Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 99, July 12, 1890

The Project Gutenberg eBook, Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 99, July 12, 1890, by Various, Edited by F. C. Burnand
E-text prepared by Malcolm Farmer, William Flis, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team

An Unreasonable Old Lady ( arriving breathless, with her grandson and niece ). This'll be the place the balloon goes up from, I wouldn't miss it for anything! Put the child up on that bench, MARIA; we'll stand about here till it begins.
Maria . But I don't see no balloon nor nothing.
The U.O.L. No more don't I—but it stands to reason there wouldn't be so many looking on if there wasn't something to see. We're well enough where we are, and I 'm not going further to fare worse to please nobody; so you may do as you like about it.
The U.O.L. ( a little later ). Well, it's time they did something , I'm sure. Why the people seem all moving off! and where's that girl MARIA got to? Ah, here you are! So you found you were no better off?— Next time, p'raps, you'll believe what I tell you. Not that there's any War Balloon as I can see!
Maria . Oh, there was a capital view from where I was—out in the open there.
The U.O.L. Why couldn't you say so before? Out in the open! Let's go there then—it's all the same to me !
Maria ( with an undutiful giggle ). It's all the same now—wherever you go, 'cause the balloon's gone up.
The U.O.L. Gone up! What are you telling me, MARIA?
Maria . I see it go—it shot up ever so fast and quite steady, and the people in the car all waved their 'ats to us. I could see a arm a waving almost till it got out of sight.