1。Filmer2。TheMagicShop3。TheValleyofSpiders4。TheTruthAboutPyecraft5。Mr。SkelmersdaleinFairyland6。TheStoryoftheInexperiencedGhost7。JimmyGogglestheGod8。TheNewAccelerator9。Mr。Ledbetter’sVacation10。TheStolenBody11。Mr。Brisher’sTreasure12。MissWinchelsea’sHeart13。ADreamofArmageddon1。FILMER
Intruththemasteryofflyingwastheworkofthousandsofmen——
thismanasuggestionandthatanexperiment，untilatlastonlyonevigorousintellectualeffortwasneededtofinishthework。
Buttheinexorableinjusticeofthepopularmindhasdecidedthatofallthesethousands，oneman，andthatamanwhoneverflew，shouldbechosenasthediscoverer，justasithaschosentohonourWattasthediscovererofsteamandStephensonofthesteam-engine。AndsurelyofallhonourednamesnoneissogrotesquelyandtragicallyhonouredaspoorFilmer’s，thetimid，intellectualcreaturewhosolvedtheproblemoverwhichtheworldhadhungperplexedandalittlefearfulforsomanygenerations，themanwhopressedthebuttonthathaschangedpeaceandwarfareandwell-nigheveryconditionofhumanlifeandhappiness。Neverhasthatrecurringwonderofthelittlenessofthescientificmaninthefaceofthegreatnessofhissciencefoundsuchanamazingexemplification。MuchconcerningFilmeris，andmustremain，profoundlyobscure——FilmersattractnoBoswells——buttheessentialfactsandtheconcludingsceneareclearenough，andthereareletters，andnotes，andcasualallusionstopiecethewholetogether。
Andthisisthestoryonemakes，puttingthisthingwiththat，ofFilmer’slifeanddeath。
ThefirstauthentictraceofFilmeronthepageofhistoryisadocumentinwhichheappliesforadmissionasapaidstudentinphysicstotheGovernmentlaboratoriesatSouthKensington，andthereinhedescribeshimselfasthesonofa“militarybootmaker“
(“cobbler“inthevulgartongue)ofDover，andlistshisvariousexaminationproofsofahighproficiencyinchemistryandmathematics。Withacertainwantofdignityheseekstoenhancetheseattainmentsbyaprofessionofpovertyanddisadvantages，andhewritesofthelaboratoryasthe“gaol“ofhisambitions，aslipwhichreinforceshisclaimtohavedevotedhimselfexclusivelytotheexactsciences。ThedocumentisendorsedinamannerthatshowsFilmerwasadmittedtothiscovetedopportunity；butuntilquiterecentlynotracesofhissuccessintheGovernmentinstitutioncouldbefound。
Ithasnow，however，beenshownthatinspiteofhisprofessedzealforresearch，Filmer，beforehehadheldthisscholarshipayear，wastempted，bythepossibilityofasmallincreaseinhisimmediateincome，toabandonitinordertobecomeoneofthenine-pence-an-hourcomputersemployedbyawell-knownProfessorinhisvicariousconductofthoseextensiveresearchesofhisinsolarphysics——researcheswhicharestillamatterofperplexitytoastronomers。Afterwards，forthespaceofsevenyears，saveforthepasslistsoftheLondonUniversity，inwhichheisseentoclimbslowlytoadoublefirstclassB。Sc。，inmathematicsandchemistry，thereisnoevidenceofhowFilmerpassedhislife。Nooneknowshoworwherehelived，thoughitseemshighlyprobablethathecontinuedtosupporthimselfbyteachingwhileheprosecutedthestudiesnecessaryforthisdistinction。Andthen，oddlyenough，onefindshimmentionedinthecorrespondenceofArthurHicks，thepoet。
“YourememberFilmer，“HickswritestohisfriendVance；“well，HEhasn’talteredabit，thesamehostilemumbleandthenastychin——howCANamancontrivetobealwaysthreedaysfromshaving？——
andasortoffurtiveairofbeingengagedinsneakinginfrontofone；evenhiscoatandthatfrayedcollarofhisshownofurthersignsofthepassingyears。HewaswritinginthelibraryandIsatdownbesidehiminthenameofGod’scharity，whereuponhedeliberatelyinsultedmebycoveringuphismemoranda。Itseemshehassomebrilliantresearchonhandthathesuspectsmeofallpeople——withaBodleyBookleta-printing！——ofstealing。HehastakenremarkablehonoursattheUniversity——hewentthroughthemwithasortofhastyslobber，asthoughhefearedImightinterrupthimbeforehehadtoldmeall——andhespokeoftakinghisD。Sc。asonemightspeakoftakingacab。AndheaskedwhatIwasdoing——withasortofcomparativeaccent，andhisarmwasspreadnervously，positivelyaprotectingarm，overthepaperthathidthepreciousidea——hisonehopefulidea。
“’Poetry，’hesaid，’Poetry。Andwhatdoyouprofesstoteachinit，Hicks？’
