till every fresh production, like the progeny of Banquo, is followed by

Another, and another, and another!

Is a lady, however deftitute of talents, education, or knowledge of the world, whofe ftudies have been completed by a circulating library, in any diftrefs of mind? The writing a novel fuggefts itself as the best foother of her forrows! Does the labour under any deprefiion of circumftances? Writing a novel occurs as the readieft receipt for mending them! And the folaces herfelf with the conviction that the fubfcription which has been given to her importunity or her neceffities, has been offered as an homage to her genius. And this confidence instantly levies a fresh contribution for a fucceeding work. Capacity and cultivation are fo little taken into the account, that writing a book seems to be now confidered as the only fure refource which the idle and illiterate have always in their power.

May the Author be indulged in a fhort digreffion while the remarks, though rather out of its place, that the corruption occafioned by these books has fpread fo wide, and defcended fo low, that not only among milliners, mantua-makers, and other trades, where numbers work together, the labour of one girl is frequently facrificed that The may be fpared to read thofe mifchievous books to the others; but the has been affured by clergymen, who have witneffed the fact, that they are procured and greedily read in the wards of our Hofpitals! an awful hint, that thofe who teach the poor to read, fhould not only take care to furnish them with principles which will lead them to abhor corrupt books, but fhould also furnish them with fuch books as fhall ftrengthen and confirm their principles.† And

It is furely not neceflary to state, that no difrespect can be here intended to thofe females of real genius and correct chara&er, fome of whofe justly admired writings in this kind are accurate hiftories of life and manners, and ftriking delineations of character. It is not their fault if their works have been attended with the confequences which ufually attend good originals, that of giving birth to a multitude of miferable imitations.

†The above facts furnish no argument on the fide of those who would keep the poor in ignorance, Thofe who cannot read can hear, and are likely to hear to worfe purpose than thofe who have been better

let every Chriftian remember, that there is no other way of entering truly into the fpirit of that divine prayer, which petitions that the name of God may be hallowed," that "his kingdom (of grace) may come," and that "his will may be done on earth as it is in "heaven," than by each individual contributing according to his meafure to accomplish the work for which he prays; for to pray that these great objects may be promoted, without contributing to their pro motion by our exertions, our money, and our influence, is a palpable inconsistency!

CHAP. IX.

On the Religiousd Moral ufe of History and Geography

WHILE every fort of ufeful knowledge should be carefully imparted to young perfons, it fhould be imparted not merely for its own fake, but alfo for the fake of its fubferviency to higher things. All human learning fhould be taught, not as an end, but a means; and in this view even a leffon of history or geographymay be converted into a leffon of religion. In the ftu dy of hiftory, the inftructor will accuftom the pupil· not merely to flore her memory with facts and anecdotes, and to afcertain dates and epochs; but he will accuftom her alfo to trace effects to their caufes, to examine the fecret fprings of action, and accurately to obferve the operation of the paffions. It is only meant to notice here fome few of the moral benefits which may be derived from a judicious perufa! of hiftory; and from among other points of inftruction, I felect the following: ***

taught. And that ignorance furnishes no fecurity for integrity either in morals or politics, the late revolts in more than one country, remarkable for the ignorance of the poor, fully illuftrate. It is eargeftly hoped that the above facts may tend to imprefs ladies with the import ance of fuperintending the inftruction of the poor, and of making it an indifpenfable part of their charity to give them moral and religious books.

It were to be wished that more hiftorians refembled the excellent Rollin in the religious and moral turn given to his writings of this kind. But here may be permitted to oblerve incidentally, (forit is no.

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The study of history may ferve to give a clearer infight into the corruption of human nature:

It may help to thew the plan of Providence in the direction of events, and in the use of unworthy inftruments:

It may affift in the vindication of Providence, in the common failure of virtue, and the frequent fuccefs of vice:

It may lead to a distrust of our own judgment: -It may contribute to our improvement in felf-knowledge.

