The Unparalleled Advertures of One Hans Pfaal by Edgar Allan Poe
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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 aknowing manner, I_felt in both my breeches pockets, and, missing therefrom a set of tablets and a toothpick 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 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 I never, for a moment, looked 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 forefinger 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 waistband of_my inexpressibles . 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 the instrument thus obtained within my teeth, I now proceeded to untie the knot of_my cravat .I had to rest several_times before I_could accomplish this manoeuvre, 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 outwards from my position, which_was accordingly one_of_the_most imminent and deadly 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 had chanced to hang over the upper edge, instead of through a crevice near the bottom of_the car, -- I_say it may_be readily 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 wonderful adventures of Hans Pfaall 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 anything at all, and hung for, perhaps, a quarter of an hour in_that extraordinary manner, without making the slightest farther exertion whatsoever, 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 achilling 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 madness and 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 vise- 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 my 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, and in every way bearing a great resemblance to one of_those childish toys called a domino .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 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 perilous 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 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 incontestably 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, as it were, 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 4,000, and_the radius of_the moon, say 1080, in all 5,080, 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 land has_been repeatedly accomplished at_the rate of thirty miles_per_hour, and indeed a much greater speed may_be anticipated . but even at_this velocity, it would take me no more than 322 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 thirty 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 a matter 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 1,000 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 aeronautic 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), 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 towards 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 only denser in proportion to its solar vicinity ? 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 upward, 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 outward, beyond the orbit of Venus at_least, and I believed indefinitely farther .{*2} 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, so to_speak, purely geological .

Having adopted this view of_the subject, I had little further 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 might_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 lightness of_the gas in_the balloon compared with_the atmospheric air; 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 upwards, the original velocity should_be accelerated . on_the other

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