What was the condition of the fire, on the evening when it was left to Jonas to cover up? Describe the arrangements which he made for covering up the fire. What was the shape of the stick of wood? Why was this form convenient for the purpose? What plan did Rollo propose, instead of covering up the fire? What objection did Jonas make to this plan? What term did Jonas use to designate the process which would go forward, during the night, under the ashes? What did he say that combustion meant? Would any air at all be necessary for the slow combustion? How was the necessary air to get access to the wood? Why could not Rollo catch the fire-flies? How did Jonas describe the process of making charcoal? What did he say were the uses of charcoal? To which of these uses did Rollo intend to put his charcoal, if he should succeed in making any?
CHAPTER II.
LAMP-LIGHTING.
Rollo did not think to ask his father the reason why the philosophers use such learned language, or, as he expressed it, such hard words, for several days. Perhaps he never would have thought of it again, if his father had not happened to use the word combustible one evening, which reminded him of the term combustion, which Jonas had used. The occasion on which his father used the word was this,—
One evening, Rollo’s mother was trying to light a little lamp, to go into her bedroom for something that she wanted. There were, usually, in a little vase upon the mantel-piece, some lamp-lighters, which were long, slender rolls of paper, that Rollo had rolled up for this purpose. They were kept in this vase upon the mantel-piece in order to be always ready for use. But the vase was now empty. The last lamp-lighter had been used; and so Rollo’s mother folded up a small piece of paper, and attempted to light the little lamp, which she was going to carry into the bedroom, with that.
But the wick would not take fire, and Rollo saw that, while his mother was continuing her efforts to make it burn, the flame of the paper was gradually creeping up nearer and nearer to her fingers. At last, finding that there would soon be danger of burning her fingers, she walked across the room towards a window which was open, still endeavoring to light the lamp. But it was all in vain. She reached the window just in time to throw the end of the paper out, and save her fingers from being burned.
“Why won’t it light?” said Rollo.
Rollo’s father was sitting upon the sofa, taking his rest after the labors of the day; and when he saw that the lamp failed of being lighted, he said,—
“You will have to get a longer lamp-lighter, unless you have got some spirits of turpentine to put upon the wick.”
“Spirits of turpentine?” repeated Rollo.