But to prove to the pupil the important doctrine of human corruption from the ftudy of hiftory, will require a truly Christian commentator in the friend with whom the work is perufed. For from the low ftandard of Right established by the generality of hiftorians, who erect fo many perfons into good characters who fall short of the true idea of Chriflian virtue, the unaffifted reader will be liable to form very imperfect views of what is real goodness; and will conclude, as his author fometimes does, that the true idea of human nature is to be taken from the medium between his best and his worst characters; without acquiring a just notion of that prevalence of evil, which, in fpite of thofe few brighter luminaries that here and there juft ferve to gild the gloom of history, tends abundantly to eftablish the doctrine. It will indeed be continually establishing itself by thofe who, in perufing the hiftory of mankind, carefully mark the rife and progrefs of fin, from the firft timid irruption of an evil thought, to the fearless accomplishment of the abhorred crime in which that thought has ended.: from the indignant queftion, "Is thy fervant a dog

immediately analogous to my fubject,) that there is one difadvantage which attends the common practice of fetting young ladies to read ancient history and geography in French or Italian, who have not been previously well grounded in the pronunciation of claffica! names of perfons and places in our own language. The foreign terminations of Greek and Roman names are often very different from the English, and where they are firft acquired are frequently retained and adopted in their fad, fo as to give an illiterate appearance to the converfation of fome women who are not really ignorant. And this defective pronunciation is the more to be guarded against in the education of ladies who are not taught quantity as boys are.

"that he fhould do this great thing?" to the perpe. tration of that very enormity of" which the felf acquitting delinquent could not endure the slightest fuggeftion.

In this connection may it not be observed, that young perfons fhould be put on their guard against a too implicit belief in the flattering accounts which many voyage-writers are fond of exhibiting of the virtue, amiableness, and benignity of fome of the countries newly discovered by our circumnavigators; that they fhould learn to fufpect the superior goodness afcribed to the Hindoos, and particularly the account of the inhabitants of the Pelew Iflands? These laft indeed have been represented as having almost escaped the univerfal taint of our common nature, and would feem by their purity to have sprung from another anceftor than Adam.

We cannot forbear fufpecting that these pleafing but fomewhat overcharged portraits of man, in his nat ural fate, are drawn with the invidious defign, by counteracting the doctrine of human corruption, to degrade the value and even destroy the neceffity of the Chriftian facrifice; by infinuating that uncultivated man is fo difpofed to rectitude as to fuperfede the occafion for that redemption which is profeffedly defigned for finners. That in countries profeffing Chriftianity, many are not Chriftians, will be too readily granted. Yet to fay nothing of the vaft fuperiority of goodness in the lives of thofe who are really governed by Chriftianity, is there not fomething even in her reflex light which guides to greater purity many of thofe who do not profefs to walk by it; I doubt much, if numbers of the unbelievers of a Chriftian country, from the founder views and better habits derived incidentally and collaterally, as it were, from the influence of a Gofpel, the truth of which however they do not acknowledge, would not ftart at many of the actions which these heathen perfectionifts daily commit without hefitation.

2-Kings, viil, 13.

The religious reader of general hiftory will obferve the controling hand of Providence in the direction of events; in turning the moft unworthy actions and inftruments to the accomplishment of his own purposes. She will mark infinite wifdom directing what appears to be cafual occurrences, to the completion of his own plan. She will point out how caufes feemingly the most unconnected; events feemingly the most unpromising, circumftances feemingly the moft incongruous, are all working together for fonte final good. She will mark how national as well as individual crimes are often overruled to fome hidden purpose far different from the intention of the actors: how Omnipotence can, and often does bring about the beft purposes by the worst inftruments: how the bloody and unjust conqueror is but "the rod of his wrath," to punifh or to purify his offending children: how "the fury of the oppreffor," and the fufferings of the oppreffed, will one day, when the whole fcheme fhall be unfolded, vindicate His righteous dealings. She will explain to the lefs enlightened reader, how Infinite Wisdom often mocks the infignificance of human greatnefs, and the fhallownefs of human ability, by fetting afide inftruments the most powerful and promifing, while He works by agents comparatively contemptible. But fhe will carefully guard this doctrine of Divine Providence, thus working out his own purposes through the fins of his creatures, and by the inftrumentality of the wicked by calling to mind, while the offender is but a tool in the hands of the great Artificer, " the woe de"nounced against him by whom the offence cometh!" She will explain how thofe mutations and revolutions in ftates which appear to us fo unaccountable, and how thofe operations of Providence which feem to us fo entangled and complicated, all move harmoniously and in perfect order: that there is not an event but has its commiffion; not a misfortune which breaks its allotted rank; not a trial which moves out of its appointed track. While calamities and crimes feem to fly in cafual confufion, all is commanded or permitted; all is under the control of a wifdom which cannot err, of a goodness which cannot do wrong.

K