Who does not love the sunbeams, and feel brighter and merrier as
he watches them playing on the wall, sparkling like diamonds on
the ripples of the sea, or making bows of coloured light on the
waterfall? Is not the sunbeam so dear to us that it has become a
household word for all that is merry and gay? and when we want to
describe the dearest, busiest little sprite amongst us, who wakes
a smile on all faces wherever she goes, do we not call her the
"sunbeam of the house"?

And yet how little even the wisest among us know about the nature
and work of these bright messengers of the sun as they dart
across space!

Did you ever wake quite early in the morning, when it was pitch-
dark and you could see nothing, not even your own hand; and then
lie watching as time went on till the light came gradually
creeping in at the window? If you have done this you will have
noticed that you can at first only just distinguish the dim
outline of the furniture; then you can tell the difference
between the white cloth on the table and the dark wardrobe beside
it; then by degrees all the smaller details, the handles of the
drawer, the pattern on the wall, and the different colours of all
the objects in the room become clearer and clearer till at last
you see all distinctly in broad daylight.

What has been happening here? and why have the things in the room
become visible by such slow degrees? We say that the sun is
rising, but we know very well that it is not the sun which moves,
but that our earth has been turning slowly round, and bringing
the little spot on which we live face to face with the great