way bordered with flowers, which and confused, afraid to go forward appeared to have the same direction lest he should go wrong, yet conwith the main road, and was pleased scious that the time of loitering was that, by this happy experiment, he now past. While he was thus tortured had found means to unite pleasure with uncertainty, the sky was overwith business, and to gain the rewards spread with clouds, the day vanished of diligence, without suffering its fa- from before him, and a sudden temtigues. He, therefore, still continued pest gathered round his head. He to walk for a time, without the least was now roused by his danger, to a remission of his ardour, except that quick and painful remembrance of he was sometimes tempted to stop by his folly; he now saw how happiness the music of the birds, whom the is lost, when ease is consulted; he heat had assembled in the shade, lamented the unmanly impatience and sometimes amused himself with that prompted him to seek shelter in plucking the flowers that covered the the grove, and despised the petty banks on either side, or the fruits curiosity that led him on from trifle that hung upon the branches. At to trifle. While he was thus reflectlast the green path began to decline ing, the air grew blacker, and a clap from its first tendency, and to wind of thunder broke his meditation. among hills and thickets, cooled He now resolved to do what rewith fountains, and murmuring with mained yet in his power; to tread water-falls. Here Obidah paused for back the ground which he had passa time, and began to consider whe-ed, and try to find some issue where ther it were longer safe to forsake the wood might open into the plain. the known and common track; but He prostrated himself on the ground, remembering that the heat was now and commended his life to the Lord in its greatest violence, and that the of nature. He rose with confidence plain was dusty and uneven, he re- and tranquillity, and pressed on with solved to pursue the new path, which his sabre in his hand, for the beasts he supposed only to make a few me- of the desert were in motion, and on anders, in compliance with the varie- every hand were heard the mingled ties of the ground, and to end at last howls of rage and fear, and ravage in the common road. and expiration; all the horrors of

Having thus calmed his solicitude, darkness and solitude surrounded he renewed his pace, though he him; the winds roared in the woods, suspected that he was not gaining and the torrents tumbled from the ground. This uneasines of his mind hills. inclined him to lay hold on every Thus forlorn and distressed, he new object, and give way to every wandered through the wild, without sensation that might sooth or divert knowing whither he was going, or him. He listened to every echo; he whether he was every moment drawmounted every hill for a fresh pros-ing nearer to safety or to destruction. pect; he turned aside to every cas- At length, not fear, but labour, becade, and pleased himself with trac- gan to overcome him; his breath ing the course of a gentle river that grew short, and his knees trembled, rolled among the trees, and watered and he was on the point of lying a large region with innumerable cir- down in resignation to his fate, when cumvolutions. In these amusements he beheld through the brambles the the hours passed away uncounted, glimmer of a taper. He advanced his deviations had perplexed his me- towards the light, and finding that it mory, and he knew not towards what proceeded from the cottage of a herpoint to travel. He stood pensive mit, he called humbly at the door,

and obtained admission. The old of innocence, and solace our disquiet man set before him such provisions with sensual gratifications. By deas he had collected for himself, on grees we let fall the remembrance which Obidah fed with eagerness of our original intention, and quit and gratitude. the only adequate object of rational

When the repast was over, "Tell desire. We entangle ourselves in me," said the hermit, "by what business, immerge ourselves in luxchance thou hast been brought hi-ury, and rove through the labyrinths ther; I have been now twenty years of inconstancy, till the darkness of an inhabitant of the wilderness, in old age begins to invade us, and diswhich I never saw a man before." ease and anxiety obstruct our way. Obidah then related the occurrences We then look back upon our lives of his journey, without any conceal- with horror, with sorrow, with rement or palliation. pentance; and wish, but too often Son," said the hermit, "let the vainly wish, that we had not forerrors and follies, the dangers and saken the ways of virtue. Happy escape of this day, sink deep into are they, my son, who shall learn thy heart. Remember, my son, that from thy example not to despair, but human life is the journey of a day. shall remember, that though the day We rise in the morning of youth, full is past, and their strength is wasted, of vigour, and full of expectation; there yet remains one effort to be we set forward with spirit and hope, made; that reformation is never with gaiety and with diligence, and hopeless, nor sincere endeavours travel on a while in the straight road ever unassisted; that the wanderer of piety towards the mansions of rest. may at length return, after all his In a short time we remit our fervour, errors; and that he who implores and endeavour to find some mitiga- strength and courage from above, tion of our duty, and some more easy shall find danger and difficulty give means of obtaining the same end. way before him. Go now, my son, We then relax our vigour, and re- to thy repose; commit thyself to the solve no longer to be terrified with care of Omnipotence; and when the crimes at a distance, but rely upon morning calls again to toil, begin our own constancy, and venture to anew thy journey and thy life." approach what we resolve never to touch. We thus enter the bowers of ease, and repose in the shades of security. Here the heart softens, and vigilance subsides; we are then I consider a human soul without willing to inquire whether another education like marble in the quarry, advance cannot be made, and whe- which shows none of its inherent ther we may not, at least, turn our beauties, until the skill of the polisheyes upon the gardens of pleasure. er fetches out the colours, makes the We approach them with scruple and surface shine, and discovers every hesitation; we enter them, but enter ornamental cloud, spot, and vein, timorous and trembling, and always that runs through the body of it. hope to pass through them without Education, after the same manner, losing the road of virtue, which we, when it works upon a noble mind, for a while, keep in our sight, and draws out to view every latent virtue to which we propose to return. But and perfection, which, without such temptation succeeds temptation, and helps, are never able to make their one compliance prepares us for ano- appearance.

