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Wonderful Balloon Ascents; Or, The Conquest of the Skies
·
Fulgence Marion
79
had
often
said
was
quite
practicable
as
soon
as
a
certain
elevation
had
been
reached.
The
two
aeronauts
ascended,
having
with
them
a
number
of
scientific
and
musical
instruments,
some
refreshments,
ballast,
&c.
Twice
the
ascent
failed,
and
eventually
Sheldon
got
out,
and
Blanchard
went
up
again
alone.
Blanchard
says
that,
on
this
second
ascent,
he
was
carried
first
north-east,
then
east-south-east
of
Sunbury
in
Middlesex.
He
rose
so
high
that
he
had
great
difficulty
in
breathing,
the
pigeon
he
had
with
him
escaped,
but
could
hardly
maintain
itself
in
the
rarefied
air
of
such
an
elevated
region,
and
finding
no
place
to
rest,
came
back
and
perched
on
the
side
of
the
car.
After
a
time,
the
cold
becoming
excessive,
Blanchard
descended
until
he
could
distinguish
men
on
the
earth,
and
hear
their
shouting.
After
many
vicissitudes
he
landed
upon
a
plain
in
Hampshire,
about
seventy-five
miles
from
the
point
of
departure.
It
was
observed
that,
so
long
as
he
could
be
clearly
seen,
he
executed
none
of
the
feats
with
his
wings,
ventilator,
&c.,
which
he
had
promised
to
exhibit.
Enthusiasm
about
aerial
voyages
was
now
at
its
climax;
the
most
wonderful
deeds
were
spoken
of
as
commonplace,
and
the
word
“impossible”
was
erased
from
the
language.
Emboldened
by
his
success,
Blanchard
one
day
announced
in
the
newspapers
that
he
would
cross
from
England
to
France
in
a
balloon--a
marvellous
journey,
the
success
of
which
depended
altogether
upon
the
course
of
the
wind,
to
the
mercy
of
which
the
bold
aeronaut
committed
himself.
A
certain
Dr.
Jeffries
offered
to
accompany
Blanchard.
On
the
7th
of
January
the
sky
was
calm,
in
consequence
of
a
strong
frost
during
the
preceding
night,
the
wind
which
was
very
light,
being
from
the
north-north-west.
The
arranged
meets
were
made
above
the
cliffs
of
Dover.
When
the
balloon
rose,
there
were
only
three
sacks
of
sand
of
10
lbs.
each
in
it.
They
had
not
been
long
above
ground
when
the
barometer
sank
from
29.7
to
27.3.
Dr.
Jeffries,
in
a
letter
addressed
to
the
president
of
the
Royal
Society,
describes
with
enthusiasm
the
spectacle
spread
out
before
him:
the
broad
country
lying
behind
Dover,
sown
with
numerous
towns
and
villages,
formed
a
charming
view;
while
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