r caloric energy, and if they externally
resemble pigeons, they will easily be mistaken for flying animals."

Thus it would seem that, hunting back in history, there were three main
ideas on which would-be aeronauts of old exercised their ingenuity.
There was the last-mentioned method, which, by the way, Jules Verne
partly relies on when he takes his heroes to the moon, and which in
its highest practical development may be seen annually on the night
of "Brock's Benefit" at the Crystal Palace. There is, again, the "tame
goose" method, to which we must return presently; and, lastly, there is
a third method, to which, as also to the brilliant genius who conceived
it, we must without further delay be introduced. This may be called the
method of "a hollow globe."

Roger Bacon, Melchisedeck-fashion, came into existence at Ilchester
in 1214 of parentage that is hard to trace. He was, however, a born
philosopher, and possessed of intellect and penetration that placed him
incalculably ahead of his generation. A man of marvellous insight and
research, he grasped, and as far as possible carried out, ideas which
dawned on other men only after centuries. Thus, many of his utterances
have been prophetic. It is probable that among his chemical discoveries
he re-invented gunpowder. It is certain that he divined the properties
of a lens, and diving deep into experimental and mechanical sciences,
actually foresaw the time when, in his own words, "men would construct
engines to traverse land and water with great speed and carry with them
persons and merchandise." Clearly in his dreams Bacon saw the Atlantic
not merely explored, but on its bosom the White Star liners breaking
records, contemptuous of its angriest seas. He saw, too, a future Dumont
circling in the air, and not only in a dead calm, but holding his own
with the feathered race. He tells his dream thus: "There may be made
some flying instrument so that a man sitting in the middle of the
instrument and turning some mechanism may put in motion some artificial
wings which may beat the air like a bird flying."

But he lived too long before his time. His ruin lay not only in his
superior genius, but also in his fearless outspokenness. He presently
fell under the ban of the Church, through which he lost alike his
liberty and the means of pursuing investigation. Had it been otherwise
we may fairly believe that the "admirable Doctor," as he was called,
would have been the first to sh