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Broom Heath

EYES AND NO EYES

«

AND OTHER STORIES

Edited with Introduction and Notes
By M. V. O'SHEA

PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION IN THE UNIVERSITY
OF WISCONSIN

D. C. HEATH AND COMPANY

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO ATLANTA

DALLAS SAN FRANCISCO LONDON

Copyright, 1900,

By D. C. Heath & Co«

Printed in U. S. A,

'■'"THt 3F0 -^HK. 2
-- vl

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"^0%,^ A

Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, in " Over the Teacups,"
says of the story '' Eyes and No Eyes " : —

" I have never seen anything of the kind half so
good. I advise you, if you are a child anywhere under
forty-five, and do not yet wear glasses, to send at once
for " Evenings at Home," and read that story. For
myself I am always grateful to the writer of it for call^
ing my attention to common things."

PREFACE

Whatever will stimulate the observing tendencies of
the youQg cannot but be of value to them. " Eyes and
No Eyes " does this in a delightful way. The story is
so natural that the child is wrapped up in it, and so it
makes a deep impress upon him. Much less could be
accompUshed by simply telling him to observe, or lec-
turing upon the value of keeping one's eyes open. But
when the reader sees how much more William gets out
of his walk than Robert, and what marvellous things
exist everywhere if one is on the lookout for them, he is
himself incited to examine with greater care the many
more or less ordinary things he has neglected hereto-
fore. William and Robert become very real individuals
to the child, and there is no doubt which of them he
will choose to emulate. The author rehes upon the
force of concrete example to determine the conduct of
children, and this is certainly sound in theory and
endorsed by experience.

The story is told in a very agreeable style, which is
at once attractive and affords a good model for imita-
tion. The dialogue gives an opportunity to present
information without its seeming dry and didactic.

vi Preface

"The Three Giants" cannot be too highly com-
mended. I find children are greatly interested in it,
and they get a valuable lesson which they could not
gain quite so well in any other form. The story has
that literary touch which marks it as of permanent
value.

The story of " A Curious Instrument " will offer the
child a good chance to try his imaginative wings, so
to speak, and will also afford him a useful lesson. It
cannot but be desirable for the young to begin early to
think upon the wonderful construction of the human
body, although they must not be carried into the detailed
anatomy too far. The child must rather be led to see
how marvellously efficient the various organs of his
body are, and what they accomplish to promote his
welfare. The object here indicated is attained very
well in this story ; the child's curiosity is greatly stimu-
lated to find out what the wonderful instrument can be,
and this leads him to appreciate the uses to which it
may be put. In this way he gains useful knowledge
while being pleasantly entertained.

'* Travellers' Wonders " will excite hardly less curi-
osity in the reader than ''A Curious Instrument." He
marvels that any people can do as they are said to in
the story ; and when he discovers that they dwell all
about him, it is a revelation to him. He usually does
not think upon these familiar topics; he takes them all
as matters of course. But it is a good thing for him

Preface vii

to view them in another light once in a while ; and
there could hardly be any more effective means of
getting him to do this than is illustrated in this selec-
tion. Formal lessons do not get the hold upon the
child that a dramatic story of this sort does, — one that
sets him to solving a puzzle. There is really no exer-
cise that so stimulates the mind of the young as some-
thing of the puzzle character ; and when the outcome
of the puzzle is profitable, it makes a valuable method

of teaching,

M. V. O'SHEA

University of Wisconsin

CONTENTS

PAGE

PREFACE V

EYES AND NO EYES; or, The Art of Seeing . . . i
From Aiken and Barbauld's " Evenings at Home "

THE THREE GIANTS .22

By Mrs. Marcet

TRAVELLERS' WONDERS 5c

From Aiken and Barbauld's " Evenings at Home "

A CURIOUS INSTRUMENT 59

By Jane Taylor

NOTE 64

ILLUSTRATIONS

Broom Heath Frontispiece

View and Plan of Roman Camp 8

It was a Large Water-rat 10

The Three Giants at Work 21

Aquafluens 34

Ventosus 41

The Coming of Vaporifer 48

Vaporifer at Work 49

A Curious Instrument .... o .... 58

AND TWENTY-SIX SMALLER ONES IN THE TEXT
viii

EYES AND NO EYES

OR, THE ART OF SEEING

" Well, Robert, where have you been walking
this afternoon ? " said Mr. Andrews, to one of his
pupils at the close of a holiday.

Robert. " I have been, sir, to Broom Heath, and
so around by the windmill upon Camp Mount,
and home through the meadows by the riverside."

Mr. a. " Well, that's a pleasant round."

Robert. " I thought it very dull, sir; I
scarceh^ met with a single person. I had rather
by half have gone along the turnpike road."

Mr. a. " Why, if seeing men and horses is your

2 Eyes and No Eyes

object, you would indeed be better entertained
upon the high road. But did you see WiUiam ? "

Robert. " We set out together, but he lagged
behind in the lane, so I walked on and left him."

Mr. a. " That was a pity. He would have
been company for you."

Robert. " Oh, he is so tedious, always stop-
ping to look at this thing and that. I had rather
walk alone. I dare say he is not home yet."

Mr. a. " Here he comes. Well, William,
where have you been ? "

William. " Oh, sir, the pleasantest walk I I
went all over Broom Heath, and so up to the mill

Eyes and No Eyes 3

at the top of the hill, and then down among the
green meadows by the side of the river."

Mr. a. " Why, that is just the round Robert
has been taking, and he complains of its dulness,
and prefers the high road."

William. " I wonder at that. I am sure I
hardly took a step that did not delight me, and I
brought home my handkerchief full of curiosities."

Mr. a. " Suppose, then, you give us some
account of what amused you so much. I fancy
it will be as new to Robert as to me."

William. " I will, sir. The lane leading to
the heath, you know, is close and sandy, so I did
not mind it much, but made the best of my way.
However, I spied a curious thing enough in the
hedge. It was an old crab-tree, out of which
grew a great bunch of some-
thing green, quite different
from the tree itself. Here is
a branch of it."

Mr. a. " Ah ! this is mistle-
toe, a plant of great fame for
the use made of it by the
Druids of old in their religious
rites and incantations. It bears
a very slimy white berry, of which birdlime may
be made. It is one of those plants which do not
grow in the ground by a root of their own, but
fix themselves upon other plants, whence they

4 Eyes and No Eyes

have been humorously styled parasitical, as being
hangers-on or dependants. It was the mistletoe
of the oak that the Druids particularly honored."
William. " A little farther on I saw a green
woodpecker fly to a tree and run up the trunk
like a cat."

Mr. a. " That was to seek for insects in the
bark, on which they live. They bore holes with
their strong bills for that purpose, and do much
damage to the trees by it."

William. " What beautiful birds they are! '*
Mr. a. " Yes ; they have been called, from
their color and size, the English parrot."

Eyes and No Eyes 5

William. " When I got upon the open heath,
how charming it was ! The air seemed so fresh,
and the prospect on every side so free and
unbounded ! Then it was all covered with gay
flowers, many of w^hich I had never observed
before. There were at least three kinds of heath
(I have got them in my handkerchief here), and
gorse, and broom, and bell-flower, and many
others of all colors, that I will beg you presently
to tell me the names of."

