Book Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1907 edition. Excerpt: ...immediately surrounds the earth, where they at length bethought themselves of lunch. M. Tissandier finished his portion of a fowl by tossing a well-picked drumstick overboard. For this imprudence the professional was down upon him immediately. "Do you know," said he, "that to throw out ballast without orders is a very serious crime in a balloon?" M. Tissandier was at first inclined to argue the point, but on looking at the sensitive barometer he was fain to admit that in consequence of the disappearance of the chicken-bone the balloon had made an upward bound of nearly thirty yards. After a pleasant voyage, they sighted a lighthouse and descended near the spot where Rosier fell and was killed in 1785. THE SIEGE OF PARIS. A STRANGE VOYAGE IN A BALLOON. On the 24th November 1870 M. Paul Rolier, the eminent engineer, with a rifleman ascended in a balloon in order to convey dispatches from Paris to the exiled party at Tours. On taking his place at the railway station Du Nord in the balloon, M. Rolier conveyed 250 kilograms weight of despatches and six pigeons. The Prussians having surveyed the sky as they were blockading the city, and had cannons cast for the purpose of directing them against balloons, it was necessary to set out at night in order to avoid the German projectiles. Scarcely had the balloon started than it rose to a height of 2,000 metres, challenging the whole Prussian Camp, whose fires M. Rolier perceived like the phosphorescence of a considerable number of glow-worms. The wind blew very violently, the balloon was rushing at a fearful rate, and presently they heard the noise of waves breaking on the shore. All at once a thick fog enveloped them; suddenly the fog cleared and they found they were proceeding...