to months, to years,
And thus time flies away.

And deeds of good by children done,
Though small they seem to you,
May grow into a mighty sum,
For one and one make two.

CRUISERS IN THE CLOUDS.

VI.--THE GIANT AND ITS ADVENTURES.

Two hundred needlewomen were busy for a month making the 'Giant's' coat.
It contained twenty thousand yards of white silk, of double thickness,
at six shillings a yard, and when finished measured ninety yards round
and sixty yards in height. When it was filled it held 6098 cubic yards
of gas. M. Nadar, its master, introduced it to the people of Paris in
the hope that the money they would pay to see it would enable him to
carry out his experiments with flying machines. On October 4th, 1863,
the Giant was ready to make its first voyage in the clouds, and nearly
five hundred thousand people assembled to see it start.

It was like a cottage made of wicker-work, and mounted on small wheels.
In two of the four walls there was a door with two small windows each
side of it, and inside there was a little world of wonders. The
'cottage' was only fifteen feet long, twelve wide, and eight high; but
it was divided up so carefully by thin partitions that there was room
for a small printing-office, a photographic department, a
refreshment-room, a compartment for the captain's bed and passengers'
luggage, and another at the opposite end, with three beds in it. Outside
all this, but inside the walls of wicker-work, was an inflated rubber
lining, so as to prevent it from sinking if, by any mischance, the
'Giant' should fall into the sea. Thus, according to circumstances, the
building could be either the car of a balloon, a ship at sea, or a
caravan being drawn by horses upon the wheels already mentioned along a
country road. From the inside a narrow stairway led on to the roof, or
deck.

When all was ready, M. Nadar, leaning from the deck, gave the word. The
ropes were let go, and the Giant rose solemnly towards the sky. Fifteen
voyagers waved their hats and handkerchiefs over the bulwarks, returning
the greetings of the crowd till carried beyond sight and hearing.

Though the launch was a success, the poor Giant had been served very
badly by some careless persons, all unknown to those on board. The
pilot, a clever aeronaut, named Godard, was a little surprised that very
soon after leaving the ground he had to begin throwing out ballast, to
stop them from sinking. Th