remarkable endurance and tenacity of purpose--the all-important
essential for the onerous and trying work before him. At 9.56 the
balloon had disappeared from sight, climbing far into the sky in the
E.N.E. The story of the voyage we must leave in Mr. Glaisher's hands.
Certain events, however, associated with other aeronauts, which had
already happened, and which should be considered in connection with
the new drama now to be introduced, may fittingly here meet with brief
mention.

The trouble arising from the coasting across country of a fallen and
still half-inflated balloon has already been sufficiently illustrated,
and needs little further discussion. It is common enough to see a
balloon, when full and round, struggling restively under a moderate
breeze with a score of men, and dragging them, and near a ton of
sand-bags as well, about the starting ground. But, as has already been
pointed out, the power of the wind on the globe is vastly increased
when the silk becomes slack and forms a hollow to hold the wind, like
a bellying sail. Various means to deal with this difficulty have been
devised, one of these being an emergency, or ripping valve, in addition
to the ordinary valve, consisting of an arrangement for tearing a large
opening in the upper part of one of the gores, so that on reaching
earth the balloon may be immediately crippled and emptied of so large a
quantity of gas as to render dragging impossible. Such a method is not
altogether without drawbacks, one of these being the confusion liable
to arise from there being more than one valve line to reckon with. To
obviate this, it has been suggested that the emergency line should be of
a distinctive colour.

But an experiment with a safeguard to somewhat of this nature was
attended with fatal consequence in the year 1824. A Mr. Harris, a
lieutenant in the British Navy, ascended from the Eagle Tavern, City
Road, with a balloon fitted with a contrivance of his own invention,
consisting of a large hinged upper valve, having within it a smaller
valve of the same description, the idea being that, should the operation
of the smaller outlet not suffice for any occasion, then the shutter
of the larger opening might be resorted to, to effect a more liberal
discharge of gas.

Mr. Harris took with him a young lady, Miss Stocks by name, and
apparently the afternoon--it being late May--was favourable for an
aerial voyage; for, with full reliance on his apparatus, he left