Mr. Fogg has a strong tendency to exaggeration in conversation, and he
gave a striking illustration of this in a story that he related one
day when I called at his house. Fogg was telling me about an incident
that occurred in a neighboring town a few days before, and this is the
way he related it:

"You see old Bradley over here is perfectly crazy on the subject of
gases and the atmosphere and such things--absolutely wild; and one day
he was disputing with Green about how high up in the air life could be
sustained, and Bradley said an animal could live about forty million
miles above the earth if--"

"Not forty millions, my dear," interposed Mrs. Fogg; "only forty
miles, he said."

"Forty, was it? Thank you. Well, sir, old Green, you know, said that
was ridiculous; and he said he'd bet Bradley a couple of hundred
thousand dollars that life couldn't be sustained half that way up, and
so--"

"Wilberforce, you are wrong; he only offered to bet fifty dollars,"
said Mrs. Fogg.

"Well, anyhow, Bradley took him up quicker'n a wink, and they agreed
to send up a cat in a balloon to decide the bet. So what does Bradley
do but buy a balloon about twice as big as our barn and begin to--"

"It was only about ten feet in diameter, Mr. Adeler; Wilberforce
forgets."