[Mr. Mason’s MS.] This morning we had again
      some little trouble with the rod of the propeller, which must be
      entirely remodelled, for fear of serious accident—I mean the
      steel rod—not the vanes. The latter could not be improved. The
      wind has been blowing steadily and strongly from the north-east
      all day and so far fortune seems bent upon favoring us. Just
      before day, we were all somewhat alarmed at some odd noises and
      concussions in the balloon, accompanied with the apparent rapid
      subsidence of the whole machine. These phenomena were occasioned
      by the expansion of the gas, through increase of heat in the
      atmosphere, and the consequent disruption of the minute particles
      of ice with which the network had become encrusted during the
      night. Threw down several bottles to the vessels below. Saw one
      of them picked up by a large ship—seemingly one of the New York
      line packets. Endeavored to make out her name, but could not be
      sure of it. Mr. Osborne’s telescope made it out something like
      “Atalanta.” It is now 12, at night, and we are still going nearly
      west, at a rapid pace. The sea is peculiarly phosphorescent. “P.S. [By Mr. Ainsworth.] It is now 2, A.M., and nearly calm, as
      well as I can judge—but it is very difficult to determine this
      point, since we move _with_ the air so completely. I have not
      slept since quitting Wheal-Vor, but can stand it no longer, and
      must take a nap. We cannot be far from the American coast. “_Tuesday, the_ 9_th_. [Mr. Ainsworth’s MS.] _One, P.M. We are in
      full view of the low coast of South Carolina_. The great problem
      is accomplished. We have crossed the Atlantic—fairly and _easily_
      crossed it in a balloon! God be praised! Who shall say that
      anything is impossible hereafter?”

      The Journal here ceases. Some particulars of the descent were
      communicated, however, by Mr. Ainsworth to Mr. Forsyth. It was
      nearly dead calm when the voyagers first came in view of the
      coast, which was immediately recognized by both the seamen, and
      by Mr. Osborne. The latter gentleman having acquaintances at Fort
      Moultrie, it was immediately resolved to descend in its vicinity. The balloon was brought over the beach (the tide being out and
      the sand hard, smooth, and admirably adapted for a descent,) and
      the grapnel let go, which took firm hold at once. The inhabitants
      of the island, and of the fort, thronged out, of course, to see
      the balloon; but it was with the greatest difficulty that any one
      could be made to credit the actual voyage—_the crossing of the
      Atlantic_. The grapnel caught at 2, P.M., precisely; and thus the
      whole voyage was completed in seventy-five hours; or rather less,
      counting from shore to shore. No serious accident occurred. No
      real danger was at any time apprehended. The balloon was
      exhausted and secured without trouble; and when the MS. from
      which this narrative is compiled was despatched from Charleston,
      the party were still at Fort Moultrie. Their farther intentions
      were not ascertained; but we can safely promise our readers some
      additional information either on Monday or in the course of the
      next day, at farthest. This is unquestionably the most stupendous, the most interesting,
      and the most important undertaking, ever accomplished or even
      attempted by man. What magnificent events may ensue, it would be
      useless now to think of determining. (*1) _Note_.—Mr. Ainsworth has not attempted to account for this
      phenomenon, which, however, is quite susceptible of explanation. A line dropped from an elevation of 25,000 feet, perpendicularly
      to the surface of the earth (or sea), would form the
      perpendicular of a right-angled triangle, of which the base would
      extend from the right angle to the horizon, and the hypothenuse
      from the horizon to the balloon. But the 25,000 feet of altitude
      is little or nothing, in comparison with the extent of the
      prospect. In other words, the base and hypothenuse of the
      supposed triangle would be so long when compared with the
      perpendicular, that the two former may be regarded as nearly
      parallel. In this manner the horizon of the æronaut would appear
      to be _on a level_ with the car. But, as the point immediately
      beneath him seems, and is, at a great distance below him, it
      seems, of course, also, at a great distance below the horizon. Hence the impression of _concavity_; and this impression must
      remain, until the elevation shall bear so great a proportion to
      the extent of prospect, that the apparent parallelism of the base
      and hypothenuse disappears—when the earth’s real convexity must
      become apparent. MS. FOUND IN A BOTTLE


Qui n’a plus qu’un moment a vivre
N’a plus rien a dissimuler. —Quinault—Atys. Of my country and of my family I have little to say. Ill usage
      and length of years have driven me from the one, and estranged me
      from the other. Hereditary wealth afforded me an education of no
      common order, and a contemplative turn of mind enabled me to
      methodize the stores which early study very diligently garnered
      up.—Beyond all things, the study of the German moralists gave me
      great delight; not from any ill-advised admiration of their
      eloquent madness, but from the ease with which my habits of rigid
      thought enabled me to detect their falsities. I have often been
      reproached with the aridity of my genius; a deficiency of
      imagination has been imputed to me as a crime; and the Pyrrhonism
      of my opinions has at all times rendered me notorious. Indeed, a
      strong relish for physical philosophy has, I fear, tinctured my
      mind with a very common error of this age—I mean the habit of
      referring occurrences, even the least susceptible of such
      reference, to the principles of that science. Upon the whole, no
      person could be less liable than myself to be led away from the
      severe precincts of truth by the ignes fatui of superstition. I
      have thought proper to premise thus much, lest the incredible
      tale I have to tell should be considered rather the raving of a
      crude imagination, than the positive experience of a mind to
      which the reveries of fancy have been a dead letter and a
      nullity. After many years spent in foreign travel, I sailed in the year
      18— , from the port of Batavia, in the rich and populous island
      of Java, on a voyage to the Archipelago of the Sunda islands. I
      went as passenger—having no other inducement than a kind of
      nervous restlessness which haunted me as a fiend. Our vessel was a beautiful ship of about four hundred tons,
      copper-fastened, and built at Bombay of Malabar teak.