Here, perhaps, some young gentleman will wish to inquire why it is I

employ the ordinary name, coal-gas, instead of a chemical name. The

reply is simple. Coal-gas always means gas from coal, but when I tell my

readers that coal-gas has not necessarily always the same composition,

although the same coal be used, they will see that no unchanging

chemical name for it is applicable. According as the gas retort is

heated more or less, so will the resulting gas differ in

composition--not a difference as to nature of components, but as to

quantity. Coal-gas must always be a combination of carbon with hydrogen,

but the amount of carbon to a given amount of hydrogen may vary within

wide limits. If coal-gas be required for illuminative purposes, the

object of manufacture will be to make it as rich in carbon as possible.

Now, the richest gaseous combination of carbon with hydrogen is

olefiant gas, but it would be the worst quality of coal-gas for balloon

inflation. If olefiant gas be transmitted through a white-hot iron pipe

it expands in volume, thus showing what would have happened had it

originally been produced in a white-hot iron retort. A gas manager doing

duty in one of our seaport towns once told me that he always managed to

have expanded gas--we may call it adulterated gas--for night street

service. It was good enough, he explained, for drunken sailors, and

nobody else was about.

Probably you youngsters will generally use coal-gas for filling your

balloons, it being so handy. I would prefer that you did not, but use

hydrogen instead, because not only is the making of hydrogen chemically

instructive, but a balloon of given size will lift at least half as much

again as it would if filled with gas from coal taken as one finds it.

Besides, general though the use of coal-gas illumination has become, it

may happen that some boy is staying at a country house where coal-gas is

not available, for all which reasons I shall begin by giving directions

for the production of hydrogen on a sufficiently large scale, and

easily.

IV.--HOW TO PREPARE HYDROGEN GAS.

There are many ways of preparing hydrogen. I shall offer you the choice

between two. Both are equally good, and you will discover for yourselves

which is the easier under your own special circumstances. No. 1 consists

in acting upon zinc or iron--zinc is best--with a mixture of one part of

oil of vitriol, measure, and six parts of water, also measure. No. 2

consists in passing steam through a red-hot iron pipe, loosely packed

with fragments of iron--say iron nails. If oil of vitriol be available

in the out-of-the-way country house where you are assumed to operate, I

recommend you to follow plan No. 1. So now about the apparatus. Two

large wide-mouthed pickle or preserve bottles, with bungs to match, and

a few feet of small leaden gas-pipe, are all that you will require, and

you must arrange your apparatus in the following fashion. (Figs. 1 and

2.)

[Illustration: Figs. 1 and 2.]

You will here observe that one bottle is represented as larger than the

other. We may call it the generator. Into it a good handful of zinc

fragments having been put, or in defect of these a handful of small iron

nails, and the cork thrust in tight, the mixture of oil of vitriol with

water is to be poured down the upright tube at _a_, which you will

observe has been reamed out into a sort of funnel shape by thrusting

into it a conical piece of wood. It is worth while here to remark that

though a large preserve bottle answers very well as a generator, yet a

copper vessel answers much better, the gas development being much

faster, on account of a galvanic condition, due to the contact of copper

with zinc, and which on this occasion I do not consider necessary to

write more about.

[Illustration: Fig. 3.]

As for plan No. 2, the representation of which is annexed, it is much

more simple than it looks, as you will gather when I tell you that the

furnace part of the apparatus need be no more nor less than a flower-pot

having the necessary holes knocked in (Fig. 3). Mind, however, to bind

your flower-pot with wire, as it is sure to crack when fuel is first

lighted within it. Let it crack as much as ever it pleases, your furnace

will be none the worse for present purposes, and that is all you

require.

I dare say you have heard of a dear departed lady, much respected in her

time, a Mistress Glass. ‘First catch your hare,’ wrote Mistress Glass,

when about to give directions for making hare-soup. First catch, or

learn how to catch, your gas, say I. By this time you know and can judge

for yourself which to use, whether hydrogen pure and simple, or else

coal-gas.

V.--THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BALLOON.

Now about making your balloon. The first question is what you shall make

it of. Large gas-balloons, such as ascend at public exhibitions with

aëronaut travellers, are usually made of silk, covered with some sort of

elastic varnish, though the material of very large balloons may be

calico, linen, or even canvas. The general statement holds good that in

proportion as the balloon is larger so does it admit of being made

coarser and heavier. There is a sound mathematical reason for this which

any sharp boy ought to perceive, and which, if he do not perceive, I

would advise him for his own good to go to his mathematical master and

accept castigation.

When the question was how to make a fire-balloon, solution was easy.

Tissue-paper, plain and simple, leaves for this purpose nothing to be

desired. If a few holes should happen to find themselves in your

material, the consequence would not be very serious, inasmuch as the

balloon carries its flame, its hot-air generator, along with it; but

when you come to have one charge of gas, the gas not renewable, you are

obliged to be particular, not merely as to holes, but even loosely

packed fibres.

I am entitled to speak magisterially on this point, having recently had

some professional talk over the matter with Mr. Brock, the pyrotechnist.

‘Gold-beater’s skin is the very best material for small balloons,’ was

that gentleman’s remark to me, ‘but it is very expensive. I want to be

able to use paper, and every sort of varnish I have tried has been

attended with very indifferent success.’ Mr. Brock went on to say that

anybody who might succeed in rendering tissue-paper effectively

gas-proof might make a fortune. Now I do not believe in the

fortune-making part of the business at all, but I think I shall

presently be able to tell you how to make tissue-paper effectively

gas-proof. I say _effectively_, because I know that no varnished silk,

cotton, or even canvas material--all used for making balloons--ever is

gas-proof. If you fill the thickest ox-bladder you can get with hydrogen

or coal-gas, tie the neck of it, and varnish the bladder into the

bargain, still gas will come out and atmospheric air will go in. By

simply looking at the closed bladder you would not fancy this had

happened, because the bladder seems plump and well distended, but were

you incautiously to allow a small jet of the contained gas to escape,

and to ignite the jet, the whole bladder would explode with a loud

report. Now neither hydrogen nor coal-gas will explode when unmixed with

oxygen; it simply burns.

Having got the necessary sheets of tissue-paper, hold each of them

successively between your eye and a bright light, which will disclose

any absolute holes, should such exist. Having discovered them, your

first care must be to stop them, and this you do by a plaster of

tissue-paper smeared with solution of india-rubber in benzoline. I shall

give you no proportions for this solution, but leave you to

rule-o’-thumb guidance. Having charged a wide-mouthed bottle--a

pickle-bottle does quite well-about half full with benzoline, put into

it piece after piece of india-rubber--not vulcanised rubber, mind, which

will not dissolve in benzoline, but raw rubber, and keep adding rubber,

bit by bit, stirring occasionally with a table knife until you get a

paste, not too thick for spreading with a knife-blade. The solution will

not be complete for some days. With this, when complete, smear a breadth

of tissue-paper, and consider it your plaster.

Remember well the following injunction. In any case when you desire to

stick together two surfaces with this india-rubber cement, both surfaces

must be smeared, as it does not suffice to smear only one. The next

injunction is a very peculiar one, and would not be likely to come

self-suggested. Do not bring the surfaces together whilst the solution

is wet. Let your work stand until evaporation of the solvent benzoline

has left the surfaces what may be called dry. Thus you see the working

with this india-rubber paste is the very reverse of working with all

ordinary sticking materials.

Repeat the plastering on of solution at least twice, and plaster thick;

the result is thin enough when dry. Having in this manner stopped the

holes, proceed to make the paper gas-proof. For this purpose you will

need a special solution, made in this wise:--To a pint of benzoline add

an ounce of solid paraffin--some of a paraffin candle, for example--and

a drachm of raw, not vulcanised, rubber. When the two have dissolved,

which will require some days’ waiting, lay your tissue-paper on a table,

and by means of a flat varnish-brush spread the solution all over it.

Wait till evaporation leaves the paper dry, then repeat the operation up

to six times, when the paper will have been rendered sufficiently

gas-proof for making a balloon. You are to cut this out into fillets,

just as you did when making a fire-balloon, and you are to stick the

fillets together with the cement already described, remembering well the

two injunctions already given. You are not restricted to shape as you

are in fire-balloon making, but may adopt any shape, remembering,

however, that to promote convenience of gas-collection, the balloon neck

should be much narrower than that of a fire-balloon; tubular, so to

speak, a tube of one inch diameter being quite sufficient. The reason

for making a narrow tubular neck will be apparent from study of the

accompanying diagram. It will be evident to you that on account of the

narrow neck the mode of car, or weight attachment, cannot be similar to

that adopted in the case of fire-balloons. The neatest and, at the same

time, most obvious plan of procedure is that adopted in large balloons,

by throwing a net, with strings dependent, over the whole balloon, and

attaching the car or other weights to the pendent strings. Such

elaborate work is, however, quite unnecessary in toy balloons. A length

of cord tied round the neck and allowed to hang down affords every

necessary facility for further attachment.

[Illustration]

Now as regards what the balloon shall take up, that must be for your own

taste to decide. All the resources of pyrotechny are open to you, and by

discreet use of Bickford’s fuse and quickmatch you may get innumerable

combinations. One of the most brilliant pyrotechnic devices is the

ignition of a tuft of magnesium fillet; but it is somewhat expensive,

and, if carried out, will make a hole in your pocket-money. All the

magnesium balloons I have seen had the magnesium tuft ignited before the

balloon was let off; but were it desired that the magnesium should only

commence burning when the balloon had got some way upon it, nothing

would be more easy. All that is necessary to do would be to wet the

magnesium tuft with resin dissolved in benzoline, and then, whilst still

wet, dust it over with mealed gunpowder. On drying, this prepared tuft

will burst into flame on the slightest provocation. If you do not know

how to effect this by judicious employment of Bickford fuse and

quickmatch, I shall have written to small purpose.

