“P。S。byMr。Ainsworth。Thelastninehourshavebeenunquestionablythemostexcitingofmylife。Icanconceivenothingmoresublimatingthanthestrangeperilandnoveltyofanadventuresuchasthis。MayGodgrantthatwesucceed！Iasknotsuccessformeresafetytomyinsignificantperson，butforthesakeofhumanknowledgeand-forthevastnessofthetriumph。Andyetthefeatisonlysoevidentlyfeasiblethatthesolewonderiswhymenhavescrupledtoattemptitbefore。Onesinglegalesuchasnowbefriendsus-letsuchatempestwhirlforwardaballoonforfourorfivedaysthesegalesoftenlastlongerandthevoyagerwillbeeasilyborne，inthatperiod，fromcoasttocoast。InviewofsuchagalethebroadAtlanticbecomesamerelake。Iammorestruck，justnow，withthesupremesilencewhichreignsintheseabeneathus，notwithstandingitsagitation，thanwithanyotherphenomenonpresentingitself。Thewatersgiveupnovoicetotheheavens。Theimmenseflamingoceanwrithesandistortureduncomplainingly。Themountainoussurgessuggesttheideaofinnumerabledumbgiganticfiendsstrugglinginimpotentagony。Inanightsuchasisthistome，aman_lives_-livesawholecenturyofordinarylife-norwouldIforegothisrapturousdelightforthatofawholecenturyofordinaryexistence。
“_Sunday，theseventh_。[Mr。Mason’sMS。]Thismorningthegale，by10，hadsubsidedtoaneightornine-knotbreeze，foravesselatsea，andbearsus，perhaps，thirtymilesperhour，ormore。Ithasveered，however，veryconsiderablytothenorth；andnow，atsundown，weareholdingourcourseduewest，principallybythescrewandrudder，whichanswertheirpurposestoadmiration。Iregardtheprojectasthoroughlysuccessful，andtheeasynavigationoftheairinanydirectionnotexactlyintheteethofagaleasnolongerproblematical。Wecouldnothavemadeheadagainstthestrongwindofyesterday；but，byascending，wemighthavegotoutofitsinfluence，ifrequisite。Againstaprettystiffbreeze，Ifeelconvinced，wecanmakeourwaywiththepropeller。Atnoon，to-day，ascendedtoanelevationofnearly25，000feet，bydischargingballast。Didthistosearchforamoredirectcurrent，butfoundnonesofavorableastheonewearenowin。Wehaveanabundanceofgastotakeusacrossthissmallpond，evenshouldthevoyagelastthreeweeks。Ihavenottheslightestfearfortheresult。Thedifficultyhasbeenstrangelyexaggeratedandmisapprehended。Icanchoosemycurrent，andshouldIfind_all_currentsagainstme，Icanmakeverytolerableheadwaywiththepropeller。Wehavehadnoincidentsworthrecording。Thenightpromisesfair。
P。S。[ByMr。Ainsworth。]Ihavelittletorecord，exceptthefacttomequiteasurprisingonethat，atanelevationequaltothatofCotopaxi，Iexperiencedneitherveryintensecold，norheadache，nordifficultyofbreathing；neither，Ifind，didMr。
Mason，norMr。Holland，norSirEverard。Mr。Osbornecomplainedofconstrictionofthechest-butthissoonworeoff。Wehaveflownatagreatrateduringtheday，andwemustbemorethanhalfwayacrosstheAtlantic。Wehavepassedoversometwentyorthirtyvesselsofvariouskinds，andallseemtobedelightfullyastonished。Crossingtheoceaninaballoonisnotsodifficultafeatafterall。_Omneignotumpromagnifico。Mem：_at25，000feetelevationtheskyappearsnearlyblack，andthestarsaredistinctlyvisible；whiletheseadoesnotseemconvexasonemightsupposebutabsolutelyandmostunequivocally_concave_。{*1}
“_Monday，the8th_。[Mr。Mason’sMS。]Thismorningwehadagainsomelittletroublewiththerodofthepropeller，whichmustbeentirelyremodelled，forfearofseriousaccident-Imeanthesteelrod-notthevanes。Thelattercouldnotbeimproved。Thewindhasbeenblowingsteadilyandstronglyfromthenorth-eastalldayandsofarfortuneseemsbentuponfavoringus。Justbeforeday，wewereallsomewhatalarmedatsomeoddnoisesandconcussionsintheballoon，accompaniedwiththeapparentrapidsubsidenceofthewholemachine。Thesephenomenawereoccasionedbytheexpansionofthegas，throughincreaseofheatintheatmosphere，andtheconsequentdisruptionoftheminuteparticlesoficewithwhichthenetworkhadbecomeencrustedduringthenight。Threwdownseveralbottlestothevesselsbelow。Sawoneofthempickedupbyalargeship-seeminglyoneoftheNewYorklinepackets。Endeavoredtomakeouthername，butcouldnotbesureofit。Mr。Osbornestelescopemadeitoutsomethinglike“Atalanta。”Itisnow12，atnight，andwearestillgoingnearlywest，atarapidpace。Theseaispeculiarlyphosphorescent。