Suddenly, over the desolate ground to the west, we see a man hovering in mid-air, descending on a parachute from a captive balloon that seems to have suffered mishap.

The same year, 1897, when he was twenty-four years old, he, with M. Machuron, made his first ascent in a spherical balloon, the only kind in existence at that time.

So long as one had to consider the navigable balloon the aerial side of warfare remained unimportant.

With but three minutes left and some distance to go, the great dirigible balloon got up speed and rushed for the goal.

A yellow balloon bounces slowly across Wilson Street.

The choice of different colored balloons makes for interest and consequent "rooting.

At last a red ball appeared behind a reddish cloud; its colour changed to the colour of flame, paled again, and at four flared up like a rose-coloured balloon.

Children in particular become like tightly inflated little balloons after a feast, and as they wear no clothing, the extraordinary rotundity is very obvious, not to say ridiculous.

Children in particular become like tightly inflated little balloons after a feast, and as they wear no clothing, the extraordinary rotundity is very obvious, not to say ridiculous.

The tiny, dressed-up Oriental dollsboy and girlswho strolled about with pink balloons or butterfly kites, in the short intervals between "Mellican" school and Chinese school, were not baby-actors playing parts on the stage, but real flesh and blood children, who had no idea that they were odd to look at in their gay-coloured gowns and tiny caps.

Nothing was altered in these teeming galleries, except that turbid daylight had imperceptibly given place to this other dimness, in which lanterns swung like tethered fire-balloons.

Four square towers, crowned by four Oriental-looking domes, not unlike the lower half of an inverted balloon: these towers at the angles of a square building with buttressed and battlemented walls, with two ranges of round-arched windows on the side towards us.

lighter-than-air balloon, helium balloon, hydrogen balloon, hot air balloon.

Then a dark object seemed to fall from the car, the lightened balloon shot upward, the object struck the roof of the cathedral there was a fearful explosion, a trembling of the earth as if an angry volcano were beneath, and the crash of falling buildings followed.

"Have another fizz, girl, and by that time we'll be ready for a trip in my underground balloon.

Santos-Dumont was just such a boy, and he spent much time in setting miniature balloons afloat, and in launching tiny air-ships actuated by twisted rubber bands.

The car hung here, like a floating balloon, motionless, purposelessfar up out of sight of land, and an absolute silence hung round it.

Now inflate this admirable balloon, which is to bear off all your hopes, with the lightest gases.

"It is a little parachute balloon, just like the one that carried that message into the cocoa grove of Carlos Mendoza!"

Its perpetual balloon voyage of sentiment was suited to other times, or finds sympathy to-day with other races.

[Illustration: AboveAmerican observation balloon being brought down to its anchorage.

The object is for the contestants to blow their respective balloons across the room, following as nearly as possible the courses of string.

Cliffs they saw in plenty, but as yet none enclosing a valley so as to imprison an unfortunate aeronaut, whose runaway balloon had dropped with him into its depths.

The consuls of the powers met at the Cercle Militaire the governor, and laughed hectically at the absurd balloon of tittle-tattle which had been pricked by the Noa-Noa's facts.

It proved to be a stationary balloon which was acting as the eye of the artillery.