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THE UNPARALLELED ADVENTURE
OF ONE
HANS PFAALL.
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With a heart of
furious
fancies,
Whereof I am
commander,
With a burning spear and
a horse of
air,
To the wilderness I
wander.
Tom O'Bedlam's Song. |
BY late
accounts from
Rotterdam,
that city seems to be in a high state of philosophical excitement.
Indeed,
phenomena have there occurred of a nature so completely unexpected — so
entirely novel — so utterly at variance with preconceived opinions — as
to leave no doubt on my mind that long ere this all Europe is in an
uproar,
all physics in a ferment, all reason and astronomy together by the
ears.
It appears that on the ——— day of ———,
(I am not
positive
about the date,) a vast crowd of people, for purposes not specifically
mentioned, were assembled in the great square of the Exchange in the
well-conditioned
city of Rotterdam. The day was warm — unusually so for the season —
there
was hardly a breath of air stirring; and the multitude were in no bad
humor
at being now and then besprinkled with friendly showers of momentary
duration,
that fell from large white masses of cloud profusely distributed about
the blue vault of the firmament. Nevertheless, about noon, a slight but
remarkable agitation became apparent in the assembly; the clattering of
ten thousand tongues succeeded; and, in an instant afterwards, ten
thousand
faces were upturned towards the heavens, ten thousand pipes descended
simultaneously
from the corners of ten thousand mouths, and a [page 2:]
shout, which could be compared to nothing but the roaring of Niagara,
resounded
long, loudly and furiously, through all the city and through all the
environs
of Rotterdam.
The origin of this hubbub soon became
sufficiently
evident. From behind the huge bulk of one of those sharply defined
masses
of cloud already mentioned, was seen slowly to emerge into an open area
of blue space, a queer, heterogeneous, but apparently solid substance,
so oddly shaped, so whimsically put together, as not to be in any
manner
comprehended, and never to be sufficiently admired, by the host of
sturdy
burghers who stood open-mouthed below. What could it be? In the name of
all the devils in Rotterdam, what could it possibly portend? No one
knew;
no one could imagine; no one — not even the burgomaster Mynheer
Superbus
Von Underduk — had the slightest clew by which to unravel the mystery;
so, as nothing more reasonable could be done, every one to a man
replaced
his pipe carefully in the corner of his mouth, and maintaining an eye
steadily
upon the phenomenon, puffed, paused, waddled about, and grunted
significantly
— then waddled back, grunted, paused, and finally — puffed again.
In the meantime, however, lower and
still lower
towards
the goodly city, came the object of so much curiosity, and the cause of
so much smoke. In a very few minutes it arrived near enough to be
accurately
discerned. It appeared to be — yes! it was undoubtedly a
species
of balloon; but surely no such balloon had ever been seen in
Rotterdam
before. For who, let me ask, ever heard of a balloon manufactured
entirely
of dirty newspapers? No man in Holland certainly; yet here, under the
very
noses of the people, or rather at some distance above their
noses,
was the identical thing in question, and composed, I have it on the
best
authority, of the precise material which no one had ever before known
to
be used for a similar purpose. — It was an egregious insult to the good
sense
of the burghers of Rotterdam. As to the shape of the phenomenon, it was
even still more reprehensible. Being little or nothing better than a
huge
fool's-cap turned upside down. And this similitude was regarded as by
no
means lessened, when upon nearer inspection, the crowd saw a large
tassel
depending from its apex, and, around the upper rim or base of the cone,
a [page 3:] circle of little instruments,
resembling
sheep-bells, which kept up a continual tinkling to the tune of Betty
Martin. —
But still worse. Suspended by blue ribbons to the end of this fantastic
machine, there hung, by way of car, an enormous drab beaver hat, with a
brim superlatively broad, and a hemispherical crown with a black band
and
a silver buckle. It is, however, somewhat remarkable that many citizens
of Rotterdam swore to having seen the same hat repeatedly before; and
indeed
the whole assembly seemed to regard it with eyes of familiarity; while
the vrow Grettel Pfaall, upon sight of it, uttered an exclamation of
joyful
surprise, and declared it to be the identical hat of her good man
himself.
Now this was a circumstance the more to be observed, as Pfaall, with
three
companions, had actually disappeared from Rotterdam about five years
before,
in a very sudden and unaccountable manner, and up to the date of this
narrative
all attempts at obtaining intelligence concerning them had failed. To
be
sure, some bones which were thought to be human, mixed up with a
quantity
of odd-looking rubbish, had been lately discovered in a retired
situation
to the east of the city; and some people went so far as to imagine that
in this spot a foul murder had been committed, and that the sufferers
were
in all probability Hans Pfaall and his associates. — But to return.
The balloon (for such no doubt it
was) had now
descended
to within a hundred feet of the earth, allowing the crowd below a
sufficiently
distinct view of the person of its occupant. This was in truth a very
singular
somebody. He could not have been more than two feet in height; but this
altitude, little as it was, would have been sufficient to destroy his equilibrium,
and tilt him over the edge of his tiny car, but for the intervention of
a circular rim reaching as high as the breast, and rigged on to the
cords
of the balloon. The body of the little man was more than proportionally
broad, giving to his entire figure a rotundity highly absurd. His feet,
of course, could not be seen at all. His hands were enormously large.
His
hair was gray, and collected into a queue behind. His nose was
prodigiously
long, crooked and inflammatory; his eyes full, brilliant, and acute;
his
chin and cheeks, although wrinkled with age, were broad, puffy, and
double;
but of ears of any kind there was not a semblance to be discovered [page
4:] upon any portion of his head. This odd little gentleman
was dressed in a loose surtout of sky-blue satin, with tight breeches
to
match, fastened with silver buckles at the knees. His vest was of some
bright yellow material; a white taffety cap was set jauntily on one
side
of his head; and, to complete his equipment, a blood-red silk
handkerchief
enveloped his throat, and fell down, in a dainty manner, upon his
bosom,
in a fantastic bow-knot of super-eminent dimensions.
Having descended, as I said before,
to about one
hundred feet from the surface of the earth, the little old gentleman
was
suddenly seized with a fit of trepidation, and appeared disinclined to
make any nearer approach to terra firma. Throwing out,
therefore,
a quantity of sand from a canvass bag, which he lifted with great
difficulty,
he became stationary in an instant. He then proceeded in a hurried and
agitated manner, to extract from a side-pocket in his surtout a large
morocco
pocket-book. This he poised suspiciously in his hand; then eyed it with
an air of extreme surprise, and was evidently astonished at its weight.
He at length opened it, and, drawing therefrom a huge letter sealed
with
red sealing-wax and tied carefully with red tape, let it fall precisely
at the feet of the burgomaster Superbus Von Underduk. His Excellency
stooped
to take it up. But the æronaut, still greatly discomposed, and
having
apparently no further business to detain him in Rotterdam, began at
this
moment to make busy preparations for departure; and, it being necessary
to discharge a portion of ballast to enable him to reascend, the half
dozen
bags which he threw out, one after another, without taking the trouble
to empty their contents, tumbled, every one of them, most
unfortunately,
upon the back of the burgomaster, and rolled him over and over no less
than half a dozen times, in the face of every individual in Rotterdam.
It is not to be supposed, however, that the great Underduk suffered
this
impertinence on the part of the little old man to pass off with
impunity.
It is said, on the contrary, that during each of his half dozen
circumvolutions,
he omitted no less than half a dozen distinct and furious whiffs from
his
pipe, to which he held fast the whole time with all his might, and to
which
he intends holding fast, (God willing,) until the day of his decease. [page
5:]
In the meantime the balloon arose
like a lark,
and,
soaring far away above the city, at length drifted quietly behind a
cloud
similar to that from which it had so oddly emerged, and was thus lost
forever
to the wondering eyes of the good citizens of Rotterdam. All attention
was now directed to the letter, the descent of which, and the
consequences
attending thereupon, had proved so fatally subversive of both person
and
personal dignity to his Excellency, Von Underduk. That functionary,
however,
had not failed, during his circumgyratory movements, to bestow a
thought
upon the important object of securing the epistle, which was seen, upon
inspection, to have fallen into the most proper hands, being actually
addressed
to himself and Professor Rubadub, in their official capacities of
President
and Vice-President of the Rotterdam College of Astronomy. It was
accordingly
opened by those dignitaries upon the spot, and found to contain the
following
extraordinary, and indeed very serious, communication: —
To their Excellencies Von Underduk and Rubadub,
President and
Vice-President
of the States' College of Astronomers, in the city of Rotterdam.
Your Excellencies may perhaps be able to remember
an humble artizan, by name Hans Pfaall, and by occupation a mender of
bellows,
who, with three others, disappeared from Rotterdam, about five years
ago,
in a manner which must have been considered unaccountable. If, however,
it so please your Excellencies, I, the writer of this communication, am
the identical Hans Pfaall himself. It is well known to most of my
fellow-citizens,
that for the period of forty years I continued to occupy the little
square
brick building, at the head of the alley called Sauerkraut, in which I
resided at the time of my disappearance. My ancestors have also resided
therein time out of mind — they, as well as myself, steadily following
the respectable and indeed lucrative profession of mending of bellows:
for, to speak the truth, until of late years, that the heads of all the
people have been set agog with politics, no better business than my own
could an honest citizen of Rotterdam either desire or deserve. Credit
was
good, employment was never wanting, and there was no lack of either
money
or good will. [page 6:] But, as I was saying, we
soon
began to feel the effects of liberty, and long speeches, and
radicalism,
and all that sort of thing. People who were formerly the very best
customers
in the world, had now not a moment of time to think of us at all. They
had as much as they could do to read about the revolutions, and keep up
with the march of intellect and the spirit of the age. If a fire wanted
fanning, it could readily be fanned with a newspaper; and as the
government
grew weaker, I have no doubt that leather and iron acquired durability
in proportion — for, in a very short time, there was not a pair of
bellows
in all Rotterdam that ever stood in need of a stitch or required the
assistance
of a hammer. This was a state of things not to be endured. I soon grew
as poor as a rat, and, having a wife and children to provide for, my
burdens
at length became intolerable, and I spent hour after hour in reflecting
upon the most convenient method of putting an end to my life. Duns, in
the meantime, left me little leisure for contemplation. My house was
literally
besieged from morning till night. There were three fellows in
particular,
who worried me beyond endurance, keeping watch continually about my
door,
and threatening me with the law. Upon these three I vowed the bitterest
revenge, if ever I should be so happy as to get them within my
clutches;
and I believe nothing in the world but the pleasure of this
anticipation
prevented me from putting my plan of suicide into immediate execution,
by blowing my brains out with a blunderbuss. I thought it best,
however,
to dissemble my wrath, and to treat them with promises and fair words,
until, by some good turn of fate, an opportunity of vengeance should be
afforded me.
