N. W. The convexity of the
ocean beneath me was very evident indeed, although my view was often
interrupted by the masses of cloud which floated to and fro. I
observed now that even the lightest vapors never rose to more than ten
miles above the level of the sea.
At half past nine I tried the experiment of throwing out a handful
of feathers through the valve. They did not float as I had expected;
but dropped down perpendicularly, like a bullet, en masse, and with
the greatest velocity- being out of sight in a very few seconds. I
did not at first know what to make of this extraordinary phenomenon;
not being able to believe that my rate of ascent had, of a sudden, met
with so prodigious an acceleration. But it soon occurred to me that
the atmosphere was now far too rare to sustain even the feathers; that
they actually fell, as they appeared to do, with great rapidity; and
that I had been surprised by the united velocities of their descent
and my own elevation.
By ten o'clock I found that I had very little to occupy my immediate
attention.
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