The Morning Star

Allen's "Castle In the Air."

The aeronaut Mr. James C. Allen, who has many years studied and practiced aerostation or aerial navigation, until he has become an enthusiast, and is as much at home in the clouds as on terra firma, has devised a mode of aerial navigation, entirely safe, by which those who can overcome their fears, may take an upward trip of a thousand feet, and see earth, city and field with a bird's-eye view.

Mr. Allen has located on the Calender Lot made a connection with the city gas works, and with suitable machinery put his magnificent balloon, Castle in the Air, under perfect control. The power of control is an engine, which lets out rope as wanted and then reels it in again, with an equable steady motion. His balloon is the largest in the country, of a capacity of nearly a hundred thousand feet, supplied with all the necessary appurtenances. Yesterday morning we determined to ascend, and entering the enclosure stood face to face with the huge machine. We scanned the arrangements, calculated the chances, and on striking a balance took resolution and decided the venture. If we stay down said we, there is danger almost everywhere. Something may tumble down from a building, a run-away horse may dash against us, one of Comstock's wild Texas steers may plunge at us and finish our sublunary career, or some other mode of exit may overtake us; so the whole, we'll "up in the balloon boys" and from the upper air, look back upon the rolling ball and note whether distance will lend enchantment to the view. All ready; the sand bags are ballasted, the ropes adjusted, the basket hitched on and we step in. At a signal from our conductor, Mr. Allen, the engine pays out rope, and we swing from the earth. There is a momentary sensation of insecurity, but it is only for a moment. The novelty of the situation balances your trepidation. For a few feet the basket appears to rise, then this changes and the earth appears to sink away. At the same time, objects appear to draw towards you, and everything appears in sharp outline. You look down upon objects a mile away from the starting point and they are, seemingly, under you. Gradually this goes on, till the whole city and beyond is under the eye. Men and small objects become ant-like, yet they are all distinct and stand out sharply. At about five hundred feet, we should judge, there is a peculiar appearance of the houses and streets for a radius of a mile or two, with the trees interspersed, which is most beautiful but indescribable. By this time, the inequalities of the surface begin to disappear and the surface of the earth assumes a level, the hills dropping away. As the view enlarges, it becomes really sublime. There is a magnificence which needs to be seen to be appreciated.

Yesterday afternoon, the haze covered the distant landscape, so that the view did not extend much beyond ten miles. Still the view was magnificent, and we felt abundantly compensated for our time and trouble. If the public generally could realize what an aerial trip of this kind produced, the "Castle in the Air" would be provided with business from morning until night. As remarked before, there is as complete safety as elsewhere. All contingencies have been provided for, and the experience of Mr. Allen, covering a period of more than twenty years is a guaranty that the voyager will have a safe deliverance.