Mrs. B. Have a little patience, my love, and you shall hear. Towards the end of May, 1757, every thing was in readiness for the commencement of the work. The comfort and accommodation of the light-keepers was, in this building, most kindly considered. In the one constructed by Mr. Rudyerd, the bed-rooms had been in the lower part, and the kitchen at top; but the beds were, in that case, very apt to be damp. In the present instance, the chambers are contrived above the kitchen; the funnel for the smoke from which, passes through them, and by this means they are kept constantly warm and comfortable. I cannot give you an account of the whole admirable arrangement of this building, nor do I think it would be at all interesting to you if I could; you will be satisfied to know, that on the 9th of October, 1759, it was completed, without loss of life or limb to any person concerned in it. Not a single accident occurred during the whole time, by which the work could be said to have been retarded. The time that elapsed, between the first stroke upon the rock, and leaving the lighthouse completed, was three years, nine weeks, and three days.
Louisa. Thank you, dear mamma. Now I think I know all about it; and I feel quite as well pleased, as if I had actually been at the Eddystone, and heard the billows roar, and seen the waves dash over it, in the tremendous manner Edward says they sometimes do.
"I am much better pleased than I should be under those circumstances," said Emily, whose gentle nature preferred the calm of domestic life, to any other scene. But Ferdinand thought it would certainly be more interesting to see and hear for himself, under all circumstances, than to receive the most eloquent description from the lips of another.
"And now, pray, mamma," added he, "what does Edward mean by calling me a philosopher. I believe he only intended to laugh at me, and that I do not much like. Little boys cannot be philosophers, can they?"
"I shall answer your question by another," returned his mother: "Can little boys love to acquire wisdom?"
"O yes, mamma, certainly," said Edward, "for I love nothing so well as hearing new things, and improving myself."
"The word philosophy," my dear, "is formed from two Greek terms, which signify a lover of wisdom. You have heard your father speak of Pythagoras?"
Ferdinand. Yes, I have, mamma. I heard him once say, that he was the first who discovered the solar system.
Mrs. B. Do you understand the meaning of the term you have just used, my dear?
Ferdinand. It means, the revolution of the earth and other planets round the sun, I believe, mamma.