Marsian adj.

The Marsian atmosphere we found so nearly to resemble our own, that we could breathe it quite comfortably and safely; but it was rather thin to our lungs, resembling our own in fact, as it used to be, at the height of a good many thousand feet from the old level of the ground.

I noticed, to my astonishment, that all things around me were assuming a delicate rosy hue. Looking out to ascertain the cause, I saw that the sun had now sunk below the horizon, and that this was a peculiar effect of the Marsian sunset. Land, sea and sky all around; mountains, rivers, forests and rushing torrents, all were bathed in a beautiful rosy light.

I suspect that it requires a great deal of skill to construct a Marsian costume, whether for male or female. They are not altogether dissimilar; the women’s stuffs are of a little finer quality ordinarily, but their dress is not usually so elaborately trimmed as the men’s garb, which struck me as very peculiar.

The Strand Magazine goes everywhere, so presumably it goes to the planet Mars. The head-line of the Mars Times may read: ‘Shocking Accident to the Planet Earth. Total Disappearance into the Sun. Another Planet wanted. Apply, with testimonials, to Universe, care of Times Office, Mars.’ And the Marsian news-boys will yell: ‘Orrid Murder of ther Plannit Erth! Gobbled by ther Sun!! Shockin Slorter!!!’

I’ll explain. I jest got in on my autowindle fr’m Mars. W’ether I’m in Jupiter, Saturn, the moon or the earth, I dunno; but this here ball fell into our grounds a w’ile ago, an’ I’m here to git the man that hit it an’ take him back to the Marsian League an’ glory. [Ibid. 4/7] When he said he didn’t know what the spit ball was, Reggie Van Rensselaer looked pleased and said he guessed he’d go with Pleiades up to Mars an’ start a school for the Marsian league pitchers. There’d be money in it, he thought.

I checked my gun. Before, I had no use for guns. I believed in the mind, in pure mathematics. It was that which led to my infamous lecture, before the Royal Society, about the dynamics of that d—ed Marsian asteroid.