When Blanchard made his memorable voyage from Dover Caftle into France, the honour of being the first aerial mariner was thus antici pated, and M. de Rozier withed to abandon the experiment. He accompanied his fuccefsful rival to Paris, introduced him to the most respectable and exalted characters, and deported himself towards him, not with the narrow jealoufy of an envious mind, but with the fincerity and zeal of an admiring friend. M. de Rozier, on his arrival at Paris, waited on M. de Calonne, the Comptroller-General, to afk his opinion with refpect to the purfuit of the projected experiment. -That gentleman defired him to use his own difcretion, but requested him to recollect that government had been at a confiderable expence on account of it. This, to a man of M. de Rozier's honourable fenfations was a command,he again returned to Boulogne, and after waiting for a favourable opportunity to accomplish his purpose, met with that terrible catastrophe which snatched from science one of its brightest ornaments. afcenfion, and it was agreed to limit the number of travellers to fix, although the machine had fufficient power to elevate eight thousand pounds, including its own weight, but as from its amazing fize, it was neceffarily fabricated in the open air, and had fuffered very much from being expofed to froft, fnow, and rain, it was determined not to endanger an accident by encumbering it with too many paffengers, efpecially as in many parts it was pierced by the viciffitudes of the weather. Can it be believed, that under thefe circumitances, a feventh perfon fhould jump into the gallery at the very inftant of cutting the cords; yet fuch was the fact; the experiment lafted fifty minutes, feventeen of which were occupied in inflating it with rarefied air; its power was much beyond the calculation, for it raised fifteen thousand fix hundred weight to the height of three thousand one hundred and thirtytwo feet; it contained one hundred and fortyfive thousand cubic feet of heated air, produced by the combuftion of five hundred weight of elderwood. M. de Rozier did not fimply afcend in this machine, he had fuperintended its conftruction, and exhibited confiderable skill and activity in the whole procefs; the command of it was given to him, and the fucccefs depended not a little on his exertions. We now come to that remarkable experiment made at Verfailles on the 23d of June, 1784, in the prefence of the King of Sweden, and the court of France. M. Prouft accompanied M. de Rozier in this voyage; a perfect form came on at the very moment of their afcenfion, but as the Swedish monarch was on the eve of leaving France, the experiment could not be deferred. The balloon was inflated with rarefied air in eight minutes, and M. de Rozier, who was occupied in fome arrangements on the outfide of the machine, was near being left behind, for the cords were already cut, and the Montgolfier on the point of rifing, when by a timely exertion he leaped into the gallery, and the whole apparatus afcended in a beautiful and majestic manner. The wind blowing with great violence, the balloon was carried along with incredible rapidity, and after a voyage of forty-feven minutes, defcended in the domains of the Prince de Conde, about forty-nine miles from the place of its departure. The prince entertained them with the greatest elegance, and after fupper prefented a plan of his eftate, in which the particular fpot where they had defcended was marked Place de Rozier. M. de Rozier having been fo peculiarly fuccefsful in all his experiments, drew upon him the particular attention of the King: he was defi.ous of being the first to crofs the ocean, as he had been the first to afcend; his with was no fooner fuggefted, than the Comptroller-General was ordered to difburfe the money neceffary for the conftruction of fuch a machine as M. de Rozier defired, and the whole management of it was left to him with the greatest liberality. This balloon was conftructed by two brothers of the name of Romain, who undertook the fabrication of it on condition of accompanying him across the channel. The event of that experiment we will not repeat, it is a fubject too melancholy to dwell upon. Mr. de Rozier was en Chef, or principal of a modern establishment at Paris, called Le Premier Mufee, founded under the aufpices of Monfieur, the King's eldeft brother; this Mufuem was inftituted on a plan fomething fimilar to our Grefham College, on