"O, here comes Jonas, now."

James and Henry ran to the door, and, as they saw Jonas walking up the lane, they ran towards him, followed by Lucy, and they all began eagerly to tell him about the society, and about his having been chosen cabinet keeper. Lucy came up to them before they had finished their account; and as they had all turned round when they met Jonas, they came walking along together towards the house. James and Henry talked very fast and eagerly. They told Jonas about the society, and about their having chosen Mary president, and Lucy secretary, and him cabinet keeper. When they had finished their account, Lucy added, in a desponding tone,

"Only Rollo says he means to be cabinet keeper."

"Does he?" said Jonas.

"Yes," replied Henry. "He says you made the cabinet for him, and he will have it."

"O, well," said Jonas, "let him be cabinet keeper; he will make a very good cabinet keeper."

"No," said James, "we want you to be cabinet keeper. We chose you."

They saw Rollo at the door of the barn, looking at them, but not very good-naturedly. When they came up, Lucy said,

"Come, Rollo, let Jonas be cabinet keeper; that's a good boy."

"No," said Rollo, "it's my cabinet, and I mean to keep it myself."

"Then we won't help you get the curiosities," said Henry.

"I don't care," said Rollo.

"And we won't have any society," added James,—thinking that that threat would compel Rollo to give up.

But Rollo only said,

"I don't care; I don't want any society. I can make a museum myself."

There is no doubt, but that many of the readers of this book will wonder that Rollo should have acted in this manner. And yet they themselves act in just such a way when they allow themselves to get out of temper. It is very dangerous to allow ourselves to become vexed and angry. We then do and say the most unreasonable things, without being aware, ourselves, of their unreasonableness and folly. Rollo himself did not know how his conduct appeared to the other children, and how it sunk him in their good opinion.

Rollo would have had a miserable time in attempting to make a collection of curiosities alone. He would very soon have got tired of it, and have abandoned the plan altogether. It happened, however, that some circumstances occurred to prevent the consequences that his ill humor and obstinacy came so near occasioning.

Henry and James, finding that Rollo would not give up the cabinet to Jonas's care, considered the plan of the society abandoned, and went to play in the yard. Lucy went into the house to find her cousin Mary. Rollo remained at the cabinet for some time, but he found it very dull amusement to work there alone; besides, he heard the other boys' voices out in the yard, and before long he began to feel a strong desire to go and see what they were doing. He accordingly went to the door of the barn. He saw that Henry and James had got a log of wood out, and had placed a board across it, for a see-saw. Rollo slowly walked along towards them.

Henry saw him gradually approaching, and so he whispered, or rather spoke in a low tone to James, saying,

"Here comes Rollo, James; don't let's let him get on our see-saw."

But James felt in more of a forgiving mood than Henry. He did not like quarrelling, and he knew very well that peace-makers must be prepared to yield and forbear, even if they had not been themselves in the wrong. So he said,

"O, yes, Henry, let him have a ride. He may get on my end.

"Rollo," he added, calling to Rollo, as he came up, "do you want to see-saw? You may have my end."

Rollo did not quite expect this gentle treatment, and it made him feel a little ashamed. He, however, took James's place, but he did not feel quite easy there. He knew it was a place that he did not deserve. Pretty soon he proposed that they should all go after raspberries down the lane.

"Well," said Henry, "and I'll go and get my dipper."

"Your dipper?" said Rollo.

"Yes," said Henry, "I brought a dipper."

Henry then went to a wood pile which was lying in the yard, and, looking behind it, among the logs, he drew out a small tin dipper, and showed it to Rollo.

"O, I wish I had a dipper to carry!" said Rollo. "It is better than a basket."

Rollo went into the house, and presently returned bringing two small baskets.

"One for me?" said James, interrogatively, holding out his hand.

"Yes," said Rollo.

"Give me the other," said Henry, "and you shall have my dipper."

"Well," said Rollo.

"I should rather have a basket," said James.

"No," said Rollo, "I think a dipper is better. I can get some drink with it, if we come to any brook."

"But you must give me some drink out of the dipper, if I want any," said Henry—

"Well," said Rollo, "I will."

"Though I can drink without a dipper," said Henry.

"How?" said Rollo.

"O, I can get a piece of elder, and punch out the pith, and that will make a hollow reed; and I can draw up the water through that into my mouth."

By this time, Rollo and Henry had exchanged the basket and the dipper, and they were all walking along together. Rollo told the boys of several other reasons why he would rather have the dipper on such an expedition; but Henry preferred the basket, and so all were satisfied.

They went on down the lane. The berries were very thick. The boys ate a great many, and they filled their baskets, and the dipper besides. When they reached the bottom of the lane, Rollo proposed that they should go on, through the woods, to the brook. They liked the plan. They accordingly hid their baskets under the fence, heaping full of raspberries. Rollo said that he should take his dipper with him, so as to get a drink at the brook.

"But you can't use it to get a drink," said Henry; "it is full of raspberries."

Rollo had not thought of this difficulty. He walked slowly along, with the other boys, a few minutes, looking somewhat foolish; but in a moment he said he meant to eat his raspberries up, and then his dipper would be empty when he should get to the brook.

So he began to eat them. The other boys wanted some of them, and he gave them some, on condition that they should help him fill up his dipper again, when they returned up the lane on their way home. They assented to this condition, and so the boys walked along, eating the raspberries together, in great harmony.

They rambled about in the woods, for some time, meeting with various adventures, until they reached the brook. Neither of the boys were thirsty, not even Rollo; but still he took a drink from the brook, for the sake of using the dipper. He then amused himself, for some time, in trying to scoop up skippers and roundabouts, but without much success. The skippers and roundabouts have both been mentioned before. The latter were a sort of bugs, which had a remarkable power of whirling round and round with the greatest rapidity, upon the surface of the water. While Rollo was endeavoring to entrap some of these animals, the other boys were picking up pebbles, or gathering flowers, until at length their attention was suddenly arrested by a loud and long exclamation of surprise and pleasure from Rollo.

"What?" said Henry and James, looking towards Rollo.

They saw that he was standing at the edge of the water, gazing eagerly into his dipper.

"What is it?" said the boys, running towards him.

"I have caught a little fish," said Rollo.

True enough, Rollo had caught a little fish. It was very small, and, as it had been swimming about there, Rollo had, probably more by accident than skill, got him into his dipper, and there he was safely imprisoned.

"O, what a splendid little fellow!" said Henry, crowding his head in between Rollo's and James's, over the dipper. "See his fins!"

"Yes," said Rollo. "It is a trout,—a little trout."

"See his eyes!" said James. "How he swims about! What are you going to do with him, Rollo?"

"O, I shall carry him home, and keep him."

"O, you can't keep him," said James; "you have not got any pond."

"Never mind," said Rollo, "I can keep him in a bowl in the house."

"What shall you give him to eat?" said James.

"Eat! fishes never eat; they only drink. I shall give him fresh water every day, and that will keep him alive."

"They do eat, too," said James. "They eat bait off of the hooks when we fish for them."

Rollo had forgotten this fact when he said that fishes never ate; and, having nothing to say in reply to it, now, he was silent, and only looked at his fish.

"O, I wish I had a fish!" said Henry. "If I had kept my dipper, now, I might have had one."

"I don't believe you could have caught one," said Rollo.

"Yes, I could; and I believe I will take my dipper, after all, and catch me a fish."

"No," said Rollo, "you lent me the dipper, and I lent you my basket instead; and now I must keep it till we get home."

"No," said Henry, "it is my dipper, and I only lent it to you; and I have a right to it whenever I want it. So you must give it to me."

But Rollo was very far from being convinced that he ought to give back the dipper then. He had borrowed it, he said, for the whole expedition, and he had a right to keep it till he got home. Besides, he had a fish in it, and there was nothing that he could do with him, if Henry took away the dipper.

But Henry said he did not think of catching a little fish in his dipper, when he lent it to Rollo. If he had, he should not have lent it to him. He only lent it to him to get raspberries in. But Rollo insisted that he had lent it to him for the whole expedition, and to put any thing in it he pleased.

After some time spent in this discussion, Rollo finally yielded. He was, in fact, somewhat ashamed of the part he had taken in the former difficulty, and had secretly resolved to be more good-natured and yielding in future. So he gave the dipper back to Henry.

Before he did this, however, Henry said that he would be very careful not to lose Rollo's fish.

