And hung a bottle on each side
To make his balance true.
Cowper.
The order and balance of the country were destroyed.
Buckle.
English workmen completely lose their balance.
J. S. Mill.
5. An equality between the sums total of the two sides of an account; as, to bring one's accounts to a balance; -- also, the excess on either side; as, the balance of an account. "A balance at the banker's." Thackeray.
I still think the balance of probabilities leans towards the account given in the text.
J. Peile.
6. (Horol.) A balance wheel, as of a watch, or clock. See Balance wheel (in the Vocabulary).
7. (Astron.) (a) The constellation Libra. (b) The seventh sign in the Zodiac, called Libra, which the sun enters at the equinox in September.