Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-11-06
WHOLE NO 1908.
of for balloon ride. | could have
rennnciIaj n, vsaif m tho s;t,at;on a


of for 9 balloon ride. could have
reconciled myself to the situation il
L had been in any way prepared for
it, or had lett FL in good hands
The professor further cbeered me
with the remstk that b. had tn,
one ove'colt alng; that IL was g..
ing 10 be col ! az G,eenlard and
that he had provisions tor only one
person - meaning hims,l fnr
twelve hours.
Being somewhat of philosopher
by force of habit, concluded that
l was in the most literal sense "iu a
bad boat" and that frettiDg was
not going To make il better; that
1t was &C adventure any way and
I'd relish il after il was over.
Wherefore toe professor was shortly
astonished TO hear me whistling.
YOU'RE . cool enough man, any
way" said he. IL begin % like you.
You ought to be in this business. y
had my own views on that snb.
ject. but kept them to myself.
There's no reason why | should
tire you with q description of what
saw from the balloon while daylight
lasted, which was about FIVE hours,
for We were up in the yellow sunlight
when the country below us was coy
cred with the mantle of the dark. II
,cas cold, in dead earnest. The pro.
lessor was good enough to give me
chance at bottle of brandy-vile
brandy it wa, too-that he had
brought for himself, and to let me
have kind of a rug thai was 10 the
bottom OF the car. to wrap around
my shoulders. Even with that
MY TEETH oHATTERED.
| wanted to smoke, but when | men.
toned il he said it was as much as
my life was worth to try it, and be.
lieved him. 1t darkened about Q
o'clock, after the most glorious sun.
set | ever looked uDon, and since
then have seen the sun go down on
many warm horizon and over many
a comb of mountain peaks We had
repeatedly passed through drifting
bodies of vapor, but about all hour
after sundown we met one that I
thought was large enough to blanket
the whole world. / think we must
have been in it good ten minutes
but when we broke out Of it / think
both Of US bowed our hearts in the
presence OF the Infinite. I did, at
any rate. Below us, I don't know
how far, bnt il seemed only few
yards,
ROLLED AND FLoATED a sEA OF Sill
yer,
solemn, soft, and stretching under
the golden glory of the moon in
broad and gentle undulations till il
met the sky. Long afterward, in
Enoch Arden, | remember reading a
line about
The great stars that giobei themselves in heaven,
and that sight has stood out again
above me. The sky of ar inexpres-
sibly tender blue, was thick with
selves in heaven" The whole nm
limited expanse was filled with glow
ing worlds. round and effulgent, n, ar
and far. The greater bodies burned
as it looked close upon us. and be
tween them stretched infinite depths
filled up with other stars. There
we hung, separate aud alone, out of
the only world we knew, iptrniers
upon silence and eternity
1t was a gradual sinking into the
cloud sea, or
A GRADUAL RISING OF IT'S wAvTs
AROUND Us,
that brought me to a feeling OF my
own identity. | was really glad
when their deecy moonlit folds GOV.
cred MS from the majesty OF thu night.
The professor, to whom it was no
new experience, was the first TO
speak.
'Tm going down little," said he.
think we've risen too fa-. and tax.
ell wrong direction" And down
we went, into pitchy blackness. /
don't know how long we continued
to fall, but at last we heard the clank
of COW bell below us.
"All right" said the professor.
"We're over farms yet. was afraid
Of striking east for John Browns
tract"
He began to tumble in a satchel
that lay between us, and then to
swear | ventnred to ask what was
the trouble.
"My phosphorus BOTTLE" said he.
"I've forgotten it, and
HERE WE ARE IN THE DARK"
suggested rising again, and with
much grumbling he .emptied compile
of ballast bags over the side, and up
we went, but not SO rapidly as before.
With an impatient exclamation the
professor emptied more ballast, and
our rate Of ascent was perceptibly &C
tolerated. The COW bell clanked
fainter, and finally was no longer
heard. The events of the afternoon.
the excitement, aud the quiet OF the
air combined to make me sleepy, and
imperceptibly | dozed off, the last
thing l remember being the figure Of
the professor in black silhouette
against the almost imperceptible col.
or OF the night.
| don't know to this hour how long
| slept, but | was awakened by the
professor roughly shaking my shoul.
der
"Hale p said be, aud there was
something in his voice that made
my blood bound, "Hale, listen ! what
do you hear ? Tell me, quick !"
l listened intently for second or
two. heard dull and sullen rum
BILE that hardly died away before il
was succeeded by another sound Just
like it.
"What do you hear ?" he demau-
ed impstiently.
Il hear something like distant dis
charges Of cannon" said /.
"Csnnon cannon | you fool. |
wish it were cannon. Hale, we are
OVER THg SHORE OF LAKE ONTARIO,
and this balloon is sinking :"