The following hint is well worthy attention by such of you young

gentlemen as are not overburdened with pocket-money. Fine zinc shavings

will burn, and emit a bright light something after the style of

magnesium, and may be procured at any zinc-worker’s for a mere trifle. A

moderately brilliant effect may be got out of a tuft of zinc shavings

well dusted with resin and mealed powder whilst made wet with benzoline.

If you don’t expect too much out of this zinc-burning expedient, perhaps

you will not be disappointed; but at any rate I have not commended the

alternative to you very warmly. Of course, a portion of magnesium may be

mixed up with the zinc shaving tuft, to the latter’s advantage, just as

it has been experimentally proved that flint soup is all the better for

a portion of onion and carrot, and better still for a portion of meat,

peppered and salted.

Before concluding let me just hint at a very effective possibility in

the way of pyrotechnic device, equally applicable to both fire and gas

balloons, but which I have never known carried into practice. You will

see that it is a main object in balloon pyrotechny to make a balloon

carry the greatest amount of pyrotechnic effects using the minimum of

weight. Thus, supposing it were desired to cause a succession of

explosions, each equalling in noise the discharge of a forty-pounder

cannon, large maroons would give such a noise, but no toy balloon would

be competent to lift the maroons. Now a mixture of two volumes hydrogen

with one of oxygen yields an explosive mixture of tremendous violence.

Even a small soap-bubble blown with this mixture and fired is deafening.

I have no doubt that an ox bladder filled with this mixture and ignited

would make a report equal to that of a forty-pounder gun. Several such

bladders might be sent up with a very small toy balloon, and might be

detached by means already described, so as to explode whilst falling.

The exact _modus operandi_ would be as follows:--Take a blue-light, and

with a bradawl make a few transverse holes just above the sealing-wax

closure; then smear the closed and transversely perforated end with a

paste of mealed powder and water. After drying the neck of the bladder

already charged with mixed oxygen and hydrogen, it is to be tightly

bound down upon the blue-light, thus--

[Illustration]

Bickford fuse and quickmatch would easily enable you to achieve the

rest, supposing you to have given proper attention to preceding

instructions.

CHAPTER LX.--MODEL BALLOONS AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

BY A PROFESSIONAL AËRONAUT AND BALLOON-MAKER.

[Illustration]

Although balloon ascents are now matters of everyday occurrence, and

scarcely a _fête_ takes place at any of the public gardens without the

announcement of an ascent to be conducted by some well-known aëronaut,

yet there are very few people who really know anything practical about

balloons or their construction, so we often read graphic descriptions of

perils surmounted and deeds of heroism performed by aërial travellers,

which aëronauts know to be utter impossibilities--such, for instance, as

the climbing to the top of a balloon by the network in order to open the

valve at the top and allow the gas to escape; not to mention other

marvellous fictions invented by the imaginations of ‘sensational’

newspaper reporters.

It is my desire in the present chapter to give the reader a thorough

practical knowledge of that truly wonderful machine by means of which

man is enabled to rise above his mother earth, and gaze upon her

beauties from a height unattainable otherwise. And, as it is first of

all necessary to dispel the ignorance which prevails upon the subject, I

shall commence by showing what a balloon _is not_, then I shall proceed

to describe what it is, and finally I hope to give such information as

shall enable my readers themselves to construct a perfect model of a

balloon, such as, if made on a proportionately increased scale, would be

capable of carrying into the air one, ten, or twenty people.

That the science of aërial navigation has a strong fascination for

adventurous dispositions is a proposition which none will gainsay; and

the very danger attending a balloon ascent adds to its pleasurable

excitement. This danger, however, is not only, nor even chiefly in the

air, but in the descent to the earth, when the greatest caution has to

be observed to alight upon a favourable spot: and sometimes consists in

the reception accorded to the traveller on his arrival upon _terra

firma_, as the following little adventure will show.

I have been from my childhood a lover of ballooning, having been, I

might almost say, born to the business, which was taught me by my

godfather, the veteran aëronaut, Charles Green, whose memory is yet held

in reverence by many who knew and loved him while he lived. I had

frequently been taken by him in his various ascents, and as I grew into

man’s estate I was able to be useful to him in his trips. On one

occasion an ascent had been announced from what were then known as the

Surrey Zoological Gardens. Everything was duly prepared, the balloon was

filled with gas, and at the appointed time Mr. Green and I sailed gently

into the sky amid the crash of the band and the cheering of the people,

which grew fainter and yet more faint, and at last quite inaudible, as

we mounted higher and higher towards the azure vault above us.

It was a lovely afternoon in October, and a gentle breeze wafted us

slowly away from the mighty city, over green fields wherein the grazing

cattle looked rather smaller than ants, over villages whose toiling

inhabitants seemed but tiny specks in the universe; until at length a

light mist spread itself over the country.

My relative, experienced aëronaut though he was, manifested signs of

anxiety as to the safety of our descent; for we had for some time past

commenced descending by letting out the gas from the valve at the top of

the balloon, but the nearer we approached the earth the denser became

the fog, while the shades of evening warned us that the descent was an

imperative necessity. Hoping to alight in the open country, we let fall

the grapnel, which very speedily caught hold of _something_ which

checked our progress. Unluckily this _something_ proved to be a tree,

and not the earth, as we had, of course, hoped it would be.

‘Charlie,’ said Mr. Green, ‘there is only one thing to be done, and that

is for you to get down and release the grapnel from the tree, and

ascertain if you can how far we are from the open, for if the net gets

entangled with the boughs we shall be lost, and the balloon spoiled.’

To me, well versed as I was in all kinds of gymnastics, it was a matter

of little difficulty to descend the rope which connected us in some way

with the earth; so putting another stout cord on my shoulder I went down

‘hand over hand’ until I found myself in a large elm-tree, and as the

fog had risen considerably above the earth I was able to make out our

whereabouts. We were in the middle of a thickly wooded park, though

about two hundred yards to the east, in the direction in which we had

drifted, I could see a large open space eminently fitted for the

descent. I called out this information, cheerily adding that there was

no fear of the net being broken this time. Then I quickly disengaged the

grapnel, upon which the balloon sprang up gaily into the air, and next

prepared to make my own descent from the tree by means of the cord with

which I had provided myself. No sooner had my feet touched the ground

than I felt myself roughly seized by two men, who bound my arms behind

me in a jiffy, and at once commenced to rate me soundly.

‘Ah!’ said the elder man, savagely, ‘we’ve caught you at last, you

rascal, have we? So you’re the chap as steals our governor’s pheasants,

is it?’

‘Yes,’ grinned the other, ‘and it’s with a net as you takes ’em, just as

I thought! We’ll see what the squire’ll say to you now!’

‘But, my good friends,’ I observed, ‘you have made a mistake. I’m not a

poacher, but have just come down from a balloon, and shall be very much

obliged to you if you will help me to secure it when it descends again,

as it will, away from the trees.’

‘Ha! ha! ha! Ho! ho! ho!’ roared my captors, ‘that won’t do for us,

young master. There ain’t no b’loon up that there tree; but what there

is there is your pal with the net what you catches the pheasants with;

and,’ raising his voice, ‘he may as well come down at once, ‘cos we

means nabbing him now we knows where he is.’

Some passing labourers were hailed and stationed round the tree to await

the descent of ‘the other poacher,’ while I, whose remonstrances were of

no avail, was hurried up to ‘the house,’ wherein sat, on his chair of

state, the redoubtable ‘squire,’ to whom the domain belonged, and whose

pheasants I was accused of stealing. Again I told the story of the

balloon. The old gentleman regarded me with stern dignity, and, wagging

his finger at me, solemnly inquired of the keepers (my captors) whether

they had seen any balloon. Upon receiving a reply in the negative, he

assumed his most magisterial demeanour.

‘Young man,’ he said, ‘it is sad indeed to find a person of education in

your unfortunate position. Your tale of having come down in a balloon is

as audacious as it is ridiculous. No balloon was seen by my servants,

and you were seen to descend a tree, your companion remaining no doubt

until the hue and cry should be passed. I have lost many pheasants

lately, and there can be no doubt now as to who the culprits have been.

I have nothing more to do now than to commit you for to-night to the

lock-up, and the case will be investigated in the morning.’

‘But, sir,’ I pleaded, ‘pray send to the field just outside your park,

where my friend will doubtless be found by this time with his balloon,

which could not be seen by your keepers on account of the fog, but which

was then hovering above the tree in which the grapnel had caught, and

from which I extricated it.’

Happily for me this request was acceded to, and in due course Mr. Green

made his appearance and corroborated my statement, upon which every

attention was lavished upon us both. We received an invitation to

dinner, and, instead of passing the night in a village cell, I slept on

the bed of down of our most jovial and courteous host, who would not

hear of our leaving him until we had enjoyed a good night’s rest under

his hospitable roof.

But I am in very great danger of forgetting that my present intention is

to write a practical treatise, not to prattle about my adventures, so I

will set myself seriously to work at once; and will begin by showing in

a few words what a balloon _is not_.

In the first place, a balloon is most certainly not what it is sometimes

erroneously called--a flying machine. One might as well compare the

gracefulness of a good swimmer with the aimless floating of a dead dog,

as to pretend that the helpless drifting of a balloon has anything in

common with the as yet only partially accomplished science of aërial

flight. What, then, is a balloon, and how is it constructed?

A balloon for carrying passengers consists of a certain number of gores

cut in such a form that when they are sewn together they form a perfect

sphere, the lower part or neck being elongated, which gives a

pear-shaped appearance. This elongation at the neck is made in order to

allow the gas to pass freely into the balloon during inflation. On the

top is placed a valve, which is a circular double door composed of two

semicircles. To each of these semicircular openings is attached a line,

which, meeting a little lower down, form one line, which passes through

the centre of the balloon, and comes out at the neck; so that when the

aëronaut desires to descend he lets out the gas by pulling the line. The

doors open inwards, and close themselves by means of springs with which

they are fitted.

