enormous serpent lying dead on the floor, killed by that faithful dog, whose courage and fidelity, in preserving the life of his son, deserved a very different return.

8. A young gentleman at one of the academies in Paris, was remarked for eating nothing but soup and dry bread, and drinking only water. The governor of the institution, attributing this singularity to excess of devotion, reproved his pupil, and endeavoured to persuade him to alter his resolution. Finding, however, that his remonstrances were ineffectual, he sent for him again, and observed to him, that such conduct was highly unbecoming, and that it was his duty to conform to the rules of the academy. He then endeavoured to learn the reason of his pupil's conduct; but as the youth could not be prevailed upon to impart the secret, the governor at last threatened to send him back to his family. This menace produced an immediate explanation. "Sir," said the young man, "in my father's house I eat nothing but black bread, and of that very little here I have good soup and excellent white bread; and though I might, if I chose it, fare luxuriously, I cannot persuade myself to take any thing else, when I reflect on the situation of my father and mother."

SECTION IX.

AMPLIFICATION OF SENTENCES.

Rudiments, p. 56.

1. Good or bad habits, formed in youth, generally go with us through life.

2. Nothing in this life, after health and virtue, is more estimable than knowledge.

3. It is one of the melancholy pleasures of an old man to recollect the kindness of friends, which he shall experience no more.

4. The certainty that life cannot be long, and the probability that it will be much shorter than nature allows, ought to awaken every man to the active prosecution of whatever he is desirous to perform.

5. To maintain a steady and unbroken mind, amidst all the shocks of the world, marks a great and noble spirit.

6. Compassionate affections, even when they draw tears from our eyes for human misery, convey satisfaction to the heart.

7. Virtue, to become either vigorous or useful, must be habitually

active; not breaking forth occasionally with a transient lustre, like the blaze of a comet; but regular in its returns, like the light of day: not like the aromatic gale, which sometimes feasts the sense; but like the ordinary breeze, which purifies the air, and renders it healthful.

8. To sensual persons hardly any thing is what it appears to be; and what flatters most, is always farthest from reality. There are voices which sing around them; but whose strains allure to ruin. There is a banquet spread, where poison is in every dish. There is a couch which invites them to repose; but to slumber upon it is death.

9. By disappointment and trials the violence of our passions is tamed, and our minds are formed to sobriety and reflection. In the varieties of life, occasioned by the vicissitudes of worldly fortune, we are inured to habits of both the active and the suffering virtues.

10. An idle man is a mere blank in creation; he seems made to no end, and lives to no purpose. He cannot engage himself in any employment or profession; because he will never have diligence enough to follow it. He can succeed in no undertaking; for he will never pursue it. He must be a bad husband, father, and relation; for he will not take the least pains to preserve his wife, children, and family from starving. He must be a worthless friend; for he would not draw his hand from his bosom, though to prevent the destruction of the universe.

11. Veturia, the mother of Coriolanus, at first made some hesitation to undertake the office of an intercessor, knowing the inflexible temper of her son, and fearing that he would only show his disobedience in a new light, by rejecting the commands of a parent. She at last, however, undertook the embassy, and set forward from the city, accompanied by many of the principal matrons of Rome, with Volumnia, her daughter-in-law, and her two children. Coriolanus, who at a distance discovered this mournful train of females, was resolved to give them a denial, and called his officers round him to be witnesses of his resolution; but, when told that his mother and wife were among the number, he instantly came down from his tribunal to meet and embrace them. At first the tears of the women deprived them of the power of speech; and the rough soldier himself, inflexible as he was, could not refrain from sharing in their distress. Coriolanus now seemed much agitated by contending passions. His mother, who saw him moved, seconded her words by her tears; his wife and children hung round about

him, entreating his protection and pity; while the fair train, her companions, added their lamentations, and deplored their own and their country's distress. Coriolanus for a time was silent, feeling the strong conflict between honour and inclination; till at length, as if roused from a dream, he flew to take up his mother, who had fallen at his feet, crying out, "O my mother, thou hast saved Rome, but lost thy son."

SECTION X.

IDEAS SUGGESTED TO FORM SENTENCES.

Rudiments, p. 58.