its original foundation, but was much more extenfive in its views. The different European languages were taught in this feminary, and lectures delivered on every branch of fcience by the most eminent profeffors. After his paffage into this country he was to have been married to an English lady of a refpectable family, and propofed to refide here for three months every year. The poignancy of her diftrefs must be fevere indeed, for he was endowed with thofe focial and endearing qualities, which as they made him a valuable member of fociety in general, would have rendered the connubial ftate particularly happy. When this enterprizing genius returned to Verfailles from his acrial expedition on the 24th of June 1784, he received the highest compliments from the court and nobility of France. The Comte d'Artois defired he would place a balloon upon his arms for a creft, and prefented him with 100 louis d'ors. The Duke de Chartres made him a prefent of the fame fum, and requested De Rozier would fuffer him to add a motto to the Comte's creft; which the balloonift readily acquiefcing in, the Duke repeated the following appofite fentence from Horace : Udam Spernit humum, fugiente penna! M. Rofier took his fight from Boulogne fur Mer on the 15th inft. at ten minutes paft feven in the morning, and in addition to the above, we are enabled to add, that the balloon was 133 feet in diameter, made of a kind of taffeta, of a green ground, on which were painted the figures of admiration and ambition, holding a medallion, on which were thefe words, CoLONNE DE L'ART ET DE L'INDUSTRIE. Underneath, on a kind of wave, was infcribed the names of the two adventurers, viz. Monf. Pilatre de Rozier, and Monf. Romaine. The balloon was covered by a net with different cords, faftened to a kind of wicker basket that held a fmall iron pot full of fome combuftibles, 5 bles, which were fet fire to on their departure; this was called the Montgolfier. From this hung a green filk curtain, underneath which, fattened in the fame manner, was hung the gallery in which the aerial travellers were. This was alfo made of wicker, covered with a kind of filk painted with different devices (for the cords of the gallery were tied) the French and English colours, which were trimmed round with a neat gold fringe. In the gallery were bladders, cork jackets, fmall faggots, ftraw, gingerbread cakes, brandy, &c. &c. The following account, different in fome refpects from the former, is extracted from a letser written by an eye witnefs, a few hours after the fatal accident happened: "Influenced by the painful fenfation I now experience, my trembling hand can hardly find itrength enough to pen down the particulars of an accident which hath filled every breaft with horror and difmay. "For three or four days paft the wind had unfortunately proved favourable, I fay unfortunately, as M. Pilatre de Rozier was the more confirmed in the resolution of fulfilling his imprudent promife, which the bitterness of farcafm and the reflections caft on his want of courage tos forcibly provoked him to attempt. At laft, the balloon was one third filled up, when the mariners, appointed to pronounce on the state of the wind, declared it was unfavourable. The proceedings were deferred till midnight, when the wind blowing rather fresh from the fouth-east, fine weather, and a clear iky, feemed to announce the finest morn. At Though the balloon was inconteftibly the largest ever made with gummed luftring, yet by the ingenious contrivance of its owner, it was completely ready in lefs than four hours. feven this morning the fignal of two guns being fired, announced the long expected departure. The adventurers, with molt placid countenances, were seated in the car, and rofe majestically in the fight of a numerous concourfe of people, whofe very features were expreffive of joy, not divefted of anxious folicitude. The machine was foon defcried to hover over the fea, but in the space of less than twenty minutes, it was obferved by a retrograde motion to make back for the land; all eyes were fixed on the grand spectacle, when on a fudden a thick cloud of smoke was obferved to iffue from the upper part of the balloon; the latter bursting inftantly, the other parts of the apparatus were obferved to fall towards the earth with the utmoit velocity. It would be impoffible for me to defcribe the fucceffive emotions of pity and horror that distorted, as it were, the features