Weekly Trinity journal., 1867-10-19
The un.xpeeted BalsssaAAseension.

The Unexpected BnlssenaAscension.
Mr. Thurston, the &c ronaut, lost his life at his
last balloon ascent:While be was attaching the
car to the huge bag side the netting, and al
ready filled, his assistants let gosos their hold
upon the ropes, and up went the. balion like a
huge bomb. Anxious tosave the bag and net
ting, Mr.. Thurston hung on to his rope, thought
less of consequences. ~
Imagine the situation In the flicker of an
instant he was two, FIVE hundred feet in air, the
ungovernable bag and nettisg still rushing up
ward. As the balloon, frightened at its sudden
freedom, rushed up, deep, concerted groan, a
thrill of multitudinious agony followed it from
the paralyzed crowd. Thousands held their
breath, life lived but in their staring eyes as
sight eagerly mounted the ladders of the sky,
anxious, but unavailing.
There, before, above them, hung the fated
Thnrston, at the hempen extremity of forty feet
of rope.
The upward rush, the rapid oscillation render
ed it impossible for him to do more than main
tain his present hold. What hope in that? Five
minutes ago, the balloon, like an elastic soul,
bounded from earth, freighted with one poor
dangling life-now it had climbed a mile of per-
pendcular air. The very cloadss fled from the
appalling sight Of mortal SO terrorized and di-
lemmaed. Up-up with the tireless fight sped
depths than angel wing ever sounded. Eyes
gave out The fated aronaut was beyond hu-
man sight, as beyond human help. Spyglasses
and telescopes still held him in view, as the
dizzy balloon trooped off to the East. Now he
is lost, the larger object alone is visible an in
slant later and all is blank. soul buried in
mid heaven-a man lost in sight of thousands
a life so singularly folded and handed to God
who gave it.
And Thurston? His paid cheek still paler
with the widening distance below his breathing
battling the air through which he was dragged,
his very soul nerved in his arms to make that
life-grip eternaFr What thought he, as be real
lied the miles of death beneath him? Did he
hur despairing cries up to- God, as be plunged
through the hungry air? Or his eyes
closed alike to timeand space, as prayer put on
the only wings now of avail? Clinging to life
which ended in a rope, how he must have hated
his poor avordupois How he wished that he
were light as feather Think of the gigantic
terror which the SYSTEM of gravitaton now had
lie is whelmed in an infnity Of air; dancer
upon nothing held to life by two already wear
led arms, soon to fall into space from the grand
dome of Heaven, the azure air to be his pail !!
He filings his hatred against the yielding air he
implores empty space he fastens his eyes upon
a lost .feecy cloud, if he would hold himself
there. Anything in preference to the awful de-
scent which his body must take. Pr
Silence The stiffness of immediate God
sounds his death song; intellect futters upon
the confines of two worlds. The huge cave be-
low ends alike in earth and death, between miles
of nothing, more terrible than hungry wolves,
or roaring lions. Any certainty rather than the
pending certainty. b
chill came upon him in that upper air to
him the chill of death. Already the grasp of
his fingers began to feel uncertain. He could
not tell the exact. size of the rope, which, to
him, was life his muscles were growing weary.
A minute of time only Tapped over upon the
commencement of his eternity.
At the thought, the breath grew thick, aud the
lungs could not we'll work, because the air was
thin.
Was there no help? Might not some balloon
ist, proyidentially journeying, take him in Had
he outrun the race of man? And then where is
God He draws his knees up, as if he would kneel
upon the air, and, pray; whispers I" God " and
" mercy" just loud enough to be heard in
Heaven; and his head falls back. The strain
ing eve pierces above the fatal bag to which be
clngs, until sight is staggered by the infnity of
space. His past and present are lost in the fu-
ture Once more he returns to earth. He treads
its surface; feels the glorious certainty of hav-
ING something beneath him sees other faces :.
and shudders as he realizes how beautiful their
smiles are now, and what glory Of beauty
earth wears. ,: ~ef 70 .r--,le-.. q
Ah q human IOrm uTOpS Hom tHe ClOuuS IL
falls with a sharp metallic ring, upon the un-
welding Russ pavement of Broad way. It is him
self! Unrecognizabe, save by the clothing
which encases-, the human pulp All this has
taken but an instant.s life panorama runs
through his mind as he browns in that ocean of
air. Observation-Disclosures present
despar.train by, and still his weakening clutch
holds him to fife. yainly his soul triesito pump
the strength of his legs up to his failing arms
in satiate gravitaton is tugging in opposition to
draw him down. He feels that all is over, save
the fall. Hark sIsa-s I
Hark Was that the tapping Of an angel
wing? No, only the dizzy balloon Tapping its
farewell. The silence is profound; eternity is
sounding in the stiffness of the spheres then
comes the deep roar of the hereaftcr-now to
bsu the present. Ears close; eyes fail; brain
topples The very air conspires to choke him !;
the faithful heart stops. Even despair abandons
him. He yields, effortless ! 1t is so easy to, 60
at last. An inaudible bubble-a last feeble
gasp. and those brave muscles, give way the
chill fingers which so nobly grasped life, are
loose A dark purple floats, before the dazed
earth balloon mounts gayly to giddier nights;
Six weeks later two farmers found mangled
human body in the woods Every bone was
broken the hard earth was dinted the features
were untraceable. soiled letter in one pocket,
bearing the name of the man who had seen too
much Of Gods, infnitude to live, told the sad
story, and thus closed the suddenly ended vol
ume.-Hdrper's Weekly.
In railroad station is a placard announcing
&c No smoking - posted over an oil lamp. Two