364 
0 N THE PROGRESS OF AERONAUTICS. 
By FRED. W; BREAREY, 
Hon. Sec. to the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain. 
1 10 the casual observer of a balloon which floats away from 
his presence into the dim distance, amidst the cheers of 
the crowd, and from thence into the solitude of an infinite 
space, it is hard to believe that its utility is doomed to the 
limit of mere flotation. He thinks that there is either an 
immense amount of apathy or else a lamentable display of 
ignorance among mechanical minds which prevents their ener- 
gies being concentrated upon the navigation of the balloon. 
This is of course the popular judgment, yet it is only partially 
erroneous. The late Franco-German war afforded an oppor- 
tunity for energy and engineering capabilities, and we know 
something of what balloons are capable, though perhaps not 
the uttermost, especially when accompanied by unlimited ex- 
penditure. The termination of the war interfered with cer- 
tain designs, for the accomplishment of which M. de Fonvielle 
had escaped from Paris in a balloon. As he was the chief of 
the Aeronautical Department, he hoped to collect at Lille all 
the balloons which had left the French metropolis, and he him- 
self came to England with the object of consulting as to the best 
means of aiding the return journey. 
When the armistice was concluded six balloons had been 
collected at Lille, waiting for a favourable wind. By the aid of 
a small propelling force M. de Fonvielle believed that, starting 
with a fair wind, he would be able to deviate a few degrees from 
the current if necessary. It is highly probable that the return 
would have been effected, as Paris was the centre of a circle of 
investment of twenty miles diameter. With a favourable wind 
a sailor named Gaily, with three others, left Paris on Nov. 12, 
with the intention of reaching Bordeaux, and they descended 
at Gondreville, near Bordeaux. 
There is an anomalous incidence connected with the subject 
which would seem to favour the advocates of balloon propul- 
