QUIN. THE instruction of king George III., in elocution, was assigned to the celebrated Quin, under whose direction plays were sometimes performed at Leicester House, by the young branches of the royal family. Quin, who afterwards obtained a pension for his services, was justly proud of the distinction conferred upon him; and when he heard of the graceful manner in which his majesty delivered his first speech from the throne, he cried out, Ay, I taught the boy to speak!" THE OAK. THE oak for grandeur, strength and noble size, From noon-tide sun, or from the drenching rain, THE CANDLE AND THE CANDLESTICK. A FABLE. "You mean, despicable thing," said a candle to a candlestick, 16 what were you made for but to wait on me?" "And pray tell me," ," said the candlestick, " of what use you would be without me, though now you shine so proudly, while I hold you up?" THE CHRISTIAN REVELATION. OUR Lord, at the very outset of his public instructions, marks, at once, in the strongest and most decided terms, the peculiar temper, spirit and character of his religion; and describes the Christian temper as humble, meek, lowly, devout, merciful, pure, peaceable, and unresisting. The world calls it mean-spirited, tame and abject, yet notwithstanding all this, with the divine author of our religion, this is the favorite character; this is the constant topic of his commendation; this is the subject that runs through all the beatitudes. To this he assigns, under all its various forms, peculiar blessings. To those who possess it, he promises that they shall inherit the earth; that they shall obtain mercy; that theirs shall be the kingdom of heaven; that they shall see God, and be called the children of God. PRIDE THE BANE OF HAPPINESS. THE odiousness of pride, and the evils attending it, have been the common topics both of ancient and modern 'moralists; but no observation seems more pointed than that which says, "of all vices, pride seldomest obtains its end; for by showing our own pride, we pique the pride of other men, and thus, by aiming at honor and reputation, we reap derision and contempt." The envy which is sure to follow in the train of pride, has been happily illustrated by the fable of the Peacock, who no sooner begins to spread his gorgeous plumage, than the other birds begin to cry out against his ugly legs, and screaming voice. THE EMPTY BIRD'S NEST. AND thou, my sad little lonely nest, And what has become of the helpless brood, The fowler, perhaps, has hurled the dart, So wide, they never again In the warm, soft cell of love can meet, And thou hast been filled with the snow and the sleet, By the hail and the winds have thy sides been beat, And drenched by the pitiless rain. Though great was the toil which thy building cost, So I'll take thee down, as I would not see, Thou hast made me think of each heart-woven tie; THE SOUL. THE soul is that which thinks, learns, reasons, reflects, remembers within us; that which is conscious of its own existence, and of the existence of innumerable beings and substances around us. It is of far greater worth and dignity than the bodily frame in which it resides; a spiritual being which is to remain when the body decays; possessing a peculiar life, a life which may indeed be improved or made worse, but which can never cease to be. To live is not enough, though forever; but to live in everlasting bliss is a point of the highest inquiry, and surely deserves our utmost attention and concern. The stars shall fade away, the sun himself The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds. |