Extracts.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 488, 8 July 1857, Page 3

Extracts.

■THE PROBLEM OF DIRECT AERIAL ' SAILING SEEMINGLY SOLVED. A leading Rotterdam commercial journal, dated the 9th of March, ultimo (' Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant,)' contains a description, translated from the Paris journal, £ es Contemporains, of an^j aerial voyage between Franoe and Algeria and back, made direct, in a new balloon, or aerial ship, the invention of the famous artist Gavarni. Mr. H. Lubec has favoured us by translating the Dutch version of the description by Les Contemporains —the original having been written by one of the chief contributors to that journal, M. Henri Page; and one of M. Garvani's companions on the voyage. The paper is written in the true style of French enthusiasm, and is I headed : — | Gavarni ex Ballon ! I Decouyerte be la Direction dcs I Aerostats ! I Eureka ! Eureka !—Come what will, I 1 can no longer conceal the mighty secret! 11 will be the first who announces to the | world the most sublime of modern invenI tions —that of effecting ' Direct navigation I through the air.', .' „ . . I A solution of a wonderful problem is at I last given, and by whom ? By our celeI brated dessinateur, Gavarni, who has passed I twice in his balloon over France and the I Mediterranean! His balloon has sailed | from the park of Ferrieres, situated in the | centre of France, direct to Algiers, a dis- | tance of 1,500 miles, in 18 hours, and made I the return voyage in 19 hours. I Let me endeavour to make my report jj. plain and intelligible. jj After studying for six years with the conl cur re nee of fortunate circumstances, I Gavarni succeeded in completing a machine [at a cost of 30,000 francs. By the means ;of this machine he hoped to be able to sail ;in the air in all possible directions. The preparations for the intended air voyage ; were made in as private a manner as possible. Only four persons were allowed to be in the secret, on the promise that they should sail with Gavarni. They were first, !Le Comte de Pleuvier, who had not hesii tated to pay the greatest part of the cost, I and who, besides, had placed at [ disposal his chateau and park of Ferrieres : ( secondly,, Mons. Edward Migeon:, professor {of the physical and mathematical sciences j j thirdly, Mr. Jules Falconer, fan aeronaut, I whose acquaintance Gavarni had made in I Scotland, and who came from Glasgow for [ the sole purpose of making the voyage ; ( and, fourthly, the undersigned, whose duty ;it was to keep the journal, and perform | other services when required. i I will say a few words about the machine itself. It consists of two spherical balloons, fixed together; and made of " catishe," covered with three double hides of "vernis caoutchouc," each of them containing 100 cubic metres of hydrogen gas. The propelling, power is obtained by a peculiar sort of screw, reaching as |far as the car, which is provided with a rudder made of whalebone, by means of which the balloon can be steered in every direction. Gavarni lets her ascend without throwing put any ballast, which generally takes away the resources of even the best balloon, and makes a long voyage impossible. The gas which escapes is re-supplied by a secret chemical process, invented by Mons. Migeon; and also by the means of a small instrument of Gavarni's invention. The old system is followed, as regards descending. The valve is opened, a portion of the gas escapes, and the descent takes place gradually. Our departure was fixed for the 15th of January last; whatever the state of the atmosphere might be. After a breakfast, of which we made little use, by reason of the state of excitement in which we found ourselves, the balloons were filled ; and, at 10 o'clock, we took our places in the car, which is made of wicker, and fitted up with seats in a very comfortable manner. At the bottom of it we placed our mantles, blankets, and the necessary provisions, such as fried hirds, hams, and bordeaux, champagne, &c. We also took with us our instruments to make the gas, a a barometer, a thermometer, and electrometer, a compass, a speaking trumpet, some rope, and twelve sacks with ballast. When the moment had arrived for ascending, Gavarni called out to the Comte de Pleuvier's servants, with a powerful voice, to loose the balloon (which they were holding down with great difficulty) by all of them at one and the same time ; and immediately we ascended with the rapidity of a cannon ball. Involuntarily I seized the arm of my neighbour, Mr. Falconer. Having never made an aeriel trip before, I Was seized with anxiety and fright. My •French companions were, as well as myself, not prepared for the fearful sensation; but

