,,wonderful ,,balloon ,,ascents  or1 the
 ,conquest of the ,skies  ,a ,history of
 ,balloons and ,balloon ,voyages4  ,by  
,f4 ,marion  #ahgj     ,,preface  8,let 
posterity know1 and knowing be          
astonished1 that on the fifteenth day of
 ,september1 #aghd1 ,vincent ,lunardi of
 ,lucca1 in ,tuscany1 the first aerial  
traveller in ,britain1 mounting from the
 ,artillery ,ground in ,london1 and     
traversing the regions of the air for   
two hours and fifteen minutes1 on this  
spot revisited the earth4 ,in this rude 
monument for ages be recorded this      
wondrous enterprise successfully        
achieved by the powers of chemistry and 
the fortitude of man1 this improvement  
in science which the great ,author of   
all ,knowledge1 patronising by his      
,providence the inventions of mankind1  
hath graciously permitted1 to their     
benefit and his own eternal glory40     
,the stone upon which the above         
inscription was carved1 stands1 or stood
 recently1 near ,collier's ,end1 in the 

parish of ,standon1 ,hertfordshire2 and 
it will possibly afford the ,english    
reader a more accurate idea of the      
feelings with which the world hailed the
 discovery of the balloon than any      
incident or illustration drawn from the 
annals of a foreign country4  ,the work 
which we now introduce to our readers   
does not exaggerate the case when it    
declares that no discovery of modern    
times has aroused so large an amount of 
enthusiasm1 has excited so many hopes1  
has appeared to the human race to open  
up so many vistas of enterprise and     
research1 as that for which we are      
mainly indebted to the ,brothers        
,montgolfier4 ,the discovery or the     
invention of the balloon1 however1 was  
one of those efforts of genius and      
enterprise which have no infancy4 ,it   
had reached its full growth when it     
burst upon the world1 and the ninety    
years which have since elapsed have     
witnessed no development of the original
 idea4 ,the balloon of to-day--the      

balloon in which ,coxwell and ,glaisher 
have made their perilous trips into the 
remote regions of the air--is in almost 
every respect the same as the balloon   
with which 8the physician ,charles10    
following in the footsteps of the       
,montgolfiers1 astonished ,paris in     
#aghc4 ,there are few more tantalising  
stories in the annals of invention than 
this4 ,so much had been accomplished    
when ,roziers made his first aerial     
voyage above the astonished capital of  
,france that all the rest seemed easy4  
,the new highway appeared to have been  
thrown open to the world1 and the       
dullest imagination saw the air thronged
 with colossal chariots1 bearing        
travellers in perfect safety1 and with  
more than the speed of the eagle1 from  
city to city1 from country to country1  
reckless of all the obstacles--the seas1
 and rivers1 and mountains--which       
,nature might have placed in the path of
 the wayfarer4 ,but from that moment to 
the present the prospect which was thus 

opened up has remained a vision and     
nothing more4 ,there are--as those who  
visited the ,crystal ,palace two years  
ago have reason to know--not a few men  
who still believe in the practicability 
of journeying by air4 ,but1 with hardly 
an exception1 those few have abandoned  
all idea of utilising the balloon for   
this purpose4 ,the graceful 8machine0   
which astonished the world at its birth 
remains to this day as beautiful1 and as
 useless for the purposes of travel1 as 
in the first hour of its history4 ,the  
day may come when some one more         
fortunate than the ,montgolfiers may    
earn the ,duke of ,sutherland's offered 
reward by a successful flight from the  
,mall to the top of ,stafford ,house2   
but when this comes to pass the balloon 
will have no share in the honour of the 
achievement4 ,not the less1 however1 is 
the story of this wonderful invention   
worthy of being recorded4 ,it deserves a
 place in the history of human          
enterprise--if for nothing else--because

 of the daring courage which it has in  
so many cases brought to light4 ,from   
the days of ,roziers down to those of   
,coxwell1 our aeronauts have fearlessly 
tempted dangers not less terrible than  
those which face the soldier as he      
enters the imminent deadly breach2 and1 
as one of the chapters in this volume   
mournfully proves1 not a few of their   
number have paid the penalty of their   
rash courage with their lives4 ,all the 
more is it to be regretted that so      
little practical good has resulted from 
their labours and their sacrifices2 and 
that so many of those who have perished 
in balloon voyages have done so whilst  
serving to better end than the amusement
 of a holiday crowd4 ,there is1 however1
 another aspect which makes at least the
 earlier history of the balloon well    
worth preserving4 ,this is the influence
 which the invention had upon the       
generation which witnessed it4 ,as these
 pages show1 the people of ,europe seem 
to have been absolutely intoxicated by  

the success of the ,montgolfiers'       
discovery4 ,there is something bitterly 
suggestive in our knowledge of this     
fact4 ,whilst pensions and honours and  
popular applause were being showered    
upon the inventors of the balloon1 ,watt
 was labouring unnoticed at his         
improvements of the steam-engine--a very
 prosaic affair compared with the gilded
 globe which ,montgolfier had caused to 
rise from earth amidst the acclamations 
of a hundred thousand spectators1 but   
one which had before it a somewhat      
different history to that of the more   
startling invention4 ,england1 when it  
remembers the story of the steam-engine1
 has little need to grudge ,france the  
honour of discovering the balloon4      
,after all1 however1 ,great ,britain had
 its share in that discovery4 ,the early
 observations of ,francis ,bacon and    
,bishop ,wilkins paved the way for the  
later achievement1 whilst it was our own
 ,cavendish who discovered that hydrogen
 gas was lighter than air2 and ,dr4     

,black of ,edinburgh1 who first employed
 that gas to raise a globe in which it  
was contained from the earth4 ,the      
,scotch professor1 we are told1 thought 
that the discovery which he made when he
 sent his little tissue-paper balloon   
from his lecture-table to the ceiling of
 his classroom1 was of no use except as 
affording the means of making an        
interesting experiment4 ,possibly our   
readers1 after they have perused this   
volume1 may think that ,dr ,black was   
not after all so far wrong as people    
once imagined4 ,be this as it may1      
however1 in these pages is the history  
of the balloon1 and of the most         
memorable balloon voyages1 and we       
comprehend the story to our readers not 
the less cordially that it comes from   
the land where the balloon had its      
birth4  ,london1 ,january1 #ahgj4       
,,balloons ,,and ,,air ,,journeys4      
,,part ,i4 ,,the ,,conquest ,,of ,,the  
,,skies4--#aghc4    ,chapter ,i4        
,introduction4  ,the title of our       

introduction to aeronautics may appear  
ambitious to astronomers1 and to those  
who know that the infinite space we call
 the heavens is for ever inaccessible to
 travellers from the earth2 but it was  
not so considered by those who witnessed
 the ardent enthusiasm evoked at the    
ascension of the first balloon4 ,no     
discovery1 in the whole range of        
history1 has elicited an equal degree of
 applause and admiration--never has the 
genius of man won a triumph which at    
first blush seemed more glorious4 ,the  
mathematical and physical sciences had  
in aeronautics achieved apparently their
 greatest honours1 and inaugurated a new
 era in the progress of knowledge4      
,after having subjected the earth to    
their power2 after having made the waves
 of the sea stoop in submission under   
the keels of their ships2 after having  
caught the lightning of heaven and made 
it subservient to the ordinary purposes 
of life1 the genius of man undertook to 
conquer the regions of the air4         

,imagination1 intoxicated with past     
successes1 could descry no limit to     
human power2 the gates of the infinite  
seemed to be swinging back before man's 
advancing step1 and the last was        
believed to be the greatest of his      
achievements4  ,in order to comprehend  
the frenzy of the enthusiasm which the  
first aeronautic triumphs called forth1 
it is necessary to recall the appearance
 of ,montgolfier at ,versailles1 on the 
#aith of ,september1 #aghc1 before      
,louis ,,xvi1 or of the earliest        
aeronauts at the ,tuileries4 ,paris     
hailed the first of these men with the  
greatest acclaim1 8and then1 as now10   
says a ,french writer1 8the voice of    
,paris gave the cue to ,france1 and     
,france to the world60 ,nobles and      
artisans1 scientific men and badauds1   
great and small1 were moved with one    
universal impulse4 ,in the streets the  
praises of the balloon were sung2 in the
 libraries models of it abounded2 and in
 the salons the one universal topic was 

the great 8machine40 ,in anticipation1  
the poet delighted himself with         
bird's-eye views of the scenery of      
strange countries2 the prisoner mused on
 what might be a new way of escape2 the 
physicist visited the laboratory in     
which the lightning and the meteors were
 manufactured2 the geometrician beheld  
the plans of cities and the outlines of 
kingdoms2 the general discovered the    
position of the enemy or rained shells  
on the besieged town2 the police beheld 
a new mode in which to carry on the     
secret service2 ,hope heralded a new    
conquest from the domain of nature1 and 
the historian registered a new chapter  
in the annals of human knowledge4       
8,scientific discoveries in general10   
says ,arago1 8even those from which men 
expect the most advantage1 like those of
 the compass and the steam-engine1 were 
greeted at first with contempt1 or at   
the best with indifference4 ,political  
events1 and the fortunes of armies      
monopolised almost entirely the         

attention of the people4 ,but to this   
rule there are two exceptions--the      
discoveries of ,america and of          
aerostatics1 the advents of ,columbus   
and of ,montgolfier40 ,it is not here   
our duty to inquire how it happened that
 the discoveries made by these two      
personages are classed together4        
,air-travelling may be as unproductive  
of actual good to society as filling the
 belly with the 8east wind0 is to the   
body1 while every one knows something of
 the extent to which the discovery of   
,columbus has influenced the character1 
the civilisation1 the destinies1 in     
short1 of the human race4 ,we are       
speaking at present of the known and    
well-attested fact1 that the discovery  
of ,america and the discovery of the    
method of traversing space by means of  
balloons--however they may differ in    
respect of results to man--rank equally 
in this1 that of all other discoveries  
these two have attracted the greatest   
amount of attention1 and given1 in their

 respective eras1 the greatest impulse  
to popular feeling4 ,let the reader     
recall the marks of enthusiasm which the
 discovery of the islands on the east   
coast of ,america excited in ,andalusia1
 in ,catalonia1 in ,aragon and          
,castile--let him read the narrative of 
the honours paid by town and village1   
not only to the hero of the enterprise1 
but even to his commonest sailors1 and  
then let him search the records of the  
epoch for the degree of sensation       
produced by the discovery of aeronautics
 in ,france1 which stands in the same   
relationship to this event as that in   
which ,spain stands to the other4 ,the  
processions of ,seville and ,barcelona  
are the exact prototypes of the fetes of
 ,lyons and ,paris4 ,in ,france1 in     
#aghc1 as in ,spain two centuries       
previously1 the popular imagination was 
so greatly excited by the deeds         
performed1 that it began to believe in  
possibilities of the most unlikely      
description4 ,in ,spain1 the            

conquestadores and their followers      
believed that in a few days after they  
had landed on ,american soil1 they would
 have gathered as much gold and precious
 stones1 as were then possessed by the  
richest ,european ,sovereigns4 ,in      
,france1 each one following his own     
notions1 made out for himself special   
benefits to flow from the discovery of  
balloons4 ,every discovery then appeared
 to be only the precursor of other and  
greater discoveries1 and nothing after  
that time seemed to be impossible to him
 who attempted the conquest of the      
atmosphere4 ,this idea clothed itself in
 every form4 ,the young embraced it with
 enthusiasm1 the old made it the subject
 of endless regrets4 ,when one of the   
first aeronautic ascents was made1 the  
old ,marechal ,villeroi1 an octogenarian
 and an invalid1 was conducted to one of
 the windows of the ,tuileries1 almost  
by force1 for he did not believe in     
balloons4 ,the balloon1 meanwhile1      
detached itself from its moorings2 the  

physician ,charles1 seated in the car1  
gaily saluted the public1 and was then  
majestically launched into space in his 
air-boat2 and at once the old ,marechal1
 beholding this1 passed suddenly from   
unbelief to perfect faith in aerostatics
 and in the capacity of the human mind1 
fell on his knees1 and1 with his eyes   
bathed in tears1 moaned out pitifully   
the words1 8,yes1 it is fixed6 ,it is   
certain6 ,they will find out the secret 
of avoiding death2 but it will be after 
,i am gone60  ,if we recall the         
impressions which the first air-journeys
 made1 we shall find that1 among people 
of enthusiastic temperament1 it was     
believed that it was not merely the blue
 sky above us1 not merely the           
terrestrial atmosphere1 but the vast    
spaces through which the worlds move1   
that were to become the domain of       
man--the sea of the balloon4 ,the moon1 
the mysterious dwelling-place of men    
unknown1 would no longer be an          
inaccessible place4 ,space no longer    

contained regions which man could not   
cross6 ,indeed1 certain expeditions     
attempted the crossing of the heavens1  
and brought back news of the moon4 ,the 
planets that revolve round the sun1 the 
far-flying comets1 the most distant     
stars--these formed the field which from
 that time was to lie open to the       
investigations of man4  ,this enthusiasm
 one can well enough understand4 ,there 
is in the simple fact of an aerial      
ascent something so bold and so         
astonishing1 that the human spirit      
cannot fail to be profoundly stirred by 
it4 ,and if this is the feeling of men  
at the present day1 when1 after having  
been witnesses of ascents for the last  
eighty years1 they see men confiding    
themselves in a swinging car into the   
immensities of space1 what must have    
been the astonishment of those who1 for 
the first time since the commencement of
 the world1 beheld one of their         
fellow-creatures rolling in space1      
without any other assurance of safety   

than what his still dim perception of   
the laws of nature gave him8  ,why      
should we be obliged here to state that 
the great discovery that stirred the    
spirits of men from the one end of      
,europe to the other1 and gave rise to  
hopes of such vast discoveries1 should  
have failed in realising the            
expectations which seemed so clearly    
justified by the first experiments8 ,it 
is now eighty-six years since the first 
aerial journey astonished the world1 and
 yet1 in #ahgj1 we are but little more  
advanced in the science than we were in 
#aghc4 ,our age is the most renowned for
 its discoveries of any that the world  
has seen4 ,man is borne over the surface
 of the earth by steam2 he is as        
familiar as the fish with the liquid    
element2 he transmits his words         
instantaneously from ,london to ,new    
,york2 he draws pictures without pencil 
or brush1 and has made the sun his      
slave4 ,the air alone remains to him    
unsubdued4 ,the proper management of    

balloons has not yet been discovered4   
,more than that1 it appears that        
balloons are unmanageable1 and it is to 
air-vessels1 constructed more nearly    
upon the model of birds1 that we must go
 to find out the secret of aerial       
navigation4 ,at present1 as in former   
times1 we are at the mercy of           
balloons--globes lighter than the air1  
and therefore the sport and the prey of 
tempests and currents4 ,and aeronauts1  
instead of showing themselves now as the
 benefactors of mankind1 exhibit        
themselves mainly to gratify a frivolous
 curiosity1 or to crown with eclat a    
public fete4    ,chapter ,,ii4 ,attempts
 in ,ancient ,times to ,fly in the ,air4
  ,before contemplating the sudden      
conquest of the aerial kingdom1 as      
accomplished and proclaimed at the end  
of the last century1 it is at once      
curious and instructive to cast a glance
 backward1 and to examine1 by the       
glimmering of ancient traditions1 the   
attempts which have been made or        

imagined by man to enfranchise himself  
from the attraction of the earth4  8,the
 greater number of the arts and sciences
 can be traced along a chronological    
ladder of great length3 some1 indeed1   
lose themselves in the night of time40  
,the accomplishment of raising oneself  
in the air1 however1 had no actual      
professors in antiquity1 and the        
discovery of ,montgolfier seems to have 
come into the world1 so to speak1       
spontaneously4 ,by this it is to be     
understood that1 unlike ,copernicus and 
,columbus1 ,montgolfier could not read  
in history of any similar discovery1    
containing the germ of his own feat4 ,at
 least1 we have no proof that the       
ancient nations practiced the art of    
aerial navigation to any extent         
whatever4 ,the attempts which we are    
about to cite do not strictly belong to 
the history of aerostatics4  ,classic   
mythology tells us of ,daedalus1 who1   
escaping with his son ,icarus from the  
anger of ,minos1 in the ,isle of ,crete1

 saved himself from the immediate evil  
by the aid of wings1 which he made for  
himself and his son1 and by means of    
which they were enabled to fly in the   
air4 ,the wings1 it appears1 were       
soldered with wax1 and ,icarus1 flying  
too high1 was struck by a ray of the    
sun1 which melted the wax4 ,the youth   
fell into the sea1 which from him       
derived its name of ,icarian4 ,it is    
possible that this fable only symbolisms
 the introduction of sails in           
navigation4  ,coming down through       
ancient history1 we note a certain      
,archytas1 of ,tarentum1 who1 in the    
fourth century ,b4 ,c41 is said to have 
launched into the air the first 8flying 
stag10 and who1 according to the ,greek 
writers1 8made a pigeon of wood1 which  
flew1 but which could not raise itself  
again after having fallen40 ,its flight1
 it is said1 8was accomplished by means 
of a mechanical contrivance1 by the     
vibrations of which it was sustained in 
the air40  ,in the year #ff ,a4,d41 in  

the time of ,nero1 ,simon1 the          
magician--who called himself 8the       
mechanician0--made certain experiments  
at ,rome of flying at a certain height4 
,in the eyes of the early ,christians   
this power was attributed to the devil1 
and ,st4 ,peter1 the namesake of this   
flying man1 is said to have prayed      
fervently while ,simon was amusing      
himself in space4 ,it was possibly in   
answer to his prayers that the magician 
failed in his flight1 fell upon the     
,forum1 and broke his neck on the spot4 
,from the summit of the tower of the    
hippodrome at ,constantinople1 a certain
 ,saracen met the same fate as ,simon1  
in the reign of the ,emperor ,comnenus4 
,his experiments were conducted on the  
principle of the inclined plane4 ,he    
descended in an oblique course1 using   
the resistance of the air as a support4 
,his robe1 very long and very large1 and
 of which the flaps were extended on an 
osier frame1 preserved him from suddenly
 falling4  ,the inclined plane probably 

suggested to ,milton the flight of the  
angel ,uriel1 in 8,paradise ,lost10 who 
descended in the morning from heaven to 
earth upon a ray of the sun1 and        
ascended in the evening from earth to   
heaven by the same means4 ,but we cannot
 quote here the fancies of pure         
imagination1 and we will not speak of   
,medeus the magician1 of the enchantress
 ,armida1 of the witches of the         
,brocken1 of the hippogriff of ,zephyrus
 with the rosy wings1 or of the         
diabolical inventions of the middle     
ages1 for many of which the stake was   
the only reward4  ,roger ,bacon1 in the 
thirteenth century1 inaugurated a more  
scientific era4 ,in his 8,treaty of the 
,admirable ,power of ,art and ,nature10 
he puts forth the idea that it is       
possible 8to make flying-machines in    
which the man1 being seated or suspended
 in the middle1 might turn some winch or
 crank1 which would put in motion a suit
 of wings made to strike the air like   
those of a bird40 ,in the same treatise 

he sketches a flying-machine1 to which  
that of ,blanchard1 who lived in the    
eighteenth century1 bears a certain     
resemblance4 ,the monk1 ,roger ,bacon1  
was worthy of entering the temple of    
fame before his great namesake the ,lord
 ,chancellor1 who in the seventeenth    
century inaugurated the era of          
experimental science4  ,jean ,baptiste  
,dante1 a mathematician of ,perugia1 who
 lived in the latter part of the        
fifteenth century1 constructed          
artificial wings1 by means of which1    
when applied to thin bodies1 men might  
raise themselves off the ground into the
 air4 ,it is recorded that on many      
occasions he experimented with his wings
 on the ,lake ,thrasymenus4 ,these      
experiments1 however1 had a sad end4 ,at
 a fete1 given for the celebration of   
the marriage of ,bartholomew d',alvani1 
,dante1 who must not be confounded with 
the poet1 whose flights were of quite   
another kind--offered to exhibit the    
wonder of his wings to the people of    

,perugia4 ,he managed to raise himself  
to a great height1 and flew above the   
square2 but the iron with which he moved
 one of his wings having been bent1 he  
fell upon the church of the ,virgin1 and
 broke his thigh4  ,a similar accident  
befell a learned ,english ,benedictine  
,oliver of ,malmesbury4 ,this           
ecclesiastic was considered gifted with 
the power of foretelling events2 but1   
like other similarly circumstanced1 he  
does not seem to have beer able to      
divine the fate which awaited himself4  
,he constructed wings after the model of
 those which according to ,ovid1        
,daedalus made use of4 ,these he        
attached to his arms and his feet1 and1 
thus furnished1 he threw himself from   
the height of a tower4 ,but the wings   
bore him up for little more than a      
distance of #abj paces4 ,he fell at the 
foot of the tower1 broke his legs1 and  
from that moment led a languishing life4
 ,he consoled himself1 however1 in his  
misfortune by saying that his attempt   

must certainly have succeeded had he    
only provided himself with a tail4      
,before going further1 let us take      
notice that the seventeenth century is1 
par excellence1 the century             
distinguished for narratives of         
imaginary travels4 ,it was then that    
astronomy opened up its world of        
marvels4 ,the knowledge of observers was
 vastly increased1 and from that time it
 became possible to distinguish the     
surface of the moon and of other        
celestial bodies4 ,thus a new world1 as 
it were1 was revealed for human thought 
and speculation4 ,we learned that our   
globe was not1 as we had supposed1 the  
centre of the universe4 ,it was assigned
 its place far from that centre1 and was
 known to be no more than a mere atom1  
lost amid an incalculable number of     
other globes4 ,the revelations of the   
telescope proved that those who formerly
 were considered wise actually knew     
nothing4 ,quickly following these       
discoveries1 extraordinary narratives of

 excursions through space began to be   
given to the world4  ,those scientific  
romances were simply wild exaggerations1
 based upon the thinnest foundation of  
scientific facts4 ,in order1 however1 to
 describe a journey among the stars1 it 
was necessary to invent some mode of    
locomotion in these distant regions4 ,in
 former times ,lucian had been content  
with a ship which ascended to the rising
 moon upon a waterspout2 but it was now 
necessary to improve upon this very     
primitive mode1 as people began to know 
something more of the forces of nature4 
,one of the first of these travellers in
 imagination to the moon in modern times
 was ,godwin 7#afch71 and his plan was  
more ingenious than that of ,lucian4 ,he
 trained a great number of the wild     
swans of ,st4 ,helena to fly constantly 
upward toward a white object1 and1      
having succeeded in thus training them1 
one fine night he threw himself off the 
,peak of ,teneriffe1 poised upon a piece
 of board1 which was borne upward to the

 white moon by a great team of the      
gigantic swans4 ,at the end of twelve   
days he arrived1 according to his story1
 at his destination4 ,a little later    
another writer of this peculiar kind of 
fiction1 ,wilkins1 an ,englishman1      
professed to have made the same ascent1 
borne up by an eagle4 ,alexandre ,dumas1
 who recently wrote a short romance upon
 the same subject1 only made a          
translation of an ,english work by that 
author4 ,wilkins' work is entitled1     
8,the ,discovery of a ,new ,world40 ,one
 chapter of the book bears the title1   
8,that #8tis possible for some of our   
posterity to find out a conveyance to   
this other world2 and1 if there be      
inhabitants there1 to have commerce with
 them40 ,it is thus that the right      
reverend philosopher reasons3--  8,if it
 be here inquired what means there may  
be conjectured for our ascending beyond 
the sphere of the earth's mathematical  
vigour1 ,i answer4--#a4 #8,tis not      
possible that a man may be able to fly  

by the application of wings to his own  
body1 as angels are pictured1 as        
,mercury and ,daedalus are feigned1 and 
as hath been attempted by divers1       
particularly by a ,turk in              
,constantinople1 a ,busbequius relates4 
#b4 ,if there be such a great duck in   
,madagascar as ,marcus ,polus1 the      
,venetian1 mentions1 the feathers of    
whose wings are twelve feet long1 which 
can scoop up a horse and his rider1 or  
an elephant1 as our kites do a mouse2   
why1 then1 #8,tis but teaching one of   
these to carry a man1 and he may ride up
 thither1 as ,ganymede does upon an     
eagle4 #c4 ,or if neither of these ways 
will serve yet ,i do seriously1 and upon
 good grounds1 affirm it is possible to 
make a flying chariot1 in which a man   
may sit and give such a motion to it as 
shall convey him through the air4 ,and  
this1 perhaps1 might be made large      
enough to carry divers men at the same  
time1 together with food for their      
viaticum1 and commodities for traffic4  

,it is not the bigness of anything in   
this kind that can hinder its motion if 
the motive faculty be answerable        
8hereunto4 ,we see that2 great ship     
swims as well as a small cork1 and an   
eagle flies in the air as well as a     
little gnat4 ,this engine may be        
contrived from the same principles by   
which ,archytas made a wooden dove1 and 
,regiomontanus a wooden eagle4 ,i       
conceive it were no difficult matter 7if
 a man had leisure7 to show more        
particularly the means of composing it4 
,the perfecting of such an invention    
would be of such excellent use that it  
were enough1 not only to make a man     
famous but the age wherein he lives4    
,for1 besides the strange discoveries   
that it might occasion in this other    
world1 it would be also of inconceivable
 advantage for travelling1 above any    
other conveyance that is now in use4 ,so
 that1 notwithstanding all these seeming
 impossibilities1 it is likely enough   
that there may be a means invented of   

journeying to the moon2 and how happy   
shall they be that are first successful 
in this attempt60  ,afterwards comes    
,cyrano of ,bergerac1 who promulgates   
five different means of flying in the   
air4 ,first1 by means of phials filled  
with dew1 which would attract and cause 
to mount up4 ,secondly1 by a great bird 
made of wood1 the wings of which should 
be kept in motion4 ,thirdly1 by rockets1
 which1 going off successively1 would   
drive up the balloon by the force of    
projection4 ,fourthly1 by an octahedron 
of glass1 heated by the sun1 and of     
which the lower part should be allowed  
to penetrate the dense cold air1 which1 
pressing up against the rarefied hot    
air1 would raise the balloon4 ,fifthly1 
by a car of iron and a ball of          
magnetised iron1 which the aeronaut     
would keep throwing up in the air1 and  
which would attract and draw up the     
balloon4 ,the wiseacre who invented     
these modes of flying in the air seems1 
some would say1 to have been more in    

want of very strict confinement on the  
earth than of the freedom of the skies4 
,in #afgj ,francis ,lana constructed the
 flying-machine shown on the next page4 
,the specific lightness of heated air   
and of hydrogen gas not having yet been 
discovered1 his only idea for making his
 globes rise was to take all the air out
 of them4 ,but even supposing that the  
globes were thus rendered light enough  
to rise1 they must inevitably have      
collapsed under the atmospheric         
pressure4  ,as for the idea of making   
use of a sail to direct the balloon1 as 
one directs a vessel1 that also was a   
delusion2 for the whole machine1 globes 
and sails1 being freely thrown into the 
air1 would infallibly follow the        
direction of the wind1 whatever that    
might be4 ,when a ship lies in the sea1 
and its sails are inflated with the     
wind1 we must remember that there are   
two forces in operation--the active     
force of the wind and the passive force 
of the resistance of the water2 and in  

working these forces the one against the
 other1 the sailor can turn within a    
point of any direction he pleases4 ,but 
when we are subjected wholly to a single
 force1 and have no point of support by 
the use of which to turn that force to  
our own purposes1 as is the case with   
the aeronaut1 we are entirely at the    
mercy of that force1 and must obey it4  
,after the flying-machine of ,lana there
 was constructed by ,galien 7who1 like  
the former1 was an ecclesiastic7 an     
air-boat1 less chimerical in its form1  
looked at in view of the conditions of  
aerial navigation1 but much more        
singular4 ,galien describes his         
air-boat1 in #agee1 in his little work  
entitled1 8,the ,art of ,sailing in the 
,air40 ,his project was a most          
extraordinary one1 and its boldness is  
only equalled by the seriousness of the 
narrative4 ,according to him1 the       
atmosphere is divided into two          
horizontal layers1 the upper of which is
 much lighter than the lower4 8,but10   

says ,galien1 8a ship keeps its place in
 the water because it is full of air1   
and air is much lighter than water4     
,suppose1 then1 that there was the same 
difference of weight between the upper  
and the lower layer of air as there is  
between the lower stratum and water2 and
 suppose1 also1 a boat which rested upon
 the lower layer of air1 with its bulk  
in the lighter upper layer--like a ship 
which has its keel in the water but its 
bulk in the air--the same thing would   
happen with the air-ship as with the    
water-ship--it would float in the denser
 layer of air40  ,galien adds that in   
the region of hail there was in the air 
a separation into two layers1 the       
weights of which respectively are as #a 
to #b4 8,then10 says he1 8in placing an 
air-boat in the region of hail1 with its
 sides rising eighty-three fathoms into 
the upper region1 which is much more    
light1 one could sail perfectly40  ,but 
how to get this enormous air-boat up to 
the region of hail8 ,this is a minor    

detail1 respecting which ,galien is not 
clear4  ,from the labours of ,lana and  
,galien1 with their impossible flying   
machines1 the inventor of the balloon   
could derive no benefit whatever2 nor is
 his fame to be in the least diminished 
because many had laboured in the same   
field before him4 ,nor can the story of 
the ovoador1 or flying man1 a legend    
very confused1 and of which there are   
many versions1 have given to            
,montgolfier any valuable hints4 ,it    
appears that a certain ,laurent de      
,guzman1 a monk of ,rio ,janeiro1       
performed at ,lisbon before the king1   
,john ,v41 raising himself in a balloon 
to a considerable height4 ,other        
versions of the story give a different  
date1 and assign the pretended ascent to
 #agji4 ,the above engraving1 extracted 
from the 8,bibliotheque de la ,rue de   
,richelieu10 is an exact copy of        
,guzman's supposed balloon4  ,in #afgh a
 mechanician of ,salle1 in ,maine1 named
 ,besnier invented a flying-machine4    

,the machine consisted of four great    
wings1 or paddles1 mounted at the       
extremities of levers1 which rested on  
the shoulders of the man who guided it1 
and who could move them alternately by  
means of his hands and feet4 ,the       
following description of the machine is 
given in the ,journal de ,paris by an   
eye-witness3  8,the #8wings' are oblong 
frames1 covered with taffeta1 and       
attached to the ends of two rods1       
adjusted on the shoulders ,the wings    
work up and down4 ,those in front are   
worked by the hands2 those behind by the
 feet1 which are connected with the ends
 of the rods by strings4 ,the movements 
were such that when the right hand made 
the right wing descend in front1 the    
left foot made the left wing descend    
behind2 and in like manner the left hand
 in front and the right foot behind     
acted together simultaneously4 ,this    
diagonal action appeared very well      
contrived2 it was the action of most    
quadrupeds as well as of man when       

walking2 but the contrivance1 like      
others of the same kind1 failed in not  
being fitted with gearing to enable the 
air traveller to proceed in any other   
direction than that in which the wind   
blew him4 ,the inventor first flew down 
from a stool1 then from a table1        
afterwards from a window1 and finally   
from a garret1 from which he passed     
above the houses in the neighbourhood1  
and then1 moderating the working of his 
machine1 he descended slowly to the     
earth40  ,tradition records that under  
,louis ,,xiv4 a certain rope-dancer1    
named ,alard1 announced that on a       
certain day he would perform the feat of
 flying in the air4 ,we have no         
description of his wings4 ,it is        
recorded1 however1 that he set out on   
his adventurous flight2 but he had not  
calculated all the necessities of the   
case1 and1 falling to the ground1 he was
 dangerously hurt4  ,leonardo da ,vinci 
might have known the art of flying in   
the air1 and might even have practiced  

it4 ,a statement to this effect1 at     
least1 is found in several historians4  
,we have1 however1 no direct proof of   
the fact4  ,the ,abbe ,deforges1 of     
,etampes1 announced in the journals in  
#aggb that he would perform the great   
feat4 ,on the appointed day multitudes  
of the curious flocked to ,etampes4 ,the
 abbe's machine was a sort of gondola1  
seven feet long and about two feet deep4
 ,gondola conductor1 and baggage weighed
 in all #bac pounds4 ,the pious man     
believed that he had provided against   
everything4 ,neither tempest nor rain   
should mar his flight1 and there was no 
chance of his being upset2 whilst the   
machine1 he had decided1 was to go at   
the rate of thirty leagues an hour4     
,the great day came1 and the abbe1      
entering his air-boat amidst the        
applause of the spectators1 began to    
work the wings with which it was        
provided with great rapidity4 8,but10   
says one who witnessed the feat1 8the   
more he worked1 the more his machine    

cleaved to the earth1 as if it were part
 and parcel of it40  ,retif de la       
,bretonne1 in his work upon this        
subject1 gives the accompanying picture 
of a flying man1 furnished with very    
artistically designed wings1 fitting    
exactly to the shoulders1 and carrying a
 basket of provisions1 suspended from   
his waist2 and the frontispiece of the  
8,philosophic sans ,pretention0 is a    
view of a flying-machine4 ,in the midst 
of a frame of light wood sits the       
operator1 steadying himself with one    
hand1 and with the other fuming a       
cremaillere1 which appears to give a    
very quick rotatory movement to two     
glass globes revolving upon a vertical  
axis4 ,the friction of the globes is    
supposed to develop electricity to which
 his power of ascending is ascribed4    
,to wings1 however1 aerial adventurers  
mostly adhered4 ,the ,marquis de        
,racqueville flew from a window of his  
hotel1 on the banks of the ,seine1 and  
fell into a boat full of washerwomen on 

the river4 ,all these unfortunate       
attempts were lampooned1 burlesqued on  
the stage1 and pursued with the mockery 
of the public4  ,up to this time1       
therefore1 the efforts of man to conquer
 the air had miscarried4 ,they were     
conducted on a wrong principle1 the     
machinery employed being heavier than   
the air itself ,but1 even before the    
time of ,montgolfier1 the principles of 
aerostation began to be recognised1     
though nothing was actually done in the 
way of acting upon them4 ,thus1 in      
#agfg1 ,professor ,black1 of ,edinburgh1
 announced in his class that a vessel1  
filled with hydrogen1 would rise        
naturally in the air2 but he never made 
the experiment1 regarding the fact as   
capable of being employed only for      
amusement4 ,finally1 ,cavallo1 in #aghb1
 communicated to the ,royal ,society of 
,london the experiments he had made1 and
 which consisted in filling soap-bubbles
 with hydrogen4 ,the bubbles rose in the
 atmosphere1 the gas which filled them  

being lighter than air4    ,chapter     
,,iii4 ,the ,theory of ,balloons4  ,a   
certain proposition in physics1 known as
 the 8,principle of ,archimedes10 runs  
to the following effect3--8,every body  
plunged into a liquid loses a portion of
 its weight equal to the weight of the  
fluid which it displaces40 ,everybody   
has verified this principle1 and knows  
that objects are much lighter in water  
than out of it2 a body plunged into     
water being acted upon by two           
forces--its own weight1 which tends to  
sink it1 and resistance from below1     
which tends to bear it up4 ,but this    
principle applies to gas as well as to  
liquids--to air as well as to water4    
,when we weigh a body in the air1 we do 
not find its absolute weight1 but that  
weight minus the weight of the air which
 the body displaces4 ,in order to know  
the exact weight of an object1 it would 
be necessary to weigh it in a vacuum4   
,if an object thrown into the air is    
heavier than the air which it displaces1