"I will only dip the dipper in again," said he, "very carefully, to catch another fish, without letting yours get out. Then we can carry both to your house, and put yours in the bowl; and then I can carry mine home in the dipper."

So Rollo gave the dipper back to Henry, though very reluctantly.

Henry carried it carefully down to the bank of the brook. He stood upon a little sloping shore of sand and pebbles, and began to watch for the little minnows which were swimming about in the deep places. He immersed his dipper partially in the water, being very careful not to plunge it in entirely, lest Rollo's fish should escape. Whenever he made an attempt, however, to catch a fish, he was obliged to plunge it in; but he did it very quick, so as not to give the prisoner, already taken, time to escape.

At last, a fish, larger than any he had seen, came moving slowly along, out from a deep place under a large log, which lay imbedded in the bank. Henry made a sudden plunge after him. He drew up his dipper again, confident that he had caught him; but, on looking into the dipper, no fish was to be seen. The bird in the hand, and the bird in the bush, were both gone.

The boys tried for a long time, in vain, to catch another fish. Rollo was sadly disappointed at the loss of the one he had caught, but there was now no help for it; and so they all slowly returned home together.



THE BAILMENT CASES.

As the boys were slowly coming up the lane, towards the house, they saw Mary and Lucy in the garden. They went round into the garden to see what they were doing.

They found them seated upon a bench in a pleasant part of the garden; it was the same bench were Rollo had once undertaken to establish a hive of bees. Mary was teaching Lucy how to draw pictures upon lilac leaves, and other leaves which they gathered, here and there, in the garden.

The boys came up and asked to see what the girls were doing. The girls did not say to them, as girls sometimes do in such cases, 'It is none of your concern,—you go off out of the garden, we don't want you here.' They very politely showed them their leaf sketches,—and the boys, at the same time, with equal politeness, offered them some of their raspberries. In the course of the conversation, as they sat and stood there, Rollo said to his sister,

"Henry lost my fish, Mary, and ought he not to pay me?"

"Your fish?" asked Mary.

"Yes," said Rollo, "I caught a fish in a dipper."

"And how came Henry to have it?"

"O, I let him have it, to catch another. He made me."

Henry had some secret feeling that he had not done quite right in the transaction, though he did not know exactly how he had done wrong. He did not make any reply to Rollo's charge, but stood back, looking somewhat confused.

"Ought he not to pay me?" repeated Rollo.

"It seems to be a case of bailment," said Mary.

"O yes," said Rollo, who now recollected his father's conversation on that subject some days before.

"And so, you know, the question," continued Mary, "whether he ought to pay or not, depends upon circumstances."

"Well," said Rollo, who began to recall to mind the principles which his father had laid down upon the subject, "it was for his benefit, not mine, and so he ought to pay."

All this conversation about bailment, and about its being for his benefit, not Rollo's, was entirely unintelligible to Henry, who had never studied the law of bailment at all. He looked first at Mary, and then at Rollo, and finally said,

"I don't understand what you mean."

So Mary explained to him what her father had said. She told him, first, that whenever one boy intrusted his property of any kind to the hands of another boy, it was a bailment; and that the question whether the one who took the thing ought to pay for it, if it was lost, depended upon the degree of care he took of it, considered in connection with the question, whether the bailment was for the benefit of the bailor, or the bailee.

"What is bailor and the bailee?" said Henry.

"Why, Rollo bailed you his fish," said Mary. "Rollo was bailor, and you bailee."

"No," said Henry, "he only gave me back my dipper, and the fish was in it."

Mary asked for an explanation of this, and the boys related all the circumstances. Mary said it was an intricate case.

"I don't understand it exactly," said Mary. "You returned him his property which you had borrowed, and at the same time put into his hands some property of your own. I don't know whether it ought to be considered as only giving him back his dipper, or bailing him the fish."

"I did not want the fish," said Henry.

"No," said Mary. "It is a knotty case. Let us go and ask father about it."

"O, I don't want to go," said Henry.

"Yes, I would," said Mary. "I'll be your lawyer, and manage your side of the question for you; and we will get a regular decision."

"Well," said Henry, reluctantly. And all the children followed Mary and Lucy towards the house.

They found Rollo's father in his room, examining some maps and plans which were spread out upon the table before him. When he saw the children coming in, he asked Mary, who was foremost, what they wanted. She said they had a law question, which they wanted him to decide.

"A law question?" said he.

"Yes," she replied; "a case of bailment."

"O, very well; walk in," said he.

There was a sofa at one side of the room, and he seated the children all there, while he drew up his arm-chair directly before them. He then told them to proceed. Rollo first told the whole story, closing his statement by saying,

"And so I let him have my fish; and that was a bailment, and it was not for my benefit, but his, and so he ought to have taken very especial care of it. But he did not, and lost it, and so he ought to pay."

"But we maintain," said Mary, "that the fish was not bailed to Henry at all. Rollo only gave him back the dipper, and, though the fish was in it, still the fish did not do Henry any good, and so it was not for his benefit."

"It seems to be rather an intricate case," said her father, smiling.

Henry looked rather sober and anxious. The proceedings seemed to him to be a very serious business.

However, Rollo's father spoke to him in a very kind and good-humored tone, so that, before long, he began to feel at his ease. After hearing a full statement of the case, and all the arguments which the children had to offer on one side or the other, Rollo's father began to give his decision, as follows:—

"I think that Rollo's giving Henry the dipper, with the fish in it, was clearly a bailment of the fish; that is, it was an intrusting of his property to Henry's care. It is clear also that Henry took pretty good care of it. He tried to avoid losing it. He took as much care of it, perhaps, as he would have done of a fish of his own. Still, he did not take very extraordinary or special care of it. The loss was not owing to inevitable accident. If the bailment was for Rollo's benefit, the care he took was sufficient to save him from being liable; but, if it was for his own benefit, then all he did was at his own risk; and the loss ought to be his loss, and he ought to pay for it."

"But I don't see," said Mary, "that he was to blame in either case."

"O, no," said his father; "he was not to blame for losing the fish, perhaps. That is not the point in these cases. It is not a question of who is to blame, but who ought to bear a loss, for which perhaps nobody is to blame.

"And you see," he continued, "that it is reasonable that the loss should be borne by the person who was to have derived benefit from the risk. If the risk was run for Henry's benefit, then he ought to bear the loss; which he would do by making Rollo compensation. If the risk was run for Rollo's benefit, then Rollo ought to bear the loss himself."

"Yes, sir," said Rollo; "and it certainly was for Henry's benefit, for he was trying to catch another fish for himself,—not for me. I had no advantage in it."

"That is not so certain," replied his father. "It depends altogether upon the question, who had a right to the dipper at that time. If Henry had a right to the dipper, then he might have even poured out the water, fish and all; or he might have kept the fish in, to accommodate Rollo. On the other hand, if Rollo had a right to the dipper then, and he let Henry have it, as a favor to him, then, in that case, the bailment was for Henry's benefit."

"Well, sir," said Henry, "I had a right to the dipper, for it was mine; and so it was for his benefit, and I ought not to pay."

"No, sir," said Rollo; "he had let me have it, and I let him have my basket."

"I only lent it to him," said Henry.

"But you lent it to me for the whole walk," said Rollo, turning round to Henry.

"You must only speak to me," said his father. "In all debates and arguments, always speak to the one who is presiding."

"Well, sir," said Rollo, turning back to his father, again, "he lent it to me for the whole walk, and so I don't think he had any right to take it back again."

"That is coming to the point exactly," said his father. "It all depends upon that,—whether Henry had a right to reclaim his dipper at that time, after only lending it to Rollo. And that, you see, is another bailment case. Henry bailed Rollo the dipper. This shows the truth of what I said before, that a great many of the disputes among boys arise from cases of bailment. This seems to be a sort of doubled and twisted case. And it all hinges on the question whether Henry or Rollo had the right to the dipper at the time when Henry took it. For, as I have already explained, if Henry had a right to it, then his keeping Rollo's fish in it was for Rollo's advantage, and Rollo ought to bear the loss. But if Rollo had a right to keep the dipper longer, then he bailed the fish to him, in order to be able to let him have the dipper, for he could not let him have the one without the other; and so it was for Henry's benefit; and, as the loss was not from inevitable accident, Henry ought to bear it."

"Well, sir, and now please to tell us," said Mary, "who had the right to the dipper."

"Rollo," said her father.

"Rollo!" exclaimed several voices.

