About this period Mr. Temple found it necessary to take a journey, which
interrupted the series of Biographical Stories for several evenings. In
the interval, Edward practised various methods of employing and amusing
his mind.

Sometimes he meditated upon beautiful objects which he had formerly
seen, until the intensity of his recollection seemed to restore him the
gift of sight and place everything anew before his eyes. Sometimes he
repeated verses of poetry which he did not know to be in his memory
until he found them there just at the time of need. Sometimes he
attempted to solve arithmetical questions which had perplexed him while
at school.

Then, with his mother's assistance, he learned the letters of the string
alphabet, which is used in some of the institutions for the blind in
Europe. When one of his friends gave him a leaf of St. Mark's Gospel,
printed in embossed characters, he endeavored to read it by passing his
fingers over the letters as blind children do.

His brother George was now very kind, and spent so much time in the
darkened chamber that Edward often insisted upon his going out to play.
George told him all about the affairs at school, and related many
amusing incidents that happened among his comrades, and informed him
what sports were now in fashion, and whose kite soared the highest, and
whose little ship sailed fleetest on the Frog Pond. As for Emily, she
repeated stories which she had learned from a new book called THE FLOWER
PEOPLE, in which the snowdrops, the violets, the columbines, the roses,
and all that lovely tribe are represented as telling their secrets to a
little girl. The flowers talked sweetly, as flowers should; and Edward