“I cannot do that, I am sure! I do not know what stars are made of, they twinkle so; nor what makes flowers look so pretty, and smell so sweet; nor where the wind comes from, or what it is: it touches me, but I cannot touch it.”
“You have never read ‘Evenings at Home,’” said Miss Bruce, “or you would know that ‘wind is but a quantity of air put into violent motion.’”
“But what is the air? Tell me this.”
“A clear thin fluid, certainly, and the earth is a vast ball; it would soon break its bounds, were it not attracted by the sun.”
“But who preserves it in its regular motion?” asked Miss Damer.
“Oh, Miss Damer,” exclaimed Miss Bruce, “all the stars, and the moon, and the trees, and all that we behold had but one to make them, and one to support them—the Great Almighty Maker, who gave me my voice to speak, my mind to think, and my eyes to look at the wonders of his works.”
“I wish I knew how I speak, and look, and think,” said Isabella.
“My dear little girl,” said Miss Damer, “very wise people are ignorant in many things. Learn to be good: it is the best knowledge.”
“I do say my prayers every night and morning, and I’m sure I love papa and mamma dearly, and I try to love every body.”
“This is one way certainly to be good, if you obey your parents as well as love them, and think of your prayers when you are repeating them.”