Rollo's Experiments

As Rollo was speaking these words, in order to show Jonas more exactly how he meant to perform the operation, he took hold of the flower-pot with both his hands, and slid it suddenly off of the seat. Now it happened that the poor bees that were inside, chilled with the dampness and cold, were nearly all crawling about upon the seat; and when Rollo suddenly moved the flower-pot along, forgetting for a moment what there was inside, the rough edges of the flower-pot bruised and ground them to death, and they dropped down upon the walk, some dead, some buzzing a little, and one trying to crawl.

“There now, Rollo,” said Henry, in a tone of great disappointment and sorrow, “now you have killed all our bees!”

Rollo looked astonished enough. He had no idea of such a catastrophe; and he and Henry both at the same instant took up the honey-pot to see if any of the bees had escaped destruction. Their eyes fell, at the same moment, upon one solitary bee that was standing upon the inside of the flower-pot. His attention had been arrested by the sudden glare of light, and so, just as Rollo and Henry first observed him, and before they had time to put the flower-pot down again, he spread his wings and flew out towards them.

Down dropped the flower-pot. The boys started. “Run!” exclaimed Jonas, following them with shouts of laughter, “run, run, boys, for dear life!” and away they all went towards the garden gate.

The bee, however, was not following them. His only object was to get away. He flew in another direction; but Rollo, Henry, and Jonas did not stop to look behind them. They kept on running, until Jonas was well on his way towards the pasture, and Rollo and Henry were safe in the shed. And this was the last time that Rollo ever attempted to make up a hive of bees.

JONAS’S MAGNET

One evening, after tea, Rollo was seated upon his cricket, before the fire, reading. His mother was upon the sofa, also reading, and so the room was very still.

By and by, Rollo finished his book. It was quite a small story-book, and he had been reading it some time, and so he had got to the end. He laid the book down, therefore, upon the table, and began to consider what he should do next.

“Mother,” said Rollo, “what shall I do?”

“I don’t know,” said his mother; “you must contrive some way to amuse yourself, for I am busy reading, now.”

Rollo sat still, looking at the fire a few minutes, and then he thought he would go out into the kitchen, and see what Nathan was about. Accordingly, he went into the kitchen. Dorothy was at work, making some bread for the next day. Jonas was bringing in wood. Nathan was sitting upon the floor before the fire, very much interested in looking at something which he held in his hand.

“What have you got, Nathan?” said Rollo.

“I am seeing this nail stick on,” said Nathan.

“Stick on!” said Rollo; “what does the child mean?” He accordingly came up to Nathan, and found that he had a smooth, flat bar of steel, not very regular in its shape, in one hand, and a nail in the other; and he was amusing himself with applying the nail to the bar of steel, and seeing it adhere.

“It is a magnet,” said Rollo. “What a big magnet! Where did you get it, Nathan?”

“Jonas gave it to me,” said Nathan.

“Let me try it,” said Rollo. And he stooped down by the side of Nathan, and offered to take away the magnet.

But Nathan held it off upon one side, and said, “No, no; I must have it. Jonas gave it to me.”

“Well, Thanny,” said Rollo, “I won’t take it away; only you let me sit here and see you play with it.”

So Rollo sat still, and did not molest Nathan, but only looked on and saw him touch the little nail to the bar, and leave it hanging there. Rollo knew it was a magnet, for he had heard of magnets, though he had never before had an opportunity of seeing one. As Nathan found that Rollo was not going to take the magnet away from him, he soon ceased to appear afraid of him, and presently he let Rollo have the magnet in his hands. Rollo said he only wanted to look at it a moment, to see what made the nail stick on.

He examined the steel bar carefully. It was not quite a foot long, and was shaped like a common flat ruler; only, instead of being straight from end to end, it was swelled out a little along in the middle. On looking at the bar very attentively, Rollo observed some very fine, hair-like lines, crossing each other, so as to produce the appearance of fine net-work. Rollo supposed that this was what caused the magnet to take up the nail. He observed that there was one place, near the middle of the bar, where this net-work was more distinct and strong than in the other parts of the bar, and so he put the nail there, expecting that it would be attracted very strongly. But he was surprised at observing that it was not attracted there at all. He then tried it at different places, all along the bar, and he found that it was not attracted any where in the middle, but only at the two ends.

While he was wondering what could be the cause of this, he heard the front door open, and he knew that his father had come home. So he jumped up and ran off into the entry, Nathan following him, to show his father the magnet. His father was busy putting away his coat and hat, and told the boys to go into the parlor, and he would come in, in a moment, and see it. When he came in, he sat down before the fire, and took the magnet, Rollo and Nathan standing by his side, and looking on with eager curiosity.

