Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
1
172
Wonderful Balloon Ascents; Or, The Conquest of the Skies
·
Fulgence Marion
49
Some
days
after
these
experiments
the
conductors
of
the
Journal
de
Paris
who
described
them,
received
a
letter
from
Montgolfier,
and
also
one
from
Gerond
de
Villette.
The
latter
only
is
of
interest
here.
Gerond
de
Villette
says:
“I
found
myself
in
the
space
of
a
quarter
of
a
minute
raised
400
feet
above
the
surface
of
the
earth.
Here
we
remained
six
minutes.
My
first
employment
was
to
watch
with
admiration
my
intelligent
companion.
His
intelligence,
his
courage
and
agility
in
attending
to
the
fire,
enchanted
me.
Turning
round,
I
could
behold
the
Boulevards,
from
the
gate
of
St.
Antoine
to
that
of
St.
Martin,
all
covered
with
people,
who
seemed
to
me
a
flat
band
of
flowers
of
various
colours.
Glancing
at
the
distance,
I
beheld
the
summit
of
Montmartre,
which
seemed
to
me
much
below
our
level.
I
could
easily
distinguish
Neuilly,
St.
Cloud,
Sevres,
Issy,
Ivry,
Charenton,
and
Choisy.
At
once
I
was
convinced
that
this
machine,
though
a
somewhat
expensive
one,
might
be
very
useful
in
war
to
enable
one
to
discover
the
position
of
the
enemy,
his
manoeuvres,
and
his
marches;
and
to
announce
these
by
signals
to
one’s
own
army.
1
believe
that
at
sea
it
is
equally
possible
to
make
use
of
this
machine.
These
prove
the
usefulness
of
the
balloon,
which
time
will
perfect
for
us.
All
that
I
regret
is
that
I
did
not
provide
myself
with
a
telescope.”
Chapter
IX.
The
First
Aerial
Voyage--Roziers
and
Arlandes.
These
experiments
had
only
one
aim--the
application
of
Montgolfier’s
discovery
to
aerial
navigation.
The
knowledge
gained
in
the
Faubourg
St.
Antoine
having
led
to
the
most
favourable
conclusions,
it
was
resolved
that
a
first
aerial
voyage
should
be
attempted.
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
