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^[[Dec. 24, 1836 - handwritten in ink]]
MR MONCK MASON'S ACCOUNT OF THE AERONAUTICAL EXPEDITION.
FROM LONDON TO WEILBURG.
We are indebted to this gentleman for an opportunity of setting before our readers some of the interesting particulars of the grand voyage accomplished by him, Mr Robert Hollond, and Mr Charles Green, in the Royal Balloon. The account* is well written, and is far more romantic than most romances. At a season when all the world is crowding round the fire to relate and listen to stories the most wild and wonderful, some passages from Mr Monck Mason's narrative will surely claim the attentive regard of every ear, for nothing more marvellous will startle the imagination of youth or age during this merry Christmas.
Passing over the relation of all the circumstances connected with the start, and the progress of the balloon over England, we come to the description of the effect presented, just as the voyagers were quitting their native shore:--
"It would be impossible not to have been struck with the grandeur of the prospect at this particular moment of our voyage; the more especially as the approaching shades of night rendered it a matter of certainty that it would be the last in which earth would form a prominent feature, that we might expect to enjoy for a considerable lapse of time. Behind us, the whole line of English coast, its white cliffs melting into obscurity, appeared sparkling with the scattered lights, which every moment augmented, among which the light-house at Dovor formed a conspicuous feature, and for a long time served as a beacon whereby to calculate the direction of our course. On either side below us the interminable ocean spread its complicated tissue of waves without interruption or curtailment, except what arose from the impending darkness, and the limited extent of our own perceptions; on the opposite side a dense barrier of clouds rising from the ocean like a solid wall fantastically surmounted, throughout its whole length, with a gigantic representation of parapets and turrets, batteries and bastions, and other features of mural fortifications, appeared as if designed to bar our further progress, and completely obstructed all view of the shores, towards which we were now rapidly drawing nigh. In a few minutes after, we had entered within its dusky limits, and for a while became involved in the double obscurity of the surrounding vapours and of the gradual approach of night. Not a sound now reached our ears; the beating of the waves upon the British shores had already died away in silence, and from the ordinary effects of terrestrial agitation our present position had effectually excluded us.
"In this situation, we prepared to avail ourselves of those contrivances, the merits of which, as I have already stated, it was one of the main objects of our expedition to ascertain: and consequently to provide against the loss of power by the increase of weight proceeding from the humidity of the atmosphere, naturally to be expected on the approach of night, we commenced lowering the copper vessels which we had provided for the occasion.
"Scarcely, however, had we completed our design, and were patiently awaiting the descent we had anticipated, when the faint sound of the waves beating against the shore again returned upon our ears, and awakened our attention. The first impression which this event was calculated to convey was, that the wind had changed, and that we were in the act of returning to the shores we had so shortly before abandoned. A glance or two, however, served to show us the fallacy of this impression; the well-known lights of Calais and of the neighbouring shores were already glittering beneath us; the barrier of clouds which I have before mentioned as starting up so abruptly in our path, as abruptly terminated; and the whole adjacent coast of France, variegated with lights, and ripe with all the nocturnal signs of population, burst at once upon our view. We had, in fact, crossed the sea: and in the short space of about one hour, from the time we had quitted the shores of England, were floating tranquilly, though rapidly, above those of our Gallic neighbours."
The accomplishment of such a feat naturally gives an historian a certain grand style of speaking, and accordingly the account proceeds with - "Before dismissing the sea, a word or two seems required," &c. And we confess we are of that opinion.
