,,the ,,practical ,,science ,,series ,the following ,vols4 are now ready or in the ,press3-- ,,balloons1 ,,airships1 ,,and ,,flying ,,machines4 ,by ,,gertrude ,,bacon4 ,,motors ,,and ,,motoring4 ,by ,professor ,,harry ,,spooner4 ,,radium4 ,by ,dr4 ,,hampson4 ,,meteorology2 or1 ,,weather ,,explained4 ,by ,j4 ,,gordon ,m#8,,pherson1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,others in ,preparation ,illustration3 ,,the ,,authoress1 ,,her ,,father1 ,,and ,,mr4 ,,spencer ,,making ,,an ,,ascent4 ,frontispiece4 ,,balloons ,,airships ,,and ,,flying ,,machines ,,by ,,gertrude ,,bacon ,,new ,,york ,,dodd1 ,,mead ,,company ,,london3 ,t4 ,c4 ,e4 ,c4 ,,jack #aije ,,contents ,,chap4 ,,page ,i4 ,,the ,,origin ,,of ,,ballooning #i ,,ii4 ,,the ,,coming ,,of ,,the ,,gas ,,balloon #bc ,,iii4 ,,famous ,,balloon ,,voyages ,,of ,,the ,,past #ch ,,iv4 ,,the ,,balloon ,,as ,a ,,scientific ,,instrument #eg ,v4 ,,the ,,balloon ,,in ,,warfare #fi ,,vi4 ,,the ,,airship #hd ,,vii4 ,,the ,,flying ,,machine #aje ,,viii4 ,,conclusion #aai ,,balloons1 ,,airships1 ,,and ,,flying ,,machines ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,origin ,,of ,,ballooning ,one ,november night in the year #aghb1 so the story runs1 two brothers sat over their winter fire in the little ,french town of ,annonay1 watching the grey smoke-wreaths from the hearth curl up the wide chimney4 ,their names were ,stephen and ,joseph ,montgolfier1 they were papermakers by trade1 and were noted as possessing thoughtful minds and a deep interest in all scientific knowledge and new discovery4 ,before that night--a memorable night1 as it was to prove--hundreds of millions of people had watched the rising smoke-wreaths of their fires without drawing any special inspiration from the fact2 but on this particular occasion1 as ,stephen1 the younger of the brothers1 sat and gazed at the familiar sight1 the question flashed across his mind1 8,what is the hidden power that makes those curling smoke-wreaths rise upwards1 and could ,i not employ it to make other things rise also80 ,illustration3 ,,medallion ,,showing ,,brothers ,,montgolfier4 ,then and there the brothers resolved on an experiment4 ,they made themselves a small fire of some light fuel in a little tin tray or chafing-dish1 and over the smoke of it they held a large paper-bag4 ,and to their delight they saw the bag fill out and make a feeble attempt to rise4 ,they were surely on the eve of some great invention2 and yet1 try as they would1 their experiment would not quite succeed1 because the smoke in the bag always became too cool before there was enough in it to raise it from the table4 ,but presently1 while they were thus engaged1 a neighbour of theirs1 a widow lady1 alarmed by seeing smoke issuing from their window1 entered the room1 and after watching their fruitless efforts for some while1 suggested that they should fasten the tray on to the bottom of the bag4 ,this was done1 with the happy result that the bag immediately rose up to the ceiling2 and in this humble fashion the first of all balloons sailed aloft4 ,that night of #aghb1 therefore1 marks the first great step ever made towards the conquest of the sky4 ,but to better understand the history of 8,aeronautics0--a word that means 8the sailing of the air0--we must go back far beyond the days of the ,montgolfier brothers4 ,for in all times and in all ages men have wanted to fly4 ,david wished for the wings of a dove to fly away and be at rest1 and since his time1 and before it1 how many have not longed to take flight and sail away in the boundless1 glorious realms above1 to explore the fleecy clouds1 and to float free in the blue vault of heaven4 ,and since birds achieve this feat by means of wings1 man's first idea was to provide himself with wings also4 ,but here he was at once doomed to disappointment4 ,it is very certain that by his own natural strength alone a man will never propel himself through the air with wings like a bird1 because he is made quite differently4 ,a bird's body is very light compared with its size4 ,the largest birds in existence weigh under thirty pounds4 ,a man's body1 on the contrary1 is very heavy and solid4 ,the muscles that work a bird's wing are wonderfully powerful and strong1 far stronger in proportion than the muscles of a man's arm4 ,to sustain his great weight in the air1 a man of eleven stone would require a pair of wings nearly twenty feet in span4 ,but the possession of such mighty wings alone is not enough4 ,he must also possess bodily strength to keep them in sufficient motion to prevent him from falling1 and for this he would require at least the strength of a horse4 ,such strength a man has never possessed1 or can ever hope to2 but even as it is1 by long practice and great effort1 men have succeeded at different times1 not exactly in flying1 but in helping themselves along considerably by means of wings4 ,a man is said to have flown in this way in ,rome in the days of ,nero4 ,a monk in the ,middle ,ages1 named ,elmerus1 it is stated1 flew about a furlong from the top of a tower in ,spain1 another from ,st4 ,mark's steeple in ,venice1 and another from ,nuremburg4 ,but the most successful attempt ever made in this direction was accomplished about #bjj years ago by a ,french locksmith of the name of ,besnier4 ,he had made for himself a pair of light wooden oars1 shaped like the double paddle of a canoe1 with cup-like blades at either end4 ,these he placed over his shoulders1 and attached also to his feet1 and then casting himself off from some high place1 and violently working his arms and legs so as to buffet the air downwards with his paddles1 he was able to raise himself by short stages from one height to another1 or skim lightly over a field or river4 ,it is said that subsequently ,besnier sold his oars to a mountebank1 who performed most successfully with them at fairs and festivals4 ,illustration3 ,,besnier ,,and ,,his ,,oars4 ,but it was soon clear that the art of human flight was not to be achieved by such means2 and when men found that they were unable to soar upwards by their own bodily strength alone1 they set about devising some apparatus or machine which should carry them aloft4 ,many ancient philosophers bent their minds to the inventing of a machine for this purpose4 ,one suggested that strong flying birds1 such as eagles or vultures1 might be harnessed to a car1 and trained to carry it into the sky4 ,another gravely proposed the employment of 8a little imp0--for in those days the existence of imps and demons was most firmly believed in4 ,a third even went so far as to give an actual recipe for flying1 declaring that 8if the eggs of the larger description of swans1 or leather balls stitched with fine thongs1 be filled with nitre1 the purest sulphur1 quicksilver1 or kindred materials which rarefy by their caloric energy1 and if they externally resemble pigeons1 they will easily be mistaken for flying animals40 767 ,the first man who appeared to have any inkling of the real way of solving the problem of a 8flying chariot10 and who in dim fashion seems to have foreshadowed the invention of the balloon1 was that wonderful genius1 ,roger ,bacon1 the ,learned ,friar of ,ilchester1 the inventor or re-inventor of gunpowder1 who lived in the thirteenth century4 ,he had an idea--an idea which was far ahead of his times1 and only proved to be true hundreds of years after--that the earth's atmosphere was an actual substance or 8true fluid10 and as such he supposed it to have an upper surface as the sea has1 and on this upper surface he thought an airship might float1 even as a boat floats on the top of the water4 ,and to make his airship rise upwards to reach this upper sea1 he said one must employ 8a large hollow globe of copper or other similar metal wrought extremely thin1 to have it as light as possible1 and filled with ethereal air or liquid fire40 ,it is doubtful whether ,bacon had very clear ideas of what he meant by 8ethereal air40 ,but1 whether by accident or insight1 he had in these words hit upon the true principle of the balloon--a principle only put into practice five centuries later4 ,he saw that a body would rise upwards through the air if it were filled with something lighter than air1 even as a body will rise upwards through the water if it is made of1 or filled with1 something lighter than water4 ,we know that if we throw an empty bottle tightly corked into the sea it does not sink1 but rises upwards1 because it is filled with air1 which is lighter than water4 ,in the same way exactly a light bag or balloon which is filled with some gas which is lighter than air will not stay on the surface of the ground1 but will rise upwards into the sky to a height which depends upon its weight and buoyancy4 ,later philosophers than ,bacon came to the same conclusion1 though they do not seem to have seen matters more clearly4 ,as recently as #agee a certain learned ,french priest actually suggested that since the air on the top of high mountains is known to be lighter than that at an ordinary level1 men might ascend to these great heights and bring down the light air 8in constructions of canvas or cotton40 ,by means of this air he then proposed to fly a great machine1 which he describes1 and which seems to have been as large and cumbersome as ,noah's ,ark4 ,needless to say1 the worthy ,father's proposal has never yet been put into practice4 ,but it is time now that we return to the two brothers ,montgolfier and their paper-bag of smoke4 ,their experiments proved at once that in smoke they had found something which was lighter than air1 and which would1 therefore1 carry a light weight upwards4 ,but of what this something was they had1 at the time1 but a confused idea4 ,they imagined that the burning fuel they had used had given off some special light gas1 with the exact nature of which they were unacquainted4 ,the very word gas1 be it here said1 was in those days almost unknown1 and of different gases1 their nature and properties1 most people had but the very vaguest notions4 ,and so for some time the ,montgolfiers and their followers supposed that the presence of this mysterious gas was necessary to the success of their experiments1 and they were very careful about always using special kinds of fuel1 which they supposed gave off this gas1 to inflate their bags4 ,later experiments proved1 however1 what every one now knows1 that the paper-bag rose1 not because of the gases given off by the fire1 but by reason of the hot air with which it became filled4 ,nearly all substances1 no matter how solid1 expand more or less under the influence of heat1 and air expands very greatly indeed4 ,by thus expanding heated air becomes lighter than the surrounding air1 and1 because it is lighter1 rises upwards in the atmosphere1 and continues to rise until it has once more regained the average temperature4 ,illustration3 ,,montgolfier',s ,,balloon4 ,encouraged by the success of their first humble experiment1 the ,montgolfiers next tried their paper-bag in the open air1 when to their delight it sailed upwards to a height of #gj feet4 ,the next step was to make a much larger craft of #fjj cubic feet capacity and spherical in shape1 which they called a 8,balloon10 because it was in appearance like a large1 round1 short-necked vessel used in chemistry which was technically known by that name4 ,this great bag1 after being inflated1 became so powerful that it broke loose from its moorings1 and floated proudly upwards #fjj feet and more1 and came down in an adjoining field4 ,after a few more successful trials the brothers thought that the time had come to make known their new invention4 ,accordingly they constructed a great balloon of #ce feet in diameter1 and issued invitations to the public to come and see the inflation4 ,this was successfully made over a fire of chopped straw and wool1 and the giant rose up into the sky amid the deafening applause of a huge multitude1 and after attaining a height of #gjjj feet1 fell to the ground a mile and a half away4 ,the news of this marvellous event spread like wild-fire throughout the kingdom1 and soon not only all ,france1 but all ,europe also1 was ringing with the tidings4 ,the ,french ,royal ,academy of ,sciences immediately invited ,stephen ,montgolfier to ,paris1 and provided him with money to repeat his experiment4 ,he accordingly constructed a yet larger machine1 which stood no less than #gb feet high1 had it most magnificently painted and decorated and hung with flags1 and sent it up at ,versailles in the presence of the ,king and all his court4 ,this particular balloon is noteworthy as having been the first of all balloons to carry living passengers into the air4 ,they were three in number1 a sheep1 a cock1 and a duck4 ,breathlessly the assembled multitude watched these innocent victims placed in the basket and soar calmly and majestically above their heads2 and eagerly they followed the balloon to where it fell half a mile away to learn their fate4 ,would they have been suffocated in those upper regions of the air which no human being had yet explored1 or would they be dashed to pieces in the descent8 ,but they found the trio quite uninjured2 the unimaginative sheep grazing quietly1 and the duck cheerfully quacking4 ,forthwith the cry then arose that it was time for a man to hazard the ascent1 and ,king ,louis1 who1 like every one else1 was vastly excited over the wonder1 suggested that two criminals then lying under sentence of death should be sent aloft4 ,but now a brave ,french gentleman--,m4 ,piltre de ,rozier1 a name ever to be remembered in the history of the conquest of the air--uprose in indignation4 8,shall vile criminals have the first glory of rising into the sky60 he cried1 and then and there he proudly claimed for himself the honour of being first among mortals in the history of the world to sail the air4 ,his courageous resolve was wildly applauded1 and forthwith preparations were commenced for the new venture4 ,a yet larger balloon was made1 in height as tall as a church tower1 with a mouth #ae feet across4 ,around the mouth was fastened a gallery of wicker-work1 three feet wide1 to hold the passengers1 and below all was slung with chains an iron brazier of burning fuel4 ,by way of precaution1 when all was complete ,de ,rozier made a few short captive excursions1 the balloon being fastened to earth by a rope4 ,but all proving satisfactory1 he decided to hazard a 8right away0 trip on the #bast of ,november #aghc1 when he was also to be accompanied by an equally courageous fellow-countryman1 the ,marquis d',arlandes4 ,it would be difficult to conceive a more daring and perilous enterprise than these two brave ,frenchmen set themselves4 ,they were to venture1 by an untried way1 into unknown realms where no mortal had been before2 they were to entrust their lives to a frail craft whose capabilities had never yet been tested1 and at a giddy height they were to soar aloft with an open fire1 which at any moment might set light to the inflammable balloon and hurl them to destruction4 ,wild indeed was the applause of the crowd as the mighty craft1 after due inflation1 rose majestically into the sky1 carrying with it its two brave voyagers-- the first that ever burst ,into that silent sea2 and with what anxiety was its course followed as1 rising rapidly to a height of #cjjj feet1 it drifted away on an upper current which bore it right over the city of ,paris4 ,the travellers themselves experienced various excitements during their adventurous trip4 ,they had constantly to stir the fire and feed it with fresh fuel2 they had also with wet sponges continually to extinguish the flames when the light fabric from time to time ignited4 ,at one period they feared descending into the river or on the house-tops1 at another a sharp shock gave them the impression that their balloon had burst4 ,but they came safely in the end through all perils and alarms1 descending quietly1 after a voyage of twenty-five minutes' duration1 five miles from their starting-place4 ,illustration3 ,,an ,,early ,,hydrogen ,,balloon4 ,thus was invented and perfected in the course of less than a year the first of all craft which carried man into the sky--the ,hot-,air or ,montgolfier ,balloon4 ,to this day large hot-air balloons inflated by the same methods employed a hundred years ago occasionally take passengers aloft4 ,indeed1 there now seems a likelihood that the use of the ,montgolfier balloon will be largely revived for military purposes1 since1 with modern improvements1 it would appear to be more quickly and easily inflated than a gas balloon in time of warfare4 ,with miniature hot-air balloons we are all familiar1 for every schoolboy has made them for himself of coloured papers1 and watched them float away on the breeze with as much admiration and delight as the two brothers of ,annonay watched their bag first float upwards to the ceiling4 ,but almost before the invention of the hot-air balloon had been completed1 and before ,piltre de ,rozier had made his ascent1 a rival craft had appeared upon the scene1 to which we must more specially refer in the next chapter4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,coming ,,of ,,the ,,gas ,,balloon ,during the time of which we are speaking there was living in ,london a famous chemist named ,henry ,cavendish4 ,he was the son of a nobleman1 and a very rich man2 but he shut himself up entirely from the world1 and devoted his whole time and energies to the study of science4 ,so afraid was he of being interrupted in his work that he lived the life of a hermit1 commanding his servants to keep out of his sight on pain of dismissal1 and ordering his dinner daily by means of a note placed on the hall table4 ,in the year #agfj--twenty-two years before the ,montgolfier brothers began their experiments--this eccentric man had discovered what was then known as 8inflammable air10 but what we now call hydrogen gas4 ,cavendish's experiments proved that hydrogen is the lightest of all known substances1 being about fourteen times lighter than atmospheric air2 and soon after he had made known his researches1 it occurred to a certain ,dr4 ,black of ,edinburgh that if a sufficiently thin and light bladder were filled with this 8inflammable air0 it would rise upwards4 ,dr4 ,black even went so far as to order a special bladder to be prepared for the purpose2 but by the time it was ready he was busy with other work1 and the experiment was never made2 otherwise it is extremely probable that the honour of inventing the balloon would have been won for this country1 and not for ,france4 ,a little later ,tiberius ,cavallo1 an ,italian chemist living in ,england1 came yet nearer to the great invention1 for he filled a number of soap-bubbles with the newly discovered gas1 and saw them float high into the air4 ,he did not1 however1 think at the time that his experiments would lead to any practical result1 and so the matter dropped entirely1 until the world was suddenly electrified by the tidings of the wonderful hot-air balloon invented by the brothers ,montgolfier at ,annonay4 ,the news of this discovery recalled to the minds of many the almost forgotten experiments of the past1 and it was forthwith suggested that balloons might be inflated with hydrogen gas more successfully than with hot air4 ,it was resolved immediately to put this theory to the test4 ,a large subscription to defray expenses was raised in ,paris without difficulty1 for men's minds were keen on the new-found art of sailing the sky2 and ,m4 ,charles1 ,professor of ,experimental ,philosophy1 and two brothers1 the ,messrs4 ,roberts1 well-known mechanicians1 were appointed to construct a suitable balloon and inflate it by the new method4 ,but they were immediately confronted with a difficulty4 ,hydrogen being the lightest and most subtle of gases1 they were at a loss to know of what material to make their balloon1 to prevent the gas escaping4 ,after several failures they eventually constructed a bag of a special kind of silk1 and coated it all over with a varnish made of indiarubber dissolved in turpentine4 ,as they found great difficulty in manufacturing large quantities of hydrogen1 they were forced to make their bag a comparatively small one1 about thirteen feet in diameter4 ,on the #beth of ,august #aghc the bag was successfully filled1 and the ascent was made in ,paris in the presence of an enormous crowd4 ,the little balloon rose upwards with immense rapidity1 until it was lost to sight in the clouds4 ,ascending yet higher1 it presently burst1 and came to the earth in a village1 fifteen miles away1 after a voyage of three-quarters of an hour4 ,illustration3 ,,attack ,,on ,,the ,,first ,,charlier ,,balloon4 ,in the field where the balloon fell a party of peasants were at work2 at its approach they fled in abject terror4 ,from a safe distance they watched the strange new monster settle to earth and lie prone1 and then they cautiously drew nearer to inspect it4 ,the silk still heaved with the escaping gas1 and the countrymen were fully convinced that an actual living creature of mysterious nature lay before them4 ,one man seized his gun and fired full at it1 and then supposing it to be mortally wounded1 they all rushed in with flails and pitchforks to complete its destruction1 finally tying it to the tail of a horse1 who galloped with it all over the country1 tearing it to shreds4 ,it was small wonder that after such an occurrence the ,french ,government issued a proclamation to the people1 telling them that these aeronautical experiments were to be repeated1 and warning them not to be alarmed if they saw a balloon in the air1 since it was a perfectly harmless machine filled with gas1 and incapable of injuring any one4 ,this event took place about three months after the first public ascent of the hot-air balloon4 ,the new craft was immediately called a 8,charlier10 after its inventor1 and to distinguish it from the 8,montgolfier40 ,there followed various exhibitions of the rival airships1 and after the voyage of ,piltre de ,rozier and the ,marquis ,d',arlandes1 ,messrs4 ,charles and ,roberts resolved also to hazard an ascent in a balloon inflated with hydrogen4 ,a new machine was therefore constructed1 which differed in many important details from all others which had previously been made4 ,it was twenty-seven feet in diameter1 of varnished silk1 and over it was spread a net of cordage4 ,instead of a gallery to carry the passengers1 as in the 8,montgolfier10 a car shaped like a boat was suspended from the net with ropes and hung a few feet below the balloon4 ,a valve to let out the gas was also provided1 and the voyagers carried in their car ballast and a barometer to indicate their height4 ,it will thus be seen that this new balloon was in all practical details the same as the balloon of the present day4 ,the ascent took place on the #agth of ,december in ,paris4 ,stephen ,montgolfier was present1 and launched a small hot-air balloon1 which amused the onlookers and indicated the direction of the wind4 ,then ,,mm4 ,charles and ,roberts stepped into the car1 and the balloon being liberated1 they were immediately carried up to a height of #fjjj feet1 where a glorious panorama of ,paris and the adjacent country was spread out before their delighted vision4 ,after staying aloft about a couple of hours they descended to earth again1 and ,roberts got out of the car4 ,charles decided to continue the voyage awhile by himself1 and1 lightened of his companion's weight1 the balloon this time rose to #aj1ejj feet4 ,the sun had by this time set upon the earth1 but at this height ,charles saw it rise once more and set a second time4 ,the thermometer fell far below freezing-point1 and he was benumbed with cold and felt violent pains in his ears4 ,when at his greatest elevation he was obliged to pull the valve to prevent the balloon from bursting1 and eventually descended without mischance about seven miles from where ,roberts had left him4 ,it would be well now to describe a little more fully the way in which the 8,montgolfier0 and 8,charlier0 balloons were inflated4 ,each of the rival methods had its advantages and also its disadvantages4 ,in the case of the hot-air balloon a shallow pit was dug1 in which a quick-burning fire of chopped wool and straw was lighted1 and the bag simply suspended over it4 ,the inflation was thus rapid1 and its cost comparatively small2 the great drawback being that as the bag was of very light material1 it ran considerable risk of being ignited by the fire2 and all the while it was filling it was the uncomfortable duty of an unfortunate attendant to stand actually inside1 roasted with the heat and choked with the smoke1 armed with a paddle with which to beat out the flames whenever the bag caught alight4 ,illustration3 ,,filling ,a ,,hot-,,air ,,balloon4 ,this danger of fire was done away with in the method of filling with hydrogen gas4 ,the balloon1 suspended from aloft as before1 was connected by hose-pipes with a number of casks containing iron or zinc filings upon which dilute sulphuric acid was poured4 ,the effect of mixing these substances together is to set up a brisk chemical action1 in the course of which hydrogen gas is given off4 ,in this case the hydrogen thus liberated came through the pipes and filled the balloon4 ,the great disadvantages of this method of filling--which1 it may here be mentioned1 is occasionally employed at the present day--are the long time it occupies1 the great labour entailed1 and the enormous expense4 ,illustration3 ,,filling ,a ,,hydrogen ,,gas ,,balloon4 ,it is said that when ,roberts and ,charles returned from their adventurous voyage they were immediately arrested and thrown into prison by order of the ,king1 who considered it his duty to put a stop to his subjects risking their lives in such dangerous enterprises4 ,public opinion was too strong for him1 however1 and the two heroes were quickly released1 and ,charles was rewarded by a pension of #bjj a year for life4 ,this newly discovered art of sailing the heavens had indeed fired popular imagination to an extraordinary degree4 ,probably no invention has ever aroused greater enthusiasm4 ,not only all ,france but all the civilised world went wild with excitement for the time4 ,most extravagant statements were made and written4 ,a new kingdom1 it was declared1 had been given to mankind to conquer2 voyages might be made to the moon and stars1 and now it would even be possible to take ,heaven itself by storm6 ,ascent after ascent took place with the 8,montgolfier0 and the 8,charlier10 both in ,france and in other countries2 nor was it long before the balloon made its appearance in ,england4 ,in ,august of the next summer 7#aghd7 a ,mr ,tytler of ,edinburgh made some short voyages in a hot-air balloon of his own manufacture1 and in the following month a much more adventurous attempt was successfully carried out in ,london by a young ,italian of the name of ,vincent ,lunardi4 ,lunardi was at this time secretary to the ,neapolitan ,ambassador4 ,he was keenly interested in the subject of ballooning1 and presently became fired with a desire to repeat in ,england those aerial experiments which were creating such a sensation on the ,continent4 ,he was only a poor man1 and great difficulties stood in the way of accomplishing his object4 ,he had to excite public interest in his venture1 to collect subscriptions to defray the cost of his balloon1 which was to be a 8,charlier10 and to find a suitable site in ,london for the inflation and ascent4 ,he met with disappointments and disasters enough to discourage a less enthusiastic man1 but at length1 after many troubles1 on the #aeth of ,september his balloon was ready and in process of filling in the grounds of the ,honourable ,artillery ,company1 in the city1 where #aej1jjj people had assembled to witness the new wonder4 ,illustration3 ,,vincent ,,lunardi4 ,still ,lunardi's trials were not at an end4 ,the balloon was advertised to ascend at a certain hour2 but the supply of gas was insufficient1 so that when the time came it was only partially filled1 and a long delay ensued4 ,the vast crowd--more than half inclined to believe the whole thing an imposture--began to grow very impatient and unruly1 and it was only the presence of the ,prince of ,wales1 afterwards ,george the ,fourth1 which kept them in restraint for another hour while the filling continued4 ,even then the balloon was not full2 but ,lunardi felt he could wait no longer4 ,he left behind him the companion who was to have accompanied him1 substituted a smaller and lighter car1 jumped inside and severed the ropes4 ,instantly the balloon rose high over the delighted city1 as the crowd1 led by the ,prince himself1 rent the air with their cheers4 ,wild was the excitement in every quarter4 ,at ,westminster ,king ,george the ,third was in conference with ,mr4 ,pitt and his other chief ,ministers of ,state1 but when it was known that ,lunardi was in the sky the ,king exclaimed1 8,gentlemen1 we may resume our deliberations at pleasure1 but we may never see poor ,lunardi again60 and with one accord they adjourned to watch his progress through telescopes4 ,tradesmen rushed out of their shops1 business men from their offices1 even judge and jury from their courts4 ,illustration3 ,,lunardi',s ,,balloon4 ,lunardi continued his voyage over the town into the country beyond4 ,his balloon apparently attained a considerable height1 for he found that the condensed moisture round the neck had frozen1 and the gas1 which to begin with had only two-thirds filled the balloon1 presently expanded so much that he was obliged to untie the mouth to relieve the strain4 ,he had taken up with him as companions a dog and a cat4 ,the cat was very ill at ease in the cold of the upper regions1 and he resolved to put her out2 so1 coming down to the ground1 he handed her to a country woman standing in a field4 ,throwing out ballast1 he then rose again and continued his voyage for some distance1 eventually descending in a meadow near ,ware4 ,some labourers were at work on the spot1 but they at first refused to come near him1 and a young woman was the first whom he could induce to help him out of his car4 ,a stone with a long inscription1 set up in a meadow in the parish of ,standon1 near ,ware1 marks to this day the place where the first of all ,english balloons touched ground4 ,the following year witnessed a yet bolder enterprise4 ,blanchard1 a ,french aeronaut1 and ,dr4 ,jeffries1 an ,american1 determined on an attempt to cross the ,channel4 ,on a winter's day1 early in #aghe1 they had their balloon inflated with hydrogen at ,dover and boldly cast off to sea4 ,the cold air appeared to chill the gas more than they had foreseen1 and long before they were across the ,channel their balloon began settling down upon the water4 ,they threw out all their ballast1 then a number of books they were carrying1 then their anchor1 extra ropes1 and other gear4 ,still it seemed very doubtful whether they would reach the ,french coast1 and as a last resort they began even to throw away their clothes to lighten the balloon4 ,fortunately at this moment the balloon shot up into the air again1 and eventually brought them down in safety near the forest of ,guiennes4 ,so far1 although several hundred ascents had been made1 and in spite of the many and great dangers of the new-found art and the inexperience of the early voyagers1 no fatal accident had marred the delight of sailing the skies4 ,disasters1 however1 were soon to come4 ,it is sad to relate that the earliest to fall a victim was the brave ,piltre de ,rozier himself1 the first of all men to go aloft in a balloon4 ,fired with a desire to emulate ,blanchard and ,jeffries1 he decided that he himself would cross the ,channel1 this time from ,france to ,england2 and to avoid1 as he imagined1 the cooling of the gas1 which had so nearly proved disastrous on the previous occasion1 he hit on the extraordinary idea of combining the principles of both the 8,montgolfier0 and 8,charlier0 balloons1 and suspending a fire balloon beneath another filled with hydrogen gas4 ,it seems a remarkable thing to us now that no one in those days saw the awful danger of such a combination4 ,the inevitable happened4 ,when the balloon was high in the air the furnace of the hot-air machine set fire to the highly inflammable hydrogen1 a fearful explosion followed1 and ,de ,rozier and his companion were dashed to pieces4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,famous ,,balloon ,,voyages ,,of ,,the ,,past ,unfortunately the death of ,piltre de ,rozier was but the first of a series of fatal accidents which marred the early years of the history of ballooning4 ,shortly afterwards another ,french aeronaut1 going up in too shallow a car1 fell overboard when at a great height and was killed4 ,a little later ,count ,zambeccari1 an ,italian1 ascended in a hot-air balloon1 which1 on coming near the earth1 became entangled in a tree4 ,the furnace it carried set fire to the silk4 ,to escape from the flames1 the ,count leapt to the ground and was killed on the spot4 ,a few years after1 ,madame ,blanchard1 wife of the man who first crossed the ,english ,channel1 made a night ascent from ,paris with a number of fireworks hung from the car4 ,these1 in some way1 ignited the balloon1 which fell to the ground1 killing the unfortunate lady in its fall4 ,on the other hand1 many miraculous escapes are on record4 ,one of the earliest balloonists spent the night alone aloft in the midst of a terrific thunder-storm1 with the lightning flashing all around him1 and yet descended in safety when morning broke4 ,m4 ,garnerin1 a famous ,french aeronaut of this date1 also was lost in a storm4 ,his balloon became unmanageable1 and borne to earth was dashed against a mountain side1 the occupant losing consciousness1 until the balloon1 which had ascended again1 brought him safely down once more many miles away4 ,a marvellous escape took place in #ahjh1 when two ,italians ascended in a gas balloon from ,padua and attained a great height1 estimated as approaching #cj1jjj feet4 ,here the balloon burst1 and came precipitately to the ground2 and yet1 despite the terrific fall1 the aeronauts escaped with their lives4 ,the explanation of this seeming impossibility was1 no doubt1 the tendency which a balloon1 emptied of its gas1 possesses to form a natural parachute4 ,during a rapid fall the lower part of the silk will1 if loose1 collapse into the upper portion to form a kind of open umbrella1 and thus very effectually break the descent4 ,many balloonists have owed their safety in similar accidents to this fortunate fact4 ,the bursting of balloons when at high altitudes has already been referred to as happening on several previous occasions4 ,it is a danger which is always present when a balloon is aloft1 unless due precautions are taken1 and the neglect of these precautions has probably led to more ballooning accidents than any other cause4 ,the explanation is simply the varying pressure exerted upon the bag of gas by the weight of the atmosphere4 ,when an inflated balloon is resting upon the ground1 the vast ocean of air above it is pressing upon it with a weight of approximately fifteen pounds to the square inch1 and it is this pressure which prevents the enclosed gas from expanding beyond a certain limit4 ,the balloon then rises high into the air1 where the weight of atmosphere pressing upon it is much diminished4 ,the higher it rises the less the pressure becomes1 and the gas it