At this elevation the
balloon rested in perfect equilibrium for nine minutes. It was
the first time that human beings had ever been carried to an
equal elevation, and the spectators were astonished to find that
they could remain there without danger and without alarm. The
balloon had a superb effect at this elevation; it looked down
upon the whole town, and was seen from all the suburbs. Its size
seemed hardly diminished in the least, though the men themselves
were barely visible. By the aid of glasses, Roziers could be
seen calmly and industriously making new gas. When the balloon
descended the two men declared that they had not experienced the
slightest inconvenience from the elevation. They received the
universal applause which their zeal and courage so well deserved.
The Marquis d'Arlandes, a major of infantry, afterwards went up
with Roziers, and this latter experiment was as successful as the
former."
Some days after these experiments the conductors of the Journal
de Paris who described them, received a letter from Montgolfier,
and also one from Gerond de Villette. The latter only is of
interest here. Gerond de Villette says: "I found myself in the
space of a quarter of a minute raised 400 feet above the surface
of the earth.
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