Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-09-16
BALLooNING.


We made no manner Of doubt that the good
people of our Borough and Portsmouth, with
q their vicinties." would be gratfied yesterday
with a sight of bona fde balloon ascension,"
bearing through the upper regions an adventur
Gus aeronaut, securely seated in beautiful lit
tie car How could we doubt it2 Was notthere
the balloon, the ninety nine tin tubes and car
boys of vitroil, enough in all to freight small
sized packet2 And was not Mr.. Hugh Frazier
Parker. of deathless fame--he who had twice
assembled from the hills of the Monumental
City"-the principal in the grand undertaking,
duly announced to attempt the perilous adven-
ture? We did not dream Of disappointment;
nobody could have ina gined such thing.
Well, the day arrived, but not Mr.. Pafkef!-
His agent, Mr.. Stanley, was buslly employed
among the generators and tubes, carefully pre-
pairing the gas for initiating the great bag. we
admired his movements, and wished MN sue
cess; but when we learned that Mr.. Parker had
declined his appointment, and resolved to as
cend by proxy, we felt as Goldsmith did when
his oficous host
struck him quite dumb
With tidings that Johnson and Burke would not
come.
Mr.. Wallace, the young man who appeared
as MIR. Parker's substitute, was utterly unknown
to fame, in all save that impershaole name
which once rallied the Scots to the defence OF
their liberties-nor did we observe those indica-
tons oil Intelligence in perusng his physiogno
nv which were associated with our ideas OF
soaring genius. Still We could not beleve II
possible that the expensive process then gong
on could be haZarded on an uncertainty, when
failure must inevitably make " shipwreck OF the
fortunes Of all concerned in the enterprise" So,
after maturely weighing the matter, we conclu-
ded to button our faith to Mr.. Wallace's skirts.
AT the time fixed for the g grand ASCENSION"
the balloon was filled, and so was the garden
the latter an enclosure of about an acre of
ground fanked on the east by creek quar-
ter of mile wide, and otherwise encompassed
by buildings and high fences. There were GER
tainly upwards of thousand persons within the
enclosure; probably twelve TO fifteen hundred
very large number for our population.
At the critical moment of attaching the car to
the balloon, the rush ofthe crowd to see it done
created some confusion, and prolonged the ope-.
ration and in the interim, so large portion OF
the gas by some means escaped through the up
per valve, that the balloon had not power TO
raise the car with the aronaut So it was again
attached to the conductors to receive fresh
supply. Another half hour elapsed and the au-
dence were getting out of all patience, when It
was announced that Mr.. Wallace would aban-
don the car, and ascend in hoop! This was
rather a damper; the audience had paid their
money to see Mr.. Parker ascend in car, not
Mr.. Wallace in hoop. But they did not de-
II.
into the clouds by balloon, and whether in a
car or in a hoop was not so very important. SO
in good time Mr.. Wallace in his hoop was aban-
doned to the balloon and wind. AT hrst he
swung aIoft at an elevation of two or three feet,
when a flaw of wind hit the half inflated bal
loon, and it mounted till it brought the . intre-
hid pronaut" to level with the tops Of some
stunted cherry trees.
The wind being from the westward, set the
balloon in the direction Of the creek, and it had
barely dragged the 8ronaut through the tops OF
the cherry trees, when it pumped him, breech
foremost into the creek! Luckily for him, the
tide was in, or he would have been, literally
speaking, plump in the mud, and in the predlca-
ment of a Waterford merchant. But his task
did not end here; the balloon seemed to take a
malicious pleasure in sousng and ducking him,
as it wabbled along, now up, now down, until
we began seriously to apprehend that it would
drown the poor fellow. ultimately; but he final
ly reached the opposite shore, where, abandon
ing all further attempts 10 mount alolt ne eXtrl-
Gated himself from the balloon, opened the
valve, and in tNnkling reduced its portly di-
mansions to a span. The audience were so
much amused at the ludicrous capers of the
s'intrepid aronaut," (Which certainly could
not have been excelled by those of honest San
cho in the blanket,) that they lost sight, for
time of the folly and presumption which had
subjected them to so veXatious dsappoint-
ment
spirit Of indignation at what was conceived
at the moment to be a gross imposition on them,
however, soon began to prevail among the
crowd, but we are proud to say, no violence
was attempted. Some demanded and recciv-
ed their money back, and all came away at
least with as much good humor as might be ex-
pected under such circumstances.
The miserable agents in this bungling con-
Germ, Stanley and Wallace, made their exit
hence before the next morning at sun, being
afraid to meet the scorn and contempt OF an in
censed populace-NorfoK Herald.