The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-11-19

months past man who has lost his reason after
severe attack Of fever. Hls health began to I'M
prove, and his reason to return, until he was SO
far recovered last week chat he asked DR.. Blanche
for permission to write TO his family. The doctor
thought moment, and agreed; but, he added,
sYoI had better write without delay, ior there :,
%By the balloon said Ian the convalescsnt
mad%sn his eyes, rho 9ou mean
mean by balloon. forgot to tell you
that Paris Is besieged, and that oil our lie tiers
60 by baloon.n fhe invalid gave shrek of des.
pair, and holding his head on MS hands cried,
had fearful dream. thought I was cured 1
thought / was cured am mad mad mad ]
oh, my God-mad p mo, my friend, be tranquil;
come mad. what is the matterf What has
troubled your Whence this insanityf" And surely
no one can look upon Paris and see all the won.
ders Of this troublous time, with its manifold
standing on our heads, and the houses and
theatres aud palaces diverted TO uses the very
opposite OF that to which they are accustomed,
mans feeling, and admitting that he has perfectly
described the condition Of Paris as lunattc's
dream? II the madnan was astonlshed at
the manner in which it was proposed to
carry his letters out OF Paris, what. would
he have said TO the method by which
1t Is proposed to get answers back? It Is,
perhaps we'll that the doctor did not mention
this, or his patient might have gone clean mad
again. We have tried oil methods, and have fail
ed. One remalns-namely, to get pigeon to
carry back 80. GOO answers. How Is a pigeon,
which will carry but the lightest feather weight
OF letter on Its tail, to convey to us SC, 900 re-
pllss9 BY means Of photography, which has the
power to reproduce an nflnity OF details in an
lnfnlteslmal space. A whole letter may be print.
ed by the PHOTOGRAPHER II, IN the III space Of pin
this way be printed on thin sheet OF paper,
which, on Its arrival In Paris, would be submitted
to the microscope and enlarged. DO not smile at
wrung from hearts which are pinlng to have
news OF their families, and which seize with sem
| sitiye eagerness on any and every scheme which
| may be suggested to bring them tidlngs OF their
| best beloved.
Yesterday the final blow was given to scheme
| for bringing back answers which was much want
| ed, but which inspired no faith whatever In the
mind OF any sensible man, not to say scientific
one. NJ. Wilrred lie Fonvlele undertook to pilot
| O balloon back To Paris. There Is no reason to
| doubt that one OF these days we may be able TO
| steer balloon through the air-far more wonder
we are not near solution Of the problem. How
ever, NJ. de Fonvlelle undertook the task, aud
| some people put fatth In him. They constructed
for his use the largest balloon which has yet been
produced; they have been three weeks preparing
tive have been told every day for the last three
weeks that 1t would start. It had q huge basket
1t to hold ten passengers, and It was to be filled
with hydrogen, whiChts considerably lighter than
the ordinary coal gas used for the balloons OF Ma.
dar, and which, therefore, might be expected TO
carry greater load If had known for certain
that the balloon was going TO start yesser.
day would have sent Il dispatch by 1t; but had
given up all hope Of 1t. and shortly after midday,
| accompanied by q friend who had agreed to pay
| ESQ 10 get dispatch out iu DE Fonvlelles bal
| loon, La Liberte, went up to Montmartre To see
what NJ. Nadar was doing with his "Rr0stats," as
| thnu I0NcPlVE
| turned on the hill and saw the great balloon-so
great that 1t could be no other than La Llberte-
rolling IN the sky and pitching about like drunk.
ard. There was strong wind, and now 1t heeled
then stea he'd for minute, and at length got lost
in the driving clouds. What Of the ten passen-
gers? AnG what Of the luggage and sacks or let.
ters that were 10 accompany them? we stoou
aghasr full OF horrible cOnjectures, which were
ali the more painful as this particular balloon had
beon promoted by company OF whom about
half were Englishmen; end the balloon might even
be described as half English. The simple TACT
was this, as we afterwards learned, that the
captain OF the balloon, NJ. de Fonylele, had
not taken sufficient care that the balloon should
be held down or anchored with the proper we. .ght
The weights were taken out In order that tne pas
seugers might get in, and while the balloon was
kept down by number OF men, 1t gave lurch
Some Of the mcn let go-ihey had no notion or
being carried up into the air: The rest who held
on were too light TO keep the balloon down; they,
too, were compelled to let 90, aud Oh 1t went
without cargo OF any kind. You and ull the good
people who are outside OF Paris will laugh, and no
doubt 1t was Comica enough to see the passen-
gers with their pOrtmanteaus oil ready to eIn-
bark, and their friends all collected around with
field glasses to take the last view OF then and
behold at the appointed hour, or goes the bal.
loon without soul. But IL Is q sad business for
| us who are shut In, and who have many longing
| thoughts OF the world outside.
However, there for the presents Is an end to
NJ. de Fonvlele's balloon and to his hope OF steer
| ing It back. 1t is The second serious misfortune
that has happened TO our balloons, the first hay-
| ing happened to balloon which started on the
It'll, the same day as Gambetta's. observe that
| In telegram from Berlin, which appeared in the
Times OF October TO- 1t IL stated that TWO balloons
with complete cargo Of 0nlclal correspondence,
| have been taken, The telegram, however, does
| not state whether or not these were what are
called here Dalions montes or ball0ns llbres. A
| few free balloons were sent out about fortnight
| ago but they only cont aimed unmportant letters,
no passengers no prUnaut, and it Is two or these,
as take Ii, that are recorded as having been cap.
turetl in the Berlin telegram. At tile same time,
1t Is right tu add that Two mounted balloons LETT
| here, from which pigeons returned, but without
any message. 1t Is only an Inference that these
balloons are safe; still, It Is an inference which
approaches 10 certainty. or the four pigeons dis.
paiclIed from the TWO balloons which left here
on October I, with NJ. Gambetta, only one hail O
message on its wings; all the others meant SAT-.
arriva', although they had no message.