me it no longer gives any,' said the savage. After pronouncing these few words, he turned to Billy, and, casting his eye on a bush in full flower, 'See,' said he, 'young man, does not that gay appearance of flowers give thee a sort of joy to look at it?' It does, indeed,' replied Billy. 'And yet,' said the old man, 'it delights not me!' adding, with some degree of impetuosity, 'Depart, haste,-fly to yon camp of your friends; get home, that your fathers may still see with pleasure the rising of the sun, and the flowers of the field."

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Taking advantage of this pathetic overflow, Billy and Tommy (who, from some unexplained source, have resumed the attire of English youths, and furnished themselves with walking-sticks) return to their countrymen, and ultimately to their native shore. The family meeting is very affecting. "When Billy entered the town of his nativity, he said to his friend, 'It will not be imprudent for you to go first and gradually prepare my parents for my appearance, lest, if it should be too sudden, the joy may be more than nature is able to support.' accordance with this "not imprudent" suggestion, Tommy went first and broke the ice; and, on Mr. Freeman exclaiming, "Let me behold him, and I am the happiest of men!' stepped to the door and beckoned Billy, who came in at the sight of him Mrs. Freeman cried, "It is he! it is he' and fainted away; Mr. Freeman exclaimed, 'What do I see? Is this my son?' 'I am that son,' said Billy, and embraced him. By this time Mrs. Freeman was recovered. It is impossible to describe the joy that was occasioned by so happy an event. The servants came running to see him, and in less than an hour all the people in the village were gathered round the house, crying out, 'Let us see Billy Freeman! the good, the kind and benevolent Billy Freeman!' He went out to them. At the sight of him all cried out, 'God bless you! God send you health and prosperity! huzzah!'. . . . ... And why was all this? I will tell you. It was because a good boy was

returned to his parents: had he been a bad boy no one would have taken any notice of him." Thus, Billy Freeman had his reward, and the two families of the Freemans and Trueloves "all lived in the most perfect friendship, nothing being wanted which could in the least contribute to their felicity."

To wind up all, we are furnished with an Essay on Friendship, "written by an ingenious and celebrated young lady," who provides a mass of dissertation somewhat wide of the mark, and embodying precepts like the following: "We should endeavour as much as possible to keep company with those who are above us.

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we rise as much as we sink with people below us. By people above us, we are not to understand with regard to birth, that is the least consideration; but with regard to their merit, and the light in which the world considers them. The pride of being the first in company is but too common, but it is exceedingly silly and prejudicial. Nothing lets down a character more than that wrong and ridiculous turn. Knowledge will introduce a man, and good breeding will endear him to the best companies. The scholar without good breeding is a pedant, that is, a person who, having a stock of learning, carries or behaves himself so disagreeably, by making unseasonable and misapplied criticisms, that his company is quite troublesome, and, instead of being instructive, is contemptible the philosopher is churlish and obstinate, the soldier a brute, and every one disagreeable !" And with this somewhat warm peroration the history concludes. It is puzzling to ascertain the exact age at which it is intended to be read. Its form and its commencement seem adapted to about the age of seven years, but the style grows with the growing years of the heroes, and the final essay is evidently addressed to the man of fashion and the philosopher.

Good manners, in the moral lessons of those days, form one of the main essentials of the virtuous charac

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ter. Very good things they are, no doubt; but though we cannot help regretting that "pretty behaviour" is extinct, and unrestrained license has superseded the old code of infantile politeness, still we can hardly say that we should wish all children to be such stuck-up formal little chits as the Miss Townsends, in that valuable story entitled the "Consequences of good and dutiful Behaviour." These young ladies, the elder of whom was aged six years, having been invited to visit Mrs. Offley, “came, and with curtseys took their leave, and asked their mamma if she had any commands." Arrived, "they walked into the house, where the servant introduced them to Mrs. Offley, to whom they paid their compliments in the prettiest manner imaginable. Miss Harriet, who was the elder, and about six years of age, then helped her sister to pull off her things, which they laid down with great care. On Miss Offley's coming into the room, they paid their respects to her in the same manner. Soon after the door again opened, and Miss Gresham appeared, her maid with her."

