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128
Wonderful Balloon Ascents; Or, The Conquest of the Skies
·
Fulgence Marion
50
A
number
of
balloons
were
remarkable
for
the
beauty
and
elegance
which
we
have
already
spoken
of.
Among
the
most
beautiful
we
may
mention
the
“Flesselles”
balloon
and
Bagnolet’s
balloon.
Of
the
ascents
which
immediately
succeeded
those
that
have
been
treated
in
the
first
part
of
our
volume,
and
which
are
the
most
memorable
in
the
early
annals
of
aerostation,
that
of
the
17th
of
January,
1784,
is
remarkable.
It
took
place
at
Lyons.
Seven
persons
went
into
the
car
on
this
occasion--Joseph
Montgolfier,
Roziers,
the
Comte
de
Laurencin,
the
Comte
de
Dampierre,
the
Prince
Charles
de
Ligne,
the
Comte
de
Laporte
d’Anglifort,
and
Fontaine,
who
threw
himself
into
the
car
when
it
had
already
begun
to
move.
A
most
minute
account
of
this
experiment
is
given
in
a
letter
of
Mathon
de
la
Cour,
director
of
the
Academy
of
Sciences
at
Lyons:--“After
the
experiments
of
the
Champ
de
Mars
and
Versailles
had
become
known,”
he
says,
“the
citizens
of
this
town
proposed
to
repeat
them
and
a
subscription
was
opened
for
this
purpose.
On
the
arrival
of
the
elder
Montgolfier,
about
the
end
of
September,
M.
de
Flesselles,
our
director,
always
zealous
in
promoting
whatever
might
be
for
the
welfare
of
the
province
and
the
advancement
of
science
and
art,
persuaded
him
to
organise
the
subscription.
The
aim
of
the
experiment
proposed
by
Montgolfier
was
not
the
ascent
of
any
human
being
in
the
balloon.
The
prospectus
only
announced
that
a
balloon
of
a
much
larger
size
than
any
that
had
been
made
would
ascend--that
it
would
rise
to
several
thousand
feet,
and
that,
including
the
animals
that
it
was
proposed
it
should
carry,
it
would
weigh
8,000
lbs.
The
subscription
was
fixed
at
L12,
and
the
number
of
subscribers
was
360.”
It
was
on
these
conditions
that
Montgolfier
commenced
his
balloon
of
126
feet
high
and
100
feet
in
diameter,
made
of
a
double
envelope
of
cotton
cloth,
with
a
lining
of
paper
between.
A
strength
and
consistency
was
given
to
the
structure
by
means
of
ribbons
and
cords.
The
work
was
nearly
finished
when
Roziers
went
up
in
his
fire-balloon
from
La
Muette.
Immediately
the
Comte
de
Laurencin
pressed
Montgolfier
to
allow
him
to
go
up
in
the
new
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