no 



KNOWLEDGE 



[March 1, 1901. 



a sudden and surprising change took place in our circum- 

 stances. Our environment, which had appeared absolutely 

 calm and clear, began changing with the rapidity of a 

 transformation scene. Below us the few hundred i'eet 

 that separated us from earth began filling in with a 

 blue haze, quite transparent, but growing palpably 

 filmier, while ahead, as also right and left, the horizon 

 at the level of our eye and higher opposed a dense fog 

 barrier of an ashen hue. Overhead of course the sky 

 view was entirely hidden by the huge silken globe. At 

 this period of time we were being swept along on our 

 course, which remained sensibly unaltered in direction, 

 at a speed which we were subsequently able to fix at 

 approximately forty miles an hour. 



To ourselves the full significance of these circumstances 

 was not immediately apparent, but the onlookers at our 

 point of departure — the town gas-works, now some five 

 miles in our wake — clearly detected the approach of a 

 heavy thunder pack, and as they reasonably asserted 

 coming against the wind. It towered above the balloon, 

 now seen projected plainly against its face. It came on 

 rapidly and assumed formidable proportions, and there 

 was then the following state of things. The balloon 

 flying due west at the high speed just recorded and, at 



for five hours continuously ; a little way on our right a 

 house was struck and burnt to the ground, and on our 

 left a couple of soldiers were killed on Salisbury Plain. 



I would call- attention to the fact that though the 

 storm progressed, it also appeared to lag behind the wind 

 that bore it along. I would also lay stress on the further 

 fact that it did not seem to advance against us as a 

 whole, but rather gathered aboiit us, forming itself out 

 of what a few moments before had appeared mere empty 

 and transparent air. "Very probably this gathering 

 storm curtain was largely due to the sudden chill which 

 now was very manifest in the air, and which obviously 

 had its origin from above. In the depth below us there 

 was no evidence of any special disturbance, and a para- 

 chute dropped from the car about this period floated to 

 the earth steadily and with no divergence. 



All this may be taken to lend confirmation to the 

 theory that associates thunder storms with sudden and 

 considerable alterations of temperature in contiguous 

 masses of air. 



It is worthy of mention that 73 years before an ascent 

 had been made from the same spot at Newbury by the 

 famous Charles Green, under circumstances which it will 

 be seen resembled in many particulars those of the 



Temperature acd Weather. 



8 a.m. 



Frid.\t, 27tli JrLv. 



8 a.ni. 



liarometer and AVind. 



6 p.m. 



apparently no great distance overhead, the thunder 

 cloud progressing at a moderate velocity, not accurately 

 determined but due east or directly opposed to the 

 surface current. 



And now with a whistle a blinding sheet of hail 

 attacked the aeronauts, stinging their faces so sharply as 

 to give the idea that the stones were falling from a great 

 height, and immediately afterwards from all sides and 

 close around flashes of lightning shot out with remark- 

 able frequency and vividness. We were, in fact, fairly 

 embosomed in the thunder cloud. Other and near 

 observers nan^owly watched the phases of phenomena 

 now in progress. These were the countrymen who became 

 interested spectators, and who presently came to our 

 assistance. They seemed to have imagined that the 

 balloon must be infallibly struck, inasmuch as it appeared 

 to them completely encircled with lightning. It was 

 indeed the worst storm the country side had known for 

 many years. At Devizes, only a few miles ahead, it lasted 



I h,l II,.- i)/f(...™("r|'l"' O.tfcC. 



present occasion. The clay was marked by squalls and 

 the ascent postponed until the evening, when 

 the storms gave signs of having cleared ofl". This 

 appearance, however, was illusorj', and the aero- 

 nauts presently encountered a thunder storm, 

 the balloon, which liad attained an altitude of two 

 miles, being above instead of below the -^torm cloud. 

 Mr. Green thus describes the situation: — "At this 

 altitude we perceived two immense bodies of clouds 

 operated on by contrary currents of air until at length 

 they became united, and at that moment my ears were 

 assailed with the most awful and long continued peal 

 of thunder I ever heard. These clouds were a full mile 

 below us." 



This i-everboi ation of the thunder is worthy of a little 

 consideration. It is to me intelligible enough when it 

 is remembered that the source of sound lay between the 

 balloon and the earth, in which case it only resembled the 

 artificial thunder which 1 have offer? evoked by 