holds soon expands so much that1 unless a vent is provided for it1 the balloon will burst4 ,at the present day the neck of a balloon is always left wide open when the balloon is in the air1 to allow of the escape of the gas during the ascent4 ,a perilous adventure befell ,mr4 ,sadler1 an ,english aeronaut1 in #ahab1 whilst attempting to cross the ,irish ,channel4 ,he started from ,dublin with a wind which he hoped would carry him to ,liverpool1 but had gone only a short distance when he discovered a rent1 which seemed to be increasing1 in the silk of his balloon4 ,climbing the rigging with difficulty1 he contrived to tie up the hole with his neckcloth4 ,he was by this time over the sea1 and having passed near the ,isle of ,man1 found himself1 as evening was approaching1 close to the coast of ,north ,wales4 ,here he endeavoured to seek a landing1 but just at the critical moment the wind shifted1 as it frequently does in this treacherous ,channel1 and he was quickly blown out to sea again4 ,there he remained for another hour vainly endeavouring to make the land1 and then1 despairing of the attempt and seeing five ships beneath him1 he came boldly down on the water1 trusting they would come to his assistance4 ,but he came down too far away from them1 and one and all continued their course and took no notice4 ,he was obliged1 therefore1 to throw out ballast and to rise into the air once more4 ,the sun was now set upon the level of the water1 but as the brave aeronaut rose he beheld it once more above the horizon1 and was cheered by its beams4 ,presently he saw beneath him three more vessels1 which signalled their willingness to help him1 and he immediately came down on the sea again as close to them as he could4 ,but the wind1 now rising fast1 caught the half empty silk of the balloon as it touched the waves1 and bore it along over the surface of the water at a terrific pace2 and although the vessels came after in full pursuit1 they were unable to overtake it4 ,mr4 ,sadler then dropped his grappling-iron to act as a drag1 and this not proving sufficient1 took off his clothes and tied them to the iron as a further expedient4 ,still the vessels failed to overhaul him as he sped over the waves1 and he was at length forced to let out a quantity of the gas still remaining1 and so cripple the balloon4 ,but this was a dangerous move1 for the car now instantly sank2 and the unfortunate man had to clutch the hoop and then the netting1 to keep himself above water4 ,chilled and exhausted1 and frequently plunged beneath the waves1 he was soon at the point of death2 for the nearest ship1 though now close at hand1 fearful of becoming entangled in the netting1 still held off4 ,fainting as he was1 ,mr4 ,sadler yet managed to summon strength to call to the sailors to run their bowsprit through the balloon to stop its course1 and this being done1 he was hauled on board more dead than alive4 ,five years passed1 and no more attempts were made to cross the treacherous ,irish ,sea1 until ,mr4 ,sadler's own son1 ,mr4 ,windham ,sadler1 determined himself to make the attempt which had so nearly cost his father his life4 ,choosing the same starting-ground for his venture1 he left ,dublin on the longest day of #ahag1 and1 fortune favouring him1 reached the ,welsh coast not far from ,holyhead1 after a voyage of #gj miles1 lasting five hours4 ,this was the last attempt to cross the ,irish ,channel1 until ,november #aijb1 when the ,rev4 ,j4 ,m4 ,bacon and ,mr4 ,percival ,spencer1 starting from ,douglas1 in the ,isle of ,man1 landed in a rocky glen #ae miles beyond ,dumfries1 after a journey of #hj miles1 accomplished in three hours4 ,brave ,mr4 ,windham ,sadler unhappily lost his life in a terrible balloon accident in #ahbd4 ,but a more celebrated balloonist1 perhaps the most famous of all1 had by this time come to the fore--,charles ,green1 fitly called 8,the ,father of ,english ,aeronautics40 ,it was he who first introduced a new method of balloon-filling1 which quickly revolutionised the whole art and practice4 ,this was nothing more or less than the employment of ordinary household or coal gas for inflation1 in place of the costly and dangerous hydrogen4 ,while balloons were inflated only with pure hydrogen--for the uncertain and dangerous method of filling with hot air was soon almost entirely abandoned--no great strides could be made in the art of sailing the skies4 ,the filling of a large balloon eighty years ago cost no less than #bej1 and few people could be found willing to provide so much money for such a purpose4 ,coal gas1 however1 was by then to be found in every town of any consequence2 and it was ,green's suggestion that though this gas might be greatly inferior to pure hydrogen in buoyancy or 8lifting power10 it yet contained a sufficient quantity of hydrogen in it for all ordinary aeronautical purposes4 ,the coronation of ,king ,george the ,fourth was the occasion chosen by ,green to put his new scheme to the test and fill a balloon with coal gas4 ,the experiment was entirely successful1 and henceforward balloon ascents became much commoner throughout the world1 for ,green's discovery reduced the cost of filling tenfold1 and the trouble and anxiety a hundredfold4 ,green himself became one of the most famous men of his day1 and lived to make a thousand ascents1 some of them of the most daring and exciting description4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,great ,,nassau ,,balloon4 ,the most celebrated event in all his career1 however1 was the voyage of the ,great ,nassau ,balloon1 in ,november #ahcf4 ,this voyage created a tremendous sensation at the time1 and has always been considered one of the most adventurous enterprises in the whole history of aeronautics4 ,how it came about was as follows3-- ,the managers of the ,vauxhall ,gardens1 ,london1 had made1 with ,mr4 ,green's assistance1 a very large and fine balloon of crimson silk1 which stood eighty feet high and held #ij1jjj cubic feet of gas1 and which would carry1 if needed1 more than twenty persons4 ,after it was made the proprietors proposed exhibiting it in ,paris1 and there was some question of how this valuable and fragile property had best be conveyed so far4 ,mr4 ,hollond1 a young gentleman of considerable wealth1 and a great lover of adventure1 at once came forward1 and proposed to take the balloon to the ,continent by sky4 ,his offer was accepted1 and to make the ascent more noteworthy1 it was decided to start from ,london and cross the sea by night1 making as long a voyage as possible1 although it was already winter time1 and such a venture had never before been made4 ,preparations were at once commenced4 ,the passengers were limited to three--,mr4 ,green1 who was to manage the balloon1 ,mr4 ,hollond1 and his friend ,mr4 ,monck ,mason4 ,a ton of ballast was to be carried1 provisions for a whole fortnight were laid in1 and1 since none could tell to within a thousand miles or more where they might be drifted1 passports to every kingdom in ,europe were obtained4 ,they left ,london late one ,november day1 and1 rising under a north-west wind1 skirted the north of ,kent4 ,passing presently over ,canterbury1 they wrote a courteous message to the mayor1 and dropped it in a parachute4 ,some time later1 when the short autumn twilight was beginning to wane1 they saw beneath them the gleam of white waves1 and knew they had reached the boundary of the hitherto much-dreaded sea4 ,immediately afterwards they entered a heavy sea fog1 which hid all things from their sight1 and darkness and dead silence reigned around4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,voyage ,,across ,,the ,,channel4 ,this lasted for fifty minutes1 when they emerged from the cloud and found the bright lights of ,calais beneath them4 ,it was then quite dark1 and they sped on through the night over unknown towns and villages whose lights gleamed fainter and fewer as the time went on4 ,then once again they entered the fog-bank1 and for long hours no sign or sound of earth reached them more4 ,as the night wore on they suddenly had a startling and alarming experience4 ,their balloon1 which had been flying near the earth1 was presently lightened by the discharge of ballast1 and rose to a height of #ab1jjj feet into the air4 ,immediately afterwards1 when all around was wrapped in the deepest silence and the blackest darkness1 there came the sound of a sharp explosion from over their heads1 followed by a rustling of the silk1 and immediately the car received a violent jerk4 ,the same thing was repeated again and yet again1 and it is small wonder that the awful conviction then seized the party that there1 in the darkness1 in the dead of night1 at that fearful height1 their balloon had burst1 and they were falling headlong to the ground4 ,great indeed must have been their relief when they found this was not the case1 and discovered the real reason of their alarm4 ,it is the tendency of a balloon when flying near the ground to assume an elongated or pear shape2 and while their balloon was in this position the netting1 which was wet with dew1 had frozen hard and tight around it4 ,immediately they rose to great heights the gas had expanded1 and the balloon had become globular in shape1 with a result that the stiffened ropes sprang to their new position with the crack and jerk which had so startled the party4 ,when day broke next morning they found themselves over long tracts of desolate forest land1 and fearing they were approaching the wild1 inhospitable steppes of ,russia1 they descended with all speed1 and discovered they were in the ,duchy of ,nassau1 in ,germany1 near ,weilburg1 where they were received with the wildest enthusiasm and delight4 ,from start to finish they had accomplished a voyage of #ejj miles in eighteen hours4 ,after this event ,green made many other voyages in the great ,nassau balloon1 and met with many exciting adventures4 ,on one occasion1 ascending in a violent gale of wind1 he and a passenger covered twenty miles in a quarter of an hour1 and1 on descending near ,rainham1 in ,essex1 were blown along across the fields at a furious pace1 until the anchor caught1 and brought them up with such a wrench that it broke the ring and jerked the car completely upside down4 ,green and his friend only escaped from being thrown out by holding on to the ropes1 and they were afterwards dragged wildly through fences and hedges until the balloon collapsed and came to a stand1 though not before they had both been severely hurt4 ,on another voyage the famous balloon met with serious injury1 for having been some time above the clouds1 during an ascent1 ,green found himself carried out to sea1 and was obliged to come down in the water two miles north of ,sheerness4 ,as in the accident which befell ,mr4 ,sadler in his attempt to cross the ,irish ,channel1 the wind caught the silk and bore it along across the water too rapidly for a pursuing vessel to overtake it4 ,green then lowered his anchor1 which by happy chance soon became entangled in a sunken wreck1 and so brought the balloon up4 ,a boat immediately put out to his assistance1 and he and a companion were speedily rescued2 but the balloon was so restive in the wind that it was dangerous to approach it4 ,green himself then suggested that a volley of musketry should be fired into the silk to expel the gas1 and this was accordingly done and the balloon secured1 though it afterwards took ,green a fortnight's hard labour to repair the damage done to the fabric4 ,but the saddest event connected with the ,nassau balloon was the fatal accident which befell ,mr4 ,cocking in #ahcg1 the year after the great ,nassau voyage4 ,before relating this1 however1 it will be necessary to refer briefly to the history of a most important accessory of the balloon1 hitherto unmentioned--the parachute4 ,the name parachute comes from two ,french words1 parer1 to parry and chute1 a fall1 and it signifies a contrivance1 made more or less in the form of an enormous umbrella1 to break the fall from a balloon or other great height4 ,the principle of the parachute was understood even before the invention of the balloon4 ,in ,eastern countries1 in particular1 where the umbrella or parasol has been in familiar use from earliest ages1 parachutes were frequently employed by acrobats to enable them to jump safely from great elevations4 ,in ,france also1 at the end of the eighteenth century1 a captive officer attempted to escape from a lofty prison by similar means4 ,the aeronaut ,blanchard was the first to construct a parachute for use from a balloon1 his idea being that it might prove of service in the event of an accident while aloft4 ,in #aghe he let down from a great height a parachute to which was attached a dog in a basket1 which reached the ground gently and safely4 ,after this ,m4 ,garnerin1 the famous balloonist already referred to1 hazarded a parachute descent in person1 and his attempt being eminently satisfactory1 parachute descents became fairly common4 ,in ,august #ahad ,mr4 ,cocking1 an ,english gentleman of scientific tastes1 read a paper on parachutes1 suggesting an amendment in their shape and construction1 before the ,society of ,arts1 for which he was awarded a medal4 ,his theory was never put into practice1 however1 till twenty-three years later1 when1 fired no doubt by the interest aroused by the famous ,nassau voyage1 he resolved to put his invention to the test4 ,he accordingly constructed his parachute1 which was of enormous size1 of unwieldy weight1 and in shape rather resembling an umbrella turned inside out4 ,despite the warning of friends that the untried machine was unwisely built1 he insisted on making a descent with it1 and succeeded in persuading ,mr4 ,green to take him and his craft aloft attached to the ,nassau balloon4 ,illustration3 ,,cocking',s ,,parachute4 ,on the #bgth of ,july #ahcg they started from the ,vauxhall ,gardens1 ,mr4 ,green in the car accompanied by ,mr4 ,edward ,spencer 7grandfather of the present well-known firm of aeronauts71 his friend and frequent companion2 ,mr4 ,cocking seated in his machine slung below4 ,a height of #ejjj feet was attained1 and then ,mr4 ,cocking1 after bidding a hearty farewell to the others1 pulled the rope which liberated his parachute from the balloon4 ,relieved from the enormous weight1 the latter rushed upwards into the sky with terrific velocity1 the gas pouring in volumes from the valves and almost suffocating the occupants of the car4 ,their position1 indeed1 for the time was one of the greatest danger1 and they were thankful to reach the earth unharmed1 which they eventually did4 ,but their fate was happier far than that of the luckless ,cocking1 whose parachute1 after swaying fearfully from side to side1 at length utterly collapsed1 and falling headlong1 was1 with its inventor1 dashed to pieces4 ,while ,charles ,green was making his famous ascents in ,england1 an equally celebrated aeronaut1 ,john ,wise1 was pursuing the same art in ,america4 ,during a long and successful career1 unhappily terminated by an accident1 ,wise made many experiments in the construction of balloons1 their shape1 size1 varnish1 material1 and so forth4 ,his results1 which he carefully put together1 have been of the greatest value to balloon manufacturers until the present time4 ,in the course of his many voyages he met with various exciting adventures4 ,on one occasion while aloft he saw before him a huge black cloud of particularly forbidding aspect4 ,entering this1 he found himself in the heart of a terrific storm4 ,his balloon was caught in a whirlwind1 and set so violently spinning and swinging that he was sea-sick with the motion1 while1 at the same time1 he felt himself half-suffocated and scarce able to breathe4 ,within the cloud the cold was intense2 the ropes of the balloon became glazed with ice and snow till they resembled glass rods2 hail fell around1 and the gloom was so great that from the car the silk above became invisible4 8,a noise resembling the rushing of a thousand mill-dams1 intermingled with a dismal moaning sound of wind1 surrounded me in this terrible flight40 ,wise adds1 8,bright sunshine was just above the clouds20 but though he endeavoured to reach it by throwing out ballast1 the balloon had no sooner begun to rise upwards than it was caught afresh by the storm and whirled down again4 ,neither was he able1 by letting out gas1 to escape this furious vortex from beneath2 and for twenty minutes he was swept to and fro1 and up and down in the cloud1 before he could get clear of it1 or regain any control over his balloon4 ,on another occasion ,wise made an exceedingly daring and bold experiment4 ,convinced of the power which1 as has before been said1 an empty balloon has of turning itself into a natural parachute1 he determined to put the matter to the test1 and deliberately to burst his balloon when at a great height4 ,for this purpose he made a special balloon of very thin material1 and fastened up the neck so that there was no vent for the gas4 ,he then ascended fearlessly to a height of #ac1jjj feet1 where1 through the expansion of the hydrogen with which it was filled1 his balloon exploded4 ,the gas escaped instantly1 so that in ten seconds not a trace remained4 ,the empty balloon at first descended with fearful rapidity1 with a strange moaning sound as the air rushed through the network4 ,then the silk assuming parachute shape1 the fall became less rapid1 and finally the car1 coming down in zigzags1 turned upside down when close to the ground1 and tossed ,wise out into a field unhurt4 ,it was ,john ,wise's great desire at one time to sail a balloon right across the ,atlantic from ,america to ,europe4 ,long study of the upper winds had convinced him that a regular current of air is