existed for him, and that the greatest peril, if
any, would attend the balloon when suddenly relieved of his weight. The
proprietors of the Gardens, as the hour approached, did their best to
dissuade the over-confident inventor, offering, themselves, to take the
consequences of any public disappointment. This was again without
avail, and so, towards 6 p.m., Mr. Green, accompanied by Mr. Spencer,
a solicitor of whom this history will have more to tell, entered the
balloon, which was then let up about 40 feet that the parachute might be
affixed below. A little later, Mr. Cocking, casting aside his heavy coat
and tossing off a glass of wine, entered his car and, amid deafening
acclamations, with the band playing the National Anthem, the balloon and
aeronauts above, and he himself in his parachute swinging below, mounted
into the heavens, passing presently, in the gathering dusk, out of view
of the Gardens.

The sequel should be gathered from Mr. Green's own narrative. Previous
to starting, 650 lbs. of ballast had to be discarded to gain buoyancy
sufficient to raise the massive machine. This, together with another 100
lbs., which was also required to be ejected owing to the cooling of the
air, was passed out through a canvas tube leading downwards through a
hole in the parachute, an ingenious contrivance which would prevent
the sand thrown out from the balloon falling on the slender structure
itself. On quitting the earth, however, this latter set up such violent
oscillations that the canvas tube was torn away, and then it became the
troublesome task of the aeronauts to make up their ballast into little
parcels, and, as occasion required, to throw these into space clear of
the swinging parachute below.

Despite all efforts, however, it was soon evident that the cumbersome
nature of the huge parachute would prevent its being carried up quite
so high as the inventor desired. Mr. Cocking had stipulated for an
elevation of 7,000 feet, and, as things were, only 5,000 feet could be
reached, at any rate, before darkness set in. This fact was communicated
to Mr. Cocking, who promptly intimated his intention of leaving, only
requesting to know whereabouts he was, to which query Mr. Spencer
replied that they were on a level with Greenwich. The brief colloquy
that ensued is thus given by Mr. Green:--

"I asked him if he felt quite comfortable, and if the practical trial
bore out his calculation. Mr. Cocking replied, 'Yes, I never f