table, occurred about this time, namely, on the 10th of December,
1881, when Captain Templer, Mr. W. Powell, M.P., and Mr. Agg-Gardner
ascended from Bath. We prefer to give the account as it appears in a
leading article in the Times for December 13th of that year.

After sailing over Glastonbury, "Crewkerne was presently sighted, then
Beaminster. The roar of the sea gave the next indication of the locality
to which the balloon had drifted and the first hint of the possible
perils of the voyage. A descent was now effected to within a few hundred
feet of earth, and an endeavour was made to ascertain the exact position
they had reached. The course taken by the balloon between Beaminster and
the sea is not stated in Captain Templer's letter. The wind, as far as
we can gather, must have shifted, or different currents of air must have
been found at the different altitudes. What Captain Templer says is that
they coasted along to Symonsbury, passing, it would seem, in an easterly
direction and keeping still very near to the earth. Soon after they had
left Symonsbury, Captain Templer shouted to a man below to tell them how
far they were from Bridport, and he received for answer that Bridport
was about a mile off. The pace at which the balloon was moving had now
increased to thirty-five miles an hour. The sea was dangerously close,
and a few minutes in a southerly current of air would have been enough
to carry them over it. They seem, however, to have been confident in
their own powers of management. They threw out ballast, and rose to
a height of 1,500 feet, and thence came down again only just in time,
touching the ground at a distance of about 150 yards from the cliff. The
balloon here dragged for a few feet, and Captain Templer, who had been
letting off the gas, rolled out of the car, still holding the valve line
in his hand. This was the last chance of a safe escape for anybody.
The balloon, with its weight lightened, went up about eight feet. Mr.
Agg-Gardner dropped out and broke his leg. Mr. Powell now remained as
the sole occupant of the car. Captain Templer, who had still hold of the
rope, shouted to Mr. Powell to come down the line. This he attempted
to do, but in a few seconds, and before he could commence his perilous
descent, the line was torn out of Captain Templer's hands. All
communication with the earth was cut off, and the balloon rose rapidly,
taking Mr. Powell with it in a south-easterly direction out to sea."