One day, having given them the slip,
and feeling
more than usually dejected, I continued for a long time to wander about
the most obscure streets without object, until at length I chanced to
stumble
against the corner of a bookseller's stall. Seeing a chair close at
hand,
for the use of customers, I threw myself doggedly into it, and, hardly
knowing why, opened the pages of the first volume which came within my
reach. It proved to be a small pamphlet treatise on Speculative
Astronomy,
written either by Professor Encke of Berlin, or by a Frenchman of
somewhat
similar name. I had some little tincture of information on matters of
this
nature, and soon became more and more absorbed in the contents [page
7:] of the book — reading it actually through twice before I
awoke to a recollection of what was passing around me. By this time it
began to grow dark, and I directed my steps toward home. But the
treatise
(in conjunction with a discovery in pneumatics, lately communicated to
me as an important secret, by a cousin from Nantz,) had made an
indelible
impression on my mind, and, as I sauntered along the dusky streets, I
revolved
carefully over in my memory the wild and sometimes unintelligible
reasonings
of the writer. There were some particular passages which affected my
imagination
in an extraordinary manner. The longer I meditated upon these, the more
intense grew the interest which had been excited within me. The limited
nature of my education in general, and more especially my ignorance on
subjects connected with natural philosophy, so far from rendering me
diffident
of my own ability to comprehend what I had read, or inducing me to
mistrust
the many vague notions which had arisen in consequence, merely served
as
a farther stimulus to imagination; and I was vain enough, or perhaps
reasonable
enough, to doubt whether those crude ideas which, arising in
ill-regulated
minds, have all the appearance, may not often in effect possess all the
force, the reality, and other inherent properties of instinct or
intuition.
It was late when I reached home, and
I went
immediately
to bed. My mind, however, was too much occupied to sleep, and I lay the
whole night buried in meditation. Arising early in the morning, I
repaired
eagerly to the bookseller's stall, and laid out what little ready money
I possessed, in the purchase of some volumes of Mechanics and Practical
Astronomy. Having arrived at home safely with these, I devoted every
spare
moment to their perusal, and soon made such proficiency in studies of
this
nature as I thought sufficient for the execution of a certain design
with
which either the devil or my better genius had inspired me. In the
intervals
of this period, I made every endeavor to conciliate the three creditors
who had given me so much annoyance. In this I finally succeeded —
partly
by selling enough of my household furniture to satisfy a moiety of
their
claim, and partly by a promise of paying the balance upon completion of
a little project which I told them I had in view, and for assistance in
which I solicited [page 8:] their services. By
these
means (for they were ignorant men) I found little difficulty in gaining
them over to my purpose.
Matters being thus arranged, I
contrived, by the
aid of my wife, and with the greatest secrecy and caution, to dispose
of
what property I had remaining, and to borrow, in small sums, under
various
pretences, and without giving any attention (I am ashamed to say) to my
future means of repayment, no inconsiderable quantity of ready money.
With
the means thus accruing I proceeded to procure at intervals, cambric
muslin,
very fine, in pieces of twelve yards each; twine; a lot of the varnish
of caoutchouc; a large and deep basket of wicker-work, made to order;
and
several other articles necessary in the construction and equipment of a
balloon of extraordinary dimensions. This I directed my wife to make up
as soon as possible, and gave her all requisite information as to the
particular
method of proceeding. In the meantime I worked up the twine into
net-work
of sufficient dimensions; rigged it with a hoop and the necessary
cords;
and made purchase of numerous instruments and materials for experiment
in the upper regions of the upper atmosphere. I then took opportunities
of conveying by night, to a retired situation east of Rotterdam, five
iron-bound
casks, to contain about fifty gallons each, and one of a larger size;
six
tin tubes, three inches in diameter, properly shaped, and ten feet in
length;
a quantity of a particular metallic substance, or semi-metal
which I shall not name, and a dozen demijohns of a very common acid.
The gas to be formed from these latter materials is a gas never yet
generated
by any other person than myself — or at least never applied to any
similar
purpose. I can only venture to say here, that it is a constituent
of
azote, so long considered irreducible, and that its density is
about
37.4 times less than that of hydrogen. It is tasteless, but not
odorless; burns, when pure, with a greenish flame, and is
instantaneously
fatal to animal life. Its full secret I would make no difficulty in
disclosing,
but that it of right belongs (as I have before hinted) to a citizen of
Nantz, in France, by whom it was conditionally communicated to myself.
The same individual submitted to me, without being at all aware of my
intentions,
a method of constructing balloons from the membrane of a certain
animal,
through which substance any escape of gas was nearly an impossibility.
I found it, [page 9:] however, altogether too
expensive,
and was not sure, upon the whole, whether cambric muslin with a coating
of gum caoutchouc, was not equally as good. I mention this
circumstance,
because I think it probable that hereafter the individual in question
may
attempt a balloon ascension with the novel gas and material I have
spoken
of, and I do not wish to deprive him of the honor of a very singular
invention.
On the spot which I intended each of
the smaller
casks to occupy respectively during the inflation of the balloon, I
privately
dug a small hole; the holes forming in this manner a circle twenty-five
feet in diameter. In the centre of this circle, being the station
designed
for the large cask, I also dug a hole of greater depth. In each of the
five smaller holes, I deposited a canister containing fifty pounds, and
in the larger one a keg holding one hundred and fifty pounds of cannon
powder. These — the keg and the canisters — I connected in a proper
manner
with covered trains; and having let into one of the canisters the end
of
about four feet of slow-match, I covered up the hole, and placed the
cask
over it, leaving the other end of the match protruding about an inch,
and
barely visible beyond the cask. I then filled up the remaining holes,
and
placed the barrels over them in their destined situation!
Besides the articles above
enumerated, I conveyed
to the dépôt, and there secreted, one of M.
Grimm's
improvements upon the apparatus for condensation of the atmospheric
air.
I found this machine, however, to require considerable alteration
before
it could be adapted to the purposes to which I intended making it
applicable.
But, with severe labor and unremitting perseverance, I at length met
with
entire success in all my preparations. My balloon was soon completed.
It
would contain more than forty thousand cubic feet of gas; would take me
up easily, I calculated, with all my implements, and, if I managed
rightly,
with one hundred and seventy-five pounds of ballast into the bargain.
It
had received three coats of varnish, and I found the cambric muslin to
answer all the purposes of silk itself, being quite as strong and a
good
deal less expensive.
Everything being now ready, I exacted
from my
wife
an oath of secrecy in relation to all my actions from the day of my
first
visit to the bookseller's stall; and promising, on my part, to return [page
10:] as soon as circumstances would permit, I gave her what
little money I had left, and bade her farewell. Indeed I had no fear on
her account. She was what people call a notable woman, and could manage
matters in the world without my assistance. I believe, to tell the
truth,
she always looked upon me as an idle body — a mere make-weight — good
for
nothing but building castles in the air — and was rather glad to get
rid
of me. It was a dark night when I bade her good bye, and taking with
me,
as aides-de-camp, the three creditors who had given me so much
trouble,
we carried the balloon, with the car and accoutrements, by a roundabout
way, to the station where the other articles were deposited. We there
found
them all unmolested, and I proceeded immediately to business.
It was the first of April. The night,
as I said
before,
was dark; there was not a star to be seen; and a drizzling rain,
falling
at intervals, rendered us very uncomfortable. But my chief anxiety was
concerning the balloon, which, in spite of the varnish with which it
was
defended, began to grow rather heavy with the moisture; the powder also
was liable to damage. I therefore kept my three duns working with great
diligence, pounding down ice around the central cask, and stirring the
acid in the others. They did not cease, however, importuning me with
questions
as to what I intended to do with all this apparatus, and expressed much
dissatisfaction at the terrible labor I made them undergo. They could
not
perceive (so they said) what good was likely to result from their
getting
wet to the skin, merely to take a part in such horrible incantations. I
began to get uneasy, and worked away with all my might; for I verily
believe
the idiots supposed that I had entered into a compact with the devil,
and
that, in short, what I was now doing was nothing better than it should
be. I was, therefore, in great fear of their leaving me altogether. I
contrived,
however, to pacify them by promises of payment of all scores in full,
as
soon as I could bring the present business to a termination. To these
speeches
they gave of course their own interpretation; fancying, no doubt, that
at all events I should come into possession of vast quantities of ready
money; and provided I paid them all I owed, and a trifle more, in
consideration
of their [page 11:] services, I dare say they
cared
very little what became of either my soul or my carcass.
In about four hours and a half I
found the
balloon
sufficiently inflated. I attached the car, therefore, and put all my
implements
in it — a telescope; a barometer, with some important modifications; a
thermometer; an electrometer; a compass; a magnetic needle; a seconds
watch;
a bell; a speaking trumpet, etc., etc., etc. — also a globe of glass,
exhausted
of air, and carefully closed with a stopper — not forgetting the
condensing
apparatus, some unslacked lime, a stick of sealing wax, a copious
supply
of water, and a large quantity of provisions, such as pemmican, in
which
much nutriment is contained in comparatively little bulk. I also
secured
in the car a pair of pigeons and a cat.
It was now nearly daybreak, and I
thought it high
time to take my departure. Dropping a lighted cigar on the ground, as
if
by accident, I took the opportunity, in stooping to pick it up, of
igniting
privately the piece of slow match, the end of which, as I said before,
protruded a little beyond the lower rim of one of the smaller casks.
This
manœuvre was totally unperceived on the part of the three duns; and,
jumping into the car, I immediately cut the single cord which held me
to
the earth, and was pleased to find that I shot upwards with
inconceivable
rapidity, carrying with all ease one hundred and seventy-five pounds of
leaden ballast, and able to have carried up as many more. As I left the
earth, the barometer stood at thirty inches, and the centigrade
thermometer
at 19º.
Scarcely, however, had I attained the
height of
fifty
yards, when, roaring and rumbling up after me in the most tumultuous
and
terrible manner, came so dense a hurricane of fire, and gravel, and
burning
wood, and blazing metal, and mangled limbs, that my very heart sunk
within
me, and I fell down in the bottom of the car, trembling with terror.
Indeed,
I now perceived that I had entirely overdone the business, and that the
main consequences of the shock were yet to be experienced. Accordingly,
in less than a second, I felt all the blood in my body rushing to my
temples,
and, immediately thereupon, a concussion, which I shall never forget,
burst
abruptly through the night, and seemed to rip [page 12:]
the very firmament asunder. When I afterwards had time for reflection,
I did not fail to attribute the extreme violence of the explosion, as
regarded
myself, to its proper cause — my situation directly above it, and in
the
line of its greatest power. But at the time, I thought only of
preserving
my life. The balloon at first collapsed, then furiously expanded, then
whirled round and round with sickening velocity, and finally, reeling
and
staggering like a drunken man, hurled me over the rim of the car, and
left
me dangling, at a terrific height, with my head downward, and my face
outward,
by a piece of slender cord about three feet in length, which hung
accidentally
through a crevice near the bottom of the wicker-work, and in which, as
I fell, my left foot became most providentially entangled. It is
impossible
— utterly impossible — to form any adequate idea of the horror of my
situation.
I gasped convulsively for breath — a shudder resembling a fit of the
ague
agitated every nerve and muscle in my frame — I felt my eyes starting
from
their sockets — a horrible nausea overwhelmed me — and at length I lost
all consciousness in a swoon.
How long I remained in this state it
is
impossible
to say. It must, however, have been no inconsiderable time, for when I
partially recovered the sense of existence, I found the day breaking,
the
balloon at a prodigious height over a wilderness of ocean, and not a
trace
of land to be discovered far and wide within the limits of the vast
horizon.
