e had never spoken
to him in his life, but for all that Tode knew him well, nodded
complacently to himself whenever he chanced to meet Mr. Birge on the
street, and always pointed him out as his minister. Very speedily was
his resolution taken to attend this lecture. He didn't know the subject,
and indeed that was a matter of very slight moment to him. Whatever was
the subject he felt sure of its being a fine one, since Mr. Birge had
chosen it. Well he went, and as the lecture was delivered before one of
the benevolent societies of the city, the subject was the broad and
strong one, "Christian Giving." Tode came home with some new and
startling ideas. He burst into the little kitchen where the mother sat
placidly knitting her stockings, and the daughter sat knitting her brows
over her arithmetic lesson, and pronounced his important query:

"Winny, what's tenths?"

"What's what?"

"Tenths. In counting money, you know, or anything. How much is tenths?"

"Oh, you haven't got to that yet; it is away over in the arithmetic."

"But, I tell you, I've _got_ to get at it right away--it's necessary. I
don't want it in the arithmetic; I want to do it."

Which was and always _would_ be the marked difference between this boy's
and girl's education. She learned a thing because it was in the book; he
learned a thing in order to use it.

"What do you want of tenths, anyhow? Why can't you wait until you get
there?"

"'Cause things that they ought to be helping to do can't wait till I've
got there. I need to use one of them right away. Come, tell me about
them."

"Well," said Winny, "where's your slate? Here are six-tenths, made
so--6/10."

Tode looked with eager yet bewildered eyes. What had that figure six on
top of that figure ten, to do with Mr. Birge's earnest appeal to all who
called themselves by the name of Christian to make one-tenth of their
money holy to the Lord?

"What's one-tenth then?" he said at last, hoping that this was something
which would look less puzzling.

"Why, _this_ is one tenth." And Winny made a very graceful one, and a
neat ten, and drew a prim bewildering little line between them.

"That is the way to write it. Ten-tenths make a whole, and one-tenth is
written just as I've shown you."

"But, Winny," said Tode, in desperation, "never mind writing it. I don't
care _how_ they write it; tell me how they _do_ it."

"How to _do_ it! I don't know what you mean. Ten-tenths make a whole, I
tell yo