第4章空中历险记(4)
"WemustdesedI,tatge;Thestatherihourfeetandaroundus;itwould。"
"Wewillasdaboveit,andshallhavenothingtofearfromit。Whatmorebeautifulthantninheaven,andlookdownuponthecloudswhichhoverupoh!Isitnotanhatetheseaerialwaves?Thegreatestpersoravelledlikeourselves。TheMarquiseandtessedeMohetessedePotteries,Mlle。LaGarde,theMarquisofMooutfromtheFaubSt。AheseuheDucdeChartresdisplayedmuchaddressandpresenindinhisasofthe15thofJuly,1784;atLyoesdeLaurenddeDampierre;atNantes,M。deLuyBordeaux,D'ArbeletdesGraaly,theChevalierAndreani;inourdays,theDukeofBrunswick;haveleftihetracklory。Ioequalthesegreatpersoastothecelestialregiohey。Toapproafioprehendit。"
&ionoftheairsiderablydilatedthehydrogen,andIsawthelowerpartoftheaerostat,desigy,beebydegreesinflated,reheopeningofthevalveindispemyfearfuleddetermioallowmetodireeopullsecretlythecordattachedtothevalve,whilehewastalkingwithanimatiuesswithwhomIhadtodo;itwouldhavebeentoohorrible!Itwasaboutthree-quartersofanhoursiFrankfort,andfromthesouththickclaoengulfus。
"Haveyoulostallhopeofmakingyourpla;saidI,are。
"Allhope!"repliedtheunknown,despairingly。"Woundedbyrefusals,caricatures,thoseblowswiththefootofanass,havefiheeternalpureservedforinnovators。Seethesecaricaturesewithwhichmyportfolioisfilled。"
Ihadsecuredthecordofthevalve,andstoopingoverhisworks,ymovementsfromhim。Itwastobefeared,hewouldrushingsouerfall,whichthegasproduesg。
"HowmaheexpeheAbbeMiolan!HewasabouttoasdwithJaandBredin。Duriheirballoontookfire,andanignorantpopulacetoreittopiethecaricatureofThealscalledthemMaulant,JeanMind,a;
&erhadbegawastime!Adistahunderwasheardtowardsthesouth。
"Seethis,"uedhe,withoutseemingtosuspeoeuvres。"Itisanimmenseballoon,gaship,largecastles,houses,etc。Thecaricaturistslittlethoughtthattheirabsurditieswouldonedaybeeverities。Itisalargevessel;attheleftisthehelmwiththepilot'sbox;attheprow,maisonsdeplaisance,agiganti,andtocalltheattentioahorofthemooeroryandpilot-ballooorialcircle,thebarray;ohelahenuppergalleriesforpromehewihedgeore-housesofprovisiohismaga。'Ihegoodofthehumahisglobewilldepartimmediatelyfortheseaportsi,andournwillasvoyagesforthetwopolesaiesoftheOt。Everyprovisioherewillbeaeoffareforeachplaceofdestination;butthepricesfordistantvoyageswillbethesame,1000louis。Anditmustbefessedthatthisisamoderatesum,gthecelerity,dpleasureofthismaboveallothers。Whileinthisballoon,everyonediverthimselfashepleases,dang,playing,withpeopleoftalent。Pleasurewillbethesouloftheaerialsociety。'Alltheseiioer。Butbef,ifmydayswereheseprojeerealities。"
Wewerevisiblydesg;hedid!
"Seethisgameofballoons;itsthewholehistoryoftheaerame,fortheuseofeduds,isplayedlikethatoftheJew;withdidtersofanyvalueagreedupon,whicharetobepaidorreceived,agtotheinwhiearrives。"
"But,"Iresumed,"youseemtohavevaluabledoaerostation?"
"IamlesslearheAlmighty!Thatisall!Ipossessalltheknowledgepossibleinthisworld。FromPhaeton,IdArchitas。Ihavesearchedall,prehehroughme,theaerostaticartwouldrenderimmeodshouldsparemylife!Butthatotbe。"
"Whynot?"
"BeameisEmpedoclesorErostratus!"
II
Ishuddered!Fortuheballoonroagtheearth。Butthedahesameat50feetasat5000metres!Theclouds