Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
Share image
1
128
Wonderful Balloon Ascents; Or, The Conquest of the Skies
·
Fulgence Marion
105
worse
chance
there
was
of
getting
through
it
successfully.
At
length
Roziers
went
to
Boulogne,
and
announced
the
day
of
his
departure;
but,
as
if
by
a
special
Providence,
his
attempt
was
delayed
by
unfavourable
weather.
For
many
weeks
in
succession
the
little
trial
balloons
thrown
up
to
show
the
course
of
the
wind
were
driven
back
upon
the
shores
of
France.
During
all
these
trials
the
impatient
Roziers
continued
to
chafe
and
torment
himself.
At
last,
on
the
13th
and
14th
of
June,
1785,
the
Aero-Montgolfiere
remained
inflated,
waiting
a
favourable
moment
for
departure.
On
the
15th
at
four
in
the
morning,
a
little
pilot
balloon
that
had
been
thrown
up
fell
back
on
the
spot
from
which
it
had
been
thrown
free,
thus
showing
that
there
was
no
wind.
Seven
hours
later
Roziers,
accompanied
by
his
brother
Romain,
one
of
the
constructors
of
the
balloon,
appeared
in
the
gallery.
A
nobleman
present
threw
a
purse
of
200
louis
into
the
car,
and
was
preparing
to
follow
it
and
join
in
the
adventure.
Roziers
forbade
him
to
enter,
gently
but
firmly.
“The
experiment
is
too
unsafe,”
he
said,
“for
me
to
expose
to
danger
the
life
of
another.”
“Finally,”
says
a
narrative
of
the
time,
“the
Aero-Montgolfiere
rose
in
an
imposing
manner.
The
sound
of
cannon
signalised
the
departure,
the
voyagers
saluted
the
crowd,
who
responded
with
loud
shouts.
The
balloon
advanced
until
it
began
to
traverse
the
sea,
and
every
one
with
eyes
fixed
upon
the
fragile
machine,
regarded
it
with
fear.
It
had
traversed
upwards
of
a
league
of
its
journey,
and
had
reached
the
height
of
700
feet
above
sea
level,
when
a
wind
from
the
west
drove
it
back
toward
the
shore,
after
having
been
twenty-seven
minutes
in
the
air.
“At
this
moment
the
crowd
beneath
perceived
that
the
voyagers
were
showing
signs
of
alarm.
They
seemed
suddenly
to
lower
the
grating
of
the
Montgolfiere.
But
it
was
too
late.
A
violet
flame
appeared
at
the
top
of
the
balloon,
then
spread
over
the
whole
globe,
and
enveloped
the
Montgolfiere
and
the
voyagers.
“The
unfortunate
men
were
suddenly
precipitated
from
the
clouds
to
the
earth,
in
front
of
the
Tour
de
Croy,
upwards
of
a
league
from
Boulogne,
and
300
feet
from
the
sea
beach.
“The
dead
body
of
Roziers
was
found
burnt
in
the
gallery,
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
