mind becomes confused, its powers are weakened, and the grouping has
again to commence under serious disadvantages.

To illustrate this point, let us suppose a child introduced to the
bustle and sports of a common fair. Here he sees thousands both of
familiar and strange objects, all of which are calculated to excite his
mind to increased attention; and yet the child, while greatly amused, is
still perfectly at his ease. There is not the slightest indication of
his being incommoded by the numerous objects about him; no confusion of
ideas, no distraction of mind, no mental distress of any kind; but, on
the contrary, in the midst of so much to see and to learn, the young
looker-on is not only at his ease, but appears to be delighted. The
reason of this is, that he is not by any external force compelled to
attend to _all_ that he sees; and Nature within directs him to attend to
no more than he is able to group, or reiterate in his thoughts. We shall
endeavour to examine this condition of the child's mind in such
circumstances a little more particularly.

The child in the circumstances supposed, must either be a spectator in
general, or an examiner in particular; in other words, he must either
employ himself with the principle of combination or grouping, or with
the principle of individuation,--but he never attempts to employ himself
with both at the same time. If he amuses himself as an observer in
general, he is engaged in grouping objects which are already familiar to
him; but while he is so engaged, he never directs his attention to any
one unknown object for the purpose of examining it for the first time by
itself. He passes over all the minute and unknown objects with a glance,
and attends only to the grouping or associating of those which are
already familiar. Nature induces him, while thus employed, to pass by
all these minute and unknown objects; because, if he were to do
otherwise, his observation in general would instantly be recalled, and
his whole attention would be monopolized by the object which he had
resolved to examine, to the exclusion of every other for the time. This,
however, is not what he seeks; and he employs himself entirely in the
grouping of things which are already known. His mind is left at ease,
and in the possession of all its powers; he looks only at those things
which please him; and he passes over all the others without effort or
difficulty.

But if the boy shall come to something stra