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page 117 ---telling time by the Southern
Cross----southern constellations
It was on Sunday, the 29th of June, that according to our ship's reckoning
we were to cross the equator. As the sea was pretty calm, mass was celebrated
on this day. The solitude of the place, the silence and grandeur of the
element to which the little vessel was confided,
between the two hemispheres and in the middle of the vast ocean, could
not fail in the moment when transubstantiation was announced by the sound
of the drum, profoundly to affect every mind, but particularly those who
then reflected on the Providence of nature, and on the mysterious metamorphosis
of all things. The day passed over quietly with a constant S.E. wind;
even Neptune and his strange retinue were not allowed to excite a disturbance
on board the ship, by the usual ceremony of baptising those who crossed
the line for the first time. The night was bright and clear; the poles
of the heavens were already resting on the horizon, and the full moon
hung above our heads in glorious majesty; Vega, Arcturus, Spica, Scorpio,
in which Jupiter just then shone, and the feet of the Centaur, were bright
in the firmament; the Southern
Cross had attained a perpendicular position indicating the hour
of midnight, when, according to calculation we were at the place where
heaven and earth were in equilibrium and crossing the equator steered
into the southern hemisphere. With what ardent hopes, with what inexpressible
feelings did we enter this other half of the world, which was to present
us with an abundance of new scenes and discoveries! Yes, this moment was
the most solemn and sacred in our lives. In it we saw the longings of
earlier years accomplished, and, with pure joy and enthusiastic foreboding,
indulged in the foretaste of a new world so rich in the wonders of nature.
page 118 ---southern constellations---trade
winds---passing the equator---
Southern sky, photo by Gary A. Becker
It was not till we had passed the equator, that the constant S.E. wind
began to equal in strength the N.E. wind of the northern hemisphere. Violent
rains were less frequent, but in their stead insulated groups of clouds
of various forms were piled up in the blue ether. The nights, on the other
hand, were more serene, and the southern constellations, new to us as
pilgrims from the north, though far inferior in number and splendor to
those of the north, shone brightly in the azure firmament. Falling stars illumined the night more frequently than in the northern zone, and generally
fell towards midnight in the south, and towards morning in the northeast.
The temperature of the water, still more that of the air, appeared to
become considerably lower than that in the same northern latitude, but
the moisture of the air, phosphorescence and gravity of the sea
water began to increase. Our frigate rapidly cut the deep blue waves of
the southern ocean, which, as they dashed against the stern, fell, on
cloudy days, in numerous rainbows, or in the night, filled with countless luminous animals (Noctiluca
oceanica nob.), shone like sparkling fire. Here, too, as in the
northern torrid zone, swarms of flying-fish flew around, and the swift tunny-fish kept pace with our vessel. The sun appearing in a glow of red
behind thick mists, or the pale moon, afforded us a majestic prospect
when they rose or sunk into the ocean.
 
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