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Updated: June 25, 2025
"Jules Godard then tried, and accomplished, an act of sublime heroism. He clambered up into the netting, the shocks of which were so terrible that three times he fell on my head. At length he reached the cord of the valve, opened it, and the gas having a way of escape the monster ceased to rise but it still shot along in a horizontal line with prodigious rapidity.
Unfortunately, this advice, supported by long experience, was not listened to. "The Giant" went on its way, and then Louis Godard no longer considered himself responsible for the consequences of the voyage. The balloon coasted the Zuyder Zee, and then entered Hanover.
For instance, where Monsieur Arnould represents the anchor as dragging off the roof of a house, another account states that it tore away one of the rafters; and while he tells us that large trees were "cut through by the car as clean as if by a woodman's hatchet," Monsieur Godard says that they were knocked down or uprooted!
Then they resolved, instead of drowning him, to save and nourish him as their own child. But they resolved also to hide the truth from the Earl. At break of day, therefore, Grim set forth to tell Godard that his will was done. But instead of the thanks and reward promised to him, he got only evil words.
Now there was in Denmark a certain King called Birkabeyn, who had three children, two daughters and a son. And Birkabeyn fell sick, and knowing that death had stricken him, he called for Godard, whom he thought his truest friend, and said, "Godard, here I commend my children to thee. Care for them, I pray thee, and bring them up as befits the children of a king.
My passage through the principal German cities had been brilliantly marked by balloon ascents; but as yet no German had accompanied me in my car, and the fine experiments made at Paris by MM. Green, Eugene Godard, and Poitevin had not tempted the grave Teutons to essay aerial voyages.
But he was heavy and rather clumsy, and I did not care much about his conversation, in spite of his marvellous wit, for he was spiteful, and rather delighted when he could get a chance to attack the Emperor Napoleon III., whom I liked very much. We started alone, Georges Clairin, Godard, and I. The rumour of our journey had spread, but too late for the Press to get hold of the news.
It became very cold. We were then at 2600 metres, and I had a singing in my ears. My nose began to bleed. I felt very uncomfortable, and began to get drowsy without being able to prevent it. Georges Clairin got anxious, and young Godard cried out loudly, to wake me up, no doubt: "Come, come! We shall have to go down. Let us throw out the guide-rope!" This cry woke me up.
If you want to do me a signal service you will take a cab and go and let Madame Baudoyer know what is happening; for Monsieur Saillard can't leave his desk, nor I my office. Put yourself at my wife's orders; do whatever she wishes. Godard. "Monsieur Bixiou, I am obliged to leave the office for the rest of the day. You will take my place." Bixiou. "This time, La Billardiere is really dead."
The further we went on the more desert the country became: there was no light whatever, and it became more and more difficult to guess where we were going. `I am entirely out of my reckoning, exclaimed Louis Godard, `and my opinion is that the only thing we have to do is to descend at once. `What! here in the marshes! remonstrated all of us; `and suppose we are driven into the sea? The balloon went driving on still. `We cannot descend here, said Jules Godard; `we are over water. Two or three of us looked over the edge of the car, and affirmed that we were not over water, but trees. `It is water, Jules Godard persisted.
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