always blowing steadily high aloft from west to east1 and he believed that if an aeronaut could only keep his balloon in this upper current he might be carried across the ocean quicker1 and with more ease and safety1 than in the fastest steamship4 ,wise went so far as to work out all the details for this plan1 the size of the balloon required1 the ballast1 provisions1 and number of passengers2 and only the want of sufficient money prevented him from actually making the attempt4 ,curiously enough1 about the same time1 ,charles ,green1 in ,england1 was1 quite independently1 working at the same idea1 which he also believed1 with proper equipment1 to be quite feasible4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,balloon ,,as ,a ,,scientific ,,instrument ,so far1 in our history of aeronautics1 we have referred to ballooning only as a sport or pastime for the amusement of spectators1 and for the gratifying of a love of adventure4 ,it is now time to speak of the practical uses of the balloon1 and how it has been employed as a most valuable scientific instrument to teach us facts about the upper atmosphere1 its nature and extent1 the clouds1 the winds and their ways1 the travel of sounds1 and many other things of which we should otherwise be ignorant4 ,before the invention of the balloon men were quite unaware of the nature of the air even a short distance above their heads4 ,in those days high mountain climbing had not come into fashion1 and when ,piltre de ,rozier made the first ascent1 it was considered very doubtful whether he might be able to exist in the strange atmosphere aloft4 ,charles and ,roberts were the first to make scientific observations from a balloon1 for they took up a thermometer and barometer1 and made certain rough records1 as also did other early aeronauts4 ,the most interesting purely scientific ascents of early days1 however1 were made in the autumn of #ahjd1 from ,paris1 by ,gay ,lussac1 a famous ,french philosopher4 ,he took up with him all manner of instruments1 among them a compass 7to see if the needle behaved the same as on earth71 an apparatus to test the electricity of the air1 thermometers1 barometers1 and hygrometers1 carefully exhausted flasks in which to bring down samples of the upper air1 birds1 and even insects and frogs1 to see how great heights affected them4 ,in his second voyage his balloon attained the enormous altitude of #bc1jjj feet1 or more than four miles and a quarter1 and nearly #bjjj feet higher than the highest peaks of the ,andes4 ,at this tremendous height the temperature fell to far below freezing-point1 and the aeronaut became extremely cold1 though warmly clad2 he also felt headache1 a difficulty in breathing1 and his throat became so parched that he could hardly swallow4 ,nevertheless1 undismayed by the awfulness of his position1 he continued making his observations1 and eventually reached the ground in safety1 and none the worse for his experience4 ,gay ,lussac's experiments at least proved that though the air becomes less and less dense as we ascend into it1 it remains of the same nature and constitution4 ,his second voyage also showed that the limit to which man could ascend aloft into the sky and yet live had not yet been reached4 ,almost sixty years later other scientific ascents threw fresh light on this point1 and also continued the other investigations that ,gay ,lussac had commenced4 ,towards the close of ,charles ,green's famous career1 scientific men in ,england woke up to the fact that the use of a balloon as an important means for obtaining observations on meteorology and other matters had of late been very much neglected4 ,the ,british ,association took the matter up1 and provided the money for four scientific ascents1 which were made by ,mr4 ,welsh of ,kew ,observatory1 a trained observer4 ,green was the aeronaut chosen to accompany him1 and the balloon used was none other than the great ,nassau balloon1 of whose many and wonderful adventures we have already spoken4 ,green was then nearly seventy years of age1 but his skill as an aeronaut was as great as ever1 and ,welsh was able to obtain many valuable records4 ,during the last voyage a height was attained almost as great as that reached by ,gay ,lussac1 and both men found much difficulty in breathing4 ,while at this elevation they suddenly noticed they were rapidly approaching the sea1 and so were forced to make a very hasty descent1 in which many of the instruments were broken4 ,the veteran ,green lived to a ripe old age1 dying in #ahgj1 aged eighty-five4 ,when a very old man he still delighted in taking visitors to an outhouse where he kept the old ,nassau balloon1 now worn out and useless1 and1 handling it affectionately1 would talk of its famous adventures and his own thousand ascents1 during which he had never once met with serious accident or failure4 ,after his death the old balloon passed into the hands of another equally famous man1 who1 after ,green's retirement1 took his place as the most celebrated ,english aeronaut of the day4 ,this was ,henry ,coxwell4 ,he was the son of a naval officer1 and was brought up to the profession of a dentist4 ,but when a boy of only nine years old he watched1 through his father's telescope1 a balloon ascent by ,green1 which so fired his imagination that henceforward balloons filled all his thoughts4 ,as he grew older the fascination increased upon him4 ,he would go long distances to see ascents or catch glimpses of balloons in the air1 and he was fortunate enough to be present at the first launching of the great ,nassau balloon4 ,he did not get the chance of a voyage aloft1 however1 till he was twenty-five2 but after this nothing could restrain his ardour1 and1 throwing his profession to the winds1 he made ascent after ascent on all possible occasions4 ,in one of his early voyages he met with what he describes as one of the most perilous descents in the whole history of ballooning4 ,the occasion was an evening ascent made from the ,vauxhall ,gardens one autumn night of #ahdh4 ,the aeronaut was a ,mr4 ,gypson1 and besides ,mr4 ,coxwell there were two other passengers1 one of whom was the well-known mountaineer and lecturer1 ,albert ,smith4 ,a number of fireworks which were to be displayed when aloft were slung on a framework forty feet below the car4 ,illustration3 ,,coxwell4 ,,glaisher4 ,the balloon rose high above ,london1 and the party were amazed and delighted with the strange and lovely view of the great city by night1 all sight of the houses being lost in the darkness1 and the thousands of gas lamps1 outlining the invisible streets and bridges1 twinkling like stars in a blue-black sky4 ,coxwell was sitting1 not in the car1 but in the ring of the balloon1 and presently1 when they were about #gjjj feet above the town1 he noticed that the silk1 the mouth of which appears to have been fastened1 was growing dangerously distended with the expanding gas4 ,by his advice the valve was immediately pulled1 but it was already too late2 the balloon burst1 the gas escaped with a noise like the escape of steam from an engine1 the silk collapsed1 and the balloon began to descend with appalling speed1 the immense mass of loose silk surging and rustling frightfully overhead4 ,everything was immediately thrown out of the car to break the fall2 but the wind still seemed to be rushing past at a fearful rate1 and1 to add to the horror of the aeronauts1 they now came down through the remains of the discharged fireworks floating in the air4 ,little bits of burning cases and still smouldering touch-paper blew about them1 and were caught in the rigging4 ,these kindled into sparks1 and there seemed every chance of the whole balloon catching alight4 ,they were still a whole mile from the ground1 and this distance they appear to have covered in less than two minutes4 ,the house-tops seemed advancing up towards them with awful speed as they neared earth4 ,in the end they were tossed out of the car along the ground1 and it appeared a perfect marvel to them all that they escaped with only a severe shaking4 ,this adventure did not in the least abate ,coxwell's ardour for ballooning1 and exactly a week later he and ,gypson successfully made the same ascent from the same place1 and in the same balloon--and loaded with twice the number of fireworks6 ,but ,coxwell's most celebrated voyage of all took place some years later1 on the occasion of a scientific voyage made in company with ,mr4 ,james ,glaisher4 ,in #ahfb the ,british ,association determined to continue the balloon observations which ,mr4 ,welsh had so successfully commenced1 but this time on a larger scale4 ,the observer was to be ,mr4 ,glaisher of ,greenwich ,observatory1 and ,mr4 ,coxwell1 who by this time had become a recognised aeronaut1 undertook the management of the balloon4 ,the first ascents were made in ,july and ,august4 ,mr4 ,glaisher took up a most elaborate and costly outfit of instruments1 which1 however1 were badly damaged at the outset during a very rapid descent1 made perforce to avoid falling in the 8,wash40 ,on each occasion a height of over four miles was attained2 but on the third voyage1 which was in ,september1 it was decided to try and reach yet greater altitudes4 ,the balloon with its two passengers left ,wolverhampton at #a ,p4,m4--the temperature on the ground being #ei4 ,at about a mile high a dense cloud was entered1 and the thermometer fell to #cf4 ,in nineteen minutes a height of two miles was reached1 and the air was at freezing-point4 ,six minutes later they were three miles aloft1 with the thermometer still falling2 and by the time four miles high was attained the mercury registered only #h4 ,in forty-seven minutes from the start five miles had been passed2 and now the temperature was #b below zero4 ,mr4 ,coxwell1 who was up in the ring of the balloon and exerting himself over the management of it1 found he was beginning to breathe with great difficulty4 ,mr4 ,glaisher1 sitting quietly in the car watching his instruments1 felt no inconvenience4 ,more ballast was thrown out1 and the balloon continued to rise apace2 and soon ,mr4 ,glaisher found his eyes growing strangely dim4 ,he could not see to read his thermometer1 or distinguish the hands of his watch4 ,he noticed the mercury of the barometer1 however1 and saw that a height of #bi1jjj feet had been reached1 and the balloon was still rising4 ,what followed next had best be told in ,mr4 ,glaisher's own words3-- 8,shortly after ,i laid my arm upon the table1 possessed of its full vigour1 but on being desirous of using it1 ,i found it useless4 ,trying to move the other arm1 ,i found it powerless also4 ,then ,i tried to shake myself and succeeded1 but ,i seemed to have no limbs4 ,in looking at the barometer my head fell over my left shoulder4 ,i struggled and shook my body again1 but could not move my arms4 ,getting my head upright for an instant only1 it fell on my right shoulder2 then ,i fell backwards1 my body resting against the side of the car1 and my head on the edge4 ,i dimly saw ,mr4 ,coxwell and endeavoured to speak1 but could not4 ,in an instant intense darkness overcame me2 but ,i was still conscious1 with as active a brain as at the present moment while writing this4 ,i thought ,i had been seized with asphyxia1 and believed ,i should experience nothing more1 as death would come unless we speedily descended4 ,other thoughts were entering my mind1 when ,i suddenly became unconscious as on going to sleep40 ,mr4 ,glaisher adds3 8,i cannot tell anything of the sense of hearing1 as no sound reaches the ear to break the perfect stillness and silence of the regions between six and seven miles above the earth40 ,meanwhile1 as stated1 ,mr4 ,coxwell was up in the ring1 trying to secure the valve-line1 which had become twisted4 ,to do this he had taken off a pair of thick gloves he had been wearing1 and in the tremendous cold of that awful region the moment his bare hands rested on the metal of the ring they became frost-bitten and useless4 ,looking down1 he saw ,mr4 ,glaisher in a fainting condition1 and called out to him1 but received no answer4 ,thoroughly alarmed by this time1 he tried to come down to his companion's assistance2 but now his hands also had become lifeless1 and he felt unconsciousness rapidly stealing over him4 ,quickly realising that death to both of them would speedily follow if the balloon continued to ascend1 ,mr4 ,coxwell now endeavoured to pull the valve-line2 but he found it impossible to do so with his disabled hands4 ,fortunately he was a man of great bodily strength1 as well as of iron nerve1 and by a great effort he succeeded in catching the valve-line in his teeth4 ,then1 putting his whole weight upon it1 he managed to pull open the valve1 and hold it until the balloon took a decided turn downwards4 ,this saved them4 ,as lower regions were reached1 where the air was denser1 ,mr4 ,glaisher began to recover1 and by the time they came to the ground neither of these two brave men were any the worse for their extraordinary experience4 ,neither ,mr4 ,glaisher or ,mr4 ,coxwell were able to note the exact elevation when they were at their greatest height2 but from several circumstances they were convinced that it must have been #cf1jjj or #cg1jjj feet1 or fully seven miles high4 ,later aeronauts have been inclined to doubt if this surmise can be quite correct2 but whether it is so or not is of no great moment1 for this great balloon ascent will always stand unrivalled in the history of ballooning4 ,since that day nearly as great1 or perhaps even greater1 heights have been reached in balloons2 but nowadays those who attempt to ascend to great elevations always provide themselves1 before they start1 with cylinders of compressed oxygen gas4 ,then when the atmosphere aloft becomes so thin and rare as to make breathing difficult1 they begin to fill their lungs with the life-giving gas from the cylinders1 and at once recover4 ,after this perilous voyage ,glaisher and ,coxwell made several other scientific balloon ascents4 ,they met with various experiences4 ,on one occasion1 during a lofty ascent1 they lost sight of the earth above the clouds for a while1 but1 the mist suddenly breaking1 they found themselves on the point of drifting out to sea4 ,not a moment was to be lost1 and both men hung on to the valve-line until it cut their hands4 ,the result was a tremendously rapid descent4 ,the balloon fell four and a quarter miles in less than a quarter of an hour1 covering the last two miles in only four minutes4 ,they reached earth close to the shore1 and were fortunate to escape with only a few bruises1 though all the instruments were once more broken in the shock4 ,mr4 ,glaisher was able to make many interesting notes of the condition of the winds and clouds at high levels4 ,he observed how frequently different currents of air are blowing aloft in different directions at the same time4 ,these differing winds affect the shape of the clouds among which they blow4 ,high above the ground he frequently met with a warm wind blowing constantly from the south-west2 and he believed that it is largely due to this mild air-stream passing always overhead that ,england enjoys such much less rigorous winters than other countries that lie as far north of the equator4 ,this mildness of our climate has long been attributed to the ,gulf ,stream1 that warm current of the sea which sweeps up from the tropics past our shores4 ,but it may well be that there is besides an 8,aerial ,gulf ,stream10 as ,mr4 ,glaisher calls it1 blowing constantly above our heads1 which also serves to warm the air1 and make our winter climate mild and moist4 ,one fact these experiments seemed to establish was1 that when rain is falling from an overcast sky1 there is always a higher layer of clouds overhanging the lower stratum4 ,nothing surprised ,mr4 ,glaisher more than the extreme rapidity with which the whole sky1 up to a vast height1 could fill up entirely with clouds at the approach of a storm4 ,another point noted was that1 when a wind is blowing1 the upper portion of the current always travels faster than that next the ground4 ,this is due1 of course1 to the obstacles the wind meets as it sweeps over the earth1 and which check its onward progress4 ,these1 and very many other facts of the greatest interest to the meteorologist1 were the outcome of ,mr4 ,glaisher's experiments4 ,later voyages of a similar kind have added greatly to our knowledge of the condition of the air1 and it seems certain that in the future the balloon will be much more used by scientific men1 and by its means they will be able to predict the weather more accurately and further ahead than at present1 and learn many other things of which we are now in ignorance4 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,balloon ,,in ,,warfare ,but there is another practical use for the balloon to which we must now refer1 and that a most important one--its employment in war-time4 ,it was not long after the invention of this ship of the skies that soldiers began to realise what a valuable aid it might be to them in times of battle1 enabling them to see inside a camp1 fort1 or beleaguered city1 or watch the enemy's movements from afar off4 ,the opportunity for first putting the matter to the test very soon arose4 ,within a very few years of the earliest balloon experiments in ,france there commenced in that very country the dreadful ,french ,revolution1 and soon the nation found itself at war with all the world1 and forced to hold its own1 alone1 against the armies of ,europe4 ,this danger quickened the minds of all to the importance of making use of every possible means of defence in their power4 ,it was suggested that the newly discovered balloon might be turned to account1 and immediately