want of some such employment, fiddling anyhow with the fingers.”  He does not give the reason for this, and at first sight it might seem like a contradiction of the “one thing at a time” idea.  But a closer examination will show us that the minor work (the cutting leaves, etc.) is in the nature of an involuntary or automatic movement, inasmuch as it requires little or no voluntary attention, and seems to “do itself.”  It does not take off the Attention from the main subject, but perhaps acts to catch the “waste Attention” that often tries to divide the Attention from some voluntary act to another.  The habit mind may be doing one thing, while the Attention is fixed on another.  For instance, one may be writing with his attention firmly fixed upon the thought he wishes to express, while at the time his hand is doing the writing, apparently with no attention being given it.  But, let a boy, or person unaccustomed to writing, try to express his thoughts in this way, and you will find that he is hampered in the flow of his thoughts by the fact that he has to give much attention to the mechanical act of writing.  In the same way, the beginner on the typewriter finds it difficult to compose to the machine, while the experienced typist finds the mechanical movements no hindrance whatever to the flow of thought and focusing of Attention; in fact, many find that they can compose much better while using the typewriter than they can by dictating to a stenographer.  We think you will see the principle.

And now for a little Mental Drill in Attention, that you may be started on the road to cultivate this important faculty.

MENTAL DRILL IN ATTENTION.

Exercise I. Begin by taking some familiar object and placing it before you, try to get as many impressions regarding it as is possible for you.  Study its shape, its color, its size, and the thousand and one little peculiarities about it that present themselves to your attention.  In doing this, reduce the thing to its simplest parts—­analyze it as far as is possible—­dissect it, mentally, and study its parts in detail.  The more simple and small the part to be considered, the more clearly will the impression be received, and the more vividly will it be recalled.  Reduce the thing to the smallest possible proportions, and then examine each portion, and mastering that, then pass on to the next part, and so on, until you have covered the entire field.  Then, when you have exhausted the object, take a pencil and paper and put down as nearly as possible all the things or details of the object examined.  When you have done this, compare the written description with the object itself, and see how many things you have failed to note.