My sensations, however, upon thus recovering, were by no means so
replete
with agony as might have been anticipated. Indeed, there was much of
madness
in the calm survey which I began to take of my situation. I drew up to
my eyes each of my hands, one after the other, and wondered what
occurrence
could have given rise to the swelling of the veins, and the horrible
blackness
of the finger nails. I afterwards carefully examined my head, shaking
it
repeatedly, and feeling it with minute attention, until I succeeded in
satisfying myself that it was not, as I had more than half suspected,
larger
than my balloon. Then, in a knowing manner, I felt in both my breeches
pockets, and, missing therefrom a set of tablets and a tooth-pick case,
endeavored to account for their disappearance, and, not being able to
do
so, felt inexpressibly chagrined. It now occurred to me that I suffered
great uneasiness in the joint of my left ankle, and a dim [page
13:] consciousness of my situation began to glimmer through
my mind. But, strange to say! I was neither astonished nor
horror-stricken.
If I felt any emotion at all, it was a kind of chuckling satisfaction
at
the cleverness I was about to display in extricating myself from this
dilemma;
and never, for a moment, did I look upon my ultimate safety as a
question
susceptible of doubt. For a few minutes I remained wrapped in the
profoundest
meditation. I have a distinct recollection of frequently compressing my
lips, putting my fore-finger to the side of my nose, and making use of
other gesticulations and grimaces common to men who, at ease in their
arm-chairs,
meditate upon matters of intricacy or importance. Having, as I thought,
sufficiently collected my ideas, I now, with great caution and
deliberation,
put my hands behind my back, and unfastened the large iron buckle which
belonged to the waist-band of my pantaloons. This buckle had three
teeth,
which, being somewhat rusty, turned with great difficulty on their
axis.
I brought them, however, after some trouble, at right angles to the
body
of the buckle, and was glad to find them remain firm in that position.
Holding within my teeth the instrument thus obtained, I now proceeded
to
untie the knot of my cravat. I had to rest several times before I could
accomplish this manœuvre; but it was at length accomplished. To one
end
of the cravat I then made fast the buckle, and the other end I tied,
for
greater security, tightly around my wrist. Drawing now my body upwards,
with a prodigious exertion of muscular force, I succeeded, at the very
first trial, in throwing the buckle over the car, and entangling it, as
I had anticipated, in the circular rim of the wicker-work.
My body was now inclined towards the
side of the
car, at an angle of about forty-five degrees; but it must not be
understood
that I was therefore only forty-five degrees below the perpendicular.
So
far from it, I still lay nearly level with the plane of the horizon;
for
the change of situation which I had acquired, had forced the bottom of
the car considerably outward from my position, which was accordingly
one
of the most imminent peril. It should be remembered, however, that when
I fell, in the first instance, from the car, if I had fallen with my
face
turned toward the balloon, instead of turned outwardly from it as it
actually
was — or if, in the second place, the cord by which I was suspended [page
14:] had chanced to hang over the upper edge, instead of
through
a crevice near the bottom of the car — I say it may readily be
conceived
that, in either of these supposed cases, I should have been unable to
accomplish
even as much as I had now accomplished, and the disclosures now made
would
have been utterly lost to posterity. I had therefore every reason to be
grateful; although, in point of fact, I was still too stupid to be any
thing at all, and hung for, perhaps, a quarter of an hour, in that
extraordinary
manner, without making the slightest farther exertion, and in a
singularly
tranquil state of idiotic enjoyment. But this feeling did not fail to
die
rapidly away, and thereunto succeeded horror, and dismay, and a sense
of
utter helplessness and ruin. In fact, the blood so long accumulating in
the vessels of my head and throat, and which had hitherto buoyed up my
spirits with delirium, had now begun to retire within their proper
channels,
and the distinctness which was thus added to my perception of the
danger,
merely served to deprive me of the self-possession and courage to
encounter
it. But this weakness was, luckily for me, of no very long duration. In
good time came to my rescue the spirit of despair, and, with frantic
cries
and struggles, I jerked my way bodily upwards, till, at length,
clutching
with a vice-like grip the long-desired rim, I writhed my person over
it,
and fell headlong and shuddering within the car.
It was not until some time afterward
that I
recovered
myself sufficiently to attend to the ordinary cares of the balloon. I
then,
however, examined it with attention, and found it, to my great relief,
uninjured. My implements were all safe, and, fortunately, I had lost
neither
ballast nor provisions. Indeed, I had so well secured them in their
places,
that such an accident was entirely out of the question. Looking at my
watch,
I found it six o'clock. I was still rapidly ascending, and the
barometer
gave a present altitude of three and three-quarter miles. Immediately
beneath
me in the ocean, lay a small black object, slightly oblong in shape,
seemingly
about the size of a domino, and in every respect bearing a great
resemblance
to one of those toys. Bringing my telescope to bear upon it, I plainly
discerned it to be a British ninety-four gun ship, close-hauled, and
pitching
heavily in the sea with her head to the W. S. W. Besides this ship, I
saw [page 15:] nothing but the ocean and
the sky, and
the
sun, which had long arisen.
It is now high time that I should
explain to your
Excellencies the object of my voyage. Your Excellencies will bear in
mind
that distressed circumstances in Rotterdam had at length driven me to
the
resolution of committing suicide. It was not, however, that to life
itself
I had any positive disgust, but that I was harassed beyond endurance by
the adventitious miseries attending my situation. In this state of
mind,
wishing to live, yet wearied with life, the treatise at the stall of
the
bookseller, backed by the opportune discovery of my cousin of Nantz,
opened
a resource to my imagination. I then finally made up my mind. I
determined
to depart, yet live — to leave the world, yet continue to exist — in
short,
to drop enigmas, I resolved, let what would ensue, to force a passage,
if I could, to the moon. Now, lest I should be supposed more of
a madman than I actually am, I will detail, as well as I am able, the
considerations
which led me to believe that an achievement of this nature, although
without
doubt difficult, and full of danger, was not absolutely, to a bold
spirit,
beyond the confines of the possible.
The moon's actual distance from the
earth was the
first thing to be attended to. Now, the mean or average interval
between
the centres of the two planets is 59.9643 of the earth's
equatorial radii, or only about 237,000 miles. I say the mean
or average
interval;
— but it must be borne in mind, that the form of the moon's orbit being
an ellipse of eccentricity amounting to no less than 0.05484 of the
major
semi-axis of the ellipse itself, and the earth's centre being situated
in its focus, if I could, in any manner, contrive to meet the moon in
its
perigee, the above-mentioned distance would be materially diminished.
But
to say nothing, at present, of this possibility, it was very certain
that,
at all events, from the 237,000 miles I would have to deduct the radius
of the earth, say 4000, and the radius of the moon, say 1080, in all
5080,
leaving an actual interval to be traversed, under average
circumstances,
of 231,920 miles. Now this, I reflected, was no very extraordinary
distance.
Travelling on the land has been repeatedly accomplished at the rate of
sixty miles per hour; and indeed a much greater speed may be
anticipated.
But even at [page 16:] this velocity, it would
take
me no more than 161 days to reach the surface of the moon. There were,
however, many particulars inducing me to believe that my average rate
of
travelling might possibly very much exceed that of sixty miles per
hour,
and, as these considerations did not fail to make a deep impression
upon
my mind, I will mention them more fully hereafter.
The next point to be regarded was one
of far
greater
importance. From indications afforded by the barometer, we find that,
in
ascensions from the surface of the earth we have, at the height of a [[sic]]
1000
feet, left below us about one-thirtieth of the entire mass of
atmospheric
air; that at 10,600, we have ascended through nearly one-third; and
that
at 18,000, which is not far from the elevation of Cotopaxi, we have
surmounted
one-half the material, or, at all events, one-half the ponderable
body of air incumbent upon our globe. It is also calculated, that at an
altitude not exceeding the hundredth part of the earth's diameter —
that
is, not exceeding eighty miles — the rarefaction would be so excessive
that animal life could in no manner be sustained, and, moreover, that
the
most delicate means we possess of ascertaining the presence of the
atmosphere,
would be inadequate to assure us of its existence. But I did not fail
to
perceive that these latter calculations are founded altogether on our
experimental
knowledge of the properties of air, and the mechanical laws regulating
its dilation and compression, in what may be called, comparatively
speaking, the immediate vicinity of the earth itself; and, at
the same
time,
it is taken for granted that animal life is and must be, essentially incapable
of modification at any given unattainable distance from the
surface.
Now,
all such reasoning and from such data, must of course be simply
analogical. The greatest height ever reached by man was that of 25,000
feet, attained in the æronautic expedition of Messieurs
Gay-Lussac
and
Biot. This is a moderate altitude, even when compared with the eighty
miles
in question; and I could not help thinking that the subject admitted
room
for doubt, and great latitude for speculation.
But, in point of fact, an ascension
being made to
any given altitude, the ponderable quantity of air surmounted in any farther
ascension, is by no means in proportion to the additional height
ascended,
(as may be plainly seen from what has been stated before,) [page
17:] but in a ratio constantly decreasing. It is
therefore
evident that, ascend as high as we may, we cannot, literally speaking,
arrive at a limit beyond which no atmosphere is to be found. It
must exist, I argued; although it may exist
in a state
of
infinite rarefaction.
On the other hand, I was aware that
arguments
have
not been wanting to prove the existence of a real and definite limit to
the atmosphere, beyond which there is absolutely no air whatsoever. But
a circumstance which has been left out of view by those who contend for
such a limit, seemed to me, although no positive refutation of their
creed,
still a point worthy very serious investigation. On comparing the
intervals
between the successive arrivals of Encke's comet at its perihelion,
after
giving credit, in the most exact manner, for all the disturbances due
to
the attractions of the planets, it appears that the periods are
gradually
diminishing; that is to say, the major axis of the comet's ellipse is
growing
shorter, in a slow but perfectly regular decrease. Now, this is
precisely
what ought to be the case, if we suppose a resistance experienced from
the comet from an extremely rare ethereal medium pervading the
regions
of its orbit. For it is evident that such a medium must, in retarding
the
comet's velocity, increase its centripetal, by weakening its
centrifugal
force. In other words, the sun's attraction would be constantly
attaining
greater power, and the comet would be drawn nearer at every revolution.
Indeed, there is no other way of accounting for the variation in
question.
But again: — The real diameter of the same comet's nebulosity, is
observed
to contract rapidly as it approaches the sun, and dilate with equal
rapidity
in its departure toward its aphelion. Was I not justifiable in
supposing,
with M. Valz, that this apparent condensation of volume has its origin
in the compression of the same ethereal medium I have spoken of before,
and which is dense in proportion to its vicinity to the sun? The
lenticular-shaped
phenomenon, also, called the zodiacal light, was a matter worthy of
attention.
This radiance, so apparent in the tropics, and which cannot be mistaken
for any meteoric lustre, extends from the horizon obliquely upwards,
and
follows generally the direction of the sun's equator. It appeared to me
evidently in the nature of a rare atmosphere extending from the sun
outwards, [page 18:] beyond the orbit of Venus at
least, and
I believed indefinitely farther.* Indeed, this
medium I could not
suppose
confined to the path of the comet's ellipse, or to the immediate
neighborhood
of the sun. It was easy, on the contrary, to imagine it pervading the
entire
regions of our planetary system, condensed into what we call atmosphere
at the planets themselves, and perhaps at some of them modified by
considerations
purely geological; that is to say, modified, or varied in its
proportions
(or absolute nature) by matters volatilized from the respective orbs.
