Current page: 1 (total book has 3 pages)
Jules Verne
Around the world in 80 Days
Original artwork © Libico Maraja Association, 2015
Use without permission is strictly prohibited.
© Translation into Russian, design. Eksmo Publishing LLC, 2015
* * *
Back in 1872, the English gentleman Phileas Fogg made a bet with other gentlemen that he would travel around the world in 80 days. At the time, it seemed incredible. And he won this bet. That's how it was.
At number seven, Savile Row, London, lived Phileas Fogg, a man of the highest order and attractiveness, but at the same time surrounded by an aura of mystery. Nobody knew anything about him, he had no family, no friends. Undoubtedly, he was very rich, although no one knew where he got his money from. And this gentleman never said anything about himself, and in general he was laconic and said something only in case of absolute necessity.
Phileas Fogg's most notable trait was his punctuality. In the morning he got up at exactly eight o'clock; at eight twenty-three minutes he had breakfast of tea and toasted bread; at nine thirty-seven his servant James Forster brought him shaving water; Twenty minutes to ten Phileas Fogg began to shave, wash and dress. When the clock struck half-past eleven he would go out and spend the whole day at the venerable and famous Reform Club in London.
Phileas Fogg was a tall and handsome man with a noble bearing, blond hair, with penetrating blue eyes that instantly turned into ice when their owner was angry. He always walked with a measured step, never in a hurry, because everything in his life was calculated with mathematical precision.
He lived like this for years, doing the same thing at the same time, but then one day - namely, on the morning of October 2, 1872 - something unexpected happened. The water for shaving was too cold, only eighty-four degrees Fahrenheit instead of eighty-six. Inexcusable negligence! Mr. Fogg, of course, promptly dismissed the unfortunate James Forster, and found another servant in his place.
The young, sociable Frenchman Jean Passepartout, a master of all trades, became the new servant. During his life, he managed to visit many people: a wandering singer, a circus rider, a gymnastics teacher and even a fireman. But now he wanted only one thing - to live a calm and measured life.
He arrived at the house in Savile Row a few minutes before Phileas Fogg left for the club.
“I have heard, Mr. Fogg, that you are the most punctual and calm gentleman in the kingdom,” said Passepartout. That's why I decided to offer you my services.
Do you know my conditions? asked Phileas Fogg.
- Yes, sir.
- Fine. From now on, you are in my service.
With these words, Phileas Fogg rose from his chair, took up his hat, and went out of the house, as the clock struck half-past eleven.
Arriving at the Reform Club, an imposing building on Pall Mall Street, Mr. Fogg ordered his usual lunch. After the meal, he, as always, read the latest newspapers until dinner, and then continued this occupation. All the newspapers were full of reports about the sensational bank robbery that had taken place three days earlier. The attacker stole fifty thousand pounds sterling from the Bank of England.
The police suspected that the kidnapper was not an ordinary thief. On the day of the theft, a well-dressed gentleman was walking up and down near the desk where the money lay in the payment hall. Signs of this gentleman were sent to all police agents in England and in the largest ports of the world, and a significant reward was promised for the arrest of the thief.
“Well, most likely the bank lost its money,” said engineer Andrew Stewart.
“No, no,” objected Gauthier Ralph, an employee of the Bank of England, “I am sure that the criminal will definitely be found.
“But I still maintain that all the chances are on the side of the thief,” Stuart said.
Where could he have hidden? asked banker John Sullivan. There is no country where he can feel safe.
- Oh, I don't know. But the Earth is big, said Samuel Fallentine, another banker.
“Once great,” said Phileas Fogg, suddenly speaking.
Stuart turned to him.
"What do you mean, Mr. Fogg?" Why was there once? Has the world gotten smaller?
“Undoubtedly,” said Phileas Fogg.
“I agree with Mr. Fogg,” Ralph said. The earth has really shrunk. Now you can drive around it ten times faster than a century ago.
Brewer Thomas Flenagen intervened in the conversation.
- So what? Even if you travel around the world in three months...
“Eighty days, gentlemen,” Phileas Fogg interrupted. – Take a look at the calculations printed in "Daily Telegraph".
"From London to Suez via Mont Cenis
and Brindisi by train and steamboat 7 days;
from Suez to Bombay by steamer 13 days;
from Bombay to Calcutta by train 3 days;
from Calcutta to Hong Kong by steamer 13 days;
from Hong Kong to Yokohama by steamboat 6 days;
from Yokohama to San Francisco by steamboat 22 days;
from San Francisco to New York by train 7 days;
from New York to London by steamboat and train 9 days
Total: 80 days.
“Well, you know, you can write anything on paper,” Sullivan objected. - After all, neither headwind or bad weather, nor transport breakdowns and other surprises are taken into account here.
“Everything is accounted for,” said Phileas Fogg.
"Mr. Fogg, it's theoretically possible," Stuart said. But in reality...
“In reality, too, Mr. Stewart.
“I would like to see how you do it. I'm willing to bet £4,000 that a round-the-world trip under these conditions is impossible.
“On the contrary, it is quite possible,” said Phileas Fogg.
- Wonderful. Then prove it to us! exclaimed the five gentlemen.
- With pleasure! I just warn you that the trip is at your expense.
“Very well, Mr. Fogg. Each of us bets £4,000.
- Agreed. I have twenty thousand in the bank and I'm willing to risk it... I'll take the train to Dover tonight at a quarter to nine.
- Tonight? Stuart was surprised.
"That's right," said Phileas Fogg. Today is Wednesday, the second of October. I have to return to the saloon of the Reform Club on the twenty-first of December at eight forty-five minutes.
Phileas Fogg left the club at seven twenty-five, having won twenty guineas at whist, and opened the door of his house in Savile Row at ten minutes to eight.
By that time, Passepartout, who had already carefully studied the list of his duties and the daily routine of the owner, knew that it was not the time for his return, so he did not answer when Phileas Fogg called him.
- Passepartout! repeated Mr. Fogg.
This time the servant appeared.
“This is the second time I have called you,” the host remarked coldly.
“But it’s not yet midnight,” the young man objected, glancing at his watch.
“You are right,” agreed Phileas Fogg, “that is why I am not reprimanding you. In ten minutes we'll be leaving for Dover for a round-the-world trip.
Passepartout was horrified.
- Trip around the world?
- Yes, and in eighty days, so there is not a minute to lose. We will take only a bag, a pair of shirts and three pairs of socks. We will buy all the necessary clothes on the way. Now hurry up!
While Passepartout was packing, Mr. Fogg went to the safe, took out twenty thousand pounds sterling in bank notes, and hid it in a bag.
Soon, having securely locked the house, together with the servant, they went in a cab to the station, where they bought two tickets to Paris.
At eight forty Phileas Fogg and his servant were in the first class compartment. Five minutes later the whistle blew and the train started moving. The journey around the world has begun.
The detective is on the trail
The first leg of the journey went pretty smoothly. Exactly one week after his departure from London, Phileas Fogg arrived in Suez on the steamer "Mongolia", but then something unexpected lay in wait for him. A thin, short man was walking up and down the embankment. It was Mr. Fix, one of the many agents of the English police who were sent to the port cities of the world in search of a bank thief.
Mr. Fix was to keep an eye on all the passengers passing through the Suez, and not let the man out of his sight if he aroused his suspicions. The zeal of the detective increased the large reward promised by the Bank of England. Mr. Fix had little doubt that the intruder had arrived in Suez in the Mongolia. Meanwhile, the embankment was filled with a crowded crowd. Porters, merchants, sailors of different nationalities, fellahs jostled in anticipation of the arrival of the steamer. Finally, the ship moored to the shore, the ladder was lowered.
There were an unusually large number of passengers on the ship, but no matter how much detective Fix looked at the faces, no one even came close to the description of a bank thief. Shaking his head in disappointment, Fix was about to leave the port, when one of the passengers made his way through the crowd - it was Passepartout - and politely said:
“Excuse me, sir, do you know how to get to the British consulate?” I need to put a visa on this passport.
The detective took the document in his hands and, throwing a quick glance at the photo of the owner, even shuddered in surprise: the appearance of the Englishman who arrived on the steamer exactly matched the description of the bank thief!
- It's not your passport, is it? he asked Passepartout.
