What I Saw
It was the tip of the balloon which, during the descent, which was fast, had touched the roof of a house.
A paper bag full of air, banged against a wall, bursts, producing a big noise; well, my balloon, which was not a small one, made a noise like that, but... in a big way. It was completely destroyed.
No piece bigger than a napkin could be found!
I was saved by a real miracle, because I was hanging by some ropes, which were part of the balloon, in an uncomfortable and dangerous position, from which the firemen of Paris came to rescue me.
Friends and journalists advised me to stay in this and not continue my ascents, the last of which had saved me by a real miracle. The advice was good, but I could not resist the temptation to continue; I did not know how to counteract my sportsman-like temperament.
I summoned them for a new experiment in three weeks. I knew the elements I could count on; I already knew about twenty houses in Paris, each one specialized in a particular work, and I had already won the sympathy of the counter-
— 38 —
