HOME AT THE HAVEN.

 him. It was quite a museum that little room, and all
 around it were curiosities, which Captain Osborne had
 brought home from different parts of the world in his
 voyages. Shells, pieces of branch coral, sea-weed,
 ostrich-eggs, stuffed birds, and such objects of natural
 history, but also things even more interesting to Ed-
 ward, such as pictures and models of celebrated ships,
 telescopes, a quadrant, and a mariner's compass, both
 of which latter things he wished much to understand.
 Here, too, it was that Captain Osborne kept his fishing-
 tackle, and made his own flies for angling; which was,
 perhaps, the reason why he did not like people going
 into his room when he was away, for fear they should
 disturb the little delicate materials with which he made
 them. Edward passed several hours of each day with
 his uncle in this room, when he was not at work in the
 garden with him, or accompanying him in a ride in his
 gig. No companion that Edward had ever had, of his
 own age, was half so entertaining to him as his uncle,
 and he liked to be with him too, because he was always
 learning from him the kind of knowledge that was
 particularly interesting to him. His uncle, for instance,
 could tell him everything about ships and navigation
 that he wanted to know. Hie learnt from him the
 names of all the parts of a vessel, and the names of the
 different kinds of vessels, and how to distinguish them.
 He had long wished to understand rightly the difference
 between a brig, a frigate, a cutter, and a schooner; to
 say nothing of all the names for the different sails and
 masts, which he often found alluded to in books, with-
 out exactly knowing what they meant. He was never
tired of asking questions about such matters; and it
seemed as if Uncle Osborne was never tired of giving
explanations. Then what interesting stories his uncle
could tell him about his adventures at sea, and about