"Yes," replied Rollo's father. "There is a principle in the law of bailment which I did not explain to you the other day. It is this: Whenever a person bails a thing to another person, for a particular purpose, and receives a compensation for it, the bailor has no right to take it back again from the bailee, until a fair opportunity has been allowed to accomplish that purpose. For instance, if I go and hire a horse of a man to make a journey, I have a right to keep the horse until the journey is ended. If the owner of the horse meets me on the road, fifty miles from home, it is not reasonable, you see, that he should have the right to take the horse away from me there, on the ground that it is his horse, and that he has a right to him wherever he finds him. So, if one boy lends another his knife to make a whistle with, he ought not to take it away again, when the boy has got his whistle half done, and so make him lose all his labor."

"Why, it seems to me he ought to give it back to him," said Rollo, "if it is his knife, whenever he wants it."

"Yes," replied his father, "he ought to give it up, no doubt, if the owner claims it; and yet perhaps the owner might do wrong in claiming it. Though I am not certain, after all, how it is in case a thing is lent gratuitously."

"What is gratuitously?" said Rollo.

"Why, for nothing; without any pay. Perhaps the bailor has a right to claim his property again, at any time, if it is bailed gratuitously, though I am not certain. I will ask some lawyer when I have an opportunity. But when a thing is let for pay, or bailed on contract in any way, I am sure the bailor ought to leave it in the hands of the bailee, until the purpose is accomplished; or, at least, until there has been a fair opportunity to accomplish it.

"Wherefore I decide that, as Henry intended to let Rollo have the dipper for the whole expedition, and as he took Rollo's basket, and Rollo agreed to let him have some drink, as conditions, therefore, he ought not to have reclaimed the dipper. Since he did reclaim it, Rollo did perfectly right to give it up, fish and all; and as he did so, it was a bailment for the benefit of the bailee, that is, Henry. And of course it was at his risk, and, in strict justice, Rollo has a right to claim compensation for the loss of his fish. But then I should hope he won't insist upon it."

"Well, sir," said Rollo, "I don't care much about it now."

"You see, Henry," continued Rollo's father, "I haven't been talking about this all this time on account of the value of the fish, but to have you understand some of the principles you ought to regard, when any other's property is in your possession. So, now, you may all go."

"Well, uncle," said James, as the children rose from their seats, "haven't you got some great box that we can have for our cabinet?"

"Your cabinet?" asked his uncle.

"Yes, sir, we want to make a museum."

"Why, Rollo has got a cabinet. Jonas made him one."

"Yes, sir; but he wants his for himself, and we want one for our society."

"You may have mine, now," said Rollo; "I am not going to have one alone. I have concluded to let you have mine. Come."

So Rollo moved on, as if he wished to go. In fact, he had an instinctive feeling that his conduct in respect to the cabinet and the society would not bear examination, and he wanted to go.

But his father, afraid that Rollo had been doing some injustice to his playmates, stopped the children and inquired into the case. The children told him that they had formed a society, and had elected Jonas cabinet keeper; and that Rollo had afterwards said he meant to be cabinet keeper himself, and so would not let the society have his cabinet to keep their curiosities in.

"And did he first agree that the society might have it?"

"No, sir," said Rollo, decidedly; "I did not agree to any thing about it." He thought that this would exonerate him from all blame.

"Was not there a tacit agreement?" asked his father.

"A tacit agreement!" repeated Rollo. He did not know what a tacit agreement was.

"Yes," said his father, "tacit means silent; a tacit or implied agreement is one which is made without being formally expressed in words. If it is only understood by both parties, it is just as binding as if it were fully expressed. For instance, if I go into a bookstore, and ask the bookseller to put me up certain books, and take them and carry them home, and then he charges them to me in his books, I must pay for them: for, though I did not say any thing about paying for them, yet my actions constituted an implied agreement to pay. By going in and getting them, under those circumstances, I, in fact, tacitly promise that I will pay for them when the bookseller sends in his bill. A very large portion of the agreements made among men are tacit agreements."

The children all listened very attentively, and they understood very well what Rollo's father was saying. Rollo was considering whether there had been a tacit agreement that the society should have the cabinet; but he did not speak.

"Now, Rollo, did you consent to the formation of the society?"

"Yes, sir," said Henry, eagerly; "he asked us all to form the society."

"And was it the understanding that the museum was to be kept in the cabinet that Jonas made?"

"Yes, sir," said Rollo, rather faintly.

"Then, it seems to me that there was a tacit agreement on your part, that if the children would form the society and help you make the collection, you would submit to whatever arrangements they might make about the officers and the charge of the cabinet. You, in fact, bailed the cabinet to the society."

"Yes, sir," said the children.

"And as the bailment was for your advantage, as well as theirs, you ought not to have taken possession of the property again, until a fair opportunity had been afforded to accomplish the purpose of the bailment, that is, the collection of a cabinet by the society. So, you see, you fell into the same fault in respect to the society, that Henry did in regard to you in the case of the dipper."

The children were silent; but they all perceived the justice of what Rollo's father had said.

"And the society have a claim upon you, Rollo, for compensation for the disappointment and trouble you have caused them by taking away the cabinet."

Rollo looked rather serious.

"O, we don't care about it," said Lucy.

"Well," said his father, "if the society release their claim upon you, as you did yours upon Henry, very well. I hope, at all events, you will all go on pleasantly after this."

The children then went out, and Rollo, followed by the other boys, went to find Jonas, to tell him he might be cabinet keeper. They tried to tell Jonas the whole story, and about Rollo's giving the fish to Henry, and its being a bailment. But they could not make Jonas understand it very well. He said he did not know any thing about bailment, except bailing out boats—he had never heard of bailing fishes.



THE CURIOSITIES.

Jonas accepted the office of cabinet keeper. He inquired particularly of the children about the meeting of the society, and, as they stated to him the facts, he perceived that Rollo had been a good deal disappointed at not having been chosen to any office. Jonas was sorry himself that Rollo could not have had some special charge, as it was his plan at the beginning, and the others had only joined it at his invitation. When he observed, also, how good-naturedly Rollo acquiesced,—for he did at last acquiesce very good-naturedly indeed,—he was the more sorry; and so he proposed to Rollo that he should be assistant cabinet keeper.

"I shall want an assistant," said Jonas, "for I have not time to attend to the business much; I can give you directions, and then you can arrange the curiosities accordingly; and you can help me when I am at work there."

Rollo liked this plan very much; and so Jonas said that he might act as assistant cabinet keeper until the next meeting of the society, and then he would propose to them to choose him regularly. He told Mary of this plan, and she liked it very much indeed.

The children had various plans for collecting curiosities. They had meetings of the society once a week, when they all came into the play room, bringing in with them the articles which they had found or prepared. These articles were there exhibited and admired by all the members, and then were put upon the great work-bench, under the care of the assistant cabinet keeper. They remained there until Jonas had time to look them over, and determine how to arrange them. Then he and Rollo put them up in the cabinet, in good order.

Mary did not collect many articles herself; but she used to tell the children what they could get or prepare. They made some very pretty collections of dried plants at her suggestion. They would come to her, as she sat in the house at her work, and there she would explain to them, in detail, what to do; and then they would go away and do it, bringing their work to her frequently as they went on. In respect to collections of plants, she told them that botanists generally pressed them, and then fastened them into great books, between the leaves, arranged according to the kinds.

"But you," said she, "don't know enough of plants to arrange them in that way,—and, besides, it would be too great an undertaking for you to attempt to prepare a large collection. But you might make a small collection, and select and arrange the flowers in it according to their beauty."

Lucy said she should like to do this very much, and so Mary recommended to her to go and get as many flowers as she could find, and press them between the leaves of some old book which would not be injured by them. Lucy did so. She was a week or two in getting them ready. Then she brought them to Mary. Mary looked them over, and said that many of them were very pretty indeed, and that she could make a very fine collection from them.

"Now," said she, "you must have a book to keep them in."

So Mary went and got two sheets of large, light-colored wrapping paper, and folded them again and again, until the leaves were of the right size. Then she cut the edges.

"Now," said Mary, "I must make some false leaves."

"False leaves!" said Lucy; "what are they?"

"O, you shall see," replied Mary.

She then cut one of the leaves which she had made into narrow strips, and put these strips between the true leaves at the back, where they were folded, in such a manner, that, when she sewed the book, the false leaves would be sewed in with the true. But the false leaves, being narrow strips, only made the back thicker. They did not extend out into the body of the book between the leaves; but Mary showed Lucy that when she came to put in her flowers between the true leaves, it would make the body of the book as thick as the back. They would make it thicker, were it not for these false leaves.

