S. E. Chapman

“ No, Doctor, I have never made any balloon ascensions, but I have climbed many mountains, both in Europe and America, and have made numerous sketches from vast elevations. I have simply drawn upon these for my material, and in this painting you have a blending of several of them. Of course, I have taxed my imagination to some extent. The central object, the globe, air-ship, or whatever you may be pleased to call it, is your own conception, or my conception of your idea. ”

“ Silver Cloud was drawn to within fifty or sixty feet of the earth, and the voyagers rapidly descended in the cage to the main street.
That all the men, women, and children crowded to the vicinity of the globe, and that our friends were the cynosure of thousands of wondering eyes will be readily believed. And the glistening sphere that gently oscillated in the breeze above the city excited the unbounded astonishment and praise of all. Newspaper reporters gathered eagerly about the party, and plied them with questions concerning their trip and adventures. ”

“ Jones, and with a side swipe of his foot he swept aside her pile of ice lumps, raised the steel rod in both hands and drove it down with all his force just where the ice mound had stood, and cried with all his power in a fur-muffled voice, "The North Pole!" And Mrs. Jones jumped up and down as nimbly as her load of furs and fireboxes would permit, banged her great sealskin mittens together, and cried, "Goody! Goody! I guessed it! I am the discoverer of the North Pole! I always knew that a woman would be the first one there!" ”

“ Jones, and her cheeks were like twin roses when they reached the observatory. Once there, she was glad to sit and rest. The Doctor opened the windows and then sat beside her. Mrs. Jones sat quiet and dumb, hands clasped, looking out upon the most glorious scene her eyes had ever beheld. The sun was just peeping above the horizon. The painting of the clouds; the variegated face of the earth; the pure, balmy atmosphere; the great globe beneath their feet; the exquisitely graceful shaft that pierced the vault nearly one hundred feet above their heads, bearing our beautiful symbol of liberty ”

“ For a time the air-ship and the object of their voyage was discussed. The admiration of Barton and the inhabitants of Constance House for the globe was unbounded. The wind had lulled away to a very gentle breeze, and the superlatively splendid globe hung above them so majestically, and glistened so beautifully in the moonlight, that it is not wonderful that these people, who saw and knew so little of the outside world, should be struck dumb with wonder and astonishment as they looked upon it. ”

“ Five or six centuries ago the combined governments of Europe would have made common cause against the infamous Turk for much less than the murder of a Christian nation. But to-day there is so much less of manhood in Europe than there was in the days of chivalry, that the civilized world is sitting calmly by and permitting this unspeakable crime to go on at the sweet will of the bloody-handed Turk. And do you not think that God will hold the nations of Europe to a strict account for this villainy that marks the closing decade of the nineteenth century as the blackest page in human history? ”

“ Jones. "Language is utterly inadequate to describe it. With the vast, unobstructed view on all sides, far as the eye can reach, the great glistening rotund sides of the globe rolling away from beneath your feet, giving one a sensation as if about to slide off into the awful chasm below, I assure you that it is something fearful. But I cast my eye up the shining mast and saw the stars and stripes floating there so calmly and serenely, and I remembered our glorious mission, and instantly I felt the Everlasting Arms about me. ”

“ Jones. "Silver Cloud is like a bird of paradise with its tail feathers all plucked. We must replace that pole and flag as soon as we return to Washington."
"It seems like a cruelty to leave them in such a fearful place," said Mrs. Jones. "Think of the awful storms that will gather and howl around them for ages."
"They will outlast them all, praise God!" replied the Doctor. "As a 'Government of the people, for the people, and by the people shall not perish from the earth,' so shall our flag and staff defy all the Arctic storms that ever blew."
Then they descended to the cabin. ”

“ Through the unselfishness, skill, and noble-heartedness of one man, has come so unexpectedly, as if dropped from the very skies, in the heart of one of the most inhospitable portions of the earth, sweet hope and deliverance. What wonder that their hearts are light and merry? One thought only mars their pleasure: to-morrow morning the Children of the Skies will sail away in their glorious sky-ship, probably never to return. ”

