These twenty-four little bones are closely and strongly bound
together, and between each one and its neighbour there is something so soft
and elastic that we can bend our heads, or move in any direction, without
the slightest strain or jar.
The head is most wonderfully built up, like an arch, of several bones
beautifully joined in a very strong and perfect way which carpenters call
"dove-tailing." We can understand why the head, which is so much exposed,
and is almost entirely occupied by the brain, should be so carefully
protected; for thought, memory, will, and what we can best express as
"consciousness of our being," all depend upon it.
Passing from head to foot, we find that our feet, which are not large, yet
must bear the weight of the body, are also made upon the arch-principle,
which has been found, like the hollow bones of the bird's wing, to combine
lightness and strength. The twenty-six bones are so fitted together that
this wonderful arch is quite elastic, as you can prove by moving your own
foot up and down.
The joints, where two bones which are to play upon each other come in
contact, as they do at the elbow or shoulder, are made in different ways.
The elbow only moves to and fro like a hinge; the hip and shoulder, like
a "ball and socket," move every way. You do not need to be told that each
kind of joint is found just where it is needed for the work it has to do;
for there is no mistaking or misplacing in God's workmanship, as there so
often is in the very best of _ours_.
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