a school for military ballooning was established near ,paris4 ,fifty young military students were trained in the new art1 and suitable balloons were provided4 ,the value of their work was soon apparent4 ,in ,june #agid was fought the battle of ,fleurus1 between the ,french and ,austrians4 ,before the fight a balloon party had carefully observed the position of the ,austrian forces1 and1 through the information they gave1 the ,french were able to gain a speedy and decisive victory4 ,in this way1 and at this early stage1 the value of the war balloon was at once established4 ,curiously enough1 ,napoleon would make no use of balloons in his campaigns1 and even did away with the balloon school at ,paris4 ,the reason given for his prejudice is a curious one4 ,at the time of his coronation a large1 unmanned balloon1 gaily decorated1 and carrying thousands of lights1 was sent up from ,paris during the evening's illuminations4 ,it was a very beautiful object1 and behaved splendidly1 sailing away into the night1 amidst great popular rejoicing1 until it was lost to sight in the darkness4 ,but at daybreak next morning it was seen approaching the city of ,rome1 where it presently arrived1 actually hovering over ,st4 ,peter's and the ,vatican4 ,then1 as if its mission were fulfilled1 it settled to earth1 and finally fell in ,lake ,bracciano4 ,but as it fell it rent itself1 and left a portion of the crown with which it was ornamented on the tomb of the ,roman ,emperor ,nero4 ,napoleon1 who was always a superstitious man1 saw in this extraordinary voyage some dreadful forecast of his own fate4 ,he was much disturbed1 and forebade the matter ever to be mentioned in his presence2 nor would he henceforward have any more to do with balloons4 ,illustration3 ,,american ,,war ,,balloon4 ,military balloons were used by the ,french again1 however1 during their war in ,africa in #ahcj4 ,the ,austrians also used them in #ahdi1 and it is said the ,russians had them at the siege of ,sebastopol in the ,crimean ,war4 ,a ,montgolfier balloon was made use of by the ,french in #ahfb at the battle of ,solferino2 and the ,americans also employed balloons during the ,civil ,war a year later4 ,the ,american war balloons were comparatively small ones1 inflated with hydrogen4 ,the hydrogen was manufactured in the way already described1 by pouring dilute sulphuric acid upon scrap-iron4 ,for making the gas upon the field two large tanks of wood called 8generators0 were used4 ,in these the water and scrap-iron were placed and the acid poured upon them1 the gas produced being carried to the balloon through pipes1 passing first through vessels filled with lime-water to cool and purify it4 ,when on the march four waggons were sufficient to carry the whole apparatus4 ,the inflation1 which took some time1 was made as close to the scene of action as was considered safe1 and when the balloon was once full a party of men could easily tow it about to where it was needed4 ,but the time when the balloon was most largely and most usefully used in time of war was during the ,siege of ,paris4 ,in the month of ,september #ahgj1 during the ,franco-,prussian ,war1 ,paris was closely invested by the ,prussian forces1 and for eighteen long weeks lay besieged and cut off from all the rest of the world4 ,no communication with the city was possible either by road1 river1 rail1 or telegraph1 nor could the inhabitants convey tidings of their plight save by one means alone4 ,only the passage of the air was open to them4 ,quite at the beginning of the siege it occurred to the ,parisians that they might use balloons to escape from the beleaguered town1 and pass over the heads of the enemy to safety beyond2 and inquiry was at once made to discover what aeronautical resources were at their command4 ,it was soon found that with only one or two exceptions the balloons actually in existence within the walls were unserviceable or unsuitable for the work on hand1 being mostly old ones which had been laid aside as worthless4 ,one lucky discovery was1 however1 made4 ,two professional aeronauts1 of well-proved experience and skill1 were in ,paris at the time4 ,these were ,,mm4 ,godard and ,yon1 both of whom had been in ,london only a short time before in connection with a huge captive balloon which was then being exhibited there4 ,they at once received orders to establish two balloon factories1 and begin making a large number of balloons as quickly as possible4 ,for their workshops they were given the use of two great railway stations1 then standing idle and deserted4 ,no better places for the purpose could be imagined1 for under the great glass roofs there was plenty of space1 and the work went on apace4 ,as the balloons were intended to make only one journey each1 plain white or coloured calico 7of which there was plenty in the city71 covered with quick-drying varnish1 was considered good enough for their material4 ,hundreds of men and women were employed at the two factories2 and altogether some sixty balloons were turned out during the siege4 ,their management was entrusted to sailors1 who1 of all men1 seemed most fitted for the work4 ,the only previous training that could be given them was to sling them up to the roof of the railway stations in a balloon car1 and there make them go through the actions of throwing out ballast1 dropping the anchor1 and pulling the valve-line4 ,this was1 of course1 very like learning to swim on dry land2 nevertheless1 these amateurs made1 on the whole1 very fair aeronauts4 ,but before the first of the new balloons was ready experiments were already being made with the few old balloons then in ,paris4 ,two were moored captive at different ends of the town to act as observation stations from whence the enemy's movements could be watched4 ,captive ascents were made in them every few hours4 ,meanwhile ,m4 ,duruof1 a professional aeronaut1 made his escape from the city in an old and unskyworthy balloon called 8,le ,neptune10 descending safely outside the enemy's lines1 while another equally successful voyage was made with two small balloons fastened together4 ,and then1 as soon as the possibility of leaving ,paris by this means was fully proved1 an important new development arose4 ,so far1 as was shown1 tidings of the besieged city could be conveyed to the outside world2 but how was news from without to reach those imprisoned within8 ,the problem was presently solved in a most ingenious way4 ,there was in ,paris1 when the siege commenced1 a society or club of pigeon-fanciers who were specially interested in the breeding and training of 8carrier0 or 8homing0 pigeons4 ,the leaders of this club now came forward and suggested to the authorities that1 with the aid of the balloons1 their birds might be turned to practical account as letter-carriers4 ,the idea was at once taken up1 and henceforward every balloon that sailed out of ,paris contained not only letters and despatches1 but also a number of properly trained pigeons1 which1 when liberated1 would find their way back to their homes within the walls of the besieged city4 ,when the pigeons had been safely brought out of ,paris1 and fallen into friendly hands beyond the ,prussian forces1 there were attached to the tail feathers of each of them goose quills1 about two inches long1 fastened on by a silken thread or thin wire4 ,inside these were tiny scraps of photographic film1 not much larger than postage stamps1 upon which a large number of messages had been photographed by microscopic photography4 ,so skilfully was this done that each scrap of film could contain #bejj messages of twenty words each4 ,a bird might easily carry a dozen of these films1 for the weight was always less than one gramme1 or #ae grains4 ,one bird1 in fact1 arrived in ,paris on the #crd of ,february carrying eighteen films1 containing altogether #dj1jjj messages4 ,to avoid accidents1 several copies of the same film were made1 and attached to different birds4 ,when any of the pigeons arrived in ,paris their despatches were enlarged and thrown on a screen by a magic-lantern1 then copied and sent to those for whom they were intended4 ,this system of balloon and pigeon post went on during the whole siege4 ,between sixty and seventy balloons left the city1 carrying altogether nearly #bjj people1 and two and a half million letters1 weighing in all about ten tons4 ,the greater number of these arrived in safety1 while the return journeys1 accomplished by the birds1 were scarcely less successful4 ,the weather was very unfavourable during most of the time1 and cold and fogs prevented many pigeons from making their way back to ,paris4 ,of #cfj birds brought safely out of the city by balloon only about #fj returned1 but these had carried between them some #ajj1jjj messages4 ,of the balloons themselves two1 each with its luckless aeronaut1 were blown out to sea and never heard of more4 ,two sailed into ,germany and were captured by the enemy1 three more came down too soon and fell into the hands of the besieging army near ,paris1 and one did not even get as far as the ,prussian lines4 ,others experienced accidents and rough landings in which their passengers were more or less injured4 ,moreover1 each balloon which sailed by day from the city became at once a mark for the enemy's fire2 so much so that before long it became necessary to make all the ascents by night1 under cover of darkness4 ,they were brave men indeed who dared face the perils of a night voyage in an untried balloon1 manned by an unskilled pilot1 and exposed to the fire of the enemy1 into whose hands they ran the greatest risk of falling4 ,it is small wonder there was much excitement in ,paris when it became known that the first of the new balloons made during the siege was to take away no less a personage than ,m4 ,gambetta1 the great statesman1 who was at the time1 and for long after1 the leading man in ,france4 ,he made his escape by balloon on the #gth of ,october1 accompanied by his secretary and an aeronaut1 and managed to reach a safe haven1 though not before they had been vigorously fired at by shot and shell1 and ,m4 ,gambetta himself had actually been grazed on the hand by a bullet4 ,another distinguished man who hazarded the same perilous feat1 though for a very different reason1 was ,m4 ,janssen1 a famous astronomer4 ,on the #bbnd of ,december of that year there was to take place an important total eclipse of the sun1 which would be visible in ,spain and ,algeria4 ,it had long been ,m4 ,janssen's intention to observe this eclipse1 and for this purpose he had prepared a special telescope and apparatus2 but when the time drew near he found himself and his instruments shut up in besieged ,paris1 with no possible means of escape except the dangerous and desperate hazard of a voyage by sky4 ,but so great was the astronomer's enthusiasm for his work1 that he resolved to brave even this risk4 ,taking the essential parts of his telescope with him1 and1 as aeronaut1 an active young sailor1 he set sail in the darkness of a winter's morning1 long before dawn1 passed safely over the enemy's lines1 and continued the voyage till nearly mid-day1 when they sighted the sea1 and came down near the mouth of the river ,loire1 having travelled #cjj miles in little more than five hours4 ,neither ,janssen or his telescope were injured in the descent1 though the wind was high at the time2 and both reached ,algeria in time for the eclipse4 ,it must have been a most bitter disappointment to the ardent astronomer1 after all his exertions1 that when the great day arrived the sun was hidden by clouds1 and he was unable to observe the sight for which he had risked so much4 ,since the ,franco-,prussian war1 military ballooning has been largely developed1 and now all great armies possess their properly equipped and trained balloon corps4 ,the balloons in use in the ,british ,army at the present day are made1 not of silk1 but of gold-beater's skin1 a very thin1 but extremely tough membrane prepared from the insides of oxen4 ,this is1 of course1 much stronger and more durable than ordinary balloon fabric1 but much more expensive4 ,the balloons are comparatively small ones1 of #aj1jjj feet capacity1 and are inflated with hydrogen4 ,the hydrogen is now no longer made upon the field1 but is manufactured in special factories1 and carried compressed in large steel cylinders4 ,by this means the time occupied in filling the balloon is much reduced1 but the weight of the cylinders is very great4 ,as will be remembered1 balloons were made of considerable use during the late ,boer ,war4 ,at the siege of ,ladysmith they were thought of much value in directing the fire of the ,british ,artillery1 and again at ,spion ,kop and ,magersfontein are said to have done good service4 ,so far we have shown of what use balloons may be in times of peace and war4 ,every year sees fresh improvements and developments in balloons for military purposes and in those employed for making meteorological and other similar observations2 and there is no doubt that great advances may shortly be expected in both these directions4 ,but there is yet another and totally different science to which the balloon may lend its aid1 and help greatly to add to our knowledge2 and this is the science of geography1 or the study of the earth's surface4 ,one of the earliest ideas suggested by ,montgolfier's invention was that the balloon might be turned to practical account in the exploring of unknown and inaccessible tracts of the world4 ,it was suggested that in a balloon men might sail over and survey country that they were not able to reach in any other way4 ,deserts could be crossed in this fashion1 forests and mountain ranges1 and even the desolate ice-tracts of the ,north and ,south ,poles4 ,all this is1 in truth1 perfectly possible1 and another day may be accomplished2 but at present great difficulties and dangers stand in the way of exploring by balloon1 and up to the present time1 with one great exception1 no special attempt has been made4 ,it has already been mentioned that both ,wise and ,green wished to cross the ,atlantic by sky1 and indeed at the present moment plans are actually being made on the ,continent for a similar voyage4 ,this1 however1 can scarcely be called exploring4 ,other suggestions which may presently be put to the test are the crossing of the ,sahara1 and also of another great desert in ,central ,arabia1 into which no white man has ever succeeded in penetrating4 ,recent expeditions both to the ,north and ,south ,poles have also taken with them balloons to be used captive for the observation of the state of the ice ahead1 and for obtaining wide views around4 ,the one great attempt at exploring by balloon which has so far been made has1 unfortunately1 met with hopeless and terrible disaster--this was the ill-fated voyage to the ,north ,pole of ,andre and his companions4 ,the idea of reaching the ,pole by balloon was first proposed many years ago1 and both ,french and ,english aeronauts at different times have made suggestions as to the best way in which it might be accomplished4 ,nothing1 however1 was attempted until about the year #ahid1 when ,m4 ,s4 ,a4 ,andre1 a well-known ,swedish balloonist1 who had already met with exciting experiences in the air1 made up his mind actually to risk the venture4 ,his plan was to take a suitable balloon1 and the apparatus for inflating it1 to a place as far north as a ship could safely go1 then to fill the balloon and wait for a favourable wind which should carry him right over the ,pole and beyond until inhabited country was reached4 ,by the summer of #ahif all his preparations were complete4 ,his balloon was an enormous one1 capable of holding #afb1jjj cubic feet of gas1 and was fitted with a rudder sail and a long trail-rope1 by means of which ,andre hoped to be able to some extent to steer his course across the ice4 ,two companions were to accompany him on his voyage1 and on ,june #gth the party embarked with all their apparatus1 and were conveyed to ,spitzbergen4 ,they landed at ,dane's ,island1 where their first work was to build themselves a shed4 ,they then got their gas-making apparatus into order1 and filled the balloon1 and by the #bgth of ,july were all ready for a start4 ,but the wind was contrary1 and day after day they waited in vain for a change1 until at last the captain of the ship which had brought them warned them they would be frozen in for the winter unless they returned without delay4 ,very reluctantly1 therefore1 they abandoned their venture for that year1 and went home1 leaving behind them the shed and gas-generator for another occasion4 ,the winter passed1 and by the end of next ,may they were back again at ,dane's ,island4 ,their shed and apparatus had suffered damage during their absence1 and had to be repaired1 and their preparations were not complete until the end of ,june4 ,but again the wind was contrary1 and for three weeks more they waited impatiently4 ,all this while the balloon remained inflated1 and by the long delay must have lost a considerable amount of its buoyancy4 ,at last the wind changed1 and though it was not exactly in the direction they wished1 being a little west of south1 instead of due south1 ,andre felt he could wait no longer1 and at half-past two in the afternoon of ,july #aath set sail1 with his two friends1 on his daring voyage4 ,what followed is soon told4 ,eleven days later one of the carrier pigeons taken by ,andre in his balloon was picked up by a fishing-boat off ,spitzbergen4 ,fastened to it was the following message3--8,july #acth1 #ab4cj ,p4,m4 #hb #b north lat41 #ae #e east long4 ,good journey eastward4 ,all goes well on board4--,,andr,e40 ,this was the latest news ever heard of the ill-fated voyagers4 ,later on two of ,andre's buoys1 