But we pass to another scene, presented to the eyes of the intrepid hoverers in the air after night had completely closed in:--
"The scene itself was one which exceeds description. The whole plane of the earth's surface, for many and many a league around, as far and farther than the eye distinctly could embrace, seemed absolutely teeming with the scattered fires of a watchful population, and exhibted a starry spectacle below that almost rivalled in brilliancy the remoter lustre of the concave firmament above. Incessantly during the earlier portion of the night, ere the vigilant inhabitants had finally retired to rest, large sources of light, betokening the presence of some more extensive community, would appear just looming above the distant horizon in the direction in which we were advancing, bearing at first no faint resemblance to the effect produced by some vast conflagration, when seen from such a distance as to preclude the minute investigation of its details. By degrees, as we drew nigh, this confused mass of illumination would appear to increase in intensity, extending itself over a larger portion of the earth, and assuming a distincter form and a more imposing appearance, until at length, having attained a position from whence we could more immediately direct our view, it would gradually resolve itself into its parts, and shooting out into streets, or spreading into squares, present us with the most perfect model of a town, diminished only in size, according to the elevation from which we happened at the time to observe it."
At one part of their course the effect must have been singularly vivid and startling.
"Among these latter, one in particular, both from its own superior attractions, the length of time it continued within our view, and the uninterrupted prospect which our position directly above it enabled us to command, captivated our attention, and elicited constant expressions of mingled admiration and surprise. Situated in the centre of a district which actually appeared to blaze with the innumerable fires wherewith it was studded in every direction to the full extent of all our visible horizon, it seemed to offer in itself, and at one glance, an epitome of all those charms which we had been previously observing in detail. The perfect correctness with which every line of a street was marked out by its particular line of fires; the forms and positions of the more important features of the city, the theatres and squares, the markets and public buildings, indicated by the presence of the larger and more irregular accumulation of lights, added to the faint murmur of a busy population, still actively engaged in the pursuits of pleasure or the avocations of gain, all together combined to form a picture which, for singularity and effect, certainly could never have been before conceived. This was the city of Liege, remarkable for the extensive iron-works which, abounding in the neighbourhood, occasioned the peculiar appearance already described, and at the time led to that conjecture concerning its identity, the truth of which a subsequent enquiry enabled us to confirm."
But let us trace them into the thick dark, the
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palpable obscure of night. There is something to make us shudder in the following description:--
"Nothing, in fact, could exceed the density of the night which prevailed during this period of the voyage. Not a single object of terrestrial nature could any where be distinguished; an unfathomable abyss of 'darkness visible' seemed to encompass us on every side; and as we looked forward into its black obscurity, in the direction in which we were proceeding, we could scarcely avoid the impression that we were cleaving our way through an interminable mass of black marble in which we were imbedded, and which, solid a few inches before us, seemed to soften as we approached, in order to admit us still farther within the precincts of its cold and dusky enclosure. Even the lights which at times we lowered from the car, instead of dispelling, only tended to augment the intensity of the surrounding darkness, and as they descended deeper into its frozen bosom, appeared absolutely to melt their way onward by means of the heat which they generated in their course.
* * * * *
"At this moment, while all around is impenetrable darkness and stillness, and darkness most profound, an unusual explosion issues from the machine above, followed instantaneously by a violent rustling of the silk, and all the signs which may be supposed to accompany the bursting of the balloon, in a region where nothing but itself exists to give occasion to such awful and unnatural disturbance. In the same instant the car, as if suddenly detached from its hold, becomes subjected to a violent concussion, and appears at once to be in the act of sinking, with all its contents, into a dark abyss below. A second and a third explosion follow in quick succession, accompanied by a recurrence of the same astounding effects; leaving not a doubt upon the mind of the unconscious voyager of the fate which nothing now appears capable of averting. In a moment after all is tranquil and secure; the balloon has recovered her usual form and stillness, and nothing appears to designate the unnatural agitation to which she has been so lately and unaccountably subjected.
* * * * *
"From out of this mass of vapours, more than once during the night our ears became assailed with sounds bearing so strong a resemblance to the rushing of waters in enormous volumes, or the beating of the waves upon some extensive line of coast, that it required all our powers of reasoning, aided by the certain knowledge we had of the direction we were pursuing, to remove the conviction that we were approaching the precincts of the sea, and transported by the winds, were either thrown back upon the shores of the German ocean, or about to enter upon the remoter limits of the Baltic."
