10 o'clock
But shame restrained me , and I dissembled my emotions . At our first shock on leaving the earth , my fears were at their height ; but after about two hours , I had tolerably well regained my composure , to which the returning light of day greatly contributed . By this time we had a full view of the rising sun , pouring a flood of light over one half of the circular landscape below us , and leaving the rest in shade . While those natural objects , the rivers and mountains , land and sea , were fast receding from our view , our horizon kept gradually extending as we mounted : but ere 10 o'clock this effect ceased , and the broad disc of the earth began sensibly to diminish . It is impossible to describe my sensations of mingled awe and admiration at the splendid spectacle beneath me , so long as the different portions of the earth 's surface were plainly distinguishable . The novelty of the situation in which I found myself , as well as its danger , prevented me indeed at first from giving more than a passing attention to the magnificent scene ; but after a while , encouraged by the Brahmin 's exhortation , and yet more by the example of his calm and assured air , I was able to take a more leisurely view of it . At first , as we partook of the diurnal motion of the earth , and our course was consequently oblique , the same portion of the globe from which we had set out , continued directly under us ; and as the eye stretched in every direction over Asia and its seas , continents and islands , they appeared like pieces of green velvet , the surrounding ocean like a mirror , and the Ganges , the Hoogley , and the great rivers of China , like threads of silver .