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[[start left-hand column]] [[start clipping 1 of 3]] Mr. Blanchard, in a letter from Lisle, gives an account of his last dangerous voyage. He was elevated, he says, 32,000 feet from the earth, and he resisted the rarity of this atmosphere for three minutes. In this desperate situation he tore his balloon open, and descended with extreme rapidity - the globe answering no other purpose than that of a parachute. ^[[Dec. 1784 - handwritten in ink]] [[end clipping]] [[start clipping 2 of 3]] Particulars of the Ceremony observed at the Inauguration of the Column erected in the Forest of Guisnes, to the Honour of Mr. Blanchard. ^[[1786] - handwritten in ink]] ON the 7th of January, at three o'clock, P.M. the Magistrates of the town of Guisnes, with M. de Guiselain de Bienassise, Mayor and Sindic of the Noblesse of the district of Calais, proceeded to the Column which had been erected in the King's forest, where they found M. Blanchard, accompanied by the Viscount Desandroudin, Chamberlain to the Emperor and Knight of Malta, as also by M. de Follye, Knight of St. Louis and Captain Commandant in the regiment of Poitou. M. de Launay, King's attorney for the municipal body, then addressed M. Blanchard in the following terms: "We are proud of the honour, Sir, of having you here at the same day and hour on which you alighted last year; but the sight of this Column, and the inscription, given for it by the Academy, forbid all compliment. This monument, and the act of its inauguration, which we are now going to sign jointly with you, Sir, will supply its place. Both will last to the most remote posterity. Both will immortalize the memory of the first Aeronaut, who had the courage to cross the seas, and both will bear witness to the just admiration, with which we regard an event that will form the most glorious epocha in this century." M. Blanchard's reply was as follows: "Gentlemen, "This Column, the valuable hint of your love for the Arts, the inscription with which it has been honoured by the Academy, say every thing for you, Gentlemen, and say much more than I have deserved: but how shall I acquit myself? what terms shall I use to express my admiration of and gratitude for a treatment equally noble and generous? Silence and respect, Gentlemen, must be my only reply." The Clerk then read the Act of Inauguration, and received the signatures; after which the company returned to Guisnes, where the Mayor and Eschevins had caused a very magnificent entertainment to be provided; after which there was a ball; the Noblesse and principal inhabitants, as well as a number of foreigners who had attended at the inauguration, were sharers of the festivity; Among others were two gentlemen who had accompanied M. Blanchard in his aerial voyages, viz. the Chevalier L'Epinard, and M. d'Honicthun, an officer in the legion of Maillebois. The only ornament of the ball was a portrait of M. Blanchard, with a side view of the Column, in a medallion encircled by a myrtle wreath, and surrounded by a crown of laurel, with this inscription, written by M. de Laplace, citizen of Calais: Autant que le Francois l' Anglois fut intrepide, Tous les deux ont plané jusqu'au plus haut des airs, Tous les deux, sans Navaire, ont traversé les mers, Mais la France a produit l'inventeur et le guide. Th' English and Frenchman have like courage shewn; Both through th' aerial tracks sublime have flown; Without a ship both cross'd the dang'rous tide; But France produc'd the inventor and the guide. [[end clipping]] [[start clipping 3 of 3]] ^[[1786 - handwritten in ink]] The following account, given by M. Blanchard, of the destruction of one of his balloons, with his reflections upon it, may not be unpleasing to some of our readers, at the same time that it may serve to repress the temerity of those adventurers who rashly venture to soar to the skies by means of so dangerous a vehicle. It is dated at Brussels, May 27; and is as follows. "This afternoon about 4 o'clock, as I was sitting at home at dinner, M. Leimpens, Counsellor to his Royal Highness, rode up to my house full speed, to acquaint me that, as he was taking an airing on horseback, on the ramparts, attended by his servant, he saw a colossal machine ascend very rapidly from the garden of the Annonciades, till it gained the height of the weathercock of the church-steeple, when it burst with a report resembling a clap of thunder; after which it fell as rapidly. He hastened towards it, and found it was one of my aerostates, and that it was torn in pieces, having been intangled in some chimnies; adding, that he had given orders for disengaging it with all the care possible; but he was afraid it was now unserviceable. "On this information I hastened to the place, and found my balloon rent in pieces. - What I apprehend to have been the cause of this disaster, I shall briefly lay down. "This balloon, which contained 14,142 cubic feet, had been three days in the garden of the Annonciades, and