“Attwentyminutesbeforenineo’clockthatistosay，ashorttimepriortomyclosingupthemouthofthechamber，themercuryattaineditslimit，orrandown，inthebarometer，which，asI
mentionedbefore，wasoneofanextendedconstruction。Itthenindicatedanaltitudeonmypartof132，000feet，orfive-and-twentymiles，andIconsequentlysurveyedatthattimeanextentoftheearth’sareaamountingtonolessthanthethreehundred-and-twentiethpartofitsentiresuperficies。Atnineo’clockIhadagainlostsightoflandtotheeastward，butnotbeforeI
becameawarethattheballoonwasdriftingrapidlytotheN。N。W。
Theconvexityoftheoceanbeneathmewasveryevidentindeed，althoughmyviewwasofteninterruptedbythemassesofcloudwhichfloatedtoandfro。Iobservednowthateventhelightestvaporsneverrosetomorethantenmilesabovethelevelofthesea。
“AthalfpastnineItriedtheexperimentofthrowingoutahandfuloffeathersthroughthevalve。TheydidnotfloatasIhadexpected；