Eva and her father were standing together by the railings, to see the boat start from the landing-place. The wheel had made two or three revolutions in the water, when, by some sudden movement, the little one suddenly lost her balance, and fell sheer over the side. of the boat into the water. Her father, scarce knowing what he did, was plunging in after her, but was held back by some behind him, who saw that more efficient aid had followed the child.

Tom was standing just under her, on the lower deck, as she fell. He saw her strike the water and sink, and was after her in a moment. A broad-chested, strongarmed fellow, it was nothing for him to keep afloat in the water, till, in a moment or two, the child rose to the surface, and he caught her in his arms. Swimming with her to the boat-side, he handed her up, all dripping, to the grasp of hundreds of hands, which, as if they had all belonged to one man, were stretched eagerly out to receive her.

A few more moments, and her father bore her, dripping and senseless, to the ladies' cabin, where, as usual in cases of the kind, there ensued a very well-meaning and kind-hearted strife among the female occupants generally, as to who should do the most things to make a disturbance, and to hinder her recovery in every way possible. However, on the following day, Tom had the satisfaction of seeing the fair little creature on deck again, looking indeed a little paler than usual, but otherwise exhibiting no traces of the accident which had befallen her.

1 Buoyant figure, a light, airy form. 2 Involuntarily, instinctively; without any conscious exercise of the will. (Lat. in, not, without; voluntas, the will.)

3 Overture, an opening; generally applied to a piece of music intend

ed as an opening or introduction; here applied to the first steps taken for becoming friendly. (Fr. ouvrir, to open.)

4 On confidential terms, on very friendly terms, each one feeling confidence or trust in the other.

PEOPLE

THE WAY TO LEARN.

PART I.

EOPLE may acquire knowledge mainly in three ways-from books, from their fellow-men by conversation or oral instruction, and directly from nature by the use of their own eyes and ears. The way to learn is to get all the instruction possible from those different sources.

It is in every one's power that is gifted with eyesight to gain a large fund of knowledge by careful observation. The difference between men consists in great measure in the closeness and intelligence of their observation. Some men walk along without taking an interest in external things, wholly absorbed in their own thoughts; others pick up many scraps of knowledge by attending to what is passing around them, without a thought as to the lessons they yield; whilst a few are both keen to observe and accustomed to reflect.

The Russian proverb says of the unobservant man, "He goes through the forest and sees no firewood." "The wise man's eyes are in his head," says Solomon, "but the fool walketh in darkness." To be a wise observer it is necessary, not only to see with the bodily eye, but with the mental eye. Many a vacant thoughtless youth is whirled throughout Europe, visiting its capitals and their treasures in museums and picturegalleries, without being much the wiser for all he has seen. Unless the eye of the mind is open, nothing is really seen. The observing eye can supply food for reflection, but unless the reflecting mind is called into action, the food supplied is comparatively useless.

The way to learn, then, is to keep open an observant eye, and to reflect upon the knowledge thus gained,

constantly making comparisons between things, and attentively considering the causes of the phenomena observed. When you have learnt certain facts on any subject, seek to discover the reasons which underlie the facts and which account for the same. There is one sort of question which the wise observer will be constantly asking himself. I mean the question beginning with "why." If he sees a stone sticking to a boy's sucker, he will try to find out the reason; if he observes that the tides are always highest when the moon is either new or full, he will seek to know the reason why; if he notices that the sun rises and sets farther to the north in summer than in winter, he will try to account for the fact; if he sees the grass wet with dew and the gravel walk comparatively dry, he will endeavour to discover the cause of the difference.

Little children often set a good example in this respect: they are constantly asking for the reason why. Their elders sometimes find this habit rather troublesome, for not unfrequently the child is too young to understand the true reason, or the person addressed is too ignorant to give it. And so children often get discouraged by the way their inquiries are treated, but certainly the way to learn is to make diligent inquiry of those who are willing and able to instruct. pride on the part of the learner often keeps him from asking for an explanation; or he is tempted to conceal his ignorance from fear of appearing stupid. This is a most serious mistake. True modesty and a real love of truth will always make the learner more anxious to gain knowledge than seem to possess it.

A false

THE WAY TO LEARN.

PART II.

has been pithily said that "reading maketh a full man, conference1 a ready man, and writing an exact man." We must read largely to get a good stock of knowledge, we must converse constantly to get facility in expressing our ideas, and we must accustom ourselves to setting down our thoughts in writing to gain accuracy. It should be our aim to combine these advantages to read according to our opportunities in search of information and ennobling ideas; to impart to others in the course of conversation what has most interested us in the books we have read; and to form the habit of writing out the facts and ideas we wish to remember in "our own words."

More than one advantage will accrue from this habit of expressing our thoughts in words of our own choice. It is the most thorough way of appropriating the fruits of knowledge brought within the reach of the thoughtful reader. The very effort to cast our ideas into the mould of language will disclose any imperfection in our grasp of the subject, and so lead to a further investigation. We may falsely fancy that we understand what we have read until we put ourselves to the test of offering an explanation. Accordingly, one of the best ways of learning a thing is teaching it. Before we can. succeed in making the matter clear to another, we must be able to marshal our ideas in their natural order, and to give them a definite shape in distinct, intelligible terms.

There is then a double advantage in teaching others what we know. In this respect knowledge is like mercy-it bestows a double blessing :

It is twice bless'd;

It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.

Ideas grow greatly in clearness in the process of clothing them with words. They must assume some definite form before they can be verbally expressed. While our ideas are unclothed with language, they may be floating about the mind in a vague, misty form; but in the process of communicating them, either orally or in writing, the mist becomes condensed in the form of speech, each word being a distinct drop in the stream of knowledge. Or we may look at the relation between thought and language in another way. Whilst our thoughts remain unuttered they may be compared, if valuable, to gold in the lump, but when brought to the mint of language they are turned out as gold coins ready for circulation.

Not only does the knowledge acquired in reading become clearer to our minds by recasting it in our own words, but it remains a more permanent possession, especially when we have set it down in writing. What the eye sees the memory is more likely to retain, and the thoughts which are kept longest before the mind are likely to be most deeply impressed upon it. Therefore in studying a subject it is of the utmost importance to the learner not merely to read, or even to cogitate in silence, but to test the soundness of his knowledge by trying to impart it to another, and to stamp it on his own memory by reproducing the subject in writing.

6

1 Conference, conversation.

2 Appropriating, making one's own. (Lat. proprius, one's own.)

3 Investigation, a searching into. (Lat. vestigium, a foot-step.)

4 Verbally expressed, set forth in words. (Lat, verbum, a word.)

5 Becomes condensed, the small particles are brought together, like particles of mist to form a raindrop. (Lat. densus, thick.)

6 Cogitate, to think over.