long time ago, that when the sun sets he goes to light the other side of the earth? And the little girl looked surprised.

"We speak of the sun going down," replied her mother; "of his rising and his setting; because it seems to us that he does move in this manner. But we know that the sun does not really rise, or set; and yet it is very true, that while we are away from him, he is giving light to the other side of the earth."

"How can this be?" said Louisa; "if the sun does not move round the world, how can he light the other side?

"Come to the table," said her mother, and I will help you to understand it." Louisa arose from her chair, and stood beside her in a moment. "Now take this ball of wool, continued her mother, “and pass that small knitting needle through it. We will call this ball of wool, the earth; and look, this candle shall be the sun. Now mount upon the footstool, and try if you cannot cause the light to fall upon the earth, first on one side and then on the other, without moving the sun from its place.”

Louisa was not long in finding out the way to do this. She held up the knittingneedle towards the candle, and twirling it in her fingers, round and round went the ball, each part of it coming towards the light, then going back into shadow; and

just in this manner, her mother explained to her, that day and night are caused by the motion of the earth. Louisa was delighted ; again she took up the knitting-needle, and repeated the experiment; so that several minutes passed before she thought of asking her mother any more questions.

Suddenly she laid down the ball. "But, mother," she exclaimed, "do we not see that the sun moves? At first, in the morning, he shines over the meadows behind the house; then, in the middle of the day, he is up higher in the sky; and in the evening, when he sets, he seems almost to touch those fir trees on the edge of the common."

"It does seem so to us," answered her mother; "but do you not remember one day, when we were riding very quickly in a carriage, how the hedges, and trees, and houses seemed to pass by us; and because we still kept our places, and every thing about the carriage seemed just the same, you could not at first believe that it was ourselves who were moving, instead of the different objects we saw in our way. It is just so with the motion of the earth. Though it is continually turning round, much more quickly than you can imagine; yet as every thing goes with it, ourselves and all that we see upon the earth, and even the very air that surrounds it, we do not perceive the motion; and therefore, until the truth

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is made known to us, we think that the earth stands still, while the sun goes round to give it light. Do you understand now ?" Oh, yes, dear mother," said Louisa, smiling; "when I think about our ride that day, it helps me to understand. I remember that my father laughed, because I said the trees were running away. I soon found out that they did not move. So the sun

does not move from his place in the sky; it is the earth that turns round and round. I am sure I shall remember this."

There was another pause; for Louisa liked to think over what she was taught. After some minutes' silence, however, she repeated her first question. "Now, mother, will you please to tell me why the days are become so very short?"

Before Louisa's mother replied, she took

up the knitting needle, on which still hung the ball of wool, and held it towards the candle. The little girl observed, that her mother did not hold the knitting-needle straight across, as she had done, but in a slanting direction, with one end pointing upwards, and the other towards the table. "Now, you must listen very attentively," she said to Louisa, who was looking on with earnest face. "The earth has two kinds of motion, which are both going on at the same time. One, which you have already seen, is the motion round its own

axis, or centre-it is called the diurnal, or daily motion; this causes the change of day and night, and is completed every twenty-four hours. The other, called the annual, or yearly motion, is that of the earth round the sun; and this occupies a whole year. Look; the last, the annual

motion, is something like this."

And, as she spoke, Louisa's mother began to move the ball round the candle, turning it round the knitting-needle at the same time, and thus causing the light to fall upon different parts of the ball. By the time that it was half way round the candle, she had contrived to bring the lower end of the knitting-needle forward, so that the part of the ball which had been nearest to the candle was now the farthest from it; and this she continued to do for some minutes, Louisa watching her in silence, and trying to comprehend

"Now," said her mother, "as day and night are caused by the daily motion of the earth, so the changes of the seasons, and the length of the days and nights, are caused by its yearly motion round the sun. The earth does not move faster at one time than at another; but each side has, during one half of the year, more of the sun's light and heat than it has during the other half, as you may perceive by watching the motion of this ball round the candle. When

our part of the earth is towards the sun, we have the summer season, and the long days; but when he shines most on the other side, which is always the case at this time of the year, then we have short days and wintry weather, with cold, and frost, and snow.

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So, then," cried Louisa, "the people on the other side of the world are having their summer now! It is only right that they should have their share; so I think, mother, I ought not to complain any more about the rain or the cold."

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Certainly it is wrong to do so," answered her mother. "We ought rather to praise and adore our heavenly Father, who made the world in his infinite wisdom, and who orders all things for our benefit. Remember, that the great Being who made this beautiful world, with the sun, and the moon, and all the stars that shine in the glorious firmament; remember that He has promised to be your Saviour and Friend, if you humbly pray for his favour and blessing. He has said, in his word, that those who seek him early shall find him. May you, my dear girl, be one of that happy number, and then you need fear neither danger nor evil, for God will be your refuge and strength, and a very present help in every time of trouble."

P. Q.