AEROSTATION. 
but on the earth, before he ascended, it stood 
at 30.16 inches. On the 23d of June, a 
large aerostat, on the principle of rarefied 
air, 91i feet high, and 79 feet in diameter, 
was elevated by Montgolfier at V ersailles, 
in the presence of the royal family and the 
King of Sweden. M. Pilatre de Rozier, 
and M. Proust, ascended with it, and con- 
tinued for 28 minutes at the height of 11,732 
feet, and observed the clouds below them, 
that reflected to the region which they oc- 
cupied the rays of the sun ; the temperature 
of the air being 5° below the freezing point ; 
and in three quarters of an hour they tra- 
velled to the distance of 36 miles. In con- 
sequence of this experiment, the king granted 
to M. Rozier a pension of 2000 livres. On 
the loth of July the Duke of Chartres, the 
two brothers Roberts, and another person, 
ascended with an inflammable air balloon, of 
an oblong form, 551 feet long, and 3-1 feet in 
diameter, from the Park of St. Cloud : the 
machine remained in the atmosphere about 
45 minutes. This machine contained an in- 
terior small balloon, filled with common air, 
by which means it was proposed to make it 
ascend or descend without any loss of in- 
flammable air or ballast. The boat was 
furnished with a helm and oars, intended for 
guiding it. At the place of departure the 
barometer stood at 30.12 inches. Three 
minutes after ascending, the balloon was 
lost in the clouds, and involved in a dense 
vapour. An agitation of the air, resembling 
a whirlwind, alarmed the aerial voyagers, 
and occasioned several shocks, which pre- 
vented their using any of the instruments 
and contrivances prepared for the direction 
of the balloon. Other circumstances con- 
curred to increase their danger ; and when 
the mercury standing in the barometer at 
24.36 inches indicated their height to be 
about 5100 feet, they found it necessary to 
make holes in the bottom for discharging 
the inflammable air: and having made a 
rent of between seven and eight feet, they 
descended very rapidly, and at last came 
safely to the ground. The first aerial voyage 
in England was performed in London, on 
the 15th of September, by Vincent Lunardi, 
a native of Italy. His balloon was made of 
oiled silk, painted in alternate stripes of blue 
and red. Its diameter was 33 feet. From 
a net which went over about two-thirds of 
the balloon, descended 45 cords to a hoop 
hanging below the balloon, and to which the 
gallery was attached. The balloon had no 
valve; and its neck, which terminated in 
the form of a pear, was the aperture through 
which the inflammable air was introduced, 
and through which it might be let out. The 
air for filling the balloon was produced from 
zinc by means of diluted vitriolic acid. M. 
Lunardi departed from the Artillery Ground 
at two o’clock ; and with him were a dog, a 
cat, and a pigeon. After throwing out 
some sand, to clear the houses, he ascended 
to a great height. The direction of his mo- 
tion was at first north-west by west ; but as 
the balloon rose higher, it fell into another 
current of air, which carried it nearly north. 
About half after three he descended very 
near the ground, and landed the cat, which 
was almost dead with cold : then rising, he 
prosecuted his voyage. He ascribes his 
descent to the action of an oar; but as he 
was under the necessity of throwing out bal- 
last in order to re-ascend, his descent was 
more probably occasioned by the loss of in- 1 
flammable air. At ten minutes past four he 
descended on a meadow, near Ware, in 
Hertfordshire. The only philosophical in- 
strument which he carried with him was a 
thermometer, which in the course of his 
voyage stood as low as 29°, and he observed 
that the drops of water which collected 
round the balloon were frozen. 
The longest and the most interesting 
voyage, which was performed about this 
time, was that of Messrs. Roberts and M. 
Collin. Hullin, at Paris, on the 19th of Sep- 
tember. Their aerostat was filled with in- 
flammable air. Its diameter was 27| feet, 
and its length 46| feet, and it was made to 
float with its longest part parallel to the ho- 
rizon, with a boat of nearly 17 feet long at- 
tached to a net that went over it as far as 
its middle. To the boat were annexed wings, 
or oars, in the form of an umbrella. At 12 
o’clock they ascended with 450 pounds of 
ballast, and after various manoeuvres des- 
cended at 40 minutes past six o’clock near 
Arras, in Artois, having still 200 pounds of 
their ballast remaining in the boat. Having 
risen about 1400 feet, they perceived stormy 
clouds, which they endeavoured to avoid ; 
but the current of air was uniform from 
the height of 600 to 4200 feet. The baro- 
meter on the coast of the sea was 29.61 
inches, and sunk to 23.94 inches. They 
found that by working with their oars, they 
accelerated their course. In the prosecu- 
tion of their voyage, which was 150 miles, 
they heard two claps of thunder; and the 
cold occasioned by the approach of stormy 
clouds made the thermometer fall from 77* 
to 59°, and condensed the inflammable air 
in the balloon, so as to make it descend very 