Mr. a. " That I will readily."

Wheatear

William. " I saw, too, several birds that were
new to me. There was a pretty grayish one, of
the size of a lark, that was hopping about some
great stones; and when he flew he showed a
great deal of white above his tail."

Mr. a. *' That was a wheatear. They are

6 Eyes and No Eyes

reckoned very delicious birds to eat, and frequent
the open downs in Sussex, and some other coun-
ties, in great numbers."

William. " There was a flock of lapwings upon
a marshy part of the heath that amused me much.
As I came near them, some of them kept flying
round and round just over my head, and crying
'pewit' so distinctly one might fancy they almost
spoke. I thought I should have caught one of
them, for he flew as if one of his wings was broken,

Lapwing

and often tumbled close to the ground ; but, as I
came near, he always made a shift to get away."

Mr. a. " Ha, ha ! you were finely taken in,
then ! This was all an artifice of the bird's to
entice you away from its nest ; for they build upon
the bare ground, and their nests would easily be
observed, did they not draw off the attention of
intruders by their loud cries and counterfeit
lameness."

Eyes and No Eyes 7

William. "I wish I had known that, for he
led me a long chase, often over shoes in water.
However, it was the cause of my falling in with an
old man and a boy who were cutting and piling
up turf for fuel, and I had a good deal of talk
with them about the manner of preparing the

turf, and the price at which it sells. They gave
me, too, a creature I never saw before, — a young
viper which they had just killed, together with its
dam. I have seen several common snakes, but
this is thicker in proportion and of a darker color
than they are."

Mr. a. " True, vipers frequent those turfy,

Remains of a Roman Camp at Silchester, England

,^=..-.^.. .

^

Eyes and No Eyes 9

boggy grounds and I have known several turf-
cutters bitten by them."

William. " They are very venomous, are they
not.?"

Mr. a. " Enough so to make their wounds
painful and dangerous, though they seldom prove
fatal."

William. " Well, I then took my course up to
the windmill on the mount. I climbed up the
steps of the mill in order to get a better view of
the country round. What an extensive prospect !
I counted fifteen church steeples, and I saw sev-
eral gentlemen's houses peeping out from the
midst of green woods and plantations ; and I
could trace the windings of the river all along the
low grounds, till it was lost behind a ridge of hills.
But ril tell you what I mean to do, sir, if you will
give me leave."

Mr. a. " What is that ? "

William. " I will go again, and take with me
Carey's country map, by which I shall probably
be able to make out most of the places."

Mr. a. " You shall have it, and I will go with
you, and take my pocket spying-glass."

William. " I shall be very glad of that. Well,
a thought struck me, that as the hill is called
Camp Mount, there might probably be some
remains of ditches and mounds with which I
have read that camps were surrounded. And I

It was a Large Water-rat

Eyes and No Eyes 1 1

really believe I discovered something of that sort
running round one side of the mount."

Mr. a. " Very likely you might. I know
antiquaries have described such remains as exist-
ing there, which some suppose to be Roman,
others Danish. We will examine them further
when we go."

William. " From the hill I went straight
down to the meadows below, and walked on the
side of a brook that runs into the river. It
was all bordered with reeds and flags and tall
flowering plants, quite different from those I had
seen on the heath. As I was getting down the
bank to reach one of them, I heard something
plunge into the water near me. It was a large
water-rat, and I saw it swim over to the other
side, and go into its hole. There were a great
many large dragon-flies all about the stream. I
caught one of the finest, and have him here in a
leaf. But how I longed to catch a bird that I saw
hovering over the water, and every now and then
darting down into it ! It was all over a mixture
of the most beautiful green and blue, with some
orange color. It was somewhat less than a thrush,
and had a large head and bill, and a short tail."

Mr. a. " I can tell you what that bird was — a
kingfisher, the celebrated halcyon of the ancients,

Halcyon : the halcyon was said to lay her eggs in a nest built on the
sea during calm weather. Hence, halcyon days, — " days of repose."

12

Eyes and No Eyes

about which so many tales are told. It lives on
fish, which it catches in the manner you saw. It
builds in holes in the banks, and is a shy, retired

bird, never to be seen
far from the stream
where it lives."

William. " I must
try to get another sight
at him, for I never saw
a bird that pleased me
so much. Well, I fol-
lowed this little brook
till it entered the river,
and then took the path
that runs along the
bank. On the opposite
side I observed several
little birds running
^^ ^, along the shore, and

making a piping noise.
They were brown and
white, and about as big as a snipe."

Mr. a. " I suppose they were sand-pipers, one
of the numerous family of birds that get their liv-
ing by wading among the shallows, and picking
up worms and insects."

William. " There were a great many swallows,
too, sporting upon the surface of the water, that
entertained me with their motions. Sometimes

Eyes and No Eyes 13

they dashed into the stream ; sometimes they
pursued one another so quick, that the eye could
scarcely follow them. In one place, where a high,
steep sandbank rose directly above the river, I
observed many of them go in and out of holes
with which the bank was bored full."

Mr. a. " Those were sand-martins, the small-
est of our species of swallows. They are of a
mouse-color above, and white beneath. They
make their nests and bring up their young in
these holes, which run a great depth, and by their
situation are secure from all plunderers."

William. " A little farther on I saw a man in

H

Eyes and No Eyes

a boat, who was catching eels in an odd way.
He had a long pole with broad iron prongs at the
end, just like Neptune's trident, only there were

Swallow

five instead of three. This he pushed straight
down among the mud in the deepest parts of the
river, and fetched up the eels sticking between
the prongs."

Mr. a. " I have seen this method : it is called
the spearing of eels."

William. " While I was looking at him a heron
came flying over my head, with his large flapping
wings. He lit at the next turn of the river, and I
crept softly behind the bank to watch his motions.
He had waded into the water as far as his long

Neptune : the god of the sea, always represented with the trident or
three-pronged fork, anciently used by fishermen.

Eyes and No Eyes

M

legs would carry him, and
was standing with his
neck drawn in, looking
intently on the stream.
Presently he darted his
long bill as quick as
lightning into the water,
and drew out a fish,
which he swallowed. I
saw him catch another in
the same manner. He
then took alarm at some
noise I made, and flew
away slowly to a wood at
some distance, where he
alighted."

Mr. a. " Probably his
nest was there, for herons
build upon the loftiest
trees they can find, and
sometimes in society to-
gether, like rooks. For-
merly, when these birds
were valued for the
amusement of hawking,
many gentlemen had their
heronries, and a few are
still remaining."

Hawking : catching birds by means of trained hawks.

i6

Eyes and No Eyes

William. *' I think they are the largest wild
birds we have."

Mr. a. " They are of a great length and spread
of wing, but their bodies are comparatively small."

Heron

William. *' I then turned homeward across the
meadows, where I stopped awhile to look at a
large flock of starlings, which kept flying about
at no great distance. I could not tell at first
what to make of them, for they rose all together
from the ground as thick as a swarm of bees, and

Eyes and No Eyes

17

formed themselves into a kind of black cloud,
hovering over the field. After taking a short
round they settled again, and presently rose once
more in the same manner. I dare say there were
hundreds of them."

