,transcribed from the #ahhi ,macmillan and ,co4 edition by ,david ,price1 email ccx#jgd;coventry4ac4uk ,,madam ,,how ,,and ,,lady ,,why or1 ,,first ,,lessons ,,in ,,earth ,,lore ,,for ,,children ,,dedication ,to my son ,grenville ,arthur1 and to his school-fellows at ,winton ,house ,this little book is dedicated4 ,,preface ,my dear boys1--,when ,i was your age1 there were no such children's books as there are now4 ,those which we had were few and dull1 and the pictures in them ugly and mean3 while you have your choice of books without number1 clear1 amusing1 and pretty1 as well as really instructive1 on subjects which were only talked of fifty years ago by a few learned men1 and very little understood even by them4 ,so if mere reading of books would make wise men1 you ought to grow up much wiser than us old fellows4 ,but mere reading of wise books will not make you wise men3 you must use for yourselves the tools with which books are made wise2 and that is--your eyes1 and ears1 and common sense4 ,now1 among those very stupid old-fashioned boys' books was one which taught me that2 and therefore ,i am more grateful to it than if it had been as full of wonderful pictures as all the natural history books you ever saw4 ,its name was ,evenings at ,home2 and in it was a story called ,eyes and no ,eyes2 a regular old-fashioned1 prim1 sententious story2 and it began thus3-- ,well1 ,robert1 where have you been walking this afternoon8 said ,mr4 ,andrews to one of his pupils at the close of a holiday4 ,oh--,robert had been to ,broom ,heath1 and round by ,camp ,mount1 and home through the meadows4 ,but it was very dull4 ,he hardly saw a single person4 ,he had much rather have gone by the turnpike-road4 ,presently in comes ,master ,william1 the other pupil1 dressed1 ,i suppose1 as wretched boys used to be dressed forty years ago1 in a frill collar1 and skeleton monkey-jacket1 and tight trousers buttoned over it1 and hardly coming down to his ancles2 and low shoes1 which always came off in sticky ground2 and terribly dirty and wet he is3 but he never 7he says7 had such a pleasant walk in his life2 and he has brought home his handkerchief 7for boys had no pockets in those days much bigger than key- holes7 full of curiosities4 ,he has got a piece of mistletoe1 wants to know what it is2 and he has seen a woodpecker1 and a wheat-ear1 and gathered strange flowers on the heath2 and hunted a peewit because he thought its wing was broken1 till of course it led him into a bog1 and very wet he got4 ,but he did not mind it1 because he fell in with an old man cutting turf1 who told him all about turf-cutting1 and gave him a dead adder4 ,and then he went up a hill1 and saw a grand prospect2 and wanted to go again1 and make out the geography of the country from ,cary's old county maps1 which were the only maps in those days4 ,and then1 because the hill was called ,camp ,mount1 he looked for a ,roman camp1 and found one2 and then he went down to the river1 saw twenty things more2 and so on1 and so on1 till he had brought home curiosities enough1 and thoughts enough1 to last him a week4 ,whereon ,mr4 ,andrews1 who seems to have been a very sensible old gentleman1 tells him all about his curiosities3 and then it comes out--if you will believe it--that ,master ,william has been over the very same ground as ,master ,robert1 who saw nothing at all4 ,whereon ,mr4 ,andrews says1 wisely enough1 in his solemn old-fashioned way1-- ,so it is4 ,one man walks through the world with his eyes open1 another with his eyes shut2 and upon this difference depends all the superiority of knowledge which one man acquires over another4 ,i have known sailors who had been in all the quarters of the world1 and could tell you nothing but the signs of the tippling-houses1 and the price and quality of the liquor4 ,on the other hand1 ,franklin could not cross the ,channel without making observations useful to mankind4 ,while many a vacant thoughtless youth is whirled through ,europe without gaining a single idea worth crossing the street for1 the observing eye and inquiring mind find matter of improvement and delight in every ramble4 ,you1 then1 ,william1 continue to use your eyes4 ,and you1 ,robert1 learn that eyes were given to you to use4 ,so said ,mr4 ,andrews3 and so ,i say1 dear boys--and so says he who has the charge of you--to you4 ,therefore ,i beg all good boys among you to think over this story1 and settle in their own minds whether they will be eyes or no eyes2 whether they will1 as they grow up1 look and see for themselves what happens3 or whether they will let other people look for them1 or pretend to look2 and dupe them1 and lead them about--the blind leading the blind1 till both fall into the ditch4 ,i say good boys2 not merely clever boys1 or prudent boys3 because using your eyes1 or not using them1 is a question of doing ,right or doing ,wrong4 ,god has given you eyes2 it is your duty to ,god to use them4 ,if your parents tried to teach you your lessons in the most agreeable way1 by beautiful picture-books1 would it not be ungracious1 ungrateful1 and altogether naughty and wrong1 to shut your eyes to those pictures1 and refuse to learn8 ,and is it not altogether naughty and wrong to refuse to learn from your ,father in ,heaven1 the ,great ,god who made all things1 when he offers to teach you all day long by the most beautiful and most wonderful of all picture-books1 which is simply all things which you can see1 hear1 and touch1 from the sun and stars above your head to the mosses and insects at your feet8 ,it is your duty to learn ,his lessons3 and it is your interest4 ,god's ,book1 which is the ,universe1 and the reading of ,god's ,book1 which is ,science1 can do you nothing but good1 and teach you nothing but truth and wisdom4 ,god did not put this wondrous world about your young souls to tempt or to mislead them4 ,if you ask ,him for a fish1 he will not give you a serpent4 ,if you ask ,him for bread1 ,he will not give you a stone4 ,so use your eyes and your intellect1 your senses and your brains1 and learn what ,god is trying to teach you continually by them4 ,i do not mean that you must stop there1 and learn nothing more4 ,anything but that4 ,there are things which neither your senses nor your brains can tell you2 and they are not only more glorious1 but actually more true and more real than any things which you can see or touch4 ,but you must begin at the beginning in order to end at the end1 and sow the seed if you wish to gather the fruit4 ,god has ordained that you1 and every child which comes into the world1 should begin by learning something of the world about him by his senses and his brain2 and the better you learn what they can teach you1 the more fit you will be to learn what they cannot teach you4 ,the more you try now to understand things1 the more you will be able hereafter to understand men1 and ,that which is above men4 ,you began to find out that truly ,divine mystery1 that you had a mother on earth1 simply by lying soft and warm upon her bosom2 and so 7as ,our ,lord told the ,jews of old7 it is by watching the common natural things around you1 and considering the lilies of the field1 how they grow1 that you will begin at least to learn that far ,diviner mystery1 that you have a ,father in ,heaven4 ,and so you will be delivered 7if you will7 out of the tyranny of darkness1 and distrust1 and fear1 into ,god's free kingdom of light1 and faith1 and love2 and will be safe from the venom of that tree which is more deadly than the fabled upas of the ,east4 ,who planted that tree ,i know not1 it was planted so long ago3 but surely it is none of ,god's planting1 neither of the ,son of ,god3 yet it grows in all lands and in all climes1 and sends its hidden suckers far and wide1 even 7unless we be watchful7 into your hearts and mine4 ,and its name is the ,tree of ,unreason1 whose roots are conceit and ignorance1 and its juices folly and death4 ,it drops its venom into the finest brains2 and makes them call sense1 nonsense2 and nonsense1 sense2 fact1 fiction2 and fiction1 fact4 ,it drops its venom into the tenderest hearts1 alas6 and makes them call wrong1 right2 and right1 wrong2 love1 cruelty2 and cruelty1 love4 ,some say that the axe is laid to the root of it just now1 and that it is already tottering to its fall3 while others say that it is growing stronger than ever1 and ready to spread its upas-shade over the whole earth4 ,for my part1 ,i know not1 save that all shall be as ,god wills4 ,the tree has been cut down already again and again2 and yet has always thrown out fresh shoots and dropped fresh poison from its boughs4 ,but this at least ,i know3 that any little child1 who will use the faculties ,god has given him1 may find an antidote to all its poison in the meanest herb beneath his feet4 ,there1 you do not understand me1 my boys2 and the best prayer ,i can offer for you is1 perhaps1 that you should never need to understand me3 but if that sore need should come1 and that poison should begin to spread its mist over your brains and hearts1 then you will be proof against it2 just in proportion as you have used the eyes and the common sense which ,god has given you1 and have considered the lilies of the field1 how they grow4 ,c4 ,,kingsley4 ,,chapter ,i--,,the ,,glen ,you find it dull walking up here upon ,hartford ,bridge ,flat this sad ,november day8 ,well1 ,i do not deny that the moor looks somewhat dreary1 though dull it need never be4 ,though the fog is clinging to the fir-trees1 and creeping among the heather1 till you cannot see as far as ,minley ,corner1 hardly as far as ,bramshill woods--and all the ,berkshire hills are as invisible as if it was a dark midnight--yet there is plenty to be seen here at our very feet4 ,though there is nothing left for you to pick1 and all the flowers are dead and brown1 except here and there a poor half-withered scrap of bottle-heath1 and nothing left for you to catch either1 for the butterflies and insects are all dead too1 except one poor old ,daddy-long-legs1 who sits upon that piece of turf1 boring a hole with her tail to lay her eggs in1 before the frost catches her and ends her like the rest3 though all things1 ,i say1 seem dead1 yet there is plenty of life around you1 at your feet1 ,i may almost say in the very stones on which you tread4 ,and though the place itself be dreary enough1 a sheet of flat heather and a little glen in it1 with banks of dead fern1 and a brown bog between them1 and a few fir-trees struggling up--yet1 if you only have eyes to see it1 that little bit of glen is beautiful and wonderful1--so beautiful and so wonderful and so cunningly devised1 that it took thousands of years to make it2 and it is not1 ,i believe1 half finished yet4 ,how do ,i know all that8 ,because a fairy told it me2 a fairy who lives up here upon the moor1 and indeed in most places else1 if people have but eyes to see her4 ,what is her name8 ,i cannot tell4 ,the best name that ,i can give her 7and ,i think it must be something like her real name1 because she will always answer if you call her by it patiently and reverently7 is ,madam ,how4 ,she will come in good time1 if she is called1 even by a little child4 ,and she will let us see her at her work1 and1 what is more1 teach us to copy her4 ,but there is another fairy here likewise1 whom we can hardly hope to see4 ,very thankful should we be if she lifted even the smallest corner of her veil1 and showed us but for a moment if it were but her finger tip--so beautiful is she1 and yet so awful too4 ,but that sight1 ,i believe1 would not make us proud1 as if we had had some great privilege4 ,no1 my dear child3 it would make us feel smaller1 and meaner1 and more stupid and more ignorant than we had ever felt in our lives before2 at the same time it would make us wiser than ever we were in our lives before--that one glimpse of the great glory of her whom we call ,lady ,why4 ,but ,i will say more of her presently4 ,we must talk first with ,madam ,how1 and perhaps she may help us hereafter to see ,lady ,why4 ,for she is the servant1 and ,lady ,why is the mistress2 though she has a ,master over her again--whose name ,i leave for you to guess4 ,you have heard it often already1 and you will hear it again1 for ever and ever4 ,but of one thing ,i must warn you1 that you must not confound ,madam ,how and ,lady ,why4 ,many people do it1 and fall into great mistakes thereby1--mistakes that even a little child1 if it would think1 need not commit4 ,but really great philosophers sometimes make this mistake about ,why and ,how2 and therefore it is no wonder if other people make it too1 when they write children's books about the wonders of nature1 and call them ,why and ,because1 or ,the ,reason ,why4 ,the books are very good books1 and you should read and study them3 but they do not tell you really ,why and ,because1 but only ,how and ,so4 ,they do not tell you the ,reason ,why things happen1 but only ,the ,way in which they happen4 ,however1 ,i must not blame these good folks1 for ,i have made the same mistake myself often1 and may do it again3 but all the more shame to me4 ,for see--you know perfectly the difference between ,how and ,why1 when you are talking about yourself4 ,if ,i ask you1 ,why did we go out to-day8 ,you would not answer1 ,because we opened the door4 ,that is the answer to ,how did we go out8 ,the answer to ,why did we go out is1 ,because we chose to take a walk4 ,now when we talk about other things beside ourselves1 we must remember this same difference between ,how and ,why4 ,if ,i ask you1 ,why does fire burn you8 you would answer1 ,i suppose1 being a little boy1 ,because it is hot2 which is all you know about it4 ,but if you were a great chemist1 instead of a little boy1 you would be apt to answer me1 ,i am afraid1 ,fire burns because the vibratory motion of the molecules of the heated substance communicates itself to the molecules of my skin1 and so destroys their tissue2 which is1 ,i dare say1 quite true3 but it only tells us how fire burns1 the way or means by which it burns2 it does not tell us the reason why it burns4 ,but you will ask1 ,if that is not the reason why fire burns1 what is8 ,my dear child1 ,i do not know4 ,that is ,lady ,why's business1 who is mistress of ,mrs4 ,how1 and of you and of me2 and1 as ,i think1 of all things that you ever saw1 or can see1 or even dream4 ,and what her reason for making fire burn may be ,i cannot tell4 ,but ,i believe on excellent grounds that her reason is a very good one4 ,if ,i dare to guess1 ,i should say that one reason1 at least1 why fire burns1 is that you may take care not to play with it1 and so not only scorch your finger1 but set your whole bed on fire1 and perhaps the house into the bargain1 as you might be tempted to do if putting your finger in the fire were as pleasant as putting sugar in your mouth4 ,my dear child1 if ,i could once get clearly into your head this difference between ,why and ,how1 so that you should remember them steadily in after life1 ,i should have done you more good than if ,i had given you a thousand pounds4 ,but now that we know that ,how and ,why are two very different matters1 and must not be confounded with each other1 let us look for ,madam ,how1 and see her at work making this little glen2 for1 as ,i told you1 it is not half made yet4 ,one thing we shall see at once1 and see it more and more clearly the older we grow2 ,i mean her wonderful patience and diligence4 ,madam ,how is never idle for an instant4 ,nothing is too great or too small for her2 and she keeps her work before her eye in the same moment1 and makes every separate bit of it help every other bit4 ,she will keep the sun and stars in order1 while she looks after poor old ,mrs4 ,daddy- long-legs there and her eggs4 ,she will spend thousands of years in building up a mountain1 and thousands of years in grinding it down again2 and then carefully polish every grain of sand which falls from that mountain1 and put it in its right place1 where it will be wanted thousands of years hence2 and she will take just as much trouble about that one grain of sand as she did about the whole mountain4 ,she will settle the exact place where ,mrs4 ,daddy-long-legs shall lay her eggs1 at the very same time that she is settling what shall happen hundreds of years hence in a stair millions of miles away4 ,and ,i really believe that ,madam ,how knows her work so thoroughly1 that the grain of sand which sticks now to your shoe1 and the weight of ,mrs4 ,daddy-long-legs' eggs at the bottom of her hole1 will have an effect upon suns and stars ages after you and ,i are dead and gone4 ,most patient indeed is ,madam ,how4 ,she does not mind the least seeing her own work destroyed2 she knows that it must be destroyed4 ,there is a spell upon her1 and a fate1 that everything she makes she must unmake again3 and yet1 good and wise woman as she is1 she never frets1 nor tires1 nor fudges her work1 as we say at school4 ,she takes just as much pains to make an acorn as to make a peach4 ,she takes just as much pains about the acorn which the pig eats1 as about the acorn which will grow into a tall oak1 and help to build a great ship4 ,she took just as much pains1 again1 about the acorn which you crushed under your foot just now1 and which you fancy will never come to anything4 ,madam ,how is wiser than that4 ,she knows that it will come to something4 ,she will find some use for it1 as she finds a use for everything4 ,that acorn which you crushed will turn into mould1 and that mould will go to feed the roots of some plant1 perhaps next year1 if it lies where it is2 or perhaps it will be washed into the brook1 and then into the river1 and go down to the sea1 and will feed the roots of some plant in some new continent ages and ages hence3 and so ,madam ,how will have her own again4 ,you dropped your stick into the river yesterday1 and it floated away4 ,you were sorry1 because it had cost you a great deal of trouble to cut it1 and peel it1 and carve a head and your name on it4 ,madam ,how was not sorry1 though she had taken a great deal more trouble with that stick than ever you had taken4 ,she had been three years making that stick1 out of many things1 sunbeams among the rest4 ,but when it fell into the river1 ,madam ,how knew that she should not lose her sunbeams nor anything else3 the stick would float down the river1 and on into the sea2 and there1 when it got heavy with the salt water1 it would sink1 and lodge1 and be buried1 and perhaps ages hence turn into coal2 and ages after that some one would dig it up and burn it1 and then out would come1 as bright warm flame1 all the sunbeams that were stored away in that stick3 and so ,madam ,how would have her own again4 ,and if that should not be the fate of your stick1 still something else will happen to it just as useful in the long run2 for ,madam ,how never loses anything1 but uses up all her scraps and odds and ends somehow1 somewhere1 somewhen1 as is fit and proper for the ,housekeeper of the whole ,universe4 ,indeed1 ,madam ,how is so patient that some people fancy her stupid1 and think that1 because she does not fall into a passion every time you steal her sweets1 or break her crockery1 or disarrange her furniture1 therefore she does not care4 ,but ,i advise you as a little boy1 and still more when you grow up to be a man1 not to get that fancy into your head2 for you will find that1 however good-natured and patient ,madam ,how is in most matters1 her keeping silence and not seeming to see you is no sign that she has forgotten4 ,on the contrary1 she bears a grudge 7if one may so say1 with all respect to her7 longer than any one else does2 because she will always have her own again4 ,indeed1 ,i sometimes think that if it were not for ,lady ,why1 her mistress1 she might bear some of her grudges for ever and ever4 ,i have seen men ere now damage some of ,madam ,how's property when they were little boys1 and be punished by her all their lives long1 even though she had mended the broken pieces1 or turned them to some other use4 ,therefore ,i say to you1 beware of ,madam ,how4 ,she will teach you more kindly1 patiently1 and tenderly than any mother1 if you want to learn her trade4 ,but if1 instead of learning her trade1 you damage her materials and play with her tools1 beware lest she has her own again out of you4 ,some people think1 again1 that ,madam ,how is not only stupid1 but ill-tempered and cruel2 that she makes earthquakes and storms1 and famine and pestilences1 in a sort of blind passion1 not caring where they go or whom they hurt2 quite heedless of who is in the way1 if she wants to do anything or go anywhere4 ,now1 that ,madam ,how can be very terrible there can be no doubt3 but there is no doubt also that1 if people choose to learn1 she will teach them to get out of her way whenever she has business to do which is dangerous to them4 ,but as for her being cruel and unjust1 those may believe it who like4 ,you1 my dear boys and girls1 need not believe it1 if you will only trust to ,lady ,why2 and be sure that ,why is the mistress and ,how the servant1 now and for ever4 ,that ,lady ,why is utterly good and kind ,i know full well2 and ,i believe that1 in her case too1 the old proverb holds1 ,like mistress1 like servant2 and that the more we know of ,madam ,how1 the more we shall be content with her1 and ready to submit to whatever she does3 but not with that stupid resignation which some folks preach who do not believe in lady ,why--that is no resignation at all4 ,that is merely saying-- ,what can't be cured ,must be endured1 like a donkey when he turns his tail to a hail-storm1--but the true resignation1 the resignation which is fit for grown people and children alike1 the resignation which is the beginning and the end of all wisdom and all religion1 is to believe that ,lady ,why knows best1 because she herself is perfectly good2 and that as she is mistress over ,madam ,how1 so she has a ,master over her1 whose name--,i say again--,i leave you to guess4 ,so now that ,i have taught you not to be afraid of ,madam ,how1 we will go and watch her at her work2 and if we do not understand anything we see1 we will ask her questions4 ,she will always show us one of her lesson books if we give her time4 ,and if we have to wait some time for her answer1 you need not fear catching cold1 though it is ,november2 for she keeps her lesson books scattered about in strange places1 and we may have to walk up and down that hill more than once before we can make out how she makes the glen4 ,well--how was the glen made8 ,you shall guess it if you like1 and ,i will guess too4 ,you think1 perhaps1 that an earthquake opened it8 ,my dear child1 we must look before we guess4 ,then1 after we have looked a little1 and got some grounds for guessing1 then we may guess4 ,and you have no ground for supposing there ever was an earthquake here strong enough to open that glen4 ,there may have been one3 but we must guess from what we do know1 and not from what we do not4 ,guess again4 ,perhaps it was there always1 from the beginning of the world8 ,my dear child1 you have no proof of that either4 ,everything round you is changing in shape daily and hourly1 as you will find out the longer you live2 and therefore it is most reasonable to suppose that this glen has changed its shape1 as everything else on earth has done4 ,besides1 ,i told you not that ,madam ,how had made the glen1 but that she was making it1 and as yet has only half finished4 ,that is my first guess2 and my next guess is that water is making the glen--water1 and nothing else4 ,you open your young eyes4 ,and ,i do not blame you4 ,i looked at this very glen for fifteen years before ,i made that guess2 and ,i have looked at it some ten years since1 to make sure that my guess held good4 ,for man after all is very blind1 my dear boy1 and very stupid1 and cannot see what lies under his own feet all day long2 and if ,lady ,why1 and ,he whom ,lady ,why obeys1 were not very patient and gentle with mankind1 they would have perished off the face of the earth long ago1 simply from their own stupidity4 ,i1 at least1 was very stupid in this case1 for ,i had my head full of earthquakes1 and convulsions of nature1 and all sorts of prodigies which never happened to this glen2 and so1 while ,i was trying to find what was not there1 ,i of course found nothing4 ,but when ,i put them all out of my head1 and began to look for what was there1 ,i found it at once2 and lo and behold6 ,i had seen it a thousand times before1 and yet never learnt anything from it1 like a stupid man as ,i was2 though what ,i learnt you may learn as easily as ,i did4 ,and what did ,i find8 ,the pond at the bottom of the glen4 ,you know that pond1 of course8 ,you don't need to go there8 ,very well4 ,then if you do1 do not you know also that the pond is always filling up with sand and mud2 and that though we clean it out every three or four years1 it always fills again8 ,now where does that sand and mud come from8 ,down that stream1 of course1 which runs out of this bog4 ,you see it coming down every time there is a flood1 and the stream fouls4 ,very well4 ,then1 said ,madam ,how to me1 as soon as ,i recollected that1 ,don't you see1 you stupid man1 that the stream has made the glen1 and the earth which runs down the stream was all once part of the hill on which you stand4 ,i confess ,i was very much ashamed of myself when she said that4 ,for that is the history of the whole mystery4 ,madam ,how is digging away with her soft spade1 water4 ,she has a harder spade1 or rather plough1 the strongest and most terrible of all ploughs2 but that1 ,i am glad to say1 she has laid by in ,england here4 ,water8 ,but water is too simple a thing to have dug out all this great glen4 ,my dear child1 the most wonderful part of ,madam ,how's work is1 that she does such great things and so many different things1 with one and the same tool1 which looks to you so simple1 though it really is not so4 ,water1 for instance1 is not a simple thing1 but most complicated2 and we might spend hours in talking about water1 without having come to the end of its wonders4 ,still ,madam ,how is a great economist1 and never wastes her materials4 ,she is like the sailor who boasted 7only she never boasts7 that1 if he had but a long life and a strong knife1 he would build ,st4 ,paul's ,cathedral before he was done4 ,and ,madam ,how has a very long life1 and plenty of time2 and one of the strongest of all her tools is water4 ,now if you will stoop down and look into the heather1 ,i will show you how she is digging out the glen with this very mist which is hanging about our feet4 ,at least1 so ,i guess4 ,for see how the mist clings to the points of the heather leaves1 and makes drops4 ,if the hot sun came out the drops would dry1 and they would vanish into the air in light warm steam4 ,but now that it is dark and cold they drip1 or run down the heather-stems1 to the ground4 ,and whither do they go then8 ,whither will the water go1--hundreds of gallons of it perhaps1--which has dripped and run through the heather in this single day8 ,it will sink into the ground1 you know4 ,and then what will become of it8 ,madam ,how will use it as an underground spade1 just as she uses the rain 7at least1 when it rains too hard1 and therefore the rain runs off the moor instead of sinking into it7 as a spade above ground4 ,now come to the edge of the glen1 and ,i will show you the mist that fell yesterday1 perhaps1 coming out of the ground again1 and hard at work4 ,you know of what an odd1 and indeed of what a pretty form all these glens are4 ,how the flat moor ends suddenly in a steep rounded bank1 almost like the crest of a wave--ready like a wave-crest to fall over1 and as you know1 falling over sometimes1 bit by bit1 where the soil is bare4 ,oh1 yes2 you are very fond of those banks4 ,it is awfully jolly1 as you say1 scrambling up and down them1 in the deep heath and fern2 besides1 there are plenty of rabbit-holes there1 because they are all sand2 while there are no rabbit-holes on the flat above1 because it is all gravel4 ,yes2 you know all about it3 but you know1 too1 that you must not go too far down these banks1 much less roll down them1 because there is almost certain to be a bog at the bottom1 lying upon a gentle slope2 and there you get wet through4 ,all round these hills1 from here to ,aldershot in one direction1 and from here to ,windsor in another1 you see the same shaped glens2 the wave-crest along their top1 and at the foot of the crest a line of springs which run out over the slopes1 or well up through them in deep sand-galls1 as you call them--shaking quagmires which are sometimes deep enough to swallow up a horse1 and which you love to dance upon in summer time4 ,now the water of all these springs is nothing but the rain1 and mist1 and dew1 which has sunk down first through the peaty soil1 and then through the gravel and sand1 and there has stopped4 ,and why8 ,because under the gravel 7about which ,i will tell you a strange story one day7 and under the sand1 which is what the geologists call the ,upper ,bagshot sand1 there is an entirely different set of beds1 which geologists call the ,bracklesham beds1 from a place near the ,new ,forest2 and in those beds there is a vein of clay1 and through that clay the water cannot get1 as you have seen yourself when we dug it out in the field below to puddle the pond-head2 and very good fun you thought it1 and a very pretty mess you made of yourself4 ,well3 because the water cannot get though this clay1 and must go somewhere1 it runs out continually along the top of the clay1 and as it runs undermines the bank1 and brings down sand and gravel continually for the next shower to wash into the stream below4 ,now think for one moment how wonderful it is that the shape of these glens1 of which you are so fond1 was settled by the particular order in which ,madam ,how laid down the gravel and sand and mud at the bottom of the sea1 ages and ages ago4 ,this is what ,i told you1 that the least thing that ,madam ,how does to-day may take effect hundreds and thousands of years hence4 ,but ,i must tell you ,i think there was a time when this glen was of a very different shape from what it is now2 and ,i dare say1 according to your notions1 of a much prettier shape4 ,it was once just like one of those ,chines which we used to see at ,bournemouth4 ,you recollect them8 ,how there was a narrow gap in the cliff of striped sands and gravels2 and out of the mouth of that gap1 only a few feet across1 there poured down a great slope of mud and sand the shape of half a bun1 some wet and some dry1 up which we used to scramble and get into the ,chine1 and call the ,chine what it was in the truest sense1 ,fairyland4 ,you recollect how it was all eaten out into mountain ranges1 pinnacles1 steep cliffs of white1 and yellow1 and pink1 standing up against the clear blue sky2 till we agreed that1 putting aside the difference of size1 they were as beautiful and grand as any ,alps we had ever seen in pictures4 ,and how we saw 7for there could be no mistake about it there7 that the ,chine was being hollowed out by the springs which broke out high up the cliff1 and by the rain which wore the sand into furrowed pinnacles and peaks4 ,you recollect the beautiful place1 and how1 when we looked back down it we saw between the miniature mountain walls the bright blue sea1 and heard it murmur on the sands outside4 ,so ,i verily believe we might have done1 if we had stood somewhere at the bottom of this glen thousands of years ago4 ,we should have seen the sea in front of us2 or rather1 an arm of the sea2 for ,finchampstead ridges opposite1 instead of being covered with farms1 and woodlands1 and purple heath above1 would have been steep cliffs of sand and clay1 just like those you see at ,bournemouth now2 and--what would have spoilt somewhat the beauty of the sight--along the shores there would have floated1 at least in winter1 great blocks and floes of ice1 such as you might have seen in the tideway at ,king's ,lynn the winter before last1 growling and crashing1 grubbing and ploughing the sand1 and the gravel1 and the mud1 and sweeping them away into seas towards the ,north1 which are now all fruitful land4 ,that may seem to you like a dream3 yet it is true2 and some day1 when we have another talk with ,madam ,how1 ,i will show even a child like you that it was true4 ,but what could change a beautiful ,chine like that at ,bournemouth into a wide sloping glen like this of ,bracknell's ,bottom1 with a wood like ,coombs'1 many acres large1 in the middle of it8 ,well now1 think4 ,it is a capital plan for finding out ,madam ,how's secrets1 to see what she might do in one place1 and explain by it what she has done in another4 ,suppose now1 ,madam ,how had orders to lift up the whole coast of ,bournemouth only twenty or even ten feet higher out of the sea than it is now4 ,she could do that easily enough1 for she has been doing so on the coast of ,south ,america for ages2 she has been doing so this very summer in what hasty people would call a hasty1 and violent1 and ruthless way2 though ,i shall not say so1 for ,i believe that ,lady ,why knows best4 ,she is doing so now steadily on the west coast of ,norway1 which is rising quietly--all that vast range of mountain wall and iron-bound cliff--at the rate of some four feet in a hundred years1 without making the least noise or confusion1 or even causing an extra ripple on the sea2 so light and gentle1 when she will1 can ,madam ,how's strong finger be4 ,now1 if the mouth of that ,chine at ,bournemouth was lifted twenty feet out of the sea1 one thing would happen1--that the high tide would not come up any longer1 and wash away the cake of dirt at the entrance1 as we saw it do so often4 ,but if the mud stopped there1 the mud behind it would come down more slowly1 and lodge inside more and more1 till the ,chine was half filled-up1 and only the upper part of the cliffs continue to be eaten away1 above the level where the springs ran out4 ,so gradually the ,chine1 instead of being deep and narrow1 would become broad and shallow2 and instead of hollowing itself rapidly after every shower of rain1 as you saw the ,chine at ,bournemouth doing1 would hollow itself out slowly1 as this glen is doing now4 ,and one thing more would happen1--when the sea ceased to gnaw at the foot of the cliffs outside1 and to carry away every stone and grain of sand which fell from them1 the cliffs would very soon cease to be cliffs2 the rain and the frost would still crumble them down1 but the dirt that fell would lie at their feet1 and gradually make a slope of dry land1 far out where the shallow sea had been2 and their tops1 instead of being steep as now1 would become smooth and rounded2 and so at last1 instead of two sharp walls of cliff at the ,chine's mouth1 you might have--just what you have here at the mouth of this glen1--our ,mount and the ,warren ,hill1--long slopes with sheets of drifted gravel and sand at their feet1 stretching down into what was once an icy sea1 and is now the ,vale of ,blackwater4 ,and this ,i really believe ,madam ,how has done simply by lifting ,hartford ,bridge ,flat a few more feet out of the sea1 and leaving the rest to her trusty tool1 the water in the sky4 ,that is my guess3 and ,i think it is a good guess1 because ,i have asked ,madam ,how a hundred different questions about it in the last ten years1 and she always answered them in the same way1 saying1 ,water1 water1 you stupid man4 ,but ,i do not want you merely to depend on what ,i say4 ,if you want to understand ,madam ,how1 you must ask her questions yourself1 and make up your mind yourself like a man1 instead of taking things at hearsay or second-hand1 like the vulgar4 ,mind1 by the vulgar ,i do not mean poor people3 ,i mean ignorant and uneducated people1 who do not use their brains rightly1 though they may be fine ladies1 kings1 or popes4 ,the ,bible says1 ,prove all things3 hold fast that which is good4 ,so do you prove my guess1 and if it proves good1 hold it fast4 ,and how can ,i do that8 ,first1 by direct experiment1 as it is called4 ,in plain ,english--go home and make a little ,hartford ,bridge ,flat in the stable-yard2 and then ask ,mrs4 ,how if she will not make a glen in it like this glen here4 ,we will go home and try that4 ,we will make a great flat cake of clay1 and put upon it a cap of sand2 and then we will rain upon it out of a watering- pot2 and see if ,mrs4 ,how does not begin soon to make a glen in the side of the heap1 just like those on ,hartford ,bridge ,flat4 ,i believe she will2 and certainly1 if she does1 it will be a fresh proof that my guess is right4 ,and then we will see whether water will not make glens of a different shape than these1 if it run over soils of a different kind4 ,we will make a ,hartford ,bridge ,flat turned upside down--a cake of sand with a cap of clay on the top2 and we will rain on that out of our watering- pot1 and see what sort of glens we make then4 ,i can guess what they will be like1 because ,i have seen them--steep overhanging cliffs1 with very narrow gullies down them3 but you shall try for yourself1 and make up your mind whether you think me right or wrong4 ,meanwhile1 remember that those gullies too will have been made by water4 ,and there is another way of verifying my theory1 as it is called2 in plain ,english1 seeing if my guess holds good2 that is1 to look at other valleys--not merely the valleys round here1 but valleys in clay1 in chalk1 in limestone1 in the hard slate rock such as you saw in ,devonshire--and see whether my guess does not hold good about them too2 whether all of them1 deep or shallow1 broad or narrow1 rock or earth1 may not have been all hollowed out by running water4 ,i am sure if you would do this you would find something to amuse you1 and something to instruct you1 whenever you wish4 ,i know that ,i do4 ,to me the longest railroad journey1 instead of being stupid1 is like continually turning over the leaves of a wonderful book1 or looking at wonderful pictures of old worlds which were made and unmade thousands of years ago4 ,for ,i keep looking1 not only at the railway cuttings1 where the bones of the old worlds are laid bare1 but at the surface of the ground2 at the plains and downs1 banks and knolls1 hills and mountains2 and continually asking ,mrs4 ,how what gave them each its shape3 and ,i will soon teach you to do the same4 ,when you do1 ,i tell you fairly her answer will be in almost every case1 ,running water4 ,either water running when soft1 as it usually is2 or water running when it is hard--in plain words1 moving ice4 ,about that moving ice1 which is ,mrs4 ,how's stronger spade1 ,i will tell you some other time2 and show you1 too1 the marks of it in every gravel pit about here4 ,but now1 ,i see1 you want to ask a question2 and what is it8 ,do ,i mean to say that water has made great valleys1 such as you have seen paintings and photographs of1--valleys thousands of feet deep1 among mountains thousands of feet high8 ,yes1 ,i do4 ,but1 as ,i said before1 ,i do not like you to take my word upon trust4 ,when you are older you shall go to the mountains1 and you shall judge for yourself4 ,still1 ,i must say that ,i never saw a valley1 however deep1 or a cliff1 however high1 which had not been scooped out by water2 and that even the mountain-tops which stand up miles aloft in jagged peaks and pinnacles against the sky were cut out at first1 and are being cut and sharpened still1 by little else save water1 soft and hard2 that is1 by rain1 frost1 and ice4 ,water1 and nothing else1 has sawn out such a chasm as that through which the ships run up to ,bristol1 between ,leigh ,wood and ,st4 ,vincent's ,rocks4 ,water1 and nothing else1 has shaped those peaks of the ,matterhorn1 or the ,weisshorn1 or the ,pic du ,midi of the ,pyrenees1 of which you have seen sketches and photographs4 ,just so water might saw out ,hartford ,bridge ,flat1 if it had time enough1 into a labyrinth of valleys1 and hills1 and peaks standing alone2 as it has done already by ,ambarrow1 and ,edgbarrow1 and the ,folly ,hill on the other side of the vale4 ,i see you are astonished at the notion that water can make ,alps4 ,but it was just because ,i knew you would be astonished at ,madam ,how's doing so great a thing with so simple a tool1 that ,i began by showing you how she was doing the same thing in a small way here upon these flats4 ,for the safest way to learn ,madam ,how's methods is to watch her at work in little corners at commonplace business1 which will not astonish or frighten us1 nor put huge hasty guesses and dreams into our heads4 ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 some will tell you1 found out the great law of gravitation1 which holds true of all the suns and stars in heaven1 by watching an apple fall3 and even if he did not find it out so1 he found it out1 we know1 by careful thinking over the plain and commonplace fact1 that things have weight4 ,so do you be humble and patient1 and watch ,madam ,how at work on little things4 ,for that is the way to see her at work upon all space and time4 ,what8 you have a question more to ask8 ,oh6 ,i talked about ,madam ,how lifting up ,hartford ,bridge ,flat4 ,how could she do that8 ,my dear child1 that is a long story1 and ,i must tell it you some other time4 ,meanwhile1 did you ever see the lid of a kettle rise up and shake when the water inside boiled8 ,of course2 and of course1 too1 remember that ,madam ,how must have done it4 ,then think over between this and our next talk1 what that can possibly have to do with her lifting up ,hartford ,bridge ,flat4 ,but you have been longing1 perhaps1 all this time to hear more about ,lady ,why1 and why she set ,madam ,how to make ,bracknell's ,bottom4 ,my dear child1 the only answer ,i dare give to that is3 ,whatever other purposes she may have made it for1 she made it at least for this--that you and ,i should come to it this day1 and look at1 and talk over it1 and become thereby wiser and more earnest1 and we will hope more humble and better people4 ,whatever else ,lady ,why may wish or not wish1 this she wishes always1 to make all men wise and all men good4 ,for what is written of her whom1 as in a parable1 ,i have called ,lady ,why8 ,the ,lord possessed me in the beginning of ,his way1 before ,his works of old4 ,i was set up from everlasting1 from the beginning1 or ever the earth was4 ,when there were no depths1 ,i was brought forth2 when there were no fountains abounding with water4 ,before the mountains were settled1 before the hills was ,i brought forth3 ,while as yet ,he had not made the earth1 nor the fields1 nor the highest part of the dust of the world4 ,when ,he prepared the heavens1 ,i was there3 when ,he set a compass upon the face of the depth3 ,when ,he established the clouds above3 when ,he strengthened the fountains of the deep3 ,when ,he gave to the sea ,his decree1 that the waters should not pass ,his commandment3 when ,he appointed the foundations of the earth3 ,then ,i was by ,him1 as one brought up with ,him3 and ,i was daily ,his delight1 rejoicing always before ,him3 ,rejoicing in the habitable part of ,his earth2 and my delights were with the sons of men4 ,now therefore hearken unto me1 ,o ye children3 for blessed are they that keep my ways4 ,that we can say1 for it has been said for us already4 ,but beyond that we can say1 and need say1 very little4 ,we were not there1 as we read in the ,book of ,job1 when ,god laid the foundations of the earth4 ,we see1 says ,st4 ,paul1 as in a glass darkly1 and only know in part4 ,for who1 he asks again1 has known the mind of the ,lord1 or who hath been ,his counsellor8 4 4 4 ,for of ,him1 and through ,him1 and to ,him1 are all things3 to whom be glory for ever and ever4 ,amen4 ,therefore we must not rashly say1 this or that is ,why a thing has happened2 nor invent what are called final causes1 which are not ,lady ,why herself1 but only our little notions of what ,lady ,why has done1 or rather what we should have done if we had been in her place4 ,it is not1 indeed1 by thinking that we shall find out anything about ,lady ,why4 ,she speaks not to our eyes or to our brains1 like ,madam ,how1 but to that inner part of us which we call our hearts and spirits1 and which will endure when eyes and brain are turned again to dust4 ,if your heart be pure and sober1 gentle and truthful1 then ,lady ,why speaks to you without words1 and tells you things which ,madam ,how and all her pupils1 the men of science1 can never tell4 ,when you lie1 it may be1 on a painful sick-bed1 but with your mother's hand in yours2 when you sit by her1 looking up into her loving eyes2 when you gaze out towards the setting sun1 and fancy golden capes and islands in the clouds1 and seas and lakes in the blue sky1 and the infinite rest and peace of the far west sends rest and peace into your young heart1 till you sit silent and happy1 you know not why2 when sweet music fills your heart with noble and tender instincts which need no thoughts or words2 ay1 even when you watch the raging thunderstorm1 and feel it to be1 in spite of its great awfulness1 so beautiful that you cannot turn your eyes away3 at such times as these ,lady ,why is speaking to your soul of souls1 and saying1 ,my child1 this world is a new place1 and strange1 and often terrible3 but be not afraid4 ,all will come right at last4 ,rest will conquer ,restlessness2 ,faith will conquer ,fear2 ,order will conquer ,disorder2 ,health will conquer ,sickness2 ,joy will conquer ,sorrow2 ,pleasure will conquer ,pain2 ,life will conquer ,death2 ,right will conquer ,wrong4 ,all will be well at last4 ,keep your soul and body pure1 humble1 busy1 pious--in one word1 be good3 and ere you die1 or after you die1 you may have some glimpse of ,me1 the ,everlasting ,why3 and hear with the ears1 not of your body but of your spirit1 men and all rational beings1 plants and animals1 ay1 the very stones beneath your feet1 the clouds above your head1 the planets and the suns away in farthest space1 singing eternally1 ',thou art worthy1 ,o ,lord1 to receive glory and honour and power1 for ,thou hast created all things1 and for ,thy pleasure they are and were created4' ,,chapter ,,ii--,,earthquakes ,so8 ,you have been looking at that beautiful drawing of the ruin of ,arica in the ,illustrated ,london ,news3 and it has puzzled you and made you sad4 ,you want to know why ,god killed all those people--mothers among them1 too1 and little children8 ,alas1 my dear child6 who am ,i that ,i should answer you that8 ,have you done wrong in asking me8 ,no1 my dear child2 no4 ,you have asked me because you are a human being and a child of ,god1 and not merely a cleverer sort of animal1 an ape who can read and write and cast accounts4 ,therefore it is that you cannot be content1 and ought not to be content1 with asking how things happen1 but must go on to ask why4 ,you cannot be content with knowing the causes of things2 and if you knew all the natural science that ever was or ever will be known to men1 that would not satisfy you2 for it would only tell you the causes of things1 while your souls want to know the reasons of things besides2 and though ,i may not be able to tell you the reasons of things1 or show you aught but a tiny glimpse here and there of that which ,i called the other day the glory of ,lady ,why1 yet ,i believe that somehow1 somewhen1 somewhere1 you will learn something of the reason of things4 ,for that thirst to know why was put into the hearts of little children by ,god ,himself2 and ,i believe that ,god would never have given them that thirst if ,he had not meant to satisfy it4 ,there--you do not understand me4 ,i trust that you will understand me some day4 ,meanwhile1 ,i think--,i only say ,i think--you know ,i told you how humble we must be whenever we speak of ,lady ,why--that we may guess at something like a good reason for the terrible earthquakes in ,south ,america4 ,i do not wish to be hard upon poor people in great affliction3 but ,i cannot help thinking that they have been doing for hundreds of years past something very like what the ,bible calls tempting ,god--staking their property and their lives upon the chances of no earthquakes coming1 while they ought to have known that an earthquake might come any day4 ,they have fulfilled 7and little thought ,i that it would be fulfilled so soon7 the parable that ,i told you once1 of the nation of the ,do-as-you-likes1 who lived careless and happy at the foot of the burning mountain1 and would not be warned by the smoke that came out of the top1 or by the slag and cinders which lay all about them2 till the mountain blew up1 and destroyed them miserably4 ,then ,i think that they ought to have expected an earthquake4 ,well--it is not for us to judge any one1 especially if they live in a part of the world in which we have not been ourselves4 ,but ,i think that we know1 and that they ought to have known1 enough about earthquakes to have been more prudent than they have been for many a year4 ,at least we