“Pray let us hear it, papa,” cried Fanny. Mr. Seymour then recited the following lines, which he had hastily composed; the point having, no doubt, been suggested on the instant, by the remark he had just offered. “Here’s a riddle for those who delight in their gold, Which they p’rhaps may explain, when my story is told; No treasure’s so precious, and yet those who gain me, Though they give me away, will always retain me! Indeed, if they wish to increase their rich store, By giving away, they will only add more!! To Fancy’s quick eye, in what forms have I risen, And Poets declare that my birth was in heaven; To some as a flame, as a stream, or a fountain, To others I seem as a tower or mountain. Should these hints not betray me, I only can say, You do not possess me--I hope that you may.” “Why,” cried Tom, “what can that be, of which the more we give away, the more we have left?” “Ay,” added Louisa, “and that we actually _increase_ the store, by _giving away_ a part of it!” “It is some word, I think,” observed Fanny; “do you not remember that mamma asked us what that was, from which we might take away _some_, and yet that the _whole_ would remain?” “To be sure,” cried Tom, “I remember it well; it was the word _wholesome_.” Mr. Seymour here assured them, that the enigma they had just heard, did not depend upon any verbal quibble; and that as the object of its introduction was to instruct, rather than to puzzle them, he would explain it, and leave them to extract its moral, and profit by its application. “It is KNOWLEDGE,” said he. “‘_No treasure’s so precious_,’” repeated Louisa; “certainly none;--‘_and yet those who gain me, though they give me away, will always retain me_;’--to be sure,” added she. “How could I have been so simple as not to have guessed it? We can certainly impart all the knowledge we possess, and yet not lose any of it ourselves.” “By instructing others,” said Mr. Seymour, “we are certain, at the same time, of instructing ourselves, and thus to increase our store of knowledge. Let this truth be impressed upon your memory, and, after our conversations, examine each other as to the knowledge you have gained by them: you will thus not only fix the facts more strongly in your recollection, but you will acquire a facility of conversing in philosophical language.” ----- Footnote 14: To the terror-inspiring power of Pan we owe the word “_Panic_.” Footnote 15: “PAPYRO-PLASTICS,” or the Art of Modelling in Paper; from the German, by Boileau, _London_, 1825. The Author strongly recommends this interesting little work, as opening a new source of instructive amusement. His own children have derived from it many hours of rational recreation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER VII.