[Astounding News by Express, Norfolk! -- The Atlantic
Crossed in Three Days! Signal Triumph of Mr Monck Mason's Flying
Machine! -- Arrival at Sullivan's Island, near Charleston, S.C., of
Mr Mason, Mr Robert Holland, Mr Henson, Mr Harrison Ainsworth, and
four others, in the Steering Balloon, , after a passage
of Seventy-five hours from Land to Land! Full Particulars of the
Voyage!
The subjoined with the preceding heading in
magnificent capitals, well interspersed with notes of admiration,
was originally published, as matter of fact, in the , a daily newspaper, and therein fully subserved the purpose of
creating indigestible aliment for the during the few
hours intervening between a couple of the Charleston mails. The
rush for the 'sole paper which had the news', was something beyond
even the prodigious; and, in fact, if (as some assert) the not absolutely accomplish the voyage recorded, it
will be difficult to assign a reason why she not have
accomplished it.]

The great problem is at length solved! The air, as well as the
earth and the ocean, has been subdued by science, and will become
a common and convenient highway for mankind. and this too without
difficulty--without any great apparent danger--with thorough
control of the machine--and in the inconceivably brief period of
seventy-five hours from shore to shore! By the energy of an agent
at Charleston, S.C., we are enabled to be the first to furnish the
public with a detailed account of this most extraordinary voyage,
which was performed between Saturday, the 6th instant, at 11 A.M.,
and 2 P.M., on Tuesday, the 9th instant, by Sir Everard Bringhurst;
Mr Osborne, a nephew of Lord Bentinck's; Mr Monck Mason and Mr
Robert Holland, the well-known aeronauts; Mr Harrison Ainsworth,
author of , etc.; and Mr Henson, the projector of
the late unsuccessful flying machine--with two seamen from
Woolwich--in all, eight persons. The particulars furnished
below may be relied on as authentic and accurate in every respect,
as, with a slight exception, they are copied from the
joint diaries of Mr Monck Mason and Mr Harrison Ainsworth, to whose
politeness our agent is indebted for much verbal information
respecting the balloon itself, its construction, and other matters
of interest. The only alteration in the MS received, has been made
for the purpose of throwing the hurried account of our agent, Mr
Forsyth, into a connected and intelligible form.

'THE BALLOON

'Two very decided failures, of late,--those of Mr Henson and Sir
George Cayley,--had much weakened the public interest in the
subject of aerial navigation. Mr Henson's scheme (which at first
was considered very feasible even by men of science) was founded
upon the principle of an inclined plane, started from an eminence
by an extrinsic force applied and continued by the revolution of
impinging vanes in form and number resembling the vanes of a
windmill. But, in all the experiments made with models at the
Adelaide Gallery, it was found that the operation of these fans not
only did not propel the machine, but actually impeded its flight.
The only propelling force it ever exhibited, was the mere acquired from the descent of the inclined plane; and this
 carried the machine further when the vanes were at
rest, than when they were in motion--a fact which sufficiently
demonstrates their inutility; and in the absence of the propelling,
which was also the , power, the whole fabric would
necessarily descend. This consideration led Sir George Cayley to
think only of adapting a propeller to some machine having of itself
an independent power of support--in a word, to a balloon; the idea
however, being novel, or original, with Sir George, only so far as
regards the mode of its application to practice. He exhibited a
model of his invention at the Polytechnic Institution. The
propelling principle, or power, was here, also, applied to
interrupted surfaces, or vanes, put in revolution. These vanes
were four in number, but were found entirely ineffectual in moving
the balloon, or in aiding its ascending power. The whole project
was thus a complete failure.
'It was at this juncture that Mr Monck Mason (whose voyage
from Dover to Weilburg in the balloon, , occasioned so
much excitement in 1837) conceived the idea of employing the
principle of the Archimedean screw for the purpose of propulsion
through the air--rightly attributing the failure of Mr Henson's
scheme, and of Sir George Cayley's to the interruption of surface
in the independent vanes. He made the first public experiment at
Willis's Rooms, but afterward removed his model to the Adelaide
Gallery.
'Like Sir George Cayley's balloon, his own was an ellipsoid.
