Ballooning was a hobby of Windham's. He was a
regular attendant of ascents, and inspected curiously the early aerial
machines of Blanchard and Lunardi. Something surprised at his own
temerity, he travelled the air himself, rose in a balloon--probably
from Vauxhall--crossed the river at Tilbury, and descended in safety
after losing his hat. He regretted that the wind had not been
favourable for his crossing the Channel. "Certainly," he writes, "the
experiences I have had on this occasion will warrant a degree of
confidence more than I have ever hitherto indulged. I would not wish a
degree of confidence more than I enjoyed at every moment of the time."
To return to the pit for a concluding note or two. Audiences had come
to agree with Hazlitt, that "it was unpleasant to see a play from the
boxes," that the pit was far preferable. Gradually the managers--sound
sleepers as a rule--awakened to this view of the situation, and
proceeded accordingly. They seized upon the best seats in the pit, and
converted them into stalls, charging for admission to these a higher
price than they had ever levied in regard to the boxes.
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