The Mysterious Island Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 36 Captain Grant's Children (36)
Lady Helene was very pleased with her own bed in the car.She likes the simple and heavy charm of the carriage.She also likes the six cows lined up in twos.Ayrton was holding the bullwhip, ready to wait for his new master's orders.

"Ha!" burst out laughing Paganel, "this is a wonderful ox-cart! It's like a living house, far better than any post-coach in the world. It's a wonderful way to travel in it." enjoy!"

"Dear Mr. Paganel, you are welcome to visit my salon anytime." Madam Helen said with a smile.

"Dear madam, I am really honored! Which day is your salon reception day?"

"Actually, my salon entertains all distinguished guests every day, and you are..."

"Madame, your most sincere friend!" Paganel said to Madam Helen with utmost hospitality.

After a while, Paddy O'Moore's eldest son led the seven horses that the knight had ordered, all of which were fully saddled and bridle.So Sir Glenarvan and Paddy O'morr settled the bill, paid for all purchases, and expressed many sincere thanks.

It was finally time to go.Mrs. Helen and Miss Grant got into the newly decorated carriage first.M. Aubinet entered the luggage compartment, and Ayrton took the driver's seat.Sir Glenarvan, Major MacNabbs, Paganel, Robert Jr., Captain John Mungle, and the two sailors, all armed with pistols and carbines, mounted their horses.Paddy O'Moore said the words of blessing: "May God bless you!" His family blessed in unison behind him.Then Ayrton uttered a loud growl, and the wheels of the long ox cart began to roll, and the planks of the carriage creaked.And so the team set off.

After a while, after turning a corner, the manor of the old and enthusiastic Irishman disappeared from the sight of the jazz and his party.

Victoria, UK
On this day, it is December 1864, 12.

In December in the northern hemisphere, it is already freezing cold and snowy.But Australia is in the southern hemisphere, and it is now entering the scorching summer.

Australia is located in the Pacific Ocean, and its territory includes the Australian mainland, New Holland, Tasmania, New Zealand and surrounding islands that belong to the British colonial domain.However, the Australian mainland itself was divided into several colonies of different sizes by the colonists, and the gap between the rich and the poor was huge among these colonies.As long as you open the map, you can see the boundaries between the various colonies in the Australian continent. They are not divided by rivers, terrain, climate, or ethnic groups. They are straight lines. The coastlines around the Australian mainland are not uniform, but circuitous. tortuous.There are estuaries and bays on the coastline, showing the uneven, vivid and lovely appearance of nature.

Our great scholar Paganel couldn't help laughing when he saw the chessboard pattern formed by the straight line.He vowed that if the Australian mainland belonged to the French Republic, then respectable French scholars would not make such ridiculous mistakes.

The Australian continent is divided into six colonies: New South Wales, whose capital is the famous city of Sydney; Queensland, whose capital is Brisbane; Victoria, whose capital is Melbourne; South Australia, whose capital is Adelaide; Sri Lanka is the capital; North Australia has no capital so far.Immigrants from all countries generally live along the coast of the Australian mainland; only a very small number of immigrants dare to venture as far as two hundred miles inland.Calculated, the hinterland area of ​​the Australian mainland is only equivalent to two-thirds of that of Europe. Since few people investigate, this inland area is relatively hidden, and few people know the real situation.

Fortunately, these vast uninhabited areas are not on the 37° line.Sir Glenarvan and his party were traveling in southern Australia, including the small province of Adelaide.Victoria and New South Wales lie at the tip of South Australia's inverted triangle.

The distance from Cape Benoy to Victoria is less than 62 miles and can be covered in just two days.Therefore, the preliminary plan proposed by Ayrton was to stay overnight in the westernmost city in Victoria Province-Assabrey City the next night.

These travelers considered that they must take good care of the horses and not let them be too tired in order to travel long distances, so they unanimously decided to walk only 25 miles to [-] miles a day.This was also done in consideration of the fact that the ox carts carrying the entire team’s luggage were heavy and slow-moving, so the men on horseback could only surround the ox carts, not too far away, and walk slowly with their bridles.

In this way, this time the land journey is a slow walk of the knights on horseback.The men are on horseback or hunting, or chatting with the ladies, or discussing some issues with each other.The scholar Paganel was doing three things at the same time, so busy that he was dizzy.

In the territory of Adelaide, this area is not very attractive.At a glance, it is a hill; and it is bare and desolate; only by chance, a grassland appears.Above are overgrown bushes.Major McNabbs said that it was like being in Argentina in South America; but for Paganel, he didn't think so, and he felt that the scene in this area would inevitably change.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the party entered a wilderness, this area is commonly known as "mosquito field", which Paganel said "mosquito field" represents the characteristics of this area.Indeed, there are annoying dipteran insects everywhere, which can't be driven away; and these insects are overwhelming to passers-by, biting people with nowhere to hide.Fortunately, there are anti-insect lotions prepared on the bullock cart, and when rubbed on the bitten skin, there is no pain or itching.But Paganel, because he was tall and tall, was the first to be bitten by these mosquitoes; facing the bites of mosquitoes, Paganel could not resist, and could only curse angrily.

