information imparted in the lesson, the philosophical thought embodied in it, the logical process employed, the moral maxim or religious truth inculcated, that forms the proper subject of inquiry, as the way and manner in which these facts, thoughts, or truths are expressed, elucidated, and enforced. In short, it is the style which has to be considered, the teacher aiming not to teach grammar, not even to inform the understanding, but to cultivate the taste, lay the basis of a sound critical judgment, and instruct the pupil in the theory and practice of composition. A correct and elegant style is nowise to be acquired more happily than by the imitative study of good models; hence Dr. Johnson, however we may question the superiority of the model whom he set up, was right in advising his disciples to give their days and nights to the pages of Addison, It is not to be understood that all the readings are cited as patterns of good composition; on the contrary, some may be found defective in structure, slovenly in arrangement, ambitious in ornamentation, or vicious in taste. But several of them are given as remarkable illustrations of what is most effective, finished, and beautiful in rhetorical art; all are offered as, on the whole, fair representations of the manner of the different authors; and it will be the province of the pupil to find, or the master to point out, the merits and defects of each. GLASGOW, April, 1874, PAGE King Charles II. Sails for England, Samuel Pepys, King Charles II. Lands at Dover, |