 it descends1 and falls upon the earth2 
if it is of equal weight1 it floats     
without rising or falling2 if it is     
lighter1 it rises until it comes to a   
stratum of air of less weight or density
 than itself4 ,we all know1 of course1  
that the higher you rise from the earth 
the density of the air diminishes4 ,the 
stratum of air that lies upon the       
surface of the earth is the heaviest1   
because it supports the pressure of all 
the other strata that lie above4 ,thus  
the lightest strata are the highest4    
,the principle of the construction of   
balloons is1 therefore1 in perfect      
harmony with physical laws4 ,balloons   
are simply globes1 made of a light1     
air-tight material1 filled with hot air 
or hydrogen gas which rise in the air   
because 7they are lighter than the air  
they displace74  ,the application of    
this principle appeared so simple1 that 
at the time when the news of the        
invention of the balloon was spread     
abroad the astronomer ,lalande          

wrote--8,at this news we all cry1       
#8,this must be6 ,why did we not think  
of it before8'0 ,it had been thought of 
before1 as we have seen in the last     
chapter1 but it is often long after an  
idea is conceived that it is practically
 realised4  ,the first balloon1         
,montgolfier's1 was simply filled with  
hot air2 and it was because ,montgolfier
 exclusively made use of hot air that   
balloons so filled were named           
,montgolfiers4 ,of course we see at a   
glance that hot air is lighter than cold
 air1 because it has become expanded and
 occupies more space--that is to say1 a 
volume of hot air contains actually less
 air than a volume of the same size of  
air that has not been heated4 ,the      
difference between the weight of the hot
 air and the cold which it displaced was
 greater than the weight of tire        
covering of the balloon4 ,therefore the 
balloon mounted4  ,and1 seeing that air 
diminishes in density the higher we     
ascend1 the balloon can rise only to    

that stratum of air of the same density 
as the air it contains4 ,as the warm air
 cools it gently descends4 ,again1 as   
the atmosphere is always moving in      
currents more or less strong1 the       
balloon follows the direction of the    
current of the stratum of air in which  
it finds itself4  ,thus we see how      
simply the ascent of ,montgolfiers1 and 
their motions1 are explained4 ,it is the
 same with gas-balloons4 ,a balloon1    
filled with hydrogen gas1 displaces an  
equal volume of atmospheric air2 but as 
the gas is much lighter than the air1 it
 is pushed up by a force equal to the   
difference of the density of air and    
hydrogen gas4 ,the balloon then rises in
 the atmosphere to where it reaches     
layers of air of a density exactly equal
 to its own1 and when it gets there it  
remains poised in its place4 ,in order  
that it may descend1 it is necessary to 
let out a portion of the hydrogen gas1  
and admit an equal quantity of          
atmospheric air2 and the balloon does   

not come to the ground till all1 or     
nearly all1 the gas has been expelled   
and common air taken in4 ,balloons      
inflated with hydrogen gas are almost   
the only ones in use at the present day4
 ,scarcely ever is a ,montgolfier sent  
up4 ,there are aeronauts1 however1 who  
prefer a journey in a ,montgolfier to   
one in a gas-balloon4 ,the air voyager  
in this description of balloon had      
formerly many difficulties to contend   
with4 ,the quantity of combustible      
material which he was bound to carry    
with him2 the very little difference    
that there is between the density of    
heated and of cold air2 the necessity of
 feeding the fire1 and watching it      
without a moment's cessation1 as it     
hangs in the rechaud over the middle of 
the car1 rendered this sort of air      
travelling subject to many dangers and  
difficulties4 ,recently1 ,m4 ,eugene    
,godard has obviated a portion of this  
difficulty by fitting a chimney1 like   
that which is found of such incalculable

 service in the case of the ,davy lamp4 
,it is principally on account of this   
improvement that the ,montgolfiere has  
risen so highly in popular esteem4      
,generally it is not pure hydrogen that 
is made use of in the inflation of      
balloons4 ,aeronauts content themselves 
with the gas which we burn in our       
streets and houses1 and thus it         
suffices1 in inflating the balloon1 to  
obtain from the nearest gas-works the   
quantity of gas necessary1 and to lead  
it1 by means of a pipe or tube1 from the
 gasometer to the mouth or neck of the  
machine4  ,the balloon is made of long  
strips of silk1 sewn together1 and      
rendered air-tight by means of a coating
 of caoutchouc4 ,a valve is fitted to   
the top1 and by means of it the aeronaut
 can descend to the earth at will1 by   
allowing some quantity of the gas to    
escape4 ,the car in which he sits is    
suspended to the balloon by a network1  
which covers the whole structure4 ,sacks
 of sand are carried in this car as     

ballast1 so that1 when descending1 if   
the aeronaut sees that he is likely to  
be precipitated into the sea or into a  
lake1 he throws over the sand1 and his  
air-carriage1 being thus lightened1     
mounts again and travels away to a more 
desirable resting-place4 ,the idea of   
the valve1 as well as that of the sand  
ballast1 is due to the physician        
,charles4 ,they enable the aeronaut to  
ascend or descend with facility4 ,when  
he wishes to mount1 he throws over his  
ballast2 when he wants to come down1 he 
lets the gas escape by the valve at the 
roof of the balloon4 ,this valve is     
worked by means of a spring1 having a   
long rope attached to it1 which hangs   
down through the neck to the car1 where 
the aeronaut sits4  ,the operation of   
inflating a balloon with pure hydrogen  
is represented in the engraving on the  
next page4  ,shavings of iron and zinc1 
water1 and sulphuric acid1 occupy a     
number of casks1 which communicate1 by  
means of tubes1 with a central cask1    

which is open at the bottom1 and is     
plunged in a copper full of water4 ,the 
gas is produced by the action of the    
water and the sulphuric acid upon the   
zinc and the iron this is hydrogen mixed
 with sulphuric acid4 ,in passing       
through the central copper1 or vat1 full
 of water1 the gas throws off all       
impurities1 and comes1 unalloyed with   
any other matter1 into the balloon by a 
long tube1 leading from the central     
vats4 ,in order to facilitate the       
entrance of the gas into the balloon two
 long poles are erected4 ,these are     
furnished with pulleys1 through which a 
rope1 attached also to a ring at the top
 of the balloon1 passes4 ,by means of   
this contrivance the balloon can be at  
once lightly raised from the ground1 and
 the gas tubes easily joined to it4     
,when it is half full it is no longer   
necessary to suspend the balloon2 on the
 contrary1 it has to be secured1 lest it
 should fly off4 ,a number of men hold  
it back by ropes2 but as the force of   

ascension is every moment increasing1   
the work of restraining the balloon is  
most difficult and exciting4 ,at length1
 all preparations being complete1 the   
car is suspended1 the aeronaut takes his
 seat1 the words 8,let go all60 are     
shouted1 and away goes the silken globe 
into space4  ,the balloon is never      
entirely filled1 for the atmospheric    
pressure diminishing as it ascends1     
allows the hydrogen gas to dilate1 in   
virtue of its expansive force1 and1     
unless there is space for this          
expansion1 the balloon is sure to       
explode in the air4  ,an ordinary       
balloon1 with a lifting power sufficient
 to carry up three persons1 with        
necessary ballast and materiel1 is about
 fifty feet high1 thirty-five feet in   
diameter' and #b1bej cubic feet in      
capacity4 ,of such a balloon1 the       
accessories--the skin1 the network1 the 
car--would weigh about #cce lbs4  ,to   
find out the height at which he has     
arrived1 the aeronaut consults his      

barometer4 ,we know that it is the      
pressure of the air upon the cup of the 
barometer that raises the mercury in the
 tube4 ,the heavier the air is1 the     
higher is the barometer4 ,at the level  
of the sea the column of mercury stands 
at #cb inches2 at #c1bej feet--the air  
being at this elevation lighter--the    
mercury stands at #bh inches2 at #f1ejj 
feet above sea level it stands at #be   
inches2 at #aj1jjj feet it falls to #bb 
inches2 at #bj1jjj feet to #ae inches4  
,these1 however1 are merely the         
theoretic results1 and are subject to   
some slight variation1 according to     
locality1 c4  ,sometimes the aeronaut   
makes his descent by means of the       
parachute1 a separate and distinct      
contrivance4 ,if1 from any cause1 it    
appears impracticable to effect a       
descent from the balloon itself1 the    
parachute may be of the greatest service
 to the voyager at the present day it is
 chiefly used to astonish the public1 by
 showing them the spectacle of a man    

who1 from a great elevation in the air1 
precipitates himself into space1 not to 
escape dangers which threaten him in his
 balloon1 but simply to exhibit his     
courage and skill4 ,nevertheless1       
parachutes are often of great actual    
use1 and aeronauts frequently attach    
them to their balloons as a             
precautionary measure before setting out
 on an aerial excursion4  ,the shape of 
a parachute1 shown on the previous page1
 very much resembles that of the        
well-known all serviceable umbrella4    
,the strips of silk of which it is      
formed are sewn together1 and are bound 
at the top around a circular piece of   
wood4 ,a number of cords1 stretching    
away from this piece of wood1 support   
the car in which the aeronaut is        
carried4 ,at the summit is contrived an 
opening1 which permits the air          
compressed by the rapidity of the       
descent to escape without causing damage
 to the parachute from the stress to    
which it is subjected4  ,the rapidity of

 the descent is arrested by the large   
surface which the parachute presents to 
the air4 ,when the aeronaut wishes to   
descend by the parachute1 all that is   
required is1 after he has slipped down  
from the car of the balloon to that of  
the parachute1 to loosen the rope which 
binds the latter to the former1 which is
 done by means of a pulley4 ,in an      
instant the aeronaut is launched into   
space with a rapidity in comparison with
 which the wild flights of the balloon  
are but gentle oscillations4 ,but in a  
few moments1 the air rushing into the   
folds of the parachute1 forces them open
 like an umbrella1 and immediately1     
owing to the wide surface which this    
contrivance presents to the atmosphere1 
the violence of the descent is arrested1
 and the aeronaut falls gently to the   
ground1 without receiving too rude a    
shock4  ,the virtues of the parachute   
were first tried upon animals4 ,thus1   
,blanchard allowed his dog to fall in   
one from a height of #f1ejj feet4 ,a    

gust of wind caught the falling         
parachute1 and swept it away up above   
the clouds4 ,afterwards1 the aeronaut in
 his balloon fell in with the dog in the
 parachute1 both of them high up in the 
cloudy reaches of the sky1 and the poor 
animal manifested by his barking his joy
 at seeing his master4 ,a new current   
separated the aerial voyagers1 but the  
parachute1 with its canine passenger1   
reached the ground safely a short time  
after ,blanchard had landed from his    
balloon4  ,experience has proved that1  
in the case of a descending parachute1  
if the rapidity of the descent is       
doubled the resistance of the air is    
quadrupled2 if the rapidity is triple   
the resistance is increased ninefold2   
or1 to speak in language of science1 the
 resistance of the air is increased by  
the square of the swiftness of the body 
in motion4 ,this resistance increases in
 proportion as the parachute spreads1   
and thus the uniformity of its fall is  
established a minute after it has been  

disengaged from the balloon4 ,we can1   
therefore1 check the descent of a body  
by giving it a surface capable of       
distension by the action of the air4    
,garnerin1 in the year #ahjb1 conceived 
the bold design of letting himself fall 
from a height of #a1bjj feet1 and he    
accomplished the exploit before the     
,parisians4 ,when he had reached the    
height he had fixed beforehand1 he cut  
the rope which connected the parachute  
with the balloon4 ,at first the fall was
 terribly rapid2 but as soon as the     
parachute spread out the rapidity was   
considerably diminished4 ,the machine   
made1 however1 enormous oscillations4   
,the air1 gathering end compressed under
 it1 would sometimes escape by one side 
sometimes by the other1 thus shaking and
 whirling the parachute about with a    
violence which1 however great1 had      
happily no unfortunate effect4  ,the    
origin of the parachute is more remote  
than is generally supposed1 as there was
 a figure of one which appeared among a 

collection of machines at ,venice1 in   
#afag4  ,another species of parachute1  
less perfect1 to be sure2 than that of  
,garnerin1 but still a practical        
machine1 was described #ahi years before
 the great aeronaut's feat at ,paris4   
,we read in the narrative of the        
ambassador of ,louis ,,xiv at ,siam1 at 
the end of the seventeenth century1 the 
following passage--8,a mountebank at the
 court of the ,king of ,siam climbed to 
the top of a high bamboo-tree1 and threw
 himself into the air without any other 
support than two parasols4 ,thus        
equipped1 he abandoned himself to the   
winds1 which carried him1 as by chance1 
sometimes to the earth1 sometimes on    
trees or houses1 and sometimes into the 
river1 without any harm happening to    
him40  ,is not this the idea of our     
parachutes8    ,chapter ,,iv4 ,first    
,public ,trial of the ,balloon4         
7,montgolfier's ,balloon ,annonay1 #eth 
of ,june of #aghc47  ,we are accustomed 
to rank the brothers ,joseph and        

,etienne ,montgolfier as equally        
distinguished in the field of science4  
,the reason for thus associating these  
two names seems to have been the        
fraternal friendship which subsisted in 
an extraordinary degree in the          
,montgolfier family1 rather than any    
equality of claim which they had to the 
notice of posterity4 ,after special     
investigation1 we find that ,joseph     
,montgolfier was very superior to his   
brother1 and that it is to him          
principally1 if not exclusively1 that we
 owe the invention of aerostation4      
,nevertheless1 we shall not insist upon 
this fact2 and seeing that a sacred     
amity always cemented a perfect union in
 the ,montgolfier family1 we will regard
 that union as unbroken in any sense1   
and will not insinuate that the brother 
of ,montgolfier was undeserving of the  
honoured rank which in his lifetime he  
held4  ,in #aghc1 the sons of ,pierre   
,montgolfier1 a rich papermaker at      
,annonay department of ,ardeche1 were   

already in the prime of life1 and it is 
related of them that their principal    
occupation was experimenting in the     
physical sciences4 ,joseph ,montgolfier1
 after being convinced by a number of   
minor experiments made in #aghb and     
#aghc1 that a heat of #ahj degrees      
rarefied the air and made it occupy a   
space of ,,twice the extent it occupied 
before being heated--or1 in other words1
 that this degree of heat diminished the
 weight of air by one half--began to    
speculate on what might be the shape and
 the material of a structure which being
 filled with air thus heated1 would be  
able to raise itself from the earth in  
spite of the weight of its own covering4
  ,his first balloon was a small        
parallelopiped in very thin taffeta1    
containing less than seventy-eight cubic
 inches of air4 ,he made it rise to the 
roof of his apartment in ,november1     
#aghb--;at ,avignon1 where he then      
happened to be4 ,having returned some   
little time after to ,annonay1 ,joseph  

and his brother performed the same      
experiment1 together in the open air    
with perfect success4 ,certain1 then1 of
 the new principle1 they made a balloon 
of considerable size1 containing upwards
 of sixty-five feet of heated air4      
,this machine likewise rose1 tore away  
the cords by which it was at first held 
down1 and mounting in the air to the    
height of from two to three hundred     
feet1 fell upon the neighbouring hills  
after a considerable flight4 ,the       
brothers ,montgolfier then made a very  
large and strong balloon1 with which    
they wished to bring their discovery    
before the public4  ,the appointed day  
was the #eth of ,june1 #aghc and the    
nobility of the vicinity were invited to
 be present at the experiment4 ,faujas  
de ,saint ,fond1 author of 8,la         
,description des ,experiences de la     
,machine ,aerostatique10 published the  
same year1 gives the following account  
of it3--  8,what10 says ,saint ,fond1   
8was the general astonishment when the  

inventors of the machine announced that 
immediately it should be full of gas1   
which they had the means of producing at
 will by the most simple process1 it    
would raise itself to the clouds4 ,it   
must be granted that1 in spite of the   
confidence in the ingenuity and         
experience of the ,montgolfiers1 this   
feat seemed so incredible to those who  
came to witness it1 that the persons who
 knew most about it--who were1 at the   
same time1 the most favourably          
predisposed in its favour--doubted of   
its success4  8,at last the brothers    
,montgolfier commenced their work4 ,they
 first of all began to make the smoke   
necessary for their experiment4 ,the    
machine--which at first seemed only a   
covering of cloth1 lined with paper1 a  
sort of sack thirty-five feet           
high--became inflated1 and grew large   
even under the eyes of the spectator1   
took consistence1 assumed a beautiful   
form1 stretched itself on all sides1 and
 struggled to escape4 ,meanwhile1 strong

 arms were holding it down until the    
signal was given1 when it loosened      
itself1 and with a rush rose to the     
height of #a1jjj fathoms in less than   
ten minutes40 ,it then described a      
horizontal line of #g1bjj feet1 and as  
it had lost a considerable amount of    
gas1 it began to descend quietly4 ,it   
reached the ground in safety2 and this  
first attempt1 crowned with such        
decisive success1 secured for ever to   
the brothers ,montgolfier the glory of  
one of the most astonishing discoveries4
  8,when we reflect for a moment upon   
the numberless difficulties which such a
 bold attempt entailed1 upon the bitter 
criticism to which it would have exposed
 its projectors had it failed through   
any accident1 and upon the sums that    
must have been spent in carrying it out1
 we cannot withhold the highest         
admiration for the men who conceived the
 idea and carried it out to such a      
successful issue40  ,etienne            
,montgolfier has left us a description  

of this first balloon4 8,the aerostatic 
machine10 he says1 8was constructed of  
cloth lined with paper1 fastened        
together on a network of strings fixed  
to the cloth4 ,it was spherical2 its    
circumference was #aaj feet1 and a      
wooden frame sixteen feet square held it
 fixed at the bottom4 ,its contents were
 about #bb1jjj cubic feet1 and it       
accordingly displaced a volume of air   
weighing #a1ihj #a;bs4 ,the weight of   
the gas was nearly half the weight of   
the air1 for it weighed #iij lbs41 and  
the machine itself1 with the frame1     
weighed #ejj3 it was1 therefore1        
impelled upwards with the force of #dij 
lbs4 ,two men sufficed to raise it and  
to fill it with gas1 but it took eight  
to hold it down till the signal was     
given4 ,the different pieces of the     
covering were fastened together with    
buttons and button-holes4 ,it remained  
ten minutes in the air1 but the loss of 
gas by the button-holes1 and by other   
imperfections1 did not permit it to     

continue longer4 ,the wind at the moment
 of the ascent was from the north4 ,the 
machine came down so lightly that no    
part of it was broken40    ,chapter ,v4 
,second ,experiment4  7,charles's       
,balloon1 ,paris1 ,champ de ,mars1 #bgth
 of ,august1 #aghc47  ,the indescribable
 enthusiasm caused by the ascent of the 
first balloon at ,annonay1 spread in all
 directions1 and excited the wondering  
curiosity of the savants of the capital4
 ,an official report had been prepared1 
and sent to the ,academy of ,sciences in
 ,paris1 and the result was that the    
,academy named a commission of inquiry4 
,but fame1 more rapid than scientific   
commissions1 and more enthusiastic than 
academies1 had1 at a single flight1     
passed from ,annonay to ,paris1 and     
kindled the anxious ardour of the lovers
 of science in that city4 ,the great    
desire was to rival ,montgolfier1       
although neither the report nor the     
letters from ,annonay had made mention  
of the kind of gas used by that         

experimenter to inflate his balloon4 ,by
 one of the frequent coincidences in the
 history of the sciences1 hydrogen gas  
had been discovered six years previously
 by the great ,english physician        
,cavendish1 and it had hardly even been 
tested in the laboratories of the       
chemists when it all at once became     
famous4 ,a young man well versed in     
physics1 ,professor ,charles1 assisted  
by two practical men1 the brothers      
,robert1 threw himself ardently into the
 investigation of the modes of inflating
 balloons with this gas1 which was then 
called ,,inflammable ,,air4 ,guessing   
that it was much lighter than that which
 ,montgolfier had been obliged to make  
use of in his third-rate provincial     
town1 ,charles leagued himself with his 
two assistants to constrict a balloon of
 taffeta1 twelve feet in diameter1      
covered with india-rubber1 and to       
inflate it with hydrogen4  ,the thing   
thus arranged1 a subscription was       
opened4 ,the projected experiment having

 been talked of all over ,paris1 every  
one was struck with the idea1 and       
subscriptions poured in4 ,even the most 
illustrious names are to be found in the
 list1 which may be called the first    
national subscription in ,france4       
,nothing had been written of the        
forthcoming event in any public paper1  
yet all ,paris seemed to flock to       
contribute to the curious experiment4   
,the inflation with hydrogen was        
effected in a very curious manner4 ,as  
much as #a1abe lbs4 of iron and #efj    
lbs4 of sulphuric acid were found       
necessary to inflate a balloon which had
 scarcely a lifting power of #bb lbs41  
and the process of filling took no less 
than four hours4 ,at length1 however1 at
 the end of the fourth hour1 the        
balloon1 composed of strips of silk1    
coated with varnish1 floated1 two-thirds
 full1 from the workshop of the brothers
 ,robert4  ,on the morning of the #bfth 
of ,august1 the day before the ascent   
was to be made1 the balloon was visited 

at daybreak1 and found to be in a       
promising state4 ,at two o'clock on the 
following morning its constructors began
 to make preparations to transport it to
 the ,champ de ,mars1 from which place  
it was to be let loose4 ,skilled workmen
 were employed in its removal1 and every
 precaution was taken that the gas with 
which it was charged should not be      
allowed to escape4 ,in the meantime the 
excitement of the people about this     
wonderful structure was rising to the   
highest pitch4 ,the wagon on which it   
was placed for removal was surrounded on
 all sides by eager multitudes1 and the 
night-patrols1 both of horse and foot1  
which were set to guard the avenues     
leading to where it lay1 were quite     
unable to stem the tide of human beings 
that poured along to get a glimpse of   
it4  ,the conveyance of the balloon to  
the ,champ de ,mars was a most singular 
spectacle4 ,a vanguard1 with lighted    
torches1 preceded it2 it was surrounded 
by special attendants1 and was followed 

by detachments of night-patrols on foot 
and mounted4 ,the size and shape of this
 structure1 which was escorted with such
 pomp and precaution--the silence that  
prevailed--the unearthly hour1 all      
helped to give an air of mystery to the 
proceedings4 ,at last1 having passed    
through the principal thoroughfares1 it 
arrived at the ,champ de ,mars1 where it
 was placed in an enclosure prepared for
 its reception4  ,when the dawn came1   
and the balloon had been fixed in its   
place by cords1 attached around its     
middle and fixed to iron rings planted  
in the earth1 the final process of      
inflation began4  ,the ,champ de ,mars  
was guarded by troops1 and the avenues  
were also guarded on all sides4 ,as the 
day wore on an immense crowd covered the
 open space1 and every advantageous spot
 in the neighborhood was crowded with   
people4 ,at five o'clock the report of a
 cannon announced to the multitudes1 and
 to scientific men who were posted on   
elevations to make observations of the  

great event1 that the grand moment had  
come4 ,the cords were withdrawn1 and1 to
 the vast delight and wonder of the     
crowd assembled1 the balloon shot up    
with such rapidity that in two minutes  
it had ascended #dhh fathoms4 ,at this  
height it was lost in a cloud for an    
instant1 and1 reappearing1 rose to a    
great height1 and was again lost in     
higher clouds4 ,the ascent was a        
splendid success4 ,the rain that fell   
damped neither the balloon nor the ardor
 of the spectators4  ,this balloon was  
#ab feet in diameter1 #ch feet in       
circumference1 and had a capacity of    
#idc cubic feet4 ,the weight of the     
materials of which it was constructed   
was #be lbs41 and the force of ascension
 was that of #ce lbs4  ,the fall of the 
balloon was caused by the expansion and 
consequent explosion of the hydrogen    
gas4 ,this event took place some        
distance out in the country1 close to a 
number of peasants1 whose terror at the 
sight and the sound of this strange     

monster from the skies was beyond       
description4 ,the people assembled1 and 
two monks having told them that the     
burst balloon was the hide of a         
monstrous animal1 they immediately began
 to assail it vigorously with stones1   
flails1 and pitchforks4 ,the cure of the
 parish was obliged to walk up to the   
balloon to reassure his terrified flock4
 ,they finally attached the burst       
envelope to a horse's tail1 and dragged 
it far across the fields4  ,many        
drawings and engravings of the period   
represent the peasants armed with       
pitchforks1 flails1 and scythes1        
assailing it1 a dog snapping at it1 a   
garde-champetre firing at it1 a fat     
priest preaching at it1 and a troop of  
young people throwing stones at the     
unfortunate machine4  ,the news of this 
fiasco came to ,paris1 but too late4    
,when search was made for the covering1 
scarcely a fragment could be found4  ,a 
somewhat humorous result of all this was
 the issue of a communication from      

government to the people1 entitled1     
8,warning to the ,people on kidnapping  
,air-balloons40 ,this document1 duly    
signed and approved of1 describes the   
ascents at ,annonay and at ,paris1      
explains the nature and the causes of   
the phenomena1 and warns the people not 
to be alarmed when they see something   
like a 8black moon0 in the sky1 nor to  
give way to fear1 as the seeming monster
 is nothing more than a bag of silk     
filled with gas4  ,this first ascent in 
,paris was an important event4 ,every   
one1 from the smallest to the greatest1 
was deeply interested in it1 while to   
the man of science it was one of the    
most exciting of incidents4 ,for the    
purpose of observing the altitude to    
which the balloon rose1 and the course  
it took1 ,le ,gentil was on the         
observatory1 ,prevost was on one of the 
towers of ,notre ,dame1 ,jeaurat was on 
,la ,place ,louis ,,xv41 and d',agelet  
was on the ,champ de ,mars4 ,it was only
 ,lalande that frowned as he witnessed  

the success of the experiment4 ,he had  
predicted the year before that          
air-navigation was impossible4          
,chapter ,,vi4 ,third ,experiment4      
7,montgolfier's ,balloon1 ,paris1       
,faubourg ,st4 ,antoine47  ,as we have  
seen1 the triumph of aerostation was    
sudden and complete4 ,the young         
,montgolfier had arrived in ,paris prior
 to the experiment of the #bgth of      
,august1 and was present as a simple    
spectator on that occasion4 immediately 
afterwards he set to work upon a        
balloon1 which was to be made use of    
when the ,academy should investigate the
 phenomenon at ,versailles in presence  
of the king1 ,louis ,,xvi4  ,it was at  
this time 7,september1 #aghc7 that those
 small balloons1 made of gold-beaters'  
skin1 which are used as children's toys 
to the present day1 were first made4    
,the whole of ,paris amused itself with 
them1 repeating in little the phenomenon
 of the great ascent4 ,the sky of the   
capital found itself all at once        

traversed by a multitude of small rosy  
clouds1 formed by the hand of man4      
,faujas de ,saint ,fond says that at    
first an attempt was made to construct  
balloons of fine1 light paper2 but this 
material being permeable1 and the gas   
being inflammable1 balloons thus made   
did not succeed4 ,it was necessary to   
seek a material less porous1 and1 if    
possible1 still lighter4  ,the ,journal 
de ,paris1 of the #aath of ,september1  
#aghc1 informed the public that the     
,baron de ,beaumanoir1 8who cultivated  
the sciences and the fine arts with as  
much success as zeal10 would send up a  
balloon eighteen inches in diameter4 ,at
 noon of the same day he made this      
experiment in presence of a numerous    
assembly in the garden in front of the  
,hotel de ,surgeres44 ,the little       
balloon mounted freely1 but was held in1
 like a kite1 by means of a silk thread4
 ,in the course of the same afternoon1  
the baron took down the balloon and     
filled it anew with hydrogen1 and then  

let it off4 ,the spectators had the     
pleasure of seeing it rise to a great   
height1 and pass away in the direction  
of ,neuilly1 and it is said to have been
 found at a distance of several leagues1
 by peasants4  ,however trifling this   
experiment may appear at first sight1 it
 added a new fact to the science of     
aerostation4 ,the material employed by  
the baron was lighter and better than   
paper4 ,it was what is called           
gold-beaters' skin4 ,this skin is simply
 the interior lining of the large bowel 
of the ox4 ,it is carefully prepared1 is
 relieved of the fat1 stringy and uneven
 parts1 is dried1 and is afterwards     
softened4 ,little balloons of this      
material came to be the fashion1 and    
they are still frequently seen4  ,at the
 same time1 ,montgolfier was busy       
constructing1 at the request of the     
,academy of ,sciences1 a balloon seventy
 feet high and forty in diameter1 with  
which it was proposed to repeat the     
experiment of ,annonay4 ,he took up his 

quarters in the magnificent gardens of  
his friend ,reveillon1 proprietor of the
 royal manufactory of stained paper in  
the ,faubourg ,st4 ,antoine4 ,the new   
balloon was of a very singular shape3   
the upper part represented a prism1     
twenty-four feet high the top was a     
pyramid of the same height2 the lower   
part was a truncated cone1 twenty feet  
in depth4 ,it was made of packing-cloth1
 lined with good paper1 both inside and 
out4  ,the gossipping and prolix ,faujas
 de ,saint ,fond thus describes this    
machine3--8,it was painted blue1        
represented a sort of tent1 and was     
richly ornamented with gold ,its height 
was seventy feet2 its weight #a1jjj     
lbs42 the air which it displaced was    
#d1ejj lbs4 in volume1 and the vapor    
with which it was filled was half the   
weight of ordinary air4 ,the approach of
 the equinox having brought rain1 all   
the conditions under which this balloon 
was constructed and exhibited were      
unfavourable4 ,the structure was so     

large that it was impossible to get it  
together and stitch it1 except in the   
open air--in the garden1 in fact1 where 
,montgolfier commenced its construction4
 ,it was a great labour to turn and fold
 this heavy covering1 while the         
liability of the thick paper to crack   
was an additional difficulty4 ,not less 
than twenty men were required to move   
it1 and they were obliged to use all    
their skill1 and every precaution1 not  
to destroy it4 ,no balloon had ever     
given so much trouble4 ,on the #aath of 
,september the weather improved1 and the
 balloon was entirely completed and     
prepared for the first experiment4 ,in  
the evening the attempt was made4 ,it   
was with admiration that the beholders  
saw the beautiful machine filling itself
 in the short space of nine minutes1    
swelling out on all sides and showing   
the full symmetry of its artistic form4 
,it was firmly held in hand1 or it would
 have risen to a great height4 ,on the  
following day the actual ascent was to  

take place1 and the commissioners of the
 ,academy of ,sciences were invited to  
be present4 ,in the morning thick clouds
 covered the horizon1 and a tempest was 
expected2 but as there was an ardent    
desire that the ascent should take place
 without delay1 and as all the gearing  
was in order1 it was resolved to        
proceed4  8,fifty pounds of dry straw   
were fired in parcels under the balloon1
 and upon the fire were thrown at       
intervals several pounds of wool4 ,this 
fuel produced in ten minutes such a     
volume of smoke that the huge balloon   
was speedily filled4 ,it rose1 with a   
weight of #ejj lbs4 holding it down1 to 
some height above the ground1 and had   
the ropes by which it was attached to   
the ground been cut1 it would have      
mounted to a great height4 ,meantime the
 storm broke1 rain descended1 and the   
wind blew with great force4 ,the most   
likely means of saving the balloon was  
to let it fly but as it was to ascend   
again on another occasion1 at           