Its length was thirteen feet six inches--height, six feet eight
inches. It contained about three hundred and twenty cubic feet of
gas, which, if pure hydrogen, would support twenty-one pounds upon
its first inflation, before the gas has time to deteriorate or
escape. The weight of the whole machine and apparatus was
seventeen pounds--leaving about four pounds to spare. Beneath the
centre of the balloon, was a frame of light wood, about nine feet
long, and rigged on to the balloon itself with a network in the
customary manner. From this framework was suspended a wicker
basket or car.
'The screw consists of an axis of hollow brass tube, eighteen
inches in length, through which, upon a semispiral inclined at
fifteen degrees, pass a series of steel-wire radii, two feet long,
and thus projecting a foot on either side. These radii are
connected at the outer extremities by two bands of flattened wire--
the whole in this manner forming the framework of the screw, which
is completed by a covering of oiled silk cut into gores, and
tightened so as to present a tolerably uniform surface. At each
end of its axis this screw is supported by pillars of hollow brass
tube descending from the hoop. In the lower ends of these tubes
are holes in which the pivots of the axis revolve. From the end of
the axis which is next the car, proceeds a shaft of steel,
connecting the screw with the pinion of a piece of spring machinery
fixed in the car. By the operation of this spring, the screw is
made to revolve with great rapidity, communicating a progressive
motion to the whole. By means of the rudder, the machine was
readily turned in any direction. The spring was of great power,
compared with its dimensions, being capable of raising forty-five
pounds upon a barrel of four inches diameter after the
first turn, and gradually increasing as it was wound up. It
weighed, altogether, eight pounds six ounces. The rudder was a
light frame of cane covered with silk, shaped somewhat like a
battledore, and was about three feet long, and at the widest, one
foot. Its weight was about two ounces. It could be turned , and directed upward or downward, as well as to the right or
left; and thus enabled the aeronaut to transfer the resistance of
the air which in an inclined position it must generate in its
passage, to any side upon which he might desire to act; thus
determining the balloon in the opposite direction.
'This model (which, through want of time, we have necessarily
described in an imperfect manner) was put in action at the Adelaide
Gallery, where it accomplished a velocity of five miles per hour;
although, strange to say, it excited very little interest in
comparison with the previous complex machine of Mr Henson--so
resolute is the world to despise anything which carries with it an
air of simplicity. To accomplish the great desideratum of aerial
navigation, it was very generally supposed that some exceedingly
complicated application must be made of some unusually profound
principle in dynamics.
'So well satisfied, however, was Mr Mason of the ultimate
success of his invention, that he determined to construct
immediately, if possible, a balloon of sufficient capacity to test
the question by a voyage of some extent--the original design being
to cross the British Channel, as before, in the balloon.
To carry out his views he solicited and obtained the patronage of
Sir Everard Bringhurst and Mr Osborne, two gentlemen well known for
scientific acquirement, and especially for the interest they have
exhibited in the progress of aerostation. The project at the
desire of Mr Osborne, was kept a profound secret from the public--
the only persons entrusted with the design being those actually
engaged in the construction of the machine, which was built (under
the superintendence of Mr Mason, Mr Holland, Sir Everard
Bringhurst, and Mr Osborne) at the seat of the latter gentleman
near Penstruthal, in Wales. Mr Henson, accompanied by his friend
Mr Ainsworth, was admitted to a private view of the balloon, on
Saturday last--when the two gentlemen made final
arrangements to be included in the adventure. We are not informed
for what reason the two seamen were also included in the party--
but, in the course of a day or two, we shall put our readers in
possession of the minutest particulars respecting this
extraordinary voyage.
'The balloon is composed of silk, varnished with the liquid
gum caoutchouc. It is of vast dimensions, containing more than
40,000 cubic feet of gas; but as coal-gas was employed in place of
the more expensive and inconvenient hydrogen, the supporting power
of the machine, when fully inflated, and immediately after
inflation, is not more than about 2500 pounds. The coal-gas is not
only much less costly, but is easily procured and managed.
'For its introduction into common use for purposes of
aerostation, we are indebted to Mr Charles Green. Up to his
discovery, the process of inflation was not only exceedingly
expensive, but uncertain. Two and even three days have frequently
been wasted in futile attempts to procure a sufficiency of hydrogen
to fill a balloon, from which it had great tendency to escape,
owing to its extreme subtlety, and its affinity for the surrounding
atmosphere. In a balloon sufficiently perfect to retain its
contents of coal-gas unaltered, in quality or amount for six
months, an equal quantity of hydrogen could not be maintained in
equal purity for six weeks.
'The supporting power being estimated at 2500 pounds, and the
united weights of the party amounting only to about 1200, there was
left a surplus of 1300, of which again 1200 was exhausted by
ballast, arranged in bags of different sizes, with their respective
weights marked upon them--by cordage, barometers, telescopes,
barrels containing provision for a fortnight, watercasks, cloaks,
carpet-bags, and various other indispensable matters, including a
coffee-warmer, contrived for warming coffee by means of slack-lime,
so as to dispense altogether with fire, if it should be judged
prudent to do so. All these articles, with the exception of the
ballast, and a few trifles, were suspended from the hoop overhead.
The car is much smaller and lighter, in proportion, than the one
appended to the model. It is formed of a light wicker, and is
wonderfully strong, for so frail-looking a machine. Its rim is
about four feet deep. The rudder is also very much larger, in
proportion, than that of the model; and the screw is
considerably smaller. The balloon is furnished besides with a
grapnel, and a guide-rope; which latter is of the most
indispensable importance. A few words, in explanation, will here
be necessary for such of our readers as are not conversant with the
details of aerostation.
'As soon as the balloon quits the earth, it is subjected to
the influence of many circumstances tending to create a difference
in its weight; augmenting or diminishing its ascending power. For
example, there may be a deposition of dew upon the silk, to the
extent, even of several hundred pounds; ballast has then to be
thrown out, or the machine may descend. This ballast being
discarded, and a clear sunshine evaporating the dew, and at the
same time expanding the gas in the silk, the whole will again
rapidly ascend. To check this ascent, the only resource is (or
rather , until Mr Green's invention of the guide-rope) the
permission of the escape of gas from the valve; but, in the loss of
gas, is a proportionate general loss of ascending power; so that,
in a comparatively brief period, the best-constructed balloon must
necessarily exhaust all its resources, and come to the earth. This
was the great obstacle to voyages of length.
'The guide-rope remedies the difficulty in the simplest matter
conceivable. It is merely a very long rope which is suffered to
trail from the car, and the effect of which is to prevent the
balloon from changing its level in any material degree. If, for
example, there should be a deposition of moisture upon the silk,
and the machine begins to descend in consequence, there will be no
necessity for discharging ballast to remedy the increase in weight,
for it is remedied, or counteracted, in an exactly just proportion,
by the deposit on the ground of just so much of the end of the rope
as is necessary. If, on the other hand, any circumstances should
cause undue levity, and consequent ascent, this levity is
immediately counteracted by the additional weight of rope upraised
from the earth. Thus, the balloon can neither ascend nor descend,
except within very narrow limits, and its resources, either in gas
or ballast, remain comparatively unimpaired. When passing over an
expanse of water, it becomes necessary to employ kegs of copper or
wood, filled with liquid ballast of a lighter nature than water.
These float, and serve all the purposes of a mere rope on land.
Another most important office of the guide-rope, is to point
out the , either on
land or sea, while the balloon is free; the latter, consequently,
is always in advance, when any progress whatever is made: a
comparison, therefore, by means of the compass, of the relative
positions of the two objects, will always indicate the .
In the same way, the angle formed by the rope with the verticle
axis of the machine, indicates the . When there is angle--in other words, when the rope hangs perpendicularly, the
whole apparatus is stationary; but the larger the angle, that is to
say, the farther the balloon precedes the end of the rope, the
greater the velocity; and the converse.
'As the original design was to cross the British Channel, and
alight as near Paris as possible, the voyagers had taken the
precaution to prepare themselves with passports directed to all
parts of the Continent, specifying the nature of the expedition, as
in the case of the voyage, and entitling the adventurers
to exemption from the usual formalities of office; unexpected
events, however, rendered these passports superfluous.
'The inflation was commenced very quietly at daybreak, on
Saturday morning, the 6th instant, in the courtyard of Wheal-Vor
House, Mr Osborne's seat, about a mile from Penstruthal, in North
Wales; and at seven minutes past eleven, everything being ready for
departure, the balloon was set free, rising gently but steadily, in
a direction nearly south; no use being made, for the first half
hour, of either the screw or the rudder. We proceed now with the
journal, as transcribed by Mr Forsyth from the joint MSS of Mr
Monck Mason and Mr Ainsworth. The body of the journal, as given,
is in the handwriting of Mr Mason, and a PS is appended, each day,
by Mr Ainsworth, who has in preparation, and will shortly give the
public a more minute and, no doubt, a thrillingly interesting
account of the voyage.

'THE JOURNAL

'.--Every preparation likely to
embarrass us having been made overnight, we commenced the inflation
this morning at daybreak; but owing to a thick fog, which
encumbered the folds of the silk and rendered it unmanageable, we
did not get through before nearly eleven o'clock. Cut
loose, then, in high spirits, and rose gently but steadily, with a
light breeze at north, which bore us in the direction of the
British Channel. Found the ascending force greater than we had
expected; and as we arose higher and so got clear of the cliffs,
and more in the sun's rays, our ascent became very rapid. I did
not wish, however, to lose gas at so early a period of the
adventure, and so concluded to ascend for the present. We soon ran
out our guide-rope; but even when we had raised it clear of the
earth, we still went up very rapidly. The balloon was unusually
steady, and looked beautifully. In about ten minutes after
starting, the barometer indicated an altitude of 15,000 feet. The
weather was remarkably fine, and the view of the subjacent country-
-a most romantic one when seen from any point--was now especially
sublime. The numerous deep gorges presented the appearance of
lakes, on account of the dense vapours with which they were filled,
and the pinnacles and crags to the south-west, piled in extricable
confusion resembling nothing so much as the giant cities of Eastern
fable. We were rapidly approaching the mountains in the south, but
our elevation was more than sufficient to enable us to pass them in
safety. In a few minutes we soared over them in fine style; and Mr
Ainsworth, with the seamen, was surprised at their apparent want of
altitude when viewed from the car, the tendency of great elevation
in a balloon being to reduce inequalities of the surface below, to
nearly a dead level. At half-past eleven still proceeding nearly
south, we obtained our first view of the British Channel; and, in
fifteen minutes afterwards, the line of breakers on the coast
appeared immediately beneath us, and we were fairly out at sea. We
now resolved to let off enough gas to bring our guide-rope, with
the buoys affixed, into the water. This was immediately done, and
we commenced a gradual descent. In about twenty minutes our first
buoy dipped, and at the touch of the second soon afterward, we
remained stationary as to elevation. We were all now anxious to
test the efficiency of the rudder and screw, and we put them both
into requisition forthwith, for the purpose of altering our
direction more to the eastward, and in a line for Paris. By means
of the rudder we instantly effected the necessary change of
direction, and our course was brought nearly at right angles to
that of the wind; then we set in motion the spring of the
screw, and were rejoiced to find it propel as readily as desired.
Upon this we gave nine hearty cheers, and dropped in the sea a
bottle, inclosing a slip of parchment with a brief account of the
principle of the invention. Hardly, however, had we done with our
rejoicings, when an unforeseen accident occurred which discouraged
us in no little degree. The steel rod connecting the spring with
the propeller was suddenly jerked out of place, at the car end (by
a swaying of the car through some movement of one of the two seamen
we had taken up), and in an instant hung dangling out of reach,
from the pivot of the axis of the screw. While we were
endeavouring to regain it, our attention being completely absorbed,
we became involved in a strong current of wind from the east, which
bore us, with rapidly increasing force, toward the Atlantic. We
soon found ourselves driving out to sea at the rate of not less,
certainly, than fifty or sixty miles an hour, so that we came up
with Cape Clear, at some forty miles to our north, before we had
secured the rod, and had time to think what we were about. It was
now that Mr Ainsworth made an extraordinary but, to my fancy, a by
no means unreasonable or chimerical proposition, in which he was
instantly seconded by Mr Holland--viz.: that we should take
advantage of the strong gale which bore us on, and in place of
beating back to Paris, make an attempt to reach the coast of North
America. After slight reflection I gave a willing assent to this
bold proposition, which (strange to say) met with objection from
the two seamen only. As the stronger party, however, we overruled
their fears, and kept resolutely upon our course. We steered due
west; but as the trailing of the buoys materially impeded our
progress, and we had the balloon abundantly at command, either for
ascent or descent, we first threw out fifty pounds of ballast, and
then wound up (by means of the windlass) so much of the rope as
brought it quite clear of the sea. We perceived the effect of this
manoeuvre immediately, in a vastly increased rate of progress; and,
as the gale freshened, we flew with a velocity nearly
inconceivable; the guide-rope flying out behind the car, like a
streamer from a vessel. It is needless to say that a very short
time sufficed us to lose sight of the coast. We passed over
innumerable vessels of all kinds, a few of which were endeavouring
to beat up, but the most of them lying to. We occasioned
the greatest excitement on board all--an excitement greatly
relished by ourselves, and especially by our two men, who, now
under the influence of a dram of Geneva, seemed resolved to give
all scruple, or fear, to the wind. Many of the vessels fired
signal guns; and in all we were saluted with loud cheers (which we
heard with surprising distinctness) and the waving of caps and
handkerchiefs. We kept on in this manner throughout the day with
no material incident, and, as the shades of night closed around us,
we made a rough estimate of the distance traversed. It could not
have been less than five hundred miles, and was probably much more.
The propeller was kept in constant operation, and, no doubt, aided
our progress materially. As the sun went down, the gale freshened
into an absolute hurricane, and the ocean beneath was clearly
visible on account of its phosphorescence. The wind was from the
east all night, and gave us the brightest omen of success. We
suffered no little from cold, and the dampness of the atmosphere
was most unpleasant; but the ample space in the car enabled us to
lie down, and by means of cloaks and a few blankets we did
sufficiently well.
'PS [by Mr Ainsworth.] The last nine hours have been
unquestionably the most exciting of my life. I can conceive
nothing more sublimating than the strange peril and novelty of an
adventure such as this. May God grant that we succeed! I ask not
success for mere safety to my insignificant person, but for the
sake of human knowledge and--for the vastness of the triumph. And
yet the feat is only so evidently feasible that the sole wonder is
why men have scrupled to attempt it before. One single gale such
as now befriends us--let such a tempest whirl forward a balloon for
four or five days (these gales often last longer) and the voyager
will be easily borne, in that period, from coast to coast. In view
of such a gale the broad Atlantic becomes a mere lake. I am more
struck, just now, with the supreme silence which reigns in the sea
beneath us, notwithstanding its agitation, than with any other
phenomenon presenting itself. The waters give up no voice to the
heavens. The immense flaming ocean writhes and is tortured
uncomplainingly. The mountainous surges suggest the idea of
innumerable dumb gigantic fiends struggling in impotent agony.
In a night such as is this to me, a man --lives a
whole century of ordinary life--nor would I forego this rapturous
delight for that of a whole century of ordinary existence.
'. [Mr Mason's MS.] This morning the
gale, by ten, had subsided to an eight or nine-knot breeze (for a
vessel at sea), and bears us, perhaps, thirty miles per hour, or
more. It has veered, however, very considerably to the north; and
now, at sundown, we are holding our course due west, principally by
the screw and rudder, which answer their purposes to admiration.
I regard the project as thoroughly successful, and the easy
navigation of the air in any direction (not exactly in the teeth of
a gale) as no longer problematical. We could not have made head
against the strong wind of yesterday; but, by ascending, we might
have got out of its influence, if requisite. Against a pretty
stiff breeze, I feel convinced, we can make our way with the
propeller. At noon, to-day, ascended to an elevation of nearly
25,000 feet, by discharging ballast. Did this to search for a more
direct current, but found none so favourable as the one we are now
in. We have an abundance of gas to take us across this small pond,
even should the voyage last three weeks. I have not the slightest
fear for the result. The difficulty has been strangely exaggerated
and misapprehended. I can choose my current, and should I find currents against me, I can make very tolerable headway with
the propeller. We have no incidents worth recording. The night
promises fair.
'PS [By Mr Ainsworth.] I have little to record, except the
fact (to me quite a surprising one), that, at an elevation equal to
that of Cotopaxi, I experienced neither intense cold, nor headache,
nor difficulty of breathing; neither, I find, did Mr Mason, nor Mr
Holland, nor Sir Everard. Mr Osborne complained of constriction of
the chest--but this soon wore off. We have flown at a great rate
during the day, and we must be more than half way across the
Atlantic. We have passed over some twenty or thirty vessels of
various kinds, and all seem to be delightfully astonished.
Crossing the ocean in a balloon is not so difficult a feat after
all. at 25,000 feet
elevation the sky appears nearly black, and the stars are
distinctly visible; while the sea does not seem convex (as one
might suppose) but absolutely and most unequivocally .<1>
'. [Mr Mason's MS.] This morning we had
again some little trouble with the rod of the propeller, which must
be entirely remodelled, for fear of serious accident--I mean the
steel rod, not the vanes. The latter could not be improved. The
wind has been blowing steadily and strongly from the north-east all
day; and so far fortune seems bent upon favouring us. Just before
day, we were all somewhat alarmed at some odd noises and
concussions in the balloon, accompanied with the apparent rapid
subsidence of the whole machine. These phenomena were occasioned
by the expansion of the gas, through increase of heat in the
atmosphere, and the consequent disruption of the minute particles
of ice with which the network had become encrusted during the
night. Threw down several bottles to the vessels below. See one
of them picked up by a large ship--seemingly one of the New York
line packets. Endeavoured to make out her name, but could not be
sure of it. Mr Osborne's telescope made it out something like . It is now twelve at night, and we are still going
nearly west, at a rapid pace. The sea is peculiarly
phosphorescent.
'PS [By Mr Ainsworth.] It is now two A.M., and nearly calm,
as well as I can judge--but it is very difficult to determine this
point, since we move the air so completely. I have not
slept since quitting Wheal-Vor, but can stand it no longer, and
must take a nap. We cannot be far from the American coast.
'. [Mr Ainsworth's MS.] P.M. 

<1> NOTE--Mr Ainsworth has not attempted to account for this
phenomenon, which, however, is quite susceptible of explanation.
A line dropped from an elevation of 25,000 feet, perpendicularly to
the surface of the earth (or sea), would form the perpendicular of
a right-angled triangle, of which the base would extend from the
right angle to the horizon, and the hypothenuse from the horizon to
the balloon. But the 25,000 feet of altitude is little or nothing,
in comparison with the extent of the prospect. In other words, the
base and hypothenuse of the supposed triangle would be so long,
when compared with the perpendicular, that the two former may be
regarded as nearly parallel. In this manner the horizon of the
aeronaut would appear to be with the car. But, as
the point immediately beneath him seems, and is, at a great
distance below him, it seems, of course, also, at a great distance
below the horizon. Hence the impression of ; and this
impression must remain, until the elevation shall bear so great a
proportion to the extent of prospect, that the apparent parallelism
of the base and hypothenuse disappears--when the earth's real
convexity must become apparent.

. The great problem is
accomplished. We have crossed the Atlantic--fairly and 
crossed it in a balloon! God be praised! Who shall say that
anything is impossible hereafter?'

*

The Journal here ceases. Some particulars of the descent were
communicated, however, by Mr Ainsworth to Mr Forsyth. It was
nearly dead calm when the voyagers first came in view of the coast,
which was immediately recognized by both the seamen, and by Mr
Osborne. The latter gentleman having acquaintances at Fort
Moultrie, it was immediately resolved to descend in its vicinity.
The balloon was brought over the beach (the tide being out and the
sand hard, smooth, and admirably adapted for a descent) and the
grapnel let go, which took firm hold at once. The inhabitants of
the island, and of the fort, thronged out, of course, to see the
balloon; but it was with the greatest difficulty that any one could
be made to credit the actual voyage--. The grapnel caught at two P.M. precisely; and thus the
whole voyage was completed in seventy-five hours; or rather less,
counting from shore to shore. No serious accident occurred. No
real danger was at any time apprehended. The balloon was exhausted
and secured without trouble; and when the MS from which this
narrative is compiled was despatched from Charleston, the party
were still at Fort Moultrie. Their further intentions were not
ascertained; but we can safely promise our readers some additional
information either on Monday or in the course of the next day, at
furthest.
This is unquestionably the most stupendous, the most
interesting, and the most important undertaking ever accomplished
or even attempted by man. What magnificent events may ensue, it
would be useless now to think of determining.