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05 - First Lessons in Climbing - Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne · Classic Science Fiction Books

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  Speaker 1: Chapter five, First Lessons in Climbing. At Altona, a suburb
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  Speaker 1: of Hamburg, is the chief station of the Keel Railway,
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  Speaker 1: which was to take us to the shores of the belt.
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  Speaker 1: In twenty minutes from the moment of our departure, we
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  Speaker 1: were in Holstein and our carriage entered the station. Our
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  Speaker 1: heavy luggage was taken out, weighed, labeled and placed in
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  Speaker 1: a huge van. We then took our tickets and exactly
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  Speaker 1: at seven o'clock were seated opposite each other in a
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  Speaker 1: first class railway carriage. My uncle said nothing, he was
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  Speaker 1: too busy examining his papers, among which, of course was
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  Speaker 1: the famous parchment and some letters of introduction from the
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  Speaker 1: Danish consul, which were to pave the way to an
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  Speaker 1: introduction to the Governor of Iceland. My only amusement was
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  Speaker 1: looking out of the window, But as we passed through
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  Speaker 1: a flat, though fertile con entry, this occupation was slightly monotonous.
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  Speaker 1: In three hours we reached Keel and our baggage was
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  Speaker 1: at once transferred to the steamer. We had now a
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  Speaker 1: day before us, a delay of about ten hours, which
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  Speaker 1: fact put my uncle in a towering passion. We had
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  Speaker 1: nothing to do but to walk about the pretty town
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  Speaker 1: and bay. At length, however, we went on board, and
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  Speaker 1: at half past ten were steaming down the Great Belt.
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  Speaker 1: It was a dark night, with a strong breeze and
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  Speaker 1: a rough sea, nothing being visible but the occasional fires
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  Speaker 1: on shore, with here and there a lighthouse. At seven
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  Speaker 1: in the morning we left Corsair, a little town on
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  Speaker 1: the western side of sea land. Here we took another railway,
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  Speaker 1: which in three hours brought us to the capital, Copenhagen, where,
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  Speaker 1: scarcely taking time for refreshment, my uncle hurried out to
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  Speaker 1: present one of his letters of introduction. It was to
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  Speaker 1: the director of the Museum of Antiquities, who, having been
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  Speaker 1: informed that we were tourists bound for Iceland, did all
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  Speaker 1: he could to assist us. One wretched hope sustained me. Now,
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  Speaker 1: perhaps no vessel was bound for such distant parts alas
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  Speaker 1: a little Danish schooner, the Valkyria, was to sail on
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  Speaker 1: the second of June for Reikavik. The captain M. Bjarne
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  Speaker 1: was on board and was rather surprised at the energy
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  Speaker 1: and cordiality with which his future passenger shook him by
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  Speaker 1: the hand to him a voyage to Iceland. Was merely
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  Speaker 1: a matter of course. My uncle, on the other hand,
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  Speaker 1: considered the event of sublime importance. The honest sailor took
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  Speaker 1: advantage of the professor's enthusiast to double the fare. On
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  Speaker 1: Tuesday morning, at seven o'clock beyond board, said Embone, handing
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  Speaker 1: us our receipts. Excellent capital glorious, remarked my uncle, as
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  Speaker 1: we set down to a late breakfast. Refresh yourself, my boy,
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  Speaker 1: and we will take a run through the town. Our
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  Speaker 1: meal concluded, we went to the komins Ntor, to the
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  Speaker 1: King's magnificent palace, to the beautiful bridge of the canal
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  Speaker 1: near the museum, to the immense cenotaph of Torwalsen with
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  Speaker 1: its hideous naval groups, to the Castle of Rosenberg, and
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  Speaker 1: to all the other lions of the place, none of
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  Speaker 1: which my uncle even saw. So absorbed was he in
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  Speaker 1: his anticipated triumphs. But one thing struck his fancy, and
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  Speaker 1: that was a certain singular steeple situated on the island
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  Speaker 1: of Armagh, which is the southeast quarter of the city
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  Speaker 1: of Copenhagen. My uncle at once ordered me to turn
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  Speaker 1: my steps that way, and accordingly we went on board
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  Speaker 1: the steam ferry boat which does duty on the canal,
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  Speaker 1: and very soon reached the noted dockyard cave. In the
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  Speaker 1: first instance, we crossed some narrow streets where we met
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  Speaker 1: numerous groups of galley slaves with party colored trousers gray
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  Speaker 1: and yellow, working under the orders and the stitsk of
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  Speaker 1: severe taskmasters, and finally reached the worfrelsares Kirk. This church
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  Speaker 1: exhibited nothing remarkable in itself. In fact, the worthy professor
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  Speaker 1: had only been attracted to it by one circumstance, which
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  Speaker 1: was that its rather elevated steeple started from a circular platform,
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  Speaker 1: after which there was an exterior staircase which wound round
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  Speaker 1: to the very summit. Let us ascend, said my uncle.
