,,rollo',s                              
,,experiments4                          
,,by ,,the                   ,,author   
,,of ,,rollo ,,learning ,,to ,,talk1    
,,to                   ,,read1 ,,at     
,,work1 ,,at ,,play1 ,,at ,,school1     
,,at ,,vacation1 c4                     
,,boston3                       ,,weeks1
 ,,jordan1 ,,and ,,company              
,entered according to ,act of ,congress1
 in the year #ahci1                     
,by ,t4 ,h4 ,,carter1      ,in the      
,clerk's ,office of the ,district ,court
 of ,massachusetts4                     
,,stereotyped ,,at ,,the                
,,boston ,,type ,,and ,,stereotype      
,,foundry4                              
,illustration                           
,,contents4                             
,page4                   ,,jonas ,,an   
,,astronomer              #aa           
,,pruning                          #bc  
,,the ,,great ,,beetle ,,and ,,wedge    
#ce                   ,,the ,,little    
,,beetle ,,and ,,wedge      #df         

,,splitting                        #ei  
,,horology                         #hj  
,,jonas',s ,,dial                       
#id                   ,,the ,,bee-,,hive
                    #aab                
,,jonas',s ,,magnet                     
#abd                   ,,magnetism      
#aci                   ,,intellectual   
,,philosophy         #aeg               
,,oscillations                    #afe  
,,rollo',s ,,experiments4     ,,jonas   
,,an ,,astronomer4   ,one day1 when     
,rollo was about seven years old1 he was
 sitting upon the steps of the door1 and
 he heard a noise in the street1 as of  
some sort of carriage approaching4 ,a   
moment afterwards1 a carryall came in   
sight4 ,it drove up to the front gate1  
and stopped4 ,rollo's father and mother 
and his little brother ,nathan got out4 
,his father fastened the horse to the   
post1 and came in4  ,when ,rollo first  
heard the noise of the carryall1 he was 
sitting still upon the steps of the     
door1 thinking4 ,he was thinking of     

something that ,jonas1 his father's     
hired boy1 had told him about the sun's 
shining in at the barn door4 ,there was 
a very large double door to ,rollo's    
father's barn1 and as this door opened  
towards the south1 the sun used to shine
 in very warm1 upon the barn floor1 in  
the middle of the day4  ,rollo and      
,jonas had been sitting there husking   
some corn1--for it was in the fall of   
the year2--and as it was rather a cool  
autumnal day1 ,rollo said it was lucky  
that the sun shone in1 for it kept them 
warm4  ,yes1 said ,jonas2 and what is   
remarkable1 it always shines in farther 
in the winter than it does in the       
summer4  ,does it8 said ,rollo4  ,yes1  
said ,jonas4  ,and what is the reason8  
asked ,rollo4  ,i don't know1 said      
,jonas1 unless it is because we want it 
in the barn more in the winter than we  
do in the summer4  ,ho6 said ,rollo2 ,i 
don't believe that is the reason4  ,why 
not8 said ,jonas4  ,o1 ,i don't believe 
the sun moves about in the heavens1 to  

different places1 only just to shine    
into barn doors4  ,why1 it keeps a great
 many farmers' boys more comfortable1   
said ,jonas4  ,is it so in all barns8   
asked ,rollo4  ,i suppose so1 said      
,jonas4  ,after some further            
conversation on the subject1 the boys   
determined to watch the reflection of   
the sun's beams upon the barn floor for 
a good many days1 and to mark the place 
that it came in to1 at noon every day1  
with a piece of chalk4 ,it was only a   
few minutes before the carryall came up1
 that they had determined upon this1 and
 had marked the place for that day2 and 
then ,rollo had come out of the barn1   
and was sitting upon the door step1     
thinking of the subject1 when his       
reflections were interrupted in the     
manner already described4  ,so1 when    
,rollo saw his father getting out of the
 carryall1 he ran to meet him1 and      
called out to him1 talking very loud and
 rapidly1  ,father1 ,jonas says that the
 sun shines farther in1 upon the barn   

floor1 in winter than in summer2--does  
it1 do you think8  ,but this was not a  
proper time for ,rollo to bring up his  
philosophical question4 ,his father had 
a carpet bag and several packages in his
 hands1 and he was also conducting      
,rollo's mother in1 and thinking about  
the horse and carryall4 ,so he told     
,rollo that he must not speak to him    
then1 for he could not attend to him4   
,rollo then walked along back into the  
yard1 and began to think of the subject 
of the sun's shining in at the south    
door4 ,he looked up towards the sun1 and
 began to consider what sort of a change
 in its place1 at noon1 on different    
days1 would be necessary in order to    
account for its shining in more at south
 doors and windows1 on some days1 than  
on others4 ,he reflected that if the sun
 were exactly overhead1 at noon1 it     
could not shine in at any doors at all2 
for the rays would then strike          
perpendicularly down the sides of the   
houses4 ,while he was standing thus1    

lost in thought1 looking up to the sun1 
with his arm across his forehead1 to    
shelter his eyes a little from the      
dazzling rays1 he suddenly felt the     
pressure of two soft hands upon his     
ears1 as of somebody who had come up    
behind him4 ,he turned round1 and found 
his cousin ,lucy standing there4  ,lucy 
asked him what he was thinking of1 and  
he told her4 ,he then took ,lucy into   
the barn1 and showed her the chalk mark 
upon the floor4 ,she looked on with a   
good deal of interest1 and said she     
thought it was an excellent plan2 and   
she wished there was a great barn with a
 south floor at their house4 ,lucy knew 
more about the subject than ,rollo did1 
and she gave him some explanations about
 it4 ,you see1 said she1 that the sun   
rises in the east every morning1 and    
comes up higher and higher1 every hour1 
till noon2 and then it begins to go down
 again1 and at last it sets in the west4
 ,but1 at some times in the year1 it    
comes up higher at noon than it does at 

other times1 and so it does not shine so
 much into the door4  ,it shines more1  
you mean1 said ,rollo4  ,no1 said ,lucy2
 not so much4 ,in the winter the sun    
moves around by the south1 and keeps    
pretty low all day1 and of course shines
 farther into doors and windows4  ,then1
 after a moment's pause1 she added1  ,if
 we should mark the place on the floor  
all the year round1 we should find what 
time the sun is farthest to the south4  
,so we should1 said ,rollo4  ,it would  
be in the winter1 said ,lucy4  ,yes1    
said ,rollo2 in the middle of the winter
 exactly4  ,yes1 said ,lucy2 and in the 
middle of the summer it would be nearest
 overhead4  ,jonas and ,i will try it1  
said ,rollo4  ,i can try it in the      
house1 said ,lucy1 where the sun shines 
in at my chamber window4  ,o no1 said   
,rollo2 that won't do4  ,why not8 said  
,lucy4  ,because the window does not    
come down to the floor1 and so does not 
let the sun in enough4  ,o1 that makes  
no difference1 said ,lucy2 we have      

nothing to do with the bottom of the    
door2 you only mark where it shines in  
the farthest1 and that place is made by 
the top of the door1 for it shines in   
farthest by the top of the door4  ,well1
 said ,rollo1 ,i don't know but that the
 house will do2 but then you can't chalk
 on the carpet4  ,chalk on the carpet8  
said ,lucy4  ,yes1 to mark the place4   
,no1 said ,lucy1 thinking2 but ,i can   
mark it some other way4  ,how8 asked    
,rollo4  ,why1 ,i can put a pin in1 said
 ,lucy4  ,o dear1 said ,rollo1 with a   
laugh1 put a pin in6 ,that's no way to  
mark a shadow4  ,it isn't a shadow1 said
 ,lucy4  ,yes1 it is1 said ,rollo4  ,no1
 said ,lucy2 a shadow is dark1 and this 
is bright4  ,yes1 said ,rollo1 this is a
 bright shadow2 some shadows are bright1
 and some are dark4  ,o ,rollo6 said    
,lucy2 and she turned away from him1 a  
little out of humor4  ,the truth was1   
that ,rollo and ,lucy were getting      
decidedly into a dispute4 ,from the     
sublime heights of practical astronomy1 

they had fallen1 by a sad and very rapid
 descent1 to a childish altercation4    
,rollo had a very high idea of the      
superior facilities afforded by ,jonas's
 barn floor for observing the daily     
changes in the sun's meridian altitude1 
and he did not like the idea of ,lucy's 
finding that she had equally good       
opportunities for observation at her    
home4 ,lucy was a little fretted at     
,rollo's captious spirit2 but then her  
mind soon became unruffled again1 and   
she turned back towards ,rollo1 and     
said1 as they walked along the yard1  ,i
 don't think the sunshine on the floor  
is a shadow1 ,rollo2 but then ,i don't  
see why a shadow would not do1 just as  
well4  ,how8 said ,rollo4  ,why1 look   
there at the shadow of that post1--that 
would do4  ,she pointed to a post with a
 rounded top upon it1 which stood by the
 side of the garden gate4 ,the shadow1  
clear1 distinct1 and well defined1 was  
projected upon the walk2 and ,lucy told 
,rollo that they might mark the place   

where the top of that shadow came every 
day1 and that that would do just as     
well4  ,but how could we mark it8 said  
,rollo4  ,why1 we could drive a little  
stake unto the ground4  ,o1 that would  
not do1 said ,rollo4 ,people would trip 
over them1 and break them down4 ,they   
would be exactly in the walk4  ,lucy saw
 that this would be a difficulty1 and1  
for a moment1 seemed to be at a loss4   
,at length1 she said1  ,we might go     
somewhere else1 then1 where the people  
would not come4  ,but what should we do 
for a post8 said ,rollo4  ,could not we 
get ,jonas to drive a tall stake down8  
said ,lucy4  ,yes1 said ,rollo2 ,i      
suppose so4  ,the children went out into
 the garden to find a good smooth place1
 and while they were walking about      
there1 ,rollo's mother came out1 and    
they told her the whole story4 ,she     
seemed quite interested in the plan1 and
 told them of a better way than any that
 they had thought of4  ,you see1 said   
she1 that the height of the stake or    

pole that makes the shadow is not       
material2 for the shadow of a small one 
will vary just as much1 in proportion to
 its length1 as that of a long one will4
 ,so1 instead of taking a wooden stake1 
out of doors1 you might take a large    
pin1 and drive it down a little way into
 the window sill1 in the house4 ,then   
you can mark the shadow with a pen1 very
 exactly4  ,so we can1 said ,lucy1      
clapping her hands4  ,and you might put 
a piece of white paper1 or a card down  
first1 continued ,rollo's mother1 and   
drive the pin through that1 and then    
mark the places where the end of the    
shadow comes every day1 directly on the 
card1 with a fine pen4 ,thus you could  
be a great deal more exact than you can 
in chalking upon a barn floor4  ,rollo  
asked his mother if she would not be    
kind enough to help them fix their      
apparatus2 but she said she would give  
them particular directions1 though she  
should prefer letting them do the whole 
themselves1 and then1 if they met with  

any difficulties1 they might come and   
report them to her1 and she would tell  
them how to surmount them4 ,so she      
recommended to them to go and find a    
blank card1 or piece of white           
pasteboard1 or of stiff white paper1 as 
big as a common card4 ,then1 said she1  
choose some window where the sun shines 
in at noon1 and put the card down upon  
the sill1 and drive the pin down through
 it4 ,but you must not drive the pin    
through the middle of the card1 for the 
shadow will always be off to the north  
of the pin1 and therefore the pin may be
 pretty near the south end of the card4 
,then the shadow will be more likely to 
come wholly upon the card1 even when it 
is longest4 ,you had better place the   
card in such a position1 too1 that its  
sides shall lie in the direction of     
north and south4 ,then the shadow at    
noon will lie along exactly in the      
middle of it4 ,you must get a large and 
stout pin1 too2 and drive it in firmly1 
a little way1 with a small hammer4 ,it  

will be well1 too1 to drive another     
smaller pin into the other end of the   
card1 so as to keep it fixed in its     
north and south position4  ,how can we  
know when it is north and south1        
exactly8 said ,lucy4  ,you cannot do it 
exactly1 said ,rollo's mother2 but you  
can get it pretty near4 ,one way is to  
borrow father's little compass1 and     
adjust it by that4 ,another way is to   
see when it is exactly twelve o'clock by
 the clock1 and then the shadow of the  
pin will of itself be about north4      
,then you might move the north end of   
the card until the shadow is brought    
exactly into the middle of the card1 and
 then put the other pin in1 and fix it  
in that place4 ,then if you make a mark 
along where the shadow comes1 that mark 
will be a north and south line1 and you 
can mark the place where the shadow of  
the pin's head crosses that line1 when  
it crosses it every day at noon4  ,the  
children said that they believed they   
understood the directions1 and they     

determined to try the plan4 ,they       
thought they would fix two cards1 one at
 ,rollo's house1 and one at ,lucy's2 and
 they immediately went off in pursuit of
 blank cards and big pins4              
,,pruning4   ,one afternoon1 ,rollo saw 
his father coming out into the garden1  
with a little saw and a knife1 and a    
small pot of paint in his hands4        
,father1 said he1 are you going to prune
 your trees now8  ,yes1 said his father4
  ,then1 shall ,i go and get my         
wheelbarrow8  ,yes1 replied his father1 
again4  ,so ,rollo ran off after his    
wheelbarrow4 ,it had been arranged1     
between him and his father that morning1
 that they should work in the garden an 
hour or two in the afternoon1 and that  
,rollo should pick up all the cuttings  
from the trees1 and wheel them away1 and
 then1 when they were dry1 make a       
bonfire with them4  ,rollo found his    
wheelbarrow in its proper place1 and    
trundled it along into the garden4      
,father1 said he1 what trees are you    

going to prune first8  ,o1 ,i am going  
to begin at the back side of the garden1
 and prune them all1 advancing regularly
 to the front4  ,what is the saw for8   
said ,rollo4  ,to saw off the large     
branches1 that ,i can't cut off easily  
with a knife4  ,but ,i should not think 
you would want to saw off any large     
branches1 for so you will lose all the  
apples that would grow on them next     
year4  ,why1 sometimes1 the branches are
 dead1 and then they would do no good1  
but only be in the way4  ,but do they do
 any hurt8 said ,rollo4  ,why1 they look
 badly4  ,but1 ,i mean1 would they do   
any actual hurt to the tree8  ,why1 ,i  
don't know1 said his father2 perhaps    
they would not4 ,at any rate1 if ,i cut 
them off pretty close to the living part
 of the tree1 the bark will then        
gradually extend out over the little    
stump that ,i leave1 and finally cover  
it over1 and take it all in1 as it were4
  ,by this time1 ,rollo and his father  
had reached the back side of the garden1

 and his father showed him the place    
where he had cut off a limb the year    
before1 and he saw how the fresh young  
bark had protruded itself all around it1
 and was spreading in towards the centre
 so as to cover it over4 ,rollo then saw
 that it was better that all old dead   
limbs should be cut off4  ,that's       
curious1 said ,rollo4  ,yes1 very       
curious1 said his father4 ,a tree will  
take in1 and cover up1 almost any thing 
that is fastened to the wood1 in the    
same manner4  ,will it8 said ,rollo4    
,yes1 said his father4 ,if you drive a  
nail into a tree1 the bark will1 after a
 time1 cover it over entirely4          
,sometimes people find things in old    
trees1 which were put upon them when    
they were young4  ,how big things8 said 
,rollo4  ,o1 ,i don't know exactly how  
big4 ,the tree will make an effort to   
enclose any thing small or large4 ,only1
 if it is very large1 it will take a    
great while to enclose it1 and it might 
be so large that it never could enclose 

it4  ,well1 father1 how large must it be
 so that the tree never could enclose   
it8  ,o1 ,i don't know1 exactly4 ,once  
,i saw a tree that was growing very near
 a rock4 ,after a time it came in       
contact with it1 and it grew and pressed
 against it1 until the rock crowded into
 the wood4 ,then the bark began to      
protrude in every direction along the   
rock1 as if it was making an effort to  
spread out and take the rock all in4    
,but ,i don't think it will ever        
succeed2 for the rock was part of a     
ledge in a pretty large hill4  ,what a  
silly tree6 said ,rollo4  ,father1 ,i   
believe ,i will try the experiment some 
time1 continued ,rollo1 after a pause4  
,very well1 said his father4  ,what     
shall ,i put into the tree8 asked       
,rollo4  ,you might put in a cent1 said 
his father1 and then1 if it should get  
fairly enclosed1 ,i presume the tree    
will keep it safe for you a good many   
years4  ,rollo determined to do it4     
,then1 said he1 ,i shall never be out of

 money1 and that will be excellent4 ,his
 father told him that he must make a    
small cleft in the bark and wood1 with a
 chisel and mallet1 and then drive the  
cent in1 edgewise1 a little way4  ,so   
,rollo got his chisel and mallet1 and   
inserted the cent according to his      
father's directions1 and by that time   
there were a good many branches and     
twigs on the ground1 which his father   
had taken off from the trees1 and so he 
began to pick them up1 and put them into
 his wheelbarrow4  ,they went on working
 together for some time1 and talking    
while they worked4 ,rollo was           
continually asking his father questions1
 and his father sometimes answered them1
 and sometimes did not1 but was silent  
and thoughtful1 as if he was thinking of
 something else4 ,but whether he got    
answers or not1 ,rollo went on talking4 
,illustration  ,father1 said ,rollo1 at 
length1 after a short pause1 during     
which he had been busily at work putting
 twigs into his wheelbarrow1 ,henry has 

got a very interesting book4  ,his      
father did not answer4  ,i think it is a
 very interesting book indeed4 ,should  
not you like to read it1 father8  ,his  
father was just then reaching up very   
high to saw off a pretty large limb1 and
 he paid no attention to what ,rollo was
 saying4 ,so ,rollo went on talking half
 to himself--  ,one story is about      
,aladdin and his lamp4 ,if he rubbed his
 lamp1 he could have whatever he wished2
 something would come1 ,i have forgotten
 what its name was1 and bring him       
whatever he asked for4  ,just then1 down
 came the great branch which his father 
had been sawing off1 falling from its   
place on the tree to the ground4  ,rollo
 looked at it a moment1 and then1 when  
his father began sawing again1 he said1 
,should not you like such a lamp1       
father8  ,such a lamp as what1 my son8  
said his father4  ,why1 such a one as   
,aladdin's4  ,aladdin's6 why1 what do   
you know of ,aladdin's lamp8  ,why1 ,i  
read about it in ,henry's story book1   

said ,rollo4 ,i just told you1 father4  
,did you8 said his father4 ,won't you   
just hand me up the paint brush8  ,well1
 father1 said ,rollo1 as he handed him  
the brush1 don't you wish you had an    
,aladdin's lamp8  ,no1 not particularly1
 said his father4  ,o father6 exclaimed 
,rollo1 with surprise1 ,i am sure ,i do4
 ,don't you wish ,i had such a lamp1    
father8  ,no1 said his father4  ,why1   
father1 ,i really think ,i could do some
 good with it4 ,for instance1 ,i could  
just rub my lamp1 and then have all your
 trees pruned for you1 at once1 without 
any further trouble4  ,but that would   
not be worth while2 for you might have a
 much larger and better garden than this
 made at once1 with thousands of trees1 
bearing delicious fruit2 and ponds1 and 
waterfalls1 and beautiful groves4  ,o1  
so ,i could1 said ,rollo4  ,and1 then1  
how soon do you think you should get    
tired of it1 and want another8  ,o1     
perhaps1 ,i should want another pretty  
soon2 but then ,i could have another1   

you know4  ,yes1 and how long do you    
think you could find happiness1 in      
calling beautiful gardens into          
existence1 one after another8  ,o1 ,i   
don't know2--a good while4  ,a day8  ,o1
 yes1 father4  ,a week8  ,why1 perhaps1 
,i should be tired in a week4  ,then all
 your power of receiving enjoyment from 
gardens would be run out and exhausted  
in a week2 whereas mine1 without any    
,aladdin's lamp1 lasts me year after    
year1 pleasantly increasing all the time
 without ever reaching satiety4  ,what  
is satiety1 father8  ,the feeling we    
experience when we have had so much of a
 good thing that we are completely tired
 and sick of it4 ,if ,i should give a   
little child as much honey as he could  
eat1 or let him play all the time1 or   
buy him a vast collection of pictures1  
he would soon get tired of these things4
  ,o father1 ,i never should get tired  
of looking at pictures4  ,i think you   
would1 said his father4  ,here the      
conversation stopped a few minutes1     

