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Page 4
"Would you detract from the merit of these inventions?" replied I. "Was
it not well done to have proved by experiment the possibility of rising
in the air?"
"Who denies the glory of the first aerial navigators? Immense courage
was necessary to ascend by means of those fragile envelopes which
contained only warm air. Besides, has not aerostatic science made great
progress since the ascensions of Blanchard? Look, Monsieur."
He took from his collection an engraving.
"Here is the first aerial voyage undertaken by Pilatre des Rosiers and
the Marquis d'Arlandes, four months after the discovery of balloons.
Louis XVI. refused his consent to this voyage; two condemned criminals
were to have first attempted aerial travelling. Pilatre des Rosiers was
indignant at this injustice and, by means of artifice, succeeded in
setting out. This car, which renders the management of the balloon easy,
had not then been invented; a circular gallery surrounded the lower part
of the aerostat. The two aeronauts stationed themselves at the
extremities of this gallery. The damp straw with which it was filled
encumbered their movements. A chafing-dish was suspended beneath the
orifice of the balloon; when the voyagers wished to ascend, they threw,
with a long fork, straw upon this brazier, at the risk of burning the
machine, and the air, growing warmer, gave to the balloon a new
ascensional force. The two bold navigators ascended, on the 21st of
November, 1783, from the gardens of La Muette, which the Dauphin had
placed at their disposal. The aerostat rose majestically, passed the
Isle des Cygnes, crossed the Seine at the Barri�re de la Conference,
and, directing its way between the dome of the Invalides and L'Ecole
Militaire, approached St. Sulpice; then the aeronauts increased the
fire, ascended, cleared the Boulevard, and descended beyond the Barri�re
d'Enfer. As it touched the ground, the collapsed, and buried Pilatre des
Rosiers beneath its folds."
"Unfortunate presage!" said I, interested in these details, which so
nearly concerned me.
"Presage of his catastrophe," replied the unknown, with sadness. "You
have experienced nothing similar?"
"Nothing!"
"Bah! misfortunes often arrive without presage." And he remained silent.
We were advancing towards the south; the magnetic needle pointed in the
direction of Frankfort, which was flying beneath our feet.
"Perhaps we shall have a storm," said the young man.
"We will descend first."
"Indeed! it will be better to ascend; we shall escape more surely;" and
two bags of sand were thrown overboard.
The balloon rose rapidly, and stopped at twelve hundred metres. The cold
was now intense, and there was a slight buzzing in my ears.
Nevertheless, the rays of the sun fell hotly on the globe, and, dilating
the gas it contained, gave it a greater ascensional force. I was
stupified.
"Fear nothing," said the young man to me.
"We have three thousand five hundred toises of respirable air. You need
not trouble yourself about my proceedings."
I would have risen, but a vigorous hand detained me on my seat.
"Your name?" asked I.
"My name! how does it concern you?"
"I have the honour to ask your name."
"I am called Erostratus or Empedocles,--as you please. Are you
interested in the progress of aerostatic science?"
He spoke with icy coldness, and I asked myself with whom I had to do.
"Monsieur," continued he, "nothing new has been invented since the days
of the philosopher Charles. Four months after the discovery of
aerostats, he had invented the valve, which permits the gas to escape
when the balloon is too full, or when one wishes to descend; the car,
which allows the machine to be easily managed; the network, which
encloses the fabric of the balloon, and prevents its being too heavily
pressed; the ballast, which is used in ascending and choosing the spot
of descent; the coat of caoutchouc, which renders the silk impermeable;
the barometer, which determines the height attained; and, finally, the
hydrogen, which, fourteen times lighter than air, allows of ascension to
the most distant atmospheric layers, and prevents exposure to aerial
combustion. On the 1st of December, 1783, three hundred thousand
spectators thronged the Tuileries. Charles ascended, and the soldiers
presented arms. He travelled nine leagues in the air: managing his
machine with a skill never since surpassed in aeronautic experiments.
The King conferred on him a pension of two thousand livres, for in those
days inventions were encouraged. In a few days, the subscription list
was filled; for every one was interested in the progress of science."
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