168 DEATH OF ROZIER. 



of breathing, but perceiving the sea before him, he descend- 

 ed near Ramsey, about seventy-five miles from London, hav- 

 ing travelled at the rate of nearly twenty miles an hour. 



The singular experiment of ascending into the atmosphere 

 with a balloon, and of descending with a machine, called a 

 parachute, in the form of a large umbrella, was performed 

 by Mr. Garnerin in 1802. The weather was clear and plea- 

 sant, and the wind was gentle. In about eight minutes the 

 balloon and parachute had ascended to an immense height, 

 and Mr, Garnerin in the basket, could scarcely be perceived. 

 While the spectators were contemplating the grand sight 

 before them, Mr. Garnerin cut the rope, and in an instant 

 he was separated from the balloon, trusting his safety to the 

 parachute. Before the parachute opened, he fell with great 

 velocity ; but as soon as the parachute was expanded, which 

 took place a few moments after, the descent became very 

 gentle and gradual. It was observed that the parachute, 

 with the appendage of cords and basket soon began to vi- 

 brate like the pendulum of a clock, and the vibrations were 

 so great, that more than once the parachute, and the basket 

 with Mr. Garnerin, seemed to be on the same level, or quite 

 liorizontal ; the extent of the vibrations, however, diminish- 

 ed as he descended. On corning to the earth, he experi- 

 enced some strong shocks, but soon recovered, and remained 

 without any material injury. 



The fate of Ilozier, the first aerial navigator, and of his 

 companion Romain, has been much lamented. They as- 

 cended with an intention of crossing the channel to England. 

 Their machine consisted of a spherical balloon, filled with 

 hydrogen gas, and under this balloon, a smaller one filled 

 with rarefied air, designed to diminish the specific gravity 

 of the whole apparatus. For the first twenty minutes they 

 seemed to pursue the proper course ; but the balloon ap- 

 peared to be much inflated, and the aeronauts appeared 

 anxious to descend. Soon, however, when they were at the 

 height of three quarters of a mile, the whole apparatus was 

 in flames, and the unfortunate adventurers fell to the ground, 

 and were killed. 



The invention of balloons cannot be considered as having / 

 added much to the comfort or utility of man. The only | 

 practical purposes which it has been made to subserve, are f 

 those of aiding meteorological inquiries, and of inspecting ; 



