Rensselaer Republican, Volume 12, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 June 1880 — Sundry Humbugs. [ARTICLE]

Sundry Humbugs.

Sometimes a fraudulent scheme shows such an amount of ingenuity and knowl-* edge of human nature, thet we are tempted to overlorlook the rascality of the thing in our amazement at Its audacity and *cuteness. For example, handbills were recently largely circulated in New England, setting forth that there would be at a certain place on a given date a “Grand Mammoth Balloon Ascension.” The bills before us give Bridgeport, Conn., as one place of this remarkable Mow; but the same bills have been circulated near other large places in New England, and the country for 20 miles around there well notified that the “ascension” would take >lace at these towns on given days. This iandbill Is something remarkable. On one side it proposes to have

SrXTBKBT MAMMOTH BALLOONS IN THE AIR AT* ONE TIMX. Then each of these balloons is to “carry two or more daring asronauto, who will, when the balloons reach an altitude of 3,000 feet from the ground, leap overboard add float gently down to mother earth again by mean* of -parachutes.” There is a picture with many balloons and their occupants going - down.. in parachutes. It must be, as the bill* say, • “marvelous spectacle,” these chap* coming down, while there are “fifteen beautiful tricolored balloons soaring away toward the sun,” and we may add in the words of the showman about the eagle—“the higher be flies the nigher he’ll come to it"—But all this strikes us as a great waste of balloon material, for the teronauts to leave their balloon, to go off Id the sun and get burned up. But as we are told that the expenses are in part paid by a “subsidy allowed by the governments,” of the different aeronauts, ■we suppose they can stand the loss. But this side of the handbill is nothing to the other side. There we have “A MAGNIFICENT AND THRILLING BALLOON _ ' WEDDING

away up amodg the clouds.” This is all id be done in, "or on, the 7 “sixteenth balloon,” which will represent nothing less than “Oupid’s bridal qhariot.” This balloon holds ‘-70,000 feet of gas,” bu* that’s a trifle to the amount used in inflating the description of the wedding. It’s all very funny, and at the same time very wonderful. When the ceremony is over, the balloon is to be lowered, the bride to be presented with sloo in gold, then “the wedding, party will be started on their heavenly tour orbHss.” Whether th& “heavenly these “GRAND, SUBUME, AND NOVEL ATTRAC TIONB," would express a “big thing.” No wonder that the people.crowd bf thousands to the tJfrns whertfaftMse be *4pn,all there is no qalfoo* show’ a* thfe time and place o«t for aflMiMfl hMe -sorts- modey to spend, and they fortunately find that there i plldfi rtul thew can go to that. It u all A DODGE OV A TRAVELING CERCUS to Briwf a erdwd dt thq, plate and on the datrt where It wto be. We should say, by the way, that the show is not Barnum’s, any rate resort to such a miserable decepdeceived by it. We have heard that the

The captain of a vessel at Queenstown, from Demarara, reports that on April 30th, In latitue 30 degrees norths degrees west, he passed a'rtffwrtMrettfty made dtdftiwduetrw 3Jmv4-war or first <da**j.«teMMC| as it was bolted together, übC u n&e*, 3 ’&id two days after several corpse*, droned in white. This probably tell* the tale of the lost training ship Atalanta. 7frhe rrMpirint SKBiaitt M*yir lag emotamenf*ftem«serteinminor puMo obtaining their position*, fy, ft ® . r