In order to quicken our
ascent I discharged a parachute made of silk, and weighted in a
way to prevent oscillations. The parachute descended at the rate
of two feet per second, and its descent was uniform. From the
moment when the barometer began to sink we became very careful of
our ballast, as we wished to test from experience the different
temperatures through which we were about to pass.
"At 10.15, the barometer was at nineteen inches, and the
thermometer at three above zero. We now felt all the
inconvenience of an extremely rarefied atmosphere coming upon us,
and we commenced to arrange some experiments in atmospheric
electricity. Our first attempts did not succeed. We threw over
part of our ballast, and mounted up till the cold and the
rarefaction of the air became very troublesome. During our
experiments we experienced an illness throughout our whole
system. Buzzing in the cars commenced, and went on increasing.
The pain we felt was like that which one feels when he plunges
his head in water. Our chests seemed to be dilated, and failed
in elasticity. My pulse was quickened, M. Lhoest's became
slower; he had, like me, swelled lips and bleeding eyes; the
veins seemed to come out more strongly on the hands.
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