The extraordinary effects at sunrise follow:-
"It was about six o'clock, during an ascent which occurred shortly after we had crossed this river, that the balloon having reached a considerable elevation, showed us our first view of the sun, and gladdened us with the prospect of a speedy approach of day. Powerful, indeed, must be the pen which could hope to do justice to a scene like that which here presented itself to our view. The enormous extent of the prospect - the boundless variety it embraced - the unequalled grandeur of the objects it displayed - the singular novelty of the manner under which they were beheld - and the striking contrast they afforded to that situation and those scenes, to which we had so long and so lately been confined, are effects and circumstances which no description is capable of representing in the light in which they ought to be placed, in order to be duly appreciated.
* * * * *
"This splendid spectacle, however, we were not long destined to enjoy; a rapid descent, which shortly after ensued, for a while concealed it from our view, and once more consigning us to the shades of night, which still continued to reign unbroken throughout the lower region of the air.
"Again we rose within the reach of this delightful prospect; and again did we lose sight of it, amid the vapours and obscurity that accompanied our descent; nor was it till we had three times made the sun rise, and twice beheld it set that we could fairly consider it established above the horizon, and daylight complete upon the plane of the earth beneath us."
We conclude with the account of the descent:--
"The place so selected was a small grassy vale, of about a quarter of a mile in breadth, embosomed in hills, whose sides and summits were completely enveloped with trees. Beyond this, on the opposite side, lay another valley of the same description; the only one visible for many miles, where we could conveniently effect our landing; an endless succession of forest scenery completing the landscape in the direction in which we should have to proceed. Into the former of these we now precipitated our descent, with the design of alighting, if possible, in the centre, clear of the woods that enclosed it on all sides. In these hopes we were, however, disappointed; the wind suddenly increasing as we approached the ground, so much accelerated the onward progress of the balloon, that before the grapnel could take effectual hold of the soil we had passed the middle of the valley, and sweeping rapidly over the ground, were borne close against the wooded declivity that flanked its eastern termination. To discharge a sufficiency of ballast to raise the balloon, and carry her clear of the impending danger, was the natural remedy. An unexpected obstacle to this operation here again presented itself: the sand which forms the ballast, frozen during the night into a solid block of stone, refused to quit the bag in the proportion required; and no time remained to search for one more suited to the occasion. Not a moment was, in fact, to be lost; the valley was passed, and the branches of the trees that clotted the opposing precipice were already within a few feet of the balloon; the grapnel continued to drag, and no chance appeared of arresting her progress onward. In this emergency one alternative alone remained, and the sack itself, with all its contents, to the amount of fifty-six pounds in weight, were at once consigned to the earth. In a moment the balloon, lightened of so large a portion of her burden, had sprung up above one thousand feet, and clearing the mountain at a bound, was soon in rapid progress to the realms above. To counteract the consequence of this sudden accession of power, and avoid being carried beyond the reach of the second valley, which we have already described as the only other available spot for our descent, the valve was again opened, and issue given to a large quantity of gas; sufficient, as was calculated, to check the course of the balloon in time to enable us to attain the point to which all our views were now directed. A second time, however, were we doomed to be disappointed. No sooner had we completed this manoeuvre than, by another caprice of nature, the wind suddenly abating, we found ourselves at once becalmed, and rapidly descending into the bosom of the woods that capped the summit, and clothed the sides of the intervening eminences. From this dilemma we were only relieved by the timely discharge of a further portion of our weight; not, however, before the accelerated descent of the balloon had brought us within a cable's length of the ground,* and almost in contact with the upper surface of the wood. Here, for a few moments, we continued to hover; the grapnel struggling with the top-most branches of the trees, and grasping and relinquishing its
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*The length of the cable to which the grapnel is attached is about one hundred and twenty feet.
