284 UP THE NORTH RIVER. 



the other depends in some degree upon the place we hap- 

 pen to be in when we use it. That's a curious philological 

 phenomenon." 



" Philological ?" repeated John. 



" Yes," replied Lawrence ; " philology is the science that 

 treats of the origin and the meaning of words, and the 

 changes they undergo in the spelling and the use of them. 

 It is a very curious subject. You will be very much in- 

 terested in studying it one of these days, when you get 

 older." 



" Should not I be interested in it now ?" asked John. 



" Perhaps so," replied Lawrence. "You might try. You 

 might begin by looking into the histories of New York and 

 of the early settlements of this country, and see if you can 

 find out when and why this river received its two names, 

 and also see if you can think of any other cases where we 

 have two different names for the same thing, according to 

 the place we happen to be in when we are speaking of it." 



"Do you know of any such cases?" asked John. 



"I know of one," replied Lawrence. "When we are not 

 in the cars, we commonly call the stopping-places of the 

 trains depots, but when we are in them we call such places 

 stations. We never ask, for example, when we are travel- 

 ing, ' What depot is this ?' or say that we are going to stop 

 at the next depot, but always stativn. And yet, when out 

 of the cars, at a hotel, or in the streets of a town, people 

 almost always say depot." 



" That's curious," said John ; "I wonder what the reason 

 is!" 



"I think there must be some reason, or at least some ex- 

 planation of such a usage," replied Lawrence. " It would 

 be a good plan for you, some time when you have nothing 

 to do, to think of it, and see if you can study it out." 



Lawrence did not think it at all necessary that he should 



