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Re: Lost Pages from 80 days

From: Norman Wolcott <nwolcott~at~kreative.net>
Date: Sun, 12 Apr 1998 10:05:37 -0400
To: "Jules Verne Forum" <jvf~at~math.technion.ac.il>

M. Hudson informs me that he has temporarily mislaid the french pages
(unintentionaly I am sure), so for the moment all that remains is for some
artisan to reconstruct the french original from his undoubtedly excellent
translation.

----------
> From: BUTCHER, Charles William <wbutcher~at~eng.ied.edu.hk>
> To: 'Jules Verne Forum' <jvf~at~math.technion.ac.il>
> Subject: RE: Lost Pages from 80 days
> Date: Wednesday, April 08, 1998 1:31 AM
>
> This is an important find, since this material isn't in either of the
> manuscripts. Do you have any more information about the present location
> of the material, whether this information has been published in print
> form, its contents in French, what point in the book it was cut from?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Bill Butcher
>
> > ----------
> > From: Norman Wolcott[SMTP:nwolcott~at~kreative.net]
> > Reply To: Jules Verne Forum
> > Sent: Tuesday, April 07, 1998 12:59AM
> > To: jvf
> > Subject: Lost Pages from 80 days
> >
> > 01-Apr-98
> > The following pages were found in the attic of an old house in Amiens.
> > They
> > have kindly been translated for us by M. Hudson of the
> > Franco-Britannic
> > Institute, 47 Russell Square. The conversation apparently took place
> > at the
> > whist table near the beginning of "Around the World in Eighty Days".
> >
> > "But", interjected Andrew Stuart, "how are you to keep track of all
> > the
> > different modes of transport you will need to employ. You certainly
> > will
> > need a 'social secretary' to accomplish that purpose."
> >
> > "Not at all", replied Phileas Fogg, "for those most enterprising
> > individuals at 'Bradshaws' each have each month compiled such a
> > compendium
> > of rail and steam ship routes that the traveller is immediately
> > aprised of
> > the departure of every train in the world to the nearest minute, and
> > every
> > steamer or paquet-boat to the nearest quarter-hour."
> >
> > "And the timekeeping?" added John Sullivan. "Travelling so rapidly
> > across
> > countries and continents, you will be hard pressed to know the time of
> > day,
> > for as you know each place in the world prefers to keep its own time,
> > and
> > you will hardly know even when it is time to take your dinner."
> >
> > "The problem is as you describe", responded Phileas Fogg. "For
> > although
> > Omar the Tentmaker resolved the problem of timekeeping some centuries
> > ago,
> > every place in the world considers itself the most important, and
> > therefore
> > considers noon to be that time at which the sun is nearest overhead.
> > The
> > problem is not less with the origin of our degrees of longitude which
> > the
> > British consider to commence at their observatory at Greenwich and the
> > French, with their observatory at Sevres, naturally choose Paris for
> > their
> > origin of longitude. Not to mention the other cities such as Rome,
> > Copenhagen, Jerusalem, St. Petersburg, Philadelphia which have also
> > claimed
> > the distinction.
> >
> > "However, for the practical problem of keeping time as we traverse the
> > globe, there is a very simple solution. Our London watchmakers, since
> > the
> > invention of M. John Harrison a century ago has liberated them from
> > the
> > pendulum, are now able to construct pocket chronometers of such
> > accuracy
> > that they do not deviate from true time more than a minute in the
> > month.
> > And as our Messers. Bradshaw have kindly provided us with a table of
> > time
> > adjustments for the various parts of the world, it is only necessary
> > that
> > we maintain two timepieces to have the most accurate information
> > available.
> > I shall carry one set to our time at Greenwich, and Passepartout shall
> > carry one which he shall adjust periodically to our local time. As to
> > when
> > it is time for dinner, then, I have only to ask Passepartout to inform
> > me!
> >
> > "And if such accuracy is not enough, we shall, thanks to the
> > enterprise of
> > the American, Mr. Cyrus Field, who with the assistance of that
> > floating
> > village the 'Great Eastern' has connected the shores of the Atlantic
> > by
> > telegraph, be able to synchronize our watches with London to the
> > nearest
> > fraction of a second once we reach the North American continent, for a
> > signal sent from London will reach the west coast of America with a
> > velocity so rapid that it has not proved possible to measure.
> >
> > "We shall therefore be able to register our arrival in London at the
> > Reform
> > Club to the merest fraction of a minute. And now Monsieur Stuart, it
> > is
> > your deal"
> >
> >
> > N M Wolcott nwolcott~at~post.harvard.edu (primary mail forwarding
> > 2 meg max); nwolcott~at~capaccess.org (2ndary forwarder,?max)
> > nwolcott~at~kreative.net (current ISP, system max)
> >
Received on Sun 12 Apr 1998 - 17:08:28 IDT

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