"You see," said the Captain, "I use Bunsen's contrivances, not
Ruhmkorff's. Those would not have been powerful enough. Bunsen's are fewer
in number, but strong and large, which experience proves to be the best.
The electricity produced passes forward, where it works, by
electro-magnets of great size, on a system of levers and cog-wheels that
transmit the movement to the axle of the screw. This one, the diameter of
which is nineteen feet, and the thread twenty-three feet, performs about
120 revolutions in a second."
"And you get then?"
"A speed of fifty miles an hour."
"I have seen the Nautilus manoeuvre before the Abraham Lincoln, and I
have my own ideas as to its speed. But this is not enough. We must see
where we go. We must be able to direct it to the right, to the left,
above, below. How do you get to the great depths, where you find an
increasing resistance, which is rated by hundreds of atmospheres? How do
you return to the surface of the ocean? And how do you maintain yourselves
in the requisite medium? Am I asking too much?"
"Not at all, Professor," replied the Captain, with some hesitation;
"since you may never leave this submarine boat. Come into the saloon, it
is our usual study, and there you will learn all you want to know about
the Nautilus."
A moment after we were seated on a divan in the saloon smoking. The
Captain showed me a sketch that gave the plan, section, and elevation of
the Nautilus. Then he began his description in these words:
"Here, M. Aronnax, are the several dimensions of the boat you are in.
It is an elongated cylinder with conical ends. It is very like a cigar in
shape, a shape already adopted in London in several constructions of the
same sort. The length of this cylinder, from stem to stern, is exactly 232
feet, and its maximum breadth is twenty-six feet. It is not built quite
like your long-voyage steamers, but its lines are sufficiently long, and
its curves prolonged enough, to allow the water to slide off easily, and
oppose no obstacle to its passage. These two dimensions enable you to
obtain by a simple calculation the surface and cubic contents of the
Nautilus. Its area measures 6,032 feet; and its contents about 1,500 cubic
yards; that is to say, when completely immersed it displaces 50,000 feet
of water, or weighs 1,500 tons.
"When I made the plans for this submarine vessel, I meant that
nine-tenths should be submerged: consequently it ought only to displace
nine-tenths of its bulk, that is to say, only to weigh that number of
tons. I ought not, therefore, to have exceeded that weight, constructing
it on the aforesaid dimensions.
"The Nautilus is composed of two hulls, one inside, the other outside,
joined by T-shaped irons, which render it very strong. Indeed, owing to
this cellular arrangement it resists like a block, as if it were solid.
Its sides cannot yield; it coheres spontaneously, and not by the closeness
of its rivets; and its perfect union of the materials enables it to defy
the roughest seas.
"These two hulls are composed of steel plates, whose density is from .7
to .8 that of water. The first is not less than two inches and a half
thick and weighs 394 tons. The second envelope, the keel, twenty inches
high and ten thick, weighs only sixty-two tons. The engine, the ballast,
the several accessories and apparatus appendages, the partitions and
bulkheads, weigh 961.62 tons. Do you follow all this?"
"I do."
"Then, when the Nautilus is afloat under these circumstances, one-tenth
is out of the water. Now, if I have made reservoirs of a size equal to
this tenth, or capable of holding 150 tons, and if I fill them with water,
the boat, weighing then 1,507 tons, will be completely immersed. That
would happen, Professor. These reservoirs are in the lower part of the
Nautilus. I turn on taps and they fill, and the vessel sinks that had just
been level with the surface."
"Well, Captain, but now we come to the real difficulty. I can
understand your rising to the surface; but, diving below the surface, does
not your submarine contrivance encounter a pressure, and consequently
undergo an upward thrust of one atmosphere for every thirty feet of water,
just about fifteen pounds per square inch?"
"Just so, sir."
"Then, unless you quite fill the Nautilus, I do not see how you can
draw it down to those depths."
"Professor, you must not confound statics with dynamics or you will be
exposed to grave errors. There is very little labour spent in attaining
the lower regions of the ocean, for all bodies have a tendency to sink.
When I wanted to find out the necessary increase of weight required to
sink the Nautilus, I had only to calculate the reduction of volume that
sea-water acquires according to the depth."
"That is evident."
