Shortly after this balloon-post was established, the Germans came into possession of the new Krupp long-range rifle, with which they succeeded in bringing down several of the balloons. Companies of Uhlans, the swiftest cavalry of Germany, scoured the country constantly, and kept such a sharp lookout that, as the German lines were extended, it became difficult for the balloons to make their way over them in daylight. Night voyages, therefore, became necessary; but naturally these were extremely dangerous, and many of them had dramatic and tragic terminations. One of the longest and most famous of these voyages was that of the balloon named the _Ville d'Orléans_, which left Paris about midnight of November 24th. As a strong wind was blowing from the north at the time, it was hoped that the balloon would descend in the vicinity of Tours. The first intimation that the voyagers had that there was a deviation from this course was the sound of the waves breaking against the shore beneath them. At this time they were in a thick mist, and it was not until some time after daybreak that this mist cleared away sufficiently for them to get an idea of their surroundings. Then they found, to their horror, that they were over a large body of water, out of sight of land, in what part of the world they had not the slightest idea. The balloon appeared to be drifting rapidly, and from time to time they passed over vessels, which were frantically signaled by the voyagers. No notice was taken of these signals except by one vessel, which responded by firing several shots which went wide of the mark. The balloon continued on its course northward until late in the day when land was sighted lying to the northeast. By this time the ballast in the car had been entirely expended, and the balloon, which had been sinking gradually for several hours, seemed about to plunge into the ocean. In this extremity a heavy bag of despatches was thrown out, and the balloon thus lightened again rose to a considerable height, where another current of air carried it over the land. A successful landing was made in Norway, in a desolate but friendly region, where the balloonists were treated with the greatest kindness. The balloon and its contents were subsequently secured, and all the despatches delivered to their proper destinations, except, of course, the one package that had been thrown out as ballast.