Czar of Russia—­perhaps prematurely—­an offer for the purchase of Siberia, naming a vast sum.  Since then an episode has warned me that the method by which I was expecting to acquire this money—­ materialization upon a scale of limitless magnitude—­is marred by a taint of temporary uncertainty.  His imperial majesty may accept my offer at any moment.  If this should occur now, I should find myself painfully embarrassed, in fact financially inadequate.  I could not take Siberia.  This would become known, and my credit would suffer.

Recently my private hours have been dark indeed, but the sun shines main, now; I see my way; I shall be able to meet my obligation, and without having to ask an extension of the stipulated time, I think.  This grand new idea of mine—­the sublimest I have ever conceived, will save me whole, I am sure.  I am leaving for San Francisco this moment, to test it, by the help of the great Lick telescope.  Like all of my more notable discoveries and inventions, it is based upon hard, practical scientific laws; all other bases are unsound and hence untrustworthy.  In brief, then, I have conceived the stupendous idea of reorganizing the climates of the earth according to the desire of the populations interested.  That is to say, I will furnish climates to order, for cash or negotiable paper, taking the old climates in part payment, of course, at a fair discount, where they are in condition to be repaired at small cost and let out for hire to poor and remote communities not able to afford a good climate and not caring for an expensive one for mere display.  My studies have convinced me that the regulation of climates and the breeding of new varieties at will from the old stock is a feasible thing.  Indeed I am convinced that it has been done before; done in prehistoric times by now forgotten and unrecorded civilizations.  Everywhere I find hoary evidences of artificial manipulation of climates in bygone times.  Take the glacial period.  Was that produced by accident?  Not at all; it was done for money.  I have a thousand proofs of it, and will some day reveal them.

I will confide to you an outline of my idea.  It is to utilize the spots on the sun—­get control of them, you understand, and apply the stupendous energies which they wield to beneficent purposes in the reorganizing of our climates.  At present they merely make trouble and do harm in the evoking of cyclones and other kinds of electric storms; but once under humane and intelligent control this will cease and they will become a boon to man.

I have my plan all mapped out, whereby I hope and expect to acquire complete and perfect control of the sun-spots, also details of the method whereby I shall employ the same commercially; but I will not venture to go into particulars before the patents shall have been issued.  I shall hope and expect to sell shop-rights to the minor countries at a reasonable figure and supply a good business article of climate