"No," replied the Frenchman. “It belongs to my master, but he did not want to go ashore.
Fix quickly figured out what to say.
“This gentleman needs to come to the consulate himself to prove his identity.
– Where is it located? asked Passepartout.
“Over there, on the corner of the square.
- It's clear. Well, I'll follow the owner. Only I'm afraid that he will not like such red tape.
The servant returned to the ship, and Fix hurried to the consul's reception and announced right from the threshold of the office:
“Sir, I have every reason to believe that the intruder who stole fifty thousand pounds from the Bank of England is on board the Mongolia.” He'll be here any minute to put a visa in his passport. I would ask you to refuse him.
“And how can I explain it? the consul asked. “If he has a real passport, I have no right to refuse him a visa.
Sir, don't you understand? exclaimed the detective. “I need to detain this man in Suez until a warrant for his arrest arrives from London.
“It doesn't concern me, Mr. Fix. I can't…
The consul did not have time to finish: there was a knock on the door of his office, and the secretary brought in Mr. Fogg and Passepartout.
Phileas Fogg handed the consul his passport and explained that he needed proof of his passage through Suez. The consul carefully studied the document and, making sure that everything was in order, put his signature, date and stamp. Mr Fogg bowed coldly and went out.
As soon as the door closed, the detective handed the consul a piece of paper with signs.
“Here, read the description of the alleged thief. Don't you think this Mr. Fogg fits him perfectly?
“Yes, apparently,” the consul had to admit. “But you know that all such descriptions—”
"I'll check everything," Fix interrupted him impatiently. “I'll try to get his servant to talk.
Passepartout he found on the embankment.
- Well, my friend, now everything is in order with your passports, and you decided to take a walk around the city?
“Yes,” replied the Frenchman. “Actually, I need to buy some of the things. We did not take any luggage with us, only one bag.
“So you left London suddenly?”
- How sudden!
"But where is your master going?"
He must travel around the world. Yes, in eighty days! According to him, this is a bet, but, frankly, I do not believe: there is something else.
"Ah, that's it," muttered Fix. “Mr. Fogg must be very rich?”
Like Croesus! He took with him a huge amount, all new bank notes, and does not save them much. For example, he promised a generous reward to the captain of the Mongolia if we arrived in Bombay ahead of schedule!
The soul of the detective rejoiced: without a doubt, Phileas Fogg is the same bank thief. A hasty departure from London almost immediately after the theft, a large amount of cash on him, an impatient desire to be as far away from London as possible, an implausible story about some kind of bet - all this undoubtedly confirmed the suspicions of the detective.
Leaving Passepartout in the market where the Frenchman was shopping, Fix hurried to the telegraph office and sent the following dispatch to Scotland Yard:
Passepartout's oversight
The news of the bet made by Phileas Fogg caused a real sensation in London. Everyone just talked about it. Some people considered the possibility of Mr. Fogg's success, but most considered this idea crazy: if even a little delay, Mr. Fogg would lose all his money. In the midst of the controversy, a telegram arrived from Suez from Fix. The effect was no less sensational. In general opinion, Phileas Fogg instantly turned from a respectable gentleman into a cunning and treacherous bank thief.
Meanwhile, the "Mongolia" was rushing at full speed along the waves of the Red Sea to Aden. Phileas Fogg did not pay any attention to the stormy weather, and even just before the sailing from Suez, the detective Fix hurriedly boarded the steamer, and did not notice at all.
The next day, Passepartout, noticing Fix on deck, was so delighted to meet this amiable man that he exclaimed:
Who do I see! Mr Fix! Are you far away?
"Alas," the young man sighed. - I'm afraid not.
Fix had hoped that the Mongolia would arrive late in Bombay, but he was disappointed. On Saturday, October 20, at half past five in the afternoon, the steamer entered the port of Bombay - two days ahead of schedule.
Mr. Fogg paid the captain the promised reward, methodically recorded these two days in his travel notebook in the column of winnings, and went ashore.
“The train to Calcutta leaves at eight o'clock in the evening,” he told the servant. - Meet me at the station. Please don't be late!
Fix overheard his words and realized that he had to detain the bank thief in Bombay at all costs until a warrant for his arrest came from England. At the Bombay police, the detective asked the commissioner to issue a warrant for the arrest of Phileas Fogg, but he just shook his head:
- I'm very sorry, but this is impossible: we have no right to interfere in the sphere of competence of London. Now, if the crime was committed on the territory of India, then the matter is different.
While Fix pondered what to do, Passepartout surveyed the city. Unlike his master, who did not show the slightest interest in the places through which they passed, the servant eagerly looked at everything and tried not to miss anything.
The streets of Bombay were unusually crowded. Open-mouthed, the young Frenchman stared at the Persians in pointed hats, at the Banyan merchants in round turbans, at the Parsees in black miters, at the Armenians in long-sleeved, to-toe clothing. He had never seen anything like it before and was so carried away that he almost forgot about the time. Then he nevertheless went to the station, but suddenly he saw the magnificent temple of Malabar Hill, and he wanted to go there by all means. Alas, Passepartout did not know that one could not enter the temple in shoes, they were supposed to take them off before entering, nor did he know that the British authorities severely punished anyone who offended the religious feelings of the inhabitants of India. In a word, without any evil thoughts, he entered the temple, admired its magnificent ornaments, but suddenly found himself on the floor. Three angry priests tore off his shoes and socks and began to beat him, but Passepartout was a dexterous fellow. Fighting off with fists and kicks, he escaped from the hands of the Indians and rushed to his heels.
Meanwhile, detective Fix was following him all the time, so he went to the station. There were five minutes before the train's departure when Passepartout, barefoot, jumped out on the platform and told Mr. Fogg of his misadventures.
“I hope this won’t happen again,” Mr. Fogg said coldly, and, accompanied by a dejected servant, entered the carriage.
Fix, who heard every word, rejoiced:
- So-so! The crime was committed in India! Now I can issue an arrest warrant. In Calcutta, the police will have it before the rascal gets there.
Satisfied with himself, he again hurried to the local police commissioner.
jungle adventure
Entering the compartment, Phileas Fogg and Passepartout were surprised to find that their companion was Sir Francis Cromartie, Brigadier General, Mr. Fogg's partner in whist when they sailed on the Mongolia. Mr. Fogg even gave a whole speech of several sentences, expressing his joy.
They drove through the night and the next day without incident.
On either side of the railroad, steep mountain slopes rose to the skies. Then they were replaced by dense jungle with snakes teeming in them. At times, to Passepartout's delight, elephants could be seen near the tracks.
The next morning, their train suddenly stopped near some small village, and the head conductor walked through the cars, shouting:
- Passengers, get out!
- What's happened? What's the matter? Sir Francis asked.
“But the newspapers said that the whole road from Bombay to Calcutta was completed,” Sir Francis got angry.
The conductor didn't blink.
The newspapers were wrong.
Passepartout clenched his fists.
"Don't worry," Mr. Fogg said calmly. “I have two days left, so we can afford this little hitch. The steamer for Hong Kong leaves Calcutta at noon on the twenty-fifth. Today is only twenty-two. We will arrive on time. But at the moment we need to somehow get to Allahabad.
When they reached the village, Sir Francis, Phileas Fogg, and Passepartout found that every means of transportation possible had already been taken apart by the other passengers.
"Well, we'll have to walk," said Phileas Fogg.
The Frenchman, who was sorry to wear out new shoes, suggested:
Why don't we ride an elephant?
Everyone liked the idea. In the village they found a good animal, and the owner, after long negotiations, sold it to Mr. Fogg for such a huge sum that Passepartout even doubted whether his master was of sound mind. The guide was quickly found - the young Parsi himself volunteered to show them the way. After that, the four men mounted the elephant—Mr. Fogg and the general in baskets, and Passepartout and the Parsee simply on their backs—and set off, swaying uncomfortably from side to side. By evening, they had made it half way and spent the night in a dilapidated hut in the jungle. Passepartout tossed and turned all night, and Phileas Fogg slept soundly and peacefully, as if in his bed in Savile Row. In the morning they continued on their way.
