Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1855-03-01

conquering Euclid and he often EXPIRE, sed
his opinion that, were Euclid living then, he
could "give the old geometrician hard tus.
/ sell" He seemed mott comprehend that
( different minds were made with different ca.
4 pacities, and that what one mind grasped
with ease, another Of equal power would fail
! to comprehend. Hence, because Jei ry pro-
! gressed rapidly in his mathematical studies
and could already survey piece Of land c'
many angles, he imaginsd that because Sam
uel made no progress in the SAME branch he
| was idle and careless, and treated him accor.
dinghy. =, He never candidly conyersed. with
his younger son, with view to ascertain
the true bent Of his mind but he had his own
standard oftbe power Of all minds, and he
pertinaciously adhered to it.
There was another thing that Mr.. Win
fthrop could not see, that Samuel was ponder
ing upon such profitable matter was interes-
ting to him, and that he was scarcely ever
idle; nor did his father see, either, that if he
ever wished his boy to become a mathemati-
cian, he was pursuing the very course to pre-
vent such result. Instead of endeavoring
to make the study interesting to the child, he
was makingi it obnoxious.
The dinner hour came and Samuel had
mot worked out the sum. His father was an
CRY and obliged the boy to go without his
dinner, at the same time telling him that he
was an idle lazy child.
| Poor Samuel left the kitchen and went up
to his chamber, and there he sat and cried.-
At length his mind seemed to pass from the
wrong he had suffered at the hand of his par
ent, and took another turn, and the grfei
marks left his face. There was large fire
| in the room below his chamber, so that he
was not very cold; and getting up, he went to
a small closet, and from beneath lot Of old
tcls,hes he dragged forth. some long strips Of
! wood, and commenced whiting twas not
! for mere 2aslime that he whittled, for he was
| fashioning some curious affair from these pie.
ces of wood. He had bits of wire, little
scraps of tin plate, pieces of twne, and doz-
ems of small wheels, that he made himself
and he seemed to be working to get them to;
gether after some peculiar fashion oe his
own.
Half the aitern ron had thus passed away
| when his sister entered his chamber. She
had her apron gathered up in her hand, aud
after closing the door softly behind her, she
approached the spot where her brother sat.
.Here, .Sammy--see,I hive brought ,yer
something to cut. know vou must be hun
A.! cry.
! AS she spoke, she opened her apron, took
out four cakes and piece OF pie and cheese
| The bey was hungry, and he hesitated not tc
avail himself of his sister's kind offer. He
kissed her as he took the. cakes, and thanked
| her.
sob, what pretty thing that is you are
making!" uttered Fanny, as she gazed upon
the result oe her brothers. labors. "Won
you give it to me after it is done!"
| "Not this one, sister, returned the boy
( with snilej "but as soon as
get time will make you one equally al
pretty"
Fanny thanked her brother, and shortly af
terwards let the room, and the boy resumed
his work.
At the end of the week. the various mate
rialst that had been subject to Samucls jack.
knife and pinchers had assumed form and
comeliness. and they were jointed and groov-
ed together in curious combination.
The embryo philosopher set the machine
for it looked much like machine--upon the
/ floor, and then stool off and gazed upon it,
His eyes cleaned with peculiar glow Of
I satisfaction, and he looked proud and happy.
While yet he stood and gazed upon the child
of his labOrs, the door Of the chamber open
ed, and his father entered.
! .'What-ari you not studyingr exclaimed
I, Mr.. Winthrop, IS he noticed :.the boy stand
ing in the middle o! the floor.
Il Samuel trembled when he heard his faith
er's voice, and he turned pale with fear.
\ sHa, what is thisr said Mr.. Winthrop, as
4 he caught sight ofthe curious construction
on the floor. This is the secret Of your idle.
ness. Now see how it is that you cannot
master your studies, You spend your time
in making playhouses aud,fy-pens. I'll see
! whether you'll learn to attend to your lessor
or not. There"
AS the father uttered that common njunc
tion, he placed his foot uponthe oejsct of hi
dspeasure. The boy uttered quick cry
and sprang forward, bot TOO late. The curl
t Gus construction was crushed to atoms--th'
labor Of iong weeks. Looking upon thu
mass Of ruins, and then covering his fac,
, Win MS ndHus NC uuTst iHto icdtS.
'Ain't you ashamed! said Mr.. Winthrop
: ga great boy likeyeu to spend your time OF
/. such clap-traps, and then cry about it, be
cause choose that you attend to your stu
I dies. Now go out 10 the barn and help Jerr!
> shell corn"
: The 10Y was too full of grief to make an,
o explanation, and without word hs left hi
r chamber; Sut for long days afterwards he wa
t sad and down-hearted.
Samuel, said Mr. Winthrop one day sfte
n. the spring had opened, Il have seen Nj
Young, and heis willing to take you as a
:, apprentice. Jerry and can get along o
: the farm, and | think the best thing you ca
., do is to learn che blacksmith's trade. hav
given up all hopes of ever making suryeyc
r cut Of you, and ifyou had tarm you woul
= not know how tomeasuve it or lay it OUT
s, Jerry will now soon be able to take my plac
n as surveyor, and have already made arrange
% ments for having him sworn and obtainin