discovered toying with their inflated paper bag, the younger of
the two brothers was engaged to make an exhibition of his new
art before the King at Versailles, and this was destined to be
the first occasion when a balloon was to carry a living freight
into the sky. The stately structure, which was gorgeously
decorated, towered some seventy feet into the air, and was
furnished with a wicker car in which the passengers were duly
installed. These were three in number, a sheep, a cock, and a
duck, and amid the acclamations of the multitude, rose a few
hundred feet and descended half a mile away. The cock was
found to have sustained an unexplained mishap: its leg was
broken; but the sheep was feeding complacently, and the duck
was quacking with much apparent satisfaction.

Now, who among mortals will come forward and win the honour of
being the first to sail the skies? M. Pilitre de Rozier at
once volunteered, and by the month of November a new air ship
was built, 74 feet high, 48 feet in largest diameter, and 15
feet across the neck, outside which a wicker gallery was
constructed, while an iron brazier was slung below all. But to
trim the boat properly two passengers were needed, and de
Rozier found a ready colleague in the Marquis d'Arlandes. By
way of precaution, de Rozier made a few preliminary ascents
with the balloon held captive, and then the two intrepid
Frenchmen took their stand on opposite sides of the gallery,
each furnished with bundles of fuel to feed the furnace, each
also carrying a large wet sponge with which to extinguish the
flames whenever the machine might catch fire. On casting off
the balloon rose readily, and reaching 3,000 feet, drifted away
on an upper current.