The Unparalleled Advertures of One Hans Pfaal by Edgar Allan Poe
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and total disappearance with all that_it contained . my good wishes followed it to_the earth, but of_course, I had no hope_that either cat or kittens would ever live to_tell the tale of_their misfortune .

" at six o'clock, I perceived a great portion of_the earth's visible area to_the eastward involved in thick shadow, which continued to advance with great rapidity, until, at five minutes before seven, the whole surface in view was enveloped in_the darkness of night . it_was not, however, until long after_this time that_the rays of_the setting sun ceased to illumine the balloon; and this circumstance, although of_course fully anticipated, did_not fail to_give_me an infinite deal of pleasure . it_was evident that, in_the morning, i_should behold the rising luminary many hours at_least before_the citizens of Rotterdam, in_spite of_their situation so_much farther to_the eastward, and thus, day after day, in proportion to_the height ascended, would I enjoy the light of_the sun for a longer and a longer period .I now determined to_keep a journal of_my passage, reckoning the days from one to twenty-four hours continuously, without taking into consideration the intervals of darkness .

" at ten o'clock, feeling sleepy, I determined to lie down for_the rest of_the night; but here a difficulty presented itself, which, obvious as it may appear, had escaped my attention up_to_the very moment of_which I_am now speaking . if I went to sleep as I proposed, how could the atmosphere in_the chamber be regenerated in_the interim ? to breathe it for more than an hour, at_the farthest, would_be a matter of impossibility, or, if even this term could_be extended to an hour and a quarter, the most ruinous consequences might ensue . the consideration of_this dilemma gave_me no little disquietude; and it_will hardly be believed, that, after_the dangers I had undergone, i_should look upon_this business in so serious a light, as to_give up all hope of accomplishing my ultimate design, and finally make up my mind to_the necessity of a descent . but this hesitation was only momentary .I reflected that man is_the veriest slave of custom, and_that many points in_the routine of_his existence are deemed essentially important, which are only so at all by his having rendered them habitual . it_was very certain that I_could_not do without sleep; but I_might easily bring myself to_feel no inconvenience from being awakened at intervals of an hour during the whole period of_my repose . it would require but five minutes at most to regenerate the atmosphere in_the fullest manner, and_the only real difficulty was to contrive a method of arousing myself at_the proper moment for so doing . but this_was a question which, I_am willing to confess, occasioned me no little trouble in its solution . to_be_sure, I had heard of_the student who, to_prevent his falling asleep over his books, held in one hand a ball of copper, the din of whose descent into a basin of_the same metal on_the floor beside his chair, served effectually to startle him up, if, at any moment, he_should_be overcome with drowsiness . my own case, however, was very different indeed, and left me no room for any similar idea; for I_did_not wish to_keep awake, but to_be aroused from slumber at regular intervals of_time .I at_length hit upon_the following expedient, which, simple as it may seem, was hailed by me, at_the moment of discovery, as an invention fully equal to_that of_the telescope, the steam- engine, or the art of printing itself .