will hope that1 though they would not learn their lesson till this year1 they will learn it now1 and will listen to the message which ,i think ,madam ,how has brought them1 spoken in a voice of thunder1 and written in letters of flame4 ,and what is that8 ,my dear child1 if the landlord of our house was in the habit of pulling the roof down upon our heads1 and putting gunpowder under the foundations to blow us up1 do you not think we should know what he meant1 even though he never spoke a word8 ,he would be very wrong in behaving so1 of course3 but one thing would be certain1--that he did not intend us to live in his house any longer if he could help it2 and was giving us1 in a very rough fashion1 notice to quit4 ,and so it seems to me that these poor ,spanish ,americans have received from the ,landlord of all landlords1 who can do no wrong1 such a notice to quit as perhaps no people ever had before2 which says to them in unmistakable words1 ,you must leave this country3 or perish4 ,and ,i believe that that message1 like all ,lady ,why's messages1 is at heart a merciful and loving one2 that if these ,spaniards would leave the western coast of ,peru1 and cross the ,andes into the green forests of the eastern side of their own land1 they might not only live free from earthquakes1 but 7if they would only be good and industrious7 become a great1 rich1 and happy nation1 instead of the idle1 and useless1 and ,i am afraid not over good1 people which they have been4 ,for in that eastern part of their own land ,god's gifts are waiting for them1 in a paradise such as ,i can neither describe nor you conceive2--precious woods1 fruits1 drugs1 and what not--boundless wealth1 in one word--waiting for them to send it all down the waters of the mighty river ,amazon1 enriching us here in the ,old ,world1 and enriching themselves there in the ,new4 ,if they would only go and use these gifts of ,god1 instead of neglecting them as they have been doing for now three hundred years1 they would be a blessing to the earth1 instead of being--that which they have been4 ,god grant1 my dear child1 that these poor people may take the warning that has been sent to them2 ,the voice of ,god revealed in facts1 as the great ,lord ,bacon would have called it1 and see not only that ,god has bidden them leave the place where they are now1 but has prepared for them1 in their own land1 a home a thousand times better than that in which they now live4 ,but you ask1 ,how ought they to have known that an earthquake would come8 ,well1 to make you understand that1 we must talk a little about earthquakes1 and what makes them2 and in order to find out that1 let us try the very simplest cause of which we can think4 ,that is the wise and scientific plan4 ,now1 whatever makes these earthquakes must be enormously strong2 that is certain4 ,and what is the strongest thing you know of in the world8 ,think 4 4 4 ,gunpowder8 ,well1 gunpowder is strong sometimes3 but not always4 ,you may carry it in a flask1 or in your hand1 and then it is weak enough4 ,it only becomes strong by being turned into gas and steam4 ,but steam is always strong4 ,and if you look at a railway engine1 still more if you had ever seen--which ,god forbid you should--a boiler explosion1 you would agree with me1 that the strongest thing we know of in the world is steam4 ,now ,i think that we can explain almost1 if not quite1 all that we know about earthquakes1 if we believe that on the whole they are caused by steam and other gases expanding1 that is1 spreading out1 with wonderful quickness and strength4 ,of course there must be something to make them expand1 and that is heat4 ,but we will not talk of that yet4 ,now do you remember that riddle which ,i put to you the other day8--,what had the rattling of the lid of the kettle to do with ,hartford ,bridge ,flat being lifted out of the ancient sea8 ,the answer to the riddle1 ,i believe1 is--,steam has done both4 ,the lid of the kettle rattles1 because the expanding steam escapes in little jets1 and so causes a lid-quake4 ,now suppose that there was steam under the earth trying to escape1 and the earth in one place was loose and yet hard1 as the lid of the kettle is loose and yet hard1 with cracks in it1 it may be1 like the crack between the edge of the lid and the edge of the kettle itself3 might not the steam try to escape through the cracks1 and rattle the surface of the earth1 and so cause an earthquake8 ,so the steam would escape generally easily1 and would only make a passing rattle1 like the earthquake of which the famous jester ,charles ,selwyn said that it was quite a young one1 so tame that you might have stroked it2 like that which ,i myself once felt in the ,pyrenees1 which gave me very solemn thoughts after a while1 though at first ,i did nothing but laugh at it2 and ,i will tell you why4 ,i was travelling in the ,pyrenees2 and ,i came one evening to the loveliest spot--a glen1 or rather a vast crack in the mountains1 so narrow that there was no room for anything at the bottom of it1 save a torrent roaring between walls of polished rock4 ,high above the torrent the road was cut out among the cliffs1 and above the road rose more cliffs1 with great black cavern mouths1 hundreds of feet above our heads1 out of each of which poured in foaming waterfalls streams large enough to turn a mill1 and above them mountains piled on mountains1 all covered with woods of box1 which smelt rich and hot and musky in the warm spring air4 ,among the box-trees and fallen boulders grew hepaticas1 blue and white and red1 such as you see in the garden2 and little stars of gentian1 more azure than the azure sky4 ,but out of the box-woods above rose giant silver firs1 clothing the cliffs and glens with tall black spires1 till they stood out at last in a jagged saw-edge against the purple evening sky1 along the mountain ranges1 thousands of feet aloft2 and beyond them again1 at the head of the valley1 rose vast cones of virgin snow1 miles away in reality1 but looking so brilliant and so near that one fancied at the first moment that one could have touched them with one's hand4 ,snow- white they stood1 the glorious things1 seven thousand feet into the air2 and ,i watched their beautiful white sides turn rose-colour in the evening sun1 and when he set1 fade into dull cold gray1 till the bright moon came out to light them up once more4 ,when ,i was tired of wondering and admiring1 ,i went into bed2 and there ,i had a dream--such a dream as ,alice had when she went into ,wonderland--such a dream as ,i dare say you may have had ere now4 ,some noise or stir puts into your fancy as you sleep a whole long dream to account for it2 and yet that dream1 which seems to you to be hours long1 has not taken up a second of time2 for the very same noise which begins the dream1 wakes you at the end of it3 and so it was with me4 ,i dreamed that some ,english people had come into the hotel where ,i was1 and were sleeping in the room underneath me2 and that they had quarrelled and fought1 and broke their bed down with a tremendous crash1 and that ,i must get up1 and stop the fight2 and at that moment ,i woke and heard coming up the valley from the north such a roar as ,i never heard before or since2 as if a hundred railway trains were rolling underground2 and just as it passed under my bed there was a tremendous thump1 and ,i jumped out of bed quicker than ,i ever did in my life1 and heard the roaring sound die away as it rolled up the valley towards the peaks of snow4 ,still ,i had in my head this notion of the ,englishmen fighting in the room below4 ,but then ,i recollected that no ,englishmen had come in the night before1 and that ,i had been in the room below1 and that there was no bed in it4 ,then ,i opened my window--a woman screamed1 a dog barked1 some cocks and hens cackled in a very disturbed humour1 and then ,i could hear nothing but the roaring of the torrent a hundred feet below4 ,and then it flashed across me what all the noise was about2 and ,i burst out laughing and said ,it is only an earthquake1 and went to bed ,next morning ,i inquired whether any one had heard a noise4 ,no1 nobody had heard anything4 ,and the driver who had brought me up the valley only winked1 but did not choose to speak4 ,at last at breakfast ,i asked the pretty little maid who waited what was the meaning of the noise ,i heard in the night1 and she answered1 to my intense amusement1 ,ah6 bah6 ce n'etait qu'un tremblement de terre2 il y en a ici toutes les six semaines4 ,now the secret was out4 ,the little maid1 ,i found1 came from the lowland far away1 and did not mind telling the truth3 but the good people of the place were afraid to let out that they had earthquakes every six weeks1 for fear of frightening visitors away3 and because they were really very good people1 and very kind to me1 ,i shall not tell you what the name of the place is4 ,of course after that ,i could do no less than ask ,madam ,how1 very civilly1 how she made earthquakes in that particular place1 hundreds of miles away from any burning mountain8 ,and this was the answer ,i thought she gave1 though ,i am not so conceited as to say ,i am sure4 ,as ,i had come up the valley ,i had seen that the cliffs were all beautiful gray limestone marble2 but just at this place they were replaced by granite1 such as you may see in ,london ,bridge or at ,aberdeen4 ,i do not mean that the limestone changed to granite1 but that the granite had risen up out of the bottom of the valley1 and had carried the limestone 7,i suppose7 up on its back hundreds of feet into the air4 ,those caves with the waterfalls pouring from their mouths were all on one level1 at the top of the granite1 and the bottom of the limestone4 ,that was to be expected2 for1 as ,i will explain to you some day1 water can make caves easily in limestone3 but never1 ,i think1 in granite4 ,but ,i knew that besides these cold springs which came out of the caves1 there were hot springs also1 full of curious chemical salts1 just below the very house where ,i was in4 ,and when ,i went to look at them1 ,i found that they came out of the rock just where the limestone and the granite joined4 ,ah1 ,i said1 now ,i think ,i have ,madam ,how's answer4 ,the lid of one of her great steam boilers is rather shaky and cracked just here1 because the granite has broken and torn the limestone as it lifted it up2 and here is the hot water out of the boiler actually oozing out of the crack2 and the earthquake ,i heard last night was simply the steam rumbling and thumping inside1 and trying to get out4 ,and then1 my dear child1 ,i fell into a more serious mood4 ,i said to myself1 ,if that stream had been a little1 only a little stronger1 or if the rock above it had been only a little weaker1 it would have been no laughing matter then2 the village might have been shaken to the ground2 the rocks hurled into the torrent2 jets of steam and of hot water1 mixed1 it may be1 with deadly gases1 have roared out of the riven ground2 that might have happened here1 in short1 which has happened and happens still in a hundred places in the world1 whenever the rocks are too weak to stand the pressure of the steam below1 and the solid earth bursts as an engine boiler bursts when the steam within it is too strong4 ,and when those thoughts came into my mind1 ,i was in no humour to jest any more about young earthquakes1 or ,madam ,how's boilers2 but rather to say with the wise man of old1 ,it is of the ,lord's mercies that we are not consumed4 ,most strange1 most terrible also1 are the tricks which this underground steam plays4 ,it will make the ground1 which seems to us so hard and firm1 roll and rock in waves1 till people are sea-sick1 as on board a ship2 and that rocking motion 7which is the most common7 will often1 when it is but slight1 set the bells ringing in the steeples1 or make the furniture1 and things on shelves1 jump about quaintly enough4 ,it will make trees bend to and fro1 as if a wind was blowing through them2 open doors suddenly1 and shut them again with a slam2 make the timbers of the floors and roofs creak1 as they do in a ship at sea2 or give men such frights as one of the dock-keepers at ,liverpool got in the earthquake in #ahfc1 when his watchbox rocked so1 that he thought some one was going to pitch him over into the dock4 ,but these are only little hints and warnings of what it can do4 ,when it is strong enough1 it will rock down houses and churches into heaps of ruins1 or1 if it leaves them standing1 crack them from top to bottom1 so that they must be pulled down and rebuilt4 ,you saw those pictures of the ruins of ,arica1 about which our talk began2 and from them you can guess well enough for yourself what a town looks like which has been ruined by an earthquake4 ,of the misery and the horror which follow such a ruin ,i will not talk to you1 nor darken your young spirit with sad thoughts which grown people must face1 and ought to face4 ,but the strangeness of some of the tricks which the earthquake shocks play is hardly to be explained1 even by scientific men4 ,sometimes1 it would seem1 the force runs round1 making the solid ground eddy1 as water eddies in a brook4 ,for it will make straight rows of trees crooked2 it will twist whole walls round--or rather the ground on which the walls stand--without throwing them down2 it will shift the stones of a pillar one on the other sideways1 as if a giant had been trying to spin it like a teetotum1 and so screwed it half in pieces4 ,there is a story told by a wise man1 who saw the place himself1 of the whole furniture of one house being hurled away by an earthquake1 and buried under the ruins of another house2 and of things carried hundreds of yards off1 so that the neighbours went to law to settle who was the true owner of them4 ,sometimes1 again1 the shock seems to come neither horizontally in waves1 nor circularly in eddies1 but vertically1 that is1 straight up from below2 and then things--and people1 alas6 sometimes--are thrown up off the earth high into the air1 just as things spring up off the table if you strike it smartly enough underneath4 ,by that same law 7for there is a law for every sort of motion7 it is that the earthquake shock sometimes hurls great rocks off a cliff into the valley below4 ,the shock runs through the mountain till it comes to the cliff at the end of it2 and then the face of the cliff1 if it be at all loose1 flies off into the air4 ,you may see the very same thing happen1 if you will put marbles or billiard-balls in a row touching each other1 and strike the one nearest you smartly in the line of the row4 ,all the balls stand still1 except the last one1 and that flies off4 ,the shock1 like the earthquake shock1 has run through them all2 but only the end one1 which had nothing beyond it but soft air1 has been moved2 and when you grow old1 and learn mathematics1 you will know the law of motion according to which that happens1 and learn to apply what the billiard-balls have taught you1 to explain the wonders of an earthquake4 ,for in this case1 as in so many more1 you must watch ,madam ,how at work on little and common things1 to find out how she works in great and rare ones4 ,that is why ,solomon says that a fool's eyes are in the ends of the earth1 because he is always looking out for strange things which he has not seen1 and which he could not understand if he saw2 instead of looking at the petty commonplace matters which are about his feet all day long1 and getting from them sound knowledge1 and the art of getting more sound knowledge still4 ,another terrible destruction which the earthquake brings1 when it is close to the seaside1 is the wash of a great sea wave1 such as swept in last year upon the island of ,st4 ,thomas1 in the ,west ,indies2 such as swept in upon the coast of ,peru this year4 ,the sea moans1 and sinks back1 leaving the shore dry2 and then comes in from the offing a mighty wall of water1 as high as1 or higher than1 many a tall house2 sweeps far inland1 washing away quays and houses1 and carrying great ships in with it2 and then sweeps back again1 leaving the ships high and dry1 as ships were left in ,peru this year4 ,now1 how is that wave made8 ,let us think4 ,perhaps in many ways4 ,but two of them ,i will tell you as simply as ,i can1 because they seem the most likely1 and probably the most common4 ,suppose1 as the earthquake shock ran on1 making the earth under the sea heave and fall in long earth-waves1 the sea-bottom sank down4 ,then the water on it would sink down too1 and leave the shore dry2 till the sea- bottom rose again1 and hurled the water up again against the land4 ,this is one way of explaining it1 and it may be true4 ,for certain it is1 that earthquakes do move the bottom of the sea2 and certain1 too1 that they move the water of the sea also1 and with tremendous force4 ,for ships at sea during an earthquake feel such a blow from it 7though it does them no harm7 that the sailors often rush upon deck fancying that they have struck upon a rock2 and the force which could give a ship1 floating in water1 such a blow as that1 would be strong enough to hurl thousands of tons of water up the beach1 and on to the land4 ,but there is another way of accounting for this great sea wave1 which ,i fancy comes true sometimes4 ,suppose you put an empty india-rubber ball into water1 and then blow into it through a pipe4 ,of course1 you know1 as the ball filled1 the upper side of it would rise out of the water4 ,now1 suppose there were a party of little ants moving about upon that ball1 and fancying it a great island1 or perhaps the whole world--what would they think of the ball's filling and growing bigger8 ,if they could see the sides of the basin or tub in which the ball was1 and were sure that they did not move1 then they would soon judge by them that they themselves were moving1 and that the ball was rising out of the water4 ,but if the ants were so short-sighted that they could not see the sides of the basin1 they would be apt to make a mistake1 because they would then be like men on an island out of sight of any other land4 ,then it would be impossible further to tell whether they were moving up1 or whether the water was moving down2 whether their ball was rising out of the water1 or the water was sinking away from the ball4 ,they would probably say1 ,the water is sinking and leaving the ball dry4 ,do you understand that8 ,then think what would happen if you pricked a hole in the ball4 ,the air inside would come hissing out1 and the ball would sink again into the water4 ,but the ants would probably fancy the very opposite4 ,their little heads would be full of the notion that the ball was solid and could not move1 just as our heads are full of the notion that the earth is solid and cannot move2 and they would say1 ,ah6 here is the water rising again4 ,just so1 ,i believe1 when the sea seems to ebb away during the earthquake1 the land is really being raised out of the sea1 hundreds of miles of coast1 perhaps1 or a whole island1 at once1 by the force of the steam and gas imprisoned under the ground4 ,that steam stretches and strains the solid rocks below1 till they can bear no more1 and snap1 and crack1 with frightful roar and clang2 then out of holes and chasms in the ground rush steam1 gases--often foul and poisonous ones--hot water1 mud1 flame1 strange stones--all signs that the great boiler down below has burst at last4 ,then the strain is eased4 ,the earth sinks together again1 as the ball did when it was pricked2 and sinks lower1 perhaps1 than it was before3 and back rushes the sea1 which the earth had thrust away while it rose1 and sweeps in1 destroying all before it4 ,of course1 there is a great deal more to be said about all this3 but ,i have no time to tell you now4 ,you will read it1 ,i hope1 for yourselves when you grow up1 in the writings of far wiser men than ,i4 ,or perhaps you may feel for yourselves in foreign lands the actual shock of a great earthquake1 or see its work fresh done around you4 ,and if ever that happens1 and you be preserved during the danger1 you will learn for yourself1 ,i trust1 more about earthquakes than ,i can teach you1 if you will only bear in mind the simple general rules for understanding the how of them which ,i have given you here4 ,but you do not seem satisfied yet8 ,what is it that you want to know8 ,oh6 ,there was an earthquake here in ,england the other night1 while you were asleep2 and that seems to you too near to be pleasant4 ,will there ever be earthquakes in ,england which will throw houses down1 and bury people in the ruins8 ,my dear child1 ,i think you may set your heart at rest upon that point4 ,as far as the history of ,england goes back1 and that is more than a thousand years1 there is no account of any earthquake which has done any serious damage1 or killed1 ,i believe1 a single human being4 ,the little earthquakes which are sometimes felt in ,england run generally up one line of country1 from ,devonshire through ,wales1 and up the ,severn valley into ,cheshire and ,lancashire1 and the south-west of ,scotland2 and they are felt more smartly there1 ,i believe1 because the rocks are harder there than here1 and more tossed about by earthquakes which happened ages and ages ago1 long before man lived on the earth4 ,i will show you the work of these earthquakes some day1 in the tilting and twisting of the layers of rock1 and in the cracks 7faults1 as they are called7 which run through them in different directions4 ,i showed you some once1 if you recollect1 in the chalk cliff at ,ramsgate--two set of cracks1 sloping opposite ways1 which ,i told you were made by two separate sets of earthquakes1 long1 long ago1 perhaps while the chalk was still at the bottom of a deep sea4 ,but even in the rocky parts of ,england the earthquake-force seems to have all but died out4 ,perhaps the crust of the earth has become too thick and solid there to be much shaken by the gases and steam below4 ,in this eastern part of ,england1 meanwhile1 there is but little chance that an earthquake will ever do much harm1 because the ground here1 for thousands of feet down1 is not hard and rocky1 but soft--sands1 clays1 chalk1 and sands again2 clays1 soft limestones1 and clays again--which all act as buffers to deaden the earthquake shocks1 and deaden too the earthquake noise4 ,and how8 ,put your ear to one end of a soft bolster1 and let some one hit the other end4 ,you will hear hardly any noise1 and will not feel the blow at all4 ,put your ear to one end of a hard piece of wood1 and let some one hit the other4 ,you will hear a smart tap2 and perhaps feel a smart tap1 too4 ,when you are older1 and learn the laws of sound1 and of motion among the particles of bodies1 you will know why4 ,meanwhile you may comfort yourself with the thought that ,madam ,how has 7doubtless by command of ,lady ,why7 prepared a safe soft bed for this good people of ,britain--not that they may lie and sleep on it1 but work and till1 plant and build and manufacture1 and thrive in peace and comfort1 we will trust and pray1 for many a hundred years to come4 ,all that the steam inside the earth is likely to do to us1 is to raise parts of this island 7as ,hartford ,bridge ,flats were raised1 ages ago1 out of the old icy sea7 so slowly1 probably1 that no man can tell whether they are rising or not4 ,or again1 the steam- power may be even now dying out under our island1 and letting parts of it sink slowly into the sea1 as some wise friends of mine think that the fens in ,norfolk and ,cambridgeshire are sinking now4 ,i have shown you where that kind of work has gone on in ,norfolk2 how the brow of ,sandringham ,hill was once a sea-cliff1 and ,dersingham ,bog at its foot a shallow sea2 and therefore that the land has risen there4 ,how1 again1 at ,hunstanton ,station there is a beach of sea-shells twenty feet above high- water mark1 showing that the land has risen there likewise4 ,and how1 farther north again1 at ,brancaster1 there are forests of oak1 and fir1 and alder1 with their roots still in the soil1 far below high-water mark1 and only uncovered at low tide2 which is a plain sign that there the land has sunk4 ,you surely recollect the sunken forest at ,brancaster1 and the beautiful shells we picked up in its gullies1 and the millions of live ,pholases boring into the clay and peat which once was firm dry land1 fed over by giant oxen1 and giant stags likewise1 and perhaps by the mammoth himself1 the great woolly elephant whose teeth the fishermen dredge up in the sea outside8 ,you recollect that8 ,then remember that as that ,norfolk shore has changed1 so slowly but surely is the whole world changing around us4 ,hartford ,bridge ,flat here1 for instance1 how has it changed6 ,ages ago it was the gravelly bottom of a sea4 ,then the steam-power underground raised it up slowly1 through long ages1 till it became dry land4 ,and ages hence1 perhaps1 it will have become a sea-bottom once more4 ,washed slowly by the rain1 or sunk by the dying out of the steam- power underground1 it will go down again to the place from whence it came4 ,seas will roll where we stand now1 and new lands will rise where seas now roll4 ,for all things on this earth1 from the tiniest flower to the tallest mountain1 change and change all day long4 ,every atom of matter moves perpetually2 and nothing continues in one stay4 ,the solid- seeming earth on which you stand is but a heaving bubble1 bursting ever and anon in this place and in that4 ,only above all1 and through all1 and with all1 is ,one who does not move nor change1 but is the same yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever4 ,and on ,him1 my child1 and not on this bubble of an earth1 do you and ,i1 and all mankind1 depend4 ,but ,i have not yet told you why the ,peruvians ought to have expected an earthquake4 ,true4 ,i will tell you another time4 ,,chapter ,,iii--,,volcanos ,you want to know why the ,spaniards in ,peru and ,ecuador should have expected an earthquake4 ,because they had had so many already4 ,the shaking of the ground in their country had gone on perpetually1 till they had almost ceased to care about it1 always hoping that no very heavy shock would come2 and being1 now and then1 terribly mistaken4 ,for instance1 in the province of ,quito1 in the year #agig1 from thirty to forty thousand people were killed at once by an earthquake4 ,one would have thought that warning enough3 but the warning was not taken3 and now1 this very year1 thousands more have been killed in the very same country1 in the very same way4 ,they might have expected as much4 ,for their towns are built1 most of them1 close to volcanos--some of the highest and most terrible in the world4 ,and wherever there are volcanos there will be earthquakes4 ,you may have earthquakes without volcanos1 now and then2 but volcanos without earthquakes1 seldom or never4 ,how does that come to pass8 ,does a volcano make earthquakes8 ,no2 we may rather say that earthquakes are trying to make volcanos4 ,for volcanos are the holes which the steam underground has burst open that it may escape into the air above4 ,they are the chimneys of the great blast-furnaces underground1 in which ,madam ,how pounds and melts up the old rocks1 to make them into new ones1 and spread them out over the land above4 ,and are there many volcanos in the world8 ,you have heard of ,vesuvius1 of course1 in ,italy2 and ,etna1 in ,sicily2 and ,hecla1 in ,iceland4 ,and you have heard1 too1 of ,kilauea1 in the ,sandwich ,islands1 and of ,pele's ,hair--the yellow threads of lava1 like fine spun glass1 which are blown from off its pools of fire1 and which the ,sandwich ,islanders believed to be the hair of a goddess who lived in the crater2--and you have read1 too1 ,i hope1 in ,miss ,yonge's ,book of ,golden ,deeds1 the noble story of the ,christian chieftainess who1 in order to persuade her subjects to become ,christians also1 went down into the crater and defied the goddess of the volcano1 and came back unhurt and triumphant4 ,but if you look at the map1 you will see that there are many1 many more4 ,get ,keith ,johnston's ,physical ,atlas from the schoolroom--of course it is there 7for a schoolroom without a physical atlas is like a needle without an eye7--and look at the map which is called ,phenomena of ,volcanic ,action4 ,you will see in it many red dots1 which mark the volcanos which are still burning3 and black dots1 which mark those which have been burning at some time or other1 not very long ago1 scattered about the world4 ,sometimes they are single1 like the red dot at ,otaheite1 or at ,easter ,island in the ,pacific4 ,sometimes the are in groups1 or clusters1 like the cluster at the ,sandwich ,islands1 or in the ,friendly ,islands1 or in ,new ,zealand4 ,and if we look in the ,atlantic1 we shall see four clusters3 one in poor half- destroyed ,iceland1 in the far north1 one in the ,azores1 one in the ,canaries1 and one in the ,cape de ,verds4 ,and there is one dot in those ,canaries which we must not overlook1 for it is no other than the famous ,peak of ,teneriffe1 a volcano which is hardly burnt out yet1 and may burn up again any day1 standing up out of the sea more than #ab1jjj feet high still1 and once it must have been double that height4 ,some think that it is perhaps the true ,mount ,atlas1 which the old ,greeks named when first they ventured out of the ,straits of ,gibraltar down the coast of ,africa1 and saw the great peak far to the westward1 with the clouds cutting off its top2 and said that it was a mighty giant1 the brother of the ,evening ,star1 who held up the sky upon his shoulders1 in the midst of the ,fortunate ,islands1 the gardens of the daughter of the ,evening ,star1 full of strange golden fruits2 and that ,perseus had turned him into stone1 when he passed him with the ,gorgon's ,head4 ,but you will see1 too1 that most of these red and black dots run in crooked lines2 and that many of the clusters run in lines likewise4 ,look at one line3 by far the largest on the earth4 ,you will learn a good deal of geography from it4 ,the red dots begin at a place called the ,terribles1 on the east side of the ,bay of ,bengal4 ,they run on1 here and there1 along the islands of ,sumatra and ,java1 and through the ,spice ,islands2 and at ,new ,guinea the line of red dots forks4 ,one branch runs south-east1 through islands whose names you never heard1 to the ,friendly ,islands1 and to ,new ,zealand4 ,the other runs north1 through the ,philippines1 through ,japan1 through ,kamschatka2 and then there is a little break of sea1 between ,asia and ,america3 but beyond it1 the red dots begin again in the ,aleutian ,islands1 and then turn down the whole west coast of ,america1 down from ,mount ,elias 7in what was1 till lately1 ,russian ,america7 towards ,british ,columbia4 ,then1 after a long gap1 there are one or two in ,lower ,california 7and we must not forget the terrible earthquake which has just shaken ,san ,francisco1 between those two last places72 and when we come down to ,mexico we find the red dots again plentiful1 and only too plentiful2 for they mark the great volcanic line of ,mexico1 of which you will read1 ,i hope1 some day1 in ,humboldt's works4 ,but the line does not stop there4 ,after the little gap of the ,isthmus of ,panama1 it begins again in ,quito1 the very country which has just been shaken1 and in which stand the huge volcanos ,chimborazo1 ,pasto1 ,antisana1 ,cotopaxi1 ,pichincha1 ,tunguragua1--smooth cones from #ae1jjj to #bj1jjj feet high1 shining white with snow1 till the heat inside melts it off1 and leaves the cinders of which the peaks are made all black and ugly among the clouds1 ready to burst in smoke and fire4 ,south of them again1 there is a long gap1 and then another line of red dots--,arequiba1 ,chipicani1 ,gualatieri1 ,atacama1--as high as1 or higher than those in ,quito2 and this1 remember1 is the other country which has just been shaken4 ,on the sea-shore below those volcanos stood the hapless city of ,arica1 whose ruins we saw in the picture4 ,then comes another gap2 and then a line of more volcanos in ,chili1 at the foot of which happened that fearful earthquake of #ahce 7besides many more7 of which you will read some day in that noble book ,the ,voyage of the ,beagle2 and so the line of dots runs down to the southernmost point of ,america4 ,what a line we have traced6 ,long enough to go round the world if it were straight4 ,a line of holes out of which steam1 and heat1 and cinders1 and melted stones are rushing up1 perpetually1 in one place and another4 ,now the holes in this line which are near each other have certainly something to do with each other4 ,for instance1 when the earth shook the other day round the volcanos of ,quito1 it shook also round the volcanos of ,peru1 though they were #fjj miles away4 ,and there are many stories of earthquakes being felt1 or awful underground thunder heard1 while volcanos were breaking out hundreds of miles away4 ,i will give you a very curious instance of that4 ,if you look at the ,west ,indies on the map1 you will see a line of red dots runs through the ,windward ,islands3 there are two volcanos in them1 one in ,guadaloupe1 and one in ,st4 ,vincent 7,i will tell you a curious story1 presently1 about that last71 and little volcanos 7if they have ever been real volcanos at all71 which now only send out mud1 in ,trinidad4 ,there the red dots stop3 but then begins along the north coast of ,south ,america a line of mountain country called ,cumana1 and ,caraccas1 which has often been horribly shaken by earthquakes4 ,now once1 when the volcano in ,st4 ,vincent began to pour out a vast stream of melted lava1 a noise like thunder was heard underground1 over thousands of square miles beyond those mountains1 in the plains of ,calabozo1 and on the banks of the ,apure1 more than #fjj miles away from the volcano1--a plain sign that there was something underground which joined them together1 perhaps a long crack in the earth4 ,look for yourselves at the places1 and you will see that 7as ,humboldt says7 it is as strange as if an eruption of ,mount ,vesuvius was heard in the north of ,france4 ,so it seems as if these lines of volcanos stood along cracks in the rind of the earth1 through which the melted stuff inside was for ever trying to force its way2 and that1 as the crack got stopped up in one place by the melted stuff cooling and hardening again into stone1 it was burst in another place1 and a fresh volcano made1 or an old one re-opened4 ,now we can understand why earthquakes should be most common round volcanos2 and we can understand1 too1 why they would be worst before a volcano breaks out1 because then the steam is trying to escape2 and we can understand1 too1 why people who live near volcanos are glad to see them blazing and spouting1 because then they have hope that the steam has found its way out1 and will not make earthquakes any more for a while4 ,but still that is merely foolish speculation on chance4 ,volcanos can never be trusted4 ,no one knows when one will break out1 or what it will do2 and those who live close to them--as the city of ,naples is close to ,mount ,vesuvius--must not be astonished if they are blown up or swallowed up1 as that great and beautiful city of ,naples may be without a warning1 any day4 ,for what happened to that same ,mount ,vesuvius nearly #ahjj years ago1 in the old ,roman times8 ,for ages and ages it had been lying quiet1 like any other hill4 ,beautiful cities were built at its foot1 filled with people who were as handsome1 and as comfortable1 and 7,i am afraid7 as wicked1 as people ever were on earth4 ,fair gardens1 vineyards1 olive-yards1 covered the mountain slopes4 ,it was held to be one of the ,paradises of the world4 ,as for the mountain's being a burning mountain1 who ever thought of that8 ,to be sure1 on the top of it was a great round crater1 or cup1 a mile or more across1 and a few hundred yards deep4 ,but that was all overgrown with bushes and wild vines1 full of boars and deer4 ,what sign of fire was there in that8 ,to be sure1 also1 there was an ugly place below by the sea-shore1 called the ,phlegraen fields1 where smoke and brimstone came out of the ground1 and a lake called ,avernus over which poisonous gases hung1 and which 7old stories told7 was one of the mouths of the ,nether ,pit4 ,but what of that8 ,it had never harmed any one1 and how could it harm them8 ,so they all lived on1 merrily and happily enough1 till1 in the year ,a4,d4 #gi 7that was eight years1 you know1 after the ,emperor ,titus destroyed ,jerusalem71 there was stationed in the ,bay of ,naples a ,roman admiral1 called ,pliny1 who was also a very studious and learned man1 and author of a famous old book on natural history4 ,he was staying on shore with his sister2 and as he sat in his study she called him out to see a strange cloud which had been hanging for some time over the top of ,mount ,vesuvius4 ,it was in shape just like a pine-tree2 not1 of course1 like one of our branching ,scotch firs here1 but like an ,italian stone pine1 with a long straight stem and a flat parasol-shaped top4 ,sometimes it was blackish1 sometimes spotted2 and the good ,admiral ,pliny1 who was always curious about natural science1 ordered his cutter and went away across the bay to see what it could be4 ,earthquake shocks had been very common for the last few days2 but ,i do not suppose that ,pliny had any notion that the earthquakes and the cloud had aught to do with each other4 ,however1 he soon found out that they had1 and to his cost4 ,when he got near the opposite shore some of the sailors met him and entreated him to turn back4 ,cinders and pumice-stones were falling down from the sky1 and flames breaking out of the mountain above4 ,but ,pliny would go on3 he said that if people were in danger1 it was his duty to help them2 and that he must see this strange cloud1 and note down the different shapes into which it changed4 ,but the hot ashes fell faster and faster2 the sea ebbed out suddenly1 and left them nearly dry1 and ,pliny turned away to a place called ,stabiae1 to the house of his friend ,pomponianus1 who was just going to escape in a boat4 ,brave ,pliny told him not to be afraid1 ordered his bath like a true ,roman gentleman1 and then went into dinner with a cheerful face4 ,flames came down from the mountain1 nearer and nearer as the night drew on2 but ,pliny persuaded his friend that they were only fires in some villages from which the peasants had fled1 and then went to bed and slept soundly4 ,however1 in the middle of the night they found the courtyard being fast filled with cinders1 and1 if they had not woke up the ,admiral in time1 he would never have been able to get out of the house4 ,the earthquake shocks grew stronger and fiercer1 till the house was ready to fall2 and ,pliny and his friend1 and the sailors and the slaves1 all fled into the open fields1 amid a shower of stones and cinders1 tying pillows over their heads to prevent their being beaten down4 ,the day had come by this time1 but not the dawn--for it was still pitch dark as night4 ,they went down to their boats upon the shore2 but the sea raged so horribly that there was no getting on board of them4 ,then ,pliny grew tired1 and made his men spread a sail for him1 and lay down on it2 but there came down upon them a rush of flames1 and a horrible smell of sulphur1 and all ran for their lives4 ,some of the slaves tried to help the ,admiral upon his legs2 but he sank down again overpowered with the brimstone fumes1 and so was left behind4 ,when they came back again1 there he lay dead1 but with his clothes in order and his face as quiet as if he had been only sleeping4 ,and that was the end of a brave and learned man--a martyr to duty and to the love of science4 ,but what was going on in the meantime8 ,under clouds of ashes1 cinders1 mud1 lava1 three of those happy cities were buried at once--,herculaneum1 ,pompeii1 ,stabiae4 ,they were buried just as the people had fled from them1 leaving the furniture and the earthenware1 often even jewels and gold1 behind1 and here and there among them a human being who had not had time to escape from the dreadful deluge of dust4 ,the ruins of ,herculaneum and ,pompeii have been dug into since2 and the paintings1 especially in ,pompeii1 are found upon the walls still fresh1 preserved from the air by the ashes which have covered them in4 ,when you are older you perhaps will go to ,naples1 and see in its famous museum the curiosities which have been dug out of the ruined cities2 and you will walk1 ,i suppose1 along the streets of ,pompeii and see the wheel-tracks in the pavement1 along which carts and chariots rumbled #bjjj years ago4 ,meanwhile1 if you go nearer home1 to the ,crystal ,palace and to the ,pompeian ,court1 as it is called1 you will see an exact model of one of these old buried houses1 copied even to the very paintings on the wells1 and judge for yourself1 as far as a little boy can judge1 what sort of life these thoughtless1 luckless people lived #bjjj years ago4 ,and what had become of ,vesuvius1 the treacherous mountain8 ,half or more than half of the side of the old crater had been blown away1 and what was left1 which is now called the ,monte ,somma1 stands in a half circle round the new cone and new crater which is burning at this very day4 ,true1 after that eruption which killed ,pliny1 ,vesuvius fell asleep again1 and did not awake for #acd years1 and then again for #bfi years but it has been growing more and more restless as the ages have passed on1 and now hardly a year passes without its sending out smoke and stones from its crater1 and streams of lava from its sides4 ,and now1 ,i suppose1 you will want to know what a volcano is like1 and what a cone1 and a crater1 and lava are8 ,what a volcano is like1 it is easy enough to show you2 for they are the most simply and beautifully shaped of all mountains1 and they are alike all over the world1 whether they be large or small4 ,almost every volcano in the world1 ,i believe1 is1 or has been once1 of the shape which you see in the drawing opposite2 even those volcanos in the ,sandwich ,islands1 of which you have often heard1 which are now great lakes of boiling fire upon flat downs1 without any cone to them at all4 ,they1 ,i believe1 are volcanos which have fallen in ages ago3 just as in ,java a whole burning mountain fell in on the night of the #aath of ,august1 in the year #aggb4 ,then1 after a short and terrible earthquake1 a bright cloud suddenly covered the whole mountain4 ,the people who dwelt around it tried to escape2 but before the poor souls could get away the earth sunk beneath their feet1 and the whole mountain fell in and was swallowed up with a noise as if great cannon were being fired4 ,forty villages and nearly #cjjj people were destroyed1 and where the mountain had been was only a plain of red-hot stones4 ,in the same way1 in the year #afih1 the top of a mountain in ,quito fell in in a single night1 leaving only two immense peaks of rock behind1 and pouring out great floods of mud mixed with dead fish2 for there are underground lakes among those volcanos which swarm with little fish which never see the light4 ,but most volcanos as ,i say1 are1 or have been1 the shape of the one which you see here4 ,this is ,cotopaxi1 in ,quito1 more than #ai1jjj feet in height4 ,all those sloping sides are made of cinders and ashes1 braced together1 ,i suppose1 by bars of solid lava-stone inside1 which prevent the whole from crumbling down4 ,the upper part1 you see1 is white with snow1 as far down as a line which is #ae1jjj feet above the sea2 for the mountain is in the tropics1 close to the equator1 and the snow will not lie in that hot climate any lower down4 ,but now and then the snow melts off and rushes down the mountain side in floods of water and of mud1 and the cindery cone of ,cotopaxi stands out black and dreadful against the clear blue sky1 and then the people of that country know what is coming4 ,the mountain is growing so hot inside that it melts off its snowy covering2 and soon it will burst forth with smoke and steam1 and red-hot stones and earthquakes1 which will shake the ground1 and roars that will be heard1 it may be1 hundreds of miles away4 ,and now for the words cone1 crater1 lava4 ,if ,i can make you understand those words1 you will see why volcanos must be in general of the shape of ,cotopaxi4 ,cone1 crater1 lava3 those words make up the alphabet of volcano learning4 ,the cone is the outside of a huge chimney2 the crater is the mouth of it4 ,the lava is the ore which is being melted in the furnace below1 that it may flow out over the surface of the old land1 and make new land instead4 ,and where is the furnace itself8 ,who can tell that8 ,under the roots of the mountains1 under the depths of the sea2 down the path which no fowl knoweth1 and which the vulture's eye hath not seen3 the lion's whelp hath not trodden it1 nor the fierce lion passed by it4 ,there ,he putteth forth ,his hand upon the rock2 ,he overturneth the mountain by the roots2 ,he cutteth out rivers among the rocks2 and ,his eye seeth every precious thing--while we1 like little ants1 run up and down outside the earth1 scratching1 like ants1 a few feet down1 and calling that a deep ravine2 or peeping a few feet down into the crater of a volcano1 unable to guess what precious things may lie below--below even the fire which blazes and roars up through the thin crust of the earth4 ,for of the inside of this earth we know nothing whatsoever3 we only know that it is1 on an average1 several times as heavy as solid rock2 but how that can be1 we know not4 ,so let us look at the chimney1 and what comes out of it2 for we can see very little more4 ,why is a volcano like a cone8 ,for the same cause for which a molehill is like a cone1 though a very rough one2 and that the little heaps which the burrowing beetles make on the moor1 or which the ant-lions in ,france make in the sand1 are all something in the shape of a cone1 with a hole like a crater in the middle4 ,what the beetle and the ant-lion do on a very little scale1 the steam inside the earth does on a great scale4 ,when once it has forced a vent into the outside air1 it tears out the rocks underground1 grinds them small against each other1 often into the finest dust1 and blasts them out of the hole which it has made4 ,some of them fall back into the hole1 and are shot out again3 but most of them fall round the hole1 most of them close to it1 and fewer of them farther off1 till they are piled up in a ring round it1 just as the sand is piled up round a beetle's burrow4 ,for days1 and weeks1 and months this goes on2 even it may be for hundreds of years3 till a great cone is formed round the steam vent1 hundreds or thousands of feet in height1 of dust and stones1 and of cinders likewise4 ,for recollect1 that when the steam has blown away the cold earth and rock near the surface of the ground1 it begins blowing out the hot rocks down below1 red-hot1 white-hot1 and at last actually melted4 ,but these1 as they are hurled into the cool air above1 become ashes1 cinders1 and blocks of stone again1 making the hill on which they fall bigger and bigger continually4 ,and thus does wise ,madam ,how stand in no need of bricklayers1 but makes her chimneys build themselves4 ,and why is the mouth of the chimney called a crater8 ,crater1 as you know1 is ,greek for a cup4 ,and the mouth of these chimneys1 when they have become choked and stopped working1 are often just the shape of a cup1 or 7as the ,germans call them7 kessels1 which means kettles1 or caldrons4 ,i have seen some of them as beautifully and exactly rounded as if a cunning engineer had planned them1 and had them dug out with the spade4 ,at first1 of course1 their sides and bottom are nothing but loose stones1 cinders1 slag1 ashes1 such as would be thrown out of a furnace4 ,but ,madam ,how1 who1 whenever she makes an ugly desolate place1 always tries to cover over its ugliness1 and set something green to grow over it1 and make it pretty once more1 does so often and often by her worn-out craters4 ,i have seen them covered with short sweet turf1 like so many chalk downs4 ,i have seen them1 too1 filled with bushes1 which held woodcocks and wild boars4 ,once ,i came on a beautiful round crater on the top of a mountain1 which was filled at the bottom with a splendid crop of potatoes4 ,though ,madam ,how had not put them there herself1 she had at least taught the honest ,germans to put them there4 ,and often ,madam ,how turns her worn-out craters into beautiful lakes4 ,there are many such crater-lakes in ,italy1 as you will see if ever you go there2 as you may see in ,english galleries painted by ,wilson1 a famous artist who died before you were born4 ,you recollect ,lord ,macaulay's ballad1 ,the ,battle of the ,lake ,regillus8 ,then that ,lake ,regillus 7if ,i recollect right7 is one of these round crater lakes4 ,many such deep clear blue lakes have ,i seen in the ,eifel1 in ,germany2 and many a curious plant have ,i picked on their shores1 where once the steam blasted1 