Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1859-03-23

rapid. His blood becoming more oXygenated,
bounded through the arteries with greater ra-
ridity, aud increased the pulsation OF the
heart.
A wild, terrible, utterly indescribable exul.
tation began to fill him-to make him thrill
and tingle from the scalp to the very feet. 1t
was So singular that he almost felt terrified at
it. During all this time the ballon still con.
tinued to ascend.
lie ventured another glance at the panora-
ma below, and found that he could endure to
look now without shrinking and the magnih'
cence of the sight was certainly striking III the
extreme.
lie beheld animmense crowd in the gardens
they had just left, but diminished to the size
of pigmies. The city itself, with its white
structures and countless streets, was spread
open to him like vast plain and the extend.
cd country, with its woods, fields, forests and
streams. filled the eye with picture OF which
he had before no conception.
Going slowly southwark, beneath a dark pail
Of ether which spread above them like vast
sheet, he beheld distant mountains, far oil
cities, noble rivers, all white as snow under the
peculiar medium through which he gazed
They crossed slowly the Chem See, q large
lake through which the river Inn flows.
Many towns which he knew, and many which
he did not know, also appeared, one after the
other, till lie was dazzled and bewildered by
the sight.
Soon the snowy peaks Of the Tyrol began
TO exhibit themselves, while dark chasms into
which he could not penetrate revealed to him
the deep valley between the mountain ran
ges. Feeling the air growing cold and chill,
he turned to look upward, and saw the black
cloud above, stretching every way as far as
the eye could see, like arooE which he could
touch with his hand.
They were sailing in the midst of light /;
one moment more, and they would be, US it
struck Ludwig, in total darkness, floating in
a horrible gloom more tenebrous and Opaque
than that of the bllndest night of Egypt.
The count, to bis increased astonishment,
beheld his silent companion pouring out bal
last, and making the balloon, as o matter Of
course, still lighter.
"What are you about ?" be shouted, and
shrank back appalled, at the sound Of his own
voice for the reverberation of thunder was
as nothing compared to the vast and resound-
ing echoes which it wakened up. The next
moment they had broken through tue cloud,
and were wrapped up in its blignting chaos
A sound, like tue minging Of mighty sands
with telupest-wakened seas, assailed them on
all sides. a sulphnrous odur, almost over
powering, ucarly deprived them of conscious
Hess A conclusion, roar, tremendous
ou,hurst, like the discharge of u thousand
parks Of artillery, followed and after the
whole space beneath had seemed like bill
lowy sea OF fire-blue, curuscating, and blind
ing-tbe whole space AROUND them became
re,l-glowing; and they were circled around,
above, and below with that sinister and tre-
menrious outline Of terror tO which neither
could give y name
a furious >tur,a Of hail and snoW followed,
and after tue unnatural heat they had eNpe-
rience,i, they felt cnld so fierce and bitter,
that the marrow seemed tr0zell in the bones
In the meantime, the balloon hal began to
collapse and ill in most fearful manner.
Once or twice this allowed it to fall with bor-
ribe swiftness downward until it had passed
out of the cloud. The next moment, with n
violent flap, tie balloon distende'l itself al
most to bursting again. This carried them
once more into the horrors Of the snow cloud.
and once niure were these pOrtcntous terrorS
renewed.
Ludwig could not see, in the intense dark
ness which followed, that his taclturn fellow
yoyager wis sill continuing with what ap-
peared al insane ternerity to tighten the ear
by casting ont still more ballast. The effect
of this Was to continue their ascent, till all Al
once they bust forth out Of this hideOlS mass
of mete1ric vaporS, and were in region o
such dazzling purity, beauty, and heavenly
radiance, that it was like fDretaste Of the
blessed air which once breatllel softly through
the foliage and amidst the blooms Of mans
lost Eden:
Surprised and awed into silence, Ludwig
gazcd around him, and was struck with the
scene-the almost divine tranquility which
reigned in that pure locality.
They were now ut an altitude beyond any
ever recorded, and still they continued to
mount upward. They had lost sight of the
earth totally, and below them they saw moth
ing but volumnous clouds, black and purple,
sometimes yawning horribly, to show the
riffs Of fire that issued forth at intervals,
flashing and streaming; and then came the
terrible sound of the thunder toiling in the
boundless abyss.
"For the love of God!" said Ludwig, at
last, "do not throw away more ballast. We
shall he in some awful peril if you do"
"We have been in peril down below there"
sail the stranger, speaking for the first time,
and giving his voice an intonatiun that made
the other shrink "I thought that the light
ming would have ignited the gas and destroy
ed the balloon. In that case" he added, with
a frightful calmneSs "our fall would have
been like that of ph@ton. for between US and
the earth there lay at least four miles"
Ludwig shook like an aspeu. "llorrible"
he murmured; "and you arc not afraid 2"
81 p the stranger laughed. Ludwig feared
him in spite of himeeli, for the laugh wat 81
,u'cking und lrgarthly "No, | don't fepr"
ne aldpi, and shyer!usi "bat begin ~ fee;
the ct'id sseu,ly." .
"rhers is so.ue brar ly In the flask here" :"
said Lntlwig, taking one from sort Of peck.
1T in tile s!le OF the car; "try little Of it !"
and be offered it to him.
"No. no." replied tile stranger, shaking his
head, and drawing his cloak closer round him
as If to protect himself; "you do not know
what the consequence would be if drank
any Of that. 1t would mako me mad. |
should fling myself or You out Of the car, or
cut the corus with my knife, or do some
trick still more dreadful"
Ludwig's dread was not by any means qui.
eted by the calm candor of the confession, the
The more so as they yet continued to ascend,
and were approaching a region Of cold So
severe where it might become absolutely he,
cessary for him to have recourse to the rej ect.
ed stinalart; and then thought Ludwig,
"What position to be in this car. rocking
five miles above the earth, or suspended over
the horrible peaks of the Alps, perhaps alone
with mailman. What are you about? Do
not throw any more out, l beg Of you! eX.
claimed the count eagerly, for another bag OF
ballast had been seized.
"Why?' asked the stranger, paussing. i
wish to 90 up higher-do you not love it Is
there not something awful thrilling, stipend.
ous in this solitary and silent flight. Up! up!
therefore, though the vessel burst
uM,d,non ~ cried I,utlwiu franticIlly :;