On the 15th at four in the morning, a little
pilot balloon that had been thrown up fell back on the spot from
which it had been thrown free, thus showing that there was no
wind. Seven hours later Roziers, accompanied by his brother
Romain, one of the constructors of the balloon, appeared in the
gallery. A nobleman present threw a purse of 200 louis into the
car, and was preparing to follow it and join in the adventure.
Roziers forbade him to enter, gently but firmly.
"The experiment is too unsafe," he said, "for me to expose to
danger the life of another."
"Finally," says a narrative of the time, "the Aero-Montgolfiere
rose in an imposing manner. The sound of cannon signalised the
departure, the voyagers saluted the crowd, who responded with
loud shouts. The balloon advanced until it began to traverse the
sea, and every one with eyes fixed upon the fragile machine,
regarded it with fear. It had traversed upwards of a league of
its journey, and had reached the height of 700 feet above sea
level, when a wind from the west drove it back toward the shore,
after having been twenty-seven minutes in the air.
"At this moment the crowd beneath perceived that the voyagers
were showing signs of alarm.
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