Mr. a. " Perhaps so ; for in the fenny coun-

Starling

tries their flocks are so numerous that they break
down whole acres of reeds by settling on them.
This disposition of starlings to fly in close swarms
was observed even by Homer, who compares the
foe flying from one of his heroes to a cloud of
starlings retiring dismayed at the approach of the
hawk."

William. " After I had left the meadows, I
crossed the corn-fields on the way to our house,

1 8 Eyes and No Eyes

and passed close by a deep marl-pit. Looking into
it I saw in one of the sides a cluster of what I
took to be shells, and, upon going
down, I picked up a clod of marl,
which was quite full of them ;
but how sea-shells could get
there, I cannot imagine."

Mr. a. " I do not wonder at
your surprise, since many philosophers have been
much perplexed to account for the same appear-
ance. It is not uncommon to find great quanti-
ties of shells and relics of marine animals even
in the bowels of high mountains, very remote
from the sea. They are certainly proofs that the
earth was once in a very different state from what
it is at present. When you study geology you
will know more on this subject."

William. " I got to the high field next our
house, just as the sun was setting, and I stood
looking at it till it was quite lost. What a glori-
ous sight ! The clouds were tinged with purple
and crimson and yellow of all shades and hues,
and the clear sky varied from blue to a fine green
at the horizon. But how large the sun appears
just as it sets ! I think it seems twice as big as
when it is overhead."

Mr. a. " It does so ; and you may probably
have observed the same apparent enlargement of
the moon at its rising."

Eyes and No Eyes 19

William. " I have ; but pray what is the reason
of this ? "

Mr. a. " It is an optical deception, depending
upon principles which I cannot well explain to
you till you know more of that branch of science.
But what a number of new ideas this afternoon's
walk has afforded you ! I do not wonder that
you found it amusing ; it has been very instruc-
tive, too. Did you see nothing of all these
sights, Robert ? "

Robert. " I saw some of them, but I did not
take particular notice of them."

Mr. A. "Why not.?"

Robert. " I don't know. I did not care about
them, and I made the best of my way home."

Mr. a. "That would have been right if you
had been sent with a message ; but as you only
walked for amusement, it would have been wiser
to have sought out as many sources of it as
possible. But so it is one person walks through
the world with his eyes open, and another with
them shut ; and upon this difference depends all
the superiority of knowledge the one acquires
above the other. I have known sailors who had
been in all the quarters of the world, and could
tell you nothing but the signs of the tippling-
houses they frequented in the different ports,
and the price and quality of the liquor. On
the other hand, a Franklin could not cross the

20 Eyes and No Eyes

Channel, without making some observations useful
to mankind. While many a vacant, thoughtless
youth is whirled throughout Europe without gain-
ing a single idea worth crossing a street for, the
observing eye and inquiring mind find matter of
improvement and delight in every ramble in town
or country. Do you, then, William, continue to
make use of your eyes ; and you, Robert, learn
that eyes were given you to use."

The English Channel: the shortest sea trip by which it is possible
to leave England. It divides that country from France.

The Three Giants at Work

THE
THREE GIANTS

Once upon a time, a
poor man who had a large
family left England to go
and see if he could find a
better living for himself
across the seas. There
were many others on
board the ship, and for a
time all went well ; but
when they were nearing
the end of their journey,
a great storm arose. The
winds blew, the waves rose
and roared, and broke up-
on the ship ; and at last
they were very glad to
be able to let her drift
aground on the nearest
land, which they found to
be an island on which no
one was living.

They all got safely to
shore ; and as the ship
was broken up by the

The Three Giants 23

wind and the waves, they were able to get many
planks, and nails, and other useful things from
the ship, and from its cargo, with which they
built themselves houses, made spades and ploughs,
so that they were not so badly off after all.
They had plenty of corn to last them until they
could grow some more, and for a time all went
well. But after they had got a good crop of
corn, they had to grind it into flour, and this
took a long time. There were no flour-mills on
the island, and John Jobson — for that was the
name of the laboring man — had to spend hours
every day grinding the grain into flour for his
wife and family to eat.

One day, after he had been grinding until his
back ached and his arms were very tired, he
began to be in despair. If it took him so much
time grinding his grain, he would have no time
left to look after the little farm which he had laid
out. His little boys, although they had great
appetites and ate as much bread as their mother
could make out of the flour which their father
ground between the two millstones, were not
strong enough to help him. All the other set-
tlers were just in the same position. They had
no machines to do any work for them. Every-
thing had to be done with their hands. There
were no people to hire as servants; and if there
had been, they could not have paid them any

24 The Three Giants

wages, for they were poor and had no money. So
Jobson became very down-hearted, and not know-
ing what to do, thought he would take a stroll in
the country and think over things.

He climbed up some rising ground, and walked
a long way among the hills, wondering what on
earth he should do if he could get no help. He
was going up a little valley, which turned sud-
denly, and there to his great astonishment he saw
a monstrous Giant. He was terribly scared, and
would have run away as hard as he possibly could,
but on taking a second look at the giant he saw
that he was asleep. Jobson looked again, and
wondered at the immense size of the giant. He
could hardly see to the end of him, and he saw
that he was enormously strong ; yet he looked so
harmless and good-humored, that Jobson stood
gazing on him till his fear was nearly over. He
was clad in a robe of dazzling brightness where
the sun shone upon it, but the greater part was
shaded by the trees ; and it reflected all their
different colors, which made it look like a green
changing silk. As Jobson stood, lost in amaze-
ment, the giant opened his eyes, and turned
towards him with a good-humored smile.

As soon as Jobson saw him open his eyes he
started to run again, feeling sure that he could
have no chance if so huge a giant were to catch
him ; but as he ran the giant spoke. He was still

The Three Giants

25

lying down on his back in the grass, and his voice
was gentle and kind.

" Do not be afraid," he said. " I will do you
no harm."

" But you are so big," said Jobson, looking
timidly at the giant, and making ready to run the
moment the giant stirred.

But the giant did not stir. He said, *' Yes, I
am very strong and very big, but I will do you no
harm."

As he still lay and smiled kindly, Jobson came
nearer to him, and at last all fear began to leave
him. Then he asked the giant who he was.

" My name," said the giant, " is Aquafluens."

" And where do you live ? " said Jobson.

" I live in the island. I have always lived here,
long before you came."

" Then does it belong to you ? " said Jobson,
fearing that the giant might treat him as a tres-
passer.

" I do not know," said the giant. *' What does
* belong ' mean ? "

Jobson thought it was a queer question, but
said nothing. Then Jobson began to think
whether it might be possible to get this good-
natured giant, who seemed so strong, to help him
in his work. " Do you ever work ? " he said to
the giant.

" Oh yes," said he ; "I can work if you will set

26 The Three Giants

me work to do. I like it. All work is play to

me."

Then Jobson's heart was glad within him, and
he thought to himself, " Here is one who could
grind all my corn with his little finger, but dare I
ask him ? " So he thought for a time, and then he
said, "You said you would work for any one ? "

" Yes," said Aquafluens, gently, " for any one
who will teach me to work."

" Then," said Jobson, " would you work for
me ? "

"Yes,*' said the giant; "if you will teach me."

" But what wages must I pay you ? " asked
Jobson.

Then the giant laughed, and said, " What queer
words you use. You say ' belong.' What does
' belong ' mean ? I do not know. You say
' wages.' What are ' wages ' ? I have never
heard of them."

