which betrayed the mental aberration of its pro-
poser.

Articles no less passionate than logical appeared on
the question, for geography is one of the pet subjects
of the English; and the columns devoted to Phileas
Fogg's venture were eagerly devoured by all classes
of readers. At first some rash individuals, principally
of the gentler sex, espoused his cause, which became
still more popular when the Illustrated London News
came out with his portrait, copied from a photograph
in the Reform Club. A few readers of the Daily
Telegraph even dared to say, "Why not, after all?
Stranger things have come to pass."

At last a long article appeared, on the 7th of Octo-
ber, in the bulletin of the Royal Geographical Society,
which treated the question from every point of view
and demonstrated the utter folly of the enterprise.

Everything, it said, was against the travellers, every
obstacle imposed alike by man and by nature. A
miraculous agreement of the times of departure and
arrival, which was impossible, was absolutely neces-
sary to his success. He might, perhaps, reckon on the
arrival of trains at the designated hours, in Europe,
where the distances were relatively moderate; but
when he calculated upon crossing India in three days,
and the United States in seven, could he rely beyond
misgiving upon accomplishing his task? There were
accidents to machinery, the liability of trains to run

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