declared that they were equal.

"'They are of the same length and breadth, I acknowledge,' said the
father, 'but they are not of the same thickness.'

"'Oh, thickness! I never thought of thickness.'

"'But you should have thought of it,' said his father."

At last Frank, seeing that there was no other way to satisfy the
demands of distributive justice, went to the closet, and brought forth a
pair of scales. "By patiently adding and taking away, he at last made
them each of the same weight, and everybody was satisfied with the
accuracy of the division."

This habit of accuracy, developed in the family meals, saved them from
the temptation of wasting time in flippant conversation.

Miss Edgeworth's most striking plea for grown-up-edness versus childish
curiosity was elaborated in her story of Frank and his orrery. Frank had
read of an orrery in which the motions of the planets were shown by
ingenious mechanism. Being a small boy, he naturally desired to make
one.

For several days he almost forgot about his Roman History and Latin
Grammar and the "Stream of Time," so absorbed was he in making his
orrery. He had utilized his mother's tambour frame and knitting needles;
and wires and thread held together his planets, which were made of
worsted balls. It was a wonderful universe which Frank had created--as
many great philosophers before him had created theirs--out of the inner
consciousness. When it had been constructed to the best of his ability,
the only question was, would his universe work,--would his planets go
singing around the sun, or was there to be a crash of worlds? Frank knew
no other way than to put it to the test of action, and he invited the
family to witness the great experiment. He pointed out with solemn joy
his worsted earth, moon, and planets, and predicted their revolutions
according to his astronomy.

But the moment his father's eye rested upon it all, he saw that it was
absurd.

He "pointed out the defects, the deficiencies, the mistakes,--in one
word, the absurdities,--but he did not use that offensive word, for he
was tender of Frank's feelings for his wasted work."

"'Well, papa,' said Mary, 'what is your advice to Frank?'

"'My first advice to you, Frank,' said his father, 'and indeed the
condition upon which I now stay and give up my time to you is that you
abide steadily by whatever resolution you now make, either quite to
finish or quite to give up this orrery. If you choose to fini