The History of Sandford and Merton Part 12

_Mr Barlow._--To-morrow you shall hear it; at present we have read and conversed enough; it is better that you should go out and amuse yourselves.

The little boys then went out, and returned to a diversion they had been amusing themselves with for several days, the making a prodigious s...o...b..ll. They had begun by making a small globe of snow with their hands, which they turned over and over, till, by continually collecting fresh matter, it grew so large that they were unable to roll it any farther. Here Tommy observed that their labours must end, "for it was impossible to turn it any longer." "No," said Harry, "I know a remedy for that." So he ran and fetched a couple of thick sticks about five feet long, and giving one of them to Tommy, he took the other himself.

He then desired Tommy to put the end of his stick under the ma.s.s, while he did the same on his side, and then, lifting at the other end, they rolled the heap forward with the greatest ease.

Tommy was extremely surprised at this, and said, "How can this be? We are not a bit stronger than we were before; and yet now we are able to roll this s...o...b..ll along with ease, which we could not even stir before." "That is very true," answered Harry, "but it is owing to these sticks. This is the way that the labourers move the largest trees, which, without this contrivance, they would not be able to stir." "I am very much surprised at this," said Tommy; "I never should have imagined that the sticks would have given us more strength than we had before."

Just as he had said this, through a violent effort, both their sticks broke short in the middle. "This is no great loss," observed Tommy, "for the ends will do just as well as the whole sticks."

They then tried to shove the ball again with the truncheons which remained in their hands; but, to the new surprise of Tommy, they found they were unable to stir it. "That is very curious indeed," said Tommy; "I find that only long sticks are of any use." "That," said Harry, "I could have told you before, but I had a mind you should find it out yourself. The longer the stick is, provided it is sufficiently strong, and you can manage it, the more easily will you succeed." "This is really very curious," replied Tommy; "but I see some of Mr Barlow's labourers at work a little way off, let us go to them, and desire them to cut us two longer sticks, that we may try their effect."

They then went up to the men who were at work, but here a new subject of admiration presented itself to Tommy's mind. There was a root of a prodigious oak tree, so large and heavy, that half-a-dozen horses would scarcely have been able to draw it along; besides, it was so tough and knotty, that the sharpest axe could hardly make any impression upon it.

This a couple of old men were attempting to cleave in pieces, in order to make billets for Mr Barlow's fire.

Tommy, who thought their strength totally disproportionate to such an undertaking, could not help pitying them; and observing, that certainly Mr Barlow "did not know what they were about, or he would have prevented such poor weak old men from fatiguing themselves about what they never could perform." "Do you think so?" replied Harry; "what would you then say, if you were to see me, little as I am, perform this wonderful task, with the a.s.sistance of one of these good people?" So he took up a wooden mallet--an instrument which, although much larger, resembles a hammer--and began beating the root, which he did for some time, without making the least impression. Tommy, who imagined that, for this time, his friend Harry was caught, began to smile, and told him, "that he would break a hundred mallets to pieces before he made the least impression upon the wood."

"Say you so?" answered Harry, smiling; "then I believe I must try another method;" so he stooped down, and picked up a small piece of rough iron, about six inches long, which Tommy had not before observed, as it lay upon the ground. This iron was broad at the top, but gradually sloped all the way down, till it came to a perfect edge at bottom. Harry then took it up, and with a few blows drove it a little way into the body of the root. The old man and he then struck alternately with their mallets upon the head of the iron, till the root began to gape and crack on every side, and the iron was totally buried in the wood.

"There," said Harry, "this first wedge has done its business very well; two or three more will finish it." He then took up another larger wedge, and, inserting the bottom of it between the wood and the top of the former one, which was now completely buried in the root, began to beat upon it as he had done before. The root now cracked and split on every side of the wedges, till a prodigious cleft appeared quite down to the bottom. Thus did Harry proceed, still continuing his blows, and inserting new and larger wedges as fast as he had driven the former down, till he had completely effected what he had undertaken, and entirely separated the monstrous ma.s.s of wood into two unequal parts.

Harry then said, "here is a very large log, but I think you and I can carry it in to mend the fire; and I will show you something else that will surprise you." So he took a pole of about ten feet long, and hung the log upon it by a piece of cord which he found there; then he asked Tommy which end of the pole he chose to carry. Tommy, who thought it would be most convenient to have the weight near him, chose that end of the pole near which the weight was suspended, and put it upon his shoulder, while Harry took the other end. But when Tommy attempted to move, he found that he could hardly bear the pressure; however, as he saw Harry walk briskly away under his share of the load, he determined not to complain.

