about 11 o'clock at night
About 11 o'clock it was necessary to get a fresh supply of air , when my companion cautiously turned one of the two stop-cocks to let out that which was no longer fit for respiration , requesting me , at the same time , to turn the other , to let in a fresh supply of condensed air ; but being awkward in the first attempt to follow his directions , I was so affected by the exhaustion of the air through the vent now made for it , that I fainted ; and having , at the same time , given freer passage to the condensed air than I ought , we must in a few seconds have lost our supply , and thus have inevitably perished , had not the watchful Hermit seen the mischief , and repaired it almost as soon as it occurred . This accident , and the various agitations my mind had undergone in the course of the day , so overpowered me , that at an early hour in the afternoon I fell into a profound sleep , and did not awake again for eight hours . While I slept , the good Brahmin had contrived to manage both stop-cocks himself . The time of my waking would have been about 11 o'clock at night , if we had continued on the earth ; but we were now in a region where there was no alternation of day and night , but one unvarying cloudless sun . Its heat , however , was not in proportion to its brightness ; for we found that after we had ascended a few miles from the earth , it was becoming much colder , and the Brahmin had recourse to a chemical process for evolving heat , which soon made us comfortable : but after we were fairly in the great aerial void , the temperature of our machine showed no tendency to change . The sensations caused by the novelty of my situation , at first checked those lively and varied trains of thought which the bird 's - eye view of so many countries passing in review before us , was calculated to excite : yet , after I had become more familiar with it , I contemplated the beautiful exhibition with inexpressible delight . Besides , a glass of cordial , as well as the calm , confiding air of the Brahmin , contributed to restore me to my self-possession .