A Princess of Mars

I presumed that my watchful guardian was Sola, nor was I wrong. This

girl alone, among all the green Martians with whom I came in contact,

disclosed characteristics of sympathy, kindliness, and affection; her

ministrations to my bodily wants were unfailing, and her solicitous

care saved me from much suffering and many hardships.

As I was to learn, the Martian nights are extremely cold, and as there

is practically no twilight or dawn, the changes in temperature are

sudden and most uncomfortable, as are the transitions from brilliant

daylight to darkness. The nights are either brilliantly illumined or

very dark, for if neither of the two moons of Mars happen to be in the

sky almost total darkness results, since the lack of atmosphere, or,

rather, the very thin atmosphere, fails to diffuse the starlight to any

great extent; on the other hand, if both of the moons are in the

heavens at night the surface of the ground is brightly illuminated.

Both of Mars' moons are vastly nearer her than is our moon to Earth;

the nearer moon being but about five thousand miles distant, while the

further is but little more than fourteen thousand miles away, against

the nearly one-quarter million miles which separate us from our moon.

The nearer moon of Mars makes a complete revolution around the planet

in a little over seven and one-half hours, so that she may be seen

hurtling through the sky like some huge meteor two or three times each

night, revealing all her phases during each transit of the heavens.

The further moon revolves about Mars in something over thirty and

one-quarter hours, and with her sister satellite makes a nocturnal

Martian scene one of splendid and weird grandeur. And it is well that

nature has so graciously and abundantly lighted the Martian night, for

the green men of Mars, being a nomadic race without high intellectual

development, have but crude means for artificial lighting; depending

principally upon torches, a kind of candle, and a peculiar oil lamp

which generates a gas and burns without a wick.

This last device produces an intensely brilliant far-reaching white

light, but as the natural oil which it requires can only be obtained by

mining in one of several widely separated and remote localities it is

seldom used by these creatures whose only thought is for today, and

whose hatred for manual labor has kept them in a semi-barbaric state

for countless ages.

After Sola had replenished my coverings I again slept, nor did I awaken

until daylight. The other occupants of the room, five in number, were

all females, and they were still sleeping, piled high with a motley

array of silks and furs. Across the threshold lay stretched the

sleepless guardian brute, just as I had last seen him on the preceding

day; apparently he had not moved a muscle; his eyes were fairly glued

upon me, and I fell to wondering just what might befall me should I

endeavor to escape.