t descended in a field some
15 miles away. We are told that some peasants at work near by fled in
the greatest alarm at this strange monster which settled in their midst.
An old print shows them cautiously approaching the balloon as it lay
heaving on the ground, stabbing it with pitchforks, and beating it with
flails and sticks. The story goes that one of the alarmed farmers poured
a charge of shot into it with his gun, no doubt thinking that he had
effectually silenced the panting demon contained therein. To prevent
such unseemly occurrences in the future the French Government found
it necessary to warn the people by proclamation that balloons were
perfectly harmless objects, and that the experiments would be repeated.

We now have two aerial craft competing for popular favour: the
Montgolfier hot-air balloon and the "Charlier" or gas-inflated balloon.
About four months after the first trial trip of the latter the inventors
decided to ascend in a specially-constructed hydrogen-inflated craft.
This balloon, which was 27 feet in diameter, contained nearly all the
features of the modern balloon. Thus there was a valve at the top by
means of which the gas could be let out as desired; a cord net covered
the whole fabric, and from the loop which it formed below the neck of
the balloon a car was suspended; and in the car there was a quantity of
ballast which could be cast overboard when necessary.

It may be imagined that this new method of aerial navigation had
thoroughly aroused the excitability of the French nation, so that
thousands of people were met together just outside Paris on the 17th
December to see Professor Charles and his mechanic, Robelt, ascend in
their new craft. The ascent was successful in every way; the intrepid
aeronauts, who carried a barometer, found that they had quickly reached
an altitude of over a mile.

After remaining aloft for nearly two hours they came down. Professor
Charles decided to ascend again, this time by himself, and with a much
lighter load the balloon rose about two miles above sea-level. The
temperature at this height became very low, and M. Charles was affected
by violent pain in his right ear and jaw. During the voyage he witnessed
the strange phenomenon of a double sunset; for, before the ascent, the
sun had set behind the hills overshadowing the valleys, and when he
rose above the hill-tops he saw the sun again, and presently saw it
set again. There is no doubt that the balloon