HISTORY OP AEROSTATION. 75 



On the 41 li of October, Mr. Sadler, an ingenious tradesman, at 

 Oxford, ascended at that place with an inflammable air balloon of 

 his own consi ruction and tilling. And again, on the twelfth of the 

 -ame inontn, he ascended at Oxford, and floated to the distance of 

 fourteen miles, in seventeen minutes, which is at the rate of near 

 Jifty miles an hour. On the 23d of March, count Zambeccari, and 

 Admiral Sir Edward Vermin, ascended at London, and mailed to 

 Horsham, in Sussex, at the distance of thirty-five miles in less than 

 an hour. The voyage proved very dangerous, owing to some of 

 the machinery about the valve being damaged, which obliged them 

 to cut open some part 01 I he balloon \vheu they were about two 

 miles perpendicular height above the earth, the barometer having 

 fallen from 30-4 to 20 -S inches. In descending they passed through 

 a dense cloud, which felt very cold, and covered them with snow. 

 The observations they made were, that the balloon kept perpetually 

 turning round in a vertical axis, sometimes so rapidly as to make 

 each revolution in four or five seconds; that a peculiar noise, like 

 rustling, was heard among the clouds, and that the balloon was greatly 

 agitated in the descent. Perhaps the most daring attempt was that 

 of Mr. Blanchard and Dr. Jeffries across the straits of Dover. Tin's 

 took place on the 7th of January, 1785, being a clear frosty morn. 

 ing, with a wind, barely perceptible, at NNW. The operation of 

 filling the balloon began at ten o'clock, and at three quarters after 

 twelve every thing was ready for their departure. At one o'clock 

 Mr. Blanchard desired the boat to be pushed off, which now stood 

 only two feet distant from that precipice so finely described by 

 Shakspcare, in his tragedy of King Lear. As the balloon was 

 scarcely sufficient to carry two, they were obliged to throw out all 

 their ballast except three bags of ten pounds each ; when they at 

 last rose gently, though making very little way on account of there 

 being so little wind. At a quarter after one o'clock, (he barometer, 

 which on the cliff stood at 29'7 inches, was now fallen to 27'3, and 

 the weather proved fine and warm. They had now a most beautiful 

 prospect of the south coast of England, and were able to count 

 thirty. seven villages upon it. After passing over several vessels, 

 they found that the balloon, at fifty minutes after >n-, was descend- 

 ing, on which they threw out a sack and a half of ballast; but as 

 they saw that it still descended, and that with much greater velocity 

 than before, they now threw out all the ballast. This still proving 

 ineffectual, they next threw out a parcel of books they carried along 



