“Iwasnowrisingrapidly，andbyseveno’clockthebarometerindicatedanaltitudeofnolessthanninemilesandahalf。Ibegantofindgreatdifficultyindrawingmybreath。Myhead，too，wasexcessivelypainful；and，havingfeltforsometimeamoistureaboutmycheeks，Iatlengthdiscoveredittobeblood，whichwasoozingquitefastfromthedrumsofmyears。Myeyes，also，gavemegreatuneasiness。Uponpassingthehandoverthemtheyseemedtohaveprotrudedfromtheirsocketsinnoinconsiderabledegree；andallobjectsinthecar，andeventheballoonitself，appeareddistortedtomyvision。ThesesymptomsweremorethanIhadexpected，andoccasionedmesomealarm。Atthisjuncture，veryimprudently，andwithoutconsideration，Ithrewoutfromthecarthreefive-poundpiecesofballast。Theacceleratedrateofascentthusobtained，carriedmetoorapidly，andwithoutsufficientgradation，intoahighlyrarefiedstratumoftheatmosphere，andtheresulthadnearlyprovedfataltomyexpeditionandtomyself。Iwassuddenlyseizedwithaspasmwhichlastedformorethanfiveminutes，andevenwhenthis，inameasure，ceased，Icouldcatchmybreathonlyatlongintervals，andinagaspingmannerbleedingallthewhilecopiouslyatthenoseandears，andevenslightlyattheeyes。Thepigeonsappeareddistressedintheextreme，andstruggledtoescape；
whilethecatmewedpiteously，and，withhertonguehangingoutofhermouth，staggeredtoandfrointhecarasifundertheinfluenceofpoison。InowtoolatediscoveredthegreatrashnessofwhichI
hadbeenguiltyindischargingtheballast，andmyagitationwasexcessive。Ianticipatednothinglessthandeath，anddeathinafewminutes。ThephysicalsufferingIunderwentcontributedalsotorendermenearlyincapableofmakinganyexertionforthepreservationofmylife。Ihad，indeed，littlepowerofreflectionleft，andtheviolenceofthepaininmyheadseemedtobegreatlyontheincrease。ThusIfoundthatmysenseswouldshortlygivewayaltogether，andIhadalreadyclutchedoneofthevalveropeswiththeviewofattemptingadescent，whentherecollectionofthetrickIhadplayedthethreecreditors，andthepossibleconsequencestomyself，shouldIreturn，operatedtodetermeforthemoment。Ilaydowninthebottomofthecar，andendeavoredtocollectmyfaculties。InthisIsofarsucceededastodetermineupontheexperimentoflosingblood。Havingnolancet，however，IwasconstrainedtoperformtheoperationinthebestmannerIwasable，andfinallysucceededinopeningaveininmyrightarm，withthebladeofmypenknife。ThebloodhadhardlycommencedflowingwhenI
experiencedasensiblerelief，andbythetimeIhadlostabouthalfamoderatebasinfull，mostoftheworstsymptomshadabandonedmeentirely。Ineverthelessdidnotthinkitexpedienttoattemptgettingonmyfeetimmediately；but，havingtiedupmyarmaswellasIcould，Ilaystillforaboutaquarterofanhour。AttheendofthistimeIarose，andfoundmyselffreerfromabsolutepainofanykindthanIhadbeenduringthelasthourandaquarterofmyascension。Thedifficultyofbreathing，however，wasdiminishedinaveryslightdegree，andIfoundthatitwouldsoonbepositivelynecessarytomakeuseofmycondenser。Inthemeantime，lookingtowardthecat，whowasagainsnuglystowedawayuponmycoat，I
discoveredtomyinfinitesurprise，thatshehadtakentheopportunityofmyindispositiontobringintolightalitterofthreelittlekittens。Thiswasanadditiontothenumberofpassengersonmypartaltogetherunexpected；butIwaspleasedattheoccurrence。