science as far as 30,000 cruzados. It was the widow's mite--
eighty-six piastres; but self-constituted empires are always
rather short of money.

Two hundred and fifty-seven francs, this was the modest
contribution of Switzerland to the American work. One must
freely admit that she did not see the practical side of
the matter. It did not seem to her that the mere despatch of
a shot to the moon could possibly establish any relation of
affairs with her; and it did not seem prudent to her to embark
her capital in so hazardous an enterprise. After all, perhaps
she was right.

As to Spain, she could not scrape together more than 110 reals.
She gave as an excuse that she had her railways to finish.
The truth is, that science is not favorably regarded in that
country, it is still in a backward state; and moreover, certain
Spaniards, not by any means the least educated, did not form a
correct estimate of the bulk of the projectile compared with
that of the moon. They feared that it would disturb the
established order of things. In that case it were better to
keep aloof; which they did to the tune of some reals.

There remained but England; and we know the contemptuous
antipathy with which she received Barbicane's proposition.
The English have but one soul for the whole twenty-six millions
of inhabitants which Great Britain contains. They hinted that
the enterprise of the Gun Club was contrary to the "principle of
non-intervention." And they did not subscribe a single farthing.