Having adopted this view of the
subject, I had
little
farther hesitation. Granting that on my passage I should meet with
atmosphere essentially the same as at the surface of the earth,
I conceived
that, by means of the very ingenious apparatus of M. Grimm, I should
readily
be enabled to condense it in sufficient quantity for the purposes of
respiration.
This would remove the chief obstacle in a journey to the moon. I had
indeed
spent some money and great labor in adapting the apparatus to the
object
intended, and confidently looked forward to its successful application,
if I could manage to complete the voyage within any reasonable period.
— This brings me back to the rate at which it would be possible
to travel.
It is true that balloons, in the
first stage of
their
ascensions from the earth, are known to rise with a velocity
comparatively
moderate. Now, the power of elevation lies altogether in the superior
gravity
of the atmospheric air compared with the gas in the balloon; and, at
first
sight, it does not appear probable that, as the balloon acquires
altitude,
and consequently arrives successively in atmospheric strata of
densities
rapidly diminishing — I say, it does not appear at all reasonable that,
in this its progress upward, the original velocity should be
accelerated.
On the other hand, I was not aware that, in any recorded ascension, a diminution
had been proved to be apparent in the absolute rate of ascent; although
such should have been the case, if on account of nothing else, on
account
of the escape of gas through balloons ill-constructed, and varnished
with
no better material than the ordinary varnish. It [page 19:]
seemed, therefore, that the effect of such escape was only sufficient
to
counterbalance the effect of the acceleration attained in the
diminishing
of the balloon's distance from the gravitating centre. I now considered
that, provided in my passage I found the medium I had imagined,
and provided it should prove to be essentially what we
denominate
atmospheric air, it could make comparatively little difference at what
extreme state of rarefaction I should discover it — that is to say, in
regard to my power of ascending — for the gas in the balloon would not
only be itself subject to similar rarefaction, (in proportion to the
occurrence
of which, I could suffer an escape of so much as would be requisite to
prevent explosion,) but, being what it was, would, at all
events,
continue specifically lighter than any compound whatever of mere
nitrogen
and oxygen. Thus there was a chance — in fact, there was a strong
probability
— that, at no epoch of my ascent, I should reach a point where the
united
weights of my immense balloon, the inconceivably rare gas within it,
the
car, and its contents, should equal the weight of the mass of the
surrounding
atmosphere displaced; and this will be readily understood as the
sole
condition upon which my upward flight would be arrested. But, if this
point
were even attained, I could dispense with ballast and other weight to
the
amount of nearly 300 pounds. In the meantime, the force of gravitation
would be constantly diminishing, in proportion to the squares of the
distances,
and so, with a velocity prodigiously accelerating, I should at length
arrive
in those distant regions where the force of the earth's attraction
would
be superseded by that of the moon.
There was another difficulty,
however, which
occasioned
me some little disquietude. It has been observed, that, in balloon
ascensions
to any considerable height, besides the pain attending respiration,
great
uneasiness is experienced about the head and body, often accompanied
with
bleeding at the nose, and other symptoms of an alarming kind, and
growing
more and more inconvenient in proportion to the altitude attained.*
This
was a [page 20:] reflection of a nature somewhat
startling.
Was it not probable that these symptoms would increase until terminated
by death itself? I finally thought not. Their origin was to be looked
for
in the progressive removal of the customary atmospheric
pressure
upon the surface of the body, and consequent distention of the
superficial
blood-vessels — not in any positive disorganization of the animal
system,
as in the case of difficulty in breathing, where the atmospheric
density
is chemically insufficient for the due renovation of blood in a
ventricle of the heart. Unless for default of this renovation, I could
see no reason, therefore, why life could not be sustained even in a vacuum;
for the expansion and compression of chest, commonly called breathing,
is action purely muscular, and the cause, not the effect,
of respiration. In a word, I conceived that, as the body should become
habituated to the want of atmospheric pressure, these sensations of
pain
would gradually diminish — and to endure them while they continued, I
relied
with confidence upon the iron hardihood of my constitution.
Thus, may it please your Excellencies, I
have detailed
some, though by no means all, the considerations which led me to form
the
project of a lunar voyage. I shall now proceed to lay before you the
result
of an attempt so apparently audacious in conception, and, at all
events,
so utterly unparalleled in the annals of mankind.
Having attained the altitude before
mentioned —
that
is to say, three miles and three quarters — I threw out from the car a
quantity of feathers, and found that I still ascended with sufficient
rapidity;
there was, therefore, no necessity for discharging any ballast. I was
glad
of this, for I wished to retain with me as much weight as I could
carry,
for the obvious reason that I could not be positive either
about
the gravitation or the atmospheric density of the moon. I as yet
suffered
no bodily inconvenience, breathing with great freedom, and feeling no
pain
whatever in the head. The cat was lying very demurely upon my coat,
which
I had taken off, and eyeing the pigeons with an air of nonchalance.
These latter being tied by the leg, to prevent their escape, were
busily
employed in picking up some grains of rice scattered for them in the
bottom
of the car.
At twenty minutes past six o'clock,
the barometer
showed an [page 21:] elevation of 26,400 feet, or
five
miles to a fraction. The prospect seemed unbounded. Indeed, it is very
easily calculated by means of spherical geometry, how great an extent
of
the earth's area I beheld. The convex surface of any segment of a
sphere
is, to the entire surface of the sphere itself, as the versed sine of
the
segment to the diameter of the sphere. Now, in my case, the versed sine
— that is to say, the thickness of the segment beneath me — was
about equal to my elevation, or the elevation of the point of sight
above
the surface. "As five miles, then, to eight thousand,'' would express
the
proportion of the earth's area seen by me. In other words, I beheld as
much as a sixteen-hundredth part of the whole surface of the globe. The
sea appeared unruffled as a mirror, although, by means of the
telescope,
I could perceive it to be in a state of violent agitation. The ship was
no longer visible, having drifted away, apparently, to the eastward. I
now began to experience, at intervals, severe pain in the head,
especially
about the ears — still, however, breathing with tolerable freedom. The
cat and pigeons seemed to suffer no inconvenience whatsoever.
At twenty minutes before seven, the
balloon
entered
a long series of dense cloud, which put me to great trouble, by
damaging
my condensing apparatus, and wetting me to the skin. This was, to be
sure,
a singular rencontre, for I had not believed it possible that a
cloud of this nature could be sustained at so great an elevation. I
thought
it best, however, to throw out two five-pound pieces of ballast,
reserving
still a weight of one hundred and sixty-five pounds. Upon so doing, I
soon
rose above the difficulty, and perceived immediately, that I had
obtained
a great increase in my rate of ascent. In a few seconds after my
leaving
the cloud, a flash of vivid lightning shot from one end of it to the
other,
and caused it to kindle up, throughout its vast extent, like a mass of
ignited charcoal. This, it must be remembered, was in the broad light
of
day. No fancy may picture the sublimity which might have been exhibited
by a similar phenomenon taking place amid the darkness of the night.
Hell
itself might then have found a fitting image. Even as it was, my hair
stood
on end, while I gazed afar down within the yawning abysses, letting
imagination
descend, and stalk about in the strange vaulted halls, and ruddy gulfs,
and red ghastly chasms of the hideous and unfathomable [page
22:]
fire. I had indeed made a narrow escape. Had the balloon remained a
very
short while longer within the cloud — that is to say, had not the
inconvenience
of getting wet, determined me to discharge the ballast — my destruction
might, and probably would, have been the consequence. Such perils,
although
little considered, are perhaps the greatest which must be encountered
in
balloons. I had by this time, however, attained too great an elevation
to be any longer uneasy on this head.
I was now rising rapidly, and by
seven o'clock
the
barometer indicated an altitude of no less than nine miles and a half.
I began to find great difficulty in drawing my breath. My head, too,
was
excessively painful; and, having felt for some time a moisture about my
cheeks, I at length discovered it to be blood, which was oozing quite
fast
from the drums of my ears. My eyes, also, gave me great uneasiness.
Upon
passing the hand over them they seemed to have protruded from their
sockets
in no inconsiderable degree; and all objects in the car, and even the
balloon
itself, appeared distorted to my vision. These symptoms were more than
I had expected, and occasioned me some alarm. At this juncture, very
imprudently,
and without consideration, I threw out from the car three five-pound
pieces
of ballast. The accelerated rate of ascent thus obtained, carried me
too
rapidly, and without sufficient gradation, into a highly rarefied stratum
of the atmosphere, and the result had nearly proved fatal to my
expedition
and to myself. I was suddenly seized with a spasm which lasted for more
than five minutes, and even when this, in a measure, ceased, I could
catch
my breath only at long intervals, and in a gasping manner, — bleeding
all
the while copiously at the nose and ears, and even slightly at the
eyes.
The pigeons appeared distressed in the extreme, and struggled to
escape;
while the cat mewed piteously, and, with her tongue hanging out of her
mouth, staggered to and fro in the car as if under the influence of
poison.
I now too late discovered the great rashness of which I had been guilty
in discharging the ballast, and my agitation was excessive. I
anticipated
nothing less than death, and death in a few minutes. The physical
suffering
I underwent contributed also to render me nearly incapable of making
any
exertion for the preservation of my life. I had, indeed, little power
of
reflection left, and the violence [page 23:] of
the
pain in my head seemed to be greatly on the increase. Thus I found that
my senses would shortly give way altogether, and I had already clutched
one of the valve ropes with the view of attempting a descent, when the
recollection of the trick I had played the three creditors, and the
possible
consequences to myself, should I return, operated to deter me for the
moment.
I lay down in the bottom of the car, and endeavored to collect my
faculties.
In this I so far succeeded as to determine upon the experiment of
losing
blood. Having no lancet, however, I was constrained to perform the
operation
in the best manner I was able, and finally succeeded in opening a vein
in my left arm, with the blade of my penknife. The blood had hardly
commenced
flowing when I experienced a sensible relief, and by the time I had
lost
about half a moderate basin-full, most of the worst symptoms had
abandoned
me entirely. I nevertheless did not think it expedient to attempt
getting
on my feet immediately; but, having tied up my arm as well as I could,
I lay still for about a quarter of an hour. At the end of this time I
arose,
and found myself freer from absolute pain of any kind than I
had
been during the last hour and a quarter of my ascension. The difficulty
of breathing, however, was diminished in a very slight degree, and I
found
that it would soon be positively necessary to make use of my condenser.
In the meantime, looking towards the cat, who was again snugly stowed
away
upon my coat, I discovered, to my infinite surprise, that she had taken
the opportunity of my indisposition to bring into light a litter of
three
little kittens. This was an addition to the number of passengers on my
part altogether unexpected; but I was pleased at the occurrence. It
would
afford me a chance of bringing to a kind of test the truth of a
surmise,
which, more than any thing else, had influenced me in attempting this
ascension.
