第1章空中历险记(1)
AVoyageinaBalloon
儒勒·凡尔纳JulesVerne
儒勒·凡尔纳(JulesVerne,1828—1905),法国著名科幻小说家、冒险小说家。1863年,他凭《在已知和未知世界中奇异的漫游》一举成名,进一步地激发了他的创作热情。他一生中共创作了66部小说,其中《格兰特船长的儿女》《海底两万里》《神秘岛》《八十天环游地球》等风靡全球,成为家喻户晓的作品。他以大量著作和突出贡献,被誉为“现代科学幻想小说之父”。
IhofSeptember,1850,IarrivedatFrankfort-on-the-Maine。Mypassagethroughtheprincipalany,hadbeenbrilliantlymarkedbyaerostati;but,uptothisday,noinhabitantofthefederationhadae,andthesuccessfulexperimentsatParisreen,Godard,andPoitevin,hadfailedtoihegraveGermaaerialvoyages。
Meanwhile,hardlyhadtheneroagascirculatedthroughoutFrankfort,thanthreepersohefavourofapawodaysafter,weweretoasthePlacedelaedie。Iimmediatelyoccupiedmyselfwiththepreparations。Myballoon,ofgiganticproportions,wasofsilk,coatedercha,asubstaliabletoinjuryfromacidsas,andofabsoluteimpermeability。Srentsweremeableresultsofperilousdests。
ThedayofouraswasthatofthegreatfairofSeptember,whichattractsalltheworldtoFrankfort。Theapparatusfosedofsixhogsheadsarrangedarevat,hermeticallysealed。Thehydrogengas,evolvedbythetactofwaterwithironandsulphuricacid,passedfromthefirstreservoirstothesedtheheimmenseglobe,whichwasthusgraduallyihesepreparatiohem,andabout11o'clock,theballooersfull;suffitlyso;foraswerise,theatmosphericlayersdimiy,andthegas,edwithi,agmoreelasticity,mightotherwiseburstitsenvelope。Mycalshadfurheexactmeasurementofgasrequiredtocarrymyyselftoasiderableheight。
&oasoon。Itwastrulyamagacle,thatoftheimpatientcrowdwhedaroundthereservedeedtheentiresquareandadjois,aheneighbhousesfromthebasemeedroofs。Thehighwindsofpastdayshadlulled,andawasradiatingfromanuncloudedsky;hamosphere。Iher,odestheveryspothehadleft。
Icarriedthreehundredpoundsofballast,inbags;thecar,perfed,fourfeetihreefeeti,wastlyattached;thecordwhieditwassymmetricallyexteheupperhemisphereoftheaerostat;thepasswasinitsplace,thebarometersuspeheironhoopwhidedthesuppcord,atadistaabovethecar;theanchorcarefullyprepared,allwasinreadinessforourdeparture。
Amongthepersonswhocrowdedaroundtheenclosure,Iremarkedayoungmanwithpalefadagitatedfeatures。Iwasstruckearance。HehadbeenanassiduousspeyassiiesofGermany。Hisuneasyairaraordiiohim;heeagerlyplatedtheae,whichrestedmotioafewfeetfromtheground,a。
&rucktwelve!Thiswasthehour。Mypanionshadnotappeared。Isenttothedwellingofeadlearoartedf,anotherforVienhird,stillmorefearful,forLoshadfailedthematthemomeakihoseexs,whigesofaeronauts,aredeprivedofalldaheymade,asitartrammeofthefete,theyhadfearedbeiofulfiltheiragreements,ahemomeheircehadbeeiotothesquareoftheirswift。
&huspartlydisappoiingwithangerandimpatience。Ididoase。Tore-establishtheequilibriumbetweenthespecificgravityoftheballoooberaised,Isubstitutedsofsandformyexpepaniohecar。Thetwelvemenwhtheaerostatbytwelvecordsfasteorialcircle,letthemslipbetweentheirfihecarroseafewfeetabovethegrouabreathofwind,amosphere,heavyaslead,seemedinsurmountable。
"Allisready!"exclaimedI,"attention!"
Themehemselves;alastglanethateverythingwasright。
"Attention!"
Therewassomemovementinthecrowdwhichseemedtobeinvadingthereservedenclosure。
"Letgo!"
Theballoonslowlyasded;butIexperiencedashockwhichthrewmetothebottomoftheIrose,Ifouofauedvoyager—thepaleyoungman。
"Monsieur,Isaluteyou!"saidhetome。
"Bywhatright?"
"AmIhere?Bytherightofyourinabilitytotur。"
Iwasded。Hisassurane;andIhadnothingtosayinreply。Ilookedathim,buthepaidomyasto。Heued:
"Myweightwilldisturbyourequilibrium,Monsieur:willyoupermitme?"
Andwithoutwaitingformyasseeheballoonbytwobagsofsandwhichheemptiedintotheair。