



'/ed an to bo 

 slum we oon- 



Unit tin- : .1-1 !' iil-l' 



Unit \v may know whether it i- . 

 li, iiinl l.i- al.li' ' 



small, wo cease t 



\vitli very little udltUUM !'.'(. m other hCliBOri, and 8O must bo 



I lie. iilrrt. 



<>me tho tips of the fingers and thumb. 

 an- tin' i-u. of that woiulcrfu! i>i' co of mochan- 



]~in, the hand. Tim hand of man is jirc-cmiiiciitly // 



and tin' free -u ('.-[I of the iinn, which eitaliles it to turn in 

 MM, ami to he applied t" every jitirt of the ) 



liralile ueee-.-ory to its OCUtO 801180 of touch. Tho li]M 



ior to tho fingers in ocuteneHS of touch. A 

 .if a blind girl, whose employment caused athi.'kei:- 

 the euticlo of her fingers to such nn extent I 

 <liilieulty i" rending her New Testament in raised Jettcrs for tho 

 blind. She at lir>t tried tho unfortunate expedient of paring tho 

 skin of her finders, which niado them more acute for a short period, 

 but in tho end, of course, duller, so that she could no longer read 

 tho loved volume. With a sentiment of griff and despair she 

 -tooped to give the sacred text a farewell kiss, and so discovered 

 u new mode of studying it. Though, doubtless, this has become 

 quite a platform story, it has in it so much physiological truth 

 that there need be no hesitation in repeating it. Referring 

 Again to the probable theory that there is a separate area 

 to each nerve-unit, it will be seen that that area occupies a 

 space of six or seven square inches on the middle of tho back or 

 thigh, and only one square line on the tip of the finger. The 

 former measurement i.s approximately 1,000 times as largo as 

 the latter. It is curious how nicely tho discriminating sense of 

 touch is adjusted to those parts where it is most likely to bo of 

 K i-vice. Thus, since the angles of the body are more likely to 

 come in contact with other bodies than its depressions or the 

 middle parts of its segments, we find the skin over tho junction 

 of two long bones more able to discriminate than that over their 

 middle portion. The convexities of the joints aro usually more 

 discriminating than tho concavities ; the shoulder more than tho 

 arm-pit, and tho elbow than the inside of its joint. Yet when 

 we arrive at the hand tho reverse is tho case, for tho palmar 

 surface is more discriminating than the back part. This is for 

 tho obvious reason that wo usually avoid knocking our knuckles 

 uirainst anything, while to grasp is so natural to tho hand that 

 it is quite an instinctive action, as every infant manifests. 



A multitude of other point? of interest might be dwelt upon 

 did space permit. Thus, sensitiveness to tickling, and the im- 

 proved appreciation of objects by moving the skin over them, 

 would lead n.s into considerations quit* different from those con- 

 d with simple touch. 



The sense of heat and cold is different from that of simple 

 touch ; and sensitiveness to these has no relation to the cog- 

 ' of tactile sensations. If with a cold finger you touch your 

 brow, though tho finger will feel any roughness on the brow far 

 sooner than the converse, yet tho brow feels the finger cold far 

 more distinctly than tho finger feels it to bo worm. 



We pass on to notice briefly some yet more important appli- 

 cations of the sense of touch; and in order to do this it must bo 

 explained that tho means by which wo distinguish between hard 

 n,nd soft, rough and smooth, elastic and non-elastic, sticky and 

 flippery bodies, by which also we gain our ideas of tho form, 

 si/.e, distance, and situation of bodies, involves other sensations 

 than those of simple touch. These ideas lie at tho foundation 

 of all mathematical science which treats of time and space. 