"Yes," said Lucy, "I have seen false leaves in scrap books, made to paste pictures in. I always thought that they made the leaves whole, first, and then cut them out."

"No," said Mary, "that would be a great waste of paper. It is very easy to make them by sewing in narrow strips."

Mary then asked Lucy to sit up at the table, and select some of her prettiest flowers,—some large, and some small,—enough to fill up one page of her book; and then to arrange them on the page in such a way as to produce the best effect; and Lucy did so. Then she gummed each one down upon the page, by touching the under side, here and there, with some gum arabic, dissolved in water, but made very thick. When she had done one page, she turned the leaf over very carefully, and laid a book upon it, and then proceeded to make selections of flowers for the second page. In this manner she went on through the book, and it made a very beautiful book indeed. Mary put a cover and a title-page to it; and on the title-page, she wrote the title, thus:—

A

COLLECTION

OF

COMMON FLOWERS,

BY

LUCY.

When it was all ready, it was presented to the society, and put into the cabinet, where it was long known by the name of "Lucy's Collection." She wrote the name of each plant under it, as fast as she could find out the names; and, whenever visitors came to see the museum, she would ask them the name of any of the flowers in her collection which she did not know, and then wrote the name down. Thus, after a time, nearly all the names were entered; and so, whenever the children found any flower which they did not know, they would sometimes go and look over Lucy's collection, and there perhaps they would find the very flower with its name under it.

This museum lasted several years; and the next spring, Rollo made his collection of flowers, which was larger than Lucy's. Mary helped him about it. At first, he was going to have it in a larger book; but Mary thought it would be better to have all the books of a size, and then they would lie together very compactly, in a pile; which would not be the case if they had several books of different sizes. She said if any one wanted to make a larger collection, he had better have several volumes. Rollo made volume after volume, until at last his collection consisted of six.

There was one collection of leaves; Henry made it. His object was to see how many different-shaped leaves he could get. He did not regard the little differences which exist between the leaves of the same tree, but only the essential differences of shape; such as between the leaf of the oak and of the maple. Two or three pages were devoted to leaves of forest-trees, and they looked very beautiful indeed. Leaves, being naturally flat, can be pressed very easily, and they generally preserve their colors pretty well. One page was devoted to the leaves of evergreens, such as the pine, fir, spruce, hemlock; and they made a singular appearance, they were so small and slender. A little sprig of pine leaves was put in the centre, and the others around. Then there were the leaves of fruit-trees and plants, such as the apple, pear, peach, plum, raspberry, strawberry, currant, gooseberry, &c., arranged by themselves; and there were half a dozen pages devoted to bright-colored leaves, gathered in the autumn, after the frost had come. These pages looked very splendidly. The names of the plants to which all these leaves belonged were written under them, and also the name given by botanists to indicate the particular shape of the leaf; these names the children found in books of botany. Such, for instance, as serrated, which means notched all around the edge with teeth like a saw, like the strawberry leaf; and cordate, which means shaped like a heart, as the lilac leaf is, and many others.

There was also a collection of brakes that Rollo made, which the children liked to look over very much. There is a great variety in the forms of brakes, or ferns, and yet they are all regular and beautiful, and are so flat that they are easily pressed and preserved. But of all the botanical collections which were formed and deposited in this museum, one of the prettiest was a little collection of petals, which Rollo's mother made. Petals are the colored leaves of flowers,—those which form the flower itself. Sometimes the flower cannot be pressed very well whole, and yet, if you take off one of its petals, you find that that will press very easily, and preserve its color finely. So Rollo's mother, every day, when she saw a flower, would put one of the leaves into a book, and after a time she had a large collection,—red, and white, and blue, and yellow, and brown, in fact, of almost every color. Then she made a little book of white paper, because she thought the colors and forms of these delicate petals would appear to better advantage on a smooth, white ground. She then made a selection from all which she had preserved, and arranged them upon the pages of her little book, so as to bring a great variety both of form and color upon a page; and yet forms and colors so selected that all that was upon one page should be in keeping and harmony.

But it was not merely the botanical collections in the museum which interested the children. They had some philosophical apparatus. There was what the boys called a sucker, which consisted of a round piece of sole leather, about as big as a dollar, with a string put through the middle, and a stop-knot in the end of it, to keep the string from coming entirely through; then, when the leather was wet, the boys could just pat it down upon a smooth stone, and then lift the stone by the string; the sucker appearing to stick to the stone very closely. Rollo did not understand how the sucker could lift so well; his father said it was by the pressure of the atmosphere, but in a way that Rollo was not old enough to understand.

Then there was what the boys called a circular saw, made of a flat, circular piece of lead, as large as the top of a tea cup. Jonas had hammered it out of a bullet. There were saw-teeth cut all around the circumference, and two holes bored through the lead, at a little distance from the centre, one on each side. There was a string passed through these holes, and then the ends were tied together; and to put the circular saw in motion, this string was held over the two hands, as the string is held when you first begin to play cat's-cradle. Then, by a peculiar motion, this saw could be made to whirl very swiftly, by pulling the two hands apart, and then letting them come together again,—the string twisting and untwisting alternately, all the time. There were various other articles of apparatus for performing philosophical experiments; such as a prism, a magnet, pipes for blowing soap bubbles, a syringe, or squirt-gun, as the boys called it, made of a reed, which may be said to be a philosophical instrument.

Jonas made a collection of specimens of wood, which was, on the whole, very curious, as well as somewhat useful. As he was at work sawing wood from day to day, he laid aside small specimens of the different kinds; as oak, maple, beech, ash, fir, cedar, &c. He generally chose small, round pieces, about as large round as a boy's arm, and sawed off a short piece about three inches long. This he split into quarters, and reserved one quarter for his specimen, throwing the others away. This quarter had, of course, three sides; one was covered with bark, and the other two were the split sides. As fast as Jonas got these specimens split out in this manner, he put them in the barn, upon a shelf, near the bench; and then, one day, he took them one by one, and planed one of the split sides of each, and then smoothed it perfectly with sand paper.

Rollo, who was standing by at the time, asked him why he did not plane them all around.

"O, because," said Jonas, "they are for specimens, and so we want them to show the bark on one side, and the wood on the other side, in its natural state; and the third side is enough to show its appearance when it is manufactured."

"Manufactured!" said Rollo.

"Yes," said Jonas; "planed and varnished, as it is when it is made into furniture."

"Are you going to varnish the sides that you plane?"

Jonas said he was; and he did so. He planed one side, and one end. He varnished the planed side, and pasted a neat little label on the planed end. On the label he wrote the name of the wood, and some very brief account of its qualities and uses, when he knew what they were. For instance, on the end of the specimen of walnut, was written in a very close but plain hand—

Walnut, very tough and hard. Used for handles.

After Jonas had got as many specimens as he could, from the wood pile, he used to cut others in the woods, when he happened to be there, of kinds which are not commonly cut for fuel. In this way he got, after a time, more than twenty different kinds, and when they were all neatly varnished and labelled, it made a very curious collection; and it was very useful, too, sometimes; for whenever the boys found any kind of a tree in the woods which they did not know, all they had to do, was to cut a branch of it off, and bring it to the museum, and compare it with Jonas's specimens. In this way, before long, they learned the names of nearly all the trees which grew in the woods about there.

There was a curious circumstance which happened in respect to Rollo's hemlock-seed. It has already been said that this supposed hemlock-seed was really a chrysalis. Now, a chrysalis is that form which all caterpillars assume, before they change into butterflies; and the animal remains within, generally for some time, in a dormant state;—all the time, however, making a slow progress towards its development. Now, Rollo's great chrysalis remained in a conspicuous position, upon the middle shelf in the cabinet, for some weeks. Rollo always insisted, when he showed it to visitors, that it was a hemlock-seed. Jonas said he knew it was not; and he did not believe it was any kind of seed. But then he confessed that he did not know what it was, and Rollo considered that he had his father's authority for believing it to be a hemlock-seed, because his father had said he thought it might be so, judging however only by Rollo's description, without having seen it at all. Rollo always asserted very confidently that it was a hemlock-seed, and that he was going to plant it the next spring.