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hold according to the varying impulse of the slight wind that prevailed at our elevation. While in this situation we perceived, standing in the path of the wood, two females, the first inhabitants we had noticed, lost in astonishment, and absolutely petrified with gazing upon so astounding an apparition. It was in vain we addressed them with a speaking-trumpet, in the hopes of procuring the assistance of some of the male population, which we conjectured could not be far off; the sound of our voices, proceeding from such an altitude, and invested with such an unearthly character, only augmented their astonishment, and added to their fears; they fled incontinently, and without waiting further parley sought the shelter of the neighbouring coverts.
After continuing for a few minutes longer in these straits, we at length reached the confines of the wood; when, resolving not to be again baffled in our designs by the treacherous inconstancy of the wind, the valve was opened to its fullest dimensions, and the grapnel taking hold shortly after, we came to the ground with considerable, though by no means, disagreeable rapidity.
It was half-past seven when they quitted the car, and the descent was fairly completed; the duration of the voyage was therefore eighteen hours. It should be remarked that "the exact spot where the event took place was in a field adjacent to a mill, known by the name of Dillhausen, situated in the valley of Elbern, in the commune of Niederhausen, about two leagues from the town of Weilburg; already, by a curious coincidence, noted in the annals of aerostation as the place were [[where]] the celebrated M. Blanchard effected his landing after an ascent which he made at Frankfort in the year 1785."
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^[[Dec. 6. 1876 - handwritten in ink]]
GREAT VAUXHALL BALLOON. - On Monday evening this great balloon arrived in Paris from Welburg, where, as has been already observed, it descended, after its long and interesting voyage from London. The curiosity excited by its novel appearance was excessive at places where it stopped along the road. The balloon and accessories having been placed in a car, the whole was raised upon the springs of a carriage, and being covered in, somewhat in the term of a landau, served as a conveyance for two of the rest of the party, Mr. Green and Mr. Monck Mason, who accompanied it to Paris. The hospitable attentions which, we understand, the aeronauts received from every description of persons at Weilburg reflect great credit upon the inhabitants of that place and merit the admiration and observance even of countries preferring greater claims to courtesy and the arts of civilized society. No sooner was their landing made known, than every one seemed to vie with each other in bestowing aid or conferring honour upon the enterprising strangers. The use of the Ducal manège was immediately tendered for the occupation of the balloon, and military sentries, more indeed as a guard of honour than of defence, posted at the gates and the avenues leading to the place of its reception. Public balls, dinners, and other festivals, were given in succession, and the thanks and congratulations of the city presented to the aeronauts by a deputation of the principal citizens, headed by their first civil officer, in the form of a document duly signed and sealed by the competent authorities. Among the festive ceremonies to which the unexpected arrival of the gigantic visitor at Weilburg gave rise, we must not omit to mention the ceremony of christening, which took place the day previous to its departure; the Baron de Bibra, Grand Master of the Woods and Forests, and the Colonel Baron de Preen, being the godfathers; the Baroness de Bibra and the Baroness de Dungerea the godmothers, on the occasion. The balloon was then inflated to the greatest extent the limits of the place would admit; eight young ladies, accompanied by Mr. Green, entered within this distended sphere, and the name of "The Great Balloon of Nassau" having been bestowed by one of their number, Mademoiselle Theresa, the lovely and amiable daughter of the Baron de Bibra, accompanied by a copious libation of wine, the ceremony was concluded under presentation of arms, with other military honours, and a collation, consisting of the remains of the various articles which the daring aeronats had provided in case of adverse circumstances, by forcing them to sea or otherwise, should have compelled them to extend the duration of their voyage beyond its probable or anticipated limits.
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The colossal balloon is now placed in the Hotel de Ville. It has been partly filled with atmospheric air, by means of a simple machine, and presents a most enormous mass. Mr. Green on Friday attended at the hotel, and gave to all who understood English interesting details of the late aerial voyage. The proprietors have not yet been able to find a place either for the public exhibition of the colossal machine, or for its ascension. They still, however, entertain hopes of being able to succeed in carrying the project into effect. Several men of scientific eminence, who have been favoured with a private view, speak in the highest terms of its admirable construction and arrangement for every purpose of aerostation. ^[[Dec. 1836 -handwritten in ink]]
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