Moorfields, then entirely open, was covered by a dense multitude. From feelings of alarm, however, lest the mob should break in, if the experiment proved unfavourable, there was little company upon the ground itself; but the Prince of Wales was present, and repeatedly expressed his wishes for the safety of Lunardi, and of Mr. Biggin, a gentleman of fortune, and science, who was to accompany him in his aërial voyage. The Prince was also particularly attentive to the process of inflating the balloon, which was done by inflammable air, (obtained by the action of sulphuric acid upon zinc and iron filings,) under the direction of the late eminent chemist, Dr. George Fordyce. Through the impatient clamour of the multitude, (the hour fixed for the ascent having long elapsed,) the machine could not be completely filled, and when the daring aëronauts entered the gallery, which was attached to the net work, its buoyancy was found to be inadequate to carry up both individuals. Lunardi, therefore, determined to ascend without his companion, and at five minutes after two o'clock the ropes were cut, and the balloon rose majestically into the air, amidst the loudest acclamations of thousands and tens of thousands who witnessed the scene. "The effect," to employ the words of Lunardi himself," was that of a miracle on the multitudes which surrounded the place, and they passed from incredulity and menace, into the most extravagant expressions of approbation and joy."*

* Vide Lunardi's "Account of the First Aërial Voyage in England," p. 39.

When at the elevation of about sixty or eighty feet, the balloon for a few seconds remained stationary, but on throwing out some ballast, it slowly ascended to an immense height; yet, the atmosphere being very clear, it was scarcely ever invisible to the eye. At half past three o'clock, Lunardi first descended in a cornfield, on the common at North Mimms, where he landed a cat, which, together with a dog and a pigeon, had been chosen to accompany him. After a short interval, he again rose into the air, and was slowly wafted towards Ware, in Hertfordshire, near which, at twenty minutes past four, he finally alighted in a spacious meadow. Some labourers, who were at work there, were so terrified at the machine, that no intreaties could prevail on them to approach it, not even when a young woman had courageously set the example, by taking hold of a cord which the aëronaut had thrown out. Assistance, however, was at hand, a crowd of people assembled from the neighbourhood, and, together with General Smith, and several other gentlemen, who had followed Lunardi on horseback from London, aided him to disembark, and to secure his balloon.

This successful excursion induced Lunardi to make a second ascent, from the Artillery Ground, on the 16th of May, 1785, in a new, and still more magnificent balloon than he had before used; but, in this instance, his good fortune partially forsook him: for, when at a great height in the air, the machine burst, and descended with vast rapidity. From the rent, however, being somewhat below the upper hemisphere

of the balloon, it retained sufficient air to support an oblique course, until it fell within the Adam and Eve Tea-gardens, at the upper extremity of Tottenhamcourt-road. The aëronaut was only slightly injured.

In Hogarth's March to Finchley, the soldiers are represented as halting for refreshment at the Adam and Eve; but the house and gardens have been completely altered since the time of that artist, and several modern dwellings now occupy a part of the grounds. In former times, these premises formed the site of the ancient manor-place of Totenhall.

BRIDEWELL HOSPITAL,

BRIDGE-STREET, BLACK

FRIARS.

BRIDEWELL was anciently a palace belonging to the Kings of England, where they frequently resided and held their courts; it afterwards came into the possession of the celebrated Cardinal Wolsey, upon whose downfall it again reverted to the crown. It was in this palace that Henry VIII. summoned to appear before him the heads of all the religious houses in England, and from those who refused to acknowledge his supremacy, he extorted large sums of money. In 1522, that monarch rebuilt Bridewell in a most magnificent manner for the reception of Charles the Fifth, who, however, preferred to lodge in the house of the Black Friars, which was situated on the other side of the river Fleet, over which a temporary bridge was thrown, which passing through the City wall, formed a communication between that house and the palace, in which his suite were accommodated. In 1528, Car