of every one prefent; fuffice it to fay, that a peafant who stood on the fpot where the dreadful fall was effected, tells us that he witneffed the laft groan of the two ill-fated aeronauts. I myself went to the place within a little more than a mile and a half from this town, oppofite to the tower of Croui, near the fea, and was there informed of the lamentable end of the two men, who deferved a better fate." On the 23d inft. Mr. Decker afcended a fecond time in his balloon from Quantrell's Gardens in Norwich. In this voyage it was intended that Mifs Weller fhould accompany him, but after a confiderable lofs of time in endeavouring to give the aerial vehicle a fufficient afcenfional power, the lady had the mortification of a fecond difappointment. Mr. Decker left the garden five minutes after three o'clock, by his own watch, with about forty pounds of ballaft in the car. The wind had been north the whole morning, varying occafionally a point to the eaft or the weft, and the direction the balloon took was over Lakenham, Armineland, Stoke, &c. for about fix minutes it gradually moved forwards and very obliquely, feeming, in the most gentle manner, to glide over the fields, trees, and houses underneath, and being, during this time, moft diftinctly feen by the crowds who filled all the neighbouring eminences, and who feveral times heard Mr. Deeker fpeak with the trumpet; when he had paffed over Lakenham, he rofe more rapidly, and in a lefs oblique direction. He defcended at Topcroft about twelve miles from Norwich, in a field belonging to Mr. Bond of that place; the time by his watch being ten minutes before four, fo that the voyage was performed exactly in three quarters of an hour. THE proprietors of the London Magazine beg leave to return their fincere and grateful thanks to the public in general, and to their readers in particular, for the kind and generous patronage with which, for fo long a courfe of years, their work has been honoured. At the fame time, they beg leave to inform them, that THIS NUMBER will be the LAST which they mean to publish. To state their motives for declining the continuation of this Magazine is by no means neceffary.-If they have fucceeded in their endeavours to unite amusement with inftruction, if they have in the finalleft degree fmoothed the road to knowledge and fcience, they will remain fatisfied with the pleafing thought that their labours have acquired a reward which will beftow a more durable fatisfaction than the fplendid triumphs of the hero, or the verdant laurels of the poet! -Animated with this idea, they conclude--and only add, Vos VALETE ET PLAUDITE, PRICES of STOCKS, &c. in JUNE, 1785. Compiled by C. DOMVILLE, Stock-Broker, No. 95, Cornhill. Navy Exch. Wind Weath. reduced confols. confols, Ann. Ann. Stock Ann. 121 New India S. Seal Old Bonds Stock Ann. 4 P. Ann. Bills. Bills. Deal London 561 N Rain 91 17 I NW 29 Sunday 30 Holiday N W I 1162 56 1161 57 རྩ 23456789 1161 56 116 56 666 2222 121 71 NE Par 661 55% NE Par 56 71 NE 55 Par Holiday Sunday 55 563 9 73号 91 4 174 Shur Par སསས 73 92 174 1331/12 534 Par 92 174 Par 56 91 9 534 Par 11 Holiday 12 Sunday NE N W 91 a 134 91 8 135 53 1351/12 73 / 74 66 91 91 1352 2222 N W 564 74 5 S W 57 NE Rain 3 P. NE Fair 3344 561 57 57 7 562 57 58 a 74 91 71 N. B. In the 3 per Cent Confols. the highest and lowest Price of each Day is given; in the other Stocks the highest Price only. TO THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS IN THE FOURTH VOLUME OF Index to the Biography, Intelligence, and Mifcellany. B. Buda restored by the Emperor Jofeph CALAMITIES of Iceland 184 L. LETTER on air C- 269 from Mifs C. T to the Hon. Mils an infant 20 from Mifs C. T to Miss T, 22 I. from Lifle 174 II. 176 the third from Lifle 279 331 mas Edmondes Letter I. II. from Mr. Bofwell III. Samuel Johnfon 96 Cafaubon, life of Ifaac, 93-his early pro- from Archbishop Bancroft to Sir Tho Letters and detached papers relative to Dr. Sa- IV. Samuel Johnson V. Account of Mr. Levet VI. Johnsoniana VII. Johnfoniana 99 246 246 246 247 247 249 250 252 254 VIII. Animadverfions on Mr. Tyers's Sketch of Dr. Johnson's life 255 257 X. Remark on a paffage in Mr. Tyers's 17 103 103 103 104 104 103 103 81 82 82 of the States of the Elector Pala- 82 Prefent ftate of Leipfic 82 81 277 Pretender's daughter acknowledged 85 86 R. Ships which entered the Baltic in the last year 83 246, 331,400 Soliloquy written among the tombs 101 169. |