Rambler.

4. The Advantages of a good Education.

ther; we in time lose the happiness If my reader will give me leave to

change the allusion so soon upon pects of happiness in another world, him, I shall make use of the same in- as well as in this, and deny them stance to illustrate the force of edu- that which we look upon as the procation, which Aristotle has brought per means for attaining it! to explain his doctrine of substantial It is therefore an unspeakable forms, when he tells us that a statue blessing to be born in those parts of lies hid in a block of marble; and the world where wisdom and knowthat the art of the statuary only clears ledge flourish; though it must be away the superfluous matter, and re- confessed there are, even in these moves the rubbish. The figure is in parts, several poor uninstructed perthe stone, and the sculptor only finds sons, who are but little above the it. What sculpture is to a block of inhabitants of those nations of which marble, education is to a human soul. I have been here speaking; as those The philosopher, the saint, or the who have had the advantages of a hero, the wise, the good, or the great more liberal education, rise above man, very often lie hid and concealed one another by several different dein a plebeian, which a proper edu- grees of perfection. For, to return cation might have dis-interred, and to our statue in the block of marble, have brought to light. I am there- we see it sometimes only begun to fore much delighted with reading be chipped, sometimes rough-hewn, the accounts of savage nations, and and but just sketched into a human with contemplating those virtues figure; sometimes we see the man which are wild and uncultivated; appearing distinctly in all his limbs to see courage exerting itself in and features; sometimes we find the fierceness, resolution in obstinacy, figure wrought up to great elegancy; wisdom in cunning, patience in sul- but seldom meet with any to which lenness and despair. the hand of a Phidias or a Praxiteles Men's passions operate variously, could not give several nice touches and appear in different kinds of ac- and finishings. tions, according as they are more or less rectified and swayed by reason. When one hears of negroes, who upon the death of their masters, or upon changing their service, hang them- Sir, I was condemned by some selves upon the next tree, as it fre- disastrous influence to be an only quently happens in our American son, born to the apparent prospect of plantations, who can forbear admir- a large fortune, and allotted to my ing their fidelity, though it expresses parents at that time of life when saitself in so dreadful a manner? What tiety of common diversions allows might not that savage greatness of the mind to indulge parental affecsoul, which appears in these poor tion with greater intenseness. My wretches on many occasions, be rais- birth was celebrated by the tenants ed to, were it rightly cultivated? with feasts, and dances, and bagAnd what colour of excuse can there pipes; congratulations were sent be for the contempt with which we from every family within ten miles treat this part of our species; that round; and my parents discovered, we should not put them upon the in my first cries, such tokens of fucommon foot of humanity; that we ture virtue and understanding, that should only set an insignificant fine they declared themselves determined upon the man who murders them; to devote the remaining part of life nay, that we should, as much as in to my happiness, and the increase us lies, cut them off from the pros- of their estate.

VOL. I. No. 2.

Spectator.

5. The Disadvantages of a bad Education.

C

The abilities of my father and in his proposal than to appear wise mother were not perceptibly une- and manly, soon acquiesced, since qual, and education had given nei- I was not to live by my learning; ther much advantage over the other. for indeed, he had known very few They had both kept good company, students that had not some stiffness rattled in chariots, glittered in play- in their manner. They therefore houses, and danced at court, and agreed, that a domestic tutor should were both expert in the games that be procured; and hired an honest were in their times called in as gentleman of mean conversation and auxiliaries against the intrusion of narrow sentiments, but whom having thought. passed the common forms of literary When there is such a parity be- education, they implicitly concluded tween two persons associated for life, qualified to teach all that was to be the dejection which the husband, if learned from a scholar. He thought. he be not completely stupid, must himself sufficiently exalted by being always suffer for want of superiority, placed at the same table with his pusinks him to submissiveness. My pil, and had no other view than to mamma therefore governed the fa- perpetuate his felicity by the utmost mily without control; and, except flexibility of submission to all my that my father still retained some au- mother's opinions and caprices. He thority in the stables, and now and frequently took away my book, lest I then, after a supernumerary bottle, should mope with too much applicabroke a looking-glass or china-dish tion, charged me never to write withto prove his sovereignty, the whole out turning up my ruffles, and gecourse of the year was regulated by nerally brushed my coat before he her direction, the servants received dismissed me into the parlour. from her all their orders, and the He had no occasion to complain tenants were continued or dismissed of too burthensome an employment; at her discretion. for my mother very judiciously con