Rollo’s father examined the magnet from end to end, very carefully, for some time, without speaking. At length, he said,

“It is an old file.”

“An old file!” said Rollo.

“Yes,” said his father. “Some of Jonas’s work, I suppose.”

“Yes, sir,” replied Rollo; “at least it is Jonas’s magnet.”

“There you see the marks,” continued his father, pointing to the net-work, “of the old file teeth. Jonas ground them nearly out.”

“Are those the marks of the file teeth?” said Rollo. “I thought it was the magnetism.”

“No,” said his father, smiling, “those are the traces of the file teeth, undoubtedly. You may go and ask Jonas how he got his magnet.”

So away went Rollo and Nathan in pursuit of Jonas. They found him in the kitchen, just arranging his wood for the morning fires. They asked him where he got his magnet, and Jonas replied as follows:—

“Why, the other day, I went into town with your father’s watch, to get a new crystal put in; and when I was at the watchmaker’s, I saw a curious-shaped piece of iron hanging up. I asked the man what it was. He said it was a magnet, that he kept to touch needles. Then he gave me a nail, and let me see how the magnet would attract it. He told me, too, that if I had a knife, and would rub my knife on the magnet, the knife would attract, too; and so I did rub it, and I found that my knife would attract the nail, though not very strong. Then I asked him if any piece of iron would attract, after it was rubbed upon the magnet; and he said that iron would not, but that any piece of steel would. He told me that if I would bring a larger piece of steel, when I came after the watch, he would rub it for me, and then I should have a larger magnet. I told him I had not any steel. But he said any old file would do, and that I might grind the sides and edges a little, and make it smooth.

“So, when I came home, I found some old files in the barn. Some were three-cornered, and some were flat. I thought the flat would be the best shape, and I asked your father if he would give me one of them. He said he would; and so I ground the ends square, and the sides smooth, upon the grindstone. Then, when I went after the watch, the man rubbed it for me, and it makes a very good magnet.”

Then Rollo and Nathan went back, and repeated this story to their father.

“Very well,” said their father; “that was a very good way to get a magnet. I remember giving Jonas the file; but I did not know what he wanted it for.”

“I think a magnet is a very curious thing,” said Rollo. “See how the nail sticks to it!”

“There are a great many other things curious about it,” said his father, “besides that.”

“What?” said Rollo.

“I should want some other apparatus to show you,” replied his father.

“And can’t you get the other apparatus?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps mother might get it. Yes, I’ll tell you what we will do. I will name some things which mother may prepare, and you may get them together upon the table in the kitchen, when they have got the kitchen all in order. Then I will come out, and give you all, out there, a lecture upon magnetism.”

Rollo and Nathan were exceedingly pleased with this plan; and even Rollo’s mother looked somewhat gratified. She said she did not know much about magnetism, and she meant to go out into the kitchen herself, and hear the lecture.

“And what things shall we get?” said Rollo.

“Two or three needles,” replied his father, “some fine, and some coarse; some thread, a saucer nearly full of water, a cork, the sand-box off of my table, and a sheet of white paper. Put them all in good order upon the table, and set the chairs around it. Then, when all is ready, come and tell me.”

So Rollo’s mother put down her book and went to help Rollo collect the articles which his father had said he should require. She began to look into her needle book for the needles and thread, while Rollo went for the sand-box. When Rollo came back with the sand-box and the sheet of paper in his hand, he found Nathan with his high chair, at the kitchen door, trying to get in.

“What are you doing here, Nathan?” said Rollo.

“I want to get my high chair in,” he replied.

The truth was, that Nathan, having learned from the conversation what was going on, was eager to secure a good seat for himself, and so he was attempting to drag out the high chair which was kept in the parlor for him to sit up to the table in.

Rollo, as he happened to feel rather good-natured than otherwise, just then, after putting down his things, helped Nathan get his chair through the door, and placed it up at the kitchen table, which stood out in the middle of the floor. He then went into a closet, and opened a little drawer, where he knew corks were kept, and brought out one or two, selecting the cleanest and softest that he could find. When he came back, he found Nathan, pouring out some black sand, from the sand-box, upon the sheet of paper.

“Now, Nathan,” exclaimed Rollo, running up to him, and seizing the sand-box, “you are a very naughty boy.” And he attempted to take away the sand-box violently.