The Unparalleled Advertures of One Hans Pfaal by Edgar Allan Poe
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of 5 degrees 8' 48" .

" April 9th . to- day the earth's diameter was greatly diminished, and_the color of_the surface assumed hourly a deeper tint of yellow . the balloon kept steadily on her course to_the southward, and arrived, at nine P .M ., over the northern edge of_the Mexican gulf .

" April 10th . i_was suddenly aroused from slumber, about five o'clock this_morning, by a loud, crackling, and terrific sound, for_which I_could in no manner account . it_was of very brief duration, but, while it lasted resembled nothing in_the_world of_which I had any previous experience . it_is needless to_say that I became excessively alarmed, having, in_the first instance, attributed the noise to_the bursting of_the balloon .I examined all my apparatus, however, with great attention, and could discover nothing out of order . spent a great part of_the day in meditating upon an occurrence so extraordinary, but could find no means whatever of accounting for_it . went to bed dissatisfied, and in a state of great anxiety and agitation .

" April 11th . found astartling diminution in_the apparent diameter of_the earth, and a considerable increase, now observable for_the first time, in_that of_the moon itself, which wanted only a few_days of being full . it now required long and excessive labor to condense within_the chamber sufficient atmospheric air for_the sustenance of life .

" April 12th .a singular alteration took place in regard to_the direction of_the balloon, and although fully anticipated, afforded me the most unequivocal delight .Having reached, in its former course, about_the twentieth parallel of southern latitude, it turned off suddenly, at an acute angle, to_the eastward, and thus proceeded throughout_the day, keeping nearly, if_not altogether, in_the exact plane of_the lunar elipse . what_was worthy of remark, a very perceptible vacillation in_the car was a consequence of_this change of route -- a vacillation which prevailed, in a more or less degree, for a period of many hours .

" April 13th . was again very_much alarmed by a repetition of_the loud, crackling noise which terrified me on_the tenth . thought long upon_the_subject, but was unable to_form any satisfactory conclusion . great decrease in_the earth's apparent diameter, which now subtended from_the balloon an angle of very little more than twenty-five degrees . the moon could_not_be seen at all, being nearly in my zenith .I still continued 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 iself 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 stones for want of a better appellation .

" April 16th . to- day, looking upward as_well as I_could, through each of_the side windows alternately, I beheld, to my great delight, a very_small portion of_the moon's disk protruding, as it were, on all sides beyond the huge circumference of_the balloon . my agitation was extreme; for I had now little doubt of soon reaching the end of_my perilous voyage . indeed, the labor now required by_the condenser had increased to a most oppressive degree, and allowed me scarcely any respite from exertion . sleep was a matter nearly out_of_the_question .I became quite ill, and my frame trembled with exhaustion . it_was impossible that human nature could endure this state of intense suffering much longer . during the now brief interval of darkness a meteoric stone again passed in my vicinity, and_the frequency of_these phenomena began to occasion me much apprehension .

" April 17th . this_morning proved an epoch in my voyage . it_will_be remembered that, on_the thirteenth, the earth subtended an angular breadth of twenty-five degrees . on_the fourteenth this had greatly diminished; on_the fifteenth a still more remarkable decrease was observable; and, on retiring on_the night of_the sixteenth, I had noticed an angle of no more than about seven degrees and fifteen minutes . what, therefore, must_have been my amazement, on awakening from a brief and disturbed slumber, on_the morning of_this day, the seventeenth, at finding the surface beneath me so suddenly and wonderfully augmented in volume, as_to subtend no less_than thirty-nine degrees in apparent angular diameter ! i_was thunderstruck ! no words can give any adequate idea of_the extreme, the absolute horror and astonishment, with_which i_was seized possessed, and altogether overwhelmed . my knees tottered beneath me -- my teeth chattered -- my hair started up on end ." the balloon, then, had actually burst ! " these were the first tumultuous ideas that hurried through my mind: " the balloon had positively burst ! -- i_was falling -- falling with_the most impetuous, the most unparalleled velocity ! to judge by_the immense distance already so quickly passed over, it could_not_be more than ten minutes, at_the farthest, before i_should meet the surface of_the earth, and be hurled into annihilation ! " but at_length reflection came to my relief .I paused; I considered; and I began to doubt . the matter was impossible . I_could_not in any reason have so rapidly come down . besides, although i_was evidently approaching the surface below me, it_was with a speed by no means commensurate with_the velocity I had at first so horribly conceived . this consideration served to calm the perturbation of_my mind, and I finally succeeded in regarding the phenomenon in its proper point of view . in_fact, amazement must_have fairly deprived me of_my senses, when I could_not_see the vast difference, in appearance, between_the surface below me, and_the surface of_my mother earth . the latter was indeed over my head, and completely hidden by_the balloon, while the moon -- the moon itself in all its glory -- lay beneath me, and at my feet .

" the stupor and surprise produced in my mind by_this extraordinary change in_the posture of affairs was perhaps, after all, that part of_the adventure least susceptible of explanation . for_the bouleversement in itself was not_only natural and inevitable, but had_been long actually anticipated as a circumstance to_be expected whenever i_should arrive at_that exact point of_my voyage where the attraction of_the planet should_be superseded by_the attraction of_the satellite -- or, more precisely, where the gravitation of_the balloon toward the earth should_be less powerful than its gravitation toward the moon . to_be_sure I arose from a sound slumber, with all my senses in confusion, to_the contemplation of a very startling phenomenon, and one which, although expected, was not expected at_the moment . the revolution itself must, of_course, have taken place in an easy and gradual manner, and it_is by no means clear that, had I even been awake at_the_time of_the occurrence, I should_have_been made aware of it by any internal evidence of an inversion -- that_is_to_say, by any inconvenience or disarrangement, either about_my person or about_my apparatus .

