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Wonderful Balloon Ascents; Or, The Conquest of the Skies
·
Fulgence Marion
34
and
the
excitement
of
the
public
on
this
occasion
was
unbounded.
“All
the
world”
came
to
see.
Roziers
was
again
lifted
up
in
the
balloon,
to
the
height
of
eighty
feet;
but
so
strong
was
the
wind,
and
the
strain
on
the
ropes
was
so
great,
that
the
balloon
was
somewhat
unsteady,
and
the
exhibition
was
not
on
the
whole
such
a
splendid
success
as
that
of
the
preceding
Wednesday.
On
Sunday,
Montgolfier
chose
a
fine
day
for
the
following
ascents:--“First
Ascent:
On
the
19th
of
October,
1783,
at
half-past
four,
in
presence
of
two
thousand
spectators,
‘the
machine’
was
filled
with
gas
in
five
minutes,
and
Roziers,
being
placed
in
the
gallery
with
a
counterbalancing
weight
of
110
lbs.
in
the
other
side
of
the
gallery,
was
carried
up
to
the
height
of
200
feet.
The
machine
remained
six
minutes
at
this
elevation
without
any
fire
in
the
grating.
Second
Ascent:
The
machine
carried
Roziers
and
the
counterbalancing
weight--fire
being
in
the
grating--to
the
height
of
700
feet.
At
this
height
it
remained
stationary
eight
and
a
half
minutes
As
it
was
drawn
back,
a
wind
from
the
east
bore
it
against
a
tuft
of
very
tall
trees
in
a
neighbouring
garden,
where
it
got
entangled,
without,
however,
losing
its
equilibrium.
The
gas
was
renewed
by
Roziers,
and
the
balloon
again
rising,
extricated
itself
from
among
the
branches,
and
soared
majestically
into
the
air,
followed
by
the
acclamations
of
the
public.
This
second
ascent
was
very
instructive,
for
it
had
been
often
asserted
that
if
ever
a
balloon
fell
upon
a
forest
it
would
be
destroyed,
and
would
place
those
who
travelled
in
it
in
the
greatest
peril.
This
experiment
proved
that
the
balloon
does
not
FALL
it
DESCENDS;
that
it
does
not
overturn;
that
it
does
not
destroy
itself
on
trees;
that
it
neither
causes
death,
nor
even
damage,
to
its
passengers;
that,
on
the
contrary,
the
latter,
by
making
new
gas,
give
it
the
power
of
detaching
itself
from
the
trees;
and
that
it
can
resume
its
course
after
such
an
event.
The
intrepid
Roziers
gave
in
this
ascent
a
further
proof
of
the
facility
he
had
in
descending
and
ascending
at
will.
When
the
machine
had
risen
to
the
height
of
200
feet
it
began
to
descend
lightly,
and
just
before
it
came
to
the
earth
the
aeronaut
very
cleverly
and
quickly
threw
on
more
fuel
and
produced
more
smoke,
at
which
the
balloon,
to
the
astonishment
of
every
one,
suddenly
soared
away
again
to
its
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