Miss Gresham is the awful example in the piece, an "idle, obstinate, and disobedient miss," who that very morning, when her attention ought to have been devoted to her reading, had burst out with, "Look, mamma, there's the cat on the wall;" and absolutely, on her introduction to Mrs. Offley, "required to be reminded" by her maid to hold up her head. Those little Pharisees, Miss Townsend and Miss Charlotte, "observed Miss Gresham with concern, and wished to see her behave better." Invited into the other room, "Miss Gresham immediately started from her chair, and was rushing out of the room, when she was stopped by Miss Offley, who desired her to observe how the Miss Townsends retired. She made an awkward curtsey, not showing a desire of imitating the young ladies' graceful manner, and then ran out, jumping, and setting up her shoulders. Miss Townsend and Miss Charlotte walked upright and properly with Miss Offley; they

observed the pictures, found out the likenesses, and seemed much pleased with them. Miss Gresham paid no attention to any thing; and when they went into Mrs. Offley's chamber, strided up two or three stairs at a time, or crept on her hands and knees. Miss Townsend admired the pleasantness of the room, observed it was very light to read or work in; and how very entertaining is it,' said she, to see the number of people passing about!' Miss Charlotte then opened a large Bible which lay upon the table, and finding a print of Joseph and his brethren in Egypt, 'Oh, sister!' she cried, 'do but see how overjoyed this good Joseph looks! I am sure he loves all his brothers, though they have been so cruel; and how he hugs Benjamin! Then do but see how ashamed the naughty brothers look! Ah! you may well hang down your heads; and yet, as Joseph forgave them, I should not be angry with them; they were sorry, I believe, for their fault, and they could do no more than ask pardon and resolve to amend.' Miss Townsend kissed her sister for her remark, and looking at the print of Job sitting upon the dunghill, 'Poor man,' says she, 'how much he suffered but he was good; and God Almighty let him be tried with afflictions, that he might show he could do his duty in every state of life in which it pleased Providence to place him.' After this and much more of the same kind we are not surprised to learn that "these amiable girls took a most genteel leave of Mrs. and Miss Offley;" and that the former said to them, "My sweet young ladies, wherever you visit you confer a favour."

Harriet Howard, aged seven, has accomplished manners, but wants " discernment," and "measures her respect to company and strangers by their dress and consequence in the world. It is no matter whether you are amiable or accomplished; affluence, and an exalted station, are, in her opinion, sufficient to compensate for the want of these and every other internal ornament." Having been betrayed into attentions to a finely-dressed

lady's-maid, she "deals out very severe invectives against the servants for exposing her, by their blunders, to a situation so truly humiliating to one of her haughty spirits." This is not unlike many modern Harriets, we dare say; but we do not now describe them thus: and if we did, children would not understand us; but we are not to suppose these sorts of books were thus unintelligible to the children for whom they were written; they were accustomed to this sort of language in conversation. Captain Sandford, we venture to say, is not misrepresented when he is described as stating to his friend that "travel is certainly pleasing to an inquisitive and speculative mind; but even this, like other things, has its inconveniences." The power of making this sort of observations was valued; and we apprehend it is not impossible that Colonel T- may have taken occasion on the sight of an ungoverned horse to inform his little son upon the government of the passions, and really have told him that "it is in vain to resist when pleasure and opportunity solicit, for, unless your inclinations be subdued by the constant discipline of reason, they will not obey her voice when they become furious and importunate."

Mrs. Hofland, who continues popular, has brought something of this style down to our own time. Yet she too, we apprehend, is declining from her zenith; the deliberate sesquipedalian manner has now few votaries. Nevertheless, its pompous periods and studied inculcation of morals are far from being so distasteful to children as those who judge for them are apt to imagine. A child loves directness, and profits by it. A great deal has been said about the foolishness of troubling children with moral stories, and the superior advantages of the old pure imaginative fictions; but the least profitable reading of all to a child is that where the author attempts to slip in his moral unperceived, and by a sly sidewind to influence the character of his reader. This is lost labour; it may spoil the story, but we doubt if it ever benefits the child.