It is hard, elastic,

1. Iron is a metal of a livid greyish colour. malleable, ductile, tenacious, and capable of receiving a high polish.-Iron is more abundant and more generally diffused than any other metal. The art of working it was discovered in the east, and is said to have been introduced into Europe by the Greeks. The most considerable iron mines at present existing, are in Great Britain, Sweden, and France.-Iron is almost always found in combination with other substances. When the ore has been sufficiently cleansed, it is melted in a furnace, and is converted into cast iron, wrought or malleable iron, and steel. The uses to which iron is applied, are so numerous and important, that it is the most valuable of all the metals.*

2. The oak is one of the most beautiful and useful of timber trees. It is a great ornament to scenery, whether in the forest or in the park; and its wood claims the precedence of all timber in strength and durability. The oak continues to vegetate to a very great age, and sometimes grows to an extraordinary size. It produces nuts called acorns.-Many oak trees are connected with historical events; such as the Torwood Oak, under which Wallace convened his followers; and the Royal Oak, in which Charles II. concealed himself after the battle of Worcester.-The wood of the oak is applied to a great many useful purposes, the most important of which is ship-building. The bark is used in tanning leather;

*The above essays, like those in Section X. Chapter III., are inserted for the convenience of the Teacher, that he may take from them suggestions to assist his Pupils in expressing their ideas on the subjects proposed.

and excrescences, called gall-nuts, which grow on a species of this tree, are employed for dyeing black.

3. There are many species of bees, of which the most interesting is the hive or honey bee. The bees in a hive are of three sorts; namely, the queen or female bee, the drones or male bees, and the neuters or working bees. Each of these sorts differs from the others in form and appearance, and has its own peculiar functions.-In collecting materials, in building their cells, in storing them with food, and even in removing unforeseen difficulties and guarding against contingences, bees display extraordinary instinct and ingenuity. All their operations are carried on with the greatest industry, order, and harmony.-The bee has attracted the attention of the observers of nature, and its honey has been in request for food, in almost every age and country of the world.

4. The silk-worm is a caterpillar hatched from the egg of a species of moth. When properly fed, it sometimes attains the length of three inches. Its food is the leaves of the mulberry-tree. -When the silkworm has arrived at maturity, it spins for itself a covering or shroud, in which it may lie while it is in the state of a chrysalis. This covering, which is called a cocoon, is of the form and size of a pigeon's egg, and consists of an unbroken thread, varying in length from six hundred to a thousand feet. Having passed from the state of a chrysalis into that of a moth, the insect forces its way out of the cocoon.-It is the thread of which the cocoons are made, that is used as a material for clothing. The fabrics formed of it are very numerous; and they all combine, in a greater or less degree, the qualities of beauty, strength, and lightness. In ancient times, the manufacture of silk was confined to the East Indies and China, where the silkworm breeds and spins its cocoons in the open air. But, in the course of ages, the insect has been introduced into every country where it can be reared with advantage; and clothing made from silk has become general among civilized nations.

5. Corn is the general name for those plants, the seeds of which yield food for man. It is also used by different nations to denote the particular kind of grain on which they chiefly depend for subsistence. The principal species of corn or grain are wheat, rye, barley, oats, millet, rice, and maize. None of these, so far as is known, is yielded by the earth spontaneously; they can only be produced by cultivation but there is no variety of soil or climate, to which some of them are not adapted. Barley and oats can be reared in high northern latitudes; rye and wheat flourish in more

:

temperate regions; millet, rice, and maize, are the produce of the warm countries of the south.-From all these sorts of grain man obtains food for himself, and the animals which he has domesticated; from some of them he extracts liquor; and in many places he derives from them no inconsiderable portion of the materials of his habitations.-When we consider how necessary the corn-plants are to the sustenance and comfort of animal life, we cannot suffi ciently admire the wisdom and goodness of Providence in having adapted them for being so universally diffused.

6. The word paper is derived from papyrus, the name of an Egyptian plant, from which the ancients made a material for writing on. The art of making paper from rags is said to have been invented by the Chinese. It was introduced into Europe by the Arabians or Moors.-Any fibrous vegetable matter which can be reduced to pulp, may be used for making paper; but the substances best adapted for the purpose are linen, hempen, and cotton rags. Writing-paper is made of fine linen rags; printing-paper is made of linen and cotton rags; and coarse brown paper is made of hempen rags and old cordage.—In the manufacture of paper, the first process is to sort the rags according to their quality. They are then cut, boiled, washed, bleached, and reduced to a thin pulp. This pulp is first put into a mould; it is next laid upon a board covered with felt, and pressed; after which it is dried, dipped in a liquor called size, to make it fit for receiving ink, and again pressed to give it a smooth surface. It is finally sorted, and put up in reams. Formerly all these operations were performed by the hand; but now the greater number of them is done by machinery.

7. The tiger belongs to the feline genus of animals. Its average height is about three feet, and its length nearly six feet. It is of a yellow colour, streaked with bars of black. The tiger is one of the most beautiful and active of the animal race, and is so strong that it has been known to carry off a deer or a buffalo, which it had killed. Like the lion, it springs upon its prey from an ambush. In its natural state it is very ferocious; yet it is sometimes tamed by the faquirs or mendicant priests of Hindostan; and in menageries it is generally as much under control as any other animal of the same kind. Some years ago, a tigress escaped from a travelling menagerie on Salisbury Plain, and attacked the horses of a mail coach, which happened to be passing at the time. She was driven off by her keepers, however, and was soon afterwards retaken without difficulty.-The tiger is found in all the countries