while ,rollo went to wheel away a load  
of his sticks4 ,before he returned1 he  
had prepared himself to renew his       
argument4 ,he said1  ,father1 even if ,i
 did get tired of making beautiful      
gardens1 ,i could then do something else
 with the lamp1 and that would give me  
new pleasure4  ,yes1 but the new        
pleasure would be run out and exhausted 
just as soon as the pleasure of having a
 garden would have been2 so that you    
would1 in a short time1 be satiated with
 every thing1 and become completely     
wretched and miserable4  ,but1 father1  
said ,rollo1 after being silent a little
 while1 ,i don't think ,i should get    
tired of my beautiful gardens very soon3
 ,i don't think ,i should get tired even
 of looking at pictures of them4        
,should you like to try the experiment8 
,yes1 sir1 said ,rollo1 very eagerly4   
,rollo's father had a great many books  
of pictures and engravings of various   
kinds in his library2 and sometimes he  
used to allow the children to see them1 

but only a very few at a time4 ,they had
 not yet seen them all4 ,he only allowed
 them to see them as fast as they had   
time to examine them thoroughly1 and    
read about them and understand them4    
,but now he said to ,rollo1  ,i could   
let you have all the books of prints and
 engravings ,i have got1 and see them   
all at one time1 and that would be      
giving you ,aladdin's lamp1 exactly1 so 
far as my pictures are concerned4       
,well1 said ,rollo1 clapping his hands4 
,but then1 in a short time1 you would   
get tired of looking at them2 you would 
become satiated1 and would in fact spoil
 the whole pleasure by attempting to    
enjoy it too fast4 ,but then ,i think it
 would perhaps do you good4  ,how1      
father8  ,why1 by teaching you the value
 of moderation1 and the uselessness of  
,aladdin's lamps in all human           
enjoyments4 ,it would be a very valuable
 experiment in intellectual philosophy1 
which ,i think it very probable might be
 of use to you4 ,so1 if you please1 you 

may try it4  ,well1 father1 ,i am sure  
,i should like to see the pictures4     
,that is all settled then1 said his     
father2 some day you shall4     ,,the   
,,great ,,beetle ,,and ,,wedge4   ,rollo
 was coming home one morning after      
having been away on an errand1 and he   
saw a large wood pile near ,farmer      
,cropwell's door4 ,now it happened that 
,rollo had once been on a journey pretty
 far back into the country2 it was at   
the time when ,jonas told him and ,lucy 
the stories related in the book called  
,jonas's ,stories4 ,on that journey1    
,jonas had one day told him that the sap
 of the maple-tree was sweet1 and had   
let him taste of some1 where it oozed   
out at the end of the log4 ,seeing      
,farmer ,cropwell's wood pile reminded  
,rollo of this2 and he thought he would 
look at the ends of all the logs1 and   
see if he could not find some drops of  
sweet sap there4  ,but he could not1 for
 two reasons3 none of those trees were  
maple-trees1 and then1 besides1 they    

were all dry4 ,there was no sap in them 
of any kind2 at least1 not enough to    
ooze out4 ,while ,rollo was looking     
there1 one of ,farmer ,cropwell's large 
boys came out with an axe in his hand4  
,he rolled out a pretty large log of    
wood1 though it was not very long1 and  
struck his axe into the end of it1 as if
 he was going to split it4  ,i don't    
believe you can split that great log1   
said ,rollo4  ,i don't expect to do it  
with the axe1 said the boy1 as he left  
the axe sticking in the log4  ,how then8
 said ,rollo4  ,i have got beetle and   
wedges here1 round behind the wood pile4
  ,so the boy went to another side of   
the wood pile1 and brought a large      
beetle and an iron wedge4 ,when he got  
back to his log1 he started out the axe 
which he had left sticking into it4     
,then ,rollo saw that the axe had made a
 little indentation1 or cleft1 in the   
wood4 ,he put the point of the wedge    
into this cleft1 and drove it in a very 
little1 with a few light blows with the 

axe4 ,then he took the great heavy      
beetle1 and began driving the wedge in1 
with very heavy blows4  ,presently1     
,rollo saw a little crack beginning to  
extend out each side from the wedge4    
,the crack ran along across the end of  
the log1 and thence down the side1 and  
grew wider and wider every moment4 ,at  
last1 the wedge was driven in as far as 
it would go1 and still the log was not  
split open4  ,now stop1 said ,rollo2 ,i 
will put a stick in1 and keep the crack 
open1 while you drive the wedge in1 in  
another place4  ,o1 that won't do1 said 
the boy2 a stick would not keep it open4
  ,why not8 said ,rollo4  ,because it is
 not solid enough2 the sides of the     
cleft draw together very hard4 ,they    
would crush the stick4  ,here ,rollo put
 his hand into his pocket1 and drew out 
a walnut1 and he asked the boy if it    
would crack a walnut4  ,try it1 said the
 boy4  ,so ,rollo put the walnut into   
the crack4 ,he slipped it along until he
 got it to a place where the crack was  

just wide enough to receive it1 and hold
 it steady4 ,he left it there1 and then 
the boy began to knock out the wedge4   
,he struck it first upon one side1 and  
then upon the other1 and thus gradually 
worked it out4 ,the walnut was crushed  
all to pieces4 ,the boy then drove in   
the wedge again1 so as to open the log  
as it was before4 ,he then went to the  
place where he had got the beetle and   
wedge at first1 and brought a large     
wooden wedge which he had made before1  
and began to put that into the crack1   
not very far from the iron wedge4  ,this
 will keep it open1 said he4  ,yes1 ,i  
think it will1 said ,rollo4 ,but put it 
up close to the iron wedge4  ,no1 said  
the boy2 for then ,i can't knock the    
iron wedge out4  ,so the boy put the    
large wooden wedge in1 at a little      
distance from the iron one1 and drove it
 in rather gently with the beetle4 ,this
 opened the cleft a little more1 so that
 the iron wedge came out pretty easily4 
,i don't see what makes the sides of the

 logs draw together so hard1 said       
,rollo4  ,o1 they can't help it1 said   
the boy4  ,that is no reason1 rejoined  
,rollo4 ,i should think that1 after the 
log is once split open1 it would stay   
so4 ,if ,i split a piece of wood in two 
with my knife1 the pieces don't try to  
come together again4  ,so ,rollo began  
to examine the log1 and to look into the
 cracks1 to see if he could find out    
what it was that made the parts draw    
together so hard as to crush the walnut4
 ,presently1 he observed that the log   
was not split open from end to end4 ,the
 crack commenced at one end1 and        
extended nearly towards the other1 but  
not quite2 so that at this other end the
 log was solid and whole1 just as it    
always had been4 ,so ,rollo perceived   
that the two halves being joined and    
held together firmly here1 they could   
only be separated at the other end by   
the wedge springing them open1 and1 of  
course1 by their elasticity they tended 
to spring together again4 ,then besides1

 he saw1 by looking into the crack1 a   
great number of splinters1 large and    
small1 which extended obliquely from one
 side to the other1 and bound the two   
sides strongly towards each other4  ,by 
this time the boy had got the wedge     
knocked out4  ,it is strange1 said      
,rollo1 that such a small wedge will    
split such a tough and solid log4  ,o1  
not very strange1 said the boy4 ,you    
see1 he continued1 taking up the wedge1 
and pointing to the several parts as he 
explained them1 you see here at this    
part1 where it enters the wood it is    
sharp1 and the sides spread out each    
way1 so that1 when ,i drive it in1 they 
force the wood apart4  ,why don't they  
have the back of the wedge wider still8 
and then it would force the wood open   
farther2 and then you would not have to 
put in a wooden wedge afterwards1--so1  
he added1 making a sign with his        
fingers4 ,he put the tips of his fingers
 together1 and then separated his hands1
 so as to represent a very blunt-shaped 

wedge4  ,then it would not drive in so  
easily1 answered the boy4 ,perhaps ,i   
could not drive it in at all1 if it was 
so blunt4  ,they might have the wedge   
longer then1 said ,rollo1 and then it   
would be just as tapering1 and yet it   
would be a great deal broader at the    
back1 because the back would be farther 
off4  ,that would make the wedge a great
 deal too heavy4 ,it would not drive4   
,why1 yes1 it would1 said ,rollo4  ,no1 
it would not1 said the boy4 ,it would be
 just like a shoemaker's lap-stone2     
pounding it would hardly move it4       
,rollo did not understand what the boy  
meant by what he said about the         
shoemaker's lap-stone2 so he paused a   
moment1 and presently he said1  ,i don't
 think it would make any difference1 if 
it was heavy4 ,and1 besides1 it might be
 made of wood1 and that wouldn't be     
heavy4  ,o1 wood wouldn't do1 said the  
boy4  ,now it happened that while they  
had been talking1 the boy had gone on   
driving in his wooden wedge into the    

cleft that the iron one had made1 and it
 had been gradually splitting the log   
open more and more4 ,so that just as the
 boy was saying that a wooden wedge     
wouldn't do1 ,rollo was actually seeing 
with his own eyes that it would do2 for 
at that moment the boy gave the last    
blow1 and the halves of the log came    
apart and fell over1 one to one side1   
and the other to the other4  ,why1      
there1 said ,rollo1 you have split the  
log open with a wooden wedge4  ,o1 that 
is because ,i had an iron one in first1 
said the boy4  ,what difference does    
that make8 said ,rollo4  ,a great deal  
of difference1 said the boy4  ,but what 
difference8 persisted ,rollo4  ,i don't 
know exactly what difference1 said the  
boy2 only ,i know you can't do any thing
 with a wooden wedge until you have     
first opened a seam with an iron one4   
,rollo was confident that it could not  
possibly make any difference whether a  
wooden wedge was used first or last4    
,the boy was sure that it did1 though he

 could not tell why4 ,finally1 they     
determined to try it2 so the boy struck 
his axe into the end of the next log1   
and then attempted to drive in his      
wooden wedge4 ,but he did not succeed at
 all4 ,the wedge would not stay4 ,rollo 
told him that he did not strike hard    
enough4 ,then he struck harder1 but it  
did no good4 ,the wedge dropped out the 
moment he let go of it1 and on taking it
 up1 they found that the edge of it was 
bruised and battered2 so that even      
,rollo gave up all hopes of making it   
enter4  ,ah6 said the boy1 taking up the
 wedge1 and looking at it1 now ,i know  
what the reason is4 ,it is the edge4    
,where8 said ,rollo4 ,let me see4  ,why1
 when there is no crack1 said the boy1  
you see the edge of the wedge comes     
against the solid wood1 and when ,i     
drive1 it only bruises and batters it2  
but the iron is hard1 and goes in4 ,but 
then1 when a crack is made1 the wedge   
can go in easily2 for the edge does not 
touch2 then only the sides rub against  

the wood4  ,how8 said ,rollo4 ,i don't  
understand4  ,i'll show you in a minute1
 said the boy4 ,so he took the iron     
wedge1 and went to work driving it into 
the log4 ,it soon began to make a crack1
 which ran along the log1 and opened    
wider and wider4 ,when1 at length1 it   
was pretty wide1 he put the wooden wedge
 in1 and he showed ,rollo that the edge 
of the wedge did not now have to force  
its way1 but went easily into the crack1
 and only the sides came in contact with
 the two parts of the log which it was  
separating4  ,that's curious1 said      
,rollo4  ,yes1 said the boy4  ,i wish ,i
 had a little beetle and wedge1 said    
,rollo4 ,i have got a hammer4 ,that     
would do for a beetle1 if ,i only had a 
wedge4  ,o1 a hammer won't do1 said the 
boy4  ,why not8 ,would not an axe do as 
well as a beetle8  ,no1 said the boy1 it
 would spoil the axe and the wedge too4 
,how8 asked ,rollo4  ,why1 it would     
bruise it all up1--hard iron knocking   
against the hard iron4  ,would it8 said 

,rollo4  ,yes1 replied the farmer's boy2
 it would spoil the head of the axe1 and
 the head of the wedge too4  ,is that   
the reason why they make a wooden       
beetle8  ,yes1 said the boy2 and they   
put iron rings around the ends to keep  
the wood from being bruised and         
battered4  ,o1 ,i wish ,i had a little  
beetle and wedge6 said ,rollo4  ,perhaps
 you might make one4  ,o1 ,i could not  
make an iron wedge--nor the beetle      
rings4  ,no1 but you might make wedges  
of wood1--pretty hard wood2 that would  
do to split up pieces of pine boards1   
and then you would not need any rings to
 your beetle4  ,jonas can help me1 said 
,rollo4  ,yes1 said the boy2 ,jonas will
 know all about it4  ,so ,rollo set out 
to go home1 full of the idea of making a
 wooden beetle and wedge1 so as to split
 up pieces of boards4 ,he determined1 in
 case he should succeed1 to make a      
smaller one still for ,thanny4     ,,the
 ,,little ,,beetle ,,and ,,wedge4       
,when ,rollo got home1 he looked about  

for ,jonas every where1 but could not   
find him4 ,he went around the house and 
yard1 calling ,jonas6 ,jonas6 very loud4
 ,presently ,nathan came out to the     
door1 and told him that his mother      
wanted to see him4 ,so ,rollo went in to
 his mother4  ,you ought not to make    
such a noise1 said she1 calling ,jonas4 
,you disturb us all4  ,but1 mother1 said
 he1 ,i want to find him very much4  ,no
 doubt1 said his mother2 but you must   
find him with your eyes1 not with your  
tongue4  ,why1 mother1 said ,rollo1     
laughing1 what do you mean by that8     
,boys very generally have a habit of    
trying to find people with their        
tongues1 that is1 by calling them2 but  
it is a very bad habit4 ,you see1 she   
continued1 there are five or six persons
 now in and about the house1 and if you 
go around calling out for ,jonas1 you   
disturb us all2 but if you go about     
quietly1 and look for him1 you do not   
disturb any body4  ,but then it is not  
so easy to find him by looking for him1 

said ,rollo4  ,why not8 asked his       
mother4  ,because1 said ,rollo1 ,i can  
call out for him1 in a moment1 in the   
yard1 and then if he is any where within
 hearing1 he answers2 and so ,i know    
where he is4 ,but it would take me some 
time to go to all the places that are   
within hearing4  ,true1 said his mother1
 ,i see it is more trouble to find any  
body with your eyes1 than with your     
voice2 but then it is so much pleasanter
 for all the rest of us1 that you must  
submit to it4  ,so ,rollo went away     
again to look for ,jonas4 ,he inquired  
of ,dorothy in the kitchen1 and she told
 him that she saw ,jonas going out      
towards the barn a few minutes before4  
,so ,rollo went off in pursuit of him4  
,he found him at work in a little back  
room in the barn1 looking over some     
harnesses4  ,what are you doing1 ,jonas8
 said ,rollo4  ,i am overhauling these  
harnesses1 to get them all ready for    
winter4  ,for winter8 said ,rollo4      
,yes1 replied ,jonas2 they are          

sleigh-harnesses4  ,well1 ,jonas1 said  
,rollo1 ,i wanted to see you about a    
beetle and wedge4 ,do you think you     
could help me about making a little     
beetle and wedge8  ,i can help you by my
 advice1 said ,jonas4  ,o1 but ,i want  
you to help me make them4  ,then ,jonas 
asked ,rollo what made him think of a   
beetle and wedge2 and ,rollo told him of
 the conversation he had held with the  
farmer's boy4 ,then ,jonas talked a long
 time about it1 giving him particular   
advice and direction about the plan1    
though he said he could not himself go  
and help him then1 for he could not     
leave his harnesses4  ,the advice which 
,jonas gave him was1 substantially1     
this3--  ,the boy was right in what he  
said about the necessity of having iron 
wedges1 to split up large logs of hard  
wood2 but you had better have short     
pieces of pine boards for your logs1 and
 then wedges of hard wood will do       
instead of iron2 for hard wood is so    
much more solid than pine1 that ,i think

 wedges of it will answer very well4    
,there are some pieces of walnut under  
the bench1 which will do finely1 and ,i 
will give you one of them4  ,i'll go1   
now1 and get it1 said ,rollo4  ,no1 said
 ,jonas1 not yet2 let me tell you about 
making the beetle4  ,so ,rollo stood in 
the door way1 waiting to hear what      
,jonas had to say about the beetle1 but 
evidently quite impatient to go4  ,if   
you make your wedges of hard wood1 it   
will not be necessary to have iron rings
 to your beetle1 because it will not get
 battered much1 in driving wooden       
wedges4 ,now you must go to the wood    
pile1 and look out a piece of round     
wood1 about as large round as my arm1   
and bore a hole in it4  ,a hole in it6  
said ,rollo4  ,yes1 a small auger hole1 
to put the handle into4 ,then you must  
put the wood into the saw-horse1 and saw
 off the ends1 at a little distance from
 the hole1 so that1 when the handle is  
put in1 it will be like a mallet4  ,a   
mallet6 said ,rollo4 ,but ,i wanted a   

beetle4  ,well1 a mallet is a small     
beetle1 without rings4  ,is it8 said    
,rollo1 thoughtfully4  ,yes1 replied    
,jonas2 and if you work slowly and      
carefully1 ,i think you can make a      
pretty good one yourself4  ,rollo       
thought so too1 and away he ran to make 
the experiment4 ,under the great work   
bench1 he found1 among a quantity of    
boards and bits of wood1 a number of    
long bars of walnut1 which ,jonas had   
split out from the wood pile to keep for
 handles4 ,he took one of these1 and    
carried it off to the shed1 to look for 
the saw and the hatchet4  ,the first    
thing was1 as he supposed1 to saw off a 
piece of the wood just long enough for a
 wedge4 ,but in this he was mistaken4   
,in doing any piece of work of this     
kind1 it is always very important to    
consider which part it is best to do    
first4 ,rollo did not think of this1 and
 so he marked off a piece of the walnut 
wood about long enough for a wedge1 and 
then sawed it off4  ,now1 said he1 ,i   

must make the sides smooth1 and sharpen 
it4  ,so he took the piece of wood in   
his hand1 and put one end of it down    
upon a large log of wood1 and then      
attempted to smooth and sharpen it1 as  
he had seen ,jonas sharpen a stake4 ,but
 he could not succeed very well4 ,the   
wood was very hard1 and he could not cut
 it4 ,then it was so short that it was  
almost impossible to hold it4 ,at almost
 every blow of the hatchet it slipped   
out of his hand2 and then1 besides1 he  
was very much afraid of cutting his     
fingers2 so that1 after working         
laboriously for some time1 he came back 
to ,jonas in despair1 holding his wedge 
in his hands1 which1 however1 instead of
 being properly sharpened1 was only     
rounded off a little at the corners4  ,o
 dear me6 said he to ,jonas1 as he came 
up to him with the intended wedge in his
 hands1 ,i can't make a wedge at all4   
,it's no use to try4 ,then he explained 
to ,jonas the difficulties that he had  
met with4  ,true1 said ,jonas2 ,i see4  

