18 A PREFACE AND AN APOLOGY. 
misfortune are judgments upon me for my negledt of duty ! 
Jonah was fent to preach to the Ninevites, and he wouldn’t 
go; and got paid up for it by getting into the whale’s 
belly, where he had to flay till his common fenfe returned 
to him; but the minute his toes touched dry land he 
drew a bee line for Nineveh ! And this is what I mean 
to do ! I had a c million,’ and fhould have gone ahead on 
the flying problem: I dropped it, and neglected it, and 
look what has happened to me ! From this moment I 
will imitate Jonah, and pull foot for Nineveh ! Fll return 
to duty ! I’ll go to work again at the flying problem ! ” 
All which I began at once to do. A few nights after this 
I fellafleep with my laft thought on flying, and before it 
was fairly light awoke the next morning with an ideal 
flying machine in the fhape of a dragon-fly fharply defined 
in the airy vifion of my brain. While I was confidering it, 
a loud noife was fuddenly heard in my room, the found of 
wings , and powerful ones too, fo powerful as to ftartle my 
wife, who exclaimed quickly, cc What is that f ” I liftened 
for the found again, and when it came I replied, “ It is the 
dragon-fly l I have not feen him for years, but he knows 
now that I have returned to duty, and has come again to 
encourage me ! ” In a fhort time the light of the morning 
became fufficient for me to fee, and going over to the 
corner of the room from whence the found had feemed 
to proceed, there uprofe at once before me the largeft and 
moft beautiful creature I had ever feen; fo majeflic and 