thrown out from the balloon1 were found2 but the messages these contained were dated on the evening of ,july #aath1 only a few hours after the start4 ,if the date of the first found message can be relied on1 it would seem that after forty-eight hours ,andre's balloon was still sailing well1 and he had already accomplished the longest voyage aloft ever made4 ,of his subsequent fate1 and that of his companions1 nothing is known4 ,search expeditions have failed to find any trace of them or of the balloon1 and the many rumours received have been proved to be false4 ,there can be no possible reason to doubt that these brave men perished in their daring attempt1 and that their bones lie in the ,arctic ,sea or in the waste of ice and snow that surrounds the ,pole4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,airship ,so far in our story we have traced the origin and progress of the balloon1 showing how from small beginnings it has grown to be an important invention1 of great use to the scientific observer1 the soldier1 and the explorer1 and the means of teaching us much fresh knowledge4 ,but in spite of the high hopes of early aeronauts1 and the extravagant prophecies made when the first balloons ascended into the sky1 it has long been evident that the balloon alone has not solved the problem of human flight or accomplished the conquest of the air4 ,an ordinary balloon is1 in fact1 nothing more than a mere lifting machine1 no more capable of sailing the sky1 in the proper sense of the word1 than a cork floating in the water is capable of sailing the sea4 ,it has no movement of its own1 but drifts simply at the mercy of the wind1 and quite beyond control4 ,by the discharge of ballast1 or by the letting out of gas1 the aeronaut can indeed cause it to rise or sink at pleasure1 and sometimes when two currents of air are blowing aloft in different directions at the same time he may1 by passing from one to the other1 8tack0 his balloon to some extent across the sky4 ,otherwise he has no power of guiding or directing it in the least degree1 and should he lose sight of the earth above the clouds1 has even no method of telling in which direction he is travelling4 ,early inventors thought they would be able to steer balloons by means of sails1 like a boat1 but they soon found that this was impossible4 ,the effect of hoisting a sail at the side of a balloon was merely to swing the balloon round until the sail was in front1 while meantime it continued its course unaltered4 ,the use of a rudder and other means were also tried1 but without success2 nor can such methods ever hope to succeed so long as a balloon floats in the air at the same pace as the wind that carries it forward4 ,a balloon travelling with the wind may be compared to a boat drifting idly with the tide4 ,as long as she drifts she refuses to answer her rudder1 which swings idly4 ,but presently the boatman hoists a sail1 and the wind carries the boat onwards faster than the tide1 and then immediately the rudder comes into action4 ,or should there be no wind1 he may accomplish the same thing by dragging an anchor or other weight in the water1 and so slowing his boat down until it moves slower than the current2 he will then again find that his boat will answer her helm4 ,to steer his course in a balloon1 therefore1 the aeronaut must so arrange that he is travelling faster or slower than the wind in which he finds himself4 ,to travel faster1 he must employ some sort of engine or motor to drive his craft onwards4 ,to travel slower1 he must trail something along the ground beneath to act as a drag4 ,part of the equipment of every balloon is a long trail-rope1 which1 when the balloon is aloft1 hangs some #cjj feet below the car4 ,the object of this rope is to break the force of the fall when the balloon comes down to the earth at the end of the voyage4 ,in the greater number of cases a balloon1 in its final swoop to the ground1 falls the last few hundred feet with considerable1 and often uncomfortable1 speed4 ,but when provided with a trail-rope1 as it descends more and more of the heavy rope will lie along the ground1 and so lighten the weight of the balloon1 and lessen the shock of falling4 ,if then a trail-rope were used of such length that it would sweep along the ground while the balloon was flying in the air1 the effect would be to put a drag or brake on the balloon1 and so render it capable of being steered to some extent with a sail2 and this is what has actually been done in all attempts of the kind4 ,but since a long rope dragging rapidly across the country is a very dangerous object1 capable of doing great damage1 and also liable to catch in trees and other obstacles1 such experiments can only be tried with safety over the sea1 or1 as in the case of ,andre's voyage1 over desert or uninhabited country4 ,the best way of steering a balloon1 therefore1 is to provide it with some mechanical power which shall urge it onwards at a greater speed than the wind2 and when this is done1 it has ceased to be a balloon in the popular sense of the word1 and has become an 8airship40 ,there is a great deal of confusion between the terms 8airship10 and 8flying machine10 and the two words are often considered as meaning the same thing4 ,but while1 strictly speaking1 neither word in itself has any very definite meaning1 it is gradually becoming more general to apply them to two widely different objects4 ,according to this plan1 although both names stand for an aerial vessel capable of travelling in the sky by its own motion1 an airship is a machine supported in the air by reason of its buoyancy1 while a flying machine is kept aloft only by virtue of its onward movement4 ,in other words1 part of the construction of an airship consists of a bag or balloon1 filled with gas or hot air1 which causes the whole to rise and maintain its position in the air4 ,this balloon part is quite independent of the machinery which drives the airship forward1 and indeed if the engine ceases working1 the vessel becomes nothing more than an ordinary balloon in its nature1 and will behave like one4 ,an airship1 therefore1 is in principle an apparatus lighter than air4 ,a flying machine1 on the contrary1 is heavier than air1 and maintains its position aloft merely by the power it obtains from its engines1 assisted by its special construction4 ,the inventors of flying machines take as their analogy the flight of birds4 ,birds are creatures heavier than air1 which yet manage to rise and fly by reason of the strength and construction of their wings4 ,in the same way the heavy flying machine essays to fly by the power of its machinery4 ,and1 as a bird aloft1 if its wings became disabled1 would instantly drop towards earth1 so a flying machine would immediately commence to fall if its engine stopped or ceased to move with sufficient power4 ,the airship and the flying machine1 therefore1 may be regarded as rival aerial vessels1 and their inventors and advocates1 sometimes known as 8lighter-than-air-ites0 and 8heavier-than-air-ites10 though both working for the same end1 are endeavouring to accomplish their aim by widely different methods4 ,up to the present day the airship--to which we will first turn our attention--has been much more largely and successfully experimented with than the flying machine4 ,it is1 however1 the opinion of many1 including the great authority ,sir ,hiram ,maxim1 that in the future the flying machine will become the more important invention of the two4 8,in all ,nature10 says ,sir ,hiram1 8we do not find a single balloon4 ,all ,nature's flying machines are heavier than air40 ,and from this he argues that1 as ,nature is ever our best guide and example1 a flying machine heavier than air will be in the end most likely to succeed4 ,one of the earliest airships which achieved any success was invented by a ,frenchman1 ,m4 ,giffard1 about the year #aheb4 ,he made his balloon of an elongated or cigar shape1 a form adopted by airship inventors as offering less resistance to the air than the ordinary globular or pear shape4 ,to this balloon1 which was #ajd feet long and #ci feet in diameter1 he attached a steam-engine of three-horse power1 weighing #dfb lbs4 and working a screw-propeller1 which1 by its rapid revolutions1 urged the balloon onwards through the air1 even as the screw of a steamship urges the vessel through the water4 ,with this apparatus he succeeded on one occasion1 for a very short while1 in obtaining a speed of six and a half miles an hour4 ,twenty years later another ,frenchman1 ,m4 ,dupuy de ,lme1 constructed another airship2 but fearing to place an engine so near the gas of his balloon1 he used the strength of eight men to work his screw4 ,this was a very wasteful mode of supplying energy1 for the weight of the men was very great in proportion to their strength1 and this machine1 during its trial1 did not attain as great a speed as ,giffard's4 ,twelve years after a third ,frenchman1 ,m4 ,tissandier1 took up the same experiments4 ,his elongated balloon was smaller than the two previous1 and his engine was an electric motor of one and a half horse-power4 ,on one occasion a speed of nearly eight miles an hour was attained4 ,by this time the ,french ,government had become interested in the work1 and provided money to continue investigations4 ,the result of this was that in #ahhe two officers of the ,french army1 ,captains ,renard and ,krebs1 brought out by far the most successful airship yet constructed4 ,it was #afe feet long1 #bg feet in diameter1 and was driven by an electric motor of nine horse-power4 ,that this machine proved itself perfectly capable of being guided in the air is amply shown by the fact that it returned to its shed five times out of the seven on which it was publicly taken out4 ,it also attained a speed of fourteen miles an hour1 and indeed it would seem that ,renard and ,krebs1 although their names are now almost forgotten1 accomplished nearly as great things twenty years ago as the popular airship inventors of the present day4 ,one of the greatest difficulties with which early inventors had to contend was the enormous weight of their engines4 ,the machinery they were obliged to use to drive their airships through the air weighed more than their balloons1 unless made of unwieldy size1 had power to lift4 ,the same difficulty indeed exists at the present time1 though to a much less degree4 ,of late years1 and especially since the introduction of the motor-car1 great progress has been made in the construction of light but powerful engines1 or motors1 and the employment of petrol vapour instead of coal or oil has very greatly lessened the weight of the fuel which has to be carried4 ,in consequence of this improvement many airships have recently been made which have met with varying success1 and many more are at the present moment in process of construction4 ,among the host of inventors1 whose names it would here be impossible even to mention1 three stand out from the rest in special prominence--,zeppelin1 ,santos ,dumont1 and ,stanley ,spencer--all three the inventors of airships which have1 by actual experience1 proved their power of steering a course across the sky4 ,of these rival airships1 by far the largest and most elaborate was that built by the first named1 ,count ,zeppelin1 a distinguished veteran soldier of the ,german army4 ,for many years he had spent his time and fortune in making experiments in aerial navigation1 and at length in #aijj1 having formed a company and collected a large sum of money for the purpose1 he produced an enormous airship1 which1 from its size1 has been compared to a man-of-war4 ,in shape ,count ,zeppelin's invention resembled a gigantic cigar1 #dbj feet in length1 pointed at both ends4 ,the framework was made of the specially light metal aluminium1 covered over with silk1 and though from outside it looked all in one piece1 within it was divided into seventeen compartments1 each holding a separate balloon made of oiled silk and absolutely gas-tight4 ,the object of this was to prevent the tendency the gas has to collect all at one end as the ship forces its way through the air4 ,these balloons were filled with pure hydrogen1 the cost of the inflation alone being #ejj4 ,beneath was slung a long gangway1 #cdf feet in length1 with two cars1 also made of aluminium1 attached to it4 ,in these cars were placed two motor-engines of sixteen horse power each1 driven by benzine1 and working a pair of screw-propellers attached to the balloon4 ,a steering apparatus was placed at each end1 and the whole machine1 with five passengers1 weighed about eleven tons4 ,illustration3 ,,zeppelin',s ,,airship ,,over ,,lake ,,constance4 ,to lessen the effects of a possible fall1 the experiments were carried out over water1 and the great airship was housed in a shed built on ,lake ,constance4 ,the cost of this shed alone was enormous1 for it was elaborately constructed on pontoons1 and anchored in such a way that it could be turned round to allow the airship to be liberated from it in the best direction to suit the wind4 ,the trial trip was made one evening in ,june #aijj1 when a very light wind was blowing4 ,the great machine rose into the air1 carrying ,zeppelin and four companions to a height of #hjj feet4 ,the steering apparatus then being put into action1 it circled round and faced the wind1 remained stationary for a short while1 and then sank gracefully and gently upon the water4 ,a few days later another and more successful trial was made4 ,the wind at the time was blowing at sixteen miles an hour1 but in spite of this the airship slowly steered its course against the wind for three and a half miles1 when1 one of the rudders breaking1 it was obliged to come down4 ,on one or two other occasions also it made successful voyages1 proving itself to be perfectly manageable and capable of being steered on an absolutely calm day4 ,the expense of the experiments was1 however1 tremendous2 money fell short1 and the great machine1 the result of many years' labour and thought1 has since been abandoned and broken up4 ,illustration3 ,,santos ,,dumont',s ,,airship4 ,a far happier fate has so far attended the efforts of the brave young ,brazilian1 ,albert ,santos ,dumont4 ,the wealthy son of a successful coffee-planter1 he had always from his boyhood been keenly interested in aeronautics1 and1 coming to ,paris1 he constructed in #ahih an airship of a somewhat novel kind4 ,his balloon was cigar-shaped1 #hc feet long1 and holding #fejj feet of pure hydrogen4 ,attached to the balloon1 and working a propeller1 was a small motor like those used for motor cycles1 and astride of this ,santos ,dumont rode1 bicycle fashion1 steering his course with a rudder4 ,in this ingenious machine he ascended from the ,botanical ,gardens in ,paris and circled several times round the large captive balloon then moored there1 after which he made a number of bold sweeps in the air1 until an accident occurred to his engine and he came precipitately to the ground4 ,though shaken he was by no means discouraged1 and declared his intention of continuing his experiments until he should have invented an airship which1 in his own words1 should be 8not a mere plaything1 but a practical invention1 capable of being applied in a thoroughly useful fashion40 ,accordingly he constructed one machine after another1 gaining fresh knowledge by each new experience1 and profiting by the accidents and failures which continually beset him in his dangerous and daring work4 ,before long also he received an additional incentive to his labours4 ,early in the year of #aijj it was announced by the ,paris ,aero ,club1 a society of ,frenchmen interested in aeronautical matters1 that one of its members1 ,m4 ,deutsch1 had offered a prize of #ajj1jjj francs--about #djjj--to the man who1 starting from the ,aero ,club grounds at ,longchamps in a balloon or flying machine1 should steer his course right round the ,eiffel ,tower and back to the starting-place--a distance of three and a half miles--within half an hour4 ,if the prize were not won within a certain time1 his offer was to be withdrawn1 and meanwhile he promised a certain sum of money every year for the encouragement of aeronautical experiments4 ,the offer of this reward set many inventors to work upon the construction of various aerial vessels of all kinds1 but from the beginning ,santos ,dumont was well to the fore4 ,by the middle of #aija he had completed what was his sixth airship--a cigar-shaped balloon1 #ajj feet long1 its propeller worked by a motor-car engine of fifteen horse-power--and with it1 on ,july #aeth1 he made a splendid attempt for the prize4 ,starting from the ,club grounds1 he reached the ,eiffel ,tower in thirteen minutes1 and1 circling round it1 started back on his homeward journey4 ,but this time his voyage was against the wind1 which was really too strong for the success of his experiment2 part of his engine broke down1 and the balance of the vessel became upset2 and although he managed to fight his way back to the starting point1 he arrived eleven minutes behind time1 and so failed to fulfil ,m4 ,deutsch's conditions4 ,again1 on the #ith of ,august1 having in the meantime made further trials with his machine1 he embarked on another attempt to carry off the prize4 ,he chose the early hours of the morning1 starting shortly after six from the ,club grounds1 where only a few friends1 among them the keenly interested ,m4 ,deutsch1 were present4 ,the day was apparently perfect1 and when1 after the lapse of five minutes only1 he had reached the ,tower and swung gracefully round it1 every one was convinced that this time the prize was certain to be won4 ,but the homeward journey was all against the wind1 which was blowing more powerfully aloft than