where it comes to perfection, which it seldom does in our climate, except by means of artificial heat.

H. I suppose, then, grapes are finest in the hottest countries.

T. Not so, neither; they are properly a fruit of the temperate zone, and do not grow well between the tropics. And in very hot countries it is scarcely possible to make wines of any kind to keep, for they ferment so strongly as to turn sour almost immediately.

G. I think I have read of palm-wine on the coast of Guinea.

T. Yes. A sweet juice flows abundantly from incisions in certain species of the palm, which ferments immediately, and makes a very pleasant sort of weak wine. But it must be drunk the same day it is made, for on the next it is as sour as vinegar.

G. What is vinegar-is it not sour wine?

T. Every thing that makes wine will make vinegar also; and the stronger the wine, the stronger the vinegar. The vinous fermentation must be first brought on, but it need not produce perfect wine; for when the intention is to make vinegar, the liquor is kept still warm, and it goes on without stopping to another kind of fermentation, called the acetous, the product of which is vinegar.

G. I have heard of alegar. I suppose that is vinegar made of ale.

T. It is; but as ale is not so strong as wine, the vinegar made from it is not so sharp or perfect. But housewives make good vinegar with sugar and water.

H. Will vinegar make people drunk if they take too much of it?

T. No. The wine loses its intoxicating quality as well as its taste on turning to vinegar.

G. What are spirituous liquors have they not something to do with wine?

T. Yes. They consist of the spirituous or intoxicating part of wine separated from the rest. You may remember that on talking of distillation, I told you that it was the raising of a liquor in steam or vapour, and condensing it again; and that some liquors were more easily turned to vapours than others, and were therefore called more volatile or evaporable. Now, wine is a mixed or compound liquor, of which the greater part is water, but what heats and intoxicates is vinous spirit.

This spirit, being much more volatile than water, on the application of a gentle heat. flies off in vapour, and may be collected by itself in distilling vessels;—and thus are made spirituous liquors.

G. Will everything that you call wine yield spirits?

T. Yes; everything that has undergone the vinous fermentation. Thus, in England, a great deal of malt-spirit is made from a kind of wort brought into fermentation, and then set directly to distil, without first making ale or beer of it. Gin is a spirituous liquor also got from corn, and flavoured with juniper berries. Even potatoes, carrots, and turnips, may be made to afford spirits, by first fermenting their juices. In the West Indies rum is distilled from the dregs of the sugar canes washed out by water and fermented. But brandy is distilled from the fermented juice of the grape, and is made in the wine countries.

G. Is spirit of wine different from spirituous liquors?

T. It is the strongest part of them got by distilling over again; for all these still contain a good deal of water, along with a pure spirit, which may be separated by a gentler heat than was used at first. But in order to procure this as strong and pure as possible, it must be distilled several times over, always leaving some of the watery part behind. When perfectly pure, it is the same, whatever spirituous liquor it is got from.

H. My mamma has little bottles of lavender water. What is that?

T. It is spirit of wine flavoured with lavender flowers; and it may in like manner be flavoured with many other fragrant things, since their odoriferous part is volatile, and will rise in vapour along with the spirit.

H. Will not spirit of wine burn violently?

G. That it will, I can tell you; and so will rum and brandy, for you know it was set on fire when we made snapdragon.

T. All spirituous liquors are highly inflammable, and the more so the purer they are. One way of trying the purity of spirit is to see if it will burn all away without leaving any moisture behind. Then it is much lighter than water, and that affords another way of judging of its strength. A hollow ivory ball is set to swim in it; and the deeper it sinks down, the lighter, and therefore the more spirituous, is the liquor.

G. I have heard much of the mischief done by spirituous liquors-pray what good do they do?

T. The use and abuse of wine and spirits is a very copious subject; and there is scarcely any gift of human art, the general effects of which are more dubious. You know what

wine is said to be given for in the Bible?