and the earthquake roared1 and the ash-clouds rushed up high into the heaven1 and buried all the land around in dust1 which is now fertile soil4 ,and long did ,i puzzle to find out why the water stood in some craters1 while others1 within a mile of them perhaps1 were perfectly dry4 ,that ,i never found out for myself4 ,but learned men tell me that the ashes which fall back into the crater1 if the bottom of it be wet from rain1 will sometimes set 7as it is called7 into a hard cement2 and so make the bottom of the great bowl waterproof1 as if it were made of earthenware4 ,but what gives the craters this cup-shape at first8 ,think--,while the steam and stones are being blown out1 the crater is an open funnel1 with more or less upright walls inside4 ,as the steam grows weaker1 fewer and fewer stones fall outside1 and more and more fall back again inside4 ,at last they quite choke up the bottom of the great round hole4 ,perhaps1 too1 the lava or melted rock underneath cools and grows hard1 and that chokes up the hole lower down4 ,then1 down from the round edge of the crater the stones and cinders roll inward more and more4 ,the rains wash them down1 the wind blows them down4 ,they roll to the middle1 and meet each other1 and stop4 ,and so gradually the steep funnel becomes a round cup4 ,you may prove for yourself that it must be so1 if you will try4 ,do you not know that if you dig a round hole in the ground1 and leave it to crumble in1 it is sure to become cup-shaped at last1 though at first its sides may have been quite upright1 like those of a bucket8 ,if you do not know1 get a trowel and make your little experiment4 ,and now you ought to understand what cone and crater mean4 ,and more1 if you will think for yourself1 you may guess what would come out of a volcano when it broke out in an eruption1 as it is usually called4 ,first1 clouds of steam and dust 7what you would call smoke72 then volleys of stones1 some cool1 some burning hot2 and at the last1 because it lies lowest of all1 the melted rock itself1 which is called lava4 ,and where would that come out8 ,at the top of the chimney8 ,at the top of the cone8 ,no4 ,madam ,how1 as ,i told you1 usually makes things make themselves4 ,she has made the chimney of the furnace make itself2 and next she will make the furnace-door make itself4 ,the melted lava rises in the crater--the funnel inside the cone--but it never gets to the top4 ,it is so enormously heavy that the sides of the cone cannot bear its weight1 and give way low down4 ,and then1 through ashes and cinders1 the melted lava burrows out1 twisting and twirling like an enormous fiery earth-worm1 till it gets to the air outside1 and runs off down the mountain in a stream of fire4 ,and so you may see 7as are to be seen on ,vesuvius now7 two eruptions at once--one of burning stones above1 and one of melted lava below4 ,and what is lava8 ,that1 ,i think1 ,i must tell you another time4 ,for when ,i speak of it ,i shall have to tell you more about ,madam ,how1 and her ways of making the ground on which you stand1 than ,i can say just now4 ,but if you want to know 7as ,i dare say you do7 what the eruption of a volcano is like1 you may read what follows4 ,i did not see it happen2 for ,i never had the good fortune of seeing a mountain burning1 though ,i have seen many and many a one which has been burnt--extinct volcanos1 as they are called4 ,the man who saw it--a very good friend of mine1 and a very good man of science also--went last year to see an eruption on ,vesuvius1 not from the main crater1 but from a small one which had risen up suddenly on the outside of it2 and he gave me leave 7when ,i told him that ,i was writing for children7 to tell them what he saw4 ,this new cone1 he said1 was about #bjj feet high1 and perhaps #hj or #ajj feet across at the top4 ,and as he stood below it 7it was not safe to go up it7 smoke rolled up from its top1 rosy pink below1 from the glare of the caldron1 and above faint greenish or blueish silver of indescribable beauty1 from the light of the moon4 ,but more--,by good chance1 the cone began to send out1 not smoke only1 but brilliant burning stones4 ,each explosion1 he says1 was like a vast girandole of rockets1 with a noise 7such as rockets would make7 like the waves on a beach1 or the wind blowing through shrouds4 ,the mountain was trembling the whole time4 ,so it went on for two hours and more2 sometimes eight or ten explosions in a minute1 and more than #ajjj stones in each1 some as large as two bricks end to end4 ,the largest ones mostly fell back into the crater2 but the smaller ones being thrown higher1 and more acted on by the wind1 fell in immense numbers on the leeward slope of the cone 7of course1 making it bigger and bigger1 as ,i have explained already to you71 and of course1 as they were intensely hot and bright1 making the cone look as if it too was red-hot4 ,but it was not so1 he says1 really4 ,the colour of the stones was rather golden1 and they spotted the black cone over with their golden showers1 the smaller ones stopping still1 the bigger ones rolling down1 and jumping along just like hares4 ,a wonderful pedestal1 he says1 for the explosion which surmounted it4 ,how high the stones flew up he could not tell4 ,there was generally one which went much higher than the rest1 and pierced upwards towards the moon1 who looked calmly down1 mocking such vain attempts to reach her4 ,the large stones1 of course1 did not rise so high2 and some1 he says1 only just appeared over the rim of the cone1 above which they came floating leisurely up1 to show their brilliant forms and intense white light for an instant1 and then subside again4 ,try and picture that to yourselves1 remembering that this was only a little side eruption1 of no more importance to the whole mountain than the fall of a slate off the roof is of importance to the whole house4 ,and then think how mean and weak man's fireworks1 and even man's heaviest artillery1 are compared with the terrible beauty and terrible strength of ,madam ,how's artillery underneath our feet4 ,c _/ _/ ,a _/------ ,e _/ _/---------- ,e ,ground _/ ,b ,ground ---------_/ ------------ ,d ,d ,d ----------------------- ,now look at this figure4 ,it represents a section of a volcano2 that is1 one cut in half to show you the inside4 ,a is the cone of cinders4 ,b1 the black line up through the middle1 is the funnel1 or crack1 through which steam1 ashes1 lava1 and everything else rises4 ,c is the crater mouth4 ,d ,d ,d1 which looks broken1 are the old rocks which the steam heaved up and burst before it could get out4 ,and what are the black lines across1 marked ,e ,e ,e8 ,they are the streams of lava which have burrowed out1 some covered up again in cinders1 some lying bare in the open air1 some still inside the cone1 bracing it together1 holding it up4 ,something like this is the inside of a volcano4 ,,chapter ,,iv--,,the ,,transformations ,,of ,a ,,grain ,,of ,,soil ,why1 you ask1 are there such terrible things as volcanos8 ,of what use can they be8 ,they are of use enough1 my child2 and of many more uses1 doubt not1 than we know as yet1 or ever shall know4 ,but of one of their uses ,i can tell you4 ,they make1 or help to make1 divers and sundry curious things1 from gunpowder to your body and mine4 ,what8 ,i can understand their helping to make gunpowder1 because the sulphur in it is often found round volcanos2 and ,i know the story of the brave ,spaniard who1 when his fellows wanted materials for gunpowder1 had himself lowered in a basket down the crater of a ,south ,american volcano1 and gathered sulphur for them off the burning cliffs3 but how can volcanos help to make me8 ,am ,i made of lava8 ,or is there lava in me8 ,my child1 ,i did not say that volcanos helped to make you4 ,i said that they helped to make your body2 which is a very different matter1 as ,i beg you to remember1 now and always4 ,your body is no more you yourself than the hoop which you trundle1 or the pony which you ride4 ,it is1 like them1 your servant1 your tool1 your instrument1 your organ1 with which you work3 and a very useful1 trusty1 cunningly-contrived organ it is2 and therefore ,i advise you to make good use of it1 for you are responsible for it4 ,but you yourself are not your body1 or your brain1 but something else1 which we call your soul1 your spirit1 your life4 ,and that you yourself would remain just the same if it were taken out of your body1 and put into the body of a bee1 or of a lion1 or any other body2 or into no body at all4 ,at least so ,i believe2 and so1 ,i am happy to say1 nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine people out of every million have always believed1 because they have used their human instincts and their common sense1 and have obeyed 7without knowing it7 the warning of a great and good philosopher called ,herder1 that ,the organ is in no case the power which works by it2 which is as much as to say1 that the engine is not the engine-driver1 nor the spade the gardener4 ,there have always been1 and always will be1 a few people who cannot see that4 ,they think that a man's soul is part of his body1 and that he himself is not one thing1 but a great number of things4 ,they think that his mind and character are only made up of all the thoughts1 and feelings1 and recollections which have passed through his brain2 and that as his brain changes1 he himself must change1 and become another person1 and then another person again1 continually4 ,but do you not agree with them3 but keep in mind wise ,herder's warning that you are not to confound the organ with the power1 or the engine with the driver1 or your body with yourself3 and then we will go on and consider how a volcano1 and the lava which flows from it1 helps to make your body4 ,now ,i know that the ,scotch have a saying1 ,that you cannot make broth out of whinstones 7which is their name for lava74 ,but1 though they are very clever people1 they are wrong there4 ,i never saw any broth in ,scotland1 as far as ,i know1 but what whinstones had gone to the making of it2 nor a ,scotch boy who had not eaten many a bit of whinstone1 and been all the better for it4 ,of course1 if you simply put the whinstones into a kettle and boiled them1 you would not get much out of them by such rough cookery as that4 ,but ,madam ,how is the best and most delicate of all cooks2 and she knows how to pound1 and soak1 and stew whinstones so delicately1 that she can make them sauce and seasoning for meat1 vegetables1 puddings1 and almost everything that you eat2 and can put into your veins things which were spouted up red-hot by volcanos1 ages and ages since1 perhaps at the bottom of ancient seas which are now firm dry land4 ,this is very strange--as all ,madam ,how's doings are4 ,and you would think it stranger still if you had ever seen the flowing of a lava stream4 ,out of a cave of slag and cinders in the black hillside rushes a golden river1 flowing like honey1 and yet so tough that you cannot thrust a stick into it1 and so heavy that great stones 7if you throw them on it7 float on the top1 and are carried down like corks on water4 ,it is so hot that you cannot stand near it more than a few seconds2 hotter1 perhaps1 than any fire you ever saw3 but as it flows1 the outside of it cools in the cool air1 and gets covered with slag and cinders1 something like those which you may see thrown out of the furnaces in the ,black ,country of ,staffordshire4 ,sometimes these cling together above the lava stream1 and make a tunnel1 through the cracks in which you may see the fiery river rushing and roaring down below4 ,but mostly they are kept broken and apart1 and roll and slide over each other on the top of the lava1 crashing and clanging as they grind together with a horrid noise4 ,of course that stream1 like all streams1 runs towards the lower grounds4 ,it slides down glens1 and fills them up2 down the beds of streams1 driving off the water in hissing steam2 and sometimes 7as it did in ,iceland a few years ago7 falls over some cliff1 turning what had been a water-fall into a fire-fall1 and filling up the pool below with blocks of lava suddenly cooled1 with a clang and roar like that of chains shaken or brazen vessels beaten1 which is heard miles and miles away4 ,of course1 woe to the crops and gardens which stand in its way4 ,it crawls over them all and eats them up4 ,it shoves down houses2 it sets woods on fire1 and sends the steam and gas out of the tree-trunks hissing into the air4 ,and 7curiously enough7 it does this often without touching the trees themselves4 ,it flows round the trunks 7it did so in a wood in the ,sandwich ,islands a few years ago71 and of course sets them on fire by its heat1 till nothing is left of them but blackened posts4 ,but the moisture which comes out of the poor tree in steam blows so hard against the lava round that it can never touch the tree1 and a round hole is left in the middle of the lava where the tree was4 ,sometimes1 too1 the lava will spit out liquid fire among the branches of the trees1 which hangs down afterwards from them in tassels of slag1 and yet1 by the very same means1 the steam in the branches will prevent the liquid fire burning them off1 or doing anything but just scorch the bark4 ,but ,i can tell you a more curious story still4 ,the lava stream1 you must know1 is continually sending out little jets of gas and steam3 some of it it may have brought up from the very inside of the earth2 most of it1 ,i suspect1 comes from the damp herbage and damp soil over which it runs4 ,be that as it may1 a lava stream out of ,mount ,etna1 in ,sicily1 came once down straight upon the town of ,catania4 ,everybody thought that the town would be swallowed up2 and the poor people there 7who knew no better7 began to pray to ,st4 ,agatha--a famous saint1 who1 they say1 was martyred there ages ago--and who1 they fancy1 has power in heaven to save them from the lava stream4 ,and really what happened was enough to make ignorant people1 such as they were1 think that ,st4 ,agatha had saved them4 ,the lava stream came straight down upon the town wall4 ,another foot1 and it would have touched it1 and have begun shoving it down with a force compared with which all the battering-rams that you ever read of in ancient histories would be child's toys4 ,but lo and behold6 when the lava stream got within a few inches of the wall it stopped1 and began to rear itself upright and build itself into a wall beside the wall4 ,it rose and rose1 till ,i believe in one place it overtopped the wall and began to curl over in a crest4 ,all expected that it would fall over into the town at last3 but no1 there it stopped1 and cooled1 and hardened1 and left the town unhurt4 ,all the inhabitants said1 of course1 that ,st4 ,agatha had done it3 but learned men found out that1 as usual ,madam ,how had done it1 by making it do itself4 ,the lava was so full of gas1 which was continually blowing out in little jets1 that when it reached the wall1 it actually blew itself back from the wall2 and1 as the wall was luckily strong enough not to be blown down1 the lava kept blowing itself back till it had time to cool4 ,and so1 my dear child1 there was no miracle at all in the matter2 and the poor people of ,catania had to thank not ,st4 ,agatha1 and any interference of hers1 but simply ,him who can preserve1 just as ,he can destroy1 by those laws of nature which are the breath of ,his mouth and the servants of ,his will4 ,but in many a case the lava does not stop4 ,it rolls on and on over the downs and through the valleys1 till it reaches the sea-shore1 as it did in ,hawaii in the ,sandwich ,islands this very year4 ,and then it cools1 of course2 but often not before it has killed the fish by its sulphurous gases and heat1 perhaps for miles around4 ,and there is good reason to believe that the fossil fish which we so often find in rocks1 perfect in every bone1 lying sometimes in heaps1 and twisted 7as ,i have seen them7 as if they had died suddenly and violently1 were killed in this very way1 either by heat from lava streams1 or else by the bursting up of gases poisoning the water1 in earthquakes and eruptions in the bottom of the sea4 ,i could tell you many stories of fish being killed in thousands by earthquakes and volcanos during the last few years4 ,but we have not time to tell about everything4 ,and now you will ask me1 with more astonishment than ever1 what possible use can there be in these destroying streams of fire8 ,and certainly1 if you had ever seen a lava stream even when cool1 and looked down1 as ,i have done1 at the great river of rough black blocks streaming away far and wide over the land1 you would think it the most hideous and the most useless thing you ever saw4 ,and yet1 my dear child1 there is ,one who told men to judge not according to the appearance1 but to judge righteous judgment4 ,he said that about matters spiritual and human3 but it is quite as true about matters natural1 which also are ,his work1 and all obey ,his will4 ,now if you had seen1 as ,i have seen1 close round the edges of these lava streams1 and sometimes actually upon them1 or upon the great bed of dust and ashes which have been hurled far and wide out of ancient volcanos1 happy homesteads1 rich crops1 hemp and flax1 and wheat1 tobacco1 lucerne1 roots1 and vineyards laden with white and purple grapes1 you would have begun to suspect that the lava streams were not1 after all1 such very bad neighbours4 ,and when ,i tell you that volcanic soils 7as they are called71 that is1 soil which has at first been lava or ashes1 are generally the richest soils in the world--that1 for instance 7as some one told me the other day71 there is soil in the beautiful island of ,madeira so thin that you cannot dig more than two or three inches down without coming to the solid rock of lava1 or what is harder even1 obsidian 7which is the black glass which volcanos sometimes make1 and which the old ,mexicans used to chip into swords and arrows1 because they had no steel7--and that this soil1 thin as it is1 is yet so fertile1 that in it used to be grown the grapes of which the famous ,madeira wine was made--when you remember this1 and when you remember1 too1 the ,lothians of ,scotland 7about which ,i shall have to say a little to you just now71 then you will perhaps agree with me1 that ,lady ,why has not been so very wrong in setting ,madam ,how to pour out lava and ashes upon the surface of the earth4 ,for see--down below1 under the roots of the mountains1 ,madam ,how works continually like a chemist in his laboratory1 melting together all the rocks1 which are the bones and leavings of the old worlds4 ,if they stayed down below there1 they would be of no use2 while they will be of use up here in the open air4 ,for1 year by year--by the washing of rain and rivers1 and also1 ,i am sorry to say1 by the ignorant and foolish waste of mankind--thousands and millions of tons of good stuff are running into the sea every year1 which would1 if it could be kept on land1 make food for men and animals1 plants and trees4 ,so1 in order to supply the continual waste of this upper world1 ,madam ,how is continually melting up the under world1 and pouring it out of the volcanos like manure1 to renew the face of the earth4 ,in these lava rocks and ashes which she sends up there are certain substances1 without which men cannot live--without which a stalk of corn or grass cannot grow4 ,without potash1 without magnesia1 both of which are in your veins and mine--without silicates 7as they are called71 which give flint to the stems of corn and of grass1 and so make them stiff and hard1 and able to stand upright--and very probably without the carbonic acid gas1 which comes out of the volcanos1 and is taken up by the leaves of plants1 and turned by ,madam ,how's cookery into solid wood--without all these things1 and ,i suspect without a great many more things which come out of volcanos--,i do not see how this beautiful green world could get on at all4 ,of course1 when the lava first cools on the surface of the ground it is hard enough1 and therefore barren enough4 ,but ,madam ,how sets to work upon it at once1 with that delicate little water-spade of hers1 which we call rain1 and with that alone1 century after century1 and age after age1 she digs the lava stream down1 atom by atom1 and silts it over the country round in rich manure4 ,so that if ,madam ,how has been a rough and hasty workwoman in pumping her treasures up out of her mine with her great steam-pumps1 she shows herself delicate and tender and kindly enough in giving them away afterwards4 ,nay1 even the fine dust which is sometimes blown out of volcanos is useful to countries far away4 ,so light it is1 that it rises into the sky and is wafted by the wind across the seas4 ,so1 in the year #aghc1 ashes from the ,skaptar ,jokull1 in ,iceland1 were carried over the north of ,scotland1 and even into ,holland1 hundreds of miles to the south4 ,so1 again1 when in the year #ahab the volcano of ,st4 ,vincent1 in the ,west ,india ,islands1 poured out torrents of lava1 after mighty earthquakes which shook all that part of the world1 a strange thing happened 7about which ,i have often heard from those who saw it7 in the island of ,barbados1 several hundred miles away4 ,for when the sun rose in the morning 7it was a ,sunday morning71 the sky remained more dark than any night1 and all the poor negroes crowded terrified out of their houses into the streets1 fancying the end of the world was come4 ,but a learned man who was there1 finding that1 though the sun was risen1 it was still pitchy dark1 opened his window1 and found that it was stuck fast by something on the ledge outside1 and1 when he thrust it open1 found the ledge covered deep in soft red dust2 and he instantly said1 like a wise man as he was1 ,the volcano of ,st4 ,vincent must have broken out1 and these are the ashes from it4 ,then he ran down stairs and quieted the poor negroes1 telling them not to be afraid1 for the end of the world was not coming just yet4 ,but still the dust went on falling till the whole island1 ,i am told1 was covered an inch thick2 and the same thing happened in the other islands round4 ,people thought--and they had reason to think from what had often happened elsewhere--that though the dust might hurt the crops for that year1 it would make them richer in years to come1 because it would act as manure upon the soil2 and so it did after a few years2 but it did terrible damage at the time1 breaking off the boughs of trees and covering up the crops2 and in ,st4 ,vincent itself whole estates were ruined4 ,it was a frightful day1 but ,i know well that behind that ,how there was a ,why for its happening1 and happening too1 about that very time1 which all who know the history of negro slavery in the ,west ,indies can guess for themselves1 and confess1 ,i hope1 that in this case1 as in all others1 when ,lady ,why seems most severe she is often most just and kind4 ,ah6 my dear child1 that ,i could go on talking to you of this for hours and days6 ,but ,i have time now only to teach you the alphabet of these matters--and1 indeed1 ,i know little more than the alphabet myself2 but if the very letters of ,madam ,how's book1 and the mere ,a1 ,b1 ,,ab1 of it1 which ,i am trying to teach you1 are so wonderful and so beautiful1 what must its sentences be and its chapters8 ,and what must the whole book be like8 ,but that last none can read save ,he who wrote it before the worlds were made4 ,but now ,i see you want to ask a question4 ,let us have it out4 ,i would sooner answer one question of yours than tell you ten things without your asking4 ,is there potash and magnesia and silicates in the soil here8 ,and if there is1 where did they come from8 ,for there are no volcanos in ,england4 ,yes4 ,there are such things in the soil2 and little enough of them1 as the farmers here know too well4 ,for we here1 in ,windsor ,forest1 are on the very poorest and almost the newest soil in ,england2 and when ,madam ,how had used up all her good materials in making the rest of the island1 she carted away her dry rubbish and shot it down here for us to make the best of2 and ,i do not think that we and our forefathers have done so very ill with it4 ,but where the rich part1 or staple1 of our soils came from first it would be very difficult to say1 so often has ,madam ,how made1 and unmade1 and re-made ,england1 and sifted her materials afresh every time4 ,but if you go to the ,lowlands of ,scotland1 you may soon see where the staple of the soil came from there1 and that ,i was right in saying that there were atoms of lava in every ,scotch boy's broth4 ,not that there were ever 7as far as ,i know7 volcanos in ,scotland or in ,england4 ,madam ,how has more than one string to her bow1 or two strings either2 so when she pours out her lavas1 she does not always pour them out in the open air4 ,sometimes she pours them out at the bottom of the sea1 as she did in the north of ,ireland and the south-west of ,scotland1 when she made the ,giant's ,causeway1 and ,fingal's ,cave in ,staffa too1 at the bottom of the old chalk ocean1 ages and ages since4 ,sometimes she squirts them out between the layers of rock1 or into cracks which the earthquakes have made1 in what are called trap dykes1 of which there are plenty to be seen in ,scotland1 and in ,wales likewise4 ,and then she lifts the earth up from the bottom of the sea1 and sets the rain to wash away all the soft rocks1 till the hard lava stands out in great hills upon the surface of the ground4 ,then the rain begins eating away those lava-hills likewise1 and manuring the earth with them2 and wherever those lava-hills stand up1 whether great or small1 there is pretty sure to be rich land around them4 ,if you look at the ,geological ,map of ,england and ,ireland1 and the red spots upon it1 which will show you where those old lavas are1 you will see how much of them there is in ,england1 at the ,lizard ,point in ,cornwall1 and how much more in ,scotland and the north of ,ireland4 ,in ,south ,devon1 in ,shropshire--with its beautiful ,wrekin1 and ,caradoc1 and ,lawley--in ,wales1 round ,snowdon 7where some of the soil is very rich71 and1 above all1 in the ,lowlands of ,scotland1 you see these red marks1 showing the old lavas1 which are always fertile1 except the poor old granite1 which is of little use save to cut into building stone1 because it is too full of quartz--that is1 flint4 ,think of this the next time you go through ,scotland in the railway1 especially when you get near ,edinburgh4 ,as you run through the ,lothians1 with their noble crops of corn1 and roots1 and grasses--and their great homesteads1 each with its engine chimney1 which makes steam do the work of men--you will see rising out of the plain1 hills of dark rock1 sometimes in single knobs1 like ,berwick ,law or ,stirling ,crag--sometimes in noble ranges1 like ,arthur's ,seat1 or the ,sidlaws1 or the ,ochils4 ,think what these black bare lumps of whinstone are1 and what they do4 ,remember they are mines--not gold mines1 but something richer still--food mines1 which ,madam ,how thrust into the inside of the earth1 ages and ages since1 as molten lava rock1 and then cooled them and lifted them up1 and pared them away with her ice-plough and her rain-spade1 and spread the stuff of them over the wide carses round1 to make in that bleak northern climate1 which once carried nothing but fir-trees and heather1 a soil fit to feed a great people2 to cultivate in them industry1 and science1 and valiant self-dependence and self-help2 and to gather round the ,heart of ,midlothian and the ,castle ,rock of ,edinburgh the stoutest and the ablest little nation which ,lady ,why has made since she made the ,greeks who fought at ,salamis4 ,of those ,greeks you have read1 or ought to read1 in ,mr4 ,cox's ,tales of the ,persian ,war4 ,some day you will read of them in their own books1 written in their grand old tongue4 ,remember that ,lady ,why made them1 as she has made the ,scotch1 by first preparing a country for them1 which would call out all their courage and their skill2 and then by giving them the courage and the skill to make use of the land where she had put them4 ,and now think what a wonderful fairy tale you might write for yourself--and every word of it true--of the adventures of one atom of ,potash or some other ,salt1 no bigger than a needle's point1 in such a lava stream as ,i have been telling of4 ,how it has run round and round1 and will run round age after age1 in an endless chain of change4 ,how it began by being molten fire underground1 how then it became part of a hard cold rock1 lifted up into a cliff1 beaten upon by rain and storm1 and washed down into the soil of the plain1 till1 perhaps1 the little atom of mineral met with the rootlet of some great tree1 and was taken up into its sap in spring1 through tiny veins1 and hardened the next year into a piece of solid wood4 ,and then how that tree was cut down1 and its logs1 it may be1 burnt upon the hearth1 till the little atom of mineral lay among the wood-ashes1 and was shovelled out and thrown upon the field and washed into the soil again1 and taken up by the roots of a clover plant1 and became an atom of vegetable matter once more4 ,and then how1 perhaps1 a rabbit came by1 and ate the clover1 and the grain of mineral became part of the rabbit2 and then how a hawk killed that rabbit1 and ate it1 and so the grain became part of the hawk2 and how the farmer shot the hawk1 and it fell perchance into a stream1 and was carried down into the sea2 and when its body decayed1 the little grain sank through the water1 and was mingled with the mud at the bottom of the sea4 ,but do its wanderings stop there8 ,not so1 my child4 ,nothing upon this earth1 as ,i told you once before1 continues in one stay4 ,that grain of mineral might stay at the bottom of the sea a thousand or ten thousand years1 and yet the time would come when ,madam ,how would set to work on it again4 ,slowly1 perhaps1 she would sink that mud so deep1 and cover it up with so many fresh beds of mud1 or sand1 or lime1 that under the heavy weight1 and perhaps1 too1 under the heat of the inside of the earth1 that ,mud would slowly change to hard ,slate ,rock2 and ages after1 it may be1 ,madam ,how might melt that ,slate ,rock once more1 and blast it out2 and then through the mouth of a volcano the little grain of mineral might rise into the open air again to make fresh soil1 as it had done thousands of years before4 ,for ,madam ,how can manufacture many different things out of the same materials4 ,she may have so wrought with that grain of mineral1 that she may have formed it into part of a precious stone1 and men may dig it out of the rock1 or pick it up in the river-bed1 and polish it1 and set it1 and wear it4 ,think of that--that in the jewels which your mother or your sisters wear1 or in your father's signet ring1 there may be atoms which were part of a live plant1 or a live animal1 millions of years ago1 and may be parts of a live plant or a live animal millions of years hence4 ,think over again1 and learn by heart1 the links of this endless chain of change3 ,fire turned into ,stone--,stone into ,soil--,soil into ,plant--,plant into ,animal--,animal into ,soil--,soil into ,stone--,stone into ,fire again--and then ,fire into ,stone again1 and the old thing run round once more4 ,so it is1 and so it must be4 ,for all things which are born in ,time must change in ,time1 and die in ,time1 till that ,last ,day of this our little earth1 in which1 ,like to the baseless fabric of a vision1 ,the cloud-capped towers1 the gorgeous palaces1 ,the solemn temples1 the great globe itself1 ,yea1 all things which inherit1 shall dissolve1 ,and1 like an unsubstantial pageant faded1 ,leave not a rack behind4 ,so all things change and die1 and so your body too must change and die--but not yourself4 ,madam ,how made your body2 and she must unmake it again1 as she unmakes all her works in ,time and ,space2 but you1 child1 your ,soul1 and ,life1 and ,self1 she did not make2 and over you she has no power4 ,for you were not1 like your body1 created in ,time and ,space2 and you will endure though ,time and ,space should be no more3 because you are the child of the ,living ,god1 who gives to each thing its own body1 and can give you another body1 even as seems good to ,him4 ,,chapter ,v--,,the ,,ice-,,plough ,you want to know why ,i am so fond of that little bit of limestone1 no bigger than my hand1 which lies upon the shelf2 why ,i ponder over it so often1 and show it to all sensible people who come to see me8 ,i do so1 not only for the sake of the person who gave it to me1 but because there is written on it a letter out of ,madam ,how's alphabet1 which has taken wise men many a year to decipher4 ,i could not decipher that letter when first ,i saw the stone4 ,more shame for me1 for ,i had seen it often before1 and understood it well enough1 in many another page of ,madam ,how's great book4 ,take the stone1 and see if you can find out anything strange about it4 ,well1 it is only a bit of marble as big as my hand1 that looks as if it had been1 and really has been1 broken off by a hammer4 ,but when you look again1 you see there is a smooth scraped part on one edge1 that seems to have been rubbed against a stone4 ,now look at that rubbed part1 and tell me how it was done4 ,you have seen men often polish one stone on another1 or scour floors with a ,bath brick1 and you will guess at first that this was polished so3 but if it had been1 then the rubbed place would have been flat3 but if you put your fingers over it1 you will find that it is not flat4 ,it is rolled1 fluted1 channelled1 so that the thing or things which rubbed it must have been somewhat round4 ,and it is covered1 too1 with very fine and smooth scratches or grooves1 all running over the whole in the same line4 ,now what could have done that8 ,of course a man could have done it1 if he had taken a large round stone in his hand1 and worked the large channellings with that1 and then had taken fine sand and gravel upon the points of his fingers1 and worked the small scratches with that4 ,but this stone came from a place where man had1 perhaps1 never stood before1--ay1 which1 perhaps1 had never seen the light of day before since the world was made2 and as ,i happen to know that no man made the marks upon that stone1 we must set to work and think again for some tool of ,madam ,how's which may have made them4 ,and now ,i think you must give up guessing1 and ,i must tell you the answer to the riddle4 ,those marks were made by a hand which is strong and yet gentle1 tough and yet yielding1 like the hand of a man2 a hand which handles and uses in a grip stronger than a giant's its own carving tools1 from the great boulder stone as large as this whole room to the finest grain of sand4 ,and that is ,,ice4 ,that piece of stone came from the side of the ,rosenlaui glacier in ,switzerland1 and it was polished by the glacier ice4 ,the glacier melted and shrank this last hot summer farther back than it had done for many years1 and left bare sheets of rock1 which it had been scraping at for ages1 with all the marks fresh upon them4 ,and that bit was broken off and brought to me1 who never saw a glacier myself1 to show me how the marks which the ice makes in ,switzerland are exactly the same as those which the ice has made in ,snowdon and in the ,highlands1 and many another place where ,i have traced them1 and written a little1 too1 about them in years gone by4 ,and so ,i treasure this1 as a sign that ,madam ,how's ways do not change nor her laws become broken2 that1 as that great philosopher ,sir ,charles ,lyell will tell you1 when you read his books1 ,madam ,how is making and unmaking the surface of the earth now1 by exactly the same means as she was making and unmaking ages and ages since2 and that what is going on slowly and surely in the ,alps in ,switzerland was going on once here where we stand4 ,it is very difficult1 ,i know1 for a little boy like you to understand how ice1 and much more how soft snow1 should have such strength that it can grind this little stone1 much more such strength as to grind whole mountains into plains4 ,you have never seen ice and snow do harm4 ,you cannot even recollect the ,crimean ,winter1 as it was called then2 and well for you you cannot1 considering all the misery it brought at home and abroad4 ,you cannot1 ,i say1 recollect the ,crimean ,winter1 when the ,thames was frozen over above the bridges1 and the ice piled in little bergs ten to fifteen feet high1 which lay1 some of them1 stranded on the shores1 about ,london itself1 and did not melt1 if ,i recollect1 until the end of ,may4 ,you never stood1 as ,i stood1 in the great winter of #ahcg-h on ,battersea ,bridge1 to see the ice break up with the tide1 and saw the great slabs and blocks leaping and piling upon each other's backs1 and felt the bridge tremble with their shocks1 and listened to their horrible grind and roar1 till one got some little picture in one's mind of what must be the breaking up of an ice-floe in the ,arctic regions1 and what must be the danger of a ship nipped in the ice and lifted up on high1 like those in the pictures of ,arctic voyages which you are so fond of looking through4 ,you cannot recollect how that winter even in our little ,blackwater ,brook the alder stems were all peeled white1 and scarred1 as if they had been gnawed by hares and deer1 simply by the rushing and scraping of the ice1--a sight which gave me again a little picture of the destruction which the ice makes of quays1 and stages1 and houses along the shore upon the coasts of ,north ,america1 when suddenly setting in with wind and tide1 it jams and piles up high inland1 as you may read for yourself some day in a delightful book called ,frost and ,fire4 ,you recollect none of these things4 ,ice and snow are to you mere playthings2 and you long for winter1 that you may make snowballs and play hockey and skate upon the ponds1 and eat ice like a foolish boy till you make your stomach ache4 ,and ,i dare say you have said1 like many another boy1 on a bright cheery ringing frosty day1 ,oh1 that it would be always winter6 ,you little knew for what you asked4 ,you little thought what the earth would soon be like1 if it were always winter1--if one sheet of ice on the pond glued itself on to the bottom of the last sheet1 till the whole pond was a solid mass1--if one snow-fall lay upon the top of another snow-fall till the moor was covered many feet deep and the snow began sliding slowly down the glen from ,coombs's1 burying the green fields1 tearing the trees up by their roots1 burying gradually house1 church1 and village1 and making this place for a few thousand years what it was many thousand years ago4 ,good-bye then1 after a very few winters1 to bees1 and butterflies1 and singing-birds1 and flowers2 and good-bye to all vegetables1 and fruit1 and bread2 good-bye to cotton and woollen clothes4 ,you would have1 if you were left alive1 to dress in skins1 and eat fish and seals1 if any came near enough to be caught4 ,you would have to live in a word1 if you could live at all1 as ,esquimaux live now in ,arctic regions1 and as people had to live in ,england ages since1 in the times when it was always winter1 and icebergs floated between here and ,finchampstead4 ,oh no1 my child3 thank ,heaven that it is not always winter2 and remember that winter ice and snow1 though it is a very good tool with which to make the land1 must leave the land year by year if that land is to be fit to live in4 ,i said that if the snow piled high enough upon the moor1 it would come down the glen in a few years through ,coombs's ,wood2 and ,i said then you would have a small glacier here--such a glacier 7to compare small things with great7 as now comes down so many valleys in the ,alps1 or has come down all the valleys of ,greenland and ,spitzbergen till they reach the sea1 and there end as cliffs of ice1 from which great icebergs snap off continually1 and fall and float away1 wandering southward into the ,atlantic for many a hundred miles4 ,you have seen drawings of such glaciers in ,captain ,cook's ,voyages2 and you may see photographs of ,swiss glaciers in any good ,london print-shop2 and therefore you have seen almost as much about them as ,i have seen1 and may judge for yourself how you would like to live where it is always winter4 ,now you must not ask me to tell you what a glacier is like1 for ,i have never seen one2 at least1 those which ,i have seen were more than fifty miles away1 looking like white clouds hanging on the gray mountain sides4 ,and it would be an impertinence--that means a meddling with things which ,i have no business--to picture to you glaciers which have been pictured so well and often by gentlemen who escape every year from their hard work in town to find among the glaciers of the ,alps health and refreshment1 and sound knowledge1 and that most wholesome and strengthening of all medicines1 toil4 ,so you must read of them in such books as ,peaks1 ,passes1 and ,glaciers1 and ,mr4 ,willes's ,wanderings in the ,high ,alps1 and ,professor ,tyndall's different works2 or you must look at them 7as ,i just now said7 in photographs or in pictures4 ,but when you do that1 or when you see a glacier for yourself1 you must bear in mind what a glacier means--that it is a river of ice1 fed by a lake of snow4 ,the lake from which it springs is the eternal snow-field which stretches for miles and miles along the mountain tops1 fed continually by fresh snow-storms falling from the sky4 ,that snow slides off into the valleys hour by hour1 and as it rushes down is ground and pounded1 and thawed and frozen again into a sticky paste of ice1 which flows slowly but surely till it reaches the warm valley at the mountain foot1 and there melts bit by bit4 ,the long black lines which you see winding along the white and green ice of the glacier are the stones which have fallen from the cliffs above4 ,they will be dropped at the end of the glacier1 and mixed with silt and sand and other stones which have come down inside the glacier itself1 and piled up in the field in great mounds1 which are called moraines1 such as you may see and walk on in ,scotland many a time1 though you might never guess what they are4 ,the river which runs out at the glacier foot is1 you must remember1 all foul and milky with the finest mud2 and that mud is the grinding of the rocks over which the glacier has been crawling down1 and scraping them as it scraped my bit of stone with pebbles and with sand4 ,and this is the alphabet1 which1 if you learn by heart1 you will learn to understand how ,madam ,how uses her great ice-plough to plough down her old mountains1 and spread the stuff of them about the valleys to make rich straths of fertile soil4 ,nay1 so immensely strong1 because immensely heavy1 is the share of this her great ice-plough1 that some will tell you 7and it is not for me to say that they are wrong7 that with it she has ploughed out all the mountain lakes in ,europe and in ,north ,america2 that such lakes1 for instance1 as ,ullswater or ,windermere have been scooped clean out of the solid rock by ice which came down these glaciers in old times4 ,and be sure of this1 that next to ,madam ,how's steam-pump and her rain-spade1 her great ice-plough has had1 and has still1 the most to do with making the ground on which we live4 ,do ,i mean that there were ever glaciers here8 ,no1 ,i do not4 ,there have been glaciers in ,scotland in plenty4 ,and if any ,scotch boy shall read this book1 it will tell him presently how to find the marks of them far and wide over his native land4 ,but as you1 my child1 care most about this country in which you live1 ,i will show you in any gravel-pit1 or hollow lane upon the moor1 the marks1 not of a glacier1 which is an ice- river1 but of a whole sea of ice4 ,let us come up to the pit upon the top of the hill1 and look carefully at what we see there4 ,the lower part of the pit of course is a solid rock of sand4 ,on the top of that is a cap of gravel1 five1 six1 ten feet thick4 ,now the sand was laid down there by water at the bottom of an old sea2 and therefore the top of it would naturally be flat and smooth1 as the sands at ,hunstanton or at ,bournemouth are2 and the gravel1 if it was laid down by water1 would naturally lie flat on it again3 but it does not4 ,see how the top of the sand is dug out into deep waves and pits1 filled up with gravel4 ,and see1 too1 how over some of the gravel you get sand again1 and then gravel again1 and then sand again1 till you cannot tell where one fairly begins and the other ends4 ,why1 here are little dots of gravel1 six or eight feet down1 in what looks the solid sand rock1 yet the sand must have been opened somehow to put the gravel in4 ,you say you have seen that before4 ,you have seen the same curious twisting of the gravel and sand into each other on the top of ,farley ,hill1 and in the new cutting on ,minley ,hill2 and1 best of all1 in the railway cutting between ,ascot and ,sunningdale1 where upon the top the white sand and gravel is arranged in red and brown waves1 and festoons1 and curlicues1 almost like ,prince of ,wales's feathers4 ,yes1 that last is a beautiful section of ice-work2 so beautiful1 that ,i hope to have it photographed some day4 ,now1 how did ice do this8 ,well1 ,i was many a year before ,i found out that1 and ,i dare say ,i never should have found it out for myself4 ,a gentleman named ,trimmer1 who1 alas6 is now dead1 was1 ,i believe1 the first to find it out4 ,he knew that along the coast of ,labrador1 and other cold parts of ,north ,america1 and on the shores1 too1 of the great river ,st4 ,lawrence1 the stranded icebergs1 and the ice-foot1 as it is called1 which is continually forming along the freezing shores1 grub and plough every tide into the mud and sand1 and shove up before them1 like a ploughshare1 heaps of dirt2 and that1 too1 the ice itself is full of dirt1 of sand and stones1 which it may have brought from hundreds of miles away2 and that1 as this ploughshare of dirty ice grubs onward1 the nose of the plough is continually being broken off1 and left underneath the mud2 and that1 when summer comes1 and the ice melts1 the mud falls back into the place where the ice had been1 and covers up the gravel which was in the ice4 ,so1 what between the grubbing of the ice-plough into the mud1 and the dirt which it leaves behind when it melts1 the stones1 and sand1 and mud upon the shore are jumbled up into curious curved and twisted layers1 exactly like those which ,mr4 ,trimmer saw in certain gravel-pits4 ,and when ,i first read about that1 ,i said1 ,and exactly like what ,i have been seeing in every gravel-pit round here1 and trying to guess how they could have been made by currents of water1 and yet never could make any guess which would do4 ,but after that it was all explained to me2 and ,i said1 ,honour to the man who has let ,madam ,how teach him what she had been trying to teach me for fifteen years1 while ,i was too stupid to learn it4 ,now ,i am certain1 as certain as ,i can be of any earthly thing1 that the whole of these ,windsor ,forest ,flats were ages ago ploughed and harrowed over and over again1 by ice-floes and icebergs drifting and stranding in a shallow sea4 ,and if you say1 my dear child1 as some people will say1 that it is like building a large house upon a single brick to be sure that there was an iceberg sea here1 just because ,i see a few curlicues in the gravel and sand--then ,i must tell you that there are sometimes--not often1 but sometimes--pages in ,madam ,how's book in which one single letter tells you as much as a whole chapter2 in which if you find one little fact1 and know what it really means1 it makes you certain that a thousand other great facts have happened4 ,you may be astonished3 but you cannot deny your own eyes1 and your own common sense4 ,you feel like ,robinson ,crusoe when1 walking along the shore of his desert island1 he saw for the first time the print of a man's foot in the sand4 ,how it could have got there without a miracle he could not dream4 ,but there it was4 ,one footprint was as good as the footprints of a whole army would have been4 ,a man had been there2 and more men might come4 ,and in fear of the savages--and if you have read ,robinson ,crusoe you know how just his fears were--he went home trembling and loaded his muskets1 and barricaded his cave1 and passed sleepless nights watching for the savages who might come1 and who came after all4 ,and so there are certain footprints in geology which there is no mistaking2 and the prints of the ice-plough are among them4 ,for instance3--,when they were trenching the new plantation close to ,wellington ,college station1 the men turned up out of the ground a great many ,sarsden stones2 that is1 pieces of hard sugary sand1 such as ,stonehenge is made of4 ,and when ,i saw these ,i said1 ,i suspect these were brought here by icebergs3 but ,i was not sure1 and waited4 ,as the men dug on1 they dug up a great