,versailles1 the greatest efforts were  
made to bring it down1 and these1       
together with the damage caused by the  
storm1 eventually rent it into          
numberless fragments and tatters4 ,it   
withstood the storm for twenty-four     
hours2 then1 however1 the paper came    
peeling off1 and this beautiful         
structure was a wreck40    ,chapter     
,,vii4 ,fourth ,experiment4             
7,versailles1 #aith ,september1 #aghc1  
in presence of ,louis of ,,xvi47  ,of   
course another balloon was wanted for   
the fete at ,versailles4 ,the king had  
demanded an ascent for the #aith1 a week
 after the disaster at the ,faubourg    
,st4 ,antoine4 ,already the possibility 
of a man going up with the balloon was  
discussed1 and people indulged in       
visions of splendid aerial trips2 but   
the king would not hear of the proposal4
 ,balloons were novelties1 not offering 
sufficient security1 and he was         
unwilling that any of his subjects      
should risk their lives in attempting   

the unknown4 ,he consented1 however1 to 
a proposal that animals might be sent up
 in the first instance1 by way of       
experiment1 suspended in an osier cage  
attached to the neck of the balloon4    
,montgolfier at once began a new        
balloon4 ,a few days only were at his   
disposal2 but1 assisted by friends1 he  
worked with such ardour and success that
 he was able1 on the date appointed1 to 
produce a magnificent spherical balloon1
 much stronger than the former1         
constructed of good strong cotton cloth1
 and painted in distemper4  ,it is      
proper here to remark that the first    
balloons were much more elegant in      
appearance than those afterwards made4  
,the coloured prints and engravings of  
the period enable us to form an opinion 
of the splendour of their ornamentation 
and the beauty of their design4         
,sometimes the figures painted upon them
 represented scenes from the heathen    
mythology1 and sometimes historical     
scenes2 while rich embroideries1 royal  

insignia1 and gaily-coloured draperies  
added much to the general effect4 ,the  
,versailles balloon was painted blue1   
with ornaments of gold1 and it presented
 the form of a richly decorated tent4   
,it was fifty-seven feet in height1 and 
sixty-seven in diameter4  ,it was first 
tried at ,paris1 and succeeded          
perfectly4 ,on the morning of the #aith 
it was carried to ,versailles1 where due
 preparation had been made for its      
reception ,in the great court of the    
castle a sort of theatre had been       
temporarily erected with a scaffolding1 
covered throughout with tapestry ,in the
 middle was an opening more than fifteen
 feet in diameter1 in which was spread a
 banquet for those who had constructed  
the balloon4 ,a numerous guard formed a 
double cordon around the structure4 ,a  
raised platform was used for the fire by
 means of which the balloon was to be   
inflated2 a covered funnel or chimney of
 strong cloth1 painted1 was suspended   
over the fire-place1 and received the   

hot smoke as it arose4 ,through this    
funnel the heated air ascended straight 
up into the balloon4  ,at six in the    
morning1 the road from ,paris to        
,versailles was covered with carriages4 
,crowds came from all parts1 and at noon
 the avenues1 the square of the castle1 
the windows1 and even the roofs of the  
houses1 were crowded with spectators4   
,the noblest1 the most illustrious1 and 
most learned men in ,france were        
present1 and the splendour of the scene 
was complete when their majesties and   
the royal family entered within the     
enclosure1 and went forward to inspect  
the balloon1 and to make themselves     
familiar with the preparations for the  
ascent4  ,in a short time the fire was  
lit1 the funnel extended over it1 and   
the smoke rose inside1 while the        
balloon1 unfolding1 gradually swelled to
 its full size1 and then1 drawing after 
it the cage1 in which a sheep and some  
pigeons were enclosed1 rose majestically
 into the air4 ,without interreruption1 

it ascended to a vast height1 where1    
inclining toward the north1 it seemed to
 remain stationary for a few seconds1   
showing all the beauty of its form1 and 
then1 as though possessed of life1 it   
descended gently upon the wood of       
,vaucresson1 #aj1bjj feet from the point
 of its departure4 ,its highest         
elevation1 as estimated by the          
astronomers ,le ,gentil and ,m4         
,jeaurat1 ,jeaurat1 was about #a1gjj    
feet4    ,chapter ,,viii4 ,men and      
,balloons4  ,it is not natural that the 
human mind should stop upon the way to  
the solution of a problem1 especially   
when it seems to be on the point of     
arriving at a satisfactory conclusion to
 its labours4 ,the osier cage of        
,versailles very soon transformed itself
 into a car1 bearing human passengers1  
and the age of the 8,thousand and ,one  
,nights0 was expected to come back      
again4 ,it was resolved to continue     
experiments1 with the direct object of  
finding out whether it was impossible or

 desperately dangerous for man to travel
 in balloons4 ,montgolfier returned from
 ,versailles1 and constructed a new     
machine in the gardens of the ,faubourg 
,st4 ,antoine4 ,it was completed on the 
#ajth of ,october ,its form was oval1   
its height #gj feet1 its diameter #df   
feet and its capacity #fj1jjj cubic     
feet4 ,the upper part1 embroidered with 
fleurs-de-lis1 was further ornamented   
with the twelve signs of the zodiac1    
worked in gold4 ,the middle part bore   
the monogram of the king1 alternating   
with figures of the sun1 while the lower
 part was garnished with masks1         
garlands1 and spread eagles4 ,a circular
 gallery made of osiers and festooned   
with draperies and other ornaments1 was 
attached by a set of cords to the bottom
 of the structure4 ,the gallery was     
three feet wide1 and was protected by a 
parapet over three feet in height4 ,it  
did not in any way interfere with the   
opening at the neck of the balloon1     
under which was suspended a grating of  

iron wire upon which the occupants of   
the gallery1 who were to be provided    
with dried straw and wool1 could in a   
few minutes kindle a fire and create    
fresh smoke1 when that in the balloon   
began to be exhausted4 ,the machine     
weighed1 in all1 #a1fjj lbs4 ,the public
 had previously been warned1 in the     
,journal de ,paris de ,paris1 that the  
approaching experiments were to be of a 
strictly scientific character2 and as   
they would be only interesting to       
savants1 they would not afford amusement
 for the merely curious4 ,this          
announcement was necessary1 to abate in 
some degree the excitement of the people
 until some satisfactory results should 
be obtained2 it was also necessary for  
those engaged in the work1 whose        
firmness of nerve might have suffered   
from the enthusiastic cries of excited  
spectators4 ,on ,wednesday1 the #aeth of
 ,october1 ,pilatre des ,roziers1 who   
had on other occasions given proofs of  
his intelligence and courage in         

performing dangerous feats1 and who had 
already signalised himself in connection
 with balloons1 offered to go up in the 
new machine4 ,his offer was accepted2   
the balloon was inflated2 stout ropes1  
more than eighty feet long1 were        
attached to it1 and it rose from the    
ground to the height to which this      
tackle allowed it4 ,at this elevation it
 remained four minutes twenty-five      
seconds2 and it is not surprising to    
hear that ,roziers suffered no          
inconvenience from the ascent4 ,what was
 really the interesting thing in this   
experiment was1 that it showed how a    
balloon would fall when the hot air     
became exhausted1 this being the point  
which caused the greatest amount of     
disquietude among men of science4 ,in   
this instance the balloon fell gently2  
its form distended at the same time1    
and1 after touching the ground1 it rose 
again a foot or two1 when its human     
passenger had jumped out4  ,on ,friday1 
the #agth of ,october1 this experiment  

was repeated1 and the excitement of the 
public on this occasion was unbounded4  
8,all the world0  came to see4 ,roziers 
was again lifted up in the balloon1 to  
the height of eighty feet2 but so strong
 was the wind1 and the strain on the    
ropes was so great1 that the balloon was
 somewhat unsteady1 and the exhibition  
was not on the whole such a splendid    
success as that of the preceding        
,wednesday4  ,on ,sunday1 ,montgolfier  
chose a fine day for the following      
ascents3--8,first ,ascent3 ,on the #aith
 of ,october1 #aghc1 at half-past four1 
in presence of two thousand spectators1 
#8the machine' was filled with gas in   
five minutes1 and ,roziers1 being placed
 in the gallery with a counterbalancing 
weight of #aaj lbs4 in the other side of
 the gallery1 was carried up to the     
height of #bjj feet4 ,the machine       
remained six minutes at this elevation  
without any fire in the grating4 ,second
 ,ascent3 ,the machine carried ,roziers 
and the counterbalancing weight--fire   

being in the grating--to the height of  
#gjj feet4 ,at this height it remained  
stationary eight and a half minutes ,as 
it was drawn back1 a wind from the east 
bore it against a tuft of very tall     
trees in a neighbouring garden1 where it
 got entangled1 without1 however1 losing
 its equilibrium4 ,the gas was renewed  
by ,roziers1 and the balloon again      
rising1 extricated itself from among the
 branches1 and soared majestically into 
the air1 followed by the acclamations of
 the public4 ,this second ascent was    
very instructive1 for it had been often 
asserted that if ever a balloon fell    
upon a forest it would be destroyed1 and
 would place those who travelled in it  
in the greatest peril4 ,this experiment 
proved that the balloon does not ,,fall 
it ,,descends2 that it does not         
overturn2 that it does not destroy      
itself on trees2 that it neither causes 
death1 nor even damage1 to its          
passengers2 that1 on the contrary1 the  
latter1 by making new gas1 give it the  

power of detaching itself from the      
trees2 and that it can resume its course
 after such an event4 ,the intrepid     
,roziers gave in this ascent a further  
proof of the facility he had in         
descending and ascending at will4 ,when 
the machine had risen to the height of  
#bjj feet it began to descend lightly1  
and just before it came to the earth the
 aeronaut very cleverly and quickly     
threw on more fuel and produced more    
smoke1 at which the balloon1 to the     
astonishment of every one1 suddenly     
soared away again to its former         
elevation4 ,third ,ascent3 ,the balloon 
rose again with ,roziers1 accompanied   
this time by another aeronaut1 ,gerond  
de ,villette2 and as the cords had been 
lengthened1 the adventurers were carried
 up to the height of #cbd feet4 ,at this
 elevation the balloon rested in perfect
 equilibrium for nine minutes4 ,it was  
the first time that human beings had    
ever been carried to an equal elevation1
 and the spectators were astonished to  

find that they could remain there       
without danger and without alarm4 ,the  
balloon had a superb effect at this     
elevation2 it looked down upon the whole
 town1 and was seen from all the        
suburbs4 ,its size seemed hardly        
diminished in the least1 though the men 
themselves were barely visible4 ,by the 
aid of glasses1 ,roziers could be seen  
calmly and industriously making new gas4
 ,when the balloon descended the two men
 declared that they had not experienced 
the slightest inconvenience from the    
elevation4 ,they received the universal 
applause which their zeal and courage so
 well deserved4 ,the ,marquis           
d',arlandes1 a major of infantry1       
afterwards went up with ,roziers1 and   
this latter experiment was as successful
 as the former40  ,some days after these
 experiments the conductors of the      
,journal de ,paris who described them1  
received a letter from ,montgolfier1 and
 also one from ,gerond de ,villette4    
,the latter only is of interest here4   

,gerond de ,villette says3 8,i found    
myself in the space of a quarter of a   
minute raised #djj feet above the       
surface of the earth4 ,here we remained 
six minutes4 ,my first employment was to
 watch with admiration my intelligent   
companion4 ,his intelligence1 his       
courage and agility in attending to the 
fire1 enchanted me4 ,turning round1 ,i  
could behold the ,boulevards1 from the  
gate of ,st4 ,antoine to that of ,st4   
,martin1 all covered with people1 who   
seemed to me a flat band of flowers of  
various colours4 ,glancing at the       
distance1 ,i beheld the summit of       
,montmartre1 which seemed to me much    
below our level4 ,i could easily        
distinguish ,neuilly1 ,st4 ,cloud1      
,sevres1 ,issy1 ,ivry1 ,charenton1 and  
,choisy4 ,at once ,i was convinced that 
this machine1 though a somewhat         
expensive one1 might be very useful in  
war to enable one to discover the       
position of the enemy1 his manoeuvres1  
and his marches2 and to announce these  

by signals to one's own army4 #a believe
 that at sea it is equally possible to  
make use of this machine4 ,these prove  
the usefulness of the balloon1 which    
time will perfect for us4 ,all that ,i  
regret is that ,i did not provide myself
 with a telescope40    ,chapter ,,ix4   
,the ,first ,aerial ,voyage--,roziers   
and ,arlandes4       ,these experiments 
had only one aim--the application of    
,montgolfier's discovery to aerial      
navigation4  ,the knowledge      gained 
in the ,faubourg ,st4 ,antoine having   
led to the most      favourable         
conclusions1 it was resolved that a     
first aerial      voyage should be      
attempted4  8,if10 says ,linguet1 8there
 existed an autograph journal1 written  
by ,columbus1 descriptive of his first  
great voyage with what jealous care it  
would be preserved1 with what confidence
 it would be quoted6 ,we should delight 
to follow the candid account which he   
gave of his thoughts1 his hopes1 his    
fears2 of the complaints of his         

followers1 of his attempts to calm them1
 and1 finally1 of his joy in the moment 
which1 ratifying his word and justifying
 his boldness1 declared him the         
discoverer of a new world ,all these    
details have been transmitted to us1 but
 by stranger hands2 and1 however        
interesting they may be1 one cannot help
 feeling that this circumstance makes   
them lose part of their value40  ,the   
narrative of the first aerial voyage1   
written by one of the two first         
aeronauts1 exists1 and we are in a      
position to place it before our readers4
 ,such an enterprise certainly demanded 
great courage in him who was the first  
to dare to confide himself to the       
unknown currents of the atmosphere ,it  
threatened him with dangers1 perhaps    
with death by a fill1 by fire1 by cold1 
or by straying into the mysterious      
cloud-land4 ,two men opposed the first  
attempt4 ,montgolfier temporised1 the   
king forbade it1 or rather only gave his
 permission on the condition that two   

condemned criminals should be placed in 
the balloon6 8,what60 cried ,roziers1 in
 indignation at the king's proposal1    
8allow two vile criminals to have the   
first glory of rising into the sky6 ,no1
 no2 that will never do60  ,roziers     
conjured1 supplicated1 agitated in a    
hundred ways for permission to try the  
first voyage4 ,he moved the town and the
 court2 he addressed himself to those   
who were most in favour at ,versailles2 
he pleaded with the ,duchess de         
,polignac1 who was all-powerful with the
 king4 ,she warmly supported his cause  
before ,louis4 ,roziers dispatched the  
,marquis d',arlandes1 who had been up   
with him1 to the king4 ,arlandes        
asserted that there was no danger1 and1 
as proof of his conviction1 he offered  
himself to accompany ,roziers4          
,solicited on all sides1 ,louis at last 
yielded4  ,the gardens of ,la ,muette1  
near ,paris1 were fixed upon as the spot
 from which this aerial expedition      
should start4 ,the ,dauphin and his     

suite were present on the occasion4 ,it 
was on the #bast of ,october1 #aghc1 at 
one o'clock p4m41 that ,roziers and     
,irelands took their leave of the earth 
for the first time4 ,the following is   
,arlandes' narrative of the expedition1 
given in the form of a letter1 addressed
 by the marquis to ,faujas de ,saint    
,fond3--8,you wish1 my dear ,faujas1 and
 ,i consent most willingly to your      
desires1 that1 owing to the number of   
questions continually addressed to me1  
and for other reasons1 ,i should gratify
 public curiosity and fix public opinion
 upon the subject of our aerial voyage4 
8,i wish to describe as well as ,i can  
the first journey which men have        
attempted through an element which1     
prior to the discovery of ,,mm4         
,montgolfier1 seemed so little fitted to
 support them4  8,we went up on the     
#bast of ,october1 #aghc1 at near two   
o'clock1 ,m4 ,roziers on the west side  
of the balloon1 ,i on the east4 ,the    
wind was nearly north-west4 ,the        

machine1 say the public1 rose with      
majesty2 but really the position of the 
balloon altered so that ,m4 ,roziers was
 in the advance of our position1 ,i in  
the rear4  8,i was surprised at the     
silence and the absence of movement     
which our departure caused among the    
spectators1 and believed them to be     
astonished and perhaps awed at the      
strange spectacle2 they might well have 
reassured themselves ,i was still       
gazing1 when ,m4 ,roziers cried to me-- 
8#8,you are doing nothing1 and the      
balloon is scarcely rising a fathom4'   
8#8,pardon me1' ,i answered1 as ,i      
placed a bundle of straw upon the fire  
and slightly stirred it4 ,then ,i turned
 quickly1 but already we had passed out 
of sight of ,la ,muette4 ,astonished1 ,i
 cast a glance towards the river4 ,i    
perceived the confluence of the ,oise4  
,and naming the principal bends of the  
river by the places nearest them1 ,i    
cried1 #8,passy1 ,st4 ,germain1 ,st4    
,denis1 ,sevres6'  8#8,if you look at   

the river in that fashion you will be   
likely to bathe in it soon1' cried      
,roziers4 #8,some fire1 my dear friend1 
some fire6'  8,we travelled on2 but     
instead of crossing the river1 as our   
direction seemed to indicate1 we bore   
towards the ,invalides1 then returned   
upon the principal bed of the river1 and
 travelled to above the barrier of ,la  
,conference1 thus dodging about the     
river1 but not crossing it4  8#8,that   
river is very difficult to cross1' ,i   
remarked to my companion4  8#8,so it    
seems1' he answered2 #8but you are doing
 nothing ,i suppose it is because you   
are braver than ,i1 and don't fear a    
tumble4'  8,i stirred the fire1 ,i      
seized a truss of straw with my fork2 ,i
 raised it and threw it in the midst of 
the flames4 ,an instant afterwards ,i   
felt myself lifted as it were into the  
heavens4  8#8,for once we move1' said   
,i4  8#8,yes1 we move1' answered my     
companion4  8,at the same instant ,i    
heard from the top of the balloon a     

sound which made me believe that it had 
burst4 ,i watched1 yet ,i saw nothing4  
,my companion had gone into the         
interior1 no doubt to make some         
observations4 ,as my eyes were fixed on 
the top of the machine ,i experienced a 
shock1 and it was the only one ,i had   
yet felt4 ,the direction of the movement
 was from above downwards ,i then said--
  8#8,what are you doing8 ,are you      
having a dance to yourself8'  8#8,i'm   
not moving4'  8#8,so much the better4   
,it is only a new current which ,i hope 
will carry us from the river1' ,i       
answered4  8,i turned to see where we   
were1 and found we were between the     
,ecole ,militaire and the ,invalides4   
8#8,we are getting on4' said ,roziers4  
8#8,yes1 we are travelling4'  8#8,let us
 work1 let us work1' said he4  8,i now  
heard another report in the machine1    
which ,i believed was produced by the   
cracking of a cord4 ,this new intimation
 made me carefully examine the inside of
 our habitation4 ,i saw that the part   

that was turned towards the south was   
full of holes1 of which some were of a  
considerable size4  8#8,it must         
descend1' ,i then cried4  8#8,why8'     
8#8,look6' ,i said4 ,at the same time ,i
 took my sponge and quietly extinguished
 the little fire that was burning some  
of the holes within my reach2 but at the
 same moment ,i perceived that the      
bottom of the cloth was coming away from
 the circle which surrounded it4  8#8,we
 must descend1' ,i repeated to my       
companion4  8,he looked below4  8#8,we  
are upon ,paris1' he said4  8#8,it does 
not matter1' ,i answered #8,only look6  
,is there no danger8 ,are you holding on
 well8'  8#8,yes4'  8,i examined from my
 side1 and saw that we had nothing to   
fear4 ,i then tried with my sponge the  
ropes which were within my reach4 ,all  
of them held firm4 ,only two of the     
cords had broken4  8,i then said1 #8,we 
can cross ,paris4'  8,during this       
operation we were rapidly getting down  
to the roofs4 ,we made more fire1 and   

rose again with the greatest ease4 ,i   
looked down1 and it seemed to me we were
 going towards the towers of ,st4       
,sulpice2 but1 on rising1 a new current 
made us quit this direction and bear    
more to the south4 ,i looked to the     
left1 and beheld a wood1 which ,i       
believed to be that of ,luxembourg4 ,we 
were traversing the boulevard1 and ,i   
cried all at once--  8#8,get to ground6'
  8,but the intrepid ,roziers1 who never
 lost his head1 and who judged more     
surely than ,i1 prevented me from       
attempting to descend4 ,i then threw a  
bundle of straw on the fire4 ,we rose   
again1 and another current bore us to   
were now close to the ground1 between   
two mills4 ,as soon to the left4 ,we as 
we came near the earth ,i raised myself 
over the gallery1 and leaning there with
 my two hands1 ,i felt the balloon      
pressing softly against my head4 ,i     
pushed it back1 and leaped down to the  
ground4 ,looking round and expecting to 
see the balloon still distended1 ,i was 

astonished to find it quite empty and   
flattened4 ,on looking for ,roziers ,i  
saw him in his shirt-sleeves creeping   
out from under the mass of canvas that  
had fallen over him4 ,before attempting 
to descend he had put off his coat and  
placed it in the basket4 ,after a deal  
of trouble we were at last all right4   
8,as ,roziers was without a coat ,i     
besought him to go to the nearest house4
 ,on his way thither he encountered the 
,duke of ,chartres1 who had followed us1
 as we saw1 very closely1 for ,i had had
 the honour of conversing with him the  
moment before we set out40  ,the        
following report of this first aerial   
voyage was drawn up by scientific       
observers1 among other signatures to it 
being that of ,benjamin ,franklin4      
8,today #bast of ,october1 #aghc1 at the
 ,chateau de la ,muette1 an experiment  
was made with the aerostatic machine of 
,m4 ,montgolfier4 ,the sky was clouded  
in many parts1 clear in others--the wind
 north-west4 ,at mid-day a signal was   

given1 which announced that the balloon 
was being filled4 ,soon after1 in spite 
of the wind1 it was inflated in all its 
parts1 and the ascent was made4 ,the    
,marquis d',arlandes and ,m4 ,pilatre   
des ,roziers were in the gallery4 ,the  
first intention was to raise the machine
 and pull it back with ropes1 to test   
it1 to find out the exact weight which  
it could carry1 and to see if everything
 was properly arranged before the actual
 ascent was attempted4 ,but the machine1
 driven by the wind1 far from rising    
vertically1 was directed upon one of the
 walks of a garden1 and the cords which 
held it shook with so much force that   
several rents were made in the balloon4 
,the machine1 being brought back to its 
place1 was repaired in less than two    
hours4 ,being again inflated1 it rose   
once more1 bearing the same persons1 and
 when it had risen to the height of #bej
 feet1 the intrepid voyagers1 bowing    
their heads1 saluted the spectators4    
,one could not resist a feeling of      

mingled fear and admiration4 ,soon the  
aeronauts were lost to view1 but the    
balloon itself1 displaying its very     
beautiful shape1 mounted to the height  
of #c1jjj feet1 and still remained      
visible4 ,the voyagers1 satisfied with  
their experience1 and not wishing to    
make a longer course1 agreed to descend1
 but1 perceiving that the wind was      
driving them upon the houses of the ,rue
 de ,sevres1 preserved their            
self-possession1 renewed the hot air1   
rose anew and continued their course    
till they had passed ,paris4  8,they    
then descended tranquilly in the        
country1 beyond the new boulevard1      
without having experienced the slightest
 inconvenience1 having still the greater
 part of their fuel untouched4 ,they    
could1 had they desired1 have cleared a 
distance three times as great as that   
which they traversed4 ,their flight was 
nearly #cj1jjj feet1 and the time it    
occupied was from twenty to twenty-five 
minutes4 ,this machine was #gj feet     

high1 #df feet in diameter1 and had a   
capacity of #fj1jjj cubic feet40  ,it is
 reported that ,franklin1 more          
illustrious in his humility than the    
most brilliant among the lords of the   
court1 when consulted respecting the    
possible use of balloons1 answered      
simply1 8,c'est l'enfant qui vient de   
naitre80    ,chapter ,x4 ,the ,second   
,arial ,voyage4  7#ast ,december        
#aghc4--;,charles and ,robert at the    
,tuileries47  ,the first ascent of      
,roziers and ,arlandes was a feat of    
hardihood almost unique4 ,the men's     
courage was1 so to speak1 their only    
guarantee4 ,thanks to the balloon1      
however1 they accomplished one of the   
most extraordinary enterprises ever     
achieved by our race4  ,on the day after
 the experiment of the ,champ de ,mars  
7#bgth of ,august71 ,professor          
,charles--who had already acquired      
celebrity at the ,louvre1 by his        
scientific collection and by his rank as
 an official instructor--and the        

,brothers ,robert1 mechanicians1 were   
engaged in the construction of a        
balloon1 to be inflated with hydrogen   
gas1 and destined to carry a car and one
 or two passengers4 ,for this ascent    
,charles may be said to have created all
 at once the art of aerostation as now  
practiced1 for he brought it at one     
bound to such perfection that since his 
day scarcely any advance has been made  
upon his arrangements4 ,his simple yet  
complete invention was that of the valve
 which gives escape to the hydrogen gas1
 and thus renders the descent of the    
balloon gentle and gradual2 the car that
 carries the travellers2 the ballast of 
sand1 by which the ascent is regulated  
and the fall is moderated2 the coating  
of caoutchouc1 by means of which the    
material of the balloon is rendered     
airtight and prevents loss of gas2 and1 
finally1 the use of the barometer1 which
 marks at every instant1 by the         
elevation or the depression of the      
mercury1 the position in which the      

aeronaut finds himself in the           
atmosphere4 ,charles created all the    
contrivances1 or1 in other words1 all   
the ingenious precautions which make up 
the art of aerostation4  ,on the #bfth  
of ,november1 the balloon1 fitted with  
its network1 and having the car attached
 to it1 was sent away from the hall of  
the ,tuileries1 where it had been       
exhibited4 ,the ascent was fixed for the
 #ast of ,december1 #aghc1 a memorable  
day for the ,parisians4  ,at noon upon  
that day1 the subscribers1 who had paid 
four louis for their seats1 took their  
places within the enclosure outside the 
circle1 in which stood the casks        
employed for making the gas4 ,the       
humbler subscribers1 at three francs    
a-head1 occupied the rest of the garden4
 ,the number of spectators1 as we read  
underneath the numerous coloured prints 
which represent this spectacle1 was     
#fjj1jjj2 but though1 without doubt1 the
 gardens of the ,tuileries are very     
large1 it is probable this figure is a  

considerable overstatement1 for this    
number would have been three-fourths of 
the whole population of ,paris4  ,the   
roofs and windows of the houses were    
crowded1 whilst the ,pont ,royal and the
 square of ,louis ,,xv4 were covered by 
an immense multitude4 ,about mid-day a  
rumour was spread to the effect that the
 king forbade the ascent4 ,charles ran  
to the ,chief ,minister of ,state1 and  
plainly told him that his life was the  
king's1 but his honour was his own3 his 
word was pledged to the country and he  
would ascend4 ,taking this high ground1 
the bold professor gained an unwilling  
permission to carry out his undertaking4
  ,a little afterwards the sound of     
cannon was heard4 ,this was the signal  
which announced the last arrangements   
and thus dissipated all doubt as to the 
rising of the balloon1 ,there had during
 the day been considerable disturbance  
among the crowd1 between the partisans  
of ,charles and ,montgolfier2 each party
 extolled its hero1 and did everything  

possible to detract from the merits of  
the rival inventor4 ,but whatever       
ill-feeling might have existed was swept
 away by ,professor ,charles with a     
compliment4 ,when he was ready to       
ascend1 he walked up to ,montgolfier1   
and1 with the true instinct of ,french  
politeness1 presented him with a little 
balloon1 saying at the same time--  8,it
 is for you1 monsieur1 to show us the   
way to the skies40  ,the exquisite taste
 and delicacy of this incident touched  
the bystanders as with an electric      
shock1 and the place at once rang out   
with the most genuine and hearty        
applause ,the little balloon thrown up  
by ,montgolfier sped away to the        
north-east1 its beautiful emerald colour
 showing to fine effect in the sun4     
,from this point let us follow the      
narrative of ,professor ,charles        
himself4  8,the balloon10 he says1      
8which escaped from the hands of ,m4    
,montgolfier1 rose into the air1 and    
seemed to carry with it the testimony of

 friendship and regard between that     
gentleman and myself1 while acclamations
 followed it4 ,meanwhile1 we hastily    
prepared for departure4 ,the stormy     
weather did not permit us to have at our
 command all the arrangements which we  
had contemplated the previous evening2  
to do so would have detained us too long
 upon the earth4 ,after the balloon and 
the car were in equilibrium1 we threw   
over #ai lbs4 of ballast1 and we rose in
 the midst of silence1 arising from the 
emotion and surprise felt on all sides4 
8,nothing will ever equal that moment of
 joyous excitement which filled my whole
 being when ,i felt myself flying away  
from the earth4 ,it was not mere        
pleasure2 it was perfect bliss4 ,escaped
 from the frightful torments of         
persecution and of calumny1 ,i felt that
 ,i was answering all in rising above   
all4  8,to this sentiment succeeded one 
more lively still--the admiration of the
 majestic spectacle that spread itself  
out before us4 ,on whatever side we     

looked1 all was glorious2 a cloudless   
sky above1 a most delicious view around4
 #8,oh1 my friend1' said ,i to ,m4      
,robert1 #8how great is our good        
fortune6 ,i care not what may be the    
condition of the earth2 it is the sky   
that is for me now4 ,what serenity6 what
 a ravishing scene6 ,would that ,i could
 bring here the last of our detractors1 
and say to the wretch1 ,behold what you 
would have lost had you arrested the    
progress of science4'  8,whilst we were 
rising with a progressively increasing  
speed1 we waved our bannerets in token  
of our cheerfulness1 and in order to    
give confidence to those below who took 
an interest in our fate4 ,m4 ,robert    
made an inventory of our stores2 our    
friends had stocked our commissariat as 
for a long voyage--champagne and other  
wines1 garments of fur and other        
articles of clothing4  8#8,good1' ,i    
said2 #8throw that out of the window4'  
,he took a blanket and launched it into 
the air1 through which it floated down  

slowly1 and fell upon the dome of       
l',assomption4  8,when the barometer had
 fallen #bf inches1 we ceased to ascend4
 ,we were up at an elevation of #a1hjj  
feet4 ,this was the height to which ,i  
had promised myself to ascend2 and1 in  
fact1 from this moment to the time when 
we disappeared from the eyes of our     
friends1 we always kept a horizontal    
course1 the barometer registering #bf   
inches to #bf inches #h lines4  8,we    
required to throw over ballast in       
proportion as the almost insensible     
escape of the hydrogen gas caused us to 
descend1 in order to remain as nearly as
 possible at the same elevation4 ,if    
circumstances had permitted us to       
measure the amount of ballast we threw  
over1 our course would have been almost 
absolutely horizontal4  8,after         
remaining for a few moments stationary1 
our car ,i changed its course1 and we   
were carried on at the will of the wind4
 ,soon we passed the ,seine1 between    
,st4 ,ouen and ,asnieres4 ,we traversed 

the river a second time1 leaving        
,argenteuil upon the left4 ,we passed   
,sannois1 ,franconville1 ,eau-,bonne1   
,st4 ,leu-,taverny1 ,villiers1 and      
finally1 ,nesles4 ,this was about       
twenty-seven miles from ,paris1 and we  
had ,i reached this distance in two     
hours1 although there was so little wind
 that the air scarcely stirred4         
8,during the whole course of this       
delightful voyage1 not the slightest    
apprehension for our fate or that of our
 machine entered my head for a moment4  
,the globe did not suffer any alteration
 beyond the successive changes of       
dilatation and compression1 which       
enabled us to mount and descend at will4
 ,the thermometer was1 during more than 
an hour1 between ten and twelve degrees 
above zero2 this being to some extent   
accounted for by the fact that the      
interior of the car was warmed by the   
rays of the sun4  8,at the end of       
fifty-six minutes1 we heard the report  
of the cannon which informed us that we 

had1 at that moment1 disappeared from   
view at ,paris4 ,we rejoiced that we had
 escaped1 as we were no longer obliged  
to observe a horizontal course1 and to  
regulate the balloon for that purpose4  
8,we gave ourselves up to the           
contemplation of the views which the    
immense stretch of country beneath us   
presented4 ,from that time1 though we   
had no opportunity of conversing with   
the inhabitants1 we saw them running    
after us from all parts2 we heard their 
cries1 their exclamations of solicitude1
 and knew their alarm and admiration4   
8,we cried1 #8,vive le ,roi6' and the   
people responded4 ,we heard1 very       
distinctly--#8,my good friends1 have you
 no fear8 ,are you not sick8 ,how       
beautiful it is6 ,heaven preserve you6  
,adieu1 my friends4'  8,i was touched to
 tears by this tender and true interest 
which our appearance had called forth4  
8,we continued to wave our flags without
 cessation1 and we perceived that these 
signals greatly increased the           

cheerfulness and calmed the solicitude  
of the people below4 ,often we descended
 sufficiently low to hear what they     
shouted to us4 ,they asked us where we  
came from1 and at what hour we had      
started4  8,we threw over successively  
frock-coats1 muffs1 and habits4 ,sailing
 on above the ,ile d',adam1 after having
 admired the splendid view1 we made     
signals with our flags1 and demanded    
news of the ,prince of ,conti4 ,one     
cried up to us1 in a very powerful      
voice1 that he was at ,paris1 and that  
he was ill4 ,we regretted missing such  
an opportunity of paying our respects1  
for we could have descended into the    
prince's gardens1 if we had wished1 but 
we preferred to pursue our course1 and  
we re-ascended4 ,finally1 we arrived at 
the plain of ,nesles4  8,we saw from the
 distance groups of peasants1 who ran on
 before us across the fields4 #8,let us 
go1' ,i said1 and we descended towards a
 vast meadow4  8,some shrubs and trees  
stood round its border4 ,our car        

advanced majestically in a long inclined
 plane4 ,on arriving near the trees1 ,i 
feared that their branches might damage 
the car1 so ,i threw over two pounds of 
ballast1 and we rose again4 ,we ran     
along more than #abj feet1 at a distance
 of one or two feet from the ground1 and
 had the appearance of travelling in a  
sledge4 ,the peasants ran after us      
without being able to catch us1 like    
children pursuing a butterfly in the    
fields4  8,finally1 we stopped1 and were
 instantly surrounded4 ,nothing could   
equal the simple and tender regard of   
the country people1 their admiration1   
and their lively emotion4  8,i called at
 once for the cures and the magistrates4
 ,they came round me on all sides3 there
 was quite a fete on the spot4 ,i       
prepared a short report1 which the cures
 and the syndics signed4 ,then arrived a
 company of horsemen at a gallop4 ,these
 were the ,duke of ,chartres1 the ,duke 
of ,fitzjames1 and ,m4 ,farrer4 ,by a   
very singular chance1 we had come down  

close by the hunting-lodge of the       
latter4 ,he leaped from his horse and   
threw himself into my arms1 crying1     
#8,monsieur ,charles1 ,i was first6'    
8,charles adds that they were covered   
with the caresses of the prince1 who    
embraced both of them4 ,he briefly      
narrated to the ,duke of ,chartres some 
incidents of the voyage4  8#8,but this  
is not all1 monseigneur4 ,i am going    
away again1' added ,charles4  8#8,what6 
,going away6' exclaimed the duke4       
8#8,monseigneur1 you will see4 ,when do 
you wish me to come back again8' ,i     
said4  8#8,in half an hour4'  8#8,very  
well3 be it so4 ,in half an hour ,i     
shall be with you again4'  8,m4 ,robert 
descended from the car1 and ,i was alone
 in the balloon4  8,i said to the duke1 
#8,monseigneur1 ,i go4' ,i said to the  
peasants who held down the balloon1     
#8,my friends1 go away1 all of you1 from
 the car at the moment ,i give the      
signal4' ,i then rose like a bird1 and  
in ten minutes ,i was more than #c1jjj  

feet above the ground4 ,i no longer     
perceived terrestrial objects2 ,i only  
saw the great masses of nature4  8,in   
going away1 ,charles had taken his      
precautions against the possible        
explosion of the balloon1 and made      
himself ready to make certain           
observations4 ,in order to observe the  
barometer and the thermometer1 placed at
 different extremities of the car1      
without endangering the equilibrium1 he 
sat down in the middle1 a watch and     
paper in his left hand1 a pen and the   
cord of the safety-valve in his right4  
8,i waited for what should happen10     
continues he4 8,the balloon1 which was  
quite flabby and soft when ,i ascended1 
was now taut1 and fully distended4 ,soon
 the hydrogen gas began to escape in    
considerable quantities by the neck of  
the balloon1 and then1 from time to     
time1 ,i pulled open the valve to give  
it two issues at once2 and ,i continued 
thus to mount upwards1 all the time     
losing the inflammable air1 which1      

rushing past me from the neck of the    
balloon1 felt like a warm cloud4  8,i   
passed in ten minutes from the          
temperature of spring to that of winter2
 the cold was keen and dry1 but not     
insupportable4 ,i examined all my       
sensations calmly2 ,i ,,could ,,hear    
,,myself ,,live1 so to speak1 and ,i am 
certain that at first ,i experienced    
nothing disagreeable in this sudden     
passage from one temperature to another4
  8,when the barometer ceased to move ,i
 noted very exactly eighteen inches ten 
lines4 ,this observation is perfectly   
accurate ,the mercury did not suffer any
 sensible movement4  8,at the end of    
some minutes the cold caught my fingers2
 ,i could hardly hold the pen1 but ,i no
 longer had need to do so4 ,i was       
stationary1 or rather moved only in a   
horizontal direction4  8,i raised myself
 in the middle of the car1 and abandoned
 myself to the spectacle before me4 ,at 
my departure from the meadow the sun had
 sunk to the people of the valleys2 soon

 he shone for me alone1 and came again  
to pour his rays upon the balloon and   
the car4 ,i was the only creature in the
 horizon in sunshine--all the rest of   
nature was in shade4 ,ere long1 however1
 the sun disappeared1 and thus ,i had   
the pleasure of seeing him set twice in 
the same day4 ,i contemplated for some  
moments the mists and vapours that rose 
from the valley and the rivers ,the     
clouds seemed to come forth from the    
earth1 and to accumulate the one upon   
the other4 ,their colour was a          
monotonous grey--a natural effect1 for  
there was no light save that of the     
moon4  8,i observed that ,i had tacked  
round twice1 and ,i felt currents which 
called me to my senses4 ,i found with   
surprise the effect of the wind1 and saw
 the cloth of my flag3 extended         
horizontally4  8,in the midst of the    
inexpressible pleasure of this state of 
ecstatic contemplation1 ,i was recalled 
to myself by a most extraordinary pain  
which ,i felt in the interior of the    

ears and in the maxillary glands4 ,this 
,i attributed to the dilation of the air
 contained in the cellular tissue of the
 organ as much as to the cold outside4  
,i was in my vest1 with my head         
uncovered4 ,i immediately covered my    
head with a bonnet of wool which was at 
my feet1 but the pain only disappeared  
with my descent to the ground4  8,it was
 now seven or eight minutes since ,i had
 arrived at this elevation1 and ,i now  
commenced to descend4 ,i remembered the 
promise ,i had made to the ,duke of     
,chartres1 to return in half an hour4 ,i
 quickened my descent by opening the    
valve from time to time4 ,soon the      
balloon1 empty now to one half1         
presented the appearance of a           
hemisphere4  8,arrived at twenty-three  
fathoms from the earth1 ,i suddenly     
threw over two or three pounds of       
ballast1 which arrested my descent1 and 
which ,i had carefully kept for this    
purpose4 ,i then slowly descended upon  
the ground1 which ,i had1 so to speak1  

chosen40  ,such is the narrative of the 
second aerial voyage4 ,after such a     
memorable ascent one is astonished to   
learn that ,professor ,charles never    
repeated his experiment4 ,it has been   
said that1 in descending from his car1  
he had vowed that he would never again  
expose himself to such perils1 so strong
 had been the alarm he felt when the    
peasants ceasing to hold him down he    
shot up into the sky with the rapidity  
of an arrow4 ,but after him a thousand  
others have followed the daring example 
he set4 ,with this ascent the memorable 
year #aghc closed1 and the seed which   
had been sown soon began to be          
productive4     ,,part ,,ii4    ,chapter
 ,i4 ,the ,history of ,aerostation from 
the ,year #aghc4        ,the ,open      
,route--,travels and ,travellers--,great
 ,increase in      the ,number of ,air  
,voyages--,lyons1 ,ascent of 8,le       
,flesselles--      ,milan1 ,ascent of   
,adriani--,flight of a ,balloon from    
,london--      ,lost ,balloons in the   