At about eight o'clock in the evening, the jazz and his party came to the red glue station; the red glue station is some wooden fence buildings, which were built by some inland people to raise livestock.Here, the herdsmen warmly entertained these visitors from afar.

On the second day, just before dawn, Ayrton drove the ox cart on the road again.This road, unlike yesterday's scenery, is full of uneven mountains.Fortunately, no hardships hindered their journey.

In this way, Jazz and his party walked sixty miles in one go in these two days.On the evening of the 23rd they reached their destination, Assabrey.The city is located on the 141° east longitude line and is the first city that people enter the Victoria province.

Jazz and his party lived in a small inn called "Crown Hotel". Ayrton first drove the cattle and sheep to the garage of the inn.Since there are no decent hotels in this city, travelers can only stay here.For dinner, everyone ate mutton stew, cooked in various styles, and steamed on the table.

Paganel, who always likes to talk, did not wait for everyone to urge him to start eating this time. He started chatting while eating, and he also talked about the topic of "Victoria is the happy place in Australia". We talked a lot.

Paganel puts it this way: "First of all, I don't think it's right to say 'happy place'. 'Happiness' is an adjective, but it's a misnomer. Just as being rich doesn't mean you're happy. Similarly, for a place, wealth does not mean that the place is 'happiness'! Although Australia has rich gold mines, they are controlled by a group of cruel adventurers who specialize in destruction. When we walk to these gold mines You can see these things when you are in the region.”

"Hasn't the colony of Victoria been cultivated for a long time?" Mrs. Helen asked curiously.

"Yes, my dear lady, it is not long. Counting it, it is only 30 years old. You know, on June 1835, 6, a Tuesday..."

"Seven fifteen in the evening," interposed the major.Because he saw that Paganel liked to say the date so accurately, he continued jokingly.

"No, it's ten past seven!" Paganel corrected solemnly, "Bateman and Faulkner established a stronghold in Port Phillip. This place is now above the Port of Melbourne. At the beginning For 15 years, the colony was still within the scope of New South Wales and was under the jurisdiction of Sydney, the capital of New South Wales. But in 1815, this place was declared independent and named Victoria."

"Has the place prospered since independence?" asked Sir Glenarvan.

"My dear friend, here are some figures for you to think about," continued Paganel. "Whether the major finds them distasteful or not, I find them very meaningful."

"Okay! Just talk about it." The major said.

"Okay! In 1836, the Port Phillip Colony had 240 four inhabitants. Today, it has a total of 55 inhabitants. And it has 700 million vines, producing about 12 gallons a year, British and American capacity unit. 1 US gallon is equivalent to 8 US pints, which is 3.7853 liters; 1 British gallon is equivalent to 8 British pints, which is 4.5640 liters. Wine. On the plains, there are a total of 67 wines The horses are galloping; on the vast grassland, a total of 270 cows are grazing."

"There must be pigs!" interrupted the major.

"Ah! Yes, sorry, Major, there are seventy-nine thousand six hundred and twenty-five pigs."

"Paganel, how many sheep are there?"

"McNabbs, as for the sheep, there are 710 to 940 three."

"Do these sheep include the one we are eating now?"

"Of course not! As you can see, we ate three quarters of the sheep!"

"Dear Mr. Paganel, what you said is really great!" Mrs. Helen couldn't help applauding and said, "It must be admitted that your knowledge of geography is really profound. McNabbs can't stop you .”

"Ma'am, you know, this is what I do. This is what a geographer must know. And for a geographer, when the conditions are right, it is necessary to spread this knowledge widely. Now you Believe me! Here, you can see a lot of anecdotes."

"However, so far, we haven't seen any of them..." Major McNabbs pressed on, asking Paganel.

"Major, it seems that you are really quick-tempered. Just be patient and you will see," Paganel replied angrily. "Don't hold back when you first enter the border of an unfamiliar area. I Let me tell you, Australia is the most amazing place in the world. And I also assure you in the name of a geographer, whether it is the geographical environment, climate or products, as well as the future development here, all scholars in the world will be impressed. Surprised. Friends, you must know that when this continent was first formed, it did not start from the inland center, but slowly developed from the surrounding areas. The continent first appeared coast by coast; and then these The coast is like a ring, slowly enclosing an inland sea. After that, these rivers and inland seas gradually evaporated and dried up, becoming a vast inland. On this land, the vegetation is very special, and the trees shed every year There is a layer of bark, but there are no leaves on the trees; the leaves grow on the side instead of facing the sun. The trees here are not tall, but the grass is very long. The most special thing is the animals here. Here The four-legged beasts have bird-like mouths, representing echidnas and platypus; in order to distinguish these animals, biologists classify them into a new category-'monotremes'; the kangaroos here have long and short Different legs, walking by jumping; goats have pigs' heads; foxes can fly between trees; swans have black feathers; mice will build nests on trees; A species of starling.' will open the door to welcome other birds into its nest; these birds have different calls, some like a clock to tell the time, some like a horsewhip, some like a knife There are booming rings; some are ticking like clock hands; some are laughing at sunrise; some are crying at dusk; therefore, Australia is a strange place. In strange places, there are many things that are inconsistent with the laws of nature and incomprehensible."