“We will arrive at Allahabad by evening,” said Sir Francis.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, loud voices reached them from somewhere. The Parsee immediately jumped to the ground and led the elephant off the path into the thicket, explaining:
“This is a procession of brahmins: they are heading towards us, and it is better not to show themselves in front of them.
From their hiding place the travelers saw a strange procession. Priests in robes embroidered with gold walked in front, followed by a crowd of men, women and children. A mournful funeral chant sounded. Behind the crowd, on a wagon drawn by zebu bulls, was a gigantic four-armed statue.
“This is Kali,” whispered Sir Francis. - Goddess of love and death.
Behind the statue, several brahmins led by the arms a beautiful young woman who could hardly move her legs. Behind them, four young guards carried a palanquin on their shoulders, in which lay a dead old man in the luxurious attire of a rajah and a turban adorned with gems. Musicians and fakirs with wild cries and dances brought up the rear of the procession.
“She is the widow of an Indian rajah,” said Sir Francis sadly as the procession departed. She will be burned early in the morning on a funeral pyre with her husband.
- Burned alive? exclaimed Passepartout in horror.
“Yes, but this time it will not be voluntary,” said the Parsee, turning to Sir Francis.
“But the poor woman does not resist at all.
“Because they gave her opium and hashish,” the guide explained.
"So you know her?" Sir Francis asked.
Yes, her name is Auda. She is the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Bombay and received an excellent English upbringing. Her parents died, and against her will she was given in marriage to an old raja. Once she even tried to run away, knowing what a terrible fate awaits her, but she was caught, and now no one will dare to help her. The sacrifice will take place tomorrow at dawn, near the temple of Pillaji.
“I have twenty more hours to spare,” said Phileas Fogg suddenly. We must try to save this woman.
Passepartout enthusiastically supported him. “Still, my master has a good heart,” he said to himself. Sir Francis also expressed his willingness to participate in this operation. The Parsi guide also agreed to go with them.
“We have no illusions about that,” said Mr. Fogg. “I think we should wait for the night anyway and then act. In the meantime, let's get closer to the temple.
They cautiously crept up to Pillagi and hid in the thickets of the jungle, and when it got dark, they went to reconnoiter. A funeral pyre was prepared near the temple, where the embalmed body of the Raja was already lying. At dawn, a young widow will be brought here, forced to lie down next to her elderly husband and a fire will be lit ... All four men shuddered at the thought of such a terrible death.
Past the Indians sleeping on the ground, they reached almost to the very entrance, but, to their disappointment, the temple was guarded by fierce guards - they walked in front of the gate with drawn sabers, ominously sparkling in the torchlight.
“It is impossible to enter the temple through the door,” said Mr. Fogg. Let's try to get in another way. Maybe from the rear?
But all hopes collapsed when they saw the deaf, without windows and doors, the back wall of the temple.
“All our efforts are useless,” Sir Francis said sadly. We still can't do anything.
All four hid in the thicket, almost desperate to change anything, but Passepartout suddenly had an idea. Without saying a word, he quietly walked away.
At dawn, Mr. Fogg and his companions again heard the mournful singing and the roar of drums: the hour of sacrifice was approaching. The doors of the temple were flung open. In the bright light pouring from within, Phileas Fogg saw a beautiful widow. Despite her condition, she escaped from the hands of the Brahmins, but two priests, grabbing her tightly, dragged her to the funeral pyre. The screams of the crowd intensified. When Mr. Fogg and Sir Francis followed the procession, the general noticed that his companion was clutching a knife in his hand.
In the pre-dawn twilight they saw that the widow was already lying unconscious near the corpse of the rajah. A burning torch was brought to the fire: dry branches soaked in oil instantly flared up, and thick clouds of black smoke floated into the sky.
Phileas Fogg rushed forward, but Sir Francis and the Parsee, albeit with great difficulty, held him back. It is sheer recklessness to do anything, and yet Phileas Fogg escaped from their hands and was about to throw himself at the fire, when suddenly there were cries of horror in the crowd.
The Raja is alive!
Mr. Fogg was dumbfounded with surprise. Amid the smoke and fire on the funeral pyre stood a man in a turban holding a woman in his arms. Then the rajah majestically passed through the crowd, and all prostrated themselves in horror before him. The Raja hissed as he passed Sir Francis and Mr Fogg.
Around the World in Eighty Days is a popular adventure novel by Jules Verne. It tells about the journey of the Englishman Phileas Fogg and his French servant Jean Passepartout around the world, undertaken as a result of a bet.
The action of the novel begins on October 2, 1872 in London, at number 7 in Savile Row, with the fact that Phileas Fogg hires a new servant - Jean Passepartout. After that, Fogg went to the Reform Club, of which he was a member. While playing whist, the members of the club began to discuss a high-profile incident - three days ago, on September 29, a bundle of bank notes worth fifty-five thousand pounds sterling was stolen from the office of the chief cashier of the Bank of England. This conversation led to an unexpected ending - Phileas Fogg made a bet with his partners that he would travel around the world in 80 days. There were 20,000 pounds at stake. In the evening of the same day, Fogg and Passepartout arrived at Charing Cross station, took two first-class tickets to Paris, and set off on their journey at 20:45.
2 Suez
The travelers arrived in Paris on October 3, at 7:20 in the morning, and at 8:40 in the morning they had already departed further. On October 4, Fogg and Passepartout arrived in Turin, and on October 5 in Brindisi. There they boarded the Mongolian packet boat and set sail on the Suez Canal. October 9, at 11 am, "Mongolia" arrived in Suez.
On the waterfront in Suez, Detective Fix was waiting for the arrival of the packet boat. He was one of those English police agents who were sent to various ports after the theft at the Bank of England. Fix was to keep a close watch on travelers passing through the Suez, and if any of them seemed suspicious to him, follow him pending a warrant of arrest.
Fogg and Passepartout went ashore to visit the British consulate. Formally, they did not need a visa to visit India, where they were going. But Fogg wanted to document his passage through the Suez. As soon as Fix saw Fogg, he immediately decided that this was the man who had robbed the bank. Then he talked to Passepartout and became even more convinced of his opinion. Fix then sent the following dispatch to the Director of the London Police:
From Suez to London.
Rowan, Director of Police, Central Office, Scotland Place.
I'm chasing the thief who robbed the Bank of England, this is Phileas Fogg. Send the arrest warrant to Bombay (British India) without delay.
Fix, police agent.
A quarter of an hour later Fix, with a light suitcase in his hands, but with a solid supply of money, stepped on the deck of the Mongolia.
3 Bombay
By noon on October 20, the Indian coast appeared. At half past four, the packet boat landed on the Bombay embankment. "Mongolia" was supposed to arrive in Bombay only on October 22. Therefore, since leaving London, Fogg has accumulated a gain of two days.
The train from Bombay to Calcutta left exactly at eight o'clock in the evening. Mr. Fogg left the packet boat and gave Passepartout detailed instructions on the account of purchases, warning him to be at the station by all means before eight o'clock, while he himself went to the passport office.
Detective Fix, meanwhile, hurried to the director of the Bombay police. But a warrant for the arrest of Phileas Fogg has not yet been received. Fix tried to get a warrant from the chief of the Bombay police, but he refused.
Meanwhile, Passepartout, having made the necessary purchases, was strolling through the streets of Bombay. He was already on his way to the station when on the way he met the wonderful Malabar Hill Pagoda. Passepartout wanted to inspect it from the inside, but he did not know two things: firstly, that Christians are strictly forbidden to enter some Hindu pagodas, and secondly, that you must enter there, leaving your shoes at the door. Passepartout entered the pagoda without realizing that he was committing a crime. And suddenly three priests pounced on Passepartout, threw him to the floor and, tearing off his shoes and socks, began to beat him. With a punch and a kick, the Frenchman knocked down two opponents, ran out of the pagoda and soon left the third priest behind. Five minutes to eight, a few minutes before the departure of the train, with his head uncovered, barefoot and without purchases, Passepartout ran to the station. The travelers went to Calcutta, and Fix, who was watching them at the station, decided to stay in Bombay.
