106 EXCURSIONS RQUND LONDON. 



proceeded along the banks of the Thames, 

 their watchful Mentor resumed the subject 

 which had been interrupted by their return 

 to London. 



Besides the comforts already enumerated, 

 we are also, said he, indebted to the union 

 of man in society, for the comfort and con- 

 venience of our habitations. Not to men- 

 tion the ejegant and lofty mansions of the 

 rich, even the lowly cottage and its simple 

 furniture require the united eiibrts of nu- 

 merous individuals in their construction. Of 

 how many conveniences must not man have 

 been deprived, had he not been able to ex- 

 tract iron ore from the bowels of the earth, 



' 



and transform it by the aid of fire into va- 



* ; 



rious useful implements ; and which, as an 

 isolated individual, it was impossible for him 

 to have accomplished ! By the aid| of the 

 axe, he is enabled to hew down the sturdy 

 oak, the thick and vigorous branches of 

 which seem to render it immoveable. This 

 most useful of all metals, "when converted 



intq 



