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172
Wonderful Balloon Ascents; Or, The Conquest of the Skies
·
Fulgence Marion
35
The
thing
thus
arranged,
a
subscription
was
opened.
The
projected
experiment
having
been
talked
of
all
over
Paris,
every
one
was
struck
with
the
idea,
and
subscriptions
poured
in.
Even
the
most
illustrious
names
are
to
be
found
in
the
list,
which
may
be
called
the
first
national
subscription
in
France.
Nothing
had
been
written
of
the
forthcoming
event
in
any
public
paper,
yet
all
Paris
seemed
to
flock
to
contribute
to
the
curious
experiment.
The
inflation
with
hydrogen
was
effected
in
a
very
curious
manner.
As
much
as
1,125
lbs.
of
iron
and
560
lbs.
of
sulphuric
acid
were
found
necessary
to
inflate
a
balloon
which
had
scarcely
a
lifting
power
of
22
lbs.,
and
the
process
of
filling
took
no
less
than
four
hours.
At
length,
however,
at
the
end
of
the
fourth
hour,
the
balloon,
composed
of
strips
of
silk,
coated
with
varnish,
floated,
two-thirds
full,
from
the
workshop
of
the
brothers
Robert.
On
the
morning
of
the
26th
of
August,
the
day
before
the
ascent
was
to
be
made,
the
balloon
was
visited
at
daybreak,
and
found
to
be
in
a
promising
state.
At
two
o’clock
on
the
following
morning
its
constructors
began
to
make
preparations
to
transport
it
to
the
Champ
de
Mars,
from
which
place
it
was
to
be
let
loose.
Skilled
workmen
were
employed
in
its
removal,
and
every
precaution
was
taken
that
the
gas
with
which
it
was
charged
should
not
be
allowed
to
escape.
In
the
meantime
the
excitement
of
the
people
about
this
wonderful
structure
was
rising
to
the
highest
pitch.
The
wagon
on
which
it
was
placed
for
removal
was
surrounded
on
all
sides
by
eager
multitudes,
and
the
night-patrols,
both
of
horse
and
foot,
which
were
set
to
guard
the
avenues
leading
to
where
it
lay,
were
quite
unable
to
stem
the
tide
of
human
beings
that
poured
along
to
get
a
glimpse
of
it.
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