4 Colby. Journey through the jungle
On October 22, at eight o'clock in the morning, the train stopped fifteen miles from Rotal station, in the village of Kolbi. It turned out that the railway was not completed further. Passengers had to overcome the distance of fifty miles from Kolbi to Allahabad on their own strength and means. And from Allahabad the line continued on. Fogg remained calm, as he had two days to spare. He planned to have time to arrive in Calcutta by October 25, since on that day the ship should leave for Hong Kong.
Most of the passengers were aware of this break in the railway track. After getting off the train, they quickly took possession of all the means of transportation that the village had at its disposal. Mr. Fogg and his companion, Sir Francis Cromartie, searched the whole village, but found nothing. But Passepartout found an elephant. The owner of the elephant and Fogg bargained for a long time. The Hindu clearly wanted to profit, finally, he was satisfied with the amount of two thousand pounds sterling. Then the travelers found themselves a guide - "a young Parsi with an intelligent face."
The Parsee covered the elephant's back with a kind of blanket and hung a basket on each side. Sir Francis Cromarty took his place in one basket, Phileas Fogg in another. Passepartout sat on the back of the animal, the Parsi climbed onto the elephant's neck, and at nine o'clock the animal left the village, heading for Allahabad along the shortest road through a dense palm forest.
On several occasions the travelers met ferocious crowds of Hindus, who with angry gestures saw off the fleet-footed animal. The Parsee, as far as possible, strove to avoid such meetings, rightly considering them dangerous. At eight o'clock in the evening the main Vindhya mountain range was left behind, and the travelers decided to spend the night in a ruined bungalow at the foot of the northern slope of the ridge. About twenty-five miles were covered in a day, the same distance remained to Allahabad station. The night passed quietly.
At six o'clock in the morning the travelers set off again. In the afternoon they met a procession of Brahmins. Hiding in the jungle, they went unnoticed, but they were able to see the procession. The Hindus carried the body of the deceased raja, and also led his young widow. At dawn the next day, the body of the old man was to be burned, and, according to local tradition, the widow was to go to the fire with him. The guide told the travelers about this girl. This Hindu beauty from the Parsi tribe was the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Bombay. She received a good upbringing and education at the European level. Her name was Auda. Left an orphan, she was forcibly given in marriage to the old Rajah of Bundelkhand. Three months later, Auda was widowed. Knowing the fate that awaited her, she fled, but was caught. And now she was going to be executed.
Fogg decided to save the girl. Travelers followed the procession, waited for the night. But it was not possible to steal the unfortunate woman at night, she was well guarded. The morning has come, it's time to burn. Travelers already thought that everything was in vain, when suddenly something unexpected happened. There was a general cry of horror. The crowd sprawled on the ground in fear. The old raja came to life, rose from his bed, took his young wife in his arms and descended from the fire, enveloped in clouds of smoke. But it was actually Passepartout. While the Indians were under the impression of what had happened, the kidnappers with the girl rushed to run. The trick was quickly revealed, the priests rushed in pursuit, but they failed to catch up with the elephant.
At ten o'clock in the morning they arrived at Allahabad station. Auda, under the influence of the dope to which the priests subjected her, gradually came to her senses. Fogg paid off the guide and gave him the elephant. Soon the travelers boarded the train and went on.
5 Kolkata
On October 25, at 7 o'clock in the morning, Fogg, Passepartout and Auda arrived in Calcutta. The steamer, bound for Hong Kong, was anchored only at noon, the travelers had another 5 hours to spare. At the exit of the station, a policeman approached Fogg and asked them to follow him. Fogg and Passepartout were then arrested and due to appear in court at 8:30 am.
Priests from the Malabar Hill Pagoda in Bombay were present at the trial. Phileas Fogg and his servant were accused of sacrilegious desecration of a Brahmin shrine. Also in the hall was Fix, who brought the Bombay priests to Calcutta.
As a result, the court decided to sentence Passepartout to two weeks in prison and a fine of three hundred pounds, and Phileas Fogg to eight days in prison and a hundred and fifty pounds fine. But Fogg paid a bond of £2,000 and the travelers were released.
At 11 am Mr. Fogg, Aouda and Passepartout were already on the embankment. Half a mile away, in the roadstead, was the Rangoon. They got into the boat and went to the ship. They had to overcome three and a half thousand miles, which took 11-12 days. The first part of the ride on the Rangoon was in excellent conditions, with good weather. Phileas Fogg intended to board the steamer in Hong Kong for Yokohama on November 5th. But after visiting Singapore, the weather turned bad. The ship was caught in a storm. It subsided only on the afternoon of November 4th. The Rangoon rushed forward with great speed. But it was no longer possible to make up for the lost time completely.
6 Hong Kong
Fogg was scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong on November 5th, but did not arrive until the 6th. At one o'clock in the afternoon the steamer moored to the embankment and the passengers began to disembark. By a stroke of luck, the steamship Carnatic, on which Mr. Fogg was planning to sail, needed repairs to the boiler, so her sailing was postponed from 5 to 7 November. Had he sailed on time, the travelers would have had to wait eight days for the next steamer.
The Carnatic was due to sail at five o'clock in the morning, so that Mr. Fogg had sixteen hours to attend to business, that is, the arrangement of Mrs. Aouda. He rented a room for her at the Club Hotel, and he himself went to the stock exchange. There, Fogg found out that Auda's relative no longer lived in China, he amassed a large fortune and moved to Europe, presumably to Holland. Returning to the hotel, Mr. Fogg invited the girl to go with him to Europe.
Meanwhile, Passepartout went to order cabins and learned that the repair of the Carnatic was completed, and the packet ship would not leave the next morning, but that same day at eight o'clock in the evening. On the embankment, the Frenchman met Fix, and together they went into a tavern. After drinking wine, they started talking, and then Fix told Passepartout that he was a police agent and asked him to help him detain Fogg in Hong Kong. Passepartout flatly refused. However, Fix managed to get him so drunk that Passepartout took a drag from his opium pipe and fell asleep. He failed to warn Mr. Fogg of the ship's departure. After sleeping for 3 hours, Passepartout overcame the stupefying effect of the drug and woke up. He left the bed of drunkards and staggered out of the censer. The steamer was already smoking, ready to sail. Passepartout managed to climb aboard and fell unconscious. The next day the Frenchman woke up and found to his horror that Mr. Fogg and Auda were not on the ship.
Meanwhile, Fogg and Aouda arrived at the quay to find that the steamer had left the day before. Where Passepartout had gone, they did not know. Fix approached them and introduced himself as a passenger who also missed the Carnatic. Mr. Fogg did not lose his cool and began to look for another ship that could take them to Yokohama. Soon he found the owner of one vessel, who helped to find a way out of the situation. The way to Yokohama was too long, and he suggested sailing to Shanghai, located twice as close. According to this sailor, a packet boat bound for San Francisco leaves from Shanghai, and only stops in Yokohama. From Shanghai, the ship should depart on November 11 at 7 pm. They had four days left.
At 15:10, November 7, the sails were raised on the schooner Tankadera. The passengers were already on deck, and the schooner set off for Shanghai. Most of the voyage went smoothly, but then the ship got into a strong storm. Miraculously, the Tankadera remained afloat, but several hours were lost. When the storm ended, the schooner again rushed to the goal in full sail. By noon on November 11, the Tankadera was only forty-five miles from Shanghai. There were six hours left before the steamer left for Yokohama.
At seven o'clock in the evening, Shanghai was three miles away. A long black silhouette appeared in the distance - an American packet boat leaving the port at the appointed time. On the bow of the Tankadera was a small bronze cannon that served to signal. Mr. Fogg ordered the flag to be lowered, which was a distress signal, and the signal to be fired from a cannon. As a result, the packet boat picked up Mr. Fogg and Auda from the schooner and set off for Yokohama.
7 Yokohama
On November 13, with the morning tide, the Carnatic entered the port of Yokohama. Passepartout landed on the Japanese coast. He had no money, he had nothing to eat, he did not know how to get to America. The next day, he saw a poster for a Japanese acrobatic troupe, went to its director, Batulkar, and got a job as a clown.
On the same day, on the morning of November 14, Phileas Fogg and Auda arrived in Yokohama. First of all, they went to the Carnatic and found out that Passepartout had indeed sailed on it to Yokohama. But neither in the French, nor in the English consulates, nor on the streets of the city, could Passepartout be found. Fogg was about to despair of finding a servant, when suddenly, obeying some kind of instinct, he went into Batulkar's booth. Passepartout participated in the performance. He himself saw Fogg among the spectators. That same evening, just before the departure of the American packet, Mr. Fogg and Mrs. Aouda stepped on deck, accompanied by Passepartout.