was filled with atmospheric air; consequently liable to be dilated or condensed, according to the variations of the at-[[end clipping]] [[end column]] [[start centre column]] [[start clipping 1 of 5]] Balloon flying is forbid in the Emperor's dominions and in Prussia: the wife Joseph, and the cautious William, have forbid Blanchard to hunt any of their wild geese; or set their subjects an example so much at defiance with German gravity. ^[[1786 - handwritten in ink]] [[end clipping]] [[start clipping 2 of 5]] -mosphere. The workmen, who were busy in giving it the [[word here distorted]] coat, were strictly charged to fill or empty it according to these variations. "I had foreseen that morning, that the heat would be excessive and the variations might be sudden, as a number of these clouds were coming from the east. I had therefore caused the sucker to be opened, and emptied the balloon of about one fourth of its air. For more security, I had caused it to be tied down by an additional number of ropes. But all these precautions were fruitless. - The heat suddenly increased: The balloon was distended in an instant. There was no time to open any vent; the ropes were broken; even the iron bolts, which were fixed in the wall, were torn away. The workmen caught hold of the balloon, thinking to stop it, but finding themselves lifted from the ground, prudently let it go. A sudden gust of wind raised it to a prodigious height, where it would probably have remained a considerable time; but having turned on its axis, the internal heat acted at once upon every point of the spherical covering, and this total distension necessarily produced the explosion. Even the tape with which I had guarded the seams was burst, as well as the cord of the equator, which was of considerable thickness. "Such are the dreadful effects of the sudden distension of a balloon. It may carry an aerial traveller to the most prodigious height, and destroy him there, if he has not skill or presence of mind to prevent it; as a sudden condensation may precipitate him to the earth. I therefore tremble for those who, without knowledge or experience, venture on a journey of this kind, and after having performed it once, pretend to make a sport of aerostation. "For my own part, the habit I am in of travelling the aerial regions will always furnish me with means for avoiding such accidents, to which, assuredly, numbers will fall victims. - The dangers to which aerial travellers may be exposed, with the means of guarding against them, I intend to publish in a collection of tracts on the subject. BLANCHARD." [[end clipping]] [[start clipping 3 of 5]] Blanchard performed his 17th aerial excursion on the 18th ult. from Douay. This ascension was the noblest sight the inhabitants of Flanders ever beheld. He mounted with the greatest intrepidity, and was followed by the eyes of the multitude for half an hour. This voyage, from the violence of the wind, may be considered as the most perilous experiment which this wonderful aeronaut ever made. He went 96 miles in the same number of minutes, and descended at l'Etoife [[or l'Etoise]], a village in Picardy. M. Deteloge, the Lord of the Manor, received him with every mark of distinction. ^[[May 23. 1786 - handwritten in ink]] [[end clipping]] [[start clipping 4 of 5]] M. Blanchard made a [[underlined]] second aerostatic experiment [[/underlined]] the 23d ult. at Brussells, at half after twelve, notwithstanding a heavy rain, and stormy weather. He went only about a league from the town, and in all probability he would have descended in a field full of rye, had not some of the numerous company that followed him, took hold of the cords, and pulled the balloon in triumph to Brussels again. He was introduced to the Prince of Ligne, to whom he presented the plan he had traced in the air. The next day he set out for Hamburgh, whither he had been solicited to go by the most flattering invitations. ^[[July 1. 1786 - handwritten in ink]] [[end clipping]] [[start clipping 5 of 5]] To the EDITOR. SIR, ON the 18th of this month, at the Castle of the city of Liege, I filled my Aerostat with inflammable air, lighter as 10 to 1 than atmospheric air. I extracted this air from iron without the aid of any acid. Forty pounds of ballast and a speaking-trumpet were in my car, and two men were appointed to hold the cords while I went to pay my respects to the Prince de Liege, and to take leave of his Royal Highness. - But unfortunately during this moment, one of the men by accident quitting his hold, the other fearing to be carried aloft, and having no ambition for an excursion in the air, abandoned it also. The Aerostat rose in an instant, and in two or three seconds was lost in the clouds. I dispatched several couriers with the wind, but they have all returned after a fruitless search - a thing which does not surprize me - for this globe is the best made of any I ever had - all its parts are exactly closed, except the lower, for the purpose of being opened in case of