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Poe, Edgar Allen - The Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe

Page 9

by Volume 01-05 (lit)


  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 apparent convexity increased in a material degree. Below me

  in the ocean lay a cluster of black specks, which undoubtedly were

  islands. 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 disk 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 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 afterward 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 islands were no longer visible; whether they had

  passed down the horizon to the southeast, 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 seeing the

  Pole. During the whole of the day I continued to near the ice. Toward

  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 7,254 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 not a little concave, it terminates, at

  the Pole itself, in a circular centre, sharply defined, wbose

  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 and impenetrable

  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 downward 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 bring me to the tropics.

  This circumstance did not fail to give me the most heartful

  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 5 degrees 8' 48".

  "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, 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 elipse. 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 elipse, but made little

  progress to the eastward.

  "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 iself 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 anything approaching 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, stupefied 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 upward 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.

  "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 remarkable decrease was

  observable; and, on retiring on 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

&n
bsp; -- my teeth chattered -- my hair started up on end. "The balloon,

  then, had actually burst!" These were the first tumultuous ideas that

  hurried through my mind: "The balloon had positively burst! -- I was

  falling -- falling with the most impetuous, the most unparalleled

  velocity! To judge by 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 so horribly

  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

  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 toward the earth should be less powerful than its gravitation

  toward 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

 

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