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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 crossing of the Atlantic. The grapnel caught at 2, 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 farther 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 farthest.
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.
(*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
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