38 
none of the four adventurers received any 
hurt ; and it is remarkable, that out of six 
glass bottles full of liquor, which were simply 
laid down in the boat, one only was found 
broken. 
In the course of the summer 1784, two per- 
sons, vizi one in Spain, and another near Phi- 
ladelphia, in America, were very near losing 
their lives by going up with rarefied-air ma- 
chines. 'The former, on the 5th of June, was 
scorched by the machine taking fire, and was 
hurt by the subsequent fall, so that his life was 
long despaired of. The latter, having as- 
cended a few feet, was wafted by the wind 
against the wall of a house, and some part of 
the machinery was entangled under the eaves, 
from which he could not extricate it. At last 
the great ascensional power of the machine 
broke the ropes or chains, and the man fell 
from the height of about 20 feet. The ma- 
chine presently took fire, and was consumed. 
We shall now relate one of the most re- 
markable aerial voyages that were ever made 
with an aerostatic machine. It is the crossing 
of the English channel in an inflammable-air 
balloon of 27 feet diameter. The adventurer 
in this dangerous voyage was Mr. Blanchard, 
an intrepid Frenchman, who had already made 
five other aerial voyages with the verv same 
balloon, botli in France and in England. Mr. 
Blanchard is remarkable for having made a 
greater number of aerial voyages in England, 
in France, and elsewhere, both before and 
after the crossing of the English channel, than 
any other person recorded in the history 
of aerostation. The only trial worth remark- 
ing which Mr. Blanchard appears to have 
made in his aerial excursions, is the ineffec- 
tual use of oars, wings, &c. for directing the 
balloon. Profit seems to have been the prin- 
cipal, if not the sole object of his numerous 
excursions. 
Oil Friday the 7th of January 1785, being a 
fme clear morning, after a sharp frosty night, 
and the wind being about N. N. W. though 
hardly perceptible, Mr. Blanchard, accom- 
panied by Dr. Jeffries, an American gentle- 
man, departed in the old balloon of 27 feet 
■diameter, from Dover castle, directing their 
i ourse for the French coast. Previous to the 
■departure, the balloon, with the boat, contain- 
ing the two travellers, several necessaries, and 
some bags of sand for ballast, were placed 
within two feet of the brink of the perpendi- 
cular cliff before the castle. At one o’clock 
the intrepid Blanchard desired the boat, &c. 
to be pushed off; hut the weight being too 
great for the power of the balloon, they were 
obliged to throw out a considerable quantity 
of ballast, in' consequence of which they at last 
rose gently and majestically, though making 
very little way, with only three bags of ballast 
of ten pounds weight each. At a quarter after 
one o’clock, the barometer, which on the cliff 
stood at 29,7, was fallen to 27,3 ; and the 
weather proved fine and warm. Dr. Jeffries 
describes with rapture the prospect which at 
■this time was before their eyes. The country 
to the back of Dover, interspersed with towns 
and villages, of which they could count 37, 
made a beautiful appearance. On the other 
side the breakers, on the Goodwin Sands, 
appeared formidable. Upon the whole, they 
enjoyed a view perhaps more extended and 
diversified than was ever beheld bv mortal 
eye. The balloon was much distended, and 
at 50 minutes past one o’clock was descend- 
AIR BALLOON. 
ing, in consequence of which they were oblig- 
ed to throw out one bag and a half of sand. 
They were af this time about one-third of the 
way from Dover, and had lost distinct sight of 
the castle. Not long after, finding that the 
balloon was descending very fast, all the re- 
maining ballast was thrown over, as also a 
parcel of books, in consequence of which the 
balloon rose again. They were now at about 
half way. At a quarter past two o’clock the 
rising of the mercury in the barometer shewed 
that they were descending; in consequence of 
which the remaining books were thrown into 
the sea. At 25 minutes after two, they were at 
about 3-fourths of the way, and an enchanting 
view of the French coast appeared before 
their eyes ; but the lower part of the balloon 
was collapsed, owing to the loss or condensa- 
tion of the gas, and the machine was descend- 
ing, which obliged them to throw over pro- 
visions for eating, the oars or wings of the boat, 
and other articles. “ We threw away,” said 
Dr. Jeffries, “ our only bottle, which, in its 
descent, cast out a steam like smoke, with a 
rushing noise ; and when it struck the water, 
we heard and felt the shock very perceptibly 
on our car and balloon.” But the balloon 
still approaching the sea, they began to strip 
and cast away their c’othes. They even in- 
tended to fasten themselves to the cords and 
cut the boat away, as their last resource ; but 
at this critical point, they had the satisfaction 
to observe that they were rising ; their distance 
from the French shore, which they were ap- 
proaching very fast, was about four miles. 
