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Lucy thought for some time, and then said, Harry, do you try, you can explain it better."

"You mean by the laws of nature," said Harry," things or circumstances which have been known regularly and constantly to happen about animals, and vegetables, and minerals, and all things in nature. I cannot express it quite mother. But, for instance, it is a law of nature that the earth turns round every twenty-four hours." Yes, that the sun rises every morning," said Lucy. "And in the same way it may be said to be a law of nature, mamma, that birds do not come of fishes' shells."

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Very well, between you, you have explained pretty nearly what is meant by the laws of nature," said their mother.

"What, from the beginning of the world, was never in any instance known to happen, we do not believe can happen," said Harry, "I mean in nature. And yet," continued he, "new facts are discovered which sometimes prove, that what was thought to be quite true, and a settled law of nature, is not so."

"But," said Lucy, "to go back to the barnacle goose tree. Harry, suppose that you and I had lived in Queen Elizabeth's days, and in Lancashire, and near that island of geese, do you think that we should have believed in the goose

tree?"

"I hope not," said Harry, sure."

"but I am not

"Suppose that a great many people had told you that they were sure there was such a tree," said Lucy," what would you have said then?"

"I would have asked whether they had seen it themselves, or whether they had only heard of it from others," said Harry. "I would have questioned the people separately, and have observed whether they all agreed or disagreed in their answers. And, above all, I would have gone to the place, and would have examined, the barnacle shells with my own eyes. Then I think I should have perceived, that what people had mistaken for feathers of a bird, were the membranes, or, what do you call them, Lucy? tentacula of a fish. I would have returned at different times of the year, to watch what became of the barnacles, and then I think I should have found the truth."

“ And I think, Harry," said his mother, “ that if you follow such a prudent course, in judging of extraordinary assertions, you will never be the dupe of wonders or wonder-makers. Whenever either of you feel inclined to believe in a wonder, without proof, pray remember the barnacle goose and the goose-tree."

189

HARRY'S BOAT.

So long as Lucy had any ingenious contrivances to show Harry in her shells, or any curious anecdotes to tell him of the modes of life of their inhabitants, he looked, and listened, and was pleased; but he ceased to be interested, and looked dull, when she told him any of their hard names. He, however, admitted, that the great classes into which shells are divided are easy to remember, and he liked their names, univalves, bivalves, and multivalves. Lucy placed before him a snail shell, an oyster shell, and a barnacle, as examples of each class. He examined the hinges of various

curious construction of the shells, but farther he had no curiosity; he could not, he said, understand the use of Lucy's spending so much time in settling to what order each shell belonged. Lucy had much to say in favour of the use and advantages of classification to preserve things in order in our memory, and to assist us in recollecting them more easily; but it was not a good time to enter upon the subject

now, because Harry's head had gone back to his boat. He had finished it, and he wanted her to come out and look at it. She put aside her shells directly and followed him.

The boat, it must be confessed, was but a clumsy affair; the few tools that Harry had were in very imperfect order; but he forbore to complain, because he had once heard from Lucy a French proverb," Un mauvais ouvrier se plaint de ses outils." A bad workman complains of his tools. Imperfect as the boat was, Lucy viewed it with indulgence, and, when harnessed to it, she towed it along respectfully and with the greatest circumspection, often looking back to see that she did not upset or strand it by pulling it against the bank. Harry, however, remonstrated against her looking back, which he observed was out of character for a horse; he told her, that she should go steadily on with her head down, and that he would take care of all the rest, and guide and govern horse and boat. The boat was on the upper branch of the canal, and Harry, as lockman, shut the lower gate, so that the lock might fill. But the lock did not fill! The water indeed rose a few inches, but gushed out with sad velocity between the gate posts and the sides of the lock. Harry stood calmly contemplating this disappointment, and considering how he could make good the defect, when Lucy, who observed that the

water was actually subsiding instead of rising,

said,

Indeed, Harry, you need not stand there looking at your posts, for all the water that was in the lock has run out; I think it has found some other channel."

"True," replied Harry, "we must make up our useful dam once more, and then we shall discover the fault. No knowledge like that we gain by experience."

The dam was soon stopped; and, when the lock was nearly dry, Harry perceived, that the pressure of the water when it had begun to rise had torn away the loose earth under the gate, and escaped almost as freely as if there had been no gate. After due deliberation on the best means of obviating this unforeseen evil, he resolved to fix a sill in the bottom of the lock, from post to post, so that the gate should shut tightly against it.

"Lucy," said he, "one of those old posts, which I so awkwardly spoiled, will now be of the greatest service."

Two days were occupied in this undertaking, the sill was at last securely pegged down to the ground; and, for fear of a similar misfortune with the upper gate, he laid a sill to it also. To prevent the weight of water from undermining these sills, he paved the bottom of the whole lock and a small portion of the canal with large flat