A parachute, which is much like an umbrella, is sometimes employed to descend from a balloon in case of accident. The parachute by which M. Garnerin descended from Paris, in 1797, was twenty-five feet in diameter, and was made of cloth; and that by which he descended in London, in 1802, is said to have been a large umbrella, consisting of thirty-two gores of canvass, twenty-three feet in diameter, and without ribs and handle. At the top there was a round piece of wood, ten inches in diameter, having a hole in the centre, which was fastened to the canvass by thirty-two short pieces of tape. About four feet and a half from the top of the canvass, a wooden hoop, eight feet wide, was put on and tied by a string from each seam. Several ropes, about thirty feet long, proceeding from the edge of the parachute, terminated in a common joining. From this point there issued shorter ropes, to whose extremities was fastened a circular basket, in which M. Garnerin himself was stationed. The parachute and basket were immediately disunited from the balloon, by the cutting of a cord which communicated with the net-work, and in falling downwards, the parachute naturally expanded, by the resistance of the air. Eccentric Characters. We propose to give to our readers a few chapters upon eccentric characters. We cannot better begin than with the [Illustration: CHEVALIER DESSESSAU.] Among the singular personages who have occasionally attracted public notice in London, the individual just mentioned is not the least remarkable. He was a native of Prussia, and bore a military commission in the service of that country; but a quarrel with a brother officer resulted in a duel, in which he wounded his antagonist. Uncertain of the result, he sought refuge in England, and conceiving a partiality for the country, he resolved to pass the remainder of his days there. The singularity of his dress and character soon drew the attention of the curious. He affected literature, and wrote poetry, which he used to recite to his friends. Of this, we have only been able to discover the following couplet, which evinces no small stock of that comfortable commodity, self-complacency. “In all the world but heroes two I know, Prussia’s famed king, and Chevalier Dessessau.” He was well acquainted with Burke, Johnson, Murphy, Goldsmith, and most of their contemporaries, eminent for genius and talent in the walks of literature and the drama. These persons seemed to find great amusement in the quaint humors and amiable eccentricity of this singular personage. The preceding sketch gives an idea of the dress in which he appeared abroad. His clothes were black, and their fashion had all the stiff formality of those of an ancient buck. In his hand, he carried a gold-headed cane, a roll of his poetry, and a sword.