286 FKAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



papers upon various subjects. The Society had its 

 president and treasurer; and abstracts of its proceed- 

 ings were published in a little monthly periodical issu- 

 ing from the school press. One of the most remark- 

 able features of these weekly meetings was, that after 

 the general business had been concluded, each member 

 enjoyed the right of asking questions on any subject 

 on which he desired information. The questions were 

 either written out previously in a book, or, if a ques- 

 tion happened to suggest itself during the meeting, it 

 was written upon a slip of paper and handed in to the 

 Secretary, who afterwards read all the questions aloud. 

 A number of teachers were usually present, and they 

 and the boys made a common stock of their wisdom 

 in furnishing replies. As might be expected from an 

 assemblage of eighty or ninety boys, varying from 

 eighteen to eight years old, many odd questions were 

 proposed. To the mind which loves to detect in the 

 tendencies of the young the instincts of humanity 

 generally, such questions are not without a certain 

 philosophic interest, and I have therefore thought it 

 not derogatory to the present course of Lectures to 

 copy a few of them, and to introduce them here. They 

 run as follows: / 



What are the duties of the Astronomer Eoyal? 



What is frost? 



Why are thunder and lightning more frequent in 

 summer than in winter? 



What occasions falling stars? 



What is the cause of the sensation called * pins and 

 needles'? 



What is the cause of waterspouts? 



What is the cause of hiccup? 



If a towel be wetted with water, why does the wet 

 portion become darker than before? 