The packet boat that flew between Yokohama and San Francisco was called the General Grant. Traveling at twelve miles an hour, the packet ship was supposed to cross the Pacific Ocean in twenty-one days. Thus Phileas Fogg could count on arriving in San Francisco on December 2nd and arriving in New York on the eleventh and in London on the twentieth.
Swimming went smoothly. Passepartout met Fix on board. The detective persuaded him to become allies, since now it was to his advantage that Fogg should be in England as soon as possible.
8 San Francisco
December 3 "General Grant" entered the Golden Gate and arrived in San Francisco. Mr. Fogg has not yet won or lost a single day. It was 7 o'clock in the morning when Phileas Fogg, Mrs. Auda and Passepartout set foot on the American mainland. Mr. Fogg, when he got off at the wharf, knew at once when the next train to New York left. He left at 6 pm.
The travelers stayed at the International Hotel. Passepartout went shopping, and Phileas Fogg and Mrs. Aouda visited the English consul, endorsed their passports, met Fix, and then happened upon a rally. They tried to stay away, and when the rally turned into a fight, they were about to leave, but suddenly got into the epicenter of the dump, as a result, Fix received a blow to the head, and they had to urgently change their costumes for new ones.
At a quarter to six, the travelers arrived at the station and found the train ready to depart. They went to New York.
9 Adventures on the road across America
The train journey from San Francisco to New York was supposed to take seven days. However, during the journey, many events occurred that delayed the train. The first such event was a meeting with a herd of bison. The train had to stop and let a herd of ten or twelve thousand heads cross the railroad tracks. The passage of the bison lasted three long hours.
The second event occurred during the passage of the Rocky Mountains. The train suddenly stopped in front of a red semaphore signal. The lineman, who was sent by the head of the neighboring station to meet the train, reported that the suspension bridge over Medicine Bow was loose and could not withstand the weight of the train. The bridge was one mile away. Across the bridge, twelve miles from the river, was a station where, in six hours, an oncoming train would come and pick up passengers. Nobody liked this option. But then the train driver suggested that if the train was run at top speed, there was some chance of slipping through. Passengers liked this offer. The engineer backed up, pulled the train almost a mile back. Then the whistle blew and the train sped forward. He picked up speed until it reached its extreme limit. The train was moving at a hundred miles an hour, barely touching the rails. And he made it safely across the river. Immediately afterwards, the bridge crashed into the waters of Medicine Bow.
But the most serious event was still waiting for the travelers ahead. Mr. Fogg and Fix met Colonel Stamp W. Proctor on the train. They had a conflict with this man at a rally in San Francisco. Both Fogg and Proctor wanted to settle the issue of honor, a duel was brewing. They wanted to get off at the nearest station to have a duel. But due to the delay of the train, passengers were not allowed to disembark on it. The conductor offered to shoot right on the train. Both opponents and their seconds, led by the conductor, went through the entire train to the rear car. But before they had time to begin their work, wild cries were suddenly heard. Shots were fired after them. The shooting began somewhere near the locomotive and went along the carriages. Colonel Proctor and Mr. Fogg, with revolvers in their hands, jumped out of the car onto the platform and rushed forward, from where most of the shots and screams were heard. The train was attacked by a detachment of Sioux Indians.
The Indians had guns. Travelers, also almost all armed, responded to rifle shots with revolver fire. First of all, the Indians rushed to the locomotive. The driver and fireman were stunned by the blows of brass knuckles. The Sioux leader wanted to stop the train, but, not knowing the control, turned the regulator knob in the opposite direction and added steam. The Indians flooded the wagons. They jumped over rooftops, burst through doors and windows, and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with passengers. The travelers bravely defended themselves. A dozen or two Indians killed on the spot had already fallen to the canvas, and the wheels of the train crushed the attackers, who were falling off the platforms onto the rails like worms.
The struggle, which had already lasted ten minutes, would have inevitably led to the victory of the Indians, if the train had not been stopped. Fort Kearney station was no more than two miles away. There was an American military post there, but if the fort had been passed without stopping, then the Indians would have remained the masters of the train until the next station. Passepartout undertook to stop the train. Unnoticed by the Indians, he slipped under the car. The Frenchman with the agility and flexibility of a former gymnast, clinging to chains, buffers and brake levers, made his way under the cars and finally reached the head of the train. He dropped the safety chains and removed the connecting hook. The uncoupled train began to slow down, and the locomotive rushed forward with renewed vigor.
The train continued to move for several more minutes, but the passengers put the carriage brakes into action, and the train finally stopped less than a hundred paces from Kearney station. The soldiers of the fort, hearing the shooting, hurriedly jumped out to meet the train. The Indians did not wait for them and fled before the train could finally stop. When the travelers made a roll call on the station platform, it turned out that several people were missing, including Passepartout. Many passengers were injured, but all were alive. One of the most serious wounds was received by Colonel Proctor. Mrs. Aouda remained unharmed. Phileas Fogg, although he did not take care of himself, did not receive a single scratch. Fix escaped with a light wound in his arm.
Mr. Fogg feared that Passepartout and the other two missing passengers might have been captured by the Indians. He, along with thirty of the fort's volunteer soldiers, set off in pursuit. Soon the locomotive returned to the station and the train left. Auda and Fix remained waiting at the station. They spent a restless night there. It was only in the morning that the detachment returned with Passepartout and two other passengers. The rescue operation was successful. But the train left, and the next one had to wait until evening. Fix came to the rescue. Even at night, a man suggested that he use an unusual transport - a sleigh with a sail. Fogg agreed.
The wind was favorable. It was blowing straight from the west, and quite strongly at that. The snow had hardened, and Mudge, the owner of the sledge, undertook to carry Mr. Fogg to Omaha Station in a few hours. Trains departed from this station frequently, and there were many lines leading to Chicago and New York. At eight o'clock in the morning the sleigh was ready for departure. The travelers settled into them, wrapped tightly in their travel blankets. Two huge sails were hoisted, and the sleigh glided across the snow at forty miles an hour. By one o'clock they arrived in Omaha.
The direct train was ready to leave. Phileas Fogg and his companions barely had time to get into the carriage. With extreme speed, the train flew through the state of Iowa. At night, he crossed the Mississippi at Davenport and through Rock Island entered the state of Illinois. The next day, December 10, at four o'clock in the evening the train arrived in Chicago. There the travelers boarded a train to New York.
10 New York
On December 11, at a quarter past twelve in the morning, the train stopped at the New York station, located just opposite the pier for the Cunardline steamers. The steamer China bound for Liverpool left anchor forty-five minutes ago.
Mr. Fogg, Mrs. Auda, Fix, and Passepartout crossed the Hudson in a small steamboat and boarded a cab that took them to the St. Nicholas Hotel on Broadway. In the morning, Fogg left the hotel, ordering his servant to wait for him and warn Mrs. Aouda to be ready to leave at any moment. He went to the banks of the Hudson and diligently began to search among the ships that stood at the pier and at anchor in the middle of the river for some kind of steamer, ready to sail. But most of the ships ready to sail were sailing, they were no good for Mr. Fogg.
Suddenly he noticed a ship anchored in front of Bateri. It was an elegantly shaped merchant screw steamer, thick clouds of smoke poured from its chimney, indicating that the ship was about to sail. Phileas Fogg hired a boat, got into it, and found himself at the gangway of the Henrietta. For a long time he persuaded the captain to take him and his companions on board the ship. It seemed that this time money is powerless. But in the end, Fogg still managed to agree with the captain that he would take the travelers to Bordeaux, taking two thousand dollars for each. Half an hour later Mr. Fogg, Mrs. Aouda, Passepartout, and Fix were on board the Henrietta.
The next day, December 13, a man climbed onto the bridge to determine the coordinates of the ship. But it wasn't Captain Speedy. It was Phileas Fogg. During the thirty hours of his stay on board the ship, he so skillfully acted with bank notes that the entire crew went over to his side. And Captain Andrew Speedy was locked up in his cabin. The Henrietta was on its way to Liverpool. From the way Phileas Fogg steered the ship, it was clear that he had once been a sailor.
