The Unparalleled Advertures of One Hans Pfaal by Edgar Allan Poe
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former station on_the rim, but had hardly done so when his head dropped upon his breast, and he fell dead within_the car . the other one did_not prove so unfortunate . to_prevent his following the example of_his companion, and accomplishing a return, I threw him downward with all my force, and was pleased to_find him continue his descent, with great velocity, making use of_his wings with ease, and in a perfectly natural manner . in a very short time he_was out of sight, and I_have no_doubt he reached home in safety .Puss, who seemed in a great measure recovered from her illness, now made a hearty meal of_the dead bird and then went to sleep with much apparent satisfaction . her kittens were quite lively, and so_far evinced not the slightest sign of any uneasiness whatever .

" at a quarter- past eight, being no longer able to draw breath without the most intolerable pain, I proceeded forthwith to adjust around the car the apparatus belonging to_the condenser . this apparatus will require some little explanation, and your Excellencies will please to bear in mind that my object, in_the first place, was to surround myself and cat entirely with a barricade against the highly rarefied atmosphere in_which i_was existing, with_the intention of introducing within this barricade, by_means of_my condenser, a quantity of_this same atmosphere sufficiently condensed for_the purposes of respiration . with_this object in view I had prepared a very strong perfectly air- tight, but flexible gum- elastic bag . in_this bag, which_was of sufficient dimensions, the entire car was in a manner placed . that_is_to_say, it ( the bag) was drawn over the whole bottom of_the car, up its sides, and so on, along the outside of_the ropes, to_the upper rim or hoop where the net- work is attached .Having pulled the bag up in_this_way, and formed a complete enclosure on all sides, and at bottom, it_was now necessary to fasten up its top or mouth, by passing its material over the hoop of_the net- work -- in other words, between_the net- work and_the hoop . but if_the net- work were separated from_the hoop to admit this passage, what_was to sustain the car in_the meantime ? now the net- work was not permanently fastened to_the hoop, but attached by a series of running loops or nooses .I therefore undid only a few of_these loops at one_time, leaving the car suspended by_the remainder .Having thus inserted a portion of_the cloth forming the upper part of_the bag, I refastened the loops -- not to_the hoop, for that_would_have been impossible, since_the cloth now intervened -- but to a series of large buttons, affixed to_the cloth itself, about three feet below the mouth of_the bag, the intervals between_the buttons having been made to correspond to_the intervals between_the loops . this done, a few more of_the loops were unfastened from_the rim, a farther portion of_the cloth introduced, and_the disengaged loops then connected with their proper buttons . in_this_way it_was possible to insert the whole upper part of_the bag between_the net- work and_the hoop . it_is evident that_the hoop would now drop down within_the car, while the whole weight of_the car itself, with all its contents, would_be held up merely by_the strength of_the buttons . this, at first sight, would seem an inadequate dependence; but it_was by no means so, for_the buttons were_not only very strong in themselves, but so close together that a very slight portion of_the whole weight was supported by any_one_of_them . indeed, had the car and contents been three times heavier than they were, I should_not have_been at all uneasy .I now raised up the hoop again within_the covering of gum- elastic, and propped it at nearly its former height by_means of three light poles prepared for_the occasion . this was_done, of_course, to_keep the bag distended at_the top, and to preserve the lower part of_the net- work in its proper situation . all that now remained was to fasten up the mouth of_the enclosure; and this_was readily accomplished by gathering the folds of_the material together, and twisting them up very tightly on_the inside by_means of a kind of stationary tourniquet .

" in_the sides of_the covering thus adjusted round the car, had_been inserted three circular panes of thick but clear glass, through which I could_see without difficulty around me in every horizontal direction . in_that portion of_the cloth forming the bottom, was likewise, a fourth window, of_the same kind, and corresponding with a small aperture in_the floor of_the car itself . this enabled me to_see perpendicularly down, but having found it impossible to_place any similar contrivance overhead, on account of_the peculiar manner of closing up the opening there, and_the consequent wrinkles in_the cloth, I_could expect to_see no objects situated directly in my zenith . this, of_course, was a matter of little consequence; for had I even been able to_place a window at top, the balloon itself would_have prevented my making any use of it .

