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Wonderful Balloon Ascents; Or, The Conquest of the Skies
·
Fulgence Marion
51
machine.
Montgolfier
was
only
too
glad
of
the
opportunity--refused
up
to
this
time
by
the
king--of
going
up
himself.
From
thirty
to
forty
people
made
application
to
go
with
the
aeronauts;
and
on
the
26th
of
December,
1678,
Roziers,
the
Comte
de
Dampierre,
and
the
Comte
de
Laporte,
arrived
in
Lyons
with
the
same
intention.
Prince
Charles
also
arrived;
and
as
his
father
had
taken
one
hundred
subscriptions,
his
claim
to
go
up
could
not
be
refused.
But
while
the
public
papers
were
full
of
ascents
at
Avignon,
Marseilles,
and
Paris,
it
is
impossible
to
describe
the
vexation
of
Roziers,
when
he
discovered
that
Montgolfier’s
new
balloon
was
not
intended
to
carry
passengers,
and
had
not
been,
from
the
first,
constructed
with
that
view.
He
suggested
a
number
of
alterations,
which
Montgolfier
adopted
at
once.
On
the
7th
of
January,
1784,
all
the
pieces
of
which
the
balloon
was
composed
were
carried
out
to
the
field
called
Les
Brotteaux,
outside
the
town,
from
which
the
ascent
was
to
be
made.
This
event
was
announced
to
take
place
on
the
10th
and
at
five
o’clock
on
the
morning
of
that
day;
but
unexpected
delays
occurred,
and
in
the
necessary
operations
the
covering
was
torn
in
many
places.
On
the
15th
the
balloon
was
inflated
in
seventeen
minutes,
and
the
gallery
was
attached
in
an
hour--the
fire
from
which
the
heated
air
was
obtained
requiring
to
be
fed
at
the
rate
of
5
lbs.
of
alder-wood
per
minute;
but
the
preparations
had
occupied
so
much
time,
that
it
was
found,
when
everything
was
complete,
that
the
afternoon
was
too
far
advanced
for
the
ascent
to
be
made.
This
machine
was
destined
to
suffer
from
endless
misfortunes.
It
took
fire
while
being
inflated,
and,
several
days
afterwards,
it
was
damaged
by
snow
and
rain.
Put
nothing
discouraged
Roziers
and
his
companions.
Places
had
been
arranged
in
the
gallery
for
six
persons.
After
the
balloon
was
at
last
inflated,
Prince
Charles
and
the
Comes
de
Laurencin,
Dampierre,
and
Laporte
threw
themselves
into
the
gallery.
They
were
all
armed,
and
were
determined
not
to
quit
their
places
to
whoever
might
come.
Roziers,
who
wished
at
the
last
to
enjoy
a
high
ascent,
proposed
to
reduce
the
number
to
three,
and
to
draw
lots
for
the
purpose.
But
the
gentlemen
would
not
descend.
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