Wonderful Balloon Ascents; Or, The Conquest of the Skies: A History of Balloons and Balloon VoyagesMarion, Fulgence
History
Wonderful Balloon Ascents; Or, The Conquest of the Skies: A History of Balloons and Balloon Voyages
Marion, Fulgence
Balloon ascensions; Balloons
“Having reduced the dilation sufficiently for our purposes, we resolved
to attempt the working of the balloon before the whole town and to turn
it from the east to the north. We saw with pleasure that our machinery
answered By the working of the helm, the prow of our air-boat was
turned in the direction we desired. The oars, working only on one side,
supported the helm, and altogether we got on as we wished. We described
a curve, crossing the road from Dijon to Langres. The mercury had
descended to 24 inches 8 lines, which announced that we were gradually
rising. We attempted for some time to follow the route to I Langres, but
the wind drove us off our course in spite of all our efforts. At nine
o’clock our barometer informed us that we had ascended to the height of
6,000 feet. M. de Verley took advantage of this elevation to put some
touch wood to a burning-glass 18 lines in diameter, and the touch wood
lighted immediately.”
The aeronauts decided to direct their course for Dijon. After re-setting
the helm with this intention, they worked their oars, and proceeded in
that direction more than 1,000 feet. But heat and fatigue obliged them
to suspend their endeavours, and the current drove them upon Mirebeau,
where, throwing out the last of their ballast and regulating their
descent, they came softly down upon a corn-field.
The adventurers were cordially welcomed by the ecclesiastics and the
magistrates of the place, and after a time they, with their balloon,
were carried back on men’s shoulders to Dijon.
Chapter III.
Experiment in Montgolfiers--Roziers and Proust--The Duke of
Chartres--The Comte d’Artois--Voyage of the Abbe Carnus to
Rodez.
The longest course travelled by Montgolfiere balloons, and the highest
elevation reached by them, were achieved by Roziers and Proust with the
Montgolfiere la Marie Antoinette, at Versailles, on the 23rd of June,
1784. Roziers himself has left us a picturesque narrative of this
excursion from Versailles to Compiegne. He says:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account