by Jacob Abbott
THE PRINCIPLES OF ORDER.
"Father," said Rollo, at the dinner-table, "do you think it will rainall the afternoon?"
"It looks like it," replied his father, "but why? Do you not enjoyyourselves in the house?"
"O yes, sir," said Rollo, "we have had a fine time this morning; butLucy and I thought that, if it did not rain this afternoon, we might goout in the garden a little."
"It may clear up towards night; but, if it does, I think it would bebetter to go down to the brook and see the freshet, than to go into thegarden."
"The freshet? Will there be a freshet, do you think?"
"Yes, if it rains this afternoon as fast as it does now, I think thebrook will be quite, high towards night."
Rollo was much pleased to hear this. He told Lucy, after dinner, thatthe brook looked magnificently in a freshet; that the banks werebrimming full, and the water poured along in a great torrent, foamingand dashing against the logs and rocks.
"Then, besides, Lucy," said he, "we can carry down our little boats andset them a sailing. How they will whirl and plunge along down thestream!"
Lucy liked the idea of seeing the freshet, too, very much; though shesaid she was afraid it would be too wet for her to go. Rollo told hernever to fear, for his father would contrive some way to get her downthere safely, and they both went to the back entry door again, lookingout, and wishing now that it would rain faster and faster, as they didbefore dinner that it would cease to rain.
"But," said Lucy, "what if it should not stop raining at all, to-night?"
"O, it will," said Rollo, "I know it will. Besides, if it should not, wecan go down to-morrow morning, you know, and then there will be abigger freshet. O how full the brook will be by to-morrow morning!"
And Rollo clapped his hands, and capered with delight.
"Yes," said Lucy, soberly, "but I must go home to-night."
"Must you?" said Rollo. "So you must. I did not think of that."
"But I think," continued he, "that it will certainly clear up to-night.I will go and ask father if he does not think so too."
They both went together back into the parlor to ask the question.
"I cannot tell, my children, whether it will or not. I see noindications, one way or the other. I think you had better forget allabout it, and go to doing something else; for if you spend all theafternoon in watching the sky, and trying to guess whether it will clearup or not, you cannot enjoy yourselves, and may be sadly disappointed atlast."
"Why, we cannot help thinking of it, father."
"You cannot, if you stand there at the back door, doing nothing else;but, if you engage in some other employment, you will soon forget allabout it."
"What do you think we had better do?" said Lucy.
"I think you had better go up and put your room and your desk all inorder, Rollo; Lucy can help you."
"But, father, I have put it in order a great many times, and it alwaysgets out of order again very soon, and I cannot keep it neat."
"That is partly because you do not put it in order right. You do notunderstand the principles of order."
"What are the principles of order?" said Lucy.
"There are a good many. I will tell you some of them, and then you maygo and apply them in arranging Rollo's things.
"One principle is to have the things that are most frequently used inthe most accessible place, so that they can be taken out and returned totheir proper places easily.
"Another good principle for you is to distinguish between the thingswhich you wish to _use_, and those you only wish to _preserve_. Theformer ought to be in sight, and near at hand. The latter may be packedaway more out of view.
"Another principle is to avoid having your desk and room encumbered withthings of little or no value, as stones you have picked up, and papers,and sticks. The place to keep such things is in the barn or shed, not inyour private room.
"Then you must arrange your things systematically, putting things of thesame nature together. Once I looked into your desk after you had put itin order, and I found that, in the back side of it, you had piled uphooks, and white paper, and pictures, and a slate, and a pocket-book ortwo, all together. You thought they were in order, because they were ina _pile_. Now, they ought to have been separated and arranged; all thewhite paper by itself in front, where you can easily get it to use; thepictures all by themselves in a portfolio; and the books should bearranged, not in a _pile_, but in a _row_, on their edges, so that youcan get out any one without disturbing the others. Those are some of theprinciples of order."
"Well, come, Rollo," said Lucy, "let us go and see your things, and tryto put them in order, right."
Rollo went, but, as he left the room, he turned round to ask his fatherif he would not come with them, and just show them a little about it.His father said he could not come very well then, but if they would tryand do as well as they could, he would come and look over their workafter it was done, and tell them whether it was right or not.
Rollo and Lucy went up into Rollo's room, and, true enough, they foundnot a little confusion there. But they went to work, and soon becamevery much interested in their employment. A great many of the thingswere new to Lucy, and as they went on arranging them, they often stoppedto talk and play. In this way several hours passed along verypleasantly; and when, at last, they had got them nearly arranged, Rollowent to the window to throw out some old stones that he concluded not tokeep any longer, when he exclaimed aloud,
"O, Lucy, Lucy, come here quick."
Lucy ran. Rollo pointed out to the western horizon, and said, "Seethere!"
There was a broad band of bright golden sky all along the westernhorizon--clear and beautiful, and extending each way as far as theycould see. The dark clouds overhead reached down to the edge of thisclear sky, where they hung in a fringe of gold, and the dazzling rays ofthe sun were just peeping under it. The rain had ceased.
Rollo and Lucy gazed at it a moment, and then ran down stairs as fastas they could go, calling out,
"It is clearing away! It is clearing away! Father, it is clearing away.We can go and see the freshet."