TRAVELLERS' WONDERS

Aquafluens

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

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

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

"Can he do as much work as you?"

Winged Giant

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

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

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

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

Jackson was astonished to hear Aquafluens accused of sluggishness; he told Ventosus whata prodigious quantity of work he had done for the colony.

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

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

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

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

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

His wonderful form and the lightness of his wings excited great admiration. Jackson immediately set about building a house for him on the hill to grind corn in, and meanwhile, Ventosustook a flight into the valley to see his brother. He found him carrying a heavy load of planks, which he had lately sawed, to their proprietor. They embraced each other, and Ventosus, being in a good humor, said, "Come, brother, let me help you forward with your load, you will never get on at this lazy pace."

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

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

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

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

Aquafluens thought this very unkind, and he began to argue with his brother; but this only led to a dispute. Aquafluens' temper was at length ruffled; Ventosus flew into a passion: hestruggled with his brother, and roared louder than any wild beast. Aquafluens then lost all self-command, and actually foamed with rage. The poor child stood at a distance, trembling with fear. He hardly knew the face of his old friend, so much was his countenance distorted by wrath; he looked as if he could almost have swallowed him up. At length, Ventosus disengaged himself from his brother, and flew out of his sight; but his sighs and moans were still heard afar off. Aquafluens also murmured loudly at the ill-treatment he had received; but he composed himself by degrees, and, taking the boy on his back, slowly returned home.

Jackson inquired eagerly after Ventosus, and when the child told him all that had happened, he was much alarmed for fear Ventosus should never return; and he was the more disappointed, as he had prepared everything for him to go to work. Ventosus, however, came back in the night, and when Jackson went to set him to work in the morning, he found that nearly half the corn was already ground. This was a wonderful performance. Yet, upon the whole, Ventosus did not prove of such use to the colony as his brother. He would carry with astonishing quickness; but then he would always carry his own way; so that it was necessary to know what direction he intended to take, before you could confide any goods to his charge; and then, when you thought them sure to arrive on account of the rapidity with which they were conveyed, Ventosus would sometimes suddenly change his mind, and veer about with the fickleness of a weathercock; so that the goods, instead of reaching their place of destination, were carried to some other place or brought to the spot whence they set out. This inconvenience could not happen with regard to grinding corn; but one of no less importance often did occur. Ventosus, when not inclined to work, disappeared, and was nowhere to be found.

Ventosus

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

They were always asking Aquafluens about where they could find another giant, for he was ever with them and never flew away, so they couldalways ask questions; while Ventosus used to fly away and disappear if they bothered him with questions which he did not like to answer.

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

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

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

"Can he go up hill?" said his little boy.

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

"And who is this giant?" said Jobson.

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

"Where is he?"

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

"Is he so very violent?" said Jobson.

"Very. His breath is scalding hot, and he isa more expensive giant than either my brother or myself."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Then take a little of my blood."

"Never!" said Jobson's wife.

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

"And what must we do with it?"

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

They were very loth to do this; but at last, their need being great, they did so. They wererelieved to find that the taking of his blood did not seem to hurt the good, kind giant, and then they put the pot on the fire, and waited to see what would happen. After a time, they heard a singing noise, and they began to be frightened. At last out of the pot there came a cloudy vapor, which rose higher and higher and higher, until it went away. But they saw no giant.

Fireplace

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

The Coming of Vaporifer

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

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

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

Vaporifer at Work

Thus it came to pass that Ventosus was wanted very little, for Jobson and his friends liked Vaporifer, who was regular and steady in his ways, and could be relied upon always to do what was wanted.

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

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

Travellers' Wonders

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

"No, my dear," said the captain, "I never met with Lilliputians or Brobdingnagians, I assure you, nor ever saw the black loadstone mountainsor the valley of diamonds, but, to be sure, I have seen a great variety of people, and have noticed their different manners and ways of living; and if it will be any entertainment to you, I will tell you some curious things that I have observed."

