moral and religious considerations, extremely dangerous. The master was a proverbial miser, and probably consulted nothing beyond œconomy in all his arrangements. Thence it happened, that boys of all ages, and even young men, were indiscriminately mingled together, not only in the play-ground but also in their bed-rooms, which I soon perceived to be a most execrable custom.

* At or about the age of nine years, I was providentially taken from this place, and was sent to a very reputable school at Greenwich, kept by the Rev. Doctor B. where considerable care was taken, speaking of those times, 1768, to preserve the morals, and cultivate the minds of the scholars; so that had I not laboured under certain peculiar disadvantages, I might have made a tolerable progress in school knowledge.

The little advance which I made in my studies originated from the following singular cause. At the first school to which I was sent, a fit of rage which transported me one day, in a quarrel with another boy, and for which I ought to have been flogged, was mistaken, first by an old woman, to show her sagacity; next by an apothecary, to dispose of his drugs perhaps; and lastly by every one else, on the authority of the two first, for a fit of real insanity. In consequence of this opinion (in which I rea

dily acquiesced, as it gained me a great number of play-days, and a vast fund of amusement in alarming and pursuing those who feared to be bit by me), I was taken from school, and issued, physicked, and sea-bathed during two years, until I began really to believe it myself.

When I was afterwards placed under Doctor B. my uncommon case was explained to him, and he was particularly desired never to flog me, or even to frighten me, if it could be avoided. Being permitted to choose what I would learn, I declined altogether to meddle with Greek, which alarmed me by its name and unknown character; and with respect to my Latin I was extremely idle and careless. Thus my imposture was punished by the loss of all the advantages which I should have derived from the knowledge of the Greek language, and which I now know to be great, though I have lately (eight months of 1819) learned to read the Greek Testament by the aid of a lexicon.

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Yet to those parts of education which are enlivened by the glowing colours that spring from the imagination and heart, I was neither insensible nor indifferent; and though I forfeited the greatest part of my weekly allowances for lying abed during the morning school, yet the pleasure that I took in drawing, often roused me at four o'clock in the morning, in winter, to work at a favourite design, even by candle

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light. French, the use of the globes, fortification, and field-surveying, were also in somer degree pleasing to me. But Euclid's Elements, arithmetic, and logarithms, were my aversion, as well as merchants' accounts. This latter I was so foolish as to consider illiberal and ungentleman-like; fit indeed for a tradesman, but useless to one who was determined to be a soldier, that is to say, a hero, and of course a general!

My desire to be a soldier, or my desire of military glory, or my pride, was so steady and immoveable, that it swallowed up many other follies, and was, I believe, in the hands of a gracious Providence, an instrument of much benefit to me. From all my classical reading of amusement at school, viz. Rollin, Plutarch, Virgil, (and Homer, in English,) besides innumerable romancès respecting love and glory, I gathered that glory was the great and only adequate object of every noble soul; that glory consisted in effecting the happiness of mankind, particularly of our own country; and that the means of accomplishing this glorious object were, to be brave, temperate, just, disinterested, benevolent, generons, and wise. As I also felt a great desire and love for all these fine things, in speculation, so I naturally concluded that I was in no small degree all that I loved and desired.va glash akronst & va Stan dif ཀུ་

But I was beyond measure surprised and mortified to find, that these subjects, when proposed in this simple view to the generality of my companions, appeared to make little or no impression upon them; except in exciting ridicule at my folly and madness, as they termed it, in supposing that such things were true, or prac ticable; or, if practicable, any thing more than romantic absurdity!

The strong impression which was made upon my imagination, by the perusal of ancient history, poetry, and romance, soon displayed itself in the following manner. Among other books, I read Pope's Homer so often, and with so much pleasure, that I could nearly repeat whole books from memory; and at last I resolved to realize, if possible, those glorious scenes, which afforded me such rapture from the mere perusal. This purpose I at length effected in miniature, partly by example and kindling the fire of puerile emulation in the bosoms of my friends, and partly by the agreement of some wags, who sought for amusement in my folly.

That the minds of boys at school should frequently be vitiated by the perusal of books from circulating libraries, is not at all surprising, because it is very difficult to exclude them from schools in their vicinity; but I must own, that it appears at first sight wonderful, that an unre

served history of the Pagan Mythology, such as the School Pantheon for instance, which is in reality the Pandemonium of Milton, together with Ovid's Metamorphoses, should be given into the hands of boys*.

If the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God, then it is certain that the deities of the ancients were evil spirits. St. Paul declares, "I say, that "the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they "sacrifice to DEVILS, and NOT TO GOD; and "I would not that ye should have fellowship

with devils: ye cannot drink the cup of the "Lord and the cup of devils: ye cannot be par"takers of the Lord's table, and the table of "devils." 1 Cor. x.

The Jews were severely punished for offering the bodies only of their children unto these idols. What then do we deserve, for offerin the hearts and minds of our children to the same devils, as pourtrayed in Ovid and the Pantheon?

St. Paul says again, “I speak as to wise "men, judge ye what I say." "Behold Israel after the flesh, are not they which eat of the SACRIFICES, PARTAKERS of THE ALTAR?" In

The Reader will doubtless often perceive a degree of abruptness, and unconnectedness in the succession of many of my paragraphs. This defect, proceeds in great measure from the chasms induced by the very numerous defalcations, and excisions of matter judged improper.