28 



THE OAK, 



for the use of food, clothing, or dwellings, 

 coarse, awkward, and rude, and those more 

 important predilections of the mind for things 

 morally vile or unworthy. It were better," 

 I said, to take our choice of dining or 

 starving with a Laplander, than have the 

 body fed, as it commonly is in civilized coun- 

 tries, whilst the understanding is either poi- 

 soned with improper notions, or suffered to 

 become weak and utterly diseased, by being 

 deprived altogether of the means of mental 

 subsistence." 



Look there ! Look there !" said Amelia. 

 ^'What beautiful animal is that, springing 

 from tree to tree over our heads, and now 

 looking at us so hard ?" 



We each turned our eyes to the spot, and 

 soon discovered that most expert of all agile 