" it_is almost needless to_say that, upon coming to a due sense of_my situation, and emerging from_the terror which had absorbed every faculty of_my soul, my attention was, in_the first place, wholly directed to_the contemplation of_the general physical appearance of_the moon . it lay beneath me like a chart -- and although I judged it to_be still at no inconsiderable distance, the indentures of_its surface were defined to my vision with a most striking and altogether unaccountable distinctness . the entire absence of ocean or sea, and indeed of any lake or river, or body of water whatsoever, struck me, at first glance, as_the most extraordinary feature in its geological condition . yet, strange to_say, I beheld vast level regions of a character decidedly alluvial, although by far the greater portion of_the hemisphere in sight was covered with innumerable volcanic mountains, conical in shape, and having more the appearance of artificial than of natural protuberance . the highest among them does_not exceed three and three- quarter miles in perpendicular elevation; but a map of_the volcanic districts of_the Campi Phlegraei would afford to your Excellencies a better idea of_their general surface than any unworthy description I_might think proper to attempt . the greater part of_them were in a state of evident eruption, and gave_me fearfully to understand their fury and their power, by_the repeated thunders of_the miscalled meteoric stones, which now rushed upward by_the balloon with a frequency more and more appalling .

" April 18th . to- day I_found an enormous increase in_the moon's apparent bulk -- and_the evidently accelerated velocity of_my descent began to_fill me with alarm . it_will_be remembered, that, in_the earliest stage of_my speculations upon_the possibility of a passage to_the moon, the existence, in its vicinity, of an atmosphere, dense in proportion to_the bulk of_the planet, had entered largely into my calculations; this too in_spite of many theories to_the contrary, and, it may_be added, in_spite of a general disbelief in_the existence of any lunar atmosphere at all . but, in_addition to what I_have already urged in regard to Encke's comet and_the zodiacal light, I had_been strengthened in my opinion by certain observations of Mr Schroeter, of Lilienthal . he observed the moon when two days and a half old, in_the evening soon after sunset, before_the dark part was visible, and continued to watch it until it became visible . the two cusps appeared tapering in a very sharp faint prolongation, each exhibiting its farthest extremity faintly illuminated by_the solar rays, before any part of_the dark hemisphere was visible . soon afterward, the whole dark limb became illuminated . this prolongation of_the cusps beyond the semicircle, i_thought, must_have arisen from_the refraction of_the sun's rays by_the moon's atmosphere .I computed, also, the height of_the atmosphere ( which could refract light enough into its dark hemisphere to_produce a twilight more luminous than_the light reflected from_the earth when_the moon is about 32 degrees from_the new) to_be 1,356 Paris feet; in_this view, I supposed the greatest height capable of refracting the solar ray, to_be 5,376 feet . my ideas on_this topic had also received confirmation by a passage in_the eighty- second volume of_the philosophical Transactions, in_which_it_is stated that at an occultation of Jupiter's satellites, the third disappeared after having been about 1" or 2" of_time indistinct, and_the fourth became indiscernible near the limb .{*4}

"Cassini frequently observed Saturn, Jupiter, and_the fixed stars, when approaching the moon to occultation, to_have their circular figure changed into an oval one; and, in other occultations, he_found no alteration of figure at all . hence it might_be supposed, that at some times and not at others, there_is a dense matter encompassing the moon wherein the rays of_the stars are refracted .

" upon_the resistance or, more properly, upon_the support of an atmosphere, existing in_the state of density imagined, I had, of_course, entirely depended for_the safety of_my ultimate descent . should I then, after all, prove to_have_been mistaken, I had in consequence nothing better to expect, as afinale to my adventure, than being dashed into atoms against the rugged surface of_the satellite . and, indeed, I had now every reason to_be terrified . my distance from_the moon was comparatively trifling, while the labor required by_the condenser was diminished not at all, and I_could discover no indication whatever of adecreasing rarity in_the air .

" April 19th . this_morning, to my great joy, about nine o'clock, the surface of_the moon being frightfully near, and my apprehensions excited to_the utmost, the pump of_my condenser at_length gave evident tokens of an alteration in_the atmosphere . by ten, I had reason to_believe its density considerably increased . by eleven, very little labor was necessary at_the apparatus; and at twelve o'clock, with some hesitation, I ventured to unscrew the tourniquet, when, finding no inconvenience from having done so, I finally threw open the gum- elastic chamber, and unrigged it from around the car . as might_have_been expected, spasms and violent headache were the immediate consequences of an experiment so precipitate and full of danger . but these and other difficulties attending respiration, as_they were by no means so great as to_put me in peril of_my life, I determined to endure as I best could, in consideration of_my leaving them behind me momently in my approach to_the denser strata near the moon . this approach, however, was still impetuous in_the extreme; and it soon became alarmingly certain that, although I had probably not been deceived in_the expectation of an atmosphere dense in proportion to_the mass of_the satellite, still I had_been wrong in supposing this density, even at_the surface, at all adequate to_the support of_the great weight contained in_the car of_my balloon . yet this should_have_been the case, and in

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