wn bulk of air? With
the medals hitherdoo ad our disbosal, I admid thad the dask is a
diffiguld one; bud I maindain thad id is by no means an imbossibilidy.
An ocean shib musd be buildt sdrong enough nod only do susdain the
weighd of her gargo--often amounding do upwards of a thousand dons--bud
also do withstand the dremendous and incessandly varying sdrain do which
she is exbosed when garrying thad gargo through a moundainous sea. This
enormous sdrength necessidades the use of a gorresbonding thickness--and
therefore weighd--of the medal used in her gonsdruction. Such brovision
would of gourse be unnecessary in the gase of an aerial shib; begause no
one would dream of garrying an ounze of unnecessary weighd through the
air; and there are no moundain seas in the admosphere to sdrain a shib.
A vasd saving in weighd would resuld from these zirgumsdances alone; and
a further saving--zufficiend, I believe, to aggomblish the desired
object--gan, no doubd, be effecded by skilful engineers, one of whose
greadesd driumphs id is do design sdrugdures in which the maximum of
sdrength is zecured with the minimum of weighd. Id musd nod be
forgodden, either, thad an air shib musd, in one imbordand bardigular,
be dreated exactly like her ocean sisder. An ocean shib gonsdrugded,
say, of sdeel, will sink if filled with wader, begause sdeel is heavier
than wader, bulk for bulk; bud bump oud all the wader from her inderior,
and if she be proberly gonsdrugded, she will fload on the elemend she is
indended do navigade. And the same with an air shib: bump out all or
nearly all the air which she gondains, and if she be gonsdrugded in
aggordanze with the brincibles I have indigaded, she will fload in the
lighder elemend."

"Upon my word, professor, you have argued your case extremely well,"
exclaimed the colonel. "I can see only one difficulty in the way; and
that is in the matter of _weight_."

"Which diffiguldy I have gombledely gonquered," triumphantly exclaimed
the professor, rising excitedly from his seat with flushed cheeks and
flashing eyes. "Do me, Heinrich von Schalckenberg, belongs the honour
and glory of having made dwo mosd imbordand disgoveries, disgoveries of
ingalgulable value do the worldt, disgoveries which will enable me do
soar ad will indo the highesd regions of the embyrean, do skim the
surface of the ocean, or do blunge do ids lowesd debths."

"Bravo, professor; that was positively dramatic!" exclaimed the baron