Page:The American Boy's Handy Book edition 1.djvu/179

it is sold to miners for setting off blasts. With the wire make a sort of wheel, with two or three spokes; cut open the Roman Image missingFig. 105. candle and extract the powder and balls; wrap up each ball with some of the powder loosely in a piece of tissue-paper and tie the paper at the ends upon the spokes or cross wires of the wheel, as shown in Fig. 105. Run the fuse spirally around, passing through each parcel containing a ball, and allow the long end of the fuse to trail down beneath from the centre or side (Fig. 106). To the rim of the wire wheel attach several wires of equal lengths with hooked ends; hook these on to the hoop at the mouth of the balloon just before letting it go, and light the trailing end of the fuse. As the fire creeps slowly along, the balloon mounts higher and higher. Image missingFig. 106.Fireworks. Suddenly the whole balloon glows with a ruddy, lurid glare. The fire has reached the first ball. another instant you see a floating globe of pale green light, then blue, and so on, until all the balls are consumed. Showers of pretty, jagged sparks are falling constantly during the illumination, caused by the burning powder. By the time all is over the tiny light of the solitary ball in the balloon looks like a star in the sky above,