,i advise you to give it up4  ,yes1 said
 ,rollo1 the wood is so hard4  ,o1 no1  
said ,jonas2 that is no great           
trouble--you could easily manage that4  
,but then ,i can't hold it4  ,that is of
 no consequence either4 ,i could tell   
you a way to hold it well enough4  ,what
 is the reason1 then1 why you think ,i  
had better give up8  ,because you have  
not patience enough4  ,rollo stood      
silent and thoughtful as ,jonas said    
this1 with his piece of wood in one     
hand1 and his hatchet in the other4  ,it
 takes a great deal of patience to make 
a thing which we never made before4     
,why8 said ,rollo4  ,o1 because there   
are always unforeseen difficulties4 ,we 
don't know exactly how to do it1 and are
 apt to make mistakes2 and so we spoil  
some of our work1 and this makes us     
impatient and fretful4  ,but ,i could   
not help coming to you1 said ,rollo1    
when ,i found ,i could not sharpen my   
wedge4  ,i did not blame you for coming 
to me1 said ,jonas4  ,but you said ,i   

was impatient4  ,yes1 but not for coming
 to me--,i judged by your looks and tone
 of voice4 ,now if you can keep         
good-natured and pleasant1 so as to go  
on steadily and patiently1 difficulties 
or no difficulties1 ,i will help you by 
my advice2 otherwise1 ,i think you had  
better give up the plan4  ,rollo stood a
 few minutes leaning on the door1 and   
swinging it back and forth a little4 ,he
 seemed to be in doubt whether to be    
good-natured or not4 ,at length1 the    
better feelings triumphed1 and he said1 
,well1 ,jonas ,i will try4 ,how can ,i  
hold my wedge while ,i sharpen it8  ,you
 must not saw it off until it is all    
sharpened and smoothed4 ,by that means1 
you see1 the long end of the stick1 that
 you make it from1 will serve for a     
handle4  ,so it will1 said ,rollo2 ,i   
never thought of that4  ,so ,rollo went 
off in pursuit of the stick from which  
he had sawed off his first wedge1       
intending to make another upon the end  
of it1 and then saw it off when it was  

all ready4  ,he found that now he could 
hold his wood very easily1 and there was
 no danger of cutting his fingers4 ,so  
he could strike much heavier blows4 ,he 
soon sharpened his wedge1 and then      
carried it to ,jonas to ask him if he   
thought it would do4  ,no1 said ,jonas1 
,i don't think it will do1 very well4   
,won't it8 asked ,rollo1 looking        
somewhat disappointed4  ,why1 you see   
the sides are not smooth2 and then you  
have not sharpened it uniformly4 ,you   
have cut away more at the corners than  
you have in the middle1 so that it is   
thicker in the middle4 ,that is the way 
that boys always sharpen wedges4  ,why  
do they8 asked ,rollo4  ,i suppose it is
 because it is easier to cut away at the
 edges1 and so they get more off there4 
,now you had better get your wedge as   
true1 and perfect1 and smooth as you    
can1 before you saw it off4 ,it will be 
a great deal pleasanter to work with a  
good wedge than with a poor one1 and so 
you had better take pains with it1 and  

make as perfect a one as you can1 if you
 make any4  ,but1 ,jonas1 said ,rollo1  
,i can smooth it and finish it1 after ,i
 get it sawed off4  ,not half as easily 
as you can now1 said ,jonas4  ,during   
all this time ,jonas kept on with his   
own work2 and now he said no more1 and  
seemed disposed to leave ,rollo to his  
own decision4  ,rollo walked slowly back
 to the shed4 ,he longed to have his    
wedge done2 but then ,jonas had often   
told him before1 that if he was         
attempting to make any thing1 it was    
best to take pains with it1 and make it 
as complete and perfect as possible1 and
 then he would prize it more1 and take  
more pleasure in it1 when it was done4  
,rollo knew that this was good advice1  
though1 like almost all other boys1 he  
was always in such a hurry to finish any
 thing that he undertook1 and to have it
 ready for use1 that he did not like to 
take the necessary pains4  ,on          
reflection1 however1 he concluded to    
take ,jonas's advice2 and he accordingly

 began to smooth the sides of his wedge 
again with the hatchet4 ,he did it      
slowly and carefully2 and after some    
time he found that he had got the wedge 
into a much more perfect shape than     
before4 ,he then carried it to ,jonas   
again4  ,now ,jonas approved it very    
much1 but told him that he had better   
smooth it a little more with his knife  
before sawing it off4 ,rollo did so2 and
 then he carried it back to the horse1  
and sawed it off at the right distance1 
and it made an excellent wedge4 ,the    
edges1 at the head of the wedge1 were   
left somewhat rough by the saw4 ,these1 
however1 he trimmed off with his knife1 
and then carried the wedge to ,jonas4   
,very well1 said ,jonas2 now you want   
one more4  ,one more8 said ,rollo4 ,no1 
,i want my beetle next4  ,no1 said      
,jonas1 one more wedge4 ,make all your  
wedges first4  ,why1 ,jonas1 you see1 if
 ,i make my beetle next1 ,i can try it  
with this wedge1 and then ,i can make   
another1 if ,i want it1 afterwards4     

,no1 replied ,jonas1 that is not a good 
way4 ,you ought to finish up your       
apparatus all complete1 before you try  
it at all4 ,then you will take a great  
deal more pleasure in trying it4        
,besides1 if you get to work splitting  
up your wood1 you will not want to leave
 it1 and go to making a new wedge then4 
,now is the time to do it4  ,rollo felt 
very desirous to make his beetle first1 
so as just to try it a little1 as he    
said4 ,still1 he had so often found1    
when he had not followed ,jonas's       
advice1 that he was sorry for it        
afterwards1 that he concluded to make   
another wedge now4 ,he accordingly went 
to work again1 and having learned how to
 do it by his practice upon the first   
one1 he succeeded very easily1 and      
finished it much quicker than he did    
before4  ,then he went to work upon his 
beetle4 ,he selected a round stick of   
wood1 of about the right size1 and then 
examined it carefully to find the part  
which was most uniform and regular in   

its shape2 and he bored a hole for the  
handle in the middle of this part4 ,he  
made his handle of pine wood1 for this  
was much easier to cut1 and ,jonas told 
him he thought it would do nearly as    
well4 ,when the handle was finished1 he 
drove it into the hole1 and then he     
sawed off the ends of the stick of wood 
at the right distances from the hole4   
,he first took pains to measure on each 
side1 so as to have the distances       
exactly the same4  ,when this was done1 
he had quite a pretty little mallet4    
,that is1 it was made very much like a  
carpenter's mallet2 still1 as a mallet  
is made chiefly for the purpose of      
driving a chisel1 and this was1 on the  
other hand1 only intended to be used for
 splitting wood with a wedge1 ,jonas    
told him he thought it would be strictly
 proper to call it a little beetle4 ,he 
worked so slowly and carefully1 however1
 in doing all this1 that the afternoon  
had entirely passed away when he got the
 beetle and the wedges done2 and just   

when he was thinking that he was ready  
to try them1 he saw ,dorothy at the     
kitchen door1 ringing the bell to call  
him in to tea4     ,,splitting4   ,when 
play time came the next day1 ,rollo ran 
after ,nathan to show him his beetle and
 wedges1 and to get him to go out and   
see him 'split' with them4 ,nathan      
trotted along after him1 very much      
pleased4  ,rollo had his beetle in one  
hand1 and his two wedges in the other1  
and1 as he walked along1 he looked over 
his shoulder towards ,nathan1 who was   
following him1 and talked to him by the 
way1 explaining to him something about  
his beetle and wedges4  ,you see ,i am  
going to split1 ,thanny4 ,i am going to 
split some kindling wood for ,dorothy4  
,i shall put my wedges into the wood1   
and then drive them in with my beetle1  
and that will make the wood split open  
more and more2 and perhaps ,i will let  
you split a little1 ,thanny4  ,by this  
time ,rollo had got out to the shed1 and
 he put his beetle and wedges down upon 

the floor1 while he went away to get    
some boards to split4 ,there were some  
old boards behind the barn1 which ,jonas
 told him were to be split up to burn1  
and from these he chose one1 which was  
not very long1 and dragged it to the    
shed4 ,he placed this upon the          
saw-horse1 and then sawed off a piece   
from one end1 about as long as he       
thought it would be well to have the    
sticks of kindling wood4 ,after he had  
sawed off one piece1 he was going to    
split it up1 but then he reflected that 
it would be more systematic and         
workmanlike to finish his sawing first4 
,so he sawed off another1 and another   
piece1 until the board was all sawed up 
into short pieces4 ,he placed these     
together neatly in a pile1 and then     
taking one of them1 he sat down upon the
 floor1 with ,thanny1 and prepared to   
try his beetle and wedges4  ,now1 said  
,rollo1 ,i think ,i must have a         
knife1--some old knife or other1--to    
make a little place to drive my wedge   

in4 ,thanny1 why can't you go and ask   
,dorothy to let me have a knife8 ,come1 
that's a good boy4  ,so ,nathan got up  
off of the floor1 where he had been     
sitting by ,rollo's side1 and went in   
for a knife4 ,in a few minutes he came  
out1 and asked ,rollo if a broken one   
would do4 ,he had brought out a broken  
knife4 ,the handle was whole and strong1
 but the blade was broken in two1 about 
in the middle4  ,why1 yes1 said ,rollo1 
taking the knife and looking at it1 ,i  
believe that will do4  ,yes1 he         
continued1 ,i shall like this better1   
for ,i can keep this all the time1 with 
my wedges4 ,and besides1 ,i believe that
 ,i can drive it better4  ,so ,rollo    
held the edge of the knife to the end of
 the board1 and then drove it in a      
little way1 with his little beetle4     
,this made a small opening or cleft in  
the angle or edge of the board at one   
end4 ,then he began to drive in his     
wooden wedge1 telling ,nathan to look   
carefully and see when it began to      

split4 ,nathan stood near him1 stooping 
down1 with his hands upon his knees1 and
 looking on with great attention4       
,illustration  ,rollo drove in his      
wedge1 and it proceeded admirably4 ,the 
wood soon began to crack1 and the crack 
gradually extended almost to the end of 
the board4 ,when he had driven it in    
pretty far1 he told ,nathan to see how  
he was going to manage with his second  
wedge4 ,he was now very glad that he had
 followed ,jonas's advice1 and made the 
second wedge before trying the first4   
,he inserted the second wedge in the    
crack1 and drove it in4 ,this forced the
 wood open more1 and loosened the first 
wedge1 so that he could easily get it   
out again1 and very soon the board was  
split entirely in two4 ,nathan was very 
much delighted with the whole operation4
  ,in the same manner1 ,rollo split two 
or three other pieces off from his      
board1 and then ,nathan wanted him to   
let him split one4 ,rollo was at first  
somewhat unwilling to let his little    

beetle go out of his hand at all1 he was
 so interested in using it2 but         
considering that it would give ,nathan a
 good deal of pleasure1 he concluded to 
let him try it once4  ,i will start it  
for you1 ,thanny1 said he4 ,and he      
accordingly made a small cleft by       
driving in his knife2 and then he       
inserted the wedge1 and drove that in   
too1 just far enough to start the crack1
 and enable the wood to retain the      
wedge4 ,nathan then took the beetle1 and
 pounded away4  ,he found that he could 
not strike such heavy blows as ,rollo   
could1 and yet the wedge gradually      
penetrated farther and farther1 and the 
crack opened wider and wider1 to        
,nathan's great delight4 ,rollo was     
himself gratified to see how much his   
little brother was pleased with his     
beetle and wedges4 ,when the first wedge
 was driven fully in1 he handed him the 
other1 and showed him how to insert that
 into the crack made by the first wedge1
 at a little distance from it4 ,nathan  

then drove in the second wedge1 and this
 soon finished the work1 for it split   
the piece off entirely1 and ,nathan took
 it up1 and looked at it1 very much     
pleased at what he had done4  ,now1 said
 ,rollo1 give me the beetle again4  ,no1
 said ,nathan1 ,i want to split some    
more4  ,o1 no1 said ,rollo1 in a tone of
 good-humored expostulation2 no2 it is  
my beetle and wedge4 ,i let you have it 
to split one stick off2 but now you     
ought to let me have it again1          
immediately4  ,no1 said ,nathan1 ,i want
 to split some more4  ,rollo took up the
 two wedges1 and would not let ,nathan  
have them1 and ,nathan held the beetle  
away behind him so that ,rollo should   
not have that4 ,thus they seemed to be  
in inextricable difficulty4 ,rollo did  
not know what to do4  ,nathan1 said he1 
at length1 after a pause1 give me my    
beetle4  ,no1 said ,nathan1 ,i want to  
split4  ,o1 dear me6 said ,rollo1 with a
 sigh4  ,at first1 he thought that he   
would take the beetle away from ,nathan 

by force2 but he reflected in a moment  
that this would be wrong1 and so finally
 he concluded to go and state the case  
to his mother4  ,so he rose1 and began  
to walk away1 saying1  ,well1 ,nathan1  
,i mean to go and tell mother1 that you 
won't let me have my beetle4  ,then     
,nathan1 whose conscience secretly      
reproved him for what he was doing1     
pulled the beetle round from behind him1
 and threw it down upon the floor1 where
 ,rollo had been sitting4 ,this was     
wrong4 ,it was a very ill-natured way of
 giving it up4 ,if he was satisfied that
 he was wrong1 he ought to have handed  
it to ,rollo pleasantly4 ,instead of    
that1 he threw it down1 with a sullen   
look1 and sat still4  ,then ,rollo1     
thinking that it was now no longer      
necessary to go and trouble his mother  
with the difficulty1 began to return4   
,as he came back1 he said1 in a kind and
 soothing tone1  ,now1 you are a good   
boy1 ,nathan4 ,that is right--to give me
 back my beetle4 ,now ,i will let you   

split again1 some time4  ,but ,rollo was
 mistaken in supposing that ,nathan was 
a good boy4 ,boys are not good until    
their hearts are right4 ,when a child   
has something which he ought not to     
have1 it is not enough for him to throw 
it down upon the floor1 sullenly1       
because he is afraid to have his father 
or mother told that he has got it4 ,he  
ought to give it up pleasantly1 and feel
 that it is right that he should do so4 
,if ,nathan had said to himself1 ,i     
ought not to keep this beetle1 for it is
 not mine--it is ,rollo's2 he made it1  
and he has been kind enough to lend it  
to me1 and now ,i ought to be willing to
 give it back to him pleasantly again2  
and then had given it to him with a     
pleasant countenance1--that would have  
been really being a good boy4 ,but to   
throw it down in a pet1 because he was  
afraid to have ,rollo complain to his   
mother1 was very far from being like a  
good boy4  ,however1 it was very kind in
 ,rollo to speak soothingly and         

pleasantly to ,nathan2 though1 if he had
 reflected how much goodness depends    
upon the state of the heart1 he would   
not have supposed that ,nathan was yet a
 good boy4 ,in fact1 when he saw that   
,rollo was coming back again1 and was   
not going to his mother1 after standing 
still1 looking quite sullen for a       
moment1 he suddenly stooped down1 seized
 ,rollo's knife1 and ran off with it out
 into the yard4  ,rollo instantly       
pursued him1 calling out1 ,nathan6 bring
 back my knife2 ,nathan6 ,nathan6 give  
me my knife4  ,nathan1 however1 ran on1 
though ,rollo ran the fastest1 and was  
rapidly overtaking him2 and just at the 
instant before he reached him1 ,nathan's
 foot tripped2 he fell1 and as he threw 
forward his hands to try to save        
himself1 they came down upon the ground1
 and his forehead struck the corner of  
the knife blade4 ,he immediately        
screamed out with pain and terror4      
,dorothy1 alarmed by his cries1 came    
out1 took him up in her arms1 and       

carried him into the house4  ,she took  
him to the table1 and began to bathe the
 wounded forehead in cold water4 ,this  
was what she always did when the        
children got cut or scratched1 or hurt  
in any such way4 ,it prevents           
inflammation4 ,she saw that ,nathan was 
not hurt much1 though he continued to   
cry very loud4 ,his crying was1 however1
 partly from pain1 and partly from      
vexation4  ,in a few minutes1 ,rollo's  
mother came down stairs to see what was 
the matter4 ,rollo thought that his     
mother might suppose that he had hurt   
,nathan1 and so he began to explain at  
once how it happened4 ,but his mother   
held up her hand to him1 as a signal for
 him to be silent4 ,she knew that it was
 then no time to ascertain the facts4   
,she came up and looked at ,nathan's    
forehead a moment1 and she saw that it  
was not much hurt4 ,besides1 she knew1  
by the sound of ,nathan's cries1 that   
they did not proceed from much pain4    
,she therefore said to him1 gently1     

,stop crying1 ,nathan6  ,now ,nathan    
knew that his mother did not tell him   
not to cry1 except when she was sure    
that he could control himself if he     
chose to do so2 and he also knew that   
she punished him if he did not obey4 ,so
 he began immediately to repress his    
sobs and cries1 and very soon became    
still4 ,she then put a small plaster1 of
 some sort1 upon his forehead1 and then 
carried him up stairs and laid him on   
the bed4  ,there1 said she1 ,thanny1 lie
 still there a little while1 till your  
forehead has done aching1 and you get   
pleasant again2 then you may get up1 and
 come to me4  ,then she went to her work
 again1 and ,rollo came and stood by her
 side1 and told her the whole story4    
,nathan did wrong1 said she2 but it     
would have been better for you not to   
have run after him4  ,why1 mother1 said 
,rollo1 he was running away with my     
knife2 and ,i can't split at all without
 my knife4 ,one thing ,i know1--,i shall
 not let him split any more with my     

beetle and wedges4  ,that would be one  
way to treat him1 said his mother2 but  
there is another thing you might do1 if 
you chose4  ,what1 mother8 asked ,rollo4
  ,why1 make him a beetle and wedge1 for
 his own4  ,why1 mother6 said ,rollo1   
with surprise4  ,yes1 said she4 ,you    
might make him one4 ,think how pleased  
he would be with it4 ,then he could sit 
down with you1 and you could both be    
splitting together4  ,but1 seems to me1 
mother1 that that would be rewarding him
 for being a naughty boy4  ,it would be 
so1 if you were to make him a beetle and
 wedge1 because he was a bad boy2 but ,i
 proposed that you should make it for   
another reason1 that is1 to please him4 
,but perhaps he would think ,i did it   
because he ran away with my knife1 said 
,rollo4  ,i don't think there is any    
danger that he would imagine that you   
did it as a reward for that1 replied his
 mother4  ,here ,rollo paused a moment4 
,he did not feel quite ready to         
undertake to make ,nathan a beetle and  

wedges2 but he did not know exactly how 
to reply to his mother's reasoning4 ,at 
length he said1 in a timid and          
hesitating voice1  ,but1 mother1 it     
seems to me that it would be better to  
punish ,nathan1 rather than reward him1 
or do any thing which would seem like   
rewarding him for acting so4  ,that may 
be true1 said his mother4 ,and it is    
true1 also1 that if you should refuse to
 let him split wood any more with your  
wedges1 it would be punishing him2      
while1 on the other hand1 if you should 
make him a little beetle and wedge of   
his own1 it would be forgiving him4 ,now
 ,i do not say that he ought not to be  
punished2 but which do you think is your
 duty towards him1--you1 yourself1 being
 only another child1 a few years older  
than he1--to punish or to forgive8      
,why1--to forgive1--,i suppose1 said    
,rollo1 rather doubtfully4  ,i am rather
 inclined to that opinion1 myself1 said 
his mother3 but you can do just as you  
please4  ,rollo remained some minutes   

about his mother's chair1 not knowing   
exactly what to do or say next4 ,he sat 
down upon the floor1 and began to play  
with some shreds of cloth which were    
lying there4 ,presently1 he looked up   
and said1  ,mother1 what was the reason 
why you would not let me tell you what  
was the matter with ,nathan in the      
kitchen8  ,because1 said she1 he was    
crying then1 and it is no time to learn 
how an injury happened1 during the      
excitement of the moment4 ,if you find  
,nathan crying out in the yard1 for     
instance1 and try to get him to tell you
 how he got hurt1 you only make him cry 
the more4 ,get him quiet first1 and then
 learn the story afterwards4  ,then1    
besides the difficulty of his speaking  
intelligibly1 she continued1 at such a  
time1 boys are very strongly tempted to 
misrepresent the facts1 during the      
excitement of the first moments4 ,they  
are very likely to be a little vexed or 
angry1 and1 under the influence of those
 feelings1 not to give a correct and    

