‘I was not the only one to go up after the Zeppelin,’ Lieutenant Robinson said in his first public speech. ‘Men have gone up in conditions of almost certain death, and some have met their death in facing the murderers who have come over here. There are men, friends of mine, who have been maimed for life by going up just on the off-chance of strafing them on absolutely impossible nights—misty nights, when it is exceedingly difficult to land, and the ground cannot be seen when you are up. They get into the clouds, lose control of their machines, and crash to earth. These deeds are hundreds of times more heroic than what I did. It was merely my good fortune.’ A brave speech, worthy of a true hero! We shall do well if in the course of these pages we can get into closer touch with men of such stamp. CHAPTER II THE BIRTH OF THE AIRSHIP Progress in the construction of aircraft has been rapid of recent years, but there was a long period of experiment and preparation. It is a long flight from the aircraft of to-day back to the efforts of the Robert brothers in 1784. The Robert brothers’ experiments took the form of a balloon shaped like a melon, made of silk carefully proved, and measuring 52 feet in length and 32 feet in diameter. The gas employed was pure hydrogen. Underneath the envelope was suspended a long, narrow car, in general idea not unlike that used on some modern airships, and three pairs of oars with blades made like a racquet-frame, covered with silk, and a rudder of similar material. The two brothers, accompanied by a third person, went up in this early dirigible and succeeded in describing a curve of one kilometre radius, thus showing that, at any rate, they could deviate in some measure from the wind then prevailing. But at the time of the ascent there seems to have been very little opposition in the way of wind pressure. Favourable weather was naturally chosen. Nevertheless, something was attempted and something done, paving the way for further efforts. Another airship, which led to a thrilling adventure, was built in due course. This was fitted with an internal air ballonet. An ascent was bravely attempted, but the ship got into a strong air eddy, which tore away the oars and rudder and detached the air-bag from its sustaining cords. This airship, however, is said to have reached a remarkable height for those days—no less than 16,000 feet! This, however, was _not_ intentional. Another airship worthy of note was the dirigible built in France by Henri Giffard. This took a spindle shape, measuring 143 feet in length and 39 feet in diameter. It had a 3 h.-p. steam engine and an 11 foot screw propeller. The first trip was made in September, 1852. Six miles were covered in conditions not entirely favourable, and it is recorded that several further journeys were made. Ten years, however, passed before marked progress was shown in the construction of this type of dirigible.