many large flints1 with bottle-green coats4 ,now1 ,i said1 ,i am sure4 ,for ,i know where these flints must have come from4 ,and for reasons which would be too long to tell you here1 ,i said1 ,some time or other1 icebergs have been floating northward from the ,hog's ,back over ,aldershot and ,farnborough1 and have been trying to get into the ,vale of ,thames by the slope at ,wellington ,college station2 and they have stranded1 and dropped these flints4 ,and ,i am so sure of that1 that if ,i found myself out wrong after all ,i should be at my wit's end2 for ,i should know that ,i was wrong about a hundred things besides4 ,or again1 if you ever go up ,deeside in ,scotland1 towards ,balmoral1 and turn up ,glen ,muick1 towards ,alt-na-guisach1 of which you may see a picture in the ,queen's last book1 you will observe standing on your right hand1 just above ,birk ,hall1 three pretty rounded knolls1 which they call the ,coile ,hills4 ,you may easily know them by their being covered with beautiful green grass instead of heather4 ,that is because they are made of serpentine or volcanic rock1 which 7as you have seen7 often cuts into beautiful red and green marble2 and which also carries a very rich soil because it is full of magnesia4 ,if you go up those hills1 you get a glorious view--the mountains sweeping round you where you stand1 up to the top of ,lochnagar1 with its bleak walls a thousand feet perpendicular1 and gullies into which the sun never shines1 and round to the dark fir forests of the ,ballochbuie4 ,that is the arc of the bow2 and the cord of the bow is the silver ,dee1 more than a thousand feet below you2 and in the centre of the cord1 where the arrow would be fitted in1 stands ,balmoral1 with its ,castle1 and its ,gardens1 and its ,park1 and pleasant cottages and homesteads all around4 ,and when you have looked at the beautiful amphitheatre of forest at your feet1 and looked too at the great mountains to the westward1 and ,benaun1 and ,benna-buird and ,benna- muicdhui1 with their bright patches of eternal snow1 ,i should advise you to look at the rock on which you stand1 and see what you see there4 ,and you will see that on the side of the ,coiles towards ,lochnagar1 and between the knolls of them1 are scattered streams1 as it were1 of great round boulder stones--which are not serpentine1 but granite from the top of ,lochnagar1 five miles away4 ,and you will see that the knolls of serpentine rock1 or at least their backs and shoulders towards ,lochnagar1 are all smoothed and polished till they are as round as the backs of sheep1 roches moutonnees1 as the ,french call ice-polished rocks2 and then1 if you understand what that means1 you will say1 as ,i said1 ,i am perfectly certain that this great basin between me and ,lochnagar1 which is now #cjjj feet deep of empty air was once filled up with ice to the height of the hills on which ,i stand--about #agjj feet high--and that that ice ran over into ,glen ,muick1 between these pretty knolls1 and covered the ground where ,birk ,hall now stands4 ,and more3--,when you see growing on those knolls of serpentine a few pretty little ,alpine plants1 which have no business down there so low1 you will have a fair right to say1 as ,i said1 ,the seeds of these plants were brought by the ice ages and ages since from off the mountain range of ,lochnagar1 and left here1 nestling among the rocks1 to found a fresh colony1 far from their old mountain home4 ,if ,i could take you with me up to ,scotland1--take you1 for instance1 along the ,tay1 up the pass of ,dunkeld1 or up ,strathmore towards ,aberdeen1 or up the ,dee towards ,braemar1--,i could show you signs1 which cannot be mistaken1 of the time when ,scotland was1 just like ,spitzbergen or like ,greenland now1 covered in one vast sheet of snow and ice from year's end to year's end2 when glaciers were ploughing out its valleys1 icebergs were breaking off the icy cliffs and floating out to sea2 when not a bird1 perhaps1 was to be seen save sea-fowl1 not a plant upon the rocks but a few lichens1 and ,alpine saxifrages1 and such like--desolation and cold and lifeless everywhere4 ,that ice-time went on for ages and for ages2 and yet it did not go on in vain4 ,through it ,madam ,how was ploughing down the mountains of ,scotland to make all those rich farms which stretch from the north side of the ,frith of ,forth into ,sutherlandshire4 ,i could show you everywhere the green banks and knolls of earth1 which ,scotch people call kames and tomans--perhaps brought down by ancient glaciers1 or dropped by ancient icebergs--now so smooth and green through summer and through winter1 among the wild heath and the rough peat-moss1 that the old ,scots fancied1 and ,i dare say ,scotch children fancy still1 fairies dwelt inside4 ,if you laid your ear against the mounds1 you might hear the fairy music1 sweet and faint1 beneath the ground4 ,if you watched the mound at night1 you might see the fairies dancing the turf short and smooth1 or riding out on fairy horses1 with green silk clothes and jingling bells4 ,but if you fell asleep upon the mounds1 the fairy queen came out and carried you for seven years into ,fairyland1 till you awoke again in the same place1 to find all changed around you1 and yourself grown thin and old4 ,these are all dreams and fancies--untrue1 not because they are too strange and wonderful1 but because they are not strange and wonderful enough3 for more wonderful sure than any fairy tale it is1 that ,madam ,how should make a rich and pleasant land by the brute force of ice4 ,and were there any men and women in that old age of ice8 ,that is a long story1 and a dark one too2 we will talk of it next time4 ,,chapter ,,vi--,,the ,,true ,,fairy ,,tale ,you asked if there were men in ,england when the country was covered with ice and snow4 ,look at this1 and judge for yourself4 ,what is it8 a piece of old mortar8 ,yes4 ,but mortar which was made ,madam ,how herself1 and not by any man4 ,and what is in it8 ,a piece of flint and some bits of bone4 ,but look at that piece of flint4 ,it is narrow1 thin1 sharp-edged3 quite different in shape from any bit of flint which you or ,i ever saw among the hundreds of thousands of broken bits of gravel which we tread on here all day long2 and here are some more bits like it1 which came from the same place--all very much the same shape1 like rough knives or razor blades2 and here is a core of flint1 the remaining part of a large flint1 from which1 as you may see1 blades like those have been split off4 ,those flakes of flint1 my child1 were split off by men2 even your young eyes ought to be able to see that4 ,and here are other pieces of flint--pear-shaped1 but flattened1 sharp at one end and left rounded at the other1 which look like spear-heads1 or arrow-heads1 or pointed axes1 or pointed hatchets--even your young eyes can see that these must have been made by man4 ,and they are1 ,i may tell you1 just like the tools of flint1 or of obsidian1 which is volcanic glass1 and which savages use still where they have not iron4 ,there is a great obsidian knife1 you know1 in a house in this very parish1 which came from ,mexico2 and your eye can tell you how like it is to these flint ones4 ,but these flint tools are very old4 ,if you crack a fresh flint1 you will see that its surface is gray1 and somewhat rough1 so that it sticks to your tongue4 ,these tools are smooth and shiny3 and the edges of some of them are a little rubbed from being washed about in gravel2 while the iron in the gravel has stained them reddish1 which it would take hundreds and perhaps thousands of years to do4 ,there are little rough markings1 too1 upon some of them1 which1 if you look at through a magnifying glass1 are iron1 crystallised into the shape of little sea- weeds and trees--another sign that they are very very old4 ,and what is more1 near the place where these flint flakes come from there are no flints in the ground for hundreds of miles2 so that men must have brought them there ages and ages since4 ,and to tell you plainly1 these are scrapers such as the ,esquimaux in ,north ,america still use to scrape the flesh off bones1 and to clean the insides of skins4 ,but did these people 7savages perhaps7 live when the country was icy cold8 ,look at the bits of bone4 ,they have been split1 you see1 lengthways2 that1 ,i suppose1 was to suck the marrow out of them1 as savages do still4 ,but to what animal do the bones belong8 ,that is the question1 and one which ,i could not have answered you1 if wiser men than ,i am could not have told me4 ,they are the bones of reindeer--such reindeer as are now found only in ,lapland and the half-frozen parts of ,north ,america1 close to the ,arctic circle1 where they have six months day and six months night4 ,you have read of ,laplanders1 and how they drive reindeer in their sledges1 and live upon reindeer milk2 and you have read of ,esquimaux1 who hunt seals and walrus1 and live in houses of ice1 lighted by lamps fed with the same blubber on which they feed themselves4 ,i need not tell you about them4 ,now comes the question--,whence did these flints and bones come8 ,they came out of a cave in ,dordogne1 in the heart of sunny ,france1--far away to the south1 where it is hotter every summer than it was here even this summer1 from among woods of box and evergreen oak1 and vineyards of rich red wine4 ,in that warm land once lived savages1 who hunted amid ice and snow the reindeer1 and with the reindeer animals stranger still4 ,and now ,i will tell you a fairy tale3 to make you understand it at all ,i must put it in the shape of a tale4 ,i call it a fairy tale1 because it is so strange2 indeed ,i think ,i ought to call it the fairy tale of all fairy tales1 for by the time we get to the end of it ,i think it will explain to you how our forefathers got to believe in fairies1 and trolls1 and elves1 and scratlings1 and all strange little people who were said to haunt the mountains and the caves4 ,well1 once upon a time1 so long ago that no man can tell when1 the land was so much higher1 that between ,england and ,ireland1 and1 what is more1 between ,england and ,norway1 was firm dry land4 ,the country then must have looked--at least we know it looked so in ,norfolk--very like what our moors look like here4 ,there were forests of ,scotch fir1 and of spruce too1 which is not wild in ,england now1 though you may see plenty in every plantation4 ,there were oaks and alders1 yews and sloes1 just as there are in our woods now4 ,there was buck-bean in the bogs1 as there is in ,larmer's and ,heath pond2 and white and yellow water-lilies1 horn-wort1 and pond-weeds1 just as there are now in our ponds4 ,there were wild horses1 wild deer1 and wild oxen1 those last of an enormous size4 ,there were little yellow roe-deer1 which will not surprise you1 for there are hundreds and thousands in ,scotland to this day2 and1 as you know1 they will thrive well enough in our woods now4 ,there were beavers too3 but that must not surprise you1 for there were beavers in ,south ,wales long after the ,norman ,conquest1 and there are beavers still in the mountain glens of the south-east of ,france4 ,there were honest little water-rats too1 who ,i dare say sat up on their hind legs like monkeys1 nibbling the water-lily pods1 thousands of years ago1 as they do in our ponds now4 ,well1 so far we have come to nothing strange3 but now begins the fairy tale4 ,mixed with all these animals1 there wandered about great herds of elephants and rhinoceroses2 not smooth-skinned1 mind1 but covered with hair and wool1 like those which are still found sticking out of the everlasting ice cliffs1 at the mouth of the ,lena and other ,siberian rivers1 with the flesh1 and skin1 and hair so fresh upon them1 that the wild wolves tear it off1 and snarl and growl over the carcase of monsters who were frozen up thousands of years ago4 ,and with them1 stranger still1 were great hippopotamuses2 who came1 perhaps1 northward in summer time along the sea-shore and down the rivers1 having spread hither all the way from ,africa2 for in those days1 you must understand1 ,sicily1 and ,italy1 and ,malta--look at your map--were joined to the coast of ,africa3 and so it may be was the rock of ,gibraltar itself2 and over the sea where the ,straits of ,gibraltar now flow was firm dry land1 over which hyaenas and leopards1 elephants and rhinoceroses ranged into ,spain2 for their bones are found at this day in the ,gibraltar caves4 ,and this is the first chapter of my fairy tale4 ,now while all this was going on1 and perhaps before this began1 the climate was getting colder year by year--we do not know how2 and1 what is more1 the land was sinking2 and it sank so deep that at last nothing was left out of the water but the tops of the mountains in ,ireland1 and ,scotland1 and ,wales4 ,it sank so deep that it left beds of shells belonging to the ,arctic regions nearly two thousand feet high upon the mountain side4 ,and so ,it grew wondrous cold1 ,and ice mast-high came floating by1 ,as green as emerald4 ,but there were no masts then to measure the icebergs by1 nor any ship nor human being there4 ,all we know is that the icebergs brought with them vast quantities of mud1 which sank to the bottom1 and covered up that pleasant old forest-land in what is called boulder-clay2 clay full of bits of broken rock1 and of blocks of stone so enormous1 that nothing but an iceberg could have carried them4 ,so all the animals were drowned or driven away1 and nothing was left alive perhaps1 except a few little hardy plants which clung about cracks and gullies in the mountain tops2 and whose descendants live there still4 ,that was a dreadful time2 the worst1 perhaps1 of all the age of ,ice2 and so ends the second chapter of my fairy tale4 ,now for my third chapter4 ,when things come to the worst1 says the proverb1 they commonly mend2 and so did this poor frozen and drowned land of ,england and ,france and ,germany1 though it mended very slowly4 ,the land began to rise out of the sea once more1 and rose till it was perhaps as high as it had been at first1 and hundreds of feet higher than it is now3 but still it was very cold1 covered1 in ,scotland at least1 with one great sea of ice and glaciers descending down into the sea1 as ,i said when ,i spoke to you about the ,ice-,plough4 ,but as the land rose1 and grew warmer too1 while it rose1 the wild beasts who had been driven out by the great drowning came gradually back again4 ,as the bottom of the old icy sea turned into dry land1 and got covered with grasses1 and weeds1 and shrubs once more1 elephants1 rhinoceroses1 hippopotamuses1 oxen--sometimes the same species1 sometimes slightly different ones--returned to ,france1 and then to ,england 7for there was no ,british ,channel then to stop them72 and with them came other strange animals1 especially the great ,irish elk1 as he is called1 as large as the largest horse1 with horns sometimes ten feet across4 ,a pair of those horns with the skull you have seen yourself1 and can judge what a noble animal he must have been4 ,enormous bears came too1 and hyaenas1 and a tiger or lion 7,i cannot say which71 as large as the largest ,bengal tiger now to be seen in ,india4 ,and in those days--we cannot1 of course1 exactly say when--there came--first ,i suppose into the south and east of ,france1 and then gradually onward into ,england and ,scotland and ,ireland--creatures without any hair to keep them warm1 or scales to defend them1 without horns or tusks to fight with1 or teeth to worry and bite2 the weakest you would have thought of the beasts1 and yet stronger than all the animals1 because they were ,men1 with reasonable souls4 ,whence they came we cannot tell1 nor why2 perhaps from mere hunting after food1 and love of wandering and being independent and alone4 ,perhaps they came into that icy land for fear of stronger and cleverer people than themselves2 for we have no proof1 my child1 none at all1 that they were the first men that trod this earth4 ,but be that as it may1 they came2 and so cunning were these savage men1 and so brave likewise1 though they had no iron among them1 only flint and sharpened bones1 yet they contrived to kill and eat the mammoths1 and the giant oxen1 and the wild horses1 and the reindeer1 and to hold their own against the hyaenas1 and tigers1 and bears1 simply because they had wits1 and the dumb animals had none4 ,and that is the strangest part to me of all my fairy tale4 ,for what a man's wits are1 and why he has them1 and therefore is able to invent and to improve1 while even the cleverest ape has none1 and therefore can invent and improve nothing1 and therefore cannot better himself1 but must remain from father to son1 and father to son again1 a stupid1 pitiful1 ridiculous ape1 while men can go on civilising themselves1 and growing richer and more comfortable1 wiser and happier1 year by year--how that comes to pass1 ,i say1 is to me a wonder and a prodigy and a miracle1 stranger than all the most fantastic marvels you ever read in fairy tales4 ,you may find the flint weapons which these old savages used buried in many a gravel-pit up and down ,france and the south of ,england2 but you will find none here1 for the gravel here was made 7,i am told7 at the beginning of the ice-time1 before the north of ,england sunk into the sea1 and therefore long1 long before men came into this land4 ,but most of their remains are found in caves which water has eaten out of the limestone rocks1 like that famous cave of ,kent's ,hole at ,torquay4 ,in it1 and in many another cave1 lie the bones of animals which the savages ate1 and cracked to get the marrow out of them1 mixed up with their flint-weapons and bone harpoons1 and sometimes with burnt ashes and with round stones1 used perhaps to heat water1 as savages do now1 all baked together into a hard paste or breccia by the lime4 ,these are in the water1 and are often covered with a floor of stalagmite which has dripped from the roof above and hardened into stone4 ,of these caves and their beautiful wonders ,i must tell you another day4 ,we must keep now to our fairy tale4 ,but in these caves1 no doubt1 the savages lived2 for not only have weapons been found in them1 but actually drawings scratched 7,i suppose with flint7 on bone or mammoth ivory--drawings of elk1 and bull1 and horse1 and ibex--and one1 which was found in ,france1 of the great mammoth himself1 the woolly elephant1 with a mane on his shoulders like a lion's mane4 ,so you see that one of the earliest fancies of this strange creature1 called man1 was to draw1 as you and your schoolfellows love to draw1 and copy what you see1 you know not why4 ,remember that4 ,you like to draw2 but why you like it neither you nor any man can tell4 ,it is one of the mysteries of human nature2 and that poor savage clothed in skins1 dirty it may be1 and more ignorant than you 7happily7 can conceive1 when he sat scratching on ivory in the cave the figures of the animals he hunted1 was proving thereby that he had the same wonderful and mysterious human nature as you--that he was the kinsman of every painter and sculptor who ever felt it a delight and duty to copy the beautiful works of ,god4 ,sometimes1 again1 especially in ,denmark1 these savages have left behind upon the shore mounds of dirt1 which are called there kjokken-moddings--kitchen-middens as they would say in ,scotland1 kitchen-dirtheaps as we should say here down ,south--and a very good name for them that is2 for they are made up of the shells of oysters1 cockles1 mussels1 and periwinkles1 and other shore-shells besides1 on which those poor creatures fed2 and mingled with them are broken bones of beasts1 and fishes1 and birds1 and flint knives1 and axes1 and sling stones2 and here and there hearths1 on which they have cooked their meals in some rough way4 ,and that is nearly all we know about them2 but this we know from the size of certain of the shells1 and from other reasons which you would not understand1 that these mounds were made an enormous time ago1 when the water of the ,baltic ,sea was far more salt than it is now4 ,but what has all this to do with my fairy tale8 ,this3-- ,suppose that these people1 after all1 had been fairies8 ,i am in earnest4 ,of course1 ,i do not mean that these folk could make themselves invisible1 or that they had any supernatural powers--any more1 at least1 than you and ,i have--or that they were anything but savages2 but this ,i do think1 that out of old stories of these savages grew up the stories of fairies1 elves1 and trolls1 and scratlings1 and cluricaunes1 and ogres1 of which you have read so many4 ,when stronger and bolder people1 like the ,irish1 and the ,highlanders of ,scotland1 and the ,gauls of ,france1 came northward with their bronze and iron weapons2 and still more1 when our own forefathers1 the ,germans and the ,norsemen1 came1 these poor little savages with their flint arrows and axes1 were no match for them1 and had to run away northward1 or to be all killed out2 for people were fierce and cruel in those old times1 and looked on every one of a different race from themselves as a natural enemy4 ,they had not learnt--alas6 too many have not learned it yet--that all men are brothers for the sake of ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,so these poor savages were driven out1 till none were left1 save the little ,lapps up in the north of ,norway1 where they live to this day4 ,but stories of them1 and of how they dwelt in caves1 and had strange customs1 and used poisoned weapons1 and how the elf-bolts 7as their flint arrow-heads are still called7 belonged to them1 lingered on1 and were told round the fire on winter nights and added to1 and played with half in fun1 till a hundred legends sprang up about them1 which used once to be believed by grown-up folk1 but which now only amuse children4 ,and because some of these savages were very short1 as the ,lapps and ,esquimaux are now1 the story grew of their being so small that they could make themselves invisible2 and because others of them were 7but probably only a few7 very tall and terrible1 the story grew that there were giants in that old world1 like that famous ,gogmagog1 whom ,brutus and his ,britons met 7so old fables tell71 when they landed first at ,plymouth1 and fought him1 and threw him over the cliff4 ,ogres1 too--of whom you read in fairy tales--,i am afraid that there were such people once1 even here in ,europe2 strong and terrible savages1 who ate human beings4 ,of course1 the legends and tales about them became ridiculous and exaggerated as they passed from mouth to mouth over the ,christmas fire1 in the days when no one could read or write4 ,but that the tales began by being true any one may well believe who knows how many cannibal savages there are in the world even now4 ,i think that1 if ever there was an ogre in the world1 he must have been very like a certain person who lived1 or was buried1 in a cave in the ,neanderthal1 between ,elberfeld and ,dusseldorf1 on the ,lower ,rhine4 ,the skull and bones which were found there 7and which are very famous now among scientific men7 belonged to a personage whom ,i should have been very sorry to meet1 and still more to let you meet1 in the wild forest2 to a savage of enormous strength of limb 7and ,i suppose of jaw7 likewise like an ape1 ,with forehead villainous low1 who could have eaten you if he would2 and 7,i fear7 also would have eaten you if he could4 ,such savages may have lingered 7,i believe1 from the old ballads and romances1 that they did linger7 for a long time in lonely forests and mountain caves1 till they were all killed out by warriors who wore mail-armour and carried steel sword1 and battle-axe1 and lance4 ,but had these people any religion8 ,my dear child1 we cannot know1 and need not know4 ,but we know this--that ,god beholds all the heathen4 ,he fashions the hearts of them1 and understandeth all their works4 ,and we know also that ,he is just and good4 ,these poor folks were1 ,i doubt not1 happy enough in their way2 and we are bound to believe 7for we have no proof against it71 that most of them were honest and harmless enough likewise4 ,of course1 ogres and cannibals1 and cruel and brutal persons 7if there were any among them71 deserved punishment--and punishment1 ,i do not doubt1 they got4 ,but1 of course1 again1 none of them knew things which you know2 but for that very reason they were not bound to do many things which you are bound to do4 ,for those to whom little is given1 of them shall little be required4 ,what their religion was like1 or whether they had any religion at all1 we cannot tell4 ,but this we can tell1 that known unto ,god are all ,his works from the creation of the world2 and that ,his mercy is over all ,his works1 and ,he hateth nothing that ,he has made4 ,these men and women1 whatever they were1 were ,god's work2 and therefore we may comfort ourselves with the certainty that1 whether or not they knew ,god1 ,god knew them4 ,and so ends my fairy tale4 ,but is it not a wonderful tale8 ,more wonderful1 if you will think over it1 than any story invented by man4 ,but so it always is4 ,truth1 wise men tell us1 is stranger than fiction4 ,even a child like you will see that it must be so1 if you will but recollect who makes fiction1 and who makes facts4 ,man makes fiction3 he invents stories1 pretty enough1 fantastical enough4 ,but out of what does he make them up8 ,out of a few things in this great world which he has seen1 and heard1 and felt1 just as he makes up his dreams4 ,but who makes truth8 ,who makes facts8 ,who1 but ,god8 ,then truth is as much larger than fiction1 as ,god is greater than man2 as much larger as the whole universe is larger than the little corner of it that any man1 even the greatest poet or philosopher1 can see2 and as much grander1 and as much more beautiful1 and as much more strange4 ,for one is the whole1 and the other is one1 a few tiny scraps of the whole4 ,the one is the work of ,god2 the other is the work of man4 ,be sure that no man can ever fancy anything strange1 unexpected1 and curious1 without finding if he had eyes to see1 a hundred things around his feet more strange1 more unexpected1 more curious1 actually ready-made already by ,god4 ,you are fond of fairy tales1 because they are fanciful1 and like your dreams4 ,my dear child1 as your eyes open to the true fairy tale which ,madam ,how can tell you all day long1 nursery stories will seem to you poor and dull4 ,all those feelings in you which your nursery tales call out1--imagination1 wonder1 awe1 pity1 and ,i trust too1 hope and love--will be called out1 ,i believe1 by the ,tale of all ,tales1 the true ,marchen allen ,marchen1 so much more fully and strongly and purely1 that you will feel that novels and story-books are scarcely worth your reading1 as long as you can read the great green book1 of which every bud is a letter1 and every tree a page4 ,wonder if you will4 ,you cannot wonder too much4 ,that you might wonder all your life long1 ,god put you into this wondrous world1 and gave you that faculty of wonder which he has not given to the brutes2 which is at once the mother of sound science1 and a pledge of immortality in a world more wondrous even than this4 ,but wonder at the right thing1 not at the wrong2 at the real miracles and prodigies1 not at the sham4 ,wonder not at the world of man4 ,waste not your admiration1 interest1 hope on it1 its pretty toys1 gay fashions1 fine clothes1 tawdry luxuries1 silly amusements4 ,wonder at the works of ,god4 ,you will not1 perhaps1 take my advice yet4 ,the world of man looks so pretty1 that you will needs have your peep at it1 and stare into its shop windows2 and if you can1 go to a few of its stage plays1 and dance at a few of its balls4 ,ah--well--,after a wild dream comes an uneasy wakening2 and after too many sweet things1 comes a sick headache4 ,and one morning you will awake1 ,i trust and pray1 from the world of man to the world of ,god1 and wonder where wonder is due1 and worship where worship is due4 ,you will awake like a child who has been at a pantomime over night1 staring at the fairy halls1 which are all paint and canvas2 and the dazzling splendours1 which are gas and oil2 and the magic transformations1 which are done with ropes and pulleys2 and the brilliant elves1 who are poor little children out of the next foul alley2 and the harlequin and clown1 who through all their fun are thinking wearily over the old debts which they must pay1 and the hungry mouths at home which they must feed3 and so1 having thought it all wondrously glorious1 and quite a fairy land1 slips tired and stupid into bed1 and wakes next morning to see the pure light shining in through the delicate frost-lace on the window-pane1 and looks out over fields of virgin snow1 and watches the rosy dawn and cloudless blue1 and the great sun rising to the music of cawing rooks and piping stares1 and says1 ,this is the true wonder4 ,this is the true glory4 ,the theatre last night was the fairy land of man2 but this is the fairy land of ,god4 ,,chapter ,,vii--,,the ,,chalk-,,carts ,what do you want to know about next8 ,more about the caves in which the old savages lived1--how they were made1 and how the curious things inside them got there1 and so forth4 ,well1 we will talk about that in good time3 but now--,what is that coming down the hill8 ,oh1 only some chalk-carts4 ,only some chalk-carts8 ,it seems to me that these chalk-carts are the very things we want2 that if we follow them far enough--,i do not mean with our feet along the public road1 but with our thoughts along a road which1 ,i am sorry to say1 the public do not yet know much about--we shall come to a cave1 and understand how a cave is made4 ,meanwhile1 do not be in a hurry to say1 ,only a chalk-cart1 or only a mouse1 or only a dead leaf4 ,chalk-carts1 like mice1 and dead leaves1 and most other matters in the universe are very curious and odd things in the eyes of wise and reasonable people4 ,whenever ,i hear young men saying only this and only that1 ,i begin to suspect them of belonging1 not to the noble army of sages--much less to the most noble army of martyrs1--but to the ignoble army of noodles1 who think nothing interesting or important but dinners1 and balls1 and races1 and back-biting their neighbours2 and ,i should be sorry to see you enlisting in that regiment when you grow up4 ,but think--are not chalk-carts very odd and curious things8 ,i think they are4 ,to my mind1 it is a curious question how men ever thought of inventing wheels2 and1 again1 when they first thought of it4 ,it is a curious question1 too1 how men ever found out that they could make horses work for them1 and so began to tame them1 instead of eating them1 and a curious question 7which ,i think we shall never get answered7 when the first horse-tamer lived1 and in what country4 ,and a very curious1 and1 to me1 a beautiful sight it is1 to see those two noble horses obeying that little boy1 whom they could kill with a single kick4 ,but1 beside all this1 there is a question1 which ought to be a curious one to you 7for ,i suspect you cannot answer it7--,why does the farmer take the trouble to send his cart and horses eight miles and more1 to draw in chalk from ,odiham chalk-pit8 ,oh1 he is going to put it on the land1 of course4 ,they are chalking the bit at the top of the next field1 where the copse was grubbed4 ,but what good will he do by putting chalk on it8 ,chalk is not rich and fertile1 like manure1 it is altogether poor1 barren stuff3 you know that1 or ought to know it4 ,recollect the chalk cuttings and banks on the railway between ,basingstoke and ,winchester--how utterly barren they are4 ,though they have been open these thirty years1 not a blade of grass1 hardly a bit of moss1 has grown on them1 or will grow1 perhaps1 for centuries4 ,come1 let us find out something about the chalk before we talk about the caves4 ,the chalk is here1 and the caves are not2 and ,learn from the thing that lies nearest you is as good a rule as ,do the duty which lies nearest you4 ,let us come into the grubbed bit1 and ask the farmer--there he is in his gig4 ,well1 old friend1 and how are you8 ,here is a little boy who wants to know why you are putting chalk on your field4 ,does he then8 ,if he ever tries to farm round here1 he will have to learn for his first rule--,no chalk1 no wheat4 ,but why8 ,why1 is more than ,i can tell1 young squire4 ,but if you want to see how it comes about1 look here at this freshly-grubbed land--how sour it is4 ,you can see that by the colour of it--some black1 some red1 some green1 some yellow1 all full of sour iron1 which will let nothing grow4 ,after the chalk has been on it a year or two1 those colours will have all gone out of it2 and it will turn to a nice wholesome brown1 like the rest of the field2 and then you will know that the land is sweet1 and fit for any crop4 ,now do you mind what ,i tell you1 and then ,i'll tell you something more4 ,we put on the chalk because1 beside sweetening the land1 it will hold water4 ,you see1 the land about here1 though it is often very wet from springs1 is sandy and hungry2 and when we drain the bottom water out of it1 the top water 7that is1 the rain7 is apt to run through it too fast3 and then it dries and burns up2 and we get no plant of wheat1 nor of turnips either4 ,so we put on chalk to hold water1 and keep the ground moist4 ,but how can these lumps of chalk hold water8 ,they are not made like cups4 ,no3 but they are made like sponges1 which serves our turn better still4 ,just take up that lump1 young squire1 and you'll see water enough in it1 or rather looking out of it1 and staring you in the face4 ,why6 one side of the lump is all over thick ice4 ,so it is4 ,all that water was inside the chalk last night1 till it froze4 ,and then it came squeezing out of the holes in the chalk in strings1 as you may see it if you break the ice across4 ,now you may judge for yourself how much water a load of chalk will hold1 even on a dry summer's day4 ,and now1 if you'll excuse me1 sir1 ,i must be off to market4 ,was it all true that the farmer said8 ,quite true1 ,i believe4 ,he is not a scientific man--that is1 he does not know the chemical causes of all these things2 but his knowledge is sound and useful1 because it comes from long experience4 ,he and his forefathers1 perhaps for a thousand years and more1 have been farming this country1 reading ,madam ,how's books with very keen eyes1 experimenting and watching1 very carefully and rationally2 making mistakes often1 and failing and losing their crops and their money2 but learning from their mistakes1 till their empiric knowledge1 as it is called1 helps them to grow sometimes quite as good crops as if they had learned agricultural chemistry4 ,what he meant by the chalk sweetening the land you would not understand yet1 and ,i can hardly tell you2 for chemists are not yet agreed how it happens4 ,but he was right2 and right1 too1 what he told you about the water inside the chalk1 which is more important to us just now2 for1 if we follow it out1 we shall surely come to a cave at last4 ,so now for the water in the chalk4 ,you can see now why the chalk-downs at ,winchester are always green1 even in the hottest summer3 because ,madam ,how has put under them her great chalk sponge4 ,the winter rains soak into it2 and the summer heat draws that rain out of it again as invisible steam1 coming up from below1 to keep the roots of the turf cool and moist under the blazing sun4 ,you love that short turf well4 ,you love to run and race over the ,downs with your butterfly-net and hunt chalk-hill blues1 and marbled whites1 and spotted burnets1 till you are hot and tired2 and then to sit down and look at the quiet little old city below1 with the long cathedral roof1 and the tower of ,st4 ,cross1 and the gray old walls and buildings shrouded by noble trees1 all embosomed among the soft rounded lines of the chalk-hills2 and then you begin to feel very thirsty1 and cry1 ,oh1 if there were but springs and brooks in the ,downs1 as there are at home6 ,but all the hollows are as dry as the hill tops4 ,there is not a brook1 or the mark of a watercourse1 in one of them4 ,you are like the ,ancient ,mariner in the poem1 with ,water1 water1 every where1 ,nor any drop to drink4 ,to get that you must go down and down1 hundreds of feet1 to the green meadows through which silver ,itchen glides toward the sea4 ,there you stand upon the bridge1 and watch the trout in water so crystal-clear that you see every weed and pebble as if you looked through air4 ,if ever there was pure water1 you think1 that is pure4 ,is it so8 ,drink some4 ,wash your hands in it and try--,you feel that the water is rough1 hard 7as they call it71 quite different from the water at home1 which feels as soft as velvet4 ,what makes it so hard8 ,because it is full of invisible chalk4 ,in every gallon of that water there are1 perhaps1 fifteen grains of solid chalk1 which was once inside the heart of the hills above4 ,day and night1 year after year1 the chalk goes down to the sea2 and if there were such creatures as water-fairies--if it were true1 as the old ,greeks and ,romans thought1 that rivers were living things1 with a ,nymph who dwelt in each of them1 and was its goddess or its queen--then1 if your ears were opened to hear her1 the ,nymph of ,itchen might say to you-- ,so child1 you think that ,i do nothing but1 as your sister says when she sings ,mr4 ,tennyson's beautiful song1 ,i chatter over stony ways1 ,in little sharps and trebles1 ,i bubble into eddying bays1 ,i babble on the pebbles4 ,yes4 ,i do that3 and ,i love1 as the ,nymphs loved of old1 men who have eyes to see my beauty1 and ears to discern my song1 and to fit their own song to it1 and tell how ',i wind about1 and in and out1 ,with here a blossom sailing1 ,and here and there a lusty trout1 ,and here and there a grayling1 ',and here and there a foamy flake ,upon me1 as ,i travel ,with many a silvery waterbreak ,above the golden gravel1 ',and draw them all along1 and flow ,to join the brimming river1 ,for men may come and men may go1 ,but ,i go on for ever4' ,yes4 ,that is all true3 but if that were all1 ,i should not be let to flow on for ever1 in a world where ,lady ,why rules1 and ,madam ,how obeys4 ,i only exist 7like everything else1 from the sun in heaven to the gnat which dances in his beam7 on condition of working1 whether we wish it or not1 whether we know it or not4 ,i am not an idle stream1 only fit to chatter to those who bathe or fish in my waters1 or even to give poets beautiful fancies about me4 ,you little guess the work ,i do4 ,for ,i am one of the daughters of ,madam ,how1 and1 like her1 work night and day1 we know not why1 though ,lady ,why must know4 ,so day by day1 and night by night1 while you are sleeping 7for ,i never sleep71 ,i carry1 delicate and soft as ,i am1 a burden which giants could not bear3 and yet ,i am never tired4 ,every drop of rain which the south-west wind brings from the ,west ,indian seas gives me fresh life and strength to bear my burden2 and it has need to do so2 for every drop of rain lays a fresh burden on me4 ,every root and weed which grows in every field2 every dead leaf which falls in the highwoods of many a parish1 from the ,grange and ,woodmancote round to ,farleigh and ,preston1 and so to ,brighton and the ,alresford downs2--ay1 every atom of manure which the farmers put on the land--foul enough then1 but pure enough before it touches me--each of these1 giving off a tiny atom of what men call carbonic acid1 melts a tiny grain of chalk1 and helps to send it down through the solid hill by one of the million pores and veins which at once feed and burden my springs4 ,ages on ages ,i have worked on thus1 carrying the chalk into the sea4 ,and ages on ages1 it may be1 ,i shall work on yet2 till ,i have done my work at last1 and levelled the high downs into a flat sea-shore1 with beds of flint gravel rattling in the shallow waves4 ,she might tell you that2 and when she had told you1 you would surely think of the clumsy chalk-cart rumbling down the hill1 and then of the graceful stream1 bearing silently its invisible load of chalk2 and see how much more delicate and beautiful1 as well as vast and wonderful1 ,madam ,how's work is than that of man4 ,but if you asked the nymph why she worked on for ever1 she could not tell you4 ,for like the ,nymphs of old1 and the ,hamadryads who lived1 in trees1 and ,undine1 and the little ,sea-maiden1 she would have no soul2 no reason2 no power to say why4 ,it is for you1 who are a reasonable being1 to guess why3 or at least listen to me if ,i guess for you1 and say1 perhaps--,i can only say perhaps--that chalk may be going to make layers of rich marl in the sea between ,england and ,france2 and those marl-beds may be upheaved and grow into dry land1 and be ploughed1 and sowed1 and reaped by a wiser race of men1 in a better-ordered world than this3 or the chalk may have even a nobler destiny before it4 ,that may happen to it1 which has happened already to many a grain of lime4 ,it may be carried thousands of miles away to help in building up a coral reef 7what that is ,i must tell you afterwards74 ,that coral reef may harden into limestone beds4 ,those beds may be covered up1 pressed1 and1 it may be1 heated1 till they crystallise into white marble3 and out of it fairer statues be carved1 and grander temples built1 than the world has ever yet seen4 ,and if that is not the reason why the chalk is being sent into the sea1 then there is another reason1 and probably a far better one4 ,for1 as ,i told you at first1 ,lady ,why's intentions are far wiser and better than our fancies2 and she--like ,him whom she obeys--is able to do exceeding abundantly1 beyond all that we can ask or think4 ,but you will say now that we have followed the chalk-cart a long way1 without coming to the cave4 ,you are wrong4 ,we have come to the very mouth of the cave4 ,all we have to do is to say--not ,open ,sesame1 like ,ali ,baba in the tale of the ,forty ,thieves--but some word or two which ,madam ,why will teach us1 and forthwith a hill will open1 and we shall walk in1 and behold rivers and cascades underground1 stalactite pillars and stalagmite statues1 and all the wonders of the grottoes of ,adelsberg1 ,antiparos1 or ,kentucky4 ,am ,i joking8 ,yes1 and yet no2 for you know that when ,i joke ,i am usually most in earnest4 ,at least1 ,i am now4 ,but there are no caves in chalk8 ,no1 not that ,i ever heard of4 ,there are1 though1 in limestone1 which is only a harder kind of chalk4 ,madam ,how could turn this chalk into hard limestone1 ,i believe1 even now2 and in more ways than one3 but in ways which would not be very comfortable or profitable for us ,southern folk who live on it4 ,i am afraid that--what between squeezing and heating--she would flatten us all out into phosphatic fossils1 about an inch thick2 and turn ,winchester city into a breccia which would puzzle geologists a hundred thousand years hence4 ,so we will hope that she will leave our chalk downs for the ,itchen to wash gently away1 while we talk about caves1 and how ,madam ,how scoops them out by water underground1 just in the same way1 only more roughly1 as she melts the chalk4 ,suppose1 then1 that these hills1 instead of being soft1 spongy chalk1 were all hard limestone marble1 like that of which the font in the church is made4 ,then the rainwater1 instead of sinking through the chalk as now1 would run over the ground down-hill1 and if it came to a crack 7a fault1 as it is called7 it would run down between the rock2 and as it ran it would eat that hole wider and wider year by year1 and make a swallow- hole--such as you may see in plenty if you ever go up ,whernside1 or any of the high hills in ,yorkshire--unfathomable pits in the green turf1 in which you may hear the water tinkling and trickling far1 far underground4 ,and now1 before we go a step farther1 you may understand1 why the bones of animals are so often found in limestone caves4 ,down such swallow-holes how many beasts must fall3 either in hurry and fright1 when hunted by lions and bears and such cruel beasts2 or more often still in time of snow1 when the holes are covered with drift2 or1 again1 if they died on the open hill-sides1 their bones might be washed in1 in floods1 along with mud and stones1 and buried with them in the cave below2 and beside that1 lions and bears and hyaenas might live in the caves below1 as we know they did in some caves1 and drag in bones through the caves' mouths2 or1 again1 savages might live in that cave1 and bring in animals to eat1 like the wild beasts2 and so those bones might be mixed up1 as we know they were1 with things which the savages had left behind--like flint tools or beads2 and then the whole would be hardened1 by the dripping of the limestone water1 into a paste of breccia just like this in my drawer4 ,but the bones of the savages themselves you would seldom or never find mixed in it--unless some one had fallen in by accident from above4 ,and why8 7,for there is a ,why8 to that question3 and not merely a ,how87 ,simply because they were men2 and because ,god has put into the hearts of all men1 even of the lowest savages1 some sort of reverence for those who are gone2 and has taught them to bury1 or in some other way take care of1 their bones4 ,but how is the swallow-hole sure to end in a cave8 ,because it cannot help making a cave for itself if it has time4 ,think3 and you will see that it must be so4 ,for that water must run somewhere2 and so it eats its way out between the beds of the rock1 making underground galleries1 and at last caves and lofty halls4 ,for it always eats1 remember1 at the bottom of its channel1 leaving the roof alone4 ,so it eats1 and eats1 more in some places and less in others1 according as the stone is harder or softer1 and according to the different direction of the rock-beds 7what we call their dip and strike72 till at last it makes one of those wonderful caverns about which you are so fond of reading--such a cave as there actually is in the rocks of the mountain of ,whernside1 fed by the swallow-holes around the mountain-top2 a cave hundreds of yards long1 with halls1 and lakes1 and waterfalls1 and curtains and festoons of stalactite which have dripped from the roof1 and pillars of stalagmite which have been built up on the floor below4 ,these stalactites 7those tell me who have seen them7 are among the most beautiful of all ,madam ,how's work2 sometimes like branches of roses or of grapes2 sometimes like statues2 sometimes like delicate curtains1 and ,i know not what other beautiful shapes4 ,i have never seen them1 ,i am sorry to say1 and therefore ,i cannot describe them4 ,but they are all made in the same way2 just in the same way as those little straight stalactites which you may have seen hanging1 like icicles1 in vaulted cellars1 or under the arches of a bridge4 ,the water melts more lime than it can carry1 and drops some of it again1 making fresh limestone grain by grain as it drips from the roof above2 and fresh limestone again where it splashes on the floor below3 till if it dripped long enough1 the stalactite hanging from above would meet the stalagmite rising from below1 and join in one straight round white graceful shaft1 which would seem 7but only seem7 to support the roof of the cave4 ,and out of that cave--though not always out of the mouth of it--will run a stream of water1 which seems to you clear as crystal1 though it is actually1 like the ,itchen at ,winchester1 full of lime2 so full of lime1 that it makes beds of fresh limestone1 which are called travertine--which you may see in ,italy1 and ,greece1 and ,asia ,minor3 or perhaps it petrifies1 as you call it1 the weeds in its bed1 like that dropping-well at ,knaresborough1 of which you have often seen a picture4 ,and the cause is this3 the water is so full of lime1 that it is forced to throw away some of it upon everything it touches1 and so incrusts with stone--though it does not turn to stone--almost anything you put in it4 ,you have seen1 or ought to have seen1 petrified moss and birds' nests and such things from ,knaresborough ,well3 and now you know a little1 though only a very little1 of how the pretty toys are made4 ,now if you can imagine for yourself 7though ,i suppose a little boy cannot7 the amount of lime which one of these subterranean rivers would carry away1 gnawing underground centuries after centuries1 day and night1 summer and winter1 then you will not be surprised at the enormous size of caverns which may be seen in different parts of the world--but always1 ,i believe1 in limestone rock4 ,you would not be surprised 7though you would admire them7 at the caverns of ,adelsberg1 in ,carniola 7in the south of ,austria1 near the top of the ,adriatic71 which runs1 ,i believe1 for miles in length2 and in the lakes of which1 in darkness from its birth until its death1 lives that strange beast1 the ,proteus a sort of long newt which never comes to perfection--,i suppose for want of the genial sunlight which makes