In the mean time, the humble caterpillar within, unconscious of the conspicuous position to which he had been elevated, and the distinguished marks of attention he received from many visitors, went slowly on in his progress towards a new stage of being. When the time was fully come, he very coolly gnawed a hole in one end of his glossy shell, and laboriously pushed himself through, his broad and beautiful wings folded up compactly by his side. When he was fairly liberated, he stood for two hours perfectly silent and motionless upon the shelf, while his wings gradually expanded, and assumed their proper form and dimensions. It was rather dark, for the doors were closed; and yet sufficient light came through the crevices of Jonas's cabinet, to enable him to see the various objects around him, though he took very little notice of them. It was a strange thing for him to be shut up in such a place, with no green trees, or grass, or flowers around; but having never turned into a butterfly before, he did not know that there was any thing unusual in his situation.

He began, however, in the course of six hours, to feel decidedly hungry; so he thought he would creep along in search of something to eat. He tried his proboscis upon one curiosity after another, in vain. The magnet, the sucker, pebbles, shells, books, every thing was hard, dry and tasteless; and at length, discouraged and in despair, he clambered up upon Jonas's specimen of maple, poised his broad, black, leopard-like wings over his back, and hung his head in mute despair. He would have given all his newborn glories for one single supper from the leaf which he used to feed upon when he was a worm.

It was just about this time, that Rollo, Lucy, and Jonas happened to come together to the cabinet, to put in some new curiosity which they had found. As soon as Rollo opened the doors, he perceived the hole in the end of the chrysalis, which lay directly before him. He seized it hastily.

"There now," said he, in a tone of sad disappointment, "somebody has been boring a hole in my hemlock-seed!"

He took up the empty shell, and looked at the hole.

"Why, Jonas," said he, "how light it is!"

Jonas took the chrysalis, weighed it in his hand, looked into the hole, and then said, quickly,

"It is a chrysalis, I verily believe; and that is where the butterfly came out."

"What!" said Rollo, in a tone of utter amazement.

"That hole is where a butterfly came out," said Jonas, "I have no doubt;—and if we look about here a little, we shall find him."

They immediately began to look about; and the butterfly, as if he understood their conversation, and perceived the necessity of a movement on his part, just at that instant, expanded his wings, and floated off through the air into the middle of the room, towards the bright sunshine which came in at the door. He alighted upon the edge of a barrel, which stood there. Rollo was after him in a moment, with his cap in the air. The butterfly, however, was too hungry to wait. He was again upon the wing. He soared away across the yard, towards the garden, and disappeared over the tops of the trees. Rollo and Lucy looked for him for some time among the plants and flowers, but in vain.

"Never mind," said Jonas, when they returned. "The butterfly had rather be free; but he has left you the chrysalis shell, and that, notwithstanding the hole, is a greater curiosity now, than it was before."



THE SEA-SHORE.

Rollo's father and mother were very much pleased with the children's plan of collecting a cabinet. They often went out, at Rollo's request, to look at the curiosities.

One evening, about sunset, when they were walking in the garden, Rollo proposed that, before they went into the house, they should go out and look at the museum. They accordingly walked along, Rollo and Mary taking hold of hands before, and their father and mother walking arm in arm after them. Nathan was behind, riding a stick for a horse, and blowing a trumpet which Rollo had made for him out of the stem of a pumpkin vine.

"I am a trooper," said Nathan to himself, "blowing a bugle." Then he would whip his horse, sound his trumpet, and gallop along.

When they reached the door of the barn which led into the place where their museum was kept, Rollo turned round and said sharply,

"Thanny, be quiet! Don't make such a noise."

"Speak pleasantly, Rollo," said Mary.

"Well, Thanny," said Rollo, taking hold of his arm, and gently turning him away from the door, "go and blow your bugle somewhere else, because we want to see our curiosities."

Thanny made no reply; but, being spoken to pleasantly, he turned around and went galloping off, and seeing the cat upon the fence, he ran up and began trumpeting at her to frighten her away.

In the mean time, Rollo's father and mother looked over the curiosities, as they had done many a time before. Rollo explained the wonders, and his parents looked and listened with great satisfaction, though they had been called upon to admire the same things for the same reasons, twenty times before.

"But, Rollo," said his father, at length, "it appears to me that your cabinet has not increased much, lately."

"Why, father, we can't find any more curiosities. I wish we could go to some new place."

"What new place can we go to?" said he.

"I don't know," said Rollo; "some place where there are some curiosities."

"We might go to the sea-shore, and get some shells," said Mary.

"So we could," said her father; "that would give you a fine addition."

"Well, father," said Rollo, looking up very eagerly, "I wish you would let us go."

"I will think of it," said his father.

Rollo knew that when his father said this, he meant as he said, and that he would really think of it;—and consequently that he himself ought not to say any thing more about it. He accordingly soon began to talk to Mary about other things, and by and by they went into the house.

The next day, Rollo's father told him that they had concluded to make a party to go to the sea-shore. There was a shore and a beach about twelve miles from where they lived, and he said that they were going the next day in the carryall. Rollo's father and mother, with Mary and her cousin Lucy, were to ride in the carryall, and Rollo and Jonas in the wagon behind.

"We want cousin Lucy to go with us," said Mr. Holiday, in explaining the plan, "and so there will not be quite room for us all in the carryall. Besides, we shall want Jonas's help, probably, in the expedition, and then the wagon will be a good thing to bring back our treasures in."

"O father," said Rollo, "we shall not get more than a carryall full."

"No, I suppose not," said his father; "but the wagon will be better to bring stones, and sand, and shells. You must put baskets in behind, to pack them in."

The next afternoon, all was in readiness at the appointed hour. The carryall was at the door, waiting to receive its portion of the party, and the wagon was fastened to a post behind. Jonas stood at the head of the carryall horse, to hold him still while the people should be getting in. Rollo was near the wagon horse.

"Shall I unfasten him, Jonas?"

"You can't unfasten him," said he.

"O yes, I can, if you will only let me try."

Rollo approached the horse, and cautiously reached out his hands to unhook the chain from the ring at the horse's mouth, standing a good way back, and leaning forward on tiptoe, as if he thought the horse would bite him.

"What are you afraid of, Rollo?" said Jonas.

"Nothing," said Rollo; "only I can't reach very well."

"Stand up nearer."

"But perhaps he might bite me."

"Poh! he never bites," said Jonas. "There is only one danger to guard against, in unfastening such a horse as that."

"What danger?" said Rollo.

"Danger that he may step and tread on your foot."

Rollo looked down at his feet, and began to consider this danger; but just then his father and mother came out, followed by the two girls, and took their seats in the carryall. Jonas then came to the wagon, and, after helping Rollo in, he got in himself, and away the whole party went, very happily.

After riding for some time, Rollo's mother, upon looking back towards the wagon, saw that Rollo was making signs as if he wanted them to stop. She told Mr. Holiday, and he accordingly stopped his horse, and waited until the wagon came up. Rollo had a plan to propose.

"Father," said he, "I wish you would let Jonas come into the carryall and drive you and mother, and let Mary and cousin Lucy come and ride with me."

"But who will drive?" said his father.

"I'll drive," replied Rollo.

"O no," said his mother, "he can't drive; he will overturn the wagon."

"Why, mother, I can drive," said Rollo. "I have been driving some time."

"I rather think there will be no danger," said Mr. Holiday to his wife, turning towards her as she sat upon the back seat. "The road is pretty level and retired, and he will keep close along behind the carryall."

Rollo's mother looked rather doubtfully, and yet she could not help feeling a certain degree of pleasure at thinking that Rollo was old enough to drive alone. She accordingly consented, and the change was at once made. Rollo's father and mother sat on the back seat of the carryall, and Jonas before, to drive them; while Rollo, Mary, and Lucy took possession of the wagon.

Rollo drove very well. He kept near the carryall, and was so attentive to his business as a driver, and so successful in avoiding stones and jolts, and in turning out for the various vehicles they met upon the road, that his father let him drive so all the rest of the way.

They gradually approached the sea-shore. The country grew wild and hilly, and great ledges of rocks were seen in the fields and by the road side. At length, upon the summit of a long ascent, the broad sea burst into view, stretching along the horizon before them, smooth and glassy, with here and there a small white sail almost motionless in the distance. Below them was a long, sandy beach. The surf was breaking against it. A swell of the sea, of the whole length of the beach, would rise and advance, growing higher and more distinct as it approached, and then it would break over upon the shore in one long line of foam, white and beautiful, and gracefully curved to adapt itself to the curvature of the shore. At the extremities of the beach, points and promontories of ragged rocks extended out into the water, white with the breakers which foamed and struggled around them. From the whole there arose a continued and solemn roar, like the sound of a great waterfall.