the English aeronaut's sang froid did not leave him for a single instant. A quarter of an hour was passed before our silence was interrupted by any one of us, and without Gavarni trying the working of the s crew. The sight of the earth was sublime above description. We were drifting to the north east. Towns and villages looked like toys ; and the river Loire, in which the rays of the sun were just reflecting, looked like a golden stripe through a green carpet. At the south we distinguished Auvergne and Limousin, from the valleys of which thick fogs arose, looking like lakes, filled with grey or blue and white water.

[Gavarni had for some time previously announced to Marshal Gaudon, Governor of Algeria,his assurance of succeeding in reaching Algiers by means of hia balloon.] We have the wind against us, said Gavarni, now or never is the moment to try my screw. Gentlemen, I mean to steer right in the wind for Algiers, where Marshal Gaudon impatiently looks out for our arrival. Immediately afterwards, he turned the the rudder, and put the screw in motion; the gigantic balloon remaining motionless for some seconds, and then following the direction which her master pointed Jout with the docility of a well-trained riding horse. Full of enthusiasm we gave three times " Vive Gavarni, et Vive la France." At twelve o'clock, we had passed the Loire and were flying above the ' cerennes arides;' the cold was dreadful, the thermometer was 18 degrees below 0. We all suffered from oppression on the breast; our heads felt as heavy as lead ; but none of us had nose bleeding, nor any of those other painfulsymptomsof which previous aeronauts make mention. At two o'clock Gavarni saw a stripe on the horizcn, shining like a steel mirror—it was the sea. The weather continuing fine, the cold did not increase, neither did it diminish. We all wore our mantles, arranged ourselves together as closely as possible, warmed by some glasses of spirits. For prudence sake we did not smoke. At 2h. 30m. we had passed Nimes, leaving Marseilles on the left and Toulon on the right, and then had sea beneath us. Gavarni at this time resolved to let some gas out in order to get into a lower current of air, and to have the balloon perceived by the number of ships which covered the Mediterranean. It was not long before they perceived our air-ship, which created the greatest possible astonishment. By means of our telescope, we read plainly on the stern of one steamship ' Phldgeton.' We were only then at a height of 2500 metres; the atmosphere was much softer, every disagreeable sensation had left us, and our conversation turned exclusively to the important consequences which a new invention must create. I said that I fancied air-ships could only reach a height of a certain extent, because by their getting out of this planet's atmosphere they would find but an empty space. " That is an error," exclaimed Gavarni, "an empty space it is not; no world can exist in an empty space. If I can only find the means to take with me a sufficient quantity of air for respiration, I shall take a trip to the moon! Yes! you may laugh at me ! I am of Fontenelle's opinion, and believe that all globes are inhabited. After the system of the creation, all the great celestial globes must offer us an immensely far extended view. Each of them, no doubt, has its own atmosphere, as well as we have ours. If I only reach the first planet, I shall renew my provision of air,- and shape my course for another world! I pass the stars ! I penetrate to the immense and unknown! I shall reach the Throne of the Great God!" At the utterance of these words, Gavarni's eyes shot fire; his head appeared aa if surrounded .with a bright steel circle; I fancied that I saw old Prometheus ready to steal the fire of heaven ! But the pride of succeeding in his invention should not have led Gavarui to utter blasphemy. " Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther,' says.. Holy Writ; and these words are to be applied to mankind as well as to the waves of the ocean. Before Gavarni shall have attempted to reach the Throne of God, lightnings will strike him down ! The sun set; and the waves of the Mediterranean were as purple. So soon as the sun was below the horizon, the wind increased and we suffered much from chilly damps. We reposed upon our benches, wrapped up in our warm clothes and blankets, and wooed sleep. As regards Mr. Falconer, he could not close his eyes ; and as to Gavarni, he never, like Columbus, left the wheel for a moment. At the earliest dawn of day, the voice of Gavarni aroused us, "Awake, awake, gentlemen! Algeria is in sight, and we are about to make our descent.*' In about six minutes we found ourselves on earth again, at about one mile distant

