n Di-vert, de-vert', to turn aside, to please o Ech-o, êk'-ko, repercussion of any sound, to sound back ness y Pur-pose, půr'-pås, intention, to re solve z Sol-ace, s81'-lás, comfort, to cheer p Cas-cade, kás-kåde', a cataract, wa-a Ad-e-quate, åd ́-è-kwåte, proportion ter-full ate g Cir-cum-vo-lu-tion, ser-kim-v3-1-5 Im-merge, im-mêrje', to put under shin, the act of rolling Loi-ter, le-tůr, to linger water e Lux-u-ry, ik'-shů-rè, voluptuousness s Tor-rent, torrent, violent and rapidd Lab-yr-inth, lab' ber-inth, a maze, stream t Ta-per, tå-pår, a wax candle, conicale Wil-der-ness, wi dur-nês, a desert 20 Fer-vour, fêr-vår, warmth, zeal intricacy In-vade, in-våde, to attack a coun- Effort, &f-fört, struggle, endeavour h Om-nip-o-tence, om-nip'-po-tense, almighty power The journey of a day; a picture of human life. 1. OBIDAH,a the son of Abensina,' left the caravansera early in the morning, and pursued his journey through the plains of Indostan. He was fresh and vigorous with rest; he was animated with hope; he was incited by desire; he walked swiftly forward over the vallies, and saw the hills gradually rising before him. 2. As he passed along, his ears were delighted with the morning song of the bird of paradise; he was fanned by the last flutters of the sinking breeze, and sprinkled with dew by groves of spices. He sometimes contemplated the towering height of the oak, monarch of the hill; and sometimes caught the gentle fragrance of the primrose, eldest daughter of the spring all his senses were gratified, and all care was banished from his heart. 3. Thus he went on, till the sun approached his meridian, and the increased heat preyed upon his strength; he then looked round about him for some more commodious path. He saw, on his right hand, a grove that seemed to wave its shades as a sign of invitation; he entered it, and found the coolness and verdure irresistibly pleas ant. 4. He did not, however, forget whither he was travelling but found a narrow way bordered with flowers, which appeared to have the same direction with the main road; and was pleased, that, by this happy experiment, The had found means to unite pleasure with business, and o gain the rewards of diligence without suffering its faigues. 5. He, therefore, stiil continued to walk for a time without the least remission of his ardour, except that he was sometimes tempted to stop by the music of the birds, which the heat had assembled in the shade; and sometimes amused himsel with plucking the flowers that covered the banks on either side, or the fruits that hung upon the branches. At last, the green path began to decline from its first tendency, and to wind among the hills and thickets, cooled with fountains, and murmuring with waterfalls. 6. Here Obidah paused for a time, and began to con sider whether it were longer safe to forsake the known and common track; but remembering that the heat was now in its greatest violence, and that the plain was dusty and uneaven, he resolved to pursue the new path, which he supposed only to make a few meanders, in compliance with the varieties of the ground, and to end at last in the common road. 7. Having thus calmed his solicitude, he renewed his pace, though he suspected that he was not gaining ground. This uneasiness of his mind inclined him to Tay hold on every new object, and give way to every sen sation that might sooth or divert" him. He listened to every echo he mounted every hill for a fresh prospect; he turned aside to every cascade" and pleased himself with tracing the course of a gentle river that rolled among the trees, and watered a large region with innumerable circumvolutions.7 8. In these amusements, the hours passed away unac counted; his deviations had perplexed his memory, and he knew not towards what point to travel. He stood pensive and confused, afraid to go forward, lest he should go wrong, yet conscious that the time of loitering was now past. While he was thus tortured with uncertainty, the sky was overspread with clouds; the day vanished from before him; and a sudden tempest gathered round his head. 9. He was now roused by his danger to a quick and painful remembrance of his folly; he now saw how happiness is lost when ease is consulted: he lamented the unmanly impatience that prompted him to seek shelter in the grove and despised the petty curiosity that led him on from trifle to trifle. While he was thus reflecting, the air grew blacker, and a clap of thunder broke his medi tation. 10. He now resolved to do what yet remained in t power, to tread back the ground which he had passed, and try to find some issue where the wood might open into the plain. He prostrated himself on the ground, and recommended his life to the Lord of nature. He rose with confidence and tranquillity, and pressed on with resolution. The beasts of the desert were in motion, and on every hand were heard the mingled howls of rage and fear, and ravage and expiration. All the horrors of darkness and solitude surrounded him: the winds roared in the woods; and the torrents tumbled from the hills. 