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

Chapter 79: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (10)
I took the cigar and looked at it. It was shaped like a Havana-made London style cigar, and the tobacco leaf looked like a fine golden leaf.There was a beautiful copper holder beside me, and there was a small brazier on top of it. I leaned over to light the cigarette, took a few puffs, and felt refreshed. I said:

"That's wonderful, but it's not made of tobacco."

"You are right," replied the captain, "that this tobacco does not come from Havana, nor from the Orient. It is a seaweed which is rich in tobacco essence, but not in great quantity. No smoke, sir. Havana-made cigars, would you regret it?"

"Captain, those smokes are nothing in my eyes."

"Then you can smoke it if you want! As for the origin of these cigarettes, don't worry about it. Although no tobacco regulatory agency has inspected these tobaccos, I don't think there is any problem with its quality."

"Yes, indeed."

At this moment Captain Nemo opened a door opposite the one by which I had entered the library.I walked into a large living room, which was spacious and gorgeous.

This is a rectangular hall, about ten meters long, six meters wide, and five meters high. The shiny ceiling is decorated with faint floral patterns, and bright and soft light emanates from it, shining on the objects displayed in the museum. Rare treasures.For this drawing-room is in fact a museum, where all the treasures of nature and art have been brought together by an intelligent hand, and arranged in an artist's messy manner, to look like a painter's studio.

Patterned tapestries hung around the walls, and thirty or so famous pictures in the same frames hung on the walls, each separated by gleaming shields.I saw works of great value, most of which I had admired in private collections in Europe, or at picture exhibitions.Among the masterpieces of the old masters of different genres, there are Raphael's Madonna, a saint by Leonardo Da Vinci, a girl painted by Gorege, a portrait of a woman by Dietien, Vilannes An adoration by Villiro, an Assumption of the Virgin by Miliro, a portrait by Holbein, a monk by Velázquez, a martyr by Ribera, a portrait by Rubens Festival Feast Picture, two Flemish landscape paintings by Daniel and his sons, three world paintings by Curados, Missoux, and Baudel, and two oil paintings by Yericho and Prudhon , in addition to several seascapes by Ba Jiusheng and Wei Yi.Among the more recent works are those signed by painters such as Delacroix, Ingres, Degan, Duroyan, Messonnier and Daubingy.There are also some miniature bronze and stone statues imitating the most typical ancient times in the corner of the hall.At this point, my mind was already beginning to be seized by the surprise prophesied by the captain of the Nautilus.

"Professor," began the strange man, "forgive me for my informal reception, and for the confusion in this drawing room."

I replied, "Captain, I don't want to know who you are, but I can guess now that you are an artist?"

"I am, at best, an amateur, sir. I used to like to collect masterpieces created by human hands. I was very enthusiastic about these works of art, and I have accumulated something of value. To me For me, the land is dead, and these things are the last souvenirs left to me by the land. In my eyes, your modern artists are the same as the ancient artists, and they are all people who lived two or three thousand years ago. Here, there is no distinction between ancient and modern. The masters have no era."

A grand piano occupies one wall of the living room, and some musical works are scattered on it, including Weber, Rossini, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Meibier, Hirol, Wagner, Obi, Gounod and sheet music by many others. "So, what about these musicians?" I asked, pointing to those musical works.

Captain Nemo replied: "These musicians, to me, are all Orpheus, a figure in Greek mythology who is good at playing the harp, whose sound can make beasts bow their heads and stubborn stones nod their heads. Contemporaries of . . . are lost in the dead man's memory because of the age difference. Professor, I am a dead man, like your friends who sleep six feet deep in the ground."

When he had finished speaking, Captain Nemo leaned his elbows on an intarsia table, said no more, and did not look at me at all, as if he had forgotten that I was in his presence, and he seemed to be in a dream.I looked at him emotionally while silently analyzing the expression on his face.

I didn't want to interrupt his meditation, so I continued to admire the precious collections in the hall.

In addition to works of art, rare products from nature also play an important role here.These were chiefly plants, shells, and other products of the sea, probably discovered by Captain Nemo himself.There is a fountain in the middle of the hall.The water, illuminated by electric light, fell again into a circular pool made of a large shell.This is the largest shell of a headless mollusc with finely processed edges, and its circumference is about six meters long.The size of this shell far exceeds those beautiful shells given to Francois I by the Republic of Venice. There are two huge holy water pools in the Saint-Hupes Church in Paris made of this shell.

There are some glass cabinets around this circular pool, which are fixed with red copper shelves. In these glass cabinets, the most precious seafood items are placed in categories and labeled. These things are difficult for biologists to see. of.As a professor of natural history, the joy I feel can be imagined.

