the services rendered on that
occasion and during the Belgian campaign, the year which had seen
the beginning of the military career of balloons saw also its
end. The school of Meudon, founded by the Government, was closed
by Buonaparte on his return from Egypt. And now, what can you
expect from the new-born infant? as Franklin said. The infant was
born alive; it should not be stifled!"

[Illustration: "He continued his observations for seven or eight
hours with General Morlot"]

The unknown bowed his head in his hands, and reflected for some
moments; then raising his head, he said,--

"Despite my prohibition, monsieur, you have opened the valve."

I dropped the cord.

"Happily," he resumed, "we have still three hundred pounds of
ballast."

"What is your purpose?" said I.

"Have you ever crossed the seas?" he asked.

I turned pale.

"It is unfortunate," he went on, "that we are being driven
towards the Adriatic. That is only a stream; but higher up we may
find other currents."

And, without taking any notice of me, he threw over several bags
of sand; then, in a menacing voice, he said,--

"I let you open the valve because the expansion of the gas
threatened to burst the balloon; but do not do it again!"

Then he went on as follows:--

"You remember the voyage of Blanchard and Jeffries from Dover to
Calais? It was magnificent! On the 7th of January, 1785, there
being a north-west wind, their balloon was inflated with gas on
the Dover coast. A mistake of equilibrium, just as they were
ascending, forced them to throw out their ballast so that they
might not go down again, and they only kept thirty pounds. It was
too little; for, as the wind did not freshen, they only advanced
very slowly towards the French coast. Besides, the permeability
of the tissue served to reduce the inflation little by little,
and in an hour and a half the aeronauts perceived that they were
descending.

"'What shall we do?' said Jeffries.

"'We are only one quarter of the way over,' replied Blanchard,
'and very low down. On rising, we shall perhaps meet more
favourable winds.'

"'Let us throw out the rest of the sand.'

"The balloon acquired some ascending force, but it soon began to
descend again. Towards the middle of the transit the aeronauts
threw over their books and tools. A quarter of an hour after,
Blanchard said to Jeffries,--

"'The barometer?'

"'It is going up! We are lost, and yet there is the French
coast.