, 1876-05-20
MY; BALLOON-ADyENTUIlE.

It's nv Tread. the bnlIoon is. and not mIrc
only, but tlat Of ljttle Polly at school, far awav
In England there. And they'll mako no moro
Of ripping tho Defiance 70 rtbbons than would
Of chipping the shell Of an egg ut breakfast,
these pcppcry Marsttl,ats.n
The situation was, to say the least OF IL. ex.
ceca'hely awKwafu' IL VIA the evening ot tete
day, In brilliant, sultsy autumn weathcr, such
a. may be looked for in tho south OF France,
AMI ti,o 1)uros.c or 1orol f,..,tva1 of a. Mstr.
~. ,"e passsse' =, ,oe. ,"tsa. ~ et' niaue,
"'"ee 'ymg V1 1os cohe. soH,e s"o ieasuea
eastward I'll Marscillca, had drawn thithcr
swarm Of the population Of tho old rhnccan
city. Thcrc ,Yns dancing In progrcsa,--thc merry
s"A,s ., -, so 'ons' ..'. ',"a.' ""a1as sroush
tnc '"'elcnufl'8 tnnt hu'le uerosa thc opch VIII
dow, reached my enrs IA stood beside the bed,
hut tic great attraction Of tho evenings
enterta'!''"cn1 was to be balloon.aacent in t,o
.o.. -, 'e ~ ~ ~ W. I =. VI 1sas"
aeFonaat' "fo' IN TIC GLOWING lahguagc Of tho
hand'Is a'll posters lint hail Tor ten days past
advertised the trip, VIA described aa "thc
An,, ~r' "' ''7' '''
na 1or msfel1, was simply young English
aFt'st, Edward Holmes by name, not long since
Rome, an,l WIN ioui,l i arl enough, BY toici,-
Ing up Photographic. "lfnlslng" the skctcllca of
amateurs, mil taking, at tho lowest rats of re-
muncratlon, the portrait of whoever favored
to i've, l,ad iscn accidentally thrown good
deal in tic company Of Nj. Killirls, who lad
Tor eoInG time been exhibiting Ills balln,n In
various towna af the South, and who had a'lown
,.,a M s"ne kindness, "a felloy y-eonntry.nanni
mai, whose qua!nt anecdotes Of hts experience
ns a travelling balloontst we're often ninuslng.
and l!alf of wllosc earnings, ns l knew, were
sent home for tbs benefit of his little grand
child.
and now ecr!ons difficulty had, at tho Inst
mntncnt, nttscl,. There, tn tho garden Of tue
village Inn, fenced OIL by ropes and stnkcs from
tho pressure Of the CROWD that surgcd around,
cords that fastened il to carti, MD reilly for
tl.c ALI" groanlng and Disabled. lie tad scnt
for mo to visit him III his room shortly after tho
q, occurrence ol me neG,aent-'t Was amere rtum-
nntl, though synlpathizetl with him most SIN
crrefy, had Dgetl quite at inss for an ex-
pctllcnt. Mr.. kiltclf Was q henry, elderly mnn,
and In the fall Ind severely sprafncd his right
cut on the lett temple, FROM which the blood
slowly tricklcd.
aThat'a nothing,' y he said, half qucrulously,
~ examined the hurt; "l've hal worse In
thumb that docs signify, THO thumb aud the
wrist. cart lmndlc the ralyc-r0pes with this
crippled urn any more than schoolgirl could
do It. And what's to happen now ~
My first Idea was that the accident and tho
tllv promised exhibition SHOULD be notified, and
nj nro0Ey madc tO the public; but tho
veteran decidedly ncgatlvcd this apparently
obvious proceeding. lie reminded mo Of
the trasciblo character of Il mob every
where, and above all Of q Southern French moh,
and assured ING Ut what could readily believe,
that m, excuse would bo accepted BY the fiery
MaraeilaIs, baullted Of tho long Eookctl-for treat
balloon, and not i.nrrobably execute lynch law
in some form OH the norounit, while the very
loss Of the Defiance would be q serious disaster
to It's owner. Then, too, n rich landed proprie-
torof the ncTghbnrf,ool- vain young MN, with
IL tasto for n6toriety-hal offered Is louts-dor
II, bc takcnup ms u passenger; Rnd to tli5np-.
point ~. Victor tis vlllcneuye and lose 500
70 ny great SURPRISE hIr. Kiiliels proposed
Tor the occasion tlie oiiIco q nerotaut. I had
Indeed accompanied tliHl, Willie re we're both at
Nice. In two short asce'ita, and had lcarncdtrom
llitn to manage tho valves and bliast, thu rlttli
tcttye, and had steady head, and the owner of
the Defiance was quito Willing to tntrust her to
me, II would but 40 fur 1bige him. have
never been quite nblc satisfactorily to explain
70 lnygcl how - IL va th4t was startled Or ca.
1oled Into aaaentin.. lrthana tho novelty OF
tic notion, acting oli 4 fo'newbat adventurous
fancy, made me yield l1erc readily to tlle old
inan'a ciltreaty tlail would otherwise haye bcGn
the t=lsc. said Yes" ald was held 10 my
WoE4, ---..--,
ltiat Walls llnrc ears. and certainly nrbors
have" whispered the landlord Of tho inn, MS lie
leu me cautiously round by the back door Into
siic partially illuminated space without: "Wrap
face with thls rcd handkerchief. We mustn't
yet tho pcoplc see ns yet it's raw land that's
70 70 alolt Iron DC airl once uI. we TIM
inuFll It OIL Ills WAS 81! very we'll for tho
lhnkecper, whose only Wish was to keep tho
r'.blc i'll good hunar anti nroitl riot, which,
might lead 70 iho pillaEc OF hla cellar md tho
dcnolitlnn III tlis furniture, but began i'll
wAslly to question thn Wisdom Of my own
cl!olce. a.,
However, 1t was too lnte tn withdraw. There
WIS notlllHg for 1t hut to carry out, a. best
might, tic mndcnp enterprise oil which had
c'nbATkc1.
Come, ynn hast better got into The cur, and
tone, Al hs passed inc through tic CO GORDON % oi
tntors. "Dolrt tnlk, but, If nnybody spcaks 10
YIN, wave f!ns-that does na well. n. d.
vlllGncuve writes me word he'll not arrive till
the last moment, when WI start tho fireworks.
As soon. rs he's beside you up you 80, re-