The gas was renewed by Roziers,
and the balloon again rising, extricated itself from among the
branches, and soared majestically into the air, followed by the
acclamations of the public. This second ascent was very
instructive, for it had been often asserted that if ever a
balloon fell upon a forest it would be destroyed, and would place
those who travelled in it in the greatest peril. This experiment
proved that the balloon does not FALL it DESCENDS; that it does
not overturn; that it does not destroy itself on trees; that it
neither causes death, nor even damage, to its passengers; that,
on the contrary, the latter, by making new gas, give it the power
of detaching itself from the trees; and that it can resume its
course after such an event. The intrepid Roziers gave in this
ascent a further proof of the facility he had in descending and
ascending at will. When the machine had risen to the height of
200 feet it began to descend lightly, and just before it came to
the earth the aeronaut very cleverly and quickly threw on more
fuel and produced more smoke, at which the balloon, to the
astonishment of every one, suddenly soared away again to its
former elevation. Third Ascent: The balloon rose again with
Roziers, accompanied this time by another aeronaut, Gerond de
Villette; and as the cords had been lengthened, the adventurers
were carried up to the height of 324 feet.
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