Mr. Holiday stopped his horse by the side of the road, and Rollo, when he reached the place, stopped also.

"Here we are," said Rollo. "That's the sea."

"Where's the beach?" said Lucy.

Mary was silent.

"Come," said Rollo, "let's drive on."

"O no," said Mary, "wait here a few minutes."

"Jonas, what are you waiting for?" said Rollo.

"I wished him to stop here a few minutes," said Rollo's father, "to let us look at the prospect."

Rollo said no more, though he could not understand what his father was waiting for. They all sat still, looking at the view, and saying very little; Rollo was impatient and restless. In a short time, however, Jonas drove on, and Rollo followed him. They went down into a sort of valley, where they lost sight of the water again, and then, after winding around for some time among the rocks and sand hills, they came at length to a high ridge of pebble stones, which ran along the shore; and surmounting this, they found the white beach spread out close before them, while a long line of wave was just curling over and dashing into foam upon the sand. They fastened the horses to some heavy pieces of timber, the remains of a wreck, which lay up high upon the sand.

"O, what a wide beach!" said Rollo. The truth is, that when he saw the beach from the hill, it looked like a mere line of sand, extending along the shore. But now he found it was a broad and smooth area, gently descending towards the water. It was firm, so that the children could run about upon it. Rollo went down pretty near to the water's edge, and amused himself by watching the surf. Each wave would recede after it broke, and run off, leaving a broad piece of the beach dry; until, in a moment more, another wave would come curling on, and break over the retreating water of the former; and then it would rush up the sand, in a broad and rapid stream, all along the shore, almost to Rollo's feet.

Rollo asked his father to let him take off his shoes and stockings; and he did so. Rollo put each stocking into its shoe, to keep them dry, and then laid them down upon the sand beyond the reach of the waves. Then he would watch the waves, and whenever the water retreated, he would follow it down until he met the new wave coming curling up at him, when he would turn and run, the wave after him, to the shore; and when the wave broke, it would throw the water all around his feet.

Lucy and Mary walked along the other shore at a greater distance, looking for shells. They found a great many. Rollo could hear their exclamations of delight at every new shell they found, and they were continually calling upon him to come and get some too; but he was too much occupied with the surf.

At length, Rollo's attention was excited by hearing Lucy call out,

"O Mary, Mary! I have found a piece of sponge."

Rollo turned around to look. He had just run up from the water, and was standing beyond the reach of the surf, though the water which each wave, as it broke, sent up upon the shore, played around his feet.

"How big is it?" said Rollo,

"About as big as my finger."

"Ho!" said Rollo; "that is not very big."

Just at this instant, a wave larger than usual burst just behind Rollo, and it sent up a torrent of water all around him, which rose almost up to his knees. Rollo was frightened. He started to run; but so much water confused and embarrassed him. He staggered.

"Stand still, Rollo," said his father.

Rollo then stood still; but by this time the water was receding, and his eyes fell upon his two shoes, which had been taken up by the wave, and were now running rapidly down from the shore, each loaded with its stocking. Rollo ran to seize them, and had just time to get them before the next wave advanced and was ready to dash over them. He ran up upon the sand, and put his shoes several yards from the highest place that the water had come to.

"There," said he, looking back at the waves, "now get my shoes if you can!" The waves said nothing, but went on breaking and then retreating, just as before.

Rollo then went to where Mary and Lucy were, and began to collect shells. They found quite a number of different kinds, all along the shore. Some were large and coarse,—broken and worn by the water. Some were so thin and delicate that he had to wrap them up carefully in a paper, and put them into his waistcoat pocket, in order to get them home safely. The children found several other curiosities besides shells. They collected pebbles, and specimens of sand, of different colors. Mary found an old iron spike, perhaps part of a vessel, with the sand and gravel concreted around it. It looked like stone growing upon iron. Rollo also found a small piece of wood, battered and worn by the long-continued action of the waves, and he thought it was very curious indeed. In fine, the children filled their baskets with wonders, and, after about three quarters of an hour, they set out on their return home. When Rollo went to get his shoes, he found the water almost up to them. If he had staid away a little longer, they would have been washed away again. The truth was, the tide was rising.



THE CLIFFS.

As the party slowly rode away from the beach, Rollo's mother asked if it was too late to go to the cliffs. There was a splendid prospect from the cliffs. They were rocky precipices overhanging the sea, at the extremity of a point of land, about a mile from the beach where they had been. The two girls wanted to go very much; but Rollo did not care so much about it. He was in haste to get home and arrange his curiosities.

His father, however, after looking at his watch, said that he thought there would be time to go. So he turned his horse's head in the right direction, and they went to the cliffs.

The precipices were very high, and the swell of the sea dashed and roared against them at their foot; and yet the water looked very smooth at a little distance from the land. Rollo wondered why there should be waves along the beach and against the rocks, when there were none out in the open sea.

"I should think, father," said he, "that it would be calmer near the shore, and more windy out upon the water."

"It is," said his father.

"Then, why are not the waves bigger?"

"They are full as big."

"Why, father," said Rollo, "there are no waves at all out from the land."

"You can't see them very well," said his father, "because we look down upon them. When we are upon a mountain, the small hills below almost disappear. Besides, the waves out in the open sea, in such a still time as this, are in the form of broad swells; but these swells are broken when they roll against the shore, and so this makes the surf."

"I mean to look over and see," said Rollo, and he walked cautiously along towards the precipice.

"O Rollo," exclaimed Mary, "don't go so near!"

"Why, there is no danger," said Rollo.

"Rollo! Rollo!" exclaimed Mary again, as Rollo went nearer and nearer.

His father had turned away, just as he had finished what he said above, and so had not observed what Rollo was doing. In fact, he did not go near enough to the brink to be in any danger, though Mary was afraid to have him so near.

His mother, hearing Mary's call, turned to see what was the matter, and she, too, felt afraid at seeing Rollo so near. She called him to come away; but Rollo told her that he was not near enough to fall.

"But I had rather that you would come away," said his mother; and she looked very anxious and uneasy, and began to hurry along towards him.

"You see that large island off to the right," said Rollo's father, directing her attention in the right quarter.

"Yes, I see it—Rollo!"

"Well, that is George's Island. There is a rock lying just about south of it."

"Yes," said Rollo's mother, "I believe I see it," beckoning at the same time to Rollo.

Her mind was evidently occupied with watching Rollo. She looked first at the rock and island, where Mr. Holiday was pointing, and then back at Rollo, until at length Mr. Holiday, perceiving that her mind was disturbed by Rollo's motions, said to him,

"Rollo, keep outside of us."

"Outside, father!" said Rollo; "how do you mean?"

"Why, farther back from the brink than we are."

So Rollo walked reluctantly back until he was at about the same distance from the brink with his father, and then began to take up some little stones, and throw them over. His father and mother went on talking, though Rollo's stones disturbed them a little. At length, Rollo came and stood near his father to hear what he was saying about a large ship which was just coming into view behind the island.

As he stood there, he kept pressing forward to get as near to the brink as he could, without actually going before his father and mother. She instinctively put out her hand to hold him back, and was evidently so uneasy, that Mr. Holiday looked to see what was the matter. Rollo had pressed forward so as to be a very little in advance of his father, though it was only very little indeed.

"Rollo," said his father, "go and sit in the carryall until we come."

Rollo looked up surprised, and was just going to ask what for. But he perceived at once that he was in advance of his parents, and that he had consequently disobeyed his father's orders. He went away rather sullenly.

"I was not more than an inch in advance of where they were," said he to himself; "and, besides, it was far enough from the brink. I don't see why I need be sent away."

However, he knew that he must obey, and he went and took his seat in the carryall. It was turned away from the sea, and he had nothing before him but the inland prospect.

"What dismal-looking rocks and hills!" said he to himself. They had appeared wild and picturesque when he first came in view of them, but now they had a very gloomy expression. He who is dissatisfied with himself, is generally dissatisfied with all around him.

Rollo waited until he was tired, and then he had to wait some time longer. At length his father and mother appeared, and Rollo jumped out, and asked his father if he might ride in the wagon, and drive the girls again.

"No," replied his father, "I have made another arrangement. Jonas," he continued, "you may get into the wagon, and drive on alone."

Rollo's father then helped Mrs. Holiday and Mary into the back seat, while he put Lucy and Rollo on before, and he took a seat between them. When they had rode on a little way, he said,

"I was very sorry to have to send you away, Rollo."

"Why, father, I was not more than an inch before you."

