erhanging roofs. The walls
are of thick masonry, for these were days when in small villages and
outlying districts "every man's house was his castle," that is, every
man's house was intended, first of all, as a place of defense against
outlawry.

The entrance doors were made in two sections, an upper and a lower
part, or wing, each swinging on its own hinges. Whenever a knock came,
the householder could open the upper wing and address the caller as
through a window, first learning who he was and what his errand,
before opening the lower part to admit him. Thus an unwelcome intruder
could not press his way into the house by the door's being opened at
his knock, and the family need not be taken unawares. In many of our
modern houses we see doors made after the same plan, and known as
"Dutch doors."

The cautious old man in the picture has no intention of being imposed
upon by wandering fakirs. He has opened only the upper door and leans
on the lower wing, as on a gate, while he listens to the Rat Killer's
story. The latter must have a marvellous tale to tell of the effects
of the poison, from the collection of dead rats which he carries as
trophies in the basket fastened to the long pole in his hand. But the
householder impatiently pushes his hand back, and turns away as if
with disgust. The apprentice, grotesque little rat himself, looks up
rather awestruck at this grand, turbaned figure above him.

V

THE PHILOSOPHER IN MEDITATION

Ever since the beginning of human history there have been people who
puzzled their brains about the reasons of things. Why things are as
they are, whence we came, and whither we are going are some of the
perplexing questions they have tried to answer. Some men have given
all their lives to the study of these problems as a single occupation
or profession. Among the ancient Greeks, who were a very intellectual
nation, such men were quite numerous and were held in great esteem as
teachers. They were called philosophers, that is, lovers of wisdom,
and this word has been passed down to our own times in various modern
languages.

In the passing of the centuries men found more and more subjects to
think about. Some studied the movements of the stars and tried to
discover if they had any influence in human affairs. These men were
called astrologers, and they drew plans, known as horoscopes, mapping
out the future destiny of persons as revealed by the position of the
constellations. T