feet, sent us up another 1,000 feet. It was then that our machine was
seen by every spectator within a circuit of nine miles, and it appeared
to be right over the heads of all of them.

"'Send us up out of sight,' said my adventurous confrere.

"I had to moderate his ardour--a larger fire would have burnt our
balloon.

"From our moving observatory the most splendid view developed itself.
The boundaries of the horizon were vastly extended. The capital of the
Rouergue appeared to be no more than a group of stones, one of which
seemed to rise to the height of two or three feet. This was no other
than the superb tower of the cathedral. Fertile slopes, agreeable
valleys, lofty precipices, waste lands, ancient castles perched upon
frowning rocks, these form the endlessly varied spectacle which the
Rouergue and the neighbouring provinces present to the view of those who
traverse the surface of the earth. But how different is the scene to the
aerial voyager! We could perceive only a vast country, perfectly round,
and seemingly a little elevated in the middle, irregularly marked with
verdure, but without inhabitants, without towns, valleys, rivers, or
mountains. Living beings no longer existed for us; the forests were
changed into what looked like grassy plains; the ranges of the
Cantal and the Cevennes had disappeared; we looked in vain for the
Mediterranean, and the Pyrenees seemed only a long series of piles
of snow, connected at their bases. Our own balloon, which from Rodez
appeared about the size of a marble, was the only object that for us
retained its natural dimensions. What wonderful sensations then arose
within us! I had often reflected upon the works of nature; their
magnificence had always filled me with admiration. In this soul-stirring
moment how beautiful did nature seem--how grand! With what majesty did
it strike my imagination. Never did man appear to me before such an
excellent being His latest triumph over the elements recalled to my mind
his other conquests of nature. My companion was animated with the same
sentiments, and more than once we cried out, 'Vive Montgolfier! Vive
Roziers! Vivent ceux qui ont du courage et de la constance!'

"In the meantime our fuel was getting near the end. In eighteen minutes
we had run a distance of 12,000 feet. 'Make your observations while I
attend to the fire,' said my companion to me. I examined the barometer,
the thermometer, and the compass, and having sealed up a s