from Algiers. The balloons and cars were landed and packed up without the slightest damage; thanks to the enthusiastic and hospitable assistance of our Algerine compatriots, who had been awakened by the incredible news of our aerial arrival. His Excellency Marshal Gaudon pressed Gavarni's hand most warmly. We remained thirty hours only on the African soil, and on Saturday, at noon, we ascended from the heads of Algiers in the presence of an immense crowd, whose acclamations followed us into the air.

Nothing particular, beyond what I have adverted to in our first trip, occurred on "our return. We, however, travelled faster than before, and on Monday, at 4h. 23m. p.m., we descended upon the same spot whence we commenced our first voyage — the grounds of Comte de Pleuvier's park. I must hope that Gavarni will forgive what he may deem indiscretion or a breach of good faith in publishing this narrative ; but secrecy and silence could not have been much longer preserved in respect to the results of this voyage. (Signed) Henei Page. Such is the extraordinary narrative which has just been received in Sydney, from Paris via Rotterdam. Of its truth, the high character of the conductors of ' Les Contemporains,' and of the 'Nieuwerve Rotterdamsche Courant,' scarcely a doubt can be entertained. This .result in the pursuit of aerological science, which has for so many years engaged earnest attention will not be received with anything beyond " popular astonishment." In almost every civilised country, the art of aeronautics has been earnestly studied since the time when the enthusiastic but unfortunate Pilate de Yozier made, in 1783, his first ascent in the earliest of Montgolfier's balloons. And here we may observe that the study of the science of aerology|has, for some years past, been pursued in this colony. In 1851, the year in which Gavarni first began to study the science, Dr. Bland turned his serious attention to it. Having completed his design, large models with drawings of his invention which he named " The Atmotic Ship," were forwarded to London and Paris in time to be exhibited at the opening of the " Crystal Paris " and the " Paris Universal Exhibition." We have read the opinions since received from some of the most eminent- engineers and savans of England, France, and Belgium, expressive of their entire approval of the main principle of Dr. Bland's invention. We will refer to a few of the objects for the effectuation of which Dr. Bland's invention seems to be urgently in requisition, and to be specially fitted :— Ist. To obtain an extensive if not thorough knowledge of the periodical or perpetual currents of air (analogous to our monsoons or trade winds) which, most probably, will be found to prevail as we ascend within given limits'of "altitude" and " latitude;" with the depth and breadth of such aereal strata or currents ; so that the knowledge of them may not only advance theoretical ° science, but be rendered practically available for the making at least of aerial passages. 2nd. To reduce to passengers the distance of various places from each other, as that of Londonfrom Sydney—from about 8,000 to 12,000 (the shortest practicable routes now known), to about 6,000 miles; and to shorten the time of such passages from about two or three months to, most probably, some four or five days. 3rd. To visit and explore those parts of our globe which are most difficult of access, if not inaccessible by any other means ; the entire Arctic and Antarctic regions; the interior of Borneo, of New Holland, of Africa, and of some parts of America; with the summits and peaks of the highest ranges and mountains. 4th. To serve, perhaps, as as a handmaid or ally to meteorological science, and to astronomy. " sth. For postal services; for the conveyance of passengers, &c, and generally, for the promotion of commerce, the advancement of science, and the more rapid and universal spread of knowledge and civilization. So comprehensive a subject cannot be continued in the small, space which our present limits afford, but will require further consideration and explanation at an early moment.— Sydney Morning Herald.