11. Thus forlorn and distressed, he wandered through the wild, without knowing whither he was going, or whether he was every moment drawing nearer to safety, or to destruction. At length, not fear, but labour, began to overcome him; his breath grew short, and his knees trembled; and he was on the point of lying down in resignation to his fate, when he beheld, through the brambles, the glimmer of a taper. 12. lfe advanced towards the light; and finding that it proceeded from the cottage of a hermit, he called humbly at the door and obtained admission. The old man set before him such provisions as he had collected for himself, on which Obidah fed with eagerness and gratitude. 13. When the repast was over, "tell me," said the hermit, "by what chance thou hast been brought hither? I have been now twenty years an inhabitant of the wil derness," in which I never saw a man before." Obidali then related the occurrences" of his journey, without any concealment or palliation. 14. " Son," said the hermit, "let the errors and follies, the dangers and escape of this day, sink deep into thy heart. Remember my son, that human life is the journey of a day. We rise in the morning of youth, full of vigour, and full of expectation; we set forward with spirit and hope, with gaiety and with diligence, and travel on a while in the direct road of piety towards the mansion of rest. 15. "In a short time, we remit our fervour" and endeavour to find some mitigation of our duty, and some mose easy means of obtaining the same end. We then relax our vigour, and resolve no longer to be terrified with crimes at a distance: but rely on our own constaney, and you a to approach what we resolve never to F touch. We thus enter the bowers of ease, and repose in the shades of security. 18. "Here the heart softens, and vigilancer subsides: we are then willing to inquire whether another advance .eannot be made, and whether we may not, at least, turn our eyes upon the gardens of pleasure. We approach them with scruple and hesitation; we enter them, but enter timorous and trembling; and always hope to pass through them without losing the road of virtue, which, for a while, we keep in our sight, and to which we purposes to return. But temptation succeeds temptation, and one compliance prepares us for another; we in time lose the happiness of innocence, and solace our disquiet with sensual gratification. 17. "By degrees, we let fall the remembrance of our original intention, and quit the only adequate object of rational desire. We entangle ourselves in business, immerge ourselves in luxury, and rove through the labyrinths of inconstancy; till the darkness of old age begins to invade us, and disease and anxiety obstruct our way. We then look back upon our lives with horror, with sorrow, with repentance; and wish, but too often vainly wish, that we had not forsaken the ways of virtue. 18. " Happy are they, my son, who shall learn from thy example, not to despair; but shall remember, that, though the day is past, and their strength is wasted, there yet remains one efforts to be made: that reformation is never hopeless, nor sincere endeavours ever unassisted; that the wanderer may at length return after all his errors; and that he who implores strength and courage from above, shall find danger and difficulty give way before him Go now, my son to thy repose; commit thyself to the care of Omnipotence ; and when the morning calls again to toil, begin anew thy journey and thy life." DR. JOHNSON. 1. m Flour-ish, flår'-rish, to prosper, boast Phid-i-as, fid'-è-ás, a celebrated statuary of Athens Prax-it-e-les, pråks-it'-è-lèz, a famous sculptor of Magna Graecia The importance of a good Education. I CONSIDER a human soul, without education, like marble in a quarry: which shows none of its inherenta beauties, until the skill of the polisher fetches out the colours, makes the surface shine, and discovers every ornamental cloud, spot, and vein, that runs through the body of it. Education, after the same manner, when it works upon a noble mind, draws out to view every latent virtue and perfection, which, without such helps, are never able to make their appearance. 2. If my reader will give me leave to change the allusion' so soon upon him, I shall make use of the same instance to illustrate the force of education, which Aristotle has brought to explain his doctrine of substantial forms, when he tells us that a statues lies hid in a block of marble; and that the art of the statuary only clears away the superfluous matter, and removes the rubbish. The figure is in the stone, and the sculptor only finds it. 3. What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to a human soul. The philosopher, the saint, or the hero, the wise, the good, or the great man, very often lies hid and concealed in a plebeian, which a proper education might have disinterred, and have brought to light. I am therefore much delighted with reading the accounts of eavage nations; and with contemplating those virtues |