The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1859-04-23
From letter in the Philadelphia Press
Trials of a Father Of six balloons.

newspapers early IN November. l. tak'
great delight in the election returns, be
cause they give the details of the manner
in which we have just saved the country
In fact, nothing in our republican consti
tuition is SO delightful to my mind as the
manner in which our beloved country re
| quires some help every year. Every sum
mer we are informed that the restless, hub
berly spoiled child has fallen into the wa
ter; and in We plunge after him, in the
/ hot haste of patriotism. We have pret
/ ty long swim oft, for VIC are never com
! pletely out of the water until the end OF
| the first week in November; but, on the
other hand, we always have the satisfact
! ion of seeing the poor child hauled in at
! one shore or the other. If it Is on o,ir on,
! shore, some of us get the rewards of merit
or salvage money, or some such thing. II
/ it is on the other shore, we know that we
| shall have another chance next year.
| Well, was reading to myself one Thurs
| day evening election speeches and election
returns was very much pleased with
( some of the speeches, and ventured to read
! aloud some striking extracts to my wife
| and five daughters, who sat around the ex-
tension table. BY the way, thought that
they (my wife and daughters, | mean, }
with their full faces and expanded skirts
to inverted cabbages, the waist being the
point Of junction; but am man ofpeacc
and did not say ] only took "a quiet
place or rather a puncturc, in the domes-
tic circle, which would have been a com
plete female round-robin. if had not been
visible at a certain spot, looking for all the
world, with my smooth bald pate, ike a
hydrant set there to water the tender
plants around me
Ny elegant extracts did not please my
audience. / had supposed that they NO Il
be delighted with the manner in which
one orator deiied the myrmidoms of pow
er, and touched by the picture of X ansas
fainting from the loss Of blood, which
another speaker fcclingly drew. Bat my
wife tartly remarked that such rantin. /.
was absurd; and that, for her own part
she was tired TO death Of having the coun-
try saved; that she saw no evidence of
anything wrong in the condition of our
people. and that she should not believe
ANYTHING of the sort until she found n
dcaIth OF fresh and desirable goods NJ L.
vys and Evans. II. she continued, tri-
umphantlv. if the country Is 50 poor. as
vou say il Is, and must change our po,icv
to avert bankruptcy. how, in the name Of
common sense. DO such goods get here
Remember, said She, that they are not
staple goods OF things that must be sold
because there are too many of them IN tie
world. They AZ" ci.gics goods of new styles
and command good prices and good pay
throughout the world
Ny daughters smiled perceived that
the weight of the meeting was against me
| even began 10 think that there was 4
little bOmbast in the speeches. so. | 60,
At the election returns again FiguI-s
sleep, and | soon began TO dream
The dream ran thus: met Tompl:ins
at Thirteenth and Walnut streets. lie Is
a member OF the club in fact may say
quite q clut-man He was a Freshman
when was a Senior 50 can take the
privilege of lecturing him whenever
choose. How j. 1t, TolnPkinS, said !,
(for the nine-andfortieth time have no
doubt ' how j. it that you 30 not mar
ry2 That Institution, PoiHting i@uifeent-
Il to the club building has (s< rny piie
always said it would brought you to great
dcstitution of the comforts of domestic
life" Marry T. said Tcmrkins, impa-
tirutly, do YOU suppose, ny dear fellow,
that my poor business Will support the ex-
pcn-a of one set; OF silk balloons to begin
with. 10 say nothing OF five or six more,
which are sure 10 be the cumulative blcs-
sings Of a happy marriage upon ones old
age Balloons | rcIoined, III astonish-
Inent, who said anything to you about
keeping silk ball0ons2' He made no re
ply but giving me half contemptuous
half pityine look put his foot on the steps
and disappeared through the door OF that
pile Of brick work which had been for
biddcn TO enter by viii not say by
whom. Perhaps it was by my rich old
uncle. Perhaps Il ,cGS not
! turned up Walnut street; as | did 50,
two magnificent brocade balloons hove in
sight. coming rapidly down the street
They fioated along at a height of nine or
ten feet from the ground, 80 that | felt no
apprehension for my hat, although ! was
on the same side of the way Their YER
teal diameterS We're about three feet
their horizontal diameters Were at least
six. There was no ear underneath. There
was, however, passenger above in each
one. ] could see the tasty bonnet, the In
dia shawl, the lace under sleeves OF each
occupant. and hear Their shrill voices and
merry laughter, as they tloated on, without
any serious impediment from an eaSteriy
wind. | was much delighted with the
perfection to which the art of flying had
so suddenly been brought, and happily for
me, as thought, saw on the opposite
side OF the street, q couple Of peg-tOp gen
tlcmen, one OF whom ] knew slightly
He visited occasionally at our house-that
is to say, he called at our house once after
every party that we gave. Ny wife and
daughters We're so much delighted with
his condescension, that | never ventured
to say that | remembered seeing his faith
er seat my father ; bre, ches. Both eand
his companion spoke with most unaffected
west end plunges and grimances to the
fair occupants OF the balloons. and there
was in their manner no surpriesc beyond
what is common on all occasions in thor
oueh peg-tops | concluded, therefore.
that ballooning was quite an ordinary thing,
as Tompkins a moment before, had said
it was SO | crossed the street, and said,
in an Indifferent tone, to my aristocratic
acquaintance, Mr. Sartor, do not exact
" understand these balloons, nor remem-
ber when they came up Can you enligh-
ten me?' The young cub (excusc me, my
dear wife y started for a moment, tapped
his head Significantly, and exchanged such
! a look and laugh with his friend, that
was glad TO make great strides, and turn
out of Walnut street at the corner OF
Broad.
! passed into Locust street | saw bro
cade and poplin balloons, and parachutes,
(or little balloons,) in great numbers, let
ting themselves down in front of two fash
ionable churches. / went into one of them,
| There was on the floor great crowd of
women, in splendid balloons, and children
in magnificent parachutes, with some
! moustaches and mutton-chop whiskers,
and lot of bald pates with silver heads
interspersed that is to say emerging from
the mass OF balloons and parachutes.
went out of that church with a reeling
head, and walked rapidly towards the 9TH