"That's true," said his father.

"And I don't think I was in any danger."

"I don't think you were myself," said his father.

"Then, why did you send me back?"

"For two reasons. First, you disobeyed me."

"But I don't think I came before you more than an inch."

"Nor I," said his father; "very likely it was not more than half an inch."

"And was that enough to do any harm?"

"It was enough to constitute disobedience. I told you to keep back, outside of us, and by coming up even as near as we were, you showed a disposition not to obey."

"But I forgot," said Rollo. "I did not observe that I was so near."

"But when I give you a direction like that, it is your duty to observe."

Rollo was silent. After a short pause, he added,

"Well, father, you said that there were two reasons why you sent me away."

"Yes, the other was that you were spoiling all the pleasure of the party. You kept Mary and mother continually uneasy and anxious."

"But I don't think I went into any danger."

"Perhaps not; that is not what I charge you with. I did not send you away for going into danger, but for making other persons anxious and uneasy."

"But, father, if there was not any danger, why need they be uneasy?"

"Do you suppose that persons are never made uneasy and anxious, except by actual danger?"

"Why—I don't know, sir."

"If you observe persons carefully, you will see that they are."

"Then they must be unreasonable," said Rollo.

"Not altogether," said his father. "If you were lying down upon the ground, and I were to come up to you with an axe, and make believe cut your head off, it would make you very uneasy, though there would be really no danger."

"But this is very different," said Rollo. "That would have been as if I had made believe push mother off."

"That would have been more like it, I confess. But I only meant to show you that it does not always require real danger, to make any one uneasy and anxious. When we see persons in situations which strongly suggest the idea of danger to our minds, it makes us uneasy, though we may know that there is no actual danger in the case. Thus it is painful to most persons to see a carpenter upon a very lofty spire, or to go very near a precipice, or see any body else go, even when there is a strong railing; and so in all other cases. Therefore, our rule ought always to be, when we are in company with others, not only not to go into actual danger, but not to go so near as strongly to bring up the idea to their minds, and thus distress them."

"I never thought of that before," said Rollo.

"No, I presume not. And I had not time to explain it to you when we were upon the cliffs, and so I simply directed you to keep back of us. That would have prevented all trouble, if you had only obeyed."

Rollo was silent and thoughtful. He was sorry that he had disobeyed.

"However," continued his father, "I am very glad I have had this opportunity to explain this subject to you. Now, I want you to remember, after this, that the best way, in all such cases, is to consider, not what the actual danger is, but what the feelings and fears of those who are with you may be. It is not your own safety, but the comfort of others, that you have to look out for."

"Yes, sir," said Rollo, "I will."

"Once there were two young men," continued his father, "taking a ride in chaises. Each had his sister with him. They came to an old bridge that was somewhat decayed, and it led across a very deep ravine which looked very frightful, though in reality the bridge was perfectly strong and safe. Now, when the first chaise came near, the girl who was in it cried out,

"'O brother, what a bridge! O, I must get out and walk over it. I don't dare to ride over such a bridge.'

"'Poh, nonsense!' said Henry. Her brother's name was Henry. 'The bridge is strong enough for a four-ox team. I have been over it a dozen times.' So he drove on. His sister looked very much terrified when they came upon the bridge, but they went over safely.

"'There,' said Henry, when they had got over, 'I told you it was safe.'

"When the other chaise came down, the young lady said the same thing to her brother, whose name was Charles. She said she was afraid to ride over.

"'Very well,' said Charles. 'The bridge is safe enough, but I think, perhaps, it may be pleasanter for you to walk over. It will rest you to walk a little, and besides, you can stop to look at the pleasant prospect, up and down the river, from the middle of the bridge.'

"So his sister got out, and he drove the chaise over carefully, while she walked behind. Now, which do you think took the best course, Charles or Henry?"

"I—don't know," said Rollo.

"The way to determine," said his father, "is to apply the Savior's rule, 'Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.'"

"Well, I think," said Rollo, "that I should rather get out and walk."

"I am sure I should," said Lucy.

* * * * *

The whole party, after this, got safely home, though it was too late, that night, to arrange their curiosities. They, however, looked them all over the next day, and they made a very large and valuable addition to their cabinet. The specimens of sand of different colors they arranged in little, square, pasteboard boxes, which Mary made, covering them neatly with blue paper upon the outside, and with white paper within.



THE THREE NORTHMEN.

The summer and autumn passed away, and the winter came on. Rollo was having a new great-coat made. He had grown too big for the old one, and so his mother had laid it aside, waiting for Nathan to grow up to it.

When Rollo's coat was done, he went out to show it to Jonas. It was thick and warm, with large cuffs, and there was a good warm collar to come up about his ears.

"And see," said Rollo, throwing the coat back, and slipping one of his arms out, "see how easy it comes off and on!"

"Yes," said Jonas, "and that is a great convenience in a great-coat. It is a very fine great-coat, indeed. I think, with that on, you will be able to make your stand against all three of the Northmen."

"All three of the Northmen!" repeated Rollo. "Who are the Northmen?"

"Don't you know who the three famous Northmen are," said Jonas, "who do so much mischief?"

"No," said Rollo, "I never heard of them before."

"Well," said Jonas, "I will tell you some time, but now I must go away with the cart."

Jonas had been harnessing the horse into the cart, in the yard, while Rollo had been talking with him, and now was about ready to go away. Rollo determined to ask his mother to let him go with him.

"Where are you going, Jonas?" said he.

"Down into the woods," said Jonas.

"Wait a minute for me."

So away Rollo ran to ask his mother. She said, yes; and he accordingly came out and took his seat, by the side of Jonas, upon a board which was placed across the cart, from one side to the other.

Jonas was going down into the woods to bring up a load of wood which he had obtained from the trimmings of the trees. It was a cold, frosty morning, and the winter was near; and Jonas wished to get the wood in before the snow should come and cover it up. Rollo was so much interested in driving the cart down, and then in loading it with wood, that he forgot to ask Jonas about the three famous Northmen.

About a month after this, there were a few very cold mornings. The ice froze very hard in a tub of water before the pump, and Jonas had to cut a hole in it with the axe, for the horse to drink.

Rollo saw him through the kitchen window, and he opened the door and ran out a moment to see him. Jonas was cutting away very carefully all around the sides of the tub, so as to get the whole mass of ice out together. Rollo stood looking on, shivering. He had no hat on, and only slippers upon his feet. He stood leaning a little forward, his arms hanging off from his sides as if they were driven off by electric repulsion.

"A'n't you cold?" said Rollo to Jonas.

"No," said Jonas, "not at all."

"I am; and I can't stay out here any longer, I am so cold."

"You are not prepared for it; that is the difficulty. Go and put on your boots, and your cap, and your mittens, and button up your jacket, and come out here and go to work with me, and you won't be cold."

Rollo ran in and got his boots; and after warming them by the kitchen fire, he put them on. He also buttoned his jacket up to his chin, and drew on his mittens, and put on his cap. He then went out again to find Jonas.

He found him in the barn, pitching down hay.

"Now," said Rollo, as he came up the stairs, "what shall I do?"

"Ah, you have come out to work, have you?" said Jonas. "Well, take this pitchfork, and mount up upon the loft there, and pitch me down some hay."

Rollo found it very hard to get up upon the loft. There were only some pegs, driven into a post, to climb up by. However, with Jonas's help, he got up, and then clambered over upon the hay; and Jonas threw the pitchfork up after him.

"Now work moderately," said Jonas, "and I'll insure that the Northmen can't touch you."

"O, there!" said Rollo, "you have never told me about the Northmen."

"Well," said Jonas, "I will tell you now, when you come down."

After pitching the hay down a little while, Rollo descended, though it was not necessary for Jonas to help him, for he jumped down upon the heap of hay which he had made. They then went together, attending to Jonas's work about the barn, while Rollo stopped occasionally to look out the open door or window, where the sun was shining in very pleasantly. Rollo began to think it was a warm, pleasant morning.

"There is one of the Northmen," said Jonas, "that you are somewhat acquainted with already."

"What is his name?" said Rollo.

"Captain Jack Frost," replied Jonas.

"O, yes," said Rollo, with a smile, "I have heard of that gentleman before."

"Yes," said Jonas, "he is pretty well known. He is a great mischief-maker. He lives in an ice castle at the North, and in the fall of the year he comes creeping along in the still nights, and early in the mornings. He builds bridges over the ponds, and brooks, and plants little gardens of hoar frost; and where he sees a stone in the ground, he stamps his foot upon it, and crowds it down a little way. Then it is his great delight to go about pinching boys' toes and noses. He is a sly rogue."

