"Well, Jonas," said James, "which of us was disputing?"
"Both of you," said Jonas.
"Both of us," said James; "but you said that only the one who was wrong, disputed."
"Well," replied Jonas, "you were both wrong."
"Both wrong! O Jonas!" said James.
"Yes, both wrong," replied Jonas; and so saying, he was going away to his work.
"But stop a minute longer," said James, "and tell us how it is about the balloon; we want to know."
"O no," said Jonas, "you don't want to know; you want to conquer."
"What do you mean by that?" said Nathan.
"Why, you don't really wish to learn any thing; but you want to have me decide the case, because each of you hopes that I shall decide in his favor. You want the pleasure of a victory, not the pleasure of acquiring knowledge."
"No, Jonas," said Nathan, "we do really want to know."
"Well," said Jonas, "I can't stop now to tell you; perhaps I will this evening; but I advise you always, after this, not to contradict people, and dispute with them, when they say things that you don't believe. Do as the gentleman did, when the man said the moon was a fire."
"What did he do?" said Rollo.
"Why, he let him say it as much as he wanted to."
"Tell us all about it," said James.
"Well, then," said Jonas, "once there was a man, and he saw the moon coming up behind the trees, and thought it was a large house burning up. He went along a little way, and he met a vulgar fellow, riding in a carriage."
"Riding in a carriage!" repeated Rollo, astonished.
"Yes," said Jonas, "handsomely dressed. 'Sir,' said the man, 'see that great fire!'
"'It isn't a fire, you fool,' said the vulgar fellow; 'it's nothing but the moon.'
"'The moon! no it isn't,' said the man; 'it is a monstrous great fire. Don't you see how it blazes up?'
"'It is not a fire, I tell you,' said the vulgar fellow.
"'I tell you 'tis,' said the man.
"'You don't know any thing about it,' said the vulgar fellow.
"'And you don't know the moon from a house on fire,' said the man, and so passed on.
"A minute or two after this, he met a gentleman driving a team."
"A gentleman driving a team!" said James.
"Yes," said Jonas, "with a frock on. He was tired and weary, having driven all day. The man asked him if he did not see that house on fire.
"'Ah,' said the gentleman, 'I thought it was the moon.'
"'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.