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Article A FRENCH NOVELIST OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. ← Page 6 of 12 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A French Novelist Of The Seventeenth Century.
match to the pyrotechnic monster , when Bergerac rushed iii among them ; ancl comprehending the Avhole scene at a glance , sprang into the car to extinguish the rocket AA'hich was about to explode , when , Avith a loud report , he was suddenly carried up into the sky amid a shower of sparks . Stifled Avith smokeand breathless Avith terrorthe poor
, , aeronaut sank senseless into the bottom of the car ; while as one range of rockets burnt themselves out , another was ignited by the falling fragments , and anew impulse ivas given to the ascent of the machine . At length the last spark died aAvay , yet still higher and higher rose the traveller—a circumstance which he explains by declaring that the moon was in the
particular quarter Avhen it is accustomed to suck the marrow of animals ; ancl that , accordingly , it imbibed that which he had applied to his body to cure the bruises consequent upon his fall ; ancl with the greater force as he was now much nearer to its globe , and that its influence was not weakened by any
interposing vapours . The traveller was still , however , a long way from the end of his journey , but as he felt a considerable interest in its issue , he did not permit himself to become disheartened . He saw the earth diminish and the moon increase ; the attraction still continued , and the motion was smooth ancl easy ; when
suddenly , as he was congratulating himself upon this fact , he felt his feet in the air , and his head downwards , without having experienced any shock to prepare him for such a transposition . In an instant he understood the secret ; he had reached another atmosphere ; and he began to descend with frightful velocity . Down—doivn—while instants appeared to grow into minutes
, and minutes into hours , until he found himself lying halfburied amid the branches of a tree , and his face and mouth covered with the juice of an apple which had providentially burst as he fell upon it , and by whieh he was greatly refreshed . He looked around him with very natural curiosity ; and for
the first moment his eyes were fairly dazzled by what he beheld . Natural objects a thousand times richer , more beautiful , and more various than those of earth ; flowers of forms , scents , colours , and instincts , altogether unknown to us , which seemed not to vegetate but to live ; birds and echoes making far finer melody than ours ; trees whose dense foliage reached the sk
y , where they supported the stars upon their topmost boughs , and appeared to bend beneath the celestial weight . Even the human intruder into this scene of wonder at once felt its influence . The balmy air inspired him with renovated youth ;
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A French Novelist Of The Seventeenth Century.
match to the pyrotechnic monster , when Bergerac rushed iii among them ; ancl comprehending the Avhole scene at a glance , sprang into the car to extinguish the rocket AA'hich was about to explode , when , Avith a loud report , he was suddenly carried up into the sky amid a shower of sparks . Stifled Avith smokeand breathless Avith terrorthe poor
, , aeronaut sank senseless into the bottom of the car ; while as one range of rockets burnt themselves out , another was ignited by the falling fragments , and anew impulse ivas given to the ascent of the machine . At length the last spark died aAvay , yet still higher and higher rose the traveller—a circumstance which he explains by declaring that the moon was in the
particular quarter Avhen it is accustomed to suck the marrow of animals ; ancl that , accordingly , it imbibed that which he had applied to his body to cure the bruises consequent upon his fall ; ancl with the greater force as he was now much nearer to its globe , and that its influence was not weakened by any
interposing vapours . The traveller was still , however , a long way from the end of his journey , but as he felt a considerable interest in its issue , he did not permit himself to become disheartened . He saw the earth diminish and the moon increase ; the attraction still continued , and the motion was smooth ancl easy ; when
suddenly , as he was congratulating himself upon this fact , he felt his feet in the air , and his head downwards , without having experienced any shock to prepare him for such a transposition . In an instant he understood the secret ; he had reached another atmosphere ; and he began to descend with frightful velocity . Down—doivn—while instants appeared to grow into minutes
, and minutes into hours , until he found himself lying halfburied amid the branches of a tree , and his face and mouth covered with the juice of an apple which had providentially burst as he fell upon it , and by whieh he was greatly refreshed . He looked around him with very natural curiosity ; and for
the first moment his eyes were fairly dazzled by what he beheld . Natural objects a thousand times richer , more beautiful , and more various than those of earth ; flowers of forms , scents , colours , and instincts , altogether unknown to us , which seemed not to vegetate but to live ; birds and echoes making far finer melody than ours ; trees whose dense foliage reached the sk
y , where they supported the stars upon their topmost boughs , and appeared to bend beneath the celestial weight . Even the human intruder into this scene of wonder at once felt its influence . The balmy air inspired him with renovated youth ;