Perhaps the most painful feeling when the earth was hidden was that the
balloon was motionless, though our only hope lay in our going forward
with an extreme of speed. From time to time through a rift in the clouds
I caught a glimpse of earth, and was thankful to perceive that we must be
flying forward faster than in an express train; but no sooner was the
rift closed than the old conviction of our being stationary returned in
full force, and was not to be reasoned with: there was another feeling
also which was nearly as bad; for as a child that fears it has gone blind
in a long tunnel if there is no light, so ere the earth had been many
minutes hidden, I became half frightened lest we might not have broken
away from it clean and for ever. Now and again, I ate and gave food to
Arowhena, but by guess-work as regards time. Then came darkness, a
dreadful dreary time, without even the moon to cheer us.
With dawn the scene was changed: the clouds were gone and morning stars
were shining; the rising of the splendid sun remains still impressed upon
me as the most glorious that I have ever seen; beneath us there was an
embossed chain of mountains with snow fresh fallen upon them; but we were
far above them; we both of us felt our breathing seriously affected, but
I would not allow the balloon to descend a single inch, not knowing for
how long we might not need all the buoyancy which we could command;
indeed I was thankful to find that, after nearly four-and-twenty hours,
we were still at so great a height above the earth.
Pages:
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341