could thus
reconnoitre a greater stretch of the coast. The thermometer
and the barometer, hanging up inside of the half-opened
awning, were always within sight, and a second barometer
suspended outside was to serve during the night watches.
At the end of about two hours the Victoria, driven
along at a speed of a little more than eight miles, very
visibly neared the coast of the mainland. The doctor,
thereupon, determined to descend a little nearer to the
ground. So he moderated the flame of his cylinder, and
the balloon, in a few moments, had descended to an altitude
only three hundred feet above the soil.
It was then found to be passing just over the Mrima
country, the name of this part of the eastern coast of
Africa. Dense borders of mango-trees protected its margin,
and the ebb-tide disclosed to view their thick roots,
chafed and gnawed by the teeth of the Indian Ocean. The
sands which, at an earlier period, formed the coast-line,
rounded away along the distant horizon, and Mount
Nguru reared aloft its sharp summit in the northwest.
The Victoria passed near to a village which the doctor
found marked upon his chart as Kaole. Its entire population
had assembled in crowds, and were yelling with anger
and fear, at the same time vainly directing their arrows
against this monster of the air that swept along so majestically
away above all their powerless fury.
The wind was setting to the southward, but the doctor
felt no concern on that score, since it enabled him the
better to follow the route traced by Captains Burton and
Speke.
Kennedy had, at length, become as talkative as Joe,
and the two kept up a continual interchange of admiring
interjections and exclamations.
"Out upon stage-coaches!" said one.
"Steamers indeed!" said the other.
"Railroads! eh? rubbish!" put in Kennedy, "that
you travel on, without seeing the country!"
"Balloons! they're the sort for me!" Joe would add.
"Why, you don't feel yourself going, and Nature takes
the trouble to spread herself out before one's eyes!"
"What a splendid sight! What a spectacle! What
a delight! a dream in a hammock!"
"Suppose we take our breakfast?" was Joe's unpoetical
change of tune, at last, for the keen, open air had
mightily sharpened his appetite.
"Good idea, my boy!"
"Oh! it won't take us long to do the cooking—biscuit
and potted meat?"
"And as much coffee as you like," said the doctor. "I
give you leave to borrow a little heat from my cylinder.
There's enough and to spare, for that matter, and so we
shall avoid the risk of a conflagration."
"That would be a dreadful misfortune!" ejaculated
Kennedy. "It's the same as a powder-magazine suspended
over our heads."
"Not precisely," said Ferguson, "but still if the gas were
to take fire it would burn up gradually, and we should
settle down on the ground, which would be disagreeable;
but never fear—our balloon is hermetically sealed."
"Let us eat a bite, then," replied Kennedy.
"Now, gentlemen," put in Joe, "while doing the same
as you, I'm going to get you up a cup of coffee that I
think you'll have something to say about."
"The fact is," added the doctor, "that Joe, along with
a thousand other virtues, has a remarkable talent for the
preparation of that delicious beverage: he compounds it
of a mixture of various origin, but he never would reveal
to me the ingredients."
"Well, master, since we are so far above-ground, I can
tell you the secret. It is just to mix equal quantities of
Mocha, of Bourbon coffee, and of Rio Nunez."
A few moments later, three steaming cups of coffee
were served, and topped off a substantial breakfast, which
was additionally seasoned by the jokes and repartees of
the guests. Each one then resumed his post of observation.
The country over which they were passing was remarkable
for its fertility. Narrow, winding paths plunged
in beneath the overarching verdure. They swept along
above cultivated fields of tobacco, maize, and barley, at
full maturity, and here and there immense
reconnoitre a greater stretch of the coast. The thermometer
and the barometer, hanging up inside of the half-opened
awning, were always within sight, and a second barometer
suspended outside was to serve during the night watches.
At the end of about two hours the Victoria, driven
along at a speed of a little more than eight miles, very
visibly neared the coast of the mainland. The doctor,
thereupon, determined to descend a little nearer to the
ground. So he moderated the flame of his cylinder, and
the balloon, in a few moments, had descended to an altitude
only three hundred feet above the soil.
It was then found to be passing just over the Mrima
country, the name of this part of the eastern coast of
Africa. Dense borders of mango-trees protected its margin,
and the ebb-tide disclosed to view their thick roots,
chafed and gnawed by the teeth of the Indian Ocean. The
sands which, at an earlier period, formed the coast-line,
rounded away along the distant horizon, and Mount
Nguru reared aloft its sharp summit in the northwest.
The Victoria passed near to a village which the doctor
found marked upon his chart as Kaole. Its entire population
had assembled in crowds, and were yelling with anger
and fear, at the same time vainly directing their arrows
against this monster of the air that swept along so majestically
away above all their powerless fury.
The wind was setting to the southward, but the doctor
felt no concern on that score, since it enabled him the
better to follow the route traced by Captains Burton and
Speke.
Kennedy had, at length, become as talkative as Joe,
and the two kept up a continual interchange of admiring
interjections and exclamations.
"Out upon stage-coaches!" said one.
"Steamers indeed!" said the other.
"Railroads! eh? rubbish!" put in Kennedy, "that
you travel on, without seeing the country!"
"Balloons! they're the sort for me!" Joe would add.
"Why, you don't feel yourself going, and Nature takes
the trouble to spread herself out before one's eyes!"
"What a splendid sight! What a spectacle! What
a delight! a dream in a hammock!"
"Suppose we take our breakfast?" was Joe's unpoetical
change of tune, at last, for the keen, open air had
mightily sharpened his appetite.
"Good idea, my boy!"
"Oh! it won't take us long to do the cooking—biscuit
and potted meat?"
"And as much coffee as you like," said the doctor. "I
give you leave to borrow a little heat from my cylinder.
There's enough and to spare, for that matter, and so we
shall avoid the risk of a conflagration."
"That would be a dreadful misfortune!" ejaculated
Kennedy. "It's the same as a powder-magazine suspended
over our heads."
"Not precisely," said Ferguson, "but still if the gas were
to take fire it would burn up gradually, and we should
settle down on the ground, which would be disagreeable;
but never fear—our balloon is hermetically sealed."
"Let us eat a bite, then," replied Kennedy.
"Now, gentlemen," put in Joe, "while doing the same
as you, I'm going to get you up a cup of coffee that I
think you'll have something to say about."
"The fact is," added the doctor, "that Joe, along with
a thousand other virtues, has a remarkable talent for the
preparation of that delicious beverage: he compounds it
of a mixture of various origin, but he never would reveal
to me the ingredients."
"Well, master, since we are so far above-ground, I can
tell you the secret. It is just to mix equal quantities of
Mocha, of Bourbon coffee, and of Rio Nunez."
A few moments later, three steaming cups of coffee
were served, and topped off a substantial breakfast, which
was additionally seasoned by the jokes and repartees of
the guests. Each one then resumed his post of observation.
The country over which they were passing was remarkable
for its fertility. Narrow, winding paths plunged
in beneath the overarching verdure. They swept along
above cultivated fields of tobacco, maize, and barley, at
full maturity, and here and there immense
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