11 Queenstown
"Henrietta" was on full steam. But on December 16, it became clear that the coal reserves would soon run out, because the amount of fuel was calculated on the way to Bordeaux, and not to Liverpool. The ship continued to sail at full speed, but two days later, on the eighteenth, the engineer announced that there was less than one day of coal left. On the same day, Mr. Fogg bought the ship from Captain Speedy, after which he ordered all the wooden parts of the ship to be used for fuel. First, the poop, cabin, cabins and lower deck went into consumption. The next day, December 19, they burned the spar and its spare parts. They took down the masts and cut them with axes. The next morning, December 20, the bulwark and all the surface parts of the ship, as well as most of the deck, were burned.
On this day, the Irish coast appeared. However, at ten o'clock in the evening the ship was still only abeam Queenstown. Phileas Fogg had only twenty-four hours to reach London. Meanwhile, during this time, "Henrietta" could only reach Liverpool, even going at full speed.
Queenstown is a small port on the Irish coast, where transatlantic steamers unload mail from the United States, from where it is delivered by courier trains to Dublin, and then transported by fast ships to Liverpool, thus being twelve hours ahead of the fastest packet boats of ocean companies. Fogg decided to take the same route.
Around one in the morning, at high tide, the Henrietta entered the port of Queenstown. The passengers disembarked. Mr. Fogg, Mrs. Auda, Passepartout, and Fix got on the train at half past one in the morning, arrived in Dublin at dawn, and immediately transferred to one of the postal steamers.
12 Liverpool
On December 21, at 11:40 am, Phileas Fogg was at the Liverpool Embankment. He was only six hours from London. At that moment Fix approached him and arrested him. Phileas Fogg was in jail. He was locked up at the Liverpool Customs Police Post, where he was to spend the night awaiting transfer to London. Mrs. Aouda and Passepartout remained at the customs entrance. Neither he nor she wanted to leave this place. They wanted to see Mr Fogg again.
At 2:33 pm, Fix came into Fogg's cell. He was choking, his hair was disheveled. With difficulty he muttered that Mr. Fogg was free, the real thief had been arrested three days before. Phileas Fogg went up to the detective. Looking intently into his face, he pulled both hands back and then, with the precision of an automaton, punched the unfortunate detective with his fists.
Mr. Fogg, Mrs. Aouda, and Passepartout immediately left customs. They jumped into the carriage and in a few minutes were already at the station. The express for London left thirty-five minutes ago. Then Phileas Fogg ordered a special train. At exactly three o'clock, Phileas Fogg, after saying a few words to the engineer about the prize, rushed off, in the company of a young woman and his faithful servant, towards London. It took five and a half hours to cover the distance between Liverpool and London. This would be quite feasible if the path was free throughout. But there were delays along the way.
13 London
When Phileas Fogg arrived at the London station, all the clocks in London showed nine hours to ten minutes. He arrived in London five minutes late. He lose. The travelers went to Mr. Fogg's house in Savile Row.
The next day Aouda, who had fallen in love with Mr. Fogg during the journey, asked him about the marriage. In response, Phileas Fogg confessed his love for her. It was immediately decided to get married the next day. Passepartout went to notify the Reverend Samuel Wilson of the parish of Mary-le-Bone of the upcoming ceremony. There he suddenly learned that today is not Sunday, December 22, but Saturday, December 21. Fogg, without suspecting it, gained a whole day in comparison with his records, for, while traveling around the world, he moved east, and, on the contrary, he would lose a whole day if he moved in the opposite direction, that is, west.
Passepartout ran as fast as he could to Mr. Fogg. There were only 10 minutes left. Mr. Fogg hurriedly went to the club and managed to break into the hall three seconds before the end of the bet and thereby win the match. A day later, Fogg and Auda were married.
Jules Verne
Around the world in eighty days
CHAPTER FIRST,
where the mutual agreement is concluded, according to which Passepartout enters the service of Phileas FoggAt number seven, Savile Row, Burlington Gardens, the same house where Sheridan died in 1814, Phileas Fogg, Esq., lived in 1872; although this man did his best not to draw attention to himself, he was reputed to be one of the most original and remarkable members of the London Reform Club.
Thus, one of the most famous orators who adorned England with his talent was replaced by the aforementioned Phileas Fogg, a mysterious man, about whom it was known only that he belonged to the high English society, was well educated and unusually handsome.
It was said that he looked like Byron (but only in face; both his legs were healthy), but he was Byron, who wore mustaches and sideburns, Byron impassive, who could have lived without aging for a whole thousand years.
Phileas Fogg was undoubtedly an Englishman, but in all probability he was not a native of London. He was never seen at the stock exchange, or at the bank, or in any of the offices of the City. Neither the wharves nor the docks of London have ever accepted a ship that would have belonged to the shipowner Phileas Fogg. This gentleman's name was not on the list of members of any government committee. It also did not appear in the bar or in the corporations of lawyers - one of the "inns" - Temple, Lincoln or Gray. He never appeared either in the Chancellor's Court, or in the Court of the Queen's Bench, or in the Chess Chamber, or in the Church Court. He was neither an industrialist, nor a merchant, nor a merchant, nor a landowner. He had nothing to do with the British Royal Society, or the London Institute, or the Institute of Applied Arts, or the Russell Institute, or the Institute of Western Literature, or the Institute of Law, or finally, to the "Institute of Sciences and Arts", which is under the high patronage of Her Majesty the Queen. He also did not belong to any of those numerous societies that are so common in the capital of England, from the Musical Society to the Entomological Society, founded mainly for the extermination of harmful insects.
Phileas Fogg was a member of the Reform Club, and nothing more.
Anyone who wonders how this so mysterious gentleman came to be a member of such a venerable association should answer: "He was chosen on the recommendation of the Baring brothers, with whom a checking account is opened for him." This circumstance, and the fact that his checks were regularly and promptly paid, gave him weight in society.
Was Phileas Fogg rich? Undoubtedly. But how did he make his fortune? Even the most knowledgeable people could not answer this question, and Mr. Fogg was the last person to turn to for such information. He was not extravagant, but in any case he was not stingy, for when money was required for the implementation of some noble, generous or useful deed, he, silently and usually hiding his name, came to the rescue.
In a word, it was difficult to imagine a less sociable person. He spoke only as much as was necessary, and the more silent he was, the more mysterious he seemed. Meanwhile, his life passed in front of everyone; but he did the same thing day after day with such mathematical precision that the unsatisfied imagination involuntarily sought food for itself outside this visible life.
Did he travel? It is quite possible, because no one knew the maps of the globe better than him. There was not a point, even a very remote one, about which he would not have the most accurate information. More than once, with the help of a few brief but clear remarks, he managed to resolve the endless disputes that were going on in the club about missing or lost travelers. He pointed out the most likely outcome of the case, and the development of subsequent events invariably confirmed his assumptions, as if Phileas Fogg was gifted with the ability of clairvoyance. It seemed that this man had managed to visit everywhere, in any case - mentally.
Meanwhile, it was reliably known that Phileas Fogg had not left London for many years. Those who had the privilege of knowing him somewhat intimately claimed that he was only to be met on the way from home to the club or back, and nowhere else. Phileas Fogg's pastime at the club consisted of reading newspapers and playing whist. He often won in this silent game, so suited to his nature, but the winnings never remained in his wallet, but formed a significant share in his donations to charitable purposes. It is appropriate to note that Mr. Fogg did not play for the sake of winning at all. The game for him was a competition, a struggle with difficulties, but a struggle that required neither movement nor change of place, and therefore not tiring. And it was in line with his character.