The balloon itself is composed of very fragile materials. It is merely a

gas-holder, and is nowadays almost invariably made of fine cambric well

varnished. Silk was the first-used material, but it is a needless

expense. Thus it will be seen that the balloon itself has practically no

strength in it whatever. All the space, however, and the pressure of the

gas, are held in by a netting, which covers the whole of the balloon, to

which it is fitted exactly, being shaped from the original pattern gore

of the balloon itself--to be fully described hereafter.

Just below the neck of the balloon is a HOOP, to which all the netting

lines are fastened. This hoop is made of ash, and is about three feet in

diameter, all the strain of the balloon being concentrated at this

point.

Below the hoop is attached the CAR, which is a large wicker basket

suspended from the hoop by eight cords--technically termed car lines;

and fastened to the hoop is a strong rope, generally made of flax, about

100 feet in length, which carries the anchor, or ‘grappling-iron,’ as it

is called by aëronauts. This ‘grapnel’ differs in appearance from an

ordinary anchor in that it has five prongs instead of only two. Inside

the car are placed several canvas bags containing sifted sand, which is

used as ballast, to regulate the ascending power of the balloon. The car

also contains a few other requisites, notably a ‘liberating iron’ for

letting the balloon go when all is reported ready, and an aneroid

barometer, to show the altitude attained, &c.

Before entering upon the detailed description of how to make your model

balloon, I think it will be well to give some idea of what an ordinary

ascent really is, for it is of importance that we should realise what we

are about before we proceed to construct the machine which is to carry

us from the nether atmosphere into unknown regions miles above the

earth, whether the ascent is to be made for scientific purposes or

merely for amusement. I do not think there are many living men who can

give better instruction on this point than myself, seeing that I have

already made no less than eighty-four ascents, while I hope to make as

many more before old age and infirmity put a stop to my ballooning

career.

Balloons constructed to carry passengers vary very much in size, the

smallest being of 18,000 cubic feet capacity, capable of raising two

people only--the aëronaut and one passenger. This, or a little larger,

is the size of the balloon now generally used, larger balloons being

made principally for scientific purposes. Such a one was the celebrated

‘Mammoth,’ supplied by Mr. Coxwell for the memorable investigations by

Mr. Glaisher about the year 1863, of which I suppose you may probably

have heard, and concerning which it may interest you to learn that on

two of their ascents I had the honour of accompanying those famous

aëronauts, the ascents taking place on both occasions from the Crystal

Palace, and the descents once at Singlewell, near Gravesend, and once

near Woking.

The gas with which an ordinary balloon is filled is the gas supplied by

the gas companies for street and house lighting, which is called

carburetted hydrogen. Pure hydrogen is seldom employed for balloon

inflation, though it may be interesting to state that the big captive

balloon at the Paris Exhibition was initiated with pure hydrogen,

manufactured with sulphuric acid, zinc, and water. This is called

sulphuretted hydrogen, and possesses nearly double the lifting power of

coal-gas. A balloon held down by a rope requires great ascending power,

therefore all captive balloons should be inflated with pure hydrogen.

The very great expense of this gas, however, prevents its use in

ordinary cases.

The balloon being filled with gas, the aëronaut and his passenger take

their seats in the car, ready to ascend. The first thing to be done is

to untie the neck of the balloon, which has been fastened up with a

piece of string or a handkerchief since the hose-pipe was removed, when

the balloon was quite inflated. The object of having the neck of the

balloon wide open is this: Directly the balloon rises expansion takes

place, owing to the rarefied state of the atmosphere, and the higher it

ascends the more rarefied the air becomes, and consequently the less

atmospheric pressure is there upon the balloon, the natural result being

that the gas expands, and makes its way by degrees out of the neck. If

there were no such escape, the balloon would burst. When the neck is

wide open, those in the car can see into the middle of the balloon,

which has a very curious appearance.

We are now supposed to be ready for starting, there having been placed

at the bottom of the car several more bags of ballast than are known to

be required. These are handed out, one by one, until the weight in the

car is about equal to or a little lighter than the ascending power of

the balloon. Then the aëronaut, feeling himself master of the situation,

calls out in a loud voice, ‘All hands off!’ At the word of command the

assistants, who have been keeping the car down, leave go their hold, and

the balloon rises slowly and majestically into the air. (Please now to

put yourself into the place of the passenger making his first ascent,

with eyes and ears open to take in all the instruction that can be

conveyed to him.)

When about fifteen feet in the air the passenger, who has by this time

probably worked himself into a somewhat feverish state of excitement, is

astonished and considerably alarmed by a sudden jerk or shock, and the

equally sudden arrest of the balloon in its upward journey. The fact is

that we had not finally left our mother earth, but have been pulled down

again by a rope, held by the assistants, which was attached to the hoop

by an instrument called the ‘liberating iron.’ The aëronaut himself lets

the balloon take its final departure when he touches a lever attached to

the liberating iron, and we are being pulled down again on the present

occasion because it is found that we have too much ascending power, and

can take in another half bag ballast; and the more ballast a balloon can

carry the better, as sometimes ballast is found to be worth its weight

in gold--or rather, worth as much more as life is worth more than the

most precious of all earthly possessions. At the risk of fatiguing you

by a digression, I will explain how this is.

The use of ballast is in getting rid of it. When the aëronaut desires to

descend he pulls the line I have before described, letting the gas out

of the valve at the top, when the balloon immediately comes down.

Perhaps unfavourable weather, with a strong wind, may have arisen, and

he suddenly sees beneath him a village, or a barn, or perhaps he has

been borne out to sea. In any of these cases almost certain death would

be the result of a sudden descent. So he throws some ballast out of the

car, which immediately lightens it, and the balloon rises up again and

carries him over the danger to some place where the descent may be made

in safety. If all the ballast be injudiciously or prematurely expended,

there is danger indeed in descending; and I know of one instance, at

least, in which a daring but unskilful aëronaut was killed, who, in all

human probability, would have been now living if he had had with him

but one more bag of ballast. So, you see, I do not exaggerate when I say

that ballast is sometimes worth much more than its weight in gold.

To return to our ascent. Having taken on board the extra ballast, ‘All

hands off!’ is again called out aloud; again we ascend into the air, the

band strikes up, the guns are fired, the aëronaut, his hand upon the

liberating iron, salutes the public, the rope is detached, and we are

off!

And now I will leave my passenger gazing over the side of the car, lost

in amazement at the grandeur of the scene beneath him, as the horizon,

rising with our ascent, discloses to view an expanse of country of which

he could have had no previous conception; for I have work to do. First,

I look at the aneroid barometer and find that we have arrived at an

altitude of about three thousand feet, which is the height usually

attained in an ordinary ascent. The gas has been coming out of the neck

very freely, and the balloon is consequently beginning to descend. As we

do not intend to land just yet, however, it is necessary to check the

descent by parting with a little ballast, which is thrown out over the

edge of the car, and has the appearance of smoke as it passes into

space.

Now we are about the same weight as the atmosphere with which we are

travelling. Although there was only a slight breeze on the surface of

the earth, the upper current is considerably stronger, and we are going

along with the clouds at a speed of a little less than a mile a minute.

Yet, though travelling at this rate, we appear to be in a dead calm, and

if a feather be dropped from the car it will sink slowly in a

perpendicular line underneath us. When a balloon has left the earth

there is no perceptible motion in it whatever. We seem to be stationary,

while the fields have the appearance of rushing quickly along beneath

us. We are really, as it were, part and parcel of the air, and as the

current moves so we drift with it, like a cork on a running stream; and

if it were possible to put you blindfold into the car of a balloon, you

might be taken up into the clouds and brought down again without your

being any the wiser--indeed, without your knowing anything at all about

the journey.

This I have been telling you while we have been sailing along through

the beautiful summer sky, taking in deep gulps of the pure air, and

looking down and around upon the glorious moving panorama. But now I

must leave you again to your own resources, for it is time that we

should prepare for the descent, and I require to have all my wits about

me. The grapnel, which is hooked on to the edge of the car, is lowered

down by the rope, which is 100 feet in length, and firmly fastened to

the hoop. Now we must exercise judgment and caution in selecting a

proper place on which to make our descent by looking along the earth in

the direction in which we are travelling. We must not come down among

the crops, or we shall have the farmer after us for damages. The trees

are particularly dangerous, as we have seen. So are the telegraph wires,

for even if they should not destroy us, it would go hard with us in the

Law Courts if we were to damage them. An aëronaut must thus have his

eyes wide open, and be able to see some miles in front of him; and he

must try to make for some open park or pasture land, which he can

distinguish from land on which crops are growing by the cattle grazing.

So the valve is opened a little, with the immediate effect of causing

the balloon to descend to from 1000 to 500 feet above the earth.

Now we pass rapidly over the country until we arrive over the selected

spot, when, giving the valve another stout pull, the balloon obeys and

drops. Perhaps, on a closer inspection, the place we have chosen is not

so favourable as it appeared at a distance; then, of course, we have to

part with a bag of ballast, and ascend again until we reach a more

suitable alighting ground. The grapnel takes hold at last, and on a calm

day the balloon may be brought down as lightly as a feather by the

regulating of the ballast; but when there is a strong current of air the

grapnel will sometimes trail, which causes the balloon to jerk

unpleasantly, but with good management there is no danger.

Having thus taken you up, and brought you safely down again, I will

redeem the promise I make in the title by showing you

HOW TO MAKE A MODEL BALLOON,

which, simple as it may seem, is in reality a very intricate operation,

and you will find, as you follow me, that there is a great deal to be

learned. I do not fancy you will think it at all dull work, however; on

the contrary, while it is instructive and scientific, it will afford you

many hours’ agreeable and innocent amusement. You have been taught how

to make yachts, and have been very delighted, I have no doubt, when your

first attempt at shipbuilding has proved successful, and you have seen

your ship float upon the water and carry sail; but I do not think there

are many readers who have had the opportunity of learning how to make a

balloon which will actually hold gas and ascend into the air. Perhaps

you will find this latter part of my treatise rather technical, yet I

hope you will give it your attention, for I am about to endeavour to let

you know more about this subject than has ever been written upon it

before; and though I do not expect, or wish, to make you all

professional aëronauts, I do certainly desire to awaken in your minds an

interest in ballooning--a science which is daily becoming of more

recognised importance.