honest account4 ,so that it is always   
best to put off inquiries till the      
trouble is all over4  ,here ,nathan came
 into the room4 ,his forehead had ceased
 to give him pain1 and so he had        
clambered down from the bed where his   
mother had placed him1 and now came into
 the room1 looking quiet and calm1      
though still not very happy4  ,rollo    
went to him1 and said1 ,come1 ,nathan1  
now we will go down stairs to play      
again4 ,and he began to lead him down   
stairs4 ,as they walked along1 ,rollo   
said1  ,i am going to make you a beetle 
and wedge for your own1 ,nathan1 and    
then you and ,i can split together3     
only1 it is not a reward1 you must      
understand4 ,it was wrong for you to    
keep my beetle1 and run away with my    
knife1 and you are sorry you did so1    
an't you1 ,nathan8  ,yes1 said ,nathan4 
,and you won't do so any more1 will you1
 ,nathan8  ,no1 said ,nathan1 ,i won't  
do so any more4  ,whether ,nathan was   
really sorry for what he had done1 or   

whether he only said so because ,rollo  
was going to make him a beetle1 is very 
doubtful2 though it is not impossible   
that he was a little sorry4  ,rollo went
 down into the shed again with ,nathan2 
and while he was at work making the new 
beetle and wedge1 he let ,nathan use    
his4 ,the first piece of board had been 
split up2 so he laid another one before 
,nathan1 and gave him his beetle and    
wedges and knife1 and then went away out
 to the barn to get some more wood for  
wedges1 and an auger4  ,when he came    
back1 he found ,nathan standing at the  
shed door1 with the little beetle in his
 hand1 waiting for him4 ,as ,nathan saw 
,rollo coming1 he called to him1 saying1
  ,come1 ,rollo1 come and help me2 the  
board won't split4  ,what is the matter 
with it8 said ,rollo4  ,i don't know1   
said ,nathan1 only it won't split4  ,so 
,rollo went in to see4 ,he found that   
,nathan had gone to work wrong4 ,instead
 of trying to drive the wedge into the  
end of the board1 so as to split it     

along the grain1 he had made the cleft  
with the knife in the side of the board1
 and was attempting to drive it in      
there1 as if he supposed he could split 
the board across the grain4  ,why1      
,nathan1 said ,rollo1 that isn't right4 
,you can't split it across4  ,then he   
put the wedge into the end1 where it    
ought to be put1 and set ,nathan to     
driving it4 ,now it began to split at   
once2 though ,nathan could not see why  
the board should not split one way as   
well as the other4  ,rollo himself did  
not understand it very well4 ,nathan    
asked him why it would not split the    
other way1 and he said that that was    
across the grain4 ,but when ,nathan     
asked him what he meant by grain1 he    
could not tell4  ,he took up the wood   
and examined it1 and observed little    
lines and ridges1 running along in the  
direction in which it would split2 but  
at the ends of the board1 where it had  
been sawed across the grain1 it was     
rough4 ,he determined to ask ,jonas     

about it1 or his father4  ,he then went 
to work1 and made the wedges and a      
little beetle for ,nathan4 ,he made     
,nathan's beetle smaller than his own1  
because ,nathan was not strong enough to
 strike hard with such a heavy beetle4  
,he did not get it done in season to use
 that day2 but1 the next day1 he and    
,nathan sat down upon the shed floor1   
and spent an hour in splitting up the   
boards4 ,they split them all up into    
good1 fine kindling wood4 ,then they    
piled the pieces up in a neat pile1 and 
then brought ,dorothy out to see them4  
,dorothy seemed very much pleased1 and  
promised the boys that1 the next time   
she baked pies1 she would kindle the    
fire in the oven with their kindling    
wood1 and then she would bake them each 
a little apple turnover4         99     
99       99       99       99  ,that    
evening1 just before ,rollo went to bed1
 he asked ,jonas if he could tell him   
why boards would only split along the   
grain4  ,yes1 said ,jonas1 ,i think ,i  

can tell you4 ,but do you know what the 
grain is8  ,no1 said ,rollo1 ,i don't   
know any thing about it4  ,you know that
 boards are made from the stems of tall 
trees4  ,yes1 said ,rollo4  ,well1 now  
when trees are growing1 there are little
 channels running up and down from the  
roots to the branches4  ,what are they  
for8 said ,rollo4  ,they are for the    
sap4 ,the sap flows up and down in them4
 ,but then there are no channels across 
from one side of the tree to the other1 
because there is no sap to go across4   
,the sap all has to go up from the roots
 to the branches2 and so the channels   
must all be up and down the tree4  ,now1
 continued ,jonas1 when they cut down   
the tree1 the trunk will split easily1  
up and down1 the way the channels and   
fibres all go2 but it won't split easily
 across4 ,and just so1 when they saw it 
up into boards1 the boards will all     
split lengthwise1 from end to end1 for  
this is the way the channels and fibres 
all lie2 but it won't split across1 for 

that would be across all the fibres1 and
 the wood is made very strong in that   
direction1 and it is well it is so4     
,why8 said ,rollo4  ,because1 if trees  
would split across1 as easily as they do
 up and down1 the first good wind would 
blow down all the forests in the world4 
,o1 ,jonas6 exclaimed ,rollo1 all the   
forests in the world8  ,yes1 replied    
,jonas1 if the wind blew all over the   
world4     ,,horology4   ,one day1 at   
eleven o'clock1 ,rollo1 after having put
 away his books carefully into his desk1
 went out to play4 ,it was a calm and   
pleasant autumnal day4 ,brown and yellow
 leaves were falling from the trees1 and
 lying about the yard4 ,rollo found     
,nathan sitting upon the steps of the   
door which looked toward the garden     
yard4 ,he felt satisfied and happy1 for 
he had studied his lessons diligently1  
and1 when he saw ,nathan1 he concluded  
to have a little play with him4  ,now1  
,nathan1 said ,rollo1 ,i will lie down  
upon the steps1 and make believe ,i am a

 bear gone to sleep1 and you come and   
poke me with your stick1 and then ,i    
will growl at you4  ,well1 said ,nathan1
 ,i will4  ,so ,rollo laid down upon the
 steps1 putting his arms upon the       
threshold of the door for a pillow1 and 
his head upon his arms1 and pretended to
 be asleep2 but he did not look much as 
if he was asleep1 after all1 for he     
could not look quite sober4 ,he tried to
 look sober2 but there was a lurking    
smile upon his face1 which made his     
countenance look quite different from   
that of a bear4 ,nathan came creeping   
along softly1 and when he got near      
enough1 he began to poke him with the   
end of his little whip-handle2 then     
,rollo would start up and begin to      
growl1 when ,nathan would scamper away1 
shouting with laughter1 ,rollo after    
him1 upon all-fours4  ,this play lasted 
several minutes1 until at length ,nathan
 spoiled it by punching ,rollo too hard 
with his whip-handle4 ,a great many     
plays are spoiled by roughness on the   

part of some who are engaged4 ,rollo1   
being hurt a little1 got out of         
patience4 ,he ought to have asked       
,nathan1 pleasantly1 not to punch him so
 hard4 ,instead of that1 however1 he    
declared that he would not play any     
more1 and got up and went away4 ,nathan 
followed him1 lashing the ground and the
 leaves with his whip4  ,they both went 
into a corner of the yard1 where ,rollo 
used to have his sand-garden4 ,this     
sand-garden was made of clean sand1     
which ,rollo and his cousin ,james once 
wheeled up from the brook2 and then1    
after they had smoothed it out1 and     
raked it over1 they used to get plants  
and flowers1 without any roots1 and     
stick down1 and then call it their      
garden4 ,they used to water the plants1 
and so they could keep them green and   
bright for several days1 which was long 
enough for them2 for1 after that1 they  
generally preferred putting down fresh  
ones4 ,but1 now1 the sand-garden had    
been for a long time neglected4 ,the    

remains of some of the old plants were  
there1 withered and dried1 and the      
leaves of autumn were scattered over its
 surface4  ,rollo began to rake off the 
leaves with his fingers1 and then sat   
down1 and went to digging a hole in the 
sand4 ,it was very dry upon the top1 but
 on digging down a little way1 he found 
it damp1 and so it would hold together  
pretty well1 and he could pat it into   
any shape4 ,a load of clean sand makes a
 very good place for children to play   
in1 in a corner of a yard4  ,rollo sat  
down on one side of the sand-garden1 and
 ,nathan on the other1 and both busied  
themselves in digging and building      
little houses4 ,they both became very   
much interested1 and sat some time very 
still1 until1 at length1 ,rollo looked  
around to see what ,nathan might be     
doing4  ,what are you doing1 ,thanny8   
said he4  ,o1 ,i'm making the sand run  
down through4  ,rollo observed that     
,nathan had an old tin dipper1 which he 
was holding up in one hand1 and putting 

some dry sand into it with the other4   
,there was a very small hole in the     
bottom of the dipper1 for it was an old 
one which had been worn out and thrown  
away2 and the sand ran out of this      
little hole in a fine stream1 and it was
 this which interested ,nathan so much4 
,o1 ,nathan1 said ,rollo1 let me have   
the dipper4  ,no1 said ,nathan1 ,i want 
it myself4  ,rollo would not take it    
away from ,nathan1 though he wanted it  
very much indeed4  ,yes1 ,nathan1 said  
he1 let me have the dipper1 and ,i will 
make you an hour-glass out of it4  ,but 
,nathan said1 ,no1 no1 and moved away a 
little farther4  ,rollo then remembered 
that such a little boy was generally not
 interested in any one thing very long1 
and that1 if he should let ,nathan      
alone1 he would soon put the dipper     
down1 and then he could have it without 
any difficulty4 ,so he went on making   
houses in the sand1 and in a few minutes
 ,nathan put the dipper down4 ,then1    
soon after1 ,rollo took it up and put   

some dry sand into it1 and he found that
 the sand would run very smoothly1 in a 
fine stream1 through a small hole there 
was in the bottom of it4  ,he determined
 to make an hour-glass of it4 ,he had   
seen an hour-glass at his uncle         
,george's4 ,it was made of glass1 big at
 the bottom and at the top1 and narrow  
in the middle between the two4 ,through 
the narrow part in the middle1 there was
 a very small hole1 to let the sand run 
down through2 and there was just sand   
enough put in to run through in an hour4
 ,so that1 if a person should set the   
sand to running1 he would know when an  
hour had expired1 by observing when the 
sand had all run through4  ,rollo       
thought that he could make an           
hour-glass2 and he thought it would be a
 great convenience to him to have an    
hour-glass in the yard2 because it often
 happened1 when he came out to play1    
that his mother would tell him that he  
might stay out an hour2 and then he had 
to go in very often to look at the      

clock1 in order to know exactly when the
 hour had expired4  ,there were1        
however1 so many little sticks and old  
leaves in the sand1 that it kept getting
 continually clogged up1 and at last    
,rollo began to get discouraged4 ,he    
tried to pick out the little sticks2 but
 he found he could not do that1 and at  
last it occurred to him that probably   
,dorothy had some sand in the house that
 was cleaner4  ,he accordingly went in  
and asked her4 ,she told him that he    
must wash his own sand1 and that would  
make it clean4  ,but haven't you got    
some that is clean already8 said he4    
,yes1 said ,dorothy2 but you will like  
your hour-glass better if you make it   
all yourself4  ,so ,dorothy told him how
 to wash sand1 for ,rollo said that he  
did not know4 ,she said he must put a   
little in a basin1 and then pump water  
into it4 ,when the basin is nearly full 
of water1 you must stir it round1 and   
then pour off the water1 and pump in    
more2--do this until the water comes off

 clear4  ,so ,rollo took the basin which
 ,dorothy gave him1 and went out to his 
sand-garden1 and put in a little sand4  
,then he went to the pump1 and pumped   
water into it4 ,then he stirred it about
 with his hand4 ,the water immediately  
became very turbid1 and a great many    
little sticks and leaves came floating  
up to the surface4 ,rollo was surprised 
to find how rapidly the water separated 
the light things which would float upon 
the top1 from the heavy sand which would
 sink to the bottom4 ,he kept pouring   
off the water1 and pumping in more1     
until at length no more sticks and      
leaves came off1 and the water appeared 
pretty clear4 ,then he carried the sand 
away1 and spread it out upon a clean    
board in the sun to dry4  ,while he was 
thus at work preparing the sand for his 
hour-glass1 ,jonas happened to come by1 
and asked ,rollo what he was doing4     
,rollo told him that he was making an   
hour-glass4 ,jonas looked on for a few  
minutes1 and then he told ,rollo that he

 thought that was a pretty good plan4   
,and ,i am going to have a time-keeper1 
too1 said he4  ,are you8 said ,rollo4   
,what8  ,i am going to make a dial1 said
 he4  ,a dial6 said ,rollo2 what1 a real
 dial8  ,rollo had an idea that a dial  
was exceedingly complicated and         
difficult to make1 or to understand2    
and1 in fact1 it is difficult to make   
one that shall be exact in its          
indications4 ,he did not think it       
possible that ,jonas could make one4    
,yes1 said ,jonas1 a real dial2 and ,i  
have got a noon mark already4  ,a noon  
mark6 said ,rollo2 what is a noon mark8 
,it is a mark to show when it is exactly
 twelve o'clock4  ,let me go and see it1
 said ,rollo1 while my sand is drying4  
,rollo followed ,jonas off into the     
barn1 and when there1 ,jonas pointed to 
a small line which he had cut with his  
penknife upon the barn floor4 ,it began 
at the foot of one of the posts1 by the 
side of the door1 and extended back into
 the barn exactly straight4  ,is that   

the noon mark8 said ,rollo4 ,he was     
surprised to see that a noon mark was   
nothing but a cut with a penknife upon a
 barn floor4  ,yes1 said ,jonas2 that is
 a meridian4  ,a meridian6 said ,rollo1 
looking upon it with an air of great    
curiosity and respect4  ,yes1 said      
,jonas2 a line drawn exactly north and  
south1 is called a meridian line2 and   
that is exactly north and south4  ,what 
do you call it a noon mark for8 said    
,rollo4  ,because1 said ,jonas1 the     
shadow of the edge of the door post will
 always be exactly upon it at noon4 ,so 
that ,i can always tell now when it is  
noon1 by the shadow of the post upon my 
noon mark1 if the sun shines4  ,all this
 was very new and very curious to       
,rollo4 ,he had never seen or heard of a
 noon mark before2 and it seemed to him 
a very simple and beautiful way of      
knowing when it was noon4 ,he asked     
,jonas how he found out about it1 and   
,jonas told him that he had been reading
 about it in a book on astronomy4  ,your

 father let me have the book1 said he2  
and see my chalk marks for the sun's    
shadow4  ,rollo looked1 and found that  
,jonas had put down quite a number of   
chalk marks along in a line1 where they 
had first began to mark the place where 
the shadow of the door reached into4    
,rollo and ,lucy had forgotten all about
 their plan of making such a series of  
observations2 but ,jonas had gone on    
regularly1 making a mark every ,monday1 
at noon1 precisely4 ,as the sun1 at that
 season of the year1 was going round    
farther and farther to the south every  
week1 it shone in farther and farther   
upon the floor1 so that each chalk mark 
was farther in than the one made the    
week before4  ,in order to make his     
marks at the right time1 ,jonas wanted  
to know1 every ,monday1 when it was     
precisely twelve o'clock1 and this led  
him to make his noon mark1 having seen  
the account of it in the book which     
,rollo's father had lent him4 ,he       
learned there that the shadows of all   

upright objects are cast exactly north  
at twelve o'clock1 or rather very nearly
 north2 near enough for his purposes4   
,now1 as the post of the barn door was  
upright1 he knew that the shadow of it  
would be in the north and south line at 
noon4 ,of course1 if he had a north and 
south line1 or a meridian line1 as it   
was called in the book1 drawn upon the  
floor1 he knew that he could tell when  
it was noon1 by the shadow of the post  
coming then exactly upon that line4 ,he 
explained this all to ,rollo1 and ,rollo
 was very much pleased with it indeed4  
,he determined to have a noon line      
somewhere in the house4  ,rollo asked   
,jonas what was the way to draw a noon  
line4 ,jonas told him that there were   
several ways4 ,one way1 he said1 was to 
observe some day1 by the clock1 when it 
was exactly noon1 and then to mark1 upon
 the barn floor1 the line where the     
shadow of the edge of the post fell     
precisely at that moment4 ,another way  
was to get a compass needle1 and put it 

down upon the floor1 and then draw a    
north and south line precisely in the   
direction that the needle indicated4    
,that would1 of course1 be a north and  
south line1 because the compass needle  
always pointed north and south4 ,he said
 that he adopted both these methods to  
make his noon line4 ,first1 he got a    
compass needle1 which ,rollo's father   
had lent him1 and put that down upon the
 barn floor just at the foot of the door
 post1 and observed the direction2 and  
he also noticed when it was twelve1 by  
the clock in the house1 and he found    
that1 when it was twelve by the clock1  
the shadow of the post came exactly to  
the line indicated by the direction of  
the compass needle2 and so he knew that 
that was a correct meridian line4       
,,jonas',s ,,dial4   ,that evening1     
,rollo told his father about his        
hour-glass1 and also about ,jonas's noon
 line4 ,his father said it was very     
difficult to draw a meridian line4  ,o  
no1 father1 said ,rollo2 ,jonas has     

drawn one1 and he told me how1 and it   
was a very easy way4  ,yes1 said his    
father1 it is easy to draw something    
which you can call a noon mark2 but it  
is a very difficult and delicate        
operation to do it with any considerable
 degree of exactness4  ,i think that    
,jonas's is exact1 said ,rollo4  ,it    
probably may be as exact as he could    
make it with his means and instruments2 
but there are a great many sources of   
error which he could not possibly have  
avoided4  ,what8 asked ,rollo4  ,why1 in
 the first place1 the clock is not      
exact4 ,it is near enough to answer all 
the purposes of a family2 but it may    
often be a minute or more out of the    
way4 ,then besides1 while ,jonas is     
going from the clock out to the barn1   
the shadow is slowly moving on1 all the 
time2 so that he cannot tell exactly    
where the shadow was1 when it was       
precisely twelve by the clock4  ,then   
again1 it is not always exactly noon    
when the shadow comes to the north and  

south line4 ,it varies a little at      
different seasons of the year1 though it
 is so near that we say1 in general     
terms1 that at noon all shadows of      
upright objects point to the north4     
,still1 it is not precisely true1 except
 on a very few days in the year4 ,then1 
again1 the post of the barn door is not 
exactly upright4  ,i thought they always
 made door posts exactly upright1 said  
,rollo4  ,they do make them as nearly   
upright as they can1 with the common    
carpenters' instruments2 but they are   
not exact4 ,to set a post of any kind1  
with great precision1 perpendicular to  
the horizon1 would require very         
expensive mathematical instruments1 and 
very laborious and nice observations4   
,then1 again1 if the clock had been     
exact1 and the post perfectly upright1  
,jonas could not have marked the place  
of the shadow exactly4 ,the shadow has  
not an exact and well-defined edge2 and 
then1 even while he was marking at one  
end1 the shadow would be moving along at

 the other end1 and so his noon mark    
would not be exactly straight4  ,why1   
father1 he could make the mark right    
along quick4  ,no matter how quick he   
might make it4 ,it would take some time1
 wouldn't it8  ,only a very little1 said
 ,rollo4  ,and do you suppose the sun   
would stand still1 even during that     
little time1 so as to let the shadow    
remain stationary8  ,however1 continued 
his father1 ,i don't say this to        
disparage ,jonas's noon mark4 ,i dare   
say1 it is accurate enough for his      
purposes4 ,he only wants to know from it
 when it is time for him to come in to  
dinner1 or something like that4 ,i only 
want you to understand what exactness   
is1 and to see1 a little1 how difficult 
it is to attain to any considerable     
degree of it1 in such cases4 ,so thus1  
it seems1 that ,jonas has got a sort of 
a dial8  ,why1 it only tells him what   
o'clock it is at one hour in the day1   
said ,rollo4 ,but ,i think he might make
 it do for all the afternoon and        

