n the evening of the 2nd November, he
cut himself adrift in his parachute when at a vast height. The
parachute was made of white canvas, having thirty-two gores, which, when
not in use, hung with its cords from a hoop near the top of the machine.
When expanded, it formed a vast umbrella of twenty-three feet in
diameter, with a small basket about four feet high, and two and a
quarter wide, suspended below it. Monsieur Garnerin stood in this
basket when his balloon mounted into the air from an enclosure near
North Audley Street. The parachute hung like a curtain over his head,
above it towered the balloon, beneath stood the anxious multitude.

Well might they gaze in breathless expectation! After floating for some
time in the upper regions of the air, as if he dreaded to make the bold
attempt, he cut the cord that fastened him to the balloon when at the
height, probably, of about half a mile. At first the parachute remained
closed and descended with frightful violence; then it burst open, and
for some seconds tossed about to such an extent that the basket was
sometimes thrown almost into a horizontal position. The wind carried it
over Marylebone and Somerstown; it almost grazed some of the houses of
Saint Pancras in passing, and finally came to the ground in a field with
such violence that poor Garnerin was thrown on his face and severely cut
and bruised. No wonder that we are told he received a terrible shock.
He trembled violently, and blood flowed from his nose and ears.
Nevertheless, the accident did not deter his daughter from afterwards
making the descent several times--and in safety.

The cause of the irregularity and violence of Garnerin's descent was the
giving way of one of the stays, which had the effect of deranging the
balance of the apparatus.

In 1837 Mr Cocking invented a new parachute, which he hoped would be
free from the faults of the other. It may be described as being the
reverse of that of Garnerin, being made in the form of an umbrella blown
inside out. The resistance to the air, it was thought, would be
sufficient to check the rapid descent, while its form would prevent the
tendency to oscillate.

This parachute was 34 feet in diameter, and was distended by a strong
hoop to prevent its closing. There was also a hole in the middle of it,
about 6 feet in diameter. Mr Cocking started from Vauxhall Gardens on
the 24th of July, and after ascending to a considerable height, cut
himself loo