SAILOR BOY.

WHEN the frigate La Tribune was wrecked off Halifax, in November, 1798, the whole ship's crew perished, with the exception of four men, who escaped in the jolly boat, and eight others, who clung to the main and fore-tops. The inhabitants of the place came down in the night opposite to the point where the ship struck, and approached so near as to converse with the people on the wreck. The first exertion which was made for their relief, was by a boy of no more than thirteen years of age, from Herring Cove, who ventured off in a small skiff by himself, about eleven o'clock the next day. With great exertions, and `at extreme risk to himself, he ventured to approach the wreck, and backed in his little boat so near to the foretop as to take off two of the men, for the boat could not with safety hold any more. He rowed them triumphantly to the Cove, and had them instantly conveyed to a comfortable habitation. After shaming, by his example, older persons, who had larger boats, the manly boy put off again in his little skiff; but with all his efforts he was unable to reach the wreck a second time. His example however was soon followed by other boats of the Cove; and by their joint exertions the whole of the remaining survivors were saved.

FILIAL DUTY.

AMONG the American Indians, one of the first lessons they inculcate on their children, is duty to their parents, and respect for old age; and there is not among the most civilized nations any people who more strictly observe the

duty of filial obedience.

A father needs only say, in

The

the presence of his children, "I want such a thing done; I want one of my children to go upon such an errand; let me see who is the good child that will do it. word good operates as it were by magic, and the children immediately vie with each other to comply with the wishes of their parent. If a father sees an old decrepid man or woman pass by, led along by a child, he will draw the attention of his own children to the object, by saying, "What a good child that must be, which pays such attention to the aged! That child indeed looks forward to the time when it will likewise be old!" Or he will say, "May the Great Spirit, who looks upon him, grant this good child a long life!"

SWEARING NOBLY REPROVED.

PRINCE HENRY, the son of James II. had a particular aversion to the vice of swearing, and profanation of the name of God. When at play, he was never heard to do so; and on being asked why he did not swear at play as well as others? he answered, that he knew no game worthy of an oath. The same answer he is said to have given at a hunting match. The stag, almost quite spent, crossed a road where a butcher was passing with his dog. The stag was instantly killed by the dog, at which the huntsmen were greatly offended, and endeavoured to irritate the prince against the butcher; but his highness answered, coolly, "True, the butcher's dog has killed the stag, and how could the butcher help it?" They replied,

that if his father had been so served, he would have sworn so as no man could have endured." "Away!"

cried the prince, "all the pleasure in the world is not worth an oath."

OSTIACK BOY.

A RUSSIAN was travelling from Tobolsk to Beresow. On the road he stopped one night at the hut of an Ostiack. In the morning, on continuing his journey, he discovered that he had lost his purse, containing about three hundred roubles. The son of the Ostiack, a boy about fourteen years of age, found the purse while out hunting; but instead of taking it up, he went out and told his father, who was equally unwilling to touch it, and ordered the boy to cover it with some bushes. A few months after, the Russian returned, and stopped at the same hut, but the Ostiack did not recognize him. He related the loss he had met with. The Ostiack listened very attentively; and when he had finished, "You are welcome," said he; "here is my son, who will show you the spot where it lies; no hand has touched it, but the one which covered it.

GAOL IN PHILADELPHIA.

As there is now but one capital offence in Pennsylvania, punishment for other offences is made up of fine and imprisonment, and labour; and these are awarded separately or conjointly, according to the magnitude of the offence. When prisoners have been convicted and sent to the great gaol of Philadelphia, to undergo the punishment, it is expected of them that they should maintain

themselves out of their daily labour, that they should pay for their food and washing, and also for the use of their different implements of labour; and that they should defray the expenses of their commitment, of their prosecution and their trial. An account, therefore, is regularly kept against them, and if, at the expiration of the term of their punishment, there should be a surplus of money in their favour, arising out of the produce of their work, it is given to them on their discharge.

In consequence of the admirable regulations by which the prison is conducted, those who visit the criminals of Philadelphia, in the hours of their labour, have rather the idea of a large manufactory, than a gaol; they see carpenters, weavers, joiners, nail-makers, &c. all busily employed, with nothing but order and regularity among them; and as no chains are to be seen in the prison, the visiters seem to forget that the men they behold are criminals, and look upon them rather as the free and honest labourers of a community, following their respective occupations.

Such has been the effect of this system, that it has been productive of great advantages, both to criminals and to the state; the state has experienced a diminution of crimes to the amount of one half, since the change of the penal system; and the criminals have been restored in a great proportion from the gaol to the community, as reformed persons; indeed, their conduct during confinement, has generally been such as to obtain a remission of some part of their sentence.

JAMES MITCHELL, BLIND, DEAF, AND DUMB BOY.

ABOUT seven years ago, Professor Stewart read to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a paper containing a singular account of a boy born blind and deaf. The name

of the boy was James Mitchell, the son of a clergyman in the county of Nairn, in Scotland. His chief pleasures

are derived from his taste and smell. He finds amusement also in the exercise of touch,' and has also employed himself for hours in gathering from the bed of a river, round and smooth stones, which he afterwards arranged in a circular form, seating himself in the midst of the circle. He explored, by touch, a space of about two hundred yards round the parsonage, to every part of which he walked fearlessly and without a guide; and scarcely a day elapsed in which he did not cautiously feel his way into ground which he had not before explored. In one of these excursions, his father with terror observed him creeping along a narrow wooden bridge, which crossed a neighbouring river, at a point where the stream was deep and rapid. He was immediately stopped; and to deter him from the repetition of such perilous experiments, he was once or twice plunged into the river, a punishment which had the desired effect.

When a stranger arrives, his smell immediately informs him of the circumstance, and directs him to the place where the stranger is, whom he proceeds to survey by the sense of touch. In the remote situation where he resides, male visiters are most frequent, and therefore the first thing he generally does, is to examine whether or not the stranger wears boots; if he does wear them, he immediately goes to the lobby, feels for and accurately examines