forenoon4  ,how8 inquired his father4   
,why1 all he has got to do is to watch  
some day when it is nine o'clock1 and   
ten o'clock1 and so on1 every hour2 and 
then make a line where the shadow comes 
every hour1 just as he did for twelve   
o'clock4 ,then he will have marks for   
every hour in the day1 and when the     
shadow comes along to these marks1 one  
after another1 he will know what time it
 is4  ,o1 but the difficulty is1 said   
his father1 that the shadow will not    
come to the same places1 at the same    
hours1 on different days4 ,it will come 
to the meridian line1 at twelve1        
always1--that is1 nearly to it2 but it  
will not come to any other lines        
regularly1--that is1 if the object1     
which casts the shadow1 is upright4     
,will any other kind of object carry the
 shadow regularly8 asked ,rollo4  ,yes1 
said his father1 an object that leans   
over to the north1 so as to point to the
 ,north ,star4 ,if you and ,jonas could 
put a post into the ground so as to have

 it point to the ,north ,star1 then you 
could mark1 all around it1 the places to
 which the shadow would come for every  
hour in the day1 and afterwards it would
 come to the same places regularly1 or  
nearly so4 ,it would be near enough for 
your purposes2 and ,i don't know but    
that it would be quite a respectable    
dial for you4  ,rollo then asked his    
father why it was that a post1 which    
pointed to the ,north ,star1 would bring
 a shadow any more regularly to the hour
 marks1 than an upright one would2 but  
he said that ,rollo did not know enough1
 yet1 to understand the explanation1    
even if he were to try to explain it4   
,therefore1 said he1 you must wait until
 you study astronomy before you can     
expect to understand it2 but you can    
now1 in the mean time1 make such a dial1
 if you wish to do it4  ,rollo did wish 
to do it very much4 ,he accordingly told
 ,jonas all that his father had said4   
,it seemed very strange to ,jonas1 that 
a post1 pointing to the ,north ,star1   

should have its shadows move round any  
more regularly than a post in any other 
position4 ,he could not imagine what the
 ,north ,star could have to do with the 
shadows4 ,still1 he determined to try   
the experiment4  ,a few days after this1
 ,jonas did try the experiment4 ,he got 
two narrow boards1 which were once      
pickets belonging to a picket fence1 one
 end of each was sharp1 so that it could
 be driven down into the ground4 ,then  
he selected a certain part of the yard1 
in a corner1 where the dial would be out
 of the way1 and yet the path to the    
barn led along pretty near it4 ,the     
reason why ,jonas got two boards was    
this3 he knew that1 if he drove only one
 stake into the ground1 and inclined it 
towards the ,north ,star1 it would be   
very likely to get started out of its   
proper position2 but if he had two1 he  
could drive the second one down         
perpendicularly from the end of the     
first1 and then nail the two ends       
together2 and that would keep all       

steady4  ,after having got every thing  
ready1 the boys waited till the evening 
before fixing up the dial1 because they 
could not see the ,north ,star in the   
day time4 ,but when the evening came1   
they went out1 and began their          
preparations4 ,it was a clear and pretty
 cold evening1 and the stars were out in
 thousands4  ,which is the ,north ,star8
 asked ,rollo4  ,jonas looked about a   
minute or two1 saying1 ,let me          
see--where's the ,dipper8 ,o1 ,i see a  
part of it2 the rest is down behind the 
barn4 ,it was up high the last time ,i  
saw it4  ,where is the ,dipper8 said    
,rollo1 looking eagerly in the direction
 to which ,jonas was turned4  ,come this
 way1 said ,jonas1 so as to be out of   
the way of the barn1 and you can see it 
better4  ,so ,jonas pointed out the     
,dipper to ,rollo1 with its square body1
 and long1 bent handle4 ,it was at first
 quite difficult for ,rollo to see any  
thing that looked at all like a dipper2 
as it consisted only of stars1 which it 

required some imagination to make look  
like one4  ,the handle reaches almost   
down to the ground1 said ,rollo4  ,down 
to the horizon1 you mean1 said ,jonas4  
,is that the horizon8 said ,rollo4      
,yes1 said ,jonas1 where the earth and  
sky meet4 ,not long ago the ,dipper     
handle was away up there1 he continued1 
pointing up very high4  ,does the       
,dipper move8 said ,rollo4  ,yes1 it    
goes round and round the ,north ,star1  
all the time4 ,all the stars that are   
near the ,north ,star keep going round  
and round it1 once every day4  ,and the 
rest of the stars1 said ,rollo1 do they 
go round too8  ,yes1 said ,jonas2 only  
they are so far from the ,north ,star1  
that they go in larger circles1 and so  
go down below the horizon1 and are out  
of sight sometimes4 ,they come up in the
 east1 like the sun1 and go over and    
down in the west4 ,but they don't go    
over straight1 he added4 ,they don't    
come right up straight2 and so go       
directly over4 ,they slant away1 off to 

the south1 so as to keep always just so 
far from the ,north ,star4  ,that's     
curious1 said ,rollo4  ,i think it is1  
said ,jonas4 ,and they all go together2 
they don't move about among themselves1 
at all4  ,don't they8 said ,rollo4  ,no1
 said ,jonas2 only there are a few      
wandering stars1 that keep wandering    
about among the others4 ,but the rest   
all keep exactly in their places1 and   
all go round together2 so they are      
called fixed stars4  ,show me one of the
 wandering stars1 said ,rollo4  ,i don't
 know which they are1 said ,jonas1 only 
they are pretty bright ones4  ,i guess  
that's one1 said ,rollo1 pointing to a  
pretty bright star in the east4         
,perhaps it is1 said ,jonas4  ,i wish ,i
 knew1 said ,rollo4  ,i'll tell you how 
you can find out1 said ,jonas4  ,how8   
asked ,rollo4  ,why1 when you go into   
the house1 take a piece of paper1 and go
 to the window1 and make some dots upon 
it1 for all the stars around that one4  
,make the dots just in the places that  

the stars seem to be in4 ,then let them 
all go4 ,they will rise more and more1  
and go overhead1 and down in the west1  
and to-morrow night they will come up in
 the east again2 and then you can look  
at them again1 and see if the bright    
star has changed its place at all4      
,rollo said that he meant to do that2   
and then he said that he began to feel  
cold1 and wanted to go in4 ,but ,jonas  
told him that he ought to wait and help 
finish the dial4  ,so they went to the  
place which ,jonas had selected1 and    
,jonas1 looking up first at the ,north  
,star1 made a hole in the ground1 with  
an iron bar1 in an oblique direction1 so
 that the bar should point pretty nearly
 to the ,north ,star4 ,then he drove in 
one of his stakes in the same way4 ,he  
then made a hole1 perpendicularly1      
directly under the end of this inclined 
stake1 and drove the other stake down   
into that4 ,the two upper ends of the   
stakes were now together4  ,then ,jonas 
stooped down1 so as to bring his eye    

near the edge of the inclined stake1 at 
the lower end1 so that he could sight   
along the edge of it1 towards the star4 
,he had previously cut a notch in it1 so
 that he could get his eye down far     
enough to look directly along the edge4 
,at the same time1 ,rollo took hold of  
the upper end1 and stood ready to move  
it either way1 as ,jonas might direct1  
until it should point exactly towards   
the ,north ,star4  ,down1 said ,jonas4  
,then ,rollo moved it a little down4    
,down more4  ,rollo moved it farther4   
,up--up a little1 added ,jonas4         
,there--that will do4 ,now hold the two 
stakes firmly together1 exactly so4     
,then ,jonas took some nails1 which he  
had before provided1 and nailed the tops
 of the stakes together1 ,rollo holding 
the axe up against them1 on the opposite
 side4 ,this supported the end of the   
inclined stake firmly1 so that it could 
not move up or down4 ,this was all that 
the boys wanted to do in the evening1   
and so they both went in4  ,the next    

day1 ,jonas sawed off the ends of both  
stakes where they projected beyond the  
junction2 and then ,rollo said he would 
watch the clock all day1 and mark the   
place where the shadow came each hour1  
and drive a little stake down4 ,then1   
said he1 our dial will be done4  ,but   
what do you suppose is the reason1 said 
,rollo1 that we must make it point to   
the ,north ,star more than to any other8
  ,i don't know1 said ,jonas1 unless it 
is because the ,north ,star is the only 
one that keeps always in the same place4
 ,the rest move round and round every   
day4 ,those that are far enough from the
 ,north ,star to go down below the      
horizon1 rise and set2 and those that   
are not far enough1 go round and round  
in circles1 in the open sky4 ,but the   
,north ,star keeps still4  ,does it8    
said ,rollo1 turning around1 and looking
 up to the part of the heavens where he 
had seen the star the evening before4   
,yes1 said ,jonas2 and the reason why we
 cannot see it now1 is the bright       

daylight4 ,it is up there now1 just     
where it was last night4  ,and the      
,dipper1 too8 said ,rollo4  ,yes1 and   
the ,dipper1 too2 only that has moved   
half round1 ,i suppose1 and is now away 
up above the ,north ,star4  ,i wish ,i  
could see it1 said ,rollo4 ,and he      
looked as steadily and intently into the
 clear blue sky1 as he could2 but he    
could not possibly see the least sign of
 a star4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,however1 the sun shone    
bright1 and it cast a strong shadow from
 the stakes which they had driven into  
the ground4 ,jonas soon went away to his
 work1 and left ,rollo to mark the hours
 by means of the clock4  ,so ,rollo had 
to go into the house very often to see  
what time it was2 and at last his       
father1 who was sitting there at his    
writing1 asked him what made him want to
 see the clock so much4 ,rollo told him 
the reason4 ,so his father put down his 
pen1 and came out to see the dial4      
,when he saw the two stakes1 with their 

lower ends driven into the ground1 and  
the upper ends nailed firmly together1  
he looked at them with a smile1 but did 
not say any thing4  ,will that do8 said 
,rollo1 looking up very eagerly into his
 father's face4  ,his father did not    
answer1 but continued to examine the    
work on all sides1 with a countenance   
expressive of curiosity and pleasure4   
,it points to the ,north ,star1 exactly1
 added ,rollo4 ,jonas sighted it4  ,yes1
 said his father2 ,i think that will do2
 you have got quite a respectable       
gnomon4  ,gnomon8 said ,rollo4  ,yes1   
said his father2 we call such a thing a 
gnomon4 ,in common dials1 they are made 
of brass2 but ,i don't see why this     
won't do very well4 ,it is rather a     
large gnomon4  ,is it8 said ,rollo4     
,yes1 said his father1 ,i think it is   
the biggest gnomon ,i ever saw4  ,but   
how are you going to mark the hour      
lines1 ,rollo8 asked his father4  ,why1 
we are going to drive little stakes down
 into the ground4  ',seems to me that   

you can contrive some better plan than  
that1 said his father4  ,why8 said      
,rollo4 ,is not that a good plan8  ,not 
very good1 he replied2 because you      
cannot be exact in driving down stakes4 
,the beauty of a dial is its exactness4 
,i should think that you would do better
 to put a board down upon the ground1   
and mark your lines upon that4  ,o1 the 
board would get knocked about1 said     
,rollo4  ,i dare say that ,jonas would  
contrive some way to keep it steady4    
,but he says he can't do any thing more 
about the dial to-day1 for he must      
attend to his work4  ,let me see--he is 
putting the harnesses in order1 ,i      
believe4  ,yes1 sir1 said ,rollo4       
,well1 you may tell him that after he   
has done the harness that he is at work 
upon now1 he may finish his dial4  ,then
 ,rollo's father went into the house1   
and away went ,rollo in pursuit of      
,jonas4  ,jonas liked the plan of       
putting a board down very much1 and in a
 short time he went to work to do it4   

,he planed out a board of the right     
length1 and then put it down upon the   
ground1 under and between the two       
stakes1 but nearest to the upright one4 
,they placed it across at right angles  
to the line between the stakes1 and of  
course1 as the stakes were in a north   
and south line1 the board was in an east
 and west line1 and so the shadows were 
cast exactly across it4  ,the board     
being planed smooth1 the edge of the    
shadow could be seen much more          
distinctly upon it1 than upon the       
ground2 so ,jonas was satisfied that it 
would be a great deal better to draw the
 hour lines upon the board4 ,after      
having determined upon the place where  
it was to go1 he took it up again1 and  
then drove down two strong but short    
stakes1 sawed off square at the top1    
into the ground1 one on each side2 so   
that they should come under the two ends
 of the board4 ,then he laid the board  
down again upon the stakes1 and nailed  
the ends of the board to them4 ,the     

stakes had been driven in until they    
were just level with the surface of the 
ground1 and so the board seemed to be   
lying along upon the ground too1 though 
it was1 in fact1 fastened securely to   
the short stakes4 ,then the boys marked 
the hour lines upon the board with some 
black paint2 and thus they had a very   
respectable dial4 ,when the sun shone1  
,rollo could tell what o'clock it was   
near enough for all his purposes4       
,illustration     ,,the ,,bee-,,hive4   
,one of the drollest of all of ,rollo's 
experiments was his plan for getting a  
bee-hive4  ,one day1 he was in the      
garden with a playmate of his1 named    
,henry1 who lived not very far from his 
father's house4  ,in the back part of   
the garden were some tall hollyhocks    
growing4 ,they were in full flower4     
,hollyhocks are very tall4 ,they grow up
 in a straight stem1 as high as a man's 
head1 with leaves and flowers from top  
to bottom4  ,the flowers are large1 and 
shaped somewhat like a cup1 or rather a 

wine-glass1 and bees often go into them 
to get honey4  ,now it happened that as 
,rollo and ,henry were sauntering about1
 near these hollyhocks1 ,rollo happened 
to see a bee in one of the flowers1     
loading himself up with wax or honey4   
,the flower1 that the bee was in1 was   
just about as high as ,rollo's head4    
,o1 there's a bee6 said ,rollo2 let's   
catch him4  ,catch him6 said ,henry4 ,if
 you do1 you'll catch a sting1 ,i rather
 think4  ,no1 said ,rollo1 ,i can catch 
him without getting stung4  ,how8 said  
,henry4  ,i will show you1 said ,rollo4 
,so saying1 ,rollo approached the       
hollyhocks1 and put both his hands up   
slowly to the flower which the bee was  
in4 ,he then very carefully gathered    
together the edges of the flower1 so as 
to enclose and imprison the bee4 ,he    
then gently broke off the stem of the   
flower1 and held it up to ,henry's ear1 
to let him hear the bee buzz within4    
,now1 said ,rollo1 ,i wish ,i had a     
little bee-hive4 ,i would put him in1   

and perhaps he would make some honey in 
there4  ,do you think he would8 said    
,henry4  ,yes1 replied ,rollo1 ,i have  
no doubt he would2 bees always make     
honey in bee-hives4  ,haven't you got   
some box that will do8 said ,henry4  ,i 
don't know1 said ,rollo2 let us go along
 towards the barn1 and see if we can't  
find one4 ,i suppose it is no matter    
what the shape of it is1 he added1 if it
 is only a box1 with a small hole for   
the bees to go in and out4  ,but you    
haven't got but one bee1 said ,henry1 as
 they walked along towards the barn4    
,rollo held the flower1 with the bee    
imprisoned in it1 safely in his fingers4
  ,o1 ,i can catch plenty more4 ,i could
 catch a whole hive of them1 in time4   
,but ,i don't believe they will stay and
 work in your hive1 said ,henry4 ,they  
will all fly off and go home to where   
they belong4  ,no1 said ,rollo1 ,i will 
plug up the hole1 and keep them shut in 
until they get used to it4 ,when they   
get wonted to the new hive1 they will   

stay there1 after that1 ,i know4 ,that's
 the way they do with doves4  ,but you  
won't have any queen bee1 said ,henry4  
,bees won't work without a queen bee4 ,i
 read it in a book4  ,well1 perhaps ,i  
can catch a queen bee1 some day1 said   
,rollo1 rather doubtfully4  ,rollo was  
so much interested in his plan1 that he 
was determined not to see any           
difficulties in the way of it2 and yet  
he could not help feeling that there was
 some uncertainty about his succeeding  
in entrapping a queen bee4  ,however1   
just at this point in the conversation1 
he suddenly stopped1 and pointed down to
 a flower-pot1 which stood bottom       
upwards1 upon a seat1 near where they   
were walking4  ,there1 said he1 that    
will do for a bee-hive4  ,ho6 said      
,henry1 that is not a box4  ,no matter1 
said ,rollo2 it is just as good1 and    
there is a little hole for the bees to  
go out and in at4  ,there is always a   
little hole in the bottom of a          
flower-pot4  ,so there is1 said ,henry2 

but do you think that the bees will make
 honey in an earthen pot8  ,o1 yes1 said
 ,rollo1 just as well as in any thing4  
,the bees don't care what they make the 
honey in4 ,sometimes they make it in old
 logs4  ,well1 said ,henry1 and we'll   
call it a honey-pot4 ,and where shall we
 put it8  ,we can keep it on this seat3 
it is as good a place as any2 the bees  
will be right in the garden as soon as  
they come out of their hive4  ,so       
saying1 ,rollo asked ,henry to hold his 
bee a minute1 while he got the honey-pot
 ready4 ,henry took the flower very     
carefully1 so as not to let the bee     
escape1 and then ,rollo lifted up the   
flower-pot1 and looked inside4 ,it was  
pretty clean2 but as ,rollo knew that   
bees were very nice in their habits1 he 
thought he would just take it to the    
pump1 and wash it out a little4  ,in a  
few minutes1 he brought it back1 and    
replaced it1 bottom upwards1 upon the   
seat1 and then prepared to put the bee  
in4 ,he took the flower again from      

,henry's hand1 and then very carefully  
inserted the edges of it1 which had been
 gathered together with his fingers1    
into the hole4 ,he then began to knock  
and push the bottom of the flower1 to   
make the bee go in4 ,the bee1 not       
knowing what to make of this treatment1 
kept up a great buzzing1 but soon went  
in4  ,there1 said ,rollo4 ,now1 ,henry1 
you be ready to clap your thumb over the
 hole1 as soon as ,i take the flower    
away1 or else he'll come out4  ,o1 no1  
said ,henry2 he'll fly up and sting me4 
,no1 he won't1 said ,rollo4 ,i only want
 you to keep him in a minute1 while ,i  
go and get a plug4  ,henry then1 with   
much hesitation and fear1 put his thumb 
over the hole1 as ,rollo withdrew the   
flower4 ,he stood there while ,rollo    
went for a plug2 but he seemed to feel  
very uneasy1 and continually called     
,rollo to be quick4  ,rollo could not   
find a plug1 but he picked up a small1  
flat stone1 and concluded that that     
would do just as well4 ,so he released  