[Illustration: Fig. 1.]

In making a balloon the first thing to be done is to take into

consideration how many gores, or strips, will be required to form a

balloon of any given diameter. For instance, if a balloon be required of

the circumference of 3 feet, there will be twelve gores each 18 inches

in length (that being half the circumference), and 3 inches in width at

the equator, but tapering at each extremity, as will be hereafter

described. Now divide the paper of the pattern gore into four equal

parts, and then describe a circle in the centre (Fig. 1).

[Illustration: Fig. 2.]

Divide one quadrant of the circle into any given number of parts--say

seventeen. Then drop perpendiculars parallel with line C from each point

of the divisions, intersecting line B in the quadrant. Now divide line B

from centre of circle to end of pattern in seventeen equal parts, and

raise perpendiculars from each point of division, as in Fig. 2.

[Illustration: Fig. 3.]

Next draw horizontal lines, or measure off with compasses from each

point of division in the quadrant, cutting or intersecting the seventeen

corresponding lines as shown, and with a free hand, or by the aid of a

French curve, connect all these points together, as shown in Fig. 3.

Having now got a quarter of the pattern, it must be cut round, as shown,

and transferred to the three other quarters, marked respectively in the

figure A, B, C, which will be the pattern for a sphere. This is

technically known as striking out a pattern gore by an intersection of

lines, and this is quite near enough for the paper balloons, on which

you must practise until you are sufficiently advanced in the science to

enable you to begin on the proper material. There is another method

which is still more accurate, in fact, will ensure absolute mathematical

correctness, and that is by a calculation of a series of decimals

corresponding with each of the seventeen perpendicular lines shown

beneath (Fig. 4).

[Illustration: Fig. 4.]

Suppose, for example, that the diameter of the balloon to be constructed

is 20 ft., and that it is required to make it of 12 pieces; then, in

order to draw the pattern for those pieces, find the circumference of

the balloon, which is 62·83 ft., and, dividing it by 4, the quotient is

15·7 ft. Make, therefore, A D equal to 15·7 ft., and D E likewise of the

same length. Divide the circumference, 62·83 ft., by 24, which is double

the number of pieces that are to form the balloon, and the quotient,

2·618 ft., is the length of D C, and likewise of B D, so that B C is

equal to 5·236 ft. Then, having divided the line A D into 18 equal

parts, and having drawn the parallel lines from those points of

division, find the length of each of those lines by multiplying 2·618 by

the decimals annexed to that line. Thus 2·618, multiplied by 0·99619,

gives 2·608 ft. for the length of _f g_, and, again multiplying 2·618 by

0·98481, the result gives 2·578 ft. for the length of _h i_, and so of

the rest. In cutting the pieces after such a pattern, care should be

taken to leave them about three-quarters of an inch all round wider than

the pattern, which will be taken up by the seams; and the same rule must

be borne in mind whether you are experimenting upon paper patterns, or

upon the materials required for a large balloon. Fig. 4 will illustrate

the foregoing instruction, and those who like to take the trouble to

prove the sum will take all the more interest in the manufacture of

their balloon.

These decimals have been calculated by a mathematician, and are

available for any sized balloon.

[Illustration: Fig. 5.]

Now we come to the neck, the pattern of which may be drawn with a free

hand, and maybe left to your own fancy, with this proviso--that the

length ought not to exceed more than one-fifth of the whole length of

the pattern. In Fig. 5 you will see what the neck should be, the dotted

line showing the spherical portion of the pattern gore.

Small gas-balloons are generally made of tissue-paper, varnished over

with boiled oil, which gives them a very transparent and skin-like

effect. Sometimes gold-beater’s skin is used, but it is very expensive,

and paper answers the same purpose. Supposing that you are about to

begin upon a paper balloon, the first thing to be done, before making

your pattern gore, is of course to select your paper. Ordinary tissue is

manufactured from the size of 20 × 30 inches square. There are other

sizes made of a stronger quality, suitable for larger balloons than that

of three feet circumference, upon which I recommend you to practise, as

this is a handy size, while the above-sized paper--obtainable

everywhere--cuts in well for the width to make the pattern gore, though,

for length, you will have, probably, to paste two sheets together.

When you have a sufficient number of lengths ready for cutting out,

place them, one on the top of another, on a flat board; then place the

pattern gore on the top, and, with a sharp knife or razor, cut the whole

out at once, taking care not to cut the pattern gore. You will do well

also to place a few weights on the top to keep the whole lot in place.

After you have cut one edge, move your pattern about a quarter of an

inch away from the edge that is cut. This is to allow for the ‘lap,’ as

it is called, whether in pasting a small balloon or sewing a large one,

for bringing the gores together in case you have not made such allowance

on the pattern. In pasting together--in the case of paper balloons, or

sewing in the case of larger balloons--you should take care, for the

sake of effect, to do so in alternate colours. Red and white, yellow and

white, green and black, all make effective contrasts, but these minor

details may be safely left to your own taste. Paste them, first in

pairs, then in fours, &c., in the following manner. Having provided

yourself with a large, smooth pasteboard, begin by laying upon it a

white gore, and then place carefully over it a coloured one, showing the

‘lap’ on the one underneath to allow for the folding. You can do this by

carefully manipulating the gores with the fingers, or, still better, by

the means of a palette or any other flat knife. Then, with a ‘dabber,’

as it is technically termed--a clean duster will answer the

purpose--press down the overlapping seam the whole length, and

immediately hang it up to dry, and proceed to do the same thing with the

others, never attempting to paste others together until the first are

perfectly secure by drying. A little alum should be put into the paste

you are using for the purpose.

When you have pasted all the gores together, _and they are quite dry_,

blow the balloon out with a pair of bellows through the neck. You will

find at the top, where all the points of the gores meet, a small hole,

which will let out the air with which you have filled your balloon, and

_à fortiori_ the gas with which it will have to be filled presently,

the gas being lighter than the air, and so more anxious to make its

escape from its imprisonment. At all events this is very probable, even

in the most carefully and scientifically constructed balloons. To

obviate this fatal mistake, therefore, you must cut a round piece of

paper, which is called the cap, answering to the valve in a real

balloon, and carefully paste it over the meeting-places of the various

gores. For you must bear in mind that a balloon is not a balloon at all

unless it be perfectly air-tight.

Now let out the air by gentle pressure, and fold up the balloon, gore

over gore, and commence the varnishing, which is laid on as thinly as

possible with a small piece of flannel. The varnish used is simply

boiled oil, which can be obtained from any oil and colour shop. After

you have carefully varnished the whole of the gores, blow the balloon

out again, and hang it up by the neck until it is dry, a process which

will take about twelve hours.

The material used in the construction of balloons for carrying

passengers is Scotch cambric--not silk, as is erroneously supposed. Silk

has not been largely used in the manufacture of balloons for the last

forty years, and I need hardly say that it is not pasted, as in a paper

balloon, but sewn with double rows of stitches, and varnished exactly in

the same manner as I have already described.

In big balloons, the most important part of all is

THE NETTING.

And I shall now describe the way in which, if you desire to make your

model perfect, you must set about this portion of your manufacture,

which, however, you can dispense with if you please in a paper

gas-balloon. As I told you before, there is scarcely any strain whatever

on the balloon; in fact you could make a large paper balloon to contain

20,000 cubic feet of gas, and if it were covered with a properly fitting

net it would, for one ascent, answer the same purpose as a cambric

balloon, the reason for making it of a material at once light and strong

being to enable it to stand the wear and tear of laying out, folding,

packing, &c. The first thing to be observed in making the net of a

balloon is to take the same pattern gore as the balloon itself was cut

from. Now draw a longitudinal line through the centre A (Fig. 6), the

gore being reduced to two halves. Divide one half by the same rule as

that on which you originally cut the pattern gore, the object of this

division being to get the meshes of the intended netting reduced to such

a small scale that four meshes may cover each gore. Measure on the

centre line A, the distance B C, and half as long again. Draw a line

parallel to B C from D to E.

[Illustration: Fig. 6]

[Illustration: Fig. 7]

Now draw a diagonal line from D to C, which will give you an angle of

about sixty degrees. Now cut a templet or set square out of card or thin

wood, corresponding with angle C B D, thus (Fig. 7).

Now with line F G on the templet corresponding with line D E in Fig. 6,

draw E F, and continue this until you come to the crown--_i.e._ the part

where the valve is fixed. Now draw diagonal lines, similar to B E, all

the way up (as shown in Fig. 6), which gives the different sizes of the

meshes to be used in forming the net from the equator to the pole; and

supposing you have decided to have twelve gores to form your balloon,

you would then have forty-eight rows of meshes to go round the balloon,

and so on, according to the number of gores of which the balloon is

composed.

Now for making the netting from the equator to the hoop, concerning

which the following instructions are to be observed. The first set, or

row, of meshes below the equator are to be of the same length as those

at the equator with one-fourth added--_i.e._ one-quarter longer; the

second set, or row, of meshes from the equator are to be one-quarter

longer than the last; the third set from the equator to be one-third

longer than the second set; the fourth set one-third longer than the

third set; the fifth set, or row, is called the drawing line, and is

one-third longer than the last. Then come the cords, or leading lines,

which are fastened to the hoop, to which the car is attached. This is

the true way to make a proper balloon net, and on the same principles

you may make the meshes much larger by setting them out three to the

gore instead of four--indeed, they are often made in this manner for

economy’s sake--and, instead of having a leading line to each row of

meshes, two are frequently blended into one. The material to be used

should be the best three-strand Italian hemp netting-line, and you must

bear in mind that the meshes at the crown should be very fine,

increasing in strength as you go downwards.

