to science, but, on the contrary, may be regarded as real aids and stepping-stones to it. At all events, any books are acceptable to the young which, without misleading on matters of fact, help to break down the silly prejudices of ignorance, to foster a humane and unaffected regard for the lower animals, and to enforce the recognition of their right to be. With all my heart I believe, with Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, that—

"He prayeth best who loveth best

All things both great and small:
For the dear God, who loveth us,
He made and loveth all."

And in this spirit I have endeavoured to write this little book.

HAMMERSMITH,
April, 1863.

THE FIELD, AND HOW WE CAME TO VISIT IT.

"HERE it is!" cried Frank, turning from the lane-side and pointing over an old weather-beaten five-barred gate. "Here's the field I told you of!"

Four young boys' faces looked up into his with stupid astonishment; I say four, for I have not the least doubt that the expression of my own face at that moment was as blank and stupid as that of either of my companions.

B

Frank understood as well as any of us what was passing in our minds-the utter disappointment which we all felt on seeing the field to which he had brought us, as common-place a field as ever eyes looked upon, instead of a place full of wonders, such as he had promised to show us. "What's the matter?" he said, with a smile playing about the corners of his mouth.

We were one and all almost too vexed to make a civil answer, and I think I expressed the feelings of my three companions when I at last said, rather sulkily:

"Do you call this a field worth bringing us miles to see?"

Frank laughed outright; and his merriment did not make us better pleased with him for what we thought was a silly trick he had played upon us.

Frank Arlingford was six or seven years older than the oldest of us. He was the only son of our schoolmaster, Dr. Arlingford, and had come down into the country to spend a few days before going through the ordeal of an Indian Civil-Service examination. Though he was so much older than any of us, he was the most delightful companion, and there was no sort of entertainment we would not willingly have foregone for the mere sake of being with him. From various causes, four of us boys, Ned Hammerton, Bob Grantley, Charley Wentworth, and myself, had remained at school during the midsummer vacation; all the rest of the boys had gone to their homes, and a dull time of it we should have had, but for the good-natured interest Frank took in us. Whenever he was not otherwise engaged, he was always ready to make one with us at single-wicket, he and little Bob Grantley playing against the other three of us.

But even

cricket will not afford endless amusement to restlessly active boys; and even with Frank's hearty companionship, there were days when we were at our wits' end to know what to do with ourselves in the absence of compulsory school-work.

It was on the morning of one of these days that Frank had found us mooning listlessly about the play-ground, unable to make up our minds as to how the day was to be got through, our minds meantime rapidly sinking below the zero of idle dulness.

"Why don't you go and take a walk?" inquired Frank.

"Oh! there's nowhere to go," replied Ned.

"We've seen everything there is to be seen round about here," said Bob decisively.

"Have you?" said Frank. "Everything!"

"Oh! yes," chimed in Charley; "there's so little to see in this part of the country."

"Indeed!" said Frank.

For myself I made no remark; for I saw something in Frank's face that told me the remarks already made were not the wisest that could have been uttered; and, if I had spoken my mind, I should certainly have coincided with the opinions expressed by my school-fellows as to the uninteresting character of the neighbourhood.

"Suppose we all go and see whether we can find out anything new to be seen," said Frank archly. "What do you say?"

We were all pleased enough with the idea of having a walk with Frank, who was sure to enliven the way with plenty of suggestive talk, which is just what boys like; but I don't believe that one of us expected to see any

thing that he had not seen a hundred times before, in whatever direction we might go.

In a few minutes we were outside of school-bounds. "Now," said Frank, "which way is it to be, east, west, north, or south?"

"I don't think it matters," I said; "for the country is all alike for miles and miles round; nothing but fields and lanes, with a few woods and one little brook."

"That's all there is to be seen, eh?" inquired Frank. "That's all.

We've been in every

"Except one, I think," said Frank.

direction."

We were puzzled. To us it seemed certain that there was not a lane or a tree within a circuit of two or three miles of our school-house but we were familiar with it.

"There's one place, I strongly suspect, you've never been to," said Frank; "or, if you have been to it, you've been to it with your eyes shut-for otherwise I'm sure you wouldn't have forgotten it."

Little Bob blushed as if he had been detected in the secret commission of a fault; but not one of us could guess where the place was to which Frank was alluding.

"What place is it?" I at last ventured to inquire.

"My Wonder-Field!" replied Frank.

If we had been greatly puzzled before, we were ten times more puzzled now. We tried-at least, I tried-to think that he was joking; the perfect gravity of his face, however, denied the supposition. But what could he mean? A Wonder-Field-his Wonder-Field?

"Seen all there is to be seen about this part of the country, have you?" he cried; "not quite, I think, till you have seen my Wonder-Field and all that is in it!"