I would by no means exclude the kind of reading, which young people are naturally most fond of; though I think the greatest care should be taken in the choice of those fictitious stories, that so enchant the mindmost of which tend to inflame the passions of youth, whilst the chief purpose of education should be to moderate and restrain them. Add to this, that both the writing and sentiments of most novels and romances are such as are only proper to vitiate your style, and to mislead your heart and understanding. The expectation of extraordinary adventures—which seldom ever happen to the sober and prudent part of mankind-and the admiration of extravagant passions and absurd conduct, are some of the usual fruits of this kind of reading; which, when a young woman makes it her. chief amusement, generally renders her ridiculous in conversation, and miserably wrongheaded in her pursuits and behaviour. There are however works of this class, in which excellent morality is joined with the most lively pictures of the human mind, and with all that can entertain the imagination and interest the heart. But, I must repeatedly exhort you,

never to read any thing of the sentimental kind, without taking the judgment of your best friends in the choice; for, I am persuaded, that the indiscriminate reading of such kind of books corrupts more female hearts than any other cause whatsoever.

Before I close this correspondence, I shall point out the course of history I wish you to pursue, and give you my thoughts of geography and chronology, some knowledge of both being, in my opinion, necessary to the reading of history with any advantage.

I am, my dearest niece,

Your ever affectionate,

LETTER IX.

ON GEOGRAPHY AND CHRONOLOGY.

MY DEAR NIECE,

I HAVE told you that you will not be able to read history, with much pleasure, or advantage, without some little knowledge of Geography and Chronology. They are both very easily attained—I mean in the degree that will be necessary for you. You must be sensible that you can know but little of a country, whose situation with respect to the rest of the world you are entirely ignorant of—and that, it is to little able to menpurpose that tion a fact, if you cannot nearly ascertain the time in which it happened, which alone, in many cases, gives importance to the fact itself.

you are

In Geography-the easiest of all sciences, and the best adapted to the capacity of children-I suppose you to have made some beginning; to know at least the figure of the earth-the supposed lines-the degrees-how to measure distances-and a few of the com

mon terms: If you do not already know these two or three lessons will be sufficient to attain them the rest is the work of memory, and is easily gained by reading with maps; for I do not wish your knowledge to be exact and masterly-but such only as is necessary for the purpose of understanding history, and, without which, even a newspaper would be unintelligible. It may be sufficient for this end, if, with respect to ancient Geography, you have a general idea of the situation of all the great states, without being able precisely to ascertain their limits. But, in the modern, you ought to know the bounds and extent of every state in Europe, and its situation with respect to the rest. The other parts of the world will require less accurate knowledge, except with regard to the European settlements.

It may be an useful and agreeable method, when you learn the situation of any important country, to join with that knowledge some one or two leading facts or circumstances concerning it, so that its particular property may always put you in mind of the situation, and the situation, in like manner, recall the particular property. When, for instance,

you learn in what part of the globe to find Ethiopia, to be told at the same time that, in that vast unknown tract of country, the Christian religion was once the religion of the state, would be of service-because the geographical and historical knowledge would assist each other. Thus, to join with Egypt, the nurse and parent of arts and of superstition-with Persia, shocking despotism and perpetual revo lutions-with ancient Greece, freedom and genius with Scythia, hardiness and conquest, are hints which you may make use of as you please. Perhaps annexing to any country the idea of some familiar form which it most resembles may at first assist you to retain a general notion of it; thus Italy has been called a boot-and Europe compared to a woman sitting.

The difference of the ancient and modern names of places is somewhat perplexing; the most important should be known by both names at the same time, and you must endeavour to fix a few of those which are of most consequence so strongly in your mind, by thinking of them, and being often told of them, that the ancient name shall always call up the