I had imagined that the habitual endurance of the atmospheric
pressure
at the surface of the earth was the cause, or nearly so, of the pain
attending
animal existence at a distance above the surface. Should the kittens be
found to suffer uneasiness in an equal degree with their
mother,
I must consider my theory in fault, but a failure to do so I should
look
upon as a strong confirmation of my idea.
By eight o'clock I had actually
attained an
elevation
of seventeen [page 24:] miles above the surface of
the earth. Thus it seemed to me evident that my rate of ascent was not
only on the increase, but that the progression would have been apparent
in a slight degree even had I not discharged the ballast which I did.
The
pains in my head and ears returned, at intervals, with violence, and I
still continued to bleed occasionally at the nose: but, upon the whole,
I suffered much less than might have been expected. I breathed,
however,
at every moment, with more and more difficulty, and each inhalation was
attended with a troublesome spasmodic action of the chest. I now
unpacked
the condensing apparatus, and got it ready for immediate use.
The view of the earth, at this period
of my
ascension,
was beautiful indeed. To the westward, the northward, and the
southward,
as far as I could see, lay a boundless sheet of apparently unruffled
ocean,
which every moment gained a deeper and deeper tint of blue. At a vast
distance
to the eastward, although perfectly discernible, extended the islands
of
Great Britain, the entire Atlantic coasts of France and Spain, with a
small
portion of the northern part of the continent of Africa. Of individual
edifices not a trace could be discovered, and the proudest cities of
mankind
had utterly faded away from the face of the earth.
What mainly astonished me, in the
appearance of
things
below, was the seeming concavity of the surface of the globe. I had,
thoughtlessly
enough, expected to see its real convexity become evident as I
ascended;
but a very little reflection sufficed to explain the discrepancy. A
line,
dropped from my position perpendicularly to the earth, would have
formed
the perpendicular of a right-angled triangle, of which the base would
have
extended from the right-angle to the horizon, and the hypothenuse from
the horizon to my position. But my height was little or nothing in
comparison
with my prospect. In other words, the base and hypothenuse of the
supposed
triangle would, in my case, have been so long, when compared to the
perpendicular,
that the two former might have been regarded as nearly parallel. In
this
manner the horizon of the æronaut appears always to be upon a
level
with the car. But as the point immediately beneath him seems, and is,
at
a great distance below him, it seems, of course, also at a great
distance
below the horizon. Hence the impression [page 25:]
of concavity; and this impression must remain, until the elevation
shall
bear so great a proportion to the prospect, that the apparent
parallelism
of the base and hypothenuse, disappears.
The pigeons about this time seeming
to undergo
much
suffering, I determined upon giving them their liberty. I first untied
one of them, a beautiful gray-mottled pigeon, and placed him upon the
rim
of the wicker-work. He appeared extremely uneasy, looking anxiously
around
him, fluttering his wings, and making a loud cooing noise, but could
not
be persuaded to trust himself from the car. I took him up at last, and
threw him to about half-a-dozen yards from the balloon. He made,
however,
no attempt to descend as I had expected, but struggled with great
vehemence
to get back, uttering at the same time very shrill and piercing cries.
He at length succeeded in regaining his former station on the rim, but
had hardly done so when his head dropped upon his breast, and he fell
dead
within the car. The other one did not prove so unfortunate. To prevent
his following the example of his companion, and accomplishing a return,
I threw him downwards with all my force, and was pleased to find him
continue
his descent, with great velocity, making use of his wings with ease,
and
in a perfectly natural manner. In a very short time he was out of
sight,
and I have no doubt he reached home in safety. Puss, who seemed in a
great
measure recovered from her illness, now made a hearty meal of the dead
bird, and then went to sleep with much apparent satisfaction. Her
kittens
were quite lively, and so far evinced not the slightest sign of any
uneasiness.
At a quarter-past eight, being able
no longer to
draw breath without the most intolerable pain, I proceeded, forthwith,
to adjust around the car the apparatus belonging to the condenser. This
apparatus will require some little explanation, and your Excellencies
will
please to bear in mind that my object, in the first place, was to
surround
myself and car entirely with a barricade against the highly rarefied
atmosphere
in which I was existing, with the intention of introducing within this
barricade, by means of my condenser, a quantity of this same atmosphere
sufficiently condensed for the purposes of respiration. With this
object
in view I had prepared a very strong, perfectly air-tight, but flexible
gum-elastic bag. In this bag, which was of sufficient dimensions, [page
26:] the entire car was in a manner placed. That is to say,
it (the bag) was drawn over the whole bottom of the car, up its sides,
and so on, along the outside of the ropes, to the upper rim or hoop
where
the net-work is attached. Having pulled the bag up in this way, and
formed
a complete enclosure on all sides, and at bottom, it was now necessary
to fasten up its top or mouth, by passing its material over the hoop of
the net-work, — in other words, between the net-work and the hoop. But
if the net-work were separated from the hoop to admit this passage,
what
was to sustain the car in the meantime? Now the net-work was not
permanently
fastened to the hoop, but attached by a series of running loops or
nooses.
I therefore undid only a few of these loops at one time, leaving the
car
suspended by the remainder. Having thus inserted a portion of the cloth
forming the upper part of the bag, I refastened the loops — not to the
hoop, for that would have been impossible, since the cloth now
intervened,
— but to a series of large buttons, affixed to the cloth itself, about
three feet below the mouth of the bag; the intervals between the
buttons
having been made to correspond to the intervals between the loops. This
done, a few more of the loops were unfastened from the rim, a farther
portion
of the cloth introduced, and the disengaged loops then connected with
their
proper buttons. In this way it was possible to insert the whole upper
part
of the bag between the net-work and the hoop. It is evident that the
hoop
would now drop down within the car, while the whole weight of the car
itself,
with all its contents, would be held up merely by the strength of the
buttons.
This, at first sight, would seem an inadequate dependence; but it was
by
no means so, for the buttons were not only very strong in themselves,
but
so close together that a very slight portion of the whole weight was
supported
by any one of them. Indeed, had the car and contents been three times
heavier
than they were, I should not have been at all uneasy. I now raised up
the
hoop again within the covering of gum-elastic, and propped it at nearly
its former height by means of three light poles prepared for the
occasion.
This was done, of course, to keep the bag distended at the top, and to
preserve the lower part of the net-work in its proper situation. All
that
now remained was to fasten up the mouth of the enclosure; and this was
readily accomplished by gathering [page 27:] the
folds
of the material together, and twisting them up very tightly on the
inside
by means of a kind of stationary tourniquet.
In the sides of the covering thus
adjusted round
the car, had been inserted three circular panes of thick but clear
glass,
through which I could see without difficulty around me in every
horizontal
direction. In that portion of the cloth forming the bottom, was
likewise
a fourth window, of the same kind, and corresponding with a small
aperture
in the floor of the car itself. This enabled me to see perpendicularly
down, but having found it impossible to place any similar contrivance
overhead,
on account of the peculiar manner of closing up the opening there, and
the consequent wrinkles in the cloth, I could expect to see no objects
situated directly in my zenith. This, of course, was a matter of little
consequence; for, had I even been able to place a window at top, the
balloon
itself would have prevented my making any use of it.
About a foot below one of the side
windows was a
circular opening, three inches in diameter, and fitted with a brass rim
adapted in its inner edge to the windings of a screw. In this rim was
screwed
the large tube of the condenser, the body of the machine being, of
course,
within the chamber of gum-elastic. Through this tube a quantity of the
rare atmosphere circumjacent being drawn by means of a vacuum
created
in the body of the machine, was thence discharged, in a state of
condensation,
to mingle with the thin air already in the chamber. This operation,
being
repeated several times, at length filled the chamber with atmosphere
proper
for all the purposes of respiration. But in so confined a space it
would,
in a short time, necessarily become foul, and unfit for use from
frequent
contact with the lungs. It was then ejected by a small valve at the
bottom
of the car; — the dense air readily sinking into the thinner atmosphere
below. To avoid the inconvenience of making a total vacuum at
any
moment within the chamber, this purification was never accomplished all
at once, but in a gradual manner, — the valve being opened only for a
few
seconds, then closed again, until one or two strokes from the pump of
the
condenser had supplied the place of the atmosphere ejected. For the
sake
of experiment I had put the cat and kittens in a small basket, and
suspended
it outside the car to a button at the bottom, close by the valve,
through
which I could feed them at any [page 28:] moment
when
necessary. I did this at some little risk, and before closing the mouth
of the chamber, by reaching under the car with one of the poles before
mentioned to which a hook had been attached. As soon as dense air was
admitted
in the chamber, the hoop and poles became unnecessary; the expansion of
the enclosed atmosphere powerfully distending the gum-elastic.
By the time I had fully completed
these
arrangements
and filled the chamber as explained, it wanted only ten minutes of nine
o'clock. During the whole period of my being thus employed, I endured
the
most terrible distress from difficulty of respiration; and bitterly did
I repent the negligence, or rather fool-hardiness, of which I had been
guilty, of putting off to the last moment a matter of so much
importance.
But having at length accomplished it, I soon began to reap the benefit
of my invention. Once again I breathed with perfect freedom and ease —
and indeed why should I not? I was also agreeably surprised to find
myself,
in a great measure, relieved from the violent pains which had hitherto
tormented me. A slight headache, accompanied with a sensation of
fulness
or distention about the wrists, the ankles, and the throat, was nearly
all of which I had now to complain. Thus it seemed evident that a
greater
part of the uneasiness attending the removal of atmospheric pressure
had
actually worn off, as I had expected, and that much of the pain
endured for the last two hours should have been attributed altogether
to
the effects of a deficient respiration.
At twenty minutes before nine o'clock
— that is
to
say, a short time prior to my closing up the mouth of the chamber, the
mercury attained its limit, or ran down, in the barometer, which, as I
mentioned before, was one of an extended construction. It then
indicated
an altitude on my part of 132,000 feet, or five-and-twenty miles, and I
consequently surveyed at that time an extent of the earth's area
amounting
to no less than the three-hundred-and-twentieth part of its entire
superficies.
At nine o'clock I had again lost sight of land to the eastward, but not
before I became aware that the balloon was drifting rapidly to the N.
N.
W. The ocean beneath me still retained its apparent concavity, although
my view was often interrupted by the masses of cloud which floated to
and
fro. [page 28:]
At half past nine I tried the
experiment of
throwing
out a handful of feathers through the valve. They did not float as I
had
expected; but dropped down perpendicularly, like a bullet, en masse,
and with the greatest velocity, — being out of sight in a very few
seconds.
I did not at first know what to make of this extraordinary phenomenon;
not being able to believe that my rate of ascent had, of a sudden, met
with so prodigious an acceleration. But it soon occurred to me that the
atmosphere was now far too rare to sustain even the feathers; that they
actually fell, as they appeared to do, with great rapidity; and that I
had been surprised by the united velocities of their descent and my own
elevation.
By ten o'clock I found that I had
very little to
occupy my immediate attention. Affairs went on swimmingly, and I
believed
the balloon to be going upwards with a speed increasing momently,
although
I had no longer any means of ascertaining the progression of the
increase.
