Page:My Airships.djvu/65

 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 ($\tfrac{3}{6}$ 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$\tfrac{1}{4}$ 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!