At this Jobson thought the giant must be mad,
and he was a little afraid ; then again he thought
to himself, " Perhaps he is not mad, but only
weak in his head. Giants, they say, are often not
very wise." So he tried to explain. " What shall
I give you if you work for me ? "

" Give me ? " said the giant ; " what a joke !
You need give me nothing, I will work for you
for love."

Then Jobson could hardly believe his ears, but

The Three Giants 27

he thought he would go home at once and tell
his wife the good news, that he had got a great,
strong giant who would work for him for
nothing.

" Where are you going ? " said the giant.

" I am going home to tell my wife."

" Had you not better let me carry you ? " said
the giant.

Then Jobson was frightened in his heart.
" Perhaps if I say yes the giant will swallow me
alive." But he did not tell him so.

" How can you carry me.^^ " said he.

" I can carry you any way you like," said the
giant, " so long as the road goes down hill."

" Oh, it is down hill all the way ! " said Jobson.

" Then," said he, " you must get upon my back,
and I will carry you there as quick as you like."

Jobson was afraid, for when he came to look at
the giant's back, and put his hand upon it, it sank
right in ; then he saw that the skin was so soft
that, when you pressed upon it, it gave way under
your hand, or your foot, and you seemed to sink
right into the giant's back. So Jobson was terri-
fied, and screamed as he pulled his hand out of
the hole that he had made in the giant ; but to
his surprise the hole closed up, just as if he had
never thrust his hand in. But his hand was wet
with the giant's blood. It was such queer blood ;
it was quite cold, and it had no color.

28

The Three Giants

Then the giant said, " That will never do, for
you are so small and so heavy for your little size,
that you would sink into me if you tried to sit on.
my back."

" But what can I do?" said Jobson. The giant
took a tree-trunk which was lying close at hand,
and put it on his shoulder. " Now," said he, "jump
onto this trunk, and I will carry you safely."

Jobson was very frightened when he sat on the
log, for he thought nothing would be more likely
than for the log and himself to sink out of sight
in the giant's body, but he soon found that
although the log sank in a little way, it did not
sink in far enough for him to touch the giant's

The Three Giants 29

body with his feet. He was very glad, for he felt
all wet and cold where his arm seemed to have
gone through the giant's skin. " You had better
have a pole with you to steady yourself with."
Jobson picked up a long stick, and climbed up
once more onto the giant's shoulders, where the
great log lay; he seated himself, and waited with
terror for the giant's movement. He thought
that if he had seven-league boots he might throw
him up into the air. He would fall off, he was
sure ; but, to his great surprise, the giant neither
jumped, nor stepped, nor ran ; he seemed in the
strangest way to glide, without making any noise,
down the valley, across the hill to the place where
his cottage stood. When they came within sight
of the cottage his wife and children were stand-
ing on a little hillock looking for him, and when
they saw him seated on the shoulders of this
strange monster they nearly had a fit with fright.
The children ran into the house,, and the wife fell
at the feet of the great giant, saying, " Have
mercy on my poor husband ! " But the giant
laughed and lay down on the grass : then Jobson
jumped off the trunk and told his wife of the
glad news, that this was a good giant, and that
he would do all their work for them. The chil-
dren came out of the house and looked timidly at
the monster, who, as soon as he had lain down,
closed his eyes and seemed to be sound asleep.

30

The Three Giants

Jobson went into the house to tell his wife all
of the wonderful story of the giant, but his wife
did not seem to like the idea of employing the
giant.

" But he will work for nothing, wife," said Job-
son.

The wife shook her head. " That is all very
well," she said ; " but think of the food he will eat.
He would swallow all the food we have in the
house for breakfast, and we should starve."

The husband scratched his head, and said he
had never thought of that. " But," he said, " let
us go and ask him how much food we must give
him."

" And what drink he will want, and where will
you put him up ? " said the wife.

Jobson began to believe that his workman was
not such a good bargain after all.

So when they drew near to the giant, he opened
his eyes and asked what was the matter.

Jobson said they were afraid they would not be
able to put him up in their house, as he was too
big to enter at the door.

" Oh," said the giant, " that does not matter, for
I never live in a house. I will simply sleep here
in the grass under the sky."

" But," said Jobson, " we are afraid that we shall
not be able to feed you."

•* Feed me ? " said the giant, laughing, with a

The Three Giants 31

little ripply murmur that shook all his body.
" Who asked you for any food ? I never eat
anything."

Then Jobson's wife was frightened, and said she
was afraid that there must be something uncanny
about him. But Jobson went on asking: —

" What do you drink ? " said he.

" Only fresh water," said the giant.

Jobson was very pleased, and looking in tri-
umph at his wife, said to him: —

" And how much work can you do in a day ? "

" As much as you like," said the giant.

" But I mean," said he, " how many hours will
you work ? "

" As many hours as there are on the face of the
clock," said the giant.

" You mean twelve," said the wife.

" No," said the giant. " I mean all the hours
that are in a day."

" What ! " said Jobson, " never stop night or
day ? And do you never sleep ? "

" When I have nothing to do," said the giant,
" I sleep, but as long as you give me work I will
go on working."

" But do you never get tired ? " said Jobson.

" Tired ! " said the giant, " I don't know what
that is. That is another funny word. What a
queer language you speak. What is being tired?"

Then Jobson looked at his wife and his wife

32 The Three Giants

looked at him, and they said nothing for a Httle
time. Then they asked him when he was ready
to begin.

" At once," he said; "as soon as you have put
things right for me."

" What things ? " said they.

" I told you I can only work going down hill.
If you want me to work hard you must let me
have some place that is very steep, and make a
step ladder for me to go down on. If you will fix
a wheel with steps on it, so that I can step on the
steps and make the wheel go round, I can do any-
thing you like."

" Could you grind corn ? " said Jobson's wife.

" I can grind stones," said the giant, laughing.

So Jobson and his .wife set about building a
mill with a step wheel for the giant. They con-
nected a big wheel for the giant to step upon with
grindstones on the inside of the mill, so when the
giant stepped upon the wheel outside, he made the
millstones inside go round and round and grind
the wheat. When it was all finished they came to
the giant and asked him if he was ready to begin.

" Yes," he said.

" Begin then," said Jobson.

And the giant slowly and steadily stepped first
on one step of the wheel and then on another
until it began to go round and round, and the
millstones went round and round, and so it went

The Three Giants 33

on until the whole of a sack of corn was ground
into flour, and still the giant went on, and on, and
on.

" Are you not tired ? " said Jobson to him.

" I don't know what you mean," said he.

"Well, now," said Jobson, "do you think you
could get me some stones from the quarry ? "

" Easily," said the giant. " But what have I to
carry them in ? "

Then Jobson made a long box and put it upon
the giant's back ; but he found that it was not so
easy going, for the road was quite flat, and over
and over again the giant stopped. He could go
very well down hill, but on level ground he needed
to be poked along with a long pole which Jobson
carried. When it came to the least down hill, he
went as quick as could be. This bothered Job-
son a great deal, for he saw that if the giant could
only go down hill, he could not be nearly so use-
ful as if he could go both ways. So he spoke
about it to the giant once, and he laughed and
said: " Hum ! you must get my brother, he could
help me to go as quick along the level ground as
I do when I am going down hill; but even he
could not make me go up hill. Is there not
plenty of work I can do without that ? "

" Certainly," said Jobson ; and soon he had the
giant set to work to make all kinds of things.