“Thething’saProvincialprofessorlingintheveryactofbudding，andIthanktheLorddevoutlythatbutforthepreciousgiftofindolenceIalsomighthavegonethiswaytoD。Sc。anddestruction……“
AcuriouslittlevignettethatIaminclinedtothinkcaughtFilmerinorneartheverybirthofhisdiscovery。HickswaswronginanticipatingaprovincialprofessorshipforFilmer。Ournextglimpseofhimislecturingon“rubberandrubbersubstitutes，“totheSocietyofArts——hehadbecomemanagertoagreatplastic-substancemanufactory——andatthattime，itisnowknown，hewasamemberoftheAeronauticalSociety，albeithecontributednothingtothediscussionsofthatbody，preferringnodoubttomaturehisgreatconceptionwithoutexternalassistance。AndwithintwoyearsofthatpaperbeforetheSocietyofArtshewashastilytakingoutanumberofpatentsandproclaiminginvariousundignifiedwaysthecompletionofthedivergentinquirieswhichmadehisflyingmachinepossible。ThefirstdefinitestatementtothateffectappearedinahalfpennyeveningpaperthroughtheagencyofamanwholodgedinthesamehousewithFilmer。Hisfinalhasteafterhislonglaborioussecretpatienceseemstohavebeenduetoaneedlesspanic，Bootle，thenotoriousAmericanscientificquack，havingmadeanannouncementthatFilmerinterpretedwronglyasananticipationofhisidea。
NowwhatpreciselywasFilmer’sidea？Reallyaverysimpleone。
Beforehistimethepursuitofaeronauticshadtakentwodivergentlines，andhaddevelopedontheonehandballoons——largeapparatuslighterthanair，easyinascent，andcomparativelysafeindescent，butfloatinghelplesslybeforeanybreezethattookthem；andontheother，flyingmachinesthatflewonlyintheory——vastflatstructuresheavierthanair，propelledandkeptupbyheavyenginesandforthemostpartsmashingatthefirstdescent。But，neglectingthefactthattheinevitablefinalcollapserenderedthemimpossible，theweightoftheflyingmachinesgavethemthistheoreticaladvantage，thattheycouldgothroughtheairagainstawind，anecessaryconditionifaerialnavigationwastohaveanypracticalvalue。ItisFilmer’sparticularmeritthatheperceivedthewayinwhichthecontrastedandhithertoincompatiblemeritsofballoonandheavyflyingmachinemightbecombinedinoneapparatus，whichshouldbeatchoiceeitherheavierorlighterthanair。
Hetookhintsfromthecontractilebladdersoffishandthepneumaticcavitiesofbirds。Hedevisedanarrangementofcontractileandabsolutelyclosedballoonswhichwhenexpandedcouldlifttheactualflyingapparatuswithease，andwhenretractedbythecomplicated“musculature“hewoveaboutthem，werewithdrawnalmostcompletelyintotheframe；andhebuiltthelargeframeworkwhichtheseballoonssustained，ofhollow，rigidtubes，theairinwhich，byaningeniouscontrivance，wasautomaticallypumpedoutastheapparatusfell，andwhichthenremainedexhaustedsolongastheaeronautdesired。Therewerenowingsorpropellerstohismachine，suchastherehadbeentoallpreviousaeroplanes，andtheonlyenginerequiredwasthecompactandpowerfullittleapplianceneededtocontracttheballoons。Heperceivedthatsuchanapparatusashehaddevisedmightrisewithframeexhaustedandballoonsexpandedtoaconsiderableheight，mightthencontractitsballoonsandlettheairintoitsframe，andbyanadjustmentofitsweightsslidedowntheairinanydesireddirection。Asitfellitwouldaccumulatevelocityandatthesametimeloseweight，andthemomentumaccumulatedbyitsdown-rushcouldbeutilisedbymeansofashiftingofitsweightstodriveitupintheairagainastheballoonsexpanded。Thisconception，whichisstillthestructuralconceptionofallsuccessfulflyingmachines，needed，however，avastamountoftoiluponitsdetailsbeforeitcouldactuallyberealised，andsuchtoilFilmer——ashewasaccustomedtotellthenumerousinterviewerswhocrowdeduponhimintheheydayofhisfame——“ungrudginglyandunsparinglygave。“
Hisparticulardifficultywastheelasticliningofthecontractileballoon。Hefoundheneededanewsubstance，andinthediscoveryandmanufactureofthatnewsubstancehehad，asheneverfailedtoimpressupontheinterviewers，“performedafarmorearduousworkthanevenintheactualachievementofmyseeminglygreaterdiscovery。“
