The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1869-12-31

prehensible. Being little or nothing |
better than huge FOOLS cap turned up.
side down. And this similitude was |
regarded as by no means lessened, when
upon nearer inspection, the crowd saw
a large tassel depending from its apex,
and, around the upper rim or base of
the cone, circle of little instruments,
resembling sheep. bells, which kept up
II continual tinkling TO the tune of Betty
Martin. But still worse.-Suspended
by blue ribbons to the end of this fan
tastic machine, there hung, by way of
car, an enormous drab beaver hat, with
brim superlatively broad, and hem
| spherical crown with black band and
silver buckle. 1t is, however, some
what remarkable that many citizens of
Rotterdam swore 10 having seen the
same hat repeatedly before; and indeed
the whole assembly seemed to regard
1t with eyes of familiarity; while the
vrow Grettel Pfaall upon sight Of it,ut-
tered an exclamation Of joyful surprise,
and declared it to be the identical hat
of her good man himself. Now this was
Il circumstance the more to be observed,
as Pfaall, with three companions, had
actually disappeared from Rotterdam
about five years before, in a very sud.
den and unaccountable manner, and up
to the date of this narrative all attempts
at obtaining intelligence concerning
them had failed. To be sure, some
bones which were thought to be hu-
man, mixed up with quantity of odd
looking rubbish, had been lately dis
covered in retired situation to the east
of the city !; and some people went so far
as to imagine that in this spot foul
murder had been committed, and that
the sufferers were in all probability
Hans Pfaall and his associates. But to
return.
The balloon for such no doubt it was
had now descended to within; hun
dred feet of the earth, allowing the
crowd below sufficiently distinct view
Of the person of its occupant. This was
in truth a very singular somebody. He
could not have been more than two feet
in height but this altitude, little as it
|
, troy his equilibrium, and tilt him over
the edge of his tiny car. but for the in
tervention of a circular rim reaching as
high as the breast, and rugged on to the
cords of the balloon The body of the
little man was more than proportional
y rotundity highly absurd. His feet, of
course, could not be seen at all. His
hands were enormously large. His hair
was gray, and collected into queue be.
hind. His nose was prodigiously long
crooked and intlammatory; his eyes full
although wrinkled with age, were broad
puffy, and double; but of ears of any
kind there was not semblance to be
discovered upon any portion of his
=. head. This odd little gentleman was
# dressed in loose surtout of sky-blue
!. satin, with tight breeches to match, fas
O tened with silver buckles at the knees.
" His vest Was of some bright yellow ma
!. terial a white tafIety cap was set jaun.
+ tily on one side ofhis head; and, to COM
| plete his equipment, a blood-red silk
n handkerchief enveloped his throat, and
}. fell down, in dainty manner, upon
his bosom, in a fantastic bow-knot OF
# super-eminent dimensions.
q Having descended, as | said before ,tC
!. about one hundred feet from the surface
!. of the earth, the little old gentleman
= was suddenly seized with fit of trepi
If dation, and appeared disinclined tc
|. make any nearer approach to terrd
: .fymd. Throwing out, ,therefore,a "a quaint.
q ty of sand from Il canvass bag, which he
!. lifted with great difficulty, he became
h stationary in an instant. He then pro
l. ceeded in a hurried and agitated man
- ner, to extract from a side-pocket in his
# surtout a large morocco pocket-book.
r. This he poised suspiciously in his hand
= then eyed it with an air of extreme sur
q prise, and was evidently astonished a
d its weight. He at leugth opened it,and
f. drawing therefrom huge letter sealed
}. with red sealing-wax and tied careful
g. ly with red tape, let it fall precisely Il
v the feet of the burgomaster Superbu'
; Won Underduk. His Excellency stoop
a ed to take it up. But the 4ronaut
a. still greatly discomposed, and having
4, apparently no further business to de
"a tain him in Rotterdam, began at thi:
moment to make busy preparations fol
le departure; and, it being necessary t
le discharge portion of ballast to enable
g. him to reascend, the half dozen bags
n which he threw out, one after another
IN without taking the trouble to empt.
r their contents, ,tumbled every one them
b. most unfortunately, upon the back O
" the burgomaster, and rolled him owe
n and over no less than half a dozen times
De in the face of Every Individual in Rot
of terdam. 1t is not to be supposed, how
h. over, that theg geat Underduk suffered
ne this impertinence on the part of the lii
4, tie old man to pass off with impunity
10 1t is said, on the contrary, that dur
40 ing each of his half dozen circumvolu
H. tions, he emitted no less than half
i'd dozen distinct and furious whiffs iron
el his pipe,t which he held fast the Who'll
Is time with all his might, and to whic
a he intends holding fast ,(God willing,
he until the day of his decease.
sp In the meantime the balloon arose lik
N, a lark, and soaring far away above tn
nd city, at length drifted quietly behind
ed cloud similar to that from which it ha
- so oddly emerged and was thus lost fol
ever 10 the wondering eyes Of the goo
'er citizens of Rotterdam. All attentio
", was now directed to the letter, the d,
y, scent of which, and the consequence
a attending thereupon, had proved so f
gh tally subversive of both person and pc
ar sonal dignity to his Excellency, w
II Underduk. That functionaly, howe
ch er, had not failed during his circumgyr