made a good use of only the book of Proverbs, there would be no bankruptcies, no failures in trade, no family dissentions, none of those wide spreading evils which, from the careless conduct of men in the common concerns of life, desolate human society; and, I can assure you, the more you read this divine book, the more you will love and value it. I long to hear from you, and with tender affection subscribe myself your friend and mother, M. L. RAMSAY.. FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME. May 14, 1810. I Now write to you, dear David, to thank you for your letter from on board ship, which I received the day before yesterday, and which was highly acceptable both to your father and myself. If your father and I were not very loving and very industrious people, we should feel very solitary at present. John, David, and James at a distance; the rest out of hearing; and all the young ones away. These cirumstances make a great change in our household, and one which needs both love and labour to make it tolerable There is now no polite attention at the long table to wait till a servant is disengaged. Even slow-paced Jack is more than we want at our lessened board. I now long very much to hear from you; it seems to me a great while since we parted; and if you knew the delight your ship-letter has given your parents, as a mark of attention, affection, and home love, I am sure it would make your heart happy. My anxiety that you should behave well, and make the very best use of your collegiate opportunities is very great. But I thank God, I feel much of the cheerfulness of hope. I know you have good abilities, quick apprehension; I trust you will not be indolent, and that a manly shame (to be ashamed to do wrong is a manly feeling) will prevent your adding yourself to the list of the Carolinian triflers, whose conduct has brought a college, such as Princeton, into disrepute. I hope you will feel a laudable pride in inheriting your father's literary reputation in the college where he received an education, of which he has made so excellent an use, yet an education much below what you may receive at the same institution, from the great improvements made in every branch of science since his time. I hope absence wont weaken your affection. Continue us; the more you love your father and to love and at some future period, when standing in the relation of a parent yourself, you will have sensations unknown to all but parents; the consciousness of having been a good son, will fill you with inexpressible delight. God bless you, my dear son; your father joins in love to you, with your faithful friend and mother, M. L. RAMSAY. FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME. June 13, 1810. AN open candid disposition endears a young person much to his friends, and must make him very comfortable to himself. That sort of reserve, which arises from a consciousness of having wasted the time which ought to have been devoted to study; and being, consequently, unprepared for answering any questions proposed; or from a sullen unyielding temper, which shrinks from investigation, except when proceeding from tutors and masters it cannot be be avoided, is a reserve so unlovely, that I witness it with pain; and I do most earnestly beseech you to strive against such a temper, which if unresisted and unsubdued, will shew itself on thousand occasions besides that specified rect one. above. Even an incorrect answer, if given in an amiable tone of voice, indicating a desire to be set right, if found in error, is preferable to silence, or to an unwilling reply, even if a corGod has given you an excellent understanding. Oh, make use of it for wise purposes, acknowledge it as his gift, and let it regulate your conduct and harmonize your passions. Be industrious, be amiable. Every act of self-denial will bring its own reward with it, and make the next step in duty and in virtue easier and more pleasant than the former. I am glad you like your room-mate. I hope he is one who will set you no bad example, and with whom you may enjoy yourself pleasantly and innocently. I delight to hear every thing about you, and you can have neither pleasure nor pain in which I do not sincerely and affectionately participate. Eleanor and I drank tea with aunt Laurens last evening. Frederick, fourteen days younger than William, was learning Fructus and Cornu, with such earnestness, in order to be ready for Mr. Moore against the next day, that I could hardly believe it was my wild nephew. Mild John was in a corner smiling, and helping Frederick whenever he seemed to be at a loss. The girls all send their love to you; so do Parnoble your good friend and sister desires not to be forgotten. Mrs. Coram is constant in her inquiries after you; so are many other friends. It is a charming thing to be beloved. God bless you, my very dear child; may he watch over your youth, and keep you from shame. I embrace you with an overflowing tide of affection. MARTHA LAURENS RAMSAY. FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME. July 18, 1810. FROM the tenor of your last letter, it may be fairly inferred, that you are dissatisfied with the strictness of a collegiate course; and if you should not go through a collegiate course, what then?-Can you go through any vituous course without economy, industry, and self-denial?Can you fit yourself for usefulness on earth, or happiness in heaven, in any other way than doing your duty in the station in which God has placed you! And if your chief ambition is, without caring whether you are as wise or good, to wish, at least, to be richer than your father and mother, will not a diligent attention to collegiate studies and duties be the readiest method to fit you for such eminence in whatever profession you choose, as shall enable you to attain this golden treasure? I assure you, many young men, with |