hatching-machine when they came to shore, and
produced so fine a result, that his boy, before
he was out of his teens, produced a book of no
less name than " Gonopsychanthropologia." The
young Bignon, again, was described by the
preceptor of King Louis the Thirteenth as " an
old man of twelve, a consummate doctor in his
infancy."

Pascal at eleven years old noticed the sound
made by striking a knife on a plate, and that it
was not the same sound when the plate had
anything under it. This set him thinking, and led
to the production of a philosophical treatise.
When Samuel Bochart was a child, he read in
Hebrew not only the book of the Prophets,
but knew also in their own tongue all the
commentaries of the Rabbins, and proceeded to
learn Syriac, Chaldean, and Arabic. My senses
reel. One horror more, and I am dumb. Three
years before M. Baillet collected these veracious
monster tales to stir the mind of a small boy in
his own charge, a volume had appeared entitled
"Miscellaneous Works of an Author seven years
old. Collection of the works of Monsieur the
Duke du Maine, written during the year sixteen
hundred and seventy-seven and in the beginning
of the, year sixteen seventy-eight." His great
experience of life caused the works of this little
author to consist mainly of " Maxims."

SIR JOHN'S TROUBLES.

IN FOUR CHAPTERS. CHAPTER IV.

WHEN Sir John Milson left home to go to
Kensington that morning, he did not wish or
intend to deceive his wife, or to tell her an
untruth. He was bound in honour, as he
conceived, to respect the secret which his old
friend had entrusted him with, and he was
anxious to do a kind turn to two young women
who were somewhat dull, very lonely, quite
young, and naturally very anxious to see
something of London. Had he been a man
careless of appearances, he would have walked
out in open noon-day with either, or both
of these girls, utterly defiant of what people
might say or think. If he had been one who
rather glories in a certain kind of reputation,
he would only have been too delighted to give
others cause .for surmises and jokes, which,
whilst ruining the characters of the Miss
Fabers, would have been utterly untrue. But
Milson was none of these. He was a true-
hearted, loyal gentleman, anxious to do his
best towards those entrusted to his care,
and yet determined not to tell that which
Colonel Laber had insisted should be kept a
profound secret. Hitherto he had been
exceedingly cautious, notwithstanding the hints
and innuendoes of tradesmen and others whom
he had employed, or of those who had seen the
letters addressed to him at the club in a lady's
hand. But on a Monday in the early part of May,
before the flower-shows and the concerts begin
to attract visitors, the Crystal Palace is not a
very likely place at which any one moving in
"society " is likely to meet his friends.
Accordingly, when it was at last resolved that the
young lady who was indisposed should remain
at home, and the governess remain to nurse her,
Sir John agreed to take the sister down to
Sydenham, and felt like a man about to do a
good action when he started to walk with her
to the Kensington station.

There was not a better nor a kinder hearted
woman in London than Lady Fantzle, so much
so that her friends and relations were continually
imposing upon her in various ways. Amongst
other things she was noted for was the fact of
her keeping a sort of house of call, at any rate
about luncheon-hour, for all the young lads
from Eton, Rugby, and Harrow, who
happened to be up in London. Many and sundry
were the youths who on one pretext or another
found their way to Harley-street during the
different vacations, and who invariably left
"Aunt Fantzle's" a sovereign the richer, and a
good luncheon the better, after the short sojourn.
The day Lady Milson went to lunch with her old
friend, she found no less than three very restless
noisy youngsters there beforehand, and Lady
Fantzle, for once in her life, not a little put out
by the inopportune coincidence of such different
persons coming to her house on the same day.
"I really cannot help it," she explained to
Annie; " rny sister, Mrs. Wallson, is so very
thoughtless. Her own two sons are at home
for Easter, and her nephew is also spending
his holidays with them. This morning, without
giving me the slightest warning, she sent
the three lads over to spend the day with me,
as she had gone to show Windsor to some
French friends who are in London. It is really
too bad. I must keep my eye on the boys all
the day, and send them back in charge of the
footman at night. They will sit quiet
enough when we are in the carriage, but what
can we do with them at the Royal Academy?
They will get fidgety before we have been there
half an hour, and I wanted to make a good long
day of it."

"Never mind," replied Lady Milson, " I will
come to lunch with you on Friday, and we can
go then to the exhibition; let us take your
nephews to the Zoological Gardens to-day."

"Not for the world, Annie," replied" Lady
Fantzle; " do you want me to leave one, if not
two, of the boys behind in the bears' pit or the
tigers' cage? If there is mischief to be had
anywhere, or if there is anything to be done
which ought to be left undone, the eldest boy,
George, is certain to find it out and to do it. I
quite dread the responsibility of taking charge
of him and his brother even for these few hours.
If I had not to go out this evening, I would
drive about London until dinner-time, and thus
keep them from any possible mischief, but, as it
is, my horses could not stand the work."

"I'll tell you what we'll do," suggested Lady
Milson, " we'll go to the Crystal Palace. We
can drive to the Victoria station; it will be past
three before we get to Sydenham; if we remain
a couple of hours there we shall be able to keep
the boys out of mischief in the grounds, and