The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-10-12
ABOVE THE CLOUDS.


ner, sis why everybody seems to expect
man when telling a story orally TO
confne himself strictly to the truth
while no one ever demands anything of
the sort from writing story teller. 1t
isn't fair Besides it is based on wrong
principles. When a man tells story,
he ought to make it just as interesting
as he can regardless of all considera-
tions of truth. F"
Dangerous doctrine. Might be ex-
tremely demoralizing, observed the
dominic.
81 can't think so,' returned the
Judge Take the case of a host, for in
stance. I hold that it is not only his
privilege but his duty to entertain his
guests with the best stories he can tell
and give no thought to truth. And I'll
undertake to show you that it is not de-
moralizing in any way. You remember
having heard me mention the tramp trip
which 1 took around the world when
was a young man, I presume. -
81 believe so, - answered the major
doubtfully.
''I wasn't, of course, exactly what we
picture when we think of tramp, but
1 didn't have much money and natural
" 1 fell in with all sorts and conditions
of men. I reached my lowest ebb finan-
cially in Sydney, Australia. At a cheap
boarding house I became acquainted
with a man who was by profession an
aeronaut. His name was Mudgett,
though on the bills he scintillated as
Signor Campanella.
He was an excellent story teller and
a good fellow, though, like myself, he
was passing through regular Oakhurst-
ian streak of bad luck. He had lost his
balloon. 1t seemed that the thing had
blown away one particularly windy aft
ernoon just before the ascent, and the
poor fellow was waiting III hopes that
it would be found out in the bush some
where and brought in. 1t used TO be
quite pathetic to see him search through
the want advertisements in the morning
papers, looking for the heading of
'Found-Balloon, but he never came
across it. He also advertised it himself,
giving full description of the balloon
and offering a reward of e10 for its re-
turn, but in this he was equally unsuc-
cessful.
''At last he gave up all hope. Some
woman found that balloon, he would
say, and couldn t resist the temptation
to cut it up for silk dresses. Well, she's
fixed for a good while anyhow; that
balloon ought to make an ordinary sized
woman about 200 dresses, though I'll
bet shilling she'll get tired of the
color along ON the last half of the second
100. 1t was before the day of big
sleeves, SO I dare say he was right about
the number.
But my friends fortunes changed
finally, temporarily at least. He found
a man willing to furnish money for a
new balloon, and after it was finished
he made regular daily ascents for fort
night He asked me to accompany him,
and did so several times However, i'll
luck still pursued Campanella, and two
weeks after he got his new balloon he
one day had row with drunken sailor
and went to the hospital with broken
head.
The manager came to me in despair. |
Could not make the ascent? 1 agreed |
and went over to the grounds. Here I
put on the signor's gorgeous apparel and |
climbed into the basket. There was a |
trapeze below the basket ON which the |
signor was wont to hang by his toes and |
otherwise to playfully disport himself |
while going up, but judiciously kept |
off and stuck to the basket.
THE crowd made a great uproar /
about this, feeling that they were not |
getting their moneys worth unless they |
saw man endanger his life. l could |
hear the manager explaining that l |
would begin to perform as soon as was |
up high enough TO make it worth while, I
and later [ understood that after l had |
passed out of sight above the clouds he |
assured them that was then doing the /
most blood curdling feats on that ira
peze that any human being ever at
There was a rather stiff breeze
blowing and I sailed along at a good /
rate. l had shot up 5000 or 1000 feet, |
and far below was a mighty ocean of /
white cloud. Where l was the sun shone
and it was cool and pleasant,
but could soon see the lightning thrash
ing about below and hear the thunder
growl. l had no desire to go down into
1 thunderstorm, so I sailed on.
Eat the end of two hours was still |
irving along at the rate, I estimated,
If 80 or so miles an hour. had grown
'ired of watching the raging storm be-
ow and looked off toward what I sup
bose may call the horizon. Far away
against the sky saw speck. 1 thought
t was bird at first, but as we ap-
nearer what was my astonish-
nent to see that it was another balloon.
I'VE were being driven by currents
)lOW ing at right angles and xUe7,o randi
y coming closer together. Soon could
make out another person in the other
balloon. 1 waved my hand at him, and,
IS he was hundred feet above me, I
brew out a few handfuls of ballast. I
ose and instantly saw that we were !