,chief ,towns of ,europe  ,from the year
 #aghc1 in which aerostation had its    
birth1 and in which it was carried to a 
degree of perfection1 beside which the  
progress of aeronauts in our days seems 
small1 a new route was opened up for    
travellers4 ,the science of             
,montgolfier1 the practical art of      
,professor ,charles1 and the courage of 
,roziers1 subdued the scepticism of     
those who had not yet given in their    
adhesion to the possible value of the   
great discovery1 and throughout the     
whole of ,france a feverish degree of   
enthusiasm in the art manifested itself 
,aerial excursions now became quite     
fashionable4 ,let it be understood that 
we do not here refer to ascents in fixed
 balloons1 that is1 in balloons which   
were attached to the earth by means of  
ropes more or less long4  ,m4 ,biot     
narrates that1 in his young days1 when  
aeronautic ascents were less known than 
they are in these times1 there was in   
the plain of ,grenelle1 at the mill of  

,javelle1 an establishment where        
balloons were constantly maintained for 
the accommodation of amateurs of both   
sexes who wished to make ascents in what
 were called 8ballons captifs10 or      
balloons anchored1 so to speak1 to the  
earth by means of long ropes ,they were 
for a considerable time the rage of     
fashionable society1 and it is not      
recorded that any accidents resulted    
from the practice4 ,of course it may be 
easily understood with these safe       
balloons the adventurous aeronauts never
 ascended to any great height4 ,the     
reader will find this subject treated   
under the chapter of military           
aerostation4  ,we are at present        
specially engaged with the narrative of 
the first attempts in aerostation--the  
first experiments in the new discovery4 
,we have followed with interest the     
exciting details of the first           
adventurous ascents1 in which the genius
 of man first essayed the unexplored    
paths of the heavens4 ,yet a continued  

record of aerial voyages would not be of
 the same interest4 ,the results of     
subsequent expeditions1 and the         
impressions of subsequent aeronauts are 
the same as those already described1 or 
differ from them only in minor points4  
,no important advance is recorded in the
 art4 ,we shall therefore endeavour not 
to confine ourselves to the narrative of
 a dry and monotonous chronology1 but to
 select from the number of ascents that 
have taken place within the last eighty 
years1 only those whose special         
character renders them worthy of more   
detailed and severe investigation4  ,in 
order to give an idea of the rapid      
multiplication of aeronautic            
experiments1 it will suffice to state   
that the only aeronauts of #aghc are    
,roziers1 the ,marquis d',arlandes1     
,professor ,charles1 his collaborateur  
the younger ,robert1 and a carpenter1   
named ,wilcox1 who made ascents at      
,philadelphia and ,london4  ,a number of
 balloons were remarkable for the beauty

 and elegance which we have already     
spoken of4 ,among the most beautiful we 
may mention the 8,flesselles0 balloon   
and ,bagnolet's balloon4  ,of the       
ascents which immediately succeeded     
those that have been treated in the     
first part of our volume1 and which are 
the most memorable in the early annals  
of aerostation1 that of the #agth of    
,january1 #aghd1 is remarkable4 ,it took
 place at ,lyons4 ,seven persons went   
into the car on this occasion--,joseph  
,montgolfier1 ,roziers1 the ,comte de   
,laurencin1 the ,comte de ,dampierre1   
the ,prince ,charles de ,ligne1 the     
,comte de ,laporte d',anglifort1 and    
,fontaine1 who threw himself into the   
car when it had already begun to move4  
,a most minute account of this          
experiment is given in a letter of      
,mathon de la ,cour1 director of the    
,academy of ,sciences at                
,lyons3--8,after the experiments of the 
,champ de ,mars and ,versailles had     
become known10  he says1 8the citizens  

of this town proposed to repeat them and
 a subscription was opened for this     
purpose4 ,on the arrival of the elder   
,montgolfier1 about the end of          
,september1 ,m4 de ,flesselles1 our     
director1 always zealous in promoting   
whatever might be for the welfare of the
 province and the advancement of science
 and art1 persuaded him to organise the 
subscription4 ,the aim of the experiment
 proposed by ,montgolfier was not the   
ascent of any human being in the        
balloon4 ,the prospectus only announced 
that a balloon of a much larger size    
than any that had been made would       
ascend--that it would rise to several   
thousand feet1 and that1 including the  
animals that it was proposed it should  
carry1 it would weigh #h1jjj lbs4 ,the  
subscription was fixed at ,l#ab1 and the
 number of subscribers was #cfj40  ,it  
was on these conditions that            
,montgolfier commenced his balloon of   
#abf feet high and #ajj feet in         
diameter1 made of a double envelope of  

cotton cloth1 with a lining of paper    
between4 ,a strength and consistency was
 given to the structure by means of     
ribbons and cords4  ,the work was nearly
 finished when ,roziers went up in his  
fire-balloon from ,la ,muette4          
,immediately the ,comte de ,laurencin   
pressed ,montgolfier to allow him to go 
up in the new machine4 ,montgolfier was 
only too glad of the                    
opportunity--refused up to this time by 
the king--of going up himself4 ,from    
thirty to forty people made application 
to go with the aeronauts2 and on the    
#bfth of ,december1 #afgh1 ,roziers1 the
 ,comte de ,dampierre1 and the ,comte de
 ,laporte1 arrived in ,lyons with the   
same intention4 ,prince ,charles also   
arrived2 and as his father had taken one
 hundred subscriptions1 his claim to go 
up could not be refused4  ,but while the
 public papers were full of ascents at  
,avignon1 ,marseilles1 and ,paris1 it is
 impossible to describe the vexation of 
,roziers1 when he discovered that       

,montgolfier's new balloon was not      
intended to carry passengers1 and had   
not been1 from the first1 constructed   
with that view4 ,he suggested a number  
of alterations1 which ,montgolfier      
adopted at once4  ,on the #gth of       
,january1 #aghd1 all the pieces of which
 the balloon was composed were carried  
out to the field called ,les ,brotteaux1
 outside the town1 from which the ascent
 was to be made4 ,this event was        
announced to take place on the #ajth and
 at five o'clock on the morning of that 
day2 but unexpected delays occurred1 and
 in the necessary operations the        
covering was torn in many places4  ,on  
the #aeth the balloon was inflated in   
seventeen minutes1 and the gallery was  
attached in an hour--the fire from which
 the heated air was obtained requiring  
to be fed at the rate of #e lbs4 of     
alder-wood per minute2 but the          
preparations had occupied so much time1 
that it was found1 when everything was  
complete1 that the afternoon was too far

 advanced for the ascent to be made4    
,this machine was destined to suffer    
from endless misfortunes4 ,it took fire 
while being inflated1 and1 several days 
afterwards1 it was damaged by snow and  
rain4 ,put nothing discouraged ,roziers 
and his companions4 ,places had been    
arranged in the gallery for six persons4
 ,after the balloon was at last         
inflated1 ,prince ,charles and the      
,comes de ,laurencin1 ,dampierre1 and   
,laporte threw themselves into the      
gallery4 ,they were all armed1 and were 
determined not to quit their places to  
whoever might come4 ,roziers1 who wished
 at the last to enjoy a high ascent1    
proposed to reduce the number to three1 
and to draw lots for the purpose4 ,but  
the gentlemen would not descend4 ,the   
debate became animated4 ,the four       
voyagers cried to cut the ropes4 ,the   
director of the ,academy1 to whom       
application was made in this emergency1 
admiring the resolution and the courage 
of the four gentlemen1 wished to satisfy

 them in their desire4 ,accordingly the 
ropes were cut2 but at that moment ,m4  
,montgolfier and ,roziers threw         
themselves into the gallery4 ,at the    
same time a certain ,m4 ,fontaine1 who  
had had much to do in the construction  
of the machine1 threw himself in1       
although it had not previously been     
arranged that he should be of the party4
 ,his boldness in jumping in was        
pardoned1 on the ground of his services 
and his zeal4  ,in going away the       
machine turned to the south-west1 and   
bent a little4 ,a rope which dragged    
along the ground seemed to retard its   
ascent2 but some intelligent person     
having cut this with a hatchet1 it began
 to right itself and ascend4 ,at a      
certain height it turned to the north   
east4 ,the wind was feeble1 and the     
progress was slow1 but the imposing     
effect was indescribable4 ,the immense  
machine rose into the air as by some    
effect of magic4 ,nearly #ajj1jjj       
spectators were present1 and they were  

greatly excited at the view4 ,they      
clapped their hands and stretched their 
arms towards the sky2 women fainted     
away1 or 7for some reasons best known to
 themselves7 found relief for their     
excitement in tears2 while the men1     
uttering cries of joy1 waved their      
handkerchiefs1 and threw their hats into
 the air4  ,the form of the machine was 
that of a globe1 rising from a reversed 
and truncated cone1 to which the gallery
 was attached4 ,the upper part was      
white1 the lower part grey2 and the cone
 was composed of strips of stuff of     
different colours4 ,on the sides of the 
balloon were two paintings1 one of which
 represented ,history1 the other ,fame4 
,the flag bore the arms of the director 
of the ,academy1 and above it were      
inscribed the words 8,le ,flesselles40  
,the voyagers observed that they did not
 consume a fourth of the quantity of    
combustibles after they had risen into  
the air1 which they consumed when       
attached to the earth4 ,they were in the

 gayest humour1 and they calculated that
 the fuel they had would keep them      
floating till late in the evening4      
,unfortunately1 however1 after throwing 
more wood on the fire1 in order to get  
up to a greater altitude1 it was        
discovered that a rent had been made in 
the covering1 caused by the fire by     
which the balloon had been damaged two  
or three days previously4 ,the rent was 
four feet in length2 and as the heated  
air escaped very rapidly by it1 the     
balloon fell1 after having sailed above 
the earth for barely fifteen minutes4   
,the descent only occupied two or three 
minutes1 and yet the shock was          
supportable4 ,it was observed that as   
soon as the machine had touched the     
earth all the cloth became unfolded in a
 few seconds1 which seemed to confirm   
the opinion of ,montgolfier1 who        
believed that electricity had much to do
 in the ascent of balloons4 ,the        
voyagers were got out of the balloon    
without accident1 and were greeted with 

the most enthusiastic applause4  ,on the
 day of the ascent1 the opera of        
8,iphigenia in ,aulis0 was given1 and   
the theatre was thronged by a vast      
assemblage1 attracted thither in the    
hope of seeing the illustrious          
experimentalists4 ,the curtain had risen
 when ,m4 and ,madame de ,flesselles    
entered their box1 accompanied by       
,montgolfier and ,roziers4 ,at sight of 
them the enthusiasm of the house rose to
 fever pitch4 ,the other voyagers also  
entered1 and were greeted with the same 
demonstrations4 ,cries arose from the   
pit to begin the opera again1 in honour 
of the visitors4 ,the curtain then fell1
 and when it again rose1 after a few    
moments1 the actor who filled the role  
of ,agamemnon advanced with crowns1     
which he handed to ,madame de           
,flesselles1 who distributed them to the
 aeronauts4 ,roziers placed the crown   
that had been given to him upon         
,montgolfier's head4  ,when the actress 
who played the part of ,clytemnestra1   

sung the passage beginning--  8,i love  
to see these flattering honours paid40  
,the audience at once applied her song  
to the circumstances1 and re-demanded   
it1 which request the actress complied  
with1 addressing herself to the box in  
which the distinguished visitors sat4   
,the demonstrations of admiration were  
continued after the opera was over2 and 
during the whole of the night the       
gentlemen of the balloon ascent were    
serenaded4  ,two days afterwards1       
,roziers having appeared at a ball1     
received further proofs of admiration   
and honours2 and when1 on the #bbnd of  
,january1 he departed for ,dijon on his 
return to ,paris1 he was accompanied as 
in a triumph by a numerous cavalcade of 
the most distinguished young men of the 
city4  ,there was1 however1 at ,paris1  
much discontent with the ascent of 8,le 
,flesselles20 and the ,journal de ,paris
 de ,paris1 which notices so            
enthusiastically the other ascents of   
that epoch1 speaks slightingly of that  

at ,lyons4  ,the next great ascent took 
place at ,milan1 on the #beth of        
,february1 #aghd1 under the direction of
 the ,chevalier ,paul ,andriani1 who had
 a balloon constructed by the ,brothers 
,gerli1 at his own expense4 ,we read    
that this balloon was #ff feet in       
diameter1 and that the envelope was     
composed of cloth1 lined in the interior
 with fine paper4  ,the balloon was not 
in all respects constructed like that   
which rose at ,lyons4 ,the grating which
 supported the fire that kept up the    
supply of hot air was placed at the     
mouth of the opening4 ,it was made of   
copper1 was six feet in diameter1 and   
was secured by a number of transverse   
beams of wood4 ,m4 ,andriani thought it 
best to place his fire--contrary to     
general usage--a little way above the   
mouth of the opening1 and he found out  
that the activity of the fire was in    
proportion with that of the air which   
entered and fed it4  ,in place of making
 use of a gallery like that employed by 

,montgolfier1 as much to manage the fire
 as to carry the traveller and the fuel1
 he substituted a wide basket1 suspended
 by cords to the edge of the opening of 
the balloon1 at such a distance that    
fuel could be thrown on with the hand   
without being inconvenienced by the     
heat4  ,everything being in readiness1  
the machine was carried to ,moncuco1 the
 splendid domain of ,andriani1 where the
 first experiments were made2 for this  
gentlemen knew that as the populace are 
impatient1 they are also often          
un-reasonable1 and jump to the hastiest 
and most inconsiderate conclusion when1 
in witnessing scientific experiments1   
any of the arrangements happen to be    
imperfect1 and the results in any       
respect prove unsuccessful4  ,andriani  
did not deceive himself1 for1 sure      
enough1 his first attempt did not come  
up to expectation4 ,the reasons for this
 failure were the too great quantity of 
air which the fire drew in1 and the     
unsuitable character of the fuel used4  

,on the #beth of ,february1 #aghd1 a    
second attempt was made4 ,the fire was  
lighted under the machine1 at first with
 dry birch-wood and afterwards with a   
bituminous composition1 ingeniously     
concocted by one of the ,brothers       
,gerli4 ,in less than four minutes the  
balloon was completely inflated1 and the
 men employed to hold it down with ropes
 perceived that it was on the point of  
rising4 ,the aeronauts then gave the    
order to let go4 ,scarcely was the      
balloon let off1 when it gently rose a  
short distance1 and then flew in a      
horizontal direction towards a palace in
 the neighbourhood4 ,in order that the  
structure should not be destroyed on the
 walls and the roof of the palace1 the  
voyagers heaped on the fuel1 and the    
spectators1 who had gathered together   
from the surrounding villages1 then saw 
this strange vessel of the air rising   
with rapidity to a surprising height4   
,such a phenomenon was so astonishing1  
that those who beheld it could hardly   

believe their own eyes2 and when the    
balloon disappeared from view1 the      
delight they had manifested was dashed  
with fear for the fate of the bold      
aeronauts4 ,the latter1 seeing that the 
balloon was driving through the air     
towards a range of rocky hills in the   
neighbourhood1 and perceiving1 on the   
other hand1 that their stock of         
combustibles was nearly exhausted1      
judged it prudent to descend4 ,they     
diminished their fire1 and came         
gradually down1 warning the multitude   
below of their intention by means of a  
speaking-trumpet4  ,in the course of the
 descent the balloon alighted upon a    
large tree1 to the great peril of the   
travellers2 but as soon as the fire was 
increased it again mounted and got clear
 from the branches while the people     
below1 grasping the cords that were hung
 out to them1 guided the machine to the 
spot which the voyagers indicated4 ,to  
descend to terra firma was then a       
comparatively easy matter1 and it was   

safely accomplished4 ,the fire1 which in
 the case of the ,french balloons had   
dried1 calcined1 and almost consumed the
 upper part of the balloon1 had no evil 
effect upon that of ,andriani1 which    
came down looking as fresh as if it had 
never been used4  ,the new idea had now 
passed the frontiers of ,france1 in     
which it was originally conceived1 and  
among the other nations1 as at first in 
,france1 the power of the inflated      
balloon came to be tested everywhere by 
the construction of small toy globes4   
,it was just about five months after the
 first experiment at ,annonay--viz41 on 
the #beth of ,november1 #aghc--that the 
first balloon ascended in ,london4 ,we  
are informed1 in the ,history of        
,aerostation by ,tiberius ,cavallo1 that
 an ,italian1 ,count ,zambeccari1 who   
was staying in the ,english capital1    
made a balloon of silk1 covered with a  
varnish of oil4 ,its diameter was ten   
feet1 and its weight eleven pounds4 ,it 
was gilded for the double purpose of    

enhancing its appearance and preventing 
the escape of air4 ,after having been   
exposed to public inspection for several
 days1 it was filled three parts full of
 hydrogen gas1 a tin bottle was         
suspended from it1 containing an address
 to whoever might find it when it should
 fall1 and it was let off from the      
,artillery ,ground1 in presence of a    
vast assembly4  ,on the #aath of        
,december1 #aghc1 a little balloon1 made
 of gold-beaters' skin1 was let off     
publicly at ,turin4 ,this was an        
experiment similar to that which had    
been tried at ,paris in ,september4 ,the
 balloon was seen to penetrate the      
clouds1 then to mount still higher1 and 
finally to disappear entirely in five   
minutes fifty-four seconds from the time
 when it was set free4  ,it was natural1
 after the experiments made long before 
with electric paper kites1 to employ the
 balloon in the investigation of the    
electric conditions of the atmosphere4  
,the first to use it for this purpose   

was the ,abbe ,berthelon de             
,montpellier4 ,he sent up a number of   
balloons1 to which he had attached      
pieces of metal1 long and narrow1 and   
terminating in a cylinder of glass1 or  
other substance suitable for the purpose
 of isolation1 and he obtained          
sufficient electricity by these means to
 demonstrate the phenomena of attraction
 and repulsion1 as well as electric     
sparks4  ,cavallo mentions an accident  
which took place in ,england about this 
time1 and which served as a warning to  
all who had to do with balloons filled  
with hydrogen gas4 ,a balloon thus      
inflated had been sent up at ,hopton1   
near ,matlock1 and was found by two men 
near ,cheadle1 in ,staffordshire4 ,these
 ingenious persons carried it within    
doors1 and having wished to fully       
inflate it--half the gas having by this 
time escaped--they applied a pair of    
bellows to its mouth4 ,by this means    
they only forced out the volume of the  
hydrogen gas that was left2 and this    

gas1 coming in contact with a candle    
that had been placed too near1 exploded4
 ,the report was louder than that of a  
cannon1 and so powerful was the shock   
that the men were thrown down1 the glass
 blown out of the windows1 and the house
 otherwise damaged4 ,the men suffered   
severely1 their hair1 beards1 and       
eyebrows being completely burnt away1   
and their faces severely scorched4  ,at 
,grenoble1 in ,dauphine1 ,de ,baron let 
off a balloon on the #acth of ,january1 
#aghd4 ,it rose1 and at first took a    
northern direction2 but1 having         
encountered a current of air1 it was    
carried away in a south-easterly        
direction1 and after flying a distance  
of three-quarters of a mile1 it fell1   
having traversed this distance in       
fifteen minutes4  ,a society1 under the 
presidency of the ,abbe de ,mably1      
having constructed a balloon            
thirty-seven feet high and twenty feet  
in diameter1 sent it off from the court 
of the ,castle of ,pisancon1 near       

,romano1 on the same day1 the #acth of  
,february4 ,at first it was carried to  
the south by a strong north wind1 but   
after it had risen to #a1jjj feet above 
the surface1 its course was changed     
towards the north4 ,it was calculated   
that1 in less than five minutes1 this   
balloon rose to the height of #f1jjj    
feet4  ,on the #afth of the same month  
the ,count d',albon threw off from his  
gardens at ,franconville a balloon      
inflated with gas1 and made of silk1    
rendered air-tight by a solution of     
gum-arabic4 ,it was oblong1 and measured
 twenty-five feet in height1 and        
seventeen feet in diameter4 ,to this    
balloon a cage1 containing two          
guinea-pigs and a rabbit1 was suspended4
 ,the cords were cut1 and the inflated  
globe rose to an enormous height with   
the greatest rapidity4 ,five days       
afterwards it was found at the distance 
of eighteen miles1 and it is remarkable 
that1 in spite of the cold of the       
season1 and particularly of the elevated

 region through which the balloon had   
been passing1 the animals were not only 
living1 but in good condition4  ,on the 
#crd of ,february1 #aghd1 the ,marquis  
de ,bullion sent up a paper balloon1 of 
about fifteen feet in diameter4 ,a flat 
sponge1 about a foot square1 placed in a
 tin dish and drenched with a pint of   
spirits of wine1 was the only apparatus 
made use of to create a supply of heated
 air4 ,it rose at ,paris1 and three     
hours afterwards it was found near      
,basville1 about thirty miles from the  
capital4  ,on the #aeth of the same     
month ,cellard de ,chastelais sent up a 
paper balloon4 ,heated air was supplied 
on this occasion by a paper roll1       
enclosing a sponge1 and soaked in oil1  
spirits of wine1 and grease4 ,a cage1   
which contained a cat1 was attached to  
this air globe4 ,in thirty-five minutes 
it had mounted so high that it looked   
but like the smallest star1 and in two  
hours it had flown a distance of        
forty-six miles from the place where it 

was thrown off4 ,the cat was dead1 but  
it was not discovered from what cause4  
,the first balloon that traversed the   
,english channel was sent off at        
,sandwich1 in ,kent1 on the #bbnd of    
,february1 #aghd4 ,it was five feet in  
diameter1 and was inflated with hydrogen
 gas4 ,it rose rapidly1 and was carried 
toward ,france by a north-west wind4    
,two hours and a half after it had been 
let off it was found in a field about   
nine miles from ,lille4 ,the balloon    
carried a letter1 instructing the finder
 of the balloon to communicate with     
,william ,boys1 ,esq41 ,sandwich1 and to
 state where and at what time it was    
found4 ,this request was complied with4 
,on the #aith of ,february a similar    
balloon1 five feet in diameter1 was sent
 up from ,queen's ,college1 ,oxford4 ,it
 was spherical1 and was made of ,persian
 silk1 coated with varnish4 ,it was the 
first balloon sent up from that city4   
,de ,saussure makes mention1 in a letter
 dated from ,geneva1 the #bfth of       

,march1 #aghd1 of certain experiments   
made in that town with the electricity  
of the atmosphere by means of fixed     
balloons--i4e41 balloons attached to the
 earth by ropes1 which gave forth sparks
 and positive electricity4  ,mention is 
also made of a certain ,m4 ,argand1 of  
,geneva1 who had the honour of making   
balloon experiments at ,windsor in the  
presence of ,king ,george ,,iii41 ,queen
 ,charlotte1 and the royal family4      
,about this time 7#aghd7 balloons became
 8the fashion10 and frequent instances  
occur of their being raised by day and  
night1 by means of spirit-lamps1 to the 
great delight of multitudes of          
spectators4  ,a letter from ,watt to    
,dr4 ,lind1 of ,windsor1 dated from     
,birmingham1 #beth ,december1 #aghd1    
narrates an experiment made the summer  
preceding with a balloon inflated with  
hydrogen4 ,the balloon was made of fine 
paper covered with a varnish of oil and 
filled two-thirds with hydrogen gas1 and
 one-third common air4 ,to the neck of  

the balloon was attached a sort of squib
 two feet long1 the fuse of which was   
ignited when the balloon was inflated4  
,the night was calm and dark1 and a     
great multitude was assembled to witness
 the ascent1 which was accomplished with
 a success that gave delight to all2    
for1 at the end of six minutes the fuse 
communicated with the squib1 and the    
explosion was like the sound of thunder4
 ,the men who saw it from a distance1   
but were not present at its ascent1 took
 it for a meteor4 8,our intention10 says
 ,watt1 8was1 if possible1 to discover  
whether the reverberating sound of      
thunder was due to echoes or to         
successive explosions4 ,the sound       
occasioned by the detonation of the     
hydrogen gas of the balloon in this     
experiment1 does not enable us to form a
 definite judgment2 all that we can do  
is to refer to those who were near the  
balloon1 and-who affirm that the sound  
was like that of thunder40    ,chapter  
,,ii4 ,experiments and                  

,studies--,blanchard at ,paris--,guyton 
de ,morveau at ,dijon4  ,the most       
popular name in aerostation during the  
,revolution and the ,consulate in       
,france is1 without doubt1 that of      
,blanchard4 ,we have already referred to
 him in the chapter which treats of     
experiments made prior to the discovery 
of ,montgolfier1 and we now have to     
speak of his famous ascent from the     
,champ de ,mars1 on the #bnd of ,march  
#aghd1 and of the ascents which         
followed4  ,we have seen that he        
constructed a sort of flying boat1 a    
machine furnished with oars and rigging1
 with which he managed to sustain       
himself some moments in the air at the  
height of eighty feet4 ,this curious    
machine was exhibited in #aghb in the   
gardens of the great hotel of the ,rue  
,taranne4 ,but a little time afterwards 
,montgolfier's discoveries quite altered
 the conditions under which the         
aerostatic art was to be pursued4 ,it   
had no sooner become known than it      

became public property4 ,the idea was   
too simple in its grandeur1 and was of  
too easy a kind not to call up a host of
 imitators4 ,of these ,blanchard was one
 of the first2 but this mechanician was 
anxious to incorporate his own invention
 with that of ,montgolfier1 and he      
arranged that on the #bnd of ,march1    
#aghd1 he should make an ascent in what 
he still called his 8flying vessel10    
which he furnished with four wings4     
,blanchard and his companion1 ,pesch1 a 
,benedictine priest1 were prevented from
 going up in the balloon1 as represented
 in our illustration1 which was drawn   
before the event it was intended to     
commemorate4 ,a certain ,dupont de      
,chambon persisted in accompanying the  
voyagers4 ,pushed back by them1 he drew 
his sword1 leaped into the car or boat1 
wounded ,blanchard1 cut the rigging1 and
 broke the oars or wings4 ,the aeronaut 
was consequently compelled to have his  
machine partly re-fitted in great haste1
 and in the course of a few hours he    

made the ascent alone in the usual way4 
,blanchard should have known the        
uselessness of oars1 though he did not  
abandon their employment in subsequent  
ascents4 ,the ,brothers ,montgolfier had
 dreamed of the employment of oars as a 
means of guidance1 but had ultimately   
rejected the idea4 ,joseph wrote to his 
brother ,etienne1 about the end of the  
year #aghc3  8,for my sake1 my good     
friend1 reflect2 calculate well before  
you employ oars4 ,oars must either be   
great or small2 if great1 they will be  
heavy2 if small1 it will be necessary to
 move them with great rapidity4 ,i know 
no sufficient means of guidance1 except 
in the knowledge of the different       
currents of air1 of which it is         
necessary to make a study2 and these are
 generally regulated by the elevation40 
,the two brothers often recurred to this
 idea4  ,the pictures of the first      
ascent of ,blanchard from the ,champ de 
,mars on the #bnd of ,march1 #aghd1 in  
the presence of a vast multitude1 show  

us the oars and the mechanism of his    
flying-machine fitted to a balloon4 ,the
 design which we here give seems to us  
deserving of being considered only as   
one of the caricatures of the time1     
especially when we look at the personage
 dressed in the fool's head-gear1 who   
sits behind and accompanies the         
triumphant ascent of the aeronaut with  
music4  ,it was not with this apparatus 
that ,blanchard effected his ascent1 for
 we have seen that the gearing of his   
vessel was broken by the infuriated     
,dupont de ,chambon4 ,yet the aeronaut  
pretends to have been1 to some extent1  
assisted by his mechanical contrivances4
 ,the following is his narrative3--  8,i
 rose to a certain height over ,plassy1 
and perceiving ,villette1 which ,i did  
not despair of reaching in spite of the 
misfortune that had happened to me1 ,i  
attached a rope of my rigging to my leg1
 not being able to make use of my left  
hand1 which ,i had wrapped in my        
handkerchief on account of the          

sword-wound it had received4 ,i fixed up
 a piece of cloth1 and thus made a sort 
of sail with which ,i hugged the wind4  
,but the rays of the sun had so heated  
and rarefied the inflammable air that   
soon ,i forgot my rigging in thinking of
 the terrible danger that threatened    
me40  ,going on to narrate the dangers  
that beset him1 ,blanchard describes a  
number of most extraordinary            
experiences1 which would be better      
worthy of a place here if they were more
 like the truth4 ,his curious narrative 
is thus brought to a close3--  8,escaped
 from these impetuous and contrary      
winds1 during which ,i had felt a great 
degree of cold1 ,i mounted              
perpendicularly4 ,the cold became       
excessive4 ,being hungry ,i ate a morsel
 of cake4 ,i wished to drink1 but in    
searching the car nothing was to be seen
 but the debris of bottles and glasses1 
which my assailant had left behind him  
when we were about to depart4           
,afterwards all was so calm that nothing

 could be seen or heard4 ,the silence   
became appalling1 and to add to my alarm
 ,i began to lose consciousness4 ,i now 
wished to take snuff1 but found ,i had  
left my box behind me4 ,i changed my    
seat many times2 ,i went from prow to   
stern1 but the drowsiness only ceased to
 assail me when ,i was struck by two    
furious winds1 which compressed my      
balloon to such an extent that its size 
became sensibly diminished to the eye4  
,i was not sorry when ,i began to       
descend rapidly upon the river1 which at
 first seemed to me a white thread1     
afterwards a ribbon1 and then a piece of
 cloth4 ,as ,i followed the course of   
the river1 the fear that ,i should have 
to descend into it1 made me agitate the 
oars very rapidly4 ,i believe that it is
 to these movements that ,i owe my being
 able to cross the river transversely1  
and get above dry land4 ,when ,i saw    
myself upon the plain of ,billancourt1  
,i recognised the bridge of ,sevres1 and
 the road to ,versailles4 ,i was then   

about as high as the towers above the   
plain1 and ,i could hear the words and  
the cries of joy of the people who were 
following me below4 ,at length ,i came  
to a plain about #bjj feet in extent4   
,the people then assisted me and brought
 my vessel to anchor4 ,immediately ,i   
was surrounded by gentlemen and foot    
passengers who had run together from all
 parts40  ,this voyage lasted one hour  
and a quarter4 ,the most important      
incident of it was that the balloon was 
very nearly burst by the expansion of   
the hydrogen gas4 ,no balloon1 as we    
have already seen1 should be entirely   
inflated at the beginning of a journey4 
,blanchard had a narrow escape from     
being the victim of his ignorance of    
physics1 and it is a wonder he was not  
left to the mercy of fate in a burst    
balloon1 at several thousand feet above 
the earth4  ,biot1 the savant1 who had  
watched the experiment1 declared that   
,blanchard did not stir himself1 and    
that the variations of his course are   

alone to be attributed to the currents  
of air that he encountered4 ,as he had  
inscribed upon his flags1 his balloons1 
and his entrance tickets1 from which he 
realised a considerable sum1 the        
ambitious legend1 ,sic itur ad astra1   
the following epigram was produced      
respecting him3--       ,from the ,field
 of ,mars he took his flight3      ,in a
 field close by he tumbled2      ,but   
our money having taken      ,he smiled  
though sadly shaken1      ,as ,sic itur 
ad astra he mumbled4  ,what is most     
important to examine in each of the     
great aerial voyages that have been     
made1 is the special character which    
distinguishes them from average         
experiments4 ,all our great voyages are 
rendered special and particular by the  
ideas of the men who undertook them1 and
 the aims which they severally meant to 
achieve by them4 ,the early ascents of  
,montgolfier had for their aim the      
establishment of the fact that any body 
lighter than the volume of air which it 

displaces will rise in the atmosphere2  
those of ,roziers were undertaken to    
prove that man can apply this principle 
for the purpose of making actual aerial 
voyages2 those of ,robertson1           
,gay-,lussac1 c41 were undertaken for   
the purpose of ascertaining certain     
meteorological phenomena2 those of      
,conte ,coutelle applied aerostation to 
military uses4 ,a considerable number   
were made with the view of organising a 
system of aerial navigation analogous to
 that of the sea-steerage in a certain  
direction by means of oars or sails--in 
a word1 to investigate the possibility  
of sailing through the air to any point 
fixed upon4 ,it was with this object    
that the experiments at ,dijon took     
place1 and these were the most serious  
attempts down to our times that have    
been made to steer balloons4  ,at the   
middle of the globe of the balloon were 
placed four oars1 two sails1 and a helm 
and these were under the management of  
the voyagers1 who sat in the car and    

worked them by means of ropes4 ,the car 
was also furnished with oars4 ,the      
report of ,guyton de ,morveau to the    
,academy at ,dijon informs us that these
 different paraphernalia were not       
altogether useless4 ,the following      
extracts are from this report3--  8,the 
very strong wind which arose immediately
 before our departure1 had driven us    
down to tee ground many times1 making us
 fear for the safety of our oars1 c41   
when we resolved to throw over as much  
ballast as would enable us to rise      
against the wind4 ,the ballast1         
including from #gj to #hj lbs4 of       
provisions1 was thrown over1 and then we
 rose so rapidly that all the objects   
around were instantly passed and were   
very soon lost to view4 ,the swelling   
form of our balloon told us that the gas
 inside had expanded under the heat of  
the sun and the lessening density of the
 surrounding air4 ,we opened the two    
valves1 but even this outlet was        
insufficient1 and we had to cut a hole  

about seven or eight inches long in the 
lower part of the balloon1 through which
 the gas might escape4 ,at five minutes 
past five we passed above a village     
which we did not know1 and here we let  
fall a bag filled with bran1 and        
carrying with it a flag and a written   
message to the effect that we were all  
well1 and that the barometer was        
recording #bj inches #i lines1 and the  
thermometer one degree and a half below 
zero40  ,very keen cold attacked the    
ears1 but this was the only             
inconvenience experienced1 until the    
voyagers were lost in a sea of clouds   
that shut them out from the view of the 
earth4 ,the sun at length began to      
descend1 and they then perceived1 by a  
slackening in the lower part of the     
balloon1 that it was time for them to   
think of returning to the earth4        
,judging from the compass that they were
 not far from the town of ,auxonne1 they
 resolved to use all their endeavours to
 reach that place4 ,the sailing         

appliances had been considerably damaged
 by the rough weather at starting4 ,the 
rigging being disarranged1 one of the   
oars had got broken1 another had become 
entangled in the rigging1 so that there 
remained only two of the four oars1 and 
these1 being on the same side1 were     
absolutely useless during the greatest  
part of the voyage4 ,the adventurers1   
however1 assert that they made them work
 from eight to nine minutes with the    
greatest ease1 making use of them to    
tack to the south-east4  8,we hoped then
 to be able to descend near where we    
judged ,auxonne to be10 the writer      
continues1 8but we lost much gas by the 
opening in the balloon1 and descended   
more rapidly than we expected or wished4
 ,we looked to our small stock of       
ballast with anxiety1 but there was no  
need of it1 and we came very softly down
 upon a slope40  ,when the aeronauts    
arrived at ,magny-les-,auxonne1 the     
inhabitants gazed upon them in terror1  
and two men and three women fell down on

 their knees before them4  ,here is an  
extract from the report of the          
experiment of the #abth of ,june1 the   
principal object of which was the       
attempt to discover the means of        
steering in a certain direction3--  8,m4
 de ,verley and myself mounted in the   
balloon10 says ,guyton de ,morveau1 8at 
seven o'clock4 ,we rose rapidly and in  
an almost perpendicular direction4 ,the 
fall of the mercury in the barometer was
 scarcely perceptible when the dilation 
of the hydrogen gas in the balloon had  
become considerable4 ,the globe swelled 
out1 and a light vapour around the mouth
 announced to us that the gas was       
commencing to escape by the             
safety-valve4 ,we assisted its escape by
 pulling the valve-string4  8,having    
reduced the dilation sufficiently for   
our purposes1 we resolved to attempt the
 working of the balloon before the whole
 town and to turn it from the east to   
the north4 ,we saw with pleasure that   
our machinery answered ,by the working  

of the helm1 the prow of our air-boat   
was turned in the direction we desired4 
,the oars1 working only on one side1    
supported the helm1 and altogether we   
got on as we wished4 ,we described a    
curve1 crossing the road from ,dijon to 
,langres4 ,the mercury had descended to 
#bd inches #h lines1 which announced    
that we were gradually rising4 ,we      
attempted for some time to follow the   
route to ,i ,langres1 but the wind drove
 us off our course in spite of all our  
efforts4 ,at nine o'clock our barometer 
informed us that we had ascended to the 
height of #f1jjj feet4 ,m4 de ,verley   
took advantage of this elevation to put 
some touch wood to a burning-glass #ah  
lines in diameter1 and the touch wood   
lighted immediately40  ,the aeronauts   
decided to direct their course for      
,dijon4 ,after re-setting the helm with 
this intention1 they worked their oars1 
and proceeded in that direction more    
than #a1jjj feet4 ,but heat and fatigue 
obliged them to suspend their           

endeavours1 and the current drove them  
upon ,mirebeau1 where1 throwing out the 
last of their ballast and regulating    
their descent1 they came softly down    
upon a corn-field4  ,the adventurers    
were cordially welcomed by the          
ecclesiastics and the magistrates of the
 place1 and after a time they1 with     
their balloon1 were carried back on     
men's shoulders to ,dijon4    ,chapter  
,,iii4       ,experiment in             
,montgolfiers--,roziers and             
,proust--,the ,duke of                  
,chartres--,the ,comte                  
d',artois--,voyage of the ,abbe ,carnus 
to      ,rodez4  ,the longest course    
travelled by ,montgolfiere balloons1 and
 the highest elevation reached by them1 
were achieved by ,roziers and ,proust   
with the ,montgolfiere la ,marie        
,antoinette1 at ,versailles1 on the     
#bcrd of ,june1 #aghd4 ,roziers himself 
has left us a picturesque narrative of  
this excursion from ,versailles to      
,compiegne4 ,he says3--  8,the          