Fear was now vanishing apace; the French, 
land shewed itself every moment more beau- 
tiful, more distinct, anti more extended ; 
Calais, and above 20 other towns and villages, 
were clearly distinguished. Exactly at three 
o’clock they passed over the high grounds 
about midway between Cape Blanc and Ca- 
lais ; and it is remarkable that the balloon at 
this time rose very fast, and made a magnifi- 
cent arch ; probably owing to the heat of the 
land, which rarefied in some measure the 
hydrogen gas. At last they descended as low 
as the tops of the trees, in the forest of Guin- 
nes, and opening the valve for the escape of 
the gas, they soon after descended safe to the 
ground, after having accomplished an enter- 
prise which will probably be recorded to 
the remotest posterity. 
The following is the melancholy account of 
an experiment which was attended with the 
death of two aerial adventurers, one of whom 
was Mr. de Rozier, the first person that ever 
ascended with an aerostatic machine. 
Mr. Pilatrede Rozier, desirous of diversify- 
ing and improving the new method of tra- 
velling through the air, formed a plan of 
combining the two species of aerostatic ma- 
chines, from which he expected to render 
their joint buoyancy more lasting, and of 
course more useful. Ills plan was to place 
an inflammable-air balloon at top, and to affix 
to it by means of ropes, a rarefied-air balloon, 
so that a space of several feet might inter- 
vene between the two. The passenger or 
passengers were intended to take their places 
in the gallery of the lower machine, whence 
they could regulate the fire, and might, by a 
proper management of the fuel, elevate or 
depress the whole, without the necessity of 
losing any inflammable gas from the upper 
balloon. 
Accordingly this plan was put in execution. 
The upper or inflammable-air balloon was of 
varnished silk, lined with a fine membrane, 
like goldbeaters’ skin. The other balloon was 
of strong linen. On the 15th of June 1785, 
’at seven o’clock in the morning, every thing 
being ready, Mr. Pilatre de Rozier and a 
Mr. Remain, placed themselves in the gal- 
lery of the balloon, with plenty of fuel, in- 
struments, and other necessary articles, and 
rose in the atmosphere. The' machine seem- 
ed to take the best possible direction, but the 
wind being both feeble and shifting, they 
changed their direction two or three times ; 
but when they were at a considerable height, 
and not above f of a mile from the place of 
ascension, the machine appeared to be in 
flames, and presently the whole was precipi- 
tated down to the ground. The unfortunate 
adventurers were instantly killed, their bones 
disjointed arid dreadfully mangled by the 
tremendous fall. 
How the inflammable air took fire, is va- 
riously conjectured ; but it is natural to sup- 
pose, that the sparks of lire must have flown 
from the lower to the upper or inflammable- 
air balloon. On the ground, the bag of the 
upper balloon was in great measure burned 
or scorched ; that of the lower was entire. 
Omitting the various uninteresting, though 
not numerous aerial voyages undertaken In 
various parts of the world, during the 17 
years subsequent to the above-mentioned 
dreadful accident of Pilatre de Rozier and 
Mr. llomain, we shall only add the account 
of two aerostatic experiments lately perform- 
ed in England by Mr. Garnerin, a French 
aeronaut. The first of these is remark- 
able for the very great velocity of its motion ; 
the second for the exhibition of a mode of 
leaving the balloon, and of descending with 
safety to the ground. 
On the 30th of June 1802, the wind being 
strong though not impetuous, Mr. Garnerin 
and another gentleman ascended with an in- 
flammable-air balloon from Runelagh-gardens 
on the south-west of London, between, four 
and live o’clock in the afternoon ; and in exact- 
ly three quarters of an hour they descended 
near the 'sea, at the distance of four miles 
from Colchester. The distance of that place 
from Ranelagh is sixty miles ; therefore they 
travelled at the astonishing rate of 80 miles 
per hour. It seems that the balloon had 
power enough to keep them up four or five 
hours longer, in which time they might have 
gone safe to the continent; but prudence in- 
duced them to descend when they discovered 
the sea not far off. 
The singular experiment of ascending into 
the atmosphere with an inflamtnable-air bal- 
loon, and of descending with a machine called 
a parachute, was performed by Mr. Garnerin 
on the 21st of September 1802. He ascend- 
ed from St. George’s Parade, North Audio v- 
street, and descended safe into a field near the 
small-pox hospital at Pancras. 
'I’lie balloon was of the usual sort, viz. of 
oiled silk, with a net, from which ropes pro- 
ceeded, which terminated in or were joined 
to, a single rope at a few feet below the bal- 
loon. To this rope the parachute was fastened 
in the following manner. 
The reader may easily form to himself an 
idea of this parachute, by imagining a large 
umbrella of canvas of about 30 feet in dia- 
meter, but destitute of the ribs and handle. 
Several ropes of about 30 feet in length. 
