n8 MEMORIES OF MY LIFE 



wine, utterly perplexed as to the character of the 

 welcome he ought to offer. The aeronaut gulped 

 the wine offered to him, declaring with much rigmarole 

 that it was a scientific (!) ascent. I cowered, and was 

 utterly ashamed. After a miserable hour's delay, and 

 thanks chiefly to the exertions of the boy, a postchaise 

 was procured, the balloon was packed into its own car 

 together with all its gear, and the car was hoisted on 

 the roof of the chaise. The boy insinuated himself 

 somewhere, and the aeronaut and I reached London 

 in the small hours of the morning. I was so afraid of 

 meeting in society the ill-used master of the mansion 

 that I determinedly abstained from finding out who 

 he was. The moral that I drew from the trip is, that 

 the ascent and travel in calm weather in a balloon is 

 most delightful ; the return to earth most disagreeable, 

 and dangerous in even a slight wind. 



o o 



Among the many trifling events that occurred 

 about that time, I may mention a yachting fiasco. I 

 had a fancy to see Iceland, and, having had a little 

 yachting experience on a brief third visit to Shetland, 

 whither I and a companion sailed in an old Revenue 

 cutter, hired I forget at what port, and being assured 

 that with a similar vessel the trip might safely be 

 made, I went to Ryde to hire one. The owner of 

 a cutter that seemed suitable made no difficulty, so 

 I hired it for a month. On arriving on board, in order 

 to test the capabilities of the vessel and its crew, I told 

 the captain to set sail to Hastings. He was suave, but 

 pointed out the impossibility with the then wind and 

 tide of getting there. I did not clearly understand 

 his arguments, but answered, " Never mind ; it will 

 suit me equally well to go in the opposite direction 



