AS to
islands, they are numerous on the surface of the moon. Nearly all
oblong or circular, and as if traced with the compass, they seem to
form one vast archipelago, equal to that charming group lying between
Greece and Asia Minor, and which mythology in ancient times adorned
with most graceful legends. Involuntarily the names of Naxos, Tenedos,
and Carpathos, rise before the mind, and we seek vainly for Ulysses'
vessel or the "clipper" of the Argonauts. So at least it was in Michel
Ardan's eyes. To him it was a Grecian archipelago that he saw on the
map. To the eyes of his matter-of-fact companions, the aspect of these
coasts recalled rather the parceled-out land of New Brunswick and Nova
Scotia, and where the Frenchman discovered traces of the heroes of
fable, these Americans were marking the most favorable points for the
establishment of stores in the interests of lunar commerce and
industry.
Jules Verne, One vast archipelago on the moon
