ame and vivacity of mind. The
exceeding tenuity of the object of our dread was apparent; for all
heavenly bodies were plainly visible through it. Meantime our
vegetation had perceptibly altered; and we gained faith, from this
predicted circumstance, in the foresight of the wise. A wild
luxuriance of foliage, utterly unknown before, burst out upon
every vegetable thing.

"Yet another day, and the evil was not altogether upon us. It was
now evident that its nucleus would first reach us. A wild change
had come over all men; and the first sense of _pain_ was the wild
signal for general lamentation and horror. This first sense of
pain lay in a rigorous constriction of the breast and lungs, and
an insufferable dryness of the skin. It could not be denied that
our atmosphere was radically affected; and the conformation of
this atmosphere, and the possible modifications to which it might
be subjected, were now the topics of discussion. The result of
investigation sent an electric thrill of the intensest terror
through the universal heart of man.

"It had been long known that the air which encircled us was a
compound of oxygen and nitrogen gases, in the proportion of
twenty-one measures of oxygen and seventy-nine of nitrogen in
every one hundred of the atmosphere. Oxygen, which was the
principle of combustion and the vehicle of heat, was absolutely
necessary to the support of animal life, and was the most powerful
and energetic agent in nature. Nitrogen, on the contrary, was
incapable of supporting either animal life or flame. An unnatural
excess of oxygen would result if it had been ascertained, in just
such an elevation of the animal spirits as we had latterly
experienced. It was the pursuit, the extension of the idea which
had engendered awe. What would be the result of _a total
extraction of the nitrogen_? A combustion, irresistible,
all-devouring, omniprevalent, immediate;--the entire fulfilment,
in all their minute and terrible details, of the fiery and
horror-inspiring denunciations of the prophecies of the Holy Book.

"Why need I paint, Charmion, the now disenchained frenzy of
mankind? That tenuity in the comet which had previously inspired
us with hope, was now the source of the bitterness of despair. In
its impalpable gaseous character was clearly perceived the
consu