Soyer’s Aerial Cooking Stove

My Dearest Friend,—Wonders will never cease; and ballooning, I am happy to say, has at last proved itself of some use to humanity, for no doubt, this ingenious apparatus, which I have now in contemplation before me, must have sprung out of those atmospheric castles so unsafely built in the air; but the superiority of this little aerial pigmy is so much above that of his brother monster balloon, that you can have as many ascents in the course of a day as you choose, even with a parachute, without the slightest danger of getting upset; it is capable also of successfully braving the strongest current of air; and, contrary to all aeronautical notions, its descent is even more agreeable than its ascent, for it actually refreshes and elevates the spirit of the spectators, instead of causing them fear, whilst descending to terra firma.