Year: 1878

invention, balloons were quite the rage


the first made for scientific purposes


being that Of July, 1903, and which was


followed by several others, having fol


their object the solution of many physi'


cal problems, not few of which remain


are problems still. In 1850 two .ascents


were made for the purpose of investiga-


ting certain atmospheric phenomena.


One especially Of these serial voyages


was in the, last degree, unfortunate.


Scarcely. had the two philosophers,


Messrs.a Barral and Bixio, taken their
seats than they made the unpleasant dis
covery that their balloon was not in good
working order; and while they were
hesitating about what should be done
in the, circumstance a violent gust Of
wind, settled. the. question for them,
and the balloon, blown from the earth,
shot up into the air with the velocity of
an arrow. Becoming rapidly inflated,
the machine then ibulged out at top and
bottom. covering rthe car like a-hood,
andenvelopiag the unfortunate @ronauts
in total darkness. "Their position was


most critical; and when one of them
endeavored to secure the valve-rops, 9
rent was made in the lower part Of the
balloon, and. the. hydrogen gas, with
which it was inflated, escaping close to
their faces, sufocatedt both Of them,
causing q momemtary exhaustion, fol-
lowed BY nausea and violent vomiting"


In this helpless condition they discov-
cred that they were descending rapidly, !;
and on grouping about for the cause
they found that the balloon was split
open in the middle. and that there was
q rent in it two yards long. This was
cruel predicament IN which to f1nd them
selves thirty thousand feet up in the air,
and, very naturally, they abandoned all
hope OF life, although like wise men,
they did all in their power to preserve
it. To lesson the downward velocity of
the balloon, they threw overheard all
their ballast, then article after article. of
their raiment, even to their fur coats,
preserving only their instruments, with
which they at last descended in safety in
vineyard near Lagny. ~ s~gti ic "osts,
H The motion, in q balloon is scarcely
percepible. You are not conscious of
rising but the earth appears to recede
from you, and to advance to meet you
during descent. In the higher regions
of the air, the intense solitude of the
clond.scape has something in 1t awful
and oppressive, as If the world were left
behind forever, and the @ronaut were
about to launch chance-driven into the
vast infnitude of shadowland. Amid
these attitudes, if any sound is made by
the Bronaut, it is echoed back in ghostly
tones by the vast envelope of tie bal
loon, which, as it floats, casts shadow
sometimes black and sometimes white,
but which is usually surrounded by an
aureole or halo more or less distinctly
marked. .." .''''" 10


In throwing out ballast or any small
article from q balloon, a certain degree
of caution is requisite, as bottle or any
similar object falls with. such velocity
that if it were to strike the roof Of cot
tage it would 60 right through it. We
are told that Gay-Lussac, in an ascent
in 1904. threw out common deal chair
from the height of $4,000 feet. It fell
beside country girl who was tending
some sheepin the field, and as the bal
loon was invisible, she concluded
so did wiser heads than hers--that the
chair had fallen straight down from
heaven, a gift of the virgin to her faith
full followers. Ne one was skeptical
enough to deny it, for there was the
chair, or rather its remains. The
most the incredu1ous could venture
to do was to criticise the coarse work
manship of the miraculous seat, and
they were busy carping and fault-fnd'
ing with the celestial upholstery when
an account of M. Gay-Lussacs seerial
voyage was published, and extinguished
at once the discussion and the miracle.
chambers Journal.