"'Good,' I said; 'throw that out of the window.' He took a
blanket and launched it into the air, through which it floated
down slowly, and fell upon the dome of l'Assomption.
"When the barometer had fallen 26 inches, we ceased to ascend. We
were up at an elevation of 1,800 feet. This was the height to
which I had promised myself to ascend; and, in fact, from this
moment to the time when we disappeared from the eyes of our
friends, we always kept a horizontal course, the barometer
registering 26 inches to 26 inches 8 lines.
"We required to throw over ballast in proportion as the almost
insensible escape of the hydrogen gas caused us to descend, in
order to remain as nearly as possible at the same elevation. If
circumstances had permitted us to measure the amount of ballast
we threw over, our course would have been almost absolutely
horizontal.
"After remaining for a few moments stationary, our car I changed
its course, and we were carried on at the will of the wind. Soon
we passed the Seine, between St. Ouen and Asnieres. We traversed
the river a second time, leaving Argenteuil upon the left. We
passed Sannois, Franconville, Eau-Bonne, St. Leu-Taverny,
Villiers, and finally, Nesles.
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