The last process in connection with this subject is

THE GAS

with which the balloon is to be inflated. It may be well for you to

refer to the chapter by Dr. Scoffern, on the apparatus and method of

inflating balloons with hydrogen gas, with his illustration of the

apparatus; but as I am going more minutely into details, I give you here

the quantities of ingredients for generating sufficient gas to fill a

given-sized balloon. Thus, for instance--

------------+-----------+-------+--------+------------

Diameter of | Sulphuric | | | Size of

Balloon. | Acid. | Zinc. | Water. | Generator.

------------+-----------+-------+--------+------------

24 in. | 24 oz. | 16 oz.| 5 pts. | 4 qts.

20 „ | 14 „ | 10 „ | 3 „ | 4 „

18 „ | 10 „ | 6 „ | 2 „ | 5 pts.

------------+-----------+-------+--------+------------

The zinc and water are put into the generator first and corked down, and

connections made with the iron or composite pipe to the purifier, which

merely contains water (three parts full), and a small quantity of

lime--say, a piece the size of a walnut to a pint of water. Should there

be any leakage round the pipe, stop it with loam or clay. Pour the acid

into the generator, through the feed-pipe, with a funnel, in small

quantities at a time. As the gas passes into the balloon you can tell

how quickly it is forming by the bubbling sound which is taking place in

the purifier. If you were to pour all the acid into the generator at

once, you would burst it. When you hear the bubbling noise diminishing,

add more acid.

Now there is another point you must understand--_i.e._ to be able to

find the cubic capacity in feet of a balloon of a given diameter, which

is done in the following simple manner:--

Diameter 2 ft. (or 24 in.). Multiply by diameter = 4. Multiply by

diameter again, = 8. Now multiply by decimal numbers ·5236 = 4·1888.

The same decimal number will apply to any given diameter, and you see by

this rule that a balloon of two feet diameter will contain four cubic

feet of gas, and that the quantities of ingredients, &c., required are

as given above. I hope you will excuse me for taking you to school

again, but I am anxious to make this chapter as complete as possible.

COST.

With reference to the cost of the materials to be used in the

construction of balloons, it is obviously impossible to enter into

details without knowing the size of the balloon to be constructed. The

following general instructions, however, may be found useful.

Strong tissue-paper, which measures twenty by thirty inches, costs about

sixpence per quire, one quire being amply sufficient for a three-foot

balloon.

Scotch cambric, which is forty-four inches wide, costs one shilling and

twopence per yard, and you will be able to calculate how many yards are

requisite for your purpose.

Boiled oil costs about fourpence per pint, half a pint being sufficient

to varnish a three-foot paper balloon.

Tissue-paper can be had of all colours.

With regard to the netting, which is technically known and must be asked

for as ‘netting line,’ it varies in size, and costs about two shillings

per lb.

With these few remarks I leave you to the construction of your balloon,

which I hope you will find an agreeable and not too difficult task.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER LXI.--SMUDGEOGRAPHY; OR, HOW TO TELL THE CHARACTER BY

HANDWRITING.

This is a portrait of Billy Baker (Fig. 1). It is not by the famous

Flemish artist Van Daub, whose works are to be found in every gallery in

Europe, but by his distant relative Von Smudge, whose efforts need only

to be known to be equally appreciated. It is understood to be a

successful attempt to tell Billy’s character ‘from his handwriting.’ It

is not a flattering likeness. We are afraid Von Smudge found that the

hand was not in due submission to the will. It, however, shows Billy as

having a deal of breadth and very substantial understanding.

[Illustration: Fig. 1.]

It is his own fault if he did not ‘come out’ better. All that he had to

do was to write his ‘usual signature’ with a thickish pen dipped heavily

into the ink, and while it was wet and easily blottable Von Smudge

folded the paper so as to divide it in the middle, gave a little pat

with his finger where the head ought to be, a rub with his thumb where

the arms should come, and an artistic flourish all along the line, and,

lo! this was the ‘character’ he produced.

The parents of Billy were much flattered at the result, and, having

‘great faith in the system,’ proceeded to inquire whether their son

would do best as a Rapparee or a Nigger corner-man. They were informed,

however, that ‘as the handwriting changes the character develops,’ and

agreed to wait before deciding, and in the meanwhile let Billy have six

lessons from a professional writing master. This was done, and now

Billy’s writing, like Billy himself, has no character at all!

[Illustration: Fig. 2.]

Martin Jones was another of Von Smudge’s sitters. He also ‘wrote his

usual signature,’ and in like manner did ‘the artist’ fold the paper on

which it was written and produce the accompanying Napoleonic figure

(Fig. 2). As Martin is a fat-faced stunted little fellow with no chance

of reaching five feet two, he decided long ago to go in for ‘brain power

and command,’ and the Bonapartish portrait is said by him to be

‘characteristic.’ So it is--of Von Smudge.

[Illustration: Fig. 3.]

Von Smudge’s theory is, that no matter what name be written, ‘the

character will always be that of the writer.’ In an unguarded moment he

consented to sign himself as Walter Scott, and this is the ‘character’

that was revealed (Fig. 3). There must be some truth in Von Smudge’s

theory, for this is not in the least like Sir Walter, whereas in general

Janusfacedness and clumsiness it may be taken as a fit symbol of ‘the

artist.’

[Illustration: Fig. 4.]

Miss Jenks was persuaded to have her ‘character indicated.’ It was

‘indicated’ with a vengeance (Fig. 4).

She has not called again. Von Smudge says she used too fine a pen.

‘Freedom, perfect freedom, is necessary in the handwriting.’ To which we

may add that the thicker the lines, the more the ink, and the harder the

paper, the better the result.

[Illustration: Fig. 5.]

One success Von Smudge did have, that in the case of Ellis Ferris, whom

he managed to hit off to a nicety--in a caricature, of course. We give

the portrait of Ellis in Fig. 5. He is not pleased with it himself, but

his friends and enemies assure him it is ‘very like.’ Ellis signed his

name with a skewer dipped half an inch in the inkpot, and so gave

himself a chance.

Von Smudge has not patented his invention, so that all can try it who

care to do so. And it is not a bad amusement for a stray half-hour. The

important point is not to be too scratchy in the writing or too careful

of the ink.

It is also capable of development. If the paper, instead of being folded

in the middle of the signature, be folded above or below it, a duplicate

will be produced; if a portrait be drawn and folded down on to the paper

while the ink is wet, a reverse copy will be printed off; and if an

ornamental design be drawn on paper, it can also be reproduced in

reverse by smudgeography, and, owing to the copy taking off the surplus

ink and the original being thus reduced to about the same intensity, the

pattern will be much more equal in tone than would be thought without

trial. All sorts of outline decorative work can be done in this way, and

with careful management of the ink the labour of drawing duplicates can

be saved.

However, we began this chapter merely with a view of popularising Von

Smudge’s new method of character-reading, which does not prosper in his

hand quite so much as he expected. In fact, he has taken to saying,

‘There is the idea, let others try if they can make anything out of it.’

And others may as well. They will be just as near the ‘character’ by

this means as by any other. It will take them some time to beat the

sketch of Ferris the Fierce.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER LXII.--THE LUDION.

BY THE LATE DR. SCOFFERN.

There is a toy more patronised by French boys than by English ones,

though I have seen it here. The English name for this toy I do not know,

but in France it is called the ‘Ludion.’ Being easily made, and

instructive when made, you shall have a picture of the ludion and

instructions for making.

Provide yourself with a toilet water-decanter and take care that it has

a good wide mouth, the wider in fact the better. Next purchase one of

those toy porcelain figures which girls sometimes dress up as miniature

dolls, and see that the decanter’s mouth is big enough to admit the

figure passing readily through; finally, select a walnut, also not too

big for easy entrance into the bottle, and now you may set about making

your ludion.

First split the walnut into halves with a knife, taking care you do not

impart ragged edges to the two sides of the shell, then scoop out the

nut and eat it, and having done so cement the two half-shells

together--sealing-wax will do, but shellac is better, and marine glue (a

compound of shellac with india-rubber) is best of all. Marine glue can

be purchased of tool-makers and others, and it is to be used exactly

like sealing-wax, not dissolved in water like ordinary glue. When the

two sides of your walnut have cooled and set, you must bore a hole about

the diameter of a pigeon’s quill at one end.

[Illustration]

All this being done, pass a loop of fine wire lengthwise over the

walnut-shell, taking care that the hole you have bored shall face

downwards. From the loop you see that a straight length of wire passes

downwards and is then attached to the head of the little figure. The

easiest way to effect this attachment is by passing a small loop of the

wire round the little man’s neck.

The smaller the wire is you use, by so much the more invisible will it

be, and therefore the prettier. If you can get hold of a wire-covered

fiddle or guitar string, and from it strip away a suitable length of

wire, nothing can be better.

From the neck-loop a straight length of the same wire descends, as you

see represented in the picture, and ends by attachment to what our

artist has depicted as a leaden bullet, but a weight of any other shape

would have done as well, and I should advise you to use a piece of

sheet-lead as affording easier means of attachment than does a bullet.

I have said nothing yet about one little matter you will have to see

to--namely, some means of steadying and preventing from slipping the

loop which passes round the shell lengthwise. This may be effected by

sealing-wax, shellac, or marine glue; still, perhaps, better by passing

a wire loop transversely round the walnut-shell, thus covering the wire

of the first loop and obliging it to lie tight to the shell without

shifting.

You had best now get a good large pail of water and regulate the weight

of your little man and his belongings. The success of the manufacture

altogether depends upon the care and accuracy with which this is done.

