XXXIV 
  
ALREADY! 
  
  
A HUNDRED times already the sun had 
sprung radiant or saddened from that vast ba-
sin of the sea whose shores scarce let them-
selves be seen; a hundred times already it had 
plunged again sparkling or morose into its im-
mense evening bath; for many days we were 
able to contemplate the other side of the fir-
mament and decipher the celestial Alphabet of 
the Antipodes, and each of the passengers 
grumbled and scolded. One would have said 
that getting near to land increased their suffer-
ing; “When then,” they cried, “shall we cease 
to sleep a sleep that is shaken by the wave, 
disturbed by a wind that snores louder than we 
do? When shall we be able to digest our din-
ners in a motionless armchair?” 
Some of them thought of their fire-side, re-
gretted their faithless and sullen wives, their 
squalling offspring. They were all so obsessed 
by the image of the absent land that I think 
they would have eaten grass more enthusiasti-
cally than do cattle. At last we sighted the