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Dropping From The Clouds

Dropping From The Clouds image
Parent Issue
Day
25
Month
April
Year
1894
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Robert A'. A'. Sewell, in the Artista Association Series in The ('entury foi April, describes his first and last balloon ascensión. It was in 188G when Mr. Sewell was a student at the Academie Jilian that lie made his venture, taking advantage of public ascensión. When the artist and aeronaut entered the basket, the ropes were cast off. We did not rise, and being informed that we must leave behmd either a sand-bas or my heavy winter overcoat, I heroically sacrificed the latter. Standing in thü basket, I tossed it to a friend. when, presto ! lie as well as the rest of the world sank out of sight. At that moment Isat down. I can still recall the howl of derisiou and dellght which greeted this commonplace act. The cries of the spectators were succeeded by a most profound siience, brokcn only by the icar.-ome creaking of the willow basket, as my cöm'panion leaned from side to side. I was soon aware of another sound, to which eny ears seemed slowly to becóme attuned - the low, mullled roar of tHe Ijreat city, whlch produced a continued note almost as pure as ; musical tune, but lower in pitih than any note oí the musical scale. Tlie barometer soon showed an 61evation of half a mile, and, looking over the side of the car (Í was still 'seated on the floor), I saw the whqle of Paris jias-i beneath me - the public raildings, the Mádeleine with its right copper-green roof, the toy eahedral of Xotre Daine on its little sland. The distance vas so great hat all giddiness was gone, and the oar of the city was hushed. Throwïng out much of our store of sand, we ose into great cumulus clouds. The barometer indicated a height of two miles ; the air had the pure but thin eeling of an Alpine mountain-top. There was mo sig'ht, 110 noise save the atter of the feet of two pigeons on the summit of the ballooa. They had refused to leave us, and, after hoverAg like land-birds about a snip, had settled on our riggini. In the utter silence of thess heights the novice, awed by the sublimity of the situation, has no thought of danger. The vast, sightless, silent void in which the bubble lmng self-poisec impressed the mind wlth a sense, not of violence, but of calm. Yet dangei there was, and that most imminent. Anxiously scanning the barometer, my companion announced tliat we were falling. Selzing a baig of tissue-papers, he threw a handïul from the car. In-tanil.v they d'sappeared, but above us. W were rushing down to the city at n.n angle ol about iorty-flvè degrees. Now the two pigeons leffc the balloon, and even this s'.ight dimm'nution of weight gave us a short resplte. As we approached the earth we struck the ground breeze, which we eaw would carry us nearly the entire length of the city. Quiekly divesting ourselves of coats and waistcoats, m took a rapid inventory of the pitifullj' small remainder of ballast, with a view to keeping the airslxip afloat as long as possible. To a novice who has ever gone down a toboggan-,sll3e fhe horror of that rush over the spires and chimneys of the great city niay be dlmly shown if he can imagine hls sensations increassd a thousand-fold. Collision with buildings meant almost sure death, while the speed was so great that landing in a boulevard was an impossibility. The roar of one Street as it grew distinet was quickly followed by the roar of the next, as the excited and interested Perislans Avatched our flight. Several times we avoided collision only by throwing out a coat, basket, or bottle, the bal'.oon each time taking a slight bound, and clearing the obstad:-.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Courier