There are many specimens of exotic species in the cabinet.Two exotic specimens of the phylum Phytozoa, the coral polyps and the echinoderms, and in the coelenterate, the tubular coral, the fan-shaped alum, the soft sponge of Syria, the horsetail of the Moluccas, and the phosphorescent coral, Norway There are beautiful comma corals in the sea, various umbrella corals, and eight coral polyps. My teacher Mill Edward has carefully classified these corals.Here I saw those lovely fan corals, the eye corals of Bourbon Island, the "Poseidon's Chariot" of the Antilles, many kinds of higher coral polyps, and various strange coral bones; Collectively they form whole islands, and those islands will one day become land.Among the specimens of spiny echinoderms, there are echinoderms, sea planets, pentagrams, comets, drifting stars, seaweeds, sea cucumbers, etc. A complete set of specimens representing this group is placed here.

Other glass cases displayed mollusk specimens.A somewhat nervous shellfish expert, standing in front of a stuffed mollusc, would be speechless with joy.What I see here are specimens of inestimable value. Time does not allow me to describe them one by one. I can only write down some of them roughly so as not to forget them.Among these treasures, there is the beautiful king mallet from the Indian Ocean, with some white spots regularly arranged on the reddish-brown shell, which is very eye-catching; I estimate its value at around [-] francs; the rough shell of New Holland, which is very difficult to catch; , like soap bubbles that dissipate when blown; there are several Javanese watering-can shells, which resemble calcareous tubes with foliage-like wrinkles on the edges, and are favorites of shell lovers; A series of clams, some bluish-yellow, salvaged from American seas, others brownish-brown, bred in New Holland seas, the latter from the Gulf of Mexico, and notable for the scales of their shells structure, the former is a stellate shell taken from the Southern Ocean.The rarest and best looking of this group is the New Zealand spur mussel.In addition, there are beautiful plate-shaped clams with sulphur, rare Sidley and Venus graceful clams, plaid shell clams along the coast of Shanglangeba, fine-grained clams with mother-of-pearl brilliance, and green sail clams from the China Sea. , the almost unknown conical shell of the conical shellfish, the various magnetic shells used as currency in India and Africa, the most precious shell of the East Indies, called the "glory of the sea"; and lastly the neus Snails, swallow snails, pyramid snails, sea snails, oval shells, spiral shells, man-of-war, iron helmets, vermilion shells, oil snails, harp snails, rock snails, French snails, fossil snails, spindle snails, sleeve shells Shellfish, winged shellfish, scalloped shellfish, scalloped shellfish, and rhombic shellfish, these exquisite and crisp shellfish, scientists use the most beautiful terms as their names.

In addition, in some separate grids, there are strings of very beautiful pearls, shining brightly under the electric light.Among them, the rose-red pearls are taken from the sharp-horned snails of the Red Sea, and the cyan pearls are taken from the butterfly-shaped sea ear snails. There are yellow pearls, blue pearls, black pearls and other wonderful seafood, all of which come from various oceans. Molluscs from the clams of the northern seas.Lastly, there are orbs of inestimable value, which are taken from the rarest pearl oysters.Among these pearls, some are bigger than pigeon eggs. The traveler Danier once sold a pearl to the King of Persia for 300 million yuan. The few large pearls displayed here can catch up with and exceed this price, and It is even better than the pearl of Masjati. I once thought that the pearl of Masjati was unique in the world.

It may be said, therefore, that the value of all these goods is inestimable.I think Captain Nemo must have spent millions to obtain these specimens.Where, then, did he get the money to satisfy his collector's desires?When I was thinking about it, his words interrupted my train of thought:

"Professor, are you studying my shells? These shells would certainly interest a biologist. But for me they have a different interest, because I have collected them myself. , there is no ocean on earth that I have not searched."

"I understand, Captain, that you are the one who collected these precious things with your own hands, and I understand the pleasure you feel in wandering among such rare treasures. No other museum in Europe has such a rich collection of seafood. These collections Already astounding me, I really don't know how to praise the ship that carried it! I don't want to pry into your secrets, but I must admit that the Nautilus The dynamics within, the machinery by which it was operated, the great force by which it was turned, etc., all aroused my great curiosity. I saw many instruments hanging on the walls of this living room, and I do not know What are they for, would you please let me know?"

"Mr. Aronnax," Captain Nemo replied, "I have told you that you are free on board my ship, and therefore no part of the Nautilus is restricted to you. Visit it, and I'd be more than happy to be your guide."

"Sir, I really don't know how to thank you, but I will never abuse your kindness and ask casually. I just want to ask what those physical instruments are for..."

"Professor, I also have some of these instruments in my house. I will definitely explain their use to you when I get to my room. Now, please go and visit the cabin prepared for you first. You ought to know how you live aboard the Nautilus."

I followed Captain Nemo through a door in the saloon, which led me back to the longitudinal passage of the boat.He led me forward, until I came to a room, which I thought was not just a cabin, but an elegant room, with a bed, a dressing table, and all kinds of furniture.

