Most undoubtedly, our globe was still gaseous or at most only liquid, at the period when the Moon, already hardened by cooling, began to become inhabitable." "_Most undoubtedly_ is good!" observed Ardan admiringly.
"At this period," continued the learned Captain, "an atmosphere surrounded her.

The waters, shut in by this gaseous envelope, could no longer evaporate.

Under the combined influences of air, water, light, and solar heat as well as internal heat, vegetation began to overspread the continents by this time ready to receive it, and most undoubtedly--I mean--a--incontestably--it was at this epoch that _life_ manifested itself on the lunar surface.

I say _incontestably_ advisedly, for Nature never exhausts herself in producing useless things, and therefore a world, so wonderfully inhabitable, _must_ of necessity have had inhabitants." "I like _of necessity_ too," said Ardan, who could never keep still; "I always did, when I felt my arguments to be what you call a little shaky." "But, my dear Captain," here observed Barbican, "have you taken into consideration some of the peculiarities of our Satellite which are decidedly opposed to the development of vegetable and animal existence?
Those nights and days, for instance, 354 hours long ?" "I have considered them all," answered the brave Captain.

"Days and nights of such an enormous length would at the present time, I grant, give rise to variations in temperature altogether intolerable to any ordinary organization.