y before the vacation commenced, his father became somewhat uneasy
about his eyes; and so he took him to a physician, to see what should be
done for them. The physician asked Rollo a good many questions, all of
which Rollo endeavored to answer as correctly as he could.

At length, the physician told Rollo's father that all he needed was to
let his eyes rest. "I think he had better not use them at all," said he,
"for reading or writing, for several weeks; and not to be out much in
the hot sun."

Rollo felt very much rejoiced at hearing this prescription, though still
he looked very sober; for he felt somewhat awed and restrained by being
in the doctor's office. There were a good many large books, in cases
upon one side of the room; and strange, uncouth-looking pictures hanging
up, which, so far as Rollo could see, did not look like any thing at
all. Then there was an electric machine upon a stand in one corner,
which he was afraid might in some way "shock" him; and some
frightful-looking surgical instruments in a little case, which was open
upon the table in the middle of the room.

In fact, Rollo was very glad to escape safely out of the doctor's
office; and he was, if possible, still more rejoiced that he had so
light and easy a prescription. He had thought that, perhaps, the doctor
would put something on his eyes, and bandage them up, so that he could
not see at all; or else give him some black and bitter medicines to
take every night and morning.

Instead of that, he said to himself, as he came out at the door, "I have
only got to keep from studying, and that will be capital. I can play all
the time. True, I can't read any story books; but, then, I am willing to
give the story books up, if I don't have to study."

Rollo had usually been obliged to read, or study, or write a little,
even in vacations; for his mother said that boys could not be happy to
play all the time. Rollo, however, thought that she was mistaken in
this. It is true that she had sometimes allowed him to try the
experiment for a day or two, and in such cases he had always, somehow or
other, failed of having a pleasant time. But then he himself always
attributed the failure to some particular difficulty or source of
trouble, which happened to come up then, but which would not be likely
to occur again.

In fact, in this opinion Rollo was partly correct. For it was true that
each day, when he failed of enjoying himself, there was some peculiar
r