Immerse the whole apparatus and see what happens. If it sink to the

bottom of the pail, your leaden weight is too heavy, and you must cut

away a portion--not too much, however, as that would destroy the balance

you want to arrive at, and which is necessary to success. No rule other

than what is called ‘rule of thumb’ can be set down for your guidance;

but care, thought, and attention being given, you are sure to succeed at

last.

When the proper weight has been attained, take your little man and his

belongings out of the pail, and lower all in the water-bottle about

two-thirds full of water, in which henceforth he is to dwell and perform

his little gambols. Whether he can do so or not you will soon be in a

position to see. Take a piece of thin sheet india-rubber and tie it over

the decanter’s mouth, like a drumhead. If, on pressing the drumhead with

a finger, your little man descends, bobbing up again when you remove the

pressure, by this sign you shall know that the toy is complete. If

otherwise, then it is proved that your weight is not heavy enough, so

out your little man must come for emendation.

Now, how are you going to correct his balance? The most obvious way of

doing so would be to attach a little more weight. That device would look

ugly, however, and ugliness is to be avoided in a toy. Do you not see

that putting a little water into the nutshell through the hole would

effect the purpose? But how to get the water in is the problem; you

cannot pour water in from a jug, or even a lipped glass. It might be

done by using a syringe, but a far prettier, and at the same time more

instructive device, is the one I will now show you. If you are an

attentive young fellow, taking note of whatever has been once told you,

the little instrument will come finished from your hands in ten minutes

after your first setting about making it. If you are an inattentive

fellow, I do not care about having anything to do with you. The little

instrument about to be described must be made by a blow-pipe operation.

This done, you will see how to make a good glass tool of this shape, and

about this size:--

[Illustration]

Over the mouth of it you are to stretch and lap with a piece of waxed

string a thin film of sheet india-rubber. You want to get some liquid,

water in our present case, into this apparatus. Well, dip the fine-drawn

hollow spill into a vessel containing water, press the india-rubber

drumhead with finger-tip, and air bubbles will come out. Remove the

pressure, and water flows in. Removing now the immersed spill, water to

any graduated amount can be injected into the walnut by pressure on the

drumhead--and, what is more, taken out again if necessary. All this

could be done by a syringe, but not so neatly or conveniently.

By exercising the necessary amount of care in adjustment, it would be

quite possible to dispense with the leaden-weight attachment to your

little man altogether. This is sometimes done, and when done the toy is

all the prettier.

Of course, no long explanations are needed to explain the mode of action

of the toy. Pressure on the drumhead transfers itself to the air volume

inside the bottle; the compressed air in its turn presses upon the

water. Now water, unlike air, is inelastic--it cannot be made to occupy

smaller space by any force _you_ could apply; so up goes a portion of

water temporarily into the walnut-shell, only to come out again on

removal of the pressure.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER LXIII.--MECHANICAL AND OTHER PUZZLES.

I.--SOME MECHANICAL PUZZLES.--BY F. CHASEMORE.

(1) _The Balance Puzzle._--Cut a piece of cardboard four inches square.

In the middle punch two holes, and punch a hole also in each corner.

Take four pieces of thread eight inches long and knot the ends together;

then pass one thread through each corner hole of the card and fasten

them there by tying a bead to each. Now take another piece of thread

eighteen inches long and double it in the middle, then pass the loop

down through one of the holes in the middle of the card and up through

the other hole, and pass the loop through a small ring. Next pass the

ends of the thread through the loop and draw it tight, and fasten the

ends to the knot joining the four other threads (Fig. 1). The puzzle is

to get the ring off the threads without cutting them.

[Illustration: Fig. 1.]

Take the loop and pass it down through one of the corner holes under the

thread, and pull the bead down through the loop. Do this to each corner,

and the loop will now be seen to surround the whole of the threads: pass

the loop down over the cardboard, when the ring will come off. To

replace the ring reverse the movement.

* * * * *

[Illustration: Fig. 2.]

(2) _The Card Bridge._--Take a visiting-card and bend it as in Fig. 2,

so that the parts bent up are half an inch high. Now place this card on

a table, resting on the two bent parts. The puzzle is to blow the card

bridge right over on to its back. This will not be so easy a job as it

appears. The secret is in blowing on the table about six inches in front

of the bridge.

* * * * *

(3) _The Triangle Puzzle._--Take six pieces of stick about three inches

long, and with them form four equilateral triangles, each triangle to

have one stick for the side. This is done by placing three sticks in a

triangle on the table, and placing a stick at each corner and letting

these three sticks come together at the other ends.

* * * * *

[Illustration: Fig. 3.]

(4) _The Six Squares Puzzle._--Take seventeen pieces of stick three

inches long and arrange them as in Fig. 3. The puzzle is, by taking away

five sticks, to leave three perfect squares, and three only, these three

squares to be three of those originally formed, and all the same size.

To do this take the two sticks from the two top corners and the middle

stick at the bottom.

* * * * *

[Illustration: Fig. 4.]

(5) _The Puzzle Box._--Take six visiting-cards and bend them as in Fig.

4. The puzzle is to put them together in the form of a box, making them

fasten each other. The box will bear rough usage. This is done by

fitting the cards together as in Fig. 4, when they will be found to

fasten each other.

If you make a small hole in one of the sides and get one of your smoking

friends to fill the box with smoke, on tapping gently the side opposite

to the hole a beautifully perfect ring of smoke will issue from the

hole, and you can produce any number you like.

II.--THOUGHT-GUESSING.

This game is not the same played by Irving Bishop a few years ago when

he pretended to read the number of a bank-note held by a gentleman, but

is quite as easy. This game was shown me by a friend home from Penang,

where it is played a great deal, although not of foreign origin. It is

played as follows:--One of the company goes out of the room while those

remaining decide on something to be thought of; it may be something in

the room or some idea suggested by something in the room. When this is

decided upon, the absentee is admitted, and he has to guess what was

thought of by asking questions, to which he only receives answer ‘Yes’

or ‘No.’ He may ask any question that will help him. The first question

should be, ‘Is it a substance?’ ‘No.’ ‘Is it an abstract idea?’ ‘Yes.’

‘Is the thing that suggested the idea in the room?’ ‘Yes.’ He should

first localise the thing suggesting the idea by dividing the room by

imaginary lines in all directions, and asking first if it is on one

side, and then if it is on the other, always framing the question in

such a manner that it can be answered by ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ as otherwise no

answer will be given. The game allows of great ingenuity in selecting

the idea and also in working up to it in finding it out. One of the

ideas I had to guess once was this--the quantity of silex or flint in

the cane of a chair on which I was sitting. And another was this--the

curve formed by the head of the hammer when giving the last stroke to a

particular nail in the wall. These look difficult, but if properly

managed will be found to be guessable. The game improves by practice, as

after two or three times you will be able to find out ideas that would

at first have appeared impossible.

III.--AN IMPROVED RING PUZZLE.--BY HERR MEYER.

Among the many wire puzzles which I have seen at different times, I was

pleased with one which had two loops. I therefore added a third and

subsequently a fourth, and was successful in making the puzzle more

interesting. Any boy can easily construct the toy of iron-wire with a

pair of pliers from the accompanying illustration.

[Illustration]

The large ring is 3 inches in diameter, and the bar is 4 inches long.

The object is to remove the large ring by pushing it through the smaller

ones. The movements are explained by means of the figures and letters

written in the diagram. The ring of the bar is called B, the ring of the

first loop is 1, that of the second loop is 2, and so on.

The large ring is folded by moving D upwards, so that it falls on C.

Then A is pushed from the left to the right through 1, moved over B

(that is, B is pushed through between the two wires), and drawn back

through 1. Then the ring is folded the other way and pushed through 2

and 1, over B, back through 1, over 1 and B, and back through 2. Then

all through 3. Then through 1, over B, back through 1; folded the other

way; all through 2; then through 1, over B, and back; and the ring is

off.

The ring is put on thus: Fold it, push it half length through 1, over B,

back through 1; fold; all through 2; through 1, over B, back; fold all

through 3; through 2, over B and 1, through 1, over B, back through 1

and 2, through 1, over B, back, and it is on.

When there is a fourth loop, then the ring is removed thus: Push it

through 1, over B, back, fold, through 2 and 1, over B, back over 1 and

B, back through 2, through 3 and 2, over B and 1, through 1, over B,

back through 1 and 2, through 1, over B, back, over 2 and 1 and B, back

through 3, all through 4, through 2, over B and 1, through 1, over B,

back through 1 and 2, through 1, over B, back, fold, all through 3,

through 1, over B, back, fold, all through 2, through 1, over B, back,

off.

The ring is placed on the fourth loop thus: Fold it, push it half-way

through 1, over B, back, fold, all through 2, through 1, over B, back,

fold, all through 3, through 2, over B and 1, through 1, over B, back

through 1 and 2, through 1, over B, back, fold, all through 4, through

3, over B and 1, through 1, over B, back, over 2, through 2 and 1, over

B, back, over 1 and B, back through 2 and 3, through 2, over B and 1,

through 1, over B, back through 1 and 2, through 1, over B, back, open

the ring.

IV.--AËRIAL RINGS.

[Illustration: Fig. 1.]

[Illustration: Fig. 2.]

[Illustration: Fig. 3.]

A few very pretty experiments can be made with smoke rings, and as the

apparatus is cheap and easily procurable it may be worth while to say a

few words about them. The best arrangement for producing satisfactory

results is that shown in Fig. 1, where a glass jar with a tap at the

base is resting on a stand. Into the jar and through the cork a small

tube is fixed and the whole sealed down, so that all air passing into

the jar must come through the tube. The finer the tube the better; the

material is of no consequence--it may be of metal, glass, or clay--so

long as the passage down it is kept clear. To it, as shown in the cut, a

holder is fixed, to which the candle or what not is attached, so that

the centre of the tube points fairly into the smoke. The jar is filled

with water, the cork fixed down tightly, and the candle lighted. The tap

is then turned, and as the water runs out it sucks down the smoke, and

the rings will be seen rising through the water and forming on its

surface, as shown in Fig. 2. These rings will soon disappear and

gradually merge into a sort of collar, shown in Fig. 3, where the

central bar is the tube leading up to the source of smoke.