As they were walking in this manner, Mr Barlow met them, and seeing poor Tommy labouring under his burthen, asked him who had loaded him in that manner. Tommy said it was Harry. Upon this, Mr Barlow smiled, and said, "Well, Tommy, this is the first time I ever saw your friend Harry attempt to impose upon you; but he is making you carry about three times the weight which he supports himself." Harry replied, "that Tommy had chosen that himself; and that he should directly have informed him of his mistake, but that he had been so surprised at seeing the common effects of a lever, that he wished to teach him some other facts about it;" then s.h.i.+fting the ends of the pole, so as to support that part which Tommy had done before, he asked him, "if he found his shoulder anything easier than before." "Indeed, I do," replied Tommy, "but I cannot conceive how; for we carry the same weight between us which we did before, and just in the same manner." "Not quite in the same manner," answered Mr Barlow; "for, if you observe, the log is a great deal farther from your shoulder than from Harry's, by which means he now supports just as much as you did before, and you, on the contrary, as little as he did when I met you." "This is very extraordinary indeed," said Tommy; "I find there are a great many things which I did not know, nor even my mamma, nor any of the fine ladies that come to our house." "Well," replied Mr Barlow, "if you have acquired so much useful knowledge already, what may you expect to do in a few years more?"

Mr Barlow then led Tommy into the house, and showed him a stick of about four feet long, with a scale hung at each end. "Now," said he, "if you place this stick over the back of a chair, so that it may rest exactly upon the middle, you see the two scales will just balance each other.

So, if I put into each of them an equal weight, they will still remain suspended. In this method we weigh every thing which is bought, only, for the greater convenience, the beam of the scale, which is the same thing as this stick, is generally hung up to something else by its middle. But let us now move the stick, and see what will be the consequence." Mr Barlow then pushed the stick along in such a manner, that when it rested upon the back of the chair, there were three feet of it on one side, and only one on the other. That side which was longest instantly came to the ground as heaviest. "You see," said Mr Barlow, "if we would now balance them, we must put a greater weight on the shortest side; so he kept adding weights, till Tommy found that one pound on the longest side would exactly balance three on the shortest; for, as much as the longer side exceeded the shorter in length, so much did the weight which was hung at that end require to exceed that on the longest side."

"This," said Mr Barlow, "is what they call a _lever_, and all the sticks that you have been using to-day are only levers of a different construction. By these short trials, you may conceive the prodigious advantage which they are of to men; for thus can one man move a weight which half-a-dozen could not be able to do with their hands alone; thus may a little boy, like you, do more than the strongest man could effect who did not know these secrets. As to that instrument by which you were so surprised that Harry could cleave such a vast body of wood, it is called a wedge, and is almost equally useful with the lever. The whole force of it consists in its being gradually narrower and narrower, till at last it ends in a thin edge, capable of penetrating the smallest c.h.i.n.k. By this we are enabled to overthrow the largest oaks, to cleave their roots, almost as hard as iron itself, and even to split the solid rocks." "All this," said Tommy, "is wonderful indeed; and I need not ask the use of them, because I see it plainly in the experiments I have made to-day."

"One thing more," added Mr Barlow, "as we are upon this subject, I will show you." So he led them into the yard, to the bottom of his granary, where stood a heavy sack of corn. "Now," said Mr Barlow, "if you are so stout a fellow as you imagine, take up this sack of corn, and carry it up the ladder into the granary." "That," replied Tommy, laughing, "is impossible; and I doubt, sir, whether you could do it yourself."

"Well," said Mr Barlow, "we will, at least try what is to be done." He then led them up into the granary, and, showing them a middle-sized wheel, with a handle fixed upon it, desired the little boys to turn it round. They began to turn it with some little difficulty, and Tommy could hardly believe his eyes, when, presently after, he saw the sack of corn, which he had despaired of moving, mounted up into the granary, and safely landed upon the floor. "You see," said Mr Barlow, "here is another ingenious contrivance, by which the weakest person may perform the work of the strongest. This is called the _wheel_ and _axle_. You see this wheel, which is not very large, turns round an axle which goes into it, and is much smaller; and at every turn, the rope to which the weight is fixed that you want to move, is twisted round the axle. Now, just as much as the breadth of the whole wheel is greater than that of the axle which it turns round, so much greater is the weight that the person who turns it can move, than he could do without it." "Well," said Tommy, "I see it is a fine thing indeed to acquire knowledge, for by these means one not only increases one's understanding, but one's bodily strength. But are there no more, sir, of these ingenious contrivances, for I should like to understand them all?" "Yes," answered Mr Barlow, "there are more, and all of them you shall be perfectly acquainted with in time; but for this purpose you should be able to write, and comprehend something of arithmetic."