 They aro derived from the joint senses of touch, and of what has 

 been called the " muscular sense." Simple pressure produces a 

 sensation, as when a body is placed on tho palm of tho hand 

 while its back rests on a table, but if wo remove tho table, or 

 the hand, from it, a further sense of weight is conveyed to tho 

 mind. This idea of weight is derived from tho knowledge the 

 mind has that tho muscles which hold tho hand up aro being 

 exerted. So if tho tip of tho finger bo passed along the < 

 tho table, it creates not only a consciousness of a number of 

 : neeesxivo contacts, but a.\fo a coscinnMicss that the in-.; 

 the arm ;-,nd hand are exerted, and their position and condition 

 IK being continually altered. Now tho nerves which run from tho 

 tQUBoles to the brain are quite distinct from those whioh. run from 



tho hkin whioh overliaa those muscles. These ntr . 

 quite capable of conveying definite information to th* 



irtcifttAnoe of the nerve* of ioneh. The naked arm 

 (in tho dark) may be passed through the air where it touches 

 ho range of it* weep, the petition to whioh it 

 .:. I tho amount of effort required to do all 

 known to the : some rare instance* this aenae is loat 



without any of the other* being impaired, and acaae in on record 

 of a mother who could held her child while who looked at 

 directly she looked away ahe let it fall, because the "ff^frr 

 aenae (not the muscular power) waa gone. 



Having indicated the distinction between the f""en)ar and 

 -enaea, we mu*t leave the reader to follow out for hiaaelf 

 tho complicated application* of these combined aenae* to gain a 

 knowledge of outward object*. How, for instance, both are 

 necessary to distinguish india-rubber from clay or from marble ? 

 and how tho idea* of length, extent, and solidity are gained by 

 passing tho hand in one, two, or many direction* over the outside 

 of bodies. Let him also notice the wonderful adaptation of the 

 human hand to obtain all thi* information. If he will take the 

 trouble to do this, he will be struck with the marvellous com- 

 plexity of tho idea* which come trooping into the mind when 

 so simple an action is performed a-s the grasping an object with 

 tho kand. 



LESSONS IN FRENCH. XXIII. 



SECTION XXXIX.-EEFLECTIVE VERBS CONJUGATED 

 WITH EN. 



1. THE verb aller [1, ir. ; sec 62], conjugated reflectively, 

 and preceded by tho word en, i.e., s'en aller, corresponds to the 

 English expressions to go away, to leave. 



2. INDICATIVE PRESENT OF THE VERB S'EN ALLEB, TO Go 



AWAY. 



aicay / 



4. So facher, to lc or It-coi/i- 1 CM;/.-;/, requires tho preposition 

 contre or do before tho noun or pronoun following it. 



Se facke-t-il contre votre fr.'-re ? Does lie bsconie angry \eith, your 



brother ! 



II se fache centre lui, angry \rith him. 



Vous vous fuchcz d'un rien, You yet angry at nothing. 



5. So n'jouir, to rejoice, is followed by tho preposition d. 

 Jo me rigouis de votre bomheur, / rcjic* at your tappinc**. 



6. So ploiro [4, ir. ; seo 62], to take ple 'ight tit 

 anything, to like to be in a place, takes a before its object. 



Je me plais a la campague, I ?ik to be m the country. 



Jo me plais a ctudiur, a lire, I take pleasure in *tudyi*g,\ rmdi*<j. 



7. So depecher, se hater, to make haste, take do before their 

 object. 



1), p.'chez-Tous de finir TOS lefons, .Vai haste to JliiuX your boon*. 

 I'ourquoi 110 vous di : i>ochez-vous Why do you not make hotter 

 pas? 



RKSUMK OF EXAMPLES. 



Lo marchand s'en Ta-t-il aujour- Doe* the merchant go a*ray to-day r 



d'lmi ? 



Nous iious en. allons deniain. 

 Je in't'u vais quuud jo suis 

 Pourquoi vous fackez-vous coutre 



lui? 

 II so plait a jouer, il u'rttulic ja- 



inui.s. 



Vous j)lniscz- vous chezYos parents? Do you like to It *t yor rtlatioMf 

 De quoi YOUS njouissex-YOus ? At *hat do you rtjoit* ! 



Nous nous ivjouissous de votre M' rejoice at your raccws. 



succi-s. 



Nous nous en rrjouissons. We rtjolce ad \t. 



I'ourquoi YUS d<<pC-cliez-YOU8 r H">y do you 



We are going away to-morrow. 

 I go avay cfc* J am tortd. 

 Why do you gtt angry with himf 



He tab* pbanu* in rJayiy. * 

 nerer ttudia. 



