_Planant sur l'Horizon._ When they were as high as they chose to be,
they made less Flame and suffered the Machine to drive Horizontally
with the Wind, of which however they felt very little, as they went
with it, and as fast. They say they had a charming View of Paris &
its Environs, the Course of the River, &c but that they were once
lost, not knowing what Part they were over, till they saw the Dome of
the Invalids, which rectified their Ideas. Probably while they were
employed in keeping up the Fire, the Machine might turn, and by that
means they were _desorientés_ as the French call it.
There was a vast Concourse of Gentry in the Garden, who had great
Pleasure in seeing the Adventurers go off so chearfully, & applauded
them by clapping &c. but there was at the same time a good deal of
Anxiety for their Safety. Multitudes in Paris saw the Balloon passing;
but did not know there were Men with it, it being then so high that
they could not see them.
_Développant du Gaz._ That is, in plain English, _burning more straw_;
for tho' there is a little Mystery made, concerning the kind of Air
with which the Balloon is filled, I conceive it to be nothing more than
hot Smoke or common Air rarify'd, tho' in this I may be mistaken.
_Aiant encor dans leur Galerie les deux tiers de leur
Approvisionement._ That is their Provision of Straw; of which they
carried up a great Quantity. It was well that in the hurry of so
hazardous an Experiment, the Flame did not happen by any accidental
Mismanagement to lay hold of this Straw; tho' each had a Bucket of
Water by him, by Way of Precaution.
One of these courageous Philosophers, the Marquis d'Arlandes, did me
the honour to call upon me in the Evening after the Experiment, with
Mr. Montgolfier the very ingenious Inventor. I was happy to see him
safe. He informed me that they lit gently without the least Shock, and
the Balloon was very little damaged.
This Method of filling the Balloon with hot Air is cheap and
expeditious, and it is supposed may be sufficient for certain purposes,
such as elevating an Engineer to take a View of an Enemy's Army, Works,
&c. conveying Intelligence into, or out of a besieged Town, giving
Signals to distant Places, or the like.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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