When he had ground all the corn, they took

Aquafluens

The Three Giants 35

away the millstones and fixed up a saw which
had come ashore from the wreck. They found
that the giant could saw wood as well as he could
grind corn. They asked him if he would bring
down the trees from the hills, with which they
could make planks to floor their cottage.

" Nothing is easier," said the giant ; and when
the logs came down, he sawed them all up into
planks, and soon the Jobsons were so comfort-
able that they not only had enough planks for
themselves, but they had more than they wanted,
so they gave them to the neighbors. Every one
was very anxious to find out if there were any
more giants in the island, because they could
see that Giant Aquafluens was more useful than
twenty men. He never ate, he never slept, he
only drank cold water, and day and night he
would go on working as regularly as if he were
a machine. Only, when the sun got very hot,
and he could not get any water to drink, his
strength seemed to wither away, but a good
heavy shower of rain set him up in time, and
then he would work away as hard as ever.

One day Jobson asked him where this brother
of his could be found. " You will find him
usually on the hilltops," said Aquafluens; "but
occasionally he comes sweeping down, and dis-
turbs me in the grass where I am lying."

" Can he do as much work as you? "

36

The Three Giants

" When he Is in the
humor, but sometimes he
is not; and sometimes
he gets into a frightful
temper, until you think
he is going to destroy
everything. He even gets
me mad sometimes," said
Aquafluens.

At this Jobson was
silent, and wondered
greatly, for he had never
seen his good giant in a
passion. He told all this
to a neighbor called Jack-
son, who was very anxious
to have a giant of his
own ; and no sooner did
he hear that the stormy-
tempered brother of
Aquafluens lived on the
hilltops, than he went out
into the mountains to
see if he could find him.

At length, one day,
Jackson, climbing a high
rock, saw a magnificent
figure seated upon the
summit. He could

The Three Giants 37

scarcely distinguish the shape for his eyes were
dazzled by its brightness ; but what struck him
most were two enormous wings, as large as the
sails of a ship, but thin and transparent as the
wings of a gnat. Jackson doubted not but that
this was the brother of Aquafluens. Alarmed
at the account he had heard of the uncertainty of
his temper, he hesitated whether to approach.
The hope of gain, however, tempted him, and as
he drew nearer he observed that he also had a
smiling countenance. So mustering up courage
he ventured to accost him, and inquire whether
he was the person they had so long been in
search of, and whether he would engage in his
service.

" My name is Ventosus," cried the winged
giant, " and I am ready to work for you, if you
will let me have my own way. I am not of the
low disposition of my brother, who plods on with
the same uniform pace. I cannot help sometimes
laughing at his slow motion, and I amuse myself
with ruffling his placid temper, in order to make
him jog on a little faster. I frequently lend him
a helping hand when he is laden with a heavy
burden. I perch upon his bosom, and stretch-
ing out my wings I move with such rapidity as
almost to lift him from the ground."

Jackson was astonished to hear Aquafluens
accused of sluggishness; he told Ventosus what

38 The Three Giants

a prodigious quantity of work he had done for
the colony.

" He is a snail compared to me, for all that,"
holloed out Ventosus, who had sometimes a very
loud voice; and to show his rapidity he spread
his wings, and was out of sight in a moment.

Jackson was sadly frightened, lest he should
be gone forever; but he soon returned, and
consented to accompany Jackson home, on con-
dition that he would settle him in an elevated
spot of ground.

" My house is built on the brow of a hill," said
Jackson, "and I shall place yours on the sum-
mit."

" Well," said the giant, " if you will get me a
couple of millstones, I will grind you as much
corn in one hour as Aquafluens can in two.
Like my brother, I work without food or wages ;
but then I have an independent spirit, I cannot
bear confinement; I work only when I have a
mind to it, and I follow no will but my own."

" This is not such a tractable giant as Aqua-
fluens," thought Jackson ; " but he is still more
powerful, so I must try to manage his temper as
well as I can."

His wonderful form and the lightness of his
wings excited great admiration. Jackson imme-
diately set about building a house for him on the
hill to grind corn in, and meanwhile, Ventosus

The Three Giants 39

took a flight into the valley to see his brother.
He found him carrying a heavy load of planks,
which he had lately sawed, to their proprietor.
They embraced each other, and Ventosus, being
in a good humor, said, " Come, brother, let me
help you forward with your load, you will never
get on at this lazy pace."

" Lazy pace ! " exclaimed one of the children,
who was seated on the load of wood on the giant's
back ; " why, there is no man who can walk half
or quarter so fast."

"True," replied Ventosus; "but we are not
such pygmies as you."

So he seated himself beside the child, stretched
out his wings, and off they flew with a rapidity
which at first terrified the boy; but when he
found he was quite safe, he was delighted to sail
through the air almost as quickly as a bird flies.
When they arrived, and the wood had been
unloaded, Aquafluens said, " Now, brother, you
may help me back again."

" Not I," said Ventosus ; " I am going on,
straight forward. If you choose to go along with
me, well and good ; if not, you may make your
way home as you please."

Aquafluens thought this very unkind, and he
began to argue with his brother; but this only
led to a dispute. Aquafluens* temper was at
length ruflled ; Ventosus flew into a passion : he

40 The Three Giants

struggled with his brother, and roared louder
than any wild beast. Aquafluens then lost all
self-command, and actually foamed with rage.
The poor child stood at a distance, trembling
with fear. He hardly knew the face of his old
friend, so much was his countenance distorted by
wrath; he looked as if he could almost have
swallowed him up. At length, Ventosus disen-
gaged himself from his brother, and flew out of
his sight; but his sighs and moans were still
heard afar off. Aquafluens also murmured loudly
at the ill-treatment he had received ; but he com-
posed himself by degrees, and, taking the boy on
his back, slowly returned home.

Jackson inquired eagerly after Ventosus, and
when the child told him all that had happened,
he was much alarmed for fear Ventosus should
never return ; and he was the more disappointed,
as he had prepared everything for him to go to
work. Ventosus, however, came back in the
night, and when Jackson went to set him to work
in the morning, he found that nearly half the
corn was already ground. This was a wonder-
ful performance. Yet, upon the whole, Ventosus
did not prove of such use to the colony as his
brother. He would carry with astonishing quick-
ness ; but then he would always carry his own
way; so that it was necessary to know what
direction he intended to take, before you could

VENTOSUiJ

42 The Three Giants

confide any goods to his charge ; and then, when
you thought them sure to arrive on account of
the rapidity with which they were conveyed,
Ventosus would sometimes suddenly change his
mind, and veer about with the fickleness of a
weathercock ; so that the goods, instead of reach-
ing their place of destination, were carried to
some other place or brought to the spot whence
they set out. This inconvenience could not hap-
pen with regard to grinding corn ; but one of
no less importance often did occur. Ventosus,
when not inclined to work, disappeared, and was
nowhere to be found.

