“I am unable to clear up the difficulty,” replied the vicar; “and yet I have taken some pains upon the subject. The earliest notice of the kite, which I have been able to discover, is in a short English and French Dictionary, by Miege, which was published in the year 1690, and it is there described under the name of cerf volant.”
“I wonder,” cried Tom, “who invented the kite?”
“In, that, again,” answered Mr. Twaddleton, “I am unable to furnish you with any satisfactory information. The pastime appears to be of very ancient date in China, and was, probably, first imported into Europe from that country.”
“At what period, do you suppose?”
“Strutt, who was very assiduous and correct in all his antiquarian researches, was of opinion that its introduction into England could not be dated farther back than a hundred and fifty years.”
The party had, by this time, reached Overton heath; the weather was favourable; and the kite impatiently fluttered in the breeze, while Tom was eagerly engaged in unwinding its streaming tail, and preparing the paper machine for ascent.
“Is the string fixed to the belly-band?” asked Mr. Seymour.
“All is ready,” replied the vicar; “and I will hold it up, while Tom runs with it against the wind. Had King Eric set his cap for us, we could not have had a more favourable breeze.”
“There is not the least occasion to raise the kite from the ground,” observed Mr. Seymour; “let its point rest on the grass, and place its tail in a straight line in front of it; I warrant you it will rise, as soon as Tom begins to run.”
Tom immediately set off, and the kite rose majestically into the air.