"Now, if water is not absolutely incompressible, it is at least capable
of very slight compression. Indeed, after the most recent calculations
this reduction is only .000436 of an atmosphere for each thirty feet of
depth. If we want to sink 3,000 feet, I should keep account of the
reduction of bulk under a pressure equal to that of a column of water of a
thousand feet. The calculation is easily verified. Now, I have
supplementary reservoirs capable of holding a hundred tons. Therefore I
can sink to a considerable depth. When I wish to rise to the level of the
sea, I only let off the water, and empty all the reservoirs if I want the
Nautilus to emerge from the tenth part of her total capacity."
I had nothing to object to these reasonings.
"I admit your calculations, Captain," I replied; "I should be wrong to
dispute them since daily experience confirms them; but I foresee a real
difficulty in the way."
"What, sir?"
"When you are about 1,000 feet deep, the walls of the Nautilus bear a
pressure of 100 atmospheres. If, then, just now you were to empty the
supplementary reservoirs, to lighten the vessel, and to go up to the
surface, the pumps must overcome the pressure of 100 atmospheres, which is
1,500 lbs. per square inch. From that a power-"
"That electricity alone can give," said the Captain, hastily. "I
repeat, sir, that the dynamic power of my engines is almost infinite. The
pumps of the Nautilus have an enormous power, as you must have observed
when their jets of water burst like a torrent upon the Abraham Lincoln.
Besides, I use subsidiary reservoirs only to attain a mean depth of 750 to
1,000 fathoms, and that with a view of managing my machines. Also, when I
have a mind to visit the depths of the ocean five or six mlles below the
surface, I make use of slower but not less infallible means."
"What are they, Captain?"
"That involves my telling you how the Nautilus is worked."
"I am impatient to learn."
"To steer this boat to starboard or port, to turn, in a word, following
a horizontal plan, I use an ordinary rudder fixed on the back of the
stern-post, and with one wheel and some tackle to steer by. But I can also
make the Nautilus rise and sink, and sink and rise, by a vertical movement
by means of two inclined planes fastened to its sides, opposite the centre
of flotation, planes that move in every direction, and that are worked by
powerful levers from the interior. If the planes are kept parallel with
the boat, it moves horizontally. If slanted, the Nautilus, according to
this inclination, and under the influence of the screw, either sinks
diagonally or rises diagonally as it suits me. And even if I wish to rise
more quickly to the surface, I ship the screw, and the pressure of the
water causes the Nautilus to rise vertically like a balloon filled with
hydrogen."
"Bravo, Captain! But how can the steersman follow the route in the
middle of the waters?"
"The steersman is placed in a glazed box, that is raised about the hull
of the Nautilus, and furnished with lenses."
"Are these lenses capable of resisting such pressure?"
"Perfectly. Glass, which breaks at a blow, is, nevertheless, capable of
offering considerable resistance. During some experiments of fishing by
electric light in 1864 in the Northern Seas, we saw plates less than a
third of an inch thick resist a pressure of sixteen atmospheres. Now, the
glass that I use is not less than thirty times thicker."
"Granted. But, after all, in order to see, the light must exceed the
darkness, and in the midst of the darkness in the water, how can you see?"
"Behind the steersman's cage is placed a powerful electric reflector,
the rays from which light up the sea for half a mile in front."
"Ah! bravo, bravo, Captain! Now I can account for this phosphorescence
in the supposed narwhal that puzzled us so. I now ask you if the boarding
of the Nautilus and of the Scotia, that has made such a noise, has been
the result of a chance rencontre?"
"Quite accidental, sir. I was sailing only one fathom below the surface
of the water when the shock came. It had no bad result."
"None, sir. But now, about your rencontre with the Abraham Lincoln?"
"Professor, I am sorry for one of the best vessels in the American
navy; but they attacked me, and I was bound to defend myself. I contented
myself, however, with putting the frigate hors de combat; she will not
have any difficulty in getting repaired at the next port."
"Ah, Commander! your Nautilus is certainly a marvellous boat."
"Yes, Professor; and I love it as if it were part of myself. If danger
threatens one of your vessels on the ocean, the first impression is the
feeling of an abyss above and below. On the Nautilus men's hearts never
fail them. No defects to be afraid of, for the double shell is as firm as
iron; no rigging to attend to; no sails for the wind to carry away; no
boilers to burst; no fire to fear, for the vessel is made of iron, not of
wood; no coal to run short, for electricity is the only mechanical agent;
no collision to fear, for it alone swims in deep water; no tempest to
brave, for when it dives below the water it reaches absolute tranquillity.
