poring over books, and when they came to try to _do_ anything, they were
no better than baboons!"

"You are quite right," retorted Jack; "and I have seen a lot of fellows
who never looked into books at all, who knew nothing about anything
except the things they had actually seen, and very little they knew even
about these. Indeed, some were so ignorant that they did not know that
cocoa-nuts grew on cocoa-nut trees!"

I could not refrain from laughing at this rebuke, for there was much
truth in it, as to Peterkin's ignorance.

"Humph! maybe you're right," answered Peterkin; "but I would not give
_tuppence_ for a man of books, if he had nothing else in him."

"Neither would I," said Jack; "but that's no reason why you should run
books down, or think less of me for having read them. Suppose, now,
Peterkin, that you wanted to build a ship, and I were to give you a long
and particular account of the way to do it, would not that be very
useful?"

"No doubt of it," said Peterkin, laughing.

"And suppose I were to write the account in a letter instead of telling
you in words, would that be less useful?"

"Well--no, perhaps not."

"Well, suppose I were to print it, and send it to you in the form of a
book, would it not be as good and useful as ever?"

"Oh, bother! Jack, you're a philosopher, and that's worse than anything!"
cried Peterkin, with a look of pretended horror.

"Very well, Peterkin, we shall see," returned Jack, halting under the
shade of a cocoa-nut tree. "You said you were thirsty just a minute ago;
now, jump up that tree and bring down a nut,--not a ripe one, bring a
green, unripe one."

Peterkin looked surprised, but, seeing that Jack was in earnest, he
obeyed.

"Now, cut a hole in it with your penknife, and clap it to your mouth, old
fellow," said Jack.

Peterkin did as he was directed, and we both burst into uncontrollable
laughter at the changes that instantly passed over his expressive
countenance. No sooner had he put the nut to his mouth, and thrown back
his head in order to catch what came out of it, than his eyes opened to
twice their ordinary size with astonishment, while his throat moved
vigorously in the act of swallowing. Then a smile and look of intense
delight overspread his face, except, indeed, the mouth, which, being
firmly fixed to the hole in the nut, could not take part in the
expression; but he endeavoured to make up for this by winking at us
excessively with his right e