all things grow4 ,but he is blind2 and more1 he keeps all his life the same feathery gills which newts have when they are babies1 and which we have so often looked at through the microscope1 to see the blood-globules run round and round inside4 ,you would not wonder1 either1 at the ,czirknitz ,lake1 near the same place1 which at certain times of the year vanishes suddenly through chasms under water1 sucking the fish down with it2 and after a certain time boils suddenly up again from the depths1 bringing back with it the fish1 who have been swimming comfortably all the time in a subterranean lake2 and bringing back1 too 7and1 extraordinary as this story is1 there is good reason to believe it true71 live wild ducks who went down small and unfledged1 and come back full-grown and fat1 with water-weeds and small fish in their stomachs1 showing they have had plenty to feed on underground4 ,but--and this is the strangest part of the story1 if true--they come up unfledged just as they went down1 and are moreover blind from having been so long in darkness4 ,after a while1 however1 folks say their eyes get right1 their feathers grow1 and they fly away like other birds4 ,neither would you be surprised 7if you recollect that ,madam ,how is a very old lady indeed1 and that some of her work is very old likewise7 at that ,mammoth ,cave in ,kentucky1 the largest cave in the known world1 through which you may walk nearly ten miles on end1 and in which a hundred miles of gallery have been explored already1 and yet no end found to the cave4 ,in it 7the guides will tell you7 there are #bbf avenues1 #dg domes1 #h cataracts1 #bc pits1 and several rivers2 and if that fact is not very interesting to you 7as it certainly is not to me7 ,i will tell you something which ought to interest you3 that this cave is so immensely old that various kinds of little animals1 who have settled themselves in the outer parts of it1 have had time to change their shape1 and to become quite blind2 so that blind fathers and mothers have blind children1 generation after generation4 ,there are blind rats there1 with large shining eyes which cannot see--blind landcrabs1 who have the foot-stalks of their eyes 7you may see them in any crab7 still left2 but the eyes which should be on the top of them are gone4 ,there are blind fish1 too1 in the cave1 and blind insects2 for1 if they have no use for their eyes in the dark1 why should ,madam ,how take the trouble to finish them off8 ,one more cave ,i must tell you of1 to show you how old some caves must be1 and then ,i must stop2 and that is the cave of ,caripe1 in ,venezuela1 which is the most northerly part of ,south ,america4 ,there1 in the face of a limestone cliff1 crested with enormous flowering trees1 and festooned with those lovely creepers of which you have seen a few small ones in hothouses1 there opens an arch as big as the west front of ,winchester ,cathedral1 and runs straight in like a cathedral nave for more than #adjj feet4 ,out of it runs a stream2 and along the banks of that stream1 as far as the sunlight strikes in1 grow wild bananas1 and palms1 and lords and ladies 7as you call them71 which are not1 like ours1 one foot1 but many feet high4 ,beyond that the cave goes on1 with subterranean streams1 cascades1 and halls1 no man yet knows how far4 ,a friend of mine last year went in farther1 ,i believe1 than any one yet has gone2 but1 instead of taking ,indian torches made of bark and resin1 or even torches made of ,spanish wax1 such as a brave bishop of those parts used once when he went in farther than any one before him1 he took with him some of that beautiful magnesium light which you have seen often here at home4 ,and in one place1 when he lighted up the magnesium1 he found himself in a hall full #cjj feet high--higher far1 that is1 than the dome of ,st4 ,paul's--and a very solemn thought it was to him1 he said1 that he had seen what no other human being ever had seen2 and that no ray of light had ever struck on that stupendous roof in all the ages since the making of the world4 ,but if he found out something which he did not expect1 he was disappointed in something which he did expect4 ,for the ,indians warned him of a hole in the floor which 7they told him7 was an unfathomable abyss4 ,and lo and behold1 when he turned the magnesium light upon it1 the said abyss was just about eight feet deep4 ,but it is no wonder that the poor ,indians with their little smoky torches should make such mistakes2 no wonder1 too1 that they should be afraid to enter far into those gloomy vaults2 that they should believe that the souls of their ancestors live in that dark cave2 and that they should say that when they die they will go to the ,guacharos1 as they call the birds that fly with doleful screams out of the cave to feed at night1 and in again at daylight1 to roost and sleep4 ,now1 it is these very ,guacharo birds which are to me the most wonderful part of the story4 ,the ,indians kill and eat them for their fat1 although they believe they have to do with evil spirits4 ,but scientific men who have studied these birds will tell you that they are more wonderful than if all the ,indians' fancies about them were true4 ,they are great birds1 more than three feet across the wings1 somewhat like owls1 somewhat like cuckoos1 somewhat like goatsuckers2 but1 on the whole1 unlike anything in the world but themselves2 and instead of feeding on moths or mice1 they feed upon hard dry fruits1 which they pick off the trees after the set of sun4 ,and wise men will tell you1 that in making such a bird as that1 and giving it that peculiar way of life1 and settling it in that cavern1 and a few more caverns in that part of the world1 and therefore in making the caverns ready for them to live in1 ,madam ,how must have taken ages and ages1 more than you can imagine or count4 ,but that is among the harder lessons which come in the latter part of ,madam ,how's book4 ,children need not learn them yet2 and they can never learn them1 unless they master her alphabet1 and her short and easy lessons for beginners1 some of which ,i am trying to teach you now4 ,but ,i have just recollected that we are a couple of very stupid fellows4 ,we have been talking all this time about chalk and limestone1 and have forgotten to settle what they are1 and how they were made4 ,we must think of that next time4 ,it will not do for us 7at least if we mean to be scientific men7 to use terms without defining them2 in plain ,english1 to talk about--we don't know what4 ,,chapter ,,viii--,,madam ,,how',s ,,two ,,grandsons ,you want to know1 then1 what chalk is8 ,i suppose you mean what chalk is made of8 ,yes4 ,that is it4 ,that we can only help by calling in the help of a very great giant whose name is ,analysis4 ,a giant8 ,yes4 ,and before we call for him ,i will tell you a very curious story about him and his younger brother1 which is every word of it true4 ,once upon a time1 certainly as long ago as the first man1 or perhaps the first rational being of any kind1 was created1 ,madam ,how had two grandsons4 ,the elder is called ,analysis1 and the younger ,synthesis4 ,as for who their father and mother were1 there have been so many disputes on that question that ,i think children may leave it alone for the present4 ,for my part1 ,i believe that they are both1 like ,st4 ,patrick1 gentlemen1 and come of decent people2 and ,i have a great respect and affection for them both1 as long as each keeps in his own place and minds his own business4 ,now you must understand that1 as soon as these two baby giants were born1 ,lady ,why1 who sets everything to do that work for which it is exactly fitted1 set both of them their work4 ,analysis was to take to pieces everything he found1 and find out how it was made4 ,synthesis was to put the pieces together again1 and make something fresh out of them4 ,in a word1 ,analysis was to teach men ,science2 and ,synthesis to teach them ,art4 ,but because ,analysis was the elder1 ,madam ,how commanded ,synthesis never to put the pieces together till ,analysis had taken them completely apart4 ,and1 my child1 if ,synthesis had obeyed that rule of his good old grandmother's1 the world would have been far happier1 wealthier1 wiser1 and better than it is now4 ,but ,synthesis would not4 ,he grew up a very noble boy4 ,he could carve1 he could paint1 he could build1 he could make music1 and write poems3 but he was full of conceit and haste4 ,whenever his elder brother tried to do a little patient work in taking things to pieces1 ,synthesis snatched the work out of his hands before it was a quarter done1 and began putting it together again to suit his own fancy1 and1 of course1 put it together wrong4 ,then he went on to bully his elder brother1 and locked him up in prison1 and starved him1 till for many hundred years poor ,analysis never grew at all1 but remained dwarfed1 and stupid1 and all but blind for want of light2 while ,synthesis1 and all the hasty conceited people who followed him1 grew stout and strong and tyrannous1 and overspread the whole world1 and ruled it at their will4 ,but the fault of all the work of ,synthesis was just this3 that it would not work4 ,his watches would not keep time1 his soldiers would not fight1 his ships would not sail1 his houses would not keep the rain out4 ,so every time he failed in his work he had to go to poor ,analysis in his dungeon1 and bully him into taking a thing or two to pieces1 and giving him a few sound facts out of them1 just to go on with till he came to grief again1 boasting in the meantime that he and not ,analysis had found out the facts4 ,and at last he grew so conceited that he fancied he knew all that ,madam ,how could teach him1 or ,lady ,why either1 and that he understood all things in heaven and earth2 while it was not the real heaven and earth that he was thinking of1 but a sham heaven and a sham earth1 which he had built up out of his guesses and his own fancies4 ,and the more ,synthesis waxed in pride1 and the more he trampled upon his poor brother1 the more reckless he grew1 and the more willing to deceive himself4 ,if his real flowers would not grow1 he cut out paper flowers1 and painted them and said that they would do just as well as natural ones4 ,if his dolls would not work1 he put strings and wires behind them to make them nod their heads and open their eyes1 and then persuaded other people1 and perhaps half-persuaded himself1 that they were alive4 ,if the hand of his weather-glass went down1 he nailed it up to insure a fine day1 and tortured1 burnt1 or murdered every one who said it did not keep up of itself4 ,and many other foolish and wicked things he did1 which little boys need not hear of yet4 ,but at last his punishment came1 according to the laws of his grandmother1 ,madam ,how1 which are like the laws of the ,medes and ,persians1 and alter not1 as you and all mankind will sooner or later find2 for he grew so rich and powerful that he grew careless and lazy1 and thought about nothing but eating and drinking1 till people began to despise him more and more4 ,and one day he left the dungeon of ,analysis so ill guarded1 that ,analysis got out and ran away4 ,great was the hue and cry after him2 and terribly would he have been punished had he been caught4 ,but1 lo and behold1 folks had grown so disgusted with ,synthesis that they began to take the part of ,analysis4 ,poor men hid him in their cottages1 and scholars in their studies4 ,and when war arose about him1--and terrible wars did arise1--good kings1 wise statesmen1 gallant soldiers1 spent their treasure and their lives in fighting for him4 ,all honest folk welcomed him1 because he was honest2 and all wise folk used him1 for1 instead of being a conceited tyrant like ,synthesis1 he showed himself the most faithful1 diligent1 humble of servants1 ready to do every man's work1 and answer every man's questions4 ,and among them all he got so well fed that he grew very shortly into the giant that he ought to have been all along2 and was1 and will be for many a year to come1 perfectly able to take care of himself4 ,as for poor ,synthesis1 he really has fallen so low in these days1 that one cannot but pity him4 ,he now goes about humbly after his brother1 feeding on any scraps that are thrown to him1 and is snubbed and rapped over the knuckles1 and told one minute to hold his tongue and mind his own business1 and the next that he has no business at all to mind1 till he has got into such a poor way that some folks fancy he will die1 and are actually digging his grave already1 and composing his epitaph4 ,but they are trying to wear the bear's skin before the bear is killed2 for ,synthesis is not dead1 nor anything like it2 and he will rise up again some day1 to make good friends with his brother ,analysis1 and by his help do nobler and more beautiful work than he has ever yet done in the world4 ,so now ,analysis has got the upper hand2 so much so that he is in danger of being spoilt by too much prosperity1 as his brother was before him2 in which case he too will have his fall2 and a great deal of good it will do him4 ,and that is the end of my story1 and a true story it is4 ,now you must remember1 whenever you have to do with him1 that ,analysis1 like fire1 is a very good servant1 but a very bad master4 ,for1 having got his freedom only of late years or so1 he is1 like young men when they come suddenly to be their own masters1 apt to be conceited1 and to fancy that he knows everything1 when really he knows nothing1 and can never know anything1 but only knows about things1 which is a very different matter4 ,indeed1 nowadays he pretends that he can teach his old grandmother1 ,madam ,how1 not only how to suck eggs1 but to make eggs into the bargain2 while the good old lady just laughs at him kindly1 and lets him run on1 because she knows he will grow wiser in time1 and learn humility by his mistakes and failures1 as ,i hope you will from yours4 ,however1 ,analysis is a very clever young giant1 and can do wonderful work as long as he meddles only with dead things1 like this bit of lime4 ,he can take it to pieces1 and tell you of what things it is made1 or seems to be made2 and take them to pieces again1 and tell you what each of them is made of2 and so on1 till he gets conceited1 and fancies that he can find out some one ,thing of all things 7which he calls matter71 of which all other things are made2 and some ,way of all ways 7which he calls force71 by which all things are made3 but when he boasts in that way1 old ,madam ,how smiles1 and says1 ,my child1 before you can say that1 you must remember a hundred things which you are forgetting1 and learn a hundred thousand things which you do not know2 and then she just puts her hand over his eyes1 and ,master ,analysis begins groping in the dark1 and talking the saddest nonsense4 ,so beware of him1 and keep him in his own place1 and to his own work1 or he will flatter you1 and get the mastery of you1 and persuade you that he can teach you a thousand things of which he knows no more than he does why a duck's egg never hatches into a chicken4 ,and remember1 if ,master ,analysis ever grows saucy and conceited with you1 just ask him that last riddle1 and you will shut him up at once4 ,and why8 ,because ,analysis can only explain to you a little about dead things1 like stones--inorganic things as they are called4 ,living things--organisms1 as they are called--he cannot explain to you at all4 ,when he meddles with them1 he always ends like the man who killed his goose to get the golden eggs4 ,he has to kill his goose1 or his flower1 or his insect1 before he can analyse it2 and then it is not a goose1 but only the corpse of a goose2 not a flower1 but only the dead stuff of the flower4 ,and therefore he will never do anything but fail1 when he tries to find out the life in things4 ,how can he1 when he has to take the life out of them first8 ,he could not even find out how a plum-pudding is made by merely analysing it4 ,he might part the sugar1 and the flour1 and the suet2 he might even 7for he is very clever1 and very patient too1 the more honour to him7 take every atom of sugar out of the flour with which it had got mixed1 and every atom of brown colour which had got out of the plums and currants into the body of the pudding1 and then1 for aught ,i know1 put the colouring matter back again into the plums and currants2 and then1 for aught ,i know1 turn the boiled pudding into a raw one again1--for he is a great conjurer1 as ,madam ,how's grandson is bound to be3 but yet he would never find out how the pudding was made1 unless some one told him the great secret which the sailors in the old story forgot--that the cook boiled it in a cloth4 ,this is ,analysis's weak point--don't let it be yours--that in all his calculations he is apt to forget the cloth1 and indeed the cook likewise4 ,no doubt he can analyse the matter of things3 but he will keep forgetting that he cannot analyse their form4 ,do ,i mean their shape8 ,no1 my child2 no4 ,i mean something which makes the shape of things1 and the matter of them likewise1 but which folks have lost sight of nowadays1 and do not seem likely to get sight of again for a few hundred years4 ,so ,i suppose that you need not trouble your head about it1 but may just follow the fashions as long as they last4 ,about this piece of lime1 however1 ,analysis can tell us a great deal4 ,and we may trust what he says1 and believe that he understands what he says4 ,why8 ,think now4 ,if you took your watch to pieces1 you would probably spoil it for ever2 you would have perhaps broken1 and certainly mislaid1 some of the bits2 and not even a watchmaker could put it together again4 ,you would have analysed the watch wrongly4 ,but if a watchmaker took it to pieces then any other watchmaker could put it together again to go as well as ever1 because they both understand the works1 how they fit into each other1 and what the use and the power of each is4 ,its being put together again rightly would be a proof that it had been taken to pieces rightly4 ,and so with ,master ,analysis4 ,if he can take a thing to pieces so that his brother ,synthesis can put it together again1 you may be sure that he has done his work rightly4 ,now he can take a bit of chalk to pieces1 so that it shall become several different things1 none of which is chalk1 or like chalk at all4 ,and then his brother ,synthesis can put them together again1 so that they shall become chalk1 as they were before4 ,he can do that very nearly1 but not quite4 ,there is1 in every average piece of chalk1 something which he cannot make into chalk again when he has once unmade it4 ,what that is ,i will show you presently2 and a wonderful tale hangs thereby4 ,but first we will let ,analysis tell us what chalk is made of1 as far as he knows4 ,he will say--,chalk is carbonate of lime4 ,but what is carbonate of lime made of8 ,lime and carbonic acid4 ,and what is lime8 ,the oxide of a certain metal1 called calcium4 ,what do you mean8 ,that quicklime is a certain metal mixed with oxygen gas2 and slacked lime is the same1 mixed with water4 ,so lime is a metal4 ,what is a metal8 ,nobody knows4 ,and what is oxygen gas8 ,nobody knows4 ,well1 ,analysis1 stops short very soon4 ,he does not seem to know much about the matter4 ,nay1 nay1 you are wrong there4 ,it is just about the matter that he does know1 and knows a great deal1 and very accurately2 what he does not know is the matter itself4 ,he will tell you wonderful things about oxygen gas--how the air is full of it1 the water full of it1 every living thing full of it2 how it changes hard bright steel into soft1 foul rust2 how a candle cannot burn without it1 or you live without it4 ,but what it is he knows not4 ,will he ever know8 ,that is ,lady ,why's concern1 and not ours4 ,meanwhile he has a right to find out if he can4 ,but what do you want to ask him next8 ,what8 ,oh6 ,what carbonic acid is4 ,he can tell you that4 ,carbon and oxygen gas4 ,but what is carbon8 ,nobody knows4 ,why1 here is this stupid ,analysis at fault again4 ,nay1 nay1 again4 ,be patient with him4 ,if he cannot tell you what carbon is1 he can tell you what is carbon1 which is well worth knowing4 ,he will tell you1 for instance1 that every time you breathe or speak1 what comes out of your mouth is carbonic acid2 and that1 if your breath comes on a bit of slacked lime1 it will begin to turn it back into the chalk from which it was made2 and that1 if your breath comes on the leaves of a growing plant1 that leaf will take the carbon out of it1 and turn it into wood4 ,and surely that is worth knowing1--that you may be helping to make chalk1 or to make wood1 every time you breathe4 ,well2 that is very curious4 ,but now1 ask him1 ,what is carbon8 ,and he will tell you1 that many things are carbon4 ,a diamond is carbon2 and so is blacklead2 and so is charcoal and coke1 and coal in part1 and wood in part4 ,what8 ,does ,analysis say that a diamond and charcoal are the same thing8 ,yes4 ,then his way of taking things to pieces must be a very clumsy one1 if he can find out no difference between diamond and charcoal4 ,well1 perhaps it is3 but you must remember that1 though he is very old--as old as the first man who ever lived--he has only been at school for the last three hundred years or so4 ,and remember1 too1 that he is not like you1 who have some one else to teach you4 ,he has had to teach himself1 and find out for himself1 and make his own tools1 and work in the dark besides4 ,and ,i think it is very much to his credit that he ever found out that diamond and charcoal were the same things4 ,you would never have found it out for yourself1 you will agree4 ,no3 but how did he do it8 ,he taught a very famous chemist1 ,lavoisier1 about ninety years ago1 how to burn a diamond in oxygen--and a very difficult trick that is2 and ,lavoisier found that the diamond when burnt turned almost entirely into carbonic acid and water1 as blacklead and charcoal do2 and more1 that each of them turned into the same quantity of carbonic acid1 ,and so he knew1 as surely as man can know anything1 that all these things1 however different to our eyes and fingers1 are really made of the same thing1--pure carbon4 ,but what makes them look and feel so different8 ,that ,analysis does not know yet4 ,perhaps he will find out some day2 for he is very patient1 and very diligent1 as you ought to be4 ,meanwhile1 be content with him3 remember that though he cannot see through a milestone yet1 he can see farther into one than his neighbours4 ,indeed his neighbours cannot see into a milestone at all1 but only see the outside of it1 and know things only by rote1 like parrots1 without understanding what they mean and how they are made4 ,so now remember that chalk is carbonate of lime1 and that it is made up of three things1 calcium1 oxygen1 and carbon2 and that therefore its mark is ,ca,c,o7#c71 in ,analysis's language1 which ,i hope you will be able to read some day4 ,but how is it that ,analysis and ,synthesis cannot take all this chalk to pieces1 and put it together again8 ,look here2 what is that in the chalk8 ,oh6 a shepherd's crown1 such as we often find in the gravel1 only fresh and white4 ,well2 you know what that was once4 ,i have often told you3--a live sea- egg1 covered with prickles1 which crawls at the bottom of the sea4 ,well1 ,i am sure that ,master ,synthesis could not put that together again3 and equally sure that ,master ,analysis might spend ages in taking it to pieces1 before he found out how it was made4 ,and--we are lucky to-day1 for this lower chalk to the south has very few fossils in it--here is something else which is not mere carbonate of lime4 ,look at it4 ,a little cockle1 something like a wrinkled hazel-nut4 ,no2 that is no cockle4 ,madam ,how invented that ages and ages before she thought of cockles1 and the animal which lived inside that shell was as different from a cockle-animal as a sparrow is from a dog4 ,that is a ,terebratula1 a gentleman of a very ancient and worn-out family4 ,he and his kin swarmed in the old seas1 even as far back as the time when the rocks of the ,welsh mountains were soft mud2 as you will know when you read that great book of ,sir ,roderick ,murchison's1 ,siluria4 ,but as the ages rolled on1 they got fewer and fewer1 these ,terebratulae2 and now there are hardly any of them left2 only six or seven sorts are left about these islands1 which cling to stones in deep water2 and the first time ,i dredged two of them out of ,loch ,fyne1 ,i looked at them with awe1 as on relics from another world1 which had lasted on through unnumbered ages and changes1 such as one's fancy could not grasp4 ,but you will agree that1 if ,master ,analysis took that shell to pieces1 ,master ,synthesis would not be likely to put it together again2 much less to put it together in the right way1 in which ,madam ,how made it4 ,and what was that8 ,by making a living animal1 which went on growing1 that is1 making itself2 and making1 as it grew1 its shell to live in4 ,synthesis has not found out yet the first step towards doing that2 and1 as ,i believe1 he never will4 ,but there would be no harm in his trying8 ,of course not4 ,let everybody try to do everything they fancy4 ,even if they fail1 they will have learnt at least that they cannot do it4 ,but now--and this is a secret which you would never find out for yourself1 at least without the help of a microscope--the greater part of this lump of chalk is made up of things which neither ,analysis can perfectly take to pieces1 nor ,synthesis put together again4 ,it is made of dead organisms1 that is1 things which have been made by living creatures4 ,if you washed and brushed that chalk into powder1 you would find it full of little things like the ,dentalina in this drawing1 and many other curious forms4 ,i will show you some under the microscope one day4 ,they are the shells of animals called ,foraminifera1 because the shells of some of them are full of holes1 through which they put out tiny arms4 ,so small they are and so many1 that there may be1 it is said1 forty thousand of them in a bit of chalk an inch every way4 ,in numbers past counting1 some whole1 some broken1 some ground to the finest powder1 they make up vast masses of ,england1 which are now chalk downs2 and in some foreign countries they make up whole mountains4 ,part of the building stone of the ,great ,pyramid in ,egypt is composed1 ,i am told1 entirely of them4 ,and how did they get into the chalk8 ,ah6 ,how indeed8 ,let us think4 ,the chalk must have been laid down at the bottom of a sea1 because there are sea-shells in it4 ,besides1 we find little atomies exactly like these alive now in many seas2 and therefore it is fair to suppose these lived in the sea also4 ,besides1 they were not washed into the chalk by any sudden flood4 ,the water in which they settled must have been quite still1 or these little delicate creatures would have been ground into powder--or rather into paste4 ,therefore learned men soon made up their minds that these things were laid down at the bottom of a deep sea1 so deep that neither wind1 nor tide1 nor currents could stir the everlasting calm4 ,ah6 it is worth thinking over1 for it shows how shrewd a giant ,analysis is1 and how fast he works in these days1 now that he has got free and well fed2--worth thinking over1 ,i say1 how our notions about these little atomies have changed during the last forty years4 ,we used to find them sometimes washed up among the sea-sand on the wild ,atlantic coast2 and we were taught1 in the days when old ,dr4 ,turton was writing his book on ,british shells at ,bideford1 to call them ,nautili1 because their shells were like ,nautilus shells4 ,men did not know then that the animal which lives in them is no more like a ,nautilus animal than it is like a cow4 ,for a ,nautilus1 you must know1 is made like a cuttlefish1 with eyes1 and strong jaws for biting1 and arms round them2 and has a heart1 and gills1 and a stomach2 and is altogether a very well-made beast1 and1 ,i suspect1 a terrible tyrant to little fish and sea-slugs1 just as the cuttlefish is4 ,but the creatures which live in these little shells are about the least finished of ,madam ,how's works4 ,they have neither mouth nor stomach1 eyes nor limbs4 ,they are mere live bags full of jelly1 which can take almost any shape they like1 and thrust out arms--or what serve for arms--through the holes in their shells1 and then contract them into themselves again1 as this ,globigerina does4 ,what they feed on1 how they grow1 how they make their exquisitely-formed shells1 whether1 indeed1 they are1 strictly speaking1 animals or vegetables1 ,analysis has not yet found out4 ,but when you come to read about them1 you will find that they1 in their own way1 are just as wonderful and mysterious as a butterfly or a rose2 and just as necessary1 likewise1 to ,madam ,how's work2 for out of them1 as ,i told you1 she makes whole sheets of down1 whole ranges of hills4 ,no one knew anything1 ,i believe1 about them1 save that two or three kinds of them were found in chalk1 till a famous ,frenchman1 called ,d',orbigny1 just thirty years ago1 told the world how he had found many beautiful fresh kinds2 and1 more strange still1 that some of these kinds were still alive at the bottom of the ,adriatic1 and of the harbour of ,alexandria1 in ,egypt4 ,then in #ahda a gentleman named ,edward ,forbes1--now with ,god--whose name will be for ever dear to all who love science1 and honour genius and virtue1--found in the ,a,egean ,sea a bed of chalk1 he said1 full of ,foraminifera1 and shells of ,pteropods1 forming at the bottom of the sea4 ,and what are ,pteropods8 ,what you might call sea-moths 7though they are not really moths71 which swim about on the surface of the water1 while the right-whales suck them in tens of thousands into the great whalebone net which fringes their jaws4 ,here are drawings of them4 #a4 ,limacina 7on which the whales feed72 and #b4 ,hyalea1 a lovely little thing in a glass shell1 which lives in the ,mediterranean4 ,but since then strange discoveries have been made1 especially by the naval officers who surveyed the bottom of the great ,atlantic ,ocean before laying down the electric cable between ,ireland and ,america4 ,and this is what they found3 ,that at the bottom of the ,atlantic were vast plains of soft mud1 in some places #bejj fathoms 7#ae1jjj feet7 deep2 that is1 as deep as the ,alps are high4 ,and more3 they found out1 to their surprise1 that the oozy mud of the ,atlantic floor was made up almost entirely of just the same atomies as make up our chalk1 especially globigerinas2 that1 in fact1 a vast bed of chalk was now forming at the bottom of the ,atlantic1 with living shells and sea-animals of the most brilliant colours crawling about on it in black darkness1 and beds of sponges growing out of it1 just as the sponges grew at the bottom of the old chalk ocean1 and were all1 generation after generation1 turned into flints4 ,and1 for reasons which you will hardly understand1 men are beginning now to believe that the chalk has never ceased to be made1 somewhere or other1 for many thousand years1 ever since the ,winchester ,downs were at the bottom of the sea3 and that the ,globigerina-mud is not merely a chalk formation1 but a continuation of the chalk formation1 so that we may be said to be still living in the age of ,chalk4 #a ,ah1 my little man1 what would ,i not give to see you1 before ,i die1 add one such thought as that to the sum of human knowledge6 ,so there the little creatures have been lying1 making chalk out of the lime in the sea-water1 layer over layer1 the young over the old1 the dead over the living1 year after year1 age after age--for how long8 ,who can tell8 ,how deep the layer of new chalk at the bottom of the ,atlantic is1 we can never know4 ,but the layer of live atomies on it is not an inch thick1 probably not a tenth of an inch4 ,and if it grew a tenth of an inch a year1 or even a whole inch1 how many years must it have taken to make the chalk of our downs1 which is in some parts #acjj feet thick8 ,how many inches are there in #acjj feet8 ,do that sum1 and judge for yourself4 ,one difference will be found between the chalk now forming at the bottom of the ocean1 if it ever become dry land1 and the chalk on which you tread on the downs4 ,the new chalk will be full of the teeth and bones of whales--warm-blooded creatures1 who suckle their young like cows1 instead of laying eggs1 like birds and fish4 ,for there were no whales in the old chalk ocean2 but our modern oceans are full of cachalots1 porpoises1 dolphins1 swimming in shoals round any ship2 and their bones and teeth1 and still more their ear-bones1 will drop to the bottom as they die1 and be found1 ages hence1 in the mud which the live atomies make1 along with wrecks of mighty ships ,great anchors1 heaps of pearl1 and all that man has lost in the deep seas4 ,and sadder fossils yet1 my child1 will be scattered on those white plains3-- ,to them the love of woman hath gone down1 ,dark roll their waves o'er manhood's noble head4 ,o'er youth's bright locks1 and beauty's flowing crown2 ,yet shall they hear a voice1 ',restore the dead4' ,earth shall reclaim her precious things from thee4 ,give back the dead1 thou ,sea6 ,,chapter ,,ix--,,the ,,coral-,,reef ,now you want to know what ,i meant when ,i talked of a bit of lime going out to sea1 and forming part of a coral island1 and then of a limestone rock1 and then of a marble statue4 ,very good4 ,then look at this stone4 ,what a curious stone6 ,did it come from any place near here8 ,no4 ,it came from near ,dudley1 in ,staffordshire1 where the soils are worlds on worlds older than they are here1 though they were made in the same way as these and all other soils4 ,but you are not listening to me4 ,why1 the stone is full of shells1 and bits of coral2 and what are these wonderful things coiled and tangled together1 like the snakes in ,medusa's hair in the picture8 ,are they snakes8 ,if they are1 then they must be snakes who have all one head2 for see1 they are joined together at their larger ends2 and snakes which are branched1 too1 which no snake ever was4 ,yes4 ,i suppose they are not snakes4 ,and they grow out of a flower1 too2 and it has a stalk1 jointed1 too1 as plants sometimes are2 and as fishes' backbones are too4 ,is it a petrified plant or flower8 ,no2 though ,i do not deny that it looks like one4 ,the creature most akin to it which you ever saw is a star-fish4 ,what6 one of the red star-fishes which one finds on the beach8 ,its arms are not branched4 ,no4 ,but there are star-fishes with branched arms still in the sea4 ,you know that pretty book 7and learned book1 too71 ,forbes's ,british ,star- fishes8 ,you like to look it through for the sake of the vignettes1--the mermaid and her child playing in the sea4 ,oh yes1 and the kind bogie who is piping while the sandstars dance2 and the other who is trying to pull out the star-fish which the oyster has caught4 ,yes4 ,but do you recollect the drawing of the ,medusa's head1 with its curling arms1 branched again and again without end8 ,here it is4 ,no1 you shall not look at the vignettes now4 ,we must mind business4 ,now look at this one2 the ,feather-star1 with arms almost like fern-fronds4 ,and in foreign seas there are many other branched star-fish beside4 ,but they have no stalks8 ,do not be too sure of that4 ,this very feather-star1 soon after it is born1 grows a tiny stalk1 by which it holds on to corallines and sea-weeds2 and it is not till afterwards that it breaks loose from that stalk1 and swims away freely into the wide water4 ,and in foreign seas there are several star-fish still who grow on stalks all their lives1 as this fossil one did4 ,how strange that a live animal should grow on a stalk1 like a flower6 ,not quite like a flower4 ,a flower has roots1 by which it feeds in the soil4 ,these things grow more like sea-weeds1 which have no roots1 but only hold on to the rock by the foot of the stalk1 as a ship holds on by her anchor4 ,but as for its being strange that live animals should grow on stalks1 if it be strange it is common enough1 like many far stranger things4 ,for under the water are millions on millions of creatures1 spreading for miles on miles1 building up at last great reefs of rocks1 and whole islands1 which all grow rooted first to the rock1 like sea-weeds2 and what is more1 they grow1 most of them1 from one common root1 branching again and again1 and every branchlet bearing hundreds of living creatures1 so that the whole creation is at once one creature and many creatures4 ,do you not understand me8 ,no4 ,then fancy to yourself a bush like that hawthorn bush1 with numberless blossoms1 and every blossom on that bush a separate living thing1 with its own mouth1 and arms1 and stomach1 budding and growing fresh live branches and fresh live flowers1 as fast as the old ones die3 and then you will see better what ,i mean4 ,how wonderful6 ,yes2 but not more wonderful than your finger1 for it1 too1 is made up of numberless living things4 ,my finger made of living things8 ,what else can it be8 ,when you cut your finger1 does not the place heal8 ,of course4 ,and what is healing but growing again8 ,and how could the atoms of your fingers grow1 and make fresh skin1 if they were not each of them alive8 ,there1 ,i will not puzzle you with too much at once2 you will know more about all that some day4 ,only remember now1 that there is nothing wonderful in the world outside you but has its counterpart of something just as wonderful1 and perhaps more wonderful1 inside you4 ,man is the microcosm1 the little world1 said the philosophers of old2 and philosophers nowadays are beginning to see that their old guess is actual fact and true4 ,but what are these curious sea-creatures called1 which are animals1 yet grow like plants8 ,they have more names than ,i can tell you1 or you remember4 ,those which helped to make this bit of stone are called coral-insects3 but they are not really insects1 and are no more like insects than you are4 ,coral-polypes is the best name for them1 because they have arms round their mouths1 something like a cuttlefish1 which the ancients called ,polypus4 ,but the animal which you have seen likest to most of them is a sea-anemone4 ,look now at this piece of fresh coral--for coral it is1 though not like the coral which your sister wears in her necklace4 ,you see it is full of pipes2 in each of those pipes has lived what we will call1 for the time being1 a tiny sea-anemone1 joined on to his brothers by some sort of flesh and skin2 and all of them together have built up1 out of the lime in the sea-water1 this common house1 or rather town1 of lime4 ,but is it not strange and wonderful8 ,of course it is3 but so is everything when you begin to look into it2 and if ,i were to go on1 and tell you what sort of young ones these coral-polypes have1 and what becomes of them1 you would hear such wonders1 that you would be ready to suspect that ,i was inventing nonsense1 or talking in my dreams4 ,but all that belongs to ,madam ,how's deepest book of all1 which is called the ,,book ,,of ,,kind3 the book which children cannot understand1 and in which only the very wisest men are able to spell out a few words1 not knowing1 and of course not daring to guess1 what wonder may come next4 ,now we will go back to our stone1 and talk about how it was made1 and how the stalked star-fish1 which you mistook for a flower1 ever got into the stone4 ,then do you think me silly for fancying that a fossil star-fish was a flower8 ,i should be silly if ,i did4 ,there is no silliness in not knowing what you cannot know4 ,you can only guess about new things1 which you have never seen before1 by comparing them with old things1 which you have seen before2 and you had seen flowers1 and snakes1 and fishes' backbones1 and made a very fair guess from them4 ,after all1 some of these stalked star- fish are so like flowers1 lilies especially1 that they are called ,encrinites2 and the whole family is called ,crinoids1 or lily-like creatures1 from the ,greek work krinon1 a lily2 and as for corals and corallines1 learned men1 in spite of all their care and shrewdness1 made mistake after mistake about them1 which they had to correct again and again1 till now1 ,i trust1 they have got at something very like the truth4 ,no1 ,i shall only call you silly if you do what some little boys are apt to do--call other boys1 and1 still worse1 servants or poor people1 silly for not knowing what they cannot know4 ,but are not poor people often very silly about animals and plants8 ,the boys at the village school say that slowworms are poisonous2 is not that silly8 ,not at all4 ,they know that adders bite1 and so they think that slowworms bite too4 ,they are wrong2 and they must be told that they are wrong1 and scolded if they kill a slowworm4 ,but silly they are not4 ,but is it not silly to fancy that swallows sleep all the winter at the bottom of the pond8 ,i do not think so4 ,the boys cannot know where the swallows go2 and if you told them--what is true--that the swallows find their way every autumn through ,france1 through ,spain1 over the ,straits of ,gibraltar1 into ,morocco1 and some1 ,i believe1 over the great desert of ,zahara into ,negroland3 and if you told them--what is true also--that the young swallows actually find their way into ,africa without having been along the road before2 because the old swallows go south a week or two first1 and leave the young ones to guess out the way for themselves3 if you told them that1 then they would have a right to say1 ,do you expect us to believe that8 ,that is much more wonderful than that the swallows should sleep in the pond4 ,but is it8 ,yes2 to them4 ,they know that bats and dormice and other things sleep all the winter2 so why should not swallows sleep8 ,they see the swallows about the water1 and often dipping almost into it4 ,they know that fishes live under water1 and that many insects--like ,may-flies and caddis-flies and water-beetles--live sometimes in the water1 sometimes in the open air2 and they cannot know--you do not know--what it is which prevents a bird's living under water4 ,so their guess is really a very fair one2 no more silly than that of the savages1 who when they first saw the white men's ships1 with their huge sails1 fancied they were enormous sea-birds2 and when they heard the cannons fire1 said that the ships spoke in thunder and lightning4 ,their guess was wrong1 but not silly2 for it was the best guess they could make4 ,but ,i do know of one old woman who was silly4 ,she was a boy's nurse1 and she gave the boy a thing which she said was one of the snakes which ,st4 ,hilda turned into stone2 and told him that they found plenty of them at ,whitby1 where she was born1 all coiled up2 but what was very odd1 their heads had always been broken of4 ,and when he took it1 to his father1 he told him it was only a fossil shell--an ,ammonite4 ,and he went back and laughed at his nurse1 and teased her till she was quite angry4 ,then he was very lucky that she did not box his ears1 for that was what he deserved4 ,i dare say that1 though his nurse had never heard of ,ammonites1 she was a wise old dame enough1 and knew a hundred things which he did not know1 and which were far more important than ,ammonites1 even to him4 ,how8 ,because if she had not known how to nurse him well1 he would perhaps have never grown up alive and strong4 ,and if she had not known how to make him obey and speak the truth1 he might have grown up a naughty boy4 ,but was she not silly8 ,no4 ,she only believed what the ,whitby folk1 ,i understand1 have some of them believed for many hundred years4 ,and no one can be blamed for thinking as his forefathers did1 unless he has cause to know better4 ,surely she might have known better8 ,how8 ,what reason could she have to believe the ,ammonite was a shell8 ,it is not the least like cockles1 or whelks1 or any shell she ever saw4 ,what reason either could she have to guess that ,whitby cliff had once been coral-mud1 at the bottom of the sea8 ,no more reason1 my dear child1 than you would have to guess that this stone had been coral-mud likewise1 if ,i did not teach you so1--or rather1 try to make you teach yourself so4 ,no4 ,i say it again4 ,if you wish to learn1 ,i will only teach you on condition that you do not laugh at1 or despise1 those good and honest and able people who do not know or care about these things1 because they have other things to think of3 like old ,john out there ploughing4 ,he would not believe you--he would hardly believe me--if we told him that this stone had been once a swarm of living things1 of exquisite shapes and glorious colours4 ,and yet he can plough and sow1 and reap and mow1 and fell and strip1 and hedge and ditch1 and give his neighbours sound advice1 and take the measure of a man's worth from ten minutes' talk1 and say his prayers1 and keep his temper1 and pay his debts1--which last three things are more than a good many folks can do who fancy themselves a whole world wiser than ,john in the smock-frock4 ,oh1 but ,i want to hear about the exquisite shapes and glorious colours4 ,of course you do1 little man4 ,a few fine epithets take your fancy far more than a little common sense and common humility2 but in that you are no worse than some of your elders4 ,so now for the exquisite shapes and glorious colours4 ,i have never seen them2 though ,i trust to see them ere ,i die4 ,so what they are like ,i can only tell from what ,i have learnt from ,mr4 ,darwin1 and ,mr4 ,wallace1 and ,mr4 ,jukes1 and ,mr4 ,gosse1 and last1 but not least1 from one whose soul was as beautiful as his face1 ,lucas ,barrett1--too soon lost to science1--who was drowned in exploring such a coral-reef as this stone was once4 ,then there are such things alive now8 ,yes1 and no4 ,the descendants of most of them live on1 altered by time1 which alters all things2 and from the beauty of the children we can guess at the beauty of their ancestors2 just as from the coral-reefs which exist now we can guess how the coral-reefs of old were made4 ,and that this stone was once part of a coral-reef the corals in it prove at first sight4 ,and what is a coral-reef like8 ,you have seen the room in the ,british ,museum full of corals1 madrepores1 brain-stones1 corallines1 and sea-ferns8 ,oh yes4 ,then fancy all those alive4 ,not as they are now1 white stone3 but covered in jelly2 and out of every pore a little polype1 like a flower1 peeping out4 ,fancy them of every gaudy colour you choose4 ,no bed of flowers1 they say1 can be more brilliant than the corals1 as you look down on them through the clear sea4 ,fancy1 again1 growing among them and crawling over them1 strange sea-anemones1 shells1 star-fish1 sea-slugs1 and sea-cucumbers with feathery gills1 crabs1 and shrimps1 and hundreds of other animals1 all as strange in shape1 and as brilliant in colour4 ,you may let your fancy run wild4 ,nothing so odd1 nothing so gay1 even entered your dreams1 or a poet's1 as you may find alive at the bottom of the sea1 in the live flower-gardens of the sea-fairies4 ,there will be shoals of fish1 too1 playing in and out1 as strange and gaudy as the rest1--parrot-fish who browse on the live coral with their beak-like teeth1 as cattle browse on grass2 and at the bottom1 it may be1 larger and uglier fish1 who eat the crabs and shell-fish1 shells and all1 grinding them up as a dog grinds a bone1 and so turning shells and corals into fine soft mud1 such as this stone is partly made of4 ,but what happens to all the delicate little corals if a storm comes on8 ,what1 indeed8 ,madam ,how has made them so well and wisely1 that1 like brave and good men1 the more trouble they suffer the stronger they are4 ,day and night1 week after week1 the trade-wind blows upon them1 hurling the waves against them in furious surf1 knocking off great lumps of coral1 grinding them to powder1 throwing them over the reef into the shallow water inside4 ,but the heavier the surf beats upon them1 the stronger the polypes outside grow1 repairing their broken houses1 and building up fresh coral on the dead coral below1 because it is in the fresh sea-water that beats upon the surf that they find most lime with which to build4 ,and as they build they form a barrier against the surf1 inside of which1 in water still as glass1 the weaker and more delicate things can grow in safety1 just as these very ,encrinites may have grown1 rooted in the lime-mud1 and waving their slender arms at the bottom of the clear lagoon4 ,such mighty builders are these little coral polypes1 that all the works of men are small compared with theirs4 ,one single reef1 for instance1 which is entirely made by them1 stretches along the north-east coast of ,australia for nearly a thousand miles4 ,of this you must read some day in ,mr4 ,jukes's ,voyage of ,h4,m4,s4 ,fly4 ,every island throughout a great part of the ,pacific is fringed round each with its coral-reef1 and there are hundreds of islands of strange shapes1 and of ,atolls1 as they are called1 