THE BALLOON.
“Oh! brother, what is that?” exclaimed little Mary to her brother James.
“What do you mean, sister?”
“Why, that thing, away up in the sky,—what is it?” And Mary pulled her brother by the arm as she looked up at the strange-looking object.
“Oh, that thing so far up in the sky; well, it is an odd looking creature. I wonder if it is a bird; let us ask John the gardener; perhaps he knows.”
“John! John!” cried both children at once, “what is that wonderful-looking object, up there?”
John looked up very wise, shook his head, and looked again,—“Oh! it is a balloon.”
“Well, pray, sir, will you tell us what a balloon is made of,” said James, “and how it enables one to go up into the air so great a distance?”
“The balloon is made of oiled silk, or of silk prepared with a solution of India-rubber, made perfectly air tight, and is filled with air, lighter than the common air we breathe.”