lloon at Annonay, on the 5th of June following. It was inflated with
heated air, by the lower orifice being placed over a pit or well, in
which were burned chopped straw and wool. Two men were sufficient to
fill it; but, when fully inflated, eight men were required to prevent it
from ascending. On being released from its fastenings, it rose
majestically to the height of six or seven thousand feet, and made its
descent at the distance of a mile and a half from the point of its
departure.

This novel experiment, which forms an important epoch in the history of
the art of aeronautics, attracted universal attention, and Stephen
Montgolfier, having soon after arrived in Paris, was requested by the
Royal Academy of Sciences, whose sittings, immediately on his arrival,
he had been invited to attend, to repeat the experiment at their
expense. He gladly availed himself of their proposal, and speedily got
prepared a large balloon of an elliptical shape, 72 feet high, and 41
feet in diameter. It was finished in a style of great magnificence, and
elegantly decorated on the outer surface with beautiful and appropriate
designs. When completed, it weighed 1000 pounds. As a preliminary
experiment, it raised eight men from the ground, and, on the 12th of
September, 1783, it ascended, in the presence of the Royal Academy, with
a load of from 400 to 500 pounds; but, in consequence of an injury it
received in rising from a violent gust of wind, it did not present the
same interesting spectacle as the public experiment previously made,
and, upon its descent, it was found to be so seriously damaged, as to be
unfit for future experiments. A new one of nearly the same dimensions
was, therefore, ordered to be made, to which was added a basket of
wicker-work, for the accommodation of a sheep, a cock, and a duck, which
were intended as passengers. It was inflated, in the presence of the
king and royal family, at Versailles, and, when loosened from its
moorings, it rose, with the three animals we have named--the first
living creatures who ever ascended in an aerial machine--to the height
of about 1500 feet, an accident similar to what befell the other
preventing it from attaining a higher elevation. It, however, descended
safely with the animals, at the distance of 10,000 feet from the place
of its ascent.

Hazardous as it might be, it was now fully demonstrated, that it was
quite practicable for man to ascend in the atmosphere, and individuals