ctated by necessity, seeming sufficient for the
purpose at hand, preparations were proceeded with, and, under the
management of Mr. Stanley Spencer, who agreed to act as aeronaut, a
large balloon, with solid valve, was brought down to Newbury gas works
on November 14th, and, being inflated during the afternoon, was full and
made snug by sundown. But as the meteor radiant would not be well above
the horizon till after midnight, the aeronautical party retired for
refreshment, and subsequently for rest, when, as the night wore on, it
became evident that, though the sky remained clear, there would be no
meteor display that night. The next day was overcast, and by nightfall
hopelessly so, the clouds ever thickening, with absence of wind or any
indication which might give promise of a change. Thus by midnight it
became impossible to tell whether any display were in progress or not.
Under these circumstances, it might have been difficult to decide when
to make the start with the best show of reason. Clearly too early a
start could not subsequently be rectified; the balloon, once off, could
not come back again; while, once liberated, it would be highly unwise
for it to remain aloft and hidden by clouds for more than some two
hours, lest it should be carried out to sea.

Happily the right decision under these circumstances was perfectly
clear. Other things being equal, the best time would be about 4 a.m., by
which period the moon, then near the full, would be getting low, and the
two hours of darkness left would afford the best seeing. Leaving, then,
an efficient outlook on the balloon ground, the party enjoyed for some
hours the entertainment offered them by the Newbury Guildhall Club, and
at 4 a.m. taking their seats in the car, sailed up into the calm chilly
air of the November night.

But the chilliness did not last for long. A height of 1,500 feet was
read by the Davy lamp, and then we entered fog--warm, wetting fog,
through which the balloon would make no progress in spite of a prodigal
discharge of sand. The fact was that the balloon, which had become
chilled through the night hours, was gathering a great weight of
moisture from condensation on its surface, and when, at last, the whole
depth of the cloud, 1,500 feet, had been penetrated, the chill of the
upper air crippled the balloon and sent her plunging down again into the
mist, necessitating yet further expenditure of sand, which by this time
had amounted to no less