On September 19th the airship made a second ascent with the same
passengers as before, with the exception of the Duke. According
to the report of the brothers Robert, they succeeded in
completing an ellipse and then travelled further in the direction
of the wind without using the oars or steering arrangements.
They then deviated their course somewhat by the use of these
implements and landed at Bethune, about 180 miles distant from
Paris.

In those days it was considered possible that a balloon could be
rendered navigable by oars, wings, millwheels, etc., and it was
not until the last decades of the nineteenth century, when light
and powerful motors had been constructed, that the problem became
really practical of solution.

During the nineteenth century several airships were built in
France and innumerable experiments were carried out, but the
vessels produced were of little real value except in so far as
they stimulated their designers to make further efforts. Two of
these only will be mentioned, and that because the illustrations
show how totally different they were from the airship of to-day.

In 1834 the Compte de Lennox built an airship of 98,700 cubic
feet capacity. It was cylindrical in form with conical ends, and
is of interest because a small balloon or ballonet, 7,050 cubic
feet contents, was placed inside the larger one for an air
filling. A car 66 feet in length was rigged beneath the envelope
by means of ropes eighteen inches long. Above the car the
envelope was provided with a long air cushion in connection with