The benefit derived from the labor of these
two giants had so much improved the state of
the colony that not only were the cottages well
floored, and had good doors and window-shutters,
but there was abundance of comfortable furniture
— bedsteads, tables, chairs, chests, and cupboards,
as many as could be wished ; and the men and
women, now that they were relieved from the
most laborious work, could employ themselves in
making a number of things which before they had
not time for. It was no wonder, therefore, that
the desire to discover more giants was uppermost
in men's minds.

They were always asking Aquafluens about
where they could find another giant, for he was
ever with them and never flew away, so they could

The Three Giants

43

always ask questions ; while Ventosus used to fly
away and disappear if they bothered him with
questions which he did not like to answer.

They hunted high and low for more giants, but
they found none. The heart of Aquafluens was
grieved within him, that they should seek so much
for a giant that did not need always to go down
hill. So one day, after much doubt, he told Job-
son that there was another giant who was stronger
than he, and much more constant and regular in
his work than Ventosus, who was here to-day and
away to-morrow, and whom you could never be
sure of. This giant was the strongest of all
giants, but he was also dangerous.

" I will then have nothing to do with him,"
said Jobson.

" Well," said Aquafluens, " if you know how to
manage him he will work for you."

" Can he go up hill 't " said his little boy.

" As easily as I can go down," said Aquafluens.

" And who is this giant ? " said Jobson.

" Alas," said Aquafluens, mournfully, " he is my
own son."

" Where is he ? "

" You can only bring him by a charm, and if
you are not very careful, he may burst out and
kill you."

" Is he so very violent } " said Jobson.

" Very. His breath is scalding hot, and he is

44 The Three Giants

a more expensive giant than either my brother or
myself."

" Must you pay him, then ? " said Jobson's wife.

" He will work without pay, but he needs to be
kept hot. He will not work at all unless he is
seated right on the top of blazing coals."

" What a funny giant ! " said Jobson's little boy.
" Does he not burn up ? "

" No, the hotter you make the fire the stronger
he grows, but when the fire grows cold, all his
strength seems to die."

The Jobsons had a long talk over this, and
decided that they had better not have anything
to do with this strange giant. But once, when
they wanted a great deal of heavy stones carried
up the hill, they were driven to ask Aquafluens
if he would tell them the charm.

" Yes," said he ; " it is very simple, but you
must not be afraid."

" No," said they, " we will not be afraid."

" Then take a little of my blood."

" Never! " said Jobson's wife.

" No, you do not need to be afraid," said Aqua-
fluens ; " you only need to take a very little."

" And what must we do with it ? "

" You must put it into an iron pot, and then
put it on the fire."

They were very loth to do this ; but at last,
their need being great, they did so. They were

The Three Giants

45

relieved to find that the taking of his blood did
not seem to hurt the good, kind giant, and then
they put the pot on the fire, and waited to see
what would happen. After a time, they heard a
singing noise, and they began to be frightened.
At last out of the pot there came a cloudy vapor,
which rose higher and higher and higher, until it
went away. But they saw no giant.

So they went to Aquafluens, and told him that
the charm would not work. He asked them what
they had done, and they told him, and he said,
" But did I not tell you my son would never work
unless you put him in prison ? I will give you
some more of my blood, and you must put it in

The Coming of Vaporifer

The Three Giants 47

an iron pot and put the lid on, and fasten it down
tight, and then see what will happen."

So they did as the good giant said. They took
some more of his blood, put it into the iron pot,
and put on a heavy lid, and fastened it on tight,
then they put it on the blazing fire, and waited.
This time they were terribly frightened, for after
a time the iron pot burst into a thousand pieces,
and blew all over the place, hurting Jobson's wife
on the head, and cutting Jobson's hand. So they
ran away frightened and told Aquafluens.

" Ah," he said, " I told you my son was a
dangerous child, but he is very strong, and if you
give him nothing to do he does mischief. So you
must give him a handle to turn. If you do that,
he will not burst anything, but will turn the
handle as hard as ever you like."

And they did just as the giant told them, and
they found that everything happened just so, for
the new giant, whose name was Vaporifer, was a
strong and willing worker. Up hill and down
dale made no difference to him. He could carry
and do everything they gave him to, but they
must keep him hot, and they must give him a
wheel to turn. If at any time he stopped they
had to let him get out, otherwise, if he had no
wheel to turn, and could not get out, he would
blow his prison to pieces.

Thus it came to pass that Ventosus was wanted

Vaporifer at Work

The Three Giants 49

very little, for Jobson and his friends liked Vapori-
fer, who was regular and steady in his ways, and
could be relied upon always to do what was
wanted.

Aquafluens was still the most useful and the
cheapest of all the giants, but his son Vaporifer
was much stronger and more handy than his
father. Nor was there any limit to what he
could do if only they would give him plenty of
heat and always let him have a wheel to turn.

Now, then, who do you think were these three
giants ? Perhaps you have already guessed from
their names, and from their description. The
first giant, Aquafluens, is the great giant of run-
ning water, which will always run down hill, but
which comes to a standstill on level ground, and
cannot go up hill, no matter what happens. It is
this great giant which turned all the water-mills,
which ground the corn, and sawed the wood, and
did all manner of work. Ventosus, his brother,
is the wind which bloweth whither it listeth, and
sometimes, lashes the water into stormy waves.
While as to that of Vaporifer, you surely under-
stand that it is nothing else but steam. These
three giants are real giants who are still doing
their work day by day, and every day. There are
no servants of man who have worked so cheaply,
so untiringly, and so well.

TRAVELLERS' WONDERS

One winter's evening, as Captain Compass was
sitting by the fireside, with his children all around
him, little Jack said to him, " Papa, pray tell us
some stories about what you have seen in your
voyages. I have been vastly entertained, while
you were abroad, with Gullivers Travels, and
the Adventures of Sinbad, the Sailor, and I
think as you have gone round and round the
world, you must have met with things as wonder-
ful as they did."

*' No, my dear," said the captain, " I never met
with Lilliputians or Brobdingnagians, I assure
you, nor ever saw the black loadstone mountains

JO

Travellers' Wonders 5 1

or the valley of diamonds, but, to be sure, I have
seen a great variety of people, and have noticed
their different manners and ways of Hving ;
and if it will be any entertainment to you, I will
tell you some curious things that I have ob-
served."

" Pray do, papa," cried Jack and all his broth-
ers and sisters ; so they drew close round him,
and he began as follow^s : —

" Well, then, I was once, about this time of the
year, in a country where it was very cold, and the
inhabitants had much ado to keep themselves
from starving. They were clad partly in the
skins of beasts, made smooth and soft by a par-
ticular art, but chiefly in garments made from the
outward covering of a middle-sized quadruped
which they were so cruel as to strip off his back
when he was alive. They dwelt in habitations
part of which was sunk underground. The
materials were either stones or earth hardened
by fire ; and so violent on that coast were the
showers of wind and rain that many of the roofs
were covered all over with stones. The walls of
their houses had holes to let in light, but to pre-
vent the cold air and wet from coming in, they
were covered by a sort of transparent stone made
artificially of melted sand or flint. As wood was
rather scarce, I know not what they would have
done for their fires had they not discovered in

52 Travellers' Wonders

the bowels of the earth a very extraordinary kind
of stone which, when put among burning wood,
caught fire and flamed like a torch."

