liable to be carried whithersoever the impulse of appetite may direct. 3. There is in the mind of such a man an intellectual spring, urging him to the pursuit of mental good; and if the minds of his family are also cultivated, conversation becomes the more interesting, and the sphere of domestic enjoyment enlarged. The calm satisfaction which books afford, puts him into a disposition to relish more exquisitely, the tranquil delight inseparable from the indulgence of conjugal and parental affection; and as he will be more respectable in the eyes of his family, than he who can teach them nothing, he will be naturally induced to cultivate whatever may preserve, and shun whatever may impair, that respect. 4. He who is inured to reflection, will carry his views beyond the present hour; he will extend his prospect into futurity, and be disposed to make some provision for his approaching wants; whence will result an increased motive to industry, together with a care to husband his earnings, and to avoid unnecessary expense. The poor man who has gained a taste for good books, will, in all likelihood, become thoughtful, and when you have given the poor a habit of thinking, you have conferred on them a much greater favor than by the gift of a large sum of money, since you have put them in possession of the principle of all legitimate prosperity. The Rev. Mr. Hall, from one of whose sermons these excellent remarks, in favor of intellectual culture, are taken, was a finished preacher, and a tasteful and able writer. He was born at Arnsby, near Leicester, May 2d, 1764, and died February 21st, 1831. He was so embarrassed during the delivery of his first discourse, that he put both hands over his face, and, resuming his seat, said: “O, I have lost all my ideas." But oratory being "in him," as was the case with Sheridan; and, possessing untiring industry, notwithstanding this failure in his first attempt at public speaking, he became "the prince of pulpit orators." His eloquence held at will his hearers "spell bound and breathless," or "dissolved them in floods of sympathy." One Saturday evening, while he was preparing himself to discharge the professional duties of the approaching Sunday, a young man, a member of his congregation, called at his house, and wished to speak with him. Upon being told that Mr. Hall was in his study deeply engaged, he said that his business was urgent, and that he "must see him." He was admitted into the study, where he said to Mr. Hall, “I think I have a talent for public speaking, and I do not wish to hide it in a napkin, I wish to devote it wholly to the Christian ministry." After briefly examining him, as to his intellectual powers, and general information, Mr. Hall said: "Go home, young man, your talent will not need a napkin; the smallest pocket handkerchief in the house will be sufficiently large for it." This may, or may not have been judicious advice. It is not very material whether it was or not, for "There's a divinity that shapes our ends, " com Mr. Hall was right in admiring Plato's definition of education, as that which qualifies men to be good citizens, and renders them fit to govern or to obey." This is decidedly the best ever given. Education is valuable so far, and so far only, as it tends to produce that result. And that is the legitimate and natural consequence of the harmonious culture of the intellectual faculties, and moral feelings of our nature. To be properly educated is, to be a good citizen,-is not only to have the ability to govern," but also the disposition "to obey," those municipal laws, which mand what is right, and prohibit what is wrong." At various periods in our history, mobocrats have set at defiance, both the laws of our country, and those of God. But these laws will eventually triumph. A spirit of insubordination and mobocracy may, for a time, in some sections, as when in days of old, "the fountains of the great deep were broken up, rise fifteen cubits" above all our constituted and broad-based authorities; and as its waters spread, they may be streaked with blood, yet the countrymen of Washington, if rightly EDUCATED, will ultimately sustain the supreme laws of the land. 126. CHARACTER of George WasHINGTON.-Thomas Jefferson. 1. His mind was great and powerful, without being of the very first order; his penetration strong, though not so acute as that of Newton, Bacon, or Locke: and, as far as he saw, no judgment was ever sounder. It was slow in operation, being little aided by invention or imagination; but sure in conclusion. Hence it was the common remark of his officers, of the advantage he derived from the councils of war, where, hearing all suggestions, he selected whatever was best; and, certainly, no general ever planned his battles more judiciously. 2. But if deranged during the course of action; if any member of his plan was dislocated by sudden circumstances, he was slow in re-adjustment. The consequences were, that he often failed in the field; and rarely against an enemy in station, as at Boston and York. He was incapable of fear, meeting personal dangers with the calmest unconcern. Perhaps the strongest feature in his character, was prudence; never acting until every circumstance, every consideration, was maturely weighed; refraining, if he saw a doubt; but when once decided, going through with his purpose, whatever obstacles opposed. 3. His integrity was the most pure; his justice, the most inflexible. I have never known any motives of interest, or consanguinity, or friendship, or hatred, being able to bias his decision. He was, indeed, in every sense of the word, a wise, a good, and a great man. His temper was naturally irritable and high toned; but reflection and resolution had obtained a firm and habitual ascendancy over it. If ever, however, it broke its bounds, he was tremendous in his wrath. 4. His heart was not warm in its affections; but he exactly calculated every man's value, and gave him a solid esteem, proportionate to it. His person was fine; his stature, exactly what one would wish; his deportment, easy, erect, and noble; the best horseman of his age; and the most graceful figure that could be seen on horseback. Although, in the circle of friends, where he might be unreserved with safety, he took a free share in conversation, his colloquial talents were not above mediocrity, possessing neither copiousness of ideas, nor fluency of words. 