The Brick Moon
and
Other Stories
by EDWARD EVERETT HALE
Short Story Index Reprint Series
Preface
TO read these stories again, thirty and more years after they werewritten, is to recall many memories, sad or glad, with which this readerneed not be interrupted. But I have to make sure that they areintelligible to readers of a generation later than that for which theywere written.
The story of The Brick Moon was begun in my dear brother Nathan’sworking-room in Union College, Schenectady, in the year 1870, when hewas professor of the English language there. The account of the firstplan of the moon is a sketch, as accurate as was needed, of the old chatand dreams, plans and jokes, of our college days, before he leftCambridge in 1838. As I learned almost everything I know through hiscare and love and help, directly or indirectly, it is a pleasure to saythis here. The story was published in the “Atlantic Monthly,” in 1870and 1871. It was the last story I wrote for that magazine, beforeassuming the charge of “Old and New,” a magazine which I edited from1870 to 1876, and for which I wrote “Ten Times One is Ten,” which hasbeen printed in the third volume of this series.
Among the kind references to “The Brick Moon” which I have received fromsympathetic friends, I now recall with the greatest pleasure one sent meby Mr. Asaph Hall, the distinguished astronomer of the NationalObservatory. In sending me the ephemeris of the two moons of Mars, whichhe revealed to this world of ours, he wrote, “The smaller of these moonsis the veritable Brick Moon.” That, in the moment of triumph for thegreatest astronomical discovery of a generation, Dr. Hall should havetime or thought to give to my little parable,—this was praise indeed.
Writing in 1870, I said, as the reader will see on page 66, that GeorgeOrcutt did not tell how he used a magnifying power of 700. Nor did Ichoose to tell then, hoping that in some fortunate winter I might beable myself to repeat his process, greatly to the convenience ofastronomers who have not Alvan Clark’s resources at hand, or who have tosatisfy themselves with glass lenses of fifteen inches, or even thirty,in diameter. But no such winter has come round to me, and I will nowgive Orcutt’s invention to the world. He had unlimited freezing power.So have we now, as we had not then. With this power he made an ice lens,ten feet in diameter, which was easily rubbed, by the delicate hands ofthe careful women around him, to precisely the surface which he needed.Let me hope that before next winter passes some countryman orcountrywoman of mine will have equalled his success, and with an icelens will surpass all the successes of the glasses of our time.
The plan of “Crusoe in New York” was made when I was enjoying theprincely hospitality of Henry Whitney Bellows in New York. The parsonagein that city commanded a view of a “lot” not built on, which would havegiven for many years a happy home to any disciple of Mayor Pingree, if asomewhat complicated social order had permitted. The story was firstpublished in Frank Leslie’s illustrated paper. In reading it in 1899, Iam afraid that the readers of a hard, money generation may not know that“scrip” was in the sixties the name for small change.
I regard a knowledge of every detail of the original Robinson Crusoe aswell-nigh a necessity in education. Girls may occasionally be excused,but never boys. It ought to be unnecessary, therefore, to say that someof the narrative passages of Crusoe in New York are taken, word fo