Serio-Comic Aspect of the Subject--The Public Duped--The
Abbes Miolan and Janninet at the Luxembourg--Caricatures--
The “Minerva” of Robertson, and its Voyage Round the World.
The discovery like that of balloons could not be made public in France
without being travestied, and without offering some comic side for
the amusement of the wits of the day. Under some old coloured prints,
designed with the intention of satirising such unfortunate aeronauts
as had collected their money from the spectators, but had failed in
inflating their balloons, is written, “The Infallible Means of Raising
Balloons”--the infallible means consisting of ropes and pulleys.
While caricature was thus turning its irony upon the efforts of
believers in the new idea, serious pamphlets were being written and
published with the same object. One of these declares that the discovery
is IMMORAL, I. Because since God has not given wings to man, it is
impious to try to improve his works, and to encroach upon his rights as
a Creator; 2. Because honour and virtue would be in continual danger,
if balloons were permitted to descend, at all hours of the night, into
gardens and close to windows; 3. Because, if the highway of the air were
to remain open to all and sundry, the frontiers of nations would vanish,
and property national and personal would be invaded, &c. We do not wish
to gather together here the stones which critics threw against the new
discovery, unaware all the time that these stones were falling upon
their own heads.
It is only fair to state that after the first ascents the public were
often duped by pretending aeronauts, whose single aim was to sell their
tickets, and who disappeared when the time came for ascending. The
result of these frauds was that sometimes honest men were made to suffer
as rogues. Even in our own day, when an ascent, seriously intended,
fails to succeed, owing to some unforeseen circumstances, the public
frequently manifests a decided ill-will to the aeronaut, who is
perfectly honest, and only unfortunate.
The famous ascent of the Abbes Miolan and Janninet, at the Luxembourg,
may be cited as among the failures which suffered most from the satire
of the time. Their immense balloon, constructed at great expense at the
observatory, was expected to rise beyond the clouds, and a multitude,
each of whom had paid dearly for his ticket, had assembled at the
Luxembourg. The morning had been occupied in removing the balloon from
the observatory to the place of ascent, and at midday the inflation of
it began. The rays of a burning July sun--and one knows what that is in
the Luxembourg in Paris--streamed down on the heads of the thousands of
spectators. From six in the morning till four in the evening they had
waited to see the unheard-of wonder; the ascent, however, was to be so
imposing, that nothing could be lost by waiting for it.
But at five in the afternoon the heavy machine was still
motionless--inert upon the ground. We need not attempt to describe the
scene which took place as the impatience of the multitude increased.
Sneers of derision made themselves heard on all sides. A universal
murmur, rapidly developing into a clamour, arose amongst the multitude;
then, wild with disappointment, the frenzied populace threw themselves
upon the barricade, broke it, attacked the gallery of the balloon, the
instruments, the apparatus, trampling them under foot, and smashing them
in bits. They then rushed upon the balloon and fired it. There was then
a general melee. Far from fleeing the fire, every one struggled to seize
and carry off a bit of the balloon, to preserve as a relic. The two
abbes escaped as they best could, under protection of a number of
friends.
After this there fell a perfect shower of lampoons and caricatures. The
Abbe Miolan was represented as a cat with a band round its neck, while
Janninet appeared as a donkey; and in a coloured print the cat and
the ass are shown arriving in triumph upon their famous balloon at the
Academy of Montmartre, and are received at the hill of Moulins-a-Vent
by a solemn assembly of turkey-cocks and geese in different attitudes.
Numerous songs and epigrams, of which the unfortunate abbes were the
subjects, also appeared at this time. The letters which composed the
words “l’Abbe Miolan” were found to form the anagram, Ballon abime--“the
balloon swallowed up.”