_Tommy._--What is arithmetic, sir?

_Mr Barlow._--That is not so easy to make you understand at once; I will, however, try to explain it. Do you see the grains of wheat which he scattered in the window?

_Tommy._--Yes, sir.

_Mr Barlow._--Can you count how many there are?

_Tommy._--There are just five-and-twenty of them.

_Mr Barlow._--Very well. Here is another parcel; how many grains are there?

_Tommy._--Just fourteen.

_Mr Barlow._--If there are fourteen grains in one heap, and twenty-five in the other, how many grains are there in all? or, how many do fourteen and twenty-five make?

Tommy was unable to answer, and Mr Barlow proposed the same question to Harry, who answered, that, together, they made thirty-nine. "Again,"

said Mr Barlow, "I will put the two heaps together, and then how many will there be?"

_Tommy._--Thirty-nine.

_Mr Barlow._--Now, look, I have just taken away nineteen from the number; how many, do you think, remain?

_Tommy._--I will count them.

_Mr Barlow._--And cannot you tell without counting? How many are there, Harry?

_Harry._--Twenty, sir.

_Mr Barlow._--All this is properly the art of arithmetic, which is the same as that of counting, only it is done in a much shorter and easier way, without the trouble of having the things always before you. Thus, for instance, if you wanted to know how many barley-corns were in this sack, you would perhaps be a week in counting the whole number.

_Tommy._--Indeed, I believe I should.

_Mr Barlow._--If you understood arithmetic you might do it in five minutes.

_Tommy._--That is extraordinary, indeed; I can hardly conceive it possible.

_Mr Barlow._--A bushel of corn weighs about fifty pounds; this sack contains four bushels; so that there are just two hundred pounds weight in all. Now, every pound contains sixteen ounces, and sixteen times two hundred makes thirty-two hundred ounces. So that you have nothing to do but to count the number of grains in a single ounce, and there will be thirty-two hundred times that number in the sack.

_Tommy._--I declare this is curious indeed, and I should like to learn arithmetic. Will Harry and you teach me, sir?

_Mr Barlow._--You know we are always ready to improve you. But before we leave this subject, I must tell you a little story. "There was a gentleman who was extremely fond of beautiful horses, and did not grudge to give the highest prices for them. One day a horse-courser came to him, and showed him one so handsome, that he thought it superior to all he had ever seen before. He mounted him, and found his paces equally excellent; for, though he was full of spirit, he was gentle and tractable as could be wished. So many perfections delighted the gentleman, and he eagerly demanded the price. The horse-courser answered, that he would bate nothing of two hundred guineas; the gentleman, although he admired the horse, would not consent to give it, and they were just on the point of parting. As the man was turning his back, the gentleman called out to him, and said, 'Is there no possible way of our agreeing, for I would give you anything in reason for such a beautiful creature?' 'Why,' replied the dealer, who was a shrewd fellow, and perfectly understood calculation, 'If you do not like to give me two hundred guineas, will you give me a farthing for the first nail the horse has in his shoe, two farthings for the second, four for the third, and so go doubling throughout the whole twenty-four, for there are no more than twenty-four nails in all his shoes?' The gentleman gladly accepted the condition, and ordered the horse to be led away to his stables."

_Tommy._--This fellow must have been a very great blockhead, to ask two hundred guineas, and then to take a few farthings for his horse.

_Mr Barlow._--The gentleman was of the same opinion; "however, the horse-courser added:--'I do not mean, sir, to tie you down to this last proposal, which, upon consideration, you may like as little as the first; all that I require is, that if you are dissatisfied with your bargain, you will promise to pay me down the two hundred guineas which I first asked.' This the gentleman willingly agreed to, and then called the steward to calculate the sum, for he was too much of a gentleman to be able to do it himself. The steward sat down with his pen and ink, and, after some time, gravely wished his master joy, and asked him, 'in what part of England the estate was situated that he was going to purchase.' 'Are you mad?' replied the gentleman; 'it is not an estate, but a horse, that I have just bargained for; and here is the owner of him, to whom I am going to pay the money.' 'If there is any madness, sir,' replied the steward, 'it certainly is not on my side; the sum you have ordered me to calculate comes just to seventeen thousand four hundred and seventy-six pounds, besides some s.h.i.+llings and pence; and surely no man in his senses would give this price for a horse.' The gentleman was more surprised than he had ever been before, to hear the a.s.sertion of his steward; but when, upon examination, he found it no more than the truth, he was very glad to compound for his foolish agreement, by giving the horse-courser the two hundred guineas, and dismissing him."

