CHAPTER IV.

THE STORY OF THE PARACHUTE.


In giving an account of the Umbrella, it would not be right to omit
mentioning another, and far from legitimate use in which it has been
employed by notoriety-hunting _artistes_--we allude to the
Parachute; and a short narration of its origin and progress may not
be uninteresting to our readers.

The Parachute commonly in use is nothing more or less than a huge
Umbrella, presenting a surface of sufficient dimension to experience
from the air a resistance equal to the weight of descent, in moving
through the fluid at a velocity not exceeding that of the shock which
a person can sustain without danger or injury. It is made of silk or
cotton. To the outer edge cords are fastened, of about the same
length as the diameter of the machine (24 to 28 feet). A centre cord
is attached to the apex and meets the cords from the margin, acting,
in fact, as the stick of the Umbrella. The machine is thus kept
expanded during descent. The car is fastened to the centre cord, and
the whole attached to the balloon in such a manner that it may be
readily and quickly detached, either by cutting a string, or pulling
a trigger. Consequently, in the East, where the Umbrella has been
from the earliest ages in familiar use, it appears to have been
occasionally employed by vaulters, to enable them to jump safely from
great heights. Father Loubère, in his curious account of Siam,