He had the weakness of being proud of small discoveries--the tinier
the better; and was always sharpening his senses, as well as his
intellect, to a fine point, in order to make them. I fear that by
these means he shut out some great ones, which could not enter
during such a concentration of the faculties. He would stand
listening to the sound of goose-feet upon the road, and watch how
those webs laid hold of the earth like a hand. He would struggle to
enter into their feelings in folding their wings properly on their
backs. He would calculate, on chemical and arithmetical grounds,
whether one might not hear the nocturnal growth of plants in the
tropics. He was quite elated by the discovery, as he considered it,

that Shakspeare named his two officers of the watch, Dogberry and
Verjuice; the poisonous Dogberry, and the acid liquor of green
fruits, affording suitable names for the stupidly innocuous
constables, in a play the very essence of which is Much Ado About
Nothing. Another of his discoveries he had, during their last
lesson, unfolded to David, who had certainly contemplated it with
interest. It was, that the original forms of the Arabic numerals
were these:

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9. {original text has a picture}

the number for which each figure stands being indicated by the
number of straight lines employed in forming that numeral. I fear
the comparative anatomy of figures gives no countenance to the
discovery which Hugh flattered himself he had made.

After he had helped David out of his difficulty, he took up the