drink this weather, like those poor Arabs that you told us of the other
day."

"Yes," answered Mr. Harvey, "the sun must be burning hot in Arabia now."

"How can they live in such a place?" asked John.

"They are not all so miserable as the party I told you of the other
day," replied his father. "Besides, you know it is their country, and
God has taught them to love it. If an Arab were brought here, he would,
probably, think it a most dreary land, except in summer."

"But what do you do in town, Samuel," asked John, "when it is too warm
to go out?"

"It is very hot only in the middle of the day," replied his cousin, "and
then, you know, we are at school. In the afternoons, I sometimes rode
out with father, or went on the steamboat. Last week a balloon went up,
from the other side of the river. We had a fine view of it from the roof
of our house. Two men were in it, and when they had risen so high that
the balloon appeared quite small, they threw out a little machine,
called a parachute. It looked something like an umbrella, and had a dog
to it. The balloon sailed a great distance through the air, and came
down safely."

It was now six o'clock, and Mr. Harvey told the boys that they might go
to supper, which he had ordered to be ready earlier than usual.

[Illustration]