"And who are the other Northmen?" said Rollo.

"The next is General Boreas," said Jonas.

"General Boreas!" repeated Rollo; "and who is he?"

"O! he is a terrible fellow," replied Jonas. "He comes roaring and thundering along the tops of the forests at midnight, in snowstorms and hail. He buries up the whole country, he breaks down the trees, and sometimes unroofs the houses. Then, if he finds any poor traveller out, he whistles and roars about his ears, and tries to frighten him; and he throws snow into his face, and heaps it up all about him in order to bury him up if he can.

"Then, besides," continued Jonas, "the old stormer has another way of making mischief. After he has got the valleys and streams covered and filled with ice and snow, he brings on a tempest of wind and rain, and fills the land with torrents, which raise the streams, and tear up the ice, and carry it down in vast, broken, and jamming blocks, which break down the bridges, and carry away dams, and spread all over the meadows, frightening a good many families out of their beds at midnight."

"Is that the way that General Boreas acts?" said Rollo.

"Yes," replied Jonas, "that's the way."

"And who is the third Northman?" said Rollo.

"His name is Old Zero," replied Jonas. "He is more than threescore years and ten, a great deal; his head is hoary, and his beard is long and gray. He creeps softly along after General Boreas has worked himself out of breath, and gone away. He curtains over all the windows with frost work in the night. He likes the night, when it is calm and still, and the stars are shining bright and cold all over the sky. And he kills more people than Boreas does."

"Kills them?" said Rollo.

"Yes," replied Jonas. "He makes no blustering, but he stings bitterly, and the poor traveller has his ears, and hands, and feet frozen before he knows what a cruel enemy is around him. Captain Jack Frost you may laugh at,—but as to Old Zero, you had better beware of him."

Rollo laughed a good deal at Jonas's account of the three Northmen, and Jonas told him that they sometimes made some splendid curiosities, which would be beautiful for a shelf in his museum, if they would only keep.

"What are the curiosities?" said Rollo.

"O, all kinds of stars, and spangles, and snow-flakes, of a great many beautiful forms,—and icicles, and frost work. But they will not keep very long, unless you make a cabinet expressly for them."

"I can't make a cabinet," said Rollo.

"O, yes, you can,—a frost-cabinet," said Jonas.

"How?" asked Rollo.

"Why, you must go down near the brook, in the middle of the winter, and make a little room of snow. Then you must get a large piece of thin, clear ice from a still place in the brook, and fix it in for a window. You must also get some sheets of white ice, or snow crust, for shelves, and put your frost curiosities upon them. If you make it in a cold place, they will keep for some time."

"I will make a frost museum," said Rollo. "I mean to go down to-day and look out a place."

"Yes," said Jonas, "and you can keep it a secret until it is done, and then take your father and mother down to see it, and surprise them."

"Yes," said Rollo, clapping his hands, "so I will."



ROLLO BOOKS.

BY JACOB ABBOTT.

Rollo at Work, Rollo at School, Rollo at Play, Rollo's Vacation, Rollo Learning to Read, Rollo Learning to Talk.

BOUND IN UNIFORM STYLE.

The publishers request the attention of the friends of the young to this popular series of books, which have been pronounced, by competent and judicious persons, the best works for children published, not even excepting the best English writers. Mr. Abbott's style is peculiarly interesting to children, being natural and simple, and portraying the trials and temptations of childhood, just as they occur in every day life, and giving them clear and distinct ideas of the right and wrong in their actions.

From the Christian Examiner.

As a whole, they make the most important series of juvenile books that have appeared, to our knowledge, since Miss Edgeworth. They are very unlike those, and yet they resemble them in some prominent features; especially in making it their chief object to be pleasing, and thus gently and imperceptibly opening a way for instruction to the mind and morals, without obtruding or forcing it in the least. For this the books before us are remarkable. They are entertaining throughout. The interest never flags, and yet there is no seeming attempt to sustain it. There is little continuous story, and no plot or romance, or grown-up folly, such as fills half of the young novels now made for children. Here is a little boy, who is first induced to learn to talk; and in order to do this, he is made to see objects for himself, and think about them, and ask questions. Next he is taught to read; to effect this, he is candidly told that learning to read is not play, but work, and at first dry and hard work. It soon becomes easy, however, because it is undertaken in earnest, and then it becomes pleasant; and parents may take a hint from this, when they are afraid to allow letters and learning to wear any form but that of playthings and pastime to their children. In the third volume, Rollo is at work; in the fourth, at play; and the morals of both play and work are as easily and pleasantly insinuated as we have often seen. There is constant occupation in both, and constant natural opportunities of learning the duty and the advantage of feeling and doing right, and thus seeing the evil of feeling and doing wrong; for Mr. Abbott fully carries out, in these books, the great principle which we rejoice to see advanced in the Preface to one of them, namely, "that it is generally better, in dealing with children, to allure them to what is right by agreeable pictures of it, than to attempt to drive them to it by repulsive delineations of what is wrong." The fifth volume presents Rollo at School, and the last his vacation. They keep up the interest, and advance in maturity of thought and illustration, as the boy advances.

From the Mother's Magazine, edited by Mrs. Whittlesey.

Mr. Abbott possesses, in a very high degree, the faculty of awakening the interest of children. His writings have that absolute requisite for securing permanent popularity—truth to nature. His boys and girls talk and act like boys and girls, not like miniature men and women.

There are a thousand minute touches in his descriptions, which are evidently drawn from the life, and which betoken a habit of close and accurate observation of the ways and manners of children. In reading his books, you hardly believe that it is not your own little Charles or Henry, whose doings and sayings he is reporting. It is this truth and freshness in minute touches that constitutes picturesqueness in writing; a quality which renders Miss Edgeworth and Mr. Abbott attractive not only to little readers, but to some older persons that we know. We have spoken of these books as interesting; we can also recommend them as adapted to be exceedingly useful—and for the very same reason. Instead of general exhortations to certain things, and dehortations from others, children here find vivid pictures of the very faults they are to strive against, and are shown how to strive—of the good habits they are to acquire, and how they may be acquired. Parents will find them a valuable aid in the instruction and amendment of their children.

In Press,

ROLLO'S EXPERIMENTS. ROLLO'S MUSEUM.



BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG,

PUBLISHED BY

WEEKS, JORDAN, & CO.

WEEKS, JORDAN, & CO. are engaged in publishing books for young persons, in the preparing of which particular attention will be given to furnishing reading which shall combine rational and innocent recreation with good moral influence. Those published are,

CHARLES HARTLAND, or THE VILLAGE MISSIONARY. By the author of "The House I live in." A work full of incident, illustrating Christian principles in the young by example.

UNCLE THOMAS'S STORIES OF SHIPWRECKS. By THOMAS BINGLEY, author of "Stories about Dogs," &c. With five engravings.

LITTLE DOVE, by KRUMMACHER, and LITTLE DOWNY, or THE FIELD MOUSE.

THE WARNING. By MRS. FOLLEN. New Edition.

HAPPY DAYS. By the author of "Happy Valley."

MARY HOWITT'S TALES IN PROSE.

—— IN VERSE.

—— NATURAL HISTORY.

PICTURES AND STORIES FOR CHILDREN. By a Lady.

VICTIMS OF GAMING, or PASSAGES FROM THE DIARY OF AN AMERICAN PHYSICIAN.

THREE WEEKS IN PALESTINE AND LEBANON.

STORIES AND RHYMES FOR CHILDREN. By a Lady.

ALNOMUC, or THE GOLDEN RULE; A Tale of the Sea. 18 engravings.

TEACHER'S PRESENT. With a copperplate.

OLD IRONSIDE. By the author of "Alnomuc." 24 engravings.

PETER PARLEY'S METHOD OF TELLING ABOUT THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE BIBLE.

THE BOY AND THE BIRDS.

ROSE AND HER LAMB.



TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:

1. Minor changes have been made to correct usage of punctuation; otherwise, every effort has been made to ensure that this etext is faithful to the original book.

2. The original Table of Contents incorrectly listed the first chapter as beginning on page 11; this has been corrected to reflect the first page as page 9.

3. The footnote in the first chapter refers the reader to the Frontispiece; in fact, the Frontispiece refers to an event in seventh chapter. The Transcriber believes that the footnote should read "See page 23."

THE END