Wonderful Balloon Ascents

by Fulgence Marion, pseudonym of Camille Flammarion

WONDERFUL

BALLOON ASCENTS;

OR,

The Conquest of the Skies.

A HISTORY OF

BALLOONS AND BALLOON VOYAGES.

From the French of F. Marion.

CASSEL PETTER & GALPIN:

LONDON, PARIS & NEW YORK.

THE FIRST ATTEMPT TO ASCEND IN ENGLAND.

Chapters (not listed in original)

• Preface

CONTENTS.
PART I.
THE CONQUEST OF THE SKIES—1783.
CHAPTER I. page
Introduction	1
CHAPTER II.
Attempts in Ancient Times to fly in the Air	7
CHAPTER III.
The Theory of Balloons	22
CHAPTER IV.
The First Public Trial of the Balloon—Montgolfier's Balloon, Annonay, June 5th, 1783	32
CHAPTER V.
Second Experiment—Charle's Balloon, Paris, Champ de Mars, August 27, 1783	36
CHAPTER VI.
Third Experiment—Montgolfier's Balloon, Paris, Faubourg St. Antoine	47
CHAPTER VII.
Fourth Experiment—Versailles, September 19, 1783, in presence of Louis XVI.	51
CHAPTER VIII.
Men and Balloons	56
CHAPTER IX.
The First Aerial Voyage—Roziers and Arlandes	61
CHAPTER X.
The Second Aerial Voyage—Charles and Robert at the Tuileries, December 1, 1783	74
PART II.
HISTORY OF AEROSTATION FROM THE YEAR 1783.
CHAPTER I.
The Open Route—Travels and Travellers—Great Increase in the Number of Air Voyages—Lyons, Ascent of "Le Flesselles"—Milan, Ascent of Adriani—Flight of a Balloon from London—Lost Balloons in the Chief Towns of Europe	87
CHAPTER II.
Experiments and Studies—Blanchard at Talis—Guyton de Morveau at Dijon	103
CHAPTER III.
Experiments in Montgolfières—Roders and Proust—The Duke of Chartres—The Comte d'Artois—Voyage of the Abbé Camus to Rodez	117
CHAPTER IV.
Serio-comic Aspects of the Subject—The Public duped— The Abbés Miolan and Janninct at the Luxembourg— Caricatures—The "Minerva" of Robertson, and its Voyage round the World	127
CHAPTER V.
The First Aerial Voyage in England—Blanchard crosses the Sea in a Balloon	134
CHAPTER VI.
Zambeccari's Perilous Trip across the Adriatic Sea	145
CHAPTER VII.
Garnerin—Parachutes—Aerostation at Public Fêtes	150
CHAPTER VII.
Green's Great Journey across Europe	156
The "Géant" Balloon	162
CHAPTER X.
The Necrology of Aeronautics	181
PART III.
SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS—APPLICATIONS OF BALLOONING
CHAPTER I.
Experiments of Robertson, Lhoest, Saccarof, &c.	193
CHAPTER II.
Ascent of M. Gay-Lussac alone—Excursions of MM. Barral and Bixio	202
CHAPTER III.
The Ascents of Messrs. Welsh, Glaisher, and Coxwell	205
CHAPTER IV.
Balloons made useful in Warfare	211