_Tommy._--This is quite incredible, that a farthing just doubled a few times, should amount to such a prodigious sum; however, I am determined to learn arithmetic, that I may not be imposed upon in this manner, for I think a gentleman must look very silly in such a situation.

Thus had Tommy a new employment and diversion for the winter nights--the learning arithmetic. Almost every night did Mr Barlow, and Harry, and he, amuse themselves with little questions that related to numbers; by which means Tommy became, in a short time, so expert, that he could add, subtract, multiply, or divide almost any given sum, with little trouble and great exactness. But he did not for this forget the employment of observing the heavens, for every night when the stars appeared bright, and the sky was unclouded, Harry and he observed the various figures and positions of the constellations. Mr Barlow gave him a little paper globe, as he had promised, and Tommy immediately marked out upon the top his first and favourite constellation of Charles' Wain. A little while after that, he observed on the other side of the Pole-star another beautiful a.s.semblage of stars, which was always opposite to Charles'

Wain; this, Mr Barlow told him, was called _Ca.s.siopeia's_ Chair, and this, in a short time, was added to the collection.

One night as Tommy was looking up to the sky in the southern part of the heavens, he observed so remarkable a constellation that he could not help particularly remarking it; four large and s.h.i.+ning stars composed the ends of the figure, which was almost square, and full in the middle appeared three more placed in a slanting line and very near each other.

This Tommy pointed out to Mr Barlow, and begged to know the name. Mr Barlow answered that the constellation was named _Orion_, and that the three bright stars in the middle were called his belt. Tommy was so delighted with the grandeur and beauty of this glorious constellation, that he could not help observing it, by intervals, all the evening; and he was surprised to see that it seemed to pa.s.s on in a right line drawn from east to west, and that all the stars he had become acquainted with moved every night in the same direction.

But he did not forget to remind Harry one morning of the history he had promised to tell him of Agesilaus. Harry told it in the following manner:--

"HISTORY OF AGESILAUS."

"The Spartans (as I have before told you, Master Tommy) were a brave and hardy people, who despised everything that tended to make them delicate and luxurious. All their time was spent in such exercises as made them strong and active, able to bear fatigue, and to despise wounds and danger, for they were situated in the midst of several other nations that frequently had quarrels with each other, and with them; and therefore it was necessary that they should learn to defend themselves.

Therefore all the children were brought up alike, and the sons of their kings themselves were as little indulged as anybody else."

_Tommy._--Stop, stop!--I don't exactly understand that. I thought a king was a person that dressed finer and had less to do than anybody else in the world. I have often heard my mamma and the ladies say that I looked like a prince when I had fine clothes on; and therefore I thought that kings and princes never did anything but walk about with crowns upon their heads, and eat sweetmeats all day long.

_Harry._--I do not know how that may be, but in Sparta the great business of the kings (for they had two) was to command them when they went out to war, or when they were attacked at home--and that, you know, they could not do without being brave and hardy themselves. "Now it happened that the Spartans had some dear friends and allies that lived at a distance from them across the sea, who were attacked by a great and numerous nation called the Persians. So when the Spartans knew the danger of their friends, they sent over to their a.s.sistance Agesilaus, one of their kings, together with a few thousands of his countrymen; and these they judged would be a match for all the forces that could be brought against them by the Persians, though ever so numerous. When the general of the Persians saw the small number of his enemies, he imagined it would be an easy matter to take them prisoners or to destroy them.

Besides, as he was immensely rich, and possessed a number of palaces, furnished with everything that was fine and costly, and had a great quant.i.ty of gold and silver, and jewels, and slaves, he could not conceive it possible that anybody could resist him. He therefore raised a large army, several times greater than that of the Spartans, and attacked Agesilaus, who was not in the least afraid of him; for the Spartans, joining their s.h.i.+elds together, and marching slowly along in even ranks, fell with so much fury upon the Persians, that in an instant they put them to flight."