It was here also that James II. mustered his forces for the invasion of Ireland; and finally it is memorable as the place where Louis XVIII. landed, April 21, 1814, after his exile, and the spot is marked by a column and an inscription of the event.
There is a matter of such interest, more especially to us Bostonians, connected with the channel between Dover and Calais, we cannot well refrain from noticing it; and it is, that on the 7th of January, 1785, two men were here for the first time successful in conducting a balloon on any extended scale, and guiding it to a particular destination; and we are happy to be able to state that a very distinguished Bostonian was one of these, the celebrated physician Dr. John Jeffries, who was born in our Boston, Feb. 4, 1744, being at the time first named, a resident of London, and in a successful practice of his profession. Being largely interested in scientific pursuits, and especially those relating to atmospheric pressure, he was invited by one François Blanchard, a Frenchman and an aeronaut, to attempt with him the task of crossing this channel. They started from the cliffs of Dover at the time before named, and safely landed in the forest of Guines in France. The doctor, in consequence of his venture, received great attentions from learned and scientific men and societies in London and Paris. Blanchard, who had planned the voyage and furnished the balloon, was rewarded by Louis XVI. with a gift of 12,000 francs, or $2,500, and a life-pension of 1,200 francs annually. He died in Paris, March 7, 1809, at the age of 71. Dr. Jeffries removed back to Boston in 1789, four years after the balloon passage, and died there Sept. 16, 1819, at the age 75, and was buried in the Granary burial-ground on Tremont Street.
There are two things of especial interest that may be named as we speak of Dr. Jeffries. One is that it was he and John Winslow of Boston who first recognized the body of General Warren who fell at the battle of Bunker Hill. It lay where it fell till the succeeding day, when, being recognized, it was buried on the same spot. The other fact is that he was one of the early permanent settlers of East Boston, at what is now—and long has been known as—Jeffries Point. Although in a degree foreign to our purpose, yet we extend our remarks and name an incident of connecting interest, which took place in this year of Dr. Jeffries' decease.
After the death of Blanchard in 1809, his wife, Marie Madeline Sophie Armant, who had accompanied him on many of the sixty-six voyages he had made, continued making like aerial excursions for the following ten years; till on a day of June in this year, 1819, she ascended from the Tivoli Garden in Paris, when her balloon, which was illuminated with fireworks, took fire while at a considerable height, and she, falling, was dashed to pieces. In a few months after, as named, died Dr. Jeffries, and so ended the earthly career of the trio most interested in that first great balloon enterprise between Dover and Calais, thirty-four years before.
There are yet a few places of interest, which, although not included in our journey, are so readily reached by detours from places we did visit, that we deem it advisable to name them. Conspicuous among them are the three cathedrals not described in our work: these are Chichester, one of the five English cathedrals with a spire; Wells, celebrated for its elaborately carved west façade and the wide grounds in front of it; and Exeter, having also a highly decorated west end, with the two transepts ending as towers.
Chichester is easily reached by a ride by rail of 28½ miles from Brighton; Exeter by one of 80 miles from Bristol; and Wells, by one of 19 miles from Bath.
Lake Windermere, in no way inferior in picturesque beauty to the lakes of Ireland or Scotland, may be visited by a ride of 15 miles from Lowgill, a station between Leeds and Carlisle.
Glastonbury Abbey ruins are excelled in beauty and interest by none in England; they may be reached by a ride of 6 miles from Wells, and may be visited while making the tour to the cathedral.
Tintern Abbey, remarkable for its beauty, may be visited from Gloucester. It is a ride by rail of 40 miles to Chepstow, and then by coach for 14 miles further. It hardly need be added that these ruins are over the Welsh border.