William Stephens Hayward

The Cloud King; or, Up in the Air, and Down in the Sea William Stephens Hayward

Being a History of the Wonderful Adventures of Victor Volans. Excerpt: The difficulties in my way were great; my father and mother rented a small farm of about sixty acres, and as they had nothing else to depend on beside their labour, the pocket-money I received was necessarily and properly small. Then the materials were expensive; and it took me months of saving before I could even provide the varnish for my projected balloon. Of course I could not afford silk; so I was obliged to content myself with thin calico, and the cheapest materials for varnish. Nevertheless, by sheer perseverance, I succeeded in my second attempt in ballooning. ...