,henry from his dangerous position1 and 
put the stone over the hole4  ,there1   
said ,rollo1 with a tone of great       
satisfaction1 when he had done this1 now
 he is safe4 ,we'll let him stay1 while 
we go and catch another bee4  ,so they  
went back to the hollyhocks1 and there1 
quite fortunately1 they found another   
bee just going into one of the flowers4 
,rollo secured him in the same way1 and 
carried him along1 and pushed him into  
the flower-pot4 ,henry stood ready to   
clap the stone on1 as soon as he was in1
 and then they came back to the         
hollyhocks again4 ,they had then to wait
 a little while1 watching for bees2 at  
length1 however1 one came1 and1 by and  
by1 another2 and so1 in the course of an
 hour or two1 they got seven bees1 all  
safe in the honey-pot1 and ,rollo said  
he thought seven were about enough to go
 to work1 at least1 to begin4 ,they had 
not yet found any one1 however1 that    
seemed to ,rollo to be a queen bee4  ,at
 last1 it was time for ,henry to go     

home1 and ,rollo concluded to leave his 
bee-hive until the next morning4 ,he    
thought he would leave the hole stopped 
up1 so that the bees might get used to  
their new accommodations2 but he        
intended to open it the next day1 in    
order to let them begin their work4     
,the next morning1 ,henry came over soon
 after breakfast to see how affairs     
stood in respect to the bee-hive4 ,he   
and ,rollo went out into the garden to  
look at the establishment1 and found    
every thing as they had left it the     
night before4 ,rollo felt quite         
confident of the success of his         
experiment4 ,the only thing that gave   
him any uneasiness was the want of a    
queen bee4 ,he and ,henry were just     
speculating upon the expediency of      
sending in a bumble-bee instead1 for a  
king1 when their attention was arrested 
by hearing ,jonas calling ,rollo4 ,they 
looked up1 and saw him standing at the  
garden gate4  ,rollo1 said ,jonas1 do   
you want to go out with me to the       

pasture1 and catch the horse8           
,why1--yes1 said ,rollo4 ,but yet he did
 not go4 ,he seemed to feel in doubt4   
,must you go this minute8 said he4      
,yes1 said ,jonas4 ,come2 and ,henry may
 go1 too4  ,well1 wait a minute1 just   
till ,i go and open the door in my      
bee-hive4  ,your bee-hive6 said ,jonas2 
what do you mean by that8  ,but ,rollo  
did not hear what ,jonas said2 for he   
had run off along the alley1 ,henry     
after him1 towards the place where they 
had established their hive4  ,what does 
he mean by his bee-hive8 said ,jonas to 
himself4 ,i mean to go and see4  ,so    
,jonas opened the garden gate1 and came 
in4 ,when he came up near the seat where
 ,henry and ,rollo stood1 he found the  
boys standing a step or two back from   
the flower-pot1 both watching the hole  
with the utmost intentness4  ,what are  
you looking at1 there1 boys8 said       
,jonas1 with great surprise4  ,o1 we are
 looking to see the bees come out4  ,the
 bees come out6 said ,jonas4  ,yes1 said

 ,rollo2 that is our                    
bee-hive1--honey-pot we call it4 ,we    
have put some bees in it4  ,here ,jonas 
burst into a loud1 and long1 and        
apparently incontrollable fit of        
laughter4 ,henry and ,rollo looked upon 
him with an expression of ludicrous     
gravity and perplexity4  ,what are you  
laughing at8 said ,rollo4  ,jonas could 
hardly control himself sufficiently to  
speak2 but presently he succeeded in    
asking ,rollo if he supposed that bees  
would make honey there4  ,certainly ,i  
do1 said ,rollo1 with a positive air4   
,why should they not8 ,they don't care  
what shape their hive is1 or what it is 
made of1 and this flower-pot is as good 
as any thing else4 ,there6 there6 see1  
,henry1 he exclaimed1 interrupting      
himself1 and pointing down to the       
flower-pot1 one is coming out4  ,henry  
and ,jonas both looked1 and they saw a  
poor1 forlorn-looking bee cautiously    
putting forth his head at the hole1 and 
then slowly crawling out4 ,he came on   

until he was fairly out of the hole1 and
 then1 extending his wings1 rose and    
flew away through the air4  ,here ,jonas
 burst out again in a fit of laughter4  
,you needn't laugh1 ,jonas1 said ,rollo2
 he'll come back again2 ,i know he will4
 ,that's the way they always do4  ,and  
you suppose that the bees will fill up  
the flower-pot with honey8 said ,jonas4 
,yes1 said ,rollo2 and then ,i shall    
take it away without killing any of the 
bees4 ,i read how to do it in a book4   
,how shall you do it8 said ,jonas4      
,why1 when this honey-pot is full of    
honey1 ,i shall get another1 and put on 
the top of it1 bottom upwards4 ,then the
 bees will work up into that1 and come  
out at the upper hole4 ,when they get   
fairly at work in the upper hive1 then  
,i shall get ,henry to hold it1 while ,i
 slip the lower one out1 and put the    
upper one down in its place4            
,illustration  ,as ,rollo was speaking  
these words1 in order to show ,jonas    
more exactly how he meant to perform the

 operation1 he took hold of the         
flower-pot with both his hands1 and slid
 it suddenly off of the seat4 ,now it   
happened that the poor bees that were   
inside1 chilled with the dampness and   
cold1 were nearly all crawling about    
upon the seat2 and when ,rollo suddenly 
moved the flower-pot along1 forgetting  
for a moment what there was inside1 the 
rough edges of the flower-pot bruised   
and ground them to death1 and they      
dropped down upon the walk1 some dead1  
some buzzing a little1 and one trying to
 crawl4  ,there now1 ,rollo1 said       
,henry1 in a tone of great              
disappointment and sorrow1 now you have 
killed all our bees6  ,rollo looked     
astonished enough4 ,he had no idea of   
such a catastrophe2 and he and ,henry   
both at the same instant took up the    
honey-pot to see if any of the bees had 
escaped destruction4 ,their eyes fell1  
at the same moment1 upon one solitary   
bee that was standing upon the inside of
 the flower-pot4 ,his attention had been

 arrested by the sudden glare of light1 
and so1 just as ,rollo and ,henry first 
observed him1 and before they had time  
to put the flower-pot down again1 he    
spread his wings and flew out towards   
them4  ,down dropped the flower-pot4    
,the boys started4 ,run6 exclaimed      
,jonas1 following them with shouts of   
laughter1 run1 run1 boys1 for dear life6
 and away they all went towards the     
garden gate4  ,the bee1 however1 was not
 following them4 ,his only object was to
 get away4 ,he flew in another          
direction2 but ,rollo1 ,henry1 and      
,jonas did not stop to look behind them4
 ,they kept on running1 until ,jonas was
 well on his way towards the pasture1   
and ,rollo and ,henry were safe in the  
shed4 ,and this was the last time that  
,rollo ever attempted to make up a hive 
of bees4     ,,jonas',s ,,magnet4   ,one
 evening1 after tea1 ,rollo was seated  
upon his cricket1 before the fire1      
reading4 ,his mother was upon the sofa1 
also reading1 and so the room was very  

still4  ,by and by1 ,rollo finished his 
book4 ,it was quite a small story-book1 
and he had been reading it some time1   
and so he had got to the end4 ,he laid  
the book down1 therefore1 upon the      
table1 and began to consider what he    
should do next4  ,mother1 said ,rollo1  
what shall ,i do8  ,i don't know1 said  
his mother2 you must contrive some way  
to amuse yourself1 for ,i am busy       
reading1 now4  ,rollo sat still1 looking
 at the fire a few minutes1 and then he 
thought he would go out into the        
kitchen1 and see what ,nathan was about4
 ,accordingly1 he went into the kitchen4
 ,dorothy was at work1 making some bread
 for the next day4 ,jonas was bringing  
in wood4 ,nathan was sitting upon the   
floor before the fire1 very much        
interested in looking at something which
 he held in his hand4  ,what have you   
got1 ,nathan8 said ,rollo4  ,i am seeing
 this nail stick on1 said ,nathan4      
,stick on6 said ,rollo2 what does the   
child mean8 ,he accordingly came up to  

,nathan1 and found that he had a smooth1
 flat bar of steel1 not very regular in 
its shape1 in one hand1 and a nail in   
the other2 and he was amusing himself   
with applying the nail to the bar of    
steel1 and seeing it adhere4  ,it is a  
magnet1 said ,rollo4 ,what a big magnet6
 ,where did you get it1 ,nathan8  ,jonas
 gave it to me1 said ,nathan4  ,let me  
try it1 said ,rollo4 ,and he stooped    
down by the side of ,nathan1 and offered
 to take away the magnet4  ,but ,nathan 
held it off upon one side1 and said1    
,no1 no2 ,i must have it4 ,jonas gave it
 to me4  ,well1 ,thanny1 said ,rollo1 ,i
 won't take it away2 only you let me sit
 here and see you play with it4  ,so    
,rollo sat still1 and did not molest    
,nathan1 but only looked on and saw him 
touch the little nail to the bar1 and   
leave it hanging there4 ,rollo knew it  
was a magnet1 for he had heard of       
magnets1 though he had never before had 
an opportunity of seeing one4 ,as       
,nathan found that ,rollo was not going 

to take the magnet away from him1 he    
soon ceased to appear afraid of him1 and
 presently he let ,rollo have the magnet
 in his hands4 ,rollo said he only      
wanted to look at it a moment1 to see   
what made the nail stick on4  ,he       
examined the steel bar carefully4 ,it   
was not quite a foot long1 and was      
shaped like a common flat ruler2 only1  
instead of being straight from end to   
end1 it was swelled out a little along  
in the middle4 ,on looking at the bar   
very attentively1 ,rollo observed some  
very fine1 hair-like lines1 crossing    
each other1 so as to produce the        
appearance of fine net-work4 ,rollo     
supposed that this was what caused the  
magnet to take up the nail4 ,he observed
 that there was one place1 near the     
middle of the bar1 where this net-work  
was more distinct and strong than in the
 other parts of the bar1 and so he put  
the nail there1 expecting that it would 
be attracted very strongly4 ,but he was 
surprised at observing that it was not  

attracted there at all4 ,he then tried  
it at different places1 all along the   
bar1 and he found that it was not       
attracted any where in the middle1 but  
only at the two ends4  ,while he was    
wondering what could be the cause of    
this1 he heard the front door open1 and 
he knew that his father had come home4  
,so he jumped up and ran off into the   
entry1 ,nathan following him1 to show   
his father the magnet4 ,his father was  
busy putting away his coat and hat1 and 
told the boys to go into the parlor1 and
 he would come in1 in a moment1 and see 
it4 ,when he came in1 he sat down before
 the fire1 and took the magnet1 ,rollo  
and ,nathan standing by his side1 and   
looking on with eager curiosity4        
,rollo's father examined the magnet from
 end to end1 very carefully1 for some   
time1 without speaking4 ,at length1 he  
said1  ,it is an old file4  ,an old     
file6 said ,rollo4  ,yes1 said his      
father4 ,some of ,jonas's work1 ,i      
suppose4  ,yes1 sir1 replied ,rollo2 at 

least it is ,jonas's magnet4  ,there you
 see the marks1 continued his father1   
pointing to the net-work1 of the old    
file teeth4 ,jonas ground them nearly   
out4  ,are those the marks of the file  
teeth8 said ,rollo4 ,i thought it was   
the magnetism4  ,no1 said his father1   
smiling1 those are the traces of the    
file teeth1 undoubtedly4 ,you may go and
 ask ,jonas how he got his magnet4  ,so 
away went ,rollo and ,nathan in pursuit 
of ,jonas4 ,they found him in the       
kitchen1 just arranging his wood for the
 morning fires4 ,they asked him where he
 got his magnet1 and ,jonas replied as  
follows3--  ,why1 the other day1 ,i went
 into town with your father's watch1 to 
get a new crystal put in2 and when ,i   
was at the watchmaker's1 ,i saw a       
curious-shaped piece of iron hanging up4
 ,i asked the man what it was4 ,he said 
it was a magnet1 that he kept to touch  
needles4 ,then he gave me a nail1 and   
let me see how the magnet would attract 
it4 ,he told me1 too1 that if ,i had a  

knife1 and would rub my knife on the    
magnet1 the knife would attract1 too2   
and so ,i did rub it1 and ,i found that 
my knife would attract the nail1 though 
not very strong4 ,then ,i asked him if  
any piece of iron would attract1 after  
it was rubbed upon the magnet2 and he   
said that iron would not1 but that any  
piece of steel would4 ,he told me that  
if ,i would bring a larger piece of     
steel1 when ,i came after the watch1 he 
would rub it for me1 and then ,i should 
have a larger magnet4 ,i told him ,i had
 not any steel4 ,but he said any old    
file would do1 and that ,i might grind  
the sides and edges a little1 and make  
it smooth4  ,so1 when ,i came home1 ,i  
found some old files in the barn4 ,some 
were three-cornered1 and some were flat4
 ,i thought the flat would be the best  
shape1 and ,i asked your father if he   
would give me one of them4 ,he said he  
would2 and so ,i ground the ends square1
 and the sides smooth1 upon the         
grindstone4 ,then1 when ,i went after   

the watch1 the man rubbed it for me1 and
 it makes a very good magnet4  ,then    
,rollo and ,nathan went back1 and       
repeated this story to their father4    
,very well1 said their father2 that was 
a very good way to get a magnet4 ,i     
remember giving ,jonas the file2 but ,i 
did not know what he wanted it for4  ,i 
think a magnet is a very curious thing1 
said ,rollo4 ,see how the nail sticks to
 it6  ,there are a great many other     
things curious about it1 said his       
father1 besides that4  ,what8 said      
,rollo4  ,i should want some other      
apparatus to show you1 replied his      
father4  ,and can't you get the other   
apparatus8  ,i don't know4 ,perhaps     
mother might get it4 ,yes1 ,i'll tell   
you what we will do4 ,i will name some  
things which mother may prepare1 and you
 may get them together upon the table in
 the kitchen1 when they have got the    
kitchen all in order4 ,then ,i will come
 out1 and give you all1 out there1 a    
lecture upon magnetism4  ,rollo and     

,nathan were exceedingly pleased with   
this plan2 and even ,rollo's mother     
looked somewhat gratified4 ,she said she
 did not know much about magnetism1 and 
she meant to go out into the kitchen    
herself1 and hear the lecture4  ,and    
what things shall we get8 said ,rollo4  
,two or three needles1 replied his      
father1 some fine1 and some coarse2 some
 thread1 a saucer nearly full of water1 
a cork1 the sand-box off of my table1   
and a sheet of white paper4 ,put them   
all in good order upon the table1 and   
set the chairs around it4 ,then1 when   
all is ready1 come and tell me4  ,so    
,rollo's mother put down her book and   
went to help ,rollo collect the articles
 which his father had said he should    
require4 ,she began to look into her    
needle book for the needles and thread1 
while ,rollo went for the sand-box4     
,when ,rollo came back with the sand-box
 and the sheet of paper in his hand1 he 
found ,nathan with his high chair1 at   
the kitchen door1 trying to get in4     

,what are you doing here1 ,nathan8 said 
,rollo4  ,i want to get my high chair   
in1 he replied4  ,the truth was1 that   
,nathan1 having learned from the        
conversation what was going on1 was     
eager to secure a good seat for himself1
 and so he was attempting to drag out   
the high chair which was kept in the    
parlor for him to sit up to the table   
in4  ,rollo1 as he happened to feel     
rather good-natured than otherwise1 just
 then1 after putting down his things1   
helped ,nathan get his chair through the
 door1 and placed it up at the kitchen  
table1 which stood out in the middle of 
the floor4 ,he then went into a closet1 
and opened a little drawer1 where he    
knew corks were kept1 and brought out   
one or two1 selecting the cleanest and  
softest that he could find4 ,when he    
came back1 he found ,nathan1 pouring out
 some black sand1 from the sand-box1    
upon the sheet of paper4  ,now1 ,nathan1
 exclaimed ,rollo1 running up to him1   
and seizing the sand-box1 you are a very

 naughty boy4 ,and he attempted to take 
away the sand-box violently4  ,but      
,nathan1 though he knew very well that  
he was doing wrong1 did not seem fully  
disposed to admit ,rollo's authority to 
set him right by violence4 ,he resisted2
 and1 in the struggle1 the table was    
pushed away1 and the water in the saucer
 spilled over4 ,the water ran along     
under the sheet of paper4 ,nathan1      
seeing the mischief that had been done1 
was a little frightened1 and released   
his hold4 ,rollo then took up the paper1
 which had sand upon the upper side1 and
 water dripping off from the under side1
 saying1  ,there1 ,nathan1 now see what 
you have done6  ,i didn't do it1 said   
,nathan4  ,you did1 said ,rollo4  ,i    
didn't1 said ,nathan4  ,hereupon1 ,jonas
 came up to the table to see what was   
the matter4 ,each of the boys told his  
story4  ,now we are in pretty trouble1  
said ,jonas2 we thought we were going to
 have a fine lecture2 instead of that1  
there are two boys to be punished1 and  

wet paper to be dried4  ,punished8 said 
,rollo4  ,yes1 said ,jonas1 ,nathan for 
touching the sand-box1 and you for      
touching him4  ,why1 he was pouring out 
all the sand1 said ,rollo1 and ,i was   
only trying to stop him4  ,yes1 but you 
know1 said ,jonas1 that you had no right
 to stop him by violence4 ,that always  
makes the difficulty worse4  ,here      
,rollo began to look pretty sober4 ,he  
knew that he had done what he had very  
often been forbidden to do4  ,now1 said 
,jonas1 we can wait and tell your mother
 about it1 when she comes out1 or we can
 just settle it all among ourselves4    
,how8 said ,rollo1 with an anxious look4
  ,why1 ,i can dry the paper and the    
sand1 said ,jonas1 if you and ,nathan   
will only punish the boys4  ,how shall  
we do it8 asked ,rollo1 looking up with 
a faint and doubtful smile4  ,i think a 
pretty good punishment1 said ,jonas1    
would be for you and ,nathan to go and  
sit in two corners of the room1 with    
your faces to the wall1 until ,i get the

 paper and sand dry--if you think that  
would be punishment enough4  ,well1 said
 ,rollo1--his eye brightening at the    
idea of winding up so unpleasant a      
business so easily1--well1 ,nathan1     
let's go4  ,nathan was ready1 and so he 
climbed down from his high chair1 and as
 ,rollo went to one corner of the room1 
he went to the other1 and they took     
their places1 as ,jonas had directed2   
only ,nathan could not resist the       
temptation of looking round1 now and    
then1 to see how ,jonas got on with the 
drying of the paper4 ,they1 however1    
bore their self-inflicted punishment    
very patiently2 and when ,jonas had got 
the paper dried1 and the table wiped    
down1 and every thing replaced as it was
 before1 he told them that it was time  
for them to get up again4 ,the          
punishment was not very severe1 it is   
true2 but then1 it was probably a pretty
 efficacious one1 in respect to its     
effect in impressing it upon ,nathan's  
mind that he must not touch things      

without leave1 and upon ,rollo's1 that1 
when ,nathan is doing wrong1 he must not
 set him right by violence4  ,in a short
 time after this1 the things were all   
ready upon the table1 the chairs were   
placed around it1 and ,rollo went to    
call his father4 ,he found him writing a
 letter4 ,as soon as he reached the end 
of a sentence1 he came out1 and took his
 place at the table4 ,rollo's mother sat
 next to him at the same side of the    
table1 and ,jonas and ,dorothy in two   
chairs1 on the opposite side4 ,rollo    
then was placed at one end of the table1
 and ,nathan1 in his high chair1 at the 
other4  ,just then1 however1 ,rollo's   
mother observed that the table was wet a
 little4  ,why1 ,rollo1 said she1 how   
came the table wet8  ,why1 ,nathan and  
,i did it1 said he4  ,how8 said his     
mother4  ,why1 we did it--eh--pulling4  
,but ,jonas has settled it all1 mother4 
,ah6 ,jonas has settled it1 has he8 very
 well4 ,then we will all now attend to  
the lecture4     ,,magnetism4   ,rollo's

 father looked over the things which had
 been arranged upon the table1 for a    
moment1 in silence1 and then took up    
,jonas's magnet4  ,this bar is what they
 call a magnet1 said he2 but all the    
magnetism is in the two ends4  ,it is8  
said ,rollo2 and what is the reason of  
that8  ,you can see that it is so1 said 
his father1 without answering ,rollo's  
question1 in this way4  ,so he laid a   
small nail down upon the table1 and then
 touched the middle of the magnet to the
 nail4 ,it was not attracted at all4    
,then he moved it along a little1       
towards one end1 and touched it again4  
,still it was not attracted4 ,then he   
moved it along farther and farther2 but 
the nail was not attracted until he got 
to the end of the bar1 and then the nail
 hopped up and adhered to it quite      
strongly4  ,how curious6 said ,rollo4   
,his father then repeated the same      
experiment with the other half of the   
bar1 and found the result the same4 ,the
 nail did not appear to be at all       