" it_is necessary to premise, that_the balloon, at_the elevation now attained, continued its course upward with an even and undeviating ascent, and_the car consequently followed with asteadiness so perfect that_it would_have_been impossible to detect in_it the slightest vacillation whatever . this circumstance favored me greatly in_the project I now determined to adopt . my supply of water had_been put on board in kegs containing five gallons each, and ranged very securely around the interior of_the car .I unfastened one_of_these, and taking two ropes tied them tightly across the rim of_the wicker- work from one side to_the other; placing them about a foot apart and parallel so as to_form a kind of shelf, upon_which I placed the keg, and steadied it in a horizontal position . about eight inches immediately below these ropes, and four feet from_the bottom of_the car I fastened another shelf -- but made of thin plank, being the only similar piece of wood I had . upon_this latter shelf, and exactly beneath one_of_the rims of_the keg, a small earthern pitcher was deposited .I now bored a hole in_the end of_the keg over the pitcher, and fitted in a plug of soft wood, cut in atapering or conical shape . this plug I pushed in or pulled out, as might happen, until, after a few experiments, it arrived at_that exact degree of tightness, at which the water, oozing from_the hole, and falling into_the pitcher below, would fill the latter to_the brim in_the period of sixty minutes . this, of_course, was a matter briefly and easily ascertained, by noticing the proportion of_the pitcher filled in any given time .Having arranged all this, the rest of_the plan is obvious . my bed was so contrived upon_the floor of_the car, as_to bring my head, in lying down, immediately below the mouth of_the pitcher . it_was evident, that, at_the expiration of an hour, the pitcher, getting full, would_be forced to run over, and to run over at_the mouth, which_was somewhat lower than_the rim . it_was also evident, that_the water thus falling from a height of more than four feet, could_not do otherwise than fall upon my face, and_that the sure consequences would_be, to waken me up instantaneously, even from_the soundest slumber in_the_world .

" it_was fully eleven by_the_time I had completed these arrangements, and I immediately betook myself to bed, with full confidence in_the efficiency of_my invention . nor in_this_matter was I disappointed . punctually every sixty minutes was I aroused by my trusty chronometer, when, having emptied the pitcher into_the bung- hole of_the keg, and performed the duties of_the condenser, I retired again to bed . these regular interruptions to my slumber caused me even less discomfort than I had anticipated; and when I finally arose for_the day, it_was seven o'clock, and_the sun had attained many degrees above the line of_my horizon .

" April 3d . I_found the balloon at an immense height indeed, and_the earth's apparent convexity increased in a material degree . below me in_the ocean lay a cluster of black specks, which undoubtedly were islands . far away to_the northward I perceived a thin, white, and exceedingly brilliant line, or streak, on_the edge of_the horizon, and I had no hesitation in supposing it to_be the southern disk of_the ices of_the polar sea . my curiosity was greatly excited, for I had hopes of passing on much farther to_the north, and might possibly, at some period, find myself placed directly above the pole itself .I now lamented that my great elevation would, in this_case, prevent my taking as accurate a survey as I_could wish . much, however, might_be ascertained . nothing else of an extraordinary nature occurred during the day . my apparatus all continued in good order, and_the balloon still ascended without any perceptible vacillation . the cold was intense, and obliged me to wrap up closely in an overcoat . when darkness came over the earth, I betook myself to bed, although it_was for many hours afterward broad daylight all around my immediate situation . the water-clock was punctual in its duty, and I slept until next morning soundly, with_the exception of_the periodical interruption .

" April 4th .Arose in good health and spirits, and was astonished at_the singular change which had taken place in_the appearance of_the sea . it had lost, in a great measure, the deep tint of blue it had hitherto worn, being now of a grayish- white, and of alustre dazzling to_the eye . the islands were no longer visible; whether they had passed down the horizon to_the southeast, or whether my increasing elevation had left them out of sight, it_is impossible to_say . i_was inclined, however, to_the latter opinion . the rim of ice to_the northward was growing more and more apparent . cold by no means so intense . nothing of importance occurred, and I passed the day in reading, having taken care to supply myself with books .

" April 5th . beheld the singular phenomenon of_the sun rising while nearly the whole visible surface of_the earth continued to_be involved in darkness . in_time, however, the light spread itself over all, and I again saw the line of ice to_the northward . it_was now very distinct, and appeared of a much darker hue than_the waters of_the ocean . i_was evidently approaching it, and with great rapidity . fancied I_could again distinguish a strip of land to_the eastward, and one also to_the westward, but could_not_be certain . weather moderate . nothing of any consequence happened during the day . went early to bed .