Paganel finished this grand argument in one breath.He was eloquent like a flood, described vividly and passionately, and this posture could not be stopped.As he spoke, he danced with his arms and legs, constantly waving the knives and forks in his hands, causing the audience at the left and right tables to avoid getting hurt.But the audience also enjoyed hearing him talk; as soon as he finally finished speaking, the audience applauded and applauded and drowned out his speech.

Everyone was also very satisfied with the Australian mystery stories that Paganel talked about, so they didn't pursue this or that; but his deadly enemy, the Major, inserted a sentence at the end:
"Paganel, have you finished?"

"Ah! Finished? Actually, it's still early!" After the major's teasing, Paganel immediately regained his spirits.

Mrs. Helen thought it was interesting, and teased him on purpose, and asked, "What's the matter, is there anything more miraculous about Australia?"

"Dear madam, yes! The climate in mainland Australia is more surprising than the products in Australia!"

"Then give us an example and tell us!" someone asked Paganel.

"Okay, let me talk about it; the Australian mainland has excellent environmental sanitation conditions; there is fresh and sufficient oxygen, not much nitrogen, and there is no wet wind; this is because the trade wind blows in parallel when it is close to the coast. ; so some chronic diseases like typhoid fever and macula do not exist here.”

"That's not bad!" exclaimed Sir Glenarvan.

"Of course, this place is of course very good! But here, I still have to say that the climate here is very strange, and you will find it incredible."

"Why is it so strange?" Captain Mengel asked urgently.

"I don't think you'll ever believe me."

"You'd better tell me quickly, we all believe it." Someone urged Paganel anxiously.

"I mean, the weather here has..."

"What the hell is there?"

"There is a purifying function."

"Ah! The function of purification?"

"Yes, it is the function of purification. You can notice that in Australia, metals do not rust, and people do not 'rust'. Because the air here is not only dry, but also very pure. Everything that bathes here, Both the clothes and the human soul can be purified by the air, and they can be kept clean from the outside to the inside. You know, when the British exiled prisoners here, it was because of the pure function of the climate here.”

"Really, does it really have such a magical function?"

"Yes, my dear lady, the air here can purify people and animals alike."

"Monsieur Paganel, you are not joking!"

"I don't think I'm joking. Everyone will see with their own eyes that the cows, sheep, and horses here are very tame and tame."

"Impossible! Impossible!"

"This is indeed a fact! Moreover, once the criminals who have committed heinous crimes are escorted here, their minds will be purified in this hygienic and energetic air; within a few years, they will be corrected. Many philanthropists have known for a long time that the air here can purify people’s souls. Therefore, in the Australian mainland, human nature has changed to be kind.”

"Oh! So, dear Mr. Paganel, how about you?" Madame Helen continued to ask, "You are already an excellent person. In this land of pure and superior conditions, what kind of person do you hope to purify yourself into?" What about people?"

"My dear lady, it is naturally better! There is no doubt about it!" Paganel replied confidently.

scenery all the way

On the second day, December 12th, as soon as it was light, Sir Glenarvan and his party reorganized and set off on the road again.The weather is getting hotter, but still tolerable.The road here is flat, and it is very convenient for horses and chariots to drive on it.So they walked for a whole day, and in the evening, they reached the shore of Baihu Lake and slept in the open.

The "white" of White Lake is actually just a false name, the lake water is not white at all, it is too salty to drink.

Mr. Aubine is serious and responsible in his work.He immediately prepared dinner for everyone.After dinner, everyone fell asleep peacefully in the tent or in the ox cart and fell asleep.

In the next morning, everyone woke up early.Seeing a plain in front of me, the scenery is beautiful, and there are colorful chrysanthemums everywhere, all over the ground, competing to bloom, which makes people nostalgic.But Jazz and his group still set off on time.

During the trip, everyone also saw that this vast grassland is full of various flowers, and dense trees and plants are interspersed among them.Paganel is familiar with the names of various flowers, plants and trees, such as "Amarina" and "Emophila tree", he can name them all.He was a geographer turned botanist.According to his narration, until now, humans have discovered more than 120 species of plants in Australia, and there are more than 200 species of these species.

After that, the group continued to walk for more than ten miles, and walked into a tall and dense bush.The trees here include white gum tree, woody mimosa, bean flower tree and so on.There were not many animals to be seen, except a few turkeys, but travelers could not approach them.The major had quick eyesight and quick hands, and shot a strange bird.This kind of strange bird is endangered, and its scientific name is "Xia Bilu", and the British immigrants call it "Giant Crane"; The beak is white, the breast is colorful, and the feathers are colorful, so beautiful that everyone is amazed when they see it.

(End of this chapter)