" about a foot below one_of_the side windows was a circular opening, eight inches in diameter, and fitted with a brass rim adapted in its inner edge to_the windings of a screw . in_this rim was screwed the large tube of_the condenser, the body of_the machine being, of_course, within_the chamber of gum- elastic . through_this tube a quantity of_the rare atmosphere circumjacent being drawn by_means of a vacuum created in_the body of_the machine, was thence discharged, in a state of condensation, to mingle with_the thin air already in_the chamber . this operation being repeated several_times, at_length filled the chamber with atmosphere proper for all the purposes of respiration . but in so confined a space it would, in a short time, necessarily become foul, and unfit for use from frequent contact with_the lungs . it_was then ejected by a small valve at_the bottom of_the car -- the dense air readily sinking into_the thinner atmosphere below . to avoid the inconvenience of making a total vacuum at any moment within_the chamber, this purification was never accomplished all at once, but in a gradual manner -- the valve being opened only for a few seconds, then closed again, until one_or_two strokes from_the pump of_the condenser had supplied the place of_the atmosphere ejected . for_the sake of experiment I had put the cat and kittens in a small basket, and suspended it outside the car to a button at_the bottom, close by_the valve, through which I_could feed them at any moment when necessary . I_did this at some little risk, and before closing the mouth of_the chamber, by reaching under the car with one_of_the poles before mentioned to_which a hook had_been attached .

" by_the_time I had fully completed these arrangements and filled the chamber as explained, it wanted only ten minutes of nine o'clock . during the whole period of_my being thus employed, I endured the most terrible distress from difficulty of respiration, and bitterly did I repent the negligence or rather fool- hardiness, of_which I had_been guilty, of putting off to_the last moment a matter of so_much importance . but having at_length accomplished it, I soon began to reap the benefit of_my invention . once again I breathed with perfect freedom and ease -- and indeed why should I not ? i_was also agreeably surprised to_find myself, in a great measure, relieved from_the violent pains which had hitherto tormented me .a slight headache, accompanied with a sensation of fulness or distention about_the wrists, the ankles, and_the throat, was nearly all of_which I had now to complain . thus it seemed evident that a greater part of_the uneasiness attending the removal of atmospheric pressure had actually worn off, as I had expected, and_that much of_the pain endured for_the_last two hours should_have_been attributed altogether to_the effects of a deficient respiration .

" at twenty minutes before nine o'clock -- that_is_to_say, a short time prior to my closing up the mouth of_the chamber, the mercury attained its limit, or ran down, in_the barometer, which, as I mentioned before, was one of an extended construction . it then indicated an altitude on my part of 132,000 feet, or five- and-twenty miles, and I consequently surveyed at_that_time an extent of_the earth's area amounting to no less_than_the three hundred- and-twentieth part of_its entire superficies . at nine o'clock I had again lost sight of land to_the eastward, but not before I became aware that_the balloon was drifting rapidly to_the N .N .W . the convexity of_the ocean beneath me was very evident indeed, although my view was often interrupted by_the masses of cloud which floated to and fro .I observed now that even the lightest vapors never rose to more than ten miles above the level of_the sea .

" at half past nine I tried the experiment of throwing out a handful of feathers through_the valve . they_did_not float as I had expected; but dropped down perpendicularly, like a bullet, en masse, and with_the greatest velocity -- being out of sight in a very few seconds . I_did_not at first know what to_make of_this extraordinary phenomenon; not being able to_believe that my rate of ascent had, of a sudden, met with so prodigious an acceleration . but it soon occurred to_me that_the atmosphere was now far too rare to sustain even the feathers; that_they actually fell, as_they appeared to_do, with great rapidity; and_that I had_been surprised by_the united velocities of_their descent and my own elevation .

