The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-03-28

ic regions below them was setting to-
ward the shore, and that by sinking in
to this lower current of air they could
return whenever they chose. Thus
yielding to the current of their fate
they allowed themselves to be carried
out to sea, floating like gossamer into
the very heart of cloudland. Gorgeous
scenes, more splendid, more airy,
more delicate than the most glow
ing visions of the Arabian Nights,
rose around them. 1t was like the en-
chantment of vivid dream. They
took no note of time; every sense was
absorbed in that of vision; they even
forgot to be hungry, but gazed, and
gazed, and gazed again upon the wide
waste of waters that spread beneath
them, glowing like one vast molten en-
erald: its glories half seen, half hid by
the multitude of cloutl-mountains and
valleys that rose, tluctuating and fantas-
tic on every side. fair with luminous
half-lights, delicately lovely with pearly
iridescence shading into silvery gray.
Thus lowering miles above the world
and its commonplace cares. they en-
joyed an interval of transcendent de-
light, rudely broken in upon by the pro-
fessional aerOnaut, Il creature of appe-
tite, who pulled the valve-rope unbid-
den. thus causing them to descend from
their cloudy paradise into the grosser
atmosphere that Immediately surrounds
the earth, where they at length be-
thought themselves-of lunch. In spite
of thick-thronging poetic fancies and
transcendental raptures they made a
very tolerable rcpast. Nj. Tissandier fin
ishing his portion of the fowl by tossing
Il well-picked drumstick overheard.
For this imprudence the professional
was down upon him Immediately. ''Do
you not know quoth he. THAT to
throw out ballast without orders is a
very serious crime. in balloon?' NJ.
Tissandier was 1T first inclined to argue
the point; but on consulting the sensi-
tive barometer he was fain to admit
that, in consequence of the disappear
ance of the chicken-bonc, the Neptune
had made an upward bound of between
twenty and thirty yards. Very fine cal
culatiOn-if true.
Luncheon satisfactorily over, they
again scared upward out of sight and
sound of earth. and soon found them
selves once more in their cloudy Elys-
ium, but with change: mist and tog
hemmed them round instead of the
breeze and sunshine, but did not make
them less happy. The Neptune was
to them a little Goshen. lonely float
ing temple of peace, dedicated to con-
tentment and ease. The serenity of
their souls was depicted in their
faces. Tranquil and easy they took
no thought of the morrow. no, nor of
the next hour, when suddenly there
broke upon their ears, like q faint,
far-diStant murmur, Il sound subdued,
monotonous, and vet terrible. Was it
the voices of the spheres? No, gentle
reader; it was Il strain more awful still
it was the voice of the sea. In Il
moment the listless ease, the sweet do
nothingness of those oilers in cloud
land was gone, clean washed away by
the swish and swell of that intrusive
ocean, which stretched beneath them,
painted by the sunset with thousand
glowing tints of beauty, which they
had neither leisure nor tranquility to
admire. Fortunately, the wind was set
ting inshore, and amid the fast fall
ing shades of night the anxious aero
nauts were fortunate enough to descry
n cape crowned with lighthouse.
Every nerve was strained to reach it,
and. after a few moments of intense
anxiety and effort, the anchor was let
90. 1t caught in a sandhill, and the
Neptune, once more mOored to earth,
rolled over on its side and was after
some difficulty secured.
The spot where they landed was, Gu
riously enough, only few yards from
the reef of rocks where the first aero
naut, Pilatre de Roster, was dashed to
pieces in 1885.
Sometimes, like other bubbles, the
balloon bursts, and when this little
accident happens, say 1000 feet up in
the air, it is, of course, attended with
unpleasant and incOnvenient cOnse-
quences, as was the experience of NM.
Fonvielle and Tissandier, who with q
party of nine made an ascent in u
veteran balloon called 1.-THE Giant
Merry as larks they scared into the air,
keenly enjoying the beauty of the day,
the novelty of the pastime, the sense of
liberty, of entire freedom from all
wOnted cOnventionalisms or accus-
toned restraints. Then with what a
keen school-boy edge of appetite they
fell upon their chicken, which seems
the appropriate food for balloons, eaten
from newspapers, which served as
plates, and washed down with soda
water and Bordeaux. Champagne was
inadmissiblc; an unruly cork might
have popped unawares through the
silken tissues of the envelope, and thus
fastened catastrophe. But let us not
anticipate. The banquet was over, the
board, that is to say the newspapers
were cleared, and "the feast of reason
and the flow of SOUL had begun. All
was bright, airy, genial cordially and
mirth, when suddenly the attention of
the travellers was attracted to a white
smoke issuing from the sides of the bal
loon. Whence came this ominous mist,
this preternatural cloud, that began to
enshroud them? One reckless youth
said, lit is the giant smoking his
pipe" And so it was with a venge-
ance! Then followed a few terrible
moments, in which each after his own
fashion babe the world farewell and
found it marvellous hard to do so. The
clouds. the sky, the pleasant sunlight
was that their last look at each? II
seemed so; but while they were still
shivering dizzy and aghast upon tina,
awful threshold, the balloon fell, and
strange to relate, fell safely, and they
were saved.
A few days afterward Mons. Tissan
der made another ascent in the Nep.
tune with Mons. de Fonvielle, and the,
were busily engaged conducting some
scientific experiments when a sharr
crack like sudden, quick peal of thun
der fell upon their astounded ears, anC
the professional aeronaut exclaimed ir
a loud startled voice: The balloon ha.
burstr' What followed we give in
Mons. Tissandier's own words: IL
was too true; the Neptune's side wa
torn open and transformed suddenl,
into bundle of shreds. flattening down
upon the opposite half. It's appear
ance was now that of disc surrounded
with a fringe! We came to the grount
immpdiatnlv Tho shark WAS awful