196 1834 108
1815 87 1825 198 1835 124
1816 89 1826 187 1836 98
1817 96 1827 188 1837 55
1818 109 1828 186 1838 46
1819 121 1829 180 1839 42
1820 124 1830 179

He says he married 7,744 persons, but, either his arithmetic, according
to the above account, is faulty, or there is an inaccuracy in the _Times_
figures.

On 3 March arrived, in London, the first instalment of the Chinese
indemnity--1,000,000 pounds, all in silver. I remember seeing the dock
wagons guarded by soldiers, and wondering, until told, what they
contained. Some more arrived on the 7th.

The Thames Tunnel was opened to the public on 25 March, with as much
ceremony as a private company could manage. There were the Lord Mayor,
the directors, and a host of scientific persons, who solemnly went in
procession down the staircase on the Rotherhithe side, passed along the
western archway of the Tunnel, ascended and descended the staircase at
Wapping, and returned through the eastern archway. In the evening there
was a grand dinner at the "London Tavern," where "Prosperity to the
Thames Tunnel" was drunk in some wine which had been preserved from the
commencement of the enterprise, to celebrate its completion.

As with motor cars, so with aeronautics, the time of which I write, was
well in advance. We know of Sen. Santos Dumont's performances with his
motor balloon, in connection with the Eiffel Tower, but Mr. Samuel Henson
was before him in applying mechanical power in aeronautics. He took out
a patent (No. 9,478), dated 29 Sep., 1842, for "Apparatus and machinery
for conveying letters, goods and passengers, from place to place through
the air."

It was an aeroplane. The car which contained passengers, engineer,
engines, etc., was suspended in the centre of a framework, which combined
strength with lightness, covered with a light, but close, woven fabric.
It was started by descending an inclined plane, the impetus from which
caused it to rise in the air, when the steam engine was put in action, to
continue its motion. The area of the sustaining surface was some 4,500
square feet, and the weight to be borne by it, including the carriage,
etc., was estimated at 3,000lbs., which was claimed to be considerably
less per square foot than th