cr own readers

THE NERVES AND THE BRAIN. 221
JOllllllg the brain and spinal cord with all parts of
the body, and this sys tem is very much alike, in the
human body and in that of the higher animals,
4, You may ask, what is the use of all this?
and in ord er to explain its use, I shall give you an
illustration. You all know what the telegraph is.
Now, the nervous system is of much the same use
to the body as the telegraphic sys tem is to Great
Britain. 'When a ship tou ches at any port, the news
is wired to London; and if a foreign force were to
attempt a landing in tim e of
war, the message to London
would be followed by other
messages sent to all parts of
t he country, calling the people
to arms. So, in like manner,
when anything touches the
human body-a pin point, or
even the rubbing of our clothing-the
tiny nerves convey
t heir messages to the spinal
cord and the brain; and not till
then do we feel the prick or the touch. When a
flash of light falls upon the eye, or when sound
breaks upon the ear, the tiny nerv es are affected, and
send their messages to the brain ; and then, but not
till then, do we see or hear.
5. We know, too, that something else may follow
or accompany our feeling. The flash of light may
cause 'Us to start. Th e sound of the word" Attention"
will cause all th e soldiers in a company to draw their
heels together and to hold themselves erect. In these
cases the movem ent that is mad e is due to messages