or ring-islands1 which are composed entirely of coral1 and of nothing else4 ,a ring-island8 ,how can an island be made in the shape of a ring8 ,ah6 it was a long time before men found out that riddle4 ,mr4 ,darwin was the first to guess the answer1 as he has guessed many an answer beside4 ,these islands are each a ring1 or nearly a ring of coral1 with smooth shallow water inside3 but their outsides run down1 like a mountain wall1 sheer into seas hundreds of fathoms deep4 ,people used to believe1 and reasonably enough1 that the coral polypes began to build up the islands from the very bottom of the deep sea4 ,but that would not account for the top of them being of the shape of a ring2 and in time it was found out that the corals would not build except in shallow water1 twenty or thirty fathoms deep at most1 and men were at their wits' ends to find out the riddle4 ,then said ,mr4 ,darwin1 ,suppose one of those beautiful ,south ,sea ,islands1 like ,tahiti1 the ,queen of ,isles1 with its ring of coral-reef all round its shore1 began sinking slowly under the sea4 ,the land1 as it sunk1 would be gone for good and all3 but the coral-reef round it would not1 because the coral polypes would build up and up continually upon the skeletons of their dead parents1 to get to the surface of the water1 and would keep close to the top outside1 however much the land sunk inside2 and when the island had sunk completely beneath the sea1 what would be left8 ,what must be left but a ring of coral reef1 around the spot where the last mountain peak of the island sank beneath the sea8 ,and so ,mr4 ,darwin explained the shapes of hundreds of coral islands in the ,pacific2 and proved1 too1 some strange things besides 7he proved1 and other men1 like ,mr4 ,wallace1 whose excellent book on the ,east ,indian islands you must read some day1 have proved in other ways7 that there was once a great continent1 joined perhaps to ,australia and to ,new ,guinea1 in the ,pacific ,ocean1 where is now nothing but deep sea1 and coral-reefs which mark the mountain ranges of that sunken world4 ,but how does the coral ever rise above the surface of the water and turn into hard stone8 ,of course the coral polypes cannot build above the high-tide mark2 but the surf which beats upon them piles up their broken fragments just as a sea-beach is piled up1 and hammers them together with that water hammer which is heavier and stronger than any you have ever seen in a smith's forge4 ,and then1 as is the fashion of lime1 the whole mass sets and becomes hard1 as you may see mortar set2 and so you have a low island a few feet above the sea4 ,then sea-birds come to it1 and rest and build2 and seeds are floated thither from far lands2 and among them almost always the cocoa-nut1 which loves to grow by the sea-shore1 and groves of cocoa palms grow up upon the lonely isle4 ,then1 perhaps1 trees and bushes are drifted thither before the trade-wind2 and entangled in their roots are seeds of other plants1 and eggs or cocoons of insects2 and so a few flowers and a few butterflies and beetles set up for themselves upon the new land4 ,and then a bird or two1 caught in a storm and blown away to sea finds shelter in the cocoa-grove2 and so a little new world is set up1 in which 7you must remember always7 there are no four-footed beasts1 nor snakes1 nor lizards1 nor frogs1 nor any animals that cannot cross the sea4 ,and on some of those islands they may live 7indeed there is reason to believe they have lived71 so long1 that some of them have changed their forms1 according to the laws of ,madam ,how1 who sooner or later fits each thing exactly for the place in which it is meant to live1 till upon some of them you may find such strange and unique creatures as the famous cocoa-nut crab1 which learned men call ,birgus latro4 ,a great crab he is1 who walks upon the tips of his toes a foot high above the ground4 ,and because he has often nothing to eat but cocoa-nuts1 or at least they are the best things he can find1 cocoa-nuts he has learned to eat1 and after a fashion which it would puzzle you to imitate4 ,some say that he climbs up the stems of the cocoa-nut trees1 and pulls the fruit down for himself2 but that1 it seems1 he does not usually do4 ,what he does is this3 when he finds a fallen cocoa-nut1 he begins tearing away the thick husk and fibre with his strong claws2 and he knows perfectly well which end to tear it from1 namely1 from the end where the three eye-holes are1 which you call the monkey's face1 out of one of which you know1 the young cocoa-nut tree would burst forth4 ,and when he has got to the eye-holes1 he hammers through one of them with the point of his heavy claw4 ,so far1 so good3 but how is he to get the meat out8 ,he cannot put his claw in4 ,he has no proboscis like a butterfly to insert and suck with4 ,he is as far off from his dinner as the fox was when the stork offered him a feast in a long-necked jar4 ,what then do you think he does8 ,he turns himself round1 puts in a pair of his hind pincers1 which are very slender1 and with them scoops the meat out of the cocoa-nut1 and so puts his dinner into his mouth with his hind feet4 ,and even the cocoa-nut husk he does not waste2 for he lives in deep burrows which he makes like a rabbit2 and being a luxurious crab1 and liking to sleep soft in spite of his hard shell1 he lines them with a quantity of cocoa-nut fibre1 picked out clean and fine1 just as if he was going to make cocoa-nut matting of it4 ,and being also a clean crab1 as ,i hope you are a clean little boy1 he goes down to the sea every night to have his bath and moisten his gills1 and so lives happy all his days1 and gets so fat in his old age that he carries about his body nearly a quart of pure oil4 ,that is the history of the cocoa-nut crab4 ,and if any one tells me that that crab acts only on what is called instinct2 and does not think and reason1 just as you and ,i think and reason1 though of course not in words as you and ,i do3 then ,i shall be inclined to say that that person does not think nor reason either4 ,then were there many coral-reefs in ,britain in old times8 ,yes1 many and many1 again and again2 some whole ages older than this1 a bit of which you see1 and some again whole ages newer4 ,but look3 then judge for yourself4 ,look at this geological map4 ,wherever you see a bit of blue1 which is the mark for limestone1 you may say1 ,there is a bit of old coral-reef rising up to the surface4 ,but because ,i will not puzzle your little head with too many things at once1 you shall look at one set of coral-reefs which are far newer than this bit of ,dudley limestone1 and which are the largest1 ,i suppose1 that ever were in this country2 or1 at least1 there is more of them left than of any others4 ,look first at ,ireland4 ,you see that almost all the middle of ,ireland is coloured blue4 ,it is one great sheet of old coral-reef and coral-mud1 which is now called the carboniferous limestone4 ,you see red and purple patches rising out of it1 like islands--and islands ,i suppose they were1 of hard and ancient rock1 standing up in the middle of the coral sea4 ,but look again1 and you will see that along the west coast of ,ireland1 except in a very few places1 like ,galway ,bay1 the blue limestone does not come down to the sea2 the shore is coloured purple and brown1 and those colours mark the ancient rocks and high mountains of ,mayo and ,galway and ,kerry1 which stand as barriers to keep the raging surf of the ,atlantic from bursting inland and beating away1 as it surely would in course of time1 the low flat limestone plain of the middle of ,ireland4 ,but the same coral-reefs once stretched out far to the westward into the ,atlantic ,ocean2 and you may see the proof upon that map4 ,for in the western bays1 in ,clew ,bay with its hundred islands1 and ,galway ,bay with its ,isles of ,arran1 and beautiful ,kenmare1 and beautiful ,bantry1 you see little blue spots1 which are low limestone islands1 standing in the sea1 overhung by mountains far aloft4 ,you have often heard those islands in ,kenmare ,bay talked of1 and how some whom you know go to fish round them by night for turbot and conger2 and when you hear them spoken of again1 you must recollect that they are the last fragments of a great fringing coral-reef1 which will in a few thousand years follow the fate of the rest1 and be eaten up by the waves1 while the mountains of hard rock stand round them still unchanged4 ,now look at ,england1 and there you will see patches at least of a great coral-reef which was forming at the same time as that ,irish one1 and on which perhaps some of your schoolfellows have often stood4 ,you have heard of ,st4 ,vincent's ,rocks at ,bristol1 and the marble cliffs1 #bej feet in height1 covered in part with rich wood and rare flowers1 and the ,avon running through the narrow gorge1 and the stately ships sailing far below your feet from ,bristol to the ,severn sea4 ,and you may see1 for here they are1 corals from ,st4 ,vincent's ,rocks1 cut and polished1 showing too that they also1 like the ,dudley limestone1 are made up of corals and of coral- mud4 ,now1 whenever you see ,st4 ,vincent's ,rocks1 as ,i suspect you very soon will1 recollect where you are1 and use your fancy1 to paint for yourself a picture as strange as it is true4 ,fancy that those rocks are what they once were1 a coral-reef close to the surface of a shallow sea4 ,fancy that there is no gorge of the ,avon1 no wide ,severn sea--for those were eaten out by water ages and ages afterwards4 ,but picture to yourself the coral sea reaching away to the north1 to the foot of the ,welsh mountains2 and then fancy yourself1 if you will1 in a canoe1 paddling up through the coral-reefs1 north and still north1 up the valley down which the ,severn now flows1 up through what is now ,worcestershire1 then up through ,staffordshire1 then through ,derbyshire1 into ,yorkshire1 and so on through ,durham and ,northumberland1 till your find yourself stopped by the ,ettrick hills in ,scotland2 while all to the westward of you1 where is now the greater part of ,england1 was open sea4 ,you may say1 if you know anything of the geography of ,england1 ,impossible6 ,that would be to paddle over the tops of high mountains2 over the top of the ,peak in ,derbyshire1 over the top of ,high ,craven and ,whernside and ,pen-y- gent and ,cross ,fell1 and to paddle too over the ,cheviot ,hills1 which part ,england and ,scotland4 ,i know it1 my child1 ,i know it4 ,but so it was once on a time4 ,the high limestone mountains which part ,lancashire and ,yorkshire--the very chine and backbone of ,england--were once coral-reefs at the bottom of the sea4 ,they are all made up of the carboniferous limestone1 so called1 as your little knowledge of ,latin ought to tell you1 because it carries the coal2 because the coalfields usually lie upon it4 ,it may be impossible in your eyes3 but remember always that nothing is impossible with ,god4 ,but you said that the coal was made from plants and trees1 and did plants and trees grow on this coral-reef8 ,that ,i cannot say4 ,trees may have grown on the dry parts of the reef1 as cocoa-nuts grow now in the ,pacific4 ,but the coal was not laid down upon it till long afterwards1 when it had gone through many and strange changes4 ,for all through the chine of ,england1 and in a part of ,ireland too1 there lies upon the top of the limestone a hard gritty rock1 in some places three thousand feet thick1 which is commonly called the mill-stone grit4 ,and above that again the coal begins4 ,now to make that #cjjj feet of hard rock1 what must have happened8 ,the sea-bottom must have sunk1 slowly no doubt1 carrying the coral-reefs down with it1 #cjjj feet at least4 ,and meanwhile sand and mud1 made from the wearing away of the old lands in the ,north must have settled down upon it4 ,i say from the ,north--for there are no fossils1 as far as ,i know1 or sign of life1 in these rocks of mill-stone grit2 and therefore it is reasonable to suppose that they were brought from a cold current at the ,pole1 too cold to allow sea-beasts to live1--quite cold enough1 certainly1 to kill coral insects1 who could only thrive in warm water coming from the ,south4 ,then1 to go on with my story1 upon the top of these mill-stone grits came sand and mud1 and peat1 and trees1 and plants1 washed out to sea1 as far as we can guess1 from the mouths of vast rivers flowing from the ,west1 rivers as vast as the ,amazon1 the ,mississippi1 or the ,orinoco are now2 and so in long ages1 upon the top of the limestone and upon the top of the mill-stone grit1 were laid down those beds of coal which you see burnt now in every fire4 ,but how did the coral-reefs rise till they became cliffs at ,bristol and mountains in ,yorkshire8 ,the earthquake steam1 ,i suppose1 raised them4 ,one earthquake indeed1 or series of earthquakes1 there was1 running along between ,lancashire and ,yorkshire1 which made that vast crack and upheaval in the rocks1 the ,craven ,fault1 running1 ,i believe1 for more than a hundred miles1 and lifting the rocks in some places several hundred feet4 ,that earthquake helped to make the high hills which overhang ,manchester and ,preston1 and all the manufacturing county of ,lancashire4 ,that earthquake helped to make the perpendicular cliff at ,malham ,cove1 and many another beautiful bit of scenery4 ,and that and other earthquakes1 by heating the rocks from the fires below1 may have helped to change them from soft coral into hard crystalline marble as you see them now1 just as volcanic heat has hardened and purified the beautiful white marbles of ,pentelicus and ,paros in ,greece1 and ,carrara in ,italy1 from which statues are carved unto this day4 ,or the same earthquake may have heated and hardened the limestones simply by grinding and squeezing them2 or they may have been heated and hardened in the course of long ages simply by the weight of the thousands of feet of other rock which lay upon them4 ,for pressure1 you must remember1 produces heat4 ,when you strike flint and steel together1 the pressure of the blow not only makes bits of steel fly off1 but makes them fly off in red-hot sparks4 ,when you hammer a piece of iron with a hammer1 you will soon find it get quite warm4 ,when you squeeze the air together in your pop-gun1 you actually make the air inside warmer1 till the pellet flies out1 and the air expands and cools again4 ,nay1 ,i believe you cannot hold up a stone on the palm of your hand without that stone after a while warming your hand1 because it presses against you in trying to fall1 and you press against it in trying to hold it up4 ,and recollect above all the great and beautiful example of that law which you were lucky enough to see on the night of the #adth of ,november #ahfg1 how those falling stars1 as ,i told you then1 were coming out of boundless space1 colder than any ice on earth1 and yet1 simply by pressing against the air above our heads1 they had their motion turned into heat1 till they burned themselves up into trains of fiery dust4 ,so remember that wherever you have pressure you have heat1 and that the pressure of the upper rocks upon the lower is quite enough1 some think1 to account for the older and lower rocks being harder than the upper and newer ones4 ,but why should the lower rocks be older and the upper rocks newer8 ,you told me just now that the high mountains in ,wales were ages older than ,windsor ,forest1 upon which we stand3 but yet how much lower we are here than if we were on a ,welsh mountain4 ,ah1 my dear child1 of course that puzzles you1 and ,i am afraid it must puzzle you still till we have another talk2 or rather it seems to me that the best way to explain that puzzle to you would be for you and me to go a journey into the far west1 and look into the matter for ourselves2 and from here to the far west we will go1 either in fancy or on a real railroad and steamboat1 before we have another talk about these things4 ,now it is time to stop4 ,is there anything more you want to know8 for you look as if something was puzzling you still4 ,were there any men in the world while all this was going on8 ,i think not4 ,we have no proof that there were not3 but also we have no proof that there were2 the cave-men1 of whom ,i told you1 lived many ages after the coal was covered up4 ,you seem to be sorry that there were no men in the world then4 ,because it seems a pity that there was no one to see those beautiful coral-reefs and coal-forests4 ,no one to see them1 my child8 ,who told you that8 ,who told you there are not1 and never have been any rational beings in this vast universe1 save certain weak1 ignorant1 short-sighted creatures shaped like you and me8 ,but even if it were so1 and no created eye had ever beheld those ancient wonders1 and no created heart ever enjoyed them1 is there not one ,uncreated who has seen them and enjoyed them from the beginning8 ,were not these creatures enjoying themselves each after their kind8 ,and was there not a ,father in ,heaven who was enjoying their enjoyment1 and enjoying too their beauty1 which ,he had formed according to the ideas of ,his ,eternal ,mind8 ,recollect what you were told on ,trinity ,sunday--,that this world was not made for man alone3 but that man1 and this world1 and the whole ,universe was made for ,god2 for ,he created all things1 and for ,his pleasure they are1 and were created4 ,,chapter ,x--,,field ,,and ,,wild ,where were we to go next8 ,into the far west1 to see how all the way along the railroads the new rocks and soils lie above the older1 and yet how1 when we get westward1 the oldest rocks rise highest into the air4 ,well1 we will go3 but not1 ,i think1 to-day4 ,indeed ,i hardly know how we could get as far as ,reading2 for all the world is in the hay-field1 and even the old horse must go thither too1 and take his turn at the hay-cart4 ,well1 the rocks have been where they are for many a year1 and they will wait our leisure patiently enough3 but ,midsummer and the hay- field will not wait4 ,let us take what ,god gives when ,he sends it1 and learn the lesson that lies nearest to us4 ,after all1 it is more to my old mind1 and perhaps to your young mind too1 to look at things which are young and fresh and living1 rather than things which are old and worn and dead4 ,let us leave the old stones1 and the old bones1 and the old shells1 the wrecks of ancient worlds which have gone down into the kingdom of death1 to teach us their grand lessons some other day2 and let us look now at the world of light and life and beauty1 which begins here at the open door1 and stretches away over the hay-fields1 over the woods1 over the southern moors1 over sunny ,france1 and sunnier ,spain1 and over the tropic seas1 down to the equator1 and the palm-groves of the eternal summer4 ,if we cannot find something1 even at starting from the open door1 to teach us about ,why and ,how1 we must be very short-sighted1 or very shallow-hearted4 ,there is the old cock starling screeching in the eaves1 because he wants to frighten us away1 and take a worm to his children1 without our finding out whereabouts his hole is4 ,how does he know that we might hurt him8 and how again does he not know that we shall not hurt him8 we1 who for five-and-twenty years have let him and his ancestors build under those eaves in peace8 ,how did he get that quantity of half-wit1 that sort of stupid cunning1 into his little brain1 and yet get no more8 ,and why 7for this is a question of ,why1 and not of ,how7 does he labour all day long1 hunting for worms and insects for his children1 while his wife nurses them in the nest8 ,why1 too1 did he help her to build that nest with toil and care this spring1 for the sake of a set of nestlings who can be of no gain or use to him1 but only take the food out of his mouth8 ,simply out of--what shall ,i call it1 my child8--,love2 that same sense of love and duty1 coming surely from that one ,fountain of all duty and all love1 which makes your father work for you4 ,that the mother should take care of her young1 is wonderful enough2 but that 7at least among many birds7 the father should help likewise1 is 7as you will find out as you grow older7 more wonderful far4 ,so there already the old starling has set us two fresh puzzles about ,how and ,why1 neither of which we shall get answered1 at least on this side of the grave4 ,come on1 up the field1 under the great generous sun1 who quarrels with no one1 grudges no one1 but shines alike upon the evil and the good4 ,what a gay picture he is painting now1 with his light-pencils2 for in them1 remember1 and not in the things themselves the colour lies4 ,see how1 where the hay has been already carried1 he floods all the slopes with yellow light1 making them stand out sharp against the black shadows of the wood2 while where the grass is standing still1 he makes the sheets of sorrel-flower blush rosy red1 or dapples the field with white oxeyes4 ,but is not the sorrel itself red1 and the oxeyes white8 ,what colour are they at night1 when the sun is gone8 ,dark4 ,that is1 no colour4 ,the very grass is not green at night4 ,oh1 but it is if you look at it with a lantern4 ,no1 no4 ,it is the light of the lantern1 which happens to be strong enough to make the leaves look green1 though it is not strong enough to make a geranium look red4 ,not red8 ,no2 the geranium flowers by a lantern look black1 while the leaves look green4 ,if you don't believe me1 we will try4 ,but why is that8 ,why1 ,i cannot tell3 and how1 you had best ask ,professor ,tyndall1 if you ever have the honour of meeting him4 ,but now--hark to the mowing-machine1 humming like a giant night-jar4 ,come up and look at it1 and see how swift and smooth it shears the long grass down1 so that in the middle of the swathe it seems to have merely fallen flat1 and you must move it before you find that it has been cut off4 ,ah1 there is a proof to us of what men may do if they will only learn the lessons which ,madam ,how can teach them4 ,there is that boy1 fresh from the ,national ,school1 cutting more grass in a day than six strong mowers could have cut1 and cutting it better1 too2 for the mowing-machine goes so much nearer to the ground than the scythe1 that we gain by it two hundredweight of hay on every acre4 ,and see1 too1 how persevering old ,madam ,how will not stop her work1 though the machine has cut off all the grass which she has been making for the last three months2 for as fast as we shear it off1 she makes it grow again4 ,there are fresh blades1 here at our feet1 a full inch long1 which have sprung up in the last two days1 for the cattle when they are turned in next week4 ,but if the machine cuts all the grass1 the poor mowers will have nothing to do4 ,not so4 ,they are all busy enough elsewhere4 ,there is plenty of other work to be done1 thank ,god2 and wholesomer and easier work than mowing with a burning sun on their backs1 drinking gallons of beer1 and getting first hot and then cold across the loins1 till they lay in a store of lumbago and sciatica1 to cripple them in their old age4 ,you delight in machinery because it is curious3 you should delight in it besides because it does good1 and nothing but good1 where it is used1 according to the laws of ,lady ,why1 with care1 moderation1 and mercy1 and fair-play between man and man4 ,for example3 just as the mowing-machine saves the mowers1 the threshing-machine saves the threshers from rheumatism and chest complaints1--which they used to catch in the draught and dust of the unhealthiest place in the whole parish1 which is1 the old-fashioned barn's floor4 ,and so1 we may hope1 in future years all heavy drudgery and dirty work will be done more and more by machines1 and people will have more and more chance of keeping themselves clean and healthy1 and more and more time to read1 and learn1 and think1 and be true civilised men and women1 instead of being mere live ploughs1 or live manure-carts1 such as ,i have seen ere now4 ,a live manure-cart8 ,yes1 child4 ,if you had seen1 as ,i have seen1 in foreign lands1 poor women1 haggard1 dirty1 grown old before their youth was over1 toiling up hill with baskets of foul manure upon their backs1 you would have said1 as ,i have said1 ,oh for ,madam ,how to cure that ignorance6 ,oh for ,lady ,why to cure that barbarism6 ,oh that ,madam ,how would teach them that machinery must always be cheaper in the long run than human muscles and nerves6 ,oh that ,lady ,why would teach them that a woman is the most precious thing on earth1 and that if she be turned into a beast of burden1 ,lady ,why--and ,madam ,how likewise--will surely avenge the wrongs of their human sister6 ,there1 you do not quite know what ,i mean1 and ,i do not care that you should4 ,it is good for little folk that big folk should now and then talk over their heads1 as the saying is1 and make them feel how ignorant they are1 and how many solemn and earnest questions there are in the world on which they must make up their minds some day1 though not yet4 ,but now we will talk about the hay3 or rather do you and the rest go and play in the hay and gather it up1 build forts of it1 storm them1 pull them down1 build them up again1 shout1 laugh1 and scream till you are hot and tired4 ,you will please ,madam ,how thereby1 and ,lady ,why likewise4 ,how8 ,because ,madam ,how naturally wants her work to succeed1 and she is at work now making you4 ,making me8 ,of course4 ,making a man of you1 out of a boy4 ,and that can only be done by the life-blood which runs through and through you4 ,and the more you laugh and shout1 the more pure air will pass into your blood1 and make it red and healthy2 and the more you romp and play--unless you overtire yourself--the quicker will that blood flow through all your limbs1 to make bone and muscle1 and help you to grow into a man4 ,but why does ,lady ,why like to see us play8 ,she likes to see you happy1 as she likes to see the trees and birds happy4 ,for she knows well that there is no food1 nor medicine either1 like happiness4 ,if people are not happy enough1 they are often tempted to do many wrong deeds1 and to think many wrong thoughts3 and if by ,god's grace they know the laws of ,lady ,why1 and keep from sin1 still unhappiness1 if it goes on too long1 wears them out1 body and mind2 and they grow ill and die1 of broken hearts1 and broken brains1 my child2 and so at last1 poor souls1 find ,rest beneath the ,cross4 ,children1 too1 who are unhappy2 children who are bullied1 and frightened1 and kept dull and silent1 never thrive4 ,their bodies do not thrive2 for they grow up weak4 ,their minds do not thrive2 for they grow up dull4 ,their souls do not thrive2 for they learn mean1 sly1 slavish ways1 which ,god forbid you should ever learn4 ,well said the wise man1 ,the human plant1 like the vegetables1 can only flower in sunshine4 ,so do you go1 and enjoy yourself in the sunshine2 but remember this--,you know what happiness is4 ,then if you wish to please ,lady ,why1 and ,lady ,why's ,lord and ,king likewise1 you will never pass a little child without trying to make it happier1 even by a passing smile4 ,and now be off1 and play in the hay1 and come back to me when you are tired4 99 99 99 99 99 ,let us lie down at the foot of this old oak1 and see what we can see4 ,and hear what we can hear1 too4 ,what is that humming all round us1 now that the noisy mowing-machine has stopped8 ,and as much softer than the noise of mowing-machine hum1 as the machines which make it are more delicate and more curious4 ,madam ,how is a very skilful workwoman1 and has eyes which see deeper and clearer than all microscopes2 as you would find1 if you tried to see what makes that ,midsummer hum of which the haymakers are so fond1 because it promises fair weather4 ,why1 it is only the gnats and flies4 ,only the gnats and flies8 ,you might study those gnats and flies for your whole life without finding out all--or more than a very little--about them4 ,i wish ,i knew how they move those tiny wings of theirs--a thousand times in a second1 ,i dare say1 some of them4 ,i wish ,i knew how far they know that they are happy--for happy they must be1 whether they know it or not4 ,i wish ,i knew how they live at all4 ,i wish ,i even knew how many sorts there are humming round us at this moment4 ,how many kinds8 ,three or four8 ,more probably thirty or forty round this single tree4 ,but why should there be so many kinds of living things8 ,would not one or two have done just as well8 ,why1 indeed8 ,why should there not have been only one sort of butterfly1 and he only of one colour1 a plain brown1 or a plain white8 ,and why should there be so many sorts of birds1 all robbing the garden at once8 ,thrushes1 and blackbirds1 and sparrows1 and chaffinches1 and greenfinches1 and bullfinches1 and tomtits4 ,and there are four kinds of tomtits round here1 remember3 but we may go on with such talk for ever4 ,wiser men than we have asked the same question3 but ,lady ,why will not answer them yet4 ,however1 there is another question1 which ,madam ,how seems inclined to answer just now1 which is almost as deep and mysterious4 ,what8 ,how all these different kinds of things became different4 ,oh1 do tell me6 ,not ,i4 ,you must begin at the beginning1 before you can end at the end1 or even make one step towards the end4 ,what do you mean8 ,you must learn the differences between things1 before you can find out how those differences came about4 ,you must learn ,madam ,how's alphabet before you can read her book4 ,and ,madam ,how's alphabet of animals and plants is1 ,species1 ,kinds of things4 ,you must see which are like1 and which unlike2 what they are like in1 and what they are unlike in4 ,you are beginning to do that with your collection of butterflies4 ,you like to arrange them1 and those that are most like nearest to each other1 and to compare them4 ,you must do that with thousands of different kinds of things before you can read one page of ,madam ,how's ,natural ,history ,book rightly4 ,but it will take so much time and so much trouble4 ,god grant that you may not spend more time on worse matters1 and take more trouble over things which will profit you far less4 ,but so it must be1 willy-nilly4 ,you must learn the alphabet if you mean to read4 ,and you must learn the value of the figures before you can do a sum4 ,why1 what would you think of any one who sat down to play at cards--for money too 7which ,i hope and trust you never will do7--before he knew the names of the cards1 and which counted highest1 and took the other8 ,of course he would be very foolish4 ,just as foolish are those who make up theories 7as they call them7 about this world1 and how it was made1 before they have found out what the world is made of4 ,you might as well try to find out how this hay- field was made1 without finding out first what the hay is made of4 ,how the hay-field was made8 ,was it not always a hay-field8 ,ah1 yes2 the old story1 my child3 ,was not the earth always just what it is now8 ,let us see for ourselves whether this was always a hay-field4 ,how8 ,just pick out all the different kinds of plants and flowers you can find round us here4 ,how many do you think there are8 ,oh--there seem to be four or five4 ,just as there were three or four kinds of flies in the air4 ,pick them1 child1 and count4 ,let us have facts4 ,how many8 ,what6 a dozen already8 ,yes--and here is another1 and another4 ,why1 ,i have got ,i don't know how many4 ,why not8 ,bring them here1 and let us see4 ,nine kinds of grasses1 and a rush4 ,six kinds of clovers and vetches2 and besides1 dandelion1 and rattle1 and oxeye1 and sorrel1 and plantain1 and buttercup1 and a little stitchwort1 and pignut1 and mouse-ear hawkweed1 too1 which nobody wants4 ,why8 ,because they are a sign that ,i am not a good farmer enough1 and have not quite turned my ,wild into ,field4 ,what do you mean8 ,look outside the boundary fence1 at the moors and woods2 they are forest1 ,wild--,wald1 as the ,germans would call it4 ,inside the fence is ,field--,feld1 as the ,germans would call it4 ,guess why8 ,is it because the trees inside have been felled8 ,well1 some say so1 who know more than ,i4 ,but now go over the fence1 and see how many of these plants you can find on the moor4 ,oh1 ,i think ,i know4 ,i am so often on the moor4 ,i think you would find more kinds outside than you fancy4 ,but what do you know8 ,that beside some short fine grass about the cattle-paths1 there are hardly any grasses on the moor save deer's hair and glade-grass2 and all the rest is heath1 and moss1 and furze1 and fern4 ,softly--not all2 you have forgotten the bog plants2 and there are 7as ,i said7 many more plants beside on the moor than you fancy4 ,but we will look into that another time4 ,at all events1 the plants outside are on the whole quite different from the hay-field4 ,of course3 that is what makes the field look green and the moor brown4 ,not a doubt4 ,they are so different1 that they look like bits of two different continents4 ,scrambling over the fence is like scrambling out of ,europe into ,australia4 ,now1 how was that difference made8 ,think4 ,don't guess1 but think4 ,why does the rich grass come up to the bank1 and yet not spread beyond it8 ,i suppose because it cannot get over4 ,not get over8 ,would not the wind blow the seeds1 and the birds carry them8 ,they do get over1 in millions1 ,i don't doubt1 every summer4 ,then why do they not grow8 ,think4 ,is there any difference in the soil inside and out8 ,a very good guess4 ,but guesses are no use without facts4 ,look4 ,oh1 ,i remember now4 ,i know now the soil of the field is brown1 like the garden2 and the soil of the moor all black and peaty4 ,yes4 ,but if you dig down two or three feet1 you will find the soils of the moor and the field just the same4 ,so perhaps the top soils were once both alike4 ,i know4 ,well1 and what do you think about it now8 ,i want you to look and think4 ,i want every one to look and think4 ,half the misery in the world comes first from not looking1 and then from not thinking4 ,and ,i do not want you to be miserable4 ,but shall ,i be miserable if ,i do not find out such little things as this4 ,you will be miserable if you do not learn to understand little things3 because then you will not be able to understand great things when you meet them4 ,children who are not trained to use their eyes and their common sense grow up the more miserable the cleverer they are4 ,why8 ,because they grow up what men call dreamers1 and bigots1 and fanatics1 causing misery to themselves and to all who deal with them4 ,so ,i say again1 think4 ,well1 ,i suppose men must have altered the soil inside the bank4 ,well done4 ,but why do you think so8 ,because1 of course1 some one made the bank2 and the brown soil only goes up to it4 ,well1 that is something like common sense4 ,now you will not say any more1 as the cows or the butterflies might1 that the hay-field was always there4 ,and how did men change the soil8 ,by tilling it with the plough1 to sweeten it1 and manuring it1 to make it rich4 ,and then did all these beautiful grasses grow up of themselves8 ,you ought to know that they most likely did not4 ,you know the new enclosures8 ,yes4 ,well then1 do rich grasses come up on them1 now that they are broken up8 ,oh no1 nothing but groundsel1 and a few weeds4 ,just what1 ,i dare say1 came up here at first4 ,but this land was tilled for corn1 for hundreds of years1 ,i believe4 ,and just about one hundred years ago it was laid down in grass2 that is1 sown with grass seeds4 ,and where did men get the grass seeds from8 ,ah1 that is a long story2 and one that shows our forefathers 7though they knew nothing about railroads or electricity7 were not such simpletons as some folks think4 ,the way it must have been done was this4 ,men watched the natural pastures where cattle get fat on the wild grass1 as they do in the ,fens1 and many other parts of ,england4 ,and then they saved the seeds of those fattening wild grasses1 and sowed them in fresh spots4 ,often they made mistakes4 ,they were careless1 and got weeds among the seed--like the buttercups1 which do so much harm to this pasture4 ,or they sowed on soil which would not suit the seed1 and it died4 ,but at last1 after many failures1 they have grown so careful and so clever1 that you may send to certain shops1 saying what sort of soil yours is1 and they will send you just the seeds which will grow there1 and no other2 and then you have a good pasture for as long as you choose to keep it good4 ,and how is it kept good8 ,look at all those loads of hay1 which are being carried off the field4 ,do you think you can take all that away without putting anything in its place8 ,why not8 ,if ,i took all the butter out of the churn1 what must ,i do if ,i want more butter still8 ,put more cream in4 ,so1 if ,i want more grass to grow1 ,i must put on the soil more of what grass is made of4 ,but the butter don't grow1 and the grass does4 ,what does the grass grow in8 ,the soil4 ,yes4 ,just as the butter grows in the churn4 ,so you must put fresh grass- stuff continually into the soil1 as you put fresh cream into the churn4 ,you have heard the farm men say1 ,that crop has taken a good deal out of the land8 ,yes4 ,then they spoke exact truth4 ,what will that hay turn into by ,christmas8 ,can't you tell8 ,into milk1 of course1 which you will drink2 and into horseflesh too1 which you will use4 ,use horseflesh8 ,not eat it8 ,no2 we have not got as far as that4 ,we did not even make up our minds to taste the ,cambridge donkey4 ,but every time the horse draws the carriage1 he uses up so much muscle2 and that muscle he must get back again by eating hay and corn2 and that hay and corn must be put back again into the land by manure1 or there will be all the less for the horse next year4 ,for one cannot eat one's cake and keep it too2 and no more can one eat one's grass4 ,so this field is a truly wonderful place4 ,it is no ugly pile of brick and mortar1 with a tall chimney pouring out smoke and evil smells1 with unhealthy1 haggard people toiling inside4 ,why do you look surprised8 ,because--because nobody ever said it was4 ,you mean a manufactory4 ,well1 and this hay-field is a manufactory3 only like most of ,madam ,how's workshops1 infinitely more beautiful1 as well as infinitely more crafty1 than any manufactory of man's building4 ,it is beautiful to behold1 and healthy to work in2 a joy and blessing alike to the eye1 and the mind1 and the body3 and yet it is a manufactory4 ,but a manufactory of what8 ,of milk of course1 and cows1 and sheep1 and horses2 and of your body and mine--for we shall drink the milk and eat the meat4 ,and therefore it is a flesh and milk manufactory4 ,we must put into it every year yard-stuff1 tank-stuff1 guano1 bones1 and anything and everything of that kin1 that ,madam ,how may cook it for us into grass1 and cook the grass again into milk and meat4 ,but if we don't give ,madam ,how material to work on1 we cannot expect her to work for us4 ,and what do you think will happen then8 ,she will set to work for herself4 ,the rich grasses will dwindle for want of ammonia 7that is smelling salts71 and the rich clovers for want of phosphates 7that is bone-earth73 and in their places will come over the bank the old weeds and grass off the moor1 which have not room to get in now1 because the ground is coveted already4 ,they want no ammonia nor phosphates--at all events they have none1 and that is why the cattle on the moor never get fat4 ,so they can live where these rich grasses cannot4 ,and then they will conquer and thrive2 and the ,field will turn into ,wild once more4 ,ah1 my child1 thank ,god for your forefathers1 when you look over that boundary mark4 ,for the difference between the ,field and the ,wild is the difference between the old ,england of ,madam ,how's making1 and the new ,england which she has taught man to make1 carrying on what she had only begun and had not time to finish4 ,that moor is a pattern bit left to show what the greater part of this land was like for long ages after it had risen out of the sea2 when there was little or nothing on the flat upper moors save heaths1 and ling1 and club-mosses1 and soft gorse1 and needle-whin1 and creeping willows2 and furze and fern upon the brows2 and in the bottoms oak and ash1 beech and alder1 hazel and mountain ash1 holly and thorn1 with here and there an aspen or a buckthorn 7berry-bearing alder as you call it71 and everywhere--where he could thrust down his long root1 and thrust up his long shoots--that intruding conqueror and insolent tyrant1 the bramble4 ,there were sedges and rushes1 too1 in the bogs1 and coarse grass on the forest pastures--or leas as we call them to this day round here--but no real green fields2 and1 ,i suspect1 very few gay flowers1 save in spring the sheets of golden gorse1 and in summer the purple heather4 ,such was old ,england--or rather1 such was this land before it was ,england2 a far sadder1 damper1 poorer land than now4 ,for one man or one cow or sheep which could have lived on it then1 a hundred can live now4 ,and yet1 what it was once1 that it might become again1--it surely would round here1 if this brave ,english people died out of it1 and the land was left to itself once more4 ,what would happen then1 you may guess for yourself1 from what you see happen whenever the land is left to itself1 as it is in the wood above4 ,in that wood you can still see the grass ridges and furrows which show that it was once ploughed and sown by man2 perhaps as late as the time of ,henry the ,eighth1 when a great deal of poor land1 as you will read some day1 was thrown out of tillage1 to become forest and down once more4 ,and what is the mount now8 ,a jungle of oak and beech1 cherry and holly1 young and old all growing up together1 with the mountain ash and bramble and furze coming up so fast beneath them1 that we have to cut the paths clear again year by year4 ,why1 even the little cow-wheat1 a very old- world plant1 which only grows in ancient woods1 has found its way back again1 ,i know not whence1 and covers the open spaces with its pretty yellow and white flowers4 ,man had conquered this mount1 you see1 from ,madam ,how1 hundreds of years ago4 ,and she always lets man conquer her1 because ,lady ,why wishes man to conquer3 only he must have a fair fight with ,madam ,how first1 and try his strength against hers to the utmost4 ,so man conquered the wood for a while2 and it became cornfield instead of forest3 but he was not strong and wise enough three hundred years ago to keep what he had conquered2 and back came ,madam ,how1 and took the place into her own hands1 and bade the old forest trees and plants come back again--as they would come if they were not stopped year by year1 down from the wood1 over the pastures--killing the rich grasses as they went1 till they met another forest coming up from below1 and fought it for many a year1 till both made peace1 and lived quietly side by side for ages4 ,another forest coming up from below8 ,where would it come from8 ,from where it is now4 ,come down and look along the brook1 and every drain and grip which runs into the brook4 ,what is here8 ,seedling alders1 and some withies among them4 ,very well4 ,you know how we pull these alders up1 and cut them down1 and yet they continually come again4 ,now1 if we and all human beings were to leave this pasture for a few hundred years1 would not those alders increase into a wood8 ,would they not kill the grass1 and spread right and left1 seeding themselves more and more as the grass died1 and left the ground bare1 till they met the oaks and beeches coming down the hill8 ,and then would begin a great fight1 for years and years1 between oak and beech against alder and willow4 ,but how can trees fight8 ,could they move or beat each other with their boughs8 ,not quite that2 though they do beat each other with their boughs1 fiercely enough1 in a gale of wind2 and then the trees who have strong and stiff boughs wound those who have brittle and limp boughs1 and so hurt them1 and if the storms come often enough1 kill them4 ,but among these trees in a sheltered valley the larger and stronger would kill the weaker and smaller by simply overshadowing their tops1 and starving their roots2 starving them1 indeed1 so much when they grow very thick1 that the poor little acorns1 and beech mast1 and alder seeds would not be able to sprout at all4 ,so they would fight1 killing each other's children1 till the war ended--,i think ,i can guess how4 ,how8 ,the beeches are as dainty as they are beautiful2 and they do not like to get their feet wet4 ,so they would venture down the hill only as far as the dry ground lasts1 and those who tried to grow any lower would die4 ,but the oaks are hardy1 and do not care much where they grow4 ,so they would fight their way down into the wet ground among the alders and willows1 till they came to where their enemies were so thick and tall1 that the acorns as they fell could not sprout in the darkness4 ,and so you would have at last1 along the hill-side1 a forest of beech and oak1 lower down a forest of oak and alder1 and along the stream-side alders and willows only4 ,and that would be a very fair example of the great law of the struggle for existence1 which causes the competition of species4 ,what is that8 ,madam ,how is very stern1 though she is always perfectly just2 and therefore she makes every living thing fight for its life1 and earn its bread1 from its birth till its death2 and rewards it exactly according to its deserts1 and neither more nor less4 ,and the competition of species means1 that each thing1 and kind of things1 has to compete against the things round it2 and to see which is the stronger2 and the stronger live1 and breed1 and spread1 and the weaker die out4 ,but that is very hard4 ,i know it1 my child1 ,i know it4 ,but so it is4 ,and ,madam ,how1 no doubt1 would be often very clumsy and very cruel1 without meaning it1 because she never sees beyond her own nose1 or thinks at all about the consequences of what she is doing4 ,but ,lady ,why1 who does think about consequences1 is her mistress1 and orders her about for ever4 ,and ,lady ,why is1 ,i believe1 as loving as she is wise2 and therefore we must trust that she guides this great war between living things1 and takes care that ,madam ,how kills nothing which ought not to die1 and takes nothing away without putting something more beautiful and something more useful in its place2 and that even if ,england were1 which ,god forbid1 overrun once more with forests and bramble-brakes1 that too would be of use somehow1 somewhere1 somewhen1 in the long ages which are to come hereafter4 ,and you must remember1 too1 that since men came into the world with rational heads on their shoulders1 ,lady ,why has been handing over more and more of ,madam ,how's work to them1 and some of her own work too3 and bids them to put beautiful and useful things in the place of ugly and useless ones2 so that now it is men's own fault if they do not use their wits1 and do by all the world what they have done by these pastures--change it from a barren moor into a rich hay-field1 by copying the laws of ,madam ,how1 and making grass compete against heath4 ,but you look thoughtful3 what is it you want to know8 ,why1 you say all living things must fight and scramble for what they can get from each other3 and must not ,i too8 ,for ,i am a living thing4 ,ah1 that is the old question1 which our ,lord answered long ago1 and said1 ,be not anxious what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink1 or wherewithal you shall be clothed4 ,for after all these things do the heathen seek1 and your ,heavenly ,father knoweth that ye have need of these things4 ,but seek ye first the kingdom of ,god and ,his righteousness1 and all these things shall be added to you4 ,a few1 very few1 people have taken that advice4 ,but they have been just the salt of the earth1 which has kept mankind from decaying4 ,but what has that to do with it8 ,see4 ,you are a living thing1 you say4 ,are you a plant8 ,no4 ,are you an animal8 ,i do not know4 ,yes4 ,i suppose ,i am4 ,i eat1 and drink1 and sleep1 just as dogs and cats do4 ,yes4 ,there is no denying that4 ,no one knew that better than ,st4 ,paul when he told men that they had a flesh2 that is1 a body1 and an animal's nature in them4 ,but ,st4 ,paul told them--of course he was not the first to say so1 for all the wise heathens have known that--that there was something more in us1 which he called a spirit4 ,some call it now the moral sentiment1 some one thing1 some another1 but we will keep to the old word3 we shall not find a better4 ,yes1 ,i know that ,i have a spirit1 a soul4 ,better to say that you are a spirit4 ,but what does ,st4 ,paul say8 ,that our spirit is to conquer our flesh1 and keep it down4 ,that the man in us1 in short1 which is made in the likeness of ,god1 is to conquer the animal in us1 which is made in the likeness of the dog and the cat1 and sometimes 7,i fear7 in the likeness of the ape or the pig4 ,you would not wish to be like