The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1879-12-05
Stories for Children.

oeofics ioT Snuurens
BABES IN A BALLOON.
When Prof. Wise, and Mr.. Burr, the
st. Louis banker, were lost in the bal
loon Pathfinder, several weeks ago.
the newspapers printed many accounts
OF trips made into the air, some by
brave men, and some by foolish ones.
A lady who lives In the town of Cen
tralia, In the State of Illinois. said
nothing until all the rest were through
talking. Then, one day, she told the
editor of the st. Louis Republican to
to look into the number of the Repalb.
ttcdn that was printed on the 2lst day
OF September, 1858. The editor looked
and found an account of how two little
children took a trip in balloon all by
themselves. On that day an aeronaut,
or sailor Of the air, named Brooks, filed
his air-ship with gas Oh the farm of II
MIR. Harvey, who lived near Centralia.
He expected to sail up in the after
noon. About noontime Mr.. Harvey put
his two children into the basket OF the
balloon, just to please them, and not
thinking for moment of any danger
The balloon was tied to tree by ropes.
All at once gust of wind broke
the ropes, and the balloon
shot up into the sky, with nobody
but the two children in the basket
MIR. Harvey was wild with grief and
shouted aloud: "They're lest, they're
lostP All the neighbors ran to the
spot only to see the balloon drifting off
to the north and more than mile high.
One of the children was girl, Nettie,
8 years old, and the other was her little
brother, Willie, years old. Both cried
when they found themselves leaving the
ground and going on a very, very
strange journey indeed Nettie looked
over the edge of the basket and saw her
father wringing his hands away below.
Soon the people looked to her smaller
than babies and the houses like toy
houses. She and Willie were going up,
up, up all the time. II expect we are
going to heaven, Willie" said Nettie.
Willie thought it was very cold in
heaven, then, for the higher they went
the colder it grew. Nettie wrapped
Willie in her apron and held his head
in her lap until he cried himself fast
asleep. Then Nettie folded her hands
and waited. She said: Il think we
must be near the gate now" She meant
the gate of heaven that she had heard
about IN Sundayschool. But Nettie
fell asleep, too. When she awoke she
found that some strange man was lifting
her from the basket. The strange man
was farmer in Northern Illinois, who
had seen a balloon drifting low down
across his field. The rope was dragging,
and SO he caught it and landed the
children safely. The balloon had foated
ali night. Nettie and Willie's father
soon learned that they had been found,
and took them home two days afterward
Nettie is now woman-the very same
one who told the Republican to look
back Ill its files for the story.
THE SUN AND HIS NINE WORLDS.
There are eight other planets, as
stars like our earth are called, that
swing around the sun:
Hididdle-diddle,
The suns in the middle,
And Mercurys next to the SUM-
lille Venus 80 bright,
Seen at morning aud night,
Comes second TO join in the fun.
H-diddle- diddle.
The suns in the middle
And third in the group is earth:
While Mars with his fire,
So war-like and dire,
Swings around to be counted the fourth.
H-dddle diddle.
The suns in the middle,
While Jupier's next after Mars;
and his four moons at night
Show the speed of the light;
Next golden ringed Saturn appears.
Hi-didde- diddle,
The suns in the middle,
After Saturn comes Uranus afar;
And his antics so queer
Led astronomers near
To old Neptune, who drives the last car.
HOW PARROT PRAYED.
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