attracted until he reached the end1 and 
then it was lifted and held by this end1
 just as it was by the other4  ,so that1
 you see1 said ,rollo's father1 that the
 attractive power of the magnet resides 
in the ends4  ,well1 father1 what is the
 reason8  ,i don't know1 said his       
father4  ,don't you know1 father8 said  
,rollo4 ,i thought you were going to    
tell us all about it4  ,no1 said his    
father4 ,i only know a very little about
 it1 myself4 ,i am going to explain to  
you some of the facts1--such as ,i      
happen to know4 ,so you must all        
remember this fact1 that in the magnet1 
the attractive power is not distributed 
over the whole mass1 but resides only in
 the opposite ends4 ,these ends are     
called poles4  ,yes1 sir1 said ,rollo1  
we will remember4  ,now ,i can make this
 apparent in another way1 said his      
father4 ,then he asked ,rollo's mother  
to thread a needle2 and when it was     
threaded1 he asked ,jonas to stand up   
and hold the thread in such a manner as 

to let the needle hang over the middle  
of the table4  ,then1 when the needle   
was still1 he brought up the middle of  
the magnet very near to the needle2 but 
it did not move towards it at all4 ,then
 he drew the magnet along towards       
himself1 keeping it at the same distance
 from the needle1 and when the end of   
the bar came opposite to the needle1 it 
immediately leaped out of its place1 and
 adhered strongly to it4  ,there is     
another way still1 continued the        
lecturer1 better than either of these4  
,so saying1 he took off the needle1     
which had adhered to the magnet1 and    
drawing out the thread1 he laid the     
needle itself carefully away upon a     
distant corner of the table4 ,rollo took
 it up1 and was going to place it back  
with the others4 ,but his father told   
him to put it down again1 by itself1    
where he had placed it1 and not to touch
 any of the things without his          
direction4  ,i am going to show you     
another way1 he added1 of making it     

evident that the attractive power of the
 magnet resides at or near the poles4   
,so saying1 he opened the sheet of      
paper1 and spread it out upon the table4
 ,then he laid the magnet down upon it4 
,now1 ,jonas1 said he1 sprinkle some    
sand upon it from my sand-box1          
carefully1 and see where the sand will  
adhere4  ,so ,jonas took the sand-box1  
and held it over the bar1 not very high1
 and moved it slowly along1 from one end
 to the other1 and thus sanded the      
magnet all over4 ,the sand fell off of  
it1 however1 freely1 at every part      
except the ends2 and ,jonas1 observing  
that it seemed to adhere there1 held the
 sand-box a little longer over those    
places2 and thus there was formed a sort
 of a black bur at the extremities1     
consisting of an accumulation of the    
black particles of sand4 ,rollo's father
 then took up the bar carefully1 and    
passed it around1 so that all who were  
seated at the table could examine it    
closely4  ,it is thickest on all the    

edges and corners1 said ,rollo4  ,yes1  
said his mother2 and the sand forms     
little black bristles1 pointing off in  
every direction4  ,they all examined it 
attentively1 and observed the little    
black bristles pointing out every way   
from the edges and corners at the ends4 
,this shows you1 said ,rollo's father1  
exactly how the magnetic power1 so far  
as its attractive force on other bodies 
is concerned1 is distributed4 ,you see  
it resides in the two ends1 and the two 
ends seem to be exactly alike4  ,yes1   
sir1 said ,rollo1 exactly4  ,they seem  
to be so1 continued his father2 but the 
fact is1 the magnetism of one end is    
very different from that of the other4  
,i see that the cluster of sand is a    
little bigger at one end1 than it is at 
the other1 said ,rollo's mother4 ,she   
was more observing than the others1 and 
had noticed a little difference1 which  
had escaped the rest4  ,that indicates  
only a difference in degree1 said       
,rollo's father2 but there is a         

difference in kind4  ,what do you mean  
by that1 father8 asked ,rollo4  ,why1 if
 the attractive powers at the two ends  
were both alike in their nature1 only   
one was stronger than the other1 then   
the difference would be in degree2 but  
there is a difference in the nature of  
the magnetism itself4 ,in fact1 the     
magnetisms of the two ends are of       
opposite natures in some respects4      
,why1 both ends attract the sand1 said  
,rollo1 just alike4  ,true1 said his    
father2 they seem to attract the sand in
 precisely the same way2 and1 looking at
 the bar1 as ,i now hold it up1 he      
added1 with the sand adhering in the    
same way at the two ends1 one would     
suppose that they were both magnetic    
alike4 ,but1 in fact1 there is a great  
difference between them4  ,all the      
company looked upon the two ends of the 
bar1 as ,rollo's father held it up1     
wondering how he would show that there  
was any difference between them4  ,now1 
in the first place1 he continued1 we    

must get the sand off of the ends4 ,do  
you think you can get it off for me1    
,rollo8 said he4  ,rollo took the bar   
very eagerly1 and attempted to brush the
 sand back upon the paper4 ,he succeeded
 in brushing off a little of it2 but the
 greater portion remained4 ,when he     
rubbed upon one side1 it moved round to 
the other2 and he could not get it off4 
,hand it to me1 said his father1 and ,i 
will show you how it can be done4  ,he  
also asked ,jonas to hand him the tongs1
 which were standing by the side of the 
fire4 ,he then held the tongs over the  
sheet of paper1 in a horizontal         
position1 and gently rapped the end of  
the magnet against them1 letting the end
 project a little over the tongs4 ,this 
knocked all the sand off1 and left the  
bar clean as it was before4  ,now let me
 see1 said he1 what was it that ,i was  
going to tell you next8  ,you were going
 to show us1 said ,rollo's mother1 that 
there are two different kinds of        
magnetisms in the two ends of the bar4  

,o1 yes1 said he4 ,in order to do this1 
,i must poise a needle in a new way4    
,he then took up one of the corks which 
,rollo had put upon the table4 ,from one
 end of this cork1 he cut off1 with his 
penknife1 a round1 flat piece4 ,it was  
about as large around as a wafer1 but   
somewhat thicker4 ,he cut a little      
groove along the upper side of this1 and
 laid the same needle which he had      
before used1 and which he had put away  
upon the corner of the table1 into this 
groove4 ,then he put the whole carefully
 into the saucer of water1 which he had 
previously drawn up towards him4        
,there1 said he1 we call a cork like    
that1 a float2 because it is intended to
 float a needle upon4 ,now1 you see1 the
 needle being supported by the cork1 and
 the cork floating freely in the water1 
the needle is at liberty to move in any 
way4  ,nathan thought it was a very     
curious experiment to poise a needle so1
 upon a piece of cork1--even without the
 magnetism4 ,and he watched it as it    

slowly moved about1 with a face full of 
interest and curiosity4  ,the needle    
swung round a little one way and the    
other1 and finally came to a state of   
rest4 ,then ,rollo's father held the    
magnet in his hands1 in such a manner as
 to point it towards the needle1 and    
then gradually brought it down near the 
water1 just by the side of the point of 
the needle4 ,the point immediately began
 to move slowly towards the bar2 but    
,rollo's father lifted it up suddenly1  
before the needle had time to touch it4 
,then he brought the same end of the    
magnet down upon the other side of the  
point of the needle1 and that drew it   
back again4  ,there1 said he1 you all   
see that the point of the needle is     
attracted by the bar1 whichever side ,i 
put it4  ,they all said they saw it very
 plainly4  ,now1 said he1 ,i am going to
 turn the magnet1 and bring the other   
end of it down to the point of the      
needle2 and if the magnetism at this end
 is the same with that in the other1 the

 point of the needle will of course be  
attracted by this end too4  ,certainly1 
said ,rollo's mother4  ,then he brought 
down the other end of the bar towards   
the needle4 ,this other end was a little
 bigger than the one which he had tried 
first1 because the file had been a      
little bigger at that end4 ,but the     
needle1 instead of being drawn towards  
it1 as it had been towards the other    
end1 began to move slowly away from it4 
,why1 it is going away1 said ,rollo4    
,his father did not answer1 but         
immediately raised the bar and put it   
down upon the other side of the point1  
and then the point began to move away   
back again2 being evidently driven away 
from the large end of the magnet1 on    
whichever side it was presented4  ,then 
,rollo's father reversed the magnet     
again2 that is1 he brought the smaller  
end towards the needle as at first4 ,the
 point of the needle was now attracted1 
that is1 drawn towards the magnet2 and  
then when he changed it again1 and      

brought the large end to the needle1 it 
was always repelled2 that is1 driven    
away again4  ,now you see1 he said1 that
 the small end of the magnet attracts   
the point of the needle1 and the large  
end drives it away4 ,that shows that the
 magnetism in the two ends is of two    
different kinds4  ,and now1 he          
continued1 there is one thing more which
 is remarkable about it2 and ,i want you
 to observe it very carefully4 ,you see1
 he says1 that the small end of the     
magnet attracts the point of the needle4
 ,but if ,i try it now upon the other   
end of the needle1 where the eye is1 it 
will repel that1 just as the large end  
of the magnet repels the point4  ,he    
tried it1 and the result was just as he 
had said4 ,and he repeated the          
experiment in a great many ways1 and    
they always found that the large end of 
the magnet would draw the eye of the    
needle towards it1 and drive the point  
away2 and the small end of the magnet   
would draw the point of the needle1 and 

drive the eye away4 ,this proved1 as    
,rollo's father said1 some great        
difference between the magnetisms of the
 two ends4 ,and you see1 he added1 that 
it is a difference in kind1 not merely a
 difference in degree4  ,but one thing  
seems strange to me1 said ,rollo's      
mother1 and that is1 that both ends of  
the magnet don't attract the point of   
the needle1 just as both of them        
attracted the nail4  ,and the sand1 said
 ,rollo4  ,yes1 added his mother4 ,when 
you brought both ends of the magnet1 one
 after the other1 to the nail1 they both
 attracted it4  ,and so they did the    
needle which hung down by the thread1   
said ,jonas4  ,yes1 said ,rollo's       
mother2 but now this needle1 that is    
floating upon the water1 is half        
attracted1 and half repelled4  ,the     
reason is1 said ,rollo's father1 that   
the needle1 that is floating upon the   
water1 is a magnet itself1 and has two  
magnetic poles2 but the sand1 and the   
nail and the needle that ,jonas held up 

by the thread1 were not magnets4 ,they  
were only common pieces of iron and     
steel4  ,why1 father1 said ,rollo1 that 
was the very same needle2 you laid it   
away upon the corner of the table4      
,yes1 said his father2 but it was not a 
magnet then4  ,when8 asked ,rollo4      
,why1 when ,jonas held it up by the     
thread4  ,and is it a magnet now8  ,yes1
 said his father4 ,we will see if it is 
not4  ,so he took the needle off from   
the float1 and put it upon the paper4   
,he then sprinkled a little sand over   
it1 from the sand-box1 and1 upon taking 
it up1 they all saw that there was a    
little tuft of black sand both upon the 
point and at the eye1 showing that it   
was magnetic at both ends4  ,it became  
magnetic1 said ,rollo's father1 only by 
being touched by the bar magnet2 and    
that was the reason why ,i put it away  
by itself as soon as it had touched the 
bar4 ,i did not want to have it mixed   
with the other needles1 which had not   
been touched1 and which1 of course1 were

 not magnetic4 ,now1 if ,i take one of  
the needles which has not been touched1 
and put it upon the float1 you will see 
that both ends of it will be attracted  
by both ends of the bar4  ,so he placed 
away the magnetized needle upon the     
corner of the table again1 and took     
another one1 and placed it very         
carefully upon the float4 ,then he      
brought down one end of ,jonas's magnet 
very near the point of the needle4 ,it  
attracted it4 ,then he brought it down  
very near the eye of the needle4 ,it    
attracted the eye too4 ,then he turned  
the magnet1 and tried the other end1 and
 he found that that end also would      
attract both the eye and the point of   
the needle4  ,try the magnetized needle1
 and see if that will attract it too1   
said ,rollo's mother4  ,then ,rollo's   
father took the magnetized needle from  
the corner again1 and brought the two   
ends of that1 one after another1 near to
 the ends of the needle upon the float4 
,it attracted them just as ,jonas's     

magnet had done1 only a great deal more 
feebly4  ,so1 you see that this needle  
is really a little magnet1 just like    
,jonas's great one4  ,only there is no  
proof that it has the two different     
kinds of magnetism in the two ends1 said
 ,rollo's mother4  ,we can easily show  
that1 said his father4 ,he asked        
,dorothy to get another saucer full of  
water1 while he prepared another float4 
,then he put the magnetized needle upon 
the new float1 leaving the unmagnetized 
one upon the old float4 ,they both      
looked almost precisely alike1 each upon
 its own little disc of cork in its     
saucer of water4  ,there1 said he1 you  
cannot see any difference between them2 
but there is a great deal of difference 
between them2 for one is only a common  
needle of steel1 but the other has its  
two extremities magnetic in opposite    
ways4  ,to prove this1 ,rollo's father  
brought one end of the bar to the point 
of the magnetized needle1 and the point 
was repelled4 ,he brought it then to the

 eye of the same needle1 and it         
attracted it4 ,then he brought the same 
end of the bar1 first to the point1 and 
then to the eye of the unmagnetic       
needle1 and it attracted them both2 so  
it was evident that there was a         
considerable difference1 in reality1    
between the condition of the two1 though
 there was no difference in external    
appearance4  ,now you see1 from all     
this1 added ,rollo's father1 that when a
 magnet touches a piece of steel1 like a
 needle1 it immediately makes it a      
magnet itself2 that is1 it makes the two
 ends magnetic1 one having one kind of  
magnetism1 and the other the other kind2
 and then1 if you take two magnets1 and 
bring those two poles which have the    
same magnetism together1 they repel one 
another2 and if you bring those together
 which have different magnetisms1 they  
attract each other4  ,how do you know   
that they are the same magnetisms that  
repel1 and different that attract8 said 
,rollo's mother4  ,i will show you1 said

 his father4  ,then he took the needles 
that he had used off from their floats1 
and laid them away4 ,he took next two   
new needles1 exactly of a size1 and he  
held them together between his thumb and
 finger1 with the eyes projecting       
together4 ,then he rubbed them once or  
twice upon the end of ,jonas's magnet1  
saying1  ,there1 you see ,i use both of 
these needles alike4 ,of course the eyes
 have both the same magnetisms4 ,now you
 will find that when ,i put one of them 
upon the float1 and then bring the eyes 
together1 they will repel each other2   
but an eye and a point will attract4 ,so
 two points will repel4  ,but you have  
not magnetized the points1 said ,rollo's
 mother4  ,yes1 said his father4 ,when  
we magnetize one end1 the other end     
becomes magnetized1 itself1 in the      
contrary way4  ,so he put one of the    
needles upon the float1 and then brought
 the eye of the other down very near to 
its eye4 ,it was repelled1 as he had    
said it would be4 ,he then brought the  

two points together1 and they were      
repelled4 ,but if he brought an eye     
towards a point1 or a point towards an  
eye1 they were attracted4  ,this is the 
end of my lecture1 said he1 for         
to-night4  ,o1 father1 said ,rollo1 a   
little more4  ,no more to-night1 only to
 recapitulate1 said he4  ,recapitulate8 
what is that8  ,why1 tell you1 briefly1 
the substance of what ,i have explained1
 so that you may remember it4  ,well1   
father1 said ,rollo4  ,in the first     
place1 a magnet has a peculiar and      
mysterious attractive power for iron1   
residing in its two extremities1 which  
are called its poles2 and the power     
which resides in one extremity is1 in   
some way or other1 opposite in its      
nature to that of the other extremity4  
,each of these poles repels a pole like 
itself1 and attracts one different from 
itself1 in any other magnet4  ,poor     
,nathan could not understand this grave1
 philosophical disquisition very well1  
and he began to get pretty sleepy4 ,he  

had1 however1 been somewhat amused1     
during the greater part of the time1 in 
seeing the corks float about upon the   
water1 with the needles upon them4 ,so  
his father took the needles off1 and let
 him have the two floats in one of the  
saucers to play with1 a few minutes1    
while ,dorothy put the other things     
away4 ,he asked her to put all the      
things away together1 so that they could
 get them ready the next evening1 and   
then he said that perhaps he would give 
them another lecture4     ,,intellectual
 ,,philosophy   ,rollo's father gave one
 or two other lectures upon magnetism1  
in the course of which ,rollo found out 
a good deal about the subject2 and1     
having learned from his father's        
explanations that any magnet1 when      
balanced freely1 would point to the     
north and south1 that is1 one end to the
 north and the other to the south1 he   
determined to try the experiment4 ,he   
accordingly poised a needle carefully   
upon a cork1 as his father had done in  

his lecture1 and put it in a basin of   
water upon the platform4 ,but he did not
 succeed very well4 ,the needle would   
always swing round1 and turn its point  
towards the garden gate2 but ,rollo knew
 very well that the garden gate was not 
north from the platform4 ,he remembered 
that the ,north ,star was over the barn1
 for he and ,jonas had noticed it       
particularly when they had made the     
dial4 ,the needle1 therefore1 ought to  
have pointed towards the barn1 according
 to his father's lecture2 but it would  
not4 ,rollo took up a straw1 and pushed 
the point of the needle round1 and said1
 ,point there6 point there1 ,i tell you6
 ,but all in vain4 ,the needle would not
 heed either his pushing or his         
commands2 but1 as soon as he let it go1 
it would immediately swing back into its
 old position1 where it pointed towards 
the garden gate4  ,rollo was just about 
giving up in despair1 when he saw his   
sister ,mary coming in from the garden  
gate1 with a book under her arm4  ,o    

,mary1 said he1 what shall ,i do8 ,my   
needle won't point right4  ,why1 what is
 the matter with it8 said ,mary4  ,it   
will point over towards the garden1 said
 ,rollo2 look4  ,so ,mary came up1 and  
looked at his needle4 ,she saw that it  
was pointing towards the garden gate4   
,now ,i'll push it away1 said ,rollo1   
and you will see that it comes directly 
back again4  ,so he took up his straw1  
and pushed the point of the needle away4
 ,the cork moved1 turning round rapidly1
 until at length it swung away towards  
one side of the basin1 and then suddenly
 drifted up against the side1 and stuck 
there4  ,that's another plague1 said    
,rollo4 ,it will run up to the side of  
the basin1 and stick there4  ,what makes
 it8 said ,mary4  ,i don't know1 said   
,rollo4  ,mary sat down upon the        
platform1 and examined the needle and   
the surface of the water very carefully4
 ,she observed that the water was heaped
 up a little against the side of the    
basin1 all around4 ,she asked ,rollo to 

observe it4  ,yes1 said he1 and the     
needle and cork run right up that ridge 
of water4  ,and the bubbles too1 said   
,mary4  ,mary pointed1 when she said    
this1 to several little bubbles which   
were adhering closely to the side of the
 basin1 in another place4  ,she took up 
a little straw1 and pushed away some of 
the bubbles from the side of the basin1 
and then gently moved them back again   
until they were pretty near1 and        
observed that they would immediately    
rush up against the side again4 ,she did
 not understand this phenomenon1        
especially as the water was raised a    
little along the edge by the side of the
 basin1 so that the bubbles and the     
needle actually appeared to rush up     
hill4  ,after examining this for some   
time1 ,mary moved the cork float1 with  
the needle upon it1 back into the middle
 of the basin1 and then left it to      
itself4 ,it slowly moved around until it
 pointed to the garden gate1 as it had  
done before4  ,now what is the reason8  

said ,rollo2 that isn't north4  ,mary   
looked upon it very attentively for a   
few minutes in silence1 and then said1  
suddenly1  ,o1 ,i see4  ,what8 said     
,rollo4  ,she did not answer1 but       
pointed down to the platform by the side
 of the basin4  ,rollo looked where she 
pointed1 and saw the hammer lying there4
 ,he had had it to play with a short    
time before1 and1 when he brought the   
basin of water1 he had laid it down by  
his side4  ,what8 said ,rollo4  ,the    
hammer attracts the needle1 replied     
,mary4  ,the hammer8 said ,rollo4  ,yes1
 replied ,mary4 ,don't you know that    
iron attracts the needle1 and it will   
not point to the north if there is any  
iron near to draw it away8  ,rollo was  
just going to take the hammer up1 but   
,mary stopped him1 saying1  ,wait a     
moment4 ,let me take it away slowly1 and
 see the effect4  ,so ,mary told ,rollo 
to watch the needle1 while she carefully
 drew the hammer away4  ,rollo did so4  
,he and ,mary both watched the needle4  

