CHAPTER V
THE REAL AND THE IMAGINARY DANGERS OF BALLOONING
ONE of the most astonishing adventures I had during this period of spherical ballooning took place directly over Paris.
I had started from Vaugirard with four invited guests in a large balloon constructed for me after I had tired of making solitary trips in the little "Brazil."
From the start there seemed to be very little wind. I rose slowly, seeking an air current. At 1000 metres ( of a mile high) I found nothing. At 1500 metres (one mile) we still remained almost stationary. Throwing out more ballast we rose to 2000 metres (1 mile), when a vagrant breeze started to take us over the centre of Paris.
When we had arrived at a point over the Louvre ... it left us! We descended . . . and found nothing!
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