IX.

IX.

Fjerde sjøreise.

The Fourth Sea Voyage.

Mens jeg endnu var i Tyrkiets tjeneste, moret jeg mig ofte med at seile ut i en lystbaat paa Marmorahavet, hvorfra man har en herlig utsigt til Konstantinopel med sultanens seraljer.

While I was still in the service of Turkey, I often amused myself by sailing out in a pleasure boat on the Sea of Marmara, from which one has a splendid view of Constantinople with the Sultan's seraglios.

En morgen som jeg var ute, sat jeg just og betragtet den vidunderlig klare, blaa himmel, da jeg blev var en rund tingest deroppe, og som syntes at være saa stor som en biljardkule med noget hængende under sig.

One morning when I was out, I was just sitting and admiring the wonderfully clear blue sky, when I noticed a round object up there, which seemed to be as large as a billiard ball with something hanging beneath it.

Jeg tok straks min groveste og længstrækkende fuglebøsse, som jeg aldrig med min gode vilje reiser foruten.

I immediately took my heaviest and longest-range fowling piece, which I never willingly travel without.

Jeg ladde den med en kule og fyrte efter tingesten, men uten virkning da den var altfor langt borte.

I loaded it with a single ball and fired at the object, but to no effect, as it was far too distant.

Jeg tok da dobbelt portion krudt og fem kuler; da gik det bedre, kulerne traf og rev hul paa den ene side.

I then took a double charge of powder and five balls; that worked better, the balls struck and tore a hole in one side.

De kan dømme om min forbauselse, da jeg fik se en pragtfuld forgyldt gondol, hængende ned fra en uhyre ballon, falde ned like ved min baat.

You can judge of my astonishment when I saw a magnificent gilded gondola, hanging from an enormous balloon, fall down right next to my boat.

I gondolen var der en mand og halvdelen av et stekt faar.

In the gondola were a man and half of a roasted sheep.

Da min forbauselse hadde lagt sig noget, befalte jeg mine folk at ro ut efter denne herre.

When my astonishment had somewhat subsided, I ordered my men to row out after this gentleman.

Manden saa ut som han kunde være en franskmand, hvilket siden ogsaa viste sig at være tilfældet.

The man looked as if he might be a Frenchman, which later also proved to be the case.

Han hadde i hver vestlomme et pragtfuldt guldur og vægtige kjæder med medaljoner.

He had in each waistcoat pocket a splendid gold watch and heavy chains with medallions.

I hvert knaphul hang en guldmedalje, som mindst var hundrede dukater værd.

In every buttonhole hung a gold medal, worth at least a hundred ducats.

Paa hver av hans fingre glitret en kostbar diamantring, og hans lommer var saa fulde av pengeposer, at de tynget hans kjoleskjøter ned mot jorden.

On each of his fingers glittered a costly diamond ring, and his pockets were so full of moneybags that they weighed down the skirts of his coat toward the ground.

Visselig, sa jeg til mig selv, maa denne mand ha gjort menneskeheten mange store tjenester, siden alle disse høie herskaper har belæsset ham med saa mange gaver i slike usle og gjerrige tider som vore.

Surely, I said to myself, this man must have rendered mankind many great services, since all these high lords have loaded him with so many gifts in such wretched and stingy times as ours.

Faldet hadde aldeles bedøvet ham, saa det varte en stund før han kunde tale.

The fall had completely stunned him, so that it was a while before he could speak.

Litt efter litt kom han sig og fortalte følgende:

Little by little he recovered and told the following:

«Mit hode var ikke sterkt nok for denne maate at reise paa, heller ikke er jeg tilstrækkelig inde i videnskapen for at kunne beseire alle vanskelighetene dermed. Min tanke var at ydmyge alle døgnfluer av linedansere og gjøglere ved at hæve mig langt over deres hoder. For syv eller otte dage siden -- jeg kan ikke si det nøiere, da jeg har tapt tidsregningen, eftersom jeg hele tiden har været der hvor solen aldrig gaar ned -- steg jeg op fra Kap Lizard i Cornwallis i England og tok med mig et faar for at gjøre kunster dermed til tilskuernes forlystelse. Uheldigvis øket vinden paa, og istedetfor at drive til Exeter hvor jeg hadde isinde at lande, blev jeg drevet tilhavs, men saa høit at jeg ikke kunde gjøre nogen iagttagelser. Jeg blev snart saa sulten, at jeg kunde prise mig lykkelig ved at ha tat faaret med mig. Jeg dræpte nu dyret, og jeg var da langt ovenfor maanen og i omtrent 16 timer saa nær solen, at den sved øienbrynene av mig. Jeg la derfor faareskrotten paa det sted i gondolen, hvor solen hadde mest magt, det vil si der hvor ballonen ikke kastet skygge, og efter et par timers forløp var alt gjennemstekt. Paa denne stek har jeg hele tiden levet. Aarsaken til mit lange luftophold,» tilføide han,

"My head was not strong enough for this mode of travel, nor am I sufficiently versed in science to overcome all the difficulties involved. My idea was to humble all those ephemeral tightrope dancers and jugglers by raising myself far above their heads. Seven or eight days ago -- I cannot say more precisely, as I have lost track of time, since I have been all the while where the sun never sets -- I ascended from Cape Lizard in Cornwall, England, and took a sheep with me to perform tricks with it for the spectators' amusement. Unfortunately, the wind increased, and instead of drifting toward Exeter, where I intended to land, I was driven out to sea, but so high that I could make no observations. I soon became so hungry that I could count myself lucky to have brought the sheep along. I now killed the animal, and I was then far above the moon and for about 16 hours so near the sun that it singed my eyebrows off. I therefore placed the sheep's carcass in that part of the gondola where the sun had most power, that is, where the balloon cast no shadow, and after a couple of hours it was all roasted through. On this roast I have lived all this time. The cause of my long sojourn in the air," he added,

«var den at en snor som aapnet ballonens ventil, hadde sprunget, og hadde De ikke skutt hul paa ballonen, saa var jeg sandsynligvis som Muhamed blit svævende mellem himmel og jord til dommedag.»

"was that a cord which opened the balloon's valve had snapped, and had you not shot a hole in the balloon, I would probably, like Mohammed, have been hovering between heaven and earth until Judgment Day."

Saaledes sluttet han sin fortælling.

Thus he ended his tale.

Da jeg sa ham, at den midt foran os liggende store bygning var sultanens seralj, blev han aldeles forbløffet, for han hadde trodd at være paa et ganske andet sted end i Konstantinopel.

When I told him that the large building lying straight ahead of us was the Sultan's seraglio, he was utterly astounded, for he had thought himself to be in quite a different place than Constantinople.

Gondolen skjænket han siden min styrmand og levningerne av faaret kastet han i havet.

He later presented the gondola to my helmsman, and the remains of the sheep he threw into the sea.

Ballonen var blit saa beskadiget av faldet og skuddet, at den ikke kunde repareres.

The balloon had been so damaged by the fall and the shot that it could not be repaired.