a cat1 much less like an ape or a pig8 ,of course not4 ,then do not copy them1 by competing and struggling for existence against other people4 ,what do you mean8 ,did you never watch the pigs feeding8 ,yes1 and how they grudge and quarrel1 and shove each other's noses out of the trough1 and even bite each other because they are so jealous which shall get most4 ,that is it4 ,and how the biggest pig drives the others away1 and would starve them while he got fat1 if the man did not drive him off in his turn4 ,oh1 yes2 ,i know4 ,then no wiser than those pigs are worldly men who compete1 and grudge1 and struggle with each other1 which shall get most money1 most fame1 most power over their fellow-men4 ,they will tell you1 my child1 that that is the true philosophy1 and the true wisdom2 that competition is the natural law of society1 and the source of wealth and prosperity4 ,do not you listen to them4 ,that is the wisdom of this world1 which the flesh teaches the animals2 and those who follow it1 like the animals1 will perish4 ,such men are not even as wise as ,sweep the retriever4 ,not as wise as ,sweep8 ,not they4 ,sweep will not take away ,victor's bone1 though he is ten times as big as ,victor1 and could kill him in a moment2 and when he catches a rabbit1 does he eat it himself8 ,of course not2 he brings it and lays it down at our feet4 ,because he likes better to do his duty1 and be praised for it1 than to eat the rabbit1 dearly as he longs to eat it4 ,but he is only an animal4 ,who taught him to be generous1 and dutiful1 and faithful8 ,who1 indeed6 ,not we1 you know that1 for he has grown up with us since a puppy4 ,how he learnt it1 and his parents before him1 is a mystery1 of which we can only say1 ,god has taught them1 we know not how4 ,but see what has happened--that just because dogs have learnt not to be selfish and to compete--that is1 have become civilised and tame--therefore we let them live with us1 and love them4 ,because they try to be good in their simple way1 therefore they too have all things added to them1 and live far happier1 and more comfortable lives than the selfish wolf and fox4 ,but why have not all animals found out that8 ,i cannot tell3 there may be wise animals and foolish animals1 as there are wise and foolish men4 ,indeed there are4 ,i see a very wise animal there1 who never competes2 for she has learned something of the golden lesson--that it is more blessed to give than to receive2 and she acts on what she has learnt1 all day long4 ,which do you mean8 ,why1 that is a bee4 ,yes1 it is a bee3 and ,i wish ,i were as worthy in my place as that bee is in hers4 ,i wish ,i could act up as well as she does to the true wisdom1 which is self-sacrifice4 ,for whom is that bee working8 ,for herself8 ,if that was all1 she only needs to suck the honey as she goes4 ,but she is storing up the wax under her stomach1 and bee-bread in her thighs--for whom8 ,not for herself only1 or even for her own children3 but for the children of another bee1 her queen4 ,for them she labours all day long1 builds for them1 feeds them1 nurses them1 spends her love and cunning on them4 ,so does that ant on the path4 ,she is carrying home that stick to build for other ants' children4 ,so do the white ants in the tropics4 ,they have learnt not to compete1 but to help each other2 not to be selfish1 but to sacrifice themselves2 and therefore they are strong4 ,but you told me once that ants would fight and plunder each other's nests4 ,and once we saw two hives of bees fighting in the air1 and falling dead by dozens4 ,my child1 do not men fight1 and kill each other by thousands with sharp shot and cold steel1 because1 though they have learnt the virtue of patriotism1 they have not yet learnt that of humanity8 ,we must not blame the bees and ants if they are no wiser than men4 ,at least they are wise enough to stand up for their country1 that is1 their hive1 and work for it1 and die for it1 if need be2 and that makes them strong4 ,but how does that make them strong8 ,how1 is a deep question1 and one ,i can hardly answer yet4 ,but that it has made them so there is no doubt4 ,look at the solitary bees--the governors as we call them1 who live in pairs1 in little holes in the banks4 ,how few of them there are2 and they never seem to increase in numbers4 ,then look at the hive bees1 how1 just because they are civilised1--that is1 because they help each other1 and feed each other1 instead of being solitary and selfish1--they breed so fast1 and get so much food1 that if they were not killed for their honey1 they would soon become a nuisance1 and drive us out of the parish4 ,but then we give them their hives ready made4 ,true4 ,but in old forest countries1 where trees decay and grow hollow1 the bees breed in them4 ,yes4 ,i remember the bee tree in the fir avenue4 ,well then1 in many forests in hot countries the bees swarm in hollow trees2 and they1 and the ants1 and the white ants1 have it all their own way1 and are lords and masters1 driving the very wild beasts before them1 while the ants and white ants eat up all gardens1 and plantations1 and clothes1 and furniture2 till it is a serious question whether in some hot countries man will ever be able to settle1 so strong have the ants grown1 by ages of civilisation1 and not competing against their brothers and sisters4 ,but may ,i not compete for prizes against the other boys8 ,well1 there is no harm in that2 for you do not harm the others1 even if you win4 ,they will have learnt all the more1 while trying for the prize2 and so will you1 even if you don't get it4 ,but ,i tell you fairly1 trying for prizes is only fit for a child2 and when you become a man1 you must put away childish things--competition among the rest4 ,but surely ,i may try to be better and wiser and more learned than everybody else8 ,my dearest child1 why try for that8 ,try to be as good1 and wise1 and learned as you can1 and if you find any man1 or ten thousand men1 superior to you1 thank ,god for it4 ,do you think that there can be too much wisdom in the world8 ,of course not3 but ,i should like to be the wisest man in it4 ,then you would only have the heaviest burden of all men on your shoulders4 ,why8 ,because you would be responsible for more foolish people than any one else4 ,remember what wise old ,moses said1 when some one came and told him that certain men in the camp were prophesying--,would ,god all the ,lord's people did prophesy6 ,yes2 it would have saved ,moses many a heartache1 and many a sleepless night1 if all the ,jews had been wise as he was1 and wiser still4 ,so do not you compete with good and wise men1 but simply copy them3 and whatever you do1 do not compete with the wolves1 and the apes1 and the swine of this world2 for that is a game at which you are sure to be beaten4 ,why8 ,because ,lady ,why1 if she loves you 7as ,i trust she does71 will take care that you are beaten1 lest you should fancy it was really profitable to live like a cunning sort of animal1 and not like a true man4 ,and how she will do that ,i can tell you4 ,she will take care that you always come across a worse man than you are trying to be1--a more apish man1 who can tumble and play monkey-tricks for people's amusement better than you can2 or a more swinish man1 who can get at more of the pig's-wash than you can2 or a more wolfish man1 who will eat you up if you do not get out of his way2 and so she will disappoint and disgust you1 my child1 with that greedy1 selfish1 vain animal life1 till you turn round and see your mistake1 and try to live the true human life1 which also is divine2--to be just and honourable1 gentle and forgiving1 generous and useful--in one word1 to fear ,god1 and keep ,his commandments3 and as you live that life1 you will find that1 by the eternal laws of ,lady ,why1 all other things will be added to you2 that people will be glad to know you1 glad to help you1 glad to employ you1 because they see that you will be of use to them1 and will do them no harm4 ,and if you meet 7as you will meet7 with people better and wiser than yourself1 then so much the better for you2 for they will love you1 and be glad to teach you when they see that you are living the unselfish and harmless life2 and that you come to them1 not as foolish ,critias came to ,socrates1 to learn political cunning1 and become a selfish and ambitious tyrant1 but as wise ,plato came1 that he might learn the laws of ,lady ,why1 and love them for her sake1 and teach them to all mankind4 ,and so you1 like the plants and animals1 will get your deserts exactly1 without competing and struggling for existence as they do4 ,and all this has come out of looking at the hay-field and the wild moor4 ,why not8 ,there is an animal in you1 and there is a man in you4 ,if the animal gets the upper hand1 all your character will fall back into wild useless moor2 if the man gets the upper hand1 all your character will be cultivated into rich and fertile field4 ,choose4 ,now come down home4 ,the haymakers are resting under the hedge4 ,the horses are dawdling home to the farm4 ,the sun is getting low1 and the shadows long4 ,come home1 and go to bed while the house is fragrant with the smell of hay1 and dream that you are still playing among the haycocks4 ,when you grow old1 you will have other and sadder dreams4 ,,chapter ,,xi--,,the ,,world',s ,,end ,hullo6 hi6 wake up4 ,jump out of bed1 and come to the window1 and see where you are4 ,what a wonderful place6 ,so it is3 though it is only poor old ,ireland4 ,don't you recollect that when we started ,i told you we were going to ,ireland1 and through it to the ,world's ,end2 and here we are now safe at the end of the old world1 and beyond us the great ,atlantic1 and beyond that again1 thousands of miles away1 the new world1 which will be rich and prosperous1 civilised and noble1 thousands of years hence1 when this old world1 it may be1 will be dead1 and little children there will be reading in their history books of ,ancient ,england and of ,ancient ,france1 as you now read of ,greece and ,rome4 ,but what a wonderful place it is6 ,what are those great green things standing up in the sky1 all over purple ribs and bars1 with their tops hid in the clouds8 ,those are mountains2 the bones of some old world1 whose poor bare sides ,madam ,how is trying to cover with rich green grass4 ,and how far off are they8 ,how ,i should like to walk up to the top of that one which looks quite close4 ,you will find it a long walk up there2 three miles1 ,i dare say1 over black bogs and banks of rock1 and up corries and cliffs which you could not climb4 ,there are plenty of cows on that mountain3 and yet they look so small1 you could not see them1 nor ,i either1 without a glass4 ,that long white streak1 zigzagging down the mountain side1 is a roaring cataract of foam five hundred feet high1 full now with last night's rain2 but by this afternoon it will have dwindled to a little thread2 and to- morrow1 when you get up1 if no more rain has come down1 it will be gone4 ,madam ,how works here among the mountains swiftly and hugely1 and sometimes terribly enough2 as you shall see when you have had your breakfast1 and come down to the bridge with me4 ,but what a beautiful place it is6 ,flowers and woods and a lawn2 and what is that great smooth patch in the lawn just under the window8 ,is it an empty flower-bed8 ,ah1 thereby hangs a strange tale4 ,we will go and look at it after breakfast1 and then you shall see with your own eyes one of the wonders which ,i have been telling you of4 ,and what is that shining between the trees8 ,water4 ,is it a lake8 ,not a lake1 though there are plenty round here2 that is salt water1 not fresh4 ,look away to the right1 and you see it through the opening of the woods again and again3 and now look above the woods4 ,you see a faint blue line1 and gray and purple lumps like clouds1 which rest upon it far away4 ,that1 child1 is the great ,atlantic ,ocean1 and those are islands in the far west4 ,the water which washes the bottom of the lawn was but a few months ago pouring out of the ,gulf of ,mexico1 between the ,bahamas and ,florida1 and swept away here as the great ocean river of warm water which we call the ,gulf ,stream1 bringing with it out of the open ocean the shoals of mackerel1 and the porpoises and whales which feed upon them4 ,some fine afternoon we will run down the bay and catch strange fishes1 such as you never saw before1 and very likely see a living whale4 ,what8 such a whale as they get whalebone from1 and which eats sea-moths8 ,no1 they live far north1 in the ,arctic circle2 these are grampuses1 and bottle-noses1 which feed on fish2 not so big as the right whales1 but quite big enough to astonish you1 if one comes up and blows close to the boat4 ,get yourself dressed and come down1 and then we will go out2 we shall have plenty to see and talk of at every step4 ,now1 you have finished your breakfast at last1 so come along1 and we shall see what we shall see4 ,first run out across the gravel1 and scramble up that bank of lawn1 and you will see what you fancied was an empty flower-bed4 ,why1 it is all hard rock4 ,ah1 you are come into the land of rocks now3 out of the land of sand and gravel2 out of a soft young corner of the world into a very hard1 old1 weather-beaten corner2 and you will see rocks enough1 and too many for the poor farmers1 before you go home again4 ,but how beautifully smooth and flat the rock is3 and yet it is all rounded4 ,what is it like8 ,like--like the half of a shell4 ,not badly said1 but think again4 ,like--like--,i know what it is like4 ,like the back of some great monster peeping up through the turf4 ,you have got it4 ,such rocks as these are called in ,switzerland roches moutonnees1 because they are1 people fancy1 like sheep's backs4 ,now look at the cracks and layers in it4 ,they run across the stone2 they have nothing to do with the shape of it4 ,you see that8 ,yes3 but here are cracks running across them1 all along the stone1 till the turf hides them4 ,look at them again2 they are no cracks2 they do not go into the stone4 ,i see4 ,they are scratched2 something like those on the elder-stem at home1 where the cats sharpen their claws4 ,but it would take a big cat to make them4 ,do you recollect what ,i told you of ,madam ,how's hand1 more flexible than any hand of man1 and yet strong enough to grind the mountains into paste8 ,i know4 ,ice6 ice6 ice6 ,but are these really ice-marks8 ,child1 on the place where we now stand1 over rich lawns1 and warm woods1 and shining lochs1 lay once on a time hundreds1 it may be thousands1 of feet of solid ice1 crawling off yonder mountain-tops into the ocean there outside2 and this is one of its tracks4 ,see how the scratches all point straight down the valley1 and straight out to sea4 ,those mountains are #bjjj feet high3 but they were much higher once2 for the ice has planed the tops off them4 ,then1 it seems to me1 the ice sank1 and left the mountains standing out of it about half their height1 and at that level it stayed1 till it had planed down all those lower moors of smooth bare rock between us and the ,western ocean2 and then it sank again1 and dwindled back1 leaving moraines 7that is1 heaps of dirt and stones7 all up these valleys here and there1 till at the last it melted all away1 and poor old ,ireland became fit to live in again4 ,we will go down the bay some day and look at those moraines1 some of them quite hills of earth1 and then you will see for yourself how mighty a chisel the ice-chisel was1 and what vast heaps of chips it has left behind4 ,now then1 down over the lawn towards the bridge4 ,listen to the river1 louder and louder every step we take4 ,what a roar6 ,is there a waterfall there8 ,no4 ,it is only the flood4 ,and underneath the roar of that flood1 do you not hear a deeper note--a dull rumbling1 as if from underground8 ,yes4 ,what is it8 ,the rolling of great stones under water1 which are being polished against each other1 as they hurry toward the sea4 ,now1 up on the parapet of the bridge4 ,i will hold you tight4 ,look and see ,madam ,how's rain-spade at work4 ,look at the terrible yellow torrent below us1 almost filling up the arches of the bridge1 and leaping high in waves and crests of foam4 ,oh1 the bridge is falling into the water6 ,not a bit4 ,you are not accustomed to see water running below you at ten miles an hour4 ,never mind that feeling4 ,it will go off in a few seconds4 ,look2 the water is full six feet up the trunks of the trees2 over the grass and the king fern1 and the tall purple loose-strife-- ,oh6 ,here comes a tree dancing down6 ,and there are some turfs which have been cut on the mountain4 ,and there is a really sad sight4 ,look what comes now4 ,one--two--three4 ,why1 they are sheep4 ,yes4 ,and a sad loss they will be to some poor fellow in the glen above4 ,and oh6 ,look at the pig turning round and round solemnly in the corner under the rock4 ,poor piggy6 ,he ought to have been at home safe in his stye1 and not wandering about the hills4 ,and what are these coming now8 ,butter firkins1 ,i think4 ,yes4 ,this is a great flood4 ,it is well if there are no lives lost4 ,but is it not cruel of ,madam ,how to make such floods8 ,well--let us ask one of these men who are looking over the bridge4 ,why1 what does he say8 ,i cannot understand one word4 ,is he talking ,irish8 ,irish-,english at least3 but what he said was1 that it was a mighty fine flood entirely1 praised be ,god2 and would help on the potatoes and oats after the drought1 and set the grass growing again on the mountains4 ,and what is he saying now8 ,that the river will be full of salmon and white trout after this4 ,what does he mean8 ,that under our feet now1 if we could see through the muddy water1 dozens of salmon and sea-trout are running up from the sea4 ,what6 up this furious stream8 ,yes4 ,what would be death to you is pleasure and play to them4 ,up they are going1 to spawn in the little brooks among the mountains2 and all of them are the best of food1 fattened on the herrings and sprats in the sea outside1 ,madam ,how's free gift1 which does not cost man a farthing1 save the expense of nets and rods to catch them4 ,how can that be8 ,i will give you a bit of political economy4 ,suppose a pound of salmon is worth a shilling2 and a pound of beef is worth a shilling likewise4 ,before we can eat the beef1 it has cost perhaps tenpence to make that pound of beef out of turnips and grass and oil-cake2 and so the country is only twopence a pound richer for it4 ,but ,mr4 ,salmon has made himself out of what he eats in the sea1 and so has cost nothing2 and the shilling a pound is all clear gain4 ,there--you don't quite understand that piece of political economy4 ,indeed1 it is only in the last two or three years that older heads than yours have got to understand it1 and have passed the wise new salmon laws1 by which the rivers will be once more as rich with food as the land is1 just as they were hundreds of years ago4 ,but now1 look again at the river4 ,what do you think makes it so yellow and muddy8 ,dirt1 of course4 ,and where does that come from8 ,off the mountains8 ,yes4 ,tons on tons of white mud are being carried down past us now2 and where will they go8 ,into the sea8 ,yes1 and sink there in the still water1 to make new strata at the bottom2 and perhaps in them1 ages hence1 some one will find the bones of those sheep1 and of poor ,mr4 ,pig too1 fossil-- ,and the butter firkins too4 ,what fun to find a fossil butter firkin6 ,but now lift up your eyes to the jagged mountain crests1 and their dark sides all laced with silver streams4 ,out of every crack and cranny there aloft1 the rain is bringing down dirt1 and stones too1 which have been split off by the winter's frosts1 deepening every little hollow1 and sharpening every peak1 and making the hills more jagged and steep year by year4 ,when the ice went away1 the hills were all scraped smooth and round by the glaciers1 like the flat rock upon the lawn2 and ugly enough they must have looked1 most like great brown buns4 ,but ever since then1 ,madam ,how has been scooping them out again by her water-chisel into deep glens1 mighty cliffs1 sharp peaks1 such as you see aloft1 and making the old hills beautiful once more4 ,why1 even the ,alps in ,switzerland have been carved out by frost and rain1 out of some great flat4 ,the very peak of the ,matterhorn1 of which you have so often seen a picture1 is but one single point left of some enormous bun of rock4 ,all the rest has been carved away by rain and frost2 and some day the ,matterhorn itself will be carved away1 and its last stone topple into the glacier at its foot4 ,see1 as we have been talking1 we have got into the woods4 ,oh1 what beautiful woods1 just like our own4 ,not quite4 ,there are some things growing here which do not grow at home1 as you will soon see4 ,and there are no rocks at home1 either1 as there are here4 ,how strange1 to see trees growing out of rocks6 ,how do their roots get into the stone8 ,there is plenty of rich mould in the cracks for them to feed on-- ,health to the oak of the mountains2 he trusts to the might of the rock-clefts4 ,deeply he mines1 and in peace feeds on the wealth of the stone4 ,how many sorts of trees there are--oak1 and birch and nuts1 and mountain- ash1 and holly and furze1 and heather4 ,and if you went to some of the islands in the lake up in the glen1 you would find wild arbutus--strawberry-tree1 as you call it4 ,we will go and get some one day or other4 ,how long and green the grass is1 even on the rocks1 and the ferns1 and the moss1 too4 ,everything seems richer here than at home4 ,of course it is4 ,you are here in the land of perpetual spring1 where frost and snow seldom1 or never comes4 ,oh1 look at the ferns under this rock6 ,i must pick some4 ,pick away4 ,i will warrant you do not pick all the sorts4 ,yes4 ,i have got them all now4 ,not so hasty1 child2 there is plenty of a beautiful fern growing among that moss1 which you have passed over4 ,look here4 ,what6 that little thing a fern6 ,hold it up to the light1 and see4 ,what a lovely little thing1 like a transparent sea-weed1 hung on black wire4 ,what is it8 ,film fern1 ,hymenophyllum4 ,but what are you staring at now1 with all your eyes8 ,oh6 that rock covered with green stars and a cloud of little white and pink flowers growing out of them4 ,aha6 my good little dog6 ,i thought you would stand to that game when you found it4 ,what is it1 though8 ,you must answer that yourself4 ,you have seen it a hundred times before4 ,why1 it is ,london ,pride1 that grows in the garden at home4 ,of course it is3 but the ,irish call it ,st4 ,patrick's cabbage2 though it got here a long time before ,st4 ,patrick2 and ,st4 ,patrick must have been very short of garden-stuff if he ever ate it4 ,but how did it get here from ,london8 ,no1 no4 ,how did it get to ,london from hence8 ,for from this country it came4 ,i suppose the ,english brought it home in ,queen ,bess's or ,james the ,first's time4 ,but if it is wild here1 and will grow so well in ,england1 why do we not find it wild in ,england too8 ,for the same reason that there are no toads or snakes in ,ireland4 ,they had not got as far as ,ireland before ,ireland was parted off from ,england4 ,and ,st4 ,patrick's cabbage1 and a good many other plants1 had not got as far as ,england4 ,but why8 ,why1 ,i don't know4 ,but this ,i know3 that when ,madam ,how makes a new sort of plant or animal1 she starts it in one single place1 and leaves it to take care of itself and earn its own living--as she does you and me and every one--and spread from that place all round as far as it can go4 ,so ,st4 ,patrick's cabbage got into this south-west of ,ireland1 long1 long ago2 and was such a brave sturdy little plant1 that it clambered up to the top of the highest mountains1 and over all the rocks4 ,but when it got to the rich lowlands to the eastward1 in county ,cork1 it found all the ground taken up already with other plants2 and as they had enough to do to live themselves1 they would not let ,st4 ,patrick's cabbage settle among them2 and it had to be content with living here in the far-west--and1 what was very sad1 had no means of sending word to its brothers and sisters in the ,pyrenees how it was getting on4 ,what do you mean8 ,are you making fun of me8 ,not the least4 ,i am only telling you a very strange story1 which is literally true4 ,come1 and sit down on this bench4 ,you can't catch that great butterfly1 he is too strong on the wing for you4 ,but oh1 what a beautiful one6 ,yes1 orange and black1 silver and green1 a glorious creature4 ,but you may see him at home sometimes3 that plant close to you1 you cannot see at home4 ,why1 it is only great spurge1 such as grows in the woods at home4 ,no4 ,it is ,irish spurge which grows here1 and sometimes in ,devonshire1 and then again in the west of ,europe1 down to the ,pyrenees4 ,don't touch it4 ,our wood spurge is poisonous enough1 but this is worse still2 if you get a drop of its milk on your lip or eye1 you will be in agonies for half a day4 ,that is the evil plant with which the poachers kill the salmon4 ,how do they do that8 ,when the salmon are spawning up in the little brooks1 and the water is low1 they take that spurge1 and grind it between two stones under water1 and let the milk run down into the pool2 and at that all the poor salmon turn up dead4 ,then comes the water-bailiff1 and catches the poachers4 ,then comes the policeman1 with his sword at his side and his truncheon under his arm3 and then comes a cheap journey to ,tralee ,gaol1 in which those foolish poachers sit and reconsider themselves1 and determine not to break the salmon laws--at least till next time4 ,but why is it that this spurge1 and ,st4 ,patrick's cabbage1 grow only here in the west8 ,if they got here of themselves1 where did they come from8 ,all outside there is sea2 and they could not float over that4 ,come1 ,i say1 and sit down on this bench1 and ,i will tell you a tale1--the story of the ,old ,atlantis1 the sunken land in the far ,west4 ,old ,plato1 the ,greek1 told legends of it1 which you will read some day2 and now it seems as if those old legends had some truth in them1 after all4 ,we are standing now on one of the last remaining scraps of the old ,atlantic land4 ,look down the bay4 ,do you see far away1 under1 the mountains1 little islands1 long and low8 ,oh1 yes4 ,some of these are old slate1 like the mountains2 others are limestone2 bits of the old coral-reef to the west of ,ireland which became dry land4 ,i know4 ,you told me about it4 ,then that land1 which is all eaten up by the waves now1 once joined ,ireland to ,cornwall1 and to ,spain1 and to the ,azores1 and ,i suspect to the ,cape of ,good ,hope1 and what is stranger1 to ,labrador1 on the coast of ,north ,america4 ,oh6 ,how can you know that8 ,listen1 and ,i will give you your first lesson in what ,i call ,bio-geology4 ,what a long word6 ,if you can find a shorter one ,i shall be very much obliged to you1 for ,i hate long words4 ,but what it means is1--,telling how the land has changed in shape1 by the plants and animals upon it4 ,and if you ever read 7as you will7 ,mr4 ,wallace's new book on the ,indian ,archipelago1 you will see what wonderful discoveries men may make about such questions if they will but use their common sense4 ,you know the common pink heather--ling1 as we call it8 ,of course4 ,then that ling grows1 not only here and in the north and west of ,europe1 but in the ,azores too2 and1 what is more strange1 in ,labrador4 ,now1 as ling can neither swim nor fly1 does not common sense tell you that all those countries were probably joined together in old times8 ,well3 but it seems so strange4 ,so it is1 my child2 and so is everything4 ,but1 as the fool says in ,shakespeare-- ,a long time ago the world began1 ,with heigh ho1 the wind and the rain4 ,and the wind and the rain have made strange work with the poor old world ever since4 ,and that is about all that we1 who are not very much wiser than ,shakespeare's fool1 can say about the matter4 ,but again--the ,london ,pride grows here1 and so does another saxifrage very like it1 which we call ,saxifraga ,geum4 ,now1 when ,i saw those two plants growing in the ,western ,pyrenees1 between ,france and ,spain1 and with them the beautiful blue butterwort1 which grows in these ,kerry bogs--we will go and find some--what could ,i say but that ,spain and ,ireland must have been joined once8 ,i suppose it must be so4 ,again4 ,there is a little pink butterwort here in the bogs1 which grows1 too1 in dear old ,devonshire and ,cornwall2 and also in the south-west of ,scotland4 ,now1 when ,i found that too1 in the bogs near ,biarritz1 close to the ,pyrenees1 and knew that it stretched away along the ,spanish coast1 and into ,portugal1 what could my common sense lead me to say but that ,scotland1 and ,ireland1 and ,cornwall1 and ,spain were all joined once8 ,those are only a few examples4 ,i could give you a dozen more4 ,for instance1 on an island away there to the west1 and only in one spot1 there grows a little sort of lily1 which is found ,i believe in ,brittany1 and on the ,spanish and ,portuguese heaths1 and even in ,north-west ,africa4 ,and that ,africa and ,spain were joined not so very long ago at the ,straits of ,gibraltar there is no doubt at all4 ,but where did the ,mediterranean ,sea run out then8 ,perhaps it did not run out at all2 but was a salt-water lake1 like the ,caspian1 or the ,dead ,sea4 ,perhaps it ran out over what is now the ,sahara1 the great desert of sand1 for1 that was a sea-bottom not long ago4 ,but then1 how was this land of ,atlantis joined to the ,cape of ,good ,hope8 ,i cannot say how1 or when either4 ,but this is plain3 the place in the world where the most beautiful heaths grow is the ,cape of ,good ,hope8 ,you know ,i showed you ,cape heaths once at the nursery gardener's at home4 ,oh yes1 pink1 and yellow1 and white2 so much larger than ours4 ,then it seems 7,i only say it seems7 as if there must have been some land once to the westward1 from which the different sorts of heath spread south-eastward to the ,cape1 and north-eastward into ,europe4 ,and that they came north-eastward into ,europe seems certain2 for there are no heaths in ,america or ,asia4 ,but how north-eastward8 ,think4 ,stand with your face to the south and think4 ,if a thing comes from the south-west--from there1 it must go to the north-east-towards there4 ,must it not8 ,oh yes1 ,i see4 ,now then--,the farther you go south-west1 towards ,spain1 the more kinds of heath there are1 and the handsomer2 as if their original home1 from which they started1 was somewhere down there4 ,more sorts6 ,what sorts8 ,how many sorts of heath have we at home8 ,three1 of course3 ling1 and purple heath1 and bottle heath4 ,and there are no more in all ,england1 or ,wales1 or ,scotland1 except--,now1 listen4 ,in the very farthest end of ,cornwall there are two more sorts1 the ,cornish heath and the ,orange-bell2 and they say 7though ,i never saw it7 that the ,orange-bell grows near ,bournemouth4 ,well4 ,that is south and west too4 ,so it is3 but that makes five heaths4 ,now in the south and west of ,ireland all these five heaths grow1 and two more3 the great ,irish heath1 with purple bells1 and the ,mediterranean heath1 which flowers in spring4 ,oh1 ,i know them4 ,they grow in the ,rhododendron beds at home4 ,of course4 ,now again4 ,if you went down to ,spain1 you would find all those seven heaths1 and other sorts with them1 and those which are rare in ,england and ,ireland are common there4 ,about ,biarritz1 on the ,spanish frontier1 all the moors are covered with ,cornish heath1 and the bogs with ,orange-bell1 and lovely they are to see2 and growing among them is a tall heath six feet high1 which they call there bruyere1 or ,broomheath1 because they make brooms of it3 and out of its roots the briar-root pipes are made4 ,there are other heaths about that country1 too1 whose names ,i do not know2 so that when you are there1 you fancy yourself in the very home of the heaths3 but you are not4 ,they must have come from some land near where the ,azores are now2 or how could heaths have got past ,africa1 and the tropics1 to the ,cape of ,good ,hope8 ,it seems very wonderful1 to be able to find out that there was a great land once in the ocean all by a few little heaths4 ,not by them only1 child4 ,there are many other plants1 and animals too1 which make one think that so it must have been4 ,and now ,i will tell you something stranger still4 ,there may have been a time--some people say that there must--when ,africa and ,south ,america were joined by land4 ,africa and ,south ,america6 ,was that before the heaths came here1 or after8 ,i cannot tell3 but ,i think1 probably after4 ,but this is certain1 that there must have been a time when figs1 and bamboos1 and palms1 and sarsaparillas1 and many other sorts of plants could get from ,africa to ,america1 or the other way1 and indeed almost round the world4 ,about the south of ,france and ,italy you will see one beautiful sarsaparilla1 with hooked prickles1 zigzagging and twining about over rocks and ruins1 trunks and stems3 and when you do1 if you have understanding1 it will seem as strange to you as it did to me to remember that the home of the sarsaparillas is not in ,europe1 but in the forests of ,brazil1 and the ,river ,plate4 ,oh1 ,i have heard about their growing there1 and staining the rivers brown1 and making them good medicine to drink3 but ,i never thought there were any in ,europe4 ,there are only one or two1 and how they got there is a marvel indeed4 ,but now--,if there was not dry land between ,africa and ,south ,america1 how did the cats get into ,america8 ,for they cannot swim4 ,cats8 ,people might have brought them over4 ,jaguars and ,pumas1 which you read of in ,captain ,mayne ,reid's books1 are cats1 and so are the ,ocelots or tiger cats4 ,oh1 ,i saw them at the ,zoological ,gardens4 ,but no one would bring them over1 ,i should think1 except to put them in the ,zoo4 ,not unless they were very foolish4 ,and much stronger and cleverer than the savages of ,south ,america4 ,no1 those jaguars and pumus have been in ,america for ages3 and there are those who will tell you--and ,i think they have some reason on their side--that the jaguar1 with his round patches of spots1 was once very much the same as the ,african and ,indian leopard1 who can climb trees well4 ,so when he got into the tropic forests of ,america1 he took to the trees1 and lived among the branches1 feeding on sloths and monkeys1 and never coming to the ground for weeks1 till he grew fatter and stronger and far more terrible than his forefathers4 ,and they will tell you1 too1 that the puma was1 perhaps--,i only say perhaps--something like the lion1 who 7you know7 has no spots4 ,but when he got into the forests1 he found very little food under the trees1 only a very few deer2 and so he was starved1 and dwindled down to the poor little sheep-stealing rogue he is now1 of whom nobody is afraid4 ,oh1 yes6 ,i remember now ,a4 said he and his men killed six in one day4 ,but do you think it is all true about the pumas and jaguars8 ,my child1 ,i don't say that it is true3 but only that it is likely to be true4 ,in science we must be cautious and modest1 and ready to alter our minds whenever we learn fresh facts2 only keeping sure of one thing1 that the truth1 when we find it out1 will be far more wonderful than any notions of ours4 ,see6 ,as we have been talking we have got nearly home3 and luncheon must be ready4 99 99 99 99 99 ,why are you opening your eyes at me like the dog when he wants to go out walking8 ,because ,i want to go out4 ,but ,i don't want to go out walking4 ,i want to go in the yacht4 ,in the yacht8 ,it does not belong to me4 ,oh1 that is only fun4 ,i know everybody is going out in it to see such a beautiful island full of ferns1 and have a picnic on the rocks2 and ,i know you are going4 ,then you know more than ,i do myself4 ,but ,i heard them say you were going4 ,then they know more than ,i do myself4 ,but would you not like to go8 ,i might like to go very much indeed2 but as ,i have been knocked about at sea a good deal1 and perhaps more than ,i intend to be again1 it is no novelty to me1 and there might be other things which ,i liked still better3 for instance1 spending the afternoon with you4 ,then am ,i not to go8 ,i think not4 ,don't pull such a long face3 but be a man1 and make up your mind to it1 as the geese do to going barefoot4 ,but why may ,i not go8 ,because ,i am not ,madam ,how1 but your ,daddy4 ,what can that have to do with it8 ,if you asked ,madam ,how1 do you know what she would answer in a moment1 as civilly and kindly as could be8 ,she would say--,oh yes1 go by all means1 and please yourself1 my pretty little man4 ,my world is the ,paradise which the ,irishman talked of1 in which a man might do what was right in the sight of his own eyes1 and what was wrong too1 as he liked it4 ,then ,madam ,how would let me go in the yacht8 ,of course she would1 or jump overboard when you were in it2 or put your finger in the fire1 and your head afterwards2 or eat ,irish spurge1 and die like the salmon2 or anything else you liked4 ,nobody is so indulgent as ,madam ,how3 and she would be the dearest old lady in the world1 but for one ugly trick that she has4 ,she never tells any one what is coming1 but leaves them to find it out for themselves4 ,she lets them put their fingers in the fire1 and never tells them that they will get burnt4 ,but that is very cruel and treacherous of her4 ,my boy1 our business is not to call hard names1 but to take things as we find them1 as the ,highlandman said when he ate the braxy mutton4 ,now shall ,i1 because ,i am your ,daddy1 tell you what ,madam ,how would not have told you8 ,when you get on board the yacht1 you will think it all very pleasant for an hour1 as long as you are in the bay4 ,but presently you will get a little bored1 and run about the deck1 and disturb people1 and want to sit here1 there1 and everywhere1 which ,i should not like4 ,and when you get beyond that headland1 you will find the great rollers coming in from the ,atlantic1 and the cutter tossing and heaving as you never felt before1 under a burning sun4 ,and then my merry little young gentleman will begin to feel a little sick2 and then very sick1 and more miserable than he ever felt in his life2 and wish a thousand times over that he was safe at home1 even doing sums in long division2 and he will give a great deal of trouble to various kind ladies--which no one has a right to do1 if he can help it4 ,of course ,i do not wish to be sick3 only it looks such beautiful weather4 ,and so it is3 but don't fancy that last night's rain and wind can have passed without sending in such a swell as will frighten you1 when you see the cutter climbing up one side of a wave1 and running down the other2 ,madam ,how tells me that1 though she will not tell you yet4 ,then why do they go out8 ,because they are accustomed to it4 ,they have come hither all round from ,cowes1 past the ,land's ,end1 and past ,cape ,clear1 and they are not afraid or sick either4 ,but shall ,i tell you how you would end this evening8--at least so ,i suspect4 ,lying miserable in a stuffy cabin1 on a sofa1 and not quite sure whether you were dead or alive1 till you were bundled into a boat about twelve o'clock at night1 when you ought to be safe asleep1 and come home cold1 and wet1 and stupid1 and ill1 and lie in bed all to- morrow4 ,but will they be wet and cold8 ,i cannot be sure2 but from the look of the sky there to westward1 ,i think some of them will be4 ,so do you make up your mind to stay with me4 ,but if it is fine and smooth to-morrow1 perhaps we may row down the bay1 and see plenty of wonderful things4 ,but why is it that ,madam ,how will not tell people beforehand what will happen to them1 as you have told me8 ,now ,i will tell you a great secret1 which1 alas6 every one has not found out yet4 ,madam ,how will teach you1 but only by experience4 ,lady ,why will teach you1 but by something very different--by something which has been called--and ,i know no better names for it--grace and inspiration2 by putting into your heart feelings which no man1 not even your father and mother1 can put there2 by making you quick to love what is right1 and hate what is wrong1 simply because they are right and wrong1 though you don't know why they are right and wrong2 by making you teachable1 modest1 reverent1 ready to believe those who are older and wiser than you when they tell you what you could never find out for yourself3 and so you will be prudent1 that is provident1 foreseeing1 and know what will happen if you do so-and-so2 and therefore what is really best and wisest for you4 ,but why will she be kind enough to do that for me8 ,for the very same reason that ,i do it4 ,for ,god's sake4 ,because ,god is your ,father in heaven1 as ,i am your father on earth1 and ,he does not wish ,his little child to be left to the hard teaching of ,nature and ,law1 but to be helped on by many1 many unsought and undeserved favours1 such as are rightly called ,means of ,grace2 and above all by the ,gospel and good news that you are ,god's child1 and that ,god loves you1 and has helped and taught you1 and will help you and teach you1 in a thousand ways of which you are not aware1 if only you will be a wise child1 and listen to ,lady ,why1 when she cries from her ,palace of ,wisdom1 and the feast which she has prepared1 ,whoso is simple let him turn in hither2 and says to him who wants understanding--,come1 eat of my bread1 and drink of the wine which ,i have mingled4 ,counsel is mine1 and sound wisdom3 ,i am understanding2 ,i have strength4 ,by me kings reign1 and princes decree justice4 ,by me princes rule1 and nobles1 even all the judges of the earth4 ,i love them that love me2 and those that seek me early shall find me4 ,riches and honour are with me2 yea1 durable riches and righteousness4 ,yes1 ,i will try and listen to ,lady ,why3 but what will happen if ,i do not8 ,that will happen to you1 my child--but ,god forbid it ever should happen--which happens to wicked kings and rulers1 and all men1 even the greatest and cleverest1 if they do not choose to reign by ,lady ,why's laws1 and decree justice according to her eternal ideas of what is just1 but only do what seems pleasant and profitable to themselves4 ,on them ,lady ,why turns round1 and says--for she1 too1 can be awful1 ay dreadful1 when she needs-- ,because ,i have called1 and ye refused2 ,i have stretched out my hand1 and no man regarded2 but ye have set at nought all my counsel1 and would have none of my reproof-- ,and then come words so terrible1 that ,i will not speak them here in this happy place3 but what they mean is this3-- ,that these foolish people are handed over--as you and ,i shall be if we do wrong wilfully--to ,madam ,how and her terrible school-house1 which is called ,nature and the ,law1 to be treated just as the plants and animals are treated1 because they did not choose to behave like men and children of ,god4 ,and there they learn1 whether they like or not1 what they might have learnt from ,lady ,why all along4 ,they learn the great law1 that as men sow so they will reap2 as they make their bed so they will lie on it3 and ,madam ,how can teach that as no one else can in earth or heaven3 only1 unfortunately for her scholars1 she is apt to hit so hard with her rod1 which is called ,experience1 that they never get over it2 and therefore most of those who will only be taught by ,nature and ,law are killed1 poor creatures1 before they have learnt their lesson2 as many a savage tribe is destroyed1 ay and great and mighty nations too--the old ,roman ,empire among them4 ,and the poor ,jews1 who were carried away captive to ,babylon8 ,yes2 they would not listen to ,lady ,why1 and so they were taken in hand by ,madam ,how1 and were seventy years in her terrible school-house1 learning a lesson which1 to do them justice1 they never forgot again4 ,but now we will talk of something pleasanter4 ,we will go back to ,lady ,why1 and listen to her voice4 ,it sounds gentle and cheerful enough just now4 ,listen4 ,what8 is she speaking to us now8 ,hush6 open your eyes and ears once more1 for you are growing sleepy with my long sermon4 ,watch the sleepy shining water1 and the sleepy green mountains4 ,listen to the sleepy lapping of the ripple1 and the sleepy sighing of the woods1 and let ,lady ,why talk to you through them in songs without words1 because they are deeper than all words1 till you1 too1 fall asleep with your head upon my knee4 ,but what does she say8 ,she says--,be still4 ,the fulness of joy is peace4 ,there1 you are fast asleep2 and perhaps that is the best thing for you2 for sleep will 7so ,i am informed1 though ,i never saw it happen1 nor any one else7 put fresh gray matter into your brain2 or save the wear and tear of the old gray matter2 or something else--when they have settled what it is to do3 and if so1 you will wake up with a fresh fiddle-string to your little fiddle of a brain1 on which you are playing new tunes all day long4 ,so much the better3 but when ,i believe that your brain is you1 pretty boy1 then ,i shall believe also that the fiddler is his fiddle4 ,,chapter ,,xii--,,homeward ,,bound ,come3 ,i suppose you consider yourself quite a good sailor by now8 ,oh1 yes4 ,i have never been ill yet1 though it has been quite rough again and again4 ,what you call rough1 little man4 ,but as you are grown such a very good sailor1 and also as the sea is all but smooth1 ,i think we will have a sail in the yacht to-day1 and that a tolerably long one4 ,oh1 how delightful6 but ,i thought we were going home2 and the things are all packed up4 ,and why should we not go homewards in the yacht1 things and all8 ,what1 all the way to ,england8 ,no1 not so far as that2 but these kind people1 when they came into the harbour last night1 offered to take us up the coast to a town1 where we will sleep1 and start comfortably home to-morrow morning4 ,so now you will have a chance of seeing something of the great sea outside1 and of seeing1 perhaps1 the whale himself4 ,i hope we shall see the whale4 ,the men say he has been outside the harbour every day this week after the fish4 ,very good4 ,now do you keep quiet1 and out of the way1 while we are getting ready to go on board2 and take a last look at this pretty place1 and all its dear kind people4 ,and the dear kind dogs too1 and the cat and the kittens4 99 99 99 99 99 ,now1 come along1 and bundle into the boat1 if you have done bidding every one good-bye2 and take care you don't slip down in the ice-groovings1 as you did the other day4 ,there1 we are off at last4 ,oh1 look at them all on the rock watching us and waving their handkerchiefs2 and ,harper and ,paddy too1 and little ,jimsy and ,isy1 with their fat bare feet1 and their arms round the dogs' necks4 ,i am so sorry to leave them all4 ,not sorry to go home8 ,no1 but--,they have been so kind2 and the dogs were so kind4 ,i am sure they knew we were going1 and were sorry too4 ,perhaps they were4 ,they knew we were going away1 at all events4 ,they know what bringing out boxes and luggage means well enough4 ,sam knew1 ,i am sure2 but he did not care for us4 ,he was only uneasy because he thought ,harper was going1 and he should lose his shooting2 and as soon as he saw ,harper was not getting into the boat1 he sat down and scratched himself1 quite happy4 ,but do dogs think8 ,of course they do1 only they do not think in words1 as we do4 ,but how can they think without words8 ,that is very difficult for you and me to imagine1 because we always think in words4 ,they must think in pictures1 ,i suppose1 by remembering things which have happened to them4 ,you and ,i do that in our dreams4 ,i suspect that savages1 who have very few words to express their thoughts with1 think in pictures1 like their own dogs4 ,but that is a long story4 ,we must see about getting on board now1 and under way4 99 99 99 99 99 ,well1 and what have you been doing8 ,oh1 ,i looked all over the yacht1 at the ropes and curious things2 and then ,i looked at the mountains1 till ,i was tired2 and then ,i heard you and some gentleman talking about the land sinking1 and ,i listened4 ,there was no harm in that8 ,none at all4 ,but what did you hear him say8 ,that the land must be sinking here1 because there were peat-bogs everywhere below high-water mark4 ,is that true8 ,quite true2 and that peat would never have been formed where the salt water could get at it1 as it does now every tide4 ,but what was it he said about that cliff over there8 ,he said that cliff on our right1 a hundred feet high1 was plainly once joined on to that low island on our left4 ,what1 that long bank of stones1 with a house on it8 ,that is no house4 ,that is a square lump of mud1 the last remaining bit of earth which was once the moraine of a glacier4 ,every year it crumbles into the sea more and more2 and in a few years it will be all gone1 and nothing left but the great round boulder-stones