,montgolfiere rose at first very gently 
in a diagonal line1 presenting an       
imposing spectacle4 ,like a vessel which
 has just been precipitated from the    
stocks1 this astonishing machine hung   
balanced in the air for some time1 and  
seemed to have got beyond human control4
 ,these irregular movements intimidated 
a portion of the spectators1 who1       
fearing that1 should there be a fall1   
their lives would be in danger1         
scattered away with great speed from    
under us4 ,after having fed my fire1 ,i 
saluted the people1 who answered me in  
the most cordial manner4 ,i had time to 
remark some faces1 in which there was a 
mixed expression of apprehension and    
joy4 ,in continuing our upward progress1
 ,i perceived that an upper current of  
air made the ,montgolfiere bend1 but on 
increasing the heat1 we rose above the  
current4 ,the size of objects on the    
earth now began perceptibly to diminish1
 which gave us an idea of the distance  
at which we were from them4 ,it was then

 that we became visible to ,paris and   
its suburbs1 and so great was our       
elevation that many in the capital      
thought we were directly over their     
heads4  8,when we had arrived among the 
clouds1 the earth disappeared from our  
view4 ,now a thick mist would envelop   
us1 then a clear space showed us where  
we were1 and again we rose through a    
mass of snow1 portions of which stuck to
 our gallery4 ,curious to know how high 
we could ascend1 we resolved to increase
 our fire and raise the heat to the     
highest degree1 by raising our grating1 
and holding up our fagots suspended on  
the ends of our forks4  8,having gained 
these snowy elevations1 and not being   
able to mount higher1 we wandered about 
for some time in regions which we felt  
were now visited by man for the first   
time4 ,isolated and separated entirely  
from nature1 we perceived beneath us    
only enormous masses of snow1 which1    
reflecting the sunshine1 filled the     
firmament with a glorious light4 ,we    

remained eight minutes at this          
elevation1 #aa1gcb feet above the earth4
 ,this situation1 however agreeable it  
might have been to the painter or the   
poet1 promised little to the man of     
science in the way of acquiring         
knowledge2 and so we determined1        
eighteen minutes after our departure1 to
 return through the clouds to the earth4
 ,we had hardly left this snowy abyss1  
when the most pleasant scene succeeded  
the most dreary one4 ,the broad plains  
appeared before our view in all their   
magnificence4 ,no snow1 no clouds were  
now to be seen1 except around the       
horizon1 where a few clouds seemed to   
rest on the earth4 ,we passed in a      
minute from winter to spring4 ,we saw   
the immeasurable earth covered with     
towns and villages1 which at that       
distance appeared only so many isolated 
mansions surrounded with gardens4 ,the  
rivers which wound about in all         
directions seemed no more than rills for
 the adornment of these mansions2 the   

largest forests looked mere clumps or   
groves1 and the meadows and broad fields
 seemed no more than garden plots4      
,these marvellous tableaux1 which no    
painter could render1 reminded us of the
 fairy metamorphoses2 only with this    
difference1 that we were beholding upon 
a mighty scale what imagination could   
only picture in little4 ,it is in such a
 situation that the soul rises to the   
loftiest height1 that the thoughts are  
exalted and succeed each other with the 
greatest rapidity4 ,travelling at this  
elevation1 our fire did not demand      
continual attention1 and we could easily
 walk about the gallery4 ,we were as    
much at peace upon our lofty balcony as 
we should have been upon the terrace of 
a mansion1 enjoying all the pictures    
which unrolled themselves before us     
continually1 without experiencing any of
 the giddiness which has disturbed so   
many persons4 ,having broken my fork in 
my exertions to raise the balloon1 ,i   
went to obtain another one4 ,on my way  

to get it1 ,i encountered my companion1 
,m4 ,proust4 ,we ought never to have    
been on the same side of the balloon1   
for a capsize and the escape of all our 
hydrogen gas might have been the result4
 ,as it was1 so well was the machine    
ballasted1 that the only effect of our  
being on the one side made the balloon  
incline a little in that direction4 ,the
 winds1 although very considerable1     
caused us no uneasiness1 and we only    
knew the swiftness of our progress      
through the air by the rapidity with    
which the villages seemed to fly away   
from under our feet2 so that it seemed1 
from the tranquillity with which we     
moved1 that we were borne along by the  
diurnal movement of the globe4 ,often we
 wished to descend1 in order to learn   
what the people were crying to us the   
simplicity of our arrangements enabled  
us to rise1 to descend1 to move in      
horizontal or oblique lines1 as we      
pleased and as often as we considered   
necessary1 without altogether landing40 

,when they came to ,luzarche1 the       
delighted aeronauts resolved to land4   
,already the people were testifying     
their pleasure at seeing them4 ,men came
 running together from all directions1  
while all the animals rushed away with  
equal precipitation1 no doubt taking the
 balloon for some wild beast4 ,finding  
that their course would lead them       
straight against certain houses1 the    
aeronauts again increased their fire1   
and1 slightly rising1 escaped the       
buildings that had been in their way4   
,shortly afterwards they safely landed  
forty miles from the spot from which    
they had started4  ,it was not only the 
man of science or the mechanician that  
devoted himself to the task of taking   
possession of the new empire1 but the   
nobles gave their hands to the          
aeronauts1 and humbly asked the favour  
of an ascent4 ,the king had addressed   
letters to the ,brothers ,montgolfier1  
and the marvellous invention had become 
an affair of state4 ,the princes of the 

blood and the nobles of the court       
considered it an honour to count among  
the number of their friends a celebrated
 aeronaut4  ,the ,count d',artois1      
afterwards ,charles ,x41 and the ,duke  
de ,chartres1 father of ,louis          
,philippe1 made experiments in aerial   
navigation4 ,the chemists ,alban and    
,vallet made a magnificent balloon for  
the ,count1 who went up many times in   
it1 with several persons of all ranks4  
,already at ,st4 ,cloud1 the ,duke of   
,chartres1 afterwards ,philippe         
,egalite1 had1 on the #aeth of ,july1   
#aghd1 made1 with the ,brothers ,robert1
 an ascent which put their courage to   
terrible tests4 ,the hydrogen gas       
balloon was oblong1 sixty feet high and 
forty feet in diameter1 and it had been 
constructed upon a plan supplied by     
,meunier4 ,in order to obviate the use  
of the valve1 he had placed inside the  
balloon a smaller globe1 filled with    
ordinary air4 ,this was done on the     
supposition that1 when the balloon rose 

high1 the hydrogen being rarefied would 
compress the little globe within1 and   
press out of it a quantity of ordinary  
air equal to the amount of its dilation4
  ,at eight o'clock1 the ,brothers      
,robert--,collin and ,hullin--and the   
,duke of ,chartres1 ascended in presence
 of an immense multitude4 ,the nearest  
ranks kneeled down to allow those behind
 to have a view of the departure of the 
balloon1 which disappeared among the    
clouds amid the acclamations of the     
prostrate multitude4 ,the machine1      
obedient to the stormy and contrary     
winds which it met1 turned several times
 completely round4 ,the helm1 which had 
been fitted to the machine1 and the two 
oars1 gave such a purchase to the winds 
that the voyagers1 already surrounded by
 the clouds1 cut them away4 ,but the    
oscillations continued1 and the little  
globe inside not being suspended with   
cords1 fell down in such an unfortunate 
manner as to close up the opening of the
 large balloon1 by means of which       

provision had been made for the egress  
of the gas now dilated by the heat of   
the sun1 which poured down its rays1 a  
sudden gust having cleared the space of 
the clouds4 ,it was feared that the case
 of the balloon would crack1 and the    
whole thing collapse1 in spite of the   
efforts of the aeronauts to push back   
the smaller balloon from the opening4   
,then the ,duke of ,chartres seized one 
of the flags they carried1 and with the 
lance-head pierced the balloon in two   
places4 ,a rent of about nine feet was  
the consequence1 and the balloon began  
to descend with amazing rapidity4 ,they 
would have fallen into a lake had they  
not thrown over #fj lbs4 of ballast1    
which caused them to rise a little1 and 
pass over to the shore1 where they got  
safely to the earth4  ,the expedition   
lasted only a few minutes4 ,the ,duke of
 ,chartres was rallied by his enemies1  
who accused him of cowardice2 and       
,monjoie1 his historian1 making allusion
 to the combat of ,ouessant1 says that  

he had given proofs of his cowardice in 
the three elements--earth1 air1 and     
water4  ,m4 ,gray1 professor at the     
seminary of ,rodez1 presented us some   
years ago with the following letter from
 the ,abbe ,carnus1 upon the aerial     
voyage which he undertook1 ,august #fth1
 #aghd3--  8,the progress of the        
,montgolfiere was so sudden that one    
might almost have believed that it arose
 all inflated and furnished out of some 
chasm in the earth ,the air was calm1   
the sky without clouds1 the sun very    
strong4 ,our fuel and instruments were  
put into the gallery1 my companion1 ,m4 
,louchet1 was at his post1 and ,i took  
mine4 ,at twenty minutes past eight the 
cords were loosened1 we waved a farewell
 to the spectators1 and while two       
cannon-shots announced our departure1 we
 were already high above the loftiest   
buildings4  8,to the general            
acclamations of the crowd succeeded a   
profound silence4 ,the spectators1 half 
in fear1 half in admiration1 stood      

motionless1 with eyes fixed1 and gazing 
eagerly at the superb machine1 which    
rose almost vertically with rapidity and
 also with grandeur4 ,some women1 and   
even some men1 fainted away2 others     
raised their hands to heaven2 others    
shed tears2 all grew pale at the sight  
of our bright fire4  8#8,we have quitted
 the earth1' said ,i to my companion4   
8#8,i compliment you on the fact1' he   
answered2 #8keep up the fire6'  8,a     
truss of hay1 steeped in spirits of wine
 accelerated the swiftness of our       
ascent4 ,i cast my glance upon the town1
 which seemed to flee rapidly from under
 our feet4 ,terrestrial objects had     
already lost their shape and size4 ,the 
burning heat which ,i felt at first now 
gave place to a temperature of the most 
agreeable kind1 and the air which we    
breathed seemed to contain healthful    
elements unknown to dwellers on the     
lower earth4  8#8,how well ,i am6' ,i   
said to ,louchet2 #8how are you8'       
8#8,as well as can be4 ,would that ,i   

could dispatch a message to the earth6' 
8,immediately ,i threw over a roll of   
paper on which ,i had written the words1
 #8,all well on board the ,city of      
,rodez4'  8,at thirty-two minutes past  
eight our elevation was at least #f1jjj 
feet above sea level4 ,a flame from our 
fire1 rising from eighteen to twenty    
feet1 sent us up another #a1jjj feet4   
,it was then that our machine was seen  
by every spectator within a circuit of  
nine miles1 and it appeared to be right 
over the heads of all of them4  8#8,send
 us up out of sight1' said my           
adventurous confrere4  8,i had to       
moderate his ardour--a larger fire would
 have burnt our balloon4  8,from our    
moving observatory the most splendid    
view developed itself4 ,the boundaries  
of the horizon were vastly extended4    
,the capital of the ,rouergue appeared  
to be no more than a group of stones1   
one of which seemed to rise to the      
height of two or three feet4 ,this was  
no other than the superb tower of the   

cathedral4 ,fertile slopes1 agreeable   
valleys1 lofty precipices1 waste lands1 
ancient castles perched upon frowning   
rocks1 these form the endlessly varied  
spectacle which the ,rouergue and the   
neighbouring provinces present to the   
view of those who traverse the surface  
of the earth4 ,but how different is the 
scene to the aerial voyager6 ,we could  
perceive only a vast country1 perfectly 
round1 and seemingly a little elevated  
in the middle1 irregularly marked with  
verdure1 but without inhabitants1       
without towns1 valleys1 rivers1 or      
mountains4 ,living beings no longer     
existed for us2 the forests were changed
 into what looked like grassy plains2   
the ranges of the ,cantal and the       
,cevennes had disappeared2 we looked in 
vain for the ,mediterranean1 and the    
,pyrenees seemed only a long series of  
piles of snow1 connected at their bases4
 ,our own balloon1 which from ,rodez    
appeared about the size of a marble1 was
 the only object that for us retained   

its natural dimensions4 ,what wonderful 
sensations then arose within us6 ,i had 
often reflected upon the works of       
nature2 their magnificence had always   
filled me with admiration4 ,in this     
soul-stirring moment how beautiful did  
nature seem--how grand6 ,with what      
majesty did it strike my imagination4   
,never did man appear to me before such 
an excellent being ,his latest triumph  
over the elements recalled to my mind   
his other conquests of nature4 ,my      
companion was animated with the same    
sentiments1 and more than once we cried 
out1 #8,vive ,montgolfier6 ,vive        
,roziers6 ,vivent ceux qui ont du       
courage et de la constance6'  8,in the  
meantime our fuel was getting near the  
end4 ,in eighteen minutes we had run a  
distance of #ab1jjj feet4 #8,make your  
observations while ,i attend to the     
fire1' said my companion to me4 ,i      
examined the barometer1 the thermometer1
 and the compass1 and having sealed up a
 small bottle of the air at this        

elevation1 ,i asked my companion to     
reduce the fire4 ,we descended #a1hjj   
feet1 and at this height ,i filled      
another bottle with air4  8,afterwards  
we felt the refreshing breath of a      
slight breeze1 which carried us gently  
toward the south-east4 ,in six minutes  
we had run #ah1jjj feet4 ,then1 having  
only sufficient fuel to enable us to    
choose the place of our descent1 we     
considered whether we should not bring  
our aerial voyage to a termination4 ,we 
had neither lake nor forest to fear1 and
 we were secure against danger from     
fire1 as we could detach the grating at 
some distance from the earth4 ,at       
fifty-eight minutes past eight all our  
fuel was exhausted1 except two bundles  
of straw1 of four pounds each1 which we 
reserved for our descent4 ,the balloon  
came gradually down1 and terrestrial    
objects began again to resume their     
proper forms and dimensions4 ,the       
animals fled at the sight of our        
balloon1 which seemed likely to crush   

them in its fall4 ,horsemen were obliged
 to dismount and lead their frightened  
horses4 ,terrified by such an unwonted  
sight1 the labourers in the fields      
abandoned their work4 ,we were not more 
than #fjj feet from the earth4 ,we threw
 on the two bundles of straw1 but still 
gradually descended4 ,the grating was   
then detached1 and ,i had no difficulty 
in leaping to the ground4 ,but now a    
most surprising and unlooked-for event  
happened4 ,m4 ,louchet had not been able
 to descend at the same moment as       
myself1 and the balloon1 now free from  
my weight1 immediately re-ascended with 
the speed of a bird1 bearing away my    
companion4 ,i followed him with my eyes1
 and it was to my agreeable surprise    
that ,i heard him crying to me1 #8,all  
is well2 fear not6' though it was not   
without a species of jealousy that ,i   
saw him mounting up to the height of    
#a1djj or #a1ejj feet4 ,the balloon1    
after having run a distance of #c1fjj   
feet in a horizontal direction1 began   

gently to descend at four minutes past  
nine1 at the village of ,inieres1 after 
having travelled #db1jjj feet from the  
point of departure4 ,when it had touched
 the ground it bumped up again two or   
three feet4 ,m4 ,louchet jumped out1 and
 seized one of the ropes1 but had much  
difficulty in holding the balloon in    
hand4 ,he cried to the frightened       
peasants to come and help him4 ,but they
 seemed to regard him as a dangerous    
magician1 or as a monster1 and they     
feared to touch the ropes lest they     
might be swallowed up by the balloon4   
,soon afterwards ,i came to the rescue4 
,the balloon was in as thorough repair  
as when we began our journey4 ,we then  
pressed out the hot air1 folded up the  
envelope1 placed it upon a small cart   
drawn by two oxen1 and drove off with   
it40    ,chapter ,,iv4                  
,serio-,comic ,aspect of the            
,subject--,the ,public ,duped--,the     
,abbes ,miolan and ,janninet at the     
,luxembourg--,caricatures--      ,the   

8,minerva0 of ,robertson1 and its       
,voyage ,round the ,world4  ,the        
discovery like that of balloons could   
not be made public in ,france without   
being travestied1 and without offering  
some comic side for the amusement of the
 wits of the day4 ,under some old       
coloured prints1 designed with the      
intention of satirising such unfortunate
 aeronauts as had collected their money 
from the spectators1 but had failed in  
inflating their balloons1 is written1   
8,the ,infallible ,means of ,raising    
,balloons0--the infallible means        
consisting of ropes and pulleys4  ,while
 caricature was thus turning its irony  
upon the efforts of believers in the new
 idea1 serious pamphlets were being     
written and published with the same     
object4 ,one of these declares that the 
discovery is ,,immoral1 ,i4 ,because    
since ,god has not given wings to man1  
it is impious to try to improve his     
works1 and to encroach upon his rights  
as a ,creator2 #b4 ,because honour and  

virtue would be in continual danger1 if 
balloons were permitted to descend1 at  
all hours of the night1 into gardens and
 close to windows2 #c4 ,because1 if the 
highway of the air were to remain open  
to all and sundry1 the frontiers of     
nations would vanish1 and property      
national and personal would be invaded1 
c4 ,we do not wish to gather together   
here the stones which critics threw     
against the new discovery1 unaware all  
the time that these stones were falling 
upon their own heads4  ,it is only fair 
to state that after the first ascents   
the public were often duped by          
pretending aeronauts1 whose single aim  
was to sell their tickets1 and who      
disappeared when the time came for      
ascending4 ,the result of these frauds  
was that sometimes honest men were made 
to suffer as rogues4 ,even in our own   
day1 when an ascent1 seriously intended1
 fails to succeed1 owing to some        
unforeseen circumstances1 the public    
frequently manifests a decided ill-will 

to the aeronaut1 who is perfectly       
honest1 and only unfortunate4  ,the     
famous ascent of the ,abbes ,miolan and 
,janninet1 at the ,luxembourg1 may be   
cited as among the failures which       
suffered most from the satire of the    
time4 ,their immense balloon1           
constructed at great expense at the     
observatory1 was expected to rise beyond
 the clouds1 and a multitude1 each of   
whom had paid dearly for his ticket1 had
 assembled at the ,luxembourg4 ,the     
morning had been occupied in removing   
the balloon from the observatory to the 
place of ascent1 and at midday the      
inflation of it began4 ,the rays of a   
burning ,july sun--and one knows what   
that is in the ,luxembourg in           
,paris--streamed down on the heads of   
the thousands of spectators4 ,from six  
in the morning till four in the evening 
they had waited to see the unheard-of   
wonder2 the ascent1 however1 was to be  
so imposing1 that nothing could be lost 
by waiting for it4  ,but at five in the 

afternoon the heavy machine was still   
motionless--inert upon the ground4 ,we  
need not attempt to describe the scene  
which took place as the impatience of   
the multitude increased4 ,sneers of     
derision made themselves heard on all   
sides4 ,a universal murmur1 rapidly     
developing into a clamour1 arose amongst
 the multitude2 then1 wild with         
disappointment1 the frenzied populace   
threw themselves upon the barricade1    
broke it1 attacked the gallery of the   
balloon1 the instruments1 the apparatus1
 trampling them under foot1 and smashing
 them in bits4 ,they then rushed upon   
the balloon and fired it4 ,there was    
then a general melee4 ,far from fleeing 
the fire1 every one struggled to seize  
and carry off a bit of the balloon1 to  
preserve as a relic4 ,the two abbes     
escaped as they best could1 under       
protection of a number of friends4      
,after this there fell a perfect shower 
of lampoons and caricatures4 ,the ,abbe 
,miolan was represented as a cat with a 

band round its neck1 while ,janninet    
appeared as a donkey2 and in a coloured 
print the cat and the ass are shown     
arriving in triumph upon their famous   
balloon at the ,academy of ,montmartre1 
and are received at the hill of         
,moulins-a-,vent by a solemn assembly of
 turkey-cocks and geese in different    
attitudes4 ,numerous songs and epigrams1
 of which the unfortunate abbes were the
 subjects1 also appeared at this time4  
,the letters which composed the words   
8l',abbe ,miolan0 were found to form the
 anagram1 ,ballon abime--8the balloon   
swallowed up40  ,the most extravagant   
balloon project was that of ,robertson1 
who published a scheme for making a tour
 of the world4 ,he called it 8,la       
,minerva1 an aerial vessel destined for 
discoveries1 and proposed to all the    
,academies of ,europe1 by ,robertson1   
physicist0 7,vienna1 #ahjd2 reprinted at
 ,paris1 #ahbj71 ,robertson dedicated   
his project to ,volta1 and in his       
dedication he does not scruple to say3  

8,in our age1 my friendship seeks only  
one gratification1 that we should both  
live a sufficiently long time together  
to enable you to calculate and utilise  
the results of this great machine1 while
 ,i take the practical direction of it40
 ,the following is this aeronaut's      
prospectus3--  8,there is no limit to   
the sciences and the arts1 which        
cultivation does not overstep4 ,we have 
everything to hope and to expect from   
time1 from chance1 and from the genius  
of man4 ,the difference which there is  
between the canoe of the savage and the 
man-of-war of #abd guns is perhaps as   
great as that of balloons as they now   
are and as they will be in the course of
 a century4 ,if you ask of an aeronaut  
why he cannot command the motions of his
 balloon1 he will ask of you in his turn
 why the inventor of the canoe did not  
immediately afterwards construct a      
man-of-war4 ,it must be recollected that
 there have not yet elapsed forty years 
since the discovery of the balloon1 and 

that to perfect it would be a work of   
difficulty1 as much from the increased  
knowledge which such a work would       
demand1 as from the pecuniary sacrifices
 and the personal devotion which it     
would involve4  8,thus this invention1  
after having at first electrified all   
savants from the one end of the world to
 the other1 has suffered the fate of all
 discoveries--it was all at once        
arrested4 ,did not astronomy wait long  
for ,newton1 and chemistry for          
,lavoisier1 to raise them to something  
like the splendour they now enjoy8 ,was 
not the magnet a long time a toy in the 
hands of the ,chinese1 without giving   
birth to the idea of the compass8 ,the  
electric fluid was known in the time of 
,thales1 but how many ages did we wait  
for the discovery of galvanism8 ,yet    
these sciences1 which may be studied in 
silent retreats1 were more likely to    
yield fruit to the discoverer than      
aerostatics1 which demand courage and   
skill1 and of which the experiments1    

which are always public1 are attended   
with great cost40  ,robertson's proposed
 machine was to be #aej feet in         
diameter1 and would be capable of       
carrying #aej1jjj lbs4 ,every precaution
 was to be taken in order to make the   
great structure perfect4 ,it was to     
accommodate sixty persons to be chosen  
by the academics1 who should stay in it 
for several months should rise to all   
possible elevations1 pass through all   
climates in all seasons1 make scientific
 observations1 c4 ,this balloon1        
penetrating deserts inaccessible by     
other means of travel1 and visiting     
places which travellers have never      
penetrated1 would be of immense use in  
the science of geography3 and when under
 the line1 if the heat near the earth   
should be inconvenient1 the aeronauts   
would1 of course1 easily rise to        
elevations where the temperature is     
equal and agreeable4 ,when their        
observations1 their needs1 or their     
pleasures demanded it1 they could       

descend to within a short distance of   
the earth1 say ninety feet1 and fix     
themselves in their position by means of
 an anchor4 ,it might1 perhaps1 be      
possible1 by taking the advantage of    
favourable winds1 to make the tour of   
the world4 8,experience will perhaps    
demonstrate that aerial navigation      
presents less inconvenience and less    
dangers than the navigation of the      
seas40  ,the immensity of the seas      
seemed to be the only source of         
insurmountable difficulties2 8but10 says
 ,robertson1 8over what a vast space    
might not one travel in six months with 
a balloon fully furnished with the      
necessaries of life1 and all the        
appliances necessary for safety8        
,besides1 if1 through the natural       
imperfection attaching to all the works 
of man1 or either through accident or   
age1 the balloon1 borne above the sea1  
became incapable of sustaining the      
travellers1 it is provided with a boat1 
which can withstand the waters and      

guarantee the return of the voyagers40  
,such were the ideas promulgated        
regarding the 8,minerva40 ,the following
 is the serious description given of the
 machine4 ,the numbers correspond with  
those on the illustration4  8,the cock  
7#c7 is the symbol of watchfulness2 it  
is also the highest point of the        
balloon4 ,an observer1 getting up       
through the interior to the point at    
which the watchful fowl is placed1 will 
be able to command the best view to be  
had in the #8,minerva4' ,the wings at   
the side 7#a and #b7 are to be regarded 
as ornamental4 ,the balloon will be #aej
 feet in diameter1 made expressly at    
,lyons of unbleached silk1 coated within
 and without with indict-rubber4 ,this  
globe sustains a ship1 which contains or
 has attached to it all the things      
necessary for the convenience1 the      
observations1 and even the pleasures of 
the voyagers4  87a7 ,a small boat1 in   
which the passengers might take refuge  
in case of necessity1 in the event of   

the larger vessel falling on the sea in 
a disabled state4  87b7 ,a large store  
for keeping the water1 wine1 and all the
 provisions of the expedition4  87cc7   
,ladders of silk1 to enable the         
passengers to go to all parts of the    
balloon4  87e7 ,closets4  87h7 ,pilot's 
room4  87#a7 ,an observatory1 containing
 the compasses and other scientific     
instruments for taking the latitude4    
87g7 ,a room fitted up for recreations1 
walking1 and gymnastics4  87m7 ,the     
kitchen1 far removed from the balloon4  
,it is the only place where a fire shall
 be permitted4  87p7 ,medicine room4    
87v7 ,a theatre1 music room1 c4  8--,the
 study4  87x7 ,the tents of the         
air-marines1 c4 c40  ,this balloon is   
certainly the most marvellous that has  
ever been imagined--quite a town1 with  
its forts1 ramparts1 cannon1 boulevards1
 and galleries4 ,one can understand the 
many squibs and satires which so        
,utopian a notion provoked4    ,chapter 
,v4 ,first ,aerial ,voyage in           

,england--,blanchard ,crosses the ,sea  
in a ,balloon4  ,in spite of their known
 powers of industry and perseverance1   
the ,english did not throw themselves   
with any great ardour into the          
exploration of the atmosphere4 ,from one
 cause or another it is the ,french and 
the ,italians that have chiefly         
distinguished themselves in this art4   
,the ,english historian of aerostation  
gives some details of the first aerial  
voyage made in this country by the      
,italian1 ,vincent ,lunardy4  ,the      
balloon was made of silk covered with a 
varnish of oil1 and painted in alternate
 stripes--blue and red4 ,it was three   
feet in diameter4 ,cords fixed upon it  
hung down and were attached to a hoop at
 the bottom1 from which a gallery was   
suspended4 ,this balloon had no         
safety-valve--its neck was the only     
opening by which the hydrogen gas was   
introduced1 and by which it was allowed 
to escape4  ,in ,september1 #aghd1 it   
was carried to the ,artillery ,ground   

and filled with gas4 ,after being       
two-thirds filled1 the gallery was      
attached with its two oars or wings1 and
 ,lunardy1 accompanied by ,biggin and   
,madame ,sage1 took his place2 but it   
was found that the balloon had not      
sufficient lifting power to carry up the
 whole three1 and ,lunardy went up      
alone1 with the exception of the pigeon1
 the cat1 and the dog1 that were with   
him4  ,the balloon rose to the height of
 about twenty feet1 then followed a     
horizontal line1 and descended4 ,but the
 gallery had no sooner touched the earth
 than ,lunardy threw over the sand that 
served as ballast1 and mounted          
triumphantly1 amid the applause of a    
considerable multitude of spectators4   
,after a time he descended upon a       
common1 where he left the cat nearly    
dead with cold1 ascended1 and continued 
his voyage4 ,he says1 in the narrative  
which he has left1 that he descended by 
means of the one oar which was left to  
him1 the other having fallen over2 but1 

as he states that1 in order to rise     
again1 he threw over the remainder of   
his ballast1 it is natural to believe   
that the descent of the balloon was     
caused by the loss of gas1 because1 if  
he descended by the use of the oar1 he  
must have re-ascended when he stopped   
using it4 ,he landed in the parish of   
,standon1 where he was assisted by the  
peasants4  ,he assures us again that he 
came down the second time by means of   
the oar4 ,he says3--8,i took my oar to  
descend1 and in from fifteen to twenty  
minutes ,i arrived at the earth after   
much fatigue1 my strength being nearly  
exhausted4 ,my chief desire was to      
escape a shock on reaching the earth1   
and fortune favoured me40 ,the fear of a
 concussion seems to indicate that he   
descended more because of the weight of 
the balloon than by the action of the   
oar4  ,it appears that the only         
scientific instrument he had was a      
thermometer which fell to #bi degrees4  
,the drops of water which had attached  

themselves to the balloon were frozen4  
,the second aerial journey in ,england  
was undertaken by ,blanchard and        
,sheldon4 ,the latter1 a professor of   
anatomy in the ,royal ,academy1 is the  
first ,englishman who ever went up in a 
balloon4 ,this ascent was made from     
,chelsea on the #afth ,october1 #aghd4  
,the same balloon which ,blanchard had  
used in ,france served him on this      
occasion1 with the difference that the  
hoop which went round the middle of it1 
and the parasol above the car1 were     
dispensed with4 ,at the extremity of his
 car he had fitted a sort of ventilator1
 which he was able to move about by     
means of a winch4 ,this ventilator1     
together with the wings and the helm1   
were to serve especially the purpose of 
steering at will1 which he had often    
said was quite practicable as soon as a 
certain elevation had been reached4     
,the two aeronauts ascended1 having with
 them a number of scientific and musical
 instruments1 some refreshments1        

ballast1 c4 ,twice the ascent failed1   
and eventually ,sheldon got out1 and    
,blanchard went up again alone4         
,blanchard says that1 on this second    
ascent1 he was carried first north-east1
 then east-south-east of ,sunbury in    
,middlesex4 ,he rose so high that he had
 great difficulty in breathing1 the     
pigeon he had with him escaped1 but     
could hardly maintain itself in the     
rarefied air of such an elevated region1
 and finding no place to rest1 came back
 and perched on the side of the car4    
,after a time1 the cold becoming        
excessive1 ,blanchard descended until he
 could distinguish men on the earth1 and
 hear their shouting4 ,after many       
vicissitudes he landed upon a plain in  
,hampshire1 about seventy-five miles    
from the point of departure4 ,it was    
observed that1 so long as he could be   
clearly seen1 he executed none of the   
feats with his wings1 ventilator1 c41   
which he had promised to exhibit4       
,enthusiasm about aerial voyages was now

 at its climax2 the most wonderful deeds
 were spoken of as commonplace1 and the 
word 8impossible0  was erased from the  
language4 ,emboldened by his success1   
,blanchard one day announced in the     
newspapers that he would cross from     
,england to ,france in a balloon--a     
marvellous journey1 the success of which
 depended altogether upon the course of 
the wind1 to the mercy of which the bold
 aeronaut committed himself4  ,a certain
 ,dr4 ,jeffries offered to accompany    
,blanchard4 ,on the #gth of ,january the
 sky was calm1 in consequence of a      
strong frost during the preceding night1
 the wind which was very light1 being   
from the north-north-west4 ,the arranged
 meets were made above the cliffs of    
,dover4 ,when the balloon rose1 there   
were only three sacks of sand of #aj    
lbs4 each in it4 ,they had not been long
 above ground when the barometer sank   
from #bi4g to #bg4c4 ,dr4 ,jeffries1 in 
a letter addressed to the president of  
the ,royal ,society1 describes with     

enthusiasm the spectacle spread out     
before him3 the broad country lying     
behind ,dover1 sown with numerous towns 
and villages1 formed a charming view2   
while the rocks on the other side1      
against which the waves dashed1 offered 
a prospect that was rather trying4      
,they had already passed one-third of   
the distance across the ,channel when   
the balloon descended for the second    
time1 and they threw over the last of   
their ballast2 and that not sufficing1  
they threw over some books1 and found   
themselves rising again4 ,after having  
got more than half way1 they found to   
their dismay1 from the rising of the    
barometer1 that they were again         
descending1 and the remainder of their  
books were thrown over4 ,at twenty-five 
minutes past two o'clock they had passed
 three-quarters of their journey1 and   
they perceived ahead the inviting coasts
 of ,france4 ,but1 in consequence either
 of the loss or the condensation of the 
inflammable gas1 they found themselves  

once more descending4 ,they then threw  
over their provisions1 the wings of the 
car1 and other objects4 8,we were       
obliged10 says ,jeffries1 8to throw out 
the only bottle we had1 which fell on   
the water with a loud sound1 and sent up
 spray like smoke40  ,they were now near
 the water themselves1 and certain death
 seemed to stare them in the face4 ,it  
is said that at this critical moment    
,jeffries offered to throw himself into 
the sea1 in order to save the life of   
his companion4  8,we are lost1 both of  
us10 said he2 8and if you believe that  
it will save you to be lightened of my  
weight1 ,i am willing to sacrifice my   
life40  ,this story has certainly the   
appearance of romance1 and belief in it 
is not positively demanded4  ,one       
desperate resource only remained--they  
could detach the car and hang on        
themselves to the ropes of the balloon4 
,they were preparing to carry out this  
idea1 when they imagined they felt      
themselves beginning to ascend again4   