" Dear me," said Jack, " what a wonderful stone !
I suppose it was like the things we call fire-stones,
that shine so when we rub them together."

" I don't think they would burn," replied the
captain; " besides, these are of a darker color.

"Well, — but their diet was remarkable, — some
of them ate fish that had been hung up in the
smoke till it was quite dry and hard ; and along
with it they ate either the roots of plants, or a sort of
coarse black cake made of powdered seeds. These
were the poorer class. The richer had a kind of
cake which they were fond of daubing over with a
greasy matter, that was the product of a large
animal which lived amono; them. This o:rease
they used, too, in almost all their dishes, and
when fresh it really was not unpalatable. They
likewise devoured the flesh of many birds and
beasts when they could get it ; and ate the leaves
and other parts of a number of kinds of vegeta-
bles growing in the country, some absolutely
raw, others variously prepared by the aid of fire.
Another great article of food was the curd of milk,
pressed into a hard mass and salted. It had so
rank a smell that often persons of weak stom-
achs could not bear to come near it. For drink
they made great use of the water in which cer-

Travellers' Wonders 53

tain dry leaves had been steeped. These leaves,
I was told, came from a great distance. They had
likewise a method of preparing a liquor of the
seeds of a grass-like plant steeped in water, with
the addition of a bitter herb, and then set to work
or ferment. I was prevailed upon to taste it, and
thought it at first nauseous enough, but in time
I liked it pretty well. When a large quantity of
the mixture is used, it becomes perfectly intoxi-
cating. But what astonished me most was their
use of a liquor so excessively hot and pungent
that it seems like liquid fire. I once got a mouth-
ful of it by mistake, taking it for water, which it
resembles in appearance, but I thought it would
instantly have taken away my breath. Indeed,
people are not infrequently killed by it ; and yet
many of them will swallow it greedily, whenever
they can get it. This, too, is said to be prepared
from the seeds above mentioned, which are harm-
less and even valuable in their natural state,
though made to yield such a pernicious juice.
The strangest custom that I believe prevails in
any nation, I found here, which was that some
take a mighty pleasure in filling their mouths
full of smoke ; and others in thrusting a nasty
powder up their nostrils."

" I should think it would choke them," said
Jack.

" It almost did me," answered his father,

54 Travellers* Wonders

*' only to stand by while they did it — but use,
it is truly said, is second nature.

" I was glad enough to leave this cold cli-
mate ; and about half a year after I fell in with
a people enjoying a delicious temperature and a
country full of beauty and verdure. The trees
and shrubs were furnished with a great variety
of fruits which, with other vegetable products,
constituted a large part of the food of the inhabit-
ants. I particularly relished certain berries grow-
ing in bunches, some white and some red, of a
very pleasant sourish taste, and so transparent
that one might see the seeds at their very centre.
There were whole fields full of odoriferous flowers,
which they told me were succeeded by pods bear-
ing seeds that afforded good nourishment to man
and beast. A great variety of birds enlivened the
groves and woods, among which I was greatly
entertained by one that without any teaching
spoke almost as articulately as a parrot, though
it was only the repetition of a single word. The
people were gentle and civilized, and possessed
many of the arts of life. Their dress was very
various. Many were clad only in a thin cloth
made of the long fibres of the stalk of a plant
cultivated for the purpose, which they prepared
by soaking in water and then beating with large
mallets. Men wore cloth woven from a sort of
vegetable wool, growing in pods upon bushes.

Travellers' Wonders 55

But the most singular material was a fine
glossy stuff, used chiefly by the richer classes,
which, as I was credibly informed, is manufactured
out of the webs of caterpillars — a most wonder-
ful circumstance, if we consider the immense
number of caterpillars necessary to the produc-
tion of so large a quantity of stuff as I saw used.
The people are very fantastic in their dress,
especially the women, whose apparel consists of a
great number of articles impossible to be described,
and strangely disguising the form of the body. In
some instances they seem very cleanly, but in other
cases the Hottentots can scarce go beyond them,
particularly in the management of their hair, which
is all matted and stiffened by the fat of swine and
other animals mixed up with powders of various
colors and ingredients. Like most Indian nations,
they wear feathers in their headdress. One thing
surprised me much, which was, that they bring
up in their homes an animal of the tiger kind, with
formidable teeth and claws, which, notwithstanding
its natural ferocity, is played with and caressed by
the most timid and delicate of their women."

*' I am sure I would not play with it," said Jack.

" Why, you might get an ugly scratch with it
if you did," said the captain.

" The language of this nation seems very harsh
and unintelligible to a foreigner, yet they converse
with one another with great ease and quickness.

^6

Travellers' Wonders

One of the oddest customs
is that which men use on
saluting each other. Let
the weather be what it will,
they uncover their heads
and remain uncovered for
some time if they mean to
be extraordinarily respect-
ful."

" Why, that's like pulling
off our hats," said Jack.

" Ah, ha ! papa," cried
Betsy, " I have found you
out. You have been telling
us of our own country, and
what is done at home, all
the while."

"But," said Jack, "we
don't burn stones, or eat
grease and powdered seeds,
or wear skins and caterpil-
lar's webs, or play with
tigers."

" No } " said the captain.
" Pray, what are coals but
stones ; and is not butter
grease; and corn, seeds;
and leather, skins ; and silk,
the web of a kind of cater-

Travellers' Wonders 57

pillar ? and may we not as well call a cat an ani-
mal of the tiger kind, as a tiger an animal of the
cat kind ?

"So if you recall what I have been describing,
you will find, with Betsy's help, that all the other
wonderful things I have told you of are matters
familiar among ourselves. But I meant to show
you that a foreigner might easily represent every-
thing as equally strange and wonderful among us
as we could do with respect to his country ; and
also to make you sensible that we daily call a
great many things by their names without ever
inquiring into their nature and properties ; so
that in reality it is only their manners and not the
things themselves with which we are acquainted."

A Curious Instrumbnt

A CURIOUS INSTRUMENT

A GENTLEMAN, just returned from a journey to
London, was surrounded by his children eager,
after the first salutations were over, to hear the
news ; and still more eager to see the contents of
a small portmanteau, which were one by one
carefully unfolded and displayed to view. After
distributing among them a few small presents,
the father took his seat again, saying that he
must confess he had brought from town, for his
own use, something far more curious and valu-
able than any of the little gifts they had received.
It was, he said, too good to present to any of
them ; but he would, if they pleased, first give
them a brief description of it, and then perhaps
they might be allowed to inspect it.

The children were accordingly all attention,
while the father thus proceeded : " This small
instrument is made in the most perfect and won-
derful way, and everything about it is very deli-
cate and beautiful. Because of its extreme deli-
cacy it is so liable to injury that a sort of light
curtain, adorned with a beautiful fringe, is always
provided, and so placed as to fall in a moment on
the approach of the slightest danger. Its exter-

6o A Curious Instrument

nal appearance is always more or less beautiful,
although in this respect there is a great diversity
in the different sorts. If you should examine the
inside you would find them all alike, but it is so
curious, and its powers so truly astonishing, that
no one who considers it can suppress his surprise
and admiration. By a slight and momentary
movement, which is easily made by the person it
belongs to, you can ascertain with considerable
accuracy the size, color, shape, weight, and value
of any article whatever. A person having one is
thus saved from the necessity of asking a thou-
sand questions, and trying a variety of trouble-
some experiments, which would otherwise be
necessary ; and such a slow and laborious pro-
cess would, after all, not succeed half so well as a
single trial of this very useful article."

