Al principio, algunos individuos temerarios, principalmente del sexo débil, tomaron partido por su causa, que se volvió todavía más popular cuando el Illustrated London News publicó su retrato, copiado de una fotografía del Reform Club. Unos cuantos lectores del Daily Telegraph se atrevieron incluso a decir: > «¿Y por qué no, después de todo? Cosas más extrañas se han
Al fin apareció un largo artículo, el 7 de octubre, en el boletín de la Real Sociedad Geográfica, que trataba la cuestión desde todos los puntos de vista y demostraba la absoluta insensatez de la empresa.
Everything, it said, was against the travellers, every obstacle imposed alike by man and by nature.
A miraculous agreement of the times of departure and arrival, which was impossible, was absolutely necessary to his success. He might, perhaps, reckon on the arrival of trains at the designated hours, in Europe, where the distances were relatively moderate; but when he calculated upon crossing India in three days, and the United States in seven, could he rely beyond misgiving upon accomplishing his task?
There were accidents to machinery, the liability of trains to run off the line, collisions, bad weather, the blocking up by snow—were not all these against Phileas Fogg? Would he not find himself, when travelling by steamer in winter, at the mercy of the winds and fogs? Is it uncommon for the best ocean steamers to be two or three days behind time?
But a single delay would suffice to fatally break the chain of communication; should Phileas Fogg once miss, even by an hour; a steamer, he would have to wait for the next, and that would irrevocably render his attempt vain.