55 



the boy, and fortunately also for Science, the Mathe- 

 matics were not torn up, but were suffered to grow 

 together with other subjects. And all said and done, 

 the lad was not the worse scholar or man of letters in 

 the end. But, truth to tell, considering the severance 

 which still subsists in education and during our early 

 years between Literature and Science, we can hardly 

 wonder if when thrown together in the after work of life, 

 they should meet as strangers ; or if the severe garb, 

 the curious implements, and the strange wares of the 

 latter should seem little attractive when contrasted with 

 the light companionship of the former. The day is yet 

 young, and in the early dawn many things look weird 

 and fantastic which in fuller light prove to be familiar 

 and useful. The outcomings of Science, which at one 

 time have been deemed to be but stumbling blocks 

 scattered in the way, may ultimately prove stepping 

 stones which have been carefully laid to form a pathway 

 over difficult places for the children of " sweetness and 

 of light." 



The instances on which we have dwelt are only a Concluding 

 few out of many in which Mathematics may be found 

 ruling and governing a variety of subjects. It is as 

 the supreme result of all experience, the framework 

 in which all the varied manifestations of nature have 

 been set, that our Science has laid claim to be 

 the Arbiter of all knowledge. She does not indeed 

 contribute elements of fact, which must be sought 

 elsewhere ; but she sifts and regulates them ; she 

 proclaims the laws to which they must conform if 

 those elements are to issue in precise results. From 

 the data of a problem she can infallibly extract 

 all possible consequences, whether they be those first 

 sought, or others not anticipated ; but she can introduce 



