at a
height of 11,800 feet above the earth, a band was heard playing. At
between four and five thousand feet a railway whistle and the shouting
of people were heard, and at 10,070 feet the report of a gun. A dog was
also heard barking at a height of two miles. At a height of 19,000 feet
the hands and lips were observed, during one ascent, to be of a dark
bluish colour. At four miles the palpitations of the heart were
audible, and the breathing was affected. Considerable difficulty was
experienced in respiration at higher elevations. From his various
observations he found that the effect of high elevation is different
upon the same individuals at different times, and believed that, up to
heights less than three miles--to which persons of ordinary
self-possession might ascend--delicate and accurate scientific
observations might be made with ease, but at heights approaching to four
miles, such observations could not be made so well, because of the
personal distress of the observer, and on approaching to five miles
above the earth it required the exercise of a strong will to take any
observations at all.

The most wonderful and alarming of the experiences of Mr Glaisher
appear to have occurred to him and his companion, Mr Coxwell, during an
ascent made from Wolverhampton on the 5th September, when they reached
the enormous elevation of between six and seven miles.

They felt no particular inconvenience until after passing above the
fifth mile. When at a height of 26,000 feet, Mr Glaisher could not see
the column of mercury in the tube; then the fine divisions on the scale
of the instrument became invisible. Shortly afterwards he laid his arm
on the table, and on attempting again to use it found that the limb was
powerless. He tried to move the other arm, and found that it also was
paralysed. He then tried to shake himself, and succeeded in shaking his
body, but experienced the curious sensation of having no legs! While in
this condition he attempted to look at the barometer, and, while doing
so, his head fell on his left shoulder. Struggling to get out of this
lethargic state, he found that he could still shake his body, although
he could not move either arms or legs. He got his head upright for an
instant, but it dropped again on his shoulder, and he fell backwards,
his back resting against the side of the car, and his head on its edge.

In this position his eyes were directed to Mr Coxwell, who did not at