ButitmustnotbeimaginedthattheseinterviewsfollowedharduponFilmer’sproclamationofhisinvention。Anintervalofnearlyfiveyearselapsedduringwhichhetimidlyremainedathisrubberfactory——heseemstohavebeenentirelydependentonhissmallincomefromthissource——makingmisdirectedattemptstoassureaquiteindifferentpublicthathereallyHADinventedwhathehadinvented。Heoccupiedthegreaterpartofhisleisureinthecompositionofletterstothescientificanddailypress，andsoforth，statingpreciselythenetresultofhiscontrivances，anddemandingfinancialaid。Thatalonewouldhavesufficedforthesuppressionofhisletters。Hespentsuchholidaysashecouldarrangeinunsatisfactoryinterviewswiththedoor-keepersofleadingLondonpapers——hewassingularlynotadaptedforinspiringhall-porterswithconfidence——andhepositivelyattemptedtoinducetheWarOfficetotakeuphisworkwithhim。ThereremainsaconfidentialletterfromMajor-GeneralVolleyfiretotheEarlofFrogs。
“Theman’sacrankandaboundertoboot，“saystheMajor-Generalinhisbluff，sensible，armyway，andsoleftitopenfortheJapanesetosecure，astheysubsequentlydid，thepriorityinthissideofwarfare——aprioritytheystilltoourgreatdiscomfortretain。
AndthenbyastrokeofluckthemembraneFilmerhadinventedforhiscontractileballoonwasdiscoveredtobeusefulforthevalvesofanewoil-engine，andheobtainedthemeansformakingatrialmodelofhisinvention。Hethrewuphisrubberfactoryappointment，desistedfromallfurtherwriting，and，withacertainsecrecythatseemstohavebeenaninseparablecharacteristicofallhisproceedings，settoworkupontheapparatus。HeseemstohavedirectedthemakingofitspartsandcollectedmostofitinaroominShoreditch，butitsfinalputtingtogetherwasdoneatDymchurch，inKent。Hedidnotmaketheaffairlargeenoughtocarryaman，buthemadeanextremelyingenioususeofwhatwerethencalledtheMarconiraystocontrolitsflight。ThefirstflightofthisfirstpracticableflyingmachinetookplaceoversomefieldsnearBurfordBridge，nearHythe，inKent，andFilmerfollowedandcontrolleditsflightuponaspeciallyconstructedmotortricycle。
Theflightwas，consideringallthings，anamazingsuccess。
TheapparatuswasbroughtinacartfromDymchurchtoBurfordBridge，ascendedtheretoaheightofnearlythreehundredfeet，swoopedthenceverynearlybacktoDymchurch，cameaboutinitssweep，roseagain，circled，andfinallysankuninjuredinafieldbehindtheBurfordBridgeInn。Atitsdescentacuriousthinghappened。
Filmergotoffhistricycle，scrambledovertheinterveningdyke，advancedperhapstwentyyardstowardshistriumph，threwouthisarmsinastrangegesticulation，andfelldowninadeadfaint。
Everyonecouldthenrecalltheghastlinessofhisfeaturesandalltheevidencesofextremeexcitementtheyhadobservedthroughoutthetrial，thingstheymightotherwisehaveforgotten。Afterwardsintheinnhehadanunaccountablegustofhystericalweeping。
Altogethertherewerenottwentywitnessesofthisaffair，andthoseforthemostpartuneducatedmen。TheNewRomneydoctorsawtheascentbutnotthedescent，hishorsebeingfrightenedbytheelectricalapparatusonFilmer’stricycleandgivinghimanastyspill。TwomembersoftheKentconstabularywatchedtheaffairfromacartinanunofficialspirit，andagrocercallingroundtheMarshforordersandtwoladycyclistsseemalmosttocompletethelistofeducatedpeople。Thereweretworeporterspresent，onerepresentingaFolkestonepaperandtheotherbeingafourth-classinterviewerand“symposium“journalist，whoseexpensesdown，Filmer，anxiousaseverforadequateadvertisement——andnowquiterealisingthewayinwhichadequateadvertisementmaybeobtained——hadpaid。Thelatterwasoneofthosewriterswhocanthrowaconvincingairofunrealityoverthemostcredibleevents，andhishalf-facetiousaccountoftheaffairappearedinthemagazinepageofapopularjournal。But，happilyforFilmer，thisperson’scolloquialmethodsweremoreconvincing。HewenttooffersomefurtherscreeduponthesubjecttoBanghurst，theproprietoroftheNewPaper，andoneoftheablestandmostunscrupulousmeninLondonjournalism，andBanghurstinstantlyseizeduponthesituation。Theinterviewervanishesfromthenarrative，nodoubtverydoubtfullyremunerated，andBanghurst，Banghursthimself，doublechin，greytwillsuit，abdomen，voice，gesturesandall，appearsatDymchurch，followinghislarge，unrivalledjournalisticnose。