She therefore thought herself en-sidered, that I was not likely to titled to the superintendence of her grow politer in his company, and son's education; and when my fa- suffered me not to pass any more ther, at the instigation of the parson, time in his apartment than my lesson faintly proposed that I should be required. When I was summoned sent to school, very positively told to my task, she enjoined me not to him, that she would not suffer a fine get any of my tutor's ways, who was child to be ruined; that she never seldom mentioned before me but for knew any boys at a grammar-school, practices to be avoided. I was every that could come into a room without moment admonished not to lean on blushing, or sit at the table without my chair, cross my legs, or swing some awkward uneasiness; that they my hands like my tutor; and once were always putting themselves into my mother very seriously deliberated danger by boisterous plays, or vitiat-upon his total dismission, because I ing their behaviour with mean com- began, she said, to learn his manner pany; and that, for her part, she of sticking on my hat, and had his would rather follow me to the grave, bend in my shoulders, and his totter than see me tear my clothes, and in my gait.

hang down my head, and sneak Such, however, was her care, that about with dirty shoes and blotted I escaped all these depravities; and fingers, my hair unpowdered, and when I was only twelve years old, my hat uncocked. had rid myself of every appearance

My father, who had no other end of childish diffidence. I was cele

brated round the country for the in dress, every afternoon in visits, petulance of my remarks, and the and every night in some select assemquickness of my replies; and many blies, where neither care nor knowa scholar five years older than my-ledge were suffered to molest us. self, have I dashed into confusion by After a few years, however, these the steadiness of my countenance, si- delights became familiar, and I had lenced by my readiness of repartee, leisure to look round me with more and tortured with envy by the ad- attention. I then found that my dress with which I picked up a fan, flatterers had very little power to presented a snuff-box, or received an relieve the languor of satiety, or reempty tea-cup. create weariness, by varied amuseAt fourteen I was completely skill- ment; and therefore endeavoured to ed in all the niceties of dress, and I enlarge the sphere of my pleasures, could not only enumerate all the and to try what satisfaction might be variety of silks, and distinguish the found in the society of men. I will product of a French loom, but dart not deny the mortification with which my eye through a numerous com- I perceived that every man whose pany, and observe every deviation name I had heard mentioned with from the reigning mode. I was uni- respect, received me with a kind of versally skilful in all the changes of tenderness nearly bordering on comexpensive finery; but as every one, passion; and that those whose rethey say, has something to which he putation was not well established, is particularly born, was eminently thought it necessary to justify their knowing in Brussels lace. understandings, by treating me with The next year saw me advanced contempt. One of these witlings to the trust and power of adjusting elevated his crest, by asking me in a the ceremonial of an assembly. All full coffee-house the price of patches; received their partners from my and another whispered, that he wonhand, and to me every stranger ap-dered Miss Frisk did not keep me plied for introduction. My heart that afternoon to watch her squirrel. now disdained the instructions of a When I found myself thus hunted tutor; who was rewarded with a from all masculine conversation by small annuity for life, and left me those who were themselves barely qualified, in my own opinion, to go- admitted, I returned to the ladies, vern myself. and resolved to dedicate my life to

In a short time I came to London, their service and their pleasure. But and as my father was well known I find that I have now lost my among the higher classes of life, soon charms. Of those with whom I enobtained admission to the most splen- tered the gay world, some are mardid assemblies, and most crowded ried, some have retired, and some card-tables. Here I found myself have so much changed their opinion, universally caressed and applauded; that they scarcely pay any regard to the ladies praised the fancy of my my civilities, if there is any other clothes, the beauty of my form, and man in the place. The new flight the softness of my voice; endeavour-of beauties, to whom I have made my ed in every place to force themselves addresses, suffer me to pay the treat, to my notice; and invited, by a thou- and then titter with boys. So that I sand oblique solicitations, my attend- now find myself welcome only to a ance to the play-house, and my salu- few grave ladies, who, unacquainted tations in the Park. I was now with all that gives either use or dighappy to the utmost extent of my nity to life, are content to pass their conception; I passed every morning hours between their bed and their