I meant, in fact, on this opportune occasion, to slip off quietly without fully apprising my old lady of my whole intentions—blessings on her anxious but warm heart! I had now, in fact, quite a host of projects in view, in taking advantage, to the full, of the convenient excuse I had armed myself with, of escorting our young friend, in whom both wife and self were now so equally interested. First, then, young Brown and I would take the outer circuit by ourselves, making Mars our first stage; and, after a visit to the First Jovian (to use our smart commercial phrase for Jupiter's first moon), returning home by way of one or two of the larger planetoids circulating between Jupiter and Mars. That would comprise our outer circuit, and would embrace the chief fields of interplanetary trading as yet in that direction, Jupiter's further moons being too little advanced in organic life for trading purposes, while Saturn's system involves, besides even a still more backward lunar condition, the time and cost of a much greater travel distance.
Next, as to the inner circuit, I meant to bribe old Brown to accompany us. My special object was to have his company and counsel, shrewd old business head as he had on his shoulders, in my proposed solar visit. The relative positions of the inner planets, about the time of our proposed journey, would enable us best to take Venus and Vulcan outwards, touching at Mercury on our way back. Our young friend's business projects took him with us as far only as Vulcan, where we proposed to leave him, old Brown
