charged the president with squandering the public property, and imposing upon them unnecessary fatigue, by compelling them to build for himself a house of pleasure in the woods. He was deposed; Smith was chosen to succeed him; he refused to accept the office, but no other person was appointed. Having procured a supply of provisions, he again departed to complete the survey of the Chesapeake. He visited all the countries on both shores; he traded with some tribes; he fought with others; and left, among all, the highest admiration of the beneficence or valour of the English. Returning after an absence of six weeks, he was again chosen president. Yielding to the general wish, he consented to accept the office. Under his administration, habits of industry and subordination were formed, and peace and plenty smiled upon the colony. LESSON XLII. Extract from "The Religion of Taste."-WILCOX. To love the beautiful is not to hate The holy, nor to wander from the true; Each green and shapely tree to please the view?. With which the purple grape by panting lips is prest. The rose delights with colour and with form, The bosom with the thought of that high power, Or spread it in bright drops along the river's brim. Yet Taste and Virtue are not born to strife; Would tempt her from that path, or bid her trust And turn from all too humble with disgust; 'Tis then she wakes a war, when in her pride unjust. But oft in Taste when mindful of her birth, And one delighting thought with hers to blend Of Faith and echoing Hope, or scorns to work its fall. The path we love,-to that all things allure; We give them power malignant or benign; Yes, to the pure in heart all things are pure; And to the bright in fancy, all things shine; All frown on those that in deep sorrow pine, Smile on the cheerful, lead the wise abroad O'er Nature's realm in search of laws divine; All draw the earthly down to their vile clod; And all unite to lift the heavenly to their God. The universe is calm to faith serene ; And all with glory shines to her bright eye; The eye which she has opened, rolls in light Without him all a cheerless solitude; LESSON XLIII. Another Extract from the Same. SOME high or humble enterprise of good With thoughts all fixed and feelings purely kind, No good of worth sublime will heaven permit That 'mid gay thousands with the suns and showers Of half a century, grows alone before it flowers. Has immortality of name been given To measure worlds and follow where each moves? By musing o'er the bright and tranquil isles of Greece? Beware lest thou from sloth, that would appear Thy want of worth; a charge thou couldst not hear Or let all soon forget that thou didst e'er exist. Rouse to some work of high and holy love, And thou an angel's happiness shalt know,Shalt bless the earth while in the world above, The good begun by thee shall onward flow In many a branching stream, and wider grow; The seed that in these few and fleeting hours, Thy hands unsparing and unwearied sow, Shall deck thy grave, with amaranthine flowers, And yield thee fruits divine in heaven's immortal bowers. LESSON XLIV. Every man his own Fortune-Teller.-JANE TAYlor. THERE is a strong propensity in the human mind to look forward to distant years, and to penetrate the secrets of futurity. This desire in the minds of the vulgar and ignorant, has given rise to the foolish and wicked practice of consulting pretended fortune-tellers. In these enlightened days, I have little fear that any of my readers should wish to have recourse to such absurd and sinful means of information; and yet as it is very likely they may sometimes feel curiosity respecting their future destiny, they will, I hope, listen to the plan I have to propose; which, without incurring either guilt or disgrace, will enable them, each for himself, to foretel with considerable accuracy, what they may have to expect in future life. To prevent disappointment, I here candidly confess, that I do not pretend to enable them to divine the amount of their fortunes,-what connections they may form,in what parts they may reside,-nor at what period they will die nor do I regret this; nor need they; since these are circumstances which it is better for us not to know beforehand but, with regard to things of still greater importance than these, such as the degree of success and of happiness they may reasonably expect in their undertakings and situations in the world, they will find the proposed method may be depended on. I shall, then, suppose myself to be consulted by a number of young persons, wishing to be initiated in my secret; but they will not find me commencing my instructions with any mystical ceremony, nor pronouncing any unintelligible charm. I do not even wish to examine the palms of their hands; although I may perhaps take the liberty to notice the expression of their faces; all I require is, some insight into their present characters and past conduct. Suppose one of them, for instance, should appear to be a lad of an indolent, inactive disposition; to whom learning and exertion, whether of body or mind, was always irksome and burdensome, performed as a task, and by compulsion; he is looking forward anxiously to the time when coercion will cease, and when he shall be free from the necessity of exertion.-In this case, I do not hesitate to shake my knowing head, and in the technical language of my profession to pronounce bad luck to him. I need not ask, nor can I guess, what may be his line of business, nor what the extent of his capital; but I can foretel, with great confidence, that he will be neither successful, respectable, nor happy. That when restraints are removed, and he is thrown upon himself, life will be burdensome to him; and that it will, very probably, end in poverty and disgrace. I shall suppose my next applicant to be a gay young lady, desirous of knowing how soon she shall be her own mistress, and how large her fortune will be; as she is in want of a thousand things that she is not allowed to purchase she is very partial to jewels and laces, and to all that is showy and expensive; and wishes extremely to bę able to gratify her desires. Here again, I could augur no good; so many husbands and fathers have been ruined by expensive wives and daughters, for " as poor Richard says, silks and satins put out the kitchen fire," that what could I see in her destiny but bills and bailiffs, a husband in prison, children in want, and herself in indigence? |