outed questions to this man, switching his engine off and on, while
he did so, in order that his words, and those of the other, might be
audible. But the man in the field, demoralised by the advent of this
being from the air, and gazing at him and his machine with an
expression of blank amazement, was unequal to the task of giving even
the simplest directions. He waved his arms, it is true, but no words
that could be understood issued from his lips. The pilot repeated his
questions, but it was no good. The man waved and mouthed, and rolled
his eyes, but when he tried to speak intelligibly he could not. So the
aviator, loath to waste further time, accelerated his engine again and
continued his flight.

As a contrast to this, there was the experience of a pilot who, after
a long flight from England to the Continent, landed at length near a
small village. In the next field to that in which he alighted there
was a labourer, digging patiently. The aviator expected that this man
would fling down his spade in excitement, and run wildly towards the
aeroplane. But such was not the case. This labourer, a marvel of
placidity and unconcern, merely raised his head slowly and looked
across at the aircraft, and then went on with his digging.

In his first cross-country flights, being concerned chiefly as to the
manipulation of his machine, and having so many things to think of,
the novice may feel tired after even a short journey by air. His chief
sensation, as he switches off his engine to descend towards the
aerodrome he sees below him, will be one of relief that he has escaped
engine failure, and that he has been able to find his way from point
to point. The joy of flight, of passing swiftly thousands of feet
above the earth, will have made but a small impression upon him--at
any rate consciously. It will not be until the handling of his machine
becomes less laborious, and he has time to accustom himself to his
unique view-point, and the strangeness and beauty of the scene below
him, that the novice will realise some of the fascinations of aerial
travel; fascinations that it is difficult to describe. The sensation
of having thrown off the bonds of earth-bound folk; of soaring above
the noise and dust of highways; of being free from the obstructions of
traffic; of sweeping forward smoothly, swiftly, and serenely--the land
stretching below in an ever-changing panorama, with the drone of the
motor in one's ears, and a wine-like exhil