colors. But their chef-d’oeuvre was a monster round envelope to which was attached a large gilded crown with colored lanterns hung on it in honor of the Empire.
When this special piece took the air a malevolent wind caught and carried it straight to Rome where with uncanny aim it found the tomb of Nero. The crown, originally planned as a mark of homage for the living Emperor was torn off and left hanging in jaunty abandon on the monument of one long dead. The balloon itself, after this prank, drifted over Lake Bracciano and was recovered intact.
This incident gave the Italian newspapers a far-fetched opportunity to be insulted. Consequently they vented their spleen against the French by publishing a few choice similes about Nero and Napoleon. Under the circumstances. Citizen Garnerin and his wife had to be released from official connection with the Emperor’s air activities.
But it is an ill wind that blows nobody good. The person who stepped into the position vacated by the Garnerins was an altogether suitable successor. A beautiful and brilliant woman, Madame Blanchard was the next incumbent. She was inducted into office with great ceremony in 1810 as Napoleon’s chief of air service. She was the widow of the balloonist Jean Pierre Blanchard who had been killed in an accident three years before. After his death, she carried on until she herself became as well known in France and neighboring countries as he had been.
