The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-07-24 00:00:00

A REMARKABLE BALLOON ASCENT.

The following commnirle,ation, which will interest many
readers, has been sent to the papers, for publication :

_
Sir,—Although the continuance of bad and
threatening weather on Monday last did not present
very favourable auspices for a trip in pubibus, still I
am glad to have been in the higher regions on that
day, ar; I experienced the most singular and yet
delightful journey I ever had in my 30 years' travels
in the air.

A public ascent having been announced from the
Crystal Palace with my balloon City of York, I was
determined, notwithstanding meteorological difficul-
ties, to carrytit out. At the specified time I rose with
five gentlemen, and we passed about 80ft. over the
north tower, and in less than two minutes entered a
cloud of a misty, undefinable character, and soon
became lost to view.

At this moment, 5 33, the barometer stood at 28'8,
and temperature was reduced 6 deg. hut at 541, at an
altitude two-tenths less, warmth had increased 5 def
grees, and at 550, barometer 28.2, the thermometer
was still 68. At six o'clock, when we were only a
thousand feet over Sydenham hills, the mist we had
passed through assumed, even at this elevation, a
wave-like nebulous contour, such as cumuli have on
their convex side in fine weather. The sky overhead,
however, lacked the customary Prussian blue as-
pect, and the sun's rays were acting on an oppres-
sive, murky atmosphere, such as I have rarely
seen, There were really no clouds above, but a
few noble-looking gatherings were trying, as it
were to rnount up but could make, apparently,
no head-way, owing to the thick state of the
atmosphere. At five minutes put seven the barometer
marked 26'1, and the thermometer 57. The fluctua-
tions of pressure and temperature were most capri-
cious • but the chief feature of this ascent—and it is
one which deserves notice—was the place of descent.
As compared with some of my most noteworthy
journeys in England, it stands out conspicuously, not
for height or speed, but for another point which I will
explain.
The quickest and longest trips I ever made in our
own country were from Woolwich to Tavistock in five
hours, a distance of over 200 miles; also from Win-
chester to Harrow in 66 minutes, a run of more than

Now, on Monday we had been up more than two
hours and a half. We twice peeped through the clouds
and observed open country, then reascended, and
finally, a little before eight o'clock, we were on the
point of landing for good, when, to our astonishment,
on breaking through the mist, we found ourselves
almost perpendicularly over the north tower of the
Crystal Palace, instead of miles and miles away, as we
had anticipated.
It would have been no difficult matter to come down
in the company's grounds, but, as there was a dense
mass of people in the neighbourhood, I was apprehen-
sive of damage to the flower-beds, so we kept up a
while, and ultimately fell in with a gentle breeze near
the ground which wafted us half a mile from the
Palace; but if we had not had enough ballast and to
spare we might have made an unscientific descent upon
the housetops, instead of a proper aeronautic halt in a
grass field at Dulwich.—l remain' obediently yours,
HENRY COXWELL.
Tottenham, July 20.