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  adven
ture.  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  ex
pensive  and  inconvenient  hydrogen,  the  supporting
power  of  the  machine,  when  fully  inflated,  and  im
mediately  after  inflation,  is  not  more  than  about
2,500  pounds.  The  coal-gas  is  not  only  much  less
costly,  but  is  easily  procured  and  managed.
"For  its  introduction  into  common  use  for  pur
poses  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


The   Balloon   Hoax  335

coal-gas  unaltered,  in  quantity  or  amount,  for  six
months,  an  equal  quantity  of  hydrogen  could  not  be
maintained  in  equal  purity  for  six  weeks.