,it was pointing pretty nearly toward   
the hammer1 and when ,mary gently moved 
the hammer away1 the needle1 released   
from the influence which the iron       
exerted upon it1 slowly moved back      
towards the direction of the barn1 that 
is1 the direction of a north and south  
line1 which is called the meridian4     
,it's going back6 it's going back6 said 
,rollo4  ,mary said nothing1 but watched
 it carefully4 ,the needle swung beyond 
the direction of the meridian a little  
way1 and then came slowly back again4   
,so it continued vibrating from one side
 to the other1 though to a less and less
 distance every time4 ,finally1 it came 
to a state of rest2 but it was not then1
 however1 exactly in the meridian4      
,what makes it swing so1 back and forth8
 said ,rollo4  ,i don't know exactly1   
said ,mary4 ,i suppose the force that it
 moves with1 carries it a little beyond1
 and then it is drawn back again1 and   
that makes the oscillations4            
,oscillations8 said ,rollo1 inquiringly4

  ,yes4 ,they call this swinging back   
and forth1 oscillating2 and each        
movement is an oscillation4  ,is that   
the name of it8 said ,rollo4  ,yes1 said
 ,mary4 ,when you tie a little stone to 
a string1 and hold the upper end of the 
string still1 and let the stone swing   
back and forth1 it makes oscillations4  
,i mean to try it1 said ,rollo4  ,yes1  
said ,mary2 and ,i will help you by and 
by1 after ,i have studied my philosophy 
lesson4  ,your philosophy lesson8 asked 
,rollo4 ,have you got a philosophy      
lesson to get8  ,yes1 said ,mary1 in    
that great book4  ,so ,rollo took up    
,mary's book1 which she had laid down   
upon the platform near ,rollo's         
apparatus4 ,he found that the title of  
it was ,intellectual ,philosophy4       
,intellectual ,philosophy8 said ,rollo2 
and what sort of philosophy is          
intellectual philosophy8  ,it is the    
philosophy of the mind1 replied ,mary4  
,it explains to us about the thoughts   
and feelings of our minds4  ,are there  

any experiments in intellectual         
philosophy8 asked ,rollo4  ,yes1 said   
,mary1 we can try experiments in        
intellectual philosophy4  ,what         
experiments8 said ,rollo4  ,why1 there  
is a question whether we always dream   
when we are asleep4  ,i do1 said ,rollo1
 every night4  ,yes1 but perhaps not all
 night long4  ,yes1 ,i do1 said ,rollo4 
,i have good long dreams4  ,but1 replied
 ,mary1 you may dream several hours in  
the night1 so as to remember good long  
dreams in the morning1 and yet perhaps  
you might have been1 for some time1     
perfectly sound asleep1 so as not to    
have any dreams in your mind at all4    
,some persons think we dream all the    
time when we are asleep1 and others     
think we don't dream all the time4 ,now 
we might contrive some experiments to   
decide the question4  ,how8 said ,rollo4
  ,why1 you and ,i might agree to wake  
each other up several times1 from a     
sound sleep1 and then1 if we were       
dreaming at that time1 we should        

probably remember it4  ,well1 said      
,rollo1 let us try it4  ,that would be  
an experiment in intellectual           
philosophy1 said ,mary4  ,rollo         
determined to try the experiment2 and   
then he took ,mary's book1 and asked her
 where her lesson was that day4 ,she    
found the place1 and ,rollo read a      
little4 ,he could not understand it very
 well1 and so he concluded that he would
 rather have ,mary go and study her     
lesson1 and then come down and help him 
make the experiments of oscillation4    
,mary accordingly took her book and went
 in1 and left ,rollo at his play4       
,,oscillations4   ,in about an hour1    
,mary came down into the yard in pursuit
 of ,rollo1 in order to try the         
experiments which she had proposed4     
,when ,rollo saw her coming1 he left his
 play1 and ran to meet her4  ,well1     
,mary1 said he1 have you come to make   
the oscillations8  ,yes1 said ,mary4 ,i 
have brought some thread for strings1   
and ,i want you to get some pebble      

stones--some large1 and some small ones4
  ,rollo went for the pebble stones1    
while ,mary looked about for a suitable 
place for making the experiments4 ,in a 
corner of the yard there was a bench    
under a tree1 and the branches came down
 pretty low4 ,mary thought that this    
would be a good place1 for she could tie
 her strings to these branches with the 
pebbles hanging down below2 and she and 
,rollo could watch the oscillations1    
while seated upon the bench4  ,mary took
 her station here1 and ,rollo presently 
appeared1 with the crown of his cap half
 filled with pebble stones4 ,mary said  
they would do finely4 ,she poured them  
out upon the bench by her side1 and     
,rollo put his cap upon his head again4 
,now1 ,rollo1 said she1 we will study   
the art of experimenting4  ,no1 said    
,rollo1 we are going to study           
oscillation4  ,yes1 replied ,mary2 the  
experiments are to be on oscillations2  
but what ,i want principally to teach   
you1 is1 the proper way to make         

experiments4  ,well1 said ,rollo4  ,mary
 said no more1 but she proceeded to tie 
a small pebble to the end of one of the 
long threads which she had brought out  
with her4 ,then she tied the other end  
of the thread to the branch of the tree1
 which was over her head4 ,the pebble   
then hung down before them1 so that both
 ,rollo and herself could plainly see   
all its motions4  ,the first thing1 said
 ,mary1 is to get a clear idea of the   
nature of the oscillation1 for we must  
know what we are experimenting about4   
,so saying1 ,mary carefully took hold of
 the suspended pebble stone1 and began  
to draw it off towards one side4 ,she   
showed ,rollo that1 as it was confined  
by its string above1 it must move in a  
curved line when she drew it away from  
its place1 rising higher and higher the 
farther it was drawn away4 ,and when she
 had drawn it out to a considerable     
distance1 to one side1 it was at a much 
higher level1 than when it hung down    
freely in its natural position4  ,now1  

said ,mary1 you see that if ,i let it   
go1 it will descend of course as much as
 it can1 for the earth draws it         
downwards4  ,the earth draws it8 said   
,rollo4  ,yes1 said ,mary4 ,the reason  
why things fall is that they are        
attracted1 or drawn down1 by the earth4 
,now the earth draws the pebble4 ,it    
would go straight towards it1 if it     
could2 but the string confines it1 and  
so it can only go down in the same way  
that it came up2 that is1 by the curved 
line4  ,mary then held one of her hands 
open at the place where the pebble had  
hung when it had been at liberty1 and   
let go the pebble1 which she had been   
holding with the other4 ,it fell down in
 the curved line1 or arc1 as ,mary had  
said it would1 until it struck her hand1
 and there it stopped and remained at   
rest4  ,what did you stop it for8 said  
,rollo4  ,so that we could see and      
attend to one part of the phenomenon at 
a time1 said ,mary2 that is1 the descent
 of the pebble4 ,you see the attraction 

of the earth causes the pebble to go    
down if it can1 and the confinement of  
the string prevents its going down in   
any other way than in that curve or arc4
 ,for the string keeps it always just   
its own length from the branch1 and so  
that makes the curved line the arc of a 
circle4  ,yes1 said ,rollo1 ,i          
understand4  ,then ,mary drew up the    
pebble once or twice more1 and let      
,rollo see it fall against her hand4    
,rollo observed that it was a very      
regular arc4  ,now we see1 continued    
,mary1 that ,i hold my hand so as to    
stop the pebble stone at the lowest     
point to which it can go2 for ,i hold it
 exactly under the point where the upper
 end of the string is fastened to the   
tree4 ,now ,i will take my hand away1   
and then let the pebble fall1 and we    
will see what takes place4  ,so ,mary   
took her hand away1 and let the pebble  
fall freely4 ,it descended as before    
through the arc1 and then1 by the force 
which it acquired in moving so far1 it  

was propelled beyond the lowest point1  
and ascended in another curve1 upon the 
other side1 similar to the first4 ,when 
the force was expended1 it came back    
again2 and thus it swung to and fro1    
several times1 and at length came almost
 to a state of rest4  ,there1 said      
,mary1 those are the oscillations we are
 going to experiment upon4  ,yes1 said  
,rollo4  ,and first1 said ,mary1 we     
notice that they are regular4  ,so she  
swung the pebble again2 and as it moved 
to and fro1 she counted the oscillations
 aloud1 beating time with her hand1 down
 and up1 thus1--                        
,one1--two1--three1--four1 c4 ,rollo    
perceived that they were very regular4  
,now1 first we will endeavor to         
ascertain by our experiments1 said      
,mary1 what the time of the vibrations  
depends upon4  ,well1 said ,rollo4  ,you
 see1 continued ,mary1 it swings back   
and forth with a certain degree of      
rapidity4 ,now we want to know what this
 rapidity depends upon1 and then we     

could make a pendulum so that it would  
oscillate faster or slower1 just as we  
pleased4  ,a pendulum8 asked ,rollo4    
,yes1 said ,mary1 we call it a pendulum4
 ,any heavy body hung in this manner1 so
 as to swing back and forth by its      
weight1 is called a pendulum4 ,so that  
we are experimenting upon the           
oscillations of a pendulum4  ,yes1 said 
,rollo1 ,i understand4  ,now the        
question which we are going to examine1 
said ,mary1 is1 what the rapidity of the
 vibrations depends upon4  ,o1 it       
depends upon the bigness of the pebble1 
said ,rollo4  ,how do you know8 said    
,mary4  ,why1 of course1 a bigger pebble
 will be heavier1 and will fall quicker1
 and that will make it vibrate faster4  
,that is reasoning about it1 said ,mary1
 and what we want to do1 now1 is to     
experiment4 ,now1 in order to decide it 
by experiment1 we must try two          
pendulums1 one with a small pebble1 and 
the other with a large one4  ,very well1
 said ,rollo1 we will2 and then we shall

 see that the big one will vibrate the  
quickest4  ,let us think1 first1 what   
other circumstances there are1 that it  
may depend upon4  ,i can't think of any 
thing else1 said ,rollo4  ,why1 there is
 the nature of the body which we        
suspend4 ,a piece of cork may oscillate 
differently from a piece of stone4      
,yes1 said ,rollo1 it will oscillate    
slower4  ,we must not decide1 said      
,mary1 in our own minds1 before we try  
the experiment4 ,we must leave our minds
 free to observe the facts1 and wait    
until we make the experiment1 before we 
come to any conclusion1 or else we shall
 not be good experimenters4  ,why not8  
said ,rollo4  ,because1 said ,mary1 when
 persons make up their minds beforehand 
what the facts will be1 they are very   
apt not to observe fairly4 ,so good     
observers or experimenters always take  
care to keep their minds free and       
unbiassed4  ,well1 said ,rollo1 and what
 else is there that the oscillations may
 depend upon8  ,the length of the       

string1 replied ,mary4  ,o yes1 said    
,rollo1 it may depend upon that4  ,let  
us see1 continued ,mary4 ,there are     
three experiments we have already       
proposed2 a large and a small pebble2 a 
pebble and a cork2 a long and a short   
string2 and now there is one more1--a   
long and short arc4  ,how8 said ,rollo4 
,why1 if ,i draw up the weight1 which   
forms the pendulum1 pretty high1 it will
 swing back and forth through a long    
arc4 ,but if ,i move it only a little   
way1 it will swing through only a short 
arc1 and that may make a difference in  
the length of the vibrations4  ,well1   
said ,rollo1 and now let us try4        
,first1 let us see whether we have got  
all the apparatus we want4 ,here are    
strings and pebbles1--only we want a    
cork4  ,i'll go and get one1 said       
,rollo4  ,so ,rollo went off towards the
 house to get the cork4 ,in a few       
minutes he came back1 saying1  ,i have  
got the cork4 ,now how shall we begin8  
,first1 replied ,mary1 we will try what 

effect the weight of the pebble will    
have upon the oscillations4  ,very well1
 said ,rollo4  ,now1 in order to test   
that1 added ,mary1 we must take two     
pebble stones1 of different sizes1 and  
hang them together1 by strings of the   
same kind1 and of the same length2 and  
then we must set them a-going exactly   
together1 and then watch the            
oscillations4 ,you see that as they will
 be alike in every respect1 excepting   
the size of the pebble stones1 whatever 
difference there is in the mode of      
vibration will probably be caused by the
 difference in the size of the stones4  
,is that the way they do it8 said       
,rollo4  ,yes1 replied ,mary4 ,whenever 
we want to know what effect any one     
circumstance produces1 in such a case1  
we always arrange two experiments1      
making them very different in respect to
 the circumstance which we wish to      
examine1 and as nearly alike as possible
 in all other respects4  ,i think that  
is a very good way1 said ,rollo4  ,yes1 

replied ,mary1 ,i think it is an        
excellent way4  ,while ,mary was thus   
explaining her plan to ,rollo1 she was  
going on steadily with preparations1    
,rollo standing all the time by her     
side1 looking on with great interest4   
,mary selected two pebbles4 ,one was as 
big as a walnut1 and the other about as 
big as an egg4 ,she tied two of her     
threads to these stones1 one to each1   
and then tied the other ends of these   
threads to a small branch of the tree   
which extended horizontally over their  
heads4 ,they hung down about two feet4  
,she took care so to adjust the strings1
 as to have the centres of the stones as
 nearly as possible on a level4  ,the   
big one is twice as large1 and so it    
will go twice as fast1 said ,rollo4  ,we
 shall see1 said ,mary4  ,she then drew 
them both carefully out a little way on 
one side1 and holding them there        
steadily a moment1 she let them go4     
,they immediately began to swing back   
and forth1 together4  ,after a few      

oscillations1 however1 the large stone  
began to gain a little upon the other1  
and seemed to be moving faster4         
,presently it had gained half an        
oscillation1 i4 e4 when the large one   
was moving forward1 the small one would 
be coming back4  ,the big one moves the 
fastest1 said ,rollo4  ,not much1 said  
,mary4  ,no1 said ,rollo1 not much4     
,and ,i don't think it is owing to the  
difference in the bigness of the stones4
  ,what else can it be8 said ,rollo4    
,they are exactly alike in all other    
respects4  ,not exactly1 said ,mary4 ,we
 have made them as nearly alike as we   
could1 but not exactly4 ,there may be a 
good many little differences that we do 
not observe4 ,but if the size of the    
stone would cause any difference in the 
vibrations1 ,i should think it would    
make a much greater difference1 for one 
is twice as big as the other4  ,let us  
try a very big stone1 said ,rollo4      
,well1 said ,mary4  ,so ,rollo got a    
stone as large as an orange1 which was  

as heavy a one as ,mary thought the     
thread would hold2 and ,mary suspended  
that from the branch of the tree1 and   
then swung it in company with the two   
others4 ,they all went very nearly      
together at first1 though there was     
evidently a slight difference1 which1 in
 a short time1 separated the            
oscillations1 so that the stones did not
 keep together2 while yet they each     
swung back and forth1 in nearly the same
 time4 ,rollo and ,mary both concluded1 
from the result of this experiment1 that
 the size of the vibrating body did not 
perceptibly affect the rapidity of the  
vibrations4  ,now1 said ,mary1 we will  
try different lengths of string4  ,so   
she began to look over ,rollo's pebbles1
 to find two as nearly as possible      
alike4  ,the pebble stones must be of   
the same size1 this time1 for we want   
the two pendulums to be alike in all    
respects1 except the length of the      
string1 for that is the circumstance    
which we are now going to consider4 ,we 

will have one string twice as long as   
the other4  ,mary found two pebbles very
 nearly equal in size1 and similar in   
shape4 ,she tied them to two strings1   
making one string twice as long as the  
other4 ,she suspended them as before1   
and then1 taking hold of one with one   
hand1 and the other with the other1 she 
drew them out to the same distance on   
one side1 and let them go4 ,the short   
one began at once to swing back and     
forth very quick1 while the other       
followed quite slowly4  ,that makes a   
difference1 said ,rollo1 clapping his   
hands4  ,it goes twice as fast1 said    
,mary4  ,more than twice as fast1 said  
,rollo1 ,i think4  ,let us see1 said    
,mary4  ,they set them vibrating again2 
but they did not succeed in ascertaining
 whether the short one went more or less
 than twice as fast as the other4 ,the  
two motions1 so rapid and so near       
together1 confused them4 ,at length1    
,mary proposed that ,rollo should count 
the vibrations of the long pendulum1    

while she counted those of the short    
one1 and when she had got up to twenty1 
she said they would both stop1 and then 
,rollo could tell how many he had got in
 the same time4 ,but this plan1 though  
apparently a very simple one1 they found
 it somewhat difficult to put into      
practice4 ,mary's pendulum puzzled      
,rollo's counting1 and ,rollo1 who could
 not count very well without at least   
whispering the numbers1 puzzled ,mary1  
and so pretty soon they gave it up4     
,rollo then said that he meant to try a 
very short pendulum indeed1 and he asked
 ,mary to tie one up for him1 not more  
than an inch in length4 ,she1 however1  
said that it would not be necessary to  
tie it to the branch2 but1 instead of   
that1 she took hold of the string of one
 of the pebbles which was already       
hanging before them1 about an inch above
 the pebble itself1 and then set the    
pebble in motion2 and they were both    
very much interested in observing how   
quick it vibrated to and fro4  ,rollo   

then wanted to try a very long one1 and 
proposed that he should climb up into   
the tree1 and tie the end of the string 
to a high branch4 ,but ,mary was afraid 
that he would fall2 and besides1 she    
said that the pendulum would not swing  
clear of the branches below4 ,she1      
however1 immediately thought of the     
chamber window1 and said that she would 
try it there4 ,she accordingly went up  
into her chamber1 taking a large pebble 
stone with her1 and ,rollo remained     
below to set the pendulum in motion1    
when it should be ready4 ,mary soon     
appeared at the window1 and ,rollo      
watched her while she tied her pebble to
 the end of a thread4  ,have you got    
your thread long enough8 said ,rollo4   
,it will take a good long thread to     
reach away down here4  ,it is a whole   
spool of cotton1 said ,mary4 ,and1 so   
saying1 she held up in her hand the     
spool1 to the thread of which she was   
tying her pebble stone4  ,when it was   
secured1 she slowly let it down1 until  

it reached ,rollo's hand1 which was held
 up from below1 ready to receive it4    
,mary then held the thread steady above1
 at a little distance out from the      
window1 while ,rollo took the stone     
along the side of the house1 three or   
four feet from the place where it would 
naturally hang4 ,he then let it go1 and 
it swung back very slowly4  ,o1 how     
slow6 said ,rollo4  ,yes1 said ,mary1 it
 is very slow1 indeed4  ,i wish you had 
gone up to the garret window1 said      
,rollo4  ,o1 this will do very well1    
said ,mary4  ,rollo determined to see   
how many he could count while the stone 
made one oscillation to and fro4 ,he    
counted sixteen4  ,mary then said she   
was tired of experimenting1 and so she  
should not come down again4 ,she1       
however1 asked ,rollo to set the        
pendulum swinging1 and that then she    
would draw the thread in1 and he could  
see that it would go faster and faster1 
the farther she drew it up1 for that    
would make the string grow shorter and  

shorter4  ,rollo did so2 and this was   
the end of the experiments on           
oscillations4     ,,transcriber',s      
,,notes   ,the following corrections    
have been made to the text3  ,page #ad3 
,she looked on with a good dealoriginal 
omitted this word of interest  ,page    
#cb3 ,what is satiety1 father8original  
had a single quotation mark instead of  
the double one  ,page #hh3 ,then he     
stirredoriginal had stirrred it about   
with his hand  ,page #abb3 he took hold 
of the flower-pot with both his hands1  
and slid it suddenly off of the seat4the
 original had a footnote here1 ,see     
,frontispiece4 ,the frontispiece however
 relates to a different chapter         
7,pruning7 and so the footnote has been 
removed  ,page #adi3 and the small      
endoriginal had and of the magnet would 
draw the point of the needle