dilatation. There is only one accident that gives me hopes of its descension, for unless it bursts by rarefaction it may continue in the air for six months. It took its route by the forests of Ardennes, where if it descends I may probably never hear of it. - If by a change of current it should make its way, Sir, into England, I trust those who find it will, through your announcing the fact, send it to the Privy Council of the Prince at Liege. I have the honour to be, &c. BLANCHARD. Liege, Dec 24.' ^[[1786 - handwritten in ink]] P.S. On the 27th, being the festival of St. John, and the anniversary festival of the Free Masons, I shall make my twenty-second ascension from the citadel with another Balloon. [[end clipping]] [[end column]] [[start right hand column]] [[start clipping 1 of 3]] ^[[Mar 1.1787 - handwritten in ink]] [[underlined]]Blanchard [[/underlined]] writes, that he has opened a subscription at Valenciennes for an aerial voyage the beginning of March. For the sake of preventing the dangerous inconveniencies attending the departure and the descent of too large a globe, he intends to set out with five balloons, four of 900 cubic feet, and the fifth of 1350. The latter will contain a soupape, and a parachute capable of supporting four persons. [[end clipping]] [[start clipping 2 of 3]] ^[[1787 - handwritten in ink]] BLANCHARD's NARRATIVE of his last AEROSTATICK EXPERIMENTS. My ascent on the 26th of August, was from Strasburg, when the weather was so dreadfully bad, that it was only to gratify the numerous spectators, that I could think of the enterprise. In this experiment, nothing occurred to me new or interesting, except one phenomenon. When I had arrived at the height of about 2000 yards, I let go a dog attached to a parachute, which instead of descending gradually, was carried rapidly, by a kind of whirlwind, above the clouds. Soon afterwards, it began greatly to descend, when the animal, on passing by, recognized his master, by a piteous yelping. I then endeavoured to recover the parachute, when it was again carried aloft by another whirlwind, and for about six minutes I lost sight of it, at the expiration of which time, I descried it with my telescope, when the dog appeared to be asleep. Beaten and driven about by the violence of different currents of air, I resolved to descend on the other side of the Rhine. The parachute vibrated for some time, and did not reach the ground till about twelve minutes after the balloon had descended. My 27th ascension took place at Leipsic, on the 29th of September, in sight of a most brilliant and numerous assembly. The weather was fine, and every thing favourable for the attempt. I moved through the whole town, within a small distance of the ground, attended by the greatest part of the spectators. After amusing them for a considerable time in this manner, I mounted in the air, and disappeared from their sight. I then returned, and descended in the town, and the following day tried another experiment. I discharged the gas into a smaller balloon, to which I attached a dog, and which I intended to risk to the experiment. It succeeded as I expected, the balloon making an explosion below, and the dog being let down gently, without receiving any hurt. On the 7th, being requested to repeat this experiment, I made dispositions for bursting the balloon above, and attached to it a parachute, which carried two dogs. They mounted to such a height, that notwithstanding the clearness of the sky, the balloon was lost in the immense expanse. The best tellescopes became useless, and I judged that the animals would perish through cold. - They descended, however, about two hours after, safe and sound, in a town about three miles from Leipsic. I went yesterday to claim them, and found them floating in the air, attached to the parachute. The officers who were in garrison, had several times let them down from the church steeple, in sight of all the inhabitants. - I also found the balloon at the Hotel-de-ville. From the most accurate observations that I could make, the utmost elevation of the balloon was about eight thousand four hundred yards. (Signed) BLANCHARD, Pensioner of the King. [[end clipping]] [[start clipping 3 of 3]] Extract of a Letter from Nuremberg, Oct. 19. "A letter from Mr. Blanchard says, "during my last ascension, on the 26th of August, I was obliged to quit my balloon, twelve feet in diameter and eighteen in height, which took its direction towards the Margrave of Baaden. I hoped to have had news of it in my journey to Leipzig; but having heard no tidings you will very much oblige me by taking a memorandum of the persons who know where it has been found, and write to me of it at Nuremberg, or to M. de Burges, Commander of the Citadel at Strasbourg, or, if you please, at Vienna, where I shall be in December. "I am preparing to make my twenty-eighth ascension. ^[[1787 - handwritten in ink]] "BLANCHARD." [[end clipping]] [[end column]] [[end page]] ^[[75 - handwritten in pencil at bottom of page]]
