Mr. Graham's Eleventh Asc...
The Times, 1824-08-27T00:00:00

L rrintn e i aotria- Cozurier, Aug. 25.] The failure in Mlr. Grabasa's attemnpt to ascend from thlg tow on the 16th instart, incited bim to the imost anxiousct exertioi to compensat.e for the disappointment he had occasioned. Arrgement were accordingly made for his ascension with his bts,1oon vesterday, and a large elevated field, onposite the ftas-works in Ho t'ai ..sne was selected for the purp&se. On thispot thetanks, nd ther works for generating the hydrogen gas, were erected. e r Graham having annrounced that the field should be thrown open. Gat the public, and that he should rely on the voluntary coaribatio0s5o tlhose assembled, published a particular staternet of his ezfenses, by which it appears that his disbursements avmounted to upwards of 30gl. The frce admission to the field occasioned it to be filled at an early period of the day by a vast mnultitude of speceatom inn of whomn had arrived from distant parts of the country., Carturianv of evr detscriptiotcisurrounded the ground, marty Of theu filled with a bewitching display of femralegraand beau. otan wer erected for the accommrnod&tion of spectatoss, and booths, ip which supplies were served out forrefreshing the thirsty Pedestrian,appeared in vrous rt ftheground.A p rty(teudgel.,players from WVcdmore isplayed their science in an a tjoining meatlow elevated stage; and various homely amusements ernivented tbe scene. Th. day was cna, clear, and of uncommon lovelines;:. the sun having shone, without intermission, from the earhest da the skl vras in consequence dlelightfuily blue and cloudles;s. A 12 'clock' the process of inflation conmmenced, and, as the hour advanced at which the ascent was expected, the anxiety of the luul- titude-became p2infully intense, f-om the apprelhension that Some misclance might again frustrate the attempt. Air. Graham h however, Very disereetly availed hinmself of the voluntary aermi,h of somie highly scientific gentlemen, to whose honourabie efforts no inconsiderabl: praise .s due for the adrmirable arrangeenert of the process. As we stated last week, this was Mr. Graham's first ex- pertinent with pure hydrogen gas., his balloon having on all forer occasions been inflated with carburetted hydrogen fromr the go works; but as oil-gas is too heavy for the purpose of aeeostasin that obtained from the establishment in this tow0n was irapplicable' to the purpose. His materials of iron and vitriol were therefore brought from Bristol at a considerable cost, and Mr. Graham is- indeed entitled to the greatest credit for having spared neither pains nor expense in redeeming his reputation from the diead vantage occasioaed by liis recent failure. Time process of inflation commenced at 12 o'clock. and the balloon became rapidlv distended - so rapidly, indeed, that the net work not having been thrt oe I sufficient time, it was near escapinig from the gras.) of the assistants -the consequence was, that upwards of ",0( rubie feet of gas escaped thTo-agh the valve; and soor after 4 o'clock it rass ascer- tained that no more gas could be generated titan was sufitcient for the ascent of one persnn. Mrs. Graharn, and one or two other as- pirants for 'te honour of accompanying the aerial voyager, were there'orc compelled to forego their intentions. At 20 miiutes belore a o clcck, I!r. rahani took his station in tte car, and the cords hlaving been simultar:erusl! loosened,the balloon maiestically tose ^o the infinite delight of the immense concourse of p&erSons asrrembled y+'o hailed the intrrpid acronaut with contintued shouts of applause The balloon took a south-cgstarn direction, anid moved calmly through the air onwards, and the skv being deligthttully clear and serene,thespectaclewasperhaps as interesting as an) of the kird ever witnessed. A few minutes after Mr. Grahlam ascended lie threw out his travelling cap, atid soon after a roll of eaper, for the purpose of affording increased levity to the balloon. After sailing steadiy throtugh the air for about 20 min uter, tthe balloon.when aboun a *tile in height, was gently impelled in a sout!h-w-sterli directionr in which it continued until a few minutes past odclock whec 3- 4k (ra-hain prepared for his descent. whici was sinely efflecid about 2~ minuies aiter six, in an oat-tield occupied by Mr. P. Blroomfield about a quarter of a mile south-east of the village of tpotterv, De- von, dlistant from this town about 12 miles. From the clearness ot' the sky, the balloon w.as is sight the whole time, from the moment ot its ascendilng to that ot its descent below the borizin. 'Thi, town was never remembered to have been so full of company as on this occasion. Pedestrians and travellers in every possible va. riety of vehicle poured into the town frotn all quarter-. and almost all the tespecfable families of the neighibourhood were stationed irn their equipages in the field of exhibition. T'he inns ovetflowed with company, and some difficulty occurred in procurirg aecotnmo- datioti. On the descent of the balloon in Mr. Broninfield's field, it re- bounded to thc height of about twelve feet, but was irnmediatelv se- cured, anti held dlown by some labourers on the spot. The spot at Upotterv where Mr. Grahan descended is in the domain of Lord Sidmoutli, twelve :niles from Taunton. and six from Honiton. .lr. Graham being obliged to lighten the car as tnuch as possible, bad been obliged to ascend without his coat. lMr. Kitchen;r, his Lord- sli p's steward. in conseqnence, obligingly provided htim with one, and after Mr. Graham had taken refreshment at his Lordship's villa. he returned to Taunton at a quarter before one o'clock titls morning. The atmost attention was paid to Mlr. (Uraham by L-ord Sidmouth's family, and as a testimony of grateful respet. Air. (irahain presented her Ladyship with a flag, which bad been use.l ia the present and several other aerial voyages. It is rather singular, that so nicely was the quantitv of gas generated proportioned to the weight of the baUoon, that it was only by AMr. raham's db'eating himself of his coat and waistcoat, stripping the car of if velvet linings, and leavinur behind his grappling iron, that the silken vehit cle was enableth to ascend. Mfi?. ORASBLEBVENTH AsceV.Z