now they proceed towards firm land and graze the tops of trees. By the aid of the rope hanging out M. Rolier at the risk of breaking his back, descended in safety with his companion. The balloon immediately rises, almost suffocating them with the escaping gas; they were exhausted and were fainting. They rise; where are they? In the snow; they see wolves; they walk five or six hours in the silence of the snowy solitude. At length they take shelter in a hut, a little coal is still burning; it was a woodman's hut; and soon after two men arrived, but they could not understand one another, but one of them drew from his pocket a box of matches: M. Rolier took it, looked at it, and read "Christiana" "; they were in Norway. The woodmen conducted them to a small village where was a minister, a doctor, and an engineer of mines, named Neilson, who spoke French very well. Jules Verne has never related a more extraordinary journey. At Drammen they found their post bags, and the pigeons (still alive), a barometer, a sextant, and other objects. M. Rolier had happily preserved two rolls of one thousand francs. He changed these for Norwegian money; and each one of these pieces of twenty francs was afterwards sold for nearly one hundred francs, and preserved there as memorial medals; they also made of the grappling irons medals in commemoration of the event, which were eagerly sought for in Norway. At an entertainment in Christiana given by a club of officers, M. Rolier collected 15,000 francs, which he preserved for the wounded French soldiers, he exhibited the balloon and added the product received to the above; so that from this strange voyage the engineer Rolier brought back from Norway to France more than 47,000 francs, which was deposited for the relief of the wounded soldiers. 1871. CHAPTER VIII. 1871 to 1885. "A journey more pleasant, as safe and more soon, We can take when equipp'd with a full-blown balloon." 1871. During the siege of Paris the beleaguered city contrived to communicate with the outside world by balloon, and the Government entered into a contract with M. Nadar for the despatch of a series of them under the direction of experienced aëronauts. The first postal balloon, the "Neptune," was freighted with reports, letters and dispatches on its voyage on the morning of the 23rd September, from the Place de Saint-Pierre at Montmartre, and accomplished its mission successfully, as was ascertained by the return of the carrier pigeons it had taken out. The Figaro of the time published the following: "What a strange fellow is Nadar! He is as clever as Godard. Although, between ourselves, as far At Ferrières, above the park, behold him Whilst William whispers to Bismarck: Behold him darting through the sky!"" AN UNINTENTIONAL JOURNEY. March 17th, 1885. in In the Times of this date is the following:"Yesterday morning some labourers at work a field near Bromley were considerably astonished to see a large balloon bounding across some fields a short distance from them. It was at length brought to a standstill by the grappling-iron getting entangled in a tree. The men proceeded to the assistance of the aëronauts, who proved to be M. Ferdinand Dubois of the Société aëronautique of Paris, and a Belgian gentleman named Farenza. "They had undergone a perilous balloon adventure, having crossed the Channel much against their will, and quite contrary to their original intentions. "The ascent was made on Saturday, a few miles from Antwerp, the aëronauts intending if possible, to descend somewhere near Brussels. All went well until M. Dubois throwing out ballast, they ascended higher. Coming into contact with a fresh current of air, they were carried in a contrary direction, and at nightfall were carried rapidly out to sea. "The aëronauts, naturally much alarmed, endeavoured to attract the attention of some vessels they saw beneath them. Failing in this, M. Dubois deemed it prudent to throw out more ballast, so as to secure as high an ascent as was deemed advisable under the circumstances. "All the provisions they were provided with were some sandwiches, biscuits, two flasks of brandy, and some water. These they utilised to the best advantage, and when morning dawned they found themselves far away out at sea. "For the greater part of Sunday they were over the sea, but, as dusk set in, they were delighted to find themselves being carried toward land, and found themselves passing rapidly over a town, which they believed to be Folkestone, and they descended, as has been stated, near Bromley." |