prefer a very considerable share of ignorance, to pedantry. It costs me a less effort to accomodate my conversation to a person of the most rude and uncultivated mind, than it does to accommodate my feeling to one, who, without any compassion for me, is constantly pouring into my ears a string of scientific discoveries, and classical allusions. Make it a rule never to use an expression which will be unintelligible to the persons with whom you converse; and never to step out of your way, for the sake of making a remark, which shall discover your learning. The least effort of this kind, is always discovered; and the loss to your character, in point of discretion, will be greater than the gain, with respect to intelligence. One great secret in avoiding the imputation of pedantry, lies in the manner. A remark made with an easy and careless air, might leave no unfavourable impression; while the same observation, repeated with a look of self-complacence and self-confidence, might proeure for you the reputation of an accomplished pedant. But the evil, against which you ought, perhaps, to be more vigilant than any other, which relates to your conversation, is a disposition to sarcasm and satire. This is the more serious, because its consequences are not confined to yourself; and by the same act, you may injure your own reputation, and wound the sensibility or character of another. There is, perhaps, no talent, which is more liable to abuse than this: it creates a strong temptation to appear witty and brilliant, and sometimes even at the expense of friends. But, you may rely upon it, that the indulgence of this propensity, while it involves the grossest injustice to the person who is the object of your sarcasm, will always be regarded by others as indicating an unhappy flaw in your character. The very persons who seem to applaud your wit, by laughing at it, will express their disapprobation to others, and will have the less confidence in your friendship for it will be no unreasonable conclusion, that the same sportive artillery, which they see employed with so much effect upon the characters of others, may, in different circumstances, be levelled against their own. I advise you, therefore, if you find you have a talent for sarcasm, to keep it under the most active restraint. The reputation which you will gain, by frequently exhibiting it, will come at a dearer price than you can afford to pay. It will be no less expense than an abatement of the esteem of your friends, a dread of being in your company, and a needless multiplication of enemies. You cannot be too cautious how you treat characters, especially when you are thrown into the company of strangers. Many persons have subjected themselves to severe mortification, by an improper freedom of this kind, and have discovered, when it was too late to correct their errour, that those who were the subjects of their remarks, were listening to them. Never express an unfavourable opinion of any individual, unless you have good evidence that the opinion is well founded, and that no improper use can be made of it. By a single indiscreet remark, you may do an injury to a character, which it will never be in your power to retrieve. As you value your own reputation, therefore, treat with lenity the characters of others. LESSON XXX. Conversation.-Cowper. A STORY, in which native humour reigns, And let them guide you to a decent end. A tale should be judicious, clear, succinct; LESSON XXXI. God Omnipresent.-JAMES EDMESTON. WHERE can I go from thee, All present Deity! Nature, and time, and thought thine impress bear; Through earth, or sea, or sky, Though far afar I fly, I turn and find thee present with me there. The perfume of the rose, And every flower that blows, All mark thy love, in clusters of the vale; The fruits the garden yields, Proclaim the bounties that can never fail. The vapour, and the cloud, Lashing the rocks and shores, The vasty globes that roll, Through all the boundless fields of space alone,. The life wheel, and the heart Of systems to our little world unknown. From thee I cannot fly; Marks the minutest atom of thy reign; Thou all my path wouldst know, But why should I depart? LESSON XXXII. Earthly Fame.-POLLOK. Or all the phantoms fleeting in the mist Of time, though meagre all, and ghostly thin, Most unsubstantial, unessential shade, Was earthly Fame. She was a voice alone, And dwelt upon the noisy tongues of men. She never thought; but gabbled ever on ;, Applauding most what least deserved applause : And moulder into dust among vile worms! Such thought was cold about the heart, and chilled From all remembrance? and have part no more Many the roads they took, the plans they tried: |