I am very grateful to my master.

As he opened the door, he said to me: "Your room is next to mine, and my room is connected to the living room we just left."

I went into the captain's room.The interior of the room looks simple and tidy, without any fancy things inside, a bit like a hermit's residence.There is an iron bed, a work desk and some toilet utensils in the room.The light in the room was very dim, and a faint light illuminated the whole room.

Captain Nemo pointed to a chair and said to me:
"Professor, please sit down."

I sat down and he started talking to me.

everything uses electricity
Captain Nemo pointed to some instruments hanging on the wall of his room, and said to me: "Sir, these are the instruments necessary for the Nautilus to sail. Whether here or in the drawing room, I must always Keep an eye on them to know your exact position and direction in the ocean. Some of these gauges are familiar to you, like the thermometer that indicates the internal temperature of the Nautilus; the barometer that measures the weight of the air and forecasts changes in the weather; a hygrometer for humidity; and a storm-glass, which foretells a storm when the mixture in it decomposes; and a compass which directs my way; a chronometer, which gives the longitude of the ship, and telescopes for day and night, which I shall use to search the ocean when the Nautilus is on the surface."

"These instruments are necessary for navigators, and I know how to use them," I replied, "but there are some instruments here that I have not seen. I think they must be used as special needs for the Nautilus." I use it from time to time. I see a dial with a rotating pointer on it. Is this a fluid pressure gauge?"

"It's really a fluid pressure gauge. It communicates with the seawater, and it indicates the pressure of the seawater outside, and it also tells me the depth of my sub."

"And what are those new testers for?"

"Those are thermometers that report back to me the temperature of the various layers of water."

"And those? I can't guess what those instruments are for."

Captain Nemo said: "Professor, I will explain to you now, please listen to me."

He paused for a moment, and then said:

"On my submarine, there is a powerful, quick and convenient prime mover. It is used in many ways. Everything on board comes from it. It lights me and heats me. It is the soul of my ship's machinery. , is the master of the ship. This thing is electricity."

"Electricity!" I cried out in surprise.

"Yes, sir, electricity."

"However, Captain, your ship is moving very fast, which is not in line with the power of electricity. So far, the kinetic energy of electricity is still very limited, and it can only produce a very small force!"

Captain Nemo replied: "Professor, my electricity is not ordinary electricity, that's all I can tell you."

"Sir, I didn't mean to ask anything, I was just surprised by such an effect. However, I still have a question to ask. If you think my question is a bit reckless, you can refuse to answer me. For the sake of eating and drinking With such a miraculous power, the elements you use should be consumed quickly. For example, zinc, since you have no contact with the land, then these resources are used up, what do you use to replace them?"

"I can give you a satisfactory answer to your question." Captain Nemo replied, "First of all, let me tell you that there are zinc, iron, silver, gold and other mineral deposits on the seabed, which can be mined completely. But these deposits on land Metal is not what I need, but the sea itself to supply me with the raw materials for producing electricity."

"To the sea?"

"Yes, professor, I have many methods. For example, I can connect the metal wires sunk in different depths of the seabed to form a circuit, and generate electricity by the metal wires receiving different heat, but the other method is more convenient and practical. This is the method I usually use.”

"What method?"

"You should understand the composition of seawater. About 96.5% of useful water can be extracted from one kilogram of seawater, about 2.7% of sodium chloride, and a small amount of magnesium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium sulfate, sulfuric acid and carbolic acid. So you can understand that among the chemical elements in seawater, sodium chloride is relatively large. And what I extract from seawater is sodium, and the substances I need are made from these sodium."

"Is that element sodium?"

"Yes, sir. Sodium mixed with mercury forms an amalgam that can replace zinc in Bunsen batteries. Mercury is inexhaustible, it only consumes sodium, while the sea can provide We supply the sodium that is needed. I can also tell you by the way that the sodium battery is supposed to be the most powerful battery, generating several times more power than the zinc battery."

"I fully understand the superiority of your obtaining sodium in this case. Sodium is indeed a good thing, and it can be extracted from the sea, but it has to be produced, that is, how do you extract it? Of course , your batteries can come in handy when extracting sodium, but if I'm not mistaken, the amount of sodium extracted is nowhere near what those electric machines consume. So here's the thing : You consume more sodium for production than you actually produce!"

"Professor, I do not extract the sodium with batteries, but simply with the heat of coal on land."

"Captain, you mean on land?" I said emphatically.

"It should be coal from the bottom of the sea." Captain Nemo replied.

"So you can mine seabed coal?"

"Mr. Aronnax, you will see me mining coal. But please be patient. You just need to remember one thing: everything about me comes from the ocean, and I use the ocean to generate electricity. The Nautilus heat, light and power, that is. Electricity gave life to the Nautilus."

"But electricity doesn't supply the air you breathe, does it?"

(End of this chapter)