May 3, 2002

An Imaginary Life

"It is strange," said the Captain, "for the prospect that now opens before our eyes or the suddenness with which it bursts upon us, makes me think as if we were lost on some desolated surface of the moon." "Yes, for to the former there is no more fitting phrase perhaps that can be applied to this scene, than that of absolute unredeemed desolation -- so intense, so sad, and bewildering, and terrifying, that I despair of being able to describe it adequately in detail in my diary. It