CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 131 



Ihe level of her onward course : every foot she would have been otherwise 

 compelled to add to her elevation now only adds to her weight by her endea- 

 vours to abstract from the earth a further portion of that rope which is de- 

 pendent upon its surface ; while, on the other hand, every foot she would 

 have been inclined to descend, had she been at liberty as heretofore, now 

 only abstracts from the weight which draws her downward, by throwing on 

 the earth the labour of supporting an additional portion of the guide-rope, 

 which she would otherwise have had to sustain without relief. Limited to 

 one unalterable plane, all the fluctuations above mentioned, whereby her irre- 

 parable stock of power became incessant waste, have thus completely been 

 avoided, and not only her ascensive force maintained in its full vigour 

 throughout a period determinable solely by her own imperfections, but at all 

 times and under all circumstances ; over the boundless ocean, without a land- 

 mark, in the densest fog, and throughout the darkest night, the exact direc- 

 tion of her course, as well as the very rate of her progress, determined with 

 the utmost facility and most infallible results. 



" The progress of the guide-rope being delayed to a certain extent by its 

 motion over the more solid plane of the earth's surface, while the movement 

 of the balloon is as freely as ever controlled by the propelling action of the 

 wind, it is evident that the direction of the latter when in progress must ever 

 be in advance of the former ; a comparison, therefore, of the relative posi- 

 tions of these two objects by means of the compass, must at all times indicate 

 the exact direction of her course ; while, with equal certainty, an estimate 

 can at once be obtained of the velocity with which she is proceeding, by ob- 

 serving the angle formed by the guide-rope and the vertical axis of the ma- 

 chine. In proportion as this angle enlarges, an increase in the rate of the 

 balloon may be infallibly inferred, and, vice versa, its diminution will be 

 found to correspond exactly with the diminished velocity of her advance. 

 When the rope is dependent perpendicularly, no angle of course is formed, 

 and the machine may be considered perfectly stationary, or at least endowed 

 with a rate of motion too insignificant to be either appreciable or important. 



"The main feature, however, in this discovery, is the altered aspect under 

 which it enables the aeronaut to regard the perils of the sea, and the conse- 

 quent extension it bestows upon the hitherto limited sj)here of his relations. 

 The ocean, now no longer the dreaded enemy of the aerial voyager, becomes 

 at once his greatest friend, and instead of opposing his progress, it offers him 

 advantages more certain and efficacious than even the earth itself with all its 

 presumed security is calculated to contribute." 



Appended, in a foot-note to page 22 of Mr. M's. history, is an ob- 

 servation which deserves to be received as both new and curious. He 

 represents it as a fact, that the sea, unless perhaps under circum- 

 stances of the most extraordinary agitation, does not in itself appear 

 to be the parent of the slightest sound. Unopposed by any material 

 obstacle, an awful stillness seems to reign over its motions. Neither 

 is it probable he thinks, that even under am/ circumstances, no matter 

 how violent, can any considerable disturbance arise from the conflict 

 of its own op])osing members. The impossibility of ever having been 

 placed in a situation to bring this fact under the cognizance of our 

 senses, is no doubt the reason why it has never before been noticed. 

 On the shore or in the sea, no one has ever been present independent 

 of that material support the absence of which is necessary to the suc- 

 cess of the experiment : it is in the balloon alone, Mr. M. exultiugly 

 avers, that such a phenomenon could either have been verified or 

 observed. 



