The works of Edgar Allan Poe; newly collected and edited, with a memoir, critical introductions, and notes, by Edmund Clarence Stedman and George Edward Woodberry; the illustrations by Albert Edward Sterner.

THE BALLOON HOAX

sea a bottle, enclosing 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 endeavoring 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, towards 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,
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