My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

36 MY LIFEoutside by which hay could be pitched up out of acart, afforded us plenty of light when we required it,together with the novel sensation and spice of dangerafforded by an opening down to the floor, yet eightor nine feet above the ground.This place was our greatest delight, and almostall the hours of daylight we could spare from schooland meals were spent in it. Here we accumulatedall kinds of odds and ends that might be useful forour various games or occupations, and here we wereable to hide many forbidden treasures such as gunpowder,with which we used to make wild-fires aswell as more elaborate fireworks. John was of a moremechanical turn than myself, and he used to excel inmaking all the little toys and playthings in whichboys then used to delight. I, of course, looked onadmiringly, and helped him in any way I could. Ialso tried to imitate him, but only succeeded in someof the simpler operations. Our most valuable guidewas the "Boy's Own Book," which told us how tomake numbers of things boys never think of makingnow, partly because everything is made for them, andalso because children get so many presents of elaborateor highly ornamented toys when very young,that by the time they are old enough to make anythingfor themselves they are quite blas^^ and canonly be satisfied by still more elaborate and expensiveplaythings.After my brother John went to London, and Iwas left alone at home, my younger brother beingstill too young for a playmate, I gave up most ofthese occupations, and began to develop a tastefor reading. I still had one or two favourite companionswith whom I used to go for long walks in thecountry, amusing ourselves in gravel or chalk pits,