'Foremost among those who are thus endeavouring to render the balloon
manageable, is M. Petin of Paris, who has devoted fifteen years to the
study of this subject, the last three years to lecturing upon it in
the principal towns of France, and who has unfortunately expended the
whole of his resources in constructing an air-ship intended to
demonstrate, on a small scale, the possibility of steering according
to the system which he has elucidated. We say on a small scale; for
though the dimensions of the curious construction in question,
intended to carry two hundred passengers, will appear large to those
of our readers whose ideas of ballooning have never gone beyond the
ordinary ascensions so much in vogue at the present day, they are yet
of almost microscopic minuteness when compared with the developments
of which M. Petin and his friends conceive his plans to be
susceptible!
'The body of this novel vessel consists of two covered decks, or
galleries, connected by a series of narrow bridges, thrown across the
open space between them, on a level with their floor; thus forming the
body of the vessel, which looks not unlike a couple of Noah's Arks,
placed parallel to each other, and connected by means of the aforesaid
bridges.
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