" April 6th . was surprised at finding the rim of ice at a very moderate distance, and an immense field of_the same material stretching away off to_the horizon in_the north . it_was evident that if_the balloon held its present course, it would soon arrive above the frozen ocean, and I had now little doubt of ultimately seeing the pole . during the whole of_the day I continued to near the ice . toward night the limits of_my horizon very suddenly and materially increased, owing undoubtedly to_the earth's form being that of an oblate spheroid, and my arriving above the flattened regions in_the vicinity of_the arctic circle . when darkness at_length overtook me, I went to bed in great anxiety, fearing to_pass over the object of so_much curiosity when i_should_have no opportunity of observing it .

" April 7th .Arose early, and, to my great joy, at_length beheld what there could_be no hesitation in supposing the northern pole itself . it_was there, beyond a doubt, and immediately beneath my feet; but, alas ! I had now ascended to so vast a distance, that nothing could with accuracy be discerned . indeed, to judge from_the progression of_the numbers indicating my various altitudes, respectively, at different periods, between six a. M . on_the second of April, and twenty minutes before nine a. M . of_the same day ( at_which_time the barometer ran down), it might_be fairly inferred that_the balloon had now, at four o'clock in_the morning of April the seventh, reached a height of not less, certainly, than 7,254 miles above the surface of_the sea . this elevation may appear immense, but the estimate upon_which it_is calculated gave a result in all probability far inferior to_the truth . at all events I undoubtedly beheld the whole of_the earth's major diameter; the entire northern hemisphere lay beneath me like a chart orthographically projected: and_the great circle of_the equator itself formed the boundary line of_my horizon . your Excellencies may, however, readily imagine that_the confined regions hitherto unexplored within_the limits of_the arctic circle, although situated directly beneath me, and therefore seen without any appearance of being foreshortened, were still, in themselves, comparatively too diminutive, and at too great a distance from_the point of sight, to admit of any very accurate examination . nevertheless, what could_be seen was of a nature singular and exciting .Northwardly from_that huge rim before mentioned, and which, with slight qualification, may_be called the limit of human discovery in_these regions, one unbroken, or nearly unbroken, sheet of ice continues to extend . in_the first few degrees of_this its progress, its surface is very sensibly flattened, farther on depressed into a plane, and finally, becoming not a little concave, it terminates, at_the pole itself, in a circular centre, sharply defined, whose apparent diameter subtended at_the balloon an angle of about sixty-five seconds, and whose dusky hue, varying in intensity, was, at all times, darker than any_other spot upon_the visible hemisphere, and occasionally deepened into_the most absolute and impenetrable blackness . farther than this, little could_be ascertained . by twelve o'clock the circular centre had materially decreased in circumference, and by seven P .M .I lost sight of it entirely; the balloon passing over the western limb of_the ice, and floating away rapidly in_the direction of_the equator .

" April 8th . found a sensible diminution in_the earth's apparent diameter, besides a material alteration in its general color and appearance . the whole visible area partook in different degrees of a tint of pale yellow, and in some portions had acquired a brilliancy even painful to_the eye . my view downward was also considerably impeded by_the dense atmosphere in_the vicinity of_the surface being loaded with clouds, between whose masses I_could only now_and_then obtain a glimpse of_the earth itself . this difficulty of direct vision had troubled me more or less for_the_last forty-eight hours; but my present enormous elevation brought closer together, as it were, the floating bodies of vapor, and_the inconvenience became, of_course, more and more palpable in proportion to my ascent . nevertheless, I_could easily perceive that_the balloon now hovered above the range of great lakes in_the continent of north America, and was holding a course, due south, which would bring me to_the tropics . this circumstance did_not fail to_give_me the most heartful satisfaction, and I hailed it as a happy omen of ultimate success . indeed, the direction I had hitherto taken, had filled me with uneasiness; for it_was evident that, had I continued it much longer, there would_have_been no possibility of_my arriving at_the moon at all, whose orbit is inclined to_the ecliptic at only the small angle of 5 degrees 8' 48"

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