In the last number of this journal, it was my sad duty to chronicle the death of Mr. Coxwell. In another part of the same issue some aeronautical suggestions from the celebrated balloonist, bearing on the present war, appeared, showing that he maintained the ardour in aerial affaire that characterised his life to its very end.

Henry Coxwell was born on March 2nd, 1819, at Wouldham. He was the son of a gallant naval officer. From the day that, through a telescope, he espied the balloon ascent of Mr. Green, at Rochester, he conceived the passion for aeronautics, that in later years transformed the pastime into a profession, and bore results which have considerably influenced both military and scientific ballooning.

Young Coxwell began earnest life as a dentist, and for some years, combined a considerable amount of balloon experience as an amateur with this profession. But the earnestness of his aeronautical talents prevailed, and in time he became the professional aeronaut, devoting himself to that calling with the utmost ardour.

The bearing of pure scientific research on practical scientific developments has been demonstrated again and again ; and interesting and valuable as are all aeronautical attempts, it is more than probable that the solution of flight and aerial navigation may be achieved after all by the physicist or the meteorologist. Just now, this thought is borne in on us by the physical experiments to determine the resistance of the air of M. L'Abbé Le Dantic and M. Canovetti, and by the publication of the annual bulletin of the Meteorological Commission of the Bouches du Rhône. There are some observations in this of the direction, frequency, and force of the wind made at the Marseilles Observatory at the height of 75 m. Such observations are preliminary steps to a meteorological knowledge of the conditions of the lower and upper atmospheres essential to the making of any seasonal maps of the winds; without such maps many practical aeronauts who look to utilising the wind forces for the purposes of motion consider aerial navigation doomed to remain empirical.

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Aeronautical Society:—The flying machine—a working model of which I have now the honour to submit to your critical inspection— is the invention of M. Anton Weczera, a Hungarian architect, who has devoted many years to the study of a question which has such a special interest for your Honourable Society.

I, too, have devoted considerable attention to this subject; but whilst studying the construction of the many flying machines that dispense with the use of an air–bag, I have invariably failed to find in any of them an adequate and reliable lifting capacity, which, in my opinion, is the most essential element in all of them, and without which there can be no practical success.

I know of no bird from which lessons in practical flight can be better obtained than from the Secretary bird. As one sees him stalking along with stately gait across the veld in South Africa, he reminds one rather of a very large pied pheasant, but with longer legs and an eagle–like head. But now let us gallop straight towards him and note carefully his successive actions. At first, he raises his head in a proud and offended manner, but then recognising the undoubted physical superiority of the mounted man, he hurries his steps and runs in an ungainly fashion, almost as if afraid. Then he slowly opens and extends his great wings till they are widely stretched outwards. His appearance then irresistably recalls to mind with grim sadness the scene, so impressed on my memory, of poor Pitcher's last attempts to solve the mysteries of flight.

At the first meeting of the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain in June, 1866, the author read a paper “On Aerial Locomotion and the Laws by which Heavy Bodies impelled through Air are Sustained.” Since that date, the writer has only occasionally reverted to the subject, but has never been convinced that flight is impossible for man, considering the apparent ease with which large birds traverse the air.

The power required to maintain the flight of the screw vanes mentioned in the paper (now extensively used for flying-shot practice), was estimated at the rate of three-horse power for each hundred pounds raised. This is widely in excess of the reality, because when the first force that causes ascension is exhausted, the instrument in its subsequent descent, acts as a mere dirigible parachute. This is a most extravagant means of absorbing power. For example, a man weighing 150 lbs. attached to a parachute having this number of square feet, descending 1,300 feet per minute, will be expending six-horse power on the yielding air.