78 Aerostation. 



machine for raising a person into the air. It is formed of two 

 kinds of parachutes of tafr'eta, which may be folded up or 

 extended at pleasure, and the person who moves them is 

 placed in the centre. M. l)egen has made several public 

 experiments, and rose to a height of 34 feet, flying in va- 

 rious directions with the celerity .of a bird. A subscriptiau 

 has been opened at Vienna to enable the inventor to prose- 

 cute his inquiries. ^ 



Bauon LuTGENDORF, long kuowH as a. traveller and 

 voyager, has -contrived a machine by which a person may 

 exist undc-r water, without fear of being drowned; it is a 

 kind of cuirass, which admits of ihe body assuming every 

 possible position, and which is' said to be extremely useful 

 in saving persons in danger of being drowned. The police 

 of Vienna have purchased a considerable number of these 

 machines, with the view of assisting in bringing up drowned 

 persons from the bottom of the Danube. 



Aerostation. — On the 22d of August, 1808, Messrs. 

 Andrcoli andBriuschi, of Padaa, ascended in a balloon, amid 

 an inuTiense concourse of spectators. Soon after leaving the 

 ground, the barometer having fallen to 13 inches, M. Bri- 

 oschi besan to feel an extraordinary palpitation of the heart; 

 his breathing, however, was not affected : the barometer 

 afterwards' fell to 12 inches, and he was overcome with a 

 gentle sleep, wliich ended in a complete lethargy. The bal- 

 loon continued asccr.ding; and when the barometer stood at 

 nine inches M. Andreoli perceived that the machine was 

 completely inflated, and that he could not move his left 

 hand. The mercury continuing to descend, marked eight 

 inches and a half, and a violent detonation was heard from 

 the balloon, which then descended with great rapidity, and 

 M. Brioschi awoke. The aeronauts alighted safely on the 

 hill of Euganea, not far from Petrafch's tomb and the 

 city of Argua, about twelve miles from Padua. The voyage 

 lasted from half-past three until half-past eight o'clock. 



Dr. Lanc^douff, of St. Petersburgh, whose zeal for the 

 proo^ress of science is already well known, has been appointed 



by 