As far as is known, Phileas Fogg was single and childless - which happens even to the most respectable people - and had no relatives or friends - which already happens really rarely. He lived alone in his house in Savile Row, where no one was allowed to enter. His personal life has never been the subject of discussion. He was served by only one person. He breakfasted and dined in the club at precisely set hours, always in the same hall and at the same table, without treating his game partners or inviting any outsiders. He returned home at midnight sharp, never staying overnight in the fine comfortable rooms that the Reform Club makes available to its members for this purpose. Of the twenty-four hours, ten he spent at home - either in bed or at the toilet. Whenever Phileas Fogg walked, he invariably paced the club's reception hall, lined with mosaic parquet, with his even steps, or walked along the round gallery, topped with a blue glass dome resting on twenty Ionic columns of red porphyry. Kitchens, pantries, pantries, fishponds, and dairy clubs supplied him with the best provisions for breakfast and dinner; club footmen - silent, solemn figures in black tailcoats and felt-soled shoes - waited on him, serving food in special china dishes; the table was covered with delightful Saxon linen, and set with antique crystal, reserved for sherry, port wine, or cinnamon-and-clove-infused claret; and, finally, ice was served at the table - the pride of the club - which gave a pleasant freshness to these drinks: it was brought to London at great expense directly from the American lakes.
If a person leading such a life is called an eccentric, then it must be admitted that eccentricity is a very pleasant thing!
The house on Savile Row was not luxurious, but it was full of comfort. In addition, with the constant habits of the owner, the duties of the servants were not difficult. However, Phileas Fogg demanded exceptional precision and accuracy from his only servant. Just that day, October 2, Phileas Fogg paid his servant James Forster, who was guilty of bringing his master shaving water heated to eighty-four degrees Fahrenheit instead of eighty-six; and now he was waiting for a new servant, who was to appear between eleven o'clock and half-past eleven in the morning.
Phileas Fogg sat firmly in his chair, his heels together like a soldier on parade; resting his hands on his knees, straightening up and raising his head, he followed the movement of the hands of the clock standing on the fireplace, which simultaneously showed hours, minutes, seconds, days of the week, days of the month and year. At exactly half past twelve Mr. Fogg, following his daily habit, was to leave the house and go to the Reform Club.
At that moment there was a knock at the door of the little parlour, where Phileas Fogg was.
The dismissed James Forster appeared.
A new servant, he reported.
A boy of about thirty entered the room with a bow.
Are you French and your name is John? asked Phileas Fogg.
Jean, with your permission, - answered the newcomer, - Jean Passepartout [from the French. - passe partouf, literally - passing everywhere; here - a climber, a clever person]. This nickname was given to me a long time ago, and it proves that I am able to extricate myself from any difficulty. I consider myself an honest man, sir, but, to tell the truth, I have tried many professions. I was a traveling singer, a circus rider, vaulted like Leotard, and danced on a wire like Blondin; then, in order to better use his abilities, he became a teacher of gymnastics and, finally, was in Paris a chief fireman. I have a few good fires on my record. But five years have passed since I left France, and in order to taste the pleasures of domestic life, I serve in England as a footman. Left without a job and learning that Mr. Phileas Fogg is the neatest man and the biggest homebody in the United Kingdom, I come here in the hope of living in peace and forgetting that my name is Passepartout ...
Original artwork © Libico Maraja Association, 2015
Use without permission is strictly prohibited.
© Translation into Russian, design. Eksmo Publishing LLC, 2015
Back in 1872, the English gentleman Phileas Fogg made a bet with other gentlemen that he would travel around the world in 80 days. At the time, it seemed incredible. And he won this bet. That's how it was.
At number seven, Savile Row, London, lived Phileas Fogg, a man of the highest order and attractiveness, but at the same time surrounded by an aura of mystery. Nobody knew anything about him, he had no family, no friends. Undoubtedly, he was very rich, although no one knew where he got his money from. And this gentleman never said anything about himself, and in general he was laconic and said something only in case of absolute necessity.
Phileas Fogg's most notable trait was his punctuality. In the morning he got up at exactly eight o'clock; at eight twenty-three minutes he had breakfast of tea and toasted bread; at nine thirty-seven his servant James Forster brought him shaving water; Twenty minutes to ten Phileas Fogg began to shave, wash and dress. When the clock struck half-past eleven he would go out and spend the whole day at the venerable and famous Reform Club in London.
Phileas Fogg was a tall and handsome man with a noble bearing, blond hair, with penetrating blue eyes that instantly turned into ice when their owner was angry. He always walked with a measured step, never in a hurry, because everything in his life was calculated with mathematical precision.
He lived like this for years, doing the same thing at the same time, but then one day - namely, on the morning of October 2, 1872 - something unexpected happened. The water for shaving was too cold, only eighty-four degrees Fahrenheit instead of eighty-six. Inexcusable negligence! Mr. Fogg, of course, promptly dismissed the unfortunate James Forster, and found another servant in his place.
The young, sociable Frenchman Jean Passepartout, a master of all trades, became the new servant. During his life, he managed to visit many people: a wandering singer, a circus rider, a gymnastics teacher and even a fireman. But now he wanted only one thing - to live a calm and measured life.
He arrived at the house in Savile Row a few minutes before Phileas Fogg left for the club.
“I have heard, Mr. Fogg, that you are the most punctual and calm gentleman in the kingdom,” said Passepartout. That's why I decided to offer you my services.
Do you know my conditions? asked Phileas Fogg.
- Yes, sir.
- Fine. From now on, you are in my service.
With these words, Phileas Fogg rose from his chair, took up his hat, and went out of the house, as the clock struck half-past eleven.
Arriving at the Reform Club, an imposing building on Pall Mall Street, Mr. Fogg ordered his usual lunch. After the meal, he, as always, read the latest newspapers until dinner, and then continued this occupation. All the newspapers were full of reports about the sensational bank robbery that had taken place three days earlier. The attacker stole fifty thousand pounds sterling from the Bank of England.
The police suspected that the kidnapper was not an ordinary thief. On the day of the theft, a well-dressed gentleman was walking up and down near the desk where the money lay in the payment hall. Signs of this gentleman were sent to all police agents in England and in the largest ports of the world, and a significant reward was promised for the arrest of the thief.
“Well, most likely the bank lost its money,” said engineer Andrew Stewart.
“No, no,” objected Gauthier Ralph, an employee of the Bank of England, “I am sure that the criminal will definitely be found.
“But I still maintain that all the chances are on the side of the thief,” Stuart said.
Where could he have hidden? asked banker John Sullivan. There is no country where he can feel safe.
- Oh, I don't know. But the Earth is big, said Samuel Fallentine, another banker.
“Once great,” said Phileas Fogg, suddenly speaking.
Stuart turned to him.
"What do you mean, Mr. Fogg?" Why was there once? Has the world gotten smaller?
“Undoubtedly,” said Phileas Fogg.
“I agree with Mr. Fogg,” Ralph said. The earth has really shrunk. Now you can drive around it ten times faster than a century ago.
Brewer Thomas Flenagen intervened in the conversation.
- So what? Even if you travel around the world in three months...
“Eighty days, gentlemen,” Phileas Fogg interrupted. – Take a look at the calculations printed in "Daily Telegraph".
"From London to Suez via Mont Cenis
and Brindisi by train and steamboat 7 days;
from Suez to Bombay by steamer 13 days;
from Bombay to Calcutta by train 3 days;
from Calcutta to Hong Kong by steamer 13 days;
from Hong Kong to Yokohama by steamboat 6 days;
from Yokohama to San Francisco by steamboat 22 days;
from San Francisco to New York by train 7 days;
from New York to London by steamboat and train 9 days
Total: 80 days.
“Well, you know, you can write anything on paper,” Sullivan objected. - After all, neither headwind or bad weather, nor transport breakdowns and other surprises are taken into account here.
“Everything is accounted for,” said Phileas Fogg.
"Mr. Fogg, it's theoretically possible," Stuart said. But in reality...
“In reality, too, Mr. Stewart.
“I would like to see how you do it. I'm willing to bet £4,000 that a round-the-world trip under these conditions is impossible.
“On the contrary, it is quite possible,” said Phileas Fogg.
- Wonderful. Then prove it to us! exclaimed the five gentlemen.
- With pleasure! I just warn you that the trip is at your expense.
“Very well, Mr. Fogg. Each of us bets £4,000.
- Agreed. I have twenty thousand in the bank and I'm willing to risk it... I'll take the train to Dover tonight at a quarter to nine.
- Tonight? Stuart was surprised.
"That's right," said Phileas Fogg. Today is Wednesday, the second of October. I have to return to the saloon of the Reform Club on the twenty-first of December at eight forty-five minutes.