The most extravagant balloon project was that of Robertson, who
published a scheme for making a tour of the world. He called it “La
Minerva, an aerial vessel destined for discoveries, and proposed to
all the Academies of Europe, by Robertson, physicist” (Vienna, 1804;
reprinted at Paris, 1820), Robertson dedicated his project to Volta, and
in his dedication he does not scruple to say: “In our age, my friendship
seeks only one gratification, that we should both live a sufficiently
long time together to enable you to calculate and utilise the results
of this great machine, while I take the practical direction of it.” The
following is this aeronaut’s prospectus:--
“There is no limit to the sciences and the arts, which cultivation does
not overstep. We have everything to hope and to expect from time,
from chance, and from the genius of man. The difference which there
is between the canoe of the savage and the man-of-war of 124 guns is
perhaps as great as that of balloons as they now are and as they will
be in the course of a century. If you ask of an aeronaut why he cannot
command the motions of his balloon, he will ask of you in his turn why
the inventor of the canoe did not immediately afterwards construct a
man-of-war. It must be recollected that there have not yet elapsed forty
years since the discovery of the balloon, and that to perfect it would
be a work of difficulty, as much from the increased knowledge which such
a work would demand, as from the pecuniary sacrifices and the personal
devotion which it would involve.
“Thus this invention, after having at first electrified all savants
from the one end of the world to the other, has suffered the fate of all
discoveries--it was all at once arrested. Did not astronomy wait long
for Newton, and chemistry for Lavoisier, to raise them to something like
the splendour they now enjoy? Was not the magnet a long time a toy
in the hands of the Chinese, without giving birth to the idea of the
compass? The electric fluid was known in the time of Thales, but
how many ages did we wait for the discovery of galvanism? Yet these
sciences, which may be studied in silent retreats, were more likely to
yield fruit to the discoverer than aerostatics, which demand courage
and skill, and of which the experiments, which are always public, are
attended with great cost.”
Robertson’s proposed machine was to be 150 feet in diameter, and would
be capable of carrying 150,000 lbs. Every precaution was to be taken in
order to make the great structure perfect. It was to accommodate sixty
persons to be chosen by the academics, who should stay in it for several
months should rise to all possible elevations, pass through all
climates in all seasons, make scientific observations, &c. This balloon,
penetrating deserts inaccessible by other means of travel, and visiting
places which travellers have never penetrated, would be of immense use
in the science of geography: and when under the line, if the heat near
the earth should be inconvenient, the aeronauts would, of course, easily
rise to elevations where the temperature is equal and agreeable. When
their observations, their needs, or their pleasures demanded it, they
could descend to within a short distance of the earth, say ninety feet,
and fix themselves in their position by means of an anchor. It might,
perhaps, be possible, by taking the advantage of favourable winds, to
make the tour of the world. “Experience will perhaps demonstrate that
aerial navigation presents less inconvenience and less dangers than the
navigation of the seas.”
The immensity of the seas seemed to be the only source of insurmountable
difficulties; “but,” says Robertson, “over what a vast space might
not one travel in six months with a balloon fully furnished with the
necessaries of life, and all the appliances necessary for safety?
Besides, if, through the natural imperfection attaching to all the works
of man, or either through accident or age, the balloon, borne above the
sea, became incapable of sustaining the travellers, it is provided with
a boat, which can withstand the waters and guarantee the return of the
voyagers.”
Such were the ideas promulgated regarding the “Minerva.” The following
is the serious description given of the machine. The numbers correspond
with those on the illustration.
“The cock (3) is the symbol of watchfulness; it is also the highest
point of the balloon. An observer, getting up through the interior to
the point at which the watchful fowl is placed, will be able to command
the best view to be had in the ‘Minerva.’ The wings at the side (1 and
2) are to be regarded as ornamental. The balloon will be 150 feet in
diameter, made expressly at Lyons of unbleached silk, coated within and
without with indict-rubber. This globe sustains a ship, which contains
or has attached to it all the things necessary for the convenience, the
observations, and even the pleasures of the voyagers.
“(a) A small boat, in which the passengers might take refuge in case
of necessity, in the event of the larger vessel falling on the sea in a
disabled state.
“(b) A large store for keeping the water, wine, and all the provisions
of the expedition.
“(cc) Ladders of silk, to enable the passengers to go to all parts of
the balloon.
“(e) Closets.
“(h) Pilot’s room.
“(1) An observatory, containing the compasses and other scientific
instruments for taking the latitude.
“(g) A room fitted up for recreations, walking, and gymnastics.
“(m) The kitchen, far removed from the balloon. It is the only place
where a fire shall be permitted.
“(p) Medicine room.
“(v) A theatre, music room, &c.
“--The study.
“(x) The tents of the air-marines, &c. &c.”
This balloon is certainly the most marvellous that has ever been
imagined--quite a town, with its forts, ramparts, cannon, boulevards,
and galleries. One can understand the many squibs and satires which so
Utopian a notion provoked.