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The excursion of M. Testu, from Paris, in June 1786, is without a parallel, having lasted twelve hours. His balloon was furnished with winds and other apparatus for steering; when he had reached an elevation of three thousand feet, the distension of his balloon gave him serious apprehensions of a rupture; he therefore descended in a corn-field in the plain of Montmorenci. An immense crowd ran eagerly to the spot; and the proprietor of the field, exasperated at the injury his crop had sustained, seized M. Testu, and demanded indemnification; the aeronaut made no resistance, but persuaded the peasant, that having lost his wings, he could not possibly escape. The ropes were seized by a number of persons, who attempted to drag the balloon towards the village; but as, during the procession, it had acquired considerable buoyancy, Testu cut the cords, and left the disappointed peasants overwhelmed with astonishment. The temperature was at the freezing point, and particles of ice floated around him. As night approached, the blast of a horn attracted his attention, and seeing a party of huntsman, he suffered some gas to escape, and descended. He now resigned his wings as a useless incumbrance, and reascended through a mass of electric matter. Shrouded in darkness, he was wafted about for three hours in the gloomy region of the gathering storm. The surrounding terrors, the lightning's flash and the roaring of thunders, accompanied by copious drifts of sleet and snow, did not damp his courage : a flag ornamented with gold frequently emitted sparks of fire, and was ultimately torn in pieces by the lightning. At length the elemental conflict ceased, and the stars began to appear ; between two and three, the ruddy streaks of light in the east announced the approach of day ; and after beholding the rising of the sun, he descended uninjured, about 70 miles from Paris. [[end page]] [[start page]] For the WORLD ^[[Dec. 1787]] The following Lines make part of a Poem, written in ANTIGUA, on the first rise of AZZOSOSTATION, By Mr. GILBERT. "O! Could I join thee in the fields of air, And trace the wonders of some other sphere! Borne by philosophy, and now-taught lore, In other regions, other realms explore-- Claim int'rest with thee in glorious part, And join with thee, as gen'rous heart to heart! Dart over wilds unknown to human sway, Where the lone eagle wings his deary way; Or where athwart the solitary step*, The Star-led ARAB wets his parching lip From jaded camels; but at length o'ercome, Ne'er ends his journey, ne'er reviews his home! O! Could we piece through Nature's wilds, and find, Lost in those wilds, the PHILOSOPHIC MIND! Recall the harass'd Persian into sense, And bid anew the reign of Taste commence.-- The lazy Asiatic rouse to thought, Improve the soil with Nature's riches fraught.-- With quicker navigation cut the stream, And with fresh force direct the fervid beam Of light'ning science to the barb'rous breast, And force the blood-stain'd warrior to be blest! On Attie plains, a new Lyceum raise, CONFIRN THE WAVERING CANDIDATE FOR PRAISE; Bid Academia's grove fresh honours rear, And with renewing verdure meet the year: Lead the wild Tartar from his Caspian shore; Lead the new Russ from Volga's icy roar; Let them no more the pathless desert rove, But yield to science, and bend down to love! "To Southern climes, where tawny nations stray, Fast by the throne of ever-burning day-- Where few moist clouds their gentle influence shed, Or rest benignant on the mountain head-- Where the scarce grove, from noon's destructive heat, Affords no shelter and no cool retreat-- Where the parch'd native, savage and forlorn, Views undelighted his resplendent morn, That, rising from the east in glories drest, Yet fires no transport in his gloomy breast:-- Convey the pleasures and the arts of life, And sweet domestic bliss, the balm of strife.-- Convey philosophy--convey the art, To polish nature, and to raise the heart! On slavish Mexico new treasures pour, Prefer the human to the min'ral store, Make Europe open all refinement's charms, And carry Science, where she carries Arms!" * Russian term for the Desert.