on the ground1 and suddenly the onlookers were horrified to see the fore part of the balloon double right back4 ,by so doing the silken envelope became torn and the gas began escaping4 ,rapidly the balloon appeared to wither up and shrink together4 ,the engine was seen still to be working1 though no progress was now being made4 ,then the whole apparatus collapsed utterly1 and fell with sickening speed upon the house-tops4 ,deutsch and his companions watched the fall horror-struck1 and jumping into their motorcars hurried to the spot1 convinced that a fatal accident must have occurred4 ,but they found that1 although the airship was smashed to pieces1 its plucky inventor had almost miraculously escaped unhurt4 ,the wrecked machine had fallen upon the roof of a house in such a way that the keel had caught upon a corner1 and the car1 which was fastened to it1 hung at a perilous angle down the side of a wall4 ,fortunately ,dumont was secured to his car by a leather belt1 and he managed to hold on1 though in considerable danger lest the keel should break and let him fall1 until rescued by a fireman with a rope4 ,his machine was hopelessly ruined2 but when asked what he intended to do next he merely answered3 8,begin again4 ,only a little patience is necessary40 ,a new machine1 8,santos ,dumont ,,vii410 was ready in less than a month1 and tested on the #fth of ,september4 ,it behaved beautifully1 and all went well until the trail-rope caught in a tree4 ,in liberating it the framework became bent1 and the airship was being towed back to its shed when a sudden gust of wind tore it away from those who held it4 ,it immediately rose into the air1 and on ,dumont opening the valve the whole collapsed and fell to earth with a great shock4 ,again the lucky inventor escaped unhurt1 though owning this time that he had 8felt really frightened40 ,ten days later1 in another trial1 the airship came in contact with some trees1 which pierced the silk and let out the gas1 so that it fell precipitately twenty feet4 ,but the aeronaut appeared to bear a charmed life1 for once more he was none the worse for the fall4 ,several other unsuccessful trials followed1 and then1 on the #aith of ,october1 ,santos ,dumont made another grand attempt for the prize4 ,starting with the wind in his favour1 his machine travelled at the rate of thirty miles an hour1 and rounded the ,eiffel ,tower in nine minutes4 ,but in the journey homewards the airship had to struggle with a wind blowing at thirteen miles an hour4 ,in endeavouring to 8tack0 the machinery became upset1 and ,dumont1 leaving his car1 crawled along the framework to the motor1 which he succeeded in putting in order again4 ,but this naturally occasioned some delay1 and though he accomplished the rest of his journey in eight minutes1 the ,committee at first decided he had exceeded the allotted time by forty seconds1 and so had lost the prize4 ,great popular indignation was excited by this decision1 for public sympathy was all with the daring and persistent young ,brazilian1 and ,m4 ,deutsch himself was most anxious he should receive the award4 ,finally1 he was considered to have fairly won it1 and the money1 which he afterwards divided among the poor1 was formally presented to him4 ,early in the next year ,santos ,dumont continued his experiments at ,monaco1 and on one occasion came down in the sea1 and had to be rescued in the ,prince of ,monaco's own steam yacht4 ,after this there was a talk of further voyages being made in ,england1 but the project came to nothing1 and although ,dumont made other ascents in ,paris in the summer of #aijc1 he does not appear to have eclipsed his previous record4 ,but although ,santos ,dumont came through all his accidents and perils so happily1 his example led to terrible disaster on the part of a luckless imitator4 ,in #aijb ,m4 ,severo1 also a ,brazilian1 was fired with a desire to share his fellow-countryman's fame1 and he also constructed an airship with which he proposed to do great things4 ,but while ,dumont was a skilled aeronaut of large experience1 as well as a mechanician1 ,severo knew scarcely anything about the subject1 and had only been aloft once or twice4 ,proof of his ignorance is shown by the fact that his motor-engine was placed only a few feet away from the valve through which the gas from the balloon would escape4 ,the ascent took place in ,paris early in the morning of the #abth of ,may1 and was witnessed1 unhappily1 by ,severo's wife and son4 ,bidding them good-bye1 he stepped into the car1 and1 accompanied by an assistant1 rose above the town4 ,the balloon rose steadily1 and appeared to steer well4 ,then ,severo commenced to throw out ballast1 and when the airship had risen #bjjj feet it was suddenly seen to burst into a sheet of flame4 ,a terrible explosion followed1 and then the whole fell to the ground a hopeless wreck1 and the two men were dashed to pieces in the fall4 ,it is believed that this dreadful disaster1 which recalls the fate of ,piltre de ,rozier1 was caused by the hydrogen gas1 which escaped from the valve during the rapid rise1 becoming ignited by the engine1 which1 as has been said1 was placed dangerously close4 ,nor was this1 unhappily1 the only accident of the kind in ,paris during the year4 ,only five months later1 on the #acth of ,october1 ,baron ,bradsky ascended with an assistant in a large airship of his own invention4 ,through faulty construction1 the steel wires which fastened the car to the balloon broke1 the two became separated1 the car fell1 and its occupants were killed on the spot4 ,so far1 the credit of the only ,english airship which has yet flown rests with ,mr4 ,stanley ,spencer1 the well-known aeronaut4 ,mr4 ,spencer comes of a race of aeronauts4 ,his grandfather1 ,edward ,spencer1 was the great friend and colleague of ,charles ,green1 and shared with him some of his chief ballooning adventures1 notably the terrible voyage when ,cocking lost his life4 ,green stood godfather to ,edward ,spencer's son1 who was christened ,charles ,green after him4 ,he also grew up to be an aeronaut1 and made several inventions and improvements relating to balloons and flying machines4 ,his love of ballooning1 inherited from his father1 has been passed on to his children1 and his three eldest sons1 ,percival1 ,arthur1 and ,stanley1 are chief among ,british aeronauts1 and indeed have practically the monopoly of professional ballooning and balloon manufacture in ,great ,britain4 ,nor have they confined themselves to this country4 ,all three have taken their balloons and parachutes to distant parts of the world1 and among their many hundreds of ascents1 both abroad and at home1 have met with all manner of exciting and perilous adventures1 though never yet with serious mishap4 ,their knowledge of practical aeronautics1 then1 is unrivalled1 and ,mr4 ,stanley ,spencer had the experience of three generations to guide him when1 in #aijb1 he set to work to build an airship which he had long been devising4 ,his first machine was a comparatively small one1 capable only of lifting a light man4 ,it took the usual form of a cigar-shaped balloon1 the framework of which was built of bamboo1 driven forward by a screw-propeller worked by a small petrol engine4 ,warned by the fate of the unfortunate ,severo1 ,mr4 ,spencer placed his engine far away from the valve4 ,profiting also by ,santos ,dumont's experience1 he constructed his balloon in such a manner that1 should it become torn and the gas escape1 the empty silk would collapse into the form of a parachute and break the fall4 ,furthermore1 there was an arrangement by which1 while aloft1 ordinary air could be forced into the balloon to replace any loss of gas1 and so keep the silk always fully inflated and 8taut0--a very important factor in a machine that has to be driven forward through the atmosphere4 ,with this airship ,mr4 ,spencer1 as also his equally daring wife1 made several highly successful trials at the ,crystal ,palace1 when it was found to steer well and answer its helm most satisfactorily4 ,mr4 ,spencer also made two long voyages1 from ,london and from ,blackpool1 on both of which occasions he found he could manuvre his airship with considerable success1 make circular flights1 and sail against the wind1 provided it was blowing only at moderate speed4 ,encouraged by his success1 he next built a similar but much larger machine1 nearly a hundred feet long1 holding #cj1jjj cubic feet of gas1 and driven by a petrol motor of twenty-four horse-power4 ,in this case the propeller1 instead of being placed at the rear1 as in general1 is at the front of the airship1 thereby pulling it forward through the air instead of pushing it from behind4 ,by this arrangement ,mr4 ,spencer thinks his balloon would have less tendency to double up when urged against a strong wind4 ,the steering is done by a rudder sail at the stern1 and to cause his machine to sail higher or lower1 the aeronaut points its head up or down by means of a heavy balance-rope4 ,this new airship was ready by the summer of #aijc1 but the unfavourable weather of that stormy season again and again interfered with the experiments4 ,on the #agth of ,september ,mr4 ,spencer announced his intention of sailing from the ,crystal ,palace round the dome of ,st4 ,paul's1 and returning to his starting-place4 ,the ,cathedral was indeed safely reached1 but the increasing breeze1 now blowing half a gale1 baffled all his attempts to circle round4 ,again and again1 till his hands were cut and bleeding with the strain of the ropes1 he brought his machine up1 quivering1 to the wind1 but all to no purpose1 until at length1 abandoning the attempt1 he sailed with the current to ,barnet4 ,more favourable results may doubtless be looked for with better weather conditions4 ,in ,france during #aijc the brothers ,lebaudy made some successful trips with an airship of their own construction4 ,many other airships are now being built in all parts of the world1 in preparation for the aeronautical competitions to take place in ,america on the occasion of the ,st4 ,louis ,exhibition of this year4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,flying ,,machine ,it is now time we turn our attention from the airship to its important rival1 the flying machine4 ,at first sight it may perhaps appear that so far the flying machine has accomplished less than the airship1 and gives less promise of success1 since up to the present time no flying machine has taken a man any distance into the air1 or indeed done much more than just lift itself off the ground4 ,nevertheless those who have made a study of the matter are full of hope for the future4 ,many experts declare that already the limits of what can be done with the airship1 which depends upon the lifting power of its gas to raise it and to sustain it in the air1 are being reached4 ,it has indeed been proved that on a calm day1 or with only a light breeze1 this form of sky vessel can be steered safely about the heavens1 and doubtless as engines are constructed yet lighter and more powerful in proportion to their weight1 more successful voyages still will be accomplished4 ,but it is extremely doubtful whether an airship can ever be constructed which shall be able to stand against a gale of wind4 ,so long as a balloon sails only with the breeze it offers no resistance to the force of the wind1 and can be made of the lightest and thinnest material4 ,but directly it has to face the wind1 and fight its way against it as an airship must do1 then it has to be made of sufficient strength and rigidity to withstand the wind's power1 or it will be blown to pieces4 ,to make so large a thing as an airship withstand a rough wind1 it must be built of very strong and rigid materials4 ,to do this means to add to the weight of the machine4 ,to lift the increased weight1 a larger machine which can hold more gas is needed4 ,the larger the machine the more surface it offers to the wind1 and the stronger therefore must be its construction4 ,it will now be seen that we are arguing in a circle1 and we can understand that a point must be reached in the making of airships when1 with our present materials1 the advantage gained by increase of strength will be more than counterbalanced by increased weight4 ,on this point ,sir ,hiram ,maxim says3 8,it is not possible to make a balloon1 strong enough to be driven through the air at any considerable speed1 at the same time light enough to rise in the air2 therefore balloons must always be at the mercy of a wind no greater than that which prevails at least #cjj days in the year20 adding1 8,those who seek to navigate the air by machines lighter than air have1 ,i think1 come practically to the end of their tether40 ,with the flying machine1 on the contrary1 the same difficulty does not arise4 ,since it is at all times heavier than air1 and is kept aloft simply by its motive power and mechanism1 its weight is of no consequence1 provided only its engine is sufficiently powerful4 ,it may1 therefore1 be built as rigidly as need be1 while1 from its size--which is much smaller in proportion to its lifting power than in the case of the airship--and also from its construction1 it is much less liable to be affected by the wind4 ,in constructing a flying machine which is heavier than air the inventor has before him two examples of bodies which1 though heavier than the atmosphere1 yet contrive to rise upwards into the sky2 these are1 firstly1 birds1 and secondly1 the familiar schoolboy toys1 kites4 ,to imitate the flying powers of birds and kites1 he must first understand the means by which their flight is accomplished2 and he will find1 on examination1 that to a large extent the same principle underlies each--the principle of what is termed the 8aeroplane40 ,illustration3 ,,kestrel4 ,as we watch birds--especially large birds1 as hawks and gulls--winging their way about the sky1 we may notice that their flight is accomplished in two ways2 either they are moving through the air by flapping their wings up and down1 or else with wings wide outstretched they are soaring or sailing in the air for long times together without apparently moving their wings at all4 ,certain birds1 such as vultures and albatrosses1 possess this power of soaring flight to an extraordinary degree1 and the exact way in which they keep themselves poised aloft is indeed still a mystery4 ,we cannot1 however1 as we watch1 say1 a hawk1 hovering in the air with motionless wing1 help being struck by its resemblance to the schoolboy's kite1 kept afloat high in the sky by the action of the wind properly applied to its surface1 and we can at once see that the bird makes use of the same principle as the kite in its soaring or hovering flight4 ,indeed1 just as a kite sinks to earth when the wind drops1 so in a dead calm even an albatross has to flap its wings to keep afloat4 ,it is to the principle of the kite1 therefore1 that the inventor of the flying machine must turn4 ,he must adapt the same principle to his apparatus1 and this he does in his aeroplane1 which1 as will be seen1 is an all-important part of his machine1 and which1 in its simplest form1 is nothing more or less than a kite4 ,we know that if a light flat body1 such as a kite1 is lying upon the ground1 and the wind gets under it so as to tilt it1 it will be lifted by the wind into the air4 ,the string of a kite is so adjusted that as the kite rises it is still held at an angle to the wind's force1 and so long as the kite remains tilted at the necessary angle so long it will continue to rise or poise itself in the air while the wind blows4 ,when schoolboys fly their kites they choose an exposed spot1 and a day when the wind is blowing freshly and steadily4 ,one boy throws the kite into the air1 while another1 holding the string to which it is fastened1 draws it tight by running with it against the wind4 ,by this means the kite1 if rightly adjusted1 is held at the proper angle to the wind1 and started without dragging along the ground to begin with4 ,as soon as the wind has fairly caught the kite and carried it up into the air1 the boy who holds the string need run no longer1 but if the breeze suddenly fails1 and the kite begins to drop1 he may still keep his toy aloft by running quickly along and dragging the kite after him2 the artificial wind he thus creates making up for the lack of the other4 ,now let us suppose that there is no string to hold the kite in proper position1 and no boy to run with it2 but that their places are supplied by a motor and propeller to drive it through the air2 while at the same time it is so balanced as to preserve a fitting angle against a wind of its own making4 ,we should then have a true flying machine1 heavier than air1 and yet capable of sailing through the sky4 ,this is the kind of flying machine that inventors at the present moment are trying to produce4 ,they have1 in their machines1 to reproduce artificially two essential conditions that cause a kite to fly4 ,they have to provide a substitute for the strength of the wind1 and also a substitute for the pull of the string which keeps the kite at the best angle to profit by that strength4 ,the first they achieve by using a suitable engine or motor1 and the second by supplying it with what are called 8aeroplanes0--large flat surfaces1 light but rigid1 inclined at a suitable angle to the horizon4 ,by the use of these the power of the engine is employed to best advantage in causing the machine to sail through the sky4 ,the great advantage of the aeroplane over any other mode of flying is thus described by ,major ,baden-,powell1 one of our greatest living authorities on aeronautical matters3 8,when people realise that in the case of the aeroplane a contrivance like the awning of a small steam launch is