North-Western route,
conveying Madame Paulhan, Henry Farman, and the mechanics who fitted the
Farman biplane together. Paulhan himself, who had flown at a height of
1,000 feet, spent the night at Lichfield, starting again at 4.9 a.m.
On the 28th, passing Stafford at 4.45, Crewe at 5.20, and landing at
Burnage, near Didsbury, at 5.32, having had a clean run.

Meanwhile, Grahame White had made a most heroic attempt to beat his
rival. An hour before dawn on the 28th, he went to the small field in
which his machine had landed, and in the darkness managed to make an
ascent from ground which made starting difficult even in daylight.
Purely by instinct and his recollection of the aspect of things the
night before, he had to clear telegraph wires and a railway bridge,
neither of which he could possibly see at that hour. His engine, too,
was faltering, and it was obvious to those who witnessed his start that
its note was far from perfect.

At 3.50 he was over Nuneaton and making good progress; between
Atherstone and Lichfield the wind caught him and the engine failed more
and more, until at 4.13 in the morning he was forced to come to earth,
having covered 6 miles less distance than in his first attempt. It was
purely a case of engine failure, for, with full power, he would have
passed over Paulhan just as the latter was preparing for the restart.
Taking into consideration the two machines, there is little doubt that
Grahame White showed the greater flying skill, although he lost the
prize. After landing and hearing of Paulhan's victory, on which he wired
congratulations, he made up his mind to fly to Manchester within the
24 hours. He started at 5 o'clock in the afternoon from Polesworth, his
landing place, but was forced to land at 5.30 at Whittington, where
he had landed on the previous Saturday. The wind, which had forced his
descent, fell again and permitted of starting once more; on this third
stage he reached Lichfield, only to make his final landing at 7.15 p.m.,
near the Trent Valley station. The defective running of the Gnome engine
prevented his completing the course, and his Farman machine had to be
brought back to London by rail.

The presentation of the prize to Paulhan was made the occasion for the
announcement of a further competition, consisting of a 1,000 mile flight
round a part of Great Britain. In this, nineteen competitors started,
and only four finished; the end of the race was a great fight between
Bea