戰

Mit dem Pfeil und Bogen,

Durch Gebirg' und Thal,

Kommt der Schütz gezogen

Früh' im Morgenstrahl.*

Then, seizing his leathern cap, he made a formal little bow, and dashed away, leaping and singing, across the low grounds which led to the Oaks. As he bounded along he felt the blessings of health and courage, and thanked God inwardly for the blessing of Christian friends.

* Schiller.

7

CHAPTER VI.

WORK AND PLAY.

DR. NEWMAN, Mr. Barry, and Mr. Cole had been talking all one afternoon about the right way of mixing up amusement with instruction. They all agreed that the thing might be carried too far, and that it would never do to have spelling lessons in gingerbread and philosophy in games at cards; still the Doctor admitted that there was an extreme on the other side; for, said he, every valley lies between two hills, and I would not have Jack a dull boy: I would not keep the pupil always grave, always tense, always feeling the bit, always in heavy harness. But my maxim is, when you work, work: when you play, play. Do not try to variegate your common lessons too much, because part of the discipline of all education is to keep the mind at one thing, to hold it in

one place, and to learn to do and to bear things which at first were disagreeable.

"Would you not," said Mr. Barry, who was particularly fond of lively ways, "would you not enliven studies by anecdote and illustration and experiment ?"

"Yes, to be sure I would. For example, it is very hard to fix in young people's minds any notion of the planetary system."

"I have observed it," said Cole. "They learn the names and recite the figures, but have no conceptions of the relative size of the bodies, or the dimensions of the orbits."

"This is the very thing I mean," said the Doctor; "and this is a fair case for illustration. Now, do me the favour to call up the group of fellows whom I see yonder at the swing; they look as if they were at a pause for amusement."

Barry walked towards the swing, which was a great grape-vine, suspended from an oak; but the boys came leaping towards him before he came near. Presently the whole cluster was

76

CARL, THE YOUNG EMIGRANT.

gathered at the green place under the bowwindow. There were Bob Bolton and Merriman, glowing with exercise; there were Burnham and Mack, ready for mischief; and there was our blue-eyed Carl, with fair curly hair, looking sad at one moment and indescribably merry at another.

"Boys," said Dr. Newman, "how many of you can tell me the number of the planets?"

All answered pretty well except Burnham, who seemed to have been asleep ever since there were seven planets only.

"I am going," said Dr. Newman, “to give you some notion of the size and distances and orbits of the planets, and you must try to imagine the picture as I draw it. It is the illustration of a great astronomer.* Are you ready?" "Ready, sir!"

"Now, suppose yourselves over a great green plain or prairie, miles across.

"Yes, yes, that is fine; go on, sir."

Sir John Herschel : "Outlines," 1849.

"Let it be very level and smooth, because our planets must have free room for their rounds. In the very centre of this plain, imagine a globe, two feet in diameter. Call this globe the SUN."

"Ah! I see it already," exclaimed Carl.

"Wait a little, my boy; you don't see it all yet. Around this globe, let a grain of mustardseed go round and round, in an orbit one hundred and sixty-four feet in diameter. The mustard-seed is MERCURY."

The boys laughed heartily at little Mercury, and guessed he could scarcely be seen at that distance.

"Next place a pea, going round a circle two hundred and eighty-four feet in diameter. The pea is VENUS."

"I have seen it," said Bob, 66 star."

as the evening

"Yes," said the Doctor; "and if you would only rise a little earlier, you might see it as the morning star. But we have a great way to travel. Here is pea number two, which is"