capable of supporting the man and the engines1 and that in the case of the balloon a mass like a big ship is necessary to lift the same weight1 one can readily understand the advantages of the aeroplane1 especially when to the drawbacks of the bulky balloon are added the great difficulties inherent in the retention of a large volume of expensive1 inflammable1 and subtle gas1 ever varying in its density40 ,the most successful inventors of flying machines at the present day are all ,americans1 though one of them has made his experiments on this side of the ,atlantic4 ,they are ,sir ,hiram ,maxim1 inventor of the famous gun1 and one of the greatest mechanicians living2 ,professor ,langley1 ,secretary of the ,smithsonian ,institute1 ,washington2 and the brothers ,wright4 ,mr4 ,maxim1 as he then was1 commenced his experiments in the early nineties4 ,as we have already shown1 he went to ,nature for his guide1 and in constructing his flying machine took as his analogy the flight of birds4 ,birds urge their way onwards in the air by reason of the strength of their wings4 ,a flying machine must do the same by the power of its engine2 and as a bird's wings must be strong in proportion to the bird's weight1 so the strength or horse-power of the engine must stand in a certain proportion to the number of pounds it weighs4 ,mr4 ,maxim's first task1 therefore1 was to discover what proportion this must be1 and by his experiments he arrived at a conclusion which ,professor ,langley in ,america1 working at the same task at the same time1 but quite independently1 had also proved to be true1 namely1 that the faster a machine travels through the air the greater weight it may carry2 or1 in other words1 the quicker a body moves through the atmosphere the less tendency will it have to fall to the ground4 ,a quick-flying bird like an albatross1 therefore1 flies with less exertion1 and so could carry a greater weight1 than a slow-moving bird like a goose4 ,it must therefore be to the advantage of the flying machine that its engines should attain as great a speed as possible4 ,maxim's next task was to construct a suitable engine4 ,light but powerful engines had not then reached the pitch of perfection they have now1 and his results proved at the time a perfect revelation of what could be done in this direction1 and led to great advances being made4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,maxim ,,airship4 ,next came the designing of the great machine itself4 ,it was an enormous apparatus1 weighing over three tons1 capable of carrying three men1 and supported by no less than #djjj square feet of aeroplanes1 placed one above the other4 ,its steam-engine was of #cfc horse-power1 and worked two screws of nearly #ah feet in diameter4 ,before such a machine could rise from the ground it must first have attained a very great forward impetus1 and this it was to receive by running at a great speed on wheels along a railway track specially laid down for it4 ,to prevent the apparatus rising unduly1 a reversed rail was erected a short distance above1 on which the machine would begin to run as soon as it lifted itself off the lower track4 ,along this railway the flying machine was tested1 and it was found that as soon as a speed of thirty-six miles an hour was reached the wheels were lifted clear off the ground1 and were running only upon the upper rail4 ,on the last occasion a speed of forty-two miles an hour was attained1 when the lifting power became so great that the restraining rail broke away altogether1 and the great flying machine actually floated in the air for a few moments1 8giving those on board the sensation of being in a boat10 until1 steam being shut off1 it fell to the ground and was broken4 ,the enormous expense of his experiments has not prevented ,sir ,hiram ,maxim from repeating them1 and he hopes soon to have a much improved machine4 ,nevertheless his experience and calculations have been of great value to those who would follow in his footsteps1 and have proved the possibility of constructing a flying machine which shall fly by virtue of its own motion4 ,meanwhile in ,america ,professor ,langley was experimenting1 independently1 almost on the same lines4 ,he also was bent on producing a flying machine1 but instead of starting to work upon a large apparatus like ,maxim1 he began by making models1 and gradually worked his way up to bigger things4 ,for many months he studied to understand the principle of those ingenious little toys sometimes seen1 which1 by means of the tension of a twisted india-rubber band1 will keep afloat in the air for a few seconds4 ,next he constructed small models driven by steam1 in which he found his great difficulty was in keeping down the weight4 ,for years he persevered in his work without any great success1 until in #ahif he produced a model machine which he called an 8aerodrome40 ,it was quite small1 weighing with its engine only #be lbs41 and measuring but #ad feet from tip to tip of its aeroplanes4 ,the experiments were made over water1 and the necessary momentum was given by dropping it from a platform #bj feet high4 ,on more than one occasion this little flying machine rose with great steadiness in the face of the wind to a height of #ajj feet1 moving so smoothly that it might have carried a glass of water without spilling a drop2 and then1 the steam of its engine being exhausted1 sank down gracefully upon the water1 having flown about half a mile in a minute and a half4 ,this success encouraged ,professor ,langley next to construct a full-sized flying machine on the same lines2 but this on its first voyage plunged headlong into the water and was hopelessly damaged4 ,the ,united ,states ,government have since granted him a sum of money to continue his experiments4 ,latest of all the airship inventors1 and perhaps so far the most successful1 are the brothers ,wright4 ,up to the date of writing this the full details of their work are not yet made public1 but it is known that on the #agth of ,december #aijc1 their machine1 which consists of two large aeroplanes driven forward by an engine of sixteen horse-power1 after being started along a short track on level ground1 rose into the air and flew for about half a mile4 ,it remains for us now to make brief mention of how men have tried1 and are still trying1 to imitate the soaring or gliding flight of birds without the use of machinery to assist them4 ,we have seen how an albatross can1 when the wind is blowing1 convert itself1 as it were1 into a kite1 and keep aloft in the air for a while without moving its wings4 ,similarly many people have attempted1 by attaching themselves to a large supporting surface or aeroplane1 and casting themselves off from a height1 to glide with the wind across wide stretches of country4 ,in this mode of soaring flight some have made considerable progress4 ,herr ,lilienthal1 a ,german1 was perhaps for a time the most successful4 ,he started from small beginnings1 jumping off a spring board a few feet high1 and gradually increasing the height as he became more accustomed to his apparatus4 ,later he had a large artificial mound made specially for him1 and from the top of this he would throw himself into the air1 and with a favourable wind sail a distance of four hundred yards at a considerable height above the ground4 ,lilienthal's experiments1 however1 came to a sad end4 ,on ,august the #aath1 #ahif1 after he had glided along in the air for about two hundred yards1 a sudden gust of wind caught the wide-spread wings of his apparatus1 and tilted it upwards4 ,this caused him to lose his balance1 and he fell from a height of sixty feet and broke his spine4 ,a similar accident also caused the death1 a few years later1 of a young ,englishman1 ,mr4 ,percy ,s4 ,pilcher1 who had been following up ,lilienthal's experiments4 ,the greatest difficulty now to be overcome in solving the problem of human flight1 whether with soaring apparatus or flying machine1 may be summed up in one word--8balance40 ,every schoolboy knows that the great art of kite-flying consists in so adjusting the point of attachment of the string and the length of the tail that his kite is properly balanced1 and is not liable to turn over or 8dip0 when in the air4 ,every observer of birds1 too1 has noticed how largely the question of balance enters into their flying4 ,a bird in the air is continually and instinctively adjusting its wings to its position1 and to every puff of wind1 even as a man on a bicycle is continually1 though unconsciously1 adjusting his handle-bar to the inequalities of the road2 and as a cyclist requires practice before he can ride his machine1 or a skater before he can keep his feet on the ice1 so even a bird has to learn how to balance itself before it can use its wings4 ,dwellers in the country are familiar with the way in which the parent birds teach their fledglings to fly1 instructing them by example1 and encouraging them in their first short flights until they have become familiar with their powers and can balance themselves aright in the air4 ,and if even birds1 with whom flying is an instinct1 have to learn the art of balancing themselves in the air by practice1 how much more so must such a clumsy creature as a man1 to whom flying is entirely unnatural4 ,only by long and painful efforts can he ever hope to succeed at all1 and unfortunately all such efforts are necessarily very dangerous4 ,many disastrous accidents have already occurred1 and although great progress has been made1 and the time may not now be far distant when1 by means of improved machines1 men will actually fly1 it will be at the cost of much labour1 and1 it is to be feared1 at the sacrifice of many more brave lives4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,conclusion ,in our last chapters we have1 in some measure1 brought our aeronautical history up to the present day1 though of necessity many important points and notable voyages have been passed over unnoticed4 ,it now remains to us but to gather up the loose ends of the story1 and then briefly to indicate the direction in which we may expect new advances in the future4 ,and1 first of all1 it may be well to mention a few ballooning 8records40 ,the largest balloon ever known was used as a captive at the ,paris ,exhibition of #ahgh4 ,it was of #hhc1jjj cubic feet capacity1 and capable of lifting more than fifty passengers at a time4 ,other mammoth balloons of almost as great dimensions have also been employed for captive work2 but the largest balloon intended specially for 8right away0 ascents was the 8,giant10 built in ,paris in #ahfc by ,m4 ,nadar4 ,it held #bae1jjj cubic feet of gas1 and was made of #bb1jjj yards of best white silk1 at #es4 #d;d4 a yard4 ,the car was particularly elaborate1 almost as big as a small cottage1 being of two stories1 and divided into several rooms4 ,it proved1 however1 to be a very dangerous adjunct1 for on the two occasions it was used those within received very serious injury during rough landings1 and it was soon put aside and replaced by an ordinary basket4 ,none of these monster sky craft appear to have been very successful1 and at the present day the largest balloons in general use do not exceed #ej1jjj or #fj1jjj cubic feet capacity4 ,the honour of the longest aerial voyage ever made rests with the unfortunate ,andre1 who1 if his dates are to be relied upon1 had been forty-eight hours aloft in his balloon when he despatched his last found message4 ,not far behind in point of time1 however1 was ,count de la ,vaulx1 who in the summer of #aija attempted to cross the ,mediterranean by balloon4 ,contrary winds in the end baffled his venture1 and he was forced to descend on the deck of a steamer which was following his course1 but not before he had spent forty-one hours in the sky4 ,the year previous the ,count had also achieved a record long-distance voyage in connection with some balloon competitions held during the ,french 8,exposition0 of #aijj4 ,starting from ,paris1 he descended in ,russia1 #aaic miles away1 having been aloft thirty-six hours all but fifteen minutes4 ,for lofty ascents the palm still rests with ,glaisher and ,coxwell1 whose famous voyage of #ahfb1 when1 as related1 a height of #cg1jjj feet 7or seven miles7 is said to have been reached1 has never been equalled4 ,the exact altitude attained on this occasion is1 however1 as we have explained1 only conjectural1 neither being capable at the last of taking observations1 and no height being registered over #bi1jjj feet4 ,on ,july #cast1 #aija1 two ,german scientists1 ,dr4 ,berson and ,dr4 ,suring1 ascended from ,berlin to a registered altitude of #cd1djj feet1 or well over six miles4 ,they were provided with compressed oxygen to breathe1 but even then became unconscious during the last #hjj feet of the ascent4 ,three years before ,dr4 ,berson had made a very lofty ascent in ,england1 accompanied by ,mr4 ,stanley ,spencer1 when a height of #bg1ejj feet was reached4 ,a terrible accident occurred in connection with a lofty scientific ascent made from ,paris in #ahge by ,tissandier1 inventor of the airship already mentioned1 and two companions4 ,their object was to attain a record height1 in which they indeed succeeded1 reaching #bh1jjj feet4 ,but despite the artificial air they took with them to breathe1 they all three became unconscious in the extreme upper regions1 and when1 after one of the most awful voyages in the whole history of ballooning1 ,tissandier came to himself1 it was to find the bodies of his two friends stiff and cold beside him in the car4 ,coming to the aeronautical work of the present day1 it is humiliating to have to confess that1 through lack of public support1 ,england has somewhat fallen behind other nations4 ,in ,america and on the ,continent large sums of money are subscribed for experiments with balloons1 airships1 and flying machines2 but in our own country all efforts in these directions are due to private enterprise alone4 ,among those most keenly interested in aeronautical progress may be mentioned ,mr4 ,p4 ,alexander1 of ,bath2 ,major ,baden-,powell1 ,president of the ,english ,aeronautical ,society2 and the ,rev4 ,j4 ,m4 ,bacon4 ,the latter has made many scientific balloon ascents for the study of meteorology1 acoustics1 and other kindred sciences1 and his observations have proved of much interest and value4 ,during his voyages he has met with several adventures1 though no serious mishaps4 ,on one occasion1 when the writer accompanied him1 during a night ascent made to observe the great shower of ,leonid shooting stars foretold for the #afth of ,november #ahii1 the balloon became unmanageable while lost above the clouds4 ,for ten hours it refused to come down1 during much of which time the sea was heard beneath1 and the voyagers believed themselves blown out over the ,atlantic4 ,a very stormy landing1 in which the writer broke her arm1 was eventually made near the coast in ,south ,wales as before mentioned4 ,in ,november #aijb1 ,mr4 ,bacon1 accompanied by ,mr4 ,percival ,spencer1 crossed the ,irish ,channel by balloon1 the second time only this dangerous passage has been made1 the first occasion being the voyage of ,mr4 ,windham ,sadler1 eighty-five years before4 ,mr4 ,bacon's voyage was partly undertaken for the ,admiralty1 who lent the services of a gunboat to follow the balloon's course over the sea4 ,one of the special objects of investigation was to test a theory1 long held1 that from a considerable height aloft the bottom of the sea becomes visible1 even in rough weather when the surface is troubled with waves4 ,this point was very successfully settled1 for although the sea was very rough1 ,mr4 ,bacon not only saw1 but succeeded in photographing1 from a height of #fjj feet1 the beds of sand and rock lying in ten fathoms at the bottom of the ,irish ,channel--a feat never before accomplished4 ,in scientific observations of the upper atmosphere a valuable ally to the balloon has been found in the kite4 ,the making of kites has now reached a high pitch of perfection1 and by their means self-recording scientific instruments can be raised to vast heights in the air1 and even men carried aloft with safety4 ,a kite which latterly has excited much attention is the ,cody kite4 ,with this1 during the autumn of #aijc1 its inventor1 a ,mexican1 hazarded a bold venture4 ,harnessing it to a light boat1 and waiting for a favourable wind1 he started from ,calais at eight o'clock one ,november evening1 and was safely towed all night across the ,channel1 reaching ,dover at five the next morning4 ,the aeronautical competitions at the ,st4 ,louis ,exhibition1 in ,america1 have given a great impetus to one branch at least of aeronautics1 while the labour of many scientific workers throughout the whole world is directed to the improvement of our present modes of exploring the heavens1 and the turning to best account of the means already at our disposal4 ,never since the days when the ,montgolfier brothers floated their first frail craft has so much interest as now been manifested in the conquest of the sky1 and never has progress been more rapid and sure4 ,whether the day will ever come when man will rule the atmosphere as he now does the sea is1 as yet1 uncertain1 but there are many who hope and believe not only that he will1 but that the day is not far distant when the birds will no longer hold undisputed sway over the empire of the air4 ,printed by ,,ballantyne1 ,,hanson ,,co4 ,edinburgh ,london ,transcriber's ,notes ,punctuation1 hyphenation1 and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book2 otherwise they were not changed4 ,simple typographical errors were corrected2 occasional unbalanced quotation marks retained4 ,ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained4