1. AERIAL VOYAGES, No. 1432.-November 18, 1871. 2. THE MAID OF SKER. Part III., 3. GEOFFREY CHAUCER, 4. MISS BROWN, CONTENTS. 5. BEARINGS OF MODERN SCIENCE ON ART, 6. AN AMERICAN COOKERY-BOOK, 7. PROSPECTS OF ITALY, 8. OPENING OF THE GERMAN PARLIAMENT, THE SAND-BLAST AND ITS POWERS, THE FORESTS OF VICTORIA, POETRY. NUMBERS OF THE LIVING AGE WANTED. The publishers are in want of Nos. 1179 and 1180 (dated respectively Jan. 5th and Jan. 12th, 1867) of THE LIVING AGE. To subscribers, or others, who will do us the favor to send us either or both of those numbers, we will return an equivalent, either in our publications or in cash, until our wants are supplied. PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY BY TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. FOR EIGHT DOLLARS, remitted directly to the Publishers, the LIVING AGE will be punctually for. warded for a year, free of postage. But we do not prepay postage on less than a year, nor where we have to pay commission for forwarding the money. Price of the First Series, in Cloth, 36 volumes, 90 dollars. Second " The Complete Work, Any Volume Bound, 8 dollars; Unbound, 2 dollars. The sets, or volumes, will be sent at the expense of the publishers. PREMIUMS FOR CLUBS. For 5 new subscribers ($40.),, a sixth copy; or a set of HORNE'S INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE, unabridged, in 4 large volumes, cloth, price $10; or any o of the back volumes of the LIVING AGE, in num. bers, price $10. From Macmillan's Magazine. I AM dying, O Lord! I am dying, A bloodhound with poisonous breath: I feel them, those fangs that are death. The words that I utter are madness, The silence I keep is despair, Have died as they fell through the air; No friendship, no love can avail me, No hand but it burns on my brain, My pulses like demons assail me, My strength is the slave to my pain. All spells of religion and duty, All manhood and manhood's desire, All pureness and wisdom and beauty, Are scorched and burned up in the fire; And the ladder of Jacob, the dreamer, No longer is stretched from above, Yet still, O my Lord! my Redeemer! I cling, I have root in your love! I must die, like a deed unrecorded, The knowledge, the truths I have hoarded, A fragment, a blot, a negation For ever my life must remain; Across the leaf-strewn lanes, from bough to bough, Like tissue woven in a fairy loom; And crimson-berried bryony garlands glow Through the leaf-tangled gloom. The woods are still, but for the sudden fall And from the garden-lawn comes, soft and clear, Chambers' Journal. GROWING GREY. "On a l'age de son cœur." A. D'HOUDETOT. A LITTLE more toward the light; Adieu to song and "salad days; We must reform our rhymes, my dear,Renounce the gay for the severe, Be grave, not witty; We have, no more, the right to find But the spark you have quenched at creation, That Pyrrha's hair is neatly twined, O Lord! you can fire it again. What matter whose lips shall proclaim it, If only the Truth shall go free? What recks it whose fervour shall frame it, I care not, the Present may scoff me, OCTOBER. THE year grows old; Summer's wild crown of roses Has fallen and faded in the woodland ways; The dew lies heavy in the early morn, From The British Quarterly Review. AERIAL VOYAGES.* We are not in a position to state whether the genius in question listened favour A FEW years ago a Frenchman, apostro-ably to M. Farcot's fervid appeal; bnt it phizing the Genius of Humanity as none is certain that his hopes have not yet been but a Frenchman can do, took the liberty realized. The balloon has always apof reproaching that metaphorical being peared to possess such splendid capabilfor its extreme backwardness in one de- ities that it is no wonder its admirers partment of duty. He called upon it to never weary of predicting a brilliant fu"march," an injunction which his country- ture for the machine. Considering the men are so fond of issuing that they some- prominent part which Frenchmen have times forget to tell you where, or to state played in the history of aerostation, it will the reason why. The present age, he be readily understood that the apparatus intimated, demanded this movement: the commenced its career with a dash and élan coming generations would be greatly dis- which led mankind to anticipate that it appointed if it were not accomplished. would accomplish marvellous things, and "One effort," said he encouragingly to the become one of the foremost agents in the Genius," and the future is thine (l'avenir great work of civilization. Our lively t'appartient)!" The crooked places, he neighbours, ever on the alert for glory promised, should be made straight, and the until their recent misfortunes, and probarough ones delightfully smooth. There bly so still, were charmed with the idea should be no more mountains (Pyrenees of conquering a new region, though it conor otherwise), and the valleys should be- tained nothing but clouds, and were by no come as level as the plains! means insensible to the vanity of riding in the air, though in most cases they went up, like their famous sovereign, simply to come down again. And what does the reader suppose was the duty in respect of which the genius in question was so shamefully in arrear? It was, said M. Farcot, in the matter of Many years have elapsed-nearly a since Pilâtre de Rozier and the aerostation. How is it, asked this indi- century vidual, somewhat sharply, that man, who Marquis d'Arlandes made their daring is so anxious to conquer everything and voyage into the atmosphere in the car of everybody (except, we might add, himself), a fire-balloon, this being the first excurshould not have made greater exertions to sion ever attempted by living creatures, if subdue the sole element which continues we except three anonymous animals, a in a state of rebellion? How is it that a sheep, a duck, and a cock, which were sent being who has such magnificent forces at up in the previous month, and returned in But as yet, though command, and can traverse the ocean with safety to the earth. an ease and a rapidity which the fleet- the machine has rendered considerable serest denizens of the deep cannot surpass, vice to science, and will doubtless assist in should suffer himself to be outstripped the solution of many interesting problems, in the air by an insignificant fly ? M. it is a thing of promise rather than of It is still in a rudimentFarcot could not comprehend it; M. Farcot performance. would not submit to it. He therefore of-ary state, and should be received, says Mr. fered his services to mankind as the pre- Glaisher, simply "as the first principle of cursor of a new era, in which the balloon some aerial instrument which remains to was to become the prominent figure, and be suggested." Potentially, it may include entreated the object of his invocation to the germ of some great invention, just as wake up, and with a single bound to overHiero's eolipile and Lord Worcester's leap the gulf that lay between it and its "water-commanding" engine contained a greatest triumphs. prophecy of the most masterly of human machines the steam giants of Watt. But to apply the well-known metaphor of Franklin, when asked what was the use of a balloon, we may say that the "infant". has not grown up into a man. Travels in the Air. By JAMES GLAISHER, F.R.S. Of course, when the balloon was presented to mankind, one of the first thoughts which suggested itself to our combative race was this-"Can we turn it to any account in war? Will it assist us in killing our enemies, or capturing their fortresses?" And when we remember that the machine was reared amongst the most military people in Europe, can we doubt that as Napoleon's great question respecting the Simplon road was, whether it would carry cannon, so the chief point with a Frenchman would be, whether a balloon could be rendered of any service in a battle? Not many years were suffered to elapse before regular experiments were instituted with this view. An aerostatic school was established at Meudon, a company of aeronauts, under the command of Colonel Coutelle, was formed, and a number of balloons constructed by Couté were distributed amongst the divisions of the French army, not even forgetting the troops despatched to Egypt. At the sieges of Maubeuge, Charleroi, Mannheim, and Ehrenbreitstein the invention was found to be of some value for purposes of reconnoitring; and previous to the battle of Fleurus, Coutelle and an officer spent several hours in the air, studying the positions of the Austrians, and this with such effect that their information materially assisted General Jourdan in gaining the victory. The machine was, of course, held captive during the process, but its tether was easily extended by means of a windlass, and thus the occupants were enabled to soar above the enemy's fire. Within the last twelve months, however,, the United States, Mr. Wise suggested the this largest of human toys - the plaything construction of an enormous air-ship, which of pleasure seekers, and the cynosure of was to carry up a quantity of bombs and all eyes at fêtes and tea-gardens - has torpedoes, and, whilst securely moored in been converted into a useful machine, the atmosphere by means of a cable though under the pressure of circum- several miles in length, it would be in stances which every philanthropist must a position to rain down death upon the deeply deplore. devoted place. To its honour, however, the American Government declined the use of such an aerial battery. Fortunately we think we may say fortunately for the interests of mankind, the baloon has not succeeded to any considerable extent as a military machine. Even the Jesuit Lana felt inclined to weep over his abortive project (he did pray over it) when he considered how easy it would be for warlike marauders to set the stoutest walls and ramparts at defiance, and to hurl destruction into any city they might select. Let us hope that the balloon is destined for more pacific purposes. The range of modern guns, and the difficulty of manoeuvring so rudderless an apparatus, seem to cut it off from a career of glory. If employed for purposes of reconnoitring purely, and kept in a captive condition, it may occasionally render service by darting suddenly into the atmosphere, and taking a glimpse of the enemy's position or movements. But then, a tethered balloon, as M. de Fonvielle intimates, belongs neither to the air nor the earth; it is a creature compelled to serve two masters, and therefore cannot do its duty to either; but, whilst attempting to obey the commands of its rulers below, it is forced to yield to the caprice of the breezes above. If free, asks M. Simonin, and if the wind were everything the aerial heroes could wish; if, moreover, the balloon, charged with the most formidable fulminates, were carried direct to the hostile camp, could they expect to find the enemy massed for a review or a manoeuvre precisely at the More than once it has been proposed to spot over which they sailed, and could build huge balloons, and freight them with they time their discharges so beautifully, shells and other missiles, which might be having due regard to the speed of the maconveniently dropped down upon a hostile chine, that their projectiles should explode corps, or "plumped " into the midst of a at the most fitting moment for damaging beleagured town. With a view to the de- their foes? Happily, in neither of the molition of the fortress of St. Juan de two greatest struggles of recent timesUlloa, during the war between Mexico and how recent none need say, for the scent 凹 -- into infinite space. So long as these machines continued to be launched by day, they were exposed to a fusillade whilst traversing the girdle of the Prussian guns, the bullets whistling round them even at an elevation of 900 or 1,000 mètres. To avoid this peril it became necessary to start them by night, although the disad of blood is yet on the soil of Virginia, 'naut of the Archimède, who had been sent and the bones of Teuton and Gaul still lie out in search of them, and had traversed blended on the fields of France has the the hostile lines on his errand. Many balloon brought itself into formidable con- of these postal vessels were carried to a federacy with Krupp cannon or the mur- considerable distance, some landing in derous mitrailleuse. Belgium, Holland, or Bavaria; whilst War, however, the greatest of scourges, one, Le Ville d'Orléans, was swept into is sometimes compelled, in the good provi- Norway, and came to anchor about 600 dence of God, to yield an incidental miles north of Christiania. A few, unhapharvest of blessings. Liberty has often pily, never landed at all. Le Jacquard, been entrusted to the keeping of the bay- which left the Orleans railway station on onet, and civilization has more than once the 28th November, with a bold sailor depended upon the explosive virtues of for its sole occupant, disappeared like charcoal and saltpetre. It is not impos- many a gallant ship. It was last observed sible that the recent investment of Paris above Rochelle, and probably foundered may ultimately lead to the development at sea, as some of its papers were picked of aerial navigation on a scale which up in the Channel. Le Jules Favre (the would gladden the heart of M. Farcot, second of that name), which set out two and almost satisfy the expectations of days subsequently, has arrived nowhere some of the greatest enthusiasts in the as yet; and one of the last of these mailart. We allude, of course, to the employ-balloons, the Richard Wallace, is missing ment of the balloon for postal purposes. as much as if it had sailed off the planet During the recent siege of that city—we mean, of course, by the Germans, and not by Frenchmen themselves - upwards of fifty of these aerial packets sailed from the beleagured metropolis with despatches for the outer world. They conveyed about two-and-a-half millions of letters, representing a total weight of about ten tons. Most of them took out a number of pig-vantages of nocturnal expeditions, in eons, which were intended to act as postmen from the provinces. One called Le Général Faidherbe, was furnished with four shepherds' dogs, which it was hoped would break through the Prussian lines, carrying with them precious communicaLet us now attempt an imaginary tions concealed under their collars. The voyage through the air, availing ourselves. greater number of these balloons were as much as possible of the experience under the management of seamen, some of the gentlemen whose excursions are times solitary ones, whose nautical train- chronicled in the work which heads this ing, it was naturally supposed, would article. A more attractive volume canqualify them more especially for the duties of aerial navigation. More than one fell into the hands of the enemy, having dropped down right amongst the Prussians. In some of these cases the crews were generally made prisoners, but in others they effected their escape; and more than once their dispatches were preserved in a very remarkable way—in one instance being secreted in a dung cart, and in another being rescued by a could be put in reference to any man, it forester, and conveyed to Buffet, the aero- might surely be applied to him, for he has which no light could be carried and consequently the barometer could not be duly read, were held by many to outweigh all the dangers attaching to German projectiles. not well be imagined. It is the production of one Englishman and three Frenchmen. Mr. Glaisher is well known, in companionship with Mr. Coxwell, as our greatest authority on the subject. All his visits to the clouds have been for scientific purposes, and if the question, Quis crederet unquam Aerias hominem carpere posse vias? |