The Arkansas banner., 1849-10-16
Prof. Ilislsy's Ascent in the Nassau Balloon.
THE YRorEssoa's OWN ACCOUNT.

Until "Wednesday last never went up in bal
 loon l have been skyhigh on the top of the kats- kill Mountains. and have luached in the snows Of
 Chmborazo; bat never before made gas ascent
 into cir shire. We the other side of the Atlantic have so much to do with sablunary affairs that we have no fancy for castle buildings in the clouds. The milky way yields butter; the moon dOu't i furnish with cheese; the dog-staF dOat follow
 game; Chsriess vain tills ground; Venus is not
 half so bright as tue dazzling eyes of Kentucky;
 the shooting stars never bring down nythug worth
 having; the courts are not come-at-abe; the ''sil
 yeSy lnstEe Of Is all Ehoonshne; the golden" rays of Sol ant worth a cIOd of California earth; the feecy clouds produce no hosiery tine blanket of the l night is not q remarkable commodty-dou't keep one warm; while sheets of lightning are too hot for any climate railway from one planet to an- other would be impracticable, seeing that they always on the move themselves; and in short, the starry "hosts",in own panet-nOthing IS to bs got out of 'em.
 1 Yet have always nourished desire to 20 a bal looming Mount must has ever been my motto. have braved the danger Of earth and water, having escaped the earthquake of Gns9aIouPe, and stemDed in safety the rapids of the Mississippi; but have never gone ahead skyward l have travelled by means of fire and stream, but 'tother element is an unexpIored region. 1" 1 am not Green, yet go in balloon I must, If l make my way into the car at the tail of sky rocket" Such have ofea been my reflections. It Is true that the fate of lcarus has | but then remembered that Dedaus managed his 1 flight without mouIting a feather, and why not IT l Having Once 'screwed my courage to the sticking place." began to revolve in my mind the probable advantages. Might not learn to navigate the air, and prove the Columbus of tine skiesI what was 10 | prevent me from hereafter attaching a few dozen Nassaus to the Isle of Wight, and carrying Cowes l itself to Taurus the bull? A new name would of course be necessary, and, borrowing Gulliver, Le- puta would answer the purpose Then the results! Commercial relations might be established through out the zodiac At Aries the sodiery of the world might furnish depot for ram rods; the BaH might be turned into office of record for ali the blum ders of mankind; in Gemiai might be reared few monstrosities, in the shape of oiamese twins, for exhibition at the American hall; to Leo we might send the intended lions of the day for education; in
 Ferg0 it might be advisable to rear few virgin abi
 gails, to superintend the "horrid creatures who hold place n our domestic establishments; in Libra | young lawyers might learn how to hold the balance of justice, and the butchers of our markets to ad just their scales; in Seorpio hoped to effect little, save by converting it into a vast receptacle for the scorpions of society; in Sagtarias, l propo
 sed, in my own mind, to erect asylum for the reception of those aTchers who are fond of draw 1 ing the loug bow; in Caprc0rRus, l thought of founding academy for teaching swimming in all
 Its branches; in .3quGrius resolved to construct reservoir for the supply of pure water to persons residing the bank of the Thames and in Pisces | 1 ielt should confer boon upon society by per hitting ali anglers 10 exercise ''the gentle art, un
 mpeached by those legal enactments which prove scourges to the rods of the earth. l Thoughts more serious now entered my mind; began 10 calculate the probability of establishing system Of ariel navigalion and of man sharing the territory of the eagle, he has long since done the dominien of the whale. We swim" thought l, ''and have taken the conceit out of the Saa- mander. Why not flyl shall we be outdone by a schooIboy's kitel forbid it human progress! As for danger with the veteran Green there is none 1 He Is old Widdcombe and as proof against the darts of death. Now that punishment by aid of d tight rope is being abolished there is no knowing what death he die. Water won't drown him; air don't suiocaie him; somersets from the clouds don't break his neck; gas don't burn him; fireworks don't blow him up; and capital is his constitu- ton, that capital punishment only can shorten his life. That's the man to fly with. He's as good as an insurance office.
 l Thas meditatng, hastcned to the Admiral of the l air, and soon struck my bargain for flight There were a couple of attached to the balloon; eight passengers occupying the first aud two in the low CT ] one Amidst my companions my protsee, the l Young Hernandez, and couple of ladies. No sooner had vaulted into the than felt as if already in some new element. and, unable to keep my position, squatted, like sailor on.a crosstree upon the hoop that unites the ashings of the car
 and in that elevated position had an opportunity of
 elegraphing tokens of good will to all my friends 1 1 can only liken my feelings at that moment to | those l used to experience in my hobblede oyisi days, when l left the university at vacation for | home and have smart calculation that the ma chine must have been inflated for the occasion with oxygen that had effervesced from a tab of cham pagne. A fair eo1ipagnoR de uoya9e asked me what l would take for supper in my elevated lodging, and 1 answered. "A boiled squab and a brandy smash .' " Boom " went the signal gua for starting as l spoke, and the stays were cast off l ieaped to my f. L.s.. .L-
 den waving. Of went my own beaver. and 1 as- cended with the lightest heart that ever felt in my life MT Ferrars, the worshipfui secretary of the gardens, was much excited myself, aud leaped 10 the opposite side of the hoop. His enthusiasm kept pace with my own, and each of rigged our Toarers as if we were about 10 join jubilee of the gods.
 We went ahead Hs if impatient to singe our pates against tho sun, old mother Earth Was play Ing a. feet-hall. and wished 10 try her strength on the Nassau balloon. Up We went, walking into the upper regions like opossum up gum tree, while tho cheers of friends and the clash of the band beneath produced volume of souuds unlike the thunders Of Niagara. Talk of sensations! felt if my soul had sloped slick from it's clay, and was going holiday making with my heart in it's hand.
 A young gentleman in the car thought il as nice as a swing at country fair.
 "More like jaunt to Paradise. said of tho la dies
 "very likely" quoth the gentleman, "fOr we are lowering above one of Its rivers"
 "How can that bel" said l. "YOnder stream is l the Thames"
 "vsry well.' said my young friend; and ant that identical with the river 'Pisoa?"
 should have gone down speeches. but For d glass of the immortal sherry of my friend Green. | It was drop of the same bottle that he preached fur the ladies of that ascent after fitting their protee tors on the parapet of house that hadn | the man to step aside when il found itself in the way Of the balloon.
 We now began to clear the gardens. flying above the very birds, who piped many farewell like so many Jenny Lynds. II was up-up--soag--soar-l till the pleasure grounds had quilted appeared | like the garden plot ia front of Csmberweil col isgs. The Thames twined over it's shadows like 1 silver eel In sand basket. Houses became bird | cages, oaks dwinted into cabbages, men became | specks, dew drops. aud began to think that