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ordinary existence.
"Sunday, the seventh. [Mr. Mason's MS.] This morning the gale, by 10,
had subsided to an eight or nine--knot breeze, (for a vessel at sea,)
and bears us, perhaps, thirty miles per hour, or more. It has veered,
however, very considerably to the north; and now, at sundown, we are
holding our course due west, principally by the screw and rudder, which
answer their purposes to admiration. I regard the project as thoroughly
successful, and the easy navigation of the air in any direction (not
exactly in the teeth of a gale) as no longer problematical. We could not
have made head against the strong wind of yesterday; but, by ascending,
we might have got out of its influence, if requisite. Against a pretty
stiff breeze, I feel convinced, we can make our way with the propeller.
At noon, to-day, ascended to an elevation of nearly 25,000 feet, by
discharging ballast. Did this to search for a more direct current, but
found none so favorable as the one we are now in. We have an abundance
of gas to take us across this small pond, even should the voyage
last three weeks. I have not the slightest fear for the result. The
difficulty has been strangely exaggerated and misapprehended. I can
choose my current, and should I find all currents against me, I can
make very tolerable headway with the propeller. We have had no incidents
worth recording. The night promises fair.
P.S. [By Mr. Ainsworth.] I have little to record, except the fact (to me
quite a surprising one) that, at an elevation equal to that of Cotopaxi,
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