as there the eye takes in an immense expanse and still is able to distinguish all details; the aeronauts appear to themselves to stand still, while the earth is swiftly passing beneath their feet and presenting at every moment a new scene of beauty and grandeur to their astonished eye. When they decide at last to land, there comes a short period of intense excitement and considerable danger. Formerly, balloons were allowed to fall wherever they happened to be; they knocked against chimneys and trees, or they dragged along the ground and were torn to pieces, or ruthless boors made them captives to extort from their owners large sums on the plea of compensation for the damage they had done to their fields and their crops. Now they are almost uniformly provided with a long rope, to the end of which a small anchor or a set of grappling irons is fastened. These hold to the ground, where it is soft, or to trees, and thus enable the aeronauts to descend in safety and protect their balloons against destruction. Mr. Yon, the manager of the London balloons, conceived the happy idea of changing this rope into a broad ribbon, which trails flat on the ground, and as the huge hemp ribbon is moreover set with stiff, prickly thorns on one side, it is no longer a cable, but an immense brush, of over 1,200 feet in length, which by its friction is able to check the motions of the largest balloon in existence. Its power is strik ingly illustrated by the fact that while it weighs only about two pounds a yard, several men cannot make it move a foot on a grass-plot; the resistance offered by wet ground or by rocks would of course be very much greater. This effective contrivance will, moreover, enable the aeronaut to dispense with his anchor and thus to gain room for many desirable instruments now excluded by the weight of the heavy iron. It will also enable him by the greater certainty of a safe descent at any given point, to effect a landing wherever he chooses, and to escape places where he is threatened by dangers from nature or men. For it must be confessed, to the disgrace of our age, that the aeronaut is no safer now than he was a century ago, when ignorance and superstition, those inseparable twin sisters, combined to plunder him and threaten his life in many a French . or German province. In the year 1864, in Leicestershire, England, the country people captured a balloon, in which a party of eight men of science had made an ascension from the Crystal Palace in London, and tore it to pieces, before the eyes of the rightful owners, in order to get possession of the silk, of which it consisted! By the aid of the new landing apparatus, these dangers will be avoided and misfortunes like those which befell the daring aeronauts, who first attempted to cross the Channel, will become impossible. It is well known that after Blanchard and Dr. Jeffries had in 1785 safely crossed from Dover to the forest of Gûines, where a column still marks the spot of their landing, Pilâtre and young Romain perished miserably in the same neighborhood, because of their ignorance of the various currents of air in the higher regions, and poor Deschamps, who had risen at Calais, fell a victim to his temerity, unwilling as he was to entrust himself to a different wind and falling miserably from a great height upon the shore, where his lifeless, shattered body was found soon after. Nowadays the descent is made in the most methodical manner. As soon as the aeronaut decides to alight, all the objects on board the balloon are arranged according to their value; those which are to be sacrificed first in case of an accident are close at hand; others, of more importance, are safely stowed away. Even if the ballast does not suffice, the former have to go overboard at once: provisions, clothing and the cheaper instruments. Thermometers and telescopes are encased in thick, stout covers, so as to resist a considerable shock in falling, and still costlier instruments are placed upon the persons of the travellers. Our author describes his descent on such an occasion in the following words: It was time to lower our balloon, for we had not more than a quarter of an hour's daylight left, and yet we knew that all is not done when the aeronaut leaves his car; he must empty his balloon, fold it up carefully, draw it from its frame, wrap it up in its covering and carry it to the nearest village. At this moment we had above us a vast dome of black clouds, cleft here and there so as to allow the eye to catch a glimpse of the blue sky through the narrow opening. The wind, which drove us onward so gently that we were unconscious of the motion, brought us echoes from the north; we heard the barking of dogs, the firing of guns and even the cackling of hens; the air was so still and sonorous. We were not more thau three hundred feet above the surface of the earth, our guide rope being in the vapors which made everything beneath us invisible as in an immense sea of alabaster. The upper surface of the mist being perfectly level, reflected the sound of our voices very promptly and distinctly; the echo, which seemed to mock us from a place just below our car, repeated every word we uttered, with the utmost accuracy. After a while one of our ropes touched; then the other: we were sailing over meadows covered with thin, poor grass. I told one of my companions to keep the valve open with all his strength, and advised the other two to hold on to the ropes till the last moment, and then to jump carefully. The anchor held fast. We felt only a very slight shock, thanks to a stout ring of caoutchouc, which Mr. Giffard has invented, and which connects the guide rope that holds the anchor, with the lower hoop of the balloon. It acts like an admirable spring. Unfortunately, the soil is too dry, and too sterile, to give the anchor a good hold; the latter slips, and the field shows a huge furrow, as if a monster plough had passed over it at the rate of five or six miles an hour. The clods of earth fly to the right and the left, and the long rope trembles like a chain stretched to its utmost. In the meantime, the gas has escaped; the balloon begins to collapse; the air enters, and the light silk flaps furiously against the skeleton. All of a sudden, a loud, startling noise is heard; I bend down to pick up some bottles that may hurt us, and to throw them overboard. Some one cries, The balloon has burst! and the earth rises up to us at a furious rate. I throw myself out of the car to seize the hoop; something falls on my head; my feet go up in the air; a rain of things which we had kept in the car falls on my head, and then all is utter darkness. Have my eyes been put out? No! I see a light. Are we still dragged along? Another moment convinces me that all is quiet. and we are at rest. Then a voice is heard, and my companion cries, 'Why don't you come out from under there?' I obey the order, creep out, and find that I have been lying snugly under the car, which has been turned upside down, so as to cover me completely and safely. The balloon is as flat as a cake; not a drop of gas is left inside. Our first impulse is to laugh heartily at our situation. At that moment a crowd of country people come rushing up with open mouths and staring eyes; they have seen us tear along carrying away large branches from the trees, bound over low cottages, threaten frightened animals, and at last disappear in a huge, incomprehensible mass. They run up to pick up the bodies of the unfortunate travellers, and they find us laughing heartily. 'Come, children,' I say, 'pick up those bottles; there is wine in there, returning, not from a voyage round the world, but from the clouds; pick up those chickens, too, lest the dogs be too quick for you; help the man there that is lying on the grass as if he were going to snore furiously, and assist him to fold up the balloon! You shall all be well paid; we'll shake hands with each other, and smoke a pipe together, and all of us will have something to tell to-morrow morning!' DAPHLES. Once on the throne of Argos sat a maid- She ruled her realm, for the rough folk were brought In beauty, and mild graciousness of heart: Nobles and Courtiers, too, espoused her part, So that the sweet young face all thronged to see, Broidered with leaves, and many a snow-white dove- Only the Chief of a far frontier clan, From subject, tithe, and tribute boldly free, And scorning most this weak girl-sovereign's reign, But Doracles, the insurgent Chief, could know Of deep devotion, and fond faith of those Still rashly trusting in his fortunate star, This arrogant Thrall who fain would grasp a crown, Backed by half-barbarous hordes marched swiftly down 'Twixt the hill-ramparts, and the Western Sea: |