George. " If they are such very useful things I
wonder that everybody, who can at all afford it,
does not have one."

Father. " They are not so uncommon as you
may suppose ; I myself happen to know several
individuals who possess one or two of them."

Charles. " How large is it. Father.? Could I
hold it in my hand ? "

Father. " You might ; but I should not like to
trust mine with you ! "

George. " You will be obliged to take very
great care of it, then ? "

A Curious Instrument 6i

Father. " Indeed I must : I intend every night
to enclose it within the small screen I mentioned;
and it must besides be washed occasionally in a
certain colorless fluid kept for the purpose. But,
notwithstanding the tenderness of this instru-
ment, you will be surprised to hear that its power
may be darted to a great distance, without the
least injury, and without any danger of losing it."

Charles. " Indeed ! and how high can you dart
it.?"

Father. " I should be afraid of telling you to
what a distance it will reach, lest you should think
I am jesting with you."

George. " Higher than this house, I suppose.'*"

Father. Much higher."

Charles. " Then how do you get it again ? "

Father. " It is easily cast down by a gentle
movement, that does it no injury."

George. " But who can do this ?''

Father. " The person whose business it is to
take care of it."

Charles. "Well, I cannot understand you at
all ; but do tell us. Father, what it is chiefly used
for."

Father. " Its uses are so various that I know
not which to specify. It has been found very ser-
viceable in deciphering old manuscripts, and, in-
deed, has its use in modern prints. It will assist
us greatly in acquiring all kinds of knowledge;

62 A Curious Instrument

and without it some of the most wonderful things
in the world would never have been known. It
must be confessed, however, that very much de-
pends on a proper application of it, since it is
possessed by many persons who appear not to
know what it is worth, but who employ it only
for the most low and common purposes without
even thinking, apparently, of the noble uses for
which it is designed, or of the great joy it is capa-
ble of affording. It is, indeed, in order to have
you fully appreciate its value that I am giving
you this description."

George. " Well, then, tell us something more
about it."

Father. " It is very penetrating, and can often
discover secrets which could be detected by no
other means. It must be said, however, that it
is equally prone to reveal them."

Charles. " What ! can it speak, then ? "

Father. " It is sometimes said to do so, espe-
cially when it happens to meet with one of its own
kind."

George. " What color are these strange
things?"

Father. " They vary considerably in this re-
spect."

George. " What color is yours ? "

Father. " I believe of a darkish color, but, to
confess the truth, I never saw it in my life."

A Curious Instrument 63

Both. " Never saw it in your life ! "

Father. " No, nor do I wish to ; but I have
seen a reflection of it, which is so exact that my
curiosity is quite satisfied."

George. " But why don't you look at the thing
itself?"

Father. " I should be in great danger of losing
it if I did."

Charles. " Then you could buy another."

Father. " Nay, I believe I could not prevail
upon my body to part with it."

George. " Then how did you get this one?"

Father. " I am so fortunate as to have more
than one ; but how I got them I really cannot
recollect."

Charles. " Not recollect ! why, you said you
brought them from London to-night."

Father. " So I did ; I should be sorry if I had
left them behind me."

Charles. " Tell, Father, do tell us the name of
this curious instrument."

Father. " It is called — an EYE."

NOTE

The first of these stories is reprinted from the well-
known " Evenings at Home, or the Family Budget
Newly Opened," by Dr. John Aiken and his sister Mrs.
Barbauld, which is a survival from a very dreary period
in the history of books for children. Except lesson
books, books of manners, morals, and religion, the print-
ing press had done little for youth until about the middle
of the eighteenth century, and for long years after that
no book was thought to be suitable for children's reading
unless it contained many pills of information and so-
called "useful knowledge," gilded over with more or
less of fancy and imagination. These books were gen-
erally of the driest and most uninteresting character, but
Dr. Aiken and his sister Mrs. Barbauld were among the
two or three writers who succeeded in making their sto-
ries more vivid and real, and their men, women, and chil-
dren seem more like actual living people, than did most
of their contemporaries. There is a human interest in
some of their stories which has charmed each successive
generation of men and women that has come upon the
scene since they were written, and unless the child-mind
changes very much, will continue to do so for many
generations to come.

There are many walks in our vast country quite as
full of interest in sights and sounds as that over Broom

Dr. Aiken was born in London in 1757, and Mrs. Barbauld in 1743.
The former died in 1822, and the latter in 1825.

64

Note 65

Heath, "among the green meads by the side of the
river," and there are many boys who go through them
in just the same way as William and Robert took their
walk. Let our Roberts take a lesson from our Williams,
and our Williams go on cultivating the habit of observ-
ing and remembering what they see.

Professor Archibald Geikie, in his work on the
" Teaching of Geography," page 54, makes the follow-
ing interesting remarks as to the pedagogical value of
the story of " Eyes and No Eyes " : —

" It is worth a thousand educational treatises. Never
shall I forget the impression it made on me when, as a
young boy, I first came upon it. Every step of Wil-
liam's walk was to me a subject of engrossing interest;
I tried myself to make similar observations, and was
delighted in particular to recognize the movements of a
lapwing in a succeeding country ramble. To this day,
such is the permanence of early associations, the swoop
and scream of that bird overhead brings back to me
these first impressions of boyhood, and reminds me of
my lifelong debt to the ' Evenings at Home.' The story
ought not only to be known to the teacher ; he should
make it thoroughly famiUar to his pupils as soon as they
are of an age to understand and enjoy it.

" The contrast between the two boys in this story is
one which may be found in every schoolroom. Unless
a teacher actually tries the experiment, he can scarcely
imagine the extraordinary differences in power of ob-
servation, not so much between clever and dull pupils,
for that might be looked for, as among those who are
bright and forward in the general work of the school.
Of two clever boys, the one who has the quicker percep-
tion of things around him is more likely to succeed in

66 Note

life. But the chances of the other may be vastly im-
proved by early training. And it is this training, so
little provided for by the ordinary school work, that the
teacher should do all in his power to secure."

Charles Kingsley says : ''When we were good, a long
time ago, we used to have a jolly old book called * Even-
ings at Home ' in which was a great story called ' Eyes
and No Eyes,' and that story was of more use to me
than any dozen other stories I ever read;" and what
Oliver Wendell Holmes thought of the story is printed
at the beginning of the book.

To turn to the other stories in the book, ** The Three
Giants " is from " Tales of Political Economy," by Mrs.
Marcet (1769-18 5 8), and has long been a favorite with
children. Slight changes have been made in order to
simplify it, and to confine the attention solely to the
leading idea. " Travellers' Wonders " is also from
" Evenings at Home," and in reading it one might
almost imagine Captain Compass was thinking of a
visit to the United States when he unfolded his budget
of wonders to his listening family. " A Curious Instru-
ment" is by Jane Taylor (1783-1824), who wrote many
books for children in conjunction with her sister Ann,
The sisters are best known, perhaps, by their " Original
Poems " and " Hymns for Infant Minds."