Rollo's Philosophy Part 12

"'No,' said the man, 'it is a house on fire.'

"'Well,' said the gentleman, 'I am very sorry if it is. I hope they'll be able to put it out!'

"So saying, he started his team along, and bade the man good evening."

Jonas then, having finished his story, stepped out of the shed, and went along towards the barn; Nathan called out after him to say,--

"Well, Jonas, I don't understand how the gentleman came to be driving a team all day."

Jonas did not reply to this, but only began to laugh heartily, and to walk on. Nathan turned back into the shed, saying, he did not see what Jonas was laughing at.

The boys wanted very much to have the question about the balloon settled; and, after some further conversation on the subject, they concluded to go in and ask their mother. So they all three went in.

Rollo proposed this plan, and he led the way into the house. He found his mother sitting in the parlor at her work.

"Well, boys," said she, "have you got tired of your play?"

"No, mother," said Rollo, "but we want to know about balloons: how big are they?"

"O, some of them," said she, "are very large."

"Ain't they as big as this house?" said James.

"Yes, I believe they have been made as big," said she.

"But, mother," said Nathan, "father told me, his very self, that they were no higher than my head."

"O no," said his mother; "he said that a man made _one_ which was about as high as your head; but that was only a little one, for experiment.

When they make large ones, for use, they are as high as this house."

"For use, mother? what use?" said Nathan.

"Men go up in them, don't they, aunt?" said James.

"Not _in_ them, exactly," said his aunt. "They could not live in them, but they go up _by means_ of them."

"How?" said Nathan.

"Why, they have a kind of basket, which hangs down below the balloon, and they get into that."

"I knew they could not get into the balloon," said Nathan.

"Then you have had a dispute about it," said his mother.

"Why,--yes," said Nathan, with hesitation, "we disputed a little."

"I am sorry to hear that," said his mother, "for disputing seldom does any good. The fact is, however, that men have often been carried up by balloons, but they never get into them. They could not live in them.

They could not breathe the kind of air which balloons are filled with."

"It is hot air," said Nathan.

"No," said his mother, "the kind of balloon which your father told you of was filled with hot air; but the balloons which people generally use to go up with, are filled with another kind of air, which is very light when it is cool. They make an enormous bag of silk, and fill it with this light air, which they make in barrels; and then, when the bag is filled, it floats away above their heads, and pulls hard upon the fastening. There is a net all over it, and the ends of the net are drawn together below, and are fastened to the basket, or car, where the man is to sit. When it is all ready, the man gets into the car, and then they let go the fastenings, and away the great bag goes, and carries the man with it, away up into the air."

"And then how does he get down?" said Nathan.

"Why, he can open a hole in the bag, and let some of the light air out; and then he begins to come down slowly. If he comes down too fast, or if he finds that he is coming into the water, or down upon any dangerous place, there is a way by which he can make his balloon go up again."

"What way is it, aunt?" said James.

"Why, he has some bags of sand in his balloon," said his aunt; "and the balloon is made large enough to carry him and his sand-bags too. Then, if he finds that he is coming down too fast, he just pours out some of his sand, and that makes his car lighter; and so the balloon will carry him up again."

"That's a good plan," said Rollo.

"Yes," said his mother; "the reason why he takes sand is, because that will not hurt any body by falling upon them. If he should take stones, or any other heavy, solid things, and should drop them out of his car, they might possibly fall upon some body, and hurt them. So he takes sand in bags, and, when he wants to lighten his balloon, he just pours the sand out."

Rollo's mother then told the boys that there was a large book, which had several stories in it of men's going up in balloons, and that she would get it for them. So she left her work, and went out of the room; but in a few minutes she returned, bringing with her two very large, square books, with blue covers. One of them had pictures in it, and among the rest there were pictures of balloons. She opened the other book, and found the place where there was an account of balloons, and she showed the place to Rollo.

She told the boys that they had better go out in the kitchen, or into the shed, if it was warm enough, and read the account.

"You and James, Rollo," said she, "can read by turns, and let Nathan hear. Then, when the plates are referred to, you must look into the other book and find them."

"Yes," said Rollo, "we will; only, mother, if you would let us sit down here and read it--and then, if there is any thing which we cannot understand, you can tell us what it means."

"Very well," replied his mother, "you may sit down here upon the sofa."

So the boys sat down upon the sofa. They put Nathan between them, so that he might look over. Rollo and James took turns to read, and they continued reading about balloons for more than an hour. There was one story of a sheep, which a man carried up in his car, under a balloon, and then let him drop, from a great height, with a parachute over his head, to make him fall gently. And he did fall gently. He came down to the ground without being hurt at all.

QUESTIONS.

How was the subject of balloons introduced into the conversation? What was Nathan's opinion about the possibility of being carried up by a balloon? What was the dispute about the size of balloons? What was Nathan's evidence? What was James's evidence? What did Jonas say when they appealed to him? What was the story that he related? Which of the boys did he finally say was wrong? Whom did the boys appeal to afterwards? What did Rollo's mother say about the size of balloons? How did she say that large balloons were filled? How can they make the balloon come down? How can they make it go up again, if they wish to do so?

CHAPTER VIII.

TASKS.

A few days after this, there commenced a long storm of rain. Rollo and Nathan were glad to see it on one account, for their mother told them it would melt away the snow, and bring on the spring. The first day, they amused themselves pretty well, during their play hours, in the shed and in the garret; but on the second day, they began to be tired. Nathan came two or three times to his mother, to ask her what he should do; and Rollo himself, though, being older, his resources might naturally be expected to be greater, seemed to be out of employment.

At last, their mother proposed that they should come and sit down by her, and she would tell them something more about the air. "How should you like that, Rollo?" said she.

"Why, pretty well," said Rollo; but he spoke in an indifferent and hesitating manner, which showed that he did not feel much interest in his mother's proposal.

"_I_ can't understand very well about the air," said Nathan.

Their mother, finding that the boys did not wish much to hear any conversation about the air, said nothing more about it just then, and Rollo and Nathan got some books, and began to read; but somehow or other, they did not find the books very interesting, and Rollo, after reading a little while, put down his book, and went to the window, saying that he wished it would stop raining. Nathan followed him, and they both looked out of the window with a weary and disconsolate air.