“ I beg your pardon, sir, but I do not know anything of the kind. Do you suppose that I have sat here all these months listening to you men talk of this scheme without becoming a convert to your theories? No, Doctor, I am as enthusiastic as any of you in this matter. The North Pole fever is like the measles, very contagious, and I have a severe attack of it. Now you have all agreed that I am the most reasonable woman living, and you cannot accuse me of being unreasonable simply because I wish to go with you on this safe, comfortable and perfectly beautiful picnic excursion. ”

“ Friends and fellow countrymen. Of course, I expected you would be glad to see a party who travel in so splendid a chariot as the great aluminum ship. And I take it for granted that you are all aware that Silver Cloud, as we have named the globe, carried us to the North Pole and back safely and pleasantly. And to-night, as we stand in the great metropolis of the Western hemisphere, there flies from the most splendid flagstaff upon earth, located precisely at the northern extremity of the earth's axis, the Flag of our Union! ”

“ Why should she not?" said Marsh.
Mrs. Jones beamed upon him so warmly that he blushed to his ears.
"One vote for me," she gayly exclaimed. "Now, Mr. Denison, on the score of old friendship, I claim your franchise."
"And you have it, my dear madam," cried Denison. "Yours for the North Pole, Mrs. Jones."
She gave a hand to each of her coadjutors, and turning to Dr. Jones, said: "Don't you see what a splendid lobbyist I am, Doctor? You will need me when you get to Washington."
The Doctor's face was a study. At length he said: "Woman is the most unaccountable creature in the universe. ”

“ The Doctor had treated these symptoms in each as they occurred, and our friends had experienced but little of the inconvenience due to this cause that is suffered by most aeronauts. They had entirely lost their sense of insecurity and fear, and nothing could be more comfortable and pleasant than were the accommodations of the cabin of Silver Cloud, even in this exceedingly high latitude. And oh! those walks about the balcony of Silver Cloud! How invigorating and healthful! So vast were the proportions of the globe that there was no swaying, shaking, nor trembling ever perceptible. ”

“ The Count has persuaded me to remain until Feodora is so far recovered that we can safely leave her."
"Well now, I will tell you the truth; I am really glad to hear it." Then turning to the company, she proudly said: "This is just like him. I am sure that he would not only give up the North Pole, but the whole earth to save a human life."
"Come, come, sis," said the Doctor, blushing and confused, "you make me feel silly. Scatter off, now, and make yourselves at home. We must make the Count glad to get rid of us." ”

“ Jones into the cage. It shot up to the engine-room, the anchors and cables were cast off, and the splendid globe, so long bound in chains to the earth, arose majestically into the blue vault above. Loud and mighty were the cheers that followed them. Silver Cloud, as if impatient at the long delay in Russia, rapidly ascended three thousand feet, and flew northward at tremendous speed. ”

“ Its fastenings to the peak had been made doubly secure, and it was tenderly manipulated through the final opening by loving hands. The whole company involuntarily shouted at the inspiring sight. The ship was lowered as it moved away, and the patriotic voyagers were treated to a side view of the most beautiful, thrilling sight upon earth—the American flag flying at the North Pole at the peak of the loftiest flagstaff ever erected! Well might their hearts swell with pride and their voices break forth in songs of triumph and praise. ”

“ This is very pleasant, but I much prefer the cabin of Silver Cloud, with you, my dear friends, to all this hustling, cramming, and jambing. The people are kind as they can be, and are doing everything for our comfort and pleasure, but I never could endure being crowded. Give me plenty of elbow room or give me death!" cried Dr. Jones.
"Who would have thought that our march about the pole would make such a sensation!" said Mrs. Jones. "Your North Pole March will make your fortune, Fred. You should immediately copyright and publish it. You could sell thousands of copies to-morrow." ”

“ Faugh! the whole business makes me sick."
"Well, Doctor, admitting all you say, what do you suggest as the remedy? I have known many statesmen who could see and point out the evils, present or imminent, of society or state, with great sagacity and accuracy, but when it came to prescribing the remedy, were utterly impracticable," said Professor Gray.
"That is right, Professor Gray. It is very little benefit to a sick man to tell him that he is sick, or even to make for him a scientific diagnosis, if it be not supplemented by the remedy. ”

“ North and east, as they could distinctly see from their elevation of two thousand feet, far as the eye could reach, all was one vast field of huge piles of ice, exceedingly rough and broken, with here and there towering spires that seemed to reach up toward the globe like grizzly arms that would prevent them from penetrating the secrets of the north that had been held for untold centuries. ”