Part 5 (1/2)
From the year 1783, in which aerostation had its birth, and in which it was carried to a degree of perfection, beside which the progress of aeronauts in our days seems small, a new route was opened up for travellers The science of Montgolfier, the practical art of Professor Charles, and the courage of Roziers, subdued the scepticisiven in their adhesion to the possible value of the great discovery, and throughout the whole of France a feverish degree of enthusiasm in the art manifested itself Aerial excursions now became quite fashi+onable Let it be understood that we do not here refer to ascents in fixed balloons, that is, in balloons which were attached to the earth by
M Biot narrates that, in his young days, when aeronautic ascents were less known than they are in these times, there was in the plain of Grenelle, at the mill of Javelle, an establishment where balloons were constantly maintained for the accommodation of amateurs of both sexes ished to make ascents in ere called ”ballons captifs,” or balloons anchored, so to speak, to the earth by e of fashi+onable society, and it is not recorded that any accidents resulted from the practice Of course it may be easily understood with these safe balloons the adventurous aeronauts never ascended to any great height The reader will find this subject treated under the chapter of ed with the narrative of the first attempts in aerostation--the first experiments in the new discovery
We have folloith interest the exciting details of the first adventurous ascents, in which the genius of man first essayed the unexplored paths of the heavens Yet a continued record of aerial voyages would not be of the same interest The results of subsequent expeditions, and the impressions of subsequent aeronauts are the same as those already described, or differ from them only in minor points No important advance is recorded in the art We shall therefore endeavour not to confine ourselves to the narrative of a dry and y, but to select from the nuhty years, only those whose special character renders theation
In order to give an idea of the rapid multiplication of aeronautic experiments, it will suffice to state that the only aeronauts of 1783 are Roziers, the Marquis d'Arlandes, Professor Charles, his collaborateur the younger Robert, and a carpenter, named Wilcox, who made ascents at Philadelphia and London
A nuance which we have already spoken of A the nolet's balloon
Of the ascents which immediately succeeded those that have been treated in the first part of our volume, and which are the most memorable in the early annals of aerostation, that of the 17th of January, 1784, is remarkable It took place at Lyons Seven persons went into the car on this occasion--Joseph Montgolfier, Roziers, the Comte de Laurencin, the Cone, the Colifort, and Fontaine, who threw hiun to iven in a letter of Mathon de la Cour, director of the Academy of Sciences at Lyons:--”After the experiments of the Champ de Mars and Versailles had become known,”
he says, ”the citizens of this town proposed to repeat them and a subscription was opened for this purpose On the arrival of the elder Montgolfier, about the end of September, M de Flesselles, our director, always zealous in proht be for the welfare of the province and the advanceanise the subscription The aiolfier was not the ascent of any hu in the balloon The prospectus only announced that a balloon of a er size than any that had been made would ascend--that it would rise to several thousand feet, and that, including the anih 8,000 lbs The subscription was fixed at L12, and the number of subscribers was 360”
It was on these conditions that Montgolfier coh and 100 feet in diameter,of paper between A strength and consistency was given to the structure by means of ribbons and cords
The as nearly finished when Roziers went up in his fire-balloon froolfier to allow hilad of the opportunity--refused up to this ti up hio with the aeronauts; and on the 26th of December, 1678, Roziers, the Comte de Dampierre, and the Comte de Laporte, arrived in Lyons with the same intention Prince Charles also arrived; and as his father had taken one hundred subscriptions, his claio up could not be refused
But while the public papers were full of ascents at Avignon, Marseilles, and Paris, it is impossible to describe the vexation of Roziers, when he discovered that Montgolfier's new balloon was not intended to carry passengers, and had not been, froested a nuolfier adopted at once
On the 7th of January, 1784, all the pieces of which the balloon was composed were carried out to the field called Les Brotteaux, outside the town, from which the ascent was to be made This event was announced to take place on the 10th and at five o'clock on theof that day; but unexpected delays occurred, and in the necessary operations the covering was torn in many places
On the 15th the balloon was inflated in seventeen allery was attached in an hour--the fire fro to be fed at the rate of 5 lbs of alder-wood per minute; but the preparations had occupied sowas complete, that the afternoon was too far advanced for the ascent to be made This machine was destined to suffer fro inflated, and, several days afterwards, it was daed Roziers and his coallery for six persons After the balloon was at last inflated, Prince Charles and the Comes de Laurencin, Daallery They were all armed, and were deterht coh ascent, proposed to reduce the nuentlemen would not descend
The debate becaers cried to cut the ropes
The director of the Acade the resolution and the courage of the four gentlely the ropes were cut; but at that allery At the same time a certain M Fontaine, who had had much to do in the construction of the h it had not previously been arranged that he should be of the party His boldness in juround of his services and his zeal
In going away the machine turned to the south-west, and bent a little
A rope which dragged along the ground seeent person having cut this with a hatchet, it began to right itself and ascend At a certain height it turned to the north east The as feeble, and the progress was slow, but the i effect was indescribable The iic Nearly 100,000 spectators were present, and they were greatly excited at the view They clapped their hands and stretched their arms towards the sky; women fainted away, or (for some reasons best known to themselves) found relief for their excite cries of joy, waved their handkerchiefs, and threw their hats into the air
The for froallery was attached The upper part hite, the lower part grey; and the cone was composed of strips of stuff of different colours On the sides of the balloon were two paintings, one of which represented History, the other Fa bore the arms of the director of the Academy, and above it were inscribed the words ”Le Flesselles”
The voyagers observed that they did not consume a fourth of the quantity of combustibles after they had risen into the air, which they consuayest humour, and they calculated that the fuel they had would keep the Unfortunately, however, after throwing reater altitude, it was discovered that a rent had been , caused by the fire by which the balloon had been daed two or three days previously The rent was four feet in length; and as the heated air escaped very rapidly by it, the balloon fell, after having sailed above the earth for barely fifteen minutes
The descent only occupied two or three minutes, and yet the shock was supportable It was observed that as soon as the machine had touched the earth all the cloth became unfolded in a few seconds, which seeolfier, who believed that electricity had ot out of the balloon without accident, and were greeted with the most enthusiastic applause
On the day of the ascent, the opera of ”Iphigenia in Aulis” was given, and the theatre was thronged by a vast asse the illustrious experimentalists The curtain had risen when M and Madaolfier and Roziers At sight of them the enthusiasers also entered, and were greeted with the sain the opera again, in honour of the visitors The curtain then fell, and when it again rose, after a few amemnon advanced with crohich he handed to Madame de Flesselles, who distributed theiven to hiolfier's head
When the actress who played the part of Clyte--
”I love to see these flattering honours paid”
The audience at once applied her song to the circumstances, and re-de herself to the box in which the distinguished visitors sat The demonstrations of ad the whole of the night the gentlemen of the balloon ascent were serenaded
Two days afterwards, Roziers having appeared at a ball, received further proofs of admiration and honours; and when, on the 22nd of January, he departed for Dijon on his return to Paris, he was accompanied as in a triu men of the city