RSON.

"I wish to gracious goodness that Thornton J. Seabury would make better
use of his time!"

That was the earnest exclamation of Mrs. Seabury, mother of Thornton;
and it was her earnest conviction that her son was going to turn out to
be an idle, unpractical, shiftless young man.

"It's not that he's lazy," said Mrs. Seabury, when, in the distress of
her heart, she went to consult the minister about her boy. "No, he's not
exactly what you might call lazy; but he works on useless things. He
spends hours and hours in studying things that may be very interesting
and very fine to know; but what good will they ever do him? He's got to
make his way in the world, and I'd like to know who's going to pay him
for learning the names of the stars, and orbits, and diurnal motions,
and such things as he talks about! He ought to be giving his attention
to something that will help him to earn an honest living."

"But, my dear Mrs. Seabury," said the Rev. Thomas Tatter, who was a man
of education, "there is hardly any study that cannot be turned to
account in earning a living; though I must admit that I can't help
admiring your son for loving a study for its own sake."

"Well, I'd admire him too," said Mrs. Seabury, "if he loved some such
study as civil engineering or architecture."

"Yes, I dare say that these would promise a more brilliant future for
him: but we must admit the fact that his gifts are for astronomy, and
you know it is almost impossible to overcome the impulses of a boy's
natural gifts. Even as an astronomer a man may earn a living."

"Well, I suppose there's no help for it," sighed Mrs. Seabury.

All this time, Thornton, grieved at his mother's opposition to his
favorite pursuit, was nevertheless more passionately attached to it than
ever. From early childhood he had always regarded the heavens with
delight and devouring wonder. What were those beautiful golden stars
that filled the splendid dome of night with their gentle radiance! Why
had God put them there, and what were they doing? Little by little he
began to absorb the elementary facts of astronomy, and after a time he
found that he could make no further progress without becoming a thorough
mathematician. So he set himself resolutely to work, and soon knew all
that his school-teacher, a college graduate, could teach him. Thornton
really was a complete master of geometry, trigonometry, higher algebra,
and even the more advanced branches of mathemati