Of course you are not to suppose that the power that I have
been trying to describe was peculiar to this woman. On the contrary, as I
have already intimated, it was common to all of them; but with her it
seemed to have reached a higher development, and, what was of special
interest, she alone exhibited a marked benevolence toward us.
The car was attached by a cable to the air ship that we had just quitted,
and our voyage into a new unknown began. The other air ships, which had
been hovering about, moved up into line, and, with the exception of the
one which towed the car, all rose to an elevation of perhaps a thousand
feet, and moved rapidly away from a row of dark clouds which we could now
see low on the horizon behind. We found the air ship splendidly fitted
up, with everything that could contribute to the comfort of its inmates.
And what a voyage it was! "Yachting on Venus," as Jack called it. We sat
on the deck, with a pleasant breeze, produced by the swift, steady
motion, fanning our faces; the temperature was delightful; the air was
wonderfully stimulating; the light, softly and evenly diffused from the
great shell-like dome of the sky, seemed to bewitch the eyesight; and the
sea beneath us, reflecting the dome, was a marvel of refluent colors.
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