166 <érostatiou: 
XI. Arestation—Mr. EuGenre ROBERTSON, well known 
for his adventurous zronautic excursions, which have given 
him a sey ~*~ that which his father so long sustained, 
ascended from astle Garden, in New-York, on the eve- 
ning of Oct. 16, 1826, in company with a young lady. His 
balloon, of the capacity of 16,000 eubic feet, was filled with 
hydrogen gas, obtained in the usual mode, and four attend- 
ant balloons, each of ten feet in diameter, were attached to 
the main zrostat. They ascended at sunsetting, at 40 mi- 
nutes past 5 o’clock. 
The circumstances chiefly i interesting, other than the events 
commonly attendant on such occasions, were the following : 
1. The great balloon was slowly charged, and in the mean 
time small balloons, of different sizes, were launche d, to as- 
certain the direction of the wind. One of these, of seven feet 
in diameter, was supplied with a parachute, supporting a kit- 
ten ; and a match, lighted before the ascent of the balloon, was 
intended in due time, to burn in two, the rope by which the 
_ parachute and kitten hung to the balloon. Every thing suc- 
ceeded, to the amusement of the spectators. 
As they ascended, the little flotilla of balloons was ex- 
tremely agitated. They appear to have been more inflated 
than the great balloon, and consequently their ascending 
power was greater ; in fact, one of them, owing to the ex- 
ne of the gas, soon burst, with a shock and a report; 
the — of the principal balloon, nani? been ad~ 
seven seconds had lapsed, eae) an elevation of boheaen 
seven and eight thousand feet, or about 14 mile. 
4. A bottle of water, emptied into the air, (in imitation of 
the experiment of Dr. Jeffries, i in passing the English chan- 
nel, his fess aerial voyage,) did not produce either 
report, sound, but the circumstances were not sup- 
posed to be exactly. similar. 
5. Champaign wine, when the bottle was uncorked, in- 
stantly evaporated like smoke, and the few drops that could 
be swallowed while they were cestaling, were peculiarly live- 
ly and stimulating, ng. 
6. The | moon having risen, a kind of white shadow over- 
<4 Bay pla which was attributed to the refraction 
rays by gs, emanating from ponds or swamps. 
