ne of the best
things in the world. I will tell you an entertaining story on this very
subject."

"Do, papa, I should like to hear it very much; I am so fond of stories."

"But this is a true one, Charles, which makes it all the better. You
have seen in your map of America, a country called Peru?"

"Yes," answered Charles; "I saw it this morning, when I was saying my
geography lesson to mamma; I had to say all the countries in South
America, and Peru was one of them."

"Well, this country was once governed by a king who was called an Inca,
and his name was Atabalipa; but although he was a king, he knew neither
how to read nor write, for reading and writing were arts that were not
known in America at that time."

"What are arts, papa?"

"Arts are those things which men have taught themselves to do by their
own skill and invention; making tables and chairs, is an art; Printing
is an art, and a very clever art it is; building is an art; and reading
and writing are arts; but at the time I am speaking of, there were very
few arts known in America, for it was mostly inhabited by savages; and
even in Peru, where they were not savages, they were quite ignorant;
they had no books, and would not have known how to read them if they
had, and they thought they were the only people in the world besides the
savages."

"Then, I dare say, they thought themselves very clever fellows," said
Charles, "for all they could not read or write; for you know, papa, if
they thought there was nobody in the world but them and the savages,
they would not know there were any people cleverer than themselves."

"No, I have no doubt they were quite satisfied with themselves, my dear,
and not without reason, for they had taught themselves many useful
things; but at last they found out that there were people in the world
who were cleverer than they were as you shall hear. There was a Spanish
soldier, named Pizarro, who happened to hear that there was a great deal
of gold and silver to be found in Peru; so he thought he would go there,
and try if he could not make himself rich. Pizarro was a fierce, cruel
man, but he had been brought up in total ignorance; for his mother was a
very poor woman, and could not afford to send him to school, therefore
he had never learned to read or write. However he could fight, and so he
took a number of other soldiers with him, and went to Peru, where the
people were so surprised at the sight of him and his men, who