The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1882-05-11
Oar Balloon
By JIMMY BROWN.

I've made up my mind that half tn
, trouble boys get into is the fault Of grown
up folks that are wanting them to improv
their minds.
Il never improved my mind yet withou
suffering for it. There was the time i'm
proved it studying wasps, just as the ma
who lectured abont wasps and elephant
I. and other insects told me to. II it hadn'
been for that man | never should hav,
thought of studying wasps.
One time our school teacher told me
ought to improve my mind by reading his
tory. So borrowed the history OF Black
beard, The Pirate, and improved my mind
for three or four hours every day. After {
while father said; Bring that book to me
Jimmy, aud let's see what you are read
ing, and when he saw it, instead of prais
ing me he but what's the use OF remem.
b ering our miSfortunes? Still, if | was
grown up, / wouldn't get boys into diff,
Guilty by telling them to do all sorts OF
things
There was professor came to our house
the other day. A professor is kind Of
man who wears spectacles up on top of
his head and takes snuff and doesn't talk
English very plain. ! believe professors
Come from somewhere near Germany, and
I wish this one had staid in his own coun.
| try. They live mostly on cabbage and
! such, and Mr.. Trayers says they are dread
i ful fierce and that when they are not at
war with other people they fight among
! themselves aud go on in the most terrible
way.
This professor that came to see father
didn't look II bit fierce, but Mr.. Travers
says that was just his deceitfu way, and
that il we had a valuable old bone or a
queer kind of shell in the house the pro.
fessor got up in the night and stolen itand
killed us all in our beds. But Sue said it
was shame, and that the professor was a
lovely old gentleman, and that there was
not the least harm in his kissing her.
Well, the professor was talking after
dinner to father about balloons, and when
he saw l was listening he pretended to be
awfully kind, and told me how to make a
fire balloon, and how he had often made
them and sent them up into the air; and
then lie told about man who went up on
horseback with his horse tied to a balloon
and father said; "Now listen to the pro.
fessor, Jimmy, and improve your mind
while you have chance.
The next day Tom Maginnis and / made
. balloon Just as the professor had told me
to. 1t was made out OF tissue paper and |
had sponge soaked full Of alchohol, and |
when you set the alcohol on fire the tum
efaction of the air would send the balloon |
more'n mile high. We made it out in |
the barn and thought we'd try it before
we said anything to the folks about it and |
then surprise them By showing them what
beautiful balloon we had and how we'd |
improved our minds Jdst as it was ready |
Sues cat came into the barn and rsmem.
bered the horse that had been tied to a
balloon, and told Tom we'd see if the bal.
loon would take the cat up with it.
Then we tied her with whole lot .
things so she would hang under the bal
loon without being hurt bit, and then
took the balloon into the yard to try it.
After the alcohol had burned little while
the balloon got full Of air and presently it
went slowly up. There wasn't any wind,
and when had gone up about twice as
high as the house it stood still.
You ought to have seen how that cat
howled, but she was nothing compared
with Sue when she came ont and saw her
beloved beast, She screamed to me to
bring .her that cat this instant, you good.
cruel little wretch. won't you
catch il when father gets home.
Now I'd like to know how could reach
a cat that was hundred feet high in the
air, but that's all the reasonableness that
girls have.
The balloon didn't stay up very long. I
II began TO come slowly down and when
it struck the ground the way that cat star.
ted for the barn and tried TO get under.
meath il with the balloon all on fire behind
her was something frishtfnl to see by
the time could get to her TO cut her loose
a lot OF hay took fire and began ~ blaze,
and Tom ran for the fire engine crying
Fire" with all bis might
The fremen happened to be at the en-.
CINE house, though they're generally all
over town and nobody can find them when
there is fire. They brought the engine
into our yard in about ten minutes and
lust as Sue and and the cook had put
the FIRE out. Bat that didn't prevent the
iiremeu from working with heroic bravery.
as our newspaper afterwards said They
knocked IN our dining room windows
with ares and poured abou, thousand
hogsheads OF water into the room before