This trip was memorable in another way. It was probably the only
aerial cruise where a Royal Council was put off in order to
witness the flight. It is recorded that George the Third was in
conference with the Cabinet, and when news arrived in the Council
Chamber that Lunardi was aloft, the king remarked: Gentlemen, we
may resume our deliberations at pleasure, but we may never see
poor Lunardi again!"

The journey was uneventful; there was a moderate northerly
breeze, and the aeronaut attained a considerable altitude, so
that he and his animals were in danger of frost-bite. Indeed,
one of the animals suffered so severely from the effects of the
cold that Lunardi skilfully descended low enough to drop it
safely to earth, and then, throwing out ballast, once more
ascended. He eventually came to earth near a Hertfordshire
village about 30 miles to the north of London.



CHAPTER V
The Father of British Aeronauts

No account of the early history of English aeronautics could
possibly be complete unless it included a description of the
Nassau balloon, which was inflated by coal-gas, from the
suggestion of Mr. Charles Green, who was one of Britain's most
famous aeronauts. Because of his institution of the modern
method of using coal-gas in a balloon, Mr. Green is generally
spoken of as the Father of British Aeronautics. During the close