see it is afternoon in that quarter. Is there no way of getting
there?(!!!)

F. (_Laughing heartily_.) Well, well, HELENE! That's pretty good, for
the daughter of an astronomer! Do you know that at this precise moment
you are Forty-five Million, Six Hundred and Fifty-four Thousand, Four
Hundred and Ninety-one Miles and a half from those Muslins! I'll tell
you, Sis, what _could_ be done: Drop a line to the Editor of
PUNCHINELLO, and tell him what you want. He'll get it, some way.

D. That I will, instantly! [_Turns to her portfolio, while her father
turns to the telescope_.]

"DEAR MR. EDITOR: Pardon the seeming _boldness_ of a _stranger:_ you are
no _stranger to me!_ Long, _long_ have I deceived that _good man_, my
father, by _pretending_ to know _nothing_ of the Earth, or of his
_instrument!_ Many and _many_ a night, _unknown to him_, have I gone to
the _Telescope_, to satisfy the _restless craving_ I feel to know more
of _your Planet_, and of a _person of your sex_ whom I have _often_
beheld, and watched with _eagerness_ as he came and went. How
_thrilling_ the thought, that he cannot even _know of my existence_, and
that we are _forever separated!_ This, good and _dear_ Editor, is my one
Thought, my one great Agony.

"It has occurred to me that, in this _dreadful_ situation--my Passion
being sufficiently Hopeless, as any one may see--you might at least
afford me some slight _alleviation_, by undertaking to let Him know of
the _interest_ he excites in this far-off star! Let me describe my
charmer, so that you will be able to identify him. He is of fair size,
with a rolling gait and a smiling countenance, has light hair and