in Honour of His Majesty’s Coronation. 69 
that produced by drawing a cork out of a bottle of soda water. 
Vhen the balloon travelled at its greatest rapidity, I felt not the 
least motion; it appeared as if the car in which I sat was sta- 
tionary, and that the earth was receding from me. The balloon 
took a north-east direction at first; and on my looking down upon 
the vast assemblage of persons in Westminster, the delight I felt 
is out of my power to describe. The view presented one entire 
living mass of more than a million of human beings. Having 
ascended as high as I could without throwing out ballast, I de~ 
termined, as the weather was so fine, to keep in sight as long as 
possible. I threw out two bags of sand of 10 Ibs. weight each, 
and immediately the balloon rose with astonishing rapidity almost 
perpendicularly, according to my wish. When the balloon ar- 
rived at its utmost altitude, which in my opinion (I could not be 
certain, in’ consequence of the oscillation of the quicksilver in the 
barometer) was about 11,000 feet from the earth, I found that 
I had entered a current of air, conveying me directly eastward, 
towards the Nore. The cold was extreme. I put on a cloak 
which I took up with me, and on looking at my glass | found 
that it was below 30—two degrees below the freezing point. I 
was fearful of being carried to sea, and immediately opened the 
valve; the gas issued in considerable quantities ; and I found, 
by the increase of the size of objects below me to my optics, that 
I was descending very rapidly. The largest fields, which a few 
minutes before appeared to be not more than six inches square, 
increased in size greatly; and I very soon saw the sea and a 
number of vessels most distinctly. The balloon had a rotatory 
motion, and turned about four times in a minute. 
Still fearing that I should fall into the sea, 1 opened the valve 
to its utmost extremity; and having descended so as to be able 
to recognise small objects distinctly on the earth, with great de- 
Jight L found tiat the balloon had entered another current of air, 
which was conveying me from the sea; 1 was then travelling 
north-west. I sat down and ate some ‘sandwiches with a good 
appetite, and saw the clouds rolling beneath me, apparently on 
the ground. About 20 minutes before two o’clock | descended 
in a field belonging to a farmer named Lamkins, which is situated 
about four miles beyond Barnet, in the parish of South Mims. I 
was not aware that I had descended so rapidly ; before | had time 
to draw myself up to the hoop, the car struck the earth with great 
force, and I was thrown out of it on my back ; 1 was nearly 
stunned from the effeets of a blow which I received. I still held the 
hoop of the balloon; and the grappling iron, which I had thrown 
out when about a quarter of a mile from the earth, not taking 
firm hold, Lwas dragged on my back along the ground a consi- 
devable distance. The balloon was cventually secured, with the 
assistance 