,it was indeed so4 ,the balloon mounted 
once more2 they were only four miles    
from the coast of ,france1 and their    
progress through the air was rapid4 ,all
 fear was now banished4 ,their exciting 
situation1 and the idea that they were  
the first who had ever traversed the    
,channel in such a manner1 rendered them
 careless about the want of certain     
articles of dress which they had        
discarded4 ,at three o'clock they passed
 over the shore half-way between ,cape  
,blanc and ,calais4 ,then the balloon1  
rising rapidly1 described a great arc1  
and they found themselves at a greater  
elevation than at any part of their     
course4 ,the wind increased in strength1
 and changed a little in its direction4 
,having descended to the tops of the    
trees of the forest of ,guines1 ,dr4    
,jeffries seized a branch1 and by this  
means arrested their advance4 ,the valve
 was then opened1 the gas rushed out1   
and the aeronauts safely reached the    
ground after the successful             

accomplishment of this daring and       
memorable enterprise4  ,a number of     
horsemen1 who had watched the recent    
course of the balloon1 now rode up1 and 
gave the adventurers the most cordial   
reception4 ,on the following day a      
splendid fete was celebrated in their   
honour at ,calais4 ,blanchard was       
presented with the freedom of the city  
in a box of gold1 and the municipal body
 purchased the balloon1 with the        
intention of placing it in one of the   
churches as a memorial of this          
experiment1 it being also resolved to   
erect a marble monument on the spot     
where the famous aeronauts landed4      
,some days afterwards ,blanchard was    
summoned before the king1 who conferred 
upon him an annual pension of #a1bjj    
livres4 ,the queen1 who was at play at  
the gambling table1 placed a sum for him
 upon a card1 and presented him with the
 purse which she won4    ,chapter ,,vi4 
,zambeccari's ,perilous ,trip ,across   
the ,adriatic ,sea4  ,there is not in   

the whole annals of aerostation a more  
moving catastrophe than that of the     
unfortunate ,comte ,zambeccari1 who1    
during an aerial journey on ,october the
 #gth1 #ahjd1 was cast away on the waves
 of the ,adriatic4  ,the history of     
,zambeccari is dramatic throughout4     
,after having been taken by the ,turks  
and thrown into the ,bay of             
,constantinople1 from which he with     
difficulty escaped1 he devoted himself  
to the study and practice of aerial     
navigation4 ,he fancied he could make   
use of a lamp supplied with spirits of  
wine1 the flame of which he could direct
 at will1 in the hope of thus being able
 to steer the balloon in whatever       
direction he chose4 ,one day his balloon
 damaged itself against a tree at       
,boulogne1 and the spirits of wine set  
his clothes on fire4 ,the flames with   
which the aeronaut was covered only     
served to increase the ascending power  
of the balloon1 and the frightened      
spectators1 among whom were             

,zambeccari's young wife and children1  
saw him carried up into the clouds out  
of sight4 ,he succeeded1 however1 in    
extinguishing the fire which surrounded 
him4  ,in #ahjd1 he organised a series  
of experiments at ,milan1 for which he  
received1 in advance1 the sum of #h1jjj 
crowns2 but the experiments failed1 in  
consequence of the inclemency of the    
weather1 the treachery of his           
assistants1 and the malice of his       
rivals4  ,at length1 on the #gth of     
,october1 after a fall of rain which    
lasted forty-eight hours1 and which had 
delayed the announced ascent1 he        
resolved1 whatever might happen1 to     
carry it out1 though all the chances    
were against him4 ,eight young men whom 
he had instructed1 and who had promised 
him their assistance in filling the     
balloon1 failed him at the critical     
moment4 ,still1 however1 he continued   
his labours1 with the help of two       
companions1 ,andreoli and ,grassetti4   
,wearied with his long-continued        

efforts1 dis-appointed and hungry1 he   
took his place in the car4  ,the two    
companions whom we have named went with 
him4 ,they rose gently at first1 and    
hovered over the town of ,bologna4      
,zambeccari says1 8,the lamp1 which was 
intended to increase our ascending      
force1 became useless4 ,we could not    
observe the state of the barometer by   
the feeble light of a lantern4 ,the     
insupportable cold that prevailed in the
 high region to which we had ascended1  
the weariness and hunger arising from my
 having neglected to take nourishment   
for twenty-four hours1 the vexation that
 embittered my spirit--all these        
combined produced in me a total         
prostration1 and ,i fell upon the floor 
of the gallery in a profound sleep that 
was like death4 #8,the same misfortune  
overtook my companion ,grassetti4       
,andreoli was the only one who remained 
awake and able for duty--no doubt       
because he had taken plenty of food and 
a large quantity of rum4 ,still he      

suffered from the cold1 which was       
excessive1 and his endeavours to wake me
 were for a long time vain4 ,finally1   
however1 he succeeded in getting me to  
my feet1 but my ideas were confused1 and
 ,i demanded of him1 like one newly     
awaking from a dream1 #8,what is the    
news8 ,where are we8 ,what time is it8  
,how is the wind8'  8,it was two        
o'clock4 ,the compass had been broken1  
and was useless2 the wax light in the   
lantern would not burn in such a        
rarefied atmosphere4 ,we descended      
gently across a thick layer of whitish  
clouds1 and when we had got below them1 
,andreoli heard a sound1 muffled and    
almost inaudible1 which he immediately  
recognised as the breaking of waves in  
the distance4 ,instantly he announced to
 me this new and fearful danger4 ,i     
listened1 and had not long to wait      
before ,i was convinced that he was     
speaking the truth4 ,it was necessary to
 have light to examine the state of the 
barometer1 and thus ascertain what was  

our elevation above the sea level1 and  
to take our measures in consequence4    
,andreoli broke five phosphoric matches1
 without getting a spark of fire4       
,nevertheless1 we succeeded1 after very 
great difficulty1 by the help of the    
flint and steel1 in lighting the        
lantern4 ,it was now three o'clock in   
the morning--we had started at midnight4
 ,the sound of the waves1 tossing with  
wild uproar1 became louder and louder1  
and ,i suddenly saw the surface of the  
sea violently agitated just below us4 ,i
 immediately seized a large sack of     
sand1 but had not time to throw it over 
before we were all in the water1 gallery
 and all4 ,in the first moment of       
fright1 we threw into the sea everything
 that would lighten the balloon--our    
ballast1 all our instruments1 a portion 
of our clothing1 our money1 and the     
oars4 ,as1 in spite of all this1 the    
balloon did not rise1 we threw over our 
lamp also4 ,after having torn and cut   
away everything that did not appear to  

us to be of indispensable necessity1 the
 balloon1 thus very much lightened1 rose
 all at once1 but with such rapidity and
 to such a prodigious elevation1 that we
 had difficulty in hearing each other1  
even when shouting at the top of our    
voices4 ,i was ill1 and vomited         
severely4 ,grassetti was bleeding at the
 nose2 we were both breathing short and 
hard1 and felt oppression on the chest4 
,as we were thrown upon our backs at the
 moment when the balloon took such a    
sudden start out of the water and bore  
us with such swiftness to those high    
regions1 the cold seized us suddenly1   
and we found ourselves covered all at   
once with a coating of ice4 ,i could not
 account for the reason why the moon1   
which was in its last quarter1 appeared 
on a parallel line with us1 and looked  
red as blood4  8,after having traversed 
these regions for half an hour1 at an   
immeasurable elevation1 the balloon     
slowly began to descend1 and at last we 
fell again into the sea1 at about four  

in the morning ,i cannot determine at   
what distance we were from land when we 
fell the second time4 ,the night was    
very dark1 the sea rolling heavily1 and 
we were in no condition to make         
observations4 ,but it must have been in 
the middle of the ,adriatic that we     
fell4 ,although we descended gently1 the
 gallery was sunk1 and we were often    
entirely covered with water4 ,the       
balloon being now more than half empty1 
in consequence of the vicissitudes      
through1 which we had passed1 gave a    
purchase to the wind1 which pressed     
against it as against a sail1 so that by
 means of it we were dragged and beaten 
about at the mercy of the storm and the 
waves4 ,at daybreak we looked out and   
found ourselves opposite ,pesaro1 four  
miles from the shore4 ,we were          
comforting ourselves with the prospect  
of a safe landing1 when a wind from the 
land drove us with violence away over   
the open sea4 ,it was now full day1 but 
all we could see were the sea1 the sky1 

and the death that threatened us4       
,certainly some boats happened to come  
within sight2 but no sooner did they see
 the balloon floating and striping upon 
the water than they made all sail to get
 away from it4 ,no hope was then left to
 us but the very small one of making the
 coasts of ,dalmatia1 which were        
opposite1 but at a great distance from  
us4 ,without the slightest doubt we     
should have been drowned if heaven had  
not mercifully directed towards us a    
navigator who1 better informed than     
those we had seen before1 recognised our
 machine to be a balloon and quickly    
sent his long-boat to our rescue4 ,the  
sailors threw us a stout cable1 which we
 attached to the gallery1 and by means  
of which they rescued us when fainting  
with exposure4 ,the balloon thus        
lightened1 immediately rose into the    
air1 in spite of all the efforts of the 
sailors who wished to capture it4 ,the  
long boat received a severe shock from  
its escape1 as the rope was still       

attached to it1 and the sailors hastened
 to cut themselves free4 ,at once the   
balloon mounted with incredible         
rapidity1 and was lost in the clouds1   
where it disappeared for ever from our  
view4 ,it was eight in the morning when 
we got on board4 ,grassetti was so ill  
that he hardly showed any signs of life4
 ,his hands were sadly mutilated4 ,cold1
 hunger1 and the dreadful anxiety had   
completely prostrated me4 ,the brave    
captain of the vessel did everything in 
his power to restore us4 ,he conducted  
us safely to ,ferrara1 whence we were   
carried to ,pola1 where we were received
 with the greatest kindness1 and where  
,i was compelled to have my fingers     
amputated40    ,chapter ,,vii4          
,garnerin--,parachutes--,aerostation at 
,public ,fetes4  8,on the #bbnd         
,october1 #agig10 says the astronomer   
,lalande1 8at twenty-eight minutes past 
five1 ,citizen ,garnerin rose in a      
balloon from the park of ,monceau4      
,silence reigned in the assembly1       

anxiety and fear being painted on the   
visages of all4 ,when he had ascended   
upwards of #b1jjj feet1 he cut the cord 
that connected his parachute and car    
with the balloon4 ,the latter exploded1 
and ,garnerin descended in his parachute
 very rapidly4 ,he made a dreadful lurch
 in the air1 that forced a sudden cry of
 fear from the whole multitude1 and made
 a number of women faint4 ,meanwhile    
,citizen ,garnerin descended into the   
plain of ,monceau2 he mounted his horse 
upon the spot1 and rode back to the     
park1 attended by an immense multitude1 
who gave vent to their admiration for   
the skill and talent of the young       
aeronaut4 ,garnerin was the first to    
undertake this most daring and dangerous
 venture4 ,he had conceived the idea of 
this feat while lying a prisoner of     
state in ,buda1 ,hungary40  ,lalande    
adds that he went and announced his     
success at the ,institute ,national1    
which was assembled at the time1 and    
which listened to him with the greatest 

interest4  ,robertson conducted an      
experiment of descending by means of a  
parachute at ,vienna1 in #ahjd1 in which
 he received all the glory1 without     
partaking of any of the danger4 ,he made
 the public preparations for an ascent  
in the balloon1 his pupil1 ,michaud1    
however1 took his place in the car1 and 
made the ascent4  ,robertson says that  
on this occasion he yielded to the      
entreaties of a young man who was his   
pupil1 and had begged to be allowed to  
make his debut before such a great      
multitude4 ,in this case a slight       
improvement was made in the parachute4  
,the car was surrounded by a cloth of   
silk1 which1 when the aeronaut cut      
himself away from the balloon1 spread   
itself out in such a way as to form a   
second parachute4  ,robertson made all  
the preparations1 and ,michaud had no   
more to do than place himself in the    
car4 ,loud applause arose on all sides4 
,michaud had ascended #ijj feet above   
the earth when the signal for his       

cutting himself clear of the balloon was
 given1 by the firing of a cannon4 ,he  
at once cut the two strings1 and the    
balloon soared away into the upper      
regions1 whilst he was left for one     
terrible moment to fate4 ,the fall was  
at first rapid1 but the two parachutes  
soon opened themselves simultaneously1  
and presented a majestic appearance4 ,in
 a few seconds the aeronaut had         
traversed the space that intervened     
between him and the assembly1 and found 
himself safely landed on the ground1 at 
a short distance from the place whence  
he had set out1 while the whole air was 
rent with shouts of applause4 ,this     
experiment was deemed a most            
extraordinary one4 ,compliments were    
showered upon ,robertson from all sides1
 and the court presented him with rich  
presents4  ,balloons have always formed 
a prominent feature at the fetes of     
,paris1 for the celebration of the chief
 events of the ,revolution1 the         
,consulate1 and the ,empire--the first  

of these epochs being that in which     
these aerial vessels were held in       
highest esteem4  ,jacques ,garnerin had 
played a brilliant role as aeronaut     
under the ,directory1 the ,consulate1   
and the ,empire2 and it was he who after
 the coronation of the ,emperor         
,napoleon ,i41 was charged with the     
raising of a monster balloon1 which was 
arranged to ascend1 with the            
accompaniment of fireworks1 on the      
evening of the #afth of ,december1      
#ahjd4  ,an uncommon incident connected 
with this event serves to show us the   
spirit of fatalism with which the       
character of ,napoleon ,i4 was infected4
 8,the ,man of ,destiny0 believed in the
 destiny of man2 he had faith in his    
star alone2 and from the height of his  
greatness the new ruler1 consecrated    
emperor and king by the ,pope1 beheld a 
presage of misfortune in a chance       
circumstance1 insignificant to all but  
himself1 in the experiment of which we  
are about to recount the history4  ,the 

fete given by the city of ,paris to     
their majesties embraced the whole town1
 from the ,champs ,elysees to the       
,barriere du ,trone1 on the square of   
the ,hotel de ,ville4 ,upon the river   
throughout its length between the ,isle 
of ,st4 ,louis and the bridge of ,notre 
,dame1 an immense display of fireworks  
was to take place4 ,the scene to be     
represented was the passage of ,mont    
,st4 ,bernard4 ,garnerin was stationed  
with his balloon in front of the gate of
 the church of ,notre ,dame4 ,at eleven 
o'clock in the evening1 at the moment   
when the first discharge of fireworks   
made the air luminous with a hundred    
thousand stars1 ,garnerin threw off his 
immense balloon4 ,the chief feature of  
it was the device of a crown1 designed  
in coloured lanterns arranged round the 
globe4 ,it rose splendidly1 and with the
 most perfect success4  ,on the         
following morning the inhabitants of    
,rome were astounded to behold advancing
 toward them from the horizon a luminous

 globe1 which threatened to descend upon
 their city4 ,the excitement was        
intense4 ,the balloon passed the cupola 
of ,st4 ,peter's and the ,vatican2 then 
descending1 it touched the ground1 but  
rose again1 and finally it sank into the
 wafers of ,lake ,bracciano4  ,it was   
drawn from the water1 and the following 
inscription1 emblazoned in letters of   
gold upon its vast circumference1 was   
printed1 published1 and read throughout 
the whole of ,italy--8,paris1 #be;eme   
,primaire1 an ,,xiii41 couronnement de  
l'empereur ,napoleon1 #a;er par ,s4,s4  
,pie ,,vii40  ,in touching the earth1   
the balloon happened to strike against  
the tomb of the ,emperor ,nero1 and1    
owing to the concussion1 a portion of   
the crown was left upon this ancient    
monument4 ,the ,italian journals1 which 
were not so strictly under the          
supervision of the government as were   
the journals of ,france1 gave the full  
particulars of these minor events2 and  
certain of them1 connecting the names of

 ,nero and ,napoleon1 indulged in       
malicious remarks at the expense of the 
,french emperor4 ,these facts came to   
the ear of the great general1 who       
manifested much indignation1 dismissed  
the innocent ,garnerin from his post1   
and appointed ,madame ,blanchard to the 
supervision of all the balloon ascents  
which took place at the public fetes4   
,the balloon was preserved in the vaults
 of the ,vatican in ,rome1 accompanied  
with an inscription narrating its       
travels and wonderful descent--minus the
 circumstance of the tomb4 ,it was      
removed1 as might be supposed1 in #ahad4
 ,from this time the ascents of balloons
 took place for the most part only on   
the occasions of coronations and other  
great public fetes4    ,chapter ,,viii4 
,green's ,great ,journey ,across        
,europe4  ,it is probable that at the   
origin of navigation1 man1 before he had
 invented oars and sails1 made use of   
trunks of trees upon which he trusted   
himself1 leaving the rest to the winds  

and the currents of the water1 whether  
these were known or unknown4 ,there is  
some analogy between such rude rafts1   
the first discovered means of navigation
 on water1 and balloons1 the first      
discovered means of navigation in air4  
,but unquestionably the advantage is    
with the latter4 ,no means have yet been
 found of directly steering balloons1   
but by allowing the gas to escape the   
aeronaut can descend at will1 and by    
lightening his car of part of the       
ballast he carries he can ascend as     
readily4 ,it must also be remembered    
that the currents of air vary in their  
directions1 according to their          
elevation1 and were the aeronaut        
perfectly acquainted with aerial        
currents1 he might1 by raising or       
lowering himself1 find a wind blowing in
 the direction in which he wished to    
proceed1 and the last problem of        
aerostation would be solved4 ,that any  
such knowledge can ever be acquired it  
is impossible to say2 but this much may 

with safety be advanced1 that distant   
journeys may frequently be taken with   
balloons for useful purposes4  ,one of  
the most remarkable excursions of this  
kind was that superintended by ,green1  
in #ahcf1 from ,london to ,germany4     
,this journey1 #a1bjj miles in length1  
is the longest that has been yet        
accomplished4 ,green set out from       
,london on the #gth of ,november1 #ahcf1
 accompanied by two                     
friends--,monk-,mason1 the historian of 
the journey1 and a gentleman named      
,molland4 ,not knowing to what quarter  
of the globe he might be blown1 ,green  
provided himself with passports to all  
the states of ,europe1 and with a       
quantity of provisions sufficient to    
last him for some time1 should he be    
driven by the wind over the sea4        
,shortly after mid-day the balloon rose 
with great grandeur1 and1 urged by a    
light breeze1 floated to the south-east1
 over the plains of ,kent4 ,at four     
o'clock the voyagers sighted the sea4   

8,it was forty-eight minutes past four10
 says ,monk-,mason1 8that we first saw  
the line of waves breaking on the shores
 beneath us4 ,it would have been        
impossible to have remained unmoved by  
the grandeur of the spectacle that      
spread out before us4 ,behind us were   
the coasts of ,england1 with their white
 cliffs half lost in the coming         
darkness4 ,beneath us on both sides the 
ocean spread out far end wide to where  
the darkness closed in the scene4       
,opposite us a barrier of thick clouds  
like a wall1 surmounted all along its   
line with projections like so many      
towers1 bastions1 and battlements1 rose 
up from the sea as if to stop our       
advance4 ,a few minutes afterwards we   
were in the midst of this cloudy        
barrier1 surrounded with darkness1 which
 the vapours of the night increased4 ,we
 heard no sound4 ,the noise of the waves
 breaking on the shores of ,england had 
ceased1 and our position had for some   
time cut us off from all the sounds of  

earth40  ,in an hour the ,straits of    
,dover were cleared1 the lights of      
,calais shone out toward the voyagers1  
and the sound of the town drums rose up 
toward them4 8,darkness was now         
complete10 continues the writer1 8and it
 was only by the lights1 sometimes      
isolated1 sometimes seen in masses1 and 
showing themselves far down on the earth
 beneath us1 that we could form a guess 
of the countries we traversed1 or of the
 towns and villages which appeared      
before us every moment4 ,the whole      
surface of the earth for many leagues   
round showed nothing but scattered      
lights1 and the face of the earth seemed
 to rival the vault of heaven with      
starry fires4 ,every moment in the      
earlier part of the night before men had
 betaken themselves to repose1 clusters 
of lights appeared indicating large     
centres of population4  8,those on the  
horizon gave us the notion of a distant 
conflagration4 ,in proportion as we     
approached them1 these masses of lights 

appeared to increase1 and to cover a    
greater space1 until1 when right over   
them1 they seemed to divide themselves  
into different parts1 to stretch out in 
long streets1 and to shine in starry    
quadrangles round the squares1 so that  
we could see the exact plan of each     
city1 given as on a small map4 ,it would
 be difficult to give an idea of what   
sort of effect such a scene in such     
circumstances produces4 ,to find oneself
 transported in the darkness of night1  
in the midst of vast solitudes of air1  
unknown1 unperceived1 in secret and in  
silence1 exploring territories1         
traversing kingdoms1 watching towns     
which come into view1 and pass out of it
 before one can examine them in         
detail--these circumstances are enough  
in themselves to render sublime a       
science which1 independent of these     
adjuncts1 would be so interesting4 ,if  
you add to this the uncertainty which1  
increasing as we went on into the night1
 began to assail us respecting our      

voyage1 our ignorance of where we were1 
and what were the objects we were       
attempting to discover1 you may form    
some idea of our singular position40    
,about midnight1 the travellers found   
themselves above ,liege4 ,situated in   
the midst of a thickly-peopled country1 
full of foundries1 smelting works1 and  
forges1 this town was quite a blaze of  
light4 ,the gas-lamps with which this   
town is so well lighted1 clearly marked 
out for our travellers the main streets1
 the squares1 and the public buildings4 
,but after midnight1 at which time the  
lamps in continental towns are mostly   
put out1 the whole of the under world   
disappeared from the view of the        
aeronauts4  8,after the turn of the     
night10 says ,mason1 8the moon did not  
show itself1 and the heavens1 always    
more sombre when regarded from great    
altitudes1 seemed to us to intensify the
 natural darkness4 ,on the other hand1  
by a singular contrast1 the stars shone 
out with unusual brilliancy1 and seemed 

like living sparks sown upon the ebony  
vault that surrounded us4 ,in fact1     
nothing could exceed the intensity of   
the night which prevailed during this   
part of our voyage4 ,a black profound   
abyss surrounded us on all sides1 and1  
as we attempted to penetrate into the   
mysterious deeps1 it was with difficulty
 we could beat back the idea and the    
apprehension that we were making a      
passage through an immense mass of black
 marble1 in which we were enclosed1 and 
which1 solid to within a few inches of  
us1 appeared to open up at our          
approach40  ,until three o'clock the    
voyagers were in this state4 ,the height
 of the balloon1 as calculated by the   
barometer1 was #b1jjj feet4 ,they had   
not then anything to fear from a        
disastrous encounter1 when all at once a
 sudden explosion was heard1 the silk of
 the balloon quivered1 the car received 
a violent shock1 and seemed to be shot  
suddenly into the gloomy abyss4 ,a      
second explosion and a third succeeded1 

accompanied each time by this fearful   
shock to the car4 ,the travellers soon  
found out that1 owing to the great      
altitude1 the gas had expanded1 and the 
rope which surrounded it1 saturated with
 water1 and frozen with the intense     
cold1 had yielded to the pressure1 in   
jerks which caused the report and the   
shock4  8,from time to time10 continues 
,mason1 8vast masses of clouds covered  
the lower regions of the atmosphere1 and
 spread a thick1 whitish veil over the  
earth1 intercepting our view1 and       
leaving us for some time uncertain if   
this was not a continuation of the same 
plains covered with snow which we had   
already noticed4 ,from these masses of  
vapour1 there seemed more than once     
during the night to come a sound as of a
 great fall of water1 or the contending 
waves of the sea2 and it required all   
the force of our reason1 joined to our  
knowledge--such as it was--of the       
direction of our route1 to repress the  
idea that we were approaching the sea1  

and that1 driven by the wind1 we had1   
been carried along the coasts of the    
,north ,sea or the ,baltic4 ,as the day 
advanced these apprehensions            
disappeared4 ,in place of the unbroken  
surface of the sea1 we gradually made   
out the varied features of a cultivated 
country1 in the midst of which flowed a 
majestic river1 which lost itself1 at   
both extremities1 in the mist that still
 lay on the horizon40  ,this river was  
the ,rhine1 and as the neighbourhood    
seemed suitable for a descent1 and as   
the travellers did not wish to be       
carried too far into the heart of       
,europe1 they allowed a portion of the  
gas to escape1 came gradually down1 and 
dropped their anchor4  ,it was then     
half-past seven in the morning4 ,it was 
only then that the inhabitants1 who had 
hitherto held themselves aloof1 watching
 the movements of the strangers from    
under the brushwood1 began to assemble  
from all sides4 ,a few words in ,german 
spoken from the balloon dissipated their

 fears1 and1 recovering from their      
mistrust1 they hastened immediately to  
lend assistance to the aeronauts ,the   
latter were now informed that the place 
they had selected for their descent was 
in the ,duchy of ,nassau4 ,the town of  
,wiberg1 where ,blanchard had descended1
 after his ascent at ,frankfort in #aghe
 was1 by a singular chance1 only two    
leagues distant4 ,the three aeronauts   
received a most flattering reception1   
and1 in memory of the event1 they placed
 the flag which they had borne in their 
car during their adventurous excursion  
in the ducal palace1 side by side with  
that of ,blanchard4  8,thus10 says      
,mason1 8terminated an expedition which1
 whether we regard the extent of the    
journey1 the length of time occupied in 
it1 or the results which were the       
objects of the experiment1 may justly be
 considered as one of the most          
interesting and most important ever     
undertaken4 ,the best answer which one  
could give to those who would be        

disposed to criticise the employment of 
the peculiar means which we made use of1
 or to doubt their efficiency1 would be 
to state that1 after having traversed   
without hindrance1 without either danger
 or difficulty1 so large a portion of   
the ,european continent1 we arrived at  
our destination still in possession of  
as much force as1 had we wished it1     
might have carried us round the whole   
world40    ,chapter ,,ix4 ,the 8,geant0 
,balloon4  ,not a few of our readers    
will remember the ascent of ,nadar's    
colossal balloon from ,paris1 on        
,sunday1 the #ahth of ,october1 #ahfc4  
,this balloon was remarkable as having  
attached to it a regular two-story house
 for a car4 ,its ascent was witnessed by
 nearly half a million of persons4 ,the 
balloon1 after passing over the eastern 
part of ,france1 ,belgium1 and ,holland1
 suffered a disastrous descent in       
,hanover the day after it started on its
 perilous journey4 ,it was a fool-hardy 
enterprise to construct such a gigantic 

and unmanageable balloon1 presenting    
such an immense surface to the          
atmosphere1 and being so susceptible to 
adverse aerial currents as to become the
 helpless prey of the elements2 and it  
was still more fool-hardy to place the  
lives of its passengers at the mercy of 
such terrible and ungovernable forces4  
,a large section of the public laboured 
under the delusion that ,nadar's balloon
 was one capable of being steered4 ,in  
reality1 however1 the #8,geant' was     
unquestionably the most rebellious and  
unruly specimen of its class that has   
been made since the days of             
,montgolfier4 ,the object in view when  
this formidable monster was designed and
 constructed was to create the means to 
collect sufficient funds to form a      
8,free ,association for ,aerial         
,navigation by means of ,,machines      
,,heavier ,,than ,,air10 and for the    
construction of machines on this        
principle4 ,the receipts from the       
exhibition of the 8,geant0 were intended

 to form the first capital of the       
association4 ,the hopes1 however1 of the
 promoters have not been realised in    
this respect2 for while the expenses of 
the construction of the balloon have    
amounted1 directly and indirectly1 to   
the sum of ,l#h1cjj1 its two ascents in 
,paris and its exhibition in ,london    
produced only ,l#c1cjj4  ,space forbids 
us to enter at length on the various    
stages of the idea of aerial navigation 
by means of an apparatus heavier than   
the atmosphere4 ,the idea is not1       
however1 by any means so absurd as it   
appears at first sight4 ,those who1 like
 ,arago1 declare that the word          
8impossible0  does not exist1 except in 
the higher mathematics1 and those who   
look hopefully to the future instead of 
resting content with the past1 will join
 in applauding the spirit which dictated
 the manifesto of aerial locomotion to  
the founder of the association which we 
are about to describe4 ,m4 ,babinet1    
speaking on this subject before the     

,french ,polytechnic ,association1 said3
 8,it is absurd to talk of guiding      
balloons4 ,how will you set about it8   
,how is it possible that a balloon--say1
 for instance1 like the ,flesselles1    
whose diameter measures #abj feet--can  
resist and manoeuvre against opposing   
winds or currents of air8 ,it would     
require a power equal to #djj horses for
 the sails of a ship to struggle on     
equal terms with the wind4 ,suppose an  
impossibility1 namely1 that a balloon   
could carry with it a force equal to    
#djj horse-power2 this result would be  
of little use1 for under the immense    
weight the fragile covering of the      
balloon would instantly collapse4 ,if   
all the horses of a regiment were       
harnessed to the car of a balloon by    
means of a long rope1 the result would  
be that the balloon would fly into      
shivers1 being too fragile to withstand 
these two opposing forces4 ,man must    
seek to raise himself in the air by     
another mode of operation altogether1 if

 he wish to guide himself at the same   
time4 ,some time ago ,i bought a play   
thing1 very much in vogue at that time1 
called a ,stropheor4 ,this toy was      
composed of a small rotating screw      
propeller1 which revolved on its own    
support when the piece of string wound  
round it was pulled sharply4 ,the screw 
was rather heavy1 weighing nearly a     
quarter of a pound1 and the wings were  
of tin1 very broad and thick4 ,this     
machine1 however1 was rather too        
eccentric for parlour use1 for its      
flight was so violent that it was       
continually breaking the pier glass1 if 
there was one in the room2 and1 failing 
this1 it next attacked the windows4 ,the
 ascending force of this machine is so  
great that ,i have seen one of them fly 
over ,antwerp ,cathedral1 which is one  
of the highest edifices in the world4   
,the air from underneath the machine is 
exhausted by the action of the screw1   
which1 passing under the wings1 causes a
 vacuum1 while the air above it         

replenishes and fills this void1 and    
under the influence of these two causes 
the apparatus mounts from the earth4    
,but the problem is not solved by means 
of this plaything1 whose motive power is
 exterior to it4 ,messrs4 ,nadar1       
,ponton1 ,d',amecourt1 and ,de la       
,landelle teach us better than this1    
although the wings of their different   
models are entirely unworthy of men who 
desire to demonstrate a truth to        
short-lived mortals4 ,we have only      
arrived as yet at the infancy of the    
process1 but we have made a good        
beginning1 for1 having once proved that 
a machine capable of raising itself in  
the air1 wholly unaided from without1   
can be made1 we have overcome with this 
apparently small result the whole       
difficulty4 ,the principle of propulsion
 by means of a screw is by no means a   
novelty4 ,it was first utilised in      
windmills1 whose sails are nothing more 
nor less than an immense screw which is 
turned by the action of the wind on its 

surface4 ,in the case of turbine        
water-wheels1 where perhaps #igj cubic  
feet of water are utilised by means of a
 mechanism not larger than a hat1 we see
 another illustration of it1 with this  
difference1 that water takes the place  
of wind as the motive power4  8,the     
aerial screw is beset with great        
difficulties1 but if we can succeed     
through its agency in raising even the  
smallest weight1 we may be confident of 
being able to raise a heavier one1 for a
 large machine is always more powerful  
in proportion to its size than a small  
one4  8,mlle4 ,garnerin once made a bet 
that she would guide herself in her     
descent from a considerable altitude    
towards a fixed spot on the earth at    
some distance1 with no other help than  
the parachute2 and she was really able  
to guide herself to within a few feet of
 the specified spot1 by simply altering 
the inclination of the parachute4       
8,from observations in mountainous      
districts1 where large birds of prey may

 be seen to the best advantage hovering 
with outstretched wings1 ,i have come to
 the conclusion that they first of all  
attain the requisite height and then1   
extending their wings in the form of a  
parachute1 let themselves glide         
gradually towards the desired spot4     
,marshal ,niel confirms this opinion by 
his experience in the mountains of      
,algeria4 ,it is1 therefore1 clear from 
these examples that we should possess   
the power of transporting ourselves from
 place to place if we could only        
discover a means of raising a weight    
perpendicularly in the air1 which would 
then act as a capital of power1 only    
requiring to be expended at will40      
,from the foregoing remarks we may      
gather an idea of the importance which  
may be attached to aerial locomotion    
notwithstanding the successive failures 
of all those who have hitherto taken up 
the subject4 ,we come now to the        
description of the memorable ascent of  
the #8,geant4'  ,we learn from the very 

interesting account of the #8,geant1'   
published at the time1 all the mishaps  
and adventures it outlived from the time
 of the first stitch in its covering to 
its final inflation with gas4 ,we must1 
however1 be content to take up the      
narrative at the point at which the     
#8,geant1' with thirteen passengers on  
board1 had1 in obedience to the order to
 8let go10 been released from the bonds 
which held it to the earth4 ,the        
narrative is1 as our readers will       
perceive1 written in somewhat           
exaggerated language3--  8,the #8,geant'
 gave an almost imperceptible shake on  
finding itself free1 and then commenced 
to rise4 ,the ascent was slow and       
gradual at first--the monster seemed to 
be feeling its way4 ,an immense shout   
rose with it from the assembled         
multitude4 ,we ascended grandly1 whilst 
the deafening clamour of two hundred    
thousand voices seemed to increase4 ,we 
leant over the edge of the car1 and     
gazed at the thousands of faces which   

were turned towards us from every point 
of the vast plain1 in every conceivable 
angle of which we were the common apex4 
,we still ascended4 ,the summits of the 
double row of trees which surround the  
,champ de ,mars were already under us4  
,we reached the level of the cupola of  
the ,military ,school4 ,the tremendous  
uproar still reached us4 ,we glided over
 ,paris in an easterly direction1 at the
 height of about six hundred feet4      
,every one took up the best possible    
position on the six light cane stools1  
and on the two long bunks at either end 
of the car1 and contemplated the        
marvellous panorama spread out under us1
 of which we never grew weary4  8,there 
is never any dizziness in a balloon1 as 
is often erroneously supposed1 for in it
 you are the only point in space without
 any possibility of comparison with     
another1 and therefore the means of     
becoming giddy are not at hand40  ,a    
very experienced aeronaut1 who numbers  
his ascents by hundreds1 has assured me 

that he never knew of a single case of  
dizziness4  8,the earth seems to unfold 
itself to our view like an immense and  
variegated map1 the predominant colour  
of which is green in all its shades and 
tints4 ,the irregular division of the   
country into fields made it resemble a  
patchwork counterpane4 ,the size of the 
houses1 churches1 fortresses1 was so    
considerably diminished as to make them 
resemble nothing so much as those       
playthings manufactured at ,carlsruhe4  
,this was the effect produced by a      
microscopic train1 which whistled very  
faintly to attract our attention1 and   
which seemed to creep along at a snail's
 pace1 though doubtless going at the    
rate of thirty miles an hour1 and was   
enveloped in a minute cloud of smoke4   
,what a lasting impression this         
microscopic neatness makes on us6 ,what 
is that white puff ,i see down there8   
the smoke of a cigar8 ,no3 it is a cloud
 of mist4 ,it must be a perfect plain   
that we are looking at1 for we cannot   

distinguish between the different       
altitudes of a bramble-bush and an oak a
 hundred years old6  8,it is one of the 
delights of an aeronaut to gaze on the  
familiar scenes of earth from the       
immense height of the car of a balloon6 
,what earthly pleasure can compare with 
this6 ,free1 calm1 silent1 roving       
through this immense and hospitable     
space1 where no human form can harm me1 
,i despise every evil power2 ,i can feel
 the pleasure of existence for the first
 time1 for ,i am in full possession1 as 
on no other occasion1 of perfect health 
of mind and body4 ,the aeronauts of the 
#8,geant' will scarcely condescend to   
pity those miserable mortals whom they  
can only faintly recognise by their     
gigantic works1 which appear to them not
 more dignified than ant-hills6  8,the  
sun had already set behind the purple   
horizon in our rear4 ,the atmosphere was
 still quite clear round the #8,geant1' 
although there was a thick haze         
underneath1 through which we could      

occasionally see lights glimmering from 
the earth4 ,we had attained a sufficient
 altitude to be only just able to hear  
noises from villages that we left       
beneath us1 and were beginning to enjoy 
the delicious calm and repose peculiar  
to aerial ascents4  8,there is1 however1
 a talk about dinner1 or rather supper1 
and night is now fast approaching4      
,every one eats with the best possible  
appetite4 ,hams1 fowls and dessert only 
appear to disappear with an equal       
promptitude1 and we quench our thirst   
with bordeaux and champagne4 ,i remind  
our companions of the pigeons we brought
 with us1 and which are hanging in a    
cage outside the railing4 ,i knew there 
was no danger of their flying away1 so  
fearlessly opened the cage4 ,the three  
or four birds ,i had put in the car     
seemed struck with terror4 ,they flew   
awkwardly towards the centre of our     
party1 tumbling among the plates and    
dishes and under our feet4 ,it was not a
 case of hunger with them1 and ,i ought 

to have remembered that their feeding   
time was long since past4 ,i replaced   
them in their cage4  8,meanwhile1 the   
sun has left us for some time4 ,our     
longing gaze followed it behind the dark
 clouds in the horizon1 whose edges it  
tipped with a glorious purple4 ,its last
 rays shone on us1 and then came a      
bluish-grey twilight4 ,suddenly we are  
enveloped in a dense fog4 ,we look      
around1 above us4 ,everything has       
disappeared in the mist4 ,the balloon   
itself is no longer visible4 ,we can see
 nothing except the ropes which suspend 
us1 and these are only visible for a few
 feet above our heads1 when they lose   
themselves in the fog4 ,we are alone    
with our wickerwork house in an         
unfathomable vault4  8,we still ascend1 
however1 through the compact and        
terrible fog1 which is so solid-looking 
as to seem capable of being carved into 
forms with a knife4 ,as we were without 
a moon1 and had no light at all1 in     
fact1 we were unable to distinguish     

nicely the different shades of colour in
 these thick clouds4 ,now and then1 when
 the clouds seemed to be lighter1 they  
had a bluish tinge2 but the thicker ones
 were dirty and muddy-looking4 ,dante   
must have seen some like these4  8,water
 trickled down our faces1 hands1 and    
clothes1 and the ropes and sides of our 
car4  8,the water did not fall in       
rain-drops or in flakes1 as it sometimes
 does in the tropics2 but we were as    
completely saturated by this heavy1     
penetrating mist as if we had been under
 a waterfall4 ,we still continued to    
traverse these rainy regions4 ,the thick
 fog which the balloon dislodged in     
forcing a passage closed immediately    
after it4 ,at one moment ,i thought ,i  
felt something press against my cheek1  
which could only be compared to the     
points of a thousand needles1 or to     
floating particles of ice4 ,we were all 
of us too much absorbed with our        
situation to think of the hour or of the
 height to which we had attained4       