5. In public, when called upon for a sudden opinion, he was unready, short, and embarrassed. Yet he wrote readily, rather diffusely, in correct style. This he had acquired by conversation with the world; for his education was merely reading, writing, and common arithmetic, to which he added surveying at a later day. His time was employed in action chiefly, reading little, and that only in agricultural and English history. 6. His correspondence became necessarily extensive; and, with journalizing his agricultural proceedings, occupied most of his leisure hours within doors. On the whole, his character was, in its mass, perfect; in nothing, bad; in few points, indifferent; and, it may truly be said, that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a great man, and to place him in the same constellation with whatever worthies have merited from man, and everlasting remembrance. 7. For his was the singular destiny of leading the armies of his country successfully through an arduous war, for the establishment of its independence; of conducting its councils through the birth of a government, new in its forms and principles, until it had settled down in a quiet and orderly train; and of scrupulously obeying the laws through the whole of its career, civil and military, of which the history of the world furnishes no other example. To George Washington was the founder of the North American republic, the first president of the United States, and an incorruptible patriot. His name needs no panegyric. It will live for ever in the hearts of his countrymen. His fame rests on the adamant of good deeds. His best eulogy will be an imitation of his glorious example. It constitutes the most valuable portion of our national capital. His memory is immortal. Washington, under God, we chiefly owe the manifold blessings of national independence and religious liberty. If, therefore, gratitude be due on earth, it is due to him. Let it fill every heart with thrilling exultation, and as cend to the holy habitation of Divinity. How large were his sacrifices of time, treasure, and care! How gloriously did he withstand the tempt ing whispers of demagogues! How great was the intrepidity with which he dared the tyrant's rage! With what fearlessness did he, before high heaven, renounce all allegiance to George III and the British constitution! With what wisdom he administered the United States' government! With what fairness and fidelity, he made and maintained treaties! And with what moral sublimity, did he live and die! Let the history of his life answer. That is a bright and cheering picture upon which we should gaze and scan, until our minds take the hue of the splendors we contemplate. The city of Thebes rose to sudden elevation, through the instrumentality of Epaminondas; but the moment of his dissolution was the moment of her fall. Like Epaminondas, the brightest name of all antiquity, Washington, the peculiar pride of modern times, exalted the glory of his country. But here the comparison ends. The monuments of Thebes are crumbled in dust, and republicanism there slumbers in the grave of oblivion; but America still maintains the high and happy ground on which Washington placed her. The banner, which, under his auspices, waved in triumph over British tyranny, still mingles its folds with the stars and stripes of the union. Let the spirit of Washington's patriotism pervade the people, and the republic, through all time, is safe. 127. THE LAST HOURS OF WASHINGTON.-G. W. P. Custis. 1. Twenty-eight years have passed since an interesting group were assembled in the death-room, and witnessed the last hours of Washington. So keen and unsparing hath been the scythe of time, that of all those who watched over the patriarch's couch, on the 13th and 14th of December, 1799, but a single personage survives. 2. On the morning of the 13th, the General was engaged in making some improvements in the front of Mount Vernon. As was usual with him, he carried his own compass, noticed his observations, and marked out the ground. The day be came rainy with sleet; and the improver remained so long exposed to the inclemency of the weather, as to be considerably wetted before his return to the house. About one o'clock, he was seized with chillness and nausea, but having changed his clothes, he sat down to his in-door work, there being no moment of his time for which he had not provided an appropriate employment. 3. At night, on joining his family circle, the General complained of a slight indisposition; and, after a single cup of tea, repaired to his library, where he remained writing until between 11 and 12 o'clock. Mrs. Washington retired about the usual hour, but becoming alarmed at not hearing the accustomed sound of the library door as it closed for the night, and gave signal for rest in the well regulated mansion, she rose again, and continued sitting up, in much anxiety and suspense. At length, the well known step was heard on the stair, and upon the General's entering his chamber, the lady chided him for staying up so late, knowing him to be unwell; to which Washington made this memorable reply: "I came as soon as my business was accomplished. You well know, that through a long life, it has been my unvaried rule, never to put off till the morrow, the duties which should be performed to-day." 4. Having first covered the fire with care, the man of mighty labors sought repose; but it came not, as it long had been wont to do, to comfort and restore after the many earnest occupations of the well spent day. The night was passed in feverish restlessness and pain. "Tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep," was destined no more to visit his couch; yet the manly sufferer uttered no complaint, would permit no one to be disturbed in their rest, on his account; and it was only at day-break he would consent that the overseer might be called in, and bleeding resorted to. A vein was opened, buɩ no relief afforded. 5. Couriers were despatched to Dr. Craik, the family phy. sician, and Drs. Dick and Brown, as consulting physicians, all of whom came, with speed. The proper remedies were administered, but without producing their healing effects; while the patient, yielding to the anxious looks of all around him, waived his usual objections to medicines, and took those which were prescribed, without hesitation or remark. The |