| 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 |
| 1 | 90 | 180 | 269 | 359 |
|
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
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 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
9
3
Page
Quick Jump
|