" by ten o'clock I_found that I had very little to occupy my immediate attention .Affairs went swimmingly, and I believed the balloon to_be going upward with a speed increasing momently although I had no longer any means of ascertaining the progression of_the increase .I suffered no pain or uneasiness of any kind, and enjoyed better spirits than I had at any period since my departure from Rotterdam, busying myself now in examining the state of_my various apparatus, and now in regenerating the atmosphere within_the chamber . this latter point I determined to attend to at regular intervals of forty minutes, more on account of_the preservation of_my health, than from so frequent a renovation being absolutely necessary . in_the meanwhile I_could_not help making anticipations . fancy revelled in_the wild and dreamy regions of_the moon . imagination, feeling herself for once unshackled, roamed at will among_the ever-changing wonders of a shadowy and unstable land . now there were boary and time- honored forests, and craggy precipices, and waterfalls tumbling with a loud noise into abysses without a bottom . then I_came suddenly into still noonday solitudes, where no wind of heaven ever intruded, and where vast meadows of poppies, and slender, lily- looking flowers spread themselves out a weary distance, all silent and motionless forever . then again I journeyed far down away into another country where it_was all one dim and vague lake, with a boundary line of clouds . and out of_this melancholy water arose a forest of tall eastern trees, like a wilderness of dreams . and I_have in mind that_the shadows of_the trees which fell upon_the lake remained not on_the surface where they fell, but sunk slowly and steadily down, and commingled with_the waves, while from_the trunks of_the trees other shadows were continually coming out, and taking the place of_their brothers thus entombed ." this then," I_said thoughtfully, " is_the very reason why the waters of_this lake grow blacker with age, and more melancholy as_the hours run on ." but fancies such as_these were_not the sole possessors of_my brain .Horrors of a nature most stern and most appalling would too frequently obtrude themselves upon my mind, and shake the innermost depths of_my soul with_the bare supposition of_their possibility . yet i_would_not suffer my thoughts for any length of_time to dwell upon these latter speculations, rightly judging the real and palpable dangers of_the voyage sufficient for_my undivided attention .

" at five o'clock, p .m ., being engaged in regenerating the atmosphere within_the chamber, i_took that opportunity of observing the cat and kittens through_the valve . the cat herself appeared to suffer again very_much, and I had no hesitation in attributing her uneasiness chiefly to a difficulty in breathing; but my experiment with_the kittens had resulted very strangely .I had expected, of_course, to_see them betray a sense of pain, although in a less degree than their mother, and this would_have_been sufficient to confirm my opinion concerning the habitual endurance of atmospheric pressure . but i_was not prepared to_find them, upon close examination, evidently enjoying a high degree of health, breathing with_the greatest ease and perfect regularity, and evincing not the slightest sign of any uneasiness whatever . I_could only account for all this by extending my theory, and supposing that_the highly rarefied atmosphere around might perhaps not be, as I had taken for granted, chemically insufficient for_the purposes of life, and_that a person born in_such a medium might, possibly, be unaware of any inconvenience attending its inhalation, while, upon removal to_the denser strata near the earth, he might endure tortures of a similar nature to_those I had so lately experienced . it has since been to_me a matter of deep regret that an awkward accident, at_this_time, occasioned me the loss of_my little family of cats, and deprived me of_the insight into this_matter which a continued experiment might_have afforded . in passing my hand through_the valve, with a cup of water for_the old puss, the sleeves of_my shirt became entangled in_the loop which sustained the basket, and thus, in a moment, loosened it from_the bottom . had the whole actually vanished into air, it could_not have shot from my sight in a more abrupt and instantaneous manner .Positively, there could_not have intervened the tenth part of a second between_the disengagement of_the basket and its absolute and

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