I suffered no pain or uneasiness of any kind, and enjoyed better
spirits
than I had at any period since my departure from Rotterdam; busying
myself
now in examining the state of my various apparatus, and now in
regenerating
the atmosphere within the chamber. This latter point I determined to
attend
to at regular intervals of forty minutes, more on account of the
preservation
of my health, than from so frequent a renovation being absolutely
necessary.
In the meanwhile I could not help making anticipations. Fancy revelled
in the wild and dreamy regions of the moon. Imagination, feeling
herself
for once unshackled, roamed at will among the ever-changing wonders of
a shadowy and unstable land. Now there were hoary and time-honored
forests,
and craggy precipices, and waterfalls tumbling with a loud noise into
abysses
without a bottom. Then I came suddenly into still noonday solitudes,
where
no wind of heaven ever intruded, and where vast meadows of poppies, and
slender, lily-looking flowers spread themselves out a weary distance,
all
silent and motionless for ever. Then again I journeyed far down away
into
another country where it was all one dim and vague lake, with a
boundary-line
of clouds. But fancies such as these were not the sole possessors of my
brain. Horrors of a nature most stern and most appalling would too
frequently
obtrude themselves [page 30:] upon my mind, and
shake
the innermost depths of my soul with the bare supposition of their
possibility.
Yet I would not suffer my thoughts for any length of time to dwell upon
these latter speculations, rightly judging the real and palpable
dangers
of the voyage sufficient for my undivided attention.
At five o'clock, P. M.,
being engaged
in
regenerating
the atmosphere within the chamber, I took that opportunity of observing
the cat and kittens through the valve. The cat herself appeared to
suffer
again very much, and I had no hesitation in attributing her uneasiness
chiefly to a difficulty in breathing; but my experiment with the
kittens
had resulted very strangely. I had expected, of course, to see them
betray
a sense of pain, although in a less degree than their mother; and this
would have been sufficient to confirm my opinion concerning the
habitual
endurance of atmospheric pressure. But I was not prepared to find them,
upon close examination, evidently enjoying a high degree of health,
breathing
with the greatest ease and perfect regularity, and evincing not the
slightest
sign of any uneasiness. I could only account for all this by extending
my theory, and supposing that the highly rarefied atmosphere around,
might
perhaps not be, as I had taken for granted, chemically insufficient for
the purposes of life, and that a person born in such a medium
might,
possibly, be unaware of any inconvenience attending its inhalation,
while,
upon removal to the denser strata near the earth, he might
endure
tortures of a similar nature to those I had so lately experienced. It
has
since been to me a matter of deep regret that an awkward accident, at
this
time, occasioned me the loss of my little family of cats, and deprived
me of the insight into this matter which a continued experiment might
have
afforded. In passing my hand through the valve, with a cup of water for
the old puss, the sleeve of my shirt became entangled in the loop which
sustained the basket, and thus, in a moment, loosened it from the
button.
Had the whole actually vanished into air, it could not have shot from
my
sight in a more abrupt and instantaneous manner. Positively, there
could
not have intervened the tenth part of a second between the
disengagement
of the basket and its absolute disappearance with all that it
contained.
My good wishes followed it to the earth, but, [page 31:] of
course, I had no hope
that either cat or kittens would ever live to tell the tale of their
misfortune.
At six o'clock, I perceived a great
portion of
the
earth's visible area to the eastward involved in thick shadow, which
continued
to advance with great rapidity, until, at five minutes before seven,
the
whole surface in view was enveloped in the darkness of night. It was
not,
however, until long after this time that the rays of the setting sun
ceased
to illumine the balloon; and this circumstance, although of course
fully
anticipated, did not fail to give me an infinite deal of pleasure. It
was
evident that, in the morning, I should behold the rising luminary many
hours at least before the citizens of Rotterdam, in spite of their
situation
so much farther to the eastward, and thus, day after day, in proportion
to the height ascended, would I enjoy the light of the sun for a longer
and a longer period. I now determined to keep a journal of my passage,
reckoning the days from one to twenty-four hours continuously, without
taking into consideration the intervals of darkness.
At ten o'clock, feeling sleepy, I
determined to
lie
down for the rest of the night; but here a difficulty presented itself,
which, obvious as it may appear, had escaped my attention up to the
very
moment of which I am now speaking. If I went to sleep as I proposed,
how
could the atmosphere in the chamber be regenerated in the interim?
To breathe it for more than an hour, at the farthest, would be a matter
of impossibility; or, if even this term could be extended to an hour
and
a quarter, the most ruinous consequences might ensue. The consideration
of this dilemma gave me no little disquietude; and it will hardly be
believed,
that, after the dangers I had undergone, I should look upon this
business
in so serious a light, as to give up all hope of accomplishing my
ultimate
design, and finally make up my mind to the necessity of a descent. But
this hesitation was only momentary. I reflected that man is the veriest
slave of custom, and that many points in the routine of his existence
are
deemed essentially important, which are only so at all
by
his having rendered them habitual. It was very certain that I could not
do without sleep; but I might easily bring myself to feel no
inconvenience
from being awakened at intervals of an hour during the whole period of
my repose. It [page 32:] would require but five
minutes
at most, to regenerate the atmosphere in the fullest manner — and the
only
real difficulty was, to contrive a method of arousing myself at the
proper
moment for so doing. But this was a question which, I am willing to
confess,
occasioned me no little trouble in its solution. To be sure, I had
heard
of the student who, to prevent his falling asleep over his books, held
in one hand a ball of copper, the din of whose descent into a basin of
the same metal on the floor beside his chair, served effectually to
startle
him up, if, at any moment, he should be overcome with drowsiness. My
own
case, however, was very different indeed, and left me no room for any
similar
idea; for I did not wish to keep awake, but to be aroused from slumber
at regular intervals of time. I at length hit upon the following
expedient,
which, simple as it may seem, was hailed by me, at the moment of
discovery,
as an invention fully equal to that of the telescope, the steam-engine,
or the art of printing itself.
It is necessary to premise, that the
balloon, at
the elevation now attained, continued its course upwards with an even
and
undeviating ascent, and the car consequently followed with a steadiness
so perfect that it would have been impossible to detect in it the
slightest
vacillation. This circumstance favored me greatly in the project I now
determined to adopt. My supply of water had been put on board in kegs
containing
five gallons each, and ranged very securely around the interior of the
car. I unfastened one of these, and taking two ropes, tied them tightly
across the rim of the wicker-work from one side to the other; placing
them
about a foot apart and parallel, so as to form a kind of shelf, upon
which
I placed the keg, and steadied it in a horizontal position. About eight
inches immediately below these ropes, and four feet from the bottom of
the car, I fastened another shelf — but made of thin plank, being the
only
similar piece of wood I had. Upon this latter shelf, and exactly
beneath
one of the rims of the keg, a small earthen pitcher was deposited. I
now
bored a hole in the end of the keg over the pitcher, and fitted in a
plug
of soft wood, cut in a tapering or conical shape. This plug I pushed in
or pulled out, as might happen, until, after a few experiments, It
[[sic]] arrived
at that exact degree of tightness, at which the water, oozing from the
hole, and falling into the pitcher below, would fill the latter to the [page
33:] brim in the period of sixty
minutes.
This,
of course, was a matter briefly and easily ascertained, by noticing the
proportion of the pitcher filled in any given time. Having arranged all
this, the rest of the plan is obvious. My bed was so contrived upon the
floor of the car, as to bring my head, in lying down, immediately below
the mouth of the pitcher. It was evident, that, at the expiration of an
hour, the pitcher, getting full, would be forced to run over, and to
run
over at the mouth, which was somewhat lower than the rim. It was also
evident,
that the water, thus falling from a height of more than four feet,
could
not do otherwise than fall upon my face, and that the sure consequence
would be, to waken me up instantaneously, even from the soundest
slumber
in the world.
It was fully eleven by the time I had
completed
these
arrangements, and I immediately betook myself to bed, with full
confidence
in the efficiency of my invention. Nor in this matter was I
disappointed.
Punctually every sixty minutes was I aroused by my trusty chronometer,
when, having emptied the pitcher into the bung-hole of the keg, and
performed
the duties of the condenser, I retired again to bed. These regular
interruptions
to my slumber caused me even less discomfort than I had anticipated;
and
when I finally arose for the day, it was seven o'clock, and the sun had
attained many degrees above the line of my horizon.
April 3d. I found the
balloon at an
immense
height indeed, and the earth's convexity had now become strikingly
manifest.
Below me in the ocean lay a cluster of black specks, which undoubtedly
were islands. Overhead, the sky was of a jetty black, and the stars
were
brilliantly visible; indeed they had been so constantly since the first
day of ascent. Far away to the northward I perceived a thin, white, and
exceedingly brilliant line, or streak, on the edge of the horizon, and
I had no hesitation in supposing it to be the southern disc of the ices
of the Polar sea. My curiosity was greatly excited, for I had hopes of
passing on much farther to the north, and might possibly, at some
period,
find myself placed directly above the Pole itself. I now lamented that
my great elevation would, in this case, prevent my taking as accurate a
survey as I could wish. Much, however, might be ascertained.
Nothing else of an extraordinary
nature occurred
during the [page 34:] day. My apparatus all
continued
in good order, and the balloon still ascended without any perceptible
vacillation.
The cold was intense, and obliged me to wrap up closely in an overcoat.
When darkness came over the earth, I betook myself to bed, although it
was for many hours afterwards broad daylight all around my immediate
situation.
The water-clock was punctual in its duty, and I slept until next
morning
soundly, with the exception of the periodical interruption.
April 4th. Arose in good
health and
spirits,
and was astonished at the singular change which had taken place in the
appearance of the sea. It had lost, in a great measure, the deep tint
of
blue it had hitherto worn, being now of a grayish-white, and of a
lustre
dazzling to the eye. The convexity of the ocean had become so evident,
that the entire mass of the distant water seemed to be tumbling
headlong
over the abyss of the horizon, and I found myself listening on tiptoe
for
the echoes of the mighty cataract. The islands were no longer visible;
whether they had passed down the horizon to the south-east, or whether
my increasing elevation had left them out of sight, it is impossible to
say. I was inclined, however, to the latter opinion. The rim of ice to
the northward was growing more and more apparent. Cold by no means so
intense. Nothing of importance occurred, and I passed the day in
reading,
having taken care to supply myself with books.
April 5th. Beheld the
singular phenomenon
of the sun rising while nearly the whole visible surface of the earth
continued
to be involved in darkness. In time, however, the light spread itself
over
all, and I again saw the line of ice to the northward. It was now very
distinct, and appeared of a much darker hue than the waters of the
ocean.
I was evidently approaching it, and with great rapidity. Fancied I
could
again distinguish a strip of land to the eastward, and one also to the
westward, but could not be certain. Weather moderate. Nothing of any
consequence
happened during the day. Went early to bed.
April 6th. Was surprised at
finding the
rim
of ice at a very moderate distance, and an immense field of the same
material
stretching away off to the horizon in the north. It was evident that if
the balloon held its present course, it would soon arrive above the
Frozen
Ocean, and I had now little doubt of ultimately [page 35:]
seeing the Pole. During the whole of the day I continued to near the
ice.
Towards night the limits of my horizon very suddenly and materially
increased,
owing undoubtedly to the earth's form being that of an oblate spheroid,
and my arriving above the flattened regions in the vicinity of the
Arctic
circle. When darkness at length overtook me, I went to bed in great
anxiety,
fearing to pass over the object of so much curiosity when I should have
no opportunity of observing it.