G. To make glad the heart of man.

T. Right. And nothing has such an immediate effect in inspiring vigour of body and mind as wine. It banishes sorrow and care, recruits from fatigue, enlivens the fancy, inflames the courage, and performs a hundred fine things, of which I could bring you abundant proof from the poets. The physicians, too, speak almost as much in its favour, both in diet and medicine. But its really good effects are only when used in moderation; and it unfortunately is one of these things which man can hardly be brought to use moderately. Excess in wine brings on effects the very contrary to its benefits. It stupifies and enfeebles the mind, and fills the body with incurable diseases. And this it does even when used without intoxication. But a drunken man loses for the time every distinction of a reasonable creature, and becomes worse than a brute beast. On this account, Mohammed entirely forbade its use to his followers, and to this day it is not publicly drunk in any of the countries that receive the Mohammedan religion.

H. Was not that right?

T. I think not. If we were entirely to renounce everything that may be misused, we should have scarce any enjoyments left; and it is a proper exercise of our strength of mind, to use good things with moderation, when we have it in our power to do otherwise.

G. But spirituous liquors are not good at all; are they?

T. They have so little good and so much bad in them, that I confess I wish their common use could be abolished altogether. They are generally taken by the lowest class of people for the express purpose of intoxication; and they are much sooner prejudicial to the health than wine, and indeed, when drunk unmixed, are no better than slow poison.

G. Spirit of wine is useful, though, for several things-is it not?

T. Yes; and I would have all spirits kept in the hands of chemists and artists who know how to employ them usefully. Spirit of wine will dissolve many things that water will not.

Apothecaries use them in drawing tinctures, and artists in preparing colours and making varnishes. They are likewise very powerful preservatives from corruption. You may have seen serpents and insects brought from abroad in phials full of spirits.

G. I have.

H. And I know of another use of spirits.

T. What is that?

H. To burn in lamps. My grandmamma has a tea kettle with a lamp under it to keep the water hot, and she burns spirits in it.

T. So she does. Well-so much for the uses of these liquors.

G. But you have said nothing about ale and beer. Are they wholesome?

T. Yes, in moderation. But they are sadly abused, too, and rob many men of their health as well as their money and

senses.

G. Small beer does no harm, however.

T. No-and we will indulge in a good draught of it when we get home.

H. I like water better.

T. Then drink it, by all means.

He that is satisfied with water has one want the less, and may defy thirst, in this country, at least.

THE BOY WITHOUT A GENIUS.

MR WISEMAN, the schoolmaster, at the end of the summer vacation, received a new scholar, with the following letter:

SIR,-This will be delivered to you by my son Samuel, whom I beg leave to commit to your care, hoping that by your well-known skill and attention you will be able to make something of him; which, I am sorry to say, none of his masters has hitherto done. He is now eleven, and yet can do nothing but read his mother tongue, and that but indifferently. We sent him at seven to a grammar-school in our neighbourhood; but his master soon found that his genius was not turned to learning languages. He was then put to writing, but he set about it so awkwardly that he made nothing of it. He was tried at accounts, but it appeared that he had no genius for that neither. He could do

nothing in geography for want of memory. In short, if he has any genius at all, it does not yet shew itself. But I trust to your experience in cases of this nature, to discover what he is fit for, and to instruct him accordingly. I beg to be favoured shortly with your opinion about him, and remain, sir, your most obedient servant, HUMPHREY ACRES.

When Mr Wiseman had read this letter, he shook his head, and said to his assistant, a pretty subject they have sent us here! a lad that has a great genius for nothing at all. But perhaps my friend Mr Acres expects that a boy should shew a genius for a thing before he knows anything about itno uncommon error! Let us see, however, what the youth looks like. suppose he is a human creature, at least.

Master Samuel Acres was now called in. He came hanging down his head, and looking as if he was going to be flogged.

Come hither, my dear! said Mr Wiseman-Stand by me, and do not be afraid. Nobody will hurt you. How old are you?

Eleven last May, sir.

A well grown boy of your age, indeed. You love play, I dare say?

Yes, sir.

What, are you a good hand at marbles?

Pretty good, sir.

And can spin a top, and drive a hoop, I suppose?
Yes, sir.

Then you have the full use of your hands and fingers?
Yes, sir.

Can you write, Samuel?

I learned a little, sir, but I left it off again.

And why so?

Because I could not make the letters.

No! Why, how do you think other boys do?-have they more fingers than you?

No, sir.

Are you not able to hold a pen as well as a marble?
Samuel was silent.

Let me look at your hand.

Samuel held out both his paws like a dancing bear.

I see nothing here to hinder you from writing as well as any boy in the school. You can read, I suppose?