Icarriedthreehundredpoundsofballast, inbags；thecar, perfectlyround, fourfeetindiameter, andthreefeetinheight, wasconvenientlyattached；thecordwhichsustaineditwassymmetricallyextendedfromtheupperhemisphereoftheaerostat；thecompasswasinitsplace, thebarometersuspendedtotheironhoopwhichsurroundedthesupportingcord, atadistanceofeightfeetabovethecar；theanchorcarefullyprepared, allwasinreadinessforourdeparture.
Amongthepersonswhocrowdedaroundtheenclosure, -occupationneverlefthim；heeagerlycontemplatedthecuriousmachine, whichrestedmotionlessatafewfeetfromtheground, andremainedsilent.
Theclockstrucktwelve！, andlearnedthatonehadstartedforHamburg, anotherforViennaandthethird, stillmorefearful, , which, sincetheingeniousexperimentsofaeronauts, , asitwereapartoftheprogrammeofthefete, theyhadfearedbeingcompelledtofulfiltheiragreements, .
Thecrowd, thuspartlydisappointed, -establishtheequilibriumbetweenthespecificgravityoftheballoonandtheweighttoberaised, , letthemslipbetweentheirfngers；, andtheatmosphere, heavyaslead, seemedinsurmountable.
“Allisready！”exclaimedI，“attention！”
Themenarrangedthemselves；alastglanceinformedmethateverythingwasright.
“Attention！”
Therewassomemovementinthecrowdwhichseemedtobeinvadingthereservedenclosure.
“Letgo！”
Theballoonslowlyascended；, Ifoundmyselffacetofacewithanunexpectedvoyager-thepaleyoungman.
“Monsieur, Isaluteyou！”saidhetome.
“Bywhatright?”
“AmIhere?Bytherightofyourinabilitytoturnmeout.”
；, ：
“Myweightwilldisturbyourequilibrium, Monsieur：willyoupermitme?”