There, sir! that is the perfection of vessels! And if it is true that the
engineer has more confidence in the vessel than the builder, and the
builder than the captain himself, you understand the trust I repose in my
Nautilus; for I am at once captain, builder, and engineer."
"But how could you construct this wonderful Nautilus in secret?"
"Each separate portion, M. Aronnax, was brought from different parts of
the globe."
"But these parts had to be put together and arranged?"
"Professor, I had set up my workshops upon a desert island in the
ocean. There my workmen, that is to say, the brave men that I instructed
and educated, and myself have put together our Nautilus. Then, when the
work was finished, fire destroyed all trace of our proceedings on this
island, that I could have jumped over if I had liked."
"Then the cost of this vessel is great?"
"M. Aronnax, an iron vessel costs L145 per ton. Now the Nautilus
weighed 1,500. It came therefore to L67,500, and L80,000 more for fitting
it up, and about L200,000, with the works of art and the collections it
contains."
"One last question, Captain Nemo."
"Ask it, Professor."
"You are rich?"
"Immensely rich, sir; and I could, without missing it, pay the national
debt of France."
I stared at the singular person who spoke thus. Was he playing upon my
credulity? The future would decide that.
The portion of the terrestrial globe which is covered by water is
estimated at upwards of eighty millions of acres. This fluid mass
comprises two billions two hundred and fifty millions of cubic miles,
forming a spherical body of a diameter of sixty leagues, the weight of
which would be three quintillions of tons. To comprehend the meaning of
these figures, it is necessary to observe that a quintillion is to a
billion as a billion is to unity; in other words, there are as many
billions in a quintillion as there are units in a billion. This mass of
fluid is equal to about the quantity of water which would be discharged by
all the rivers of the earth in forty thousand years.
During the geological epochs the ocean originally prevailed everywhere.
Then by degrees, in the silurian period, the tops of the mountains began
to appear, the islands emerged, then disappeared in partial deluges,
reappeared, became settled, formed continents, till at length the earth
became geographically arranged, as we see in the present day. The solid
had wrested from the liquid thirty-seven million six hundred and
fifty-seven square miles, equal to twelve billions nine hundred and sixty
millions of acres.
The shape of continents allows us to divide the waters into five great
portions: the Arctic or Frozen Ocean, the Antarctic, or Frozen Ocean, the
Indian, the Atlantic, and the Pacific Oceans.
The Pacific Ocean extends from north to south between the two Polar
Circles, and from east to west between Asia and America, over an extent of
145 degrees of longitude. It is the quietest of seas; its currents are
broad and slow, it has medium tides, and abundant rain. Such was the ocean
that my fate destined me first to travel over under these strange
conditions.
"Sir," said Captain Nemo, "we will, if you please, take our bearings
and fix the starting-point of this voyage. It is a quarter to twelve; I
will go up again to the surface."
The Captain pressed an electric clock three times. The pumps began to
drive the water from the tanks; the needle of the manometer marked by a
different pressure the ascent of the Nautilus, then it stopped.
"We have arrived," said the Captain.
I went to the central staircase which opened on to the platform,
clambered up the iron steps, and found myself on the upper part of the
Nautilus.
The platform was only three feet out of water. The front and back of
the Nautilus was of that spindle-shape which caused it justly to be
compared to a cigar. I noticed that its iron plates, slightly overlaying
each other, resembled the shell which clothes the bodies of our large
terrestrial reptiles. It explained to me how natural it was, in spite of
all glasses, that this boat should have been taken for a marine animal.
Toward the middle of the platform the longboat, half buried in the hull
of the vessel, formed a slight excrescence. Fore and aft rose two cages of
medium height with inclined sides, and partly closed by thick lenticular
glasses; one destined for the steersman who directed the Nautilus, the
other containing a brilliant lantern to give light on the road.
The sea was beautiful, the sky pure. Scarcely could the long vehicle
feel the broad undulations of the ocean. A light breeze from the east
rippled the surface of the waters. The horizon, free from fog, made