EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF THE MICROSCOPE. 59 



boundless fertility upon the barren shore ; and so, by teaching 

 them to make full use of that limited sphere in which they no-w- 

 are, make them faithful in a fe-w things, that they may be fit 

 hereafter to be rulers over much." What can be a more effectual^- 

 means of turning such opportunities to the best account, than 

 the employment of an aid -which not only multiplies almost 

 infinitely the sources of interest presented by the objects -with 

 -which our eye* are most familiar,- but finds inexhaustible life 

 •where all seems lifeless, ceaseless activity where all seems motion- 

 less, perpetual change where all seems inert ? Turn, on the other 

 hand, to the young who are growing up in our great towns, in 

 the heart of the vast Metropolis, whose range of vision is limited 

 on every side by bricks and mortar, who rarely see a green leaf 

 or a fresh blade of grass, and whose knowledge of animal life is 

 practically limited to the dozen or two of creatures that every- 

 where attach themselves to the companionship of Man, and shape 

 their habits by his. To attempt to inspire a real Ibve of IN^ature 

 by books and pictures, in those who have never felt her influences, 

 is almost hopeless. A child may be interested by accounts of her 

 wonders, as by any other instructive narrative ; but they have 

 little of life or reality in his mind, — far less than has the story of 

 adventure which appeals to his own sympathies, or even than the 

 fairy tale which charms and fixes his imagination. But here the ( 

 Microscope may be introduced with all the more advantage, as 

 being almost the only means accessible under such circumstances, 

 for supplying what is needed. A single rural or even suburban 

 walk will afford stores of pleasurable occupation for weeks, in 

 the examination of its collected treasures. A large glass jar may 

 be easily made to teem with life, in almost as many and as varied 

 forms as could be found by the unaided eye in long and toilsome 

 voyages over the wide ocean ; and a never-ending source of 

 amusement is afforded by the observation of their growth, their 

 changes, their movements, their habits. The school-boy thus 

 trained, looks forward to the holiday which shall enable him to 

 search afresh in some favorite pool, or to explore the wonders of 

 some stagnant basin, with as much zest as the keenest sportsman 

 longs for a day's shooting on the moors, or a day's fishing in the 

 best trout stream ; and with this great advantage over him, — 

 that his excursion is only the beginning of a fresh stock of 

 enjoyment, instead of being in itself the whole. 



This is no imaginary picture, but one which we have constantly 

 under our eyes ; and no ai-gument can be needed to show the 

 value of such a taste, to such, at least, as have set clearly before 

 their minds the objects at which they should aim in the great 

 work of Education. For we have not merely to train the intel- 

 lectual powers and to develope the moral sense ; but to form those 

 tastes — those " likes and dislikes" — which exercise a more abiding 

 and a more cogent influence on the conduct, than either the 

 reason or the mere knowledge of duty. It is our object to foster 



