active as his did not take long to get from
Gibraltar back to the smoke, and they had not been there many minutes
when Montgolfier jumped from his seat, and, throwing open the door of
the room, called to his landlady. A great idea had occurred to him, and,
to carry it out, he required some light, silky material, called taffeta.
This the good landlady quickly supplied, and when she entered the room
some time later, she found her lodger holding the taffeta, which he had
formed into a bag, over the fire. As the smoke filled it, it certainly
showed an inclination to rise, but once out of reach of the warmest glow
it toppled over and collapsed on the floor.

The landlady watched the experiments for some time in silence. Then,
with a little laugh, she said, 'Ah, M. Montgolfier, why do you not tie
the fire to the bag?'

The great inventor had not thought of that; but he did not require to be
told twice, and obtaining a little bunch of some inflammable material,
he tied it under his bag and set it on fire. The smoke and heat inflated
the tiny balloon, and it rose at once to the ceiling. A few minutes
later the inventor called for pen and ink, and wrote the following
letter:

'Prepare without delay a supply of taffeta and cordage, and you shall
see one of the most astonishing things in the world.'

This hasty note was addressed to M. Stephen Montgolfier at Annonay, near
Lyons, and never was a request made that was more likely to be carefully
and promptly granted. Stephen Montgolfier, like his brother, had busy
thoughts concerning means for rising in the air, and when Joseph
returned from Avignon, they set to work with stronger hope of realising
their dreams. As they were the largest and best paper-makers in Annonay,
they did not lack material for carrying on experiments, and when these
experiments had repeatedly resulted in success, they decided that the
rest of the world should be admitted into their secret. A large balloon,
made of paper and taffeta, should be inflated in the public square, and
be allowed to rise before the eyes of any who might gather there to see
it. And they carried out this determination on June 5th, 1783. On that
day there assembled at Annonay a number of local celebrities, and no
better opportunity could have been chosen.

In the public square a large circular space was railed off to keep the
crowd at a proper distance, and in the centre of this space rose a
wooden platform to accommodate the new c