one of his father's fields, from the roots of trees growing in the next. But, this was a distress to which his kind parents never subjected him, except in cases of the most absolute necessity.

CHAPTER II.

REMARKABLE PARTICULARS OF HIS

CHILDHOOD.

ERNST was now in his sixth

year:

from being fed by others, he had therefore long since arrived at the dignity of feeding himself; and accordingly, instead of receiving his food separated from its native receptacle, he had the happiness of being permitted to receive it in that receptacle, and to serve himself to its contents. A field of endless interest now began to reveal itself before him. He delighted in the exclusive property of his dish, and in the compact form in which it always lay before him. He admired the shape and curvature of the basin or cavity which contained it; the polish of its surface, the delicacy of its texture, and the uniform resemblance which those

of the same species always bore to each other. He was led on to compare those of the calf with those of the different kinds of deer; and these, with those of hares, rabbits, and squirrels; and these, again, with those of all the different birds which were brought to the table of his parents; for all heads were now considered as the rightful property of Ernst, who could rarely be induced to taste any portion of the flesh. From all the various heads whose contents he had consumed, he selected one or more of each kind, which he carefully washed and cleansed; and, having naturally a very orderly intelligence, he arranged them with great. judgment upon a shelf in a small light closet, and in a line of gradation from the largest to the smallest. In this closet he would pass a considerable part of every day, surveying, scrutinizing, and measuring each; comparing the internal surfaces with the external; and thus acquiring an intimacy with the several con

formations, and observing the minutest differences with the microscopic eye of his opening age. Whilst inspecting these, his fingers would travel to the corresponding parts of his own head; and, sitting before a looking-glass, he would compare his own cranion with the subject before him, at the same time directing another glass behind his head, which put him in complete ocular possession of the entire spheroid.

Hitherto, however, he had never seen his food until it was dressed, and presented at the table. He now felt a longing desire to inspect it before it underwent that change. He therefore sought, and readily obtained permission, to examine the heads before they were dressed; and he accordingly carried daily into his closet, early in the morning, those which were to be dressed for his dinner at noon. The accurate knowledge he had already acquired of the general form and structure of the cranion, enabled him easily to at

tain his object. Being singularly expert for his years, and what is called very neat-fingered, and having remarked the natural division of the cranion by the sutures; he artfully inserted the point of a sharp-hooked nail-knife, following the line of the sutures, with more or less force according to the hardness of the subject. By this means he gently detached and raised a portion of the cranion, which shewed him the brain in its natural state and position. If there was only a single subject, he contented himself with this partial inspection; and restoring the portion of the bone, and firmly tying up the whole with a strong twine, he gave it back to the cook to prepare for his dinner. If the subjects were more than one, as was generally the case of the smaller game, both quadrupeds and birds, he would select one on which he might indulge an unlimited investigation. He would then remove successively every portion of the cranion, until the entire