which the ice brought down from the glaciers behind us4 ,but how does he know that it was once joined to the cliff8 ,because that cliff1 and the down behind it1 where the cows are fed1 is made up1 like the island1 of nothing but loose earth and stones2 and that is why it is bright and green beside the gray rocks and brown heather of the moors at its foot4 ,he knows that it must be an old glacier moraine2 and he has reason to think that moraine once stretched right across the bay to the low island1 and perhaps on to the other shore1 and was eaten out by the sea as the land sank down4 ,but how does he know that the land sank8 ,of that1 he says1 he is quite certain2 and this is what he says4--,suppose there was a glacier here1 where we are sailing now3 it would end in an ice cliff1 such as you have seen a picture of in ,captain ,cook's ,voyages1 of which you are so fond4 ,you recollect the pictures of ,christmas ,sound and ,possession ,bay8 ,oh yes1 and pictures of ,greenland and ,spitzbergen too1 with glaciers in the sea4 ,then icebergs would break off from that cliff1 and carry all the dirt and stones out to sea1 perhaps hundreds of miles away1 instead of letting it drop here in a heap2 and what did fall in a heap here the sea would wash down at once1 and smooth it over the sea-bottom1 and never let it pile up in a huge bank like that4 ,do you understand8 ,i think ,i do4 ,therefore1 he says1 that great moraine must have been built upon dry land1 in the open air2 and must have sunk since into the sea1 which is gnawing at it day and night1 and will some day eat it all up1 as it would eat up all the dry land in the world1 if ,madam ,how was not continually lifting up fresh land1 to make up for what the sea has carried off4 ,oh1 look there6 some one has caught a fish1 and is hauling it up4 ,what a strange creature6 ,it is not a mackerel1 nor a gurnet1 nor a pollock4 ,how do you know that8 ,why1 it is running along the top of the water like a snake2 and they never do that4 ,here it comes4 ,it has got a long beak1 like a snipe4 ,oh1 let me see4 ,see if you like3 but don't get in the way4 ,remember you are but a little boy4 ,what is it8 a snake with a bird's head8 ,no3 a snake has no fins2 and look at its beak3 it is full of little teeth1 which no bird has4 ,but a very curious fellow he is1 nevertheless3 and his name is ,gar-fish4 ,some call him ,green-bone1 because his bones are green4 ,but what kind of fish is he8 ,he is like nothing ,i ever saw4 ,i believe he is nearest to a pike1 though his backbone is different from a pike1 and from all other known fishes4 ,but is he not very rare8 ,oh no3 he comes to ,devonshire and ,cornwall with the mackerel1 as he has come here2 and in calm weather he will swim on the top of the water1 and play about1 and catch flies1 and stand bolt upright with his long nose in the air2 and when the fisher-boys throw him a stick1 he will jump over it again and again1 and play with it in the most ridiculous way4 ,and what will they do with him8 ,cut him up for bait1 ,i suppose1 for he is not very good to eat4 ,certainly1 he does smell very nasty4 ,have you only just found out that8 ,sometimes when ,i have caught one1 he has made the boat smell so that ,i was glad to throw him overboard1 and so he saved his life by his nastiness4 ,but they will catch plenty of mackerel now2 for where he is they are2 and where they are1 perhaps the whale will be2 for we are now well outside the harbour1 and running across the open bay2 and lucky for you that there are no rollers coming in from the ,atlantic1 and spouting up those cliffs in columns of white foam4 99 99 99 99 99 ,hoch6 ,ah6 ,who was that coughed just behind the ship8 ,who1 indeed8 look round and see4 ,there is nobody4 ,there could not be in the sea4 ,look--there1 a quarter of a mile away4 ,oh6 ,what is that turning over in the water1 like a great black wheel8 ,and a great tooth on it1 and--oh6 it is gone6 ,never mind4 ,it will soon show itself again4 ,but what was it8 ,the whale3 one of them1 at least2 for the men say there are two different ones about the bay4 ,that black wheel was part of his back1 as he turned down2 and the tooth on it was his back-fin4 ,but the noise1 like a giant's cough8 ,rather like the blast of a locomotive just starting4 ,that was his breath4 ,what8 as loud as that8 ,why not8 ,he is a very big fellow1 and has big lungs4 ,how big is he8 ,i cannot say3 perhaps thirty or forty feet long4 ,we shall be able to see better soon4 ,he will come up again1 and very likely nearer us1 where those birds are4 ,i don't want him to come any nearer4 ,you really need not be afraid4 ,he is quite harmless4 ,but he might run against the yacht4 ,he might3 and so might a hundred things happen which never do4 ,but ,i never heard of one of these whales running against a vessel2 so ,i suppose he has sense enough to know that the yacht is no concern of his1 and to keep out of its way4 ,but why does he make that tremendous noise only once1 and then go under water again8 ,you must remember that he is not a fish4 ,a fish takes the water in through his mouth continually1 and it runs over his gills1 and out behind through his gill-covers4 ,so the gills suck-up the air out of the water1 and send it into the fish's blood1 just as they do in the newt-larva4 ,yes1 ,i know4 ,but the whale breathes with lungs like you and me2 and when he goes under water he has to hold his breath1 as you and ,i have4 ,what a long time he can hold it4 ,yes4 ,he is a wonderful diver4 ,some whales1 they say1 will keep under for an hour4 ,but while he is under1 mind1 the air in his lungs is getting foul1 and full of carbonic acid1 just as it would in your lungs1 if you held your breath4 ,so he is forced to come up at last3 and then out of his blowers1 which are on the top of his head1 he blasts out all the foul breath1 and with it the water which has got into his mouth1 in a cloud of spray4 ,then he sucks in fresh air1 as much as he wants1 and dives again1 as you saw him do just now4 ,and what does he do under water8 ,look--and you will see4 ,look at those birds4 ,we will sail up to them2 for ,mr4 ,whale will probably rise among them soon4 ,oh1 what a screaming and what a fighting6 ,how many sorts there are6 ,what are those beautiful little ones1 like great white swallows1 with crested heads and forked tails1 who hover1 and then dip down and pick up something8 ,terns--sea-swallows4 ,and there are gulls in hundreds1 you see1 large and small1 gray-backed and black-backed2 and over them all two or three great gannets swooping round and round4 ,oh6 one has fallen into the sea6 ,yes1 with a splash just like a cannon ball4 ,and here he comes up again1 with a fish in his beak4 ,if he had fallen on your head1 with that beak of his1 he would have split it open4 ,i have heard of men catching gannets by tying a fish on a board1 and letting it float2 and when the gannet strikes at it he drives his bill into the board1 and cannot get it out4 ,but is not that cruel8 ,i think so4 ,gannets are of no use1 for eating1 or anything else4 ,what a noise6 ,it is quite deafening4 ,and what are those black birds about1 who croak like crows1 or parrots8 ,look at them4 ,some have broad bills1 with a white stripe on it1 and cry something like the moor-hens at home4 ,those are razor-bills4 ,and what are those who say marrock1 something like a parrot8 ,the ones with thin bills8 they are guillemots1 murres as we call them in ,devon3 but in some places they call them marrocks1 from what they say4 ,and each has a little baby bird swimming behind it4 ,oh6 there3 the mother has cocked up her tail and dived1 and the little one is swimming about looking for her6 ,how it cries6 ,it is afraid of the yacht4 ,and there she comes up again1 and cries marrock to call it4 ,look at it swimming up to her1 and cuddling to her1 quite happy4 ,quite happy4 ,and do you not think that any one who took a gun and shot either that mother or that child would be both cowardly and cruel8 ,but they might eat them4 ,these sea-birds are not good to eat4 ,they taste too strong of fish-oil4 ,they are of no use at all1 except that the gulls' and terns' feathers are put into girls' hats4 ,well they might find plenty of other things to put in their hats4 ,so ,i think4 ,yes3 it would be very cruel1 very cruel indeed1 to do what some do1 shoot at these poor things1 and leave them floating about wounded till they die4 ,but ,i suppose1 if one gave them one's mind about such doings1 and threatened to put the new ,sea ,fowl ,act in force against them1 and fine them1 and show them up in the newspapers1 they would say they meant no harm1 and had never thought about its being cruel4 ,then they ought to think4 ,they ought2 and so ought you4 ,half the cruelty in the world1 like half the misery1 comes simply from people's not thinking2 and boys are often very cruel from mere thoughtlessness4 ,so when you are tempted to rob birds' nests1 or to set the dogs on a moorhen1 or pelt wrens in the hedge1 think2 and say--,how should ,i like that to be done to me8 ,i know3 but what are all the birds doing8 ,look at the water1 how it sparkles4 ,it is alive with tiny fish1 fry1 brett as we call them in the ,west1 which the mackerel are driving up to the top4 ,poor little things6 ,how hard on them6 ,the big fish at them from below1 and the birds at them from above4 ,and what is that8 ,thousands of fish leaping out of the water1 scrambling over each other's backs4 ,what a curious soft rushing roaring noise they make6 ,aha6 ,the eaters are going to be eaten in turn4 ,those are the mackerel themselves2 and ,i suspect they see ,mr4 ,whale1 and are scrambling out of the way as fast as they can1 lest he should swallow them down1 a dozen at a time4 ,look out sharp for him now4 ,i hope he will not come very near4 ,no4 ,the fish are going from us and past us4 ,if he comes up1 he will come up astern of us1 so look back4 ,there he is6 ,that8 ,i thought it was a boat4 ,yes4 ,he does look very like a boat upside down4 ,but that is only his head and shoulders4 ,he will blow next4 ,hoch6 ,oh6 ,what a jet of spray1 like the ,geysers6 ,and the sun made a rainbow on the top of it4 ,he is quite still now4 ,yes2 he is taking a long breath or two4 ,you need not hold my hand so tight4 ,his head is from us2 and when he goes down he will go right away4 ,oh1 he is turning head over heels6 ,there is his back fin again4 ,and--,ah6 was that not a slap6 ,how the water boiled and foamed2 and what a tail he had6 ,and how the mackerel flew out of the water6 ,yes4 ,you are a lucky boy to have seen that4 ,i have not seen one of those gentlemen show his flukes1 as they call them1 since ,i was a boy on the ,cornish coast4 ,where is he gone8 ,hunting mackerel1 away out at sea4 ,but did you notice something odd about his tail1 as you call it--though it is really none8 ,it looked as if it was set on flat1 and not upright1 like a fish's4 ,but why is it not a tail8 ,just because it is set on flat1 not upright3 and learned men will tell you that those two flukes are the rudiments--that is1 either the beginning1 or more likely the last remains--of two hind feet4 ,but that belongs to the second volume of ,madam ,how's ,book of ,kind2 and you have not yet learned any of the first volume1 you know1 except about a few butterflies4 ,look here6 ,here are more whales coming4 ,don't be frightened4 ,they are only little ones1 mackerel-hunting1 like the big one4 ,what pretty smooth things1 turning head over heels1 and saying1 ,hush1 ,hush6 ,they don't really turn clean over2 and that ,hush is their way of breathing4 ,are they the young ones of that great monster8 ,no2 they are porpoises4 ,that big one is1 ,i believe1 a bottle-nose4 ,but if you want to know about the kinds of whales1 you must ask ,dr4 ,flower at the ,royal ,college of ,surgeons1 and not me3 and he will tell you wonderful things about them4--,how some of them have mouths full of strong teeth1 like these porpoises2 and others1 like the great sperm whale in the ,south ,sea1 have huge teeth in their lower jaws1 and in the upper only holes into which those teeth fit2 others like the bottle-nose1 only two teeth or so in the lower jaw2 and others1 like the narwhal1 two straight tusks in the upper jaw1 only one of which grows1 and is what you call a narwhal's horn4 ,oh yes4 ,i know of a walking-stick made of one4 ,and strangest of all1 how the right-whales have a few little teeth when they are born1 which never come through the gums2 but1 instead1 they grow all along their gums1 an enormous curtain of clotted hair1 which serves as a net to keep in the tiny sea-animals on which they feed1 and let the water strain out4 ,you mean whalebone8 ,is whalebone hair8 ,so it seems4 ,and so is a rhinoceros's horn4 ,a rhinoceros used to be hairy all over in old times3 but now he carries all his hair on the end of his nose1 except a few bristles on his tail4 ,and the right-whale1 not to be done in oddity1 carries all his on his gums4 ,but have no whales any hair8 ,no real whales3 but the ,manati1 which is very nearly a whale1 has long bristly hair left4 ,don't you remember ,m4's letter about the one he saw at ,rio ,janeiro8 ,this is all very funny3 but what is the use of knowing so much about things' teeth and hair8 ,what is the use of learning ,latin and ,greek1 and a dozen things more which you have to learn8 ,you don't know yet3 but wiser people than you tell you that they will be of use some day4 ,and ,i can tell you1 that if you would only study that gar-fish long enough1 and compare him with another fish something like him1 who has a long beak to his lower jaw1 and none to his upper--and how he eats ,i cannot guess1--and both of them again with certain fishes like them1 which ,m4 ,agassiz has found lately1 not in the sea1 but in the river ,amazon2 and then think carefully enough over their bones and teeth1 and their history from the time they are hatched--why1 you would find out1 ,i believe1 a story about the river ,amazon itself1 more wonderful than all the fairy tales you ever read4 ,now there is luncheon ready4 ,come down below1 and don't tumble down the companion-stairs2 and by the time you have eaten your dinner we shall be very near the shore4 99 99 99 99 99 ,so8 ,here is my little man on deck1 after a good night's rest4 ,and he has not been the least sick1 ,i hear4 ,not a bit3 but the cabin was so stuffy and hot1 ,i asked leave to come on deck4 ,what a huge steamer6 ,but ,i do not like it as well as the yacht4 ,it smells of oil and steam1 and-- ,and pigs and bullocks too1 ,i am sorry to say4 ,don't go forward above them1 but stay here with me1 and look round4 ,where are we now8 ,what are those high hills1 far away to the left1 above the lowlands and woods8 ,those are the shore of the ,old ,world--the ,welsh mountains4 ,and in front of us ,i can see nothing but flat land4 ,where is that8 ,that is the mouth of the ,severn and ,avon2 where we shall be in half an hour more4 ,and there1 on the right1 over the low hills1 ,i can see higher ones1 blue and hazy4 ,those are an island of the ,old ,world1 called now the ,mendip ,hills2 and we are steaming along the great strait between the ,mendips and the ,welsh mountains1 which once was coral reef1 and is now the ,severn sea2 and by the time you have eaten your breakfast we shall steam in through a crack in that coral-reef2 and you will see what you missed seeing when you went to ,ireland1 because you went on board at night4 99 99 99 99 99 ,oh6 ,where have we got to now8 ,where is the wide ,severn ,sea8 ,two or three miles beyond us2 and here we are in narrow little ,avon4 ,narrow indeed4 ,i wonder that the steamer does not run against those rocks4 ,but how beautiful they are1 and how the trees hang down over the water1 and are all reflected in it6 ,yes4 ,the gorge of the ,avon is always lovely4 ,i saw it first when ,i was a little boy like you2 and ,i have seen it many a time since1 in sunshine and in storm1 and thought it more lovely every time4 ,look6 there is something curious4 ,what8 ,those great rusty rings fixed into the rock8 ,yes4 ,those may be as old1 for aught ,i know1 as ,queen ,elizabeth's or ,james's reign4 ,but why were they put there8 ,for ships to hold on by1 if they lost the tide4 ,what do you mean8 ,it is high tide now4 ,that is why the water is almost up to the branches of the trees4 ,but when the tide turns1 it will all rush out in a torrent which would sweep ships out to sea again1 if they had not steam1 as we have1 to help them up against the stream4 ,so sailing ships1 in old times1 fastened themselves to those rings1 and rode against the stream till the tide turned1 and carried them up to ,bristol4 ,but what is the tide8 ,and why does it go up and down8 ,and why does it alter with the moon1 as ,i heard you all saying so often in ,ireland8 ,that is a long story1 which ,i must tell you something about some other time4 ,now ,i want you to look at something else3 and that is1 the rocks themselves1 in which the rings are4 ,they are very curious in my eyes1 and very valuable2 for they taught me a lesson in geology when ,i was quite a boy3 and ,i want them to teach it to you now4 ,what is there curious in them8 ,this4 ,you will soon see for yourself1 even from the steamer's deck1 that they are not the same rock as the high limestone hills above4 ,they are made up of red sand and pebbles2 and they are a whole world younger1 indeed some say two worlds younger1 than the limestone hills above1 and lie upon the top of the limestone4 ,now you may see what ,i meant when ,i said that the newer rocks1 though they lie on the top of the older1 were often lower down than they are4 ,but how do you know that they lie on the limestone8 ,look into that corner of the river1 as we turn round1 and you will see with your own eyes4 ,there are the sandstones1 lying flat on the turned- up edges of another rock4 ,yes2 ,i see4 ,the layers of it are almost upright4 ,then that upright rock underneath is part of the great limestone hill above4 ,so the hill must have been raised out of the sea1 ages ago1 and eaten back by the waves2 and then the sand and pebbles made a beach at its foot1 and hardened into stone2 and there it is4 ,and when you get through the limestone hills to ,bristol1 you will see more of these same red sandstone rocks1 spread about at the foot of the limestone-hills1 on the other side4 ,but why is the sandstone two worlds newer than the limestone8 ,because between that sandstone and that limestone come hundreds of feet of rock1 which carry in them all the coal in ,england4 ,don't you remember that ,i told you that once before8 ,oh yes4 ,but ,i see no coal between them there4 ,no4 ,but there is plenty of coal between them over in ,wales2 and plenty too between them on the other side of ,bristol4 ,what you are looking at there is just the lip of a great coal-box1 where the bottom and the lid join4 ,the bottom is the mountain limestone2 and the lid is the new red sandstone1 or ,trias1 as they call it now3 but the coal you cannot see4 ,it is stowed inside the box1 miles away from here4 ,but now1 look at the cliffs and the downs1 which 7they tell me7 are just like the downs in the ,holy ,land2 and the woods and villas1 high over your head4 ,and what is that in the air8 ,a bridge8 ,yes--that is the famous ,suspension ,bridge--and a beautiful work of art it is4 ,ay1 stare at it1 and wonder at it1 little man1 of course4 ,but is it not wonderful8 ,yes3 it was a clever trick to get those chains across the gulf1 high up in the air3 but not so clever a trick as to make a single stone of which those piers are built1 or a single flower or leaf in those woods4 ,the more you see of ,madam ,how's masonry and carpentry1 the clumsier man's work will look to you4 ,but now we must get ready to give up our tickets1 and go ashore1 and settle ourselves in the train2 and then we shall have plenty to see as we run home2 more curious1 to my mind1 than any suspension bridge4 ,and you promised to show me all the different rocks and soils as we went home1 because it was so dark when we came from ,reading4 ,very good4 99 99 99 99 99 ,now we are settled in the train4 ,and what do you want to know first8 ,more about the new rocks being lower than the old ones1 though they lie on the top of them4 ,well1 look here1 at this sketch4 ,a boy piling up slates8 ,what has that to do with it8 ,i saw you in ,ireland piling slates against a rock just in this way4 ,and ,i thought to myself--,that is something like ,madam ,how's work4 ,how8 ,why1 see4 ,the old rock stands for the mountains of the ,old ,world1 like the ,welsh mountains1 or the ,mendip ,hills4 ,the slates stand for the new rocks1 which have been piled up against these1 one over the other4 ,but1 you see1 each slate is lower than the one before it1 and slopes more2 till the last slate which you are putting on is the lowest of all1 though it overlies all4 ,i see now4 ,i see now4 ,then look at the sketch of the rocks between this and home4 ,it is only a rough sketch1 of course3 but it will make you understand something more about the matter4 ,now4 ,you see1 the lump marked ,a4 ,with twisted lines in it4 ,that stands for the ,mendip ,hills to the west1 which are made of old red sandstone1 very much the same rock 7to speak roughly7 as the ,kerry mountains4 ,and why are the lines in it twisted8 ,to show that the strata1 the layers in it1 are twisted1 and set up at quite different angles from the limestone4 ,but how was that done8 ,by old earthquakes and changes which happened in old worlds1 ages on ages since4 ,then the edges of the old red sandstone were eaten away by the sea--and some think by ice too1 in some earlier age of ice2 and then the limestone coral reef was laid down on them1 unconformably1 as geologists say--just as you saw the new red sandstone laid down on the edges of the limestone2 and so one world is built up on the edge of another world1 out of its scraps and ruins4 ,then do you see ,b4 ,with a notch in it8 ,that means these limestone hills on the shoulder of the ,mendips2 and that notch is the gorge of the ,avon which we have steamed through4 ,and what is that black above it8 ,that is the coal1 a few miles off1 marked ,c4 ,and what is this ,d1 which comes next8 ,that is what we are on now4 ,new red sandstone1 lying unconformably on the coal4 ,i showed it you in the bed of the river1 as we came along in the cab4 ,we are here in a sort of amphitheatre1 or half a one1 with the limestone hills around us1 and the new red sandstone plastered on1 as it were1 round the bottom of it inside4 ,but what is this high bit with ,e against it8 ,those are the high hills round ,bath1 which we shall run through soon4 ,they are newer than the soil here2 and they are 7for an exception7 higher too2 for they are so much harder than the soil here1 that the sea has not eaten them away1 as it has all the lowlands from ,bristol right into the ,somersetshire flats4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there4 ,we are off at last1 and going to run home to ,reading1 through one of the loveliest lines 7as ,i think7 of old ,england4 ,and between the intervals of eating fruit1 we will geologize on the way home1 with this little bit of paper to show us where we are4 ,what pretty rocks6 ,yes4 ,they are a boss of the coal measures1 ,i believe1 shoved up with the lias1 the lias lying round them4 ,but ,i warn you ,i may not be quite right3 because ,i never looked at a geological map of this part of the line1 and have learnt what ,i know1 just as ,i want you to learn simply by looking out of the carriage window4 ,look4 ,here is lias rock in the side of the cutting2 layers of hard blue limestone1 and then layers of blue mud between them1 in which1 if you could stop to look1 you would find fossils in plenty2 and along that lias we shall run to ,bath1 and then all the rocks will change4 99 99 99 99 99 ,now1 here we are at ,bath2 and here are the handsome fruit-women1 waiting for you to buy4 ,and oh1 what strawberries and cherries6 ,yes4 ,all this valley is very rich1 and very sheltered too1 and very warm2 for the soft south-western air sweeps up it from the ,bristol ,channel2 so the slopes are covered with fruit-orchards1 as you will see as you get out of the station4 ,why1 we are above the tops of the houses4 ,yes4 ,we have been rising ever since we left ,bristol2 and you will soon see why4 ,now we have laid in as much fruit as is safe for you1 and away we go4 ,oh1 what high hills over the town6 ,and what beautiful stone houses6 ,even the cottages are built of stone4 ,all that stone comes out of those high hills1 into which we are going now4 ,it is called ,bath-stone freestone1 or oolite2 and it lies on the top of the lias1 which we have just left4 ,here it is marked ,f4 ,what steep hills1 and cliffs too1 and with quarries in them6 ,what can have made them so steep8 ,and what can have made this little narrow valley8 ,madam ,how's rain-spade from above1 ,i suppose1 and perhaps the sea gnawing at their feet below4 ,those freestone hills once stretched high over our heads1 and far away1 ,i suppose1 to the westward4 ,now they are all gnawed out into cliffs1--indeed gnawed clean through in the bottom of the valley1 where the famous hot springs break out in which people bathe4 ,is that why the place is called ,bath8 ,of course4 ,but the ,old ,romans called the place ,aquae ,solis--the waters of the sun2 and curious old ,roman remains are found here1 which we have not time to stop and see4 ,now look out at the pretty clear limestone stream running to meet us below1 and the great limestone hills closing over us above4 ,how do you think we shall get out from among them8 ,shall we go over their tops8 ,no4 ,that would be too steep a climb1 for even such a great engine as this4 ,then there is a crack which we can get through8 ,look and see4 ,why1 we are coming to a regular wall of hill1 and-- ,and going right through it in the dark4 ,we are in the ,box ,tunnel4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is the light again3 and now ,i suppose you will find your tongue4 ,how long it seemed before we came out6 ,yes1 because you were waiting and watching1 with nothing to look at3 but the tunnel is only a mile and a quarter long after all1 ,i believe4 ,if you had been looking at fields and hedgerows all the while1 you would have thought no time at all had passed4 ,what curious sandy rocks on each side of the cutting1 in lines and layers4 ,those are the freestone still3 and full of fossils they are4 ,but do you see that they dip away from us8 ,remember that4 ,all the rocks are sloping eastward1 the way we are going2 and each new rock or soil we come to lies on the top of the one before it4 ,now we shall run down hill for many a mile1 down the back of the oolites1 past pretty ,chippenham1 and ,wootton-,bassett1 towards ,swindon spire4 ,look at the country1 child2 and thank ,god for this fair ,english land1 in which your lot is cast4 ,what beautiful green fields2 and such huge elm trees2 and orchards2 and flowers in the cottage gardens6 ,ay1 and what crops1 too3 what wheat and beans1 turnips and mangold4 ,all this land is very rich and easily worked2 and hereabouts is some of the best farming in ,england4 ,the ,agricultural ,college at ,cirencester1 of which you have so often heard1 lies thereaway1 a few miles to our left2 and there lads go to learn to farm as no men in the world1 save ,english and ,scotch1 know how to farm4 ,but what rock are we on now8 ,on rock that is much softer than that on the other side of the oolite hills3 much softer1 because it is much newer4 ,we have got off the oolites on to what is called the ,oxford clay2 and then1 ,i believe1 on to the ,coral rag1 and on that again lies what we are coming to now4 ,do you see the red sand in that field8 ,then that is the lowest layer of a fresh world1 so to speak2 a world still younger than the oolites--the chalk world4 ,but that is not chalk1 or anything like it4 ,no1 that is what is called ,greensand4 ,but it is not green1 it is red4 ,i know3 but years ago it got the name from one green vein in it1 in which the ,coprolites1 as you learnt to call them at ,cambridge1 are found2 and that1 and a little layer of blue clay1 called gault1 between the upper ,greensand and lower ,greensand1 runs along everywhere at the foot of the chalk hills4 ,i see the hills now4 ,are they chalk8 ,yes1 chalk they are3 so we may begin to feel near home now4 ,see how they range away to the south toward ,devizes1 and ,westbury1 and ,warminster1 a goodly land and large4 ,at their feet1 everywhere1 run the rich pastures on which the ,wiltshire cheese is made2 and here and there1 as at ,westbury1 there is good iron-ore in the greensand1 which is being smelted now1 as it used to be in the ,weald of ,surrey and ,kent ages since4 ,i must tell you about that some other time4 ,but are there ,coprolites here8 ,i believe there are3 ,i know there are some at ,swindon2 and ,i do not see why they should not be found1 here and there1 all the way along the foot of the downs1 from here to ,cambridge4 ,but do these downs go to ,cambridge8 ,of course they do4 ,we are now in the great valley which runs right across ,england from south-west to north-east1 from ,axminster in ,devonshire to ,hunstanton in ,norfolk1 with the chalk always on your right hand1 and the oolite hills on your left1 till it ends by sinking into the sea1 among the fens of ,lincolnshire and ,norfolk4 ,but what made that great valley8 ,i am not learned enough to tell4 ,only this ,i think we can say--that once on a time these chalk downs on our right reached high over our heads here1 and far to the north2 and that ,madam ,how pared them away1 whether by icebergs1 or by sea-waves1 or merely by rain1 ,i cannot tell4 ,well1 those downs do look very like sea-cliffs4 ,so they do1 very like an old shore-line4 ,be that as it may1 after the chalk was eaten away1 ,madam ,how began digging into the soils below the chalk1 on which we are now2 and because they were mostly soft clays1 she cut them out very easily1 till she came down1 or nearly down1 to the harder freestone rocks which run along on our left hand1 miles away2 and so she scooped out this great vale1 which we call here the ,vale of ,white ,horse2 and further on1 the ,vale of ,aylesbury2 and then the ,bedford ,level2 and then the dear ugly old ,fens4 ,is this the ,vale of ,white ,horse8 ,oh1 ,i know about it2 ,i have read ,the ,scouring of the ,white ,horse4 ,of course you have2 and when you are older you will read a jollier book still1--,tom ,brown's ,school ,days--and when we have passed ,swindon1 we shall see some of the very places described in it1 close on our right4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is the ,white ,horse ,hill4 ,the ,white ,horse ,hill8 ,but where is the horse8 ,i can see a bit of him3 but he does not look like a horse from here1 or indeed from any other place2 he is a very old horse indeed1 and a thousand years of wind and rain have spoilt his anatomy a good deal on the top of that wild down4 ,and is that really where ,alfred fought the ,danes8 ,as certainly1 boy1 ,i believe1 as that ,waterloo is where the ,duke fought ,napoleon4 ,yes3 you may well stare at it with all your eyes1 the noble down4 ,it is one of the most sacred spots on ,english soil4 ,ah1 it is gone now4 ,the train runs so fast4 ,so it does2 too fast to let you look long at one thing3 but in return1 it lets you see so many more things in a given time than the slow old coaches and posters did4--,well8 what is it8 ,i wanted to ask you a question1 but you won't listen to me4 ,won't ,i8 ,i suppose ,i was dreaming with my eyes open4 ,you see1 ,i have been so often along this line--and through this country1 too1 long before the line was made--that ,i cannot pass it without its seeming full of memories--perhaps of ghosts4 ,of real ghosts8 ,as real ghosts1 ,i suspect1 as any one on earth ever saw2 faces and scenes which have printed themselves so deeply on one's brain1 that when one passes the same place1 long years after1 they start up again1 out of fields and roadsides1 as if they were alive once more1 and need sound sense to send them back again into their place as things which are past for ever1 for good and ill4 ,but what did you want to know8 ,why1 ,i am so tired of looking out of the window4 ,it is all the same3 fields and hedges1 hedges and fields2 and ,i want to talk4 ,fields and hedges1 hedges and fields8 ,peace and plenty1 plenty and peace4 ,however1 it may seem dull1 now that the grass is cut2 but you would not have said so two months ago1 when the fields were all golden- green with buttercups1 and the whitethorn hedges like crested waves of snow4 ,i should like to take a foreigner down the ,vale of ,berkshire in the end of ,may1 and ask him what he thought of old ,england4 ,but what shall we talk about8 ,i want to know about ,coprolites1 if they dig them here1 as they do at ,cambridge4 ,i don't think they do4 ,but ,i suspect they will some day4 ,but why do people dig them8 ,because they are rational men1 and want manure for their fields4 ,but what are ,coprolites8 ,well1 they were called ,coprolites at first because some folk fancied they were the leavings of fossil animals1 such as you may really find in the lias at ,lynn in ,dorsetshire4 ,but they are not that2 and all we can say is1 that a long time ago1 before the chalk began to be made1 there was a shallow sea in ,england1 the shore of which was so covered with dead animals1 that the bone-earth 7the phosphate of lime7 out of them crusted itself round every bone1 and shell1 and dead sea-beast on the shore1 and got covered up with fresh sand1 and buried for ages as a mine of wealth4 ,but how many millions of dead creatures1 there must have been6 ,what killed them8 ,we do not know4 ,no more do we know how it comes to pass that this thin band 7often only a few inches thick7 of dead creatures should stretch all the way from ,dorsetshire to ,norfolk1 and1 ,i believe1 up through ,lincolnshire4 ,and what is stranger still1 this same bone-earth bed crops out on the south side of the chalk at ,farnham1 and stretches along the foot of those downs1 right into ,kent1 making the richest hop lands in ,england1 through ,surrey1 and away to ,tunbridge4 ,so that it seems as if the bed lay under the chalk everywhere1 if once we could get down to it4 ,but how does it make the hop lands so rich8 ,because hops1 like tobacco and vines1 take more phosphorus out of the soil than any other plants which we grow in ,england2 and it is the washings of this bone-earth bed which make the lower lands in ,farnham so unusually rich1 that in some of them--the garden1 for instance1 under the ,bishop's castle--have grown hops without resting1 ,i believe1 for three hundred years4 ,but who found out all this about the ,coprolites8 ,ah--,i will tell you2 and show you how scientific men1 whom ignorant people sometimes laugh at as dreamers1 and mere pickers up of useless weeds and old stones1 may do real service to their country and their countrymen1 as ,i hope you will some day4 ,there was a clergyman named ,henslow1 now with ,god1 honoured by all scientific men1 a kind friend and teacher of mine1 loved by every little child in his parish4 ,his calling was botany3 but he knew something of geology4 ,and some of these ,coprolites were brought him as curiosities1 because they had fossils in them4 ,but he 7so the tale goes7 had the wit to see that they were not1 like other fossils1 carbonate of lime1 but phosphate of lime--bone earth4 ,whereon he told the neighbouring farmers that they had a mine of wealth opened to them1 if they would but use them for manure4 ,and after a while he was listened to4 ,then others began to find them in the ,eastern counties2 and then another man1 as learned and wise as he was good and noble--,john ,paine of ,farnham1 also now with ,god--found them on his own estate1 and made much use and much money of them3 and now tens of thousands of pounds' worth of valuable manure are made out of them every year1 in ,cambridgeshire and ,bedfordshire1 by digging them out of land which was till lately only used for common farmers' crops4 ,but how do they turn ,coprolites into manure8 ,i used to see them in the railway trucks at ,cambridge1 and they were all like what ,i have at home--hard pebbles4 ,they grind them first in a mill4 ,then they mix them with sulphuric acid and water1 and that melts them down1 and parts them into two things4 ,one is sulphate of lime 7gypsum1 as it is commonly called71 and which will not dissolve in water1 and is of little use4 ,but the other is what is called superphosphate of lime1 which will dissolve in water2 so that the roots of the plants can suck it up3 and that is one of the richest of manures4 ,oh1 ,i know3 you put superphosphate on the grass last year4 ,yes4 ,but not that kind2 a better one still4 ,the superphosphate from the ,copiolites is good2 but the superphosphate from fresh bones is better still1 and therefore dearer1 because it has in it the fibrine of the bones1 which is full of nitrogen1 like gristle or meat2 and all that has been washed out of the bone-earth bed ages and ages ago4 ,but you must learn some chemistry to understand that4 ,i should like to be a scientific man1 if one can find out such really useful things by science4 ,child1 there is no saying what you might find out1 or of what use you may be to your fellow-men4 ,a man working at science1 however dull and dirty his work may seem at times1 is like one of those chiffoniers1 as they call them in ,paris--people who spend their lives in gathering rags and sifting refuse1 but who may put their hands at any moment upon some precious jewel4 ,and not only may you be able to help your neighbours to find out what will give them health and wealth3 but you may1 if you can only get them to listen to you1 save them from many a foolish experiment1 which ends in losing money just for want of science4 ,i have heard of a man who1 for want of science1 was going to throw away great sums 7,i believe he1 luckily for him1 never could raise the money7 in boring for coal in our ,bagshot sands at home4 ,the man thought that because there was coal under the heather moors in the ,north1 there must needs be coal here likewise1 when a geologist could have told him the contrary4 ,there was another man at ,hennequin's ,lodge1 near the ,wellington ,college1 who thought he would make the poor sands fertile by manuring them with whale oil1 of all things in the world4 ,so he not only lost all the cost of his whale oil1 but made the land utterly barren1 as it is unto this day2 and all for want of science4 ,and ,i knew a manufacturer1 too1 who went to bore an ,artesian well for water1 and hired a regular well-borer to do it4 ,but1 meanwhile he was wise enough to ask a geologist of those parts how far he thought it was down to the water4 ,the geologist made his calculations1 and said3 ,you will go through so many feet of ,bagshot sand2 and so many feet of ,london clay2 and so many feet of the ,thanet beds between them and the chalk3 and then you will win water1 at about #dab feet2 but not1 ,i think1 till then4 ,the well-sinker laughed at that1 and said1 ,he had no opinion of geologists1 and such-like4 ,he never found any clay in ,england but what he could get through in #aej feet4 ,so he began to bore--#aej feet1 #bjj1 #cjj3 and then he began to look rather silly2 at last1 at #dje--only seven feet short of what the geologist had foretold--up came the water in a regular spout4 ,but1 lo and behold1 not expecting to have to bore so deep1 he had made his bore much too small2 and the sand out of the ,thanet beds blew up into the bore1 and closed it4 ,the poor manufacturer spent hundreds of pounds more in trying to get the sand out1 but in vain2 and he had at last to make a fresh and much larger well by the side of the old one1 bewailing the day when he listened to the well-sinker and not to the geologist1 and so threw away more than a thousand pounds4 ,and there is an answer to what you asked on board the yacht--,what use was there in learning little matters of natural history and science1 which seemed of no use at all8 ,and now1 look out again4 ,do you see any change in the country8 ,what8 ,why1 there to the left4 ,there are high hills there now1 as well as to the right4 ,what are they8 ,chalk hills too4 ,the chalk is on both sides of us now4 ,these are the ,chilterns1 all away to ,ipsden and ,nettlebed1 and so on across ,oxfordshire and ,buckinghamshire1 and into ,hertfordshire2 and on again to ,royston and ,cambridge1 while below them lies the ,vale of ,aylesbury2 you can just see the beginning of it on their left4 ,a pleasant land are those hills1 and wealthy2 full of noble houses buried in the deep beech-woods1 which once were a great forest1 stretching in a ring round the north of ,london1 full of deer and boar1 and of wild bulls too1 even as late as the twelfth century1 according to the old legend of ,thomas a ,becket's father and the fair ,saracen1 which you have often heard4 ,i know4 ,but how are you going to get through the chalk hills8 ,is there a tunnel as there is at ,box and at ,micheldever8 ,no4 ,something much prettier than a tunnel and something which took a great many years longer in making4 ,we shall soon meet with a very remarkable and famous old gentleman1 who is a great adept at digging1 and at landscape gardening likewise2 and he has dug out a path for himself through the chalk1 which we shall take the liberty of using also4 ,and his name1 if you wish to know it1 is ,father ,thames4 ,i see him4 ,what a great river6 ,yes4 ,here he comes1 gleaming and winding down from ,oxford1 over the lowlands1 past ,wallingford2 but where he is going to it is not so easy to see4 ,ah1 here is chalk in the cutting at last4 ,and what a high bridge4 ,and the river far under our feet4 ,why we are crossing him again6 ,yes2 he winds more sharply than a railroad can4 ,but is not this prettier than a tunnel8 ,oh1 what hanging-woods1 and churches2 and such great houses1 and pretty cottages and gardens--all in this narrow crack of a valley6 ,ay4 ,old ,father ,thames is a good landscape gardener1 as ,i said4 ,there is ,basildon--and ,hurley--and ,pangbourne1 with its roaring lasher4 ,father ,thames has had to work hard for many an age before he could cut this trench right through the chalk1 and drain the water out of the flat vale behind us4 ,but ,i suspect the sea helped him somewhat1 or perhaps a great deal1 just where we are now4 ,the sea8 ,yes4 ,the sea was once--and that not so very long ago--right up here1 beyond ,reading4 ,this is the uppermost end of the great ,thames valley1 which must have been an estuary--a tide flat1 like the mouth of the ,severn1 with the sea eating along at the foot of all the hills4 ,and if the land sunk only some fifty feet1--which is a very little indeed1 child1 in this huge1 ever-changing world1--then the tide would come up to ,reading again1 and the greater part of ,london and the county of ,middlesex be drowned in salt water4 ,how dreadful that would be6 ,dreadful indeed4 ,god grant that it may never happen4 ,more terrible changes of land and water have happened1 and are happening still in the world3 but none1 ,i think1 could happen which would destroy so much civilisation and be such a loss to mankind1 as that the ,thames valley should become again what it was1 geologically speaking1 only the other day1 when these gravel banks1 over which we are running to ,reading1 were being washed out of the chalk cliffs up above at every tide1 and rolled on a beach1 as you have seen them rolling still at ,ramsgate4 ,now here we are at ,reading4 ,there is the carriage waiting1 and away we are off home2 and when we get home1 and have seen everybody and everything1 we will look over our section once more4 ,but remember1 that when you ran through the chalk hills to ,reading1 you passed from the bottom of the chalk to the top of it1 on to the ,thames gravels1 which lie there on the chalk1 and on to the ,london clay1 which lies on the chalk also1 with the ,thames gravels always over it4 ,so that1 you see1 the newest layers1 the ,london clay and the gravels1 are lower in height than the limestone cliffs at ,bristol1 and much lower than the old mountain ranges of ,devonshire and ,wales1 though in geological order they are far higher2 and there are whole worlds of strata1 rocks and clays1 one on the other1 between the ,thames gravels and the ,devonshire hills4 ,but how about our moors8 ,they are newer still1 you said1 than the ,london clay1 because they lie upon it3 and yet they are much higher than we are here at ,reading4 ,very well said3 so they are1 two or three hundred feet higher4 ,but our part of them was left behind1 standing up in banks1 while the valley of the ,thames was being cut out by the sea4 ,once they spread all over where we stand now1 and away behind us beyond ,newbury in ,berkshire1 and away in front of us1 all over where ,london now stands4 ,how can you tell that8 ,because there are little caps--little patches--of them left on the tops of many hills to the north of ,london2 just remnants which the sea1 and the ,thames1 and the rain have not eaten down4 ,probably they once stretched right out to sea1 sloping slowly under the waves1 where the mouth of the ,thames is now4 ,you know the sand-cliffs at ,bournemouth8 ,of course4 ,then those are of the same age as the ,bagshot sands1 and lie on the ,london clay1 and slope down off the ,new ,forest into the sea1 which eats them up1 as you know1 year by year and day by day4 ,and here were once perhaps cliffs just like them1 where ,london ,bridge now stands4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there1 we are rumbling away home at last1 over the dear old heather-moors4 ,how far we have travelled--in our fancy at least--since we began to talk about all these things1 upon the foggy ,november day1 and first saw ,madam ,how digging at the sand-banks with her water-spade4 ,how many countries we have talked of2 and what wonderful questions we have got answered1 which all grew out of the first question1 ,how were the heather-moors made8 ,and yet we have not talked about a hundredth part of the things about which these very heather-moors ought to set us thinking4 ,but so it is1 child4 ,those who wish honestly to learn the laws of ,madam ,how1 which we call ,nature1 by looking honestly at what she does1 which we call ,fact1 have only to begin by looking at the very smallest thing1 pin's head or pebble1 at their feet1 and it may lead them--whither1 they cannot tell4 ,to answer any one question1 you find you must answer another2 and to answer that you must answer a third1 and then a fourth2 and so on for ever and ever4 ,for ever and ever8 ,of course4 ,if we thought and searched over the ,universe--ay1 ,i believe1 only over this one little planet called earth--for millions on millions of years1 we should not get to the end of our searching4 ,the more we learnt1 the more we should find there was left to learn4 ,all things1 we should find1 are constituted according to a ,divine and ,wonderful ,order1 which links each thing to every other thing2 so that we cannot fully comprehend any one thing without comprehending all things3 and who can do that1 save ,he who made all things8 ,therefore our true wisdom is never to fancy that we do comprehend3 never to make systems and theories of the ,universe 7as they are called7 as if we had stood by and looked on when time and space began to be2 but to remember that those who say they understand1 show1 simply by so saying1 that they understand nothing at all2 that those who say they see1 are sure to be blind2 while those who confess that they are blind1 are sure some day to see4 ,all we can do is1 to keep up the childlike heart1 humble and teachable1 though we grew as wise as ,newton or as ,humboldt2 and to follow1 as good ,socrates bids us1 ,reason whithersoever it leads us1 sure that it will never lead us wrong1 unless we have darkened it by hasty and conceited fancies of our own1 and so have become like those foolish men of old1 of whom it was said that the very light within them was darkness4 ,but if we love and reverence and trust ,fact and ,nature1 which are the will1 not merely of ,madam ,how1 or even of ,lady ,why1 but of ,almighty ,god ,himself1 then we shall be really loving1 and reverencing1 and trusting ,god2 and we shall have our reward by discovering continually fresh wonders and fresh benefits to man2 and find it as true of science1 as it is of this life and of the life to come--that eye hath not seen1 nor ear heard1 nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive1 what ,god has prepared for those who love ,him4 ,,footnotes #a ,i could not resist the temptation of quoting this splendid generalisation from ,dr4 ,carpenter's ,preliminary ,report of the ,dredging ,operations of ,h4,m4,s4 ,lightening1 #ahfh4 ,he attributes it1 generously1 to his colleague1 ,dr4 ,wyville ,thomson4 ,be it whose it may1 it will mark 7as will probably the whole ,report when completed7 a new era in ,bio-,geology4