London, St. Paul’s, &c. apparently receded from
our view, the country succeeded, resembling one continued
garden. The fields of wheat, &c. were beautifully
defined, and the clearness of the atmosphere threw
a sort of varnish (if I may use the term) over the
whole face of nature. We had the Thames in view
the whole of the time, which appeared like a rivulet
of silver; but below Kingston Bridge, about half an
hour after our ascent, the setting sun
gilded
its surface with magnificent effect. The boats
appeared like little pieces of cork. The Penitentiary,
at Millbank, had the resemblance of a twelfth cake
cut into quarters; St. Paul’s and the Tower
of London could be distinctly seen, the light falling
happily upon their proportions. Old and New London
Bridges, were like two feeble efforts of the works
of man; and here we saw the triumph of nature over
art, and the littleness of the great works of man.
At one time, on nearing Battersea Bridge, we observed
a small, black streak ascending from the surface of
the Thames, which we concluded to be the smoke from
a Richmond steam packet. At that time the course
of the balloon was south-east, although the smoke
above alluded to was driven towards the west.
The air being so serene we felt no motion in the car,
and we could only know we were quietly moving, from
seeing the grappling irons (which hung from the car)
pass over the earth rapidly from field to field; whilst
the scene seemed to recede from our view like a moving
panorama. At our greatest altitude a solemn stillness
prevailed, and I cannot describe its awful grandeur
and my excitement. We then let loose a pigeon,
and having a favourable country below, we prepared
to descend, and Mr. Green hailed some men with the
cry of “we are coming down.” I saw
them run (though very small,) and we fell in a field
of wheat, near Kingston, with scarcely any rebound;
in fact a child might have alighted with safety.
Thus, Mr. Editor, ended this short and rapid, but
splendid voyage. On our alighting, Mr. Green
wrote on a piece of paper our safe arrival, which he
tied to the neck of a pigeon, and sent him off.
Our greatest altitude did not exceed one mile and
a quarter, in consequence, as Mr. Green informed me,
of the density of the atmosphere, which would, at
a greater elevation, have dimmed the splendour of the
scene beneath us.
P.T.W.
[We thank our ingenious Correspondent for the previous
description of his recent aerial voyage, as we are
fully aware of the difficulty of describing such a
magnificent scene as he must have witnessed in his
ascent. During the whole voyage, he experienced
nothing but sensations of delight; the atmosphere
being only disturbed by very light wind, just sufficient
to waft the aeronauts without any laborious management,
and the time—evening—being beautifully
serene. We thought ourselves richly rewarded
by the view of the Colosseum Panorama, but what must
have been their sensations at a distance of 6,600