_Mr. B._ Indeed, my dear boy, you are much mistaken; I seldom read any book without gaining from it some new idea, or some additional information upon a subject with which I was before but imperfectly acquainted. This very morning, for instance, in the book you saw me reading at breakfast-time, I gained information that was entirely new to me. _Louisa._ Oh, pray papa, was it upon a subject we could understand, if you were to be so kind as to tell us? _Mr. B._ Yes, my dear girl, I think you might understand it, if you were to pay attention to it; although it was a treatise upon comparative anatomy I was reading. _Louisa._ Oh, then, papa, I am sure I could not understand any thing about it. I never heard of such a subject before. _Mr. B._ Is that any proof that you will not understand it when you do hear of it, Louisa? Do not allow yourself to be frightened by a hard name, my dear; it is a proof of great weakness of mind. Edward, endeavour to explain to your sister the meaning of the word anatomy. _Edward._ I believe, papa, it is the study of animal bodies; more particularly, their internal organization. _Mr. B._ Yes and it also implies the dissecting, or cutting them to pieces, to ascertain the structure and uses of their several parts. Well, Louisa, what do you now think of anatomy? You have been much pleased with your mother's description of the external structure and habits of the swallow, this morning; now pay the same attention to my account of the internal organization of the ostrich and cassowary, to- night, and I think you will find it quite within the limits of your comprehension. _Louisa._ I will, indeed, attend, papa; and I hope I shall understand you. _Mr. B._ The more minutely, my dear children, you investigate the hidden wonders of nature, the more firmly will you be convinced of the unlimited power, as well as infinite mercy, of its Supreme Author. The superintending providence of God, is as plainly manifested in the provision made for the meanest reptile, as it is in the wonderful formation of man. Each bird, beast, fish, and insect, is endowed with powers best suited to its wants, and most calculated to promote its enjoyment. In the cassowary of Java, a region of great fertility, the colon is no more than one foot long; whilst in the ostrich, doomed to seek its food in the wide and sandy deserts of the African continent, it is _forty-five_ feet in length. "Pray, papa, what is the _colon?_? enquired Louisa.