April 7th. Arose early, and,
to my great
joy,
at length beheld what there could be no hesitation in supposing the
northern
Pole itself. It was there, beyond a doubt, and immediately beneath my
feet;
but, alas! I had now ascended to so vast a distance, that nothing could
with accuracy be discerned. Indeed, to judge from the progression of
the
numbers indicating my various altitudes, respectively, at different
periods,
between six, A. M.,
on the second of April, and twenty minutes before
nine, A. M.,
of the same day, (at which time the barometer ran down,) it
might
be fairly inferred that the balloon had now, at four o'clock in the
morning
of April the seventh, reached a height of not less, certainly,
than
7254 miles above the surface of the sea. This elevation may appear
immense,
but the estimate upon which it is calculated gave a result in all
probability
far inferior to the truth. At all events I undoubtedly beheld the whole
of the earth's major diameter; the entire northern hemisphere lay
beneath
me like a chart orthographically projected; and the great circle of the
equator itself formed the boundary line of my horizon. Your
Excellencies
may, however, readily imagine that the confined regions hitherto
unexplored
within the limits of the Arctic circle, although situated directly
beneath
me, and therefore seen without any appearance of being foreshortened,
were
still, in themselves, comparatively too diminutive, and at too great a
distance from the point of sight, to admit of any very accurate
examination.
Nevertheless, what could be seen was of a nature singular and exciting.
Northwardly from that huge rim before mentioned, and which, with slight
qualification, may be called the limit of human discovery in these
regions,
one unbroken, or nearly unbroken sheet of ice continues to extend. In
the
first few degrees of this its progress, its surface is very sensibly
flattened,
farther on depressed into a plane, and finally, becoming [page
36:] not a little concave, it terminates, at the
Pole
itself, in a circular centre, sharply defined, whose apparent diameter
subtended at the balloon an angle of about sixty-five seconds, and
whose
dusky hue, varying in intensity, was, at all times darker than any
other
spot upon the visible hemisphere, and occasionally deepened into the
most
absolute blackness. Farther than this, little could be ascertained.
By
twelve o'clock the circular centre had materially decreased in
circumference,
and by seven, P. M., I lost sight of it
entirely;
the balloon passing over the western limb of the ice, and floating away
rapidly in the direction of the equator.
April 8th. Found a sensible
diminution in
the earth's apparent diameter, besides a material alteration in its
general
color and appearance. The whole visible area partook in different
degrees
of a tint of pale yellow, and in some portions had acquired a
brilliancy
even painful to the eye. My view downwards was also considerably
impeded
by the dense atmosphere in the vicinity of the surface being loaded
with
clouds, between whose masses I could only now and then obtain a glimpse
of the earth itself. This difficulty of direct vision had troubled me
more
or less for the last forty-eight hours; but my present enormous
elevation
brought closer together, as it were, the floating bodies of vapor, and
the inconvenience became, of course, more and more palpable in
proportion
to my ascent. Nevertheless, I could easily perceive that the balloon
now
hovered above the range of great lakes in the continent of North
America,
and was holding a course, due south, which would soon bring me to the
tropics.
This circumstance did not fail to give me the most heartfelt
satisfaction,
and I hailed it as a happy omen of ultimate success. Indeed, the
direction
I had hitherto taken, had filled me with uneasiness; for it was evident
that. [[,]] had I continued it much longer, there would have been no
possibility
of my arriving at the moon at all, whose orbit is inclined to the
ecliptic
at only the small angle of 5º 8' 48". Strange as it may seem, it
was
only at this late period that I began to understand the great error I
had
committed, in not taking my departure from earth at some point in
the
plane of the lunar ellipse.
April 9th. To-day, the
earth's diameter
was
greatly diminished, and the color of the surface assumed hourly a
deeper
tint of yellow. The balloon kept steadily on her course to the
southward, [page 37:] and arrived, at nine, P.
M.,
over the northern edge of the Mexican Gulf.
April 10th. I was suddenly
aroused from
slumber,
about five o'clock this morning, by a loud, crackling, and terrific
sound,
for which I could in no manner account. It was of very brief duration,
but, while it lasted, resembled nothing in the world of which I had any
previous experience. It is needless to say that I became excessively
alarmed,
having, in the first instance, attributed the noise to the bursting of
the balloon. I examined all my apparatus, however, with great
attention,
and could discover nothing out of order. Spent a great part of the day
in meditating upon an occurrence so extraordinary, but could find no
means
whatever of accounting for it. Went to bed dissatisfied, and in a state
of great anxiety and agitation.
April 11th. Found a startling
diminution
in
the apparent diameter of the earth, and a considerable increase, now
observable
for the first time, in that of the moon itself, which wanted only a few
days of being full. It now required long and excessive labor to
condense
within the chamber sufficient atmospheric air for the sustenance of
life.
April 12th. A singular
alteration took
place
in regard to the direction of the balloon, and although fully
anticipated,
afforded me the most unequivocal delight. Having reached, in its former
course, about the twentieth parallel of southern latitude, it turned
off
suddenly, at an acute angle, to the eastward, and thus proceeded
throughout
the day, keeping nearly, if not altogether, in the exact plane
of
the lunar ellipse. What was worthy of remark, a very perceptible
vacillation
in the car was a consequence of this change of route, — a vacillation
which
prevailed, in a more or less degree, for a period of many hours.
April 13th. Was again very
much alarmed
by
a repetition of the loud crackling noise which terrified me on the
tenth.
Thought long upon the subject, but was unable to form any satisfactory
conclusion. Great decrease in the earth's apparent diameter, which now
subtended from the balloon an angle of very little more than
twenty-five
degrees. The moon could not be seen at all, being nearly in my zenith.
I still continued in the plane of the ellipse, but made little progress
to the eastward. [page 38:]
April 14th. Extremely rapid
decrease in
the
diameter of the earth. To-day I became strongly impressed with the
idea,
that the balloon was now actually running up the line of apsides to the
point of perigee, — in other words, holding the direct course which
would
bring it immediately to the moon in that part of its orbit the nearest
to the earth. The moon itself was directly overhead, and consequently
hidden
from my view. Great and long continued labor necessary for the
condensation
of the atmosphere.
April 15th. Not even the
outlines of
continents
and seas could now be traced upon the earth with distinctness. About
twelve
o'clock I became aware, for the third time, of that appalling sound
which
had so astonished me before. It now, however, continued for some
moments,
and gathered intensity as it continued. At length, while, stupified and
terror-stricken, I stood in expectation of I knew not what hideous
destruction,
the car vibrated with excessive violence, and a gigantic and flaming
mass
of some material which I could not distinguish, came with a voice of a
thousand thunders, roaring and booming by the balloon. When my fears
and
astonishment had in some degree subsided, I had little difficulty in
supposing
it to be some mighty volcanic fragment ejected from that world to which
I was so rapidly approaching, and, in all probability, one of that
singular
class of substances occasionally picked up on the earth, and termed
meteoric
stones for want of a better appellation.
April 16th. To-day, looking
upwards as
well
as I could, through each of the side windows alternately, I beheld, to
my great delight, a very small portion of the moon's disk protruding,
as
it were, on all sides beyond the huge circumference of the balloon. My
agitation was extreme; for I had now little doubt of soon reaching the
end of my perilous voyage. Indeed, the labor now required by the
condenser,
had increased to a most oppressive degree, and allowed me scarcely any
respite from exertion. Sleep was a matter nearly out of the question. I
became quite ill, and my frame trembled with exhaustion. It was
impossible
that human nature could endure this state of intense suffering much
longer.
During the now brief interval of darkness a meteoric stone again passed
in my vicinity, and the frequency of these phenomena began to occasion
me much apprehension. [page 39:]
April 17th. This morning
proved an epoch
in
my voyage. It will be remembered, that, on the thirteenth, the earth
subtended
an angular breadth of twenty-five degrees. On the fourteenth, this had
greatly diminished; on the fifteenth, a still more rapid decrease was
observable;
and, on retiring for the night of the sixteenth, I had noticed an angle
of no more than about seven degrees and fifteen minutes. What,
therefore,
must have been my amazement, on awakening from a brief and disturbed
slumber,
on the morning of this day, the seventeenth, at finding the surface
beneath
me so suddenly and wonderfully augmented in volume, as to
subtend
no less than thirty-nine degrees in apparent angular diameter! I was
thunderstruck!
No words can give any adequate idea of the extreme, the absolute horror
and astonishment, with which I was seized, possessed, and altogether
overwhelmed.
My knees tottered beneath me — my teeth chattered — my hair started up
on end. "The balloon, then, had actually burst!'' These were the first
tumultuous ideas which hurried through my mind: "The balloon had
positively
burst! — I was falling — falling with the most impetuous, the most
unparalleled
velocity! To judge from the immense distance already so quickly passed
over, it could not be more than ten minutes, at the farthest, before I
should meet the surface of the earth, and be hurled into
annihilation!''
But at length reflection came to my relief. I paused; I considered; and
I began to doubt. The matter was impossible. I could not in any reason
have so rapidly come down. Besides, although I was evidently
approaching
the surface below me, it was with a speed by no means commensurate with
the velocity I had at first conceived. This consideration served to
calm
the perturbation of my mind, and I finally succeeded in regarding the
phenomenon
in its proper point of view. In fact, amazement must have fairly
deprived
me of my senses, when I could not see the vast difference, in
appearance,
between the surface below me, and the surface of my mother earth. The
latter
was indeed over my head, and completely hidden by the balloon, while
the
moon — the moon itself in all its glory — lay beneath me, and at my
feet.
The stupor and surprise produced in
my mind by
this
extraordinary change in the posture of affairs, was perhaps, after all,
that part of the adventure least susceptible of explanation. For the [page
40:] bouleversement in itself was not only natural
and
inevitable, but had been long actually anticipated, as a circumstance
to
be expected whenever I should arrive at that exact point of my voyage
where
the attraction of the planet should be superseded by the attraction of
the satellite — or, more precisely, where the gravitation of the
balloon
towards the earth should be less powerful than its gravitation towards
the moon. To be sure I arose from a sound slumber, with all my senses
in
confusion, to the contemplation of a very startling phenomenon, and one
which, although expected, was not expected at the moment. The
revolution
itself must, of course, have taken place in an easy and gradual manner,
and it is by no means clear that, had I even been awake at the time of
the occurrence, I should have been made aware of it by any internal
evidence of an inversion — that is to say, by any inconvenience or
disarrangement,
either about my person or about my apparatus.
It is almost needless to say, that,
upon coming
to
a due sense of my situation, and emerging from the terror which had
absorbed
every faculty of my soul, my attention was, in the first place, wholly
directed to the contemplation of the general physical appearance of the
moon. It lay beneath me like a chart — and although I judged it to be
still
at no inconsiderable distance, the indentures of its surface were
defined
to my vision with a most striking and altogether unaccountable
distinctness.