Phileas Fogg left the club at seven twenty-five, having won twenty guineas at whist, and opened the door of his house in Savile Row at ten minutes to eight.
By that time, Passepartout, who had already carefully studied the list of his duties and the daily routine of the owner, knew that it was not the time for his return, so he did not answer when Phileas Fogg called him.
- Passepartout! repeated Mr. Fogg.
This time the servant appeared.
“This is the second time I have called you,” the host remarked coldly.
“But it’s not yet midnight,” the young man objected, glancing at his watch.
“You are right,” agreed Phileas Fogg, “that is why I am not reprimanding you. In ten minutes we'll be leaving for Dover for a round-the-world trip.
Jules Verne is a hugely popular French writer, founder of science fiction along with HG Wells. Written for teenagers and adults alike, Verne's writings captured the enterprising spirit of the 19th century, its charm, scientific progress and inventions. His novels were mostly written in the form of travelogues, taking readers to the moon in From the Earth to the Moon, or in a very different direction - in Journey to the Center of the Earth. Many of Verne's ideas proved to be prophetic. Among his most famous books is the adventure novel Around the World in 80 Days (1873).
“Oh - what a journey - what a wonderful and unusual journey! We entered the Earth through one volcano and exited through another. And this other was more than twelve thousand leagues from Sneffels, from that dreary land of Iceland... We left the region of eternal snows and left behind the gray fog of icy expanses to return to the azure sky of Sicily! (from Journey to the Center of the Earth, 1864)
Jules Verne was born and raised in Nantes.
His father was a successful lawyer. To continue the family tradition, Verne moved to Paris, where he studied law. His uncle introduced him to literary circles and he began publishing plays, influenced by writers such as Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas (son), whom Verne knew personally. Despite the fact that Verne devoted most of his time to writing books, he received a law degree. During this time, Vern suffered from digestive problems that plagued him intermittently throughout his life.
In 1854, Charles Baudelaire translated Poe's works into French. Verne became one of the American writer's most devoted admirers and wrote his Balloon Voyage (1851) under Poe's influence. Jules Verne would later write a sequel to Poe's unfinished novel, Gordon Pym's Tale, which he called The Sphinx of the Ice Plains (1897). When his career as a writer slowed down, Verne turned again to brokerage, a business he had engaged in until the publication of Five Weeks in a Balloon (1863), which was included in the Extraordinary Journeys series. In 1862, Verne met Pierre Jules Etzel, a publisher and writer for children, who published Verne's Extraordinary Journeys. They collaborated until the end of Jules Verne's career. Etzel also worked with Balzac and George Sand. He read Verne's manuscripts carefully and did not hesitate to suggest corrections. Verne's early work, Twentieth-Century Paris, was not well received by the publisher and did not appear in print until 1997 in English.
Verne's novels soon gained incredible popularity in the world. Without the training of a scientist and the experience of a traveler, Verne spent most of his time in research for his writings. Unlike fantasy literature such as Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), Verne tried to be realistic and stick to the facts in detail. When Wells invented “cavorite”, a substance that is not subject to gravity, in “The First Man on the Moon”, Vern was unhappy: “I sent my heroes to the moon with gunpowder, this can actually happen. And where will Mr. Wells find his Cavorite? Let him show me!” However, when the novel's logic conflicted with modern scientific knowledge, Verne did not stick to the facts. Around the World in 80 Days, a novel about the realistic and daring journey of Phileas Fogg, is based on the real journey of the American George Francis Train (1829-1904). "Journey to the Center of the Earth" is vulnerable to criticism from a geologic point of view. The story tells about an expedition that penetrates into the very heart of the Earth. In Hector Servadacus (1877), Hector and his servant fly around the solar system on a comet.
In 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Verne described one of the forefathers of modern superheroes, the misanthropic Captain Nemo and his amazing Nautilus submarine, named after Robert Fulton's steam submarine. "The Mysterious Island" is a novel about the exploits of people who find themselves on a desert island. In these works, which have been made into films more than once, Verne combined science and invention with adventures turned to the past. Some of his writings became reality: his spaceship preceded the invention of the real rocket a century later. The first electric submarine, built in 1886 by two Englishmen, was named Nautilus in honor of the Vernov ship. The first nuclear submarine, launched in 1955, was also named the Nautilus.
The Disney film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) (directed by Richard Fleischer) won an Oscar for special effects, including a mechanical giant squid controlled by Bob Mattley. The interiors of the Nautilus were recreated from the book by Jules Verne. James Mason played Captain Nemo, and Kirk Douglas played Ned Land, a hefty sailor. Mike Todd's Around the World in 80 Days (1957) won the Academy Award for Best Picture but failed to win any for 44 supporting roles. The film featured 8,552 animals, including Rocky Mountain sheep, bulls, and donkeys. 4 ostriches also appeared on the screen.
During the first period of his career, Verne expressed optimism about the central role of Europe in the social and technological development of the world. As far as technical inventions are concerned, Verne's imagination often contradicted the facts. In From the Earth to the Moon, a giant cannon fires the protagonist into orbit. Any modern scientist would tell him now that the hero would be killed by the initial acceleration. However, the idea of a space gun first appeared in print in the 18th century. And before that, Cyrano de Bergerac wrote Travels in the Sun and Moon (1655) and described in one of the stories a rocket for space travel.
“It is difficult to say whether Vern took the idea of that huge cannon seriously, because much of the story is written in rather jocular language ... He may have believed that if such a cannon was built, it could be suitable for sending projectiles to the moon. But it is unlikely that he really thought that one of the passengers could survive after that ”(Arthur Clark, 1999).
The bulk of Verne's writings were written by 1880. Verne's later novels show pessimism about the future of human civilization. In his story "Eternal Adam", the future discoveries of the 20th century were overthrown by geological cataclysms. In Robur the Conqueror (1886), Verne predicted the birth of a ship heavier than air, and in the novel's sequel, The Master of the World (1904), the inventor Robur suffers from megalomania and plays cat and mouse with the authorities.
Verne's life after 1860 was uneventful and bourgeois. He traveled with his brother Paul to the USA in 1867, visiting Niagara Falls. On a ship trip across the Mediterranean, he was welcomed to Gibraltar, North Africa, and in Rome, Pope Leo XII blessed him and his books. In 1871 he settled in Amiens and was elected councilor in 1888. In 1886 Verne was assassinated. His paranoid nephew, Gaston, shot him in the leg, and the writer was immobilized for the rest of his life. Gaston never recovered from his illness.
At the age of 28, Verne married Honorine de Viana, a young widow with two children. He lived with his family in a large country house and occasionally sailed on a yacht. To his family's dismay, he began to admire Prince Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921), who devoted himself to revolutionary activity, and whose personality may have influenced the noble anarchist in The Shipwreck of the Jonathan (1909). Verne's interest in socialist theories was already visible in Matthias Sandor (1885).
For over 40 years, Verne published at least one book a year. Although Verne wrote about exotic places, he traveled relatively little - his only balloon flight lasted 24 minutes. In a letter to Etzel, he confesses: “I think I'm going crazy. I was lost among the incredible adventures of my heroes. My only regret is that I can't accompany them pedibus cum jambis." Verne's works include 65 novels, about 20 short stories and essays, 30 plays, several geographical works, and opera librettos.
Verne died in Amiens on March 24, 1905. Verne's work inspired many directors: from Georges Mellier (From the Earth to the Moon, 1902) and Walt Disney (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1954) to Henry Levin (Journey to the Center of the Earth ", 1959) and Irwin Allen ("Five Weeks in a Balloon", 1962). The Italian artist Giorgio de Chiroco was also interested in Verne’s works and painted a sketch “On Metaphysical Art” based on them: “But who better than him could capture the metaphysical element of a city like London, with its buildings, streets, clubs, squares and open spaces; the nebula of a London Sunday afternoon, the melancholy of a man, a walking phantom, as Phileas Fogg appears to us in Around the World in 80 Days? The work of Jules Verne is filled with these joyful and comforting moments; I still remember the description of the steamship leaving Liverpool in his novel The Floating Island.
On September 27, 2015, the first Russian monument to the writer was opened on the Fedorovsky embankment in Nizhny Novgorod.
