A better kind of
      material, it appears, was subsequently found in the down
      surrounding the seed-vessels of a plant vulgarly called
      euphorbium, and at that time botanically termed milk-weed. This
      latter kind of silk was designated as silk-buckingham, on account
      of its superior durability, and was usually prepared for use by
      being varnished with a solution of gum caoutchouc—a substance
      which in some respects must have resembled the gutta percha now
      in common use. This caoutchouc was occasionally called Indian
      rubber or rubber of twist, and was no doubt one of the numerous
      fungi. Never tell me again that I am not at heart an antiquarian. Talking of drag-ropes—our own, it seems, has this moment knocked
      a man overboard from one of the small magnetic propellers that
      swarm in ocean below us—a boat of about six thousand tons, and,
      from all accounts, shamefully crowded. These diminutive barques
      should be prohibited from carrying more than a definite number of
      passengers. The man, of course, was not permitted to get on board
      again, and was soon out of sight, he and his life-preserver. I
      rejoice, my dear friend, that we live in an age so enlightened
      that no such a thing as an individual is supposed to exist. It is
      the mass for which the true Humanity cares. By-the-by, talking of
      Humanity, do you know that our immortal Wiggins is not so
      original in his views of the Social Condition and so forth, as
      his contemporaries are inclined to suppose? Pundit assures me
      that the same ideas were put nearly in the same way, about a
      thousand years ago, by an Irish philosopher called Furrier, on
      account of his keeping a retail shop for cat peltries and other
      furs. Pundit knows, you know; there can be no mistake about it. How very wonderfully do we see verified every day, the profound
      observation of the Hindoo Aries Tottle (as quoted by
      Pundit)—“Thus must we say that, not once or twice, or a few
      times, but with almost infinite repetitions, the same opinions
      come round in a circle among men.”

      April 2.—Spoke to-day the magnetic cutter in charge of the middle
      section of floating telegraph wires. I learn that when this
      species of telegraph was first put into operation by Horse, it
      was considered quite impossible to convey the wires over sea, but
      now we are at a loss to comprehend where the difficulty lay! So
      wags the world. Tempora mutantur—excuse me for quoting the
      Etruscan. What would we do without the Atalantic telegraph? (Pundit says Atlantic was the ancient adjective.) We lay to a few
      minutes to ask the cutter some questions, and learned, among
      other glorious news, that civil war is raging in Africa, while
      the plague is doing its good work beautifully both in Yurope and
      Ayesher. Is it not truly remarkable that, before the magnificent
      light shed upon philosophy by Humanity, the world was accustomed
      to regard War and Pestilence as calamities? Do you know that
      prayers were actually offered up in the ancient temples to the
      end that these evils (!) might not be visited upon mankind? Is it
      not really difficult to comprehend upon what principle of
      interest our forefathers acted? Were they so blind as not to
      perceive that the destruction of a myriad of individuals is only
      so much positive advantage to the mass! April 3.—It is really a very fine amusement to ascend the
      rope-ladder leading to the summit of the balloon-bag, and thence
      survey the surrounding world. From the car below you know the
      prospect is not so comprehensive—you can see little vertically. But seated here (where I write this) in the luxuriously-cushioned
      open piazza of the summit, one can see everything that is going
      on in all directions. Just now there is quite a crowd of balloons
      in sight, and they present a very animated appearance, while the
      air is resonant with the hum of so many millions of human voices. I have heard it asserted that when Yellow or (Pundit will have
      it) Violet, who is supposed to have been the first aeronaut,
      maintained the practicability of traversing the atmosphere in all
      directions, by merely ascending or descending until a favorable
      current was attained, he was scarcely hearkened to at all by his
      contemporaries, who looked upon him as merely an ingenious sort
      of madman, because the philosophers (?) of the day declared the
      thing impossible. Really now it does seem to me quite
      unaccountable how any thing so obviously feasible could have
      escaped the sagacity of the ancient savans. But in all ages the
      great obstacles to advancement in Art have been opposed by the
      so-called men of science. To be sure, our men of science are not
      quite so bigoted as those of old:—oh, I have something so queer
      to tell you on this topic. Do you know that it is not more than a
      thousand years ago since the metaphysicians consented to relieve
      the people of the singular fancy that there existed but two
      possible roads for the attainment of Truth! Believe it if you
      can! It appears that long, long ago, in the night of Time, there
      lived a Turkish philosopher (or Hindoo possibly) called Aries
      Tottle. This person introduced, or at all events propagated what
      was termed the deductive or a priori mode of investigation. He
      started with what he maintained to be axioms or “self-evident
      truths,” and thence proceeded “logically” to results. His
      greatest disciples were one Neuclid, and one Cant. Well, Aries
      Tottle flourished supreme until advent of one Hog, surnamed the
      “Ettrick Shepherd,” who preached an entirely different system,
      which he called the a posteriori or inductive. His plan referred
      altogether to Sensation. He proceeded by observing, analyzing,
      and classifying facts-instantiae naturae, as they were affectedly
      called—into general laws. Aries Tottle’s mode, in a word, was
      based on noumena; Hog’s on phenomena. Well, so great was the
      admiration excited by this latter system that, at its first
      introduction, Aries Tottle fell into disrepute; but finally he
      recovered ground and was permitted to divide the realm of Truth
      with his more modern rival. The savans now maintained the
      Aristotelian and Baconian roads were the sole possible avenues to
      knowledge. “Baconian,” you must know, was an adjective invented
      as equivalent to Hog-ian and more euphonious and dignified.