The entire absence of ocean or sea, and indeed of any lake or river, or
body of water whatsoever, struck me, at the first glance, as the most
extraordinary
feature in its geological condition. Yet, strange to say, I beheld vast
level regions of a character decidedly alluvial, although by far the
greater
portion of the hemisphere in sight was covered with innumerable
volcanic
mountains, conical in shape, and having more the appearance of
artificial
than of natural protuberances. The highest among them does not exceed
three
and three-quarter miles in perpendicular elevation; but a map of the
volcanic
districts of the Campi Phlegræi would afford to your Excellencies
a
better
idea of their general surface than any unworthy description I might
think
proper to attempt. The greater part of them were in a state of evident
eruption, and gave me fearfully to understand their fury and their
power,
by the repeated thunders [page 41:] of the
mis-called
meteoric stones, which now rushed upwards by the balloon with a
frequency
more and more appalling.
April 18th. To-day I found an
enormous
increase
in the moon's apparent bulk — and the evidently accelerated velocity of
my descent, began to fill me with alarm. It will be remembered, that,
in
the earliest stage of my speculations upon the possibility of a passage
to the moon, the existence, in its vicinity, of an atmosphere dense in
proportion to the bulk of the planet, had entered largely into my
calculations;
this too in spite of many theories to the contrary, and, it may be
added,
in spite of a general disbelief in the existence of any lunar
atmosphere
at all. But, in addition to what I have already urged in regard to
Encke's
comet and the zodiacal light, I had been strengthened in my opinion by
certain observations of Mr. Schroeter, of Lilienthal. He observed the
moon,
when two days and a half old, in the evening soon after sunset, before
the dark part was visible, and continued to watch it until it became
visible.
The two cusps appeared tapering in a very sharp faint prolongation,
each
exhibiting its farthest extremity faintly illuminated by the solar
rays,
before any part of the dark hemisphere was visible. Soon afterwards,
the
whole dark limb became illuminated. This prolongation of the cusps
beyond
the semicircle, I thought, must have arisen from the refraction of the
sun's rays by the moon's atmosphere. I computed, also, the height of
the
atmosphere (which could refract light enough into its dark hemisphere,
to produce a twilight more luminous than the light reflected from the
earth
when the moon is about 32º from the new,) to be 1356 Paris feet;
in
this view, I supposed the greatest height capable of refracting the
solar
ray, to be 5376 feet. My ideas upon this topic had also received
confirmation
by a passage in the eighty-second volume of the Philosophical
Transactions,
in which it is stated, that, at an occultation of Jupiter's satellites,
the third disappeared after having been about 1" or 2" of time
indistinct,
and the fourth became indiscernible near the limb.*
[page 42:]
Upon the resistance, or more
properly, upon the
support
of an atmosphere, existing in the state of density imagined, I had, of
course, entirely depended for the safety of my ultimate descent. Should
I then, after all, prove to have been mistaken, I had in consequence
nothing
better to expect, as a finale to my adventure, than being
dashed
into atoms against the rugged surface of the satellite. And, indeed, I
had now every reason to be terrified. My distance from the moon was
comparatively
trifling, while the labor required by the condenser was diminished not
at all, and I could discover no indication whatever of a decreasing
rarity
in the air.
April 19th. This morning, to
my great
joy,
about nine o'clock, the surface of the moon being frightfully near, and
my apprehensions excited to the utmost, the pump of my condenser at
length
gave evident tokens of an alteration in the atmosphere. By ten, I had
reason
to believe its density considerably increased. By eleven, very little
labor
was necessary at the apparatus; and at twelve o'clock, with some
hesitation,
I ventured to unscrew the tourniquet, when, finding no
inconvenience
from having done so, I finally threw open the gum-elastic chamber, and
unrigged it from around the car. As might have been expected, spasms
and
violent headache were the immediate consequences of an experiment so
precipitate
and full of danger. But these and other difficulties attending
respiration,
as they were by no means so great as to put me in peril of my life, I
determined
to endure as I best could, in consideration of my leaving them behind
me
momently in my approach to the denser strata near the moon.
This
approach, however, was still impetuous in the extreme; and it soon
became
alarmingly certain that, although I had probably not [page
43:]
been deceived in the expectation of an atmosphere dense in proportion
to
the mass of the satellite, still I had been wrong in supposing this
density,
even at the surface, at all adequate to the support of the great weight
contained in the car of my balloon. Yet this should have been
the
case, and in an equal degree as at the surface of the earth, the actual
gravity of bodies at either planet supposed in the ratio of the
atmospheric
condensation. That it was not the case, however, my precipitous
downfall gave testimony enough; why it was not so, can only be
explained
by a reference to those possible geological disturbances to which I
have
formerly alluded. At all events I was now close upon the planet, and
coming
down with the most terrible impetuosity. I lost not a moment,
accordingly,
in throwing overboard first my ballast, then my water-kegs, then my
condensing
apparatus and gum-elastic chamber, and finally every article within the
car. But it was all to no purpose. I still fell with horrible rapidity,
and was now not more than half a mile from the surface. As a last
resource,
therefore, having got rid of my coat, hat, and boots, I cut loose from
the balloon the car itself, which was of no inconsiderable
weight,
and thus, clinging with both hands to the net-work, I had barely time
to
observe that the whole country, as far as the eye could reach, was
thickly
interspersed with diminutive habitations, ere I tumbled headlong into
the
very heart of a fantastical-looking city, and into the middle of a vast
crowd of ugly little people, who none of them uttered a single
syllable,
or gave themselves the least trouble to render me assistance, but
stood,
like a parcel of idiots, grinning in a ludicrous manner, and eyeing me
and my balloon askant, with their arms set a-kimbo. I turned from them
in contempt, and, gazing upwards at the earth so lately left, and left
perhaps for ever, beheld it like a huge, dull, copper shield, about two
degrees in diameter, fixed immovably in the heavens overhead, and
tipped
on one of its edges with a crescent border of the most brilliant gold.
No traces of land or water could be discovered, and the whole was
clouded
with variable spots, and belted with tropical and equatorial zones.
Thus, may it please your
Excellencies, after a
series
of great anxieties, unheard-of dangers, and unparalleled escapes, I
had,
at length, on the nineteenth day of my departure from Rotterdam, [page
44:] arrived in safety at the conclusion of a voyage
undoubtedly
the most extraordinary, and the most momentous, ever accomplished,
undertaken,
or conceived by any denizen of earth. But my adventures yet remain to
be
related. And indeed your Excellencies may well imagine that, after a
residence
of five years upon a planet not only deeply interesting in its own
peculiar
character, but rendered doubly so by its intimate connection, in
capacity
of satellite, with the world inhabited by man, I may have intelligence
for the private ear of the States' College of Astronomers of far more
importance
than the details, however wonderful, of the mere voyage which
so
happily concluded. This is, in fact, the case. I have much — very much
which it would give me the greatest pleasure to communicate. I have
much
to say of the climate of the planet; of its wonderful alternations of
heat
and cold; of unmitigated and burning sunshine for one fortnight, and
more
than polar frigidity for the next; of a constant transfer of moisture,
by distillation like that in vacuo, from the point beneath the
sun
to the point the farthest from it; of a variable zone of running water;
of the people themselves; of their manners, customs, and political
institutions;
of their peculiar physical construction; of their ugliness; of their
want
of ears, those useless appendages in an atmosphere so peculiarly
modified;
of their consequent ignorance of the use and properties of speech; of
their
substitute for speech in a singular method of inter-communication; of
the
incomprehensible connection between each particular individual in the
moon,
with some particular individual on the earth — a connection analogous
with,
and depending upon that of the orbs of the planet and the satellite,
and
by means of which the lives and destinies of the inhabitants of the one
are interwoven with the lives and destinies of the inhabitants of the
other;
and above all, if it so please your Excellencies — above all of those
dark
and hideous mysteries which lie in the outer regions of the moon, —
regions
which, owing to the almost miraculous accordance of the satellite's
rotation
on its own axis with its sidereal revolution about the earth, have
never
yet been turned, and, by God's mercy, never shall be turned, to the
scrutiny
of the telescopes of man. All this, and more — much more — would I
most
willingly detail. But, to be brief, I must have my reward. I am pining
for a return to my family and to [page
45:] my home: and as the price of any
farther
communications on my part — in consideration of the light which I have
it in my power to throw upon many very important branches of physical
and
metaphysical science — I must solicit, through the influence of your
honorable
body, a pardon for the crime of which I have been guilty in the death
of
the creditors upon my departure from Rotterdam. This, then, is the
object
of the present paper. Its bearer, an inhabitant of the moon, whom I
have
prevailed upon, and properly instructed, to be my messenger to the
earth,
will await your Excellencies' pleasure, and return to me with the
pardon
in question, if it can, in any manner, be obtained.
I have the honor to be, &c., your
Excellencies'
very humble servant,
HANS
PFAALL.
Upon finishing the perusal of this
very
extraordinary
document, Professor Rubadub, it is said, dropped his pipe upon the
ground
in the extremity of his surprise, and Mynheer Superbus Von Underduk
having
taken off his spectacles, wiped them, and deposited them in his pocket,
so far forgot both himself and his dignity, as to turn round three
times
upon his heel in the quintessence of astonishment and admiration. There
was no doubt about the matter — the pardon should be obtained. So at
least
swore, with a round oath, Professor Rubadub, and so finally thought the
illustrious Von Underduk, as he took the arm of his brother in science,
and without saying a word, began to make the best of his way home to
deliberate
upon the measures to be adopted. Having reached the door, however, of
the
burgomaster's dwelling, the professor ventured to suggest that as the
messenger
had thought proper to disappear — no doubt frightened to death by the
savage
appearance of the burghers of Rotterdam — the pardon would be of little
use, as no one but a man of the moon would undertake a voyage to so
vast
a distance. To the truth of this observation the burgomaster assented,
and the matter was therefore at an end. Not so, however, rumors and
speculations.
The letter, having been published, gave rise to a variety of gossip and
opinion. Some of the over-wise even made themselves ridiculous by
decrying
the whole business as nothing better than a hoax. But hoax, with [page
46:] these sort of people, is, I believe, a general term for
all matters above their comprehension. For my part, I cannot conceive
upon
what data they have founded such an accusation. Let us see what they
say:
Imprimis. That certain wags in
Rotterdam have
certain
especial antipathies to certain burgomasters and astronomers.
Secondly. That an odd little dwarf
and bottle
conjurer,
both of whose ears, for some misdemeanor, have been cut off close to
his
head, has been missing for several days from the neighboring city of
Bruges.
Thirdly. That the newspapers which
were stuck all
over the little balloon, were newspapers of Holland, and therefore
could
not have been made in the moon. They were dirty papers — very dirty —
and
Gluck, the printer, would take his bible oath to their having been
printed
in Rotterdam.
Fourthly. That Hans Pfaall himself,
the drunken
villain,
and the three very idle gentlemen styled his creditors, were all seen,
no longer than two or three days ago, in a tippling house in the
suburbs,
having just returned, with money in their pockets, from a trip beyond
the
sea.
Lastly. That it is an opinion very
generally
received,
or which ought to be generally received, that the College of
Astronomers
in the city of Rotterdam, as well as all other colleges in all other
parts
of the world, — not to mention colleges and astronomers in general, —
are,
to say the least of the matter, not a whit better, nor greater, nor
wiser
than they ought to be. |
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