"Pray do, papa," cried Jack and all his brothers and sisters; so they drew close round him, and he began as follows:—

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

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

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

"Well,—but their diet was remarkable,—some of them ate fish that had been hung up in the smoke till it was quite dry and hard; and along with it they ate either the roots of plants, or a sort of coarse black cake made of powdered seeds. These were the poorer class. The richer had a kind of cake which they were fond of daubing over with a greasy matter, that was the product of a large animal which lived among them. This grease they used, too, in almost all their dishes, and when fresh it really was not unpalatable. They likewise devoured the flesh of many birds and beasts when they could get it; and ate the leaves and other parts of a number of kinds of vegetables growing in the country, some absolutely raw, others variously prepared by the aid of fire. Another great article of food was the curd of milk, pressed into a hard mass and salted. It had so rank a smell that often persons of weak stomachs could not bear to come near it. For drink they made great use of the water in which certaindry leaves had been steeped. These leaves, I was told, came from a great distance. They had likewise a method of preparing a liquor of the seeds of a grass-like plant steeped in water, with the addition of a bitter herb, and then set to work or ferment. I was prevailed upon to taste it, and thought it at first nauseous enough, but in time I liked it pretty well. When a large quantity of the mixture is used, it becomes perfectly intoxicating. But what astonished me most was their use of a liquor so excessively hot and pungent that it seems like liquid fire. I once got a mouthful of it by mistake, taking it for water, which it resembles in appearance, but I thought it would instantly have taken away my breath. Indeed, people are not infrequently killed by it; and yet many of them will swallow it greedily, whenever they can get it. This, too, is said to be prepared from the seeds above mentioned, which are harmless and even valuable in their natural state, though made to yield such a pernicious juice. The strangest custom that I believe prevails in any nation, I found here, which was that some take a mighty pleasure in filling their mouths full of smoke; and others in thrusting a nasty powder up their nostrils."

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

"It almost did me," answered his father,"only to stand by while they did it—but use, it is truly said, is second nature.

"I was glad enough to leave this cold climate; and about half a year after I fell in with a people enjoying a delicious temperature and a country full of beauty and verdure. The trees and shrubs were furnished with a great variety of fruits which, with other vegetable products, constituted a large part of the food of the inhabitants. I particularly relished certain berries growing in bunches, some white and some red, of a very pleasant sourish taste, and so transparent that one might see the seeds at their very centre. There were whole fields full of odoriferous flowers, which they told me were succeeded by pods bearing seeds that afforded good nourishment to man and beast. A great variety of birds enlivened the groves and woods, among which I was greatly entertained by one that without any teaching spoke almost as articulately as a parrot, though it was only the repetition of a single word. The people were gentle and civilized, and possessed many of the arts of life. Their dress was very various. Many were clad only in a thin cloth made of the long fibres of the stalk of a plant cultivated for the purpose, which they prepared by soaking in water and then beating with large mallets. Men wore cloth woven from a sort of vegetable wool, growing in pods upon bushes.But the most singular material was a fine glossy stuff, used chiefly by the richer classes, which, as I was credibly informed, is manufactured out of the webs of caterpillars—a most wonderful circumstance, if we consider the immense number of caterpillars necessary to the production of so large a quantity of stuff as I saw used. The people are very fantastic in their dress, especially the women, whose apparel consists of a great number of articles impossible to be described, and strangely disguising the form of the body. In some instances they seem very cleanly, but in other cases the Hottentots can scarce go beyond them, particularly in the management of their hair, which is all matted and stiffened by the fat of swine and other animals mixed up with powders of various colors and ingredients. Like most Indian nations, they wear feathers in their headdress. One thing surprised me much, which was, that they bring up in their homes an animal of the tiger kind, with formidable teeth and claws, which, notwithstanding its natural ferocity, is played with and caressed by the most timid and delicate of their women."

Odd Items

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

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

"The language of this nation seems very harsh and unintelligible to a foreigner, yet they converse with one another with great ease and quickness.One of the oddest customs is that which men use on saluting each other. Let the weather be what it will, they uncover their heads and remain uncovered for some time if they mean to be extraordinarily respectful."

