nearly the whole morning
the sun shone in a clear blue sky, without a symptom of wind or coming
change. Shortly before noon, however, clouds appeared aloft, and the
sky assumed an altered aspect. Then the state of things quickly changed.
Wind currents reached the earth blowing strongly, and the half-filled
balloon began to lurch to such an extent that the inflation could only
with difficulty be proceeded with. Fifty men were unable to hold it in
sufficient restraint to prevent rude bumping of the car on the ground,
and when, at length, arrangements were complete and release effected,
rapid discharge of ballast alone saved collision with neighbouring
buildings.

It was now that the disturbance overhead came under investigation;
and, considering the short period it had been in progress, proved most
remarkable, the more so the further it was explored. At 4,000 feet they
plunged into the cloud canopy, through which as it was painfully cold,
they, sought to penetrate into the clear above, feeling confident of
finding themselves, according to their usual experience, in bright blue
sky, with the sun brilliantly shining. On the contrary, however, the
region they now entered was further obscured with another canopy of
cloud far up. It was while they were traversing this clear interval that
a sound unwonted in balloon travel assailed their ears. This was the
"sighing, or rather moaning, of the wind as preceding a storm." Rustling
of the silk within the cordage is often heard aloft, being due to
expansion of gas or similar cause; but the aeronauts soon convinced
themselves that what they heard was attributable to nothing else than
the actual conflict of air currents beneath. Then they reached fog--a
dry fog--and, passing through it, entered a further fog, but wetting
this time, and within the next 1,000 feet they were once again in fog
that was dry; and then, reaching three miles high and seeing struggling
sunbeams, they looked around and saw cloud everywhere, below, above,
and far clouds on their own level. The whole sky had filled in most
completely since the hours but recently passed, when they had been
expatiating on the perfect serenity of the empty heavens.

Still they climbed upwards, and in the next 2,000 feet had entered
further fog, dry at first, but turning wetter as they rose. At four
miles high they found themselves on a level with clouds, whose dark
masses and fringed edges proved them to be veritable rain clouds;