,suddenly the ,prince of ,wittgenstein1 
who was standing at my left hand1 cried 
out under his breath--  8#8,look at the 
balloon1 sir6 look at the balloon6'  8,i
 raised my eyes1 in company with several
 others1 and shall never forget the     
magnificent sight which awaited them4 ,i
 saw the balloon1 for which ,i had been 
searching in vain a few minutes before4 
,it had undergone a transformation4 ,it 
looked now as if coated with silver1 and
 floating in a pale phosphorescent      
glimmer4 ,all the ropes and cords seemed
 to be of new1 bright1 and liquid       
silver1 like mercury1 caused by the mist
 which had rested on them becoming      
suddenly congealed4 ,two luminous arcs  
intervened between us1 in a sea of      
mother-of-pearl and opal1 the lower one 
being the colour of red ochre and the   
upper one orange4 ,both of them1        
blinding in their brilliancy1 seemed    
about to embrace one another4  8#8,how  
far are they off8' thought ,i to myself4
 #8,can ,i touch them with my hand1 or  

are they separated from me by an immense
 space8' ,we are not capable of forming 
ideas of perspective1 floating as we are
 in the midst of such a glimmering      
splendour4  8,above and around us are   
nothing but thick fogs and enormous     
black clouds1 whose ragged edges and    
backs are relieved by a pale silver     
coating4 ,they undulate ceaselessly to  
and fro1 and either usurp quietly the   
place of others1 or disappear only to be
 superseded by more formidable ones4    
,but the last ray of reflected light has
 died out1 and we plunge into this chaos
 of dreadful forms4 ,monsters seem to   
wish to approach us1 and to envelop us  
in their dark embraces4 ,one of them1 on
 my right hand1 looks like a deformed   
human arm in a menacing attitude1       
writhing its jagged top like a blind    
serpent feeling its way4 ,the vague     
monster has disappeared2 but the        
momentary splendour being followed by   
the original gloom1 we plunge once more 
into a darkness that can be felt4  8,the

 water which had collected on the       
balloon during its ascent now began to  
take effect1 and caused it to descend   
with such rapidity into the dark abyss  
that the ballast1 which was immediately 
thrown overboard1 was overtaken in its  
descent and fell on our heads again4    
8,i hear exclamations and voices near   
me4 ,my companions are evidently        
agitated1 and with good reason1 too2 for
 the lights which we could see a long   
way below us approach with terrible     
rapidity4 ,we reached the earth rather  
quicker than we left it4  8,suddenly we 
feel a dreadful shock1 followed by      
ominous crackings4 ,the car has         
grounded4 ,the #8,geant' has made its   
descent4 ,but in what part of the       
habitable globe1 and under what zone8   
,at ,meaux60  ,to employ an expression  
of ,m4 ,nadar's it seems that these     
gentlemen never before experienced such 
a 8knock-down blow40  ,after all these  
preparations1 all this trouble1 all the 
energy employed in the                  

undertaking--sufficient1 indeed1        
wherewith to attempt to cross the       
,atlantic--to 8descend at ,meaux60  ,the
 #8,geant1' however1 had its revenge4   
,its second ascent gave it this revenge4
 ,we shall be as brief as possible in   
relating this voyage2 but the details   
are all so very interesting that we     
regret extremely our being unable to    
give more than extracts from the        
narrative4  ,our travellers committed   
themselves again to the mercy of the    
air4 ,the ,emperor1 following the       
example of a former ,king of ,france1   
took considerable interest in the       
construction of this aerial monster1 and
 wished the aeronaut 8,bon voyage0 at   
starting4 ,the passengers endeavoured to
 pass the night as comfortably as       
possible1 having first instituted a four
 hours' watch1 as on board ship4  ,the  
aerial vessel glided rapidly through the
 air4 8,we repeatedly10 said ,nadar1    
8passed over some manufacturing centre1 
whose lights were not yet extinguished4 

,i either hailed them with my           
speaking-trumpet or rang our two bells4 
,sometimes we received a reply from     
below1 in the shape of a shout1 for1    
although we still had no moon1 the night
 was occasionally clear enough for      
people to distinguish us2 and sometimes 
we heard a peal of laughter from out of 
the atmosphere in which we were         
travelling4 ,it was another party of    
aeronauts in a smaller balloon1 who left
 at the same time as we did1 and who    
would persist in keeping the #8,geant'  
company4 ,we are passing over a small   
town2 we hear the usual shouting and the
 report of a gun4 ,our first thoughts   
are--,was it loaded with shot or ball8  
,the inhuman brute who fired will say1  
#8,certainly not2' but as balloons have 
often been damaged in this way1 we may  
be confident there was more than powder 
in this one4 ,it would be satisfactory1 
at any rate1 if the name of the person  
could be ascertained who favoured us    
with this welcome4 ,but it is rather    

late to make inquiries on this subject4 
,it was between a quarter and half-past 
nine o'clock when this occurred4 #8,the 
sea6' cried ,jules2 #8look at the       
revolving lights of the lighthouses4    
,there3 one has just disappeared3 it    
will flash out again in a moment6' ,but 
what is this8 ,before us1 as far as our 
eyes can reach1 we distinguish faint    
lights1 which in this case are neither  
lamps nor torches4 ,as we continue to   
draw nearer we get a better view of     
these numerous1 violent1 and smoking    
furnaces4 ,loud and ringing sounds      
strike on our ear at the same time4 ,am 
,i right in my conjectures8 ,is this not
 that splendid country ,i love more than
 ever now8 ,it must be ,erquelines6 ,and
 the dignified ,custom-house official1  
had it been possible1 would have added  
thereto #8,belgium6'  8,we still        
continue to pass over fires1 forges1    
tall chimneys1 and coal mines at        
frequent intervals4 ,not long after we  
distinguish a large town on our right   

hand1 which1 by its size and brilliant  
lighting by gas1 we recognise as        
,brussels4 ,there could be no mistake1  
for close by1 more modest in size and   
appearance1 we see ,catholic ,malines4  
,we have left it behind us4  8,onward6  
,onward6 ,behind us the fires fade      
gradually away1 and disappear one after 
another4 ,before us nothing at present  
visible4 ,we seemed to drift on for     
about one hundred or one hundred and    
fifty yards more4 ,we cannot distinguish
 a single point in front of us on which 
to fix our gaze4 ,but we still continue 
our course in silence4  8,this mournful 
darkness1 this endless shroud1 in which 
we can discover neither rent nor        
spangle1 still continues4 ,where are we8
 ,over what strange country1 possessing 
neither cities1 towns1 nor villages1 are
 we hovering in the tomb-like silence of
 this interminable darkness8 ,we seem1  
indeed1 to have been carried by a puff  
of wind towards the west4  8,but        
something seems to approach us4 ,what   

are those pale rays of light which we   
can faintly see a long1 long way before 
us--rays pale and soft1 quite unlike    
those flaming fires we have left behind 
us8 ,surely these do not denote the     
presence of human activity6 ,as we      
continue to advance1 these pale flakes  
of light--resembling nothing so much in 
appearance as molten lead--which at     
first were scanty and isolated1         
gradually expand1 and leave only narrow 
strips of darkness to divide them into  
fantastic shapes4 ,by their help we     
discovered we were passing over the     
immense marshes of ,holland1 which      
extended to and lost themselves in the  
hazy horizon4 ,on our right hand we hear
 a deep moan1 still distant1 but rapidly
 approaching every moment4 ,it is       
undoubtedly the rushing of the wind4 ,a 
fresh breeze for five minutes would     
bring us to the sea4  8,we experienced  
another shock not less formidable than  
the first4 ,the #8,geant' is trembling  
from its effects4 ,the cable of our     

first anchor has just broken like a     
piece of thread4 ,we could not hope for 
a better result4 ,the violence of the   
wind which is carrying us along seems to
 be redoubled4 ,a bump3 another and     
another--then shock after shock4        
8#8,the second dead men6'  8,our swift  
pace was shock after shock4  8#8,the    
anchor is lost1' cries ,jules2 #8we are 
all dead men6  8,this truth is too      
palpable to all of us to require        
expressing in so many words1 for we are 
just commencing that furious1 tearing   
course called #8trailing4'  8,our swift 
pace was considerably accelerated by the
 lower part of the balloon1 which--limp1
 empty1 and forming nearly a third of   
the whole--had been set free at the     
first shock1 and flapped against the    
distended part1 acting as a sail4 ,the  
shocks continued to multiply so fast    
that it was impossible to count them4   
,the car continued to rebound from these
 shocks to the height of five1 ten1     
sometimes thirty1 forty1 and even fifty 

feet1 for all the world like an         
,india-rubber ball from the hands of an 
indefatigable player4 ,unfortunately1   
all our human freight1 terror stricken  
and without advice1 had crowded into one
 side of the car2 and as this happened  
to be the side on which we invariably   
bumped1 we experienced all the worst    
effects of the joltings4  8,what a dizzy
 whirl6 ,what a succession of breathless
 shocks6 ,what a strain on both muscles 
and nerves6 ,by the least negligence or 
slip1 or by the loss of presence of mind
 for one moment1 we should have been    
thrown out and dashed to atoms4  8,every
 collision tries our muscles and strains
 our wrists or our shoulders2 and every 
rebound dashes us one against the other1
 constituting each individual a         
tormentor and victim at the same time4  
,our flight is so rapid that we can only
 distinguish an occasional glimpse of   
anything4 ,far1 far in the distance we  
distinguish an isolated tree4 ,we       
approach it like lightning1 and we break

 it as though it were a straw4  8,two   
terrified horses1 with manes and tails  
erect1 endeavour to fly from us4 ,but we
 consume distances2 we leave them behind
 immediately4 ,we skip over a flock of  
affrighted sheep in one of our bounds4  
,but now comes the real danger4  8,at   
this moment1 when we were perfectly     
benumbed with fear1 and had lost all    
power of articulation1 we saw a         
locomotive1 drawing two carriages1      
running along an embankment at right    
angles to our course4 ,a few more       
revolutions of the wheels1 and it will  
be all over with us1 for we seem to be  
fated to meet with geometrical precision
 at one spot6  8,what will happen8      
8,travelling at our present hurricane   
pace1 we shall undoubtedly lift up and  
overturn the machine and what it is     
drawing4 ,but shall we not be crushed   
ourselves8 ,a few paces still intervene 
between us and our foe1 and we give vent
 to a shout of terror4  8,it is heard1  
and the locomotive answers it by a      

whistle1 then slackens its pace1 and    
after seeming to hesitate an instant    
backs quickly and only just in time to  
give us a free passage1 whilst the      
driver1 waving his cap1 salutes us      
with--  8#8,look out for the wires6'    
8,the caution was well timed1 for we had
 not noticed the four telegraph wires   
which we rapidly approached4 ,we        
energetically ducked our heads on seeing
 them1 but fortunately we escaped any   
more damage than having two or three of 
our ropes cut4 ,these we continued to   
drag after us like the tail of a ragged 
comet1 having the telegraph-wires and   
the posts which lately supported them   
attached to us40  ,after having been    
dragged thus for some time at the mercy 
of a hurricane which they ought to have 
been able to avoid1 these aerial        
navigators at last got entangled in the 
outskirts of a wood near ,rethem1 in    
,hanover4 ,a few broken arms and legs   
paid for their temerity in meddling with
 this monster1 and one and all of the   

passengers have reason to be thankful   
that it will be unnecessary for us to   
proclaim their virtues and their fate in
 our next chapter4    ,chapter ,x4 ,the 
,necrology of ,aeronautic  ,we will     
conclude this second part by giving a   
brief notice of some of those who1 in   
the early days of aerostation1 fell     
martyrs to their devotion to the new    
cause1 and sometimes victims to their   
own want of foresight and their         
inexperience4  ,first among these is    
,pilatre des ,roziers1 with whose       
courage and ingenuity our readers are   
already familiar4 ,after the passage of 
,blanchard from ,england over to ,france
 this hero1 who was the first to trust  
himself to the wide space of the sky1   
resolved to undertake the return voyage 
from ,france to ,england--a more        
difficult feat1 owing to the generally  
adverse character of the winds and      
currents4 ,in vain did ,roziers' friends
 attempt to make him understand the     
perils to which this enterprise must    

expose him2 his only reply was that he  
had discovered a new balloon which      
united in itself all the necessary      
conditions of security1 and would permit
 the voyager to remain an unusually long
 time in the air4 ,he asked and obtained
 from government the sum of #dj1jjj     
livres1 in order to construct his       
machine4 ,it then became clear what sort
 of balloon he had contrived4 ,he united
 in one machine the two modes previously
 made use of in aerostation4 ,underneath
 a balloon filled with hydrogen gas1 he 
suspended a ,montgolfiere1 or a balloon 
filled with hot air from a fire4 ,it is 
difficult to understand what was his    
precise object in making this           
combination1 for his ideas seem to have 
been confused upon the subject4 ,it is  
probable that1 by the addition of a     
,montgolfiere1 he wished to free himself
 from the necessity of having to throw  
over ballast when he wished to ascend   
and to let off this gas when he wished  
to descend4 ,the fire of the            

,montgolfiere might1 he probably        
supposed1 be so regulated as to enable  
him to rise or fall at will4  ,this     
mixed system has been justly blamed4 ,it
 was simply 8putting fire beside        
powder10 said ,professor ,charles to    
,roziers2 but the latter would not      
listen1 and depended for everything on  
his own intrepidity and scientific skill
 of which he had already given so many  
proofs4 ,there were1 perhaps1 other     
reasons for his unyielding obstinacy4   
,the court that had furnished him with  
the funds for the construction of the   
balloon pressed him1 and he himself was 
most ambitious to equal the achievement 
of ,blanchard1 who was the first to     
cross the ,channel1 on the #gth of      
,january1 #aghe4  ,the fact was that at 
this time the prevailing fear in ,france
 was1 that ,great ,britain should bear  
off all the honours and profits of      
aerostation before any of these had been
 won by ,france4 ,it was thus that with 
an untried machine1 and under conditions

 the most unfavourable for his          
enterprise1 ,roziers prepared to risk   
his life in this undertaking1 which was 
equally dangerous and useless4  ,the    
double balloon was alternately inflated 
and emptied4 ,while under cover it was  
assailed by the rats that gnawed holes  
in it1 and when brought out of its place
 it was exposed to the tempests1 so that
 the longer the experiment was delayed1 
the worse chance there was of getting   
through it successfully4 ,at length     
,roziers went to ,boulogne1 and         
announced the day of his departure2 but1
 as if by a special ,providence1 his    
attempt was delayed by unfavourable     
weather4 ,for many weeks in succession  
the little trial balloons thrown up to  
show the course of the wind were driven 
back upon the shores of ,france4 ,during
 all these trials the impatient ,roziers
 continued to chafe and torment himself4
  ,at last1 on the #acth and #adth of   
,june1 #aghe1 the ,aero-,montgolfiere   
remained inflated1 waiting a favourable 

moment for departure4 ,on the #aeth at  
four in the morning1 a little pilot     
balloon that had been thrown up fell    
back on the spot from which it had been 
thrown free1 thus showing that there was
 no wind4 ,seven hours later ,roziers1  
accompanied by his brother ,romain1 one 
of the constructors of the balloon1     
appeared in the gallery4 ,a nobleman    
present threw a purse of #bjj louis into
 the car1 and was preparing to follow it
 and join in the adventure4 ,roziers    
forbade him to enter1 gently but firmly4
  8,the experiment is too unsafe10 he   
said1 8for me to expose to danger the   
life of another40  8,finally10 says a   
narrative of the time1 8the             
,aero-,montgolfiere rose in an imposing 
manner4 ,the sound of cannon signalised 
the departure1 the voyagers saluted the 
crowd1 who responded with loud shouts4  
,the balloon advanced until it began to 
traverse the sea1 and every one with    
eyes fixed upon the fragile machine1    
regarded it with fear4 ,it had traversed

 upwards of a league of its journey1 and
 had reached the height of #gjj feet    
above sea level1 when a wind from the   
west drove it back toward the shore1    
after having been twenty-seven minutes  
in the air4  8,at this moment the crowd 
beneath perceived that the voyagers were
 showing signs of alarm4 ,they seemed   
suddenly to lower the grating of the    
,montgolfiere4 ,but it was too late4 ,a 
violet flame appeared at the top of the 
balloon1 then spread over the whole     
globe1 and enveloped the ,montgolfiere  
and the voyagers4 8,the unfortunate men 
were suddenly precipitated from the     
clouds to the earth1 in front of the    
,tour de ,croy1 upwards of a league from
 ,boulogne1 and #cjj feet from the sea  
beach4  8,the dead body of ,roziers was 
found burnt in the gallery1 many of the 
bones being broken4 ,his brother was    
still breathing1 but he was not able to 
speak1 and in a few minutes he expired40
  ,de ,maisonfort1 who1 against his own 
will1 was left on the earth1 was witness

 of this sad event4 ,he has given the   
following explanation of it3--  8,some  
minutes after their departure the       
voyagers were assailed by contrary      
winds1 which drove them back again upon 
the land4 ,it is probable that then1 in 
order to descend and seek a more        
favourable current of air1 which would  
take them out again to sea1 ,roziers    
opened the valve of the gas balloon2 but
 the cord attached to this valve was    
very long1 it worked with difficulty1   
and the friction which it occasioned    
tore the valve4 ,the stuff of the       
balloon1 which had suffered much from   
many preliminary attempts1 and from     
other causes1 was torn to the extent of 
several yards1 and the valve fell down  
inside the balloon1 which at once       
emptied itself40  ,according to this    
narrative1 there was no conflagration of
 the gas in the middle of the           
atmosphere1 nor is it stated precisely  
whether the grating of the ,montgolfiere
 was lighted4  ,maisonfort ran to the   

spot when the travellers fell1 found    
them covered with the cloth of the      
balloon1 and occupying the same         
positions which they had taken up on    
departing4  ,by a sad chance1 that seems
 like irony1 they were thrown down only 
a few paces from the monument which     
marks the spot where ,blanchard         
descended4 ,at the present day          
,frenchmen going to ,england via ,calais
 do not fail to visit at the forest of  
,guines the monument consecrated to the 
expedition of ,blanchard4 ,a few paces  
from this monument the cicerone will    
point out with his finger the spot where
 his rivals expired4  8,such was the end
 of the first of aeronauts1 and the most
 courageous of men10 says a             
contemporaneous historian4 8,he died a  
martyr to honour and to zeal4 ,his      
kindness1 amiability1 and modesty       
endeared him to all who knew him4 ,she  
who was dearest to him--a young ,english
 lady1 who boarded at a convent at      
,boulogne1 and whom he had first met    

only a few days prior to his last       
ascent--could not support the news of   
his death4 ,horrible convulsions seized 
her and she expired1 it is said1 eight  
days after the dreadful catastrophe4    
,roziers died at the age of twenty-eight
 and a half years40  ,olivari perished  
at ,orleans on the #beth of ,november1  
#ahjb4 ,he had ascended in a            
,montgolfiere made of paper1            
strengthened only by some bands of      
cloth4 ,his car1 made of osiers1 and    
loaded with combustible matter1 was     
suspended below the grating2 and when at
 a great elevation it became the prey of
 the flames4 ,the aeronaut1 thus        
deprived of his support1 fell1 at the   
distance of a league from the spot from 
which he had risen4  ,mosment made his  
last ascent at ,lille on the #gth of    
,april1 #ahjf4 ,his balloon was made of 
silk1 and was filled with hydrogen gas4 
,ten minutes after his departure he     
threw into the air a parachute with     
which he had provided himself4 ,it is   

supposed that the oscillations          
consequent on the throwing off of the   
parachute were the cause of they        
aeronaut's fall4 ,some pretend that     
,mosment had foretold his death1 and    
that it was caused by a willful         
carelessness4 ,however this may be1 the 
balloon continued its flight alone1 and 
the body of the aeronaut was found      
partly buried in the sand of the fosse  
which surrounds the town4  ,bittorff    
made a great many successful ascents4   
,he never used any machine but the      
,montgolfiere4 ,at ,manheim1 on the     
#agth of ,july1 the day of his death his
 balloon1 which was of paper1 sixteen   
metres in diameter1 and twenty in       
height1 took fire in the air1 and the   
aeronaut was thrown down upon the town4 
,his fall was mortal4  ,harris1 an old  
officer of the ,english navy1 together  
with another ,english aeronaut1 named   
,graham1 had made a great many ascents4 
,he conceived the idea of constructing a
 balloon upon an original plan2 but his 

alterations do not seem to have been    
improvements4 ,in ,may1 #ahbd1 he       
attempted an ascent from ,london1 which 
had much apparent success1 but which    
terminated fatally4 ,when at a great    
elevation1 it seems1 the aeronaut1      
wishing to descend1 opened the valve4   
,it had not been well constructed1 and  
after being opened it would not close   
again4 ,the consequent loss of gas      
brought the balloon down with great     
force4 ,harris lost his life with the   
fall2 but the young lady who had        
accompanied him received only a trifling
 wound4  ,sadler1 a celebrated ,english 
aeronaut1 who1 in one of his many       
experiments1 had crossed the ,irish     
,channel between ,dublin and ,holyhead1 
lost his life miserably near ,bolton1 on
 the #bhth of ,september1 #ahbd4        
,deprived of his ballast1 in consequence
 of his long sojourn in the air1 and    
forced at last to descend1 at a late    
hour1 upon a number of high buildings1  
the wind drove him violently against a  

chimney4 ,the force of the shock threw  
him out of his car1 and he fell to the  
earth and died4 ,his prudence and       
knowledge were unquestionable1 and his  
death is to be ascribed alone to        
accident4 ,it was an aerial shipwreck4  
,cocking had gone up twice in ,mr4      
,green's balloon as a simple amateur4   
,he took it into his head to go up a    
third time4 ,he wished to attempt a     
descent in a parachute of his own       
construction1 which he believed was     
vastly superior to the ordinary one4 ,he
 altered the form altogether1 though    
that form had been proved to be         
satisfactory4 ,in place of a concave    
surface1 supporting itself on a volume  
of air1 ,cocking used an inverted cone1 
of an elaborate construction1 which1    
instead of supporting him in the air1   
only accelerated his fall4 ,unhappily1  
,green participated in this experiment4 
,the two made an ascent from ,vauxhall1 
on the #bgth of ,september1 #ahcf1      
,green having suspended ,cocking's      

wretched contrivance from the car of his
 balloon4 ,cocking held on by a rope1   
and at the height of from #a1jjj to     
#a1bjj feet the amateur1 with his patent
 parachute1 were thrown off from the    
balloon4 ,a moment afterwards ,green was
 soaring away safely in his machine1 but
 ,cocking was launched into eternity4   
8,the descent was so rapid10 says one   
who witnessed it1 8that the mean rate of
 the fall was not less than twenty yards
 a second4 ,in less than a minute and a 
half the unfortunate aeronaut was thrown
 to the earth1 and killed by the fall40 
,madame ,blanchard1 thinking to improve 
upon ,garnerin1 who had decorated the   
balloon which ascended in celebration of
 the coronation of ,napoleon ,i4 with   
coloured lights1 fixed fireworks instead
 to hers4 ,a wire rope ten yards long   
was suspended to her car2 at the bottom 
of this wire rope was suspended a broad 
disc of wood1 around which the fireworks
 were ranged4 ,these consisted of       
,bengal and coloured lights4 ,on the    

#fth of ,july1 #ahai1 there was a great 
fete at ,tivoli1 and a multitude had    
assembled around the balloon of ,madame 
,blanchard4 ,cannon gave the signal of  
departure1 and soon the fireworks began 
to show themselves4 ,the balloon rose   
splendidly1 to the sound of music and   
the shoutings of the people4 ,a rain of 
gold and thousands of stars fell from   
the car as it ascended4 ,a moment of    
calm succeeded1 and then to the eyes of 
the spectators1 still fixed on the      
balloon1 an unexpected light appeared4  
,this light did not come from under the 
balloon1 where the crown of fireworks   
was already extinguished1 but shone in  
the car itself4 ,it was evident that the
 lady aeronaut1 although now so high    
above the spectators1 was busy about    
something4 ,the light increased1 then   
disappeared suddenly2 then appeared     
again1 and showed itself finally at the 
summit of the balloon1 in the form of an
 immense jet of gas4 ,the gas with which
 the balloon was inflated had taken     

fire1 and the terrible glare which the  
light threw around was perceived from   
the boulevards1 and all the ,quartier   
,montmartre4  ,it was at this moment--a 
frightful one for those who perceived   
what had taken place--that a general    
sentiment of satisfaction and admiration
 among the spectators found vent in     
cries of 8,brava6 ,vive ,madame         
,blanchard60 c4 ,the people thought the 
lady was giving them an unexpected      
treat4 ,meantime1 by the light of the   
flame1 the balloon was seen gradually to
 descend4 ,it disappeared when it       
reached the houses1 like a passing      
meteor1 or a train of fire which a blast
 of wind suddenly extinguishes4 ,a      
number of workmen and other persons1 who
 had perceived that some accident had   
taken place1 ran in the direction in    
which the balloon appeared to descend4  
,they arrived at a house in the ,rue de 
,provence4 ,on the roof of this house   
the balloon had fallen1 and the         
unfortunate ,madame ,blanchard1 thrown  

out of the car by the shock1 was killed 
by her fall to the earth4  ,this news   
spread rapidly from ,tivoli1 where it   
occasioned a stupefying surprise4 ,it   
was the first time that a fall of the   
kind had taken place from the sky at    
,paris4 ,fireworks were from this time  
discontinued1 the fete came to an end1  
and a subscription was rapidly          
organised1 producing some thousands of  
francs1 which shortly afterwards were   
employed in erecting a monument to the  
lady1 which is now to be seen in the    
cemetery of ,pere-la-,chaise4  ,madame  
,blanchard had wished to surpass the    
ordinary spectacle of an aerial ascent2 
she had really prepared a ,,surprise for
 the spectators4 ,she had prepared and  
she took with her a small parachute of  
about two yards in diameter4 ,after the 
extinction of the crown or star of      
fireworks1 she intended to throw this   
little parachute loose2 and as it was   
terminated by another supply of         
fireworks1 it was supposed that the     

effect would be as beautiful as         
surprising4  ,the unhappy lady was small
 in stature1 and very light1 and        
unfortunately made use of a very small  
balloon4 ,that of the #fth of ,july1    
#ahai1 was only seven metres in         
diameter2 and to make it ascend with the
 weight it carried it had to be filled  
to the neck with inflammable air4 ,in   
quitting the earth some of this gas     
escaped1 and rising above the balloon1  
formed a train like one of powder1 which
 would certainly flash into a blaze the 
moment it came in contact with the fire4
 ,but on this day it was she who with   
her own hand fired this train4 ,at the  
moment when1 detaching the little       
parachute from her car1 she took the    
light for the fireworks in her other    
hand1 she crossed this train with the   
light and set it on fire4 ,then the     
brave woman1 throwing away the parachute
 and the match1 strove to close the     
mouth of the balloon1 and to stifle the 
fire4 ,these efforts being unavailing1  

,madame ,blanchard was distinctly seen  
to sit down in her car and await her    
fate4  ,the burning of the hydrogen     
lasted several minutes1 during which    
time the balloon gradually descended4   
,had it not been that it struck on the  
roof of the house ,madame ,blanchard    
would have been saved4 ,at the moment of
 the shock she was heard to cry out1 8,a
 moi40 ,these were her last words4 ,the 
car1 going along the roof of the house1 
was caught by an iron bar and           
overturned1 and the lady was thrown head
 foremost upon the pavement4  ,when she 
reached the ground she immediately      
expired4 ,her head and shoulders were   
slightly burnt1 otherwise she exhibited 
no marks of the fire which had destroyed
 the balloon4     ,,part ,,iii4         
,scientific ,experiments--,applications 
of ,ballooning4    ,chapter ,i4         
,experiments of ,robertson1 ,lhoest1    
,saccarof1 c4  ,robertson is regarded by
 many as a sort of mountebank2 yet such 
men as ,arago have put themselves to the

 trouble of examining the aerostatic    
feats of this aeronaut1 and of examining
 the results of his observations4  8,the
 savant ,robertson10 says ,arago1       
8performed at ,hamburg on the #ahth of  
,july1 #ahjc1 with his countryman1      
,lhoest1 the first aeronautic voyage    
from which science has been able to draw
 useful deductions4 ,the two aeronauts  
remained suspended in the air during    
five hours1 and came down near ,hanover1
 twenty-five leagues from the spot from 
which they set off40  ,the first time   
that ,robertson appears in the annals of
 aerostation is in #ahjb1 on the        
occasion of the sale of the balloon used
 at the battle of ,fleurus1 of which    
mention will be made in the chapter on  
military aerostation4 ,but three years  
previously he had been instructed to    
make a balloon of an original form1     
which should ascend in honour of the    
,turkish ambassador at the garden of    
,tivoli4 ,the fete was completely       
successful4 ,turks1 ,chinese1 ,persians1

 and ,bedouins will always be welcome1  
as on this occasion1 at ,paris1         
appearing as they do only at rare       
intervals1 and for a short time4  ,the  
fete took place on the #bnd of ,july4   
,robertson presented himself at the     
house of ,esseid-,ali1 to obtain his    
autograph4 ,the ,turkish ambassador     
willingly granted the request1 and wrote
 his name in letters1 each of which was 
two inches in height1 on a sheet of     
paper4 ,he then offered the aeronaut    
coffee and comfits1 and promised to be  
present to witness the balloon ascent4  
,his name was painted in large          
characters on a balloon fifteen feet in 
diameter1 and on the form of which was  
the figure of a crescent4 ,the          
experiment delighted the ambassador1 and
 was well received by the public4       
,jacques ,garnerin1 when he came to make
 his debut as an aeronaut1 made an      
attempt with the parachute1 the         
following ,august1 at the garden of the 
,hotel de ,biron4 ,the ambassador was   

asked to honour the fete1 but he        
declined1 saying that he had 8made up   
his mind that man was not intended for  
flying--,mahomet had not so willed it40 
,of one of ,robertson's more interesting
 ascents he himself has left us the     
following sketch3--  8,i rose in the    
balloon at nine a4m41 accompanied by my 
fellow-student and countryman1 ,m4      
,lhoest4 ,we had #adj lbs4 of ballast4  
,the barometer marked twenty-eight      
inches2 the thermometer sixteen degrees 
,reaumur4 ,in spite of some slight wind 
from the north-west1 the balloon mounted
 so perpendicularly that in all the     
streets each of the spectators believed 
we were mounting straight up above his  
head4 ,in order to quicken our ascent ,i
 discharged a parachute made of silk1   
and weighted in a way to prevent        
oscillations4 ,the parachute descended  
at the rate of two feet per second1 and 
its descent was uniform4 ,from the      
moment when the barometer began to sink 
we became very careful of our ballast1  

as we wished to test from experience the
 different temperatures through which we
 were about to pass4  8,at #aj4ae1 the  
barometer was at nineteen inches1 and   
the thermometer at three above zero4 ,we
 now felt all the inconvenience of an   
extremely rarefied atmosphere coming    
upon us1 and we commenced to arrange    
some experiments in atmospheric         
electricity4 ,our first attempts did not
 succeed4 ,we threw over part of our    
ballast1 and mounted up till the cold   
and the rarefaction of the air became   
very troublesome4 ,during our           
experiments we experienced an illness   
throughout our whole system4 ,buzzing in
 the cars commenced1 and went on        
increasing4 ,the pain we felt was like  
that which one feels when he plunges his
 head in water4 ,our chests seemed to be
 dilated1 and failed in elasticity4 ,my 
pulse was quickened1 ,m4 ,lhoest's      
became slower2 he had1 like me1 swelled 
lips and bleeding eyes2 the veins seemed
 to come out more strongly on the hands4