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

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

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

"No?" said the captain. "Pray, what are coals but stones; and is not butter grease; and corn, seeds; and leather, skins; and silk, the web of a kind of caterpillar?and may we not as well call a cat an animal of the tiger kind, as a tiger an animal of the cat kind?

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

A Curious Instrument

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

The children were accordingly all attention, while the father thus proceeded: "This small instrument is made in the most perfect and wonderful way, and everything about it is very delicate and beautiful. Because of its extreme delicacy it is so liable to injury that a sort of light curtain, adorned with a beautiful fringe, is always provided, and so placed as to fall in a moment on the approach of the slightest danger. Its externalappearance is always more or less beautiful, although in this respect there is a great diversity in the different sorts. If you should examine the inside you would find them all alike, but it is so curious, and its powers so truly astonishing, that no one who considers it can suppress his surprise and admiration. By a slight and momentary movement, which is easily made by the person it belongs to, you can ascertain with considerable accuracy the size, color, shape, weight, and value of any article whatever. A person having one is thus saved from the necessity of asking a thousand questions, and trying a variety of troublesome experiments, which would otherwise be necessary; and such a slow and laborious process would, after all, not succeed half so well as a single trial of this very useful article."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

George."Higher than this house, I suppose?"

Father."Much higher."

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

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

George."But who can do this?"

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

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

Father."Its uses are so various that I know not which to specify. It has been found very serviceable in deciphering old manuscripts, and, indeed, has its use in modern prints. It will assist us greatly in acquiring all kinds of knowledge;and without it some of the most wonderful things in the world would never have been known. It must be confessed, however, that very much depends on a proper application of it, since it is possessed by many persons who appear not to know what it is worth, but who employ it only for the most low and common purposes without even thinking, apparently, of the noble uses for which it is designed, or of the great joy it is capable of affording. It is, indeed, in order to have you fully appreciate its value that I am giving you this description."

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

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

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

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

George."What color are these strange things?"

Father."They vary considerably in this respect."

George."What color is yours?"

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

Both."Never saw it in your life!"

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

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

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

Charles."Then you could buy another."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Father."It is called—an EYE."

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

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

There are many walks in our vast country quite as full of interest in sights and sounds as that over BroomHeath, "among the green meads by the side of the river," and there are many boys who go through them in just the same way as William and Robert took their walk. Let our Roberts take a lesson from our Williams, and our Williams go on cultivating the habit of observing and remembering what they see.

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

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

"The contrast between the two boys in this story is one which may be found in every schoolroom. Unless a teacher actually tries the experiment, he can scarcely imagine the extraordinary differences in power of observation, not so much between clever and dull pupils, for that might be looked for, as among those who are bright and forward in the general work of the school. Of two clever boys, the one who has the quicker perception of things around him is more likely to succeed inlife. But the chances of the other may be vastly improved by early training. And it is this training, so little provided for by the ordinary school work, that the teacher should do all in his power to secure."

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

To turn to the other stories in the book, "The Three Giants" is from "Tales of Political Economy," by Mrs. Marcet (1769-1858), and has long been a favorite with children. Slight changes have been made in order to simplify it, and to confine the attention solely to the leading idea. "Travellers' Wonders" is also from "Evenings at Home," and in reading it one might almost imagine Captain Compass was thinking of a visit to the United States when he unfolded his budget of wonders to his listening family. "A Curious Instrument" is by Jane Taylor (1783-1824), who wrote many books for children in conjunction with her sister Ann. The sisters are best known, perhaps, by their "Original Poems" and "Hymns for Infant Minds."

Transcriber NoteMinor typos were corrected. Text was moved to prevent images splitting paragraphs. The page numbers forThe Coming of VaporiferandVaporifer at Workin theIllustrationslisting have been corrected. The footnotes were standardized by placing lettered anchors in the associated text.

Transcriber Note

Minor typos were corrected. Text was moved to prevent images splitting paragraphs. The page numbers forThe Coming of VaporiferandVaporifer at Workin theIllustrationslisting have been corrected. The footnotes were standardized by placing lettered anchors in the associated text.

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