As it was, he became the hero of the hour; thousands flocked to
the show rooms at the Lyceum, and he shortly obtained fresh
grounds, together with needful protection for his project, at
the hands of the Hon.Artillery Company. By the 15th of
September all incidental difficulties, the mere enumeration of
which would unduly swell these pages, had been overcome by sheer
persistence, and Lunardi stood in the inenclosure allotted him,
his preparations in due order, with 150,000 souls, who had
formed for hours a dense mass of spectators, watching intently
and now confidently the issue of his bold endeavour.

But his anxieties were as yet far from over, for a London crowd
had never yet witnessed a balloon ascent, while but a month ago
they had seen and wreaked their wrath upon the failure of an
adventurer. They were not likely to be more tolerant now. And
when the advertised hour for departure had arrived, and the
balloon remained inadequately inflated, matters began to take a
more serious turn. Half an hour later they approached a
crisis, when it began to be known that the balloon still lacked
buoyancy, and that the supply of gas was manifestly
insufficient. The impatience of the mob indeed was kept in
restraint by one man alone. This man was the Prince of Wales
who, refusing to join the company within the building and
careless of the attitude of the crowd, remained near the
balloon to check disorder and unfair treatment.

But an hour after time the balloon still rested inert and then,
with fine resolution, Lunardi tried one last expedient. He
bade his colleague, Mr. Biggen, who was to have ascended with
him, remain behind, and quietly substituting a smaller and