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  Speaker 1: But I never could climb church towers, I cried, I'm
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  Speaker 1: subject to dissiness in my head. The very reason why
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  Speaker 1: you should go up. I want to cure you of
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  Speaker 1: a bad habit. But my good sir, I tell you
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  Speaker 1: to come. What is the use of wasting so much
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  Speaker 1: valuable time? It was impossible to dispute the dictatorial commands
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  Speaker 1: of my uncle. I yielded with a groan. On payment
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  Speaker 1: of a fee. A verdure gave us the key he,
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  Speaker 1: for one, was not partial to the ascent. My uncle
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  Speaker 1: at once showed me the way, running up the steps
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  Speaker 1: like a schoolboy. I followed as well as I could,
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  Speaker 1: though no sooner was I outside the tower than my
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  Speaker 1: head began to swim. There was nothing of the eagle
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  Speaker 1: about me. The earth was enough for me, and no
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  Speaker 1: ambitious desire to soar ever entered my mind. Still, things
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  Speaker 1: did not go badly until I had descended hundred and
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  Speaker 1: fifty steps and was near the platform. When I began
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  Speaker 1: to feel the rush of cold air. I could scarcely stand.
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  Speaker 1: When clutching the railings, I looked upwards. The railing was
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  Speaker 1: frail enough, but nothing to those which skirted the terrible
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  Speaker 1: winding staircase that appeared from where I stood to ascend
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  Speaker 1: to the skies. Now, then, Henry, I can't do it,
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  Speaker 1: I cried, in accents of despair. Are you, after all
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  Speaker 1: a coward? Sir, said my uncle in his pitiless tone,
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  Speaker 1: Go up, I say to this. There was no reply possible,
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  Speaker 1: and yet the keen air acted violently on my nervous system.
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  Speaker 1: Sky earth all seemed to swim round, while the steeple
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  Speaker 1: rocked like a ship. My legs gave way like those
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  Speaker 1: of a drunken man. I crawled upon my hands and knees.
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  Speaker 1: I hauled myself up, slowly, crawling like a snake. Presently
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  Speaker 1: I closed my eyes and allowed myself to be dragged upwards.
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  Speaker 1: Look around you, said my uncle in a stern voice.
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  Speaker 1: Heaven knows what profound abuses you may have to look down.
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  Speaker 1: This is excellent practice. Slowly, and shivering all the while
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  Speaker 1: with cold, I opened my eyes. What then did I see?
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  Speaker 1: My first glance was upwards at the cold, fleecy clouds, which,
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  Speaker 1: as by some optical delusion, appeared to stand still, while
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  Speaker 1: the steeple, the weather cock, and our two selves were
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  Speaker 1: carried swiftly along. Far away. On one side could be
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  Speaker 1: seen the grassy plain, while on the other laid the sea,
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  Speaker 1: bathed in translucent light. The sun, or sound as we
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  Speaker 1: call it, could be discovered beyond the point of Elsie,
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  Speaker 1: crowded with white sails, which at that distance looked like
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  Speaker 1: the wings of sea gulls, while to the east could
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  Speaker 1: be made out the far off coast of Sweden. The
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  Speaker 1: whole appeared a magic panorama, but faint and bewildered as
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  Speaker 1: I was, there was no remedy for it. Rise and
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  Speaker 1: stand up, I must, despite my protestations. My first lesson
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  Speaker 1: lasted quite an hour. When nearly two hours later I
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  Speaker 1: reached the bosom of mother Earth, I was like a
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  Speaker 1: rheumatic old man, bent double with pain. Enough for one day,
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  Speaker 1: said my uncle, rubbing his hands. We will begin again
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  Speaker 1: to morrow. There was no remedy. My lessons lasted five days,
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  Speaker 1: and at the end of that period I ascended blithely
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  Speaker 1: enough and found myself able to look down into the
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  Speaker 1: depths without even winking, and with some degree of pleasure.
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  Speaker 1: End of Chapter five