r before, the automaton belches forth an explosion of steam, and
seems for a second or two quiescent. But quickly the explosions are
reiterated, with shorter and shorter intervals, till they become too
rapid to be counted, though still distinct. These belchings or
explosions more nearly resemble the pantings of a lion or tiger, than any
sound that has ever vibrated on my ear. During the ascent they become
slower and slower, till the automaton actually labours like an animal out
of breath, from the tremendous efforts to gain the highest point of
elevation. The progression is proportionate; and before the said point
is gained, the train is not moving faster than a horse can pace. With
the slow motion of the mighty and animated machine, the breathing becomes
more laborious, the growl more distinct, till at length the animal
appears exhausted and groans like the tiger, when overpowered in combat
by the buffalo.

"The moment that the height is reached and the descent commences, the
pantings rapidly increase; the engine with its train starts off with
augmenting velocity; and in a few seconds it is flying down the declivity
like lightning, and with a uniform growl or roar, like a continuous
discharge of distant artillery.

"At this period, the whole train is going at the rate of thirty-five or
forty miles an hour! I was on the outside, and in front of the first
carriage, just over the engine. The scene was magnificent, I had almost
said terrific. Although it was a dead calm the wind appeared to be
blowing a hurricane, such was the velocity with which we darted through
the air. Yet all was steady; and there was something in the precision of
the machinery that inspired a degree of confidence over fear--of safety
over danger. A man may travel from the Pole to the Equator, from the
Straits of Malacca to the Isthmus of Darien, and he will see nothing so
astonishing as this. The pangs of Etna and Vesuvius excite feelings of
horror as well as of terror; the convulsion of the elements during a
thunderstorm carries with it nothing but pride, much less of pleasure, to
counteract the awe inspired by the fearful workings of perturbed nature;
but the scene which is here presented, and which I cannot adequately
describe, engenders a proud consciousness of superiority in human
ingenuity, more intense and convincing than any effort or product of the
poet, the painter, the philosopher, or the divine. The projections or
transits of