[Illustration: Fig. 4.]

[Illustration: Fig. 5.]

There are other ways of producing smoke rings. For instance, rings such

as shown in Fig. 4 are produced during the combustion of phosphuretted

hydrogen, the white vapours of the phosphoric acid rolling up into the

air in apparently whirling crowns. From guns and field-pieces the smoke

often emerges in rings, and steam out of a small vertical jet is often

shot forth in small circles, such as shown in Fig. 5.

There is, however, a far simpler way of making smoke rings than any we

have described, and that is by procuring a cubical cardboard box with a

small round opening in two of its opposite faces, filling it with smoke

from burning brown paper, and sending the ring into the air by hitting

the palm of the hand against one hole so as to eject the smoke wreath at

the other. In this way most excellent rings are formed, and if received

on a piece of damp glass the rings can be caught and held for a few

moments for examination. In a quiet room free from draughts the

regularity and duration of the rings will provide a surprise for those

who have not tried the experiment.

V.--BUBBLE BLOWING.

We are all of us familiar with the ordinary bubble, and we have probably

all had a try with a long clay pipe and a basin of suds, and succeeded

more or less, principally less, in setting 4-inch balloons afloat over

some quiet neighbourhood. It is possible that a few of us have filled

such soap balloons with hydrogen, and by applying a light to them have

caused an explosion in mid air. But how many of us have tried to attach

a car to our bubbles?

This can be done easily after a little practice, and the sketches

herewith make clear how to set about it. Get an ounce of glass tube from

the nearest druggist, and cut out of thin paper whatever your fancy

leads you to fix to the balloon. As something out of the ordinary lines,

we give the exact size of an aëronaut we recently despatched on a cruise

(Fig. 1). D is a small disc of paper--proper size; F is a fine

thread--proper length below it is the paper figure, cut out of the

orange wrapper of one of the _Boy’s Own Paper_ monthly parts, and it is

traced from the figure we used.

[Illustration: Fig. 1.]

[Illustration: Fig. 2.]

To make the experiment a success it is as well to remember the

conditions. The bubble rises because the air it contains is lighter than

that which surrounds it; it floats when the air is of the same

temperature, it falls when the air within is colder than the air

without. The air in the bubble comes hot from the lungs, and the greater

the difference in heat between that air and the air you breathe the

higher will the bubble go. In short, to have bubbles in perfection you

should blow them in an ice room! As it is not every one that can obtain

the use of a meat storage safe for bubble blowing, let us make our

first experiment in a cool room. Begin with working up a good stiff

lather; and the better the soap the better the suds for our purposes.

Use your tube as you would your pipe, and blow downwards into the basin

steadily and strongly. Take a good breath of air to begin with, and hold

it for a second or two. Keep the point of the tube downwards until you

have fixed on the disc in the way shown in the sketch. No gum or

stickiness is required: all you have to do is to let the dry disc drop

lightly on the wall of the balloon; the moisture will keep it in its

place provided the knot of the cotton is small enough. If you pass the

cotton through with a needle and have the same sort of single knot as if

sewing, the disc will answer all your requirements.

[Illustration: Fig. 3.]

As soon as the disc is firmly fixed, turn the tube gently upwards, and

away will go the bubble, aëronaut and all. It will not cross the

Atlantic, but it will at least reach the ceiling; and if on a cold day

you try it out of doors, you may get it to travel unchecked for several

hundred yards.

VI.--MARIONETTES,

or _Fantoccini_, are very entertaining when dexterously worked, as they

may be by a little practice. Say you have a table with drapery arranged

round it to form a little platform, and drapery also at the back. Let

the latter be dark in colour, so that the string, thread, or silk, with

which you work the dolls, may be less distinguishable if they are so at

all.

[Illustration: Fig. 1.]

The human performer (out of sight) works the figures over the back

drapery, moving every joint, and throwing balls about gaily, as in Fig.

1.

When _Living Marionettes_ are introduced--as they sometimes are at

public exhibitions--the effects are most comical. On a small stage an

ordinary man’s head is apparently attached to a miniature body, and this

latter walks, dances, and goes through many antics. The head, too, has

eyes ‘in a fine frenzy rolling,’ and is gifted vocally, being able to

talk and sing as well as many persons who fill a much larger space in

the world.

[Illustration: Fig. 2.]

This is managed by having two backgrounds, one the height of the

performer’s chin, the other--a little farther back--extending to the top

of the scene. Both of these are black, and at a little distance the

break in them is not distinguishable. The performers walk on a platform

at a lower level than the stage, the doll-bodies being fastened beneath

their chins, hanging over the front drapery, and the doll’s feet resting

on the platform in view of the audience. The performers also carry black

curtains attached to them (not perceptible against the similar

background), and through these wires, fixed to the arms and legs of the

manikins, are pulled to give them motion. (See Fig. 2.) We have also

described ‘Living Marionettes’ in another part of this volume.

VII.--MODEL WRESTLERS.

A good deal of amusement can be had out of a pair of model wrestlers.

The way in which the dolls are fitted and worked is sufficiently shown

in the accompanying illustration. The legs are in one piece, and the

arms are joined so that each doll has only four working parts. The feet

are loaded to keep the figures upright on the string, but it is not

necessary that this should be done, as they can be kept firmly on the

table without. The device is a very old one. Curiously enough, in the

_Hortus Deliciarum_ of Herrade de Lansberg, Abbess of Hohenburg--a

manuscript over seven hundred years old, now in the Paris Library--a man

and woman are represented playing with a couple of figures arranged very

much on the same principle, the only difference being that the dolls are

separate, and worked with two strings instead of one. The figures are

knights in complete armour, with swords and shields. They are hung

close together, so that the swords are crossed, and the heels are loaded

to keep them upright. The strings are crossed, and held one in each hand

by the man and woman. The cross comes between the figures, so that the

string that is attached to the waist of one figure is fastened to the

knee of the other, and any motion forward is balanced by one backward,

and a most realistic encounter can be fought out almost automatically.

[Illustration: THE WRESTLING DOLLS]

With the substitution of thin cap wire for the thread an excellent

marionette or shadow show could be easily arranged, it being much easier

to work horizontally than vertically in all cases where vigorous action

is required to be simulated.

CHAPTER LXIV.--KEEPING THE BALANCE.

BY THE REV. T. S. MILLINGTON, M.A.

In Greece there lived a man--

(Old Ælian tells the tale,

Believe it if you can)--

So light and thin and frail,

He could not go about

Upon a windy day

For fear of being blown out

Or carried clean away.

Therefore, so it is said,

To keep him on the ground,

Two plates of solid lead

Under his feet were bound.

Yet still he was so light,

That when the wind did blow

He could not stand upright,

But wavered to and fro.

To sit upon a chair

Was equally in vain;

The slightest breath of air

Would lift him up again.

And when, upon his bed,

He sought a brief repose,

Down went his heels; his head

Immediately uprose.

No man was ever known

So empty and so weak

(By every zephyr blown)

As this unhappy Greek.

‘The unstable man here commemorated was a native of Cos. I have enlarged

a little upon the description in order to introduce to you a figure

which, in some respects, resembles him. Here it is. You may easily make

one like it. Get a leaden bullet and cut it through the middle with an

old knife and a hammer. Then cut out a light figure of cork or pith, and

fasten its feet to the flat part of the bullet. Now if you try to make

him lie down, you will not succeed. The moment you let go of him he

springs up again and remains in an erect position. Why is this?’

‘His heels are heavier than his head.’

‘Yes. The man himself is so light, that nearly all the weight is in the

lead; and this being round or half-spherical, when you lay the figure

down you set the half-bullet on its edge. By so doing, you raise the

centre of gravity; and it will not rest until it has fallen again and is

supported.’

‘What is the centre of gravity?’

‘The centre of weight; that point in a body round where all the other

parts balance each other. It is not necessarily the centre of the

figure, because one part of a figure may be denser and heavier than

another; but it is the centre of its weight.’

‘Now take the other half of your bullet, and use it for the head of

another figure. This man will be still more eccentric than the Greek,

for he will persist in standing upon his head. His brains are evidently

the heaviest part of him. The centre of gravity is in his skull, and

therefore it will seek the lowest place, and keep it too. So you see

what inconveniences a thick-brained, heavy-headed fellow is exposed to.’

‘He is not much worse off, though, than the light-headed Greek.’

[Illustration]

‘I suspect Ælian was quizzing some one who had no force of character,

and was easily turned this way or that by anybody who would take the

trouble to persuade him: like St. James’s double-minded man, unstable in

all his ways, driven by the wind and tossed.’

‘Whereabouts is the centre of gravity in a man?’

‘That would be difficult to say. Somewhere in his body or trunk; for

that is, of course, the heaviest part of him.’

‘How could you find it out?’

‘You might get near it by hanging him up in two different positions.

Hang him first by his head, and by means of a plumb-line draw a

perpendicular from the point of suspension. Then hang him by the

shoulder or side, and draw another perpendicular, which, this time, will

fall across him. Where these two lines cross each other will be the

centre of gravity; and on that point you might balance him, if you were

strong enough. I dare say you have seen it done in the streets or at a

circus--a man balanced at the end of a long pole.’

‘Yes. And I once saw a donkey balanced at the top of a ladder. It was a

very small donkey; but the ladder was rather a long one, and rested on

the man’s chin.’

‘The longer the ladder the easier the feat would be; I’ll tell you why

presently.’

‘If the centre of gravity is in our body or chest, how do we manage so

easily to stand upright? My sister has a wooden doll which won’t stand

up at all.’

