"Jules Verne. Off on a Comet. WORKS" - читать интересную книгу автора

in the force of the earth's attraction rendering the liquid
particles so buoyant, that by the mere effect of oscillation
they were carried to a height that was quite unprecedented.
M. Arago has fixed twenty-five or twenty-six feet as the maximum
elevation ever attained by the highest waves, and his astonishment would
have been very great to see them rising fifty or even sixty feet.
Nor did these waves in the usual way partially unfurl themselves
and rebound against the sides of the vessel; they might rather
be described as long undulations carrying the schooner
(its weight diminished from the same cause as that of the water)
alternately to such heights and depths, that if Captain Servadac
had been subject to seasickness he must have found himself in
sorry plight. As the pitching, however, was the result of a long
uniform swell, the yacht did not labor much harder than she would
against the ordinary short strong waves of the Mediterranean;
the main inconvenience that was experienced was the diminution
in her proper rate of speed.

For a few miles she followed the line hitherto presumably occupied
by the coast of Algeria; but no land appeared to the south.
The changed positions of the planets rendered them of no avail
for purposes of nautical observation, nor could Lieutenant Procope
calculate his latitude and longitude by the altitude of the sun,
as his reckonings would be useless when applied to charts that had
been constructed for the old order of things; but nevertheless,
by means of the log, which gave him the rate of progress,
and by the compass which indicated the direction in which they
were sailing, he was able to form an estimate of his position
that was sufficiently free from error for his immediate need.

Happily the recent phenomena had no effect upon the compass;
the magnetic needle, which in these regions had pointed about 22 degrees
from the north pole, had never deviated in the least--a proof that,
although east and west had apparently changed places, north and south
continued to retain their normal position as cardinal points.
The log and the compass, therefore, were able to be called upon
to do the work of the sextant, which had become utterly useless.

On the first morning of the cruise Lieutenant Procope, who,
like most Russians, spoke French fluently, was explaining
these peculiarities to Captain Servadac; the count was present,
and the conversation perpetually recurred, as naturally it would,
to the phenomena which remained so inexplicable to them all.

"It is very evident," said the lieutenant, "that ever since
the 1st of January the earth has been moving in a new orbit,
and from some unknown cause has drawn nearer to the sun."

"No doubt about that," said Servadac; "and I suppose that,
having crossed the orbit of Venus, we have a good chance