"That is just what I wanted, but couldn't buy one."

"Almost any one would have given or lent you one, the same as I am going
to let you use my books. It is too bad that you have been kept back for
the want of suitable books; but what you have been over you have
learned so thoroughly that it is worth about as much to you as if you
had been through several higher arithmetics, and knew none of them well.
Have you ever studied geography?"

"No, I have not, and that is just the book I want to study most, for I
would like to know something about the world. Have you a geography?"

"Yes, I have two that I am done using. It is an interesting study. I
used to like to draw maps." And opening his desk--which, by the way,
Fred had made himself--he took out a large number of well executed maps,
and showed them to Carl, in whose eyes shone a gleam of admiration as he
looked them over, and said, almost incredulously:

"You didn't make them, did you? And with a pen, too? Why! they look like
boughten ones."

"Yes, I made them all with a pen and different kinds of ink; that
shading is all pen work, too. It is easy enough after one gets the hang
of it. The greatest trouble is to get just the right shape to the maps,
and to have everything in the right proportion."

"I should think that would be hard enough, but these letters are what
stick me. They are exactly like print."

"Oh, they are easy; I learned to print a long time ago. It is much
easier than good penmanship, for it is slow, while writing is done much
faster, so it takes a lot of practice to get the knack of it; but I like
it and can do pretty good work now. Here are some of my cards and a
little flourishing work, and this is what I am doing now"--showing Carl
a set of books on which he had been at work in his bookkeeping.

Again the little cripple was greatly interested to see the handsome work
before him--for handsome it was, as Fred, by dint of much practice, had
become a superior penman.

"I never saw such good writing," said Carl; "only what our writing
master used to do, when I went to school, and he didn't do any of these
birds either. Where did you learn to do it?"

"I learned it right here. You or anybody could do it by practising
enough."

"I wish I had known that before, then I could have practised when I had
no books to study; but I thought nobody could learn to write much
without a teacher."

"You were mistaken there; a good copy and plenty of the right