‘That doll has no muscles in her feet. You have; and even when you are

standing still those muscles are constantly at work, controlling the

body so as to keep the centre of weight directly above the feet.’

‘I don’t feel them working.’

‘No; you are so used to it. But balance yourself on one foot. Do you

feel the muscles now?’

‘Yes; they are constantly at work. Try it, all you boys.’

All the boys tried it; and very comical they looked standing in a row on

one leg and swaying about in their efforts to keep the balance. The

centre of gravity was in each case supported, though there was not much

gravity in their faces. That is not the right place for ‘gravity’ at

playtime.

‘Steady!’ cried their teacher, ‘you are swaying about like the unhappy

Greek! Why do you throw out your arms, first to one side and then to the

other?’

‘To keep the balance, sir.’

‘In other words, that you may bring the centre of gravity over the foot

on which you are standing. The centre of gravity moves as your arms

move. If you feeling yourself falling towards the left, you throw out

your right arm, and that brings the centre of weight more towards the

right side. The centre of gravity is but a point; and while you keep

that point supported, you may stand upon a point, or upon a rope, or

upon anything else. That is how the rope-dancers manage. They usually

have a pole, weighted at each end with lead. The man and the pole form,

practically, but one body, and have but one centre of gravity;

therefore, by moving the pole a very little the performer can easily

throw more weight to one side or the other as required, and so bring the

centre of gravity directly over the rope.

‘It requires time and practice to become a good rope-dancer; more than

it is worth, perhaps. But you can make a good balancer with very little

trouble.

[Illustration]

‘Take a common wine-bottle; fit a short cork to it, and stick a needle

through the cork, so that the point may project upwards. That must be

done before you put the cork into the bottle; otherwise you would have

to get into the bottle to do it. The use of the bottle is merely as a

stand. I wish the bottle were never put to any worse use than that.

‘Take another cork and stick a long pin through it, so that the point

may project half an inch or so downwards, into the sides of this second

cork stick two forks in a slanting direction, handles downwards. Now

with a little patience you will be able to place the point of the pin

upon the point of the needle; and once there, there it will remain

balanced, swaying about and perhaps turning round a little, but without

falling off. The weight is here in the forks, and the centre of gravity

low down, between the two handles. The handles, therefore, being free to

move, adjust themselves, so that the centre of gravity is supported, and

that is all that is required.’

‘Our Jack was carrying a bucket of water the other day, and the handle

came off. The bucket dropped down on one side, and he fell over on the

other. What made him fall, sir, when the bucket fell?’

‘Jack was carrying the bucket in his left hand, I suppose, and leaning

over to the right, stretching out the right arm to keep the balance.

When the weight of the bucket was suddenly removed, the centre of

gravity was raised, and thrown at the same time to the opposite side.

As long as the heavy bucket formed part of him (as I may say), the

centre of gravity was nearer the ground; but when it fell, Jack’s centre

was raised, and he overbalanced. The lower the centre of gravity is in

any body, the more firmly that body will stand; and the higher it is up,

the more likely it will be to topple over. I saw some of you walking on

the top of a wall the other day, and you had some difficulty in

balancing yourselves. Others crept on their hands and knees; they

required no balancing, because their centre of gravity was lowered, and

their base of support extended.’

‘Yes, I understand that. But you said just now that a man could be more

easily balanced at the top of a long pole than on a short one; or a

donkey (with four legs) upon a high ladder more easily than on a lower

one. How can that be?’

‘It sounds like a contradiction, but it is true, nevertheless. Try it.

Not with a donkey, but with this stick, which has a heavy knob at one

end. With the knob downwards, resting on the palm of your hand, you can

scarcely balance the stick for a moment; but with the knob upwards there

is comparatively little difficulty.’

‘It is so, certainly; but I don’t understand why.’

‘Because in this case the centre of gravity is supported by keeping the

hand in a proper position under it. When the weight is at the top of the

stick, it has a larger arc to traverse in falling from the perpendicular

than if it were lower down, and the person who balances it has a

proportionately longer time to move his hand so as to give it the

necessary support. In other words, the higher the centre of gravity is,

the farther it has to fall, and the more time there is to check it while

falling.

‘Do you ever walk on stilts? If so, you will know that it is much easier

to keep the balance upon high stilts than on low ones. In some parts of

France the people are in the constant habit of walking about on stilts.

The elevation enables them to see farther across the level plains, and

to observe where their flocks are feeding. If they were to fall they

would describe a large arc, and come down with great force, but they do

not fall. A very slight movement of the stilt is sufficient to keep it

under their centre of gravity. If they were lower down, greater exertion

and a swifter movement would be necessary to correct every unsteadiness.

Men cannot stand still upon stilts, because there are no muscles at the

foot of the stilt to play upon the ground and react upon the body.

Observe, then, that when the base is movable, as in balancing a ladder

with a donkey on it, or in walking upon stilts, the higher up the weight

is the better. But when the base is not movable, the lower down the

centre of gravity is, the less risk there will be of an upset. Boats

have often been capsized by timid people standing up in a moment of

alarm, and so raising the centre of gravity, and coaches by having too

great a load of passengers and luggage on the roof, with no “insides.”

The great thing is to keep the centre of gravity supported, and then,

though it be but a pin’s point resting upon that of a needle, there can

be no fall.’

‘Yes; but one can’t always be thinking about one’s centre of gravity.’

‘It is not necessary. Habit or instinct supplies all that is wanted. You

balance yourselves from the time you get out of bed in the morning till

you go to bed again at night, without ever thinking about it. Only when

you stand on one leg, or go into dangerous places, are you conscious of

the effort you are making. Your Maker has ordered it thus, that you may

guard against accidents, and yet be free from constant care and trouble

in doing so. Even the birds are taught to place their heads under their

wings when sleeping, so as to render their form more compact and their

balance more perfect.

‘Walking has to be acquired in infancy, and until the foot has learnt to

use its muscles unconsciously and rightly, the child has many a fall.

There are also two ways of walking, a right and a wrong way. Some men

sway from side to side as they walk, altering the centre of gravity at

every step, and being obliged to straggle their feet accordingly to

support it. A well-drilled soldier, on the contrary, keeps his body

steady, and uses his legs for the forward movement only. Of course he

gets over the ground much faster and with less exertion than the

sloucher. Balancing, like everything else, has to be learnt, and, when

learnt, is practised without any trouble. There was a man once who had

been a cripple from his mother’s womb, and who never had walked.

Suddenly the use of his limbs was given him--“his feet and ankle bones

received strength.” If that had been all, it might have taken him days

or weeks to learn the right use of his muscles; he would not have been

able, without much practice, even to stand upright. But the miracle was

carried beyond this. St. Peter’s words to the cripple were, “In the name

of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up _and walk_. And he leaping up

stood, and entered with them into the temple, _walking_, and _leaping_,

and praising God.” Not only was strength given him, but skill to use it;

he was to “rise and walk,” and was enabled to do so at once.

‘That completeness of cure was intended to teach what the power of the

Saviour can do for the soul in all ages, as then for the body. Our

strength, and the instinct by which we apply it, come to us gradually,

and not by a miracle: but let us think about it sometimes, and be

thankful for it all the same.’

[Illustration: FINIS]

Transcriber’s Notes

This transcription follows the original printed work; inconsistencies

in spelling, lay-out, hyphenation, etc. have been retained, except as

mentioned below.

Minor differences between the table of contents and the

chapter/section headings have been retained; the numbering of sections

in the text has been made consistent with the numbering in the table

of contents.

Illustrations that are too small to show all detail have been linked

to larger illustrations; this is not supported by all formats.

Phrases such as drawn to scale, full size and other similar references

to scale are, of course, not applicable to this e-text.

Page 145, ... are about brazing ...: probably an error for are about

to braze or are brazing.

Page 196, table, row 8 column 6: the move should be either 11-16 or

12-16. The second digit in the first number is illegible, and has been

replaced by a question mark. Columns 3-7 appear to be off by one row,

this has not been changed.

Page 418, paragraph The next thing is the glass, ...: A, three and a

quarter; B, three and an eighth; C, three and an eighth; D, three and

an eighth; E, two and three-quarters should possibly be A, three and a

quarter; B, three and an eighth; C, three; D, two and seven-eighths;

E, two and three-quarters.

Page 476, “sort of lattice”: the original work shows separate

letters/symbols, not the lattice described.

Changes and corrections made to the text:

Illustrations have been moved to where they are explained or fit best

Minor obvious punctuation, formatting and typographical errors have

been corrected silently

M.A./m.a. and other degrees and titles standardised to M.A. etc.

Page 47: ... fixed ... changed to ... fixed at ...

Page 79: I. added before heading How to make a Boat ...

Page 94: Stansfield-Hicks changed to Stansfeld-Hicks

Page 139: B B (Fig. 2) changed to B (Fig. 2)

Page 140: ... have to bent ... changed to ... have to be bent ...

Page 141: Fig. 11 rotated 90°

Page 151: Fig. 15 rotated 90°

Page 173: + changed to † as elsewhere (in chess game)

Page 194: (or 26 to 22) moved to previous line

Page 204-207: go-ban notation standardised to, for example, a1

Page 210-211: point references standardised from, for example, A 1 and

A1 to A1

Page 211, game: ... the Black’s attack ... changed to ... Black’s

attack ...

Page 213: 214,365 changed to 2, 1, 4, 3, 6, 5

Page 223: (see Fig. 5) changed to (see Fig. 4)

Page 261: ... zeotropic pictures ... changed to ... zoetropic pictures

...

Page 342, calendar: border added between columns 04 and 05

Page 347: caption added to Fig. 1

Page 358: captions added to Fig. 3

Page 369: in-line illustrations have been moved to what seemed the

best location

Page 483: captions added to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2; ... the little bit

(_b_) ... changed to ... the little bit (_c_) ...

Page 492: caption added to Fig. 1 and 2

Page 516: F changed to Fig. 3. (caption)