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_How to acquire Knowledge._--Edmund Stone, the celebrated
mathematician, was a native of Scotland, and the son of the Duke of
Argyle's gardener. Before he attained the age of eighteen years, he
had acquired a knowledge of geometry, &c., without a master. When he
was asked by the Duke of Argyle how he had gained this knowledge, he
replied, "I first learned to read; and the masons being at work on your
house, I saw that the architect used a rule and compasses, and that he
made calculations. Upon inquiring into the uses of these things, I was
informed there was a science named arithmetic. I purchased a book of
arithmetic, and I learned it. I was told there was another science
called geometry, and I learned that also. Finding that there were good
books on these two sciences in Latin, I bought a dictionary, and learned
Latin. I also understood there were good books of the same kind in
French, and I learned French. This, my lord, is what I have done; and
it seems to me that we may learn anything when we know the twenty-four
letters of the alphabet." The Duke, pleased with this simple answer,
drew Stone out of obscurity, and provided for him an employment which
allowed of his favourite pursuit.