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[[image]] THE HON. MRS. ASSHETON "SOCIETY" AERONAUT AND HER FAMOUS BALLOON "THE NEBULA" SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE ENQUIRER. (Copyright, 1907, by W. B. Northrop-British Rights Strictly Reserved.) Twice across the English Channel by balloon in the same week is the remarkable recent achievement of a woman in England. But this is not all. This feat of unprecedented daring was not accomplished by a professional, parachuting "female aeronaut," but by one of the ladies of the English Court-the Hon. Mrs. Assheton Harbord. She is Lord Suffield's daughter-in-law, moves in the Queen Alexandra's "set," and is really only an amateur. Another extremely interesting feature is the fact that the Hon. Mrs. Harbord is the only lady in the world who owns and personally navigates her own balloon. Though this daring woman aeronaut has only been ballooning for one year, she has already smashed a number of records into smithereens. She crossed the channel on a dark night in 55 minutes from coast to coast. Two records were broken in this journey. First, she was the only woman who ever made a night trip across the channel in a balloon; secondly, never before had the passage been done at any such speed. As a matter of fact, her balloon, the "Nebula," made the same speed as the rapid turbine boat which does the crossing between Dover and Calais just under an hour. In order to obtain full details of those balloon journeys the writer recently called on the Hon. Mrs. Harbord at her magnificent London home, 36 Beaufort Gardens, Hyde Park. He naturally expected to find a rather mannish woman of the usual "muscular build" displayed by the type that "does things." The honorable lady proved to be one of those gracious personages often met with in the highest circles of English society. Soaring Sensation Delightful. While submitting with great kindness to the interviewing ordeal she was very reticent about herself. When it was explained, however, that readers of American newspapers would be interested in knowing how an English society woman could undertake such daring adventures, she consented to give a description of the most exciting incidents of her ballooning career. "I have really only been ballooning about one year. All my life I have been fond of outdoor sport, and at my own home in the country I enjoyed from my earliest years horseback riding, hunting and most sporting pastimes. A little over a year ago some of my friends invited me to witness a balloon ascent. "The idea of going with the party never occurred to me until I arrived actually on the grounds. As one of the party did not arrive some one suggested that I should go along instead. "I cannot say that I experienced any of the usual qualms of hesitation said to confront most people on such occasions. As soon as the balloon left the earth I was only interested in the delightful sensation of soaring into the air and leaving the world far below me. "After this first trip I lost no occasion for seeking other opportunities for ballooning. I went up a number of times with various professional aeronauts and others. Then I became dissatisfied with the more or less limited experiences which I was able to enjoy. On many occasions I wished to remain up longer than the other or to go farther, but of course I had to consult the wishes of the party with whom I found myself. Absolutely No Danger. "In order to indulge my aerial propensities to the fullest I at length decided that I would get a balloon of my own. "Not knowing very much about this subject, I at first thought that ballooning would prove to be an extremely expensive sport. To my surprise, I found that a very fine balloon could be bought for half the price of a good motor car, and I soon gave the order to expert balloon makers to build me a balloon. "Many of my friends, when they heard I was going in regularly for ballooning, tried to dissuade me, and drew very vivid pictures of the terrible dangers attached to this form of amusement. "I would like to say here that there is absolutely no danger connected with ballooning, provided a person uses judgement in making ascents. "Far from there being any danger, I maintain that aerial navigation is far safer than motoring, or even, I might say, walking in crowded thoroughfares amidst the traffic of a modern city. "To me ballooning is one of the most delightful of amusements; one of the most instructive and, well-er-not meaning to pun, I might say elevating. To soar up into the clouds, far above the earth; to look down on a panorama whose splendor and magnificence cannot be described in words,-is surely inspiring. It seems, as it were, to give an unimaginable scope [?] the spirit. The mind literally expands with wonder and admiration. "As little has been said concerning the fact that two crossings were made in the same week, I might give some details of those trips. "I believe this is the first time such a thing has any done by any one-no less a woman. "On the first trip we left between 10 and 11 at night. Our object in going up at night was in order to reach the continent in time to see the beautiful landscape of France under the glamor of early daylight. You see, if we started in the daytime we would have come down at night. In foreign countries this is sometimes awkward. "The sight beheld from a balloon at night is simply weird. Of course, you can distinguish nothing but the lights of the various towns, the rest of the landscape being absolutely black. London from a balloon at night is a marvelous spectacle, and so is Paris. There was a full moon when we started. The weather conditions were good, and we reached the neighborhood of Maldstone in about three hours. "Our balloon passed over the land at an elevation of about 600 feet until we reached the coast between the South Foreland and Dover. When we came to the channel we descended to about 250 feet and let our trail rope down into the water to the depth of about 100 feet. This gave steadiness to the car and, as the wind was in our favor, we made rapid progress. "After being out a little way we came just above the fast turbine night boat crossing between Dover and Calais. We were near enough to see the deck with our night glasses, and some of the people hailed us. We were going about as fast as the boat, as we made the crossing in 55 minutes, which is, I believe, one of the fast crossings on record. Encountered a Snowstorm. "We then ascended to an altitude of 2,000 feet. The channel, far below, looked like patches of beaten silver, whereon the clouds above which were sailing cast fantastic shadows. "At 3 a. m. the moon set and left us in pitch darkness, save for our electric lamps and the far-away glimmer of the French and English coast lights. There was no more light until 6:30, when we began to see some of the landscape. It seemed as if the earth were being unrolled before our very eyes. Boulogne and other French towns were soon visible. The sight was really superb. The day was perfect, and this stage of the journey most enjoyable. "It cannot be said that the rest of our trip turned out well. In fact, our landing later on was most exciting. We made splendid time across the northern border of France, but when we entered Belgium-or, more correctly, the region over Belgium-a blinding snowstorm was encountered. We tried various altitudes in the hope of getting out of it, but finally had to give it up and decided to land. "But it is one thing to decide to land, and another-as we soon learned-to land where we decided. After seeking various "soft places," if I might use the term, we finally came down in a peasant's kitchen garden in Stavelot, a little place about 15 miles from Aix-la-Chapelle. "The excitement caused by our descent from the clouds can well be imagined. These poor rustics seldom see any one from the outside world-even of ordinary terrestrial folk; but when passengers in strange conveyances suddenly appear in the kitchen garden, after making a furtive attempt to land on the roof of the humble homestead itself-well, it goes without saying that our friends were astonished. Made Second Trip. "After they recovered from their first shock of surprise, we were treated most hospitably. We experienced no difficulty in having our balloon conveyed to the nearest railway st our way back ussels I arrived ho and, at f for a ne ses to be ne. [image] HON. MRS. H READY T