 ,the blood ran to the head1 and        
occasioned a feeling as if our hats were
 too tight4 ,the thermometer continued  
to descend1 and1 as we ascended1 our    
illness increased1 and we could with    
difficulty keep awake4 ,fearing that my 
travelling companion might go to sleep1 
,i attached a cord to my thigh and to   
his1 and we held the extremities of the 
cord in our hands4 ,thus trammelled1 we 
had to commence the experiments which ,i
 had proposed to make4  8,at this       
elevation1 the glass1 the brimstone1 and
 the ,spanish wax were not electrified  
in a manner to show any signs under     
friction--at least1 ,i obtained no      
electricity from the conductors or the  
electrometer4  8,i had in my car a      
voltaic pile1 consisting of sixty       
couples--silver and zinc4 ,it worked    
very well on the occasion of our        
departure from the earth1 and gave1     
without the condenser1 one degree to the
 electrometer4 ,at our great elevation1 
the pile gave only five-sixths of a     

degree to the same electrometer4 ,the   
galvanic flame seemed more active at    
this elevation than on the earth4  8,i  
took two birds with me on coming into   
the balloon--one of these was now dead1 
the other appeared stupefied4 ,after    
having placed it upon the brink of the  
gondola1 ,i tried to frighten it to make
 it take to flight4 ,it moved its wings1
 but did not leave the spot2 then ,i    
left it to itself1 and it fell          
perpendicularly and with great rapidity4
 ,birds are certainly not able to       
maintain themselves at such elevations4 
8,it is notable that the atmosphere1    
which was of a perfect purity near the  
earth1 was grey and misty above our     
heads1 and the beautiful blue sky seen  
from the surface did not exist for us1  
although the weather was calm and       
serene1 and the day the most beautiful  
that could be4 ,the sun did not seem    
dazzling to us1 and its heat was        
diminished owing to our elevation4  8,at
 half-past eleven1 the balloon was no   

longer visible from ,hamburg4 ,the      
heavens were so pure beneath us that    
everything was distinctly seen by us1   
though very much diminished by distance4
 ,at #aa4dj1 the town of ,hamburg seemed
 only a red point in our eyes2 the ,elbe
 looked like a straight ribbon4 ,i      
wished to make use of an opera-glass1   
but what surprised me was that when ,i  
lifted it up it was so cold that ,i had 
to wrap my handkerchief around it to    
enable me to hold it4  8,not being able 
to support our position any longer1 we  
descended1 after having used up much gas
 and ballast4 ,our descent caused that  
degree of terror among the inhabitants  
which the size of our balloon was       
calculated to inspire in a country where
 such machines had never before been    
seen4 ,we descended above a poor village
 called ,radenburg1 a place amid the    
heaths of ,hanover4 ,our appearance     
caused great alarm1 and even the beasts 
of the field fled from us4  8,while our 
balloon rapidly approached the earth1 we

 waved our hats and flags1 and shouted  
to the inhabitants1 but our voices only 
increased their terror4 ,the villagers  
rushed away with cries of terror1       
leaving their herds1 whose bellowings   
increased the general alarm4 ,when the  
balloon touched the ground1 every man   
had shut himself up in his own house4   
,having appealed in vain1 and fearing   
that the villagers might do us some     
injury1 we resolved to re-ascend4  8,in 
making this second ascent1 we threw over
 all our ballast2 but in this we were   
imprudent1 for after sailing about at a 
great height1 and having lost much gas1 
,i perceived that our descent would be  
very rapid1 and to provide against      
accident1 ,i gathered together all the  
instruments1 the bread1 the ropes1 and  
even such money as we had with us1 and  
placed them in three sacks1 to which ,i 
attached a rope of a hundred feet in    
length4 ,this precaution saved us a     
shock4 ,the weight1 amounting to thirty 
pounds1 reached the ground before us1   

and the balloon1 thus lightened1 came   
softly to the ground between            
,wichtenbech and ,hanover1 after having 
run twenty-five leagues in five and a   
half hours40  ,after this ascent        
,robertson became acquainted with some  
savants of ,hamburg1 and amongst others 
with ,professor ,pfaff1 who was         
interested in aerial travelling as a    
means of settling certain meteorological
 problems4 ,some days after ,robertson's
 ascent1 the professor wrote to him--   
8,you speak of a certain height at which
 the hydrogen gas will find itself in   
equilibrium in the air of the           
atmosphere4 ,i believe that this height 
is the extremity of the atmosphere      
itself2 for as the gas has an elasticity
 much greater than that of the air1 it  
will go on dilating as it mounts into   
the higher regions of the atmosphere1   
and its specific weight will diminish as
 the weight of atmospheric air          
diminishes2 and it will not cease to    
mount until it rises above the          

atmosphere itself1 if two conditions be 
completely fulfilled--#a1 the condition 
that the gas may be allowed to dilate   
without leaving the balloon as it rises2
 #b1 the condition that the gas shall   
not be allowed to mix at all with the   
atmospheric air40  ,another ascent was  
arranged for the #adth of ,august1 in   
which ,robertson was to be accompanied  
by the professor1 but the latter1       
yielding to the entreaties of his       
family1 did not go4 8,i went up with my 
friend ,lhoest10  says ,robertson1 8at  
forty-two minutes past twelve midday4   
,in a minute or two we rose up between  
two masses of cloud1 which seemed to    
open up and offer us a passage4 ,the    
upper surfaces of these clouds are not  
uniformly level1 like the under sides   
seen from the earth1 but they are of a  
conical or pyramidal shape4 ,these      
imposing masses seem to precipitate     
themselves upon the earth1 as if to     
engulf it1 but this optical illusion was
 due to the apparent immobility of the  

balloon1 which at the moment was rising 
at the rate of about twenty feet per    
second4  8,the fear of losing the view  
of the ,baltic1 which we perceived      
between the clouds at intervals1 obliged
 us to renounce the project of rising as
 high as on the last occasion4 ,the     
barometer was at fifteen inches1 and the
 thermometer one degree below zero1 when
 ,i let off two pigeons4  8,one         
descended in a diagonal direction1 its  
wings half open but not moving1 with a  
swiftness which seemed that of a fall4  
,the other flew for an instant1 and then
 placed itself upon the car1 and did not
 wish to quit us4 ,acting on the hint of
 ,dr4 ,reimarus1 ,i tried the same      
experiment with butterflies1 but the air
 was too much rarefied for them2 they   
attempted in vain to raise themselves by
 their wings1 but they did not forsake  
the car4  8,the wind continuing to carry
 me towards the sea1 ,i resolved to     
bring my observations to an end4 ,i     
effected my descent in a meadow1 near   

the village of ,rehorst1 in ,holstein1  
after having run sixteen leagues from   
,france in sixty-five minutes40  ,at the
 commencement of the year #ahjd1        
,laplace1 at the ,institute1 proposed to
 take advantage of the means offered by 
aerostation to verify at great heights  
certain scientific points--as1 for      
example1 those which concern magnetism4 
,this proposition was made at a         
favourable time1 and was1 so far1       
carried out in the best possible way4   
,the aeronauts who were appointed to    
carry out the expedition were ,biot and 
,gay-,lussac1 the most enthusiastic     
aeronauts of the period4  ,the following
 is their report3--  8,we observed the  
animals we had with us at all the       
different heights1 and they did not     
appear to suffer in any manner4 ,for    
ourselves1 we perceived no effect any   
more then a quickening of the pulse4 ,at
 #aj1jjj feet above the ground we set a 
little green-finch at liberty4 ,he flew 
out at once1 but immediately returning1 

settled upon our cordage2 afterwards1   
setting out again1 he flew to the earth1
 describing a very tortuous line in his 
passage4 ,we followed him with our eyes 
till he was lost in the clouds4 ,a      
pigeon1 which we set free at the same   
elevation1 presented a very curious     
spectacle4 ,placed at liberty on the    
edge of the car1 he remained at rest for
 a number of instants1 as if measuring  
the length of his flight2 then he       
launched himself into space1 flying     
about irregularly1 as if to try his     
wings4 ,afterwards he began his descent 
regularly1 sweeping round and round in  
great circles1 ever reaching lower1     
until he also was lost in the clouds40  
,as to the voyagers themselves1 this is 
how they speak of their situation at the
 height of #c1jjj yards3--  8,about this
 elevation we observed our animals4     
,they did not appear to suffer from the 
rarity of the air1 yet the barometer was
 at twenty inches eight lines44 ,we were
 much surprised that we did not suffer  

from the cold2 on the contrary1 the sun 
warmed us much4 ,we had thrown aside the
 gloves which had been put on board1 and
 which were of no use to us4 ,our pulses
 were very quick2 that of ,m4           
,gay-,lussac1 which is #fb in the minute
 on ordinary occasions1 now gave #hj2   
and mine1 which is ordinarily #hi1 gave 
#aaa4 ,this acceleration was felt by    
both of us in nearly the same           
proportion4 ,nevertheless1 our          
respiration was in no way interfered    
with1 we experienced no illness1 and our
 situation seemed to us extremely       
agreeable40  ,the following is their    
report to the ,galvanic ,society--  8,we
 have known for a long time that no     
animal can with safety pass into an     
atmosphere much more dense or much more 
rare than that to which it has been     
accustomed4 ,in the first case it       
suffers from the outer air1 which       
presses upon it severely2 in the second 
case there are liquids or fluids in the 
animal's body which1 being less pressed 

against than they should be1 become     
dilated1 and press against their        
coverings or channels4 ,in both cases   
the symptoms are nearly the same--pain1 
general illness1 buzzing in the ears1   
and even haemorrhage4 ,the experience of
 the diving-bell has long made us       
familiar with what aeronauts suffer4    
,our colleague 7,robertson71 and his    
companion1 have experienced these       
effects in great intensity4 ,they had   
swelled lips1 their eyes bled1 their    
veins were dilated1 and1 what is very   
remarkable1 they both preserved a brown 
or red tinge which astonished those that
 had seen them before they made the     
ascent4 ,this distension of the         
blood-vessels would necessarily produce 
an inconvenience and a difficulty in the
 muscular action40    ,chapter ,,ii4    
,ascent of ,m4 ,gay-,lussac             
,alone--,excursions of ,,mm4 ,barral and
 ,bixio4  ,respecting this ascent1      
,arago states that ,m4 ,gay-,lussac has 
reduced to their proper value the       

narratives of the physical pains which  
aeronauts say they suffer in lofty      
aerial ascents4  ,m4 ,gay-,lussac       
says3--8,having arrived at the most     
elevated point of my ascent1 #ba1jjj    
feet above sea level1 my respiration was
 rendered sensibly difficult1 but ,i was
 far from experiencing any illness of a 
kind to make me descend4 ,my pulse and  
my breathing were very quick2 breathing 
very frequently in an extremely dry     
atmosphere1 ,i should not have been     
surprised if my throat had been so dry  
as to make it painful to swallow bread40
  ,after having finished his            
observations1 which referred chiefly to 
the magnetic needle1 with all the       
tranquillity of a doctor in his study1  
,gay-,lussac descended to the earth     
between ,rouen and ,dieppe1 eighty      
leagues from ,paris4  ,after the names  
of ,robertson1 ,gay-,lussac1 and ,biot1 
science has registered those of ,barral 
and ,bixio1 two men whose aeronautic    
achievements have enriched meteorology  

with more important discoveries1        
perhaps1 than any we have yet mentioned4
  ,these gentlemen had conceived the    
project of rising by means of a balloon 
to a great height1 in order to study1   
with the assistance of the very best    
instruments in use in their day1 a      
multitude of phenomena then imperfectly 
known4 ,the subjects to which they were 
specially to direct their attention1    
were the law of the decrease of         
temperature in progress upwards1 the    
discovery of whether the chemical       
composition of the atmosphere is the    
same throughout all its parts1 the      
comparison of the strength of the solar 
rays in the higher regions of the       
atmosphere and on the surface of the    
earth1 the ascertaining whether the     
light reflected and transmitted by the  
clouds is or is not polarised1 c4  ,all 
the preparations having been made in the
 garden of the ,observatory at ,paris1  
the ascent took place on the #bith of   
,june1 #ahej1 at #aj4bg a4m41 the       

balloon being filled with hydrogen gas4 
,the first ascent was a signal failure4 
,it was found that the weather being    
bad1 the envelope of the balloon was    
torn in several places1 and had to be   
mended in all haste4 ,immediately       
preceding the moment of ascent1 a       
torrent of rain fell4 ,but the voyagers 
were determined to ascend4 ,they placed 
themselves in the car1 and1 when thrown 
off from the fastenings1 they rose      
through the air with the speed of an    
arrow4 ,the height to which the balloon 
reached made it suddenly dilate1 and the
 network1 which was much too small1 was 
stretched to the utmost4 ,the balloon   
was forced down upon them by the        
dilation1 and one of them1 in the       
endeavour to work the valve1 made a rent
 in the lower part of the globe1 from   
which the gas escaping almost over the  
heads of the travellers1 nearly choked  
them4 ,the escape of the gas had the    
usual result--the balloon descended     
rapidly1 and fell in a vineyard near    

,lugny1 where they were found by the    
peasants holding on to the trees by     
their legs and arms1 and thus attempting
 to stop the horizontal advance of the  
car4 ,they had risen to the height of   
over #ag1jjj feet1 and they had         
descended from this height in from four 
to five minutes4  ,for all practical    
purposes1 the ascent was a failure1 and 
the aeronauts immediately commenced     
preparations for a new voyage1 which    
took place a month afterwards4 ,they    
rose to very great altitudes1 but       
experienced no illness from the rarefied
 air4 ,m4 ,bixio did not feel the sharp 
pains in the ears from which he had     
suffered on the former occasion4 ,they  
passed through a mass of cloud #ae1jjj  
feet in thickness1 and they had not yet 
passed quite through it1 when at the    
height of over #ba1jjj feet from the    
ground1 they began to descend1 their    
descent being caused by a rent in the   
envelope of the balloon1 from which the 
gas escaped4 ,they might1 in throwing   

out the last of their ballast1 have1    
perhaps1 prolonged for a little their   
sojourn in space1 but the circumstances 
in which they were placed did not permit
 them to make many more scientific      
observations than those they had made1  
and thus they were obliged to submit to 
their fate4 ,when they had reached their
 greatest height1 there seemed to open  
up in the midst of the vaporous mass a  
brilliant space1 from which they could  
see the blue of heaven4 ,the            
polariscope1 directed towards this      
region1 showed an internal polarisation1
 but1 when pointed to the side where the
 mist still prevailed1 there was no     
polarisation4  ,an optical phenomenon of
 a remarkable kind was witnessed when   
the voyagers had attained their highest 
point4 ,they saw the sun through the    
upper mists1 looking quite white1 as if 
shorn of its strength2 and1 at the same 
time1 below the horizontal plane1 below 
their horizon1 and at an angular        
distance from the plane equal to that of

 the sun above it1 they saw a second    
sun1 which resembled the reflection of  
the actual sun in a sheet of water4 ,it 
is natural to suppose that the second   
sun was formed by the reflection of the 
sun's rays upon the horizontal faces of 
the ice crystals floating in this high  
cloud4    ,chapter ,,iii4 ,ascents of   
the ,mssrs4 ,welsh1 ,glaisher and       
,coxwell4  ,the most recent balloon     
ascents in ,england deserving attention 
have been undertaken for scientific     
objects1 and in this country1 more than 
in any other1 it may be said that the   
conquest of the air has been made to    
serve a practical end4  ,in ,july1      
#aheb1 the ,committee of the ,kew       
,observatory resolved to undertake a    
number of balloon voyages4 ,this        
resolution was approved of by the       
,british ,association for the           
,advancement of ,science1 and the       
necessary instruments for making a      
number of meteorological observations   
were prepared4 ,the balloon employed was

 that of ,mr4 ,green1 who was           
accompanied in his ascents by ,mr4      
,welsh4 ,the greatest height to which   
,mr4 ,welsh rose was on the fourth      
ascent which took place on the #ajth of 
,november1 #aheb4 ,the balloon rose     
#bb1icj feet1 and the lowest temperature
 observed was #bf degrees below zero4   
,it is to ,mr4 ,glaisher and ,mr4       
,coxwell1 however1 that the highest     
honours of scientific aerostation       
belong4 ,the ascents made by these      
gentlemen--,mr4 ,glaisher being the     
scientific observer1 and ,mr4 ,coxwell  
the practical aeronaut--have become     
matters of history4 ,not only did they1 
in the course of a large number of      
ascents undertaken under the auspices of
 the ,british ,association1 succeed in  
gathering much valuable meteorological  
information1 but they reached a greater 
height than that ever gained on any     
previous or subsequent occasion1 and    
penetrated into that distant region of  
the skies in which it has been          

satisfactorily proved that no life can  
be long maintained4 ,it was on the #eth 
of ,september1 #ahfb1 that ,mr4         
,glaisher and ,mr4 ,coxwell made the    
famous ascent in which they reached the 
greatest height ever attained by an     
aeronaut1 and were so nearly sacrificed 
to their unselfish daring4 ,mr4         
,glaisher has given an admirable account
 of this ascent1 which took place from  
,wolverhampton4 ,he says3--8,our ascent 
had been delayed1 owing to the          
unfavourable state of the weather4 ,it  
commenced at three minutes past one     
p4m41 the temperature of the air being  
#ei degrees1 and the dew-point #dh      
degrees4 ,at the height of one mile the 
temperature was #da degrees and the     
dew-point #ch degrees4 ,shortly after   
wards clouds were entered of about      
#a1ajj feet in thickness4 ,upon emerging
 from them at seventeen minutes past    
one1 ,i tried to take a view of their   
surface with the camera1 but the balloon
 was ascending too rapidly and spiraling

 too quickly to allow me to do so4 ,the 
height of two miles was reached at      
twenty-one minutes past one4 ,the       
temperature of the air had fallen to #cb
 degrees and the dew-point to #bf       
degrees4 ,the third mile was passed at  
twenty-eight minutes past one1 with an  
air temperature of #ah degrees1 and a   
dew-point of #ac degrees4 ,the fourth   
mile was passed at thirty-nine minutes  
past one1 with an air temperature of #h 
degrees1 and a dew-point of minus #f    
degrees and the fifth mile about ten    
minutes later1 with an air temperature  
minus #e degrees1 and a dew-point minus 
#cf degrees4  8,up to this time ,i had  
experienced no particular inconvenience4
 ,when at the height of #bf1jjj feet ,i 
could not see the fine column of the    
mercury in the tube2 then the fine      
divisions on the scale of the instrument
 became invisible4 ,at that time ,i     
asked ,mr4 ,coxwell to help me to read  
the instruments1 as ,i experienced a    
difficulty in seeing them4 ,in          

consequence of the rotary motion of the 
balloon1 which had continued without    
ceasing since the earth was left1 the   
valve line had become twisted1 and he   
had to leave the car1 and to mount into 
the ring above to adjust it4 ,at that   
time ,i had no suspicion of other than  
temporary inconvenience in seeing4      
,shortly afterwards ,i laid my arm upon 
the table1 possessed of its full vigour2
 but directly after1 being desirous of  
using it1 ,i found it powerless4 ,it    
must have lost its power momentarily4 ,i
 then tried to move the other arm1 but  
found it powerless also4 ,i next tried  
to shake myself1 and succeeded in       
shaking my body4 ,i seemed to have no   
legs4 ,i could only shake my body4 ,i   
then looked at the barometer1 and whilst
 ,i was doing so my head fell on my left
 shoulder4 ,i struggled1 and shook my   
body again1 but could not move my arms4 
,i got my head upright1 but for an      
instant only1 when it fell on my right  
shoulder2 and then ,i fell backwards1 my

 back resting against the side of the   
car1 and my head on its edge4 ,in that  
position my eyes were directed towards  
,mr4 ,coxwell in the ring4 ,when ,i     
shook my body ,i seemed to have full    
power over the muscles of the back1 and 
considerable power over those of the    
neck1 but none over my limbs4 ,as in the
 case of the arms1 all muscular power   
was lost in an instant from my back and 
neck4 ,i dimly saw ,mr4 ,coxwell in the 
ring1 and endeavoured to speak1 but     
could not do so2 when in an instant     
intense black darkness came over me1 and
 the optic nerve lost power suddenly4 ,i
 was still conscious1 with as active a  
brain as whilst writing this4 ,i thought
 ,i had been seized with asphyxia1 and  
that ,i should experience no more1 as   
death would come unless we speedily     
descended4 ,other thoughts were actively
 entering my mind when ,i suddenly      
became unconscious1 as though going to  
sleep4 ,i could not tell anything about 
the sense of hearing3 the perfect       

stillness of the regions six miles from 
the earth--and at that time we were     
between six and seven miles high--is    
such that no sound reaches the ear4 ,my 
last observation was made at #bi1jjj    
feet1 about fifty-four minutes past one4
 ,i suppose two or three minutes elapsed
 between my eyes becoming insensible to 
seeing the fine divisions and fifty-four
 minutes past one1 and that other two or
 three minutes elapsed before ,i became 
unconscious2 therefore ,i think that    
took place about fifty-six or           
fifty-seven minutes past one4 ,whilst   
powerless ,i heard the words            
#8temperature1' and #8observation1' and 
,i knew ,mr4 ,coxwell was in the car1   
speaking to me1 and endeavouring to     
rouse me2 and therefore consciousness   
and hearing had returned4 ,i then heard 
him speak more emphatically1 but ,i     
could not speak or move4 ,then ,i heard 
him say1 #8,do try2 now do6' ,then ,i   
saw the instruments dimly1 next ,mr4    
,coxwell1 and very shortly ,i saw       

clearly4 ,i rose in my seat and looked  
round1 as though waking from sleep1 and 
said to ,mr4 ,coxwell1 #8,i have been   
insensible4' ,he said1 #8,yes2 and ,i   
too1 very nearly4' ,i then drew up my   
legs1 which had been extended out before
 me1 and took a pencil in my hand to    
note my observations4 ,mr4 ,coxwell     
informed me that he had lost the use of 
his hands1 which were black1 and ,i     
poured brandy over them4 ,i resumed my  
observations at seven minutes past two4 
,i suppose three or four minutes were   
occupied from the time of my hearing the
 words #8temperature' and               
#8observation1' until ,i began to       
observe4 ,if so1 then returning         
consciousness came at four minutes past 
two1 and that gives about seven minutes 
of total insensibility4 ,mr4 ,coxwell   
told me that in coming from the ring he 
thought for a moment that ,i had laid   
back to rest myself2 that he spoke to me
 without eliciting a reply2 that he then
 noticed that my legs projected1 and my 

arms hung down by my side4 ,that my     
countenance was serene and placid1      
without earnestness or anxiety1 he had  
noticed before going into the ring4 ,it 
then struck him that ,i was insensible4 
,he wished then to approach me1 but     
could not1 and he felt insensibility    
coming over himself4 ,he became anxious 
to open the valve1 but1 in consequence  
of having lost the use of his hands1 he 
could not2 and ultimately he did so by  
seizing the cord with his teeth and     
dipping his head two or three times4 ,no
 inconvenience followed our             
insensibility4 ,when we dropped it was  
in a country where no accommodation of  
any kind could be obtained1 so that we  
had to walk between seven and eight     
miles4 ,at the time of ceasing our      
observations the ascent was at the rate 
of #a1jjj feet per minute1 and on       
resuming observations the descent was at
 the rate of #b1jjj feet per minute4    
,these two positions must be connected1 
having relation to the interval of time 

which elapsed between them2 and they can
 scarcely be connected at a point less  
than #cf1jjj or #cg1jjj feet high4      
,again1 a very delicate minimum         
thermometer was found to read minus #ab 
degrees1 and that reading would indicate
 an elevation exceeding #cf1jjj feet4   
,there cannot be any doubt that the     
balloon attained the great height of    
seven miles--the greatest ever reached4 
,in this ascent six pigeons were taken  
up4 ,one was thrown out at three miles4 
,it extended its wings1 and dropped like
 a piece of paper4 ,a second at four    
miles1 and it flew with vigour4 ,a third
 between four and five miles1 and it    
fell downwards4 ,a fourth was thrown out
 at four miles in descending1 and it    
alighted on the top of the balloon4 ,two
 were brought to the ground4 ,one was   
dead1 and the other was ill1 but        
recovered so as to fly away in a quarter
 of an hour40  ,the results gathered by 
,mr4 ,glaisher from his numerous ascents
 are very interesting4 ,he found that in

 no instance did the temperature of the 
air decrease uniformly with the increase
 of height4 ,in fact1 the decrease in   
the first mile is double that in the    
second1 and nearly four times as great  
as the change of temperature in the     
fifth mile4 ,the distribution of aqueous
 vapour in the air is no less           
remarkable4 ,the temperature of the     
dew-point on leaving the earth decreases
 less rapidly than the temperature of   
the air2 so that the difference between 
the two temperatures becomes less and   
less1 till the vapour or cloud plane is 
reached1 when they are usually together1
 and always most nearly approach each   
other1 and that point is usually at     
about the height of one mile4 ,on       
leaving the upper surface of cloud1 the 
dew point decreases more rapidly than   
the air1 and at extremely high          
situations the difference between the   
two temperatures is wonderfully great1  
indicating an extraordinary degree of   
dryness1 and an almost entire absence of

 water4 ,under these circumstances1 the 
presence of cirrus clouds far above this
 dry region1 apparently as much above as
 when viewed from the earth1 is very    
remarkable1 and leads to the conclusion 
that they are not composed of water4    
,in the propagation of sound1 ,m4       
,glaisher made many curious experiments4
 ,in one ascent 7,july #agth7 he found1 
when at a distance of #aa1hjj feet above
 the earth1 that a band was heard2 at a 
height of #bb1jjj feet1 a clap of       
thunder was heard2 and at a height of   
#aj1jgj feet1 the report of a gun was   
heard4 ,on one occasion1 he heard the   
dull hum of ,london at a height of      
#i1jjj feet above the city1 and on      
another occasion1 the shouting of many  
thousands of persons could not be heard 
at the height of #d1jjj feet4           
,chapter ,,iv4 ,balloons ,made ,useful  
in ,warfare4       ,wars of the ,french 
,republic--,company of 8,ballooneers0-- 
,battle of ,fleurus--,the ,balloons of  
,egypt--,napoleon--,modern              

,services ,war in ,italy--,war in       
,america--,conclusion4  ,we will        
conclude our work with a glance at      
aerostation as applied to warfare4      
,scarcely had the first ascents         
astonished the world1 than the more     
adventurous spirits began to use the new
 discovery for a thousand purposes      
directly useful to man4 ,the first point
 of view in which aerostation was       
regarded1 was in that of its practical  
utility ,if one refers to the           
pre-occupations of the time--to the     
great events then occurring in the      
history of ,france1 one will easily     
understand that the ,committee of       
,public ,safety soon thought of         
employing balloons in the observation of
 the forces and the movements of hostile
 troops4 ,in #agid1 the idea was        
practically carried out1 and the ,french
 armies were provided with two companies
 of aeronauts4 ,the command of one of   
these companies was given to ,captain   
,coutelle1 a young physicist of great   

talent1 who rendered memorable services 
at the battle of ,fleurus4 ,the balloons
 were not thrown free1 but were retained
 attached by means of long cords4 ,in   
this way they took up1 so to speak1     
aerial posts of observation4 ,placed in 
his car1 the captain transmitted his    
instructions to his men below by means  
of coloured flags4 ,coutelle has left us
 a lively narrative of certain incidents
 connected with one of the grand days of
 the old ,republic4 ,he had been        
commissioned by the ,committee of       
,public ,safety to go to ,maubeuge1     
where ,jourdan's army was encamped1 and 
to offer him the use of his balloon4    
,the representative to whom the young   
doctor presented his commission1 knew   
nothing about balloons1 and not being   
able to understand the order of the     
,committee of ,public ,safety1 it       
suddenly dawned upon him that ,coutelle1
 with his trumpery forgery about        
balloons1 was nothing else than a spy1  
and he was about to have him shot4 ,the 

genuineness of the order from the       
,committee1 however1 was proved1 and    
,coutelle's case was listened to4  8,the
 army was at ,beaumont10 says ,coutelle1
 8and the enemy1 placed at a distance of
 only three miles1 could attack at any  
moment4 ,the general told me this fact1 
and engaged me to return and communicate
 it to the ,committee4 ,this ,i did4    
,the ,commission then felt the necessity
 of making an experiment with a balloon 
that could raise two persons1 and the   
minister placed at my service the garden
 and the little mansion of ,meudon4     
,many of the members of the ,commission 
came to witness the first ascent of a   
balloon held in hand1 like a kite1 by   
means of two cords4 ,the ,commissioners 
ordered me to place myself in the car1  
and instructed me as to a number of     
signals which ,i must repeat1 and       
observations which ,i must make4 ,i     
raised myself to the full length of the 
cord1 a height of #a1ejj feet1 and at   
this height1 with the help of a glass1  

,i could distinctly see the seven bends 
of the river ,seine4 ,on returning to   
the earth1 ,i received the compliments  
of the ,commission4  8,arrived at       
,maubeuge1 my first care was to find a  
suitable spot to erect my furnace1 and  
to make every preparation for the       
arrival of my balloon from ,meudon4     
,each day my observations contained     
something new either in the works which 
the ,austrians had thrown up during the 
night1 or in the arrangement of their   
forces4 ,on the fifth day a piece of    
cannon had been brought to bear upon the
 balloon1 and shots were fired at me as 
soon as ,i appeared above the ramparts4 
,none of the shots took effect1 and on  
the following day the piece was no      
longer in position4 ,experience enforced
 upon me the necessity of forming some  
provision against these unexpected      
attacks4 ,i employed the night in fixing
 cords all round the middle of my       
balloon4 ,each of the aerostiers had    
charge of one of the ropes1 and by means

 of them ,i could easily move about1 and
 thus get myself out of range of any gun
 that had been trained to bear against  
me4 ,i was afterwards ordered to make a 
reconnaissance at ,mayence1 and ,i      
posted myself between our lines and the 
enemy at half range of cannon4 ,when the
 wind1 which was tempestuous at first1  
became calmer1 ,i was able to count the 
number of cannon on the ramparts1 as    
well as the troops that marched through 
the streets and in the squares4         
8,generally the soldiers of the enemy1  
all who saw the observer watching them  
and taking notes1 came to the idea that 
they could do nothing without being     
seen4 ,our soldiers were of the same    
opinion1 and consequently they regarded 
us with great admiration and trust4 ,on 
the heavy marches they brought us       
prepared food and wine1 which my men    
were hardly able to get for themselves1 
so closely did they require to attend to
 the ropes4 ,we were encamped upon the  
banks of the ,rhine at ,manheim when our

 general sent me to the opposite bank to
 parley4 ,as soon as the ,austrian      
officers were made aware that ,i        
commanded the balloon1 ,i was           
overwhelmed with questions and          
compliments4  8,what causes an          
impression which1 till one is accustomed
 to it1 is very alarming1 is the noise  
which the balloon makes when it is      
struck by successive gales of wind4     
,when the wind has passed1 the balloon1 
which has been pressed into a concave   
form by the wind1 suddenly resumes its  
globular form with a loud noise heard at
 a great distance4 ,the silk of the     
balloon would often burst in a case of  
this kind1 were it not for the          
restraining power of the network40      
,after the days of ,coutelle we do not  
read that balloons were made much use of
 in warfare4 ,the only ascent in the    
,egypt campaign was that of a tricolor  
balloon thrown up to commemorate a fete4
 ,that ,napoleon knew full well the     
value of the scientific discoveries of  

his time is clear from the following    
conversation with a learned ,mohammedan1
 which took place in the great pyramid  
of ,cheops3--  ,mussamed4 8,noble       
successor of ,alexander1 honour to shine
 invincible arms1 and to the unexpected 
lightning with which your warriors are  
furnished40  ,bonaparte4 8,do you       
believe that that lightning is the work 
of the children of men8 ,allah has      
placed it in our hands by means of the  
genius of war40  ,mussamed4 8,we        
recognised by your arms that it is      
,allah that has sent you--the ,delta and
 all the neighbouring countries are full
 of thy miracles4 ,but would you be a   
conqueror if ,allah did not permit you80
  ,bonaparte4 8,a celestial body will   
point by my orders to the dwelling of   
the clouds1 and lightning will descend  
towards the earth1 along a rod of metal 
from which ,i can call it forth40       
,napoleon did not favour the use of     
balloons in war4 ,perhaps it was because
 he himself had such a splendid genius  

for war that he depended alone upon     
himself1 and scorned assistance4        
,perhaps it was because if balloons were
 discovered to be of real utility1 his  
enemies might make use of them as well  
as himself1 and ,france retain no       
special advantage in them4 ,but however 
this may be1 on his return from ,egypt  
he sold the balloon of ,fleurus to      
,robertson4 ,the company of ballooneers 
was dissolved1 and the balloons         
themselves disappeared in smoke4        
,during the war in ,america1 the role   
which the balloon played was a more     
important one4 ,the ,government of the  
,united ,states conferred the title of  
aeronautic engineer upon ,mr4 ,allan1 of
 ,rhode ,island1 who originated the idea
 of communicating by a telegraphic wire 
from the balloon to the camp4 ,the first
 telegraphic message which was          
transmitted from the aerial regions is  
that of ,professor ,love1 at            
,washington1 to the ,president of the   
,united ,states4 ,the following is this 

despatch3--  8,,washington1 ,balloon the
 #8,enterprise4'  8,,sir1--,the point of
 observation commands an extent of      
nearly fifty miles in diameter4 ,the    
city1 with its girdle of encampments1   
presents a superb scene4 ,i have great  
pleasure in sending you this            
despatch--the first that has been       
telegraphed from an aerial station--and 
to know that ,i should be so much       
encouraged1 from having given the first 
proof that the aeronautic science can   
render great assistance in these        
countries40  ,in the month of           
,september1 #ahfa1 one of the most hardy
 aeronauts 7,la ,mountain7 furnished    
important information to ,general       
,m',clellan4 ,the balloon of ,la        
,mountain1 which arose from the northern
 camp upon the ,potomac1 passed above   
,washington4 ,la ,mountain then cut the 
cord that connected his balloon with the
 earth1 and rising rapidly to the height
 of a mile and a half1 he found himself 
directly above his enemies' lines4      

,there he was able to observe perfectly 
their position and their movements4 ,he 
then threw over ballast1 and ascended to
 the height of three miles4 ,at this    
height he encountered a current which   
carried him in the direction of         
,maryland1 where he descended in safety4
 ,general ,m',clellan was so much       
satisfied with the observations taken in
 the balloon1 that1 at his request1 the 
order was given to the ,war ,department 
to construct four new balloons4  ,if    
this volume of 8,the ,library of        
,wonders0 had not had for its single    
object 8balloons and their history10 we 
would have devoted a chapter to the     
numerous attempts made to steer         
balloons4 ,we shall only say here that  
aerial navigation should be divided into
 two kinds with balloons1 and without   
balloons4 ,in the first case1 it is     
limited to the study of aerial currents1
 and to the art of rising to those      
currents which suit the direction of the
 voyage undertaken4 ,the balloon is not 

the master of the atmosphere2 on the    
contrary1 it is its powerless slave4 ,in
 the second case1 the discovery of      
,montgolfier is useless2 and the        
question is1 to find out a new machine  
capable of flying in the air1 and at the
 same time heavier than the air4 ,birds 
are1 without doubt1 the best models to  
study4 ,but with what force shall we    
replace ,,life8 ,the air-boat of ,m4    
,pline seems to us one of the best      
ideas2 but the working of it presents   
many difficulties4 ,let us find a motive
 power at once light and powerful       
7aluminium and electricity1 for         
example71 and we will have definitively 
conquered the empire of the air4